Potched Kumquat [Victory!]

Originally posted on MSPA by starburst98.

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Spoiler

Oh look we have a chance now.

*cough* *hack*

Ouch.

Oh, Baph dropped out, for better or for worse.

Ouch again.

You know guys, I may characterize myself in my writing as a cocky jerkass, but it doesn't mean I don't have *sniff* feelings.

Whatever man. Looking forward to seeing what you chumps come up with.

no, we were glad you left because we all knew we would never beat you in story contest.

Originally posted on MSPA by Anathema.

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Good it hasn't started yet, when I saw 3 pages I assumed I had missed something.

Originally posted on MSPA by SleepingOrange.

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It was dark. In the darkness, a coin flipped: on one face was a gauntlet on a red background; on the other, a faceless doll backed by grey. It spun in midair and landed on a table that hadn't existed a moment before. The gauntlet was face up for a split second before coin, table, and flipper vanished.

Elsewhere, probably, in the endless featureless expanse of black, the figure reappeared, bathed in a pillar of light; he was an incredibly-plain man in a lilac suit. Around him in a circle were eight indistinct shapes. He spoke, and his speech had a strange quality; it sounded like his every word had been spoken independently of the context of the other words around it, and with no regard for typical speaking rhythms and cadences.

"I have brought you here today. I have a plan for you all."

The figures around him shifted slightly and found they could barely move and couldn't speak.

"You will be placed in a series of locales. I will officially command you to fight and destroy each other, proclaiming that the survivor will be given rewards and riches, plus the greatest prize of all: safe return home. Some of you will fearfully obey; others will rebel and attempt to subvert the competition, to escape my power, to protect not only yourselves but your competitors. I heartily encourage this. That's how it's done."

He cracked his knuckles, grinning a smile that only moved his mouth. "I will introduce your coplayers, your friends, your foes, and tell you a little bit about them. And then... The game is afoot."

The shape to the man's left was now bathed in a light of his own. It was a snappily-dressed man with a hat and a surprised expression.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Hatman. A super-hero of sorts with hat-based gadgets, ready access to hammerspace, and what I must profess is a very charming accent. I readily admit that much of his capabilities even I'm not aware of. Watch out for this one."

A bony youth's eye's dilated as another column of light suffused him. He jerked back reflexively and his fingertips sparked.

"For your viewing pleasure, Jordan Smith. By all accounts a coward, but one who can light you on fire with his mind. Quite a powderkeg, if you'll excuse the joke. Carries a few small trinkets to help him get out of trouble, which baffles me; why bother if you're pyrokinetic?"

Light shone on a straw doll with what appeared to be dragon heads hastily stitched onto it.

"Eemp, Right, and Rong, my friends. A schizoid collection of personalities and goals. An eclectic collection of weapons including fire-breath, acid blood, shapeshifting, weather control, and... glow-in-the-dark skin. Stay away from these ones is my advice."

Next up was what appeared to be a full-size but lifeless mannequin sprawled on the ground.

"This thing calls itself... Huh, well, nothing. Makes the paperwork difficult, that. In any case, it can absorb some things and change its composition and abilities based on what it absorbs. I'm given to understand teeth are involved in some fashion here."

A short and manically grinning woman in purple with what appeared to be a handful of futuristic technology on her belt and a flamethrower on her back was shown.

"This is Annabell. She's... She's happy. She also has some tools to make YOU happy, too. Or light you on fire, or blow your head off. It's up to her. If I were to accuse her of being a filthy mutant, I'd say she was telekinetic, but that would be ridiculous."

A tall, dashing knight with a shining blade, a black hat, and a rough beard became visible.

"If it pleases the court, Alex Corendal. Infuses tools with the power of the elements. Pretty flashy and impressive, but not what you'd call real magic. Still, a lightning bolt to the chest is a lightning bolt to the chest, technical quibbles or no."

A sneering seaman in rich pirate's garb joined the ranks of the illuminated.

"Ah, Vasily Rurikovich. A sailor, a pirate, a duelist, and a man who thinks he's pretty handy with the ladies. Nothing special about him, per se, but quite the thinker if need be, and far from helpless with a sword in his hand or rigging to climb."

