People you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley

[AonEne]

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In the few scenes I’ve read with him in them, Grey is constantly a living mood. Congratulations on this character, Snip, you deserve it  

 

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

Sierra swallowed. What in the world has she just gotten herself into? "You're crazy..." she whispered. She looked down at her coffee, at her reflection in the liquid's surface. Maybe they were crazy. But... they'd been nice. Right? Right? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Sure," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Whatever. I don't know anything about you people, but it's not as if I'm going anywhere anyway. I'm just a lost, worthless tinker, and now that I've done the only thing that made me get up in the morning, I've lost any semblance of ambition. I don't care. It doesn't matter anymore." What she didn't mention was how hungry she felt, how frail. Giving in to Grey's prodding was less about not caring and more about being too worn out to fight back. 

@Snipexe @ZincAboutIt

[+ZincAboutIt]

Vivica sat in the darkness of the little room, back pressed up against two corners, knees to her chest. She focused on the nearness of the walls, the closeness of the air. She was fine, she was safe. These were the Alleys - this was her home. And yet, her breathing continued to come ragged and hard, her heart continued to hammer in her chest. Bennington's form had dimmed to a barely-visible glow; she could very nearly see through him completely. 

"Bennington?" She whispered between gasps of air. "Don't go. Please, don't go."

Even here, alone in this tiny, dark closet, Vivica felt the terror hounding her. She could smell the smoke curling through the air, curling through her nightmares at the refugee camp, then the orphanage. A decade of nightmares, of red light dancing and crackling every time she closed her eyes. Vivica bit back tears, clinging to the sinking raft of her lucid thoughts. The fear, the memories - they were all too much. She knew that she was strange, that she was mad, even. Vivica wasn't stupid. Ten years of constant wakefulness did not come without a cost, but for the most part, Vivica was in control of her insanity. Usually.

She could fight it harder, she knew. Vivica could claw her way out, she could sit here alone with the memories and the fear, and that rusting smell of smoke and charred flesh until she was a weeping, shivering mess. That was an option, and one she had taken a few times before. But it hurt. It always hurt. And really, what did it matter if she was a little more crazy than before? No one in these Alleys escaped unscathed - nearly everyone was broken. Grey had been right. What was the point, really, of trying to patch up all the cracks? Better to simply embrace them. Only then could she get some real work done. Vivica felt her grip slacken a bit, allowed her mind to flee beyond the doorway into... elsewhere. Wherever it was that it went during times like these. And with that portion of her mind went the vast majority of her fear.

Vivica stood, feeling herself smile in the dark. It was a wide smile, a little too wide, with too much teeth and not quite enough mirth. She flicked on the lights, absently scrubbing at one eye, then picked up one of the cookies that sat on a small table just inside the door. As she took a bite, she tried to remember what it was she had been so worried about, but it was like trying to peer through murky water. Vivica shrugged, chewing in satisfaction, and patted her pockets. Her notepad still sat inside her coat, and her pen was still behind her one remaining ear. She took the spike out from her pocket again, flipping it in the air and catching it over and over before remembering why she'd come down here in the first place. The coffee maker. Sierra.

Her smile widened, white and hard, and from behind her head something moved into her line of sight. It was Bennington, but... different. Where before the little octopus was a rounded, glowing collection of luminous violet tentacles, now he appeared larger, sleeker, his tentacles longer, his body a deep indigo that pulsed with a darker light. Vivica grinned up at him, and some of her wild, mirthless joy was reflected back to her in his own eyes, which were narrower and keener. More calculating.

"You've changed your clothes, Bennington!" She said, slipping another cookie into her pocket and flipping the spike in her hand before opening the door and striding back into the Alley.

As she walked back towards the EHD break room, a little spring in her step, she caught the tail end of Sierra's sentence.

"I don't care," the girl said. "It doesn't matter anymore."

