|
 One side of the mountain is drenched and verdant, a riot of green— [...] the other [...] arid with elfin thickets of stunted growth that thirst in sullen expectation. Squaw Peak Academy, K-12 and College Preparatory School, top school in the state of Arizona since the new millenium, just this year raised their tuition 15% to about $30k. In the middle of a nationwide economic downturn they are renovating much of the campus, cutting crimson ribbons with silver shears and breaking dry dusty ground with gold plated ceremonial shovels. New modern buildings clash with the old, both in form and their human contents. Faculty turnover, you see, has been very high this past year. But neither of those "growing pains" concerns the administrators, what does is the college counselor's warning passed to him by the top colleges that SPS "lacks a strong commitment to diversity." They've been warned about this before, and the insinuation was that they won't be warned again. That brings us to today: in a well-air-conditioned room with huge windows the Admission Committee is hard at work filling the last few slots in the freshman class. What kind of applications are they looking at? The rubber stamped single page of "lifer" who's been going here since kindergarten? The child of an athlete recently traded to the Cardinals, or the Suns, or the Diamondbacks? One of those discount paying faculty kids, or a regular talisman of diversity, paid for in merit based scholarships? The committee isn't going to miss dinner over this, that's for sure. They'll probably just pick the first 5 complete applications they see. Freshman year usually weeds out those who can't keep up in such an elite environment, then transfers from the SPA's parochial and charter school competitors fill in the gaps even in the middle of the school year. Synirc #castersupremacy if you have any questions about apps or the school itself. The excerpted poem is "Rain Shadow," by Richard Taylor. IRC/PM Q&A Q: Is this just an open ended game? A: Yes, I don't have a whole story planned out. My prep right now is just coming up with some seed events. For instance, the freshman trip to a ropes course to the north, where it's cooler and more rural. All of the equipment is very safe, the campsite secured, cell phone reception nonexistent. No place to plug them in, either. Q: Where can I get Jackson Tegu's "Second Skins" collection of playbooks? Is SPA considering non-official skins? A: According to the author, Second Skins is only available to kickstarter funders at the moment. Due to negative reviews in the FATAL & Friends thread, applications of "Skins for the Skinless" and homebrew skins are strongly discouraged. The Selkie is fine. Q: What about the Hollow? A: The premise is compelling but the mechanics don't feel right to me, so no. e; A ghoul with the Hollow background sounds very promising. Q: What timezone are people in? Is Japan okay? A: I'm on Mountain Time, myself, but don't mind different zones. I'll try to put characters together whose players are active at the same time so they have a chance to banter, and if anything comes up that players want edited for any reason I'll respond ASAP to PMs, the OOC thread, or notifications in #castersupremacy, no questions asked. Not just triggering or creepy stuff, either; stuff you are interested in as well. Sort of like a PbP version of X-card and O-card Q: Exactly what kind of school is SPA? A: It's a secular, private, day school located in the rich part of Phoenix, close to the eponymous mountain. Most of the students are the city's elite and live within walking distance of the campus. Q: How old are the PCs supposed to be? A: What matters to me is they're new to the high school, so at minimum they're 14-15 year olds entering freshman year. Anything higher would be non traditional but not out of the question, like a transfer student, someone held back a few years, some kind of ancient supernatural, or maybe even a non student. Q: Five apps are in! Is it still worth applying? A: The Early Action students, Lì, and the three C's--Caleb, Cassie, and Christophe--are indeed locked in, but don't let that stop or rush you. Regular applications for the fall trimester will be open until Friday night, the 28th, at 11:59 PM MT. 2 spots will be decided on by me and the early appliers. After that I'll be paying attention to any peanut gallerying in #castersupremacy and open rolling admissions for the Winter or Spring trimesters or in case of dropouts. slydingdoor fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Nov 27, 2014 |
#
?
Nov 25, 2014 22:50
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 18, 2024 01:32 |
|
|
Interested.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2014 23:07
|
|
|
Lì Harris, the Vampire Yeah yeah, I know, I'm the diversity pick. I work my rear end off, but of course the moment people see 'Chinese adoptee' and 'two dads' on the form field, that's it, that's everything people need to know. Maybe I'm inspiring, maybe I'm only here because of a quota, but lord knows you'll never need to actually talk to me to decide. I used to have all kinds of friends, but then I realized they didn't really care about me, they wanted to pretend they weren't super whitebread or for me to tell them their racist Asian jokes were super hilarious. So I gave up talking to people for a while. My dads' response was to take me to the doctor and see if I needed medication. It never occurred to them maybe it wasn't a problem with me. I've only ever had one real friend. Jonas saw through the bullshit. He was 'weird' too, stuck on the outside like I was. Jonas wanted to be friends with me, not the weird projection of everyone's white guilt and homophobia that most people saw. Last summer...something happened between us. The memories are fuzzy, but one day I woke up and he was gone and I was different. Stronger, more clear-headed. Thirsty. Maybe no one else will ever know me like he did, but there's so much I can do now that it's hard to care. People are prey now, and I think I'm going to enjoy the hunt. quote:Name: Lì Harris Green Bean fucked around with this message at 03:51 on Feb 18, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 01:16
|
|
|
Green Bean posted:Lì Harris You receive an early letter indicating your imminent acceptance, but the acceptance letter itself is late in coming. At least one of your parents expects the worst: that it won't come at all. Then you get an unexpected message, from Jonas. He has the letter and thinks you should come get it from him at night, and someplace private and familiar to the two of you. What do you do?
