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Author Topic: Diamond Eyes [Lion!] [M]  (Read 8868 times)

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Cheesigator

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Diamond Eyes [Lion!] [M]
« on: June 20, 2017, 11:08:26 pm »
TW: alcoholism, depression, suicide/suicidal thoughts,
self harm, physical abuse


He let out a long, drawn-out sigh, the warmth of his breath fogging up the inside of his flight helmet for a brief moment before the ventilation cleared up the visor again.

Most days he hated being a hemokinetic; being a military assassin because he was a hemokinetic.

While he could join a squadron, or go out on normal missions, he didn't want to--why would he? He hated people. He wished he wasn't psychic at all. He wished he could be a normal person who could hide away in a basement somewhere and whither away where no one could possibly find him.

That sounds so nice.

Unlike this place; his footsteps came to a stop as he entered the main lobby of the shooting range, signing in and taking the ammo and gun assigned to him by the worker there and entering the actual range proper.

It was loud, even on a midday in the middle of the week--which irked him severely. Sure, he could have stayed at home and practiced beating up his punching bag, done some kickboxing, but he'd been at home for several days straight now and there were times where even he needed fresh air.

Through the ventilation system of his flight helmet.

But today he wasn't alone there at the shooting range; a few shots were fired off and the persons paused to reload. Guns were pointless for him, really any weapon was--all he had to do was squeeze his fist and whoops heart attack. What a fucking life.

He found an empty station, a target some twenty meters away and he huffed, looking down at the gun in his hands.

Despite rarely using them now, he was still trained, and he loaded it quickly enough. He raised it to his shoulder, took aim, and fired several shots, most of them hitting the target board's head. There was something about the kickback of the butt of his gun slamming into his shoulder, and the sharp, piercing sounds of the shots that made him relax a little, however.

He lowered it, looking at his handiwork, and then fired a few more lazy shots: each shoulder, center of sternum. Reload.

Crotch. Nice one.

He smirked a little to himself before remembering he was in public and quickly wiping it off his face, even though nobody could see him anyways. He glanced around, listening to the shots of the others practicing, and went back to his ""fun."" He didn't want to think about anything, he just wanted to do something mindless, and this was pretty mindless if you asked him.
« Last Edit: October 11, 2017, 01:47:13 am by Cheesigator »

Offline Lion

Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #1 on: June 21, 2017, 12:44:00 am »
There was very little in the way of actually demonstrating what the devastating effects were an electromagnetically charged bullet would have on a human body without the requirement of a real body to test it on. There was always those fancy ballistics dummies with encased guts inside of them. Those made a real nice mess, but actually going about getting one turned out to be a lot harder than he'd preferred.

Much to Vander's chagrin. There were standard issue rifles, those were easy enough to obtain. And the laser ones that were given to heavier shock troops. He favored all manner of explosive weaponry, and the greater the potential chaos, the greater the glory one could achieve.

"Er...what the fuck do you think you're doing, Pilot Cardinal?" the worker in the main lobby asked. "I can't let you in there with...what the fuck is that?"

Vander just grinned at him. "Yes you can. And yes you will. Because as far as you care, all I took was some ammo and a rifle. That I'm doing right now. Nevermind what's in the duffle bag.  And the wagon." Vander signed out the prospective weapons that he'd had no intention of using save for a few practice shots and dragged everything he was carrying into the range.

The squeak of wheels and the jingling of zippers along that duffle bag were barely audible beneath the loud gunfire that he could see in projected soundwaves echoing across the range. He moved his things over to an empty stall, all along to the far right where he could set up his gear.

The range, being as wide as it was, Vander was able to be far enough away from the others to walk safely out over the partition with a pumpkin hoisted up and his shoulders. It was particularly heavy, about the size of his torso, planting the child's wagon on the other side and rolling the pumpkin back onto it.  He set up his target, taking down that sorry paper excuse for one and rolling out the pumpkins as far as they would go.

This was going to be fucking great.  And he saw that the shooter closes to him was taking crotch shots to his target. Pffft, amateur.

Vander rolled the little wagon back and he assumed his place behind the partition. "Oh, hey, I hope you don't mind, I'm testing out a little toy of mine. You don't mind if I shoot those things down there, do you?  You don't, cool," he said.

