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twave Member

STATUS: When you've replied to all the RPs you're in and you're just waiting for one of them to move. 8 yrs ago
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8 yrs ago
Current When you've replied to all the RPs you're in and you're just waiting for one of them to move.
3 likes
8 yrs ago
Taking a break from RPG this weekend. May be away longer to take a break.
1 like
9 yrs ago
Gah. RPs are so slow around this time of year.

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In Phoenix Wing: New Dawn → 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
In Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed] → 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay


@Ariamis

With various tasks agreed on, the two would walk away and head in the direction to check on the operation. Along the way though Janet opted to head back to the lab to get to work, leaving Jenna to see what all was going on. As she understood it Elora was the one overseeing everything. Making her way to the mission's command, Jenna looked over the magical displays trying to make sense of what was going on. Looked quite chaotic. "I got your call. How do things look?" She stood at a distance so as not to distract Elora by hovering.



Getting back to the lab, Janet began to scrawl out some formulas on a barrier with her magic. They never wrote things down on paper or on a computer when they worked. Just on the off chance someone might try and steal information. Whether that be the Mint, Penny, some other third party, or even Beacon. Working for a time, Cindy wrestled control from Janet when some good progress was being made. Looking over the info before her she scowled. And thus started a back and forth process of talk between them.

What is the meaning of this Janet?

Rachael has given us orders to create a weapon.

I see that. I cannot allow such a thing to be in the hands of Beacon. You know this does not fall under our agreement.

I realize this. At this point I am trying not to get us killed.

If that is your fear then why do you stay?

We're not in a position yet to make the needed changes.

So long as the Ascendancy is here you will not get what you request. You must make a choice.

I'm buying time here.

You're making excuses. I can tell what you're doing here. You cannot change Beacon as you believe.

And you can't just force us to leave yet.

Trapped in a circular argument for several minutes the girl was practically frozen. It was ultimately obvious that the contract they had was not going to work under these circumstances. Some of the restrictions needed to be laxed a bit else neither of them would be able to operate. Perhaps she should have taken up Penny on trying to remove her. Not that she was particularly sure it would work to begin with. Now she was going to have to share in the process of making this weapon. One thing was for sure, this whole wish for knowledge was turning against them pretty fast.
In Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed] → 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay



@Ariamis@BrokenPromise@DarkwolfX37

Oros? Ah, the one that Hilde met. They didn't really know a whole lot about her other than she was associated with Faith in some way and let Hilde and her friends go. There didn't seem to be any particular reason not to as least hear her out. Making a connection Janet spoke to Oros' mind. Hello Oros. You need some help with something?”

“yea, bi, dose deeds two be webodized!” There was a short pause in communication. “Bi dose is doh logger adached. So I am thinging with a dazaly voice do illustrate tad pound.”

Taking a few moments to sort out what in the world was being said it eventually came together. Alright then. That is quite confusing. What exactly about your nose? Janet wanted to be sure she was understanding the message right.

“You’re not nearly as fun as your minion is.” The mental message was followed by a mental laugh. “My nose has an interesting characteristic. I can sniff out magical girls based on their patrons. I would like to give it an upgrade.”

That was a new ability to Janet. Also a potentially dangerous one. She did manage a slight chuckle. Well, fun isn't always Beacon's strong suit. What do you mean by an upgrade? Trying to find something? Curiosity had the better of her for the moment.

“Improve the proximity.” was the all-to-obvious answer. “Say I wanted to hone my nose to the point where I could smell everything in penrose… simultaneously! .The rotting garbage on the second floor everyone refuses to empty, the depleted case of lipstick left in the men’s bathroom, your panties, if I could take it all in at once, I’d know who everyone’s allegiance is for.” Oros hummed. “Though I guess a more boring use of that power would be to track down mint agents, wherever they hide...”

While I’m all for tracking down Mint, that’s a pretty tall order. What makes you think I can do something like that? Much less what you might do afterward. The two walked around until they came across a window to look out at who they were speaking with.

A laugh poured into Janet’s mind. It was loud and coarse, like reverberating metal. It would have been total ear rape material if she was listening to it with her ears. “You made a coin that can purify corruption, you made a homunculus, you mean to tell me that making my nose a wee bit stronger poses a problem?” The laughing continued. “Who cares what I’m going to do with it afterwards? I’ll tell you what I’m not going to do with it. I’m totally not going to side with a magical girl who tried to remove all love from the world even though it goes against everything my patron stands for just so that I can lay waste to another, far less dangerous magical girl.” She cleared her throat, or at least sent a telepathic sound that she was. “You want to know my real intentions? My nose isn’t just capable of picking up on patrons. It can also guide me to people with certain qualities. Qualities that make for an ideal, mmmmmm, what’s the word? Not friend, something stronger than that…”

The Beacon girl wasn't quite connecting the same dots, but the message of potential help in the future was clear enough. Seemed this Oros knew more of what was going on than she'd expected. Try as she might, getting allies outside of Beacon had been proving to be more difficult than expected. So really any support she could get toward a more peaceful resolution would be good. Suppose if I want to prove I'm not like all the rest in Beacon I should at least make myself available to others. I can see what I can do. How do you propose I do this? I don't believe those above me would just let me bring you in to study and figure out what needs to be done. Not that I think you would want to be in that position to begin with.

Oros took something out of Summer’s hand and tossed it up to the window where Janet was standing. The small shape hurdled through the air before it got close enough for Janet to catch.

“One of your friends did the honor of removing my nose from my face. I’d normally be pissed about it, but they gave me a cool replacement.” She waved. “I doubt even Beacon would get pissy over something like a nose, but you do you. Maybe don’t report it? I’ve always just done what I wanted.” She folded her arms. “Unless you want payment for this, I can head out, right? I’d just like to know a good time to return for my nose when you’re done modding it.”

Catching the nose thrown up to her, she was rather surprised when she actually took a look at what it was. How? What the... okay. She pocketed the nose and paused for a few seconds. Was not expecting that at all. I can't be for certain. This would be my first nose job. Think you can part with it for a couple weeks? She had loosened up just a little. Getting orders from the Inquisitor always put them on edge.

