Empiricist

Izumi Kurosawa, Barracks "Cop. Close enough to one at least. And the uniform wasn't my idea, it's one of those function over form things, the form's just that bad." She shrugs. "Still, I prefer taking stares to bullets, I'll say that much." Dimitri Kuznetsov, Barracks The first weapon, Dimitri makes in silence, carefully examining the coils and especially the fuel cells as he helps install them. His handiwork isn't exactly exceptional, but it's far from bad either, and the circuitry he handles with practiced grace. It is during the second when he begins to speak. "These fuel cells! I've never seen anything like them! Tell me, how do you get them so small?"

Izumi Kurosawa, Barracks She turns to face the voice and- not this fucking idiot. Somehow, she manages not to sigh. She probably should've expected this to happen, he was standing there the whole time, after all, but part of her, that part being her brain, was hoping he'd leave her alone and go do, whatever it is he does. Probably something involving grenades and poor life choices, that seemed to be the theme here. "Civil Security, the name's Izumi."

Izumi Kurosawa, Dimitri Kuznetsov; Barracks "I will be happy to lend a hand! I've some simple tools on hand if we need them, but I'm not sure if my hands are steady enough so we should be prep-" "I can do it. Hand me the tools. Sif, run a scan on it, the more detailed, the better." "Understood. Commencing scan." "Ah, that should make it simpler. My thanks for you help, miss-?" "Izumi. I owe her anyway, so it's the least I could do." ((Izumi and Dimitri assist with repairs as neccesary. Izumi Kurosawa has 5 INT and 8 DEX. Dimitri Kuznetsov has 9 INT and can conjure simple tools.))

Dimitri Kuznetsov, Barracks "Did you say gauss weapons?" there was a sparkle of something in his eye, whatever he was thinking after that little exposition masked behind an unfaltering smile, a smile that seemed to get just ever so more dangerous. "And here I was, thinking it was going to be magic and magic alone. I'll take you up on that offer" he gestures to his rifle "I also know a thing or two about gauss weapons myself, worked with them for a while actually, larger ones mind you, but bah! Large or small, the principles remain the same, and the rest? Well, that makes it all the more interesting, doesn't it?" ((If Alexandra accepts his offer, Dimitri assists with the gauss upgrades. He is from a hard sci-fi reality and has 9 INT.))

Izumi Kurosawa, Barracks It's Friday, nearing midnight . Normally I'd be home by now, bar's too crowded and I've got everything I need there anyway - a few bottles, a couch, and someone to talk to. Well, something close enough to that last one. I'm not picky. We'd be talking abou-, well, I'd be talking about, nothing in particular, really. Things we already knew. It's nice, just talking about nothing. Everyone's always got something on their mind, it gets tiring real fast. Still, things do come out of it every now and again, like those tickets. See, he brought be tickets for my birthday. I didn't remember I even had a birthday, but hey, guess I do, 21st of June, the summer solstice. Said I was always talking about the stars back home, home home I mean, so he brought me a ticket, a ticket out of the city, out of his storm. Brought it with my money, but hey, it's the thought that counts. Or whatever goes on inside that core of his. Still haven't used them. I will, just, waiting for the right time I guess. I wish I were on that train now. Well, that's a lie. I don't. But I wish I did. Instead here I am, chatting up a robot about some kind of doohickey I didn't even know existed until about five minutes ago. A kamidana. Apparently it'll help Sif send more resources my way. The world's ending and I'm talking about a box. Typical. "Alexandra, was it? Would you mind helping me make a small shrine? I'm afraid I'm not too good at making things myself, but Sif here" she gestures to the dove on her arm "says having one will let him aid me more." ((Kamidana specifications as follows:))

