forum Political intrigue and teenage spies might just be the worst molotov cocktail ever. // oxo // CLOSED

Started May 25, 2020 by @croccin-champagne

tune

Norwood Academy is an elite school, nestled in a somewhat small town and known for being secretive, and for turning out respectable alumni. What is unknown to the general public, though, is that Norwood is no ordinary academy. Instead, Norwood is an academy that turns out the best spies in, arguably, the world.

Through a glitch in the system, Norwood's best student is paired with it's worst student, in a national competition that's being held at Norwood for its' tri-annual appearance. The Mata Games, named after Mata Hari, are recognized as one of the most sure-fire ways to get assigned. If you do well, or at the very least, show off useful skills, you might just find yourself on the good kind of watch list.

Which is what Norwood's top student is after. Good grades, physical prowess, creativity, whatever got them to the top, they use to keep that spot. Which is why they may be entirely unhappy with the current situation.

But trouble is brewing under the surface of the Games, and espionage and murder run wild. What else can you expect, from a large grouping of people practically above the law?

Fighting at nearly every turn, or heroes–or anti heroes–are caught up in a plot to murder the president of the United States, and this plot may cut a little too close to home for one of our beloved characters. If they can work together, they may just be able to stop it.

But can they? And do they even want to?

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1. No OP characters, or I will yeet your ass outta here before you can say 'this bitch empty'. I can't stand invincible characters, man. Mary/Gary Sues/Stues are a hard nope from yours truly as well.

2. Proper grammar, punctuation, and capitalization, please. I can get making a few mistakes, when you're tired, or English ain't your first language(It's mine, and even I have my issues), but if it's too common a thing, it irks the hell outta me. Call me a bitch, but hey.

3. Slurs, homophobia, transphobia, rascism, sexism, anything that ends in -ism and that harms or promotes the harm of other people will not be tolerated. See my first threat. However! For plot devices, it might be considered, if you talk to me about it first.

4. Detailed-ish responses, please. Think three or more sentences. To keep it going.

5. Please, be on fairly often. Vacations, school, and jobs are all things I can get, but I'd like for this to have a regular pace!

6. Rated Spicey for just that, Spicey things. Whether it be mature topics, smexy things, or, gasp, blood, this is the only warning I'll remember to give.

7. Please keep the plot going! It's really hard for me to be invested in a roleplay if the other person reacts more than acts, and I'm excited about this premise and would love to keep it going as long as I can.

8. I have the full right to add and edit this list. I also have the right to boot you if you're causing too many problems.

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Name:

Codename:

Age:

Gender:

Sexuality:

Appearance:

Hair Color/Style:

Eye Color/Shape:

Skintone:

Build:

Height:

Scars/Identifying Marks:

Jewelry/Piercings:

Other:

Outfit/Style:

Mission:

Civilian:

Personality:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Fears:

Backstory(optional, but I would prefer at least a bit):

Other:

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Name:
Rafaela Vasquez

Codename:
Canary

Age:
17

Gender:
Female

Sexuality:
Pan

Appearance:

Hair Color/Style:
Chocolate brown hair, to about her shoulder blades. It has an odd tendency to switch from wavy to extremely curly, causing it to be something she complains about regularly.

Eye Color/Shape:
One of her eyes is a warm brown, and the other is a clear pretty blue. She's well aware that a feature as noticeable as that doesn't make for a great spy, but she doesn't care. If it's required, she may shoot for contacts, but hates them.

Skintone:
Golden. This is for two reasons. The first, is her heritage, and the second is her love of the sun. She does have tanlines, but they aren't visible in most clothing. Or at all, unless you can tell slight differences in skin tone, because she tans regularly if she can, in clothing that allows maximum reach for the sun.

Build:
She's muscled, but she looks like she only eats the bare minimum. It's likely that if she did eat, regularly, she'd acquire the curves she probably would have had in a normal life.

Height:
5'7

Scars/Identifying Marks:
A tattoo of a sunflower behind her right ear, visible when her hair is pulled up.
More scars than most of the students, including what look like burns from a car cigarette lighter on her arms, a large mess of scarring on her left shoulderblade to cover up a different scar, and scars on her stomach and sides.

