steeled resolve.

his world contains a ton of enemies on the side of reunion. for those unaware, they’re folks infected by oripathy who are causing acts of terrorism to fight against the discrimination they face. lots of commentary there. but, reunion has a lot of boss level enemies and mobs who can pose a threat. 

talulah anyone? anyone interested in facing a lady who can literally burn down an entire city by walking through it?

he’s still going to be on the side of the stars and will help your muse fight off whatever enemies come, from his world or theirs.

“Even if they cut off my arms, I would never lose my ability to punch.” Quite an implausible proclamation, but this was merely her pride as a martial arts master. She was born into kung fu, raised by it. Under no conditions would she ever fully abandon it, for it was who she was at her core. All FEater could wonder was if this man upheld a similar belief and treasured something in the same way.

“I don’t know what it’s been like during missions you were deployed during but it’s better to speak of triumph after you’ve already won. There are far too many variables to consider.” Most of which were NULL allies. They could have any abilities at all, and with their paltry arsenal at present it would be easy to be overwhelmed without a full unit behind them.

“But I guess we’ll see? Can’t be any worse than standing idle when others are suffering. We of Rhodes Island have our pride too, don’t we?” The organization had been FEater’s home for some time now. Their pride was her pride. With that she stepped ahead, quickly turning into a dash with impressive agility that she kept held back so she could keep pace with her ally.

he chuckles, amused by her pride and her confidence in her abilities. silverash doesn’t doubt her skill, as she was an operator in rhodes island, and he has nothing but compliments, and maybe even warnings, for the majority of the folks there. “a lion without its fangs is still a lion,” he muses, “a tiger without its claws is still a tiger.”

“you’re correct,” he says, quirking an eyebrow at the sudden analytical, logical reasoning coming from the energetic martial artist. he laughs softly, and says, “i promise to be careful and not underestimate our foes, but i... look forward to the challenge.”

he sprints, ignoring as many of the enemies as he can. "we should try to engage as little as we can, the enemies outnumber us and we lack medical supplies if fights go sour,” he says, as he runs, breath even and steady. the enemies are constantly casting their arts as well, threatening to their path and their health. “be careful FEater!” he calls out, glancing once to make sure she’s unhurt. 

but his dash stops abruptly when their road is blocked by a gathering of those shade-like creatures. the crater lies just a bit further, barely in sight. 

“ Hey now, I’m still in my twenties. I know old men in their 70s that still swing swords as enthusiastically as ever. “

It’s not so much that he feels the urge to do the right thing. He doesn’t see it that way anyhow. But maybe getting a prize of some sort might help him out in the future… or maybe they’d hand some dust or stars…

“ Well, I guess if there’s no one too strong around I’ll go take a look… I’m not interested in dying for this. I’m guessing you’re sitting this out? “

“... twenties?” 

silverash assumed he was... older. perhaps it was the scars or the battle hardened face from war, while silverash has been fortunate and only taken part in skirmishes where rhode island requested his help.

sorry i’ve been neglecting any non-event thread -- i promise i will reply to them! just a little bit slow and prioritizing event thread. events are too tempting for me.

Well… at least he knew she used to be a movie star. “FEater.” A point was made to give him the necessary information. This guy seemed pretty uptight, but considering his position that was to be expected she supposed? The Ursus was used to it since Rhodes Island attracted all types. It was like misfit island in there and FEater knew she was one of said misfits.

She paused to let him talk about his limitations. “Lost my weapons too. Really could use them right now, but…” Turning to the nearby wall, she punched it and left a fairly decent crater. “A lot of my strength is still here, and you can’t really talk away my skills as a martial artist!” Actually? Knock on wood.

“Checking your phone? Is one of those wire thingies nearby? I wouldn’t mind getting a little exercise.” By punching some ghosties that was!

she had strength, he had brief moment of enhanced strength and a toy weapon. the odds are stacked against them, but perhaps they could slide through a victory somehow.

he chuckles and says, “don’t give null or the stars idea, feater, or tomorrow you might wake up unable to even throw a punch.” 

