[?] A Certain Masked Man OOC

Hmm. I could post, but i feel that Mugi-chan should go next. As i see it, she has control over the scene right now, and whatever our characters do next will center around how Mugino and Masked man act toward eachother. At this point, Koyoko would just be frozen in fear, only able to ask 'what do we do now?' And while his motives is to get the bag full of limited edition light novels, he has to rely on Natsu to get him out of the situation, unless she plans to throw him to the Serial Killer again.

TL:DR, I'm open to have Mugino kill everyone.

I can go next if you guys want me to, but it'd take 2 or 3 more days, since I'm not entirely back on track. Nya.

To bring up a point Iva brought up earlier regarding the current battle going on between Mugino and Masked Man, he's noted that if Natsumi and Koyoko run away again, MM will follow and Mugino will Follow without anything really changing.

Issue is Koyoko at the very least sees no reason to battle either of them when it is clear that both Mugino and Masked man are clearly out of their league. But idling standing there would be a little silly considering the circumstances. I figured I'd post this real quick since I can still edit my post if need be.

My suggestion would be for Natsumi and Yoseless to try and help fend off the Masked Man, given that he is the one chasing after them, while Mugino to the outside only seems to be concerned with him. Thus ridding themselves of the MM would allow them some peace all the while getting rid of their other pursuer...of course that’s what it would seem like from an ic perspective.

Well, my suggestion for Oda and Kita's reintroduction would be attempting to head to the location they found in the apartment and only find this trouble occurring on the way. Maybe seeing Yoko's character and remembering from earlier in the day, it's clear they can't just jump in because they would be dead, but maybe causing some sort of distraction to confuse the MM?

Just a quick thought.

Though that only depends it would sensible for them to get there in time from the Anti-skill place.

I will not be able to continue with this thread. I am moving back home and I'm gonna be spending a lot of time trying to figure out what the hell I wanna do with my life. So, for the sake of pacing and the sake of my sanity, I'm dropping out of this thread. Apologies for any conflicts this may cause and even though it hasn't been a whole lot of time, it's been a pleasure nonetheless.

Well, this changes things for Oda, so I guess scratch my last post. So not entirely what to do at the moment, but maybe still go with the distraction to confuse the MM and help Koyoko's character out. Any thoughts?

Well, I'll be reentering the thread, so perhaps we can work Oda and Jin's returns around each other? I know Jin is happy to get in the way involved, but that's on the condition that he's on the scene in the first place, and while Meltdowners are a good indicator that something's going on, he still would need to be close enough to see them. Of course, to do so would still require coordinating around Oda's travel time, I just don't want to just say "Jin's just coincidentally in the area" as my reason for him getting involved.

The condition being Jin on the scene first? Well that’s fine since Odas travel time and there is no clear indication where Jin has been so it makes sense. Also I probably have to briefly mention what happened to Kita probably convinced she had gone home after pretending Oda had also gone home. So be it, I’ll leave it to you then to post first Turtle!

There’s been a slight misunderstanding- I meant that Jin would have to be close enough to witness the Meltdown, which is more coincidence than I’d like- Not that it only works if he’s there before Oda.

I can post before you, but before I do I’d like to have more of a plan for my involvement, so I don’t fall into the mistake I fell into during the first act where a I just meandered along until the scene dragged out.

Overall, as I told to Iva, my goal with Jim in all threads is to move away from him getting involved because it seems interesting, and into getting involved as part of gaining leverage for his goal of escaping the walls of Academy City. I’m still an amateur when it comes to personal plots, though, so you may have to bear with me for a while until I figure out what I’m doing.

While I’m unclear on specifics, Jin had mentioned earlier in the thread that if the MM is more than a myth, he might hold clues toward Jin’s escape plans. I will, of course, have to talk to Guy to see if we can work out if that is true and in what way, since the MM is fairly mysterious still.

What I’m thinking for my re-entrance is that rather than just coincidentally being in the area, Jin hears that something is going down from his skill-out contacts, hence showing up partway through the fireworks- Though, like with Oda, this depends on travel times- It would take time for the message to reach Jin from skill out, before he gets back to the scene.

That said, it could work for Oda’s return for him to see Jin returning to the scene with his usual aerial theatrics, and chase him down like a good judgement member for being out past curfew and/or using his power, until they come across the chase scene?

Hmm, I don't think that would actually work for Oda at this point.

Let me explain.

I have also been thinking about his own role due to Kita leaving the scenes. He has felt increasingly more out of place and probably more than anyone else in this roleplay. It might be down to me not seeing how things will develop but it has made me consider his and even argue for swapping places with the other Oda.

And maybe because the only motivation for Taichi's role here is to break his spirit and show Judgement's hard work equates to nothing when realising the scale of Academy city's darkness. And while I don't think Oda at this point will chase Jin due to priorities if he acted up, but maybe pissing him off would at least break the ice which leads to a slight confrontation almost ending up stumbling into this current mess?

