[Abandoned] [World Event] A Devil and His Dog

Tue Feb 09, 2021 10:47 am

A Devil and His Dog

The sign-ups for this world event are now closed as the world event has finally begun!

World Event Rules

Please see the sign-up thread to review the rules and requirements already laid out in the admin post.

First Round
The first round of posts will be free - as in, anyone can submit their first post without worrying about whose turn it is. However, I highly recommended you discuss how you plan to enter the event with other participants you are interested in forming a group with (see the RP group section below). The NPC post will provide details regarding each faction's settings.

RP Groups
Once the first round of posts is complete, each player can form their own RP group in the thread. Each group only has to wait for their group mates to finish posting before repeating the post order. The NPC will throttle any groups which go too fast in comparison to others.

You are welcome to freely switch between groups or merge with other groups, so long as both parties are informed appropriately.

When you form or change a group, please also include an OOC spoiler note in your post to keep the staff informed.

If you are not part of any groups, I recommended you to align your RP posts with a group of your choosing and post in that order.

Time Limit
Each player will have 72 hours (3 days) to submit their RP post when it's their turn. If they miss this deadline, their turn will be considered missed. It will then be the following character’s turn to post.

Once you miss 3 turns, you will start losing 20% of the total rewards for each post you miss subsequently.

If you are posting independent of an RP group, you must post at least once a week.

Read Every Post!
It is imperative that participants read every post in this event. I realise this may be more than what some of you may have bargained for, but, please remember that there will be a vote at the end of the event that will decide who should get the top three prizes. Additionally, it will help you keep track of the overarching story and keep you aware of any characters outside your RP group trying to interact with yours'.

The event will continue to evolve at varying paces, so, please try to be patient and yet vigilant. But, above all, enjoy yourselves! You will rarely get the opportunity to interact with such a diverse cast of player characters and Impies in a single thread.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the #help-desk channel on Discord.

Tue Feb 09, 2021 10:49 am

References:

Setting

The Jolly Keys—an unassuming set of tropical isles in the South Blue—are a nest of vipers, a den of thieves, and home to the wicked. Two larger islands form the eyes while a chain of smaller islets shapes the archipelago's eponymous smile.

The presence of officials and authority figures is as welcome on the Jolly Keys as cold sores on a hot date. But, even in this mosh pit of crooks, many innocent civilians live out their dull lives.

Many fishing villages and camps dot the Jollies—a popular nickname for the archipelago. But, the majority of the population can be found in its three cities.

Port Teardrop is the largest of the three and perhaps the least illegitimate. It sits snugly between a lone mountain and the south-eastern coast of Dexter Eyeland. Out of the three jolly cities, Port Teardrop has the highest tolerance for outsiders and benefits from all manner of free trade. The Mourning River runs down the mountain and through the city, dividing it into two halves. Many wide stone bridges built over it support hundreds of buildings, practically making it an underground river.

La Crima, a city on the western edge of Dexter Eyeland, is more infected by crime and illicit businesses. Assasins, organ traders, human traffickers, and smugglers of all sorts congregate in this city. Tourists in La Crima are bound to be taken advantage of one way or another.

Lastly, the city of Carbuncle sits by the Bay of Spectacles on Sinister Eyeland. Jagged reefs and shoals—affectionately called "The Lashes"—protect the bay like a guard dog's fangs. Ships entering the bay will surely find their watery graves unless they are familiar with the tide schedules and the surrounding currents. The entire length of Sinister Eyeland's coast consists of high cliffs and various dangerous rock formations. This serves as a solid natural defence for those with vested interests in Sinister Eyeland.

A patch of mountains—unsurprisingly referred to as the Patch Mountains—lay on Sinister Eyeland. An active volcano lies in the centre of this patch. Many factories operate in these mountains, mining minerals and illegal substances not fit for model citizens. The owners of these factories fiercely protect their assets and rule the Jolly Keys from the shadows.

For an archipelago so averse to authority, it does not fail to fall victim to strong leadership. Carbuncle is a city closed off to all outsiders, for it is home to notorious criminals who hold the Jollies under their thumbs.

April 1, 1829

Somewhere in La Crima...

"Why are you even here, Mancie?! Didn't the boss-man order you to keep an eye on things at Briss?" Barked a five-feet-short baldy.

His much taller associate, an electric eel fish-man, pouted as best as his unsettling underbite would allow. His skin was yellow as if jaundiced. "Ahd do dat, bud, ya noe hoe uzezz ya are, Godli-zan." (I'd do that, but, you know how useless you are, Gotli-san.) He replied as if stating a fact. His answer did not detain him from spiking the ends of his ragged blond hair. The skinhead's shiny scalp served as a suitable mirror.

The vertically-and-follically-challenged grump folded his arms and howled. "Shut your ugly mouth, you stupid fish-out-of-water! You're the only one who thinks I'm useless. And it's not like I came here alone! I brought a bunch of soldiers with me. If only we hadn't been caught by that damn hurricane!"

Mancie scratched his round chin and pondered over the excuse. After a moment's thought, he shrugged. "Da hurrycan wooden be zo durrybull if ya hoomuns noo hoe duh zwim." (The hurricane wouldn't be so terrible if you humans knew how to swim.)

"We know how to swim, you idjit. Hurricanes are bad news for everyone." Gotli rolled his eyes and turned away.

"Anyway, since you're here, you might as well help me find the rest of our unit." The pair walked down a muddy thoroughfare, dodging beggars and stray dogs, in search of their fellow revolutionaries.

One of the many docks at Port Teardrop...

The morning sun barely peeked through the black clouds which lingered after the passing hurricane from the previous few days. Its rays broke free and lit up the features of a raven-haired man in a wedding-white suit. He adjusted his violet tie, cleared his throat, and spoke into a transponder snail clearly.

"To all my foul cousins of the Gull family - you are cordially re-invited to the wedding reception of Copernicus and Goldilocks. Sadly, the wedding hall was damaged during the hurricane, so, the ceremony will be held at Dock Warehouse No. 28. Be sure to bring your original invitations. The reception is country-themed. Please wear plain clothes. The reception is still on track for this afternoon at 4 PM sharp. That is all."

Somewhere in a dark corner of the city, a scarred marine attentively listened to this message. Once the transmission was complete, he undid his blue neckerchief and abandoned his white cap. His blue-haired comrade followed suit and spoke, "Isn't the whole cloak-and-dagger thing unnecessary? That Lord Foul is overly cautious. These halfwits couldn't get away even if they knew we were coming."

The scarred marine shushed him. "I've heard rumours of the crimelords here bringing outside help for some major deal that's about to go down. We don't do joint operations with Cipher Pol for small-time shit. They may not have briefed us on the details, but, I'd bet money we're going after some big fish. The hurricane blew our teams to who knows where. So, our first priority should be to rendezvous and get read in on the rest of the plan."

The blue-haired marine admitted to the ominous implications of an alliance between the two faces of the World Government and silenced himself.

The real hurricane had yet to come.

OOC Notes:

Fri Feb 12, 2021 5:03 pm

Boboddy Jim yawned greatly, causing the flock of seagulls to scatter from about him. Instead of a beautiful blue sky, the giant was greeted by dark clouds. Though a distasteful sight upon waking, it was a great improvement from the monstrous storm that fought against him during the trek through the sea. For days Jim had struggled through the ever moving sea, the black waves that constantly attacked him with vicious hate. With his large body and thick legs, he is normally able to walk across the water, but this encounter forced him to swim while traveling, and hang from large rocks jutting from the sea floor through the surface of the animalistic waves.

What could possibly give this giant, who is known to be laidback and maybe even lazy in his own right, the reason to fight against such dangers? Well of course the answer is the one thing that can reach his heart, comfort it through even the most wicked of times as well as sooth the storm that is his stomach -Food, especially that prepared for something as extraordinary as a wedding.

