-
For all readers and writers
After much ado, our new tagging system is here and being rolled out to the userbase. Read more here!
No Jumper, You ARE The Team! (A Jumpchain/RWBY Quest)
nanayoung
She Who Watches And Waits
- Location
- I'm not behind you. Seriously.
Voting Closed. Winners:
[X] Follow them to the building then get a safe distance then call the fucking cops. Cult meetings have to be illegal, right?
[X] Hair: Hair cut and dye x4
-[X] Red: Trim and add some bright red
-[X] Lily: Light Brown, Just a trim
-[X] Shade: Shoulder length and add some shades of grey.
-[X] Sunflower: do what you did with this Yang (lol)
[X] Clothes:
-[X] Red: T-shirt, Cargo pants, underwear, shoes, socks, cheap wrist watch
-[X] Lily: Plaid button-up shirt, Torn blue jeans, underwear, shoes, socks, Straw Hat
-[X] Sunflower: Dress shirt, Dress Pants, underwear, nice shoes, socks, yellow tie
[X] Books: Grab a bestseller, a couple of the classics, faunus biology book, Dust for Dummies, something trashy, and one or two wild card. Whatever stands out.
[X] Tip the receptionist five lien as thanks for the tooth stuff. Totally not a bribe.
[X] Follow them to the building then get a safe distance then call the fucking cops. Cult meetings have to be illegal, right?
[X] Hair: Hair cut and dye x4
-[X] Red: Trim and add some bright red
-[X] Lily: Light Brown, Just a trim
-[X] Shade: Shoulder length and add some shades of grey.
-[X] Sunflower: do what you did with this Yang (lol)
[X] Clothes:
-[X] Red: T-shirt, Cargo pants, underwear, shoes, socks, cheap wrist watch
-[X] Lily: Plaid button-up shirt, Torn blue jeans, underwear, shoes, socks, Straw Hat
-[X] Sunflower: Dress shirt, Dress Pants, underwear, nice shoes, socks, yellow tie
[X] Books: Grab a bestseller, a couple of the classics, faunus biology book, Dust for Dummies, something trashy, and one or two wild card. Whatever stands out.
[X] Tip the receptionist five lien as thanks for the tooth stuff. Totally not a bribe.
Lopezelpesado
Space worm best worm.
- Pronouns
- Something
This seems like a fun quest
Week 1.4: Talking To Yourself
nanayoung
She Who Watches And Waits
- Location
- I'm not behind you. Seriously.
[X] Tip the receptionist five lien as thanks for the tooth stuff. Totally not a bribe.
You did so.
The receptionist glared at you, glared at the money, then snatched it off the counter. "Go."
You went.
[X] Follow them to the building then get a safe distance then call the fucking cops. Cult meetings have to be illegal, right?
You waited until they were a good twenty meters away before following.
You made sure to hide behind walls, dumpsters, and parked cars as you did. The cover of darkness wasn't gonna help you when everyone had night vision.
The cultists(?) trickled into the entrance of the warehouse. When the door slammed closed, a muscular dude with an -- was that a chainsaw greatsword? -- impractically epic weapon stood guard outside.
The guy was staring straight ahead. Every now and then he'd scan the area, making you duck behind your hiding place.
He didn't seem to see you though. Not even when you edged closer to the warehouse to get a better look.
The temptation to try and sneak in and get a peak at what was going on was high. But you had no idea if you could sneak past chainsaw dude without getting into a fight.
Plus the place could have all sorts of alarms and traps to trip you up. Better to wait outside and get a good look at the place.
You eyed the unmarked trucks. No license plates and no identifiers you could give to the police. You had the address, but you didn't have the names or faces of the people inside. Chainsaw dude had a pretty distinct tribal tattoo though.
Peaking out from behind a parked car, you took out your phone and --
Wait.
You didn't know what the emergency number was.
Fuck.
Okay, no problem. You just had to head back towards the streets and knock on a house or something.
You stuffed your phone back into your backpack and snuck back towards the streets, glancing over your shoulder every now and then to see if chainsaw dude noticed you. He never did.
Once you were far enough that you couldn't see the warehouse anymore, you stood up and full on sprinted towards the nearest house.
*Bangbangbangbang*
You heard shuffling before the door swung open. A woman with raccoon ears was rubbing her eyes, clearly having been woken from her sleep. "Huh? Who are you?"
You gave her an awkward wave. "Hi. Uh, sorry about waking you up. I was just wondering if you knew the number for emergency services? I'm new to Vale, so."
"Emergency -- oh. It's one-one-one." Her eyes became more clear. And more concerned. "Is something wrong? Are you in trouble?"
You hesitated before admitting, "Nah. there's just a bunch of cult shit going down on Willow Drive."
She blinked. "Wait, what?"
You gave a quick summary of what you saw. You figured that since a cult meeting was happening just a few blocks down from her house, she deserved to know.
At first the woman looked confused. Then you described the masks and her eyes widened in realization. "The White Fang?!"
You snapped your fingers. "Oh yeah, those guys! Shit, I knew their masks looked familiar. They're a bunch of... freedom fighters? I think?"
"Terrorists," she said flatly, looking tense and scared.
"Shit." Okay, you really needed to call the cops now.
"You -- they're having a meeting on Willow Drive?"
"Yup. Saw then and figured I'd call the cops." You gave her a nod. "Thanks for giving me the number and uh, sorry for waking you up."
You turned to leave, but stopped when you felt a hand on your shoulder. "Wait. You should -- you shouldn't --"
She struggled with her words for a moment before letting out a shaky sigh. "Look. You're knew to Vale, right?"
"Yeah," you said slowly, not sure if you liked where this was going.
You could feel the weight of your weapon in your backpack, the handle slightly poking out of the zipper. It shouldn't take you more than a second to whip it out.
"The White Fang aren't -- they aren't people you should mess around with. Not in Vale at least. If you call the cops and tell them about one of their safehouses --" She broke off, her hands running through her hair. She was shaking.
"But its not like they saw me," you pointed hesitantly. "They won't know I was the one who told on them if I tell the cops and leave."
She shook her head. "If you tell the police, the White Fang will know."
"Wha -- are you fucking serious?" you demanded. "The cops are dirty here?"
Fuck everything. Of course the city your Entity -- fuck that asshole -- dropped you in was a terrorist infested hellhole. You should've fucking known; the place was way to fucking peaceful to be anything else.
She hesitated. "I -- it's --" She sighed again. "Look, if you want to call the cops then don't use your scroll. They'll trace you if you do." She pointed down the street. "There's a payscroll over at that street corner, next to the pink stop sign. All the traffic cameras in that area got busted a few weeks ago, so you won't have to worry about getting recorded. Make your call over there if you have to, but don't mention me. Keep me out of it, I want nothing to do with --"
Her eyes darted all around her as her breathing got heavy. "I-I-I have to go. Don't mention me when you make that call, please!"
She slammed the door closed before you could respond.
You could hear running footsteps and then -- silence.
"Fuck."
You wrestled with yourself for a moment before heading towards the street corner. "This better not bite me in the ass or I swear to God, I'll wipe out the White Fang myself."
The payphone was right where the raccoon woman said. You fished a few coins out of your backpack and called the (potentially dirty) cops.
"Hello, one-one-one speaking, what is your emerge--"
"The White Fang are having a big ass meeting on 324 Willow Drive. There's a bunch of people there, they're all wearing those mask thingies, and I don't know what the fuck they're up to."
There was a pause. "The White Fang are on 324 Willow Drive?"
"Yep. You should probably hurry, 'cause its pretty close to the Residential District. Like, I'm pretty sure a bunch of families live near here."
You heard frantic typing. "Ma'am, what is your --"
"I gotta go."
You hung up before the operator could say anything. And then you booked it as fast as you could.
So much for a peaceful walk. Next time you start exploring, you'll keep your nose outta weird shit.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The motel was a shitty, roach infested, asshole of a place. Naturally you wanted to explore it more.
In your Shade body you spent a few hours going up and down the halls, walking around the perimeter of the place, and giving the whole area a look over.
There were some places you obviously couldn't go -- the basement, the employee room, the manager's office, shit like that -- but other than that, you went just about everywhere.
You looked through windows, walked through parking lots, hid in bushes, sat in the lobby, action rolled through the halls and elevators. You even knocked on doors and tried to introduce yourself to your neighbors.
It didn't go too well. One of them threw an egg at you and another one cursed you out while shoving pasta in their face.
And other than finding out that there was a vending machine -- with snacks and soda that were, of course, six months expired -- you didn't really find much. It was just a normal motel, albeit a dogshit one.
It made the receptionist pissed off though. They glared at you, their vacant eyes becoming slightly more heated. "What are you doing."
You shrugged and said honestly, "Nothing. Just giving the place a look."
The receptionist reached underneath the counter and took out --
[X] Another toothbrush and some more toothpaste.
[X] Five bucks worth of quarters and an address to a laundromat.
[X] A bar of soap and some shampoo.
[X] A fucking gun.
-- and pushed it towards you. "Stop it."
"Uh. Alright?" You took the bribe(?) and shoved it in your backpack, not sure what to think.
Like, should you look around more to get more free stuff, or should you keep to yourself? What the fuck was this dude hiding, and why did he have this kinda shit underneath the counter? The whole thing made you curious.