He really didn't bother waiting for an answer. Because he couldn't wait to test his new baby. She really needed a name. Jessica. Or maybe Dirty Harriet. Oh yeah, he liked that one. 

The duffle bag exposed a large rifle. Or it looked like a rifle and it was almost 4 feet in length, largely rectangular in shape with a groove cut out for his right shooting hand. It was heavy and cumbersome to be sure but that was the point wasn't it? The visor exposed the range in a bluish grid and focused the target of the pumpkin on the other end.

Fifty meters that one. "Easy, peasy," he chuckled and held the railgun to his shoulder. A small array of lights ignited in a row as the hissing sound of a charge powered up the bullet inside. And when the last light turned green, a bluish blast thrust out the projectile full speed across the range, and blew up that damn pumpkin in an explosion of guts.

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Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #2 on: June 21, 2017, 12:57:04 am »
Just as Loa was realizing that he was starting to get bored, and he thus started to contemplate his other options, the sounds of others shooting at the range petered off one by one, until finally even he tore his gaze away from the field, only to see what everyone else was staring at--some Pilot with silver hair and glasses with a wheelbarrow and a really, really big duffel bag.

The fuck was he doing? Everyone wanted to know the same thing--but Loa was the first to turn away.

Part of him wanted to know, but most of him didn't care to find out. He only had a few more rounds to go anyways, so he started loading them as the guy started to set up... Next to him. Of course. Of all places.

You know, Loa specifically picked this spot because it was the farthest away from everyone else.

He glared at the man with disdain as he chatted and didn't wait for an answer, ignoring him for the most part until he pulled the weapon out of his bag. Oi oi, that was a big gun. Big unnecessary gun, if you asked Loa. As long as there were people in the world like him who could make any living creature's heart explode then there would be little to no use for something as big, expensive, and time-consuming as that. What a waste of materials.

He stood there and watched with the rest of the Pilots at the range, who were inching closer to crowd around and watch the display, until suddenly Loa realized a small crowd was right behind him and he started a little, before refocusing his attention on this strange man and his equally strange equipment, and tried his damndest to ignore his anxiety and the heat in his cheeks, for the sake of his own curiosity.

The gun was set, loaded, and fired--everyone behind him collectively flinched as it went off and blasted the pumpkin to oblivion, but Loa had geared himself up for it enough that he didn't move. And as the last pieces of pumpkin gut rained down upon the earth, he just shook his head, picked up his rifle and fired off his last three shots, getting a few tiny pieces of pumpkin hidden in the turf some 25 meters away.

Officially out of ammo, he decided he'd fuck with this guy a little; maybe humiliate him a little because clearly he didn't seem to know what that was. Or maybe just make Loa feel better about himself. Probably both.

He mentally reached out, sensing with his powers and feeling the heartbeat, the warmth and the pulsing ebb and flow of the blood in this stranger's body. He was about to control it and send it all rushing down south, before he realized that nope, no need. Guy had already taken care of that himself.

Fucking disgusting.

He dropped it and put the safety on his gun, hoisting it onto his shoulder and deciding to leave the range as the unknowing Pilots started to curiously poke and ask this stranger about just what it was he was doing.

There, that was his socializing for the day. Now it was time to go home, and go lie in bed for another 14 hours.

Offline Lion

Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #3 on: June 21, 2017, 01:37:07 am »
Vander was only vaguely aware of the crowd that was forming behind him, around him, off to the side. The crowd that was whispering and watching that pumpkin explode into a slime and ooze much in the way Vander envisioned a body would. It wasn't because he was particularly bloodthirsty or wanted to wish real harm to anyone.

But out in the field where anything could happen, Vander wanted to be damn sure that whatever he fired this gun at would be turned into a fine paste where his teammates were concerned. He was Drop Team. Ground Level, and anything that came before this railgun would turn into what that pumpkin did.

The gun itself, while still technically a prototype was nothing to scoff it, and in its first practical application, Vander could say that it was already performing wonderfully. And so thought everyone else it seem as it blew up another pumpkin that was set up across the way. There was no shortage of that slicing grin that cut it's way across Vander's face.

