BrokenPromise

Question about pestering RP partners

If you're the GM, it's your job to make sure things move forward.

Sadly, most RP goers are relatively poor communicators, and they won't speak up unless personally addressed. If they are waiting on someone to post, going on vacation, etc, chances are they are staying silent. It's also not uncommon for people to ghost or flake. Flakes in particular are a problem because they will constantly tell you that they are going to do something and never will. If you're the GM, you should let everyone know via OOC or discord that you are going to post soon and move everything forward. Sometimes people lose track of time, etc. Don't be angry or belligerent, but staying silent is not the answer.

As for 1x1 RPs, that's something I've had little luck with. But I don't see how speaking up can hurt.

Re: Zero: The High Council

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E N D O F A N E M P I R E

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Flame Brooks was not among Alistair’s favorite people. Alistair always respected people who could take charge of their lives and stubbornly refused to bow down to their oppressors. Essentially, people who had walked a similar life to himself. Seeing him rest on the floor did not make the haughty young man happy. He had thought that if Flame had done anything else, it would be better than just succumbing to the urge to sleep. Alistair was proven wrong. Flame was able to hear what Alistair was whispering to the few people who needed to hear his plan for it to work. He then stopped Ashton from distracting Talus, made Talus aware there was a plan, and then proceeded to talk about things that even Alistair didn’t understand. Alistair had worked so hard to try to dig out a victory, and yet…

But Flame wouldn’t have much time to parade in front of the witches. Talus was no longer distracted and was made aware of the plan. In a flash, he appeared behind flame and drove his hand through the boy’s back. Talus’s arm was emerging from the front of Flame’s chest, covered in his blood. He was able to witness the giant hand turn around and make an “L” symbol over his head as the light faded from his eyes.

DEATH COUNT: 279

With a snap of his arm, Flame’s lifeless body was cast to the ground.

”On the other hand, That is to say the one that went through Flame’s chest, I could just remove them.” He chuckled. ”I wonder what made flame think I didn’t have the power to do that. The two of you are entirely expendable. Mere pawns of Od Laguna. You’ve served your purpose.” He turned to look at Ashton. ”And now you can be removed.”

Alistair might not have liked Flame, but he wasn’t happy that he was dead. In the end, he was just trying to help. Alistair was so distracted by Flame’s interaction with the witches that he left Aerith mostly unattended with Chieko. Not like raining down suppressing fire was going to help her case any. Aerith might not have looked very threatening, but Alistair knew she had some fearsome power. If Odessa didn’t like her color, she must have had the power of a witch. He didn’t want to find out what it was, even if he was confident in his ability to use spells. Ashton had just been through a gruling battle, and lost Flame. Chieko looked like she was at her limit as well.

"Is that so?" Aerith took a step closer. "Funny how you only get around to saying it at a time like this." Her hands were shaking, but she didn’t release the knife. "We have a bit in common. You want to be a hero, I want to be a lover. You see? We both want to be liked." Her breathing was becoming more ragged. "Why didn’t you ever try to save me?" Her eyes dropped to the knife. "I don’t know what to do. It seems like whatever I do, it’s always the wrong choice. Is it even possible for me to make good choices?" She held her head and fell to one knee.

Vertti had run up to Flame’s corpse and was attempting to heal him, but it was a futile endeavor. Her magic was too weak to perform a miracle like this. Blue light lept off of her fingertips and into Flame, but it had no effect. "Come on." She whispered to flame. "You have to get up now." Vertti bit her lower lip. "Any time someone dies, there’s someone who’s going to cry for them. No matter how insignificant you may think you are, there’s always a pair of eyes who cries for someone." Her jaw trembled as she watched his unmoving body. "How many more times is this going to happen?"

The witches looked conflicted. They were talking among themselves, paying no mind to the scene that was unfolding before them. Finally Melancholy stepped out of the group. ”We have come to a decision.”

Talus looked away from Ashton, as if he had forgotten he was even there. ”Really?” He cracked his fingers. ”So who did you decide on? Simply give the word and I’ll make it happen.”

”We have selected all of them.”

Talus blinked once, then laughed. ”That is not how the game works. You must choose one of them.”

”You know I have a flair for the dramatic Talus, so let me explain.” She marched over to the giant. ”Love is not something that you can just force on someone. It’s clear that the canidates in this room are all acting strangely, they wish to force an outcome with all their heart. Since we are unable to come to a decission, we have decided to take the option that will make everyone the most happy.” Melancholy pointed to Vertti. ”We have selected Lady Vertti as the winning candidate.”

Talus was unmoving. His body looked like it was engulfed in a black flame, but even that flame seemed to freeze. Alistair looked between his remaining companions to see what the giant was going to do next. That was when the giant laughed. ”Let me see if I understand this.” he gestured with his hand. ”You are unable to make a choice, so you’re going to choose the one that you don’t want? The one that made the lot of you construct this game in the first place?”

Melancholy rolled her eyes. ”Not to put tooooooooo fine a point on it, but the majority of the rules for this game were made by you. Undoubtedly to exploit us for your own gains.”

”You don’t seem to understand what I’m saying.” Talus’s smile turned. ”The lot of you are witches, and yes, we love you very much. Those of us at the high council. We made you ourselves, brought you up, watched you mature for many years, and put you here so that nothing could hurt you.”

”A prison, essentially.”

”Exactly right, Melancholy!” The flames on Talus’s head seemed to get bigger. ”You’re pissing off the one person who has complete control over your lives. The fact that you can see anybody is because I am here to let it happen. So let that sink in.” Talus stood up straight. ”Do you still want to choose Vertti?”
Melancholy turned away from Talus and looked at the other witches. With a nod, she looked back. ”Do I stutter?”

Talus looked around at everyone. ”So this is it?” He swung his head around. ”I endure the war, I watch my family die, my kind pushed to the brink of extinction…” He turned to Chieko. ”Watch them sully my name, mock me…” He turned to Aerith. ”Then they have the nerve to call me a monster…” He looked to Alistair. ” And then after holding on to-”

”Yes Talus, it failed.” Melancholy folded her arms. ”You orcastrated a game you were sure you’d win, and you lost. Now, make Vertti the permanent sentinel again.”

Talus lifted his hand to point at Ashton, and all of the witches shifted. It was clear that if Talus didn’t do what they wanted, there would be some resistance. The giant mouth turned from a hidious scowl to a twisted smile. He moved his hands over the sides of his head. ”I won’t give you the satisfaction.” And with a loud crack, Talus’s head turned into a fine black mist betwean his hands before sinking to the ground. Even though there was no wind, his body blew apart into ash. The void shook, and everyone felt their grip on reality weaken.

---

Alistair had barely regained consciousness when he felt a hand smack him. "Gah!"

”Gah!” It was captain Crunch, kneeling over him.

Alistair cleared his throat. He never liked being touched, but again, he couldn’t fault the woman for trying to bring him back. "Where is everyone else?"

When Crunch stood up, he could see that he had been moved inside the Vertti household. Chieko was there, as was Ashton and Mistress Vertti. There were servants everywhere and a few mages trying to heal the wounded. Crunch remained with everyone to tell them what had happened. After crunch came back from the siege, she found most of them thrown about the room. Apparently Mie and Aerith had killed Fritzi, but she had enough power left to unleash one last spell. It seemed to be the reason why everyone in the mansion had been knocked unconscious. However, there appeared to be no lasting damage to the people or mansion.

Fritzi’s body was found in the kitchen, allowing the authorities to confirm that elder sibling had died in the siege. Vaux’s body confirmed the presence of archbishop activity in the region, and its ties to the demihuman bandits. Crunch is pretty sure these were two separate groups working together, but wishes to sell the story that the demihuman bandits were just a front for the witch cult and not a separate entity composed of disgruntled demihumans. This would remove the demihuman’s association with the bandits and shield them from even more prejudice. She’s also requested that everyone keep Fritzi’s true identity a secret. She was a beloved member of the comunity, and it would do a lot more good if everyone believed she was killed protecting the mansion.

"That’s going to be hard to sell to Mie." Vertti groaned. "I’ll try talking with her."

There were sightings of Aerith fleeing the mansion just a few minutes ago, but no one knows where she is now.

”I’ll take it from here.” Sandra stepped in front of Crunch and looked at the foreigners. ”You four, follow me.” None of them felt like moving, but it was a relatively short walk to Vertti’s study. Once there, Sandra locked the door behind them and stepped behind her desk. ”Alistair, Chieko, Ashton, and Vertti. I’m pretty sure most of you know who I am, but I’ll introduce myself again just in case.” She placed a hand on her chest. ”I’m Sandra Photos. I’m a very accomplished pyromancer who has their own division of cat boys who works under her. But all you need to know is that I am the new Witch of Envy. I know about what you guys did, and I’m really glad Talus is gone now. I’ve waited a decade or two for this to happen.” She sighed. ”I was seperated from the others because they didn’t want a repeat of last time. The witch cult that is. They tried to seal me away, but I managed to escape and I’ve been opposing Talus’s game ever since. It’s a long story, so I’m just going to get to the point.” She leaned over the desk. ”I have two goals. One is to stop the high council, and the other is to undo all of the nasty shit Talus did. Where I’m a little conflicted is to what should be done with the lot of you. So here’s the scoop.” Sandra folded her arms. ”It is possible for me to send you guys back to your old worlds. Sadly, there is nothing I can do for Hiro. Fortunately for Flame, the game ended in time and Wrath was able to save him with her authority.” And as if on cue, Flame walked through the door. He must have had keys because that shit was locked.

SUKKAH: 278

”Which reminds me, I have lost contact with my sisters. Without Talus, they have no way of observing the world at large. His was done without the approval of the high council, and I doubt they will risk following in his footsteps. Especially seeing as Talus failed. But I’m getting off point.” Sandra leaned across the desk again. ”You can go back to your own world. Your real world with your families and friends, who are probably looking for you. You’ll wake up somewhere and think whatever you want to think. ”

"Or we take the red pill?"

Sandra snorted. ”What red pill? The only other choice is that you can stay here. If you guys like opposing the cult, there’s plenty of cult left to fight. But you’ve already laid the ground work. The high council lost big today. The kingdom is only going to get stronger now.” She closed her eyes. ”This isn’t something I can freely do, mind you. This is a permanent choice you’re about to make. It’s only been a week so I can easily send you back to your own worlds, but it’ll be a lot harder as the weeks turn into months. So you guys need to decide what you want to do, preferably now.”

RPGC #24: Tactical Espionage Action - Voting and Critique

Alright, let’s get this show on the road.

Three stories, three reviews.

I’m keeping it short this time, but I’ll freely elaborate on anything.