Jim had heard word through the grapevine, from one person to another, to the point he could not recall the original source, that there is a wedding to be held on the Jolly Keys, a series of islands in the South Blue. A wedding obviously has a reception, which means free food for a group of people. Jim had received his decision by his gut, to follow his hunger and get his fill in. The thought of several tables topped with food of all kind had kept his drive strong and his legs and arms going, walking or swimming, it didn't matter, what did matter to him was the food, the free food that was being given out. How could he pass up such an opportunity?

It was easy to convince his friend Ai, something about "Getting a chance to meet single women", Jim tuned him out once he knew he would receive the tanned man's company. It had been a hassle getting information and directions for the specific island. Few knew of the Jolly Keys, and fewer knew their coordinates, but the closer the duo got to the islands, the more people they had found on neighboring islands that could point them in the right direction.

Now laying upon the shore of the island which was called 'Dexter Eyeland', Jim debated with himself about getting up. He fell asleep the moment he reached shore and slept the entire night. The trek was constant and knowing, he tasted salt with no food to go with it.

The sound of seagulls and the waves were his peace. Like sleeping in on a weekend, Jim didn't want to work anymore than he needed to like the last few days. He mentally decided he'll get up when Ai, who was keeping shelter within the inner pocket of the giant's sweater, wakes.

OOC Group:

WC: 493

Fri Feb 12, 2021 6:04 pm

The adventure to the Jolly Keys wasn’t a pleasant one, and honestly, it was something that he didn’t plan on doing again. Jim had convinced him in heading to the South Blue for the chance to meeting females at a wedding. This was enough for the Alabastan to hop into the pocket of the giant. His thoughts were simple, women from a different Blue were unique. They had gotten their captain’s blessing to traverse to this island, but were told to be careful due to the rumors that were spread in the world recently.

It wouldn’t take long, but Ai had regretted the decision to go to this island. The storm that they had encountered in the days traveling to this island was hectic. The noble was constantly slapped with water, and consistently finding himself pulling Jim’s pocket to release the water that quickly filled the man’s pocket. The travel was harsh, and when the two arrived at the island, Ai would find himself bouncing up and down. His body shook a bit as he heard an impact on the sand. Crawling out of the compartment, the pirate noticed that Boboddy was sleeping on the sand.

“Shit, you fell asleep quick. I should dry myself and get a layout of this place before I rest up.” He slid off the giant’s stomach as he found himself moving through the shoreline of Dexter Eyeland.

The doctor cleaned himself and dry his clothing, and at the same time found some fruits to keep his belly full for the time being. His mini-adventure wouldn’t take long as he climbed his way back into Jim’s pocket before sleeping the night away. As the morning came, so did the noise of the seagulls, which brought Ai to slowly open his eyes. The young man covered his face as the sudden brightness that shined into Jim’s pocket caught him off guard. After several seconds passed, the doctor adjusted to the light outside as he climbed out of Jim’s pocket. His eyes wander up in the skies as he wondered what kind of day today would be. He hoped that everything would go well and that both of them would get what they specifically came here for.

Yawning out loud, arms stretch high into the air, Ai wondered if they missed the wedding. He moved over to the shoulder of the giant and thought about how he’d wake up Jim. The pirate found himself cracking his neck before jumping up and down on the giant to wake him up.

“Oi, Jim, we have some girls waiting for us at this wedding!” He said this, but remembered that wouldn’t be how he’d wake this man up.

“You’re going to miss all the food from the wedding if you keep sleeping on the shores! I bet you want something other than seawater right?!” He shouted out loud waiting to see what would happen with the giant.

It was the first time he had ever woke this guy up, and he wasn’t sure mentioning food this way was a good idea.

WC: 511

OOC Group:

Fri Feb 12, 2021 11:54 pm

[Abandoned] [World Event] A Devil and His Dog MEIMbgl4_o

South Blue Ocean, 9 Hours Ago

...ガッガッガッ...

A loud ruckus; a cacophony of blows and crashes could be heard in the midst of the roaring sea and the downpour of torrential rain. Lighting stuck and crackled as Worley landed his punch, crimson from his cuts and bruises mixed with both sweat and rainwater that drenched him . The young pirate heaved and gasped; almost fully out of breath.

"That's enough." A booming voice echoed from within the captain's quarters. "TARURURURURU! You've put up a good show kid." The captain's door opened with a click and a creak. From within the dark quarters, out came a massive round man with thick red beard. The supposed captain wore nothing aside for what seemed to be that of a wooden barrel's bottom half to serve as his pants.

Borel "Barrel Man" Kork - 68,000,000 Bounty

"Oi, oi!." Worley exclaimed, breathing heavily out of exhaustion. The blue-haired pirate had since been in combat for nearly two hours now, not letting up despite being totally outnumbered. "Eat shit." Worley snapped back as he punched another grunt with whatever energy he had left.

"Captain Borel!" a grunt nearby yelled. "Sorry captain! We didn't mean to wake you up!"

Borel laughed. "I've been watching, not sleeping, you pea brain!" The captain waved his hands to dismiss the man. The captain then formed a circle with his hands and aimed it towards Worley to see the young pirate through the hole. "Taru Taru... Barrel Case!" With a pop, a man-sized barrel materialized out of nowhere, encasing Worley entirely.

Without much energy left, Worley couldn't do much, already unable to exert enough energy to break the barrel he had been caught in; to his defense, the barrel was, in fact, way tougher than usual.

"Oi! Oi, let me out!" Using the last few fumes of his energy, Worley screamed, demanding to be freed. He began to pound against the barrel from within, only to give up minutes later as he had finally ran out of strength.

"Dump em in the ocean. Let's see that thief survive a stormy sea. TARURURURURU!"

The Jolly Keys, Dexter Eyeland, Current Time

Shattered bits of wood could be seen along Dexter Eyeland's shore, amidst all this, a blue haired man could be seen with his back flat on the sand right where the sea meets land. A rather strong wave managed to splash some water on the man's face, waking him up in a jolt.

Worley coughed and heaved, releasing water off of his system after his nine hour nap. He looked around in haste, fully unaware of what happened after he had been dispatched of by the big fat barrel man. He knew not of where he was, a problem for sure as it was uncertain whether he had any means to escape.

"Fuck!" He hissed. Worley had already fully recovered from last night's bout, still a bit groggy, however, like due to what he had gone through whilst drifting on stormy waters in nothing but a barrel. A sigh escaped his lips. Deciding that he was deserving of some rest after all he had gone through, Worley remained on his back, watching flocks of birds fly off the distance underneath the dark, gloomy sky.

Perhaps he could even find someone in a short while, though it might just be his wishful thinking.

WC: 562 | TWC: 562

OOC Group:

Sat Feb 13, 2021 12:04 pm

“If it keeps on rainin', the levee's goin' to break...” hummed Jeremy as he slowly and subtly bobbed his head to the song he had stuck in it.

The freshly shaved young gun strolled casually through the streets of Port Teardrop which were still damp and littered with debris from the hurricane that had passed through only a couple days ago. An ensign in the marines, he was dressed in a civilian's outfit on that oddly quiet that afternoon. This outfit consisted of a dirty old brown duster, a white t-shirt, some faded blue jeans, and a pair of black leather boots. His loaded revolvers, Judge and Jury, were holstered at his waist. A row of bullets ran the length of the leather between them, both front and back. Another belt, one that almost nothing but ammo was wrapped below that one, around his hips. Clipped to the back of that lower belt, where they would be mostly hidden by the duster jacket, were several grenades of both the flash bang and high explosive varieties.

Jeremy kept the jacket of his collar popped up as he strolled to a certain warehouse not too far away where word was going around that a certain wedding had been relocated due to the weather. “Try to remain inconspicuous until you get inside, you don't know who's watching” is what his superiors had told him before shipping him off to the island. The large justice symbol tattooed on the side of his neck hardly fit that description, so up the collar stayed until he got there. For the same reason he had swapped out his usual, justice symbol engraved, hat for a slightly beat up looking black one with no unusual markings.

