ZincAboutIt

Yes, Lita thought, reaching into the sleeve of her dress and removing a thin silver case. Yes, I think she will do quite nicely. "Is ignorance bliss?" she said, removing a slender cigarette and lighting the tip with a pinch of her fingers, pushing some of her residual heat stores into her fingertips and hiding a wince. With her tin on, it hurt more than usual, but it was worth it for the effect. Exchanges like this were all about posturing in one way or another. "Perhaps. But I will counter your cliche with another. Knowledge is power." Lita sucked in a breath of smoke, feeling the burn in the back of her throat, the delightful pain of it. She let it curl out of her mouth for a moment before continuing. "They say that the Lord Mistborn was a Tineye before the Catacendre. I always liked that, growing up. Made a little nobody like me feel a bit more special. But you know, for just a little while - before Harmony remade him - he was something else. Something that should not have been able to exist. He could burn tin and pewter. Two metals. He broke the rules." She watched the smoke twist in the air, watching the patterns collide and divide, remaking themselves after clashing together. "Enough power lets you break all kinds of rules, Laurelai. Break them, rewrite them, undo them." Lita reached up to her headpiece and ran her fingers along the slender golden spires before finding the one that she had specially made, plucking it out and holding it before her eyes. Its tip was filed to a point so slender it was barely visible, a terribly beautiful and dangerous little thing. She twirled it between her fingers idly, spinning it through the smoke. "What do I do when I'm not enjoying fine wine? I watch. I listen. You could say that I'm a collector, of sorts. A collector of secrets. Enough of those, and you can find anyone's pressure point. And if I collect a few more things besides... well. That's just a perk of the job." Lita smiled a slender smile and took another pull on her cigarette, watching Laurelai's eyes grow brighter and brighter with curiosity and excitement. "But there I go, talking about myself again. What I'd like to know now, Laurelai, is what you want. Do you want bliss?" She set the slender spike down on the table, point facing away from either of them, metal glinting in the dim light. "Or do you want everything else?"

Hi! Is the poll still open/ do we have a consensus on what is going on with the plot? I now have a bit more bandwidth to write and participate since the Zinclet is nearly 7weeks old now.

Lita kept her expression relaxed, still smiling, but allowed herself to tilt her head and observe Laurelai. She was smart - quite smart, though that wasn't all too rare in a city this large and cosmopolitan. She was ambitious too, Lita could see it in her eyes, in the slightly hungry way she leaned towards her looking for that secret which Lita was beginning to dangle before her. It had been a while since they'd taken on anyone at the DoCI - in fact, Lita might have been the most recent recruit, at least into the inner echelons of the organization. We already considered her father. Clearly the family is talented. Lita mused, taking a measured sip of her port. She had nearly finished it, and was debating a second glass, when she reached into a pocket for her Alleycant pen. Lita drew it out, along with a small notepad, and was halfway through a transmission to Mac before she realized what she was doing. He's gone, Lita, she told herself, feeling her mouth slip into a small line. She was the Department Head now. It was up to her to evaluate Laurelai. This is what you wanted, she told herself, setting down the pen. Power, influence. All the strings in her hands now. All the cards in her deck. "Truths and superstition," Lita said, looking back at Laurelai and smiling again. A colder, sharper smile this time. "Elusive things to chase. More often than not, they have a way of finding you instead, do they not?"

I’m not sure why the DA would need to buy spikes as they are more than capable of making their own - indeed likely more capable than anyone who isn’t part of the guild. Also, someone wanting to sell spikes to the DA would be like someone from our society wanting to sell something to the cabal of lizard humans secretly running our world. It would make someone sound pretty crazy to openly look for them. More than likely you’d need to have someone from the DA reach out to your character instead.

Kit smiled. "I've worked in lots of taverns, on and off. Never had a full-time job, but I helped out a lot down in Alleyharbor. Took over the bar for a whole summer at The High Tide when the innkeeper's wife had her baby." She watched the woman interact with her few customers, thinking. "If you'd want help housekeeping, I'd be willing, though I'd prefer room and board here if I'd be expected at all hours."

