Long Game 65: Dancing through Life

[STINK he/him]

Ugfal here, after an unexpected delay. The weather today? He doesn't know. The tense being used? Inconsistent at best. 

His presence? Sadly, unknown to most. And as a matter of principle, this must be changed for the better. Also if he could be charged less for just about everything that would be very much appreciated like man fictional universities are expensive. But if Ugfal wants to really be involved in this whole RP thing the third hand is telling him about (don't question the mechanics on that one) then he can't just be a solo act. Those always require a personality thats both humble and relatable yet at the same time you look up to and admire. Isn't that just crazy.

Maybe he should devise a bidding system for something like that, or first person to claim it gets it like a pirate and their booty. Pirates are simply great, but do they even exist in this universe? Dunno, can't really check so I guess pirates don't exist anymore and now I'm sad. And I'm in the first person again, how annoying. Is this even RP anymore or just inane ramblings with a sort of character filter applied? Is that all it takes to qualify? Probably not, so now for some action!

Ugfal stands up from his indistinct chair, slips on a very distinct banana peel and slams his head on the much-closer-now chair with enough force to break not his head, but the chair. Mourning for this loss of chairkind, Ugfal kneels in an indistinct and undescribed area and simply kneels there in silence, perhaps waiting for a new chair or something else similar to that.

----------------------------------------------------------------

That's probably enough words idk solo pieces are hard okay don't judge me. Judge Ugfal, he's the guy who can't even RP that well but if I want to RP as Stink then I can do an amazing job.

I have been kinda wonky with activity I'll admit before anyone lays down those charges at me but from now on I should be grand for this kind of thing, smooth sailing and all those other sayings. Can't exactly PM anyone rn though since this game does not like when that happens without a bunch of posts to match it. So this cycle will just have to be posts, and then maybe next whatever I can start posting strong from the start and send everyone a little 'hey what's up' that kind of thing you know its just what I do.

As well as long sentences. But sometimes short ones.

Presumably a bunch of people are in Imre rn for some pipes so if someone hasn't mentioned that yet it probably has some game significance. But if someone has already mentioned it, they have to be a genius of immense magnitude because I also thought of it and that's how that works.

Anyway for now I gotta think about my lunch situation it's either gonna be spicy noodles or some leftover chile con carne im looking forward to whatever it ends up being.

[Karnage]

8 hours ago, Kynedath said:

"Oh, Amila, you know this guy? Awesome! Any friend of Amilas is a friend of mine! The name is Traelynn Weeks from Weeks Beets. I'll ask your name but I'm going to keep talking a little bit longer so could you maybe remember all the questions I ask and answer all of them? That'd be real deevy of ya. So yeah! You know my name now, what's yours?"

"A little more about me is that I'm also a student here at the University (although I might now be for very long with how expensive it is) but I spend most of my time trying to get Agriculture to be an official field of study. Amila is in the process of agreeing to help me, ain't that right Amila? We go way back, she is the first person I met here and we've been steadfast friends ever since! Shes the first best friend I ever got. You could be the next if you want! Well, if you ever tell me yer name that is."

"Also, if you don't mind my askin' what's with that other guy you were talkin' to? Somethin' got him on edge? I mean he peeled out of here really fast. I know about that one guy who went bonkers but I mean that's just the one guy, right? It can't be that huge a deal. I mean everyone's kinda been on edge, there is a different feel to the place since it happened, but I guess I convinced myself that it was all in my head." @Zillah @Karnage

As soon as Lasko gave him a beet Sagaer started to run away! What was up with that! Just because someones a commoner doesn't give you the right to be so rude to them, wait, was Sagaer a commoner too? The distinction between the classes was thin sometimes, even commoners could act more like nobles than nobles do. I ought to cut him a bit of slack though, he has a lot on his mind with the baby to care for and trying to study with the distraction and all. I'll catch up with them later. The beets girl stepped forward a bit saying, "Oh, Amila, you know this guy? Awesome! Any friend of Amilas is a friend of mine! The name is Traelynn Weeks from Weeks Beets. I'll ask your name but I'm going to keep talking a little bit longer so could you maybe remember all the questions I ask and answer all of them? That'd be real deevy of ya. So yeah! You know my name now, what's yours?"

"Ohh yah, I'll try to remember all your questions." or at least i'll try. "My name is Lasko Vietch." Before he could say a word Traelynn kept on with her almost maybe interrogation- but friendly-like. 

Responding to the statement that she was trying to get Agriculture as an official field of study Lasko said, "Really, agriculture? I would have never pegged you to be the type go into it." Getting no laughs he said, "I just joking, it sounds like quite a worthy endeavor, do you know if there are many people that might come to the University for that field of study?" 

Before he answered his question she went on asking her questions again. "Also, if you don't mind my askin' what's with that other guy you were talkin' to? Somethin' got him on edge? I mean he peeled out of here really fast. I know about that one guy who went bonkers but I mean that's just the one guy, right? It can't be that huge a deal. I mean everyone's kinda been on edge, there is a different feel to the place since it happened, but I guess I convinced myself that it was all in my head." 

"Lasko looked to where Sagaer split off. Lasko has a bit biffed that he hadn't even been able to have a meaning full conversation. "Well, I can't tell you for sure, but I think he's got a lot on his mind. He's got a baby and all, and I think he came here for a walk not to buy wares. You're right this places feel is starting to change with that one guy going to the Crockery. I think that mabey we just need a little space till things get back to normal."

@Zillah @Kynedath

---

I'll cast my vote on Sart. What happened buddy, I answered the call to the RP and you left me for someone else... 

Ok, gotta go. Signing out.

Edited May 3, 2020 by Karnage

[Haelbarde he/him]

1 hour ago, Burnt Spaghetti said:

Bryn looked to where Seoras was gesturing. "Ah! well spotted Shureece" Straightening her jacket a little, she briskly made her way to the man re-shelving the books, "Pardon me good sir, but I am in need of your service. Please" she smiled sweetly.

