Allamorph

[FONT=Arial]Oooh, boy.... [quote='Rachmaninoff']Don't you mean DB's title?[/quote] No. I don't. Anyway.... [QUOTE][I]First he insisted Brittany wouldn't harm anyone and guess what? Now she's a psycho waiting to kill...no surprise there.[/I][/QUOTE] [quote name='SunfallE'][COLOR=#DAA520]I thought that was your intent in your post when you put this at the beginning...Brittany is the only one in that group that has been '[B]programmed[/B]' so to speak so it makes sense that she is the psycho-killer that you were referring to.[/COLOR][/quote] I think [COLOR=DarkRed]BK[/COLOR] pretty much cleared that one up. All I'd like to add is that her inherent psycho-ness, if you will, was [U]assumed[/U] both because Deoky was used as the transformation catalyst and because of a well-intentioned but unfortunately poor use of a successive list. It took me a second to get that one, but you [U][I]must[/I][/U] remember that Meredith was already solidly established as the 'psycho', Brittany was mentioned several times as being reprogrammed, and it was [I]Delilah[/I] that was first to be directly named in the list itself; since Delilah was not the psycho killer, not only does it follow that the list was not directly correlated to the descriptions, but also that [COLOR=DarkRed]DB[/COLOR] intended that sequence to flow that way, ostensibly for drama. (And here I thought people would remember how to play Clue....) Following that line of reasoning takes approximately half a second. Go figure. [quote'Rachmaninoff']Then he has Nadia acting like nothing happened after she was assaulted for two hours.[/quote] [quote'SunfallE][COLOR=#DAA520']And for the record, I got the impression that you were posting as if nothing had happened to Nadia as well. [/COLOR][/quote] [quote name='BKstyles'][FONT=Tahoma][COLOR=DarkSlateGray]DB didn't really allude to Nadia being devoid of her emotional and mental plight from her situation, but you could deduce from the post that she was doing a little better a little too quickly.[/COLOR][/FONT][/quote] One could deduce that, or one could also realize that [COLOR=DarkRed]DB[/COLOR] made no emotional speech tags for Nadia whatsoever, so that her emotional/mental state was left [U]completely up to deduction[/U]. Either you read that since there are no tags, she's saying things in a normal tone of voice, or you read that since there are no tags to indicate any changes in emotion, she's just mechanically saying things, like what I tried to do with Brittany's movements. (I still don't think I played that up enough....) And there is such a thing as overinterpretation. Also, it's a little risky to assume other players have such a familiarity with Tolkien's works, even if he is Tolkien. [quote name='Rachmaninoff']And then we throw in the 'consensual sex' which was really just 'fan service sex' for the sake of having it in there.[/quote] [quote name='BKstyles'][FONT=Tahoma][COLOR=DarkSlateGray]It's a degeneration of Lucia's character.[/COLOR][/FONT][/quote] Agreed. However, the solution to this one is a little easier. Roll with it. Whether or not it was good or not (and I really don't care which way; I've dissected his post enough for one ... well, post), he wrote it in there, and so we adapt. Whether or not I liked it, I wasn't going to say anything, and I had actually started to consider how to make it work. As far as reasoning: [quote name='2007DigitalBoy'][COLOR=DarkRed]...but I know if I was in that moment of peace, I'd be trying as hard as I could....[/COLOR][/quote] [I]You[/I] might, but would [I]they[/I]? That's what you have to keep in mind. I apologize if I left a few recent posts out of consideration. My fingers don't work quite as fast as my brain.[/FONT]

