Prompts

Genki - Your parents got divorced two years ago. Your father moved out, and you live with your mother. About a year ago, your mother started dating another man... She seems happy, but you're not sure. You would rather that she remarried your father. However, one night, she announces to you and your little sister that she's marrying this man, so he will be moving in. Your little sister is exstatic. What do you think? How do you feeling? What are you feelings on the situation and what you do want your mother to do?

Katux - You've never really considered yourself an overly smart person, but then one day, you get called into the Principal's Office. Your counsellor is there, and you're told that you are being given the opportunity to skip a grade. This would mean leaving the school,, and all of your friends, behind. What are your feelings on this situation? What do you want to do?

Ren - You are a senior in high school, and suddenly everyone's telling you to think about your future. You've never thought about it, and the school year is drawing to a close. What do you do? How do you feel?

Tenrai - Someone you trust just told you that your significant other - who you claimed to love - is cheating on you with someone older. You are sure that she loves you, but this person has never lied to you before. How do you feel? What are you going to do?

Shuyin - You just killed someone to save your best friend. How do you feel? What do you do?

Suzuran - Your parents just told you that they are getting a divorce. They both say that they love you, and that you'll be able to see both of them, and that this has nothing to do with you. How do you feel? What do you do?

Suyami - You are told by your doctor that you have contracted a diease that is uncurable. How do you feel? What do you do?

REMEMBER DO NOT SAY WHAT ANYONE IS SAYING OR DOING! ONLY YOUR THOUGHTS, REACTIONS, ETC...

'Lies...'

Mind numbing shock rippled through her. Her eyes met nothing, looking blankly ahead into a void. She was fainly aware of a tear tracing down her cheek, but didn't make a move to wipe it away before others noticed. Her emotional mask had crumbled, leaving the horror and guilt free for all to observe, plainly reflected in her eyes.

The ground beneath her swayed and her hand reached out in an attempt to steady herself to keep from falling. She was trembling, she realized, but nothing she did could stop it. The grief was too much to control. Emotions ran together, tangled until she couldn't make sense of what she was feeling- fury, betrayal, denial... But he had never lied! Why would he do something like this... Why now? Tenrai held fast to the belief that he still harbored love for her. But even so, that could not keep her from being deeply hurt. Trust was so carefully built, yet so easily broken. Could she save her love? Could she still be with him?

Her stomach twisted with doubt and one hand raised to cover her mouth, feeling bile raise to the back of her throat. 'He must love me... He must! I've got to believe...' Even if she seemed confident in his love, no sense could be made of why he would do something- deliberately- that he knew would hurt her? Why would he betray her? If he still loved her, why?

Finally, the girl's stomach gave way, collapsing to her knees as she vomitted. Emotions didn't tend to run so thick that she couldn't control them... When she couldn't this was usually how she felt. Pained, stricken, and weak, on her knees trembling. Though Tenrai had no wounds, she felt bruised and cut all over, emotions threatening to spill out. 'He still loves me... He must...'

That didn't stop the tears, or the sobs that heaved from her chest. After convincing herself that he still loved her, his betrayal only hurt more. Tears spilled down her cheeks, soaking her sleeves as she buried her head in her arms. 'Stop blubbering like a baby! You were taught proper etiquette at five!'

Eventually the flow of tears stopped, and with one shaky breath she drew herself upright. 'I know he loves me, no matter what he did... He always will. He always will.' Still clinging to that belief, she lowered her eyes to the ground with new found composure and stood a little straighter. With love came strength, the strength to believe. She had to believe, didn't she? To hold onto her love, she had to believe that he felt the same.

She loved him with all of her heart, and she was convinced he felt the same.

((Hmmm... I have gotten sloppy. Been slacking off. *Shrugs* But I tried my best, Kyoshou. Make of it what you will.))

Tenrai - Good. I think that it could have been improved some, but it is good by our standards. I like the emotion you showed in it. Good job. ACCEPTED.

Cancer....
Cancer....

The doctor's words were ringing in Mia's head non stop since he had said them. She still couldn't believe it was true.

