main plot All Lights Quenched

[+Ark1002]

On 8/29/2019 at 2:58 PM, Rushu42 said:

"To... the leveled city?" Aln asked, furrowing her brow. "Where my library will stand amid piles of rubble? I'm sorry, I simply don't see the necessity of destroying all that infrastructure. Surely it will only create more problems later."

His face began to crack, eyes filling with rage. His entire body shook, and his jaw unhinged. Both hands dissolved into a writhing mass of bugs. Out of them came something else... they fit on the end, but they were no longer hands. There was serrated claws, three of them, and a smaller hook on each hand. It was like a dinosaur of some kind.

He roared, loud as gunshot, but full of anger, for five seconds.

When he spoke, it was erratically, full of raw hatred. His face was still cracked, and the cracks were growing. 

"WOMAN. You dare. Do not question us. You are so far beneath us that you don't even have rights." The bugs in his face had begun to shift, one eye upside down, the other in the corner of his forehead. Horns had sprouted from his head, about three inches long. The teeth began to shift, replacing regular teeth with fangs. The surface bugs began to pull inside, replacing the skin with dark, cracked brown, with veins of red and black running through. His hair was gone within seconds, revealing a bald scalp, made of the same material, with two horns, which had grown to be a half foot each. They were pure black. His eyes were still missing, and his jaw was still human.

"Nothing I do to you matters, not to the other, not to anyone."

The leather jacket bulged in places, as did the pants. The changed hands shifted, becoming the skin material. His boots fell off, unzipped from the inside. They revealed clawed feet, like those of a dragon. The skin was, again, the cracked, dark, veined skin. Finally, eyes appeared on the face. They focused on Aln, red, with black instead of white. Like a black canvas with a red circle drawn on it, a dot in the middle of that. Oily, dark, terrible.

"And I think..." The bulges on his body grew. "It's time to give you a taste..." The jaw hinged again, teeth sticking out like a crocodile, skin changed. "Of what we can do."  With that, the bulges burst through the closing, revealing long spikes, all throughout the body, tearing the jacket, the shirt, the pants. Smaller spikes emerged on the hands, the face, and the feet. Dark wings, massive, emerged from his back. Like a bats, made of a collection of thin bugs. Every bit of it came together then... the skin was almost scales. John was no longer in a human form. John was a demon, a dragon, an abomination.

Out of his right hand was pushed a fabrial. He grinned, fangs making it seem, not happy, but threatening.

He pushed the fabrial to her arm. "Any last words?"

On 8/29/2019 at 3:20 PM, Darth Woodrack said:

The staff separated into two segments and forced it’s way back to Genghis’s head. The Jackal moves away from the building, keeping his distance from Genghis. 

“I’d say I’m a little more than a challenge,” Jackal said his eyes blue, his head clear.

Genghis growled, swatting at the staff segments, pushing forward toward the Jackal.

23 hours ago, Fatebreaker said:

The Stranger grinned as the meteors disappeared. Having competent coworkers was truly a wonderful thing. But he was using valuable time Voidus had gracefully allowed him. He figured it was time to runs some tests. 

He flew through the air towards his foe, lashing himself at speed. Ajax created several more meteorites, but the Stranger soulcast them into smoke obscuring his passage. He closed the distance between them and like last time he teleported. But instead of appearing below him, this time the Stranger just reappeared in front of him. He grabbed both of his opponents arms and twisted, keeping his allomantic bronze active to monitor any changes in investiture. He pulled Ajax’s arms to the side, then tapping Allomantic pewter he ripped off both of his arms. Then, flipping the detached limbs around, he backhanded Ajax with his own arm. It wasn’t the most practical move, but boy was it entertaining. 

“I’m sorry, that was childish.” He called out. “I should actually get on with it. But playing with one’s food is such an old habit.”

He wagged one of the disembodied arms at Ajax, “I told you to get serious. Large area attacks are useless, you’re either going to have to be much faster or get creative if you want to make any sort of impression. Because so far the only impressive thing is how uninteresting this fight has been.”

