Bzprpg - Kumu Islets

[a goose]

IC: NikarraNikarra laughed slightly. "No, not related. Although my family's pretty big. And generally consists of psychopaths."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)"So maybe we're cousins. That'd be really screwy..."I hefted Nikarra up pretty easily - she wasn't exactly the heaviest girl around - spun her 180 degrees and plopped her down so if she wanted to look into my eyes, she had to stare straight up, kind of like she was praying. I grinned at her and slipped my arms back around her waist as I leaned in and kissed her."Don't worry about him. If he gets to be a real problem, I can deal with him with a single finger. I mean it. I once poked a guy in the eye with my middle finger so hard that the bro just went and stroked out."-Teezy

[a goose]

IC: Nikarra"Try to be pretty easy on him. More than six hours, but less than a week."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)I snorted in laughter and pulled her onto the bed, letting her use my sternum as a pillow, which she was getting better and better at doing."You're a heck of a girl, Nik," I mumbled, closing my eyes and breathing deeply. If only you were Naara...-Teezy

[a goose]

IC: Nikarra"I think you bring out the best in me."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)"Really? That doesn't sound like me."-Teezy

[a goose]

IC: Nikarra"Maybe you don't know yourself as well as you think."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)Well, that was disconcerting. Unable to come up with a proper reply to Nikarra, I merely sighed deeply and let myself drift off into sleep...-Teezy

[Grantaire]

IC - Zarayna - Tactical Panda:For lack of something better to do, Zarayna began practicing with his longsword. He had claimed a nice portion of the deck for himself, enough to somewhat move around in. It was out of the way enough so that people weren't likely to walk into it with no warning. Here they would have a good chance to see the razor sharp blade the toa was wielding before they came upon him. Shadow fighting, next best thing to fighting dummies, which was the next best thing to fighting actual foes. The last was never boring, but his current situation was, rather. At length he stopped, raising his Kanohi to wipe his brow, and then letting it down again. The area was quiet, and as he glanced about, he could only see Desdemona sun bathing towards the other end of the ship. He turned away; about the last thing he was interested in doing was walking up to her and saying anything. In business, yeah, he would do that. Randomly talking?...No, he decided. It was about as intimidating a prospect as inviting a rahkshi over to dinner. Speaking of dinner...The toa sheathed his sword, grinning slightly under his kanohi as a mischievous plan began to form.

[Aderia]

IC: Rukk (Tactical Panda)The problem with being a Vortixx was that people expected you to be able to reach things in high places. The problem with being a short Vortixx was that you ended up disappointing everyone.The shelves that lined the walls above the wall-bolted counters were quickly being filled with his inventory. He shoved the last few boxes of spare utensils into place, satisfied that everything was in its place.I'm not crazy. The Vortixx told himself. I'm just organized. He nodded to himself, as he stood in the generous kitchen of the Tactical Panda. Perhaps, if someone had seen him, they may have thought otherwise. Rukk stood on top of the sturdy stainless-steel countertops that lined the edges of the kitchen, and his feet were wrapped in spare dish cloths for the sake of sanity. He looked ridiculous, and his reflection in the large, weighty skillets that hung across the room confirmed this.He leapt from the countertop onto the long island that ran down the center of the kitchen, dodging unused meat hooks swinging from the ceiling. He took a moment to balance himself, his cloth-wrapped feet did not help him keep a grip on the countertops, though. He climbed down on the other side of the counter, since the floor was wet from mopping on the other side, and made his way down the aisle.On the end of the center counter, a large frying pan, made of metallic protodermis, sat. He was browing a few pounds (out of the five-hundred that he had purchased in the market earlier with Desdemona) of burger meat, hoping to make something useful out of it for the crew's evening meal, whenever that may be.

