Darth Wiki / Journey Left Alone

Journey Left Alone (Also known less formally as Just Like Animorphs) is a play-by-post Dungeons & Dragons campaign set in modern times. After magic was sealed away a little over a thousand years ago, the DND races have adapted to modern culture and technology, living a now peaceful life far away from the adventuring days of yore.

...At least until one day magic abruptly returns, bringing all of the chaos and disorder that it entails with it.

In a world now filled with both people attempting to harness magic to its full potential and people downright terrified of it, things are about to change forever. And as criminal organizations, massive corporations, religious cults, and even run of the mill high school bullies get their hands on magic, it appears a new group of heroes will need to step up to the plate to protect the city of San Fransokyo.

...A group which our assemblage of protagonists most certainly is not.

Led by the somewhat incompetent Apollyon, a snakelike beast who claims to be an Angel, Hakuto, Nova, Rowan, Ivan, Sulley, Mara, E'tihl, Jesse and Segana will have to learn how to get their budding powers under control if they ever want to become the heroes they've been told they're destined to become. Or... At the very least if they wanna, like... Make it through high-school or whatever.

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Polly Party

General

General tropes associated with the party

Ivan Lund

Segana Mitoran

LMFAOOOO Ooooo imagine

Hakuto Kuze

Hakuto Kuze

Race: Scourge Aasimar

Class: Sorcerer (Shadow, 6)/Warlock (Hexblade, 1)

"I won't die. I can't die. Not until I see him again."

The resident terminally ill party member with a heart condition, Hakuto lost his beloved older brother Akiharu a year prior. Determined to stop at nothing to bring him back after magic's return, but only equipped with volatile magic prioritized for combat, Hakuto is forced to work with others if he is to succeed.

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• Anti-Hero: Notably decided to mutilate a fellow teenager in order to protect his friends.
• Big Brother Worship: Loves his brother more than anyone else in the world.
• Broken Ace: In terms of just raw magical combat power, Hakuto is perhaps the strongest party member. However, the basis of his power is believed to be correlated to the trauma behind the death of his older brother, and the more unstable he becomes, the less qualms he has about leaning into the destructive nature of his magic.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: The brooding boy to Sulley's gentle girl. Although their relationship also has elements of Defrosting Ice King.
• Byronic Hero: Although he’s definitely been drawn out of his shell, Hakuto begins the series as a loner, not caring about anyone other than Segana. He still is moody, self-loathing, and incredibly focused on his goal to revive his brother, regardless of the costs.
• Exotic Eye Designs: The eyes that appear across his body as part of his Scourge Aasimar mutations have orange sclera and glow.

• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Has it in spades, and has been called out for it on multiple occasions, mostly by Jesse and Hawk.
• Improbable Hairstyle: How does he keep up the spikes in the back? Why do his bangs look like that? Who knows?
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Although he's an asshole, he cares very deeply about the people important to him.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: On the flip side of things, he's very quick to lash out against people he doesn't care about.
• Minor Living Alone: His parents are constantly away on business trips.
• Playing with Fire: His go-to magic in combat is fire based.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: His older brother Akiharu was athletic and outgoing, while Hakuto himself is studious and introverted.
• Signature Move: Fireball. Also, Message.
• Strong and Skilled: Quickly learns how to control his volatile magic. It only took a matter of days for him to understand how to control his Aasimar transformation and how to cast Fireball.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Usually aloof, although he's warmed up a good deal to the other party members.
• Undying Loyalty: He'll do anything for the people he cares about. This also makes it so that he cannot fathom that anyone who he loves could hurt him— and would willingly let himself be hurt for their sake.
• Voluntary Vampire Victim: Became Sulley's donor during the road trip in the interest of time. Or at least, that's what the supposed reason was.
• Winged Humanoid: Has four wings of fire in his fully transformed Aasimar form.

Hawk

Hawk

Race/Class: Hexblade

"W,"

Plucked out of the Shadowfell by Crimcorp and left without any memories, Hawk formed a pact with Hakuto under Crimcorp's watch. In exchange for lending Hakuto it's powers, Hakuto would host it within his body to preserve it's existence.

Sulley Mae Helmann

Sulley Mae Helmann

Race: Tiefling/Lesser Vampire

Class: Wizard 4 (School of Necromancy); Cleric 1 (Grave Domain)

Sulley, as pictured in The Sims 4.

