Cross Effects 3.0 - October 21, 2015—June 23, 2016

[Aiden]

Forest

The vampire chuckled and sent back, Oh that "handsome tree man" is literally just bones.  A woman who we just met gave him that cover so he wouldn't stand out as badly as a living skeleton with a voice from a Saturday Morning Cartoon.  You know, back when they showed Saturday morning cartoons.  Super sweet though, and very excitable and adorable because of it.

"Well, I'm not discounting every other decade that came before and after it, just some of my favorite things happened during the 80's.  Like Evil Dead 2.  Don't get me wrong, there was a bunch of hogwash happening as well.  Reganomics was all sorts of special.  The less said about what happened in the Balkens the better.  Oh, and day-glo, but there was a lot of good to be had too," Forest said with a shrug.

Gadreel

A ... living skeleton? Was he cursed in some fashion? the exile thought back with some measure of unease at the notion. The human soul was meant to have a long and prosperous existence, a life of challenge and triumph, before it would be given the opportunity to reincarnate and repeat the process a little wiser, a little more potent. The end result was for mankind to fulfill their potential, and to assume their inheritance as the heirs of the Creator.

To linger as a skeleton with no end in sight was... well, Gadreel supposed that as long as the means to achieve this unnatural longevity did not come from the tainted horrors beyond the universe that he had no mandate to force the cycle of incarnations upon it. He had no mandate to do anything except protect humanity, in the end.

Before he could reply to Forest's spoken statement his ears picked up on the words of the young ladies seated at another nearby table. A specialist in destroying the undead? A rather belligerent one, if her boasting was anything to go on. Gadreel quietly reached over to place a finger against Forest's lips, silencing any potential outrage or displays of dismay she might engage in before having a moment to process it. With her admittedly preference for bombastic solutions to situations it was best not to take chances.

I believe we should continue to behave in a casual manner, he thought at her, smiling to offset the severity of his suggestion. Unless we would prefer to draw the attention of our culinary neighbors.

[NinjaQ]

William

He decided that for the time being, biting his tongue and seeing what time would unfold was the best option. Though a few questions still rose up, unbidden.
Why does this being want the blood? Is the library’s data confirmed for this world? How would that data have been confirmed and more importantly, can that information change as the world does? <Why does that plant thing have that voice?>

[Elf]

Forest

Forest shrugged and replied through their link, It may have been self-inflicted, or a by-product for the dark forces he was tapping into . . .

"But maybe I shouldn't worry too much, maybe there will be brighter future ahead of me. See, I don't think I reached my limits yet. I will train, and I will be the one who will have the last laugh. All monsters that prowl the night should better watch themselves!"

Forest felt herself stilling and she gritted her teeth as she continued to hear the wanna be Van Helsing - Or was that Buffy because she's a girl?  No, Buffy never hated vampires . . . continue her boast.

"Not that I'm doing particularly bad at it now, I've eradicated my fair share of human eating corpses and goddamn leeches. Just call me if you need help, I'll handle it like a pro." The fannybawbag got slightly more enthusiastic, "If we run into one this night, I can show you how it's done, Kuro. Undead are after all one of my two specialties after all. No matter if it's arcade game or reality, I have knack for beating their sorry asses."

Then Gadreel reached across the table and laid a finger on her lips.  Indigo eyes widened and Forest felt some of the knee-jerk anger dissipate as she registered the feeling of his warm finger - there was a callus that was resting against her lower lip, a contrast compared to the smoother skin above it.   Her mind stated to fire at once and she inhaled needlessly, which made his scent, which was the bipolar opposite of unpleasant, fill her nose.

Good plan, she thought back.

Then she heard a Japanese-accented voice say, "Do you even know how to fight blondie? With how much you're bragging I'm having doubts here."

Forest smiled at that and relaxed.  Her smile turned a bit lopsided as she said to Gadreel, "That's a nice way to catch my attention."


Rin

Rin sighed and thought, So how did that other Rin screw up so badly that he won't even trust me?

"Well, about cooking better, we can make something Chinese and see who makes the better meal," Rin said wth a shrug.

"However, even if you don't trust me, you'll need prana soon," Rin said, "I-if needed I can give you prana without creating a contract."

