Fatebreaker

Another DA member proposed that lip and cheek structure could have a significant effect on resonance and tonality, irregardless of lung capacity.

An older DA acolyte shushed him, giving a stern glance. Then he proceeded to blow a much louder and longer raspberry, thanks to the walrus lung capacity spike he had. It was also for Science.

Wooden, mechanical, or otherwise?

@ZincAboutIt

The Stranger watched Voidus go into a fighting stance with growing excitement. When it came to hand to hand, Voidus was nearly unparalleled. He rammed the now bent spike into the ground as he decided which style to use. Eel form?Not on someone this fast. Butcher style? Not with his healing capabilities. I could try... oh yes. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he settled into Cataclysm Style. As he finished exhaling, his eyes snapped open and he launched himself towards Voidus. just as they were about to collide, the Stranger used the 3rd form of Cataclysm Style, Seismic Step. He tapped hie Ferchemical Iron metal mind, pulling centuries of weight from it as he slammed his foot into the ground. The impact created a small crater and a localized tremor that shook Voidus off balance for an instant, his footing unstable. He shifted to regain his footing, but the Stranger had already closed the gap. He launched into Lighting Strikes, precision blows with the tips of the first two fingers on each hand that targeted Hemalurgic bind points. The first one connected, removing the spike that gave Voidus his ability to shape-shift into mollusks. This opening was short lived, as Voidus regained his balance enough to launch a kick at the Stranger's torso. He dodged out of the way, knowing Voidus hit like an extinction-level meteor. Voidus spun with the momentum and launched a hay-maker at the his head. The Stranger saw the opening it created and leaned back just far enough to avoid the hit. But just as the blow flew in front of his face, Voidus hit himself in the shoulder. There was an audible pop as the shoulder was dislocated, lengthening the arm just enough to strike the Stranger full in the face. The force of the blow sent him flying, crashing into the ground shortly after. The right side of his head had been nearly obliterated, but it was already healing. He flipped to his feet, just as Voidus landed the second blow. It knocked the air, and a good deal of blood, out of him. The third blow was aimed at the throat, so the Stranger threw up a block and increased his weight. But even as he did that Voidus hit himself in the center of his bicep, snapping the bone and changing the trajectory of the strike and catching the Stranger in the side of the head. He staggered back, then ducked under the 4th blow Voidus had sent screaming at his head. He heard the pop of a joint snapping back into place, then launched into Hurricane Cuts as his hands became blades of force. Voidus blocked and dodged with relative ease. The Stranger threw a final blow then leapt backwards, giving himself some room to breathe. Voidus circled for a moment, then moved to close the gap. The Stranger was forced into moving defensively, reacting to his opponents attacks rather than striking with his own. But the angles were always different and the rhythm unpredictable, making a counter attack seem impossible. If things kept going this way, it wasn't going to end well. Time for something, drastic. The Stranger ducked under a crooked jab and flared pewter as he slammed a fist into the ground. a shower of dirt and gravel erupted from the ground in a cloud, then turned to brilliant points of light as he Soulcast them into fire. Voidus closed his eyes to avoid being blinded, even as he brought up an arm to block the attack he sensed coming. The Stranger had swung his arm in a downward strike with horrific force. An opponent of Voidus's skill could sense the pewter being flared and the iron being tapped by the Stranger, so he responded in kind. Their limbs crashed together with the force of titans, And the Stranger's right arm snapped with a sickening SNAP! The force of the blow had broken the bone clean through. The break was just below the wrist, and the bone stuck straight out of his arm. Blood spattered across the ground. Voidus seemed surprised, as if he hadn't expected the block to do that kind of damage. The Stranger didn't even look at his arm, but rather reached up and ripped off the ragged sleeve and threw it at Voidus. Even as it left his hand, it was Soulcast into glass and became thousands of razor sharp shards. Each one reflected the light, creating a dazzling display. Voidus transmuted them into smoke before they could connect, and saw the Stranger grab his broken arm, most likely to snap it back in place. Then suddenly the Stranger had moved in, closing the distance in a heartbeat. He threw a wicked left uppercut as he slammed his foot into the ground, creating another small tremor. Voidus turned to block the blow, just as the Stranger reared back and stabbed him through the chest with the broken bone. Except, it was no longer made of bone. It was made of Iron. The Stranger grunted as he snapped it off, still lodged in Voidus's torso, the end still made of bone. Without breaking his stride, he hit it with a two fingered strike and sent it out of Voidus's body. He finally allowed himself to tap Gold and his arm re-knit itself rapidly. Holding off on healing could be difficult, especially after a bad wound like the one he had just received. His face hurt, both from smiling and the intense beating it had received. And it wasn't over yet.

