The CHALLENGE continues!

[Viera Champion]

Haha, yeah, that sounds like a plausible explanation

Also, where'd you get my name wrong?

[Glass Mouse]

Also, where'd you get my name wrong?

I... actually didn't after all. Sorry, derp moment
(for a moment there, I got you mixed up with C'nor - you're both writer old-timers who returned after an absence, with a name change thrown into the mix. It retroactively threw me off)

Also, Kerfuffle, it's still your turn to choose the theme. If nothing has been chosen tomorrow, anyone can chime in with a theme

[Viera Champion]

Kay guys! I'm offering prizes now too! Yay!

I'm doing it because this way, even if I find I can't keep up with the 6 pieces per week rule again, I will still be creating stuff and keeping connected with the Challenge.

So, here's how it's gonna go:

• Every 5 continuous weeks you achieve I'll write a poem for you, and it will based off a prompt of your choice.
• Then, every 20th week (for those who make it that far) of non-stop completion, I'll write a short story about topic/plot of your choice. Your request for the story can be as specific and detailed as you would like.

[Zjoot]

That sound like fun, Viera, so I'm going to make a similar offer because you guys are cool and I don't want to just up and leave totally. So yeah, feel free to drop off short story prompts, challenges, ideas etc. and I'll do some of the cool ones since I want to work a bit on my prose.

[Lycunadari]

SO. MANY. PRIZES. We will be drowning in prizes.

[Viera Champion]

That sound like fun, Viera, so I'm going to make a similar offer because you guys are cool and I don't want to just up and leave totally. So yeah, feel free to drop off short story prompts, challenges, ideas etc. and I'll do some of the cool ones since I want to work a bit on my prose.

Is this like a prize offer, or are you just offering to make stuff? I'm confused.

If prizes, what achievement of weeks are you offering it for?

[TheWombatOfDoom]

So....no has can theme? I've been waiting before creating, and now its getting to the busy part of the week...

We should start picking themes the week before so we have them and announce them on GlassMouses updates!

[Viera Champion]

So....no has can theme? I've been waiting before creating, and now its getting to the busy part of the week...

We should start picking themes the week before so we have them and announce them on GlassMouses updates!

Or you shouldn't base your creation off the theme.

I'll give you a theme of the week. Ummmmm...

Procrastination since that is basically my life.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Theme streaks man! Theme streaks!

Ok....procrastination....Hmmmmmm.

[Glass Mouse]

We should start picking themes the week before so we have them and announce them on GlassMouses updates!

Ooh, this is a really good idea! Why did I never think of that?

It's your theme next week, so if you announce it (via thread or PM) during this week, we'll get the new theme method going right away!

[Viera Champion]

Ooh, this is a really good idea! Why did I never think of that?

It's your theme next week, so if you announce it (via thread or PM) during this week, we'll get the new theme method going right away!

Sooooo whaddya think of my prizes?

[Zjoot]

Is this like a prize offer, or are you just offering to make stuff? I'm confused.

If prizes, what achievement of weeks are you offering it for?

Just offering to make stuff for now. Or another way of putting it is that I'm just fishing for interesting prompts and such.

[Viera Champion]

So I put a story up. Try the link again to see if it works now.

Word count is in the "Author's Notes" section at the end.

[Glass Mouse]

Sooooo whaddya think of my prizes?

They're cool! I may abuse them for worlbuilding or similar when I qualify

Only thing is, maybe place some guidelines/restrictions on the short story? It's hard to see how much one can ask for.

So I put a story up. Try the link again to see if it works now.

I can find a story, so I'll assume it works

[Viera Champion]

They're cool! I may abuse them for worlbuilding or similar when I qualify

Only thing is, maybe place some guidelines/restrictions on the short story? It's hard to see how much one can ask for.



I can find a story, so I'll assume it works

I'll let someone know if and when they are making obscene requests, which probably won't happen very often. So yeah, I think that finalizes all the details, and it's ready to be put into the FAQ. :D

Also, there's only one story up, so yay!

All finished for the week! Three poems, and 773 words of character backstory. Feels good to be back in the game.

[Glass Mouse]

Early status because I'm working from home today!


