RPGnet - User contributions [en]

CaliforniaNightmares:Brian Robeson

2009-02-06T15:57:02Z

Tigerbunny: /* Theme */

Played by TigerBunnyMark

==General Character Description==
Post #blah: 14 years old. Kind of a weedy kid. Didn't always get enough to eat, and was sickly. Lived rough with his elder sister and another kid a little older than him - in between his age and sister's age. This second kid had a "protector" relationship with Brian and his sister, and Brian both idolized and resented him. Becoming a pilot is the first time Brian's been strong on his own, able to fight for himself. He's a bit drunk on the thrill of it and acts out a fair bit.

Post #48: Brian Robeson, Age 14, Eager Young Soldier

Eight-year-old Brian and his big sister Maia didn’t have a whole lot more than each other before the end of the world, so they did okay after it. “Dads”, when they had one, were as much to be feared as anything else, and mostly just meant that Mom resented and ignored them more than usual for a while. They’d been taking care of themselves their whole lives, so everybody falling asleep mostly just meant that they didn’t have to worry about getting caught shoplifting dinner any more.

The first thing they did when they figured out nobody was going to wake up was get out of their neighborhood and start looting a better class of house. For a while, they lived in a beautiful mansion, up on the hills looking out over Piedmont, with some other kids – not really a gang, not really a family, but in a lot of ways, better off than most.

Then the monsters came out of the sea. They stomped through the streets of San Francisco like something out of an old movie, spewing beams and smoke and methodically hunting down any sign of human habitation.

And Brian got sick. Some of the other kids got it too – the fever, the shaking, the headaches, then the sleep, and then – they died. Brian lived. On and on, shaking, trembling, moaning in pain and thrashing with nightmares.

Maia never told Brian what she’d done to get Luis Montes to let her go through his gang’s dwindling stocks of drugs searching for something to help him. He does know that nothing helped. He just got better. Sort of.

Ever since then, Brian has the headaches. He can’t seem to keep his weight up, his legs shake when he tries to walk too far or too long, and everything aches, all the time. Maia gave up their house on the hillside for him, had to depend on Luis instead of her brother because he was too weak to protect her.

A lot of bad things happened. Luis and his gang, along with Maia & Brian, hid as best they could. Sometimes there wasn’t enough to eat, and sometimes a fight would break out and someone would get shot or stabbed or whatever. Sometimes Maia and Luis would fight, and Brian would hear her sobbing in the night afterwards.

Then, one day, Luis comes back from a “shopping trip.” But he doesn’t have a satchel of canned food or butane fuel – he’s got a scruffy, hand-printed sign. “Help Us Fight Them – UCB”.

Most people didn’t believe what the geeky grownup and the nervous girl told them. If the guy hadn’t had a riot gun, somebody might have even started something. But for some reason, Luis believed it. Brian maybe didn’t, but he really wanted to. They said that they needed help, because they had a plan to kill one of the monsters.

It worked. Luis even got to be a big damn hero, luring the monster into the trap on a motorcycle. By the time the other monsters showed up, everybody was gone, and the so-called “Resistance” had what they wanted – samples from the monster’s insides. But Luis was dead, and there was no way the rest of the Motherless Sons wanted anything to do with UCB after that. Only Jen, Maia, and Brian stayed on.

It took a while to get results, but what would become the ANIMa was a success beyond the wildest dreams of the Resistance. Especially Brian. Finally, he wasn’t the weak one, the burden. Getting sick might have been worth it after all – because he seems to be a better natural pilot than any of the other candidates. Sure, Elliot has been fighting longer, and volunteered for the test mission back before they even knew if this would work. Sure, Rick tested higher, but he crashed and burned. Sure, Raymond is everybody’s golden boy. But _Brian_ is the one who Prof Daulare relies on.

Maia is gone now. He still visits her, sleeping in the master bedroom of the old house, like Sleeping Beauty waiting for her prince. It won’t be Luis who wakes her, though. It’ll be Brian. He’ll finally be able to protect her, like she protected him.

==Physical Description ==
Skinny, long unkempt black hair, large nose. Sort of ratty-looking. Leather jacket that’s a bit too big for him, heavily patched jeans, an assortment of garish rock t-shirts. Smokes his green more than is good for him.

==Relationship Summaries==

Prof Daulare – 3/3 – “He gave me a chance to be strong. I won’t let him down.” 
Alex – 2/1 – "Without him finding me parts, there's no way I'd have gotten my car running." 
Jen – 4/1 – "You're the only one who still remembers how weak I was." 
Evan – 1/2 – “I can't believe he's still an Anchor, after what happened with Rick.” 
Riri – 1/2 – “She’s spooky. And reading all the time can’t be good for you.” 
Raymond – 4/1 – “He pisses me off. Mr Golden Boy. Still, at least he gets it.” 
Ashley – 1/2 – “Always sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong.” 
Sally "Robeson" – 1/5 – “That’s why I fight. Because the little kids like her need protecting. But what's with all this 'Big Brother' stuff?!?” 
Katie – 2/2 – “I can’t believe the Prof lets her be a pilot. It’s too dangerous for someone like her.” 
Brandi – 2/2 – Anchor. “I don’t really know what her reasons for fighting are, but she wants to win as bad as I do. We’ll be a good team.” 

==ANIMa==

Sleek, curvy, silver. Like a sportscar or a jet fighter. Or maybe a little of both.

