Current
Now running: World of Light: The Tale of the Dark Itself
5 mos ago
Forever and ever, amen
8 mos ago
Calling out from Scatman's world
1
like
11 mos ago
Called into action - by threats that seem harmonized
1 yr ago
Tomorrow comes
Bio
Current GM of World of Light. When it comes to writing, there's nothing I love more than imagination, engagement, and commitment. I'm always open to talk, suggestion, criticism, and collaboration. While I try to be as obliging, helpful, and courteous as possible, I have very little sympathy for ghosts, and anyone who'd like to string me along. Straightforwardness is all I ask for.
Looking for more personal details? I'm just some dude from the American south; software development is my job but games, writing, and trying to help others enjoy life are my passions. Been RPing for over a decade, starting waaaay back with humble beginnings on the Spore forum, so I know a thing or two, though I won't pretend to be an expert. If you're down for some fun, let's make something spectacular together.
@Lugubrious Although this has been an assumption of mine since the start of the RP, I still want to ask just to clear this out. The animals you have on Slough's CS are not the only animals existing on Galbar, right? I mean, normal Earth-like animals exist as well, right?
I didn't get this mention for some reason. Anyway, that is the case. At the very beginning there were only the specific creatures that Slough made, but aside from her extraordinary creatures, ordinary ones appeared as well. A little down the line and you could already expect to find analogs of pretty much all Earth-like animals on Galbar, and by now it's absolutely not a question. In my most recent posts I specifically mentioned that more species and subspecies now existed than could possibly be cataloged.
Since Slough created the process of evolution (as part of my first post in the RP) and put it into practice day one, you can rely on there having been a great deal of it on Galbar. She is directly responsible for the existence of natural life and all the principles that surround it--that is her number-one contribution to the universe.
On another note, I assume that the Realta are genociding all of Slough's creations on Galbar as part of their great purge? That might be a problem.
During the few seconds that passed following Vinnie's question before it received an answer, the jacket-deprived man briefly wondered whether or not she would say anything. After all, he'd been the only one talking during this alleged interaction even after she approached him, and despite his attempts to lift the spirits of the obviously woebegone Stand Users Wyatt and Melody, she didn't react much to them, either. Only a mere moment later, though, Kijo dashed this worry of his, telling him and the others to leave. Evidently she would take care of it. Did she not feel the ominous pressure emanating from the woman Melody called Abbey? Apparently she knew her former compatriot, and Vinnie was by now acutely aware of the consequences of not understanding how one of these spirits worked. Plus, Vinnie didn't necessarily think that Wyatt and Melody cooperating might work out, and even then, he had so many questions he wanted to ask her. Still, if she felt like she could take this opponent on, Vinnie would leave her to it. “Fine,” he told her. After glancing at the others, he added on, “When you're done, meet back at the Golden Peking. Follow me, guys?” Seeing no better alternative, Melody shrugged and fell into line behind him, while Wyatt decided on a whim to stick with this group for now.
As the trio fled, Abbey pushed off from the streetlight and knelt, gingerly placing her glass on the ground. ”I think I'll stick around. If the boss wants me to take out the trash, the trash gets taken out. Who knows if the police are even coming for us? We occupy this street because nobody ever comes here. That's why it's called Holloway Boulevard.” The idle chitchat filled time while she scrutinized Kijo with eyes like shards of jade. Kijo's brand of self-assuredness, Abbey concluded, wasn't the ego of the professional athlete, but of the high school jock thinking that all his time spent training meant he couldn't possibly lose. In a word, it was 'overconfidence'. When she first became a Stand User, Abbey learned very quickly that one should never, ever get cocky in this business.
The little trick with the scythe intrigued her intensely. ”What was that just now? Was it a boast? I sincerely hope that turning your stand into a weapon isn't all it can do. With a lot of Stands, the instant you understand them is the instant you beat them. That's basic, basic stuff, hun.” A hand snaked up and began to tug on her hair. ”Still, rules are meant to be broken. So, why are we fighting? A Stand-using girl like you could make it big in the team I'm a part of. It's called Bad Romance, and we're all about getting rich and famous. If you're not into crime, we've got a whole division in Stand-assisted legitimate business. Think it over, will you?”