Beneath the gray of his hair, short enough to stay out of his face, he switched hands to see if he could hold the gun just as steady in the other hand. For such a large weapon, and even with its weight, it was easy to carry. Or easy enough for someone accustomed to such unruly devices. Besides this would be a lot more fun to use than a minigun.

Those tended to take too much time spinning up. Even on a short charge, the railgun could turn a body into mist. Or so he was hoping. For now pumpkins would have to do.

Hmm, almost everyone. Save one guy that was griping outside when the Pilot watching the sign-in area had come in to watch the show.

"DUDE! ARE YOU EVEN WATCHING THAT RAILGUN! LOOK!"

And that was all Vander needed to rest the gun against his chest and he cut his red-glassy visored gaze over to the figure that was lingering in the door. "HEY! Where are you going? You can't leave without a chance of firing this gun!  Come on! You've gotta let me know how it feels in the hand! How else am I gonna know what mods to make!"

The others hissed and harangued Vander, trying to get a chance a turn. Of course, he'd be willing to let them. But why not the guy that clearly wasn't having a good time?

"Get Helmet Head back here!" another Pilot called out. "Hell, if he doesn't wanna test fire it, I will!"
« Last Edit: June 21, 2017, 01:38:46 am by Lion »

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Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #4 on: June 22, 2017, 11:43:11 am »
He just wanted to go home. Was that asking for so much? He just wanted to turn in his equipment and leave but apparently that was like asking for a million credits around here, it just wasn't gonna happen.

Instead, the Pilot in charge of checking equipment in and out was arguing with him that he just could not step away from this spectacle for even thirty seconds to just do his damn job.

"Yes I can see perfectly fine and I don't give a shit, I want to check my equipment out!" He snapped, already irritated bordering on fury as the guy with the gun stopped for a moment and said something, and then everything errupted into a chorus of yelling Pilots whose loudness was all directed right at Loa.

Confused, as he hadn't been listening, their comments on him shooting the gun seemed pointless and out of place. Why the fuck would he want to shoot it when he gave absolutely no indication of interest? If they wanted to see it so bad why didn't they just shoot it themselves?! Why couldn't people just fuck off and leave him alone?!?!

And yet the equipment guy grabbed Loa by the arm and hauled him through the crowd, with some of the other Pilots pushing him and touching him god dammit as if to get him over there faster, and he protested the whole way.

Finally he was standing next to Smug McGunBoner as if he were expected to fire his stupid gun judging by the screaming crowd.

Sometimes he wished he could show his face more easily, because he was sure everyone in the room would have shut up in an instant if they could see the cold look of pure hatred he had for every person at the shooting range right now.

Offline Lion

Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2017, 05:59:23 pm »
Some things simply were asking too much. And when there was a spectacle going on like this those that didn't want to appreciate it were clearly missing out on a good thing. Only assholes that didn't know how to have a good time tried to bring everyone else down with them.

So when Helmet Head finally came around his corner, Vander snorted and could pretty much feel the pure venom seeping through the ventilation holes in the encasing. He shrugged the rifle into an easier grip because from the look of it, the guy seemed to at least have enough muscle to grasp it.

"All right, hold it steady. Wouldn't want you to fall over now would we," Vander said and dipped the railgun in one hand and pulled the man's other firearm out by the other, setting it to the side. The crowd was still chittering and chattering about them like a bunch of squawking Margad hens.

With a grunt, he hoisted it up and pressed it into Mister Mask's hands.  "Okay, relax your shoulders. It's heavy. I've gotta figure out a way to get the weight down, but until then, it's capable of being held.  You think you know how to fire this time?  Hmmm, nah, I'd better show you."

Vander maneuvered around the Helmet, and shifted to his left, so that the rifle's butt could be placed naturally in as most comfortable position as possible. "Okay, it's got a recon scope. Take that fifty yarder out." With an index finger he pointed out to a large grey pumpkin on the other end of the range. A little farther than even what he'd been shooting. "Okay, now to start the charge, you press your fingers into the pressure guages on the grip, that hissing noise - vaguely squirrel like - indicates the increasing power of the charge. It's designed to interface with your flight helmet when in combat, it'll be on your hud."