Glass Mouse passes with 378 words of sci-fi story and five pieces worth of drawing, including a procrastinating self-portrait.

Zjoot is out as a challenger, but still creates things based on prompts.

Neoriceisgood didn't upload/send me anything. Edit: Nope, he passes with four comic pages and a bunch of sprites.

Icewalker is out due to a big editing project.

Lycunadari passes with nine photos of an apparantly procrastinating spring.

KerfuffleMach2, are you still in?

TheWombatOfDoom passes with six poems, made at the last minute, about everything from poem writing to alarm clocks.

C'nor didn't upload/send me anything. Edit: He passes with 1,653 words of fantasy roleplaying.

Viera Champion passes with three poems and 773 words of character backstory.


Thus, Neoriceisgood and KerfuffleMach2 FAIL this round!

Glass Mouse, Lycundari, TheWombatOfDoom, C'nor and Viera Champion PASS this round!


Current standing:

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Glass Mouse
Current run: 128 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: 4 weeks

Neoriceisgood
Current run: 31 weeks
Longest run: 8 weeks
Themes: -

Lycunadari
Current run: 14 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: 2 weeks

KerfuffleMach2
Current run: -
Longest run: 1 week
Themes: -

TheWombatOfDoom
Current run: 3 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: 2 weeks

C'nor
Current run: 2 weeks
Longest run: 11 weeks
Themes: -

Viera Champion
Current run: 1 week
Longest run: 2 weeks
Themes: -

This week's theme is chosen by TheWombatOfDoom, and it's Stealth

Next week's theme is chosen by C'nor - let me know in PM or this thread, and I'll include it in the next status.



@Viera Champion: Awesome! I'll enter it into the FAQ

[Viera Champion]

One week down, an infinite amount to go.

[Lady Serpentine]

*Kicks self for forgetting to post what I did, since I probably actually had enough done*

The theme for next week shall be Control.

Edit: Should you for some reason be feeling generous, it came out to 1,653 words.

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Ghosts in the Machine

I do not, at present, have time to write up Karissa, but here's TFIS:

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STAND
Name: The Feast is Set
Song: The Feast is Set, by The Dreamside
Appearance: A mostly androgynous, though somewhat weighted towards female, humanoid figure covered in burning feathers, which shroud it in oily black smoke. It has a collar around its neck, with a leash fused to the back of it, the other end of which is cinched around Talia's wrist, though oddly, which wrist appears to vary. It has a pair of chains wrapped around its torso, each with one end piercing the flesh on the back of its shoulder, and the other sunk in just above the hip on the same side, along with two more around its waist, each with one end rooted in its lower back, and the other just under its stomach. There is also a series of small things resembling eyebolts, but with only the loop showing, set in a line along its spine, and numerous metal pieces that look more like individual links of a chain set halfway into its flesh, lengthwise, adorn its wrists.

Abilities:

Puppeteer - TFIS can, to put it simply, make a puppet out of any person it touches, though the ability only works on humans, unless the thing it seeks to control is dead, in which case it must have at least the mass of a medium dog. The amount of contact needed to make an individual a puppet varies; ten seconds will suffice for clumsy, difficult-to-control, movements of a limb, with little in the way of fine control, but the longer it maintains contact, the better its control of the individual is. Also, unless it can maintain contact with the base of the skull for around a minute, which allows for complete control, it is limited to controlling whichever limbs it manages to touch.

In the short term, puppets must stay within TFIS's range, meaning it can only have as many of them as will fit inside that, to remain under its control, though it can control them for up to half an hour so long as they stay within twenty meters of it.

Over time, however, a collar, similar to TFIS's own, and likewise only visible to Stand users forms, at which point, they can leave TFIS's range for short periods, the duration of which increases the longer they remain under control, though any of them can remain in the twenty-meter zone indefinitely, until eventually they no longer need to return to TFIS to remain under control. That said,, going more than twenty meters from TFIS prevents direct control, resulting in those with collars becoming allies with limited discretion about whether to follow orders, and what the best way to carry them out is.

Controlling the dead follows slightly different rules - they will never form collars, and thus collapse as soon as they get more than twenty meters from TFIS, but there is no time limit on how long they can remain active as long as they are within that zone. They can also only be controlled directly, as they have no functional minds of their own.

