Degenerates vs DATASS [Page 2]

[1]

Scalar Warfare Wrote:

> It'd be only a matter of time before one stumbled past. She stilled, enmeshed in a berry bush at the foot of a broad ash, and waited for the first unfortunate to blunder by.

Once he was sure that he should, Jinsoku kept on moving through the wilderness. His unarmed fist clenched the handle of his halberd, prepping the pole arm against his shoulder and allowing the blade to pass by his head. The odd pause between steps indicated to a careful listener that he wore some armor. However, they may not have actually guessed that it would be a man in a half suit of armor. Though short, the brawny man was no longer so little. It was as if he had bought this armor years ago, knowing that he would one day grow into it. To go back and ask him on that day however, he would likely deny such a claim.

While the area remained scarce of activity, Jinsoku simply remained weary knowing one of their opponents could be hiding just around the corner. His six senses scanned the perimeter, his feet continuing to carry him. His face refused to change at the sudden revelation, though once in range of a particularly odd plant, he became overly suspicious. His charcoal eyes looked at what was but a bush. Sure it was dark, but he had no quarrels seeing once his eyes adjusted to the pale moonlight piercing the canopy above. For what he couldn't see, he could smell, hear, or feel.

He didn't allow himself to get closer than just outside of his own striking range, otherwise he kept his pace in approaching and ultimately surpassing the shrub as if he had no suspicions about it to begin with. Without hesitation, he continued forth for no more than 10 feet, if his opponent gave him that much distance without stopping him or making themselves apparent sooner. At which point, if him stopping wasn't enough to warrant that his opponent had been made, he'd pivot right to face the curious bush with his armored side first, his head turned and neck craned just enough to comfortably view the bush as he would undoubtedly talk to it.

**"Show yourself."

H**e'd mildly command.

Namine would feel resistance as she probed into the stone queens mind. It was like pushing through molasses that pulsed with life. The sensation was familiar. Sapphira and Namine were not that different. Both were psionic creatures and this would not merely be a contest of the body but of the mind.

Suddenly Namine’s speed increased as she shot into a dash. Skillfully the tentacled psychic slid under the flying orc. As Namine came close to the earth, even without having eye contact Sapphira could feel her weight upon the earth as if it were pressure against her own body. [Tremorsense]

“tremorsense” Wrote:

> Sapphira has a sixth sense similar to those of the dwarven race. She can feel through the earth around her and sense nearby movement. As long as her feet are on the ground she can sense all movement across the ground around her in a 20 feet radius. This makes her difficult to sneak up on by grounded opponents. Creatures not touching the floor or walls within 20 feet of her are invisible to this sense.

Sapphira reacted instinctually, following through with her spin. Her mind focused the earth minerals in her body into her left arm, creating a 18 pound monstrous stone gauntlet at extended the reach of the arm by about a foot. The width of the creation was about that of a basketball, with a hand huge enough to grasp an entire head made up of 3’ fingers bawled into a huge fist.

“psy-onyx” Wrote:

> [1 earth charge] > > > > _Sapphira may pull earth minerals from her blood stream to produce six pounds of stone in a pre-determined shape on her body or in her possession. She may use this power to coat her body in temporary stone armor. She can use this power to produce stones for throwing or crude stone weapons for striking. > > If using this power to produce armor, she may cover a single limb, either her arms, legs, face, and torso. The stone is as tough as a thin sheet of mountain rock, brittle but hard. The stone remains in place wherever it is grown. After 18 seconds (3 post), the stone crumbles into dust. > > > > If using this power offensively, she can produce a large stone (about as big as a soft ball) that she can use to club her opponents or throw at them. > > > > [Augment - 3 Power Points] > > > > By augmenting tis power, she may produce an additional 12 pounds of stone (so a much larger or heavier stone) or cover an additional section of her body.

This new creation completed just in time to swipe low from right to left, colliding with the upper half of the spear and parrying it to Sapphira’s left. The blade of the spear would leave a cut along sapphira’s thigh. Though quickly after the cut was dealt it proved to be much more. An acidic sting followed by a numbness was felt in Sapphira’s thigh, as the flesh surrounding the spears shallow cut seemed to curdle. A smell of decay filled the air around both the women.

