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May 28, 2017 23:27:02 GMT -5
Post by nightingale on May 28, 2017 23:27:02 GMT -5
 "Hm. So, that's what it is."[break] The background music in this game was droll, droll, DROLL. Game developers were terrible composers in the best of times, but the Broken War Online composer was on a completely different level of horrid than the usual dreck. If she'd been able to leave, she would have done so solely to write a stern letter to the company who produced this game.[break] Being trapped in a fantasy world, as far as crises that artists faced, was above drugs but beneath happenstance - and Melody knew this because she'd done both. So far, little had driven her to create her masterpieces, short of some garbage she heard about people she did not care for falling like trash to some dragon she did not care about. That story had already been scored before, and even as prodigal as she was she did not care for trying to face the Nibelungenlied... at least, not yet.[break] But now the crucible was here: These men and women needed training to protect this town. She could see it now - a three-act ballet that ended in despair as the regiment was slain one-by-one against a foe none could possibly expect nor face. She felt it within her. Besides, training soldiers was no different than teaching your performers to not squeak through their songs. They were merely less important, that was all.[break] Besides, it would be a good time to teach someone what for...[break] 1/10 - who dares enter...? questwhat's wrong with a little destruction
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May 29, 2017 5:50:41 GMT -5
Post by ater on May 29, 2017 5:50:41 GMT -5
It wasn't everyday that Ater returned to the starting area. Usually, he'd be out and about to find monsters to farm for drops which he could then sell to the NPCs in town. Basic MMO things, really. So he was forgiven for being surprised that this girl in the middle of the town square looked to be... ahh... assembling a team of NPCs? Was she making an army or something? Truly one of the strangest things he had ever seen people do in this game so far. Those NPCs didn't look to be summons either, so the berserker approached, trying to piece together what was taking place. The closer he got, the clearer the girl's face became, and boy was she easy on the eyes. But was she a performer of some sort? Her attire seemed to suggest so. And he'd spent a considerable amount of time looking too. "Hey there," he'd call out as soon as he got within earshot. "Pardon me for interrupting... whatever it is you're doing, but... what are you doing exactly? And... why are all these NPCs here?" This couldn't have been an event, could it? Surely he would have known if that was the case via the game's notification system, but if this was a player-made event, then he'd love to know how she managed to round up the NPCs like this.
Tags: nightingaleNotes: Yo, hope you don't mind me crashing the party
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May 29, 2017 9:55:25 GMT -5
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May 29, 2017 9:55:01 GMT -5
Post by nightingale on May 29, 2017 9:55:01 GMT -5
"SILENCIO!" A raised index finger shot up towards Ater, Nightingale trying to think. In a second's time, she turned her head to look at him - some kind of dog-beast from the Orient? God, this game was a culture clash in the worst way, and she didn't just mean the musical stylings. ... No, maybe she could use this.[break] "Did you not read that lark they call a... quest?" Had her hand not held her conductor's baton, she would've put the last word in air quotes, "Some plebs have gotten it into their peanut brains that they can be the ones to defend their so-called Town of Origins. Obviously, most instructors here have done quite poorly; clearly it falls to someone of my fame to round these mongrels up and teach them the art of fighting."[break] She stood in front of them as if she were a certain general made famous by film; one could hardly be forgiven for expecting a flag behind her. All that rose when she raised her baton, however, were three violins, apparated from the aether.[break] "Now, listen here, you mongrels, mange-ridden men, and malcontents! The art of war is no different from the art of music! It is structured, regimented; it is a performance art within itself! You will take your blades, your spears, your... whatever you four in the back do," She shouted to four men holding assault rifles (what was wrong with this game?), "And you will do the swings as your orientation packets describe! You will keep tempo with my song for three hundred repetitions; only through this shall you understand true discipline!"[break] With that, she snapped to attention and raised her baton, and within seconds she had begun conducting, the violins literally at her beck and cell, beginning to play as the small army gathered in front of her began to do as she said - out of respect or fear, none could say.[break] BPM: 110
mf, 4/4
Violin x3 2/10 - ater what's wrong with a little destruction
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May 29, 2017 10:39:16 GMT -5