[quote name='Rachmaninoff']Sorry DB, but seriously, this is irritating. Since that's a pretty big detail to mess up. And at this point after everything else I'm just too frustrated to even care about posting. I'm going to back away from this for a day or two since at this point the game has become more irritating than fun.[/quote] [FONT=Arial]And I don't want to sound callous, but you may need to. [quote name='BKstyles'][FONT=Tahoma][COLOR=darkslategray]The dark elf came forward onto her, [B]but just as he hade [I](sic)[/I] made contact with the most outer part of her body, both of her assailants crumbled into ashes and blew away into the atmosphere.[/B] Nadia just lay there, only wondering what had happened after a few more seconds passed. A bright light seemed to shine....[/COLOR][/FONT][/quote] [quote name='2007DigitalBoy'][COLOR=DarkRed]Nadia felt depressed, but strangely enough, her physical pain had vanished. She felt completely rejuvenated - like she'd visited a spa or something. She closed her eyes and nearly began to cry as she recounted it. She'd only narrowly escaped in time. [B]She had started to feel it already - the man coming down over her.[/B] Thinking about it made her cringe.[/COLOR][/quote] That's what she'd narrowly escaped. And as for the rejuvenation, consider: [list=1][*]Brittany's emergence from her torture as a new 'perfect' being. [quote name='2007DigitalBoy'][COLOR=DarkRed]It was a scene that lasted several years, but Brittany was experiencing it in under a minute. As she did, her body shook violently. Blood shot from her mouth. Her eyes went black, and from them, too, trails of blood were crawling. When the memory was complete, the finger was removed and Brittany's body began to heal itself. The blood sucked back into her eyes [B]and her entire body felt rejuvenated[/B] as she came back to life.[/COLOR][/quote] The parallel is rather obvious. Thus we've established a precedent. Since, then, the Panopticon seems to restore those it's reprogrammed, I feel this is not unthinkable. [*]C://WINDOWS/Panopticon/delirium_trigger.exe This program is obviously designed to instill a false sense of security and confidence, either for future sadistic purposes or to maximize the mind's potential by allowing for incidental camaraderie. Either way, the plot functions, and I as of yet see no holes.[/list] Look to [COLOR=DarkRed]Darren[/COLOR]'s title and Chillax. Let's not have a repeat of the previous soap opera, shall we?[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][center][B][U]Group Four[/U][/B][/center] [indent][align=justify][I]?I?m ? perfect ?.?[/I] The eerie pronouncement echoed again in Delilah?s ear as the women ran, hugging the ledge wall, with Meredith leading them on. They had been traveling almost nonstop since the collapse of the ledge had separated them from their group, and still they hadn?t found any passes over the gorge or tunnels leading into the wall. And now there was this third girl, a young one, who had just appeared in front of them as they had rounded yet another corner, as if out of thin air. And her voice ? Delilah couldn?t get it out of her head. [I]?I?m ? perfect ?.?[/I] It was dead, devoid of emotion, and it had made Delilah?s skin crawl. But they couldn?t just leave her, and so the girl had fallen in behind Meredith and the trio had continued on at the hunter?s unhurried, steady pace. Even now, the girl appeared to be missing something. She followed Meredith almost mechanically, her head never turning, her gaze, as far as Delilah could tell, fixed absently on Meredith?s heels. That was another part of her appearance that gave Delilah the creeps: her eyes. There was no color in them. If there ever had been, Delilah guessed that they would have been striking; emerald green, perhaps, though sapphire blue would also have been gorgeous with hair that fiery. She would have been a rather attractive young lady. But instead there were only black pools where her irises should have been; pools of nothingness, that seemed somehow to draw in anyone who looked into them. Delilah had had to forcibly shake herself free after first looking into them, and she felt certain that if she did so again, she might not come out. She felt her legs beginning to tire. Her daily work-out routines had provided her with a good deal of stamina, but everyone had their limits, and she sincerely hoped Meredith would find an exit soon. [center]-------------------[/center] Meredith, up at the front, was actually enjoying herself a little. She had known, after the gigantic saw blade and the crumbling walkway, that this place was a death trap, and she hadn?t had a decent challenge in a long time. Not since her final training under Grant Taylor, her father, had her life actually been at stake as an actual part of the game ? if you could call his tests ?games?. He had always pushed her abilities to the edge and beyond, forcing her to become stronger with every mission; as the best Tcheran hunter in the known world, he certainly had had the right to, and though then she might have hated the endless wilderness/survival treks, agonizing sleep-, food-, and water-deprivation trainings, and grueling hours of studying, she begrudged him none of it