The man glanced over, took in her posture, tone and fancy jacket (which she was holding closed in a way that hid as much of her drab, far more obviously commoner garb), and quickly finished pushing the book he was holding onto its designated shelf, "Ah, of course, these books can wait to be re-shelved, what may I help you with, miss...?"

"Aria. Surely you must've heard of me, no?" She maintained her composure, trying not to chuckle as she watched the poor mans face shift into an expression of mild panic and confusion. "Ah of course you have, you must be wondering why i'm here in your library. See, my compatriots here and I," she gesture to Seoras and straw behind her, "are trying to find some books and the signage here is simply dreadful. Where may I find journals from renowned Physickers if I may ask? And history books on..." she looked blankly at Seoras, having already forgotten exactly what he had said he was looking into. "They can tell you what they need."

The librarian told her where she could find the section she wanted and then turned to the others to ask them about what they were after.

Seoras watched as Bryn's appearance changed subtly as she noticed the man he'd pointed out. She stood a little straighter, held her head a little higher, adopting a different expression. She was about to play a part. Intrigued, he stood by and followed her lead as he watched her stride up to the worker.

"Pardon me good sir, but I am in need of your service, please."

Even the way she spoke shifted just slightly, everything to sell the imagine of a self important noble, or maybe the spoilt daughter of a wealthy merchant. There was certainly a lot more to this girl than met the eye. 

Having given Bryn directions to the journals she was after, the librarian turn to look at Seoras expectantly. 

Seoras cleared his throat.

"Thank you mi'lady - you honour me greatly. Kind sir, if you could but point me towards where I might look for writings on Arem mathematics, I'm sure mi'lady here would be very grateful, though not as greatful as if you were to escort the Lady Aria to the journals afterwhich she had inquired."

He figured that if Bryn was going to play to her appearence, then why not do the same and have some harmless fun at this poor man's expense. 

( @Burnt Spaghetti Hope you don't mind playing into the act  @Straw Hoping you're able to jump in and react to all this still. Figure someone at least can have fun with the mans reaction if they want.)

[Devotary of Spontaneity]

That's two votes for Sart and one vote for 15 other people. Only one(Hael) of the Edema Ruh who most needs the 3 jot tuition reduction has actually voted, which makes me feel worse about casting a second vote. All of them but CadCom have been around at least a little bit to post. Everyone has to pay tuition the first term, so even if they were planning on dropping out immediately it still would have been monetarily worthwhile to vote. Even if some do immediately drop out, voting is still useful for it's intended purpose.

[Haelbarde he/him]

Excerpts from Seoras' Journal

Term 1, Day 1 - Orientation. Practically useless. A whole lot of snow, a whole lot of old people saying all the same things as the last person about the importance of due dates, of the consequences of unbecoming conduct (whatever that meant), the lashings associated with copying someone else's work, and the dangers of the arcane. Like they needed to spend 7 hours to say all that...

Term 1, Day 4 - Not a lot more worth commenting on for the past few days. What classes were available don't start teaching anything relevant to the subject until next week apparently. This week was basically alternating boring "Welcome to the <insert non-descript dusty lecture hall room number here>" with silly 'team building' games in failed attempts to get people to actually talk to people. At least tomorrow is a day off...

Term 1, Day 15 - Huh. Apparently it's the end of the third week already. After a mind numbing first week, there was barely time to sleep between studying, eating, and completing both the in class work and the copious  amounts of homework set on the first day. Really hoping this isn't want the rest of the term looks like.

Term 1, Day 32 - Ack. Maybe this is what it's going to be like all year...!?

[Straw he/him]

27 minutes ago, Haelbarde said:

Seoras watched as Bryn's appearance changed subtly as she noticed the man he'd pointed out. She stood a little straighter, held her head a little higher, adopting a different expression. She was about to play a part. Intrigued, he stood by and followed her lead as he watched her stride up to the worker.

"Pardon me good sir, but I am in need of your service, please."

Even the way she spoke shifted just slightly, everything to sell the imagine of a self important noble, or maybe the spoilt daughter of a wealthy merchant. There was certainly a lot more to this girl than met the eye. 

Having given Bryn directions to the journals she was after, the librarian turn to look at Seoras expectantly. 

Seoras cleared his throat.

"Thank you mi'lady - you honour me greatly. Kind sir, if you could but point me towards where I might look for writings on Arem mathematics, I'm sure mi'lady here would be very grateful, though not as greatful as if you were to escort the Lady Aria to the journals afterwhich she had inquired."

He figured that if Bryn was going to play to her appearence, then why not do the same and have some harmless fun at this poor man's expense. 

( @Burnt Spaghetti Hope you don't mind playing into the act  @Straw Hoping you're able to jump in and react to all this still. Figure someone at least can have fun with the mans reaction if they want.)

Straw had been rather taken off guard by the rapid exchange between Bryn and Seoras. He never really got a chance to answer any of their questions, and before much time had passed he found himself being dragged along. Bryn and Seoras had spotted a shelver and had decided to put up an act for some reason. He was pretty sure that neither of them was noble, so it was probably just an attempt to manipulate the poor man. He decided to just stay in the back for now, and let the two of them short it out. Straw had no desire to end up getting in trouble for harassing a random worker, but perhaps Bryn's plan would yield some benefits. Either way, watching the interaction between the three of them should be entertaining at the very least.

While Straw was waiting for Bryn and Seoras to continue their conversation, he turned his eyes to the books on the shelf nearby.

"Traps: An Illustrated Guide" - Probably some sort of instructional guide. It didn't seem like it would be very useful here, since there wasn't much hunting going on in the university.

"The Death of the Laughing Goat" - Straw really had no idea what this book was supposed to be about. It sounded like some kind of historical novel, but why would anyone care about a laughing goat?

"Mermaids and Sirens" - Obviously a fanciful book, but with the rumors of Skindancers, perhaps it would be a good idea to start looking into other mythical creatures...

( @Burnt Spaghetti @Haelbarde )

Edited May 3, 2020 by Straw

[xinoehp512 he/him]

 

Maern didn’t sleep well that night.