“one of the exposed wires nearby. it might be heavily guarded by ‘ghosties’ and people who allied with null,” he says. “it will be a fierce battle, but the fiercer it is, the more triumphant our victory will be, no?” his heart is pounding with excitement and he can barely contain his smile. 

and, as if knowing these two are about to actively go against null’s plans, numerous shades already begin appearing, eyeing them from afair, prepared for battle. “that direction.” he points, numerous shades guarding the route like what we normally do in arknights. 

“Hmm… Hmmmm… Ah! Got it! You’re the president of Karlan aren’t you? Right.” His broad posture had struck FEater familiar. She’d seen him around Rhodes Island and it wasn’t unlike the Operators to gossip. A celebrity like herself joining the cause had earned plenty of murmurs back in the day. 

“I can think of better circumstances for two Rhodes Island Operators to meet under. Guess we should pull our resources together?” She was expecting SilverAsh would at least know her as the celebrity she was, but considering how Kjerag was largely cut off from the rest of the world… maybe not?

@silversurvival​​

ah. 

he recognizes her. he knows she’s in movies. he also knows she’s an operator from rhodes island. he has seen her around. he has been on missions with her. but, like how she seemed to not know his name, he similarly does not know hers. silverash has no interest in movies.

he looks at her and says, “you’re the operator from rhodes island who used to be a movie star, no?” he smiles. “i apologize -- i am not familiar with your name.” 

but before silverash could ask for her name and exchange pleasantries, the ground begins to shake, the building around them threatening collapse. he turns his head to face the destruction, then checks the phone, the map indicating that not too far from them is where one of the holes is located.

“you’re correct, there could be better circumstances, but, fortunately for us, this is a circumstance we’re qualified for.” 

“ I wouldn’t know what you can do or wherever your beams come from or what can you do other have animal ears and tail. “

“ But fine then, you’re right. Not much I can do really.“ 

“you’ve stepped on my tail before. it’s nothing but a fluffy tail.” 

“you’ve been through enough as a veteran. wars are meant to be fought by the youth your actions help save.”

“ …… “

“ You’re right of course…. I’m just a meager war veteran. Can’t shoot beams out of my ass or ballsacks or what is it that you people can do. “

He sighs. He’s awfully aware of it all really, especially with his eye gone.

“ ….I do have some stuff from the shop the Stars keep but that’s it I guess. “

“.............”

“do i look like someone who can shoot beams out of my--” 

damn. useless pretty things.

“ ….I take it you’re sitting through this then? “

“ If I take part I’ll have to wait them to open the wirings. And I’d imagine cutting them is easier said than done. “

“i haven’t made my choice, nor am i in a hurry to.”

“if you take part, you’ll also have to fight those sided with null before you cut the wires.” 

a pause. 

It’s strangely refreshing–nostalgic–to be swinging her swords against monsters. Feeling the blade as the extension of her arm, the pull and the weight of cutting through their forms. She had her reasons for joining the side of their captors. Normal was safer than…well, this mess. She wanted to make sure her friends would be safe along with the other residents. Which had led her to this situation. It may be far from her home ward but the distance didn’t matter much to her during this time.

Normally, she could handle more on her own–as she could take down a troop of soldiers single handedly. Then again she had Lyria’s, Vyrn’s, and the rest of the crew’s support behind her (whom she sometimes caused to worry when she set out on her own). They even were her morale boost. 

Still, she didn’t have all her abilities unlocked. Just her swords, one skill…perhaps it was more of a silver lining that they didn’t take away her proficiency with them. 

Djeeta refused to back down from this challenge. While there were many other capable and dependable fighters in Spirale and she refused to be a burden. Until she was unable to, the skyfarer would protect those in need. 

Upon the silver haired man’s arrival–were those ears? Is he an Erune?–she smiles and heeds his warning by striking the monster lunging at her.  “Thanks! I’m fine for now. Probably even better that you’re here,” she says calmly, taking a deep breath as she returns to her battle stance. There were only so many things one could do alone. 

