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The solution is clearly to vote for an actual human!

Vielle is a mitochondria power house of worldbuilding and I think Svanhild is a great index of the various estates, cities, holdings, etc.

My child has learned to pee for the first time. #proudmothermoments

M'yr, and the crew survived their trip, despite the Widow's best efforts to the contrary. The longer the voyage went on, the acolyte found himself not necessarily growing 'used' to the constant, carnivorous pain the Widow afflicted on him, but perhaps nostalgic. M'yr had admitted it out loud before, and there was plenty of evidence to back his words, he firmly believed that he deserved the pain the world chose to inflict on him, and after a while, the terrible ship's malice and hate were no different than the hate he felt at home. Like so many violent thoughts, and horrific memories, he was used to being unwanted. It didn't mean he had to go anywhere. Through the rest of the trip, he clung tight to the rails as he moved around the deck, seeing if anything needed to be done, though there wasn't much for him to help with, and before he knew it, one of Slake's crewmates--he couldn't see what they looked like from here, but M'yr thought he saw shark teeth at one point, and chose to go with it instead of asking questions--bellowed at journey's end. "Land Ho, Cap'n!" Its voice was a gargled mess of bloated flesh and malformed tissue. The fact that M'yr could hear it as well as he could from down here sucked. The crew assembled on the top deck, and M'yr adjusted his bandanna somewhat as they gathered around, loosening it somewhat. "Everybody still in one piece?" He asked. Nobody told him otherwise, but they all seemed in varying degrees of duress. He sincerely hoped their nerves were intact. Behind them all, M'yr swore he saw himself, wearing the mask and nothing else. Tentacles writhed across his scarred, naked form, and he pointed accusingly past everyone, towards himself. Perturbed, M'yr glanced down and away. When the other M'yr was gone, so too was the sea. It needs to be said, once again, that there was no sea for the Constellation of the Black Widow to dock at in Totenborough, and there certainly wasn't the peculiar wharfside community for them to step out into. As each of them disembarked from the vessel, they were quickly awash in the sounds and smells of the bloody, fish gut-soaked docks that awaited them. M'yr took a second to take it all in. Once more, there was nobody to be seen here, but there was constant music and sounds of all kinds. Immediately close to them, M'yr heard the noise of flesh being unzipped with a gutting knife, somewhere next to the ancient, long-rotten fish corpse hanging above the dock. It was easily twice the size of any tuna, perhaps big enough to swallow a boy like M'yr whole. It had barbed whiskers along the entirety of its spine, all of which hang uselessly towards the earth. The only thing that remained of its innards was a greasy pile of unmoving rot on the deck. M'yr quietly moved past the fish, as the noises shifted from cutting to packing as some unseen force began piling the innards into an unseen chum bucket. The rest of the docks, which were approximately 100 yards in length, from shore to sea, sported similar events of varying disquieting nature. Though the party couldn't see whatever made the noises, there were constant, informative sounds just about everywhere, as if the crew were ghosts, unable to see the still-living vagabonds on the docks, instead of the other way around. On the ground, using an overturned barrel as a table, the sound of clattering dice and clinking coin accompanied an abandoned wooden cup, and a single miserable gold piece. Elsewhere, somebody gasped in shock, as a knife was pulled from between their ribs, and their body was dumped into the sea. Looking into the water, one could still see a few ragged scraps of cloth clinging to the docks. M'yr picked up speed as he moved, and as he did, his sense of panic only grew, until his heart hammered in his ears and he sprinted out of the ghostly wharf entirely. No sooner had he escaped that place, and sprinted down a few winding roads, did he suddenly, unexpectedly arrive at the Bastion. The Bastion, as far as M'yr could see and remember, was part of a massive wall, a huge rampart large enough to house various buildings and barracks within. It was supposedly here long before anybody else in Taen was, if the stories he was told were correct, which didn't exactly ease his paranoia. Such a massive structure wasn't just built for nothing, right? Who even had the power and resources to build something like this? That is, he only could see part of it from here. While M'yr wasn't certain where they'd come from anymore, it seemed like he and his companions had passed through the winding walls of the Bastion, and come out somewhere near the base of the structure. Overhead, it stretched on higher than he could reliably see, and the architecture still stunned him. He stared upwards for a long time, gazing at the enormity of it all. It wasn't just the size that bothered him. It was that in his dreams, the Coiled Beast, sleeping and drowning in its sea of Grey dreams, was definitely bigger. This site, right here, put so much into perspective that it immediately terrified him. His friends were close by, and he put his mask into place. Oh wait. He reached up, and pulled the mask from his face. It glinted cruelly at him as he did so, but he ignored it, and put on his bandanna instead. "Okay, let's get a move on." Finding the library wasn't difficult, but the streets were hard to navigate with their party. The small cluster of masked strangers, their camera crew, and the odd collection of catgirls brandishing explosives and military grade firepower were somewhat easy to spot, and finding places out of the way to travel was difficult. Nobody seemed to see them, however, and before long they found the library. It was exceedingly taller than M'yr had been led to believe by his notes he'd gathered, which almost made him doubt his goals right away. It was a fine piece of ancient architecture, mercifully protected from the elements by the bastion, and as a result, almost totally intact. Gazing upon it made it quite clear how much effort had gone into building the place ages ago. It certainly gave the impression of a library; with pillars on the front facade, symbolic of how knowledge could hold up the world, and with its clean, sheer indents and outcroppings. From here, a fair distance away, M'yr could also see the steps leading up to the front door, and the security checkpoint and tall gates put in place to keep the building safe. He strained to look up at the top portion of the building, and saw the windows the second party would be breaking in through. He couldn't tell if the windows were open or not; they might be forced to go in loud. He checked his bag--and moved the mask again--and looked through his belongings. In order for M'yr to get up, he'd need to get right against the building to use his grappling hook, but perhaps one of his companions had a grappling gun, or something similar to ease transportation. Barring that, they would need to bypass security, neutralize any potential guards, and carefully make their way up onto the roof and second floor. "It's go time," M'yr pulled the grappling hook from his bag, and slung it over his shoulder. He left everything else in there, but looked towards his party. "First of all, we need to get to the roof. If any of you can get us there faster, figure it out quickly. Otherwise, we're going to go over the fence." He pointed at the fence portion closest to them, by the tents he'd noted earlier. Researcher's tents, he supposed. "Once we're over the fence, we'll need to make sure no guards catch us on our way up. If that means knocking them out, we do it. If we can get away with not touching anyone, we should try that first." He paused, then waved his hands at them, somewhat manically. "Go! Let's get this going! I didn't offer to pay you so I could do all the work!"