Last to be lit was a slight young woman, cringing slightly in the attention.

"This is Lainey. For now. Many of you have heard of a condition where one body has multiple minds? Well, this girl has multiple minds which each also have their own body. Confusing? Perhaps. Intriguing? Most definitely. Powerful? We'll see."

The lights dimmed again on all but the man. He waved a hand and the endless blackness formed into what appeared to be a clearing in a dense European forest. What little sky was visible through the thick thatch of branches overhead was black, starless, and only slightly illuminated by the orb of an apparently-full moon.

"Ah, the Forêt Noire. A place after my own heart. They say it's endless; they say it's haunted; they say once you enter, you're marked for death.

They're right, by the way."

The contestants materialized, feeling "real" for the first time in a while; as they did, a rabbit at one side of the clearing ran away, startled, down one of the many dark paths leading away from the clearing. Those who saw it noticed that there was something... wrong and disconcerting about the rabbit, but it was gone too soon to determine what that something was. A low, mournful sound filled the clearing, then abruptly stopped.

"Friends, you may begin... Pitched Combat."

Originally posted on MSPA by starburst98.

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Corendal holds his sword up in front of himself and strikes a defensive pose while his blade switches to fire, casting the stuff around him in a dull reddish glow, like that of a dieing campfire.

"so, who wants to make the first real move?"

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Spoilerforgot my color

Originally posted on MSPA by MalkyTop.

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For a short moment the two dragons were disoriented, the sudden changes of both location and...er, 'real-ness' giving them a queasy lurch in their hypothetical stomachs, but the feeling soon passed. Rong observed the other contestants and what was supposed to be their battlefield with disinterest. "Just another war, hm? Alright, let's burn this sucker down. Maybe the falling trees'll kill everybody." She took a deep breath, ready to launch a raging stream of fire at the dark woods surrounding them, but was quickly stopped by a slightly glowing Right ramming his head against hers. She swallowed the flame in surprise, burning her throat. Smoke poured out her nose and mouth as the red dragon started quietly rebuking her.

"Are you trying to kill us? What if a tree falls down on it, hm?" 'It', of course, referred to their only way of mobility, Eemp, who had spent the whole time staring straight ahead with the same expression as always.

"Iths fiyar-proof," Rong replied around her throbbing pointed tongue.

"Unfortunately, my hasty companion, it's not resistant to being crushed. This isn't just the usual war," Right hissed, his eyes glinting slightly with...excitement, maybe?

"Iths not?"

"These aren't knights properly lined up for the kill...they'll act a little...differently. I believe some strategy is required. The others did not seem very impressive from that initial introduction, but we should scout out the more troublesome threats and deal with them quickly. We will definitely need a few allies. Power in number, after all. And I have the feeling that these woods are more dangerous than they seem. Dark...a lot of places for things to hide, I'd think. And my...ah...unfortunate ability to glow in the dark makes us hard to hide..."

"I could just burn it down," Rong whined, her tongue now feeling much better. "I don't see why you don't let me burn it down. Why do we always have to go with what you say?"

"Because I'm always...Right. Ha!" Rong groaned as Right continued to chuckle over his 'clever' joke. Eemp took this time to start approaching the closest figure. "What's wrong? Not...punny?"

Another set of groans and giggles. "I hate you. So. Much."

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SpoilerAnd the game begins. Huzzah!

I'm not exactly sure how big this clearing is and I get a foreboding feeling that I shouldn't go into the woods. At least not without backup. It's up to anybody to decide who this sown monstrosity approaches first, I suppose.

I have no idea where Right got a love of puns from.

Originally posted on MSPA by Anathema.

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After looking around briefly to see where her new clone had been decanted, Annabell quickly ignored the fact that there were other people and runs immediately to a tree. She circles around it softly, amazement glowing in her eyes. Once she makes a full circle with her back to the clearing, she crouches down and plants her palms against the tree, the objects on her belt clinking together carelessly. "Ohhh, it's so rough! This is a...tree! I wonder why they don't have any clearance?" Annabell stands back up, humming a Loyalty Anthem to herself and staring contentedly at the tree, rocking slightly and tracing her fingers along the bark.

