Lady Absinthia

Mahz's Dev Journal

@Odin Yeah there was talk of a mentor style program a while ago - long while ago. Don't think any of the staff was in on it though. More of several of us just general Rpers discussing it.

When I was modding for Adventure Quest on the Battle-On Forums, we started what was called an RP Academy which taught the basics of Rp. People could start out there and were taught the ropes - How to develop characters, we gave them scenarios to post to and then we dissected the posts to point out things they missed or metagamed or bunnied. Walked them through battles post by post. Ect. Once they got through a certain amount and had a good grasp they were moved to general and then if they grew from their they were promoted to Advanced Rper - each level of Rper had a different area they could post in.

Now it was a smaller community of Rpers - which was easier to keep up with since it was just a sub section of a larger forum for a game. So I doubt that would work here. But the part I do believe would work was having RP Tutors. They were the teachers, ones that fielded the questions, taught, took people under their wing, etc. (They were appointed by the RP Staff. Not mods but not general Rpers)

I would love to see that here but it is a LOT of work. (Took a lot more to mentor than it did to mod over there.) - If we had an Academy section in the RP - omg, that would be awesome! Not a place to Rp but a place where people could post asking their questions and such. Example - Can someone take a look at my CS and see if the back story and skills line up? How can I better develop the personality. I want this character to get from here to here, tips? I have writers block, help me break it. And so forth.

Yes we have an RP Discussion area but that is a general thing. And the Tutorials are all the way buried at the bottom of the forum (Which I still say needs to be moved up and either placed in the top section with Newcomers and New - or in the RP section at the top.) - Though if we had a sub section (A new one like Expanding Horizons got) - We could have an RP Academy and the Tutorials there.

But again, if we could just get a "Mentoring" tag that would be awesome.

🦄 A Welcome To RPG - Navigating the Forum - Updated May 18th, 2019

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Welcome to RPG

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Greetings and Saluations! I see you have decided to join the world of Roleplayer Guild, well let me tell you welcome to our little slice of insanity! Don't worry, we don't bite: much. Padded rooms are on the right, straitjackets are on your left, I really hope you enjoy your stay here. We are a crazy bunch but I promise you that you made the right choice by coming here. Since you are new, consider me your tour guide as I walk you through the in's and out's of RPG. Don't worry, I know it will be a lot to take in but I hope this little guide to the forum will help you navigate the place with a bit more ease and if you get lost, hey just ask for directions. There are plenty of rest stops along the way. Shall we get along with the tour? Let's!

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The Rules

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Oh before we begin let's go over the forum rules. Safety first and all that. Don't worry there aren't many. There are a few but most of these are just common sense. So, keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times... Wait, sorry, that is for roller coasters. Anywho, without further ado or gilding the lily - Rules for RPG.

Link To Rules:

• Fundamental Rules Of The Guild - This one above and beyond all others!!!
• Moderation Policy Statewide
• Trolls
• Moderation Policy In Rp Sections
• Moderation Policy In The Off Topic Sections
• Spam Moderation Standards
• Moderation Police For Forum Contests

See, now that wasn't so bad. Oh my, you have a boo-boo. Yeah, that's a problem. No worries though! Our next stop on our little tour is the First Aide booth! (In other words, what you do when a problem does arise.)

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When Problems Arise

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Now this place is pretty laid back but problems do occur. Don't worry. If you end up having an issue that yourself or your GM can't handle we have a staff here that can take care of things. All you have to do is let the staff know. Again, don't worry. They are pretty cool, all you have to do is let them know what is going on. They will listen and take care of things.

• The Staff:
  • @Mahz - Our creator and the Admin of RPG
  • @Hank - Our CoAdmin: long time moderator newly promoted
  • @stark - Sitewide Moderator
  • @Ruby - Sitewide Moderator
  • @NuttsnBolts - Sitewide Moderator
  • @Poohead189 - Sitewide Moderator
  • @Ezekiel - Persistent World Moderator
  • @Sini - Persistent World Moderator
  • @Heat - Persistent World Moderator
  • @Ellri - Persistent World Moderator
  • @Frizan - Contest Moderator
  • @Altered Tundra - Chat Moderator
  • @The Harbinger of Ferocity - Chat Moderator

Now if you have a problem, it will depend on what the problem is on who to contact but hey, it isn't complicated. Mahz is our admin but he basically takes care of coding and such, so for rule breaks just contact our CoAdmin or one of the mods. You can contact them in a couple of ways.

