<div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Anthro Coliseum</strong></span></div><br/>Anthro Coliseum is a sexy, furry, steampunk role-play based around characters who are gladiators in this world's most popular sport, coliseum combat.  It's centered around a dominant/submissive hierarchy that's enforced by the arena fighting where the losers become subservient to the winners.  Those that win often may put together teams of gladiators to continue making a name for themselves, winning fame and fortune.  This role-play will focus on one such "House" of Gladiators, Bellarose, led by Celeste Bellarose, the veteran alligator warrior.<br/><br/>The setting for Anthro Coliseum is primarily steampunk with minor magical elements.  Firearms exist in this setting, but for the most part are absent from the arena itself (due to the effect it has on the theatrics of combat).  Despite that, inventors and tinkerers push the boundaries with various devices including smoke and flash grenades, just nothing too terribly explosive.  Magic is present, but is weak.  There are no fireball slinging sorcerers (or rather, those are incredibly rare), but there may be people who can infuse their inventions with magic or perform minor acts of magical healing.  The coliseum is old, so most of the battles are centered around sword/shield style combat, but there are many variations in that formula.  While those arena matches will be big features of the role-play, solo and group battles will be rare, mostly used for dramatic situations.  The focus on the role-play is on the characters and how they interact with one another.<br/><br/>As stated before, there is a winner-take-all dynamic to the arena combat and that's what sets up the premise for Anthro Coliseum.  When a gladiator wins a match against their opponent, they gain that person as a servant.  This comes with increased income from the arena, a larger place to live with more advanced facilities and more luxury.  Large teams have mansions to inhabit with advanced training rooms, workshops and anything else they might need.  Conversely, smaller teams and solo gladiators are simply afforded shelter and what they need to get by.  Of course, in addition to winning wealth as well as fame through repeated matches, the losers-turned-servants now have to do as their master instructs.  This can be as simple as housework and chores, but for many of the gladiatorial houses, it also involves sex.<br/><br/>That's where the sexy aspect of this RP comes in.  Bellarose House takes a particularly casual approach to sex with at least one nymphomaniac and others who are simply eager to please.  Sex can and will happen in the group thread, set up as an open invitation to join in, but it will also happen alongside dialogue and other story-elements that would otherwise be kept separate.  Celeste may walk in on one of her servants sucking another one off, but she may not feel that turned on, so simply sits down next to them and talks about their training regiment and upcoming battles.  Maybe she decides to join in in the end, but she certainly doesn't have to.  Sex is commonplace in this RP and it's expected that those in higher tiers of the hierarchy will use those lower on the pole whenever they feel inclined.<br/><br/>So, how does the hierarchy work?  Characters are sorted into tiers.  Celeste is the leader and she is at tier 1.  There can only be one tier 1 gladiator, who owns all the others and the property they occupy, but there are multiple beneath her.  Those that lost to her directly occupy tier 2 and are obliged to do as Celeste asks.  They are on the same level, though, so they have no obligations to each other.  However, if one of the tier 2 gladiators started with their own servant before losing to Celeste, that one now occupies tier 3 and all of the other characters, the other tier 2's and Celeste, have this gladiator at their beck and call.  Each lower tier works for those in the higher tier, even if they didn't lose to them directly.<br/><br/>Of course, fighters that lose to others are not done being gladiators.  Tier 2 and onward still fight in matches, but it's now for the benefit of the team.  The house leader (Celeste) officiates and plans matches, but each match still has the weight of gaining or losing someone to the winner.  In the case of larger groups, servants of the ones fighting can be bet instead of the owners in question.  A tier 2 can wager one of their tier 3's (or tier 4's, etc.) and if they lose, they lose that servant.  Their wager has to be matched by their opponent before it can commence.  However, if the tier 1 wagers and loses a battle, they may lose their entire team, going along with them to serve the winner in their house.  In this way, houses can trade servants in an ongoing battle for gladiators and the wealth that comes with them.<br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Cast</strong></span></div><br/><strong>Tier 1</strong><br/>Celeste Bellarose:<div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body"><div class="floatleft">(http://d.facdn.net/art/nuttynut93/1500943414/1500943364.nuttynut93_17._ready_for_action_.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> Celeste Bellarose<br/><strong>Species:</strong> Alligator<br/><strong>Tier:</strong> 1<br/><strong>Who I belong to:</strong> Nobody<br/><br/><strong>Appearance:</strong> Celeste stands tall, almost amazonian (although not the tallest around) at about 6' even.  It's easy to see just from a cursory examination that, while certainly curvy, almost excessively so, her body is well-toned and muscular.  One gold-colored eye stares with piercing vision while the other is obscured behind an eye-patch.  Below that, the eye, blinded permanently from a vicious fight long ago, sits colored white with the scarring over the wound that took her vision initially.  Over Celeste's hide are the scars from many battles, but they merely amplify what was already an intimidating figure to appear battle-hardened.  Her other most notable features include her dense, curly hair and her large, meaty tail.  Both she's quite proud of, but the latter sees use in battle.<br/><br/><strong>Personality/Fighting Style:</strong> Hailing to her roots, Celeste is an ambush predator.  She doesn't wait around for her opponent to make a mistake, but neither is she aggressive in her attacks.  