What about my life, my friends? thought the teen to herself as she shuffled down the corridor of the hospital, the white walls and scent of antiseptic giving her a headache.

The beige carpet underneath her seemed to blur as images flashed through her head, over and over again. Soon they blended into one giant collage, the doctor coming in, his scrubs ironed and his overcoat starched and clean.

"I'm sorry to tell you, Mia, but you have cancer."

The rest of the doctor's words had been mumbled, for she had not listened to them at all, solely focusing on the one concept that had crumbled her world.

Cancer.... The six lettered word seemed to float in her vision and hearing, haunting every slow step she took. The teenager's brown eyes filled with unshed tears as she saw her mother waiting for her at the end of the seemingly endless corridor. The girl's heart felt as if it were being rent apart, and not from the disease that infested it, either.

"How will I tell her?" mumbled the disoriented brunette as she made her way to her mother, the only constant in her chaotic life. Her thoughts were jumbled and unclear, the only understandable thing was that she now had cancer.

Mia slowly lifted her chin, and shook her brown hair out of her muddy eyes. A glint of hardness came into her eyes as her chin stuck out and her hands balled into fists beneath the fabric of the mini skirt she was wearing.

"I'll face it." she said as she quickened her pace and moved more purposefully towards her mother. "Whatever happens, I'll face it." finished Mia triumphantly, a hint of a smile on her heart shaped face.

"Mom," stated the teenager as she stopped in front of her mother, her tears long gone, "I have cancer."

Sam's heart pounded in her chest as she stood, panting, locked in her room. Her eyes stared sightlessly at the wall. There were no thundering footsteps coming up the stairs after her, but she wasn’t sure whether or not that was a good thing. Maybe she wanted someone to comfort her. She was leaning heavily against the old wooden door as if stepping away would let her world come crashing down around her. Sam's right hand gripped the glass doorknob like it was the pin in a grenade that wanted so desperately to slide out. But she knew she'd get tired eventually, and when she did, things really would come crashing down.

A…divorce? Her mind couldn’t seem to comprehend what that meant. Her legs quaked. Finally Sam let herself slip to the floor, and her hand let go of the doorknob. Still listening intently for the sounds of worried pursuit, she tried to grasp what she had been told. Her mom was moving out. Her heart felt like exploding, and her throat was hot and dry. It took everything she had to keep her tears from falling. No…this couldn’t be happening.

Sam knew they fought, and her mom had always threatened to move out. She just never thought it'd actually come to that. Sam would be staying here, in the house she grew up in with her dad, and visit her mother on the weekends.

What would happen when she opened this door? Her room was her sanctuary, the place she could run to when she had to get away, the place she could hide in when things got bad. As long as Sam was in here, everything would be alright. But she couldn’t hide forever. There was a time limit to her sanctuary, and time was running out. If she didn’t join the rest of the world soon, she’d find the rest of the world knocking on her door. Time was running out, and her world was crashing down right before her eyes.

Sam collapsed in on herself then, sobbing quietly, uncontrollably, despairingly. She didn’t know what she’d do. What could she do? Just move on? Try to resist? Her parents both knew she would hate it if they got a divorce, so they must have only decided to do it if they thought it was best for the whole family, right? That sounded right. They would both be happier if they got a divorce. If they were both happy, that had to be a good thing, right? Her stomach churned with turmoil. She wasn’t happy.

Looking up again, the tears stopped flowing. Sam's face was wet, but she didn’t bother to wipe the salty tears away. The floor felt comfortable, but she realized that was only because she just didn’t want to get up. She didn’t want to move on. Hesitantly, Sam wiped her eyes on her sleeve and stood up anyway. Her heart pleaded, begged, for her to stay in that room and not go back downstairs to face her parents. The girl took a deep breath and unlocked the door. Turning the doorknob and swinging the door open, she warily peered through. No one was there, which made things a whole lot easier on her hurting heart. She had to let her parents know that if they were happier, everything would be fine. Even if she didn't feel that way. As Sam stepped over the threshold, part of her wanted to turn around and walk right back into her sanctuary. She kept walking.