Originally posted on MSPA by MyifanW.

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The Manikin suddenly sensed lives again, and rose to it's feet. That was the first thing it learned- it could move best when balanced on it's two feet. Moving well was good, as it was curious as to what the things it sensed were, and wanted to get closer. Many lives were around it, each one different. It wanted to know about all of them, but would first examine the closest one. It dragged it's feet to a nearby tree. The Manikin could only "see" that the tree was filled with life, and was very close to it. It reached out towards it, moving it's arm closer to the life. Suddenly, it's arm could not move towards the life. It's hand rested on the trunk and was not going any further. The mankin realized that lives were solid objects, like it.

With no real reason besides exhasted options, the manikin decided to devour the life. It's hand became larger, and thicker as the Manikin moved mass to it's hand from it's center. The palm of the large hand suddenly split open, creating a mouth. Teeth shifted into place. It automatically took a bite out of the tree. The bark was crushed, and the bitten off piece of wood occupied the mouth. Then, it began breaking down, flowing through the arm of the manikin in a stream of sawdust. The Manikin began analyzing this strange occurance. It felt the density of the wood, felt it's wetness, hardness, and what life it had. The wooddust flowed through the doll, and quickly dissolved. Through doing so, the manikin gained the exact amount of weight it the wood had. The manikin's curiosity and eating had accrued it a new experience. It had learned that creating mouths and eating were good, that doing it would bring it new sensations.

The manikin took another bite, a longer, deeper one. The instant the teeth met through the wood, the manikin sensed the tree's life change. The tree's life no longer flowed through where it had eaten, and above the bite the life was leaking out, going to waste. The Manikin drew back, contemplating and digesting. It realized it had caused the tree's life to change, but it wasn't quite sure what that meant.

Originally posted on MSPA by Lisawags.

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Jordan stared at the manikin in horror as it was ingesting pieces of the tree with its hand. The two dragons bickering didn't help the situation at all. He backed away from the group slowly, only to bump into a nearby tree, and scorching it by surprise with an, "Ah!" He analyzed his enemies without making anymore disturbances with his back against the tree while shaking violently with fear.
He stared at the strange girl in purple (Annabell, was it?) curiously as she made a fuss over the trees. Jordan muttered something unintelligible as he lightly shook his head.

Originally posted on MSPA by Gamma9.

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Hatman sighed in relief, a place he could go about! He admired the overall peacefulness of the scene. He noticed the manikin absorbing the tree, Hatman raised a eyebrow as he passed by, 'VERY weird.' he had thought. The air was breezy as he walked towards a tree, to be specific, the one Annabell was examining. "Wait, what?" Hatman did a double take before speaking to Annabell, "What's this about clearance levels, you do know that everyone should get their own rights for things, right?" Hatman had declared, because otherwise, no rights to specific things, turns to villianry.

Originally posted on MSPA by Lap Otter.

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Niko scowled at the veiwscreen. "Lainey, this looks like a combat situation. I'm the only one--"

"Niko, diplomacy would be just as useful to us now," Lissa interrupted smoothly, her voice calm. "No one is currently engaged in combat, and many of these people seem unused to combat."

"That fucking dragon... thing isn't 'unused to combat!'" Niko spat, hands curling into fists.

"In addition," Lissa continued as if Niko hadn't spoken, "you are without doubt our most combat-worthy form, and it would be unwise to reveal the limits of our strength so early."

"She's right, Niko," Yume put in. "Anyway, a lot of them look harmless enough."

"Lainey looks harmless enough," Niko bit back, but her hands had relaxed; she wasn't on the verge of taking over corporeal.

Lainey's eyes flick back and forth, unfocused; the unspoken conversation takes only a few seconds, and then her attention is focused on her surroundings. Some of the others' internal communities must have reached the same conclusions as her own; several of them are weak-looking and none of them have shifted at all. Except for the strange doll, but it doesn't seem too concerned with the rest of them.

