the apocalypse | multifandom | o&a

[Wormgod]

((Eddie thinking
V thinking
“V talking out loud”
“Venom talking”))

Eddie Brock — Venom

Male | Venom/Marvel | Symbiote | Tagged: Joker

Eddie woke chilled as wind brushed past him. V covered most of his body like a thick blanket, but left his face exposed. He huffed and mentally reached out to tell V to close the window, only to feel a strange block. Eddie opened his eyes and looked down at his other for an explanation—

They weren’t in their motel room. This wasn’t even a room. They were unconscious on a dirty mattress in a half destroyed building. V was looked loosely on Eddie’s stomach, similar time when they got tired after a big fight, but Eddie has gone to bed at a respectable 10pm and V presumably spent the night watching Chopped reruns or trolling UFO conspiracy forums. They had done nothing big, so why was V tired? And how did they get here? What the heck happened last night?

Eddie we think we were sleeping! The distressed blob mentally cried out. Eddie pet the blob soothingly as they sank under his skin. I think you were unconscious, love. He corrected gently. Whatever could knock a Klyntar out cold had to be really strong. They had no need for sleep. What happened? He asked.

Eddie slept. We watched Chopped. Suddenly we were here. V replied, swimming around his insides like a tense shark. Eddie felt V emerge from his left shoulder and then a flash of anger. EDDIE WE WERE KIDNAPPED!

“What?” Eddie turned, half expecting to see a member of the gang he was currently tracking approach, but no, it was a letter on the floor. V had formed one of their noodle-like heads and was reading it. They were glaring ferociously and baring their teeth as if the letter was the kidnapper itself. Eddie would have found their behavior adorable in any other situation. He took the letter and read it.

“What the heck? Who thinks it’s a good idea to kidnap us?” Eddie mumbled angrily. God he could go for a gallon of coffee right about now, but no, he’s stuck in this lame universe that probably doesn’t have coffee anymore because of the apocalypse!

“We will eat ‘X’! No one kidnaps our Eddie!” The angry V-noodle growled. Eddie flushed at their possessiveness and replied, “We don’t eat people.” V grumbled in their mind and sunk back inside.

Eddie stood and stepped out of the hole in the building. They were in the crumbling remains of a city. Judging from the overgrowth, it had been at least a few years since whatever destroyed this place, and nothing lived here anymore. No humans, at least. The letter mentioned mutated creatures and there had to at least be some animal life.

The reporter walked along the road, his and V’s senses straining to detect something, anything around them. There were some faded scents that V couldn’t identify—likely mutated animals—but no sounds and no new scents. There weren’t even bird calls or the buzzing of insects. The lack of noise was frightening. Eddie shivered.

There! V covered his eyes with theirs. Their gaze grew sharper and the colors shifted and Eddie saw it too—a person dressed in black walking along the road too. They had what looked like a white eye-mask. Another superhero? Not one they knew.

Stay inside, okay? I got this. Eddie thought. V grumbled in anxiety, but they retreated. V was pretty scary, and he wouldn’t be surprised if the mutated life in this world looked like Venom. It was safer to look all human for now.

Eddie jogged toward the person, waving his arm to get their attention. When he got close enough to clearly make them out, his jaw dropped. He was just a teenager! X had taken kids too!? This was a lot worse than he thought. V writhed harder in anger. Eddie winced a bit. V’s movements jostled his stomach.

“Um, okay, we got this, this is fine,” Eddie spoke under his breath to calm V, and then louder in his press voice, “Hello, I’m Eddie Brock, you might have heard of me from The Brock Report. Can you tell me your name?”

[onion]

🔥 yang xiao long / 18 / rwby / bi
species: human
location: unknown
tags: poppi

yang crossed her own arms as her gaze met the girls.

"poppi?"

she asked, clearly confused. why was she talking in third person? no forget that, why was she covered in metal? yang stared at the person... or thing, that spoke to her.

"yeah, i am,"

she finally responded.

"you must be poppi by the sound of it. im yang. xiao long,"

she tacked on, putting an arm on her hip and reaching out to shake hands. it was times like these that she remembered meeting weiss and how rude the girl had been, then meeting the quiet blake who seemed shy but feisty. the girls words echoed in her head. 'thanks,' blake had said in response to yangs comment about her bow. she smirked internally, thinking of what the bow hid. perhaps she should compliment this being too?

"i like your... armor,"

yang said awkwardly, both her arms falling.