The stone queen was tough however, possessed of incredible constitution and resilience. The only thing this pain did was make her angry and she would seek to deal the same back to Namine 10 times over.

The stone gauntlets parry served as a wind up for her next movement. The massive stone gauntlet shot forward and down towards Namines chest in a straight punch. Sapphiras center of gravity would drop into the punch as her knees bent and her stance widened. The heavy stone gauntlet threatened to slam into namine’s chest and force her on the ground against her back tentacles, halting her momentum. If Namines left arm remained on guard, it would likely be smashed against her chest by the heavy stone gauntlet.

Sapphiras right hand would remain on guard. If Namine followed through with her slide, Sapphira would be straddling her on her feet, with Namines body between her legs.

pp: 27 [-3 Augment]

Earth Charge: 0 [-1]

What is in a name? That which we call a rose...

=>Punish Me, Woman<=

2

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*"Ooooh, a knight. How de- "*. Her smarmy response was cut short, abruptly interrupted by a flash of blue and yellow exploding across her vision. It hit her before her eyes even finished closing in reflex, the contained package of coiled negative charge and superheated air blasting across her chestplate and upper abdomen.

Kae blinked, cocking her head curiously. Strands from her dome were suspended oddly, she could feel them floating off her pretty head in the gentle night breeze. The acrid odor of fresh wood smoke wafted from directly under her nose, and parts of her jaw and belly felt like they had been accidentally toasted by standing too close to the mouth of a pizza oven. But save for a slight pin-like tingling in her toes and fingertips, she felt... fine?

Her thought process soon caught up with her senses. She could still see the faint reflection of the halberd balanced across his shoulder bob slightly with his breath.

Idiot. she decided, and the entire woman erupted in a frenzy of motion, fanning open into a chaotic cacophany of limbs, vines, and weapons that, in the dim light, must have seemed like the very forest was coming alive all at once to destroy this man. As she sprang at him, two strides would be enough to cover the entire distance faster than he'd lift the polearm off his shoulder more than an inch.

But she did not come alone. Bursting up off her shoulders shot forth two ropy vines, tough and corded, but incredibly flexible. Each carried a limb strength matching that of the entire woman spawning them, as Jinsoku would very soon find out. Both preceeding her, the one shot from her right darted forward, through the space under his right arm, to wrap around soundly and pin the polearm to his shoulder, immobile, and wrench the flesh painfully in the process. The other whipped out to wrap itself crushingly around the man's neck and jaw... the symbiote a single step behind them.

Kae too, was bristling. Her left gauntlet erupted in a flurry of growth, the polished wooden surface fanning out into a sizeable targe shield, hemming out any possibility of the halberd being brought it for a choked-up chop, and clipping him nicely in the ribs. In the talons of her right hand, she produced a shortsword, rosewood, but no less deadly or sharp than its metal equivalent. For the moment, it was there merely as backup, but as she closed on him, even her straining eyes would be able to make out some joint in his armor to slip it through when his left arm came in to tango.

Kae de la Fontaine was no demon, but right now Jinsoku might have wished she was.

---

By any other name would smell as sweet!

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Parasite Coverage

70%

Mode

Femme Fatale

Configuration

Armored legs, arms, shoulders, chest, neck, gel underarmor. Taloned gauntlets. Short sword and targe.

Gravitic Charges

[x][x][x] + [x]!

Passive Abilities:

[Queen of Blades] - Dormant

Active Abilities:

[Mage Eater] - Activated, partially absorbed supernatural attack. +1 gravitic charge generated! 2t CD remaining!

Weapon Generation - Per the Femme Fatale template.

Targe - Warding off Jinsoku's armored right.

Short Sword/Gladius - Seeking a place to strike, idle.

[Vine Lash] - Both active per Femme Fatale template.

1. - Striking the left shoulder + arm, pinning halberd!

1. - Striking the neck, strangulation!

