bravery

a drink called pony jar


with coconut rum, heavy whipping cream, and a dash of strawberry syrup, blueberry syrup, and lemon syrup

[!] Notices would be passed around by Vivian's hand, tears falling down her face.

Eoghan Balder O'Cathain is dead.

As of the 21st of the Amber Cold, Eoghan Balder O'Cathain has passed.
After a month of grieving, I, Vivian Maelstorm-O'Cathain believe that it is only proper to hold a wake for him, in our home city of Talon's Port.

If you cannot make it, do know that you will be missed, but we understand that you are unable to arrive.

There will be no casket, nor will there be any burial, as Eoghan requested a cremation, and for me to hold his ashes until the end of my time. But there will be a chance for his loved ones to say one final goodbye to him.

Please, feel free to wear anything, so long as it is not red.

Thank you.

A loud scream could be heard echoing throughout Talon's Port, as Vivian Maelstorm-O'Cathain would receive notice of her husband's suicide.
"Gods, I fucked up, I fucked up so badly..."

While I doubt a good amount of people on this site know me, I figure I should make this post for the ones who do know me, and actually enjoy my presence.
 

At this time, I will be taking my leave from the server due to a number of high-stress reasons, and until I know there's been a change made, a genuine change, I won't be returning.

This server has been a good source of my happiness the past few months, but it's also been a good source of immense stress, with being stalked, harassed, sent threats, blatantly ignored by staff members when reporting users, dealing with pedophiles (we all know Internal...), dealing with "friends" who don't give a single damn about my mental health, the whole Settlement Issue™... I just need to leave, but not so quietly as to not say anything to my friends.

As I'm sure a good few of you will miss Vivian Maelstorm-O'Cathain, a good lot of you won't even know who she was. And that's okay.
Vivian was a jeweler and smith who lived in Talon's Grotto, going from the name Evelyn, to Eibhlin af Orvar, to Vivian Maelstorm, to Vivian Maelstorm-O'Cathain, being happily married with three kids.

But it's time to shelf her, Solana Ashdown, and Lysithea von Ordelia, and scrap the ideas I had for writing lore.

But now, it's onto the juicy bits of info that people really care about.

I'm sure we all know [REDACTED FOR AVOIDANCE OF MY GOODBYE POST BEING DELETED] whatever username she decides to use today.

And I'm sure we all know about her moderation application, her half-assed apology, and how she's driven numerous users off this server, how she's harassed users, gaslit people, and hurt others.

But I'm sure that VERY FEW of you know some of the things she's done that went way overboard. Like telling a stalker somebody's new, private discord, where the stalker and victim had no servers in common. Where she egged on the harassment of a victim of (yes, real life) sexual assault. Where she claimed to be said victim's best friend, and then began to date the victim's sexual assailant. Where she claimed to care about the victim's feelings, then told the victim it was their fault for being sexually assaulted and that their assailant was depressed because of the victim not wanting to be around them. Where she then proceeded to gaslight said victim by saying that she "never" said that, and that the victim knew nothing. That the victim was lying. Was framing said assailant. Was making up stories about said assailant despite the victim bringing very obvious proof into show. Then, attempting to befriend said victim after she and the assailant broke up, and then saying that the victim had no idea what the assailant was like, and how the victim didn't know what it was like to be used, and abused, by said assailant.

And I'm sure that very, very few of you know very little of how she nearly drove this member to suicide by harassing them, by telling their stalkers the victim's new discord, where the stalker brought up the member's problems with mental health, mocked said mental health problems, mocked self harm, accused the member of lying, and called the member a crazy [WORD THAT SHOULD NOT BE USED ON THIS SITE]. 

I'm sure very few of you also know that said member reported these users numerous times, but due to the bias that some staff members have regarding these two people, they've been allowed to stay. Even despite proof, despite screencaps, despite calling, despite begging for the staff to do something.

But that's okay. You all know now. 
I'm not accusing current staff of anything regarding these situations. It was a staff member who was recently let go who refused to do anything, and I understand that is not the current head-admin's fault. I'm not mad at the current admins or mods. In fact, the current mods have done their best regarding private reports lately, and I'm glad to know a few of them take these reports seriously. It's nice to know that people care.