Especially since I just watched "Goodfellas" for the first time ever about a week ago. I'm already envisioning a character who would say something like "Where'd I get my powers? Hey, guys, this mook wants ta know where I got my fuckin' powers!" *Slaps other guy upside the head* "I did a buncha fuckin' chinups!"

We do understand. We've been watching you. We've been following you. We understand you. There is no need for local police resources in a fully self-sufficient populace. All citizens are Grand Mainframe, all citizens are local police.

Lol so he's invisible and semi-nonexistent?

Odin is the almighty Saint-King and will never be overthrown. Come at me with all you've got

Similar to dangerous criminals, except rather than focusing on opposition dynamics, I want to focus on world building and lore creation dynamics, as closely tied to IC events as possible Worldbuilder is the best word I could think of because I'm not sure how else to get Construction of some kind across but it doesn't have to be on an epic scale or anything Am taking feedback and suggestions here:

To the news of the intrepid young man who declared himself Monarch of Predator's Keep... James did nothing. For one, he was preoccupied with things that actually mattered. For two, if the boy was who he claimed himself to be, he'd take care of matters in the government of the city state, and then make arrangements to come see him.

The attack and domination of Nu Martyr by the Cult of Power has grabbed the attention of many world powers that hadn't reacted during the initial invasion of the province. A global military power formed in the wake of Lilith's attack known as the International Police Program (IPP). In a recent interaction between the IPP and Lilith Reiter, it was discovered that the leader of the Cult, previously titled the Commander, was actually Lilith under a pseudonym. Due to the Victory AI reprogrammed into a Trojan paragon, IPP has also discovered that every Paragon is marked with a lunar moon somewhere on their body. This has spurred the IPP to put pressure on governments around the world to take a serious stance on the Cult of Power and its Paragons; to classify belonging to the group as a crime in and of itself. From the smallest village to the largest mega city-state to federal governments, a purge of any person with a lunar tattoo marking is on the rise- regardless of whether the person has actually committed a crime or not. The International Police Program is pushing forth a stance of non-tolerance for any connection to a known tier 1 criminal organizations, currently: the Cult of Power, the Dead, and the Legion of Doom. There are further suspected organizations being classified as tier 2 and tier 3, and others are unclassified due to lack of information. (Let me know if you want your org or group to be added!) Gathering its own forces and reaching out to other judicial forces around Valucre, IPP has begun to make a physical counter move on Nu Martyr in order to free it from the hold of the Cult of Power and its Paragons. Although initially hard to step into the province without massive return fire and destruction, IPP has made contact with Aedos Chanaril, a high ranking member of an old noble house of Renovatio who has connections within the Cult itself but who is not subservient to it. With him as their essential "in," IPP and the other global forces will be making a large and final move into Nu Martyr to upend the current Cult leadership. Meanwhile within Nu Martyr, Lilith is uncovering an enormous power source hidden beneath the land. Connected to the core of Renovatio's encompassing loci, if she manages to harness that power using the combined force of two Genesari cornerstones, the Crown of Asteria, and a handful of Fracture S-class artifacts, it has the potential to cause a global earthquake leading to randomly placed tsunami all across Valucre. Such a catastrophe has the potential lead to millions more deaths. A call to the world and a call to the pure. Save the world. Couple words to anyone reading this who might feel a twinge of interest! There is no current ETA and this is simply an interest check for a potential plot idea that I've been mulling about My character, Lilith Reiter, will not be killed in this event. She will be defeated/ captured. I know there are people who would love to have the pleasure of killing the character, but I'm fairly attached to the character and I don't believe her story to be over. So tough lol The method of Lilith's capture, beyond the actions I described above, is almost completely dependent on who joins. If not enough major characters join, I likely end up doing this. Lilith is supposed to be sort of like "the final boss" so having two level 1 characters beat her would harm the story I'm driving. "Major" characters is subjective. I'm mainly speaking about characters that players have put effort into developing. When/ if this goes through, it won't be a "stomp" if that's what you have in mind. Each side will take major losses. If anyone has character(s) they'd like to sacrifice (harm or death) for the greater good, that would be much appreciated as well. While the "main" thread will occur in Nu Martyr since that's where Lilith will be, the actual event is global. You have permission to involve this event in any thread, any org, in any place (unless the involvement is rejected by a person who controls that lore). Just try to play on the fact that most Paragons world wide are not "evil" and may have done a bad thing for a good reason. Conflict, both on the outside and on the inside is key here. You might be wondering "why" I'm doing this, and the reason is that Lilith has some major personal issues that I can only really play with and dive into when she's in a vulnerable position And finally, NO you can't have my artifacts and relics. Don't even ask lmfao have other plans for them. Timeline: When/ if this goes into motion, it will be after the Nede thread. I want Lilith to take over a demon tower first since it's part of another idea I have for future stuff. I also might have Lilith take a detour back into Terrenus to speak with Alexander Endriel and the Black Queen, though that's dependent on general availability of players involved. Potential Groups Against Lilith International Police Program @amenities Officer-in-charge @paradigm @Veloci-Rapture @Ataraxy (Alexander Hawk) (limited capacity) @supernal (??? prob not but he seems interested!) VCF @Metty @Sanonymous Force Majeure ??? @Fierach ??? @Tenkai Matsumoto House Chanaril Me again lol (limited capacity) Alterion @Meraxa ??? Genesaris @King ??? @Pasion Pasiva ??? @Malintzin ??? Renovatio @Aleksei ??? (she gonezo atm so probs not) @Twitterpated ??? Fracture @notmuch_23 Third Party @Sir Nathaniel @ anyone else I missed? Potential Groups With Lilith Cult of Power Me for a third time, with Lilith! @danzilla3 @Zashiii ??? @AngryCacti ???

