The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Pharoah Dynasty
An ancient sorceress is on a quest to bring her long-lost warrior-king to the modern era in a bid for global domination. Can the heroes of the modern world stop her before all is lost?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
It was mid-day, and Evelyn's nerves were beginning to fray. Everywhere she turned, there were teenagers with cameras, teenage with food, teenagers with drinks, and teenagers reaching for the priceless artwork it was her goal, her duty, to protect. Her quiet demeanor long since lost, it was all she could do to keep her cool. She hated when the local schools gave these homework assignments, that flooded these hallowed halls with the less than appreciative attendee.
She didn't mind students, most of the time. The artists could be quite engaging to watch, and the way they looked at the art showed how much they revered the artists. But the student that wandered the halls for pleasure compared to the ones that wandered the halls out of obligation were two different species, the later all the more dangerous.
Bravely, Evelyn had pulled her long white hair back into a pony tail, and smoothed her dark grey skirt down. She was dressed in a t-shirt with long fingerless gloves that went nearly to the curve of her under arms, and the blue fabric was only a small splash of color on the grey and white ensemble. Even her eyes lacked color. She was too busy listening to the echoes for the color to return to them. [Female. Flirtatious posture, speaking with younger male, casual stance. Engaging, interested in her advances.] Ok, waaaaay too much information. Perhaps it was time to check on the second story. At least in the North wing she would be less likely to run into students.
Unless they were making out.
Oh Heaven help her if they were making out.
Making her way towards the Asian Art exhibit, she started through the maze like segment of the museum cautiously. The problem with this wing was how claustrophobic it could make you feel. You started near the bar, and then moved first North, than gradual went west. Once you committed to complete the exhibition, you were almost bound to complete it, or risk getting lost. Her first time visiting the museum as a youth had left her lost in this portion of the exhibit, and somewhere between the Samaria outfits and woodblock prints she'd burst into tears and waited for a security guard to find her. The echoes had only made it worse, and she could still hear the way they echoed about the swords. She was much older now, however, and no longer concerned about getting lost in such a silly place. She came here to loose people. But as she approached, she realized she was a little too late for that.
Turning into room 323, the Birds in the Art of Japan, she was startled to see one of the high schoolers. Forcing her professional smile to take over, she nodded her head to acknowledge him. "Are you finding everything alright?" She asked. Inwardly, she was hoping he'd say yes and she could leave. She was distracted by that initial hope, she missed the first few echoes he was giving.
How on Earth was a person supposed to define timelessness using art? Years down the line, Jameson figured he'd probably have no trouble with the assignment, but right now it just seemed unreasonable.
He was seventeen years old.
Sure, he'd heard his Mother talk about things being 'timeless' but it was always as she sighed wistfully at an old movie on TV, or when they were poking around in an antique store. The way she said "timeless" inspired thoughts of things that were retro, but still cool...things that still worked. Jameson could have dealt with that definition, but somehow it felt wrong for this assignment.
So he was looking at birds. Japanese ones. Far from being an art connoisseur, Jameson had spent the first part of his day simply wandering around and trying to find something that 'spoke' to him. Once he found that, he figured, he could make something work. Japanese art was always cool, the way the brush strokes blended into one another, or away from one another. It all looked so free...the bird in the picture he stood in front of was a crane, its beak and wings stretched out as it flew in front of a rising sun. There was a tree too...all-in-all it was pretty awesome.
A voice startled the teen, and he turned to see someone he could only have described as unique-looking. That said something in New York City. Obviously she worked for the museum, he decided quickly, or else she'd have never approached a pensive looking teen.
"Unless you can find a way to define 'timelessness' using art, and write a two page paper for me, I'm not sure there's anything you can help me with. I came up here to get away from the crowds and try to wrap my head around the whole idea...these crane paintings are really really cool."
The young man's statement made the corner of Evelyn's face curl ever so slightly into a smile, but it melted away almost as fast. She bit her tongue slightly, trying to resist answering, but she couldn't contain the response that wiggled its way out. "Timelessness, huh? Well, perhaps you should start at the root of the problem. What makes something timeless? Timeless is without beginning or end; eternal; everlasting. But it could also mean just not referring to any specific period of time. If you look at it in a synonymic sense, it could me lasting, eternal. I think perhaps that is getting closer to the meaning when referring to artwork."
She glance back at the teen, and studied him for a moment. He was under 6 foot, fairly average build, at the later end of his teens, but not quite adult if she was any judge on the matter. His expression gave away his frustration with the topic, but there was a small wistfulness lurking beneath the surface. He didn't understand, but he seemed to want to. That was curious enough as it was. He had layered shirts, at least two if she was counting correctly; her echoes didn't seem super interested in that. They were focusing on smaller little details. [Scar just at base of hairline. Minor head injury perhaps. Posture and body language suggest someone lacking a small amount of confidence. Looking for peer approval of himself. Admits avoiding crowds, suggests does not want others to see him struggle with topic given as homework assignment.] The scar was notable, she wasn't sure if it meant anything though, but the personality was revealing enough. He seemed like he might be a people pleaser. She wondered if she would stay around long enough to confirm that.
"While I think teachers frown upon someone else writing our paper, there are some questions the museum is more than happy to help answer." Evelyn said. She turned to the painting, and smiled at the echoes it gave. Her voice mingled with the sounds in her mind. "Crane and Pine Tree with Rising Sun", by Suzuki Kiitsu. Yes, it is a lovely piece. From the edo period, painted between 1796–1858 according to our records. Hanging scroll, ink on silk. Split-analogous color scheme, I'd say; the yellow, green, and orange hues are one space apart on the color wheel. Although there is a neutral color influence with the browns, blacks and white. Muted colors in the background emphasize the color of the sun, the trees, as well as the Crane's eye. The negative space in the background interacts with the picture, making it part of the painting instead of....I'm sorry, got a bit carried away." Evelyn blushed slightly, and looked away from the picture, cutting off the noise in her mind. "I have had quite a bit of time to get to know the pieces here. They all have a story to tell. I like to listen." She admitted.
