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

[Elf]

Forest

I just literally got it like two hours ago.  He wanted me to be his guide to the Nexus.  He enchanted my duster and he thought my super excitement and thankfulness was me apparently coming onto him . . . But . . . he's literally a Skeleton Dude so . . .  And again, I'm inserting my foot into my head. 

Metaphorically speaking.  Even though I can get my foot behind my head.

"What can I say, the 80's were probably my favorite decade of the 20th century.  However, I've never been really good at being subtle," Forest replied with a shrug before taking another sip of her confection.

[Kat]

Kuro 

As the tanned girl inspected the burger her smile brightened a bit. "I guess it's adequate, good job." She said while giving Mordred a thumbdsup. the Mcdonald's they were in was fairly crowded, right next to them was a couple discussing about moving a home. Kuro didn't really listen in that much on their conversation and only heard snippets really. "You should cheer up, It's not every day you get to treat me after all."

Gadreel

"My preferences lay with more subtle approaches," the exile stated, before chuckling. "Still, there is a certain... fascinating quality to, as you say, 'gratuitous' methods. And with regards to lodging, it is especially appreciated."

That is a remarkably convenient article you have access to.

Forest

I just literally got it like two hours ago.  He wanted me to be his guide to the Nexus.  He enchanted my duster and he thought my super excitement and thankfulness was me apparently coming onto him . . . But . . . he's literally a Skeleton Dude so . . .  And again, I'm inserting my foot into my head.  

Metaphorically speaking.  Even though I can get my foot behind my head.

"What can I say, the 80's were probably my favorite decade of the 20th century.  However, I've never been really good at being subtle," Forest replied with a shrug before taking another sip of her confection.

Mordred

"I will finally cheer up if I stop having premonitions about being stalked by creeps or I get to beat up a bad guy. Sorry, I've been a bit on edge for last few days. Hopefully I won't lag behind those Elites whom I wanna join. Back in my world I used to be among the best, but I feel like small fish in a pond of sharks here." Mordred complained to the girl in front of her. Man, she was pathetic, dwelling on her failures like that. Maybe she was slowly snapping from the pressure.

Those two guys continued to talk as well. She was too absorbed in grumbling about her own lot to catch everything, but the blonde was talking how she liked 80s most or something like that. Wonderful. Age of awful fashion, corporate greed and Thatcher. Fuck Thatcher. She never experienced her period, but she read enough from the books to dislike Tories.

"Eighties, huh? That's a hell of bad taste." She muttered under her breath. "Sorry, Kuro, I've been rambling and rambling. How ridiculous of me."

[The Man With All The Cute Boats]

Sakagami Kenzo

Kenzo kept smiling gently, almost as if oblivious to the child’s tears. It was anything but that. They say that dogs only smile when under extremely stressful situations, and that could not hold any truer at this moment. It hurt, breathing, looking at her, speaking…

And yet, he answered calmly, completely detaching himself from the situation in order to make the pain stop.

"I would have eaten her and let her become one with me. That way, her death would not have been a meaningless act of violence, and perhaps that way I could buy a little more time. Then, I would have taken her soul and impregnated a sword with it. That way, she would not have to suffer the loneliness of Tasogare even in death. As for her bones, I would have given them a proper burial under a peach tree. Does that answer satisfy you, Akatsuki?”

AKATSUKI

Her eyes widened as he explained, even though her mind only truly processed half of it. What came to the forefront was one thought, and one thought alone:

"That's not what I meant!" She shouted, and then immediately caught herself and quieted down.  She pulled her hat down, shielding her eyes, and looked down at Kenzo's feet.

"I meant... what would you do right now, if I wasn't here, to prevent this kind of thing from happening again? What would you do to prevent victims?"

Her voice was so quiet, it could barely be heard over the forge behind them.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Sakagami Kenzo

Kenzo held his chin and nodded nonchalantly. No, there was something different about his look. He seemed…sad.

“I see.”

Even as he tried to smile, he still had that gloomy look. As if he was truly sorry. They say there is only one question one can never answer by yes.

Are you ashamed?

“I guess I’d try to live a normal life, at least for a while longer. Laugh normally, love normally, start a normal family…Yes, that would be nice. I guess by the end of it, I’d probably have to hide somewhere far away, lock myself in some hole underground and never come back. Haha, you probably expected something better than that. The truth is, I don’t know. I feel like I don’t know anything anymore, and it’s terrifying. I know, it’s stupid, but I’m out of ideas.”

Kenzo looked down at Akatsuki’s feet. Why? Why wasn’t she striking him down already? He didn’t understand it. He couldn’t understand it. He wanted to cry, but he couldn’t anymore. Honestly, he felt like forgetting everything and just going to sleep forever. He was talking a lot, but at the same time, it felt liberating. It was as if he was taking a huge weight off his chest, a weight heavier than the whole wide world.

