Yankee

ᴘᴋᴍɴ : Quest for Life and Death

Auguste checked the photos, going through them one at a time on the camera's display. Honestly most of them had come out pretty good. The lighting inside of the building was strong but soft, meant to flatter everyone it fell upon. The crystal tree was beautiful and made for a great backdrop, and Julien himself seemed comfortable with being the focus of a photo. That little Flabébé even seemed to know what it was doing, naturally filling in the negative space of some of the shots. The combination of all of those factors made up for Auguste's amateurish camerawork, too used to shooting his subject as close up and middle of the frame as possible with little in the way of artistry going on.

But if he'd been shot professionally before, maybe Julien would think differently. As the blonde came over to check, Auguste hummed and leaned in as well to show him. The two men were pressed shoulder to shoulder to study the small digital screen.

"I don't know about singing, but I think you got some kind of tune out of it," Auguste replied. "They're not half bad, I think."

Auguste would have offered to send copies of them to Julien at some point if he wanted them, but that would have meant getting the man's online mail address - and before he could ask, a rhythmic tone spread out through the lobby's speakers.

<Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending the Lumiose Contest Hall's grand opening soirée. Please make your way towards the main stage theater for a special performance.>

"A live show huh?" Made sense, they were in a contest hall after all. Considering the time and place, it would likely be a good performance too. And I get to see it for free, which is the best part, Auguste thought.

But the sudden thought about money reminded him that he wasn't here to have fun. He did have a job to do, and as the PI swiveled his head around to get an eye on his target again he found that the man had slipped out of his field of view at some point during the photoshoot.

"Ah merde," Auguste said, slapping a palm to his forehead. He shouldn't have goofed around with his new acquaintance so much. Hopefully he hadn't missed any evidence and the man he'd been hired to tail had just gotten a head start toward the theater.

Auguste slapped his hand against Julien's arm just before departing in lieu of a handshake or anything like that. "I've gotta run, nice meeting you," he said, and then he was gone, weaving his way through the crowd of guests.

What Are You Listening To?

Nocturnal Memoirs: An Urban-Fantasy Mafia Epic

I'm considering whether I have the time to dedicate to this, but I do have a character concept I think would work well. Another question if you don't mind, @Estylwen. Would it be possible to play a double or triple agent? I realize it might not be very conducive with the way acquiring wealth is laid out, but I think it would be fun. Maybe it would still work by choosing a 'faction' so to speak just for mechanic purposes?

Nocturnal Memoirs: An Urban-Fantasy Mafia Epic (Cops and Robbers)

Does that answer your questions alright?

@Estylwen

Yes, thank you!

Nocturnal Memoirs: An Urban-Fantasy Mafia Epic (Cops and Robbers)

Oooh cool, I like the sort of PvP aspect. Do you mind if I ask how much fantasy you're going with? Fantasy as in just mysterious powers granted, or is there magic involved, other races besides humans, etc?

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Smash Bros Crossover)

Ace Cadet, Pit,
Primrose, & Therion

Level: 9 - Total EXP: 267/90 --------- Level: 8 - Total EXP: 169/80
Level: 11 - Total EXP: 194/110 ------ Level: 10 - Total EXP: 202/100
𝙱𝙿 ●●●●● ---------------------------- 𝙱𝙿 ●●●●●
Tuesday Morning.
Location: The Dead Zone
Word Count: 1856 (+3 exp)

Up close like this, the Qliphoth seemed less like a tree and more like some kind of massive fleshy tower. It was kind of gross, but for a lot of Seekers it was far from the nastiest thing they'd seen.

Now that they were out of the timefall Pit removed his raincoat before helping out with breaking into the Qliphoth, freeing his wings with a few flaps to stretch them out. He tied the garment around his waist by the sleeves just in case they needed it again... who knew what would happen to this demonic tree once they beat the Guardian inside of it, after all. It could wither, or even completely collapse!

The question of how they were going to get back out of the Dead Zone afterward would go unanswered even if asked it. Sandalphon had taken the BBs back up to safety, so she could probably bring them back too if they needed to go back through the area, but without that stable field emitter...

The emitter's bearer before it had been destroyed was thinking the same thing. Ace looked out over the now calm field of mud, his jaw set and brows furrowed. If only he hadn't dropped the thing, they wouldn't have to even worry about getting back out. Hopefully Tora and his crew could make a replacement, or some other way presented itself in the mean time.