She waits on the defensive with a shield to protect her before lashing out at the perfect opportunity with her sword, or twin swords if she's feeling confident in her chances.  This is an attitude that reflects in her overall personality as the gator is patient, but observant.  She is willing to put her pleasure on hold if it means that she can get what she really wants later.  Of course, nowadays, she doesn't have to wait very long at all if what she wants is pleasure, but the skill is one that has taken her far over the years.<br/><br/>In the arena, Celeste resorts to a careful, balanced stance.  She starts with a sword and shield with another sword set at her hip.  She doesn't wear much in the way of armor for mobility, but she does wear pieces of leather and metal covering what she deems her most vulnerable spots.  Where some more mobile anthros rely on speed to harass their opponent, Celeste knows how to protect herself.  It doesn't take her nearly as much energy to hold a shield as it does to attack one and this gator is good at protecting herself.  In the end, she uses this defense to force her opponents to behave more aggressively and when that happens, they tend to lower their guard.  Once they lower their guard, that's when the death roll starts.<br/><br/>Unarmed, Celeste is still formidable.  Assuming one can guard easily enough from her strikes, usually punches, they still have to contend with spin-fueled impacts from her tail, heavier than either of her legs and even longer.  While her specific style of boxing is how her punches and other strikes manifest, her unarmed skill lays mostly in her ability to grapple and force an opponent to surrender through painful holds.  Her height gives her a lot of leverage in this and the strength of her tail gives her an advantage that many without often underestimate.<br/><br/>Celeste isn't quite on the level of a nymphomaniac by any real stretch of the imagination, but she is quite liberal when it comes to satisfying her urges and after years of submitting to her former master, she knows what she likes.  While patient, Celeste is also unafraid of taking advantage of her authority in this regard.  Nowadays, she rarely takes time to satisfy herself alone.  After all, what's the point of teaching others how to satisfy you when you don't get to enjoy the fruits of your labors?  So, while it's fun to have a little minx/fox hybrid between her legs under the table, Celeste is not above taking a break from training to force Onyx or Rein to take her from behind.  She's unabashed and lusty when the time comes and now that she never has to ask nicely, she also never hesitates.<br/><br/><strong>Background:</strong> Celeste Bellarose was never really alien to the arena.  As a child, her family frequented the coliseum and it was easy to get into the spirit of things with how enthusiastic the rest of her family was.  The gator still has fond memories of sneaking into training camps to watch the fighters do their thing and roughhousing with friends and family.  As she got older, however, her siblings started to look elsewhere for their future.  Her heart, however, was still set in the center of the coliseum with a roaring crowd and opponent to confront.  She willfully joined the league of gladiators herself as soon as she turned 18 and while she had some luck early on, it soon became clear how inexperienced she was and that put Celeste out of her depth.<br/><br/>A few years after starting, Celeste succumbed to the fate that all fighters seem to at one point or anther.  Having lost all her servants, she challenged and lost to an older, more experienced fighter.  From then on, she was his slave, one of his tier 2 fighters and as the years went by and she got even older, her master began to retire from fighting himself and operated the house more as gladiatorial team.  That didn't mean that she was no longer his servant, though, and she was still obliged to serve her master faithfully and dutifully.  Nowadays, she's hard-pressed to say anything truly bad about her former master, as while serving him wasn't all to her liking, she did learn much from him and the others who served him.  The house itself was one of the higher ranking ones in the league.  They always lost out to the most famous houses, but they did make a name for themselves.  <br/><br/>After almost two decades of service, Celeste challenged her master and earned her freedom.  Not to escape any cruel villainy, of course, but to strike out on her own once more and to test what she learned.<br/><br/>Years in the spotlight as one of her house's skilled fighters were over.  Celeste had a few fans from her fights before, but not so many followed into her solo career.  The first thing she needed to do was build up her own house, use her team to win some key fights and start making a name for herself.  The Bellarose House was only one, lonely gator, but with what she'd learned, it wouldn't take long to start filling it.  Her first conquest was Rein, a wolf with potential.  Celeste saw that potential in him, but it was being squandered by his current master.  It was going to be easy to rip the wolf from that den of inadequacy and when she got her chance, she snatched him up.  She had at least a decade of experience on him, so the fight, while hard-fought, was definitely tilted in her favor.<br/><br/>So, the Bellarose House had it's first tier 2 member and for a moment, it looked as though that's how it was going to be for the foreseeable future.  At least until Celeste found someone she both knew she could defeat and would be a good addition to her team.  It wasn't until she met Onyx, coming eagerly in tow with Rose, that she found her next two members.  That deal was an especially interesting one.  The most important thing for Celeste was that she be careful in her fights, find people she was confident against, but skilled enough to contribute.  Onyx was one such person, but since Onyx was still fairly new to the arena, and city-life in general, there wasn't a lot of information that the gator could get her hands on and in the face of that uncertainty, she would've just as easily avoided fighting the dragon than engage her in battle.  Of course, she didn't have to.  She was thankful when the dragon offered her loyalty in exchange for training.  