- Steiner FranzExperienced Member
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Only the Finest Entertainment
Wed Jan 17, 2018 7:16 pm
DIVINE CRUSADER
The city of sin was what Las Vegas had once been known as and to be honest, not much had changed since that name had been established. It was still a place of absurd debauchery, morality taking a huge back seat, and people gambling away their lives away. Sometimes even literally gambling their lives away. Such was the way that the city of sin was built, the foundation for which it stood for, but there was also another side to it. A much brighter side that people saw on the outside and quite enjoyed, it was the showy entertainment side of things.The tourists usually saw this bright side covered in golden wrapping tape that hid the shady shit going on underneath and came clamoring in droves to just spend a minute in the bright shine of neon lights and the beauty of the show. That was them, but that wasn't Steiner.
Steiner was much less a tourist here and more interested in finding an old ally of his. Somebody he was looking to re-establish relations with as they had only really worked together for a short period of time in Vastime. Yaksha was his name and rumor had it he was looking to lead the Hollows out of their eternal war with the Shinigami into an era of prosperity. That was something that the young man could get behind one hundred percent and it intrigued him, but probably also made him a pretty huge enemy to those that fed off of conflict. If the conflict between Hollow and Shinigami ended then there would be more people focusing on the real enemy. Shadowfall. The fact that they were so prominent here was no lie, as North America was basically their backyard, but Las Vegas seemed to be as grand as it ever was. However, they were much more open about the bad shit that they did with little care about morals.
"Have you seen this man?", Steiner said as he held up a picture of Yaksha to a group of demons who just looked at him funnily before telling him to bug off. The realization that finding Yaksha here would be as like finding a needle in a haystack had occurred to him, but Yaksha was at least a popular figure in the community and he had thought that would have made things easier. It didn't. No one wanted to help him either because they either didn't know where he was or they were far too busy enjoying the city to care about some random tourist looking for a celebrity. To them he probably seemed like some kind of stalker, begging and pleading to find his idol, but Steiner was anything but that. He was concerned for Yaksha's safety, after all, they had fought side by side together in Vastime, and he thought it might be better if he offers Yaksha some help if he could just in case things went South for him here.
He could help Yaksha maybe, his new powers could help in making sure that the Hollow entertainer could survive a sneak attack, but first he needed to make his way to Yaksha. To do that though he would need to find him and that would be no easy task as so far he had turned up nothing, but then as he was just about to resort to screaming out his name, he found himself staring at a cluster of people gathered around someone at the end of the street. Taking a deep breath and hoping for the best, Steiner decided to take a gamble, and hope that Yaksha was there. He pushed his way through the crowd, some people taking major offense to him doing so, and others just allowing him to move through with ease. In the center of the crowd stood Yaksha, he knew this because he had seen the hollow once before, and he could never forget a face.
Coding Altered From: [THEFROST]'s
![Only the Finest Entertainment OlBPPj4](https://i.imgur.com/olBPPj4.gif)
![Only the Finest Entertainment VewULRr](https://i.imgur.com/VewULRr.png)
![Only the Finest Entertainment AQodtc6](https://i.imgur.com/aQodtc6.png)
- YakshaExperienced Member
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Re: Only the Finest Entertainment
Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:08 pm
Yaksha, The Überseele
"Watch the queen ladies and gentlemen, let's see if I can pull off another upset. Luck's on your side, it's gotta be at this point am I right ladies and gents I can just feel it this time! She follows my hands back and forth, splitting and flowing, just like water..."
Card tricks were admittedly a little beneath Yaksha's normal repertoire, but this time it was more about the enjoyment of the circumstance than the actual finances to be gained. He was teasing and twisting a card from a deck, allowing it to slide from finger to finger, sometimes resting against his palm from the faintest bit of pressure. He inhaled sharply, for a split second, as he spotted a familiar young human stepping into the throng of people, and tossed his card high into the air as he did, disappearing in a puff of black-and-purple-tinged flames, and leaving only a pile of snow behind. From behind Steiner, a hand grabbed him by the hair, pulling him directly backwards with the same urgency one would've used to yank a child out of the way of danger. As he did, Yaksha's voice faintly surrounded Steiner, soothing and calm, seemingly devoid of any emotion.