now. If not for him, she might never have moved to L?iyan (she couldn?t encroach on his territory, and L?iyan was far enough away that the two could operate without interfering with each other), and she might never have become so accomplished in her ?business dealings?. She grinned as she remembered her father?s term for his mercenary work. After starting her own career, with her father?s hard-earned blessing, she had quickly realized how different working for her father had been. Her final test had been three back-to-back assassinations and a four day survival course, followed immediately by two more assassinations, all of which had to be executed precisely on schedule and in different manners, with time to plan around each target?s schedule and lay out four exit routes, and without leaving traces of herself behind. All told, she had traveled about three-thousand miles in under a fortnight, with barely enough time to eat a decent meal, let alone sleep more than two nights in succession. She?d particularly enjoyed her fourth target: a fellow mercenary who she?d had to chase through a succession of cities. His murder had actually been arranged to prevent another, potentially disastrous assassination; Meredith had laced his sniper with a lovely little bio-agent that, after four hours, caused asphyxiation along with severe internal hemorrhaging. She?d watched his demise through the scope of her own sniper, and to top it all off the fool had tried to stand up after he?d begun feeling the agent?s effects, presumably to look for help. He hadn?t actually managed it, of course. By the time he?d brought himself to one knee, his mind had been deluged with far too much pain to perform even rudimentary functions, and he?d toppled out of the building he?d been using for cover. He had died before he hit the ground, but he?d made a beautiful impressionist painting on the sidewalk with his brains and liquefied innards. That had been the last even remotely challenging assignment she?d had. Naturally, with no standard to adhere to save her own, she?d eventually gotten sloppy and left behind trails with a couple of her targets, alerting the L?iyan authorities to her existence. The accident had solved the problem, though she still grieved her husband?s death; she was certain her father had arranged the situation, since there had conveniently been nothing left for the authorities to examine by the time they?d arrived. He?d said nothing, naturally, and she?d felt it best not to intrude where not invited, but she still hoped that he?d managed to keep her husband alive somewhere as well. And now here she was, jogging along the ledge of a nasty-looking chasm, constantly scanning her surroundings, looking for a way out, if there was one. She glanced backwards every now and then to make sure her companions were keeping up, but for the most part her attention stayed focused in front of her. Finally, after rounding another corner, she saw what she?d been looking for: in the distance ? about forty meters farther down, she hazarded, continuing to run ? the gorge was abruptly ended by what looked like an enormous cast-iron wall, and where the wall met the ledge, an opening lay, emitting artificial light from somewhere inside it. Meredith was about to call back the news when she heard a distinct cracking sound far above her. Throwing a glance skyward, she saw several dozen large boulders breaking loose from the canyon wall amidst a shower of rubble. [I]?Oh, hell.[/I] [B]?Move!?[/B] she shouted, spinning around to force the other two ahead of her. [B]?Head for the door; head for the door!? [/B] The redhead continued on at the same pace, never raising her eyes. Meredith Taylor cursed violently. Delilah, at least, had heeded the urgency in her voice and was already racing ahead; Meredith grabbed the other girl and shoved her forward. [B]?Goddammit, bitch, get going! [I]RUN!![/I]?[/B] The redhead finally obeyed. Meredith looked up, then back at the ledge to see how much time she?d lost. She could still make it; tucking her arms up, she broke into a dead run. Delilah was inside the doorway, and the girl was scant steps from safety. Meredith saw her reach the next room and stop, as if she had no idea what to do next. The rockslide was almost on her, and she let loose an exhilarated roar as she threw herself into a dive, rolling through the door as the rocks crushed the path behind her and fell into the depths of the crevasse. She came up from her roll smoothly, landing on one knee and balanced by her hands. A door hissed shut. [B]?Boo-yah,?[/B] she said, grinning fiercely. This was going to be one hell of a lot of fun.[/align][/indent][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]No, Oromis is still alive; it was the other two assassins that were killed. [COLOR=DarkRed]Darren[/COLOR]'s death list is accurate. Eight killing players, two double deaths and a partridge in a pear tree make for ten pieces dead so far. Everything adds up. [B]Edit:[/B] That is, of course, discounting the three that were erased. I don't actually consider them pertinent any longer, since they all openly came from one player, and they were never truly [U][B][I]de[/I][/B][/U]ceased; they just ceased.[/FONT]