Oros smiled. “Sure. I’m not letting you keep it though.”

That would not be very good for business. Just come back around the area and we’ll be able to find you. She returned the smile briefly.
In Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed] → 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay



@Ariamis@BrokenPromise@DarkwolfX37

They had tried to explain this a bit last time, but Rachel had in her mind that Janet had placed Cindy in her head on purpose. The Ascendancy leader taking over the research department was a big issue. Should they succeed in making this weapon then it would only lead to further division. Well, probably. Forcing people to be purified was something they'd considered, but the risks outweighed the rewards. Making and securing it first off. Afterward though the implications and damage it would do to relations they were trying to forge. And with the Cardinal still largely out of the picture there was no telling when they might be able to be bailed out. They'd done their job a little too well.

Nodding in recognition to Rachel's orders the two stepped back. left the room. This was a problem, primarily because the making of the weapon could run a foul of the contract they'd made with Cindy. No, this wasn't going to work. At least not as things were currently. There weren't that many options at the moment. Leaving Beacon was one such choice, but would not really help with their goals. There were things that, if they worked out properly, would give them the advantage in being able to better coordinate things. Still probably wouldn't put them in a good position with Beacon though. They perhaps were going to have to rework the agreement with Cindy and come up with a better solution. Autonomy was the main issue at play here. The girls had thought they had more time to sort this kind of thing out but this really pushed up the timetable.

The meeting not being particularly distracting the two had kept up their monitoring of the area. A Beacon member, Summer, had popped up nearby accompanied by someone else they didn't recognize. Before moving anywhere else Janet contacted Summer with their mind. Hey Summer, Who is that with you? Even though they'd been given an ultimatum they didn't really plan on going to the lab today. Too many other things going on. Especially with a number of others already out.



@BrokenPromise

Being lifted out from under the crowd, Melisa smiled. "Thank you. I kind of got mixed up in among the bunch of them." The beast she was placed on not seeming to entirely like her there the girl tried to avoid poking the cat with her limbs, opting to sit down. To her advantage she didn't weigh much. Free of being stepped on she looked up to Nuncio.

"I don't really know what Beacon is, so I'm not exactly sure what that means. Some other girls I met didn't seem to like them very much." She glanced around the room. "Seems a good amount share that feeling." Not outright asking about them, it was pretty clear she could stand to have things explained to her.
In Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed] → 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay



@Ariamis

Janet didn't really like the way things were developing. Seemed they'd done a little too well of a job with the purification tools. Still, they were the only ones able to make them so that at least prevented things from going too out of hand. Handed the document she reviewed it briefly before handing it over to Jenna to look over. She watched her sister for a moment before Jenna shrugged a bit. "This isn't really the same thing as imbuing a coin. Though we expected a request such as this would come up eventually. We can try, but the magic wasn't really designed for something like this. We can't entirely be sure of the result." She ran through the ideas coming to her.

Seeming to be on the same page, Janet turned back to Rachel. "I must express caution in perusing this kind of weapon. The purification we've created is based off previous variants that requires consent. Removing that safeguard further exposes it to manipulation. Namely, if a weapon such as this were to fall into the wrong hands it could potentially be corrupted and have the opposite effect. We run the risk of creating an even greater darkness that could spread far and wide. I do not believe this is a safe course of action and could undermine our goals of saving and protecting the world." This really could get out of hand. They already operated on what was considered fringe magical science. This would begin stepping outside things they understood. Cindy could potentially help, but doing that was risky in its own right and she probably wouldn't want this thing either.



@BrokenPromise@Shifter_Master

Most of the things going on in the sanctuary were well beyond Melisa's current knowledge. Some kind of announcement about peace that seemed to spark anything but, two different groups that seemed to be against the queen or the people on the video? Something about Beacon which she'd heard were not safe to be around. Really it seemed to be a mess over all. Being smaller than practically everyone else in the room she couldn't really see what was going on. Thankfully Dina, the cat girl that she hadn't really had the chance to meet, calmed things down like a pro. Whoo, well that was close.

Her attention was a bit on the glowing light she could barely make out through everyone there. Despite being made of metal she could feel the warmth of it. What the hell is going on? Weaving her way through the legs of those gathered she managed her way out of the crowd and tried to find someone that might be able to answer some questions. "Hey um, can you explain what's going on? I don't uh, really know what people are talking about." She said as she tugged to get them to look down.
In Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed] → 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay


Janet wasn't quite sure how she wanted to answer the question on Penny. Outright lying didn't sound like a good idea though. "We spoke with her briefly. She tends keep to herself, always has. We are mostly waiting to hear back." She rubbed her forehead. "I don't expect to hear much until the attack against Mariette to be over and things settle down." She would state.

"Aside from that. Is there anything you would like us to handle?" Considering she intended to stay behind, Janet figured she should at least make herself useful.
In Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed] → 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay


Her hard work looked to be paying off. Though what exactly to do with the info was a bit harder to decide. Justine was not her friend in the slightest. Theoretically Hilde had the vampire girl to thank for her current existence, but she was the one that had Janet kill Amber. Bah, too many factors. Bottom line was the girl was evil and underhanded. She needed to let her friends know. No telling what exactly she was planning. While she hadn't put her name on the list to be contacted about this raid she knew it would be coming eventually. Fumbling for her phone a bit she send a quick message to Ronin.

Be careful around Justine. I think she's the one kidnapping MGs in the city.
Hilde
@PlatinumSkink

Debating whether to send a message to the twins she decided to actually go to Beacon's HQ to deliver the info. They were the ones that were supposedly going to be close to her soon. With her flight and teleportation it didn't take long to arrive. Beacon, while they were on good terms, were on higher alert than usual so they wouldn't let her in. She wasn't a member after all. Stupid. Shooting a quick message to Janet for her to read her mind she passed on the details that way. For the moment she would hang around but would probably be off again before getting dragged further into things going on.





For the most part the twins were going back and forth about what exactly to do still. When this was all over they might see about perusing some other alternatives with Cindy. Appeasing both sides was more complicated once all the outside factors started coming into play. The inner conflict got sidetracked for a moment when they got a message from Hilde.