Though I wonder if you know about said sexual assailant? He's been banned permanently, thankfully! Though a lot of people, including [REDACTED] will say that it was a shitty thing of the victim to do, to report him with evidence of him admitting his sexual assault, with evidence of the restraining order said victim had to get against him, with telling his former best friend about his assault...

And I wonder if some of the users know about a pedophile [REDACTED FOR EXPLICIT MATERIAL] But he's banned! I think. I hope. Last I heard, he got a three month ban.

I understand I'm being petty, but it is a goodbye post, of course I'm going to be slightly salty about the things I've endured on this server, whether by the fault of staff, members, or other.

I'm sorry for leaving my friends. But you all have my discord if you need me.

I might be back, I do love the community I've gotten to know. But I'm not sure.

Hold on, let me just compile this situation up together really quick.


Last map, during the last 2/3 months, we had great activity in Talon's, getting nearly as much as Sutica at some points.

We had a solid 2.5% to 4% for weeks. Hell, we literally hit 5% activity one week!
We built, we had events, we had NEW PEOPLE JOIN THE SERVER that we invited. We've been doing our best to help the server and I've spent money to work on a build server.
We were told that due to our good activity status, we would be getting another placement for Almaris back in September.
We were stoked. We purchased the build server and we got to cracking. We didn't know what we would get, so we did a flat world. We sunk in hours, upon days, upon weeks into working on our build server. We knew we didn't get the same treatment that nations would get, but we were happy nonetheless. We didn't want the same treatment as nations. We were just happy to be respected. To be known.
We finally got to see what we would work with 3 weeks ago. And god, the first week was agonizing for every settlement. Lairs got prebuilds, technically, but not settlements. Lairs were build because they were parts of nations. They were accepted.
Settlements were not. We had to grind and grind to get the materials we wanted until the wonderful Flemish wrote his post defending non-nation charters. Flemish wanted the same thing for us that we were initially promised. And you know what? I commend this mofo for actually stepping up and helping to defend us.

We got accepted, and so I was able to world-download and set everything up on the world server that I paid for out of pocket, which is more than most nations can say at this point. We spend these past two weeks making sure everything looked perfect, making sure not to include any barrels, chests, furnaces, or anything that can hold items that would be cheating in things we shouldn't have. We spent hours working together in calls, changing things, making everything perfect, with most of our builders having work, finals, Christmas planning, and everything else... And we finish it! We finally get it all finished, with eight days to spare until activity checks begin!



Only to be told, on the day we wish to have it pasted in, despite having given WT ample time to tell us yes or no to getting it pasted in, to getting it worked on and finished and set up... That we don't get the build we spent literal months excited over, sharing screencaps of, working on.

We don't care that we don't get a 300x300 space, we don't care that we're not nations, we don't want that right now.
We want what we were promised, what we had sunk in constant work for. It's stressful to have to go to a nation where people will openly doxx each other or send death threats and suicide baiting comments to others just for some roleplay.

1 minute ago, Werew0lf said:

Oh my god. Settlements don’t have the same perks as nations!

 

why hasn’t the newly made admin of one day fixed everything?!?!???

 

lae abused pex, he went behind peoples back with false promises, and now ur crying that you aren’t getting them?

 

He didn't paste anything in. At all.

1 minute ago, Chryasor said:

So let me get this right.

We're given permission to do all this by mutliple staff, work for ******* weeks, finally get our ****, and now they're going back to it after our communities finally built up trust.

 

I'm ******* HOPING this is them trying to kill the playerbase because this server genuinely doesn't deserve to stay afloat if this is how they treat their players.

Laeonathan is one of the ONLY staff members to show even the slighest amount of support for the smaller playerbases, he's genuinely a great staff member and player, I've praised him in Vaelya's VC for the last week before i took a break from the server when i thought all this was finally settled.