[QUOTE=Darren][COLOR=Orange][B]Group 1[/B] Sastasha Sandares Mary Winters Lucia Travera Nadia Dylenda[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [FONT=Arial]Because I just [I]have[/I] to be the one to say it, it looks like you forgot [COLOR=Orange]Katar Dakit[/COLOR]. Can't be having him left out....[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]During my forays into the world of remodelling Wal-Mart, I have been showered with lipstick, nail polish, eleven-year-old dust bunnies from ceiling fans, and men's underwear. [I]Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head[/I] has nothing on me.[/FONT]

[quote name='Sandy][B]Allamorph[/B'], I deleted your previous post to this thread....[/quote] [FONT=Arial]Of course. [I]Mea culpa[/I], I was an idiot. ------------------------- Oh, [COLOR=DarkRed]Darren[/COLOR], thank you [I]so[/I] much for not posting about Three. I was incredibly worried there for a second, especially since I took my time with the playing of my card. From now on, I shall abandon invisibility when posting in the game thread. It caused minor confusion once before, I think, and I fain would have it again.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][center][B][U]Group Three[/U][/B][/center] [indent]But the winged warrior was not yet dead. She would not resort to the insane cannibalistic impulses that would destroy her for some time to come, not until long after the memories of sight and sound and time had faded from her ken, and even the face of the Great Mother, to whose comforting presence she had desperately anchored her failing mind, had slipped from her terrified grasp. And she could still hear the fading voice of the one called Alcuin as he beat on the door that divided them until it vanished. Inside the orange prison, Alcuin nó Prideux continued to pound at the space where the door had been, his blows and cries increasing in fervor as the terrible finality of his party's situation dawned on him, until he abruptly stopped. He had recognized how futile his actions were, and he stepped sharply away from the wall, staring at its blank orange face in shock, panting hard and fast. [B]"Oh God,"[/B] breathed Serena as she hugged herself, shuddering, her eyes closing in disbelief. [B]"Oh God."'[/B] Alcuin's breath sped up until he screamed in useless rage; he threw himself at the wall one last time, then turned his back to it, sliding down to sit braced against it at its bottom, his hands plastered over his face. Etamet knelt in some ritual gesture from his homeworld, and a low keening began emanating from Dafine. Penelope Archess did not understand what all the fuss was about. She stood off to the side for a few moments, arms defiantly akimbo, until in utter impatience she stamped her foot. [B]"What are you all doing?!"[/B] she demanded angrily. [B]"Why are you all acting so funny? Why aren't we going anywhere?"[/B] Serena stared at her in a mixture of surprise, anguish, and hatred. [B]"What's wrong with you?!"[/B] she screamed. Alcuin and Etamet looked up, and Dafine fell silent; no one made a move one way or the other. The stillness held for a few horrible seconds. Serena broke it. [B]"What's wrong with you?!"[/B] she repeated, her eyes locked with Penny's. [B]"Didn't you see the video? Didn't you see anything? Is this another little playground game to you?!"[/B] Her voice quavered; the hacker was shivering with fury. [B]"That quiet girl is dead! Dead! Fell! Down! Long way down! I didn't even know her name, and she's dead! And the flying woman who was back with her is gone, too!"[/B] Tears began streaming down her face as she vented on the schoolgirl. [B]"Are you getting this yet? Is any of this sinking into that self-absorbed little head of yours? We weren't brought here to get out; we weren't brought here to survive. We were brought here to die!! All of us!"[/B] She sank to her knees, sobbing. [B]"All of us."[/B] [B]"I do so know what dead means,"[/B] Penny retorted haughtily. [B]"Dead means you lie in a long box and sleep while a lot of people walk by you and be sad. And then more people close the box and bury you for a while."[/B] [B]"Really,"[/B] Eliana Cedes offered condescendingly. [B]"And what happens after that, hmm? Do 'the people' come and dig you up again?"[/B] [B]"I...."[/B] Penelope stopped. Her face fell. [B]"...I don't know,"[/B] she finished, embarrassed. [B]"Well then,"[/B] Eliana started, as snidely as possible, [B]"I'll tell you?"[/B] Dafine cut the dancer off. [B]"Leave her alone! She's just a child; she doesn't understand what death is."[/B] Penny was indignant. [B]"I am [I][U]not[/U][/I] just a child?"[/B] [B]"And you,"[/B] continued Dafine to the schoolgirl, [B]"should learn when best to be silent. Such as now,"[/B] she added forcefully, sensing the impending retort. Penny obediently shut her mouth. Satisfied, Dafine moved to Serena and knelt beside her, wrapping her arms around the young lady in an attempt to provide a measure of comfort. The programmer shuddered again and let out a ragged sigh, but leaned into the offered embrace. [B]"I hate to be a wet blanket,"[/B] Uriel interjected, [B]"but Penny's right. We need to find a way out of here before any more traps start killing us off again. Besides,"[/B] he said, glancing around, [B]"this room feels too much like a gigantic microwave for my liking."[/B] Dafine and Etamet looked more than a little confused at the analogy; Alcuin, finally recovered, rose to his feet. [B]"You're right,"[/B] he said. [B]"We can't stay here. We have to keep going."[/B] He sent Serena a pointed yet compassionate look. [B]"We have to move on."[/B] [center]-------------------[/center] After a brief search, a sliding wall on one of the room's vertical faces was found, by Uriel, almost on accident, and the group pressed onward with Etamet in the lead. The passage they found themselves in was built of stone blocks, with moss and lichen growing in the cracks and on the surfaces. Light filtered in through holes near the tunnel's ceiling, allowing what little surroundings there were to be plainly, if somewhat dimly, seen. After an eternity spent in the close quarters, which in reality only happened to be ten minutes, the warren opened onto a large temple-like room with a high ceiling and numerous stone columns supporting it. The group moved slowly out into the open. Eliana gasped. [B]"Ooh! How pretty."[/B] Her wonder was echoed by other of the party; the recent tragedies momentarily forgotten they began staring around them at the massive architecture. It was Uriel Blaine who brought them back to reality. [B][I]"Freeze!!"[/I][/B] They froze. Uriel scratched the back of his head. [B]"Sorry about that. I know it was kind of cliché, but it was the best way to stop you all from moving, and right now,"[/B] he chuckled nervously, [B]"it seems to fit."[/B] His compatriots stared at him; he cleared his throat. [B]"Right. Look here."[/B] They followed his finger with their eyes to a space just in front of Etamet's foot. There, just above toe level, an almost invisibly fine wire ran between two stones that were barely higher than those on the floor around them. The warrior bent and ran his fingers along it, feeling its tension. Uriel didn't say anything further, but there was no need. They all knew what it was: a trip wire, no doubt waiting to trigger another deadly trap. All of them except Penny, apparently. Fascinated by the pillars, she hadn't quite kept pace with the others. She didn't move, but she began craning her neck around to try and get a better view. [B]"What?"[/B] she asked plaintively. [B]"What is it?"[/B] Uriel glared at her, but motioned her closer to them. She stepped cautiously from stone to stone until she stood beside the scientist. He dutifully showed her what he had pointed out to the others, and she nodded seriously. [B]"Be careful,"[/B] he cautioned her. Dafine shifted her weight nervously. The stone beneath her left foot sank. The feline hurled herself to one side a split second before the [I]thwunk[/I] that marked the trap's release sounded, and a spear whistled through the space where she had been standing. The next in line was Penny. The javeline sank solidly into the stone behind her, leaving her impaled body suspended at an angle, her stunned gaze pointed only at Uriel. [CENTER]--------------------------------- [IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b269/MetalSonic700/panopticon-girl-1.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b269/MetalSonic700/deathcardpanopticon.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER][/indent][/FONT]