Stumped shrugged and pulled out a pair of scissors with his left hand and a lighter with his right. "These seem to do the trick. If one doesn't work, the other should. Let me show you..." He leaned forward, lighter outstretched.

Stumped brightened at her words, "Yeah, they have a tendency to draw things out most unpleasantly." He noticed the new person was looking how most people looked after spending more than 1 minute in R&D. He pulled a medallion from his pocket and tied it around her wrist. Then he took a small copper spike and injected it into her arm. "That should provide you with some mental fortitude. You haven't been here too long, so it should work just fine. After a while though, there's only so much copper can do for a member of R&D. Try not to think about too much of what's happening. Focus on the immediate details, unless those details are shadows that seem to be moving too quickly, in which case run for your life." He patted her on the arm, then realized that probably hurt so settled for shaking her hand awkwardly. "But you've not been selected for R&D, your eyes ate not nearly haunted or manic enough. What can we do you for? Are you looking for equipment, modifications, or a power so terrible that the only thing greater than your might will be to your regret?" He shrugged, "We normally just call it option 3." He turned towards his blue companion. "Are we still allowed to offer option 3? I can't remember if that was covered in the HR meeting..." @ZincAboutIt @Voidus

There was a crash as one of the boxes fell over and a short fellow with a bone peg-leg rolled out. He scrambled to his foot, looking around wildly. "Did we get mornings back?!? Are we experiencing Bendalloy Blowout?!?!? HAS ANYONE SEEN MY TEETH?!?!?!?!?" He wheezed, running out of breath, and finally seemed to take in the other occupants of the room. His eyes showed a spark of recognition as he looked at Laurelai. He quickly reached down and removed a metal disk that was set into his peg-leg. He relaxed visibly once it was removed, and addressed the visitors in a much quieter voice, "Oh, greetings and salutations, I am Stumped of R&D. R&D: We're not monsters we're Scientists. Or was it 'It's not an abomination if it's on purpose'?No, that one got scrapped. Anyways, please forgive my earlier urgency, we've been working on personality stamps at the same time as our chronological medallions, and let me tell you it is not a good combo. I was adjusting a cadmium meda... " His mouth continued to move but suddenly there was no sound. After a moment he seemed to notice and stopped. A few seconds later, words appear to come from thin air. "...oncluded that it was actually my future paranoia based on the experiences I was going to have involving buzzards." He bent down and adjusted another disk set into his peg-leg, then twisted a spike that went through it. "Blasted desyncs, making everything more confusing." He straightened up and looked to his blue hued compatriot. "What was it they wanted again? Did they want cookies?" He pulled a cookie out of his ragged white lab coat. It appeared to shimmer, as if not entirely solid, but he didn't seem to pay it any attention. @Voidus @ZincAboutIt

The Stranger popped into existence with a cough and the smell of mint. He was holding a tray that seemed to rotate a few inches above his hand, and it was filled with cookies. His normal grey lab coat had been replaced by a black one with golden lining and his top hat had a feather in the band tha practically screamed “FESTIVITY!” However, it was a well behaved feather, so it only whispered it. He smile as he turned toward Elsa, waving away some of the smoke that cling to him. “Good evening, cough cough, your Majesty. I was finishing my mint fudge delights recipe when I was set back by a small thermonuclear detonation. I got it sorted, but then a earthquake messed with the calibration of my oven, and a few pesky fires made cooling them problematic. All in all, it delayed my arrival somewhat. I hope that these are still to your liking.” He pulled a second tray from his coat, this one covered in small sandwiches. “And of course I’ve got a back up selection as well. I recommend the roast beast on sourdough, my personal favorite.”