Getting new info on Justine, potentially anyway, the twins glanced at each other for a moment before seeking out the next person in charge. Alicia being out this fell to Rachel. Considering who it was about though that almost didn't matter. No one trusted Justine to begin with and this only added to the pile. It took a bit before they could get in to talk. "We've just received a report that Justine may be the one snatching people off the street." It wasn't the most far fetched thing. She herself had been kidnapped by the same.
In Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed] → 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

Sanctuary Garden

In a fair amount of thought himself, Shane spent a bit watering everything. Perhaps more of a distraction than anything for the moment. Cindy being "alive" in any capacity was a shock, no pun intended. Paired with a Beacon girl no less. He'd watched Cindy die. Wouldn't have been the first time he'd seen someone go, but they usually weren't back so soon. What was the whole ceremony before this then? Was it actually Cindy? There were probably a few things he could ask of the girl to confirm. He wasn't sure when he'd get the chance though.

He glanced at Dina as she approached the space he was working in. The boy had seen the maids that she'd provided around but had yet to meet her. Right away though he could tell that she was not in a good mood, even if outwardly she appeared calm and collected. Counter productive to that was a peculiar allure that seemed to follow her. Of course Shane had no way of knowing it was due to magic it was still something he noticed since the roles were usually reversed. Perhaps against his better judgment he spoke up. "Did you know her? Cindy?" He would keep his eyes on the task at hand.

Dina for the most part, not reply at first, then all of a sudden, she addressed this gardener. Another person she had not met, yet Penny had brought all over. “I used to exchange words, although they were not always positive.” Dina said curtly. “Differences on what constitutes a good balance of diplomacy if I must say.” Dina added, as she looked at Shane. “...they call me Dina Denisova. But people hardly know my work here, I am afraid.”

He would set the watering can down. Turning he would have extended a hand to Dina but his hands weren't the cleanest. "Pleased to meet you Ms. Denisova. And that's unfortunate. Being absent lately myself I haven't really helped with knowing what all you've contributed. I was told of the maids which I'm sure has helped with morale." He would tackle Dina's portion first. Taking a step back to the first comments though he would nod in agreement. "Yes, Cindy was... difficult to work with. My intention in joining sounds similar. Obviously I didn't get very far in that regard either." He massaged one of his temples with a knuckle to avoid getting dirt on his face.

“Probably, but that was but the first step… afterwards, it’s as if I had faded out of everyone’s minds. I blame the chaos…” Dina said. “...and yet, I did wish for this to be free of strings, for that I engaged in Realpolitik.” She shook her head. “Does that look free of strings to you? We are practically being force fed Beacon propaganda, with a most disgusting mockery of what once had been Cindy.”

His eyes would wander as he considered what Dina said. It certainly didn't look good. Still... "I believe in the benefit of the doubt. I would like to speak to this 'Cindy'. I'm not entirely sure why she's working with a Beacon girl, but I'm sure she has her reasons." He would take a rag and wipe down his hands. In thought for a while longer he pulled down his rolled up sleeves. "I don't know her all that well personally, but from what I've seen and heard Janet is basically part of a resistance in Beacon. I'm surprised she's still alive to be honest. She was at the park that night. She refused to fight. Dropped her weapon and tried talking with Cindy instead. We were all caught in the same blast that allowed that other boy to kill Cindy. Not really sure what happened after that as I got pulled away to another part of the city. Penrose has a lot of moving parts and it makes it hard to know who's with who and why. A healthy amount of scepticism makes sense." He would offer his two cents.

"Yet you would never impose such a decision in such a grandiose manner like the current leader did. That Penny is falling for the same mistake Cindy used to get criticism for, if not worse." Dina stood up. "Besides, the dead should stay dead. This is obscene, how much this will give false hopes to all those gathered here. Beacon is not the Sanctuary's future… not when people think being a monster girl is an affliction to be cured. Or a foe to be slain." Her eyes seemed to pierce Shane. "The people here deserve better than feeding off Beacon's scraps of mercy."

The boy visibly flinched for a moment, but would still eventually present a smile. "Well, too late now. Best we can do is temper any enthusiasm and try to move forward. Like you implied earlier, we're not the most organized. Never were really. Cindy just showed up one day and lay claim. Then we all got whisked away and came back to a mess." Sounded like one excuse after another, a fact Shane was well aware of. "You probably already plan to do this, but if you think there's a problem then talk to Penny about it. Things might not start how we want but that tends to happen after a power vacuum. I’ll probably see what's up with this Cindy person. I'd rather see it for myself than trust a video. Maybe figure out what they actually intend to do rather than assume." He would point back in the direction of the theater. Not that he doubted the possibility of it happening, he more wanted to know the details.

"I tried to make things smoother last time too. But I am afraid most people here just see being Queen or leader as a lofty title and make rash decisions. " Dina said. " I've given enough notice for Penny to talk over this. It would look foolish and wasteful to chase those two hope saleswomen in front of everyone and second guess. It would bring more unpleasantness." Dina fussed. "Even if I don't like it one bit."

"Ah, two steps ahead of me. " He would give a bit of a sigh. It was clear that Dina was displeased with how things were being done. He wasn't really the one to talk to about authority. Leading was not particularly his favorite thing to do. "Not that excuses are a solution, but Penny is new to this kind of thing. She needs help to keep this place running. More importantly everyone else needs the help. Penny isn't Cindy, but she hasn't had the best example to follow. If there is a better way then that needs to be impressed onto her so she has the chance to learn before everything falls apart." While not really being a leader per se, he usually was a decent mediator. This whole change of hands happened in, what, a week or two? Things were moving pretty quickly.

"Tragedies wait for no one. As much as we would like to. If i could afford time certain compromises could be avoided." Dina rebuked. "Sink or swim, as the idiom says." She said. " And mind you, being new is excusable. Not taking advice is a whole different matter. What use is for her to be open to comment now, that she has made an announcement?" The catgirl said, as she began to leave. "Please do excuse me. I did not mean to take your precious time with this unpleasantness." Dina said, before bowing so slightly and leaving.

Damn people and their pessimism. Too many head strong individuals. "Nonsense. I was practically asking for it." He would add smirking to himself. He would hold up a hand to slow her down. "Are you sure you don't want me to leave? I was the one prying. You came here after all."

