Mirandae

BLEAK

Finally posted. Sorry for the wait!

@GodOfWar

Working on my post now. Sorry about the wait! :(

@Lionhearted

It's okay. Don't apologize. We don't have any post schedule. You post when you can, and then I move things forward when I can. Nothing more to it. :)

BLEAK

I hope everyone is okay. I'm on my work days currently, but I'm reading the posts as they drop in. I won't be able to do much in the roleplay until this Friday and the weekend.

BLEAK

@Aeolian@Sync@GodOfWar@Lionhearted@DeadDrop
The first IC post is up. Seeing as some are still editing and managing character sheets, there's no rush.

BLEAK

_{HELSTON ▎ FRIDAY ▎ 26 OCTOBER}
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It was just like any other morning. A thousand of the same kind had come and gone time and time again. One never expected that particular day to be different from the one before. It was late October. The warm winds of summer had since long gone to rest. The brisk air of autumn had fallen upon the lands, but it was not awfully cold just yet. The Festival of the Quiet was just around the corner. It was the best time of the year for some. Such was the case for Alice Darina. The late moths of the year were her favorites. They were so colorful and silent. The early morning stroll to work became a delight. She could see every breath in a playful swirl of mist. A thick scarf was rolled around her neck in addition to the typical attire. This Friday was going to be better than all the others, she thought.

Alice was one of the few who were up and about at this hour of the morning. It was her duty to open the supermarket this day. It was a rather large space in a downtown building. From the front entrance there was a nice view of center square parking lot and main street. The rising sun broke through the misty clouds above. It still had a fair bit of warmth to it. Alice took a moment to bask in its energy with a tiny smirk on her lips. Her kind had a special relationship with that glowing, celestial orb. It was one that she never really cared to mention unless asked about it. However, back in High School it was a big deal among the students. Alice’s kind had existed for all time, yet it remained a mixed feelings kind of issue for many.

The lights flickered on. The store was empty and quiet. Alice made her way to the staff offices. She booted up all the systems they needed every day. The power cell for the week still had juice in it left over. While things were warming up, she slipped out of her jacket and put her work clothes on. There was not much to it, really. It consisted of a warm, bright-red jacket and black gloves. Alice was on stocking duty today and store management. That is, she did not have to be nice and pretty at the checkout. Twenty minutes later, the coworkers began to pour in. There was about ten people working at the store at any one time. The supermarket had just about anything one could ever need at home, so everyone, including Alice, had their own little area of knowledge. Alice’s specialty was the gardening section of the store. Growing things was a bit of a hobby of hers, anyway.

Typical shooting of the breeze always happened in the morning. Alice just put herself on autopilot and remained polite. At least her coworkers appreciated it, or they did not know any better as to what Alice actually thought. The tiny chatter lasted a few minutes with most of the staff. The owner of the store, Mr. Watson, was in good spirits as always. He was a true veteran of Helston. Life before the unions was something that many of the staff asked about when speaking with him. Alice enjoyed listening to his old stories as well. However, today was not one of those days. Everyone simply found their way to their duties. Alice had already begun to count the hours. She got off early on Fridays, around two in the afternoon. Plans for the weekend had already been made. She was going to have dinner with the family in the evening. The next day, she would spend time downtown for the Lunar Hail. And on Sunday, the Festival of the Quiet would begin. Everything was set for a comfy weekend. Alas, something tragic would interfere.

It was just half an hour before quitting time for Alice that it happened. A bright light from outside briefly illuminated the streets and parts of the store inside. Alice was stocking items close to the exit and all of the front windows. She was able to quickly turn around and see the object fall from the sky. The light faded just seconds later. People at the checkouts moved towards the windows with curiosity. A distant explosion pop followed by quite serious tremors ensued, which rattled the windows something fierce. It was unlike what they had felt before. This was no ordinary missile attack. Everyone began to call their friends and family. Usually there would be an air raid siren sounding, but this time around it had been silent. Helston had a couple of sirens for different purposes. One of them was for incoming attacks, another for citizen call to arms, and a third for general alertness. A coworker named Lina approached Alice.

