| Endings and New Beginnings |
[Nov. 12th, 2007|02:09 pm] |
Scarlet Spiral has had a long and wonderful run. Together our players, both past and present, have created a rich and complex work of fiction full of unforgettable moments and characters. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. On December 31, 2007, Scarlet Spiral is closing.
But the wheel of life continues to turn. A new story--a new incarnation--is coming! Fallen Leaves is the rebirth of Scarlet Spiral.
Five years after the demon nine-tailed fox wrecked havoc on Konohagakure and was sealed inside the infant son of the Fourth Hokage, two years before the Uchiha Massacre, the village is rebuilding and growing again. The Sandaime Hokage is alive and well; Konohagakure is recovering from a long brutal war, the Kyuubi onslaught of five years ago, and the loss of the Yondaime; and the elite ninja of the future are the rising stars of today. This is Fallen Leaves, a story of the young people of Konoha past and the experiences that will shape their lives as part of the dark, unsavory Special Forces known as ANBU. Fallen Leaves is a fresh start. Existing characters are being re-written, some characters are leaving, new characters are joining the ranks, and there are some changes in the way we're thinking about how ANBU works. So it's the spiritual inheritor of Scarlet Spiral, but it's a whole new game. A new world. A fresh start.
We're recruiting new players, too. If you're interested, take a look at Fallen Leaves' Community Info.
We hope to see our loyal readers join us. And we deeply appreciate the following we've had.
To all who've made Scarlet Spiral the great place it's been for the last two and a half years: Thank You! We couldn't have done it without you!
Love,
Nezuko and Kilerkki
Moderators |
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| The time has come |
[Nov. 5th, 2007|10:56 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  sad | ] |
I've waited far too long for this, and I'm sorry.
I've had an incredible two years here at Scarlet Spiral. I've done some of the best writing of my life, and I've made friends I'll never forget. But for the past few months I've been less and less interested in any sort of fandom activities, and that includes RP. I've fought as long as I could, but it's time now for me to step back, to acknowledge the fight's over, and to move on.
I will still work on tying up the last Genma and Raidou thread, The Root of All Evil, which we hope to have complete by the end of the month. However, I won't be starting any new threads, and when we finish Root I will officially resign my post as moderator and leave the game.
I'm sorry to leave you all like this. I'm sorry to leave behind a game and a group that's meant to much to me. Thanks for a wonderful run, and good luck. |
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| Mod Announcement: Writing for Scarlet Spiral |
[Oct. 10th, 2007|07:31 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  serious | ] |
In response to the discussion we had two nights ago about the problems facing Scarlet Spiral, I've been doing some thinking. I wrote some of this out in my LJ already, and with Kilerkki's help, I've refined and added to the thoughts. While this comes from the hand of Nezuko, it is in fact a product of both Moderators' efforts. Please read this carefully, with the understanding that we are stating Official Spiral Policy.
( Writing for Scarlet Spiral ) |
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| Spiral Paper Dolls |
[Oct. 10th, 2007|09:57 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  chipper | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Material Girl - Madonna | ] |
I wasn't sure if this might be fun for anyone else but me to mess with (okay, I'm pretty sure it's just me, haha) but, here you are. This all started from a trip to some really cool toy stores in Akihabara and a lot of drooling over Blythe dolls in Shibuya, but I kind of really wanted a Hotaru doll. So I um, made one.
I made a Kurenai and then a Sumire too. I have sketches made for other female characters, Renge and Suzume are probably next, if their players don't mind that is, hehe. The clothes are painfully OOC but I tried to put in some items from canon. Boys will require a different body base and set of clothes, which I've doodled but haven't made yet. (Sorry Spiral males... there are a lot of you!) but anyway, here you go, enjoy. Suggestions/critiques/thoughts (from readers, too) welcome. :D
Hotaru Doll
Kurenai Doll
Sumire Doll
Clothes Set 1
T-shirts Set 1
Shoes Set 1
Kimono Set 1
Kimono Set 2 |
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| Do Not Sleep In the Stairwell [Closed to Ranmaru, Sumire and Yuzuya] |
[Sep. 30th, 2007|05:39 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | exhausted | ] |
There was exhaustion, and then there was exhaustion. Exhaustion meant that despite her best efforts, despite showers and energy drinks and food meant to keep up one's stamina, Sumire could barely lift her eyelids. The code that the cryptologist was working on (and could be blamed for this exhaustion) was damned hard. A challenge, and lovely, but damned, unforgivably hard. As it was, she was working on it with little help from other cryptologists whom were busy with other, difficult projects.
