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.
Posted by Aiden Killian on Sept 30, 2013 19:26:00 GMT -6
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Sept 12, 2017 15:21:55 GMT -6
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"You have a problem with games and books?" Wouldn't that be rich. Oh no, books are suddenly bad! He should pass that fascinating tidbit on to all the people who were so proud of how much he read. "Sorry for being picky about who I let get on my nerves," he muttered sarcastically. "Not my fault I have standards." Precisely. If people couldn't stand to be held up to Conri's shadow, what worth were they as friends? Friends were for people who liked other people being near them, who liked socializing, who couldn't stand being by themselves.
Aiden could manage just fine spending all his free time alone. He managed very well, in fact. He resumed his pacing.
"Chances? Relying on chance is stupid. Chance is the difference between rolling and sliding, and it's just as much chance as to how much time you have to panic." Seven steps, turn, seven steps, turn. Stupid room should be bigger. There wasn't even enough bloody room to pace without getting too close to the walls or furniture or Persi's stuff. Better yet, rooms should be singles. Roommates were a pain and stupid and just made everyone miserable, especially when they specialized so successfully in being annoying.
Cafas sat watching Aiden. He was yet to raise his voice, and yet to show any more anger than his words. Aiden on the other hand had lost his cool long ago. There was no doubt of where the power in the conversation lay. Had there ever been? Not really. "There's something wrong about sitting by yourself all day, the activity you choose is irrelevant. As for your standards, I might take it more seriously if you had even bothered to get to know any of them. You think these kids have been through any less than you? Lost any less? They come here with no-one, treated like freaks, people trying to kill them, They come here for safety and acceptance. Then you come here and treat them like crap too. Because they don't come up to your petty standards."
"Everything in life is affected by chance, and if you are consciously choosing to make your chances worse, and worsen the chance of others, then you're being incredibly selfish. Christ, look at how you're behaving Aiden. Your brother's death wasn't your fault, but if you keep this up, you can rest assured you will have the lives of team mates and innocents on your hands."
But of course Aiden wouldn't see, because he didn't want to,and he would face his issues, he preferred to suppress them. That's how it looked anyway.
Posted by Aiden Killian on Sept 30, 2013 20:47:25 GMT -6
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Bother to know anyone. Sheesh. He could list people he knew. Persi, Evelyn. ... Liz. Clyde. That dragon girl. Um. Adeline. There were other people, he knew he had met more than that. He had to have. Oh! Cafas and Saphirus. And there was Alli, but she wouldn't really count because he'd only met her once (not like that disqualified almost everyone else on his list) and she didn't live at the mansion. Whatever. He knew people. Cafas was just assuming things. Besides, he'd only been there a few months, and the mansion'd been half empty over the summer. Plus he'd spent that entire summer trying to keep from overheating and dying. Yeah. Useful little fact there, not that Cafas would care.
It wasn't like he treated them any different than anyone else, anyway. Why should he treat them different just because they were mutants? But that was a sulky thought, and he had no intention of being a sulky whiny baby, especially around Cafas.
Would he just stop with the blame? "I know!" he snapped over his shoulder, catching Cafas clearly for a moment around the edge of his sunglasses. "You really think I haven't realized that it's not my fault, even if I was the only one to come out of it? No, I didn't get Conri killed. And if you really think I'm selfish, well, maybe it's just in my nature. The least I could do is be helpful, but no, it only works on me." He might regret shoving that sketchbook off his desk later. More likely he could just blame Cafas for the rumpled pages.
The question was not posed with any malice or spite. It was asked as matter of factly as possible. Cafas was genuinely curious. He had. He'd often wished it.He still woke up some days with that nagging feeling that it should have been him. It was just part of being in those situations. It left its scars. Dealing with the wound was one thing, but there was nothing to be done about scarring.
He supposed telling Aiden all that wouldn't do anything though. He didn't seem to care much that their situations were awfully similar. Years, and thousands of miles apart, but so very similar. "It's pretty easy to feel that way when everything gets ripped away from you."