The Army Destroyer

I don’t have a whole lot of complaints about how the story was written. It was simple, but that made it easy enough to tell what was going on. I was able to navigate the story just fine, and it was paced well.

Something I was far less impressed with was how inadequate the army going after Steve was. Espionage hinges on a storie’s ability to make the reader feel “clever” when the hero outsmarts the bad guys. The big bad left Steve alone in a cloth tent with nothing but a rope holding him in place. Not just any tent, a tent with Bendul. A guy important enough to have “Grand commander” prefixed to his name. Despite how woefully inadequate a tent is at confining people, they are left unattended for an extended period of time. When their missionary cloaks failed them, they just dawned a new disguise to escape. The exact same kind Steve used at the beginning of the story. It was a little hard to suspend my disbelief. Steve was a one trick pony that was handed his victory by inadequate opponents. It would have been more interesting if they put up more of a fight.

I did like that Steve had some difficulty sneaking out as a missionary. Fallible characters are good in any story.

by @Calle

The Amulet of Friall

The story had all the correct beats, I feel. Counter-stealing sensitive objects with an uncertain ally is always a fun experience. It also had a juicy betrayal and enough evidence to suggest such a thing might happen.

There are several instances of past and present tenses getting mixed up, missing punctuation, run-on sentences, all permeating the work. A few example of what I’m talking about.

He had send her a note that he wanted to see her as soon as possible. The wall was full with shooting holes every ten steps there was one.

He had sent her a note that he wanted to see her as soon as possible. The wall was filled with shooting holes. Every ten steps there was one.

It hadn't been easy to find the vampire that tried to frame a werewolf colony for the murder on human knight Ger nor did he come without a fight.

A run-on sentence. Consider something like this

It hadn't been easy to find the vampire. The one that tried to frame a werewolf colony for the murder on human knight. He didn’t turn himself in without a fight.

“Hazel.” he responded as he picked up some pieces of paper. “We have a report that followers of Reitrome are making a move to steal the amulet of Friall.” Hazel gritted her teeth when she heard her least favourite name in the world: Reitrome. The ever elusive Reitrome. Hazel's eyebrows arched as she heard about the amulet. “You mean that amulet that is supposed to be hidden away by the Elementals so it would never fall into the wrong hands?”

It’s not a good idea to include dialog from two different characters in the same paragraph.

“Hazel.” He responded as he picked up some pieces of paper. “We have a report that followers of Reitrome are making a move to steal the amulet of Friall.” Hazel grit her teeth when she heard her least favourite name in the world: Reitrome. The ever elusive Reitrome. Hazel's eyebrows arched as she heard about the amulet.

“You mean that amulet that is supposed to be hidden away by the Elementals so it would never fall into the wrong hands?”

The story could benefit from more exposition. Hazel had a lot of magical powers, and it would have been interesting to know what made her magic different from Estelle’s. It makes it a little uninteresting when the characters can just “do magic to it” and escape any situation. At least it feels that way when you don't know the extent of their power.

There’s definitely a good story here. It just needed a bit more work to fully come out.

by @Salenea

The Inevitable

While some of the scenes were verbose, I do feel this entry had a level of detail that the other two entries were lacking. It was nice to get all the important bits of the story in place before it starts. I was surprised that my favorite bits came in after the actual assassination.

And oddly, that’s also my biggest problem with it. I think you wanted to present this idea about how people like Orlov get screwed in the end. While I think that’s an interesting and noble thing to pursue, The rest of the story needs some love too. This was a fairly routine assassination that got botched at the end. Everything else is just inner thoughts. Spy stories are about action.

by @Fiber

My vote

Difficult to pick one. They all had one thing they did really well, and something else that missed the mark. I think I’ll give it to The Army Destroyer, if only because it fit the theme best. It was a hard call though.

MASC #1: Throwback - Voting and Critique

I fully intended to vote, but the deadline passed me by with everything else going on.

I'm glad someone mentioned the other contest though, I didn't see the voting thread for that one go up.

Re: Zero: The High Council

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Alistair Archibald was usually a benevolent and tolerant man, but there a three things he simply could not stand: People who stood in his way, people who insult him, and people who forced him to make hard choices.

Of these, Talus was all three.

Alistair Listened to everything that was said. It was a lot to take in, But he understood the gist of it. Chieko and him would essentially be replacing Vertti. Talus wanted a new host, presumably because in order to forward his plans.

But it seemed like Talus was vulnerable right now. Not physically vulnerable, as Ashton was proving. Talus didn’t possess Fritzi’s speed, but he was able to dodge every attack Ashton threw at him. He didn’t know how long he planned on toying with Ashton, but this was good. He was underestimating them, and letting himself get distracted. ”Such a tiny knife, I have to wonder if it’ll even break my skin.”

While he found Ashton’s bold move pleasing, he was put off by Flame’s choice to take a nap at this time. He wouldn’t have wasted his mana on him if he thought he was just going to collapse on the ground. Ashton was a man of action. He despised weaklings, people who would nap when there’s work to be done.

And then there was Chieko, who fell somewhere on the line. It was clear she was stressed to her limit. Alistair was too, but he was a bit better at hiding it. She asked Vertti if killing her would really solve everything.

"I believe so." Vertti placed her hand on her chest. "It’s in our contract. He’s defective that way. Something that happened to him after encountering the witches. He can only draw his mana out of one person at a time. If you kill me, he will die shortly afterwards."

Alistair was not sure how Chieko would respond, but he chose to give his input on that plan. "No! Now’s not the time to be dead!" It was just principle. Ashton thought killing Hiro would reset the timeline, but it ended up just killing him. He wasn’t going to let someone else die and hope the magical mumbo jumbo all worked out okay. He approached the two girls and spoke in a hushed tone. "Killing Vertti is exactly what he wants, that’s why he’s getting ready to trade hosts. We don’t need to kill his current host, we need to make sure the witches can’t pick any of us." Alistair groaned. He just needed to understand the game better. "I take it the vote has to be unanimous? It seems like Lust’s vote was holding things up for everyone."

"Excluding the witch of envy, the other eight have to all agree on one, yes."

Alistair folded his arms. "Hey ladies!" Alistair spoke in his normal voice. "Are you watching this?"

That was when the shapes of the witches started to appear all around them.

”I, wouldn’t, miss, you, for, the, world, Alistair.” Sloth hovered over Alistair.

”Chieko has always been my favorite.” Gluttony ran her hand over her stomach. ”I would not miss her for the world.”

"Well, there you have it." Alistair looked at his companions, speaking quietly again. "The reason why Lord Talus is pulling such a risky stunt right now is because he’s trying to force the witches to pick one of us. The fact that Vertti is here with us means that she can still be nominated. All we need to do to claim victory is make sure the witches don’t pick either of us and instead pick Vertti."

"That might work." Vertti nodded. "It’s worth a try. I’ll see what I can do."

"We can deal with him once the game ends. Meanwhile, I think I know what will make Lust happy." Alistair stepped over to Chieko with a finger raised in the air. "Chieko." Alistair said a bit louder. "We might not survive this. I’ve encountered a lot of woman since I got here. However…" He wrapped his arms around Chieko and kissed her on the lips.

”Noooo!” Lust cried. ”It’s like Lin all over agaiiiihahahaaaan…”

Gluttony chuckled before placing a finger on her lower lip. ”I actually think my opinion of Alistair has improved a bit.” she giggled. ”It’s hard to pick between the two now.”

While all this was going on, Aerith trembled in anger. "What? Where did this come from!? You could have held me like that!"

Disappointing. It didn’t even bother Alistair that he might have to kill Aerith. Not that he looked forward to it, but she didn’t have a single redeemable quality. She was human garbage, and the fact that she wanted to kill them for a shoulder to lean on. Not that he would do so willingly, of course. That would be giving into wrath after all.

"Survive, Chieko!" Alistair turned to face Aerith and started flinging ice spears. It seemed the two of them were racing against the clock to disappoint as many witches as possible.

Re: Zero: The High Council

Chieko was able to easily land her shield bash on Chiyo. The girl couldn’t see, and her daggers hardly possessed the ability to deflect such an attack. With a yelp, she was thrown backwards into Quill. The oni instinctively wrapped an arm around Chiyo and jumped backwards down the steps, landing at the base of the stairs.
 
”Owowowowowowowow!” The little girl cried. ”She seems serious.”
 
Quill blinked a few times. Her vision must have been coming back. “We should have known better than to do something so reckless, but it won’t happen again.” The two assumed a stance again. Chiyo had climbed onto Quills shoulders and crouched like a frog. “We’re getting up the stairs this time!” Again, Quill sprinted up the stairs. Half way up, Chiyo threw one of her daggers at Chieko’s head before leaping off Quill towards Flame. Chieko barely managed to dodge the knife, the sharp object grazing her skin lightly. The oni let out a war cry before the molten steel behind her surged forward as four multi-pronged tridents. She held her club behind her head, waiting to swing.

This time, Flame was ready, transforming his fireball into a fiery whip instead, ready to parry any attack Chiyo and Quill made while keeping the latter two at a distance. Another fireball lit up in his left hand, weaker due to the lack of a spoken spell, and he launched it at the two foes as a counterattack to further push them back and down the stairs.

“You two are not the only ones who can fight in tandem!” he shouted. 

The fireball was noticed, and Quill was able to move one of her molten spears in the way of the blow. It caused her to flinch slightly, but she was a tough woman. Weak magic wasn’t going to have much of an effect on her.

“I can't let you pass, Quill, and if you won't stand down I'll make you.” Chieko readied her own club, ready to deflect Quill's own while using her shield once more to stop the molten tridents.

Chieko’s shield was more than enough to repel Quill’s tridents, but she wasn’t the target of all four of them. Quill thrust two of them into the steps under Chieko’s feet, causing the wooden floorboards to catch fire. “Algoa!” The spears were becoming liquid again, and seeping up through the floorboards as molten metal. All the while, Quill was still trying to press through Chieko’s shield. 

Flame wasn’t fairing much better. Chiyo lacked any magical capabilities, but a close quarter fight fell squarely in her area of expertise. She landed on the ground and rolled backwards under Flame’s burning whip, as well as flame himself. Once she was behind him, she extended both of her legs and kicked flame down the stairs. ”Chiyo doesn’t like hurting friends, but…” She quickly retrieved her second knife and dashed towards Chieko. She had quite a bit of momentum, and Chieko would only have a moment to deal with the incoming threat.

Flame managed to right himself by grabbing one of the steps, badly bruised by Chiyo’s moves but not gravely injured. Standing up once more, he raised up his right hand, formed another whip of burning fire, and swung it at Quill’s right leg, hoping to curl its length on the latter. If he succeeded, he’d try and pull the Oni off her footing, or at least distract her from her attack on Chieko.

