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.
Cora heard him ask questions when he finally caught up, and she took a moment before answering, trying to move her foot from one difficult hold to another. She didn't want to be caught hanging like a sloth while trying to speak coherently. "We use colored handholds to map out different routes. Makes it more fun for the climbers. We rotate the colors and path's from time to time. Little harder to maintain, but better than having those little tape flags everywhere personally."[/b][/color]
She focused on reaching her last mark, now hanging entirely by her arm strength. This was where your muscles started to scream at you for the brilliant idea to use the course. A few quick adjustments and she hit the last rock, before lightly releasing her legs, and then dropping like a cat back to the ground.
"You must...be more familiar with climbing outdoors. I don't get a chance to do that as often these days." She was a little more winded this time, the strength needed to efficiently finish the course creating a good rush in her system.
"I think right now, we have red set up as the hardest? Then there is the extra climbing zone we set up specifically for mutant climbers. That one is just a basic cliff, no artificial crevices. I have to let the other staff check it."
Cora watched his reaction. He did good up until he noticed the one that linked to his own arm. Cora laughed. She had already guessed he had a little flight syndrome when it came to relationships, but actively seeing it pan out was actually quite comical in a way. ”Cool your jets, you realize relationships isn’t always a romance, right? It’s coworkers, friends, and interests. Like, this one,” she plucked a red string free, and isolating it so he could see. ”That leads to my manager. Friend of my dads, keeps the place running. Definitely not a romantic inclination anywhere in that situation.”
She released her powers, noticing his gaze had lingered on the tattoo, but he didn’t comment. Other than the initial jump, he had composed himself.
Then he did the unexpected and yanked out his phone. Cora responded by making a bratty face, and the phone flashed. She listened as he explained the photo couldn’t be erased, and she actually felt a little flattered. Not that she would admit it. But no one had tried to keep the memory of her around like that.
”Guess if you plan on sticking around, I’ll have to see how you handle yourself without ropes.” She didn’t tell him the threads couldn’t be cut against his will. No use showing all her cards.
The bouldering area had lower walls and heavy mats. The course curved at an angle so the top rocks would leave you hanging almost horizontal. Cora picked a spot, choosing the blue zone to start. ”Players choice, you can use your powers if you want.” pausing to chalk her hands, she began to climb, moving fast and setting her eyes on the targets, the difficulty taking more concentration.
Ah, the mutation. Cora got out of her harness then nodded as if surrendering that it was time to come clean about that. ”I’ll show you, then you can decide if you really want to try bouldering.”
She held up her left arm and focused on making the strings show. Different colored threads that were visible to her would suddenly be clear to him. The parts she revealed would seem to disappear after a couple of inches. It was almost like a ton of very fine spiders silk hanging off her skin. Different shades of light pink were visible in this spot.
”Around here they call me Threads. I can see relationships. These all represent people. I can see them on everyone.” She reaches for the new string, carefully lifting it free This time she put more energy into it, so the almost coral colored thread was visible where it now looked around Sam’s wrist. He wouldn’t be able to feel it or interact with it. His end was a bit more coral than hers. ”Every sting has someone on the end of it. If I were to cut this right now, you could go home with a memory of a fun bike ride and rock climbing with someone, but have no idea who it was.” She released her powers and crossed her arms, giving him a moment to process.
Juniper was straightforward about her concerns, which made things easier. An overconfident greenhorn was a recipe for trouble. ”I won’t start you belaying until you’ve have more experience climbing and familiarizing yourself with the facility. You’ll take a class like everyone else and see how we handle things. Trish will walk you through that this afternoon. Even then, I usually let some of the senior staff handle the ropes.”
She pointed to a pair in the corner, where a slimmer girl was belaying for her larger boyfriend. ”That being said, you’ll find size is less of an issue with the proper equipment. Leverage and good communication is key. Relying on your powers can put you in a tight situation if you ever find you can’t use them. I like to keep people trained to do things the hard way first before we go for shortcuts.”
Cora motioned for Juniper to follow and they walked to the staff room. Here, there was a table, a fridge, microwave and some lockers. The walls were decorated with different posters staff brought in. A communication board listed upcoming classes, a company party, someone offering to cover shifts. ”You can pick a locker, make a good choice because it’s yours until you quit, die or get sacked. Scout’s had the same locker since day one.” Why he needed a locker since he lived in the building now was beyond her, but that’s what it was.
