(no subject)

[maskormods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHERE: De Chima
WHEN: Feb. 16
WHAT: This month's swear-in!
WARNINGS: Possibly some violence



A spiraling new skyscraper has just completed construction in De Chima and, to celebrate, the owners and several of the businesses renting space in the modern wonder have elected to host this month’s swear-in on the top couple floors. These floors can be reached be elevator, slowly strolling up the winding ramp that circles from the bottom to the roof or, if you can, fly or leap or use whatever other superpowers you have to get to the top or to reach one of the many open balconies and gardens available along the sides of the tower.



Though it’s a few days late, the theme of the gathering is still an unsurprising one for this time of the year: love. And, really, after the past couple of months who doesn’t need that in their lives? There are several activities available to celebrate the many stages of romance, all available in different subsections on the top couple floors. On the second floor from the top is where you enter and houses the business end of the swear-in, what you typically find at these gatherings. A lovely ballroom decorated to the nines in red, white, blue (and pinks) with an open buffet of finger foods, drinks, and various information pamphlets about local businesses, the government, and job opportunities for new imPorts.


Branching off the main ballroom are gorgeous balconies looking over the city, as well as a few indoor/outdoor gardens. These gardens range in themes from tropic jungle, to evergreen paradise, to desert oasis. They are all only about 600 square feet each, but they are a nice break from the socializing and whatnot of the main gathering. There are also special drinks provided by the Color Me Cupid company making their way around, both in alcoholic and virgin varieties. They have no clever names, sadly, but rather are labeled after the bright, almost glowing colors each is. A few sips just leads to a fizzy feeling on the lips, but have at least half of the drink and you’ll feel a few effects for the next twenty minutes or so:

Pink Drink: Sentimentality. You’ll feel a fondness for people, places, events, or even a nice piece of furniture. Cozy on up with this soft puppy love or platonic general desire to be near that person/item of interest.

Blue Drink: Melancholy. Alas, love isn’t all butterflies and sunshine. But this isn’t just being in a bad mood, wanting to go home. No, this is artistic, bohemian angst. The kind of mellow drama the poetic soul feeds on. Drape yourself over a table and opine on your lost loves, or stare tragically at the stars, sighing loudly until someone finally asks you to reveal your dark, mysterious past. Follow your tortured heart in getting that attention you suddenly need, just make sure to make a show of your inner turmoil.

Red Drink: Passion. Whether its for a person, a sports team, or a favorite hobby, you suddenly feel the need to share your enthusiasm with the world. Talk for an hour about a baseball game, or shout your love from a roof top. Or challenge someone to a duel over the hand of your loved one- or a balcony you really wanted to stand on. How ever passion works for you.

Green Drink: Jealousy. It’s an ugly part of love, but hard to escape. Depending on the person, this could induce feelings of neediness for attention from people you care about, to paranoia that others are out to steal what is yours.


Scattered throughout the main floor, a couple of the balconies, and along the twin ramps spiraling up to the top floor are two person tables, set for enjoying those finger foods and drinks. Also on each table is a stack of brightly colored note cards. These are important because, you see, the Loose Lips communication service is showing off one of their newest innovations in dating technology: Speed Honesty. When two people sit at a table, a small force field is suddenly erected around them. It won’t suffocate you or anything easy like that, no. It will simply stay in place, keeping you two at the table, until you pick up a note card and, worst of all, each of you must answer the question on the card. The speaker hidden in the table will evaluate your tone of voice, as well. No sarcastic answers accepted and, unless you’re a skilled liar, dishonest ones won’t do the trick either. The table’s AI needs to believe both parties have sincerely answered the question picked, then the force field will lower. Then you can either run or, if you wait more than ten seconds without moving, the forcefield will reactivate and you have to do it all again. This will happen every time two people sit at any of the tables, and sometimes an unwitting third standing too close may be trapped and must answer as well. Good luck, guys.

[[Questions for the cards can be found here or here, or you can OOCLy make them up for fun.]]


The top floor of the building is owned by the With Your Best Shot company and, trying to keep with the theme of the night, they have opened the (bullet proof) glass enclosed training areas on the roof of the building for duels. Hand to hand, with (dulled) swords, (paint ball) pistols, it’s all open for use so long as you declare your grievance against the person you are about to duel and declare what the winner will gain. These can be anything from traditional romantic items- the hand of the maiden fair- to silly things, like who gets the last soda in the fridge back at the apartment after this. Seconds are encouraged, but not required. There are viewing spaces for people to enjoy both the fights and the amazing view of the city below.

Enjoy the evening, imPorts. This month's swear-in appears to be going well until, later in the evening, the shadows seem to grow darker. Attendees might assume there's been a change of lighting to facilitate a romantic mood until hundreds of Heartless emerge from the darkest corners, intent on attacking imPorts and capturing as many hearts as possible.

