Hound55

Pacific Royal Collegiate & University - [CLOSED]

Adrianna bundled together clothes as she packed for going away.

A drone hovered in her room, with a sizable bar speaker playing a phone call with crystal clear audio quality.

"Are you sure this is what you want? I mean, what are you gonna do up there?"

"Well, it's not like I can do anything here. Might as well scoop a doctorate or handful of degrees with my time. You said it yourself, 'Lexi, as long as the hyperhuman thing remains a hot-button issue I'm going to be stuck short term. Might as well use the time I'm forced to take."

"You could've just said 'keggers', Adie. You know that's about as valuable... Nobody needs a piece of paper to know what they're already fully aware you're capable of."

"Also keggers." Adrianna replied to Alexis. "If I twist the degree like this, you could make a pretty good funnel out of it. Get a few of them together, I could make myself some biodegradable beer pong cups. Could probably make some frat-boy hunk a pretty decent toga out of an A1 copy of my doctorate..."

"Oh good, so long as you know what those papers are actually worth..."

---

"Now why do you think I called you in here, Adrianna."



"I'm not one of your wide-eyed, naive little kids, Jonas. Get to the point."

"You are not. But your time here, may not be as valuable as you are used to. Patience can be a virtue, Adrianna."

Adie glared at Jonas Lehrer from the otherside of the desk. She gave up considerable height and it was even more pronounced by the layout of the room. The wooden beams overhead, the cold clinical feel produced by the rows of framed pinned insects and anatomical designs, everything added to the perspective that you were smaller and an object of study.

Her glare steeled further.

Interminable seconds passed as the pair maintained eye contact.

"Hmm. I suppose we could come back to this later, Adrianna."

"Patience not so valuable now, Jonas..?"

"I also have other recent arrivals to see. And it would seem the one I'm talking to right now is... less than amenable."

"I'm plenty amenable to talking, Jonas. I'm just not going to play your stupid games. You have something to say, say it. Have I ever proven myself to be anything other than willing to help?"

The unspoken part was the millions she'd pumped into aspects of the school. Sure, they had the means to pay their own way, but there's something to be said for the liquidity of a fresh cash injection, rather than relying on commodities pricing and hyperhuman precious metals transmutation.

Jonas' silence and expression gave the distinct impression that she'd just touched on her reason for being here. Or at least that was how Adie read it.

"That's it, isn't it? You're concerned I'm going to run my mouth, swinging receipts? Jonas, my time here... I only want to be seen as a regular student. I'm not looking for special treatment, if that's your concern. Now if you think I'm going to be OK with... whatever the Hell this is... I don't know what you expected. But I'm not looking for any special treatment. Just set me up with my own penthouse in the faculty bloc and I'll be all good."

Dr Lehrer raised his eyebrow at the last comment.

"It was a joke, Jonas. I'm for the dorms just like everybody else. Like I said, no special treatment. I WANT to be seen as just a reguar student."

"Hmm. We'll see. Could you please let the next one in on your way out?"

---

_{Location: Pacific Royal Collegiate & University - Dundas Islands, Pacific Ocean}

The Homecoming Trials: # 1.81 Trekking without the Stars

---

_{Interaction(s): Nil}

Previously: N/A

Adie looked out over the cliffs as the howling banshee scream echoed all around this remarkable place.

It had been years since they'd gone camping. Dad would load up the truck with tents, a little portable stove that ran on methylated spirits, sleeping bags, and they'd drive on out to some place or another... Camp Resolution when they were young, but then further afield to Eldorado out by Lake Tahoe as they got older.

This was why she was here. To get away from the constant reminders. The side-eyes. The suits.

Of course the hike didn't start that way. There was that strange Australian guy sitting in a chair in the middle of the path back when they first began. Sure, he seemed polite enough. But it was weird enough to draw attention to and to heighten her. It was like he was waiting for something or someone, but if she could go three months without seeing anyone in executivewear it'd be a panacea to the nerves.