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 01:32
|
|
|
slydingdoor posted:You receive an early letter indicating your imminent acceptance, but the acceptance letter itself is late in coming. At least one of your parents expects the worst: that it won't come at all. Lì absolutely goes to meet him. He's got no idea why Jonas would have the letter, but even after all his changes, he trusts Jonas implicitly and wants to know why he dropped completely out of contact for the back half of the summer.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 01:42
|
|
|
The result of a failed attempt by his mother to sustain a dying relationship, Caleb's second-hand, ill-fitting clothing clearly marks him as an "economically underprivileged" admission; he certainly wasn't admitted on the strength of his transcript. As far back as he can remember, he's always felt as if there was something off about himself. Everyone else got it. They got how to do long division, they remembered that there was a test today, they knew what you're supposed to say when one of the other guys makes a funny-not-really joke at your expense. Caleb was always just that one step behind; he stuttered, he tripped, and puberty (when it finally arrived) hit him like a freight train. Others certainly seemed to share Caleb's opinion of himself, and life as the easiest target in middle school was almost boring in its routine cruelty. Squaw Peak was never a possibility; high school was barely a possibility. It never even occurred to Caleb to apply, and he owes his admission to the last hail mary of a vexed guidance counselor. For once things went Caleb's way, and the arrival of the admission letter was hailed as nothing short of a miracle. Caleb's admission was a chance for a fresh start, a chance to try again in a place where he wouldn't be burdened by his past. Maybe this is where it all starts to make sense, where he becomes the kind of person he's always wanted to be and soothes the aching loneliness he knows more intimately than his own body. What's the worst that could happen? quote:Name: Caleb Randolph Androc fucked around with this message at 04:18 on Nov 27, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 02:21
|
|
|
 pre:Christopher Locke, The Infernal Vicious, piercing eyes Chosen Hot -1 Cold -1 Volatile 1 Dark 2 Darkest Self You can’t get what you need, anymore. The world has left you cold and alone, shivering in the wake of your own addictions. The dark power will make some open-ended demands of you, and it’ll promise you some lucrative (and perhaps volatile) things in return. Every demand you fulfill brings you a little closer to feeling whole again, to rekindling the fire in your heart. Whenever you fulfill those demands, remove a String it holds on you. You escape your Darkest Self when the dark power has no more Strings on you, or when you agree to an even worse bargain with an even more dangerous dark power. Sex Move When you have sex, the dark power loses a String on you and gains a String on whoever you had sex with. Soul Debt Name a dark power that you owe a debt to. Choose two Bargains that it has made with you. It can hold Strings against you. Whenever it collects 5 Strings against you, trigger your Darkest Self. Dark Recruiter When you bring an innocent soul to the dark power, mark experience. Dark Power The Connoisseur Bargains The Power Flows Through You You can give the dark power a String in order to add 2 to your next roll (choose before rolling). Uncanny Voices You can give the dark power a String in order to realize a secret about someone you’re talking to. The owner of that character will reveal one of their secret fears, secret desires, or secret strengths (they choose.) Your Backstory You owe debts. Give away 3 Strings, divided any way you like between the dark power and the other characters. Someone thinks they can save you. Gain a String on them. Roll time back a few years to a little town called Ashwood in the pacific northwest and you will find a very different Christopher. He was that kid. Know the one. Always too skinny, always too smart, always the perfect kid to pick on when you were bored. Or feeling insecure. Or wanted to show off. Or just because you were a prick. Christopher was angry back then. Very angry. He didn't take being picked on well and would scream or cry at the slightest provocation. That's probably why the bullies just kept doing it. He was kid who always wore dark clothes that were full of holes and never fit right. He listened to loud, angry music. The kind about living on the outside of normal and not giving a gently caress. He also spent almost all of his time alone in his room. It worried his parents, but what could they do? He had no friends and refused to do anything extracurricular at school. He just sat up in his room with his music playing at three million decibels and doing God knows what. What he was doing, exactly, was quite diabolical. You would be amazed what can come of an angry soul and an internet connection. Christopher spent hours every day looking up all manner of incantations and summoning spells to set devils and monsters on the kids that tormented him. They were almost all bullshit, of course. Almost. Much to his surprise, during one of his usual rituals, he got a reply. Something from Beyond made contact with the boy and answered all of his dark prayers. "Yes," it said. "Yes, of course I can make you handsome. Of course I can make you popular. Of course I can make the bullies scared to ever lift a finger to you. You just have to do a couple things for me in return." Christopher was hardly in a position to refuse. Now, years later in Arizona, Christopher the outcast has become Christophe the tyrant. The user. The pervert. He knows things that he shouldn't know. He is good at everything he tries. He keeps everybody under his thumb. You either seek his favor and hope to come into his circle or stay the hell out of his way, because you certainly don't want to be on his bad side. Christophe always pays back a debt an eye for an eye and blood for blood. Of course there are reasons to want to be close to him other than fear. His friends, or so the sycophants that flock around him call themselves, seem to have their wildest dreams come true. Maybe they are just a lucky crowd, but it certainly isn't natural when a guy sells a brand new Camero to a high school punk for basically pocket change because Christophe said he should. It isn't normal when the hottest girl in school slums it to sleep with a crater-faced band nerd because Christophe had a little chat with her. Maybe it is blackmail. Maybe it is mind control. Maybe Christophe is just a really persuasive guy. Either way, the people around him seem to get what really want. The real question is, what is Christophe getting in return? ilootthecorpse fucked around with this message at 03:02 on Nov 26, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 02:59
|
|
|