Chassis – Brandi – A transformable ground attack plane. A little bit Valkyrie, a little bit A-10 Thunderbolt II. 
Weapons Rack – Prof Daulare – Here it comes, bug! Whatever we need for the job, load 'em up. 
Jet Engines - Alex - I can fly circles around the bugs. Assuming they don't conk out. 
Railgun – Jen – I don't want to have to use it, but the bugs don't want me to, either. Massive killing power, but goes through ammo like crazy. 
Point Defense System - Raymond - Get off my tail!
Avionics/Navigation/Targeting Suite – Sally – When things get hairy, it'll bring me home. 
TransAm Mode – Katie – A little extra in a tight spot. 

==Theme==

Silver Machine, by Hawkwind. Preferably a nice grungy version.

I built a [http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh91437594586162447 Pandora station] for him.

CaliforniaNightmares:Brian Robeson

2009-01-25T20:33:24Z

Tigerbunny:

CaliforniaNightmares:Riri

2009-01-25T20:17:02Z

Tigerbunny:

Played by TigerBunnyMark

Riri is a slightly round-faced, soft-featured Asian-American girl with her black hair in a single braid. She wears round glasses, and self-consciously “little-girly” dresses (procured for her by Prof Daulare). She is probably around 15, but looks younger.

If you sit down with her for a while, and ask her sideways, while she’s on another topic, Riri will tell you that her name is Marie Chu. But she’s been Riri her whole life, and that’s what everyone still calls her. Including her.

When she’s nervous – which is most of the time when she’s with more than 1 person, or people she hasn’t become very comfortable with – Riri dissociates a bit. Speaking in the third person is the most obvious sign of this, but she also tends to lose most of her affect. People who haven’t gotten to know her think she’s cold, shy, and emotionless. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Riri is a prodigy. Brilliant, able to absorb massive amounts of information, insatiably curious, and endlessly creative. But she’s also badly broken. Something awful must have happened to her.

She turned up in the Library one day 3 years ago. It took Prof Daulare weeks to coax her out of hiding enough to give her some fresh food and clean clothes, and weeks more before she would talk to him. When she finally opened up, though, he was amazed.

Riri *understood* the aliens. She had notebooks full of scrawled observations, speculation, even experiments. Some she wouldn’t show him. This little girl had spent almost every waking moment since Bliss Day obsessively learning about the Bliss and the monsters. How had she survived?

She doesn’t talk about it. Best as the Prof can piece together, she had an older companion for most of the time before she came to the Library who helped protect her and find her supplies, and she lived in a building that was fairly secure and had a generator for power. It seems likely that her companion’s death (or Bliss? She’s not clear about that) was the catalyst for her giving up her direct research and coming to the Library.

It’s her work that led to the development of the ANIMa. The Prof and others supplied the technological know-how, but Riri is the one who purified the Interface Virus from the “brains” of the monster. She says they’re not the real aliens – just sort of a living machine that the aliens control through the dream. According to Riri, the monsters might have already been here down deep in the ocean for a long time, and the aliens are just using them somehow, changing them and making them into half-machine horrors.

Riri hardly ever leaves the Library. She is very lonely, but she is also terrified of being around other people, for reasons that she can’t explain. She also suffers an irrational fear of open spaces and particularly the open sky.

'''Relationships'''

Brian Robeson 2/2/0 - "My most successful Pilot so far, but now that we understand more about the Interface Virus, I worry about his isolation from others."

Raymond Mitsuda 2/1/0 - "Be careful, be careful. He has to stay away from Riri. Riri might tell him things."

Katie Dalton 2/4/0 - "Riri has a friend. Poor Riri. Poor friend. Innocent girls do terrible things. I need her to do terrible things. So Riri's friend isn't really Riri's friend."

Stephen Daulare (undefined) - "Riri misses Papa. Stephen isn't Daddy, but he helped me - he believed what I found out - and he doesn't ask questions. And Riri misses Papa so much."

CaliforniaNightmares

2009-01-25T20:04:36Z

Tigerbunny: Update to reflect Kreen's drop and adjustments

[[Category:Bliss Stage]]
'''California Nightmares''' is a play-by-post game of Bliss Stage

==Threads==
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=427120 Recruitment/Setting Thread]
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=430798 In-Character Thread]
* [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=432356 Out-of-Character Thread]

==Characters==

===Pilots/Anchors===
* [[CaliforniaNightmares:Brian Robeson | Brian Robeson]] (Eager Young Soldier), anchored by [[CaliforniaNightmares:Brandi Lawrence | Brandi Lawrence]] (Tempestuous)
* [[CaliforniaNightmares:Raymond Mitsuda | Raymond Mitsuda]] (Rising Hero), anchored by [[CaliforniaNightmares:Evan Holmquist | Evan ]] (Kind)
* [[CaliforniaNightmares:Katie Dalton | Katie Dalton]] (Innocent Sweetheart), anchored by [[CaliforniaNightmares:Ashley | Ashley Simpson ]] (Savvy)

===Authority Figure===
* [[CaliforniaNightmares:Stephen Daulare | Stephen Daulare]]

===Others===
* [[CaliforniaNightmares:Jen | Jen]]
* [[CaliforniaNightmares:Alex | Alex]]
* [[CaliforniaNightmares:Riri | Riri]]
* [[CaliforniaNightmares:Sally | Sally]]
* [[CaliforniaNightmares:Ashley | Ashley]]

==Hopes==
* "Will we ever understand why the aliens attacked us?"
* "Is there a place for the human species in the future?"

CaliforniaNightmares:Brian Robeson

2009-01-08T19:43:45Z

Tigerbunny: /* ANIMa */

Played by TigerBunnyMark

==General Character Description==
Post #blah: 14 years old. Kind of a weedy kid. Didn't always get enough to eat, and was sickly. Lived rough with his elder sister and another kid a little older than him - in between his age and sister's age. This second kid had a "protector" relationship with Brian and his sister, and Brian both idolized and resented him. Becoming a pilot is the first time Brian's been strong on his own, able to fight for himself. He's a bit drunk on the thrill of it and acts out a fair bit.