[Ploegy]

⇀Ｒｅｎ Ａｍａｍｉｙａ!!
xxxxmale • seventeen years old • persona 5 • tagged: eddie / venom
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

The silence that hung in the air as Ren continued to move along left the teen feeling uneasy. Even in the palace's he had traversed things were never this quiet. He hated it. Everything about it made his body much tenser than usual and he couldn't help but feel less capable of his usual abilities in his current state. It was strange to think he could be shaken like this, but there was no changing it. It was only a moment longer before the silence was finally broken and the thief came to a halt to take in the sounds that caught his attention. It was footsteps to his left. Any normal person would have turned to see who or what was approaching, but his first reaction was to reach for the pistol at his hip. Making his moments slow and inconspicuous, Ren moved his hand towards the gun until he heard the sound of a voice call out. Stopping himself, the teen took in what was being said. Lifting his gaze next, he was taken back when the other was closer to him than he had anticipated. Grunting softly to him, he took a small step back and withdrew his hand away from his weapons. Taking a couple of seconds to compose himself, the thief allowed his body to relax as his eyes settled upon Eddie and he finally comprehended what had been said. The name the other offered definitely wasn't one he was familiar with nor did it even sound native to his home country. If anything it sounded western though he couldn't necessarily pinpoint it's exact origins. One thing was certain, the accent didn't sound British or Australian. Not that such a thing matter. Giving his head a small shake at the thought, Ren shot the man a questioning look. "Brock Report? Can't say I've ever heard of it or you," he admitted as he tucked his hands away into his pockets. "From the sounds of it, it sounds Western so no wonder I'd have no idea who you are." Even so he couldn't say he necessarily stayed up to date with a singular news source in the first place. Multiple sources were always covering his group and things that interested them. He barely knew any of them by name. That was yet another unimportant detail at the moment.

Moving on to the question that he had been posed, Ren hesitated a moment. Such a question caused him to face a problem that he hadn't yet had to deal with back in the Metaverse. Usually the people that saw him in his thieves attire were his teammates thus they already knew of his real name on top of his code name he used to avoid shadows possibly having some memory of him pop to mind. He supposed such a worry wouldn't be needed in this place, but still it felt strange to offer his full name to a stranger in this place. Who knew if he could even trust them. Adults usually were the ones that were corrupted far worse than those his own age and every major target with the exception of Futaba had been an adult. Futaba's case was an outlier anyways. He wouldn't claim she was a target in the first place given that she had requested their help. That was beside the point. Ren was still skeptical of trusting some random adult even if he had given him no reason to distrust him. His gut was telling him to be wary. He supposed that led him to the answer he sought. Sharing his real name at this time would do him no good thus he would be going by Joker from this point forward. It was a good thing he had become accustomed to the code name by now. It had been well over six months since he had first started going by it. That was more than enough time to become comfortable with it. Realizing he had fallen silent for too longer, Ren rolled his shoulders back and let a sigh escape his lips. "I suppose I should tell you my name now," he began. "If you must know, I am Joker." It was a simple and brief introduction and he didn't bother to even think of mentioning that wasn't his real name. He was sure that with a name like Joker one might get the hint that it was an alias of sorts. No normal person had such a name though he supposed he could bank on Eddie believing that such a name was common in his homeland. Then again, such did not matter. Joker was the name he gave and if the other pressed for more the teen could simple deny him of farther information.

Pulling a hand from his pocket, Ren lifted it and placed it upon the mask on his face. It was in that moment he was getting a strange feeling from it and he knew Arsene was thinking of making an appearance. As much as he wanted to scold the persona for wanting to be free, he knew he couldn't. Instead, he simply plucked the mask from his face and moved it to the top of his head. Hopefully that was enough to get his point across to Arsene. He could not afford to having him reveal himself although he was curious as to why the persona felt that he needed to do such a thing. Was it possible that he thought they were in danger? It was hard to say. For now he decided it was best to play off. "So, I assume that you've been dragged to this place too, huh?"

⇀Ｐｏｐｐｉ!!
xxxxfemale • unknown • xenoblade chronicles 2 • tagged: yang
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

It was a bit unsettling that Yang seemed to be staring at her in the way that she did, but Poppi tried to brush it off. It wasn't the first time she had gotten such looks. Back home she was a very unique being as well although there was plenty of weird creatures that roamed Alrest. The only reason she ever got any stares was because of what she exactly was. She was one of very few artificial blades that had ever managed to be made and function in the way they were designed to work in. Rosa and Lila were the only other two that even came close to being on her level and even they had flaws in their builds much like Poppi had had until she had been upgraded to have several forms that eliminated the flaws that she possessed in her current form. Still, she by far preferred staying in such a form given that it was the one she was most comfortable in. Usually she would only switch at Tora's command. She supposed that did not matter now though. Giving a small shake of her head, she focused on the words being spoken instead. Hearing her question the name Poppi brought confusion to her and caused her to tilt her head slightly. However it seemed that she had no plans of explaining herself. Whatever it was that had bothered her obviously hadn't been important enough to continue on about. She decided she should do the same. Listening to the answer she received, the artificial blade gave a small bob of her head. It was no surprise that Yang was in the same situation as herself. She didn't strike her as the type that was from a place like this anyways. She stood out too much in comparison to their surroundings. The same could apply for herself. "Interesting," was the only word that escaped her mouth after the confirmation. Almost immediately she began thinking over things. It was clear that X was very serious about trying to rebuild this place if they had brought in multiple people. How many had they dragged here? That was a question that could not be answered and that bothered her greatly.