"I haven't worked out that detail yet. But lessee. Steady now. The lights on the side indicates five clicks. Click five means it's at full charge. And when you're ready, pull that trigger, bud," Vander murmured, and took a step back so that he could take in the full sight of Helmet Head obliterating that pumpkin.

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Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #6 on: June 22, 2017, 07:32:14 pm »
There was a moment where the two men regarded each other, their gazes meeting and yet not behind their visors. Loa's was a look of sheer contempt, and judging by his snort, this stranger's seemed to be more of one of amusement.

Loa hated him even more than he thought he did.

As he was settled into position, his former equipment being taken from his hands and replaced by this new, obscenely pointless prototype, Loa considered the following ways of reacting to the scenario:

1) He could use his powers and make all the blood in this man's body go rushing up to his head where it would explode out of every orifice on his head, but then get executed for treason,

2) He could use his powers more discretely and make this man suffer a heart attack, at the risk of being suspected of treason and executed, and of the man living if he was brought to a hospital quickly enough,

3) He could just turn this prototype on him and blast him into oblivion and most definitely be executed for treason and murder,

4) Or he could just not say a damn thing and wait for karma to kick this bastard in the balls.

As much as he hated to admit it to himself, 4 was looking like his only option.

So he stayed mute, refusing to so much as even scoff as the man instructed him on how to use the gun as if he'd never picked one up in his life before. He resisted the urge to make biting remarks equivalent to a 'Your Mom' insult and just kept his mouth shut, taking aim as instructed, and as soon as the gun was charged, he fired.

He didn't hit the target dead-on in the center, but he caught most of it, and the power of it was enough that he knew it'd make his shoulders sore tomorrow. And while everyone else whistled and clapped and hollered, he raised his head from the sights and let out a heaving sigh, completely unenthused. His heart was pounding from firing such a monstruous weapon, sure, but apart from the mild adrenaline, he didn't feel a thing.

How utterly pointless.

"Can I go home now?" He asked, his tone completely flat and monotonous.

Offline Lion

Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #7 on: June 22, 2017, 09:15:57 pm »
Frankly Vander was excited to watch the display. And he wanted to see the look on Helmet Head's face when he finally let the railgun loose when it achieved its final click, Vander's grin went from ear to ear, to a slumped half-frown when he didn't even blow up the whole pumpkin! What the hell was that?

Oh no. That would never do. Not at all.

"Hell no, you can't go home! Not until I show you how to properly rain hell down on your target, Pilot!" Vander made a sound that was a cross between a scoff and a chortle and his nose hurt to make it. He blinked stupidly underneath that visor

"Let me show you. Watch me. If you can through that godawful helmet," he said with a cackle. Taking the gun back, Vander raised it, clicked another charge into place and shifted around to stand close to him, holding it steady and aiming further out. "75," he whispered, pursing his lips.

And the gun went off, a blue bolt of terrifying energy that made the rest of the crowd jump with the kick of the gun and that pumpkin was paste, just everywhere.

"Like that. Now try it once more. With feeling this time," he suggested, handing the prototype back to Helmet.

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Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #8 on: June 22, 2017, 10:00:16 pm »
Of course. Of course he couldn't go home. Silly him, why would he be able to freely leave somewhere without being harassed? Seriously what the fuck was this a prison?

Well it was to him now, as he rolled his eyes and happily passed over the prototype back off to its owner, or perhaps creator, which would explain his over-enthusiasm about his glorified cannon.

As the man tried to demonstrate (poorly) how to properly shoot a target, Loa tried to squeeze in between a few members of the crowd to weasel his way out--maybe he could just leave his equipment on the desk with a note or something--but was stopped as the other Pilots pushed him back with the complaints of "Hey, stay here till he's done with you, you're being rude!" and "Just stay here till he's finished with you so the rest of us can have a chance, be more considerate!"

Considerate. Rude. DID THEY NOT KNOW

WHAT IRONY WAS?

Nevertheless he was shoved back over by Gunner Boy and the gun was back in his arms and he was told to try again like he was a fucking school boy or something. If this stranger could feel the anger seeping out of his helmet's ventilation before, then what he might feel now would probably be more closely described as poisoned lava.

