(no subject)
LAST BATCH yay |D Thank you all for votiiiiiing. Info about the counselor round coming up soon ...
Remember!
- Applicants, respond anonymously.
- If you're going to do the whole "ask me why I voted you out!" thing, please state who you voted out.
- No speculating about the identity of the applicants!
Now VOTE. Hot damn, closed. |D
Character: Ferdinand Marienfield
Series Absolute Obedience
Age: Late teens
Canon: Absolute Obedience is the story of an agency of seduction, where you can hire the seduction of your nearest friend or dearest enemy - so long as they're young and beautiful.
As one of the targets of the seduction, Ferdinand's certainly beautiful. He is the incredibly sheltered scion of a very wealthy family, who seems to have educated him solely in bad poetry and the art of rose-colored glasses. He has an overactive imagination and a narcissistic personality, both of which combine to lead him to spout off overwrought purple prose pretty much constantly. As such, he's rather lonely, having rapidly surpassed most people's tolerance for bad poetry, leaving him vulnerable to anyone who spares him attention on an equal ground.
Sample Post:
What light! What beauty! That soft, gentle glow of the lake - it's as though the Divine Apollo has gently caressed its soft waves and imbued it with the very essence of his majestic light. To merge the light and heat of the sun, no longer bound by the strictures of day and night, instead glowing steadily through the night, buffered by the aid of the fluidly moving waters! The goddess of beauty herself would be rapturous at the sight. And lo! For this divine lake to have its smoothly radiant surface pierced from below by some great beast must be a sign! The smoothness of the tentacle, the perfect circlets of suckers lining the arm, proclaiming its royalty with each repetition - Neptune himself must have graced this lake, meeting Apollo's divine beauty with his own. The water itself can hardly bear the bloom of the sun in its solitary splendor, but must be supported by the Neptune's most rapturous servant.
Drawn by its allure, the huddled masses approach the lake. Their clothes, their very skins are tattered by the harsh vicissitudes of life. Yet their souls crave beauty, tentatively approaching it with the air of postulants. The divine artistry of these sacred waters inspires all, highly born and tattered serfs alike. And now one approaches. Could my beauty have distracted him from the loveliness of the lake? I should be kind to him, as a fellow devotee of the goddess of beauty.
Noble supplicant of the goddess of beauty, what do you wish for? Brains? But brains alone do not feed the soul. Against the raging power of the heart and the delicate beauty of your soul, brains weigh less than a feather. To spend your life in search of brains alone would be a tragedy. It is the beauty of the flowers, with their gently rich bouquet of scent, the beauty of the waters, the sky, the very earth underneath our feet that lifts the soul to the notice of the of the goddess of beauty. To neglect that, in an unending search for brains would be a sad and lonely existence.
-Ah, he left to join the other tattered devotees. Did my words inspire him so much he could scarce wait to spread their beauty? Or did he fail to understand me once again? I know that is is difficult for most to properly appreciate my poetry. I suppose I'm too high-class once again. To reach across that gulf of breeding and beauty is a difficult endeavor. But I will strive on! To honor beauty is the highest calling, and I want to share it with the world. And someday, I will reach someone else who can appreciate its beauty as I do.
Those roses! Surely they must have been grown by someone who could understand. Their deep, lustrous crimson petals look to be softer than silk, the merest breath of a fairy wing across the cheek, as they tumble out in a barely contained profusion of flower petal. Their vines contrast beautifully with their dark silvery green, as though painted by the delicate touch of the goddess of beauty for that sole purpose! The scent itself must be- ow! It bit me. ...Is this a new manifestation of the goddess of beauty? This piercing bite, that draws blood the exact shade of the rose - it guards the beauty of the rose, while causing echos of it in others. Truly, the exquisiteness of this rose is unsurpassed and should be spread for the elevation of the world's sensibilities. I know! I will plant a cutting of it in the center of this place, so that even the humblest can appreciate its noble beauty.
Poll Vote!
Name: Akio Ohtori
Series: Revolutionary Girl Utena
Age: Old, but looks about 21
Canon: [warning: contains spoilers for the Utena anime]
Revolutionary Girl Utena is a twisted take of a fairy tale set at Ohtori Academy. Our heroine, Utena, isn’t just part of the student body; she’s part of a secret group of students who spend their off hours dueling. These fights are ultimately to determine the strongest duelist at the school, who will eventually fight for Revolution and fulfill their desires. All of this is arranged through letters sent by a man who calls himself End of the World. But End of the World is really Akio Ohtori, acting chairman of the school.
Akio is cunning, smooth and attractive enough to cause shirts to fly open in his presence. He has to be to seduce people into working for him. Using promises of his follower’s deepest desires he works toward his own goal of gaining power. Akio was once a prince who looked out for all of the world’s women, but after his royal status was sealed away looked out only for himself. By manipulating everyone around him to start a Revolution Akio is hoping re-awaken the lost part of himself for purposes unknown. In order to keep his true goals a secret he often ends up sounding mysterious and cryptic.
Sample Entry:
I was not expecting visitors, undead or otherwise, so soon after I arrived. Can I assume you received a letter this morning? Ah, then there’s no need to tell me why you’re here; you came because there are things you want, things that you cannot get here easily. They drive you, they define you, and your inability to achieve your goals is eating you up inside, like worms might eat through a rotting corpse. But you shouldn’t despair over this, there is always a way.