@RayOfSunshine

Ajax sighed, his arms regrowing, a small matter of seconds later the blades reappearing.

The aons around him flashed, and he disappeared. He was suddenly behind the Stranger, tapping incredible amounts of Zinc and Steel. He pulled up his blades, and stabbed them into the Stranger's back.

"Fast enough for you?"

13 hours ago, xinoehp512 said:

@RayOfSunshine

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Ahhh crap

I forgot about him

shoot me a pm, we need to discuss this

12 hours ago, Sherlock Holmes said:

Seom crouched as she looked up at the weird guy with the weird voice. "Lo and behold, another thingamajig we have to kill," she said to Mike. "You got any grenades on you?" @Sorana

9 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

Wes looked to the monsters, the DA, to Mike and Seom. He ran over to them. Tilting his head he heard something about fight or flee from some of the higher ranked Ghostbloods, the ones who probably mattered, who could handle monsters like these. But still:

“Do we fight or flee?” He asked, looking to Mike and Seom. “I’ll stay by your side no matter what, but,” he gestured to the machine gun. “That still has a couple bullets in it that would a shame to not use.”

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Seriously? I went to all the trouble of explaining the affects of Alexander and you ignored it?

You're within the range of the fear affect. And Ax, I don't care about Seom being hardy or resilient or whatever crap you might have. I explained exactly how it would affect her.

@Sorana @I think I am here. @Sherlock Holmes

11 hours ago, Lord Furret said:

@RayOfSunshine

They moved through the alleyway quickly. An old beggar stepped toward them, but she ignored the man. Suddenly, his hand glinted. Without hesitation, she snapped the mans neck.

She continued forward, emerging into the richer part of the city. Outside of the crater.

8 hours ago, Sorana said:

Althea nodded, her eyes hardening.

"Then let's fight."

She closed her eyes and touched the spren around them, greeted them. The street, the air, the fire. All spren and she always had had a good way with spren. They were easy to bargain with. Openeing her eyes again she kept her awareness of the world around her. So many possibilities ready for her to exploit.

@RayOfSunshine

 

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It's a robot. No blood, nothing. It is burning copper, which makes it impossible to soulcast it directly.

 

[I think I am here. he/him]

3 hours ago, RayOfSunshine said:

Seriously? I went to all the trouble of explaining the affects of Alexander and you ignored it?

You're within the range of the fear affect. And Ax, I don't care about Seom being hardy or resilient or whatever crap you might have. I explained exactly how it would affect her.

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My bad.

Wes suddenly paled white as snow.

“Scratch that, let’s flee,” he said, shaking his head over and over again. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

[+Sorana she/her]

4 hours ago, RayOfSunshine said:

Seriously? I went to all the trouble of explaining the affects of Alexander and you ignored it?

You're within the range of the fear affect. And Ax, I don't care about Seom being hardy or resilient or whatever crap you might have. I explained exactly how it would affect her.

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...

Mike paled as well, grabbed Wes and Seom's hand and started to run.

@I think I am here.

@Sherlock Holmes

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Any ideas where to go? Stay in this thread and hide, or leave completely?

 

[kenod]

7 hours ago, RayOfSunshine said:

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It's a robot. No blood, nothing. It is burning copper, which makes it impossible to soulcast it directly.

 

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How is a robot burning copper? Also, why would that prevent soulcasting? I don't think we've ever heard of copper preventing other forms of Investure affecting something. Also, you should probably put that in the character description next time instead of just coming up with it out of the blue.

Edit: I went looking through the Arcanum and apparently even if copper can prevent other Investures from affecting someone using enough Investure can overcome that, duralumin-boosted rioting can affect a coppercloud for example, just as how the Lord Ruler's soothing could affect Vin and Kelsier despite their copperclouds.

 

Edited August 31, 2019 by kenod

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

6 hours ago, Sorana said:

Mike paled as well, grabbed Wes and Seom's hand and started to run.

