Shamitako

Hello and welcome to Reborn! ^^// I'm Lexi, here to invite you to check out the roleplay subforum. If you like writing, storytelling, or roleplaying, please pay us a visit. I've got a handy little guide here to help get you started. If you have any questions feel free to ask. With Hope, Lexi

3/10 It's cute but McDonalds is trash

Xenogears got gimped on the second disc by time and budget issues, so the second half of the game is more of a movie than a game, but the story is good and the game play up to that point is pretty good. It's nowhere near as great as xc1, which you should definitely play if you like the series at all, is but it's still solid and it's where it all started so the other games refence back to it often

Seems I've been beaten to the punch (pun absolutely intended). Throwing in another reccomendation for Xenogears

What's up, nerds. My name's Lexi, I'm your official unofficial community liaison for the Roleplay section. This guide is intended to help you navigate the often murky waters of how to join the roleplay section of a new site. I'm going to cover the basics of terminology and expected behavior, as well as providing steps you can take to get started on your first roleplay. There's going to be a large number of lists upcoming, so be prepared. Terminology The terminology you have to learn when joining a new site can often be confusing, and sometimes a term you know may have a totally different meaning. The following is a list of some commonly used terms that come into play around here. Expectations When participating in an RP, there are many expectations of you. Not following these expectations will make people not want to play with you and result in frustration for you, anyone GMing for you, and anyone you're playing with. The Taboos I've already touched on this a couple times, but it's a big thing to expand upon. There's a few things that will earn you an instant bad sticker across the community if you do them. Finding an RP to Join Now that you know the dos and don't, you're ready to actually start playing. I'd recommend against GMing off the bat, even if you're a veteran from another site, until you know the RP community here better. The first thing to do is figure out what kind of RP you want to join. Some RPs are focused on improving your writing skills and telling a story, some are just there to have fun playing your characters. Which isn't to say you can't have fun writing or write well when having fun, it's just a question of which things are a focus. There's no marking on the various RPs to indicate which way they fall, so ask the GM for clarification if you're uncertain. If you're new to roleplay, I suggest seeking out an RP focused on having fun. With that settled, you should seek out an open RP. Skim through the open RPs to see if you can find any with themes you like, a lot of the RPs here have inspirations from anime and video games, but there's also plenty of original content as well. Though the community is fairly small right now, there's usually one or two RPs open at any given time. RPs are not always marked as open or closed, so ask the GM to confirm if you're not sure. If you really can't find anything, poke me and I'll run a short game for you to get you started. Joining Said RP Once you've found an RP you'd like to join, read through the OOC and some recent IC posts (if it's already started) carefully to make sure you have a full understanding of the setting, mechanics, and plot. If you're confused about anything, you guessed it, ask the GM to clarify. Once you're confident you understand the RP, start putting together a character sheet using the RP's template. Whatever you do, make sure you use the format provided, otherwise you might include unnecessary information or omit necessary information. To help you with construction a character, we'll go over some of the most commonly provided categories you'll have to fill out. Name: Almost all characters need a name. You can use a meaningful name or just something randomly put together. Try to make sure it fits the setting. Don't use your own name, you are not your character. Self-inserts do exist and can be played, but you shouldn't do that as your first character because they're easy to mess up. Personality: The heart of who your character is, a good starting point for designing them. You should look through already accepted characters before writing this, both to avoid overlapping too much with another PC and to get an idea of how much writing you need to do. Some RPs a list of traits is enough here, and for others you'll be expected to write a paragraph or two. You should pick a basic trait that you want to be the core of their personality and build around it, for example: being tired all the time. Try to include both positive traits and flaws in your character's personality, if they don't have any flaws they'll feel very flat and if they don't have any positives they'll be ineffectual and hard to RP with. Backstory: Not every RP will ask for your backstory, but you should try to plan it out anyways. As the