GRIMM TIDINGS

[thewatchers]

GRIMM TIDINGS

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On the morning of the 27th, the campus is put on high alert. Students and staff alike wake to announcements calling willing volunteers to report to the Anvil of Hadur to be geared appropriately or to have their equipment checked, or else warned to stay within the dorms or other secured buildings on campus to avoid being caught in the fighting.

Those who are sensitive to such things can feel an unsettling presence begin to enroach; monsters that feel little except malice and an urge for destruction, hungering for life.

The Grimm are almost here.


A. DIRECT COMBAT
Students and staff eager to get into the fray are assigned the task of splintering the Grimm forces into more manageable chunks as they approach the Academy and swarm onto its grounds, assisted by Daybreak’s on-campus forces and other allies brought in for the fight. The goal, if any, is twofold - first, to divide and conquer, forcing large groups of Grimm apart into wards where they can be more easily whittled down and neutralized, and second, to keep them as far from the classrooms and dormitories as possible.

B. TOWER DEFENSE
To aid in the defense of the Academy, those who are less able to greet the enemy directly have been granted temporary and supervised access to some of Daybreak’s ranged defense systems. They’re a mix of more traditional magic and advanced technology; runic sniper rifles and enchanted grenade launchers sit side by side with staves and wands made for the purpose of long-range casting and activation of wards.

For the more daring, the gargoyles that commonly sit docile on the Academy’s rooftops are being summoned to service as mobile cannon platforms - magically-reinforced stone creatures able to leap or fly high above the battlefield to target groups of Grimm with arcane cannon blasts and to engage targets in the air. They vary in size - some can only bear a single rider safely, while others can support entire groups. All prioritize the safety of their riders above their own structural integrity.

C. TITAN-KILLING
Among the mass of shadowy forces, one in particular stands out. Towering above the rest of the small army, the Leviathan will initially stand and watch the battle going on, ignoring any attacks - but once it catches sight of its four targets, it refuses to be diverted from its course. Able to move faster and more fluidly across large distances than its bulk would suggest, the Leviathan’s major advantage is in brute strength and size, and its fearsome ability to breathe torrents of electric fire.

However, it’s little more than an exceptionally oversized beast, in the end, and unlike a normal animal, it harbors very little in the way of survival instincts. Though it won’t sit and take any attempts to kill it, it has a tendency to ignore anything that’s not its mission, and therein lies a weakness that can be exploited.

D AFTERMATH
The army of Grimm has been successfully repelled or recalled, likely looking quite a bit worse for wear than when they first arrived. Now is the time for wound care, clean up, and a well-earned rest after such hard work.

E WILDCARD
For anything else, on or off the battlefield, that doesn’t fit in with any of the above prompts.

code bases by tricklet

Comments

A

[unlogic]

[Desidera had been unsure about getting herself involved, out of concern that she would be either too much of a liability or, more likely, a risk. With Gunvolt opting to fight, though, she felt like she needed to do something, herself.

So, she had chosen to fight, herself, and in doing so she seemed to be drawing just a little bit more attention than the average student on the field—not so much as to be overrun, but...it's noticeable if one pays enough attention.

Any nearby Grimm that weren't struck by GV's attacks are instead bursting into flames, or tethered to the ground by some force that appears to be the creatures' own shadows, and then they're set on fire. Those that draw too close to her are rather unceremoniously punched, almost excessively hard, and then while recoiling from the impact, they are dispatched in the same way as the rest.

She does make an effort to be aware of her roommate's position and status, and at one point, it appears that he's about to be caught off-guard—]

Gu—! [—then he pulls that laser blade and cuts his would-be attacker down.]

W-well.

[shockingblue]

[Truth of it was, Gunvolt had been keeping an eye on Desidera as well. He was confident she was more than capable of holding her own, coming out in a situation like this, but he still was going to watch his roommate's back either way. But frankly, he wasn't even really sure she needed the help. Her magic was potent, and boy, did she have a mean right hook and haymaker. It was actually quite impressive. Of course, he couldn't spend a lot of time watching. Too much to do.

Gunvolt glanced back over to her when he heard his name cut short, giving her a short nod and a small smile.]