Cafas was having the flashbacks. That wasn't good. Reliving moments in time long past. He'd not even thought about some of them in years. Faces he used to know drifted through, places he used to recognise. The happy times before it all. He was relieved to find that the sadness was an ache, not agony. That was good.
"Do you feel like you didn't deserve to be saved, and others did?"
Posted by Aiden Killian on Sept 30, 2013 22:23:50 GMT -6
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Did he-
Enough with the questions. Enough. Staring at the wall wasn't enough, but it was better than looking at Cafas. When he did speak, his voice was darker but only a little rough. "I wish I'd died instead," he muttered. No, wait - wrong tense. He had wished. Right? He was past that?
Ripped away. Oh yes. Ripped away and shoved in a body bag to be dragged into the ground without a second glance. Ripped away with nothing left, not even emptiness. Emptiness could be filled with other things.
He tried to resume his pacing. A chance ray of light angled through at him; he flinched away and stopped pacing. Enough. Why couldn't things ever be enough. Enough thinking enough reminding enough wishing.
"Of course he did," Aiden growled, though his voice lacked fire. "People didn't just think he could do no wrong. He was always the one with plans and ideas and goals. He liked people." He threw the word at Cafas. "Of course he shouldn't've died."
Cafas felt for the kid. He'd had those same feelings once, and he knew they were heart wrenching, utterly destructive thoughts. He simply remained silent until Aiden was done. "He sounds like he was a great guy." Though how much was simply glorification was a matter for debate, but Cafas wouldn't voice that. It was rude to speak ill of the dead, ruder still someone's family.
"Then you couldn't look anyone in the eye. You knew they'd never understand. Never forgive you for living when he died."
He couldn't. Not that they'd given him a chance. Something about an angry mob with literal burning torches gave him the impression of how they felt though. He felt lucky he made it out alive.
"So you ran away rather than face them, or maybe they didn't give you that choice, and you didn't know where to go."
He hadn't, he'd done what he had to for survival, but he had been lost. Where to turn when you couldn't go home?
"So you found your way here, eventually at least, because hey, free shelter and food, and a distinct absence of psychopaths and murderers, sounds like a pretty sweet deal. Sure beats the street, and what other options do you have?"
It had taken him a few years, but he'd had a long way to travel.
"And then some big burly asshole comes along and makes your life hell even here, claims he's trying to help, but why should you believe that?"
Posted by Aiden Killian on Sept 30, 2013 23:18:11 GMT -6
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Aiden's shoulders dropped slightly. "He was... He.. he was the only person I liked, much less got along with or trusted." After a moment, he shrugged faintly to himself and wandered across the room to drop down on Persi's bed. He really didn't feel like standing anymore, and normally he wouldn't intrude on his roommate's space like this... but Cafas was already on his own bed and his desk chair was too close.
Looking people in the eye would have been a joke even if one of his hadn't up and changed colours on everyone, made it nice and obvious just how it was that he had survived and no one else had even held on until help arrived. He picked at a loose thread sticking out of a seam on his shorts. "Not really... they sent me here. Hospital suggested it. Cared enough to not want the neighbours to know, I guess. Or maybe they just couldn't take going from the perfect happy family to childless in one go." He didn't blame his parents, not on any level that he knew of. "I just wish they could have waited a few days..." His voice faded slightly on the last words.
Apparently he was still listening to Cafas. He was shrugging, anyway. "Only person who ever wanted to bother about me was Conri," he said quietly. "Lots of people, people at school, my parents... they liked to say they did, that they cared, but it was always real obvious they didn't. They just cared about their jobs and their paychecks and their reputations and making everything in their life line up just the way they wanted. So why should I believe it?" He threw the question back at Cafas.
They were getting somewhere, that was.. new. Aiden was now co-operating! Better yet, opening up! It was a sad story, and he could see why it hurt him so much, but it made him happy at least that Aiden was finally talking about it. "The hardest part was never getting to say goodbye."