“What was that? The unions at it again?” Lina asked while observing the sky outside the front windows of the supermarket.
“I’m not sure. Missiles surely don’t light up the sky like that,” Alice said while stepping down from a tiny ladder, which she used to reach the top shelves.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right. But, what do you think? Call to Arms or Gen-Alert?” Lina asked as if they were betting on which siren that would follow the incident.
“Gen-Alert, probably.” Alice began to make herself ready to quit for the day, putting the ladder and pricing tagger away.
“You going to respond to it?”
“Maybe. I could use some extra cash,” Alice remarked before leaving her coworker to it.

Surely enough, ten minutes later the general alertness siren sounded throughout Helston. It was an order usually issued by the Mayor. Its purpose was for citizens to be alert of danger and either protect the town or join the resistance forces in defense efforts. The latter usually resulted in a reward if the citizen made significant contributions or displayed excellence. The resistance forces were usually quick on their feet when responding to sudden threats. They had a dedicated radio frequency for non-sensitive information, but also closed channels over the Net that only citizens had access to. Alice checked her phone as she came out of the supermarket. The coordinates for the impact was already posted on the Net channel. It was just outside of town, near a ranch that provided Helston and Eastbourne with various goods.

Alice hurried back home. All of the gear that she needed for participating in General Alertness calls were there. She would change as quickly as possible, and then take her car out to the coordinates posted on the closed Net channel.

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QUEST STEPS: Introduce your character. React to the meteor impact. Respond to the General Alert siren. The Resistance coordinates will take you outside of town. At most, end your first post with being on the way there.

BLEAK

---

The citizens of Helston, a sleepy town in the Neutral Zone, witness an attack from the skies that is unlike any they have ever seen before. The local resistance forces are quick to respond and investigate. The Mayor of the town issues a general alertness for his citizens. Some of the locals join the resistance forces just outside of town to see what is going on and if they need assistance. What they find is a conflict that might be out of their element. It is here that the fate of a group of citizens intertwine. As the newly discovered threat spreads, they must follow.

---

★ Keep posts at around a thousand words. A little more or less depending on what happens in the post. If posts extend far beyond, nearing two thousand words, consider splitting the post into two separate ones.

★ Collaborations and past interactions can be completed through Flashbacks. You simply split your post into additional timelines of past and present. This should prevent long waiting times and make the in-character thread feel more active.

★ If you use several timelines, the thousand word guideline is per timeline. However, one should still consider several posts rather than an incredibly extensive one.

★ The Quest Steps at the end of GM posts will give you some general pointers of what to do next. The purpose of it is mostly to have a clear red line to follow in the story, so that there is no confusion.

★ Refrain from posting pictures and music other than your character's portrait. Even then, edit it for size. If you find some kind of art or sound that you think would fit the mood and world, post them in the out of character as suggestions.

★ There is no guideline for post frequency. I will simply move things forward at various speeds depending on time of week and year. If you jump out of the roleplay or have other real life issues, you are welcome back with a new character.

BLEAK

Alice Darina

_{A L I C E D A R I N A
◄ 23 ▎ Female ▎ 5'4 ►}

_{P R E S E N C E}

---

Alice is a peculiar soul. Seemingly an aged mind within a youthful frame, she speaks with mellow tones and moves with fluid grace. However, she has always felt a strange kind of emptiness deep inside, as if something is missing. Surely she has loved and lost, but this feeling transcends petty things on the surface of life. She has always gazed upon the night sky and its brilliant stars, wishing to be part of something greater. The only problem was that Alice never knew what that was or would be. She thought about joining the resistance forces and fighting the unions, but it never happened. That, too, was pointless quarreling without deeper purpose.