Stats

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Speed: C (While fast and agile, TFIS is on a leash, and as such, has difficulty moving quickly without pulling Talia over or choking itself on its collar.)
Destructive Power: B (TFIS is suprisingly strong, and, y'know, being covered in fire helps... This also takes into account the fact that some puppets can be quite effective, though it does not necessarily reflect the full nuances possible.)
Range: D-A (TFIS's range is severely limited. However, the range of its puppets is rather larger than that of most Stand powers, eventually becoming nigh-unlimited.)
Precision: C
Durability: D
Versatility: A

Aaaaand here is Karissa (sorry for sort of stealing your aesthetic, Kerfuffle, but I promise I came up with her separately...):

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Name: Karissa Vaen
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Description: Karissa is just below average height, and would be pretty, were it not for the fact that she's unhealthily thin. Her hair is cut so that it comes to just below her shoulderblades, and dyed silvery-white, shot through with neon green.

She usually wears a pair of battered black jeans, though her shirt is most often hidden under a heavy, and, though worn, well-kept, leather jacket, as one of the side-effects of her lack of mass is getting cold extraordinarily easily, and heavy boots.

She also has five small loops in her left ear, set close together, three equidistant ones in her right ear, and three studs on either side of her face, running along her cheekbones.

Personality: Karissa is quite nice, overall, though she tends to be quiet and shy, and thus usually hangs back from others without contributing that much, which could easily make her seem cold, were it not for her tendency to softly offer up useful information when people get stuck on things.

Despite this, she will, occasionally, approach lone people without noticeable issues, and if she has no other choice, she will stand up for herself, though she doesn't like having to. She also seems to take somewhat more pleasure in seeing those who have mistreated her have unpleasant things happen to them than one might expect from someone who seems so sweet, but given that she rarely manages to avoid issues with them, that's hardly all that odd...

She also often hangs around those more assertive, almost as though looking for someone whose lead she can follow, and if one were to watch her carefully, they would find that it's most often those people she feels comfortable enough to approach without difficulty.

Of course, The Feast Is Set is rather incongruous with all this, but it's probably simply something her mind spit out to protect her and scare things away... Or, theoretically, it could be some sort of twisted reflection of how she sees herself.

Backstory: Karissa's life was relatively normal, up until two years before the Stand impact; at that point, one of her parents was killed in a car accident, and the other suffered severe damage to their temporal lobes, obliterating almost two decades of memories, with scattered damage beyond that, and almost entirely preventing the formation of new ones.

Once her mother was out of the hospital, she simply moved out of their house, and took to living on the streets, though a few months prior to her Stand manifesting, she managed to get enough of a job to pay for a small apartment, though not much else.

She's since improved things a bit, which is part of how she was able to afford her piercings, though she still hasn't been eating properly, as she got used to not doing so and hasn't figured out that she needs more.

Stand: The Feast Is Set

"I certainly hope so," a female voice says quietly, apparently coming from the ground beneath Spite, shortly followed by a rather short translucent girl, perhaps fourteen, with silvery flesh, stark white hair, and blank grey orbs for eyes, dressed in heavy fur-lined clothing, floating out of the path, and smiling shyly at them both, though she doesn't bother offering either of them a hand. "He seems interesting..."

A few moments later, a somewhat taller girl, dressed similarly, though with the addition of heavy boots and a thick white leather jacket lined with wolf fur, who can nearly be seen through, though she's a darker grey, and her hair is a metallic violet, with a tangle of needle-pointed horns, electricity arcing between them, poking through it, rises in much the same way, offering them a smile as well, though her is somewhat more confident, and unlike her companion, she does extend a hand to them.

[Viera Champion]

Do all my pieces have to be based off the theme to get a theme week point, or just one?

[Glass Mouse]

*Kicks self for forgetting to post what I did, since I probably actually had enough done*

The theme for next week shall be Control.

Edit: Should you for some reason be feeling generous, it came out to 1,653 words.

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Ghosts in the Machine

Alright, since the status was ~10 hours earlier than usual

Do all my pieces have to be based off the theme to get a theme week point, or just one?

One is enough.