Wow, that was a rollercoaster of a read. I applaud the mods for handling it as well as they did. It really comes down to being a good RPer and using common curtesy. I’m going to get a little real here, but I think this needs to be said. I am far from the most active member, but by my reckoning I am the 2nd most senior contributer to the Alleyverse. This all began with a guild that @Voidus started around four and a half YEARS ago, before many of you were even members on the Shard. I’ve been a part of the DA since the 2nd week of its existence. I don’t say that to blow my own bugle, but to put my investment into perspective, and Voidus even more so. He has kept the guild going for a long time. I’ve posted with varying levels of frequency, as have many others who contributed to growing and changing the thread. We went from the smallest guild to a major one, and we began to see other guilds form purely to oppose us. Some merely opposed our methods or ideology and sought to present an alternative, while others actively sought to defeat us. The guild subforum changed as a result. But what made us different was that we persisted. There was a time when Voidus and I were the only ones keeping the thread alive with random intermittent posts that no one responded to. But then things began to change. New members began to join, new guilds began arising to oppose our renewed activity. Voidus became a mod, at least in part I must assume,in recognition of all the work that he put in across the various subforums. Next thing I knew, we had received our own subforum and an rp universe, all centered around the Dark Alley. I didn’t post as much, the new setting wasn’t quite the same and my life had become increasingly busy with irl stuff, not limited to but including getting a degree and getting married. But I knew that even though the DA was changing, it was the continuation of something we had created that had entertained and intrigued others, that they could enjoy contributing to. And Voidus was putting in more work than ever, curating and moderating a sub community within the larger Shard itself. Other mods have stepped up to share some of the responsibilities and contribute as well, and they’ve done a fine job of it. It’s o small feat to moderate a subforum of this size, with as many threads and members as we have. So when I see comments about Voidus being tyrannical or complain about decisions he and the mods have made, I am mildly irked. Without Voidus this wouldn’t exist, and that’s a fact, though he is too humble to ever say so. This is the ALLEYverse. In my opinion Voidus could make a post one day stating that his character had wiped out everyone and it would be plausible. But, he would never do that because Voidus cares about good RP. He cares about the community he’s had such a huge part in creating.He wants everyone to enjoy themselves and the world(s) that have and are being created. The other mods as well care about this. @MacThorstenson played a huge part in the revitalization of the thread and has made huge contributions to the current lore and world building. All of you have done something to contribute to the ever growing Alleyverse, and that’s awesome! But let’s keep in mind the parameters we accept by choosing to contribute to this subforum. The Guilds and Clubs subforum still exists. If you feel like this isn’t the right setting for the rp you want, you are free to relocate plots, settings,and characters there or to the other rp locations on the Shard. I’m not trying to scare anyone away or tell them to leave, I just want to remind people that there are other perfectly viable options here on the Shard, many with the same people in this subforum. But if you want to stick around, let’s do our best to build something great, not just win against others. The Dark Alley has out lasted opposition from without and within. The Alleyverse will do the same. The mods aren’t trying to ruin your fun, but rather make sure that as many people as possible can have fun, rather than a select few. So be courteous to the mods who keep things running smoothly, and to the players who continue to grow this ever changing world. As far as forums go, these mods are pretty flexible and take a lot of input from non-mods. So let me applaud our hard working moderators for their gargantuan patience. And let me thank all of you for helping the weird sub community we created continue to grow and change. After all, this has always been... For Science! TL;DR I’m old! Stop griping at Voidus, he made this. Stop griping at the mods, they’re trying to help you. Have fun, and try to make sure others are having fun too. For Science!

*Commiserates* 4.5 years: You were there when it began. You’ve seen the rise and fall of countless guilds, groups, individuals. You’ve championed the Cause of Science and Baking. You lurked in the intros threads, watched allies and enemies arise and subsequently fade away. You watched what was once the smallest guild receive its own subforum. You have become, an old fogey. And you’re quite pleased.

A DA acolyte sweeping the walkway looked up. “Have you tried flooding the area? Yetis sink.”

@ZincAboutIt as someone with an Afro, I can confirm that having random people touch your hair without warning is, in fact, the worst.

Something to keep in mind is that this most likely isn’t going to be a thread where the players are trying to “win the game” but rather a collaborative storytelling experience where we emphasize working together for some chilling and thrilling fun. Don’t come into this thinking, “I made the coolest character so nothing bad will happen to them.” Be willing to lose characters, as that can make for some awesome story moments. This could be really fun or REALLY miserable. Let’s aim for the former.

I’d like to avoid Organic Chemistry pop quizzes. I don’t think my fragile, recovering psyche could handle it.

I’m down to contribute to world building and maybe rping an npc or two. I think eldritch horror would easily lend itself to the Alleyverse.

Another hooded figure cleared their throat, “By living in ALLEY city, all citizens are agreeing to submit to spontaneous Science.”

A fanfare of trumpets sounded and a small burst of confetti shot into the air. A small speaker sounded from the DA section, “Three cheers for Science! Hip hip HOORAY!” A clockwork bird flew overhead and airdropped small plates of complimentary cookies. They were fresh.

An acolyte read the note, then scribbled a reply and handed it to a courier rat. It read, “To whine it may concern, we here at the DA deal with baking and other such mundane delights for the betterment of the community. We would be happy to answer and BAKING related questions you may have. With the utmost sincerity, The Dark Alley.”

“Aye!” ”Aye!!!” “Aye Aye!” “AYE!!!!!” a cacophony of voices came from every direction, their origins undetectable.

I’m all for multiple universes, I’ve already been loosely operating under the assumption that they were a thing. Plus, then people can go and blow up their own worlds or universes without the DA feeling like it needs to intervene overmuch.

A man in a blood soaked lab coat stepped out from the door, dragging a large sack behind him. He waved at the fleeing boy, then left a trail behind him as he dragged the sack through a different door labeled ‘Reclaimation and Recovery’