Thank you for asking! <3 (And you too, Dinny). The only thing that needs to be done is the opening video and the map (which is about 95% complete). I'm planning on starting the role play next week. I only work three days next week, so I'll have lots of time, hopefully! Thank you all for your patience, I really, really appreciate it. I just want to provide something quality for you guys, so I hope you can hold on for a little longer!
Aww...Thank you, very much. <3 Made my morning. ; u ;
xxxxxx [/url] ❝You still do not understand, though I do not entirely expect you to.❞ Harley spoke and she exhaled again, calming herself. It was ... sad, to say the least. Sad and interesting both at once, that anger came so quickly and so compulsively, to these people. Despite what she was capable of, she remained civil here and listened to them. They had not listened to her, and came in as a group. If she were to kill them all right now, they would have brought it upon themselves. Her fingers twitched against her thigh. Kallisti spoke again, so she moved past Marina and listened as she spoke. ❝Chester said that I was trying to win Crestatia's favor. Chester said that I was trying to win Crestatia's favor.❞ Genuinely, she hoped they understood what she was trying to get across. Just because Ches has said it did not make it true. It was his own speculation. Devyn had made sure to seldom discuss her own personal intentions with him. ❝Crestatia acts for the advancement of the game. I know that it was Madeline Moore who attempted to make a deal to get you all out of meeting with me. However, the deal resulted in you being sent to me.❞Devyn watched the strawberry blonde stiffen. Her face drained of color. ❝Why would that happen...? Because it needed to. Therefore, I am plenty sure it would be very simple for you summon the demoness and ask to take me out. Would she, though? Would she, really? Crestatia needs a suitable player, after all. If the game would result in a stalemate without me, why on earth would she get rid of her best candidate? She is smarter than that. No, you are going to have to take me out here and now on your own, if you would like me dead.❞ They had come in as a group, to show their companionship and teamwork, but only two of them had truly stepped out against her. They were weak, idealistic, childish and terribly afraid. A part of her was hurt by this. She had truly wanted them to comprehend. If at least one of them had understood, there would have been hope. In their eyes, she was a terrible monster who had murdered their friends. She was the villain in their epic story. Once she was dead, their lives would be so much better, and their precious companions avenged. Yes, she was the bad guy. That is why she worked alone, and why none of them would live to see day one-hundred. That is why none of them would win. They only saw a tiny corner of a beautiful, gigantic painting. They only saw what they wanted to see. If you were not inherently good or doing things beneficial to themselves, then you were bad. Brilliant mentality for a potential leader, really. ❝...I will give you one last chance. Now you have two options. Please leave Kallisti behind... Or you could attempt to kill me, if you wish. I do not think you will be killing me, though. You are too afraid...Honestly, you would not really like me dead, I do not think. I am tired, so I am going to go rest. You can run, if you would like to, but I will kill all of you if Kallisti is not here--alone--when I wake from slumber. I will also make it impossible for you to bring your...friends back from the realm of nonexistence. Choose wisely.❞ She did not bother looking behind her as she turned and rounded the corner. How disappointing. No fight and no sense made. They were a terrible bunch. Her heart ached suddenly and she paused, placing her hand on the wall. Tears began to fall from her eyes without warning. Alone. Ches was gone, and she would be sleeping alone tonight. She would have no one but maybe Crestatia to tell her day to. The Demoness would already know what had happened though. Devyn wondered what she thought... Once back outside of the building and to her room, she took care of a few things. She relocated The Pendulum Room and took her book back. She needed to update it, anyway. Before she would sleep, she would do that. Maybe she would cry more, too.