Celeste was happy to oblige.  She planned on doing that already and the fact that it came without a battle, and with a handy inventor as well, just sweetened the deal.  <br/><br/>So, Celeste's team got their 3rd and 4th members and the gator was finally ready to start setting her sights farther up on the rungs of fame and fortune.  She tries to make sure to train with at least one of them every day.  Learning kicking styles from Rose, testing her strength against Onyx and a little of both with Rein.  Each addition to her team brings something new for Celeste to learn and, in return, a new pupil for her to teach and then, when the time comes, to rock the coliseum with gladiators she, herself, honed to a fine, cutting edge.</div></div><br/><br/><br/><strong>Tier 2 </strong><br/>Onyx Forgebear<div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body"><strong>Character Name:</strong> Onyx Forgebearer<br/><strong>Species:</strong> Dragon<br/><strong>Tier:</strong> 2<br/><strong>Who I belong to:</strong> Celeste <br/><br/><strong>Appearance:</strong> <div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Body Appearance (NSFW)</div><div class="spoiler_body">http://i.imgur.com/AkrPocX.png</div></div><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Cock Appearance (NSFW)</div><div class="spoiler_body">http://i.imgur.com/0pGloZf.png</div></div>A black and white dragon standing 6'6" tall at the tips of her horns, with an 8' wingspan. Onyx has green eyes, white fins, and a long, pointed cock covered in ridges that can stand up when she is excited or cumming, acting almost like a series of little knots. She is largely carnivorous and wears little but jewelry in non-combat situations.<br/><br/><strong>Personality/Fighting Style:</strong> Onyx makes an imposing figure at any time. Her disinterest in clothing and tendency to wear little but jewelry when out of her armor somewhat offsets this in social circumstances, but does so by adding an entirely <em>different</em> kind of intimidation. She's a fun-loving and unapologetic nymphomaniac, a passionate craftsman, and an unrelenting warrior.<br/><br/>As a skilled blacksmith Onyx has at least basic training with just about every kind of weapon or armor made, as it is hard to craft a balanced sword if you're not enough of a swordsman to <em>tell</em>. As such she lacks true expertise in any one weapon but makes up for this with an in depth understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each, allowing her to choose her gear before a match to best counter her opponents favored tools.<br/><br/>When fighting as part of a group she relies on light armor and sudden strikes to take advantage of the superior mobility her wings grant her over most foes in the arena, the natural armor or her scales also further protects her even as she distracts, harries, harasses, and flanks the enemy team until they make a mistake and she can capitalize with a sudden strike. While such attacks require commitment and leave her open to attack she is skilled at reading the difference between a true opportunity and a faint destined to draw her in.<br/><br/>Regardless of her weapon or armor of choice for any given battle she is used to change above all other things and responds to changing battlefield conditions with an ease and poise that frequently leaves her opponents wondering what happened even as she leave the arena to the cheers of adoring fans and with another victory under her belt.<br/><br/><strong>Background:</strong> Onyx was born to a large litter of hatchings in a family long known for their metalcraft. While many of her siblings focused on working with precious metals like gold or silver, a few joined her in the forging of iron and steal into weapons of war. However the acquisition of wealth did not satisfy Onyx like her broodmates. She craved a horde of flesh and blood in the form of servants and companions, an unusual but not entirely unknown craving among dragonkind and the source of their famous love of Princesses, though in truth almost any nobly born woman would do simply because those were the women with the best education and speech.<br/><br/>As kidnapping a princess, or any female noble, and bringing her home to the mountain range she shared with her family would bring unwanted assaults on her kin, Onyx sought another way to gather the companionship she craved. Upon hearing about the gladiatorial arena and the slave fighters there she consulted with her family before turning over all her positions aside from her weapons, armor, and smithing hammer to her kin. She sought out a skilled, powerful, but kind veteran and made a contract to become her slave, like any other defeated gladiator, in exchange for training and experience in the area. While she could have tried to challenge for her freedom and tried to make it on her own for several years now, Onyx finds she has almost everything she wants already and is content to follow Celeste and develop her relationships with her Mistress and fellow slaves.<br/><br/>Only a little while ago was she faced off against the young fox Rose Dandy-Ba, whose clever contraptions and special shot were unable to pierce the heavy armor and great lung capacity of her dragonic foe, while Onyx needed only a single blow with her iron shod bo-staff to lay out the younger woman. She has since come to greatly enjoy the friendly attentions of her curious young slave and constantly seeks to find some way to fire the same lust and pleasure in her pet that Rose kindles so easily in her, seeking to make her desirable and cute little slave into just as much of a sex addict as herself.</div></div><br/>Rein Valkard:<div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body"><div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/yp3k1mQ.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> Rein Valkard<br/><strong>Species:</strong> Wolf<br/><strong>Tier:</strong> 2<br/><strong>Who I belong to:</strong> Celeste <br/><br/><strong>Appearance:</strong> Rein stands at an average 5'7, accounting for the inclusion of his small ears. Aged in his mid twenties and visually unimpressive, his fur is mostly dark gray everywhere except for his front, where a lighter gray dominates. Behind him, he has a fairly large and fuzzy gray tail, one he tries to keep out of trouble especially in battle. His eyes have a hint of green to them, and though mistaken to be colorblind like the average assumption of canids, he is able to see certain colors such as blues, yellows, and violets, but he cannot make out reds and other colors, instead seeing them as other colors he may be familiar with.