Ah, caught in my own deception, Lita thought, pleased despite the slight defeat. She watched Laurelai observing her with a degree of both caution and curiosity that Lita found familiar. Lita had been much the same way when she'd met Mac. She pursed her lips, considering for a moment, before deciding to take a small, calculated risk. "Ah yes, the Coin." Lita smiled and withdrew a blank gold disc from a pocket sewn into her sleeve, dancing it across her knuckles. It was one of the many such coins that storytellers threw out to the audience during the Festival, a simple circle of metal merely painted gold. A passing stranger had handed it to her earlier, and Lita enjoyed the way it felt in her hand. Heavier than she'd expected, and quite excellent for flipping. She did so, catching it and holding it up before her face. "A talisman given to man by a god, a reward for his bravery and his mastery of their own domain. A symbol of resolution, of peace. But also of power - if you believe the legends, that is." Lita looked directly at Laurelai for a moment, meeting her crystal blue eyes, before slipping the coin back into her sleeve and taking another sip from her glass. "Monsters lurking in dark alleys, pathways between reality, men with sharp eyes and sharper tools... it all sounds a bit far-fetched, doesn't it?"

Lita let her smile drop a little and took another sip of port, enjoying the sensation of a correct guess as Laurelai's carefully-guarded countenance shattered with surprise. She sputtered, coughing, and Lita could watch the thoughts racing behind her eyes. "You must have quite the keen eye." Laurelai said, recovering quickly. "There's not much of a point to it if people can easily tell." Fast on her feet, Lita noted, impressed by how quickly she'd managed to compose herself. Laurelai's eyes were still a little wide and wild, but Lita had expected her to take longer to put herself together. "It was a guess," Lita responded, softening her expression to help assuage the young woman's pride. "Black hair is astoundingly rare with your complexion and eye color, and while you saw fit to include your eyebrows in the Soulstamp, you neglected your eyelashes. You missed a bit of mascara on the inner corner of your right eye - a few blonde lashes are visible. Don't take it too hard. most people would never notice such a thing." But I'm not most people. The words hung in the air despite her not saying them. Lita smiled at Laurelai again, feeling a thrill of satisfaction as her hand went to the cord around her neck, drawing out a pendant of some kind. A bit of Tin was all she needed to make out the round, silvery surface of - Lita felt her heart stop for a moment, instinctively taking the memory and shoving it into a Coppermind for verification. She felt herself freeze, her face unmoving, not daring to breathe, as she looked at the iron coin hanging at the end of Laurelai's cord. It was rare - she had seen its like only once before, in the exact duplicate that she kept in the drawer of her bedside table. "Sorry." Laurelai tucked the coin back into her neckline, seeming somewhat embarrassed. "Nervous habit." "Think nothing of it," Lita replied, relaxing her jaw into an easy smile, her mind churning with the implications. How had she obtained a coin like that? Lita had found hers in Forian's wallet the night she'd fled Elendel. Three years ago. "Quite a pretty charm," she continued, keeping her voice easy, as though she were barely interested. Inside, her heart thundered. "Is it a Sellish currency?" @Voidus

