Sandy

[quote name='Doukeshi][SIZE=1']Hey, I thought that Wraith and Shinji were exempt from being nominated in this round 'cause they didn't participate. Or was that just a false assumption on my part?[/SIZE][/quote] Yes, that was your own assumption. Wraith and Shinji are still a part of the team, even though they didn't participate this time. In Team Councils the teams look their position as a whole - by voting who would they have better chances at winning et. Also, Red Team, I repeat that it [I]doesn't[/I] have to be a mutual decision on who's leaving the Blues, I just need a name from one of you: Shinji or KKC? This Game isn't going anywhere til I get it... ,:)

No, I didn't mean it that way, really. I meant that using the actual word "anime" is quite rude, if it's not a Japanese cartoon, because to my knowledge, anime literally means Japanese animation. It's totally different to say it's "anime-style", or "pseudo-anime", but even then [I]to me[/I] it feels like ripping off a concept that's selling big bucks. I get a feeling that us Western people - whether it be cartoon companies or common otakus - are jealous of what the Japanese people have created, and we are trying to steal that honor from them... :/ But these are just my personal feelings. Of course people can and [I]should[/I] be anime/manga fans, otakus or whatever, just try to be respectful to the origins. PS. In my opinion claiming that modern anime would not exist without Betty Boop or Bambi is utterly ridiculous, as anime goes [I]far[/I] beyond the extralarge eyes.

I'm no expert of anime or manga, but isn't calling a purely American cartoon an 'anime' a bit disrespectful and, to be honest, rude? It's like because anime is in such a big fad at this moment, cartoonists everywhere are starting to publish their own stuff made in the similar style, trying to get their share on the money that's practically flowing to the Japanese anime-makers. I haven't heard about this show you're talking about before now, but I just checked a few pictures from it, and I don't think it looks much like anime at all... More like Mulan or some other Disney production. Besides, American cartoonists should be proud of their own style of animation, and not try to copy some other country's style.

[SIZE=1]OoC: Minako, Vernacular is [I]not[/I] with Pandora's group, she is with Unhate and Melinoë.[/SIZE] [CENTER]* * * * *[/CENTER] Melinoë stepped into the gondola after Unhate and Vernacular - she got her name now. She didn't sense anything threatening from this Keeper of the Beast. In fact, she didn't sense [I]anything[/I] at all from the creepy old man. The rickety boat left the bank, and slowly made it's way across the murky river. [I]"This, my dear ones..."[/I] the geezer cackled. [I]"...is the Soulflow. It carries the spirits of those who have died in this Temple, preventing from them to move on. I reckon most of the souls prefer this river from the place they would be moving on to, if you catch my drift. Gyah!"[/I] Vernacular leaned towards Melinoë to whisper to her. "This man thinks he's some sort of smart-***, wisecrack, barrel of laughs!" Melinoë couldn't help to chuckle in her mind, but just nodded to the woman sitting next to her. Then she turned to look into the water. She wondered if she would see anybody she knew there... [I]"Ah, you are summoning your friends, aren't you, twoface?"[/I] the Keeper asked mentally, turning his cataract-ridden stare at Melinoë. She wondered what he meant, but it was revealed to her as soon as a face emerged from the surface. "It's Speedy!" Vernacular gasped. "And look, there's Face, on the other side! Oh no, they are trapped, seized, sealed here!" The transparent figures of their two deceased team members floated in the surface of the water, staring up with empty eyes. "Unhate!" Melinoë called as she saw yet another familiar figure surface. "It's Joseph!" The rock-skinned man looked over the edge of the gondola. "So it seems." "Joseph?" Vernacular asked. "Wasn't he one of the Legionnaires? The quiet, silent, few-worded man who was always carrying a camera?" "Yes", Unhate confirmed. "He was with us in the Gold Team mission. He... didn't make it." [I]"He didn't make it because you abandoned him!"[/I] the Keeper of the Beast croaked in their minds, obviously amused. [I]"Condemned by his team mates to an eternity in this river - how tragic! Gyah gyah cackle gyah!"[/I] Unhate sat back down, his face darkening. Melinoë felt the slightest sting in her heart, which surprised her quite a bit. [I]"Cheer up, folks! We've almost there!"[/I] The old man raised his long bony index finger and pointed at the opposite bank, which was less than twenty feet away.

