this is Salem, a land filled with magic and maladies. It is a place where witches and their elemental familiars gather, a home to legend and
lore that predates time itself. Yet of all the wicked and wonderful stories the past can tell us of, the most magical are the ones yet to happen.
This is Salem - this is the start of your very own journey. Welcome to starfall
Starfall is an animaga witch roleplay set in mostly modern times. Members play as witches in a world plagued by monsters, where the only safe spots are walled cities. Starfall strives to be a character-driven roleplay with expansive lore and a highly interactive plotline. We want to allow members to
create and look back on a magical journey, and mold the site and its plot as their characters grow.
Quoted from Saturnalia: [break][break] "The paint war of Mirrorlight Metropolis begins at 9:00 in the morning, starting from the city center and rapidly expanding outwards to cover the entire city. People join forces in teams, each with an official colour, with the goal of covering the largest area in the city with their colour by sundown." [break][break] The restrictions on the public use of nonviolent magic are loosened on this day, allowing witches to go to dramatic lengths to paint the city in whatever color they choose. Wind witches (and anyone with a broomstick) can be found splattering paint across the upper floors of skyscrapers, summoners can summon creatures to help them cover more ground, augmenters can enhance their own speed to cover ground faster, illusionists can make people think that the walls are already covered in color to make them pass by, and so-on. There are always wild stories to tell about peoples' antics by the end of the day.
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[attr="class","stafftemptitle"] how to play
For each of your posts in this thread, insert one of the following random number codes depending on what color you want to support (please remember to remove the asterisk (*) in the roll tag and replace the word COLOR with the color of your team): [break] [div][attr="class","COLOR-team"][*roll][/div]
The teams available are red team, yellow team, green team, and purple team! [break][break] Using magic or skills to help you can also increase your score by adding multipliers to what you roll: [break]1.25x will be applied to a roll if a general skill or basic spell is used to good effect [break]1.5x will be applied to a roll if a gold-ranked general skill, ADV spell, or MAS spell is used to good effect [break][break]("Good effect" here means finding a way for that spell to actually help the painting efforts -- don't use things like a highly destructive rockslide spell which will actually damage the city just because it's a high level spell. If you do so, points will be retracted from your team) [break][break] Using skills and spells from different magical branches in conjunction with each other can earn you up to two multipliers on the same number. Spells cast by other members of the same team to help your character can also contribute to these multipliers! [break][break] Double posting is not allowed. Also, if two people who are painting with the same color post consecutively, that color will not be allowed to be used in the following post. For example, if the first post is to help the red team, then another person posts to help the red team again, the third post needs to help any of the colors that are not red. (This is to prevent two people on the same team from rapid-fire posting their way to victory). [break][break] The team with the highest sum of points will win! There will also be small bonus rewards for certain achievements (such as being the person who contributes the highest percentage of points to their team). [break][break] Have fun!
[attr="class","junescroll"] he has never been one to turn down a celebration -- not one like this, anyway. there is a metamorphosis underway, the unmarked walls of a city en-route to becoming a kaleidoscope of colours, victim to festival-giddy witches with the power of the elements at their fingertips.[break][break]
it is not destruction that he seeks, this time, ( a pity, moosely remarks, it is our specialty ) and it takes him a moment to tune his strategies towards more peaceable manners. in one of the brief moments before all hell breaks loose, maddox takes the time to establish a networking spell with his teammates, fingers brushing lightly against an upper arm or shoulder, the tell-tale light of the atheneum interface reflective in his eyes. "give a shout if you find anything interesting or you need a hand," he calls out -- there's a breath, a horn blaring in the distance, and it all descends into chaos.[break][break]
that being said, though, he thrives in the disarray, and perhaps particularly so in the lack of bloodshed the celebration has offered him: moosely thunders down a cobblestone path as maddox raises a hand stained wine-dark with paint, calls up the winds and watches a dragon scatter the paints against a wall. he aims far and high; stretches out gossamer wings and launches himself off the familiar's back. there is prime territory up above the heads of the crowds, on building peaks and skyscraper windows -- after all, what sort of air witch is afraid of heights?[break][break]