Lì You bike to the meeting location, a cozy coffee shop in a strip mall. It's the only thing open. Jonas's bike is nowhere you can see. Besides you and him, no one's inside besides a barista taking the communal pitcher of complimentary water to the back to be refilled. There's no greeting: they expect no order from you. Jonas, though, smiles behind indoor sunglasses and gives you a bro hug with an ice cold hand. He grins apologetically for the federal crime of mail theft, saying he went to your house, no one was there, so he checked the mail to make sure you still lived there. Seeing the fancy envelope, which he surrenders to you (it's been opened), he feared that you'd forget about him after taking off for bigger and better things. Whenever you ask about where he's been all summer, he coughs and says out of town. When you ask if he's going to the public high school that everyone else in your area is going to, he just coughs. Then his tone shifts to pleading: you're going to be drowning in the blue blood of the city's elite soon enough, won't you share some with him? He invested some of his in you, remember? Either way, Jonas needs something to tide him over. You could help him gang up on the barista, he offers, or give him some of your own for old time's sake? What do you do? Christophe You know you're getting in: everyone who already got into SPA before high school gets their contract renewed, and even if there was any doubt, your application is always perfect since the Connoisseur tells you exactly what the most influential member of the admissions committee wants to see. They're not the ones who surprise you. Your "friends" parents tell your parents that their kids--the ones indebted to you at SPA--are going somewhere else for high school. One to an all-girl's parochial school. Another to a boarding school. One's even moving their whole family out of state. All of them far away from you. Lynn Cooper and Joe Locke, your parents, deliver the news, concern all over their faces. Familiar concern, but also something new. Before, when they thought they might have raised a loser they convinced themselves you'd just be a late bloomer. Nature would take its course. Now that you've been criticized by other parents, they are beginning to think they might have raised a bad kid. Suddenly they're smothering you in fumbling parental effort. They want to go back to church, to send you to a shrink. Should they take away your credit card? They're discussing it all, unrehearsed, right in front of you. What do you do? Caleb SPA does not have daily bus service contracted out, everyone's parents or nannies pick them up and drop them off. Lifers, of course, walk or bike to school from their nearby mansions until they get their sports cars upon turning age 15. All that's well out of your reach: your mom, Katherine "Kitty" Randolph, works different shifts during the week and can't drive you to school most days. What do you have to do to get there? Take Phoenix's lovely mass transit as far as it will go and walk the rest, showing up an hour early or an hour late? Luck into a carpool that will drive that far south? Hide out nearby at night, sleep on the streets and walk back the next morning? Or something else?
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 05:56
|
|
|
slydingdoor posted:Caleb It turns out that one of the older kids who used to pick on Caleb is also going to SPA. It also turns out that he's gotten his driver's license and that his mom and Caleb's mom are friends. All that old bad stuff was years ago, right? He might have changed. Maybe.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 07:27
|
|
|
slydingdoor posted:Lì Lì assured Jonas that he'd never forget about him - they had shared far too much for that. Applying to SPA had been Dad's idea, but with Jonas disappearing on him Lì figured if he was going to be surrounded by lovely people all day, he might as well try for new lovely people. He was still a little unclear on how Jonas had made him this way, but the bite seemed to make people's memories a little hazy around the edges, so he supposed that was to be expected. He begged off on the barista for now. It was odd, but the act of feeding felt so intimate, the victim so vulnerable, that he didn't feel comfortable doing it to strangers. Old 'friends', acquaintances, enemies especially, but not a complete stranger. He had fed recently, so he offered Jonas a vein. As time went on and Lì's old life became more distant, he was slowly starting to remember that he'd done this before, back when he was alive.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 08:12
|
|
|
Interested. Might try a Selkie once I come up with a backstory I'm happy with.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 11:58
|
|
|
 Marina "Fleming" It was the music that drew me in. We have nothing like it you know, just dull boring history chants and funeral dirges. As soon as I heard that music I had to get closer to it to hear more of it. Must've surprised the hell out of the guy whose boat I climbed onto to find a naked young girl covered with no more than a seal skin sat entranced next to his radio. Alan Fleming is his name a kindly old grandfather type a couple of years from retirement. Works as a professor of music theory for some college somewhere. On vacation with some of the money he'd saved for retirement.He never batted an eyelid just sat there next to me while we both listened to the music. After it I asked him a ton of questions. He was delighted to tell me more and we whiled away the long summer evening talking about it. The next day we did the same and talked more about the music. But this time there was more, he wanted to know where I came from. So I told him. I remember he muttered something about Horatio and philosophy whatever that means, Then he shocked me he told me had to return to work in some place called Arizona and would I like to come with him to learn more about human music. I eagerly accepted wanting to learn more about these people and how they produced their strange music. One thing still puzzles me from that first song though, why is standing on someone's strangely coloured foot coverings such an offence? quote:Name: Marina "Fleming" Ferrosol fucked around with this message at 00:17 on Mar 30, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 14:40
|
|
|