Again, pushing the thought aside, Poppi pulled herself back to the reality of the situation just in time to hear Yang speak once again. This time introducing herself. Giving a nod of confirmation at her assumption. "Poppi is the name!" she chimed in a rather cheerful manner. As she spoke a bright smile accompanied her words and her arms dropped away from her chest. Her hands once again found their place on her hips and she stood before the other proudly. "It is nice to meet you, Yang." Such a name was strange to her though she wasn't one to usually question such things. For a moment longer, Poppi stood in her prideful pose until the next words Yang spoke caught her attention and caused confusion to wash over her face. "Armor?" she questioned with a tilt of her head. When she thought of armor she never thought of herself. Sure, she was a machine and such, but armor was like what Rex wore, not like her body. They were very different things. "Poppi does not wear armor. Poppi's body is made of metal to handle the ether furnace in Poppi's chest and to withstand many attacks." In some ways she supposed that did mean she wore armor given what the purpose of such was. "Armor or not, Poppi thanks you for the compliment. But Poppi thinks we should work together to find a way out of this place rather than give compliments."

[guar]

▹𝙰𝙽𝙶𝙴𝙻𝙰 "𝙼𝙴𝚁𝙲𝚈" 𝚉𝙸𝙴𝙶𝙻𝙴𝚁
❛❛xxmercy im bereitschaftsdienst.xx❜❜
─────────────────────────────────────────
overwatch xx·xx female xx·xx thirty-seven xx·xx tagged; genji

While being reunited with another agent of Overwatch was a relief and merely having a friendly face - or rather faceplate, she should say - around was enough to put Angela at ease, it still rose some concerns in the back of her mind. The first, of course, was the idea of this being some form of lead up to an attack or an ambush aimed towards Overwatch; with two agents already here and already waking up in close proximity to each other, the field medic couldn’t help but worry that the situation with the mysterious X was all some kind of ploy. Perhaps there were more agents of Overwatch being removed, effectively leaving both them and the headquarters vulnerable to attacks. It wasn’t like teleportation was unknown to the world, after all, so that would explain the extreme change of surroundings. The issue with that theory, though, was the fact that wherever the two of them were, Angela couldn’t recognise anything, besides she couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to find such a large city completely uninhabited. Yes, ruins were not hard to come by but people still lived around them or inside them, despite the many risks, purely because they had nowhere else to go. In a lot of the countries that were badly hit during the Omnic Crisis there weren’t many buildings still standing that didn’t show signs of the many battles they went through. She considered voicing her theories regardless of the fact she already debunked them in her mind, but she eventually decided against doing so; negative thinking wouldn’t help them at that point. At least there were still pretty considerable positives; she had seen first-hand how capable the cyborg ninja was and she had faith in the cybernetic body she had a hand in making. If they did run into any trouble, she was confident that Genji would be able to keep her safe and, in return, she would keep him healthy and healed. “I haven’t had any luck in seeing any signs of life, either.” Angela informed with a frown, raising a hand to her chin thoughtfully as she gazed at their surroundings, “You would think there would be more people around, though. If there are supposed to be multiple people helping to rebuild this place.” The scientist continued, her eyes shifting back to the ninja and her arms dropping down by her sides again.

As Genji continued to speak, Angela offered a quiet hum of thought and shook her head with a half-hearted smile growing on her face, “I suppose we will always have the habit of meeting under unfortunate circumstances. Although, I admit, this one is quite new.” She chuckled, “But yes, I would rather leave this place too.” The blonde finally replied, bobbing her head as she cast her mind back to the contents of the letter which she had left on the table in the room she woke up in - she didn’t really think she would need it, after all. In hindsight, perhaps it would have been better to keep hold of the note in order to plan what to do with more ease rather than having to remember what was written. Even though that was the case, it was still fresh enough in her mind to not cause any issues with her recall, “That letter which was left for us, assuming you got one too, mentioned there being a safe place. There was the choice to stay there or return home, so that seems to be the best option we have right now.” She suggested. When the safe place was mentioned in the letter, it was following X claiming that they understood that those pulled from their homes would wish to leave. Although, whether that meant leaving the city they were in or to leave entirely and return to their homes was unclear; she could only really hope that it was the latter, though. She couldn’t imagine what would be happening in their absence and, if her earlier theories were correct despite the odds, she would much rather get home before anything drastic happened. She was used to working under chaotic circumstances as a field medic but that didn’t mean she was particularly fond of arriving when a majority of the damage was already dealt. “There were no clues as to where we should look, though.” Angela sighed, “Nor how we go about actually returning home when we get there. In such a place like this, I doubt anything will be too easy. The letter also mentioned monsters, so we must be careful and not rush into anything we cannot handle.” She paused for a moment, a small smirk growing on her face, “Doctor’s orders.”