Alice usually wears simple outfits. She has a trusty jacket of dark color, sweaters of light colors, and slimmed jeans and leggings to go with comfortable sneakers. Her facial features are petite and streamlined and clad with haunting, blue eyes. The hair, of dark brown, is often kept short and tidy just above the shoulders. Being rather short and slender makes Alice agile and rather fast in her movements, also able to squeeze into and through narrow spaces. If she has to hide her face in public, Alice uses a simple scarf mask of stretchy fabrics and dark color that covers everything from the eyes down.

Alice has a polite attitude towards most people. She is the kind of person that only breaks into the private and personal on rare occasions. Alice is an extremely normal person on the surface. She has realized that most people cannot or do not want to handle thoughts or discussions of heavier substance. At most, she will talk about union politics with those who initiate such a conversation, but Alice will never spark it herself. However, she longs for relationships with people that are different, that are driven by something else other than work, parties, and the Net addiction. She wants to tumble down the rabbit hole, she wants to experience something out of the ordinary, she wants to discover the world beyond Helston.

_{C H R O N I C L E}

---

Alice was born and raised in Helston. She is a native of the Neutral Zone and has never known life within the unions. However, both of her parents grew up without much privacy or peace in their hearts. Eventually, they were able to escape and settle down and find work within the Neutral Zone, which lead to forming a family. Alice is the oldest of three children. Being who she is, a calm and good spirit, Alice spent a lot of her time taking decent care of her siblings whenever the need for it rose. Alas, after she moved away from home, having secured a job and her own place, the time spent with family as a whole as decreased. However, if possible, the family have dinner every weekend and celebrate all major holidays together.

A great deal of time was spent with a boy in High School. They were not together as a couple in the traditional sense, nor were they ever romantic, but they seemed to sync quite well. The family even got to know him almost as a member of it. He spent plenty of time over at the house either studying or just hanging out with Alice. It was not until the very end that the two of them realized deeper feelings for one another. Unfortunately, that future timeline was interrupted by a series of tragedies in his life, which caused him to disappear from Helston one day. Alice was completely left to wonder why it came to be this way. One day he was simply gone. It took Alice quite some time to forget and move on. She tried to search for him, but nobody had seen anyone fitting the description. However, his name and memory still lingers in her heart.

Alice’s focus in High School was melee combat. Every student had focus studies in the last year with a wide range of selections. Even if the world is primarily one of ranged warfare, there are more than a few instances where modern melee weaponry is effective. Many of those scenarios involve close quarter combat, of course, but classes in the focus also teach how to reduce distance by using the environment and other means. The training was comparable to most martial arts practices. Alice can apply the same techniques even without proper weapons or use whatever makeshift option that is available.

Alice works at a supermarket in Helston. She usually sits at the checkout, but also stocks shelves and handle orders. Alice has worked at the supermarket for two years, ever since she moved out from her parents and got her own place. The pay is fair and she has enough left over after the bills have been paid every month. Alice has not thought about what she wants to do with her life all that much. Life is good as it is now, so she figures that things will just go with the flow. The days of the year pass relatively easy. Alice usually plays video games after work during the week, and then spends time with friends and family on the weekends.

_{M E M O R I E S}

---

Max Andonov ► There might be too many memories surrounding this boy. He was the only one who ever was able to fill that void in her heart. On the last day that they saw each other, he gave her a sealed letter. He told her to open it on a difficult day in her life. Alice still has not opened it and she keeps it with her every day. She hopes to see him again, but she fears that venturing out into the dark world is required for that to happen.

BLEAK

are you still accepting? i wanna be a super boy too

@Stekkmen

Hi!

I'd say we're at capacity now. There are two additional, potential participants in PM discussions. But, once we need more players, I'll bump the interest check.

BLEAK

I claimed the first post in the character tab, so go ahead and post your character sheets in hiders. I'm still thinking about what I should put in the first post of the character tab, but I'll update it once I know what makes sense beside links to character sheets.

Here is my own character. There might be an opportunity for acquaintances, but it's up to you guys. My mind is a bit distracted by the first IC-post, which I'm working on. It could be up this weekend, already.