Jewelry/Piercings:
Her lobes, and a nose piercing. It's one of the few things she knows better than to get too into. Usually, she'll wear large silver hoop earrings, but loses all common sense when it comes to taking them off before any sort of scuffle.
She has a silver charm bracelet, that she never removes.

Other: n/a

Outfit/Style(mission and civ):

Mission:
There's a reason she's called the worst trainee in the school. Besides failing many of her classes, she's also failing at anything involving stealth. Raf's mission outfit consists of her yellow leather jacket, yellow ankle boots, and black pants and shirts. Of course, all of this built to move well in. The finishing touch is usually a yellow masquerade mask, entirely for dramatic purposes.

Civilian:
High-waisted jean shorts usually. Black converse make up her entire shoe wardrobe, minus her mission outfit, and cropped tops. All paired with her cropped yellow leather jacket. Adores lipstick of any shade and color, as long as it suits her. She prefers reds and darker pinks, though.

Personality:
Laid-back and uncaring, for the most part. She definitely does enjoy dangerous things, though. A thrill seeker at heart, paired with the personality of a slacker and more class clown type, she doesn't ever put that much effort into anything. There's a hidden intelligence within her mind, though, one kept secret for a reason. The insults and snide comments sent her way by teachers and her peers seem to just wash right over her. Raf doesn't seem to care much about her own personal safety, and appears entirely fearless.

Strengths:
Supposedly, none at all. Ones that have shown themselves or will, are; Manipulative, and a good liar. Multilingual, and great with guns and close combat fighting. Need a distraction? She's got you. Has contacts in all sorts of places. Knows way to much about all sorts of things.

Weaknesses:
Seemingly doesn't care. Easily distracted, can't sit still, and doesn't sleep enough. A gambler, though that might prove to be semi-useful, and incredibly secretive.

Fears:
Small spaces, as she's had quite a bit of time spent trapped in them. Her past catching up to her is one of her biggest. Terrified of water and boats to the point of panic attacks, though she can handle bathing. Thankfully.

Backstory:
Refuses to talk about her life before she came to Norwood when she was fifteen. And oddly enough, she doesn't seem to exist before then, either. No records anywhere, stumping any and all officials who have looked into her. She very quickly became known as a horrible student, and there are bets placed on when she'll give up entirely.
She is, however, tied to the people orchestrating the assassination attempt. That much I will tell.

Other:
Smokes. Doesn't eat enough.

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please ask before filling out the template, and i may ask for a sample, regardless of whether or not i know you.

Depending on how spicey you expect this to get, I may be interested.

hm, I might have to go with gentleman here, sorry pyro

and that's just a warning for people who are okay with that type of development. when I was first starting I couldnt write things like that, so even though you're not just starting, I definitely get it

(Ah, I'm so sorry, Pyro! I did not intend to boot you.)

But thank you much, @crocs-to-a-knife-fight. Alright, then, so if I read this correctly, my character is to be one of the best in the school, yes?

yes, that is the plan! whatever it is that your character is really good at, they're the best at. and it keeps them well known, if not popular. canary however, is the opposite, but well known for being bad at the whole thing. she's popular with a lot of students for her personality, but she's not popular academically

Spectacular! I will have my character up soon. I will attempt to get it up tonight, but if that fails, I will try for tomorrow, if that is alright with you. Apologies if I don't get it up this evening.

that's perfectly fine! sometimes character sheets take a while, especially if you don't have a character already, or the mental brainpower for it right then. take your time!

also, is there anything you'd like me to call you other than your username? if not, i will absolutely keep doing that, i'm just wondering if there's something you'd prefer

Oh, you can call me really anything you like. My username, simply Gent, or— erm— Kevin. Nevermind that it's not nearly as formal. We don't all get to pick our names, but, I suppose it's fine. All that to say, call me whatever you'd prefer to refer to me as.

gent works! if you're ever wondering what to refer to me as, as well, crocs and sage both work.

Thank you. I like both of those.