Lainey wishes for Niko's or Yume's cat-form senses; their eyes would be better able to peirce the darkness surrounding the various paths. Lissa's right, though, showing off either of them would essentially be giving away their only combat advatange. Lainey decides to try not to give anything away.

She moves to stand next to the fire-boy; he seems to have the least ill will. She can't for the life of her remember his name, though. "May your voices never falter," she offers, smiling. "D'you know any of these people?"

Originally posted on MSPA by starburst98.

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Corendal slowly lowered his blade, seeing as no one wanted to just run up and gut him. the puppet eating a tree was a no go, it could be eating it because it had nothing else to eat nearby, and getting closer would put him nearby. Annabell, Hatman, Lainey, and Jordon were already talking and interrupting would be rude. Vasily was ether not all the way here yet or planning something, ether way, wouldn't be much company. this only left the dragon-scarecrow-thing, and while most of his experience with dragons is from Perdal it's probably a lot more then anyone else here. so, while still being a little on guard, he approaches ... it.

"i greet you Eemp, Right, and Rong. This seems to be a rather odd turn of events, wouldn't you agree?"

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Spoileri keep forgetting my fucking color, argh.

Originally posted on MSPA by Red Herring.

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Vasily Rurikovich rose to his feet, gritting his teeth together as he allowed his eyes to settle upon the various contenders who stood so graciously before him. They didn't seem to be a bad bunch of fellows, although he imagined that they might benefit thoroughly from the loss of a few pounds. He'd solve that problem easily by cutting off their moneybags, of course. If they even had moneybags. Come to think of it, what was the point of money now? You certainly couldn't use it to buy anything nice, and you couldn't use it to woo that hot chick in the pub - nor could you use it to win the governor's daughter's love*.

This was a startling turn of events for Vasily. But the pirate was nothing if not crafty, and perhaps he'd be able to take this clay and mold it into bricks. Perhaps, he'd be able to manipulate things such that everyone was able to get out of this sick "contest" alive. Then again, perhaps not. Chance and Fate each would be jockeying for control, and when those two Uncomfortable Bedfellows begin that tug of war with the yarn of Life, there are bound to be a few loose ends that come undone.

In a much more literal sense, the man slowly slicked back his hair, patting it, as if he were unsure as to whether his hat might've made a reappearance - you could never be sure in situations like this as to the behavior of inanimate objects. Look at that weird manikin thing. Theoretically, it was inanimate. But in actuality, it just devoured (perhaps inhaled, in these circumstances, might be a better word) a tree.

Yeah, Vasily didn't get it either.

In fact, of all the things that Vasily did get, there was but one that happened to be nearby: a fine dame by the name of Annabell, who the raunchy pirate was so damn ready to tap oh MAN don't even get him started. He would, perhaps, attempt to romance her at a later date, something that he placed immediately into his list of goals, somewhere between "Remain alive" and "Use restroom".

"Friends, countrymen, lend me yer ears," the pirate began, taking a few steps towards the group and making an attempt at bringing them all together. His voice rang and echoed through the forest like that of the great general Caesar himself, although with much more of a pirate's accent. "If we're goin' tae survive this forest, I reckon tha' we'll need tae stick together, 'en not leap at each other's throats, ye understand? Considerin' how tha' stupid Overseer or Organizer or Orgazmo or whatever th' bloody thing is called WANTS us to fight each other, I'm willin' tae bet tha' is the LAST thing we should do, do ye follow me? Aye, alright, 'en. I say we move as a group intae th' forest 'en try tae find a way out. Who's with me, eh, ye scurvy dogs?"

*The song "Can't Buy Me Love" is an incredibly far-fetched fairy-tale.

Originally posted on MSPA by MyifanW.

