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Wynanya Arvellon, once more perhaps overly invested in the ventures of her favorite valah Talonnii, lights a cigarette and gestures wildly to the missive - complaining to anyone who would listen about the many virtues of Lady Ric'ii, and what fuss is a wedding worth in the Second-Age Century, anyway?

A druid's loom rattles as she weaves, puffing on a cigarette and peering at the missive with a growing smile. "Guide the girl who means to marry Vlad'ii! - Well, we canne miss this one."

SURNAME: LIVARAI DE MELPHESTAUS FIRST NAME: LUCIANA ADDRESS OF RESIDENCE: 3 SORELLAS ST. FACTION(NOBILITY OR COMMONER): COMMONER YEAR OF BIRTH: Forty-one years ago. Are you registered and eligible to vote? Yes. ((MC NAME)): Cr1tt3r_

You're a genius and I love you.

Persephae Kortrevich falls out of a tree upon hearing the news.

ALL of the Grand Duchy of Balian are invited to the Grand Opening of THE CHRYSALIS LOUNGE for an evening of music, cuisine, and the best of company. THE CHRYSALIS LOUNGE seeks to provide communal space for scholars, artists, and families. It includes traditional tools for Balianite artists; a small library; a growing collection of artworks from across the Continent; an astrology and cartography workshop; and a number of games and seating arrangements for more casual pursuits. Grangraza is extended to Dona Johannes A. Vuiller, Heiress of Aquilae, owner of the Bazaar and Lounge, for her generous patronage. 7th of OWYN'S FLAME 24 B.A Malin's Welcome - 95 S.A Forever dutiful, Luciana Livarai de Melphestaus Mater Familia Nezier de la Chrysalis A Personal Note It is my intention to establish our Lounge as a refuge: a place for not only youth, scholars, artists and travellers to intertwine, but for mali’cihe such as myself; we Elves who have, for reasons of religion, circumstance, habit or mere whim, chosen to weave our homes in the ever-changing crossroads of culture, invention, and people that the Children of Horen so excel in building. I intend to create a space of growth - a chrysalis, where our ancestral customs and bonds to our homeland are celebrated, and friendship between Mali and Men wound ever-tighter -- perhaps, I will admit, a lofty goal for a mere lounge.

A Wildcat, hearing the thrum of nature's song and knowing she will not be about for the celebration proper, sets to an early gathering of offerings for Mabon, buzzing with excitement for her seedmother's guidance through the season.

A thorn-tongued druid lights a cigarette. "-Ah, Odinson'ii," she sighed, looking upon a wall of portraits and old sketches - lost loves, friends, passing nuisances alike. "I suppose you found your limits at last."

The barkeep, wreathed in her usual curls of lavender smoke, serves any curious patrons drinks and her conviction in both the Vale's demands and biding strength alike.

i crave attention and validation from internet strangers read me

Welcome to Nevaehlen! I look forward to seeing Sage around the village <3

The youngest of her line surveys the last of the furnishings brought into her new Balian home, hands clasped ever-demure at her front; a private smile warming her face as a courier finished reading the missive. "So the work begins," she mused, in that soft, whispering tone. "Let us see what a Mater Familis can do."

Thank you! I appreciate folks taking the time to read it. Yep. This is on both sides of villainy, too; it's really key to remember that players =/= characters. There are villain rp'ers who are genuinely some of the sweetest folks, and it's their willingness to do healthy villain RP that adds more depth to everyone's experience. That being said, totally agree here. The trust has to be built mutually, and a quick check-in goes a long way when it's coming from a player with a villain character.

Yes, this was the goal. In fact I explicitly wrote this to ensure that every community who so desired would now have the exact weapons in their hands to further hone their torment of the playerbase. I will now rest upon my laurels in peace.

