Night had fallen over the Ashen Steppes. Not that anyone could tell at a glance, in a land with a sky perpetually blackened by the haze of ash, but the civilizations of the land certainly knew. Work had stopped, and the night life had begun.
 
An outsider would have guessed that the Koopa Kingdom, and specifically Bowser’s stronghold, would be a place of rigid intensity at night. Indeed, there were troops of the various races that comprised of Bowser’s forces doing drills or going to bed early. Others, however, were off work.
 
A large, two story club was in the recreation area of Bowser’s fortress, and like other amenities in the king’s realm, it spared little expense. A bar was situated on each level, though the second story was only half as big, stopping to make a large balcony that overlooked the dance floor on the second level.
 
Zack Fair sat alone at a small table at the edge of the balcony. He was content as could be, drinking a unique liquor drink he’d never enjoyed before. As he did, he watched the Koopas down below dance to some ridiculous song that blared through the speakers, though he had to admit it was pretty catchy. After an exhausting journey and ordeal across the Ashen Steppes, he was beyond content to sit and enjoy the night. Most people liked to retreat and stay out of the public eye after a grand adventure, but Zack was happy to be in the midst of everything, even if it was quietly off to the side.
 
While he was gazing down at the various dance styles from the various member races of the Koopa Kingdom, he was suddenly jarred from his thoughts by a loud grunt, as well as the table and chairs around him shaking violently. He snapped his eyes across the table to see that a massive stone being was now seated across from him. It was a perfectly square creature with spikes on all sides and a face in the center that appeared to have a resting position of “extremely serious.” Zack had been working on his Koopa identification, so he recognized it as a Thwomp right away.
 
“Man, you scared me,” Zack was never too proud to admit when someone got him, and this dude’s arrival had certainly been unexpected.
 
“Zack Fair. My name is Lieutenant Stone,” the Thwomp abruptly and tersely greeted him, his tone matching his facial expression. Though it certainly didn’t match the jovial atmosphere of the club.
 
Zack stared skeptically for a moment as he processed the name given to him by this solid rock creature.  Finally, his tone was borderline accusatory when he spoke. “No, it’s not.”
 
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Stone was surprised by this foreigner’s reaction.
 
“Your name is really 'Stone?' Is that a common name amongst you…” Zack paused, and then immediately grimaced. He even put his right index finger in his ear awkwardly for a moment as he tried to think of a way to salvage this possibly racially charged statement. There was none, so he simply let himself finish the sentence, though with much less fervor. “…people?”
 
Stone returned a hard glare and let a brief silence fall between them. “What do you mean, ‘you people?’’
 
Zack bit his lip, then shrugged. He was already in it, so he might as well get his other thought out. “By the way, that was amazing that you didn’t destroy that chair. What is this furniture made of?”
 
“I’m here to speak with you regarding your services to the Koopa Empire,” Lieutenant Stone sharply steered the conversation back in its intended direction.
 
“I just did a favor, that’s all. I mean, come on, who doesn’t like fighting bandits and dragons?” Zack replied, taking a sip of his drink.
 
“Hah,” Stone didn’t so much as laugh, but speak his emotion in a plain tone. Zack raised an eyebrow at that, but the lieutenant continued on. “I would like to make your friendship with the Koopa Kingdom a little more official. The truth is that we could use more friends here in the harsh terrain that is the Ashen Steppes.”
 
“Official, how?” Zack asked as he leaned back in his seat, curiously. "I'm not really looking to join another army, at this point. Had a bad experience last time."
 
“We have a program for honorary admittance into the Koopa Troop’s ranks,” Stone explained, ignoring Zack's concern and hesitation. “There’s a few challenges and hurdles to cross, but I have confidence you would be well suited for them.”
 
“I mean, like we were talking about, I did just fight a whole bunch of bandits for you guys. Lost my whole team doing it,” Zack replied. “Doesn’t that get me a little bit of street cred around here?”
 
“It certainly does, but there are still procedures we must follow,” Stone responded. "Anyone interested must go through the proper steps."
 
Zack nodded and leaned back, slightly off put by the Thwomp’s lack of body language. Still, he understood. There were policies like this in every organization or government, no matter how large or small.
 
