BrokenPromise

Mahz's Dev Journal

@Havoccultist Yea, you're the third person to report it. And I think we all use different browsers. It's not just you.

Nomadic Odyssey: Find Your Heart

@GN FOREVER Since I showed up already I have a few questions.

How many Players are you accepting?

When do you plan on starting/cutting off new submissions?

@Drag Says "video not avalable" for me too. Even if I follow the link back to youtube there are no comments or anything. Maybe it's region blocked or something?

Nomadic Odyssey: Find Your Heart

@BenG85 Looks like you're missing/have too many indent tags.

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

Another Meeting of the Minds

Penrose had few places that were good for magical girls to speak. Sometimes it felt like every wall in Penrose had an ear that reported back to Ebon Mint. Most magical girls found it prudent to use more secure places to speak. Inside the hull of a starship, a sanctuary, any number of inter-dimensional lairs with each one more exotic than the last. Though these too were simple enough to bypass with divination magic. Anything spoken anywhere was bound to get picked up somewhere. With that in mind, deciding where to speak was less a matter of security and more a matter of function.

And in Aria’s opinion, few places were as functional as the Golden Trove.

It wasn’t as fancy as Nykannis’s lab, nor as whimsical as Jen’s observatory. But it was practical. In particular, this was the last place Aria had seen the person she wished to speak with. And while she was ready to bust out her divining gear and go on a search across the omniverse, she figured it would be best to start at her last known location. She rapped her knuckle on one of the doors.

”Makoto? Are you in?” She smiled before placing a hand on the door. ”It’s been a while since I’ve seen your tail.”

There was a deafening silence in response, for several moments. Officially, in the sense of whether or not it was being used, Makoto had abandoned the room, but on the usual kind of underhanded basis that she usually worked, she had something set up for just such an occasion. A slight *pop* came from behind the door, followed by a certain squirrel-girl opening the door wide open. ”Waaaaazzzzzzaaap?” she asked, before even looking at who opened the door. Honestly, she could use a break, and someone triggering what amounted to a magical doorbell seemed like as good an excuse as any.

”Ara ara~” Aria immediately pulled Makoto into a hug. ”I thought that you were gone for good. But I’m glad I was wrong.” Aria glanced at Makoto’s tail with a grin before releasing her. ”I’d like to know how your projects have been coming along. But a doorway hardly feels like a place to talk about such things.” She lifted a hand to her lips. ”May I come in?”

Makoto looked behind her at the room. It wasn’t a total mess, other than the bedding that she never properly managed. ”Sure, come on in.” She stepped back a few feet before turning and going to sit on the bed.

Aria stepped inside the room and closed the door. ”Thank you.” The rooms were all designed to accommodate two guests, and little else. But it did mean that there was a second bed that Aria could use to sit across from Makoto. ”Oh, we have so much catching up to do.” She kicked her feet in the air. ”Last thing I remember you were trying to create a device, or I guess it was a giant engine that could free magical girls from their ties to their patrons. You’ll have to refresh my memory, but I recall you having difficulty procuring a power source. Have you made any progress?”

Makoto sighed deeply. ”Well… the ultimate goal is the same, but ever since a certain person found out about it, we’ve… let’s say ‘re-contextualized’ things. The big goal is still to bring Magi and Patrons to the same level, my personal goal is still to bring back a few people, but…” she trailed off, looking into nothing for a moment before continuing, ”The new goal is to cut us off from something even worse. We’re not so sure that the same method will work for that one like it should for the other two. We’ve got so much mana that we practically can’t count it all, but theory and practice are different things, ya know? Actually getting started has been more difficult than expected by the big brains who thought this up, and Shiki is busy fighting off the other Magi of her Patron now that it found out about us working together. That makes things harder since she’s the best diplomat we had, and I’m not so great at politics, heh.”

Makoto took a small marble out of her pocket and started playing with it in her hand. No light bounced off of it, leaving a black void where it was. The squirrel was thankful to have a break from the headaches she’d been dealing with, but she was nervous to be away from things. The texture-changing marble was a nice anxiety toy to help her calm down. ”Honestly, I probably shouldn’t be talking about this stuff, or at least I’m sure Shiki would say that, but you already know the basics, so I don’t see the harm in revealing things. It helps to talk through things with someone, right? That’s how you gain new insight on things you’re stuck on, I think.” Her eyes opened wide. ”Oh! Right, I forgot to ask, how have you been lately? What’s been going on in town?”

It took the lavender magical girl a moment to break her gaze from the marble. ”Oh me?” Aria giggled. ”I’ve been fine. You live long enough and you start to realize how pointless it is to get upset with anything. But where to start?” Aria took a deep breath. Not to gather her thoughts, but to gather air. ”I’ve been here workshopping some devices to delve into Glexaroth’s realm. They don’t call him the lord of unreason for nothing. I have everything I need, but there’s been a setback as the one magical girl strong enough to make the trip went and died on me. So I’m going to need to find a replacement or wait for Oros to resurrect. Fortunately, I have a replacement in mind. I just need something they want.” Aria tipped backwards and leaned on her arms. ”Also wonderland is preparing to attack Penrose. They have a massive army, and the queen of hearts is a magical girl that seems to have it out for the ‘Grand Magistrate.’ I believe that was what Oros used to call fate. I guess she’s going to be this month's existential threat everyone has to group together and fight. Or maybe fate is tired of existing and wishes to bring an end to everything.” She looked at the ceiling. ”I’ll confess, that’s a big part of why I wanted to speak with you. Your entire plan goes against fate’s designs, yet if fate is going to get obliterated anyway, this might have a chance to work.” Aria threw one of her legs over the other.

Makoto jumped slightly at the news. ”Fate, as in… the concept or the Lesser Force? That’s, uh, concerning to say the least. I guess, if things are coming to that, then maybe it’s worth it to just come out with the plan, go public. Maybe save a few lives by doing so.”

Makoto took out a small flip-phone and pressed a sequence of its keys. ”Do you mind if I make a call quick?”

”I don’t.” The smile ran from Aria’s face as Makoto started navigating her phone. ”But I do think it’s a little early to fly into panic mode. I mean, what are you thinking about doing?”

”I’m going to ask if making the plan public is smart or not.” Makoto paused, not yet having hit the call button. ”Actually, I could just run it by you first. Do you mind that?”

”I think that would be very wise, given my connections.” Aria leaned forwards and folded her arms. ”Let’s hear it.”

