Noire

     The Order texts you had to memorize were much different from what you actually liked to read (books like that had to be smuggled between the Marked, and placed carefully in hidden spots). But dog-eared or wrinkled, you could still “escape” the Sanctum’s reality, even if just for a moment.

     You blink away the past as Noire meets your stare. You cautiously look down at her offering, eye glancing at title, then texture. Your left hand moves to grip it by the spine, right thumb brushing over the lettering. Hungry for context, you flip it to skim the back cover. The title and author are far from familiar, but the blurb strikes an uncomfortably close chord with you.

“Mm-hmm,” you say, carefully trying to hide your excitement. Somehow, even after being here for a year, you still feel guilty over wanting to read something like this. You’re not looking forward to having to look over your shoulder every minute while trying to read this one.

     An idea slips into your mind. Noire’s with you now; this means a lot to you. Just the realization helps ground you. You want to suggest something to her, but even though she’s standing right in front of you… Ah, well.      You take your phone out, expertly tapping at its keyboard with your free hand.

to: NOIRE! from: LUCAH

[TEXT]: Noire, it’s nice…! [TEXT]: thank you   n_w <-(me)

[TEXT]: im alright with this one for now [TEXT]: can we find something for you? [TEXT]: do you do your reading at home?

     Not that you couldn’t handle more than one book at a time. You were used to reading one at a time, sure, but you didn’t want to have to worry about having to keep track of it all. Plus, if more regular trips to the library gave you more of a chance for nice interactions with other kids like Paper-Wings, then you think it’d be nice to have an excuse.

Noire isn’t surprised when Lucah takes out their phone; she’s used to how they often prefer text to communicate.  Reading the message is surprisingly heart-warming, though.  She smiles gently at the kid and types back a reply.

To: Lucah From: Noire >>> I’m glad you like it! >>> Sure, we can find something I like. She noticeably pauses to consider what she will say next. >>> I can’t guarantee my choice won’t be boring though. >>> I’ve been reading a lot of non-fiction books lately.

Her statement isn’t entirely false; lately she has read a variety of non-fiction titles.  In particular, she’s been learning about fashion on the island.  However, the book on her nightstand every night for the past month has consistently been romantic in nature.  She decided that it would be best to avoid bring it up; partially because of the nature of most romance books as more ‘adult’, but also because she’s too embarrassed to admit she likes them.

@cosplaygoddess​

If there was a living Hell on earth for Flandre, the current state of the city would be it. All it really needed to complete the disaster of a scene would be vampire hunters, but to be honest, with how intensely the sun was beating down on everything, the vampire couldn’t help but feel that such a thing would be redundant when it came to trying to kill her. She was shivering and shaking in place, unable to see anything with how bright everything around her was no matter how much she squinted; the shade of her parasol, while saving her from burning to a crisp for the time being, wasn’t allowing her to see very far. Which was quite unfortunate, given that she got the distinct feeling that she wasn’t alone right now.

Hesitantly, the blonde stepped forward, praying that she wouldn’t do something like stumble into a ditch. With how little she could see and how ruined everything seemed to be in this world- she could hear fire crackling, the sound of things crumbling, smell smoke, and feel the intense heat blistering into her skin- she wouldn’t of been surprised if she had fallen, but she also felt distinctly unsafe staying in place here. Everything felt wrong.

…was she alone again, too? Did she have to be alone all over again, but instead of being in the relative safety of her dark and quiet basement, she was out in the open in a burning hell field? 

The vampire felt numb, even as she wandered around blindly, even as the exhausting heat continuously bore down on her. She couldn’t see well enough to tell if there was anyone else around, including her sister- -…her sister. What if her sister had burned already in this heat? Flandre knew she was stronger than Remilia was, even if her elder sibling wouldn’t ever admit that. Did that mean Flandre had been able to last longer in this scorching terrain? She could feel tears well up in the corners of her eyes at the thought, but she quickly blinked them away, not wanting her vision to get even worse.

“…h-hello? HELLO?” Her voice cracked as she yelled, hoping to grab someone’s attention… anyone’s attention, really, assuming anyone was even there.

