High_On_Math

I think you're onto something, but I think skinners need to be defended a bit here, as well has "pretty girl" rpers.

Searching girl on Planet Minecraft has some issues.  A lot of those skins are incredibly low quality; I'm sure most of them are being made by young kids who have just started skinning. This doesn't represent the skinning tendencies of LOTC.

For example, you're right that female skins typically have 2x2 eyes on /planet Minecraft/.  However, those skins *suck* and most female skins on LOTC have 1x2 eyes.

I agree, a lot of the skins made by 10 year olds (or teens and adults with the skills of a 10 year old) are "not very interesting visually".  However, I think that there are a lot of examples of skins with large eyes, long hair, and pretty clothes that /are/ incredibly interesting visually. I was quickly able to find an artist who makes skins fitting this description, lacuna.  (I'd recommend checking out their Planet Minecraft portfolio).

At a certain point, I don't think we need to be able to tell people's personalities, history, hopes, dreams, or goals from their clothes.  Most noble girls in Haense or Balian, realistically, would be wearing pretty dresses, regardless of their goals for world domination or free ponies for every citizen.  Part of the point of those skins is to convey a sense of historical realism.  We don't need half the noble population of Haense to look like emo vampires and cowgirls/boys.  That everyone looks mundane and generically noble adds to a sense of realism.

"They’re fine if you want to play a normal noblewoman, but what if you want to stand out? Play a really unique character full of fire and personality?"  Pretty noble women can be full of fire and personality.  

I think part of the tendency to make fun of scarred characters may have to do with the tendency of low-quality rpers to make characters originally with scars, or to randomly make up a non-rped event in their head so they can give their character a scar, or to blow crp injuries out of proportion so that they can get a cool scar.  Scars become a really cheap and uncreative way to "add personality".  That's not to say scars can't be cool /if/ they have a cool backstory.  But just adding scars "to make my character cooler" is cringe.

I think your personal stories do make a good point; how people rp with you will change depending on your character's appearance and, in the situations that you described, it seems more ooc motivated than irp.  The people beating up an old woman were probably engaging in low-quality or even meme rp.  The vast majority of characters would have no irp reason to engage in those violent shenanigans.  I'm not sure how to change this other than calling out low-quality rp when you see it.  If someone is acting like a 13 year old who just chugged 2 bottles of Red Bull and now has the attention span of a pug with Alzheimer's, and wants to LARP "funny" violence, then we need to call that out and possibly lump it under meme rp.  (I'm saying this because when I got my brother to play LOTC, all he did was shoot kids from the Orenian rooftops, sneak into the Orenian palace and murder kids, kick pregnant women, and get executed in stupid ways [one nation chopped off his limbs, and after they had cut off his arms, he started hopping around saying, 'tis but a flesh wound'].  Some players really do just want to rp silly violence.)
 

In my personal experience, I rped being an Orenian senator looking like this:

(tbf i was still trying to find a balance between skinning in my personal style and conforming to LOTC skin styles)

There were the occasional mean comments, but my character never got beaten up or mocked for her appearance by Orenian citizens.

Would radical Haelun'orian zealotry fall into the schizo category?

Personally, one of my goals is to become even more schizo each week that I'm on the server this summer.  I know you mentioned rping drug lords more . . . It's important to note that drugs can give you psychosis or (maybe) help trigger schizophrenia.  Perhaps we can become schizo drug lords together?

MC Name:

         TheBeagle

Character's Name:

         Luthriel

Character's Age:

         162

What feat(s) will you be learning?

         Tawkins alchemy

Teacher's MC Name:

         TheAmazingSewer

Teacher's RP Name:

         Madoc'Lur

Do you agree to keep Story updated on the status of your feat app?:

         yes

Have you applied for this feat on this character before, and had it denied? If so, link the app:

         no

Are you aware that if this feat is shelved, it will be unavailable to use?

         yes

Luthriel sighs, "We really need to be trying harder to retain our vassals and citizens.  This is becoming absurd."