But then again, you had your own shit you didn't want getting out. So did you really have any right to snoop around someone else's business?
..nah, you should keep to yourself. For now. "Thanks, man. I really appreciate --"
"Go away."
"Okay."
You left back to your motel room, giving them a cheerful wave as you went. The receptionist glared at you the entire way.
-------------------------------------------------------
The next day you decided to explore a place farther from "home".
The shops and markets in the Commercial District were varied as fuck. Like, you saw the expected shops like clothing stores and grocery stores and stuff like that. But then you also saw super specific shit like a carrot store, a bead store, a lampshade store, and a store that sold nothing but monkey figurines.
That last one had a lot of customers and honestly? You could see why. Those monkey figurines looked dope as fuck, dude.
Your favorite was the one made out of solid gold. Tacky and a waste of money but damn if it wouldn't make for an epic paper weight.
"Thief! Hey stop, THIEF!"
Looked like someone had the exact same idea as you. A figure with their hoodie drawn up was full on sprinting out of the monkey store, the golden figurine tucked underneath their armpit.
An older -- and extremely hairy -- man scrambled to chase after him, pushing back the crowd of interested onlookers to catch the dude stealing his merchandise.
You could tell by how winded the older guy was that he was not gonna catch the thief. You, however, were right in the thief's way.
[X] Full on tackle the thief -- though make sure to cushion the money figurine while you do.
[X] Wait until the thief is out of sight -- then jump him and take the figurine for yourself.
[X] Offer to give chase -- in exchange for a reward. Like a monkey figurine perhaps?
[X] Write in...
[X] Hair: Hair cut and dye x4
-[X] Red: Trim and add some bright red
-[X] Lily: Light Brown, Just a trim
-[X] Shade: Shoulder length and add some shades of grey.
-[X] Sunflower: do what you did with this Yang (lol)
Though it pained you to see your money go, you bought some dye and sent all four of your bodies to the hair salon.
After fiddling with the dyes a bit -- and calling the salon for advice -- you got to work making yourselves look completely different.
For Red, you had her hair trimmed a bit and dyed it red. Bright, cherry red -- you even added a few star hairclips to keep your hair back. It actually looked pretty good on you, and made you look -- well. Even more childish than you did before. But you looked different and that was what counted.
For Lily, another trim. And because your white hair was so distinct you decided to go for the most common hair color of all: light brown. The results were pretty good. You kinda fucked up and made your hair darker than you intended, but at least you looked less like a Schnee.
Shade, you cut your hair to your shoulders and tried to make it grey. You kinda got a highlight effect going on -- the top layer of your hair looked grey while the under layer was still black. It looked dope as fuck considering you just learned how to dye your hair that day.
And for Sunflower -- well. You kinda kept it as is. You just bought some hair ties and did it up in a bun.
All in all, you looked good and slightly unrecognizable. Dying your hair could do only so much, especially when you couldn't afford contacts. Hopefully your new clothes would give you that much needed oomph.
-----------------------------------------------------------
[X] Clothes:
-[X] Red: T-shirt, Cargo pants, underwear, shoes, socks, cheap wrist watch
-[X] Lily: Plaid button-up shirt, Torn blue jeans, underwear, shoes, socks, Straw Hat
-[X] Sunflower: Dress shirt, Dress Pants, underwear, nice shoes, socks, yellow tie
Yet again you went to the thrift shop. And this time instead of buying battered and ripped clothes, you bought something slightly new.
You looked yourselves over.
"Alright," Red said, tugging on her massive T-shirt. "This looks normal. A bit baggy but nothing I can't handle." She squinted at her wrist. "The watch is a bit much."
Lily snorted. "You look like a hipster." She adjusted her straw hat so that it was slightly over her eyes.
"Yeah? Well you look like a sheltered farm girl."
"Does this place have hipsters?" Sunflower wondered. She was doing up her tie.
"Every place has hipsters. You just gotta know where to find them, ya know?" Shade had her normal outfit on -- a battered hoodie and ripped jeans -- though she snagged some underwear and socks from her original outfit. "Also, I still look homeless."
Lily shrugged. "If you want, you can cannibalize stuff from our summoned outfits."
"Ugh. None of it looks normal though." Shade paused. "Except for the shoes. Hey Red, do you think you and I have the same shoe size?"
Red shrugged. "Go for it, dude."
"Sweet."
Sunflower admired herself in the shattered bathroom mirror. "You know, I'd look damn good if I had a suit jacket. And maybe some black gloves..." she mused.
"If we have enough spare cash," Red said. "We really can't afford to accessorize right now."
Shade stopped cramming Red's old boots on her feet to shoot Red a Look. "Really? Then what the fuck is up with your watch?"
Red rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean, asshole."
"Do you guys think I look like someone?" Sunflower turned around in the mirror, looking at herself from all angles. "I don't know why, but I keep thinking of sabers and motorcycles while I'm in this outfit. Is that weird?"
The other three ignored her.
"I'm just saying," Shade huffed, "that if you guys have enough money to get yourselves some new threads, then I should get some new shit too."
Lily smirked. "You do have new shit." She nudged her shoe at the pile of battered clothes. "You get to keep all our old shit."
Shade threw a boot at her head. "Fuck you."
"Okay, okay, stop," Red said. "Real talk: do we look unrecognizable?"
You all looked yourselves in the mirror.
"...maybe?" Lily offered. "Like, we still have the same eye colors and features."
"But from a distance we'd look like different people," Shade said. "Up close? And with people who may or may not 'know' us? I dunno."
Sunflower frowned. "Should we get contacts?"
"Hell no." Red shot her a disgusted look. "Do you have any idea how expensive that shit is?"
"We could buy a power or something. Like shapeshifting or a wardrobe of disguises." Sunflower's eyes brightened. "Ooh! Can we get like, an alt-form? Because if we can, I call dibs on Endbringer."
Red massaged her temples. "Dude. No. We're saving the points for a training booster, remember?"
"Aww..."
"I think we look as fine as we're gonna get," Shade said. "Like, we could be better? But with our budget this is all we got going for us."
"Yeah," Lily chimed in. "So long as we lay low and don't do anything stupid, we can get by. That's pretty much all we can ask for at this point."
"Agreed," you said in all four bodies.
"Excuse me," the customer wiggled their cup of soda at you, "your crushed ice machine isn't working."
"There's been a problem with it all day, ma'am," you said politely. "It's been shut down."
The lady jerked her head back as though you slapped her. Her eyes narrowed at you. "But I need my crushed ice!"
"Well I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to come back in a few hours. It'll be fixed then."
She scoffed and practically threw her halfway filled cup of soda at you. You caught it with a single hand and dropped it in the trash, maintaining eye contact all the while.
"...whatever. Twenty lien on spot five." She flicked her money at you and hurried off.
You gave her back a humorless smile and flipped her off. "Of course, ma'am."
Interactions like that were common at the Combustion station. The politest conversations you had were with people who shoved money at you while mumbling their parking number. The most anger inducing were with the customers who couldn't seem to accept "no" for an answer.
And sure, bitching them out was fun. But after the fifteenth drawn out argument you had, you felt yourself becoming more and more drained.
There was only so much stupidity you could tolerate before it started to weigh you down. And while sinking to their level was fun and cathartic, it only made your job drag on.
It just felt simpler to be passive aggressive about things instead of confronting customers on their contrary, entitled bullshit. Took way less energy and felt oddly satisfying too. Like you had the moral high ground.
You closed up your register and grabbed your stuff. "I'm off, boss!"
"Ugh." Ash shuffled out of the backroom, a cigarette in their mouth. It had to have been the fifth one since your shift started. "Come back tomorrow, same time. Cea called out again."
"Is she going to a funeral this time? Or a baby shower?"
They rolled their eyes. "Both."
You laughed and shook your head. "Jesus Christ. Later, boss!"
"Mmph."
It was midday when you left your workplace. The Commercial District -- that was what that section of the City of Vale was called, according to your new map -- was bustling as usual. Full of people who looked bright, polite, and absolutely nothing like the shitbirds you had to deal with on a daily basis.
In fact -- having had to deal with them for so long -- it made you wanna have a normal conversation. One where you weren't treated like a slave or a robot with no will to live.
And hell, maybe you could make a friend! God knows you need one considering how much you talk to yourself.
So you wandered around, idly scanning through the crowd of shoppers for someone lonely yet sociable enough to talk to a random stranger in a Combustion station uniform.
After a while your eyes landed on --
[X] A sad looking boy with a handprint on his face. He was staring down at a dropped ice cream cone.
[X] An elderly woman with a robotic leg and arm. It looked like her prosthetics were smoking.
[X] A business man chugging a flask next to a trashcan. He looked like a mess.
[X] A dog. Just a straight up dog, running around a fountain while its leash whipped behind it.
[X] Books: Grab a bestseller, a couple of the classics, faunus biology book, Dust for Dummies, something trashy, and one or two wild card. Whatever stands out.
"...and that's about it." Red shoved the last book in a plastic bag. "That'll be twenty-six lien."
"Jesus. You know the thrift store sells books for fifty cents or a dollar, right?"