CRACK

A bolt of electricity crashed into the building next to Noire; bits of concrete shot out over the street.  She quickly covered her head before shards pelted her back and arms.  The goddess knew she didn’t have time to check her wounds, so she bit her lip and trudged onward through the flooded plain.

It wasn’t long before the rain started again.  A light shower at first, but quickly it would become a torrent of water and wind.  Noire knew she had to get to shelter, but most of the buildings around her were clearly unsafe;  if the holes in the roof and walls weren’t enough, the shattered glass kept her away.

Suddenly, Noire heard a voice.  It was coming from one of the ruined buildings!  The shout was distressed and emotional, and it was the first sign of life Noire had heard in an hour.  She shouted back while rushing towards the building.  “Hey!  Are you hurt?  Do you need help?”

The rules are simple ! Post ten characters you’d like to roleplay as, have role-played as and might bring back. Then tag ten people to do the same ( if you can’t think of ten characters, just write down however many you can and tag the same amount of people ). Aside from that, please repost instead of reblogging !

CURRENTLY PLAYING:

Noire (Hyperdimension Neptunia Series)

WANT TO PLAY:

Tiamat (La-Mulana)

Mochi Miles (Slime Rancher)

Rex (Risk of Rain 2)

Maybe eventually one or two of my five OCs, once they have more than a skeleton of a character lol

HAVE PLAYED:

Nada!  Noire’s my first. ^_^

WILL / WOULD LIKE TO PLAY AGAIN:

N/A

tagged by: shotthrice (technically!)

Hey yall!  I guess I should throw out a starter call for the new event, huh?  Stater length will probably be 6-10 sentences, and you can IM me if you have any particular ideas or wishes!  Here’s a link to Noire’s version of the city.

    The kid herself is a giggly mess too, dizzy head wobbling up and down at the goddess’ instruction to sit down.     Noire’s prepared reaction comes across to you as impressively smooth (and thankfully with her not-so-hidden laughter, not angry), so even when she scolds you, you can’t help but flash a rare toothy grin up at her.

    It turns into a closed-mouth smirk as she tousles your hair, and then slightly agape surprise when she remarks about her being proud of you. Since when had you been told that? Noire’s own sudden mood shift reflects on you, as well. You’re not sure how to express your thanks for it, let alone process her words, but Noire saves you the distress.

    You nod with calculated enthusiasm, not wanting to offend your newly winged friend for wanting to explore. 

    This wasn’t your first time at a library, so you navigated smoothly past the lower reading-level books and into much more promising aisles (chapter books!!). Each book had a different thickness to them, and there were messier sections of thin paperbacks, well-loved and worn.      You’re the type to be up for a challenge, and the type to be moving quite often, so you needed hardier books (easier to keep track of, and more likely to endure any accidents). You’re also the type to be entranced by more colorful hardback covers, especially ones with slight texture to them.

     How much of this you think Noire knew about you… Well, you had no clue. But you restrain yourself from sharing your criteria to Noire, if because you’re partly curious about what she’d pick from higher shelves for you.      With your hand frozen on a book’s spine to keep track of it, you glance up at the goddess to see if she’s collected anything.

Noire is immensely thankful for Lucah’s enthusiasm.  She follows the child closely as they walk through the aisle.  With one eye on Lucah, she glances carefully over the selection, looking for anything interesting.  It doesn’t immediately occur to her that Lucah might need help looking at the higher books; she’s still trying to distract herself, after all.

Luckily, there are plenty of interesting titles in this section.  A series of thin cyan paperbacks catch her eye:  they’re a long running series of kid criminal books.  Probably not a good influence.  She pulls out three more books, only to find they are also in the ‘kid criminal’ genre.  ‘Why are these so popular...’ she wonders, incredulous.

Finally, she finds a more suitable book.  The front cover is a faded brown, like fake leather binding, with bold holographic lettering: Monstrata.  “Hmm.”  The back cover describes the story as a serious but hopeful journey of discovery taken by the main character and their friends, who are all considered monsters by their society- figuratively and literally.  ‘It looks like it might be a little dark... but it is also the best thing I’ve found.’  She looks down at Lucah, to see if they’ve found anything themself, only to find them looking back up at her.

