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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2020 22:09:55 GMT -5
Ok, longer than I planned for sure, but I like the way that it turned out.  I will start her up at the Summit in the Sanctum in the next post it anyone wants to rp or I can have her meet someone along the way. ) |
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Post by Starchaser on Jun 1, 2020 22:15:32 GMT -5
{ @shootforthestars Oooo, I love it. You guys all make me jealous of your tone and coherence. I especially liked your dream. Also, how nice of Clari's ancestor to actually be useful and straightforward. Or maybe its just a cultural difference *shrug* And don't worry about the length, I love reading about everyone's characters.
I was gonna put forward this idea earlier for everyone. If you guys don't want to have a bunch of posts where you don't have anyone to rp with, we could have side characters that interact with the others before the mains meet up. Just a thought though.
Additionally, I also sort of finally settled on a post layout. I think it looks okay, even if it's not exactly how I imagined it. The main thing I'm not thrilled about is that purple doesn't really go with the background, but that's Lilah's Aesthetic. I can't picture her any other colors.
 Lilah Lancaster  “For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” - Vincent Van Gogh ⋆ ➼ ☾ ➼ ⋆
'Text. “Text.” Text
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2020 22:37:33 GMT -5
Thanks! XD I like your writing style as well Star! Don't sell yourself short. Yeah, I debated making him cryptic, but Clari just stubborn enough that if she isn't given information upfront, she probably isn't going to believe a word he said. She probably wouldn't even leave the pack if she wasn't given cold, hard facts. XD OHH, I love that change of the layout! It's beautiful! <3) |
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Post by Starchaser on Jun 1, 2020 22:43:47 GMT -5
{ Thanks. I mostly just get disappointed because I know I can do better, but I'm just not motivated enough. I want to do the fun stuff right then.
Haha, well then I guess it's a good thing her ancestor knew that. I imagine werewolves would be a straightforward race though. I love the different approaches the families have to the prophecy too. Worldbuilding is fun.
I had a lot of fun editing it! It was nice to have the code already there for me, since I have yet to re-teach myself how to work with it. I used to be pretty decent on the old forums, but that was years ago and I'm old now. The hardest part by far was finding images that worked well with the resizing. And the color scheme. }
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Post by mossecho on Jun 2, 2020 4:30:21 GMT -5
[[ I made some minor assumptions about the epic battle of Lilah vs Wendigo (which I read with an Avengers battle scene in the background, btw), hope you don't mind. Nothing major, mostly about the darkness, how close Lilah was to the wendigo at the end of the post, and how deep she drove the dagger in. Like always, feel free to correct me. <3 ]]
Alex walked at a steady pace, unsure about the creature and human figure. The creature, he did not know what it was called, smelled rotten. No, rotting. Alex did not want to approach it, but he felt as if he had to. Alex stopped for a moment as the creature dropped from the air, hurling itself towards the human. He took off his sunglasses, not that they did much to obscure his vision, as if to make sure that what he was seeing truly was happening. Alex stood there for longer than he would care to admit. The two were in an undoubtedly nasty fight. Alex hated his hesitation, but he could not break his stillness. His feet were as stubborn as the rock on which they stood. He was trapped, a mind desperate to move and a body unwilling. He watched the human struggle on the ground, watched her (at least, she appeared to be a her) grasp for what Alex could only assume was a wand, and watched the creature create a vicious darkness. It was strange. The creature smelled like rotting death, the human like magic, and the darkness like nothing. Pure nothing. Alex stood there, watched, and tried to reason with his stillness. Yet no matter how much he tried to move, he could not.
That was, of course, until Alex saw the dagger. The moment it pierced the creature's thick skin, Alex could sense iron-rich blood ebb from the wound. He could feel its pulse, once strong now with a slight wobble, feel it thudding in his ears and his bones. Alex pushed the sunglasses back onto his face and shot forward, crossing the long distance just in time for the dagger's hilt to hit skin. He stopped, eyes fixed on the wound. Now he was entirely entrenched in that vile stench, but the blood itself smelled so sweet, so filling. Alex tugged on the cuffs of his white shirt, the slight pull against his shoulders forcing him to pay attention. The vampire took a breath and held it, not wanting himself to be able to taste the air again.