▹𝚃𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙰𝚃𝙾𝚂
❛❛xxblood and darknessxx❜❜
─────────────────────────────────────────
hades xx·xx male xx·xx death incarnate xx·xx tagged; death

Thanatos studied the man before him carefully, looking to see if there were any more weapons on his person other than the large scythe being carried; eventually he came to the conclusion that if there were any concealed weapons, they were hidden rather well. The demeanor of the stranger led Thanatos to believe he wasn’t going to be much of a threat, though, or at least wouldn’t be the type to focus on hidden weapons. They seemed almost confused, which was understandable in such a situation. Thanatos couldn’t ignore what he was feeling around the rider, though. The horse was obviously undead; being skeletal and such similar to the remains of the Lernaean Hydra which was slain by the demi-god hero Herakles as part of his Twelve Labors. Thanatos rarely saw that beast, though. Having been stripped of its flesh which was sliced and cauterized by the hero Herakle in the battle with the Hydra, it was doomed to reside within the Underworld, stewing in the river Phlegethon that ran through Asphodel. It was tasked with watching over passage toward Elysium - that meant conflicts between the Hydra and Prince Zagreus were common and, on occasion, Thanatos would offer his aid in the fights if he felt so inclined. The death incarnate shook his head as he caught his mind wandering; now was not the time. Squinting as he had to look up at the rider, a frown was present on his face. There was certainly something off about this deathly pale man, something that was not quite right - something that was uncomfortably familiar.

Hearing the name of the horse being uttered, there came a slight tilt to Thanatos’ head, “Sthénos.” He repeated the word softly, “You’re Greek?” The man eventually assumed, considering the language of the skeletal horse’s name. It was possible that this was some kind of a deity that he didn’t know of, but Thanatos highly doubted that - surely he would be aware of them. Besides, the almost sickly appearance made him doubt that the stranger belonged to the Olympian pantheon; they favoured appealing and attractive appearances, after all. Realising he was prompted for an introduction, Thanatos frowned again. Perhaps they hadn’t realised he indirectly asked for their own introduction just before meeting? Nevermind, he wouldn’t dwell on it. “I would assume it’d be obvious who I am.” He commented at first before politely dipping his head, “I am Thanatos,” After the introduction, he was unsure whether formalities were required also; it didn’t seem like this man was exactly expecting them but then they were already hard to read. Eventually, Thanatos decided to lengthen the introduction slightly to include any details he saw or heard related to him either by mortals or his peers, under the impression that it would be expected, “you may know me as the son of the Goddess Nyx. Brother to Sleep and embodiment of death.” He finished, then narrowed his eyes, “You do not belong to the Olympians, do you?” Despite his earlier assumption that the Olympian Gods wouldn’t posses such a somber character, Thanatos decided it was best to have it confirmed, just in case it was something he would need to report back to Hades once he finally returned to the Underworld.

[onion]

🔥 yang xiao long / 18 / rwby / bi
species: human
location: unknown
tags: poppi

"ohh, so youre kind of like penny?" yang asked. "back in remnant theres this girl i know, penny." she began to circle poppi to get a full view of her, wanting to know what she was like from all angles. "pennys a robot. shes really sweet and funny. kinda quirky though..." she paused when she reached poppis front. "kinda like you!" yang thought back again to when her and the rest of her team had first met penny in remnant. the robot had been so open and willing to be friends with ruby and the gang, it was inhuman, just like the girl before yang now. she smiled briefly, thinking back to this simpler time. but the smile faded when she realized again that she was in a hellhole with nothing around her but this artificial being. "...yeah. i think we should get going too. we should probably stick together now that we have found each other."

