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Silver Screen Fiend
Super-Earth
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2014
St. Mary’s was, at one time, named after the Virgin Mary, mother of Christ, the Son of God. In its holy chapel was a beautiful five foot tall hand painted statue of the blessed mother, and its yearly ritual of veneration was well known throughout the commonwealth was known for the beauty and solemnity carried out by the students, staff, and clergy of the school. The rose garden, situated between the chapel and the priory, still features a mural of her likeness surrounded by a lush bed of blood red roses.
But that was a long time ago.
Nowadays it’s a different Mary that serves as the school’s namesake. Mary Magdalene, the sole woman who traveled with Christ and his disciples, the one often accused of being a former prostitute, but may have actually been an independent woman of some wealth and influence for the savior and his followers. Regardless, the grounds are no longer consecrated, and in the need to not only survive, but thrive in the post apocalyptic wastes of New England, the place has become a matriarchal charnel house where flesh is sold in a (mostly) safe and reliable fashion.
The girls of St. Mary’s School of Badass Babes, as it was renamed some forty years ago, relish their reputation as wild, fiercely independent survivors who have ecked out a decent living by filling in several niches in the region’s trade network. The old uniforms have been expertly tailored to show more skin than what was once accepted, classes focus on practical skills like survival craft and sharp shooting, and the priests and nuns have long since died out, leaving behind a largely sacrilegious band of punks who celebrate life and all its pleasures while they’re alive to appreciate temptation. Since the last class overthrew the administration and turned the school into a fortress against the tides of chaos and madness, a matriarch has led the flock through good times and bad, each one hand picked by the last to form a kind of feminine dynasty that stood in direct contrast to the male dominated warlord societies surrounding them.
Opal is the resident Mother Superior, a direct descendent of one of the nuns who forgave her vow of chastity during the fall of the Golden Age. She is recognized as the oldest person in the hardhold, though her practical power and influence is extremely limited, mostly because she’s a mean old bitch, but there is none better at midwifery or animal husbandry. Now in her 60’s, she spends most of her day walking the grounds to check on what needs fixing, repairing, or improving, occasionally striking idlers with her legendary yard stick. The old woman is tolerated at best, and actively hated at worst, but no one denies her place within the community.
Mother Opal, who has never mothered her own children, (I wonder why), was on her way to the hardholder’s office when she noticed an altercation in the camp just outside the school’s tall brick walls. Two men, one called Punk Jackson, and the other called Country Jackson, were arguing over the stereo system again. It was the only one functioning in the whole community, and the two outside residents who possessed the largest collection of tapes and discs were always arguing over whose turn it was to blast their favorite tracks over the crackling loud speakers. Nadja, the recently joined Savvyhead, put it together from a frankenstein conglomeration of receivers, tuners, tweeters, subwoofers, and every possible kind of media player imaginable. Somehow it worked, and it sounded pretty good… so long as you played good music on it, but neither of the resident music buffs were popular due to their tastes. Quite the opposite, actually.
Mother Opal would have ignored them and walked straight into the office if it weren’t for their violent and sudden spat of fisticuffs.
“You pissed on my Fugazi tape, you shit,” shouted Punk Jackson.
“Fuck yer Fuck-Aussie trash, Lynerd Skynerd motherfucker! Thass real music,” retorted Country Jackson, the older, woollier man whose ancient leather hat was knocked clean off his head by an angry fist. “My hat, you little shit! I’ll–”
The Outsiders, the unsponsored residents who lived outside the school’s walls, were mostly men who served as laborers and tradesmen in the grand scheme of St. Mary’s society, but they were often transient, and few stayed longer than a season. Most drifted away during the winter and returned in the spring, but some stayed despite having zero chances of being sponsored and brought into the fold. Punk Jackson and Country Jackson were such men, and their contempt for each other was a well known source of entertainment for the hardened souls who lived out of tents and lean-to’s. A crowd was already forming around the enemies as they tussled in the mud, with Sleazy John giving odds and taking bets.
“Which one you think’s gonna do it?”
“Ain’t neither one’s got the balls to kill the othern. They’s high fallutin’ types. Dat music gives ‘em ideas above their station.”
“I dunno… Punk Jackson’s got a mean grip, he just might choke the old dust head out.”
“Yeah, but Country Jackson’s got a big fat neck. Take a big pair a’ hands to crush his pipes.”
Mother Opal rapped her fist on the office door. “Adelaide! Adelaide! The men! They’re gonna kill each other,” she shouted, falling into hysterics. It was a rare habit of hers, but one that always came at the right moment. If the crusty old nun was freaking out about something, not in the normal way like she was pissed that someone wasn’t working or there was a crack in the outer wall, but in the “this isn’t a joke this is bad” sort of way, it put everyone in her vicinity on high alert.
@Ask the Question Meat, the biggest and strongest man in the whole settlement, is near the altercation among the rows and rows of tents. What are you doing at this time? Will you go and investigate the fight, or choose to ignore it?
@Motoharu Adelaide is, of course, right inside her office, and currently hears Mother Opal freaking out about something and banging on the door. Just outside this door is a walkway that connects the dormitory with the priory, and just over the vine-covered brick wall is a direct view into the village of tents where the Outsiders live. Your office once belonged to the original Mother Superior, the principal of the school, though I assume it’s decorated exactly to your tastes. It’s three stories up from the ground level. What do you do? How do you respond?