The following day was quite a struggle. Maern’s tired brain refused to focus on anything but the looming yet hidden threat that they all now faced. (He did get his homework turned in, though- there was no way he was forgetting that.) He’d been told to be wary and careful for Fae disguised as students, but… how was he supposed to recognize Fae? It wasn’t like he’d ever seen one before. And what was he supposed to do if he did get a suspicion of someone? Report it to the Masters? What if he accidently reported an innocent student as a Fae by mistake? That would hardly endear him to the student in question (or the Masters, for that matter). But he could hardly confirm that someone was Fae, either- even if he had known a way to determine for certain, was he really willing to confront a being that might be older than humanity itself? 

In the end, he could only come to one conclusion. Maern might not be prepared for them now, but he certainly wasn’t going to go down without a fight if he could help it. So he needed to know more about the Fae: who they were, what they could do, and most importantly, how he could defend himself against them. 

Because here, more than anywhere, knowledge was power.

 

[Haelbarde he/him]

24 minutes ago, Straw said:

Straw had been rather taken off guard by the rapid exchange between Bryn and Seoras. He never really got a chance to answer any of their questions, and before much time had passed he found himself being dragged along. Bryn and Seoras had spotted a shelver and had decided to put up an act for some reason. He was pretty sure that neither of them was noble, so it was probably just an attempt to manipulate the poor man. He decided to just stay in the back for now, and let the two of them short it out. Straw had no desire to end up getting in trouble for harassing a random worker, but perhaps Bryn's plan would yield some benefits. Either way, watching the interaction between the three of them should be entertaining at the very least.

While Straw was waiting for Bryn and Seoras to continue their conversation, he turned his eyes to the books on the shelf nearby.

"Traps: An Illustrated Guide" - Probably some sort of instructional guide. It didn't seem like it would be very useful here, since there wasn't much hunting going on in the university.

"The Death of the Laughing Goat" - Straw really had no idea what this book was supposed to be about. It sounded like some kind of historical novel, but why would anyone care about a laughing goat?

"Mermaids and Sirens" - Obviously a fanciful book, but with the rumors of Skindancers, perhaps it would be a good idea to start looking into other mythical creatures...

As the poor man spluttered, looking between Seoras and 'Lady Aria', Seoras stole a look back to Straw to see if he was going to play along. He was pointedly studying the nearest bookshelf trying not get involved. Seoras cracked a slight grin. Probably for the best. 

The man, deciding it wasn't worth the effort of protesting the situation, deflated as he observed Bryn's unwavering imperious look from down her nose. "It's... uh... sure, I mean. They're just... uh... down here.... It would be... a pleasure...? my pleasure... to help" 

As it turned out, there was a bound set of physicker journals all of a 15 second walk from where they had been, which really wasn't time enough to mess with the man on the way. Instead Seoras hung back a little to whisper to Straw.

"Hey. Did you want me to ask where to find a thing, or do you reckon you heard enough to find what you were after?"

Seoras glanced back towards Bryn as she put on airs as the poor librarian (who was more likely some assistant if they were just stacking shelves) hurriedly lead her onwards. Hopefully he'd be able to catch the man before he was able to scurry off...

( @Straw @Burnt Spaghetti)

Edited May 3, 2020 by Haelbarde
Tagging Burnt didn't work

[Kynedath]

@DeTess I get where you're coming from, but right now I'm just having so much fun with this roleplay! I understand that this is a mafia game though so I'll dedicate this post to game thoughts rather than beets . (This is also one of my first times handling the emoticons, how did I do?)

The only thing that really sticks out to me is that since people can choose which field of study they want to pursue then the Skindancers can pick and choose which ones to target almost. Like, so long as they can get information (which is a specialty of the eliminators) they can choose to either blend in and go for the larger fields in an attempt to get to the top and destroy a large field, or they can go and eliminate smaller fields with more chance to do so but less effects for the villagers. I personally would go for the first since if you're playing a long game you've got to think in the long term. You can get to the top of the field eventually if you try hard enough.

Other than that, I think I'll vote on Experience so that we can all share the love! Although at some point soon we will have to stop just spreading votes around and actually hone in on trying to catch skindancers.

[STINK he/him]

So who's it still safe to vote on? And does it count if you vote on yourself?

[DeTess she/her]

12 minutes ago, Kynedath said:

@DeTess I get where you're coming from, but right now I'm just having so much fun with this roleplay! I understand that this is a mafia game though so I'll dedicate this post to game thoughts rather than beets . (This is also one of my first times handling the emoticons, how did I do?)

Yeah, please don't take my comment the wrong way. RP is great, especially in this ruleset. But it'd be a bit to easy to just blend in by doing only RP.

[Experience he/him]

I am thinking that it is better if we do not reveal what fields we are studying, because then the skindancers are able to just sabotage those who are going into certain fields. I also think that the skindancers are more likely going to try and win by killing(or expulsion, I forgot which it was) instead of trying to destroy all of the fields. There are nine different fields, and there are probably less then nine skindancers. Also, when someone becomes a master it is told what field they become a master in, so if that field is destroyed it is going to be kind of obvious that the master of that field is a skindancer. I am not sure who to place a complaint on. I guess I will put it on Lord, to spread the votes. I do think that we need to start figuring out a specific person or persons to put complaints on, because this is just more likely to hit a student. I do not have time right now, but next turn I will go and read through the first cycle to try and get some ideas of whom I think might be a skindancer. 

~~

It had been more then a month since Shard had started to attend the university, and he was finally starting to get into a routine. He would wake up in the morning and eat breakfast, usually porridge. Then he would go to his classes, staying in the front away from the other students so he could better hear the professor. Then was lunch, and time to spend in town. Next came impressing the masters. He would go to the archives section of the university and try to find the Master of the Archives. Shard would listen to him teach then ask him all of his questions, and a few more he knew the answers to because the Master loved answering questions. Once he was finished with that he would go back to his home for the past months and eat dinner. Finally he would study for exams and then go to sleep, to wake up the next morning and start again. 