This warehouse, as it turned out, was a massive, multi story stone building. Surrounding it were several intimidating men and women in all black suits. Each and every one of these men and women, as far as Jeremy could see, had a baby den den mushi on their wrist and many of them were visibly armed. As Jeremy approached the building, one the men, a hammer head shark fish-man who must have been well over 10 feet tall and visibly muscular, approached him. He towered over the 6 foot 2 Jeremy who had to look upwards to look at the fishman's face.

“Can I help you?” growled the fishman.

“Yeah,” answered Jeremy, “I'm here for the wedding.”

“Friends and family only. You got an invitation?”

“I do,” nodded Jeremy.

The young ensign reached into his jacket and pulled out his military ID. The fishman took the ID from the Jeremy and studied it for a second then handed it back to him.

“Ok,” he grunted “you can go inside.”

“Thank you sir.” said Jeremy before he walked passed the fishman towards one of the entrances.

“Commander,” corrected the fishman.

Word Count:

Group Members:

Sat Feb 13, 2021 1:07 pm

February 14, 1829

Styled in a off-white cotton dress-shirt, the upbeat blonde couldn’t help but to hum as he’d examine the small shop's catalogue. In between shelves, Sabian would adjust his black overcoat, accompanied with epaulettes and fancy zippers for buttons. Adding to the whole ‘noble’ like appearance the man was notably accused for.

Sometimes a fella just wanted to look nice, and Sabian’s vanity knew no bounds as long as he could look into a mirror and check himself out. However, his usual standard dumb grin and jolly demeanor was robbed from him, constantly pulling down his snow white gloves, a nervous habit of his when frustrated. The price of the paints on the shelves, and the quality of their color when tried on canvas wasn’t lining up.

The ingredient list for the products weren’t anything to worship either, a false god had clearly descended, and this shop served his sick religion. As a painter, who's been selling art for years, the man couldn’t keep his anger inside. One by one, Sabian would begin smashing the vials of paint onto the floor, causing the shop owner to run from behind this desk with cartoonish eyes and brutish yelling.

“W-What are ya’ doing mate? Have you lost it?! Destroying my merchandise-”

Extending his lanky arm, Sabian rested a single finger on the shop owner’s lip.

“Trash. All of this paint is trash. The company, the look, the smell, it’s texture. You’re selling this backwater muck for one hundred thousand berri a pop?”

Looking at the man with a blank expression, the owner took one of what remained on the shelf, examining the price for himself.

“One Hundred thousand…. Kid. The label says ten thousand.”

“Eh.”

“Yeah look. Right here…. In words, ten thousand.”

“Ah.”

An awkward silence befell the two combatants but the owner had Sabian on the ropes in this verbal melee. Breaking the silence with a silly laugh, Sabian began to laugh out loud merrily, patting the man on his shoulder.

“Bila-haha Bila-haha… I never was good at reading. Worst in the orphanage for ten years straight!”

The man declared with pride, the shop owner stunned by the stupidity of the man in front of him. The man’s airheaded position on wrecking his product rubbed the shop owner the wrong way.

“Now you’re laughing! Are you a nut job?! Look! I need all my money for the product you destroyed-”

Before the man could’ve even finished his sentence, Sabian knelt, constantly dipping head in a bowing manner, asking for forgiveness. Digging into his shirt jacket, the man took out way too many berri bills, offering them as compensation, adding up to way more than the cost of the cleaned out shelf.

Snatching the money from the painter's hand, the man would shuffle through the bills with dollar signs in his eyes. Clearing this throat, “T-This will do. You can pick up more of the paint… You’ve given me just a bit over.”

A blatant lie. The total cost of the ruined supply was around 1,000,000 whereas Sabian had given him four times that. Springing to his feet, with a puppy dog smile, Sabian quickly selected canvas, brushes, paints, tints, whatever else he would have managed to nab in a little under five minutes.

Noticing the clock above the counter, the man’s shopping spree came to an end when he’d notice the time on the clock.

Dragging the bag full of supplies over, he’d plop them onto the table, allowing the owner to cash in his total.

“That’ll be 10,000,000 in all. You already gave me 3. So ya balance would be 7.”

Shuffling through the berri with great content, he’d just found himself a sucker to bleed dry.

“No problem. I have the rest right here. Tell me something pops. You happen to know anything about the mob family in this town?”

His shuffle ceased.

“In La Crima, they’re are all sorts of criminals. Organized and otherwise. Gotta be careful, it’s easy to be scammed. Who ya asking about specifically?”

“No one. I’ve just heard these parts are a bit rough. It’s easy to be scammed or conned, I’m just trying to keep my eyes open.”

“H-H-Ha… Indeed.”

The merchant's eyes shifted, his irises notably jotting from side to side at the irony of the painter's declaration. Forfeiting the remainder of the money, the revolutionary grabbed his supplies, and exited the store with a final bow. Accompanied outside by his mute partner, Sabain popped back his head to peek through the door. “Oh! Old Man! I just wanted to let ya’ to know! I read those labels perfectly. I suck with words but my maths is A1. That money I just paid ya with belongs to some Mafioso I stole every cent from after I messed up their last ‘shipment’. You know what that means right?” Sabian declared, grinning.

Picking Johanna up like a chibi doll, the lanky ponytail blonde made a quick escape down the mucky street. His bag of goodies wrapped around his neck, his arms carrying Johana like a princess, and his stride darting through the roads towards the meeting spot, an off the abandoned wine cellar awaited them, and their fellow revolutionaries.

A cold sweat overcame the shop owner.

“Mobsters? The only... No way! The only family in these parts are the Coronelle Family. Those punks wouldn’t lose to a daft punk like that!”

The shop owner exclaimed, shuffling through his money once more to calm his nerves. What an outrageous lie, he’d think to himself. He hadn’t heard anything through the grapevines, and what good would a bumbling idiot and mute do against those blood thirsty criminals. About ten minutes later, several sharply dressed gentlemen appeared at the owner’s gates.

The insignia on their suit coats told the man everything he needed to know. “Oi. Yeti The Smuggler, ya seen a blonde haired punk pass through here?” one of the men exclaimed, a gigantic claw mark left the signs of an animal attack of sorts.

Mumbling to find his words, the man hid his newly found cash stack under the table.

“W-W- What’s it to you Coronelle punks huh?”

Each of the men, severely injured, had lost much of their tempers for the day and the man’s hard boiled act pissed them off enough to reach for their hammers. Barrels staring down Yeti, “Look ol’ man. We just lost 25,000,000 in cash and 10,000,000 in slaves. Furthermore… I can’t even report this to the boss because the incident sounds so outlandish… I wouldn’t even believe me. The only thing left for our men are bullets in our heads and a cold swim down the reef, ya digg. Now, lemme rephrase my question again… So ou’s could understand the vibe I’m pushing.” the leader of the thugs declared with a pissed expression.

Pressing the revolver's mouth against the frozen shop keepers forehead, “Did ya’ are ya not see a blondie and a carrot top pass through here?! Huh?! They had a boat load of cash and one of them… Could…”

Pausing because he couldn’t even believe what he was about to say next.

“One of them could transform into a dinosaur.”

An awkward silence befell the room. The shop keeper, even as petrified as he was, couldn’t help but chuckle at the man’s statement. However, that left him with two shells inside his cranium and gunpowder residue on his temple. As his stiff body sprawled onto the floor, the bills stuffed in his pocket flew out. Searching his person, he’d find the freshly crispy bills that were stolen from him. Each of them had the family’s crest in the top right hand corner, “He was here boys! Spread out! Find them asap!” the leader of the thugs commanded.

“I’mma find ya blondie. It’s your ass or mine.”