She finally took a break when Ibiki, of all people, startled her and a long line of ink slid across her paper. She knew she should have gone sooner when she looked at her notes and saw the same thing repeated three or four times: ...and the gentleman eats pecans. She was sure she was hallucinating that part, until he read it aloud.
...Well, fiddlesticks. She put her files away in a locked box, stowed her seal in its smaller, trapped box (a codist could never be too careful with her seal) and swayed dangerously down the hallway towards the elevator. She knew she could probably take it all the way up, but the likelihood of falling asleep was too great. Even now, she felt her eyelids slipping down as though weighed with kunai.
No, no, she had to keep going. She would walk up the stairs and feel vindicated in not falling asleep in the elevator (besides, it still smelled from the last time someone bled all over the floor in it, and that other time that two agents were caught screwing unabashedly in it. Sumire didn't want to risk some crazy, nasty germ if she fell asleep on the floor. She kept one foot steadily before the other, going up and up and up and ---
---who made the stairs so high? Sumire wobbled dangerously on the landing and took a breath. Almost to her room. She'd get there lickity-split and then fall asleep on her big, lovely bed and go and destroy that code waiting for her. But first, she had to rest her eyes for just a moment. The landing between the second and third floor seemed like a nice place to pause.
Sumire didn't even feel herself collapse in a dark heap of red and white fabric. |
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| A Couple of Choices [closed to Takuya] |
[Sep. 30th, 2007|09:07 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | calm | ] |
It was time to get down to business.
Packed and ready for her mission, Aburame Hotaru headed to the lobby of ANBU Headquarters a full twenty minutes early. She was more comfortable in the state of ready for this mission than she had been for the last one, she decided. Dressed in the standard-issue black ANBU turtleneck and body armor, she wore a short black skirt with plenty of pockets for gear over black leggings. Her white rabbit mask was perched on her head, where she'd gathered her hair into small braids and then into a high ponytail.
The kikai were twitching and fluttering in her limbs, raring to go. Hotaru felt prepared and confident, despite the big bruised areas on the left side of her face. They'd turned from black to bluish purple by now, helped along by the salve from Shunsuke and the gel from Sumire. Luckily during this mission they'd be using masks, and her poor partner wouldn't have to look at the ugly things much. It was already a pity that she'd have to see the look on his face when he met her. She'd try not to take it too personally, she coached herself, as she folded her deep blue scarf around her neck.
At the precise moment that she arrived in the lobby, another person dressed in the same black and bone arrived from the stairwell. Ah. This must be her partner, then. Uchiha Takuya. She had never met him before and had no idea what to expect of him-- but if he was anything like the Uchiha who'd been in her class at the Academy? This might turn out to be a long mission. |
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| Not Be Mine [closed] |
[Sep. 26th, 2007|10:24 pm] |
"Yuzu!"
The ANBU agent looked up from the rack of refrigerated onigiri he was perusing in the convenience store. Had someone just called his name? The sound had been faint, but it had sounded so familiar. Had it been--
"Yuzuuuu!" There it was, that all-too-familiar drawn out note, the sweet slightly scratchy alto ringing out through the afternoon air.
Holy shit.
Yuzuya turned, dropping the salmon teriyaki onigiri he'd been about to buy right onto the floor. "C-Chie!?"
It was her. She was standing outside the store, waving to him frantically. Long honey-blonde hair hung in pin curls around her shoulders, her green eyes were bright and shining as she called to him. She looked so pretty, she looked so happy, and for once, god dammit, she was looking directly and only at him. He couldn't believe it. She called his name again, in that singsong sort of way she always did. "Yuzuuu!"
( His legs moved without him ordering them to, forgetting all about onigiri and eating and the clerk who was telling him he'd have to pay for that. ) |
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| Beginning Sisterhood [Closed to Hotaru] |
[Sep. 25th, 2007|05:54 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | worried | ] |
It had come to her via Kurenai; Aburame Hotaru's mission hadn't been very easy. The other kunoichi herself had looked puffy and bruised, and Sumire had chosen to allow her friend to rest. She knew that Kurenai would not need her immediate attention, after all. But when she did, Sumire would be there with bells on.
It had then come down to her through the grapevine that Aburame hadn't been seen leaving her room at all lately. Sumire knew as much as the next kunoichi that some missions left a woman wishing she could pull a rock over her and stay there until all the nasty, sticky feelings had come clean or worn off. They never seemed to fully, an unfortunate circumstance for the women involved.