"Don't fight it, we're just going to go somewhere a little more private. Sit quietly and make yourself comfortable while I make the appropriate arrangements."
As this was said, Yaksha's hand jerked him straight backwards, through -another- black-and-purple opening, where he landed gently onto a couch. It was a very soft, luxurious couch, the sort of thing many people never got to sit on in their lives. And in front of Steiner stood a creature perhaps a foot shorter than Yaksha had been the last time they had spoken, with a wingspan he likely couldn't have matched even if he'd extended both of his arms as far apart as he could.
"You can't honestly expect me to think this was just coincidence. Let's cut to the good part, alright? The less time wasted, the better. I have a lot to do tonight."
Coding Altered From: [The Frost]
- Steiner FranzExperienced Member
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Re: Only the Finest Entertainment
Sun Jan 21, 2018 6:27 am
DIVINE CRUSADER
Upon seeing Yaksha once again, Steiner found himself at odds with himself as the Hollow seemed to have completely changed from the form he had once known. It almost seemed odd to see him out in the open without the use of his gigai, but it was no where near as odd as his new form. Steiner watched his magic trick, all the while paying close attention to those around him to insure his own safety, but also looking to see if there was any aggressors standing around looking to attack Yaksha as he worked his showman magic. After all, it would be a total failure if the guy he was trying to communicate with simply got murdered by unknown forces while he was trying to gain an audience. He watched as the snow fell from where he had thrown the card only to feel a hand grab him by the hair, Steiner's hand instinctively went to the sword that was waiting on his waist as a familiar voice began to speak to him.
It was Yaksha, but Steiner still kept his hand on his sword's hilt, not wanting to relinquish his lifeline if this was a trap, or some kind of illusion. The voice told him they were going somewhere private and Steiner nodded his head in agreement. A hard task for a man who's hair was being clenched within the fingers of some kind of monstrous Hollow, but one that Steiner did without so much as breaking a sweat. Yaksha, after all, wasn't the only one who had gone through changes since they had last met. Steiner's changes, however were much more internal than external. He doubted the Hollow had even sensed the difference, mainly due to him suppressing his powers as to make himself stand out less among the more corrupted and sinister types in North America. This was the den of Shadowfall and as such his presence here would not be tolerated if he were to be found out.
He felt himself being pulled back and allowed himself to be, much like in the case of a riptide he knew not fight against the current, and if this was indeed Yaksha he knew it better to not fight and just go along with it. Moments later he was on a couch, as if he had phased through reality itself, and was now looking upon Yaksha. Steiner took a second to readjust himself on the couch, trying his best to get into the most comfortable position he could so that they could begin their dialogue. Yaksha had taken the initiative of speaking and Steiner allowed him to speak before finally getting in the right sitting position to be comfortable enough to have a conversation with him.
"Nice to see you too, Yaksha. Did you have to be so rough with the hair?", Steiner said as he felt his head while simultaneously ruffling his hair back into its' original form. "Yeah, this isn't a coincidence...I've overhead people talking about your plan to end the Hollow and Shinigami war. A noble goal if you ask me and one that strikes me a bit odd as your home is in the middle of Shadowfall territory.", he said as he stood up from the couch and made his way over to the shorter Hollow before staring him dead in his eyes. They were polar opposites now. Steiner being a focal point of life with Chi Energy flowing through him and Yaksha being a force of death, with spiritual energy flowing through him. Steiner knew that ending the war was necessary, the sooner the better as the war ending would only strengthen their odds of putting down Shadowfall, but he didn't know if that was Yaksha's goal or not.
