Mercurial

War Notes

Leon Brandeau

Leon took his end of the stretcher as the captain ordered them to march to Orello. He could only hope they would all be able to move fast enough to reach the fort in time to have more extensive work done on Wagnill. Of course, it wouldn't do for them to be reckless in their advance. Not only would it be dangerous for Leon and Tzi to go to quickly with the stretcher, but it would also be a bad idea to blunder through hostile territory without a care. It was an odd thing for him to think of a part of his homeland as hostile territory, but given the recent attack, there was no other way to think of it. If they could be attacked like that earlier, they could easily be attacked again prior to their arrival at the fort. Fortunately, it seemed Tzi was being as careful as he could be without prompting, so Leon was certain nobody had thoughts of being reckless here. Except, it seemed, for Natus, who was being admonished by the captain for trying to head off alone.

He appreciated Tzi's attempt to lighten the mood by referring to his nigh legendary shirtless status. It was better they not dwell on thoughts of uncertainty and danger. Not that it lasted for long, as a stiff breeze cut his words short. It was as if the weather wanted to make sure they couldn't relax. Of course, the weather of this region was hardly something Leon needed to fear. He'd felt biting winds and cold snaps like this back home, and he had even been in and around this very terrain once before. It would take more than some snow and ice to get to a Brandeau. Then, a commotion started. Leon was sure he heard Esther scream about ghosts or something. Tzi also seemed to hear what was going on. "I think I heard someone say "ghosts"!" He called to Tzi. Even though he was right there, he felt like the wind might drown him out if he didn't raise his voice. "Maybe we're all just getting jumpy?" He questioned aloud. Surely they weren't really dealing with specters right now? With all this obscuring snow about, and given the recent ambush, it was all too likely they were just jumping at bumps and sounds. Either way, he wasn't about to let go of the stretcher just yet.

@Crimmy

Yurei High: Spooks vs Students

Aika Aramachi

After her own introduction, there was just one last student that introduced themselves. Aika was almost certain there was some kind of foreign influence in this club, as Zane Wulf, Travis Furukawa and Iria Valentine all had names that were at least partially foreign. It had to be the Americans; they were always looking for ways to force feed their culture to others, and what better way to do so than to infiltrate at the high school level? They would probably love nothing more than to make Japanese students like those "weeaboos" she had heard of over in the states, except with them worshiping American culture instead. It was an idea worth looking into for sure.

As the introductions winded down, however, the students began to talk among themselves. This was of concern to Aika, since any of these people could take the opportunity to try and peek at her phone under the cover of moving around to socialise. She made up her mind to end today's info taking for now. Her decision was soon vindicated, as none other than Yuki Asahiro approached her under the guise of casual conversation. Aika knew better; Yuki quickly betrayed a keen interest in the contents of her phone. Her theory was being confirmed, and she was more certain than ever that Yuki was a government plant. She wasn't about to betray her knowledge of this, of course. For now, she would have to keep playing silly innocent Aika Aramachi, a girl none the wiser to Yuki's ulterior motives.

"Oh hi!" She responded. She shook Yuki's hand when offered. "Oh, don't mind me, I just like to keep in touch with my friends. They weren't interested in coming here, so I was just updating them with whatever flew into my head at the time." Even though not a single part of that explanation was true, Aika was probably going to need to make up some nonsense to tell her friends later. "But I actually heard of you before from the track team. You're something of a sport's star around here, aren't you?" It was true that she had heard that from them, but she was less interested in talking sports with Yuki than she appeared. This just seemed like a good topic to distract from her phone...and perhaps it would lead into other topics that would reveal Yuki's true purpose. Her cover story couldn't be perfect.

@Polaris North

Yurei High: Spooks vs Students

Next up Akia Aramachi.
AKA: Local school nutjob that was 100% hilarious to poke fun at. Seriously, she was grade-A entertainment if one could get her started on one of her theories! Ahahahah, this club was going to be great already, she could tell! She already had a number of things she could 'discuss' with Aramachi.

@Rune_Alchemist

I would really rather my character's secrets were not known right off the bat.

Yurei High: Spooks vs Students

Alright, I finally posted.

