Current
As Spring grows, so too does the itch to dream, to imagine, and to create.
6 yrs ago
It's Christmas time! Put up the lights, and hold up your light! #LightTheWorld
7 yrs ago
And it's impossible to edit a status. Wonderful. I meant to say my hard drive is down; I'm working out of a flash drive now.
7 yrs ago
Whoops. That's one flash drive destroyed. Kids, take good care of your toys! For those concerned, thank you! I don't have any storage, but I do have access to a browser; roleplaying continues!
7 yrs ago
Driving on my lunch break when a random kid on the sidewalk yells, "It's the internet man! Hi internet man!" Spend the rest of Monday feeling like a champ.
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Bio
*Picks up the profile* *Looks at it oddly, as though it vaguely reminds him of something he read once* *Blows off a mountain of dust*
Ah! That's what this is! It's my old role-player guild account!
Hello, folks, from a friend new and old. Old in that I spent many happy hours fictating way back in Old-Guild before Lost Christmas, and then I spent some time in New-Guild during its beginning development; new in that I've been gone for two years, so a lot of the "faces" I was familiar with back then don't seem to be haunting the place these days. Whether you've known me before or not, I extend to you a hearty greeting and a virtual feast. If you'd like a name shorter than the full one, please call me Taro. I'm rather comfortable with that one.
Well, you didn't come here just to hear about my history. You're probably looking to see what kind of a role-player I am. Truthfully, I'm not totally certain right now; two years without practice does bring on a multitude of changes. Then again, even in those two years I've kept the creative spark fed and fanned, in isolation though it may have been, and I can tell you this much with great certainty: I like light-hearted laughter, soul-searching questions, and that precipice of commitment. My favorite settings would be: High Fantasy Modern Fantasy Science Fiction (new worlds, a newer Earth, even just in the immensity of space) I consider it a given that, where boys and girls coexist in a story, Romance will blossom. Horror I have a very weak stomach for. (I read the basic instructions for Betrayal at House on the Hill and had to consciously tell myself that night that everything was fine and I would sleep safely. I didn't even play a game; I only read the instructions!) I stay away from graphic violence, sexual depictions of any nature, and profanities. I'm very much a PG-rated writer; I plan on sharing everything I write as bedtime stories with my kids someday.
I play a convincing dude (I'm sure you never would have guessed that), but a vast majority of my favorite characters are female. So if you have romance in mind, I'm happy to play either party. If you don't want a romance, you will probably have to tell me that plainly. Then I'll just go with what feels right for the story, subject to a few personal whims which I hope will only bolster the plot and development.
I'm very picky as far as my own ideas go. I'll try just about everything I can think of to break the idea in order to insure there are no gaping plot holes. I invite everyone else to examine my ideas in a similar light--different people, different thought processes, different problems discovered--and to offer any compliments or constructive criticisms you have. As part of that, I absolutely love pushing the boundary of an idea as far as it will stretch, or looking for that odd, "I never thought of using it like that" approach to a character's abilities.
What else would I say with this space? I really like old poetry; reading Isaiah gives me the happy trembles. I hope I've presented a fair assessment of my writing style and capabilities through this brief introduction. I love creating--creating characters and bringing them to life from the page; creating worlds filled with fascinating lore and beautiful locales; creating stories, be they narrations of ordinary men and women facing their trials or epics of fated heroes overcoming every obstacle to save Dwarf-kind.
And, in closing, I'm excited for the chance to work with you. I should be able to post daily. PM me anytime, especially if you have a question about anything I've said here or elsewhere, but even if you only want to chat. You could even ask me about my mysterious two-year absence. I'll tell you now that I was in California, but that doesn't really answer the question. I'm happy to talk anytime.
Sweet water and light laughter until next we meet! -Taro
Grace's body tensed. She couldn't stop it; the kiss took her completely by surprise. When Lily broke off and curled up against her, Grace wrapped her arms tightly over her shoulders--to keep her close, yes, but with enough strength to prevent her from moving up again. She needed time to process what had just happened. But there wasn't any time. Lily was right there, now, and undoubtedly waiting for something. Acceptance. Rejection. Something.
