Your name is (name), you are from a small unknown village, in some forest nobody cares about. Your village has a small church where you and your family visit every weekend, your father is a farmer like most people here, wheat's the largest export in this village and what keeps everyone fed when there isn't a drought.
You have 2 siblings, your older brother and your older sister, you never really connected with them, and you think they may actually dislike you, you are quite a bit younger than them.
Your mother is too weak to farm and so she is the village weaver, she learned how to weave from your late grandmother, your mother has also inherited some books from your grandfather, so you and your siblings are one of the few literate people in the village.
When the taxmen come every half-year some merchants also follow them due to the taxmen's guradforce, you like to borrow and read some books from the nice merchants before they leave, you are too poor to afford to buy books, so you are quite grateful that they let you just borrow and read some books, you think it's a novelty to them to encounter a literate villager. Aside from all of that, you are quite a loner, you never really connected with anybody in the village, not even your parents, but you aren't bothered with that, you prefer being alone with your books.
You always dreamt of leaving your backwater village, you always thought higher of yourself than most of your peers, that could be a contributing factor to your isolation, but nontheless you held that belief your whole life. When you were a child you already hoped for something better, 'how could no one here aspire for something more?' you've asked yourself time and time again, there had to more to life than farming and praying.
You never had the opportunity to leave the village, your father would always shout at you that "It's too dangerous to leave! you'll die out there!", of course you never believed him, but rules are rules, you wouldn't want to incur your father's wrath by going out.
So you waited and waited, you farmed the wheat, prayed at church, and read what little there was until that opportunity came one fateful day.
Somewhere in the southeastern United States is a small town named Whispering Oaks. The town has a population of roughly 10,000 people and it’s situated about an hour’s (assuming good traffic) drive away from the nearest big city. There’s nothing particularly special about this small town that sets it apart from the rest, but it’s your small town. It’s where you were born and raised, and it’s where your family’s planted their roots.
It’s an off year. The president was elected last year and the midterms are the year after this, so there’s not much in the news right now, election wise…except in Whispering Oaks. Not only is every seat in the city council scheduled for re-election, but so too is the mayor.
You’ve thought about it for a while, but now you’ve decided: this year, you will run for mayor, challenging the sitting one.
But first, we must figure out some key things about you. It should be noted that some of these factors will influence your chances of getting elected.
>Name.
>Age. (Must be 18+)
>Sex.
>Occupation. (Can have multiple)
>Education.
>Political party. (Democrat, Republican or Independent?)
>Do you live near the center of town or on the outskirts?
>Physical description and additional character information. (Optional)
Now that we’ve settled you, let’s take a look outwards…more specifically, who is the incumbent that you will be challenging? What’s the state of the town in?
>Easy: The mayor has done a bad job running Whispering Oaks. Development has stagnated, infrastructure is neglected, business and people alike are leaving. They’re expected to lose re-election, assuming that they think it worth bothering to run in the first place. They’re expected mayor’s broad unpopularity is directly sinking the rest of the city government’s approval as well.
>Medium: The mayor has not done a bad job running Whispering Oaks, but they haven’t done a great job either. They’ve stopped the town from falling backwards but haven’t done anything to make it grow. The sitting mayor is painfully average and electorally a blank slate. Their chances of being re-elected are about 50/50, depending on how good of a candidate they’re up against.
>Hard: The mayor has done a good job running Whispering Oaks. Businesses and people alike have flooded into the town, the roads lack any potholes, the streets are safe and—most importantly—people are happy. It would take some serious scandal, awfully-handled crisis or a once in a lifetime candidate to take this mayor down.
Choose wisely. There’s no changing your decisions afterwards.
Welcome back to Our Brave Boys, a quest that is more about worldbuilding (or loredumping) but also a somewhat light RP setting. You are all young men of 20 years of age and are part of the Nation's Apprenticeship Required for Male Youths, otherwise known as ARMY. The Nation is one of many countries of the Empire, but after decades of suppressing Republican Revolutions, the Nation emerged as the leading faction championing the Monarchy, placing the late Princess of your Nation on the throne as Eternal Empress.
The quest essentially runs as a world event where you are all common soldiers who have little control over the progression of the war, but are nonetheless free to write bits of your characters' thoughts and even subtle actions to bring life to your characters.
The Nation has a mandatory conscription policy for all young men, who must serve for 5 years after conscription at 20 years of age. Nearly a year and a half has passed since the quest started, although new boys are welcome. You might want to skim through the archive to understand the lore.
<span class="mu-s">The Story Thus Far</span> You are the junior brothers of Lexion XXI, 41st Artillery Cohort, Battery Green, Section 1. Any additional entries will overflow to Section 2 of Battery Green.