§

_{A L I C E D A R I N A
◄ 23 ▎ Female ▎ 5'4 ►}

_{P R E S E N C E}

---

Alice is a peculiar soul. Seemingly an aged mind within a youthful frame, she speaks with mellow tones and moves with fluid grace. However, she has always felt a strange kind of emptiness deep inside, as if something is missing. Surely she has loved and lost, but this feeling transcends petty things on the surface of life. She has always gazed upon the night sky and its brilliant stars, wishing to be part of something greater. The only problem was that Alice never knew what that was or would be. She thought about joining the resistance forces and fighting the unions, but it never happened. That, too, was pointless quarreling without deeper purpose.

Alice usually wears simple outfits. She has a trusty jacket of dark color, sweaters of light colors, and slimmed jeans and leggings to go with comfortable sneakers. Her facial features are petite and streamlined and clad with haunting, blue eyes. The hair, of dark brown, is often kept short and tidy just above the shoulders. Being rather short and slender makes Alice agile and rather fast in her movements, also able to squeeze into and through narrow spaces. If she has to hide her face in public, Alice uses a simple scarf mask of stretchy fabrics and dark color that covers everything from the eyes down.

Alice has a polite attitude towards most people. She is the kind of person that only breaks into the private and personal on rare occasions. Alice is an extremely normal person on the surface. She has realized that most people cannot or do not want to handle thoughts or discussions of heavier substance. At most, she will talk about union politics with those who initiate such a conversation, but Alice will never spark it herself. However, she longs for relationships with people that are different, that are driven by something else other than work, parties, and the Net addiction. She wants to tumble down the rabbit hole, she wants to experience something out of the ordinary, she wants to discover the world beyond Helston.

_{C H R O N I C L E}

---

Alice was born and raised in Helston. She is a native of the Neutral Zone and has never known life within the unions. However, both of her parents grew up without much privacy or peace in their hearts. Eventually, they were able to escape and settle down and find work within the Neutral Zone, which lead to forming a family. Alice is the oldest of three children. Being who she is, a calm and good spirit, Alice spent a lot of her time taking decent care of her siblings whenever the need for it rose. Alas, after she moved away from home, having secured a job and her own place, the time spent with family as a whole as decreased. However, if possible, the family have dinner every weekend and celebrate all major holidays together.

A great deal of time was spent with a boy in High School. They were not together as a couple in the traditional sense, nor were they ever romantic, but they seemed to sync quite well. The family even got to know him almost as a member of it. He spent plenty of time over at the house either studying or just hanging out with Alice. It was not until the very end that the two of them realized deeper feelings for one another. Unfortunately, that future timeline was interrupted by a series of tragedies in his life, which caused him to disappear from Helston one day. Alice was completely left to wonder why it came to be this way. One day he was simply gone. It took Alice quite some time to forget and move on. She tried to search for him, but nobody had seen anyone fitting the description. However, his name and memory still lingers in her heart.

Alice’s focus in High School was melee combat. Every student had focus studies in the last year with a wide range of selections. Even if the world is primarily one of ranged warfare, there are more than a few instances where modern melee weaponry is effective. Many of those scenarios involve close quarter combat, of course, but classes in the focus also teach how to reduce distance by using the environment and other means. The training was comparable to most martial arts practices. Alice can apply the same techniques even without proper weapons or use whatever makeshift option that is available.

Alice works at a supermarket in Helston. She usually sits at the checkout, but also stocks shelves and handle orders. Alice has worked at the supermarket for two years, ever since she moved out from her parents and got her own place. The pay is fair and she has enough left over after the bills have been paid every month. Alice has not thought about what she wants to do with her life all that much. Life is good as it is now, so she figures that things will just go with the flow. The days of the year pass relatively easy. Alice usually plays video games after work during the week, and then spends time with friends and family on the weekends.

_{M E M O R I E S}

---

Max Andonov ► There might be too many memories surrounding this boy. He was the only one who ever was able to fill that void in her heart. On the last day that they saw each other, he gave her a sealed letter. He told her to open it on a difficult day in her life. Alice still has not opened it and she keeps it with her every day. She hopes to see him again, but she fears that venturing out into the dark world is required for that to happen.