Makoto took a deep breath, ready to give the usual spiel she’d said so many times before, but then thought better of it and decided to start small. ”Alright, I’ll start as if you didn’t know anything about it. This is quite the ‘info-dump,’ so please bear with me.” With that disclaimer out of the way, she continued. ”There are many Lesser Forces out there. Of them, seven are special. Those are ones that embody concepts, specifically the concepts that the standard type of reality are based on. You’ve got Heat, Gravity, Causality, Fate, Energy, Space, and Magic. My personal Patron is Causality. These forces aren’t really… sentient, per se, but they’re still sort of entities? It’s hard to explain. The point is, can you imagine what would happen if all seven, which oppose each other, worked together? Sure, you’ve got other Lesser Forces that embody concepts, but these ones are fundamental, so if they all worked together, they could change nearly anything. The plan is to trap them, all seven, in a small object. Jumpstart it with tons of mana, then use the energy from them being stuck together to make miracles happen. At least, that was the plan, to get their power to allow Magi to break free from the abusive relationship that is the Magi and Patron system.” Makoto got a distant look in her eyes as she looked back at the marble she was playing with.

”That’s the part I’m familiar with.” Aria grinned.

”I went and became friends with someone. They died, and Fate decided that because they were friends with me, and their ability to influence fate, their “Luck,” was too high, that it would remove them from the cycle of reincarnation for Magi. So I wanted to use the power we were making to bring them back. I met their sister, and she became very helpful for the same goal. But that girl met another Magi, one who she told this story to. That Magi gave her some help, and we decided to let her in on the whole plan as thanks. Turns out, she had a rather unique type of magic. We think it’s a mental mutation of some kind, but those who can see a Magi’s type of magic assure us that she’s not totally crazy. Point is, she thinks we’re all just… Have you seen The Matrix? Sort of like that. She knows things she shouldn’t, so we can’t discount her when she says insane things, like that we’re all inside some sort of simulation, or story, or game. This girl got us thinking about a lot, and made us want to hurry up in order to finish our plan to not only save Magi from Patrons, but also to end this influence from whatever is out there controlling everything. We’re not sure that’s possible, but our original plan is the best we can come up with for doing it, if it is possible after all.”

Aria shrugged her shoulders. ”It seems like more and more magical girls are turning up like that.”

”Originally, it came down to this: which is better? The current state of Patrons fighting proxy wars using innocent mortals that they often enslave, often trick, often take advantage of, and rarely help? An endless cycle of magical girls killing, suffering, and dying? Or the possibility of Patrons fighting their own battles, magical girls helping or hindering based on their own values? But now, if we’re all just puppets, what’s even the point of that? Would the ones pulling the strings allow such a thing? And if we get rid of the ones with their hands on the controls, what happens to us then? Are we free, or do we cease to be? Is it worth the risk?” Makoto shook the downcast look off her face and smiled. ”Honestly? As of right now you know more than most of the people even working on the project. But if someone is going to do something stupid that gets a lot of things killed, then maybe we should make it so everyone knows what I just told you. Maybe that would be for the best? I don’t know… And I don’t think Shiki will either, so I guess it’s better to not call her.” Makoto closed the flip-phone and put it back in her pocket. ”What do you think?”

Aria stood up and walked towards the window.She pushed the blinds to the side and looked out the window at the rest of the city. It looked peaceful now, nothing like how it was post summer vacation.

”It’s been a while since I watched any television. Something I recall seeing was a small bit from a talk show. I think a member of the audience was asking how she could fight pollution. She had to be in college, you know the type. But all I could think when I saw this woman was that she wanted to clean the world, but didn’t look capable of keeping her room clean.” Aria turned on her heel and looked at Makoto. ”And here you are with the choice to do something or not. Save everyone or potentially damn everyone. It’s something you’ve worked hard for, but even now you’re having doubts.” She hopped over to Makoto and looked down at her. ”You’re a rare breed. A true beautiful soul. I have the same information as you, but I can’t force myself to care about the outcome. Regardless of what happens to Penrose and its neighboring dimensions, I’m going to be alright. Even if I did, the sheer number of souls that are going to be affected by what you want to do is impossible to comprehend. I have difficulty thinking of five people I’d want to save, let alone a multiverse filled with them. But maybe I can give you some assistance.” She placed a hand on Makoto’s shoulder. ”If your plan is successful, then everyone is free or everyone ceases to be. Either way, the suffering comes to an end. If you do nothing, then everyone’s suffering continues indefinitely. But that’s not right either, is it? We know that the queen of hearts came into being by the will of the ‘grand magistrate,’ so that alone is an indication that things may be coming to an end. If they wish to relinquish their hold on the world so badly, maybe enacting your plan is the right thing to do.” Aria removed her hand and sat beside her. ”But to ask the world if they think it’s okay? They’re like that collage girl that wants to save the world. Their opinion doesn’t matter. If they were interested in the fate of the world, they wouldn’t be trying to pull one over on each other every second they got. They would rise above the hate between dark and light magic, and focus their sights on something bigger than just Penrose or their own bottom line.” Her grin got a little wider as she leaned closer to Makoto. ”The only people that need to know about this is the people you’d like to help with it.”

Makoto thought for a moment. She was stunned by what the other girl had said, but it made a kind of sense. If things were going to end anyway, why worry about things ending a different way? ”Thank you.” she finally said, after a moment. The marble in her hand had stopped moving, and she was a little more at peace than she was earlier. She smiled at Aria. ”Well if that’s settled, anything you need from me? I can let you know when we’re ready to kickstart it, but if there’s anything you need help with before that, just let me know. You really cut through my doubts, and I appreciate that.”

”Glad I could help a former business partner.” Aria pulled back with a nod. ”But no, I have things well under control here. Having said that, I wouldn’t mind taking a closer look at your setup. If it wouldn’t be an inconvenience, of course.”

”Mhm! Sure!” Makoto jumped up and looked under the bed, pressing a small button on a disc that sat on the floor. Once it clicked, a door appeared on the wall to Aria’s left, and Makoto stood back up and stretched. ”Ready when you are.”

Aria also stood up. But instead of stretching, she just marched towards the new door that had opened up. ”I have no other obligations today. Let's get started.”

Mahz's Dev Journal

Status bar is open even after I close it myself, but with a plus icon. Upon seeing that, I need to click it twice to close it again.

@TengenUzui96

This happens to me too.

If I close the status bar, it closes. But then if I navigate back to the front page, the button to close it is a plus (how it looks when the status bar is closed) and the status bar is open again.

Mahz's Dev Journal

Maybe an option to choose how frequently we get emails? As an example, maybe we get an email once a day that says "you got X number of messages." I doubt that would work for everyone, but not everyone needs to know the moment they get a post.

For GMs

I would say OOC for reasons @Kuro mentioned, but I have had good luck having more sensitive stuff getting discussed via PM such as secret backstories and the like. I had a murder mystery RP that had public character sheets and a list of secret questions. Everyone had a lot of fun with the idea that not everyone knew everything about their character. But it is sort of a pain to manage if you don't wanna copy/paste the secret into a general folder.