"It all comes back to that sense of timelessness, however. No matter how long they hang here on the walls, there is still a message they can share. The painter is long dead, but their artwork lives on." She liked art for that reason. It was historical, beautiful, and priceless in her eyes.
There was obviously a wealth of information to be found here, Jameson decided as the museum employee spoke. She knew so much, so very much about the painting he'd been staring at, and the concept of timelessness.
He nodded his head.
"It made me think about the flag, the Japanese one, and the whole 'Land of the Rising Sun' thing." He'd paid attention in History class, especially during the World War II unit. It had been a while, but there were things that just stuck. Jameson hadn't brought a pen or paper, everything he needed for research would be on the internet later, he was just here to see.
"My Mom always calls people like Audrey Hepburn and Deborah Kerr timeless. I guess movies are timeless when they stay relevant. I guess art could be the same way, but not those stiff portraits of people from the 17 and 1800's."
Jameson trailed off and his eyes roamed, catching the cranes that were present in so many of the paintings.
"I can't help but notice the cranes." They were cranes, weren't they? "They're in so many of the paintings." He realized he probably sounded dumb and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I mean, it is a bird exhibit...but still."
Evelyn listened to the teen's comments, and gave a nod at what he was saying. She smiled at the examples he gave, and her brain sifted through information stored inside it. "Audrey Hepburn. Actress in My Fair Lady, 1964. She played Eliza Doolittle. Good film. Timeless in it's own way. I love when they're at the racetrack and she cusses in front of the upper class. It was a long movie compared to today's standards. Deborah Kerr is also very beloved and well known. I think your mom has a fair idea of what you might be looking at though. Movies are a art in their own manner. The lighting choices, dialog, composition of the piece as a whole." She drifted off thoughtfully, and looked closer at the painting. The colors were warm, and she could see the delicate brushwork on the surface. The ink seemed thicker in some places, and the stitching of the fabric was delicate and seemed beyond the level you would see now and days. Historical artwork was so fragile, but there was such a strong impression given by all the details.
"I think it's actually good you noticed the cranes. It is a bird exhibit, but there is more to them than just being birds. There is quite a bit of symbolism. Japanese legends tell of how it took the crane over 1000 years to fly to the sun, and cranes are symbols of long life. If you look at this painting, notice the pine tree? Also a symbol of long life. Symbolism is important in Japanese art, and learning what symbols helps preserve the messages they hold. A crane is a symbol of life, and at the same time, death. A crane that is attacked faces it's death fearlessly like a warrior. If you look at the faces of the crane, you can see the intensity in their faces." The crane in the picture's dark eyes were accented by red, and the colors popped and made the face that much more intense and beautiful. She loved the way colors could do that. Black was dark, making the colors stand out, while the red darkened the black. The combination of colors created the image the eye took in.
Evelyn gazed at the sun in the painting, her echoes chiming in the color pallet, then the fabric of the canvas. She tuned it out and turned back to Jameson. [Hands in pockets, shoulders slumped slightly; lacks confidence. Seeks encouragement?] "You know quite a bit already. Use what you know. What could the symbolism of a rising sun show?" Evelyn said, tilting her head to the side.
She knew about all the actresses his mom mooned over, she knew about the cranes, she knew about Japanese history. She was also really pretty, if older, and completely out of his league. There was stuff here that he could really use in his assignment too.
Then, she asked him a question. Jameson blushed scarlet, he hated being put on the spot. There was the traditional meaning of the rising sun...but was that what the woman was going for?
"I heard somewhere that a sunrise is symbolic of a new beginning." He said, a bit hesitantly. He didn't have the kind of knowledge that his helper did.
"But I don't know if that fits in with everything you said about cranes and the warrior spirit... It does kind of go along with the pine tree and stuff though..."
It had taken the crane a thousand years to fly to the sun.
"The sun always rises and sets too. Constantly. Over and over again. Kind of goes with the other themes in the painting."
Posted by Evelyn Summers on Mar 11, 2013 17:22:59 GMT -6
Omega Mutant
65C6C3
Bisexual
None
1,406
49
Feb 27, 2023 9:10:51 GMT -6
Mati
Evelyn waited patiently as the boy thought. He was clearly a little uncomfortable with being asked questions, most likely because he didn't want to be wrong. He wanted approval. He was trying hard to do his best, and when dealing with things like art and the hidden meanings behind them, sometimes it was hard to really be 'correct'. Everything had possible meanings depending on who was looking at them. That was why the art of deduction was so difficult. You had to look at the whole picture to really understand what was there.
"There, you've done you're own deduction. Truth is, art is very subjective, and the 'meanings' can always change. It's the combination of their era, the culture... everything put together creates meaning. When doing your your paper, keep that in mind. Talk about the things you do know, and what they can mean. Talk about the feelings that they give regardless of time. Don't get discouraged by the things you don't know. It's just a journey. All the things you are aware of can help fill in the gaps."[/b] She gave a little smile.
"What other art have you looked at?"[/b] She said, pushing her hair out of her face so she could see a little better. Her curiosity had taken away some of her rather reserved nature, and while she didn't see herself as a teacher, she didn't want to leave the kid stranded. Her echoes were still chattering about colors and meanings and paint textures, but she tuned them out for now. She wished there was just an off switch for them. It was hard to be helpful when you had to listen to a play by play of everything in the room.