A look at Kijo's eyes, however, caused her to sigh. She put one hand on her hip, giving a wry smile. ”But I can tell you're the big hero type, somehow. You know how much self-righteousness is worth nowadays, hun? Not a whole lot. It might even get you killed.” A split second's lingering on that word gave it an ominous tinge. A beat later Abbey continued. ”For instance, that waddling whale you're standing up for? She's an assassin. I'm a little bit of a leg-breaker, I admit, but it's actually her and her sister's jobs to kill people. You know how she does it? Her Stand can appear as any kind of cup, and the instant someone grabs it, it sticks permanently to their skin. Then it drains fluids from their body -any fluids- and fills itself with them. The real kicker is that the stuff in the cup is the only drink that will satiate the poor sucker's thirst. Most people will off themselves before they live the rest of their lives like that, and those that try anyway usually die of poisoning or something. Blech!” Abbey blanched. ”Point is, you're super misguided. You'd be way better off working with us. That said, d'you still wanna fight?”
So I've gathered that there might be a couple of at least cursory Jojo's fans in here. If you've ever considered the idea of a JJBA-themed RP, there's one that i'm in that could really use some new blood. Any checking in would be appreciated.
No, no shifty eyes from any of you. There's nothing against advertising in the rules section.
No small amount of dread resided within the engorged body of Melody. To her, this defeat, though inglorious, was only the beginning of her suffering. Threats and promises swirled through her head, and a chill coursed through her veins. Of all the Stand Users whose arrival she feared, though, Kijo wasn't one of them. She did not at all recognize the woman in white who appeared on the desolate sidestreet, but the instant Kijo's companion followed behind, Melody sank even deeper into despair. The floating, spotless form of the Outsider made her bare flesh shiver in muted terror. In this state, she could not defend herself, and only an idiot or a truly powerful Stand User would walk around with their Stands out. Was this newcomer part of the group of Wyatt and Dwayne, come as backup to finish what they'd started? Melody couldn't be sure, particularly since she heard some time ago that her opponents' team was pretty much all male, just as hers was almost entirely female, but Kijo and the Outsider made for a supremely threatening visage. Crushed by embarrassment and fear, Melody couldn't form a single word as Kijo stared at her. Then came a question that confounded Melody's expectations: you look like you are in a rut, anyway I could help?
Could it be that this woman -no, this Stand User- not only held no animosity toward her, but knew nothing about the circumstances only recently transpired. Melody was dumbstruck. She knew her fair share of fake smiles, but this newcomer's didn't strike her at all as disingenuous. ”Uh...” she was surprised to hear how much huskier her voice sounded, no doubt thanks to her new physique. Wryly she realized that her confidence had effectively been shattered by this sudden change. ”Um...just, give me a moment here.”
Obligingly, Kijo moved toward the laundromat. After stepping over the man in front of the place, whose sunglasses were now pretty mangled, she approached Vinnie, who'd been half-conscious and watching her approach. What he thought had been a dream, or a hallucination resulting from stress, resolved itself to be the very woman he saw about an hour earlier near the Golden Peking. Startled, Vinnie lifted his head up. “It's you!” The next second he realized how strange that must sound. “I mean, you're the person I saw by that restaurant no long ago. And that...” He stared, wide-eyed, at the Outsider. “That's the spirit I saw! The whole reason I left work today to try and find some answers. I...whoa. It's pretty intimidating, I guess, but not as scary as my spirit. And yours isn't hostile? What the hell...” Shakily he rose to his feet. Behind Kijo, a noise announced that Wyatt had come to as well. ”What...oh, God. God, I killed Dwayne...no, no” Frowning deeply, Vinnie watched him hold his head in his hands. The burnt spot on the sidewalk caught his eye, and Vinnie realized that he was shaking, as well. At the same time, though, adrenaline set his nerves on fire; maybe that was all that was keeping him standing. After glancing at Kijo and the Outsider, Vinnie skirted around them toward Wyatt. “Hey...” He offered a hand. “It's not your fault, alright? Whatever that other woman did to you with that glass made it happen. It wasn't you.”
