Your name is Cheryl Elmore. You are a Peace Keeper of Panopolis, stationed on level 4, the monetary and human-resource capital of the city, and currently you do not know what to do.Before you, a man is using his body to keep an older woman cornered. He mentioned some money she owes his “organization”, and then using his straight razor, pantomiming shaving motions on his face, saying what a shame it would be if he slipped and cut her face.“It would be just like that- whoops! Whoops! Unless you got that money we talked about, maybe I'd be a bit more careful, capisce?”Is he attacking her? Is this a threat? He isn't directly causing harm but... that poor woman! Your training did not cover this, didn't cover most of the stuff you're dealing with on level 4. Criminal families, extortion, and organized violence. It's nothing like punk culture on Level 5...https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2023/5826377/
You reach out during an errant motion, and grab the man's wrist when he's distracted, twisting the razor painfully out of his hand.“Ow! What da fuck are you doing-””Go!”The woman, frozen in fear before, suddenly starts to move. She shuffles towards the alleyway's exit. “T-Thank you!””Let go of me you dumb cop bitch! I wasn't doing nothing! You'll regret this! You know I work for the Pacelli's, right?!””Shut up! You're under arrest, stop resisting!”>Kick him in the balls>Pepper spray
>>6170572>Pepper sprayYou can stop a ball kick, or move out of the way, good luck stopping pepper spray without a mask.Also, we're back! Hell yeah! I thought you were gonna do an fantasy thing, but honestly, I was really looking forward to this.
>>6170572>Pepper sprayMore professional.
>>6170572>>Pepper sprayEAT IT BITCH
>>6170572>>Kick him in the balls
>>6170572>Pepper spray
>>6170572>Pepper sprayVigilante time!
>>6170572>Kick him in the balls
”...NINE MONTHS PROBATION!?!”Your boss holds up his hand, as if to silence you.”Officer Elmore, you are lucky it wasn't much worse. You assaulted a man in broad daylight-””He was attacking a woman with a razor!””You. Have. No. Proof! He claimed to be shaving. What's to say he wasn't?””Shaving. In an alleyway, with no water or shaving cream, in front of a terrified woman who he claims owes her money. Come on! That's bullshit chief, and you know it!””Of course I know it is! That's not the point! The Peace Keepers have a very select set of protocols to be in line with city policies. You can't just take things into your own hands like that, Cheryl. You're lucky the woman corroborated your story. She could have been on Pacelli's payroll as a setup to trap an idealistic young officer, and then we'd really never hear the end of it. They have lawyers you know.””So they can just do whatever they want, then, huh? No officer of the law can say anything, we just have to stand there until he actually cuts somebody's face off, right?”The Chief softens.”You know that's not what I meant. Listen, Cheryl, you're a good cop. I know you've been working very hard. You're one of the few people to move your way up from level 5 to level 4, that's a huge accomplishment. But if you want to go from level 4 to level 3, it's going to be just as hard. Your record needs to be spotless, you understand? This cannot happen again. I'm appeasing the city by appearing harsh on you, even though everyone here knows you did the right thing to that creep. Alright? Focus on doing your job the right way, by the book, not your own judgment. That's just the way things are. Don't make things worse by trying to be some hero, ok?”
You won't give the chief, or anyone in your department, the satisfaction of seeing you cry. You go to the bathroom instead, and that's where you cry. You've just been under so much stress lately, and this is just another nail in the coffin.Nine months of probation and shredding any chances of an early promotion... all for that, huh? You sniffle. You wish it was Max up there instead. You smile at that thought. He doesn't have to deal with any bullshit politics or police chief or nothing. He just does exactly what he thinks is right. Max would have beaten the shit out of that guy, wouldn't you, Max?>Update to be continued
Your name is now Max Montagu and you live on level 5. Currently, you are with your friends.“I'm glad you suggested this group roleplaying thing, Jason! I haven't had this much fun with my imagination in years.” Nathan says.”If anything we should be thanking you,” says Jason. ”You let us use your apartment while your wife isn't here! Guy's night!”“She's out with her friends. Lady's night, you know? It's nice that we can do our own things sometimes.”The idea of a bunch of women going out alone on level 5, unchaperoned, was unthinkable just a few months ago. Nobody says anything about it; the concept of this is met with a welcome, happy silence.Currently, you are sitting with your friends from left to right; Nathan, Yourself, Jason, and Carlos. Carlos is the youngest, and he's a bit big. You also know he's got a bit of a criminal record, which would certainly make you more distrustful of him, but Jason seems to vouch for him.”Alright- no more time wasting! I'm the Quest-Master for this game! Did anyone bring any character concepts along? We can try to work everyone's characters together to make it more fitting.””I have one.” You say.