He took aim again, clenching his teeth so hard they ached as he found the next target, waited a moment or two after the gun was charged and fired again, this time getting all of it--and certainly no thanks to this idiot's help. It could have been luck or gee maybe the fact that he was a trained fucking professional but oh no apparently that was SO RARE TO COME BY it hadn't even occurred to the jackass.

After it was clear he'd hit the target dead-on this time he looked over at this stranger with such a frustrated motion that his body language spoke for itself:

There, I shot the motherfucking thing, NOW CAN I GO HOME?

Offline Lion

Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #9 on: June 22, 2017, 10:26:16 pm »
"DAYUM SON! NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Vander howled and cupped his hands over his mouth as he did so when that pumpkin when kers-plooosh! all over the fucking shooting range. The sheer joy Vander was experiencing was rather manic and ridiculous and Vander nearly feel backwards by how much his back was arching and his pelvis rolling forward.

The ache in his pants was rather pointed, but thankfully everyone seemed to be paying more attention to the display his gun was making and even Vander didn't really notice. He shifted his visor of his face, the grid expanding and zooming out all over that mess and he reached down to pull the Harpy necklace of his squadron up and he gave it a small kiss.

"Hell fucking yeah," he cackled and took his gun back with gusto.  "That's some mighty fine shooting, brokowski." Oh yeah, he was mad. Everyone else in the room might have been oblivious to it. But Vander figured the guy could probably lighten up if he just kept letting his rage out with another array of bullets.

"Come on, man. What dy'a say!? Shall we keep shootin'!? I've got to a whole truck load of those pumpkins!" he said with a wide beaming grin.  And he reached his hand out for him to take.  Except maybe Vander took Helmet's hand before permission was granted and shook it vigorously all on his own with a firm squeeze. 

And the rest of the crowd howled and hollered as Vander took his turn again. Now he was really going to put that gun through the paces. Already it was performing just as he'd hoped.

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Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #10 on: June 22, 2017, 10:38:50 pm »
Loa couldn't possibly understand what these people were getting out of this. Okay, yes, it was a gun, and it shot things. Whoop de fucking do. He was an assassin, and he killed things. Whoop de fucking do.

He might have understood it better if they were shooting different items at the very least, but all they were doing was shooting pumpkins over, and over, and over again. Sometimes even at--gasp!!--different lengths! But they were still fucking pumpkins, and this was still a fucking gun. Amazing, when you pull the trigger, it shoots the pumpkin.

Wanna guess what happens when you pull the trigger a second time?

IT SHOOTS THE FUCKING PUMPKIN. YEAH BETCHA DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING.

And yet Gunner Boy next to him was simply rife with joy, and apparently arousal, which Loa understood even less. What in the world did death and destruction do for someone? How could it appeal to anyone?

His hand was forcibly grabbed and shaken, and considering the state of the man who did it, Loa felt mildly violated. And yet that was only the start of it; it seemed no matter what he did--how finely tuned his shots were, how big a mess the pumpkin made, how far away it was--nothing was good enough. The crowd just wanted more, and the Pilot with gray hair and a boner was more than happy to give it to them, with Loa involved of course.

He eventually lost track of time--not because he was having fun, oh no he was fucking miserable, but he'd finally just accepted his fate and tried to do what was asked of him as mundanely and mindlessly as possible. He tried to think of other things, like how much alcohol he had left at home and whether or not he should pick up five more bottles each of rum and whiskey on his way home.

Until eventually, the only other person there besides the two of them was the equipment guy, and he finally had grown tired of the prototype and asked them to check out their things and leave. Finally. FINALLY. FREEDOM!

At 11:30 at night.

And thus Loa found himself standing out there outside the shooting range, night having descended upon the city and thus ruining any other potential plans for his day. And he stood there next to a gray-haired asshole who had harassed and kept him there against his will with a raging boner throughout the entire ordeal.

Loa just turned to the man and stared at him through his helmet;

"If you ever speak to me again the next thing that gun will be shooting is your balls."

And he turned and walked away to go catch the next public transport home. Hopefully not in the same direction sir Jackass had to go.

Offline Lion

Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #11 on: June 22, 2017, 11:19:57 pm »
The shooting range by the end of the night was a bloody mess of exploded vegetable carcasses. Pumpkin shells and skin and stems and just guts everywhere. Vander knew that they'd have a hard time cleaning it up, and a very vague throbbing of guilt wiggled its way down into the pit of his stomach. The hard-on, thankfully, went away after a few hours. He'd probably have to change his shorts when he got home though.