Post #48: Brian Robeson, Age 14, Eager Young Soldier

Eight-year-old Brian and his big sister Maia didn’t have a whole lot more than each other before the end of the world, so they did okay after it. “Dads”, when they had one, were as much to be feared as anything else, and mostly just meant that Mom resented and ignored them more than usual for a while. They’d been taking care of themselves their whole lives, so everybody falling asleep mostly just meant that they didn’t have to worry about getting caught shoplifting dinner any more.

The first thing they did when they figured out nobody was going to wake up was get out of their neighborhood and start looting a better class of house. For a while, they lived in a beautiful mansion, up on the hills looking out over Piedmont, with some other kids – not really a gang, not really a family, but in a lot of ways, better off than most.

Then the monsters came out of the sea. They stomped through the streets of San Francisco like something out of an old movie, spewing beams and smoke and methodically hunting down any sign of human habitation.

And Brian got sick. Some of the other kids got it too – the fever, the shaking, the headaches, then the sleep, and then – they died. Brian lived. On and on, shaking, trembling, moaning in pain and thrashing with nightmares.

Maia never told Brian what she’d done to get Luis Montes to let her go through his gang’s dwindling stocks of drugs searching for something to help him. He does know that nothing helped. He just got better. Sort of.

Ever since then, Brian has the headaches. He can’t seem to keep his weight up, his legs shake when he tries to walk too far or too long, and everything aches, all the time. Maia gave up their house on the hillside for him, had to depend on Luis instead of her brother because he was too weak to protect her.

A lot of bad things happened. Luis and his gang, along with Maia & Brian, hid as best they could. Sometimes there wasn’t enough to eat, and sometimes a fight would break out and someone would get shot or stabbed or whatever. Sometimes Maia and Luis would fight, and Brian would hear her sobbing in the night afterwards.

Then, one day, Luis comes back from a “shopping trip.” But he doesn’t have a satchel of canned food or butane fuel – he’s got a scruffy, hand-printed sign. “Help Us Fight Them – UCB”.

Most people didn’t believe what the geeky grownup and the nervous girl told them. If the guy hadn’t had a riot gun, somebody might have even started something. But for some reason, Luis believed it. Brian maybe didn’t, but he really wanted to. They said that they needed help, because they had a plan to kill one of the monsters.

It worked. Luis even got to be a big damn hero, luring the monster into the trap on a motorcycle. By the time the other monsters showed up, everybody was gone, and the so-called “Resistance” had what they wanted – samples from the monster’s insides. But Luis was dead, and there was no way the rest of the Motherless Sons wanted anything to do with UCB after that. Only Jen, Maia, and Brian stayed on.

It took a while to get results, but what would become the ANIMa was a success beyond the wildest dreams of the Resistance. Especially Brian. Finally, he wasn’t the weak one, the burden. Getting sick might have been worth it after all – because he seems to be a better natural pilot than any of the other candidates. Sure, Elliot has been fighting longer, and volunteered for the test mission back before they even knew if this would work. Sure, Rick tested higher, but he crashed and burned. Sure, Raymond is everybody’s golden boy. But _Brian_ is the one who Prof Daulare relies on.

Maia is gone now. He still visits her, sleeping in the master bedroom of the old house, like Sleeping Beauty waiting for her prince. It won’t be Luis who wakes her, though. It’ll be Brian. He’ll finally be able to protect her, like she protected him.

==Physical Description ==
Skinny, long unkempt black hair, large nose. Sort of ratty-looking. Leather jacket that’s a bit too big for him, heavily patched jeans, an assortment of garish rock t-shirts. Smokes his green more than is good for him.

==Relationship Summaries==

Prof Daulare – 3/3 – “He gave me a chance to be strong. I won’t let him down.” 
Alex – 2/1 – "Without him finding me parts, there's no way I'd have gotten my car running." 
Jen – 4/1 – "You're the only one who still remembers how weak I was." 
Elliot – 1/1 – “You were the first, but you’re not the best.” 
Tina – 1/2 – “She’s nice. I don’t think Raymond treats her right, though.” 
Evan – 1/2 – “Just like I used to be. A doormat.” 
Riri – 1/2 – “She’s spooky. And reading all the time can’t be good for you.” 
Raymond – 4/1 – “He pisses me off. Mr Golden Boy. Still, at least he gets it.” 
Ashley – 1/2 – “Always sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong.” 
Sally "Robeson" – 1/4 – “That’s why I fight. Because the little kids like her need protecting. But what's with all this 'Big Brother' stuff?!?” 
Katie – 2/2 – “I can’t believe the Prof lets her be a pilot. It’s too dangerous for someone like her.” 
Brandi – 2/2 – Anchor. “I don’t really know what her reasons for fighting are, but she wants to win as bad as I do. We’ll be a good team.” 

==ANIMa==

Sleek, curvy, silver. Like a sportscar or a jet fighter. Or maybe a little of both.

Chassis – Brandi – Light, fast, and made for fighting. Looks a bit like a Valkyrie in GERWalk Mode, but more like Gundam Kyrios. 
Bomb Rack – Prof Daulare – Here it comes, bug! 
Missile Pod – Jen – Get off my tail! 
Minigun – Tina – Accurate, but not a lot of stopping power. 
ECM Suite – Sally – When things get hairy, it'll bring me home. 
Afterburner – Katie – A little extra in a tight spot. 