[ʀᴏᴄᴋᴇʀ ɢɪʀʟ]

natsuki oshiro
female | persona 3 oc | feeling; wary | tags; chuya

natsuki's first impression of the stranger was made worse by his rather annoyed-sounding answer. whoever he was, natsuki silently wondered just how other people were able to tolerate him. but natsuki remembered that she wasn't exactly the most pleasant person, and how SEES were able to put up with her, even she didn't know.
"yeah, that's about right," natsuki answered wryly, folding her arms. so she wasn't the only one brought to this wasteland. but at the same time, natsuki wondered just how many others were brought here aside from here. what were x's motives in bringing people from varying worlds into this monster-ridden wasteland? was it really for some bigger goal or was it for their own twisted entertainment? was their supposed "safe place" even real, or was it some farfetched ploy to start more chaos?
amidst her thinking, natsuki realized that she had left this stranger with an awkward silence. on one hand, she wasn't sure whether she should confide her suspicions with this stranger. but on the other, there was no telling whether natsuki was going to meet anyone else in this world.

"so what is your plan now? are you actually going to look for this so-called safe place?"

[Wormgod]

((Eddie thinking
V thinking
“V talking out loud”
“Venom talking”))

Eddie Brock — Venom

Male | Venom/Marvel | Symbiote | Tagged: Joker

Coming closer to the teen revealed him to be in a rather dapper outfit, definitely a costume of some type unless his universe was very different from the one Eddie knew. Eddie felt a bit under-dressed in his secondhand sweatshirt, worn jeans, and unshaven face.

The kid also subtly reached for a gun. Eddie recognized the movement. Even though it looked to be just a basic pistol, both V and Eddie felt relief when the kid decided against it. A pistol was useless against Venom, but who knew what kind of tech this kid had.

When the kid denied ever hearing of him—and with an accent—Eddie shrugged, “It was an American news show. It was pretty popular. We—I’m off the air now. Still a reporter though. Worth a shot to ask.”

The kid introduced himself—Joker, an obvious code name. V let out a mental ‘aww’ at the teenage superhero and Eddie has to fight to hold in his laughter. V had the weirdest ideas about what was ‘adorable’ and apparently teenage heroes ranked up there with fluffy kittens and hamsters.

“Joker, huh? Are you a superhero in your universe?” Eddie asked, playing casual, “I only ask cause there are a lot in mine.”

Joker pulled out a small eye-mask and put it on, only to push it up into his hair a few moments later. A nervous tic? V suddenly lost the jolly feelings and clenched around Eddie’s stomach. Something’s not right about him... Eddie winced and looked away for a second. What is it? He asked. V’s species have more senses than humans do and the pair have long relied on those extra ones, however vague they may be, such as right now. V wasn’t getting anything stronger than a gut feeling that Joker was more than he appeared. Well Eddie could have deduced that—some random Japanese kid that goes by “Joker”, dresses in all black, and carries a gun? Yeah, no duh!

Joker was talking again. Eddie looked back at him and hoped to god his acting skills hid the internal monologue, “Yep.” He popped the ‘p’, his face twisted in real anger, “I don’t see how ‘Eddie the reporter’ is supposed to revive a post-apocalyptic wasteland, but clearly ‘X’ thinks otherwise.”

[Go!Go!Zeppeli!]

Death | N/A | Male | Fate (OC) | Tags: Thanatos

Looking at the other scythe-wielding man, Death couldn't help but think that his shoulder plate looked rather... uncomfortable. It was nice-looking and rather intricately detailed, but wasn't it rather heavy? And, of he was being completely honest, the details were a bit too much. It wasn't just the shoulder pad, it was also the collar and necklace he wore. They seemed like they were much too heavy to be worn without hindering movement. It also seemed like he had a sword that didn't have a scabbard covering it's entirety, which was a rather bad idea. Death wouldn't have been surprised if the other man had accidentally hurt himself on it. Although, he wasn't really one to talk about safe weaponry, as his scythe was the only weapon he had, and if he was disarmed of he'd likely have to resort to fistfighting. That wasn't much of a problem for him, he was easily stronger than most humans and animals, with the added bonus that getting injured wasn't much of an issue for him. It would only be a problem if his heart or brain was hurt, and if it was, well, that was probably it for him. What would happen to him if he got killed here, anyways? If Servants died, then they would normally go back to the Throne, but Death doubted that the Throne or any of his world's various intricacies existed in this world, given he couldn't sense any mana in the air.

Was he Greek? He assumed the question was prompted by him speaking Sthénos's name, which appeared to have made said horse a little irritated, as it had moved it's head so it could 'glare' at him with nonexistent eyes. What, did it suddenly not like it's name? The horse was always rather moody, so it wouldn't surprise him. "Sthénos, this is not the time for sass," he stated to the horse, whose response was to simply snort. Death simply let out a sigh of resignation; now was not the time for this. He had to answer the other man's question. It was a bit of an awkward one for him though; he was just a combination of Death embodiments, after all. It was mostly Western ones, though, and the Greek one was one of the ones that had more influence on him, along with the rider from the Book of Revelation. So, he was Greek, despite not actually being from the pantheon of deities, or entirely Greek to begin with. "I... suppose I am, although not entirely," he said, looking at the other hooded man.