You could throw a dart at Tyler' profile and hit something that he's built but I wanted to highlight BlackBlood, mostly because Norkotia has been archived or that would have gotten a shout out too. This is something that was a part of Norkotia but has since become its own hearty organization with a presence in Last Chance The character proper would be, I think, Joseph Tynes

Off the top of my head: Aspyn Wine Dark red, bitter then sweet taste , made from Phoenix Grapes which were named as they were one of the only foods to survive untouched through the attack of Biazo Fillet Chimère Delicious classical Chimera meat with a buttery after taste reminiscent of a fillet mignon. Rather expensive, but is a natural mixture of goat, lion, and snake meat boiled with its magic blood to produce a taste out of this world. Nehalen Beer Cheap and often compared to watered down piss, but nonetheless a popular choice among the dirtier crowd such as mercenaries and adventurers. A true warrior's drink for it'll put hairs on your chest and straighten your spine. Les Ailes Des Fae Illegal in most areas of the world as Fae and Fairy hunting has been shut down by national policies world wide. However, it's still a popular choice among the black market crowd. When fried, these Fairy Wings are said to be the most delectable snack known to Valucre. Due to the glamour magic of the species, the food takes the taste of whatever is most desirable to the eater. Nahkuns A type of fruit found only on the island of Orisia where the magic is richest and the pollution of technology is non-existence. It's small and brown with a seed at its core, similar to a date. It's taste is like a swirl of caramel and raspberries, always just the right mixture. When chopped into bits and added to Nehalen Beer, it overpowers the taste of the beer making it much more drinkable; only children and those new to drinking mix the two as it has a very child like connotation to it. Kind of like adding milk to coffee. Mellow Juice An extremely rare and potent liquid found only in the semi-sentient cacti located in the hottest areas of a desert. When refined and properly fermented, it can turn into one of Valucre's strongest liquors. Generally only for the rich, this liquor is saved for special occasional and those moments where you just want to get absolutely shit faced. Many simply refer to Mellow Juice as Mel since the name doesn't provide quite the same zing that the juice itself contains. Can also be added to Fillet Chimère for a particularly exotic taste. The combination of the two produces a mild aphrodisiac effect similar to clams and oysters. Darth Lager A beer-like substance which, when swallowed, inebriates its drinker to such an extent that they can be easily persuaded to do nearly anything. Come to the dark side of the force indeed!

Isabella Morcia Marque Although she spoke, although she laughed, and although she shared the glory of her honey-colored eyes with those around her, those who craved her -- never did her focus waver from the shy creature that was Shanna. Perhaps, their brief interaction had not been meaningful enough to constitute a commitment to memory or perhaps it had to do with the fact that she had been a vampyre then and the memory persisted now as vividly as ever in her human mind, whatever the case, Gabriela knew exactly who Shanna was. A deeply devoted child who could not begin to understand the depth of darkness upon which she built the foundation of her faith. She was good, pure, and kind -- Shanna was gentle. Of this, there was no doubt in Gabriela’s mind, for her heart still ached with the memory of the young woman’s gift -- the bits of softened sea wood, the smooth and foggy pieces of sea glass, the seagull feathers, the strings of twine that held it all together -- the beautiful baby mobile that she had built for Philippe. But misguided or not, Shanna was a follower of the Blood God -- a faithful maiden of his shame of a religion. A bubble of laughter escaped her lips like a curse, and she acted like it had been a curse, for her eyes widened and a hand came up to cover her mouth. Caught off guard by the sound of her own laughter, and found to be utterly charming by what appeared to be nothing more than girlish bashfulness, Gabriela and her audience were at an inter-cross. They laughed with her, and looked to her for an explanation, but she could only wonder where her hatred had gone. And so much like a woman whose sight had just been taken, she felt her way across her soul seeking out the comforting anger only to find it gone, and replaced instead, by a giddiness that made her feel utterly stupid. The opposite of fear was courage -- and fear was the thing that gripped her most tightly around the neck when she first saw Shanna, but it was not courage that replaced the anguish and worry that should have been building. Rather, it was bubbly, fizzy, everesent -- happiness. And as Shanna turned away, even after giving her one last long, narrowed look of suspicion, Gabriela could only stand there with a hand over her mouth trying to hide the full expression of her laughter. “So what’s so funny?” asked the young man with the dark eyes, the blond-woman’s companion. “Yes, let us in on the joke….” said the curly-blond, who was pouting, rather ridiculously, at the man who was clearly her junior in age. “The utter absurdity of this moment,” came Isabella’s reply, as her eyes cast a long glance across the room to find Shanna. But she was gone -- lost among the crowded bar. She should have seen him there and then -- that finely dressed devil with the broken-hearted look on his face. But he was hidden behind the wide girth of a woman dressed in a lovely shawl. Gabriela, who was beginning to tremble from the essence that had spiked her drink, did not seek more beyond the obvious sight. “That’s not nice,” that sassy, green-eyed woman said, turning her grown-woman pout on Isabella. “I am certainly not absurd.” “Of course you’re not,” Isabella offered, leaning forward to pat the blond woman on the cheek -- it would have been a painfully condescending gesture for anyone watching. But Gabriela had a way of doing things, where she would smile or offer the most subtle of touches, and that would ease the bite of even her most miserable attacks. “You’re precious, beautiful, and absolutely not at all absurd.” This time the laughter broke past her last defenses, and soon enough she was just standing there laughing so freely and so genuinely that it wasn’t long before her sides began to ache. By then she had been abandoned by the blond and the brown-eyed man, both of whom had had just about enough of Isabella’s teasing. She watched them go, wondering vaguely if she had had anything to do with it. And then she was off. She may have no longer been a vampyre, and the obvious grace that came with it was gone, but she still managed to move like a dream. She had her human legs now, she understood a little better how to sway her arms to balance, how to control the length of her step so she didn’t risk toppling over like a toddler. But she was very much like a toddler, for it was the sight of Xartia sitting and lounging at the very back of the open gallery that sent her bounding over like a little bubbling force of energy. “You came!” she called, almost before being in polite range of conversation. She got a few curious looks for it, but she shrugged them off and finished with a smile. No invitation was needed, and so she did not wait for one. She fell onto the bench with him, keeping a respectable distance, though she leaned closer to him than she had ever before, and even went so far as to rest a small hand on his knee. “I thought you were far too busy for these sort of things,” she teased him before sliding her hand off his knee and leaving the impression of a soft and warm human touch. Isabella was not herself, and perhaps Xartia would notice it. Gone was the somber darkness of her eyes when they were cast to the shadows of her dark thoughts. For the first time since he’d laid eyes on her, Xartia would see the ease that came with a clear conscience, or with the utter lack of concern for responsibility, or perhaps more importantly, with a deeply felt comfort in oneself. Though she was petite to begin with, she looked lighter. It had everything to do with that light, bubbly laugh of hers, which she was having a hard time controlling as she settled into her seat besides the rather glum looking Xartia. “Look at what you’ve done. Your small investment in me has paid off -- or it will, sooner than you think.”