@I think I am here.

@Sherlock Holmes

 

Seom followed, confused but fine with it.

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Ark, allow me to explain this. Seom has never been through trauma, and she is afraid of nothing. Plus, she isn't very smart and is pretty sturdy. So, she's got a lingering sense of fear in the back of her mind, but she can ignore that pretty easily since she's focusing on other people.

@RayOfSunshine

[Voidus]

Voidus waited in the middle of the street, eyes carefully watching the progress of the Stranger and Ajax as they shifted, sped and teleported through the skies. Nearby he saw Mac focus on their surroundings, using the Alleys to protect nearby structures and the few remaining people who hadn't yet evacuated. Elsewhere nearby he could feel the pulses of Investiture from several others who were still engaged with the other creatures that had been accompanying Ajax, some fleeing, some fighting.

And what do I do? I wait. Always waiting. I wait and hope that intervention will not be necessary, that the world can continue along without interference.

He tracked Ajax as he suddenly accelerated, likely tapping steel in order to get behind the Stranger and stab him. But that also put him directly in the cowl of souls that the Stranger was wearing, which was unlikely to end well for Ajax.

But even while I claim non-intervention I asked the Stranger for help. And when that army came to the city, I didn't wish to interfere but I still called for the release of some of the Hemalurgic creations.

Distantly he could still feel the pulses of a Tineye, and a Forger nearby. Though noticing a Forger was usually difficult with bronze, even for him, not until she actually Forged something. But the pulses from their abilities and spikes were enough to reassure him that Laurelai and Lita were still together, still safe. He continued seeking, using it to keep an eye on the rest of the fighters and make sure nothing drew too close to where he felt them.

[Darth Woodrack he/him]

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When I first read you telling Xinoe to shoot you a pm, I read it l, “Shoot me in a pm.”

Also, Ark, I feel like your being a little illogical with Genghis being able to knock away the staff fragments able to move about as fast as bullets. Just saying. 

The Jackal pulled back both segments of his staff towards him, both their blades pointed directly at Genghis’s head.

@RayOfSunshine

[+Ark1002]

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9 hours ago, kenod said:

 

we have a wob, I believe, stating that copper works on disguising the cognitive shadow, like an aviar. you need to speak to the mind for soulcasting.

 

[AonEne he/him]

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I have one thing to say. Stop trying to out-condescend the Stranger.

 

[kenod]

4 hours ago, RayOfSunshine said:

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13 hours ago, kenod said:

 

we have a wob, I believe, stating that copper works on disguising the cognitive shadow, like an aviar. you need to speak to the mind for soulcasting.

 

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The only WoBs I've been able to find state that the aviar's ability works similarly to copper and that they could hide Investure usage inside their radius similar to how copperclouds work. Still, I don't think it forms an absolute defense, given that a Aviar's shield isn't absolute, since it can be defeated by distance and strong enough mental presences can break through (Patji's fingers could I think). Similarly, strong emotional allomancy can break through copperclouds, while Investure used inside a coppercloud isn't fully disguised either, just masked to the point that you need a really strong Seeker to sense it. Personally I think that while it would provide some defense it wouldn't fully work.

Still, I'd say it's more important to talk about how a robot is using copper allomancy, and why this ability is suddenly announced when it wasn't on the list. It sort of gives the impression it was never originally supposed to be part of the character and was just added to as a quick fix for a weakness once it was discovered.

 

[+Ark1002]

6 hours ago, kenod said:

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Still, I'd say it's more important to talk about how a robot is using copper allomancy, and why this ability is suddenly announced when it wasn't on the list. It sort of gives the impression it was never originally supposed to be part of the character and was just added to as a quick fix for a weakness once it was discovered.

 

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I meant to give them all copper. I think I did for most.

But if it didn't, I'm fine with it just not having copper. Plus, yeah. copper robot mechanics would be complicated. This is easier.