And he felt so horrible.

“Whelp. Sorry, I’m not the cool, gentle and reliable oni-chan I could have been. I’m actually a pretty bad person you know?  You’d have to be pretty messed up to associate with me, I won’t blame you if you’re sick to your stomach. Sorry, I’m rambling again.”

His free hand slipped on his Shirogane once more, admiring the simple silver blade for the last time, only to toss it at the child’s feet.

“I won’t force you to do it, you don’t have to do anything at all. I’ll find a way eventually, I’m sure of it. There isn’t a single thing I can’t do, she said. What matters is that whatever path to take is one you’re sure you can see to the end. As long as you’re true to yourself, the world will be yours. Please take that sword, it is a precious treasure forged with love. I’m not fit to keep something like that anymore, whatever you want to do with it is up to you now.”

[yinsukin]

Relius Clover

The scientist woke up groggy from a satisfying slumber.  He had slept on the floor that night after finishing the first part of the lab.  He used the technology to create the bare minimum for experiments: a place to contain subjects, a computer for research and a place to construct ars if he ever got the resources.  It was far from complete but at the very least, he could do some experimenting if he managed to capture something interesting.
Relius strolled out of the store, placing a closed sign on the front door.


The area around the lab was a somewhat tame suburban area with not much going on.  Still, he was enjoying the walk so he kept going.  Eventually, he spotted a castle in the distance.  Immediately, his mind began racing, hypothesizing on the nature of of the castle.

Curious, an almost antique castle placed in the middle of the city.  By the look of it it seems that.....  What kind of creature would construct a castle in the middle of the city?  No, could it have been dropped there....  That color.....

Yet the moment he opened those doors, his mind cleared.  The focus of his mind was now observing the grandiose castle now engulfing his gaze.

[Kat]

GAROU XIII

Garou shook his head.

"Nah. They just piss me off, going around playing hero with their hypocritical justice. In the end, they only care about those they want to save. They're no better than scum littering the streets. I'm not going to stand for that shit."

He seemed grave for a second, then he looked down and nearly spat.

"In this world, it's kill or be killed."

Petra

"Oi, what's wrong with helping people? If I were a selfish asshole only minding her business, you'd be not talking now with me. Well, what I did wasn't heroic, it's just what anyone should have done in my place. Good people should help other people without expecting anything for the deed. I don't agree with you that they are bad, but treating them as some special case is also wrong. You get my point?"

She asked him even if she didn't expect an answer. He proved himself to be a stubborn guy. Did he fancy himself a villain? If he was a one, he was halfbaked one. He probably dined and dashed and thought it was a really evil act.

[Kat]

Lumen

The divine woman waved away the concerns of the kitsune without an issue. "Don't worry about it Shiro. I offered food to you in the first place. It would be rude if I expected you to pay for it." 

Then Lumen gave the other girl a hard look. If she was going to give this girl free food she might as well make it an unfair deal. "How about this, you said you were brawling with a friend, right? Well, I'm a bit bored right now. If you can hurt me once you'll earn your meal. That's all you need to do."

Rikuyo

"Are ya strong? If ya are, ya bit too late, but I'll try my best! That's what I always do!" Rikuyo seemed to be full of energy even if her body got weakened, but instead of suddenly rushing at the girl, she first took a deep breath and assumed a martial arts stance. Her abilities now paled in comparison what she had now, even if with every pass houred her body recovered bit by bit. Therefore she had even more reason to put her heart into the fight and give her best.

She attacked Lumen, trying to sweep her legs, make her lose balance and beat down her body while she was lying on the ground. Or at least that was the plan.

[Thedoctor]

Kuro

The blond woman called Mordred talked a lot like really a lot. Among what she was talking about there was a mention of something called the Elites which she was apparently trying to join. Anything called the Elites would probably not be that easy to join so her frustration was understandable  "A small fish? You don't seem that weak, are there a bunch of strong guys hiding around here?" The white haired girl asked her as she gave a quick glance around them. The couple closes to them had been talking about the 80's, when the blonde woman then said something about never being good at being subtle.

Kuro turned her attention back to Mordred as she heard her apologizing for talking so much at once. "No need to worry so much blondie I was busy thinking anyways."

[SINIB]

Shiro

Shiro reached into her bag and threw a handful of petals at Rikuyo, all of them sticking to her. Not a single one hit the ground. "Hey, hey, no need for violence!" She smiled cheerfully, but exuding an intense presence that anyone even slightly sensitive to spirits would be able to feel instantly. She rushed over and grabbed Rikuyo faster than a human being could possibly move.

