BrokenPromise

Battle Toyale — Christmas Rumble!

@Alucroas Technically Forge was the "next post" as of my last OOC post that you have responded to with a post.

Historically, @Pickled Piper seems like a quicker poster. They've been logging in pretty frequently until just a day before Forge's post, so they may not be aware that they're up to post yet. With any luck they just needed to be AFK for a while and will be back in time. We'll know as things progress, my scaly acid filled friend.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

"For some reason the discord crew thinks now would be a good time for me to engage everyone in a group hug. Clearly they don’t know me that well. I don’t want to get shot by a deathray.”

— Suki Oyama

No matter how much Suki spoke with Tsubomi, it didn’t seem like anything she said got any kind of reaction out of her. Even waving her hand in front of the lethargic girl’s face did little. The delinquent sighed and folded her arms. "We need to find a-” Suki almost said “cure” until she remembered how useful it was to have a partner like Tsubomi. Yes, it would be beneficial to be able to turn her emotions on and off, but not outright leave her with them. Giving her emotions permanently would effectively kill the Tsubomi she knew, and it wasn’t like she was suffering much. At least, she didn’t seem to be suffering. It did suck that she was becoming more and more withdrawn from everything. It was unusual that she could notice this in a supposedly apathetic girl, Suki thought.

With her conversation with Tsubomi going nowhere, her attention drifted over to Roche. It seemed like all the rulekeeper had been doing recently was feeling sorry for herself. The beach thing was only a month or so ago, and now a spat with Rei had sent her into another downward spiral. The surprise? She was actually getting support. And not just a little bit either. Tsubomi had decided to work her magic on Roche’s emo ass, despite not having the strength to answer Suki’s questions. The sarcastic Kiyo was able to set her bullshit aside long enough to say a few encouraging words. Shuuko snapped out of her trance just to dive into Roche’s lap like a jealous lover. Even Nyxia, who she was pretty sure didn’t care for anyone, was able to find a few words in a rant about Rei that were definitely intended as a compliment. And of course, such a lovely exchange of affection for Roche wasn’t complete without her throwing a snide comment Suki’s way.

Meanwhile, what were Suki’s prospects? Roche was a no-go out of principle. Shuuko dropped nine points and Suki could never look at her the same again. Nyxia probably still hated her more than Rei, which was impressive given that all she had ever done was exactly what Nyxia wanted. Kiyo had already friendzoned her and wanted to be sisters. The boring sort of sisters that didn’t do taboo things together. And then there was Tsubomi, at which point Suki might as well start making out with her body pillow again. The other members didn’t matter because they were either in a relationship or hadn’t been around.

"Riiiiiiigggggghhhhhhhhhhhttttttttt…” Suki played with the lid on her zippo lighter while walking towards the door. "Welp, it doesn’t sound like Boss Baby is going to be here today, but it does sound like we’re going to go hunting tomorrow, which is what everyone wanted right? I don’t think we need to spend any more time here. Maybe then we can show Boss Baby how cool Roach is and get her that validation that she needs.” She laughed. "WEW! I think I’m going to treat myself today. I’m going to put some fresh underwear on instead of turning these bad boys inside out.” Once Suki got past the threshold of the door, she slouched, stuck a cigarette in her mouth, and power walked down the hallway.

She didn’t need them, and she had always knew that. Suki deserved something better than some selfish dark magical girlfriend. With the Gems infringing on their turf, there would be plenty of opportunities to get that ten out of ten light girlfriend that she always dreamed of having. She blew some carcinogenic smoke into the air before leaving school.

---

“That’s not how you do subtle foreshadowing, Suki.”

— Rei Ishiko

Rei and Willow were walking down a sidewalk. They didn’t talk, but Rei preferred it that way. Willow was the one person she never had to explain herself to. That didn’t mean she wasn’t prone to doing some very strange things, but it was easy to overlook her faults when she overlooked hers.

One of the pros of having a quiet walking partner was that you could focus on your surroundings. Above them, a high tech heroine soared overhead with a beat up cardboard box. Willow hadn’t noticed, and Rei flicked her eyes away from the sky before she could get noticed herself. It didn’t take the magical girl long to disappear behind a row of buildings.

In the past, Rei might have called in the rule keeper to notify them of the trespassing light girl, but there was no need. Roache said she would take care of everything, so she wasn’t going to worry about it. After all, seeing how the Detention club dealt with a surprise like this would be more interesting if she didn’t tell them about it. Calling up Roache would have been a hassle anyway.