You can either A) Make topic here - Suggestions And Problems or B) Pm a Mod Privately.

To PM a mod, just click on their name here and go to their profile page, there is a button there that will let you create a PM to them. It is really that simple.

Now if you need to report anything, do a couple of things. Grab the link of where it is happening and screen shot it. (People edit stuff, so it is best to screen shot it.) - You can upload your screenshots either off site or on your own profile page. Just scroll down to images and upload it there. If it is in PM's you will have to screen shot it so they can see what is going on since it isn't in the public eye.

Don't worry about reporting people. The mods are very discrete about things and they will handle it. I know, contacting people about problems can be a bit daunting but don't worry. I've reported things in the past, so I can tell you first hand they are pretty good about and always understanding. As long as you aren't wasting their time everything is good. If you are worried, go ahead and message them, they are very laid back and always willing to lend a hand.

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Navigating The Forum

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All aboard!!! Destinations include fun, fantasy, and frivolity! Actually more like the insane asylum but that's okay! We have meds and electroshock therapy if you need it. We also have gummy bears and Strawberry Quick for snack time! Our next step on the Grand Tour De RPG are the area's of the forum. What they are and more importantly what they mean to you. In other words, what to post where. Now, sit back and enjoy the scenery, it is quite the view.

Forums Proper
• News And New Comers - Updates, Interviews, News Letters, and Welcome Messages
• Persistent World - Rp Area that is held all in the same world (This has recently been changed to a Star Wars Theme)
• View Newest Roleplays - Lets you see everything at once
• Role-Playing - General Roleplaying Area
• Off-Topic - Anything from Spam to Tutorials can be found here
• Test Category - Test out your coding, images, and so forth here
• Meta - Contests, Suggestions, and Reporting Section (can request post deletion here)

Top Bar
• Search - Search tool you can use to find posts or things that interest you
• Staff - List of our current staff members, just click their name to take you to their profile page
• Users - List of users from most recent registration and back
• Discord - The Forums Chat
• Pm's - Your Private Messages
• Subs - Quick and easy listing of topics you have subscribed to
• 🔔 - Your notifications for new messages under your subs, pm's, upvotes, and tags
• Your Name - Takes you to your profile page
• Login/Logout - If I have to explain this one we have problems

Side Bar
• Rules Of The Guild - Rules you really need to read
• Our FB Group - Takes you to the forums Facebook Page
• Dice - Public dice program you can use for your Rps
• Current Contest - The most recent contest being held
• Your Friends - This is a list of people you have personally friended (it does not list people who have friended you)
• Latest Status Updates - Most recent status from forum members, can be updated on your profile page
• Latest Checks - Most recent Interest Checks posted in the RP sections
• Latest Roleplays - Newest Roleplays that have started

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Roleplaying

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Ahh, to the main course! This is what you came here for isn't it? Oh you know it is and don't worry. Nothing to be ashamed of, we are all here for the same reason. Roleplay is like an addiction, it gets in your veins and no matter what you do you can never quite kick the habit. Trust me, I know, I've tried. I failed, lol. Now you know where the sections are and what they are there for but let's go a little further into the rabbit hole shall we? It's okay, I'll hold your hand if you get scared, some of these people are quite mad.