[quote name='SunfallE][COLOR=#DAA520']One other thing, Explain yourself Allamorph! :p Since 'picaune' doesn't come up as a word and it doesn't register in the online dictionary.[/COLOR][/quote] [FONT=Arial]Grr. I lose. [indent][B]picayune[/B], [I]adj., n. [B]?adj.[/B][/I] small; petty; mean; paltry: [I]picayune criticism. My accent was excellent, but my vocabulary picayune[/I] (Atlantic).[/indent] So I misspell a word occasionally. :animeangr Rats. And for my explanation: I was saying that my comment was picayune. I dislike ragging on people over and over like that, especially over trivial matters. The elvish bit was just because I found it mildly entertaining that Kayrel's messed up [I]and[/I] Nadia's assailants are pervs. Hee hee. And speaking of criticism, have you ever heard of the constructive type, [COLOR=DarkRed]DB[/COLOR]? I find it works better than does pummeling one's colleague when they don't meet up with [U]your[/U] expectations. I'll put something up tomorrow morning after I get off work. Cheers![/FONT]

[quote name='Dragon Warrior][size=1']That's always been a case with anyone who does something monotonously for several hours on end.[/size][/quote] [FONT=Arial]Tru dat. I get the same thing from writing for long periods of time. It's not a really big deal; just stop for a half-hour or so and muse, or something pseudo-productive like that. (^_^)[/FONT]

[quote name='Sandy']And [b]Hellsminion6676[/B], godmodding much?[/quote] [quote name='Rachmaninoff']You took the words right out of my mouth Sandy...Good grief! Though I'm not so sure on the godmodding, but still that was a bit unbelievable [b]Hellsminion6676[/b][/quote] [font=Arial]Eh, it could go either way. Just watch the random unprecedented pwnage, 'aight? It's cool, but make it believable. Remember, he's still an apprentice. And sorry to also harp, [color=DarkRed]Prem[/color], but it's time to branch out. You're starting to sound like the ending to a Strauss concerto: sticking on the same chord for three hundred measures. Do something different. Play with other pieces. Have fun. --------- On a less picaune note: Oh yippee. A torture chamber riddled with mentally insane, sex-crazed dark elves. Every [i]other[/i] species is at least halfway normal, but the elves get the schizophrenics, the H. Lecterns, and the rapists. Represent! [b][u]Afterthought[/u][/b] Exit Time: Thursday 5:06 p.m. US CST[/font]

[FONT=Arial][U][B][center]Group One[/center][/B][/U] [indent][align=justify]As the door opened, Marcus worked to bring his respiratory system back under control. Moving that fast with so little advance warning, even with his conditioning and enhancements, was certain to cause brief fatigue, and after watching a six-foot saw blade almost carve his current burden in two, he knew fatigue was a condition he coudn't afford. The room beyond the doorway was pitch black. The light from the hallway the group was still standing in only lit the first couple of feet into the area; other than that, Marcus couldn't see anything. He couldn't hear anything, either, so he took two steps into the chamber, more to get out of the light than anything else. [B]"Wait!"[/B] Mary called from near the back. [B]"Don't! You don't know what's in there!"[/B] [B]"Exactly,"[/B] Marcus called back, [B]"so I'm going to find out. Give me a sec."[/B] His irises glowed green as he brought nightvision online. With the light behind him now, the terrain was easily visible. He turned his head from left to right, looking for any obvious traps. [B]"It's a cave,"[/B] he announced. [B]"There's some kind of switch to my left; I think it might turn on some lights."[/B] He turned around. [B]"Can someone take this guy for me?"[/B] No one moved right away. Marcus sighed. [B]"Look, I freakin' need my hands to do this?"[/B] [B]"I'll take him."[/B] Marius pushed through to the front of the group. [B]"...since no one [I]else[/I] seems to to want to move forward."[/B] The alien hunter glared at various people, letting her eyes linger on Katar and Claire. Marcus transferred the unconscious Damian to her care and went back into the darkness. [B]"This should only take a second,"[/B] he said.[/align][/indent][/FONT]