<br/><br/><strong>Personality/Fighting Style:</strong> Though he may be a wolf with great speed, in the arena he takes a more slow and steady approach to combat. Trained in the use of many one-handed weapons alongside different varieties of shields, Rein fashions himself something of a 'Tank'. Many of his attacks center around striking a foes arms or legs to reduce their effectiveness rather than aim for head strikes or chest blows, and is equally adept at using shields as weapons as any standard weapon he uses. Due to the increase in safety measures in the arena, he's moved on from using sharp weapons to more blunted ones, such as maces and poles to reduce the degree of bodily harm he inflicts on foes. If disarmed, his last resort is, understandably, hand to hand combat, where he utilizes punches, grapples, and the occasional odd kick to fight to his last breath. Under no circumstances will he use claws to injure his fkes, but if the worst should happen...<br/><br/>He has been trained in limited magic application, centered around healing capability to help support himself or allies when needed, as well as wounded enemies following a battle. It is customary for him to approach a foe, win or lose, and help recover them as a show of good sportsmanship. His capabilities lie in minor wound treatment, cleansing of some toxins, and strengthening of allies physical capabilities.<br/><br/>His personality is rather rough and forward, with a bit of cunning in his actions and just a hint of his wolven aspects. He tends to eat rather ravenously, like each meal is the first one in forever, and let's not get started on some of his love making habits. He can be very possessive and exploratory when it comes to a partner, though he can also he made to follow the whims of another if it suits their desires. He respects the hierarchy, however, and doesn't seem to desire to push his way to the top as he finds himself comfortable in the tier 2 spot.<br/><br/>Originally a more antagonistic fellow, fights in the arena and being trained by the more magically-inclined have softened his personality a fair bit. He can still be a rough fellow, but he won't embarrass the team trash talking the competition or act like he's the best thing to happen to the Colosseum since the addition of non lethal combat. This also makes him a fair hit more obedient to others on request, some times leading others to jokingly say he's 'as loyal as a puppy'.<br/><br/><strong>Background:</strong> Once upon a time, Rein was nowhere near the man he is now. Running with other vagrants, troublemakers, and violent lawbreakers, he was something of a bandit, attacking others and stealing their possessions, though he made a habit of trying jot to kill anyone. His weak-hearted behavior led to a schism in the group he ran with, and during the heat of a fight for dominance, he would up killing his opponent. From then on, both groups scattered, and only he was caught and sentenced to imprisonment. Despite his youth at the time, they would not be lenient, and so sentenced him to quite a length stay in prison for many years. Behind bars, he was forced to become a bit more ruthless to survive, especially when he was made eligible for participation in the Colosseum. He started off a rough and savage fighter, often times beating down opponents until they were little more than unconscious heaps on the ground, as a show of dominance. However, this violent behavior, and many other acts from other prisoners throughout the days called for a change in policy, and so battles shifted toward a less overly violent but still hardcore event for others to watch for their own amusement. <br/><br/>Eventually coming to understand the rules of the game, he had ambitions to create his own team of rough-and-tumble gladiators to make up for the group he couldn't unite i n the past... However, his pride and overconfidence lost him as many battles as he had won, and so he could never take off. Meeting with calmer gladiators in confinement, he came to study under them, to understand why he lost so much and what he lacked as a fighter. In time, they drilled into him the notion that he only went as far as his convictions would take him, and that winning wasn't the only way to make it to the top, that even losing would help him grow stronger over time. Finally, he was taughtbthe ability to utilize magic, and given a choice if he wanted to learn more offensive or defensive magics. He would to surprise not only himself, but his teachers as well, in choosing to learn defensive magic. Life in prison and learning from others had begun to change Rein, hopefully for the better.<br/><br/>His winbto loss ratio improved considerably after some time, along with it his personality and behavior. However, one loss put him and those he won in to the hierarchy of another group whose owner was... Admittedly everything he was once long before, but without the changes. Realizing what sort of asshole he could have turned out to be, he bet his servants in an attempt to overthrow the leader and try to take his place, but time and again heblost until he was out of servants. His audacious behavior saw him mistreated quite often not just by the leader, but even those above him, despite his potential value to their team. However, they would get the chance to exploit him no longer when he was challenged by the leader of another hierarchy, with the loss turning her and everyone under her over to their side. Seen as a golden opportunity to pad his growing army, Rein's leader promised him a higher spot in the hierarchy if he won, even going so far as to promise him one of their women if he pulled it off.