Mousia

Calling All Heroes!

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know.”
That was the fifth person to say that. All I wanted to know was if bus 448 used that stop. It was starting to get dark, and my curfew was rapidly approaching. I didn’t know why, but my floor don insisted that everyone was back in the dorm by seven so she could do head count every night. What a control freak!
Suddenly, I heard a terrifying, almost inhuman sound from somewhere behind me. So, naturally, I ran in the direction of the scream, and ended up at the end of an alley. It was very dark all of a sudden, and I didn’t see anyone around. Then a hand clapped over my mouth, and an arm closed over my stomach. Despite my struggling, I couldn’t escape. I felt a small pinprick, and then everything faded to black.
And that’s how I got to be...here…

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CALLING ALL HEROES, ACES, AND DAREDEVILS!
The New Justice Order is searching for young people with heroic and otherwise desirable traits to make up a new police and rescue force of impeccably-trained and uncorrupt soldiers to replace the current “defenders” of the law. However, not all is rosy. The group’s leader, a recluse named Gordon Frost, has recently began to spiral into paranoia. The seeds of a rebellion have already been sowed. It’s up to the characters to decide whether to join the uprising, support the originally laudable cause, or fight for whichever cause seems to be winning.

PREREQUISITES
The NJO seeks youths ages sixteen to twenty-two to form their elite police force, and these youths must be able to see, hear, and walk enough to function in tactical pursuits effectively. They also seek those with any or many of the following qualifications: strong leadership qualities, above-average intelligence, elevated physical capability, obedience, sound moral code, willingness and eagerness to learn and improve.
(NOTE: One may play as either a newbie - a new recruit - or an experienced recruit - one who has been with the organization for a month or more.)

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OOC: Hey, guys! I came up with this idea recently and thought it might be worth a go! I'm pretty flexible with plot and stuff like that, and I intend this to be largely player-driven. Anyway, my only real requirement of you, the prospective player, is to make some awesome, three-dimensional characters and to work at developing those characters well, which I'm sure you'll do just fine! Have a fantastic day! :)

Sworn By Their Swords

When Melissa rose, Alice was jarred from her rest, and she blinked a few times before following suit. The girl turned away inexplicably, but the princess still looked at her quizzically, trying to meet her eye.

At the white-haired girl’s request, Alice smiled softly, albeit a bit sadly. That would be a hard request to address. However, the princess was determined to follow through with her many promises and vows to be fair and just and serve all who beseeched her.

“You...are not a burden.” Her eyes held something unspoken, something Alice herself couldn’t decipher within. She went on though.

“However, if you are sure you want to be a servant of Crescentia, I will not stop you. Tomorrow in the morning I’ll have the charges against you rescinded, and later we’ll do the oath.”

It was surely foolish of her to be doing so much for someone she hardly knew. Someone who could very well be conning her. But if it was so, she would bear the consequences of her foolishness, because the rewards she reaped were much greater, even in the short time she’d known Melissa. She’d become vastly more prone to sharing some feelings of hers, which had gone unspoken for several years. Perhaps it was because they hardly knew each other before that they could bond so quickly. Perhaps it was the low stakes at the start which encouraged them to keep on raising them.

“As for your sleeping conditions...why don’t we sneak you upstairs, get you cleaned up, and you can take mine. I hardly sleep in it anyway.” Alice hardly hesitated to crouch down to Melissa’s ankle and unlock the shackle around it. When the restraint was undone, the princess extended her fair hand to guide the former captive through the complex corridors, and the smile that crossed her face was a rare genuine one, albeit slightly nervous and unsure.

Sworn By Their Swords

When Melissa finally spoke some sense, Alice laughed a bit, nodding along to what the other girl was saying.

“Yes, yes. I have been told many times that I’m a fool. Arthur, my advisor, likes to remind me of that often… Your princess sounds like she was an exemplary person. She seems to have improved the lives of everyone she knew.”

She paused, looking down at Melissa. She looked so comfortable and strangely peaceful. Such relaxations were out-of-place in the venue they occupied. Yet the princess felt oddly calm and simultaneously excited. Alice couldn’t help but to feel fluttery around her new… Friend? If they were friends, it was certainly an odd friendship. One a powerful leader of a nation and the other an essentially powerless prisoner and recent defector of an apparently powerful organization of criminals. What an unlikely pair. Yet there they were, embracing as if they’d been close friends for years.

“It’s funny how things rise and then they fall. I sometimes think about how long after my death people will forget I even existed - if any of the things I do matter at all. So what if I feed some hungry people? There will always be more. So what if I teach some people in villages to keep records? There will always be things that go undocumented.
“I know that its the right thing to do, but… Oh, I don’t know. Sometimes I want to be more like you, more willing to do things that you want to do. I don’t remember the last time I took a day off, or passed up writing new policies in favor of, say, getting some rest.”
She yawned and leaned back, letting her head hit the wall behind her with a dull sound. Melissa’s warmth was comforting, and saying her piece relaxed her more than she’d thought it would.

