Gothic City [CVnU: Living Location]

@jason_ford: (Likewise on the enjoyable to write with. Random started out nuts, he just seems to be getting dangerous to work with now...we'll see how it progresses ;) )

Stone labored for most of the day to replace the transparent aluminum window on The Brick. The job wasn't so much difficult as time consuming. He'd have to wait for the head rest to come in the mail, it wasn't one of the spare parts he'd kept stocked. Frankly he'd thought that if it ever came down to down to damage to the interior he wouldn't have to worry about needing to replace anything...ever.

Once done, he carefully made his way back to the warehouse and turned off the intrusion counter measures that had been set on "On No You Didn't". Once inside and showered he steeled himself as he slid into the computer chair to try to deal with the Random problem.

"You still stink," the artificial intelligence assured him.

"Yes, I know my body is always decaying, but as far as I know you don't have any olfactory sensors so you're full of it." Stone countered. He wasn't trying to instigate, but he was trying a new tactic...not taking Random's shit.

"Oh ho! Look who's getting brave!" Stone could hear the delighted sneer coming over the synthesizer. "Been wondering when your little 'Nothing gets to me' act would break."

"You don't get to me. The real Random never got to me, but your stunt in The Brick with that Ghost crossed the line." the soldier replied cooly. "I'll continue to show you the respect you deserve...which is a lot. I'll make sure to save and download all the violence that happens for you, and whatever else you ask within reason, in exchange for your help; but when it comes to my decisions in the field I make the calls. I won't be blackmailed by you, threatened by you, or have my missions compromised by you. We either work together under these terms or we don't."

There was silence for a second or two.

Then every defense countermeasure sprang to life. Every gun emplacement in the walls, floors, and ceilings popped out and pointed directly at Stone, and the various claymore and anti armor mines' ready lights switched from red to green.

"I choose we don't"

"You're lying" Stone said sounding bored. Even so, he remained perfectly still. The barrels of the rotary cannon began spinning with a high electric whine.

"Sure I am."

"You are, or I'd already be dead." Kyle replied. "I don't know if Randy installed something in you to keep you from killing me, or if you just don't want to, but you're not going to kill me."

"You're a nut job. You're pulse and respiration haven't gone up, not even a little." the computer answered blithely. "Okay, so maybe I won't geek you, doesn't mean I have to help your crazy ass."

"You're right, it doesn't. Helping me is up to you. All I can say about that is that I haven't ever disrespected you, and up until now I've done everything you've asked in return for your help. I've even taken your crap and your insults. Which is all fine. I need your help, and I'm not going to lie about that, but I'll do my job on my own if I have to." Stone informed Random.

"You can't get rid of me," The psychotic machine promised.

"I wouldn't begin to know how to if I wanted to, which I don't" Stone answered, not entirely truthfully. "You're better than an entire team of intelligence and signal analysts."

"Now you're just kissin' my ass," Random almost hissed.

"If I were going to do that, we wouldn't be having this conversation,"

Suddenly, all the defensive systems retracted and/or switched off.

"One more thing and we have a deal," Random decided.

Stone hesitated a bit.

"Okay, what is it?"

"No more cutting me off when you go out on missions. I want full access the whole time. It's a win/win for both of us. I can give you real time information while you're working, and I get real time violence," If Stone didn't know better, he'd swear Random was crossing its fingers.

Kyle wasn't sure he could completely trust the machine to do what it said it would, however this was the best he was likely to get, and not have to attempt a massively hazardous mission to try to shut Random down. A mission he had no idea how to even begin to accomplish. He also wasn't lying when he said he needed Random...the AI was hands down Stone's best weapon.

"Deal...now let's track the Red Mask and his crew."

"And then the violence..." Random enthused

"Yes, and then the violence." Stone would have sighed regretfully. If he did that sort of thing.

Question for the Gothic City RPers.

It has been suggested that the GC thread be locked for the duration of the upcoming GC empire claim. That has been done before however the thread hasn't been locked for every empire claim.

The pros are that it keeps the canon nice and neat and makes clear the importance of the empire claim canon. The cons are that it could interrupt RPs that started before the empire claim and don't take place 'during' the empire claim in canon (two hours in game time can take weeks to play out in real life time).

So, what are your thoughts GC RPers? For or against?

@k_brimstone:

By this time the news had gotten to Jason.