”He's a mysterious knight who always wears an armored mask and a long red cloak. He's known to fight bandits and highwaymen, and prefers to fight them over monsters in the wilderness or dungeons. His weapons are two swords which he uses with equal skill to be able to defeat multiple foes at once...””Oh, you're copying that mask guy.””...?””You know, the Masked Vigilante. The one everyone's been talking about on Level 5? Come on- don't pretend you haven't heard of him.”“He literally saved me himself!” Nathan said with a sudden look of awe. You avoid his gaze.Truthfully... that Masked Vigilante is actually you. You're well aware of his antics, because you are the one doing them when not in your civilian clothes. You adopt a whole different persona, and for the past several months, have been using your newfound skills and fitness to stop the criminal elements of Level 5, as well as putting a dent in the whole of punk culture.But, of course, you didn't mean to directly compare yourself to the vigilante. After all, it's supposed to be your secret identity, both to avoid getting in trouble with the law, but also to protect your friends or others who may end up as targets to your enemies. ”I mean, that IS what you intended your character to be modeled after. Copying the mask guy? Like I think it's pretty cool but that's what you meant, right Max?”What should you say?>Yeah, because that's me lol>I don't know I thought he was cool>Maybe it was less original then I thought>No I didn't copy and I don't know anything about that mask guy!
>>6171329>I don't know I thought he was coolIf you go "Geeeeee I don't know whoooo he is" that's just gonna look suspicious. Better to play it off as just awkwardly admitting you based your character on him.As a vigilante, we should try as hard as we can do maintain the 'masquerade'. The least people know, the better. If Cheryl remains the only one to know of our identity, good.
>>6171329>>I don't know I thought he was cool
>>6171329>I don't know I thought he was cool
>>6171329>>I don't know I thought he was coolClosest thing we have to a real-world superhero
>>6171329>I don't know I thought he was coolIt's a reasonable deflection and allows us to gauge their sentiment.
>>6171329>>Yeah, because that's me lol
>>6171329>I don't know I thought he was cool>New thread when i'm sick.
>>6171593I mean...does your sickness prevent you from reading or posting? Clearly not. It sucks that you're sick but I fail to see how that's related to there being a thread.
>>6171329>I don't know I thought he was coolI am a lemming.
“I don't know... I just thought he was cool.”“Well, I certainly think he's cool. But if anyone should be playing him, it should be ME. After all, I'm the only one of us who has even seen the guy.””Cool for a psycho, maybe. Isn't that what the Peace Keepers are supposed to do.”“You know they don't do shit.””...Do you guys smell that? See, Carlos coughed. There's smoke.”Peaking your head out the window, the other men in the room get up to look down at the alleyway below, revealing a plume of smoke coming up towards your faces. Right at the foot of the building, some punks and troublemakers are starting a fire.“What the fuck!? Hey!” Nathan yelled down, “Hey! People live here! HEY!””Shit, we need to evacuate the building. Then someone can get the emergency phone outside for the fire fighters. Somebody could easily get trapped inside.”Slipping away from the others, you find yourself called to action once again. Setting random fires to get your enjoyment isn't quite the same as beating people up but it isn't a victimless crime either! Looks like this is a job for the masked vigilante...
In a flash, you've gone downstairs of the large apartment building and gotten into your disguise. Your two batons hidden away, now ready to be used. You run straight to the alleyway to stop the arsonists before the fire becomes too big to control.“Oh shit! It's that guy!”“You got a problem with us, bud? Get lost! We wanna see this piece of shit building burn to the ground. You ain't going to stop us.”You spin your baton, inviting the first one forward. The first thug charges with a raised fist on unsteady feet, and you quickly dodge and hit him on the back of the neck with a downward strike, glancing your baton off the back of his skull in a smooth motion.“Argh!”The second comes in with a punch which you dodge, and respond with a shove against his face and nose with your baton, stunning him with the long hard implement. As you reels back, you spin your other baton quickly to gain force, smacking him once and then twice in the chest, opening up his face for a smack that causes him to fall down, stunned.Easily dispatched, you turn to the last one. The smallest of the three punks, who doesn't seem eager to fight you.