And the railgun would have be cleaned up and go back to the workshop bench. Vander stuffed the weapon back into the duffle bag and slung it back over his shoulder, rolling the wagon out from the range once their guns were checked back out.  Vander wiped the sweat from his brow and could feel the heat from the railgun seeping through the fabric.

Hmm, he'd have to see about heat discharge as well.

OH...oh, so it seemed his new found friend had a voice after all. Vander ignored what he said. Because frankly h was used to vague threats. And nothing bothered him. Not unless it was a truly serious matter.  Vander scuttled off after him and maneuvered around in front.

"Look, sorry about all that," he said, apologizing and tone sincere. He cleared his throat. "I'm Vander Huxley, in case you didn't know. You're uh...hmm, Louis Vitton right? I mean Pilot Echo Loius Vitton. Nice to meet you. Come on, let's go get sushi," he said and extended his hand once again, but this time didn't steal it.

He knew he'd seen that helmet before from somewhere. The guy was a damn good shot. Maybe he was just as good at downing beers too.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2017, 11:21:01 pm by Lion »

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Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #12 on: June 23, 2017, 07:32:18 am »
If Vander was at all used to being threatened, then perhaps he should take a hint from how many people must loathe him and use that as proof that the problem wasn't with everyone else.

And yet as Loa thought he was finally free to get away.. He wasn't. Because the slightly-taller-than-him shithead followed him and it took a lot of self control to hold in that exasperated groan.

"No, I didn't know, because I don't care. And no, I am not going to get sushi with you."

Who the fuck did this guy think he was? First off he addressed him way too casually and secondly he was being way too friendly when Loa had literally just voiced out loud how much he disliked him. He'd said that out loud, right? He was pretty sure he did.

So he just kept on walking, ignoring the hand extended to him and determined to turn this guy off as quickly as possible so he could go home and never see him and his stupid visors again.

Offline Lion

Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #13 on: June 23, 2017, 10:09:52 am »
What was wrong with this son of a bitch? Was he just allergic to anyone that just wanted to be nice? Ha, well if he was going to act this way then Vander would let him. But if thought his nasty attitude was going to get him down, he had another thing coming.

Vander laughed instead and shrugged. "All right then. So noted. But hey since you're probably heading back, I'll just ride with you! Ain't no reason not to. I'll just work on some notes," he said and did just that, following Loa and gauging the other man. What was his problem?

A vague consideration had Vander wonder if he had anything to do with it. But nah, couldn't be. Clearly this guy had other hang ups that no amount of railgun shooting could solve.

"But I'm just saying... You're probably hungry. You can't go home hungry. I'll treat! Look on the way to the Citadel is Sushi Rama! You'll love it, or you can sock me hard across the face!" A promise Vander had no intention of actually letting Vitton follow through with. But it was the thought that counted.

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Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #14 on: June 23, 2017, 03:09:12 pm »
Good, okay, great. So at least this idiot seemed to understand the meaning of the word "no"--

Nope. No he apparently didn't.

Loa just paused for a moment, looking over at this Vander and staring at him as if he were dumb, forgetting for a moment that his facial expression couldn't be seen through the mirrored surfave of his helmet visor.

He just tried to ignore him then, didn't even respond to his comment that oh well herp derp here because you seem so amicable and social that totally must mean you wanna hang out durrrrrr LET'S GO HOME TOGETHER.

Loa was only clenching his fists a little bit as he walked. This must've been how some women must feel when stupid men wouldn't leave them alone--he didn't know, he wasn't straight, nor a woman. But he figured he probably wasn't too far off.

And yet even after complete cold silence the jackass still just kept talking.

Yes maybe he was hungry but A it wasn't any of this fuckwad's business and B he didn't want to go to dinner with him anyways so it shouldn't have mattered!

"How about we skip out on the dinner and I just punch you in the face instead?" He growled, not slowing his step or even looking in the man's general direction to acknowledge him as he spoke.