<br/><br/>The prospect was good, and in the long run hebrealized it would probably give him the respect he deserved, and so he squared off against the leader. It was a war of attrition, a man who refused to stay down for long and could take great deals of punishment, and a for who fought as smart as they did hard. Eventually, however. Rein came to realize... There was no guarantee his owner would keep his word, and that to have to be bribed to win this fight seemed underhanded, whereas his opponent seemed like a nice caretaker with servants that seemed to care. Finally, when it seemed like a decisive blow could be struck, he was surprised by his opponent and taken down. Though he had the means to prolong the fight and make one last attempt at a favorable outcome, he instead accepted he would rather lose and preserve the happiness of his opponents than win and perpetuate the tyranny of his own leader. In the end, he was made a tier two beneath the leader, inadvertently giving him the position of respect he desired, and from then on, he would he content with the fact that he really did win something great, even though he lost. From now on, he would fight tooth and nail to carry his new heirarchy to greater heights.</div></div><br/><br/><br/><strong>Tier 3</strong><br/>Rose Dandy-Ba<div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body"><div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/eLwFNTY.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong>  Rose Dandy-Ba<br/><strong>Species:</strong> Fennec Fox Mink Hybrid   <br/><strong>Tier:</strong> 3 <br/><strong>Who I belong to:</strong> Onyx <br/><br/><strong>Appearance:</strong> Rose is a small omnivore standing at just four feet if you don’t count her large Fennec Fox ears. Her fur is mostly a sandy brown with a white tummy, neck and under chin down to her inner thighs. She has a large bushy fox tail that has a white tip on it. Her head fur is kept at a respectable length and is white. Her left eye is a yellow color while her right eye is a blue color. Rose is color blind and so her clothing is garish if she’s left to pick it out on her own.<br/><br/><strong>Personality/Fighting Style:</strong>  In the arena Rose is a quick, mobile fur who makes use of weapons to disorient and hinder. Not as strong as some of the other furs she makes up for it with her weaponry skills and being able to get into and out of places that others wouldn’t think her able to wiggle into. If she finds herself completely out of weapons, this includes her backup knife, she resorts to a kicking style martial art to keep her opponent at bay. With her short size she has to use her legs to keep others at a distance. At this point she's pretty much doomed.<br/><br/>When Rose is not performing for audiences she’s a bright and cheerful fur filled with curiosity and single minded devotion to her inventions. With her specially made headset to protect her sensitive ears she’s likely to miss people walking up on her. If she’s dragged away from her experiments for an afternoon with people she is energetic and flighty as her mind flits from idea to idea. Kept on a quiet literal short leash she will grow calmer and eventually settle down and is known for cuddling up and can get into a mix of bodies in a way that others wouldn’t not expect.<br/><br/><strong>Background:</strong> Rose wasn’t always a slave gladiator and showed promise as an inventor and an apprentice to one of the most skilled ones in the world. Or she would have if she’d not made a very costly and nearly fatal error for her fellow apprentices. She was thrown into prison and slatted for the games and this very likely would have been the end of Rose if she hadn’t had the knowledge that she had. She took a few of the weapons off the rack and soon had turned them into a new weapon that no one in the training area had seen before. She was taken aside for more specialized training and learned to use guns and grenade lobbers. This suited Rose fine and in her first fight she won hands down when the sand covered up her movements and she was able to knock out the guy she was fighting. Feeling confident she bet her slave to fight a bigger and better gladiator and immediately loss. It was another year before Rose was given a chance to fight again and won. And so repeated the process of you win one you lose one. She always ended up without a slave as she bet them to try and earn her own freedom.<br/><br/>Rose would have continued this trend until she met her current owner. She’d been thrown at the skilled fighter as a joke and it had been a long fight with Rose using every weapon she had in her arsenal to throw down and stop the other person. When that didn’t work she resorted to the specialty knock out bullets she’d made for this occasion. But bullets are only good if you can hit the mark or they’re not carrying around a means to deflect the bullet. With no choice but fight hand to hand, a prospect that did not favor the tiny vulpine, she went for her tiny dagger and did her best to keep the larger and tougher opponent at bay. It was the hardest fight of her career and the crowd loved it. Jumping, spin, cart wheeling and bouncing to and fro it made a spectacular show to watch but it was not an activity that could be sustained and finally she made a mistake and was cornered. And with a blow from her stronger opponent she was out cold. When she awoke she found herself in the company of another master. She knew in the back of her mind she’d have to start the process all over again. Or so she would have thought until her master was claimed by another in a fight. Rose found herself now on the bottom of the power pyramid but was given access to what she’d always missed in the past. A workshop! Dreamily her thoughts of freedom vanished as she moved into the cramped workspace, hanging a hammock in the corner and getting to work.</div></div><br/>Izzy<div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body"><strong>Character Name:</strong> Izzy<br/><strong>Species:</strong> Deer<br/><strong>Tier:</strong> 3<br/><strong>Who I belong to:</strong> Onyx<br/><br/><strong>Appearance:</strong> A spotted female deer, (https://i.pinimg.com/564x/b8/c7/a9/b8c7a976391e72041e79fe6508d20f28--deer-art-furry-art.jpg) Izzy's body is limber and toned.  Her style of dress is extremely utilitarian, often wearing only as much as she needs to maintain her agility.  She is often seen with her chest wrapped tight with bandages and a simple loin cloth, along with curious bone-like bangles on her arms where she houses her weapons.  She seems to have a taste for jewelry, especially anklets and bracelets that jingle when she moves.  And she enjoys gypsy fashions.  She doesn't wear any of that into combat, though.  