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"You're me from the future, and you came back to the past to keep me from suffering like you did?" asks my childhood self. "Something like that," I reply as I load the gun.
3 days ago
Current
"You're me from the future, and you came back to the past to keep me from suffering like you did?" asks my childhood self. "Something like that," I reply as I load the gun.
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4 days ago
That bot left a number and email. Someone should cast "Unending Newsletters" for them.
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25 days ago
Writing horror is super difficult because it requires telling a story while shutting up at the same time. It's fear of the UNKNOWN, not fear of the well-written descriptions.
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2 mos ago
Say "thanks," when they compliment you and smile. Watch more of what's going on around you instead of staying inside your head. If eye contact's hard, stare at her forehead.
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2 mos ago
@ColdAtlus: Cheems.
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Bio
On CST time, United States. Typically busy most of the week and do most posting/replying on weekends.
"I can tell you with complete and utter honesty, I have not intentionally committed any crime in my time here." For the first time Connor actually managed to look the catgirl in the eye, though it wasn't for very long and the action seemed to cause him to immediately lose whatever nerve he'd worked up for that statement. But, as he sheepishly looked away--out of shyness, not nerves--he hoped, if she believed anything he'd said, that she would believe that.
Maybe I'll contemplate murder, but only in like, self-defense. I'm not a bad person. he thought to himself, clenching his jaw for just a moment. He just...couldn't trust anyone, yet. Not the people he'd come here with, not the natives. Not until he was strong enough that he couldn't be easily hurt by the mistakes he was sure to make.
"Th-thank you very much." he said politely to the waitress when she handed him the wrapped meal. Clutching it like it was valuable treasure, he meekly followed Meira out into what little remained of evening light.
Oh good, they have some form of street lighting. That should mean we're a little further into the "urbanization" phase of medieval history, right?
"Yes please!" came his immediate answer when the adventurer asked if he needed help finding his way back. As far as directions went, he thought he could probably have managed, but he wasn't walking alone in some strange city he didn't know, into a slum that he'd already seen was full of those the rest of the city considered undesirables. But, as they were walking...
"Hey, another random question, but uh...do you know of any like...famous inventors? And what they're famous for...inventing?"
Thinking of "urbanization," I already have proof that I'm not the only isekai'd person here. So I think it's safe to assume we weren't the first either. And if I was from a world with better tech than here, I'd damn sure try to get rich...
Just like that one guy, in that one anime, with the three super hot but really dumb girls.
When they eventually made it back to the shack, however, Connor would rush into the dilapidated dwelling with an excited grin.
"Hey, can you hear yet? I found food--!"
The shack was empty.
"Oh no." He dropped the sandwich. The blue haired boy practically threw himself to his knees, scrambling over to the roach-infested hole he'd made earlier and looking under the floorboards. "No, no, no..." He practically threw the tarp into another corner of the room. Nothing but dust lay underneath it. "Oh shit, no, oooooh noooo!"
With a traumatic expression on his face, he turned back to Meira and actually grabbed her arm.
"M-my friend's g-gone! They couldn't move w-without help, they're gone! Someone took them!" The guards? Did the guards come to investigate? Or did some squatter try to, well, squat? Cassius had said slimes weren't considered bothersome enough to kill on sight, but what else could've happened?! There was no blood--or slime--trail, was there?!
Wait, idiot, the messages!
"Please please please please..." he let go of Meira's arm and started pacing frantically as he composed the mental "spell" or whatever it was. "Pickup pickup pickup..."
WHERE ARE YOU!? ARE YOU OKAY!?
EMERGENCY! SLIME IS GONE DO YOU KNOW WHERE!?
Connor felt a sense of helplessness that utterly terrified him. Were they dead? Lost and alone? Did something eat them? Did someone attack them? If they found out the slime had a human mind or soul or whatever, would they torture them for their secrets?
Nothing. Not even eyes or antennae or anything. For a moment Connor's overactive imagination, completely overdosed on all the tropes he mindlessly consumed instead of working on anything productive, managed to activate his dulled sense of empathy. To imagine what it would be like, trapped inside such a body...