Vivica opened the door again, still smiling that hard smile, Bennington floating above her shoulder with a predatory grace that his earlier form had lacked. Her eyes fell on Sierra, then on Grey. She pulled a cookie out from her coat pocket. "They're delicious, of course. Your handiwork, I assume?" She bustled over to the coffee maker, filling herself another cup and taking a sip. "Thanks for the closet. As you can see, I'm totally better now. Not even sure what I was so worked up about!"

She turned her gaze on Sierra now, cocking her head and flipping the spike over and over and over again. The girl didn't seem very happy, which Vivica found odd. She'd offered to show her around, hadn't she? Even taken her to get the best coffee ever. And still, the girl seemed morose. It struck Vivica as remarkably ungrateful, and she felt a little frown crease her brow even as she still grinned at the girl, turning her smile into something a bit feral.

"That's hardly the enthusiasm I was hoping for," Vivica said, looking over at Grey. "Has she been like this the whole time I was gone?"

@Snipexe @Shard of Thought

 

[Snipexe]

Grey stopped himself from responding as Vivica entered the room. He noted Bennington’s altered appearance, as Viv commented on the cookies, and Sierra’s state. Her smile seemed a tad bit wider then normal, but who was he to judge. He turned back to Sierra in response to Viv’s question, “I’m afraid so. I’ve tried getting her motivated and excited, but I’m afraid she keeps falling back on the same old excuses. I think we may have to resort to more drastic actions. Perhaps a snickerdoodle with a side of chocolate chip?”

@ZincAboutIt @Shard of Thought

[+ZincAboutIt]

Vivica caught her spike, then balanced the flat edge of it on the end of her index finger as she took another sip of coffee.

"Mmm," she said softly, though whether she was musing over the coffee or Grey's suggestion, even she wasn't quite sure. Vivica looked at Sierra over the rim of her mug, feeling vexation vie with disappointment and... something else. Boredom? Yes, that was it. 

"That could work," she replied, then moved up towards Sierra, pocketing her spike as she did so. Vivica put one slender finger under the young woman's chin and tipped her head up so she could look in the girl's eyes. "It has been a while since I've gotten to test my snickerdoodles."

Vivica's finger left a red smear on Sierra's chin. "This girl is barely an ember," she said, clicking her tongue. "So little left. So little to scrape out of the mixing bowl, and I'm bored. She's barely even enjoying her coffee - the best coffee."

She took a step back, pouting a little, then looked up at Bennington. "What do you think, Bennington? Is she worth a few cookies? Or is she more of an... ingredient."  

Her smile returned, and she looked over at Grey, raising a brow as if to say 'Your call.'

@Snipexe @Shard of Thought

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

Sierra narrowed her eyes, wiping her chin. She was feeling more and more sick and she wasn't sure that was due to her anorexia anymore. These people scared her. She'd never admit that, of course. "Don't. Touch. Me," she said, voice coming out in a low growl. "I never agreed to any of this."

@Snipexe @ZincAboutIt

Edited November 5, 2019 by Shard of Thought

[+ZincAboutIt]

"Ah, there now," Vivica said, watching Sierra. "The ember flares."

Bennington slipped over her shoulder and twined himself around the young woman, who was oblivious to his inspections.

"As to what you agreed upon, well, you followed me here, didn't you? Followed a Denizen into an Alley, down and down and down, and now here we are. Drinking. Talking. Having a nice time - except now you're just being rude. Rude and dull."

Her smile sharpened, slicing a white edge into Vivica's pale skin. "Is there truly nothing you want? Nothing? No hunger, no desire? No question that you're dying to answer, no experiment you're eager to run? Just an empty girl in an empty alley with empty thoughts? And if that's the case... well, why are you living at all? You're tired of life? Well, we can help you with that. We can help you either way."

She looked at the blood staining Sierra's clothes. "Haven't you ever wanted to tear the world apart," she whispered, voice shaking slightly with fervor, "just to see how it works? To build it again, better this time, just to prove that you can? The snake devours its own tail - creation, through destruction. The end, hailing the beginning. You can rebuild yourself here, any way you want. You say you have nothing left? A lie."