He was close enough to talk, and athletic enough he was able to do that without it sounding terribly winded. Cora chuckled, and let herself slow just a bit so he could hear her. ”Daily, probably. I drop in to see how everything is going, and the best way to check the wall is to climb it. Today it’s the main wall, later maybe I’ll take the Boulder course.”
She swung sideways, holding with one arm so she could face him, looking at his progress. ”We are a mutant friendly gym so we get a lot of different types coming in.” Now that he was closer, she made the easy run the rest of the way to her mark, and rested at the top. She settled into her foot and hand holds, waiting until he met her.
”I keep staff with the mutations to help. I have to deal with things the old fashioned way to keep up. Can’t be lazy and expect everyone to do things for me.
“Going down!” Rather than belaying down, she started a fast decent dropping down one step at a time. She got to the bottom and unhooked herself, letting Trish move to help the next climber.
The following are the staff you may encounter at Cora's rock climbing gym. While she is the owner, the day to day opperations are handled by the following NPCs.
Manager: Scout Age: 37 years old Appearance: Described as being average build, brown hair with white feathers mixed in randomly. Powers: Scout can change into a number of different birds, including an osprey, a peregrine falcon, and a sparrow. Job: Scout is responsible for just about anything going on in the gym. He does all the safety inspections, makes sure hand and footholds don't need to be replaced, and keeps an eye on the business for Cora. He practically lives in the building. Actually, he totally does live on site (there is a loft in the second story. No stairs, he just flies up there at night.
Senior Instructor: Trish Age: 23 years old Appearance: Short blond hair, very average appearance. Powers: Trish can use telekenesis. She is one of the primary belayers, and has prevented a number of accident over the years. Because the gym is mutant friendly, Trish runs an important rule maintaining safety for those who use powers instead of standard equipment.
Cora watched the ice mutant attach the harness, and paused, smirking slightly when she noticed a few things were out of place. Then he went and dropped an innuendo. Well, he would either love or hate the result. "You got a few things outta place there, hotshot." Without warning him she reached and tugged the belts into place. It was probably an invasion of space and not in the way Sam was hoping, but she got him straightened out. She stepped back and winked at him with a smirk.
"Safety first. If you can handle the wall without your powers, maybe I'll play nicer next time." A second staff member approached to spot Sam, leaving her to her climb.
Cora checked that Trish was ready, and took to the wall. "Climbing!" Her body took over, and she shot up the wall like a spider monkey. While she used the harness, it was clear she was not relying on the line for support, and it held more slack than the staff would probably use for most customers. Cora worked with Trish a lot during her younger years, and the other mutant knew to be there for emergencies only. Sam may have been disappointed she had chosen safety over bragging rights, but she still felt she had plenty to show off within the constraints of the gym.
The question was, how fast could he meet her at the top?
Cora didn't flinch when the guest slipped, and Trish--one of her senior employees--easily caught him and helped bring them safely back to the wall. She wasn't surprised Juniper had caught this, but she was at least glad. Being observant was a large part of safety in this building.
"Actually, almost all of the staff here are mutants. There are a few who I keep full-time because they help with the general safety of things. There's Scout, the manager," Cora nodded to the man hiding behind a desk. Scout had been one of her father's best friends, a mutant with dark brown hair and a dusting of white feathers intermingled on his head. "Scout is, well, he can change between birds. He does most of our after our inspections. Then Trish you saw. She has telekenesis. She is usually spotting the bouldering zone or any of our guests who want to try a climb without ropes."
Cora put her thumbs in her belt loops and looked at the girl, making sure she looked serious, but not upset at what was asked. "I never discourage using powers to help guests, but I will never tolerate their use in a way that would endanger them. Our gym is open to all mutants, and they can climb with or without their powers. You will get some people who climb with vines, who climb with claws, and we do our best to work with them to create a safe environment. As staff, I make sure that we never make that situation any more risky.
It was better sometimes to be stern, than to be regretful. Cora was laid back with a lot of things, but the climbing gym was not one of them. She had seen what a bad fall could do to someone, how it could ruin their life. She was all about having fun, but it would always be a matter of doing it the correct way.
"I don't want you to think your first day is just a bunch of rules, but I don't like a lot of bullsh**. If you screw up on someone's french fries, they may be unhappy, but if someone forgets they are belaying and drops their partner, everyone suffers. I just want to make sure you're ready for that type of situation."