Fighting in tandem was not as easy as I thought it would be.

Chieko ground her teeth together. This was going slightly against them. Chiyo had rolled past Flame, trying to get to her. She couldn't fight the both of them like this, she was good, but – no, she could handle it. Even if she had to give a little.

Chieko allowed herself to step backwards, enough to let Quill gain some ground. Hopefully avoiding Chiyo's blow, while her momentum carried her forward enough so Chieko could land a gut blow on her with her club.

Chieko’s sudden shift in targets wasn’t something that Chiyo expected. She attempted to deflect the blow, but there was only so much two daggers could do against the heft of a club. The club was able to push past the daggers and nail Chiyo in the rib cage, possibly even her left arm. To that end, Chieko’s gambit seemed to have worked.

The caveat was now Quill was on equal footing with Chieko. Flame attempted to slow Quill down, but he paid for the delay by being dragged through the fire and molten steel below her. With a whimper, Chiyo trapped chieko’s club between her torso and her arm. Quill drove her heel into Flame’s sternum before running towards her adversary. Though the molten puddle was moving faster than she was, setting the floor ablaze as it raced towards Chieko’s position.

It seemed the only good thing about Flame’s position was that his face had avoided the fire and molten steel, although the rest of his body needed medical attention. Now prone on the stairs, the boy didn’t give up as he lifted up his free left hand and lashed out with another fire whip, this time at Chiyo’s right arm, hoping that a delay would affect the small ‘girl’ more than it would Quill.

“Goa!” Chieko turned her palm towards Quill, blasting a fireball in her direction in hopes of slowing her down just enough to let her disentangle herself from Chiyo. It hurt to attack Chiyo like this, but she had to do it no matter how good little sister material she was.

Ahem~

Chieko slammed the bottom of her foot into Chiyo, while pulling back on her club so she could use it to fight Quill. What was Flame doing? She couldn't let it distract her. She had to – she had to win here.

Chiyo cried out in pain as she was burned and then kicked. The frail girl was using the last of her strength to deny Chieko her weapon, but that strength faded between the two attacks she suffered. Chieko was able to pull her club free as the girl collapsed to the floor. 

“Filth…” Quill dropped her club and used both of her hands to seize Flame’s outstretched hand. With a quick squeeze she broke every finger on his right hand before swinging him up at Chieko in this confined space.

At least Flame can content himself with this - That he had at least helped incapacitate one enemy. Note now that he couldn’t do anything against Quill using him as a club, though, so he waited for his body to hit Chieko’s or the staircase.

Chieko, unprepared for having Flame tossed at her barely managed to catch the boy. With a grunt, she planted her feet firmly in the floor, wrapping her arm around him. In one motion she tossed him to the side not quite having the luxury of being gentle about getting him out of her way. She didn't have much time to bring her weapon up to try and defend herself from Quill's attack. Quill did not have a weapon, but she was close enough that it hardly mattered. Her weight was enough to knock Chieko to the ground. She sat on top of her and tried to punch her out, interchanging between left and right fists. She kept screaming “Goa! Goa! Goa!” over and over again as her molten steel attempted to coil around Chieko’s legs. 

Flame was pretty roughed up and badly burnt, and he might have broken an arm. But his other arm - He was too un-lucid to see if it was the right or left - was pointed in the rough direction of Quill, and with one more cry of ”Goa!”, sends out a strong stream of fire at the Oni as she punched a hopefully prone Chieko - Even with Flame dazed, he can still see Quill’s raised profile.

This should catch her by surprise. This should save Chieko’s life.

“Gah!” Chieko shouted as she was tackled by Quill. All she could do was hold her arms in front of her face – but purely playing the defensive wasn't going to get her anywhere. She could feel the molten heat on her feet, and each punch Quill made she felt each sweltering blast of heat more. If she got a little burned – fine then. Reaching a hand up, she attempted to grab one of Quill's hands with her own. The other shot forward, open palm as she took one of Quill's punches right to her face. “GOA!” An explosive blast of fire escaped from her palm. That was all Chieko could say before Quill’s fist dislocated her jaw.

The oni threw back her head and screamed. Chieko’s flames weren’t a direct hit, but the flames seared the side of Quill’s face, moments before Flame’s attack batted her from the side. The oni was thrown from Chieko and tumbled down the stairs before coming to a stop at the foot of the stairs. She didn’t show any signs of movement. 

”Mmmmm!” Chiyo was attempting to crawl down the hall, but she was progressing slower with each passing second. She had dropped both of her daggers, so it wasn’t clear what she was going to do once she got to her target.

The molten tendrils that hovered over Chieko’s legs would never touch her. With Quill’s defeat, they seemed to have cooled into solid metal. Sharp, but  no longer an active threat. 

And Flame chose this time to go unconscious, satisfied that he had saved Chieko’s life and she can deal with any remaining enemy…

Chieko shakily rose to her feet, breathing heavily. Ugh, she hurt all over. She was pretty sure she was badly burned, but she couldn't rest quite yet. She needed to make sure...Looking to Flame, she quickly made sure he was still alive. Good, he was. She glanced down the stairs towards Quill. She clenched her fist, resisting the urge to make sure she was still alive as she ran over to Chiyo.

“...Chiyo, that's enough.” Chieko positioned herself in front of the small human. She wasn't taking no for an answer. Wincing lightly in pain, Chieko picked up Chiyo in her arms, carrying her princess style back down the stairs, before setting her down next to the down Quill.

“Just...rest, okay?” She patted her on the head.

The small girl was laying on her back with her hands folded over her chest. She fret her brow at Chieko. ”Why are you being nice to Chiyo?” She grumbled. ”I don’t get it, but if you insist.” Quill’s fingers twitched. She was just barely on the verge of consciousness. Chiyo reached for her hand.  ”If we survive this, we’ll have to do it again later.” Chiyo pulled her hood over her eyes before laying down her head to rest. 

Chieko frowned, patting Chiyo on the head. Argh, how was she going to solve this? She didn't want either of them to be arrested or - She'd figure that out when she got there. Chiyo was already out, and Quill seemed equally out of it. She walked back up the stairs to where Flame laid. Still unconscious, huh?

“Hmph.” She reached down...and promptly smacked him right on the side of the face. “Are you just going to sleep, rival!?” Chieko shouted loudly. “We won this battle! On your feet and enjoy the spoils!”

Flame woke up, grouchy and drowsy, before mumbling as he got up, “Do you know how to set a broken arm?”

He almost swooned again from the pain.

---

Aerith had been knocked down, but not out. When she returned to her feet, she could see she was in the dining room. This was made evident by the long rectangular table going down the center of the room. All of the servants had fled, and the only person in the room other than her was Fritzi, who had seated herself at the other end of the table. She was pouring herself a glass of wine with one hand, and the other was propping up her head.
 
”I knew I hadn’t seen the last of you.” Once the glass was full, Fritzi tossed the rest of the bottle over her shoulder. It shattered, but the noise could hardly be heard over the fighting in the other room. ”I wonder what we’ll do while Quill’s busy in the other room.” After giving her glas a slosh, she took a sip. ”You know nobody likes you, right? Not me, not even your own allies. Even I can see that.” She set down her glass and pushed it aside. ”It’s because you’re selfish, Aerith. In the short time I’ve known you, you’ve burned down a clinic, attempted suicide, and aborted a dialog between two parties that you didn’t want to see joining forces. You see the problem here?” She stood up. ”All the same Aerith, I do like you. Not the way you claimed to like me, heh, but you don’t seem like you’re intentionally trying to be this way. I’ll never forgive Ashton, but I can forgive you.” She dragged her hand along the table while she walked towards Aerith. ”I’ll give you a chance to surrender. If you become my hostage, I’m confident I can talk Chieko into letting Quill take the seal. Then we can avoid any more pointless bloodshed.”

Hooo, so that's what was going on. It wasn't long to track down what was making her feel so...twitchy. So anxious. Fufu, seemed like Fritzi had some amusing secrets as well. Two knives left her sleeves as she landed in the doorway to the room, aimed right for Fritzi's head.

The wolf woman vanished from sight as soon as the daggers came close to her head. Once they hit the far wall, Fritzi reappeared. 

”Not the first time someone’s tried to kill me.  The whole ‘nail ‘em while their doing a monologue’ trick is something I’ve come to expect.” The room started to vibrate, and there was a metallic clanging sound coming from the pantry at the far side of the room. ”Seeing as you’re in the mood for knife throwing…” A gust of wind blew the door to the pantry off of its hinges, and every utensil inside was blown out as if fired from a cannon. Not just knives, but pots, wooden spoons, and anything else a servant would need to prepare a meal was flying towards Mie.

“Heh.” Mie grinned under her mask, superior agility avoiding several blades as she dove behind the table, rolling along the floor under the table. Using her momentum, she leaped up wards as she came to the end of the table, aiming one of her blades right for Fritzi's neck. ”You're pathetic, you know that?” She taunted in a bored, disinterested voice.

Mie was swift, But Fritzi’s movements, if they could be called that, were more akin to teleportation. She was actually moving though. Not just anyone would notice, but Fritzi was definitely running around the room instead of teleporting. Her shes had gotten dirty, and she was leaving behind footsteps every time she “teleported.” But the result was the same. Fritzi could move out of the way as soon as the projectile left Mie’s hand. From Mie’s position under the table, she couldn’t tell where Fritzi was. That was, until she started walking on top of the table. 

”Pathetic is what humans have been calling our kind since we were born, Mie. You’re not going to get under my skin by uttering it now..” The tools that flew past Mie earlier had fallen to the ground. She could see them, scattered around the table in all directions. ”I am curious as to why you changed sides. I don’t think you ever believed in our cause, but this is going to hurt your reputation as an assassin.” She stopped walking. ”It’s not too late to make amends. I won’t hold back if you insist on defying me.” All of the items started to vibrate, and Mie could see the table cloth flutter in the swirling wind. 

“What can I say, my foxy friend.” Mie grinned. Ah, ah, she wasn't teleporting..just moving extremely fast? “I've never been good at doing what I was told...besides, throwing a little chaos into the mix is fun.” Now how to figure this out. Her eyes shifted from side to side. She had some ability to levitate or throw something? Or was she simply moving extremely fast it looked like she was? “Besides...don't act like you're better than the humans.” Mie exhaled. “Humans, demi-humans...we're all the same sort of scum.” Mie dashed out from under the table – being caught in a confined space with potential flying weapons would be bad. She immediately launched herself into the air towards the nearest wall, spinning and pushing off of it as she launched a knife in the last direction she heard Fritzi in on the table.