==Theme==

Silver Machine, by Hawkwind. Preferably a nice grungy version.

CaliforniaNightmares:Brian Robeson

2009-01-08T19:40:45Z

Tigerbunny: /* Relationship Summaries */

Played by TigerBunnyMark

==General Character Description==
Post #blah: 14 years old. Kind of a weedy kid. Didn't always get enough to eat, and was sickly. Lived rough with his elder sister and another kid a little older than him - in between his age and sister's age. This second kid had a "protector" relationship with Brian and his sister, and Brian both idolized and resented him. Becoming a pilot is the first time Brian's been strong on his own, able to fight for himself. He's a bit drunk on the thrill of it and acts out a fair bit.

Post #48: Brian Robeson, Age 14, Eager Young Soldier

Eight-year-old Brian and his big sister Maia didn’t have a whole lot more than each other before the end of the world, so they did okay after it. “Dads”, when they had one, were as much to be feared as anything else, and mostly just meant that Mom resented and ignored them more than usual for a while. They’d been taking care of themselves their whole lives, so everybody falling asleep mostly just meant that they didn’t have to worry about getting caught shoplifting dinner any more.

The first thing they did when they figured out nobody was going to wake up was get out of their neighborhood and start looting a better class of house. For a while, they lived in a beautiful mansion, up on the hills looking out over Piedmont, with some other kids – not really a gang, not really a family, but in a lot of ways, better off than most.

Then the monsters came out of the sea. They stomped through the streets of San Francisco like something out of an old movie, spewing beams and smoke and methodically hunting down any sign of human habitation.

And Brian got sick. Some of the other kids got it too – the fever, the shaking, the headaches, then the sleep, and then – they died. Brian lived. On and on, shaking, trembling, moaning in pain and thrashing with nightmares.

Maia never told Brian what she’d done to get Luis Montes to let her go through his gang’s dwindling stocks of drugs searching for something to help him. He does know that nothing helped. He just got better. Sort of.

Ever since then, Brian has the headaches. He can’t seem to keep his weight up, his legs shake when he tries to walk too far or too long, and everything aches, all the time. Maia gave up their house on the hillside for him, had to depend on Luis instead of her brother because he was too weak to protect her.

A lot of bad things happened. Luis and his gang, along with Maia & Brian, hid as best they could. Sometimes there wasn’t enough to eat, and sometimes a fight would break out and someone would get shot or stabbed or whatever. Sometimes Maia and Luis would fight, and Brian would hear her sobbing in the night afterwards.

Then, one day, Luis comes back from a “shopping trip.” But he doesn’t have a satchel of canned food or butane fuel – he’s got a scruffy, hand-printed sign. “Help Us Fight Them – UCB”.

Most people didn’t believe what the geeky grownup and the nervous girl told them. If the guy hadn’t had a riot gun, somebody might have even started something. But for some reason, Luis believed it. Brian maybe didn’t, but he really wanted to. They said that they needed help, because they had a plan to kill one of the monsters.

It worked. Luis even got to be a big damn hero, luring the monster into the trap on a motorcycle. By the time the other monsters showed up, everybody was gone, and the so-called “Resistance” had what they wanted – samples from the monster’s insides. But Luis was dead, and there was no way the rest of the Motherless Sons wanted anything to do with UCB after that. Only Jen, Maia, and Brian stayed on.

It took a while to get results, but what would become the ANIMa was a success beyond the wildest dreams of the Resistance. Especially Brian. Finally, he wasn’t the weak one, the burden. Getting sick might have been worth it after all – because he seems to be a better natural pilot than any of the other candidates. Sure, Elliot has been fighting longer, and volunteered for the test mission back before they even knew if this would work. Sure, Rick tested higher, but he crashed and burned. Sure, Raymond is everybody’s golden boy. But _Brian_ is the one who Prof Daulare relies on.

Maia is gone now. He still visits her, sleeping in the master bedroom of the old house, like Sleeping Beauty waiting for her prince. It won’t be Luis who wakes her, though. It’ll be Brian. He’ll finally be able to protect her, like she protected him.

==Physical Description ==
Skinny, long unkempt black hair, large nose. Sort of ratty-looking. Leather jacket that’s a bit too big for him, heavily patched jeans, an assortment of garish rock t-shirts. Smokes his green more than is good for him.

==Relationship Summaries==

Prof Daulare – 3/3 – “He gave me a chance to be strong. I won’t let him down.” 
Alex – 2/1 – "Without him finding me parts, there's no way I'd have gotten my car running." 
Jen – 4/1 – "You're the only one who still remembers how weak I was." 
Elliot – 1/1 – “You were the first, but you’re not the best.” 
Tina – 1/2 – “She’s nice. I don’t think Raymond treats her right, though.” 
Evan – 1/2 – “Just like I used to be. A doormat.” 
Riri – 1/2 – “She’s spooky. And reading all the time can’t be good for you.” 
Raymond – 4/1 – “He pisses me off. Mr Golden Boy. Still, at least he gets it.” 
Ashley – 1/2 – “Always sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong.” 
Sally "Robeson" – 1/4 – “That’s why I fight. Because the little kids like her need protecting. But what's with all this 'Big Brother' stuff?!?” 
Katie – 2/2 – “I can’t believe the Prof lets her be a pilot. It’s too dangerous for someone like her.” 
Brandi – 2/2 – Anchor. “I don’t really know what her reasons for fighting are, but she wants to win as bad as I do. We’ll be a good team.” 

==ANIMa==

Sleek, curvy, silver. Like a sportscar or a jet fighter. Or maybe a little of both.