“Bureaucracy. Figures. So, what do I have to do?” Zack asked, taking another sip of his drink. “Fight more bad guys? Wear a turtle shell while I do it?”
 
“Just show up at the meeting room in the west wing of the castle in the morning,” Stone cut him off again, failing to find the humor in Zack's joke. “We’ll explain the rest to you then, if you’re interested.”
 
Zack raised his glass and nodded, then tilted his head as the Thwomp slowly levitated upwards. It then slammed down as it moved toward the exit, letting out a furious grunt on contact with the ground. It continued to repeat this method of transit as it departed.
 
Amused by the odd way of moving, Zack watched and laughed to himself. He then shook his head and went back to his people watching, perfectly entertained by the various dance styles of the different Koopa species.
 
He wasn’t totally sold on the idea of informally joining the ranks of this group, but they had been more or less good to him. That was enough for him to jump through a few hoops to at least stabilize the friendship. There was no telling what would be waiting for him in the morning, so he decided he’d better get some sleep. Zack stood up and downed the last of his drink, then dropped the glass on his table. He then shook his head and departed towards the guest barracks, hopeful to get a little bit of sleep.

High above the canopy, birds called into the jungle, eagerly trying to attract a mate. Insects of all sorts of varieties were singing. The trees shielded the ground from the oppressive sun up ahead. The moist air of the jungle was almost suffocating, or at least it would be if this particular girl needed to breath.
 
The Ambrosian Princess Guu strolled through the harsh terrain of the jungle. Her guide, a strange bear-cat like creature with bat wings and a pomp attached to an antennae on his head, lead the way through the brush. He carried a-packed-to-the-brim knack sack on his back.
 
“I have to say again that it is an honor to guide you my princess, kupo!” He said jovially, a skip to each step. “I never thought I’d have the company of royalty on one of my trips, Kupo!”
 
“You sure the astronaut is still there?” Inquired Guu as she narrowly dodge the brush that was trying to scratch at her knees.
 
“Oh yes, you’re quite lucky in deed, kupo! I’m delivering food to them right now, kupo. They’ve been ordering from the Sty and Fry several times a week, kupo. They’ve been a good but dangerous business, kupo!”
 
Her guide would continue to drone on about the business, making a ton of noise. As his constant verbal tick started to ware on her patience, she eventually drowned him out, focusing on her senses. She could feel every plant, every tree, and every animal that was in that immediate area. She could sense a bunny carrying along food for her young. She could sense a pokute running from a falcon. She could sense the orc hiding in the brush.
 
“Us moogles are a resilient race, kupo. We know how to survive harsh environments, kupo!”
 
What started as a single orc quickly turned into two, then into many, each one converging on their location, spears raised. They inched their way through the wilds, concealed by the green of the jungle.
 
“Not to mention, we are cunning like a fox, kupo. Nothing gets passed me, kupo.”
 
Guu counted them all; four, maybe six. She knew she could take them, but she needed a plan of attack and fast. It doesn’t help that she needed to protect her clueless guide as well. The group was closing in, weapons at the ready. The ambush was imminent. Suddenly, the moogle swatted at something on his leg.
 
“Ha! Gotcha, Kupo!” He said excited, a little bit of red soaked his fur where his attack landed. He looked over Guu with a proud look on his face. “Mosquito couldn’t evade my detection, kupo! Like I told you, cunning like a fox, Kupo!”
 
The furry guide jumped back in surprise as the princess suddenly turned into an adult woman with thigh-length pink hair. Before he could escape the grasps of his shock, her fist rockets into the wilderness, her arm extending to an absurd range before impacting on the skull of the closest orc. The green-skinned warrior toppled over giving off a pained grunt as he crashes the dirt, unconscious.
 
Three other orcs charge from the growth, the group coming in from all sides. Upon seeing them, the moogle gave off a very effeminate scream before running off to hide, quivering, behind Guu. The princess rocketed another punch towards the orc heading in from her right. Prepared for it, the warrior leapt out of what would have been another head shot, but he still got hit real hard in the chest, sending him stumbling back.
 
Meanwhile, the warrior charging in from the front of her got in close enough to lay in an attack. He swung his large painted axe at her with all his strength. Sensing the attack long in advance, she tilted her body a few inches to the right, the blade barely missing her shoulder. The orc reeled back for another swipe, this time, she caught the attack by the wrist and then used the momentum of the attack to throw him over her shoulder, and tossed him into the orc that was charging in from the rear.
 
