CITRINE

[dramatispersonae]

You're in the Ring by yourselves this time, surrounded by the same columns on all sides--except this time there is no spacing between them whatsoever, and the vines seem thicker.

A statue about four feet tall stands in the middle of the room; it is a woman in a simple tunic carved from white marble, but her head is missing. Although it's clearly a solid statue, it seems that the limbs can be moved and manipulated to imitate other positions.

Next to the statue is a chest (somehow) containing all of the following:

A round shield made of bronze
A boa constrictor (yes, it's alive)
A guitar with strap
A pair of thick horn-rimmed hipster glasses
A fedora
A bonnet
A mohawk
Platform shoes
A lei made of seashells
A belt of knives
A makeup kit
A peacock feather
A gun holster with guns in it
A pink mini-skirt
A clown nose
Fuzzy earmuffs
A pair of Groucho Marx glasses
A butcher's knife
Lipstick
A pair of striped arm-warmers
A pair of striped leg-warmers
A bodice
A cigar
A jeweled sword
Golden armlets
A pearl necklace
A series of shrunken severed heads on a string
A pair of black leather gloves
A cape
A wooden staff
Gold paint
A pair of sandals
A Hawaiian shirt
A big red bow
A spear
A blowtorch
A pair of black high heels
A pair of stick-on fuzzy eyebrows
A bow
A quiver of arrows
A long-stemmed pipe
A simple cloth shoulder-bag
An apron
A pair of fairy wings
A necklace of pure-cut diamonds
A blank journal
A golden crown of laurels, broken in twain
Glass-blown orbs in various colors
Purple nailpolish
A baby doll
A blindfold
A leather jacket
A plain white t-shirt
A simple, unadorned clay pot. ...?

Comments

FIRST TASK

[dramatispersonae]

". . ."

... Your directions are suddenly planted into your mind. They are as follows:

Embellish the statue with the accessories from the wardrobe in order to strengthen its appearance, for however you choose to define that. You may use as many as you like. When you turn-in your finished statue, please include why you consider your choices strengthening.

DISCUSSION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

Strength, huh...

[OOOOH GUN HOLSTER yeah tugging that out first]

Re: DISCUSSION

[aheroemerges]

Well, there's lots of weapons around, for a start...

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

Want to each pick a favorite? Also, hi, I'm Rubedo. What's your name?

Re: DISCUSSION

[aheroemerges]

Sure, that works. And I'm Thunder! Nice to meet you.

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

Good to meet you too.

[further investigation! *totally* zeroed in on those guns :D]

Re: DISCUSSION

[aheroemerges]

[checking out that jeweled sword :o]

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

[awesome!]

[also intrigued by the blank journal] Feel like getting symbolic, or just sticking with physical strength?

Re: DISCUSSION

[aheroemerges]

Sure, go for it, just don't rely on me for explaining the deep stuff!

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

[little grin] No problem. Anything else catching your eye?

Re: DISCUSSION

[aheroemerges]

[grabs the cape and gives it a swish]

A cool heroic guy's gotta have one of these!

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

Heck, yeah!

[holding up the golden armlets]

To complete the heroic look?

Re: DISCUSSION

[aheroemerges]

Now we're talkin'!

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

[tucking the peacock feather into the fedora hatband]

Closest thing we've got to a swashbuckler hat...

Re: DISCUSSION

[aheroemerges]

Heh, good thinking! So now he's armed and he's got the look. What else do we need...?

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

[dressing her up as planned, and tucking the notebook into her free hand]

Knowledge is power too...let's see...man, no good boots, and a lot of really random stuff none of which looks particularly strong.

Re: DISCUSSION

[aheroemerges]

Yeah, I think we got most of the good stuff...

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

Sandals, just because adventuring with no shoes sucks but adventuring in high heels would suck more? And then I think that's it...

Re: DISCUSSION

[aheroemerges]

Sounds good to me!

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

All right!

[finishing up, and then hand up for high-fives]

Re: DISCUSSION

[aheroemerges]

[high five!!]

TURN IN

[dramatispersonae]

Re: TURN IN

[chibisama]

[our statue is now dressed in a cape, golden armbands, and a fedora with a peacock feather in the band, so as to look like a cool heroic swashbuckler, because cool heroic swashbucklers are strong! she is also wearing sandals as the best shoe choice, because barefoot and high heels are both precarious choices for adventuring, and a strong stance is a good strong thing. she has the gun holsters strapped on and the jeweled sword in her hand, in a very straightforward interpretation of strength. and in her other hand, she's carrying the blank notebook, because knowledge and learning are another form of power and strength.]

SECOND TASK

[dramatispersonae]

". . . . . ."

... A piece of parchment appears hovering in mid-air. Your directions are planted into your mind as before. They are as follows:

Choose three battles from the following list that you think your statue could feasibly fight in, and list at least one reason why:

A raid
A skirmish
A naval battle
A navel battle
A fashion battle
An aerial battle
A tank battle
A space battle
A toy battle
A cooking battle
A dance-off
A marriage battle
A pet battle
A ranged battle
A stalemate
A scrimmage
A literary battle
A timed battle
A motherfucking walk-off

DISCUSSION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

Navel battle... [no snickering]

...right. Ranged battle definitely, since we made her a gunner.

Re: DISCUSSION

[aheroemerges]

She's supposed to be smart, too, right? So a literary battle, I guess...

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

Maybe...or, ooh I have an idea...

[de-inventorying a pen and writing a batch of stuff down quickly in her notebook]

...see, I know how to fight space battles...

Re: DISCUSSION

[aheroemerges]

Oh, awesome! That's way cooler!

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

And a good chance to show off her swordplay...skirmish or raid, do you think?

Re: DISCUSSION

[aheroemerges]

Skirmish? Sounds more like an even fight...

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

Excellent.

TURN IN

[dramatispersonae]

Re: TURN IN

[chibisama]

[Skirmish: because she's a swordswoman and adventurer]

[Ranged battle: because she's a gunner]

[Space battle: because Rubedo just wrote in her notebook the bullet-point rundown of key points of deep-space battle strategy from his military training '-']

THIRD TASK

[dramatispersonae]

". . . give her a name." Mr. Right's voice sounds raspy, as though unused for a long period of time.

DISCUSSION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

Any suggestions?

Re: DISCUSSION

[aheroemerges]

Something that sounds cool!

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

Hmm...Lightning?

Re: DISCUSSION

[aheroemerges]

Heheh, it matches my name! Sure, sounds good.

Re: DISCUSSION

[chibisama]

Seemed a good place to start! All right, let's put that in.

TURN IN

[dramatispersonae]

Re: TURN IN

[chibisama]

Lightning!

END

[dramatispersonae]

The statue stands straight and lifts both arms to touch where its head should be, and jerks, as if surprised. It reaches for something at its right side, then its left side, but does not seem to find it... it turns to face you, but just as soon you're whisked to endgame...