Offline Lion

Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #15 on: June 24, 2017, 05:44:09 pm »
Vander just continued to prattle along behind him and eventually caught up with this wet sack of flour. Because while there would be no cure for his attitude - Vander wasn't going to pass up the prime opportunity to take this smug bastard out for sushi! Because why the hell not?

So just as they seemed like they were going to pass up the restaurant, Vander hooked his arm into his and aimed them straight toward the two front doors. Once once inside, he grinned widely, ear to ear and just nudged Loa to have a goddamned seat.

Because he wasn't taking no for an answer.

"Have a seat, and stay there. I'll get us something easy. I swear you'll like it!" Vander promised. Normally he didn't make promises he couldn't keep, but somehow somewhere underneath all that, he just felt like the guy could use a friend.  And Vander knew no better way to bond than over guns and sushi.

When he came back with two cartons of rice and fish and some other goodies, he took a seat in front of Loa. "Okay, so I brought forks and chop sticks because I didn't know which one you'd like better. So whichever you prefer it's there!"
« Last Edit: June 24, 2017, 06:02:36 pm by Lion »

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Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #16 on: September 13, 2017, 10:55:31 am »
After a while of travel Loa was starting to figure out ways of tuning out the Pilot's annoying chatter; he did his best to focus on literally anything else he could to ignore the man walking beside him. Counting every step he took eventually became the easiest way to tune him out, he found.

But unfortunately that meant that his focus wasn't on where they were going, or what Vander was saying, or rather, what Vander was doing.

Suddenly there was an arm hooked around his and Loa was quite jarringly pulled from wherever he'd stuffed his mind that didn't have a Vander Huxley harrassing it. Vander might have caught the barely audible gasp as Loa was suddenly jerked around and dragged into a restaurant, but Loa didn't actually see the interior of the restaurant at first.

No, those first few seconds sent him flying back in time to when he was 11 and Ru was 11, and despite their same age, there was quite a size difference Ru was hooking his arm in Loa's, grinning down at him and tugging him along with all that superior strength. He heard echoes of Ru's voice saying "Come on, Loa!" And his eyes were so bright, the sunlight was silhouetting his hair pulled into a messy ponytail--

"Have a seat, and stay there. I'll get us something easy. I swear you'll like it!"

He was snapped out of it when Vander almost literally shoved him into a seat inside the restaurant, and he was so shocked and disoriented, heart pounding inside of his chest that he couldn't even give the man a response--he just sat there, dumbly, eyes wide behind his helmet as he glanced around, not moving a muscle, trying to discern where he was and what... What the fuck just happened.

He slowly reached out to rest his elbows on the table and he realized he was trembling, just slightly. Probably from the shock, and the fact that he hadn't eaten since last night, or something. His stomach had been twisted in painful knots all day and now his chest was too. It felt like he was slowly being suffocated, like some monster had him in its grip and was squeezing him tighter and tighter. He could've sworn he almost felt his ribs shifting and creaking.

He put his head in his hands, trying to make sense of what happened, his heart in his throat. Obviously something about Vander reminded him of the past and he had a rather painful flashback, that was all; he glanced up as the man was heading back to the table, arms loaded with food Loa did not feel up to eating. He was about the same height, maybe an inch or two shorter, same build...

And he had that same stupid grin on his fucking face.

Fuck.

He looked away as the food was set down on the table and he sat up a little straighter, placing his hands in his lap so Vander hopefully wouldn't notice the slight tremble.

"Thank you but I'm not hungry." He blurted without thinking, his voice wavering slightly; he'd completely forgotten his anger from before, though there was still a slight bit of irritation burning deep down in there, it was now mostly buried under the fear and confusion and, most of all, anxiety.

Offline Lion

Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #17 on: September 13, 2017, 12:10:49 pm »
Vander was not blind. Not in any real sense that his vision was so absolutely fucked he would never see. Ever. For those that could afford it, there were augmentations that could fix a problem like that. Candidates with no ability to see more than two feet in front of them were Trimmed and that was end of that story.

In Vander's case, his lack of ability to see color and the distortion that came with how his brain perceived the world around him, was enough to almost keep him from graduating. If it wasn't for his visor, the world would be nothing more than monochrome ghosts bubbling in and out like the fluidity of a lavalamp. But with no glow, no warmth, only cold, only dark, only gray.