But then there was this poor soul. No eyeballs, no mouth, not even a functioning spine...
Don't worry, won't leave u alone.
"Uuuuungh!" He grabbed his head as he shook it back and forth, trying to focus. What could he do? "Damnit, damnit, no, no, no!"
@Remram You don't have to wait in "post order" to match your number or anything, just treat this like a sort of montage jumping between different characters. It's just, "How does your character perform each test? What's going through their head?" Etc.
Spells work like most special powers in anime. People shout out things like "Wind Magic: Whirling Dervish!" or "Cyclone Spear!" and then destructive stuff happens. I would assume based on what's seen in series that spells require a minimum expenditure of mana in many cases (can't cast them if you get below that threshold) but that pouring more Mana in it makes it bigger, more destructive, faster, etc.
What exactly are the different targets like? How big/thick are they? What are they made of?
How quickly should Kohra expect herself to run out of mana? Not being familiar with the manga, I have no idea how much power Kohra can put out before running out of mana.
What are magic bullets?
1. Like a 1 foot wide, 1 foot long, 1 inch thick square, made of stone, with a glowing bullseye on 'em.
2. There's not like a hard and fast MP system; generally, when someone has spent a lot of mana it's equivalent to physical exercise. If you're "tapped out," you're breathing hard, sweating, feeling dizzy, all that kinda stuff. So just sort of think about how much "magical effort" you imagine Kohra expending per spell and describe things accordingly. I mean, Players are expected to be able to pass the exam, lol, so even if you're making it hard on her I don't think she'd pass out after the first events.
3. Magic Bullets are like your "default" spell, just a ball of magical energy that can be fired offensively. Like a generic ki blast in Dragon Ball Z, or like Magic Missile in DnD if it was a cantrip instead of a leveled spell. It can have qualities of the element or just be generic "mana." Again, depending on the amount of mana and the skill of the user, though, some people can "shoot harder" than others. I think there was one throwaway guy in the manga who didn't have a lot of flashy spells, but had mastered Magic Bullet well enough to use it like a sniper rifle.
So someone like Sol would wait for about 4 hours, oh boy XDXD
Sorry, I meant that each "player" has their own "station," on the two sides, not that literally one person is taking up each entire testing ground at the time! The Officials are constantly replacing the tiles and columns as they're destroyed, so neither section will run out.
Think of it as like, there's an official standing there, the Player walks up, a set of the tiles floats over, and they're replaced as the player destroys them. Some distance away, there's another official, watching over another person, doing the same thing. On the other side, one official might be watching multiple columns, but if somebody's gonna use a big boom spell the officials will clear others out of the way, etc.
Does one person go at a time, or are several people lined up? I know there are multiple columns, but would rather check. If there are multiple people and the floating platforms are close enough I suppose 'kill stealing' could happen?
People are called up one at a time per station, but Players should just post with the assumption that everyone's called in order, they're the only one on the given range at the time, and so forth. We don't need to wait for Official responses in-between posts, and other players can't really interfere in another's test...yet. *ye olde winky face*
Okay so, REALLY LONG POST has been updated! Apologies, I included a TL;DR at the bottom! If anyone's unclear on anything or has other questions, please let me know!
Feel free to do the trials in your own way, within reason of course (nobody should be able to like, completely atomize one of the stone columns or crack the audience barrier, for instance). This is a chance for the characters to really show out if they want to, with the big booms and the pew pews, before they try to test us on things that require actual brainpower/creativity! XD
@Expllo@Databug@imia@Xaltwind As Hikari and Kohra continued on their way, they would witness the aftermath of Parin's little prank on the pompadour'd noble and his pals. The spray of water drew a few gasps, and plenty of laughter afterwards as the nobles were shocked out of their wits--but, the little magical outburst hadn't been harmful, and aside from a few shouts of "Watch it over there!" and the like, it didn't seem like any officials would interfere.