Legion XXI spent several seasons training and laboring in Japmi until the Southern Principality reported instability due to Revolutionary riots, prompting the Sovereign Marshal to order Legion XXI to be stationed across the bay from the Southern Principality. While Legion XXI was on standby, the Grand Prince of the South escaped a revolutionary coup, prompting General Reigen Mugen to push forth and establish a foothold before the revolutionaries dig in.
Within the walls of an abandoned café, a scheme begins to form, the take down of one of the most prominent figures of the city’s underworld will soon go underway. Preparations are happening, and you’re at the heart of it. After your short date with Celia concluded, she asked for a favor, to force her biological father to face justice: the head of the mafia, <span class="mu-s">Gianluigi Youhao</span>. You’ll be handsomely repaid for your efforts.
<span class="mu-s">The assault team</span> consists of 5 key members: You, Aurora Dewitt, Charlotte ‘Crossbill’ Summers, Celia Youhao (?), and Beanie Hedgehog.
<span class="mu-s">Beanie Hedgehog</span> consists of 4 key members: A Beanie Hedgehog doll, Veranica Mouseson, Liu Yeong, and Lydie Zexian all inside a trench coat.
During your review of the potential threats, it was revealed that one of the biggest ones is the man you defeated in a Go-Kart race, ‘Titan #1’ <span class="mu-s">Jielun Zexian</span> is Loud Lydie’s brother. Small world.
Shortly after a barrage of questions for the Golden Peak Academy Ace (that went unanswered), the second degree sisters returned to get up to speed with what had been discussed.
To recap quickly, the three threats discussed so far are:
-Former Assembly Member and Current Ka-Shing lackey — <span class="mu-s">Joe Riddle.</span>
-Former Assembly Member, Former Prisoner who you liberated during the raid, and Supposed Member of the Youhao Clan — <span class="mu-s">Sasha Langdon.</span>
-Lydie’s brother, Big Cinephile, and the Number 1 Titan of the Youhao Clan — <span class="mu-s">Jielun Zexian</span>.
What a cast. Good thing that you (potentially) don’t have to deal with them. Either way, the meeting continues!
“Why did everyone act like I was done explaining?!” Vera was caught in the middle of her explanation.
“<span class="mu-i">Huh?!</span> <span class="mu-s">My</span> brother wasn’t the main dish?! This is beyond disrespectful, Veranica.” Lydie feels insulted.
“Uhm, and well, Rora and Celia showed up. We had to start from the beginning.” <span class="mu-i">Resting Laptop Table</span> Liu says.
“I still can’t believe we’re sisters!” Aurora is hugging Celia like trying to make up for the lost years.
“Y-You’re so clingy. And, to be clear, I didn’t know either...” Celia grumbles. “Still, we’re not blood related.”
“I already told you, if you’re sis with Gisella and Pammachio, you’re sisters with me!” Rora scolds.
“<span class="mu-i">W-Why do I feel like the younger sibling…?</span>” Celia uses her third beanie to hide her embarrassment.
“I feel like I missed an emotional moment...” You wanted to watch it...
“Let’s go full throttle so we don’t miss anything else!” Crossbill wants everyone to focus. “Who wants to take it from here?”
You don't know where you are. You don't know how you got there.
You'd probably be <span class="mu-s">royally fucked</span> if it weren't for the fact that you happen to be carrying <span class="mu-s">three things</span> with you.
<span class="mu-i">What three things are you carrying? (one item at a time)</span>
It’s when I’m contemplating the optimal way of wasting my life away that there’s a knock on my office door.
“Come in,” I grumble, threading the slightest bit of power to the sigil on my left pointer. You can never be too cautious.
The door swings open, and in steps a woman wearing a sundress with enough color to give me an instant headache. I note she has four arms, four eyes, and skin leaning on a purple hue. Must be some type of Arachne, then, but the specifics of her parentage aren’t exactly my problem. She steps right up to my desk, fearless, and graces me with a smile rife with one too many fangs.
I thread just a teensy, tiny bit more power into my defenses. Just in case.
“Hullo, mister wizard!” The woman says in a voice a touch shriller than I expected. “My name’s Gina, I saw the papers you placed around town regarding your services, and I wish I could’ve greeted you earlier, oh, but I’ve been so busy the last week. I adore new arrivals, and magic, and–”
“Yeah, hello to you too.” I wave a hand to stop her rambling before it splits my poor head open. “You got a magic problem that needs fixing, or…?” I stare up at her.
Gina pauses for a moment, brain rebooting - if she even has one - and smiles wider. “Oh, yes, yes indeed I do! You see, there’s been something strange happening! I run a clothing shop down the street, and I’ve been hearing the strangest noises. It’s like something’s scampering around, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t even catch a glimpse of whatever it might be. I’m worried something sinister might be stalking around. Is it possible your magic might be able to sniff out the perpetrator? I can pay!”
A rat? Is that what she wants me to deal with; a wizard, formerly of the Star Circle, reduced to dealing with rodents? I briefly wonder what my mentor would think of me now… if they even deigned to think of me at all after the incident.