Kit wended her way down a side street, brushing past a group of teenagers heading in the opposite direction. Their bright, cheaply-made costumes flashed in the low light, and they giggled amongst themselves, surreptitiously passing a little bottle of something between them. They looked somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen, about four years younger than Kit herself. One of the taller, braver boys in the group gave her a wink as he passed; Kit humored him with a giggle, then continued on. She had been told on more than one occasion that she looked like a barmaid. Kit imagined that it could have bothered her, if it weren't so true. A riot of bouncy golden curls spilled down her shoulders, framing lightly-freckled apple cheeks that were often rounded with a smile. Her eyes were blue shot through with green, upturned slightly at the corners thanks to someone in her family that was probably Rosharan. Kit wasn't sure; her mother hadn't had much discretion in her personal life, and Kit's father was a mystery. No one really cared about her mother's penchant for lovers, though. They just cared about the oysters that she brought up from the Alleyharbor. They had been the best in the city, and Kit had always assumed that she'd inherit the trade from her mother one day. Unfortunately, that hadn't been the case. Illness and unforeseen debts had buried her mother and Kit's expectations alike. Now, she was on her own, and it was up to her to find a new life for herself. Which was why she found herself walking up to a cozy-looking brownstone building on Festival night, instead of sharing a bottle of cheap rum with Jarem, the grocer's oldest son. Kit idly wondered if Jarem would wait for her, or if he'd find someone else to share the night with. She stood for a moment on the step, then decided that it didn't matter. It was time to put her looks to good use. She pushed open the door, and walked in. The front room of Mac's Boarding House was homey and pleasant, the sort of place that immediately felt familiar, that beckoned a person to sit down, order a drink, and stay a while. Something was cooking in the back, a meaty, hearty smell that might have been stew or a roast, and one other customer hung about in the entry. Kit moved past them, stepping up to the bar and rapping her knuckles on the warmly-colored wood. "Word is you're looking for hired help," she called into the back. "Is that still the case?" @Sorana

More than happy to help you run with that idea @Sorana

"Sareshe is indeed worth her weight in gold," Lita conceded, an approving smile touching the corners of her mouth. This woman knew what she was about, hiring a real seamstress for the Festival instead of buying a costume off the rack for cheap. And fashion advice from an Elantrian? Immortals of all stripes had notoriously expensive taste. The young woman didn't strike Lita as fabulously wealthy, though she was clearly familiar with and comfortable in luxury. A comfortable living, then, with purchases such as that dress reserved for a special occasion. "But if we're sharing trade secrets then I have to ask for one in return." The woman said, eyes fixed on Lita's headdress. "That's a lovely piece, it can be difficult to find someone who can pull off the necessary blend of boldness and subtlety at this time of year." "Indeed it can," Lita answered, reaching a finger up to lightly brush one of the bronze spokes. "I did some business with a Rosharan Lighteyes a year or so back; he owed me a favor. Got in touch with an artifabrian down in the Rosharan quarter. It's soulcast - a single piece of bronze, if you'll believe it. Heavy as hell, to tell it true, but sometimes these sacrifices must be made." A lie, though a plausible one. It was soulcast, though she'd had one of the more artistic R&D members dream it up, not an artifabrian. The payment had been... memorable. Lita forced down a little shudder when she recalled how 'artistic' he had been with the elderly vagrant she'd procured for his experimentation. She took another sip of port, ridding her mouth of the taste of that memory. "Oh, and I'm Laurelai," the woman said after a moment. "Laurelai Esserethel." Esserethel. The name sounded somewhat familiar, and Lita immediately began flicking through one of her Copperminds to see if she had anything on that name. It wasn't nearly as thorough as her records back in the DoCI, but she always made a point of keeping a rudimentary index with her at any time. "A pleasure," Lita said, taking another small sip from her glass as she finally came across the name. Esserethel, the professor. He'd actually been considered for recruitment at one time, apparently - that was before she'd taken over the Department. Lita wasn't sure what had caused them to drop him as a potential addition. Morals, probably, she thought. "I'm Lita." No last name; Laurelai would surely notice, if she was halfway as clever as Lita guessed. The woman's hand darted up towards her neckline for a moment as if to grab something before flitting to the side. An unconscious movement, but a conscious diversion. Lita caught the tiniest glimpse of a slender cord beneath the neckline of Laurelai's dress. It was wholly unsuited to her outfit - something worn always, then. A sentimental token, most likely. "So, how long did it take you to Forge your hair black?" Lita said, taking a calculated risk. She couldn't be completely sure, but she'd have put decent money on Laurelai being a Forger. The Arelish tailor, the generally Sellish appearance, the watchful, calculating gaze. With any luck, it would startle Laurelai enough to cause her to fiddle with whatever she had around her neck, unconscious need for comfort overcoming her natural wariness. Lita smiled, allowing a flash of white teeth.

