Welcome to Atlas: A RWBY-verse Roleplay

Day One, Sunday, Atlas Academy, Atlas Arena Waiting Room, 2:05 PM, A few minutes before the Atlas Academy Initiation Final Round

It was the day that quite a number of people in the Kingdom of Atlas was waiting for...the start of a new school year. After all, that meant a new batch of trainee Huntsmen and Huntresses would enter the mighty Academy and start their path to becoming a full-fledged protector of Remnant.

Also, the Initiation was a damn good show.

Atlas Academy's Initiation was quite different from Beacon's or Haven's. And well, who knows what Shade did to weed out weak links. Atlas prided itself in military might, which was why it's Initiation was public to all, both to show off the prowess of its prospective Hunters as well as to show a sneak peek to whoever wants to join next year. Give them time to strategize as it were.

The Initiation was a three round gauntlet held at Atlas Academy's Arena, its structure a reverse of the famous Vytal Festival Tournament. Initiates would start at the first round and try to outfight and outstrategize whatever the staff threw at them until they reached the end. The first round was individual, and if the Initiate succeeded, he or she would be paired with another successful student and the two would head off to Round Two. Get past Round Two, and the pair would be teamed with another pair, hence forming the traditional four-man cell.

The first and second rounds had been completed earlier, and the third and final was set to be held at 3:00 PM.

Rosamia Lynn Alexandros paced the waiting room, her body almost literally bursting with energy. She was here, finally she was here! Her dream...she made it! For of course, Rosie did not doubt for a second that she was getting pass the third round. She was, after all...her.

Rosie had gotten through the robots of the first round quite easily, and even when they brought in actual Grimm in the second round, she, well she and her new partner, had beaten it without much difficulty.

Rosie surveyed her surroundings to keep herself from descending into a fit of excited giggles, The waiting room was quite spartan...just a metal square with some benches. But the people inside were quite interesting.

She noted that there were only eleven other people in the room with her. Which, really, spoke more about the other Initiates rather than the difficulty of Atlas's Initiation. As for the people with her...well, they looked to be an interesting bunch. Also, most of them were girls.

...Rosie liked this batch.

As she paced, Rosie gave her best friend in the whole world, Lucas, a thumbs up, and smiled at her adorable baby sister Celes. Who by the way, had been paired with Lulu's sister Suzu. Probably not a coincidence, as the two were the fruits of her mother's research: Project Steel Hunter.

Ironwood knew, of course. Heck, the entirety of the Academy knew. But she worried for her sister. Because when the time came for her to reveal herself to these Initiates if they passed...well...

As for the others...

She grinned at her new partner, Flann, was it? She was seriously cute. And surprisingly deadly in a fight.

All in all...wow, Rosie could not wait for round three to start.

edited 2nd Feb '17 11:19:17 AM by GrimHelm

Waiting room

As Garret sat, staring at the nearest wall, his hands were busy shuffling his trusty and worn deck of cards. He found that falling back to something as familiar as shuffling a deck of cards to be very calming when he would normally be losing his mind, such as right now. It was nothing short of a miracle that he hadn't died in the previous two rounds, but he thankfully wasn't alone during either of them, which was probably the only reason that he was still kicking, even if he had managed to hold his own for the most part. Garret had somehow managed to fight through the previous two rounds of testing by using nothing but his fists (mostly to hide his actual weapons from any potential onlooking opponents) and hiding behind the wall of steel he called a partner now.

Growing more anxious by the second, Garret tried his best to analyze those he might be facing in the foreseeable future, keeping an eye out for any potential weaknesses he could exploit when it came down to fighting them. Then, naturally, it came to him that there was a way for him to get to know his opponents and make a quick buck.

Calling out to no one in particular, Garret asked "Anyone for a hand of cards?"

Waiting Room

Atlas Academy's initiation proved a surprisingly publicized event. More like the kind of sports event you'd see later in the school year to give students a chance to flex their skills in front of potential future investors. Atlas Academy took this part seriously, it seemed—by getting in before the students even took their first classes. Nerves ran high, but not for Flann Walsh.