I look to Gina and…
>Agree because I might want to do a good thing.
>Agree because I need the money.
>Agree… but first I’m hiking up the price as far as I can. A wizard’s gotta eat.
>Question her. Why should a wizard like me deal with what might just be a wild animal? That’s a job for the town’s Paladin squad, not me.
>Disagree. I’m not in the mood for some menial task, even if there’s money involved.
Miles of highway condense together in your head as you watch the yellow lines pass under you. You hated long drives, especially with passengers that don’t appreciate your music taste. You reached into the console and pulled out your pack of cigarettes with the lighter inside. You put the last cigarette in your mouth and tried to light it but with no success. “Almost got it,” you whispered to no one in particular. You kept steering with one hand as you grabbed the lighter and lit it, letting the smoke escape out the slightly cracked window. You were almost coordinated enough to use your telekinesis to smoke. To your right sleeping in the passenger seat was your resident telepath, Denise. Sprawled out in both seats behind you was the precog, Cassandra. That’s how you knew it would be an uninteresting trip, based on how relaxed she looks. It was just going to be a routine mission, a snatch and grab. You didn’t care for the details of who you were kidnapping, you only knew he was a natural psychic. He must have been caught in the act of using it, intentionally or not. About one percent of the population are born with a certain organ attached to their brain stem known as the Sigmata. Most who have it won’t even realize they are mutants with its effect being so weak. The powerlifter who unknowingly channels telekinesis into his muscles to help with his lift or the charismatic celebrity who everyone loves for no particular reason, both examples of natural born psychics that are harmless. They can still far outperform any non-mutant but have modest achievements and don’t break the veil of secrecy. On the other hand there are some psychics who have to be controlled, the pyromaniac who realizes if he focuses enough he can start a flame with his mind or the dictator who could compel people to commit genocide with his voice alone. To make these people disappear is the job of the secret government organization known as the Department of Psychic Studies.
Guide your Schizo to Greatness or imprisonment within a mental health facility or both! You are an anonymous young man in his 20s who has recently come down with schizophrenia and your job is to guide this youth towards a number of different paths all up to you the voters!
Have him go down the old boring route as a homeless vagrant or have him become a Orthodox Christian monk living in a monastery or turn him into a radical Satanic right wing insurgent or make bank as a lolcow...the possibilities are endless and all up to YOU!
(How this works is that I will present a list of options which you choose and vote for as a collective or you can submit your own option/action/event and vote for that and the ones with the most votes wins! I will check this every day or 24 hours and thus voting closes once I put up a new post!)
You've been going about your daily routine, taking care of chores, schooling and/or work, going about your life as a daily cog in the machine of society when SUDDENLY....you begin hearing voices...strange voices.....voices which frighten you.
Choose the nature of your auditory hallucinations:
A.) Divine: The voices beckon you towards the light, towards divinity, soothing and comforting but with a dash of righteousness to go along with grace and mercy
B.) Demonic: The voices are gnashing of teeth and screeches of rage, they whisper such deviant things into your ear, things which frighten (and at some base level, intrigue) you.
C.) Narcissistic: The voices declare you a god, the only god, a superhuman, and many other pompous titles and recognition of your inner greatness. Do you take the mantle?
D.) Paranoid: The voices take the form of hearing others whisper your demise, hearing secret codes, seeing secret symbols and language among innocuous things.
Updates will be attempted every 2 days! Ideally, I will be back to daily updates by the end of this thread. Absences will be announced in advance and given definitive end dates if I can manage it.
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<span class="mu-i">Within the Year of Our Lord, 1884, upon a world quite similar to our own, all civilization is at war with a peculiar breed of creature...</span>
...all civilization, that is, save for Walter Buchanan and his companions. Walter, an aspiring naturalist, sees the good in these creatures: these demons of earth and sky, able to command the very heavens themselves, privy to the inner thoughts of man and the very souls that animate them. He has tamed four such creatures, all of whom walk by his side: Aster, his flaming foal; Mary, his electric sheep; Taylor, his silk-spinning caterpillar compatriot; Florian, his aromatic flower sprite.
These creatures, whom he dubs "neofauna," are not his only company. Walter is further joined by two human travelers: Thomas J. Steele, a businessman and state representative of Indiana, and "Andrew," a former buffalo hunter now employed as Steele's own bodyguard. All three of these men share a common cause: a desire to return to the East Coast.
This trio is further bound together not only by shared experience, but by their shared allegiance to the Staters: a movement led by a group of rebellious Californians looking to upend the most recent state governor, C. P. Huntington, for his atrocities against the state of California. The treacherous governor has used the state militia to launch a coordinated raid on the Staters' former headquarters, and suspicions abound that he is now responsible for multiple deaths within the movement-- deaths which the Stater's stalwart leader, Aaron Muyr, now seeks to avenge...