Dimitri Kutznetsov, Town The world fades. He could see it now, towering above him, towering above all, all that is, all that will be. The reaper had come. The infinite expanse of the godless heavens, were but a thread along its cloak, a cloak a color darker than black, and emptier than oblivion itself. Its body was of pale clockwork, and each gear in it was a concept, a concept all once knew, but now forgotten to all. Forgotten and unthinkable, erased beyond erasure, destroyed beyond destruction. In its hand was a scythe, a scythe larger than the universe, swung eternities before the universe even existed, and only now finding its mark. He could feel its blade, it was in his throat, through his throat, separating his head from his shoulders. Looks like he still had time, not a lot of time, but time nonetheless. Light was streaming through his windows, tears down his grandchildren's face. No, it's okay. He's, fine. He's just, sleeping. He's been awfully tried as of late, and well, he might be asleep for a while. What's that? Oh, yes, they'll be tucking him into bed, soon enough, right next the wife actually. No, it's okay, he's too old for bedtime stories, too old, too weary. As his thoughts faded away, one by one, he remembered the stories he used to tell, of strange worlds unlike their own, of warp drives and dyson spheres, thinking golems and ships among the stars... and of that lie he had always said, that one day, he would visit a world like that, a world he had once known better than his own... Was it worth it? Was this the path he should have taken? He faded before he could answer. Far above, a message flickered in the reaper's eyes. Remuneration for its duty, payment, for that whose smallest movements took entire eternities. The reason for which its kind did what they had done, that which allowed them to transcend above all else. 1 EXP A pale fissure tore across its countenance forming something resembling a smile. Farming, was its own reward. He pauses, his steely gaze keeping his thoughts to himself, and himself alone. He smiles. "I do not, and you do not look like the kind of man to mince words. Enlighten us. And, you can do away with the theatrics, being dragged here is arresting enough, without having to frighten the kids."

Izumi Kurosawa, Outside Castle At first, she knew not what she saw. It was a corpse, big deal, she's seen plenty of corpses. Made plenty of them herself for that matter. It was sprawled on the rain-soaked streets, from the white poured red, and from the red poured black, impurity bleeding forth as if the world itself were wounded. It was a hound, one of their own, which was to say someone's night was about to get a whole lot worse. People would want to ask why, and to the tell the truth, they never will. There's just no nice and easy answer, nothing to neatly wrap it all up. They died because a bullet went through them. Several bullets, but who's counting? Well, who shot them? Probably a person, a yokai would've done far worse. Shouldn't take too long to find out. Why did they shoot them? Now that, that's going to be a week at least. That's where the next of kin will stop asking, if they haven't already. But for whoever's on the case, well, that's just where the rabbit hole begins, and no, they'll never see the end of it. Either you're lucky and it just continues until it's deep enough and good enough and you can finally sleep again, or... Or, you hit a wall. A wall you can't get through, or rather one they won't let you get through. Then, that's that isn't it? You'll just have to let go. Or, so they say, and "they" can go take their letting go bullshit and go shove it up there- A breath. A ragged, choking breath. It, looks up and- "Shit." it was her, wasn't it? Well, that's option three. You die. You go down the rabbit hole and the rabbit hole caves in on top of you. Then you're some other poor bastard's problem. She takes one last look at the fading phantasm, their eyes locking for the briefest of moments. She had to hand it to him, CivSec really knew his makeup. "Because someone needs to die."