Suyami- Hmm... Well, I see room for improvement. Your post is a good start, but I think you need to build on it. You're only touching the surface of what your character is feeling. You need to dig deeper, and really write down what she's feeling - show us, not tell us. You need more. DENIED. Go the Romance Training, do that, or do one of the classes in the RPG School, or one do one round of the Battle Training and try again.

Suzuran - Not bad, not bad at all, quite good actually. I, of course, see room for improvement, for all intensive purposes, this is good. Good job. ACCEPTED.

Dao Long - [/b] You have been wrongly accused of a crime in which you will be tried and punished for. You know you are innocent. How do you feel? What will you do?

Kinsha - You have just killed someone to protect someone youc are about. How do you feel? What do you do?

Kysumi - You just walk in on your significant other in a very intimate position with someone else. How do you feel? What do you want to do?

Yan - Someone wants to force you to do something you don't want to do. How do you feel? What do you do?

Sawora - Someone stole something of yours. You think you know who it is, but you're not sure. What do you do? How do you feel?

Seisen - You are in college. You have spent a lot of money on your tuition only to find that you have failed your classes, despite all of your hard work. You are very confused as to what happened. How do you feel? What do you do?

REMEMBER: You can't control any other characters that might be in your prompt. This is about you, no one else, even if they're involved/mentioned in your prompt.

Kaido's Prompt - Your best friend had disappeared. Their parents have no idea where they are. How do you feel? What do you want to do?

Seisen - You are in college. You have spent a lot of money on your tuition only to find that you have failed your classes, despite all of your hard work. You are very confused as to what happened. How do you feel? What do you do?

"DAMN!"

The voice rang outward, carrying down the hallway with more anger than is ever felt by most. A second later, the form of a young man came into the light, walking down the corridor, his head hanging low. He'd failed. He'd come all this way, tried so hard, and yet all of it was for naught. What was the point of even trying anymore? Anger possessing him again, he turned, throwing the progress report back down the way he had come. "...Bullshit..." he muttered, his voice tight with emotion.

He'd come to this engineering school to become just that: an engineer. The requirements just to even get into the school were quite high, but he was a bright boy, achieving high grades in his classes with relative ease. Yet college had been an entirely different animal. Where he hadn't needed to study before, he was now forced to do so. Time that he'd had before to relax and kick back was now spent over books, forcing himself to learn the information as efficiently as possible.

His first year, he'd done reasonably well, earning about the same grades as he had in high school, though with about twice the work. Proud, he'd returned home for the summer, celebrating his success with friends and family. But when the next semester began, he found himself back where he'd been to begin with, scrambling to understand the new texts, the new concepts. The work was far more difficult this time around, and his grades suffered from it.

This alone had annoyed him, as he wasn't out partying like others were, ones that were still doing well. He stayed focused on his studies, just as he had been told to do. But try as he might, his grades continued to slip, and soon he found himself at the tutoring center. He went religiously, trying to understand concepts that just didn't sink in. The tutors explained theories and equations to him, but the longer the classes went on, the less and less he understood.

He cursed again, driving a fist into the stone wall. "Why...am I a failure...?" he asked, struggling to overcome the lump that had strategically placed itself in his throat. His eyes burned, the wall in front of him blurring in and out of focus. Unable to stand it anymore, he closed his eyes, and rested his forehead against the cool wall. He could feel the tears in his eyes, struggling to force themselves out, no matter how much he tried to resist them.

Swallowing hard, still trying to rid himself of the lump in his throat, he leaned back to stare upward at the ceiling. `Stop...` he told his eyes as he blinked, trying to force the liquid back where it had come from. Unmoving, the boy simply stood in the hallway, his neck craned backward as he stared directly upward, the lights causing colorful spheres to dance in front of his eyes.

Everything he'd done, all the hard work he'd gone through had been for nothing. The pain, the loneliness he'd endured over the past two years was pointless. Why had he even come to this school? To be an engineer... But did he even want to do that? Was that his dream? No...not even close... What had he wanted to do since he'd been little? Drawing, painting, sculpture... Then why wasn't he following his dreams? Why did he force himself to do these things that he never wanted to do? Family...girlfriend...a stable future...