He grinned beneath his stainless steel mask, "Everyone must be told, by mouth as usual, also, assemble Darkwing and two of the Blue Bloods that are in my physical dimensions." He ordered, "Tricking time today."

Quickly, Arnold Striker, Jason Ford, and two Blue Bloods no more than a quarter of a pound in difference and less than an inch in size variations, were all into Red Mask outfits and gear. Now, they didn't all have the nerve weapons. There was four different kinds.

Jason held his shotgun from his usual arsenal, Arnold held the particle beam rifle, one of the Blue Bloods held the larger nerve gun, and the other held the smaller nerve gun. There were 8 other Blue Bloods in assistance all members of the Ghost Crew. They all knew Jason's methods, how he spoke, acted, and moved. The real one would be practically indistinguishable from the other three, and as Arnold was just as active as Jason that added to any super scanning problems.

All members were also equipped with high powered tazers and various cannisters of the Target Locking Acid.

They boarded their bikes and set out in four different directions two Blue Bloods following each Red Mask. Ultimitely, they should all end up three bloocks away from Kyles house around the same time, where they would stop on the roofs and watch for any sign of the troublesome soldier.

@assassinatrix:@the_institution: @jason_ford: @dark_defender_: @ninjaboss123: @victoradams: This would probably impact your interactions more then most.

@lady_liberty: I finished my stuff already LL so I'm down for the lock.. It makes sense anyway.

@strigidae_57:

@lady_liberty:

Hmm, difficult decision. And thanks. Probably best to lock it honestly to keep everything nice and clean, or at least to request everyone finish up or hold on until it is all over to allow them to not make messups in timeline (like starting a battle with someone else ic, but then dying during the invasion) but to still keep it clean.

(Also @k_brimstone , you might want to look above)

@lady_liberty: The way I see it, there could be an argument for precedent, considering Gothic Burns.

However, there is much more precedent [and reason, in my opinion] to the contrary. Like you pointed out, various empire claims have taken place without threads being locked. Why should this one be any different? The "makes the importance clear" reason doesn't really hold up in my opinion, because it's kind of a flimsy reason, bolstered by the fact that no other threads in the history of empire claims have been locked during the claims.

The importance is already clear. We don't need any show of OOC force to make that clear. Everyone who knows the claim is being made already knows that it is important. It doesn't need to be taken further.

Additionally, there's the matter of RPs happening independent of the claim. RPs set before the claim. People are then cut off from continuing/finishing their RPs because of events outside of their control [someone else deciding to make a claim]. Could lead to stalled momentum, not finishing, general bother, et cetera. And RPs possibly involving people who, y'know, maybe they wanna RP in Gothic but don't necessarily want to feel forced into participating in the Claim. People who aren't in the claim but still wanna RP in Gothic; maybe they're not sure, or just don't want to participate in that particular plot. [Minding that once the time is up (or once the OP is posted), the claim becomes a closed RP.] Or don't necessarily want that plot being all they participate in.

We've always been at least relatively good at organizing timeline. One way or another, canon will fit into things set before the claim and things set after it. But there has never really been regulation needed and I don't think there is any need for it now.

I'm more for the option that leaves more general options open, and I feel locking it would be forcing too much, and closing down too much in the way of options. So I'd vote against it.

I vote for I think it would be a good idea. Sounds like a good event. And everyone who'sgoimg through a story could have the chance to finish/continue.

@strigidae_57: I say we do it, I'm all for cleaning up the canon and having everything make sense. I'll make Dark Defender adapt to whatever event is going on in the world

Agreeing with this. Voting against a lock .

@lady_liberty

Changed my mind, I agree with this as well. Makes more sense.

I'll go with whatever the group decides but...

What is this event? How do we GC RPers play/write in it? Where is it being posted? If we don't lock GC do we run it concurrent to what we're doing here? Sorry to have so many questions, I've just never been in an event before.

Between here and and WC the total votes were four in favor of a lock and three against the lock. As such the thread will be locked until the empire claim ends.

Here is a link to the empire claim OOC.

And here is a link to the empire claim IC.

The Gothic City thread is being re-opened.

Why the rapid change? Because the CoE had concerns that leaving the thread locked would prevent players who did not 'register' for the Empire Claim in time would be locked out of participation in the Empire Claim and be unable to post in GC. This would leave them unable to do any GC roleplays at all for the course of the Empire Claim, which may stretch out several weeks or even a month.

The CoE voted and the majority voted to unlock the GC thread for these reasons. Therefore, it is now unlocked.