Christophe I've gotten pretty good at navigating situations like this over the past few years. Whenever somebody gets in trouble because they got caught doing something they weren't supposed to they always point their fingers at me. Listen, I'm not making anybody do anything bad. They already want what I'm giving them. I just make it possible. Usually it is pretty simple to talk my way out of any involvement. I always cover my back. Amee, the girl being sent to the priory, wasn't even one of my projects. Her family is super up tight and churchy, so by the time she started sniffing around me she was already acting out. She just wanted to be in my little clique because it was edgy and she knew it would piss off her parents. I just told Lynn and Joe that it wasn't my fault and her parents were overreacting because she wasn't their perfect Christian daughter like they wanted. They won't be happy until she is in a convent anyway. Tyler was a little different. I did have a little hand in corrupting him, but I never thought it would go so far! He used to be a nice, shy little kid with great grades and all the smart kid clubs you could think of: Chess, debate, student government. Snore. Sooo boring. All I did was take him out for a fun time one night. Had him sneak out after his parents went to sleep and we stayed out until two. How was I supposed to know he was going to miss his first period exam the next day? Alright, so I did know that was going to happen. That's what the Connoisseur wanted so the kid could feel what it was like to get a rush once in his life. After that though he started ditching out of class and staying out late on his own. Sure, he was hanging out with me some of the time, but that's not my fault that he invited me. It's not my job to keep him in line. I just fessed up to my parents about the one time he and I snuck out, but they really can't blame me for the rest of it. And then there was the last one: Juan-Pablo. His parents have been having all sorts of problems because his dad got his hours cut and his mom has been secretly popping Oxy like skittles. She's also secretly screwing the pharmacist to get the Oxy, but that's just between you and I. Anyway, he has two younger sisters and his parents made him get a job to help with the money problems. He just went along with it, like a dutiful little drone, but I said gently caress that. His dad should quit drinking an 18 pack each night and get a second job and his mom needs to stop pretending the arts and crafts class she teaches is worth a poo poo and do something worth a drat. He shouldn't be picking up the slack for them, so I got a fire under his rear end and had him stand up for himself. He'd always been such a little push over, and growing a backbone is good for him. So he quit his job and started skipping out to hang with Tyler and I. Of course I didn't admit that. I just told Lynn and Joe that JP's parents were having their own lovely problems and projecting it on me because they were too embarrassed to admit they were being bad parents. I'm sure they are just moving to somewhere that JP's dad can actually find work. Like I said, it is easy to dodge the flak and this isn't the first time I've had to deal with my parents. This is the first time they've talked about me right in front of my face though. Usually it happens behind closed doors, but I hear it anyway. Lynn tries to stick up for me. She still thinks I'm her sad, fragile little boy and that this is just all a big misunderstanding. Joe is a little more down to earth. He knows what's going on and he says it straight out--disappointment, rotten, bad influence. I shouldn't care, but in truth I really do. My life was pretty lovely back in Ashwood, but my parents always at least tried to make it better. They just couldn't and the Connoisseur could. So ya, I'm disappointing my parents, and that feels kinda lovely, but if life had stayed the way it used to be I'm sure I'd be into drugs or gangs or maybe just loving hung myself a long time ago. I was always going to disappoint them somehow, but at least now I not such a pathetic little crying bitch.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 21:13
|
|
|
 quote:Name: Cassie Jacobs Cassie Jacobs, daughter of superstar lineman Mike Jacobs, has problems with rules. She's never really been much for other people telling her what to do. Call it bitchy, bossy, assertive, whatever. Most people think she got that attitude from getting anything she wanted from Daddy, and nothing will get you on her poo poo list quicker than saying so. And everyone at her last school knew it. She wasn't quite the queen bee that had other girls at her all girl's school flocking to her, but she was popular enough, if for no other reason than she could lay you out flat if you weren't respectful. Now, if pushed, she'd admit that she never really needed anything in her life. She's not so far up her own rear end that she doesn't realize how much she lucked out. However, her father made drat sure he didn't spoil her. Anything she wanted, she worked for. New clothes, new jewelry, anything. The one exception was lacrosse equipment. Her father had always supported her in the sports. I mean, it would have been kind of odd if he hadn't, right? So, in one of her many side jobs to get that new necklace or pair of shoes, she found herself working some crummy summer camp. She'd only come here to make some easy money babysitting munchkins in the woods, but that's where she met Tony. He was a bronzed sculpture given life. His eyes always looked like he was about to laugh, and his She'd never really spent much time with boys before (one of the many downsides to an all girl's school), but she knew that Tony was something special. They'd laughed together, ate lunch together, and even snuck off during the closing campfire together. He invited her back to her cabin. She hesitated for a second, and seeing that hesitation, he grinned and added, "Only if you want to." And since one of the rules of the camp was "No going in the opposite sex's bunks," well, it was practically a dare at that point. The last thing she clearly remembers is the heated making out, but after that, her next clear memory is waking up in the hospital. The rest is a blur of pleasure and pain. Her dad threatened the camp with a lawsuit that would ruin it, safety waivers be damned, but the only thing that Cassie could think of was Tony. She spent the next few days in the hospital, recuperating while sick with worry about him. If he was all right. If something had gotten him. If, if, if. She couldn't wait until she was able to leave the hospital and go find him. It was a local camp, so he had to live nearby. Then, the day before she was released, she felt something in her snap. Her heart had broken, and she somehow knew that Tony was with someone else. He hadn't even come to see her. A few days later, when her dad (desperate to get her out of the depression she seemed to be slipping into) suggested Squaw Peak Academy for high school, she jumped on the idea. A new start is just what she needed. She'd make new friends and forget about Tony. It was the smart, reasonable choice. ...Still, part of her still wanted to see him. She couldn't decide if she'd tear his arms off or just his clothes, and the rest of her didn't want to find out. Capfalcon fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Feb 7, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2014 06:23
|
|
|
Cassie In the acceptance letter you find out that the Fall class trip freshman year is to a ropes course and camp site not far from the one you and Tony worked at. Your father Mike wants to know if they're connected in any way, or if you might want to opt out. Maybe you could make some new friends, talk them into doing the same, and you all could go on a better trip of your own! He's clearly caught between a desire to protect you this time, but also giving you whatever you want. A Jacobs family trip with friends wouldn't be easy on him though, since as you know he can't miss practice or a game for it... what's the deal? Is he all talk? What do you do?