Mie’s aim was true, but all Fritzi had to do was “teleport” out of the way before Mie hit her.  ”If that’s how you feel.” While Mie was no longer trapped under the table, her trajectory placed her directly over the table, and thus surrounded by potential projectiles. Mie normally would have just flown through Fritzi’s position to the other side, but she was caught in a whirlwind, spinning in place. It forced her against the ceiling, and the spinning winds were starting to draw the kitchenware swirling towards Mie. 

Aerith couldn’t afford to stand idle any longer.

She had mostly been trying to figure out how to defeat Fritzi through all of this. Like Mie, she noticed that Fritzi was just very fast and wasn’t actually teleporting. But there had to be some strange rule in how her power operated. She always used her power to escape or catch up to targets, but her attacks always came at normal speed. Otherwise this fight would have been over already. So she can only walk and run fast. But she was able to move on top of the table. If that was true, how was she able to accomplish that? Can she jump too, or did she step up on one of the chairs? It didn’t really matter. The important part was that Aerith never saw Fritzi “teleport” out of sight. So she was only capable of moving short distances, probabgly to areas she could see. That meant that Fritzi’s powers were based on sight. Aerith believed she had what it took to turn the tables. 

"Shamak!"

Aerith started by casting her weakest spell, one that did nothing but threw black spores into the air. Fritzi was swirling the air, so the spores were being dispersed about the room. But she cast it again, and again, and soon it was becoming difficult to see more than a few feet in any direction. This was draining on Aerith’s mana, but she wouldn’t need to hold it up for very long to win the fight. And just to give Mie an extra advantage, she activated the authority of wit. This caused both Mie and Fritzi to start laughing, and Fritzi’s wind storm ended. Not that she could see it, but she could hear the kitchenware clatter to the ground and no longer hear the wind. The main reason Aerith did this was so that Mie, while blind, could find Fritzi among the black smoke. Aerith prayed Mie would end this battle quickly, as she wasn’t sure how long she could hold up the authority of wit or this black fog.  

“How I feel, huh?” Mie's dagger missed, and she landed back on the floor. “How I feel...is that you're messing up my stuff, and I really, really, don't like it when people do that.” The black fox grinned viciously, intending on pouncing once more, but it seemed like the human finally had the guts to do something. Black spores filled the room, cutting visibility...and, was she laughing now!?

“Ahaha! I don't-ahaha-I don't know what the hell this-ehehe, magic is but I’ll take the opportunity-!” Mie managed to breath out. She could hear it. The kitchenware clattering to the ground. Fritzi's own laughter. Mie leaped forward, having already mostly memorized the layout of the room. She made a beeline for Fritzi, her knife stabbing forward into darkness.

It was too risky to join Mie. The two demi humans were likely aware of their positions, and would be attacking each other. She could hear the two cackling, their voices moving closer to each other. Aerith groaned as the last of her mana reserves were drained away. She wasn’t sure how long she could keep this up, but it was imperative that Fritzi wasn’t allowed to use any of her magic. She didn’t know Mie for very long, but she seemed to favor a physical approach. She could hear the sound of limbs flailing, steel hitting steal, and then one of the laughs were silenced.

It was Fritzi.

Just to be sure, Aerith held up everything for a few seconds longer before dropping her spells. She collapsed to her knees as the black dust swirled away into the air. When she looked to the two combatents, she could see Fritzi leaned up against a wall holding her chest, and Mie was sitting on the floor with her arms spread, bloody dagger in hand. If she had to guess, Mie had been kicked or punched away shortly after stabbing Fritzi. Even in her weakened state, Fritzi still managed to smile. ”I don’t suppose.” She inhaled. ”You’ll consider my offer, will you?”

“Aha,” Now that she wasn't laughing, Mie simply gave Fritzi a sadistic grin. “Begging are we? How boring.” Mie leaned in a bit closer to Fritzi. “I was hoping for a bit of a show, but you’re not even trying to defend your position...which means you’re just a pathetic, sad, hypocrite. At least take pride in your life and gracefully accept your end.” Not that if Fritzi tried, she’d give her any other response.

Aerith growled before walking over to Mie. She practically tripped over her own legs on the way over. She was not very magically potent, but had some of the strongest spells among the foreigners. Authorities were nothing to sneeze at, even weak ones. Once she was standing over Mie, she gestured with her hand. "Hand me the knife." There was an intensity in her eyes that only someone as downtrodden and beat as Aerith could possess. "I’m ending this!"

Mie was about to end it herself, but Aerith made a rather amusing suggestion. Well then. Mie smiled. “Eager, aren't you?” The fox chuckled. “Well alright then. Go on. End this hypocritical fox.” She handed Aerith the knife, watching what she would do eagerly.

”Wolf, actually.” Fritzi chuckled until she started coughing. ”Mmmm, so Aerith is the one who takes my life?” she sighed. ”I suppose this makes the most sense. You attempted to kill yourself, that’s when Ashton decided to kill Hiro. I suppose in an indirect way, you’ll be responsible for both of our deaths.” Aerith was making a low growling noise as she neared. Her short hair was hanging in front of her eyes. ”I hope you’ve gotten better at killing people, that attempt on yourself was messy.”

Aerith held the knife against Fritzi’s neck. "Back then, a week ago, you said I wasn’t the very best. That I wasn’t your type." She bent over in front of Fritzi and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Back then, a week ago, you said I wasn’t the best. That I wasn’t your type." She pressed the knife a bit harder into her neck. "Do you still feel that way? You felt something for me back then, right? You had to!"

Fritzi sighed. It was hard to say if her breathing was labored because of her wound, or some emotional connection to what Aerith said. ”I had no idea you were this lonely Aerith.” Fritzi let her head fall against the wall. ”This entire time I thought you stuck by your friends because you genuinely cared about them. But that’s not it at all, is it?” Fritzi leaned folward, Aerith held the knife against Fritzi’s neck, but found her hand trembling as they came closer. ”You’re a giant fuck up who hangs around people in the off chance they’ll notice you. You have nothing of value to offer, and bring down everyone around you. I’m right, aren’t I?” Aerith’s hand was uncontrollably shaking. She needed to put another hand over it just to keep it somewhat steady. Fritzi leaned against the wall again. ”Just kill me, Aerith.” Fritzi smiled and closed her eyes. ”Free me of this world where you linger. Send me off to see Hiro in the afterlife.”

Aerith bit her lower lip. She had no thoughts, her body was opperating entirely on emotion now. She drove the knife into Fritzi’s neck, only to pull it out and stab again. Over, and over, and over again. Aerith screamed, and crimson ran down the length of her arm, but Fritzi herself never stopped smiling, or otherwise made a sound. If it weren’t for the gaping hole in her neck, she might have looked like she was having a peaceful dream. Aerith stepped away from her body and turned to face Mie. There was some blood splatter on her face, and she was on the verge of tears. "You love me right?" Without wasiting for a response, she held her knife out against the fox girl’s neck. "I saved your life!"

---

W H E R E E T E R N I T Y E N D S

---

Chieko, Flame, Ashton, Alistair, Aerith, and lady Vertti all found themselves in that dark space again.

"Oh, I should have known." Vertti folded her arms. "Of course you’re all from the old world."

"What’s going on?!" Aerith was still drenched from head to toe in blood. "Are you here Joy? Fritzi?"

”Pretty sure you escorted that last one out of this world.” Lord talus appeared in a swirl of smoke. ”The game has neared its conclusion. The last votes are being tallied, and we’ll have a winner announced shortly.” He turned to face Vertti and bowed. ”You’ve just lost your ability to return by death. I’m so sorry.” Vertti only groaned in response.

Alistair extended his hand towards Flame, and he could feel healing energies gradually repair his arm. He was unlikely to fully recover any time soon, but it was better than nothing. "Do you have any idea what’s going on here?"

"Unfortunately." Vertti turned to look at the others. "Lord Talus is a spirit I encountered shortly after arriving here. He’s able to facilitate the love of the witches. That is to say that he can bring other worlders to this world, and grant them the ability to restart the world on death." She narrowed her eyes before looking at Talus. "He cannot give the love of the witches to anyone who they do not truly love, however, which is why he is not capable of having it. That’s why he chose to make a contract with me."

Alistair groaned. "So we were all called here to replace you? Why does he need to do that."

”I can answer this one.” Talus chuckled. ”I find the direction Vertti is guiding the world in to be distasteful.” he raised a finger into the air. ”To move things along, lets just say I’d like to see a bit more war in the world. It was a nicer place when the population was just a few thousand. There wasn’t room for hatred over things like race and creed.” He took a step towards Ashton. ”This game was set up to show the witches a more attractive option. It was hard to get lust to abandon Vertti, but she came around once she showed interest in Mie. Oh, that went deliciously well!” He looked at everyone else. ”Ashton and flame are only here by the will of Odd Laguna, which means that my next host will be one of you. Chieko, or Alistair.”

"What about me?" Aerith stumbled towards Talus.

”Oh, now you are a sad story.” He chuckled. ”So after your little thing with ‘Joy’ she got bored of you. You see, Vainglory is like that. She just wanted you as a challenge, and once that was done, she was ready for something else. It was rather disappointing, even the witch who originally wanted you here lost all faith in you. You’re nothing now.”

"Nothing…" Aerith hung her head. Talus stepped up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

”It doesn’t have to be that way of course.” He chuckled. ”The only reason why you’re still here is because they feel you are worth considering. But if you removed either Chieko and Alistair from the equation, you could take their place.” He leaned in close to her ear. ”They would all love you.”

"All…Love?" Aerith looked at her knife.

"I don’t think we can reason with her." Vertti walked up to Chieko. "If she manages to kill one of you, Talus will kill Aerith and make a contract with the one who survives. In order to end this we have to deprive him of his mana supply." She sighed and closed her eyes. "He’s contracted to me, and my death won’t reset the world any more. So…"

Collab, for Total Scrubs: A guide on collabs for the rest of us

UPDATE: Corrected some of the phrasing and wordiness in preparation for "Writing Collabs Like a Total Boss."

What attracts you about an interest check?

An interest check, 1x1 or group, should have the same goal: to convey necessary information to all interested parties. The information that is necessary differs a bit however. In a group RP, I want to know what kind of adventure we're going on so that I can make my character. with 1x1, I want to know if the topic creator and I are going to be a good fit. Sadly, that's a difficult thing to really advertise, so I end up looking for reasonable people who share some of my interests.