 

[kenod]

7 hours ago, RayOfSunshine said:

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I meant to give them all copper. I think I did for most.

But if it didn't, I'm fine with it just not having copper. Plus, yeah. copper robot mechanics would be complicated. This is easier.

 

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Alright, thanks. Though as a solution, maybe an aluminum lining on the outside could work? That way the armor needs to be damaged before soulcasting works, and the interference might make soulcasting more difficult the less the armor is damaged.

Slowly Kumiko started waking up, looking around the room. My own room? she wondered. What happened. Just when she noticed she couldn't move her legs she remembered what happened. KanMien, she thought. She had probably brought her here. She started looking around, wondering if she was here as well. When she couldn't find anyone her face fell. She perked up though when she heard the door. Looking at the door she saw KanMien enter, and smiled.
KanMien looked at Kumiko, and smiled back, glad that she was awake. "Hey," they said, "how are you feeling?"
"I'm good," she replied. She took a better look at her though, and her face became serious. KanMien's clothing had a number of small tears in it, and she smelled vaguely like gunpowder. In one hand she seemed to be carrying something that looked like a grenade launcher, though Kumiko wasn't entirely sure. Still, it was obvious she had been fighting. "What's happening outside?" she asked.
KanMien's face turned grim. Briefly they considered lying, telling her that everything was okay, but she'd see through that easily. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to her either. "A bit after you fainted an army appeared," they said. "Monsters, abominations, all kind of things. They didn't have much coordination or intelligence, but there are many of them." They shook their head. "Still, it wasn't too bad, the city was already evacuated, and the various guilds managed to hold their ground to at least some extent. But now the leader has appeared, together with what looks like a number of elite soldiers."
Seeing Kumiko's expression they let out a soft laugh. "It isn't all that bad," they said. "The DA leaders have decided to personally interfere, for one thing. They should be able to deal with the leader quite easily." They shook their head. "You should have seen when they first arrived, they created a giant crater and then summoned a gigantic monster inside of it. As for the monsters, well... I guess that even if we can't defeat them normally, the city is evacuated, we could just bomb the place to get rid of them. I mean, it isn't the first time we've done so."
Kumiko stayed quiet for a while. "I understand," she finally said. "Are you going out again to fight as well?" She asked. She sounded somewhat scared, or maybe sad.
"I am," they answered with a sad smile. "Don't worry," they said, "whatever it is, I'll find a way to deal with it." They smiled. "Besides," they said, "You already did you part, now I need to shape up and do mine."
Kumiko nodded, trying to smile. "Alright," she said, sounding as if she was joking "Just promise you'll come back alive, alright?"
KanMien nodded, smiling as well. "Sure," they said in a soft tone. "I promise."
Kumiko nodded to her, and watched her leave the room. She wondered why she felt so nervous. She stretched, preparing to wait, then blinked when she felt her legs twitch as well.

***

Back in the city KanMien left the alleys, standing at the edge of the field cleared by the armored soldier, watching the rubble around them. Face resolute they lifted the grenade launcher, looking at the holes their bullets had left in the armor. They doubted the grenades would do any damage beyond superficial damage, but if they managed to hit one of the holes...

They started tapping their zinc, aiming for the hole, calculating the angles and wind direction, and then fired off two shots, and started running sideways, ducking behind the mounts of rubble. They couldn't die here, no matter what. After all, they had a promise to keep.

@RayOfSunshine

[I think I am here. he/him]

On 31/08/2019 at 1:48 PM, Sorana said:

Any ideas where to go? Stay in this thread and hide, or leave completely?

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I’d say stay, there’s not much place to go. Where in the thread though, idk.

Wes followed, let himself be dragged by Mike. He looked around, his heart frantic, until his eyes found a collection of guild soldiers, insignias on their uniforms unclear. But did it matter?

“Sir? I mean, Mike, sorry, should we go there?” Wes rugged at Mike’s sleeve and pointed to the soldiers. “Will they help us?”

