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The mansion stood god-like on the coast next to the sea. It was one of the largest buildings in all of the world (since the combine invaded). Each room was a different color, shape, and size. And in all the mansion housed fifteen bedrooms, five bathrooms, two living rooms, and a kitchen. It was probably a good thing the house was so extraordinary, because those who entered it would not be leaving easily. Outside of the house, it rained uncontrollably. Everyone inside the house was thankful for the shelter as they gathered in the living room, trading glances. The 50inch high definition tv lit up in front of them, on it was the face of an old man, Doctor Wallace Breen.
The first paragraph of the first post of the game.

The Video Game Edition Series is a series of Play-by-Post Games hosted on The Escapist following the lives of several Video Game characters as they try to live out their lives in a mansion. However, there's a twist: they're all on a Reality TV show called- what else?- Real Life: Video Game Edition. Some allies are made, others make enemies, others have steaming hot sex. Other than that, they all undergo a series of challenges put upon them by Dr. Wallace Breen. There's no real storyline- chapters vary from deadpan serious to hilarious romps.

In Season 1, several Video Game characters are kidnapped from their own universes and forced to live in a house together in order to make a reality TV show. Breen, the token human for the Combine who are conquering Earth, serves as the show's producer as well as director. Breen's objective is to make the show so good that the people of Earth will stop fighting the Combine to watch the show, thus giving the Combine complete control of the Earth's government.

Next is Season 2 where a new batch of video game characters, as well as a few returning members, awaken on an abandoned island. They soon find that Breen has set up the island as the next spot for his new Reality TV show featuring the video game characters. Breen continues with his old formula of driving the video characters borderline insane by bringing their various enemies to the island, as well as tormenting their loved ones. Eventually GlaDOs, Breen's security AI breaks free from his control, and starts a rebellion. To fight them, Breen establishes "The Brotherhood of Breen", or BOB, and an all out Civil War between the video game characters occurs.

Finally is Season 3: It is a time for war for all those who inhabit the new universe that was created by Breen. The Combine have reasserted themselves in this new government, and have managed to dominate most of the world. The Combine decided it would be best if Breen continued his reality TV Show for yet another season. The Brotherhood of Breen has grown to a drastic scale. The opponents of the Brotherhood of Breen are the Legion of Doom. Having reestablished themselves in the new universe, the LOD led by GlaDOs is nothing more than a small rebellion group. GlaDOs hopes to bolster her own ranks by acquiring solders in this new universes, who are labelled as "Anime Characters". And like any reality TV show the cameras will be rolling to capture every battle, every conversation, and hopefully every hot sex scene that occurs during the length of the show.

The roleplay began in June 2010, and ran for a year before Season 3 was abandoned in July 2011.


The Video Game Edition Series provides examples of:

  • Angst Coma: Isaac when he changing back from being an esper. He passes out, has a severe fever, starts shaking uncontrollably, and starts dreaming about his town being burned to the ground.
  • Artificial Human: Snake is a clone, Cortana is an advanced AI who later gets a realistic cyborg body from Breen, and Zidane is a Genome created by Garland in the world of Final Fantasy IX. Plus, Zidane has a tail.
  • Aerith and Bob:
    • Morrigan and Dunn...Yeah.
    • Isaac and Jenna qualify for this to.
  • Badass Boast: When Revan was introduced, and he started fighting the group, he had this to say after he nearly died,
    Revan: I am a man who could take out an army of over a billion in , oh say, a week. I am more than likely the most powerful jedi in the universe. I will not lose to a wretched group of tripes, whom I know, I am stronger than. And if that means I must risk the chance of taking my own life, then so be it!
  • Bee-Bee Gun: Eleanor shoots mutated bees at Donald and Goofy, Donald does not take it well at all.
  • Big Bad: Breen in Season 1, Kefka in Season 2.
    • Breen toys with the contestants, sets a zombie army on them, kidnaps their loved ones and either straps them to bombs or forces them to fight against the contestants, and creates an Opposite Gender Clone of Denton and tries to force them to have sex. He then focuses his cruelty on Isaac, turning his loved ones against him and bringing in his tormentors from his previous world. Next, he places a mind control device into Isabella that would force her to do whatsoever he said as long as it started with "Would you kindly?" He forced her to shoot her brother in the head and kill him. It was later found that Breen had stolen hundreds of people from different universes to be used either for the show, or for experiments.
    • Kefka began as just another victim of Breen's kidnapping. Then, in his episode, he kidnaps Terra, brainwashes her, and leads her to kill herself when she takes a blow for him. He then kidnapped Vanessa and tortured her in a cave, leading Isaac to torture and kill Kefka in turn. Vergil revived him later to serve as a distraction, which he did so with relish; killing Otacon and Rosa, and turning into a god to taunt Isaac. Despite Isaac killing him again, he returns once more, engulfing the island in darkness and mutating his god form to be even more powerful. He managed to kill four more characters- Fran, Donald Duck, Goody, and Ellis- and seemed unstoppable until Sora attacked him with a Keyblade. Plunging the Keyblade into Kefka's heart, the clown exploded into black light, seemingly gone for good this time.
  • Bigger Is Better: Played straight when Isaac and Sora are fighting Heartless Demon God Kefka. The first time Isaac makes a giant rock dragon smaller than Kefka, Kefka obliterates it immediately. Then comes the second giant rock dragon Isaac makes. It's only a bit bigger when compared to Kefka, but this time it wins.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: More like bombarding the fourth wall: the players do this many, many times. Either in instances of the users talking to their characters or other characters, or them pretending to be gods and talking to each other using Greek-ish names and talking in the heavens.
  • Butt-Monkey: Isaac. Not only is he tortured by Breen and every bad guy ever, but also because everyone condemns him for being the "Main Character" in an RP where everyone is supposed to have their own spotlight.
  • The Captain: CAPTAIN MURASA MOTHERFUCKING MINAMITSU is both a Captain, a badass, a ghost, and manifested awesome.
  • Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Derpy Hooves in season three.
    "SPOON!! Guybrush why you hurt the spoon, he was a nice spoon. and I thought you was FRIENDS...and Friendship is MAGIC!!!"
  • The Conscience: Morrigan and Ezio both have one of these. However, they're not people, but other personalities in their heads which they communicate with. No, this isn't canon. Yes, it's as funny as it sounds sometimes.
  • Cyborg: Ada and Cortana could be averted since technically she's a Smart AI inhabiting an empty shell made for her by Breen
  • A Day In The Lime Light: Subverted in both Seasons, everyone is supposed to get their time in the limelight, but not everyone did. It almost always came down to Isaac being The Big Damn Hero at the end of the day in season 2, or just focusing on Isaac in season 1.
  • Didn't See That Coming: After Hazama displays flawless logic in explaining to the Master Chief why he is neither on the side of Breen or the Legion. He forges an unlikely alliance with him at which point they work together to attack Kefka when he is an immense Heartless Demon God.
  • Did You Just Have Sex?: Isaac and Dante to Zidane. Dante played it for laughs.
    Isaac: So, where did you and Terra go off to? I got kinda worried.
    Zidane: (lightly blushing) Uhm...well...we, uhm...
    Dante: Doin the 'Vertical Tango'?
  • Double Entendre: Haruko yelling at Kirby in Season 3 after he surrenders to Lunar:
    Haruko: Now I know why you're pink, COWARD!!!