[SINIB]

Shiro

Shiro glared at the idiot woman angrily. She wasn't ok with that last thing she'd just said. The bit about mugging people for money and food.

"That's wrong. You're wrong." Shiro sniffed at her. "In fact, your entire existence is wrong." The playfulness that she had been showing was now completely gone from her. "What even are you? And why should I let you roam free, if you're just going to go around and hurt someone, maybe even kill them, just because it's vaguely convenient for you?"

[SINIB]

Oka Kurosawa

Oka nodded at Jin. "That's one hundred percent correct. It's just that simple." She pushed the newly caught pokemon into his hand. "It's yours now, Jin. Treat it well. You're lucky, most people don't get something that rare." She added and brushed the green lock out of her face. "That's an Eevee, they're a unique kind of pokemon that can evolve into all sorts of things. Sylveon here was once an Eevee, and they can become fire, electric, water, dark, psycic, grass and ice types in addition to Sylveon here." She stopped herself from continuing to dump information on Jin. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to go on that monologue. They're just my passion and..." She caught herself again.

"Anyway, are you going to give it a nickname?"

[SINIB]

Sakura Matou

"Mhm. Senpai's easy to tease." She said to Jeanne before she pecked Shirou on the cheek. "But that's something I love about him. We should be quite in the movie theater though. It's rude to talk. Let's get back to the movie, the best part's coming up soon."

[Kat]

Kuro

Blondie just kept on talking, it was almost like she fancied herself a hero. The leeches hah, is she talking about dead apostles now? As she finished her burger the blonde confirmed her thoughts by saying undead was one of her two specialities. The white haired girl didn't miss that she had left out what the second one was supposed to be. Is she hiding something? Or is the second one something embarrassing. That wouldn't be surprising with how much she was bragging.

Kuro narrowed her eyes and stood up as she asked the blonde a question that was on her mind. "Do you even know how to fight blondie? With how much you're bragging I'm having doubts here."

Gadreel

A ... living skeleton? Was he cursed in some fashion? the exile thought back with some measure of unease at the notion. The human soul was meant to have a long and prosperous existence, a life of challenge and triumph, before it would be given the opportunity to reincarnate and repeat the process a little wiser, a little more potent. The end result was for mankind to fulfill their potential, and to assume their inheritance as the heirs of the Creator.

To linger as a skeleton with no end in sight was... well, Gadreel supposed that as long as the means to achieve this unnatural longevity did not come from the tainted horrors beyond the universe that he had no mandate to force the cycle of incarnations upon it. He had no mandate to do anything except protect humanity, in the end.

Before he could reply to Forest's spoken statement his ears picked up on the words of the young ladies seated at another nearby table. A specialist in destroying the undead? A rather belligerent one, if her boasting was anything to go on. Gadreel quietly reached over to place a finger against Forest's lips, silencing any potential outrage or displays of dismay she might engage in before having a moment to process it. With her admittedly preference for bombastic solutions to situations it was best not to take chances.

I believe we should continue to behave in a casual manner, he thought at her, smiling to offset the severity of his suggestion. Unless we would prefer to draw the attention of our culinary neighbors.

Forest

Forest shrugged and replied through their link, It may have been self-inflicted, or a by-product for the dark forces he was tapping into . . .

"But maybe I shouldn't worry too much, maybe there will be brighter future ahead of me. See, I don't think I reached my limits yet. I will train, and I will be the one who will have the last laugh. All monsters that prowl the night should better watch themselves!"

Forest felt herself stilling and she gritted her teeth as she continued to hear the wanna be Van Helsing - Or was that Buffy because she's a girl?  No, Buffy never hated vampires . . . continue her boast.

"Not that I'm doing particularly bad at it now, I've eradicated my fair share of human eating corpses and goddamn leeches. Just call me if you need help, I'll handle it like a pro." The fannybawbag got slightly more enthusiastic, "If we run into one this night, I can show you how it's done, Kuro. Undead are after all one of my two specialties after all. No matter if it's arcade game or reality, I have knack for beating their sorry asses."

