Stranger

All the king's men.

I know my post is probably gonna sound rude and rather like I'm ragging on you guys, and it kind of is, but I swear it's only because Isabelle just woke up. She gets nicer when she's fully awake, I promise! I don't hate anybody here!

All the king's men.

"I did. Until the bell started ringing." She smiled, but the irritation was still plain on her face, and since she didn't know (she suspected Hawk, but had no proof) who had actually done the bell-ringing (and thus had no one to pointedly glare at), she allowed an irritated huff to suffice. She didn't pay much attention to the conversations swirling around her; she'd never been a morning person, and if the only thing the "grown-ups" (she was technically an adult herself, but she was definitely the youngest in the group) wanted to do was try to out-talk each other, she had no interest in participating. Besides, as far as she could tell, none of them were talking about her or the coming mission, so it probably wasn't important to her anyway. She yawned and stretched in her chair. It was times like these that she missed her days in the orphanage: it might have been a dirty existence, but she had had friends to play with and talk to. Now it was just a bunch of grumpy old men (and Cora, who did seem nice) seeing who could puff out their chest further. Absently, she poured a cup of tea and sipped it slowly, bringing both legs up on the table as she did so.

All the king's men.

Isabelle brushed herself off as she got back to her feet. Vestiago was already continuing downstairs, so after readjusting herself, she headed downstairs herself. Down in the main lobby, nearly everyone had already woken up. It seemed Edwin was the late sleeper, which surprised Isabelle; she'd have thought the military man would have been up before the bells had gone off. Ah well. Finding an empty seat at the table, Isabelle waved a greeting to Cora, tried not to make eye contact with Solomon, flat out ignored Stuffed-Shirt, and sat down. "So, do we get breakfast?" she asked.

Farewell, Summer Days

"Mmph lk a rft bntn," came the face-down reply.

"Er... what was that?"

Yuki lifted her head. "I said, 'more like a reset button'. Day one and I'm already tripping over my own feet." Yuki stood up, brushed off her school robes, and readjusted her Asauchi, which was currently at her hip. "Thanks anyway, though. Maybe I'll see you around." With a quick bow, she turned and walked (much more carefully) to the academy entrance. Her first class would be starting soon, and she didn't want to miss it!

Or so she thought.

About two minutes before the opening bell, she managed to make her way to homeroom, the first class for every new student (since there were about 400 first-year students, all of them were placed into one very large lecture hall classroom). She was eager to learn about hunting Hollows, fighting with Zanpakuto, and all kinds of Kido techniques. She was not, however, interested in the slightest about the earliest history of Soul Society as a whole. And yet, for two long hours she and her fellows were forced to listen as their instructor, an old man by the name of Gazakura-sensei, droned endlessly about how so-and-so did this thing and such-and-such did that thing and everybody was like "Yay, let's make Soul Society!" What a drag... Yuki thought to herself. She nearly fell asleep at one point, but quickly realized the folly of such a thing: one student actually had fallen asleep. Gazakura-sensei, upon seeing this, reached into his robe and pulled out a small weighted club. He then hurled it at the sleeping student, nailing him squarely in the forehead and knocking him over the back of his chair. Yuki paid significantly more attention afterward.

As class finally ended, Gazakura-sensei called out, "Everyone, don't forget to check your lockers. Your class schedules and textbooks have all been delivered and will be waiting in your assigned locker." Yuki had been assigned locker 213, which appeared to be located a few halls down from her homeroom (Well, at least I'm used to a lot of walking, she thought to herself with a sigh). Heading down to the 200 hall, Yuki glanced up at the lockers and walked, counting as she went. "201... 203... 205... yada yada yada... Ah, here we go! Two thir-"

SLAM!

Yuki walked face-first into an open locker door, sending her to the ground with a thud. The locker's owner, a young girl with short brown hair, peeked at her from the other side.

"Ah! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine..." Yuki assured the girl. Actually, her head was pounding and she could see a certain number of dots floating across her vision, but she wasn't about to tell anyone. "And besides, it was kinda my fault. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"Um..." came the brown-haired girl's reply. "I'm actually over here."

Yuki glanced over, unable to determine exactly which of the two or three girls in front of her she should now address; they all looked identical.

"Here, maybe this will help," the girl said. She mumbled something that Yuki couldn't quite make out, then her finger started glowing. She poked Yuki in the forehead with it, and suddenly the pain and blurry vision were gone. Yuki blinked several times; sure enough, now there were no spots and only one other girl.

"Whoa... Were those healing arts?" she asked. Healing arts had become a popular, though rare, form of Kido manipulation. Those who used them were usually assigned to Squad 4, though some who were able to master both healing and Zanjutsu, the art of wielding a Zanpakuto, were assigned to more combat-oriented squadrons like 6 or 10.