Some kunoichi covered themselves, like Sumire, unwilling to let another person see a scrap of delicate flesh until the next mission. Some were like that odious Tanaka; the less clothing the better, and everyone, everywhere had to know of her existence. Both were pitiable paths.
Sumire, being friendly with the young kunoichi, was worried and (in her mind) rightly so. She'd traveled off to the sweet shop to purchase usagi manjuu. Then to makeup shop, remembering the tone of Hotaru's pale skin, and choosing the appropriate yellow concealer, a bottle of vinegar, a tiny package of cotton balls and powdered foundation. The kunoichi paused before the Arnica gel. She had a bottle of it at home, but many kunoichi seemed to forget about its bruise healing properties, so Sumire plucked up another bottle for Hotaru.
Set and ready, Sumire straightened herself and walked to Hotaru's apartment. It would be fine, she thought, if Hotaru had no wish for her company. Sumire herself was the same when she was bruised up and feeling vain. Holding the small brown paper makeup bag behind the bag concealing the manjuu and knocked gently on the door.
"Aburame-san? It's Murakami..." she announced quietly. "Are you home?" |
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| Mission Desk |
[Sep. 24th, 2007|06:42 pm] |
The mission desk has just released the following brief to the population of ANBU:
Mission Rank A
Number of Agents Requested: Two - Aburame Hotaru, Uchiha Takuya
Description/Objectives: Agents will pursue Kumogakure missing-nin Haraguchi Kou and Kaneko Junya, who have defected from Cloud for unknown reasons and are currently traveling with a caravan of organized criminals on the northern border of Hi no Kuni. Targets are rumored to be in possession of three rare jutsu scrolls and are likely being pursued by other villages. Kumogakure ANBU are known to be in pursuit. Agents Aburame and Uchiha are to capture the targets before enemy forces do, extricate any useful information, then eliminate them. Bodies are to be brought back for laboratory examination.
Possible Hazards: Targets are jounin-level and Haraguchi is rumored carry an unknown bloodline limit. Pursuit by Kumogakure ANBU and other shinobi is likely. Further information available; contact Intelligence for briefing.
Special Notes: Agent preassigned for this mission due to necessity for specific skill set.
Signed and dated 1075
Matsumoto Yuki, Chuunin, ANBU Mission Desk
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| Temporary Retirement |
[Sep. 24th, 2007|12:14 am] |
Hullo! As I'm sure you all know, school's been owning me up the... ear, and so I feel that it would be best for me to lock-up retire one of my characters until things settle down again. Renge is less likely to retaliate, and so she gets the (temporary) boot... (She'll be in the hospital nursing her broken arm.)
Of course, I'll still be finishing up her current mission (with Genma, Raidou, Kouji), and "No Laughing Matter", so she won't be completely gone. (If you somehow happen to be absolutely dying to thread with her, please IM me and I'll see if we can work out something in Writely!)
So. Until she's ready for duty again, you'll all just have to put up with Tsukushi. ;) |
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| Layers [closed to Shunsuke] |
[Sep. 23rd, 2007|10:57 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | uncomfortable | ] |
It was the third day since returning from the mission in Tanzaku's red-light district with Kurenai. Hotaru had slept hidden in her room for two days straight, wrapped in as many clothes as she could bear. Her appetite seemed to have come back to her now, and she woke ravenously hungry, the kikai irritated and excited and fluttering madly in her head. The girl unrolled herself from the blankets and padded over to the bathroom. She winced when she saw the figure staring back at her in the mirror.
The Rain-nin had been defeated, yes, but the punches he'd gotten in on her face while she'd distracted him from Kurenai had left hideous reminders in black and purple. The ice she'd applied after their battle hadn't been able to take away the hulking fist-shaped bruises on the left side of her face, or the swollen cut on her lip.
Hotaru stared back at the girl in the mirror for a long, silent moment. Then she turned away and shed her clothes, climbing into the shower. She'd have to go buy some thicker makeup. For now she'd wear a sweater with a hood or something, and a muffler.
In the drugstore a few people whispered behind her back. She overheard a woman call her a "poor girl" and wonder if it had been a boyfriend. Hotaru sent chakra to dull her sense of hearing so as not to pick up anymore whispers. It was bad enough with the way the damn thing throbbed when she moved her head quickly. The mission had been successful, but she still felt uneasy inside. She'd been completely, starkly naked in front of a strange man for the first time. She knew she'd get over it, she knew she didn't have the luxury to feel it in the reality that she was only a small part of... and yet there it was, she was feeling it. Her stomach twisted and she drew her hood closer around her battered face.