Vivica held up the spike between her fingers, and Bennington pulsed with a deep indigo glow, swimming a slow loop around the both of them.

"You have plenty of blood, and hunger. You can rebuild from the ashes, Sierra." She offered the girl the spike, blue eyes wide and shot through with red vessels. Exhaustion transcendent to gleeful madness. "All you need are a few nails."

@Shard of Thought

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

The anger in Sierra's face softened. There was something inside of her. Something that turned in her stomach, something that had kept her alive. Her eyes glazed over with tears, but when she blinked they were gone. "Of course I want to rebuild," she said, voice trembling yet contained. I want to destroy. "I want to destroy..." Want to make them see me for once. "Want to make them see me for once." I just... Don't know... how... She trembled, not sure how to react. She was feeling something. That didn't happen very often because she was so used to shoving everything down. And anytime something did leak out, she was alone. She didn't want to let them see her. For the second time, she desperately wanted to hide behind her coat, cursing herself for everything she had ever done wrong. And that was a whole lot. 

@ZincAboutIt

[+ZincAboutIt]

Vivica beamed, and like a passing squall, the vivid and imminent danger in her face was gone. She clapped her hands, giggling, then looked over at Grey again.

"Wonderful. Wonderful! Now we're cooking!" She said. "Speaking of cooking - Grey, do you think the snickerdoodles and the chocolate chips are still necessary? Just the chocolate chips? Just the 'doodles? Oh! Decisions, decisions. Hmm, Bennington, do you happen to have a copy of the New Employee Handbook?" She patted her pockets, checking to see if she had any loyalty spikes on hand, then pulled out a piece of shortbread instead. 

The octopus, who was still pulsing with a dark purple light, gave her a skeptical look. Vivica sighed at the lack of appropriate spikes and popped the shortbread cookie into her mouth.

"Don't you sass me," she said, pointing to the thin air above her right shoulder this time and speaking in between chewing. "I'll turn you into a tea cozy if you're not careful. Oh, what, you think I'm bluffing? Well, we'll see next time I have someone over for tea, won't we?"

Vivica sneezed, aspirating shortbread crumbs all over the front of her lab coat, and gave a little sigh. "I don't suppose either one of you are secretly blowing a dog whistle, are you? Incredibly high frequencies always make me sneeze. No? Well, it was worth an ask."

@Snipexe @Shard of Thought

[AonEne]

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*stops blowing and looks up fearfully, then chucks her whistle into the nearest alley and gets out of there* 

 

[Snipexe]

"We can still always do both. It's simply a matter if the victi-sorry, Sierra here, is ready to begin her journey that, surprise twist, will be a shockingly subversive masterpiece in what critics are calling the greatest thing the Dark Alley has produced since whatever John from accounting made yesterday. As for the frequencies, someone could be using the Apocalypse teaPut and it just came to a boil. Always tends to happen during dramatic moments. May need to adjust the Metaspout" Grey said.

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

Sierra looked at Grey, her eyes somehow conveying confusion, aggression, and a slight measure of fearful curiosity, all at the same time.

[Snipexe]

Grey looked back at Sierra, "Why are you staring at me? Are you trying to convey something with your eyeballs that I'm not picking up? I'm only fluent in the eldritch gifted form of telepathy, not the reading of the anime tears in eyes. Perhaps it will be something that will improve with age, like a fine red wine, vintage Naruto: Episode 64."

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

Sierra narrowed her eyes in a glare, then looked away, sipping her coffee.

[+ZincAboutIt]

Vivica took another sip of coffee too, then smiled and pointed at Sierra.

"That's a nice glare, y'know that? Real top notch actually. I mean, in another few decades and with a little - uh - enhancement, you might even be able to kill people with that look. I know a guy, actually, though he's constantly looking for new lab assistants. Keeps killing them on accident, you see. On second thought, maybe you don't do that. Makes department meetings really awkward."