"Lets cut to the chase then...", Steiner said as he walked past Yaksha and stood behind him for a bit as he looked out a nearby window overseeing Las Vegas. "Are your goals merely aligning with the survival of your species or are you looking for something more...perhaps the freedom from the chains that shackle your people into service of Shadowfall?", Steiner asked as he turned back around to look again at Yaksha, leaning against a nearby wall as he did so. "Without the Shinigami and Hollow's fighting each other, your race will be able to live without concern, but in essence they will still be shackled to a group that the Gotei is fighting against.", Steiner said as he tried to paint a picture for Yaksha.
"So...I will simply ask...whose side are you on? If the end game is freedom and prosperity for the Hollows then that means you have to be considering fighting against Shadowfall as you will not be able to have either of those things while under their boot.", Steiner uttered as he tried his best to gauge Yaksha's reaction.
Coding Altered From: [THEFROST]'s
![Only the Finest Entertainment OlBPPj4](https://i.imgur.com/olBPPj4.gif)
![Only the Finest Entertainment VewULRr](https://i.imgur.com/VewULRr.png)
![Only the Finest Entertainment AQodtc6](https://i.imgur.com/aQodtc6.png)
- YakshaExperienced Member
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Re: Only the Finest Entertainment
Sun Jan 21, 2018 8:42 am
Yaksha, The Überseele
Yaksha stood silently during Steiner's entire speech, his hands folded behind his back, and his eyes turned towards the roof, as if he weren't even paying attention to the words of the young child. He exuded silence in concentrated doses, like he was trying to force every word out of the human's lungs, and waiting patiently for the time when he could finally make himself heard once more. He listened to each word as it came out, clawed fingers gently tapping away at the bottom of his mask in contemplation, as he exhaled.
"I will not fight against Shadow Fall. I already have everything I want from them. I will not fight against the Gotei. They have an understanding with me. Or in due time, they will. I don't want to fight anyone, Steiner. I was not put on this earth to break bones or shed blood. I don't think a single person is. They choose to succumb to the pressures of the world around them. To adapt to your surroundings is admirable, to be sure...but I have no intention of letting the world mold me like a piece of clay any longer. Evolution reaches a point where people can change the environment to suit their needs, instead of changing their needs to suit the environment."
He inhaled once, slowly, causing faint red markings to slowly bleed into visibility on his scales, only to shift and writhe before the observer's very eyes. He walked towards the window, folding his hands neatly behind his back, and gesturing with his chin, without ever so much as moving.
"You do realize hollows are only the way they are due to the incredible rate at which they're born. If the shinigami could keep pace with the deaths of humans, then the only hollows left would be the clever, crafty, and controlled hollows such as me. There would be the odd outlier here or there, but it is by no means true to say that hollows cannot co-exist peacefully with the other species of this world. You would not be telling a German province to go to war with China merely because they had a few soldiers come through and start making demands, would you Steiner? All of this right now is...a skirmish. A few willful individuals, who feel they are above accountability for their actions. I have no intention of taking sides in this affair. I will simply remind each and every player in this grand game we call war that there is nothing to be gained from losing one's humanity. As one who traded it away and bargained to get it back, I daresay I'm in a unique position to send that message, Steiner."
Coding Altered From: [The Frost]
- Steiner FranzExperienced Member
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Re: Only the Finest Entertainment
Tue Jan 23, 2018 3:02 pm
DIVINE CRUSADER
"Of course you don't want to fight, Yaksha. This visit was never about talking you into fighting.", Steiner said with a wide grin on his face, a grin that was extremely welcoming because Steiner definitely didn't want to fight either. The end game was always to find some form of stability, to find some way to enact some level of deep rooted peace that couldn't be washed away with the faint trickles of conflict that came from time to time. The fact that Yaksha and Steiner shared similar ideals proved a lot about the two of them, it proved that though their species were constantly at each other's necks they could still exist, and speak peacefully. Steiner let out a sigh, heavy, and filled with sadness. "I fear that you won't get much choice in the matter, my friend.", Steiner said as he stopped leaning against the wall and returned to looking out the window, as if trying to see something that just wasn't there.