Then Gadreel reached across the table and laid a finger on her lips.  Indigo eyes widened and Forest felt some of the knee-jerk anger dissipate as she registered the feeling of his warm finger - there was a callus that was resting against her lower lip, a contrast compared to the smoother skin above it.   Her mind stated to fire at once and she inhaled needlessly, which made his scent, which was the bipolar opposite of unpleasant, fill her nose.

Good plan, she thought back.

Then she heard a Japanese-accented voice say, "Do you even know how to fight blondie? With how much you're bragging I'm having doubts here."

Forest smiled at that and relaxed.  Her smile turned a bit lopsided as she said to Gadreel, "That's a nice way to catch my attention."

Mordred

"Oh, come on. You'll have to wait until the night. I won't show off here in the damn food department unless some bold and foolish evildoer picks up a fight with us. Though I really don't feel like fighting now. Last time time I was hanging out in a restaurant some white haired moron with more power than brains fought me and my buddies." She complained, munching on the hamburger slowly. She really, really wanted to fight a vampire though. A victory could cheer her up.

"And hey, don't mouth off to adults, you rude kid. I'm Mordred, not a blondie, you whitehaired brat. Just call me Mord if that's too long."

[Thedoctor]

Kuro 

"So you want to drag this 'kid' with you in the middle of the night. What a great adult you're being blondie." Kuro walked around the table as she said this until she was standing next to where Mordred was sitting. She looked at the blonde with a serious expression before she continued. "You're just to afraid to do anything, that's the truth isn't it?"


Jin

Jin walked over to her and gave her a hug after she finished her explanation. "Knowing about them isn't bad Oka and I don't mind the explanations as long as it isn't too long" He told her as he kept hugging her. "As for the nickname I can't really think of none right now, do you have any suggestions?"


Shinobu

And so the man fell to an erarly demise, or so it seemed to the ignorant observer. Our blond kyuuketsuki had been through a lot of strange things in her time though and therefore knew that first impression were often not true, except when they were. So she jumped down after him. She walked over to his prone form and raised her foot. What followed was a precise kick to the crotch of the man.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Theodore

The mangled body was kicked mercilessly, but surprisingly there was nothing but hardness to meet the foot. It's not like he'd ever have the chance to show them to anyone, so why bother making any? It seemed that girl was only driven by psychotic urges. How annoying.

"Congratulations, you just kicked a helpless dying senior in the groin. How admirable, I'm sure everyone thinks you're very brave." He groaned, not in pain more than tiredness.

His head kinda felt fuzzy and all, which he didn't appreciate. If she wasn't going to eat, couldn't she just shoo? He had better things to do than humour a child, important things involving ramen and lube.

"Are you done?"

[Thedoctor]

Shinobu

So he was alive, surprisingly only hardness met her foot and not the hardness of a guy being aroused. It seemed like he completely lacked a pair. His drivel about kicking a dying senior man in the crotch was pitiful and only served to further annoy her. "If you truly were dying you would not sound so calm." She gave a sigh at his next which was even more infuriating. "Unless you were too blind to see I was trying to eat, then you decided to make everything untouchable."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Theodore

Theodore's eyes narrowed. So that was her reason? Hmph, he didn't remember doing something like that in the first place. Despite everything that just happened, Theodore's expression was still as flat as when she first met him.

"Well, yes. I was going to offer you a full basket myself, but then you punched me out of the rooftop so abruptly. If I would've landed on an old lady, that would've been terrible indeed. Do you hate old ladies?" He asked nonchalantly, yet with a certain teasing nature to it.

And just when one thought he couldn't possibly get any creepier, he simply got up as if nothing happened. Even more surprising, he seemed completely fine. Well, aside his head which was facing backwards as if twisted at a 180 degree angle.

His clothes and bruises seemed to have vanished immediately, as if they had never been there to begin with.

Was it regeneration? No, something was really, really wrong. It's as if he skipped any logical process and arrived at the conclusion, as if he had never been hurt to begin with. His hand went for his pitiful skull and twisted it like a corkscrew, turning it to face her properly.

Suddenly, as if he was holding it the whole time, Theodore handed her a neat and beautiful basket. It was far prettier than his own, magnificent even! Its contents were exclusively donuts, sitting deliciously and still warm. Their sweet smell, fluffy shape, inviting nature and myriad of exquisite and diverse flavours made each and every one far superior to the donut from before.