So, this was Thanatos? In hindsight, Death probably should have realized that. His clothes were definitely Greco-Roman, and he had already deduced that the hooded death god, was, well, a death god. As the man listed off his his various titles, it was absolutely confirmed in Death's mind that this was Thanatos. Combined with everything he had already noticed, he couldn't think of any reason couldn't be Thanatos. He doubted that this was the Thanatos that was part of him, though; he was sure this man wasn't a Servant, he couldn't sense a Spirit Origin from him. However, he could have had a Presence Concealment skill. He could worry about possible Presence Concealment later, another question had been asked of him. He knew for a fact that none of his components were Olympians, any Greek gods that could be a part of him were the Chthonic deities. Death might as well just tell Thanatos about his actual identity. He wasn't a Servant or a Mage, so he doubted that the other man could use his True Name against him. "I am not an Olympian. I am... well, I'm you, in a sense. I am simply Death."

Diego Brando | 20 | Male | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure | Tags: Open

Here

[Ploegy]

⇀Ｒｅｎ Ａｍａｍｉｙａ!!
xxxxmale • seventeen years old • persona 5 • tagged: eddie / venom
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

When the other confirmed that his news show was American, Ren gave a small bob of his head. It was as he expected. He wasn't knowledgeable of much that happened in America beyond what they learned in school and even then it wasn't all too much. The only real experience he had with Americans was when he traveled to Hawaii on their school trip within the last few months, but where they had stayed there were many people who spoke Japanese to them and rarely did he have to revert to using the English he learned in school. Sure, he was semi-fluent in the language, but it wasn't as clean as his Japanese. That struck a thought in his mind. Why was it so easy to understand languages in this place? Now that he thought about it the letter clearly had been written in a language akin to English yet he had no troubles reading it despite struggling with it from time to time in school. He may be one of the top students in his grade, but even he had his problems with things. The other thing was how well he understood what the other was saying to him and in return how well he seemed to be communicating. There were no difficulties for him at all. Perhaps this place had some strange way of making that possible. As much as he wanted to question it, he knew it was for the better not to. Some things simply were left to be unsolved. This seemed like one of those things. It was better than no language barrier stood in their way anyways. It allowed for much easier communication. In a situation like this, the easier, the better. 'American, huh. That explains it," he finally said as he pushed his previous thoughts from his mind. "And you're still a reporter? Can't say you look much like one then again, the one I deal with doesn't look the part either." As the thought of Ichiko crossed his mind, a soft chuckle escaped the boy's lips. She certainly wasn't the run of the mill kind of reporter. Most times he came into contact with her was when she was drunk and moping around Crossroad bar in Lala Escargot's company. "Though you don't reek of alcohol like she usually does."

As the conversation progressed forward, Ren wasn't surprised as the name he had given was brought into question. However, what was asked was something he hadn't necessarily expected. He supposed code names usually were for heroes and the like. Could he even consider himself such? Thinking upon it, in a way the Phantom Thieves were heroes, but as of recently most thought of them as nothing of the sort. They were criminals despite doing nothing wrong. Plenty of people had once cheered for them and wished to see them succeed in changing the country, but after the incident with Okumura they had fallen out of favor. He was still bitter that they had walked into such a trap so easily. Such things had changed though once they took on the prosecutor's palace. Instead of being ensnared in yet another trap, they had trapped the one that had been pursuing them or more specifically, him. The thought of everything that had happened then still bothered Ren greatly. It only had been a few weeks since he had managed to break free from his holding cell with Sae's help and return home. Many had thought he was dead at that point and news of such had spread across the country like a wildfire. There were many that were happy about such. That was what made him question if he could truly consider himself a hero. In his heart that was what he believed, but it wasn't in the sense he believed Americans saw it. His methods were different than what he had seen in American comics and other forms of media. He targeted corrupt adults and caused them to have a change of heart by infiltrating their palace's in the Metaverse. That wasn't something he had ever heard of a typical hero doing. Besides, his way of doing such was by stealing. All in all, he was a thief albeit a phantom thief. Thieves weren't necessarily heroes. He couldn't hint at that though. "I suppose you could say that," he hummed in amusement. "Though I'd classify myself as more of rebel than a superhero." That seemed like a fitting way to describe himself and by no means did it hint at what he truly did.