That was when Alex stopped processing his actions. Despite his intentions to maintain control, instinct took over. He looked down at the human, face stoic and gaze unmoving. He nudged her with his foot, unsure if she was aware of her presence or could even register the brief contact. There was a thick black around them, something that one could almost feel in the air. It was like ink dipped into water, the way it moved like a cloud consuming everything. It did not bother Alex, but clearly it affected her. Perhaps it had something to do with magic? That seemed to be the major thing separating the two of them. Alex nudged her again before giving up, not wanting to waste his time. He turned around to face the creature, but clearly it was already intent on a counterattack.
The creature lurched forward and upward, the ground trembling under its massive weight. Alex turned his gaze up as the creature rose back on its hunches, towering over him. It had a way of casting a shadow over the space, like one of those monstrous creatures the elders would talk about, the ones from fairytales. His gaze flicked to the dagger. He pressed it farther into the wound and dragged it upward, not taking care for how the blood poured onto him. The creature's heartbeat wavered a bit more, but it remained more steady than anything Alex had ever encountered. Strange.
[[ Also y'all putting me to shame with your long posts xD that i cannot match in quality or length because fight scenes are hard and idk why writing this post at two in the morning was a good idea but whatever, here it is, love y'all (: ]]
[[ lol i cannot stop saying y'all, y'all ]]
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Post by Starchaser on Jun 2, 2020 17:58:44 GMT -5
{ Really sorry for the wait, I’m just now getting home from work. I have a few things to do, but then I’ll get a response up. }
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Post by Starchaser on Jun 2, 2020 23:51:59 GMT -5
{ mossecho Finally. I'm so sorry for the wait. I've been working on this on and off all day, so yeah. This is... so long. So wordy. So much backstory. Very dialogue heavy, so uh... bear with me here. Oh gosh, this is so much longer than I intended. I'm so sorry. I really let myself go. I'm not sure this is even humane. Just... skip to the last section, idk.
I also wasn't entirely sure how to resolve this since I didn't know if you wanted more fight or not, so feel free to disregard anything that doesn't agree with you. I also wasn't sure how to get them out of this, so yeah. Mostly I was just ready to get the Lilah-Alex friendship rolling.
Also. Me? Have an rp post without a dream sequence? It's less likely than you think. }
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Post by mossecho on Jun 3, 2020 3:59:55 GMT -5
Once Alex felt the human grasp his arm, he stopped attacking the creature. He pulled the dagger out. Blood gushed from the wound and instinctively Alex inhaled, the beautiful scent cutting through the creature's general stench. It was repulsive and delectable all at once. Alex stiffened, letting the human lean against him as he just watched her do something and then... the darkness vanished. The creature crumpled in the most literal way that anything could. Alex could hear its heart, the way it was beating and then all of a sudden stopped mid-rhythm. Its legs gave way and then the once-ferocious thing just collapsed under its own weight. The ground trembled when its massive head fell onto the hard stone, the sort of tremble that resonated up from one's feet all the way to the top of their skull. Alex winced, almost feeling pity for the creature. It was an awful death. The blood stopped gushing. Without a heart, the only thing that made it move was gravity. It slushed out of the creature's corpse, it was not beaten out by a heart.
