Mitheral

Mahz's Dev Journal

Is there a Suggestion Box here anywhere?

I'll go ahead and mention what I had in mind ... before I forget. (Mind like a sieve.)

You see the View All Roleplays at the top of roleplaying? Nice idea, but what would be even nicer is a View All Interest Checks.

Isla Nublar (M seeking F. Marooned on Island) Re-OPENed

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Not If You Were the Last (MxF)

Duncan looked intensely at Darlene sizing up her reaction. His voice was gentle and calm though. “Backyard. Now. Let’s get you out of here. Crap.” He wore softly.

He led them into the backyard. “Sorry about that back in there, but eventually you were going to see scars and wonder what happened. But believe it or not, this place has some good memories for me too.” He smiled a little and pointed at the bedroom window on the back of the house. You can NOT imagine how many times I snuck out that window.” He grinned sheepishly as his ears turned a little red. “There was this girl that lived down the street …” he paused and laughed …”who was unfortunately more interested in my older brother.” He shrugged. “I was only 13 at the time. He was popular; I was not.”

He looked down at the peach, then over at the eastern end of the yard. “I forgot about the raspberries. And there is a small grapevine - that hasn’t done so well. Without pampering this garden has not flourished. I wonder if the potatoes are ready? I planted a bunch. A lot of them didn’t make it, but they are a relatively low maintenance crop.

“I never could figure out why our peaches were so huge.” He hadn’t exaggerated the size of the peaches. They were softball sized. “I think we are all just used to the ones in stores that are picked unripe. I never liked those. As kids we were selling peaches left and right at ridiculously low prices to everyone around us….”

There was a shed set on a concrete slab that Duncan cautiously opened. He growled a little - a habit he seemed to exhibit when frustrated. “I forgot again. I keep meaning to bring a large cooler to store some supplies here. He dragged out a bag of bird seed, some dried corn cobs and a bucket of peanut butter and grinned. “Time to replace the feeding stations. I had to get smarter than the cats. Basically I drill a core through the corn cobs so I can string them onto a heavy duty fishing line, smear the cobs with peanut butter and roll them in seeds in layers. Then I also have a few hummingbird feeders. Those I have up outside the kitchen window. There’s a ladder already there. Plenty of sugar water, plus extra jars of honey. The honey was so old it was starting to crystalize. But the birds don’t mind that once it is dissolved in water.”

He finally paused and spoke matter of factly. “Are you going to be okay? I won’t lie to you - ever. And I have never started a fight in my life - ever. But I never lost one either. I said I missed most of the Plague. But that isn’t the whole truth. I spent weeks in a morgue before my foster parents sent me away. I have the videos to prove it. My foster mother wanted to teach me how to stitch up wounds and stuff like that. She nearly ran out of smelling salts. I even learned how to deliver a child. The cadaver we used was a Plague victim who made a tape for me. She wanted her death to mean something. So I made myself learn.

“I am not normal. Or maybe I should say not average. I tried to be as much as I could. If all this is too much, I understand. I meant what I said, you are free to stay or go.”

Lottery Winner (M x F)

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Cowboy In Spite of Himself (MxF Time Traveller arrives in the Old West)

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Dragon Tale (2x2 MxF - see description below)

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Lottery Winner (M x F)

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Dragon Tale (2x2 MxF - see description below)

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Dragon Tale (2x2 MxF - see description below)

Once upon a time, there was a lonely knight. I mean the kind they wields a sword, not the one you look up and see the Moon. Pay attention! Save the questions for later. Where was I? Right … knight. Anyways he was lonely and wanted a lady to marry. Now he wasn’t just any knight, but a mighty knight. Mighty? Yeah, I guess that would have made things clearer the first time.

Now this knight was - mighty knight - was also a prince, the second son of a great King. The kingdom had long been a bitter enemy of a rival kingdom … What? Kandor. I aid hold the questions. The Knight was a prince of Kandor. Kandor’s bitter enemy was Grymm. No, not forbidding or uninviting. Grymm … like the Fairy Tale. The Lord of Grymm -- What? No, not the Grim Reaper. Totally different kind of grim. Crap, where was I? Oh! Right there was a Grymm Lady - and before you ask, not that kind of grim either. She was the third daughter of Lord Grymm.

Now to end a long era of bitter hatred a marriage was arranged. But the Princess wanted nothing to do with a hated scum like a knight of Kandor - handsome or not. Neither did she care to have her fate ordained by her father. So she hatched a plan to avoid the union. You see the Lady was also an alchemist. She decided to use her knowledge to stage her abduction - by a Dragon. She used her arcane lore to restore life to a fossilized talon of a dragon. She slew a cow for its blood, ripped her dress, with the talon … and fled into the mountains. She was very, very clever about misleading any search party. One of her best tricks was to use a kite to carry blood away and downwind in a waterskin. Then she waded upstream to where she had a cave filled with supplies for a week - and of course different clothes - commoner clothing.