Quite a few of the unwelcome guests are of the Shadow variety, stronger in swarms than they are individually, but still dangerous. The more fearsome Neoshadows are also in attendance, as are more colorfulvarieties -- some of which may have been people imPorts knew, before their own hearts were claimed.

Whoever they were and wherever the Heartless came from, attendees have three options: fight, run or hide. Whatever they do, they'll want to guard their hearts closely, or they may find themselves becoming the enemy.

[[OOC: Please ask any questions here!

Comments

Lan Jingyi | The Untamed

[gusumouthcannon]

A Spar
The long-discovered fact is that Jingyi must be very careful in attempting alcohol at public events where his seniors might be present. The various colored drinks, however, do not seem to require alcohol to be made, and so he enthusiastically attempts the Red Drink with no regrets. Now that it is mostly gone, he feels not the buzz of liquor but an energy that suffuses him and makes his eye bright.
It is in this state that he finds himself near the very top of the venue with his gaze locked upon the duelling arena. From there it is a quick thing: a cupcake from the dessert table and a challenge!

"Best me and win!" he declares, holding the cupcake aloft. Perhaps he would not be so eager if he were not in the grip of the Red Drink, but this sounds fun.


A Shadow
This is the first that Jingyi's seen these spooky little shadow creatures in person, though he would have to be dead not to have heard of them by now. They are not corpses (which is good), but they do bear a great resemblance to other types of resentful ghosts and he does not know how they work. Because of this, he refuses to encounter them alone. He could, perhaps, but if one observes while the other attacks or is attacked, more can be learned. That and he would feel much better with someone to fight beside him.
Through the moderate chaos and sounds of combat, he fixes upon a nearby combatant and draws his sword. "Do you know of these creatures?" he asks loud enough to be heard. "Have you fought them before this?"


Wildcard~[ooc: hmu on the CR meme for other nonsense or a variation on one of my prompts. I'll match prose or brackets. :)]

a shadow

[ambasciatore]

This couldn't be good.

Nico was quick to draw his sword, a three foot black blade, to try and focus. If these were any sort of undead creature, perhaps he would have some sort of control. If only he were so lucky. He doesn't hesitate, moving on instinct as he brings his sword down on one of the small creatures.

"I've never fought anything like this." He admits, wracking his brain for anything in mythology that might help him. "So far it's been groups of them -- they're not roaming around in a singular manner."

He takes another swipe, before his undead assistant finally shows up. The large dog is an ugly thing, what remains of it's muscle keeping it's joins together as he bites down on one of the nearest heartless.

"Good boy." Nico chuckles, when he finally glances to Jingyi. "You good with that sword? We need to try and get people evacuated."

\o/!

[gusumouthcannon]

There. That was what Jingyi was watching for: the shadow, once hit, then...pops and dissipates? So not necessarily a resentful spirit; he does not know if Nico's sword uses spiritual energy. Testing if this method to get rid of the shadows also works for him, he brings his own sword down upon the next-nearest shadow, his sword glare shimmering off the blade.

As this shadow also dissipates, Jingyi tells his summarily-recruited battle partner, "Groups is good to know." He is mostly watching the shadows, but he is also watching Nico. The black sword is of a different design than Jingyi is familiar with and therefore this man's swordwork is as well, but this is something that he can work with. Jingyi moves to the side to flank, separating shadows from others if he can and driving them in Nico's direction.

He begins, "I am excellent. These are nothing compared to fierce corp—" only to stop once his eyes finally recognize that the dog that has suddenly appeared is dead. He shies back involuntarily. "Ah!"

This time, when he swings, he is not thinking anything about how Nico spoke to it or that it is helping them. Pure reflex, he swings his sword at the dog.

\o/

[ambasciatore]

"Hey! Woah, don't do that." He manages to call the dog to him. "He's on our side. He's here to help."

Things he needs to start doing: warning people he's a necromancer. It's different knowing that back home he was an anomaly because of who is father is, here it was because he could commune with the dead on some level and even then -- no one batted an eye. Nico pats the dog on the head, praising it before it's off again, herding heartless their way.

"Keep focus! He's herding them our way so they can't harm innocent bystanders." He kicks a particularly close one in the face. "You going to be okay or do I need to send fido there to rest?"

[gusumouthcannon]

"He is helping?" Jingyi echoes after his strike misses. This is not quite a question. He is more verbally processing. After he says this, he stands in place for long enough for the dots to connect. "Oh! He is helping!"

The heartless nearest to him gets bisected by the sword glare from his next strike, and Jingyi once more falls into the rhythm of combat. He does not answer, focused on the shadows clustered around them. His expression says that he is still thinking though, and his considering looks toward Nico are not subtle. He is avoiding the dog as much as possible for the moment, but the shadows are clearly taking priority.