I don't have a very strong opinion about most of what's been said, But I would like to talk about topic tiles. It's the first thing you see and determines if someone clicks on your thread. There's nothing wrong with naming your thread "TrumpetGirl5345's box of wonders" or "Desperato's adventure search" or even "M looking for F (18+)" But you look like the other 98% of interest checks when you do this. If you have a common theme with all of your plot ideas, put that in your title. I'd be more likely to click on "Adventures in the wild west," "Lookin' to start a rock band," or even "Lesbian Zombie Hooker Nightmare" than the see of generic titles.

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

T H E R E IS A L O T O F P E O P L E Y O

 
There was little to set up for the volleyball game. “Larry Lifeguard” hammered a few stakes into the ground, strung a net across them, and threw a Volleyball to Regina as soon as she neared. He looked strangely like Dan the dolphin, but nobody paid him any mind. "This is so exciting!" Regina eyed the ball intensely.

”One game.” Su repeated. ”How did you want to do this anyway?”
 
"We can just toss the ball back and forth until everyone shows up." She ran to one side of the net. "Have you ever played volleyball before?"
 
”It’s been a while.”
 
"Alright, I’ll go easy on you then." Regina prepared to serve the ball, only to have a huge gust of wind catch it and blow it back into her face. "Blah!" She managed to catch the ball with her hands before it touched the ground.
 
”Holding the ball like that is a foul.”
 
"Maybe wait for a few real rounds before bringing magic into it?" Regina pouted.
 
”Alright.” This time, Regina was able to successfully get the ball across the net. They continued to pass the ball back and forth. ”By the way, how did you hear my name?”
 
"Huh?" Regina raised an eyebrow, but grinned before popping the ball back over to Su.
 
”I don’t think you heard it during the graveyard fight. I want to know where you heard my name.” 
 
"Oh, right!" Regina chuckled. "Mika told me!" 
 
Su caught the ball on her knee and flung it straight up. ”You met Mika?” 
 
"Like duh! Who hasn’t?" Regina’s eyes were glued to the ball. "She’s rather talkative. We bumped into each other at the pit stop." Su jumped into the air and gave the ball a soft tap, just enough to go over the net. A low power play like that was unexpected, so Regina had to run to the net to get it. "Why doesn’t a hotel manager just eat a continental breakfast anyway? I’d think that would be better than sending someone to get you food every morning." Regina had to slide through the sand in order to get under the ball in time. She managed to buy herself just enough time to stand up and whack it over the net.
 
”Hmm.” Su caught the ball with her hands. She hadn’t thought about it much, but perhaps sending out Mika every morning wasn’t the best thing to do. Veronica hadn’t tried to stay in touch with her these days. That was just as well, because Su had little desire to affiliate herself with the Mint. It was probably safer for Mika to stay in.

"That’s a foul, by the way." 
 
It was hard to think and play a game like Volleyball at the same time. It demanded a lot of focus and fast movement, especially if you were serious about scoring. Su decided It would be best to think about this later and focus on the game for now, even if it was with an opponent she didn’t care to be with. ”Do you think warming up too much is cheating?” 
 
"Nah, that’s one of the perks to arriving early. You serve this time."

Lily arrived with great gusto from a distance, though she seemed to be moving strangely slow. In fact, she had purposely slowed herself down with Time magic, running with her elbows lifted.

When she arrived a few minutes later, she whisked her short hair in slow-mo, posing with her hand on her hip. “Hi everyone. Wasn’t I just like Pamela Anderson from Baywatch with my cool entrance?” She asked, only to realize she made an incredibly outdated reference that no girl present would likely recognize, and bit her lip in embarrassment. “So, uhh, how will we form teams? I can play in any team, so...please don’t...” She looked like she was about to say something, but averted her eyes and put the tips of her index fingers together.

Regina raised here eyebrows. "Well, we’re uneven at the moment, but you can’t really play volleyball with just two people. Until we get another person maybe we can just play a few casual rounds? Loser rotates out or something like that?" Regina turned to look at Su, who was covering her face with her hand. "You okay?"

Su lowered her hand and looked at Lily with a faint smile. ”If you were blond and wearing a leotard it would have been perfect.” She looked away, her smile faded instantly. ”At this point, I think we should just wait for someone else to show up.”

Just as Su suggested waiting for another person, Chloe landed right next to her, a small cloud of sand being kicked up from her wings. She hadn't seen her since the graveyard, but now seemed as good of time as any to have a bit of fun. Besides, getting her to let her guard down would be a good idea. “Su, right? You guys need an extra for Volleyball, I think I'm feeling sober enough now.”

The oriental magical girl raised an eyebrow. ”You know my name?” Shortly after speaking, both of Su’s eyebrows jumped up. ”Oh! Um, Chloe, from a few weeks ago? Right, I didn’t notice you in that-”

Helga dove out from the sea, leaping out like a dolphin and making a gymnast’s landing. “Enough talk, let’s play ball!”

"Oh boy!" Regina jumped and clapped her hands together.  "We got two more people! And one of them isn’t fully sober! Haha!"

”The teams would still be uneven if everyone played though.”  Su put her hands on her hips, keeping the ball in the crook of her arm. ”Well, maybe we should get a game started. We can rotate players.”

Regina nodded. "Okay! Let’s draft our teams then!" Regina rubbed her hands together. "You can pick first, since you decided to come with me."

Su looked at the people she could pick from. Her eyes hovered over Helga momentarily before jumping onto Chloe. ”I’ll have Chloe on my team.”

You sure?" Regina said with a giggle. "I’m going to pick Helga if you don’t." 

Su looked at Regina out of the corner of her eye. ”You said I get to choose for my team, right?”

Yeesh! Whatever!" She waved Helga over. "Come on, we gotta school these fools."

Helga lifted an eyebrow at the fact Su chose Chloe over her first, and crossed her arms, having averted her eyes, looking annoyed. “Sure.” She didn’t recognize the girl who invited her, but that didn’t matter; volleyball was volleyball. “You made a serious mistake not choosing me, Su!” She announced, and took her position, her posture ready for action. “Let’s go!”

“Heh, I'm surprised you picked me.” Chloe grinned. “It's been awhile, Su. Got busy with work so I kinda haven't been able to keep that promise for our date, heh, but lets play this volleyball game annnnd maybe I could be convinced to treat ya to something.”

Su coughed. ”We did make arrangements for something like that, didn’t we? ” In truth, Su had mostly forgotten about her encounter with Chloe. She remembered wanting to get close to Penny so that she could get her boat back, but forgot exactly what she told Chloe to help set that up. ”We’ll see.”

“Oh, hey!” a soft voice called out as Emily approached the group. She almost seemed out of breath, as if she had ran over. “Do you guys still have room? I’d love to play with you all, if that’s okay.” 

Regina hopped over to Emily’s side. ”We have so much room! We’re still about six people short of a competitive match, but we’d love to have you play with us! Then there wouldn’t be any bench warmers."

”Emily, is that your name?” Su eyed the girl before looking at Regina. ”Mind if she plays on my team?”

”Only because you let me have Helga!" With a wave, Regina stepped back over to her side of the net. ”I’m kidding! Emily and Lily are both super sweet, so I’m glad we get to share them."

“Hi Emily!” Lily waved at the girl. “I’m Lily. Good to see you. Our names kind of match.” 

Regina folded her arms. ”Everyone in positions? Good! We’re all magical girls, so I’m expecting this game to get a little magical. Hopefully we can play a few rounds without getting too crazy though okay? Everyone familiar with the rules?"

Su hovered the ball in her hand with wind magic. ”I wouldn’t mind a refresher.”

”Cool! Alright, so basic rules are this: One side serves, other side returns, and you repeat until there’s a foul. The team that doesn’t foul gets a point. There are a lot of ways to foul, but the primary ones to keep in mind is letting the ball hit the ground on your side of the net, hitting the ball out of bounds, hitting the ball when it’s not on your side of the net, hitting the ball consecutively after the serving shot, having one team hit the ball more than three times consecutively, there are a few more but those are the big ones." Regina took a moment to catch her breath before going on. ”Oh! And something else to keep in mind is that ‘hitting’ the ball and ‘blocking’ the ball aren’t the same thing. So if you block the ball with your arm, that doesn’t count as a hit. Just remember anything that causes the ball to ‘rest’ is a foul, so don’t catch or grab the ball unless you’re getting ready to serve. Now magic…" Regina giggled. ”Normal rules don’t account for magic, but I’m going to say that regardless of what you do, anything you do to influence the ball should count as a hit, meaning hitting the ball yourself after using a spell to influence it or vica versa is a foul. Using magic on the opposite side of the net is a foul, and that includes any enchantments you might try to put on the ball. And of course, anything that damages the ball counts as a foul." She looked at everyone. ”How does that sound?"

”Sounds good to me. Everyone ready?” Su tossed the ball into the air smacked it with the base of her palm. With a satisfying pop, it flew over the net towards Regina’s team.

“U-Uuuhhh...Ah! ”The ball came in Lily’s direction, but the nervous girl fumbled at the last second, and tripped, only barely hitting the ball before it hit the sand. “Sorry, I haven’t played this before,” she admitted, and Helga came over to grab the ball. “That’s okay, I haven’t either. We can learn together.” She stuck her finger out at first, measuring the direction of the wind, before she let the ball lift with her clasped-together fists, easily sending it to the other side. “So you’re Chloe from the graveyard brawl, right?” She asked in the middle of play, easily hitting the ball as it came over. “I could recognize that naughty tone of voice from anywhere, hah. Really cute swimsuit, too,” she added with a wink.

“Heh, glad I left an impression.” Chloe smirked. Naughty tone of voice, huh? She'd take that as a compliment. As the ball came her way, the DMG quickly intercepted, keeping her wings out to easily cover the ground needed. She balled her fists together, hitting the ball and sending it sailing back over to the other side of the net. “You don't look half bad yourself. If I wasn't already planning on taking Su out, I'd ask you for one.”

”Speaking of take out, I’ll take out your entire team with THIS!" Regina dove into the air and spiked the ball as soon as it came over to her side. She laughed like an imp the entire time she was moving. 

“Not so fast!” Emily spotted the impending spike and dove for it, accelerated by her own flame magic. The result had her looking almost like a misfired rocket, lodging part of her arm into the sand. She did, however, manage to knock the ball up, hopefully in a position someone could capitalize on. “Ow, I think I got a bit too excited there…” 

”Just a little.” Su extended an arm and helped Emily to her feet again. ”That was still an impressive play. We might need you to do that again.” Though Su didn’t appear to be paying much attention to the ball, a sudden gust of wind came and blew the ball just hard enough to get it over the net.

Of course, Helga instantly recognized the swirls in the air. “There!” She held her hand out, and a rumble of bass sounded from her palm, sending the ball out. “Now you’re the naughty one, Su!” Su’s eyebrow twitched at the remark. 