Before she could do anything more to the orc, she sensed an arrow whizzing through the air towards her. She split her head in the middle, making a large hole for the projectile for fly through harmlessly. Her head back together and her senses back in focus, she noticed the final two combatants had held back and pulled out their bows. The second one was preparing another shot. Guu parted from her current opponents, preferring to be a moving target; the orcs stumbling to get off their backs didn’t require much movement.
 
The warrior that got hit in the chest had regained his standing and was already making his way to Guu. The Princess tumbles out of the way of another arrow’s trajectory as she sends out another arm. This one sweeps in low, catching the charging orc by the ankle. Toppling over once again, she grabs him by the foot and begins to spin in place. The momentum of her continuous twirl has him hovering in the air as she maintains her grip. She could sense the first archer tugging at his bow, ready to launch off another arrow.
 
Just as the archer’s steady hand loosens to let off his attack, she lets go of the orc warrior, launching him into the air in the direction of the archer. As the pink enigma casually dodges out of the way of the projectile, the bowman barely could get a few steps into his flight before he’s suddenly crushed under the weight of his fellow soldier. Neither was eager to get up again.
 
Suddenly, the sound of thunder rang out over the canopy. Guu quickly turned to look on the source and she saw that the second archer was lying prone on the ground, his body was scorched and smoking. In the corner of her eye, she saw her moogle companion in a battle stance, his arm outstretched. He looked over to her and grinned. She grinned back.
 
The two orcs from the first charge finally get back to their feet. They see their fried and bludgeoned companions, and then they see the pair that easy pummeled them. The moogle and the pink anomaly all turned their attention the pair, giving them harsh glares. The pair, knowing now that they were no match, quickly ran off, disappearing into the jungle ahead.
 
Guu, not wanting to deal with the remaining unconscious orcs when they woke, picked up her furry companion and dashed into the wood, out of possible sight of their attackers.

Continuing my trend of having no life, I hereby toss out a handful of incredibly random, simple game 'systems' that I found recently, that should be most amusing to wrangle into a semi-cohesive game. Anyone and everyone is welcome to express interest in playing,

Information on every game is as thus:



LASERS & FEELINGS
Lookie here.


DOCTOR MAGNETHANDS
Lookie here.
This one would probably require some....fenangling to work, and would probably be awkward to work out over the internets.


EVERYONE IS JOHN
Lookie here!
My personal favorite of the bunch.


BIG MOTHERFUCKIN' CRAB TRUCKERS
why is this a thing
Extremely random. It seems like it would a hoot. Maybe.


ALL OUTTA BUBBLEGUM
Simplistic.
This is another personal favorite of mine.


There are others, but these are the ones that catch my interest most and seem like the most....'entertaining' to play.

And so then, I ask of you. Any interest? :frog:

Character name: Victor Stone (Cyborg)

Character source: DC Universe

Character history: While visiting his parents at work at S.T.A.R labs an experiment with an inter-dimensional portal goes horribly wrong and a massive gelatinous monster kills Elinore. The creature turns on Victor and severely mutilates him before Silas forces the creature back through the portal.

To save his son, Silas outfits him with experimental prosthetics of his own design. The equipment can not be worn inconspicuously, and Victor is horrified upon discovering that most of his body and part of his face have been replaced with metallic implants. Victor initially wants to die, but he eventually adjusts to the changes and learns to control his implants. Later he joins the Teen Titans, a group of other powerful teens who idolize him for his implants causing him to regain confidence in himself.

Kimiyo Hoshi later invites Cyborg to join the Justice League after his assistance in the Blackest Night event.
        
                        Enter the Omniverse

Cyborg is busy scanning the world from the watchtower when he begins to doze off. When he awakes he finds himself in a mysterious new place.





Physical Description: 



http://i.imgur.com/RyDHGnu.png

Stats:
ATK:3
DEF:3
SPD:1
TEC:3

Starting Proficiencies: Ranged Proficiency (1000 OM), Physical Strength(1000)
Area Attack Proficiecy (600) Burst Movement(

Starting Powers:

Starting Moves:

Cyborg's Gauntlet (Required: Physical Strength,Burst Movement)-600 OM

Cyborg's right fist morphs into a much larger form. It grows into a 3 foot wide fist that he uses to strike his opponent. With the jet propulsion system integrated into Cyborg he can charge forward if he chooses and strike harder and faster.