It should be clear to anyone who sets foot in this camp that all sorts of things that could use improvement. Your eyes still work; I know you can see the problems around you just as well as everyone else. It's not just the poisoned lake and it’s not the poor hygienic conditions; the majority of the residents here are denied their primary food source, all due to the selfishness of the minority. Do you think it's fair that you and the other undead aren't given the brains you desire? You wouldn't be here if you did. I know you must think your options are limited, or perhaps that options don't exist at all. What would you say if I told you that you and others like you can do something about it?
You are going to bring this camp Revolution. Yes, I’ve seen your impressively accurate rendition of Thriller, and I should make it clear now that this revolution has nothing to do with dance. This is Revolution on a far greater scale. Think of a single star, just a tiny point in our night sky, but the closer you get to it, the larger it becomes until you see that it’s the source of light and life for a whole planet. That’s the revolution you’re going to start. Now imagine having the power to ignite a sun, to fuel a planet. Imagine the power to snuff it out.
Don’t worry about the details of how the Revolution will happen, you’ll find out everything you need to know in good time. For now you just need to keep your head on straight, or as straight as you can make it, until things are in motion. We may not meet again in person for some time, and when we do I advise you to wear a shirt with buttons on it. When the time comes, you’ll know why.
Poll Vote!
Character: 3
Series: 9
Character Age: Unknown, but only a few years old.
Canon: (Contains some spoilers for the movie's background story). In the 20th century, a brilliant toymaker-turned-scientist made a deal -- he would construct a living, thinking machine, with the ability to create other powerful machines, so long as that machine would be used only for peace. Needless to say, that's not quite how things turned out. The machines were used for war until they finally turned on all humans, effectively destroying everything living on Earth with the use of chemical warfare. In the midst of the destruction, the Scientist sought to make up for his mistake by creating nine small mechanical dolls -- known as "stitchpunks" -- which each contained a piece of his soul, in the hopes that they would find a way to bring life back to Earth after the humans were gone.
3 is, naturally, the third stitchpunk that the Scientist created. It and its twin, 4, were made out of a pair of garden gloves and the Scientist's belief that the mistakes of his people must be recorded so that they will never happen again. As a result, the twins are insatiable when it comes to information, cataloging every new object or person they encounter thoroughly -- very thoroughly. The Scientist reported them to be "like little puppies, but instead of running around and chewing on furniture, 3 and 4 open books and tear through them with their eyes." They cannot speak, instead communicating via light and video projection. Despite being one of the oldest stitchpunks, 3 and its twin behave more like children, hiding behind the others and following their lead when they aren't scampering around playing with whatever they can find. Unlike the others, who identify as male or female, the twins are gender-ambiguous.
Sample Post:
[At first glance, the library looks as it always does; books strewn on the tables and cabin-less campers curled up in the armchairs. But if you look more closely, you may see that there have been a few changes -- there's now a small platform attached to a hastily constructed arm, made out of what seems to be various bits of metal scavenged from around camp, including some small brightly colored wheels that look suspiciously as though they were previously used in some sort of modified pair of roller blades. A small stitch doll operates it with a crank, moving up and down the bookshelves easily.]
[One book after another is devoured with inhuman speed, pages whirring as they are deftly photographed in turn. Each is placed back exactly in the spot where it was found, quickly but carefully. Eventually, it reaches the end of the books, and there is simply a shelf with nothing sitting on it except a shiny square object -- a laptop computer, 3's memory recalls -- in the center. 3 clasps its hands in front of itself and darts close with childlike glee, eyes flashing in rapid succession as it records every inch of the new object. Lying on top is a slip of paper with a note -- For use by new campers. The doll pauses before whirling into a flurry of activity, tiny metal fingers scrabbling and poking at the the latch on the front, causing the top portion to pop up slightly. There's a slight hesitation before the doll struggles to push it entirely back, stepping on keys that click repeatedly under small metallic feet.]
[When the screen is fully pushed back, it lights up, causing the stitchpunk to startle violently. It leaps off the keyboard and retreats quickly to the platform, where it huddles in on itself as much as possible, as though trying to avoid being seen. When a few moments pass by with absolutely nothing happening, 3's head bobs up warily, and it creeps back to stand in front of the computer. Still nothing changes, so it hops back up onto the keys, where curiosity quickly shoves the remnants of fear aside, driving 3 to press down on the keys with its feet, imitating what it'd seen the human campers do. Several minutes fly by while it eagerly records everything that shows up on the bright screen, before it settles on a place where various video recordings are displayed. This is new and unusual, and 3 directs the arrow to the closest one, shifting back a little in surprise when music begins to play.]
[Startling as it is, the music is quickly forgotten in favor of closely observing the three figures moving across the screen. The doll clasps its hands in front of its chest as it leans forward, trying to identify what it was the humans -- were they human? It had never seen a human move that way -- were doing. After a few seconds the temptation grows too strong, and 3 attempts to imitate, pressing down on the keys each foot rests on in an alternating pattern and shifting each shoulder joint forward. This causes the tiny form to bob up and down awkwardly, but it seems pleased at its progress nonetheless. Then to place the arm-- 3 tries to twist its arm up and down in an undulating movement, but the limb locks and refuses to move. With a tiny frown, it tries again, but there is only a slight protesting click of the joints in response. No matter how many times it tries, the arm simply refuses to bend that way.]