Chassis – Brandi – Light, fast, and made for fighting. Looks a bit like a Valkyrie in GERWalk Mode, but more like Gundam Kyrios. 
Jets/Wings – Prof Daulare – Powerful thrust and turns on a dime. 
Missile Pod – Jen – One shot is usually all it takes. 
Minigun – Tina – Accurate, but not a lot of stopping power. 
ECM Suite – Sally – When things get hairy. 
Afterburner – Katie – A little extra. 

==Theme==

Silver Machine, by Hawkwind. Preferably a nice grungy version.

CaliforniaNightmares:Riri

2009-01-01T03:02:07Z

Tigerbunny:

CaliforniaNightmares:Evan Holmquist

2009-01-01T02:52:21Z

Tigerbunny:

Played by TigerBunnyMark

Evan is practically ethereal. Pale, pale skin, light blue eyes, blond hair, tall and thin and lithe. He’s a very pretty boy.

And he's sweet. That’s really the right word for it. He wants people to be happy, and he hates conflict and fighting. He was the kid at the bottom of the pecking order for a long time on the streets of Oakland, running from gangs and hiding from monsters. He’s always been pretty, delicate, and that’s a recipe for being miserable when toughness and hardness is what keeps you alive. He had to do a lot of things he hated to stay alive and safe, but he’s learned to keep his chin up no matter what.

Which is a good quality in an Anchor. Nothing really gets to Evan any more – he doesn’t hold grudges, he listens, he knows that you didn’t really mean it. He’s used to faking it until he makes it.

Which is going to make this tough. Rick was his best friend. But there must have been something inside him that he never told Evan, and that’s what killed him. Evan’s pretty sure he knows what it was. Maybe if Evan had been a little braver, *he* could have said something, let Rick know that it was okay with him if they were more than just friends.

Elliot needs someone now. Evan has the talent, he has the training, and … well … he’s the only real option. Elliot can’t replace Rick, but at least maybe he can be brave and be there for him.

There’s just one. Little. Complication. There’s someone else Evan likes. She doesn’t know. She can’t know, and neither can Elliot. Because it might just *actually* kill him.

[[Music]]

Spotlight Theme: Faded Flowers, Shriekback

CaliforniaNightmares:Brian Robeson

2009-01-01T02:48:36Z

Tigerbunny:

Played by TigerBunnyMark

Post #blah: 14 years old. Kind of a weedy kid. Didn't always get enough to eat, and was sickly. Lived rough with his elder sister and another kid a little older than him - in between his age and sister's age. This second kid had a "protector" relationship with Brian and his sister, and Brian both idolized and resented him. Becoming a pilot is the first time Brian's been strong on his own, able to fight for himself. He's a bit drunk on the thrill of it and acts out a fair bit.

Post #48: Brian Robeson, Age 14, Eager Young Soldier

Eight-year-old Brian and his big sister Maia didn’t have a whole lot more than each other before the end of the world, so they did okay after it. “Dads”, when they had one, were as much to be feared as anything else, and mostly just meant that Mom resented and ignored them more than usual for a while. They’d been taking care of themselves their whole lives, so everybody falling asleep mostly just meant that they didn’t have to worry about getting caught shoplifting dinner any more.

The first thing they did when they figured out nobody was going to wake up was get out of their neighborhood and start looting a better class of house. For a while, they lived in a beautiful mansion, up on the hills looking out over Piedmont, with some other kids – not really a gang, not really a family, but in a lot of ways, better off than most.

Then the monsters came out of the sea. They stomped through the streets of San Francisco like something out of an old movie, spewing beams and smoke and methodically hunting down any sign of human habitation.

And Brian got sick. Some of the other kids got it too – the fever, the shaking, the headaches, then the sleep, and then – they died. Brian lived. On and on, shaking, trembling, moaning in pain and thrashing with nightmares.

Maia never told Brian what she’d done to get Luis Montes to let her go through his gang’s dwindling stocks of drugs searching for something to help him. He does know that nothing helped. He just got better. Sort of.

Ever since then, Brian has the headaches. He can’t seem to keep his weight up, his legs shake when he tries to walk too far or too long, and everything aches, all the time. Maia gave up their house on the hillside for him, had to depend on Luis instead of her brother because he was too weak to protect her.

A lot of bad things happened. Luis and his gang, along with Maia & Brian, hid as best they could. Sometimes there wasn’t enough to eat, and sometimes a fight would break out and someone would get shot or stabbed or whatever. Sometimes Maia and Luis would fight, and Brian would hear her sobbing in the night afterwards.

Then, one day, Luis comes back from a “shopping trip.” But he doesn’t have a satchel of canned food or butane fuel – he’s got a scruffy, hand-printed sign. “Help Us Fight Them – UCB”.

Most people didn’t believe what the geeky grownup and the nervous girl told them. If the guy hadn’t had a riot gun, somebody might have even started something. But for some reason, Luis believed it. Brian maybe didn’t, but he really wanted to. They said that they needed help, because they had a plan to kill one of the monsters.

It worked. Luis even got to be a big damn hero, luring the monster into the trap on a motorcycle. By the time the other monsters showed up, everybody was gone, and the so-called “Resistance” had what they wanted – samples from the monster’s insides. But Luis was dead, and there was no way the rest of the Motherless Sons wanted anything to do with UCB after that. Only Jen, Maia, and Brian stayed on.