"I can't magically make everything better. I can't... magically make the pain go away, but... if I could, just know that I would,"

Having been home-schooled for a majority of her life, Sulley had difficulty making connections with her peers. Thus, she would often visit the graves of strangers in hopes of preventing them from feeling as lonely and insignificant as she had felt. Now, as an undead teenager with a knack for necromancy, Sulley has become a mediator between life and death, pulling others back from the brink while helping those who have already passed on complete their unfinished business.

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• Parental Neglect: Growing up, Sulley was raised by various live-in nannies until the ripe age of twelve, at which point her parents decided she was old enough to take care of herself.
• Minor Living Alone: Sulley's parents were often only home for the holidays, letting her have free-reign of her own one bedroom apartment.
• Why Couldn't You Be Different?: Sulley has always found herself struggling to meet her parents' expectations of her. No matter how hard she tried, it was no use. She wasn't smart enough. She wasn't obedient enough. She just wasn't... enough. In their eyes, she has been and always will be lesser.
• Abusive Parents: On multiple occasions, Sulley has expressed that while her parents never hurt her physically, she's always been afraid that one day, they would. It has also been implied that they have broken her possessions as a form of punishment, then making her clean up the mess. When Sulley asked them to sign over their parental rights, they agreed on one condition: If she didn't stop spying on them, they would kill her.
• Mistaken for Dying: Leading up to the return of magic, it was believed that Sulley's body was shutting down. Unbeknownst to her, she was simply turning into a vampire. During this period, as she thought she was dying, Sulley took the opportunity to tell The Plastics what she really thought of them, under the impression that she would die before suffering the consequences.
• Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: Despite what she may think, Sulley is genuinely a good person, and is terrified of being anything like her her parents.
• Family of Choice: Boo and Rowan have both established Sulley as their sister, and vice-versa.
• Our Vampires Are Different: As a Lesser Vampire, Sulley is free from the curse of sunlight, running water, faith, and immortality.
  • However, she still needs blood for sustenance, else she will grow weaker until she either attacks someone not of her own volition or dies. She has a vulnerability to silver, and by extension holy water— due to the silvered powder in it. Sulley must be invited into an individual's home, and the invitation may be revoked at any moment. She is said to be incredibly pale for a tiefling, and has elongated canines, which she often flashes when she smiles.
• Who Wants to Live Forever?: Unaware that Lesser Vampires simply have a longer life-span, Sulley often finds herself saddened by the idea of outliving all of her friends.
• Religious Vampire: Sulley is a cleric of Wee Jas.
• Happily Adopted: Sheiji agrees to adopt Sulley in order to get her away from her neglectful parents.
• Shed the Family Name: Not too long after being adopted, Sulley decides the Helmann family name doesn't belong to her.
• Only One Name: In the process of trying to pick out a new name, Sulley is currently going by, well, Sulley. Just Sulley. That's all.
• New Parent Nomenclature Problem: Sulley struggles with deciding whether or not she should call Sheiji her father, until eventually, they both decide it's okay.
• Never Got to Say Goodbye: Sulley never got to say goodbye to Jack, her significant other, as he died unexpectedly.
• Talking to the Dead: Sulley visits the grave of Jack on multiple occasions to talk to him following his death.
• I See Dead People: Sulley's use of See Invisibility allows her to see ghosts tied to the material plane, due to unfinished business.
• Backup from Otherworld: Sulley's magic allows her ghost companions Boo, Drenna, and Fish Among The Stars to fight with her, and on her behalf.

Nova Crescent

Jesse Stone

Jesse Stone

Race: Water Genasi

Class: Druid

"Listen, Nova, I'm being perfectly honest with you. I would not be able to kill you. Even if it was what you wanted, even if you were literally begging me to do that, because I'm a selfish person and I don't want to kill anyone."

A former plastic bitchy bimbo, ever since the return of magic and several scenes of [[character development]], Jesse has been endlessly struggling to be a good person and help others to be good as well. Specializing in social battle and water magic, Jesse is a formidable opponent and not one to back down, even under intense pressure.