A minitiarised drone soared out over her shoulder, beyond the cliff face and turned and snapped some photos. She returned to the path, and the change in the humm let her know the photos had been sent to her phone. They could wait though. She'd look when they got where they were going. She trusted the drone's programming to get some good shots. After all, she trusted the designer and programmer implicitly, they weren't going anywhere. She saw them every day in the mirror.

"Alright, Firebirds, campsite's just ahead." Miranda called out. She'd been invaluable so far, with the rapid info dump on all things new enrollees would need to know just starting out at the school - the Trials, a run down on the House system and offers that would be coming their way, and the H.E.A.T program.

"It looks like we're one of the earlier groups here. We'll find a patch to the clearing for our team, and it'll be two to a tent. After that, you're free to get to know one another as you help put dinner together. Nothing too difficult. We're having campfire pizzas. We've brought most of your common ingredients. Anyone wanting anchovies is going to be out of luck though."

Miranda turned to check on the team as they followed.

She smiled at Adie, "Nothing better for building comraderie than sharing fistfulls of cheese, eh? It's just up ahead."

Adie pushed on as their Faculty representative waded back through the group to check on everyone. She found their clearing and put her pack down. Putting her hands on her hips and taking in a deep gulp of the clean air, and looking deep into the darkest rain clouds she'd seen in a while. She checked her phone. Photos were perfect, as expected.

With the way the numbers worked, and Adie as one of the smaller teammembers she hadn't been given a tent to carry. She'd have to wait for one of the others who were carrying one to catch up in order to figure out sleeping arrangements.

- - -

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Pacific Royal Collegiate & University - [CLOSED]

A D R I A N N A D A H L
A D R I A N N A D A H L

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^{_{"No. I didn't 'Fail school', I rejected school, went out and made money, created my own rampaging juggernaut of a company and then came back here after I got tired of winning. Difference."}}

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▅▅▅▅▅▅ Y E A R B O O K P H O T O ▅▅▅▅▅▅ ▅▅▅▅▅▅ Y E A R B O O K P H O T O ▅▅▅▅▅▅ ▅▅▅▅▅ S T U D E N T S U M M A R Y ▅▅▅▅▅ ▅▅▅▅▅ S T U D E N T S U M M A R Y ▅▅▅▅▅ Adrianna "AD" or "Adie" Dahl _________________________________________________________ June7th,1998 | 25 | Caucasian _________________________________________________________ Single | Female | Heterosexual _________________________________________________________ Sacramento | California | America ▅ P H Y S I C A L P R O F I L E ▅ P H Y S I C A L P R O F I L E ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ [+] - P H Y S I C A L T R A I T S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ◼ B U I L D || Short ◼ H A I R C O L O U R || Blonde ◼ E Y E C O L O U R || Blue ◼ H E I G H T || 5'-5" ◼ W E I G H T || 125 lbs ◼ S K I N T O N E || Caucasian - ▅ M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S ▅ M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S ▅▅▅▅▅▅ [+] - M O T I V A T I O N S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Having reached the top of her field before being knocked off her perch, Adrianna is mainly driven to create the future. Whatever that means. Money doesn't motivate her in the same way as it did just a few years ago, because she sees no challenge or difficulty in attaining it if she sets her mind to it. She'd rather work to create a better future in relative anonymity and receive the respect of those she can also respect. G O A L S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ To create the future, or create whatever is the next step in building the future. Whether or not she'd admit it to herself, she's also experiencing some of the adolescence she denied herself by choosing to jump straight into the workforce. Light-hearted moments she deprived herself, including friendships unrelated to personal interest or agenda, and romance. - ▅ N O T E S ▅ N O T E S ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ [+] - M I S C E L L A N E O U S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ► Text colour is Lime or 00FF00 ► Adrianna still has a substantial amount of money, nobody is sure how much or in what form it takes. ► Adie might be the pre-eminent mind in technology on earth, and has an aptitude and understanding of machinery that frankly surpasses her own ability to communicate with other people. As such, she sometimes can't express the messages she receives from machinery, leading to frustration. - _________________________________________________________