“H-Hey! You know, you act real tough for someone who carries around weapons. Without those batons, I bet you can't fight at all. You're a wimp, aren't you!”You pause. You're pretty sure he's about to run, and you have little interest in running him down if he does. It'd be much easier if he just came at you first.“Level 5 is full of big tough guys. They don't need clubs or knives or whatever. The Viking would cream you with one hand.” He says smugly. He raises his hands up in fists. “I bet I could whoop you, so drop those batons and fight like a man!”He absolutely could not whoop you. The only question is, should you humor him?>Drop your batons and fight with fists>Just smack the shit out of him
>>6171875>Just smack the shit out of himWhat, so he can pull out a knife or some shite? No thanks. This is obviously a taunt. Back in the first thread, we didn't quip or say anything when we helped Nathan. DA MISSION is more important than our ego.
>>6171875>Just smack the shit out of himNever underestimate an enemy. There's a reason he isn't running.
>>6171875>Just smack the shit out of himYeah, no, no point risking it.
>>6171875>>Just smack the shit out of him
>>6171875>Just smack the shit out of him
You know, I gotta wonder: just how big, exactly, is the city? I mean, just a few months of vigilantism, if i got that correctly, were enough to have seemingly most people in level five know who we are to the point 'punk behavior' has dropped, right?I can't imagine it's *that* big, right? If this was a full on hive-city then most people wouldn't have so much as heard about us, even if the city is somehow strict enough to stop most hooligans from having guns and other real weapons.
>>6171875> Without those batons, I bet you can't fight at all. You're a wimp, aren't you!Good thing I have those tonfas I guess.>Just smack the shit out of him
>>6171595>.does your sickness prevent you from reading or posting?While not that bad, but i've done nothing for the past 4 days.>>6171875>Just smack the shit out of himIs setting fire, fighting like a real man?
>>6172009Someone made a viral tiktok about us
Give him a fair chance? No, you don't think you will. What respect do you have for the rules or “honor” of criminals like him?Instead, you step forward and dodge his first weak punch, keeping your arms extended in a stance he can't counter, blocking his ability to move with the hard edges of your batons, and following with quick strikes to the face and head.WHAM! BAM!He bleeds from his nose as you strike him down, crumpling to the floor in a heap, stunned from your baton blows. You hear sirens as the fire department, and Peace Keepers, arrive just seconds after you are done.“Hey! You there! Stop! We want to talk to you! We can't give you the help you need unless if you come with us!”The Peace-Keepers won't arrest you unless you let them; they can't legally give chase. It's time to go.
You meet up with your friends at the local diner, the DeliDiner. Nobody is hurt from among them, or anyone from the building it seemed. The Arsonists were unlikely to have caused any real damage regardless of your intervention.“Did you see that!? I told you, the vigilante guy was there again.””I wasn't able to see. I'm glad he beat their asses though. Who just sets fire to a random building?!”“They're probably just bored.””That's even worse!”You don't have much to say. It was a bit of a close call, you don't want anyone to know that the masked man is really you. It's not normally who you target during your patrols, but an opportunity to dispense some street justice like that... you just feel like it was the right thing to do.”They need to try to do something with their lives. Look at Carlos here, he's moving up in his job, he's trying to get a promotion to level 4!”“I mean, it's not like they can rent books and study from the library with a criminal record...””Carlos just burrows books from me.”“You know you could get banned yourself from that, right?””What, are you gonna snitch on me? It's a risk I'll take for my friend.”Carlos smiles, but you look away.
You've been a resident of level 5 your entire life. Despite this, you've never felt especially oppressed or deprived or anything like that. Life is a struggle, yeah, but the government takes care of your basic needs. Everything else you'd need to find or make yourself, or work your way up to it. It's always felt pretty fair to you, maybe not good, but that's just what life is.But you don't think others feel the same way as you. Many feel angry, trapped, or hopeless to change their situation. You almost wonder if the city's own policies and rules keeps them trapped on purpose sometimes. People who always do the right thing aren't hurt, but for those who slip up, even once, things can be tough for them. They turn to crime and destruction just for something to do, more then anything. You've stopped them over and over, you've beat up people who fall into 'punk culture', who build their reputation and find some belonging among others who just fight and try to act tough all the time. They could be anti-authority as a way to rebel against their negative circumstances.Of course, your life feels- was just as aimless as theirs. And you never did that. It was their choice that lead them there, in the end.The criminals, the punks, the destructive and aimless- do you feel empathy for them?>Definitely, it is society's fault they are this way>Yes, but only a little bit>No, they chose their path
>>6172991>>Yes, but only a little bitSociety is giving them EVERYTHING that should not turn them to crime.