The only piece she always keeps is a single obsidian shard, sometimes tucked into a bandage around her ankle.  Her hair is red and usually a little messy, and she has modest white horns on the top of her head.<br/><br/><strong>Personality/Fighting Style:</strong>  Izzy's fighting style is a bold method that focuses on agility and extreme close-range combat.  Often she'll begin a match with harrier strikes, wearing down her opponent's mobility and breaking their rhythm, before moving into whip-crack rushes and getting inside her opponent's guard.  She is merciless at close range, and has trained extensively in Wing Chun style close quarters combat, able to use her shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, weapons, and horns to brush away counter attacks and press her advantage.  This sometimes moves into an extremely feral kind of fighting, which is as much a thrill as it is an effort to finish fights quickly.<br/><br/>  Despite the boldness of her strategy, Izzy is actually pretty crafty, and doesn't neglect the head-game aspect of a fight.  Most opponents who've watched Izzy once know what she'll eventually try to pull, and every last one of them has thought they were ready for it.  Her job is to undo that readiness, and she has so, so many ways to pull that off.  Her training in counter attacks not withstanding, Izzy enjoys building and using certain kinds of steampunk, spring-loaded weapons, which keep her opponents guessing as to her range.  Her favorite toy will always be an articulate set of obsidian claws mounted on a short, spring-powered retractable arm.  It never fails, when she's pushing someone back and they are trying to get some distance.  Even if they know she has it, most are surprised by how good she is at prolonged fighting with them extended.<br/><br/>  Izzy has gotten a little flack for her all-out style of fighting.  Something which, to the surprise of many, she actually listened to.  She is only too happy to fight someone without any weapons, keeping everything pure and unarmed.  Despite her lean physique, Izzy is capable of putting a great deal of power into her strikes, provided she's able to line her body up correctly to deliver them.  And despite her willingness to use horns, tricks, and mind games to win, there's a point where her honor kicks in.  She abhors dirty tactics.  Once, she would have used darts, cords, ropes, and any number of hidden weapons to gain an advantage.  These days, she doesn't want to win if she's not on the high road.<br/><br/>  Izzy is a proud creature, one who enjoys using her wits and strength to beat the odds.  Her honor, such as it is, is simply another aspect of her pride, of never wanting to stoop to something lower than herself.  This does lend itself to overconfidence, of course, but she takes advice to heart when in defeat.  There's an aspect of her that is hungry to improve upon herself.  This is where her love of tinkering with simple machines comes in, as its another way to sharpen her mind.  There is also a softer side: she enjoys working with cubs and is actually a capable cook.  And there's a lighter side: a dancer, eager to dress in strange silks and throw some gypsy music on.  And there's a darker side, a part of her that's sloppy, bitter, and vengeful.<br/><br/>  While she won't say it outright, Izzy is very protective of the people she deems important to her.  Those same people have to deal with a standoffish contradiction of a female, who'll challenge you to a fight and serve you dinner in the same breath.  If this is confusing, the truth is that she's also confused, following a reflection of someone new in a piece obsidian glass.<br/><br/><strong>Background:</strong> Izzy and Ludis were a pair to be reckoned with.  Despite one being a deer and the other being a rabbit, the two practically operated as sisters.  And both liked fighting, interestingly enough, to the point that they decided to become gladiators together.  Izzy trained in the pattern of Wing Chun, focusing on extreme close range specialization.  Ludis focused on high agility strikes, specializing in Shaolin and Qi Gong body alignment to maximize her speed and deliver extreme force through her momentum.  The two sparred all the time, speaking frankly about the strengths and weaknesses of each bout, and eventually developing a common style together.<br/><br/>  While Izzy was definitely the meaner of the two personalities, Ludis was actually more brutal in combat.  The fact that Izzy had to be craftier than Ludis became one of her favorite parts of fighting her.  Building weapons became a bit of a hobby for Izzy around this time, and she adopted the use of small claws that went naturally with her close range style.  Ludis didn't have the patience for machines and tricks, instead focusing on other things.  And then, of course, there were the frenzy moments.  A side effect of Izzy's claw-using fighting style is that anything softer than leather is going to get cut to ribbons.  After a few rounds of them both fighting harder and wearing less, a friendly spar would sometimes devolve into <em>extremely</em> friendly floor exercises.  <br/><br/>  Izzy also appreciated gypsy fashions, especially wearing jingling arm and ankle jewelry and dancing: a style which enthralled her rabbit co-gladiator.  Ludis, meanwhile, was a mythology buff, and is the sole reason Izzy loves obsidian.  The legend of Itzpapalotl, the black-clawed mythic figure from Aztec Myth, who was associated with a guardian spirit in the shape of a deer, gave Izzy a role model both that was both terrible and compassionate.  When she wasn't in the ring, Izzy would work with cubs in day cares, following the legend of Itzpapalotl ruling over a paradise for infants that died in childbirth.  It seemed an odd fit, but as her clients learned that Izzy was dedicated to their safety, it became part of her selling point.  Exploring her maternal side started making Izzy feel conflicted about her life as a gladiator.  And Ludis, despite being a thrill seeker that couldn't let herself leave the ring, seemed to enjoy this change.  <br/><br/>  Before that really came to a head, Ludis wound up getting badly hurt by another gladiator.  An Ursine named Dwalin was responsible, but turned out to be a filthy and underhanded bastard.  