Legolover-361

5/5. Your art's pretty iconic; I doubt I'd forget it easily.

This is a fantastic contest idea! I'm excited to see everyone's entries. I'm really tempted to enter this category (I probably don't have a chance in the building or drawing categories), but I'm not very familiar with the G2 storyline. We'll see if I can put something together.

IC (Kynaera, train): Kynaera saw the jabs and guessed what they meant, but so much of her concentration was focused on increasing gravity that, in the split-second it took her to shift her focus to her Kualsi, one of the bursts struck her. Her mask threw her behind the two Toa before the brunt of the guard's blow could hit, but Kynaera's feet still hit the ground heavily, her diaphragm expanded to recover her lost breath, her audio receptors rang like bells, and her side stung as if it were covered in biting, stinging insects. A pair of crystal bursts and a gunshot struck the wall near Kynaera's former position. She glanced to her right, saw that the eyes of every defender were trained on her, and sighed. This was a stupid idea. This was such a stupid idea. Such thoughts wouldn't help her now--she was all about efficiency, managing time and saving energy and streamlining her thinking processes so that, in the heat of battle, she could act like a machine--but they crowded her head anyway. She was sluggish in looking out the window across from her and activating her mask, although sluggishness to her was measured in milliseconds. Everything was wrong. They hadn't strategized enough. She hadn't pushed the issue. She'd been overconfident. Makuta would have... Suddenly, she was stumbling in the sand, falling to her knees on a dune. The sun burned her back, and the sand burned her legs. She pulled her hood over her head, pulled her cloak about her, and straightened up. The train clattered away. She began walking after it, taking time to catch her breath.

IC (Kynaera, train): The blade of Kynaera's staff slammed into a train seat's back and stuck there, quivering. Still holding onto the staff, Kynaera finished her spin with both guards in her sight. The Po-Toa's arms bulged as his hammer began to swing again, this time with elbows closer to torso, like a Kolhii player. The Calix-wearer was probably waiting for her next move--she hadn't let go of the staff yet. Or maybe she was at a loss, too. Kynaera breathed in a quick breath, just enough for her abdomen to tense up, like a diver about to leap into the water. The shouting from the other side of the train car (Taranis and Tenjin? someone worse?) was muddled and indistinct in her ears. The sounds her brain did emphasize were odd, small ones: breathing, her feet sliding slightly upon the floor, a ringing that she, if she were more poetic, would have identified as Death whispering into her audio receptor. She increased the gravity on the other side of the staff, the area in which the Calix and hammer guards stood, and then leaped/rolled over the seat to her side. She landed awkwardly--her side hurt as muscles in her sides strained to restore balance--and increased the gravity further, trying to render the guards immobile. Until they were neutralized, she could not afford to turn around and help the other members of the heist. One step at a time. One step at a time...

IC (Kynaera, train): Kynaera felt a tug on her weapon and reacted quickly, jabbing the weapon backward with a sharp thrust and turning around, using the Calix-wearer's grip like a fulcrum to pivot herself out of range of the Po-Toa's hammer.

OOC: The following post was written with two assumptions in mind. Assumption 1: the Po-Toa fired an actual shotgun (which isn't very relevant to the post itself but to my interpretation of your post). ('Twas clarified that the Po-Toa DIDN'T have an actual shotgun.) Assumption 2: the Po-Toa's shotgun is not powerful enough to cripple a Toa wearing armor after only one shot. If either of these assumptions is wrong, please let me know. IC (Kynaera, train): Kynaera barely noticed the loss of control over the Po-Toa's local gravity, so as he swung his hammer to knock away one end of her staff, her reactions were slow. Bang! A sharp pain flooded the right side of Kynaera's face and multiplied in constellations down her right side. Her reflexes, honed by years of experience, activated her Kualsi and flung her behind the Po-Toa, back on the other side of the doorway. She stumbled, righted herself quickly, and turned around. The battle-noises of the train car behind her and the darkness in her right field of vision combined in a disorienting manner. Her side burned like fifty heated needles had been jammed through her armor and into her skin. It took her a split-second to realize her right eye had been blinded. In the same split-second, she jabbed at the Po-Toa's side.

Yo, I'm really sorry about my recent inactivity. I'm reviewing the latest posts in Po-Wahi now and will write a new Kynaera post ASAP. This is really irresponsible of me, but because I didn't specify in my post, I don't remember where I intended Kynaera to teleport. Your interpretation makes the most sense to me and is likely parallel with my original intentions, but, because I never specified in my post, any resultant confusion about Kynaera's position is my fault. I can clarify in my next post Kynaera's exact location if that would help.