"Peace...god how I want peace. An end to all these petty conflicts. Rational minds winning out over the constant trickle of hot heads that seemingly ruins everything for everyone... but I know it can't be possible. Not with Shadowfall still around.", Steiner said finally turning again to Yaksha to get closer to the hollow. The smile on Steiner's face had slipped off, revealing a grimace of sorts that just didn't fit well on his youthful face. It was the look of a man who had seen one too many people die, one too many good men die. Good men with families. Families that reignited the cycle of hatred as they sought vengeance for their relative's spilled blood. "Shadowfall doesn't see things like we do, Yaksha. They don't want an end to this because conflict gives them strength and no matter how hard we try to instill peace...even for just your people, it will never last.", Steiner said as if he was one hundred percent sure of the fact and in a way he was.
"I didn't come here to ask you to fight... that would be rude of me after all you did for me already in Vastime. I came to tell you the truth...to be honest with you because I know you will respect the words of someone you have fought with....Shadowfall won't let your conflict end.", Steiner said once again stating what he believed to be true because he felt it to be true. Shadowfall was an organization that spread chaos to the corners of the Earth, there was no way they would allow there to be anything close to tranquility as long as they were around. "Your conflict with the shinigami, its a good source of power for them...doesn't matter how many people die in the middle, in fact to them the body count escalation is a plus. They want you to keep fighting, they may tell you it is fine and dandy that you are calling it quits, settling an age old conflict, but in reality... they are biding their time. Waiting for your allies or the shinigami to fuck things up and if they don't...Shadowfall will put their cards on the table.", Steiner stated in earnesty as he finished speaking for a few seconds.
"I'm here to warn you, to prepare you for that move because trust me...it is coming. You are taking a big heaping helping of conflict off of their all you can eat buffet and they aren't going to just let you walk away unharmed.", Steiner said with finality, hoping Yaksha could understand why he was here. It wasn't about Vanguard business or Hollow business, this was about protecting the peace business. Warning a friend of a potential double cross before it was too late for him to do so. This was the type of person Steiner was.
Coding Altered From: [THEFROST]'s
![Only the Finest Entertainment OlBPPj4](https://i.imgur.com/olBPPj4.gif)
![Only the Finest Entertainment VewULRr](https://i.imgur.com/VewULRr.png)
![Only the Finest Entertainment AQodtc6](https://i.imgur.com/aQodtc6.png)
- YakshaExperienced Member
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Re: Only the Finest Entertainment
Sun Jan 28, 2018 10:07 am
Yaksha, The Überseele
It was a long while before Yaksha spoke again, though he moved about the room with quiet purpose, with as much reaction as if Steiner had never spoken at all. He opened a cabinet, withdrawing a small glass, and then extracted a decanter of alcohol from a second cabinet. He poured a liberal measure into the glass, examining it for a few moments, and then taking a long drag directly from the decanter. He let out a single soft exhalation that almost became a cough without ever quite getting there, and then plucked up the glass, walking towards Steiner with it. He set it down in front of the young human, and then began to walk away, tails gently coiling around his waist until it looked like he had something very close to a razor-sharp belt.
His wings furled over his chest, giving an impression of leather armor suddenly having been donned, and he looked out the window, as if he were seeking something, or trying to find the right answer. He seemed, throughout this entire process, to exude a calmness and stillness that was almost entirely unlike his behavior during the attack on Djibouti. He folded his hands behind his back, rolling forward and back on his heels several times, before finally speaking.
"I know of betrayal, Steiner. I know that there exist countless parties who would wish to see the hollows remain an active participant in their petty squabbles. I am well aware that I sit on Shadow Fall's territory, and preach dangerous rhetoric. Shadow Fall can put as many cards on the table as they like, and I will do the same. I've been playing the game of treachery far longer than they have, and I have outwitted people far more clever than Ravan Vespara, or Mana Asthavon. I appreciate your concern, but for the time being I will simply advise you to watch very very closely. This is Las Vegas after all...and here, it's ever so easy to make things seem to be as they aren't. I didn't pick it simply for its tourist attractions, Steiner. This place suits my methods as if it were made for me."