"Well, I suppose it hardly matters. Here, it's for you. I suppose it's a lot to ask, but I'd like for us to be friends." He said calmly, smiling for the first time. Honestly, it would've been better if he hadn't in the first place. Such a lazy expression could barely be called a smile. It was more eerie than charming.

[SINIB]

Oka Kurosawa

"Eh?" Oka blinked in surprise when Jin hugged her. I wasn't expecting this. she smiled and returned the embrace. But I don't mind this at all

Sylveon trotted over to the couple and pushed the ribbon-like feelers on his head against Oka and Jin, joining them in the hug.

"Hmmm…" She deliberated about the nickname. It was a very serious thing to be asked to do. "What would be a good name…" She wondered out loud. "Maybe… maybe… maybe um… Charlie?" She wanted to facepalm at her suggestion. Fucking Charlie? Really? Oka, what kind of name is Charlie?

[Thedoctor]

Jin

Jin let out a small laugh when felt Sylvaeon use the rubber like feelers to join their hug. "What would be a good name...." He heard Oka start saying. "Maybe...maybe...maybe um...Charlie." She then finished while sounding distressed. Of all things she picked Charlie. "So you're saying I should call him Chuck?" He said humurously while rubbing her back in an attempt to calm her down.

[Thedoctor]

Archer

"You don't need to start a cooking conquest right now Rin." He then stopped his pacing around the seemingly having grown bored of it and sat down in one of the chairs at the table. "And what exactly do you meean with the last you said?" He asked, not appearing overly interested in what she had to say

[Aiden]

Forest

Forest shrugged and replied through their link, It may have been self-inflicted, or a by-product for the dark forces he was tapping into . . .

"But maybe I shouldn't worry too much, maybe there will be brighter future ahead of me. See, I don't think I reached my limits yet. I will train, and I will be the one who will have the last laugh. All monsters that prowl the night should better watch themselves!"

Forest felt herself stilling and she gritted her teeth as she continued to hear the wanna be Van Helsing - Or was that Buffy because she's a girl?  No, Buffy never hated vampires . . . continue her boast.

"Not that I'm doing particularly bad at it now, I've eradicated my fair share of human eating corpses and goddamn leeches. Just call me if you need help, I'll handle it like a pro." The fannybawbag got slightly more enthusiastic, "If we run into one this night, I can show you how it's done, Kuro. Undead are after all one of my two specialties after all. No matter if it's arcade game or reality, I have knack for beating their sorry asses."

Then Gadreel reached across the table and laid a finger on her lips.  Indigo eyes widened and Forest felt some of the knee-jerk anger dissipate as she registered the feeling of his warm finger - there was a callus that was resting against her lower lip, a contrast compared to the smoother skin above it.   Her mind stated to fire at once and she inhaled needlessly, which made his scent, which was the bipolar opposite of unpleasant, fill her nose.

Good plan, she thought back.

Then she heard a Japanese-accented voice say, "Do you even know how to fight blondie? With how much you're bragging I'm having doubts here."

Forest smiled at that and relaxed.  Her smile turned a bit lopsided as she said to Gadreel, "That's a nice way to catch my attention."

Gadreel

The small one, charmingly dark of skin and white of hair, appeared to be some form of agitator. At this rate her companion would be provoked to disprove her statements, and this could well lead to rash behavior. It would be prudent, he thought to himself, to vacate the premises in an unassuming fashion lest they become the targets.

Perhaps we had best take our confections elsewhere? The company is becoming rather aggressive, if I must say so myself Gadreel suggested, averting his eyes toward the larger forum of the humans' mall. There it would be more difficult for such miscreants to initiate hostilities amid the crowding masses, and from the sound of them they had not the ill character necessary to cast the humans aside. This was from an admittedly small sample of their characters, but if he had faith in anything it was that human nature was essentially good.

Even with all of the awful things they did to one another.

So, the exile moved his finger aside and brought it down to one of Forest's hands, and took up what remained of his milkshake in the other. "Now then, I believe we were investigating a rather intriguing cosmetics store before..."