Alright, well we should start encouraging people to go to them then, and encouraging the people running the thread to make sure to keep up with them, or ask for help if they can't. I've seen people continuously asking how they can introduce new characters, so clearly we need a more hospitable environment to place them than in the middle of an ongoing plot.

Technically they are in Era 5, but no one has been around to maintain them. What I really care about here is giving new members a soft place to stage/introduce their new characters, learn about the world, find a plot line, etc. In addition to giving established members a place to meet. I don't care about making something new if the older threads will actually be maintained. I'd be willing to help with this because this is important to me

Hi all! We’ve yet to get an Era 5 tavern thread up and running. I’d be willing to make and maintain a thread of this nature for anyone who wants to introduce characters, have a meeting place, or something else. Would people be interested in this?

In this Era there’s at least one secret guild that could work against this group if you want. Also, technically this era can be re-written as needed so all the guilds could topple and be re-formed after the timeline is righted in Era 6. Also it’s rather ironic that an anarchist is creating a corporation

Lita set down her glass and ran her finger around the rim, giving a rueful little laugh. "I'll admit that Fritz has me trained well enough that I order this of my own volition now. I'm afraid nothing else tastes quite good enough anymore. But, isn't that the way of it?" She looked back up at the other woman, meeting her eyes. They were a light, crystalline blue, like two faceted shards of glacial ice. For a moment, Lita thought she could see a luminous glow reflecting out of those eyes, like light thrown off of water. Water, pouring in a single, unbroken stream into a silent pool. She smelled the damp chalkiness of wet stone, felt the pull of... something. Lita blinked, the odd feeling fading as quickly as it came. The smile hadn't quite left her lips yet, and she pulled her momentary confusion backwards into a small corner of her mind, siphoning that strange vision into a coppermind for later perusal. She turned the smile into a little grin. Pull yourself together, Lita, she thought, lifting the glass to her lips and taking another sip of port. The rich, juicy taste brought her more fully into reality, and a little flare of Tin did the rest. "Once you taste the best this world has to offer, you think you'll be satisfied," she mused, lifting the glass so that the deep red liquid caught the light of one of the hanging lanterns. "But it only leaves you hungry for more." Lita set down her glass, then nudged the chair opposite her out from beneath the little table with one foot. She tapped one laquered fingernail on the tabletop and then spread her hand, indicating that the woman was welcome to join her. "It's a terrible shame to drink such fine port alone, don't you think? Perhaps you can tell me where you got that most excellent dress."

Lita slid her pen back into her sleeve when the young woman entered the Windlass, noticing her slight confusion at the odd - if pleasing - interior design. A new customer, then. She wasn't surprised. On a night like tonight, people were apt to wander far afield of their typical haunts, driven by a desire to explore - or perhaps just driven by a desire for alcohol. Either way, this was an excellent night for observing new faces. The young woman in question cut a striking image, with her red dress and all that dark hair contrasting with her pale skin. Lita allowed herself a clear look while her back was turned, head bent towards two bottles of wine. Definitely not natural black hair, Lita decided, turning back to her own glass of port and swirling the liquid around in a lazy circle. She'd have called it a lazy disguise on any other night, but this was the Festival of Rebirth. Pretty much any disguise would be incapable of standing up to intense scrutiny. After all, it was a party, not a deep cover mission. Lita stoked her light burn of Tin to catch the last bits of the woman's conversation, mouth quirking a bit when Fritz got her to fork over the chrysts for a glass of Elariel Estate. The woman moved closer to Lita, perching on a stool just a few feet away and eyeing the crowd in the bar with a look that Lita found familiar. She wasn't just looking, she was watching. For the second time this evening, Lita found herself uncharacteristically fascinated. Well, no point doubting my intuition now. "Fritz is shameless, isn't he?" Lita said, voice quiet but amused, taking a sip from her glass but not yet looking at the woman. "You're the fourth person he's tempted with that Elariel Estate - it's the dress I'm afraid. You look like you can afford it. To his credit though," she finally looked up, raising her glass to the light and looking at the young woman before taking a sip, "it is delicious."