—#—

From across the other side of the city from the first shield, another Canton shield was being set up. This one didn’t have nearly the amount of guards, but then again, it wasn’t expected to be too big. It just needed to be big enough to connect with the other shield, and to corner the monsters. Still, that didn’t mean the people guarding it weren’t storms-afraid.

“Hey Bob?”

“Yah?”

“You think we’ll end up like the other squad? With all of us dying?”

“Eh, probs.”

“Okay, well, thanks for comforting me, Bob.”

“No probs. Ooh, look, it’s at 60% already. Looks like nothing bad’s going to happen!”

“... you know that now that you’ve said that, you’ve cursed us, right? Oh, Heralds...”

—#—

Max looked to the monster, looked to Althea and the DA lady again.

“Sethramir can do spiritual damage,” he said. “Do you think that’ll be useful?”

@RayOfSunshine

Edited September 3, 2019 by I think I am here.

[+Sorana she/her]

59 minutes ago, I think I am here. said:

I’d say stay, there’s not much place to go. Where in the thread though, idk.

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I have no idea either. Let's make something out of the soldiers. Maybe the three of them can help with the refugees?

Mike shrugged.

"I don't know. We have to ask. But maybe we can be of assistance here."

Hesitanting he lifted a hand and waved at the soldiers.

"Hello! I'm Mike and these are Wes and Seom. Could you maybe tell us who you are?

@Sherlock Holmes

==========

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Honestly, the whole discussion around the possibility that I theoretically might soulcast a little bit of that enemy robbed me of all motivation to come up with something, because I'm pretty sure, that no matter what I do, it will end in another discussion. If my character isn't supposed to be able to do something against that NPC, then I can live with it.

Anyway, as I still don't have a clear answer, I just wrote something that I can adapt in a later post.

Althea reached out for the spren in the world around her, and then for the enemy, slowly walking in their direction. Nothing. Aluminum - maybe. She greeted the spren of a streetlight and was suprised by its eager response. It was used to be alone.

Can you sense another spren? In the thing in front of you?

She asked and the spren paused, then she felt it shake its head. Nothing. Just like she herself wasn't able to reach it.

I can shine brighter on the street. But the glass of my lap is smeared with dust.

There was a slightly begging tone to its voice and she looked over, realized that it was right. A nearby fire and blackened the glass of the lamp.

Thank you little one. Inwardly smiling she offered the spren some stormlight, which it accepted eagerly, the dirt vanishing when she soulcast it into air. The street was lit more brightly, when the light of lamp was able to get out of the glass again. The spren seemed - lonely. The thought saddened her, to many people in this city ignored the spren, even more so, than they were ignored in Roshar. Mostly because the people here didn't even know that they existed here as well.

"I can't contact a spren of the armour, and T'm not sure why."

She told Max and then thought about his question regarding Sethramir. Spiritual damage.

"Maybe. There should be some kind of spren somewhere in that thing. If it's a mortal being or not. We already met some kind of robot, but even a robot should have a spren - or several if it was assembled not too long ago. Give it a try, but be prepared, that it might be covered by aluminum. That could be a another possible reason, why it seems like a dark spot to me."

 

 

Edited September 1, 2019 by Sorana

[I think I am here. he/him]

5 minutes ago, Sorana said:

“Maybe. There should be some kind of spren somewhere in that thing. If it's a mortal being or not. We already met some kind of robot, but even a robot should have a spren - or several if it was assembled not too long ago. Give it a try, but be prepared, that it's covered by aluminum. That could be a possible reason, when it seems like a dark spot to me."

“A robot,”

Max said. In all his years he’d fought against all kinds of species, singers, sleepless, humans, but never robots. The thought had always seemed surreal to him. Like it was out of some sort of movie, or book (or FFRP, if he even knew what those things were). The thought of the fight being like a movie struck him again. Him and Mara, laying down in front of the TV, discusijnng why didn’t they just use a jammer to kill the evil enemy robot.