Now the Dragon had no idea he was being used for a scapegoat. The very notion that a great dragon such as himself would ravage a … human … was ludicrous. The notion of eating a sapient creature might have appealed to his ancestors, but he liked to think they his great race had come a ways since those days. Well they had come a long ways - even helped the two legged race known as Man achieve a measure of knowledge and civilization - before they turned on the dragons and began to hunt them. Oh how far his kind had fallen. But their fall had begun with their own greed. And perhaps they did slay a few humans in their rage when their hordes were sought by human lords looking for the funds to build armies. Where once the dragon was friend to Men, they became natural enemies.

Finally we have the Other Woman, or the Lady of the Lake. She is the friend to the Dragon, his protector and champion. Okay … let’s be real about this. To her the Dragon is like a father. He raised her for as long as she can remember. (She even calls him Father at times.) She spent many a stormy night sleeping in the safety of his coils. Dragons are NOT slimy evil creatures of some dark hell. They are filled with wonder and awe. Perhaps it is her long life with the dragon that has imbued her with draconic powers.

Learning that humans seek to harm the Dragon certainly did not land them on her good side. But she can understand how they would be angered by a dragon harming one of their people - except that he didn’t. So it is her duty to protect the dragon - but also protect the Knight. For an angry dragon is a very, very dangerous thing. There is a reason that the tales of slaying dragons are legends. If anyone is to blame for this whole mess, it is the Grymm Lady who has framed the Dragon.

Lastly, there is Stygea? Did I forget them? Many have. They are the lands to the south. Urulchai, Uruk, Drow, and others. They worship the darker powers. They raise demons. And they are coming. When they get here it will take the combined might of both kingdoms to stand a chance against the hordes.

Let us recap: (Note: where NPC’s are listed, the one who plays this Main character should be prepared to run the associated NPC’s) I intend to run the Dragon and Lady of the Lake.

Kandor - worship the elemental powers of nature, seeking to bend it to their will.

Grymm - worship the old gods, natural forces of life itself. They live in harmony with the world and try to adapt to it.

Kandor Knight - Mighty warrior, fine armor and weapons, great steed. Tall, handsome. Seeks to unite the lands and prepare for what is coming. Now his kingdom is stained by the attack of the dragon and he must seek to learn the fate of his promised wife and slay the dragon. His armor includes a shield that is impervious to fire. His skills as a warrior are not unlike Bowen from Dragonheart. He is young, handsome, tall … a PRINCE. He is the sort that makes women’s hearts flutter - whether he realizes it or not. He is noble, honorable, everything a fairy tale prince is supposed to be.

NPC’s: King, Queen, Crown Prince, etc …

Grymm Lady - Alchemist (the C & S variety if you ever played that rpg, a system I fell in love with back in 1st and 2nd editions, then stopped but hear they expanded greatly.) This is a class of mage that requires a laboratory, without which there is little they can do. But their works are used in just about every other class of magic creation. It is also the most expensive class of mage to be as the materials alone are either expensive or hard to obtain. (Dragon body parts, dragon blood, dragon hide and dragon gold are quite valuable.) She is quite beautiful, extremely intelligent, has a beautiful voice. She isn’t a bad person. But she wanted her own life, her own destiny. For one brief moment she placed her own fate ahead of her kingdom’s. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel a little guilt. Her magic has reached a point that she was able to extend her lifespan to 300 years (and she is still a young woman - so noone knows she will live a very long life). A good image for her might be Morena Baccarin, but maybe a little more innocent looking.

NPC’s: Mom, Dad, the Grymm people, etc.

Lady of the Lake - aka Dragon Lady. She is immune to fire. She can make her body hot to the touch. She can concentrate this in her hands enough to light kindling. Her senses are like those of a dragon as well. She can control the hold gravity has on her and reduce it to near zero. This allows her to leap great heights and even walk on water (hence … Lady of the Lake). She can heal others, but at the cost of her own life force. Oh … and she has her own horde, slowly added to by the Dragon over the years. The Dragon’s favorites are the gold and gem inlaid alabaster tub that she bathes in and the gold chalice she used to wear as a helmet. She has quite a few pieces of armor and weapons that she has cleaned and polished, often wears for fun - not that she really knows how to fight. Note: she is very, very strong for her size. I am thinking of making her a blonde or redhead.

Note: Only Dragon knows the truth of her origins and secrets of her powers. (He knew her parents.)

NPC’s: Couldn’t think of any, but open to suggestions.

Dragon - That would be ME. (I didn’t do it. Honest.) Think of something along the lines of Draco from Dragonheart. He has no interest in killing a knight. He is annoyed at the Grymm Lady, but oddly amused.