world is not yours, you should try to work with the GM on this to make sure your backstory is consistent with the world they've created. Use this to help explain why your character is who they are, but try to avoid putting too much into it, only focus on key events, and don't make too many that push a single personality trait. As with the personality, include positives and negatives to avoid being too flat. Skillset: All mechanical roleplays and many that are not mechanical have some kind of skillset or powers for you to craft. This is another good place to start. As with personality, you should read other sheets to avoid overlap and get an idea of what level of power is acceptable. Then you should try to craft a unique skillset. It doesn't have to be completely original, just try to avoid doing the same exact thing as someone else in the RP. It's highly recommended that, when starting out, you try to relate your skillset to your personality, as this helps the character feel consistent with themselves and is less work than creating a cohesive character with incongruent skills/personality. So whichever you start with, try to relate nack to it when writing the other. Once you've filled out your sheet, post it in the OOC (or send it to the GM privately if requested), and wait for a GM response. There are three possible responses you can get: Your sheet is accepted, you can begin roleplaying Your sheet needs revision, you need to work with the GM to fix any issues Your sheet is denied, you will not be accepted into the RP or you need to try again with a completely fresh sheet Most likely you'll get one of the first two. If you do get the third response, try not to be too upset, it's unlikely it's personal. You can ask why they denied you, but do so privately, as causing a public disturbance over it is going to cast you in a poor light and make it less likely for pother GMs to accept you in the future. In the most likely second scenario, simply work with the GM to revise your sheet until you get accepted. Some GMs will set a limit on how many revisions you can do before they deny you, so try to fix as much as possible on the first go. Once you do get accepted, you're finally ready to start roleplaying. Participating in the RP Now that you've gotten your character accepted, it's time to start roleplaying. Perhaps the hardest part of an RP is starting out. If the RP is starting out, the GM will start you off in an interaction with a set group, if not they'll have to write you into the story and lead you to a group to interact with. Either way, follow along with the GM's posts and try to interact with the other characters to establish your character's personality and relationships with them. First impressions are key, they way your character interacts with others here will color their interactions for the rest of the RP. Make sure to remember the impression your character gets of the other PCs as well, and treat them accordingly in the future. As the RP progresses you'll be met with various scenarios for your character to react to. In some you may be asked to use the game's mechanics, in other you may just have to interact with other characters. It should be easy enough to follow once you've gotten started, but if you're ever uncertain of how to move forward, talk to your GM to sort it out. As well, when interacting with other players, be certain to communicate with them OOC about what you all want to happen. One of the worst things you can do in an RP is leave everything up to someone else, it makes it hard to gauge what you want out of the interaction and makes your character feel more like a cardboard cutout than a person. From here on you're officially a member of the RP section here on Reborn, you should be able to navigate well enough by yourself. Just remember to be respectful and communicate with everyone. Having Fun Regardless of the RP's focus, having fun is a core value of roleplaying. But it's not just your fun that needs to be had, it's everyone's. Do not be selfish with the fun. Your character is not the main character, all of the PCs are, give them chances to do things and try to give them opportunities to show their characters' personalities when they interact with you. I've repeatedly espoused communication as a primary solution throughout this guide, that's because roleplaying is a team effort, and you can't participate in the team if you don't communicate with the other members. Let's all have fun and roleplay together! Afterword First of all, thank you for reading all the way through this guide, I put a good bit of time into it so giving your time in return is greatly appreciated. I hope it was helpful to you. If you need any more advice, here's the link to my Discord server, which I use to manage my various RPs. You'll be dumped into a channel where you can request various roles, ping @Lexi and request the Advice role. If you can't or won't use Discord, you may post in this topic or PM me on the forums, but be aware that I generally take longer to respond to the forums than Discord. With Hope, Lexi