Cafas genuinely wanted to make Aiden feel better. He had no idea how though. He wanted him to believe that he cared too. The kid should at least know someone gave a damn.
Cafas looked Aiden in the eye as best he could. "I'm not getting paid here Aiden, I couldn't care less about my reputation, I mean, I'm the star of Dusk for Pete's sake. No one made me take an interest in you, no one was making me train you, and no one made me come talk to you. I did it because I care mate. I care that you make it through this, and I want you to be happy. Because you're a good guy, and I can see you have your heart in the right place."
Cafas didn't know why, but he hugged Aiden then. It felt like it was the right thing to do somehow, and it felt like Aiden needed it.
"I'm sorry your brother died, but all you can do now is make sure you do him proud. No matter what you choose to do, just make sure it makes you happy. I know he'd be happy and proud of you as long as you were happy. He sounds like that sort of guy."
Cafas broke off the embrace and held Aiden by the shoulders. "I'm going to go find out where he's buried okay? Then you can go visit him if you want. Let me know if you want me to go with you, or just need a lift there."
Posted by Aiden Killian on Oct 1, 2013 0:09:27 GMT -6
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Aiden tried to nod. It wouldn't have fixed everything, wouldn't fix everything now, but it was better than nothing. It was one less glaring hole laughing at him trying to get by. It might not even be the biggest, or maybe it was, he really couldn't tell anymore... but it was one he should have been able to close at the start and he didn't get that chance.
He shifted a little at Cafas' words. Did he want to believe him? Did he want to believe it was all talk like the others? If he trusted Cafas, and then he was lying... Something sharp pricked him inside at that thought. No. Not that. But the words were the same. Was the tone different? Was that just Cafas' accent? Better acting skills? He was in a movie. He had to be able to act. But... Maybe he did want to believe him? Some part of him?
Aiden didn't know what to do when he felt Cafas' arms settle around him. People didn't hug him. He didn't hug people. People didn't... he swallowed. It didn't work; he tried again. He remembered people at the hospital telling him how sorry they were for his loss, and he'd more or less believed them. He figured that they saw it enough to be sad whenever someone young died, even if they didn't know them. It was still distant, though. Like they knew they should say something but couldn't make the connection to get it all the way. Cafas didn't know Conri. The closest he'd ever been was that picture.
He really wanted that picture out, all of a sudden. To see his brother in more than a memory. Even just in a standard school photo, not doing any of the things Conri actually did. There were no soccer balls or games in the picture. He didn't have any pictures like that, even if there were probably some in existence, at least of him and soccer. There'd be pictures like that somewhere. He rubbed the back of his hand against his leg, not sure if he felt hot or somehow cold again. There wouldn't be any pictures of Conri doing anything else, though. There was a lot Conri had held back from the rest of the world. Sides of him he only brought out when it was just the two of them.
Abruptly distracted, the look Aiden shot at Cafas was almost pure disbelief, with a fragment of hope he couldn't bear let grow. Would... would he really do that? Just like that, no strings attached? Everyone had strings and motives and desires, if not outright agendas. Everyone wanted something. But... could he take the chance?
At the thought of going alone, though, the thought of coming across someone he knew struck him, and he couldn't mask the flinch of fear he felt at being recognized, be it by a neighbour, someone from his old school, someone who knew his parents. No, he couldn't go back. People would see... they'd think... who knew what they'd do? At towns went, Aiden had never considered his own to be particularly conservative, nor particularly liberal. But now, with the chance to find Conri's grave dangled in front of him, all he could see was people he used to know gathering, rising up, coming after him. It was impossible to live in a place like this long without hearing stories of mutants getting run out, attacked, outright murdered. He couldn't... he couldn't...
He pulled away from Cafas, shaking. No. No, he couldn't risk that. No matter how things should have gone, throwing his life away was stupid. Going to Conri's grave wouldn't really change anything. It would just prove how dead he was, how gone. It would just make it more real and permanent and inescapable. No, he... he couldn't get himself killed for that.