[Neoriceisgood]

I just got out of school, I had hoped to send my stuff before the deadline.

/edit

sent it in a note now.

[Viera Champion]

Welp, I was busy this week. So I am gonna fill the rest of my entries with Haiku as they are the quickest poem I know how to write.

[Glass Mouse]

Status!


Glass Mouse passes with five portraits and one catburglar drawing.

Neoriceisgood passses with six new comic pages.

Lycunadari passes with five spring photos and two Elf drawings.

KerfuffleMach2 is out due to disappearance.

TheWombatOfDoom didn't upload/send me anything.

C'nor didn't upload/send me anything.

Viera Champion passes with a spring poem and five haikus.


Thus, TheWombatOfDoom and C'nor FAIL this round!

Glass Mouse, Neoriceisgood, Lycundari and Viera Champion PASS this round!


Current standing:

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Glass Mouse
Current run: 129 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: 5 weeks

Neoriceisgood
Current run: 32 weeks
Longest run: 8 weeks
Themes: -

Lycunadari
Current run: 15 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

KerfuffleMach2
Current run: -
Longest run: 1 week
Themes: -

TheWombatOfDoom
Current run: -
Longest run: 3 weeks
Themes: -

Viera Champion
Current run: 2 weeks
Longest run: 2 weeks
Themes: -

This week's theme is chosen by C'nor, and it's Control


Next week's theme is chosen by Viera Champion - let me know in PM or this thread, and I'll include it in the next status.



I did a lot of editing this week, having to scrounge for drawings. It's a good feeling to turn a mess of a story into something worthwhile

[Lady Serpentine]

Whee storms. Power's been on and off all day today and yesterday. I'll try to actually get something up this week.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

AGH! MY POWERS BEEN OUT ALL WEEKEND AND I JUST GOT HOME. Nuuuuuuuu.

[MeanMrsMustard]

CHALLENGE accepted. See you all on Saturday!

[Viera Champion]

Wellll um... next weeks theme is um... well...
Being Indecisive

[MeanMrsMustard]

I'm hoping it's OK to submit in here. The images are really large and might break your screen, so I put the links as well as the embedded images.

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1. Dancing, 252 words.

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I love dancing. When I'm onstage, everything is perfect. I choose every detail of my costume. Makeup conceals every irregularity in my skin, transforming my face into a smooth mask under the bright lights. But most of all, each movement is coordinated and exact. I actually have control.
It's not an easy task. Most of the time, my body feels like a marionette with rubber strings my mind struggles to command. I halt, I stutter, I twitch. I can't keep still.
But when I dance, it's completely different. My mind and body aren't separate entities, they're one and the same. I can feel myself — my soul — all through myself. My legs, my feet, my fingers! All are obedient and cooperative.
My mother enrolled me in a dance class when I was little. I guess she thought I just had a lot of energy I needed to express. I learned to express myself through dance, but my everyday clumsiness didn't get any better. At first she was disappointed, but then she attended my class's recital. She saw what I could do when I dance.
I can't really remember the first time I tried dancing. I don't know if I could dance from the beginning or if I had to struggle. All I know now is that the second I start, I suddenly know how to move.
Dancing is hard, but I love it. It's the only time I'm in control, and more importantly, it's the only time I really feel whole.

2. Terrible as Joy. Fanart of the scene in Les Misérables when Javert arrives to arrest M. Madeleine. http://puu.sh/2EMZb.jpg

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3. Throwing. http://puu.sh/2EN1g.jpg

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4. Mermaid. Contains mermaid nipples. http://puu.sh/2EN42.jpg

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5. Untitled open form. http://puu.sh/2EN7X.jpg, http://puu.sh/2EN8E.jpg, http://puu.sh/2EN9w.jpg

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6. Untitled digital image. Contains ponies. http://puu.sh/2E0bp.png

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[Lady Serpentine]

Submitting here is fine. Speaking of which...

899 words of stuff from another forum:

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"The night-scent -"

"Is not our most pressing concern right now," Magus interjected, the crystals floating around her flaring a harsh red. "That would be the person who just climbed up here with us," she went on, turning to face Sadah as she spoke. "Now, tell me - who are you, chaos-born? And why did you come here?"

