you gotta lose your mind in olympia rock city

[kissintime]

Who: Ermes Costello (kissintime) & Various/OTA
What: Part 1 of the Event stuff
When: Between Oct 1st and Oct 15th
Where: Throughout Olympia
Warning(s): PG-13 levels of violence? WE'LL SEE WHAT ELSE

Collection of closed starters + open prompts. Ermes is mainly focused on hunting down Shady Man's associates and also the PCs involved. If you want something specific let me know!

open - noble district

[ ah, yes, how predictable. she's been going around this area looking for leads, but turns out people here are trying to distance themselves from what happened as much as emotionally possible. any attempt to ask for leads normally comes down to "Ashti and the guards will take care of things." despicable. and it ends with ermes getting in a fight with a particularly stuck-up asshole, who she was initially asked if he saw anything, and turned into a damn debate over how they should have seen this coming-- ]

You can't predict people being shit! How about you stuff your wallet down your throat? Better yet, let me help you!

[ turns out have an explosive temperament is not conducive to gathering intel. ]

open - by the south outpost

[ it's maybe a loss cause but there's always the chance any of shady man's associates may try to get their way out of Olympia's borders. are fake passports a thing in this world? hell if she knows, but no place is without illegal avenues and so it may be a path worth pursuing.

however, she's been running herself ragged. the border patrol won't let her in on any info because she's not part of the guard, so she's just chilling as close as she can to the area and keeping an eye out for any odd looking folk. but, she's getting tired and this area isn't immensely busy even with all the chaos. so if anyone in the area comes by, they'll see her taking an unexpected nap beside a wall, curled up on herself. ]

open - residential district

[ this is bad. fucking really bad.

a lead she paid for lucked her out and she's found a woman associated with the Shady Man, proudly displaying her "M" tattoo as soon as she took off the glove her hand was concealed under. but as soon as that happened, a group of normal citizens suddenly began crowding around, fists raised and eyes bloodshot. and ermes has been around the block with powerful enemies enough to see that something is seriously wrong with these people. two of the larger ones stand beside the woman, enjoying the view and lounging against a house wall. three others are now attacking ermes. and while their punches don't hurt, ermes can only dodge every couple swings before someone cuts her off by surprise.

call for help? hell no, she can do this on her own. even if the odds are against her--

and then a leg sweeps her to the ground and one of them brings out a dagger. shit. ]

Comments

CLOSED: Jolyne

[kissintime]

--STOP RUNNING ASSHOLE!

[ it was just another fucking day in the neighborhood after a terrorist attack, when she was buying some food to take a break from hunting leads. that's when she saw it - the guy next to her accidentally dropped a piece of fruit. the action caught her attention, though she didn't reach down to help, and that's when she saw a "W" on his hand. and for a moment she didn't think anything of it. that is until she remembered what the fuck perspective is.

if you look at the back of your own hand a "W" would look like an "M"

but she realized this too late and he was already leaving on his way with the food he paid for. in retrospect, calling out at him was stupid. because the second she said "HEY, ASSHOLE!" he fucking bolted like he was in the goddamn olympics. and now she's giving him the chase down the streets, but he must have some fucking super speed because holy shit he's like several feet ahead of her no matter how much energy she puts into her legs. ]

[snailenvy]

[Jolyne was mostly minding her own business, taking a look at things that were on sale. Paying full price for anything was a stupid move. If someone had a way to screw you over, they'd probably do their best to do so. That was her current motto, having been screwed over too much before.

But some sharp shouting caught her attention. Familiar shouting, that was. She turned her head to see Ermes taking off at a sprint. And rather than question it, she assumed someone had probably pickpocketed her or something.

Which meant she took off after her best friend, shouting the same expletives but at a target Jolyne wasn't aware of yet. She was just going along with the flow.]

YEAH, GET BACK HERE ASSWIPE!

[kissintime]

GODDAMN SHITHEAD! [ wait a minute, who just yelled-- ] Jolyne?!

[ and yes, they're still running, dodging past people and trying to play catch up. ]

Hey, you wanna help me beat this asshole's head in?!

[snailenvy]

Did you even have to ask?!

[She's at a full on sprint too, though taking the more physical route of just shoving people out of the way. Whoever it is, it's way too hard to keep up.]

Mind if I take the high road though?

[Literally, not figuratively.]