This was the daughter of the esteemed Huntress Umbra Walsh, so expectations were riding on her to demonstrate why Umbra had chosen this fluffy faunus orphan as her champion. Initial impressions were bleak. Flann didn't respond to questions beyond a few terse words, awkwardly leaving interviewers in the dark—or trying to laugh off what they thought might be jokes. If she could get away with a "yes" or "no", she absolutely would.

But when it came time to prove herself in the arena, Flann unknowingly put on quite a show. Robots weren't an issue. Most of them weren't quick enough to respond to Flann's Duban. Grimm weren't an issue either: Flann riddled them with deadly explosive barbs from the tip of Bolg. Flann took orders to the letter, following her new partner Rosamia's instructions almost to a fault.

And when finally they returned to the waiting room to prepare for the third round, Flann crouched at the end of a bench, her fluffy white hair, little twitching weasel ears and red eyes peeking over the edge as she quietly observed Rosamia pacing back and forth.

edited 1st Feb '17 11:14:43 PM by opnerf

2:05

...How on Remnant did I end up with her?

As much as he tried to hide it (to the point of smiling and waving at Rosamia and Suzu), Lucas was starting to get nervous. He had hoped that during Initiation he'd be paired up with someone he knew, but luck didn't go his way, it seems. Mia seemed to have been paired up with whom was increasingly looking like her new crush, and Suzu-chan had already paired up with Celeste.

As for him? He was starting to get irritated about his new partner, Ashley. Skin tight suit that emphasized her curves, tons of guns, some sort of fancy goggle set... and not a single amount of common sense, it seemed. Mia had already tried to flirt with her, and instead of just saying no she pretended she didn't know what sex was and set off a smoke bomb to retreat. Frankly, he was appalled that anyone could come off as more of a socially repressed dork than he ever did. And he didn't know the worst part — the fact that she was condescending to him for daring to use a bow and arrow, or the fact that he couldn't do any archery in the second part since he was slashing down Grimm while she sniped from afar (and nearly hit him at least twice). Yeah, they made it to Round 3, but Lucas knew that round could have gone way better. Especially if he wanted to distinguish himself as a potential future Specialist.

So much for this being easy due to my good grades, Lucas thought to himself before letting out a sigh. "Let's hope our other teammates are better than this..."

edited 1st Feb '17 11:54:33 PM by Aquatica1000

Day 1: Atlas Academy - Initiation; Break Time.

J had to admit, these trials were something he wasn't expecting...and regretting having left some of his equipment behind today. He knew fighting against Grimm was practically a certainty, a sort of consistent factor between Academies when it came to these Initiations, which...was something he'd adapted to quickly. Even if these creatures were simple beasts, he wasn't going to let his guard down against a foe he'd never faced before. It was a bit of a necessity after all and more of a reminder that staying focused was the key.

...With everything being contained in an arena-like setting, this was another factor he'd entertained. The open space made it practically impossible to use his semblance, although so far...he'd managed just fine, especially with the robots in his first round being trivial to deal with that it was practically over in a minute.

The second...coordinating with an ally who specialized at long range was more difficult than he'd been expecting, but something he was grateful for as he would've had to spend a lot of time, energy and take un-necessary risks to determine how to deal with those Grimm as he gave a small nod of approval to his partner, hoping that her eyes weren't wandering at something else as he addressed Lori.

"I have to admit, that was a brilliant display there, no faffing about, we got the job done. I, er, appreciate it."

Glancing at the other hopeful students, Lansel paused for a few moments before grabbing a kettle and heating some water up, along with preparing some teabags.

"...I think a spot of tea wouldn't go amiss at this point. A bit of a relaxing to prepare ourselves for whatever awaits us can only do us good."

Waiting Room!

Lori couldn't wait. Finally, she was at initiation day for Atlas!

Lori found herself squirming in her seat. She was gonna be in a team with...she honestly didn't know yet, but she knew they were gonna be fun!

She was happy her speed and her Hawkeye worked to her advantage. She was fortunate she also made the shots she planned.

"Thanks! To be honest, I never thought I'd make so many correct shots-"

-Lori hears something about card games.