Vivica rubbed her nose again, then tucked some of her hair back behind her right ear. "I think we're going to have fun. Well, I'll have fun. Grey might have fun too. Not sure about you, but hey, that's two out of three! Oh, and Bennington of course. He always has fun when we're testing things out, don't you Bennington?" She grinned up at the octopus, who spun lazily in the air, tentacles curling with anticipation. "So actually, that's three out of four. Even better! Tell me - and it's important you be honest with us here - how high would you say your pain tolerance is? And how do you feel about cinnamon-sugar topping?"

Edited November 7, 2019 by ZincAboutIt

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

Pain tolerance? Sierra thought to herself. You people have no idea what I go through every single day... "Pain has been my friend since I was small," she said. "But I'm not too familiar with the whole sugar and spice and everything nice thing."

@Snipexe @ZincAboutIt

Edited November 7, 2019 by Shard of Thought

[Snipexe]

“The first is rather good, for us, though somehow I doubt you have any true understanding of pain, only a passing acquaintance. Anyone who truly knew pain is either already a denizen, or would be screaming in response to that question. The second however, well to put it bluntly, is simply a tragedy. Sierra it is, as you put it, the sugar and spice, that makes life worth living! I’ll get some interns working on some cinnamon rolls for when we are finished.” He turned back to Viv, “ You ready?”

@ZincAboutIt @Shard of Thought

[+Ark1002]

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The Dark Alley is a monstrous, evil group. The group consists of two vampires, a werewolf, a werecreature, and a madman.

The group was formed by the two vampires, and They are also some of the smartest, most experienced hunters I've ever encountered. They will go to any length to protect the people they love and will even go as after a battle that started with the werewolf, the madman and the werecreature, they managed to bring the city of San Francisco to the brink of far as to sacrifice their lives for their ideals. They believe that everything they do should be in the interest of others. The only things that matter to them are ruin.

Contents show]

Appearance Edit

The Dark Alley are an evil group of creatures, who have a large variety of appearances. There their own survival and that of their loved ones. They will kill the person who harms them or try to stop them, and even then they will sacrifice themselves in is one member, who wears an old-fashioned black coat and a red hood. The other members also have a red hood on their head. They have a order to make sure the innocent don't suffer.

I believe that the Dark Alley are the only people who understand what it means to be a person of large and bulky body, that seems like it would be very difficult to hold up in a fight.

History Edit

After a night of fighting, the modern age. They have the knowledge and the experience. They have the knowledge and experience to fight. If they die on a mission, they can come back the Dark Alley was destroyed. In its place appeared a huge crater, which was the result of the attack. There were no signs of the Dark Alley being alive and continue their work. If they survive, they can stay and help others. They aren't just willing to kill to protect a loved one, they are willing

Thanks AIs.

"The Dark Alley is a monstrous, evil group. The group consists of two vampires, a werewolf, a werecreature, and a madman."

 

[AonEne]

46 minutes ago, Ark1002 said:

In its place appeared a huge crater, which was the result of the attack. 

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I love how this is actually accurate. 

 

[+ZincAboutIt]

On 11/10/2019 at 10:16 AM, Snipexe said:

He turned back to Viv, “ You ready?”

Vivica clapped her hands twice and bounced on the balls of her feet a little. That sharp smile had crept back onto her face, and Bennington curled and uncurled his tentacles over her shoulder, eager as ever.

"I'm always ready for cinnamon rolls!" She said with a wink, then looked to Sierra. "Excited yet? I'm excited. Can't you feel it? The potential? The unknown, waiting to rush forth and sweep you up and transform you and carry you somewhere else?"

Vivica danced on the spot a bit - probably too much coffee, Viv - then smiled at Grey.

"Well, this is your department! Lead the way!"

@Snipexe @Shard of Thought

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

Sierra wasn't sure how to feel about this. Niceness, even niceness with the occasional nails of sharpness mixed within, was unfamiliar, untrustworthy. This city was odd, the people in it were odd. But, Sierra supposed, perhaps they were no odder than she was. In either case, it made her feel uncomfortable and she sipped her coffee, posture casual, but muscles ready to bolt. 