Apologies to anyone that didn't get an interesting conspiracy theory about their character, but everyone will surely get one eventually.

Yurei High: Spooks vs Students

Aika Aramachi

It was hardly an uncommon sight to see a high school student half-absorbed in their phones. However, seated furthest back, keenly watching to ensure not a single person glimpsed over her shoulder, Aika was not using her phone to simply send text messages or casually browse the internet. Instead, she was making notes on her super secret compilation of observations. While included in these observations were plenty of mundane facts, alongside them were also theories. One look at these theories would probably make someone believe that Aika was insane, and they wouldn't be completely incorrect. Aika was busily creating absurdly fantastic theories about the people here as they spoke. Naturally, she started with the club president.

Theory: Two ideas; either the prez is a concerned citizen (boring!), or part of a government scheme to dissuade people from investigating the supernatural. Everyone with a brain knows the government suppresses the existence of aliens, espers, and other creatures. It would make sense they would place people in high schools to lead "occult clubs" to make sure nobody engages in actual investigations of the occult. It could be that the prez will lead us on a bunch of extremely boring activities to make us think this is a really dull idea.

Mitsuko then told them to start introducing themselves. Seemingly a typical way to start a social activity....or a cunning method of extracting information about those interested in the occult. She could be looking for the best way to turn them off of investigating further. In any case, the first one to speak was one Yoshi Watanabe. Aika had already heard talk of the Christian girl from others, and she already had some ideas about her swirling around in her head.

Theory: This one's easy; Watanabe is clearly a Jesuit inserted into the Japanese school system in order to indoctrinate students into the Catholic faith. It's obvious that the Christians never gave up on converting Japan, even after the Sakoku, so it makes sense they would send their infiltrators into the country. Subtly, of course, since they don't want to risk another Sakoku period. All this stuff about "Protestants" and the rest is just a ploy to make people think they're not involved in a united effort to convert and control the world.

Note to self; fishermen may in fact be Christian agents.

When she sat down, the next to speak was Zane Wulf. He had some rather confrontational things to say regarding Watanabe's words. Naturally, this got Aika thinking.

Theory: Zane Wulf must be a counter-Christian agent from the New Atheist movement. Everyone knows the Christians are engaged in a constant war with the non-believers, especially in the United States. Wulf must have been sent here to fight the influence of Jesuit preachers like Watanabe, hence his hostility to her faith.

What I don't get is why they gave him such an odd infiltration name. Who would believe that the name "Zane Wulf" belonged to a Japanese native? He has to be an American.

After Zane was Ai Yamauchi.

Theory: I got nothing. Hasn't said enough to give me an idea of who she is, and she's too new to stir up rumors already. Maybe she's just a bystander? Probably not though.

Then there was Yuki Asahiro. As she had stated herself, Aika had heard about her after joining the track team. She was a bit of an athletic celebrity at the school, or so it would seem.

Theory: I've always considered that androgynous people might be the results of government experimentation to blur gender lines and undermine traditional society. Perhaps Asahiro was released into the public to see just what they could get away with using androgynous agents? Only time will tell.

Travis Furukawa spoke next. He seemed like an awkward soul right off the bat.

Theory: Not sure about this one either. Since he clearly has American heritage, he could be working with Wulf, but that would just be guessing. Although, if I had to peg anyone here for being an actual demon worshiper, it would be this guy.

As for Seiko Karuta, Aika was sure she had felt her gaze on her at least once during the meeting. She was already suspicious of her...more suspicious than usual, at least.

Theory: If this club is legit, then maybe Karuta here is a government investigator sent to look into seditious activities among the student body. Obviously if there were real demon summoners at this school, the government wouldn't want them pulling that off under their noses. After all, they probably have a monopoly demon summoning as is. Alternatively, she could be working with the prez to root out the people actually interested in the occult. Her claims to skepticism are almost certainly a false front.

Aika's interest was piqued by the mention of the JSDF by Ena Watari, the next one to speak. Although she seemed all nervous and unsure, Aika was convinced the opposite was true.