@lady_liberty: Do you actually need to register before the Claim starts?

Huh, always thought as long as there were people on both sides (because if there's no one defending, the Claim isn't even considered an RPG and is usually made into a Blog, I suppose) you could join freely lol

Shoulda read the rules again.

@nobody: When the circumstance arose that first necessitated that particular rule being created, it was in an RP where there were two sides [one defending, the other attacking], so it's a rule that applies in all situations regardless.

@aria_al-sef: Alright. Thanks =D

@strigidae_57: I think I'm already registered.

@nikoleta_strix & @ivana_strigidae: Am I allowed to post here with some character background building during the RP?

@sonny_barbaro: There is no rule against it! (Just adding powers/abilities in the middle of an RP) You can RP however you like aside from that.

@joe_locke:

Sunny Oaks Mental Hospital, Two Weeks Before March Into Hell

"My memories...they...go in and out. Sometimes I’m not even sure which ones are real and which ones are fantasy. Like, one minute I’m remembering waking up in the middle of a snowy mountain with two weird Asian dudes looking down at me. The next minute, I’m remembering fighting in some kind of war..like in the old days with bows and arrow and horses. It..it drives me nuts. I...I..."

"It’s okay Nathan, breathe, breathe."Dr. Halsey. She's always been so nice to me. Even when I first came in smelling of day-old piss. She's always understood me. I..think I trust her. Yeah, I trust her.

"It seems to me like you’re suffering from schizophrenia. You’ve talked before about learning how to fight in a city in the clouds, about something you called 'The Current,' and honestly Nathan, it sounds like a children’s story. Like you're making it up as you go along."

"No! That part is true, the 'Current;' thing. Like..I feel it running through me. It’s like an energy, like a Force. I--"

"Nathan!" she cuts me off. You can tell that she's frustrated. She's a patient lady, but sometimes I talk too much. My bad. "It disheartens me to say it, but at this rate, it’s going to be tough for me to clear you in time for your...Nathan is everything okay?"

It’s the silence that's made me stand up. A scary silence. Eerie. The kind of absence of sound that you know for a fact doesn't occur in nature, especially in a place like Gothic City. That can only mean one thing: someone is working really, really hard to be quiet.

"Dr. Halsey, watch out!"My warning comes too late, a shuriken already lodged deep into her neck by the time she looks up. And by time I see the source, she’s already bleeding out on the floor of my padded cell. Shit, shit, shit.

I’m ready to die at the hands of this assassin...this ninja? Yeah, definitely a ninja. But then something weird happens. My right hand flies forward like...on its own, a closed fist so tightly wound that it pushes the ninja back towards the wall. No, not just towards the wall, THROUGH it.

"Woah!"

Soon, more of them come. It’s like a scene out of The Raid: Redemption. They’re climbing the walls, sliding on the ceiling, but all their fancy flips and spins mean nothing once I simply extend my arm and punch them in the face. I’m a man possessed, like something else is moving me. I feel it running through me. It’s like an energy, like a Force. I--Wait did I already say that?

There's no telling how much time the whole ordeal takes, whether it’s seconds, minutes, or even hours, but in the end of it all, I'm the last one left standing, the body of my therapist lying in a pool of blood on the floor, a bunch of ninjas with broken faces slithering about. Something inside of me’s telling me that I have to move, I have to escape. These dudes won’t stay down for long.

So I punch at the wall, the first strike breaks my left hand but I punch again with my right and suddenly I’m free, the solid cement wall tumbling down as if it was a made of gingerbread.

I take a step out, the cold Gothic air making me shiver...and it’s only then that I notice it. The blood is seeping through my shirt, I can feeling it trickling down my right leg too. I bet if I looked in the mirror, I'd see the color slowly escaping my face.

A sound behind me alerts me to the fact that at least some of my attackers are ready for round two. That’s all well and good for them, but I think I might be funkingdying here. My knees buckle as someone grabs a tuft of my curly blonde hair from behind, simultaneously bringing forward a katana to rest against my vulnerable throat, the decorated sword humming in the moonlight as if savoring my impending death.

"We have finally found you, Golden Dragon."

Golden what? Everything's hazy but right before I black out, I say a single phrase, and strangely, it doesn't sound very English.

"Bang wo."<"Help me.">

@gothic_dragon: Wicked intro, man.