As always, my answer is "It depends" but having characters in the OOC is good for a lot of reasons.

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

Beacon & Their Buddy

_{I'm not coloring the title because only Crusader bothered to color their own text for this reeeeeeee!}

The bombing of Beacon HQ had been a low point for the Beaconers. The event had been bookended between Justine giving them bad PR and the Bate Twins abducting their “Beacon Buddy” squad. Since then, Beacon had done much better to beef up their defenses. Between their new location, the Shine Spark, and the Ascendancy, they were sitting pretty as the most powerful faction in Penrose. Nothing could rival them save the queen of hearts.

But this added security came at a cost. Beacon’s security was a byproduct of how paranoid they had become. Old habits die hard, and that goes double for a faction that prides itself on traditional values.

An unidentified entity was closing in on Beacon HQ, and they would spare no expense in driving it off. It was difficult to track, but its magical footprint was visible to Beacon’s scryers. All they could tell about the magical entity was it had an unsafe level of corrupted magic. It had to be a monster girl.

Four magical girls were more than enough to deal with the issue. Excess might have been a sin, but nothing sends a message like bringing unnecessary havoc down on those that would oppose you.

The teleporters powered up and transported the squad outside.

'Hope for the best but expect the worst'. It was a mantra that Alicia had been left with after months of hard fought experience. Certainly she hoped that good and justice would prevail, that monster girls and dark magical girls could overcome their darker natures, but too often she found that her efforts prevented disaster only to enable some sort of nefarious scheme that she would have to face later. There were no clear cut victories.

Still, she was the most diplomatic of the Penrose branches leadership, and so the news of an approaching monster girl brought the Ascendancy members to her. SHe would lead the first encounter, and they would come in if things went badly.

Appearing in front of the HQ, Alicia held Star Seraph at her side rather than in a combat stance. Whoever was coming was clearly doing so to meet them. Hopefully it was with relatively benign intentions. "Alright," she said to the others. "Stay alert, but do not strike first. If they want a fight then they can start it. But we will end if it comes to that."

Alicia then turned and faced in the direction that their guest was coming from. All they could do now was wait.

Aurelio stood back and to the right of Alicia his cane tucked under his arm with his other hand in his pocket. He was likely the most relaxed person that was sent to out to deal with this newcomer, less from naivety, and more from knowing that keeping things relaxed at the start went a long way towards keeping them that way over all.

He kept his senses outward, hoping to get a hint of the intention on who ever it was coming their way.

Whoever was approaching was doing a good job of remaining hidden. That, or they were not feeling especially emotional at the moment. Regardless, Aurellio was able to pick up some determination. There were hints of other emotions, such as annoyance, hatred, and even fear, but these were being held back. Though more interesting than the emotions themselves was their source. Even though they felt far away, he could see someone was appearing.

Suwako faded into reality. She was kneeling before the Beacon kids with her head held low. She didn’t stay like that long. The illusionary Beacon girl pulled herself to her feet and looked at everyone present.

"Oh good, they sent out everyone I wanted to see.” Alicia didn’t need to activate her third eye to know this was an illusion. "I have something I’d like to discuss with you. Given the relaxed position of your weapons, I assume you find that acceptable?”

Ah. It did not take a Third Eye to realize this was an illusion as she watched it fad into reality like it was a loading screen. At the same time, however, Serenity felt a certain nervousness about the occasion as well that she couldn't quite put a finger on. However, this being the same figure who had tried to goad them into battle with Wonderland (before the latter party ruined the treaty on its own accord) did make her feel a bit defensive at the same time. In other words, this would seem to her to be someone who was out to serve their own devices and purposes even if Beacon was made to be a pawn in the process.

At the same time, the magical maid would remain on standby with a duplicate of her knife already in one of her hands. She would have restraint as ordered, and she trusted Alicia more than anyone else frankly, but she would remain prepared just in case. Hopefully this wasn't someone in the service of Thos though. Please, please, please let this not be another one in the service of Thos.

Anaya, having not been out on the field in a long while, was the odd one out. She didn't exactly know who Suwako was; her own third eye telling her that the figure before them was nothing but an illusionary proxy, and she heard about what happened at Bolorton, but details were still vague. At least to her.

Despite the twin pistols in her grasp, Anaya stood back and let the others talk. This was something she wasn't actively involved with.

Eying Suwako with a justified suspicion, Alicia was forced to acknowledge that what had happened back in Bolorton was, perhaps, not an attempt by Wonderland to trick them into breaking their deal. But it was too soon to tell. "If we intended to fight, they wouldn't have sent me," she replied. "What do you wish to say?"

"I don’t want to just ‘say’ something, I’m hoping for something more along the lines of a friendly debate.” With a sigh, ‘Suwako’ looked over at the girls again. "Beacon is a controversial group. Even the lot of you see that. No one can deny that many monster girls struggle with their mutations. Even the most resolute ones can’t help but hesitate when their desires run wild. It’s a problem, and it needs to be dealt with.” She thumped her bow into the ground. "But must Beacon be so cruel? A single glance at the Ascendancy is all it takes to see what happens when you take your ideas too far. They have a weapon that can wipe out cities. They eliminate monsters with impunity. They don’t even follow their own code. They’ll happily work alongside Justine, someone who nearly ended the world, to get at Mariette? I understand she’s ruffled some feathers, but she’s nowhere near as horrible as Father’s chosen.” She extended her arms. "I know you don’t like them either, so why do you continue to tolerate them? Why work with people who have no respect for your ideals?”

Hmm.

"Indeed, Beacon is a controversial group in general. The Ascendancy even more so for what would look and sound and act like a dogmatic purge cell sent to destroy all in their path. When looking at working with the likes of Justine and others as well, it isn't hard to look at that and call it hypocritical for sure when regarding the target they sought by working with her.

On the other hand I would pose you similar questions in turn, not to distract from the matters you brought up nor trying to make some clunky defense. In truth I want to see more of your own mind and perspective on these matters in this 'friendly debate'. Some more insight into that mind of yours for purposes of discussion about this topic, if you are willing of course."

As she spoke, folding her arms and her brows furrowing a little as her mind focused on the matter, the magical maid felt some of her nerves settle down as she focused on what the illusory stranger had to say. Or rather, what she seemed to challenge them with. It was easy to criticize Beacon and the Ascendancy, to point the finger and say how one did more harm than good. Etc. But at the same time, what was the perspective of this person on the matter beyond that of making criticisms? That Serenity was more curious about.