Red arched an eyebrow. "Yeah? That's because thrift store doesn't sell books anyone actually wants. Just the ones everyone throws away."
Lily smirked. "Fair enough." She grabbed her books and headed out, throwing a wave as she did. "Later!"
"Let's hope not!"
You did so.
Lost 5 lien.
The receptionist glared at you, glared at the money, then snatched it off the counter. "Go."
You went.
[X] Follow them to the building then get a safe distance then call the fucking cops. Cult meetings have to be illegal, right?
You waited until they were a good twenty meters away before following.
You made sure to hide behind walls, dumpsters, and parked cars as you did. The cover of darkness wasn't gonna help you when everyone had night vision.
The cultists(?) trickled into the entrance of the warehouse. When the door slammed closed, a muscular dude with an -- was that a chainsaw greatsword? -- impractically epic weapon stood guard outside.
The guy was staring straight ahead. Every now and then he'd scan the area, making you duck behind your hiding place.
He didn't seem to see you though. Not even when you edged closer to the warehouse to get a better look.
The temptation to try and sneak in and get a peak at what was going on was high. But you had no idea if you could sneak past chainsaw dude without getting into a fight.
Plus the place could have all sorts of alarms and traps to trip you up. Better to wait outside and get a good look at the place.
You eyed the unmarked trucks. No license plates and no identifiers you could give to the police. You had the address, but you didn't have the names or faces of the people inside. Chainsaw dude had a pretty distinct tribal tattoo though.
Peaking out from behind a parked car, you took out your phone and --
Wait.
You didn't know what the emergency number was.
Fuck.
Okay, no problem. You just had to head back towards the streets and knock on a house or something.
You stuffed your phone back into your backpack and snuck back towards the streets, glancing over your shoulder every now and then to see if chainsaw dude noticed you. He never did.
Once you were far enough that you couldn't see the warehouse anymore, you stood up and full on sprinted towards the nearest house.
*Bangbangbangbang*
You heard shuffling before the door swung open. A woman with raccoon ears was rubbing her eyes, clearly having been woken from her sleep. "Huh? Who are you?"
You gave her an awkward wave. "Hi. Uh, sorry about waking you up. I was just wondering if you knew the number for emergency services? I'm new to Vale, so."
"Emergency -- oh. It's one-one-one." Her eyes became more clear. And more concerned. "Is something wrong? Are you in trouble?"
You hesitated before admitting, "Nah. there's just a bunch of cult shit going down on Willow Drive."
She blinked. "Wait, what?"
You gave a quick summary of what you saw. You figured that since a cult meeting was happening just a few blocks down from her house, she deserved to know.
At first the woman looked confused. Then you described the masks and her eyes widened in realization. "The White Fang?!"
You snapped your fingers. "Oh yeah, those guys! Shit, I knew their masks looked familiar. They're a bunch of... freedom fighters? I think?"
"Terrorists," she said flatly, looking tense and scared.
"Shit." Okay, you really needed to call the cops now.
"You -- they're having a meeting on Willow Drive?"
"Yup. Saw then and figured I'd call the cops." You gave her a nod. "Thanks for giving me the number and uh, sorry for waking you up."
You turned to leave, but stopped when you felt a hand on your shoulder. "Wait. You should -- you shouldn't --"
She struggled with her words for a moment before letting out a shaky sigh. "Look. You're knew to Vale, right?"
"Yeah," you said slowly, not sure if you liked where this was going.
You could feel the weight of your weapon in your backpack, the handle slightly poking out of the zipper. It shouldn't take you more than a second to whip it out.
"The White Fang aren't -- they aren't people you should mess around with. Not in Vale at least. If you call the cops and tell them about one of their safehouses --" She broke off, her hands running through her hair. She was shaking.
"But its not like they saw me," you pointed hesitantly. "They won't know I was the one who told on them if I tell the cops and leave."
She shook her head. "If you tell the police, the White Fang will know."
"Wha -- are you fucking serious?" you demanded. "The cops are dirty here?"
Fuck everything. Of course the city your Entity -- fuck that asshole -- dropped you in was a terrorist infested hellhole. You should've fucking known; the place was way to fucking peaceful to be anything else.
She hesitated. "I -- it's --" She sighed again. "Look, if you want to call the cops then don't use your scroll. They'll trace you if you do." She pointed down the street. "There's a payscroll over at that street corner, next to the pink stop sign. All the traffic cameras in that area got busted a few weeks ago, so you won't have to worry about getting recorded. Make your call over there if you have to, but don't mention me. Keep me out of it, I want nothing to do with --"
Her eyes darted all around her as her breathing got heavy. "I-I-I have to go. Don't mention me when you make that call, please!"
She slammed the door closed before you could respond.
You could hear running footsteps and then -- silence.
"Fuck."
You wrestled with yourself for a moment before heading towards the street corner. "This better not bite me in the ass or I swear to God, I'll wipe out the White Fang myself."
The payphone was right where the raccoon woman said. You fished a few coins out of your backpack and called the (potentially dirty) cops.
"Hello, one-one-one speaking, what is your emerge--"
"The White Fang are having a big ass meeting on 324 Willow Drive. There's a bunch of people there, they're all wearing those mask thingies, and I don't know what the fuck they're up to."
There was a pause. "The White Fang are on 324 Willow Drive?"
"Yep. You should probably hurry, 'cause its pretty close to the Residential District. Like, I'm pretty sure a bunch of families live near here."
You heard frantic typing. "Ma'am, what is your --"
"I gotta go."
You hung up before the operator could say anything. And then you booked it as fast as you could.
So much for a peaceful walk. Next time you start exploring, you'll keep your nose outta weird shit.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The motel was a shitty, roach infested, asshole of a place. Naturally you wanted to explore it more.
In your Shade body you spent a few hours going up and down the halls, walking around the perimeter of the place, and giving the whole area a look over.
There were some places you obviously couldn't go -- the basement, the employee room, the manager's office, shit like that -- but other than that, you went just about everywhere.
You looked through windows, walked through parking lots, hid in bushes, sat in the lobby, action rolled through the halls and elevators. You even knocked on doors and tried to introduce yourself to your neighbors.
It didn't go too well. One of them threw an egg at you and another one cursed you out while shoving pasta in their face.
And other than finding out that there was a vending machine -- with snacks and soda that were, of course, six months expired -- you didn't really find much. It was just a normal motel, albeit a dogshit one.
It made the receptionist pissed off though. They glared at you, their vacant eyes becoming slightly more heated. "What are you doing."
You shrugged and said honestly, "Nothing. Just giving the place a look."
The receptionist reached underneath the counter and took out --
[X] Another toothbrush and some more toothpaste.
[X] Five bucks worth of quarters and an address to a laundromat.
[X] A bar of soap and some shampoo.
[X] A fucking gun.
-- and pushed it towards you. "Stop it."
"Uh. Alright?" You took the bribe(?) and shoved it in your backpack, not sure what to think.
Like, should you look around more to get more free stuff, or should you keep to yourself? What the fuck was this dude hiding, and why did he have this kinda shit underneath the counter? The whole thing made you curious.
But then again, you had your own shit you didn't want getting out. So did you really have any right to snoop around someone else's business?
..nah, you should keep to yourself. For now. "Thanks, man. I really appreciate --"
"Go away."
"Okay."
You left back to your motel room, giving them a cheerful wave as you went. The receptionist glared at you the entire way.
-------------------------------------------------------
The next day you decided to explore a place farther from "home".
The shops and markets in the Commercial District were varied as fuck. Like, you saw the expected shops like clothing stores and grocery stores and stuff like that. But then you also saw super specific shit like a carrot store, a bead store, a lampshade store, and a store that sold nothing but monkey figurines.
That last one had a lot of customers and honestly? You could see why. Those monkey figurines looked dope as fuck, dude.
Your favorite was the one made out of solid gold. Tacky and a waste of money but damn if it wouldn't make for an epic paper weight.
"Thief! Hey stop, THIEF!"
Looked like someone had the exact same idea as you. A figure with their hoodie drawn up was full on sprinting out of the monkey store, the golden figurine tucked underneath their armpit.
An older -- and extremely hairy -- man scrambled to chase after him, pushing back the crowd of interested onlookers to catch the dude stealing his merchandise.
You could tell by how winded the older guy was that he was not gonna catch the thief. You, however, were right in the thief's way.
[X] Full on tackle the thief -- though make sure to cushion the money figurine while you do.
[X] Wait until the thief is out of sight -- then jump him and take the figurine for yourself.
[X] Offer to give chase -- in exchange for a reward. Like a monkey figurine perhaps?
[X] Write in...
[X] Hair: Hair cut and dye x4
-[X] Red: Trim and add some bright red
-[X] Lily: Light Brown, Just a trim
-[X] Shade: Shoulder length and add some shades of grey.
-[X] Sunflower: do what you did with this Yang (lol)
Though it pained you to see your money go, you bought some dye and sent all four of your bodies to the hair salon.
Lost 150 lien.
After fiddling with the dyes a bit -- and calling the salon for advice -- you got to work making yourselves look completely different.
For Red, you had her hair trimmed a bit and dyed it red. Bright, cherry red -- you even added a few star hairclips to keep your hair back. It actually looked pretty good on you, and made you look -- well. Even more childish than you did before. But you looked different and that was what counted.