Once a way inside the tree was created, everyone shuffled inside. They were wet, muddy, and miserable, but they still had a mission to carry out. Getting to the Qliphoth had just been the first step.

The group had only a few scant moments to get a look at the interior before they were immediately besieged. As the melee-inclined Seekers rushed to meet the infested masses and protect their back line, Primrose aided them with her dancing. For great numbers like this, being able to deal with them quickly would be best - so power was needed. The Lion Dance. The short and fierce performance empowered her allies' physical strength and attack power. Once she was finished she lent her magic next, her hands conjuring clustered shadows among the floodfestation that erupted into the wide ranged spell, "Night Ode!"

As before, when the Cadet felt empowering magic affect him he faltered. Since he was one of those in the front defensive line holding back the mass of enemies, the timing was pretty bad. A horror lunged, driving its limb of hardened muscle formed into a claw into the hunter's mail. It pressed in, others clamoring behind it to overrun the hunter. Ace grit his teeth and his rigging swiveled forward, pressing the cannons into the corpse-like creature and unloading. By the time it fell the Cadet had recovered, slaying the opportunistic monstrosities that surged forward afterward with a few swipes of his new long sword.

Others kept up the offense from behind the defensive wall of Seekers. Therion focused on swift, precise take downs where he could, leaving the widespread attacks to those better suited to it. Any monster that might have had a chance of slipping through would get chewed up before it could do any real damage, but before it could even get that far a well placed knife, whether physical or conjured, saw it reduced to ashes. Of course after he'd figured out the weak spots on the more alien looking creatures his interest began to slip, and he instead sought out anything that looked like it could be a path up. This thing they were in was a tree, wasn't it? It made sense if the Guardian was toward the top. Thankfully in such a large group, everyone else could pick up his slack. Pit was once more equipped with his bow, firing arrow after arrow that snaked over his allies' heads and rained down on the infested flood. With the ability to now split them into three or strike through multiple enemies at once with a single arrow, it was easier than ever before to take on an army like this.

"At least we can actually hurt these things!" Pit said, giving voice to his frustration of not being able to do anything to the BT.

However it eventually became apparent that the Seekers were making little, if any headway into the flood of enemies. No matter how many they took down, more replaced the fallen - and once larger, smarter monster began to filter in and assume control of their disgusting forces the battlefield gradually shifted from a mindless free-for-all in a more coordinated assault. Luckily the archangel looking out for them identified an escape route.

The prospect of riding up the tree's interior through what was functionally its blood vessels did not excite anyone, but seeing as there didn't appear to be any other way to ascend with the horde of monsters on their backs they didn't have many options at the moment, especially for those that didn't have the equipment or abilities to make it up farther any other way on short notice.

Already as close to the edge of the battlefield as possible when Sandalphon pitched the idea, it didn't take long for Therion to slice his way through a thinner section of fleshy abominations towards a vein once he came to the conclusion that the archangel's unpleasant suggestion was unfortunately their best bet. He cut the failing tubular limbs from the last few enemies in his path and then stabbed his dagger into the tree's vein. He slashed the blade upward, side stepping the burst of fluid that erupted out of it and washed away the weakened horde monsters still trying to close in nearby.

He then hesitated to jump into it. It wasn't out of disgust (though he did certainly feel disgust about doing this in the first, and definitely wasn't the only one), but because of the uncertainty of whether diving into whatever blood-like substance this was would be akin to boiling himself by diving into water. If that might be the case it would be better to find a different way up, but at least he'd cut open a path for someone else.

As she moved about the dwindling open space as more and more monstrosities flooded into the area, Primrose cast her eyes about for just such an escape route. It was unsurprising that she gravitated in the direction of her friend and fellow Orsterran, so when Therion opened up the blood vessel Primrose made a beeline for him. She let loose one last spell, the glowing moons of Luna covering a section of the ground and exploding in a burst of moonlight underneath the closest portion of the horde to cover her escape. She was there within only a few moments and, sensing the thief's hesitation, made the choice for him lest he got stuck with the floodfestation while looking for another path. Primrose pushed Therion into the vein, earning a surprised expletive for it, and then entered afterward.