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May 29, 2017 10:38:37 GMT -5
Post by ater on May 29, 2017 10:38:37 GMT -5
"Whoa! Easy with that!" he'd say as he recoiled a little, putting his hands up, leveled with his face in an "I surrender" gesture when the girl suddenly yelled and pointed at him, as if she was marking him for death. Wow... talk about high-strung. Although again, she was really nice on the eyes, so of course she would be a little... uh... was it alright to call her crazy? She could easily have just been too into the character, and Ater couldn't really blame her for that now, could he? Despite that however, he got his answer. It was apparently a quest. How about that... He wondered... if she finished that quest, would the NPCs here right now actually become guards, or will they simply disappear into the void as soon as she turns in the quest for the rewards. Huh... looks like Ater was going to stick around to see this through. Although... with her riffing on the 'instructors' in the town, Ater had to give her another top-to-bottom scrutiny. Just how good would she be at all this? Normally, anyone with an eye for it can see if people are capable to do this kind of thing, but taking into account that this game added a few layers in the visual spectrum, he set aside the part of his mind that wanted to judge her on how she carried herself. When it looked as if she was ready to start, he simply stood back, not wanting to ruin whatever it was she had planned. She summoned violins, which was a strange choice to be honest, but alright. Ater listened to her playing, grabbing a nearby chair, and sitting on it backwards, his arms and chin resting on the chair's back. After a while, he started tapping idly on the chair, matching the rhythm of her song. "This feels like its missing something..." he'd mutter to himself. The song was good, which is more than he can say for some of the NPC recruits... With varying weapons... there's no way they could keep the pace for long, and he was waiting for the moment someone gets whacked in the head by a spear.
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May 29, 2017 21:12:20 GMT -5
Post by nightingale on May 29, 2017 21:12:20 GMT -5
The attacker had been right, though perhaps not in the way he expected; Nightingale suddenly began to conduct far faster, the instruments playing to match, and the soldiers began to stumble and trip over themselves. To their credit, the majority of them tried to catch back up, which only led to more anarchy until Nightingale drew her hand across her throat, the international symbol for "stop".[break] "Okay. That was exactly what I expected. Look over there," She pointed her baton at a nearby building, "Do you see that quaint little hovel over there? Anyone live there?" To her surprise, two soldiers actually raised their hands. Maybe they were gay lovers? Well, it didn't matter to her, as she continued, "Well, guess what? That house just became a MEMORIAL SITE TO THE FALLEN WHEN YOUR POOR ABILITY LET THE MONSTERS DESTROY IT!"[break] "But-"[break] In response to being interrupted, Nightingale called two trumpets and immediately shoved them into her interrupter's face, conducting long enough to get them to play a "sad horn" audio cue at them.[break] "When one piece is off, the whole symphony falls apart! This is true of music and warfare alike!" She shouted; this girl would likely gnaw on the scenery given half an inch, "There will be times where you are unable to predict what heads your way! In those times you must fall back upon the most basic tenets! You will not sight-read forever, you curs! Now, we will do this again! And we will continue this until every possibility has been established!"[break] She stood straight and raised the baton again, conducting; this time, trumpets joined the violins. This was going to take a while, wasn't it...[break] BPM: 110
mf, 4/4
Violin x3, Trumpet x2 3/10 - ater what's wrong with a little destruction
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May 30, 2017 1:21:02 GMT -5
Post by ater on May 30, 2017 1:21:02 GMT -5
Snickering was the appropriate thing to do when seeing the recruits stumble. He'd have laughed out loud and probably fallen off his chair simply guffawing at the failures, but he was afraid to incur the wrath of the conductor. She was WAY too into this drill sergeant thing. He wasn't sold on her methods, but she did hit a couple of solid points, he'd give her that. But there was one thing he noticed that she might have overlooked. If you stretch it a little, a combat regiment MAY be potentially similar to a choir or an orchestra, but the big problem here is that, unlike in an orchestra, combat doesn't have a lot of harmony, so once a wrench has been thrown into this not-so-well-oiled machine, they are doomed to fail. "Excuse me, but I think I may have found a flaw in this arrangement," he said, raising a hand. He had hoped to get her attention before she started conducting again. "First off, I don't think you've accounted for the speeds these recruits are limited to. You're mixing the ones with swords and the ones with spears, which, I have noticed, have different attack speeds, which was partially responsible for that previous failure."