@lichter: Gracias,

@gothic_dragon: Damn. Thorough. Seems like you did your research on Schizophrenia that was real.

I'll respond tomorrow.

@gothic_dragon: Nice work, you an alt or a new guy?

@gothic_dragon:

"Here I am laying naked and cold in bed at 9:30 at night, and you say...you're out patrolling. When did you become a cop?" Sasha says, rolling over on her bed with her feet in the air, the phone on speaker hanging from her limp hand.

Joe walks up the street in a black and yellow hoodie, the smoke from his cigarette dancing tight in the humid summer night air, his eyes scanning his surroundings as he acts casual, "I'm not baby, but I don't see any other way to take care of my city. Sitting on my hands in front of a HAM radio isn't my style. Plus I'm a weird kind of lazy, I'd rather be right in front of the problem than have to get up and run to it." Taking a thick drag he drops the cigarette under his boot, then exhales while speaking, "Listen...not much going on out here tonight anyway...maybe I slide over to your apartment, pick up a bottle of wine on the way and-"

With the devil's timing a sound like exploding concrete fills the quiet night air and breaks the silence, "Shit."

"Shit...?! You know what I'm tired of your childish man in tights bullshit, go find another late night booty call. Good bye." The line goes dead and Joe throws a loose left hook at the air, mumbling a swear under his breath. Not too many women with super near invulnerability walking around the city these days, she was one of the few mutants that could handle him.

Whatever was going down had better be worth it. Squatting low joe sticks his phone back in his pocket and looks up at his target, a roof of a brownstone, then leaps into breeze and crashes on the pebble covered head of the building skidding to a running start before taking another leap to a taller commercial building across the block.

He could see the light pouring out of the wall of what looked like a rehab facility, a small man stepping out slowly. The black behemoth jumps over the ledge and shoves his thick digits into the wall, leaving five crooked holes the length of the building in the corner before cracking the sidewalk beneath him and throwing his hood over his smooth dome.

Someone moves fast. By the time he got within ear shot the guy was already down on his knees bleeding in front of what looks like a ninja's blade. Just what this city needs, another gang with a gimmick.

"<Bang Wo>" The blonde guy whispers from the ground, bleeding all over the pavement

"I think not" The man with the katana says

"Think he was talking to me."

Joe grabs the back of the ninja's gi and throws him back into the hole in the wall he crawled out of. Reaching down he extends a hand to the wounded man that looked like a beaten dog, "Can you walk?"

My attention has been focused elsewhere (as in places other than CV, lol).

Kaede is long gone; you weren't her target, and she doesn't hunt for sport. If you want, I can have some Watchers rush you, but let's wait until after the Gothic empire claim is resolved; I simply don't have the time or energy to stretch myself across too many scenarios.

@joe_locke:

A weary "thank you" escapes my lips as the black-clad ninja is launched back to the crumbling wall of the mental healthy facility. "Yeah...Yeah...I can walk. Just...a few scratches, that's it," I respond, bravely attempting to stand up before I'm greeted by a shooting pain in my abdomen that makes me stumble back onto the pavement.

Blood is seeps steadily from the wound in my midsection, and I'm fighting back the urge to simply give myself up to the pain. That's when the silence envelops the city once more, ponderous storm cloud moving in above us, ready to unleash it's torrential rain.

"There's more,"I forewarn, feeling the ripples of several murderous shinobi encircling us.

Soon, the assailants reveal themselves, each armed with his or her own trademark weapon. Some pull back their bows, pointing their venom-tipped arrows in our direction, others hold sais or thin katanas, their fine, sharpened blades dancing in the moonlight. The kindling within me finally catching fire, I grip the hem of my savior's shirt and gingerly pull myself up. By the time my body is clumsily contorted into defensive fighting stance, much of my strength has already returned.

"Golden Dragon."

"Golden Dragon."

"Golden Dragon."

"Golden Dragon."

"Golden Dragon."

"Golden Dragon."

"Golden Dragon."

A chorus of whispers infect the atypically quiet Gothic City night."What does that mean?"I ask, exasperated and afraid, heavy drops of salty sweat sliding from my brow down to the blood-blackened boulevard below.

"Don't play coy, Nathan Li. We've already captured the other four Beasts. Now...we only need you," a stockier ninja replies as he takes a step forward. By the red mark on his gi it's obvious he's the leader.

"We need you."

"We need you."

"We need you."

"We need you."

"We need you."

"We need you."