Alex listened to the human as she spoke, but he did not move her head. He only broke the spell of stillness when she sunk down to the ground. He did not actually look at her for few seconds, instead spending the time evaluating what he looked like. There was blood all over him, turning his white shirt completely red. Alex could only imagine what sort of a nightmare he looked like, the sticky red all over him. He wiped a bit off of his sunglasses and turned to look at the human as she stood back up, legs shaky and heart beating fast. He stared directly at her as she spoke, taking in the new information without realizing that the polite thing to do would be to have some sort of emotion on his face. Alex was too taken aback by how foreign everything was. There was no magic where he came from, nothing of the sort. He had never seen a creature like this or a person like her. He had never seen magic before either, only heard about it and what it could do. Quite frankly, it was hard to tell what was true and what was simply legend. The vampire nation was also known as a nation of hermits. Vampires rarely associated with those outside their coven. Contact with any other species was, well, phenomenally rare.
Realizing that Alex should actually say something rather than just standing there stupidly. Damn it, he was never good with this sort of thing. Not like he had ever come across a situation like this, but... whatever. Alex tossed the dagger up in mock casualness, letting it rotate a few times before grabbing it by the handle again. It was already covered with blood, so him touching it would not dirty it much more. Alex tossed it up again, this time with less of a flick in his wrist so it would rotate slower, catching it again. The catch was sloppier and the cutting edge came down on his palm instead of the spine as Alex had intended. The vampire bit back a wince (quite literally, he bit down on his tongue to prevent any visible response to the unexpected pain) and flipped the knife around, fingers pinched on the cold metal right below the spine. He held it out to the human, waiting for her to take hold of it.
It would be fine. The wound would heal quickly, the blood would not be visible given how much more there was on him, and Alex just did not have to acknowledge that brief moment of pure stupidity. Instead he wiped his other hand, the right one, on his pant leg and held it out. Mages shake hands, right? That's pretty universal? Goodness I don't know anything... I hope this isn't offensive. Hopefully she doesn't do whatever she did to that thing to me.
Wiping his hand on his pant leg did not do much. Really it just smeared the blood around. Alex hoped the gesture was understood, despite the botched results. He waited, one hand offering the dagger's return and the other a polite greeting. He paused for a moment before realizing that he should speak as well. "I'm fine, and you?" Alex raised his chin and steadied his voice. "Apologies, I should have introduced myself. I am Alexander Rojas Lopez, of the Antier Coven. By the river Derramar in the Sinresol Valley."
Alex immediately regretted speaking. Not that that was particularly unusual for him, of course, but he could have perhaps been a bit more... goodness, who knows. Just he should not have said that that way. It was too abrupt, too forceful. Too vampirish. It was rude not to immediately identify oneself, given how important class, status, and origin were, but there were more tactful ways to go about it. Besides, could Alex not at all try to adjust his accent? Those from his valley were known for having thick accents to vampire ears, they were probably even worse for complete outsiders. Besides, some of Alex's vocabulary might be completely different. He knew that most other species did not use the same respect system in their language. They only had one word for you! Goodness knows how they managed that. Where Alex came from, there were many translations for the word "you," each depending on social class and the relationship between the speaker and listener. He did not know how he related to this human with respect to social class, so he used the "you" meant for strangers. Would she know what that meant? Could that be offensive too? Alex quickly looked her up and down, trying to spot signs that would indicate that she came from a higher class than he did.
Stop that! Alex scolded himself and resigned to just looking her straight in the eye. He kept holding out his hands, one empty and the other with a knife, waiting for a response. The smell around them was still plenty intense, creating a frustrating fog in Alex's head. Both the blood and the creature's natural stench was growing weaker, but it was still far from being truly weak. Its blood... its blood was delectable. Alex stopped breathing again, not wanting to smell anything anymore. He had to control himself.