”How can you say that?” Tears were streaming from Wyatt's eyes. They seemed highly uncharacteristic for such an ordinary-looking man. ”I can remember the whole thing! Whatever was in that cup was really good...and when that awful stuff started happening to Dwayne -and you, I guess- I...I think I actually enjoyed it. But now...God, I'm so sorry. Dwayne wasn't a great guy, but we were still friends, and I'd never want to...to kill him.”
Still, he accepted Vinnie's hand and the besuited man pulled him to his feet. After straightening his brutalized sunglasses, Wyatt spotted Melody, and treated her to a wrathful glare. ”You! It's because of your sister that happened. I get our teams aren't exactly playing nice, but I'm not about to forgive you!” His eyes moved toward the fallen warhammer on the ground, but when they glanced back at Melody, he noticed something else. ”Why are you crying?”
Melody sobbed, causing her entire flabby body to jiggle despondently. ”Isn't it obvious, idiot? Your friend made me into this f***ing butterball, but at least I won't have it for long, because I'm dead. My boss doesn't tolerate failure like this. I already failed once, making my sister hate me, and this was supposed to be my redemption. If the boss doesn't get me, Harmony will.” She shook again, wiping tears from her eyes.
Shaking his head, Vinnie closed the distance between himself and her, taking off his suit jacket as he did so. He moved around the sitting woman and held it up. At first Melody didn't know what to make of it, but after a few moments she shrugged and held her arms out, accepting his help. One after another she put her arms into the sleeves, tearing them as she did, and with a very discerning hand Vinnie helped pull the jacket around her front, stretching the cloth. The proximity made both her and Vinnie blush, but with a manner of professionalism he ignored it. In the end one button was done, the one right beneath the chest and above the belly, and he laboriously helped Melody to her feet. A handful of seconds passed before Melody got used to her new center of gravity. On her, the singly-buttoned suit jacket looked hilarious, but it was better than nothing, and she clearly appreciated the gesture. ”...Thanks, I guess. Who are you?”
Looking around at everyone in turn, her helper replied, “My name is Vinnie Pantera. A few years ago I found out that I was being haunted by a spirit.” He decided to go ahead and explain. “It would terrorize people that threatened me, but it scared me, too. This morning I saw that woman's spirit,” he said as he gestured toward Kijo, “And I thought I might be able to learn something. I never expected any of this. It honestly boggles my mind. There are no words.”
The sound of a siren cut him off. Melody flinched before saying, “How about 'run'? Someone must have heard the explosion and called the cops. Look, I don't know any of you.” She glared balefully at Wyatt. “And you're basically my nemesis, glasses man. But none of us can stick around. The police are gonna be here any minute, and as far as I'm concerned, my team is an even bigger threat. I'm surprised the boss hasn't sent someone else out to kill us already.”
”Well, don't be.”
Wyatt, Melody, and Vinnie spun at the same time to face the source of the voice. A blonde woman with a drink in hand and a pearly white smile and emerald-green eyes leaned casually against a streetlight. She gave a short giggle. ”Ahaha, wasn't that perfect timing?
A scowl settled on the face of the only Stand User present that recognized her. ”Abbey Road. Of course.”
The seconds ticked by before Abbey took a sip from her drink with her eyes closed. She took her time before responding. ”You really shouldn't try and look cool, Mel. It doesn't suit a bloated sack of blubber like you. Why, a couple more pounds and your gut would be touching your knees! Anyway, you probably know why I'm here.”
Though Melody quivered with anger, Vinnie didn't dare move. He didn't feel like fighting at all; plus, he really didn't have any idea how to control his spirit. Very much he wished that Kijo would have had time to explain before this happened. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled in response to a pressure radiating from this Abbey Road. Every aspect of her appearance and manner suggested complete confidence and capability. If these spirits could have any kind of power, which seemed to be the case by what he'd seen alone, he shuddered to think that this woman might be able to do. He glanced at Kijo. “Psst...what do we do? Run for it?”