Slaughter raised her spear, lines of crackling void dancing around it, and her tattoos flaring with black light, clearly displeased at the interruption, though she remained silent, seeming to withhold judgement on Sadah herself.

"While she can be a bit brusque, she has a point - are you after us for some reason? And what are you doing climbing around on rooftops here if you're not? Looking for a way into the bank?", Longshot asked sharply, pulling a short, odd-looking rifle from her back, where it was hooked next to what was clearly a sniper rifle, to one familiar with modern technology, and, though she didn't actually aim it at Sadah just yet, likely leaving little doubt she could quickly do so, if necessary.

"Eh... Kess gets along better with Keika than I do. I'll be out of there after an hour, at most, and I'll be happy to show you around afterward. Unless you'd prefer to be on your own?", Merani replied, smiling at Sadah, then looking up at a tap on her shoulder from her half-sister.

Kessia, meanwhile, had been drawing something or other, and handed it to Merani, whispering something into her ear as she did, which received a nod, followed by her going to hand it to Sadah; should she accept it, she'll see it's a rather nicely done drawing of herself.

Mujona turned to glare at Willow, eyes flashing red for a moment, and her fingernails lengthening just a touch, electricity from her horns arcing to strike the ground in front of the newcomer. "And how would you know what we can do, little fool? You look as though you could barely even lift her, much less get her there faster than we can" she snapped, hair starting to move as though in a strong wind, despite the fact that, at this level, the air was quite still. "Besides, even if you could, can you heal her as you do? And how, if you plan to repeat your earlier performance, do you intend on landing safely through a window while carrying an injured girl, and not jar her far more than is safe? I somehow doubt that even if you know what Ketrabel and I are, you could carry her while she is ethereal, and that would be the only way I see to get her back safely with that plan."

With that, she turned her back on the Wisp Fae, pointedly ignoring her, and extended her arms again, Ketrabel starting to draw life out of her, and channel it into Sadah, as she did, likely starting to knit the worst wounds shut, and return any damaged bones to their proper places, as a result.

"Ketrabel and I were in the same caravan as you," Mujona explains, smiling at him, and nodding. "Though I doubt you recognize us... She looks rather different when enfleshed, and of course, when she is, I'm not," she goes on, shrugging, and waving her companion forward.

As they approached the tower, however, they found a rather battered girl - one that Reawyn quickly picked up, despite the fact that it was obviously a struggle for her, ignoring the fact that there were others there who would likely have less difficulty...

As such, Ketrabel shimmered past Reawyn, laying an ethereal hand on the girl who was being carried, and, when the more solid girl came around the other side, her as well, preparing to try to heal the unfortunate newcomer.

"I'll take her," Mujona said softly, frowning a bit, and extending her arms, clearly not being very comfortable with someone who was having so much difficulty just lifting her carrying the injured woman. "The last thing we need is for you to fall on the stairs or something and get injured yourself, besides the further damage that would do to her... Besides, I have some healing capability myself, in a way, and that'll make it easier for me to use it."

"We are not leaving you," Mujona said softly, slipping onto Spite with Reawyn, in front of her and Sadah, and facing them both, going to take her hand, and give it a gentle squeeze, Ketrabel continuing to channel life into the Changeling as all this took place. "As for where you are, Lantern Tower. Where you will be safe. If nothing else, Ketrabel and I are... Talented at assisting in escapes. And we know how to survive in the wilderness."

Ketrabel smiles down at her as well, nodding, and becoming just solid enough for Sadah to be able to feel the ghost's hand resting lightly on her forehead. "You have no need to worry for us. We take you in of our own will, with an acceptance of all that may bring; whatever price it holds, we choose to pay."

Some of those present, particularly Pierre, may recognize that as a modernized version of an archaic form of oath, one often used by mages when working spells that might impact others, or people making choices that could greatly affect their community...