Lily hoped around on their side of the net, now better used to moving on the sand, and successfully hit the ball back. “So who are you? Are you one of Beacon’s new recruits?” Lily asked Regina.

Not letting the ball out of her sights, Chloe quickly intercepted it. Well, sort of. A purple colored specter formed in the balls path.

“Hey, catch this!” With a skeletal hand, the spirit spiked the ball, right towards Regina side of the court. Now, how to go about this...maybe a good shock would do? Or just exhausting her? Hm, decisions decisions.

”With pleasure!" Regina’s body seemed to surge with energy. The ball was moving pretty fast, but it seemed to slow when Regina approached. She had just enough time . to hop and block the ball with the side of her arm. Then the volleyball catapulted away, like gravity was radiating outward from Regina. A bit too far it seemed. ”Oh, uh, yea, that’s out of bounds." She giggled. ”I’ll get that." It just took Regina a few seconds to get the ball and return. ”But to answer your question Lily, I am Regina Bates! And yes, I am with Beacon now. That fight at the graveyard and Beacon’s efforts to purify me really showed me the error of my ways ." She spun the ball in her hands before passing it to Emily. ”I think I saw all of you there, except for you, Emily! But you must have been there, right?"

Emily caught the ball, drawing in a long breath and taking a few steps back from the court. “Yeah, I was there.” she answered, tossing the high and forwards into the air. Perhaps a bit too high. Nevertheless, she continued. “But I was-” she took three quick steps forward and leapt into the air to meet the ball, “-occupied-” her hand smacked the ball hard, rocketing it towards the other side. “-with pumpkins and spiders, for the majority of the event.” she gracefully landed afterwards. “That reminds me, wasn’t there some girl claiming to own the city now?”

“It was Cindy; she’s over there at the cafe,” Lily pointed, only to gasp and with lightning speed make a last-second block on the other side of the field, lifting it up for Helga to make a spike. “Watch this!” She vibrated her fist to extreme frequency, and hit the ball with enough force to make it wobble back and forth, making it very difficult to predict the sphere’s movement.

The volleyball wizzed over Su’s shoulder and smacked into the ground, throwing sand in all directions. She dusted the sand off of her legs before reaching for the ball. ”I’m pretty sure you don’t get to own a city just by saying ‘this is all mine’ on the radio. Or was it TV?” Su floated into the air and tossed the ball to Regina. ” I don’t think anyone can control Penrose. Her insisting on being some kind of leader is just going to create more conflicts.”

Regina turned the ball over in her hand. ”I agree! I wish we could all just get along." The ball was shaking, despite her attempts to hold onto it. ”But if she wants to help curb the chaos, I’m all for her appointing herself mayor." She released the ball, and it catapulted towards Chloe. It wasn’t going to go out of bounds this time.

“Right?” Chloe agreed. “Us magical girls need to stick together.” She was vaguely aware of this Cindy person, just another person who would probably get in her way. Chloe tried to keep up with the balls erratic movements, placing both her hands together, she gave it a powerful slam right back in Regina’s direction.

Regina didn’t have much time to set up before Chloe fired the ball back in her direction. She let out a small yelp before batting the ball with the back of her hand. ” You’re working me pretty Chloe.” Regina giggled. ”I can’t decide if you like watching me move or you think I’m the weakest player.”

“Personally, I don’t care if Cindy does want to own Penrose, but if she touches my home I’m sending her back from where she came from,” Helga commented, and looked in the cafe’s direction. “But I am getting parched. You girls want to get a few drinks after this? Losers pay!”

Lily on the other hand looked apologetic. “Sorry, but I already agreed to do something else right after this. You girls can have fun.”

Emily, presumably engaged with the conversation, nearly missed the ball in its entirety. “Woah!” she stumbled as she tumbled, sloppily hitting the ball high into the air, where it would then fall back on the same side. “Uwa... um, I’d love to hang out more if you guys don’t mind.” she said as she regained her posture.

Su floated over to the ball when it was at peak altitude and popped it even higher into the air. She made her decent while the ball was still flying upwards. ”Depends on a few factors, but I might be up for it.”

“Well!~” Chloe grinned, ignoring the others, being mostly focused on Regina. “You are fun to watch moving,” The dark magical girl shot upwards, chasing after the ball that Su had shot upwards. With an acrobatic flourish, Chloe slammed the ball back towards Regina. “But I think I'd like it more if you weren't using some silly illusion to hide yourself.”

”So you know then?" There wasn’t a whole lot Regina could do against the incoming shot. The high angle made it difficult to predict. At best, Regina could block it and hope that the ball didn’t veer off and give the enemy team a point. She placed herself where she thought the ball was going to land. Or was at least close, as most people don’t try to catch high speed volleyballs with their face. With a loud thud, Regina’s head was thrown backwards into the sand as the volleyball bounded into the air one last time. Her team might have continued playing if they weren’t concerned for the poor girl’s health. ”Mmmmm…" Regina was able to stand up on her own, but there was something off about her. Her very shape was unstable, like her skin was a collapsing tent. Her hair was changing color, and she was starting to look like another girl they were familiar with. "I was worried nobody was going to find out." 

T e t r a d

”Beacon thought I was Regina, but it was me! Tetrad!”

— Tetrad

Tetrad dusted off her shoulders. ”Man, Beacon couldn’t tell me apart from the original. I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry about that. I’m going to laugh anyway.” And so she did. 

Helga was in complete shock, as was Lily, who pushed her palms against her cheeks so hard her lips puckered. “Nooo wayyyy!”

”What?” Su’s head was tipped in confusion. ”Why would anyone pretend to be Regina? Who are you even? Why did we play a game together?”

”I can’t speak for you, But I wanted to see how long I could go before someone finally figured me out. ” She shrugged. ”And I think the whole point of going incognito is to become invisible. Regina was perfect because nobody likes her and everyone would sorta ignore me. Also, everyone calls me Tetrad. Just ask Emily, or Mika!”

“But wait, if you were here pretending to be this Regina chick,” Helga asked, scratching the side of her head with a befuddled look, “Then where’s the real deal?”

"I'm sure she's around. People react differently to spotting their doppelganger. Some choose to confront, others hide and watch from a distance." Tetrad turned over one of her hands. "Maybe she hasn't seen me yet, and is elsewhere on the island." She bent over and picked up the ball. "Anywho! This game is just getting started! But it appears to be your team's turn to serve."

Su was holding her head with one hand. "I'm not sure if I feel like playing anymore."

Tetrad suddenly dropped the ball and placed her hands on her hips. " We need to at least finish a game to get paid!" She had a massive scowl on her face. "I hope I'm not surrounded by quitters!"

Helga smirked as she noticed Su giving up. “Oh, come on Su, don’t give up yet! One final round, let’s do it!”

She served the ball, launching it so far up towards the sun nobody could clearly see. “Lily! Go for the spike!” Lily nodded, and crouched. “Okay! Here I go!” She waited until she could barely see the silhouette of the ball, and activated her acceleration magic, launching herself up with a leap at incredible speed, and slammed the ball down.

“...well now I'm kind of disappointed.” Chloe muttered, grumbling lightly to herself, her enthusiasm seeming draining in an instant. “Here I was hoping to flirt with a cute girl, but it’s just you.” She sighed, fluttering her crystalline wings with an irritable flap. “Oh well, Su, want to get a drink?” Chloe was almost wholly uninterested in the game now, it seemed.

The ball flew past Chloe and bounced off the ground, but Su wasn’t paying it much mind. "Why not? Seems like the game’s over now.."

”Awww, I’m hurt.” Tetrad said, not looking very hurt at all. ”She low key implied that I wasn’t cute. Which is probably true when you take into consideration how obnoxious I was acting. Actually, yea, that’s right, I’m not cute at all! I’m one sexeh biatch!” Tetrad observed everyone present. ”Well kids, this was fun. Sounds like Lily’s in a yank. So I don’t think we should start another game up. But I’m sure we’ll all meet again later.” Tetrad waved while walking off the beach. ”Oh and if you see Regina, I never stole her identity right? That was someone else.”

Helga pouted with a slouch as the ball slowly rolled on the beach. “Well, that was disappointing. At least I’ll get some free drinks.” She turned to walk towards the cafe. Lily looked on with a somewhat happy expression. “”I wasn’t useless, or a bother...I’m glad, heh…” She muttered to herself, and waved goodbye to the others. “That was a good game. Let’s do other fun stuff too, ok? Bye!” She then ran off, and Helga waved back. “I guess it was....But what was up with Su? She seemed strangely distant...” She muttered as she went to get a coconut juice.

---

Veronica had returned to her room. It wasn’t nearly as luxurious as her home, but a standard “hotel” room was enough given the circumstances. A bed was a bed, and the air conditioning was welcome. She hadn’t realized how hot it was until the cold air struck her face.

She stumbled over to her bed and fell backwards into it. Veronica’s encounter with Chloe didn’t go anything like she had expected. It wasn’t until after the fact that Veronica remembered that not all of her vodka bottles contained vodka. She had filled one with “ogre breath,” which was a magical concoction that has the sole purpose of making anything drunk. She would need to be more careful when mixing in the future. Regardless, Veronica had won. Chloe was well on her way to betraying the mint. And by the sounds of it, Al was tied up in this. He must have given Chloe a mission in an attempt to hurt the cradle’s efforts. She would need to find out what it was later. But betraying one’s side was something Chloe had done in the past. Seeing how easily she did it again made Veronica wonder how long this alliance would last. Chloe’s loyalty to Penny hadn’t faltered yet though, so a long standing alliance was possible with Chloe. The others needed to be notified.

“Attention Cradle Agents. Chloe Irving is interested in fighting against the Ebon Mint and sees us as allies. I have yet to negotiate in length with her, but she appears interested. Remember though, the only people who are sure allies are those who join Crimson Cradle. She knows who you are, so don’t act surprised if she reacts unexpectedly to you.”

”I think we have a problem.” Tetrad’s voice sounded dire.

Veronica blinked. “This isn’t a joke, right?”

”No I’m serious.”

She closed her eyes. “What is it?”

”Well, you know how she’s a turbo lesbian right? And you told her who we were? She straight up told me I wasn’t a cute girl!”

“Tetrad…”

”This is serious!” She stammered. ”She’s clearly lying! I-I’m the best looking girl, no! W O M A N on this beach. At first I thought it was jealousy, but it might be because she knows I’m a Cradle Agent.”

“She flirted with me plenty. She also told me that I was beautiful and more or less said she wasn’t the type to get jealous.”

”And you believed her?!”