Pompadour and his lackeys squealed in surprise and tumbled over each other as the water pushed them to the ground. They spluttered and pushed each other in a scramble to get back on their feet, and by the time they'd finally done so the perpetrator was nowhere to be seen. Several others in the crowd--both noble and commoner--were enjoying the spectacle and being none-too-subtle about it. Pompadour's face, now partially covered by his drooping (yet amazingly, still stylistically intact) hair turned a swollen shade of red as he glared all around them.
"Whoever did that, you'd better pray I don't find you!" he angrily howled, shaking his fist at the sky. After a few fruitless moments of searching the crowd, the three--still wringing water from their clothes--made their way inside with the rest of the applicants...
Hikari and Kohra would enter the same way Camilla had earlier, finding themselves among the now quite thick crowd. They could see Tristan standing further towards the front, arms crossed as he waited patiently. On the other side of the room, Camilla stood out unmistakably, though she seemed to be in conversation with another fellow and the girl who had sprayed the nobles.
"That would be my question, too, hah!" Gunnar laughed as Parin questioned Camilla's definition of cute. However, the red-clad man wiggled his cigarette between his lips as he winked at the busty bluette. "But, I think the lady means 'cute' like, say...a little dog. Not the same kinda 'cute' I'd use for, say, a pretty face. Am I right...cutie?"
From their position, Camilla and Parin would be able to see Hikari and Kohra enter...as well as a girl who seemed to be trailing behind them unnoticed, yet was watching the pair the way a snake watches a rat before striking out... @Th3King0fChaos As Illios told Bryant his name, and where he was from, and excitedly explained some of the perks of his magic, the other boy nodded along enthusiastically as he crunched through his onion rings, then finished off his kebab. Brushing crumbs on his pants, he looked up at the portcullis as the two of them neared the coliseum.
"Oh, my magic?" the boy repeated after Illios's question...with a suddenly coy smirk. He rolled his shoulders, looking out of the corner of his eye as he began to increase his walking pace. "Well, it's really nothing special, ya know, not compared with something as rare as Sun Magic--!" The two of them had entered the arena now, and suddenly Bryant's long legs loped forward. He gave Illios one last grin--though this one wasn't quite so welcoming.
"Maybe you'll see it if we get matched up, though! No worries, I'll keep everything you said about yours in mind!"
Then he shouldered in between some other people and ducked down--aside from a ripple in between bodies, he was gone into the crowd. @ERode "...You didn't have many playmates as a kid, didja?" the huntress replied before Kreszenz dropped down to the streets. Shrugging, the muscular girl performed her own impressive parkour maneuver to get down from the rooftop and quickly followed, though not so much out of pursuit for the lightning-clad young lady as out of a similar desire to get into the coliseum. While Kreszenz stopped for nothing, the huntress did pause for a moment to laugh at the three nobles who had been soaked with water by another contestant. When the three came angrily stomping towards the portcullis, however, she increased her pace until she was shoulder to shoulder with the ozone-scented heiress.
"Welp, good luck to ya, if ya want it! Name's Jayde Wakeley, by the by!" With another gap-toothed grin and a wave of her hand, she separated from Kreszenz and was soon lost among the throng. @Remram "As much as I would like to do that," Isvelt sniffed as he folded his arms, "Look at the crowd--we'd better get inside." True, it seemed like the streets had thinned considerably. Maverick fidgeted impatiently again.
"Oh geez, oh geez! C'mon, guys!" Gesturing to Ludo and the royal with one broad arm, he once again sped up his pace just like when he'd crashed into them. But by following behind the giant, they found their own paths quite clear. Soon they were passing under the iron bars, just behind a gaggle of lesser nobles at whom Isvelt wrinkled his nose.
"Why do they look like they've taken a dip in the river? You'd almost think they'd been raised...well, like you." he muttered to Ludo.
Once inside the coliseum, however, the disadvantage of hanging out with Maverick was revealed--it was really hard to see over him. @Duthguy "David Abelona? Haven't heard of him. He a Commoner pal of yours?" The man scribbled in his notepad, then looked at Albie expectantly--but when no other information followed, and the boy suggested they move somewhere more private, the old man rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Hey, if you don't trust me, kid, that's your problem. Things are gonna start soon and I gotta get a good seat in the audience..." He looked towards the portcullis, and seemed about to leave...but then, he sighed again and looked back at Albie.