Aiden didn't say anything. The silence seemed to speak for itself. He could almost see the internal struggle on Aiden's face. He wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. He elected to find the information for him anyway. He knew it wouldn't take long. He had a name, enrolment records would give him a date, and Cafas was pretty certain that Aiden's accent was from within New York.
Still, the fear was written all over his face. Cafas smiled reassuringly. "I could go with you. You could even wear a beanie and hoodie, it's getting cold out, no-one's going to question that, though I know you can't handle the heat. Even if they do though... Well, we're the X-men. We look out for each other." It was all he could think to say.
Cafas sat for a moment, silent. The moment stretched on. Then he spoke. "Look, I don't expect you to be a social butterfly overnight, it takes work, and your confidence has taken a beating, but just... Try okay? We only ask for your best effort in the X-men. Maybe just start small, try talking to a few people around, chat about games, or movies, or t.v. shows, try to find someone with something in common with you and start from there. You'll be surprised how easy it is. You're a good guy Aiden, don't forget it." Cafas squeezed Aiden shoulder in a friendly manner.
"Now how about you show me these rapiers of yours?"
Posted by Aiden Killian on Oct 1, 2013 0:48:14 GMT -6
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The little shard of hope tried to crawl back up again to shred all his attempts to convince himself back into the smoke and fumes he had carved them out of. Cafas really would go? No one was going to try something with someone like him around, would they? Well, maybe for his hair, but Cafas had to be used to that by now. Issues with that weren't... the end of the world. So maybe... Maybe he could go. Maybe it could be okay.
He shoved his hand under his legs. Try... Cafas' suggestions... didn't sound that bad. Maybe... maybe he could try. If Cafas would... if Cafas would take him to see Conri's grave, it was the least he could do in return. Yeah, everyone wanted something, but if that was all Cafas was asking...
Or maybe not. Aiden was caught in the middle of rubbing at one of his eyes when he turned to blink at Cafas, the sunglasses sliding off his face. Feeling the movement, he quickly dropped his head back down but fumbled and dropped the glasses in his lap. He flicked one of the arms open and closed a few times. "They're not - I mean - ... They're not real rapiers," he said awkwardly. "Just... cheap things I managed to get off the internet a few years ago. And they're not in very good shape..." Well, he did his best to get the chips and dents back out, and he'd kept the rust and stains off so far, but the grips on the hilts were definitely worn with use and it might be just a little bit obvious where he'd patiently worked at the blades to try to fix their balance a while back.
His gaze flicked to his own bed, where he kept them stashed safely out of sight, and then over and up at Cafas, hesitantly. He started to move, but paused before catching himself and slowly straightening. Walking from one bed to the other made his head spin a little, but he ignored it as best he could while he knelt and popped the mattress up. He balanced it on his head long enough to pull out the two old swords and their slightly-less-ratty sheaths, then gave it an absent kick back into place while he turned back to Cafas.
Cafas smiled "Hey, don't knock the internet, I sell swords on the internet." His custom was massive as far as armourers went as well, because he didn't have to charge for labour. He still did charge nearly as much though. It wouldn't be fair to other people if he didn't. He did make sure his face told Aiden he was only teasing though.
The boy pulled out the rapiers, and true enough they didn't look tip to quality, and they had a certain "oft repaired" look to them. "May I?" He took one of the rapiers and tested the balance. It was all off for the type of blade it was, and the nicks in the blade told of a few too many hacking blows. He'd correct that in due time.
"Well, they're not amazing, but you've put work in to them, I can see that. I can't imagine what the balance used to be like." Cafas set the one down and took the other. It was a bit heavier, but all in all the same condition. "You know what Aiden, you've passed the first test of a true swordsman. You take the time to take the nicks and notches out of your blade. All else can be taught, but that is something that comes naturally or not at all." The patience was also good.