• Persistent World - This isn't technically in the Roleplay section but has a section all its own. It is a larger project that has recently started here on the forum. One where all the Rp's are within the Star Wars Universe. It can be a bit complicated and something that needs getting used to but don't worry. There are a lot of people involved with it and they are willing to give you a hand.
• General Interests Checks - Now, there are no Roleplays here but it is an Interest Check area. It pretty much covers all the areas of RP on the forum. Most people use this to put out a feeler to see if anyone is interested in an idea they are having for for additional promotion of an Rp they are starting in a specific area of the forum.
• Free Roleplay - This is the very laid back area of the forum. There isn't a lot of emphasis on grammar here or how much you need to post. Speeding posting, jumping straight in and so forth happen here a lot. New comers to RP tend to enjoy this section because it lets them try things out without worrying if they are meeting the standards of other sections of RP. Posting here can happen once a day or several times a day, just depends. Most begin here and then work their way up to other areas if they haven't Rped before. Others just enjoy the laid back atmosphere. Either way - fast and furious! Fasten your seat belts.
• Casual Roleplay - The Meat of the RP Forum. The Rp's here vary as much in what people think of as casual as what people in the real world consider casual dress. Now, it is generally a paragraph or two and you need to be able to forum a complete sentence but other than that - the sky is the limit. You will probably be expected to post at least once or twice a week here from a GM. Many use this forum to sharpen their skills. There are many Gm's in this area that mentor people moving up from Free or are old Rpers dusting off the rust from being out of the game a while. Each Gm is different, so take a closer look at what they are looking for before joining.
• Advanced Roleplay - This is where you will see the more complex RPs and people who have been at this a long time. Posts can be pages - Not Paragraphs. Collaborations between more than one person are common. There is usually very high expectations here, but don't worry. Don't let that intimidate you. Posting here usually slower than the previous RP sections of the forum since the length of posts and such is so great; some times just a post a week and some Gm's are willing to wait weeks for a post if the quality it there.
• Arena Roleplay - It's all about the battle here. If you love to fight this is the place to be. Find a partner, pair up, and see who has the RP Mojo when it comes to fighting. This forum isn't as used as others but it is a lot of fun if that is your thing. Not to mention if you take part here you can get a little number for your wins/losses/ties under your name to show off.
• 1x1 Roleplay - Don't like groups but just want a partner in RP? Head over here. All types of Rps are here and whatever someone is craving is posted about. People are always on the look out for someone new to Rp with and you can find anything from speed posting back and forth to high advanced. All themes, all ages, all topics. Check the tags and individual interest checks to see if you can find your Rp-harmony match!
• Nation Roleplay - An island all to itself. Nation RP can be anything from just the numbers of warring kingdoms to indepth character driven plots - Think Game of Thrones and Risk in text format. Very in-depth roleplays with a unique bunch of peeps. Rule a kingdom or destroy one using your political knowledge! You never know. Now, off you go!
• Tabletop Roleplay - Are you a DnDer? Love the feel of dice in your fingers? Cans of sodas piled up and empty boxes of pizza? Can't ever get your group off work at the same time to pull a late night session on Saturday? Well come on over! This area is for you! Now you can get your Tabletop fix without ever having to clean up your bathroom after Bozo got done downing a twelve pack from Tacobell! Ain't that nice! The dice are waiting!
• Articles And Guides - This is another section I am placing in RP that isn't in the RP section. Why? Because pretty much any question you could have about Rp is already answered here in one of the many articles and guides members of the forum have written. Wasn't that sweet of them? So have a gander there if you are wanting to learn about Rp, Gming, How to Code your posts, and more!

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Behind The Scenes

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Psst! Over here, come on, behind the curtain. Yeah, yeah, I know you are here to roleplay but you would be surprised what all else you can do on the forum besides what is just there on the main page. So let's step into the private room and give you the rest of the tour. This is where you can make things a bit more personal. Get your head out of the gutter! I didn't mean like that! Okay, ready? Here we go!

Your Profile Page

This little page contains so much! It is how you let people know just who you are and more. You can literally spend days on your own page getting things together and looking around. (I know, I have!) So what all can you do here? Let's have a look!

• Edit - This little button will take you to a new page within your profile. It is where you set up things. What things? Things like...
  