 

 

If staff is going to roll back our cities, destroy our playerbases, at least finish the ******* MAP so we can gather resources to rebuild first. give us tents, something to house our players in. Do the absolute bare ******* minimum to take care of your playerbase instead of playing rainbow six : siege in staff chat while the server ******* burns. I understand the apathy from higher levels of staff, but this level of utter disregard for the servers players is nothing short of a spit in the face of the people who dedicate  the most time trying to work on this piece of **** server.

It's telling that Laeonathan is removed, we all know most high-up staff are more concerned with their petty wannabe game of thrones politics than actually doing what they're in their positions to do, but that man volunteered days on end to work for the players, something I have been unable to say about any other staff  member for as long as I can remember being on this server. Probably one of the best among them, and it is utterly disgusting for the world team to have the gall to remove him for doing things he was given permission for. Nothing short of a stab in the back for your best member.

Oh keep in mind. Lae got kicked off from what I heard. Due to some absolute bullshit.
:)

3 minutes ago, neoroseo said:

To put it simply, I just, cannot. I don't understand this at all, and find it so stupid. Might as well just say 'hey, go f*ck yourselves you don't get a settlement'

Don't give them any more ideas, they'll do it! They 100% will just say "Nope no more settlements just nations that we hold incredible bias towards!" They've already broken their promises! They'll **** us all over even more!

Completely agreed.

We not only spent the past two weeks working on this stuff, planning things out, setting our ideas up for our communities to agree on and vote on, but MONTHS. I personally sunk in over $40 on a build server so we could practice building for the new Talon's Port, and we all spent 30+ hours a ******* week for THREE MONTHS, only to be told "Teehee no. We're gonna downsize you!"

Staff, this is absolutely atrocious and you're setting a horrid example of how a community is supposed to work.
You've been giving us **** from day one despite how hard all of us, all of our settlements, have been working.
The more you **** on us, the more likely people are willing to leave, rate the server badly, god knows what else.


Be better. This is disappointing, revolting, and just overall completely ridiculous.

There's absolutely no reason to flex your Godly Powers on us and just cut us out.

Bepto, you may be apologizing, but you've apologized before, and your behavior has never improved.

I'm unsure of if your apology will result in action, and I don't mean to sound rude, but with your past, I don't believe it will get really anywhere.


And not to mention, you never genuinely apologized to one person you truly screwed over, nor the people whom you've run off the server.
You and numerous people harassed me, sent me threats, sent me accusations of false claims, accused me of framing somebody, you even told me that I was lying to you despite the clear screenshots I sent you. You claimed to be my "best friend," however you did not care at all for my emotions, my fear, my history, and instead relayed my secrets and my accounts to people who were already stalking me and harassing me- People I sought to avoid. They had no way of contacting me. You lied, you hurt me, and you caused me to nearly leave the server completely after the situation that occurred.

And, honestly, after the show you put on for the month after the situation "cooled down," I wouldn't believe an apology nor would I accept it, as you proved that you never truly wanted to make up. I found out from others that you had been snaking, lying, and telling friends I lied about things that you and I both know are not untrue.


I wish you luck in your growth as a person, Bepto. I cannot tell you what to do or how to live your life, but I can at least hope you learn and live and grow.

We actually already have a majority of our Talon's plans set up, all we need is a way to actually IMPLEMENT THE BUILDS but we can't really do that while we have literally no materials and we have to grind day in day out. It's ridiculous and stressful and we're going to lose our activity because we can't get any rp done while we have no materials to make our homes. It's as if the server teams want to screw over the settlements and charters but don't want to say anything.

Okay, so my piece on this new economy system will comprise of numerous different points, that likely have already been brought up but this is literally 5 pages long and I don't want to lose my train of thought, so bear with me here. Color ranged from highest priority concerns, to mid priority concerns, to lowest priority concerns.