“O-oh, uh, did you find anything?”  She briefly considers slotting Monstrata back into the bookcase, but ultimately decides against it.   The book seems like it might be challenging, in both senses of the word, but she always pushed Uni to do her best; why not push Lucah too?

So an accident, then. That seemed the most likely as the girl didn’t even seem to realise she’d hit someone at first. So she was either incredibly audacious and not a bad liar, or she had simply thrown a stone into the water without looking. Tuyin sighed mentally, there was little to be gained from lashing out over something so trivial and so much to lose considering the nature of this place. Even if she had been deemed worthy of wrath there was no telling if this one was perfectly mundane or possessing abilities she was prepared for.

But being so hungry really made even the slightest grievance all the more irritating. Oh Spirale city, you do test the patience… 

“I’m not really sure what strength has to do with it, dear.” She lowered down into the water slightly so she was more sitting on her tentacles than at a considerable height. Well, she was certainly apologetic, that was something. “But my, that’s quite a resumé you have there. I’m sure you have no difficulty applying your many and varied talents. I must admit I don’t have a terribly great demand for too many clothes right now.” She held her arms out for a moment before simply gesturing at her unclothed self. 

“But you never know.” There wasn’t anything hostile about Tuyin’s air or stance, more than anything she probably just looked tired. “Really, it’s fine. Worse things have happened right? And it was an accident.” Six eyes lingered on her as the silence stretched for a few seconds longer than was necessary. “But if you know somewhere good to eat, I’m always interested in recommendations.”

Noire blushes; at first from the compliment, but more intensely from the direct reference to this person’s nakedness.  ‘G-goodness, is she flirting with me?’ Noire thinks for half a second, before remembering the events leading up to this moment.  ‘Hmm, probably not.’

Despite the lack of hostilities, she finds the stretch of silence unbearable.  She feels submerged in the tension surrounding her situation.  At least until Noire is asked for food recommendations.

“Oh!  That should be easy.”  Noire may occasionally be a mess, just generally speaking, but she is always prepared to help someone find something in the city.  She has extensive knowledge of the island, all stored in her handy n-

Noire frantically checks her purse for a solid thirty seconds before giving up.  ‘Great, I left my notebook at home.’  Her earlier frustration returns, but she just gives an angry sigh and moves on.  ‘I don’t need my notebook to help in this case, even if it would be helpful.’

ミ✧ // sc. // hey, @cosplaygoddess —!

        …ugh.

        another note ends in a fluorescent journal before its maw shuts tight. so far, jk sighs, tapping his shoe on the ground in disappointment, every effort he’s made at gathering worldbuilding information has turned up fruitless. in his irritation, jk turns from the view and crosses his arms. the journal barely clings to his fingers, nails holding on to what they can as he glances around his surroundings. he needs information— but how he can get it, at least the important type, and at what price—

        jk sighs again, and then pauses, his eyes trained towards the arc of a pen in another’s notebook. he looks up, looks further at the figure in the distance, and hums to himself, a spare finger tapping his forearm before he lets both arms drop to his sides.

      maybe—and that’s just a maybe, it’d only be a definitely if she’d been here for long and knew what the hell was going on—maybe this is what he’s looking for.

      “ Hey! ” is how he starts, waving his free hand as he jogs up next to the stranger. he keeps his distance—a lesson learned not so long ago— though he’s still pointedly gazing towards the book in one hand and the pen in another. “ You know, it’s pretty hard to get around this place in a few days. I mean, this place is just huge! ”

       “ Now, I’ve been looking for how to get around this place, and maybe if I can find a little more on it. That being said, I’m fairly new, and it’s pretty hard for a newbie like me, so I wonder: if you’ve got some notes in a book like that, do you think you could help out, share them with a friend? ”

Noire throws her now empty can of Nep Bull in the garbage.  The energy drink is disgusting, but even an awful taste of home is welcome.  She stares back at the Star Trail.  She had already written a couple theories on how it receives its varied goods, but another one springs into her mind.  She takes out her notebook and writes it down.  “Inter-dimensional merchants...?” she muses aloud.

