MDSVeritas

My Schedule is finally stabilized after today, tomorrow come my updates! Thanks for sticking with me through my move everyone.

Sorry to hear Hazimie, hope your work at school goes well though! Everyone can feel free to keep posting past the limit for the moment, I'm in my new digs but I'm only just starting my new job so I'll still have relatively short amounts of time to post until I get the hang of things here, just hold out a few more days before some new posts from me!

Hope nobody minds, I'm in the middle of making my way to San Jose and moving my stuff so may not be available for a few days. Enjoy E3 until then!

The Cloud Riders "Tick tock" Q's voice entered the minds of the group members as they waited outside the destroyed warehouse. The sky burned with the trails of new incoming marauder pods the streaked through the sky towards their fiery destinations in deistricts not yet explore. The district to the east and west remained completely un-explored though, and coule prove fruitful new places to discover new trials and truths. "You all should repair what damage has been done and keep moving. Our marauder friends are picking up their pace.... D3 (Dynamic/Damsel Duos) As the marauder sliced towards Alysa it found its blade suddenly turned into a yellow elongated fruit, which was sliced by its foe along with its arm. Its legs bucked soon with Reverie's shot, finished off by Alysa finishing blow. The other remaining marauder rushed at Aro, but found her at too far a distance, and with the attacks from both her and Reverie it smashed into the ground with wounds abound. As it soon began to recover, it saw Liath and Mr. It's large re-purposing of the marauder pod, and in response to Liath's request went quite for a moment, then suddenly came to life with the sound of a human. "Yes?" The sound crackled and buzzed like it was some sort of indirect connection. "I'm speaking to some other folks at the moment, but I'll take a quick break from that you thank you for sparing my marauder. I'm known as The Doctor... what can I do you for you all; Liath Reverie, and of course the crowd favorite Aro and Alysa. I don't have a great amount of time, as things are quite hectic here, but I'll answer what I can."

Well, that timing could have been better. Had a lot of friends come back home in the past week so I've been out a bit more than I'd like. The rest of the updates will come tomorrow as I'll be trying to keep a more constant pace, and the new map should be up in a few days as well! You guys are really moving through the trials, guess we're getting close now.... It's a little sparse on detail but I have no doubt you'll fill that in with time. Accepted. You've been added in to the move recent update (the first group of the post)

Shade and Le Chef (and a new guest) As the two moved through the door, a hellish sound came from behind them. Dozens of molten dolls suddenly surged up from the entrance to the trial and rushed towards Laroux and the exit. The one in the lead, still dripping with magma lunged at Laroux and the guardian of the trial was torn apart instantly; the small comfort coming from the fact that he was unconscious at the time. Q's voice suddenly reached the two. "You both should know something. These trials... their success is tied... to the need for killing the ones who defend these sanctums. I wish it weren't so, but their lives are tied to the cold and sterile nature of this place. In any case, the foolish disk jockey Laroux is dead. Now simply close the door before those dolls get through!" The remainder of the dolls looked towards the remaining two outside the door with hunger and anger, and suddenly began to rush towards the open door.... As they did though, the entire district seemed to spring to life. Color filled every crevice and the district, while empty, looked vibrant now. They only needed to make sure the colors weren't going to be the red of their own blood. ...Just on the adjacent building, hearing the roar of the dolls nearby, was a new entrant to this world though. Vinny slowly awakened to find Shade and Le Chef standing outside the door to the trial as the district came to life. Tristan, Nora, and Chester The dolls rushed towards them en masse. The horde was loud, vicious, and unrelenting. It stormed over the pavement in a violent wave towards them. The leaders of the pack noticed Tristan first, and, drawn to his flames, sprinted at him, striking at the man with their hands and sickeningly white claws. "Need some help?" The man who sat atop the building behind them was partially transparent and was wearing fairly nice clothes at that, but he seemed to give no major sign of anxiety of attention to the dolls. "I'm the doctor. You all must be... Tristan" In a purple explosion a huge amount of the dolls in the back of the horde exploded in a violent evisceration of their bodies. "and.... Nora?" Another grouping of them flew everywhere in a second violent violet explosion. "And then of course, Chester." The remaining dolls were the ones at the front, going for Tristan. "I think you're well capable of handling those ones? We'll have a chat once you do." Asher and Nathan "Well..." Eweren looked at the bomb only inches from her feet. In that moment she analyzed every possible response. Every potential escape. Every way to get out. And she came up with nothing. "...Damn." The explosion shattered the walls of the coffee shop, leaving Asher and Nathan together in the rubble. Even still, the broken peices of the building looked... different. They had the deep colors of wood, the warmth of sun shining down on them. The pair had defeated Eweren, and saved the district together. Now they had to pick up the pieces and decide the next move.