Character Sheets
Start with BOLD, Different color text with a line that indicates your role.

I am not going to be picky about format - but please no animated gifs. Bad eyes on my end. I get migraines from looking at them. If you like, stick them in a hider. I can handle them briefly. I just can’t read around them. I DO want a pic for the human characters. For NPC’s, include them as well in Hiders in the same post.

As these are stereotypes, there really isn’t a lot to write up. They practically write themselves so they can be skeletal. Remember, this is a sort of fairy tale, but more of a Shrek version. You will need actual names, images.

Plot
Part of the aim here is a swapping of partners. By the end of the story, the Grymm Lady will meet the Dragon. The Knight of Kandor will meet the Lady of the Lake. The Dragon will be tempted to ravish the Grymm Lady. (After all, if he is going to be condemned for something, why not be guilty of it?) The Lady of the Lake will do everything in her power to distract the Knight from his quest. She will eventually discover her “Father” is actually ravishing the Grymm Lady. The Knight will discover the Lady of the Lake has been raised and protected by the Dragon her whole life.

Forces from Stygean - advanced scouts - may show up before it is all done.

Posting
I am looking for an Advanced writer. But with this sort of RP, I am going to go with the description of Advanced in the Home Page.

Advanced

Advanced RP focuses on longer posts, often with in-depth plots, character development and extensive settings/lore. Must make a dedicated effort to minimize typographical errors and to use good grammar. Generally two paragraphs, but usually longer. See individual GM for RP specific standards.

Note that Advanced and Casual are both tagged. I prefer Advanced, but I do expect more posts than usual to be casual in an RP like this. They can't all be long posts. Let’s go with a more natural tone. I just ask that you don’t post thread killers. If it is a good close to the scene, fine.

I also ask that people post steadily. Once a week isn’t going to cut it. I typically post daily to every other day. Well, assuming others post, I do.

I will leave it up to my writing partner for this one as to whether we use PM's of a forum based RP.

Not If You Were the Last (MxF)

While Darlene was getting her shower he Duncan decided to feed Pele. And as it turned out 30 minutes was almost perfect timing. He was just walking back in with the large bottle he used to feed the baby goat. He was smiling a little and nodded to the girl as he walked over to the sink to rinse out the bottle and set it to soak.

Before washing the bottle Duncan finally removed the left glove he normally wore. That glove had gotten him teased early on in the school year at the Academy. He had been nicknamed Duncan Jackson. The rumor was that he had a bad scar there. Now, for the first time, Darlene was allowed to see that scar. The scar was about 2 inches long and had clearly been a blade punched through his hand.

He had been heaping a plate with a thick layer of white rice which he stuck in a small microwave. The lighting dimmed a little while he heated it. When he was done he added a heavy layer of deer stew. He pulled that out, then tossed in another smaller plate of rice while pulled out a couple small slabs of unidentified meat, and some very sharp Ginsu styled knives. It didn’t take long to realize they were for the … Sushi … heavy on the meat.

By the time the deer stew had finished he’d already made his sushi. He frowned, glanced up at the girl. “No avocado. I miss avocado.” He smiled and held up a finger, smiling again. “I’m working on that. Not so spicy imitation salmon that should be tuna with sriracha mayo. The Millers made the mistake of taking me out for Japanese. I distinctly recall them laughing over the ‘mistake’ of taking a teenage boy out for sushi. I guess the stuff was expensive. I’ve watched a video on how to make this stuff … but it is a work in progress. Mostly I make a mess. If you don’t like it, leave the rest for me. I am a human garbage disposal. You are welcome to some of the sushi if you like - or deer stew. Or if you just want some canned food…. Wait, if you are vegetarian I have some vegetables that need to be eaten up before they go bad.”

He spent the next 15 minutes trying to interspace talking to Talia while inhaling his food. But the brief time in which he wasn’t talking was enough for him to come up with an alternate plan.

“I have a better idea. Why don’t I drop you off at Tanger while I go and get the RV. I can come back and get you in about an hour. That should be plenty of ti-- … uhm .. time … All you need to get today is a couple outfits. We can always come back for more. You are going to want to see the peaches. I am not exaggerating their size. They aren’t the tiny, bitter things you see in grocery stores. Wait, I never actually mentioned them. Softball sized. And we can grab more strawberries. Probably some more fresh asparagus too, and tomatoes. Spinach may be ready too. I wanted to do broccoli and cauliflower, but that takes a lot of time and water. It is the single biggest reason I am considering a move to the Southeast. I am close to a decision point - Stay the winter and suffer another couple years without broccoli, having to start over with asparagus, and such. But if we were to move now, we have to start very, very soon. It will take at least a month to get ready. But we can think on that tomorrow. I almost hate to leave this place.”