Group Members :

Sat Feb 13, 2021 3:22 pm

Crime had a characteristic odor. It smelled like filth and gunpowder dancing with cheap booze and freshly spilled blood. The stench swirled in the air as a miasma of misery. It hung especially thick and noxious over the isles that formed the Jolly Keys. The folk who lived here didn’t notice though. Not anymore. They had gotten used to it, perhaps even attached to it. For some it was the scent of freedom, the sign that there were no Marines making a mess of the natural order. No nobles, kings or dragons of any description to tell the common man how to live. Many appreciated that far more than they disliked the stench. However, not all shared the sentiment...

One traveler in particular was rather unhappy about the state of the isles. A small silhouette made its way through the storm-kissed streets of Port Teardrop. It, or rather she, blended into the scenery with her modest attire. An airy, brown shirt alongside a matching prairie skirt ending just at the knees brought a simple country girl to mind. Or a mouse. A white ribbon served double duty as a belt and a decoration. Leather boots tapped against the harsh cobblestone. Her long, dark hair had been tied up in a messy bun vaguely reminiscent of a bird’s nest. On her back she carried a huge wicker backpack brimming with fresh fruits. Apples, oranges, grapes and more, it was easily enough for a fancy feast.

Before long, the stranger arrived at an imposing warehouse. Guards surrounded the veritable fortress of stone. One of them, a fishman nearly twice her size, stopped her at the door. She had to crane her neck upwards to properly look him in the eyes. ...Even if the shape of his head proved it challenging. He gave the pale, frail woman a skeptical look. “What business do you have here?” She exhaled slowly, having been holding her breath this entire time. “I bring food for the wedding.” Naturally the claim prompted the usual question. “Right. Got an invitation?” Her lips formed a tight line as she simply nodded. Her hand reached down into the folds of her shirt and pulled out an ID card. The fishman inspected the card, glanced at her, then studied the card some more. “Hm.” After some pondering, he handed it back without a word and allowed her to pass.

Upon entering the warehouse, the supposed country girl, known to some as Commander Yumiko, found herself a free spot to set her backpack down. She rummaged through the fruits and pulled out a concealed katana from underneath them. Holding it to her waist, she let out a relieved sigh. Much better. She had felt nude without a blade at her side. It had been uncomfortable beyond words. She sniffed the air tentatively, before pinching her nose shut. No, it really wasn’t any better in here either... To the credit of her fellow soldiers, she could smell the authenticity of their disguises and this rendezvous point... Eugh...

Yumiko sat down on a crate and quietly resigned to breathing through her mouth for the rest of the mission. Her understanding of the plan was still admittedly vague... However, she knew enough. This operation was a trap... The most dishonorable method of hunting. She shook her head furiously, trying to clear the intrusive thought. No, it was not her place to question her superiors. She was merely a weapon, here to serve a higher purpose. Nothing more, nothing less.

Words: 583
Total: 583

Group:

Sat Feb 13, 2021 10:36 pm

The dream was of heaven, the taste and scent of the most delicious of foods, but it was cut short. The call echoed and broke through from the waking world. Jim subconsciously ignored it, wanting to reach out and grab even the tiniest of morsels from the feast, but the more the voice spoke, the further the food seem to get. The vision he witnessed had rippled away and all that was left was a sadden giant.

The word 'food' broke through. Catching his attention and immediately, Jim woke. He looked up to see Ai jumping upon his massive stomach. Once again, he looked up to the dull sky, and with the lack of sunlight breaking through such dreary, it was difficult to tell what time of day it was. "How long were we asleep!?" Jim shot up. Though he wasn't sure if he had the correct time, given his string of sources were sketchy, the wedding should have commenced at 4 pm sharp. Frantically looking about, trying to find any sense of time, Jim worried, "What time is it?" if the wedding was missed, then that was alright by him, it was actually the reception that he cared about and if he had missed the first ten minutes of it, then the best food would have been grabbed and by the next twenty minutes, the best deserts would have been claimed.

As the giant stood up, he reached down and picked up Ai. He would normally place his friend upon his shoulder as they traveled, but being in such a frantic state, Jim wasn't thinking and simply carried the tanned Alabastian in his grip as he ran along the shore looking for any structure that could host the wedding.

"Wedding Hall" Jim managed to say between heavy breathing, his eyes darting up the shore, then towards the center of the island. He didn't manage to see anything over the tall trees except for the towering mountain until some distance away where he had broken through the suffocating cluster of greenery and rock formations that made up a pitiful part of the shore; eventually he stepped upon softer shore, course sand which made a beach that stretched what seem to be the rest of the perimeter of the shore and to top off the beauty of the scene was a docking port, and to Jim's left: a city. Finally a smile found his face.

Then something caught his eye; Jim had nearly slammed his foot upon a creature. A washed up jellyfish? was his first thought, but no, another look after coming to a screeching halt, he realized it was a blue haired man. The man seemed to have gone through some kind of trouble and is most likely dead. "Tch" Jim didn't have time for this, he needed to find the wedding hall. But before he turned to make his leave, he realized he didn't have the direction of the destination nor the current time.

"Excuse me!" Jim seemed like he was late and in a hurry, both may be true, and in the giant's mind, they were, "Can you tell me where the Wedding Hall is?" He towered over the possibly-dead man, hoping this would lead to his first clue.

WC: 549
TWC: 1,042

Sun Feb 14, 2021 1:02 am

A flickering flame illuminated a dark alleyway amongst the tall and snuggly built surrounding buildings of La Crima. The flame birthed a cherry red ember that glowed at the end of a hand rolled cigarette. Zero let out a cloud of smoke with a casual grin wrapping around his face. His signature mask was tucked away, sporting a slackley tucked in white dress shirt and black slacks. A plain black tie hung loosely around his next and his combed dark green hair topped off the casual look that was meant to serve as that of an observer of the show.

He had heard through the echoes and rumors of the Underworld that something quite entertaining was about to unravel on the Jolley Keys. Some sort of large scale deal. These were the dealings of big fish, far above Zero’s caliber. He had only heard vague rumors through his network, nothing solid but the promise of a show was more than enough to attract the eccentric smuggler.

Deciding that it was about time to begin his search for the coming entertainment, he lazily shoved his back off the stone wall and emerged from the dark shrouded alleyway. The overcast day held the faint smell of the remnants of the storm. Zero sensed it was just the beginning of another.

The streets were filled with rubble and the clear leftovers of mother nature’s wrath. Zero walked with his hands in his pockets as he looked back and forth with no particular motive other than to pick up on anything of interest. It wasn’t long before his wandering mind led him to a group of teenagers. His right hand almost acted on its own, flipping out a deck cards from his sleeve and fanning them out with ridiculous dexterity. “Want to see a magic trick?” Zero exclaimed in a curious and luring tone to the group of youngsters. They looked to Zero with cracked smiles, losing any chance of taking the man seriously. They pushed each other around laughing to each other before one spoke out. “Sure man, lets see what you got.” Zero nodded his head up and down a few times with a devious grin on his face. “ Choose a card.” The kid pointed to a card amongst the fanned out deck. Zero’s glasses glared in the sunlight, his pearly white canine tooth glistened through his half cracked smile. He pulled a card from his sleeve and showed it to the kids. “ Bahaha! That’s not it bud! Don’t go quitting your day job for this.” Zero chuckled to himself, looking dead into the kids eyes. “What’s that in your pants?” The Kid’s eyes widened as he reached into his pants behind himself. His hand came out holding none other than the card he had chosen. “Oh my F! You demon!” Yelled the kid in astonishment. “ My F!! You’re a demon, NO! Stay away from me!”

Zero quickly whipped his head in a swivel towards the kids with eyes wide open before picking his stride and leaving the kids behind. “Let the show begin.” He said to himself in a low and devilish tone as he walked down the streets of La Crima, eyes tracking for anything that might lead him to a decent seat to watch the grand show that was about to unfold.

