Champions of Idun - IC

[Dawscombine]

Carrie frowned at the end of the two speeches. Both were nice and touching and so on and so on. Not much meat, but prop didn't care about meat. They wanted flowery words and hollow promises of support. Something to make them happy, not something to make them safe. Not that anyone on that stage could have offered much in the way of that, seeing how it was a group of punks with strong legs and a group of assholes with bad haircuts.

She approached Lautrec after the Sable Spirits left the stage, holding out her hand with her best friendly smile. It was a terrible attempt, but she wasn't exactly known for her disposition. "Evening, sir. My name is Francesca Holdiron. I'm a photographer for Idun's most reliable News Network. Would you mind if I got a few shots of the band? A few choice quotes about the bombing, maybe?" She hoped he'd let her at least snap the photos. The quotes were a way for her to get some info in case someone came to her with a case on the subject. Even opinions could help, in that situation.

The name was the pseudonym she used for all her photography work. Both the artsy pieces and the more commercial ones. Maybe he'd know it. Maybe not. She was better know for her investigative work, which was saying a lot, given that she could barely afford to hire the one assistant she had.

[IsaacGaming]

After a long wait and many more thoughts crossing his minds, it was finally time for the soccer star to begin his speech. To be quite honest, Ardan wasn’t quite sure what to expect. He had only seen this man a couple of times, all of which were on the TV. For all he knew, this could be one of the greatest speeches in history. Or it could be a flop. Either way, Ardan stopped thinking and began to listen, hoping for something intriguing.

The speech being good was an understatement. It was excellent! It made Ardan proud to be a citizen of Idun. Or, at least, it did for a moment. The end of the televised “speech” of the bomber was still sticking around in the back of his head, playing over and over like a broken record. While others would have already written off the event and moved on, Ardan just couldn’t stop thinking about it. Something just didn’t feel quite right with it… Just as Ardan was about to go back into his thoughts, he was shaken by someone talking to him.

Quickly turning to her, he was quickly relieved and excited about her request. Giving a bow back, he responded “Ah! You have come to the right man. My name’s Ardan Malétma, and I’m the leader of the Aldrich Faithful. I would be more than glad to teach them, as well as answer any questions they may have. By the way, I don’t believe I caught your name?”

[Kiro Akira]

Dillon was rather excited when he heard Dunkirk speak of the Jericho Gatekeepers' autograph signing at Erdrich Convention Center. And it was this Saturday, he had a small party to perform for a few blocks away around 3pm. With an excited look he pulled his phone out and put it in the calendar for further noting. The only thing that would make the signing better would be if the Caeser Senators showed up. They were his all time favorite after the Gatekeepers yet this season they to him, had a few more likable people on the team.

Putting his phone away, he looked to the stage as the Sable Spirits came out. Dillon wasn't the biggest fan of Rock music and preferred the classical style, but by the end of the concert even her was enjoying the songs. Almost as soon as the concert ended Dillon made his way to the exit. It was already late in the evening and if he wanted to bid in the Silent Auction, he'd need to find some extra cash before Saturday.

[Kortaga]

Sivil watched as the man came out of his thoughts and took notice of her. He got up quickly and smiled brightly. Ardan...Maletma…? She was trying to remember him or even the group that he was a part of. Though she figured it would not matter quite so much at the end of the day. She noticed that he had asked her a question and she quickly set her bags down.

“Oh yes sorry how rude of me my name Sivil. I work at the orphanage nearby.” She gave a deep smile and held out her hand to shake his. She shifted a little bit and then looked to him while picking up her bags again. “If possible I would like to study there a bit and see what it is like. I want to make sure they are getting the right message. So I figure if I do not really follow it then the children will not.”

As such she was pretty excited over all and looked to him once more, “So I look forward to studying at the church and look forward to working with you!”

She was unsure if this was exactly what he wanted but more followers were usually what they sought. She hoped it was enough for him.

[IsaacGaming]

Ardan was quite surprised by her request. Generally, he had to approach people and talk to them. Even then, people declined 99.9% of the time. Having someone approach him and ask to join was very exciting to Ardan. After all, any person who he could introduce to the wonder of Aldrich was another person saved.

“Of course! If you wish to join, you absolutely may. I, too, look forward to introducing the glory of Aldrich to you, Sivil.”