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2014 08:12
|
|
|
 Ricard Reyes – The Queen Basketball is in my blood. My grandfather had a long career with FC Barcelona, my father moved to America because he was drafted by the Suns and I took Squaw Peak all the way 3 years in a row. My father is a bench pure point guard. But that’s redundant. At least he’s paid well. He laughed when the bill for the Squaw Peak came in. Turns out when you’re the captain of a championship team three years in a row, score 20+ a game and are a constant Double-Double threat, you’re well known. Everyone knows my name around this place. Me and my teammates stroll these halls like the kings we are. We are the “Kings Club”, the “Big Five”, well we were, sadly, my shooting guard moved away because his father was traded to the Knicks and I don’t know who coach will put in. All I know is that High School Teams won’t know what to do against the Kings Club. Current Members of the Kings Club: Me (Obviously) SG (empty) SF Keith Kaiser PF Alric Allen C Brandon Bell quote:Look: Stunning with Calculating Eyes. BallisticClipboard fucked around with this message at 17:56 on Feb 8, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2014 10:46
|
|
|
 I know this is going to sound dumb, but I've been chosen... to kill monsters. That's right, you heard me right. It was easy to ignore the signs at first. My raven birthmark was just a birthmark. Some people see Jesus burnt into their toast, I see a raven on my ribs. No big deal. Then there's the stories my grandma told me about how my great-grandmother used to fight monsters at the turn of the century. She says we are descended from an old Tohono O'odham** ** bloodline that's sometimes called to fight monsters on behalf of the Tribe. She's probably just going crazy in her old age, right? Well her stories get a little easier to believe when she tells me where to find a trunk full of her weapons hidden in our basement. Here's the real kicker. I just saw a vampire. I should have led with this. I was coming home late when I saw a couple going at it hot and heavy in an alley. I go to take a picture to text to my friend, suddenly, he's in my face, his mouth drenched in blood with a pair of fangs. So I punched him till he ran. I guess I know what the stake in the chest is for now. Here I thought the only thing I'd have to adjust to this year was going to an off-Reservation school and trying to make friends. Now I gotta deal with this too. quote:
walruscat fucked around with this message at 17:03 on Nov 27, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2014 17:01
|
|
|
slydingdoor posted:Cassie No way would I run scared just because their might, maybe, possibly be a connection between this ropes course and the Sleep Tight Camp. But... some time with Dad wouldn't be a bad thing. He's been pretty busy in training, so we haven't seen each other too much recently. He could probably to push them into giving him a day off, letting us make it an overnight trip, but that'd put some bad blood between him and the rest of the team. He keeps saying they've got a shot of going all the way this year, and I know he doesn't have too many years left in football. I'm not sure it's worth it. Also, ducking out of the trip would be like telling all the classmates she didn't invite that she thought they weren't worth her time. Probably not the best way to start life in a new school.
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2014 18:40
|
|
|
Who am I? Don’t you remember me? I’ve been here forever, you must just have never noticed me. I’ve been here all my life, trust me - ask me anything about Squaw Peak, anything that only a lifer would know? I’m not entirely lying. I have been here all my life - but my life has only been a few years. Technically. This /body/ has been here longer, little Zoe Barnes, and my ‘parents’ won’t tell me how /she/ died. All I know is she did, and they remade me in her image. Not as perfect as they hoped. I’m not sure why I was made, exactly. ‘Mom’ - or as most people know her, Miss Barnes, Biology Teacher, stopped pretending like I was her real daughter a few years ago, but she won’t tell me the how or why of how she got me in her daughter’s corpse. She acts like I owe her, like it cost her something, like I should be grateful, but frankly I don’t give a drat. I didn’t get a choice here, and I didn’t get a childhood. After all, why bother with that when they could just take an empty thing, pack its head full of memories like some demented encyclopaedia, and rely on it to be their perfect little princess? Sorry if I sound cynical, but wouldn’t you be in my position? I mean, I’m not /me/, really. I’m just a bundle of lies and expectations wrapped up in a teenager’s body, all nice and neat, with knowledge but no memories, no past or anything, just what my ‘parents’ saw fit to give me. Well, I do have one thing. This feeling deep inside, more than just a feeling. A /need/. I can’t affect my past, or the lack of it, can’t fill that hole, but I drat well can feel alive by breaking the rules, and the happy little neatness people take for granted. quote:Zoe Barnes, the Ghoul AdjectiveNoun fucked around with this message at 04:30 on Nov 28, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2014 04:20
|
|
|
Ferrosol posted:One thing still puzzles me from that first song though, why is standing on someone's strangely coloured foot coverings such an offence? Ok, I'll admit I laughed.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2014 16:53
|
|
|
 I find that my life and everything around me is full of contradictions; things that shouldn’t be, yet they are. I want to indulge in the arts, especially painting and yet I’m more suited to public speaking and politics. My mom tells me that I was part of a grand heritage of true beauty and wonder, that it is mine and I am free to pursue them; my dad meanwhile tells me that I’m part of a legacy of power and influence and that whatever actions I take will damage his family. My dad very much into politics and sees himself at the White House in a couple of years; as such he requires complete control of how we look. Mom takes things very seriously, while dad is more relaxed, certain that things will happen over time. Any other would feel pressure or stress or see something depressing, and yet I feel nothing but serendipity. Perhaps I’ve become far more like dad than mom; in that way I feel sad. Sometimes she shows me things of her heritage, the world beyond the one live in, the things she has back in her hometown - if it could be called that - and I want to be part of that way of living. I try to break out to fulfill that want whenever I could, in between dad planning things for me. He welcomes me talking to others and being involved, and yet says that I should have nothing to do with certain people. He wants me to make the right kind of friends, but what makes one friend more ‘right’ than another? He talks about this school he wants me into; saying that it’s good for me, and saying to mom that It’s good for this family… I overhear mom saying to dad that it isn’t good for me and that this school would make more a stranger to myself. Despite the soft voices they almost were spitting venom at one another. It’s like they don’t know themselves of anything, and it makes the world much more confusing. I can only hope this new school may be simpler and not speak in contradictions... pre:Name: Roosevelt “Reese” Summers, The Fae Look: mysterious, quick eyes Origin: Fae-blooded STATS Hot: 1 | Cold: 0 | Volatile: -1 | Dark: 1 Sex Move When you lie naked with another, you can ask them for a promise. If they refuse, take 2 strings on them. Darkest Self Everything you say is a promise. Everything you hear is a promise. If a promise is broken, justice must be wrought in blood. To escape your Darkest Self, you must in some way re-balance the scales of justice. MOVES Faerie Contract: If someone breaks a promise with you, take a string on them. When spending a string to even out the score and get justice on a broken promise, add these options: - They gently caress up something simple at a crucial moment; - Add 2 to your roll on an act of vengeance; - they suffer 1 harm, whether the cause is obvious or not; Unashamed: You can give someone a String on you to add 3 to your attempt to turn them on.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2014 03:43