Mercy! I never realized how easy it was to lose a role-play in this madness. I'm working on my sign-up. Apologies for the wait.

Name:
Aaru (air-roo) Luther Kerr

Codename:
Rook

Age:
17

Gender:
Male

Sexuality:
Mmm he claims that he's not interested in anyone (so, claims to be asexual), but that's a lie. He's heterosexual.

Appearance:

Hair Color/Style:
Dark, dark brown hair. It's got a bit of a kink to it, but it's not quite curly.

Eye Color/Shape:
Large, dark, alert eyes, with long, dark eyelashes.

Skintone:
Light brown, though it tends to be a more medium-brown when he spends more time in the sun. His father was Caucasian, but his mother was a mix of races, with some Egyptian, Israeli, and Arabic in her blood.

Build:
He's lean and well-toned, with broad shoulders, a smaller waistline, and longish legs.

Height:
5'11, though he likes to round up and claim 6'0.

Scars/Identifying Marks:
He has a few scars, namely on his hands, arms, and maybe back, though they're not very prominent and he keeps most of them covered. They're from miscellaneous things over the years, but mostly training.

Jewelry/Piercings:
He wears small black earring studs in each ear lobe.

Other:
N/A

Outfit/Style:

Mission:
His outfit consists of several pieces— a sleeveless, dark-grey shirt beneath a long-sleeved black hooded jacket-shirt that zips up in the front. The collar also doubles as a mask that he can optionally pull up over the lower half of his face. He wears black cargo pants and black combat boots, as well as a belt that carries a variety of smalls weapons and tools.

Civilian:
He still tends to prefer less-flashy clothes, neutral colors. Maybe a dark hoodie or men's fitted t-shirt. He almost always wears cargo pants, except to important events. He doesn't like to dress "fancy" but he cleans up nice.

Personality:
Aaru can be either stoic or charismatic, depending on his mood and the setting. Generally, he's likes to behave as the former, as to not show any emotion (translate: weakness), but he'll become the latter when necessary, such as working undercover or needing to appear approachable. He is good at "faking" personalities, good at acting as if he's someone else. He's also a pro at hiding his emotions, assuming he has those. He takes his missions very seriously and doesn't plan to emotionally invest in "friends." But maybe things don't always go as planned.

Strengths:
He's incredibly strategic. He likes to plan and be one step ahead.
He's also very stealthy and agile, skilled in hand-to-hand combat.
He is good at lying (well… when he's on a mission. He ironically sucks about lying to people in most other scenarios and will get flustered).
He can stay calm under pressure (to an extent; things start to go downhill quickly once he reaches this extent).

Weaknesses:
He holds himself to an incredibly high standard and has a fluctuating self-esteem. Any failure, even a minor one, causes him a lot of internal grief.
He is not good with his own emotions.
He has a lot of trust issues and prefers to work alone.
He is not very good at planning when he gets stressed out and will become frustrated and/or desperate.
He does not handle embarrassment or teasing very well.

Fears:
Failure.
Being viewed as foolish or incompetent by anyone else.
Being caught in a bad or dangerous situation without a plan or course of action.
Needles.
Big dogs.

Backstory(optional, but I would prefer at least a bit):
Aaru's mother died when he was a small child, so he was raised by his wealthy father, a strict-man who worked for the government and constantly pressured Aaru to be his best. However, Mr. Kerr's definition of best wasn't exactly Aaru's best, but rather his own best. In short, he was pressuring his son to become like him. Aaru did not share many of his father's convictions, but, desperate to please the man, he forcefully tried to mold himself into his father's image, metaphorically speaking. Mr. Kerr, although not a spy, had worked for multiple government agencies over the years, and at some point (when Aaru was 14, to be more specific) decided that Norwood would be the best place for Aaru to further his skills. Aaru did not initially like the idea of being sent away, but he didn't voice these complaints, as it was clearly what his father wanted.
Now, after being at Norwood for over three years, his views have changed, and he is more fond of the school and the experience than he was at the beginning. Perhaps it is because he feels successful with what he has accomplished.
Also, there are rumors that Aaru's father was slightly unhinged and abusive, but Aaru states that these claims are false.