470 words of fluff for a Total War faction:

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Military: The combat potential of the hive, whether from mutations for such things, biotech weapons, or other factors.
Espionage: The capacity of the hive to hide their own actions, and spy upon others.
Resources: Natural and manufactured or salvaged resources that the hive can use. (Can be increased by the use of Mutation or Biotech with the proper justification, as well as by discovering natural resources that can be used. Functions as Economy.)
Biotech: The strange organic machines that the Elsanni use in place of normal technology. (Functions much like Mutation, though it cannot increase Psionics, and they usually focus on different things for their traits.)
Mutation: How well, and rapidly, the hive can alter itself to take on new characteristics. (Allows for the increase of Military, Espionage, Biotech, Assimilation, and Psionics, as well as the addition of new traits.)
Assimilation: How well the hive brings in people or technology, and takes over new infrastructure. (Allows for capturing enemy stats while taking over a settlement.)
Psionics: The power and prevalence of psionics within the hive. (Can supplement many other stats, and be used for various projects on its own, depending on the justification. It's also what keeps each hive in contact with the others without physically going back and forth, and thus outlying hives may end up cut off from others if it's targeted.)

We Are Legion: Each settlement has its own stat points, many traits are unique to settlements until spread, and all act independently of each other in each EoT; while this means that each settlement has greater flexibility, it also means that they have less in the way of capacity for unified action.

Enae: Enae are fierce anti-infantry units, capable of launching hollow spines filled with a potent acid, and burrowing deep into the ground, allowing them to bypass certain obstacles and ambush those who wander into the area after they are dug in. Points in Mil. may be declared Enae, and thereby gain appropriate bonuses, but once they are, they remain so until they are lost.

Gholarin: Flying siege-tanks, essentially, which spew spheres composed of liquid explosives, the Gholarin are ineffective against fast-moving targets, but excellent at bombarding cities and entrenched foes. Points in Mil. may be declared as Gholarin, and recieve the appropriate bonuses, but those points remain Gholarin until destroyed.

Thrux: Thrux are ponderous carriers; while equipped with heavy biotech plating and ion weaponry, as well as numerous weapons which mimic the natural capabilities of the Gholarin, their primary purpose is to serve as launching points for Thraen or Gholarin. Points in Mil. which are declared Thrux have their speed halved, but are much harder to destroy, and allow Thraen or Gholarin units to enter battle without having to tire themselves with travel, as well as get to areas that they normally could not.

291 words of character entry, mostly weapon and armor designs:

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Alias: Lock
Gender: Female
Race/Species: Genmod Human
Age: Apparently mid-twenties, but actually considerably younger, due to being a forced-growth pseudo-clone
Alignment: TN
Class/Profession: Soldier
Power Rating: D to D+
Description: Her, when not working; otherwise, she looks approximately the same, but with the equipment listed below. (The Mauser and C17F are generally with her at all times.):

[A tektek was here]

Equipment: Mauser C96 pistol, in 9mm with detachable stock. She has two magazines (twenty rounds) of normal ammunition, one of which is in it, five incendiaries, and five HE rounds.

Kaelen Arms C17F (type unknown; most closely resembles a carbine in overall shape and design); a coilgun, it normally fires 48 small triangular flechettes per shot, and has an internal containment system capable of holding 20 shots worth. It can also fire armor-piercing 'darts' in three-round bursts, and holds up to 10 such groups - 3 on each side and 4 on the top. At present, it is full, and she has 9 'darts', as well as 240 flechettes (5 shots). It has a detachable scope, currently removed, primarily intended for use with the longer-range 'darts'. It can be adjusted for single-shot, burst, or automatic fire.

Phoenix Mercenary Supplies carbon-fiber body-armor (chest-plate, gloves, and leg-pieces). The outer shell of the chest-plate is made from a plastic-carbon composite, interwoven with carbon-titanium strands, in an interlaced-overlap pattern for strength. It has an inner layer of carbon-graphite, with a backing composed entirely of carbon-plastic. The gloves are several thin, interwoven, layers of carbon-graphite, designed primarily to allow the handling of heated objects. The leg-pieces are simply two layers of carbon-plastic and carbon-titanium, much like the outer shell of the chest-plate.

Abilites: Samantha is a skilled marksman, and has a reasonable amount of practical experience as a mercenary.

Total wordcount is 1,660. I also have some additional stuff for that Total War faction, should I get access to it again...

[Neoriceisgood]

For me my victory streak ends with me spending the weekend sick in bed after barfing my guts out.