genessia | The first rule about Fight Club... [Video/Action]

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The first rule about Fight Club... [Video/Action]

Who: Soma and You?
What: In the absence of his former teacher, Soma reaches out to try and find a replacement
Where: Network, Action in Nova at Holodeck'd
When: The day after Gale's party
Warnings: Mentions of violence in a semi-formal/sporting sense?

[Several months have passed since Marc Spector went home. In that time, things have finally settled down for Soma; the shop is ticking along, he's made things semi-official with Anastasia, and all in all, things are going pretty well.

Or they were, until a nightmare from his past tried to level half of Everglade. The appearance of Menace - apparently the work of someone who could manipulate memories - had reminded him of an uncomfortable truth: The power that he held was dangerous, and not just to himself. If he ever lets it go out of control... everyone else will have to deal with something like Menace. Only this time it won't be a fake cut-and-pasted from his memories - it will be him. And he's pretty sure Dmitri's failed copy would be quite pale in comparison.

In short: He needs to keep working on controlling both his power and himself. Cue this network post, with him looking a little hung-over and scruffy in the wake of getting absolutely wasted for the first time in... well, ever.]

Nngh. Hello, out there. Can someone find out who ordered the sun to be so bright today, and punch them on my behalf? I'd consider it a personal favor.

[...Okay, now that he's got the complaining out of the way...]

I have... a bit of an odd request. I know that there are martial artists here. Quite a few, in fact, and many of them with what could be considered superpowers. I'm looking for someone who can teach me better control, both of my power and of my body. Kind of hoping the mind thing will fall into place alongside those, but hey, if you've got pointers there too, I won't turn them down. I can offer payment in redbills, labor, employment, or merchandise - I own and operate the Cloak and Dagger in Everglade. If you're looking on the employment side, be aware that I do need some specific skillsets, primarily in the magic department.

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[Cue Midnight hiding a chuckle politely behind a hand. Poor 'kid']

A bit hungover from the party, hmmm?

I may be able to help with some teaching. Not sure what you're looking for, but I'm more a mid range fighter... I fight with a whip.

A bit, yeah. Normally I'm immune to alcohol... figured I'd try and turn it off for a night and see what happened. Can't say I see what other people like about it so much.

[Pardon him while he fights a yawn, though he's decorous enough to cover his mouth - and thus hide his fangs.]

I was studying capoeira before my teacher got sent home, a few months ago. I'm okay with any range, and do have some experience both with and against a whip - a bullwhip, in particular.

[She shrugs.]

The best part about parties like that?

Getting blackmail of your friends. [And that grin there? Says she has plenty of her boys being dumb. And probably her too.]

Really? Whips I can do, actually my primary weapon. Although bullwhip style could be considered secondary.

Only one person there I could really have used blackmail on, and I'd rather not do that, since we're dating. Of course, she may have some on me now, but that's how these things go.

[He cracks half a smile at the thought.]

I have a really nice bullwhip that needs someone who can put it through its paces. Interested?

[She chuckles.]

At home we're coworkers, here I think we're friends. Guess we'll see how it falls.

[And a bigger smile.]

I'd love to.

Blackmail on coworkers is an entirely different matter, and I wish you luck in your endeavors. [That smile finally evolves into a grin. He can understand EXACTLY how that could be useful.]

Meet me at Holodeck'd in... call it thirty? I have to swing by the shop to grab it.

They're going to hate it. And that's perfect. [She's in deep shit when they realize though. And she's well aware.]

Sounds good.

[And she'll be there waiting. Still in street clothes, although the top is different. She's legit ransacking her roommates clothes for the moment, until she can get her own. And so she's not running around in her costume all the time.]

[He'll be rocking up on a futuristic racing motorcycle, one that looks like it just needs a good tailwind to take flight - and probably can, though he prefers to keep the rubber on the road, so to speak. No helmet, either. He parks it, climbs off, and retrieves a briefcase-looking package from the saddlebag. Midnight's not hard to spot, even in street clothes. He waves with the hand not busy carrying the case.]

My fellow barfly, I presume? I apologize for not giving my name before - it's Soma.

[Well, now that's a nice bike. She waves, and then bows after his introduction.]

That's me! A pleasure to meet you Soma.

I'm Nemuri.

[He bows in turn, proper Japanese style, and then opens the door for her like a proper gentleman. Inside, everything is the standard White Room background the place uses when idle.]

I'm going to set up some moving targets - basic stuff, not even set to attack - so you can put this thing through its paces.

[He sets the briefcase on the control rostrum and pops the locks to reveal a very, very nicely made bullwhip, about twelve feet long. There's a sheen to the cord it's made from, and if she can sense power of any kind at all, the thing's practically radiating it. It's not on par with the Vampire Killer, but this is what it looked like before it got a soul of its own.]

Are you familiar with magic or alchemy at all?

Depends. Some quirks might be considered magic, but nothing like you would read about in fantasy books.

[She looks around as she talks, before she takes the whip to get a look at it.]

Should I be worried?

Not really worried, but you might want to keep an open mind for a little while.

[He hits the 'go' button on the console, and the targets start moving. They look an awful lot like scarecrows, really.]

Give it a go normally first, and then I'll tell you what it can really do.

I did just get teleported to some crazy world and end up with a chunk of my colleagues, so I can probably do that.

[She nods before using the whip to take out the targets as they move. She's not perfect, but she's pretty good for someone who normally uses her weapon to get people close enough to use her quirk on.]

Huh. Not bad.

One of the hidden benefits of the process used to bring us all here, I guess.

[Soma watches, making note of her technique. She's got a distinctive style that's pretty different from the Belmont clan's, but it looks pretty effective. When she's done, he pulls up some more targets.]