[quote name='SunfallE][COLOR=#DAA520']Still, that's a long time. Poor Brittany, she'll be stuck there till Saturday morning! Ouch! [/COLOR][/quote] [FONT=Arial]I don't believe so. 48 hours is two days, 72 hours is three. Brittany should be imprisoned until 3:55 p.m. US Central Standard Time, on Wednesday. Unless my math is off. For you guys who don't live Central, do your own conversions. :D [/FONT]

[quote name='SunfallE][COLOR=#DAA520']And speaking of character, since there are so many assassins, perverts (I'm looking at you BKstyles and how you had Katar going after Lucia :p), bitches, warriors and so forth I decided to make Brittany slightly religious. After all not everyone needs to be whacked out. lol[/COLOR][/quote] [FONT=Arial]Yeah, speaking of similarities, I may start toying around with Group One for a little while. I was looking at Two there because no one seemed to be interested in it and I wanted to try something, but One seems to be devolving into a regular shoving match with no clear method of proceeding. I mean, where's Bunny Foo Foo when you need him to do some head-bopping? Jays. Anyway, my schedule's getting tossed around right now, what with me working graveyard and all. I'll post as I can, but I can make no promises to be as prolific as [COLOR=DarkRed]Rachmaninoff[/COLOR] or [COLOR=DarkRed]SunfallE[/COLOR], or as spastic as [COLOR=DarkRed]DB[/COLOR]. (Seriously, it's like you've got Tourette's or something. :D ) I'll be sure to make up for it....[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]And I assume that the old positions still hold?[/FONT]

[quote name='2007DigitalBoy][COLOR=DarkRed']So I'm not sure how to handle it... maybe he was really confident at first, but then suddenly turned into a complete wuss once he stepped inside?[/COLOR][/quote] [FONT=Arial]Well, we could pretend he's schizoid. That's always fun. Let's see. . .a bipolar fifteen-year-old elvish assassin who's having gender clarification issues. It's almost like Saya from Blood+, but with random bouts of testosterone. Yee-haw.[/FONT]

Group Two The instant the recording began to loop, Kayrel ignored it, shoving the unnecessary noise to the side. Thirty seconds was plenty of time, more than he needed; the others in the anteroom, for that was what it was, had already found the exit for him in their mad scramble to escape, and he had no desire to be crushed in a panicked mob. Kayrel enjoyed his space. Besides, the faster he left, the less he could take in of his surroundings. Which, admittedly, were pretty spartan. Aside from the massive viewscreen, the floor, walls and ceiling were identical, constructed of five-foot square tiles that gave the immediate impression of a medical ward with their sterile whiteness. He turned in a complete circle as he strolled to the doorway, hands thrust nonchalantly into his pants pockets, noting the absence of any transportation or storage containers. Obviously who- or whatever had constructed this place had access to extraordinary technology, or very powerful magic, even compared to civilization halfway through the Third millennium. Granted, it wasn?t much information to go on, but it was something. By the time he?d made it to the door, Kayrel was the only person still in the room. A confident smirk spread over his face, but he made no effort to quicken his step. The double doors hissed shut after he passed through, and the building shuddered with the force of the implosion. When it had finished, he carefully surveyed the members of his unanticipated party, who were now staring back at him in either disbelief of disapproval. "What?" he asked, more smugly than necessary. "Never seen an elf before?"