beautiful art by GUWEIZ "𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕀 𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕝𝕪 𝕒𝕣𝕖. 𝕀 𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕔𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕌𝕥𝕠𝕡𝕚𝕒 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕠𝕗." ( 𝒲𝐼𝒫) ~ ＧＥＮＥＲＡＬ ~ Age: 24 Years Old Race: Elven, but is aware of some human lineage. Place of Birth: A small village in the wilds of Fracture (No longer lives there) ~ ＰＨＹＳＩＣＡＬ ＣＨＡＲＡＣＴＥＲＩＳＴＩＣＳ ~ Height: 5'7'' Weight: 120 lbs Hair Color: Platinum blonde Hair style: Usually kept undone and messy; reaches halfway down her back Eye Color: Blue-grey Skin Tone: Pale, appears flushed when overwhelmed ~ ＳＫＩＬＬＳ ／ ＡＢＩＬＩＴＩＥＳ ~ Lumina possesses novice magical abilities in the form of light manipulation. She attributes her power to her heavily religious upbringing and seeks to develop it further. Her abilities, while lacking in offensive capabilities, protect and heal those around her. This can range from constructing a barrier to shield herself and others to using a warm, inviting glow to help soothe injuries.

Crowley @COYCROWLEY234 • 20m ago Finally decided to put Orenmir down and give myself some time to relax! Headed to my favourite cafe, can't wait! #Blessed REPLY GRUMBLE LIKED BY @EMPRESSOFFICAL SHARE Crowley @COYCROWLEY234 • 19m ago @COYCROWLEY234 Has just entered the: Redstar Café and Bistro! REPLY GRUMBLE LIKE SHARE Crowley @COYCROWLEY234 • 18m ago This is great! I really needed this, makes all the stress and turmoil seem so distant now! REPLY GRUMBLE LIKE SHARE lanius @LARGELADLANIUS • 16m ago @LARGELADLANIUS Has just entered the: Redstar Café and Bistro! REPLY GRUMBLE LIKE SHARE Crowley @COYCROWLEY234 • 15m ago @COYCROWLEY234 Has just left the: Redstar Café and Bistro! REPLY GRUMBLE LIKE SHARE Crowley @COYCROWLEY234 • 10m ago @COYCROWLEY234 Has just entered the: Stalwart Heart Public Hospital, Emergency Ward! REPLY GRUMBLE LIKE SHARE Rozharon Paralios @EmpressOfficial • 1m ago @LARGELADLANIUS Hands off my man or I'm conquering the islands again, starting with Noviria. 1 REPLY GRUMBLE LIKE SHARE lanius @LARGELADLANIUS • 30s ago @EmpressOfficial kjadfoir cfalskdsadlkh alkdashnaslkd KJADSHFBASLK.ASKJASD 1 REPLY GRUMBLE LIKE SHARE Adrya @ADRYAACROSXVII • 1s ago I'd translate for you @EmpressOfficial but literally nothing in that message is allowed past the profanity filter. REPLY GRUMBLE LIKE SHARE

Shalana spent the majority of the time on the ship holed up in her room. She made spells from wounds she'd cut on herself, and ingredients she'd carried in her magic satchel. The wounds healed up almost instantly, only leaving feint scars. The whole experience was depressing and lonely. Usually when she went somewhere she had many new people to meet, laugh at, cause trouble with, or fight. This trip there wasn't much communication at all. The crew of the ship were depressing to watch. They were dead and rotting before her very eyes, and it just reminded her of a possible death in her future. She hadn't thought about it before, because she had a long life ahead of her before she was old enough to weaken and die. And if she died in battle then, oh well. It wasn't something she had to face everyday. Now she was facing their rotting corpses walking around and working on the ship. The ship seemed to hate.... everything. She could feel the darkness surrounding her. And to top it off, everyone else was feeling the unease as well. The ones in charge were strange and introverted. They seemed to be obsessed with the mission. She just wanted to get the job done and leave. She felt trapped on the ship, and lonely. It wasn't a feeling she appreciated. She was used to her brother being with her. He usually criticized her, laughed at her, or did his best to trip her up. When she left on her own she felt free of his ridicule. She was also free of the obligation of watching his back. She had felt mainly good about being on her own. Now for the first time she felt the loss of him being by her side. He would have never gotten on the ship in the first place, and would have said that M'yr looked sketchy as Hades. She couldn't even communicate with him through the crystal, since it wasn't working on the ship. She was second guessing doing this job and being on the ship at all. As soon as the ship docked and she was able to get away from it she felt better. Her legs were a bit wobbly, because she still felt like she had to balance as if on a ship. Soon she felt that disappear too. She could have kissed the ground she was standing on. The air seemed fresher, or it might have been because she wasn't around the crew and docks now. She smiled for the first time since boarding the ship, and as soon as her legs became more sturdy under her she walked cockily behind M'yr as she followed his lead. She remembered feeling like he was a bit of a worm when she first met him, and her feelings hadn't changed. He seemed weak, vomiting, looking scared and shaky on a regular basis. She couldn't bring herself to respect him. She knew she had a job to do, but she didn't like taking orders from him. She snorted as the thought entered her head that she didn't like taking orders from anyone. Still, his comments rubbed her the wrong way, especially when he mentioned pay. She hadn't been paid as of yet. All she had was a few bits of herbs from the crate offered to her when she first agreed to take on the job. She was doing this all for free in her estimation. Shalana shook her head. She'd believed that Slake was M'yr's right hand. Here the woman was undermining his authority by saying Jack was the one to follow. Shalana didn't know if that was because Slake had a thing for Jack, or because she didn't trust M'yr to lead, but neither reason was good enough to change the groups direction on who was in charge. And though Shalana didn't respect M'yr, she didn't want to be working for a group that didn't work well together or have direction. That could end up being a dangerous situation to find oneself. She looked straight at Slake, a female she found a bit creepy with her insane comments, and said, "I plan to follow the instructions of the person who is paying me." Then she looked straight at M'yr, "You are planning to pay me right? Because I don't plan to do this shit for free." She pulled a knife from her satchel and pricked a spot of blood on each of her fingers. She did a chant and waited a moment. She could feel the power of the spell in her fingers, as she walked up to the fence. The spell was to make her fingers strong and sticky for her to be able to just use her fingers to support her body as she climbed up the fence. She placed her knife back in her satchel, and quickly climbed up to the top of the fence. While she was up there she looked over the area to see if there were any guards. She didn't see any. She swung her leg over the side of the fence and jumped to the other side. "Hurry up!" she whispered loudly, as she waited for the others to follow after her.