▅ S T U D E N T S Y N O P S I S ▅ S T U D E N T S Y N O P S I S ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ A child prodigy in the fields of science, technology and engineering, Adrianna had a lot of early interest from CalTech, University of California-Berkeley and Stanford, but chose to drop out early and get into the workforce, uprooting herself at a young age and jumping on the I-80 across the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge to San Francisco, in order to make an early jump and pave her own golden path through Silicon Valley. Within five years she'd gone from freelance coder, to programmer, to creating her own company. Three years later it was one of the fastest risers on the Fortune 500 list for three years in a row. Then documentation leaked about financial donations. To numerous hyperhuman causes. Adie found herself in the public spotlight of more scrutiny than she could handle. Shareholders asking questions, board members SPECIFICALLY TRYING NOT to ask questions... and then it was gone. A direct link to her hyperhuman abilities. The public sentiment that she was somehow a "cheat" in the field of business and competition. The public sentiment and fears of hyperhumans at large thrown on her back. The board forced her out of her multi-billion dollar company with a paltry ten million dollars. Reading resentment in the region, and repeated death threats she chose against starting from scratch with the full transparency of her hyperhuman status, and instead picked up her life and moved to where she knew she'd be welcome. A school where she'd been donating millions for years. ▅ A B I L I T I E S, L I M I T A T I O N S, & W E A K N E S S E S ▅ A B I L I T I E S, L I M I T A T I O N S, & W E A K N E S S E S ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ H Y P E R H U M A N A B I L I T Y || T E C H N O P A T H __PRIMARY CLASSIFICATION ||Exoteric __SECONDARY CLASSIFICATION ||Electromagnetic Adie can communicate directly with technology and can even directly read electrical impulses through non-organic machinery. Her ability to communicate with machinery includes, but is not limited to, any and all machine based languages and coding. As such she is a natural master of technology, both software and hardware alike. L I M I T A T I O N S || She does need to be in close enough confines with the machinery to interface. She has created machinery and devices (such as bluetooth headset - and the more subtle implants she's been working on) to enable her to interface more directly with certain devices that may lack greater network capabilities where interaction would otherwise seem to be impossible. Without these devices however, she can "hear" electrical impulses from those kinds of machines but lacks a "voice" to send them commands. For example, if she were on the other side of a door, with no clear line of sight she could potentially "hear" someone's mobile phone signal inside, their digital watch, a pacemaker... but without bringing means to interface would not in and of herself be able to interact with those devices. W E A K N E S S E S || Whilst setting the firewalls herself, her devices would not necessarily be invulnerable to evolving A.I.-driven viruses or malware that can change and attack in versatile ways beyond her ability to counter. She's still very much (hyper)human. Ego. Adrianna knows her own capabilities, she has a very low tolerance for condescension, an almost equally short patience for people who "can't keep up" and can be seen by "fragile" people as "arrogant". ________________________________________________________________________________________

▅ _{P E R S O N A L P R O M P T S}
▅ _{P E R S O N A L P R O M P T S} ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

_{Y O U A W A K E I N T H E D E A D O F N I G H T, W H A T W O K E Y O U?}

I don't know. Regret? Anger at letting a bunch of barely ambulatory, talentless suit-and-ties take the multi-billion dollar thing I built away from me? What kind of questions are these?

_{A D I S H E V E L E D S T R A N G E R A P P R O A C H E S Y O U A S K I N G F O R H E L P, H O W D O Y O U R E S P O N D?}

I would direct him to the on-island care facility I helped have built. I think it's located somewhere near where the ferry docks? Or maybe by the Alumni village on one of the other islands? I don't know. I didn't come over when it opened. It would have been too much attention. Not that that matters now...

_{A N I N T R U D E R A L A R M H A S B E E N S E T O F F O N C A M P U S, H O W D O Y O U R E A C T?}

Well, first I guess I'd ask what precise sensor triggered the alarm, then I'd determine threat level by dialoguing directly with that camera or motion detector. I'd liaise with surrounding sensors in a convergent pattern, so that I'd immediately be aware of if the situation is getting worse and in what direction or fashion it may have happened to spread... Then I'd-- wait..? Is this what you want?