• The whole issue with banks being nation-locked is truly unfair to settlements that do not wish to reside under nations. It takes away their ability to be able to hold roleplay with purchasing items, selling items, etc, and would make that kind of RP die out. Many people don't wish to keep an excess of mina on them in the event of pugsies or being bandited. Not to mention my next point:
• A ******* FIVE HUNDRED MINA CAP on what you can keep in your bank, without paying a fee? This is going to make people NOT want to pay their nation/settlement taxes even more than they already complain about doing. It's harmful to nations and settlements, especially settlements that are still attempting to grow, as these areas require more mina to continue growing and allowing for more housing, better tile developments, etc. Not to mention, SETTLEMENT TREASURIES were not included on the exemption list- only nation treasuries. It feels as if the world team is PURPOSELY trying to make anyone who plays in a settlement want to either quit or be forced to move to a nation so that they actually feel lumped into something. Settlement treasuries are just as necessary as nation treasuries, you cannot change my mind on this.
• The new system with mina is going to **** over everyone and anyone who makes skins. Are you going to make people resort to RMT? Or are you going to make them lower the prices of several hours worth of work? And what about those who donate skins to the server in order to gain mina? Is that system going away as well? The cap will ruin the idea of making skins for people unless for RMT, which inevitably brings losses to the server revenue, as less players will want to join unless they have a premade or donated skin, less players will want to spend their money on server ranks, and more artists will inevitably be scammed.
• Another issue regarding the nation exemption from taxes, but how are you supposed to know that users who are nation treasurers won't abuse the treasury exemption? Put their own funds into the treasury to avoid the taxation and keep track of what money they put into it compared to what money the rest of the nation civilians are paying so that they can continue to hoard their loads of money while the economy gets even more fucked than what you're hoping to keep it at.
• And where is the tax going, anyway? CT? Why does the Cloud Temple require mina? Shouldn't it be running on magick to keep it up and keep it safe? It's not going to help the mina just go back into circulation, because people are going to ask the same thing I am- Why is CT getting the mina if it's a literal godsent safehaven without any damage or government? The mina would be better going to working on making sure settlements, lairs, nations, and others aren't going to be landscars, allowing the users to clean things up easily and fix things around them.
• With the new economy ideals, what would happen if five players with five hundred mina each all up and left the server permanently? What would be done in that case, regarding the 2500 mina loss?
• And from the perspective of a friend, who plays amongst the Orcs race: 

  Quote

  I don't have terribly much to add about the mina system but I will say, since one of my characters is an orc, that the system in place requires taxation of citizens that some player bases are neither large enough or willing to do, and so, in the instance of the Orcs, a whole race with very rich lore on the server will be essentially shoved to the back burner to do nomadic raiding tribes RP, which will make new players less likely to interact with orcs, and make the orc community dwindle even further as a result.

  They make a very, VERY valid point when you bring in the fact that the LOTC player base already has a low chance of wanting to interact with the Orc tribes due to the banditing that had occurred numerous times, or because they hear negative things about them-- not to mention, very few people already want to play orcs. This would cause a very lore-rich race die out.

Vivian would look about, waiting to see where Talo had gone, as she hadn't seen him since she ran into him in the alley on her way back to the ship with Eoghan, Lilith and Seteth. When she couldn't find him, she frowned. "I hope he made it out of the Grotto safely..."

Reds n Roses
$7

[!] Vivian would smile. "And here we are, my other brother becoming the sovereign," she remarked, Lilith and Seteth running around her legs.

what pokemon am i

3 minutes ago, D3F4LT said:

Why

Because people need dates

[!] Posters have been pasted all over Arcas, detailing yet another speed dating event in Talon’s Grotto.

Talon’s Grotto Speed Dating Event

[!] An illustration of 3 cartoonish hearts would be drawn onto the poster.

If you’re looking for love, come on down to Talon’s Grotto’s own restaurant, the Bird Cage Bar and Grill. We’ll help you find that love you’ve been craving forever.

((Will be on October 20^th, 2020, at around 4pm EST))
 

[!] An illustration of the directions to Talon’s Grotto would be down here.

To get to Talon’s Grotto, begin to make your way towards Sutica and keep going until you get to the Ferry. Then, take the ferry to the Queen’s Isle, and follow the path that leads to the left, and you’re here!

[!] Numerous missing posters have been hung on noticeboards all over Arcas.

Each word would have been scribbled feverishly, obviously made in distress and copied over to new sheets.