Falling silent for a moment, Ren noticed Eddie had done the same. Allowing his gaze to flicker onto the older male, he quietly studied him. Something seemed off. He had no evidence to support it, but he could only imagine that was why Arsene was trying to act out. It wasn't like the persona to act out of line. Usually he came out when called upon. He knew that the persona represented his own rebellious side, but he could never imagine him actually rebelling against his own orders. Part of him wanted to hear what Arsene had to say, but summoning him now seemed like a risky act and might only cause unnecessary panic from the other if he was wrong that something wasn't normal about him. It was at the moment Eddie winced that Ren was positive that his feeling might be true. Still it was a big hunch, but what reason would the other have to react in such a manner unless he was feeling ill or something like that. As the other finally spoke again, Joker couldn't help quirking a brow. "Eddie the reporter not being useful. Sounds about as useful as Joker the teenager," he remarked. Sure, he had already stated that he was a hero of sorts yet he felt that didn't necessarily mean he was fit to rebuild a place like this. Before he could continue on with what he planned to say, a nearby sound caught his attention and he immediately stopped himself. The questioning look he had been wearing for the moment was quick to fade into a rather serious one. As soon as a growl echoed out, the teen already had his pistol in hand and had turned away from Eddie with it raised in the direction the sound had come from. Searching frantically for the source, Joker felt himself becoming more tense than usual. For someone who usually thrived in these situations against shadows, he couldn't help feeling in such a manner. "If you really think you're not going to be useful, I suggest staying close to me right now then." Unlike before, the playfulness in his voice was gone only to be replaced by a more firm and commanding tone. "We might have company and all I've got is a gun and knife to deal with it so if you want to live you best keep your eyes peeled for it so I can shoot it down before it does anything."

⇀Ｇｅｎｊｉ Ｓｈｉｍａｄａ!!
xxxxmale • thirty-five years old • overwatch • tagged: angela
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

It was no surprise to Genji when Angela stated that she hadn't seen no signs of life either. Despite the letter stating that this place needed to be rebuilt it seemed that finding other life was rather difficult. That made rebuilding a major pain. Sure, two people could help to an extent, but there was only so much the either of them could do. Besides, staying here and making X's wishes come true wasn't something on his current to do list. He may be stuck in this situation, but by no means did he wish to go along with such things. At this point his goal was to keep Angela safe and find a way back home without any major injuries. He trusted her abilities to keep him healthy, but he also knew that if things did go wrong she may not be able to help him. As she continued to speak, Genji gave a small nod of his head at her words. It seemed that the two of them were at least on the same train of thought at the moment. "I find that strange as well," he commented as he scanned the area again in attempt to pick up on any signs of life, but it was to no avail. "X must be crazy if they think the two of us can rebuild this place alone." In the back of his mind the thought that this was some kind of ploy to push the two of them closer did come to light, but he couldn't help thinking that was crazy. He couldn't think of one person back home that would want such a thing. If anything it seemed like a strange coincidence that both him and Angela had been dragged to this place. He wouldn't complain about it though. Even if the situation was a rather grim one, he still had always enjoyed her company and this would be no different. After a moment, Genji finally averted his gaze back to the doctor just in time to see the smile growing on her face. For a few seconds he found himself dazed by it only to snap back to reality in time to catch the end of what she had been saying. It was true, they did have a habit of meeting under rather unfortunate circumstances. That was exactly how their first meeting had gone although he couldn't say he remembered any of it given the state he had been in back then. Despite not remembering it, he was still grateful for that "meeting."

"We'll have to see that changed once we return back home," Genji hummed playfully. It was a subtle flirt, but one nevertheless. It seemed fitting for the situation. "But you're right. This is a new one. We've been faced with plenty of situations, but never one to the degree of this. I find it hard to believe that this place can be saved given its state." As much as he hated saying it, it was obvious that this place was in a rather terrible condition and even X had admitted that this world was dying. If the place itself was dying how were they supposed to fix it? He knew Angela could work miracles, but even she had her limits as did he. He still couldn't think of the role he was even supposed to have in rebuilding a world other than possibly dealing with whatever monsters were around. Perhaps his purpose was to simply keep Angela company. None of it mattered anyways. Whatever X's reasons were, the two of them planned on returning home. No warning of how dangerous this world was would stop that. Danger was enough reason not to stay in the first place. Honestly, he saw no reason why anyone would want to stay unless their life had been even worse back home. That was not the case for him despite the hardships he had faced throughout his life. This world didn't offer him anything he desired. The only thing it had offered him was a chance to be with Angela once again. If only it could have been under different circumstances. Snapping from his thoughts, he heard her mention the letter and how it had mentioned a safe place. That made a clear goal for them, but the problem was trying to find said safe place. The location hadn't been given to them nor did he recall seeing it marked on the map that had been provided. At the thought of the map, the cyborg plucked his own from where he had tucked it away and unfolded it. "Right, a safe place," he mused as he scanned over the empty looking map. "It's a shame this map doesn't help in any manner."