xxxxxx [/url] Kallisti spoke and Devyn dropped her shoulders, listening politely and taking a moment to absorb the information before speaking. ❝Oh, but it does matter. This entire game is a test. Those who survive until the very end are given the greatest gift one could ever ask for. They are granted validity, existence--a soul, and power...They are also given an enormous amount of responsibility. The kind of responsibility that pushed Crestatia into creating a game such as this one. If you kill me, because I am killing those who do not have what it takes to survive, then what are you accomplishing? You have made me your enemy because I am doing things correctly. I am more deserving than you. I have worked with Crestatia, instead of hating her. I have utilized my resources and made the necessary deals and plans. I have documented my findings and lived every day since meeting Ches learning this game inside and out. I am also intelligent enough to realize that some of you,❞ She took a moment to scan her eyes over the group. ❝...Simply do not deserve to live. If you cannot understand my intentions, and if you hate Crestatia for what she has done, then I believe I can comprehend why...but you should not be on the game board. You should stop with your false existence. Things will never go back to how they were, and if you do not understand the game, you should not be playing it. You will not become the player Crestatia needs if all you can do is hate, misunderstand and victimize yourselves.❞ Her head shook and the bag rustled. Perhaps they misunderstood her...or underestimated her. No matter, this would have to end soon. She was tired, and had yet to really allow Chester's...death, to sink in. Marina spoke and she sighed again. ❝I do believe that each one of us has development to undergo before we are truly, completely ready, myself included. I know what I lack and I know how to make up for it. Crestatia has told me herself. So, then...If you disagree with what I have said and believe you can take all of that from me, or that you are more deserving, then prove it, I suppose...Try and kill me if you wish. I will not stop you. ❞
xxxxxx [/url] Devyn laughed. It was genuine laugh, from her gut. The kind that would have brought tears to her eyes if she continued--so she didn't. Mid laugh, she ceased and sighed out with a heavy breath. ❝Two choices? My, my, what should I choose...❞ Marina had stepped forward and Devyn leaned to the side to see the others behind her. They were threatening her with typical weapons. Guns, blades. How naive. She was one of them. That is why it was so surprising that they were coming at her like she was some ordinary terrorist. Perhaps Crestatia was looking for someone more than a murderer--but that was not all she was. No, she was a player. ❝You tell me, then...is there really someone apart of this game who deserves to win it more than I do? ...You found my diamond room, did you not? My book, too? Who else has accomplished so much?...How many of you hate Crestatia, be honest?❞ Her fingers gripped at the hem of her skirt anxiously and an eagerness played at her soul. She couldn't wait until a gun was fired, or a blade was swiped. Her heartbeat accelerated and she willed herself to calm down. Not yet.
【WEARING • LATEST TUMBLR UPDATE • OOC • ♪】 What was happening? She felt disoriented, and then gazed up at Harley. That suspended feeling...Had he carried her this whole time? And who dressed her wounds? Her heart filled up with something and she felt like crying. She still needed a hospital, but they hadn't left her for dead...That was...Surprising. She turned around and gazed before her. Oh. They found her! Bag Lady and company. Some of them were armed, but she wasn't, so she stepped back behind the 'front lines'. She needed to be caught up, but now wasn't the time. Instead she just stared forward, wondering what would happen.
xxx xxx [/url] Her eyes scanned the paper briefly. Then, she crumpled it up in her fist and tossed it over her shoulder. Her head lifted again and then tilted to the side. She had not known for sure whether or not they had murdered him out of cold blood, but had not necessarily assumed so to begin with. Had they killed him for giggles, surely they would have used a weapon. The plug was pulled. She had thought to herself that maybe he had convinced them to pull it for him, so she was not surprised. He would have had to be unaware of pulling it to go through with such a thing. Of course someone else had done it. Was the note supposed to prove something to her?She stared silently for another full minute. Slowly, she took a step forward.❝...Is this all?❞ xxxxxx
【WEARING • LATEST TUMBLR UPDATE • OOC • ♪】 Dizzy, but not exhausted. A headache drummed in her ears and her body felt heavy...very heavy, actually. It was strange, though. Despite how heavy she felt, she almost had a sensation as if she were...floating? She would have thought she was dead, but if it were true that you no longer existed once you died, then this was not death. Her eye lids felt like bricks. She wanted to open them, but it wasn't working out for her.Then she felt it.Death.Her entire essence was ripped away into nothingness. The only reason she registered it was because a few minutes later, she was aware again. Her body shook, but she still could not wake up. Had she really been bleeding that badly? So badly that she died? She wanted to wake up. Inside, she screamed and pleaded for her awareness back. If she had to die, she did not want it to be because of this. How was everyone else? How was Quin? Thomas? ...Temperance? John...? No matter what, she couldn't. The feeling of suspension returned, and the pounding in her ears recommenced. This was terrible. Did people in a coma feel this way? She felt bad for Thomas, then, when he was in the hospital after his...accident. What a terrible, helpless feeling. Slowly, though, her senses returned. First, the smell of damp wood reached her nose. Then slowly, sounds returned. Then the pain came back, though less than before. In her eye, and her hip. She had been taken care of. And then...❝Show me what you've got.❞Who was that? A few second Quin's voice hit her ears. Quin! "Quin...Ughhhh." She shifted. Where was she? Slowly, she tried to open her...eye... ...What. She stared at someone's butt. Oh. She shifted, and frowned.
