The Book Thief

When Five Becomes Four [Mirth and Book Thief]

Nathan fell quiet, there was nothing to say. Under normal circumstances, it would've been nice to see his friends again, but at the moment, he wanted nothing more than to be alone. "Long time no see, Arty" there were no sarcastic quips or cocky retorts. He had been rude, and maybe he had been an ass, but right then and there Nate couldn't have cared less. He turned his head to take a good look at Arty, it was clear that she hadn't been doing very well either.

"Arty! Nate and I were just talking about the weather." Audrey hopped up from her seat and feigned a grin. She hadn't seen either of them in awhile and she really didn't want their first meeting to start off on the wrong foot. She missed them, and if weren't for the sobbing people and solemn atmosphere she would have pulled them both into a hug. The girl was dressed in a knee-length black dress and despite her fake smile, it was clear that she had been crying too. "So, two years? It feels longer than that." The girl motioned for Arty to take a seat beside them and scooted over towards Nate to make room. "Everything is so different," Audrey knew that if she didn't try to keep the mood light and happy she'd end up bawling, and she didn't want to do that, not now when the atmosphere already felt so heavy.

"Of course things are different," Nathan couldn't stop himself, "Noah is dead." This time there was no venom in his voice, it was a simple statement and he regretted it the moment it left his mouth. Ever since he had received the news, he had been angrier, his temper would get out of control from time to time and he ended up saying things he didn't mean, ended up hurting those who tried to help.

"You really think I don't know that?" Audrey's voice was nothing more than a squeak.

Nathan's shoulders sagged and he buried his face in his hands. Treating his friends like this, it was wrong, and being angry did not justify his actions. He had enough sense to know that much. "I'm sorry," Nate ran a hand through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut. "Arty, Audrey, it really is good to see you again, I mean it." He let out a sigh before looking around. "Where's Matt?"

"Noah's death hit him really hard," she had only seen him once since Noah's had died and he had been a completely different person. Audrey wanted so badly to try and get him to smile but she had been too shocked to do anything. Occasionally Ross would tell her about how Matt was doing, but lately he wasn't doing well. Then again, none of them were. It was hard to imagine a world without Noah Logan and it was hard to believe that their group of five had become a group of four. There was a gap that none of them would be able to fill and it hurt. "I wonder why he did it?" She hadn't planned to say it out loud, but it came out as a little more than a whisper.

Her eyes flitted towards the white coffin and Audrey remembered the cheery ten-year-old from art class. The first day they met, she had been hesitant and shy but Noah's cheerfulness was contagious and before she knew it they were painting butterflies and crude circles. Noah became one of her closest friends and it was him who introduced her to Arty. Memories of lazy summer days flooded her memories. Back then, Arty, Noah and her would go biking around town then they'd stop for ice pops at Fruity Delights.

Sleepovers, volunteering for animal shelters, meeting Nathan and Matt for the first time, all those memories came flooding back.

"Hey Arty, Nate, remember that time in eight grade?"

Nathan arched an eyebrow at Audrey's sudden question. "What are you taking about?"

"That time we all snuck into an abandoned building on Halloween, the time Arty scared you to death." She was trying extra hard to make them smile. Nathan didn't seem to appreciate the reminder and instead closed his eyes.

"Those were good times."

Before more could be said, a priest made his way towards the podium and everyone was asked to rise in prayer.

Posting order or free posting?

I agree with Kaga, a strict posting order can slow RPs down. In my opinion, it can sometimes be the death of a RP.

I was once a part of roleplay that handed players numbers. Number one would post first followed by two then three then so on and so forth, but somewhere down the road one of the players vanished and we had to pause the RP for a few weeks while the GM looked for a replacement. It was definitely a motivation killer, but that wasn't the only problem. We could never post when we felt like we wanted to or when we were free to do so because we had to wait for our turn. It was a problematic because sometimes we'd be free when it wasn't our turn but busy when it finally was,

A looser posting order tends to do just fine, and it makes the RP move at a quicker pace.

I prefer it when GMs create posting cycles.

Example: Post once every 2-4 days.

The GM's post is the start of a new cycle, the players post after the GM and if all of them gets a post in before 4 days the GM posts again, if not then the GM waits for the four day mark and posts again whether everyone else has posted or not. That way people need to be active or left behind, but it isn't chaotic and gives everyone time as well. If the GM feels like things have been too fast they can opt to wait a few days before starting another cycle. It's kind of like an order, but people are free to post anytime between the given amount of time.

When Five Becomes Four [Mirth and Book Thief]

I'm back and ;A; that flashback, 8D and an angry Arty, yes, yes!

That flashback makes me wish Noah were alive, let's go and raise him from the dead together. I'll work on a post tomorrow ^^ How have you been doing on this fine weekend?

When Five Becomes Four [Mirth and Book Thief]

Haha. this is the power of Noah's cuteness 8D! Imagine how bad it is for the OCs *throws around confetti*

When Five Becomes Four [Mirth and Book Thief]

We can figure it out in the future OwO or have them suffer even more by never learning why.

Or maybe they find a note one day, haha. Indeed, Noah was such a sweetie D: which makes his death ten times worse for everyone.

When Five Becomes Four [Mirth and Book Thief]

Poor, poor, Ross ;A;

Scratch that, poor everyone >__<! And speaking of reasons for Noah's death. Hmm, everyone thought he was pretty happy but he ended up killing himself, coming up with a reason will be somewhat hard. It couldn't be his home life since Ross probably would have noticed? Any ideas~?

When Five Becomes Four [Mirth and Book Thief]

Ross is basically the babysitter, the poor guy ^^"

Oh well, at least most of them are pretty pleasant when not arguing. Haha, is it wrong, but I actually do want to see them snapping and getting into this big fight sometime during the summer, maybe play the blame game a little.

When Five Becomes Four [Mirth and Book Thief]

Cool, I think we're on opposite sides of the world since it's early morning here. I come from the future! Pfft, that'd be interesting to see. Natey would stick to words though, hurtful ones. It's up to Matt and Audrey to stop them!

When Five Becomes Four [Mirth and Book Thief]

Poor Nathan, haha, or probably not since he deserves it :P! He's kind of similar, when upset he has a tendency to bottle up emotions and ends up snapping instead. I can see these two having an explosive argument.

Also, if you're wondering why I'm here, I don't have to leave till around noon, haha.

When Five Becomes Four [Mirth and Book Thief]

Haha, now that would be grand! And posted ^^

I hope it's alright, I went ahead and had Audrey bump into Nathan and I placed the Logans in the first row. If you want anything edited, just say so and I'll fix up my post as soon as possible. Also, Nathan is being a jerk and will probably continue to be one to everyone else. Arty will definitely need to teach him a lesson xD