Letter Bee

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War, Second Thread

Mission Four - Knives in Phnom Penh

Diamond Island Convention and Exhibition Center, The City of Phnom Penh - 11/11/2022 06:15 UTC+8

Noel glared back at Huo Ren and said as he raised his left eyebrow, "If you want to screw over your own people and the Russians by revealing that their observer is an energy body used by Public Enemy Number One, be my guest. Stop trying to pick a fight before you end up in one; we won't be the ones drawing our weapons first."

He glanced back at Koichi Hirose, the newly-arrived recruit, as he restrained Cristina from attacking 'Yulian'. Then a nod of acknowledgment at the volunteer before Noel turned back to Huo Ren and said, "The diplomatic meeting your superiors spent a lot of time and effort to call is about to start. The Cambodian military is sending a detachment to keep us all safe, but they will probably want to know about the Russian observer's boasts; you might want to go after him to ensure he does not make more."

Huo Ren was already gazing past him to look at a fuming Nico (Aoi was fuming too, but he thought she was beneath his notice), before smiling, grinning from ear to ear, then saying, "Don't worry; I got what I wanted."

Patting the shoulder of his aide, Shen Tu, Huo gestured both of them to walk towards where Yulian was fast disappearing into a crowd of Russian aides and other diplomatic staff. As they did so, Shen Tu risked looking back at Noel and mouthing, 'Help me'.

Noel gave another nod of acknowledgment, before saying to Henri, "Volunteer Janssens, keep close to us and ready your Noble Arm for use at any time. An Avatar of Superbia is pure energy so your Arm can probably instantly dispel it. Now, we will wait for the Cambodian security detail to meet to coordinate with them and prevent any more untoward incidents from happening."

"So what do we know about this asshat that the PRC wishes we didn't?"

@DammitVictor

Then to Berto, Noel responded, "If you mean Huo Ren, well, he's a very powerful Arms Master who is also a perverted asshole. He lusts for two people in this Task Force; one is Nico Makri - He's the slightly older youth with the grey hair - and the other is me. And he wants to provoke us into getting ourselves captured by him so he can have our way with us."

---

The apparent leader of the protective detachment sent by the military, a squat female with “C. Chea” stamped on her uniform, dismounted her vehicle. Her piercing brown eyes scanned the outside. The streets were fairly barren for such a large event; everyone was inside. Her aides-de-camp approached her and saluted. She reminded them of their orders: “Check the personal protection of each delegation, and inform me of their status. I’ve heard there’s Arms Masters; I want to meet them specifically.” She folded her arms as her underlings trotted away, scanning the outside a second time.

She received a sudden call; there had been a near-incident involving the Filipino and Chinese security details. She walked into the building, armed with only an Anti-Materiel Rifle capable of piercing through an Arms Master's regenerating flesh, a heavy pistol of similar capabilities, and a brace of knives. Accompanying her were a squad of what appeared to be perfectly mundane troops and one Arms Master, her younger brother, Dara, who, though new to his Noble Arm, had a power that was optimized against other Noble Arm users, a power grown from disillusionment with Noble Arms as a concept, ironically.

Walking towards Noel and the others, C. Chea spoke to Task Force Obsidian in a stern tone, "I see you have not given in to the Chinese and Russian provocations. You must be less naive than I thought. Now, where are my manners? I am Lieutenant C. Chea, and I will be in charge of your security. Do not get in trouble; the meeting is about to begin..."

@Gerlando@Nimbus@QJT@Amidatelion@Digmata@Chiro@Creative Chaos@DammitVictor@Iamme

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War, Second Thread

Appearance:

5'5|131lbs

Name: Shinyahito–ōji (Of the House of Yamato).

Age: 16

Nationality: Japanese

Noble Arm Name & Appearance:

Imitation of Ame-no-Nuboko - A ceremonial spear that Crown Prince Shinyahito has named after the ancient jeweled spear used by the creator deities Izanagi and Izanami from Japanese Mythology to create the Japanese Archipelago.

Noble Arm Rank:

C Rank

Power: C (S)
Speed: A
Range: E (S)
Persistence: C
Precision: A
Potential: D

Noble Arm Type, Element, and Range: Melee, Void, Close-Range.