The Duos Unite! (Damsels and Dynamic Duo) The behemoth doll crashed to the ground after Alysa's attack, leaving the two victorious. Soon after though, a thick rumble permeated the air. In a moment two gray pods slammed into the ground just in front of the building. Out of each emerged red-eyed Marauder swordsmen. They were thin and humanoid, with their only discernible trait besides their eyes being the katana-like blades they wielded. They both immediately eyed the two and approached the two women with their blades ready. And that's when the next two arrived. Reverie and Liath suddenly turned a corner in the new Southern district and come upon the showdown. Now it was two newly-arrived marauders, and two badass duos. That's when they charged. The marauders immediately sprinted towards Aro and Alysa and slashed towards the two. A new alliance was about to be formed and a new battle had begun.

The Funky Duo (Le Chef and Shade) Laroux seemed take aback fy the steaks, and when Le Chef dove at him with a knife he scremed and lurched backward, landing on the ground behind the turn tables. Luckily Shade stepped in at just the right moment. The music faded to a light beat, and Laroux scurried backwards, but listened to Shade. Laroux began to speak. "Out of this room? Out of this room is the door behind me." He motioned the door that sat just a few feet from his back. "J-just go then. Nothing to worry about."

Nathan and Asher "Not so fast you filthy mongrels." Eweren was battered now, she didn't seem to expect the assault by the two to be so sudden or so coordinated. Even still, while it had hurt her quite it a bit, it also angered her, and fueled a rage the two had not yet seen. The shards and fragments that remained of the small coffee shop's interior suddenly floated into the air, and then surrounded Eweren like a shield. "You dare assume me so easy to kill. I will teach you a lesson!" After Asher's fire attack had slammed against the shield, all the rubble suddenly reformed into a gigantic sword floating above Eweren. In a moment she dashed forward towards Asher, the blade above her motioning into a full swing, and then shooting towards Asher at ridiculous speed. Eweren was damaged, but not finished yet.

I'm super sorry to hear that Riki. If there's anything I can do or change in the RP that could convince you to stay just let me know and I'll be happy to try, I hate feeling that one of my players might feel isolated or disliked by anyone else.

Cloud Riders The entire building was erupting in explosions and thick grasping flames. Dytrian smiled as he fell to the ground, his creations serving as the means of his own destruction. It was a good way to go out, at least. If the kids could survive it then maybe they were not such simple pawns after all. Dytrain had a million thoughts going through his head as he died, but he was at least happy he got to go out with what he had build... his life had meant something at least. Suddenly the a beam of light shot up from the warehouse into the sky, which then turned a beautiful light, as the light spread in the sky it was mirrored on the ground as color soaked into the foundation of the district. It had been freed, and the trial had been conquered. The roar of the nearby fire showed, however, that this was not fully over. A few more of the riders needed to clear the building to a safe distance, and many of them were not doing well...

I'm studying to work in video game programming so I cover a lot of general software application development. I'll be working at their headquarters in California so I'll likely be working less on the networking side and more of the general software engineering side.

Nora and Chester ... and Tristan and Aildur Nora and Chester emerged from the building to find a towering inferno of power, and in the center of it was Tristan. After the flames died down Tristan fell to the ground, just as the two found their way onto the street. Aildur was close by as well, able to oberve the whole event. The two Angel marauders simply glanced at the group, and then both turned in sync towards Aildur and nodded before flying off to a different part of the city. In the meanwhile, the sounds of dolls were drawing close... to new group of four would need to get acquainted and think fast... trouble was coming and they would need to know where to go. Liath and Reverie "Get up." The voice trailed off in Liath's mind. In Reverie's it was a bit sharper. "You need to keep moving." It was Q. All around them the district had come to life. Rich colors filled its pavement and soaked into its brick. They had passed the trial and freed the district. But even so, the sky sent a different message, as huge pods flew down into the city, landing with huge booms and bright flashed. The Marauders were growing more and more constant. "Our time is running out, and the Marauder attacks are growing closer together. I congratulate you on passing this Trial, but it is only the first of more to come. This story... you story has not yet ended you two. Where will you go now?"