[attr="class","cclyrics"]bite my tongue bide my time
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[attr="class","ccscroll"]her mind is buzzing with a million different ideas, enthusiasm threatening to burst at the seams. the paint war! arguably a favourite of hers, though oftentimes she is limited in her participation -- a frail physicality helps little in such an event. though, this year, it is different. that is to say: she is stronger.[break][break]
she glances down, absently wiping already yellow-stained fingers on the hem of her skirt. it leaves little imprints like scattered sunflowers, though she reckons it won't last. she remembers how chaotic these days get, and it only makes her all the happier for it. nothing quite like a good bout of government-sanctioned mischief![break][break]
magic curls in the centre of her palms, and she offers a teammate a good-natured pat on the shoulder. a little speed boost never hurt anyone. the same spell now applied to herself, she offers her teammate a sunny grin, and darts down the nearest alleyway. she's always been good with navigating herself in strange cities -- the buildings of mirrorlight may tower far above those of sundial, and its streets far wider, but a city is a city regardless, and she will dismantle its maze sooner or later.[break][break]
a flash of light, a light rumble of an amused familiar; saskia balances delicately atop luci's broad shoulders to colour the wall a brilliant sun-spun gold.[break][break]
[attr="class","pipostpost"]Well, Medeia will never know. That's what Claire likes to think. [break][break]
But then, maybe she will know. That's what Claire is supposed to think. Medeia is a seasoned witch, and to some she is almost like a goddess herself--omnipotent, omnipresent, ever-seeing, so Claire doubts she'll get through this without at least getting a heavy side-eye glance when she gets back to the Hall with paints of all colors on her. [break][break]
Right now she's part of the unofficial team representing the Helios Knights. She has carefully tucked away her Crest--now Medeia would kill her if the Crest gets another color other than Royal Red and Shining Gold. For her paint, Claire has Vani saddled like a horse, which of course, he isn't happy about. But the argument is over and Claire has won. [break][break]
When the signal comes, everyone gives a rallying shout and proceeds the chaos. Claire gets on Vani, and the boar happily thunders along the road. Claire also brought Caramel, her trusty stryx, and the bird carries with its talons a bucket of red paint and is now flying peacefully, splashing the paint all over a roof. [break][break]
As for Claire, she gets a bucket of red paint, and dips a couple of brushes in it. With a simple flick of her wrist, the paint brushes glow and flies all over the place--the walls, the windows, the lamp posts, everything, and begins painting them red. She does this with a couple more brushes. The automation charm would wear off in about five minutes or so. [break][break]
So far so good, until Caramel cries out. Claire cranes her neck up and sees a huge wind dragon spraying purple paint all over Caramel's hard work. The stryx isn't too happy about that and it begins squawking at the dragon as if to tell it "fuck off, dragon!!"[break][break]
[attr="class","junescroll"] there's a squawking that catches his ear, an awful little sound that pierces through the howling winds. he chances a glance down -- oh, he's pretty far up -- to catch a glimpse of an owl-like being, and somewhere far below, a shock of pale blonde hair and a giant boar. recognition flickers faintly in his eyes. he knows this knight; doesn't quite hate her as much as the rest, because they've worked together on a mission and she's really quite reliable in a fight.[break][break]
he takes the moment to pause, arm curved around a metal railing on the outside of the building, bucket of paint dangling loosely from his other hand. contemplates, lightly, what he wants to do. he could try to dispel whatever magic she has going on for her, but really, there's no fun in that. the dragon curls and roils upwards into the sky, vanishing with a shriek, sending one last triumphant splatter of paint against the building behind maddox for good measure.[break][break]
from this vantage point, what is he seeing? he calls up a map of the city to his interface, briefly taking the moment to compare it against the splashes of colour he sees blossoming across the city. there. there's a spot not too far from where they are.[break][break]
he releases his hold on the building, momentarily allowing for a free-fall ( a laugh is ripped past him by the wind, but the grin is unmistakeable ). then -- a flare of the wings -- he slows just as he nears claire, raising a hand to gesture at a still-unmarked wall not too far ahead of them. "race ya!"[break][break]