Kurosawa's refactored Perks and Actions for the next subplot. Already approved, but posting here for posterity. Perks: Storm Shepherd's Veil: Sif's presence lingers within his hounds, and where they fight, dark clouds gather. Kurosawa has a DEX*2% chance of dodging incoming attacks. An Opera of Blood: They aren't done with her, not now, not yet, and til their piece has played its part, it shall be granted life once more. Upon "death" Kurosawa loses all her equipment and inventory and respawns back with her starting items (and combat suit) at a GM-dictated time and place. Faults of the Flesh: She is human, close enough to it at least, and with that, comes weakness. Kurosawa only gains 3 statpoints per Level Up. Harbinger of Ruin: Swearing fealty in spite of all regulations to Lady Sagai, Kurosawa is now able to conjure the impurity needed for curses at will. Actions dedicated solely to inflicting ailments are abnormally powerful. Actions: Tempest Bloom: Assaults the target with a series of viscous, maiming attacks, overwhelming their defenses. Level 1: Inflicts Overwhelm (-DEX/2 to RES). 3 Duration, 3 Cooldown. Justification: Only some fluff changes to explain why it works on things bolted to the ground or with a melee weapon. Level 2: Overwhelm is now (-DEX to RES). Justification: Because the gauge system can't really be used anymore consistently. My reasoning for this power increase is that a Level 1 AoE Heal is half the power of a Level 1 AoE, while a Level 2 AoE Heal is equal in power to a Level 1 AoE; debuffs are similarly weaker than buffs and Rakukaja/Tarukaja at Level 1 has 2 Duration, 2 "modes" and no cooldown. Black Squall: A curse that severs the victim from all outside assistance. Level 1: Inflicts Isolate (victim cannot be buffed by others). 3 Duration, 3 Cooldown. Justification: This has, in spite of the new perk, become mechanically weakened (blocking all buffs to only blocking out buffs applied by others). The only improvement is that its fluff is a lot less floaty to make it more applicable for shenanigans. Purge Casket: A simple purification ritual that washes away impurity and seals it within a magazine. Level 1: Removes up to one Status Effect from the target, selected by them. Justification: No changes made. Scan: Call forth an avatar of Lord Sif, The Storm Shepherd to analyze hostiles. Level 1: For the remainder of the battle, reveal the HP (and any additional fluff data) of the target. Justification: This was mostly your suggestion. Only addition was the additional fluff data clause so that GMs can use it to yell at people. Pinatafication Beam: An accursed beam that draws upon Nyahiro's power to turn its victims into pinatas. Level 1: Inflicts Pinatafication (Allies targeting the victim with a negative action will have 1 less cooldown on that action). 2 Duration, 3 Cooldown. Justification: You pre-approved this. The Fluff is just a placeholder, well unless that's somehow actually allowed owo Level 2: Pinatafication now lets the beneficiaries apply the cooldown reduction on any of their actions. Justification: You pre-approved this.

Izumi glides over behind the, she wasn't entirely sure what it was, wasn't drunk enough to care either, and strikes it with her weapon forcing it against the flake. Purge Casket, seal the Possessor in the Flake.

Finally finished the sheet. Introducing, Hiroki's older brother!

Izumi Kurosawa, 24/33 HP, Tempest Bloom ready in 2 Turns Kurosawa skids backwards from the attack, riding its impact, as she sweeps by to to Hikari, she removes her weapon's magazine and tosses it into her arms. "I'll need that back by the way." As it touches her, a Stygian sludge rises from her form, roiling into its new prison. Purge Casket on Hikari. Removes up to one Status Effect from the target, selected by them.

Izumi Kurosawa, 33/33 HP She was outside when she heard the gunshot, outside because somewhere between seeing the pin drop to the floor, and hearing the yells of friendly fire, it became abundantly clear that she was too sober enough for this. Sweeping in, gun drawn, Kurosawa finds herself being greeted by, amongst other things, someone trying to drive their rear end into a suit of armor. "*sigh* It's going to be one of those days, isn't it?" From here, she could only hit the armor. Fine with her, it seemed to be doing well impeding half the group anyway, and with the impact of her weapon, she might just be able to get its defenses to falter. Leaping to the side, she swings her arm outwards. Two gunshots resound. Tempest Bloom II on Animated Armor. Inflicts Stagger, reducing the victim's RES by DEX/2 for 3 Turns. The effect has a gauge that fills by 1 for every attack that strike the victim. If the gauge reaches 12, the RES penalty worsens to DEX. 3 Cooldown.

Izumi Kurosawa, "Dead End" She nods curtly as she flicks the safety back on. "Let's have a breather and get in order. Reload, get into formation and all that." She gestures to the cuts and grazes across her limbs and body, torn sleeves betraying the mechanisms beneath, the only novelty being how little it seemed to bother her, seems like it's not just her foes who were more resilient here. "Sif, fly up and see if there's anything we should know about. The wall's probably a fake, let's see if we can't tear a few seams shall we?" "Acknowledged." ((Kurosawa uses Summon Dove and has Sif fly up and over, looking for anything of interest.))