[quote name='Rachmaninoff']Only eight? lol And here I was thinking you had dozens of ways for the characters to get nailed. Though I suppose it would be a problem if everyone got imprisoned.[/quote] [FONT=Arial]I have no doubt that eight will be plenty. After all, I feel [COLOR=DarkRed]DB[/COLOR] quite capable of interpreting the eight rules so as to best . . . amuse himself. Am I right?[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Oh, come now. It's [I][U]Die Hard 4[/U][/I]. That's all the reason you need to see it. Just to see if they can run out of stuff to blow up. And hey, at least it's not "Demolition Man 4". :D [/FONT]

[indent][align=justify][SIZE=1]Her master did not return until almost morning. Madeline was waiting for him this morning, as she did every so often, attempting to test the progression of her faculties against his skill, to catch him should he slip one day on his return. It had become a sort of unspoken game between them, a game they played only at her discretion and without his foreknowledge, a game she could never win. He was far too practiced for silence to be anything but natural to him by now, and she was still young compared to him, still learning. She knew this, and yet she tried anyway; striving so for the impossible made tracking others of her kind that much easier. Seated at one end of Faust?s long, hand-carved mahogany dining table, in the chair left of the head seat, facing the full windows, Madeline waited, working patiently on the laptop that sat cockeye on the table in front of her, her chair turned left as well so she could scribble easily on the legal pad beside the computer, which she did at intervals. Madeline was dressed in smart business attire: a navy blue blazer worn over a plain white blouse with quiet lace ruffles at the neck and cuffs, a navy blue skirt that fell down past her knees, and a plain set of matching heels, closed-toe and simple. Her slender legs crossed demurely at the knee, and she sat straight, her left arm resting on the chair?s back, the other skillfully typing one-handed. She held her head with the same natural discipline that the rest of her body displayed, and the image was completed by her cold, vampirically attractive features. Her long blond hair was tied up and back in a tight ponytail before cascading down to rest between her shoulder blades. It had been raining since the previous afternoon?not a terribly heavy rain, but a steady, persistent, even rain that refused to abate. The sound of it on the oak patio was pleasant, though, and Madeline listened to its soothing thrumming through the open terrace door. William, the butler and only other of the manse?s residents, had twice offered to close it for her, but she had politely refused and he had eventually abandoned the subject. In truth, she wasn?t so much concerned with not hearing the rain as she was with making the game that much harder; it was quite easy to mark one?s approach by the sound of a door opening, and ease was not her intent. Madeline wanted to work for her prize. It would not come tonight. The first evidence of her master?s presence came as the diminishing sound of the rain, and she looked up to see Aleister Faust casually closing the patio door, water still flowing off his hat. Even his overcoat, made of a coarse wool fibre, had already dripped a few small puddles beneath him, so thoroughly was it soaked. [B]? ?Tis a bit moist,?[/B] Faust pronounced. [B]?So it appears,?[/B] she replied evenly, looking him over. She added simply, [B]?You?re late.?[/B] [B]?Am I??[/B] Faust checked his pocketwatch, a sterling silver contraption, devoid of any engravings, with gold hands inside and a small diamond at the twelve o?clock position. [B]?I suppose I am; I hadn?t noticed. Have I missed dinner??[/B] he asked. William?s voice answered as its owner faithfully entered the room. [B]?No, master, I took the liberty of ? good heavens!, sir, you?re soaking wet.?[/B] He pronounced it ?säh?. Faust looked down at himself as if only just noticing his damp state. [B]?Yes I am,?[/B] he answered as William relieved him of his overcoat. [B]?It is, after all, what happens when one travels in rain.?[/B] The rain had penetrated even his thick coat, so that his charcoal suit was saturated as well; Faust possessed the genuine appearance of a wet dog, if a highly refined one. [B]?About dinner: is it by any chance soup??[/B] [B]?It is, sir.?[/B] [B]?Oh good. I shall have it in the kitchen. First I must get out of this mess.?[/B] William nodded and exited. [B]?Of course, sir.?[/B] Faust returned his attention to his assistant. [B]?I picked up an interesting bit of news this evening, concerning Drigg.?[/B] He began removing his sodden gloves, cradling his cane in the crook of his right arm. Madeline entered a few quick keystrokes on her laptop. [B]?It runs from Sellafield tomorrow, yes??[/B] [B]?Yes. Apparently Drigg is to carry some sensitive cargo as well, and to Buckingham no less. I should like to know what it is.?[/B] Madeline?s eyebrows rose briefly. [B]?You want me to intercept the train and find out,?[/B] she offered, anticipating his instruction. [B]?No, actually. Drigg will be heavily guarded on this run; I?ll find out what I wish to know. Besides,?[/B] he added, half to himself, [B]?I?ll be in the area.?[/B] His voice returned to normal. [B]?What I would like you to do is monitor Buckingham when Drigg arrives and see if anyone special receives the package.?[/B] Madeline nodded. [B]?Now, if you?ll excuse me,?[/B] Faust said graciously, [B]?I have some desirably hot soup waiting for me, and I have somewhere I wish to be tomorrow afternoon. I bid you good morning.?[/B] And he was gone. Madeline returned calmly to her work. [center]--------------------------------------[/center] Faust arrived at his somewhere at exactly three minutes past noon: a hill outside London that Drigg?s tracks happened to run past. He mounted the top in a single leap, his black leather dress shoes making no sound as they touched the earth. He was dressed today in a bright lime green suit, his shoes and black gloves, hat, and cane contrasting sharply. At his throat was a prominent royal purple cravat, and the skin of his exposed face and neck was covered thickly in white makeup against the sun. He looked through his sunglasses down the hill to the vampire he had marked the previous night as he had passed through the city. It was the von Lorentzen boy, and he was at the moment rather engaged with the train tracks. Faust stood motionless at the top of the hill. There was no need to move; the boy would come to him, if not from curiosity then because he might feel threatened. No one particularly likes to be snuck up on.[/SIZE][/align][/indent]