[[ I am not entirely sure what Alex's accent would be like, but it would be either RP (stereotypical British upper class) or a thick Scottish accent from either the Hebrides or Glasgow. This is to say that I'm having waaay too much fun figuring out how vampires' dialect differs from others. To clarify the part in this post about which "you" Alex used, essentially there are different words for "you" where he grew up. You would use a different "you" for your grandfather, the president, a complete stranger, someone poorer, someone richer, someone similar to you in age and class, someone significantly older or younger, etc. As a result, Alex will use a lot more different conjugations than the others probably will. So in his dialect there are more words for "you" and "he/she/they/it." It's like how English used to have you and thou and separate conjugations for both those pronouns. Basically it makes Alex sound old-fashioned and borderline archaic to the others. Hope y'all don't mind this bit, I can explain it a bit more. ik my explanations are a mite bit rambly *insert sheepish smile here* ]]
[[ Also Alex referred to Lilah as "human" a lot just since it's pretty much the vampire term for all other species. Basically it's a remnant of vampires' superiority complex. Which isn't to say Alex has a superiority complex, because he is a nervous little sweetheart, but... yeah. Ingrained linguistic stuff, idk. It'll faze out more as the rp continues. ]]
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Post by Starchaser on Jun 3, 2020 15:27:37 GMT -5
{ mossecho I gotcha about the different forms of "you." Spanish and I'm sure some other languages are similar to that. Also, I put in a few minor headcanons about Alex's coven, but feel free to ignore them if its wrong, as always.
I also love the idea of all the Families having different accents and mannerisms in speaking. I feel bad that I don't have a lot of ideas, but one thing I can think of is that Shifters probably rely a lot on body language since they frequently take animal forms. It probably rubs off on their normal conversations too. Also, given Infernals and Heavenlys distance from the other Families, they probably have the strongest accents.
I need to work more on some Mage intricacies. I don't think I explained it well in RP, but my thought was that Lilah probably has a sort of "generic" accent. It would still be different to the other Families, but a lot less foreign than certain others. Sort of like how news anchors and actors have to talk (ie, the American "hollywood" accent). I just kinda feel like Mages are the most likely to interact with other Families and whatever, so their accents are more balanced maybe. Which is a dumb way of explaining it but. There's definitely going to be stronger ones further inwards though. Just not sure what I want it to be yet.
This is meh, but here ya go. }
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Post by Amber on Jun 3, 2020 15:31:45 GMT -5
(I could totally see Avani with a thick Russian or German accent. She just sounds and looks intimidating, but actually isn't.)
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Post by Starchaser on Jun 3, 2020 15:35:39 GMT -5
{ I think that would fit with the Heavenlys pretty well and I can totally see Avani with one. I need to listen to more accents. I used to have this website saved that had audio clips of just about every accent, but I've lost it. }
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Post by Amber on Jun 3, 2020 16:31:38 GMT -5
(Yeah exactly! I'm might do a bit of research on how write someone speaking that way, but we'll see. That sucks Bout the website, but maybe with a little digging we can find another.)
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Post by Starchaser on Jun 3, 2020 18:13:10 GMT -5
{ I think this is it, but I don't remember exactly what the site looked like. }
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Post by Amber on Jun 3, 2020 18:19:13 GMT -5
(Even if it's not the same one, wow that is really cool.)
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2020 18:25:30 GMT -5
That’s super cool!  ) |
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Post by mossecho on Jun 3, 2020 18:26:54 GMT -5
[[ I agree, hella cool! ]]
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Post by Starchaser on Jun 3, 2020 18:28:58 GMT -5
{ Glad you guys think so, hopefully it will help us imagine our characters a little better. I'll put the link on the planning page so we can come back to it if we need to. }
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Post by mossecho on Jun 3, 2020 19:36:18 GMT -5
[[ I read a short bit in a book (Babel by Gaston Dorren, if you're interested) about Javanese. Apparently there are different sets of vocabulary for people of different classes. It's like how in English "cat" and "feline" refer to the same one, but one is casual and regular while the other is more academic. Just in English we almost always use "cat," but in Javanese it is much more extreme so regular vocabulary can be completely different for different people. That's basically how I imagine vampires' language being. Not as complex, so it is still comprehensible for the others, but it is generally a headache. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ]]
[[Also, I didn't note any issues with your descriptions about vampires' society or anything. Basically I imagine they have a fairly rigid caste system or something of the like. Also in this post I made a few assumptions about the Sanctum, hope they fit into what y'all were imagining for it. <3 ]]
Alex dropped his hand once the handshake was over, going still as the other spoke. He kept staring, although that made him feel awkward. Lilah, as she identified herself, had not included where she was from or which family she belonged to. Quite frankly, it would not have been particularly helpful if she did. Alex did not know Mages nor their societal structure, so how would that information have helped them? He knew that other species did not have an organized system like vampires did. Generally that was something looked down upon by vampires. Their system gave them structure, peace among chaos. How did the others manage it?