MISSING: DANA MAELSTORM

Date of Birth: 14th of Malin's Welcome, 1771

Age: 16

Home City: Talon’s Grotto
Hair: Blonde

Eyes: Blue

Last known height: 4’7

Last known weight: 75lb

Dana has been missing for almost a year now. If you have any leads, please send a bird to either her stepfather, Eoghan O’Cathain (SemiProParrot99), or her mother, Vivian Maelstorm-O’Cathain (Mitamas).

REWARD: 2500 MINA

[!] Flyers have been posted all over Arcas, handed out to all persons who would take them.

Talon’s Grotto reaches a full Saint’s year since it’s birth!

Come all to the festival of the Saint’s year anniversary of the Grotto!

[!] There would be advertisements of food, games, homes, and major festivities.

We’ve got darts, we’ve got drinks, we’ve got foods, we’ve got spars, and we’ve got fun!

Stop by the Grotto to celebrate our anniversary!

You won’t regret it!

[!] An illustration of festivities is shown below.

((OOC: Hey! Talon’s Grotto has been around for a full year now! We’d love for everyone to stop by and check us out, have some fun with us, and do some RP! It takes place on Sunday, September 20th, 2020, at 6pm EDT! That’d be 3pm PDT, 4pm MDT, 5pm CDT, 11pm BST))

[!] Directions to Talon’s Grotto are posted below.

To get to Talon’s Grotto, begin to make your way towards Sutica and keep going until you get to the Ferry. Then, take the ferry to the Queen’s Isle, and follow the path that leads to the left, and you’re here!

BUMP! Still looking!

EDIT: Eliott has been taken! Still looking for someone to play Corrin and Dana!


Hey there! I’ve been looking for a while and I have literally no luck... I’m looking for people who are willing to play three kids for me.
My oldest, Corrin, should now be about 18. Middle, Dana, would now be 14. And youngest, Eliott, would be 10 soon.
I’ve got all three skins ready if anyone is interested- I’d like y’all to be active players if at all possible.

Eliott                                                    Dana                                          Corrin

[!] Vivian grins as she pastes even more flyers over all the doors in the Grotto, and even some at Cloud Temple! Eventually, as the flyers get all around Arcas, more and more people read them.

”I can’t wait for this,” she murmurs, pulling out some more flyers and notices.

[!!] A Wedding is taking place in Talon’s Grotto! [!!]

Anyone who is interested is welcome to attend, as there will be drinks, food, games, dancing, and even consensual fighting afterwards in a tavern party located at the Alley Alehouse!

We all could use some lifted spirits in this time of crisis, and we shouldn’t allow this to stop us from living our lives to the fullest!

So come one, come all, to the wedding of Vivian Maelstorm, previously known as Eibhlin af Orvar or Evelyn Wardsen, and Eoghan Balder O’Cathain!

To celebrating new lives together and a fresh start for all who require one!

((Date: August 27^th, 2020, at about 4pm EST))

 [!]A map detailing how to get to Talon’s Grotto is drawn below!
 

((IF UNABLE TO SEE MAP: GO FROM CT TOWARDS SUTICA. PASS SUTICA AND GO TO THE FERRY THAT PREVIOUSLY TOOK PEOPLE TO KORVASSA, AND GO TO THE QUEENS ISLE. THEN, MAKE YOUR WAY TOWARDS THE GROTTO.))

I love you Neo, I hope you’re okay. I’m always here for you and Talon’s Grotto welcomes you at any point in time. ❤️

[!] Fliers are posted all across Arcas, in taverns and on any wall posts that will have them.

Come one and all to Talon’s Grotto!

We’ve food and games, crossdressing, festivities and more!

We are coming together to embrace the happiness of numerous situations that have occurred within the last year of Arcas!
The council honors the happiness and loveliness of their own Vivian Maelstorm becoming engaged to Eoghan O’Cathain, and the birth of their newborn son Eliott O’Cathain!

The settlement of Talon’s Grotto also celebrates the homebringing of Tali’ah!

((Sunday, August 9^th of 2020, at 4pm EST))

[!] Below this holds directions to Talon’s Grotto!