Zarsies

Real talk, may you and whoever whoever else consider changing gleaming to some degree as to allow a modicum of public casting viability where mystics aren't instantly revealed as a spook? I.E. allow some spells to have a specter's white stylings so a mystic blade could pose as a Canonist hexer and use spiriting / expulsion / whatever or a conjurer can use handling and come across as a holy exorcist rather than a blue necromancer. Imo part of mysticism's problem is that it's overtly flashy (because gleaming can be so scary at later tiers and is obviously dark) and doesn't have a middle ground to let it blend into semi-normalized use depending on cultures (like a delf ancestral priest or a Canonist paladin). That doesn't have to be only the white vibe of specters but it comes to mind.

apes alone weak. apes together strong

A saffron-veiled woman breathes a sigh of relief as word reaches Niseep. She busies her hands with the mixing of resin with ground styrax and cinnamon while her mind busies with less political fears.

I appreciate the part where you clubbed in Heero's brains.

I love your Snaps and I've always been a fan. You're a cool cat. What moment caused you to realize LotC would be more to you than a mere game to try out briefly? Do you enjoy the notion of halfling horror through Knox or do think it's incongruous / distasteful? Should it be embraced or forgotten? If you could capture and revive any settlement/group from any map and bring it to the present what would it be? Mine would be Kingston/Salvus from Anthos or Kal'Azgoth from Anthos. What moment from your roleplay has emotionally affected you most? How you doin this year? 2022 has been good to me so far but I am HIGHLY suspicious it is just 2020 part 3...

Amorphous clouds peel back to reveal the flapping curtains of an open window and figures within to the prying third eye of a witch in shadow. As her disembodied gaze draws into the scene the scry is suddenly cut short to which a coarse hiss arises and there, nested in the cracks and distorting rays of her coveted crystal ball, an elder elf appears with a message. He sees an obfuscated figure, her form wreathed in stark saffron silks, golden linen robes, layers of beadery and ornamental skirts, and a yellow veil which blankets her every feature with a sheet of brassy coins masking her agitated yet intrigued face. Her lips part to speak but the pale man passes swiftly and she sits in silence, alone, her stalking unfinished and mind spinning. She slunk back in contemplating, nervous silence before casting a sheet over the orb before lifting as though the mere act of walking were beneath her and floats over to a nearby locked cabinet among bookshelves and tables befitting the description altars. The furniture unlocks and opens on its own, a loyal servant, and swings wide to display a collection of similar crystal orbs shrouded by veils laying beside other occult paraphernalia; jars of black salt, bundled herbs, a necklace of finger bones, an assortment of ominous iron tuning forks, unlabeled grimoires, a golden ritual knife, and more clutter tucked away and hidden in drawers and behind walls of hanging jewelry and dusty iconography. She stares at the collection while her hands tremble beneath her veil and rub against her sides in jitters. Another call she must answer, she concludes. Another convocation of responsibilities that shake her immortal bones and threaten decades of quiet. Bitter yet dutiful, she began to bag the orbs and while her gaze climbs to a nearby mirror etched with magic. Who will she call?

After all the revisions this is satisfactory.

2022 might end up being 2020 part 3 but at least the future of LotC is bright.

Trapped in the skull of a mustache twirling devil, Kozilek weeps. Woe be us. Ill-begotten fates.

An opportunistic skinwalker begins his latest game of impersonation. Pity, he thought, the white witch was merciful.

As of about a month ago I turned 23. I joined the server when I was 12, when our community was the most unmoderated and feral, and in the difference I've been exposed to the best and - obviously relevant to this topic - worst of not only the internet at large but our very niche, secluded, dim corner of the web. In the first month of Aegis being released I encountered Indelwyn, DecoLamb, and Vardak (three names which should jog the memory of any old hat), the latter two being a pair I fell in with in the (hopefully forgotten) group House Thyone and stayed in their company for roughly 18 months. Even having firsthand real-life experience with sexual abuse, predation, and grooming at that age I did not recognize their behavior and abuse of my closest friend(s); at no point until the victim came to me in distress did I realize what had been going on for so long. Even in the wake of these revelations, bans, and shattering and splintering of friend groups I was a dumb kid and didn't think twice about starting a physical relationship with an LotCer in my area at 14 years old. In the same vein I was cozy and friendly in Ski_King's circle before and during his tenure as admin and at no point recognized the suffering of his multiple victims nor was I wise to what attempts he made at me until years after the fact. I failed my friends. I have seen the abuse of minors most of my life: real life friends, online friends, online acquaintances, family, and myself. Nothing triggers me or boils my blood more than this subject. Not only does it rile up my traumas and start my waterworks but it bristles my base humanity and wrings out my sympathy to leave only raw hate. Beyond being our duty as humans to care about one another, this space - this community, our many circles - is special to all of us and we know what grand fun, healing, and connection it is capable of and it is our duty as a sprawling group of invested, dedicated friends to protect one another and preserve those feats. The friendships I've forged through this community are as strong as my oldest and most intimate friendships in my personal life of which there are many. I am thankful for LotC. I am thankful for my many friends. I am thankful for you. I love us, you are my people, and beyond wanting to entertain ourselves and each other we NEED to protect ourselves and each other. Nonetheless I have failed to be that guardian time and again. I failed my dearest friend, I failed acquaintances in my community, and I have failed myself and that disappointment fuels my unrelenting rage to this day. I'm an adult now. I am vigilant. I'm willing to throw down anything on the line to prevent the pain I have experienced. Our world is becoming progressively more fucked up and our passions and pastimes should not be another source of stress. We put up with Leowarrior. We put up with Viltaren. Now we put up with HappyShackles. If communities cannot guard themselves just as my vigilance has failed to guard my peers and I then it falls on the people designated to protect us to act. If we were more organized in those days I expect things would be different. If I had an adult nearby something would have caught their attention. Instead we've classically been a horde of barely managed angst teens who come and go and don't learn our lessons. We lack responsibility. We lack accountability. But now more clear than ever we lack humanity. Begone with the bureaucracy and the legalese. Begone with the soullessness. Shoot the shot. If you can't be this shield then let someone else. We knew about all of these people well beforehand and allowing them a place here allows them more opportunities to ruin us. I was ruined and I'm still climbing out of that pit. No one deserves this pain. Act. Please, my friends. For us.