Happy with the prospect of another soul saved, Ardan began to make plans. Hearing there was an orphanage brought about two different trains of thought. The first was to convert the children so that they could, too, be saved. However, he quickly realized that he had to uphold his agreement with Sivil. So next came the thought of the orphanage.

“Sivil, how is the orphanage? Are the children get proper food and other such necessities? How about other things like toys and books?”

Ardan eagerly awaited the response, hoping to see if he could help in any way.

[Cfavano]

Johnny hand been to many events in his career, and he had heard many speeches. It was certainly well written, of course celebrities would hire good speechwriters, they all do. Same with songwriters. But the thing is, you hear enough speeches, and they all begin to sound the same. The same lines, the same phrases, and so on. Johnny had even started plying a little game where he would count every time a line or phrase had been used again from speech to speech. It was one of the few things he could do to keep from taking the gun he wore and blowing his brains out.

He walked through the crowd, going nowhere in particular, just stretching his legs. He could feel eyes on him, but he was used to it. You do not get to be so good looking, so well dressed, and tote iron on your shoulder and not expect glances. He was in no mood to socialize, though, for he did that on his 9-5 job, and for once wanted to go around without some rich twat on his arm. Not that he didn't enjoy it when he worked, the stares some of the men gave him. He knew that some saw him and were jealous, and others thought he was just an accessory, or meat. The difference was, they paid to go to these events, while he was paid to go.

He touched his head, a migrane. Ever since that woman visited him in the night, he hadn't slept well. Whether it was what he said, or the unsettling feeling he got when he dragged a sharpened kitchen knife across his throat and didn't feel anything was anyone's guess.

[Iwazuma]

With his own bit done, Dunkirk had become little more than a slightly more famous spectator than the average Idun citizen, and he was left alone during the Sable Spirits concert, which was a testament in itself to the power the rock band had in holding the crowd's attention. He was both relieved and a little impressed; he was able to just blend in with the crowd, just another person in the thronging mass. The rest of his team had already started packing up for the day and were likely headed to their respective homes; they weren't nearly as used as he was to public appearances off the field and probably just wanted to go back to their offseason lives. While he understood the desire, he'd wanted to listen to the Spirits' concert, and he was not disappointed. The new Spears of Idun felt entirely heartfelt, especially considering the lack of time Lautrec had to compose an entirely different song.

Once it was all over, Dunkirk again ceased to be a face in the crowd. Children noticed him simply milling around and rushed up to him, asking for his autograph, which the soccer star happily complied with. He'd gotten used to always being around kids nowadays, considering soccer was the leading sport in Idun both on television and in extracurriculars. A few kids even mentioned that he was their inspiration, which he found flattering and a little exaggerated. Anything to make a celebrity proud, right? Of course, he'd learned to control his reactions and give only the most politically correct ones lest he ruffle feathers. But something seemed off in Dunkirk today to the trained eye. His interactions with kids and their parents seemed a little more forced than usual, as though he didn't much wish to be with his fans. That was a far departure from his usual attitude, but considering recent events, he had his reasons.

Ever since that weird dream, his strength had grown immensely. Perhaps he couldn't kick a soccer ball that much harder, but he could practically bench press a truck now...let alone what he could do with his grip. He'd not had all that much time to get used to his newfound strength, either; every action he took had to be carefully calculated, lest he accidentally snap someone's wrist or crush something he was holding. He wanted more time to gain normalcy again, to at least not feel like he was reining in himself all the time, but...well, being a celebrity means you often don't make your own schedule.

Luckily, the crowds were beginning to disperse with the concert over...wouldn't be long before he could go back home himself and spend a few sleepless hours contemplating that dream...and what it truly meant. The words the angel spoke sounded eerily similar to the ones that suicide bomber had cried out to Idun...

[Salroka]

Time passed by fairly uneventfully after the concert and charity events held for the victims of the tragic bombings. A day... a week... now nearly a month. Now, in the blistering heat of August, things in Idun are shaken up once more.

Chapter 1: Just A Peek?

4:10PM, August 18th, Y.I. 722, Patroclus District.

Things in the trendy Patroclus district had returned to normal more quickly than in other districts. Well... at least it seemed that way on the surface. The district was known for some of the best restaurants and nightclubs in the city, so many people attributed it to the fact that these luxuries helped to distract Patroclus' citizens more easily than citizens from elsewhere. A group of women from the neighboring Shanxi district were enjoying a late lunch on a diner's outdoor patio and catching up with one another when they were approached by a man who claimed to be a magician. "Well if you don't believe me, then what is the harm in letting me make a fool of myself? The worst that happens is you have a laugh at my expense, yes?" One of the women chuckled and urged the others to let the guy show them a trick. A moment later, they all agreed.