In the end, it was all his fault that he had failed. He had known, in some part of his mind, that he wouldn't be able to keep up with the steep curriculum. Yet he'd made the promise to everyone that he'd graduate, and now he'd failed them all. Everyone had been counting on him to come through, to provide himself and his girlfriend with a solid, secure life in the future. Yet that pressure had only served to make him that much more dissatisfied with his inability, now that it was all said and done.

He slammed his fist into the wall again, his head falling. "I...I'm just a failure..." he whispered to himself, unable to hold in the sadness any longer. His throat constricted even more tightly, barely even allowing air to get to his lungs. His eyes squeezed shut, yet the tears still came. They wound down his face, moving over his nose and lips, collecting at his chin. They gathered slowly, until the pull of gravity was too great, and a single tear fell. And there he stood, unable to move, or do anything but cry as the reality of it all came crashing down. What could he do? Nothing...nothing at all...

Seisen - Very good! I like the emotion that you presented in it, and howin the end, you didn't come up with a solution, but still had the person involved feel as if they couldn't do anything. Quite good. Now move on the RP's. ACCEPTED.


[glow=purple,2,300]<Katara comment: Though, you weren't to repost your prompt, silly! Good job though>[/glow]

Sawora's RP Sample:

She knew he'd taken the money. Figuring it out hadn't been hard - he lived with her after all - but she couldn't wrap her head around why he'd chosen to give in when everything had been going so well. Why throw it all away so close to the finish line? Jen sat at her desk staring down into the open drawer, into the empty box. She felt so tired. There was no room for anger anymore. She no longer felt shocked or sad or betrayed - just tired.

David was so young and talented. And so addicted. Jen could see him now in some sordid flat downtown, high as the sky. Though she'd worked hard for the money, and could forgive the theft, she couldn't bear the thought of him using it to feed his habit. Jen looked up and gazed at herself in the mirror. She took in the limp brown hair, the hopeless eyes, the thin, set mouth. Her face just read 'I give up.' She might have been an addict herself. But no, not an addict; she was the mother of an addict.

Everyday she was burdened by fears, visions of her son lying cold and unconscious in some alley, lips blue and eyes staring blankly. She heard his voice and all the lies he'd been feeding her for so long. "I'm just going out to a movie with the gang, I'll see you at eight."

Eight turned to nine. Nine became ten, and then eleven. Some time in the morning would there come a phone call from a stranger, declaring in a sympathetic voice, "Your son has died of an over dose."?

Jen squeezed her eyes shut, and suddenly there was room for tears. She let them come until her shoulders shook. It was too much.
How long had she eaten up his lies? How many times had she let him walk out the front door, when she should have been protecting him? Jen slammed the desk drawer closed and managed to pull herself out of the seat. Somehow, within the next ten minutes she found her way to the den, phone in hand, and opened fire-fox. Jen glanced from the screen to the phone, dialing buttons with her bony thumb.

"Hello, Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. How may I help you?"

Jen felt a rush of relief, the woman's voice was kind and comforting.

"Hi, can you tell me about your program? I have a son..."

Your best friend had disappeared. Their parents have no idea where they are. How do you feel? What do you want to do?

Eight year old Brian Arnold sat watching the television only a week ago. His favorite show was on... Dick Tracy. He was glued to the show... watched it religiously. "When I grow up, I'm going to be just like Mr. Tracy!" he always exclaimed to his parents and all of their friends.
That was a week ago. Today, another police car passed slowly by the small house. There was no siren, there was no high speed chase... what there was was a search. A kid had gone missing, but not just any kid. It was Brian's best friend Tommy. Now Brian looked in the mirror, pushing his big, round glasses back up to his eyes. He squinted, tried to look mean and intimidating. He became Dick Tracy as he looked into the mirror... he had to if he was ever going to find his friend. Sure, the cops would do it eventually, but Tommy and him were supposed to play today and they hadn't. The police, in Brian's opinion, were taking to long.