For Lily, another trim. And because your white hair was so distinct you decided to go for the most common hair color of all: light brown. The results were pretty good. You kinda fucked up and made your hair darker than you intended, but at least you looked less like a Schnee.
Shade, you cut your hair to your shoulders and tried to make it grey. You kinda got a highlight effect going on -- the top layer of your hair looked grey while the under layer was still black. It looked dope as fuck considering you just learned how to dye your hair that day.
And for Sunflower -- well. You kinda kept it as is. You just bought some hair ties and did it up in a bun.
All in all, you looked good and slightly unrecognizable. Dying your hair could do only so much, especially when you couldn't afford contacts. Hopefully your new clothes would give you that much needed oomph.
-----------------------------------------------------------
[X] Clothes:
-[X] Red: T-shirt, Cargo pants, underwear, shoes, socks, cheap wrist watch
-[X] Lily: Plaid button-up shirt, Torn blue jeans, underwear, shoes, socks, Straw Hat
-[X] Sunflower: Dress shirt, Dress Pants, underwear, nice shoes, socks, yellow tie
Yet again you went to the thrift shop. And this time instead of buying battered and ripped clothes, you bought something slightly new.
Lost 90 lien.
You looked yourselves over.
"Alright," Red said, tugging on her massive T-shirt. "This looks normal. A bit baggy but nothing I can't handle." She squinted at her wrist. "The watch is a bit much."
Lily snorted. "You look like a hipster." She adjusted her straw hat so that it was slightly over her eyes.
"Yeah? Well you look like a sheltered farm girl."
"Does this place have hipsters?" Sunflower wondered. She was doing up her tie.
"Every place has hipsters. You just gotta know where to find them, ya know?" Shade had her normal outfit on -- a battered hoodie and ripped jeans -- though she snagged some underwear and socks from her original outfit. "Also, I still look homeless."
Lily shrugged. "If you want, you can cannibalize stuff from our summoned outfits."
"Ugh. None of it looks normal though." Shade paused. "Except for the shoes. Hey Red, do you think you and I have the same shoe size?"
Red shrugged. "Go for it, dude."
"Sweet."
Sunflower admired herself in the shattered bathroom mirror. "You know, I'd look damn good if I had a suit jacket. And maybe some black gloves..." she mused.
"If we have enough spare cash," Red said. "We really can't afford to accessorize right now."
Shade stopped cramming Red's old boots on her feet to shoot Red a Look. "Really? Then what the fuck is up with your watch?"
Red rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean, asshole."
"Do you guys think I look like someone?" Sunflower turned around in the mirror, looking at herself from all angles. "I don't know why, but I keep thinking of sabers and motorcycles while I'm in this outfit. Is that weird?"
The other three ignored her.
"I'm just saying," Shade huffed, "that if you guys have enough money to get yourselves some new threads, then I should get some new shit too."
Lily smirked. "You do have new shit." She nudged her shoe at the pile of battered clothes. "You get to keep all our old shit."
Shade threw a boot at her head. "Fuck you."
"Okay, okay, stop," Red said. "Real talk: do we look unrecognizable?"
You all looked yourselves in the mirror.
"...maybe?" Lily offered. "Like, we still have the same eye colors and features."
"But from a distance we'd look like different people," Shade said. "Up close? And with people who may or may not 'know' us? I dunno."
Sunflower frowned. "Should we get contacts?"
"Hell no." Red shot her a disgusted look. "Do you have any idea how expensive that shit is?"
"We could buy a power or something. Like shapeshifting or a wardrobe of disguises." Sunflower's eyes brightened. "Ooh! Can we get like, an alt-form? Because if we can, I call dibs on Endbringer."
Red massaged her temples. "Dude. No. We're saving the points for a training booster, remember?"
"Aww..."
"I think we look as fine as we're gonna get," Shade said. "Like, we could be better? But with our budget this is all we got going for us."
"Yeah," Lily chimed in. "So long as we lay low and don't do anything stupid, we can get by. That's pretty much all we can ask for at this point."
"Agreed," you said in all four bodies.
Character Sheets Updated!
"Excuse me," the customer wiggled their cup of soda at you, "your crushed ice machine isn't working."
"There's been a problem with it all day, ma'am," you said politely. "It's been shut down."
The lady jerked her head back as though you slapped her. Her eyes narrowed at you. "But I need my crushed ice!"
"Well I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to come back in a few hours. It'll be fixed then."
She scoffed and practically threw her halfway filled cup of soda at you. You caught it with a single hand and dropped it in the trash, maintaining eye contact all the while.
"...whatever. Twenty lien on spot five." She flicked her money at you and hurried off.
You gave her back a humorless smile and flipped her off. "Of course, ma'am."
Interactions like that were common at the Combustion station. The politest conversations you had were with people who shoved money at you while mumbling their parking number. The most anger inducing were with the customers who couldn't seem to accept "no" for an answer.
And sure, bitching them out was fun. But after the fifteenth drawn out argument you had, you felt yourself becoming more and more drained.
There was only so much stupidity you could tolerate before it started to weigh you down. And while sinking to their level was fun and cathartic, it only made your job drag on.
It just felt simpler to be passive aggressive about things instead of confronting customers on their contrary, entitled bullshit. Took way less energy and felt oddly satisfying too. Like you had the moral high ground.
You closed up your register and grabbed your stuff. "I'm off, boss!"
"Ugh." Ash shuffled out of the backroom, a cigarette in their mouth. It had to have been the fifth one since your shift started. "Come back tomorrow, same time. Cea called out again."
"Is she going to a funeral this time? Or a baby shower?"
They rolled their eyes. "Both."
You laughed and shook your head. "Jesus Christ. Later, boss!"
"Mmph."
It was midday when you left your workplace. The Commercial District -- that was what that section of the City of Vale was called, according to your new map -- was bustling as usual. Full of people who looked bright, polite, and absolutely nothing like the shitbirds you had to deal with on a daily basis.
In fact -- having had to deal with them for so long -- it made you wanna have a normal conversation. One where you weren't treated like a slave or a robot with no will to live.
And hell, maybe you could make a friend! God knows you need one considering how much you talk to yourself.
So you wandered around, idly scanning through the crowd of shoppers for someone lonely yet sociable enough to talk to a random stranger in a Combustion station uniform.
After a while your eyes landed on --
[X] A sad looking boy with a handprint on his face. He was staring down at a dropped ice cream cone.
[X] An elderly woman with a robotic leg and arm. It looked like her prosthetics were smoking.
[X] A business man chugging a flask next to a trashcan. He looked like a mess.
[X] A dog. Just a straight up dog, running around a fountain while its leash whipped behind it.
[X] Books: Grab a bestseller, a couple of the classics, faunus biology book, Dust for Dummies, something trashy, and one or two wild card. Whatever stands out.
"...and that's about it." Red shoved the last book in a plastic bag. "That'll be twenty-six lien."
Lost 34 lien.
"Jesus. You know the thrift store sells books for fifty cents or a dollar, right?"
Red arched an eyebrow. "Yeah? That's because thrift store doesn't sell books anyone actually wants. Just the ones everyone throws away."
Lily smirked. "Fair enough." She grabbed her books and headed out, throwing a wave as she did. "Later!"
"Let's hope not!"
"Mount Glenn -- The Tragic History": A book that details the events leading up to one of the greatest tragedies known to the Kingdom of Vale. Includes one-on-one interviews, detailed minute logs, personal stories about the event, and lots of never-before-seen evidence.
+ 0/100 read.
"The Brothers Grimm -- Fairy Tales of Remnant": A book that details classic fairy tales. Includes pictures.
+ 0/20 read.
"The Man With Two Souls": A story about a man who was born with two souls, whose endless struggle is the source of all conflict in the book.
+ 0/50 read.
"Faunus Biology -- The Study of Thinking Beasts": A biology textbook co-written by an Atlas and Mistral professor.
+ 0/150 read.
"Dust for Dummies": A book that teaches about dust; common uses, technological uses, combative uses, and more.
+ 0/50 read.
"Ninjas of Love": A romance novel about two ninjas from rival clans, who are deeply in love yet are forced to battle each other to the death doe the sake of their people.
+ 0/30 read.
"The Encyclopedia of Grimm -- A-G": An encyclopedia that details the various types of Grimm, all in alphabetical order.
+ 0/200 read.
"Vacuo is a Hellhole -- My Adventures Journeying Through the Desert": An autobiography about a man's five year journey through the deserts of Vacuo.
+ 0/40 read.
+ 0/100 read.
"The Brothers Grimm -- Fairy Tales of Remnant": A book that details classic fairy tales. Includes pictures.
+ 0/20 read.
"The Man With Two Souls": A story about a man who was born with two souls, whose endless struggle is the source of all conflict in the book.
+ 0/50 read.
"Faunus Biology -- The Study of Thinking Beasts": A biology textbook co-written by an Atlas and Mistral professor.
+ 0/150 read.
"Dust for Dummies": A book that teaches about dust; common uses, technological uses, combative uses, and more.
+ 0/50 read.
"Ninjas of Love": A romance novel about two ninjas from rival clans, who are deeply in love yet are forced to battle each other to the death doe the sake of their people.