Theory: A JSDF soldier would no doubt train their children well, so no doubt the shy act is a cover for her keen military trained senses. If this is a government ploy, I have no doubt that Watari is involved in it. Even if not, she'll surely report any seditious activities to her JSDF father. I should demonstrate extreme caution around her, as she might be the most dangerous person here.

It occurred to Aika at this point that she had been silent for some time, simply sitting at the back tapping away at her phone. She was sure the others would be getting suspicious of her by now, so she took the opportunity to be the next to speak. Any hint of focus and observation on her face would certainly be gone; replaced by the vapid look of a silly little high school girl. "Hey everyone! Aika Aramachi, first year here! I just joined because I thought it would be, like, a fun little activity. A fun fact from me is that I own, like, 100 pairs of shoes." She then sat down calmly. She was sure she had nailed it; nobody would suspect the vain schoolgirl with more clothes than sense! Of course, Aika didn't appreciate just how true that was.

Yurei High: Spooks vs Students

Aika Aramachi

Name: Aika Aramachi

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Appearance:



Personality: On the surface, Aika seems to be nothing more than a vain and really quite vapid schoolgirl. Her life seems to revolve around fussing over her appearance and other equally vain pursuits. A conversation with her will most likely flow onto some topic about fashion or evaluating the looks of others or lamenting the fact the school doesn’t allow them to dress their best and instead thrusts these generic uniforms on them. Aika even joined the track team not out of any great love of fitness but simply because she heard it would help her maintain her figure. Her main concern on said track team is not to go at it too hard out of fear she would become too athletic.

However, while all of the above is still accurate, her true “passion” does not lie with clothes, accessories and the like. Aika is in fact a huge proponent of wild conspiracy theories and loves nothing more than to read way too much into any given situation. Going far beyond mere gossip (though she indulges in that plentifully), Aika is prone to taking the smallest of hints of a secret and turning it into something it likely isn’t; if she hears a student happens to be visiting a teacher after class, it means they’re having a steamy romp in the classrooms, and if she spies a man in a black suit outside the school, it’s clear that the government is keeping tabs on them to root out sedition. The occult is not safe from her fantasies too; a ghost seen stalking the corridors at night must be a former student that was murdered by the principal to keep them quiet, and if demons are being called into this world they would have to be summoned by a megalomaniacal villain hellbent on conquering the world with their demonic hordes.

Of course, Aika doesn’t advertise her conspiratorial tendencies. After all, you never know when the government is listening in, or whether the person in front of you is in on it all. But she isn’t perfect, and her excitement can get the better of her. If she really were to stumble upon clear “evidence” of a crime or conspiracy, she might just choose to inform everyone of the “truth”. As of yet, however, she has yet to be in such a situation, so Aika is presently just a vain little high schooler that just so happens to be interested in the occult and other weird things.

History: Aika’s family was always mildly wealthy; they weren’t some mega corporate Zaibatsu group, but they had enough money that Aika could go around buying whatever expensive little pieces she wanted. During her early life, that was what defined her; the girl that kept bringing expensive accessories to class and getting huffy when told they weren’t appropriate for school. Nothing cheered her up more after a bad day than spending money on some new piece of clothing or an even more garish trinket than she had yesterday. As she got older, she simply bought things more akin to girls her age, and never got past her desire for more things.

It was at age 12 that she discovered her greatest interest. While browsing the internet, she happened to stumble upon a web page filled with all kinds of weird theories about just about everything. One theory in particular happened to claim that Yakuza thugs were using local schools to traffic drugs. Aika thought nothing of it until she did indeed see a suspicious man loitering around the gates of her school, with one of her friends making a joke that he looked like a Yakuza. Now Aika was convinced that the rumours were true. It didn’t matter that one of her friends told her they actually knew the guy and he was just a cosplayer waiting for his friends; that just meant her friend was part of the Yakuza too. Aika now ate up every rumour and theory she could find on the site and by virtue of more than a few coincidences became certain that they were all true.

Aika’s new obsession followed her into highschool, though nobody knew it about her just yet. She had even started her own website where she created her own theories about what was going on in society and the world at large. She made up her mind to join the Occult Club for two reasons; first to see if any of the rumours about ghosts and spooks at the school are true, and which member of the faculty murdered them, and to investigate whether the club itself is involved in suspicious activity. Of course, if anyone asks, she joined because “it’s like, just a bit of fun and stuff”.