xxx xxxx!! [/url] The sound of footsteps alerted her and she turned her head up, gazing forward. Quintus, Harley and Temperance had entered the building, standing a few feet in front of her now. Marina and Bernadette entered. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting. It wasn't as if they ever did anything right. At least they were trying. The hooded men behind her shifted and she held a hand up, stopping them. What to do, what to do? Her breath came through the mask, under the bag, distorted and crackling.❝What is this?❞She smiled behind her veil. How cute. ❝This is not what I asked for. ... Well? You disobeyed me for a reason, did you not? Show me what you've got.❞xxxxxx
xxx xccxxx Her head tilted to the side. What was this? A waste of time. Perhaps they were trying to stall? ❝Did you not hear me? I said to leave behind the one who killed Chester. If you would like to, so called, meet me in person, then come inside--alone. Do not waste my time again.❞ Pressing her lips together, she hung up the phone and shoved it into her pocket. If she did not show in about three seconds...
xxx xccxxx The phone vibrated in her hand. She stared at it for a moment and then checked the digital watch around her wrist. Just a few seconds left. Flipping the phone open, she pressed it to her ear and waited.
Not meaning to rush you, haha, but any updates on this? I just realized it's been doing it to me, too, and I've deleted like 100 of my posts. //casually hyperventilates.
xxx !!x!! [/url] At first, it had actually baffled her. Ches was weak. He could barely talk, let alone find the strength to pull himself out of bed, kneel down, and cause his own death. To be completely honest, even if he had possessed the strength to do such a horrible thing, she didn't think he would really leave her. He spoke of suicide quite often. It was natural, as through the gameboard it had become an inappropriate habit and compulsion for him. But she knew his heart better than he did. He would not have left her all alone. He wanted to escape, but had he thought about it, he would not have abandoned her. He loved her.He loved her. It became very clear to the girl, as she gazed down at his body, that someone else had done this. It had been a mistake to leave the lot of them to their own devices. Devyn had wanted to play fair. Give them a chance to survive and weed out the weak ones before forming some kind of companionship and sharing her book...but she should have just killed them all right away and ended this game.Her fingers gripped his cold ones for what seemed like an eternity, her body slouched over the hospital bed as she peppered his face with gentle kisses and whispered hushed goodbyes against his ear. There was comfort brought when she remembered that he was still alive somewhere. He was special. He would not die. She could only hope that once she won, they would be reunited. It was the only thing keeping her from losing her mind and giving way to endless grief. Now she was alone, roaming the silent halls of the tattered hospital. Several of her men were dead from phantom gunshots to the head and empty, bloodless throat wounds. She did not understand this, but it was not the time to question it. Instead, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a beautiful, gold and red music box. Around her neck was a black and white key, which unlocked the box, and played the lullaby only she could hear. A haunting, twisting, unnerving melody. As always, the first few notes would play and then the box would go silent.She waited patiently and took a step forward. The music box started up again. Good, she was going the correct way. Holding the box in her hand, she moved forward and out of the hospital. The melody continued. If it stopped, she would know she was going the wrong way. An intriguing compass to her enemies. It would have taken much too long to continue walking, so after a few minutes of quiet mourning, she dialed a number with her cell phone. Five minutes later a truck appeared, one of the hooded strangers driving it. She hopped in and leaned back into the hard leather, staring down at the several rotating figurines in the center of the music box. So many of them still alive. Pity. Devyn took the back way inside through an old, rusted bronze door. She lifted the bag over her mouth for a moment