  • Eating Lunch Alone: Isaac is subjected to this for a time due to everyone resenting or openly hating him after he kills Ada, who they all had come to care about.
  • Elemental Powers:
    • Isaac has control over the earth around him because he is a Venus Adapt.
    • Aang has control over all four elements since he's the Avatar.
    • Toph is an earth bender.
  • Evil Laugh: Kefka's trademark. Plus he won't stop laughing.
  • Eviler than Thou: Breen is extremely evil, Vergil is extremely eviler, but Kefka is extremely eviler-er. He was revived twice. Once as a demon, and another time as a Heartless demon.
  • Face Palm: Everyone does this to Isaac after he yells out to the splicers "DON'T TOUCH VANESSA!".
  • Fanservice: The whole RP is to just get famous videogame characters in one place for a big fanservice fest. it was even lampshaded by the GM himself.
  • First Girl Wins: Jenna was the first of Isaac's harem, and she is his girlfriend. She wins.
  • Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Delta does this to Isaac by using his own telepathy. In fact, everyone has their share of telling Isaac to get a hold of himself.
  • Girl on Girl Is Hot: Snake and Frank both seem to think so.
    Snake: [To Isabella] Would you kindly get naked and kiss Morrigan?
  • Great Escape: Everyone's escape from Breen's lab after the air had been polluted with neurotoxins.
  • Heel–Face Turn: After Morrigan brings Dante and Vergil's mother back from the dead, he says that he wants to stay with his brother on the island.
  • Killed Off for Real: Delta, Fran, Goofy and Donald are unfortunate victims of this. Delta is lost before MC, Cortana, Breen, Isaac, and Eleanor go below the surface to deal with the mines and mecha sharks. Fran, Goofy and Donald are killed when Kefka returns late in the season as a god bent yet again on killing everyone. For Delta, it's subverted by the fact that Eleanor sucks up all of his Adam and makes him a part of her. ...And Ellis. He's killed too by Kefka.
  • Iconic Item: Delta with his drill. In fact, that's how most people notice who it is half the time.
  • Idea Bulb: One time whilst fighting Ansem and Guardian, Sora is about to say a cheesy line, when a huge flashing sign comes out of his head, points an arrow to him, and says "Cheesy Line Incoming".
  • Improbable Use of a Weapon: Hazama glues a Holy Hand Grenade to Delta's @#!*% in less than a minute, which blows Delta's @#!*% off.
  • I Surrender, Suckers: Breen does this in the final episode of Season 2, and then he combines the current universe with anime universes after his requests are fulfilled. Shit hits the fan, to say the least.
  • It Sucks to Be the Chosen One: Isaac is the main character of the series, so he is tortured and he suffers the most. Especially when Breen goes off the deep end.
  • Jerkass: Kamen Rider Decade called Morrigan fat and caused her to attempt suicide. He thought it was hysterical.
  • Lampshade Hanging: Done subtly by Haruko, when Canti bursts from Naota's head while Marina and them are talking about Naota's N.O. portal.
    Haruko: How convenient!
  • Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: Cortana and Ada engage in a fight that progressively gets crazier with each post while staying friendly and good-intentioned, unlike Season 1's fight between Ada and Isaac, in which Isaac was out for blood and wanted with every fibre of his being to murder Ada.
  • Let's Get Dangerous!: Okay, as if Haruko wasn't awesome enough, she comes up with a plan to take out numerous Covenant ships by herself. Her plan is to rip out Naota's Gibous Flying V from his head, and Dual Wield it with her blue Rickenback 4001, which had already been upgraded by Marina, fly out, and smack a bunch of ships around, while Ran, Chen, and Canti are firing all they have at the ships already. And she's asking Marina to upgrade the Gibous. Fuck it, anything Haruko does can be considered this trope.
  • Long Bus Trip: Heather takes one inexplicably after vaudevillianveterans internet connection is unable to keep up with the fast moving pace of the roleplay.
  • Mind Rape:
    • Vergil does this to Eleanor. But then, during Vergil's fight against Morrigan and Isaac, Eleanor gets him back by replaying his Mother's death over and over again in his mind.
    • Hazama/Terumi later does this Eleanor, causing a nervous breakdown.
  • Nerf:
    • Dante and Yukari, and probably the other Touhou characters as well, considering Dante got crushed in the hands of God and forced them up as if they were nothing, and if serious and un-nerfed could have resolved everything, Yukari could fix this all without batting an eye and warp people into the sun, Reisen could make anyone she wanted have a seizure or have their brains melt via horrid acid trip anytime she wanted, Ran is incredibly powerful since she has to solve every problem/keep checks and balances in Gensoukyou while Yukari sleeps and Murasa is unkillable/hurtable, a ghost and she's wielding a holy indestructible anchor.