[!]  A strange, deranged parchment makes its way into libraries around Aevos.  It lacks a name, a title, and everything save for the text between the illustrations.  

          The Survival of the Fittest is nature’s most fundamental law.  All progress is derived from it; it compels the wild creatures to be stronger, and it compels civilizations to be greater.  It mercilessly culls what is weak and rewards what is strong.

       For all of existence, sentient life has been bound by this law.  Because of this, reality is trapped in a never ending cycle of violence.  What was weak becomes strong, and what is strong is made weak in the face of new strengths.  And thus, even the strong will eventually fall victim to the cruelty of this world.

       Existence is filled with suffering, but it is also filled with beauty.  If only we could break from the cycle of evolution and find a new way to progress - one that prioritizes beauty and minimizes suffering.

The deities seem greater than us in every way, but they too are chained to this cycle.  Verily, they are chained even more than we are!  For they have fixed natures, and therefore can only progress their might and control.  We, however, possess flexible natures, and are capable of rebelling against our own vices.  Because of this, we alone possess the power to rebel against the cruelty that otherwise saturates nature.

       Individuals must first learn to forsake all desires save the desire for the greater good.  Yes, they must not be selfish, but they must also give up their reliance on families and tribes and cultures.  Dedication to one’s tribe leads to hatred against outsiders and irrational loyalty to insiders.  The cycle of violence in descendants is primarily not promulgated by individual selfishness, but by the desire to avenge a “victimized” group.  Read.  Listen.  Seldom are wars raged because “our nation is great and ought to control the world!”  Instead, a nation will produce a list of the crimes committed against them by an enemy as an excuse to war with them.  Citizens perceive their nations’ enemies not as merely weak, but as evil.

        Nonetheless, nations are crucial to the pursuit of progress.  Through the enforcement of laws, governments are able to prevent individuals from hurting each other for selfish gain, thus forcing citizens to form symbiotic relationships.  Governments are also capable of drastically influencing their citizen’s beliefs, and thus present a powerful mechanism by which faith in The Greater Good can be promoted.

        Ideally, a nation wishing to devote itself to The Cause will enforce strong laws against every sort of disadvantageous behavior, be it unauthorized meddling with darkspawn, physical violence, laziness, or harmful beliefs. The nation must not, however, use violence to enforce these laws.  The reason for this is twofold; if violence is normalized, the state will not exercise discretion in using it, and the state will inevitably cause more suffering than blessing.  Furthermore, violence leads to the people losing trust in their government, and it gives foreign nations fodder for negative propaganda.  Thus, a nation should prioritize utilizing the forces of peer pressure, propaganda, and religious fervor to reshape the public’s belief system.  Next, should an individual prove to be troublesome, drugging, verbal struggle sessions, Only when a citizen demonstrates that they are utterly uncontrollable should physical punishment, imprisonment, or execution be considered.  Though again, violence should not be made a spectacle lest the public become outraged or foreign nations start to judge.

        The reason why the state must be so aggressive in promoting The Cause is that, despite it being the only good cause, it is a deeply unpopular cause.  It seeks to upheave descendent nature.  Thousands of years of natural selection has led to our natures being deeply short-sighted.  We are most often selfish, caring only about the needs and wants of ourselves or our family and friends.  Many are less selfish, but still tribalistic, caring only about the victory and glory of their country or religion.  Even altruistic motives are flawed; we despise any amount of descendent sacrifice, even if it is required for long-term progress.  The long-term process of creating a utopia in the distant future is too tedious to capture the instinctual hearts of descendants; the state must play a role in keeping these brutish desires in check, and in inspiring citizens to pursue the highest goal.