Sun Feb 14, 2021 4:29 pm

Draconia didn't have time to fuck around. She needed to gather up all the criminal scum on this island, tie them together and then toss their lazy unjust asses into the infinite depths below. She had no care in the world for those individuals. Her justice wouldn't allow her to feel sympathy for those who walked the path of Captain Nectarine. This seemed like just the place that bitch would have sailed too as well. So maybe, just maybe, she'd get her chance at revenge.

Yet she had proven that she could put her own personal issues aside for the greater mission at hand. It was one of many reasons that she had earned her way up to the rank of Commodore, even if she wasn't among the stronger members of such a bracket. Its not that they valued actual destructive power in the Marines anyway. Some of those Rear Admirals looked like push overs in her mind. She didn't allow her thoughts to settle too far off course though. She was here to attend a wedding.

While this wedding nothing more than a ruse, she didn't want to show up to the party underdressed. She wore an exquisite jet black bodycon dress that stopped halfway down he thighs, accenting her womanly features far more than they usually would be. A leather belt around her waist that had a unique buckle the shape of a turtle shell. Her horns where covered by her hair, which she wore in an up-do style, making her look as though she had a beehive hair-style. She wore shades across her face that were gold in color, though the lenses were black. Due to her familiarity with wearing her marine jacket, she wore a jet black one over her shoulders that made her look like a mafia don's wife.

All of her battle equipment found itself within a steamer trunk, which was currently carried by a not-as-well dressed marine who sighed heavily after being roped into Draconia's madness. He did his best to drag the trunk along with him, but by doing so he looked to be her servant. Which he was in a way regardless.

Such antics didn't last long however, as the massively nine foot tall woman found herself looking over towards the warehouse in which she was meant to meet up with the scattered remnants of the Marines. Her eyes glazed over momentarily as she noticed how shabby the location happened to be. Disgusted that she had to set foot in such a dilapidated building while wearing such fancy clothes, she sucked up her dismay and approached.

The moment that she got into view of the building proper, she merely made eye contact with the commander outside the door. He didn't bother asking her for identification. Despite her disguise, most Marines were aware of who she was... especially in the blues.

She found a nice spot to start changing into her gear, though she didn't change herself. The man with her chose to do so. As she got dressed, she addressed a vague portion of the room, though she did make sure to make eye contact with the samurai and the cowboy as she spoke.

"Arigh' ye wee babs r 'ere n' nao we git de par't bump'n. Lis'n te me n' coz i'm da biggun roun' 'ere. (So it looks like we are al' here. we'll get our debriefing and then head out. I am given operational command of this squad, pleasure to meet you all.)" It would be at this time that she'd be alerted to a certain blonde, a member of her own crew.

{ 605 | 605 | 10,000 }
(OOC: Will improve once we get underway.)

niggas:

sucré @ gs

Sun Feb 14, 2021 6:05 pm

Sano was walking through the cobble stone street La Crima his gut was tense as he felt on edge. The air around La Crima was both familiar and vastly different then anything Sano has felt on his time in his hometown. As Sano walked around looking for areas of interest while he was looking he saw how stores were doing repairs on their buildings while some looked like they were getting them ready for a storm. Sano stopped and rested against the wall of and alleyway where he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his suit pocket and lighting one up. Taking a drag making the cherry on the tip of the cigarette burn brighter before blowing out a stream. Why did boss send me here? Just to look around and see how things are run and what sort of operations they have here. He must think I'm some type of a spy or scout that fool he should know by now I'm not suited for this type of work. Sano thought to himself for a bit before leaving the alleyway and back to the street where he saw a group of three talking as they eyed him.

Sano closed his eyes as he took another drag from his cigarette the feeling of something was about to go down. The smoke helped calm his nerves as the nicotine flowed through his body. To not make it seem like he was weak he kept eye contact as he walked passed them. Its like the wild show weakness and predators will attack its one of the only few things in the world that Sano holds onto as a truth in this world. The man dressed in his suit looked out of place as people were just eyeing him and heard a few whispers debating if the man was part of the family who came for the wedding that everyone is whispering about around town.

Sano was looked around looking like a lost tourist as the group of men came up from behind with a few laughs between them all as it seems they found someone who they can sucker for some easy cash "Hey buddy you look lost. We could show you around as well as offer you some protection from some of the people here. This isn't really a safe place for tourist you know." The man who was reaching around the height of Sano as he placed his arm over Sano like they were friends.

Sano eyed the man who had a silver mohawk with a green t-shirt and camo cargo pants "Get your arm off of me I have no use for your services. I know you just want my money so you and your group of friends will jump me after you lead me to an abandon area you normally use." Sano was now eyeing the man as he slid his hand into his pants and started to put on his knuckle dusters.

The man slowly removed his arm from Sano being intimated by the man knowing what their plan was from the begging. It was now clear to them that their target wasn't just a tourist "Okay I get it you must be here for work. You're working for the family right maybe going to the wedding right?" the mans tone was quite and unsure if he should be poking into bigger dealings than he and his friends are use to. Since this was a few major jumps bigger than just mugging of tourist he and his friends have been doing.

Sano ignored them at continued walking away as he held onto his knuckle duster in his pocket now his mind was curious about this wedding that everyone keeps on talking about. He pulled out a new cigarette and lit it up as the sweet taste of nicotine over came his body again as he continued walking with a cigarette in one hand and his knuckle duster in his other. As he was walking down the street when a group of teenagers yelling and screaming ran past Sano it seemed like they just came across a type of monster or demon. Sano scratched his head letting go of his knuckle dusters and placing his hand over the handle of his cutlass in case something was going to being coming down the street after the teenagers. He took another drag from his cig and blew out a cloud of smoke wondering why its so noisy around this area. That bastard is using me again to further his own power while making me do all the work. I'm going to kill him and take what is his for myself. Sano thought with much annoyance and anger over his situation.

WC/786

Tue Feb 16, 2021 12:32 am

[Stop in the name of *hacking cough*]

A small trail of smoke wafted into the air only to be quickly blown away by a fit of hacking coughs. These coughs originated from the blonde haired man who was already bringing the cigarette back to his lips for another nicotine filled intake of air. The man was smirking despite how raspy his coughs sounded, his eyes were hidden by black rectangular sunglasses, and his normally unruly hair was actually slicked back with some kind of greasy product that gave him a more lively look than he normally had.

The man, Commodore Mars Masato of the 69th Battalion, looked only too happy to be rid of his normal Marine uniform. He was wearing a salmon colored dress shirt, the first few buttons undone exposing his toned chest, which were tucked into a pair of white slacks along with matching white dress shoes that were somehow devoid of any mud or dirt. A baby blue blazer completed the ensemble causing Mars to look rather well dressed compared to those around him.

The man had been tasked to cooperate with Cipher Pol and other local elements on a large sting operation. The plan to use the wedding as an excuse to gather Marine forces on the rather lawless Jolly Keys was nothing short of brilliant. Mars was known as a schemer in his own right and he was only too happy to see the higher ups deciding to flex their brain rather than brawn. With his ‘invitation’ tucked away safely in his blazer's interior pocket Mars had made sure to arrive at the ‘wedding’ early. As a matter of fact, he was one of the first guests to arrive at the warehouse.

The building was rather large and seemed to be easily fortifieable if the worst were to happen. Security was plentiful and non-descript as they all were wearing generic black suits that were common for more ‘professional’ bodyguards. As Mars approached the entrance his smirk only widened and the ever present cigarette on his lips burned brighter as he took drag.

“You got bus-” A large hammerhead shark fish-man was saying to him before Mars starting having another coughing fit right in the man’s face. The fish-man grit his teeth and looked down at Mars as the Wheezing Heron continued to cough and hack whilst still continuing to smoke his cigarette. After a minute of straight coughing Mars finally regained some control of his breath and smirked up at the fishman.

“Hhh, hhh, hhhhh…” Mars chuckled as he reached into his blazer, his fingers brushing against the hilt of his Kusari-fundo, before reaching past and grabbing his Marine credentials and flashing them at the guard before quickly tucking them back away. The man looked unhappy but stepped aside and allowed Mars to enter.