From the corner of her eye she catches the glimmer of elemental magic being casted and reacts by activating her Cross Guard to reduce the damage to both of them. She defends her new ally by blocking as much as she could with her blades. “Are you okay?!” Djeeta calls out, both to the man and those she was defending. The ability would only last for a handful of seconds and she only had a few activations left after her first. Only four more, she thought, recalling her first arrival. 

Shaking off the damage done to her, she prepares another attack. They had to deal with these ones before more came and she didn’t want to risk the man and the citizens getting hurt by prolonging the fight. “If you’re okay, we have some work to do. Let’s go!”

“i shall try not to disappoint,”  silverash says, shifting his position to best guard her blind spots, and allow her to guard his own. it seems their tactic changed, as they began casting their ranged elemental attacks, an attempt to wear them from afar. he lets out an chortle -- amused by the enemies's cowardly tactics against two without little to no ranged capability.

if only tenzin was here, then he would make quick work of those in the distance. 

as he prepared for bracing the attack, through sheer will and determination. he feels what’s almost like a light shield cover him. he blinks, unsure of the source of this, before he realizes it’s from his partner, arts of some sort to add to his own defense. “the fools cometh, but thy will strengthen, and thy will help,” he recites quietly, taking on a stance to best brace for the attack about they couldn’t avoid. she blocked most of it, and, with his own body and ‘blade’, blocked what remained. 

“my thanks for your arts and protection,” he says, dusting off traces of the impact. he scans his weapon, damaged slightly. he’s unsure of how long it has left in this situation, but he will use it till it reaches its end. “i can take the ones at 6 preparing another attack,” silverash says quietly, feline eyes fixated on his prey in the distance, body prepared to pounce in that direction. “at 11, there’s another set of casters, hopefully the last, that we have to take out as well. their infantry is limited, but they’re coming for the helpless civilians. i’ll try to take out as many of the foot shades as i can coming from 4, 5, and 6,” he takes a breath, then says, “please look after yourself.” 

he laughs. 

with the only ability he has, a minor strength boost, he dives into the water, trying his best to break open the door to a house locking the family in. the wood buckles under his repeated attacks, though each takes a toll on the air reserve he has. eventually, the door caves despite the reinforcement from the water and he rushes in, surfacing to take another breath and focus on the family of three desperately wading and crying for help. 

without much time to spare, he takes the two children struggling the most in his arms, the mother who could barely breathe pushing them into his arms. he doesn’t even have time to say “i’ll be back” before the water begins rising more, so he dives with the kids, powerful kicks propelling him through the salty, murky, debris filled water. 

he surfaces as soon as he can to give the kids a chance to breathe. in that time, he does spot someone else who is evacuating others, taking lead to help them. he calls out -- 

“their mother -- she’s trapped -- there!” he manages to gasp out. silverash cants his head in the direction where he had come from, unable to provide more insight without endangering the children.

Are those screams you hear from behind? Ah no…. Or yes. They might be.

“ I know few things about grand promises - one is that they’ll never hold true to them.  That said the Stars have handed prizes before… Even if it’s just returning what is ours to begin with…. “

“ But that said I guess skipping  a possible return would be quite a miss huh? “

those are definitely screams and pleas for help. alas, an actual hero would have to deal with that for these two are useless.

"if you speak the truth, it would be a shame lose out on a reward for inaction.”

at first, he hesitates to intervene, understanding he might only be another burden for her to handle, but as more of those monstrous shades appear, seeking to overwhelm her with sheer numbers, he moves quickly to intercept at least a few before they could reach her or the defenseless. he offers a prayer to the god he has long stopped believing in that the sword would last and uses the dull blade to knock a monster away from his side.

“are you alright?” he asks loudly. he offers a monster trying to ambush his back a quick elbow to the face. 

he lips part into a sly grin as his excitement grows at the experience of battle. he always loved a challenge.

“although it seemed like you have things handled, i hope you don’t mind if i hel--your three o’clock!”