|
|
|
 APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED Lì and the 3 C's let me know which 2 or 3 apps you prefer here, by PM, or in #castersupremacy, and I'll have final picks and prompts ready tomorrow. e; waiting on Androc and ilootthecorpse. slydingdoor fucked around with this message at 18:21 on Nov 29, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2014 08:22
|
|
|
I hope I get accepted, it's literally like high school again.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2014 15:39
|
|
|
BallisticClipboard posted:I hope I get accepted, it's literally like high school again. God I hope not. I was always the last one to be picked then as well 
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2014 21:27
|
|
|
Acceptance letters for regular admission show up for Ricard Reyes and Marina Fleming. Everyone else gets waitlisted and reminded about rolling admissions for Winter and Spring trimesters. Reyes Your 'contract' is renewed for freshman year, as everyone knew it would be. It'd have been pretty poor form to let you go after you served as a consultant for the tryouts for transfer students that came attached with a fat scholarship, basically on the same level as Coach Creed. The only other student with such privileges is a rival of yours, Victor Coutinho, the dilettante. Your dad once remarked that if he bothered to focus on basketball instead of splitting his time between baseball and soccer and track and lacrosse etc. he might actually be worth starting. The possibility looks tempting when the tryouts reveal no prospects, except Coach Creed and he get all infatuated with this one PG. That's your position, but they say you're so versatile, and it'd be worth recruiting him just to take him out of the pool. They're actually afraid of this guy's potential to lead a rival school against you! What do you do? Marina Dr. Fleming gets you into SPA at the 11th hour through his connections with all the music teachers there, a couple of whom are current and former grad students of his at Arizona State University (go devils). Not only that, he also secures you a summer's worth of private lessons in any and all the instruments you want, and takes you out dancing every night. Salsa here, ballroom there, blues, swing, every style he can. He usually watches you from the bar, smiling. One night though, a particular song comes up that twists him into a wreck, making him start sobbing seemingly against his will. When you break away from your partner to go to him he starts on about what you mean to him? What song is it? What does he say? What do you do? EVERYONEIt's time to assign background strings! I'll be keeping track of them in a statblock at the bottom of every one of my posts. Get to it! slydingdoor fucked around with this message at 03:51 on Nov 30, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2014 01:38
|
|
|
How early in the year are we starting play?
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2014 03:05
|
|
|
Green Bean posted:How early in the year are we starting play? The picnic combines freshman orientation and a tour of the facilities and meeting of the staff. Parents are invited, and many attend when they hear about the complimentary mimosas. Some of the ones who live within walking distance bring 'extended family' party crashers and get sauced. Students who came up through SPA's middle school like Christophe and Ricard and the King's Club will have been tour guides. The first week of school starts the next day. It's short, four-day week, when the teachers are still pulling their punches when it comes to homework so everyone can have time to sample all the extracurricular after school activities. Naturally you'll all be on your best behavior, since you can only make one first impression! slydingdoor fucked around with this message at 21:37 on Dec 6, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2014 03:42
|
|
|
In case anyone doesn't have the actual rulebook: If Your Backstory says “Someone once saved your life. Give them 1 String on you,” you should discuss with that person how they saved your life. Don’t go into exhaustive detail, but do take the time to sketch in some details of your shared history. I'm also gonna ask everyone to put a Q&A section at the bottom of their character sheet, for when questions come up on IRC or OOC or whatever. That way if anyone isn't around for them they don't miss out on anything that will become future subtext.
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2014 04:18
|
|
|
The Vampire posted:You’re beautiful. Gain a String on everyone. Lì was the model teenager during the brunch picnic and first week, socializing, meeting new people, charming the teachers, all that fun stuff. He's shed his middle school awkwardness over the summer, and good thing too, because as the cute foreign-looking guy he was a definite centre of attention. He got a whole bunch of really awkward compliments about how good his English was, and he overheard some comments about his parents from the drunker adults, but he played it off with a polite smile and bottomless patience. On the drive home, his dads kept telling him how proud they were that he was coming out of his shell and clearly this year was going to be much better than the last. Lì agreed, though probably not for the same reasons. The Vampire posted:Someone once saved your unlife. They gain 2 Strings on you. I kind of want Marina to have done this, but I'm not sure how it would have happened. Any thoughts?
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2014 04:24
|
|
|
slydingdoor posted:Reyes About time this thing showed up. Did it get lost in the mail or something? Now to focus on what to do about the upcoming season. I need a Shooting Guard and all I'm given is Victor, a Bo Jackson wannabe who's trying to burn himself out faster, and a Point guard in the form of a transfer student. He's not even tall enough to play a stretch 2 but Coach and Vic are sweet on him. They want to take him because they're afraid he'll take a rival against us. Do they really not trust me to beat any Point I come across. They want to sell him something that's not theirs to see and that's my position. I could kill two birds with one stone and move to SG and let the kid or Vic fight it out for PG. The new guy seems to be a Pure PG so I'd definitely be his outlet pass every time down. Either way, they'll need to know their role. That captain mark will not leave my jersey. Okay, let's give the call to coach and tell him to move me to SG. Take the New Kid since he and Vic like him so much and they can slot him in at PG. Now I'm the best thing that could have happened to the SG spot and I look great because I willingly changed my position. I better tell the boys as well before they start a riot.