to cough into her shoulder as she descended up the steep stairs, slamming the music box shut and ordering the men to be quiet. She could hear talking. They had found her special room of diamonds...and her book. She hoped they took it. It would make chasing them down a lot easier. She had so many different tracking devices and wired objects that even if they didn't, they were sure to have taken something with them. This was her playpen. Unfortunately for her, they left before she made it down the hall completely and down the stairs to the room. They were gone when she got there, but a quick look around confirmed that they had been snooping. Lovely. One of them took the phone she left.Her chest felt heavy and for a moment, she thought she would cry. Instead, straightened her posture and took out her own cellphone, dialing the number. No answer. A few seconds later though, her own phone rang. Her eyes lit with excitement. The chase was on. She pulled her phone from her ear and gazed down at the GPS app that had launched with the phone call. They were right outside the building. Her fingers started to tremble and her breathing quickened. Reaching under the bag on her head, she pulled the mask on top of her head down over her lips and switched it on, causing her breaths to become staticy and distorted along with her voice as she spoke--slow and steady.❝Leave behind the one who killed Chester, and I will deliver the rest of you to the city. Please do not try and trick me, I do not have the patience. I will kill you, if you try. All of you. You have one minute.❞ Without waiting for a response, she hung the phone up with a shaky breath. The hooded figures behind her sent a chill up her spine. She was nearly curious enough to want to draw back one of their hoods. Just nearly, though.
Cracks In The Gameboard One thing I have noticed recently is a particular inconsistency... I have been playing this game alone up until now, and the world has since shifted and changed. I am sure no one else notices such things, but thankfully my note taking and my latest memory deal (see 'A Guide To Deal Making') has kept me aware. Thus far, they are subtle changes. For instance, Brookbridge Academy of Excellency was once an all boys school. I remember burning Chester's letter of acceptance. I did not like the thought of being too far from him. He is sick, after all. Soon after my burning of the letter, I noticed that the academy had... changed. This was around the time of the Coy City floods, when a number of Bellhurst and Rosalyn High students were moved to the school. I visited the campus soon after to investigate. A book in the enormous library confirmed my theory. It had indeed, very recently actually, been an all boys academy, but no one seemed to acknowledge such a thing. However, in an old copy of The Girl in Watercolors, I found that the print inside of the cover read: To Brookridge Academy of Excellency For Boys. When shown to the librarian, she simply cocked her head to the side and said she found it equally as curious. Such changes have occurred more than once on the gameboard. I imagine Crestatia must move things around to accommodate for situations, and I refer to the lingering of information and other leaks (such as the print in the novel) as 'cracks'. I believe that once something is altered, some things remains. Sometimes, I believe this includes memories. I spoke with Chester about it after my investigation. He says that usually the extra piece (See 'The Extra Piece') is able to recognize the cracks and changes more vividly. They may, at times, not be able to distinguish the difference between cracks and reality. I believe that such a confusing thing existing may not be intentional on the game master's part. This is evidence, to me, that game boards have a life expectancy -- and that too much fiddling around with the surroundings, memories, pawns, and players could, perhaps, break it. I predict much chaos to follow the breaking of a game board, as 'cracks' themselves can heavily influence a game. See more on this and how to utilize it under 'The Bigger Picture'. Romance, Survival and Rebellion Chester states that the rules on each game board differ. He tells me that the 'no romance' rule does not always exist. I believe that it does here because of what happened on Crestatia's game