Skills:
-Being a member of the track team, Aika is a decent runner if nothing else. Although she has curbed her enthusiasm for the sport out of fear of developing too much muscle, she is still reasonably fit and capable of fleeing in terror without losing her breath all too quickly.

-As an avid conspiracy theorist, Aika is keenly aware of the possibility that the government might realise she knows too much and attempt to track her down. That is why she invested much in figuring out how to protect herself online; she knows her way around code and whenever she’s online she’s hiding behind at least seven proxies. While it’s unlikely anyone will need to be e-safe in an occult club, if they ever need to use a computer, they just so happen to have someone who can wrap computers around her finger.

Yurei High: Spooks vs Students

Hello, just happened across this and thought I would join.

Aika Aramachi

Name: Aika Aramachi

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Appearance:



Personality: On the surface, Aika seems to be nothing more than a vain and really quite vapid schoolgirl. Her life seems to revolve around fussing over her appearance and other equally vain pursuits. A conversation with her will most likely flow onto some topic about fashion or evaluating the looks of others or lamenting the fact the school doesn’t allow them to dress their best and instead thrusts these generic uniforms on them. Aika even joined the track team not out of any great love of fitness but simply because she heard it would help her maintain her figure. Her main concern on said track team is not to go at it too hard out of fear she would become too athletic.

However, while all of the above is still accurate, her true “passion” does not lie with clothes, accessories and the like. Aika is in fact a huge proponent of wild conspiracy theories and loves nothing more than to read way too much into any given situation. Going far beyond mere gossip (though she indulges in that plentifully), Aika is prone to taking the smallest of hints of a secret and turning it into something it likely isn’t; if she hears a student happens to be visiting a teacher after class, it means they’re having a steamy romp in the classrooms, and if she spies a man in a black suit outside the school, it’s clear that the government is keeping tabs on them to root out sedition. The occult is not safe from her fantasies too; a ghost seen stalking the corridors at night must be a former student that was murdered by the principal to keep them quiet, and if demons are being called into this world they would have to be summoned by a megalomaniacal villain hellbent on conquering the world with their demonic hordes.

Of course, Aika doesn’t advertise her conspiratorial tendencies. After all, you never know when the government is listening in, or whether the person in front of you is in on it all. But she isn’t perfect, and her excitement can get the better of her. If she really were to stumble upon clear “evidence” of a crime or conspiracy, she might just choose to inform everyone of the “truth”. As of yet, however, she has yet to be in such a situation, so Aika is presently just a vain little high schooler that just so happens to be interested in the occult and other weird things.

History: Aika’s family was always mildly wealthy; they weren’t some mega corporate Zaibatsu group, but they had enough money that Aika could go around buying whatever expensive little pieces she wanted. During her early life, that was what defined her; the girl that kept bringing expensive accessories to class and getting huffy when told they weren’t appropriate for school. Nothing cheered her up more after a bad day than spending money on some new piece of clothing or an even more garish trinket than she had yesterday. As she got older, she simply bought things more akin to girls her age, and never got past her desire for more things.

It was at age 12 that she discovered her greatest interest. While browsing the internet, she happened to stumble upon a web page filled with all kinds of weird theories about just about everything. One theory in particular happened to claim that Yakuza thugs were using local schools to traffic drugs. Aika thought nothing of it until she did indeed see a suspicious man loitering around the gates of her school, with one of her friends making a joke that he looked like a Yakuza. Now Aika was convinced that the rumours were true. It didn’t matter that one of her friends told her they actually knew the guy and he was just a cosplayer waiting for his friends; that just meant her friend was part of the Yakuza too. Aika now ate up every rumour and theory she could find on the site and by virtue of more than a few coincidences became certain that they were all true.

Aika’s new obsession followed her into highschool, though nobody knew it about her just yet. She had even started her own website where she created her own theories about what was going on in society and the world at large. She made up her mind to join the Occult Club for two reasons; first to see if any of the rumours about ghosts and spooks at the school are true, and which member of the faculty murdered them, and to investigate whether the club itself is involved in suspicious activity. Of course, if anyone asks, she joined because “it’s like, just a bit of fun and stuff”.