He almost immediately responded once she stopped, but kept himself from acting so impulsively. Instead he held his hands behind his back and stepped forward towards the creature's corpse. Alex nudged it with his foot, although he already knew it was dead. Nothing could survive without a beating heart. Well, unless they were the dead reanimated, but Alex did not believe those stories. He poked at the creature again, nudging a massive foot before pushing it closer to the body. He pushed against the creature's chest with his foot, letting it fall onto its back. At least that way there would be some distance between Alex and the creature. Not that that distance would do much good. Lilah seemed uncomfortable around the creature, if her averted gaze was anything to judge. Yet again though, Alex was not great with people. Certainly not humans like her.
He turned his back to the creature, so he faced Lilah and did not have to look at the pooling blood. Alex inhaled deeply and relished for a precious moment before realizing that he was supposed to be participating in a conversation. Focus yourself Alex, you do not need to be rude to a complete stranger. Not a stranger who can do.. that. Alex opened his mouth but paused and closed it quickly. He was still unsure how to address her. She had not identified her origins, so that was unhelpful. Maybe she was embarrassed by coming from a lower class? Or was it just generally taboo? She had been to the Sanctum, which was both helpful and unhelpful. It was largely a city for the rich, but where there were the rich, there were the poor. Someone had to do the cooking.
Alex decided to continue with the "you" meant for strangers. It was safer to do that than to assume incorrectly. That would be far more rude. "It is alright, I do not mind," he attempted to reassure her. Alex really did not mind, but he had a bit of trouble communicating genuinely. "And yes, that is my coven. If I may correct you, it is pronounced Antier, not Antiers. You may be confusing the name with the Antlers Coven, who are from the grasslands. But yes, my coven is the only one to survive the Cataclysm. We were not the first in the valley. Unfortunately for them, our predecessors did not survive. So yes, we are the oldest residents."
Alex paused for a moment before continuing. "I have never visited the Sanctum. Only government officials may do so, the rest of us are content to remain in our respective homelands. Unless you ever visited, we would have never met. I am, however, traveling to the city. Since you have been there before, could you please instruct me as to how to get there from here?"
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Post by mossecho on Jun 3, 2020 20:15:38 GMT -5
[[ The mossecho rp style: two paragraphs of descriptions, one paragraph of the character thinking after I realize that I'm not describing their inner monologue and need to describe the character and not just their actions, then realizing that Alex needs to actually talk and then having a few paragraphs of just solid dialogue without any description or thinking. ]]
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2020 20:20:43 GMT -5
XD So I went back and skimmed some of your replies after you said that and realized your description is spot on. XD)
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Post by mossecho on Jun 3, 2020 20:23:17 GMT -5
[[ I know myself very well xD ]]
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Post by Starchaser on Jun 3, 2020 21:03:05 GMT -5
{ mossecho That sounds really cool! Ugh, I just love languages. I need to post the extras page today so we can start keeping track of all this stuff. I think the idea of vampires having seemingly really antiquated and strict language rules fits them well. Especially if they're immortal in this universe, which I think you mentioned earlier. That puts kind of a sad twist on potential Valex though. Not that it matters since they're dying in the end anyways, lol.
Sounds good to me. Like I said, I like hearing everyone else's interpretations and ideas.
Haha. The Starchaser rp style: make one paragraph about character responding to the events in the corresponding paragraph of partner's post, interspersed with long internal monologues and really bland actions in attempt to add something of substance.