"We need you."

The ethereal congregation repeats, each voice echoing the one before..

"Dead or alive."

With uncanny speed, the ninjas attack, some standing their ground and shooting their arrows, others choosing a more direct approach, attempting to come at us with their melee weapons. Again, I find myself overtaken by some Force, my arms moving harmoniously to block the strikes and counter each in kind. But even with my strength slowly returning, my mobility is still severely limited, I feel more blades plunging into me, arrows striking me in the leg and arms, causing large portions of my body to go numb.

Turning on my heels to see my new partner fighting his own battle, I cry out to him."Guy! There's too many of them! We have to get hell out of here!"

@gothic_dragon: "The hell is this?" Joe asks, catching a masked bandit's fist and throwing him back into the crowd of monotone warrior, who gracefully sidestep his rolling body as it hits the pavement while launching arrows and obsidian tipped shuriken, "Ninja's in Gothic? Why are they talkin' like that?" Arrows clang and fall in brittle wooden shards on the pavement as they hit and fail to pierce the iron street soldier's impenetrable body, "Feel like I'm at a damn chorus recital."

The only answer he got was the only one that mattered. Looking back at the man he was protecting Joe realizes he was leaking like a faucet not turned too tight, the fact he was thrown threw a psych ward making him wonder if his lid was any different, "Say no more." Side stepping a jab and lifting a man with a devastating uppercut that breaks his jaw Joe rushes in front of the victim, lifting his pillar of a leg into the air so high his knee rips through the fabric, "Meet the five members of the Foot Clan!" He stomps into the pavement so hard that his heel ruptures the road and shatters forward like a breaking lake of ice, the ninjas all losing their footing, some falling completely in as others cling to the edge, caught off guard by the unexpected attack, "Don't let this hurt your ego"

Flipping around he picks up the wounded man under his back and knee"Hope this doesn't bruise your ego champ, but I gotta get you moving." Skyrocketing into the air Joe launches the two a half a block away and bounces one more time leaving timberland prints in the sidewalk, before kicking up rocks beneath an old water tower on a south side roof, and putting the guy down on shadow covered gargoyle, "Wooh" Joe says wiping his nose and holding his hip, "I gotta do more cardio...You mind telling me what that was all about? Who are you? Who were they?"

The café is silent as always during early money, filled with grim faces taciturnly grieving a fact renowned to all: another day of harsh work to try and leave the damned city, soon-to-be invaded by the US of A. Drake sits at his usual corner, orders the same as always. Obviously he never had money, not a single penny, however the owner of the café wasn't a bad man, an imbecile for letting someone drink there for free, but not vile. A rarity within Gothic's borders. The TV flashes some news from Iceland, to which the cashier responded with a gentle nod. "Seems like things'll get better on Iceland, after all. Who knows? Maybe we'll be next."

It came sluggishly, yet the undeniable humming of Drake gradually evolved into an uncontrollable guffaw, piercing through the monotonous atmosphere of a simple 8 am coffee. "Don't make me laugh. Look at that place, they only prefer to show the good parts because that's what sells, but do you honestly think their lives are any better? It's war, their families are dead, their land is taken by the jackasses raising a McDonalds banner on their street. Do you really think people are fine? Heh, don't be ridiculous."

He sipped, astonished eyes focusing on that odd kid attempting to talk politics.

"Do you even know what happened? They attacked out of interest. A threat to America? Maybe. But do you really think they did it for us or for them? Don't be naive, it's a game of interest like it is with Gothic. He put a favorable government on Iceland, our beloved prez is just trying to expand his reach, make more powerful allies and sell his image as the good guy. All the same, they'rea all the same. And you still think Gothic will be any different, huh? Doing it for the people, ridding the city of criminals because it's good? Don't make me laugh. He's trying to get re-elected, plus, economically speaking, Gothic holds a lot of money in the form of illegal activities, money that isn't exactly out of the system, but that probably will cause a major boom in prices once reintroduced to North American banks. Still, it's money. More greenies, more dumb people manipulated to vote for him and a new piece of land to rule, must be a freaking sacrifice to save Gothic, huh?"

He shrugged, nonchalantly raising from his chair and heading for the door.

"Put it on my tab, numbskull. I'll pay you once I've made up enough money."

It's bootiful

@_vex_@hound_of_war@sonny_barbaro@william_eldrik

(Thought you guys might want to see it, also totally open for interaction if you want it)

Gothic City...the day after March Into Hell...