Edited July 28, 2012 by Aderia

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)Chinkchinkchink!Man, widgets were raining from the sky tonight, let me tell you. Between Grokkie at Table 17 and me over here, doing my thing, this casino was gonna get put down like the family dog after it gets diagnosed with heartworm. That was a tough joke to make, I'll have you know, 'cause I once dated a girl who had to put her dog down because of heartworm. It was a real shame. I loved that dog, it had the cutest little tail wag and when it barked it kind of sounded like "Dor! Dor! Dor!" which, coincidentally, was the exact same chant that was going at the table as I threw down my latest hand and unveiled my royal flush, which had been cooking for several minutes as I baited my opponent into raising and raising and raising...And then a cool hand brushed my shoulder, and I instantly tensed up, because I recognized the feel of that particular palm. I knew she knew that I'd had her figured out, because as soon as I toughened she bent down and whispered in my ear, "Hey, there, 'Dorable. Still wasting away in the gilded prison, huh?""Naara? When did you get back...?""Kid was irritating me. I cut him loose and took a beeline back here. Wanna head back to the villa...?"And boy howdy, did I. I'd missed this girl so much that the instant she whispered the v-word, I had bounded out of my chair and scooted my widgets into my bag hastily, tossing it over my shoulder and letting my part-time teacher and full-time bedmate lead me into my room. I sighed contently as I watched her walk, or slither, or whatever hot form of motion it was that Naara did, her way down the halls, through the service tunnels, and into my room, where she slicked the floor as she so loved to do and pushed me by the sternum gently onto the bed."So...fixed any problems lately?" she asked with a wink and a smirk, leaning against the doorway. I closed my eyes in content and grinned, picturing her gorgeous hazel eyes boring through my shirt and scarf and into my chest, peering into my soul and heart with that cutting gaze she had."A couple, here and there."She gave a little world-weary sigh that positively chipped away at my soul each nanosecond that it went on and took a couple steps forward. The splish, splosh of her bare feet cut through the otherwise total Zen experience that the room had going on, and when she next spoke, it was in a wistful murmur that made me want to reach out and hold her more than anything. For some reason, though, my arms just would not budge. And still she drew closer..."Oh, Dorian...always solving other people's problems, taking care of other people. And who takes care of you?""I've always done quite a job at taking care of myself..." I muttered with a hint of a laugh, and instantly, I got the feeling that this was not what I should have said. Naara, however, didn't seem to miss a beat: the splish, splosh grew closer, and I heard her give a dry chuckle as her body heat finally started to absorb into my black leather pants. I was starting to lose it, right here, I was about to completely lose my cool. And how could she be so stoic? It was off-putting for me, and I'm a psychopath."Dear boy..." she drawled. "For once, don't be so poetic and just answer the question. Who takes care of you?"Now I actually did laugh as I felt her hands start to snake up my calves and onto my knees. I could feel her leaning over me now, and the splish, splosh had given way to the sound of a stagnating puddle and the slow dripping of sweat that was sliding down my brow. That was weird. I didn't sweat. But God, this girl was hot. The hazel stare was now cutting straight through my heart and into my soul, past me, past the bed, past the floor itself and into the depths of the underworld that my soul had already once been a denizen of."You do," I said, giving her a cute little grin that had won so many hearts and broken so many others.I felt Naara slide on top of me, and her thighs cut across my abdomen, her hands across my shoulder blades, as she gently stared into my closed eyes; inevitably, they opened, as I knew they would, and when I did her face was split in a small smile, that million-watt rare little smile that lit up my life and made me feel as though I was worth something besides a hired gun, a fixer. She leaned in, her back arched perfectly and cutting a c shape into the air above my bed, and kissed my forehead, then the bridge of my mask, then my lips."That's right, kiddo," she purred, and now I really did start to lose my cool, because she was so frickin' close and I had missed her so frickin' much. "Now just sit back, relaaaaaaax, and let Naara take care of you..." -Teezy

Edited July 28, 2012 by Tyler Durden

[Grantaire]

IC - Zarayna - Tactical Panda:To all observers, Zarayna was resting as he lay down on the deck relatively near the kitchen area. In reality, his sonar was operating at full power as he scanned the kitchen. He had located the food cooking, and now waited... Waited... There! Rukk's gaze was nowhere near the frying pan, and Zarayna grabbed a piece of the beef with his mask, swiftly moving it out of the kitchen and right to him. He chewed it critically. Not quite ready. He waited a minute, and then snatched another piece. Before he lifted it though, he decided to try for a bigger target. He telekinetically lifted what would be a nice handful of food from the frying pan, slowly as to not let anything fall.The problem? He completely forgot to check Rukk's location.