not that he waits. there is an unceremonious landing -- moosely trumpets out his disagreement with the sudden weight on his back -- and then he's off, fingers curled tight in the familiar's fur as moosely bolts towards the wall.[break][break]
[attr="class","pipostpost"]Caramel screeches as the wind dragon howls even louder. It struggles against the heavy winds and dove headfirst against the dragon. It may be small--tiny, even--but it will not let this stupid winds ruin her work. It would have been a victory, but before Caramel could hit the swirling gusts, the wind dragon dissipated. Caramel hits the brakes and lands on a window sill. [break][break]
The stryx, with its wide, trained eyes, spots a man descending from midair. Aha. Gotcha. [break][break]
From below, Claire sees that Caramel is safe, and that she is just mildly annoyed with the dragon. Along with Caramel gracefully descending is a man free falling to the ground. Claire would have swooped in to save him, but she knows he doesn't need any help. On the last few meters or so he sprouts a pair of wings and lands atop his familiar, who by now Claire knows is Moosely. [break][break]
He points to a wall not too far ahead of them. They're racing, that's what he said. [break][break]
Well, okay, Claire thinks. She catches her balance as Vani sprints forward a split second after Moosely does. For the boar, it's just instinct. Not forgetting the mission, Claire keeps up the automation charm. She chants a small incantation and grants Vani a speed boost. The boar gains speed a second after the augmentation. [break][break]
The wind feels good against Claire's face. The tense of her muscles as she keeps up with Vani is familiar and soothing. "HAH!" Claire exults. "See ya later!" As if to back up her claims, Caramel can be heard squawking at Maddox and Moosely, and is very determined to keep up with the familiars.[break][break]
"Seems like you angered Caramel," Claire says to Maddox, chuckling slightly.[break][break]
[attr="class","red-team"]5X879JV4
#maddox rothscus ✨, open[break] red team, x1.25 multiplier[break] (1) automation charm[break] (2) augmentation for dummies: speed
[attr="class","junescroll"] he thinks, for a moment, that he has the lead. then, realisation comes with the thundering hoofbeats of a giant boar and -- he barely catches it -- a murmured incantation. claire and vani are quickly pulling up beside them, and, he realises with mild surprise, edging ahead.[break][break]
"oh, shit!" it is an exclamation somewhere between a gasp and a laugh. he had forgotten she was an augmentor, and a powerful one at that. a terrible slip of memory, really, because it is vital information in a race. "forgot you could do that!" moosely's hooves clack a mismatched staccato on the cobblestone road, every three beats interrupted by a sharp metallic clack. it thrums a wardrum rhythm against his own ribs, and he's leaning forward even more, calling up the winds once more to hasten the pace. they're keeping pace with the speed-augmented duo, but barely.[break][break]
he chances a glance backwards at the stryx. "looks like i have," he shouts back, over the racket they're making as they charge down the street. to the winged companion, he bares his teeth in a grin, and tosses over his shoulder, "i'm not sorry!"[break][break]
just for good measure, he tilts the paint bucket in his hand and stretches out a wing, sending a brilliant violet streak scattering across a line of unfortunate shop windows as they bolt past. moosely slows in his stride ever so slightly as he does so -- such is the price for idle distraction -- and maddox returns his focus back to the race just in time to see claire and vani gain a decisive lead.[break][break]
[attr="class","gearcore"] Despite staying up late for the lantern festival last night (and after the ritual finished and everyone went home, staying up even later to overanalyze the cryptic words of a seer), Zeph was up bright and early this morning for Mirrorlight's annual paint war. He's been a regular participant for years, usually joining his friends in Jester's Den with their traditional blue. But, with the absence of Val (and, consequently the Jester's Den team) this year he'd decided to take the opportunity to split off from his usual group and ramp up hit competitiveness.
He had a plan, he had an army -- a very tiny, mechanical army, but an army nonetheless -- and he was ready to go at least five full minutes before the official start of the event.
Before the start is announced, he feels a pat on his shoulder and immediately turns to see if someone from another team is trying to stick a curse on him or something. The waves of red hair make his brain jump to Sirius before backpedaling -- this wasn't the socially awkward assassin's scene at all, and this smiling face wasn't anything like his usual stoic demeanor. The crafter is relieved, at least, when he sees some yellow paint in her hands, indicating that they're allies.
