ZincAboutIt

~Lita; The Chapel of Rain~ “Knowledge." Whisper said. "Has a price. A price I pay happily for those I serve, and that which they have requested of me. But none have requested this but you Lita. This is your own request." Lita narrowed her eyes at the girl beneath the water, her fingers tightening very gently on Laurelai’s shoulder, protective. A price. The words held an ocean of meaning to Lita, each memory a wave that curled over her head, threatening to drag her under. Whispers in her dreams, words spoken with a sharp, too-wide smile. Lita grit her teeth. She was not about to pay a price if she didn’t have to. Whisper smiled at Lita even as she began to form thoughts, craft them into an argument that would have worked - should have worked - on the zealous young woman in any other scenario. No." Whisper said, cutting Lita’s clever counter at the root. "Her father did not request this of me. And indeed would it be in his best interests? A broken daughter who thinks him a stranger? And I certainly do not think that it is for his sake or his goals that you ask this. No, this question is yours Lita, meant to benefit only yourself. And Laurelai. So. Are you willing to pay the price?" It was beyond unnerving to have her thoughts known before she spoke them - known and countered before a single syllable left her lips. Lita felt cornered, like an animal, and she bared her teeth at Whisper, all trace of honey gone from her voice leaving only poison. ”Fine,” Lita snarled, the word reverberating over the stone of the grotto. She could feel panic building in her chest, such a hopeless feeling of being outmatched, outwitted, played and played again a dozen times over. The Stranger, the Shade, and now this girl. This place. It would take something from her regardless: Whisper’s price, or Laurelai. Lita decided to take her chances on the outcome that she could possibly live with. ”Fine,” Lita repeated, her voice calmer, closer to its usual timbre, and much, much colder. “Name your price, then tell me what I need to know. But we both know that if you let her die here like this, you will suffer for it. A broken daughter is better than none.” So calm - how could she be so calm saying those words? Lita stared at Whisper and wondered at herself, wondered how much she’d already given up to be able to speak of her friend’s death as a bargaining piece - even if it was to prevent such an eventuality from happening. It’s this place, she told herself. It’s the Forgery. Everything is wrong. When it breaks, I’ll be myself again. But she was already herself again, and broken nonetheless. @Voidus

Vivica looked at the gemstone in his hands and smiled. A garnet - her favorite. So thoughtful, even when he is so busy, so troubled. It was enough to make Vivica wish to cry, if only to shed the tears and make space for more tearful joy. It was far more than she deserved. A perfect gemstone, to keep her safe. She would stay in there forever if it meant that she could be so easily clutched in his hand. "It's beautiful, Nox," she whispered. "Does this mean I can stay with you when you go into the Alleys?" The thought of re-entering them, even if she could not see them, set something deep within her at ease. The Alleys - her true home. Dark and deep and lovely. Quiet, except when she was entertaining a guest. Winding and close and endless. Her smile widened, mouth opening slightly as though she might laugh, though she did not. Now was not the time for wild joy. Nox had so much to do. It was only polite to help him be about his truly important work, and allow him to do has he had already promised: to keep her safe. "What do I need to do to help you?" @Voidus

I have never been so happy, Vivica thought, watching the Professor work, his long, clever fingers moving over dozens of components, building, disassembling, designing, creating. No, she reminded herself. Not the Professor. Nox. Lucien. He had asked her to call him both; he had had enough of formality. That thought made all that remained of her tingle and glow, made every errant strand of what was left pull together just a bit tighter. A few more memories floated, hazy and indistinct, through her. Memories of warmth on her fingers, deep and red. Red. She remembered it clearly now. Vivica looked at Lucien and smiled. Lucien. Light. It was only fitting that he had both names. Lucien and Nox. The light, and the dark. Both spiraled beautifully within him, over and between one another. Perfect. The Stranger had been so wrong to think he needed to change the world. Any world with Nox in it was already - She sat up straighter, eyes widening. "I remember. The stranger at the hospital, the one with the lovely smile... He looked just like your friend. The one who made this world. The Stranger... I gave him such a lovely gift." Vivica looked at the perfect man before her and tilted her head in confusion, hoping he had the answers she did not. "Did he not like his gift? Is that why this place is so angry that I'm still here?" ------------------------------------------------------------------ Bennington could see through the cracks now. Nox was losing the veneer quickly, burning it off with a combination of sorrow and fury and time. And of course, with help from Bennington. But two days... that was hardly any time at all now. Did he really need that veneer anymore? And did he really need to wait all that time to reclaim the memory of his godhood? And did Bennington really want to wait any longer for another drink? The answer to all of those questions was 'no.' So Bennington gave everyone what they wanted, and took another deep drink. @Voidus