Post Damage Summary/Reasoning

Smattering of small, light burns sustained to exposed skin on abdomen and jawline from plasma scatter. Exterior of chestplate singed and lightly charred. With Kae's legs fully insulated from the ground on wooden heels, and the target being primarily her insulating chestplate, the damage reduction from Mage Eater practically eliminates the damaging element of this attack.

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stillnohero Wrote:

OOC: Brief edit to correct/clarify positioning.

[3]

On the contrary, it would be Kae wishing she was a demon. For the pain she was about to endure was a result brandished out of this warrior for the sake of. His previous attack surprisingly made direct contact, in which Jinsoku was wise to test his opponent over assuming anything. Kae tanked the orb of electricity, and thanks to the wood adorning her body, especially the heels, she was more or less unscathed by the assault at large. While his electrotherapy was typically one of his greatest assets, it seemed that his usual tactics wouldn't be enough here. Not to mention his choice in opting to register for this tournament without the full use of his capabilities. Kae might not know or remember Jin, but before he ever even dreamed of having the powers he did now, he had one greater asset going for him that had only continued to flourish through the years. Martial arts.

Considering his opponent's lack of reception to his previous attack, he was already certain that he needed to try a different method of application if he were to chance using his abilities again. Fortunately he had a couple to bargain between, both which he was certain would yield results. Judging by the woman's anger over his petty attempt, Jin accounted for how that may have affect on her rationalization of action. Her direct, reckless charge at him was met with his a cold smolder, and the retraction of his armored, left arm into some semblance of a half guard. Four objects birthed during her transitions, all of some plant based origin. This made his detection more limited than if she had possessed metals instead of vines and woods. Still, he was able enough to perceive the growths enough to time his acute response to this current threat. Blocking would not come without certain compromises he was unwilling to make. Evading completely up, back, or to either side was impossible. This meant that he had to settle for a counter attack that may or may not injure him in the process.

Already facing the threat with his armored side most, transitioning into his ideal counter would be easy. While his opponent expressed impressive speed, he boasted rather impressive agility that he now pushed Yoki through his body in order to double his natural prowess. Lifting onto the ball of his armored, left foot, Jinsoku coiled his body before torquing into a right pivot. Executing a spinning heel kick, his unarmored, right leg lifted in tandem with his rotating and leaning form. Without disturbing his balance, and while strategically moving his entire body , he generated momentum to throw into his heavily muscled legs to reinforce the immense power they packed. On top of ridiculous rigorous training evident in his mutilated musculature, Jinsoku to this day well into his twenties still traveled by foot where and whenever possible. Walking, jogging, running.

Completing his spin, Jinsoku brought his halberd from it's resting position and bring it to ready, both hands coming to grip its handle while his armored, left side remained in the lead (assuming the bind failed*). No further action would be taken if his opponent was indeed struck in the side of the head from this blinding maneuver. Typically in the martial arts, the warrior was supposed to use their peripheral vision to telegraph their opponent over the shoulder in order to complete this kick accurately. While both warriors were moving fast, himself perhaps a bit faster, it was nigh impossible for him to physically look at anything and actually identify it from the rest of blurred reality. Though as he had when he happened upon his opponent, he relied more or less on his Electrolocation to time his attack. While some might have thought it was a saving grace that the foot lacking armor was the kicking one, the blow would reveal a harsh revelation that his bare blows would be just as severe.

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Quote: Wrote:

> +.] [Active] - Greased Lightning: Jinsoku is able to charge and release a single burst of localized electricity through his limbs. This is optional with discharging the electricity through his muscles, though instead of pushing said electricity outside the body for use, he can instead super charge his form to double his speed temporarily. (i.e. Jinsoku could perform two actions in the time it would take to complete one (or one extra action in one post).) (Instantaneous use, 2 Post Cooldown) > > > > Lightning Strike: 1 Post Cooldown Remaining

Scalar Warfare Wrote:

What is in a name? That which we call a rose...