"Doyaneedsometh-- oh!" His words come out too quickly at first, the speed augment taking him by pleasant surprise, but, after realizing what she'd done, he beams at her and continues at a more regulated pace, "Thanks! Y'know it's dangerous t' go into a paint war alone; take these." Reaching into his bag (too deeply for the bag to be anything but magic), he offers her five clockwork mice, each carrying in their mouth a paint roller which was comically large compared to their little bodies.
The streets are chaos once the war begins, and Zephyr can be seen leaping straight over the majority of the earthbound crowds, assisted by the readhead girl's speed augment and his own artificial legs. He paints the walls as he goes, but has a clear destination in mind: the closest large-scale paint vendor.
[attr="class","cclyrics"]bite my tongue bide my time
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[attr="class","ccscroll"]there's the way his words trip out of his mouth in their augmented haste; she grins, sunspark bright. "sorry! shoulda given a little more warning!" is all that she manages, before she is bolting away on her own personal quest. but! her hands seem heavier than she initially recalled, and she pauses momentarily in her painting to note a handful of oddly configured mice. automatons? she's heard about them.[break][break]
that's the thing about the speed augment, you see. sometimes your mind and your body don't quite work in tandem, because though she clutches the clockwork mice tightly against her torso, she cannot help but feel anything but mildly bewildered. grateful, yes, but-[break][break]
"wait-" and now she's urging luci back out of the alleyway, the bear loping forward with ease, "hold on- they're very cute, sir, but how do i use these?" she scans the streets, searching desperately for the face she had glimpsed for no longer than a split-second earlier. oh, drat, where's he gone?[break][break]
luci rears up on her hind legs; she towers above a good deal of the crowd now, and it is all saskia can do to hold on. 'there,' the bear rumbles, and takes off into a sprint. the sight of a bear barreling down the street is a distinctive sight, even if one doesn't quite focus on the far smaller figure perched on its back; saskia takes the opportunity to detach a few of the paint-bombs from her belt and affix it to the head of an otherwise harmless arrow.[break][break]
she draws back, takes aim, and lets the arrows fly: the windows of a passing shop suddenly find themselves coloured with a bright sunflower mural. a breathless peal of laughter escapes her, then she's turning back to the matter at hand: catching up to the mystery teammate.[break][break]
"hey- hi! dangerous to go alone, yeah?" she echoes back cheerfully, shouting across the distance. "and also! how do i use these?"
TAGS @team green. One member strong. NOTES SURPRISE LOVE ME
❀
What a pretty day it was outside. He could see the sun glittering into his bedroom window. And it was time for the paint war to start. Wait it was what time? Shit.
Mickey flew out of his bedroom with socks that didn’t match and unkempt blonde hair flapping around as he used what mana he had to blink around the rooftops to try and get to the starting point. He was already super late and it looked like everything was starting. Well shit. He wondered if anyone else showed up for his team. Spoiler alert: nope.
"Time to start painting..." It was kind of sad. He didn’t really have any skills that could help him with painting the town green. His illusions wouldn’t help him here and besides vanishing or trapping people with darkness his elemental abilities were equally as mismatched for this contest. Damn it all though he would win this. For the honor or the Lady Fane Fanclub! His mistress deserved this honor after all.
“Alright Sera. Let’s get painting!” He shouts handing his raccoon familiar a paintbrush... a green bucket of paint between them. Vigorous competition be damned they would work the hardest they could being by far the weakest competitors here. HAAAAAAA.
He plopped on his sun glasses and the pair began stroking the green paint on whatever surfaces they could. If they couldn’t reach high enough the raccoon would stand on his head to paint. If that wasn’t enough they would blink to reach it. Green shall win. GLORIOUS GREEN OF LADY FANE. Yeah. I don’t even know.
LAIKA OF GS!