>>6172991>>No, they chose their pathTotal hobo death
>>6172991>Yes, but only a little bitI pity them, but that doesn't mean i'm going to stop beating their faces.
>>6172991>Yes, but only a little bitThere is no free will without personal responsibility and accountability which enable you to take more control over life through improvement.That said, vertical meritocratic thinking must be tempered with horizonal empathetic, merciful thinking. Not all who mess up are at fault, some are faced with hard choices or are victims in their own right.
>>6172991>>Yes, but only a little bit
>>6172991>Yes, but only a little bit>>6171365 is me. I'm on mobile.>>6173001Everything but purpose, opportunity, or soothing distraction... Good recipe for a restless underclass. That said, setting buildings on fire for shits and gigs remains unacceptable.
>>6173157>purposeGet out of level 5>OpportunityThere are some : library, gibs...>soothing distractionOh yeah, /qsting/ is forbidden on level 5
>>6173168Well, if you commit a crime they seem to bar you from the library forever and punish anyone who even tries to help you learn or advance ever again (as we just discovered). Social cohesion seems low and isolation high, based on Thread 1, so there are few opportunities to form game groups.
>>6172991>No, they chose their path
>>6172991>Yes, but only a little bitThere's probably a few unfortunates who tripped over the official rulings and couldn't right themselves, and these we have some small sympathy for. The ones who are actively choosing to make life horrible for others... nope, none there.
>>6172991>Definitely, it is society's fault they are this way
>>6172991>Yes, but only a little bit
You do pity them, but only a little bit, after all, the ones who choose their new lifestyle? They did it by their own choice...Which reminds you. Level 5 is at least partially ruled by something called Punk Culture. Growing up in it, you didn't think it was that strange, but you can see how it entices and intoxicates people, especially the strong. Thankfully, those within the Punk Culture save the worst of the violence for among themselves.In your society, where advancement thru society is greatly roadblocked and material wealth is inaccessible; advancement among your peers is done through its own method. You call this Punk Culture, though it's not really that complicated. It's like the law of the jungle, the strongest are well respected, and men fight for dominance. Those not a part of the culture are not allowed to participate, and are sometimes preyed upon, but aren't expected to fight back and aren't held to its rules.It's kind of like a pyramid. The strongest people who fight on level 5 are considered the most valuable, receiving attention from others, women, and respect among the punks. It's a hierarchy. Currently, the two in contention for being the strongest are the Viking and the Samurai; both physically larger and stronger then everyone else. Just underneath them are the Rhino, the Mohawk, and a bunch of others vying for lower positions on the totem pole.Before, in your normal life, you were never going to “fight” any of these people. Even if you were among the punks, you'd stay out of the way of people on the top of the pyramid; they'd be out of your weight class. But given your current life choice and the trajectory of your time as the masked vigilante... are you going to need to fight these people? Every little kid dreams of being on top of the punk pyramid, the strongest, biggest, meanest dog until they realize exactly what that entails and how most people simply aren't born with the strength to compete.The idea of fighting people at the top of this pyramid? It scares you. You don't want to fight them. But if they prey upon the innocent... are you going to have a choice?
After you and your friends retire for the evening, leaving the diner and saying goodbye, you decide to spend the rest of the evening at your own personal Fortress of Solitude; the garage.On the outskirts of level 5, Cheryl's father owned a little garage. She gave it to you after your very first stint fighting against the punks and criminals of level 5 as a sort of reward, and thus far, it's served you very well. The inside has been converted to a nice man cave; several tools and mechanical parts, an entertainment system and a couch to sleep on, and a working motorcycle- just an issue of refueling it. There isn't exactly any gas stations on level 5 after all... gas powered vehicles were banned and scrapped for parts before you were even born.You've also made all the parts of your new superhero identity here. Your batons, your mask, cape, and other bits of your uniform and equipment. Plus, you learned a lot about fighting from studying the video tapes, and used this place as your own personal training grounds. You often start your patrols as the vigilante from here as well, making it harder to track you back to your regular apartment. Normal people, including punks, don't come this far out of the city limit for no reason...You have a moment to check out more of the garage, or maybe tinker with a few things. What should you do today?>Look at the safe under the workbench>Train for the inevitable>Customize your equipment a bit>Other (Write-In)
>>6174024>Look at the safe under the workbenchPlease correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think we've ever checked it. Could be good.Otherwise, I'd definitely vote for training. Either that or getting a "backup" weapon.