She hurried back to HQ with a bag of cosmetics and another of meat buns and hard liquor, hoping to hide in her room again and forget the shame that was lingering after her mission. |
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[Sep. 21st, 2007|06:40 pm] |
Hey guys!
I, too, need to take a little hiatus while I get ready and go to Japan. I'll try to be back and active within a week or so but who knows what can happen? I will definitely keep you updated.
♥,
Keryn |
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| Leave of Absence |
[Sep. 18th, 2007|03:38 pm] |
First, guys, let me say I'm sorry. I really didn't intend to duck out on you like this, especially when I'm caught up in several threads and have just started a new one. I'll try to have Raidou duck out of the Tequila thread for a while so everyone else can continue, but I'm afraid I'm just going to have to put the rest on hiatus. I DO intend to finish them--but not for the next two weeks.
The problem is that I'm taking the LSAT on September 29th. I'm also heavily involved in my school and work, and frankly I don't have the time, energy, or capability to handle everything at once. (You can read a little more about the details on my personal journal.) Something has to go. I love you guys, but I think I can take a hiatus from RP with better effects than, say, taking a hiatus from life. I'll be keeping an eye on you every once in a while, but don't expect to see me around until after the end of September.
See you on the other side. |
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| The Root of All Evil [closed to Raidou] |
[Sep. 17th, 2007|09:19 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | chipper | ] |
Genma's knock on Raidou's door was perfunctory. He lounged through the doorframe, not caring what he might be interrupting. If Raidou was "entertaining" there'd have been two chakra-signatures evident. And if he was jacking off? Well, Genma wouldn't complain about that. Of course, predictably, he was fully dressed. Boring, boring, boring.
"Rai-chan, we've got a mission." He held up a mission assignment scroll, then tossed it to his friend. Genma'd already read it. In fact he'd already talked to Intel, and been handed a slim little envelope marked for his eyes only, not to be opened until they were in place in Sendai. It was sealed with a stamp that looked like the crown and roots of a huge tree. And he wasn't thinking any more about that right now. Not at all.
"So I got us the basic details. We're gonna have to look good for this. Guarding a daimyou. Fall Festival in Sendai." He grinned and patted his belly. "They do those sugared chestnuts up there." |
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| Mission Desk |
[Sep. 16th, 2007|07:23 pm] |
The mission desk has just released the following brief to the population of ANBU:
Mission Rank A
Number of Agents Requested: Three - Shiranui Genma, Namiashi Raidou, Awashi Ritsuko*
Description/Objectives: Protect Harada Tsunamura, daimyo of Sugi no Kuni and currently residing in his capital at Sendai, from assassination during the festivities surrounding the annual Fall Festival in Sendai. While Sugi no Kuni has officially been neutral in the affairs of its great neighbors Hi no Kuni and Rai no Kuni since the armistice following the Third War, Harada's sympathies towards Konoha are well-known, and anonymous messages from opponents who desire a closer relationship with Kumogakure have threatened Harada's life during the Fall Festival. Agents must guard the daimyo and his family from any attack and must also locate and eliminate any threats against the client's life.
Possible Hazards: Harada's opponents desire closer ties to Rai no Kuni and may hire shinobi from Kumogakure to carry out their threats. Agents should be prepared for combat. Further information available; contact Intelligence for briefing.
Special Notes: Agent preassigned for this mission due to necessity for specific skill set.
Signed and dated 1075
Matsumoto Yuki, Chuunin, ANBU Mission Desk
*Ritsuko is an NPC accompanying the player characters for this mission. Don't hesitate in creating NPCs on occasion if you need them. |
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| HQ map is broken? |
[Sep. 16th, 2007|01:05 pm] |
I've tried accessing the new HQ map linked from the comm profile, but it's been giving me a 404 error for the past few weeks. (Which is driving me crazy, because I don't know about the rest of you guys but I constantly forget who Hayate's neighbors are >_>) If the mods need anywhere to host the map, I have a webserver that I would gladly upload the files to, because the bravehost thing seems to be flaking out, and I know it used to be on zuul's site. I have plenty of space. I wasn't sure if the mods were aware of this problem, so I thought I'd let everyone know. I asked around and it seems I'm not the only one having a problem accessing the map :( |
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| Just the Tequila Talkin' [party-crashers welcome] |
[Sep. 13th, 2007|09:12 pm] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | "Tequila Talkin'" | Lonestar | ] |
The last time Genma had gone to Wind Country, he'd come back lugging enough tequila to give their entire hall alcohol poisoning. The pictures from that night were still prime blackmail material, and the stories were well on their way to becoming part of ANBU legend. So when Genma strolled into Raidou's room cradling a giant bottle of tequila and announced his plans for another Tequila Night, Raidou was pretty sure that sanity would have involved slitting his own throat--or, better yet, Genma's--before things got any worse.