[attr="class","green-team"]GVSIQq6K
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Last Edit: Oct 13, 2019 1:38:33 GMT by Mickey Hassan
[attr="class","pipostpost"]Well, Maddox just makes the situation worst for him and Moosely. Caramel doesn't understand a single word, of course, but the tone of Maddox's voice is enough for the bird to realize that the man doesn't mean well. The stryx flaps its wings wildly, attempting to catch up with the speed of the Moose. The winds knock it back though, and it squawks even louder.[break][break]
And when Maddox splashes purple hues wildly, Caramel has to dodge just not to get sprayed purple--and weighed down.
Claire grins as Vani pulls ahead. The augmentation starts wearing off, but it doesn't matter--they're already ahead. Claire wonders why Maddox doesn't just purify her abilities. She also wonders, what if he does? Her movement would not really be impaired per se, she just won't be able to boost her abilities. But then again, purification can also impair her physical and magical state. She sighs at that thought. Purification is such a scary affinity, Claire is glad that she hasn't angered a purifier in her entire life, else she's dead beat. [break][break]
The automation charm on the paintbrushes starts wearing off, too, and each of them makes one last trip to the bucket, then, the surfaces, then back to the bucket and there they stayed. Claire decides to test another enchant--she picks up a bucket full of red paint, then casts a small charm. Almost immediately the bucket shrinks in size, and Claire throws it at the nearest building. [break][break]
With a loud pop and an even louder splash, the volatile bucket explodes, spraying red paint all over the walls and windows and streets. Claire really likes that.[break][break]
"Loser gets to do the bucket challenge!" Claire taunts. What is the bucket challenge, one may ask? It's getting a bucket to spill its contents on the head of a person, coloring them with such perfect hues.[break][break]
[attr="class","red-team"]OKeYVG23
#maddox rothscus ✨ , open![break] red team, x1.25 multiplier[break] (1) automation charm[break] (2) augmentation for dummies: speed[break] (3) expel trigger[break]
[attr="class","a1lyric"]i got nothing but dreams inside[break] i got nothing but dreams
[attr="class","a1lyric2"]i'm just young enough to still believe, still believe [break]young enough not to know what to believe
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[attr="class","a1white"]
[attr="class","a1scroll"] The horn blares and he doesn’t notice everyone is gone until, well, they’re gone. McKenna is out and she’s urging him to move quickly. She’s donned in green paint, adding a mossy look to her usually silver pelt. Aiden is dressed for comfort, in beat up sneakers, a well worn hoodie, and old jeans stained with what he would be telling everyone was old red and brown paint. A green bandanna is tied around his head to signify what team he’s on. He’s armed with a common super soaker, that sloshed loudly with emerald paint.
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It would have been mildly surprising to Marjorie, had he deigned to tell her he was even participating today, but she would have definitely been a little cross he hadn’t decided to represent the usual red and gold he did so proudly in his day to day life. That was the point though. This wasn’t for them, for the knights. It was for him. For one day of the year he was back to being himself again, doing whatever the hell he wanted. Aiden had been itching for this event. A good ole fashioned paint war where the city allowed every single witch in the city to flex their magical might. And Aiden was a radically different witch now than he was last year.
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He paid no mind to the yells of other witches, avoiding a paint splash here and there as they moved through the streets. McKenna whispers and idea to him and Aiden waits for McKenna to move into the astral and pop back out at the top of a building. He switches with her, blinking through existence before grinning as he looked over the rooftops. Aiden pulled out buckets of paint from his bag of holding, popping lids before clapping his hands together to pop buckets of paint up and around the roof. Mana blasts out from around in loud claps before switching with Mckenna again to nearby buildings. After a few roofs he settled back to the ground floor, catching his breath. Yeah, roofs were prime territory but they were pretty small all things considered. He needed to push more paint and hyper focusing on smaller areas that were ignored probably wouldn’t help that much. IT didn’t feel efficient. And he wanted to win so he needed to be better about it.
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McKenna alerts him of another comrade in green, and he waves lightly as the boy works. Alternatives still running through his head he asked Mickey a question instead of actually greeting him. “You think they count the sewers towards the point total?” He imaged sewers were a common place to graffiti but then again, they would have mentioned it right. “Sorry, hey, need a refill…?”