The Damsels The pair proceeded from the strong colors and rich vitality of the Crest Distict into a new pure white district. A strange hum followed them as they moved, growing strong and strong, finally culminating at the point they reached a large cylindrical building with a huge metallic door at its front facing them. As the pair approached the building, the gigantic door slid open with ease and without cause, showcasing a barren lobby strewn with white desks and thick gray stacks of paper. At the center of the lobby lay a large cylindrical elevator, which seemed entirely made of glass, through which the rest of the encompassing white palette of the lobby shown through. Just then, the hum grew immensely loud behind them the Damsels realized it was... a growl. A huge doll, a full story in height and matching in bulky width lumbered around a street corner and spotted them. It seemed like it may have been following them for some time. Its fists were larger than either of their heads and its darkened eyes glared at them. After a moment, it suddenly broke into a sprint, rushing towards the pair on both arms and legs, viciously roaring as it went...

So guys, I feel like this needs mentioning... RPing is a collaboration. It's not a competition, it's not test of skills, it's a story that comes together when everyone contributes and is allowed to contribute. We have people from all different skill levels and all different background here, and we're all here to be part of an awesome story unfolding. Writing, and learning to write in more interesting and compelling ways is a wonderful skill or goal to have, but the fact is that not everyone is going to be quite on the same level as one another. The fact of the matter remains though, that we are telling a story together, and if differences in writing techniques, styles, or backgrounds causes issues where people feel that they can no longer contribute or that their contributions aren't being taken seriously that's not okay. The general rule I carry for godmodding is to never allow your attack to fully connect with another player. It is thus your right as a player to decide when your character is hurt or not. Do not mistake, however, the fact that this also means it is your responsibility to make your character vulnerable. There are very few stories (I would contest there are none) that center around characters without flaws, without issues, or without weakness. If you want you character to be great, that greatness shouldn't just be in their skills; it should be in their depth and development as people. This requires, especially in the context of writing alongside over a dozen other people, that you let your character be hurt at times. I try to respect everyone's autonomy and let them decide when that pain truly comes though or when an attack fully connects, but if a player or players can't fully respect or tolerate the writings of those with whom they collaborate, that's not going to make it easy or fun for anyone to tell this story together. I know its unavoidable that we'll have some strife, but everyone's here to have fun guys, if we all give a little ground then we'll have a better time a group because of it. I'm working as a software engineer at Cisco to build my programming skills, should be an entertaining summer. EDIT: Small note to make. Due to being off campus now, I've lost access to the image-editing software tool I used ot make the original map. I'll be remaking the map soon in another software, but that's why in case you all are wondering if the map doesn't update in the next few days.

Shade and Le Chef Laroux recoiled when Le Chef's hot sauce hit him, searing his face as did. The beat grew more erratic and Laroux fumbled backwards yelling in pain. On the other side of the dance floor Shade's tactic was working. The boom-box-beast continued to encroach but as it walked, it seemed to grow smaller and more subdued with Shade's melody. Eventually it stopped altogether, now looking innocent and fragile where it had just been ferocious and aggressive. "You... you party crashers!" Laroux shouted and dove back towards the turn tables, unleashing a climactic burst of sound in the form of the energy streams which moved faster and looked more dangerous then any of those he had used before. The entire onslaught went straight for Le Chef...

Finals are over, and I have my job secured, all is well in the world.... Now lets get back to how unwell everything is in the City.

Nathan vs Asher Eweren smiled. "Oh child." she said to Nathan. "You are free to try to kill me if you wish. But I am no brute like Warthyp. And we shall see how strong you feel after you and Asher have fought... and after your have fought your own demons..." She then said nothing, and only smiled down at the battle just beginning...