It took a while to get results, but what would become the ANIMa was a success beyond the wildest dreams of the Resistance. Especially Brian. Finally, he wasn’t the weak one, the burden. Getting sick might have been worth it after all – because he seems to be a better natural pilot than any of the other candidates. Sure, Elliot has been fighting longer, and volunteered for the test mission back before they even knew if this would work. Sure, Rick tested higher, but he crashed and burned. Sure, Raymond is everybody’s golden boy. But _Brian_ is the one who Prof Daulare relies on.

Maia is gone now. He still visits her, sleeping in the master bedroom of the old house, like Sleeping Beauty waiting for her prince. It won’t be Luis who wakes her, though. It’ll be Brian. He’ll finally be able to protect her, like she protected him.

[[Physical Description]]

Skinny, long unkempt black hair, large nose. Sort of ratty-looking. Leather jacket that’s a bit too big for him, heavily patched jeans, an assortment of garish rock t-shirts. Smokes his green more than is good for him.

[[Relationship Summaries]]

Prof Daulare – 3/3 – “He gave me a chance to be strong. I won’t let him down.” 
Alex – 1/2 – "Who? Oh yeah, that kid."
Jen – 4/1 – "You're the only one who still remembers how weak I was."
Elliot – 1/2 – “You were the first, but you’re not the best.” 
Tina – 2/1 – “She’s nice. I don’t think Raymond treats her right, though.” 
Evan – 1/2 – “Just like I used to be. A doormat.” 
Riri – 1/2 – “She’s spooky. And reading all the time can’t be good for you.” 
Raymond – 1/3 – “Why’s he so damn popular? I’m a better pilot. Still... I guess he's an okay guy.” 
Ashley – 1/2 – “Always sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong.” 
Sally "Robeson" – 1/4 – “That’s why I fight. Because the little kids like her need protecting. But what's with all this 'Big Brother' stuff?!?” 
Katie – 2/2 – “I can’t believe the Prof lets her be a pilot. It’s too dangerous for someone like her.” 
Brandi – 2/2 – Anchor. “I don’t really know what her reasons for fighting are, but she wants to win as bad as I do. We’ll be a good team.” 

[[ANIMa]]

Sleek, curvy, silver. Like a sportscar or a jet fighter. Or maybe a little of both.

Chassis – Brandi – Light, fast, and made for fighting. Looks a bit like a Valkyrie in GERWalk Mode, but more like Gundam Kyrios. 
Jets/Wings – Prof Daulare – Powerful thrust and turns on a dime. 
Missile Pod – Jen – One shot is usually all it takes. 
Minigun – Tina – Accurate, but not a lot of stopping power. 
ECM Suite – Sally – When things get hairy. 
Afterburner – Katie – A little extra. 

[[Theme]]

Silver Machine, by Hawkwind. Preferably a nice grungy version.

ChildrenOfChildren:Vic

2008-09-14T01:22:27Z

Tigerbunny:

''Played by Tigerbunny''

Quiet, almost painfully shy, Victor clearly didn’t have it very good before he made it to TI, walking across the creaking, decaying Bridge all by himself with only the clothes on his back at 5. He has a hard time talking about it – talking about much of anything, actually.

Victor isn’t the brightest kid ever, and he’s clearly got some emotional scars from *something* that he’s never shared with anyone, but he is a hard worker. He is great, though, with animals. Tender, gentle, and sensitive, but not a bit squeamish. His rabbits and chickens are a critical part of life for TI.

Puberty is not being terribly kind to Victor. He’s grown 5 inches in the last year, and his voice is all over the place. Girls are a great mystery, but he’s fairly sure no girl’d ever want to hang around with the weird kid. He used to play with Anna sometimes, but they’re on the outs now for some reason he can’t fathom. That leaves him all alone, the youngest boy who’s not one of the littlies.

Scrawny and gangly in that way only a preteen boy can be, freckles everywhere, a shock of curly and unkempt red hair, and eyes as blue as the Bay. He’s rather nearsighted, but hates to wear the glasses Anna & Ethan made for him.

He's also a musician, self-taught but pretty decent. He's fond of traditional music and hopes to find himself a fiddle someday.

Currently '''Unharmed'''
----
'''Relationships'''

'''Jon''' – ''"He’s cool, I guess. The girls sure think so, anyway. He’s gonna protect all of us."'' 1/3

'''Ariana''' – ''"Um, yeah. She’s the Commander’s kid. I... I’ll bet she never even noticed I exist."'' 2/1

'''Noah''' – ''"He’s not ‘from here’, like me. I feel like I could maybe talk to him a little bit."'' 2/2

'''Archer''' – ''"The old Pilot. He’s almost grown up. Maybe he can stay awake like the Commander."'' 1/2

ChildrenOfChildren:Vic

2008-09-12T23:40:48Z

Tigerbunny:

''Played by Tigerbunny''

Quiet, almost painfully shy, Victor clearly didn’t have it very good before he made it to TI, walking across the creaking, decaying Bridge all by himself with only the clothes on his back at 5. He has a hard time talking about it – talking about much of anything, actually.

Victor isn’t the brightest kid ever, and he’s clearly got some emotional scars from *something* that he’s never shared with anyone, but he is a hard worker. He is great, though, with animals. Tender, gentle, and sensitive, but not a bit squeamish. His rabbits and chickens are a critical part of life for TI.

Puberty is not being terribly kind to Victor. He’s grown 5 inches in the last year, and his voice is all over the place. Girls are a great mystery, but he’s fairly sure no girl’d ever want to hang around with the weird kid. He used to play with Anna sometimes, but they’re on the outs now for some reason he can’t fathom. That leaves him all alone, the youngest boy who’s not one of the littlies.

Scrawny and gangly in that way only a preteen boy can be, freckles everywhere, a shock of curly and unkempt red hair, and eyes as blue as the Bay. He’s rather nearsighted, but hates to wear the glasses Anna & Ethan made for him.