Hey, did I miss anything in Po-Koro that I needed to respond to? I've been keeping track of the topic but didn't notice things progressing in the train heist.

IC (Kynaera, train): Kynaera's forearm struck the guard's, which redirected her punch into the air. The guard's Calix flashed. Right as Kynaera felt a fist connecting with her gut, she vanished. Reappearing in the doorway behind the guard, she landed a little clumsily. Right. Calix. Whoops. She slid to the side so that the Calix guard would have to reach to hit her, drew her staff, activated its blades, and jabbed it at the Toa of Stone's underarm.

As a busy college student, I actually appreciate the train heist's taking its time, so please don't speed it up too much, haha.

IC (Kynaera, train): Kynaera did not have time to idle, did she? The guard seemed curt and wearied with conversation. Before Kynaera turned around (which she should do in a second if she wanted to remain inconspicuous), she would have to do something while there were only four guards in their train car. Something to prevent more guards from coming, giving the would-be criminals enough time to grab the gold. Something to ensure Kynaera's dignity as a mercenary remained intact. She began to turn around, her eyes sliding from the guard she was facing to the guard by the doorway. And she shunted inconspicuousness to the end of her list of priorities. She ran through a quick plan: increase the gravitational pull on the guard by the doorway so that he couldn't react; jab at the guard in front of her; teleport behind her and stab her with the staff, then draw the attention of the other guards so that the other heist members could act with indiscretion. She ran through the first two steps of her plan--she applied gravity like glue to the doorway guard's frame and, in the middle of her right turn away, jabbed with her left hand at the guard's chin.

I got Pure in the Plastic by Polyenso in the mail yesterday.

Brightly colored manga hair!

No Closer to Heaven is a slight change from The Wonder Years' general output. It's a little more melodic. YMMV. ​ I'd say flattered, but I don't know what others would say about my sense of humor, lol.

Both are really solid albums. I only own The Greatest Generation (as a digital LP), so I can vouch for its intensity and catchiness. I only listened to Suburbia once, a few years ago, but it left an impression. Have you heard No Closer to Heaven? If so, what do you think of it?

IC (Kynaera, train): It took a moment for Kynaera to realize that the doorframe had whined under the force of gravity. If not for her years of experience hearing noises that would cause many to shudder, she would have winced. Why had she accepted this job? Why had she thought this would be a simple job with a sure payout? Pride, a dagger in her back... her thoughts quivered and her brain felt like it might spin loose from her spine. "I didn't notice," said Kynaera, even-keeled, in response to the guard's question. "But sometimes it's hard to notice when someone's doing it." The open door was right there. If she were fast enough, she could teleport through it--but that would leave her alone to fight the guards in an enclosed space and split her from her crewmates, who were probably wondering what in Karzahni she thought she was doing right now. All these thoughts occurred during a pause of no more than half a second, as Kynaera inhaled after ending her last statement. She prided herself on quick thinking. Plans could fail. She could not. "I could let you know if I spot anyone," she offered, playing for time. How hard could gravity pull if she told it to pull?

Deja Entendu is great, but does it fit under pop-punk? It always struck me as being an emo/alt-rock record. When I think of pop-punk, I think of bands like Blink-182, Yellowcard, and The Wonder Years.

IC (Kynaera, train): Seated near the guards, a few people stirred at their commotion. Maybe they were suspicious. Right now, though, their suspicion had no target. If everything went right, they would remain without a target until Kynaera and the others were in the middle of grabbing gold. As the guards struggled with the door, Kynaera looked out of the corner of her eye at the guard near the other door--he continued watching the train car with a steady gaze. He would not be easy to distract without drawing attention to Kynaera herself. More tricks, then. Kynaera couldn't split her attention between two targets so far apart--the door on one side of the train car, the guard on the other. Instead, maintaining the gravitational pull on the door and increasing the zone of influence to the doorframe above it, she stood up and walked to the open door. The doorframe warped a little as she stopped before the guards; confirming the warping in her peripheral vision, she allowed gravity to return to normal. "Hey," she said in a low voice, "maybe I can help you with the door somehow? I'm a Toa of Gravity. I might be able to do something."