CLOSED: Soldier 76

[kissintime]

[ The good thing about being a greedy hoarder for cash is that when you need it, you got it. And right now Ermes is investing in buying up leads from the less noble sort, who put out their hand if you want their information. Of course she does have a means to track the sort who screw her over - tear off a sticker and the duplicate coin begins flying back to the original no matter where it may be - but this time seems to be a bit more fortunate. Someone said they've seen one of the larger suspects from the wanted posters hanging in the red light district. The man with the very futuristic looking visor.

Which brings her to the area, which she normally loves to hang and get a drink at, maybe flirt with an Olympian local if she's in the mood. Today it's just business, as she skulks around the area trying to find sign of 76. Of course the bad news, as she realizes on delay, is she doesn't really know what his face looks like without that visor and he'd be an idiot to wear around such an identifiable feature. That means keeping her ears open too, hitting up the area her paid informant said they spotted him at. ]

[personalwar]

[ Keeping her ears open is ultimately what Ermes needs to do to track down 76. He's aware that his voice is one of the more easily distinguishable parts of him, so he's kept the amount that he's talked in public spaces to a minimum, but he's got an Olympian telling him about some rumors they've heard, and it's worth the risk.

He's seated in the corner of the tavern, across from the Olympian with the loose lips. While he does what he can to keep his voice low among the ruckus in the pub, that rough tone isn't hard to miss once you home in on it.

He hasn't yet noticed Ermes, or he would have taken more care to keep himself hidden. ]

[kissintime]

[ the tavern isn't well lit, which is really just a theme in this part of town. a darker, exclusive edge, and a promise of anonymity. lot of people too, which makes it a good spot for just about anyone looking to blend in. ermes wishes she could bring out her stand to get another set of eyes, but it would draw way too much attention and even she knows better.

she takes a seat toward the center where the main bar counter is, taking some coin for a small drink and taking a scouting glance around. it's then that she catches a glimpse of a large man, faint scar on his face and gray in his hair. she clacks her teeth because it's what she would expect 76 to look under the visor, but she can't make a poor guess and just barge in. hm.

a subtle approach is needed. she turns to the bartender and asks for a drink to be sent to the corner table, to the older gentleman. the bartender puts the glass on the counter and begins to pour, and ermes takes advantage of the moment to get one of her pink stickers onto the side. a second glass appears, but that isn't relevant - the one with the sticker is now on its way to that table. now all ermes needs to do is watch and wait to see what reaction it garners. ]

[personalwar]

[ The first point of suspicion is when a drink shows up that 76 didn't order. There's no reason that anyone would want to buy him of all people a drink, especially in current circumstances, so he already assumes that it's some kind of message or threat. He's about to ask the server who ordered the drink for him, but that's when he catches sight of the sticker on the glass.

As soon as he sees it, 76 looks out across the bar area. Ermes isn't exactly subtle in her looks, so it doesn't take long to spot her. The message is clear enough: she knows who he is, or she at least suspects him. The real question is whether she wants to help or hinder.

Either way, it's time to go. He thanks the drunk man for the drink and the talk, and leaves the stickered glass for him to enjoy, if he wants it. He stands from the table and moves around to the back of the bar, exiting through the rear. He expects that Ermes will follow after him, if she wants to talk, and it will be easier to make a getaway if they're out in the open. ]

CLOSED: You Watanabe

[kissintime]

[ Another day, another couple hours of trying to get information. This time around she's speaking to a few gossiping women who work for the butcher she supplies animals to. They babble on and on about seeing one particular woman from the wanted poster - an older woman.

"Annie!" "No that's not right, it's Ann." "No, no. She has an 'a' at the end. Ana."

However Ermes is starting to realize this is a dead end, even as she listens with a disdained look on her face as the chatty women. Ugh. Does nobody care about catching these people or do they think the guards will just do everything for them? ]

[ayes]

[You is pretty drained by what she's been trying to do, even if what she's been doing is mostly just errands and the like. It's evident in the way she kind of looks vaguely zombie-esque in how she walks. More than usual, at any rate.

She sees that distinctive hairstyle questioning (?) some older women, though. Someone she knows!] Ah! Miss Ermes!

Are you trying to investigate, too?

[kissintime]

[ she twists her head when her name is called out and grins, positively delighted. because now she has a good reason to step away from the women, who have started ignoring her existence anyway. ]

Sure am, You. Lot of people in town, they have to have seen something. [ she darts her eyes back to the women and shrugs. ] Well, that's the hope anyway.

[ayes]

I hope so, too... it's pretty scary thinking about how someone could just do something like that, don't you think?

I don't know why they're saying that some of us helped them, though.