Appreciate it. Glad you're watching out for me.

[It's sincere, honest. He knew what she was doing.]

You holding up okay?

[unlogic]

[She might punch hard, but there's not any real technique to that; it wouldn't be so effective on any smarter opponents. The magic, on the other hand, is something she actually knows how to use, and it probably shows.]

For now. There are so many of these things, though. [That some of them seem especially-interested in her hasn't been lost on her, and with her remaining near GV, that means he's had to put up with the extra attention too.

How much of this they can handle is a good question.]

[shockingblue]

[The boy's blue eyes darted to the field surrounding them. Sure enough, more Grimm were flooding in fast.]

Sure are. Still got plenty of juice in the tank though. If either of us start running low, we'll pull back. Don't wanna risk getting overwhelmed.

[He fired three shots into approaching Grimm, and the electricity that leapt from his Flashfield fried them in short order, and pretty much at the same time. A triple!]

[unlogic]

[The three that took direct hits? Yeah, they're down. Some of the others that were joining them on that approach are also visibly staggered, but not yet downed themselves.

That changes within moments, though, because the Flashfield and the lightning that shoots out from it to strike the tags that were fired from the Dart Leader? It all produces shadows, same as any other light source, thus giving Desidera more to work with herself without an immediate need to cast more fire, allowing her to focus on just doing one thing.

And that one thing right now is spears of pitch black erupting from around the three Grimm that Gunvolt had dispatched, skewering several of the others that were unfortunate enough to be nearby.

A wall of similar spikes erupts directly in front of Desi as well, starting from her own shadow and spreading out to put a barrier between them and any Grimm still coming for them, forcing the creatures to change the direction of their approach and giving GV a few extra moments to pick out his next targets.]

As long as you can keep the lightning going, I can keep up. Tell me if you need to slow down or stop, I can use fire for this as well if I need to. [What with fire being a light source as well.]

[shockingblue]

[He had to admit, watching those black as night spears erupt from the ground and put down their enemies in one fell swoop was pretty dang cool. Shadow manipulation powers were not something he'd seen much of in practice, and boy, were they effective, and boy, was he glad Desi was on his side right now.]

Gotcha! I like the sound of that.

[He fires off more darts in the direction of their enemies, taking aim at different targets every shot. While the efficacy of his lightning might be diminished split between too many targets... well, it'll still produce more than enough light for what she's looking for... and hopefully can help cut down swaths of them at one go.]

Let 'em have it!

[In the meantime, he got an idea. He flipped a switch on the side of his Dart Leader with his thumb and held his fire for a moment. The barrel of his gun began to pulse green, but he patiently waited for the right moment to take a shot.]

[unlogic]

[Her response to him had all but certainly given away her initial game plan, and she realizes pretty quick that he's intending to go right along with it, shooting his darts at specific points almost as if to say "do the thing here", and do the thing she does; with every dart and subsequent line of electricity producing more light and therefore more shadows, more of those spiked walls spring forth, piercing through the Grimm that were directly struck by GV's shots, and shoving several of the others inward and toward a single center point.

It seems she's realized that he's preparing a much bigger shot and is working to put as many of them as she can into the line of fire.

Not all of those still approaching are trapped, but the extra light coming from the Dart Leader itself gives her the means to maintain the barrier that had been erected earlier, and it now reaches all the way around them in such a way that the only real vulnerability would be directly above them—nothing that couldn't be covered with a lightning strike, though, if necessary.]

[shockingblue]

[It's like she read his mind, and that brought a small smile to his face as he took aim with the Dart Leader, the barrel's glow intensifying. He braced himself, knowing the weapon was about to kick, and kick hard. Shifting his weight to his rear foot, Gunvolt snapped his view down the sights of the weapon... and his finger tightened around the trigger.

And the Dart Leader roared when the energy released, a loud crack as the dart snapped the sound barrier in half. Faster than the eye could see, it blazed through a line where so many Grimm had been gathered, piercing through and overpenetrating each one without stopping. ...Good thing nothing else was in the way. Even better? Every one of those Grimm in its path got tagged at once.