Noble Arm Abilities:

Mū Shoku Zenchishiki (Void That Consumes Knowledge) - When the Crown Prince touches a single object, person, or location with the speartip (not necessarily stabbing) of his Noble Arm, he sees, and can sort through without going insane, the memories and experiences of the target. Note however that sorting through does not make him able to understand everything he finds out right away. When used on himself, he can also see possible timelines and worlds where he and his sister and certain individuals in this setting do not exist at all; many of those worlds do not have Noble Arms.

That last ability is fairly useless in battle and information gathering but helps boost his self-esteem by giving him glimpses of worlds where things are much worse than they are right now. It is speculated that he can eventually refine this ability to show futures where just one specific person did not exist or died in the very next second, but that is conjecture.

Munakatanashi / Yarubekikata (Unmaking and Remaking) - The Crown Prince can stab himself with his weapon and unmake himself, dissolving his body into nothingness and making all memories, monuments, pictures, and written + computerized records of himself vanish (this can be resisted with the right Noble Arm). However, unmaking is not the same as death, and the Crown Prince can will himself to rematerialize anywhere in the world that he knows from pictures or personally visited; restoring people's memories and all monuments, pictures, and written + computerized records of his existence. This process also heals any injuries and wounds he has.

Misc Abilities:

Etiquette and Ceremony - Crown Prince Shinyahito Yamato lived a regimented life, filled with ceremonies and rituals, which he studied with genuine interest.

Literature Enthusiaist - The Crown Prince is a fan of stories of all kinds, especially Light Novels, even the ones so badly written that he feels the need to mock them in private. He has a love-hate relationship with Isekai fiction while also writing poetry and drafting a novel in his spare time which he plans to publish under a false name.

Martial Arts Training (Polearms) - With great reluctance, the Crown Prince has learned to use his spear as a practical weapon, even though he prefers using it as an analytical tool.

Political Backing - His sister wants the Succession Laws changed so she can inherit should he die; he's not blind to the implications. If she succeeds, it would be at his sufferance and not just because of her efforts, and so he keeps contacts and allies in Japan's Imperial Diet, just in case.

Personality: The Crown Prince would rather not ascend to the throne of Emperor of Japan; he would prefer to just study, read, write, and maybe play video games if he can hide it from the public. However, he does not want the throne to pass to another branch of the Family or his younger sister, Fuyuko Yamato, whom he views as 'too militaristic', to get the throne and perhaps push an agenda that would further shred Japan's slightly pacifist constitution, or bring back old-style imperialists who look back on Japan's days as a colonial power with nostalgia. At the same time, he doesn't hate his sister; he knows her views might be different than she seems to indicate. So who knows, maybe he'll give her the chance she needs...

*Likes: Books. Anime and Manga. Videogames. Gunpla.

*Dislikes: Bitter things, outdated views, corruption, boredom.

Fears: Over-regimentation, Death, Societal Collapse.

Bio: Born one day after his cousin Prince Hishahito of Akishino (an IRL figure) to Naruhito of Japan, the birth of Shinyahito raised shockwaves throughout the Imperial Family. Raised with immense expectations, Shinyahito faced the barely-hidden resentment of his sister, born one year after him, and his nation's continued population decline and political malaise.

As he grew up, he realized that he did not want to be Emperor, but had to hide it, even from himself. His Noble Arm grew not when he was subjected to trauma or a 'trigger event', but when he realized that as much as he just wanted to hide from the world and become a hikkikomori (yes, embarrassing), not only was that not on the table, but he cared too much to allow other people to take the Throne and pursue outlandish agendas that involved bringing back Japan's darker past.

When he unlocked the Imitation of Ame-no-Nuboko, he was pushed into competition with his younger sister, whose ambitions and militaristic attitude were obvious for all to see, but managed to keep things civil, maybe even cordial, between them. When China began its war of aggression against ASEAN after the Philippine Government of National Salvation displaced the previous leadership, Shinyahito journeyed to the Philippines as well, avoiding his father's displeasure by stabbing himself with his spear, unmaking himself, then remaking himself in the regions surrounding Baguio City, hoping to find refuge in the Japanese emigré community near Kennon Road.