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

”Finally, a boss character that's not weaker after you recruit them.”

— Mac Penny Asimov

While Mac’s parameters closely matched or exceeded Penny’s, and despite Penny never ever finding a non-magical girl target she couldn’t bust through like the kool aid man, the walls of Wonderland’s military depot seemed to be the one thing that was too strong to breach. She thought for sure that between her physical strength and gravity manipulation that she should have been able to tear through a simple metal wall. Was it reinforced? Not enough for Rachel the Righteous-hearted to be kept out apparently. With what appeared to be a fairly normal attack, she ripped right through it.

Mac couldn’t help but feel a little let down by this. It wasn’t that she couldn’t destroy a simple wall. Obviously she had a lot of value outside of that. But seeing the difference between her power and Rachel’s reminded her of something she had learned during the rave. Something that most other magical girls and their patrons were not privy to. Rachel was actually stronger than all of the cast combined. That had likely changed over time, but it didn’t change the fact that everyone present only possessed a small fraction of her power. She found herself joining in the Mad Hatter’s frustration. While this was probably the single biggest character moment for Alicia over her entire time in this reality plenum, everything was back to being a member waving contest where the grand magistrate’s patron champions ruled with their-

She sheathed the sword, and the madness dissipated.

The magical girls present were obliterating the drones so thoroughly that there was hardly a reason to get involved. But there was no point in breaking character here. The iron queen flew into action and dispatched whatever drone she could get her hands on.

She noticed Alicia giving her a weird look out of the corner of her eye. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say she doubted her disguise. But there shouldn’t have been a reason to doubt because it should have been evident she wasn’t Penny. They had all been in a big, boring, and long group huddle where it was explicitly said that Penny would be attending a talk or something. It was possible Alicia had forgotten this, but that would be a little embarrassing. More importantly, did that mean that Alicia sent Mac loose because she didn’t realize she was “Ashley” in disguise? Ashley’s absence and Penny’s presence would have made it evident to herself what was going on, even if they had not explicitly mentioned it. Alicia must have been pretty amped up. But perhaps Mac was reading too much into it. Maybe she just looked like that because she expected more out of someone who took on such an ambitious persona. Thinking it was the former was hilarious, but she’d outwardly pretend it was the latter to spare Alicia’s ego.

”It was stronger than I thought.” She nodded at the wall. Then Alicia mentioned something about not forgetting about the Hatter, and Mac saw an opportunity to both test Alicia and suggest her own course of action. ”I do not think it would be wise to ignore the Hatter.” She continued to move in her intended direction, calling over her shoulder to the sock wearing magical girl. ”If the eggs are so important, he will likely position himself between us and them.” Mac could try looking again, but it felt risky to do that for some reason. What were those feelings of inadequacy she had felt? ”We also mustn't forget what happened at Justine’s castle. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you how all of those servants we killed were innocent magical girls that were bent to her will. The Queen of hearts likes playing with mind control too, and we can’t assume he’s willingly working against us. I'm going for the hatter, and I have no intention of killing him.”

It was a little tricky to fight and talk at the same time, but Mac was a professional. She wasn’t a hammer that could break steel, but an observant eye that could consider many possibilities. That was what she could bring to her team.

Symphony on High

Alright, PR upgrade status in 3, 2, 1...

@Ponn Gemini wanted to take out both behemoths, but they failed to take out even one. Maybe the doctor would have seen fit to demote Ashley, but she's working overtime right now so, you know, Ashley seems to be safe. Well, her rank is safe anyway. Perhaps fortune will smile upon her tommorow.

@Majoraa Finn went AWOL. That's not really something anyone smiles on, so his PR is going to drop down to bronze and, well, he's not going to count as a Gemini agent anymore. But I'll update that later. Like clockwork, perhaps.

@The World Billy was impressed with Marrie's stupidity bravery, and that she had enough grit to stay on her mission even as Crazy Train took to the skies. Even Raphael couldn't stay mad and made sure to sing her praises. This has caused Marrie's work to be valued higher within the Freelance community, and so she has attained a gold ranked PR. Hopefully she won't fog it all up later.

@Nakushita It's very likely that things would have ended differently without Himiko's sacrifice. But when the chips were down, she did what had to be done. The Freelancers will remember the time she finally broke even for a long time, but the dead cannot earn a wage. You may give your new character a silver PR as part of a Gemini recruitment program if you wish.