>>6174024>Look at the safe under the workbenchMYSTERY BOX MYSTERY BOX
>>6174024>Look at the safe under the workbench
>>6174024>Train for the inevitableWhere are the monkeys?
>>6174022>Rhino and MohawkOh hey, Bebop and Rocksteady.>>6174024>Customize your equipment a bitWhat we lack on height or strength, we can make up for in technology.
>>6174024>Train for the inevitable
You decide to check out the safe under the work table, a mysterious thing you haven't tried to open for months. I mean, you don't know the combination. Technically it's your safe now, and whatever is inside it is yours too, but you really didn't feel like messing with it until now.What could be inside? You figure something sentimental is more likely then something truly valuable. But pulling out the safe and fiddling with it, you realize it's locked. You spin the wheel a bit to feel around for a bite, but no luck, it's oiled and smooth. How old is this safe anyway? You feel your fingers along the back of the heavy metal and feel it touch cardboard. On the back, a small slip with something written on it. Her birthday.Whose birthday? This was her Dad's safe after all. Maybe his wife? Is Cheryl's mother still alive? You don't know her birthday. Cheryl's birthday? You don't know that either. Maybe you'll ask her the next time you see her? Or would that be awkward? Why would you ask for her birthday unless you were planning something? What if it's soon to come, and she'd think you wanted to give her a gift?For the first time, you feel a twinge of awkwardness. Your relationship with Cheryl has been totally platonic this entire time. Yet suddenly, the concept for asking for her birthday seems personal and terrifies you in a weird way. You want to get in the safe but... would it be too forward to just ask? You don't know any of her friends on level 4, that would be a lot easier to ask in a roundabout way. Why are you feeling so nervous about asking her this all the sudden?>Because you have feelings for Cheryl>You don't want to spoil your friendship>There could be something really valuable or bad in this safe and you don't want her to know about it
>>6174923>Because you have feelings for CherylYou're not a real hero unless you have a civilian girl you like. Your Mary Jane. Your Lois Lane.Plus come on, Max is (was?) a total shut in nerd. No way he wouldn't fall for a cute girl who acted all nice to him. His superhero autism isn't that strong.
>>6174923>>There could be something really valuable or bad in this safe and you don't want her to know about it
>>6174944You know, I don't feel like deciding he'd want to keep something if it was valuable and not want to tell her because of that feels accurate.
>>6174923>You don't want to spoil your friendship
>>6174923>Because you have feelings for Cheryl
>>6174923>You don't want to spoil your friendshipWe can do it bros... we can defeat First Girl syndrome...
>>6174923>>Because you have feelings for Cheryl
>>6175090>First Girl syndrome...Is it really first girl syndrome when she's kind of the only option? Like, I guess you could say there's the nerdy library girl, but Max didn't seem to like her one bit. In fact, he actually thought she was lame and cringeworthy.
>>6175225The universe Bananas may send us a second girl if we don't go for first girl.
>>6174923>>You don't want to spoil your friendship
>>6174949Hey, vote what you wanted to vote for. I just expected people to rush for "I LOVE CHERYL" so I voted for something else.
>>6175281I find that unlikely, though. Like I said, if there were 'other options', Max would have responded a little better to the cute librarian girl that was acting all blushy around him, no? Max having a crush on Cheryl makes sense. She is pretty much the reason he was able to become a hero. She wants to get rid of criminals like him, and even looked to him for advice when she was feeling down.
>>6174923Sorry ladies, Max is actually super into Jason.
You guess... you guess you really do have feelings for Cheryl. Asking her for the birthday is so minor, but even implying you like her would just... you'd just be so embarrassed! What if you come on too strong? What if she isn't interested? ...What if she has a boyfriend already? You wish you weren't so socially awkward, maybe you'd have a better able to deal with this kind of thing!You know... you'll just be sneaky. You'll talk to her, get to know her more, and ask these kinds of things real subtle. If you figured out how to beat the shit out of criminals yourself, you can figure out how to ask a girl out on a date without being totally awkward. It might take a little practice but...You really do like her, you think. You put your head on the cold safe and sit there for a minute. Maybe for the first time, you do actually know a girl you like. You just don't want to mess it up...Later, you patrol the city streets. Level 5 is a highly industrial zone of the city, with many small buildings, depots of various resources and machines, factories, and back alleys. Nobody walks down these except for punks and maybe yourself; preferring to stick to the main roads where they are less likely to be caught alone. In a way, it's helpful, giving you a stealthy jump on anything out of the ordinary. Today, you walk past a playground and stop short, seeing someone familiar.Hey, that's Carlos! And he's standing in the playground for little kids with six other guys, all crowded around. They don't look very friendly; it's a gang of punks! You decide to sneak a bit closer, hiding behind the playground equipment to listen in...