The Danggal Clan found him, and as they were still pretending to be loyal to the PGNS, they gave him a hospitable welcome, using up stockpiled food and luxury goods to throw a banquet for him, not noticing that he found that wasteful in wartime. Gradually, he realized that they were planning to betray the PGNS if bribed enough, and also hand him over to China if the price was right. So he unmade himself yet again and remade himself in the Philippine Military Academy building, which was under siege by traitorous forces led by the Danggal Clan.

A metaphorical baptism of fire followed, and now he is fighting in a campaign he does not want, but knows he must see through...

Update: With the Danggal Clan surrendering and returning to the Philippine Government of National Salvation's fold, Crown Prince Shinyahito has chosen to stay in the Philippines to keep track of his sister, who is still wandering ASEAN territory fighting People's Liberation Army forces.

*Current Goal: Survive. Find his path in life.

Military or Civilian Rank: Kōtaishi (Crown Prince, Japanese word)

*Optional

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War, Second Thread

For the Next Intermission

Crown Prince of Retcons

Appearance:

5'5|131lbs

Name: Shinyahito–ōji (Of the House of Yamato).

Age: 16

Nationality: Japanese

Noble Arm Name & Appearance:

Imitation of Ame-no-Nuboko - A ceremonial spear that Crown Prince Shinyahito has named after the ancient jeweled spear used by the creator deities Izanagi and Izanami from Japanese Mythology to create the Japanese Archipelago.

Noble Arm Rank:

C Rank

Power: C (S)
Speed: A
Range: E (S)
Persistence: C
Precision: A
Potential: D

Noble Arm Type, Element, and Range: Melee, Void, Close-Range.

Noble Arm Abilities:

Mū Shoku Zenchishiki (Void That Consumes Knowledge) - When the Crown Prince touches a single object, person, or location with the speartip (not necessarily stabbing) of his Noble Arm, he sees, and can sort through without going insane, the memories and experiences of the target. Note however that sorting through does not make him able to understand everything he finds out right away. When used on himself, he can also see possible timelines and worlds where he and his sister and certain individuals in this setting do not exist at all; many of those worlds do not have Noble Arms.

That last ability is fairly useless in battle and information gathering but helps boost his self-esteem by giving him glimpses of worlds where things are much worse than they are right now. It is speculated that he can eventually refine this ability to show futures where just one specific person did not exist or died in the very next second, but that is conjecture.

Munakatanashi / Yarubekikata (Unmaking and Remaking) - The Crown Prince can stab himself with his weapon and unmake himself, dissolving his body into nothingness and making all memories, monuments, pictures, and written + computerized records of himself vanish (this can be resisted with the right Noble Arm). However, unmaking is not the same as death, and the Crown Prince can will himself to rematerialize anywhere in the world that he knows from pictures or personally visited; restoring people's memories and all monuments, pictures, and written + computerized records of his existence. This process also heals any injuries and wounds he has.

Misc Abilities:

Etiquette and Ceremony - Crown Prince Shinyahito Yamato lived a regimented life, filled with ceremonies and rituals, which he studied with genuine interest.

Literature Enthusiaist - The Crown Prince is a fan of stories of all kinds, especially Light Novels, even the ones so badly-written that he feels the need to mock them in private. Has a love-hate relationship with Isekai fiction while also writing poetry and drafting his own novel, which he plans to publish under a false name.

Martial Arts Training (Polearms) - With great reluctance, the Crown Prince has learned to use his spear as a practical weapon, even though he prefers using it as an analytical tool.

Political Backing - His sister wants the Succession Laws changed so she can inherit should he die; he's not blind to the implications. If she succeeds, it would be at his sufferance and not just because of her efforts, and so he keeps contacts and allies in Japan's Imperial Diet, just in case.

Personality: The Crown Prince would rather not ascend to the throne of Emperor of Japan; he would prefer to just study, read, and write, and maybe play video games if he can hide it from the public. However, he does not want the throne to pass to another branch of the Family or his younger sister, Fuyuko Yamato, whom he views as 'too militaristic', to get the throne and perhaps push an agenda that would further shred Japan's slightly pacifist constitution, or bring back old-style imperialists who look back on Japan's days as a colonial power with nostalgia. At the same time, he doesn't hate his sister; he knows her views might be different than she seems to indicate. So who knows, maybe he'll give her the chance she needs...

*Likes: Books. Anime and Manga. Videogames. Gunpla.