[Aderia]

IC: Rukk (Tactical Panda)After trifling through his box of brand new seasonings and spices that he had quickly grown to love, Rukk turned back to the sizzling dish."...by twisted Karzahni himself," He sputtered to himself. Slowly, before his eyes, a small helping, a handful of the browning meat was rising into the air of its own accord.Rukk did not consider himself an ignorant Vortixx. He knew telekinesis when he saw it. Just as slowly, he placed the shaker of seasoning on the countertop and edged closer to the wall where an assortment of the more dangerous kitchen implements were hanging by hooks. Without taking his eyes off the helping of dinner that was in the midst of being purloined, his hand, the non-flamethrower one, closed around a large, fist-sized meat tenderizer hammer.He waited for the telekinesis-influenced food to begin moving, standing primed with his feet still wrapped in muffling dish cloths.

Edited July 28, 2012 by Aderia

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)After several exhilarating and blissful hours, I popped my eyes open and groaned quietly, massaging my forehead. Was that real? No way that was real, the drinks in the minifridge tasted too good. But it had...felt real. Was that a sign? Some divine flare gun that was popped off in my limbic system, leaving me alone and grasping for the one girl in my life that had actually meant something? I doubt that any particular deity was looking to do me any favors, so maybe it's just my subconscious. Regardless, it had left my heart rent and torn as I realized just how stupid I was to let her walk out of this casino without me by her side.I pushed myself out of bed and felt Nikarra's arm plop down onto the mattress, and as I trudged to the bathroom I took a quick second to spare a second glance at her twitching form, her small, mesmerized smile, and, the biggest tipoff of all, her bright golden Mark glowing on her arm. Like I said, I was never the best at 20 Questions, but I knew enough to figure out what she was dreaming about, and instead of crawling over and giving her a massage, or waking her up and making her dreams a reality...I was kinda disgusted. I was, technically, cheating on a girl who had given herself totally and completely to me for another girl who met the same criteria, but...it's hard to explain.Anyway, I trudged over to the bathroom and splashed some water in my face, sending little driplets and droplets of moisture cascading down my face and onto my bare pectorals and abdomen. I blinked several times, trying to steer away any rogue waterdrops from my bright blue irises, and as I looked into the mirror, I got the distinct urge to shatter it and just start slicing away at the Mark. Or grind up the mirror into dust so I wouldn't have to look at it again, and fill a needle with it, and stab it into my veins. Back home, that's what we call self-reflection.And if you're picturing this scene in awe, dear reader, and thinking, "Wow, this guy is as sketchy as a stick of dynamite in a teddy bear," then let me just give it to you straight: this is what love does to you. And I think that's what it is. I really care about Naara, because she's like me, and according to this psychologist I once dated, I'm a textbook example of something called a Dark Triad. At the time, I thought it was a pet name for my distinctive blend of charm, looks, and bed smarts, but as it turns out it's actually a rather cynical name for my personality that could really be used to describe a lot of the most evil minds in history. Basically, a Dark Triad is a jigsaw puzzle of narcissism, Machiavellian tendencies, and psychopathy that leaves me shallow, cold, and unsympathetic to a lot of the problems around other people. So maybe that's why I care about Naara. She's like me.No. No, that's not it. I care about Naara because she actually does care about how I see myself, and she's talented, and she's beautiful, and she can spin a shot glass on each of her fingers whenever she wants to just to make me feel inadequate, and I love that. Thing is, I love being part of Bad Company. I represent the id of the world, and I represent the innate desires that each and every person tries to repress inside themselves. It's like I told Illicia: I don't belong anywhere. Except Bad Company. Even Grokk makes me feel welcome, makes me feel like I fit into a piece of a larger puzzle, makes me feel like in the end, what I do will contribute to someone's initiative. I'm a fixer. That's all I've ever been. That's all I ever will be."So don't leave."What the? Grokk? What are you doing on my shoulder? And why are you so bloody tiny?"I'm your conscience, Doorhinge. Y'know, like the angels and the devils that you see in books and stuff? The other guy will be along in a sec, he's probably stuck polishing his shoes and straightening his tunic so he looks pretty and presentable and all that garbage. I'm here to give it to you straight, broski: you're a killer. Straight up, stone cold, bloodthirsty murderer, and that don't sit well with a lot of girls. You belong here, with Bad Company, doing what it is you do best. I mean, does Naara know you're a freakin' egomaniac?"Well, I--"And why haven't you told her what exactly it is that you do?"Well--"And let's face it: is it her you love, or is it the fact that when you look at her, and you stare into those oh-so-luscious hazel orbs, all you can see is yourself?"Wordlessly, I slammed my first through the mirror, cutting off Mini-Grokk from continuing, and instead of putting the shards into my veins or cutting away at my Mark, I stared at the pieces for a second before turning on the faucet. Blood and glass and water all swirled down the drain with a weird grinding sound and finally plopped! down into some kind of underground storage tank. I spent the rest of the night leaning against the wall and casually lapping at the blood in my knuckles, wondering to myself how many pieces of myself were in each of those shards.-Teezy