Veronica opened her eyes. “Wouldn’t she have lied to you too? If anything, her not showing interest is a sign that she isn’t out to back stab you.”

”Maybe. But why would she do something like that? I mean she’s all over Sil for crying out loud!”

“I get the impression she prefers people with more submissive personalities. Not that it stopped her from flirting with, well anyone else honestly.” Veronica dragged her hand over her face. “You said she was a ‘turbo lesbian’ right? You were crawling all over Alexander, maybe that’s it.”

Tetrad giggled. ”Right, that makes sense, and it gives me a great idea!”

“Good, just don’t jeopardize the alliance.” There were a few things Veronica thought she would do once she established the cradle, but helping her agents understand why people didn’t like them was not one of them. “Hmm.” She slid her fingers down from her temple over her cheek, where Chloe had kissed her. “About twenty years ago. Was that the last time someone did that to me?”

---

Earlier…

With everything going on, the last thing Abigail wanted was for someone to drag her into the tree line and cover her mouth. This would be the second time she was kidnapped this month, and wasn’t too happy about that. Last time she was kidnapped because Tonya lured her around a corner where she was jumped by the Bates, and now someone just up and captured her while she was off by herself. She probably had herself to blame for this. Beacon had always said that, while tremendously powerful, she needed to work with others and not try to do everything herself. Maybe she could have been spared this fate if she had only left with Regina. She could feel the strength in the hand over her mouth, there would be no escape. She was ready to resign herself to whatever forces had taken her this time.

"Don’t scream! It’s me!"

Abigail threw Regina’s hand off of her mouth before turning around to look at her. "Why did-" She stopped speaking when she realised how concerned Regina looked. She also recalled seeing Regina pal around with Aurelio and everyone else not even a second ago. After taking a moment to think, she whispered. "You can’t duplicate, can you?"

"No, I can’t." Regina sighed. "I don’t know who that is, but it’s not me."

"Pulling me below the treeline and capturing me again is definetly something only the real Regina would do." She grumbled and looked over her shoulder. "So when are you going to come out of hiding and reveal that they aren’t actually you?"

"I don’t want to make a fuss right now, there are too many people around."

The gravity girl rolled her eyes. "Alright, as soon as everyone leaves, we’ll talk to someone from beacon privately."

"Thanks Abby."

Abigail groaned. "It. Is. Abigail."

---

N’ F R I E N D S

There were plenty of things to do on this tropical island besides sports, and missing out on them would have been a shame. For example, the wildlife and beautiful plants that surrounded the resort itself, as well as the other facilities that were available to take advantage of. With this being the first day of however many that they ended up stuck here for, Alicia Hayden was taking the opportunity to explore it a bit. A Parasol Familiar followed dutifully behind, shielding her from the bright sun as she approached her destination. 

She’d been told there was a cave formation nearby, one that didn’t require climbing but had a wide variety of stalactites, stalagmites, and worms that positively glowed in the light. That was the sort of thing that seemed difficult to believe, hence why she was going to check it out in person. She had the time for it. 

Yet the sound of movement in the bushes drew her off course. Guiding her to walk over and see what was going on. Reaching the edge of the path, she poked her head over the bushes and foliage to see what the source of the noise was.

For a few brief moments there was a spark of curiosity in her eye, only to fade somewhat as a relatively-familiar face came into view. It was Regina. “Oh, I see,” she noted quietly, mostly to herself. ”I’ll just be on my way then.” She didn’t know why Regina was hiding in the bushes, but she hadn’t paid much attention to the girl since they had arrived here. It wasn’t really her business, and she didn’t really want to deal with it. So for now she went to return to her initial bout of exploration, and a much more palatable task in doing so. But just as Alicia was getting ready to leave, someone wrapped an arm around her waist. Alicia tensed up before she was dragged and dragged back into the foliage. Her mouth was covered before she could make a sound.. It was only the appearance of Abigail floating up to the two that prevented things from getting violent. Non lethal of course, but still violent. Luckily for Regina, she was denied this fate for now.

"You don’t, um, need to do that once they’ve seen you." Regina released Alicia once she was told this.

“Hello Abigail, it’s a good thing you were here Things were about to reach a critical misunderstanding,” she observed whilst glancing over at the other magical girl. Art least she had wound up here safely like the rest of them.

Regina spun Alicia around. "Socks! I have an imposter! They have everyone in Beacon fooled!" Her expression was grave, like a child who lost their favorite toy. 

There was little time to focus as Alicia found herself seized by a stricken Regina. And while an eye twitched at the nickname used, her statement earned a frown as the Seraph treated it with all the seriousness that it deserved. “Really? Do you know who’s doing the impersonating? And for how long?” At the very least she didn’t want to risk that Regina was lying about this, she just needed more information. 

"At least as long as the rest of Beacon has been on the island." Abigail folded her arms. "I was watching ‘Regina’ cuddle Aurelio, when this one dragged me into the treeline." Abigail turned to look at Regina. "You are the real one, right?"

"I am, yea." Regina put a finger on her lip. "I don’t know who it is either. I just came to the island and searched around a bit, but when I got to the help desk place they were there already. They must have seen me while I was walking around."

Abigail nodded. "Even if they saw you in that PI interview with beacon, they wouldn’t know you weren’t with them unless they spotted you elsewhere." She looked at Alicia. "Chances are this was all done pretty spontaneously, if not set up by the people who put us here."

Listening to the situation left Alicia not pleased. Hands balled into fists as her teeth ground together. It was a good thing that there was a no fighting rule in place right now, or she had it in mind to march right up to this doppelganger and sock her right in the face. She might not be much of a fan of Regina, but someone messing with Beacon was a bigger priority, even if it was someone’s idea of a practical joke. 

She was finally starting to understand the appeal of that Water Gun Orbital Strike Laser back at the Boutique now. 

”I see,” she replied at last, once the duo had finished relating the situation as it was.  ”Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I’ll go get Sylvia and we can put a stop to this. Unless you already have a plan of your own to deal with it.” It couldn’t hurt to ask even if it turned out that they didn’t. 

"Aside from kick their butt? Not really.." Abigail put her hands on her hips. "This was about as far ahead as we got. Just touch base with the rest of Beacon in secret so that we could trap them." She patted Alicia on the shoulder. "Anyway, you can babysit Regina now. I’m ready to start having some fun." She floated off without looking back.

Alicia nodded as Abigail excused herself, waving goodbye as she was left with Regina and this unpleasant situation.

”See you later,” she called, confident that it would happen sooner or later. These islands weren’t that big after all, especially with the events happening throughout the day.

Regina hugged herself. "I don’t think I need to be babysit." She took a few steps closer to Alicia. "So um." She twiddled her thumbs. "I’m glad you found us. What do we do now, Socks?"

That just left her with Regina, as she turned to face the remaining girl. ”First thing, don’t call me Socks,” she warned with a firm tone. She had been ambivalent when Elroy had been using it before, but now it just reminded her of all the stuff that had happened because of her failure to act. 

Regina pouted and looked away from Alicia.. "Does nobody in Beacon like nicknames? Hmph!"

Holding back a huff of annoyance, Alicia’s mood hadn’t gotten particularly better at this point. ”I’m fine with some nicknames. Just not that one,” she protested. Surely Regina could figure out why that might be the case. ”As for this, it depends on how much she knows about you. If it’s off the cuff and based on the news then we can use that and lure her into a trap to turn the tables. If she’s got memories or something, then I'm out of ideas besides me and Sylvia confronting her? she admitted after some thought on their current dilemma. But the first plan seemed reasonable with what they currently knew. 

"I don’t know." She hung her head.  "I figured there was a procedure for this."

Her primary thought earned a shaking head and a scowl. ”There are, but those procedures usually involve being able to capture people. Which doesn’t really work since there’s the ‘’no fighting; rule in place.” Doubtlessly this person would stop if confronted, but that wouldn’t really send a message. And after all the brainwashing and infiltration, messing with Beacon like this didn’t really sit well with her. They looked after their own, even if they didn’t necessarily like them.

With a sigh, Regina tucked her hands behind her back. "If you want to confront her, that works for me. What should I do?"

That just meant going with the first idea. If this was a prank, then there was no harm in pranking back. ”Well, whoever this is knows you’re a new recruit. I’ll just approach her, say we’re doing some light training, then lead her to wherever we’re springing this trap. We just have to decide on what kind.” It had to be appropriate to the crime, after all.

"I have an idea for that!" Regina cleared her throat. "You lead them into the forest, that’s when I step out, and then everyone else in beacon steps out and surrounds them. Then they will look and feel really stupid, and be forced to reveal themselves!" She pumped her fist. "It’s a flawless plan! Well, we just need to get everyone else on board with it. Maybe it would be easier if you just called everyone over here. Then it would be like ‘yoink!’ followed by feelings of severe embarrassment." She chuckled nervously. "I uh, don’t really know what else we could do. They haven’t hurt anyone, so I don’t think we need to hurt them back, right?"

”Normally I would agree,” Alicia admitted as Regina said her feelings on the subject. Normally she was the sort who was more than willing to live and let live. But after being burned before, you could only take so much before not being so considerate. But infiltration is a bit of a touchy subject after these past few months. I think a demonstration is needed, or people will keep not taking us seriously, and then it’ll hurt us later on.”

Well, maybe Regina didn’t understand that. But after what she and Justine had done to them, if this was a joke then it was in poor taste. And whoever it was would have to accept the consequences for that. 

Eying her companion, she gave a small shrug. ”You don’t have to be involved. I’ll think up something fitting for the situation.”

"That’s fine." Her gaze shifted from side to side. "Um." Regina tipped her head. "So do I just wait here or what?"

Tapping her chin in thought, after a few moments Alicia decided on what her plan would be, at least in the short term. ”No. I remember hearing that there was a cave system nearby. I want to check that out first. It might be useful.” She began walking in the general direction that she thought it was in, indifferent to whether or not Regina followed along. 

Regina took a few steps forward. "No? Like I should follow you?" She hopped after Alicia. 

”If you want to. I’m going to handle this personally either way,” Alicia replied, glancing over her shoulder at her companion. 

Focus returning forwards, she sighed while shaking her head. ”Of all the people they could have impersonated it had to be her….” she muttered, a sharp bite in her tone. This would have been so much easier otherwise, even if it had been someone like Serenity. 

Well, she would handle this, then she could get back to actually enjoying herself.

”Same shit, different day.”