----
'''Relationships'''

'''Jon''' – ''"He’s cool, I guess. The girls sure think so, anyway. He’s gonna protect all of us."'' 1/3

'''Ariana''' – ''"Um, yeah. She’s the Commander’s kid. I... I’ll bet she never even noticed I exist."'' 1/2

'''Noah''' – ''"He’s not ‘from here’, like me. I feel like I could maybe talk to him a little bit."'' 2/2

'''Archer''' – ''"The old Pilot. He’s almost grown up. Maybe he can stay awake like the Commander."'' 1/2

ChildrenOfChildren:Vic

2008-09-12T23:39:42Z

Tigerbunny:

''Played by Tigerbunny''

Quiet, almost painfully shy, Victor clearly didn’t have it very good before he made it to TI, walking across the creaking, decaying Bridge all by himself with only the clothes on his back at 5. He has a hard time talking about it – talking about much of anything, actually.

Victor isn’t the brightest kid ever, and he’s clearly got some emotional scars from *something* that he’s never shared with anyone, but he is a hard worker. He is great, though, with animals. Tender, gentle, and sensitive, but not a bit squeamish. His rabbits and chickens are a critical part of life for TI.

Puberty is not being terribly kind to Victor. He’s grown 5 inches in the last year, and his voice is all over the place. Girls are a great mystery, but he’s fairly sure no girl’d ever want to hang around with the weird kid. He used to play with Anna sometimes, but they’re on the outs now for some reason he can’t fathom. That leaves him all alone, the youngest boy who’s not one of the littlies.

Scrawny and gangly in that way only a preteen boy can be, freckles everywhere, a shock of curly and unkempt red hair, and eyes as blue as the Bay. He’s rather nearsighted, but hates to wear the glasses Anna & Ethan made for him.

----
'''Relationships'''

'''Jon''' – ''"He’s cool, I guess. The girls sure think so, anyway. He’s gonna protect all of us."'' 1/3
'''Ariana''' – ''"Um, yeah. She’s the Commander’s kid. I... I’ll bet she never even noticed I exist."'' 1/2
'''Noah''' – ''"He’s not ‘from here’, like me. I feel like I could maybe talk to him a little bit."'' 2/2
'''Archer''' – ''"The old Pilot. He’s almost grown up. Maybe he can stay awake like the Commander."'' 1/2

ChildrenOfChildren:Image Songs

2008-09-12T19:37:22Z

Tigerbunny: /* Anchors */

Images going up on the wiki now so I don't forget: you can make counter-suggestions, but I'm posting now and will remove and replace if needed. The lyrics that caused me to think they were appropriate are in italics.''

==Pilots==

Ariana - Simple and Clean (English Techno Remix) - Kingdom Hearts OST.

''"Regardless, of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all! Nothing's like before!"''

--

Noah - Final choice: I Fought A War - Belle and Sabastian.

''"I fought a war... and I left my friends behind me..."''

--

Jon - Final choice: Listen Up Real Close To The Theme of Kamina The Great! - Gurren Lagaan OST.

''"What you're gonna do is (whatcha wanna do is) break the rules, and then you'll see the truth!"''

...Naturally, whenever Lily is in great danger and Jon's liek "Aw, HELL no!" I'll whip out the Libera Me From Hell Remix. - Bliss Authority

--

Archer - Winterborn (This Sacrifice) - Cruxshadows.
''"Discard regret, that in this debt, a better world is made; that children of another era may remember, and avoid, our fate!"''

--

Gabriel - Final choice: Euphoria (Firefly) - Delerium
''"And I have loved. And I have served. And I have sinned - But I have learned: As long as you are true to the life you have lived - this is the time to feel love!"''

==Anchors==

Jessica - Gotta Work - Amerie
''Some people think I'm aggressive, coz I know what I want, but that never mattered too much to me.''

--

Celine - Bring Me To Life - Evanescence
''-wake me up- "Wake me up inside!" -can't wake up- "Bid my blood to rise!" -save me!- "Save me from the nothing I've become!"''

--

Lily - Bizzare Love Triangle (Stabbing Westward Cover) - New Order
''Every time I see you falling, I get down on my knees and pray... I'm waiting for the final moment, you'll say the words that I can't say...''

--

Sophie - Breathe Easy - Maria Helen
''"And don't say you'll see me later, when later, in my mind, means too late..."''

==Minors==

ChildrenOfChildren:Jessica

2008-09-12T19:33:04Z

Tigerbunny:

Jessica was found left at one of the recruiting drops as a baby, and the resistance group is all the family she's ever had. She's got an uncanny knack for reading and running the crèche – she probably understands what it is and how it works as well as Ethan or Jon.

Jessica was Ariana's best friend since childhood, and has watched the same anime as her, gasping, laughing or squeeing in synch with Ariana: and quite frequently she was the "Anchor" in Ari's childhood PA&M games (when she wasn't the "pilot.") They’re practically sisters, or at least Best Friends Forever – they finish each other’s sentences, laugh at each other’s half-forgotten in-jokes, and talk about *everything*.

Jess is very protective of Ariana, who she sees as a bit clueless about social relationships, particularly boys. She considers herself a much better judge in such things than Ari. She’s particularly concerned that Ari not get too close to a Pilot in That Way – in Jess’s opinion, Ari needs someone who’s not part of the war to be her rock.