"How would you seek to approach and handle the existence of monster girls in general? As you said, even the most resolute can't help but hesitate when their mutations run wild. There are also those who give in to them whole-heartedly, those who try to resist but can't, and otherwise if we are to look at the overall situation.

Furthermore, would you make distinctions based on how they became monster girls? Would you try to figure things between those who did not choose the life of a monster girl or were forced into it from the start, or who maybe otherwise who sought a Black Coin or greedily become one to gain more power and paid the horrible price for it?

And finally, what would you be willing to do or compromise or so forth along those lines in order to see your ideas, approach, and methods in this scenario come to fruition?"

‘Suwako’ blinked exactly once during Serenity’s speech. "I think that someone should be judged by their actions and the strength of character. Dark magic is powerful, and power warrants responsibility. If someone can’t handle their responsibility, it should be taken away from them. I think everyone should be treated like humans, with a fair trial for their wrongdoings. As for how far I’d be willing to go…” Suwako smiled. "I don’t think you want me to answer that. But I think risking discovery in enemy territory should put my determination on display, no?” The grass under her feet parted as she walked closer, but she stopped after a few steps. "I'm aware Penrose Beacon is less trigger happy than the rest of your organization. That’s why I’m curious why you’re letting the Ascendancy run your lives.”

"I'd not go so far as to say that the Ascendancy is running our lives, The Paladin here was the one to push though the evacuation effort for Bolorton after all." Aurelio would comment. Tilting his head at the illusion for a moment before glancing back off into the distance. "But I can see why you'd think that."

"Alright, maybe I was being dramatic.” the false Beacon girl conceded.

"And it's not like the Ascendency is the end all be all of Beacon. They too still answer to the same higher ups that we do at the end of the day. And those higher up are supporting us as well."

Eying the illusion once more, Alicia was silent for a few moments as she formulated her own thoughts. It wasn't quite what she expected to come of this encounter, but it was hardly the worst thing she could envision. Very well, she'd play along with it.

"I work with them because Beacon provides more good than it does harm. And because I still think that we can show our way works, and prompt a greater change. Maybe not as fast as I'd like, but it's better than the alternative."

Suwako appeared to be forming her thoughts when Alicia spoke up. "And I’m glad you feel that way.” She turned towards her. "But what sort of change are you hoping for? Is it Penrose that you want to change, the organization? I’m curious. Lay it all out for me. But while you’re thinking on that…” She turned to Aurelio. "You’re bringing the Cardinal into this? I hope you don’t take offense, but she is far more wallflower than supreme leader.” Suwako’s bow faded away so that she could fold her arms together. "The reason why the Ascendancy gets away with so much is because Rachel just has to point to some clause or rule in your code that supports her actions. I don’t doubt that she wishes to see Penrose Beacon succeed, but she will never challenge Beacon’s codex. Thus, you’re all more or less allowed to do what you like so long as it agrees with Beacon’s core principles. It is, quite frankly, a mess, and just a matter of time before infighting starts.”

"I'm meaning their bosses, more than anything." Aurelio would clarify, his attention notably split between the illusion and what he was feeling off in the distance. "The Beckoners and such. And with any sufficiently large organization there is going to be some level of infighting. Beacon's core principle is 'To safeguard Magical girls and Humanity' and there are a lot of ways to do that. Some, like the Ascendency, feel that means retribution and vengeance are the right virtues. Some think that it means mercy and salvation are better. But no one answer works for all circumstances."

"Just because we disagree doesn't mean we have to be at each other’s throats over it. Even Rachel has been willing to show understanding towards us and our methods."

Serenity's arms came to her sides, resting on her hips as she spoke as she tried to change her posture to stay comfortable as she talked. Even so, her voice was that of a polite yet determined tone as she tried to verbally lay out her next thoughts clearly. Hopefully it all came across as she meant it at least.

"...On that note, I think there is also an observation to be made maybe.

You insinuate I wouldn't want to know how far you would go...even just to see what you laid out in my scenario to be made manifest then. This insinuates a great deal of what you are willing to do for them then in general, and you've seemingly implied such a drive applies to you own goals and desired ends currently at that. Your brazen display of 'guts' here in risking discovery in enemy territory, as you so noted to me, and what you did before back in Bolorton have shown that at least in some capacity thus far.

At the same time, however, I notice how hard you are on the Ascendancy simultaneously for their actions and tools and methods. Not wholly unjustifiably by any means, but also not entirely rightly either I believe.

You bring up examples of what they have done and do, of what they are capable of even, before in turn talking of infighting and asking us why we align with them and so forth. I feel a bit like it is the pot calling the kettle black a little bit as well in this instance.

Criticsm is something we can indulge in no matter who we are, and none of us are free of it. Especially myself, as I'll honestly admit. Yet if you would potentially stain your hands bloody red to no end to see your end goals in sight, or do whatever else you think 'nessecary' by means of your insinuations, then can you truly regard yourself as any different than you regard the Ascendancy to at least a certain extent? Could you say you would never stoop to similar or same lengths, even if you had the same resources, same capabilities, and potentially even same type of experiences as they have had in pursuing and trying to enforce what they beleive is best?"

While Suwako appeared to be relaxed, Aurelio could feel the distant vestiges of fear and annoyance growing stronger. But determination was still winning out. Even more interesting was that they seemed to be approaching, albeit slowly.

"I have already stated that I believe that some dark magicals cannot be saved. They should be put out of their misery or purified, ideally after a fair trial. I haven’t said anything about my intentions, so I’m not sure where my hands being stained ‘bloody red’ is coming from. If I was an Ascendancy girl and you were all monster girls, I’d attack you no questions asked. But here I am trying to reason with you so that I can understand where you’re coming from. Have you ever met an Ascendancy girl who’s first impulse wasn’t to attack? Is the first idea in their head anything other than ‘exterminatus maximus’, or do other ideas always have to be pitched to them? The core difference between the Ascendancy and myself is that killing is always a last resort for me, not the first. And that’s why I find their views so dangerous.” She shook her head. "But Aurelio, you aren't bothered by them because they don’t interfere with how you do things. Is that correct?”

"Not correct at all." Aurelio would say with a shrug. "I've gotten into more than one heated discussion over how we should deal with things with various members of the Ascendency, Rachel included. Just becuase I disagree with them doesn't mean they have to be my enemies."

Suwako nodded with a smirk.. ”Thank you for the clarification.”

Crap. The magical maid would dissipate away the knife in her hand, though a certain look of controlled embarassment would come to her face before she spoke futher.

"My sincerest apologies to you, then, for the ultimately unwarranted comparisons and so forth I made there. Genuinely so.

I am not fully accustomed to circumstances like this in my life experiences in the overall sense, mostly having been familiar with...well, let's call it 'horrible experiences' as a start. The terror of potential death and being obliterated since my 'birth' has likewise been a thing I perhaps haven't fully shaken off either when it comes to strangers and assumptions. So when you spoke before I read into things with what first came to mind for me.