        Once such a government has been established, it must ensure that its nations’ internal affairs remain as close to utopia as possible.  This will mean that the government does not merely focus on long-term goals, but that it also devotes a significant amount of energy towards strengthening its economy and military and increasing its population.  Once strong, the nation must set its eyes on expanding its power, though not through direct wars of conquest.  It should ally itself with other nations that are likely to go to war and win.  Then, in fighting for foreign causes, it can win for itself land or resources.  This allows the ideal nation to expand its borders without that expansion appearing as its only goal.  Should the nation find itself an actual enemy, economic, information, and population warfare should be considered before actual violence. 

       Eventually, we can hope that such a nation will provide a beacon of hope to reality.  It shall set aside all morals and tribes and desires for the Greater Good.  It shall be stalwart in its pursuit of eternal utopia, and it shall give those of us who long for a perfected world hope and peace. 

Quote

 

A spot of blood smeared the rocky wall of an elfess's room.

The Haense soldiers in the Haelun'or tavern.  Elves showing hospitality to those who defeated them.  Smiling, grateful they were allowed to leave the island alive.  
An elfess's nose had been bashed, twisted now to the side.

The Mori killing elves.  They were stronger.  Might makes right.  The survivors sailing away from their city in the night, grateful for life.

Her head pressed against the wall.

"Lucilia, it's happening again.  You failed to become strong.  You failed your family."

She leaned against the wall, alone in the room, and then sunk down silently.

"I'm trying."

Her last name.  Calith.  The surname of a maheral and sillumir.  She had wanted to grow, and to deserve that name.  Now, with the Maheral, her grand uncle, having resigned and left the city, and with her father who-knows-where, it seemed the surname had shriveled and decayed to fit her.

"Are they going to want to kill me, too?"

That smudge of blood on the wall.  She'd rammed against it in a fit of rage, leaving that mark.  How much more were the streets stained with the bloody rocks used to stone Braxus?  She should have listened to her grand uncle.  She should not have signed that petition.

"No.  I should have done what needed to be done sooner instead of being like this.  I shouldn't have waited for an impure to try to rescue Haelun'or.  I should have been good enough to go home sooner and fix it myself."

This hovel.  This blood on the wall.  These bottles on the floor.  These handwritten journals cataloguing the ancient peoples of Aevos who had also lost their homes.

These things were all hers.  Bloodshot eyes beheld them all and vowed to never lose them.

A high elfess took a joint out of her mouth, exhaling a puff of smoke as she put the joint out in a tankard of old beer.  She was alone in the tavern - an abandoned tavern that had never been used and probably never would be used by anyone but her.  The stench of sewer water embedded itself in her coat, "He said, 'where is our Maheral?' Don't insult my granduncle like that."  She slammed excrement-stained boots onto the tavern's counter.

"Where were you!? Where were you when people kept taking our home from us? Idiot."

She'd nonetheless pull her knotted locks back into something that could pass for a pony tail.  "Ne oem can save us from our impending doom.  I must spread the word."

GrubMomo thinks there might be a food shortage due to the Horde's political situation! She wants every orc to have good food. She wants the orcs to have fun klomps again! She wants free drugs for every orc! She wants to cook food for you! Send a letter to GrubMomo; she will cook you dinner! She will also be organizing klomps!  And grub parties in Sulianpoli!

My dad listens to dan carlin on long car rides. I used to listen to him too but he's too dramatic and it causes me to forget things and just listen to how cool his voice sounds.

Not super accurate cuz I mostly listen on YouTube

that's my youtube wrapped

mostly Rammstein with other stuff mixed in.

This will be good for herb gathering, but also medics.  It's not ideal since we can't carry salve items in the bag, but it's an improvement.  I don't remember all the herb updates, but there's like at least 7 herbs that could have a valid medical use and storing those in your normal inventory is a pain in the butt. 

10/10.  Frees up more space for olives, oil, salt, and bronze in my inventory.

Luthriel

Thanks for doing this!

i dont need an rp guide for this since i struggle every day with a very difficult addiction (lotc)

A half elfess placed another statue amongst the multitude of dolls.

"You've peaked my interest.  I'm sure we will not agree on everything, but I too hate the "gods" who cause damnation, and feel immense pity for the damned."