“Guess you really live up to that nickname of yours, sir.” The sharkman said as Mars stepped past him. The Wheezing Heron only continued his wheezing chuckles as he stepped inside. Once inside Mars found a nice quiet corner that was out of the view of anyone immediately walking in and decided to settle in. He’d spend the rest of his time waiting and watching to see who else showed up to this little shindig.

Eventually a couple of interesting individuals caught his eyes, the first was a what he would only describe as a discount cowboy and the other an easily forgettable woman in very plain clothing with a basket of fruits on her back. Of course a handful of other ‘guests’ arrived but none of them caught his interest unlike the newest arrival.

It was as he was bringing a new cigarette to his lips along with his lighter that a sight of crimson drew his attention back to the entrance and away from the flame nearing the tip of his cigarette. A towering figure of beauty had strode into this dull warehouse and brought a smile to his lips instead of his usual smirk. His eyes drank in the image of his crewmate as he had never seen her in such attire. ‘The class, the boldness, the confidence in her every move.’ Mars thought to himself before deciding that he’d done enough admiring, it was time to get to work.

The man started to pace towards Draconia, ignoring the fact she was being undressed and then dressed by her lackey, just as she decided to address the two he’d taken notice of earlier. He had stepped up beside his fellow Commodore, lighting his new cigarette finally, and nodded his head in support.

“You all heard the lady. Given Commodore Sanguis’s record of successful apprehensions she has the most experience in dealing with operations such as this one. Therefore she will be heading our little squad.” As he said this he finished with taking a drag of his fresh cigarette before promptly coughing all the smoke back out in a fit of wheezes and coughs.

“If you haven’t figured it out I’m Commodore Masato, Mars to my friends. Though you may have heard of me by the Wheezing Heron.” He took another drag of his cigarette and started chuckling, letting out small puffs of smoke with each wheeze of a chuckle he gave. "Pleasure working with you."

872 | 872 | 5000

Wed Feb 17, 2021 11:59 am

Smoke billowed out from the hulking abomination of metal and wood that was Emilia. Held aloft by a massive balloon wrapped in a skeletal frame decorated in propellers and smoke stacks. She was definitely one of kind, having been designed and built by her own captain back on Karate Island.

Drifting along the calm blue sky it had been a few days since Volo and his new best pal Karl had tangled with the Moose and his mafia. The pair still licking the wounds the suffered from the misadventures across Baterilla that would label them as public terrorists. "Ahhhhh...~"Volo yawned, gazing out over the horizon, "Not a cloud in sight, eh?" Mumbling to himself as he rifled through his pockets for a carton of cigarettes, plucking one out and placing it on his lips.

"Now then let's see..." Instinctively reaching for his lighter. "Ahhh fuck me.." He groaned, scrunching his face in confusion as he desperately investigated his immediate area. "Ahhh.. Not again.... Karl! Karl! Aye Karl!" He shouted, now on all fours squouring every inch for his missing lighter. "Hey Kar- Nevermind! Dont worry about it." He snickered, locating a handheld blow torch as he tested the starter several times before the blue flame ignited. "There we go, hehe." Inhaling deeply on the tobacco before releasing a cloud of smoke large enough to fill the room, a map of South Blue catching his eye for a moment before returning to his seat at the controls.

With another big yawn, the pi(lot)rate kicked his feet up and leaned back for a nap. Having set the course to drop Karl of at his next destiation, and with such nice weather, there was no better time to catch some z's. That is, it would have been a perfect time if Volo hadn't accidently knocked them off course during his nap.

A Few Hours Later | Somewhere in South Blue

With no captain to direct her, Emilia was swept away into the swirling typhoon, a colossus of wind and rain sent by the gods to wraught destruction. Her hull asssaulted by the elements as the howling wind whipped across her deck and through the creaking metal skeleton.

The sudden jolt of the overpowering wind tossed Volo across the room like nothing as he slammed into the wall. "Wha..." Rubbing his head as he struggled to grasp the situation after being in almost coma like sleep. "Holy shi-!" Launching himself to the controls with a burst of smoke.

"C'mon....C'mon...!" Though he struggled desperately to maintain some form of control of Emilia, the storm had other plans. Ripping the blimp from the sky as it twisted in violent circles, throwing Volo across the room once more and sealing him to the wall like a bad carnival ride.

"Mothfu- Karl! Karl! Try not to die buddy, the landing is the worst part! Wahooooo Hahahahahaha!" Positioning his goggles over his eyes and wearing a giant smile on his face as the blimp was shot out across the sky like a giants loogie. Disapearring into the black of the storm.

WC 511

Wed Feb 17, 2021 12:55 pm

"Hey! Do you have a sewing kit?" a questioning shout came out from the cabin to which he was lead as per Volo's suggestion. It was Karl, looking for a sewing kit that might not even exist on this ship. Well, saying that it's a ship is only the half-truth. What he was aboard on was frankly something that he had never seen before in his entire life. It was a very industrial-looking ship... That was carried by a massive metal skeleton covered balloon powered by multiple steam engines, both visible and not visible from outside. Most commonly it is known as a blimp.

He sighed as he very carefully walked around this god-awful room that he was in. The room was reeking of cigarettes and was full of cigarette buds all across the room, along with ashtrays full of them. Despite being quite a smoker himself, even he found this to be a disgusting sight. At least someone could look after their ship a little bit. This however was not his biggest problem of being aboard this said 'ship'. It was more about the fact that there was a lack of an actual "solid" ground. He was walking around a ship that was floating in the air! He just couldn't help but feel extremely uneasy in this situation. What if the ship was about to fall? The drop would be quite big... And probably be a sure death following that. At least when on the sea, there's the lack of falling risk from the sky... But that doesn't erase the fact that the moment he falls inside the water, he would go down like a man sent to sleep with the fishes.

The simple stopping point Baterilla for Karl ended up tangling him in more than one misadventure, the latest of which was together with Volo himself which involved the Moosebella's Crime Family. Coinless and wounded... This was the only way out of the Baterilla. "Why did I agree to any of this?" he mumbled softly to himself as he continued his seemingly fruitless search, somewhat regretting his life choices at the current moment. There just was no way to find anything in this mess of organization... Who even made the layouts on this ship?! A simple process of elimination would obviously point to the captain of the ship, Volo. Just as he was about to give up the search and settle with the fact that his barman's vest and shirt were torn in places, he found a tin container. Upon opening the tin, however, he was met by, let's just say, an expected "surprise".

Even the tin container that was in one of the cabinets was full of ash and cigarette buds. How is that even possible?! With a heavy sigh, he was scanning what was inside the tin box, because it wasn't just full of buds and ash. There was also a very small extra container in the tin container itself. And behold! Karl has struck gold! He managed to sniff it all out! He had found... The sewing kit. "Why couldn't it just be outside of this tin container..."

With a shaking head, he placed the ash and buds-filled tin container away and very carefully proceeded out from the stinking cabin he was sent to, together with the sewing kit box. Next task! Fix his damned clothes. It was highly unlikely they were going to land any time soon, so why not use this time to fix things up. Why replace something when you are able to just fix it? Especially in the case of clothing. With cold air breeze blowing his hair around, he was looking for a "solid" and clean enough place to sit, where he could feel safe on this damned airship hanging in the air off from a balloon. This was a challenge on its own. Despite the air blowing, there still were smoke buds lying around, a lot of them looking fresh as well... How is that even possible?! It feels like this ship really is owned by a pig of a person...

Hours later, with his freshly patched-up clothes, he could finally take a chance to lay down in a hammock downstairs in the crew cabin. When earlier he hung out on the deck, trying to patch up his clothes, his desire to leave the ship increased drastically. Not because of the cigarette buds or Volo being, well, Volo. It was more due to the fact that the airship was constantly squeaking, feeling as if it was about to fall apart. This kept inflicting more fear into Karl. Perhaps a small rest downstairs would ease him up a bit? Wrong! This same squeaking was still happening downstairs! Why would he even think it didn't happen there when he could clearly hear that on the deck!