One such day, as he was leaving his last class of the day, Shard decided to do some extra studying instead of wandering around town. He found a tree outside of the university and sat against it, taking out a book on history. He became so engrossed in it that he didn't notice the person walk up to him. 

~~

If anyone wants to approach him, feel free to.

Edited May 3, 2020 by Experience

[Burnt Spaghetti she/her]

30 minutes ago, STINK said:

So who's it still safe to vote on? And does it count if you vote on yourself?

Vote Count

Araris (1): Lord Silberfarben
Bard (1): Detess
Burnt (1): Sart
DeTess (1): Karnage
Devotary (1): DeTess
Elandera (1): Straw
Experience (1): Kynedath
Karnage (1): Elandera
Lopen (1): Coda
Lum (1): Devotary
Rath (1): Lopen
Rover (1): Xino
Sart (2): Burnt, karnage
Lord Silberfarben (2): Araris, Experience
Walin (1): Sart
Xino (1): Lopen
Zillah (1): Hael

------------

People with no votes:

Haelbarde (Edema)
Elkanah (Edema)
Straw (Commoner)
Coda (Noble but just got hit with the bad lashings)
Striker (edema)
CadCom (edema)
Furamirionind (edema)
Stink (commoner)
Kynedath (edema)

---

 

I didn't intend my vote on sart to be anything serious, so i'll be moving mine to Stink so straws available for you stink if you need a home for your vote  

[STINK he/him]

Well now I consider this vote on me be to be quite the error and am quite miffed at that etc etc

I guess my only recourse must be to vote on Straw but I'm sure he'll be empathetic and understand etc etc

[Haelbarde he/him]

23 minutes ago, Experience said:

I am thinking that it is better if we do not reveal what fields we are studying, because then the skindancers are able to just sabotage those who are going into certain fields. 

I'd agree that it is important to be careful about if/how you share any EP/elevations you have. While there may be a time where there's suspicious uses of abilities that we might need to track down, until then any students elevated may have a higher chance of being targeted by the skindancers. Talking about what field you might be studying in or even more what field you may have been elevated in could help the skindancers work out what fields others may have gotten elevated in. Even if your field wasn't particularly dangerous to the skindancers for example, if they know they can ignore you, they've got a greater chance of targeting a more dangerous student ability. Now, you could then I suppose choose to intentionally mislead people  in what you were elevated in, which case we then get into more of a IKYK situation, but I feel like for the moment, avoiding sharing is better.

For similar reasons, I'd also avoid sharing lodgings. I don't think anyone has done that thus far, but given there is a possibility to move next cycle, I'd still recommend keeping any movements to your self - I can't think why students would need to know where you are staying, but the skindancers would probably find knowing useful. 

Edited May 3, 2020 by Haelbarde
Repeated a paragraph.

[Straw he/him]

1 hour ago, Haelbarde said:

As the poor man spluttered, looking between Seoras and 'Lady Aria', Seoras stole a look back to Straw to see if he was going to play along. He was pointedly studying the nearest bookshelf trying not get involved. Seoras cracked a slight grin. Probably for the best. 

The man, deciding it wasn't worth the effort of protesting the situation, deflated as he observed Bryn's unwavering imperious look from down her nose. "It's... uh... sure, I mean. They're just... uh... down here.... It would be... a pleasure...? my pleasure... to help" 

As it turned out, there was a bound set of physicker journals all of a 15 second walk from where they had been, which really wasn't time enough to mess with the man on the way. Instead Seoras hung back a little to whisper to Straw.

"Hey. Did you want me to ask where to find a thing, or do you reckon you heard enough to find what you were after?"

Seoras glanced back towards Bryn as she put on airs as the poor librarian (who was more likely some assistant if they were just stacking shelves) hurriedly lead her onwards. Hopefully he'd be able to catch the man before he was able to scurry off...

( @Straw @Burnt Spaghetti)

It seemed like Seoras and Bryn had finally gotten the poor assistant librarian to show them what Bryn was looking for. Bryn was still keeping up the act, probably just for her own amusement. From what Straw could remember, Bryn seemed pretty chaotic, so he wouldn't put it past her to bother the man as much as she could. Eventually, Seoras came up to Straw and asked him if he needed any help.

"Hey. Did you want me to ask where to find a thing, or do you reckon you heard enough to find what you were after?"

Straw thought for a bit and eventually replied, "No thank you. I think I've heard enough to work out where to find the books I'm interested in. However, I think I'll stick around for a bit and see what happens. Those journals sound both interesting and useful. Personally, I have little desire to take a trip to the Crockery."

Suddenly, Straw had a strange feeling that someone named Ugfal was complaining about him. However, it didn't seem malicious, so he was perfectly fine with it. He had been complained about before, and nothing had ever come from it. Then again, if he was suddenly having strange feelings and hearing voices, a complaint would probably be the least of his problems. Hopefully, Seoras and Bryn would be fine with him staying and taking a look at some of those journals.

( @Haelbarde @Burnt Spaghetti )

Edited May 3, 2020 by Straw

[Haelbarde he/him]

3 minutes ago, Straw said:

It seemed like Seoras and Bryn had finally gotten the poor assistant librarian to show them what Bryn was looking for. Bryn was still keeping up the act, probably just for her own amusement. From what Straw could remember, Bryn seemed pretty chaotic, so he wouldn't put it past her to bother the man as much as she could. Eventually, Seoras came up to Straw and asked him if he needed any help.

"Hey. Did you want me to ask where to find a thing, or do you reckon you heard enough to find what you were after?"

Straw thought for a bit and eventually replied, "No thank you. I think I've heard enough to work out where to find the books I'm interested in. However, I think I'll stick around for a bit and see what happens. Those journals sound both interesting and useful. Personally, I have little desire to take a trip to the Crockery."