+ 0/30 read.
"The Encyclopedia of Grimm -- A-G": An encyclopedia that details the various types of Grimm, all in alphabetical order.
+ 0/200 read.
"Vacuo is a Hellhole -- My Adventures Journeying Through the Desert": An autobiography about a man's five year journey through the deserts of Vacuo.
+ 0/40 read.
Image of the White Fang Guard was made by the creators of RWBY at Roosterteeth.
The image of the receptionist was created byほし☆☆☆ @HOSHI_SAN_3 on Twitter.
Check their stuff out!
The image of the receptionist was created byほし☆☆☆ @HOSHI_SAN_3 on Twitter.
Check their stuff out!
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- She/Her
"Faunus Biology -- The Study of Thinking Beasts": A biology textbook co-written by an Atlas and Mistral professor.
+ 0/150 read.
I hate it already.
+ 0/150 read.
I hate it already.
[X] A bar of soap and some shampoo.
[X] Stick your leg out and trip the thief. Hopefully the monkey figurine survives.
[X] An elderly woman with a robotic leg and arm. It looked like her prosthetics were smoking.
[X] Stick your leg out and trip the thief. Hopefully the monkey figurine survives.
[X] An elderly woman with a robotic leg and arm. It looked like her prosthetics were smoking.
[X] A bar of soap and some shampoo.
[X] Stick your leg out and trip the thief. Hopefully the monkey figurine survives.
[X] A sad looking boy with a handprint on his face. He was staring down at a dropped ice cream cone.
[X] Stick your leg out and trip the thief. Hopefully the monkey figurine survives.
[X] A sad looking boy with a handprint on his face. He was staring down at a dropped ice cream cone.
- Location
- Nottinghamshire, England
Yeah, wouldn't be surprised if there were at least a couple of racism-filled 'analyses' in the tome.
Probably does, but he probably does it to maintain cover, keep himself company, entertain himself and blow off some steam.
[X] A bar of soap and some shampoo.
[X] Stick your leg out and trip the thief. Hopefully the monkey figurine survives.
[X] An elderly woman with a robotic leg and arm. It looked like her prosthetics were smoking.
- Location
- New York
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] A dog. Just a straight up dog, running around a fountain while its leash whipped behind it.
[X] Five bucks worth of quarters and an address to a laundromat.
[X] Full on tackle the thief -- though make sure to cushion the money figurine while you do.
But… dog?
[X] Five bucks worth of quarters and an address to a laundromat.
[X] Full on tackle the thief -- though make sure to cushion the money figurine while you do.
But… dog?
I know... but potentially explodie old lady.
Hentaiwizard
Grand Magus of the Lewd
[X] A fucking gun.
GUN WE NEED GUN
GUN WE NEED GUN
Pffff, what the fuck is up with Shade new look? She looks More like a resistance fighter than the original, bordering looking like a mob boss. Ahahaha!
nanayoung
She Who Watches And Waits
- Location
- I'm not behind you. Seriously.
I will say that with Shade's battered homeless clothes coupled with Jumper's semi-aggressive personality, they look threatening.
Just less "elegant mob boss" and more like someone who would stab you in a back alley for pocket change.
I should have given her the biker look... or had her look like a clown, those are threatening right?
- Location
- Nottinghamshire, England
Bikers? Yeah.
Clowns, though? Not really(?)… I mean, those guys tend to just oscillate between being bloody well hilarious, really damn creepy, or absolutely f£&@ing terrifying, depending on context, setting, the situation, and soo many other things. Though admittedly, those three states aren't necessarily mutually exclusive with each other...
nanayoung
She Who Watches And Waits
- Location
- I'm not behind you. Seriously.
Voting Closed. Winners:
[X] A bar of soap and some shampoo.
[X] Stick your leg out and trip the thief. Hopefully the monkey figurine survives.
[X] An elderly woman with a robotic leg and arm. It looked like her prosthetics were smoking.
[X] A bar of soap and some shampoo.
[X] Stick your leg out and trip the thief. Hopefully the monkey figurine survives.
[X] An elderly woman with a robotic leg and arm. It looked like her prosthetics were smoking.
Week 1.5: Meeting St. George
nanayoung
She Who Watches And Waits
- Location
- I'm not behind you. Seriously.
[X] A bar of soap and some shampoo.
Well, you were running out of soap anyways. And you hadn't washed your hair in over a week...
Shade kicked the door open. "Sup guys, guess who scored us some shampoo!"
"Is it lemon scented?"
"You know it is!"
"Awesome." Red immediately started undressing. "I call first dibs."
Lily gave her a thumbs up from where she was laying halfway out the windowsill. "Fuck yeah, free stuff!"
"I wonder how shampoo was invented," Sunflower wondered as she laid on the bed. "Did they just look at soap and think, 'Huh. Need some of that, 'specially for my hair?'"
Between the four of you -- and taking into account just how thick your hair(s) were -- you doubted it would last the day. Still, you were grateful for the go-away-bribe the receptionist had given you. Maybe you should bug them more often...
-------------------------------------------------------------
[X] Stick your leg out and trip the thief. Hopefully the monkey figurine survives.
You stepped to the side and at the last possible moment, stuck out your leg.
You felt and saw the thief tumble, slamming face first onto the pavement with a meaty *thwack*. The figurine went sailing, flipping end over end in the air before landing in the middle of the street.
"MY MONKEY!"
The hairy man popped out of the crowd, stumbling to his knees before the monkey figurine. Like a newborn baby he gently lifted it off the cement, cradling it in his arms and looking down at it with the tenderness of a new father.
"Shh. Shh. it's gonna be okay. I got you..." he said running his thumb over its face. Not once noticing the truck barreling towards him.
*BeepBeepBeeeeeep*
He looked up, eyes widening, shielding the monkey figurine to his chest --
And then you yanked him out of the street by his collar.
*BeepBeeepBeeeeeeeeep* "Get outta the way you filthy animal!"
The truck rushed by, not once even bothering to stop. You flipped it off.
"Fuck you, asshole! I hope you drive off a cliff, survive, and die a slow agonizing death at the bottom of a ravine!"
The guy you saved looked like he was in shock, his eyes wide and unseeing. He was still clutching the figurine in a firm, but gentle grip. You smoothed out his collar and knelt down, laying a hand on his shoulder. "You okay, man? That was a close call."
He curled up and started rocking back and forth on the sidewalk. He didn't answer.
Out of the corner of your eye you saw someone stumble to their feet before making a mad dash down the street. The thief, getting away after all their bullshit.
You had half a mind to track them down... but the hairy dude needed your attention more. Because judging by how fast his breathing was getting, he was two seconds away from a mental breakdown.
"...okay, um." You looked out into the crowd of onlookers. Most of them looked stunned. A few of them had their phones -- sorry, scrolls -- out and recording. "Does anyone know this guy? And can someone call the --"
Should you call the cops? Putting police and oppressed minorities together was usually a recipe for disaster.
Then again, the police were supposingly dirty in the faunus favor, so... "Can someone fucking call the cops please?"
That snapped some of the bystanders out of their shock. You saw some of them call on their phones while others knelt down next to you, comforting the hairy guy while they asked if you were okay. Sirens trailed up and down the streets, and within minutes you found yourself talking to that police officer you met a few days ago.
"-- and the vehicle didn't try to stop?"
You shook your head. "Nope. Just full on, petal to the metal, kept going." You grimaced when you caught sight of the tire tracks. Did the fucker speed up? "If I hadn't of pulled that guy outta the way, he would've gotten run over. What an asshole."
"I see." The policeman wrote something down on the notepad. "And did you manage to catch the license plate?"
"Fuck yeah I did." You rattled off the numbers and letters. "I dunno what kinda truck it was. But it was big and red and had this weird kinda -- pickle bumper sticker? On the back window."
"Great." He finished writing his notes and took out a business card. "Well, that should be it. Thanks for all your help and if you need to call, here's my number."
"Awesome." You stuffed it in your backpack. "Do you want mine, or...?"
"That'd be great."
You gave it to him and shook his hand. "Nice to see you again, man. Or well, not nice nice, but you get the idea."
He chuckled. "Likewise. Have a nice day, Shade."
"You too Officer..." You checked the business card. "Yam Brookes."
By the time you got finished the crowd had long since dispersed. The man you saved was sitting in an ambulance, covered in a shock blanket and still holding his monkey figurine. A woman was with him, rubbing his back and talking to him in a low tone.
She glanced up and spotted you. Her eyes widened and she said a few words to the hairy man before rushing over to you.
"Hey! You're the one who saved my brother, right?" Before you could respond she drew you into a hug. "Thank you. Thank you so much! Gods I don't know what I would've done if something happened to him!"
"Um." You shifted in her arms, a bit uncomfortable by the sudden gratefulness. "Yeah it's. It's fine. Just uh, doing what anyone would've done?" You gave her an awkward pat on the back.
She drew back, wiping tears from her eyes. "Listen. What can I do to repay you?"
"Nah, don't worry about it. I'm goo--"
Her fingers dug into your arms. "I'm serious. What can I do? Tell me anything and I'll help!"
[X] "A monkey figurine. I want one."
[X] "Do you know how to get an ID?"