Nevertheless, he could shut his eyes, doing his best to block out the squeaking noise of the ship. But his luck of pure "silence" lasted for few minutes when he began to feel a strong shaking happen. The hammocks around the crew deck began to lean side to side along with the one in what Karl was until it eventually tossed him out of it. "What the hell is happening?!" he shouted out, already in enough of panic from this whole ordeal... But no response from Volo.

When he gathered himself and did his best to move up onto the deck, the shaking became worse... And eventually, turning into a full-out twisting inside the massive hurricane that assumably Volo had lead them into. Karl was constantly tossed around the crew deck. Side to side, back to the ground, and then up to the ceiling. Between each slam into either wall, ceiling, and floor, he kept on shouting out from pure fear and some anger mixed up into the mix. "I.... HATE.... FLYING.... I.... HATE.... IT..... I.... HATE.... YOU!". This emotional expression truly was a long time coming.

Eventually, his constant pin-ball situation came to an end when he had managed to land and cling himself onto the post that was supporting the hammocks. The last thing he heard was the "warning" from Volo to hold onto something... And not die... May some god have mercy on their poor souls...

Words: 1044
Total: 1044

Group:

Thu Feb 18, 2021 11:33 am

Ebony drummed her fingers against the receptionist’s marbled counter in an exasperated manner. She and Adonis had been there for quite some time as the flustered receptionist looked adamantly for her booking. Times like these were what Ebony detested the most. Terrible service and the needless amount of waiting one had to do as a direct result of someone else’s incompetence. Ebony sighed as she shot the woman an irritated glance. Surely her name had to be there. She had already confirmed it with her editor prior to her arrival.

The receptionist glanced up to meet Ebony’s eyes before quickly reverting her attention to the list. Pages fluttered back and forth whilst Ebony did her best to maintain her sanity. Had this been Baterilla, well, it would have been a different story. The receptionist peeked at Ebony once more before stammering a stream of incoherent words. Ebony, on the other hand, chose to ignore it before she did something she would regret. La Crima had several prominent families she had to watch out for and she was in no hurry to alert them of her presence.

The receptionist, however, managed to regain her composure. She cleared her throat before asking Ebony the question once more. “Two rooms, correct? Under Skarlet V. Doyle?” Ebony nodded slowly while shooting Adonis a slight glance. She wouldn’t wait to see his reaction before reverting her attention back to the woman. It was the name Ebony had kept private for most of her life. Her pseudonym as a writer so to speak. She figured it was the first time Adonis would have heard it as well.

The receptionist, on the other hand, misinterpreted the glance Ebony had given Adonis. In fact, she nodded slowly to herself before reaching towards another list. Quickly giving it a glance, a huge smile would stretch across her face as she spotted the name on the list. “Aha!” The woman exclaimed. She would give Ebony a coy look before glancing at Adonis. “I understand what you meant now.” She immediately rang her bell thus alerting a young man to near them at the counter. “Albert, here, will lead you to you… rooms.” The woman would shoo them away before taking the next client in her line.

Ebony shot the woman a confused look. The shift in the woman’s expressions was obvious but Ebony decided to think nothing else of it. For now, she was simply content that Michael had truly pulled through for her. He had initially been adamant in stopping her from going but, once she reasoned that it was for her book’s inspiration, her editor had finally agreed. Explaining the second room, however, had been a different story. Not that she blamed him considering the fact that Michael did not know about her life as a mafioso.

Ebony watched as the bell hopper skillfully took their luggage and placed them in the bird-shaped cart he had brought. He was careful in stacking them neatly together before making his way to the receptionist in order to grab the keys. Once done, he would turn to face the pair with a small professional bow. “Please follow me.,” The bright-faced young man said as he took a hold of the cart. “I will be directing you both to your rooms now.” Ebony nodded in satisfaction. Things were now going in the direction she wished and she was all the more for it.

The bell hopper would weave them through the building and, from what she could see, it was definitely at the high end of things. It surprised her considering that the company she was currently contracted with was quite small. However, she would not complain considering they were pulling out all of the stops for her. Ebony nodded to herself. If they were going to treat her this way every time she went out looking for inspiration, she would make sure to let them know. After all, who could deny such a service?

It did not take them long before the young man stopped in front of a suite. It was located further from the main entrance but it looked luxurious on the outside nonetheless. Ebony, however, did not mind. As long as the second room was close by, Ebony could deem the place perfect. She would watch as the man clumsily placed the key in and slowly turned the knob. However, he seemed to hesitate before opening the door fully. As if stalling, the young man turned to face them while keeping his eyes low. He mumbled a few words before loudly clearing his throat. He blushed as he finally opened the door to reveal the room that had been booked.

Ebony stopped short as the door swung open to reveal a rather nasty surprise. The room was decorated with a large heart shaped bed which was draped with what she could only describe as a reddish sheer canopy that hung elegantly from the ceiling. To make matters worse, the bed had been covered in rose petals with bottles of champagne sitting to the side. Furthermore, the lighting had been dimmed just far enough so that it would give the illusion of having been lit by candlelight. Ebony’s eyes twitched. It was truly what one could consider a lover’s suite.

The bell hopper swiftly laid all of their luggage on the floor before nodding rapidly in their direction. His cheeks would be tinted bright red as he immediately stammered his adieu. Before Ebony could utter a singly word, however, the bell hopper made himself scarce. Practically fleeing from the room, he quickly dismissed himself as he placed the key on the table near the door before slamming the door shut. Ebony stood there frozen as her mouth hung open in shock. No words would come out as her brain whirled in an attempt to comprehend what had just happened.

Slowly regaining her senses, she would turn to face Adonis. However, she was still in a state where she was unable to say anything. Thus, she turned to face the bed. There, a single note laid there waiting to be opened. With no other choice left, she made her way towards the bed and grabbed it. She’d tear it open, read its contents, before crumpling it angrily in her fist. Rage and bloodthirst would cloud Ebony’s judgement as she practically flew from the room. She’d slam the door shut as she left. Someone was going to pay. Even if it meant that they had to do so with their lives.

1.090 | 1.090 | 10.000

Sat Feb 20, 2021 11:13 am

Big Don Ýnami found himself in a peculiar situation. Here he was, in a hotel that was usually reserved for a financial bracket far beyond his own means... waiting around with a woman that he had been getting innumerable mixed signals from.

It was the worst case scenario for the best man around. Something that caused a great sense of dread to pour into his heart and saturate like a fat-guy's arteries.

He recalled how he had gotten under her skin back when she was in her business meeting with the old man, Curtis Rigatoni, and he was shocked that she still wanted to keep him around.

Especially since he had seen how she handled dealing with others who made arguably small transgressions against her in the past. On the one hand it made him feel special... given the amount of things he had gotten away with. But on the other... it was a frightful experience to be sure.

Teetering on the edge of a daunting, perilous cliff was not enjoyable to those whom didn't actively seek out such thrills. Adonis was not the kind of man that sought such, aggravatingly depressing circumstances for himself.

He'd much rather spend all of his time standing around in a dank dark alleyway preforming free surgeries for complete strangers.

It was a far safer endeavor than trying to figure out a woman.

His attention snapped towards the woman behind the desk and though he caught Ebony looking at him while the frumpy desk lady prattled on, Adonis could do little beyond allow his disinterest to build within himself to the point of complete and utter overload. Taking on an expression so vacant that you could rent it as a hotel suite at half the going rate.

His attention found itself divided even further as he looked over towards the approaching bell hop. He could see that the quality of this man's organs was subpar at best... as though this guy was some sort of street urchin playing dress up.

This entire trip was proving worthless to Adonis thus far.