Also, my typos (Antier vs. Antiers) exposing Lilah for the fake intellectual that she is rip. I also find the fact that Alex thinks that if he's accidentally impolite Lilah will just straight up murder him hilarious. }
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Post by mossecho on Jun 4, 2020 0:33:18 GMT -5
[[ Oh my god the Valex angst we could get out of the immortality problem (just since the characters don't know their fates...), oh my goodness yesss the pain mwahaha ]]
[[ And now for my attempt at breaking the standard mossecho rp format, here we go... ]]
Alex tried his best not to frown in confusion at the stray feather in Lilah's hair. He decided not to comment on it, but unfortunately his eyebrows furrowed before he could think to focus on not doing that. Alex wiped the expression off of his face, straightening his spine and readjusting his cuffs again. They were small changes, yes, but they at least gave him the illusion of comfort and confidence. He let the tension out of his shoulders, just then realizing how tense they were and how uncomfortable they probably had made him look. Relax, relax, it is alright. You have done nothing to offend her, you can get away if you need to, you're fine. You're fine.
When Lilah apologized for not being completely accurate about his coven, Alex smiled and held up the not-cut hand, as if to indicate that it really was not a problem. Not that it was, Alex really did not mind. He did not know anything about any other species, why should he expect her to know about his? Besides, she had gotten the gist of it right. He was about to say that before Lilah continued. Alex just put his hand back behind his back again and continued to smile.
His other hand continued to sting. It was feeling better now, but the pain was still here. Alex held that hand in a tight fist, hoping the pressure would somehow alleviate the pain. It did not. Instead Alex resigned himself to smiling through it, keeping his expression pleasant but polite.
When Lilah mentioned that her father had worked at the embassy, Alex did his best to quell his shock. That did not stop his eyebrows from betraying him again. Alex corrected the error and hoped she did not notice, but her quick change of subject was a bit alarming. Did she just not want to mention that? Or was it because of my reaction? Damn it, Alex, control yourself. The vampire stopped listening at that point, zoning out in a frenzied panic over what that meant. The daughter of a diplomat or some high-ranking official, that meant that she was of a higher rank than she was. But how high? If her status was too high with relation to his, or at least her perception of his, then Alex could have seriously offended her by referring to her as a stranger and not an honored acquaintance. Alex tried to snap out of it, but that cyclical thinking kept running in his head. He settled on referring to her as an honored acquaintance, figuring that it was better to overestimate her rank than underestimate it. If she commented, he could apologize. Or just forfeit on this entire idea and leave.
Once Alex realized that Lilah had stopped speaking, he also realized that he had not been paying attention. He tried to rewind what she had said, only managing to get the last bit. Pay attention you idiot! He scrambled for a moment with what to say, his arms falling to his sides. Alex turned his left hand away so Lilah could not see the cut on his palm. She probably could not tell that it was there, but it was better safe than sorry.
Finally, Alex settled on a response. "I would be happy to go with you," he smiled a bit more broadly. "Thank you very much for the offer. I truly appreciate it."
Alex considered asking about her father and decided against it quickly. "Ehm, apologies for my appearance. I should have moved away from the creature. Now, admittedly I am not familiar with this area, but I believe there is a river that comes down from these mountains? If we could perhaps pass by there, I would truly appreciate it. I, ehm, probably should not walk around like this."
He paused for a moment and realized how horrible that sounded. "Apologies, I truly did not mean to insinuate anything. I just thought it would be better if—" Alex cut himself off before he said anything else. Great. Now he had thoroughly managed to embarrass himself. He had been doing so well.
Alex bowed his head, as if he had stopped mid-nod, and took an awkward step back to distance the two of them. He raised his head and straightened up again, uncomfortable by his adept failure at social interaction. He truly had no idea how to get himself out of this mess.
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Post by Starchaser on Jun 4, 2020 10:45:13 GMT -5
{ mossecho I feel the need to discuss how good your fantasy names are. I was curious if I was right and they were other languages and I love their meanings. I can never get stuff to sound as natural when I'm making fantasy names from other languages. You also gave me an idea, but I'll talk about it on the other page.