“I think I might just fall asleep here if I’m not careful,” she mumbled quietly, eyes closed and already being subject to the more abstract thoughts encompassing one’s mind in fatigue. “But you know, I think some reconsideration of your arrangements might be in order. The cold stone isn’t very forgiving, is it?”

Indigo [Contemporary, Fantasy]

Thank you! I sort of half drew from my own life experiences and half from stuff that's interesting me right now, so it's nice to hear that you like her! I think Elias is pretty cool too. He's likable, but realistically unlikable too, which I like.

Indigo [Contemporary, Fantasy]

I hope this is close to what you wanted/were expecting. If needed, I'm flexible to some changes as well.

Valentina "Val" Cortez

Name: Valentina “Val” Cortez
Spiritual Race: one of the Chosen
Age: Seventeen (junior in high school)
Gender: Female (cis-gender, presents androgynously)

Appearance:
The Cheat Sheet

• mesomorphic (muscular) body type -- height is 5’2” (157.5 cm), weight is 125 lbs (56.7 kg)


• sun-kissed skin that is adorned with a wide variety of scars from childhood mishaps; no tattoos; small nose piercing that is a diamond on the side of the nose and silver eyebrow piercing


• ebony ringlet curls most often kept back in a clean ponytail or bun, though sometimes also worn in braids


• coal-black in color, almond-shaped, set back neither deep nor shallow


• often seen wearing cargo pants or loose-fitting jeans (and cargo shorts on hot days), V-neck or crew neck T-shirts in solid colors, and beat-up skateboarding sneakers (sometimes also seen wearing a baseball cap outside on sunny days)

The Written Description
Valentina Cortez prefers function over fashion, which one could deduce before even meeting her. Her toned frame is kept up by working in her parents’ bakery on weekdays after school and all day on Saturdays, and her habit of tying her hair up in a ponytail, bun, or braid (an added bonus being the fact that this showed off her expressive coal-black eyes) was born out of necessity working there. Despite her somewhat short stature, she keeps up with her brothers, though she still has scars from years-forgotten fights with them and falls from trees and such. Due to being the youngest, she never really acquired a taste for femininity, so she often wears more masculine clothes, such as cargo pants, loose jeans, and cargo shorts and plain shirts with modest necklines. Val, as such, received and still receives protest from her parents and grandmother. In an act of teenage rebellion, she got both her nose and eyebrow pierced by a trusted friend. Though she is satisfied with the results, she wishes that she hadn’t rushed into the decision so much, because she got in even more trouble for it.
Personality:
The Good

• determined


• passionate


• sound moral compass

The Bad

• often makes rash decisions


• wary of authority figures


• sometimes overly sensitive


• overly emotional


• easily angered (though also quick to forgive and to expect forgiveness)

Background: Ethnically Mexican, Val had a traditional Roman Catholic upbringing from which she rebelled fairly early on, citing the intolerance demonstrated by many of those around her. Nevertheless, her family accepted her decision surprisingly well. She lives with her three older brothers (Francisco “Frankie” Cortez, 22; Pedro Cortez, 20; Ricardo “Ricky” Cortez, 19), who also work at the bakery, her parents (Maria Cortez, 37; Manuel Cortez, 40), and her maternal grandmother (Margarita Cortez, 54). She is very close to her brothers, notably Ricky, because they were her primary caretakers during childhood, despite them only having been a few years older than Val herself. All of her family was born in a border town of Tijuana, Mexico, but they moved out to Texas when Val was six years old. Nevertheless, they have retained their Mexican culture, speaking primarily Spanish at home and partaking in their traditional activities. At some point during middle school, Val noticed some attractions she had to other girls, though it wasn’t until her freshman year of high school that she came out of the closet to more people than just Ricky and some close friends. Frankie and Pedro accepted her with open arms immediately, which was important during the time during which her parents and grandmother had to adjust to the knowledge. By the end of her sophomore year, she found herself feeling more at home with her family, and the air was much less charged between them. Now she finds a comfortable rhythm and predictability in her life, though that will soon be changed.

Abilities: No information.

Sworn By Their Swords

Oof. This whole situation is hella rough. Like...from a psychological standpoint, I know that it happens more often than anyone would probably like, but the part of me that's a huge bleeding heart is so sad for Melissa and so angry at the Jester. XD

Sworn By Their Swords

Alice didn’t respond when the Jester spoke to her, and merely watched as Melissa seemed to lose all sense of self right before her eyes.

She was petrified, frozen in place by the sheer terror of it all. In her life, Alice had seen some things that would make a grown man cry. She’d seen people beheaded, and people with open sores all over, and recently-born babies (which wasn’t as magical as some midwives said). But watching this girl rapidly unraveling.

It was too much. Alice waved the guards away, and they left with the door closing behind them.

And then something novel happened.