"Look, you seem like you're outta your depth here, farm-boy. I'll give ya a freebie." The old man adjusted the collar of his hood. "Watch out for a noble named Snyder Glassard. He's arrogant, but with good reason--an academic genius, but no slouch with combat magic. His element is Glass, fittingly enough, and supposedly he's a bit of a sadist." The man pocketed his notebook, and began shuffling away from Albie.
"If ya come up against him in sparring, might be better to forfeit!"
With the streets now almost empty, Albie would no doubt be quick to make his way inside the coliseum. Again, he spotted that blue-haired girl, talking to another girl and a man who seemed like he might be a noble, but it was hard to tell. @Agunimon As Lanner's siblings made their way up into the audience chambers, the pink-haired girl would work her way through the crowd of other participants to find herself standing closer to the front, where the open skies beamed down on her with a welcoming warmth. Next to her was a quiet young man with red hair, who didn't seem to know what to do with one of his hands. His fingers kept fiddling with the tall collar of his cloak. While it hid the expression of his lips, and his eyes were fixed on the far wall of the circular arena, his breathing was clearly nervous.
Of course, he and she were only two of hundreds now cramming into the room, all in different stages of excitement, anxiety, and determination... @SilverPaw Solveig would find herself entering at the back of the crowd, though not the last to enter. She stood next to a tall, brown-haired-and-brown-eyed young man who seemed to be quite intently watching a blue-haired young woman--was it, perhaps, a crush? Love at first sight, even?
As the crowd shifted, however, she would catch a glimpse--just that--of the man she'd encountered in the alleyway. He seemed to be hugging himself, and his hunch was more pronounced than before. Was he sick as the official had employed, due to that scammer selling potions? Or was it just because he was an unsociable sort, thrust into this claustrophobia inducing crowd? Then he was gone again. Another rolling drumline and trumpet blare marked the beginning of the Magic Knight Selection Exam. All within the arena heard and felt the rumbling as the huge doors behind them slowly closed. This was it. They could only hope they had prepared themselves for this moment...
Especially those who had been given their orders.
Sometime before the Exam...
"...but what if any of us are caught?"
"Caught doing what? You have as much right to take the Exam as anyone else, don't you?" A handful of hooded figures, of different heights and builds, met in a secluded place. One spoke to the others with the authority of an adult speaking to children. The others listened with the obedience of worshipers following a priest's sermon.
"There is no crime here. The reason you must keep your involvement secret, is merely so that others may judge your words for their own merit, and not make presuppositions." The leader walked down the line of individuals, patting one on the shoulder here, giving another one a respectful nod there. "And once you are within the Magic Knights, do not blurt out everything at the first opportunity. Feed them little by little...like leading a chicken to the coop, one kernel of corn at a time."
"What about the nobles? Or what if someone starts an argument with us--?"
"Don't make the mistake of thinking we have no friends at all among the nobility. Were some of you not such, before you joined our cause?" The leader chuckled as if they themselves didn't believe their words. "There are some who will listen. As for those who argue--keep it in good faith. Let them win here or there, if it assuages their mood. Especially if your refusal to engage them makes them angry--it will only make you look better in the eyes of the other knights, and them look the fool."
The leader turned their back and paced away, before addressing their agents once more.
"All you must do, is remind the Magic Knights of who they truly serve. Then, when the time is right...they, too, will join our revolution!" He pumped one fist high, and those behind him did the same. "For the People!"
"For the People!" repeated several voices as one.
The hooded figures would soon disperse. Come the day of the Exam, there would be no cloaks or hidden faces. They would be out in the open, like all the other applicants...