BLEAK

Combat

_{C O M B A T}

---

Aeons use various techniques to create damaging elemental effects. Most of them require some manner of physical movement with hands and body, but van vary from person to person. As the energy of these attacks do not come from themselves, Aeons cannot 'tire' from using too many. However, they can eventually tire from the body movements they need to perform in order to create the attacks, as in 'pushing'.

There are basic techniques that all Aeons learn in school. More advanced techniques are learned from temples and those devoted to The Way. Experimental techniques are created by Aeons themselves, but it is not recommended to do so, as it can be dangerous. Experimental techniques are sometimes referred to as 'special attacks' or 'ultimate attacks'.

The most common elements of manipulation are Fire, Ice, Arc, and Light. There are many other elements, but they all fall under 'experimental techniques' and are not taught anywhere. The 'Light' element is mostly used for defensive techniques, as its offensive counterpart is extremely volatile. Fire is good against most targets, Arc is good against machines, and Ice is good for control.

_{A T T A C K S}

---

BEAM EMISSION — User can project concentrated beams of elemental energy for high damage. The result of the beam can be concussive, dispersion, or explosive depending on initial effort, direction, and target.

ORB PROJECTION — User can create spheres of elemental energy with varying levels of size and damage. Larger spheres move slower than smaller ones. Upon impact, spheres can be concussive, dispersing, or explosive.

BLAST — User can release elemental energy over a specific target area that causes damage or shock waves. This is not a ranged attack. The blast emanates from the user's palm or fist.

WAVE EMISSION — User can release waves of elemental energy that damages and pushes people or objects. The size and length of the wave determines speed and impact force.

MISSILE PROJECTION — User can create missiles of elemental energy. This includes variations such as arrows, darts, spears, bullets, and rockets. Impact is always explosive. Missiles are always faster than spheres, and less destructive.

PILLAR PROJECTION — User can create elemental pillars. They are rooted in the ground and stretch upwards. The pillars can remain static or be guided by the user. The pillars do no move very fast. Pillars are good for controlling the battlefield.

VORTEX PROJECTION — User can create an elemental vortex. The vortex vary greatly in size, from small twisters to tornadoes and hurricanes. This is an advanced technique, dangerous and destructive.

DASH — User can propel themselves in any direction in order to avoid an attack or close a gap. This technique is exclusive to the air element.

BARRIER CREATION — User can create shields, walls, and domes of elemental energy that protect against damage. However, barriers are not impenetrable and damage to it will break it over time.

_{E N E M I E S}

---

Confrontations will have cannon fodder and a boss-type enemy. The cannon fodder is simply there for the player to be cool and awesome, a badass plain and simple. However, bosses will have some rules to them, which are pretty simple. They will have a list of conditions that must be met before they are defeated. These conditions can be anything, but it usually involves being hit by specific attacks, specific elements, specific items, specific player characters, any combination of the previous, or something else. When the conditions have been met, any player can instantly kill the boss with a 'takedown'.

_{E L E M E N T S}

---

There are many different kinds of elements in the world. Some of them are more dangerous than others. Aeons can use the energy of any element when performing attacks. It is only a matter of knowing how. Some elements are more difficult to handle than others, as their energies are more complex.

COMMON — Common elements include fire, ice, arc, air, water, and light. These elements are easy to handle and widely taught at school for Aeons.

EXOTIC — Exotic are just less commonly used, but they are not that much harder to handle. Exotic elements include earth, poison, sonic, metal, smoke, and crystal.

MYSTICAL — Mystical elements are rarely seen in use for two reasons: they are not taught in the public sphere and all of them contain complex energies. Mystical elements include gravity, dark, and time.

BLEAK

@Sync@GodOfWar@Lionhearted@DeadDrop Updating the character tab today. You are all free to post your character sheets there once I've posted the first post. I'm also writing my own character sheet(s). I'll also start writing the opening In-Character. I don't know how far I will get, but I'll keep everyone updated, daily, about the progress.