@Inkybus @Silverbird @Ironuyh Valkyrie, Alana, and Nadja, what are you doing at this time? Are you able to hear or witness the big fight between the two Jacksons, or are you somewhere removed from the scene, and unaware of what’s going on?
But that was a long time ago.
Nowadays it’s a different Mary that serves as the school’s namesake. Mary Magdalene, the sole woman who traveled with Christ and his disciples, the one often accused of being a former prostitute, but may have actually been an independent woman of some wealth and influence for the savior and his followers. Regardless, the grounds are no longer consecrated, and in the need to not only survive, but thrive in the post apocalyptic wastes of New England, the place has become a matriarchal charnel house where flesh is sold in a (mostly) safe and reliable fashion.
The girls of St. Mary’s School of Badass Babes, as it was renamed some forty years ago, relish their reputation as wild, fiercely independent survivors who have ecked out a decent living by filling in several niches in the region’s trade network. The old uniforms have been expertly tailored to show more skin than what was once accepted, classes focus on practical skills like survival craft and sharp shooting, and the priests and nuns have long since died out, leaving behind a largely sacrilegious band of punks who celebrate life and all its pleasures while they’re alive to appreciate temptation. Since the last class overthrew the administration and turned the school into a fortress against the tides of chaos and madness, a matriarch has led the flock through good times and bad, each one hand picked by the last to form a kind of feminine dynasty that stood in direct contrast to the male dominated warlord societies surrounding them.
Opal is the resident Mother Superior, a direct descendent of one of the nuns who forgave her vow of chastity during the fall of the Golden Age. She is recognized as the oldest person in the hardhold, though her practical power and influence is extremely limited, mostly because she’s a mean old bitch, but there is none better at midwifery or animal husbandry. Now in her 60’s, she spends most of her day walking the grounds to check on what needs fixing, repairing, or improving, occasionally striking idlers with her legendary yard stick. The old woman is tolerated at best, and actively hated at worst, but no one denies her place within the community.
Mother Opal, who has never mothered her own children, (I wonder why), was on her way to the hardholder’s office when she noticed an altercation in the camp just outside the school’s tall brick walls. Two men, one called Punk Jackson, and the other called Country Jackson, were arguing over the stereo system again. It was the only one functioning in the whole community, and the two outside residents who possessed the largest collection of tapes and discs were always arguing over whose turn it was to blast their favorite tracks over the crackling loud speakers. Nadja, the recently joined Savvyhead, put it together from a frankenstein conglomeration of receivers, tuners, tweeters, subwoofers, and every possible kind of media player imaginable. Somehow it worked, and it sounded pretty good… so long as you played good music on it, but neither of the resident music buffs were popular due to their tastes. Quite the opposite, actually.
Mother Opal would have ignored them and walked straight into the office if it weren’t for their violent and sudden spat of fisticuffs.
“You pissed on my Fugazi tape, you shit,” shouted Punk Jackson.
“Fuck yer Fuck-Aussie trash, Lynerd Skynerd motherfucker! Thass real music,” retorted Country Jackson, the older, woollier man whose ancient leather hat was knocked clean off his head by an angry fist. “My hat, you little shit! I’ll–”
The Outsiders, the unsponsored residents who lived outside the school’s walls, were mostly men who served as laborers and tradesmen in the grand scheme of St. Mary’s society, but they were often transient, and few stayed longer than a season. Most drifted away during the winter and returned in the spring, but some stayed despite having zero chances of being sponsored and brought into the fold. Punk Jackson and Country Jackson were such men, and their contempt for each other was a well known source of entertainment for the hardened souls who lived out of tents and lean-to’s. A crowd was already forming around the enemies as they tussled in the mud, with Sleazy John giving odds and taking bets.
“Which one you think’s gonna do it?”
“Ain’t neither one’s got the balls to kill the othern. They’s high fallutin’ types. Dat music gives ‘em ideas above their station.”
“I dunno… Punk Jackson’s got a mean grip, he just might choke the old dust head out.”
“Yeah, but Country Jackson’s got a big fat neck. Take a big pair a’ hands to crush his pipes.”
Mother Opal rapped her fist on the office door. “Adelaide! Adelaide! The men! They’re gonna kill each other,” she shouted, falling into hysterics. It was a rare habit of hers, but one that always came at the right moment. If the crusty old nun was freaking out about something, not in the normal way like she was pissed that someone wasn’t working or there was a crack in the outer wall, but in the “this isn’t a joke this is bad” sort of way, it put everyone in her vicinity on high alert.
@Ask the Question Meat, the biggest and strongest man in the whole settlement, is near the altercation among the rows and rows of tents. What are you doing at this time? Will you go and investigate the fight, or choose to ignore it?
@Motoharu Adelaide is, of course, right inside her office, and currently hears Mother Opal freaking out about something and banging on the door. Just outside this door is a walkway that connects the dormitory with the priory, and just over the vine-covered brick wall is a direct view into the village of tents where the Outsiders live. Your office once belonged to the original Mother Superior, the principal of the school, though I assume it’s decorated exactly to your tastes. It’s three stories up from the ground level. What do you do? How do you respond?
@Inkybus @Silverbird @Ironuyh Valkyrie, Alana, and Nadja, what are you doing at this time? Are you able to hear or witness the big fight between the two Jacksons, or are you somewhere removed from the scene, and unaware of what’s going on?
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