board. Sometimes, the Game Master is different, and so they do not see the importance in such things. Sometimes, there are no rules at all. (Please see 'Crestatia's Past' for more information on why romance may be banned in a game such as this one.) I myself have found that breaking the 'No Romance' rule without punishment is really quite simple. I theorize that Crestatia may have an extreme dislike for both fluffy romances without meaning, and passionate romances that blind the pawn / piece. This ties directly into her philosophy on selfishness and companionship. (Please see 'A Guide On Usefulness And Thoughts On Selfishness') for a detailed look on how to break the rule, as Romance, Usefulness and Selfishness are very similar. Surviving thus far has been ... nearly disappointingly easy. It takes intelligence, initiative wit, and a balance between selfishness and selflessness. I believe Crestatia put a ban on 'rebellion' simply to throw off the cowards. Anyone too afraid to break the rules will not win, but anyone who breaks the rules simply for the sake of breaking them will die, as well. I have been fighting to stay alive since the beginning, for both myself and Chester. My love for him has been no secret. He is my purpose. My light. My greatest friend, and most wonderful lover. However, I still live for myself, as well. Crestatia and I have an understanding, I believe. I do not disrespect her, as I know that this game is a necessity for her, and she fights in her own way. However, I demand that -- as a future Player, I be treated with respect and fairness. I understand that though demon, she still possesses a very tender, human soul; and she understands that though I do not truly exist yet -- I too have a belief in my own humanity. Thus, we coexist. I fight against her, to survive and prove myself...but I truly do respect her. While loving Chester, there is a balance. While defending my worth, there is a balance. While accepting the fate she has given me, there is a balance. There must always be balance and reason. There is no need to hate Crestatia for fulfilling her duties as Game Master, but there is no need to grovel beneath her and give up on existence, either. I believe such a philosophy has gotten me this far.
THERE ARE 24 CHAPTERS. PICK TWO. Summoning The Game Master & PossessionsThe Reluctant Player, RhiaCracks In The GameboardA Guide To Deal MakingCrestatia And AnalynneThoughts On True ExistenceAnalynne's PastA Log On Chester's ConditionPrevious GameboardsHeart's SpellThe Bigger PictureNotes On SummoningsKilling Game Pieces / YourselfPregnancies And MarriageThe Extra PieceChester's PastThe Importance Of SlumberCrestatia's PastTurning EighteenTime Reversal And MemoriesA Guide On Usefulness And Thoughts On SelfishnessAnimals And Non-pawn PiecesRomance, Survival And RebellionBecoming A Player
It shows for me.~ Just had to refresh.
(accepted) GROUP 1GROUP 2GROUP 4GROUP 3 + GROUP 5 = GROUP DERP.
❝UGH...NOW I CAN FINISH WHAT I STARTED.❞...FIRE!! THE SMELL OF GASOLINE HITS YOUR NOSTRILS. THE MAIN HALL LIGHTS UP IN FLAMES. THE DOOR WON'T OPEN.
❝U-hn! ...❞ Wait! I forgot to tell you something important. I'll just leave it in a note. Don't t CHESTER IS DEAD. YOU HAVE LEFT BEHIND TWO SECRETS.
I thought so. She's always around. Usually, in another form. It's normally either her, or Crestatia who show up as another pawn. Normally, that extra person is the key to 'breaking the gameboard'. and winning. You should use Analynne's power to help you, assuming you haven't already messed that up. Once the extra is gone, it's just you against Crestatia. It's not impossible to end the game early after that, but it's about ten times less likely without Analynne's piece. Devyn is controlling, manipulative, competitive, and powerful, to her enemies. She's angry, like me. I have never met her before this game, but I think she may be a pawn, like you guys. I believe she wanted to capture you to win Crestatia's favor. She wouldn't be afraid of making a deal--or a lot of them, and probably has. She probably wants all of you dead so she can win. What I mean is why Crestatia has all of these games to begin with. It's because she needs more players, to fix what's been broken--in her world. ...Thanks. If' I've been that great a help to you, pull the plug and leave, now, before she comes back and kills you.