The climb began on the sand itself: a steady slope upward before even a trace of different terrain could be seen on the horizon. A loose and fickle surface underfoot made for slow going at first, but nature was nothing if not adaptable. Little by little, hour by hour, the beast of life left the Firewind Desert behind, though she did leave it forever altered. The vigorous essence eked out from the gorges in her barklike body left a trail of flourishing wildlife several hundred feet wide. Before, most of the Mahd River, along which she'd galloped for some time now, and with the exception of the River Valley, was merely a channel of muddy water cutting through the sand. By virtue of the natural way of things, some plants took root in the silt along the riverbed, and desert creatures often stopped to drink, but still the kind of life that inhabited the wasteland's sole stream had been paltry for years. Now, the entire length of it stood as an oasis on par with the Resort created by her ages earlier at the Vizier's prodding. An especially capable strain of fanlike plants arose from her passing quite readily, and thin-furred mammals reminiscent of flying squirrels or lemurs delighted in leaping from frondy tree to frondy tree over this new Luscious Mahd River.
Predictably, all of this loveliness sparked in the middle of the barrens brought Slough no joy. Though perhaps this time her generation of an ecosystem had been intentional rather than the byproduct of a degenerative husk, she gave the plants and animals very little regard. For a time, several of the lemurs and a single, particularly dogged Crocody Doggle had traveled with her, but they reluctantly parted ways with her when she abandoned her course along the river to begin this long ascent. Scrubby, thorny plants sprang from the sand here, no different to look at dead than alive. Aside from the shadows of Dirigible Cloudwhales or lost Mottled Skyrays occasionally flying overhead, no living thing came to see its creator. Near the top of her climb, though, with the solemn, mist-shrouded peaks of an eerie cragland now clearly visible, Slough did encounter something not quite alive and not quite dead.
Finding this creature filled Slough with a sense of wry nostalgia. On a little bluff, among a smattering of rocks, she discovered a beast that time and desolation had not mangled. Its four-legged, tomato-red body rippled with muscle, its cream-colored mane appeared gloriously voluminous, its horns and tail glistened in the evening sunlight like wrought cobalt, and within the white mask of its face shined eyes like coins as gold if not more golden than the beast's gaudy ornamentation. It raised its head when Slough approached, and while it appeared fine physically, the former Rottenbone was taken aback by the emotional suffering radiating from this creature as soon as their eyes met. Yet, more than anything she sensed a rush of relief and happiness, and before her eye it brought itself to its feet and bowed.
The proud soul of a jealous caretaker...
The memories had been slow to come, but this beast excited them within her. For the first time, melancholy seized her, and her wings of root brushed the earth. From the ethereal beat of the light within its eye a sort of message was formed and transmitted to her former custodian. I have been a bad master. I know you will follow, but I do not deserve your service. You do not even know why you serve. Here... Slough knelt, her wooden legs creaking softly, and turned her head so that her single brilliant eye shown on the mask of Esau with the light of all its secrets.
It didn't take long, but when it was done, the hidden mouth of Esau began to move. With some difficulty it remembered how to speak, and then speak he did. ”You are blameless, my master. I didn't know the details, but I always knew why I stood by your side, pathetic though I am. You are my creator—that is enough. All might look down on you as the least of the gods, no more than a mindless animal oozing magic across the land, but you are my master, worthy always of my thanks, my love, my praise. Lead and I will follow.”
Nothing more needed to be said, even if anything could. The two beasts rose and continued the ascent in silence, though this quiet held anything but awkwardness, animosity, or guilty. Less than an hour later they entered the Forgotten Cragland, and there began their search.
-=-=-
With a mighty heave, the stone lid of the overgrown casket collapsed onto the ground. Both master and servant peered inside and within found a soul nestled amidst a fanciful assemblage of bones. Of course, neither suited the other, for that soul didn't belong to this world. Tinged with red and black, it beat to a tune totally separate from those that brought it into being. This aspect of independence made for a fascinating specimen, and Slough recognized what her power had recalled.
The brave soul of a malevolent maiden...
At her bidding, the mote of light and dark rose up from its resting place and zipped into the cavity of her eye, gone within the miniature plane inside her body. There it would make company for the spirit pried from the Venomweald Writhe, and there, in ghostly forms well-suited to their restored memories, they might talk and pass the time though neither would know the other's name.