"You are tending to a garden, are you not?" Dina said. "Why would I kick you out? It's not like I am Queen or anything of this place." She continued to walk away.

"I was, but I'm more or less done for now and the plants aren't going anywhere. Up to you. Hope to see you around regardless." He would offer and take some steps away himself. ”Maybe I should see about mixing in some flowers. Probably would be a bit therapeutic when people need it.” He would muse aloud.

"Anything but catnip or valerian. I do not want to see the maids completely smashed." Dina said. "The offer of escort is certainly interesting, but I am not in the mood of a delightful tea break right now, my apologies."

That wasn’t exactly what he intended, but this was more or less a big hallway so he could see how that could be drawn. Still he would stop. The comment at least assuaged one thing in his mind. ”I will be sure to avoid that. Thank you for letting me know. And it was nice meeting you.” He would leave it at that since Dina was intent on heading out. Wrong place wrong time it seemed.


Beacon HQ

While not directly called upon for the assault that was to happen, the twin Beacon members made their way to base to at least be on call. With as much as was going on they weren't convinced that someone wouldn't try and take advantage of others being out on mission. So for the time being they would stay on point and keep track of those coming and going with their magic. Some of their plans were getting pushed back with this attack going into play right at this moment. The message they made was to put Beacon on blast as much as anyone, but things were not quite in place. They also left releasing it to Penny anyhow and she wanted to let the Sanctuary know before everyone else.

Staying out of the direct conflict was a layered decision. They understandably didn't want to work with Justine given what she'd done to her. Even without that Cindy had an agreement with Mariette. They also needed to be ready if Ronin called on them. Was kind of hard to say what was going to happen. There was also the possibility that Rachel wouldn't want Cindy tagging along anyway.
In Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed] → 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

Penrose at Large

The spirits Huginn and Muninn circled the earth collecting information to pass on to their master, Odin. While often they would simply do their job themselves, in key places and times they would enlist an individual to further their mission. Penrose had become such a place and Hilde was their agent as it were.

While it had taken some time to understand and establish her role in the city, in the weeks she'd been around she'd broken away from Janet and Jenna for a number of reasons. One was being around them put what they were doing at some risk. Hilde wasn't a park of Beacon after all. Still on good terms though for helping save the Cardinal. Just as important though was she could not do her job all cooped up on one place. She needed to gather together the goings on and that required some footwork, or wing work in this case. Her encounter at the graveyard opened up and interesting avenue though. Eyes and ears were everywhere, and not all of them were of the living. It took time and some convincing, but slowly she was getting in contact with the spirits that inhabited the area. A network unseen and that could walk through walls. She would instruct them to stay out of sight though. There were still others with Spirit magic after all.

More in particular, with people disappearing she was looking to find the perpetrator. A general description, where it happened, what have you. It might take a bit but surely something would turn up eventually. The excess level of crime helped strangely enough. So periodically she would make rounds, meeting with various spirits she'd managed to recruit to gather more locally. She would of course take anything else they could give her as well. In exchange she would try and find safe places for them to hide and release others that may have been trapped by previous vices.


Sanctuary Open Area

Despite being a newcomer, Melisa has settled in among the other girls easily. This was mostly thanks to her very being attracting other girls. By now the childish persona being imposed by her patron had set in pretty hard. This of course made things easier still as she would skip around talking with people, getting to know them, and such. The younger in particular took to her and before long they were playing and having fun despite Melisa being an adult. Admittedly she was not ordinarily a fan of children but that had seemingly vanished.

Before long Melisa was standing on a chair around a table with a small group of girls. They were playing tea party. The others had actual tea but the doll did not since, well, she couldn't drink it anyway. Either way they were having fun regardless. "May I have some more tea, Sadie?" She would hold her cup up to a little mouse girl across from her.

Pretending to pour into the cup the little girl would smile. "Of course my dear Melisa." Giggling softly as did so.

"Thank you very much!" She would reply pretend to drink from the cup, which was about half the size of her head. Their little party was cut short as Penny made an announcement. The three of them went up to see what it was. Being new Melisa wasn't entirely sure what it all meant but it seemed to put a lot of murmur through the crowd.


Sanctuary Garden

After a rather eventful what was supposed to movie night, Shane had a bit of an issue regarding Shoggy. After a bit more coaxing he was able to get that she used to be a horror, or something like that. It was not particularly an issue in his mind, but it did tell him enough to know that her understanding of humans was probably spotty. Somewhat fighting to keep her off of him at times he tried his best to convey that relationships with people weren't usually so abrupt and required time. In the end it wasn't clear if the misunderstanding was really cleared up by the time they parted ways. He hadn't really seen or heard from her since.

Back at the Sanctuary a new project began. With help from a number of Sanctuary residents, some lighting, a few seeds, and a trip to Brittany's shop, Shane had everything he needed to get the gardens started. While Wood magic wasn't a magic he'd ever really used he thankfully wasn't trying to do much more than accelerate the growing process. So the plant to do its thing while they gave it the water and light it needed. Since this was a first go around he started with some simpler things to grow. Tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, and some green beans would be some decent filler. One wall was dedicated to the beans as the vines tended to wield more.

This sort of task was not one he'd ever saw himself doing. Thankfully it wasn't one he minded. Helping people was practically his mission and it didn't particularly matter what it was he was doing. Helped that basically any information he needed was just a search away. While washing up he heard the call Penny put out and came up after a few minutes.

Listening and watching the message Shane was a bit baffled. What, how? And Penny apparently knew. He had a number of questions but he would let others ask their questions before he would. Might get some of the answers from there anyway.
In Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed] → 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

With a majority of the magical girl clashes done, many magical girls and boys set about doubling back and sweeping out the shambles left in their wake. So going on a beat was pretty standard fare for Shane at this point. Most of the time it was to keep monsters from creeping back into areas that had been cleared. The extra work wasn’t exactly being helped by the fact that Beacon were keeping a lot of the monster girls off the streets that would otherwise assist. Wasn’t like he was alone in keeping things from devolving further, simply less presence was all. Things were beginning to slow down more which was good. Could get back to socializing again. Cindy being out of the picture kind of left things up in the air as to where things would go though. At least Penny was far less likely to start a war. Vendettas were such a pain.