Stole Tys Tys nodded. "Let's move forward under the assumption that it has something to do with the crater." She said, "There's been an effort made to call it a meteorite impact, but there's too many whispers around the church for me to believe that to be the case. A lot of people think it was some kind of terrorist attack." Tys wasn't sure what she believed herself, but right now her own opinion wasn't important, she needed to prep Kaede. "If you weren't there yourself, then it's possible they either think you were or think you know someone who was. Normally you should avoid giving unnecessary information, but if they take an antagonistic tone, consider dropping a name, it might get them off of your back." Alva Not long after Kaede had left with Stole Tys, Alva heard another knock at the door. When she opened it, she'd find a teenage girl standing outside. It wasn't someone she recognized, but it wasn't like she knew everyone at the school. The girl had fiery orange hair and an eyepatch with a flame pattern over her right eye. She was wearing a black leather jacket over top an orange tank top, with some kind of bandaging peaking over the edge of the tank top on the left side.

Cardinal Cardinal sat down next to Tai, the cold snow against her bare legs making her regret not getting dressed before joining Tai in Gluttony. But it was too late to turn back now. She hoped she would be able to hold on long enough to tell her story, and maybe even for Tai to tell his. She steeled herself against the cold, there's wasn't time to waste on shivering, and began to tell her story. "I'm from a place that the people of Tempest know as the Sphere. It's the birthplace of humanity, and contained in a much more finite realm than Tempest. A long time ago, it became corrupted and unstable, the universe around it started to die out much faster than it should have. Humanity began to be erased from existence, and the world was fated to follow. I was the last human left, barely six years old at the instant that time vanished. In the same moment that time ceased to be, I recognized that time continued without me. This caused time to continue to tick around me. It's a strange thing, as a young child I remember being confused as to why things could happen when I wasn't there, and in the singular moment that I came to understand it, it stopped working that way. The Sphere is frozen in a strange limbo, I am the only thing alive, and nothing acts without my input. Outside of my immediate influence, things seem nonfunctional unless I need them to. Which is probably good, because from my understanding the planet would freeze over if it kept moving through time properly. "I spent ten years trying to understand what had happened, studying the magic that had destroyed my world. I also discovered many ways to entertain myself, but we don't have time for me to go on about those. By studying so diligently, I gained a deep understanding of it, but struggled to manage anything more than the simplest of spells due to the volatility of Favor. When I was sixteen, however, I found an ancient book that taught me how to look into souls and stabilize my spells. I also discovered my own unique Spark, which allowed me to alter my Dream Space to experience a sort of future. With this I became powerful enough to be recognized by the world, empty as it was. "Using this newfound power, I was able to study Tempest, the place the rest of my kind had escaped to. I peered into the present and explored the future in my heart. I found that while I had only grown a few years older, humanity had existed for so long that the Sphere was little more than a legend. I tried to transport myself directly here, but found that I could do no more than observe. Eventually I worked up the courage to contact the most powerful beings in the Planes, hoping they would know how to transport myself from the loneliness of the Sphere to this place with so many other people. But they couldn't help me, and as time went on it became apparent that most of them didn't truly want to help me. "Abandoning the gods, I sought to find the answer on my own. Then it struck me, if I were to gain the power of the Planes in addition to the power of the Sphere, I would be able to craft a bridge between the two. I used my ability to craft a future wherein I overcame Lord, undeniably proving to the Planes that I was worthy of ruling over one of them. Tempest recognized me as a god, yet could not offer me a plane of my own in reality due to my being trapped on the Sphere and Lord still possessing her strength. Thus a conceptual space between Tempest and the Sphere was formed, my bridge was begun. But to complete it, I have to legitimize my power in this reality. The fastest way would be to defeat on of the gods, but it will eventually happen if enough of Tempest's residents recognize my legitimacy. "I knew the gods would form the tournament to stop me, and reached out to one of its competitors whom I had befriended in my false future, hoping to obtain his help in preventing the tournament from continuing. Not only for my own sake, but for the sake of those eight that had fallen prey to the gods' machinations and cowardice. But in the end, all I did was make things much worse for everyone involved. The tournament fell apart as I had hoped, but not before I had destroyed any hope at living a new life in Tempest when I finally crossed my bridge. "You said I was fighting for something before, and I am. I'm fighting to escape the emptiness I've inherited." Towards the end of her story, Cardinal's body had begun to spazz out on occasion, like static on a television. She would not be able to remain in Tempest for more than a few more minutes. Though they were both freezing, she was certain Tai had a while yet before his death. Cardinal wasn't entirely sure what would happen if she refused to return, but it seemed apparent that if it would lead to her death like she expected, then Tai was going to outlive her. She was alright with that, at least she'd spend her last moments with a living person.