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May 30, 2017 3:24:37 GMT -5
Post by nightingale on May 30, 2017 3:24:37 GMT -5
The Nightingale's head snapped over to Ater just long enough to shoot a glare at him, once she'd stopped conducting. At least no one had tripped over themselves that time, she supposed, which was better than nothing.[break] But now this guy walked in, looking as if he'd walked from a sty, and decided to deride her methods? She could not be blamed for their choice of weapons; it wasn't like she was the one handing these items out as she pleased! They arrived with these things! A regiment should be equally trained in a variety of weapons, after all; an orchestra used more than one instrument, and so did an ensemble! This one just didn't GET IT! With enough training, discipline, and structured practice, anyone could achieve the same end results no matter if they were holding a violin bow or a longbow![break] "Alright, you dogs, stand at attention," Nightingale cranked her head back towards the regiment, "As you have no doubt had fed into your brains by - ugh - the media - there is always some section or another where you are pit against one-another to hone your combat against a moving target. We will not be doing that; no, this is a world laden with monsters, so you will face a monster! Behold!"[break] With a flourish of her batons, flutes rose in triplicate. Nightingale then pitched her baton towards Ater.[break] "Gaze upon this dog!" Once she started talking, Nightingale immediately began crossing to put the regiment between her and him, "This man apes the beasts of the Orient and rips foes limb from limb, just as those great "youkai" do to innocents! He is a perfect target to practice slaying beasts with! Now, remember - do not kill him! He is only human as you. Imagine the beast before you in your mind, and strike![break] "Strike, first swords!" They rose. "Second swords!" They rose. "First Spears!" They rose. "Second Spears!" They rose. "Third Spears!" They rose. "Bow line!" They rose. "Gun line!" They rose. "Cannon line! ... Cannon line! ... Really, no one's on cannon?" Nightingale threw her hands up, "Honestly, it's like you people don't appreciate the 1812 Overture! No matter! So, mister... fox, or whatever vermin you're meant to be... You don't like my methods? Clearly you must be so much better. Prove it, if you feel worthy to stand against me!"[break] Violin x3, Trumpet x2, Flute x3 4/10 - ater what's wrong with a little destruction
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May 30, 2017 6:21:47 GMT -5
Post by ater on May 30, 2017 6:21:47 GMT -5
Ater was getting involved in this training in the least preferable way possible. He stood up to protest but alas he was challenged before his words could flow from his lungs. Perhaps he should have expected this. He knew better, but he had the idiocy to think anyone taking the reigns of a drill sergeant had any regard for anyone's criticism. "Did anyone ever say you were as insane as you were beautiful?" He'd say, grabbing an item from his inventory, a bottled refreshment, tea to be precise. He took a big gulp and put it back, cracking his neck as he got into a stance. "You want a monster, beautiful? I'll give you a monster. Just make sure none of your 'soldiers' hit their friends." He smirked before putting on his mask. Like a an acquaintance once said, he could have been mistaken for a monster, and with him covering his face it only completed the look. "And just for the record, I'm just a single person against a mob, so if they can't get me, then I propose to have them jog around the town till dawn."Ater bared his claws, shooting a look of intimidation towards the soldiers. He wouldn't hurt the soldiers too badly. Just enough to make them feel pain. It's just a large sparring party, that's all. "Care to make the first move?"