Like its outer skin, the wounded parts of the Qliphoth's insides mended themselves fairly quickly. Only a couple of people could squeeze through at a time before they either had to cut the veins open again or find a fresh one with better blood pressure to break into. For that purpose the Seekers scattered, breaking down their defensive line before they could be completely surrounded. Pit chose a high road, hopping from head to infected head of the flood and severing them at the neck as he went - at least on those monsters that even had necks. When he reached one of the veins along the wall he plunged the divine blade into it and cut open a hole.

"Why does world-saving always have to come with gross parts?" he complained. Unfortunately, an angel's (often messy) work was never done. It wasn't Pit's first time basically being inside a giant body, though he had no idea trees had blood and veins. Maybe it was just demon trees? The thought didn't make things any better. Pit raised a hand to pinch his nose shut and held his breath as he hopped into the opened vein.

The Ace Cadet was glad to abandon the never-ending siege of demons and monstrosities even if it did mean shooting up through the tree itself. First time for everything, he thought, not that there was a lack of first times in this world. As the horde closed in he twisted his sword's angle, slashing it in a swift, wide, and powerful horizontal arc as he back stepped. After a moment a handful of the creatures fell in a spray of bodily fluid, and the Cadet turned to continue the slash so it would open the vein behind him. He sheathed his sword out of habit and wasted no time slipping into the crevice, and when it sealed itself up after him the xylem flow built up until it pushed him through the tree.

The pressure was more intense than the hunter expected, but given the veins had to pump the Qliphoth's energy source throughout the whole massive structure it made sense. Initially his ship rigging kept him precariously balanced atop the crimson liquid as it rushed upwards, but eventually it splashed too strongly and engulfed him - until the pressure died down and the Cadet got stuck in the blood vessel. He blinked, squirmed, and them extended his bladed rigging to slice himself out. He spilled out with the xylem into a wide, hollowed out space. The Qliphoth's lining in this area had been trampled and hardened, making a it into a flat oval with curved sides. Save for an off-putting shimmer of energy in front of the only other vein there were no other features in the room, but it did have other occupants.

At first glance it looked like a Neopteron; it had a carapace, elongated thorax, and a pair of deadly looking raptorial forearms. It stood twice as tall as the Cadet, maybe more if it stretched, and was even flanked by two smaller looking insectoid beings like those below. Alerted to the hunter's arrival it stood and turned, making it immediately apparent that this queen was no real insect, but a demon.

The queen reared up, unleashing a drawn out hiss that turned into a screeching roar. At the same time, another person ended up tumbling into the arena behind the Cadet. Was everyone getting split up and randomly dropped around the inside of the Qliphoth? That figured. If nothing else, the hunter lucked out with where he'd ended up. Even better if he had a partner.

The Empusa Queen began to approach, its scythe-like limbs raised up in intimidation. The Cadet's hand went to the hilt of his sword and he let out a breathy laugh. After skeletons, magic, Consuls, demons, and abominations in number, facing down a big ugly monster like this was almost a relief.

"That ant-sy to fight? That suits me fine," he said. Meanwhile, his deduction proved true as the other Seekers were swept through the Qliphoth's vascular system until being unceremoniously dumped out into their respective arenas.

hello!!

Welcome to RPG!

Starlight Cove: Oceanside Memories

General question. Where's a good, reliable source for the images for the posts? I mostly search on deviantart.

@Cyrania

Probably depends on what you're looking for. Artstation is nice for scenery and buildings especially, lot of concept art there.

I happened to have the art for one of my FCs on hand, but personally I'll probably swap to the tried and true "character name" header... lol.

Starlight Cove: Oceanside Memories

---

_{Location: Starlight Mill Farm (Aaron) -> Town Streets (Erin)}

Timeframe: Early Morning

_{Interaction(s): New girl @Cyrania}

---

Many people in Starlight Cove tended to be early risers. Maybe it was the country living combined with the sense of responsibility the townsfolk felt, or maybe it was something else entirely, but either way mornings usually started with the sunrise. Of course the same was true for the occupants of Starlight Mill, a farmland not too far from the island's single village.

Every day on the farm was a little different from the last. That morning one of the two Miller siblings woke before even their rooster and, unable to fall back asleep, had slipped out of the house and out into the field. And with nothing else to do this early, he got a head start on work.