Izumi Kurosawa, Canyon Path Rain. Familiar, yet strange, alien. Heavier, far heavier, it lacked that quintessential feel, that sensation of her worries slowly washing away, of purification. Kurosawa sighs. She really wasn't sober enough for this. The air darkens. Reality bleeds. Clouds, storm clouds, roiling with the howling gale, bleeding forth from invisible wounds. Spinning and spiralling, shifting and churning, a miniature cyclone, whispering with the promise of violence. The Crow, the Shepherd, the Storm. They call CivSec by many names, but to his servants lies a common theme. At times, they were called lapdogs, at other times, mongrels, Kurosawa was just glad "bitches" just didn't roll off the tongue as well, otherwise she'd be hearing plenty of that too. But for the most part, they called them Hounds. Every shepherd needs a sheepdog after all, or so the (blatantly false) saying goes. Of course regardless of what one calls them, their veils always meant death, for what else would the Hounds deliver? The domestic and the banal, those were for the police, or whatever corporate department passes for police in your neighbourhood, to decide. Civil Security on the other hand, is for what threatens the public interest as a whole. For the terrorists, the conspirators, the crime lords. That is to say, it is for those who have made themselves enemies of too many corporations. For the public interest is a matter of corporate interest. And that corporate interest, is often measured in body bags. Protect and serve indeed. Flicking off the safety, she glides into the fray, with something resembling a grace, trying not to stare too much at the figure swinging around a gardening tool as she passed by. Emphasis on trying. The first monster to try flanking Alexandra finds itself greeted with a twelve-gauge shell discharged into its knee, the blast as strange as it may sound, dealing surprisingly little damage for something that just tore through a limb. Not that it mattered much in the grand scheme of things - thrown off balance and carried forwards by its own momentum, its head impacts the barrel of a gun, the ensuing discharge proving to be decidedly more lethal. As the grenade detonates, shrapnel crashing against the barrier, she dives out, swinging out her weapon, white-hot metal crashing from black clouds like thunder. The sheer density of her foes apparently giving her premise to forsake silly things such as aiming, recoil, and magazine capacity.

Izumi Kurosawa, Rendezvous Point Kurosawa returned the the meeting point, having tailed the absurd helicopter, awaiting what she could presume to its fiery end, an end that now seemed far less inevitable than she had first thought. Whatever the madman had in mind, he didn't seem to accomplish it, it was almost, disappointing, though she knew better than to admit that, there could have been far worse outcomes after all. Nodding to Sif, she brushes past Solomon, returning to her spot near Leon as before.

How can we make you regret this even more? How did you decide on your username? What are your proclivities towards baked goods?

Izumi Kurosawa Visibly flinching at the mention of rain, Kurosawa looked over to Theo. He, like many of the others looked young, far too young; fresh out of college in his case, if at that even. She could see it in his movements, brimming with life, and that youthful ignorance, that innocence that which repulsed her - whether it be from its enviable bliss, or its inevitable doom, she could not tell, though fortuitously and tragically, it mattered not, for the two so often go hand in hand. She had seen that story in all its myriad forms enough to tire of it long ago, a dreadfully boring farce brought forth and brought to a close by the vicissitudes of hearts too romantic for their own good, or in this case, a jackass with the survival instincts of a lobotomized panda, the poor bastard. Really, how did he get roped into all of this? Perhaps, perhaps she should go after all, if only to keep him out of trouble... No, no! That's how it always starts, there's just that one person who looks oh so pitiable, and maybe, they are, maybe they aren't, but regardless of it all, before you know it, there's a room full of corpses, and a knife in your back. Possibly wielded by that dame or gent, if you're luck is on your side. If it isn't, well, down the rabbit hole you go. And this "Theo" boy, isn't that innocent. Of course he isn't, he would be here if he was. No one brings together knights, dragons, and eldritch beings for innocuous affairs, and for dirty business like this, well, who's going to be bringing just any kid? He's probably no stranger to violence, he's probably got some magic up his sleeves, or stained them enough to not even need it. He's not some naive- She sighs again, out loud this time. "Leo, we aren't leaving just yet, are we?" The dove hops off her arm, fluttering onto a nearby chair. "Tell me when they start going." "Understood."