[X] "Two hundred lien."
[X] "I mean, I've been on the lookout for a job..."
[X] Write in...
----------------------------------------------------------
Having not learned your lesson, you continued to wander around at night in your Shade body.
You made sure to stay as far as fuck away from the Industrial District of the city, not wanting to get caught up in any cult/terrorist/gang shit. The White Fang sounded like the sorta trouble you didn't want to get involved in. At least not right now, when you were trying to get your shit in order.
So instead you made your way around the Commercial District, half hoping that there'd be a few shops open. You weren't planning on buying anything -- you were still too poor for that -- but a little window shopping couldn't hurt.
But as you expected, all the shops were closed. So you ended up wandering through empty streets, the flickering signs and streetlights the only source of light. No one around, with only your thoughts and the cool wind for company.
That is, until you noticed some flashlights in the distance. Along with whispered voices, rapid footsteps, and loud clanging noises that echoed like gunshots in the empty night. It kinda sounded like someone banging a bunch of cans together and --
Wait.
Wait, you recognized this street. You recognized the street corner those noises were coming from. It was Tukson's Book Trade. And those guys making the noise must be --
"Motherfucker!" you yell-whispered.
[X] Run over there and fuck those guys up.
[X] Hide, but get closer. See if you can get some intel on those fucks.
[X] Scare them off. Act like you're gonna call the cops or something.
[X] Call the cops. Maybe they'll actually do something.
[X] Write in...
[X] An elderly woman with a robotic leg and arm. It looked like her prosthetics were smoking.
No one seemed to be reacting to the elderly woman who may or may not be on fire. Maybe it meant it was normal and nothing to worry about, maybe people were assholes. Either way, you stepped in.
"Ma'am? Are you alright?"
"Hmm?" She looked up. The smoke was hitting her face, but she didn't seem too bothered by it. "Is something wrong, dearie?"
You pointed to her smoking robot limbs, which were tinged red. They must've been extremely hot to the touch.
She stared at herself blankly for a moment, before her eyes lit up. "Oh! Oh that's no problem, dear. They do that all the time!" She tapped her robotic arm with her finger, seemingly unbothered by the heat. "Just needs a new Wind Dust crystal, 's all!"
"...uh-huh." A spark of electricity came from her leg. The smoke got thicker. "Look, do you need some help getting home? Like, do you want me to call someone, or...?"
"I'm just fine, dear!" she said, seemingly affronted by your ask. "Why, my mechanical arm 'n leg have kept me goin' for over thirty years now! It'll take a lot more than a few crossed wires and a missing Dust crystal to --"
Her arm exploded.
You brought your Aura up just in time to tank the shrapnel. You heard screams and cries of shock from the people around you. Smoke and flickering embers filled the air, and you could feel the ground crack underneath from the shockwave.
The old woman stared dumbly down at her severed prosthetic. Aside from the soot that painted her face black, she looked completely unharmed. "...could you call my daughter for me, dearie? My scroll is in my purse."
A quick phone call later and you found yourself helping the elderly woman -- "Call me Georgina, dearie!" -- unscrew her robotic leg while you waited for her daughter to arrive. It wouldn't take long; the lady sounded two seconds away from a heart attack when you explained what was happening over the phone.
"Thanks a bunch, dearie." She settled onto the bench, letting out a mournful sigh at the smoldering remains of her robotic arm. "Gosh darn it! Knew I shoulda gotten a replacement for that Dust crystal yesterday. Dust is just so gosh darn expensive these days, what with the shortage and all."
"What's the deal with that?"
"Hmm? Oh, the Dust shortage?"
"Yeah." You gingerly placed the robotic leg on the pavement. "I heard some of the customers at my workplace talking about it. Is Vale running out, or what?"
Georgina chuckled. "Oh, I don't think it's something that serious, dearie! Dust has just been in slow supply lately, happens to the kingdoms all the time. Give it a few months and things should be right as rain!"
The robotic leg started sparking again. You used your foot and pushed it as far away from the two of you as you could.
"How long have you had these prosthetics? 'Cause if they're new you should get a refund."
"How long have I...?" She hummed to herself. "About... fifty years?"
Your eyebrows raised to your hairline. "Well, shit. And they've been good up until now?"
"Never needed to replace 'em!" she said proudly. "Served me good even when I was young, dumb, and headbuttin' Grimm without a helmet!"
"That's some really good work," you said, more than a little impressed. The robotic leg -- while covered in soot and more than a little bit banged up -- looked pretty good after fifty years of constant use. "Is it from --" What was the technology kingdom again? "--Atlas?"
"Nosiree! Came straight from Merlot Industries, here in Vale! Made the best of the best when I was younger!" A shadow came over her face. All of the energy seemed to sink out of her at once. "A shame they went out of business after Mountain Glenn..."
"Mountain Glenn?"
Her head shot up. "You don't -- ah. You must live outside of Vale."
You shrugged. "Sure."
"Mountain Glenn was -- well. It was --" It looked like it was physically hard for her to say the words. "It used to be a city. But then -- but then the Grimm happened and --" Her hand started shaking.
"Hey, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," you said, a bit alarmed by the expression on her face. God, she looked like she was gonna cry. "If it's too hard, then we can talk about something else! Like uh --"
Your mind scrambled for a topic before you blurted out, "A guy tried to give me an interview in a back alley once!"
She snapped out of her funk, looking startled. "What?"
"Yeah! So I was walking around, trying to go to an job interview, right? When this dude -- a real shifty looking motherfucker -- stopped me in the middle of some alleyway and tried to give me a job."
She gasped. "No!"
"No bullshit, totally happened! It was --"
You regaled her with your many job interviews and the hoops you had to go through. She seemed to get a kick out of the more absurd ones -- like the time an interviewer wanted you to make a full course meal just to earn a follow up -- and look sympathetic when you talked about how hard it was to get denied over and over again.
"-- but I got this new job at a gas -- Combustion Station. The customers are always shitty because of the Dust Shortage, but my manager's pretty cool. And I get all the free sodas and hotdogs I want!"
"Oh, that's so good for you, dearie!" She patted your hand, looking like a proud mother. She genuinely seemed glad for you, and it made you feel a bit accomplished. Like yeah, it was just a gas station job but you worked hard for that shit! "Good gosh, finding a job is so hard these days! Back in my day, all you needed was a smile and a can-do attitude and you could work anywhere!"
She paused. "But then again, I was a Huntress. You could show up bare as the day you were born and still have fifteen people linin' up to hire you!" she laughed.
"You were a Huntress?" Now that you were really looking at her, you noticed that her hands were deeply calloused. Light scars peppered her neck and exposed arm, with the most distinct one trailing from her right ear down into her collarbone. There was some clear muscle definition beneath her clothes, and the way she carried herself was sure. Unafraid, with the sorta confidence that came from looking death in the eye and spitting in its mouth.
In all honesty it was super obvious that she was stronger than she initially appeared. Evidently the smoking limbs distracted you.
...you were really gonna have to work on paying attention more. First Mint and now this? It was getting embarrassing at this point.
She grinned. "Sure was, dearie! How else do ya think I lost my arm and leg? Blender accident?"
"I dunno. I was kinda thinking you got bit by a shark."
"Ha! Funny you should mention that, dearie!"
Georgina spent the next couple of hours explaining -- in excruciating detail -- how she lost her arm and leg. It involved bodyguarding a wedding, party crashers, a one-one-one fight with the best man, two dozen chickens, a floating pineapple, and a shiver of shark Grimm descending on the guests.
"-- ended, the poor bride was dyed bright red and covered in pineapple!"
"Jesus Christ. That sounds like a fucking disaster."
"It was!" she said fondly. "I wouldn't of blamed the poor dear if she didn't pay me, but bless her heart, she felt so bad about my arm and leg that she payed double the price. Even put in a word at Merlot Industries so I could get myself a set of prosthetics on the cheap!"
"That's --"
There was a shriek of tires. You whipped your heard towards the road, tense and ready to use your gauntlets --
"MOM!"
A bronze minivan peeled up, nearly tipping over the sidewalk. The second it came to a stop the sliding door slammed open, revealing a panicked woman. "OmiGod, MOM. Are you okay?! What happened, did you get hurt?! What did --"
She let out a loud, exaggerated gasp once she caught sight of the exploded robot arm. Along with all the soot and small fires. "WHAT HAPPENED?!"
A round of explanations later and you were helping Georgina into the car. Her daughter hovered over your shoulder, wringing her hands and giving her mother the riot act.
" -- irresponsible! The roboticist told you that you should've gotten those things replaced decades ago!"
"They were fine just this mornin'! It just needed a new crystal, that's all!" Georgina argued. "Why waste twenty thousand lien on a new one when you could pay six hundred for the Dust!"
"It's old, Mom! It's broken down, it's worn out it's -- ugh!" The daughter threw up her hands. She was breathing like she just ran a marathon. "For Gods sake, you've had those things since Mountain Glenn!"
The old woman grumbled and attempted to fold her arms. Hard to do when you only had one. "Those hacks at Atlas don't make 'em like Merlot! Break down after a few years and need all these fees and repairs --"
"You don't know that! You haven't even used one --"
"I know enough to --"
"Don't even know what you're --"
"Don't you dare take that tone with me young --"
"Uhhh. Should I... leave?"