Cora felt herself smile a little at the compliment, and found herself looking at the gym from a newcomers eyes. ”It’s grown quite a bit over the years. A lot of the climbers have been coming since my dad was in charge. The manager and staff keep it running well. They mostly prefer I keep my nose out of things.” A younger man behind one of the desks shot her a look, and she gave a face back to him. They were almost like family after this time. The threads leading to most the staff were a solid red on her side, dark red on theirs. That was how things seemed to be for Cora though. She held back feeling attached to people, even when they regarded her as family.
”If you don’t mind, I’ll at least use the safety harness. I’ll take a little lip rather than look dumb falling on my ass in front of my own staff,” she winked. She collected a harness and made short work of attaching it, then moved over to one of the climbing zones. One of the younger staff members came over and she nodded to them, ”Trish will belay for me so pick your poison. We are slow today so someone can belay your end as well. If you want.” she wouldn’t be surprised if he went without a harness. When you lived in a city with so many mutants, there was always an exception to the rules of safety. If she fell, it would end badly, so she wasn’t stupid.
Threads watched the girl approach the situation, and was relieved with what she saw. The situation didn't escalate immediately, which was good. Some teenagers like to yell at the younger climbers without trying the gentle technique in the beginning. When challenging didn't work, only then did she resort to powers. The actual execution was actually impressive. Cora had never seen someone use their powers effectively in this environment, and she was smiling when Juniper turned back to her.
"Gotta say, that was pretty good. You managed a slow escalation, and the end use of powers didn't directly endanger anyone either. You just might survive here after all." Cora waved for Juniper to follow her back to the main room, and approached where the other climbers were doing their thing. "For the beginning, we will keep you on low risk tasks. It's for my liability and yours. The last thing you want is to see what happens when someone has a bad fall and their buddy doesn't catch them. Accidents happen, and there isn't always something you can do to stop it. But we make the best effort up front.
"All climbers have to take a belaying class. They all get tested on setting up their harnesses correctly, and they all get checked before they start a climb. I don't care how advanced someone is, I don't take risks with that type of crap." She waved an arm to a free climb area, where the spidermen and women of the world were exploring the rock wall. "The more advanced climbers have to really earn a right to go without ropes. Most of my top climbers have been here for 4 years or more, and they have had the spills to prove themselves. Not gonna scare you, but they will tell you if you're doing something wrong even before I will. Any questions?"
The tour was short, but there wasn't a whole lot to show. There were rocks. There were a lot of rocks, and handholds, and foot holds. Down the road they would address other tasks, like cleaning the wall, checking the hand holds, maintaining the gym, but day one didn't need to stress her with so much.
Coraline chuckled slightly at his comment. "There is always a worse one, depending on how you look at it. Genetics are a mixed bag of tricks. Some people control the elements, and some people can control office supplies. Although, I wouldn't snub my nose at that one, unless you've ever had an angry stapler come after you."
Mae smirked, but there was a hidden fondness beneath the surface. Her father was one of the few people she had a soft spot for, but she tended to keep that to herself. It was easier to be a brat and just not care. "He's alright. Brought us to New York, and can't say I mind. And if I ever ended up talking like a valley girl I would have probably strangled myself." Cora grimaced at the very idea. "Like, I can't handle like, how fast I have to redo my nails," she gave a mocking impression of some of her younger classmates, and held out her hands in mock stress. Her own nails were uncolored, short, and much more inline with her line of work.
Coraline was more amused than surprised when he climbed back on his bike and invited himself back for a climb. She considered for a second, then picked her helmet, pushing it on with a devious look. "Pretty sure the ride will be more exciting than hearing about my mutation but sure, follow the leader it is."
Cora snapped down the faceguard, and took off without looking back. She made sure not to speed to the point they would get in trouble, but still stayed a bit on the reckless side as she took some of the back-roads toward the gym. After a few sharp turns she felt she almost lost him, but he managed to catch back up. It gave a weird little rush she hadn't felt in awhile. Not many guys would have kept going this long. When they pulled alongside the building, she brought her bike into the employee parking area, leaving enough room in one of the spaces for him to leave his own bike. Her helmet she brought inside, and she waited at the door for him to join.
"So, this is it. Not as good as a real mountain, but it'll do."
The building was open, with different colored rocks stretching up in different arcs and challenge levels. Today there were a number of climbers and staff, most who gave a wave when she entered. Cora tipped a head toward them as she went, leading Sam toward one of the equipment stations. "Pick your poison. If you want to be a hotshot and go bouldering or something just make sure you sign a waver first. I don't plan on getting sued over anyone's ego," she warned.
Never getting cold? That sounded useful. Heck of a lot better than what Threads could do. ”The genetic lottery didn’t give me quite as useful of a mutation, but I guess it’s not the worst.” She didn’t volunteer an explanation of what she could do yet. She would let him ask if he was curious enough.