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The Manikin digested the tree more, and examined the life it had changed. It still had no idea what it had done, but knew that it was something important. It attempted to think, but it had no experience to draw on, no dots to connect. Then, it became distracted from the tree by the 7 moving lives. Each of them was a different kind of life, defined by color. Of course, it didn't really understand what colors were, but still, it knew they were different. One in particular was moving extravagantly- the green life, Vasily. The Manikin decided that it was better to examine the moving lives right then and there, as it observed that some of them had begun moving away, changing places. If it waited too long, it may never get a chance to inspect them, unlike the unmoving life it was closest to.

It turned away from the tree, and began dragging it's feet towards Vasily. Slowly, it drew closer. Vasily noticed the manikin approach, and turned to face it. He began speaking to it, probably asking what it was doing, or spouting a greeting, but the Manikin had no ears, so communication wasn't quite happening. As the manikin drew closer, it's foot caught a protruding rock, and it unceremoniously fell on it's lack of face. It did not understand why all of the lives around it had suddenly shifted 90 degrees, nor why it could not move forward anymore. It did however, feel that it was being pushed it in a different direction. It had begun to comprehend gravity, and by association, the concept of "down".

Originally posted on MSPA by Anathema.

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Annabell started and backed up slightly when Hatman began talking to her. After a moment to get her wits about her she looked him over before patting him on the shoulder and saying, "Don't worry, you're only Infrared now but you'll be much happier once you're a higher rank. Actually..." Annabell rummaged around on her belt and pulled out the Happiness Tester, humming tunelessly and scanning Hatman. The display screen returned a value of 83%, prompting her into handing Hatman a couple happiness pills. "You just take those now and you'll see." Annabell closed Hatman's hand around the pills and tapped the hand gently before switching over to the next closest tree and feeling it as well.

Originally posted on MSPA by MalkyTop.

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There were so many possible alliances to forge it was almost a relief that one...that being called him Alex Corendal...? Yes, that's right. It was almost a relief that one came up to them instead. Eemp, responding to its name, turned its smiling face up to the knight.

Immediately, Rong caught sight of the sword that gave off a light of its own. "Oh my god! It's so shiny!" she gushed, starting to twist around the knight in a manner uncomfortably similar to a large serpent. At all angles, the sword still looked...beautiful. Corendal tensed but resisted the reaction to slice off the dragon's head. She didn't seem to be paying attention to the actual holder of the sword and besides, she was in a very prone position. Easy to bat away.

"Ah," the knight trailed off, unsure how to reply. He settled for a simple, "Thank you..."

"I wanna eat it! It looks so tasty!" This time, Alex twitched the sword, but before anything violent could happen between the knight and the salivating dragon, Right rammed Rong's nose with his antlers. Rong immediately retreated back from Corendal's personal space, whining and grumbling.

"I apologize...Alex Corendal. My colleagues are quite brainless." The red dragon paused, apparently considering Alex with his piercing gaze. Alex stared stoically back, trying to match Right's stare. He apparently passed some sort of test because only a moment later Right grinned. "I am quite accustomed to being forced into a fight to the death. Although not forced quite this way...I must ask. Are you interested in a deal? I feel that in these circumstances, it is best to make a few...treaties, I suppose you can call them. Nothing complicated. Something just in case. An exchange of protection from either those foreboding woods or any other contestants. You'll have one less opponent to worry about...an offer I'd like to put up in the air early. There's no rush. You can answer me later...right now, it appears someone's putting on a show."

"...I still wanna eat that sword..."

"Shush, you. Don't be rude..."

Eemp stepped back from the knight and faced the...charismatic orator. Right turned a critical gaze upon this man as well. Vasily Rurikovich. Seemed to have many talents. But his idea didn't sit well with Right. The being that had forcibly brought them here was possibly a liar, but he wouldn't put it past the forest to truly be endless. Still, it was a way to make more allies. Maybe it could work. "I believe my companions and I would be delighted to join an exploration group, ah, sir..."

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SpoilerMaybe I'm jumping the gun with controlling other characters. Sorry if Alex was out of character. If you have any disagreements, I'll edit it.

Originally posted on MSPA by starburst98.

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Spoilerit may be a little early, but you didn't actually make him DO anything and what he said was very short. anything more complex then that and i would of faulted you, but this is fine.