The votes for the third Team Council have been cast, and the [color=green]Green Team[/color] voted out [B]Kitty[/B] with three votes (she didn't vote for some reason). You have the right to say goodbye to this game in [I]this[/I] thread, Kitty, if you so like. What comes to the [color=blue]Blue Team[/color], a total of four people got nominated: Wraith and Baron got one vote each, and KKC and Shinji both got two votes. So now it's up to the [color=red]Red Team[/color] to decide who will go: [B]KKC[/B] or [B]Shinji[/B]. I don't care if it's one person's choice or if you discuss about it before you decide, but I'd like the answer as soon as possible. [I]Game[/I] is still [I]On[/I]!

[FONT=Century Gothic]The two teams participating in the Team Council waited anxiously for the results as Mog tallied them. "Kupo... I think we might have a little problem here.... But everything has a solution, right kupo?" The survivor candidates had no idea what the furry mole-bat was talking about. "Now, I have the results for the [COLOR=Green]Legends of the Green Gem[/COLOR] here, kupo. The third character deleted from your ranks will be..." [CENTER][B]Sora[/B] [IMG]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/SamSandy/OB%20Survivor/delete-Sora.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Sora stood up and gave his team members an encouraging smile as his feet began to vanish. "Don't worry about me, I'll be alright! Just make sure one of you will win this thing!" With those words, he was gone. "Now, kupo, to the tricky part. [COLOR=Blue]Adventurers of the Blue Feather[/COLOR], in your first voting, your have a [I]tie[/I]. It's between..." [CENTER][B]Fox McCloud vs. Pacman[/B][/CENTER] "As the rules state, in this situation we contact the winning team and let them decide." A large holographic screen appeared behind Mog, showing the interior of the penthouse in Liberty Tower with the members of the Red Team inside. "[COLOR=Red]Bravers of the Red Sword[/COLOR], can you hear me kupo?" CJ jumped up the couch he had been snoring on, and gave a bewildered look around. Samus, who had taken off her Metroid armor, pointed at the blue screen that had appeared on their side too. [I]"Yes, Mog, what is it?"[/I] Samus asked. "The Adventurers has two members with equal amount of votes. Now it's up to you which one of them gets deleted. Will it be [B]Fox McCloud[/B] or [B]Pacman[/B]?" [I]"Huh?!"[/I] CJ exclaimed. Xiaoyu hung her head sadly, Ada took a pondering pose, and Samus glanced over her shoulder at her team mates. [/FONT]

Yes, I'll try to remember that Melinoë has the gun. ;D Maybe she'll even gets a chance to give it back to Liquid... I really respect you for admitting your own mistake, and not clinging onto such a weak idea. You'll do better in your next post, I believe. ;D

I agree with Seraphim... All that Kiva stuff was very naive, and has nothing to do with doppelgangers. The doppelgangers should be monstrous versions of your characters, not some mysterious being posing as you long lost friend. Besides, how stupid do you think the Legionnaires are, falling into such an [I]obvious[/I] trap, Takuya? I sincerely suggest you take another shot with your post, make it a bit more sensical. I'm saying this with all due respect - you [I]must[/I] see the paradox yourself, don't you?

Uhh, don't do that, Shy! You're giving me the creeps by mentioning only Unhate and Vernacular but not Melinoë! She's [I]with[/I] them! X/ Unless... [size=1]Eep! 8([/size] Anyways, I love the doppelganger idea - I really thought Arachnid facing Sheba was a bit too much for a mere coincidence. ,:D

Instead of making the Legionnaires face yet another immortal and invincible monstrosity, I split them into two groups. Melinoë is now sliding downwards with Unhate and Vernacular, and the other five - Kaida, Liquid, Arachnid, Pandora and Tetros - are carried away in another tunnel. Feel free to continue from that.