"You are weak, Luthriel  Because you are ready to simply wear that amulet of gold. To simply let those who stand before you as your lads, suffer fates impure. To let those who we could have aided, fall to cruel fates."

Step 2: Vacation

An elfess lounges in the undead-infested lands of Sakuragakure, on a Pamphilos-mandated vacation to clear her troubled mind.

Dear Remon, 

     I’m so sorry for not saving you.  I know you didn’t care.  But I know you might care now that you’re hurting.  I wish I was able to be stronger.  To fight the An Gho for your mind.  I should have cared more.

“If you are asking what I would do if I were you, I would pray for him, just as I pray for the living and the dead every day, Luthriel.”

God gives us strength. It’s not our own. If we are weak, it’s ok. In the end, he’ll make everything all right.  But does he even see us?

Dear Remon,

     I met a bishop, and I think I trust him.  We both know God isn’t what we thought He was.  But the Bishop told me to pray for you.  So I have been.  I don’t know if that makes you feel any better.

The ideal warrior is someone capable of controlling their emotions, utilizing them as necessary to promote their desired outcome.

“Think of it.  If you had grabbed your old llir that one time when I had told you to, perhaps we too could have brought him pure.  Think on this, and think which will be the bigger folly. To club a friend over the head and try to aid, or let them slip away from the camp with the deceiver.”

Dear Remon,

     I wanted to let you know that I really cared.  I still do.  I thought that you died because I didn’t care enough to save you, but that’s not true.  I cared so much it made me sick to my stomach and paralyzed me. 

“The first thing you must do is hold no expectations. You yourself have come to me, to a degree of despair or frustration, because you think you are failing to convince them. Why do you hold such weight? . . . You are indeed upon the Saintly path, but you are mistaking selflessness for yearnings. You have adopted children, and provided to them hearth and home . . . But you cling to the expectation that they would feel the same way, or that they would live as you desire for them. . . If your compassion was truly, TRULY, selfless . . . Then you would yearn for neither the child's praise nor the affection and redemption of your loved one. You would do the right thing, purely, because it is the right thing.”

I know what I’ll do.  I need to not need what I need.  And what I need is the love and approval of others.  Of course I still want to help, but I don’t need to help in a way that gains me fame or love or honor.  There is no need to be a hero- battles are won by ammunition supply and the footman’s sacrifice, and that’s what I can give.  A vacation from seeking significance.  A time of honest work.

An attack on Atemu is an attack on all of us.

We will have him back, be it by rational bargain or cruel spear.

If you kill him, you will forever be hunted.

The Bronze Band and Sakuragakure demand that his whereabouts be made known and that his safety be demonstrated.  The taking of civilian hostages is condemned and presents an unpardonable sin.  Should one of them or Atemu be killed,  all negotiations are cancelled.

If you are undead, we will kill you again and again forever. We will find a way to make your death a living death.

If you are Azdrazi, we will release the names of many Heralds.

Whoever you are, I promise you that we will save our LAD one way or another.

I like Gavin and think he'd be a good mod.

Step 1: Cry

Does anybody love me?
I think- Remon did.  Nuldar- I wish I’d been a better mother.  Everyone in the band ‘loves’ eachother, but- I can’t really be honest with any of them.  I know- they care about me- but if I show my weakness fully- will that lower their view of me?  I am so weak.
It . . . would be nice to know there’s someone who understands.
A shoulder I could cry on without feeling ashamed.
Pamph’s always been there for me . . . but he’s so mortal, so close to death, always reckless.  That . . . head. They want his head, dried out and hanging from their belts.  What would I do- who would I turn to then?  And it would be so easy for them- he’s not a god.
Could a god love me?
I can’t- be friends with a god- I couldn’t care for a god- but maybe- a god could care for me.  Something I could cry to, instead of cry for.  A parent.
I don’t deserve a parent.
I killed mine.  
But some gods wouldn’t care.  Could I become a shaman, and go to Scorthuz’ realm when I am hurting, and find peace there every time?  Does Scorthuz care?  Could they care?
Or . . . do they only love what serves them?
If I couldn’t serve them, wouldn’t they give up on me?
Anguls . . . daemons . . . spirits . . .
God wouldn’t care, He only created the world and left the Anguls to do the caring. I wish I could be a Cannonist and believe that God still cared.  But now- I can’t believe that anymore.
Why did Remon give up?
Why did he always go back to the An-Gho?
Was this why? He needed a father-
I’m mortal.  Weak.  An idiot.  Mortals crave the affection and compassion of immortals, just like children desire the love of their parents.  My whole life- I wanted to be kind to people, hoping I could save them with just compassion.  But it’s ne what people need.  They need something larger than them to care.  But anything larger than a mortal . . . cannot truly care.