Originally posted on MSPA by Gamma9.

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Hatman shrugged his shoulders and popped the pills in his mouth. 'What harm could they do?', he wondered. Suddenly, the British Avenger felt like a hundred mugs of coffee went down his mouth as he started twitching and his eyes blinking rapidly. When all the caffeine had went into his system, he reverted to his childhood years and began running around crazily.

Originally posted on MSPA by Lisawags.

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Jordan turned his head at Lainey, opened his mouth to say something, but paused. He turned his head and gawked at the others. Then, he turned it back to the girl and answered hesitantly as he cautiously moved away, "Uh, yeah... I-I don't know any of them." She seemed nice, too nice. There had to be a catch. He couldn't let his guard down, not now. Timidly, he eyed at the manikin from the corner of his eyes, while keeping his back against the tree, and looked back at the girl, watching for anything suspicious. "Do you... want something?" he shyly asked.

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SpoilerI hope these aren't too short. I'll start using other characters when I get used to them... [img]images/smilies/pc_tense.gif[/img]

Originally posted on MSPA by Lap Otter.

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"It may be wise to listen to the pirate. His plan--while vague--is a good one." Lissa scowled at the veiwscreen. "Or at least, the best one put forth so far. And his logic is sound--if the Organizer wishes us to fight, it is likely the least beneficial course of action."

"And standing around doing nothing isn't gonna get us anywhere," Niko agreed. "Besides, I can always kill him if he's lying."

"What has anybody here got to lie about, Niko?" Yume protested. "We're all confused, out of our depth, and suspicious, but I'd doubt if there's anything anyone wants but just to get home." She glanced toward the manikin, at the corner of Lainey's vision and so on the corner of the veiwscreen. "Well, I don't think anybody could tell what that thing wants."

Lainey turns toward Vasily, leaning against a tree next to Fire-Kid and wishing she wasn't so terrible with names. "We don't want anything in particular," she answers. "To go home, I suppose. I mean, we've all just been told it's brilliantly difficult to survive here--in this endless, haunted forest." She gestured toward Vasily. "I'm thinking he's got about the right idea. What d'you think?"

Originally posted on MSPA by MalkyTop.

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SpoilerAw man, I'm too psyched up for this thing. I'm already plotting something...

Originally posted on MSPA by starburst98.

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"yes... staying a coherent force may be our best bet for survival, but one of my concerns is, how do we handle this thing?" alex says while walking over to the manikin "the fact that it didn't eat the whole tree means it's not eating for the sake of eating, and the fact that it just tried to walk into the ground means it has no idea what the ground is, i mean does it even feel anything?" while turning off his sword and giving it a poke to the ... foot with it, to which it had no reaction "... i'll take that as a no."

Originally posted on MSPA by MyifanW.

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The Manikin pushed itself up. It realized that there was a constant force dragging it down, gravity, and that it needed to push itself against that downward force to go anywhere. It also realized that there was something solid under it, the ground, which he and most other lives were on top of. It looked at the tree it had eaten. As he looked down the tree's life, he saw that it branched out into hundreds of strands after a certain point. Ground was a layer in whichaltered lives... Even if the manikin couldn't sense any life ground had, it felt it was worth inspecting. It flopped back on the floor again, turning it's chest into the biggest mouth possible and took a bite out of the ground. As it broke down what it had eaten, it lay still. It had eaten something heavy, and it felt that it was being weighed down. As it digested, the feeling became less and less powerful, and it felt as if it became bigger. It's digestion ability converted the mass of what he ate, and gradually converted into mass it could control, it comprehended. It thought about what it had eaten... It was damp, watery, an incomprehensible mix of rocks and wood and possibly others. It realized it had digested it quickly- too quickly for an indepth analysis. To really inspect things, it needed something digested slowly, something denser.
It turned it's attention to the approaching blue life, which drew close and... Pointed at it. However, when the blue life pointed at it it felt a slight force against it's leg. Was it holding a lifeless object? The Manikin decided to see for itself. It's leg split in two and twisted upwards, biting. It felt a thin shape, but a wide one from another dimension, a hard object. Harder, in fact, than it's teeth. It bit down as hard as it could, but it could not sever the blade.

