Sutoratosu

Whoa, wait... I just realized that there's a bar in the concert car... holy shit. I know what ol' Sully's gonna do today. :feelsgd: EDIT: god fucking damn it, THERE'S NO ALCOHOL AND NO BAR KEEP!! :feelsgn:

Arya She smiled at the red head's greeting, it was nice to see at least one friendly face in all this insanity. Well, not that she had that many of them here to begin with, or anywhere, for that matter. But Natalie was still definitely better than none at all. But of course, before she could reply, lo and behold, the red head was just as embroiled in this as any of them. Of course. Why wouldn't she be. Arya had gotten past the point where she really questioned this stuff anymore than was absolutely necessary. "Well, at least finding her was easy, I guess." She sighed. With a glance to Anna and Esyllt, she nodded to the room's interior before accepting Natalie's invitation, walking past the two goddesses. Though nothing was said to the mortal girls, the expression had been clear enough: just let the two deities have their moment of reunion now, while they could.

Oh, btw, apparently the story's thread on the site has an official soundtrack...just found it in one of the lower posts. ((And a pastebin as well: http://pastebin.com/HsG5iPC4 )) good choice, I say.

This tale... Glorious. Just fucking glorious. Three men, on a mission to stand against a shit ton of whinny edgelords and ass kissers. Inspiring stuff, this, NGL

7.5/10 Don't really know what anime it's supposed to be from, but it looks nice enough.

Seth and Dexter Again, the vines were there with their metallic hue and stiletto spikes, the shield nigh instantly re-positioning itself to face the last remaining threat as the 'children' took up their places all around it's perimeter, snapping and screeching at the mere thought of the meal that had so dastardly escaped them. To an outside observer, the shape of the combined defenses, barrier and writhing extensions, would've likely resembled the profile of a Beholder. And at the snap of the master's fingers, they behaved just as one as well. The lashing extensions of himself once again opened maws wide as they sized up the rival serpent, tiny orbs of green forming in each of the mouths. Before one could even blink an eye, the orbs erupted into brilliant streaks of green, laser-like beams projecting from the Black Vectors as they continued their frenzied dance, setting the entire area before the shield alit with a crisscrossing storm of chaotic, burning energy. But not so chaotic as it seemed... If one paid enough attention, they'd take note of the peculiar patterns being made, the beams arcing in such a way that it almost seemed they were calculating the evasive actions most likely to be taken by the beast, each of the quite literally beaming maws appearing to compensate their aim on the fly as the threat drew closer... utterly determined to close off escape this time. With even more of their brethren lying in wait behind the barrier at master's side...

Stop talking and get posting, folks.

Inb4 nearly everyone in the group yet to speak writes a headstrong reaction...

"What are you supposed to do?" She turned her attention to the other boy, backing off jason "you don't go running in trying to be the big damn heroes again. He only threatened you this time because you meddled in Luminous Dawn's affairs, and the next time you do it, you're screwed beyond a doubt. But if you don't meddle, he has no reason to kill you. So don't try to intervene next time, and you won't even have to worry about fighting or flying from his wrath in the first place. That's what you do, just leave the fucking hero work to someone else for now." From the daggers she stared, she had far more she wanted to say, so much more, but "Maro!" The ground type shouted, tapping his wrist as if to indicate a watch and nodding to the doors. Enough of this bullshit, he knew none of them were going to budge on this; she was talking to a brick wall at this point. Couldn't care less what they did, either take counsel or leave it, whichever one, his partner'd done all she could. If they died now, it would be because they chose to be stupid, and he didn't particularly pity those who did because they were stupid. Besides, the two of them would be better off just heading to the next lead. She glanced back and forth between the Marowak and the boy, finally relenting with a sigh. "Ya know what? Fine.... just... fine. If you all are so damn fixed on getting stronger, there's a Gym in Striaton City, take on the leader and his underlings, earn their badge. Find the other gyms, do the same. Whether you guys decide to listen to any of this or not is up to you, but either way... I've got business in Castelia. With that, she turned and took her leave, but not without one last glance over the shoulder at Brendan and Jason... though she said nothing. The marowak turned and gave them a single, raised hand in farewell as he followed, once more leaving the group alone in the main reception area.