Suddenly, Straw had a strange feeling that someone named Ugfal was complaining about him. However, it didn't seem malicious, so he was perfectly fine with it. He had been complained about before, and nothing had ever come from it. Then again, if he was suddenly having strange feelings and hearing voices, a complaint would probably be the least of his problems. Hopefully, Seoras and Bryn would be fine with him staying and taking a look at some of those journals.

( @Haelbarde @Burnt Spaghetti )

(I need sleep at this point so one more post to write Seoras out)

"That's quite fair enough. I'm glad we could help out. Hope you didn't mind us having a bit of fun."

Seoras turned back to see where Bryn had gotten to just in time to walk right into another student with an arm full of books coming from the other direction, knocking them over and causing books to slide everywhere.

"Ah bother."

"That's quite fair enough. I'm glad we could help out. Hope you didn't mind us having a bit of fun."

Seoras turned back to see where Bryn had gotten to just in time to walk right into another student with an arm full of books coming from the other direction, knocking them over and causing books to slide everywhere.

"Ah bother." With a sigh, he set about finding and picking the dropped books.
"That was entirely my fault, sorry. Are you okay?" He asked as he helped the other student to recover everything that had been dropped.

He supposed he'd probably have to leave Bryn to it. Feeling very conscious of the loud noise that had wrung out though the quiet, he thought maybe now would be a good time to leave. He'd have to leave Bryn and Straw too it, and maybe catch them later. And the assignment wasn't urgent enough to risk any further trouble here for the moment. So after helping the other student up, and dusting himself off, he excused himself quickly. 

It hadn't ended for him how he'd hoped it might, but it had been fun while it lasted, and he'd made a friend or two in the process he thought. So all in all, not a bad outing.

[StrikerEZ he/him]

2 hours ago, Devotary of Spontaneity said:

That's two votes for Sart and one vote for 15 other people. Only one(Hael) of the Edema Ruh who most needs the 3 jot tuition reduction has actually voted, which makes me feel worse about casting a second vote. All of them but CadCom have been around at least a little bit to post. Everyone has to pay tuition the first term, so even if they were planning on dropping out immediately it still would have been monetarily worthwhile to vote. Even if some do immediately drop out, voting is still useful for it's intended purpose.

Yes, I know I need to vote on someone. I spent most of yesterday relaxing and just glancing at the Shard on my phone instead of really spending the time to think about this game.

Right now though, I'm not quite sure who to vote on for that tuition reduction. I know I need it, but I'm not sure who to vote on. It's been really hard to keep track of what's been going on in this game.

Ughhhhhh. I lost a post I'd been working on for close to an hour. It only saved this first little bit when I went to the new page when Hael posted and I'm so mad. I'd made a fancy vote count thing where I bolded the nobles and italicized the commoners and I'm upset. I'm not gonna bother remaking it because I remember who I decided to vote on, and not much has changed since Burnt's last vote count. 

I'm going to vote on Experience because Basically all the rest of the commoners/nobles have already been voted on, besides for Coda, who already has been severely punished. Besides that, I'm voting on Experience because I find it weird that, even after the GMs clarified that who became the master in which field wouldn't be revealed, just that someone had become the master. Something about that, plus the reset of their post, feels odd to me.

~

Ryykal's fingers tenderly flew across the piano keys as he let his mind soar alongside the music he was creating. He had gathered a small audience while playing, but he didn't pay much attention to them. The music wasn't for them, it was for himself. Music was an escape from the stress and hardships of his daily life. A way for him to forget the things that were dragging him down and simply experience life and joy and harmony and happiness. He desperately needed that in these trying times. The stress from studying for his classes and spending hours on end staring at books was starting to get to him. Then there was the news about that poor man who had gone insane. That scared Ryykal, because most days he felt like he was on the edge of the great chasm of insanity himself.

But for now, all those worries washed away as he let the music flow through him. The rising passages and quick flurries of notes. The sweet tender moments as he played so softly you could hear the quiet breathing of those gathered to watch him. Then, a series of ascending arpeggios and frantic crescendos all building up to one glorious final chord. His hands hovered over the piano for a moment as he relished in the pure bliss of making music. It took a moment reality to come crashing down as the applause of the considerably larger audience brought him back from his reverie. He stood up to bow, and thanked the kind folks as they complimented him and even gave him some spare coins. As the last of the crowd faded away, he was once again left with his thoughts.

Time to return to work, he thought sadly. 

[Elkanah he/him]

 

On 5/2/2020 at 1:05 AM, Haelbarde said:

So, everyone had a vote on them except the Ruh. Spreading out the votes I think was worth it, but as evidenced by Coda's Conduct Unbecoming, still doesn't avoid harsh consequences. As Devotary points out though, it's probably not helped by there being a number of individuals staying in the Golden Pony. The guess of 5-6 of the 20 players with DP (I think order of actions means that Headshot would have gone insane before DP was assigned) seems reasonable, though I feel like Yllish and Aturans are likely to be the more common commoners and nobles so I wouldn't be too surprised if it were more like 7 or even 8. But short of people volunteering where they were staying and voting accordingly, there's not a lot we can do about that, unless people decide to change accomadation. And I wouldn't recommed people sharing where they were lodging anyway, on top of the fact that potentially double voting on people in the Golden Pony would both get the complaint and a DP from having two complaints on them (I don't know if the Golden Pony affects the 2 complaints = 1 DP thing).

This is the fun part where I waited too long to vote, still don't have any really solid leads, and have to place a second vote on someone or vote on an Edema Ruh. Looking at the results of last cycle, it may be a little easier for me to guess who is staying at the Golden Pony. Clearly Coda, Xino, and Bard were not staying there. That leaves only the other seventeen to guess from. Sart and Lord Silberfarben have two votes each already. I think I will submit a complaint about Karnage. He is too happy to be a real student . It was probably his intention to remove a noble by driving him insane anyway.

I've had a think on Imre and I want to get some outside opinions. Is it worth spending half of a term there? When we pay tuition, we are paying for the whole semester. Effectively we have paid for the opportunity to impress a master two times. If we go to Imre, either for the first half or the second half of the term, are we giving up half of the resource for which we have already paid? 