Inside the Coliseum
"Attention, all applicants!" An older gentleman, dressed in green robes with a white stole, held a Magic Tool shaped like a large, conical horn to address everyone in the chamber. "Please stand in orderly fashion and remain silent! Momentarily, we shall explain this year's trials for the Magic Knights Selection Exam!" In the seats above the arena floor, the audience clapped for a short while, then they too fell silent. From somewhere, a magical spotlight swept across the coliseum before falling on the nine, high backed seats in the balcony!
"We will now introduce our beloved Captains!" Another dramatic bit of music played, as nine figures walked out from a hidden alcove somewhere, and made their way to their seats...
"Captain of the Golden Dawn--Argos Everhart!" The first man bowed gracefully, his long blond hair billowing.
"Of the Silver Eagles--Helve Silva!" Next to the taller men she stood between, the woman looked almost like a doll.
"Crimson Lions--Azarleon Vermillion!" This man smiled so charmingly several young women in the crowd swooned, while waving his hand in perfect parade manner.
"Blue Rose! Jennifer Greenvalley!" The cheery-faced blonde woman spun in place before putting two gauntlet-covered fingers to her cheeks with a big, shiny smile.
"Green Mantis, Giles Lavaretz! Coral Peacock, Owen Walder! Aqua Deer, Bisera Melanthius!" A pirate, a priest, and a witch walked up to their seats. The sea-dog actually leaped up onto the balcony, prompting a cheer from those watching and generally hyping up the crowd. The priest, a huge beast of a man, smiled but nonetheless pulled the showboat back down with a gentle hand. The beautiful woman wearing the wide-brimmed hat, however, worked the crowd in a different way--blowing a kiss that many of the male applicants would swear was directed at them in particular.
"The Purple Orca, Grant Eisenfaust!" Compared to the three before him, the next captain merely approached his seat and sat down with no excitement whatsoever. He didn't even acknowledge the crowd or the applicants, merely folding his arms and sitting with ramrod straight posture. It was a wonder he could even do so comfortably, considering he was covered head to toe in black armor that hid every feature...
"And our newest captain, please welcome the leader of the Black Bulls--" Many of the applicants began to mutter as the next figure approached, causing the announcer to speak up louder, "--Captain Birusk of Elysia, to his first Selection!" Now the mutters became outright gasps as a ripple of gossip spread among the applicants.
"That's an Elf?!" "I heard about him, he's only been a Magic Knight for a year and he's already a Captain!" "What about that one in the armor, ain't he new too?" "Yeah, but he was here last year! They both went up through the ranks super fast!" "Ain't no way he's stronger than Argos!"
Of course, there were other exclamations regarding the other Captains as well.
"Princess Helve is as beautiful as--!" "Hey, be quiet! People aren't supposed to call her that, it's not official!" "Oi, don't shove me! She's definitely gonna get picked as the Royal Heir, and you know it!"
"They call that guy the Two Headed Flame Demon? He doesn't look that scary to me..." "Don't let him hear you say that! They say his training is brutal!" "But he's so handsome~!" "He's already married, though..." "W-what!?! NO! </3"
"Hell yeah, Captain Jenny! I hope she'll pick me!" "The Blue Rose only picks guys as errand boys, stupid!" "What?! But she's so strong, she'll definitely like strong dudes like me!" "I heard she once pulverized a whole mountain with one punch, man..."
"Captain Giles looks so cool!" "Surely he's not actually a pirate, right? Would they let a criminal be a Magic Knight?" "He's a real sailor, though! They say he's had all kinds of badass adventures--sunken treasure, sea monsters, the works!"
"Is that guy a priest?" "Yeah, that's Father Owen! I've seen him a lot, going around the different orphanages and doing charity and stuff!" "He's so huge! The guy must be like, six and a half feet tall!"
"Captain Bisera is crazy hot!" "I dunno, man, she's from the Witches' Forest--aren't they all psycho man-haters?" "Dude, if she let me hit it, I wouldn't care if she killed me afterward--like one of those widow spiders, ya know? Just bite my head off." "...Bro, you got problems..."