    • Revan. While he could kill just about anyone - Dante included - with the clench of his fist using the "Force Kill" ability, BT has found it to be too unfair, and will only use it if the situation really, really calls for it. Also, he could manipulate just about anyone with the force, stun them, stun any droid, disable any droid completely, make people's senses completed nulled, and could probably move faster than anyone in the series, and cut everyone to shreds. Again, BT found these attributes to be a little too unfair, and will only use them if the situations really does call for it.
  • No Fourth Wall: The players never really set up a fourth wall. They kinda thought it was stupid. And even if they did, there is nothing but a crater there now.
  • Physical God: Kefka, when he comes back for a third time. He not only has his old powers as a god, but he is able to summon Heartless with the demon powers he got from when Vergil revived him, he can create multiple dark weapons and throw them at people, is a little less than a skyscraper high, and has the power to regenerate really fast. Isaac threw a small star at him, which burned all his skin and hair off, but after about an hour the skin and hair regrew, and now he's back to kicking everyone's ass. Now that Sparda is here to combat Kefka, he could be considered one too.
  • Power Gives You Wings: Kefka gains wings, two pairs of angelic ones and one pair of demonic ones beneath the angelic ones, when he transforms into his god mode.
  • The Rival: Isaac has two: Breen, and Kefka. Kefka has transformed into a god three times, been killed by Isaac just as often, though the first time he was killed while human, the other two times as a god. And yet, he still hasn't killed the weak old man, Breen.
  • Running Gag:
    • Ezio waking up tied to a dead parrot.
    • Morrigan arriving on the Season Two island in the process of trying to find a Walgreens.
    • How did SCP-504 get on the island?
    • Gods creatures (namely squirrels) and their hate for Delta.
    • Yami Marik asking Yami Bakura for a hug and Yami Bakura not wanting one.
  • Save the Villain: Zidane stopped everyone from killing or banishing Kefka. He also saved him from drowning in his own blood after Snake cut Kefka's throat by running to him and calling for help, which Dante responded to and healed Kefka.
  • Senseless Sacrifice: Applies to Isaac when he jumps into the Carbonite Pit as Breen demands when the alternative is the destruction of every universe in existence by Breen. Only for Breen to flip the switch anyway, which malfunctions and leads right into Season 3.
  • Shout-Out:
  • Tearsof Remorse:
    • Shed by Frank, Isabella, and JC after Isaac murders Ada, even though they were at first indifferent to Isaac's intentions to kill her. But once Ada begins fighting for her life against Isaac, they try to save her, only to be held back by Isaac, who it appears would hurt them if need be so he could fight against Ada unimpeded.
    • At the end of Season 2, just about everyone cries because Isaac is chromatically frozen.
  • Squirrels in My Pants: Ezio gets a rat in his trousers, which he then befriends and names Ricotta.
  • Super Mode: Zidane with his Trance, Kefka transforming into a god three times, Terra turns into an Esper and Isaac, with Terra's soul inside him, and after a divine being separates him and Terra and allowing him to keep his Esper powers, turns into a powerful Esper after Kefka provoked him. In the final battle though, Isaac lost his Esper powers, save for the ability to fly, when Kefka absorbed his Esper powers while turning Isaac into a Heartless.
  • Took a Level in Badass:
    • Ezio deserves this. For one third of RP he was a very comic relief character, and in the next third he's reviving people with a golden apple and shooting laser beams from his hands.
    • Isaac gets into Delta's suit after he dies to go underwater and fight off hundreds of mechanical sharks.
    • Kefka when he is revived twice. He is stronger in just about every way, even having new powers such as the ability to summon demons and Heartless, creating various things out of demonic energy and using darkness, both using it to engulf the island almost completely and using it to shoot darkness beams.
  • Unstoppable Rage:
    • Frank very nearly beats the shit out of Breeen (but instead kills a ton of zombies) when he learns the hard way that Breen has Isabella partially under his command.
    • What's that? You made fun of Morrigan? Yeah, expect a bullet in the head. She is such a narcissist... she took all the other insults and didn't care, but call her fat and shit will get real.
  • Wham Line: Used by Breen on Isabella much like it's used in BioShock (the same phrase in fact). In Season one, Breen asks Isabella over the intercom to shoot her brother Carlito who has come in a tank to rescue her and, at Isabella's insistence, Frank also. This trope also leads to Isabella kicking Isaac in the nuts, it also saves his life when Isabella is about to shoot him as he forces her to holster her weapon.

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