Lita crossed the floor of the cavern before she had time to consciously think, pushing away the disorientation and the ache of recalled abandonment in favor of a brighter, more fervent emotion: fear. The sight of Laurelai collapsed on the floor brought Lita's heart into her throat, tin swelling its frantic beating into thunder as she watched her friend lay there whimpering into the damp stone. She knelt down beside Laurelai, hands shaking slightly as she placed one on the blonde's shoulder, as if to check that she were still real. The touch caused Laurelai to flinch, though whether it was to Lita specifically or simply the general overwhelm was unclear. Whisper's words made little sense to Lita; she had never been any sort of scholar. An identity that cannot coalesce? Two competing Forgeries? It sounded to Lita as though Laurelai had somehow Forged herself on top of what the Stranger had done to them all. What sort of consequences would that have? This sort, Lita thought, watching Laurelai slip further and further away from lucidity. The ring, they had to find the ring - but it could be anywhere. Where would Lita even begin? She and Laurelai had Alleytraveled through miles of Alleys since Lita noticed the ring's absence, never mind the time that Laurelai spent on her own. It would be impossible to comb that much of the city before Laurelai succumbed to whatever was happening. There was nothing that could be done, no one who could - Lita's head snapped around to look at Whisper, placidly standing there beneath the water, steely eyes wide and unceasing in their observation of everything. Everything at once. Hope flared hot and sudden as metal within her, the warmth kindling her tenacity, her drive, her willingness to do whatever it took to achieve what she wished. It chased away the skulking paralytic of terror, the numb inevitability of loss. There was one person, at least, who knew precisely where to look. "Where is it?" Lita breathed, and though her voice was nearly lost beneath the echoing trickle of water, she knew Whisper would hear her. "Where is the ring, Whisper? Tell me." @Voidus

New character! Please fellow mods, have a look when able!

Whisper’s words seemed to add even more weight to the copper bands on Lita’s arms. They dragged at her, leaden and heavy, pulling her mind down, down, down into the polished metal and into memory. She fell in with little resistance, realizing only as she let go how close she already was to surrendering to those memories. Her eyes remained fixed on the girl in the water, but her sight turned inward now, slipping through a thousand thousand images all constellating around that singular figure. The Stranger. But was he singular, in truth? Her memories of him twisted and melded with those of his Shade - identical in form but so different in manner. Different, but not altogether disparate either. Both of them eager to make use of her, both unwilling to take full ownership. A hundred whispered promises in her dreams, and silence upon her waking. The luxury of walking in and out of her life on a whim, plucking her off the shelf when it was suitable. Expecting a knife to sharpen itself, clean itself, polish itself - it was enough to drive someone mad. The chronology of the memories was out of joint, scenes from her life spilling out in an order that made no sense. The Stranger appearing in the Chapel that first time, when he had been so close to killing her. The Stranger walking on air over a burning city to rip another monster apart. The Stranger whisking her and Laurelai away into the heart of his laboratory, tempting them with the promise of everything they could ever want in exchange for their help. The Stranger driving a spike of steel into her side, eyes cold and pitiless as she was unraveled and remade in an instant. A recent memory floated to the surface of her thoughts, that of two women in the 11th floor suite of the Grand Hotel, hair damp from washing, laughing and crying as they recalled themselves in truth. Two friends, and a plan to store their recovered memories in bands of copper to keep themselves safe. Copper on Lita’s arms, and a ring for Laurelai. A ring that she no longer wore - that empty space on her finger which had caught Lita’s eye. The spark of horror, of realization, that had almost pulled her out of the Forgery again just recently. It pulled her up out of the memories now, gasping as she turned towards Laurelai - her closest friend. Her only friend. A friend who did not know her, now. And might never know her. Lita caught the bare end of Laurelai’s words, saw her move towards the water. Water that would take ahold of her mind like a vice, refusing to let go. Lita would watch her friend die here in this place, if she did nothing now. ”Laurelai,” she called, voice pitifully thin with pain and disorientation, though echoing across the walls. “We’ll find the ring. Just…please. Don’t go in there again.” @Voidus

Marie is Approved!