Being on the other side of town it would take Shane a while to head back to the Sanctuary. He’d been a little scarce there lately and with everything as it was they could probably stand to have a few more peacekeepers, Could only keep so many people bottled up before tensions would inherently rise. On his way back though...

*THUNK*


Lillia had not exactly been watching where she was going, frankly speaking, though that meeting with a ‘coworker’ of her patron who was pulling operations out of the Penrose area had given her a...couple of odd magic coins? Not normal ones, not even the Ebon Mint’s stuff either. It was an alien sight, but once they’d been explained to her she’d made use of them to empower herself somewhat.

Beyond that, however, it had been a long day of monster killing. She was new to the area, but with all of the Beacon Ascendancy presence and the issues otherwise it wasn’t as if she’d really run into anyone else yet. Not so much as a conversation or a “hey get off my territory” kind of thing. At least she’d been able to stay busy, but all work and no play was not exactly fun. Also didn’t help her learn any more about what had been happening here either.

“Oh! Sorry dude, you ok?”

Not expecting to literally run into someone the boy fell over but pretty quickly rolled to his feet. His first reaction was to take a defensive stance but a short glance pretty quickly told him that the girl he’d run into was not necessarily a threat so he stood up relaxed. He didn’t really react much to her appearance seeing as she wore almost nothing with a clearly overdeveloped body. He did offer a slight smile though. ”I’ll be alright. Don’t think I’ve seen you around before. You new to Penrose?” Though most people didn’t really know him all that well, he had more info about people in the city than one might think. Details weren’t so solid but he knew of a number of people.

Lillia lightly chuckled, letting one hand rest on her hip as the other dangled by her side.

“Basically. Been trying to get the lay of the land here, buuuuuuut with so few people here it gets kinda’ dull,” she said, giving a small one-armed shrug before continuing on in an easygoing tone, “Though with a reaction like that, it’d almost seem like you ran into some kind of monster, eh?”

Her voice was slightly teasing near the end, though the small smirk on her face seemed to inject a certain lightheartedness to her words.

The boy made an over exaggerated shrug. ”You never know in Penrose. Lot of people getting offed lately. Not that I can think of anyone that would see me as a thorn in their side, but ‘guilty by association’ is a thing. You don’t strike me as that type though. Sometimes it feels like something of a rarity these days.” He would wave one finger in the air. ”I digress. There are more people running around than you might think. They’re all kind of doing their own thing though. Planning, scheming, fighting, and surviving.”

Walking a little bit aways where he could see a bit more of the city he would shake his head. “The old place has been through its paces. Suppose I could try and catch you up if that’s what you really want.” He would look back quizzically. To say that a lot had happened in a few months would be an understatement.

“No problem, but you make it sound as if this place has been a warzone for a while,” the girl said, raising a quizzical eyebrow of her own at Shane, before giving a small sigh, “Though considering what it’s looked like so far I wouldn’t blame you for bein’ careful at least. Specially’ if people are running around in the shadows.

I think I’ll take you up on that offer to catch me up on things. It’d be a good start since I’m here now anyways.”

Chuckling a bit Shane would concede. ”Yeah, warzone might be a bit much. Most of that is pretty recent. The city is a hotspot for over the top horrors and monster queens though.” He would glance around at the empty street around them. ”Since I offered I suppose it’s only fair to let you choose where we talk. Doesn’t particularly matter to me.” He’d say as he turned back to face Lillia.

“Hmm...I saw a diner-looking place a block or two back, why don’t we head there? Could use a bite to eat while we talk things. You cool with that?” she said in return, turning and gesturing for Shane to follow with a grin, “My patron wants me to get to know people anyways, so basically two birds with one stone. Heh.”

A quick nod from Shane he would respond. ”I can do that. Where I was going can wait. No real timetable anyway. Lead the way.” He would follow Lillia as they backtracked to the diner.

The two got some stares as they entered and were seated. That wasn’t true. Lillia got all the stares, Shane was just there.

“Well, what’s the situation been?” the girl asked whilst sitting in a booth and motioning Shane over, undeterred by the initial stares as the people in the diner eventually went back to their own business over the following minutes, “Kinda got sent here with just a ‘hey there’s big evil here let’s move in to help clean up’.”

Shane would think about it for a minute. ”Well for the most part right now the issue is more the general stability of the city. Suppose I should start from the beginning though. When I first arrived it was to help fight against an evil girl named Justine Von Viceral. She was out to destroy all love in the world or something like that. Nearly succeeded but a large group of magical girls managed to assault her castle and stop her. The next event was a horror attempting to manifest a portion of itself as a magical girl here on earth. They had a monster king and queen working with them that had managed to mind control several Beacon girls and there was a huge battle at the main graveyard here in Penrose. It was pretty chaotic but that was eventually thwarted.” He would dubble back a bit to fill in more details. Not being part of any big organization he knew less of the internal stuff happening. Having a decent number of connections he had a solid understanding of those events though.

Moving forward he would explain Cindy Ford’s arrival and claim to the city. Some of that tension got derailed with the beach event which apparently left the city largely defenseless for three months. Monsters running amok, the Ascendancy moving in, and things leading up to the assasination of Cindy, declaration of war against Beacon, the riots, and a rise in Mint activity. ”So, at the moment pretty much a free for all. Lots of people making moves to grab their portion of the pie. There are a good number just trying to survive though. A lot of this fighting is pointless in my opinion but convincing people of that is easier said than done.” To bystanders most of what Shane was talking about probably sounded like a show or video game. All kinds of craziness had happened in this city.

“Tch. That bad, huh?”

Lillia let out a small sigh, before lightly shaking her head side to side as she leaned her elbows on the table between them. Eventually, her hand would come up and her chin would come down to rest on them in turn.

“Seems this place has been on ah’ slump for the last while. One crazy after another, leading to basically chaos the Mint and Ascendancy have tried to take advantage of or deal with respectively. Makes me wonder what’s coming next, or at least if the city can withstand any more of this.