It isn't an excuse, but I will freely admit my wrongs there. I hope both of us will continue to keep killing as a last resort as well..."

”It’s fine. I could have been more clear” The illusion reassured her.

Letting the others speak in the short term, Alicia considered her next words another time. "My goal is to change Beacon as an organization," she said at least. "You're right, the Ascendancy's first instinct is to attack, or to prevent threats for developing further. That's how they've been trained, that's what they know to do. We haven't even managed to convince them we can keep a handle on things here yet."

She held back a sigh as she continued expressing her thoughts. "Still, I'd like to take the fact that they're more willing to listen to us now than they were before as a good sign. Especially with how...not normal things have been."

Suwako thrust a finger at Alicia while looking at the other Beacon girls. ”This! This right here is what I was hoping one of you would say!” She turned to look at Alicia. ”And I’m glad Alicia was the one to say it. The Ascendency do not need to be put to the knife, they only need to be reformed, much like you’ve been doing with corrupt magical girls. People can change, and those that can’t should part with positions they aren’t fit for. Oh but I know I’m preaching to the choir here!” She waved her hand at Alicia. ”Do you have any plans to make such changes come about? Or is that why this development with Rachel is so good, because you may be able to break through to her and change that side of the organization?”

But as jubilant as Suwako seemed, the distant emotions weren’t changing at all.

As pleased as Alicia was to have the affirmation, something tugged at the back of her mind. Something that indicated this was, perhaps, a bit too easy. Most people didn't just swing by for a chat on philosophy,

"Perhaps I do," she replied with a nod. "But forgive me if I don't see why I should lay it all out in detail for a stranger hiding behind the image of a friend."

Suwako smirked. ”I didn’t figure you for a cautious sort, Alicia. But alright. You can tell if I’m lying or not without fail, so just stop me if I’ve said something dishonest.” She turned to look at Alicia. ”My name is Tonya, though I have not used that name in a very long time. Like most of you, I became a magical girl to defend my home from an oncoming apocalypse. Only my patron filled me to the brim with as much magic as my form could bear.” She looked into the sky. ”It’s been a good decade or so now. What happened at Bolorton reminded me of the day I was turned into a monster. The overwhelming forces, the need to retreat in the blink of an eye, the carnage. It was everything I wanted to prevent. But I’ll be honest with you, I was numb to it this time. It almost felt expected. Penrose can’t go a few weeks without having a cataclysmic event, and the city’s magical girls are more divided than ever. It all looks a little grim.” With a hop, she landed in front of Alicia. ”The old world fell because of a feud between Beacon and Mint. I’ve been wary of your lot since I got here. I’ve even conspired against Beacon a few times, like any dark magical would. But I’ve realized the Penrose branch is not like the others. I think this incoming threat will require everyone’s cooperation. I don’t need to know your plans Alicia. But if I did, it would make uniting Penrose easier.” Suwako shrugged. ”But if you must keep your secrets...”

"Hmm...no wonder you wished to prod our minds using this 'friendly debate' style of approach then.

Fair enough I suppose, but Alicia really is the best one to haved asked more directly in the first place if we had a plan for all this I believe. I was metaphorically speaking 'just born yesterday' after all, and my life hasn't lent me to come to such a response as you seemed to wish for quickly really. Beyond that, though, I'm here with her even now because I both believe in that goal and in Alicia herself more than anyone."

The magical maid simply let a smile come to her face as she spoke with nothing but a purely honest conviction and determination of her own. A sincere expression both emotionally and verbally to boot. At the same time, however, she hoped it wasn't as 'foot in mouth' as her words at times had been in a prior meeting with another friend after the events of Bolorton had been. Maybe. She'd been practicing!

Yet before she would continue, her expression and mood would slide gently back into what it had been prior.

"Though my own issues and faux-pas of not long ago here aside, I do remain on the cautious end of things myself as well. You are still a stranger to us who hides behind the image of someone else, so even your expressions given via illusion can be called into question potentially as well. Or perhaps in this case it is properly expressing your feelings on your behalf. Either way we cannot know for sure.

Likewise, it seems what you wanted was a bit easy to get ahold of as well...conceptually as well as comparatively in this case now. So was this all you wanted out of us this evening, if I may ask?"

The Illusion continued to stare in Alicia's direction.

"Considering you're the fourth person to try and get on her good side with potential shady reasons can you really blame her?" Aurelio would ask his attention focused out towards the emotions he felt.

"Also, as an aside, do words spoken through an illusion still register as true or false to Light magic?"

”Of course it does!” Suwako continued to look at Alicia with the same level of intensity Aurelio looked at the approaching emotions. ”Even if I'm communicating to you through an illusion, my words are still my words and be true or false. The only known way to trip up someone like Alicia is to say something with the intent to misdirect. Isn't that right, Alicia?”

"Good to know." Aurleio would say with a nod "I mean I figured it would seeing how your emotions still carry though, but I havve not had much time to play around with illusions myself."

"...Then what if you do not speak with intent to misdirect, or truly believe what you speak to be the truth? Could you get around those restrictions and still try to direct or misdirect another to some end or another?"

"Relax guys, this isn't our first time on this ride," Alicia assured them. As unfortunate as it was, she knew full well that even the truth could hide layers of duplicity behind it. They would deal with the schemes as they arose.

Her focus then returned to Tonya, now that she knew a bit more about who she was dealing with. "It's a flexible plan," she replied. "Use diplomacy and cooperation to defuse conflicts, support neutral girls, and show the Ascendancy that we can restore stability to the city without indiscriminate violence. Bring back members who lost hope, train new recruits with more modern sensibilities, and then push to convince those at the top."

A wry smile then graced her features as she thought. "Of course, this is Penrose. After what happened at the Rave. I doubt it will all go quite that smoothly. But it's what I have right now."

Suwako gave Alicia a blank stare that lasted just long enough to be awkward. ”Holy mother of Moses! It’s a miracle!” She cast her arms up in the air. ”What a concise yet sensible plan that is! You really earned that Paladin designation Alicia, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Unfortunately, I don’t have a way to confirm that you’re being truthful. And because of that…”

And then it happened.

That surge of emotions that Aurelio had been tracking were finally in the area. It was too late to intercept them, they had already discovered them. Fortunately, the person harboring those emotions was plainly visible. It was a little girl with brown hair and Barbie girl pajamas. Regardless of how many third eyes were directed at her, she appeared to be a normal little girl. She was holding a piece of paper that seemed to be a map.

“Treasure?” She said while looking over the group. Her fear was growing, but her determination was still holding out strong.