"Um...We should at least go eat dinner, though," she stuttered. She avoided. "It's still half-finished and on the stove. And food is good! Food... definitely helps..." Grace loosened her grip and pulled her head and chest back so she could try to make eye contact with Lily, offering her the best smile she could, praying desperately it didn't look weird.
"Oh, love." There wasn't much more Grace could say. She just held her friend close. "She just doesn't understand. Lily is my Lily." Grace wished she could fix this, or have prevented it somehow. Lily had come to her--right in the center of the Bible belt--and that meant Grace was responsible for taking care of her in this city that was less than friendly to someone of Lily's status.
"Come on; we'll finish a good meal together, then have a party night. Movie and ice cream, or music and a dance party. Your choice."
"No, no, you've done nothing wrong," Grace cooed gently. She held her friend close, as though she feared Lily might disappear if she let go. Minutes ticked by as they stood there, Lily sobbing quietly, Grace trying to soothe her. Only when Lily had regained some control of her tear ducts did Grace try to learn anything more. "You know I love you; I always will. So go ahead and let it out. I'll listen to the whole story, and you know I'm on your side."
"Thanks! If Lily says so, it must be true!" Grace answered happily. Lily always did know what to say to maintain her ego; without such a kind roommate, she wouldn't have half the confidence in her work she did.
That was why it stung all the more when she finally realized Lily was crying. As the small girl darted back to her room, Grace couldn't do more than watch. Reflecting on the conversation over the evening, she mentally berated herself for not realizing sooner how depressed Lily had been feeling. Cutting all the heat and tossing on a lid to keep the half-cooked meal, Grace shed the apron and darted after her roommate.
"Lily!" she called outside the door. Carefully she tapped on the wooden barrier her friend had closed between them. "Please, please let me in. I'm sorry I was being insensitive, I should have realized something was-" she called. Tears began welling up in her eyes, too.
Alisea gave the stranger a nod, acknowledging his contribution. "Thank you, for coming and for offering your opinion. It helps to have a less... impassioned analysis of the situation." Alisea took another deep breath, organizing her thoughts and the thoughts everyone else had expressed.
"First issue: them leveling faster than us. You all know as well as I that we have been lax in our efforts to grow quickly. We favored ease to avoid mental fatigue or trauma. If we intend to out-level Valentine's group, we will gather several days' worth of supplies and camp out at a Dungeon--or better, inside a Dungeon as Valentine is probably doing, as that eliminates the risk of ambush by other players. We will spend as much time as we can going through it, again and again, until our health and mana are unable to support another run-through. Then we rest for the night to replenish mana, heal up, and begin again. Doing this, we may not grow past them; but as long as we can quickly reach level 15, we can subclass. That alone will do a lot to increase our chances of survival."
"Second issue: information. As Dubstepp said, we know next to nothing about them and their abilities. Valentine is a Lancer, subclass Reaper. The other three could be anything. If we give it some time, information about Valentine's associates will be discovered. People who saw them buying skills or equipment; players who witnessed them in battles; maybe even the NPCs they interacted with--if we offer to buy information, any of these sources may step forward. Again, though, that will take time."
"Third issue: capturing them. As River has made clear, we lack any real means to catch criminals. If we go after them right away, it will become a fight to the death--unless you think they will willingly surrender. Even if we did catch them, we have no way to hold them. The city has the means, but that would require NPCs acknowledging them as criminals, and neither you nor I can guarantee that. Without equipment, facilities, or authority, what can we do?" Alisea paused to let that question hang in the air for a heavy moment. Then: "Someone who might be able to hold them, though...is Aramo."
The man leading the establishment of old-world principles. Even just the name should prove a reminder of the five rules he had declared yestermorn. If it did come down to killing, their guild would have to bear the consequences now that someone was establishing law. On the other hand, if they sought out and received his cooperation, they would have greater forces and legal support. But that, too, might not happen for ten days--the day they would gather and likely establish the guidelines for policing among the players.