EMOTIONAL SAFETY: the act of feeling safe and having a healthy separation between RP and RL; feeling safe OOC during RP, regardless of the RP situation; a brave new frontier for LotCers. At times, this means recognizing that RP affects RL (and vice versa), but that recognition should deepen the line, not blur it. The purpose of this guide is to introduce three key principles of emotional safety I haven’t always seen recognized in the community, and then open the floor for a discussion regarding what is "safe RP," the lines of metagaming, what feels like peace & love nonsense, et cetera. Take what resonates with you and be kind. DISCLAIMER THE BASICS Three basic principles of understanding emotional safety and when it comes up. Safety before immersion. Feeling safe comes before everything else. A few nuances; you can be safe but uncomfortable, and that’s OK. Other peoples’ safety still comes before your immersion. And my philosophy: you cannot have full immersion if you do not trust the players and the situation you are engaging with on an out-of-character level. Character bleed is going to happen. CHARACTER BLEED - The spillover of the character’s feelings to the player; when things that happen to the character affect the player beyond a comfortable level. This is the reason we need 'emotional safety' in the first place; everyone has acted poorly or been treated poorly because of some RP that didn't go the way someone wanted, and it didn't stay on the field. More on that in a second. Feelings are unpredictable. Mistakes are inevitable. Emotions themselves can’t exactly be controlled, and no one is going to handle every situation exactly right every time. The point of emotional safety is to try to prevent situations which need to be handled, to handle situations safely when they do arise, and to process and reset after unsafe situations occur. That’s three chances every time. UNDERSTANDING CHARACTER BLEED To understand character bleed, you have to accept that roleplay is going to affect your emotions. We couldn’t feel happiness for our characters’ successes if we weren’t also disappointed for their failures, and that’s OK.. Even ‘having fun’ is an emotional response, and I would argue that experiencing different emotions is the point of RP -- because RP is storytelling, and stories are meant to influence feelings. But everything has its limits, and ours is character bleed. PREVENTING & RESPONDING TO CHARACTER BLEED (TIPS AND TRICKS!) If you’re with me so far, either you’re determined to compose a very thorough counterargument (awesome) or you’ve accepted that character bleed and player-character overlap is a part of the game (awesomer). This is also where things get more personal. Emotions aren’t rational or universal, and I am not anybody’s therapist. However, there are a few general tricks for preventing it that I like to recommend. In my time on LotC, I have seen intermittent efforts to do these things; but a lack of cohesive language or baseline understanding of what emotional safety is. It’s my hope that in writing this post and opening this thread, we can start to have some real discussions and reflections on what ‘emotional safety’ could/should/does look like on LotC; now, in the past, and in the future. OTHER GREAT READS: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/195593-conflict-the-lifeblood-of-rp/ - Unwillingly’s guide to conflict. https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/70580-how-to-rp-romance-without-being-creepy/ - Urahra’s guide to RP romance. https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/92136-motivating-yourself-for-role-play-guide/ - Errand’s pre-RP peptalk. https://nerdist.com/article/coping-with-emotional-bleed-during-roleplay/#:~:text=Bleed%20is%20a%20term%20I,being%20something%20we're%20not. - More on character bleed and coping without seething. https://tschreiber.org/acting-tips/losing-yourself-in-role/ - Tips on character bleed; meant for actors, but there’s a lot of overlap. EDITED: managed to screw up the tips/tricks formatting so terribly it took out all the tips/tricks. Also clarified OOC check-ins vs. metagaming.

Wynanya lifted her head from the toil of the village vineyard, meeting the courier who rode to her with cold, uncertain gaze; expecting, when she saw the old crest, grim news. When she had at last made sense of the writings, she hastened to shut herself in her rootbound-study; and it would be many exasperated hours before she emerged, in a cloud of herbal smoke, resolved. -- In the ruins of a wartorn Eastern cihe, a young woman began to laugh.

'Ayi'mal'; 'ayilari'; 'ayi'oem.' Bastardized shorthands platonically referring to 'beloved man', 'beloved woman', 'beloved one'; as close as family, but not tethered by the same familial bond which would prevent romance or other such connections. Also doesn't overwrite existing familial bonds.

A mother sets to hunting the crone's works with a vengeful ferocity not issued to one such task since her youth. In the depths of a grotto, the webbed compilation begins to grow.

Vine - attuned not long before Dread herself, and who perhaps might have once called her Sister - found the missive on one of her increasingly rare rides beyond the Vale's own walls, and stopped long enough in her journey to read it; to stare at it; to crumple it in hand, and ignite it with a spark, then tear off the cow's desecrated tongue and give it much the same swift ending. "Funny," she informed the ashes through gritted teeth as she wiped them furiously down her breeches, melodrama hindered by the grime and mess of reality. "How two paths diverge."

A groggy Kortrevich, full-grown though prone to impulse, considers the missive. "Worse things to serve than dark lordlings with a cheap boat," she mused, and then set to finding where she'd left the good stationary in her beachside tent.