She didn’t wait for any of the others to approach her. Her eyes scanned her surroundings and eventually fell on a nearby tree. She approached it and discovered a pile of stones. After moving the stones aside, her determination and annoyance subsided in the presence of wonder. She reached into the pile of stones and pulled out a bag of chocolate coins. Or at least, the label said it was chocolate coins. It also looked like there was still a price tag on it. Shortly after getting her treasure, the little girl walked back the way she came.

”Well that was random. Now where was I? Right.” Suwako lifted her finger. ”So basically, just as you can’t fully trust me, I can’t fully trust you. But all the same, I really want to believe Beacon is headed in the right direction. In fact, I have to, because we aren't going to get anywhere being at each other’s throats. Especially with that extra queen headed to Penrose.” She pretended to look at her wrist watch. ”I feel like we should do something significant while we’re all here, but I’m running out of time. But hey! I’ve got a lot of connections to people and venues that would be off limits to Beacon, so if you need me…” She tossed a cell phone at Alicia, only for it to fly through her chest. ”Right, uh, maybe just hit up ‘High Priestess’ On Glimr.” She turned back to Serenity and pointed at her. ”And you!” She thrust her finger. ”Magical girls have light magic, mystic artifacts, scrying, and various other forms of divination magic. Figuring out what you guys are doing hardly requires me to appear in person. But to change their minds or forge alliances? That’s always going to require interacting with people face to face.”

Alicia got the strong suspicion that she was being flattered, though it was exaggerated to the point where one could consider it as parody too. As Tonya was reacting another girl appeared on the scene, locating a bag of 'treasure' under a tree nearby. That was probably more important than she knew for it to happen in such a narratively random manner, but for now she decided to ignore it.

Back to the matter at hand, it seemed that things were going alright. She supposed she couldn't blame Tonya being suspicious. It wasn't the first time she'd had to handle such things either. An attempt to provide communication ended in failure though, since the phone she provided was also an illusion. "I can do that. We'll be in touch to see about proving that trust, in both directions."

”Sounds good. Remember! High Priestess on Glimmr.” And then Suwako’s form faded away.

Aurelio keep his focus outward even after the little girl made her apperance, if anything his focus ramped up at her apperance, though he wasn't looking at the girl at all as she found and made her way out with her prize.

That said a clone would pop up behind him with phone in hand to get started on adding this High Priestess to his contacts.

But while Aurelio didn’t notice any far off emotions, he did notice the little girl was throwing off far more joy than he would expect.

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

"Clearly I shitpost just a little too hard last week.”

— Luana Roycroft

@Rune_Alchemist@Crimson Paladin

It was difficult to call Luana's actions futile, as she had discovered something else about the dragons claws. You didn't even have to be cut by them. Just allowing them to touch something, be it plant or person, was enough to cause it to wither and die. That made this overgrown lizard quite a bit harder to deal with. It wasn't even just its claws, even the ice on its head decayed and sloughed away like dead skin. Or was it just melting? That made more sense, but it was really hard to tell. It leapt away with its superior speed and prepared to attack the closest target.

That would be Luana, of course.

She had tried to maneuver around their target, but it had escaped and now had her in its sights. It was faster than her, bigger than her, stronger than her, and any defense she could mount against it with her magic would wither and die in seconds. The thought of reinforcing her spells with a good freezing from Ethelred's attacks did cross her mind, but if could decay ice, what was stopping it from decaying petrified wood? Even Endless Eclipse was useless in this situation. That thing's claws would hue her living handle almost instantly.

"This is gayer than all the yuri bait surrounding the queen.”

With all of Luana's options exhausted, the only thing left to do was run for the castle and hope the others could cover her escape. Come to think of it, Lif said something about testing weaponry on a mountainside. Maybe they'd be fine testing something out on this dragon. She's have to seek them out, which shouldn't have been hard given what her spear was capable of.

STORYCRAFT: For Roleplayers

Three Rules for Creating Believable Dialog

Beepee pushed his shovel into the soil. He had lost track of how long he had been digging. The sun was low in the sky, and he was so deep that he couldn’t see the rows of tombstones anymore.

*Clank*

His shovel hit something hard. It was possible he had found what he was looking for, but this wasn’t the first time a root was masquerading as a false positive. But wiping away the dirt revealed the wooden lid of a coffin. This was his mark.

A crane pulled Beepee and the coffin out of the hole and set them off to the side. Once free, he hopped off the coffin and pried open the lid with his shovel.

“Gail!” Beepee kicked the coffin. “Get up!”

The individual inside could have been described as a divine creature. He was an unusual hybrid that was part angel and demon. Gail had the physique of an olympian, and his twin scythes rested behind his back. But that was where his majestic features ended. Gail’s hair could best be described as “80’s anime protagonist spikey” and had the eyes of a serpent. The only article of clothing he wore was a pair of overalls, with one of the straps unbuttoned for stylish effect. His complexion was closer to that of a vampire than either an angel or demon.

“Woah!” Gail sat up and turned to the person who dug him out. “Beepee?”

“I don’t have all day, Gail.”

“You weren’t this nasty when we were younger.” Gail stood up and crossed his scythes on his back. When he stepped out of the coffin the handles hit, which caused him to stumble forward several feet.

“I have no idea what younger me was thinking when they made you.”

“They thought ‘hey, what’s the coolest thing I can possibly conjure?’ And then made me.”

Beepee was quiet for a time. “That is, tragically, what happened.”

“If you’re just going to keep insulting me, I think I’ll go back to bed.”

“You’ll have plenty of time to sleep later.” Beepee leaned on his shovel. “But today I’d like to show everyone how you can effectively write dialog. Naturally, I thought it would be more effective to demonstrate through a conversation and who better to talk to than someone who knows nothing about such things?”

“Sounds cool, is there anything in it for me?”

“Knowledge is its own reward.” Beepee grumbled his words.

“That sounds a bit pretentious.” With a sigh, Gail folded his arms. “I mean I know the basics! It’s important to place ‘tags’ near your dialog so that you know who’s speaking. Like you know I’m speaking because ‘Gail folded his arms’ is nestled between both bits of my dialog. You can place conversation tags before, after, and in between sentences to let people know who’s talking.”

“Sometimes you don’t need tags at all?”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“You should.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re doing it right now.”

“We are?”

“Yes.”

“Wow! We are!”

“Fascinating, isn’t it?”

“How does it work?”

“Because any time the speaker changes, you make a new paragraph. Since there’s only two of us here it’s simple for a reader to follow along. This is one of those rare instances in which a common rule of writing does not hold true. But…” Beepee placed his hands on his hips. “I do not recommend writing an entire post without narration.”