Wait a second, you know that guy! That punk, the leader of this gang, is known as the Mohawk! You know him because he's one of the punks who used to steal from you!Of course, you've been mugged before too. Tax collectors taken bits of your UBI or other things you carried around. Thankfully they never took your clothes or shoes or your roleplaying stuff, since it has no value to them. But you know this guy. He's a real piece of shit. He used to steal from you and intimidate you, and you feel humiliated just remembering it. The things you'd say to avoid getting a beating.”No, please don't hurt me, I'll do whatever you want.””No, I'm not a tough guy. You're tougher then me.””Please just leave me alone...”You burn up thinking of those days. You had no power then, no way to fighting back. Not that you even could if you wanted; you wouldn't want to piss of the punks by fighting with one of them, even in self defense. That would just get you jumped by all his friends. You never thought about it before, but you should put on the mask and just beat this guy to get even. Then again, you don't want him to figure out it's you behind the mask...Still, the fact Carlos is talking to him at all is a bad sign. Is he a part of the gang? You know Carlos used to be a punk, or at least he claimed it. Looks like he's backsliding, still friends with these pieces of shit. You should have known! What are they talking about!? You were so shocked to see the Mohawk here you couldn't even listen in. What should you do?>Put on the mask and beat all of them up>Listen closer to figure out what is going on>Sneak away and stay out of it
>>6175620>Listen closer to figure out what is going onMeasure twice, cut once.
>>6175620Part of me really wants to just put on the mask, go full Strongman Kurosawa and challenge the whole ass giant crowd of punks. That would be the cool option. BUT! We should probably try to hear what they're saying first, right? We can jump them after we do, anyways.>Listen closer to figure out what is going onWe should definitely put the mask, though. We don't want to get found out without it. That would reveal our identity.
>>6175631Wait, I just realized, it's not a crowd, it's six dudes. That's way easier. And not as nearly as cool.Ah well, one day we'll get to fight a whole big ass crowd of punks solo.
>>6175620>Put on the mask and beat all of them up
>>6175620>Listen closer to figure out what is going on
>>6175620>>Listen closer to figure out what is going on
>>6175620>>Put on the mask and beat all of them up
>>6175620>Listen closer to figure out what is going onCarlos!
Clearly, they're up to no good. But how can you know exactly how they're up to no good? You sneak a bit closer. Now, you're curious. What does Carlos have to do with it?”...You know, The Viking is looking for a gang with the biggest guys. You're pretty big, Carlos. You should roll with us again.”“I don't really know about that... I kind of don't want to do that anymore.””What, are you scared? Come on, you're already one of us. This is a big opportunity, we need to be at full strength if we're going to impress him.”The Viking is looking for a gang of punks? That's strange. You figured he was the biggest guy on Level 5 already. What could he mean by that?”Listen, Carly. You remember when you first joined our gang, we beat you in? Remember? Well that's what it takes to join the gang, that's the rule since we started it. But leaving the gang? That means you need to get beaten out, which is always at least twice as bad. Maybe more.”“Oh Jeez...”You can tell Carlos is starting to waffle. He's clearly scared of his relationship with these punks. You just know he'll fold and slip right back into his criminal ways. You prepare your mask either way, before a random kid on the playground rolls up on a tricycle.”...If you have to get beaten in to the gang to join, but you started it, then who beat you in?” The Kid asked, eavesdropping on the conversation.”Shut up and mind your business, stupid ass kid.” Mohawk said, trying to shoo him away. The Kid seemed to enjoy being annoying instead.”Seems a little unfair.””Shut up!”
Carlos laughed, seemingly broken from the spell of Mohawk and his punk culture.“Yeah... I think I'm going to go. I'm not about that life any more.””Hey! Don't think I was kidding! Get back here!”“What, so you can beat me up for wanting to leave? I just won't come back.””You'll regret this, fucker!”You smile from your hiding place. Mohawk got owned by a little kid, that's karmic justice right there. Thankfully, Carlos doesn't seem to want to be a criminal like them anymore, and isn't swayed by Punk culture anymore. You're happy for him. There's no way Mohawk is gonna punch a kid so-Oh wait, he just punched the kid. Okay, time to intervene.Pulling on your mask, you rush behind the group in surprise, taking out the smallest guy in the outskirts with a blow to the back of the head. Your batons ready, you rush towards the main group- finally ready to get your revenge on the Mohawk after all these years. You briefly wonder if it's a misuse of your new persona of justice to get petty revenge on your bully... but you think it'll work itself out.