"Hey, maybe I could play please?" She asks

edited 1st Feb '17 11:49:26 PM by Underwood

Waiting Room

Celeste was a bit bothered. She knew that she had to disguise her true nature for the moment, especially in the public eye. She knew that she wouldn't have long before she could go without hiding her body, but right now, it was frankly irritating that she was not able to operate at peak efficiency. She was currently wearing a long sleeved turtleneck and loose pants with boots so as to hide her joints and pointed feet, and passing off her auditory ports as so called headphones.

That being said, she was rather happy about her assignment for partner: her younger sister unit from the Steel Hunters project, Suzu. They had been raised by different families so they could not spend as much time with each other as one would hope, so now that they were partnered up for their time in Atlas, it was surely a great opportunity. And of course,their performance in the second trial had been nothing less but optimal.

On the other side of things was her older sister, Rosamia. Glad to see that she had also made it, though the chances of her not having made it were admittedly computed to be less than 5%, Celeste was now a bit concerned by her excitement and body language. Dating and love was still a relatively new concept to Celeste, admittedly, but she understood that her sister was quite... Weak in regards to attractive female individuals.

And so Celeste sat in silent observation, gathering data for the next trial. Eventually she turned to Suzu for conversation. "So... How do you think the next trial will go for us?"

Waiting Room

Ashley was methodically going through her guns, tools by her side, as she disassembled them to clean them and ensure they were in perfect working order. The final round, the most important...she had to ensure everything was in tip top condition after that horrible Second Round. Her partner, Lucas was so...old fashioned, and inefficient. A bow and arrow? In the modern age? Please, a gun was far superior in every way. Of course, he was better at melee, but who needed that when you could just stay away and shoot? Of course, didn't help that he kept getting in the way of her shots.

Why did I have to get stuck with him...?

And then there was that friend of his, Rosamia, who was certainly...something. To be honest, Ashley didn't know how to feel. On one hand, she was rather flattered that someone actually showed some interest in her. On the other, she didn't want to distract herself. She was here at Atlas for one reason and one reason only. Ashley shook her head slightly, trying to get the thought out of her head.

I have to focus...focus on doing my best and getting through Atlas so I can be an Atlesian Specialist like Mom and Dad...maybe I'll even get to serve under Ironwood...

Ashley was the only one who seemed to be serenely calm, cleaning out the barrel and action of Digitus Ex Deus with a bit of oil and a soft brush. Maintenance helped keep her calm, and she couldn't afford to panic and lose focus now, just before the Third Round. Magnum Oculus was over her eyes, helping immensely with remembering how to disassemble something as complex as her rifle. At seeing her own Aura level in the bottom left corner, Ashley suddenly remembered something.

"Lucas. Give me your Scroll, please. I need to link it up with Magnum Oculus so I can see your Aura level during the fight."

Rosamia: Waiting Room

Rosie took a break from her pacing to glance at Lulu and his partner...Ashley.

Poor guys. She could plainly see that...well, those two got along like oil and water. They'd either kill each other...or be making out by the end of the year.

Rosie sighed. Ashley was cute, but it was quite obvious she was high maintenance.

Good luck, Lulu.

With that, she glanced at her own partner. Quiet Flann.

The redhead plopped herself on the seat next to her partner and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Hey, Flann~! Why are you being such a wallflower? We got this third round in the bag. Why don't we socialize~?"

Waiting Room

Flann didn't seem at all bothered, though she was now trapped crouching at the end of the bench. Where Rosamia was excited, even jumpy, Flann was relaxed and even a little spaced out.

"Because I'm a wallflower faunus," Flann said. Flann spoke with a monotone. "I haven't finished blooming yet."

Flann made no indication if this was intended to be a joke. She tilted her head to the side slightly, thinking about something Rosamia said. She hadn't really listened to the instructors earlier, instead spending that time daydreaming and going with the flow of the initiation without really paying attention.

"Oh, there's a third round. They always come in threes."

Kaiyo Kawaguchi may as well have been vibrating like one of those gifs about things INTENSIFYING. She was barely focused on their immediate future, instead trying to think up cool names for their upcoming Team! She was making a horrible rattling noise the whole time too, encased in the carapace of TsuruGi. Like Garret, she had not yet revealed the full extent of her Weapon's power, staying armored up and striking conservatively with TsuruGi's basic katana.