Melinoë stopped to think what Liquid had suggested. What if [B]It[/B] was in fact the Temple of Aton itself? What if [B]It[/B] had possessed these halls and corridors they were walking in? But if that was the case, wouldn't they be dead already? Unless... [B]It[/B] wanted something from them. At that moment the earth began to tremor yet again. "I think something's coming!" the android shouted. Melinoë had a quick thought that she should really learn the names of these people. Detrus, was it? "Get ready! This could be nasty!" The rumbling became harder as it neared them. The eight Legionnaires were all knocked down. Then they saw it: the tunnel they were on was splitting in two. Melinoë dodged to the left side of the wall. Dust covered her vision, but she sensed two people with her. Unhate and the woman with the strange accent. Vocabular? The others were left to the other side of the newly formed wall. Melinoë could sense the corridor the three of them were in moving and transforming. The other corridor was distancing itself from theirs, carrying their teammates away. Suddenly the tunnel turned and became an almost vertical downwards slope. "This is mad, insade, crazy!" the other woman screamed as she slided into the darkness of the corridor. Unhate had a firm grip at the uneven wall, but Melinoë couldn't find anything to hold onto, so she had no choice but to slide after the other woman. She prepared herself to face whatever would meet her at the bottom of the slope.

The winner of the fourth challenge, [B]Damsels & Dragons[/B], is the [color=red]Red Team[/color]. Congrats on your first victory! I bet you want reasons, huh? Well, to be honest, I was pretty impressed by the [COLOR=Red]Red Team[/COLOR]'s stunts in the challenge - especially Outlaw's songs and the idea of using mushrooms (and the sketch was nice too. ;D ) Also, each of you posted quite equally, so there was clearly a sense of teamwork there. That couldn't be said about the [COLOR=Green]Green Team[/COLOR], though. Sakura, although I admire your activity, it kinda hurt your team in this challenge, as it seemed that you were controlling the whole show. Also, the stuff this team had to face... wasn't very inventive, or even interesting... :/ What comes to the [COLOR=Blue]Blue Team[/COLOR]... You certainly tried your best, I give you that. You are a bunch of talented writers, but your dedication to the original Mario games was too much. For one, you were supposed to go to the Sapphire Tower, [I]not[/I] Bowser's Castle. And almost all the hazards and opponents you faced were taken directly from Mario games, which in no case was the intention. Your lack of originality and slow pace caused you to lose for the first time in this game. But it's not as if you couldn't afford it, to be brutal. Both the Green Team and the Blue Team must now vote off one player from their ranks. After that, the three teams will merge into two. But expect a twist in that, as well. ;D The merger will take place at the beginning of next week, after which there will be the next challenge. But before that, [I]Game On[/I]!

[FONT=Century Gothic][COLOR=Green][I]In the Emerald Tower...[/I][/COLOR] "Phew, that was [I]something[/I]!" Yuna sighed. She gave a glance to her four teammates and the petrified Princess Sara standing in the center. Suddenly a blue sphere popped out of thin air, and they were all surrounded by a blue light that transported them back to CPU. [COLOR=Red][I]In the Ruby Tower...[/I][/COLOR] "You are coming with us!" Samus shouted at Princess Zelda. "No, I want Link!" she retaliated. "Well you ain't gettin' any!" Ada hissed between her teeth, and caught the princess by her arm. "Yippee!" Xiaoyu hollered. "CJ, we got her!" At that moment, a blue orb appeared above them, and teleported them back to CPU in a blue light. [COLOR=Blue][I]In the Sapphire Tower...[/I][/COLOR] After defeating Bowser, the team began to search the surrounding doors. "Where could she be?" Krystal asked. The team approached another door, but as they opened it, all they found was Mog the Moogle carrying a blue teleporter. "Sorry, kupo, but time's up! Let's go back!"

I recognize the type, I'm one. But to my experience, nice guys are usually alone until they're nearing their 30's and then suddenly become attractive to females who have been dissappointed a dozen times by the creeps. That, or they're really gay, like me. I'm in such a happy position that I ended up with another nice guy, at this moment sitting two feet away from me. ;D We belong together naturally.