You leap over the playground equipment, and they finally notice you with a swish of your cape.“Oh shit! It's that guy!””Get him!”With a quick swipe of your baton, you slap back one, while dodging the blow of another. The third punk kicks you in the leg weakly, which you respond by jumping over his next kick and bashing his wrist away with an expert aim. Then, you spin on your heel to dodge another punch, while a third grabs you.Truthfully, you've fought a lot of punks at this point. You've trained, and have gotten fast and strong. Plus, your weapons feel like an extension of your arm, able to be used in many ways. But there's a small problem; groups like this? You can easily be overwhelmed. Five or six punks at once mean a lot of angles. Most of the time it's just two or three guys at most, and most of them aren't too big or aggressive. These guys know how to fight though...Seeing an opportunity for the Mohawk himself, with both his arms raised up into fists, you duck under another attack before coming up in the thin space between with your tonfa-
WHACK!With an upwards strike, you hit Mohawk just at the tip of his nose, pushing back and in, and breaking apart his stupid fucking nosering, shattering it into pieces, blood flying off from the smashed nose and shards of artificial gold.”Gah!”That felt really good. But then, realizing too late you dived into the crowd too deep, two of the goons grab you around the arm, first one, then the other, quickly cutting off your means of fighting back. You pull as hard as you can, trying to wrench free, but even with your strength the two full body weight of the goons, bigger then you, can't be shaken off.The Mohawk gets up from the ground, dusting himself off, touching his sensitive nose and wincing, before putting a hand in his hoodie jacket and pulling out a long sharp knife.”Hold him! I'm going pull off that mask and take a chunk out yo' face, so I never forget it!”You struggle in their grip. This is bad. Getting overpowered by multiple big guys at once isn't exactly something you can train for. But you need to escape. The Mohawk draws closer. How are you going to get out of this one?>Perform an Acrobatic stunt to get free>Throw one away with a wrestling move>Use a contingency you've prepared for this situation
>>6176205>>Use a contingency you've prepared for this situationRANDOM BULLSHIT, GO.
>>6176205>Perform an Acrobatic stunt to get free
>>6176205..We have a contingency? I kinda wanna see it, but if it seems like a one-time deal we probably won't be able to use again by how these things go. Ah, what the heck, I'd rather beat him in a straight up fight.>Use a contingency you've prepared for this situationOf course, you'd think we could just like, kick one of them. There's a reason why people have to get real close behind someone they're holding, you know. It's so they cant kick you. Or at least stomp really fucking hard on your foot and then shake themselves free. I really doubt either of these punks wouldn't react to having their foot broken (surprisingly easy if you stomp really hard)
>>6176205>>Perform an Acrobatic stunt to get freeMartial-art anon that recommended tonfas here.With how the green guy is holding, it's simply a matter of twisting and pulling right arm away. This let us rotate to face Silver from Pokemon Gold and sent him to the floor with a flying scissor - escaping AND wrestling-projecting him away in one smooth go.
>>6176387We can else do the same by elbowing green guy in the nose - notice how he's holding us down and not up?Else, his left knee is protecting his balls - but Silver have a wide stance : opening him for a rising heel to the groin. So yeah, even if they know how to fight, I see at least 2 or 3 way to destroy them in the fraction of second we got before Mohawk close the distance.I prefer the scissor kick, because it can project the red-hait on the Mohawk and feels the "safest" despite how acrobatic it looks. Plus, it's a great move to synergize with a reverse-hold of the tonfa to use the "hook" to climb bigger guysAs displayed on the video, this move works well even if there is a massive size difference between the kicker and the target, which is suited for the bigger punks to come. The tonfa reverse-hold hooking will even give us more range and leverage (and parkouring fulcrums) to pull it
>>6176205>>Perform an Acrobatic stunt to get free
>>6176205>Use a contingency you've prepared for this situation
>>6176205>Throw one away with a wrestling move
>>6176387What if the punk we do this to counters by biting our nutsack?
>>6176692Sounds kinda gay, bro.