Trying to bring herself down, but not wanting to leave her carapace just yet, Kaiyo hunkered down next to Garret and shucked her gauntlets off, revealing a Mistrali complexion and the bracelets that let her pull her armor onto herself at any time. "Deal me in, bruh! Maybe we can do a round before we go back out there or somethin'."

2:05

Suzu for her part was using this brief bit of downtime to maintain her equipment, which was thankfully quite easy for now especially given that she spent the first and second round using only Shinden, saving Ryuho for for when it was needed... while her sister had been fighting sub-optimally to hide her nature Suzu was seemingly doing so out of showman ship, the first two rounds for her being more of a graceful dance of the blade rather then a showcase of her true talent.

When her sister spoke to her however she quit cleaning her blade and replied, "I think it will go fairly well, we seem to have been paired with competent team members and no one seems to be operating at peak efficiency"

Sunday. 2:05.

"You'd be surprised how capable a person can be when they've got a lot on the li-" J commented to his partner before noticing she'd already dashed off to try and play cards. ...Well, at least she's sixes and sevens off the battlefield.

Perking up a little as the kettle finally finished boiling the water, he poured himself a cup of tea, relaxed in his chair and gave a small sigh. It wasn't much, but it would d- ...Hrm? The young man seemed a bit surprised to find that tea set and tray had vanished. Although with a faint hum, it wasn't hard to guess why with a certain cuboid drone hovering...with the tray balanced precariously on her head.

Hiiiii~ L.I.L.I at your service~ Today we're serving Earl Grey tea with the optional option of sugar if you're so inclined~ ...She turned to DIA, still rather chipper. You look like you enjoy the finer things in life with clothes like that~ Tea~? Maybe? No~?

The young man with pale-green hair folded his arms at Rosie's confidence. "...And what do you suppose awaits us in the third round? I doubt they'll be handing up victory on a silver platter."

Wheeler dealer

Grinning as he began shuffling the cards to deal, Garret said "Alright, Hold 'em okay with everyone or would you prefer to play somethin' like blackjack?" As he spoke Garret quietly began stacking the deck in his favour, he had a few choice cards marked in ways that few would notice unless they were actively looking for them and was doing his best to ensure they ended up in a position where he'd be able to deal them to himself.

Of course remembering to make sure he dealt those cards to himself was another matter entirely.

Noob

"Anything you want to play, I'd be fine to play!" Lori said enthusiastically. She could use a fun game, since the initiations were hard work.

...Wait, what did she ask me? Does she... does she really think I'd be eager to do that?

"So, let me get this straight," Lucas answered, glaring at Ashley. "You want me to hand over my scroll to you so you can... watch over me like some little kid? I can handle myself, thank you very much."

Waiting Room

Rosie gave out an unladylike snort of laughter at both Flann's wallflower comment and the fact that her partner was cheerfully oblivious of the fact that there was going to be a third round.

She really liked this girl. She was so cute.

"Aww, Feefee, even wallflowers need someone to talk to. Come on, I'll introduce you to my baby sis~!"

...And then some guy approached and tried to rain on her parade.

Rosie looked him over, a smirk on her face.

"Please. Even if I don't know what's coming, do you honestly think it would be that much harder than the first two rounds? It will be a cakewalk." she replied smugly.

The Smug, IT BURNS.

J rolled his eyes and took another sip from his tea. ...He knew if that was the case and these first two round being a cinch, something was definitely amiss...or perhaps it was much more obvious that the Academy was trying to lure overconfident twits like this red-head into a false sense of security before bringing down a much harsher challenge.

"...Maybe it will be. I suppose someone with as much confidence as yours could deal with anything. It never hurts to be cautious. ...Good luck out there, I suppose." He nonchalantly replied, keeping a level-head. He wasn't going to let himself be riled up that easily.

...Part of him wanted to warn this arrogant brat. But a lesson in humility would at least teach this Rosie person to be more careful when it came to running her mouth. He wasn't going to be careless.