"You're drained, there's no way you're beating her like this. I'll bet you couldn't even hit me!" She flightily retreated, petals daintily drifting around her as if there was a cool breeze blowing them slowly through the air.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Lumen

Lumen gently waved her hand towards the kitsune in a placating gesture. While she could sense whatever pressure the girl was exerting it wasn't anything to be worried about. Probably. "Don't worry about it so much, Shiro. This isn't really a fight. It's not like I want to hurt her. The challenge is just to see if she can hurt me, and there aren't a lot of things that are that dangerous to me. It'll be fine."

[Thedoctor]

Shinobu

As the blonde tried to grab the basket her hand went straight through it as if it wasn't there, but it clearly was there, she knew it. The man then took out an oversized ramen bowl from the basket, the strange part was that the bowl was bigger than the basket itself. The kyuketsuki frowned as the odour of ramen then enveloped them.

"Are you that desperate for donuts" The man's question enfuriated her, however she didn't show it and smiled instead. This man thought he could play tricks on her, she did however recognize what was going on. He was using something eerily similar to that ability of hers. Well two could play that game.

"No not really...Do you like anvils? Did you know in medieval times they used anvils as a stable base when forging various things such as horse shoes and swords. You see they used this method where they heated up the metal before hitting it as hard as they could with a hammer to form it in the way they desired, that is where the anvil comes in, as a stable surface to rest these things on. But you like anvils right?"

As the Kyuketsuki gave this informative speech on the importance of anvils, such a thing had materialized above his head and was rapidly falling.

[Kaze]

EMIYA SHIROU

“You’re sure?” He asked the priest, a skeptical look on his face. “You’re not going to try to find Forest?”

Before Darcy had a chance to answer, Mitsuba chewed him out. Shirou couldn’t decide if their mutual irritation was actual hate or if they were tsundere as fuck. Either way, he could definitely live without the distraction.

“I appreciate the thought, but I can handle myself. You don’t have to look out for me.”

[Knick]

Fiona
“I guess so…” Fiona mumbled while crossing her arms over her chest. She hummed while tilting her head to the side and closing her eyes in thought. But she was shaken from them by the sound that came from her side.

Fiona heard Oren’s snort and turned to look up at her with a confused look. Only to let out a yelp and back away, her hand darting away from her fur, as the Stag dissolved, black muck sloshing on the ground. From the thing that could only be described as living slime a whole new beast appeared, Oren adopting the form of a draconian beast. Fiona’s eyes widened in shock, before she giggled giddily and moved back to Oren side, leaning against the cool scales of the dragon. “You can be a dragon too?!” She sighed in wonder, “That’s so amazing…”

Then her content smile turned into a small frown, “I wish I could turn into a dragon. It would be so cool. I could be like, whoosh, wham, rawr, and all that.” She mumbled quietly.

“Ah, I hope I didn’t antagonize your… dragon… whatever it is. He’s not going to try to eat me, is he?” She heard from Brigida. She turned back to look back at her, still leaning slightly on Oren.

“Its fine, my friend is just… a bit expressive is all?” She seemed to answer with a question, unsure herself, but Brigida a reassuring smile.

She got up and bowed, “I would be happy to give you some help. But I can’t really come with you right now. Sorry. I have to do my job also. And I have been slacking far too much as it was…” She looked honestly regretful.

Her head raised suddenly, a wide smile on her face, but it seemed forced. “I can send you a message when I will be able to help. I can tell you a bit about… this.” She gestured to the roses that covered everything. “Hopefully it will give you some insights.”

Her smile twitched slightly before is dropped and she looked to the ground, rubbing on her arms with her other. “I’m really, really sorry…”

[Lycodrake]

Lycodrake Aptera

He addressed Grayskull first, "Ah, that would explain it, I suppose. Extinction of dragonkind..." He thought of the different types of dragons on his home, known and unknown - benevolent and malevolent. He involuntarily shuddered at the thought. If anything, mosquitoes deserve extinction, he mentally opined. "That's not a pleasant thought. At all. Please don't be so loud if you can help it, though." He nodded at the strange plant spirit.

At Bellatanus' address, he tapped a talon on the ground. "I see no trouble with it, if Grayskull acts with the manners he just displayed."

[Panda]

Emily

The Changeling decided to hold her disagreement for the moment, deciding that it wouldn't be worth it to argue the cases where that statement wouldn't apply.

"Well, that is more or less the case regarding what love is born from," Emily conceded, "But I feel like you're overstating the relation between physical attraction and love, when there usually isn't one. The physical side of things is usually more lust than it is actual love, quite like the feeling that Gabriel here seems capable of inciting in others..."

"That aside, I think you're putting far more importance on the physical side of attraction than he was even intending to," Emily noted, "Even so, I suppose I can admit that physical appearance can distract from the emotional and mental elements of love, such a distraction should only last for so long."