Actually I posted after it, I figured that I shouldn't touch the I guess, "evidence" so to speak. And yes, while making my second post, I encountered the exact same error. And my third post as well. Guess I'm three for three now.

Izumi Kurosawa The faintest trace of a smile traced upon her expression as the nostalgic, almost familiar notes reached her ears, remind her of home, of better times. Which of course, served only to add more the abject horror of seeing what it accompanied. Kurosawa remains silent for a moment, as if unsure whether the question was addressed to her, or, as was more likely the case, praying it wasn't it. ...It was, wasn't it? Typical. A quiet sigh escapes her lips, one heard only by herself as she turned to face the madman. "It is what it is. Don't mind it much, it's better than the drizzle back where I'm from at least."

Izumi Kurosawa What did I miss the most? Yes, I know it hasn't been that long, but I might as well get the list started. You'd think it'd be the busyness, the lights, the sound, the myriad stories intersecting, if only for the briefest of moments. You'd be wrong. Join the club. I thought so as well. But no, don't feel a thing. It's not that. It's not the lights either. And it definitely isn't the traffic. No, it's the sky, the rain, that damn drizzle. They don't have it here, not right now at least, not constantly. The sky, it looks almost empty, lifeless. "Hey, Sif..." "Sif!" "I heard you the first time." "Does it feel weird?" "I do not understand the question." "Being here I mean, away from h-" Nope, can't say it. "Away from your flock, or whatever they're calling it these days." "This current circumstance is an anomaly." Like I said, duller than most bricks. Still sometimes, it beats talking to someone with an actual life. Did I say 'sometimes'? I meant to say most times. Hey, don't judge me. I talk to enough 'real' people on the clock. "Thanks." "You do not sound thankful." We must've had this exchange a hundred times by now. Call it an inside joke of ours if you will. Was just about to answer it as well, until- "Izumi. No matter what happens, I will stand by you; as long as you remain useful. And I will protect you; so long as it is beneficial to do so." "Thanks. I didn't need assurances, and you're still bad at it, but, thanks." Kinda hope he never will be good at it - don't think I'd ever get used to it. Not sure if the universe would be ready for it either. And then, waltzed in that lunatic. Twirling her complimentary potion, the shrine maiden regards him with an icy glare and a sigh. You know, now that he mentioned him, didn't Cid have a stash of drinks? She nods to him. "Go ask Leon, he's at the meeting area. I think I'll need to see him as well, got a feeling I'll need a drink." She of course, neglects to mention the reason for her drinking - the soon-to-be irritating reason currently standing there, yelling like a moron in an enclosed space. Kurosawa returns to the meeting area.

Izumi Kurosawa "They didn't pop up like the Heartless, they just charged out at us, and it sounds like those emblems are a common theme for Heartless. They've done autopsies on the new ones right? Found anything worth mentioning?" "And how selective they are about popping out? Would they appear just to attack a bird? Would they delay their appearance to flank us? I can scout out ahead if no one else can, but, if they can just appear whenever, the most I can manage is finding cover and chokepoints." I"Say..." She grins. "Drinks are on the house right?"

Izumi Kurosawa "Say, do the Heartless normally command wild animals? Or was it just coincidence that we were attacked by both working together? And do they really just appear out of thin air? Or is it some kind of, cloaking?" I'd say I'm hoping it's the second one, but I still jump whenever I hear a bell.

Izumi Kurosawa He's got that right at least. "These, Heartless, is there anything we need to know about them? Because looked like they popped out of thin air for us, and then some beasts joined them. If there's a way to know where they might pop up, I'd like to know it." She slowly brandishes her Procyon, taking care to show that the safety was off. "My gun seems to only maim and not kill. But the same went for the beasts and the others don't seem to have that issue. Don't suppose you know why?"

Ah sorry, my bad. I've edited the post. Well, there goes her nickname for him