CLOSED: Giovanni Rammsteiner

[kissintime]

[ sometimes, coincidence can come out of the blue.

take this moment: ermes is, at the moment, not actually doing much in the way of trying to track down associates. a few days after the initial blast, she's back to running her hunting circuit in order to get some silver generated. a lot of people need food right now, so the butchers are offering her more coin than usual to get the meat. gubbins are especially popular and can be rounded up in batches given their size.

she has a freshly killed batch bagged up and is traveling with it through the outskirts of olympia, and that's when she notices someone familiar moving through the crowds. not outwardly familiar though, because his face is among the wanted posters, but she has a good memory for faces. it's... risky, knowing how he is, but against better judgment she changes her direction and starts shadowing him. ]

[ofobedience]

[She sees him, and it stands in testament to her keen eyes that she does-- far from his usual sharp attire, all clean lines and edges, he's currently dressed in an oversized pair of jeans and a baggy hoody pulled over a plaid shirt, all pilfered from his roommate. The hood of said hoody is slung low over his blood-coloured eyes, the odd-looking glasses he's usually never without nowhere in evidence now, that bright blond hair of his swept back and away from his face. But his is, despite everything, a distinctive face, bone structure as sharp and angular as the rest of him, skin an alarming shade of pale, and evidently it's enough - along with, perhaps, the fluidity and precision with which he moves, not quite right, not quite human - to draw her attention.

And so she begins tailing him. It doesn't take him long to pick up on her scent, on the steady sound of her heartbeat or the steps she makes behind him, small signs that make it all too obvious to something like him that he is being pursued. He ignores it for a while, yet begins to take a very specific route, one that leads to a dead-end alley. He slips into it, then turns. Waits quietly within the gathering shadows for her to follow, to find him.

Not on the attack just yet. Only waiting. Biding his time. Sniffing out her intentions.]

[kissintime]

[ criminals always do have a sense for these things. she's been on the run before herself - armed robbery, even when you don't kill anyone, is still a huge no-no. you start dressing different. change up your hair, maybe wear makeup that better hides your face. she knows people who went through surgeries just to avoid getting caught and thrown back behind bars. prison is a certain hell that many want to escape. ...well, she wanted to get in, but you can't walk up and ask to go to jail without drawing suspicions.

she follows his route as he intends, keeping distance, knowing that he's a close-range sort of fighter. so is she, but she can admit to being outclassed in terms of brute strength. so when ermes sees him turn into the alley, she stops for just a moment.

and, after that moment passes, giovanni will see something roll into his view. a ball... no, it looks like a very small white ball, but it rolls with stick and has an irised yellow pupil that darts out to stare right into the darkness of the alley. it's an eye - her eye, with a pink sticker behind it to signify its duplication to anyone aware of her power. someone like giovanni, who has seen it twice used.

however as the eye's pupil darts around... it doesn't seem like it actually sees him, at least not yet. hiding in the shadows was a good move, but the eye is still searching while ermes leans against the adjacent wall by the alley's entrance. what she can see is that the alley is a dead-end. if giovanni isn't there, either he managed to jump somewhere to safety, or he's hiding and waiting for her. clever bastard. ]

[ofobedience]

[Something rolls into view, and he remains there poised exactly where he is, still wreathed in shadow even as he affects that canine tilt of the head, observing the thing observing him. Is it...an eye? So it seems, and he catches the pink glimpse of the sticker, realisation sweeping through him at once and oh that's sneaky. Sneaky enough he can almost (almost) appreciate it.

There's a temptation there. A temptation to move forward, to stamp the eye into the ground to hear it squelch beneath his shoe, to scrape off the visceral residue onto the cobbled stones to laugh and laugh--

--but he keeps it together instead. Says and does nothing. Waits to see whether she'll be brave enough (or stupid enough) to creep into the alleyway anyway, or whether she'll simply clear off, leave him to it. And so, for now, he remains where he is, silent and still as the grave.]

residential district

[planetary_bonds]

[Yusei had been prowling around the residential district himself, a few pieces of scrap in hand. It wasn't unusual for people to see him dragging around things he'd collected to work on, so he'd used that as a cover to walk around largely unsuspected. If he happened to be in a shady alley or somewhere he normally wasn't, people just assumed he fished the lamp in his hands out of the trash or something, no questions asked.