The most recent incident I was there for reminds me of Honolulu in 2016, albeit very vaguely though. Most I remember of that day is a party, some talk, then some arguing, a few members of the local Beacon chapter getting into a bar fight on the beach with a visiting demigod asshole of some other local’s patron, sea creatures climbing up on land wielding tridents and nets, and a drunk Cthulhu making out with...never mind...”

The magical girl said the latter part with a straight face, even, as she trailed off and briefly looked out of the window to her left. For a moment she let them wander on the almost empty streets, at least near the diner. At least the cars in the parking lot here were a decent sign of human activity around here though.

“Any big factions or reliable not trying to turn this place into a dumpster fire at least?” she said, her eyes then turning back to Shane once more.

That was a story he wouldn’t mind hearing about some time. Preferably when things weren’t as horrible as they were at the moment. His eyes followed to the outside when the pause came. Soon he was presented with another question. One not as easily answered since he didn’t entirely know.

He would consider the question a little bit as their food would arrive, it had taken a while to explain everything. He ignored the dishes for the moment though. ”Not sure I would call them big. There is the Crimson Cradle which splintered off from the Mint. They at least seem to be intent on keeping some sort of peace. You also don’t cross the Mint like that and be their friends. Not really sure what they think of everyone else but they don’t strike me as evil. There’s also some group of the local Beacon members that appear to be trying to change things. I would say they were having more success before the Ascendancy came in and the mass attack at the rave. I’m worried those efforts may have been undone. Kind of hard to say who is for or against that kind of thing now sadly.” He would pause as he considered a few others in Penrose. ”Don’t know of everyone else. There’s a place they call Sanctuary that a lot of the people Beacon is targeting are hiding out. There are those like us who kind of do their own thing without any specific affiliation. Some others I feel participate but have their own personal gain in mind. It’s about as bad as they come but not entirely hopeless.” He would offer his thoughts.

While he had been on his way to the Sanctuary, it did occured to him now that he should probably get in contact with the Cradle as well. As he said, they didn’t seem to be the type to make trouble, generally, but he really didn’t know them or their motivations all that well. Also would be worth catching up with Beacon. He had the advantage of not being on their bad side or tied down to any hard line faction. Sadly his best contact, Sylvia, was no longer around.

“Mmm...Mint ties don’t sit well with me. Some decent Beacon people are a breath of fresh air too, and not an alien concept at least either. Not that the Ascendancy helped anything with that stunt, though, so hmm…”

The white-haired girl seemed to think hard, before giving a small shrug and taking a bite of her double cheeseburger. The somewhat greasy slick patty seemed to get the nice charred taste, and complimented the fresh-tasting tomato and lettuce topping it nicely. It was at least helpful to her mood, however, as she put the burger down and casually wiped her mouth with a napkin before looking back up at Shane again.

“Well, I’ll toss you a thought.

With Beacon probably licking wounds and trying to recover, among the other devastations back there, I’d venture there’s a bit of time to just talk to some people around here. Maybe some independent parties around here would be good to try to get on board with, see if Sanctuary has anyone willing to help from there.

Stabilizing this city, even if just enough, for now would mean benefit for others anyways. Steady flow of monsters, but a thriving city to hide in and not a disaster zone. Even some room to make plans, if those here don’t go too overboard.

The problem, it seems, is the loud factions. The Ascendancy. The Ebon Mint. Whoever was in on that plan in the Rave. An excess of monsters. Whittle those down enough, or create a force to counterbalance these temporarily on the local level, and maybe there’s a chance.

Whadda’ ya’ think?”

Reaching out for all of that might be easier said than done, but he did know a number of people that were more independant. At least setting a course would be better than running around with no direction whatsoever. "Certainly worth a try. Could go a long way to showing that some of us are on the same side. Hmm…" He would poke at the steak he had briefly. He was almost sure he could still hear it moo with how rare it was. He did prefer it that way though. "I have a movie night I'm going to. I'll see about getting some more people's contacts and see what I can drum up. I don't usually form up with groups but in this case I think we both agree something has to be done. Hopefully we can avoid the crazy people." He would shake his head briefly before cutting into his own dish.

“Heh...sounds good to me. Better than no plan at least,”

Lillia let a small smirk bubble back up onto her face, just happy that there was something. Well, hope for something. A chance? A plan was better than nothing in her mind, at least, so she’d leave it at that for now. Shane seemed a level headed enough sort at any rate.

With most of the catching up and planning done the two would chit chat about their experiences as they ate. Turned out they’d been in this business around the same amount of time. Learning of Lillia’s magic they would go off on a tangent about dinosaurs and archeology. Shane had a surprisingly broad grasp of various dinosaurs. Part of that was because he’d always found them fascinating. On top of that though his previous experience as a magical Earth girl meant a lot of the fossil record had been within pretty close reach. Oh yeah, and he used to be a boy, before he was a girl, before he was a boy again. That whole mess. All in all it was a pretty good night.




Having been given a fair amount of responsibility thus far with information, Hilde took a little bit of that and spoke with Janet and Jenna about her friend Ronin. She was sure to leave out the part that she was Deni, since the other girl wasn’t sure that Beacon could be trusted. Hilde would leave revealing that to Ronin herself. Since this didn’t appear to be meeting with anyone bad, she had helped defend the Cardinal and fight off the horror after all, the twins agreed to meet in a secure location to see what they could help with if anything. Warding the location before hand would help keep out prying individuals.

The twins would be seated when Ronin arrived and would stand and smile as she entered. ”Hello Ronin. I’m glad you were able to make it. I’m Janet and this is my sister Jenna.” She would gesture to her sister.

”Nice to meet you. We heard you were a big help at the park. I hope we’ll be able to return the favor.” After shaking hands they would all sit. ”So Hilde said you had a friend that needed help with breaking free of some mind manipulation. Correct?” Not having a lot of details they wanted to be sure whatever this was they could actually help with.

When Ronin entered, she’d be smiling but still look a bit hesitant as she looked over the two girls in here. ‘Hiiiiii, Janet and Jenna! As you know, I’m Ronin, pleased to meet you!’ She didn’t let that show in her tone of voice, however, as she sounded as excited as ever and happily shook their hands when offered and then sat down where indicated. Then it was immediately onto breaking free of the mind manipulation…

‘Yeah, that. Did Hilde tell whose mind? I did tell her she could tell you about it, but, heh,’ Ronin said, chuckling a bit. ‘… Though, could you start off by telling me what you think of “dark” or “corrupted” kind of people?’