=>Involuntary Manslaughter<=

3

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It was the natural reaction of one's eyes to close at the moment of impact. When they flew open again, however, Kae was not where she had expected to be. Something had snapped across the side of her face, as if running headlong into a tree branch she hadn't noticed before. She found herself sprawled into the loving embrace of the roots of a nearby tree, arms drawn in protectively while her legs splayed poetically off to the side.

Something hot and wet was dripping down her face. The tips of her talons raked through it with trepidation, holding the substance up to the faint light of the moon. Blood. At first, she wasn't sure if it was her own. Her sword lay on the forest floor somewhere, forgotten, now just another branch underfoot in the darkness. She could feel the parasite shifting atop her, its defensive spades retreating back into its protean mass. Shaken badly, but besides some bruises in her side and along her cheek, nothing felt broken. The shield in her left creaked slightly as she clambered to her feet, resting her manicured hand on the tree as a crutch to stabilize herself as she found balance atop her heels once more.

It was only when the scene had righted itself in her vision did the full scope of what had just happened in their exchange become clear.

The psion hunter had, of course, seen her opponent tense for combat, and even the beginning of his flurry of motion. She couldn't have expected the expert counter-attack, much less reacted properly herself, at most levying a futile block with her sword. But where conscious reflex failed her, the self-preservation of her advanced Rose parasite had moved in her defense. Reacting to the sudden proximity of the incoming strike, the entirety of her wooden armor had fanned open with spades of razor-like growths, to protect the vulnerable parts of her body.

Normally, this reaction was triggered by an adversary getting a bit too handsy, actively discouraging maintaining a hold for too long. In this case, it turned out it worked just as well against an incoming blow. In addition to the barbs fanned out all over her knees, elbows, and abdomen, her shoulders had sprouted a matching pair of outward curved blades, as if spring-loaded inside her epaulettes.

Jin's heel strike met the edge with the force to knock her out cold... applied to an impact surface whose edge width could be measured in a few dozen atoms. This pressure was far beyond the tensile strength of any unarmored boot, or even the tendons holding the man's foot together. Like a butcher cleaving a ham hock, the spade severed the Achilles and chopped cleanly between the tarsal bones, before the separated halves would catch up... and impart the remainder of Jin's follow-through momentum to her cheek and ear.

The blood was his. She repressed the urge to lick it, instead shuddering with a soft, erotic sigh that might be lost to the evening breeze before flicking the droplets away. She had failed in her gambit to grab his polearm, but the other lash... that one had seized into his armor about the neck and shoulder in her braced panic. Distracted as he now probably was with his mangled foot, why not add to the struggle? If he was lucky... there were still a few tendons holding it on the far side.

Kae was content to stand there, letting her other lash retract as the left one slithered back into motion, compressing around the martial artist's neck, choking him out as if her own flesh and blood hands were wrapped around his throat, pressing the life from him... and she simply watched quietly.

---

By any other name would smell as sweet!

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Parasite Coverage

70%

Mode

Femme Fatale

Configuration

Armored legs, arms, shoulders, chest, neck, gel underarmor. Taloned gauntlets. Targe.

Gravitic Charges

[x][x][x][x]

Passive Abilities:

[Queen of Blades] - show spoilerhide spoilerAn opponent entering into close melee range with the host (less than 2ft distant) triggers a reactive defensive measure from the Rose parasite, rapidly sprouting up to a dozen razor-sharp blades and hooks from various vulnerable joint areas that might otherwise be attractive points for attack. This reaction occurs regardless of whether a grapple is engaged, or whether it is Kae or an opponent approaching the other. They vary in size from large thorns to dagger-sized spades, and the exact configuration is adjustable by Kae as she sees fit. In addition to providing some measure of additional protection to these areas, the blades are capable of limited but rapid movement, allowing them to aggressively counterattack attempts to grapple these areas with stabbing, ripping, and tearing motions repeated multiple times in succession. Much like a venus fly trap, this reaction is instinctual, automatic, and cannot be finely controlled. Once activated, the parasite has to recover energy to repeat the defense, giving the effect a 2 turn CD between activations. - Activated! 2t CD remaining!

Active Abilities:

[Mage Eater] - 1t CD remaining!