Oh, ah... I'd stay safe and ensure the safety of my... fellow classmates... I guess...

▅ _{D E T A I L E D A P P E A R A N C E}
▅ _{D E T A I L E D A P P E A R A N C E} ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

Adrianna is a short blonde with an expansive wardrobe. She still has a wide array of "executiveware", as well as formalware for those occasions, but is never more comfortable/productive than when shes in trackpants and a t-shirt, pounding some form of energy drink, with her hair in a tussled mess, but thrown up and out of her eyes with a singular hairtie.

She has destroyed almost all photographic evidence of these moments, particularly in her teen years.

▅ _{P E R S O N A L I T Y}
▅ _{P E R S O N A L I T Y} ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

Adrianna does not suffer fools.

Unfortunately "fools" happen to be everyone and anyone who condescends to her, as well as everyone who can't keep pace with her intelligence.

So she can't suffer many people.

To these people she can be brittle and curt.

She will be making an effort to be more sociable with people in the future, though.

Just don't expect it all to change overnight.

She also has a tendency to be "take charge" to the point of being viewed as "controlling" if its in an area she feels she knows she's best suited for.

▅ _{S K I L L S & T A L E N T S}
▅ _{S K I L L S & T A L E N T S} ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

_{S K I L L || I N V E N T I O N / I N N O V A T I O N}

Whilst Adie does not view herself as particularly creative conceptually, she is incredibly adept at instinctively finding practical inventive engineered solutions to fill known needs or wants.

This means whilst she might not be the best at recognizing areas which could need or use innovation, once she does she almost intuitively knows how to resolve it effectively.

Separate from her company she also held numerous patents, prior to its creation, which occasionally trickle in some further income.

_{T A L E N T || W R I T I N G}

Adie has scripted a dozen episodes of the cancelled television series 'Firefly' which will never see the light of day, as they sit on her personal computer under heavy encryption.

She is convinced they are not good.

She has also written episodes of 'Star Trek' in its various incarnations, ranging from TOS, TNG, DS9 and Voyager. As well as an angry anonymous letter to the Producers of Discovery claiming that it's "Not Trek".

She also has written a few 'Quantum Leap's and has a surprising attraction to Scott Bakula despite the clear age difference.

If anyone claims any of this she will deny it. If anyone unearths the scripts, she may kill that person and herself.

▅ _{S U P P O R T I N G C A S T}
▅ _{S U P P O R T I N G C A S T} ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

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▅ ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ "All the shitty men in our industry? Are you sure you can't wait this out and come back in a year or two? I mean how long could they see this 'Hyperhuman' thing as being an issue?" ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

B O U M A N, A L E X I S || F R I E N D / C O L L E A G U E B O U M A N, A L E X I S || F R I E N D / C O L L E A G U E _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Adie met Alexis when both were invited as speakers at a "Women in STEM" seminar. Being in non-competitive fields, the two exchanged details and used each other as sounding boards for approaching the trials and tribulations that came with their fast paced lives. Due to Adie's ostracization, Alexis has had to keep her distance, but remains probably her closest confidante and friend. Adie is both relieved and frustrated that her friend doesn't seem to grasp the cause for the negative public sentiment towards Hyperhumans, nor the severity.▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ Use as many or few of the above symbols as needed to balance this cell with the cell containing the image.