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[attr="class","green-team"]0w5XX0HR
[break][break] spells used | bag of holding, scroll of the switch, concussion wave
[attr="class","s1lyrics1"]constellation of tears on your lashes
[attr="class","s1lyrics2"]burn everythign you love then burn the ashes
[attr="class","s1write"]
[attr="class","s1scroll"]
It wasn’t his first choice. Really, he liked all team colors equally and he had been gunning for Yellow in particular for one very special reason, and then right before Ezra’s words rang in his head, in his thoughts, in his dreams and he couldn’t help but feel a little...lazy. A little...what was it? Apathetic. Hell, he distinctly remembered he had been about to throw it in when Maddox had mentioned wanting to participate. As the family member he knew the least of, since he saw him the least as he often was gone most nights, it seemed like as good a time as any. He had not...anticipated how strong his cousin was. Or how quickly the older man rushed off with his beast of a familiar, probably baiting another equally strong witch on the red team.
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Nope. “You missed a spot!” he shouted as the taller man rushed off, left only with a wet roller brush and a large, annoyed bird. Not as large as usual, his size constrained down that to a being of 6 ft, but still tall and bulky. Attached to his usually regal and jeweled chest was buckets of paint tied on, probably leading to his annoyance in the first place. “This is degrading.” he hissed, glaring at any witch that dared eye him for a good paint splashing. “C’mon, I don’t have any spells to help me with this.” Corvus said as the fiery bird preened himself. He could still move comfortably, he just hated being treated as transportation. “You do-”
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“I’m still working on that with Siobhan, doesn't last that long.” the Purple witch dismissed as he peeled away form the road into an alleyway tossing paint here and there while them diligently painting the ground he walked with his very long brush. He moves with decent enough speed, not afraid to paint behind objects people missed and covering up wet paint with his messy purple. He moves towards a particularly stubborn yellow patch that just seems to grow before he realizes he’s running into competition and he hears a bright laugh. “Turn back, we’ll find somewhere less crowded.” Corvus hisses as he spots familiar red hair and a polar bear mount. He backs into a different alley. “Let’s try to head to the outskirts maybe there’s less competition there.” he adds before his familiar can say anything, already sensing the roiling mess of emotions his witch was trying very hard to ignore. Instead, the bird sighs once more, before taking flight as Corvus rests behind a dumpster. His eyes flash as Philippe transmits a path that seems untouched by any color other than grey. With that in mind, Corvus sets to work, moving out immediately.
[attr="class","junescroll"] he is remembering, belatedly, about the cousin he has abandoned back somewhere where they started. feels, only for the slightest of moments, a pang of guilt. corvus can handle himself, right? it's not like he left him alone on a blood-wild battlefield -- there is nothing to lose in this war but their pride. just for good measure, though, and to ease the dart of guilt on his conscience, he takes a moment to push into the mental network he created at the start, until he finds a mind he recognises as corvus'.[break][break]
"there's an alley to your nine o'clock that hasn't been touched yet," he says without preamble, shifting the map he had previously called up over towards corvus' corner of the interface. he knows it's a funny sensation for those unused to it, and he doesn't doubt that probably something foreign to his cousin, but he's at least hoping corvus recognises his voice. then, brightly, as he returns his attention to his losing race, "have fun! see ya later!"[break][break]
it is the crash of a paint bucket that catches his attention, really, and he chances a glance over his shoulder to watch as a nearby building turns a bright, bold crimson. he doesn't pause -- just barks out a wild laugh and tosses one of his buckets up into the air -- the dragon shrieks to life once more and sweeps it along its path. where the red paint drips down the walls and windows of the building, painting roses on the cobblestone grounds, the roof of the building is now dyed a distinct, defiant purple.[break][break]
there really isn't any point in trying to win this race anymore. or, rather, he simply cannot see any way he can without edging into potentially rule-breaking territory. thus begins the process of accepting defeat, as they draw closer to the target wall, and moosely begins to measure his steps just so he doesn't entirely demolish the wall. he would, in any other situation, but he's gone through so much effort to risk being disqualified now.[break][break]
maddox bares his teeth in a smile, knife-sharp and dauntless. just because he lost doesn't mean he has to act like it. "no problem here," he declares, chin lifted and eyes bright, "i look bloody great in red."[break][break]