Angst is so delicious. I feel weird about this because they're not my characters, but when we mentioned the underwater portion of the quest (and sirens), I totally started thinking about how Alex has the best hearing. So even despite the group's efforts to block out the noise he can hear the song and just jumps overboard to follow it. BUT, I could totally see Veive going in after him and... well, have any of you read the Percy Jackson books? Yeah. You know the scene I'm talking about if you have. He has to drag Alex underwater and create an air bubble and they can have a Moment. I saw this very distinctly.
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Post by mossecho on Jun 4, 2020 14:55:32 GMT -5
[[ Aww, thank you! and yes, they are all from Spanish (aside from "Antlers," obviously, I just needed something that sounded like "Antiers." I just went with Spanish since Alex is Latino. Derramar means "to spill," hence the river (I imagine it is known for having a big waterfall or something, idk). Antier means "the day before yesterday" (if you know Spanish, ante means "before" and ayer means "yesterday" so essentially antier is a mashup of those words. Resol is a bit harder to define, mainly since I've never actually heard it used, lol. From my understanding it means "the glare of the sun" or something along those lines. Sin is the Spanish word for without, so sinresol is basically "without harsh sunlight." ]]
[[ Also I love that we are referring to kissing as a Moment xD ]]
Alex smiled again, grateful that Lilah did not appear offended by his quite spectacular slip-up. Alex elected to hold his breath for a while again, at least until either he had to talk or until they were far enough from the creature. When Lilah turned to walk away, Alex took the opportunity to get as much blood off of his uninjured hand as possible. He used the slightly-less-bloody-but-still-pretty-red hand to sort carefully through his bag. He took out a black water bottle, a large one that could hold a few days worth of blood. Old blood was never great, but it was better than any other option that Alex could figure out. He turned his head, making sure that Lilah did not notice as he gathered as much as he could from the open wound. He closed the bottle and held it with the bloody injured hand, while the other held his bag out an awkward length from his body.
Alex hurried to catch up with Lilah, hoping that she did not notice his brief absence. It did not take much time to catch up. Humans were slow, thank goodness. As they walked in increasingly awkward silence, Alex realized just how much he hated the mountains. There was no cover from the sun (which was starting to give him a nasty headache, although that might just be from the lack of blood) and there were too many loose stones and possibilities for a fall. A fall probably would not kill Alex, but breaking both legs and probably some other bones would be hell. The wind was not bothersome on its own, but it certainly emphasized just how awful the mountains were.
Once they got to the trees, Alex allowed himself to breathe comfortably again. He loved the smell of the forest. It reminded him of home. This part of the forest was unfamiliar to him, yes, but at least the tree species was the same. The canopy was thick, only allowing a few dapples of sunlight onto the ground. There was that lovely just-rained scent, the sort that indicated that everything was clean and alive and good. Yet no matter how much this space reminded Alex of home, it brought along more feelings of melancholy loss. He had lost home. Well, been pushed out of home, but... whatever.
Just focus on getting to the Sanctum. You just need to get to the city, that's all. Alex considered attempting to revive the conversation, but that was probably not wise. After all, Alex was never a great conversationalist back home. And that was a place where he knew all the rules of conversations, when to talk, who to speak to, what topics were acceptable, what facial expressions were fine, all of those little things. There was no precedent for an interaction like this, and given how spectacularly stupid he had been only minutes into the prior conversation, who was he to foolishly assume he could say anything worth Lilah's time?
His headache, at least, was starting to improve. It probably was just the extra sun exposure that was affecting him. Alex smiled in unexpected relief when he heard the bubbling water, so unexplainably happy that he did not register his own change in expression. "That sounds alright, thank you," Alex noted before beginning to head upstream. He walked a short ways past the bend until he came across a spot where the trees' shade cast onto the water. Why did you say thank you. That makes you sound like you're trying too hard. You're being too stiff, too controlled. Act natural.