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▅ ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ "So'd these people take my little girl's hands? Take her spine? Well it'd seem to me, 'Dri, that all that's left is to get back to work and figure out how to make sure men like that never do it again." ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

D A H L, M I C H A E L || F A T H E R D A H L, M I C H A E L || F A T H E R _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Michael considers himself truly blessed. The Foreman of his own construction crew in Sacramento, Michael Dahl achieved the dream. Married his college sweetheart, built his own thriving business on his own back comprised of good people and honest work, and some great kids, including a fantastic daughter who has the strength and capability to do whatever she wants in this world. Michael instilled the drive in Adie, and is more than just her formative male role model. Having seen how opportunistic types can swoop in and take everything she built the first time, she's beginning to realise that she built too big, too grand too fast, and the merits of slower growth and the trust that gets built along the way. One of her first major purchases, Adie bought her mother and father a massive luxury home out in the Granite Bay enclave, and despite having more than enough nestled away for early retirement, he continues to go in to work every day.▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ Use as many or few of the above symbols as needed to balance this cell with the cell containing the image.

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▅ ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ "It's Canada, so remember to pack warm! Oh, and don't forget, photos everyday, I'm going to be all over your 'Gram! Do they still say 'the Gram', Adie?" ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

D A H L, S A N D R A || M O T H E R D A H L, S A N D R A || M O T H E R _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Sandy is beyond excited for her little girl to be picking up the missed opportunity she feels she had by-passing college the first time. She is a doting mother and loving wife. She keeps the family together, which is not an easy feat considering how incommunicative the kids can be amongst themselves. She's also where her hypergene came from, with how powers being mild magnokinesis, with some electro sensitivity (electroreception). Sandy can't wait to hear how Adie's doing at college and all the friends she's made. Even if she's resigned to the fact that she probably won't follow in her mother's footsteps and join the cheerleading squad.▅ ▅ ▅ Use as many or few of the above symbols as needed to balance this cell with the cell containing the image.

▅ _{R E L A T I O N S H I P S H E E T}
▅ _{R E L A T I O N S H I P S H E E T} ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

_{☯ NEUTRAL ☯ || ☮ FRIENDS ☮ || ♫ BEST FRIENDS ♫ || § TENSE § || ♥ CRUSH ♥ || ☠ ENEMIES ☠}

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▅ ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ "Quote about Relationship."?? RELATIONSHIP ??▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

S U R N A M E, G I V E N || R E L A T I O N S H I P S U R N A M E, G I V E N || R E L A T I O N S H I P _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vivamus at mi mi. In imperdiet porta dolor, at fermentum nulla commodo eu. Suspendisse volutpat et ex tempor suscipit. Nullam tincidunt at nunc vel auctor. Donec venenatis, nisl nec fringilla varius, massa quam porttitor turpis, sed bibendum purus sem id risus. Nullam scelerisque lectus eget diam gravida malesuada. Maecenas consectetur est ac sollicitudin congue. Maecenas interdum erat dignissim lectus sodales, nec ultrices neque egestas. Integer convallis lacus at consequat volutpat.▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ Use as many or few of the above symbols as needed to balance this cell with the cell containing the image.

Pacific Royal Collegiate & University - [CLOSED]

Silence was absolute in Paisley's History class.

The rail thin man walked up and down the rows of desks. The tension in the room as always, was palpable. And his decision to teach from a mobile position, never static at the head of the class, only exacerbated things.

After a term on the French Revolution, this education-bloc had turned to the American Revolution.

If the Butler didn't pull him out of this school, the next revolution would see one of Paisley's or Banjo's heads on a spike...

A familiar flicking sound, resulted in hushed shuffling as every student's head turned around to see which it was today. The unspoken tension in the room heightened even further, Banjo knew what it was, before he even looked.

Paisley lifted the lighter, and today it was the cigar.

Banjo turned back to his desk, and internally psyched himself up.

He stood up.

"Sit down." The thin man's voice barely raised above a hoarse whisper.

This wasn't what he wanted. But good. Fuck what this dessicated skeleton wanted. Banjo thought to himself.

The smirk crossed his face. "Y'know what... I'm never going to America, so why the fuck do I give a shit if they had a revolution?"

Paisley's face held the same pallor it always had in times like this. The same it always would.

Banjo's held defiance.

In the face of the inevitable, which both knew was coming.