The balance to that is if it is worth the hassle of dropping out of class for a whole cycle and living in sub-optimal housing in order to spend tuition money in Imre. I realize there are some classes who lack that option anyway, but theoretically which is more valuable?

[Burnt Spaghetti she/her]

1 hour ago, Straw said:

 

Straw thought for a bit and eventually replied, "No thank you. I think I've heard enough to work out where to find the books I'm interested in. However, I think I'll stick around for a bit and see what happens. Those journals sound both interesting and useful. Personally, I have little desire to take a trip to the Crockery."

 

55 minutes ago, Haelbarde said:

The man, deciding it wasn't worth the effort of protesting the situation, deflated as he observed Bryn's unwavering imperious look from down her nose. "It's... uh... sure, I mean. They're just... uh... down here.... It would be... a pleasure...? my pleasure... to help" 

<snipping a tonne of rp>
he excused himself quickly. 

The books were literally right there. Of course they were. Now she felt stupid for asking help to find them but she needed to maintain the character, so with a sweet smile she thanked the poor man, "ah, how perfect. They were right here, at the front. A shame there was no clear signage that would have saved me having to bother someone like you. Regardless, your assistance is appreciated. You are free to go." she waved her hand, signalling him to move along.
By now Seoras had gone and caused a commotion and scurried off. Straw was still nearby however, seemingly interested in the topic she was investigating as well. Grabbing an armful of books that seemed somewhat relevant she turned to straw, reverting back to her normal disposition, "well that worked, time to go tome diving and see if there's anything to be learnt from these things. To be honest I'll bet that I just end up finding a fascinating case study and just be reading up about random serial killers and not find anything actually useful for maybe helping to prepare us for dealing with the craziness that lives at this university. We passed some desks for studying at right?"

-------------------------------------------------

18 minutes ago, Elkanah said:

 

This is the fun part where I waited too long to vote, still don't have any really solid leads, and have to place a second vote on someone or vote on an Edema Ruh. Looking at the results of last cycle, it may be a little easier for me to guess who is staying at the Golden Pony. Clearly Coda, Xino, and Bard were not staying there. That leaves only the other seventeen to guess from. Sart and Lord Silberfarben have two votes each already. I think I will submit a complaint about Karnage. He is too happy to be a real student . It was probably his intention to remove a noble by driving him insane anyway.

I've had a think on Imre and I want to get some outside opinions. Is it worth spending half of a term there? When we pay tuition, we are paying for the whole semester. Effectively we have paid for the opportunity to impress a master two times. If we go to Imre, either for the first half or the second half of the term, are we giving up half of the resource for which we have already paid? 

The balance to that is if it is worth the hassle of dropping out of class for a whole cycle and living in sub-optimal housing in order to spend tuition money in Imre. I realize there are some classes who lack that option anyway, but theoretically which is more valuable?

 

I think it honestly depends on what class you are. For nobles, dropping out entirely can actually be a pretty viable strategy, as they end up being able to grab the grams when they appear and live on bodyguards and assassins rather than abilities. Although arguably it's better to get an ability or two first so you have more options. Though regardless of class, something that can be pretty valuable for gaining information is if someone does live there permanently, they see what items come and go, and they know how many people have protection, if assassins were bought, bodyguards, and can monitor the contracts, being able to know what cycle a contract appeared and if it was completed or not. 

The other option of going there once a term depends on what your overall goals are. If you're fighting to be master or anything you'll likely want to stay at the uni and get as much EP in as you can. Get your items and actions from gaining ranks. But that doens't work for everyone. People struggling for money who still really want to gain elevations and abilities may end up regularly visiting the imre in the hopes of getting contracts to fulfill for extra coin, or maybe gambling to get more money, plus trying out for the talent pipes. 
Ultimately it depends on your playstyle i think. Do you want abilities or coin? Arguably a vint who soley lives in the imre can be just as deadly as a namer who can throw two names. If not more, as they are likely more protected.
An Edema who has optimized coin with pipes, and a level in arithmetics and maybe some alchemy to create items to sell can be very unsuspecting while actually quite well off being able to probably avoid any suspicion of being the one behind assassins. Its entirely possible.

Where you choose to go doesn't matter when it comes to tuition reductions either- swap out the EP reduction for the contract creation reduction.
If you're trying to decide what to do now, maybe if you get elevated or not may influence what you decide. Maybe you can go full uni until you get an ability then nope out and live in the imre. Or not. It honestly depends on a lot. But everything has its uses.
Edit:
Also while in the imre you can still get elevated even tho you cant submit ep, so if you've got a tonne of EP stored up in multiple schools you can still get elevated multiple times in a row, the chances are just going to be a little lower than those who've stuck around.

Idk how helpful this was.

I should sleep >>

Edited May 3, 2020 by Burnt Spaghetti

[Devotary of Spontaneity]

Experience (2): Kynedath, Striker
Karnage (2): Elandera, Elkanah
Sart (2): Burnt, Karnage
Lord Silberfarben (2): Araris, Experience
Araris (1): Lord Silberfarben
Bard (1): Detess
Burnt (1): Sart
DeTess (1): Karnage
Devotary (1): DeTess
Elandera (1): Straw
Lopen (1): Coda
Lum (1): Devotary
Rath (1): Lopen
Rover (1): Xino
Walin (1): Sart
Xino (1): Lopen
Zillah (1): Hael
Stink(1): Burnt
Straw(1): Stink

That's all the nobles and commoners voted for, except for HH who is insane and Coda who was severely punished last turn.

11 minutes ago, Elkanah said:

I've had a think on Imre and I want to get some outside opinions. Is it worth spending half of a term there? When we pay tuition, we are paying for the whole semester. Effectively we have paid for the opportunity to impress a master two times. If we go to Imre, either for the first half or the second half of the term, are we giving up half of the resource for which we have already paid? 

The balance to that is if it is worth the hassle of dropping out of class for a whole cycle and living in sub-optimal housing in order to spend tuition money in Imre. I realize there are some classes who lack that option anyway, but theoretically which is more valuable?