The Cloud Riders Dytrian slammed into the wall from Maxwell's punch blood spurting from his mouth as he did. In the other corner of the warehouse Yuki faced the final winged mech, and their battle finally drew to a close. The mech slashed at Yuki but each strike was rebuffed or dodged, and when Yuki came back with a flurry of punches and kicks the battered mech started to come apart, Yuki blew part its arm, and the struck its head off with a kick, finishing with a fierce punch to the mech's core, shattering it entirely. The ruins of the final mech fell to the ground. The battle was won... "You..." Dytrian spat blood, and looked with furious desperation at the group, "you are all cowards and puppets and... and fools." He raised a small electronic device, fitted only with a single small button on one end... a detonator. "... and I will not survive this encounter, neither will you!" He pressed the button and warehouse began to suddenly shake as the mechs detonated in fierce explosions, which soon spread to the walls, igniting barrels of explosives that lines it. Soon the entire warehouse was going to ruin unnervingly fast. They had to leave, and they had to leave now. The Misfits With Aildur's and Tristan's attacks combined there now remained naught but burned and broken dolls along the ground. Dozens upon dozens of them covered the ground, but the fight was at least over. The angel carrying Tristan brought him down to the ground, and then the angels assembled, all three of them, and stood across from the two. The angels said nothing, but they did not raise their weapons. It seemed like they were asking something, though, silently questioning whether Aildur and Tristan would rather fight them here or let them be. Their coordination in the previous fight seemed to have lessened the Marauders interest in fighing the pair.

A utopia of sorts... Perhaps it may be better to say she is avoiding what she thinks as a dystopia.

If the rest of the group you're in doesn't post soon, I can just move you right along too, so no worries about being stuck. Neko you're back! Do you think you could "unfreeze" that fight scene anytime soon?

So guys, I've reached the dreaded point that is college finals. I'll be sending out reminders and letting people continue to catch up, but I won't have many updates during my finals that will span the next week and a half or so. The good news is that after that a lot of the work keeping me form posting often will be temporarily relieved. So in the meantime, while I can't be posting I'd like to keep these threads hoppin' and alive, so I'll throw in the occasional question to get a discussion going and may come back with a few answers down the line. If you had one question to ask about the nature of the City, Q, or any other characters or locations, what would it be?

I'll give it a day or two more, send out some reminder PMs, and then we can adjust the story as need be from there on.

The very first post in the Roleplay thread.

Chester and Nora Group The pair, after walking for some time, heard a huge crash, as if an underwater explosion from somewhere somewhat close. Must be another group contesting a trial or facing off against dolls... who could tell. In any case, the duo of Chester and Nora had more pressing concerns. Near where a large question mark appeared on their map lay a very odd glowing purple stone sitting in the middle of a crossroads in The City. Around it the air itself seemed to warp and twist. There was no sign of any creature who may have left the stone, nor was there anything else of note in the area... but the stone seemed to be otherworldly. Something about it drew the two close... it felt like the energy that had dispersed when the two had completed the trial in Crest, but here it seemed like all that energy was being contained in this one stone. The only question was; what do they do with it? The Misfits The dolls just kept coming.... The more that Tristan's harsh flame singed through the oncoming numbers the more they seemed to surge in greater quantities. Aildur's magnetic field was keeping most at bay, but it seemed like it was only a matter of time.... Until the Marauder angels returned. They both dove through the dolls' numbers and a series of explosions occurred as they went. The dolls finally seemed to be lessening, and the Marauder angels seemed to have no intention of stopping. One suddenly deviated from its path and went straight for Tristan... but it wasn't an attack. The Marauder grabbed Tristan by his arms and pulled him up into the air. As Aildur's field was keeping most at bay, the angel nodded down to Tristan... to unleash hell. The Damsels "Purpose?" The Doctor's figure was fading fast as he sighed. "We dreamed of changing the world. Solving the issues we see are so prevalent. The City was to be the hub of the information that needed to be discerned. It could drive all the data of our modern world in useful ways to control what we see and do. War. Poverty. Growth. Control. The City held that potential." He laughed somewhat as the last of him went away. "The scariest thing about it is that it still does." And with that the Doctor was gone. Now it was time to where the duo would go next. The Cloud Riders The Drill mech flew back with huge force as Max hit it. It slammed into the wall, contorting the steel girders that kept the whole building up. Dytrian seemed to almost wince at the sight. But that wasn't all... After hitting the wall the drill mech suddenly was pummeled with an unparalleled amount of energy fired from Sora's newly-formed cannon. In a singe instant it was eviscerated, blowing a hole in the wall behind it was well. Dytrian's mouth was fully agape. "Y-y-you... you monsters. Wing! Kill them! Every single one!" The winged mech, with it's now blade-cannon combo shot forward, firing a gargantuan as Sora in her new weapon, and simultaneously slashing with lightning speed towards Yuki. The final duel of this trial had begun....