The other girl nodded. "Mhm. I can't use them very well, but I can at least heal minor injuries." She offered a hand. "I'm Cora. Looks like we'll be locker neighbors."

Yuki stood to her feet and clasped Cora's hand. "Yuki. Looks like it. Hey, what class do you have next?" she asked as she opened her own locker. Sure enough, there was her class schedule and a small bundle of books. She cringed at the sight of her history textbook; it was easily the thickest one in there.

"Um..." Cora checked her schedule. "Looks like Zanjutsu."

Yuki's eyes scanned her own schedule, then began to glow with excitement; she had Zanjutsu next as well! And Kido practice after that! Yes! she thought to herself. That totally makes up for having history first thing in the morning! "Oh, hey, me too," was the only thing she said out loud, but the excitement was plainly written on her face. She couldn't wait to start training!

"Oh, nice! Wanna walk together?" Cora asked.

"Sure!" Yuki replied. The two of them grabbed the appropriate books, slammed their lockers shut, and headed toward class, Yuki eagerly looking forward to cracking some heads.

All the king's men.

Isabelle knew, even before falling asleep, that she'd have a better night's sleep in this bed than she'd ever had in her whole life. And she had been right. The way the silk sheets fell across her form like water, the way the mattress molded to match her body perfectly, the way the pillow was firm enough to hold her head yet gentle enough to allow her to sink into it... It was official. It was all just perfect.

Until that absolute monster of a bell started ringing.

Isabelle flipped to her side, her mind still not 100% awake, in an attempt to fall back asleep, but the accursed bell kept ringing. Finally, she sat up with a resounding "uuuUUUAAAAAAAGH!" and chucked a pillow two-handed toward the sound of the bell. She nailed it, but the bell didn't stop for a few seconds longer. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes with a yawn, she grumpily slid out of bed and stalked over to the mirror (it was a small one, but it was sufficient). Her hair was a tousled mess. She sighed; she loved having such long hair, but it usually made mornings a hassle. In answer, she reached into her left boot (she only just realized she had been so amazed by the hideout and bedroom that she had forgotten to take her clothes off) and pulled out a small comb. Running through her hair a few times, she finally managed to tame her wild locks. Putting them back up into two long pigtails, she straightened out her clothing as best she could (which basically involved attempting to smooth some of the wrinkled parts with her hands). Satisfied that she at least did not look like a street urchin, she opened the bedroom door and proceeded to head downstairs.

WHUMP! Thud.

Upon leaving her room, Isabelle ran face-first into what appeared to be a small mountain that had somehow grown overnight, the force of the sudden impact knocking her down on her rear. Glancing up, she realized it was not, in fact, an in-grown mountain, but a man.

"Oh, Vestiago. Sorry, I didn't see you there. I'm not sure how, though," she added with a grin. She must really be groggy to have missed the giant standing in front of her.

OT's Rap Battle Championships!

Gah, your raps are long.
Do you mind? Just shut it.
You got a lot of words,
But your skills? They don't cut it.

I admit I might be amateur,
And when it comes to rap battles
I am never sure
If I got the skills to
Step up to the mic
But I can surely put down
A Captain Picard look-alike!

You talk so dang tough
But you're completely see-through.
My name is Stranger
Hello, how do you do?
At risk of sounding boastful,
My skills are rather myriad.
Said not to challenge you?
You ain't no challenge period!

Rites Of Passage (a High Fantasy/Forgotten Realms Adventure)

Name: Rogk
Age: 13
Gender: Male
Race: Half-Orc
Class: Level 0 Barbarian

What you want to be when you grow up?
Rogk seeks to become a great and powerful warrior, accepting and defeating any who would challenge him, and conquering all those he himself challenges.

Who is your mentor?
The Orc children Rogk grew up with used to pick on him and beat him up because he was only half orc, and thus was not as physically powerful as they were. Over time, he became strong enough to fight back, and even win on some occasions. Now those children beat him up out of a sense of camaraderie and respect, and he returns the beatings in kind.

Brief Biography: Rogk was born the child of a human male and his Orc mother. These Orcs were a nomadic tribe, often packing up and moving whenever the local prey would grow scarce. When next they moved, the human left for his own home, leaving Rogk's mother to raise their child alone. Growing up as a Half-Orc among full Orcs was never easy. Children would mock and attack Rogk for being "half-blooded", and many adults would simply ignore Rogk or hit him. As time went on, Rogk began to retreat into the local wilderness to get away from the village for a time. Slowly, as time went on, Rogk began to get stronger. At the age of 10, he could hold his own against another Orc child. By the age of 12, he could win. Through his time in the wilds, he began to learn about the different animals and their different habits, even managing to befriend a few of them here and there (though not yet at a level to tame them). At the age of 13, Rogk officially came of age. Despite his Half-Orc status, he was given the same rite of passage as other Orc children: he was given a large weapon (he chose the battleaxe) and told to go kill something. While most children stuck to killing bears or sabre-tooths, Rogk had other plans in mind. He swore in front of the whole tribe that he would not return with anything less than the head of a dragon, to prove that he was strong. Naturally, the entire tribe burst out laughing at him, but he meant it: that very afternoon, he said goodbye to his mother, packed up his things, and left the village behind him. Today, Rogk is wandering, searching for worthy opponents to make himself stronger as he works his way up to standing toe to toe with a mighty winged dragon.