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• {{Big, Screwed-Up Family}}: Jesse's mom lit her on fire, her grandma is unsettling to say the least, and he seemingly doesn't care about his horribly abusive mother or wife.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: "Our life isn't an anime, Hakuto."
• Brutal Honesty: Almost her defining trait.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Jesse was fully prepared for Segana to get expelled or even arrested... but what Crimcorp did was too much even for her.
• Evolving Attack: Subverted. No matter how much she levels up, she consistently uses the same few spells.
• {{Face–Heel Turn}}: Jesse starts out as a beta bitch and a dumb blonde, but after her falling out with Nova, she decides to be a good person and has since become the shrink of the friend group.
• Foreshadowing: Very early in Jesse was mentioned to wear bandages. She repeatedly scratches at her arms bandaged when talking about her mom or her self esteem issues. She's long been averse to fire. In a particular scene, it was revealed this was since her mom lit her on fire as a kid.
• I Hate Past Me: Whether it be her child self who acted out and was abused or her bitchy teenage self, Jesse doesn't seem to enjoy thinking about the past.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite her complaining and general demeanor, Jesse does her best to help people and be a good person.
• Lovable Sex Maniac: Her first thought after meeting an angel? Gotta get dicked down.
• Really Gets Around: To the point that she's proud of her identity as a "slut."
• {{With Friends Like These...}}: The plastics.
• {{Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?}}: Jesse has serious issues with fire. Two of her closest teammates... primarily fight with fire. Whoops.

Rowan Thyrias

Mara Chandler

Mara Chandler

Race: Half-Elf

Class: Bard/Cleric

"I'm still on your side."

"Why?"

"Because, you dumbass. We're friends."

A fairly average student until magic's return, Mara is driven by a desire to help others and do what is right. However, with a competitive streak a mile long and a tendency for her solutions to involve violence, it's clear that she's still trying to decide what kind of person she wants to be.

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• Action Girl: Actively involves herself in combat whenever she can, whether it's just training or in the field.
• Jumped at the Call: Takes to both the return of magic and the idea of vigilantism almost immediately.
• Magic Music: As a bard.
• Religion is Magic: As a cleric of Bast.
• Secretly Wealthy: Wealthy thanks to her late mother's music career, and secret thanks to her desire to be seen as her own person.
• Shock and Awe: Her favorite spells all revolve around electricity. As a bonus, her main instrument is an electric guitar.
• Undying Loyalty: One of her defining traits, best demonstrated by continuing to stand by Rowan after Fish's murder.

E'tihl Tia

Ixal Totoloc

Apollyon the Steadfast

Apollyon the Steadfast

Race: Couatl

Class: N/A

Apollyon, as drawn by Max

"If you want the truth: Yes. I have made many mistakes. Many of those came from not knowing someone was hurting until it was too late. I do not wish to repeat that. If you are breaking, then I’d rather you go, lest you be destroyed"

A strange 'angel' who claims to be here to assist the party in becoming heroes. But naive to a fault, and with a shady past, is Apollyon really the sort of help they want or need?

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• The Atoner: Deeply regrets the mistakes it's made in the past, namely the ones that got it's previous party killed.
• Clark Kenting: It's 'humanoid' disguise to fit in with the rest of the world is a strange looking Aasimar/Yuan-ti hybrid with eyes everywhere... Just roll with it.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Needless to say, it wouldn't be running from the Heavens if it hadn't been involved in some deeply messed up stuff.
• Didn't Think This Through: One of it's fatal flaws. It wishes to believe that everything will simply turn out for the best, and despite attempting to maintain a wise demeanor ends up making constant poor decisions because of this.
• Fallen Angel: Was cast out of heaven for refusing to kill Ansel Regalwillow.
• I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Polly towards it's ancient party, which all ended up dying in various brutal ways.
• In-Series Nickname: G

oes by Polly as opposed to the more formal Apollyon.

• My Greatest Failure: Allowing it's old party to die.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Again: A constant recurring theme with Polly.
• Only a Flesh Wound: Played for Laughs. At one point during early training Nova outright decapitated Polly (Admittedly in a shapeshifted form) and it ended up being fine.
• Parental Substitute: Played with. At the very least it WANTS to be one. Sometimes it appears it succeeds with Nova, Jesse, Sulley, and Segana. But not with much else.
• Shapeshifter Default Form: Self explanatory.

Boo

Boo

Race: ??? (Scourge Aasimar)

Class: ???