---

_{Location: Pacific Royal Collegiate & University - Dundas Islands, Pacific Ocean}

The Homecoming Trials: # 1.70 Tucker, Talk and Tribulations

---

_{Interaction(s): Luce - @Roman, Calliope - @PatientBean, Cassander - @Lord Wraith, Rory - @webboysurf}

Previously: 'Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy)'

The panic reached a boiling point and her stomach turned; desperately, she fumbled herself away from the vicinity of the tent and towards the edge of the pitching area, clutching a hand over her mouth.
She made it twenty or so paces before collapsing to her knees in the most unkempt patch of grass in proximity - and then, in a most ungracious manner, spewing up her guts.

@Roman

Banjo pulled up just before reaching the girl as she irrigated the lawn with the contents of her stomach.

"Well, yeah. This is all in keeping with how today's gone..." He muttered aloud.

He wasn't exactly sure what to do or how to handle himself.

"Look I-- Well, try not to chalk this up to an unwillingness to help, I mean I'd hold your hair for you, but there's not much there for me to-- nope, that won't work. I'd only pull it..." Moving his hands in the air, trying to figure out what he could possibly do.

She vomited again.

"Well, yeah, now you say that I don't think I've ever heard anyone describe both my interpersonal skills and my luck quite so eloquently..." He deadpanned over the retching girl.

Calliope filed in behind him, as did some new older student who introduced herself as another student rep. Banjo swiftly cast her name to the pile of forgotten names in the deepest darkest recesses of his mind.

She was helping the blonde girl though, so Banjo assumed his responsibilities here were through.

Tad called out to try to task him with some garbage or other, as if he had any pull to make demands, and Banjo let him know about it... before deciding unilaterally to ask Calliope if she'd want to help getting everyone for the food Tad had prepared. Because fuck Tad.

She held his hand again and his heart damn near leapt out of his chest, before he cursed himself and tried to keep himself cool. He subtly tried to check his arm as it swung through with hers, almost certain that she'd set every hair on it standing on end. She was electric. Once again he found himself cursing that they were using this time to go find others.

They gathered everyone up, and Jim took the opportunity and grand stage to make an appearance.

Blah-blah-blah Tad. Blah-blah-blah Team. Folksy repartee and...

Wait... a 'Team Swap'. People can choose to..?

Banjo's mind raced as he thought how this might impact him. This clusterfuck of a unit, he could just about see everyone and anyone looking for the exits. The only one here he actually seemed to get on well with was Calli--

Oh shit... If he'd noticed, she probably had too. And she seemed exactly the kind of hard working go-getter who would be out to look for the best possible situation.

But the hand-holding, and the checking me out, and the stuff she said...

Suddenly he felt like venting the contents of his own stomach right next to the other blonde girl.

"Banjo." Little Banjo called out from the depths of his shorts. "I don't give a fuck what you do. But you need to fix this shit NOW."

Then Jim continued Blah-bla-blah weather, blah-blah-blah safety and concern for your life or whatever.

But back to the important shit. Banjo had hours to try and turn this shit around. Make some actual human connections with people that weren't Calliope.

After Jim finished his speech before his captive audience, they all filtered out, grabbed their food and sat around the campfire. No doubt deep in contemplation about how chaotic the day had been and the news of a potential way out that Jim had just laid on them. Banjo sat down with his full plate next to Calliope, his mind still racing a mile a minute.

"So, what are everyone's thoughts on this team swap? I'll be the first to admit I had considered that possibility back at the campus. Now, I don't know. Hard to say if I think this team will flop or not on day 1. We didn't get off on the right foot, so maybe we can try to fix that now? I'm Calliope. My power is ice manipulation." She opened the floor to others.

@PatientBean

She'd laid her cards on the table, and he wanted to kiss her. For a lot of reasons. But right now, if for no other reason than because she'd actually gotten the ball rolling on an actual dialogue. No way they would have been as open to discussion if it came from him.

"That's cool," Sparky McGee chimed in, and Banjo felt exhilirated. No way that bloke opens his mouth if it was my suggestion! This is it. This is how you turn this shit around... now pay attention.