*Dislikes: Bitter things, outdated views, corruption, boredom.

Fears: Over-regimentation, Death, Societal Collapse.

Bio: Born one day after his cousin Prince Hishahito of Akishino (an IRL figure) to Naruhito of Japan, the birth of Shinyahito raised shockwaves throughout the Imperial Family. Raised with immense expectations, Shinyahito faced the barely-hidden resentment of his sister, born one year after him, and his nation's continued population decline and political malaise.

As he grew up, he realized that he did not want to be Emperor, but had to hide it, even from himself. His Noble Arm grew not when he was subjected to trauma or a 'trigger event', but when he realized that as much as he just wanted to hide from the world and become a hikkikomori (yes, embarrassing), not only was that not on the table, but he cared too much to allow other people to take the Throne and pursue outlandish agendas that involved bringing back Japan's darker past.

When he unlocked the Imitation of Ame-no-Nuboko, he was pushed into competition with his younger sister, whose ambitions and militaristic attitude were obvious for all to see, but managed to keep things civil, maybe even cordial, between them. When China began its war of aggression against ASEAN after the Philippine Government of National Salvation displaced the previous leadership, Shinyahito journeyed to the Philippines as well, avoiding his father's displeasure by stabbing himself with his spear, unmaking himself, then remaking himself in the regions surrounding Baguio City, hoping to find refuge in the Japanese emigré community near Kennon Road.

The Danggal Clan found him, and as they were still pretending to be loyal to the PGNS, they gave him a hospitable welcome, using up stockpiled food and luxury goods to throw a banquet for him, not noticing that he found that wasteful in wartime. Gradually, he realized that they were planning to betray the PGNS if bribed enough, and also hand him over to China if the price was right. So he unmade himself yet again and remade himself in the Philippine Military Academy building, which was under siege by traitorous forces led by the Danggal Clan.

A metaphorical baptism of fire followed, and now he is fighting in a campaign he does not want, but knows he must see through...

Update: With the Danggal Clan surrendering and returning to the Philippine Government of National Salvation's fold, Crown Prince Shinyahito has chosen to stay in the Philippines to keep track of his sister, who is still wandering ASEAN territory fighting People's Liberation Army forces.

*Current Goal: Survive. Find his path in life.

Military or Civilian Rank: Kōtaishi (Crown Prince, Japanese word)

*Optional

Fate/Dark Heritage

Lorenzo Calungsod Emiya

Lorenzo's first thought was, I wanted a handsome young man, heretical as it may be.

His second and third thoughts were, A beautiful amazon is also to my liking. Society would probably accept that better, too.

Then, the surprise finally hit, Gajah Mada was a woman?!

Schooling himself to courtesy, and purging himself of impure thoughts unworthy of a member of the Holy Church, he spoke, "My name is Lorenzo. Lorenzo Calungsod Emiya. My mother is of the blood of Nusantara, and my father is a foreigner. It is my honor to meet such a beautiful lady, and fight alongside her in this Holy Grail War."

His superior, well, his technical superior had announced the start of the War from a different church building, and it was time for Lorenzo to start the fight from his makeshift HQ... Or at least, that was the plan. To be honest, as the chapel he was borrowing was well-protected with layers of Bounded Fields, he had plenty of time and the luxury of space to discuss a plan of action with one of the greatest tacticians of her age.

Looking at her, Lorenzo spoke, "Now, to business; just so you know, I am not opposed to you wishing to fulfill your unfulfilled oath - My country stands to profit as a co-equal component of a larger federation of Southeast Asian States led by your liege's successors. However, I would like to ask that on our journey to fulfill it, we save as many people from the depredations of the other Masters and Servants as possible - I do not like collateral damage. As for the tactical situation... I'll be blunt; trained in Magecraft as I am, I have never been good at Familiars and other ways of gathering intelligence through Supernatural means. My kit is also sub-optimal and bare-bones for fighting against other Masters, let alone a weak Servant."

His smile turned wry as he continued, "But what I am good at is technology, much-neglected by Magi. If the Grail has given you knowledge of what Computers are; well, I'm good at them - Follow me to this Church's outbuildings; contrary to what people think, the Priest does not live in the Church itself; at least not most of the time."