Waiting Room

"Feefee," Flann repeated. "No one has ever called me that before."

Somehow, Flann was now sitting on the bench on Rosamia's other side. She seemed to have moved very quietly while Rosamia was distracted. Unfortunately, rather than the third round, Rosamia's next comment caused Flann to start thinking about cake instead.

"When can this be over? Thinking about cakewalks is making me hungry."

Waiting Room

Ashley shot Lucas an annoyed look. Complaining about nearly being shot, and now he was refusing something that would make their coordination better so that wouldn't get shot at.

"No, I need to do it so that I can always be aware of where you are and what your Aura level is like without the need for communication to give ourselves away. If I can see approximately how close you are on my HUD, I can make sure I don't accidentally nearly shoot you."

He was really infuriating, and she'd only been working with him for less than even half a day!

My parents would never stand for such behaviour. I don't think General Ironwood would either.

She held out her hand, staring at Lucas. This girl would not take "No" for an answer, would she?

"So in the interest of both your health and our coordination as partners...your Scroll, please."

"Fuckin' blackjack, yeah dog!" Kaiyo realized that a game of chance was probably going to get her even more wound up, but at this point she didn't give a shit. She rattled inside her armor and fidgeted her hands excitedly. Blackjack was a game of chance she was super into; the dance of when to play safe and when to go all-in, and when to predict around your opponents' own patterns, reminded her of the kendo lessons she had as a kid in the community center. Moving to Atlas to follow the better jobs was great for the family, and she wouldn't have had the cash to build TsuruGi if they hadn't, but she'd always miss it.

"Are the cards part of a gimmick with you we aren't catching onto yet?" She asked, tilting her head as she held out her hands for the cards. "I dunno about you but I took design lessons at Shade, and I sort of tried to theme a lot of my gear after some stuff about where I'm from, my family, stuff like that, tryna hold onto Mistral while connecting with Atlas, you know, real diasporic shit if you catch my drift, you on that wavelength there Garret?"

Waiting Room

Suzu's ears panned twords her brother and his new partner and as she overheard the pair, she got more and more disapointed in him, culminating in her bopping him over the head with her saya.

"Oniisan... she is worried about your health and I am too, please just do it...."

Way to go, nimrod. She actually had a good point, and you were being moronic enough on the matter to deserve a whack from Suzu-chan.

"Fine, here you go," Lucas responded, rubbing the now-sore spot on his head with one hand as he gave her the scroll with the other. "Sorry..."

DIA stood proud and aloof as she waved away the little drone's query concerning tea. Hope Diamant would not abide any respite aside from what was given to her until she was sure to become a student at Atlas Academy. "No, thank you. However, I will have tea if you are still here to celebrate my victory today."

She glanced at the girl assigned as her partner. Irene Blaze, who seemed to be total opposite of DIA in every way: uncouth, brash, fiery, all things that the Atlesian noble saw as inefficient and unseemly. Still, they had managed to get through the doubles round together, so perhaps this girl wouldn't be a complete obstruction on DIA's path to her glorious destiny. Getting through the initiation was merely the first step in her plan to become the greatest warrior Atlas had produced, with no equal to challenge her. And she would see it through, even if she had to deal with such an obstinate partner for the first several years of it.

Well this had certainly been quite the interesting Initiation for one Irene Blaze thus far.

For one thing, she hadn't expected it to be a publicly spectated event. Nor did she expect to get partnered up with an arrogant, rich brat with a creepy ghost-robot thing in the Doubles round. The two could not be any more different either, with Irene's usage of a crude, scrap-made weapon that wielded fire Dust compared to DIA's own sleek, ice-using machinery. Still, the two did decently well together in their match despite bickering the whole way through, so there might've been some hope yet for this partnership of polar opposites.

Irene was leaning up against the wall of the waiting room near DIA, with her brother's shades over her eyes and her long black panther tail lazily swaying behind her. She was anticipating the next match, where she'd find out who she and DIA would end up forming a team with.

Please, for the love of Dust let this blue-haired brat be the only arrogant twit I gotta deal with on my team..., she internally thought to herself.