Slough and Esau wasted no time by the now-empty tomb and quickly traversed the Cragland's treacherous and bleak terrain until they happened upon another, then another. The proud soul of a crystalline dragon...the brave soul of a skybound sympathizer...the vast soul of a starlight scientist...the brave soul of a charismatic warhound... Only once did the once-ghoul find a grave already open, robbed of its contents. In that moment a fleeting and tranquil fury burning within her eye. What is the Great One's must return to him. But it could not be helped. That pull toward the sky prodded her more strongly than ever, but Slough's quest was far from over.
Now filled with noteworthy souls, Slough led and Esau followed through the Cragland until they came to a place that filled Slough with dread—one that she knew well. Here, before there lay a murky, stinking pool, there had been a pit half catacomb and half prison where the neglected bones of a wretched mongrel had lain for who knew how long. Slough shuddered, her wooden form crackling, and left the place hastily.
At last, she stood on the edge of a precipice, with her custodian behind her. Far, far below lay a mess of mangroves, and beyond that lay the Fractal Sea. From here the view was beautiful, even breathtaking should she have any to spare, but she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that beneath those gently curling waves lay a grave and terrifying mistake that could not be allowed to subsist a moment longer. Make your way down at your own pace, she communicated to Esau. Then make yourself at home. Where I am going, I regret that you cannot follow. Silently the manticore nodded. Though unfortunate, such things could not be avoided. Slough took a step toward the edge, then, reckless, she threw herself off.
Her mind was oddly at peace as she plummeted through the air. The sight of a deer completely rigid, with straight legs, might have been comical, but Slough made no motion until she hit the shoreline at terminal velocity. Instantly her wooden body shattered into splinters and kindling, but in less than a second after total annihilation the body began to fly back together. Brilliant green light surrounded her as her form constituted itself, some of the details a little different but overall appearing remarkably unharmed. That is useful. Around her, Niciel's orbs hummed obligingly. Shortly thereafter she waded into the mangrove swamp, making her way among the gnarled roots and schools of tiny fishes toward the ocean.
-=-=-
Though she'd never seen them before, the sight of the Drenched Flowerbed tickled Slough with hints of pride. The knowledge that such beauty existed on both land and sea because of her prior actions, accidental though they were, would have surely delighted any other being. But only the journey, and the necessities within it, occupied Slough. Her root wings streamed behind her like the fins of some reef fish, or like the hair of a woman, as she sway away from the rich Flowerbed into the open ocean. At the edge of the underwater ecosystem she'd found the decomposed birthing sac of an animal, distended to a huge side and broken open. Whatever had been within had long ago traveled into the deep, and so Slough followed in its wake.
Only once, in the middle of the ocean blue, did she stop. A voice had come to her, and by some miracle she understood. One of the others was calling her. He wished to be sure that she would never try and harm the other gods. Confusion filled her and disdain. Why would anyone bother with her now of all times? What harm could she ever be, after all, in the eyes of the gods? They were right to think little of her...but, then again, so very wrong. There would be no hoof-print on Toun's divine agreement, not now or ever. Instead, Slough swam.
Down, down, down. The creature of land, ungainly but breathless, dove deep. Above her, the light of the sun, in which she always found an inkling of solace, drifted away. Darkness settled around her like a blanket, but with her goal in mind she plowed onward. Encounters with creatures were rare, but those she did happen upon were very strange. Fish the side of rhinoceroses swam perilously close, their tentacles lightly brushing Slough's useless wings. Vicious crustaceans approached her as one might a delectable feast, but at the last moment the unfamiliar and frightening light in her eye warned them away, one by one. Bizarre things even more alien floated by like phantoms out of nightmares, and Slough ignored them too. A current wafted her way, one very powerful and portentous, and the other deep sea creatures seemed to be fleeing from it. After a great span of time, Slough stopped swimming. Despite the radiance of her eye, nothing could be seen in the stygian blackness that surrounded her for thousands of feet in every direction. Yet...she could feel...something...very close.
A sudden redness filled her vision. Only a hundred feet in front of her swam a massive squid. This awe-inspiring abyssal horror could have easily strangled a whale, or sunk a ship. Next to it, the god of life was practically a mouse. As she looked on, its enormous eye came into the white eyelight, but within it Slough saw not curiosity, but terror.