"Everyone wants the chance to make a good first impression. There's an appeal to the swap in that alone. But it's not a simple reset," Cass paused.

"The adage of 'the grass is green where you water it' applies. We can stay on Blackjack, make the best of our situation and enjoy our time at Pacific Royal."

The smoke of the fire suddenly blew in his face causing Cass to cough before continuing.

"Or we give up on Blackjack and move to Eclipse or Firebird, either continuing with the same attitude or making the best of a new situation. There's no wrong answer and there's no right answer. It's Schrödinger's cat, whether it's alive or dead is dependent on your outlook." He had been talking too long, it was probably the most any of them had heard him speak.

Cass sheepishly rubbed the back of his head before holding a palm out. The familial sparks emitted from his hand before swirling together to become a small, glowing orb.

@Lord Wraith

Banjo watched as the glow grew, shining up his raised long sleeves. He watched and recognised something. On the boy's arms. His mind raced on.

"According to Professor Roth and Dr. Lehrer, they call it volatile force manipulation." Cass mused before tossing it skyward, the orb exploding into fireworks.

"I'm not great at controlling it as I'm sure most of you have seen."

@Lord Wraith

As he tossed the orb, Banjo caught a full glimpse of the markings on his arms. He knew exactly what they were. He'd seen them himself when he was younger. They were a part of him. But scars don't heal as completely for most others, regardless how much time passes.

Cigarette burns. Maybe a cigar or lighter burn there too. He only had a glimpse though. Definitely cigarettes.

He thought about what he knew about this kid. Quiet anxiety. Immediately overprotective of the girls. The anxiety. He'd seen it a hundred times before. It was a gamble... but Banjo felt it was at least a pretty good bet. And he wasn't pissing this away without a roll of the dice.

Banjo spoke up. "Uhh... My names Banjo." He turned to look at Rory. "I uhh... know the official school documentation says 'Andrew Olyphant'. That's not my name. Only name I've ever known is Banjo. But they needed two names on the paperwork, and, well... yeah."

Oh, this is just going swimmingly, dickhead. Sack up. Before you put these jokers to asleep.

"Anyway... I've kind of always viewed my powers as 'something I can do' more than 'who I am', so maybe we can all bounce around and throw in something about ourselves as we go. Y'know, something a bit more substantial than 'I like Pez'. There's twelve of us here, maybe someone else here'll have it in common and we might actually see each other as people or somethin', or whatever."

"So, yeah. I'm Banjo, and I metaboli--" He turned and looked at Rory and Trevor and considered his audience. "I uhh-- eat sunlight and warmth, and my body takes it and makes me stronger, faster, helps me think a bit clearer, basically all 'round a bit better." He turned and looked at Sparky McGee, never flinching for a moment, staring at him in the face - straight down the barrel. "--And I've never known my parents. I grew up in orphanages and care facilities and bounced around schools for the vast majority of my life. In fact, I bounced around so much, I'm not exactly sure WHERE in Australia I'm from, or... I guess... my parents were from, because I've been pretty much all over. Or whatever. So who's got next?"

Well... let's see how that goes down.

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I mean... I WANTED to pay attention... but there's just SO MUCH good stuff on TV...

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@Hound55, hey wait a second. You have a kid, why are you asking me?

@Lord Wraith

Wife said she's not going through nine and a half months of that again just to show me, and that I should have been paying attention the first time...

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When a maaaan, loves a woman!

@Lord Wraith

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Let me know if you have any questions!

@Lord Wraith

Where do babies come from?

Pacific Royal Collegiate & University - [CLOSED]

Well, with the deadline for new acceptances rapidly approaching, figured I might take the opportunity to kick off my own little one-man mutual appreciation society post for the stuff we've got on paper for the first 60+ posts over the last couple of months...

First off, kudos to @Lord Wraith for all of the work over the... well... years, putting this thing together and then maintaining it.