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May 31, 2017 0:28:04 GMT -5
Post by nightingale on May 31, 2017 0:28:04 GMT -5
"Hm, extra rounds for failing. Perfect. Prepare yourselfs, mongrels - this is do or die!"[break] Nightingale pointed her baton and rose; tempting as it was to call the Bells, she had no time for that. In practiced, steady motions, she began to conduct, her flutes, trumpets and violins all playing together. Her effects became clear the second her sounds carried through the air; the formerly panicky soldiers became more composed and calm, swifter, perhaps.[break] By the same token, the intermittent tooting of the trumpets was not good for anyone's speed... So, she was someone whose music caused changes in the status of others, was it? Interesting, very interesting.[break] The First Swords went in first, First Spearmen behind them. Two leapt as the spearmen began to flank Ater, the bow and gunmen in the back preparing themselves to launch a salvo of missiles at their new enemy. And behind them all, conducting the symphony of demise, stood the Nightingale, levitating off of the ground slightly, as if she were in her own little world. Second Swords, Spears, and others moved to surround Ater, waiting for their own moments to strike when his guard was down.[break] BPM: 110
mf, 4/4
Violin x3, Trumpet x2, Flute x3 5/10 - ater what's wrong with a little destruction
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May 31, 2017 1:14:14 GMT -5
Post by ater on May 31, 2017 1:14:14 GMT -5
The symphony sounded and Ater noticed the debuff planted onto him. It must have been the instruments, he gathered. This was going to throw him off a little, especially since he was planning on using his speed to kite around these soldiers. But he wasn't worried. Deciding to showboat, she shrugged at his attackers, seemingly inviting them to freely hit him. And they would have, if their weapons didn't phase through him like he was a ghost. What they attacked was a phantom image Ater left when he used Fade Step to move himself to the back line, where the ranged attackers were bunched up. In a split second, Ater reappeared and clawed two soldiers and kicked another one towards the others. He needed to get rid of the ranged ones first, then the melee attackers can be picked off one by one. Although, he needed to keep them from flanking him as he didn't have any danger senses to warn him of someone attempting to stab him in the back. For now, the ranged folks were too spread out for him to stay in the open, and so he decided to try doing something to disrupt the orchestra, by rushing behind nightingale and taunting the small army to bunch up towards him and hopefully throw her off of her rhythm. He was risking getting shot as well, but if everything went as he wanted it to, then the army might just shoot out the instruments for him. Or he'll get pummeled by the firing squad, time will tell.
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Jun 1, 2017 7:05:25 GMT -5
Post by nightingale on Jun 1, 2017 7:05:25 GMT -5
In truth, Melody hadn't expected any of these particular mooks to do particularly well against the player class she had them facing off against. But she did expect them to, among other things, try to attack him.[break] Or maybe she should've expected him to be able to close distances quickly. Careless. She was the Salieri to her opponent's Mozart right now; how particularly embarrassing. Showing her hand so early... like the beasts of the Orient, he was tricky. But she was no mere lark herself.[break] She didn't move fast levitating as she did when conducting, but she pulled to the right and took a bow on the last beat of the section, making the instruments hold their note. The gunners and bowmen fired right through her instruments - were they mere illusions? - towards (and in the case of the bowmen, over) Ater. At least someone here was smart. But if he was quick, then she would merely have to be quicker.[break] When she stood again, the song continued, but her baton moved with great swiftness, and so did her instruments play to match. The effects became stronger and the soldiers emboldened to win this particular battle. Clearly, Nightingale was not done yet.[break] BPM: 160 (Allegro)
mf, 4/4
Violin x3, Trumpet x2, Flute x3 6/10 - ater what's wrong with a little destruction
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Jun 2, 2017 7:37:58 GMT -5
Post by ater on Jun 2, 2017 7:37:58 GMT -5
Sometimes, risks don't pay off... this time was definitely one of those times. Bullets were hard to dodge, even in this game, but fortunately, these didn't seem to hurt so much, at least compared to what he had to fight on a number of occasions. This was good, since this would definitely help in stacking up his Feral Bloodlust. If only they could see his smug smirk as he stared down the recruits. Nightingale sped up her orchestra, but Ater's passive allowed him to match the beat. At least half of the arrows that were actually aimed towards him had hit, but like the bullets, they were easy to shrug off. "Phase 2."Ater charged into the fray, noticeably faster and worked to take dowm more of the ranged attackers. Those guys were his priority. Any of the melee fighters that get in his way were struck down with his claws. This fight was a little harder to handle, considering he wasn't aiming to kill. He was hoping that these people would think that once they got hit, they were out. When he ended up close to Nightingale again, he asked, "Forgot to ask, you're still a target in this, aren't you?" At the start of all this, he could have easily skipped through the NPCs and put them all to shame by knocking down their commander before they could even move. He had expected this to be just him and the army. He wouldn't have mind if she boosted them up with her instruments, but if she affected him with those instruments, then it was only fair that she too was a target. Of course, Ater wouldn't be surprised if she said that he couldn't attack her. She just seemed like the person to pull that on a guy. Though, until she gave an answer, Ater was just going to have to kick these grunts around. Call him a wannabe gentleman, but he didn't want to start hurting the girl unless it was all part of the exercise.