"Applicants! Applicants, quiet please!" the elderly announcer called once more as all the Captains were seated. When order was restored, he cleared his throat and made a gesture. Officials, who entered the arena from side-alcoves, raised their hands and began to cast different magical spells. A transparent shielding aura formed a dome between those on the floor and those in the audience. Then, from the stone floor, some tiles lifted of the own accord as magical lights traced a bulls-eye shape on their surfaces. All of these floating tiles moved towards one side of the floor, while on the other side, large rectangular columns rose from the floor in ordered lines. The columns were made of solid brick, but glowed with a layer of magical reinforcement as well.
"We shall begin the first two tests! When your name and number is called, please approach the testing station! For the floating targets, you are only allowed to use ranged magic--if your magic is not well suited for projectiles, Magic Bullets will suffice! The targets will move randomly--do your best to hit as many as you can in one minute!"
"At the second station, the targets will remain stationary! You may use any spell or technique you wish--your performance will be graded on how thoroughly the target is destroyed! However, you may only attack ONE column, and you may only use ONE spell!"
A few of the officials demonstrated. One of them used bolts of lightning to blast several flying tiles, which were then replaced. Another summoned a great cloud of fire, which he then condensed into the shape of a jousting lance. Upon striking the stone pillar, he burned a large hole, with a spiral ridge pattern, all the way through the column. This, too, was quickly replaced.
"Keep in mind that this Exam is your chance to show the Captains your capabilities--it is not solely determined by each individual test, but by the strengths and abilities you are able to show off! Endure until the end, and good luck to you all!" Then, the old man took one more breath.
"BEGIN!"
Everyone makes their way into the coliseum somehow or another. Many characters are in proximity to others and their conversations, though all are cut short.
A FLASHBACK REVEALS THERE ARE INFILTRATORS AMONG THE APPLICANTS!
The Magic Knight Captains are revealed! Left to Right, they are Golden Dawn, Silver Eagles, Crimson Lions, Blue Rose, Green Mantis, Coral Peacock, Aqua Deer, Purple Orca, and Black Bull.
Purple Orca and Black Bull have new captains, with the Black Bull's being completely unknown to the applicants before this moment.
Black Bull's captain is an ELF!?
The first two tests are laid out: Shoot down as many flying targets as you can within ONE minute using ONLY ranged magic or Magic Bullets, AND try your best to destroy one reinforced stone column with a SINGLE spell of any type!
any policy on new spell creation? From the manga so far it often seems to be...desperation or need based on the short term, a result of studying/training/inspiration on the long term.
The series proper shows that most new spells are learned/created through training, and apparently there's some implication that some forms of magic/spells can be found within the setting's Dungeons? Being that some forms of magic are more common than others, I would also assume that people with compatible magic types could somewhat "teach" their spells, or at least variations, to others.
As far as the "new spell shows up in dire moments" type stuff, Black Clover actually does a good job of tying that into character development, and not just the usual shonen last-moment turnaround tropes. The desperation and need, or the near-death experience, often serves as the tipping point to really make whatever realization stick in the character's mind, but it's their own personal growth and epiphany that triggers the spell and whatever form the spell takes will reflect that. For example, when the character Gauche (Mirror Magic) learns to rely on others instead of just himself, he learns to make mirror-image clones of himself and his allies.
In the RP, whenever a character "qualifies" to gain some new powerup or some sort, I'll notify them in some fashion. It might be a little gamified, like reaching a level up after a certain number of milestones, but I definitely want to emphasize character growth along with the classic power creep.
@ExplloI like that exercise, I've done similar things in the past as well as participated in some RPs where there were New Vegas-like "Reputations" between different characters and factions. Might do something for Tristan once he's actually met everyone, showing his first impressions without the narrative to hide his "real" thoughts, lol.
@Agunimon Welcome back! Hey, at least you made it just in time lol
@Xaltwind Camilla would be the one to dramatically retell her childhood trauma in the Sharing Circle, making Hikari feel like an asshole, and then after a long silence Tristan would end up being the one who had to follow that up XD
"...I, uh...I missed the billet once on a hammer swing and broke my favorite pair of tongs..." *sadly looks down at his hand and mimics the gripping motion* "...They never slipped..."
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