[Grantaire]

IC - Zarayna - Tactical Panda:The food moved slower by a little, but it turned the corner, heading towards the deck where Zarayna waited.

[Aderia]

IC: Rukk (Tactical Panda)Setting a furrow in his brow, the Vortixx followed on silent feet. Up the stairs, around the bend, down a short corridor. He saw the thief and paused in the shadows of the corridor.Of course. Rukk hefted his meat tenderizer. King Arthur.

Edited July 28, 2012 by Aderia

[a goose]

IC: NikarraNikarra stirred slightly when she heard the mirror breaking, but didn't wake up fully until morning. She looked across the bed, and noticed that Dorian was missing. She sat up, a worried expression crossing her face. "Dorian?"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)"Hm?" I vocalized, turning my head away from the wall I was staring at thoughtfully and meeting Nikarra's worried gaze. "What is it? Bad dreams again?'-Teezy

[a goose]

IC: Nikarra"No. It's just... you were gone, and I heard something smashing earlier. I was worried."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)"Oh, that. That was nothing," I said, giving her a bright smile and letting the lie slip easily out of my mouth. "I was half-asleep when I went to use the bathroom, and I didn't have my eyes all the way open. Tripped and fell into it."I sat down on the bed and slipped on a clean black t-shirt and threw on a golden scarf before looking back at the other Mark Bearer."You look cute when you're worried."-Teezy

[a goose]

IC: Nikarra"Tripped and fell into what, though?" Nikarra asked.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)"Mirror," I replied truthfully, wrapping white boxer's gauze along my cut knuckles. "I saw your Mark glowing while you were asleep. What were you dreaming about?"-Teezy

[a goose]

IC: Nikarra"Can't really remember." Nikarra lied.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)Girl, if you can't remember, I'm in a civil union with an Ash Bear."Oh. Well, whatever it was, it was obviously pretty exciting," I replied, keeping my inner cynicism to myself and stretching as I leaned back against the headboard and popped an unlit cigarette into my mouth, rolling it around pensively as I zoned out.-Teezy

Edited July 28, 2012 by Tyler Durden

[Grantaire]

IC: Rukk (Tactical Panda)Setting a furrow in his brow, the Vortixx followed on silent feet. Up the stairs, around the bend, down a short corridor. He saw the thief and paused in the shadows of the corridor.Of course. Rukk hefted his meat tenderizer. King Arthur.

IC - Zarayna - Tactical Panda:The meat floated into the mouth of the unsuspecting toa of sonics. But, right before he took the first chew, his sonar sounded a red alert.Ironically, the first thing he heard was the hammer, but he didn't need to sense any more to guess that it was most likely held by a very angry vortixx chef.With a telekinetically aided jump, Zarayna was back on his feet, his mind contemplating possible options:1: beg for mercy, hope hammers can't break through protosteel.2: flee for dear life.He opted for option three; stand there chewing the stolen food, completely frozen. Edited July 28, 2012 by Zarayna: The Quiet Light

[a goose]

IC: NikarraNow could be a good moment to point out that rolling an unlit cigarette in one's mouth is not a good idea. But it probably isn't.