He then walked out of the cellar, gesturing for Gajah Mada to follow him to a small studio at the edge of the Church grounds, a small studio that contained several computers kept cool by specialized Bounded Fields. These computers had a live feed from Kyoto's CCTV network, acquired by using Mental Interference Magecraft on certain members of the Police Force. Lorenzo then explained, "We wait for the rowdier Masters and Servants to begin seeking each other out for a fight, and interfere when it looks like civilians are going to be harmed. We also check for misinformation spread by the Mages' Association or the Holy Church to maintain the masquerade. Of course, we also try and find out as much data on the Servants and Masters as we can. Any more questions?"

Is turtling dishonorable? Yes, yes it is. But right now, I do not take our chances lightly - We are likely to die if we just dive in.

@Randomguy

Shadowrun: Lost Heir

Reinhard 'Tenno' Martin

"What do you know about the gangs?" Tenno was the next one to ask as he pointedly ignored the man in the suit for the time being. "The ones fighting over that district? Names, methods, armament and tactics? Also, there's a nonzero chance that the person we're looking for is part of one of the gangs; what do we do if that's the case? Are we permitted to negotiate and not just be violent? For that matter, what is the acceptable level of violence again?"

Long ago, Tenno was a curious child. He still was on some level, despite the years of abuse from his Saeder-Krupp enslavers/captors/owners during the dark days of his captivity. So when allowed to ask questions, this all came off as a barrage. Nevertheless, he made sure to keep an eye on Whetstone for the time being.

Pausing to receive his answers, Tenno waited a second, then another, then another, before looking at the suited Shadowrunner, "I don't trust you, but I know well enough we're going to need you if the Corpo heir still maintains some marks of her Corpo upbringing. You are our face, right? What's your alias, anyway? Grindstone or something?"

He instinctively activated a spell; Analyze Truth - He was keeping it on for as long as possible in order to make sure that Whetstone did not stab them in the back too soon. Nevertheless, something stopped him from picking too much of a fight; memories of 'obedience training' flashed through his mind, cowing him almost as soon as he spoke. His eyes opened a little wider, looking like a hurt puppy's as he continued.

"Well, I'm just in it for the money now. Saeder-Krupp taught me that they cannot be disobeyed, that they cannot be opposed; that they can only be avoided or obeyed," Tenno said in a strained tone as he tried to seek some flicker of empathy in that man's eyes - Big mistake. "But don't worry; I can still pull my weight."

He hated it. He hated the fear and the submission and the memories of everything being taken away from him - Everything. He wanted the world and people to care but they didn't. No one cared and no one ever will now that his family was gone. It was only two years ago when his younger brother, a Technomancer, had been killed in that artillery bombardment, and he knew that was a mercy compared to what the Corpos planned to put him through.

Turning towards CAPTCHA, Tenno tried for one more statement before he exhausted his band's patience, saying, "You know, you remind me of my little brother; he was killed in the final days of the Flux State just two years ago - Artillery shell. Sometimes I feel that was lucky; that he avoided a fate worse than just dying. So if you're okay with it, I'll protect you..."

Assuming I do not forget, assuming I do not fail.

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War, Second Thread

Yes, just still creating my character.

@Phase

That's good; you can join the Discord and we can discuss this through chat, if needed?

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War, Second Thread

@Phase, still interested?

Fallout: Echoes of the Void - A Cosmic Horror RPG

<Snipped quote by Letter Bee>

Excellent question! Yes i do intend to stay faithful to the core of cosmic horror, which will be about confronting the insignificance of humanity, and for that matter all life beyond earth (Cause there'll be aliens) against vast, uncaring, pre-temporal forces that lurk in the 'before' of all things.

However, in this game your characters will absolutely face despair and terrifying truths. But, this is a journey through the cosmic void, dictated by your character's choices, whether it be to succumb to the horror or to resist even in the face of maddness. How individuals and even humanity as a whole respond to these horrors is up to ya'll. There may be glimmers of light in the darkness, but you'll have to fight to uncover them... In the end, it's what made for me the fallout series so enticing as a kid and even as a teen... now i just made it vaster... and harsher... cus i got problems 😝😝...

@Shadrack Nor

Glimmers of light in the darkness sound good, yes.

Will this RP have a Discord server?