His mother came in and Mr. Tracy suddenly faded back into Mr. Arnold. He looked at her, "Yeah... I know... I'm going to bed." He gave her a cheesy smile and she shut the door, leaving him alone for the night. The police were on patrol and the parents were making extra sure that their children were safe. Since the Crawsley kid went missing after school everyone was on watch. A prisoner had escaped... bad news everywhere. Brian didn't really get what was going on, but he figured that if he just went out and found Tommy, everybody would just go back to normal. It was an easy job for Dick Tracy after all.

His mother made on final look into his room, Brian already in bed. When the door was shut he pulled the covers down. He had on a yellow shirt and some yellow wind pants, just like Mr. Tracy. He couldn't find the hat, but he had a brown beanie hat that would have to do. It was time to go. He opened the window and slipped out... I'm in so much trouble if mom catches me. he thought as he crept across the lawn. He made it into a nearby alleyway without any trouble. No one was out tonight... just the police.

He crept along, the theme from Dick Tracy playing loudly in his head. If Tommy was out here, Brian would find him! He whipped around a corner, pulling out a flashlight. It flipped around flashing everything that was anything. "Nothing!?" he said aloud running across the street to the next house. A car went by just as he dove behind the house.Another police car. "Whew, that was a close call... another close call for... Dick Tracy!"

He made his way into the darker part of the streets... farther away from the city. "Into the forest! Dick Tracy finds the boy and rescues him from the bad guys! There is a fight, but Mr. Tracy always wins the fights!" and with that, he jetted off into the wooded area that lead to the park. His foot hit near a tree and a bat fluttered out. Brian jumped, "Whayata!" he screamed, not really saying anything at all, but rather jumping and hugging himself. When the bat was gone, he resumed his search, less confident now, but still determined to find Tommy.

It was getting pitch black. Only his flashlight guided him, and the strange shadows that it cast were beginning to really scare Brian. He was falling out of Tracy mode and going back to his normal, eight year old self. Noises made his innards stir and the slightest movement made him cower back, his face bunching together in fear. At this point, he just wanted to go home. He would talk to Tommy tomorrow... it was to dark to be out here. "Where is home now?" he asked, forgetting about his friend now that he was in his own situation. He turned and backtracked, following some sights that he vaguely remembered.

He continued on, his pace growing as the night grew older. Mom and dad... they don't know where I am... oh god... what do I do? Where am I? I... I... and then he began to whimper. He ended up curled against the trunk of a large oak, water filling his eyes. He was homesick and tired... but most of all, he was afraid. Afraid for himself... and afraid for Tommy. The night became still as almost a half an hour passed. Then, as Brian sat there, he saw something coming his way. He squinted his eyes... two people... he stood to run as the figures came into the flashlight, but before he could a voice yelled out... it was one that he recognized. It was Tommy!

He turned around, running to his friend. "Tommy!" he yelled as he wrapped his arms around him. "Come on! Let's go home... we need to go or mom and dad'll be mad at me... plus your mommy and dad are looking for you too..." he looked up at that point, seeing the figure next to him. It was a man who looked, to Brian, about his dad's age. He was big and somehow very scary... "Who is that?" Brian asked his friend as a siren was heard in the background.

Another morning... another child lost to the prisoner.

Sawora - Good job. Kind of sad, but realistic at the same time, and I like those. Good job. ACCEPTED.

Kaido - That was so sad! It was very sweet and innocent, but sad at the same time. I like these samples that don't end happily. Call me depressing, but I guess it shows something else in the writer, maybe realism, as everything does not always end up happily, sad to say. Your post almost made me want to cry. Very well done. ACCEPTED.

The only thing between Seul-Kan and his prisoner was his master; a tall, lean man, with a face covered in battle scars. All of his comrades stood behind him. Kan looked at his victim, who had been spending his time in prison begging for the mercy of his captors. His shackles clattered around his hands and feet in a painful manner as he continued to beg for forgivness. Seul-Kan's master held out a short, black blade, traditionally carved with symbols spelling 'Purge the evil from our lands'

Kan's hands were trembling. Constantly, he told himself that the man was only a simple theif, but everything he had been taught...everything he had been shown was forcing him closer to becoming the executioner. His master was forcing him to become the executioner. Seul-Kan could feel the cold sweat running slowly down his back and arms as his hands started to tense up. The inside of his mask was becoming stuffy as he started taking heavier breaths. Trying to force himself to not beleive in his teachings, just for once, he regretfully took hold of the blade's handle.