A lesser man would undoubtedly have this place broken, with fractured coding and grammatical speling eras and in a horrible state of disrepair.[/b]

@Roman always puts together quality stuff, and I'm looking forward to that thing you mentioned you're putting together with Wraith who... hey, how has he already got two mentions? Anyway... the thing that you mentioned earlier. Luce has a quality platform CS, which has me really curious to see what way things start to turn as the game further develops down it's plotline with Trials meeting trauma.

@Lord Wraith... Aww how the Hell? Three references??? This is what I get for starting at the top of the character tab and working my way down... Quality work so far with Cass, and the absolute best thing that you can say is that he has a clear, distinctive character which he hasn't strayed from as he traverses this new school environment after finally finding a home to call his own. Now you've had your three. Stay put and stop trickling into other's complimentary notes...

@Tackytaff, great work on establishing MaKenna's disinterest and manipulative streak. A great story of someone who found their happy and had it torn from them by tragic circumstances and has now been thrust into less-than-desirable circumstances. Another one I'm really curious to see how they handle the impending trials.

@Kuro, Haleigh's been a breath of fresh air as a character who fights off the disappointment in her circumstances to keep moving forward to work on herself and find a better way to be. Whilst proving herself as someone willing to sacrifice self and convenience for the benefit of those around her. She has a whole "it takes strength to make that decision, whilst everyone around her only sees the chair and views it as weakness" thing going, which is cool.

@PatientBean, d'awww, PatientBean... It has been great working through the whole Callijo thing that's been a throughline for a number of pages (and even subtly alluded to prior to that), even if Banjo can't recognise when he's on a good thing and tries to drag others into it... You've played her pitch perfect throughout and done the difficult thing in maintaining that balance and rhythm in character in a complementary fashion whilst next to one whose nature sways between 'erratic' and 'outright chaotic' at the best of times.

@Mao Mao, the other one playing a "distant" foreign exchange student... albeit one who ironically has a criminal history whilst being less felonious in nature than mine... The Trials are coming, and I think that's when we're going to see some of Inigo's backstory with his family really come into the fore...

@Zoldyck, think this might be the first game we've both been in at the same time. It's been good talking and such. Katja seems a great character and whilst she got bounced around a fair bit early, like a few characters, I'm looking forward to seeing how things develop over time as she finds her place amongst these twelve disparate youngsters, mostly raging against their situation. I think you've been doing good work, despite the jostling she's copped, and integrated it into how she's handling things very well.

@Jarl Coolgruuf, Trevor's hilarious. Which is a trait I always love and appreciate. Loving the early work with his dynamic with Rory, and I'm hoping it bears out with the pair being a major tentpole within the game. Our characters have yet to interact IC-ly, but you've created a character who can easily bounce off of anyone in his own style, from what I've seen.

@Hound55, ah... that prick. Yes, I really have been going straight down the character tab...

@webboysurf, makes sense that yours and the above's are back to back. You've both done a bang up job adding levity and humour to a corner of the game. Rory's introspection is magnificent, and the family dynamic of Rory should be a really appreciated distinctive character point down the line as the game grows and swells beyond the Trials into slice-of-life stuff. I really could see the game becoming the character arc of "Rory's hero's story" in some respects.

@psych0pomp, Trace is hilarious, caustic and fantastic. Kudos. The game wouldn't be the same without their addition, and you've done a fantastic job with every explosive post by them. Even beyond being a foil for my own character, Trace is as entertaining a component of this game as exists, and as you can attest I genuinely can't tell if you'll drop a post that is on fire, or one that will stoke uncontrollable flames... One thing's for sure, Trace will likely have to draw on fresh eyebrows at some point...

Anyway... bang up job, guys, gals, gulls, and gills... We've made a Hell of a start, and I'm looking forward to seeing how we push forward with the new folk!

P.S. Also... *SIGHS* Thank you @Lord Wraith for the Lore... which requires a whole separate thanks again, apparently...

Oh, and P.P.S. All the best @Hillan, I hope everything settles enough that you're able to have another crack again in good time.

Pacific Royal Collegiate & University - [CLOSED]

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