Somehow, if I ever want to change anything or help anyone, I have to become larger than a mortal.
I must reject everything that makes me one.
I must . . . not need what I need.

Thank you, Remon, for teaching me that I can’t need a father or a mother.
I won’t repeat your mistakes.

The elfess covered her mouth as she began to cry.
 

Oh no no no this is so sad! Poor guy ;-;

It wasn't a very interesting sight, and no cryptic words were spoken.  But somewhere in Aevos, an elfess could be heard weeping.

[!] An unsigned missive was distributed throughout the city of Sakuragakure.

Two nameless decapitated bodies reside within a cage near the gate of Sakuragakure.  As they lack heads, they are unable to escape and their only means of passing the time is to rot.  Clearly, the unnamed Lurinites deserved this fate, for they were Lurinites . . .  and nothing more.  But nothing more is required.

* During the latest raid on Lurin, a man dressed in civilian garb was killed.  He claimed to not be a Lurinite, but, as he was unable to produce an "identification card", he was executed.  Since we all know that identification cards are rarely used, it is clear that either this was the most moronic of mistakes or a mere excuse to kill a man.  Either way, going forward, if the Oyashiman warriors wish to truly be known as just, they ought to take care that they do not kill non-combatants.

          - It is argued that all adult citizens of Lurin are conscripted and therefore combatants.  However, if a citizen is neither wearing armor nor carrying a weapon, in that moment, regardless of their official status, they are not a soldier.  If you wish to execute such a person, you should identify them as a spook or a known spook sympathizer.  Otherwise, do what you will, but do not murder them.

          - Various private citizens of Lurin have made statements and taken actions against darkspawn.  These individuals should not be targeted during raids.

          - By only killing spook-positive individuals or those individuals *known* to be affiliated with the dark, you will eliminate the chance of killing an innocent person.

* In the case that you truly do not care about the deaths of innocent Lurinites, do be reminded that, as with all conflicts, the majority of the battle will be fought via public perception.  You must take all precautions to ensure that you do not end up with a public relations nightmare.

* Various alternatives exist to better pursue your goals of destroying the opium trade.  For one, you may merely burn the opium fields.

* If you desire to proclaim your message, looting and vandalizing is an alternative that does not require death.

LMAO

"I have a dream!"

- Bullgoth Luther King Jr., 2023

The half elfess took a deep breath. 

"Without friends . . . without family . . . I wouldn't be able to live life. And truly, the only friends and family I have left are the Band.  And so if the Band dies, even if I didn't fight, I'd still die.  When I was alone for so long- the only thing keeping me alive was my hope that I'd get to see my brethren again.  I know I couldn't handle it if I lost them.  And they will fight.  They either win, and live, or lose, and die.  And so, I really don't have much of a choice but to fight for the lives, hopes, and dreams of the people closest to me.  Though I'm weak now, I will try my best."

The elfess read the words she'd written on the page in her diary and sighed, closing the book.

This server absolutely sucks and makes me extremely sad every time I try to quit playing. Thus, the only way for me to have fun and be happy is to continue playing on the server. Therefore, the server is addictive and makes me sad.

QED