As he spoke, the swimming runes on his body all seemed to solidify into singular forms, one at a time, taking on appearances that were at least familiar and recognizable enough as to not cause nausea; it looked, in fact, almost like Yaksha was covered in heiroglyphs. He finally turned around, his expression completely impossible to read as he gestured towards Steiner's glass, and then began to walk towards the couch.
"Drink, Steiner. I'll have a toast if you feel you need company. My plans are my own, for the time being, and I am not going to share them with you so idly. Suffice to say that I have never considered any of you my enemies, to this day. I cannot even guess whether or not that sentiment is reciprocal, but...all the same. I will not seek aggressive action against any of you if you don't make it necessary."
Coding Altered From: [The Frost]
- Steiner FranzExperienced Member
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Re: Only the Finest Entertainment
Mon Feb 26, 2018 3:21 pm
DIVINE CRUSADER
He talked with so much poise and confidence while all the while making it look so absolutely effortless while doing it. It kind of made Steiner a bit jealous that he could act like a leader without so much effort and made it look way too damn easy to do what he was doing, but still Steiner wasn't there to discuss the finer points of how this man stacked up to other leaders. No, he was there because he was concerned. Concerned about the peace, concerned about the future, and concerned about a person he considered to be a staunch ally. It worried him that Yaksha was casually brushing it off, admitting that he had been at this game for a long time, and acting like a meager group of Hollows could overwhelm Shadow Fall if they so wished to encroach on his domain. This was Yaksha's domain, but he didn't have as vast an army or the necessary allies to defend his domain if push came to shove. Still it was wrong of him to question or doubt the powerful being in front of him, even if he viewed the speech he was giving as being a bit more than self indulgent in nature. Instead, Steiner sighed, and admitted defeat wandering off over to the big couch, and took a seat with an audible thud.
"You're a hard headed son of a bitch, you know that?", Steiner stated as he shook his head and leaned back in the couch, stretching his arms, and legs as he did so. "There is absolutely no way to have an argument with you that ends with you actually understanding things from another perspective. I came here because I wanted to make sure you were alright and after seeing you stand here, preaching, and wheeling and dealing...I can tell that you are fine. For now that is.", Steiner said obviously from experience, after all he had on multiple occasions been at ground zero when the shit hit the fans. He had lost his powers, nearly lost his life not once, but twice, and he had been through the shit. "But what happens if shit hits the fan before this grand plan of yours comes to fruition. Do you really think a conglomerate of like minded Hollows can stand against the might of Shadow Fall on their own back door? I get that this town is basically your town, but be a realist and not a visionary for one god damn second. I'm not questioning your intelligence, but this is suicide and more importantly you are playing a game of chess with some power hitters. It doesn't matter if you are a lord of treachery or a God of Deception, what matters is the people underneath you are relying on you.They believe in you and if you let them down you are dooming your whole movement based on a plan that only you know apparently.", he stated as he jumped up from the couch to collect his own glass, he peered into it, and shrugged.
Steiner had never been much of a drinker, but if he was offered he couldn't just say no. After all he was the guest. He downed his glass rather quickly, groaning in a manner that suggested that he wasn't much of a drinker in the first place, and then he turned to look at Yaksha. "If you won't share any detail of your plan...then I won't pry. I'm just concerned and I think that as a friend I am entitled to that at the least.", he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
[b]Coding Altered From: [THEFROST]'s
![Only the Finest Entertainment OlBPPj4](https://i.imgur.com/olBPPj4.gif)
![Only the Finest Entertainment VewULRr](https://i.imgur.com/VewULRr.png)
![Only the Finest Entertainment AQodtc6](https://i.imgur.com/aQodtc6.png)
- YakshaExperienced Member
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Re: Only the Finest Entertainment
Tue Feb 27, 2018 8:25 pm
Yaksha, The Überseele
"Steiner...you are my comrade, and my ally. I make no qualms in saying those words. We fight alongside one another, and I feel absolutely certain in saying I would risk my life to see you whole and healthy into the new century. I like you, Steiner. What that translates to, in hollow terms, is that for about a week after your death, I would be inconsolable with grief. But you are not my friend. Nor are you a confidante. I have no interest in giving you arms to take up against me. I have no reason to assume you wouldn't turn against me, once suitably armed. Our interests align for now, but...eternity is a long time."