“I mean.” Gail chuckled. “It’s not like you can convey action through dialog.”

“Gail?”

“Yea?”

“Do you see what’s in my hand?”

“The shovel?”

“Take it.”

“Sure thing.”

“What do you think of it?”

“It’s a lot heavier than I was expecting.”

“That’s because it’s a steel handle. Most are made of wood or fiberglass, but that one is designed to be durable.”

“Was it hard to dig me out with this?”

“No, I was able to type myself doing it in just a paragraph or so.”

“I see.”

“But did you see what you just did?”

“Huh?” Gail looked at the shovel that now rested in his hands. “Son of a gun…”

“What I’m trying to illustrate here is there’s always an exception to the rules.” Beepee took his shovel back. “You can write an entire post with just dialog, but there are caveats to such an approach. That’s what makes writing dialog so fun to me. There are so many things you can do with it so long as you understand the basics.”

“Now you said that when we change speakers we make a new paragraph.” Gail rolled his shoulders. “I get that, but don’t a lot of roleplayers break up their dialog into multiple paragraphs even if it’s the same speaker?”

“That is true. There’s no rule that a single speaker can’t have their dialog stretch over multiple paragraphs. But I would advise against such a thing during collabs or when you have multiple speakers in a single post. It makes reading a lot more difficult.”

Gail raised his finger. “But that’s what color tags are for!”

Beepee scoffed. “Color tags are no substitute for good writing practices! You don’t want someone to be unable to understand your post if they happen to be colorblind or the text colors are too similar.”

“I didn’t realize that was a sore spot for you. Anyway, I think that’s enough baby stuff. I want to know that deep eldritch knowledge regarding dialog.”

“We’re still talking about the basics here.” Beepee took his shovel and shoved it into the earth. “But I’d say there are three really important rules to keep in mind. The first one is to sound natural.”

“So don’t talk in a gravelly voice?”

Beepee squinted his eyes. “You’re a jackass, you know that? What I mean is that when a character speaks, it should sound natural to them. You may have some information that you’d like to come up in a scene, but you need to remember that it’s coming from a character and not a robot that’s going to spout exposition for you. ”

"Ahhh…” Gail nodded. “So basically, stay in character.’”

Beepee Lifted up two fingers. “The second rule is that you want your dialog to be doing something.”

“That’s kind of a given, isn’t it?”

“Not necessarily.” Beepee grunted before continuing. “Dialog is at its most interesting when it serves a purpose. If your character opens their mouth, they should be asking questions, deflecting questions, teasing a friend, mocking an enemy, convincing someone, deflecting criticism, that sort of thing. If a character says something that adds nothing to the RP, it probably isn’t good dialogue. It needs a strong purpose and direction. Two characters regurgitating beliefs they both share isn’t interesting.”

“And that just leaves…”

“Number three, which is subtext. I’ll talk about this more later, but the simple version is you want an underlying message that’s revealed through your dialog. People rarely blurt out exactly what they’re feeling or thinking, so it’s an important technique to master if you want to write more convincing dialog.”

“And that’s three! So I’m an expert at dialog now?”

Beepee laughed. “Let’s see what you’ve learned… What would you like to drink?”

Gail placed a hand on his chin. “Well, as a demon hunter who loves the color of blood, I think I’ll have some grapefruit juice.” Beepee cringed at his remark. “What? I just felt like mentioning I was a demon hunter!”

“But it was so on the nose!” Beepee was still sneering as he spoke. “There was no subtext there at all! Nobody talks like that.”

“Alright, well let’s see you do any better!” Gail put his fists on his hips. “What would you like to drink?”

“If I had to give my occupation in response to that question?” Beepee sighed. “As much as I would enjoy a drink, the crane started to misfire.” He reached for a toolbox under the seat of the crane. “I think it just needs a tune up, but I’d like to check one of the spark plugs just to be sure.”

Gail blinked. “I mean, people who aren’t mechanics can remove spark plugs.”

“That’s what makes the subtext so interesting, Gail! You aren’t giving the reader a clear cut answer. Subconsciously they are trying to piece together things based on what I say. There’s mystery and hidden meaning in subtext, while ‘I like grapefruit juice because it looks like blood and oh yea I’m also a demon hunter’ just can’t compare. Moreover, it’s not impossible to picture a human saying what I said.”

“Okay!” Gail groaned. “Let’s just try something else!”

“Let’s do some role playing then. You’re doing your weekly grocery shop and the local convenience store is out of milk. What’s your reaction?”

Gail filled up his lungs with air. “What the hell? They’re out of milk?!” He brandished his scythes. “Damn them! Do they expect me to sustain myself on dry cheerios?” He swung both of his blades into the soil. “I demand to see the manager! I DEMAND SATISFACTION!!!” Gail cleared his throat. “Like that?”

“I mean-” Beepee shrugged. “If your goal was to be funny or come across as a psychopath, I think you did a good job.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Oh.” Beepee rubbed the back of his head. “Yea, that was really melodramatic. It can be tempting to give characters huge mood swings all the time because it’s entertaining, but it ends up coming across as a bit silly or unearned, especially if you’re trying to be dramatic. If you fly off the handle every time something happens, it’s going to make stuff that deserves that big emotional outburst impossible to sell.”

“Makes sense, I guess.”

“And that’s strike two.” Beepee squinted. “Last chance. Let’s say we both graduated from the Silvermyth Demon Hunting School. We both know it produces the best demon hunters and all of them fight with scythes. But we need to convey that information to the reader. How would you do that?”

Gail scratched his head for a bit, but then his face lit up with a smile. “As you know, Beepee-”

Beepee placed a hand over his face. “You did not just hit me with ‘as you know, Bob’ dialog.”

“What’s that?”

Beepee snorted. “It’s when you start some dialog with ‘as you know’ and then continue to tell a character something they already know. There’s no reason to tell a fellow demon hunter that graduated from the Silvermyth Demon Hunting School about their reputation. It’s unnatural, lazy writing. There’s no subtext.”

“But I didn’t finish!”

“We all knew what was coming!” Beepee pointed at the coffin. “Time to go back to bed!”

---

Well that was embarrassing.

To cap things off, I thought it might be beneficial to show something that properly implements what was discussed here.

I have a dialog heavy post that I’m going to write. Rilla is having dinner with Nixie, and plans on enlisting with a special military force.

I’ve decided I need to work the following details into my post.

-Nixie is a good cook.
-Rilla and Nixie are sisters, with Rilla being the older by four years.
-Rilla can work on steamtech gear.
-Rilla is elated to be accepted into the “Storm Billy” unit, which pilots steamtech mech suits and is made of men and women.
-Alternate history WW II: Italy is a superpower and Germany is on the allied side.
-Nixie is worried about Rillia and wants her to be a seamstress with her.
-Their parents died in the war.
-Rilla is motivated by revenge.
-Nixie doesn’t want to be alone.