@ZincAboutIt @Snipexe

[Fatebreaker]

BOOM BOOM BOOM

The Stranger hammered the metal before him with blow after blow of his black iron hammer. He worked and shaped it, filling the air with showers of sparks. 

BOOM BOOM BOOM

He focused his will on the shape, Pulling and Pushing on the metal with precision even as he struck it. There would be no room for error, not even a fraction. This spike would be his greatest endeavor yet, and if he succeeded no one would ever know. 

BOOM BOOM BOOM

As he worked he heard the voice of his friend echoing in his mind. Tired, oh so tired.

BOOM BOOM BOOM

He saw the city below him, regarding him with terror even as he slew the one who sought to destroy everything. 

BOOM BOOM BOOM

He saw the bowler held in his hands as he stood in the Hall of Legends.

BOOM BOOM BOOM

He saw the eyes of Laurelai gazing upon the one who loved her most with a boundless fear.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BANG!!!

The last blow hit the metal harder than the othersstopped and closed his eyes, focusing on the cool metal of the hammer in his hand. Now was not the time to lose focus, not with so much at stake. The work must continue if the world was to be corrected. And so the Stranger refocused his will and steadied his mind. Then he set once more to work, the echoes fading in to the cold darkness. 

BOOM BOOM BOOM

[Guest Coda]

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Hi I'm new! I'm not trying to join per se, but rather create a beneficial relationship with the best Hemalurgists in the Alleyverse.

Corenar walked through the dark alleyways. It wasn't his first time in the alleys, but he'd never been so deep. No matter what, he would never get used to the gravity. Roshar was lighter than cosmere standard, but the alleys weren't. It made him feel like an Iron Ferring. 

He was probably lost by now, but the first rule of alley-venturing is to never assume anything. He strolled confidently in no particular direction. Now he was good and lost. Step 1 of discovering the secrets of Hemalurgy complete. Now he just had to wait for a DA member to find him. He straightened his black trench coat, sat down, and put his fedora over his eyes. If no one came by, he'd switch to top hat. It was fuzzier.

[Snipexe]

21 hours ago, Coda said:

Corenar walked through the dark alleyways. It wasn't his first time in the alleys, but he'd never been so deep. No matter what, he would never get used to the gravity. Roshar was lighter than cosmere standard, but the alleys weren't. It made him feel like an Iron Ferring. 

He was probably lost by now, but the first rule of alley-venturing is to never assume anything. He strolled confidently in no particular direction. Now he was good and lost. Step 1 of discovering the secrets of Hemalurgy complete. Now he just had to wait for a DA member to find him. He straightened his black trench coat, sat down, and put his fedora over his eyes. If no one came by, he'd switch to top hat. It was fuzzier.

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We will be sending a representative shortly, sorry for the delay.

---

Grey felt a bit of Viv's excitement seep into him. "Follow me" He said, not really looking to see if they followed. Viv obviously would, she had done this several times before. As for Sierra, well he expected the curiosity would far too great to simply ignore. That was the great thing about hinting thing subtly, they not only added to one's mystique, but also allowed for the subject to build up their own expectations of the procedure. They would of course be completely blown under proportion, but that only made it even better. He led them through the clinical hallways of the EHD, to a room that was sparse, almost empty. In the middle sat a simple optometrist chair, complete with a vision acuity tester. Behind the chair was a small radio set, with headphones. "Well, come along, have a seat."

On 11/14/2019 at 0:21 PM, Shard of Thought said:

 

 

On 11/14/2019 at 11:26 AM, ZincAboutIt said:

 

 

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(tags broke)

 

[AonEne]

1 hour ago, Snipexe said:

We will be sending a representative shortly, sorry for the delay. 

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I could NPC one if you want, I’ve always wanted to do a DA NPC