Seemed a recurring topic for a question. It was understandable though. Giving a warm smile she would try and put Ronin's fears to rest. "Well, they're still people which is important to keep in mind. You weren't around when this happened but I was corrupted for a short time myself. I believe more often than not it's the fault of the patron that they're 'corrupted' more than the girl or boy. After that it's a matter of whether it's the patron making someone do what they do or if it's their own prerogative." Janet spoke calmly but simply. Her stance was much more individualistic when it came to actions.

She would answer the original question then. "Hilde did eventually tell us who it was. You want to free Mariette and Eli correct?" She was keeping it professional and didn't really show any signs of anger or bitterness.

Ronin listened, nodding a bit as Janet told about these things. That’s pretty much what Hilde said about their thoughts, yeah. And… once again, now… ‘And the rest of Beacon? Do they share your opinion.’

Anyways, yeah, about who it was… Ronin grinned a bit. ‘Correct~’ she said, and then smiled a bit more. ‘I had a very strange encounter in the Overcity. I can’t tell you what happened in it, for I wasn’t entirely conscious for most of it,’ she said, referring to the time when she was given this form of hers, ‘but I came out on the other side with a bit of information. All the Magical Girls under the wing of Asengav are mind-bent to follow him. They think they’re doing it by their own volition and that they’d never betray him no matter what, he’s their beloved savior, the whole wholesome stick, but in truth they’re mind-bent. They have no choice. Having learned this, there was no way I couldn’t act on it,’ Ronin said, smiling to them.

‘But, like, if they learned that I was trying to “save” them, they’d probably see me as a threat and eliminate me, so, like, don’t let them know? Haha. Anyway!’ Ronin brightened up again. ‘I’ve asked around a bit, and while just stealing them from Asengav appears to be impossible, strong Horror you don’t mess with, I’ve learned anyone with the right set of talents could mend a bent mind. It would need a bit of a ritual slash surgical procedure over a pretty long period of time, but other than that all that’s needed is a powerful enough Empath, Light-user, or Psychic,’ Ronin said, and then grinned widely. ‘So all we got to do is kidnap Mariette! Can’t be that hard, can it?’ She giggled, knowing that wasn’t the case.

Janet would shake her head a bit. ”A few agree, some are lenient. Most haven’t really come around to it yet unfortunately.” She would lean forward with a small glint in her eyes. ”That said, what you’re telling me most don’t necessarily believe is true. Providing proof of some girls being mind-bent would be helpful to waking more up to the plight of others.”

Sitting back up she would drum her fingers. ”We’ve broken someone from another’s mental control before. Our magic is particularly suited for that kind of thing given the right circumstances. Though it’s easier if we have a baseline. I’m not sure a Horror’s control and magical girl’s is the same thing so there may be nuances we won’t know until we encounter it for ourselves.” She would say honestly. There was no promise they could do it. They probably would have to break one of their own rules to make it easier if they were to try. Assuming they could catch the girl first.

Ronin grimaced a bit at that confirmation about Beacon. Oh, well. ‘Ouuugh, proof… How do I prove something like that?’ Ronin questioned, looking up into the roof a bit as, well, that’s impossible. Her own proof was that she’d been mind-bent herself but lost the mind-bending once she was freed from Asengav. ‘Yeah, other than that I know I’m telling the truth, that one’s hard…’

Still, they were ready to give it a shot, if the chance presented itself. That made Ronin grin a bit. ‘I’ve been told you should be able to do it. So, I believe in you. If the chance ever presents itself to you, I know you’ll try.?’ Ronin asked, smiling, albeit internally she’d probably go with Victoria’s attempt first, but in case that didn’t work, this was nice. ‘So, like, think there’s any way we could potentially persuade Beacon not to kill her on sight and try to capture her for an attempt to take away the mind-bending?’

Seemed there was some misunderstanding. Jenna would speak up. ”We’re not saying we take them to Beacon before they’re freed. That would be after. That would be the proof.”

Ronin giggled loudly. ‘That’d do it!’

”Right.” She would smile. ”Then the question would be if we can even get a hold of them long enough to help. And it would need to be somewhere safe.” She would muse. The twins themselves didn’t have a particularly good place to do this type of thing that wasn't Beacon.

‘… I… do have a place I could take them, though I’ve sworn only to take them there if I’m bringing them, not sure about bringing you along with. Probably fine, I’ve just promised not to abuse my permission to open a path to the place, heh~’ Ronin said, chuckling a little awkwardly.

That was understandable. ”Well, if you require permission for that then let them know beforehand. We’re not really about trespassing on other people’s property.” She would smirk just a bit. ”We’re also aware that not everyone may want someone from Beacon around. It’s an unfortunate fact given the organization's history.”

‘Oh, absolutely. I’ll ask them as soon as I can,’ Ronin said, nodding about that.

”Sounds good then. We will make preparations in case we’re needed.” She would make a few mental notes to herself and Cindy. The other girl likely knew a few useful things in that regard.

With that business out of the way the two twins seemed to lighten up a bit more. This kind of stuff was sketchy at best. ”Is there anything else you would like to talk about?” She would say with a smile.

Ronin considered for a bit, then decided, yeah, probably should bring that up. ‘The following is probably best not too many people know. Justine would probably have my head if she learned I’ve been talking about it, hahaha,’ Ronin laughed a bit, needing to explain that, fast. ‘… So, Justine forcibly recruited me as she intends to engage Mariette. That’s partly why I’ve been so serious about this. Whenever she attacks, I’m going to do my best to save them, even when I’m supposedly on the attacker’s side. I… just wanted to say that. It’s probably not something you can do anything about, but it’s a piece of information; Justine intends to attack Mariette’s Interdimensional Home. Probably won’t actually be seen in this world, but the outcome will definitely be felt,’ Ronin said, biting together a bit. ‘If I get them out of there, I will call you. If you want to, I could also give you a message saying when the attack is… as soon as it approaches,’ she finished.