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2014 05:23
|
|
|
The Queen Background posted:You find someone threatening. That Christopher guy is really . . . I don't know but he's a bad guy. He rolls up out of the blue from some nowhere place in middle school and people, even the lifers, treat him like royalty and that's bad enough in my book. The stories around that guy are too strange. I heard that he bullied a teacher so hard she quit, bringing up that she was cheating on her husband and other stuff that you'd need some serious connections to be privy to that information. He took down 2 guys on the football team by himself. That twig looks like he couldn't break a paper bag much less bust a person's nose. Luckily he seems to know his place and stays away from my court. I tell my boys to stay away from him and do the talking when he's around. I'll be keeping a closer eye on him this year. Ricard takes two strings on Christopher. Giving one up to Christopher. BallisticClipboard fucked around with this message at 05:45 on Nov 30, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2014 05:41
|
|
|
The Mortal Background posted:Declare one person to be your lover. Give them three Strings on you. Take one String on them. I think Christophe makes the most sense here, since desperate hangers-on are kinda his thing. ilootthecorpse, what are your thoughts?
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2014 07:10
|
|
|
quote:I think Christophe makes the most sense here, since desperate hangers-on are kinda his thing. ilootthecorpse, what I'm down with that. It kind of plays into his story and background because... pre:Someone thinks they can save you. Gain a String on them. pre:You owe debts. Give away 3 Strings, divided any way you like between the dark power and the other characters. Ricard is influential enough to dig up a little dirt on Chris, so I'll give him a String. Lastly, the Connoisseur helped Christophe get here, so it gets one String. pre:Someone stole your pelt, withholding it from you to make you their errand boy. They said they'll give it back. Each gain a String on one another, and they say the first task they've given you.
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2014 12:39
|
|
|
A few things. OOC stuff is in italicsslydingdoor posted:Marina Yeah, we were at some music venue where they were playing the top songs of the 1960s and they played this song and he just came to pieces. At first I thought he'd just drank too much of that brown liquid he likes but it seemed more than that. So I did the only thing I could I called a cab and got in it with him to take him home. Then I did what might have been the hardest thing I've ever had to do and asked him what'd happened. He explained through his sobs that he'd been a young university student years ago and he'd met a girl, they fell in love and married and then a few years later had a beautiful young daughter. Then one night his wife had been coming to pick him up from a concert but she'd been in a car crash with another driver that killed both of them. The song he went on sobs dying down had been his wife's favourite. It humbled me to see Alan, my mentor, my friend rendered so naked so vulnerable.... so human by music. Do you people even know what you have when a song can take a man back so far and into such pain? I helped him into bed and sat with him till he fell asleep. The next day when he awoke he apologised for ruining our night out but wouldn't say anything more about it. I think he's still hurting even after all these years. Green Bean posted:I kind of want Marina to have done this, but I'm not sure how it would have happened. Any thoughts? I could see two options first could just be your garden variety racists going after him for being a Chinese kid or the two dads thing, but I'd assume he'd be able to handle that with vampire stuff. You could have Marina interrupt a beating that was going too far and take him to the school infirmary. The only other thing I could think of is inadvertently getting in the way of a vampire hunter who was chasing him. ilootthecorpse posted:
I'd be down with this. But I'm not sure what the limitations of the pelt should be, should we be talking about pseudo-blackmail level material or are we talking something more like control of thoughts or actions? Character Sheet posted:Your Backstory: I figured I'd make this Cassie if there are no objections. Unintentionally watching her do laps of the pool to work off some anger management issues. Ferrosol fucked around with this message at 15:37 on Nov 30, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2014 15:35
|
|
|
Christophe, what kind of task would you give Marina?Ferrosol posted:It humbled me to see Alan, my mentor, my friend rendered so naked so vulnerable.... so human by music. Do you people even know what you have when a song can take a man back so far and into such pain? pre:Name Harm Strings Conditions CAL 0/4 cass, cris2, none, yet CASS 0/4 mari2 none, yet CRIS 0/4 cass, cal4, mari, ric, none, yet LI 0/4 cal, cass2, cris, mari, ric, none, yet MARI 0/4 cass2, cris none, yet RIC 0/4 cass, cris3, none, yet pre:Name Harm Strings Conditions CONN 0/? cris2, none slydingdoor fucked around with this message at 17:57 on Nov 30, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2014 16:50
|
|
|
Ferrosol posted:I could see two options first could just be your garden variety racists going after him for being a Chinese kid or the two dads thing, but I'd assume he'd be able to handle that with vampire stuff. You could have Marina interrupt a beating that was going too far and take him to the school infirmary. The only other thing I could think of is inadvertently getting in the way of a vampire hunter who was chasing him. I'm going fairly low-key vampire power-wise with Lì, so a group of random drunken racists would pose a real physical threat. How does this sound: Lì was getting in one last feeding with a someone he really couldn't stand from his old school, but he gets spotted and it turns out the guy's older brother is there with a group of friends. They mistake it for 'something else', but Marina interrupts and gets him out before it turns into a gay panic beating (or at least before the beating does permanent damage). Lì made her promise not to tell anyone, but obviously she's got some serious leverage on him.