  • A custom title
  • Editing your email to keep it up to date
  • Being visible on the member list or in ghost mode
  • Whether or not you want to be able to see everyone's avatars and signatures. (Good to turn these off if your connection sucks or if you are on a tablet or mobile)
  • Editing your own personal signature on the forum
  • Uploading your avatar
  • Setting your gender
  • Greyscaling avatars
  • Showing your Arena Stats or not
• Start A Conversation - This is where you click on someone's page if you want to send them a Private Message (PM) or even PM yourself. (That might sound odd but I use it all the time to make layouts, keep track of ideas, or even write tutorials like this one!)
• General Information - This is the stuff you see under your name. How much you post, how many upvotes you have given or received, how long you have been a member of the forum, when the last time you logged in was, and so forth. It's a good summery of what is going on with you and others if you are spying on people lol
• Status - Here you can enter in what is on your mind. Like a general status update on Facebook. It will appear at the top of your profile page and on the main mage under most recent status updates on the side bar. You can delete these, which many people miss, just go to the status and roll over it with your pointer. A little red X will show up and you can click that to delete any of your updates (Good if you typo or accidentally double post.)
• Bio - You can pretty much put anything you want here. Tell people a little about yourself, or a lot! You can format it just like you would any post on the forum and you have plenty of available characters to use to really add stuff! (Just look at mine, lol)
• Arena Stats - If you are into the Arena Area of the forum, it is there for you to keep track of your wins and losses. You can set this to public or private. It is up to you.
• The 4 tabs - These are at the bottom of the page
  
  • Most Recent Posts - Where you can find yours or others latest posts, goes back to the beginning - just keep clicking
  • Visitor Messages - Otherwise known as VMs; drop a message to a friend here and say hello, happy birthday, or whatever you wish. These are public, so everyone can see them
  • Trophies - Have you entered and won a contest here on the forum? Well your trophy will be listed here for you to show off!
  • Images - Tired of searching for a place to host your images that you put in your Rp's or Cs's? Use this! You can upload your images directly to the forum and never have to worry again if photobucket is going to delete it. Can even organize them into folders to make it easy to keep up with.

Other Stuff

Now your profile page isn't the only thing on the forum that is considered behind the scenes. There are a few others that you might want to take note of. Such as...

• PM's - Otherwise known as Private Messages. You can send quick note to someone, ask a question, or even host your own 1x1 here away from the eyes of the rest of the forum. Since you can code your PM's like you would anywhere else on the forum, this makes them very useful to work on our character sheets, Rp layouts, and more if you want to PM yourself. It is also a great place to do collabs. There are multiple folders you can move your Pm's to so you can keep things organized or just trash them when you are done.
• Subs - Your subscriptions tab. Every topic on the forum has the option to subscribe to it. This is very useful if you want to keep up to date on things and helps you keep track of the Rp's you are interested in or are already a member of. There is an archive tab that you can move older ones to if you don't need the constant updates from them but want to know where they are for quick reference. Older Rp's that are no longer active but you may want to reread at one point.
• Discord - The forums chat. Now, I personally have never been in here but I have heard things... Lots of things. But hey, a place to chat it up with friends, make new ones, or see if you can get in quick contact with a mod should you have the need.

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Forum Quirks

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This place is great isn't it? Well, it has some quirks but don't we all. It isn't anything big but a few little things I want to point out so you don't go tripping over your own two feet and land face first in the mud. The forum has a few "glitches" but nothing major, and I don't even know if you would call them glitches as more as mood swings. Come on, we'll get through this section fast and back to the main tour.

• Timeouts - Every so often the forum will lag and even time out. Mahz is working on this but sometimes the servers just get... temperamental. Don't worry, it is usually temporary and works itself out rather quickly.
• Autosave - The Autosave feature is new. We didn't used to have it so we always made sure to type up our posts in notepad before we submitted them in case things timed out. This autosave feature is pretty nifty but be advised it does not currently work in PM's!
• Avatars - Even if you turn the avatars off, you will still be able to see them in PM's. So don't freak out.
• Bots - Like every place on the net we sometimes get bots here advertising anything from the latest little blue pill to cabinets. Just make a post about them in the Suggestions area of the topic and a mod will delete it.
• Search - Our search feature is far from perfect. It is still under construction so sometimes you won't find what you are looking for. If you work with it, and fiddle around a bit, it tends to work great but just know it might not pull up from time to time.
• PM's - The folders and such on the PM's are new, especially the empty trash feature. Please be advised that if you or someone you were messaging deletes a PM - the other party will not ever get a message sent through said pm again. It's gone on their end. Now it will tell you who is still part of the conversation on the the PM but say you overlook that. You send a pm to someone you were talking to. Say they deleted it to clean out their box. Now you are sitting there wondering why they aren't talking to you anymore. They aren't ignoring you, they never got it. Start a new pm!