I wouldn't stay the second term unless I'd gotten everything I wanted from the University first, but I think it's worthwhile to visit Imre at least once during the course of the game. It does cost a turn's worth of EP, but you can still be elevated for EP you'd previously submitted. The second turn in Imre isn't nearly as valuable as the first, since you'll want to spend as much money as you're going to on the first turn since stipends are by term rather than by turn. Staying for the second turn is good if you really want to get those talent pipes, or you've decided to drop out with whatever elevations you've achieved and focus on the contracts/items game.

[Elkanah he/him]

On 5/1/2020 at 11:07 PM, TheMightyLopen said:

 Probably a long shot, but did anyone have contact with HH, and if so, know of anyone else he may have been in contact with?

 

I realized I never responded to you about this. I was not in contact with Hemalurgic Headshot. I don't know if anyone was. I'm sorry I have been lax in private messaging people. It is neat to have a game with no restrictions on private messaging that it seems like no one is using. I understand that using private messages has the possibility of increasing tuition, but if the average player posted four times last cycle that allows for twelve private messages per player before any one of them had to worry about tuition increases. I realize that I am part of the problem because I posted twelve times in thread and I only used seven of the thirty six private messages available to me. I am afraid this month will not be much better either because we are coming up on the end of it. I will try to do better next turn and I invite anyone to follow up with me on that. I feel like there is a lot more information to be gained from private messages than the thread, because people are more willing to share when they know they are not being listened to by twenty six third parties. It also lends itself to information sharing because if I give quid pro quo information, no one is receiving it for free. Sorry for the random treatise on why I like private messages.

 

Kendel walked back toward his dorms. Maybe he should stop by the windy tower and play for a while. It would help him de-stress and maybe he would be thrown a little money for a hot meal. As he bent his way to go play, something came to him. It started quiet, but it was some sublime tune. He turned again to follow the sound. It filled with crescendos and decrescendos. Sometimes it became so quiet he could hardly hear and Kendel was afraid he had made a wrong turn, but always it came back as strong and sweet as before. 

As he walked he realized he was not the only person drawn by the music dozens and then scores of people flocking to get a view of the master who created this tune. Kendel had never been so pleased by his small frame as he was as he quickly shot between gaps of the newly formed throng that created a temporary path to the front. Finally pushing to where he could see, there was a student sat at a magnificent piano. His ears were swooning with pleasure and it looked like some of the women in the crowd were doing the same. Then as the music rose building to a grand climax, the musician struck a final chord and all was silent. The crowd held its breath as the notes faded on the wind. Then they erupted with applause. The pianist looked up like he was shocked anyone was listening. He stood and gave a quick bow as people threw jots and drabs to him. He certainly deserved them for such beauty. Kendel wished he could stay to hear a reprise, but he had other obligations so he made his way out of the crowd. 

Thank you Burnt and Devotary, I will respond to you post haste.

[Elkanah he/him]

16 minutes ago, Burnt Spaghetti said:

I think it honestly depends on what class you are. For nobles, dropping out entirely can actually be a pretty viable strategy, as they end up being able to grab the grams when they appear and live on bodyguards and assassins rather than abilities. Although arguably it's better to get an ability or two first so you have more options. Though regardless of class, something that can be pretty valuable for gaining information is if someone does live there permanently, they see what items come and go, and they know how many people have protection, if assassins were bought, bodyguards, and can monitor the contracts, being able to know what cycle a contract appeared and if it was completed or not. 

The other option of going there once a term depends on what your overall goals are. If you're fighting to be master or anything you'll likely want to stay at the uni and get as much EP in as you can. Get your items and actions from gaining ranks. But that doens't work for everyone. People struggling for money who still really want to gain elevations and abilities may end up regularly visiting the imre in the hopes of getting contracts to fulfill for extra coin, or maybe gambling to get more money, plus trying out for the talent pipes. 

I agree that the nobles have the most to gain with the body guards, assassins, and grams; but the vintish nobleman by design have the hardest time staying at the grey man. I suppose the Aturan Nobles do not have the same requirements to stay at the most expensive place they can afford, so they might have the most reason to try taking a gap term. 

It would be very interesting to see what comes and goes, especially in the black market. You could get a pretty clear picture of what is going on in the underground. I might even consider doing that, but I would like to start learning cool abilities so it will have to wait until I am expelled or worse.

As I see it, the only reason for Commoners and Edema Ruh to go is to get the pipes. You can get discounts from putting a contract on the black market, but it's unlikely they will put anything on there that is worth more than the tuition reduction given by impressing a master. 

The exception I guess comes with those in artificery. They stand to make a real profit on the market, so it might make sense for them to visit once every term or just live there.

28 minutes ago, Burnt Spaghetti said:

Ultimately it depends on your playstyle i think. Do you want abilities or coin? Arguably a vint who soley lives in the imre can be just as deadly as a namer who can throw two names. If not more, as they are likely more protected.
An Edema who has optimized coin with pipes, and a level in arithmetics and maybe some alchemy to create items to sell can be very unsuspecting while actually quite well off being able to probably avoid any suspicion of being the one behind assassins. Its entirely possible.

Where you choose to go doesn't matter when it comes to tuition reductions either- swap out the EP reduction for the contract creation reduction.
If you're trying to decide what to do now, maybe if you get elevated or not may influence what you decide. Maybe you can go full uni until you get an ability then nope out and live in the imre. Or not. It honestly depends on a lot. But everything has its uses.

Idk how helpful this was.

This is a terrifying development. I have barely begun to realize the possibilities with this game! 

24 minutes ago, Devotary of Spontaneity said:

I wouldn't stay the second term unless I'd gotten everything I wanted from the University first, but I think it's worthwhile to visit Imre at least once during the course of the game. It does cost a turn's worth of EP, but you can still be elevated for EP you'd previously submitted. The second turn in Imre isn't nearly as valuable as the first, since you'll want to spend as much money as you're going to on the first turn since stipends are by term rather than by turn. Staying for the second turn is good if you really want to get those talent pipes, or you've decided to drop out with whatever elevations you've achieved and focus on the contracts/items game.