Koph stared at him, surprise written all over her face. She blinked. Twice. Then a bright smile flooded her face. "Sure!" she replied at last. With that simple summation, the Amazoness turned to continue their descent into the Dungeon. "Third floor passage is right through here. So you don't hear the Song? Ah, it's not weird, just so you know," she added quickly. She didn't want to make him feel belittled. "Even in my tribe, Ma Yena was the only one. Easier to say I'm the weird one!" she finished with a bright laugh.
The room was oppressively quiet. Tension filled the room, weighing on all the gathered players. When everyone had sunk into a seat, Alisea rose from her chair beside Reylan. "Ahem. I should be direct. This is about Karma's murder, and the murderers behind it. We will be going after them, but carefully and in a way that gives them no opportunity to escape.”
Alisea paused to glance around at everyone’s faces, gauging their reactions. A few of the newer faces seemed indifferent; some of the others wore expressions darker than night. “Valentine was the one who made contact with us, but he has three friends. All of them are close to or above level 15. I doubt I have to explain what would happen if one of you tried to go after him alone.” Here Alisea looked at each member, but her gaze lingered a touch longer--and her glare grew more intense--on Shiba.
“As fortune would have it, they were last seen fleeing to the Ravine. We were already planning on traveling that direction to challenge the Dungeon. However, now… We need everyone’s thoughts. As I said, they are four level 15 players. None of us have broken level 10. Reylan and I spoke briefly on this, and if possible we would like everyone to subclass before we confront them so we can fight on more equal footing. This would mean postponing the hunt, my guess being for three days, in favor of intense grinding in a Dungeon. The other option is to gather everyone and march to the Ravine, then try to bring them down through sheer numbers. Finding them will be difficult, and their chances for laying an ambush are high; and even if we meet on level ground, they are all stronger. As I see it, half of us would die.”
Alisea looked around once more. She wanted her words to have a powerful effect. She wouldn’t accept any hot-headed, spur-of-the-moment ideas of vengeance. They weren’t going to rush in unprepared and shouting for justice--and risk Valentine escaping after he killed a few more of them. When they took revenge, they would do so with a guarantee of success. “Those are our thoughts. What are yours?”
The Amazoness studied Voltaire's face, hesitating. Finally a small, tired smile flitted over her lips. "Okay," she mumbled, giving herself a small nod for encouragement. "I speak of the Song. It's... Do you...? No, that's..." Over and over again Koph stumbled across her words. This was definitely the most flustered Voltaire had seen the energetic Amazoness.
"Here," she said at last. She reached out with both her arms and grabbed Voltaire's hand, gently pressing it into his chest. "Do you feel that beat? Your heart; sometimes slower, sometimes faster. Mine, too," she added, grabbing onto his other hand to press it to her own heart. "They beat together, or separate, or different, or the same. Then when you begin to move, and to choose, and to act, you start making a melody. Or a harmony. Or a counter-melody. And everyone does, so there's always a lot of noise."
Koph took her hands away, letting Voltaire's hands be free once more. "The Land has a heart, too, and a voice, and a Song. That's the Song. Her Song." Koph stared at Voltaire intently, anxious for what kind of reaction he would have to her words.
"I left because I am of age." The goblins were hesitant to approach again. Koph smiled and bounced up and down on her toes, her heels tapping a regular rhythm into the floor. "I didn't have an intended, so they sent me out to search. To search and to grow." With a glance back at her partner, Koph grinned and leaped forward into the goblins. Her spear darted about rapidly, weaving through the air and the warding arms that tried desperately to stop it. With the initiative taken from them, the remaining goblins didn't last long.
"Why Orario, though? Because of Agni, I say. Bards sing of his familia, all travelers have stories to share, even the tribes exchange legends of the great adventurers. The rhythm their tales carry is compelling--like a powerful river that draws you, pulls you along. I knew I would be an adventurer; that was the only melody I could hear."