Now, do that again - but this time, think of fire when you swing. The effect should be very noticeable.

[Even if Flandre is still shaken over everything, she can put up a good act. But this caught her attention.]

Magic and martial arts? That's a interesting mix...Kinda wish Meiling was here because she'd be helpful in that.

[Not offering herself because....control issues herself. for now at least.]

I was thinking about asking you and Remilia for help on the side of magic. I know you're both leagues away better at it than I am.

[Flandre can almost certainly blink him out of existence if she takes a notion to do so, but he can at least resist for a few moments with Final Guard, if it happens. Maybe long enough for Remilia to stop her. Maybe. Not that he ever wants to test that theory.]

Sis is really, really good. She'd be really good at teaching!

[Give her a moment Soma, She missed the fact she was included Not exactly something the little sister is used to. But then suddenly comes the expression of everything catching up to her.]

Wait...Remi and me? Are you sure about this?

Not just the two of you, but yes. I know there might be issues with control, but that's... kind of both of us, at this point. It might help you, too. Maybe we can rope Vlad and Sakuya into it, as well.

[Well, Sakuya is a definite yes at least. Vlad... may take some convincing.]

You look as though you have seen better days, Soma. Not hanging around with the Belmont, are you?

Edited 2019-03-23 05:35 (UTC)

Not of late, no. Been too busy running the shop to hang around with anyone, lately.

You're aware of what happened in Everglade and Fayren, yes?

I heard of the incidents. I did not believe them to be a result of my father, however.

They weren't. I'd know if they were. But there was one really big, ugly one loose in Everglade... and I recognized it.

[He takes a deep breath and lets it out in a sigh.] When I... came into my power, there was an incident involving a cult calling itself With Light. It was their belief that for God to be absolutely good, there must also be a force of absolute evil - a dark lord. For much of his life after your mother was burned, your father filled that role - and they wanted him back. Their first attempt was a man named Graham Jones, who claimed to be Dracula himself. He had a lot of Vlad's powers, but... we both know by now he wasn't fated to walk that path. He usurped the castle's flow of chaos for a while, and I had to destroy him. That was when I discovered who and what I was meant to be, and decided I didn't want that fate.

About a year later, With Light showed up again - this time with two candidates. Dario Bossi, an arsonist who controlled fire, and Dmitri Blinov... who could copy demonic abilities when they were used against him. Dario survived, but lost his power - Dmitri managed to copy my Dominance and absorbed something he couldn't control... and it turned him into a giant abomination I've come to call Menace.

[For a man hungover, Soma really looks like he could do with another drink right now.]

Menace showed up in Everglade last week.

Edited 2019-03-24 04:18 (UTC)

[ The dhampir is silent as he listens, these things being that which he hasn't experienced for himself (yet) and so he needs to rely on Soma for what is to come... what could be for him. This tale which he tells... it has the dhampir glance off to the side for a moment in thought before his attention falls back onto the device connecting them. ]

And you were able to stop him?

Alone, the first time. This time, I had help. Apparently it was some kind of phantom, grown from my memories - but that didn't make it any less dangerous. It's sheer luck no one was killed.

[He doesn't know, of course, that the phantoms couldn't actually kill anyone. It had taken some pretty solid swings at him and his allies in the fight, after all.]

A phantom from your memories? That is peculiar.

[ A pause, he allows for his gaze to drift away in thought for another moment. ]

But it would seem as though it's taken a toll on you.

Dmitri is... was one of two people I've been directly responsible for killing. Your father's memories are at a remove, almost like something I've read in a book; the emotions aren't nearly as sharp, in most cases.

[Further proof Soma is very definitely not Vlad - he actually feels remorse.]

I just... I guess I don't know how to handle it. And knowing that... that thing is technically something that could happen to me...

[ Something they can relate to then... for even if he hasn't physically slain his father yet, he has seen what it is to come and there is still guilt and remorse he carries with him for the patricide that he is to commit... even if it needs to be done. ]

Does anyone else here know about this?

I've only told the whole of this to one other person, who I trust completely.

[He knows full well how dangerous this knowledge is - and that it could be used against him, in quite a few ways.]

If they ever show up here, I will take steps to counter them. But with your father here, they shouldn't be as much of a threat - he was, after all, their ultimate goal.

[ Yes, it's a concern of the dhampir's as well what with hearing about this. However, should the individual that Soma has entrusted this information to be someone he feels is no threat, well, he'll leave it at that then. ]

Best to be ready in case it happens. It's not like we're given warning with who's to show up or even depart this place.

I've already taken the first steps. Before Trevor showed up, I started construction of a new Vampire Killer - or rather, the weapon that it was created from. A whip utilizing the power of alchemy to harness elemental spirits. I also provided someone else with blessed and cursed ammunition for their weapon - it won't work on your father, but it might work on this other potential threat.

[No point in telling him that these measures were meant to kill Soma himself, if he lost control - that would just be belaboring the point.]

How are you handling life here, Adrian?

Adjusting about as much as one would who's spent a number of months here already.

[ Hard to believe it will be six soon. ]

Secured a job, babysitting a Belmont to ensure he doesn't try and start something with my father in this world, the usual.

I see. Hopefully you're taking him for regular walks, and keeping him away from bars - when possible, of course. And I'm glad to hear that you're getting by, at least for now. If nothing else, this place is more peaceful than the time you came from.

It is. Though for how long, who is to really say?

[ Part of why he's been moving about Everglade in his white wolf form. ]

Long periods of rest with occasional moments of pure unadulterated terror - at least it's never boring.

If you ever have need of a place to rest for a while, I have a rather large apartment in Nova. I share it with someone, but we have a spare room to offer to friends in need.

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The first rule about Fight Club... [Video/Action]

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Private like whoa

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