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In Conclusion

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Well this brings us to the end of our tour. I hope you have enjoyed yourself. If you stuck it out this far I think you are going to do just fine here. Yes, this place is a bit of a mad house but that's alright. Everyone here is different and that's okay. We all love a good Roleplay, whatever our definition of ~good~ is. So go on now. Go dip yours toes into the RP waters, post a message saying hello in the Introduce Yourself section, find an RP you want to join, start your own. Whatever floats your boat. Don't worry if you get lost, all roads lead to Rome - or in this case RP. Don't get nervous, we were all new here once. It's been my pleasure to take you on this little tour and if you have any questions - just ask! Here to help.

Lady A~

🦄 Duplicity - D&D Style Fantasy Rp Adventure (Completed)

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Kyra & Sana

Location: Cross Swords Tavern
Interacting With: Satilla, Nor, Thomas, Keystone
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The sound of alabaster chunky chum hitting the wood outside of the tavern echoed through the place. Too bad it wasn't later int eh day when the sounds of the regular tavern goers and entertainment would have drowned it out but no luck in that department. It just splatted against the wooden surface and Kyra had to take a long breath to keep from cringing outwardly. She could nearly picture it in her mind, each droplet hitting the deck and bouncing from the puddle; splattering against the poor tavern owner and the walls, and the seats, and the stairs. There would need to be a hell of a clean up just to walk out the front door at this rate. Maybe this place had a back door. If anything to pretend that she and maybe a few others didn't know Keystone.

Sana eyed Keystone and let out a half exasperated chuckle. "You can make it up to me later," she said before she started to make her way down the stairs. She felt much better today, maybe not on full yet but a dozen times more able than she did the night before. Navigating the stairs carefully but with ease she stepped downstairs and made sure to avoid the mess as she headed over to the table with the others. Sitting down she had no intention of eating just yet. Maybe something, outside, across town - you know where the smell of urine wasn't soaking into the walls and the porch covered by last nights meal.

Shaking her head a bit she pushed the thought out of her mind and tried to keep her attention focused on the task at hand. "Good point Satilla, why don't you fill them in on your credentials," she said as she glanced over towards Nor. Nodding to Thomas, she had to admit the boy was thinking more on a tactical level at this point. It was something. Didn't make up for nearly killing her childhood friend but he was trying. At least he hadn't sent the tavern owner to pray to the chamber pot gods twice in less than a fortnight. "At this point we do need help. If what we have coming to us is anything like what we have dealt with before we need skilled numbers," she said, keeping her words vague enough not to exactly let on anything. There were others in the tavern but their attention seemed to be on Femnal, for now.

As Keystone came over Sana palmed her face. The man could have eaten a meal in the middle of hell's colon and not be phased by it. His constitution must have been miles better than hers. Kyra just looked up at the man and gave him a bit of a stare. "This is becoming a habit with you isn't it? Do you have a bet with someone that you can make Femnal lose the contents of his stomach every time you are around?" she asked. One couldn't tell if she was joking or dead serious.

Sana however took it as a joke and laughed a bit. "Ten to one odds, I bet he can."

"Don't encourage him!" Kyra snapped and shot Sana an eat shit and die look; which only made Sana laugh harder.

"Fine, twenty to one!"

"Sana!"