Katraya opened the doors to their church and strode out into the light. It was the morning after and her organization had shut everything and remained in silence. If they were to stay underground and operating in this city then acting in its defense would have been extremely foolish. Instead, they would act in its support. The girls in red were familiar to Gothic City by now, they'd been seen around and had at times protected people from roving gangs. What was not common knowledge was that they operated out of the Church of the Sacred Conflict and today that would remain the case. Katraya emerged from the church in her red clothing but the other girls appeared from other buildings to give the illusion that they had been protecting those buildings.

Katraya snapped her fingers and motioned to some of the girls, gesturing for them to help survivors and clean up the immediate area of debris and human refuse. Most of this work was done by the younger members, girls who had yet to earn the red clothing or those who had just earned it not long ago. "Set up a perimeter around the center of town and around Olympus. Look for the injured and the living and see what we can do about the dead. It'll be some time before government people get here to help clean up their mess." She shook her head, glancing around at some of the collapsed and partially collapsed buildings. Gothic was a bigger mess now than ever. It would take weeks to find all the dead and hours to find the living.

Katraya did not morn for Gothic, this was all an act. She didn't much care either way what happened to this city or the people in it, they were all heretics of peace...but appearances needed to be maintained. Red clothed women moved out, pushing looters and gang members away from those trying to scrape their lives off the pavement. They used their combat batons but each carried an OVK pistol, in case people decided to get a little violent. The pain sticks were typically enough to keep people at bay however.

Katraya sat on the steps of the church and observed the goings on, a contemplative expression on her face. She told herself she didn't care, that these people didn't matter...but as she watched children desperately search of their parents...or the other way around....it was hard to deny feeling...something. The government has to be crazy. Look at this city, it's worse than when it started. They're going to have to sink billions into it.

Sonny isn't in the city post-March.

@sonny_barbaro:

(oh, ok, lol)

@joe_locke:

The pavement shakes violently as it shatters causing me to stumble onto the ground once more before I'm picked up by the tree trunk-like arms of my new partner in crime. In a moment's time I'm in the air, being carried like a child by my obviously superhuman savior. My body's supremely grateful once we finally come to a stop atop a Gothic City rooftop.

"You mind telling me what that was all about? Who are you? Who were they?"

Wracking my brain, I attempt to grasp onto memories of years past, anything that might help me decipher my current predicament. Yet, although I receive a flood of unrelated images, one stands tall above them all.

Some Time Before

I'm running through long, winding halls, ornate golden sculptures and ancient paintings bringing life to my otherwise drab surroundings. Although I'm the head of the pack, I'm not alone. Glancing back I see them; a young man clad in red with a determined look on his face almost catching up to me, a woman, lithe and graceful in a tight white tiger suit following closely behind, and at the tail end, a very large man with a black belt around his waist grinning from ear-to-ear.

These are my friends, this is my team...but something tells me we're incomplete.

For a few seconds the memory cuts out as i cough violently, the pain working its way past my muscles and bones, into my very soul. As I sit up a bit, the memory resumes but this time I stand alone, the girl, the warrior, and the fat man all tossed aside, bloodied, bruised.

In the memory, I'm hunched over, breathing labored as I try to make sense of it all. Before me stands a man, his head topped with a shock of crimson hair, his expression one of contempt and ambition. Even now, as I watch the memory in the third person, I can feel the fear and despondence radiating off of my past self. Moving shadows circling around me, I'm resigned to the fact that all hope is lost. I know it, and my friends know it.

"Run," the the fat man says.

"Run," the beautiful young woman adds.

"Run," the young warrior urges.

Soon, I'm sprinting back through the winding halls, back past the ornate gold statues and the ancient paintings, leaping down snowy mountains, dodging arrows, dodging spears, until finally...

As the memory fades, my vision refocuses on the musclebound man who so graciously saved my ass in the face of insurmountable odds

"I...I'm the Golden Dragon that they speak of. They have my friends, and now...they need me. We..we have to go to..to..Tibet! You..you have to come with--"The steady stream of broken nonsense is interrupted by the large glob of blood that I cough up. Suddenly, I'm lightheaded, my strength all gone. My head slams against the gargoyle I'm perched on, unconsciousness finally winning out as my body goes into shock.