*reviews the back stories of each of the pcs... Nope. NoNE of you made characters who come anywhere close to qualifying, whether by personality or events of their history...

No. Just that cheating like you're freaking criminals will be frowned upon heavily. There are ways to surmount the obstacles of the future, but I'm just giving ample warning, if you choose to stoop to the baddies levels...start attacking peeps directly like it's yugioh there will be appropriate consequences... You're the "good guys" (and again, none of you are anti heroes) afterall...the protagonists. Cheating wouldn't be very heroic, now would it? :feelsgd:

But see, that's all assuming Jory and I actually give you guys all the ample time or chance to plan out encounters or study your enemy's capabilities or do any of that crap, as we gradually reveal how deep the wicked rabbit hole goes and what the hellish landscape of wonderland looks like. Hint: Trust me, there's no way in hell we will

If you cheat them back, you'll be no better than them. ^^^of course though... the exception to this trope is nigh always self-defense where one has to make a split second, literally life or death decision and act immediately. That, and anti-heroes... but none of you are anti heroes, so...yeah, no.

TL;DR for Marcella's lecture- Maxing out your level doesn't matter. The bad guys will cheat regardless how strong you are, and they will cheat HARD. They are the assholes who bring illegally hacked mons into online comp and wipe your entire team out with Sturdy Shedninjas and Huge Power Slakings who have 250 EVs in every stat and perfect IVs all across the freaking board.

The points are just used to determine what scene you decide to engage in during the travel phase. Within those specific scenes you chose to spend points to engage in though, you have a theoretically unlimited amount of posts of interaction with others in said scene that you can make. So basically, if I had Solomon do like Adam and go grab food real quick(A Free Action) and then go to the concert (An action requiring both of my 2 points), I would use up both points, and would end up in the Concert scene for the remainder of the travel section, but with some good ass food by my side. But while attending the concert, I could talk or carry on a conversation with whomever else is present without limit... or just keep making updates about how he absolutely wolfs down his food like his name is ghandi, or have him go on an internal monologue/ conversation with Asmodeus about the last fight...really, whatever it is, it would be up to me.

Those rare candies ain't gonna save ya'll. Ain't gonna save none of ya.