What person(s) of interest do you know where you are from? Who all do you have a relationship with?
Rogk knows his entire tribe, as it is a smaller tribe, and thus more tightly knit. He has a special relationship with the Orc children of his age, who have come to respect him as a fighter.

Equipment:
- Battleaxe (still clumsy at wielding it)
- Clothing (and by "clothing", I mean a cloth around his legs, a belt, and a tiger pelt on his back)
- Sleeping Mat
- Water Skin
- A few rations
- 5 silver

Class Skills:
- Survival
- Tame Animal
- Hand-to-hand fighting (not like martial arts, but straight up fist-fighting)
- (still in development) Battleaxe Proficiency

Life Skills:
- Can set up/break down a campsite (pitch tent, start fire, etc.)
- Can follow an animal's tracks
- Actually a decent cook

Farewell, Summer Days

The Shinigami Academy: the place where even the weakest of potential recruits could become a deadly combatant in the ever-present war against Hollows. Even now, thousands of students were scattered around the courtyard, all wearing the official uniform of the academy. Some looked quite confident and excited to be where they were. Others looked terrified of what the academy held for them. Mizukara Yuki stood at the gates as hundreds of other potential shinigami flooded past her, unable to move from her spot.

Chest pounding, palms sweating, vision going dark... Okay, maybe this was a bad idea...

Yuki stood at 5'8", with midnight black hair that fell to the small of her back, flawless pale skin, and a lithe body. She had been born in the small town of Yokusho about 140 years ago. At age 17, both she and her parents were killed by a Hollow attack. Her parents' souls, regrettably, had both been devoured. However, a shinigami had managed to kill the Hollow right as it was about to devour her. Unfortunately, during the initial attack, Yuki had been grievously wounded, and soon succumbed to her injuries. The shinigami apologized for being too late, and performed a soul burial, sending Yuki into Soul Society. In the Rukongai, she was adopted into a small group of people who sympathized with her. After learning from them that anyone devoured by a Hollow would never be able to reach Soul Society, Yuki went nearly ten days in mourning, refusing to speak to or even acknowledge anybody. Finally, the eldest member of her new family told her of the Shinigami Academy, a place where shinigami could be trained to defeat Hollows like the one who had devoured her family. Yuki perked up immediately and rushed to take the exam.

She failed. Twice.

Assured she could try again if she ever wished, Yuki went home and began training furiously. She trained for 118 solid years, doing everything she could to strengthen her reiatsu. She ran every day, eventually able to race all the way to another part of the Rukongai (and even getting lost on some occasions). She found a few guys willing to help her train by fighting with her (which led to several bruises on her part, but did develop her toughness). She even started lifting any heavy object she could find to build up her physical strength. Finally, after all her rigorous training, she passed; only just, but she did successfully pass the test. So, she was given her Asauchi, which was shorter than an average Zanpakuto, and her academy uniform. And now, here she was, standing before the gateway that would lead to her future within the Shinigami: a future of hunting Hollows, of becoming a seated officer, of eventually unleashing her Bankai and becoming a Captain, and perhaps even one day, a future of saving Soul Society itself.

At least, that had been her future as she had approached the academy. Now, standing before the gate, her future looked highly similar to a blackout. Her legs refused to move, and her heart was hammering in her chest. She was being assaulted by all those "what if"s: "What if I'm not strong enough?" "What if they made a mistake?" "What if I embarrass myself?" "What if all my training was for nothing?" As the moments ticked by, Yuki swallowed and took one deep breath after another. Eventually, her nerves slowly started to calm down. She took one more deep breath, and said to herself, "Okay. Let's do this. Here I go!" She shouted the last part as she raced forward. She took one step, then tripped and fell flat on her face. As she laid there, staring at the ground, she let out a groan. "Great. Here's to day one." If her Zanpakuto had had a form by then, she was almost certain it'd be laughing at her.

Farewell, Summer Days

This is a 1x1 RP between myself and SuperNinjaMagi. The story revolves around two students of Shinigami Academy: Zakito Haro (played by Super) and Mizukara Yuki (played by me). This is an AU of Bleach, and will likely not see any canon characters.

Dreamers in Kalos 1x1x1

Uh... Are we still going forward? Cuz I kinda want to keep going forward.