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Jun 2, 2017 20:34:37 GMT -5
Post by nightingale on Jun 2, 2017 20:34:37 GMT -5
She didn't answer him; not because she didn't want to (though that was true) but because she was so focused on conducting her symphony that even speaking would ruin the song. Guess he'd have to figure it out on his own![break] Inside her head, however, was emptiness. This was rapidly becoming boring for her; one would think a great battle scene could be scored beautifully, but the monster was winning too easily, and she was rapidly losing people in her duel, down to about sixty percent of her starting force. Nonetheless, Nightingale kept her distance from the kitsune, totally lost in her own song.[break] The bowmen fired again, and this time the second swords joined in; behind them were the second spears, moving to encase Ater in a bullhorn formation again. ... Come to think of it, the bullhorn formation was a Zulu tactic outside of this game; the Orchestrator seemed almost too engrossed in her own music to be aware otherwise.[break] Regardless, the fight went on. Suddenly the tempo dropped drastically, slowing down, and Ater's bonds were freed. Curious - if she were aiming to win this duel, it would behoove her to keep pressing with a higher tempo...[break] BPM: 70 (Adagio)
mf, 4/4
Violin x3, Trumpet x2, Flute x3 7/10 - ater what's wrong with a little destruction
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Jun 3, 2017 12:44:22 GMT -5
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Jun 3, 2017 12:43:30 GMT -5
Post by ater on Jun 3, 2017 12:43:30 GMT -5
The silent treatment, huh? Wonder how he expected that. Well all right then, if that was how she wanted to play it, then Ater will just have make the rules up as it he went. After all, that's what the game does, and that's what he was supposed to mimic with this role as the monster. The soldiers were hoping to flank him again, and he was set to use the same tactic to weasel his way out of the trap, but this time, he wasn't aiming for the ranged folks. This time, he was heading for the drill sergeant. He allowed the swords and spears to come close, all the while doing his best to keep mobile in order to dodge some arrows. And when the time was right, Ater used his fade step to once again cut through the recruits, using his few moments of intangibility to run across the battleground and beelined it to the Orchestrator. He hadn't noticed that the slowing debuff had been lifted, as he was understandably busy with not making a fool of himself and fall to some new grunts. No, that wasn't happening today. Appearing a few feet away from Nightingale, Ater looked like he was about to strike her down to end all of this, but when he was within striking distance, he grabbed her, swept her off her feet and ran away with her like an overly-eager groom on their honeymoon. "Yo! Got your princess!" he'd taunt, pausing only for a moment to make sure the soldiers had seen him, and then used a series of conveniently placed crates as a set of stairs to then hop on to a balcony, then onto the roof. "Great view of the town, huh?" he asked the kidnapped drill sergeant who was currently in a bridal carry. He had paused to see how the recruits would try to get to him. Although, he also took a moment to see how his hostage was reacting to all of this. Probably not well at all.
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Jun 4, 2017 0:09:31 GMT -5
Post by nightingale on Jun 4, 2017 0:09:31 GMT -5
Conducting a symphony required utter focus. She had been trained from near-birth for this singular purpose; the world could fall apart around her and her orchestra, and she would still play on until the heat death of the universe.[break] But there are things you just can't expect, and being forcibly carried away from your symphony was one of them.[break] It wasn't strictly an attack in the physical sense, but it was psychological warfare of the highest caliber, the kind that there were conventions in every civilised nation against. Her instruments evaporated back into the aether and made her totally useless to resist short of flailing her limbs and baton around, which, given the baton's low attack values, was the equivalent of breathing someone to death.[break] When Ater took her higher, Melody was not concerned with the view, the beauty of it, or anything she could wring from this. No, she was far more concerned with something else entirely.[break] "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!? YOU FILTHY DOG OF A HUMAN BEING! SMALL WONDER YOU ARE PART MONGREL HERE! RELEASE ME! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM? MY FAMILY COULD BANKRUPT YOU AND BURY YOU WITH THE FISHES IN ATLANTIC CITY-"[/break] Melody finally extracted herself from Ater's grasp and slipped over the roof. To their credit, the ones with ranged weapons had tried their damndest to shoot Ater at his vantage point; they only succeeded in hitting their commander as she fell. About the only thing that kept her from splattering upon the ground was a quick striking up of the Violins and forcing them to play; when she hit the cobblestone, she was left with five percent health - and that was a generous estimate.[break] She didn't move for a while, following that.[break] 8/10 - ater what's wrong with a little destruction
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