@TaintedMushroom Asher was bold at the start of the operation, but when the chips were down, the flame of ambition went out. But it's criminal that he's still at bronze, so let's get his PR up to silver. Raphael was impressed with him certainly.

@VertigoCiri can't catch a break. While she spends far too much time complaining about her proximity to other enemies, she did go toe to toe with Regina and didn't burn up totally. Maverick's mission was also completed, and she got a promotion. Ciri's potential is starting to register in everyone's minds.

@Kero Noah deserves a trophy for somehow managing to try harder than Marrie. She used a bit too much mana in the first leg of the operation, but even being just on fumes, she attempted to ride Crazy Train through the clouds while a dragon and angry rocket lady followed her. She's earned her keep, and Raphael's glowing review of her abilities has earned her a silver PR.

And lastly...

Make Some Friends You Losers!

You can't complain about the difficulty of the operation if you're going to go into it under equipped! A Backup is a free melody that you can use at any time. It might not seem like a lot, but having a melody in your pocket that can have notes you normally can't command is a really good thing. And you know what else? Everyone who has one may upgrade to silver, or make a new one that is silver. Discuss things OOC. It can be fun to get a powerup from another player or an NPC and then explain how you got it later. Your next operation has some truly sadistic opposition coming your way, so I hope you take me seriously.

Also I think only 2-3 of you have finished your upgrades, so make sure those come through too.

Do You Have RP Pet Peeves?

While it's not a pet peeve of mine, I would like to chime in on the use of the word "dark" as a descriptor for an RP.

Symphony on High is a dark RP that I'm running. The good guys are facing overwhelming odds where just surviving an engagement is worth celebrating. Often, they are only able to partially achieve their goals or end up settling for a Pyrrhic victory. Even setting aside the cruel and cunning foes they need to fight, they have to engage in all kinds of moral quandaries where they are forced to live with choices that they had to make and often under less than ideal situations. One of the characters slew a monster that was assaulting their dreams, but in doing so he orphaned a child who will want revenge. The entire premise of the RP is built upon a problem that has no clear cut solution and that the individual players are powerless to affect in a meaningful way. It's a despair simulator, effectively.

Tsundere Gekido is also a dark RP that I run. Most, if not all of the characters had pretty messed up pasts and have very selfish ambitions. But it doesn't go as far as the other RP does. As selfish as the cast is most of them don't want to screw anyone over. The players fight tough battles, but there's no moral dilemma most of the time. It's possible for everyone to complete their goals, and most problems can be solved by beating someone up or using the power of friendship to bridge a divide. Someone who thinks Tsundere Gekido is "peak dark RP" would run away screaming at the sight of Symphony on High.

And then of course there's people who think dark just means dealing with tabboo or adult topics. That works too I guess.

Dark is just too broad a word to use as a descriptor anymore. There's a reason my interest checks are so verbose, and it's always because I want potential players to know what they are getting into. It's a spectrum, with edgy/grimderp on one side and babycool on the other.

As someone who's gone to the status bar more than once? This actually has me engaging in some needed reflection... -_-U

@RickyG85

It's easy to forget that the forum sees a lot of visitors, and your status updates are visible to a lot more than just a small circle of people. People should be allowed to grow and change over time, but I feel like rampant cancel culture has made everyone afraid of their own mistakes. Even I have posted about things I'm less than proud of. The upside is that most people aren't going to remember your status update in a day or two. Just keep it to a minimum (or completely stop) and you'll have nothing to worry about.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

"Who says that?”

— Suki Oyama

No one present was really equipped to present a plan. Rei was able to do it, but she had appeared only sporadically over the summer. Now that the cooler weather was here, maybe she'd show up again. Suki could hope. As much as she didn't like Roche, she had been trying to hold things together. At the very least, she seemed to be the only one who had Nyxia's respect. At least that was how it appeared, as she actually acknowledged the rule keeper's presence once she sat down. If the only dower one in the room was Roche, she might have let her continue to feel sorry for herself. But Tsubomi and Shuuko didn't look too hot either. But while Shuuko looked like she had seen a ghost, Tsubomi looked distracted. It was an unusual look for someone who had no emotions.