I like to do this kind of thread every so often. I think someone usually posts it 1-2 times a year, so I'll do it this time! Probably one of my all time favorite ones haha This gist is fairly simple: post a song that you believe in the music and/ or theme song for one of your characters! You can do it for as many characters as you'd like! Some people also like to give a short snapshot as to why you chose that song. I'll go first, though I'll just use active characters to make it less long haha Lilith Reiter "They say the most dangerous man is the one who has nothing left to lose. I say it’s the one who has at least one last thing left to protect." Alexander Hawk "And if I'm dying in the fight, it'll be while I'm bringing you down to the grave." Aedos Chanaril "No more mercy, no more pain; From the wreckage, no escape; I can feel it burning in my veins." Athena Romanov "The Ends justify the Means."

Dragons. Ah, must be flying too far up for Dew to see. And Farkis must have a very good eyesight. He listens to Torie’s explanation. So that’s what druids are? Says who? Dew frowns a bit, confused. Maybe it’s because he has a…particular way to see the world, having been raised as he was, but he’s pretty sure that no matter how others see you, even if you don’t act like the majority of others like you, you are what you are. Letting others define whether you are a "good" you or a "bad" you based on some unspoken standards is…unthinkable. Wrong. Before he can begin voicing this, however, Torie turns the conversation back to him. He blinks, taken a little aback, but she seems happy to leave the topic behind so Dew rolls with it. “Travel…with you?” Green eyes grow wide. He’d dreamed about meeting and having his own little group of adventurers, like his father had in his youth before meeting his mother, but he hadn’t expected the opportunity to start one would come so soon! He grins, excited. “Sure!” Then he chuckles a bit, demures, “Ah, I think I’d prefer not—” Because no, he’s not at all a good hunter. He wouldn’t even know where to start. “Who the hell dressed me like this?” Farkis asks, sounding rather angry. Dew is getting more and more confused by the strange man. Is he talking to himself? Then, Farkis suggests they go hunt the dragons. Dew stills. What? No, really. What? And then Kriegstad turns into—into something, a wolf? A man-wolf? It’s a mesmerizing change, a bit frightening in its intensity. He’s huge. The puppy yips, seemingly delighted, which makes Dew sure that there’s nothing to worry about. That and the man’s words. Though he was a little rude in his statements and demands, Dew thinks privately. Just a bit. Torie doesn’t seem too happy with Kriegstad’s assessment of her skills, either. “Sorry, I’m really not a hunter,” he says to her before she leaves, Kriegstad following behind her. “You can show me how later, maybe.” They might be traveling together after this, after all! And really, he’d prefer to hunt a rabbit first or something like that. Not. Not a dragon. He shakes his head, bemused, and turns to the others. “So, any of you going with them? Or are we now in charge of the fire?” he asks, throwing a couple of sticks to orange flames.

Douglas at this point was already at Port Barett, having hitched a ride on a wagon with a few merchants. Men, women and children alike were all gathered at the port, whatever few belongings they could take in time grasped tightly in their hands. "Women and children first! Women and children first!" He shouted, his voice booming across the port. Cruises would begin to take in children and their mothers, while the men made their way onto shipping boats and merchant boats. Within a matter of minutes, a system had been established, with, believe it or not, the scribe taking charge of the operation. Douglas, no longer needed, made his way back to the portal.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Lacrimosa --> weeping, tearful --> tears --> Tearrenus --> Terrenus

A delivery service that offers postage of any kind to be delivered across the world on safe, but swift horseback. It's store front being established in Lessertown, Alterion by It's whimsical but passionate Postmaster Gavel Armitage. An investor in the budding town seeking to create a rudimentary but reliable transport for mail and parcels. The modern era is evolving and information alongside it, there are still those who are too far from it's reach, too fearful of loss, or too resilient to change who just simply wish to leave their rural lives. They deserve a reliable system for delivery and transport that allowed them to maintain their crops, jobs, and livelihoods and that is what Humble Horseshoes seeks to provide. The Postmaster always in need of new recruits willing to travel long distances and do their part for the frontier that still endures. (PM me if you are interested in recruitment!) Postmaster Gavel Ranks: Postmaster First Class: Time Sensitive Material, Government Material, Emergency Mandates Express: Bills, Invoices, Personal Correspondence Priority Mail: Parcels, Packages, Letters, Merchandise. Periodical: Newsletters, Magazines, Catalog, Desk Work Postage Signature:

Grand Mainframe's audiovisual content: Grand Mainframe is the Greater Good Length: 0:53 Content: Campaign platforms I AM OBELUS Length: 0:52 Content: Obelus Slander Obelus Knows Length: 0:33 Content: Obelus Slander The truth about Obelus Length: 1:11 Content: Obelus Slander Running time of Grand Mainframe campaign material: 0:53 Obelus slander: 2:36 Vote a Saint-King not obsessed with its campaign rivals. Vote Obelus for Saint-King

Brought to y'all by the Grand Mainframe via social media shares...