Rolled 2 (1d2)Tiebreaker roll, 1 for Acrobatic and 2 for Contigency
>>6176692This is a valid concern and why it's mandatory to cross the leg during the spinning motion : at worst you'll get biten in the thigh.Granted, you don't see that much on the video
You've prepared for this moment. No matter how strong or brave you are, a group of opponents could overpower you. You just gotta get enough time to deploy your countermeasure, a helpful gadget to get out of this mess. But as the Mohawk gets closer, it starts to get dicey. Just then, a tiny pebble hits the punk, causing him to whirl around.”Who da fuck-!”You look off in the distance and see Carlos! He threw the rock! He throws another at the Mohawk, before turning and running away.”Carlos you piece of shit!”Wow, Carlos actually helped you. He saw you fighting the punks and stood up to them, throwing a rock to distract the Mohawk just long enough to push back against one of the punks; getting him to grip your cape fully. You were wrong about Carlos. You guess you owe him a bit of an apology.You twist and shove back as hard as you can, and the punk grabbing onto your cape tears it with a quick satisfying rip. The backwards force of him trying to keep you in place makes him stumble, and with one arm freed, you can jab the other, blocking his punch with your hard baton. You designed your cape to tear free like that just in case it caught on something, instead of choking you, a clever little trick you came up with when designing your outfit. You take out the punk in front of you, before a quick whip with the one who grabbed your cloak. The Mohawk is next, still holding the knife...
You flip your grip and use the end of your tonfa to grip around his wrist, pulling and disarming his knife, your other hand free to make its attack at his undefended face. They were tough, but you were toughed.You give the Mohawk an extra smack smack to put him down, before whirling around and checking out the gang of punks. You've won. You're exhausted, feeling the sweat and breathing heavy from the effort.Truth be told, you've never fought this many guys before. You don't think it's such a good idea. Six punks at once... that might just be your limit. You go to check out the kid, just to make sure he's okay. You see him sitting up, you realizing instantly he watched the whole fight with rapt attention. You guess you shouldn't be surprised he didn't run away, this is prime entertainment for a kid on Level 5...
”Hey kid, you okay?”“Yeah... I'm fine.””That black eye will be hard to explain to your parents. Don't tell them you were fighting punks, alright? I don't think they'd want to hear that.”“I was just being brave, like you. I was thinking of you when I said that.””...I don't want you to get hurt because of me. Be smart, kid.”“But you're cool. All the other kids talk about you. You're right up there with the other cool badass guys, like Mohawk!””Mohawk is not cool.”“Well, I don't mean cool like that... But every kid talks about the strongest punks. Who would win in a fight, you know? Who is the stongest? And they all have a cool name. Except for you- I only ever heard people call you viga- vigi-””Vigilante. It's not a name.”“All the cool strong guys who fight have names though! Like the Viking, the Samurai, Rhino, Snake, the Whip & Weaseal- you know the twins?- Crazy Carl, Mohawk...””I never really thought about it like that. I thought they had nicknames based on what other people called them.”“Nah, usually Reggie picks them.””...?”“But what about you, Mister? What do you want your cool, strong-guy name to be?”I mean... you've never really thought about it. What should your name be?>Red>Sticks>The Mask>The Cape>The Fool>Other (Write In)Note We will be using partial approval voting for this choice. You may vote for two names you like.
>>6176832>RedsticksI'm obviously ok with either Red or Sticks.Also, glad that even though my argumented post didn't won any more support, it inspired you to include a reverse-tonfa hold.Knifes are serious business.
>>6176832>>6176837 +1
I'm soft vetoing Redsticks, kinda a dumb name.
Alright that was a little mean I just don't like it.
>>6176837Redsticks sounds retarded>>6176862Don't be, it is. Now let's try to think of one that isn't.
Alright, let's see. I was thinking that we should get something that fits the theme - Punks seem to have "names" that are simple and descriptive. The Viking, the Samurai, The Mohawk...so obviously we should follow it. For flavor reasons and all.So obviously, my first thought was The Mask. It's not a bad name by itself, but, yknow...there's THE Mask, and that might make it sound silly. My second thought was just "The Vigilante", but that might be a little bit too generic, right?The big issue is that our one real feature is our Mask, but the name "The Mask" is kinda taken unless we want to start wearing a banana-yellow suit
>>6176832The Red Masque
>>6176832I got it.>The Red MaskSee, I like to think of a "practical scenario" when I'm thinking of a name. To see if it'd actually sound good in action. So I had the idea - how would a name sound if it was called out by a punk with that old BTAS "Goon Voice"? I can certainly picture a goon saying "It's the Red Mask!", so I think it fits.
>>6176892Lol, Ninja'd. I think "Mask" is better than "Masque" though. Sounds the same but less...fancy? We're not a fancy Villain.