Nice job so far, everybody! I've seen some great proof of imagination in this challenge. ;D Please notice that you have only [B]one full day[/B]'s time to conclude your missions! I will not be merciful for those who haven't saved their princess by around this time tomorrow! >;P

I have never been much into the fight scenes myself, either - that's why I spearated Melinoë from the rest of the group last time when they were fighting the immortal beast. I suggest you do the same with Unhate, DeadSeraphim, if you're not interested in fighting. I see this mission as an excellent change to deepen my character (before the inevitable happens) by making her face her inner demons. But as Baron said, there's still plenty of time (over a week) to post in the thread, so there's no hurry for making any solutions. However, it'd be nice if the party could move on deeper into the secrets of the temple. Wasn't there a large door behind Sheba's altar?

Melinoë sat on the pile of skeletons, surrounded by impenetrable darkness. She couldn't believe her mother had visited her at this moment, taking away everything she was. Why [I]now[/I]?! She looked at her hands. The right one was pale beige and the left ebony black. She cursed her mixed heritage. "My mother can go to Hell - where she came from! If only I wasn't half demon, my life would be so much..." She didn't knew what. Better? Hardly. Different? Of course. At that moment the fog that had covered her thoughts began to scatter. She was half demon... That could never be taken from her. Nobody, not even her mother could take that from her! Her mother had taken nothing, she had never been [I]there[/I]! Quickly Melinoë stood up, her demonic senses scanning the surroundings. She had sensed a presence when her mother had appeared. [I]Somebody[/I] had taken the Phlegethon, but it wasn't Nemesis. She couldn't believe she had been fooled! "I guess that's what fear does to you", she thought aloud. Melinoë felt ashamed, but she knew she had to get moving. This temple was still trying to get her, like it had gotten all the people she was standing on. She sensed a faint breeze coming from her left, so she started descending down the morbid hill towards the apparent exit. She came to a tunnel that looked nature-made. Something slimy was dripping from the ceiling, but she didn't stop to think about it. After walking along the tunnel for a good while, she came to a huge cave that continued down out of her sight. "This must be bottomless!" she gasped, peering down from the narrow ledge she was walking on. Then Melinoë heard voices. At first she thought she was hallucinating again, but then she recognized them as the other Legionnaires. She ran towards the sounds. She saw the others on the other side of a huge stone bridge that crossed the cave. Again she sensed a maleficent presence, this time coming behind her team mates. "Guys, get over here!" she shouted, her voice echoing in the vast space. "They're coming!" After they had crossed the bridge, Melinoë reunited with the other Legionnaires. Nobody really asked where she had gone. She wasn't surprised, as she was used to people not caring. They found an ancient altar from the opposite end of the bridge. Melinoë blamed herself for not noticing it first, but she investigated the altar herself nevertheless. She saw markings resembling a spider, so she wasn't very shocked when they were attacked by an arachnid she-demon soon afterwards. The demon confronted the spider-boy of the Legionnaires group. Melinoë wasn't bothered to remember his name, she reckoned he was dead soon anyway. Without Phlegethon, Melinoë hesitated to join the battle. She felt annoyingly weak. [I]"Well, at least I'm not hallucinating anymore..." [/I] she thought.

You're correct, Melinoë is the expert of everything dark and demonic. ;D She was well taught by her mother. Please note, however, that Melinoë has no trouble seeing in complete darkness with her demonic eye - she wouldn't be much of a hunter if she couldn't. But let's assume Liquid didn't know that. ;) Okay, so Joseph's not there. That leaves eight of us. Got it. Oh, and Sheba seems very alike to Shelob. Maybe they're distant cousins? ;D

Heh, I'm trying my hardest to think how Melinoë ended up from the cave with the skeletons to the Hall of Despair... X/ Hmm, maybe if the Temple was also [I]above[/I] the Hall of Despair, and the room where Melinoë had dropped in was on the other side of the bridge... That must be it! I'm just wondering, weren't we supposed to [B]split up[/B] at some point? And what about [B]Joseph[/B]? Shy said to keep him along, but if Break isn't going to participate, can't we just kill off his character? PS. I, for one, am trying my damnest to survive this round of Body Bags, in case you haven't noticed. I won't go down without a fight! >;D