The two of them blinked and stared at you, as though just remembering you were there.
"Of course not, dearie! Oh my gosh, I can't believe I forgot my manners!" She gestured towards you. "Violet, this is Sunflower the nice girl who helped me. Sunflower, this is Violet, my daughter."
You stuck out your hand. "Nice to meet you."
She lightly shook it. Her hands were incredibly sweaty. "Likewise. Thank you so much for taking care of my mother."
"Violet, the only one who's takin' care of me is myself."
Violet ignored her. "Is there anything I can do to repay you?" Her eyes strayed over at the smoldering robotic arm. Her breathing got a little bit shakier. "I... can't imagine what would've happened if you hadn't of stepped in."
[X] "I mean, I'd love to hear more of Georgina's stories. That shit is funny as fuck."
[X] "You wouldn't happen to know a place that's hiring, would you? Asking for a friend."
[X] "Two hundred lien."
[X] "Can I keep the robot limbs?"
[X] Write in...
Well, you were running out of soap anyways. And you hadn't washed your hair in over a week...
Shade kicked the door open. "Sup guys, guess who scored us some shampoo!"
"Is it lemon scented?"
"You know it is!"
"Awesome." Red immediately started undressing. "I call first dibs."
Lily gave her a thumbs up from where she was laying halfway out the windowsill. "Fuck yeah, free stuff!"
"I wonder how shampoo was invented," Sunflower wondered as she laid on the bed. "Did they just look at soap and think, 'Huh. Need some of that, 'specially for my hair?'"
Between the four of you -- and taking into account just how thick your hair(s) were -- you doubted it would last the day. Still, you were grateful for the go-away-bribe the receptionist had given you. Maybe you should bug them more often...
-------------------------------------------------------------
[X] Stick your leg out and trip the thief. Hopefully the monkey figurine survives.
You stepped to the side and at the last possible moment, stuck out your leg.
You felt and saw the thief tumble, slamming face first onto the pavement with a meaty *thwack*. The figurine went sailing, flipping end over end in the air before landing in the middle of the street.
"MY MONKEY!"
The hairy man popped out of the crowd, stumbling to his knees before the monkey figurine. Like a newborn baby he gently lifted it off the cement, cradling it in his arms and looking down at it with the tenderness of a new father.
"Shh. Shh. it's gonna be okay. I got you..." he said running his thumb over its face. Not once noticing the truck barreling towards him.
*BeepBeepBeeeeeep*
He looked up, eyes widening, shielding the monkey figurine to his chest --
And then you yanked him out of the street by his collar.
*BeepBeeepBeeeeeeeeep* "Get outta the way you filthy animal!"
The truck rushed by, not once even bothering to stop. You flipped it off.
"Fuck you, asshole! I hope you drive off a cliff, survive, and die a slow agonizing death at the bottom of a ravine!"
The guy you saved looked like he was in shock, his eyes wide and unseeing. He was still clutching the figurine in a firm, but gentle grip. You smoothed out his collar and knelt down, laying a hand on his shoulder. "You okay, man? That was a close call."
He curled up and started rocking back and forth on the sidewalk. He didn't answer.
Out of the corner of your eye you saw someone stumble to their feet before making a mad dash down the street. The thief, getting away after all their bullshit.
You had half a mind to track them down... but the hairy dude needed your attention more. Because judging by how fast his breathing was getting, he was two seconds away from a mental breakdown.
"...okay, um." You looked out into the crowd of onlookers. Most of them looked stunned. A few of them had their phones -- sorry, scrolls -- out and recording. "Does anyone know this guy? And can someone call the --"
Should you call the cops? Putting police and oppressed minorities together was usually a recipe for disaster.
Then again, the police were supposingly dirty in the faunus favor, so... "Can someone fucking call the cops please?"
That snapped some of the bystanders out of their shock. You saw some of them call on their phones while others knelt down next to you, comforting the hairy guy while they asked if you were okay. Sirens trailed up and down the streets, and within minutes you found yourself talking to that police officer you met a few days ago.
"-- and the vehicle didn't try to stop?"
You shook your head. "Nope. Just full on, petal to the metal, kept going." You grimaced when you caught sight of the tire tracks. Did the fucker speed up? "If I hadn't of pulled that guy outta the way, he would've gotten run over. What an asshole."
"I see." The policeman wrote something down on the notepad. "And did you manage to catch the license plate?"
"Fuck yeah I did." You rattled off the numbers and letters. "I dunno what kinda truck it was. But it was big and red and had this weird kinda -- pickle bumper sticker? On the back window."
"Great." He finished writing his notes and took out a business card. "Well, that should be it. Thanks for all your help and if you need to call, here's my number."
"Awesome." You stuffed it in your backpack. "Do you want mine, or...?"
"That'd be great."
You gave it to him and shook his hand. "Nice to see you again, man. Or well, not nice nice, but you get the idea."
He chuckled. "Likewise. Have a nice day, Shade."
"You too Officer..." You checked the business card. "Yam Brookes."
By the time you got finished the crowd had long since dispersed. The man you saved was sitting in an ambulance, covered in a shock blanket and still holding his monkey figurine. A woman was with him, rubbing his back and talking to him in a low tone.
She glanced up and spotted you. Her eyes widened and she said a few words to the hairy man before rushing over to you.
"Hey! You're the one who saved my brother, right?" Before you could respond she drew you into a hug. "Thank you. Thank you so much! Gods I don't know what I would've done if something happened to him!"
"Um." You shifted in her arms, a bit uncomfortable by the sudden gratefulness. "Yeah it's. It's fine. Just uh, doing what anyone would've done?" You gave her an awkward pat on the back.
She drew back, wiping tears from her eyes. "Listen. What can I do to repay you?"
"Nah, don't worry about it. I'm goo--"
Her fingers dug into your arms. "I'm serious. What can I do? Tell me anything and I'll help!"
[X] "A monkey figurine. I want one."
[X] "Do you know how to get an ID?"
[X] "Two hundred lien."
[X] "I mean, I've been on the lookout for a job..."
[X] Write in...
----------------------------------------------------------
Having not learned your lesson, you continued to wander around at night in your Shade body.
You made sure to stay as far as fuck away from the Industrial District of the city, not wanting to get caught up in any cult/terrorist/gang shit. The White Fang sounded like the sorta trouble you didn't want to get involved in. At least not right now, when you were trying to get your shit in order.
So instead you made your way around the Commercial District, half hoping that there'd be a few shops open. You weren't planning on buying anything -- you were still too poor for that -- but a little window shopping couldn't hurt.
But as you expected, all the shops were closed. So you ended up wandering through empty streets, the flickering signs and streetlights the only source of light. No one around, with only your thoughts and the cool wind for company.
That is, until you noticed some flashlights in the distance. Along with whispered voices, rapid footsteps, and loud clanging noises that echoed like gunshots in the empty night. It kinda sounded like someone banging a bunch of cans together and --
Wait.
Wait, you recognized this street. You recognized the street corner those noises were coming from. It was Tukson's Book Trade. And those guys making the noise must be --
"Motherfucker!" you yell-whispered.
[X] Run over there and fuck those guys up.
[X] Hide, but get closer. See if you can get some intel on those fucks.
[X] Scare them off. Act like you're gonna call the cops or something.
[X] Call the cops. Maybe they'll actually do something.
[X] Write in...
[X] An elderly woman with a robotic leg and arm. It looked like her prosthetics were smoking.
No one seemed to be reacting to the elderly woman who may or may not be on fire. Maybe it meant it was normal and nothing to worry about, maybe people were assholes. Either way, you stepped in.
"Ma'am? Are you alright?"
"Hmm?" She looked up. The smoke was hitting her face, but she didn't seem too bothered by it. "Is something wrong, dearie?"
You pointed to her smoking robot limbs, which were tinged red. They must've been extremely hot to the touch.
She stared at herself blankly for a moment, before her eyes lit up. "Oh! Oh that's no problem, dear. They do that all the time!" She tapped her robotic arm with her finger, seemingly unbothered by the heat. "Just needs a new Wind Dust crystal, 's all!"
"...uh-huh." A spark of electricity came from her leg. The smoke got thicker. "Look, do you need some help getting home? Like, do you want me to call someone, or...?"
"I'm just fine, dear!" she said, seemingly affronted by your ask. "Why, my mechanical arm 'n leg have kept me goin' for over thirty years now! It'll take a lot more than a few crossed wires and a missing Dust crystal to --"
Her arm exploded.
You brought your Aura up just in time to tank the shrapnel. You heard screams and cries of shock from the people around you. Smoke and flickering embers filled the air, and you could feel the ground crack underneath from the shockwave.
The old woman stared dumbly down at her severed prosthetic. Aside from the soot that painted her face black, she looked completely unharmed. "...could you call my daughter for me, dearie? My scroll is in my purse."
A quick phone call later and you found yourself helping the elderly woman -- "Call me Georgina, dearie!" -- unscrew her robotic leg while you waited for her daughter to arrive. It wouldn't take long; the lady sounded two seconds away from a heart attack when you explained what was happening over the phone.