The princess began to cry, to weep, for her captive’s lost faith in everything. She knelt down as Melissa grabbed at her ankle and put a hand on each of the other girl’s cheeks, and angled her face so she had little option but to look at her. Though it was disgraceful to weep in front of people, especially prisoners, but she couldn’t help it.
“It’s not time to kill you, Melissa. Life’s not pointless and I won’t kill you. Now more than ever I know that you are a good person, just like the other people I’ve sworn to protect. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” her voice shook as she wiped her tears and forced a smile. “Okay? Shh. Don’t cry. We’ll work it out. You’ll see. It’ll be okay.”

She sat down near the white-haired girl and petted her softly, as any competent mother would have done. She forced her urge to sob back, insisting on at least partially soothing Melissa first. She wouldn’t have her dying now.

That was the problem with Alice’s plan from the get go, as Arthur had tried to explain to her. As soon as she first spoke with the prisoner, she was allowing herself to see her not as a brutal killer, but as a human, and that was not something easily revoked.

"It'll be alright. You'll see. I'll make sure no harm comes to you."

It was optimism to say the least, but the princess had every intention of coming through. Whether or not it was possible was another question, but if Alice knew anything at all, it was that her words had a lot of weight, and if she really worked hard at something and was smart about it, she could do it. Well, up until then...

Sworn By Their Swords

Oh really? I'm glad! I chuckled a bit too when I wrote it.

BTW, Alice talks big and she's confident but she's got no guards around her. >:)

Sworn By Their Swords

Alice smiled as Melissa spoke of her childhood joys, rather liking the softer side of the girl before her. It made her rueful to have to keep her prisoner, but both of them would surely be put to death if the white-haired woman was released due to her niceties alone.

Suddenly, though, the girl shrunk away, causing the blonde to narrow her eyes. Her unspoken question was answered by a finger pointing at a new arrival, and Alice turned and rose to meet the man’s eyes.

She listened to him, the placid, stone cold mask replaced upon her face. They were seemingly at a stalemate, and the chill in the room was noticeable. Alice pursed her lips at the man’s monologue, and she had to take a beat to formulate her reply.
“I shall educate you now for you may not yet know our customs here in Crescentia, but it is considered especially rude to barge into other people’s homes and conversations without invitation,” she said, voice venomous, though not terribly so. Her eyes narrowed at the man, as as she took half of a step toward him, face, body, and soul fully defiant.

“And another thing: people are not trash. No one is worthless, and no one is important enough or powerful enough to view others as such. Not even you with your mask and your cowardice hidden poorly behind it can rightfully call anyone below you.
“Melissa Bellum may have made a few mistakes, but people are not animals to be exterminated before someone attempts to make them educated. I will not give her to you, as you obviously haven’t the capability to grasp the value of a human life. Perhaps when you learn it, you can make amends with her, as she has also shown her desire to be as far from you as possible.”

“ALICE! PRINCESS ALICE!” The voice echoed down the stairs. Seconds later, Arthur, the royal advisor, appeared in the doorway with three guards about him.

“Alice, do not say a word. Just come here and let this man take the prisoner,” he instructed.

“It’s late for that, Arty. Guards, come here and stand around the captive. Protect her from this man. Arthur, go back upstairs and be sure to make arrangements for this man to be escorted out. Tell all guards you see to be on full alert.” The guards obeyed Alice’s order, and so did Arthur after some hesitation. The blonde looked back at the masked man.

“You are not welcome here, so please go without a fuss. I shall not relinquish Melissa Bellum to you, so it is in your best interest to return to the place from which you have crawled out from.”

Sworn By Their Swords

Oh, boy! I'm partially excited and partially terrified to see what he'll do!

Also, I don't plan on using him too terribly often, but I figure he deserves an identity, so here he is, the royal adviser:

Arthur the Wise

Name: Arthur the Wise
Age: 42
Appearance: He is a bit shorter than would be expected of a man, but makes up for it in quickness of stride. He has pale skin with more than a few lines, creases, and wrinkles to show his age. His eyes are dark brown and doubtful, and his medium grey hair is thinning atop his head, so he almost always wears a feathered hat to conceal it which matches his brown attire. He lets his stubble grow out, but it doesn’t give him an unkempt air.
Personality: Arthur is very doubtful and uncurious, and an appropriately pessimistic counter to Alice’s boundless optimism. He is a very good advisor, however, and always gives the best advice he can and does what he knows to do. While he can be fairly stuck in his ways, he is a father figure to the princess and takes that seriously, only acting in her best interest and that of the country, of course.
History: He was the advisor to the King and the Queen in his youth, and due to their inability to rule, he became the Princess’ advisor and main role model in the absence of her parents’ influence over her. Before he was the royal advisor, Arthur was the son of the previous advisor, and learned from him how to deal with royals. After he matured into a man, he went out experiencing, and was even an active knight for a time before his father’s death and his enlistment as the next royal consultant.
Weapons: His only weapon is his sharp tongue.
Abilities: Arthur is especially talented at convincing and manipulating people to his will, though eventually his ploys become predictable and useless. Otherwise, he is just generally a man of much experience and wisdom, and that comes across to others for the most part.
Other: N/A