“Why don’t we use an electrical jammer?” Max said. “No matter how resistant they might be to Investiture, an EMP is an EMP.” A name, a brief thought of someone who was good at that sort of stuff drifted through Max’s mind but he forgot. There wasn’t someone, good at electronics. Wiley? No.

“The only problem is, of course,” he said. “I have no idea how we’d make one of those.”

[+Sorana she/her]

7 minutes ago, I think I am here. said:

“The only problem is, of course,” he said. “I have no idea how we’d make one of those.”

"We do. I'm sure we do. Can you buy them the time to get here?"

Althea pulled up a list of those still active in the city, looked it through. They had some engineers, or others that had some knowledge in that regard. Quickly she ran a search, which pulled up a lot of names, that were crossed out. All older ones, experienced. She removed the filter, let the search ran through everybody, no matter their background or their record of successful operations. There was one, a young Underling, Wes. Without hesitating she ordered him over, wrote that he should bring an EMP with him. It couldn't hurt. Worst case he failed, but probably Max would already have hacked the robot to pieces by then. If it even was robot and not a human hiding behind aluminum.

[Truthless of Shinovar he/him]

Tels scrambler back a few paces as soon as on of the six warriors came near him. He ran after Mike, Wes, and Seom, who appeared to be going towards the soldiers.

[AonEne he/him]

8 hours ago, kenod said:

Kumiko nodded, trying to smile. "Alright," she said, sounding as if she was joking "Just promise you'll come back alive, alright?"
KanMien nodded, smiling as well. "Sure," they said in a soft tone. "I promise."

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If I had any doubt before, it is gone now. Also you made their names perfectly shippable! Kumien

 

[kenod]

3 minutes ago, AonEne said:

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If I had any doubt before, it is gone now. Also you made their names perfectly shippable! Kumien

 

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Though as a side-note, they're not actually in a relationship, mostly because neither have any experience with emotional attachments and things like that, so they're not really aware of what's going on. But yeah, I'm planning for them to become a couple, possibly during era 4 but they will be one in the era 5 alternate world.

 

[AonEne he/him]

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Yeeeeeeeeeeee for some reason I can just see you writing romance really well.

 

[kenod]

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Huh, I wonder what that says about me. 

 

[+Ark1002]

10 hours ago, kenod said:

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Alright, thanks. Though as a solution, maybe an aluminum lining on the outside could work? That way the armor needs to be damaged before soulcasting works, and the interference might make soulcasting more difficult the less the armor is damaged.

 

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Just realized it would already have that. Their armor is a more upgraded form of the old one. So it would still have aluminum!

 

On 8/30/2019 at 10:16 PM, I think I am here. said:

Wes suddenly paled white as snow.

“Scratch that, let’s flee,” he said, shaking his head over and over again. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

 

On 8/30/2019 at 10:48 PM, Sorana said:

Mike paled as well, grabbed Wes and Seom's hand and started to run.

@I think I am here.

@Sherlock Holmes

 

 

On 8/31/2019 at 5:16 AM, Sherlock Holmes said:

Seom followed, confused but fine with it.

@RayOfSunshine

 

2 hours ago, Truthless of Shinovar said:

Tels scrambler back a few paces as soon as on of the six warriors came near him. He ran after Mike, Wes, and Seom, who appeared to be going towards the soldiers.

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*sighs*

I was hoping for a response with, you know, character building, facing fears, something

but I guess this works too.

Alexander looked on, and when he spoke, his voice somehow conveyed an evil smirk.

"Well, the hunt has begun." His companion grabbed him again, and they flew into the air to track their prey.