He'd employed foul play to win, including arranging things so Ludis had to fight him as a single combatant.  With his victory, he happily broken their tag-team act.  Worse, she discovered he'd done something to Ludis.  Izzy wasn't sure what it was, but even when her friend recovered, she wasn't fighting right.  It was like her knees were sabotaged, and she couldn't get her body aligned to deliver those power-house blows.  Izzy watched from the seats for many nights, watching as Ludis lost again and again, looking less like herself each time.  That third match was the moment when Izzy stopped caring for children.<br/><br/>  Going back in the arena by herself was a test, but she was determined to beat Dwalin, subsume his whole damn team, and get Ludis out from under his thrall.  At first it went fine, even though she wasn't used to this format.  Having to regulate her stamina differently made things difficult, and she was forced to make do.  She got good, though, and looked forward to showing Ludis how powerful she was becoming.  But one day she saw Dwalin watching from the edge of the arena.  After confronting him with her intent, Dwalin uncondescending gave her the news that Ludis was dead.  A suicide.  Other gladiators had to pull Izzy off of him.  To his credit, Dwalin himself didn't try to stop her.<br/><br/>  Izzy changed after that.  Fighting meant something different than it had.  Her natural affinity for the sport, as well as her rage, kept her sharp through the early stages of the grieving process.  But around the middle of that, when her anger felt spent and she realized she was alone, her fighting got sloppy.  She lost a fight badly, and now belongs to another house herself.  She's on the mend, slowly building herself back up in the proud image of the mighty, compassionate Itzpapalotl.  But things have left her bitter, standoffish, and occasionally cruel.</div></div><br/>Lamont Carolinius<div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body"><strong>Character Name:</strong>  Lamont Soleil Francois Carolinius (https://i.imgur.com/oflJKfP.jpg)<br/><br/><strong>Species:</strong> Black Rat <br/><br/><strong>Tier:</strong> 3<br/><br/><strong>Who I belong to:</strong> Rein<br/><br/><strong>Appearance:</strong> A tall figure of notable height with a fit, lean kind of frame that lends well to his preferred style of fighting.  His fur is naturally black but thanks to being of good breeding, he has connections and money enough to have certain artisans magically dye his fur with rather striking patterns of white.  The elaborate rose, vines, and thorns that adorn his tail are a point of pride for him.  His poise and stature are all trained grace.  Eyes are a rather striking shade of purple and given the bone structure of his face, tend to make his gaze a bit intense.  <br/><br/>Lamont’s taste in clothing tends towards somewhat drab, earthen colors gilded with bits of gold or silver.  Leather is a personal favorite, as it wears rather well, is durable, and makes one seem less of a spendthrift than the usual jewel embroidered suits that are currently in favor.<br/><br/>Personality/Fighting Style:  Lamont was tutored in fencing by the known duelist and retired champion Fiore du Couteau.  In fact his use of a small sword and saber distinctly mirrors her own main gauche and rapier.  As to the actual methodology of his style, the best defense is a good offense.  Winning in a fight is more than overpowering an opponent.  Levels of skill, stamina, the battlefield itself are all things that can play into victory.  A less skilled opponent may outmatch a veteran if they exhaust their opponent and utilize the terrain correctly.  As such Lamont tries to have at least two of those advantages in his favor.  By using lighter weapons he expends less effort in attack and defense, and his offense is harder to account for due to the speed of his attacks.  By putting his opponent on the defensive he can make them doubt their own chances of winning as well as their own abilities.  The surest way to win in a battle is to beat your opponent’s fighting spirit.  As such, his style is as interested in putting them in an off-balanced, defensive mindset as much as using his swordplay to cut and thrust his way to victory.  His armor tends towards loose leathers that foil cuts and occasional stabs, whilst being used in unorthodox maneuvers such as entangling foe’s weapons to render them vulnerable to counterattack.  His favored opponents are shield users, as the bulk of their defense tends to tire them out faster, not to mention that it blocks a large field of their vision, making their extremities vulnerable to sudden, painful cuts to the head, feet, and weapon arm.<br/>  <br/>At his truest desire, Lamont could be thought of as a man who is simply interested in the next thrill.  Like any true scion of the aristocracy he is interested in indulging his wants.  Unlike most of his siblings, his wants have simply began to evolve beyond conventional extravagance.  Sex, liquer, drugs, and occasionally scandalous behavior are all part of his usual fare naturally.  The arena presents an honest thrill the likes which he has yet to find elsewhere.  Fighting for his life against those who have been fighting for much longer than he.  The possibility of him becoming indentured to a group made up of the common class is a taboo that sounds simply thrilling.  Otherwise the young man comports himself a certain aura of professional indifference, like a judge determining a criminal’s sentence.  He tends towards the verbose in his speech, with a certain kind of archaic way of speaking.  The kind of man that seems unflappable but throws caution to the wind at times in his pursuit of pleasure.  A wily, ravenous sort of predator given over to hungers of a homicidal, carnal nature.<br/><br/><strong>Background:</strong> Lamont’s was an easy birth, or so his mother informed him.  The setting for his conception was at the harpsichord bench as the matriarch of his family performed a favored fugue.  There was never a lack of anything in his life.  His education was naturally classical and he is well-versed in much of the necessary readings, styles, and philosophies of the day.  The necessary foundation for a man of good breeding of course.  Perhaps the most important lesson of all is the duty and burden of the aristocrat.  