[3's shoulders slump a bit in failure before it slides off the keyboard again, moving around to the back and using its weight to push the screen back down. This would clearly take further study. Curiosity momentarily satisfied, 3 steps back and lifts its head a bit, eyes projecting what it had recorded of the strange video.]
IF YOU LIKE IT THEN YOU BETTER PUT A RING ON IT
[The little doll smiles suddenly and whips around to scurry back down to the platform. Something new to show 4!]
Poll Vote!
Character: 4
Series: 9
Character Age: Unknown, but no more than a few years old.
Canon: Warning: May contain mild spoilers for the movie's back story 9 is set in a post-apocalyptic world, devoid of life, inhabited by only two forces: the machines, and the 9. Both born from the mind of the same scientist, the 9-tiny dolls called stitchpunks, each given a part of the scientist’s soul-are the only hope of returning life to the world and defeating the machines.
4 is one of a set of twins, the other being 3. Made from a pair of gloves, the twins are insatiably curious and nearly identical. 3 and 4 do not speak, only communicating by use of their eyes, which function as small cameras and projectors, taking pictures and videos and cataloging everything that they encounter. The twins are skittish, almost like mice, but their curiosity often overrides this and they love to explore anything and everything new in the world, even if it means unzipping their fellow stitchpunks!
Note: As the twins do not speak, their gender is not clearly stated, so 4 is referred to in gender neutral terms.
Sample Post:
[Somewhere near the outskirts of camp, a lone cowbot is grazing. Somewhere near that very same cowbot, there is a rustling in the bushes as a small doll emerges. The doll seems somewhat lost in wonder and amazement. Its head quickly turns this way and that, as if it is trying to take in everything it sees here in camp. There is an expression of awe and excitement on its face that vanishes immediately as the doll’s eyes land on the cowbot grazing. Suddenly frightened, the doll turns, quickly running and hiding behind the bush that it emerged from.
A moment passes before the doll’s tiny head peeks out again, examining the cowbot. The cowbot gazes at the doll and the doll cowers. Utterly uninterested, the cowbot looks away. The doll seems confused by this, for a moment, but since it seems as though the cowbot means it no harm, it might as well investigate. Quickly lunging forward, bobbing through the grass, the doll scrambles up and squirms its way inside the cowbot through a chink in its plating. For a while, nothing can be seen of the doll but plenty can be heard as it seems to have set about dismantling the cowbot from the inside out. But just as the cowbot begins to shudder and looks as though it’s about to shut down there’s a small spark and a sound of gears moving once again. The doll emerges from the cowbot, seeming quite pleased with its exploration, and the cowbot seems no worse for the wear.
The doll now sets about examining the outside of the cow's body. Its eyes flicker like tiny cameras, flashing and documenting every curve of steel, every black blotted spot, every mechanical udder. The joint where the cowbot's neck meets its body seems to have caught the doll's attention. The seam here looks almost like a collar, and the doll seems to be focusing on it intently, eyes flickering occasionally. It tilts its head back and forth, a curious expression on its face. Something is missing. This needs something more.
The doll's eyes start flickering rapidly, as if it is going through some sort of internal catalogue. Whether the doll is aware of it or not is unclear, but suddenly images begin to project from the doll's eyes onto a nearby tree. They move rapidly, as if going through a slide show on warp speed, show a cow, a bull, a T-bone steak, a bacon cheeseburger, milk, cheese, ice cream, cows in the snow, cows in the sun, cows being milked, cows sleeping, cows standing, cow tipping, naked cows, cows with-
Suddenly images stop as a bright smile spreads across the doll's face. It looks to the cowbot once more then back to the tree, where the image displays again. That's it! Quickly it darts off into the grass, disappearing into the bushes and leaving the bemused cowbot in its wake. A few moments pass before the doll appears again, dragging something large and silver with it. It wastes no time in clambering up the cowbot's leg and swinging to its neck where it fastens the item on with a piece of spare wire.
Hopping down to look up at its handiwork, the doll looks to the tree once more, the image projecting again, just to check. Satisfied, it makes a little nod and smiles back up at the cowbot. It really did need more cowbell.]
Poll Vote!
Character: Midori “Dolly” Komaki
Series: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
Character Age: 15
Canon: Peaceful days are over. Let’s Survive.
Summer is almost over when it happens: a citywide blackout occurs in central Tokyo and by the morning the whole area within the Yamanote line has been sealed off by the military. No one is allowed to leave because of dangerous “gas leaks” in the subway. Of course, the truth is rarely so simple, and the actual reason for the lockdown turns out to be that demons are on the loose. These demons can be summoned from modified handheld game systems called COMPs, and they are getting more and more common within the lockdown.
Cue Magical Dolly, warrior of love and justice! Here to save the day and rescue the civilians from those pesky demons! Or that is at least what Midori Komaki, known as the camgirl Dolly on the net, would like to think. Midori was on her way home from a cosplay event when the lockdown happened, and when she got her hands on a COMP she saw her chance to not just play hero, but actually be one by controlling the demons she could summon with it. Midori is extremely obsessed with shows about heroes, mainly magical girls and tokusatsu ones, and with Doing The Right Thing. While her actions are always well-intended she sometimes has trouble realizing how they may come off to others, but she’s getting better at it.
Note: Midori really speaks that childishly and draaaaws out words like that.
Sample Post:
Stop right there, in the name of the heavens! Not one step further because you have no need to fear, your magical heroine is here! And wowee, did that really rhyme, or what? Anywaaay, Magical Dolly, warrior of love and justice enters the stage, here to give magical punishment to all baddies that are around! ‘Cause no evil deed should be allowed to go unnoticed, and there’s no use denying it... I clearly saw you steal from the cookie jar, and that’s terrible!
No, please, don’t run away! I haven’t even summoned my demons yet, and everyone knows the baddies need to stay still and wait for the heroine to finish her speech and transform. Not that I reaaally can transform, but I’m already in costume since I haven’t had time to change since that event, so that is all right, don’t you think? And this is, like, kinda low-key so you can wear it anywhere, it’s really a win-win situation! But sometimes I get sorta jealous when they get full-body costumes, those look so cool, but I’m not sure they’d appeal to my viewers, y’know? Heyyyy, are you even still listening!?
Don’t think I’ll let you get away because it was just the cookie jar this time! If you don’t learn what is right, the next time you might go for the cake, and who knows where you’ll end up in life after that! And don’t blame it on the fact you’re a zombie. There are like tons of your kind around, and none of them went for the cookie jar! Just ‘cause you’ve seen better days and your arm is about to fall off is no reason to sink to that level. No, all you need to do is believe in the power of love and you’ll be able to do a perfect heel face turn in no time!
H-hey, don’t look at me like that, it really won’t help. And neither will crying because if you wanna be friends, you also have to be able to show them what is the right path and- aawww, the monster in the lake made you do it? It’s okay, you can show me on this kamen rider action figure where she touched you, and if we just work together we’ll be able to give her the magical punishment she deserves!
Poll Vote!
Character: Katsuragi Yako
Series: Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro
Character Age: 16
Canon: Katsuragi Yako, the rising star of the detective world, is world-famous for her ability to solve even the hardest of cases. Accompanied by her faithful assistant, Nougami Neuro, they solve mysteries across Japan, both large and small... or so it would appear. The truth is that Yako is only the unwilling front for her so-called "assistant," who is actually a puzzle-eating demon! Having forced her into slavery, Neuro cheerfully drags her through mortal peril and back, gleefully torturing her with ridiculously slapstick violence all the while. At his bidding, they search for the ultimate mystery: a puzzle so fiendishly complex that it will satisfy even his infernal appetite.
Despite Neuro's treatment of her, he does admit to having some respect for Yako, and with good reason. While Yako is initially presented as a clueless, gluttonous, and mostly average high school student, time and experience develop her unique talents. Empathetic, friendly, and optimistic, Yako has a knack for befriending the most unlikely people. She adapts quickly to strange situations, and while she does admit to being terrified quite frequently, she still does an admirable job of staying outwardly calm in the face of things that would give most people screaming nightmares.
...of course, when your boss is a sadistic demon whose favorite form of entertainment is to torture you, you have to get used to that kind of stuff pretty quickly.
Sample Post:
A radioactive lake... zombies... gorillas... even mind-reading birds?! And is that a tentacle waving at me from the lake?! I-I guess the brochure I got really was serious.... When Neuro said that I was going to be allowed to take a vacation, I should have known that it would be too much to hope that he'd send me someplace normal. But with his tastes, I guess it could be worse! And even a few days without him breathing down my neck will be heaven~ Ahhh, just the thought makes me so happy I could cry. But I shouldn't let my guard down! Even if most of what I've seen so far has been harmless, there are probably all sorts of unpleasant surprises just waiting for an unsuspecting victim...! I'll just check through the rest of the booklet before I start looking around- eh? It looks like there's some small print on the back...
Wh-what?! Not only was someone killed here, but no one can leave until they find the culprit?! But if that's true, why are they letting more people come in? Sh-shouldn't they put down police tape, or something like that...? It doesn't make any sense. Even I can tell that this is more than just a murder. There's got to be something else to it! If I solve this mystery... not only will I be able to go home, but so will the other people who are trapped here. Even if I've never done it on my own before, and even if I don't have any special powers or equipment, or anything like that to help... I still have to try! Maybe I can get the toucans to help? They probably want to leave just as much as anyone else.
Of course, waiting a week or two before I start investigating can't hurt. It'd be a waste if I didn't get at least a little rest. Besides, I've heard that the local cuisine is to die for! With this sort of atmosphere, there's bound to be all sorts of exotic fruits, and I'm sure that I could do something to make whatever was in the lake edible. Just imagine the size of the takoyaki I could make with tentacles that big... ♥
Hmmm... all this heavy thinking is making me hungry, but I already emptied the two emergency backpacks I had filled with snacks. I think the brochure mentioned something about a cafeteria... and just my luck, it looks like they serve some kind of gourmet soup today! Delicious soup, here I come!
Poll Vote!
Remember!
- Applicants, respond anonymously.
- If you're going to do the whole "ask me why I voted you out!" thing, please state who you voted out.
- No speculating about the identity of the applicants!
Now VOTE. Hot damn, closed. |D
Character: Ferdinand Marienfield
Series Absolute Obedience
Age: Late teens
Canon: Absolute Obedience is the story of an agency of seduction, where you can hire the seduction of your nearest friend or dearest enemy - so long as they're young and beautiful.
As one of the targets of the seduction, Ferdinand's certainly beautiful. He is the incredibly sheltered scion of a very wealthy family, who seems to have educated him solely in bad poetry and the art of rose-colored glasses. He has an overactive imagination and a narcissistic personality, both of which combine to lead him to spout off overwrought purple prose pretty much constantly. As such, he's rather lonely, having rapidly surpassed most people's tolerance for bad poetry, leaving him vulnerable to anyone who spares him attention on an equal ground.
Sample Post:
What light! What beauty! That soft, gentle glow of the lake - it's as though the Divine Apollo has gently caressed its soft waves and imbued it with the very essence of his majestic light. To merge the light and heat of the sun, no longer bound by the strictures of day and night, instead glowing steadily through the night, buffered by the aid of the fluidly moving waters! The goddess of beauty herself would be rapturous at the sight. And lo! For this divine lake to have its smoothly radiant surface pierced from below by some great beast must be a sign! The smoothness of the tentacle, the perfect circlets of suckers lining the arm, proclaiming its royalty with each repetition - Neptune himself must have graced this lake, meeting Apollo's divine beauty with his own. The water itself can hardly bear the bloom of the sun in its solitary splendor, but must be supported by the Neptune's most rapturous servant.
Drawn by its allure, the huddled masses approach the lake. Their clothes, their very skins are tattered by the harsh vicissitudes of life. Yet their souls crave beauty, tentatively approaching it with the air of postulants. The divine artistry of these sacred waters inspires all, highly born and tattered serfs alike. And now one approaches. Could my beauty have distracted him from the loveliness of the lake? I should be kind to him, as a fellow devotee of the goddess of beauty.
Noble supplicant of the goddess of beauty, what do you wish for? Brains? But brains alone do not feed the soul. Against the raging power of the heart and the delicate beauty of your soul, brains weigh less than a feather. To spend your life in search of brains alone would be a tragedy. It is the beauty of the flowers, with their gently rich bouquet of scent, the beauty of the waters, the sky, the very earth underneath our feet that lifts the soul to the notice of the of the goddess of beauty. To neglect that, in an unending search for brains would be a sad and lonely existence.
-Ah, he left to join the other tattered devotees. Did my words inspire him so much he could scarce wait to spread their beauty? Or did he fail to understand me once again? I know that is is difficult for most to properly appreciate my poetry. I suppose I'm too high-class once again. To reach across that gulf of breeding and beauty is a difficult endeavor. But I will strive on! To honor beauty is the highest calling, and I want to share it with the world. And someday, I will reach someone else who can appreciate its beauty as I do.
Those roses! Surely they must have been grown by someone who could understand. Their deep, lustrous crimson petals look to be softer than silk, the merest breath of a fairy wing across the cheek, as they tumble out in a barely contained profusion of flower petal. Their vines contrast beautifully with their dark silvery green, as though painted by the delicate touch of the goddess of beauty for that sole purpose! The scent itself must be- ow! It bit me. ...Is this a new manifestation of the goddess of beauty? This piercing bite, that draws blood the exact shade of the rose - it guards the beauty of the rose, while causing echos of it in others. Truly, the exquisiteness of this rose is unsurpassed and should be spread for the elevation of the world's sensibilities. I know! I will plant a cutting of it in the center of this place, so that even the humblest can appreciate its noble beauty.
Poll Vote!
Name: Akio Ohtori
Series: Revolutionary Girl Utena
Age: Old, but looks about 21
Canon: [warning: contains spoilers for the Utena anime]
Revolutionary Girl Utena is a twisted take of a fairy tale set at Ohtori Academy. Our heroine, Utena, isn’t just part of the student body; she’s part of a secret group of students who spend their off hours dueling. These fights are ultimately to determine the strongest duelist at the school, who will eventually fight for Revolution and fulfill their desires. All of this is arranged through letters sent by a man who calls himself End of the World. But End of the World is really Akio Ohtori, acting chairman of the school.
Akio is cunning, smooth and attractive enough to cause shirts to fly open in his presence. He has to be to seduce people into working for him. Using promises of his follower’s deepest desires he works toward his own goal of gaining power. Akio was once a prince who looked out for all of the world’s women, but after his royal status was sealed away looked out only for himself. By manipulating everyone around him to start a Revolution Akio is hoping re-awaken the lost part of himself for purposes unknown. In order to keep his true goals a secret he often ends up sounding mysterious and cryptic.
Sample Entry:
I was not expecting visitors, undead or otherwise, so soon after I arrived. Can I assume you received a letter this morning? Ah, then there’s no need to tell me why you’re here; you came because there are things you want, things that you cannot get here easily. They drive you, they define you, and your inability to achieve your goals is eating you up inside, like worms might eat through a rotting corpse. But you shouldn’t despair over this, there is always a way.
It should be clear to anyone who sets foot in this camp that all sorts of things that could use improvement. Your eyes still work; I know you can see the problems around you just as well as everyone else. It's not just the poisoned lake and it’s not the poor hygienic conditions; the majority of the residents here are denied their primary food source, all due to the selfishness of the minority. Do you think it's fair that you and the other undead aren't given the brains you desire? You wouldn't be here if you did. I know you must think your options are limited, or perhaps that options don't exist at all. What would you say if I told you that you and others like you can do something about it?
You are going to bring this camp Revolution. Yes, I’ve seen your impressively accurate rendition of Thriller, and I should make it clear now that this revolution has nothing to do with dance. This is Revolution on a far greater scale. Think of a single star, just a tiny point in our night sky, but the closer you get to it, the larger it becomes until you see that it’s the source of light and life for a whole planet. That’s the revolution you’re going to start. Now imagine having the power to ignite a sun, to fuel a planet. Imagine the power to snuff it out.
Don’t worry about the details of how the Revolution will happen, you’ll find out everything you need to know in good time. For now you just need to keep your head on straight, or as straight as you can make it, until things are in motion. We may not meet again in person for some time, and when we do I advise you to wear a shirt with buttons on it. When the time comes, you’ll know why.
Poll Vote!
Character: 3
Series: 9
Character Age: Unknown, but only a few years old.
Canon: (Contains some spoilers for the movie's background story). In the 20th century, a brilliant toymaker-turned-scientist made a deal -- he would construct a living, thinking machine, with the ability to create other powerful machines, so long as that machine would be used only for peace. Needless to say, that's not quite how things turned out. The machines were used for war until they finally turned on all humans, effectively destroying everything living on Earth with the use of chemical warfare. In the midst of the destruction, the Scientist sought to make up for his mistake by creating nine small mechanical dolls -- known as "stitchpunks" -- which each contained a piece of his soul, in the hopes that they would find a way to bring life back to Earth after the humans were gone.
3 is, naturally, the third stitchpunk that the Scientist created. It and its twin, 4, were made out of a pair of garden gloves and the Scientist's belief that the mistakes of his people must be recorded so that they will never happen again. As a result, the twins are insatiable when it comes to information, cataloging every new object or person they encounter thoroughly -- very thoroughly. The Scientist reported them to be "like little puppies, but instead of running around and chewing on furniture, 3 and 4 open books and tear through them with their eyes." They cannot speak, instead communicating via light and video projection. Despite being one of the oldest stitchpunks, 3 and its twin behave more like children, hiding behind the others and following their lead when they aren't scampering around playing with whatever they can find. Unlike the others, who identify as male or female, the twins are gender-ambiguous.
Sample Post:
[At first glance, the library looks as it always does; books strewn on the tables and cabin-less campers curled up in the armchairs. But if you look more closely, you may see that there have been a few changes -- there's now a small platform attached to a hastily constructed arm, made out of what seems to be various bits of metal scavenged from around camp, including some small brightly colored wheels that look suspiciously as though they were previously used in some sort of modified pair of roller blades. A small stitch doll operates it with a crank, moving up and down the bookshelves easily.]
[One book after another is devoured with inhuman speed, pages whirring as they are deftly photographed in turn. Each is placed back exactly in the spot where it was found, quickly but carefully. Eventually, it reaches the end of the books, and there is simply a shelf with nothing sitting on it except a shiny square object -- a laptop computer, 3's memory recalls -- in the center. 3 clasps its hands in front of itself and darts close with childlike glee, eyes flashing in rapid succession as it records every inch of the new object. Lying on top is a slip of paper with a note -- For use by new campers. The doll pauses before whirling into a flurry of activity, tiny metal fingers scrabbling and poking at the the latch on the front, causing the top portion to pop up slightly. There's a slight hesitation before the doll struggles to push it entirely back, stepping on keys that click repeatedly under small metallic feet.]
[When the screen is fully pushed back, it lights up, causing the stitchpunk to startle violently. It leaps off the keyboard and retreats quickly to the platform, where it huddles in on itself as much as possible, as though trying to avoid being seen. When a few moments pass by with absolutely nothing happening, 3's head bobs up warily, and it creeps back to stand in front of the computer. Still nothing changes, so it hops back up onto the keys, where curiosity quickly shoves the remnants of fear aside, driving 3 to press down on the keys with its feet, imitating what it'd seen the human campers do. Several minutes fly by while it eagerly records everything that shows up on the bright screen, before it settles on a place where various video recordings are displayed. This is new and unusual, and 3 directs the arrow to the closest one, shifting back a little in surprise when music begins to play.]
[Startling as it is, the music is quickly forgotten in favor of closely observing the three figures moving across the screen. The doll clasps its hands in front of its chest as it leans forward, trying to identify what it was the humans -- were they human? It had never seen a human move that way -- were doing. After a few seconds the temptation grows too strong, and 3 attempts to imitate, pressing down on the keys each foot rests on in an alternating pattern and shifting each shoulder joint forward. This causes the tiny form to bob up and down awkwardly, but it seems pleased at its progress nonetheless. Then to place the arm-- 3 tries to twist its arm up and down in an undulating movement, but the limb locks and refuses to move. With a tiny frown, it tries again, but there is only a slight protesting click of the joints in response. No matter how many times it tries, the arm simply refuses to bend that way.]
[3's shoulders slump a bit in failure before it slides off the keyboard again, moving around to the back and using its weight to push the screen back down. This would clearly take further study. Curiosity momentarily satisfied, 3 steps back and lifts its head a bit, eyes projecting what it had recorded of the strange video.]
IF YOU LIKE IT THEN YOU BETTER PUT A RING ON IT
[The little doll smiles suddenly and whips around to scurry back down to the platform. Something new to show 4!]
Poll Vote!
Character: 4
Series: 9
Character Age: Unknown, but no more than a few years old.
Canon: Warning: May contain mild spoilers for the movie's back story 9 is set in a post-apocalyptic world, devoid of life, inhabited by only two forces: the machines, and the 9. Both born from the mind of the same scientist, the 9-tiny dolls called stitchpunks, each given a part of the scientist’s soul-are the only hope of returning life to the world and defeating the machines.
4 is one of a set of twins, the other being 3. Made from a pair of gloves, the twins are insatiably curious and nearly identical. 3 and 4 do not speak, only communicating by use of their eyes, which function as small cameras and projectors, taking pictures and videos and cataloging everything that they encounter. The twins are skittish, almost like mice, but their curiosity often overrides this and they love to explore anything and everything new in the world, even if it means unzipping their fellow stitchpunks!
Note: As the twins do not speak, their gender is not clearly stated, so 4 is referred to in gender neutral terms.
Sample Post:
[Somewhere near the outskirts of camp, a lone cowbot is grazing. Somewhere near that very same cowbot, there is a rustling in the bushes as a small doll emerges. The doll seems somewhat lost in wonder and amazement. Its head quickly turns this way and that, as if it is trying to take in everything it sees here in camp. There is an expression of awe and excitement on its face that vanishes immediately as the doll’s eyes land on the cowbot grazing. Suddenly frightened, the doll turns, quickly running and hiding behind the bush that it emerged from.
A moment passes before the doll’s tiny head peeks out again, examining the cowbot. The cowbot gazes at the doll and the doll cowers. Utterly uninterested, the cowbot looks away. The doll seems confused by this, for a moment, but since it seems as though the cowbot means it no harm, it might as well investigate. Quickly lunging forward, bobbing through the grass, the doll scrambles up and squirms its way inside the cowbot through a chink in its plating. For a while, nothing can be seen of the doll but plenty can be heard as it seems to have set about dismantling the cowbot from the inside out. But just as the cowbot begins to shudder and looks as though it’s about to shut down there’s a small spark and a sound of gears moving once again. The doll emerges from the cowbot, seeming quite pleased with its exploration, and the cowbot seems no worse for the wear.
The doll now sets about examining the outside of the cow's body. Its eyes flicker like tiny cameras, flashing and documenting every curve of steel, every black blotted spot, every mechanical udder. The joint where the cowbot's neck meets its body seems to have caught the doll's attention. The seam here looks almost like a collar, and the doll seems to be focusing on it intently, eyes flickering occasionally. It tilts its head back and forth, a curious expression on its face. Something is missing. This needs something more.
The doll's eyes start flickering rapidly, as if it is going through some sort of internal catalogue. Whether the doll is aware of it or not is unclear, but suddenly images begin to project from the doll's eyes onto a nearby tree. They move rapidly, as if going through a slide show on warp speed, show a cow, a bull, a T-bone steak, a bacon cheeseburger, milk, cheese, ice cream, cows in the snow, cows in the sun, cows being milked, cows sleeping, cows standing, cow tipping, naked cows, cows with-
Suddenly images stop as a bright smile spreads across the doll's face. It looks to the cowbot once more then back to the tree, where the image displays again. That's it! Quickly it darts off into the grass, disappearing into the bushes and leaving the bemused cowbot in its wake. A few moments pass before the doll appears again, dragging something large and silver with it. It wastes no time in clambering up the cowbot's leg and swinging to its neck where it fastens the item on with a piece of spare wire.
Hopping down to look up at its handiwork, the doll looks to the tree once more, the image projecting again, just to check. Satisfied, it makes a little nod and smiles back up at the cowbot. It really did need more cowbell.]
Poll Vote!
Character: Midori “Dolly” Komaki
Series: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
Character Age: 15
Canon: Peaceful days are over. Let’s Survive.
Summer is almost over when it happens: a citywide blackout occurs in central Tokyo and by the morning the whole area within the Yamanote line has been sealed off by the military. No one is allowed to leave because of dangerous “gas leaks” in the subway. Of course, the truth is rarely so simple, and the actual reason for the lockdown turns out to be that demons are on the loose. These demons can be summoned from modified handheld game systems called COMPs, and they are getting more and more common within the lockdown.
Cue Magical Dolly, warrior of love and justice! Here to save the day and rescue the civilians from those pesky demons! Or that is at least what Midori Komaki, known as the camgirl Dolly on the net, would like to think. Midori was on her way home from a cosplay event when the lockdown happened, and when she got her hands on a COMP she saw her chance to not just play hero, but actually be one by controlling the demons she could summon with it. Midori is extremely obsessed with shows about heroes, mainly magical girls and tokusatsu ones, and with Doing The Right Thing. While her actions are always well-intended she sometimes has trouble realizing how they may come off to others, but she’s getting better at it.
Note: Midori really speaks that childishly and draaaaws out words like that.
Sample Post:
Stop right there, in the name of the heavens! Not one step further because you have no need to fear, your magical heroine is here! And wowee, did that really rhyme, or what? Anywaaay, Magical Dolly, warrior of love and justice enters the stage, here to give magical punishment to all baddies that are around! ‘Cause no evil deed should be allowed to go unnoticed, and there’s no use denying it... I clearly saw you steal from the cookie jar, and that’s terrible!
No, please, don’t run away! I haven’t even summoned my demons yet, and everyone knows the baddies need to stay still and wait for the heroine to finish her speech and transform. Not that I reaaally can transform, but I’m already in costume since I haven’t had time to change since that event, so that is all right, don’t you think? And this is, like, kinda low-key so you can wear it anywhere, it’s really a win-win situation! But sometimes I get sorta jealous when they get full-body costumes, those look so cool, but I’m not sure they’d appeal to my viewers, y’know? Heyyyy, are you even still listening!?
Don’t think I’ll let you get away because it was just the cookie jar this time! If you don’t learn what is right, the next time you might go for the cake, and who knows where you’ll end up in life after that! And don’t blame it on the fact you’re a zombie. There are like tons of your kind around, and none of them went for the cookie jar! Just ‘cause you’ve seen better days and your arm is about to fall off is no reason to sink to that level. No, all you need to do is believe in the power of love and you’ll be able to do a perfect heel face turn in no time!
H-hey, don’t look at me like that, it really won’t help. And neither will crying because if you wanna be friends, you also have to be able to show them what is the right path and- aawww, the monster in the lake made you do it? It’s okay, you can show me on this kamen rider action figure where she touched you, and if we just work together we’ll be able to give her the magical punishment she deserves!
Poll Vote!
Character: Katsuragi Yako
Series: Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro
Character Age: 16
Canon: Katsuragi Yako, the rising star of the detective world, is world-famous for her ability to solve even the hardest of cases. Accompanied by her faithful assistant, Nougami Neuro, they solve mysteries across Japan, both large and small... or so it would appear. The truth is that Yako is only the unwilling front for her so-called "assistant," who is actually a puzzle-eating demon! Having forced her into slavery, Neuro cheerfully drags her through mortal peril and back, gleefully torturing her with ridiculously slapstick violence all the while. At his bidding, they search for the ultimate mystery: a puzzle so fiendishly complex that it will satisfy even his infernal appetite.
Despite Neuro's treatment of her, he does admit to having some respect for Yako, and with good reason. While Yako is initially presented as a clueless, gluttonous, and mostly average high school student, time and experience develop her unique talents. Empathetic, friendly, and optimistic, Yako has a knack for befriending the most unlikely people. She adapts quickly to strange situations, and while she does admit to being terrified quite frequently, she still does an admirable job of staying outwardly calm in the face of things that would give most people screaming nightmares.
...of course, when your boss is a sadistic demon whose favorite form of entertainment is to torture you, you have to get used to that kind of stuff pretty quickly.
Sample Post:
A radioactive lake... zombies... gorillas... even mind-reading birds?! And is that a tentacle waving at me from the lake?! I-I guess the brochure I got really was serious.... When Neuro said that I was going to be allowed to take a vacation, I should have known that it would be too much to hope that he'd send me someplace normal. But with his tastes, I guess it could be worse! And even a few days without him breathing down my neck will be heaven~ Ahhh, just the thought makes me so happy I could cry. But I shouldn't let my guard down! Even if most of what I've seen so far has been harmless, there are probably all sorts of unpleasant surprises just waiting for an unsuspecting victim...! I'll just check through the rest of the booklet before I start looking around- eh? It looks like there's some small print on the back...
Wh-what?! Not only was someone killed here, but no one can leave until they find the culprit?! But if that's true, why are they letting more people come in? Sh-shouldn't they put down police tape, or something like that...? It doesn't make any sense. Even I can tell that this is more than just a murder. There's got to be something else to it! If I solve this mystery... not only will I be able to go home, but so will the other people who are trapped here. Even if I've never done it on my own before, and even if I don't have any special powers or equipment, or anything like that to help... I still have to try! Maybe I can get the toucans to help? They probably want to leave just as much as anyone else.
Of course, waiting a week or two before I start investigating can't hurt. It'd be a waste if I didn't get at least a little rest. Besides, I've heard that the local cuisine is to die for! With this sort of atmosphere, there's bound to be all sorts of exotic fruits, and I'm sure that I could do something to make whatever was in the lake edible. Just imagine the size of the takoyaki I could make with tentacles that big... ♥
Hmmm... all this heavy thinking is making me hungry, but I already emptied the two emergency backpacks I had filled with snacks. I think the brochure mentioned something about a cafeteria... and just my luck, it looks like they serve some kind of gourmet soup today! Delicious soup, here I come!
Poll Vote!