As Angela continued to speak, Genji folded up the map and gave yet another nod of his head. She was right. Nothing was going to be easy in this place, but he was sure that the two of them would be alright as long as they protected one another and relied on each others strengths. Admittedly, he always did feel better when she was watching his back and he was sure that she was aware of that unless she had forgotten over the years. "I say we try to find some indication of which way is west. The most land lies in that direction and probably will be the best place to start our search," he finally said. As her last words registered with him, a chuckle rumbled from his throat and a smile crossed his lips albeit it was blocked by the face plate he wore. "I'll be on my best behavior, Doctor Ziegler. I do have to keep the both of us safe so no recklessness." At that moment, he wished she could see the smile upon his face, but he didn't dare unmask himself for such a trivial thing. Pushing that to the back of his mind, Genji turned away from Mercy and looked around for anything that might hint at possible directions.

⇀Ｐｏｐｐｉ!!
xxxxfemale • unknown • xenoblade chronicles 2 • tagged: yang
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Blinking in confusion, Poppi wasn't sure what Yang was talking about at first. She had no clue who Penny was or what made her anything like her. When the other continued on, the artificial blade couldn't help but tilt her head once more and watch as Yang began to circle her. At the word robot, she only became more confuse. Never before had she heard of such a thing before, but it was clear that it had to be something that was similar to herself. Sure, she wasn't the only one of her kind back in Alrest, but most of the others that had been mass produced didn't function in the same manner she did and were much weaker than her or even Lila. Of all the artificial blades that had been created, she was probably the strongest and most powerful. Most of the others didn't even work as actual blades like they were designed to be but rather they functioned as soldiers since that was what Amalthus wanted from them. At the thought of the Praetor, Poppi frowned slightly. She was supposed to be helping the others take him down by travelling to the World Tree but here she was stuck in this place. They had been so close to making it to the tree too. It bothered her that she had been pulled from her friends at a time like this. Hopefully they would be alright in her absence although she supposed maybe it was for the better. She always did fear that she would bring harm to them and end up destroying everything. The Land of Morytha had caused those thoughts to come to her. Technology had been what brought them to an end so what would make her any different? She was technology too. That must have made her dangerous. Realizing that he thoughts had gotten off track, Poppi gave a small shake of her head and pulled herself back into the reality she was current faced with. "Poppi does not know what a robot is," she finally admitted. "Poppi is artificial blade that was created by Masterpon since he could not bond with a core crystal of a normal blade."

Poppi was sure that might lead to many questions, but she didn't think they needed to be explained right now. Things of her own world wouldn't have any purpose in this place. Besides, it seemed that it had been agreed on that they should work together. That was of greater importance at the moment or at least in her mind it was. Giving a nod at Yang's suggestion that they should get moving, Poppi took a look around trying to figure out which direction exactly they should take off in. There was no indication of where they should go. That was when she remembered the map that had been given to her. Grabbing it from the place she had tucked it away in, the artificial blade unfolded it and began to look it over. Letting a hum escape her mouth, she only found herself struggling to understand what was before her. Such things weren't her forte that was for certain. "Poppi would offer a suggestion on where to go, but Poppi does not understand the map left for us. Directions are not Poppi's expertise."

[onion]

🔥 yang xiao long / 18 / rwby / bi
species: human
location: unknown
tags: poppi

yang nodded slowly when she stood still in front of poppi. "well... a robot is artificial too. its a fake human i guess..." her voice trailed off. did that mean... penny was fake? well after all, she wasnt a real girl. but still, there was truth to pennys existence, solid proof. she frowned and looked down.
yang admittedly missed penny and her upbeat attitude. but somehow this poppi character sort of reminded her of penny. "youre kinda like penny. are you bulletproof?" she asked curiously. penny wasnt bulletproof, not exactly, or at least yang didnt think she was. but she could be... regardless, penny was very strong, a skilled fighter at that. she could take down nearly anyone. that was one of the things yang admired about her though; she didnt take out everyone. she was kind, caring, and helpful. she only used her powers for justice.
before appearing in this world, yang had been with ruby weiss and blake, on their way to meet penny and winter to confront the evil that was cinder fall. but just like that, yang had vanished... "map?" she asked. yang hadnt been left with a map, just a letter and her backpack. "maybe i could make sense of it." yang uncrossed her arms and looked directly at the female blade. "can i see?"