Edited July 28, 2012 by Vorex: Keeper of Time

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)"Your tattoo is showing."Sure enough, Nik's tattoo was glowing up a storm, and I smirked as I stretched upwards, letting my biceps brush my smooth cheekbones and pushing my fingertips towards the ceiling. I half wanted the heist to get postponed, because I was living the life right now...-Teezy

[a goose]

IC: Nikarra"Are there any side-effects to having active this much?" Nikarra asked.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)"You'll probably have super strength and agility. A lot. Depends on how long you're near something you're lusting after. Me? I'm always souped up, because somebody's always gonna be angry around me. Soon, you forget about the fact that you can't use your Kanohi, because I wore a Calix and any kind of boost the Calix gave me was far outclassed by the boost the Mark gave me. Not to mention, the euphoria's a pretty sweet bonus, too."I tossed the cigarette away and looked at her, smiling winningly and giving her a slightly more than average hint of my even white chompers."Like I said, though. You'd have to be around something you're lusting after all the time for the effects to last."-Teezy

[a goose]

IC: Nikarra"All the time, eh?" Anyone could recognise that gears were spinning in Nikarra's brain.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)"Yeah..." I said, trailing off and smiling while turning my gaze to the window. Internally, however, I was anything but smiley. Yeah, we needed another Bearer - I needed another Bearer - but if this chick started following me around just to get her rocks off, then we were gonna have a problem. And by we, I mean me. And Naara. "That should be the case. I don't know, though, I'm not really an expert on the Bearers..."That was another lie, but at the same time, Nikarra was gradually starting to put me on edge. I'd have to talk to Grokk later and come up with a course of action...-Teezy

[a goose]

IC: Nikarra"You said that yours worked because people were always angry with you. Well, if other people felt lust, would it have the same effect as me feeling it?"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)"Yeah. Your Mark would still be fueled by it."-Teezy

[a goose]

IC: Nikarra"Would it still have to be directed at me, or...?"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)"From what I've seen, any sort of lust works. Money, blood, sexual, intellectual..."-Teezy

[a goose]

IC: Nikarra"So, basically, as long as people near me aren't satisfied with what they already have, I'll have above-average strength and agility?"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)"That's the theory," I said, relaxing slightly. She seemed to be just picking for information from the Mark, but if there's one thing I've learned over my young life, it's that rarely, if ever, is a girl being straightforward when she asks this many questions. Therefore, I decided to stay on my guard and watch her carefully, and there was one surefire way to do that: keep on keeping on. Ohhhh, God, Grokk was right, he was right, should've gotten Naara to stay and used her as my cover. Maybe I could have broken the kid's leg and had him shipped off to Ta-Koro. I hear they're rebuilding that hospital thing...-Teezy

[a goose]

IC: Nikarra"Alright then."At this point, you have a number of options.1) Stalk Dorian.However fun that might be, it won't work. You want this guy to like you, you don't want him to kill you. Bad idea.2) Stalk Arkrak.What, it could work.3) Be stalked by Arkrak.Heck, it's normal life, might be a little dull.4) Go to Le-Wahi.I heard they have bars there.5) Lead a normal life, occasionally grab a good-looking guy if he likes you, and be better than everyone else....I'm going with Option 5.

Edited July 28, 2012 by Vorex: Keeper of Time

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Dorian (The Final Problem, Xa-Koro)I knew it. I pushed too hard, too fast, and now this chick is latched on like a leech. I should have never let her get the Mark. It was practically giving her a post-it note saying that she could follow me around whenever she wanted just to keep herself powerful. That was a scary thought. Her, following me around for the rest of her mortal life, superpowerful and superpining for some super Dorian. Come to think of it, can Mark Bearers die of old age? Maybe this Mark could help me stay young forever. That's a nice thought...but that would mean Nikarra would stay young forever. She could spend the rest of her immortal life superpining. That's an even scarier thought, and God, my brain was about to pop running all these scenarios through my head."I'm gonna hit the floor," I said, yanking myself out of bed and making sure my golden scarf was properly tossed around my neck. "I needs some Dorable time so I can, well...stay Dorable."Then, without further ado, I stepped out of the villa and towards the floor, straightening my scarf and mentally psyching myself up. The heist was almost upon me, and with this chick after me, I'm not gonna get a lot more tomorrow's to work this out...-Teezy

[a goose]

IC: Nikarra"See ya, Dorable." Nikarra whispered.