[quote name='2007DigitalBoy][COLOR=DarkOrange]Anyhow, [B]Rach [/B] and [B]Soliel [/B] have entered their submissions, and I'm still awaiting [B]Allamorph's [/B'] characters. In any event The sign-ups are now closed. As soon as I get the PM from allamorph, the parade begins.[/COLOR][/quote] [FONT=Arial]Yeah, yeah, I'm here. And I just gotta say, this thread is spaaaaam-tastic. I'm in. Characters to follow.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Ah, yet another thread I've posted semi-sardonically in without actually addressing the topic. Well, I [I]did[/I] for this one, really, but there was naught to be learned from what I said. Besides, this thread has lingered on longer than I initially thought, so.... I came here on a whim, four days after first signing onto theO, which only just occurred last September. Then, the left sidebar still possessed an OB link, and since I was somewhat bored, I investigated. I still remain because of the number of thsoe here who actually desire to make themselves sensible and coherent, and because of the presence of strong writers. Happenstance draws me; knowledge, understanding, and talent are what bid me ever return. Forgive me my speech; solitude has returned to me my old familiar syntax. :animeknow [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][B][U]Note:[/U][/B] This was actually supposed to be post #39, but I opened another window and forgot about it. Oops. ---------------------------- [quote name='Vicky][SIZE=1']Madeline isn't actually a problem.[/SIZE][/quote] I didn't think she would be, since I believe our thoughts on Faust's activity are aligned. As far as the resemblance to Quan, Faust has no reservations about doing his own work; I think of it more along the lines of a self-imposed Prime Directive, without the stringencies. He doesn't involve himself immediately simply because he sees no particular reason to, though he [I]is[/I] insatiably curious by nature, to say nothing of his curious nature itself. (If that one has you flummoxed, then you begin to see what I am after.) I thank you for the small liberty afforded me.[/FONT]

[quote name='2007DigitalBoy][COLOR=DarkOrange']The Augustine had it easy being an oranization and all, but since even your own posts did nothing to unite the Nicodemus, it's only natural that they stray off on their own, and no one wants to read a punch of posts about one guy walking around stalking in the shadows over and over again.[/COLOR][/quote] [FONT=Arial]There is also the point to remember that it is expected for the Augustine to be somewhat organized already, while the Nicodemus have to scramble to regroup. I sincerely doubt that Sebastian would have bothered to inform the Nicodemean elders of his intentions during the course of his coup-planning and forming of S.O.L.F.; you see what I mean? I see no problems with the current scenario development. If the Nicodemus were already organized and prepared for this situation, it wouldn't make much of a story, eh? [QUOTE]Originally spoken by [B]Dori; [I]Finding Nemo[/I][/B] [FONT=Arial][I]"Not much fun for little Harpo."[/I][/FONT][/QUOTE][/FONT]

[QUOTE=Vicky][SIZE=1]We are indeed going to have to stop bringing so many characters in. They're not going to be that important at all. I allow one of two characters to be created, especially in the first few posts, because no one knows each other and it gives your characters a chance to show off their personality through conversation. But I'd rather focus on getting all the characters involved than getting characters introduced that will not be involved in the RPG at all. So I'm asking everyone if they're going to mention an NPC, keep them to a low of two. The NPC I created isn't going to be mentioned again because after this chapter, Deacon will have other characters to talk to. No more characters unless you ask me first. You're going to have to refrain from mentioning them from now on because I myself am having trouble keeping up with the story. We've got over ten players - [I]we don't need anymore.[/I][/SIZE][/QUOTE] [FONT=Arial]In that case, I feel I must say a word. Or several. Madeline will not be an issue. She was mentioned as an afterthought, someone to stand in the background should Faust make a public appearance, someone who holds the sterling-silver-suitcase-of-necessary-material(s). I did not intend her to even approach the development or usage of a casual player, much less an involved one. I may use her now and again as an incidental foil to Faust's personality, as I shall be in my next post, but that is all I want her for at present. If that is unsatisfactory, she will disappear.[/FONT]