An illustrated tri-fold brochure, widely distributed by the local Chamber of Commerce with the aim of increasing tourism and associated revenues, indicated five-thousand Gravekeepers are stationed, day and night, at the Bastion. Good grief! Between soldiers, lunatics, giant skeletons, and the odd vigilante, escape will be one sticky wicket! Sure, sure, the team could sneak in and out with their prizes in totes, but seriously, gratuitous violence became a need, not a desire, after stomaching the slop they served on the Widow! As if it didn't already suck that the Widow was as grouchy as Caeceila and they were expected to dwell in it for a short eternity, the food in the galley was about as palatable as the crew - rotting and reeking and miraculously ambulatory. Yeah, that squirming tentacled-thing tasted alright but that sauce or jelly or pustule that sloughed off the unhygienic chef was far too oily! The crew smelled more and more scrumptious with each passing day; had the beastly weretigers uncovered a bottle of tartar sauce in their explorations of the primary deck, for they much preferred the squall, treacherous though it was, to the unwholesome interior, their voyage might have devolved into calamity. Stricken with cabin fever, sleep deprived, and roused to action by most unnatural appetites, Cammy and her well-armed gang practically brawl among themselves to be the first to disembark from the cursed ship. Ultimately, they all forego the gangplank, vaulting over rails to expedite their transit to the sweet, sweet earth. This might be a haunted port, but it's a sight better than the alternative! By the time the gangplank is in place, Cammy and her gang are hunting and consuming vermin. Warm blood flows over their lips and down their chins to the tune of crunching bones. What they don't immediately, and rapaciously, devour they hastily gut and pocket for later. Somewhere in their feeding frenzy, they stumble across a soggy bundle of brochures tied up with string, and entranced by these colorful pamphlets, Cammy and her half-starved gang roll through the streets with the unrivaled splendor of a shiny metal ball in a pinball machine. Deftly ricocheting off of streetlights and pumps, they fly through deserted passages, lagging well-behind the others as they continue to collect and speed-read advertisements and informational materials. Unlike the others, they stop well-before the perimeter fence, staring in bemusement as the others expend precious mana to scale a fence while their creepy, creepy leader produces a grappling hook and proposes they all climb up to the roof while his freakish squeeze sheds light on a repugnant love triangle. It's weird! So very weird! Like, case the joint first! They don't have a lookout. What if someone catches them when they're halfway up to the roof? No, no, no, this, this is bound to end with someone tripping a motion sensor or breaking something that's actively monitored! Cammy and her gang conceal themselves behind a neighboring building, refraining from advancing too close to the barbwire-topped security fence. Short-range communications devices, discreet black earpieces allowing users to receive and transmit encrypted messages, crackle to life. While Cammy's crew's communications equipment is built into their gas masks, these standalone, lightweight communications devices were offered to the others just before a fish-thing in the crow's nest spotted land. Comms are live, people. You bust in; we'll prep our exit strategy. Octopus Galore, keep us abreast of the situation. If you need a distraction, hit us up; I'm sure we can find something to torch. An armored wagon is a must for a heist of this scale, and grease, grease would be incredibly useful if that giant skeleton shows up when they try to give the authorities the slip. Maybe there's a restaurant around here where they can hijack a delivery wagon and a few tanks of flammable liquid. Or... They could try their luck in the base proper, though they'd have to run checkpoints twice. Of course, if they could get in and commandeer a vehicle undetected, maybe they could pretend they're responding to the call when everybody starts shooting, stabbing, and generally reducing librarians to piles of irradiated goop. Decisions, decisions! In case our communications are jammed, the plan is to park a vehicle just beyond the balcony. If you go loud before we're back, you'll need to signal us by shooting or throwing something out of or off of the balcony. Then, give us 'bout, eh, two minutes to neutralize marksmen and punch a hole in their line before you poke your heads out or they're liable to gun you down.

Hey, is that spotlight an artifact? Can I have that one instead?

... or do I? ; >

I agree with you there. I don't know if you saw this but I edited in my post above after taking a minute to think about the fact that you were basically tagged into a check with zero context, hence the "???" next to your name on the tag. You were basically saying "here's what I'm seeing and if this is accurate then here's what I'm saying" Fair enough. If I had kept that in mind when making my reply I'd probably have used less questions and more informative statements lol So when IPP was becoming a thing we talked to the top level board leaders to make sure we weren't off our rockers, anticipated not everyone would want to be involved (some territory leaders are "evil" after all) but that it should suffice for most use cases. A lot has happened before, during, and after that. I think the "Era of Kingdoms" announcement came out at like exactly the same time we started discussing IPP, so maybe while I thought King would be letting people know, he thought we would be getting opt in from the individual kingdoms, and then ofc the world began having a seizure. Let's chalk it up as a breakdown as you said and know there was never an intent to keep any territories out or make them feel they didn't have a choice in the matter! That's key for me to get across

Ugh, I'm terrible at titling things. Hello, Valucre community! I'm Ami, and rather new to all this roleplaying thing. I dipped my toes on some RP forums some eight years ago, but I never stuck around (mostly because, for some reason, the ones I was interested in were either already dead or dying *is sad*). So I'll be hanging out at the Tavern of Legend until I get more comfortable. That said, I'm not new to writing; I've been writing fanfiction for ten years or so, and lately I'm trying my hand at original fiction, too. I've been exploring the New Member Guide and I have an idea for some characters already, so hopefully I can get started once I choose one to begin with. (The site is huge and a little intimidating, but it sounds like so much fun!) I'm glad to be here! *waves*