The first of Sulley's ghost companions, Boo has been supporting the Polly Party as best as he can, being, well, a ghost. Currently without any of his memories of his previous life, he dedicates himself to assisting the others while trying to figure out his past. Word of God has stated that Boo is Akiharu, Hakuto's older brother, but this has yet to be confirmed in-universe.

Class B

Jack Williams

Silvia Notmadej

Star in the Morning

Star In The Morning

Race: Snow Leopard Tabaxi

Class: War Cleric

Shane Notmadej

Fish Among the Stars

Shiki Yamaguchi

Shiki Yamaguchi

Race: Half-Oni

Class: Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)

"Some of y'all are fucked up. Not me tho,'"

Originally a member of Arariel's party, Shiki regularly confronted Hakuto and Sulley. However, many of these confrontations were harshly guised means of keeping the two from engaging in several aspects of reckless behavior. With ties to Akiharu's past, just who exactly is she loyal to?

Ryan Evagara

Cassius Hart

Classmates and Teachers

Belle Snyder

Katashi Sugimara

Credence Gisselbrecth

Roar of Bear

Stephanie Angehala

Maryann Maykiss

Emmy Sniv

Nikki Iskillis

Wibyn Highhill

Aimi Nakahara

Claire Two

Ralph Millet

Tom Verranras

Uburt of the Reckless Harbingers

Rinn Ghotork

Mr. Young

Ms. Frost

Mr. Cromwell

Ms. Saddler

Mr. Baker

Principal Chapman

Mr. Woodward

Ms. Hyberts

Mrs. Sheppard

Townies

Sheiji Kinogi

Megumi Angehala

Carmen Flynn

Mrs. Flynn

Ghosts

Boo

Mialee Loraqirelle

Drenna Lackman

Scratch on Wood

The Heavens

Arariel

Bahamut

Pelor

Chauntea

Wee Jas

Apollo

Polly's Ancient Party

Astrid Duskmoon (#1)

Weasel Murktooth (#2)

Apidas Mentemon (#3)

Timeless (#6)

Paedove Fenla (#7)

Vynleer (#8)

Ansel Regalwillow (#9)

Other

"Hunter"

Marnie Thyrias

Desire

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YMMV

• Genius Bonus: In the just... Most low-brow, utterly ludicrous way. But if you speak Japanese you might just catch that the names of locations such as Hebijoku High and Dokusō-Tekina Namae just translate to things like "Snake Joke High" and "An Original Name."
• Les Yay: In particular between Nova and Jesse. Although it also pops up in shades between Sulley and Segana, and even Chauntea and Wee Jas
• Love to Hate: This, if nothing else, sums up the playerbase's reactions to Hakuto... His mun included.
• Memetic Mutation: The phrase "The pig who saw/knew everything," based on the children's book.
• Strawman Has a Point: Although their way of going about it was far from morally okay, Crimcorp WAS sorta right that something needed to be done about the risk of certain races going feral.

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Journey Left Alone contains examples of:

