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The Variables: Solo write!
The chief scientist of East Gate Institute for Research of the Mentally Ill was having a terrible day, and he looked like it. He had just returned from a day of salvaging operations and had absolutely nothing to show for it, apart from a highly possible fashion the world was going to end.
“Well, Chief?” The blue hologram floating across from him asked without much hope. “What are the results?”
The chief scientist stared blankly out of the window of his office into the dark night of the outside world. The only source of illumination in the room was the dim yellow glow of his desktop lamp that dragged shadows all around the furniture like petals of a black flower with a golden center. He found himself sorely wishing for the comforting feel of a good meal under his belt, which he hadn’t had for the entirety of the day. “Do I even need to say?”
“If not for me, at least for the record, chief.” The hologram said.
The chief scientist sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. “Disaster." He began reluctantly. “The entire escort… gone. Vaporized, you could say. Their trail simply vanished. If it wasn’t for the charred trees around the path we might have thought that they had taken another route. No sign of the core.”
The hologram was silent for a few moments. “What about Eclipse? Vulcan?” It asked, finally. “They can’t have vanished without putting up a fight.”
The chief scientist shook his head slowly, his eyes still closed. “Not a trace.”
“Our last C-classes lost, then.” The hologram sounded defeated, the last spark of hope dying in its voice. “This can’t be true. This was everyone’s last chance. Something-Someone must be messing with this.”
“We might have lost the battle, but we haven’t lost the war yet. You know what this failed mission means, don’t you?” The chief scientist asked in a low voice, suddenly sitting up and fixing the hologram with an intent gaze. “How long do we have left to prepare for plan B?”
“Two years and a half.” The hologram murmured after a moment of hesitation, averting its eyes to the floor. “The Barrier completely decays in one and a half, but if the Royals listen to the Ministry and keep patching it up, we could buy another one, at most. There will be hostile leaks though, and they’ll only grow in number.”
“I’ll put that at three years for us to prepare.” The chief scientist said, a determined glint sparking in his eyes. “Worry not about the leaks, we still have enough staff to keep them under control. What I want to see is a reliable training program on my desk tomorrow, understand?”
The hologram raised its head in incredulity. “A program? Chief, we don’t even have enough people-”
“I have new recruits on the way right now.” The chief scientist said firmly, planting a fist on his desk. He was a completely different person from the fatigued figure slumped in the chair a few moments before. The topic at hand had reanimated his vigor. “I applied for their relocation from the Ministry this morning. They’re all talented, the best of the best, quick to learn and eager to practice.”
“Chief, this is a gamble.” The hologram worried. “If we start from scratch, we’ll never be prepared in time for Cloudburst no matter what training program I devise. And what about our plans for the future? The Institute does not wield its former power in the Union anymore. We’re weaker. A new unit won’t make much difference.”
“We were never starting from scratch.” The chief scientist said, flourishing two documents from the depths of a drawer. He pushed them over to the hologram. “Have a look and see if we're fighting alone.”
“Well, if that’s how it is…” The hologram began after it had read both papers twice to be sure it wasn't dreaming, a small smile appearing at the corners of its lips.
“Assured?”
The hologram nodded briskly. “I’ll have that program planned out before six in the morning.” Then it shook its head with a weak laugh, realizing how fantastical its words sounded. “Three years to build a force to save the world, Chief. Only now do I understand why you once said that you had a plan for everything.”
“It’s hard to tell which one of us is mentally ill.” The chief scientist said, carefully replacing the documents into the drawer of his desk. It was the unofficial motto of the Institute. “All geniuses were half-crazed beforehand. If we can’t be geniuses, then at least we can be crazed.”
Without warning, the door to the office burst open. The chief scientist’s secretary stumbled in, glanced at the hologram, then at the chief scientist. “The new recruits have arrived, chief. What should we do?”
“I’ll see to them.” He said, rising instantly. To the hologram, “Come along as well. I’ll brief you on the way.”
-------Welcome to my first solo write, everyone! I'm really exited to start this thread. Due to the length of this introduction, character submission forms will be posted after the thread comes up. Feel free to join using your CB name instead of charries. (I shall not be taking AE's or Captchas, sorry) The first four characters submitted will be elected to be leads, while latecomers may have to be side characters. Rest assured that I shall try to give each character their time in the spotlight though! Also, one person per charrie please. (Side characters may take a long time to appear, but they surely will. Please be patient, and have confidence in the knowledge that Zealatom will not forget their existence, ever.)
In addition, I'd like to introduce something new: some NPC-characters in this solo write can be customized by filling out special forms I'll be calling Identity Cards* that shall be posted sporadically as the solo write progresses. For now, there are three up for grabs: The Chief Scientist, The Hologram/Administrator, and The Secretary. (Hence why I wasn't too descriptive in the intro.) They shall all be disclosed along with the normal character forms in the follow-up post.
*Identity Cards can be filled out as soon as they appear, even if character submission is closed. Also, just as a small reminder, try not to hoard all the Identity Cards for yourself <3 Lastly, thank you all for joining The Variables! Everything shall be explained in due time.
submitted by Zealatom, age Solowrite!, The Watchtower
(April 14, 2024 - 9:38 am)
(April 14, 2024 - 9:38 am)
ahhh so cool!!!!!!!! Reserving, please?
(April 14, 2024 - 2:29 pm)
Reserving, please!
(April 14, 2024 - 3:08 pm)
Reserving!
(April 14, 2024 - 3:55 pm)
Reserving!
(April 14, 2024 - 4:00 pm)
name: mizuki ariadne (for sake of simplicity - if you would rather call me th3mysticw0lf, i'm down)
pronouns: she/her
personality: infp-t
appearance: honestly go for whatever you want. i'm typically portrayed as some kind of bird though lol
will post a full v whenever the forms come up
(April 14, 2024 - 10:12 pm)
Alas, the dreaded '...' title has struck anew. Oh dear.