Duncan chose to drive an 18 wheeler tractor to the mall, explaining that while Darlene was shopping for some new clothes and any other necessities he wouldn’t have thought of, he was going to grab a 5th wheel RV (the sort towed behind a pickup with a 5th wheel, not stand alone) and take it to the base camp and get it hooked up. He figured he’d need an hour. He handed Talia a contraption that resembled one of those electronic auto keys used in rentals.

“Invention my foster father and I developed. It is a programmable skeleton key. It will open any mechanical key lock - and store the pattern to make a spare. Mom was NOT amused. But we swore not to market it. But we did consider the CIA. Anyways, that will get you into any typical store or car.” Of course, Duncan had no idea that Talia could pick locks.

Duncan dropped Darlene off, making sure she was well armed - a new Glock 17 police issue with 4 extra clips … and 6 flash bang grenades. He made it a point to do a drone scan before he left. That was more important than ever now. He had people to protect. He mused over the idea that men were hardwired for that role.

While he finished waiting he decided to gather some flowers from the flora that grew around Tanger. Tanger Outlets was one of those malls that liked to spruce up their appearance with good landscaping. It was one of the reasons he had volunteered for this. He didn’t bother to explain the floral arrangement he had collected by the time Darlene was done. She would find out soon enough.

Without traffic, the 20 mile trip to the house where Duncan’s garden was, took very little time. And for the first time since they had met him he hardly spoke. It was his turn to be quiet. It was a middle class neighborhood, all with landscaped yards, now starting to give way to nature. The house he pulled up in front of had the name MORAN on the mailbox. It wasn’t hard to figure out how he knew about the place.

The windows were boarded up and yellow tape with the words CRIME SCENE stretched across openings. Duncan grabbed the flowers wordlessly and calmly said, “Come on. You may as well see. Instead of simply taking them through the gate to the side yard, he used the front door. He had already removed the plywood on an earlier trip and turned it into a gate using hinges. He pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

The first thing they saw was the Den to their left as the entered the main hallway. It was a southwestern Spanish styled design, with wrought iron bars filling arches. Inside the room they could see it was filled with Turkish antique furniture with marble tops, a roll top desk, and lots and lots of shelving. The room was FILLED with teddy bears and dolls. There was also a collection of trolls. Every single one had a tag with a name, maker, and year. You could hardly walk in the room.

“My Mom - biological Mom was a collector - over 1500 each dolls and teddy bears. Compo, bisque, Steiff's, collector finds.” He set the flowers down and stepped in, glancing about, then picked up a few of the bears before stepping back out and taking his floral arrangement. “They were made for hugging. My Mom wouldn’t have objected.”

He then led Darlene further back. “The Plague hit before they could even put the house on the market.” There were white outlines of people and blood stains on the floor of the dining room that the entry hall opened into. To the left was the kitchen. There the story really unfolded. In a corner of the kitchen near the sink was another outline. On stands around the form were a few teddy bears. “Time for a changing of the guard, if you two don’t mind.” He smiled. “Mom was partial to Humphrey Beargart. One of her favorites.” He swapped the bears out and replaced the floral arrangement already there.

The reason Duncan had stuck around Albuquerque so long made perfect sense now.

He took a deep breath and let it out. “It happened before the Plague. Twelve members of a gang.” He stopped and shook his head. “No, I should back up. My brother was in a gang. I don’t know why, but a rival gang killed him - allegedly. His gang decided to recruit me - something I think he prevented for years. They never bothered me before that. I said No. The rival gang thought I said yes. I think my brother must have done something to piss them off, because they came after me here. Twelve of them. I managed to get my little brothers out the window of my bedroom in back. After that, the fight was on. I was the last one standing.

“Hardest part is that when people get sick, you get a chance to say good bye. When they get shot in the head, you don’t. But It HAS been over a year. Yes, I had some counseling. Yes, I had LOTS of dealings with the police. They suspected that I beat the living Hell out of my brother’s gang, but couldn’t prove it, or thought I had justifiable cause.” He smiled. “Guilty as Hell. Only fights I ever started.

“My Stepfather ended up in prison - Child Abuse and Child Abandonment. The abandonment charge was him throwing my then 14 year old sister out of the van on the Las Vegas strip and driving off. Never went back for her either. The Abuse, was the broken ribs and beating he gave me when he thought I was in a gang. Wasn’t the first beating. Those were a daily thing. But the broken ribs and punctured lung was new.

“You would think I’d be more withdrawn. But you can thank the Millers for that. They were more a family to me than I had had for a decade - even if it was only for a few months. Now you have an idea who I am and where I am from. This was my home before the Millers. No, I don’t expect you to talk about stuff - not for a long time. I had counsellors, shrinks. That happens when you kill people - even in self defense.

“Shall we go and see the Garden? This place is depressing. You are going to love this stuff though. Feel free to grab and eat.”