"Thanks a bunch, dearie." She settled onto the bench, letting out a mournful sigh at the smoldering remains of her robotic arm. "Gosh darn it! Knew I shoulda gotten a replacement for that Dust crystal yesterday. Dust is just so gosh darn expensive these days, what with the shortage and all."
"What's the deal with that?"
"Hmm? Oh, the Dust shortage?"
"Yeah." You gingerly placed the robotic leg on the pavement. "I heard some of the customers at my workplace talking about it. Is Vale running out, or what?"
Georgina chuckled. "Oh, I don't think it's something that serious, dearie! Dust has just been in slow supply lately, happens to the kingdoms all the time. Give it a few months and things should be right as rain!"
The robotic leg started sparking again. You used your foot and pushed it as far away from the two of you as you could.
"How long have you had these prosthetics? 'Cause if they're new you should get a refund."
"How long have I...?" She hummed to herself. "About... fifty years?"
Your eyebrows raised to your hairline. "Well, shit. And they've been good up until now?"
"Never needed to replace 'em!" she said proudly. "Served me good even when I was young, dumb, and headbuttin' Grimm without a helmet!"
"That's some really good work," you said, more than a little impressed. The robotic leg -- while covered in soot and more than a little bit banged up -- looked pretty good after fifty years of constant use. "Is it from --" What was the technology kingdom again? "--Atlas?"
"Nosiree! Came straight from Merlot Industries, here in Vale! Made the best of the best when I was younger!" A shadow came over her face. All of the energy seemed to sink out of her at once. "A shame they went out of business after Mountain Glenn..."
"Mountain Glenn?"
Her head shot up. "You don't -- ah. You must live outside of Vale."
You shrugged. "Sure."
"Mountain Glenn was -- well. It was --" It looked like it was physically hard for her to say the words. "It used to be a city. But then -- but then the Grimm happened and --" Her hand started shaking.
"Hey, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," you said, a bit alarmed by the expression on her face. God, she looked like she was gonna cry. "If it's too hard, then we can talk about something else! Like uh --"
Your mind scrambled for a topic before you blurted out, "A guy tried to give me an interview in a back alley once!"
She snapped out of her funk, looking startled. "What?"
"Yeah! So I was walking around, trying to go to an job interview, right? When this dude -- a real shifty looking motherfucker -- stopped me in the middle of some alleyway and tried to give me a job."
She gasped. "No!"
"No bullshit, totally happened! It was --"
You regaled her with your many job interviews and the hoops you had to go through. She seemed to get a kick out of the more absurd ones -- like the time an interviewer wanted you to make a full course meal just to earn a follow up -- and look sympathetic when you talked about how hard it was to get denied over and over again.
"-- but I got this new job at a gas -- Combustion Station. The customers are always shitty because of the Dust Shortage, but my manager's pretty cool. And I get all the free sodas and hotdogs I want!"
"Oh, that's so good for you, dearie!" She patted your hand, looking like a proud mother. She genuinely seemed glad for you, and it made you feel a bit accomplished. Like yeah, it was just a gas station job but you worked hard for that shit! "Good gosh, finding a job is so hard these days! Back in my day, all you needed was a smile and a can-do attitude and you could work anywhere!"
She paused. "But then again, I was a Huntress. You could show up bare as the day you were born and still have fifteen people linin' up to hire you!" she laughed.
"You were a Huntress?" Now that you were really looking at her, you noticed that her hands were deeply calloused. Light scars peppered her neck and exposed arm, with the most distinct one trailing from her right ear down into her collarbone. There was some clear muscle definition beneath her clothes, and the way she carried herself was sure. Unafraid, with the sorta confidence that came from looking death in the eye and spitting in its mouth.
In all honesty it was super obvious that she was stronger than she initially appeared. Evidently the smoking limbs distracted you.
...you were really gonna have to work on paying attention more. First Mint and now this? It was getting embarrassing at this point.
She grinned. "Sure was, dearie! How else do ya think I lost my arm and leg? Blender accident?"
"I dunno. I was kinda thinking you got bit by a shark."
"Ha! Funny you should mention that, dearie!"
Georgina spent the next couple of hours explaining -- in excruciating detail -- how she lost her arm and leg. It involved bodyguarding a wedding, party crashers, a one-one-one fight with the best man, two dozen chickens, a floating pineapple, and a shiver of shark Grimm descending on the guests.
"-- ended, the poor bride was dyed bright red and covered in pineapple!"
"Jesus Christ. That sounds like a fucking disaster."
"It was!" she said fondly. "I wouldn't of blamed the poor dear if she didn't pay me, but bless her heart, she felt so bad about my arm and leg that she payed double the price. Even put in a word at Merlot Industries so I could get myself a set of prosthetics on the cheap!"
"That's --"
There was a shriek of tires. You whipped your heard towards the road, tense and ready to use your gauntlets --
"MOM!"
A bronze minivan peeled up, nearly tipping over the sidewalk. The second it came to a stop the sliding door slammed open, revealing a panicked woman. "OmiGod, MOM. Are you okay?! What happened, did you get hurt?! What did --"
She let out a loud, exaggerated gasp once she caught sight of the exploded robot arm. Along with all the soot and small fires. "WHAT HAPPENED?!"
A round of explanations later and you were helping Georgina into the car. Her daughter hovered over your shoulder, wringing her hands and giving her mother the riot act.
" -- irresponsible! The roboticist told you that you should've gotten those things replaced decades ago!"
"They were fine just this mornin'! It just needed a new crystal, that's all!" Georgina argued. "Why waste twenty thousand lien on a new one when you could pay six hundred for the Dust!"
"It's old, Mom! It's broken down, it's worn out it's -- ugh!" The daughter threw up her hands. She was breathing like she just ran a marathon. "For Gods sake, you've had those things since Mountain Glenn!"
The old woman grumbled and attempted to fold her arms. Hard to do when you only had one. "Those hacks at Atlas don't make 'em like Merlot! Break down after a few years and need all these fees and repairs --"
"You don't know that! You haven't even used one --"
"I know enough to --"
"Don't even know what you're --"
"Don't you dare take that tone with me young --"
"Uhhh. Should I... leave?"
The two of them blinked and stared at you, as though just remembering you were there.
"Of course not, dearie! Oh my gosh, I can't believe I forgot my manners!" She gestured towards you. "Violet, this is Sunflower the nice girl who helped me. Sunflower, this is Violet, my daughter."
You stuck out your hand. "Nice to meet you."
She lightly shook it. Her hands were incredibly sweaty. "Likewise. Thank you so much for taking care of my mother."
"Violet, the only one who's takin' care of me is myself."
Violet ignored her. "Is there anything I can do to repay you?" Her eyes strayed over at the smoldering robotic arm. Her breathing got a little bit shakier. "I... can't imagine what would've happened if you hadn't of stepped in."
[X] "I mean, I'd love to hear more of Georgina's stories. That shit is funny as fuck."
[X] "You wouldn't happen to know a place that's hiring, would you? Asking for a friend."
[X] "Two hundred lien."
[X] "Can I keep the robot limbs?"
[X] Write in...
Monkey figurine guy was made by DoPq @yy62401 on Twitter.
Figurine guy's sister was made by Luen_Kulo on Pixiv.
Georgina was an oil painting made by David Jon Kassan.
Violet was made by Khadi @khudeejuh on Twitter.
Check all their stuff out!
Figurine guy's sister was made by Luen_Kulo on Pixiv.
Georgina was an oil painting made by David Jon Kassan.
Violet was made by Khadi @khudeejuh on Twitter.
Check all their stuff out!
Last edited:
- Location
- Nottinghamshire, England
[X] "Well, I've been trying to get a job, but there's the snag of me not having much of a verifiable ID..."
[X] Hide, but get closer. See if you can get some intel on those fucks, like what they might be after.
-[X] Once that's done to a satisfactory degree, or they go too far (whichever comes first), dive bomb them and fuck up their shit whilst screaming at max volume that "NO ONE EXPECTS THE VALE INQUISITION!"
[X] "What can you do for me? Well, I can think of a couple of things..."
-[X] "First things first; can I keep your Ma's limbs? Robotic, not organic, I mean. 'S not like the two of you are gonna get much use out of them now..."
--[X] "Next, do you know where one could get hired? Friend of mine is having some issues getting one due to having lost their ID somewhere...
---[X] "Last on the list is that I'd just love to hear more of Georgina's stories. That shit's fucking hilarious, and I want to see if I can legit laugh my guts outta' my ass."
[X] Hide, but get closer. See if you can get some intel on those fucks, like what they might be after.
-[X] Once that's done to a satisfactory degree, or they go too far (whichever comes first), dive bomb them and fuck up their shit whilst screaming at max volume that "NO ONE EXPECTS THE VALE INQUISITION!"
[X] "What can you do for me? Well, I can think of a couple of things..."
-[X] "First things first; can I keep your Ma's limbs? Robotic, not organic, I mean. 'S not like the two of you are gonna get much use out of them now..."
--[X] "Next, do you know where one could get hired? Friend of mine is having some issues getting one due to having lost their ID somewhere...
---[X] "Last on the list is that I'd just love to hear more of Georgina's stories. That shit's fucking hilarious, and I want to see if I can legit laugh my guts outta' my ass."