Then the sea lit up.
The fathomless depths were suddenly suffused with a wondrous cyan glow, as if the blue sky of day had visited the blackest depths. In the sudden illumination, however, Slough saw its source, and even she felt fear. To call the abomination a colossus would have been understating it. At the most basic level, it bore some similarities to an eel, but this bio-luminescent horror surpassed anything resembling natural life. On the surface, the Brush Beast towered over all creatures great and small, too large and formidable for even the warlord called Grot, who styled himself huge, to trifle with. The Leviathan was still wider and taller, and longer than several adults fit end-to-end. Like a boa stretching itself to swallow a capybara, the Leviathan could almost certainly unhinge its jaw to swallow a Brush Beast whole. To it, Slough was a flea, and she watched it snap up the giant squid like a person might a shrimp. Just the movement of the thing sent waves through the water that threatened to obliterate Slough despite her constant regeneration, which was already at work counteracting the water pressure that at this depth already came close to turning her to dust. If not for the souls inside her, Slough thought that she might already have faltered and been destroyed for good. One downside of this body as opposed to the pitiful carcass she'd been before—that form couldn't be truly erased from existence even if smashed to atoms, but this one held more investment. Animalistic thoughts of self-preservation came close to overwhelming her when the Leviathan turned its head slightly to look her way. So they have noticed me, after all... She could not count its eyes, but it watched her, she she watched it.
So this is what became of you. The vast, inseparable souls of the Allwater's Duumvirate...
-On the way to the Forgotten Cragland, Slough encounters Esau, and the two are reunited. -Slough and Esau travel the Forgotten Cragland, finding each soulsafe tomb and retrieving its contents, with the exception of the vast soul of a knowledgeable youth, which was taken by another. -Slough tests her survivability, and finds that she possesses extremely fast and powerful regeneration. -After traversing the mangrove swamp, Slough passes through the Drenched Flowerbed and proceeds into the depths of the Fractal Sea. -She comes face to face with her first Mistake.
1 FP spent to restore and empower Esau's soul 1 FP spent to recover the souls hidden in the Forgotten Cragland, near the Deadwood Sepulchre 1 MP spent to improve own cognitive and communicative abilities 1 MP spent to manifest ultra-fast regeneration
Hey there guys. Just wanted to let you know: if you're into multiverse RPs, especially game-related, there's one currently under management by a friend of mine that could use some fresh players. I'd encourage you to take a look.
It's time for me to get to work. I cannot say that my coming post will be as lengthy as many of yours, but I'll do what I can to both advance what's happening with the reformed Rottenbone and to interact with the latest happenings on Galbar.
Current GM of World of Light. When it comes to writing, there's nothing I love more than imagination, engagement, and commitment. I'm always open to talk, suggestion, criticism, and collaboration. While I try to be as obliging, helpful, and courteous as possible, I have very little sympathy for ghosts, and anyone who'd like to string me along. Straightforwardness is all I ask for.
Looking for more personal details? I'm just some dude from the American south; software development is my job but games, writing, and trying to help others enjoy life are my passions. Been RPing for over a decade, starting waaaay back with humble beginnings on the Spore forum, so I know a thing or two, though I won't pretend to be an expert. If you're down for some fun, let's make something spectacular together.
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Current GM of World of Light. When it comes to writing, there's nothing I love more than imagination, engagement, and commitment. I'm always open to talk, suggestion, criticism, and collaboration. While I try to be as obliging, helpful, and courteous as possible, I have very little sympathy for ghosts, and anyone who'd like to string me along. Straightforwardness is all I ask for.<br><br>Looking for more personal details? I'm just some dude from the American south; software development is my job but games, writing, and trying to help others enjoy life are my passions. Been RPing for over a decade, starting waaaay back with humble beginnings on the Spore forum, so I know a thing or two, though I won't pretend to be an expert. If you're down for some fun, let's make something spectacular together.</div>
Member
CabbageAngel
TruthHurts
Eviledd1984
DancesWMonsters
Archmage MC
Dyelli Beybi
FujiwaraPhoenix
Bingelly
XoXKieroBombXoX
darkred