The blades were approaching the edge of their life cycle though. Training swords never did survive long. the constant abuse saw to that. "I understand if you're attached, but do you want a new pair? I'm pretty sure I can replicate this, I'll fix the balance though, and if you want anything fancy done, trust me, I'm your man. If I can't do it with tools I can do it with mutation."
He'd have to make note of Aiden's style on their first lesson.
Posted by Aiden Killian on Oct 1, 2013 1:17:05 GMT -6
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Cafas... sold swords on the internet? Or maybe the emphasis should be on the swords. Either way: what?
Or was it all a joke?
... Cafas really wanted him spending more time with people? He couldn't even figure out if that was a joke or not, and he was pretty sure he couldn't blame it all on his head. He held his blades out for inspection, though, trying not to feel too nervous. They were just swords. Ugly, clumsy, horribly beaten swords that hadn't been designed for anything more than sitting in a corner or hanging on a wall to gather dust. There was nothing Cafas could say that was worse than the truth he already knew.
Or Cafas could go and say something like that, and take away what little scrap of footing Aiden thought he'd maybe found. But he just - he couldn't let them break. They were all he had, and if the people who controlled his money didn't even know he was still using them, how could he possibly find replacements?
He hid his confusion with wary interest, still not completely convinced about Cafas not reassured by the constant barrage of too-good-to-be-trues. His fingertips twitched, though, far more eager to handle new, proper blades than he let himself be. "You... would... do that?" he said slowly. Come on! Couldn't either Cafas prove himself to be a liar or, oh, do something to let him trust him? It would be so nice if it were true......
Cafas nodded. "Yeah it's really no issue, blacksmithing got me through most of high school with my sanity in check, I like the work. I mean, I don't make everything on the anvil, a lot of it I just take the shape I want out of a block of steel, and for the handle and pommels I can just take the wood into the danger room and it can practically do it for me, though I do tend to just call up the necessary tools and do them myself. It's a quick process with a bands saw, wood lathe and belt sander." It took about 20 minutes to make a week's stock worth, depending on complexity. "And leather wrapping is a piece of cake, just glue and leather strips. The hard part is scabbards, but they're good fun."
Cafas handed back the blades. All in all he felt the chat hand gone well. He'd get the details on Conri's grave for Aiden, and watch his style at their first lesson. From there he should be able to tweak the design of the blades if necessary. He could also tweak Aiden's style, but that would be much harder.
Successful visit all things considered.
He really hoped he could give Aiden a bit of confidence, and convince him to socialise a bit. No man is an island, as the saying goes, and Aiden was no exception. Too long without friendly human interaction plays havoc on the mind. Plus maybe having a few extra friends to talk to, play games with and stuff would make him happy. It was a nice thought at least.
Posted by Aiden Killian on Oct 1, 2013 1:59:06 GMT -6
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It was good to have things you enjoyed doing... and when they were useful things, that did make them even better. Aiden had mostly enjoyed taking care of his stuff, but actually making anything more complicated and lasting than food... Well, having special powers directly related to the activity had to make things easier, and Aiden had none of that. Unless he got into ice carving or something, maybe, except that was hardly useful, and anyway his only advantage would be not freezing.
It was surprisingly nice, though, listening to Cafas talk. He obviously really did enjoy making swords. Aiden couldn't find anything even resembling dishonesty in the x-man's words or tone or body language (such of it that he could pick up on, at least), but he still felt that awkward division as he took his swords back and returned them to their hiding place. He hesitated as he stood though, still flipping his sunglasses open and closed and open again, before deliberately putting them on his desk. Well, if enough people told him off, maybe there was something true in it.
Somehow, putting his sunglasses down suddenly looked infinitely easier than filling the empty silence. He still wasn't sure he wanted to let himself trust Cafas, and he really felt pretty miserable, so that weird desire to thank him was completely out of the question. He let his fingers twitch over each other for a moment, fidgeting aimlessly, before he found some array of words. "So.. you said tomorrow? For more training." And for once, Aiden suspected that hitting things might be a spectacularly nice idea.