[Snipexe he/him]

On 8/30/2019 at 0:02 PM, Snipexe said:

Grey shook his head as the smurf mimicked a toddler throwing a tantrum, and smashed the ground, sending a bit of fire his direction. He stepped to the side, enjoying the breeze the flame generated at flew past him. It was such a rookie move. Villains needed to learn that raw power wasn’t worth much when you didn’t have any skill. “Well that wasn’t very effective. You just leveled a building, but didn’t give me a scratch. Now, when you fail, not only will you have beaten to a pulp, but you’ll also have to deal with the reams of insurance paperwork that little stunt caused. Not too mention the boom you’ve just given the construction industry. Be careful that you don’t have any investments in that area, or you could be arrested for investment fraud. Fraud, that’s how they always get you. This is of course assuming that you’re alive by the end of all this.” He told the smurf as the Stranger snapped the lad’s neck. He watched as several asteroids appeared, and then promptly vanished, likely taken care by the other Denizens. He couldn’t help but snicker as the smurf’s arms were ripped off. “Now that’s style. Watch carefully. I bet he’ll slap you in that face with them, and then make some quippy line.” The Stranger did just that. “See what I mean? So much more effective. It’s terribly violent, sure, but you also can’t help but feel it’s a little bit funny. It builds rapport with the common man, giving you support for your future empire, while also just being both humiliating and brutal. Plus, it just looks awesome on instant replay. It’s a near perfect execution of a textbook method of attack.” The textbook that he was referring to was the “Villainry: Principles, Theories, and Execution, Advanced Edition”, required reading for denizens. “Calling it now, I bet you’re considering with responding with another blunt force attack. Instead, try something a little more precise. Maybe a dozen Aluminum shards from all directions, or Soulcasting fleshy appendages on his face. The latter is a personal favorite of mine. Nothing like looking in a mirror. Now, let’s see what your smurf brain can come up with.”

  Reveal hidden contents

@RayOfSunshine

 

@RayOfSunshine

[Darth Woodrack he/him]

On 8/31/2019 at 7:45 AM, Darth Woodrack said:

The Jackal pulled back both segments of his staff towards him, both their blades pointed directly at Genghis’s head.

@RayOfSunshine

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Just making sure you saw his Ark.

@RayOfSunshine

[Fatebreaker he/him]

"Fast enough for you?"

As the blades sank in, the black fire they produced began to cover the Stranger. They outlined his entire body, creating a grisly tableau.

The Stranger's grin widened. 

"Oh my sweet boy, you've no idea how foolish that was,"

The cowl of souls erupted from him like some kind of hellish geyser. The shades of countless people and creatures screaming, seeming to tear themselves from the wounds. They enveloped Ajax like rushing water, engulfing him. Screams filled his mind, raw hatred and ragged terror suffusing his consciousness, making it extremely difficult to formulate thought. Burning copper seemed to lessen it, but it couldn't drown them out. Their faces filled his vision, a parade of the lost. Young and old, male and female, familiar and unnatural. Their grasp could be felt, innumerable ghostly hands pulling and grasping at him. And they were getting louder.

Ajax snarled, "You think this can stop me? It will take more than a few ghosts."

He moved to slash his swords sideways, trying to bisect the Stranger. But they wouldn't move. He looked down, through the fog of the fallen and saw the Stranger's hands wrapped around the blades. The Denizen bent backwards at an unnatural angle, til he was face to face with Ajax. His eyespike shon like a fell beacon, contrasted by the swirling darkness of his right eye. 

"Oh, it gets worse. Much worse."

Then the Stranger tapped ludicrous amounts of steel and moved with a speed that made compounders look sluggish. His whole body twisted like a shark in the water, jackknifing horribly, and he lunged towards his prey. As he shot forward, he soulcast a bronze spike in the air and caught it in his teeth. His eye gleamed and he rammed it through Ajax's bicep with such force that it went clean though and out the other side, where an Alley opened up and swallowed it. The Stranger looked Ajax in the face and whispered,

"I'm going to tear your very Soul apart. Your Allomantic copper is the first price I require. Now, why don't you allow my friends to introduce themselves properly."

And the cowl of shades renewed their assault, unhindered by any copper clouds. The Stranger began rioting fear and soothing confidence, creating a living nightmare for his opponent. Now was time to make him suffer.

Edited September 2, 2019 by Fatebreaker