Melinoë stood there, on top of the pile of skeletons, in the dead silence. She stared at her weapon, the infernal whip Phlegethon that was forged in the fiery river of Hell, hovering in midair in front of her, and [I]feared[/I]. She knew that this was her greatest fear: losing control of everything that she was. She knew she didn't have much, she wasn't much, so she clinged onto what she was. She was an avenger, merciless and lacking empathy. She was the spawn of a demon and a human, result of a brutal rape. She was the daughter of Nemesis, the demonic goddess of revenge. Now that all had been taken away from her. She felt weak, powerless. Her own weapon had turned against her. She had nowhere to run. "No... Why are you doing this to me?!" she shouted again, her deep voice breaking. "Why are you doing this to me... mother?" With that word, a shadow emerged from the darkness behind the swirling whip. A pair of fire-red eyes stared at Melinoë. Long white hair flowed around the thin face and the naked black body. "M-mother?" Melinoë whispered. Nemesis smiled; a cruel, twisted grin. [I]"My daughter. Look what you have gotten yourself into. You have forsaken your natural calling. You have betrayed [I]me[/I]."[/I] "No, mother! I have [I]not[/I] betrayed you! I'm still a huntress, punishing those who do wrong! That is who I am, I have never been anything else!" Melinoë felt both the hot and cold sweat dripping along her double-colored skin. [I]"You are nothing, my daughter. You are a [I]mistake[/I]. I had such high hopes for you, but you failed me..."[/I] Nemesis extended her long, black arms, and took the sizzling Phlegethon. "No..." Melinoë gasped, and fell to her knees. The demonic goddess gave her daughter one last glance with her hollow, burning eyes, turned around and vanished, taking the whip with her. Melinoë sat there on her knees, in the dim light oozing from the hole above, and covered her face to her hands. [I]"This can't be true"[/I], she thought.

[B]Sakura:[/B] please remember that this is not an actual game, the mechanics don't work like that. Hacking everything down with the überpowerful Dark Knight abilities will only make your team lose again - I want imagination, not god-modding. ;P Also, I'd prefer if the parties would actually face some difficulties before arriving to their towers, like in an RPG. What the difficulties are, it's totally up to you. As said, it can be monsters, traps, crevaces, wild rivers, swamps, hordes of ancient undead warriors - whatever your imagination comes up with. ;D

[B]Outlaw[/B]: it's perfectly okay for you to choose a mandolin as a weapon instead of a harp, but please note that your team is [I]not[/I] going to Hyrule, but to some elusive, generic RPG-land. Let's call it "Dragon Kingdom", if we must. ;P

The deadlines exist actually for myself - I'm trying to fit this game to my own schedual, and I feel like one week/challenge is enough. But yes, by all means the "deadline" can move until [B]Friday[/B] - I'm a flexible man. ;D Oh, and [B]Sakura[/B], you can use your own costumes as you have them - the costumes provided in the cart are for those who [I]don't[/I] carry swords and armors etc. in their pockets. ;P

[QUOTE=Lrb][color=#333333] But anyway, who [i]is[/i] Princess Sarah? I've never even [i]heard[/i] of her let alone [i]seen[/i] her. I think you may have been able to come up with a better Princess. Although there aren't a lot of Princesses out there.[/color][/QUOTE] There really aren't, although one would think otherwise. X/ Princess Sarah is actually a recurring generic character from Final Fantasy 1, 3, and 9 (where it was [spoiler]Garnet's real name[/spoiler]). The picture is from a piece of art for FF3. She has no real personality (outside the famous webcomic "8-bit Theatre", where she's also known as the Evil Princess Sarah), so you probably won't have any trouble writing her... Again, I need you to show your imagination in this challenge, [I]not[/I] your knowledge on any games or anything. I also need this challenge to start. X/

[QUOTE=Circéus]And Minako involved Nemesis (Greek mythos). [/QUOTE] Actually, if you read Melinoë's profile (and my short story in the Arbiter), you can see that Nemesis is her mother. ,:) Minako was just kind enough to remember that, heh... And Melinoe is taken from the Greek Mythology as well, I just remodeled her to fit the modern setting of the game. But I agree, the Legionnaires are tied to several mythologies, claiming that they're all true. XP I wonder if it'll bite us back someday...