Listening to what Ronin had to say the two girls wouldn’t react too significantly. They knew there was going to be an attack and everything. What’s more, Cindy had an agreement with Mariette as well which put them in a very weird spot. ”We’ve heard rumor of something like that. We have mixed feelings about it. We’ll do our best to keep Mariette and Eli safe so they can be freed. Obviously we’re in a somewhat awkward position either way.” The two would sigh almost in unison.

‘Alright! Aside from that…’ Ronin smiled a little, knowing there wasn’t much they couldn’t do about that, so switch of subject a little. ‘How’s Cindy?’

Janet would smirk for a moment. Hilde had mentioned she’d told Ronin about Cindy. Given that she was hired to protect the lightning girl though it was alright in this case. They did have to give her a lecture about loose lips though. She could do what she wanted but it was potentially dangerous. Janet’s appearance would change and the transformed girl would look over the little samurai. ”...I am well. As well as can be expected anyhow.” She would cross her legs and sit up proper.

‘Woah,’ Ronin made a light exclamation of amazement as Janet changed, which was then switched to grinning pretty widely at Cindy.

‘I’m happy you are! A strange situation to find yourself in, but it beats being dead. eh?’ Ronin giggled just a little. ‘I’m sorry I failed to protect you. That aside! What you up to now? Is there anything I could do to help?’ Ronin asked, very intentionally changing to way more upbeat after a single somber apology.

Looking rather curiously at Ronin for a moment she would dismiss the worry. ”I’ve come to terms with my situation. The performance of your duties notwithstanding, I was betrayed by another.” It didn’t take much to guess who she was referring to. ”As to my affairs it has largely been acclimating and finding my new place among Penrose.” She was pleased to hear that the other girl wanted to help though. Ronin as far as she could tell had few if no ulterior motives.

Pondering for a while she would place a finger to one side of her chin. ”I am unsure you can assist me at this time. Much is yet to be seen once more learn of my existence. I believe that shall come soon however. I suppose I will be in need of a messenger of sorts before long. Beacon likely scrutinizes my whereabouts and many of my contacts cannot move about so freely as you.” Seeing that Ronin was solo, she didn’t have to worry quite as much of a patron meddling in what they spoke about. And as previously established Ronin was probably in reasonable standing with Beacon.

Ronin simply nodded at the first couple of things Cindy said, understandable enough, and then she grinned at the potential messenger job. ‘Yes, ma’am! If you find yourself in need of a messenger or otherwise, and under the assumption I’ve not gotten myself killed or something, feel free to give me a call! I’ll see what I can do!’

Nodding with a small smile Cindy would clap her hands.. ”Excellent. There is still much to be done. I feel it shall have to wait until after this event with Justine however. Do be careful. I would hate to hear that you too have fallen.”

”It’s probably time that we get going. We have another meeting to catch. We’ll keep in touch.” She would set down a note with their number. They hated to run but they had someone related to reach.

‘I won’t let you down!’ Ronin told to Cindy, smirking and doing a slight salute to her, and then picked up the note with their number. ‘Got it! Until next time, or until I have a couple of mind-bent souls I need your help with! See you later!’ Ronin told, and then was quick to turn around and skip away, filled with energy and very happy to use them to move right now. She’d been staying in one place for too long already~



Having parted ways, Janet would ring up Mariette after traveling a bit. This dynamic was beginning to get quite messy. They were still in a reasonable position to make things happen at the moment. After a few rings and an answer she would speak up. ”Hello again. Everything is ready. I assume you can see us.” She would speak casually as they walked.



‘I can,’ Mariette replied. ‘If you simply leave the items here, I can pick them up for you. Or do you intend it to work elsewise?’

”Simply a point of reference. Everything is in a small crate North, two blocks over in a warehouse. You’ll find it by a number of pallets. You may pick it up at your leisure.” For a while they’d been transporting and storing the potions in small batches, mostly because carrying out a box would look super sketchy. Hilde helped on a number of occasions to keep the Ascendancy off of them. Coins were much more compact but the potions were quicker to make in this case. A decent amount of the space was used up by padding. They didn't want the contents rattling around or potentially breaking somehow.

‘Very well. Leave it to me, then,’ Mariette said, and then, guess it was time to go to work.

A portal opened underneath the items. It led directly to a floor, so the objects weren’t shifted any, and then the portal simply rose to carry them somewhere else. After that, Mariette opened a path to her Interdimensional Home, and from there to where Olivia was working. Within now, she checked the items that they’d be transporting…

Potions. Mariette had expected White Coins. Olivia, standing up from her desk, walked over to inspect the potions.

‘Oooh. These are the same purifying parts of a White Coin, except without everything else, and as a drinkable liquid instead…’ the magic researcher confirmed as she opened one and inspected the contents of it. She’d already taken apart a White Coin previously and identified the contents, so she knew about that part already. Mariette nodded, and then checked another, slightly different-looking, package. … Okay, so there were White Coins, too. … It really was just mostly the purification, and whole White Coins for those who wanted them. Mariette sighed a little.

‘… Alright. Olivia, dissect these coins and remove the Beacon parts of them. Make it quick, this transfer was supposed to be instantaneous.’

‘Y-yes, my lady,’ Olivia said, taking the first batch of White Coins over to her workspace to try to do very precise work quickly. Mariette was a bit disappointed, when it was like this she couldn’t get the impact she wanted if she’d wanted to go with that other plan she’d considered. … Oh, well.

As had been suggested during their previous conversation, Mariette took one of the purifying potions for herself to store somewhere, to potentially examine and/or actually use on someone in the future if any of her allies suffered a terrible fate, who knows. Potion because the White Coins were a bit too few for her to take one like that. There were only approximately a dozen of them, after all. Meanwhile, Olivia was hard at work, wielding a magic scalpel assisted with her Magical Coin specialty to do her coin surgery…


So, at the location that had been given to Mariette for delivery, a warehouse not far off from the Sanctuary, a portal opened. It was lying on the floor, going nowhere as it was directed downwards. Then, it lifted itself up, providing the wares that were requested for delivery, lying there as if it’d always been there, ready for Penny to pick up.

@Shifter_Master
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