Weapon Generation - Per the Femme Fatale template.

Targe - Idle

Short Sword/Gladius - Idle, Discarded

[Vine Lash] - Both active per Femme Fatale template.

1. - Retreating.

1. - Striking the neck, strangulation!

Post Damage Summary/Reasoning

Kae has sustained light bruises to her left arm and hip, as well as a nasty welt on her cheek from having been kicked there. She was knocked on her a** and lost the entirety of her offensive tempo. The blow failed to be a knockout however, as it imparted a great deal of its force onto her defensive blade, severing the ankle as it went.

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stillnohero Wrote:

What is in a name? That which we call a rose...

=>Meet Me At Midnight<=

4

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As Jinsoku screamed his defiance to the heavens, Kae visibly tensed herself. There was no doubt all manner of beasts and orcs that had heard it, and more concerningly, every other fighter now knew exactly where they were. To wit, she also had seen this song and dance before. Her eyes couldn't see more than his silhouette, but the crackling of energy told her all she needed to know. Like some sort of video game boss character, Jinsoku was entering Phase Two. Tiresome. She spared a moment to admire the sprawling limbs above of the oak that had caught her.

Her stance bent low, digging her heels into the dirt, as the Rose surged to life across her body in preparation, soothing burns and bruises with the cool touch of her gel-like underlayer before covering them in rigid plating like the rest of her. Armoring her formerly bare pelvis, buttocks, and abdomen, it even crawled partway up the back of her neck, coralling her long violet hair out of the way. Kae's eyes remained focused on Jin, watching as he pulled himself together. In the moonlight, the distinction of his skin changing or what was indistinguishable from shadow. But her eyes having pretty well adjusted by this point, what she could see quite well was movement. She felt his hand close around her vine, as if it were her own wrist. She saw his good leg tense into the same sort of readiness she held, and knew keenly what was coming.

Her leap followed his intimately, leaving the ground the moment she saw it begin. Unlike Jinsoku, whose leap was all effort, overcoming his inertia with brute force, Kae was as a grasshopper. The Rose parasite stifled her natural powers to the point of near-impotence when so overgrown, but there was still one thing she could influence. Herself. Instantly, her relationship to Gaia's gravity was reduced to a mere tenth of its normal strength, granting her a vertical leap that not only matched, but easily exceeded that of the juiced martial artist.

She easily gave him the slack he sought on her vine, as her body rocketed into the air upwards and slightly back like the kick of a flea, her thick thighs proving they weren't just for show. Their combined leaps lent the moment a feeling of surreal, floaty timelessness. She didn't know if the man could see it, but she flashed him a smile in passing.

Her landing, not requiring a return trip to the ground, ended in a less elegant prone hugging of the thick tree limb above, her talons and legs digging into the bark as her parasite surged into the cracks like a tumor, anchoring her for what was about to come. Grisly indeed would be the sight, as the full force of Jin's spectacular dragoon-like spear strike terminated... four inches short of the ground.

In the breadth of a tenth of a second, the force of gravity, acting on the entirety of the easterner's mass, was concentrated on the narrow band of compressive organic tissue wrapped around his neck. Reacting naturally to this sudden stress, the twisted cord of woody vines constricted, seeking to spool out the limit of its material strength. It failed, spectacularly, imparting a crushing pressure similar to having an 18 wheeler drive over one's larynx, before tearing apart along the suspended length.

But where Jinsoku's Iron Shell might have prevented his head from popping off like a dandelion, his woes were not over. That same momentum that had constricted the vines lacing his throat, also had to be stopped, transferring the rest into the sinews and bones of his head and neck. Suddenly decompressing the spinal column in this fashion was enough to tear the neck muscles to uselessness, dislocate and break the jaw, fissure the spinal cord in such a way as to cause permanent nerve damage to the extremities, if not complete paralysis, and fracture the vertebrae connecting them into irreparable splinters.