4/5. Catchy instrumental, decent guitar melodies. The broken chords starting a little after the four-minute mark keep the music refreshing. I'm not a huge fan of the screamed/growled(?) vocals, but I probably just need to get used to them. "Where the Sky Hangs" by Passion Pit. Yup. He's doing a project in which he releases one "soundtrack" album a month. This is from one or two months ago, I forget which. Yeah, and I've been telling myself I should listen to their latest two albums for a long time without actually doing it. I've listened to Chevelle as well, and I've heard some other metal songs here and there. But compared to the amount of alternative/indie, electronic, soundtrack, etc. music I listen to, metal is a very small piece of my musical pie, undeservedly small.

Pictured: Toriel's uncle, who brought her candy when her parents weren't watching and later disappeared while on tour with his new wave revival band.

4/5. Solid emo rock--it's steady and comforting, swinging in a homey waltz even as the singer shouts about breaking up and changing seasons. (It's probably an intentional juxtaposition.) The lyrics are okay as far as I can tell. There's not much else to say about it. "The Ascent" by Adam Young: Nope! But I am interested in listening to more metal. The furthest into the genre I've gotten so far are Black Sabbath's albums Paranoid and (some of) Master of Reality, both of which I really like. If any of Cloudkicker's albums count, I've listened to all of his main releases, too.

4/5. I dig the instrumental--it's sinister and engrossing--but the singing brings down my score a bit. In the beginning, the singer sounds fine, but his screaming voice seems distorted by production, as if it was run through filters, and his ending refrain sounds like a halfhearted Dracula impression. "Bloom" by Mae:

I'm not going to try listing all the albums I've bought since my last post here, so I'll just list my four latest purchases. From Target, I got A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead. It's a gorgeous, surprisingly organic-sounding record from one of the biggest modern bands. From a record store near my college, I picked up Begin to Hope by Regina Spektor, Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos, and Under the Pink by Tori Amos. I already had an album by Spektor--What We Saw From the Cheap Seats--but this is my first time getting anything by Amos. What I've heard from her is really good, though, so I have high hopes.

IC (Kynaera, train): Kynaera had reviewed her surroundings five times since getting on the train, but only the first two checks had been useful. The remaining three only helped soothe her nerves: She had missed nothing; she could account for everything; she was ready. Well, she was mostly ready. In hindsight, handling the guards was the most difficult job she could have picked. They framed the doorways on each end of the train car, conspicuous but intimidating. She had too much experience to think she could lure them away from those doors--people like these guards tended to be equally prideful and scared, and those two qualities augment suspicion like nothing else can. Speaking per se would accomplish nothing. Like a magician, she needed multiple parts and a willing audience for her magic trick to work. If it did not, she had a backup plan--one crude, clumsy, and violent, but potentially necessary. "It's time," Dalyn said. Kynaera nodded. Surreptitiously, she lifted her finger. The guards stood unmoved for a minute or so--Dalyn was probably getting impatient--and then one of them, a Toa of Stone, twitched his fingers. He blinked multiple times, quickly, as if he were trying to clear a fog from his eyes. He turned to his companion, a Toa of Sonics, with a plaintive gaze. For many people, the side-effects of lower gravity include slight nausea and vertigo. Kynaera had weakened the gravity around both guards, but only the one was reacting now. It would be enough. Mostly. The Toa of Sonics glanced at him in concern and leaned toward him, whispering something. The first guard nodded. Glaring, his companion whispered something else. He nodded and, with obvious relief, opened the door behind him--the door that led to the back of the train. Now Kynaera redirected her efforts toward the door and discarded subtlety. When the Toa of Stone tried to close the door, it refused to budge. His eyes wide, he tugged as hard as he could without making it obvious. The Toa of Sonics rolled her eyes and tried to help him pull it shut. It ground about a few centimeters along the ground before stopping for good. The other two guards took notice. One of them, a second Toa of Stone, began crossing the train car, hesitated upon the Toa of Sonics' annoyed glance, and continued when she begrudgingly gestured for her to help. This left three guards at the open door and one watching from the opposite end--a division of forces far easier to handle, especially when three of these people were preoccupied. OOC: I'm going to stop here for tonight and allow characters on the train to react. It's been a while since I roleplayed here, so if I overstepped any boundaries (even assuming the guards are expendable NPCs (sorry, guards!)), let me know ASAP. EDIT: I DUN GOOFED. Silvan's controlling the guards. He's allowing this post to stay as it is, but I'm leaving this edit here to avoid any confusion.