His tone was soft, pleasant, and warm without any sense of pause or hesitation as he spoke. Either this was a line he'd rehearsed so many dozens of times that it came to him naturally, like someone reading from a script they had taken great pains to memorize...or each word of it was absolutely genuine. The reddish scrawls of text along his flesh remained stationary for the first time, as he sat down across from Steiner, hands dangling between his legs. He examined the boy, pausing to inhale deeply.
The ultimate epitome of humanity, as Yaksha wished to see it; a man who had strived and progressed, against impossible odds time and time again. A human, unremarkable in most regards, who all the same defied the wills of entities far beyond his ken. It made him smile somewhere deep inside, to know that Steiner still thought fondly of him, and saw the best. He knew that it would sour over time, as all things did. Perhaps it was true, in the end, that all hollows nurtured within themselves the seed of their own destruction. It was a thought Yaksha had contemplated, a great many times. Or perhaps it was that immortality and eternity weren't meant to be truly attainable; after that long, with so few constants in one's life, certain things one normally thought impossible seemed easier and easier.
In either case, the end result was the same. Yaksha had lived a long time, and hadn't yet been able to find a single constant during that timeframe. Always, he either betrayed or was betrayed. And now, as he sat across from Steiner, he could feel it more intimately than ever. He could imagine the child with his throat torn out, with one eye hanging ragged against his cheek as he wept, could imagine a million different deaths for him...and each one made him feel a deep and inconsolable sense of loss.
"What is it that you want me to understand, Steiner? That I'm better of allying with the Vanguard? Or the Guild of Heroes? Or the Gotei? I do understand, Steiner. I have an obligation to my people, and those who have placed their faith in me. I know all of this, Steiner. There isn't a single thing you can tell me that I don't know. But I will tell you something about me you don't know, Steiner. I'm a snake. However much my appearance and veneer may change, my essential nature would not. Gratitude and temperance come to me very slowly, and...certainly not on a scale one could apply to an entire collective. I like you Steiner. This doesn't mean I like those you choose to place your time and faith in. Were I to ally with the Vanguard, I find it very hard to believe I wouldn't find a way to make us both regret it before the year's end. I simply don't play nice when I'm crammed into such a confined space."
He rose once more, extending his hand in what could only be seen as a handshake; his body leaned forward, other hand trailing out behind him, giving him an impression of a very old duke or lord, trying their best to strut and preen before an audience. This time his voice was dulcet and whispery, like someone confessing a great secret.
"So I will instead play nice with you, Steiner. Stop by any time. Bring as many friends as you like. I always love meeting new people. Just don't ask me to sit in a room and smile at people I meet once a year, simply because someone else tells me to. I make friends one at a time, Steiner Franz. It's the only way to do it."
He paused, eyes canting upwards, before he shrugged, rising back to his standing position...but still holding out his hand to be shaken.
"You do deserve something, for your troubles, to be sure. I am fully prepared to die for the cause, Steiner. In so doing, I would become a pariah, and a face to a movement. Perhaps it would end in horrible defeat...or glorious victory. Perhaps it would simply lead to a perfect excuse for the Gotei to swoop in and take back the American continent. There's a great many options. In any case...I don't go into a fight until I'm certain that, win or lose...I get what I want. The shedding of blood and sweat and tears is just a formality, at that point. If they want to kill me, or vaporize this entire city, they're free to. But they'll find that it won't stop what I started."
Coding Altered From: [The Frost]
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