@Sorana In case this sneaks past! ^^

In the future, make sure to tag a mod with your proposed character so the request doesn't get lost! @Sorana @Voidus

Not nailing down a gender or specific pronouns/ physical description can definitely limit the people who will want to RP deeply with your character. I know that if I don’t have a concrete idea of who your character is and what to call them, I will avoid interaction rather than risk incorrect characterization or context. This might be fine with you, but just a fair warning! :]

Hi @Invocation care to talk about your cool new side plot because I am intrigued

Lita grinned openly at Resh's rapidly retreating form, then finally allowed herself a bit of a laugh when he had disappeared into the hat shop. The young man had been interesting, though why he had seemed interesting was an oddity in and of itself. She'd met plenty of awkward young fellows in this city, and while it was rather fun to fluster them at times, it wasn't exactly a challenge. Lita was old enough now to know, and accept, that when it came to men her taste ran closer to the knife's edge than the handle. While pleasant, Resh shouldn't have kept Lita's attention for more than a minute - if that. Odd. She had felt odd ever since that rusting alleyway. With a sigh, Lita slipped a little white card out of her dress and wrote In case you change your mind on the back. The front had an address stamped in gold ink - the room she kept on retainer at The Grand down in the Financial District. It was a bit gaudy, if Lita was being honest, but dressing up like a wealthy socialite required the trappings to go with. Besides, the DA could afford the cover story. She was pretty sure they kept an entire Alley stocked with gold simply for Soulcasting practice. Currying favors and maintaining high connections only worked if you could back it up. At the top of the card was her name - or the name that she used outside the Alleys, anyway: Lita LaPetit. She cast one more look at the window before wedging the card between the seam of the curb just outside the hat shop. If the young man was half as clever as Lita suspected, he'd see it when he left. If he wasn't, then it was no loss to her. She had no time for the unobservant. She continued on down the street, her pen back in her hand, twitching and spinning out the reports she'd gotten in the time she'd taken to chat. Apparently there was some kind of prison break and ensuing chase towards the center of the festivities - as usual the local Radiants were getting involved. Lita rolled her eyes, telling the DoCI agent in the area to stay out of harm's way but keep an eye out and identify whoever possible. With luck, they'd expand their records of known Radiants - not that it was particularly difficult. Those Surgebinders loved to show off. Another report - two more R&D personnel had attempted to sneak into the Festival and were stopped. Rust and ruin, she'd need to have a word with someone about that bunch. Lita sighed, turning down a side street away from the center of the Festival and the inevitable chaos ensuing there. Things were a little quieter here, on the edge of the Scadrian Quarter, and more familiar. There were still plenty of masked revelers about, carrying sparklers and cups of wine. An older man sat on the steps of a boarding house and played a reel on the fiddle while some couples danced. Lita felt herself relax a bit as she neared her destination, and she smiled up at the sign when she finally reached the door. The Windlass was an odd little place, part wine house, part tea parlor, and wholly indefinable. The owner was a Malwish explorer named Fritz, and his wife Kari was a little Selish Forger of middling skill. Together, they had made the Windlass both familiar and exotic, Fritz bringing all his wide connections and imports, and Kari Forging the interior to their blended taste. Lita stepped through the door and situated herself in a far corner. The Windlass was busy tonight, which was good. She'd blend in, and anyone who wished to come and speak with her could do so without being too memorable. Lita sent out her location to the agents in the city, ordered a small glass of port, and waited. It had already been an unpredictable evening, but she could at least rely on the quality of Fritz's wine cellar.

No problem! The pinned thread New Members Guide to the Alleyverse is a great resource for getting the lay of the land around here, and has links to character creation threads, basic summarization of what the AV is, etc. Also, feel free to ask any questions here! This current Era (Era 5) is a bit different than usual by design, so if you're confused please speak up and we can help you out! --- Just a reminder that the Alleyverse Characters thread should only be used for character submission and mod approval! If you have any more questions about the Alleyverse in general, please mention them here @Spren of Kindness and we can assist you.