Two or three of those bystanders who are not fighting are too close, and Jingyi shoos them away and guards their retreat before he answers about dog corpse. "No, no. I was surprised. That's all." His words might not be convincing, especially as he follows them up with a skeptical, "You can control it well?"

[ambasciatore]

"I'm a necromancer -- controlling the dead is kind of what I do." He calls back to him, sword cutting through a number of heartless. "I thought maybe these were ghosts and I could stop them."

They aren't, and it feels like the swarm as never ending. It reminded him of a hive of angry bees, as if they disturbed a nest and now they all my defend it with their lives. Maybe they were the same in that regard. But how do you deal with angry bees?

No really, because Nico has only dealt with monsters so the semantics of dealing with bees just escape him.

"How many more are there?"

[gusumouthcannon]

Necromancer is a term that Jingyi commits to memory, partially because it is relevant both here and with those he already knows. That he and this person had similar thoughts makes him pat himself on the back for finding a good ally.

"I also thought they were resentful spirits, and that is something that I normally fight. I am not sure what they are, but they are certainly not the dead. Or at least not the dead that I know."

He huffs out a breath. The things are still swarming, and to fight them for so long is tiring. Especially when he does not know if he will only be scratched or if something worse will happen if the things touch him. "I do not know how many." He throws a glance at the dog corpse, hopping back a little involuntarily when it comes even slightly closer during its movements. "Can your--can your dog help clear a way to a better position to fight?"

With his sword, he points to an area with tables that they could use for more cover for their flanks, then to a corridor that would give them a narrow chokepoint and have them fight closer together, and then toward a raised planter that would give them high ground. "We should draw them away from here and the door that people are leaving from."

[ambasciatore]

"Good idea."

It doesn't take long before the dog is off, herding the heartless away from the door, barking (an odd surreal sound, considering he no longer has vocal cords) after them and biting at their heels as the heartless scramble. Nico grins, glad that things seem to work working out for them.

"Come on, let's go before they figure out what we're doing."

Not that he thinks they're smart enough to know. They don't seem to have a focus, singularly minded as they swarm. Angry, but mindless, wanting to harm without consequence. They're less than animals but not quite like the monsters he was familiar with. Nico rushes to the tables, debating on overturning them to create a funnel to keep them bottlenecked in one area.

"You ready?"

[gusumouthcannon]

The barking is very alarming, and Jingyi keeps his eyes on the dog more than the shadows. He knows that this is something that demonic cultivators can do, maybe, but only in theory. Seeing it for himself still makes him want to take his sword to it.

At Nico's words, he peels his gaze away and agrees, "Yes."

He is not nervous, exactly. He is cautious as he avoids the dog and the small (and sometimes larger) shadows that reach their claws for both him and his companion. What few shadows escape the dog, Jingyi dispatches as he guards Nico's tactical retreat.

Once Nico reaches the tables, though, Jingyi leaps in a smooth, impossible arc to land at the edge of the furniture cluster in a flutter of robes. He glances over the abandoned drinks and food and turns a bright smile on Nico. Yes. This will do. He has learned about sieges from experience. Being forced to fight in a circle wastes far more energy than he can spare if they fight for a long time.

"Ready," he says and kicks a table over without hesitation. Cups go flying and it is very satisfying. "We need a stronghold."

[ambasciatore]

It was absolutely satisfying to watch cups fly and crash to the floor. He grins, gripping the hilt of his sword, ready for the oncoming horde. A strong hold, he thinks, is going to be difficult considering the wide open area.

"If we funnel them into this location we just need to stand our ground here." Right? He wished he paid more attention to siege drills at Camp Jupiter. "Right?"

The undead dog barks, chasing the group towards them, taking the time to herd the heartless after them.

"Ready?"

[ ooc: i am so sorry for the long wait. it's been a weird month. If you wanted to continue that'd be awesome, but if not it's okay I understand! I'd still love to have them meet up sometime after this if you'd like? ]

[gusumouthcannon]

"More or less," Jingyi agrees, though he, too, is taking in the view of the wide area and the complete lack of a single place that these things are coming from. "It is a matter of not having enemies where we cannot see them attack us. So we are making a front and a back—" He sweeps his blade beyond the tables when he says 'front' and then behind them both when he says 'back.' "If we do not waste any more energy than we have to, we can fight longer."

Which--well, he does not know how important that might be in this instance, since he does not know how long their small siege will last, but...

"Now that we have a funnel, though! Ready!"

[ooc: *coughIreturn!cough* I dropped off the planet for last month, so I uh. Feel ya. On this. Same question to you: continue and/or new thread? :D Idk where this thread is going, but I'm up for continuing, but they *need* to have kept in touch after this kind of meeting.]