As an added challenge, I’m going to try to have all of this information come out in dialog without using narration for any exposition.

Let’s see if I can fit all of that in one scene. Shouldn’t be hard.

Rilla and Nixie sat down for dinner with a bowl of soup in front of each of them.

“Nixie, you are a good cook. You are also my sister, albeit younger by four years. I am happy that I can work on steamtech and am also elated to be accepted into the Storm Billy unit, which pilots steamtech mech suits. The unit has men and women in it.”

“Rillia, Italy is a superpower and Germany is on the allied side of the war. I’m worried about you and want you to be a seamstress with me.”

“Our parents died in a war, and I’m motivated by revenge!”

“I don’t want to be alone.”

See? Easy.

Of course it feels flat and devoid of personality because I ignored everything we talked about. There’s no attempt to sound natural, nor any subtext. Let’s try that again, but really keep story craft in mind this time.

Rilla and Nixie sat down for dinner with a bowl of soup in front of each of them.

“Oh wow!” Rilla eyed her soup. “This is cream of broccoli! My favorite!”

Nixie sighed. She hadn’t touched her soup. “I thought it was only fitting, given the circumstances.”

“You know, you’ve come a long way from when you first started cooking.” Rilla held her spoon up to her lips. “IIt tasted awful, but I was too lazy to make anything myself. Now I look forward to eating my sister’s food!” She shook her head. “I have four years over you and I can’t even cook beans!”

“How does it compare to field rations?”

Already we can tell something’s bothering Nixie, even if it hasn’t been stated outright. But she wants to seem supportive of her sister because she knows directly opposing Rilla will drive a wedge between them. Instead she’s trying to guide the conversation in a direction that benefits her.

“I wouldn’t know.” Rilla fanned her mouth after tasting the soup. “I know steamtech. I use to have a hard time doing anything in dad’s workshop, but once you understand the basics it’s all pretty intuitive. I bet cooking’s the same way. You get your hands on all those ingredients and after a while you just know what works and what doesn’t.” Rilla was half way done with her soup already.

“You don’t really have the physique of a soldier.”

“Oh yea, and they let me know too!” Rilla’s grin got a bit wider. “They all say I look too good to be a soldier, but I got assigned to the Storm Billy unit as a field mechanic. Nice thing about that is we all pilot mech suits, and the suit does all the work. None of us look like soldiers though.” She stopped to laugh. “There were a lot more girls in our unit than I thought there would be. Can you believe what things would be like if Hitler was elected? That wouldn’t fly! There’s also no way we would have joined the allied powers. I bet we’d be fighting alongside the Italians. They would have been strong friends, but the Americans are almost a match for them.” She only had a few spoonfuls of soup left.

As you can see, Rilla is deflecting any attempts at a real discussion. Nixie is trying to get her to talk about her being recruited, but Rilla keeps steering the conversation away from it. But her bowl of soup is almost empty, and Nixie knows she needs to change her strategy if she has any hope of changing her sister’s mind.

“You know.” Nixie folded her hands over her chest. “You may not be able to cook as well as me, but you are every bit as good at sewing as I am. Our parent’s dream for us was that we’d work together.” She looked away. “I would go to war with you if I thought I could, but I can’t. I won’t, and I wish you’d reconsider for our parent’s sake. They wanted us to be seamstresses together.”

Rilla likely knows what her parent’s dream for them was, but it feels natural and bears repeating here since Rilla’s desires go against it. This is one of those rare cases where an “as you know, bob” moment can work.

The smile ran from Rilla’s face as she lowered her spoon into her bowl. She locked eyes with her sister before folding her arms over her chest. “They wanted us to do a lot of things. Sit with good posture, eat nutritious food, marry ambitious men, be ambitious ourselves, and yes, they even said they wanted us to take over the family business. You haven’t taken everything they asked to heart.”

“But-”

“And that’s fine! They weren’t perfect, and they knew we weren’t perfect. But we’re doing our best to make them proud.” Rilla tipped her head. “Do you remember what your last words to mom and dad were?”

Nixie took a deep breath. “I think I told them to be back soon.”

“That was a nice thing to say.” She looked at the table. “I told them I hated them.”

“You did?”

“I was upset that they were leaving us to visit Italy. They wanted me to look after you, and I took it personally. I stayed mad at them for many days until our dear old uncle told me what happened to them. Just days after they declared war on us.” Rilla stood up and placed her hands on the table. She towered over Nixie, who looked like a child when compared to her sister. “They wanted me to keep you safe. I can’t do that here, Nixie.” She thrust her finger into the table. “They’re invading Switzerland and Austria. The Italians are going to enter the country if we continue to do nothing about it. I’m doing this to protect you, to honor our parent’s wishes.”

“We can leave Germany though.” Nixie raised her hands. “W-we can flee to the Netherlands and take a boat to the United Kingdom.”

Rilla grit her teeth and dropped her fist into the table. “We are not fleeing our home! Dad’s workshop is here, the storefront is here, the kitchen you’ve been prepping meals in is here! Do you think our parents wanted us to flee to another country? Was that part of their vision for us?”

Rilla’s actions are on the dramatic side, but it avoids being melodrama because of the set up. The situation calls for it. This isn’t your everyday drama. They’re talking about their parents wishes for them, which is a lot more serious than the convenience store being understocked on milk.

“I just don’t want to lose you.” Nixie whimpered. “We’ve lost so much already.”

“Which is why I’m going to make sure the next person to lose something is the Italians.”

Aaaaaand cut.

While that scene took longer to write, it’s a lot more entertaining to read. It feels more natural, Rilla and Nixie feel like they’re arguing something, and the subtext under the surface keeps the reader engaged.

Unfortunately, most RP posts are plagued by on the nose descriptions and detailed accounts of things that aren’t necessary. I’d be lying if I said that I always kept my own advice in mind when I write, but stuff happens. Sometimes you’re behind schedule, or you get peer pressured into trying to mirror your fellow RPers way of writing. And hey, no offense if you like to write ten paragraphs worth of exposition for everything your character sees. I’ll be making an article on narration later, but a lot of things that work for dialog also work for narration. If your character sees a cute girl, consider having their inner monologue be about how this girl reminds them of someone/something else instead of reacting to how cute they are. Subtext can be worked into nearly every aspect of your posts. I do have some things I’d like to say on collabs, but I’ll save that for the appropriate article.

It should be evident that even in your everyday posting you can find more interesting ways to have your characters speak. Just remember the three rules of good dialog and you’ll go far. So strive for engaging dialog, and readers will always want to read what your characters are saying.