Skills:
-Being a member of the track team, Aika is a decent runner if nothing else. Although she has curbed her enthusiasm for the sport out of fear of developing too much muscle, she is still reasonably fit and capable of fleeing in terror without losing her breath all too quickly.

-As an avid conspiracy theorist, Aika is keenly aware of the possibility that the government might realise she knows too much and attempt to track her down. That is why she invested much in figuring out how to protect herself online; she knows her way around code and whenever she’s online she’s hiding behind at least seven proxies. While it’s unlikely anyone will need to be e-safe in an occult club, if they ever need to use a computer, they just so happen to have someone who can wrap computers around her finger.

Hunter x Hunter: 108 Stars of Destiny

Theodore Levant

Having been guided to the 101st floor by one of the receptionists in the lobby, Theodore was quite fine to surrender his belongings to the guards that searched him at the entrance. Truth be told, the only thing he kept on him that was truly a weapon was a knife, and that was more of a tool than anything. He usually fought using the environment around him, so being bereft of his knife was not the worst thing in the world. Of course, he wasn't planning on starting a fight here, unless it happened that the final exam was an all out brawl among those that had arrived. He imagined it was unlikely that the organisation that seemed so steeped in subtle trickery would set up a final test that was so purposelessly blunt. In fact, he wasn't entirely sure if it wouldn't turn out they were all already on trial and that they would all fail for not having seen the expertly hidden traps around the place. He had yet to even gain an inkling as to what was going on yet though, so he would refrain from acting on wild conspiracy theories.

As he took in his surroundings, Theodore noted they were in a rather extravagant restaurant setting. It actually reminded Theodore of home, which was probably why it irked him to be here. Places of extravagant wealth and swotty tastes were often havens for the same brand of fools he had suffered for a life long in Avingnon. He could only hope that the people here really did earn their place by virtue of their skills rather than paying their way to victory. In any case, he took a seat at one of the tables with a clear view of the stage. He wasn't sure what was in store for them, but he didn't want to sit back and relax here. In fact, he really didn't want to go speaking to random strangers here, though not out of shyness or anti-socialism; he was simply experiencing terrifying flashbacks to the gaudy parties of his youth. The last thing he wanted was to drink wine and make small talk, since it felt like half his life was being forced to do so.

War Notes

Leon Brandeau

Leon looked upon their little battlefield with a feeling of contentment. They were victorious, and the villains that had seen fit to ambush them and wound one of their own had paid for their folly with their lives. Though he wasn't one to revel in death, it did feel a touch satisfying to know they had defeated their enemy. More than anything, they had proven that they weren't a bunch of swaddled officers from the capital; they could fight like the best of them, and this was their proof. But there were bigger battles ahead of them, to be sure. Leon was still concerned about that artillery; did they give up on it when they saw their immediate forces were annihilated? Goodness only knew whether this enemy of theirs had even more soldiers hiding in the wings, only waiting for news of the failure of their vanguard to strike. For now though, Leon just felt good about their successes.

He was pulled out of his line of thinking by Althea's call for assistance. More specifically, she wanted his glaive for an impromptu stretcher. Leon made his way over just like Tzi. He was a little bit concerned about handing his vessel over when they weren't entirely sure whether this enemy was completely gone, but he wasn't about to be selfish in the face of a comrade in need. As he joined the others, he heard their talk about the nature of their enemies. It seemed they were not Ducal soldiers as a cursory glance suggested, but potentially Alliance soldiers instead. They also mentioned they all shared some mysterious mark. It was curious to hear, but Leon had never been much for nutting out the mysteries behind the people he faced. He preferred to solider on and take orders, and he was more than prepared to do so, offering his glaive alongside Tzi's trident. "I'll help carry the stretcher too, if you don't mind." Leon offered to Althea. If he wasn't going to have his glaive on hand, he may as well be helping to carry Wagnill. Of course, it seemed like they had more pressing concerns than who was to carry their scout...

@DracoLunaris

War Notes

Althea; age 15.

Esther; age 14.

Gradon's going to get a visit from Chris Hansen if he goes down this lane.