Ecstatic that they were giving him a chance, the man produced a bright red plastic cube from a pouch on his waist. "Ok. Each of you feel free to make sure there is nothing weird about this little cube. Yep. Just plastic. Satisfied? Ok. And now..." he tossed the cube up in the air at a slght angle so that it dropped behind him and out of view of the women. However, there was no sound of the cube hitting the ground. One of the women was immediately skeptical, saying he had it in a back pocket. But after allowing her to check is pockets, she could not explain where the cube had gone. The magician smiled. "I think it is right... here." as he spoke, he leaned down and touched a finger against the side of the skeptic's purse. She looked inside, and sure enough the cube was in her bag. Soon a small crowd began to gather to watch the man's simple tricks despite the heat of the midday sun. So enthralled were they, that they did not notice a ring missing here... a hacksilver scrip missing there... and so on. That is, until the first woman yelled out that someone had stolen her money.

The man performed a couple more tricks after the outburst, then left under the reasoning that he and the crowd he drew would only get in the way of police. However, a cpuple guys were suspicious of him and began to follow... and soon a foot chase began.

"Someone help! This asshole took our hacksilver!" they yelled as they chased him through the streets and alleys of downtown Patroclus. Turning a blind corner, one of the men cried out in pain as a bunch of sharpened metal spikes punctured through the soles of his shoes and dug deeply into his feet. The other man began yelling about that being impossible before he went silent. Nearby bystanders all looked toward the commotion, but all hesitated to act. A scream followed by silence? That was never a good sign. They didn't want to be the source of thennext scream, so each of them hoped someone else would step up to the plate.

[Dawscombine]

It was not a tough case at all. The type of thing that she only took to pay the bills. Open and shut. Does my boy have a side bitch? Yes, most likely. Everyone had a side bitch. Always. Monogamy was a dream that died long before Idun, and it wasn't coming back. So the pictures she was taking right now, evidence that her client's boyfriend was pegging her sister on the side, didn't help things. Still, the wind was nice through her hair on the fire escape she'd camped out on and the man she was photographing naked wasn't half bad looking.

She had compiled a few dozen nice and incriminating shots of both the act and the two performing it. Faces did much to sway opinion, after all. Her client would deny that the evidence was worth anything, probably refuse to pony up the cash. But the faces would haunt her. She'd pay up eventually, right around the same time her man would find himself going from two girls to zero.

Someone was telling. A theft nearby. Interesting stuff, but not her job. Still, she looked away for the briefest of moments before turning back to her work. Apparently the boyfriend had heard it too. He turned to look, but Carrie and her camera caught his eye first. Normally all that would lead to was a dead boner and lots of screaming, but something must have had him on edge. A gun was leveled her way quickly, two shots fired off with little time to aim, both going wide. She didn't even think before she leapt from the fire escape, landing on her feet and running as fast as she could down the street. A few twists and turns later, she ducked into another alley, catching her breath and closing her eyes. Then it hit her. He had seen her jump... from the fourth floor window. Without so much as a roll. Unharmed and in no pain... possibly the sister, too.... damn. That couldn't fly. She had to figure something out... She ran back to her office to upload the photos she got and arrange for a meeting with some of her connections. She needed to get ahead of this, somehow... which means she had to figure out how much time she had to prepare. How long it would take for this case to get off the ground... hopefully longer than she needed to figure out a plausible story.

[Kiro Akira]

Dillon stood back and observed as the magician pulled his tricks and so forth. It had been quite a while since he seen a magic show of sorts. And the last time was with his parents at a paid performance. Thinking back to the moment gave a smile to the man but soon enough it ended when someone shouted on about a thief.

Dillon watched as the events soon unfolded, after the declaration of a thief the man had bolted for it. Luckily his hacksilver was still safe in his pocket but soon after the chase had begun, he heard an unusual sound. Almost right after they turned the corner, a horrifying scream came out from the area and then..... Silence. He was always the curious one but at such a noise and then utter silence even Dillon stayed with the crowd and watched with peering eyes to see what would come next.