(I'm not good with backstories, so apologies again)

Other:

i look forward to when it's filled out, and his backstory looks just fine to me!

There we are. It's not as good as I had intended, but at least it's there. Thank you for your infinite patience with me and my wandering mind.

oh i love him?? he and canary are going to clash like fire and ice, but i sense some good character chemistry when it comes to future interactions

would you like me to type up a starter, or did you have any questions, comments, or concerns?

Ah, thank you! I like Canary a lot, too, and I am quite eager to see their interactions. I have no questions! If any occur to me, I'll inform you, but at the moment none come to mind. You can type up the starter whenever you're ready.

Norwood Academy had the look of a mansion surrounded by mini mansions, and was any dark academia enthusiast's greatest dream.

But it was no ordinary private school. Within the doors of the school lay plenty of secrets, as expected of a school of such great standing. And those secrets wrapped themselves like pretty ribbons around the students, who weren't there to become politicians and bankers and CEOs. The students who entered Norwood as protectors, attackers, tech geniuses and masters of espionage. The students of Norwood were training to be spies.

Most of them, that was.

There were always bad students, Norwood was just good at weeding them out early. Which was why nobody could figure out how such an esteemed school, that expected so much of it's students, would allow the enrollment or continued teachings of one student. A student who was solely known, to the general populous of students and even staff, as Canary.

The student in question was currently on her way to the director's office, a pair of repeatedly confiscated headphones in her ears and a hairbrush running through her tangled curls. It was late, classes were finished–night classes weren't on Tuesdays–and everyone was settling down for lights out.

Which was what made the summons that two students had received so strange.

Each student, on the day of enrollment, was given a handful of essential devices. One of the most important, though, was a small, phone-like device. It allowed communications with other students, with teachers, and with staff, functioning to alert students of class changes, mission availability, and anything else that came up.

And, on occasion, it was a way for the director to get ahold of certain students. Students, for example, like Canary, and Aaru Kerr.

The former made her way into the main office, instructed by the school secretary to have a seat and wait for 'Mr. Kerr' before the director would see them. So she did, plopping down and continuing to bob slightly to the music she was playing.

(That is one incredibly well done starter.)

It was odd to receive a summons so late, which was why Aaru's mind sorted through a list of possible reasons why as he made his way to the office, trying to combine a brisk pace with a relaxed composure. He was never one to dawdle, but he wasn't one to betray his internal anxieties, either, and arriving too quickly would only give off the idea that he was nervous.

He wasn't, really. Well, maybe a little, but not much. After all, he'd always been a top student— never one to get called in for trouble or get on the bad side of any of his instructors and/or superiors. And as far as he could recall, he'd done nothing wrong.
Yet he still didn't have a good feeling about this.

He tamped that internal voice of worry down and stepped into the office, his eyes sweeping the room once— a habit, more than a voluntary behavior. The other student here— Canary, or whatever the heck she called herself; that lousy student that should've been working at a forgotten gas station rather than studying at a prestigious spy school— was one that Aaru preferred not to acknowledge directly.

He'd never been one to flaunt himself above others or think himself "better" than anyone else, but he couldn't help but feel a certain level of superiority in the presence of students like Canary. Though, it didn't do him a bit of good, because along with it came even more questions. Why on earth would they call him in simultaneously to this— well, for lack of a better term, joke of a student?

His expression remained fairly unreadable as he silently crossed over to one of the chairs at sat down, his posture rigid and his overall countenance alert. He didn't bother so much as casting Canary a second glance, though in the corner of his peripheral vision, he observed her with disdain.

Canary sat with one leg tossed up onto the arm rest of the chair she was in, still brushing out the tangles in her hair. If one looked, they'd see that her hair was slightly damp, like she'd be drying off after a shower when the summons had arrived, and was forced to finish up on the way. And that was about what had happened.