Wheat was hardy and voracious; it usually could out compete any weeds that tried growing, but there were always troublesome plants that managed to sprout even months after planting. Wild seeds spread by birds, Aaron figured. They had to go, pulled from the ground by their roots. The wheat would also sometimes choke out its fellow grain, and so the dying stalks would have to go too. He stuffed the plant matter into a sack he carried with him, occasionally popping his head up over the stalks and then bending down once more to keep working.

Bugs were a problem too, one that had only seemed to get worse over the years. Of course when the rest of the life on the island was struggling, the bugs were doing better than ever. Such was the way of things, the farmer guessed. Extermination and removal of any badly infected crop protected the rest of the wheat. These golden grains were the family's lifeline, and the proof that something could still grow here. They had to be looked after with the utmost care.

By the time he heard the screen door on the porch slam open, Aaron was already more than halfway through the fields. He didn't look up until he heard the sound of shuffling approaching him a little while later, finding his sister's face peering down at him. She blinked her big yellow eyes.

"You started on my half! How long have you been out here?"

Aaron stood up then, squinting into the sky to see where the sun had got to. "A while."

Erin didn't look impressed. "Well swap with me. Bess and the chickies are all set, even got eggs early today. By the way..."

She moved to kneel and take over tending the wheat while chatting, but her brother stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"It's fine, E. I can finish up. Shouldn't be too long before the harvest is ready, and one of us has to swing by Mr. Alderdice's and see if he'll still buy bulk when it is," Aaron offered. He glanced away from Erin, but the young woman could instantly read his intention.

"And that has to be me? You cheater," she hissed, though there was no real animosity in her voice. Aaron just shrugged. Well, if he didn't feel like making the walk into town that was fine - she didn't mind doing it. "We do have a phone you know, we could just call and... wait, you've been out here this whole time? You didn't bring the bread into town?"

Aaron opened his mouth only to close it again a moment after, unable to come up with an excuse. He'd honestly just forgotten, his head so in the cloud early that morning that he'd just went straight to the fields and hadn't thought about anything else. He gave Erin a sheepish look. "It slipped my mind."

His sister flicked the brim of his hat so that it tumbled off of his head.

---

If there was one boon to only being able to grow wheat at the moment, it was that there were plenty of things that could be made from it. Well, mostly flour, but other things too. Dried grains on their own could be thrown into granola and cereal, and beer could even be brewed from it. It also happened to make great food for livestock. It was thanks to the combination of uses that Starlight Mill managed to keep itself a float. Their cost of doing business was low, and they had a reliable buyer in town.

Hopefully it would stay that way for a while. Everyone seemed to feel that the town's days were numbered, and once the local market went so too would many other places. And people, as they'd be sure to leave for greener pastures. It was pure stubbornness that Erin and her brother chose to stay in their brown one. Still, as long as they could make ends meet until they ultimately got things back on track...

Erin sighed. She'd brushed the dust off of her clothes and tied her hair into pigtails before gathering a knapsack of baked bread that had been resting since late the night before. She was only going to be a little late, so hopefully she wouldn't get an earful from the market's proprietress. For what it was worth she'd taken along the fresh eggs too.

With spring budding there was going to be a lot of work for her and her brother once the winter wheat was ready, but she didn't mind. She was almost looking forward to it, really. Somehow this year felt like it was going to be a good one. She passed over the farm's property line and stepped onto the cobblestone street that would take her to Starlight Cove's main road. She'd lived her all her life - more than two decades now. The path was familiar, the sights were familiar, even the sounds and smells. It was comfortable.

As she strode into town proper, an unfamiliar person caught her eye. She was fairly sure that she knew everyone that lived here, at least in passing acquaintance. At one time Starlight Cove drew all kinds of tourists. They had an awesome aquarium, museum, and lighthouse after all. Even adventurers crossed the water to check the island out. Nowadays there were less and less people coming out to town, and this woman didn't look much like a tourist anyway... if she was some kind of "investor" Erin would have to chase her out! Of course the first step would be finding out what the deal was.

"Hey!" Erin called out to the blonde haired woman. She shifted the bundle in her hands so that it was more secure as she jogged to catch up tot he stranger. "Hey! Hello! Hope I didn't spook you, calling you out of the blue like that."

There was no doubt that Erin was a local, from the homely work clothes she wore to the faint smell of grass that clung to her. She gave the stranger a somewhat guarded smile.

"I just noticed you looked out of place... I mean lost! What are you looking for?"

Salutations

Welcome to RPG!