Unfortunately, he'd long ago accepted that he was probably slightly insane when it involved his best friend. So he shut his book instead of reaching for a kunai, sighed, and propped himself up on one elbow. "There's no way the two of us can drink that whole thing."
"We can throw a party," Genma said, unfazed. "It's past time for a good party, anyway."
Trouble was, he was right.
Half an hour of good-natured argument later, they had a list. Good friends, mostly, who'd appreciate the imported tequila and enjoy the party atmosphere (Raidou tried to argue that this excluded him, but Genma pointed out that getting smashed worked wonders for relaxation). An hour later, notes written in Raidou's neat, rigid hand or in Genma's loose script began to appear under apartment doors.
Tequila Night in Apartment 319. Party starts at 2100. Don't miss out.
For Aoba, Yuzuya, Kaemon, Kyoumi, and Suzume, the night was about to get a lot more interesting. |
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| This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things [open] |
[Sep. 13th, 2007|08:15 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  contemplative | ] |
Yamashiro Aoba was a man who took a few things seriously. First off, as always, was his duty to his village; it was a given, and besides... village meant cute civvie girls, and cute civvie girls meant he had a love life. Then of course came his mission, then his family, and so on and so forth. But today? Today, the ANBU Hunter was staring at the closed apartment door of Shibata Yuzuya as though it owed him money.
Though seriously, that was Genma, and they always owed each other something or other. How could it be that a nice guy like Yuzuya was so throughly chicken shit that he didn't even attempt normal, 'I'mma get me some tail'-relations? That didn't seem very fair. Anyway, his sources had told him that his buddy had recently had a huge, crushing blow to the ego, and that needed some fixing. The chick Shibata liked ran off and got hitched, and didn't have any idea he was all ga-ga over her? What the hell was she, blind? He practically blushed as a reflex!
Thus, his very good, very important plan.
Yamashiro Aoba was going to get his friend a date. Maybe one of Machiko's friends, or something. Girl had enough friends to fill the village springs three times over, not to mention that they were pretty cute and all. But how to go about it, sneak attack him with the girl at the bar? Warm him up to the idea of a blind date? Knock the explosive specialist over the the head and drag him off? The more he thought about Yuzuya, the more Aoba felt that plans one and three would work best.
The ninjutsu specialist was still thinking about it as he strolled downstairs with his hands in his pockets, and out the door of HQ. The weather was brisk and just cool enough to warrant Aoba's use of a light jacket. Maybe Machi-chan would help him figure it out. "He was just on a mission with Murakami. If he wasn't attracted to that then, that's it. All this is probably posturing over a girl and he secretly loves Genma," he murmured to himself, heading off to one of his favorite bars.
This plan would require alcohol. |
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| I can has art nao? |
[Sep. 13th, 2007|01:14 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  cheerful | ] |
Yaaay!
Ricky has finished his demo reel and what does this mean for us? Ricky art! :3
( Try That Again and See What Happens. ) |
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| [ooc] Testimonials, just a thought |
[Sep. 12th, 2007|03:34 am] |
Hey, kids. You don't have to do this or anything-- it's certainly not high on the priority list, but I noticed that some of you guys accepted the testimonials that I had my characters write for yours. If you had spare time, you could write a quick one back. It'd be amusing to see.
If you didn't know about testimonials on GJ, click "Testimonials" on that left-hand control bar. You can have your characters write what they think about other characters who have them friended. The testimonial then has to be approved by the person before it is made public. It shows up on the User Info. It doesn't need to be a novel or anything. One line will do, but there is a minimum amount of text you can use (though I can't remember what it is. 10 words?). You can have your character make an IC comment about the other character and either say something that they'd want everyone to know, or possibly comment on them in private, as an aside to the readers. For example, this is Yuzuya's testimonial on Raidou:
"He's a cool guy even if he tries not to be, and good to have watching your back in combat. I would give a year's salary to be built like him, but don't tell anyone.
This is fun for the readers and other players to read what the characters in an rp really think of each other when no one else is watching, and it adds a fun little feature to the rp. The testimonial can be changed as many times as you want so as different characters get to know each other or as events happen, you can edit it. Anyway, check it out, and happy Spiralling!
--Shiru |
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