— Tonya “Mac” Murphy

Tonya “Mac” Murphy

Age: 24/11 | Gender: Female/Female | Illusion, Gravity
Body | Power of Friendship, Regeneration, Third Eye | Moirai
Coercion, Soul Jar, Martial Training, True Sight, Parasite, Gifted, Awareness, Mystic Artifact

Magical Overload, Paragon, Blessing, Gifted Item | Monster Form, Big Brother, Arrogance, Vendetta
Redirected Magic, Second Specialization | Non-Standard Limbs, Destroyer

STR: 05 | AGI: 04 | VIT: 05 | MAG: 03 | LCK: 03

STR: 10 | AGI: 08 | VIT: 11 | MAG: 17 | LCK: 05

Earnings this post: Zilch

Total: 5 Gold, 111 Silver, 120 Bronze

Dramatic much, magical girls?

I need someone to code a CS

Pretty much what @Kuro said. Unfortunately, the code is so broken in spots it is impossible for me to tell what you were trying to do. In the future, I recommend using less coding until you are more familiar with BBC coding, or at least work on small segments at a time so that everything doesn'tcreep up on you, @role model. I think you were trying to do something like this:

-----

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A L

Warren Worthington III

^{_{Warren Worthington III ♦ Guardian and Playboy ♦ Public Figure♦ X-Men}}

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

I want to connect to all the myths that Angel has attached to him, namely the existence of an angel from the testaments of documented experiences. I will be doing some research about that. Then, he is a mutant who has saved people that aim to hurt him. That’s quite a selflessness act considering he reaches across the globe chasing money and women. So, I want to explore his psyche as much as I do his stature.

Angel was created to be in the X-Men, and he was a hit early on. Since he was a founding X-Men member, he’s traveled the seven seas. He’s been involved in many different stories penned and illustrated by good names. He can stomp a mud hole in somebody, and I plan to have him kick ass. But I want my character to party with Iron Man and Bruce Wayne. I believe he is like them. Saving the world, partying, acting on reformations for the better of everyone.

He has mixed with huge characters like Apocalypse, and small creations alike. He doesn’t pull any punches because of the trauma he’s endured, meaning going through his wings being ripped off, brainwashed, and trying to help only to being ostracized. He has been subject to psychological exams about thought to-be narcissism or other likely personality disorders.

Collaboratively, he has a long history with the X-Men.

^{"One last time, I need to fly"}

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

---

I started reading Marvel comic book magazines when a friend introduced me to them a long time ago. There were a few that impressed me, but the benefactor of my money was X-Men titles and Hulk, and the F4. When I saw Angel, I thought he looked daunting in a huge white suit, in sunglasses and standing up very tall.

Basically, I want to explore the dark side that every man and mutant has inside from a seasoned mutant millionaire’s perspective. I don’t want to always help, and I want him to get into fights, but at the same time, I must honor how peaceful and helping he is.

I’m not going to force a bad guy routine, which of course “bad” is a three-letter word with a three mile long spectrum, I want to discover the in-and-outs of a forty year old mainstay of an apparently never-ending story. And, I want to do this with a winged, kind, wicked mutant millionaire.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

---

Any additional notes you want to put either for yourself, the GM's or other players to help clarify your vision or continuity.

S A M P L E P O S T:

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A sample post that can be used in the IC if you so desire upon acceptance. This post should provide an example of your vision for the desired character. This sample post should meet all standards outline in the rules and additionally include dialogue, mannerisms and other actions representative of your intended portrayal.

P O S T C A T A L O G:

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A list linking to your IC posts as they're created. This can be used for a reference guide to your character or to summarize completed arcs and stories.

“I’ve taken my independence and revved it to level 5. I have witnessed so much and hurt so bad that I am ready to kill. Pushed to the act of murder? It could be.”
Warren’s exceptional prayer to the god was unusually short. He got off from his knees and rotated both his shoulders because they were some tight. He cracked his neck, too. He took a gander at his penthouse. The lamp had too many loose half-inch big ripped pieces of red colored fabric bottom trim. When he moved his eyes around he naturally tuned in and was alert to his environment, like the melted ice that had turned into a small splotch of water at the foot end base of the bed, it having decomposed from Warren getting drunk and tipping over some ice from the bucket . He did not suffer from hangover.

The safety horn cried out inside of the fireman’s station. Those who were on duty and assigned, that is by the NYFD, hurriedly thought and acted and were on their way out the door. They turned up the siren, and sped towards a head-on collision not only dispatched as on fire, but also there was someone reported trapped. They flew!

[BUZZ!! There was an intercom properly installed throughout the house, and it was for communication between the Angel and approved buzzers. “Hello?”
“I hope you are doing good this morning, Mr. Worthington. Today, it is 80 degrees outside, which is warm enough. . . “
“Sure, but what about that collision?”
“It was reported fifteen minutes ago on 8th and Academy. I hope they help those people, it really sends chills up my back to think of some one being deceased because of a text, or a call.”
“Yep. OK, I will speak to you later, Raymond.”
“Very well. Thank you.”

WORTHINGTON HQ

There are people every where. They're all dressed well and they all smell good and smile, perhaps some flirting or undressing someone with their eyes, pointing at the chubby numbers analyst staring hard through his glasses at the busty, black-haired young emo girl yapping on her smartphone. She definitely couldn't be a sacrifice. Jerry had seen her on an amatuer Internet show.

Elsewhere, there was an executive going back and forth with a sports medicine specialist from the Food and Drug company. It was a multi-faceted, intelligent conversation, but the specially ranked doctor was going to have to pursue accelerated information from a WLabs scientist.Then, there were shots fired! The scramble to run, hide, and not spill your espresso was not completely unlike a John Travolta movie, except people were getting hit by AK-47 bullets,and it was a killing onslaught so god awful that whoever was doing it was going to answer for it with his life. If he didn't off himself with his fascinating, stable victims.
Shattered glass was everywhere. Some people were wounded, and others may have been dead. Of course, many people called the authorities.

WARREN'S PENTHOUSE/TRANSIT

Warren was through eating breakfast. it included a candy apple. Now, he was preparing to leave the nest and see what was going on in the world, soundly commerce, chemical engineering, and upscale mutant prostiute houses. He had on his designer dark wash denim jeans when his main cell phone paused him.

The call was urgent. It was about the shooting that took place an hour ago, and Warren had to double up and get fully dressed, then he logged on his computer for a few minutes to search the basics about the office shooter. He got it all, schizoid personality with depression. Finally, he raced to the elevator and jetted down to his Escalade. He started the car, and pulled out from a private parking spot that had a sign stating that the parking space was legallly reserveed for Warren Worthington III.

The news companies were at the scene. They were busier than ever. Their question they asked were about robbery, terrorism, anti-animal testing, and the works. One in particular documented two interviews with Warren, and she thought that this time she would get in big time when she saw the Cadillac truck driving into the debacle. Every one launched into a frenzy when he stopped and parked beside a fire hydrant, and opened the door and hit the deck. Out of all the questions and commends, Warren had a definitive comment: "I know someone come in and starting shooting my employees. That is all." He knew everything about the assailant from reviewing his records at his work computer at the penthouse.

He caught a break when city police pushed the reporters back. He thanked them, and they allowed to step into the building, but the presence of cops and more cops, and with the US Marshals on the way, Warren was was disconcerted. They did tell him that the man he knew as Jack Mannessy was actually a nine year old fugitive from Delaware prison. He underwent a trial, and was convicted of armed robbery, and acts of terrorism. Warren asked some questions to the police captain. How many were wounded, or shot, or traumatized. Were there any cracks in any of the network security infrastructure? Was there a thief motive? The captain didn't know, but this would amount to more capital crimes and probably death row. It would be, but Mr. Jack Mannessy was no longer alive.

Some days went by. It was a law suit, one after another Warren didn't mind. He only had a billion dollars, and a billion more.The US Marshals had explained everyrthing, all the way down to the type of bullet used in the shooting. He asked if there was anything that the federal government could help out with, lawyers or extra security. They provided information to civilian protection agencies, a bunch of ex-soldiers and SEALs. He was even offered a gun permit and a specially trained canine assistant who would go for the neck. Warren passed. It was an act of disgruntled, domestic work office terrorism. He would be okay.

COURT: "The proceedings today qualify that the involved claimants maintain soverignity over the assets that hereby will be dignified unless otherwise judged. The trial before the court must be thorough, documented propery, constitutional, and just. There will be no conditions that I am not made appointed to, because my court will be violated, and I will not be violated. Objections must be consistent with what is going on accordingly with the trial. Now, for the defense. You have offered every one of your opponent each $2,000,000?"

Well, Warren didn't know too many suburban families that couldn't use a couple million dollars, so he put the offer on the table. Out of the three organized thief clans, all of them took the deal. While the proceedings were handled, he had two cups of coffee. He had a taste for some liquor. He surveryed everything, including himself. He smiled because he was giving away six million dollars, and he wanted to get drunk. He recalled news that it was being legislatively argued, it was about whether people could sue company head figures due to the state of the country, business law, and terrorism.

His attorney that worked for Worthingon Labs earned a $100;000 bonus on top of his usual $250,000. Three days after a brief vacation to Washington, D.C., Abraham Washington pulled into the parking area in a new 2019 Mercedes Benz. And, a Switzerland crafted timepiece.

Warren had been running here and running there. He gave in to the reporters and conducted several interviews. They would not get pushy with him after they understood how beligerent he coould act. But, his favorite thing to do was go to the beach and go crazy with his jet skis and floats, with his friends and associates. He picked everybody up. There was ten of them, and they were drinking. It was going to be awesome. So, they arrived in the concrete loading dock and unhooked three jet skis and Warren flirted with one of his friends. He made her laugh and move sexy, but it was only flirting.

It was one hour in. They slowed down drinking. Warren was sitting around with everybody. Suddenly, he had to use the restroom He walked away unnoticed. He walked away, and he had the urge: the urge to sail away. He had hid his wings with a huge life vest and a tailor made long sleeve shirt that he was wearing underneath the vest. He stripped it off.

He looked around, the coast was clear. So, he walked forward bearing a strong pace. His vision sharpended, reducing water production in his eyes, widening his eyes. He felt the surge, the energy, his shoulders being tugged on, his bare feet levitating from the ground, his back relaxinf, his abs tightening. He flew.
He was in the sky. He felt so good. He swinged his wings to and fro, and as he landed on his sky high path his wings sedated and he went into gliding. He loved the cruise. He could see people all over the beach. Suddenly, he twisted and spiraled up and down, feeling ferocious and good and having fun. He noticed a vendor, he believed it was hot dogs and chips. He had seen a kid not too old, so Warren dipped by the vendor and got a hot dog with mustard and ketchup, and flew it back to the boy. The kid's mom asked him if she had seen Warren before, but he said no and went on. He had a good time, but he returned to the spot where he had stripped and put back on his beach gear.

With his friends, he was a badass type of nice person, but to himself he was the Angle.