Accumula Town, April 6th, 2863- 3:05 PM: The Anatomy of a Criminal The marowak facepalmed, shaking his skull ever more. Damn noobs, so determined to get themselves killed, deluded as if it were a JRPG and all that mattered to beat the boss was pwning as many slimes as you can to grind levels. If the boss you're after won't fight fairly though, if they're not the type to play by the same rules as all the lesser enemies you stomped on the way to get there, no amount of level-ups can save your ass. If he's got an instant kill attack or teleportation or invulnerability, or some other bullshit tactic, that pretty little bar expressing your current exp won't be worth a damn. Marcela however, only pursed her lips. Of course, there's almost always that one, brash idiot in a party like this one, who disregards important advice like it's nothing... and in a group nearly all male to boot, she would've been surprised if at least one of them hadn't refused to listen."You just got your ass handed to you on a silver platter and told by some condescending douche not to get in his way again," She began, not batting an eye at the impassioned speech "and now you want to spite him, you want revenge after losing so badly." Then with a glance at the marowak and a nudge of her head to the noobs "Nemo." The skull faced killer looked at her for a moment, uncertain. Within a few moments of eyeing each other though, he finally relented, throwing back the dark cloth around him to reveal his body; or rather, more specifically... the series of ridged, faded scars traversing most of his torso and shoulders, each of them flowing in enormous sets of three, as if he'd been mauled by a beast far larger than himself. There was no amusement in the look Marcela shot Jason. "That's what a Dragonite does, full-powered Outrage. A long time ago, I used to look at his scars, and see nothing but constant reminders of how I failed him, how I let him be injured like that. I used to ask myself why I didn't do more, why I didn't just tell him it was alright and make him stop. I hated how hard I had dropped the ball..." She nodded, almost apologetically. Nemo watched them all silently as he readjusted the cloak, anyone watching close enough perhaps spotting a small white stone choker around his neck, before it was covered yet again. "So fine, I get it. Really, I do. You want to redeem yourself. Make up for losing to someone like that, because in the end, you feel it's your own inadequacy that led to such terrible defeat. You refuse to blame your partners, because they tried the hardest they possibly could for you until the very end. But here's the thing, it ain't as simple as you're making it out to be. This particular someone you wanna redeem yourself against, this one man you feel like you just have to beat, he's not like some league member or rival. He's not like any regular, competitive battler like you normally fight, criminals never are. That's the one thing you're not understanding here. The league has rules, ya know. Trainers like you all and I, and our partners, we follow those rules, we have boundaries, ethics... lines drawn in the sand over how far things are supposed to go. Even rivals who seem like total assholes have to have some ground where not even they'll tread just to win. But Crooks... terrorists, poachers, mobsters, you name them, they don't have those rules. They're not in it for glory, or to bond with their partners or grow as people, or any of that standard stuff people go on journeys for in the first place. Unlike regular people, they play for keeps. They get beaten, they don't lose just a portion of whats in their wallet, or reputation, or respect, they lose all the bloody profits they've made off the suffering of their victims, or all their work towards whatever nefarious plot they've been cooking up goes down the drain, or they might get jail time....whatever their stake in the battle, it doesn't matter. Because when they fight, there are no rules. They won't restrict themselves to just attacking your partners until they faint, they'll go after you right along with them. Cut off the head, the Arbok dies. And trust me, the real Big Bads, the really scummy ones? Your El Chapos and Giovannis and Drug Kingpins, your High Class Smugglers and Slavers? They won't stop until the Arbok is dead, and the threat is down for good." A hand on his shoulder. It happened so quick, Jason had no time to react or even register it was coming. It was just... suddenly there. She was quick, definitely so. And those eyes were hard like steel... though there lay something beneath their hardened facade, as too what though... "So please, for the love of Arceus, just stop and listen to me, before you get yourself murdered trying to be a damn hero." She said. "Just training hard... that's not gonna cut it. When your enemy does things you never expected, when they hold nothing sacred, break all the rules of the game because they aren't bound by the rules of the game, then leveling up only does so much. Even an entire, disciplined army can fold like soggy paper, if their enemies don't follow the same rules of 'war' or 'honor' they do. Horses and muskets in perfect formation on an open field can do little against natives sniping down people from the treeline and disappearing with the wind, only to show back up again somewhere else and pick off more of them."

So, we're all just dolls then...toys in the hands of a child, just waiting to be crushed at the slightest sign of dissonance. Eh, whatevs, sounds cool. Hell, I was smart enough to realize from the get-go this was going to be no democracy.

"Nope..." Marcella stated, grimly. "you guys might've survived your encounter today, but the center's healing gear did not. Look like when he put your partners out of commission, the machinery was taken down as collateral. Though, hell, knowing him the bastard probably did it on purpose... out of nothing but pure dicketry, plain and simple. If you want to heal something, I suggest you ask one of those EMTs I've seen wandering around. They should be able to... they have to be trained on both people and pokemon alike in order to be legally certified for the job." Her tone deflated a bit more than it already had during that last part, as if somehow bothered by the statement coming out of her own mouth. Whatever it was though, she moved on to the next topic... "You guys...none of you happened to see his actual face, did you?" She said, though it was hard to be certain whether the question was rhetorical or not. Her eyes focused on them no longer, but rather the crime scene behind them all, Her Marowak letting out a graveled sigh and shaking his skull all the while.