Originally posted on MSPA by Red Herring.

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"Right 'en," Vasily said, puffing up his chest as he drew in a thick breath of the pine-scented forest air. He hated land almost as much as he hated prison - the two were, for the pirate, one in the same. However, though he had little experience with the thick of a forest, he had on his side the benefit of a keen wit. He probably could've been a wizard had he set his mind to such a task, but such work was for bearded old men, not devilishly handsome highwaymen of the seas and/or higher purpose. Captain Rurikovich reasoned that he could survive such a hell hole if he kept his head on his shoulders and told his dick to shut up for a few minutes. But then again, mmm... Annabell. Vasily couldn't think of a worse way to go than inside of her. Ssssssolid.

Observing the Manikin's actions, he scratched his beard with a curiously raised eyebrow. "Tha' creature's odd, I'll grant ye tha'. 'owever, it don't seem tae be hostile - yet. I'd reckon tha' one of us should be appointed tae watch o'er th' wee fella, make sure he don' get outtae hand 'en keep him wit' th' group. Any volunteers?" He turned his gaze out towards those that were gathered. "And, in addition . . ."

The pirate stands by an adjacent tree and hefts up a small twig on the ground, which he proceeds to use to mark a thick line in the ground. "Stand behind this line wit' me if ye want tae go intae th' forest. If ye wish tae stay 'ere, thas' fine wit' me, bu' I don't much see th' point."

Originally posted on MSPA by MalkyTop.

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Rong was bored. These guys were talking...strategy and stuff. It wasn't exactly something she was interested in. She wouldn't mind if the strategy crap included her burning stuff down, but apparently she was supposed to not burn stuff down which wasn't fun at all and she hated this weird war thing and if everybody just gave her a second she could burn everything down and it'd be all over and there'd be no need for strategizing and that thing was eating her shiny sword.

"Hey!" she shouted, giving enough pulling force that Eemp had no choice but to totter over sideways towards that mannequin thing. "You can't eat that! I'm gonna eat that!"

"How about nobody eats it?" Alex scowled, finally wrenching the sword free of the bisected leg. To his annoyance, he was ignored.

It seemed Rong was being ignored too. The leg-mouth seemed to chomp blindly for a few seconds, trying to find the strange, hard substance.

Rong reacted a little more violently at being ignored. She got ready to launch a stream of fire again. The flames were almost dancing in her mouth when Right, thinking quickly, came from below and forced her head upwards so that the fire shot harmlessly in the air, far above the top of the trees, to his relief.

"Could you think of doing something besides setting random objects on fire?"

"Hey, it's lifeless, nobody cares. C'mon, I can't even burn that thing?"

"No. Eemp, go across that line."

"Then I'm keeping an eye on it," Rong announced to the general public.

"Unfortunately, I think we've a more important role to fill." Right looked down one of the paths leading out of the clearing. Though it was clearly a path, nature didn't seem to comprehend the fact. Even in the dim light, the dragon could see branches interlacing across, ready to catch any unsuspecting traveler's head. Brambles snaked the ground, ready to trip anybody not paying attention. It was probably even worse farther along. "This forest has a rather meaningful name. We'll need a light source, and it seems I'm one of the few here that can supply light. I volunteer to be in the front to illuminate the path. Once we go in, the trees will cover the moon, but the increased darkness will also allow me to glow even brighter."

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SpoilerAnd aaaaah, I'm taking control again dammit. Sorry again, but I'm thinking about this more like a story than a mediocre Gaia roleplay and it just seems wrong to not put in others' reactions. Argh. I'll edit if anybody wants me to.

Also, I can't believe that the first useful ability is the glow in the dark one. It's...a little ironic.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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SpoilerThat's pretty much what the game is, actually - you're expected to control other characters to some degree as it picks up. The main things to avoid: making them act out of character, or making big decisions for them (such as whether they accept an offer to ally with you).

You haven't done much with them beyond fairly basic reactions, so there's no problem.