Laser blaster( Required: Ranged Proficiency)-600 OM

Cyborg's right hand Morphs into a blaster that shoots a a light blue laser bolt that is 5 inches in diameter that travels about 60 mph. He can fire about 10 normal bolts before it has to recharge which take about 30 seconds to do so. The bolts fire every 5 seconds.  Cyborg can also charge up a larger darker blue bolt for increased damage, this one being 10 inches in diameter. Due to its larger size it travels at 50 mph.This charge takes about 5 seconds with the same cool 
down time as firing the other 10 bolts. 



I confirm that I have read and agreed to the Rules of Conduct. I do indeed

Where did you find us? alt character

Spent OM:4600

Hey, so I was playing a game tonight, and was thinking about how much I really loved this one place in it. It's just a place I'd like to be in real life, and always enjoy going back there.

So I figured I'd list not only that one, which is my absolute favorite, but also my top five. In ascending order.

Because the false pretense of suspense pleases me.

People should also list theirs! Pictures if possible.


5. The Tower, Room 6 - Kairo



I love simple, geometric aesthetics, and on that qualifier alone, Kairo is easily the best puzzle-maze game I've ever played. But this room in particular just resonated with me and how my mind works. I can't really explain it, I just love it.





4. Concourse - Star Wars TIE Fighter



This one is mainly a matter of nostalgia for me. Long, looong hours spent playing this game had the image of this hub location etched into my retina for many years. It's just such an exciting and surprisingly immersive way to navigate between different game modes and features.






3. Nebula Belt - Kirby's Air Ride





While Nebula Belt is essentially Air Ride's equivalent of Rainbow Road, I greatly prefer riding through a mostly transparent TRON world on floating surf boards to driving on a stupid, measly rainbow.




2. W-Space, EVE Online



Yes, so, I guess it's apparent that I like space, but no video game has ever combined exploration, tactical combat, and an ever-looming, oppressive cloud of danger than any Wormhole space in EVE online. Let me put this out there; I love secrets, and especially finding them. So when I'm in W-Space and constantly sniffing out new Sleeper sites and enemy fleets, I'm flying on cloud nine (not just because of the Stims.) I remember discovering my first wormhole when they were brand spanking new and the crickets in my gut when I flew through one for the first time, in my noob frigate. It was actually a while before I got righteously smoked by another explorer, but just the ability to scan things down and be like 'HA! FOUND YOU!' was a blast.

1. Majula - Dark Souls II



As far as home bases go, Majula actually kind of sucks. There are all of five people living there at any given time, all the buildings are in shambles, and there actually a few enemies that can bite your ankle if you're not paying attention. But still, the sense of relief when returning here, coupled with the absolute GORGEOUS cliffside, ocean setting gives it a sort of melancholy serenity that I love a ton.

Ah, it's such a beautiful day... I really like that Okor fellow, y'know? He's so calm and peaceful... he really could pick up on some more vocabulary for his writing though.

I'm still a little fuzzy on the finer details about Rapture (the city in the Vastly Deep)

Is this the broken down, abandoned by everyone except the creepy slicers Rapture? Or is it before everything went to shit? I'm going to be sending Revan there soon and I want to really know what I'm getting into. Are there Big Daddy';s and Big Sisters (with their little sister companions) or are they just not a thing here?

Thanks You!

Post comments, questions and story ideas here.

MOCK FIIIIIIGHT!

Word Limit: 300 - 1000
Posts Per Player: 3
Time Limit: As long as it isn't ridiculous
Damage Meter: Off, preferably going via writing quality. 
Setting: The Corrida Colosseum, including the Fighting Fish. (One Piece) Destructible terrain etc.

Intro post:
I think I'll let Colonel take the honor of doing so, if that's all gravy with him.

Post order:
Colonel
Link
Noodle
Harry

Discuss!

Oh and we need a judge!

I have to say my personal favorite is the Warframe subreddit this year.

With the Hearthstone subreddit coming in close second.