Koph scooped up the magic stones near her. A small pouch appeared from somewhere beneath her skirts, into which she deposited them. Then she turned and held the pouch open for Voltaire. "I'm glad, too. To be here, inside the Dungeon. There are all kinds of noise outside among the city, but here I always find the flow natural. It's serene. Peaceful."
"That's a bad way to grow a city. You'll never get anywhere." Koph stood alongside Voltaire, her speartip daring any goblin to step closer. "If the tribe acted like that, our strongest warriors would eat heartily and the mothers with infants would starve. But (switch me sides) maybe that's what familia are. City tribes." Koph dropped back a step and let Voltaire take point as the goblins made their rush. She spun around his back, moving both hands to the bottom of her spear as she did, and came out the other side with a powerful swing just as the goblins were jumping forward. It's shaft smashed into the first with tremendous force, and the momentum carried it into the second as well. Both creatures were thrown sideways, passing right in front of the leader goblin and barreling into another of his cronies. The one disappeared in a burst of ash; the other two fell against the wall and lay still for the time being.
"So maybe this is more like the time our tribe gathered with three others to slay the Spotted Wyvern killing all the animals," she continued. Another goblin had been close behind the first two, but in the moment it hesitated it found the Amazoness's foot greeting its face with violent intimacy. "It didn't even eat half of them; the beast just wanted blood. It was an ugly thing. Places where it had been, the rhythm was all skewed. Unnatural."
*Picks up the profile*
*Looks at it oddly, as though it vaguely reminds him of something he read once*
*Blows off a mountain of dust*
Ah! That's what this is! It's my old role-player guild account!
Hello, folks, from a friend new and old. Old in that I spent many happy hours fictating way back in Old-Guild before Lost Christmas, and then I spent some time in New-Guild during its beginning development; new in that I've been gone for two years, so a lot of the "faces" I was familiar with back then don't seem to be haunting the place these days. Whether you've known me before or not, I extend to you a hearty greeting and a virtual feast. If you'd like a name shorter than the full one, please call me Taro. I'm rather comfortable with that one.
Well, you didn't come here just to hear about my history. You're probably looking to see what kind of a role-player I am. Truthfully, I'm not totally certain right now; two years without practice does bring on a multitude of changes. Then again, even in those two years I've kept the creative spark fed and fanned, in isolation though it may have been, and I can tell you this much with great certainty:
I like light-hearted laughter, soul-searching questions, and that precipice of commitment.
My favorite settings would be:
High Fantasy
Modern Fantasy
Science Fiction (new worlds, a newer Earth, even just in the immensity of space)
I consider it a given that, where boys and girls coexist in a story, Romance will blossom.
Horror I have a very weak stomach for. (I read the basic instructions for Betrayal at House on the Hill and had to consciously tell myself that night that everything was fine and I would sleep safely. I didn't even play a game; I only read the instructions!)
I stay away from graphic violence, sexual depictions of any nature, and profanities. I'm very much a PG-rated writer; I plan on sharing everything I write as bedtime stories with my kids someday.
I play a convincing dude (I'm sure you never would have guessed that), but a vast majority of my favorite characters are female. So if you have romance in mind, I'm happy to play either party. If you don't want a romance, you will probably have to tell me that plainly. Then I'll just go with what feels right for the story, subject to a few personal whims which I hope will only bolster the plot and development.
I'm very picky as far as my own ideas go. I'll try just about everything I can think of to break the idea in order to insure there are no gaping plot holes. I invite everyone else to examine my ideas in a similar light--different people, different thought processes, different problems discovered--and to offer any compliments or constructive criticisms you have. As part of that, I absolutely love pushing the boundary of an idea as far as it will stretch, or looking for that odd, "I never thought of using it like that" approach to a character's abilities.