• Aborted Arc: Everything involving Segana.
• Abusive Parents: And now coming in multiple flavors! The most notable are Sulley's neglectful and emotionally abusive parents and Jesse's mother, who LIT HER ON FIRE.
• Action Girl: Any female player character falls under this trope for obvious reasons.
• Adults Are Useless: Played with. To the point where it's repeatedly brought up that it's messed up that kids are having to handle these very serious issues.
• And I Must Scream: Paedove, a former member of Apollyon's party was sealed away in an inaccessible location, made immortal, and completely isolated by the Deck of Many Things. As you can imagine she's not doing well.
• Ascended Extra: It was initially never planned for Sheiji to be anything more than a throwaway joke.
• Big Fancy House: Hakuto's. So big, it houses no less than a 3rd of the party at a time.
• Bland-Name Product: Played for Laughs. The characters might go to buy drinks at 8/12 or listen to Imagine Dragonborn songs. On the other hand, however, sometimes actual products are explicitly referenced. There is no consistency with this whatsoever. It's just whatever's funnier at the time.
• Body Horror: Pops up a lot. Although the biggest perpetrator of it is Hakuto.
• Broken Bird: Rowan, especially after being forcibly taken to the Infernal Plane by his patron.
• City of Adventure: San Fransokyo, the setting. It's even mentioned that other cities don't have nearly as much magical bullshit going on.
• Combat Medic: All of the party clerics. Mara especially frequently jumps into the fray instead of healing, and has blown up several heads as a result.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Vincent Hollingsworth, CEO of Crimcorp.
• Dead Person Conversation: Sulley has these with Boo and the other ghosts quite often.
• Deal with the Devil: Considering Warlocks exist... Yeah. The most notable examples are Rowan and Ryan.
• Disproportionate Retribution: In response to Hakuto, Rowan and Jack accidentally killing Fish, The Heavens decide to punish the three of them by punishing their loved ones in their place. Hakuto's deceased brother is set to be erased from existence, Rowan's sister is possessed, and Jack's younger siblings are brutally murdered and then raised as zombies.
• Distressed Dude: Rowan gets kidnapped by his patron.
• Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: Hakuto lets slip that he felt good as Sulley drank his blood.
• Dysfunction Junction: Every member of the party has been induced with some kind of trauma—either before or over the course of the series that supplies them with a fatal flaw.
• Expy: Maybe a bit too many. The most shameless of these by far being Sheiji Kinogi, a chillax cop with a tragic past.
• Food Porn: There are many gratuitously detailed cooking and eating scenes, especially when both Ivan and Hakuto are involved.
• Forced Transformation: Carmen Flynn, a young girl who was accidentally turned into a Nothic falls under this category.
• For Want Of A Nail: The introduction of the players’ secondary characters brought about Fish Among the Stars, whose initial interactions with the main party and subsequent death changed the course of all of the party’s actions, character dynamics, and immediate motivations.
• Friend on the Force: Sheiji Kinogi, as opposed to Kitaniji Anglehala's Dirty Cop.
• Gas Leak Cover Up: A gas leak is the excuse given to cover up the fact that Katashi accidentally caused an explosion in the Auditorium initially.
• Gut Punch: Fish's death, and the subsequent punishments the Heavens inflict upon the perpetraters.
• Headbutting Heroes: A defining characteristic of the party is that practically none of them can get along for an extended period of time.
• If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Hakuto threatens to kill Jack if he hurts Sulley in any way, wary of his association with Arariel. This becomes ironic when after Fish’s death, Hakuto does nothing but hurt Sulley by pushing her away, and Jack is the only one who stays with her.
• Light Is Not Good: The Heavens, despite being 'the ultimate light,' have some jerkass tenancies.
• Like Reality, Unless Noted: Yes, item prices are based on what they'd cost in real life. Yes, the characters buy things off of Amazon. Yes, Homestuck exists.
• Magic A Is Magic A: Understandable, considering the roleplay works off of Dungeons and Dragons gameplay. In universe explanations are given as needed.
• Make It Look Like an Accident: To avoid causing panic the heavens alter Fish's body and rewrite some memories to make it appear he died of alcohol poisoning instead of letting the word get out that the party killed him.
• Monster of the Week: Can tend to fall into this category due to it's play by post formatting.
• Mood Whiplash: Every... Single... Session.
• Mundane Utility: From using it to play dodgeball to using it to fix a broken pair of glasses, magic is used for all sorts of mundane things.
• The Magic Comes Back: The entire premise of the plot is the return of magic and how it affects a modern society.
• Nice Guy: Ivan.
• Platonic Life-Partners: Hakuto and Segana.
• Projectile Spell: Notably Guiding Bolt.
• Put on a Bus: Ixal, after his mun decided he'd rather play a somewhat more serious character.
• Shipper on Deck: Julie, a Illithid who has been watching the party ever since magic returned is a hardcore 'Tulley' shopper.
• Summoning Ritual: Find Familiar.
• Talking to the Dead: Polly, when in extreme emotional distress, tends to talk to its deceased party members as if they're still listening.
• Tempting Fate: Days before accidentally killing Fish, Hakuto and Rowan agree that they will protect the Party “No matter the cost,”. Cue their most loved family members being punished by the Heavens due to their actions.
• Urban Fantasy:
• White Mage: Clerics. Of the party, Ivan falls under this trope the most, being the only pure cleric. While Sulley and Mara are also both clerics, their actions in battle generally focus more on damage.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Said by and to multiple characters, although none of them have fully internalized it yet.
• Your Favorite: When trying to apologize to Jesse for his behavior in the aftermath of Fish's death, Hakuto cooks up a bunch of seafood related dishes, as well as preparing an ice cream cake.