@silversurvival

Reimu hadn’t planned on going home for very long. As per the usual routine she had slowly started settling into before all of this began, she had spent most of her day in the Cotes ward, but had just finished heading back to Fibonacci in order to take a breather at her residence for a bit and assess the situation some more. Unfortunately, she hadn’t made it all the way back yet when gravity began to warp all around her. 

The maiden gasped as she found herself flung up into the air with little warning as she took her next step, scrambling to grab and cling onto something that was more grounded than she currently was- no matter what that thing was. Her hands found their way to a lamppost, grabbing onto it for dear life; while she could fly, she didn’t trust herself to rely solely on that during all of this. 

Great. How long was she going to be stuck here before gravity returned to normal? Her grip was like steel and wasn’t likely to break, but being stuck like this was bothersome at best. 

he had chosen to not care about the chaos unfolding besides him. he had chosen to see what comes out of this and survive until he can figure out the winning side and sneak onto their ranks. but the chaos spreads beyond the video announcement. it’s already affecting the wards and destroying what could have been a peaceful, relaxing wait. 

silverash is not one unaccustomed to trouble, as he’s been in his fair share of catastrophic events, but having gravity removed from his surroundings and sending him floating into the air in a chaotic, unpredictable pattern he can say he’s experienced.

he cannot fly. he does not have any of his abilities. hell, he doesn’t even have tenzin to help him. so, he does what he can, propel himself towards the nearest sturdy structure -- a lamppost. 

surprisingly, there’s already someone there. from a glance, it seems her situation is similar to his own -- not exactly in trouble, but not very amused by what they’re currently doing to stay safe from the chaos. 

“ Ohhhh you prefer sit and watch? Well, granted the wards are quite the mess even without the Stars and the GPU but…. “

“ They did promise us prizes, didn’t they…? The Stars.  “

as if on cue, building collapse behind them and there’s a loud explosion in the distance. wind blows at their hair and clothes, making them look like certified badasses. 

“i can appreciate that line of thinking.” 

“ So either we work with our captors or side with people that might be trying to null us out of existence. “

“ Great choices we have here. “

“i’ll take this opportunity to remind you that we have a third choice.” 

Pramanix had been deep in prayer, swaying her mockery bell gently side to side. It was no Holy Bell, but it was what she had. Pramanix hated being the Saintess and the duties that came with it, but she was still a follower of Kjerag’s religion. She still prayed to the Karlan Goddess, even if she might not even be able to hear her in this place.

When she was done, she stood there for a few moments more, enjoying the pleasant silence after the bell went silent… until his voice interrupted it.

She spun around quick enough to make the bell ring again, and upon seeing him and confirming that she was not merely hearing things, her grip tightened around the handle and her expression soured.

The disdain she felt towards him was shown clear as day on her face; her lips were pursed, brow furrowed, eyes set in a sharp glare as she brought the bell closer to her chest.

She may not like being the Saintess. She may have been letting loose here where no one knows who she is, where she didn’t have to act according to tradition and religious regulation. But she’ll be damned if she’s going to break her Saintess protocol for him of all people, the one who chose this fate for her.

She’s not going to speak up. She isn’t going to say a word. She isn’t Anya Silverash at the moment, she is The Karlan Saintess and Enciodas knows that.

silverash should have expected this response. this cruel silence by one related to him by blood, but emotional ties cut long ago. he meets her glare with a cool gaze, his expression not betraying his thoughts.

he knew exactly why she would react the way she did. he knows that perhaps even a sincere apology from him would never brings things back to the way they were. though, whether or not she would ever hear an apology is a different question. 

still, he has no regrets making the choice he did. he has no regrets making that choice for her. even as she treats him coldly, he considers what he did necessary for all of them. 

so he stares as she glares, no exchange between them, only the sound of the fading ring of the bell. at least, until he chuckles softly, with a hand covering his mouth, finally understanding the game she is forcing him to play. 

and play silverash does.

he bows his head again, as a sign of respect. “my apologies, saintess. it’s rude of me to not pay my proper respect before your presence,” he says, his voice steady and unbothered. “i hope you can forgive me for that slight.” 

it’s not like he can ask for forgiveness for anything more.