Has a good sense of body language and subtle social cues: she knows who's sleeping with whom (though she may interpret it as "Going Out" with activities no more intense than making out), and why they're doing so; in many cases she has a better grasp on why than the partners are involved themselves. She is something of a hardliner on the ideals of True Love, too – you can’t spend your life immersed in The Power of Love and not either buy into it or become completely cynical about it. Everybody’s got their Someone Special out there, and they should be with that person. She’s holding out for something a bit better than the current crop of boys at TI, personally.

Dark skin, cornrows, often surprisingly well-dressed – she’s a decent seamstress and also believes in the healing power of “shopping” – hunting through warehouses, stores, and homes for something cool that’s still wearable. That can be dangerous, so she’s learned to handle a knife pretty well. She’s been bugging Ethan about finding a supply of salvageable ammunition for the cute little 9mm she picked up from a would-be assailant a year back, but she can’t shoot worth a damn yet – no practice.

She and Ariana often refer to each other as "Princess" and "Kunoichi", relics of the imaginary adventures they shared as little kids. Jessica is thrilled to be able to help her friend be a real superhero, but she can’t help see Sara and Archer – and poor Casey – as warnings of what could happen. She’s going to do whatever it takes to protect Ari.

'''On Others:'''

'''Jon''' – ''Too smart for his own good, and he’s been turning into kind of a pervert lately.'' He’s nice, and she thinks he might like her a bit, but one Smith is all she can handle, thank you very much.

'''Ariana''' – ''I want her to have a chance to have her dreams come true, and even if it hurts, I’ll do my best to let her do her best!”''

'''Archer''' – ''Wow. He’s definitely the coolest guy on the island. I hope Ari and Jon can give him a break before he burns out.'' She doesn’t think that that "Going Out" with Archer is a particularly strange thing for Sara to be doing. In Jess’s mind, they’re practically the same age anyhow. She thinks it’s sad – that Archer is with Sara instead of Celine, when they’re obviously made for each other, and that Sara is so lonely and angry.

'''Noah''' – He’s got an attitude problem, but he’s basically a nice enough guy underneath. Terrible taste in girls, though. Lily will break his heart. She thinks Ari fancies him, and is discouraging her.

----
Currently '''Unharmed.'''

Anchor Ability: Savvy. Once per Mission Action, Jessica's player may re-roll any one die that Ariana has placed in any Relationship other than her Relationship to Jessica.

ChildrenOfChildren:Jessica

2008-09-11T04:33:52Z

Tigerbunny:

Jessica was found left at one of the recruiting drops as a baby, and the resistance group is all the family she's ever had. She's got an uncanny knack for reading and running the crèche – she probably understands what it is and how it works as well as Ethan or Jon.

Jessica was Ariana's best friend since childhood, and has watched the same anime as her, gasping, laughing or squeeing in synch with Ariana: and quite frequently she was the "Anchor" in Ari's childhood PA&M games (when she wasn't the "pilot.") They’re practically sisters, or at least Best Friends Forever – they finish each other’s sentences, laugh at each other’s half-forgotten in-jokes, and talk about *everything*.

Jess is very protective of Ariana, who she sees as a bit clueless about social relationships, particularly boys. She considers herself a much better judge in such things than Ari. She’s particularly concerned that Ari not get too close to a Pilot in That Way – in Jess’s opinion, Ari needs someone who’s not part of the war to be her rock.

Has a good sense of body language and subtle social cues: she knows who's sleeping with whom (though she may interpret it as "Going Out" with activities no more intense than making out), and why they're doing so; in many cases she has a better grasp on why than the partners are involved themselves. She is something of a hardliner on the ideals of True Love, too – you can’t spend your life immersed in The Power of Love and not either buy into it or become completely cynical about it. Everybody’s got their Someone Special out there, and they should be with that person. She’s holding out for something a bit better than the current crop of boys at TI, personally.

Dark skin, cornrows, often surprisingly well-dressed – she’s a decent seamstress and also believes in the healing power of “shopping” – hunting through warehouses, stores, and homes for something cool that’s still wearable. That can be dangerous, so she’s learned to handle a knife pretty well. She’s been bugging Ethan about finding a supply of salvageable ammunition for the cute little 9mm she picked up from a would-be assailant a year back, but she can’t shoot worth a damn yet – no practice.

She and Ariana often refer to each other as "Princess" and "Kunoichi", relics of the imaginary adventures they shared as little kids. Jessica is thrilled to be able to help her friend be a real superhero, but she can’t help see Sara and Archer – and poor Casey – as warnings of what could happen. She’s going to whatever it takes to protect Ari.

'''On Others:'''

'''Jon''' – ''Too smart for his own good, and he’s been turning into kind of a pervert lately.'' He’s nice, and she thinks he might like her a bit, but one Smith is all she can handle, thank you very much.

'''Ariana''' – ''I want her to have a chance to have her dreams come true, and even if it hurts, I’ll do my best to let her do her best!”''

'''Archer''' – ''Wow. He’s definitely the coolest guy on the island. I hope Ari and Jon can give him a break before he burns out.'' She doesn’t think that that "Going Out" with Archer is a particularly strange thing for Sara to be doing. In Jess’s mind, they’re practically the same age anyhow. She thinks it’s sad – that Archer is with Sara instead of Celine, when they’re obviously made for each other, and that Sara is so lonely and angry.

'''Noah''' – He’s got an attitude problem, but he’s basically a nice enough guy underneath. Terrible taste in girls, though. Lily will break his heart. He and Celine could be good for each other if they’d just stop dorking around! She thinks Ari fancies him, and is discouraging her.

----
Currently '''Unharmed.'''

Anchor Ability: Savvy. Once per Mission Action, Jessica's player may re-roll any one die that Ariana has placed in any Relationship other than her Relationship to Jessica.