As a small comfort perhaps, maintaining the tension even for that fraction of a second did not leave Kae unscathed. Though the bulk of the force translated into bending the limb she had braced herself into, and tearing the connections of the parasite lash to uselessness, her left shoulder had still suffered a nasty pull, the kind that would take days, if not weeks to sleep off as the muscles and tendons repaired themselves.

However, as the torn end of her vine dropped limply from the limb above, there was no doubt in her mind that the overeager opponent had once again come off decidedly worse in the exchange.

---

By any other name would smell as sweet!

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Parasite Coverage

70% >>> 95%

Mode

Femme Fatale >>> Psion Hunter

Configuration

Armored fullbody except the head. Gel underarmor. Taloned gauntlets. Anchor grips on tree.

Gravitic Charges

[x][x][x] - [x]!

Passive Abilities:

[Queen of Blades] - show spoilerhide spoilerAn opponent entering into close melee range with the host (less than 2ft distant) triggers a reactive defensive measure from the Rose parasite, rapidly sprouting up to a dozen razor-sharp blades and hooks from various vulnerable joint areas that might otherwise be attractive points for attack. This reaction occurs regardless of whether a grapple is engaged, or whether it is Kae or an opponent approaching the other. They vary in size from large thorns to dagger-sized spades, and the exact configuration is adjustable by Kae as she sees fit. In addition to providing some measure of additional protection to these areas, the blades are capable of limited but rapid movement, allowing them to aggressively counterattack attempts to grapple these areas with stabbing, ripping, and tearing motions repeated multiple times in succession. Much like a venus fly trap, this reaction is instinctual, automatic, and cannot be finely controlled. Once activated, the parasite has to recover energy to repeat the defense, giving the effect a 2 turn CD between activations. - Ended. 1t CD remaining!

Active Abilities:

[Mage Eater] - Cooldown Ended.

Weapon Generation - Per the Femme Fatale template.

Targe - Discarded

Short Sword/Gladius - Discarded

[Enlighten(Self)] - Reduces the effects of local gravity on Kae herself, reducing it to 1/10th of its normal strength. Her mass and momentum are not affected. Lasts 1 post. 1 post cooldown. Costs 1 gravitic charge in Femme Fatale.

[Vine Lash] - Both active per Femme Fatale template.

1. - Reabsorbed.

1. - Striking the neck, strangulation, hanging! Destroyed.

Post Damage Summary/Reasoning

Kae avoids the incoming dragoon strike by having the time to observe Jin's preparation for it, and by virtue of her own Enlighten ability, allowing her to leap to safety. With plenty of slack maintained this way, she avoids any substantial yanking diversion from Jin's grip. Using her existing hold on his neck, she allows gravity to do the rest of the work, hanging Jin from the oak limb for a brief, shocking moment by virtue of his own momentum. The vine lash is destroyed in the process.

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stillnohero Wrote:

[5]

Quote: Wrote:

> Her leap followed his intimately, leaving the ground the moment she saw it begin.

When his opponent decided to jump during the activation of his ability, Jinsoku didn't think twice about canceling his Iron Shell ability before it ever came to fruition. While this caused him to waste energy on the ability's cost without using it was a worthy sacrifice for what came next. As the black retracted, at the point he saw Kae smiling in passing, she likely saw that he too was smirking despite still being choked. He began to see dots darkening his vision. Though before his sight was temporarily sealed just before discovering unconsciousness, Jinsoku did the only thing that made sense. He used the ax head of his halberd to cut the vine!

LLanding in a roll still gripping the vine in his armored, left hand, He settled in a kneeling position with his weapon low once more as he worked the coiled vine from his bruised neck and cast it aside haphazardly. Positioning the halberd vertically, he pressed the back end of the shaft into the ground. Using it as a make shift walking stick he came to stand once more. With his chin turned up, his cold smoldering, charcoal gaze looked to the woman above now perched on a tree limb. Jinsoku took this moment of reprieve to recover and work to get his breathing back under his control.

**"If I had have fought you a year ago, you probably would have defeated me already...Consider that, a compliment."**

show spoilerhide spoilerGreased Lightning: Ready!

Iron Shell: 3 Cooldown Posts Remaining

Scalar Warfare Wrote: