tengaku squared

A: 5/10 S: 4/10

================ PLOT ================ Many years into the future, the earth is torn asunder by war, and the sun never shines past the smog covering the air. The survivors have piled into several small nations, of which the largest nation is known as Nubinelle. However, groups of people took control of these nations, and corrupt with power, began terrorizing their citizens. Desperate, hungry, these people soon accepted the bleak future, and believed that the future would never change. Since the many wars, many people with unique powers began to show up, either using their powers to help others or using them to terrorize others. Uncreatively, they became known as "ability users". Their abilities range from rapid regeneration to manipulation of electricity and far beyond that as well. The only common link between these "ability users" is their dependence on an unknown energy inside their bodies, which they need to use their abilities, and running out of energy results in their death. The only known ways to recover energy are either resting or eating. Now, in Nubinelle, the concentration of "ability users" are high enough where they began either fighting for the corrupt leaders or against them. With several powerful factions closing in on Nubinelle and its vast resources, the time is ripe for a spark to set off a huge flame... And the mysterious organization known only as the Intelligence Services...what part do they play? ================ FACTIONS ================ This round will introduce factions to DCW IRL. Factions are groups of NPCs and players that work together to achieve their goal. In Nubinelle, there are four main factions: 8th Battalion Formerly part of the Armed Forces, the 8th Battalion, under the command of Brent, became disgusted at the Armed Forces' gradual abuse of the people of Nubinelle, and split apart from the Armed Forces, but kept their name, the 8th Battalion. This faction now fights to overthrow the Armed Forces. The 8th Battalion is cautious and will rarely openly fight against the Armed Forces unless the situation is dire. They primarily serve humanitarian duties, protecting the people of Nubinelle and offering them food. Unfortunately, the group splintered into two smaller factions after a small group of people lead by Jackson, no longer able to tolerate the 8th Battalion's cautious nature, split from the 8th Battalion and formed the Nubinelle Rebellion. The 8th Battalion opposes the Armed Forces and is respected by a portion of the population. However, their lack of action makes them condemned by others. There is one open slots in the 8th Battalion, and it is the third largest faction. People: NPCs: Nubinelle Rebellion The group of people that split from the 8th Battalion would form the Nubinelle Rebellion. The Nubinelle Rebellion shares the same goals as the 8th Battalion, but is far more prone to action than the 8th Battalion. Like the 8th Battalion, the Nubinelle Rebellion wishes to overthrow the Armed Forces. Their numerous successes against the Armed Forces made their recruitment yield more people than the 8th Battalion. They are respected by the population. There are no more open slots in the Nubinelle Rebellion, and it is the second largest faction. People: NPCs: Armed Forces Formerly an army of soldiers who pledged to serve the people, they soon became corrupt and began terrorizing the people with their sheer force. They currently run all the factories and most facilities in Nubinelle. Their only goal is now to remain in power. They are largely feared and hated by the population; both the 8th Battalion and the Nubinelle Rebellion hate them. There is one open slot in the Armed Forces, and it is the largest faction. People: NPCs: Intelligence Services A mysterious organization which produces devastating, high-tech armaments. They are suspected for being the group that instigated the entire war by selling arms to both sides. Their faction has the strongest members, and their goal is largely unknown. They are largely feared by everyone. There are NO open slots in the Intelligence Services, and it is the smallest faction. NPCs: ================ HOW TO SIGN UP ================ To sign up, you must PM me an application that consists of the following: > Your character's name > Physical characteristics of your character (age, etc.) > Personality and skills your character has > Your ability (if I find your ability too powerful, or it is already taken, I will change it) > Your faction (if the faction is already full, I will move you to a different faction) > Your character's history (1 paragraph) > A number from 1-100 I will take applications starting from http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=The+Eclipse&iso=20130115T00&p1=75'>Tuesday, January 15, 2013, 12:00 AM U.S Mountain Time, and stop taking applications on right around where the round starts. The round will start onhttp://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20130124T00&p0=75&fg1=000&fg2=ff605a&msg=The+Eclipse'>Thursday, January 22, 2013, 12:00 AM U.S Mountain Time. You may only send in one application. Incomplete, early, or late applications will not be even looked at; I will delete them immediately. I will judge all valid applications, and take the top 8 and give them priority positions. There will be substitute positions given, and you will be notified whether you are in, a substitute, or not in. ================ FAQ ================ Q: How will you enforce inactivity? A: Three days of inactivity will get you kicked. I judge what activity means, so merely posting will not get you off the hook. Please tell me if something has come up temporarily, and I will try to help you the best I can. Q: Will there be NPCs? A: Yes, but no player will create them. They will all belong to a faction, and you may only manipulate NPCs in your own faction. I will release the list of NPCs before the signup date, I promise. Q: How will you decide MVRP this time? A: You'll have to wait on that. Q: How will you judge applications? A: I will judge by whether or not I see genuine interest in participating. Writing skill plays a part, but interest is key. Q: Why can't I join the Intelligence Services? A: They will play a huge role in the story, and I will exclusively control them.

The current round moderator has discontinued this round. DCW IRL will now move onto its next round.

Whaddaya mean, a desktop is totally convenient. :V I carry mine around. "Does that make us stupider? Maybe, maybe not"? No, it doesn't. We're not getting dumber, we're just learning different things. We're forgetting information because of Google, but we're learning how to find it on Google. But I'm honestly too tired to argue any further, and Phi himself has more or less distanced himself, so let's not bring this up again.

Skyfall - Adele.

The moderator does have the right to discontinue the round at any time, but I'd like confirmation. Are you sure?

When a tablet is more powerful than a desktop, then I'll use it. Until then... I hope you're not disapproving of me. I was merely replying, and I was in favor of using them.

You were making a bit of a racket, so I decided to look. And whoo, I see a bunch of...stuff. The physical ability to write will disappear, yes, when computers become dominant. However, in our evolving society, writing by hand may not become necessary anymore. As our society evolves, we discard knowledge we may not need. I'm pretty sure you couldn't figure out how many bushels of wheat a cart x by y by z can hold without looking it up. That's because we don't use carts, and that knowledge has become obsolete. Still no evidence. Still don't get you. Obsolete information. See above. Now I'm not sure how you define "dumb" people. I think "dumb" people as in the mentally unproficient, or, fine, stupid people. And uh, where's the reason you said you mentioned? All you said that there was dumb people, then you said that this group of people is your target, and there are more of them. That's just facts, the latter of which is probably true because we humans are getting more populous on the earth. But anyway, there is no reason here. While this would make writing romantic stories a bit bland ("OMG I luv u txt bck), again, obsolete information is discarded as society advances. Now, when I think of using technology the wrong way, I think hacking, phishing, and stuff like that. All of which "dumb" people probably don't know how to do. Ah, I see, I see. Insulting a school then putting an "apology". Didn't you learn when you called KKLT's profile picture gay?

Ah, I'm laughing so hard right now. The regards to the school about forgetting to write? More intelligent people create more dumb people? Dependency on computers is a bad thing. Ahaha, priceless. First of all, what do you define as "writing"? I'm pretty sure Shakespeare wouldn't think a computer typing was writing, if he knew what a computer was. "Writing" is not simply the act of writing on paper. It is the communication of information through non-verbal speech. You're not forgetting to write if you overly use computers. I'm pretty sure I haven't written much in my life, but I can write essays and stories, no problems. But that's beside the point. You're not forgetting to write. You're doing it through a new medium. Your comment about "more intelligent people are, the dumber others become" is just plain ridiculous. I don't see any correlation anywhere. There will always be smart people, and there will always be stupid people. It's just how the world is; we can't fix it; deal with it. Bringing your laptop makes you dependent on computers and internet connections. I'm not completely sold on that. The typewriter hasn't replaced pen and paper (and neither has the computer, mind you, not yet), and movies, despite Edison's predictions, did not replace textbooks. People often presume that this "new technology" will soon take over another, older technology, and that is ultimately bad. However, history doesn't agree. It hasn't happened before, and it won't happen. Despite what you believe, we humans will keep following old trends that repeat over history. It's happened with civil rights: first came black males, then women, and now gay marriage. But more importantly, even if the computer does overcome pen and paper, what is bad about that? I'll put an old argument forward: paper comes from trees. But more importantly, it's a new medium overcoming an older medium. The Internet allows communication at speeds previously unimaginable, which can't be duplicated through mail. It allows new ideas to take root and expand like they could not before. The Internet is better and more advanced to mail, and a similar example comes here with computers and writing. Obviously, typing is much quicker and easier than writing. As a writer, it's important to get down ideas, because they tend to be rather transient. The computer was a godsend for me and other writers, making writing easier. And that is what technology is all about: making lives easier. You say that children are playing on laptops instead of playing outside. Well, first, I don't know where you live, but no, this is not completely the case. And yes, there is a gradual trend upwards of computer usage, but what do people tend to do on computers? Facebook. Social networks. Forums. Email. Online games. It's socializing without actually meeting. The jury is out on whether online interactions are worse than face-to-face interactions, but honestly, until there is evidence, this argument is invalid. And what's wrong with being able to use laptops? Do you know that many grandparents don't know how to use a computer? My grandfather is excited because he can use the mouse, goddamn it. Our society is evolving towards a society that is more technologically integrated, and being able to use a computer is going to be as necessary as say, driving. This is because of mankind's pursuit of a more comfortable life for all, because easier typing and faster communication is always more comfortable. In fact, people that are hesitant towards new technology, critical of it, and cling to their typewriters, are our greatest enemies, for they are the most naive and unknowing about the world. They impede our progress as the human race. We can shut them up. Unfortunately, there will always be stupid people in the world, like I said. A new world awaits us. Embrace technology, and move forward, ever forward. One day we will travel the greatest frontier, the black beyond, improve health and cure the illnesses that plague us, and yes, computers will be critical to this process. And we will trip, like we have in the past, but do not listen to the nagging voices that insist that the old ways are best, because they are not. We will learn from our mistakes and just grow further. Soon those nagging voices will quiet, and maybe once and for all.

Hackmons doesn't appeal to me too much. I'm pretty good in OU, when I decide to play at all. Currently using this team:

I've lost all interest in this round, and I will drop out.

The anime series' only merit was animation. I haven't read the manga, but I don't believe a "bad but not totally bad" plot is a merit. And no, the characters are not awesome.

You had such a good point going there as well.

Precedent. What does union rhyme with?

9865 We count all posts as numbers, so no.

As IU has previously stated in a status update and I will state here, the current moderator, Lovestruck, has until January 11th to return to moderator duties. If she does not return by this time, we will move to the next round.

9863 2

I'll take a shot at #7. It's from Fate/Stay night, and it's Archer's summoning circle.

A rule of thumb: No one will bother to read anything if the format is terrible. And a piece of advice: No one will bother continuing to read if the plot is incomprehensible. That is all.

I personally like the song. I don't think its a bad choice for an ending theme.

Chart updated (man, I forgot about this =X). Also removed the retest chart altogether.

A: 0 S: 4

I'm already the latter, and I can't imagine myself the former. Why are people illogical?

A section on head moderators and global moderators is now in the DCW IRL Moderator Signup Thread. I'm not sure how the plan discussed by IU regarding inactive players will go; I personally think it has a bit too much red tape, but we will have to see.