Gunvolt snapped on his Flashfield again, and an absolute barrage of bolts leapt forth into the crowd, just begging for an even bigger followup. If the enemies weren't in the direct line... they'd be feeling the pain soon enough.]

[unlogic]

[So many bolts jumping at such a large crowd in such a small area. It meant that the light in that general area was getting pretty intense which, of course, meant even more shadows. Now it was no longer a bunch of spiked walls popping up here and there to force things into Gunvolt's line of fire, but an entire circular cage of large shadowy spikes and barbs, surrounding the Grimm that had been struck as well as those others still nearby, using the shadows of those on the outer edges of the entire crowd.

Without so much as a warning, that cage abruptly withdrew into itself, crushing all that had been trapped inside, then the entire construct was struck by a crimson bolt of lightning and exploded into nothing—literally nothing—leaving behind only its victims, which quickly vanished as well.]

[shockingblue]

[...That worked better than he'd ever hoped. And he watches it unfold, almost in awe. He fully turned back to look at her after the dust settled, heat still swirling from the barrel of his weapon.]

That. Was awesome. I'm used to working more solo, but I could get used to having a partner.

[For the moment, it was quiet, but it probably wouldn't be too long before they got noticed again. Gunvolt quickly changed the magazine in his Dart Leader for a fresh one, racking off a new round to ready it for the next wave, whenever it came.]

[unlogic]

[It was quiet for the moment in one sense, maybe, but in the other sense, Desi is still looking at the space where all those Grimm were, giggling to herself just a little in a sort of disbelief.]

I've never really had the chance to do something that big before.

[Not on live targets at least, and definitely not as part of an improvised assault that just so happened to work out damn near perfectly. She shakes her head to herself a little.]

Remind me later that I need to tell the professor about it. [That's assuming, of course, that Valvatorez didn't see it happen for himself.]

[shockingblue]

Definitely. I'll make sure to remind you. And vouch for it, if you need it.

[Because that was something a lot of people wouldn't believe unless they saw it happen. Hell, he was pretty sure no one would believe it if he told the story to the people he knew.]

...And that was your first time doing something like that? Man, you must be a real natural at it. You made it look easy!

[unlogic]

[There's the briefest flash of...something, in her expression when he says that. Uncertainty? Discomfort? It's hard to say. This is his first time seeing what she can do, and he doesn't yet know the hows or whys of it.

She should probably tell him soon.

That expression vanishes as quickly as it appeared though, replaced by a sheepish little smile.] A-ah, grazie. Not my first time trying something like it, but...it's never been to this scale. I don't think it would have been possible without your help.

[shockingblue]

[He caught sight of the change in expression, for however brief it was, but... he wasn't sure what to make of it or why. And unfortunately, now wasn't one of those times that he really had much chance to think on it. They were still in the field, after all.]

We make a good team, then. Honestly, I've already had a much better time with you than I did with my last roommate.

[Not that the bar was terribly high, nor that Maple was unbearable or anything, but... it's actually a difference of night and day.]

[unlogic]

[She's pretty sure that he had noticed, and he is her roommate and should know what's going on, so "soon" may as well be "as soon as things have calmed the hell down"; once their work out here is done and they've had a chance to get back to their room.]

So it appears, though while I can clearly take advantage of your abilities, I'm not entirely sure of what sort of advantage my own would grant you. [If he's going to consider the two of them an actual team in situations like this, then she should find some way to assist him directly, like he'd clearly done for her.]

[shockingblue]

Well, they do give me the advantage of being not dead, so that's a start.

[The boy looks thoughtful for a moment, trying to rack his brain around what she might be able to do to give him a boost in battle somehow.]

But I get what you're saying. There's gotta be some way. ...How do those shadows work, anyway? Are they solid, and do you think they'd conduct electricity?

[unlogic]

I'm not sure how it works, exactly, but they're solid as long as I exercise any control over them. As for if they can conduct electricity or not, there's one way to find out, though I would expect them to vanish the moment they do—light shining onto a shadow would likely erase it, after all. [He did see how that big one just moments ago had disappeared after it was struck directly. But, if the shadows could be used as a temporary line despite that...

They'll have an opportunity to test it soon enough, it seems, as another wave of the creatures begins to approach, most of them directing their attention toward Desi.]