He wasn't blind, and the visor that covered his eyes, corrected that distortion, and brought the world into an ordered vision, picked up on that slight tremble, on the sheer nerves this guy had. Because even something as minute as a twitch was enough to be picked up by that visor and it sent those signals back around to his brain.

"Um, all right then," Vander murmured.  He knew he could be pushy. And maybe part of him still wanted to. But something deep down told him if he did, this guy had the potential to fly right off the damn handle like a dud grenade that was being chucked around like a ball. "How about something to drink. My treat. We can just talk? That all right with you?"

"So what is it you do, Loa? I mean, department. Do you live at the Citadel?"

Vander had gotten used to the use of chopsticks and somehow managed to roll a few pieces onto his plate, pincing them and delivering a crunchy roll into his mouth. "You can order anything you want!"  And gave him a playful smirk. "After shooting like that, you've earned it."

Cheesigator

  • Guest
Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #18 on: September 13, 2017, 03:43:46 pm »
Something about the air around them changed, and Vander backed off a bit for a moment. Inwardly, Loa cursed--that meant he'd noticed something was up. But for the moment, was kind enough not to ask about it.

He hated relying on the kindness of someone else to keep from coming completely undone. He hated it with every cell in his body.

Vander suggested they get something to drink instead then, and Loa looked at him, everything in his body feeling still oddly chilled from the jarring flashback.

"Drinking is the last thing you want me to do right now."

He'd wait until he got into the safety of his own apartment before he drunk himself stupid and passed out on the floor of his living room, falling off of his lousy couch. At least there he couldn't hurt anyone but himself; here was a different story, and who knew what he would do if drunk right now. He didn't want to take any chances.

He took in a silent, deep breath to steel himself and focused on the conversation at hand, now almost welcoming it when he loathed it so much not even fifteen minutes earlier.

"I'm an assassin. No team. I go where they need me."

He kept it short and to the point; he didn't like talking and he sure as hell hated talking about himself. "Yes I live at the Citadel."

Just get the conversation away from you, Loa.

"And what about yourself?" He grumbled, resting his arms on the table after a few moments, the tremble much less visible now. "Heavy weapons specialist or something I imagine?"

Offline Lion

Re: Diamond Eyes [Lion!]
« Reply #19 on: September 14, 2017, 03:46:28 pm »
Whatever Vander had noticed, he didn't make a point of focusing on. After the adrenaline of shooting up pumpkins and splattering their guts all over the shooting range wall, Vander had settled into a soothed state of being. As he usually did after a good day of testing his equipment. He didn't have to be shooting all day to enjoy the end of that high. It was always good, even if he'd just been fiddling around with his rifle.

But this guy, was something else entirely. He seemed to be nothing more than a bundle of nerves. As Vander looked at him through the green highlighted hud on his visor, he could see the elevated heart rate, the twitch in the timbre of his voice. And he didn't need his visor to tell him that this guy really didn't want to be here right now.

"Well, when I say drink I don't mean you have to have alcohol," he chuckled. Vander ate another crunchy dragon roll and munched slowly, savoring the wasabi paste. It was too good not to savor it. "They've got soda here too! Look. ok. Uhh, gimme another second!"

Vander removed himself from the table and ordered two drinks, just root beer floats that would make Vander guaranteed to burp and this guy hopefully on edge. Everybody loved root beer floats, didn't they?  Of course they did!

Vander returned with the drinks, set the float in front of Loa and even put a bendy straw in it with a small purple umbrella. It was a nice touch he thought. Vander's own drink had a red umbrella in it, and another bendy straw. "Yeah, that's me. Vander Huxley. Pilot Cardinal and member of the best damn squad in Haviah. The Harpies. I'm fairly new, but don't get me wrong, I know how to make things....get real exciting real fast."

Vander made a show of brushing off fake dust off his shoulder as if the task was nothing. "Drop team too. That means I get to fly around and hit the ground running. But I'm a technopath, so that big bubba you were holding earlier was my latest project. Railguns are fun ain't they? Just love 'em."  Adjusting the visor, he grinned and gestured to the drink. "It's not beer, but it's got a nice bubbly to it. This place makes bomb as fuck root beer floats."

 

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