The old victim looked up in despair as Kan took his step up onto the alter. Seul-Kan's hands tensed again and his knuckles cracked one by one, his sword shivering from side to side. His sleeves began to stick to his skin due to his heavy sweating. He began to breath through his teeth to cool the air he took in, but the thought of killing a man who does not deserve to die made Kan unbearably nervous. Inside his head was his master's voice, running over all of his teachings. However, one phrase passed throughout Kan's head -

"Destroy the criminals. Make them suffer the ultimate price for their crimes!" said the voices in his head, urging him to take the slice. His mind blacked out and Kan could hear clearly his heavy breathing, the pounding of his heart. He could feel the sweat now pouring from his body. Slowly, His arms raised, weilding his blade high over his head with both arms. His hands tightened firmly onto the handle. The poor theif below him in shackles was weeping uncontrolably. Kan closed his eyes and held his position. Then, watching his master stand behind him, Seul-Kan turned around, and made his final swipe.

Yan - Hmm... It's a good start. The writing is good, and so is the spelling and grammar (for the most part), but... there's not enough feeling in it for me. Like I said, it's a good start, but I think you should have expanded more on what your character was feeling, as well as doing. DENIED.

Remember, you can try for this again once you have done one round of the Battle Training, or you can do one of the classes in the RPG University or the Romance Training, and then move on to the RP.

Dao Long's Prompt - You and one of your parents had a severe disagreement not too long ago, and now they are acting as if nothing has happened. How do you feel? What do you want to do?

Kysumi - Hmm... To me, it seems like a good start. It's good, but there's not enough in here for me. This is such an emotional situation, and most of what you wrote was about what your character was doing, not feeling. You need to put more emotion into your posts, if this is any indication, especially in a situation like this. DENIED. You may go one round of the Battle Training and try this again, or do the Romance Training or one of the classes in the RP University and if you pass, move onto the RP.

Nataro's Prompt - You wrote a story that is very controversial. You feel that is good and well written, despite this. You show it to a friend that you are sure would understand, and like it, because you know you're a good writer, and that the story is good. However, your friend does not understand, and does not like the story at all. Your friend says it's not good, and badly written, when other people whom you do not know all that well told you otherwise. Do you believe your friend? How do you feel? What do you want to do?

He doesn’t like it… But… the compliments? All the compliments that I’ve gotten… were they all pity? My writing skills, they’ve always been top notch how could he not like it? He of all people should understand the point I am trying to convey. My eyes were lowered down to the paper before me, clasped in my hand tightly. I decided to re-read the story making it a total of 5 times that I’ve read it since he showed his discontent with it.

I paced around my room, before I sat down on my bed. The hell, I’ve won numerous awards for my writing… and he doesn’t like it? He has no taste for good quality work. I mean he was raised in a lower class system then I. No, I shouldn’t say such things he is my friend we share everything together. But… why? I mean it was well written and one of my best work he of all people should appreciate the message.

I laid back on the bed still trying to figure out why he doesn’t like it. It was something that really bothered me. Exhaling, I turned my head and looked at a picture we took together with a group of our other friends. We all were dressed differently as were our posture. It was then it hit me, we each have our own opinions on different subjects. Even though we are close friends we may not always like something that the other likes. Like macaroni and cheese, he loves it but I can’t stand the thing. Instead of sitting here complaining about him not liking it I should’ve respected his opinion as a friend.

Many people did praise the story so in their opinion it was good, but my friend didn’t that is his opinion and he is entitled to it just like the people who revered my story. My god, how could I have been so childish, I shouldn’t force something upon my friend. I mean the reason we became friends was because I liked the way he was able to voice his opinion on matters. I have to face it not everyone is going to like what I write and I’m not going to write something that everyone likes that is just the reality of it.