The wind pushed against Vivica's back as she sat at the mouth of the Alley, whipping her hair forward past her face. A few strands pulled free, torn away immediately with vengeful fingers. This realm did not like her lingering. Always, it insisted she leave, go. Move on. But she would not - not while she still had a job to do. And right now, that job was waiting. So, she waited, thinking. Thinking about him, which was one of the only things that remained clear to her now. She spent a pleasant while doing so, kneeling by a slender Light Line and watching the lightning crackle deep within. Time passed as peacefully as it could in this place, and then she heard it: The distant snapping crash of lightning meeting lightning. Vivica's neck snapped around so fast she lost another piece of her cheek to the hungry wind. She smiled, standing. The Professor had left the Alleys again, and so Vivica had to go find him. She set off down the street, passing a few glowing shapes of people, though few. Night again, then. The thought pleased Vivica, though it was always dark here, in the Cognitive Realm. But she had loved the night, and thinking about him striding through the dark streets of the living city made her smile. His city, his world. It was good that he was out in it, walking. Thinking. Baking, perhaps. It belonged to him, and soon he would remember that. That thought made Vivica smile even wider, and quicken her pace. Running was rather impossible here. Perhaps that was because her legs had been mostly torn away by the wind, or perhaps it was simply because she was dead. Or maybe because she wasn't real. Vivica pondered these options as she moved, quickly as she could, through the city's many streets and alleyways. They were all rather fascinating; perhaps the Professor would know. Vivica craned her neck around a large building, trying to catch the next slamming crackle of his lightning meeting its opposite. Whatever was keeping this place going did not much like the Professor, either. Vivica frowned, her speed increasing even more. Impolite, terribly impolite, she thought, practically flying over the street now though she barely noticed. The wind tore at her again, and she bared what was left of her teeth at it. Not for herself - for him. How dare this place fight him, her Professor, her Nox? How could the world fight him, fight one so perfect? That thought drove her onward, moving faster, faster, until she could actually see the crackling feedback of light up ahead. Vivica slowed, rounding a final corner and shying back at the horde of painspren that gathered in the mouth of an Alley, snapping and screeching, fighting over access to whatever injured creature was on the other side in the Physical Realm. She peered around the corner again, cautious frown quickly turning into delight as she caught the figure of the Professor, dark tendrils coiling around gold-white wire through his perfect, translucent frame. Very suddenly, the tall figure of an Alethi woman popped into existence, still staring at some point in her chest. Vivica suspected she knew precisely what she had been looking at as she died. "Storming bastard," the woman hissed, looking around with considerably less surprise than someone usually did after dying. She must be used to seeing the Cognitive Realm, then. An Elsecaller. Vivica blinked, impressed. Elsecallers were very difficult to catch. "Hello," Vivica said, stepping out from behind the building. "The man who was entertaining you - did he have blonde hair? Green eyes? A very nice, white smile?" The Elsecaller, frowned. "Stormfather, what happened to you?" Then she looked off toward some distant point, and let the wind drag her away. Well, that was unhelpful. The painspren were beginning to depart, back to wherever it was they hid from the terrible wind. No one liked to linger here, it seemed. No one but Vivica. She stepped forward, watching her Professor neatly insert a new spike into a bindpoint. A smile returned to her face. Baking, as she'd thought. And then he spoke a word that called all that was left of her to quivering attention, a word that brought the barest echo of warmth to the deep places of her form and soul. "Vivica?" He spoke, peering between the Realms, looking for her. "Are you here?" She stepped out fully from behind the alley wall, drawn like iron to the magnet of his voice, and smiled. "Yes," she said simply, as the wind tugged at her hair. She could almost feel the joy radiating out of herself - she hoped he could feel it. "Of course I am here, Professor." @Voidus

I stand corrected. Also, for those who have not read back a page, we are actually discussing something important that we may implement. Please refer to this post:

An ache began to grow in Lita's side as Whisper spoke, that familiar pain between the last two ribs on her right side, growing until it reached a sharpness unlike any she'd felt before. She winced, then felt herself curl inward, groaning, hand clutching the spot until she fell to her knees and saw stars pop before her eyes. Lita hissed breath in and out between clenched teeth as she braced herself on the powdery damp stone, listening to Whisper and pulling her hand away. It came away wet, and red. Lita stared at her hand for a moment, not quite sure what she was looking at until it dawned on her. It's blood. I'm bleeding. But from what? Without even stopping to think, Lita took the fine point of her bayonet and cut a slit into the bodice of her dress, prying the fabric open until her fingers brushed something cold and hard. Metal, metal between her ribs. A spike? How did a spike just appear in her body? Rain, and a voice like iron. A white smile stretched too wide on a dark face. Two choices offered, and then pain like fire, pain that flared so high and hard that it rounded the horseshoe bend to kiss the feet of pleasure. Lita looked back to the figure in the water and slowly staggered to her feet, mind too muddled to feel any sort of genuine fear, especially not when half of her still wanted to step into the water and drown herself. She felt the weight of the copper bands on her arms suddenly, as though something within them was dragging at her. Something told her that tapping those memories all at once would be too overwhelming, would break her and leave her incapable of responding to what was happening. So she asked another question. "What... what do I need to remember, right now, that will help me most?" @Voidus

Sadly no post-mortem tea parties allowed

Greetings Alleyverse! The mod team has been kicking around the idea of shifting how threads are created next era, and after receiving initial positive feedback on Discord we thought to post it here. The general idea is to create time-based threads instead of location-based threads. Obviously, some location threads will stay. Guild HQs, taverns/bars, or a specific time-bound event thread are all examples of location threads that would remain. But to increase the progression of time and prevent thread stalling, we are considering creating a master-thread for the first day of the new Era, and every time we do a time-skip, we create a new thread. This way, people who are moving faster can jump ahead, and those moving slower can remain in the older thread until they, too, can make it to the time-skip. This way if someone is taking a long time to respond in an RP scene, both players can effectively solve their problems. The scene in the past can remain and go at it’s slower pace, and the one in the time skip can progress as well. It will also make following along an actual, linear timeline much easier for those seeking to catch up on plot, and will also encourage more time to pass in-story each Era. We would love your feedback and questions on this idea, but it has met with enough initial support that we are excited about it!

Light. She needed light? Stormlight you idiot, something whispered in her mind. Her own voice this time. Lita took her hand from Laurelai’s shoulder, fingers a bit loathe to part, and dug through her small bag before she found a few spheres at the bottom, diamond broams that she occasionally used for illumination. Lita pulled out three, holding them in her palm, outstretched. It felt strange to follow the girl’s orders, but something told her that she wasn’t speaking entirely to Whisper - not anymore. The girl was in the water, but the Water was also in the girl. And Lita knew when to push back against power and when to relent. This was a time for the latter. ”Will this suffice?” @Voidus

So, as you’ve said Byron is a bit hard to easily fit into a group setting but not impossible. What you need is either an obligation or a need on his part to force him into regular company, since personal desire isn’t going to inspire him to seek out others. Naturally you could play the Vin angle here - he wants something from someone, they have it, he’ll stay as long as he needs to get it but ends up growing fond of them before he decides to leave. You could also do some sort of debt situation. He likes to steal? Well perhaps he stole from the wrong person this time. Oh dear, now he has to work off a debt to some dangerous folk and spend time with them, etc.

Lita heard the water even before she saw the light - blue light, cool and soft, that shimmered over natural stone. But that sound - the sound was what woke her memory first. Laurelai had stepped ahead of her, but Lita did not mind for the moment. A picture had painted itself over her eyes, that half-remembered vision now sharpening into something crystal clear. Blue light, and falling water. The smell of wet stone, and soft powdery dust beneath her heel. Yes, this was the place. She stepped closer. Closer. The Alley widened out at its end to accommodate the waterfall. Lita knew to expect the waterfall before she even saw it, the glowing cascade of water falling from an impossible height to splash softly into the pool below. It would be so easy to simply step in, to push past Laurelai and the Fox creature and tip her face up into the water, to open her mouth and drink it forever, the sweet endless answer to all her questions. Abandon. Completion. She needed to - Someone was already in the water. Lita stopped, her arm shooting out to grip Laurelai’s shoulder, fingers pressing into the silk of her dress with enough pressure to hurt. That was out-of-character for Lita, but something told her that only pain would stop the blonde from continuing forward. “Laurelai.” Lita hissed, not looking at her, all attention focused on the little figure beneath the water. A familiar figure, one that had been missing for weeks now, waif-like and soaked in glowing blue, eyes wide as saucer plates - wide and terrible. It was Whisper. Lita knew she should have asked if the girl was alright, if she needed help. Should have asked anything besides the question that tumbled from her lips. But the time for propriety had ended. Now was the time for answers. ”What are you doing in the Chapel, Whisper?” @Voidus @kenod