What else would I say with this space? I really like old poetry; reading Isaiah gives me the happy trembles. I hope I've presented a fair assessment of my writing style and capabilities through this brief introduction. I love creating--creating characters and bringing them to life from the page; creating worlds filled with fascinating lore and beautiful locales; creating stories, be they narrations of ordinary men and women facing their trials or epics of fated heroes overcoming every obstacle to save Dwarf-kind.
And, in closing, I'm excited for the chance to work with you. I should be able to post daily. PM me anytime, especially if you have a question about anything I've said here or elsewhere, but even if you only want to chat. You could even ask me about my mysterious two-year absence. I'll tell you now that I was in California, but that doesn't really answer the question. I'm happy to talk anytime.
Sweet water and light laughter until next we meet!
-Taro
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">*Picks up the profile*<br>*Looks at it oddly, as though it vaguely reminds him of something he read once*<br>*Blows off a mountain of dust*<br><br>Ah! That's what this is! It's my old role-player guild account!<br><br>Hello, folks, from a friend new and old. Old in that I spent many happy hours fictating way back in Old-Guild before Lost Christmas, and then I spent some time in New-Guild during its beginning development; new in that I've been gone for two years, so a lot of the "faces" I was familiar with back then don't seem to be haunting the place these days. Whether you've known me before or not, I extend to you a hearty greeting and a virtual feast. If you'd like a name shorter than the full one, please call me Taro. I'm rather comfortable with that one.<br><br>Well, you didn't come here just to hear about my history. You're probably looking to see what kind of a role-player I am. Truthfully, I'm not totally certain right now; two years without practice does bring on a multitude of changes. Then again, even in those two years I've kept the creative spark fed and fanned, in isolation though it may have been, and I can tell you this much with great certainty:<br>I like light-hearted laughter, soul-searching questions, and that precipice of commitment.<br>My favorite settings would be:<br>High Fantasy<br>Modern Fantasy<br>Science Fiction (new worlds, a newer Earth, even just in the immensity of space)<br>I consider it a given that, where boys and girls coexist in a story, Romance will blossom.<br>Horror I have a very weak stomach for. (I read the basic instructions for Betrayal at House on the Hill and had to consciously tell myself that night that everything was fine and I would sleep safely. I didn't even play a game; I only read the instructions!)<br>I stay away from graphic violence, sexual depictions of any nature, and profanities. I'm very much a PG-rated writer; I plan on sharing everything I write as bedtime stories with my kids someday.<br><br>I play a convincing dude (I'm sure you never would have guessed that), but a vast majority of my favorite characters are female. So if you have romance in mind, I'm happy to play either party. If you don't want a romance, you will probably have to tell me that plainly. Then I'll just go with what feels right for the story, subject to a few personal whims which I hope will only bolster the plot and development.<br><br>I'm very picky as far as my own ideas go. I'll try just about everything I can think of to break the idea in order to insure there are no gaping plot holes. I invite everyone else to examine my ideas in a similar light--different people, different thought processes, different problems discovered--and to offer any compliments or constructive criticisms you have. As part of that, I absolutely love pushing the boundary of an idea as far as it will stretch, or looking for that odd, "I never thought of using it like that" approach to a character's abilities.<br><br>What else would I say with this space? I really like old poetry; reading Isaiah gives me the happy trembles. I hope I've presented a fair assessment of my writing style and capabilities through this brief introduction. I love creating--creating characters and bringing them to life from the page; creating worlds filled with fascinating lore and beautiful locales; creating stories, be they narrations of ordinary men and women facing their trials or epics of fated heroes overcoming every obstacle to save Dwarf-kind.<br><br>And, in closing, I'm excited for the chance to work with you. I should be able to post daily. PM me anytime, especially if you have a question about anything I've said here or elsewhere, but even if you only want to chat. You could even ask me about my mysterious two-year absence. I'll tell you now that I was in California, but that doesn't really answer the question. I'm happy to talk anytime.<br><br>Sweet water and light laughter until next we meet!<br>-Taro</div>
Member