Writing is tough

There was a response from the dash, and the Highbinder monitored a coordinate he had displayed on the Crook which conveyed navigational information. Another ten minutes out, he gripped the wheel, white knuckling fury. His boot jammed the floor, oppressing the accelerator, he pulled around some jackass lulling in the fast lane. It wouldn't be long, he leaned his left arm back and enjoyed the hot air on his face. He had picked up on a police broadcast while cruising the city with some john, bored out of his mind. She was gone now, he had literally stopped the car and told her to get lost. Getting paid was important, and this whole thing screamed profit for a 'political enforcer.' Either that or a 'corrupt politician' but, he would play whichever hand he got dealt. That is, he could stack the deck either way, for pay. The poor valet about shit himself when the man pulled up, screeching to a halt which slanted his car. The Martial town cyborg grabbed something from his passenger seat, a fringed white denim vest, which the john had left behind, and slid it on. It complimented his black leather pants and ankle boots, and unisex dress was always in trend. The Highbinder brushed his short brown hair forward in the mirror, centering the cut nicely, and turning his attention toward the valet, tossing him the keys to his expensive rod. "Keep it close." He snarled, adjusting his lame sunglasses, and heading toward the entrance. Security had a fit, their metal detectors booming to life as the synthetic approached, more machine than man. They couldn't really tell him no, he was unarmed as far they as could tell. Then again, they couldn't tell what tricks he might have up his sleeve. Highbinder almost hadn't gotten through until he pulled the 'public image' card. "It's cause I'm a synth isn't it? Or is it because I'm wearing women's clothes? What sort of sexist, biotec discri..." They hadn't even noticed his sense of fashion until he brought it up, but, they pressed him through before he could make a scene. No big deal, he was in. Highbinder looked around, seeing people at the bar, around and about. Everyone looked tense, ready to leave, and... Were they high? The commando adjusted a dial over where his right ear should have been, which sat above a long bolt in his neck. A diagnostic reading showed that, something was trying to cause chemical imbalances in his system. It couldn't be identified. Odd. Highbinder sat down near Morris at the bar as a few ladies began to get up. Bartenders were usually friendly enough, and great informants. Obviously then, he dug for info, leaning his large plated frame towards the bar to speak over the music. He kept his eyes about him for the moment though. "Bartender! This a party or something? What's going on?"

Khan, who had his suspicions just confirmed regarding the innocence of those who had opened the portal, was quite relaxed at their appearance. Indeed, unlike the other commanders and Addison, Khan did not seem worried. Thus, it was no surprise when Khan got out of his tank, that by now was hidden, and walked towards the new guests. Additionally, while nobody knew it, the Bulgarian Army was ready to fight the other two armies if they actually interfered with what Khan's doing. Thus, Khan greeted the two travellers: 'Welcome to what might be the weirdest greeting scene one has ever seen. I am Khan Asparuh, nice to meet you.' @Fierach @Tenkai Matsumoto

"So from what I'm getting is, there's no good nor bad. Too much of an umbrella term, too broad of a spectrum." What you keep doing is getting drawn into philosophical arguments about what good and evil are and what those look like in real life to the players rather than the practical consequences of the actions and aftermath of the characters. Like "does end justify the means" or "Does intend change the nature of the action". Those are great arguments to be had to advance stories, not to stop them. Have you seen Inglorious Basterds? Landa wasn't suddenly a hero because he betrayed the bad guys at the end, and Lt. Aldo wasn't suddenly a villain because he stopped to carve a little something on Landa, even though traditionally you'd associate these things with clearly good or clearly bad actions. The whole argument of complexity and nuance and subtlety is something to be had IN THE STORY. You don't argue about the moral complexity of a character before the reveal of what makes them complex. Someone can say "actually they aren't really evil" all they want but if that person is spreading disease and fire bombing cities that's close enough for practical purposes (maybe not for a philosophy class but the point is that this is not that). Until the OMG Mega Reveal that actually they're taking vengeance on the people who bombed their village by bombing them back so are they really etc etc etc - but that reveal should be happening at the end of a story, not at the beginning, a story which cements person X as evil and not until moment Y gives you a reason to question this; you don't start off by ascribing universally flexible morality to all characters or there's no point in using morality to begin with and you may as well focus on Newtonian "action-reaction" motivation - which is fine because that's what the Law and Chaos axis is for. You don't need to be a good guy to stop a bad guy - you can just be a lawful person who wants to stop chaos (per Akiris's example) Your example of Shield and Hydra? All of that was for dramatic reveal. For the first half they were distinctly made to look like good guys so that the reveal that they are being shadow-controlled by bad guys has impact, is a climax rather than a rest stop. It doesn't have impact if you start off by saying "Yes they're good guys but a core of them are bad guys so they do bad things too, keep that in mind as we go along and try to distribute medicine and stuff" "it's much easier to wound than to heal, much easier to kill than to resurrect, much easier to destroy than to repair" - agree, path of least resistance Since you're just asking about story elements now I'll switch to commenting on story structure "Given @amenities gives the VCF permission to research about her, what's the line here?" - you don't need to settle that now. You can settle that IC. First finding the line can be done IC, and then whether the VCF stays on the right side or crosses to the wrong side can be done IC. Whatever the line is, Ataraxy has been adamant about the fact that Lilith is a higher being, she just happens to look exactly like a human, so whatever PETA or Geneva Conventions rules exists probably don't apply to her (is that wrong? if you aren't an absolute pacifist like the Buddha are you automatically a devil?). That's something that can be handled IC as well, and maybe what was Morally Righteous in the capture of an international terrorist becomes Morally Gray when it comes to getting intel from them, which is a very common moral standoff You can see a great example of this in the movie Prisoners with Jake G. and and Hugh Jackman. An ostensibly good man captures someone who he thinks is responsible for kidnapping his daughter. What this good man is willing to do to get his daughter back is the dramatic moral argument, and it plays out in story, and is illustrated by his actual actions for the audience to decide and feel that conflict - not the writer's arguments about whether what he does is good or bad But yes, you are right in that there is always the option for someone to explore the nuance of your actions (and vice versa). A very great example of this is the Dungeons and Dragons trope universe. In early versions, orcs and goblins were unequivocally bad creatures. They were put in place to be stock villain beasts and no one had a problem with it. Somewhere around 3.5 or 4, this isn't written in the creator lore or anything to my knowledge but is just how the stories have changed, just timing wise players started asking questions like "Dang, what if that was just a chill goblin village and they're just fishing and hunting, and the player characters come through and destroy their whole town for loot? Doesn't that make our . . . characters . . . the bad guys?!". Same action (raid and loot), but as motivations and consequences are explored and unpacked, the needle moves. The guy you thought was a good guy turns out to be a bad guy (Frozen). The guy you thought was at least a decent human being turns out to be a fucking monster (Castlevania S3). It's all about the "turns out" in those cases, the dramatic reveal,, and how that is explored in the story itself So for right now focus on the core and cut through the noise: "help the weak". And just see where the story takes you from there