@katraya:

The early morning rays from the sun shined marvelously down through the church’s rainbow stained glass window, causing the golden light to scatter into multitude of rainbow like colors upon the House of the Lord's occupants. The importance and glory of the images of saints and saviors were exaggerated greatly by this mesmerizing affect. It was dazzling in a holy sense. This place however, no longer felt holy.

Refuse and debris littered the aisles and floors while dirt covered refugees had crowded onto the mahogany pews. Some were feeding themselves whatever scraps they could gather from the rescue volunteers while some were sprawled out either awaiting medical treatment, or death itself.

Among the crowd was a rather large framed man crouched by his lonesome in the outer most corner of the main hall. A thick black wool quilt stained with small stains of blood had been draped over his crown and shoulders obscuring his entirety. His breaths were slow and relaxed, and out of the darkness of the veil, two eyes pierced it’s way through. Slowly, the pair of biologically advanced optics scanned the room. This was to be Vex’s ground zero. Here among the sick, abandoned and forgotten he would make the first step into his cleansing.

@gothic_dragon: A whipping breeze cuts across the cross armed human jackhammer as he looks down at the unconscious man. "Right." Bending down Joe scoops the man up and throws him over his shoulder, "Let's try the East Side first. and work our way up from there."

___________________________________________________________________

"Oooh, you have got a lotta nerve Joseph Locke!" Sasha says standing in her living room in her underwear with a broken bat in her hands, the splintered other end all over the throw rug just beneath her fire escape window, outlined by Joe's bald head. "You leave me hanging, then let yourself in at 12 in the morning?! Who the hell is he?!" She yells pointing the bat turned stake at the unknown man's limp body that Joe places on the couch.

"Baby please, calm down-" Joe begs with his hands up approaching her

"Funk you! Calm down...This is my house, you strolled into here with a half dead white dude under your arm remember? " She puts her hands on her hips, looking down at the man as his laborious breath levels out. Irate as she was, Sasha was a trained nurse and had a natural duty to people in need of help. It's what got her into the profession in the first place. She exhales in surrender, "What's wrong with him, Joe."

"He was cut up pretty bad. Lacerations all over his legs and mid-section, bad knock to the head. He did the last one to himself on a rooftop. I think he might be crazy too."

She slaps her thigh and twists her brow, "Why the funk did you bring him here then?! Damn Joe." She says punching at the air in frustration, "What the hell?! Grr! Go get my kit under the bathroom sink."

"Baby I-"

"GO!" She says sitting down on her coffee table looking at the unconscious man as he mumbles about dragons and Tibet. "My name is Sasha Wells, I'm going to help you ok? " She says using scissors to cut open his thin patient pants up to just above the knees, revealing still embedded arrowheads and the slits that the ninjan daggers had left in his body. Joe returns with the leather bag reminiscent of an old house call doctors kit, " Can you tell me your name?" She asks pulling gauze, a needle and thread, and iodine from her bag.

The feverish man shakes his head, eyes rolling open and bouncing around in delirium," Nate" He passes back out.

"Shoot. " Joe says folding his arms, "I leave him with you for five seconds and you get more out of him than I did in two hours."

@joe_locke: @gothic_dragon: This is awesome

@strigidae_57: Thanks.

Did you paint that av yourself?

I KNOW, right?

Come on now, of course lol

@k_brimstone: Thanks. I like that art you posted in OL btw you've got skills.

lol you might have tripped and fell into a new job skill set man. Graphic designer over here.

Serious though that's probably the best one I've ever seen you edit. It flows like it was painted that way.

Hell, I didn't even realize it WAS painted. I thought it was just that way. Shows how quick I am! lol

@joe_locke: Good looking out. Sometimes images just have easy lines to follow with the lasso. Makes it extremely easy for me to shade.

@k_brimstone: That's what I was going for thanks.

Yeah I was surprised by both of you.

The placement of it is what's pro though. meticulously well done. I'd have just been like fck it ad did the bare minimum lol

@joe_locke: That lasso tool is the truth lol

Makes me wanna jump in somehow. Kinda waiting to see what actually happens to Gothic though after being added back into the union.

@strigidae_57: lol preach.

You can jump in. We're canoning this before not after that RPG.

Yes, the lasso tool is where it's at.

I wasn't going to ask to be let in ,but since it's on the table...

I'll have to wait a little though, Stone's gotta fix his broken back first. I don't know how I could work this in with the empire claim since he was right in the middle of something when it happened. I'd like to join as soon as I can though. Y'all's RP is bad ass.