❝ do you ever feel scared? ❞ words come soft, unprecedented as BLADE draws from monstrous form; relatively, he’s unscathed, but cerulean descends body, searching for signs of injury. fingers tighten ‘round reigns of royal steed, before she wanders closer, offering a hand to shoulder, her own kind of thank you for yet another rescue from monsters of the night.
she’s not expecting an answer ( her questions often are meant rhetorical, given the situation ), ghosting past him, instead, to inspect what remains of the pack of bokoblins. ❝ you always meet these so HEAD ON, do you not fear them, even a little? ❞
So I decided to do a solo run of my Ironsworn hack, lovingly called Herosworn, to test things around. I created a character named Nathalie Johnson, an ex-cop who decided to quit the force and become a vigilante after her husband’s death to a villain named Plaguemaster.
I decided to write down what I come up with in story-form, so this is only text and doesn’t have any of my rolls written down.
She puts the cigarette to her lips and watches the smoke float upwards towards the sky. It's a cold evening, the night-sky starless because of the city's light polution, and Nathalie's jeans and leather jackets aren't quite enough to keep her warm. She doesn't care.
She's standing outside the store, resting against one of the walls, arms crossed. This isn't her usual neighborhood, and usually she wouldn't venture to a place she isn't familiar with, but she can't stand the pitying looks she receives from the people who knew her before her husband's death. So here she is, expanding her horizons and exploring the city.
That's what she'll tell Mary, anyway. It sounds better than "running away from my feelings" or "not wanting to deal with people".
She takes a long drag, then lets out the smoke.
If only Brandon could see her now.
She takes another drag. She can hear the cashier loudly arguing with someone about something, though she isn't too bothered with making out the words. She realizes her mistake only when there's a loud bang, a scream, and some begging.
Nathalie groans. "And I was almost done with my cigarette, too."
She dumps it on the ground, steps on it, and gets inside the store.
There's a man — baseline, tall, dangerous — holding the cashier by her shirt and making some very creative threats. Nathalie feels her eyebrows climb up on her face, and wonders very briefly if he'd be able to follow up on them.
She takes another step inside. He hasn't heard her, hasn't noticed the door open, and this would be a good time to take him by surprise. He's still holding the cashier, though, and she doesn't want to jeopardize the woman's safety.
She understands this is a terrible idea. She isn't wearing her mask, she doesn't have her guns, and she can't use her bike inside the building. The smart thing to do would be to turn her back on the cashier and go outside, ride home. She knows she won't choose to be smart, though: that option was thrown out of the window a long time ago, when she opened her eyes to the fact the world was fucked up and no one else was doing anything about it.
And, well. Here she is. Ready to face off against a random man because he threatened someone else on her presence. No weapons, no advantages. Just her wits.
She clears her throat.
The man swivels his head towards the noise, and Nathalie offers him nothing a mean smile.
"Is there a problem here?" she asks. In the years she wasted being a police officer, she perfected asking that sentence. She watches satisfied as the man freezes for a moment, before he lets go of the cashier and turns to her. Good. The woman is smart enough to duck under the counter, and now that she's out of danger Nathalie mentally discounts her from the scene.
"Turn back now and I will pretend I haven't seen you," the man says, taking a step forwards. Nathalie notes his threatening posture, and realizes he's trying to intimidate her back.
It's been a while since she was last afraid of a tall man merely because he puffed up his chest and made himself seem larger.
"That's not going to happen, champ."
The man smirks. "I was hoping you would say that."
"Seven," the man calls with a nod of his head, and a hulking man Nathalie hadn't seen moves from the shadows towards the door, blocking the exit. Not ideal, but she can roll with the punches. She's trained for this.
She lets herself fall into position, assuming a fighting stance.
She runs up to the man at the counter, and punches him straight on: just once, on the nose. There's a crack, then blood, and now her knuckles hurt. She's keeping half an eye on the other guy, the one standing at the door, which is why she sees him running up to her.
Nathalie ducks, barely, and she doesn't even have any time to reset her stance, as both foes just come at her and hit her repeatedly. She feels something crack. Her ribs, maybe.
The pain is a wake up call, and she takes a deep breath through her nose, taking a few steps back and desperately putting some space between her and the men. She needs to think quickly. She needs to think smart. She needs to... she needs to use the environment to her favor.
She throws herself into one of the aisles, and uses her momentum to knock one of the shelves down. It works! The shelf tumbles down on top of the first man, and he's down for the count. Or, at the very least, he's not going to get up in the next three seconds, which is the important thing.
For now, Nathalie can focus on the other threat. The man lunges, but she evades easily and pushes him against the counter, forcing him to hit his head with another loud crack. He's dazed, if only for a moment, and Nathalie uses the chance to take a deep breath.
She can do this.
The man gets up, and she ducks his punch, hits him in the stomach with her shoulder, forcing him to take several steps back. He just needs to- there, the man steps on a pack of chips that fell from the shelf and trips. There's a groan when the man falls, and it doesn't seem like he'll get up anytime soon.
She turns back, ready to deal with the other one, but he's already up again and waiting for her, one punch ready. She ducks again, just barely, and lets the man's fist hit the shelf.
He curses.
She uses his distraction to throw herself under his legs, slide into another aisle. When the man turns again to hit her, she isn't there.
"The Crimson Charge will remember!"
Nathalie jumps onto the shelf in front of him (it doesn't seem like it will hold her weight for very long, and it lists dangerously), then jumps onto him, bringing him down.
"Remember my fist on your face, loser!"
She punches him, and he's out.
Nathalie breathes deeply. With her blood pumping and the adrenaline flowing, she can't quite feel the pain. But the will, soon.
The cashier chooses this time to come up from where she'd been ducking.
"What have you done?" She sounds accusing.
Nathalie shakes her head. It's hard to find thankful people, these days.
"What have I done?" she mocks. "I just saved you from being robbed. Be a little grateful, maybe." Nathalie grimaces as she starts limping towards the counter.
"Saved me from being robbed? No! You just doomed my store!"
"Because of a few unconscious thugs? Eh. You'll be fine."
The cashier shakes her head repeatedly. "They're not random thugs. They're members from the Crimson Charge!"
Nathalie's heard the man say that name. She doesn't recognize it, though. A new faction? Or maybe it's an old faction Nathalie's never heard of before. This neighborhood isn't really one of her usual haunts.
"And now they're going after you! And after me, for letting this happen!" The woman is trembling.
This sounds troublesome... and very much like a new job.
Breath of the Wild, Four Swords, Link’s Awakening !
mun-day memes | accepting | @herosworn
breath of the wild - favorite champion/new champion?
br eathes Revali. Love Revali. Absolutely love Revali. As for a new champion? Sidon! He won me over with first smile.
four swords - favorite handheld game?
A Link Between Worlds! Although I had a hell of a time the first time I ever played it, as I tended to die... a lot... in the middle of dungeons... which of course prompts Sheerow to swoop in and take the items you so very need. It definitely gave me some of my more memorable experiences xD
link’s awakening - favorite link?
Long ago, I adopted Wind Waker Link into my heart. He is my dorky son. So precious, so pure. However, I also love Breath of the Wild Link... and Twilight Princess Link. Oh boy. Can I say all of them?