If there's still room on the roster, the Watchers will definitely be involved in this conflict. Their leader Nathan has a chip on his shoulder towards the cult and he's gone through some special training to prepare for a confrontation with Lilith. Since the war, they fled with a number of Nu Martyr citizens to Genesaris to found their own land. Real soon, they'll be rechristened the Freedom Fighters. Though admittedly, Nathan probably wouldn't mind settling for a rematch with Khaedal. 😉

My character Amraphensbane (profile, favor dark theme for this) has received contact from a scientist (@supernal) in possession of a specialized chemical weapon. Said weapon will cause wide spread destruction of a specific resource in the city of Arcturon, located in the strange land of Taen, that keeps the city safe from the swamp miasma. Although known to not be lethal any longer, the swamp miasma causes hallucinations and assuredly makes an area unlivable. In this particular scenario, we’re doing this aware that Arcturon is a city with a population of three hundred thousand, mostly composed of the well off, and magically or scientifically inclined minds. Most of which are scholars with no real battle experience and rumors are abound that they’re developing terrifying and dangerous weapons in the glass depths of the wetlands which the city sinks into. Diffusion of said nerve gas will be done through a series of spray canister administered to the glass itself. The dead (@amenities) will be sifting through potential applicants, and only taking one on this highly dangerous mission which they will not be briefed about until just before mission start. Location and intent will both be veiled until then to said applicant. The expectation is that once the dead operatives have evacuated from the area, the nerve gas will begin flooding the city before they have time to study it, though there is a possibility the dead operatives won’t get out before the resulting chaos from the destruction caused by three hundred thousand people hallucinating. And they themselves may become a victim of it, though they will be coming in carrying concealed gas masks in fanny packs. Our goal is to cause enough of a diversion that they believe our intent is direct bloodshed. The truth of the matter is we are targeting the glass city itself, not the people with our gas attack. We will either have two teams, one focused on distraction while one infiltrates, or a unified force that takes over the upper region of the city by surprise and all at once, then we break out from there. The panic will begin in earnest when we release the nerve gas. Defenders, citizens, and scientists alike will believe we are gassing them when in reality, it is the fungi that coats the lucental glass. They will not have time to study it properly before the madness from the depths of the research facilities where the miasma is likely to pool first reaches up its tendrils to choke out the rest of the city through their own air filtration system. Once a team is assembled, there will be an OOC thread separate from this for discussion and a high likelihood we will face resistance from those player characters who support Taen. We're leaving the decision on defenders, NPC or otherwise in the hands of @Csl, so feel free to discuss your character being there at the time of the attack.

@danzilla3 @Zashiii @AngryCacti

I want to leave it to Ataraxy to answer in depth because he really does have the practical experience and I'd love to see his take on it, but I will say one thing A fundamental shift in perspective will make things a lot easier, and that's approaching games collaboratively vs competitively. I think both can be fun and both have their respective perks, both are games I engage in, but that when you're being competitive you have to be much more worried about slipping up, because those mistakes are part of how other people win, perhaps even the result of your opponent(s) strategy. When you're being collaborative on the other hand, everyone is rowing in the same direction, and anything you make a mistake on is something people will want to help fix rather than capitalize on because that's what the "win conditions" support. They look similar but it really is a different kind of game There's no unequivocal axiomatic truth here but I'll say with great comfort that for the majority of cases collaboration leads to greater, easier successes, in no small part because your successes won't always be at the cost of someone else's

I would assume that because it is a land inhabited by all manner of creature, to include some without any genitalia, and that fact that spirits of any gender could posses pretty much anything and anyone of any gender/biological sex/whatever, that there are undoubtedly sentient creatures that have nonstandard sex/genders because reproduction can be as weird as you want, that the novelty of a biological man identifying as a woman or vice versa, isn't anything that the general population would find abnormal or interesting. Like, think about the setting, and then think about how insignificant that would seem compared to all the other weird shit going on.

Map of Arcturon btw -- as requested by @Shatter Edit-- pertinent notes: Government, commercial, and residential districts are primarily lucentglass skyrises. Public areas within them such as Icarius Square and Talos Park are also enclosed in Lucentglass domes. R&D and manufacturing district were built prior to the invention of lucentglass. Half of the infrastructure here is underground, and those that are aboveground are equipped with air filtration systems. City Guard Barracks are of similar make as the R&D/manufacturing district.

Something I just did for fun: Erin after getting a rain cloud curse put on her by The Cursor (in Chasing Legends)

Stay safe and healthy everyone. More time at home means more time to post and also spend time with your fam.

" Pfft. Me? Killed? Funny joke. " Masuda said in response, grinning sinisterly. " Ninety to a hundred by hand and blade. Otherwise I could settle for chakra techniques and cap one-hundred-fifty before needing to take a break. " He explained. " If we're facing swarms, I plan on using a rebound-like tactic. Slice through the group, make it to the back, and travel back to your original spot. " He added. " If the time is right, I'll span out and flare away with fire and lightning techniques. I could also travel between them and round them up with silk. " He remarked, having already thought up a plan for dealing with these spiders. Masuda was a guy that didn't need much information. He's been in countless battles, against monsters, people, animals, you name it. He had a set catalog of ready-made strategies in his mind. All he needed was the current situation to conjure up a solution. That's the kind of skill you get when you're a Shinobi, afterall. " Maybe I could even try explosions for the first time! " He exclaimed. There it is. His childish recklessness. One of the many things keeping him from becoming a lord-like fighter. Well, everyone's got ups and downs, don't they? @Phoebe

FASTER! -no right to talk-