Alex shook out his shoulders and removed his shoes and socks. Not wanting to take off his clothes, Alex just set down his things and sat down on a rock by the riverbank. He dipped his feet in first, using the water to wash off the residual blood that had gotten into his shoes. Then came cleaning his socks, the shoes, his bag, and whatever stuff in the bag he not managed to save from the bloody mess. Once that was all done, Alex just stepped into the water and floated on the surface, hoping the water would get rid of all the blood. For the most part it did, although Alex could not help but notice his once impeccably shirt was now the lightest shade of pink he had ever seen. Damn it.
Alex quickly took another white shirt from his bag, inspected it for any bloodstains (it had none, thank goodness), and changed as quickly as he could. He looked towards the bend, grateful to see no one, and took the opportunity to drink from the bottle. Alex only took a few sips, knowing he would have to conserve it.
After what felt like a long enough time, Alex picked up his mostly-dry things and headed towards the bend. He purposefully kept looking upstream, not wanting to see anything at all. Hesitating for a moment, Alex stood still and leaned against the closest pine.
"I am ready to depart whenever you are. But please, take your time, I am not in a rush," he called out. Hopefully she was not too far away to hear. Alex took another sip from his water bottle as he watched the river run its course. Strangely enough, he was comforted by the way the sun played in the water. The light was beautiful. It felt weird, noting that, but it was.
As he watched, Alex realized that he had been upstream of Lilah, so the bloody water must have run down from where he was to where Lilah was. Why didn't you offer to take downstream?! Alex sighed and leaned his head back until it hit the tree trunk. Why oh why was he the chosen one or whatever the elders said... Alex was not prepared for this. He did not know how to handle this.
[[ oof that took forever xD ]]
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2020 15:22:00 GMT -5
Both of them are so cute. Love them! Also, if anyone is wanting to RP (or if yall are willing to RP an extra) so Clari can meet up with someone, that would be great. I'm watching y'all RP and I want to get in on the action. XD) |
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Post by Starchaser on Jun 4, 2020 15:24:44 GMT -5
{ Sure, I'll whip up a werewolf character too, I've been wanting to get into Shifter society. That was another thing I think I forgot to mention to you guys. If you want to have side characters in the other Families or whatever, absolutely feel free! That way we don't have some people being alone for a really long time. It also might be cool if anyone wants to someone else to RP relatives/friends of their character. If they want to, of course
What kind of character should I do? Maybe a guard if the Alphas travel with them? Since they're leaders and all, but I wasn't sure how Shifters dealt with stuff like that. }
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2020 15:26:35 GMT -5
Yeah, that would be great Cant wait to see your werewolf. Feel free to make it related to Clari or not, doesn't matter to me. You can do a guard or a stow away that wanted to leave with the group. I was thinking that the Alpha's and Clari would go with a few others such as high ranking members of the pack or elders. But you can get creative if you don't want to rp a member of the Alinsky pack too.) |
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Post by Starchaser on Jun 4, 2020 15:34:45 GMT -5
{@shootforthestars Oooo, I'm sensing the possibility for a Romeo and Juliet type situation. Clari doesn't strike me as the type though. It could be a forced to work together with your enemy situation too, which is always interesting A stowaway would be fun too though. I'd be happy with almost anything, honestly. }
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2020 15:38:56 GMT -5
I always imagined Clari to be the slow-to-love type of gal. She isn't opposed to romance, just doesn't participate in it often. She would also have to find someone who allowed her more than the traditional settle down and have pups kind of werewolf lifestyle. XD So if we were going to do a Romeo and Juliet, be warned, it would be a very slow burn. XD Not because she doesn't want to fall in love, she just loves her freedom. I'd be down if you are though. I'm a sucker for a good enemies to lovers story too. ) |
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I will start her up at the Summit in the Sanctum in the next post it anyone wants to rp or I can have her meet someone along the way. 
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