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2014 17:10
|
|
|
Ferrosol posted:I'd be down with this. But I'm not sure what the limitations of the pelt should be, should we be talking about pseudo-blackmail level material or are we talking something more like control of thoughts or actions? To my understanding, yeah, it's just "I won't give it back if you don't do what I want. Ferrosol posted:I figured I'd make this Cassie if there are no objections. Unintentionally watching her do laps of the pool to work off some anger management issues. Yeah, that's fine. Werewolf posted:You've spent weeks watching someone from a distance. Their scent and mannerisms are unmistakable to you now. Cassie had taken to swimming laps in the pool as part of her conditioning for lacrosse. She was never much of a swimmer though, so she didn't want anyone to see her flailing around. At least until she got the hang of it. The odd thing was that, no matter how early she got there, this other girl was always there before her, making Cassie wait in the changing room, watching her smooth strokes through the water. She must be on the swim team. Cassie never asked her name, but a few days in, Cassie accidently-on-purpose knocked over the other girl's gym bag and found that her name was "Marina." Werewolf posted:You lack subtlety. Give a String to everyone. The picnic was surprisingly enjoyable. Cassie wore her heart on her sleeve, and everyone noticed a bit about her. Li noticed that she too ever so slightly tensed up when one of the drama teachers slipped with a serving knife and nicked their finger, bringing blood welling up. Caleb saw that she was a little too eager to make friends, and considering the source, that was impressive. While they were listening to the New Student Orientation, Christopher picked up on her impatience with rules, filing it away for future use. Marina noticed that Cassie was a little too familiar when she introduced herself. Her body languague suggested that they were already friends even though they never met. Ricard caught a little of her in the pick up soccer game. She's got the knack for it, but she's a bit too... forceful in some of her maneuvers. She's not one to take losing well.
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2014 17:43
|
|
|
ilootthecorpse posted:I'm down with that. It kind of plays into his story and background because... Sounds good. How would you want to characterize the relationship between Christophe and Caleb? How much does Caleb know, how mutual is it (vs Caleb just being a hanger-on or just thinking Christophe is cool from a distance), how intimate is it? Androc fucked around with this message at 00:22 on Dec 1, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2014 18:00
|
|
|
slydingdoor posted:O-carding this. What kind of relationships do the people of the Deep Kingdom have with emotions or self-control that they know sets them apart from humans? Answers to some questions from the IRC peanut gallery Okay this all of OOC knowledge. But my idea of Selkie society is that it's almost a pseudo-japanese society in that public displays of emotion are frowned upon and everyone is expected to maintain an iron mask of social control that you only lower for family and close friends. Strong emotion is obviously still a thing but you're expected to bottle it up and not express it publicly. To allow another to witness your displays of strong emotion is a gesture of respect/admiration/love/friendship for them. So the human ability to express and experience emotion through song is both odd and fascinating to her. This leads to the pelt issue. For a Selkie every pelt is unique. You can only use yours to transform no one else's will work for you. To give someone your pelt to hold is the ultimate gesture of trust you can bestow on someone because you are giving them control of your greatest vulnerability. Though that said the precise nature of the relationship can vary depending on the individuals involved. For example when Marina gave Alan her pelt it was for her acknowledging and agreeing that they had a close mentor/student relation and that she trusted him implicitly. In the hands of a lover it's the closest of relationships. In the hands of a friend you're incredibly close like blood brothers. Now taking someone's pelt without their permission is possibly the second greatest crime you can commit on a Selkie (second only to murder) and is seen as a violation of sorts. So for someone like Christophe to steal her pelt is a heinous crime in her eyes. Now he can blackmail her to do whatever in order to get it back. But if she ever gets her pelt back her first thoughts would probably turn towards vengeance towards him and anything he cares about. Whether Christophe or his dark power realise this or not should lead to some interesting stories. Someone was asking about the sirens song ability in relation to the above stuff. The way I intend to play it is that using that ability amongst her people is rare but not unheard of. To be able to use it you need to overcome social conditioning and be able to express your feelings publicly and openly to everyone. People who can do this are considered outcasts but weirdly they're almost respected and treated as folk heroes and serve as a sort of safety valve for selkie society. Now there are old legends of people using it on land dwellers but that must be a myth right? I mean what would land dwellers have that any self respecting selkie would want? The overall theme I'm looking to explore in this game is what does humanity look like to someone from outside of it. Things we take for granted may appear extraordinary while others we are proud of may not be considered of much value
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2014 18:40
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 18, 2024 01:32 |
|
|
Everything's looking great. Now that backgrounds are picked if not completely fleshed out, we may as well fill out the seating chart. You all are in the same "advisor group," a homeroom analogue, with Dr. Alys Coon. She's the stuffy, matronly gray-haired head of the English Dept, and teaches all the freshman class English. It's hell. She doesn't just demand that you write with perfect spelling and usage of SAT-tier 25-cent vocabulary words, perfect academic grammar, and completely standard fonts and styles, she also demands that you speak that way. Perfect pronunciation is a must. No mumbling. In and out of class. For some reason, likely Stockholm Syndrome, she also has won the hearts of the very competitive sophomore class, who gasp in shock and glance at her in unison whenever someone violates any grammatical law, no matter how arcane. You'll have to be extra careful around her and them not to accidentally say you're "doing good" instead of "doing well." The laid back senior class refers to her as "Coon Tang." Preferably behind her back, but in earshot of as many of her ardent sophomore fans as possible. While you all pick your seats, which she asks that you do not change until she and you all have memorized one another's names, tell everyone about someone or something that you're sitting next to. Besides the permission slips for the freshman trip to the ropes course that lie perfectly in the center of each desk. pre:[DrAL] A B C D 1[ ][ ][ ][ ] 2[ ][ ][ ][ ] 3[ ][ ][ ][ ] 4[ ][ ][ ][ ]
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2014 18:45
|
|