Not sure... back to you turtle what you think?

Alright, if it won't work for you that's fine, it was just a thought. In that case I'll just go with the entirety of my last post except the last paragraph. Once I sort out my thoughts a bit more I'll PM Guy to see what we can work out.

Well, I might be biased but I think you're both overthinking things a bit much.

It depends on how you want to write your characters but from where I'm sitting I think both of them have enough potential reasons to get involved. Oda is still a suspect and may see the potential for clearing his name by getting proof of the Masked Man's existence. He has one lead (the meeting point which will lead him to the current scuffle). More to the point, does it seem like a satisfying continuation of his story to have him walk away? And Jin may, as you said, see the Masked Man as a way of getting out of the city even aside from his curiosity. And having him find out about something fishy going on through his Skill Out friends seems like a good compromise.

As far as transit time, that's one of the things that can definitely be shuffled about depending on the needs of the story. That's just the way this series is anyway. People arrive where they need to be when they need to be there.

Remember, though we like to maintain consistency here, not everything needs to make 100% perfect sense all the time. Sometimes its best to just roll with the punches and work with what you've got. Coincidence isn't always bad. It's only a problem when it becomes a crutch that you rely on constantly. It's okay to bend things when it makes for a better story.

Noted. I think sometimes when somebody is confused about what to do, someone has to come along and hit them in the face with the obvious. Since I was previously with Kita thinking about how they now disconnect, but I thought its best to leave it vague and if needed can be filled in later.

My plan for my upcoming post is to confirm the motivation of clearing his name and heading in the direction of the location found in that apartment. It will probably be a small and sweet one which should allow Guy plenty of chances to send trouble his way or turtle to run into him. Whatever works.

Who's planning on posting next?

By my reckoning it should be time for Jin and Oda to arrive soon?

Made the post. Oda is now at the former intact warehouse. Though he's careful not to expose himself at this location just yet. Especially when he's confused about the site being right or not. It's clear he expected a warehouse that was intact and not something that looks recently destroyed.

Jin's turn next?

Sure, I can post.

Crap. I forgot there was something I needed to ask before I posted again.

Guy, since I've had Natsumi rummage through the contents of the bag to keep her busy while the fight is going on, could I get a bit of a feel for what the item actually is? She doesn't have much to react to currently besides that.

Sorry for only remembering now.

I discussed the contents of the package with Natsumi over chat, but for public record I'll post here as well.

The package contains a USB data stick and a small vial of unidentified liquid, both traceable to the Arisawa Science and Research company. I know, seems a little anticlimactic, right? But there'll be a payoff, I promise. Whether that payoff is worth it is a matter of opinion though...

Awoops, I was supposed to mention that, wasn't I?

I'll just blame the homework as always.

In any cases, I'm assuming we're going to be splitting the contents between the normal and dark side supposing the MM doesn't get it in the end, but does anyone have a preference on what they'd fancy? I'll post this weekend regardless if I can get some homework out of the way, but feel free to express opinions on what they want to do with the evidence.

Personally I fancy the idea of force feeding it to Taichi in the event that it's poisonous and requires an antidote, but mayhap that's just me.

Posted something small, but made my way closer to everyone else. Oda is taking it carefully, so hopefully, he will be alright. Though I'm leaving it to you Guy to decide who Oda has stumbled upon.

Post made.

I don't know if any of that makes sense to people, or if it's just a load of long-winded drivel. Let me know if it's the former and I'll edit.

In any case, from my side I'm concerned about dragging this fight out too long that it becomes boring for you guys (if that isn't already the case) but I also didn't want to just have him cut and run without giving the new arrivals a chance to do something. What are your thoughts, everyone?

I was gonna say: "lottsa butts today", but it looks like you've edited that. And the post is good, even if the amount of anatomy details rivals Kohaku's own posts

And actually, while I do feel like it's time for the normal side to get some involvement against the Masked Man, right now might be a little difficult and overwhelming (four players, nearly all with abilities, and a fucking powerhouse), making things a little boring. And I also think we should move onto the next day with the investigation since it's been a while and we are in a rumour.

So unless Taichi and Jin want to still have a go at him in this situation, I'd like to have Natsumi briefly participate in the fight for reveal purposes, but otherwise end it there so that we can move things on. The normal side can then try to handle the Masked Man alone without the OP dark side's assistance the next day (or whenever the hell he's supposed to appear).

Thoughts? 

And you guys still haven't decided on what to do with the remaining piece of evidence (Mugino, Jin, Taichi, who sticks as a group or not...) so please. Use half of your brain to ponder and answer this and the other half to posty post~

I'm fine with anything, really. I'm just sad that my bullet-stopping prep seems to have come to naught.

Since Jin is pretty much a faction in and of himself here, perhaps he should be the one to pick up the excess evidence? Assuming I can figure out which one you're talking about.

... You were going to fight against masked knifing martial artist expert ninja man with an anti-bullet device?

Well then. Pardon me for standing in the way of your evident glory.