Approved and approved! Look wonderful!

Bennington drifted a few feet from Nox, testing the thread that connected them. The Lonely God had taken back Knowledge, and Bennington could see him sorting and filing it away. Now was not the time for another drink - not yet. It would undo this cold efficiency, and Nox needed that efficiency if he were to start properly dismantling this false world. "You are a good friend Bennington." Nox said, with the hint of a smile. Bennington paused, then did a silent loop of assent. That was the sort of thing Vivica would say, which made sense. He had Vivica's madness, after all. Bennington did not understand the concept of friendship, though he suspected that Nox might not actually consider him a good friend if he knew the entirety of what Bennington was doing to his mind. That was alright though. It pleased him in a very small, abstract way to know he was appreciated. He was increasingly eager once Nox mentioned the Elsecaller. That Inkspren would be a tasty meal, if he could catch it. Spren were some of the more delicious things available to eat in this realm, outside the minds of mortals - especially Invested mortals. Nothing quite compared to that. But a nice spren was a close second, and here Nox was, already formulating a plan to lure the proud Radiant into an Alley. So accommodating. No wonder Vivica had been so fond of him. "Bennington would you like to join me for some more baking?" Bennington gave another loop of agreement, this time far more enthusiastic. His body bled from violet to indigo, his shape lengthening out, tentacles growing sharper and more indistinct - possibly more numerous, out of the corner of the eye. He was ready to assist in catching this mortal and their cognitive pet. Nox would get his frosting, and his spike. And Bennington would get dessert as well. @Voidus

There really is no one more highly qualified.

Alright cool, I will take this back to Mod HQ and we shall let you know if we need anything more from you. Again thanks for being so willing to work with us it’s really setting an awesome precedent for the era

Awesome! I would say that I’d want a decision on just how you’d classify organic augmentation (using it as alternative tin or as a minor healing boon) as well as a range of the telekinesis power. “Long range” can mean a lot of things. Then we can do a full review and get back to you, since Voidus knows most about Epic type abilities!

Thanks for being so willing to re-work this! We really appreciate it. Obviously we have some questions about the strength of each merit in a more specific capacity. To have telephathy, pyromancy and organic manipulation as minor merits, they would be relatively minor in capacity. Here is what I would consider a minor merit version of each, for a hypothetical: Telepathy: A sense of heightened empathy, skill reading another person’s emotions, something akin to tapping a low level of Connection. Pyromancy: Snuffing/lighting candles, evading fire when it’s brandished at you, minor fireproofing of a limb or piece of clothing like a cloak. Organic augmentation: Healing a minor wound or burn, regrowing hair/nails, possible augmentation of senses if the other options for this were not taken (basically using this ability like A-tin) It should be obvious to you that long range head exploding is a very high level major merit so I want to make sure I understand it. I would count this as an OP powerset but that’s just me, and it doesn’t mean your character is rejected. But I do think that perhaps this specific power should come with either a set lead-up time or a very high personal cost so people can have the ability to run away or so your character can weigh pros and cons with each use. That way people won’t be too hesitant to interact with you (there is a reason people aren’t lining up to RP with IC Mac or Voidus, they can kill you so fast it’s a big risk). Thoughts?

Protect Emily at all costs :3 Vivica will definitely apologize to her at some point for killing herself and making Emily find her body. It will be very weird but Vivica will make a cake.

Both approved!

No problem! Just wanted to make you aware to avoid any confusion down the road You can find the new guidelines in the new Era 6 Character thread. We have decided to start grouping character approval by era to avoid giant threads that are hard to edit and reference both for mods and players.