That proves to be useful when the people nearby pay him little to no attention as they decide to abruptly swarm Ermes. It takes him several seconds to realize what's going on, he doesn't realize that their eyes are bloodshot or that they're acting strangely, all that he knows is that they're abruptly ganging up on someone he's come to know. It's strange, and he chooses to grip the small desk lamp in his hands like a bat, darting forward and slamming the object at the back of the dagger-wielder's head. It makes them flinch, especially with the lightbulb shattering on impact, but before he can attempt another blow, one of the other citizens grabs an arm and yanks him back, growling.]

You-what the hell-are you all- [He grunts, trying to find his footing and see if he can't throw off the person grabbing him all of a sudden-] -doing-?!

[kissintime]

--Yusei! [ shit, fuck. ermes quickly starts getting up, but only makes it to her knees before one of the other people grabs her arm and bends it behind her back, trying to keep her grounded. ] Yusei, something's wrong with them! You gotta get out!

[ she takes in a sharp breath and throws her back at the person grappling her arm, knocking them off balance and releasing her. ]

That woman - [ she points to the woman leaning against the wall, who just smirks casually at the scene before her ] - she's working with the bastard who bombed the market!

[planetary_bonds]

Guh! And leave you behind when they've got you-ngh-like this?!

[He tries one more time to yank free, but for all his street fighting skills, he's also just barely-an-adult, fighting against grown men and women possessed by unnatural drive. A straight up power contest isn't going to win, and as he grudgingly realizes this he instead decides to curl in on himself, bending forward so that he can catch the person grabbing his arm off guard and hurl them over his shoulder into the person right in front of him-the dagger-wielder from before. The sudden turn and the shock of impact is just enough to get them to release him, and while it does nothing but stun them, sending them tumbling into each other is more than enough distraction to get them out of the way for precious seconds of time. He pants, his head jerking in the direction Ermes points, and his eyes narrow angrily.]

That's...only more reason for me to stay and help. We can't let those people get away-

[he turns abruptly while still hunched over, just managing to duck under another person's grab for him and elbowing them in the solar plexus, practically folding them in half over his lithe frame.

his determination to struggle through this fight just got more pronounced. he has questions for that woman.]

Noble District

[poolhall_killer]

[Venom's exploration and investigations led him here, and the split second he sets foot in the area, he hears a woman yelling at someone.

More specifically, he hears Ermes yelling at someone.

Instead of running towards the voice, he coasts, getting there just as she's threatening to shove the guy's wallet down his throat. He's not sure if he should stop her or lend a hand. His cue is drawn as he stays in place. For now.]

What is going on?!

[kissintime]

--Nothing - [ and she sees who it is ] scram Venom! This idiot is just talking shit out his mouth, instead of pushing it out his ass like normal people.

[ the man scoffs, coming back at her with "this place hasn't been safe since they opened up the doors to refugees like you!" which gets her seething again. ]

[poolhall_killer]

[That's possibly one of the grossest sentences he's ever heard. Then the guy has the audacity to continue getting a rise out of her.]

Must you say such things to her? It's clear she's not going to let you get away with it.

[Venom's not the type to escalate a battle, but there's something about this guy that makes him hope Ermes does kick his ass.]

open - residential

[unweave]

[ And your Tuxedo Mask is here.

Instead of a rose, it's a lance sailing from a higher vantage point to knock the dagger from aggressor's hand, impaling into the ground near Ermes. The crowd was confused, but on the balcony of an small housing villa was Aranea, leaning casually over the brick railing. ]

You know, there's a club if you want to have bare knuckle fights. No daggers though — you don't bring daggers to a lance fight. You alive down there?

[kissintime]

[ the dagger is knocked and the aggressor takes a large step back and away from the lance. even when controlled, self-preservation instincts are strong. ermes takes the stupefied moment to her advantage and grabs the leg of another attacker, pulling on it rough and throwing the person off balance so that they fall back first to the ground.

then she looks up-- ]

Ugh, you?! Seriously!

[ even when she's getting her ass kicked to the ground, she still has her damn pride and ego. speaking of which, the person aranea lanced a dagger away from quickly snatches it out from the ground and tosses it at aranea blade point first, looking to get in a long range stab. ]

[unweave]

You can sound a little more grateful, cupcake.

[ The lance dematerializes, beckoning back to her quickly. She's confident, even in a semi-wounded state but the chance to help and be smug? Too good to pass up.

Especially when the person tosses the dagger like some damn magician towards her. It knicks her shoulder, a sudden hiss soon following as she clutches onto the crimson-dripping wound. ]

Oh come on, this is what a good deed gets? Hey! Why don't you throw a damn punch or something while they're distracted?