"I would think the light girls could fight giga miseria.” Suki was rather pleased with the opportunity to pivot the discussion away from Nyxia and Kiyo, who were only getting agitated with each other. "But why five? It took a lot of effort to summon just one on a full beach. And weren't we told that the ones that come out at night are even stronger?” Then Tsubomi got really distracted and started talking to herself. "A letter? Kiyo said? Oh, are you talking about Rei?” Her eyes shifted from side to side. "I thought someone said she was going to be here. Did Roach talk to her already? she better not have scared her off...”

She looked to Shuuko. The temptation was to say something to her, but maybe it was best to let her reboot her systems on her own.

---

The night belonged to the dark girls, but the day belonged to Hizuki.

There were only a few hours of daylight left, but Hizuki wisely surmised that the dark magical girls were still tending to their club activities. It didn't make much sense for them to be patrolling the streets this early. Barring special circumstances, miseria only came out at night, and the only reason why dark girls even bothered with them was to selfishly squire power. Often times, they would cause hardships that would yeild more despair, and that despair would call more miseria, and then the farmers would reap their crops.

Hibusa town was pretty big. It was still a town though, and paled in comparison to the city of light. Few buildings were higher than a couple stories, and there almost wasn't enough room for an uptown and downtown area. Hizuki was invisible to the pedestrians on the ground, though if she used enough of her magic, she might become one of the town's many urban legends. But listening for a few desires shouldn't be too risky.

Many of the people had desires, but they were either far outside of Hizuki's capabilities, or were being taken care of. A man wished for a drink before entering a bar, a young man hoped his crypto investment wouldn't bankrupt him again, a store clerk hoped she had enough money to leave this town, a mother wished to see her dead child, it was a lot of requests. They all seemed to be coming from middle aged people. The children had to be home or in school, and who knew where the elderly were.

Then, almost cutting through those desires were ones that Hizuki could actually help with. The first one was coming from the direction of the school, but it was moving away, very gradually.

Why...Won't...They...Listen...

That was a little obscure, so it had to be a magical girl. If that was a member of the detention club, that might not be worth interacting with. But there was another desire coming from the school's direction, but it was moving much faster. Perhaps they were in a car, or riding on a bike.

It's not getting built fast enough. It's not coming together. How will I get it all done? I haven't been able to practice my archery, and my grades are slipping. Then there's the lawsuit. This isn't good.

That was definitely a school girl. What was homework to the Daybreak? She could help with some of that surely. But that wasn't the only desire she sensed.

Dulled by pain... Muted by screams... Devoured by darkness.

Another obscure one. It must be a magical girl, but it's not coming from the direction of the school. It was the closest signal, but was either unaware of her position or not willing to approach. They were a few blocks away at the same level as Hizuki.

But now was not the time to be indecisive. She needed to pick a course of action.

How Do You Deal With Writer's Block?

Writer's block is a symptom that is caused by a problem. Rather than trying to target the writer's block itself, target the cause.

OP isn't looking for advice on their depression, but I'll put it here for anyone who is interested anyway. Depression is something that can be overcome. It's hard, because it requires a lot of self discipline and, in the case of seasonal affective disorder, it's only something we can really work on when it shows up. Phototherapy can help, especially if you spend all day inside. Certain lights have been known to improve mood, like certain types of florescent lights. It might also help to have some sort of physical hobby, be it a work out routine or tinkering with your car. Cleaning the house works too, it doesn't have to be physically demanding.

If you insist on attacking the block itself... talk with your RP group/partner? I find it surprising how in a social hobby like this everyone insists on going at it alone as much as possible. Writer's block means everything you write looks like shit to you, so have someone else there to confirm it's not, or at the very least, help guide you to something that's not shit. People love giving their input on things and this is a resource you should be making use of.

Celestial Duel — Shinny Vs Anshin

Yea wrap this up. Shinny needs to focus on the toyale!

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

@Chevaleresse Magical girls are girls with magic.

The original RP was pretty lax as for what counted as a magical girl. If you look at the character tab you can get an idea for what's in the RP already, but we have just about everything. Tacticool girls, cyborgs, yokai, professions, folklore, moeification of anything, etc. So long as it's a girl and her abilities are granted by magic, it's pretty much allowed. They just need an emblem, sweet arm, and a theme for her magic and she'll fit right in.

EDIT: As for powers, I recommend being a bit nebulous with the exact destructive potential of your abilities. Things aren't quite city buster level yet, but there is a bit of a power creep, so who knows what will happen?