Suddenly, somebody is talking to her.  She looks up, surprised, at the stranger.  ‘Just some kid...?  Probably new, based on his reaction to the island’s size.’  She nods politely, though she is unsure as to why he has come to talk to her.

Though circumstances were far from ideal she felt like she was getting used to things here, she’d always thought of herself as adaptable after all. Thankfully she was used to being this small through her many transformations, however the novelty of being so tiny in her true form was starting to wear off.

Rain made it more comfortable to move on land so she was about to go on another exploration as soon as it started, woe is her being unable to make it rain whenever she wanted… Such thoughts were interrupted however when something conked her right on the head.

Assuming an attack she ducked down immediately, tentacles rising up through the water immediately as her eye level came down to the water’s surface. She looked from the rock that plopped into the water then to the only person she could see in the vicinity. 

Who appeared to be paying her no attention… Her many appendages lowered back into the water, and her upper body rose back up slightly.

“Excuse me. Is this yours?” She held up the rock in question. “Perhaps you should be mindful of wear you’re throwing things.”

Noire’s frustration wants deeply to be rude and simply ignore this person, but her conscience easily convinces her otherwise.  She didn’t see where the rock went, but she assumes it hit this stranger.  She sighs, puts away her phone, and moves to apologize to her victim.

Noire stops, briefly, when she sees who she has hit.  The figure is clearly not human, and, based on what Noire can see of her, she appears quite powerful: powerful enough to be annoying to fight, at least.  That doesn’t effect how genuinely sorry Noire feels, but it does make her a little more wary of further angering this person.  “O-oh.  Um y-yeah, that was me.  I’m really sorry about that.”  

Noire’s gaze wanders to the waves crashing against the shore.  She really does not want to get into a fight today, and she can feel the universe pulling her into one.  So she moves to get ahead the universe; “I-Is there something I could do to make up for it?  I’m strong, smart, and great at clothing design.  I mean, you seem like you’re probably pretty strong too but-”  This apology is not going as well as Noire would’ve liked.  

The goddess ran under the pier, shielding herself from most of the rain.  Unfortunately, the damage had already been done; she was soaking wet.  Her frustration at the island (and water in general) hit a peak.  Without thinking or aiming, she angrily tossed a nearby stone.  If she hadn’t taken out her phone to calm down, she might have seen the stone impact a large figure surfacing from the waters.

Just a simple starter call.  Starter length will probably hover around two paragraphs unless you’re specifically looking for something shorter/longer (which is totally fine, just let me know before hand~).  

“I’m so glad~” Both for the shared experience (despite it being sad, sometimes) and the agreement to contact her. At the tour prompt, Karen tilted up her chin, an amused smile on her lips. 

“Of course, there’s no delaying a tour for a queen! We don’t have to go all the way to the roof unless you’d like to start running, but we can enter the building through the gym from here.” 

At the end of the brief walk, she reached the big white doors leading inside. Very familiar to her, it felt like the most natural thing so far to reach out and open one side. Immediately [in view] were light blue walls and a red-curtained stage at the opposite end. The floor, covered in lines as boundaries for different activities, was polished enough to act as a mirror for the person standing above it. It was empty of any sports equipment, currently a lonely room with only some students using it as a shortcut. 

“This is where we practiced, for a long time. We didn’t make it to nationals, so they stopped expecting third years to join in by now.” She didn’t sound sad; she’d just enjoying being part of the team. With gusto and a dramatic sweep of her arm, she asked, “Is it impressive? Or have you seen a shinier one somewhere?”

Noire blushes at being called a queen- despite the accuracy.  ‘Running...?  Are we working with a time limit?’  She does not particularly want to run right now, so she follows her friend patiently.

Noire tries her best to take the question seriously.  Unfortunately, given that she has never actually gone to a school, she isn’t equipped for this question.  “It is quite shiny...”  Her mind feels as empty as the gym itself.  She scrambles for something else to say.  “I like the... lines?”  The absurdity of what she said hits her immediately, and embarrassment radiates from her bright red face.  “Um, I guess I-I haven’t seen many school gyms, so I w-wouldn’t know if this one is special.”