Common Sense - A Post-Post-Apocalyptic Revolutionary Tale

Sunie Marks

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Sunie kept a close eye on the man. Granted it wasn't because she was afraid of what could happen, it was just because of her line of work and the area of town which her shop was. The moment you let your guard down was when the shit always hit the fan. It was best to stay on high alert no matter what, especially when it was someone you were not used to or didn't know. It was one thing if it was a regular customer, someone you had dealt with before but even then you still kept an eye out. New people, well, it wasn't every day someone came in asking for directions. So she watched, even if she tried to remain pleasant enough.

"No worries, take your time," she said as she stood there. She wished he would hurry up, she had work to do but it couldn't be helped right then. For all she knew he would want to buy something. Yet seeing his phone and just out of date it was she had to wonder if he was as bad off as the others. Could he not get a more up to date phone or was he using an older one because as technology advanced the defenses against older techs was usually forgotten. As if to say, well no one uses it anymore so why do we need to worry? Bad logic in her mind.

As he rattled out the address her brow rose. That wasn't an address she was familiar with. That in and of itself was odd, she had lived there for so long and she was pretty sure she knew most areas in the city backwards and forwards. Maybe her sisters would have known better, maybe something new had been constructed and she just hadn't been made aware of it yet. "I am afraid I don't know that one," she said honestly before pursing her lips. She needed to get back to work but she figured she could try looking it up. Damn it... "Let me see what I can find," she said as she pulled out her phone and tapped in the address he had spouted to her, seeing if it came up on a search.

Mahz's Dev Journal

I don't know if it would be a viable option but is it possible to get a new tag for Rps? One for mentoring that a Gm could add to their rp's to let Rpers know that they are willing to teach newer Rpers the ropes, or established Rpers on honing their skills. I'd love to have an entire section of the Rp for this type of RP (or more so this type of GM) where the Rps hosted there are not only what the general population thinks of as free, casual, or advanced, but where part of the over structure of the Rp has a geared learning experience in it. But hey, would be very happy just to see a tag for it. ^^

Let's B!tch. I feel it's a healthy release for our roleplay annoyances 2.0

Ones who put narrow interpretations of what Free, Casual, and Advanced sections stand for. (This is something I get a complaints about from people who are not in my RP's.)

At first glance my Rp's look advanced. They have detailed back stories, long character sheets, and the posts can get up into many paragraphs. All things that by a general look would place them in advanced and yet I host them in the Casual section and continue to run them there.

Why? Because the casual section for me is more than just about over all layout and post length. It is also about mentoring, teaching, and improving ones skills. For my Rp's I require a minimal of 2 well developed paragraphs, which can fall into casual or advanced. People chose to post more.

I am a very hands on GM.

I go through the Cs's with a fine toothed comb, though even I miss things, and require corrections to be made that are needed. I walk Rpers through the process step by step if needed. Anything from coding help, to continuity issues, color codes that are easily read by others, how to host images, creating a back story that works with personality traits, and so forth.

For posts, I critique and require edits if things are out of place, if a character suddenly isn't acting as their personality is listed to, what are the reasons behind it. I go through how to develop relations in Rp's that are not forced ships, point out metagaming, where to start collabs and if they are needed or not. How to go through called actions and rounds in fights. Developing skills through out an RP a character might not have started with, and so forth.

It's a learning curve and it is why I host in the Casual section. Once you are in advanced, for me personally, I feel these things should not have to be something a GM holds an Rpers hand for. Rp should have a good base understanding of all of these things listed above and more. Advanced Rpers, while still learning and improving, shouldn't need as much guidance. (And from my experience here on the forum are far less open to it than those in the casual section.)

So yes, I host in casual, yes I will continue to do so. I am teaching, and trying to help Rpers in my Rp's get a better hand on different Rping techniques. That for me is what Casual is for - learning and taking that next step.

🦄 Soulless Regency - Merged With T.S.

@rivaan Yeah, he would get there about then.

Current Mood in One Gif

>TFW some "parent" looks at me astounded that my kids actually do their chores, behave themselves, and ask me how I did it like it's some damn magic trick...

Common Sense - A Post-Post-Apocalyptic Revolutionary Tale

Will be posting tomorrow

🦄 Darker Than Black - Merged With T.S.

@Morose k, go ahead