”Colorado huh? Vacationed there a couple times. Dad loved the mountains, if we hadn’t moved here I’m sure we would have landed closer to good climbing rocks. he was teasing her a little, and Cora shot an eyebrow up, smirking. ”I was raised in Cali, be glad I can even string sentences together correctly”. She escaped the state before she landed herself a surfer’s accent, thank goodness.
”I enjoy backpacking. Although I usually just treat a good hike as a way to find someplace to climb. I own a rock climbing gym, but that doesn’t quite compare to being outdoors.”
Posted by Threads on Feb 26, 2020 22:41:29 GMT -6
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Delta Mutant
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May 6, 2022 8:17:25 GMT -6
Mati
The girl had good responses, Cora would give her that. Either she did have good credentials or she was really well rehearsed. Either way, Cora was satisfied. Not all employers saw lying as a positive sign, but Cora felt someone willing to put so much effort a credible backstory also desperately wanted a job. People who wanted jobs were less likely to smoke in the bathroom.
”We will start you off with something simple: kids room. Depending on how you handle a bunch of rowdy munchkins without killing them can tell me a thing or two about your ability to last here.” Cora led the way around a corner and into an area with a heavily padded floor and a very low ceiling. She pointed to the setup, explaining as she went. ”This is the free climb playground. One climber per color, we are in charge of keeping them from knocking heads. If and when they fall, you make sure they get out of the way quickly so no one crashed into them.”
There were only three kids today: a tiny girl who was a spider monkey shooting for the top of her zone, a young boy who had barely made it two rocks high, and an older kid who was trying to jump from color to color (clearly the rule breaker).
”First challenge, greenhorn. Wrangle the stray munchkin.”
Cora normally left the hiring to her manager and the various underlings, but lately they had, well, poor taste. There had been a random twig of a child from the local high school that had the muscle strength of a toddler, and then there had been some stoner guy who tried putting his own harness on backwards two days in a row and had to get shown out the front door when he attempted to exit through the bathroom. Yeah, that was a winner. Cora grumbled to herself as she looked over the paperwork for the new chick. She seemed to have a lack of experience, but nothing on the paper screamed problematic.
Well, unless the name Juniper was just some type of foreshadowing. She had met her fair share of self proclaimed 'free spirits' to know that often meant they didn't believe in personal hygiene and thought smoke breaks were destined to last their entire shift.
Reaching the counter where the girl was waiting, Cora gave her a once over and then approached. "I hear you're shadowing today. Any rock climbing experience? Or, honestly, any life experience at all? I won't beat around the bush, I've had some shitty as f*** applicants lately, so my own customer service smile may be lacking." She glanced for a moment at the various threads lingering around the girl. It was a habit she couldn't quite break. Most people had small patches of them, almost like spiders webs tied to different parts of their body. Hands, wrists, ankles. The girl had her fair share, several dark threads mixed in with the different colors. While it was more than many people, Cora forced herself not to judge. Love was a messy business, and she knew that more than anyone.
He had a sense of humor. That made this more entertaining. Cora laughed at his analogy and managed a little shrug. "Okay, you got me. But I didn't shake you off so that's a point for you. I ride a lot for fun. Passes the time. Plus, this city is too crowded for anything bigger."
He circled and she let him. She had enough confidence to know both she and the bike could handle an inspection. She returned the favor now that her helmet was off. Still not a bad view. "If you ride fast enough, you'll stay warm. The adrenaline takes care of that. Although something tells me you just don't have issues with the cold."
Glancing back at his bike, she could tell by the tires and the general body it was still very new. That was probably more telling than anything. "So you taking the new one out for a spin? You have enough experience this can't just be an early midlife crisis for you."
She found herself distracted by threads, casually assessing the strings on Sam. Honestly, it didn't surprise her to see so many bundles of lighter colored strings. Most people had a good chord worth of of silver, and he had his fair share of light pink and coral threads. If she had to say what there was more of, it would be the coral. That was actually more common in adult males though, and she had learned not to be turned off by it. She had found worse in bars, for sure.
But, there were a few threads that seemed weird. She tried not to stare at them directly, but it was almost like they just, changed, before reaching him. Without actively picking those free she wouldn't know what caused it though. More reason to stick around, if anything. Curiosity and the cat, right?
"I like climbing more than riding, if I had to pick something I'm keen on. You ever rock-climb?" She asked, letting herself dig for a common interest.