I agree that probably everyone should at least visit once. Most of us should try for the talent pipes at some point, too. That makes a lot of sense that you may as well spend all the money you have in the one turn that you are there, so you may as well study for the other half of the cycle. 

 

Double posting because I the cycle is ending

sorry sorry sorry

[Elbereth she/her]

The term is over! Please do not post, PM, or touch your spreadsheets. See you in 8 hours! 

[Elbereth she/her]

LG65: Term 2, Month 1 - Think of Me

Sagaer Murtoy smiled down at his daughter, rocking her gently in his arms. She was difficult to take care of - babies always were - but he didn’t care, not when he could look at her and know she was safe. 

He laid her down carefully in her crib. Hopefully she’d sleep longer this time - ideally long enough to actually finish his assignment, but he didn’t have much hope for that. She was restless tonight, for whatever reason. 

He quirked a little smile her way, and set to work. 

Some time later, the door near-silently opened and closed again. Buried in his work as he was, Sagaer took no notice. But he did notice when a smooth voice said, “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

Sagaer stood so fast his chair started to topple over, and turned to see a... thing holding his child. It was horrid-looking, near-human but melted and grotesque with red burning eyes. In the back of his mind, Sagaer recognized that it was probably a Skindancer, but most of him was occupied with overwhelming rage and dread. 

He stared at the creature in silence. Between them, the chair clattered to the ground in an odd counterpoint to the intensity now filling the room. 

The creature frowned slightly. “I shouldn’t have come in, I suppose, but she’s just cried so much that I couldn’t stand it anymore. Can’t you keep her quiet?”

Sagaer found his words again. “Give me back my child.”

“Tsk, tsk. That’s not an answer. Which probably means the answer is no.” It looked down at the baby, somehow still sound asleep. “She’ll just have to live elsewhere, I suppose. Somewhere far away from my room.”

“You can’t just-” his words stopped in his throat as it lifted a hand, showing off claw-like fingers. With very, very sharp points. 

“I rather think I can. Don’t worry, at least she’s not going to die.” It smiled, setting her back in her crib. “You, though...”

Sagaer swallowed. “If I have to die for her to live, then so be it.”

The thing laughed. “Oh, why kill you? Far more punishment to let you live, and yet never see your child again. I rather think you’ll go mad, hmm?”

“No, please,” Sagaer whispered. “Please, just leave, I’ll move out, whatever it takes, just let me have my daughter back...”

It approached. “And just to give that madness a little boost to make sure....” Sagaer stood frozen as it touched a hand to his forehead and then-

---

Sagaer’s sudden scream shattered the snowy silence and woke the entire building. People blundered into the hallways, trying to figure out what was going on, but by the time they found him the Skindancer was gone. All that remained was Sagaer. 

He was still screaming long after he entered the Crockery. 

The next morning, on the first day of term, a baby girl with bright blue eyes and tufts of brown hair was found lying in the snow on the steps of the University.

---

(And everyone else? Well, each student (but one) found a small candy outside their door the next morning, accompanied by a note reading Happy new term!!!)

---

Sagaer Mortoy (Sart) went insane!

Shard (Experience) was brought on the Horns and found guilty of Undignified Mischief!

The following students were elevated: Seoras (Haelbarde), Bryn Aria (Burnt Spaghetti), Evelyn Bryen (DeTess), Maern (Xino), Lord Silberfarben, Shard (Experience), Lin Wa (Walin), Nethwyl Nox (Bard), Leo (Lopen)

 

Term 2 has begun! Month 1 will end Tuesday, 5 May, at 4:00 PM PDT. We are reducing rollovers to 4 hours rather than the previous 8.

Clarifications

If you go to Imre, and want to place a contract, please come up with a quick reference word for your contract, and put that in your spreadsheet. Then put the full text of the contract in your GM PM. This will keep your player spreadsheet clean, while making sure we get all the information we need for contracts. You can place more than 6 contracts (especially if some of those are flavor contracts). Just submit the extras in your GM PM.

Anyone in Imre can go to all five locations; you do not have to choose one. Also, you will get a tuition reduction for buying an item even if someone else wipes out the inventory first - success is not required.

 

Player List
1. @Haelbarde - Seòras (Edema Ruh)
2. @Elandera - Athdara, alchemist (Noble)
3. @Burnt Spaghetti - Bryn Aria (Commoner)
4. @DeTess - Evelyn Bryen (Commoner)
5. @Elkanah (Edema Ruh)
6. @Straw - Straw (Commoner)
7. @xinoehp512 - Maern (Commoner)
8. @Lord_Silberfarben - Lord Silberfarben (Commoner)
9. @Coda - Catalan, namer (Noble)
10. @Karnage - Lasko Veitch (Noble)
11. @Hemalurgic Headshot - Onur Setyn (Noble) Insane
12. @StrikerEZ - Ryykal Ladzo (Edema Ruh)
13. @Lumgol - Caia Irèn (Noble)
14. @Experience - Shard (Commoner)
15. @Devotary of Spontaneity - Vol, paranoid alchemist (Noble)
16. @CadCom - Cadaci (Edema Ruh)
17. @Sart - Sagaer Murtoy, accompanied by a child (Commoner) Insane
18. @Furamirionind (Edema Ruh)
19. @Zillah  - Amila Tays (Commoner)
20. @Araris Valerian - Arael Solon (Noble)
21. @Rathmaskal - Rath (Commoner)
22.  @STINK - Ugfal the Three-Handed, with only two hands (Commoner)
23. @Kynedath - Traelynn Weeks, likes beets (Edema Ruh)
24. @Walin - Lin Wa (Commoner)
25. @GreenRover - Knighter Nune (Noble)
26. @Young Bard - Nethwyl Nox, pyromaniac (Commoner)
27. @TheMightyLopen - Leo (Noble)