THE IRON ANTLER is honored to invite all Friends of the Vale of Nevaehlen to attend a SUMMER’S DAY IN THE VINEYARD. The First Seed of SA 88 Nevaehlen’s Vineyard One of the Antler's many tapestries depicting a still-life of its harvest. The Iron Antler Tavern is delighted to open its vineyard for this day of celebration and kinship. Festivities will include music, dancing, and The Great Nevaehli Brew-Off Each grand seed of Nevaehlen has been invited to partake in the Great Nevaehli Brew-off. The families will present a drink of their own brewing, with the victor determined by popular opinion. Opening of the Ame’lie Orchard The pride of the mali’ame, the taliame’lensuloem -- fruit trees which bear many different fruits depending on the season -- will be open to picking, along with lessons on their origin and importance. Felixii’s Gauntlet Furthermore, there is a hidden puzzle scattered about the orchard. The first to find and complete it first will be entitled to one tour of the Iron Antler brewery, and a bottle of their choosing from the Mistress of the Tavern’s own private reserve. The Rotwater Challenge Throughout the festivities, attendees may choose to partake in the Rotwater challenge. A time-honored staple of Iron Antler tavern nights, the Rotwater itself is an ancient wine retrieved from the depths of a demon’s centuries-old den by Nevaehli guards. Only the bravest may try to keep down its infernal brew, and only the strongest will succeed. Special invitation is extended to His Royal Majesty, Karl III of Hanseti-Ruska ( @GMRO) Her Royal Majesty, Amadea of Hanseti-Ruska ( @shay) Firr Adrian Erik Colborn, his pedigree, and the dutiful staff of their taverns ( @JuliusAakerlund) The good people of Hanseti-Ruska Lord Regent Darek Irongrinder of Urguan ( @sneakybandit) Dhaen Grandaxe and the dutiful staff of the Bearded Lady ( @Dhaelena) The good people of Urguan His Royal Majesty, King Odin Freyyson Ruric of Norland His Excellency, Prince Einar Edvardsson Ruric of Norland The good people of Norland and their dutiful tavernkeeps ( @Kingdom of Norland) Mistress of the Tavern W. Arvellon extends her personal invitation to The Fire Druid, Malii’evarir, of the Mother’s Grove (@HobbitForHire) The Timberwolf Druid, Aerendyl Hawksong. of the Mother’s Grove ( @TwilightWolf) The Rage Druid, ‘Birch,’ of the Crimson Edict ( @Rat Hat) The Viscount and Viscountess of Jerovitz, Nikolai and Esmee Kortrevich ( @Phersades @dove) The healer Yarrow’lur ( @Maiyun) Signage will be posted upon reaching the village highroad.

[A missive is posted upon the doors of chieftains and seed halls throughout the Vale!] THE GREAT NEVAEHLI BREW-OFF The Seeds of Nevaehlen, or those brave enough, are each invited to put forward a brew of their peoples’ craft. The best shall be determined by attendees to this year’s vineyard celebrations, and spoils to the victor. (Spoils being bragging rights and perhaps the leftover booze.) TERMS OF PARTICIPATION Each seed may only enter one brew, signed by their chieftain and brewed only by their recognized seedkin. (Exceptions will be made for seeds with Chieftains away.) Any seed who attempts to sabotage the brew of another shall be disqualified. A quarter-cask, or sixteen bottles, of the seed’s drink must be deposited in the marked barrel within the Antler within a day of the festivities. Bottles are available outside the Iron Antler. -W.

A Nevaehli barkeep taps ash from her cigarette, reviewing the post with a proud little smile. "House Colborn runs this tavern now, do they? Perhaps it's time to revisit business in the North. Ach, Esmee! You outdo yourself."

Persephae Kortrevich stood just in front of the family chapel's doors, staring with uncertainty at the altar before her. "Ea owe this family everything," she murmured, with a hesitant step forward. It was quiet, pressingly so; though smelled of incense from those who had come before her, and the candles were still lit. "Ea owe Nikolai everything. Who were we, before this place? What were we to do, before his kindness?" With each word she advanced, her brow knitting further in concern and - yes, fear. She stared at the altar, expectant, and when she was but a pace away spoke again, low tones unusually soft and reverent. "Vy ag ea are niet familiar," she lowered slowly to a knee. "But ea have a favor to ask vy, all the same." -- Wynanya Arvellon readied her travelling cloak.

A mali'ame surveyed the letter from where it had been sent to her bar, pressing whiskey-wet lips into a thin line. "At least Luthriel's spirit burns bright as e'er."