Edit: Fair warning, I might not have the time for this yet!

Fallout: Echoes of the Void - A Cosmic Horror RPG

I know it's Cosmic Horror, but how grimdark is the Lovecraftian stuff in the RP? Completely hopeless for individuals and Humanity?

FALLOUT: ALOHA (RP)

Name: Andrew Rivers

Race: Human

Gender: Male.

Age: 21

S: 3
P: 6
E: 6
C: 8
I: 8
A: 6
L: 3

Skills

Choose three skills to tag that your character is proficient in. You may then spend a further 9+INT Score skill points to distribute amongst your skills.

Tagged Skills:

Guns: 2 + 1 = 3
Speech: 2 + 1 = 3
Repair: 2 + 1 = 3

Untagged Skills:

Barter: 2
Survival: 2
Lockpick: 2
Unarmed: 3
Sneak: 3
Medicine: 2

Personality: Andrew is generally a kind, sweet, generous person who objects to the NCR's heavy-handedness in the past and despises its imperfections, but genuinely believes that there are no viable alternatives to the Wasteland than the NCR or a Government like it. The Courier or Mr. House in the Mojave gathering a bunch of settlements, declaring themselves independent, and 'freeing' the Mojave with an army of Securitons? Fantasy. Is someone on the East Coast rebuilding a bunch of settlements to Pre-War levels all by themselves and creating a new Commonwealth Provisional Government? Nonsensical. Besides, even if those did happen, those had no staying power once their 'superhuman' founders were dead.

So it has to be the NCR that has to be saved, and it's people who have to save it. And so Andrew has been assigned this mission by what remains of the NCR Government: Go to Hawaii and find a way to save the NCR; for as they agreed, there is no other way - No other moral way - for this world to rebuild.

Background: Andrew was born in The Boneyard to an NCR Soldier and a Follower of the Apocalypse back when the NCR was already declining, but had not fallen yet. Andrew was raised on tales of better days by both parents, although their perspectives of what days counted as 'better' differed. Either way, Andrew joined the NCR Army at 16 and lived long enough to see defeat after defeat, including the long retreat from the Mojave, where he was hardened by the fight to survive. Nevertheless, he saw firsthand how the 'alternatives' to the NCR were even worse than it was, and how the NCR needed to be reformed should it be able to outcompete said 'alternatives'.

But when he arrived home, to protests and opprobrium and the political consequences of Kimball being assassinated, it broke Andrew's heart. At least his family, including his mother, did not forsake him. Taking a small period of leave, Andrew began going through his mother's books, hoping against hope to find a way to save the NCR and reform it so that it could stand against its enemies and their separate visions for the post-apocalyptic world.

It turned out it was possible. Just barely. But the means to do so were out of reach; it was like having hope dangled in front of him and then it being pulled away at the last minute. So as things spiraled down further, Andrew began looking for shortcuts; items like the Water Purification Chip and the GECK that had saved people before.

Then, he was called by his superiors, the last loyal officers of the NCR, and told, "There is a ship headed for Hawaii, where ancient Pre-War technology can be found. Get on that ship; find something that can save the Republic. If you can't; we'll forgive you, but if there's a chance that you can... Do what you must."

And so Andrew went on the Green Horizon, ready to meet and mingle with the other passengers on board and see who could be potential allies for his Quest to save the NCR, to save a civilization that saw no one as expendable (in theory). A civilization where people recognized their common bonds and helped each other (within reason).

He brought a book with him; a book of the NCR's constitution, laws, and history; this way, he can keep a memory of the Republic with him.

Equipment

- Service Rifle.
- 10mm Pistol.
- Hunting Rifle with Scope with the NCR two-headed bear painted on.
- Trooper Armor with a Gas Mask and Helmet.
- Switchblade.
- 2x Stimpak
- 1x Rad-X
- 1x RadAway
- NCR Dogtags.
- A Book containing copies of the NCR Constitution and Laws and a summary of its history.
- 2000 Caps.

Trait - Hotel California: You are a member of the NCR military with all the training that suits you. You get +1 to your damage rolls whenever you use rifles, SMGs, ARs, grenades, revolvers or any old fashioned gunpowder weaponry. However, whenever you use a energy weapon or attempt to roll any other weapon skill, the skill test is increased by 2.