Suddenly, the faint sounds of what might have been Latin pop could be heard in the room. Canary had removed an earbud, looking over at Aaru with an arched brow. "You got any clue what this is about?" She asked, voice coated in some sort of accent. The accent itself was far from rough, but the way her words stitched together were, like she'd spent so much time around people who didn't bother with 'proper' speech that she herself had taken on that characteristic. "Straight to Elise's seems a bit strange." It was one thing to call a teacher by their first name, when they'd given the permission to. But calling the director of the school, a woman known for cracking down on those who broke rules and showed disrespect?

Canary didn't recall doing anything to warrant direct disciplinary action. Well, plenty of things had been done, but that didn't mean that they were ones that would end up with her in the director's office. Accidentally setting a fire in the chemistry lab? Quick slap on the wrist and a detention. Starting a fight with, and nearly stabbing–with a pencil of course–a kid who'd been picking on a friend of hers? The head of security took care of that. So why were they here?

Aaru resisted the urge to frown when Canary dared to call one of their superiors by her first name. Didn't she know better? Or was she really an idiot? Oh, well. It wasn't as if it was any skin off of his nose if she got herself into trouble for her insolence.
"No. I don't," he responded curtly. He cast her a short glance, but nothing more; he wasn't interested in engaging in conversation with this miscreant and risk being associated with her. But, he too couldn't shake the question: why were they here? And, of all people, why were they the two that had been called? Surely Aaru hadn't done anything to earn punishment— especially not anything that could've been remotely tied to this girl.
So what was the deal?

Ah, right. Canary snorted at the curt way he spoke, returning the earbud to her ear. He was one of the kids who didn't like her. She knew where she stood to people like him. There was a hierarchy, at this school, an order of importance the students had put into place and the staff allowed. And to most of those at the top, she was low enough to not even place on it. Oh well. When your olive branch is turned down, what's left other than matching someone's hate?

It was flawed, but she wasn't quite aware of that.

They sat there for another five or so minutes, before the secretary, a sweet woman in her thirties by the name of Linda, called for them.

"Alright, the director is ready to see you kids! Just head right into her office."

So Canary got up, moving from sitting to standing with a strangely fluid grace. Strange, because everyone who witnessed her in physical trainings and classes, knew her as nothing but clumsy. Without waiting for Aaru to stand or catch up, she crossed the office area to the door into the smaller side office belonging to the director.

They were greeted, once inside, by Elise Archer, direct descendant of the founder of the school. Most students never actually got to meet her, stuck witnessing her from a distance at school events and the beginning and end of the year formals and assemblies. Up close, she looked…young.

"Welcome. Please take a seat, you two. And relax. Neither of you is here for discipline. Though, miss Canary, if you fail to pause the music on your device, I may have to take the headphones again."

(This is askew, but I'm half-asleep, so forgive me. I also am not wearing my glasses and I have horrid eyesight so my face is way too close to my laptop screen. I'm glad no one else can see me because I probably look like a psychopath.)

Aaru stood and gave the secretary a small nod. "Thank you." He tried to ignore Canary, block her out of his mind and shut her out from his thoughts— because she seemed nothing more than a distraction— but, for some odd reason, she was very distracting, and he didn't like it. Perhaps it was how eccentric and peculiar she seemed, or her bold insolence? It didn't really matter. Surely, if she kept this up, she couldn't last much longer in this school.
Then again, she'd been here for this long, hadn't she?
He shoved those thoughts aside as he entered the office and sat down in one of the chairs at the director's comment. "Director Archer," he greeted, his tone friendly but respectful as he relaxed back into the seat, carrying himself in a way that he hoped portrayed that of a man in his comfort zone— without seeming too lax or irreverent. It was a fine line to walk, a hard balance to keep, but Aaru had practiced for years. He always made a point to show his respect without being, for lack of a better term, a suck-up. Too many went to one extreme or another; they wanted to show that they answered to no one and that they were capable of leading themselves, or they were far too submissive and became nothing more than a yes-man for the higher-ups. Aaru loathed both roles equally. Almost as much as he loathed the idea of being as big of a joke as Canary.
"That's reassuring," he replied to the director's statement about this not having anything to do with discipline. "But, if you don't mind me asking, why are we here?"
More specifically, he wondered, why in Heaven's name had they singled out two individuals so opposite as him and Canary?