Had he known that he'd be playing in such a boujee location, he'd have gone ahead and worn something a little more appropriate. Yet here he was in his medical fatigues with a long black overcoat over his body. Looking like some sort of horror movie slasher villain just one hook-up scene away from striking someone dead. It was obnoxious how easily he found himself caught up in these situations. But at least he didn't have to go at it on his own. Ebony's presence was still worth having around, despite how bizarre she was being.

Adonis wondered what kind of deal required them to be here long enough to pay for a room. He didn't even know how many days or nights they'd be staying here either. Which was a problem in and of itself, since he wanted to have as much information as possible about any sort of dealings prior to them occurring.

Fortunately he trusted Ebony to handle all of the hidden details at her own discretion. Perhaps she didn't know what the pair was exactly looking for, but that would be revealed soon enough. He didn't have any faith in Curtis, he thought of the man to be suspicious.

If not for his loyalty to Eb, Curtis would be a corpse.

It only took a few minutes before Adonis' found his attention fixed on the back of Ebony's head. He wondered how such a lithe lady could be the cause for so much brutality... not that he was complaining. It was just something strange that he noticed.

By the time that the pair reached their lodgings, he took a moment to look around the room, watching Ebony closely as his eyebrow rose. Talk about mixed signals to be sure. Though... perhaps there weren't any mistakes on his observations at all.

It made sense right? She was now here on a remote island without their gang with just him. Such an occurrence was just what the doctor ordered.

It had been far too long since the last time that the pair came together to do anything sweet like this.

Don was never the kind of man that allowed his emotional state to get out of hand while sober, but he could do little beyond find his face twist into the visage of a Cheshire cat. Allowing for his mischievous grin to become a beacon into his inner thoughts. Unfortunately, it didn't seem as though Ebony cared enough to pay attention to him and his antics. She was far too busy reading a letter.

Before he could comment, she seemed to have crumpled up the letter and stormed off. Probably due to the fact that there wasn't a suitable bottle of wine for the pair to imbibe. He found this knowledge to be most likely and decided that for now it was best to put away the luggage until his... now fully confirmed girlfriend returned.

Of course she was his girlfriend! She ordered this room for the both of them. Playing into her inability to say the words out loud. But he was never the picky type. He'd let her express her love and devotion for him in anyway that she wanted.

Despite her leaving the room, he did not chase her down. Choosing instead to make his way over towards the luggage, starting with his employers, unpacking it and putting things away. Blushing like some sort of heavily drunken individual all the while.

He was just glad now that he wasn't mistaken about her intentions back when he was drunk on Baterilla. Now there wasn't a single doubt in his mind about where he stood with his new employer.

Talk about one of the best jobs ever.

Especially given the fact that the rest of their make-shift mafia didn't come along with them. He didn't particularly dislike the other members of his group, but he had little to no interest in having to deal with the clashing personalities that Ebony had gathered together to form her little collective.

This was going to be his vacation. Coom hell or thigh water.

{ 1,029 | 1,029 | 10,000 }

niggas:

sucré @ gs

Mon Feb 22, 2021 6:53 pm

Stone did not know how long he had been out of commission, But because the sun was not even rising yet the large marine guessed that it was very early in the morning. Dusting himself off Stone began to realize that he was very close to being dead.

The hurricane that came through must have sent him flying off of the main ship he was on, and evidently, only left him with a small platform to sit on. The marine could just make out what appeared to be a port in the distance but with only his naginata as a paddle it would take him at least an hour just to reach the city.

Sighing to himself Stone began to diligently paddle his way over to what he hoped was Port Teardrop. The bear-man did not know any particular details about the mission but the fact that his direct superiors recommended him instead of themselves he assumed the worst. And given the fact that Cipher Pol was somehow involved in the situation made Stone even more concerned about what he was going to be ordered to do.

Stone arrived at the docks about thirty minutes later, the lieutenant was dressed in a faded green vest, khaki colored shorts and gray sandals. Luckily he still had a den den mushi on his person and was able to listen in on his new orders. Stone strolled through the streets of Port Teardrop, stepping over the occasional debris, the city was understandably still cleaning up from the hurricane that had previously passed through the area.

Being a larger guy it was always a bit harder for Stone to blend in, because the young man was already on edge he thought that almost everyone that passed by somehow knew what he was really up to. This was especially a concern for Stone since the tarp that he had wrapped his naginata Ashikatta in did not hide his weapon at all. This made him look even more suspicious than if he just simply held it in his hands normally.

The marine finally approached the new rendezvous point, a large warehouse. Standing outside of the building, multiple guards were stationed near the entrance. One of the guards stopped Stone as he reached the door.

“Show me your invitation before entering”. Stone awkwardly fumbles around with his pockets before eventually finding his marine ID. The brown bear watches closely as the guard inspects his identification.

“Alright you’re free to head on in”

Feeling a sense of relief Stone walked into the warehouse. Looking around he found an untaken spot and decided to turn into his full bear form and lay down, He wanted to get all the rest he could before the mission really started.

Word Count:

Tue Feb 23, 2021 11:29 pm

@Sabian Mcqueen
Sorry about the wait guys
Word Count: 691 / 691 / 5000

I do whatever it takes.

Johanna was never one to not support the arts especially when she considered cooking as such. She had her arms crossed over her chest and her foot tapping away as she waited for her partner. It was more that they had somewhere to be and he was taking his time shopping. It probably could have waited for when they had completed their mission. However, it was hard to stop the man once he had caught site of an art shop of any kind.

She wasn't normally an impatient person but they had orders and they had already caused a ruckus on the island. The orangette only hoped that their commanding officers for this particular mission would be understanding. It wasn't something she could simply ignore when it was staring her right in the face. It had been fortunate for those slaves that the hurricane had blown their ship to where they ended up docking. Of course, the mobsters they had freed them from didn't feel the same sentiment.

There was a sigh that escaped her lips when her eyes picked up a sudden motion and she caught Sabian dumping the paint he had been looking at intently on the ground. She had always been good at reading lips and the emotions that people exuded from their bodies. Her eyes trailed the shopkeeper as he came over to yell at her blonde companion about what he had done. It was probably something she should have stopped him from doing or stop him from sounding like an idiot when he claimed the price of the paint was more than it obviously was. She had learned from her short time with him that he was best to leave to his own devices within reason of course. Artists were allowed to have creative liberties, right?

Jo would have easily stopped Sabian from giving the older gentlemen the sheer amount of money he did but a certain symbol caught her eye. Well, if that was what he was planning to do to get his art supplies then she wouldn't object. It was probably better than running around with it for an extended period of time. Besides, the man was clearly trying to rip him off but he probably already knew that. He only acted like he wasn't all that smart sometimes.

If they weren't already behind schedule, then it probably would have been more entertaining watching the man flit about the shop grabbing all the kinds he might need. It was honestly just going to be more stuff for them to lug around while they had important things to do. That was why she had thought that it would have been a better idea to shop for such things after they were done. There was really no arguing with the man sometimes but she could understand as she could be the same way about certain things as well. Once he was done, she joined him at the counter as the old man continued to try to rip them off. Boy, would he be surprised when he realized the money had been stolen.

Johanna couldn't resist the grin that twitched at the side of her lips as they talked about scammers. She could tell that the man was nervous from the way his eyes jolted back and forth. He tried his best to act as casual as he could despite doing the very thing that had been mentioned by her cohort. As Sabian admitted that the money had been stolen from the mafia, she opened her mouth as if she might be about to say something but instead all that fell from her lips was a laugh. She stuck her tongue out at the shopkeeper with a grin on her lips. Just as she was about to floor it out of the shop, she was picked up by the blonde and carried away down the street as quickly as possible. She grunted in clear disapproval at being carried by him especially when she had two working feet but if she struggled it'd only make their getaway slower so supposed. She'd surely pay him back for this later.

I love how it feels when I break the chains.

coded by heroin of gs and adox

[Abandoned] [World Event] A Devil and His Dog