East Gate Institute for Research of the Mentally Ill does not research the mentally ill. It is actually a cover-up name. Its true name is, in fact, East Gate Institute for Anomaly Research. Despite its run-down appearence from the outside, the Institute is equipped with the latest in cutting-edge equipment and weaponry, both technolgical and magical. Staff consists of an array of professional rescearch specialists, scientists, assistants, and several units of friendly Entities(All humanoid)tasked with managing the safety of the grounds, neutralizing hostile threats, and escorting energy cores.
You can choose between joining this solo write as an Entity or as a Scientist in practice. Also, feel free to fill out a Identity Card along with your character form. There are no limits to how many Cards you can fill out, but please leave some for others.
--------Forms--------
Entity form:
Name:
Pronouns:
Personality:
Appearence/Dressing style:
Power(one that is not too op, please):
Weapon of choice:
Shipping:
Other:
-
Scientist(in practice) form
Name:
Pronouns:
Personality/Dressing style:
Appearence:
Shipping:
Other:
-Identity Cards
The Chief Scientist
Director of the entire Institute, The place of Chief Scientist calls for a capable person with quick thinking and wise foresight.
Name:
Pronouns(doesn't have to be he/him):
Personality:
Appearence/dressing style:
Weapon of choice:
The Hologram/Administrator
Second in power only to the Chief Scientist, the Administrator keeps tabs on all matters in the Institute and deals with most of the problems that appear. Sluggish responses to problems and slow reflexes won't get one far here.
Name:
Pronouns(doesn't have to be it/its):
Personality:
Appearence:
Technology or Magic?:
The Secretary
Responsible for diplomatic matters of the Institute. Whether it be acting as ambassador when visiting the Royals or serving as the Institute's mouthpiece in the Ministry, the Secretary is always there to speak up.
Name:
Pronouns:
Personality:
Appearence/dressing style:
-------
(April 15, 2024 - 9:39 am)
Yayy!! Just wondering (if you can tell us): what exactly is an Entity?
(April 15, 2024 - 12:12 pm)
Feel free to think of them as humans with magical powers! It's a bit more complicated than that but that's all I'll say for the sake of being mysterious.
(April 15, 2024 - 5:47 pm)
Entity form:
(April 16, 2024 - 9:50 am)
Name: Periwinkle
Pronouns: she/her
Personality: Empathetic, sensitive, and creative. Enjoys reading, writing, and drawing.
Appearence/Dressing style: Periwinkle pixie cut, light skin, dark eyes, and freckled, rosy cheeks. I usually wear shorts (pants if it's cold) and a t-shirt.
Power(one that is not too op, please): able to tap into the minds of others and hear their thoughts, manipulate their emotions, things like this. However, it's quite draining, and easier on some than others, so the power is somewhat unpredictable
Weapon of choice: katana
Shipping: no
Other: n/a
And here is an Identity Card for the Secretary.
Name: Mx. Octavia Thorne
Pronouns: they/she
Personality: Octavia is charismatic and nice, but don't let their sweet, easygoing disposition fool you - she's very intelligent. Their motivations and interests aren't always clear; she plays their cards close to her chest. While kind and gentle, they are also confident in what they do and in no way a pushover. She's good at talking to people.
Appearence/dressing style: olive skin, brown hair up in a bun, and brown eyes behind golden glasses. Usually appears in some sort of blouse and a nice skirt and shoes.
(April 15, 2024 - 3:00 pm)
Reserving!
(April 15, 2024 - 4:01 pm)
After some thought, I have decided to leave character submission open even after the solo write starts. One person per character still stands though.
(April 15, 2024 - 5:49 pm)
Name: Moon Wolf
Pronouns: she/her
Personality: creative, smart, thoughtful, shy until talken to, an avid bookworm
Appearence/Dressing style: sleek slightly wavy dark hair that's a few inches past shoulder-length, dark eyes, moon pendant necklace, jeggings and hoodie when cold, and jorts and t-shirt when hot, mostly lavender and light blue colors
Power(one that is not too op, please): ability to produce luminescent light and night vision
Weapon of choice: dagger
Shipping: no thanks
Other: n/a
Identity card for hologram/administrator:
Name: Xen Cambrie
Pronouns(doesn't have to be it/its): they/them
Personality: quick, sharp, knowledgeable, worries quite a bit, helpful to the Chief, logical
Appearence: raven black pixie-cut hair, sharp heterochromic eyes---one blue, one gold, techy and stoic kind of look, usually appears in crisp white or black suits and gray cargo pants
Technology or Magic?: technology, but technology is magic to Xen
(April 15, 2024 - 6:17 pm)
Reserving!
(April 16, 2024 - 9:43 am)
Entity form:
Name:Peregrine Silverwings
Pronouns: She/her
Personality:
Focuses intensely, smiles easily, slightly sarcastic in humor, generally very outwardly calm. Not necessarily a leader of others, but not a really a follower either.
Appearence/Dressing style: Falcon like features with eyes that change in color, long dark brown hair. Dressing style is simple, practical and covering, but with a slight elegance. Occasionally a small inconspicuous piece of jewelry that doesn't get in the way.
Power(one that is not too op, please): I liked the wings you gave me in my picturing If you consider them more of an appearance than a power, then I'll add them to my appearance and go with the ability to use my own energy as a deflector/shield and sort of battering ram.
Weapon of choice: If my power is energy, then using it to slam/push or deflect what I was defending against would be my first choice. If not, then I will go with a long slender staff. But then, if my wings have feathers like knives, maybe they should count.
Shipping: No
Other:
(April 16, 2024 - 10:15 am)