In any number of peoples, there are of course those born that are more gifted than others.  Some born stronger, others swifter of foot, or some possessed of a singular keenness of wits.  Yet, what of the fate of those not so lucky as to have been blessed by birth?  What of those who are born weak, slow, and touched by the gods?  <br/><br/>The past dynasty, the Tordorans, would have answered that the fate of such unfortunates was to be trod upon.  That they had none to blame but themselves and their forebears for their circumstance and that they should naturally assume subservience.  For a time there were those that believed such things.  Yet, war, famine, and political corruption saw the rise of an opposing line of thought.  Where one wondered if there was any superiority in lording over the weakest amongst their number.  If there was any reason for pride in indolence, culture in cruelty, or right in might.  The current dynasty of the age, the Carolinius, arose from the thinking of Jacques Carolinius, a simple ox that posited a stewardship as opposed to a tyranny.  For his dissent the ruling Dynasts saw to his execution.  Which only served to fan the flames of discontent.  <br/><br/>After three years of inept governance, the Tordoran dynasty found its fortunes flagging with those of the country that they’d exploited.  Abdication and exile avoided what would have been a very one-sided rebellion.  The Carolinius dynasty grew forth from the first generation of students of that noble teacher, who took to positions of law and governance with the mindship of stewards and caretakers.   Leaders, as opposed to caretakers of the nation.  Much of the losses felt during those past years have been forgotten with an age of plenty.  The Colosseum which had been established by the prior rulers was kept, one of their few acts beloved by most.  Every young scion of House Carolinius has seen a match or three and knows the roar of the people when a favored champion seizes victory, as well as the howls of anguish as one is seized by the jaws of defeat.  <br/><br/>Lamont comes from a few generations since their coming to power, to a time of some disparity between the governor and the governed.  Perhaps not one of great egress as in the prior dynasty, yet there is perhaps some straying from the original thoughts of the great teacher.  Lamont’s family are bankers and moneylenders, the lifeblood of the realm.  There is certainly a need for those capable of clever investment and frugal nature in the abundant nation.  A quality of which the young man is...somewhat possessed.  He is clever and good with his figures.  His ability to manage the money of others is adequate enough.  Tis the manner in which he spends his own that comes to be somewhat...troublesome.  Being a third son, and perhaps the least talented in his family there is not much want for a mediocre child.  Then, if he is to not be adept with coin then at least he can spend it with some style.  The young man fell in with a group of young strumpets, rakes, and ne'er do wells known as the “Merry Gang”.  Amongst their number he did find his singular taste for debauchery and excess.  Wine, women (or men, whichever there happened to be more of), and recreational substances were all choice of course.  Numbered amongst the upper crust there is a certain expectation and acceptance of...perhaps unwise hobbies, but tis best that one should learn the hazards of excess at a young age for their own selves.   <br/><br/>Joined with his raucous friends he did find himself frequenting the arena with a certain regularity.  Naturally there were many a bet made and lost upon those that fought within the ring, as well as a great deal of money changing hands for the hands of champions to perhaps visit pleasing touches upon him.  Though the band’s activities were perhaps not the most scandalous, they were oft to be found in the rumors of gossip mongers and babelards.  There has come a certain tension betwixt the young man and the rest of his family.  He has no particular interest in the dry work of bureaucracy and moneylending.  His is beholden to the pleasures a knotted cock up his ass, the altered consciousness of opium, the thrill of spilling blood in a fight for one’s life, and a woman’s cunt clenched about him.  Joining the gladiators is as much being a spiteful child as indulging in further pleasures.  Delving into the taboo, first and foremost amongst that number.  <br/><br/>Though he gave a spirited try, his first match ended in failure against a wily opponent.  The idea of a submission pricked at his interest as well as his prick.  Though he’s been a bit disappointed to find that his supposed master is perhaps more prudish than he’d assumed a gladiator to be.  Still.  Living amongst the plebeians has proved all manner of bewildering, bizarre, and bemusing.  He looks forward to more of this strange existence he has wrought upon himself.</div></div><br/><br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Last Notes (Read Before Joining)</strong></span></div><br/>For anyone that wants to enter this RP, here's what I'd like you to do.  First, if you have any questions, please let me know (I'm building an FAQ and anything you're a little foggy on would help me add to that).  After that, please fill out the following character sheet and PM it to me.  I may want to discuss certain things, iron out some stuff I may be confused about or clarify certain things about the RP and setting, but once we're ready to add you to the RP, I'll add your sheet to the above list and we can get right into posting!  Please don't post your sheet right here in the thread unless we're looking to get feedback from everybody, but I still want to sign off on all of the characters myself before we add them to the game.  Thank you for your time and cooperation!<br/><br/><div class="codeheader">Code: <a class="codeoperation" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return smfSelectText(this);">[Select]</a></div><pre style="margin: 0; padding: 0;"><code class="bbc_code">[b]Character Name:[/b] <br/>[b]Species:[/b] <br/>[b]Tier:[/b] (higher number is lower on the totem pole)<br/>[b]Who I belong to:[/b] (which other character)<br/><br/>[b]Appearance:[/b] (description and/or pics, keep it to links for now)<br/><br/>[b]Personality/Fighting Style:[/b] <br/><br/>[b]Background:[/b] </code></pre>