Seeker Seeker nodded to acknowledge the risk presented should something happen to Nastasia. They could discuss the details on the way to confront Aries, but she was sure they could work something out. "Aries's special ability makes him completely immovable." Seeker explained, "Not just in a sense of not being pushed around, nothing about his mech can be "moved." This, combined with his armor, makes him virtually impervious to kinetic attacks. It's not insurmountable, but it's troublesome. And in the midst of a large-scale battle, it's going to be hard to focus enough damage on him to take him out. "That's where you come in. You have the power to instantly defeat any opponent that isn't moved by your signature, Aries is immovable. The plan is that when we confront Aries, Blink will use her speed to take you to him, and you'll face him alone. Blink and a few others will be dedicated to keeping anyone else from interfering with your fight. Since it's likely that Aries is the biggest threat we'll face, taking him down early will give us a massive advantage. If he takes the role of commander, it may even directly lead to our victory." Grima On her way to the station, Grima noticed a building that looked familiar to her. Though she didn't see any protesters, she felt certain that it was Aries's audience chambers. A dark-skinned man in armor was standing guard outside, he had to be melting in this heat. Something about him seemed familiar, but she couldn't be sure what. At least she'd found her destination. Just as she was approaching the building, a person ran out. They were covered from head to toe, concealing every aspect of who they were. They were also apparently concealing their ability to pay attention, as they ran directly into Grima. The two toppled to the ground violently, becoming hopelessly entangled. When the dust settled (both figuratively and literally), Grima was laying on her back and noticed a strange feeling on her chest. When she looked to see what it was, she would discover a platform shoe attached to a girl's leg.

Red When it became apparent that her attempt to help Tink was being ineffective, Red took a more immediate route. Without a word between them, Susi jumped into Red's back and the two merged again. Red lashed out with her newly grown claws, detaching the fairy's head from the accompanying body. Had she the choice, she would not have killed the little creature at all, but that was too much to hope for with Peter gone. Susi left Red's body, and Red left the fairy behind to pet the massive creature. Red hugged the wolf's neck (as much as her singular functioning arm could), inhaling the creature's scent and reveling in the feel of fur against her face. "I've missed you." she whispered lovingly, her breathing becoming very heavy. "I've missed you a lot... But you can't stay." She pushed away from the wolf and Susi gave her a sad but understanding look. Red knew she'd have gotten a sloppy lick on her face if Susi's jaws weren't coated in Peter's blood. Instead, she received a gentle nuzzle to her injured side, a warning that she needed to heal herself as soon as possible. "I know, I'll get it taken care of. And I promise that when I win this war, we'll spend more time together." After another hug, Susi curled up on the ground and slowly faded away. "Master Rosie, I've defeated the enemy servant, but I've taken serious damage. I'm sure you'd like to hunt down the enemy master, but I think it would be better if we regroup immediately. I hope that's alright" Red sent a message to her master. She hoped that using Susi hadn't taken too much of a toll on his mana supply. Everything felt fine, but she was a little worried he would push himself to keep up appearances, even if he was struggling.

Yoshirou Yoshirou accepted the boy's number and started to input it into his phone. It was then that he realized he didn't know the boy's name. "Sorry, I didn't think to ask your name before." He said. Though before the boy answered, Maridox came back over. Get his information later? For all she knew they'd never meet again. Yoshirou didn't push though, he didn't care that much. "It depends on how many there are. But I'd say pretty low as long as you don't get too close to the Ferris wheel, they might have an expert studying that." It really looked like they were going through with this. Yoshirou supposed it couldn't hurt to follow along, at least until they actually got close to the police again. It still seemed like a waste of time, the Witch wasn't going anywhere and the police would keep any potential victims away, they were free to wait until the cops were gone. Perhaps they could even track down another Witch in the meantime.

Cardinal If Tai believed her to be lying, there wasn't really anything Cardinal could do. Do what she wanted? She'd already done what she could to save him, there was no way for her to free him from being trapped in the Void. There wasn't anything more she could do. And if Tai wouldn't accept her life as recompense for all she had put him through, then there wasn't anything more she could give either. "There isn't anything I can do." She told him, "You're stuck out here, there's no way back. I wanted to save you, but I can't, I don't have that power. If you don't want to kill me, then I'll stay with you as long as my power allows. That's all I have to offer. Even if you hate me, my company is better than the misery of being alone." Aries Aries's heart leapt when Mommo came over to his side. What the other two thought of him hadn't mattered, not really. Regardless of what happened from here on out, as far as Aries was concerned, he'd already won. But that wouldn't make him complacent, his victory was not the only one he needed to deliver. "If you don't wish to join me, then I hold no animosity towards you, you're free to go." Aries said to the other two, "Leave on the train you came in on, from there you can decide on your own what to do." (OOC: Out of time, Grima and Nastasia posts next time)

Pierrot of the Star Spangled Banner orchestral/symphonic arrange