Tanuchan

Basically: Open, mostly improvised RP, where each post must be under 50 words. There was once this thread by Solivagus, and it was fun at the time... so we thought we could try it again. So, the guidelines... Each post mustn't have more than 50 words. Contractions count as one word. Players ideally shouldn't post in a row to try to get more than 50 words into the storyline at once... The RP is, for now, open. We might restrict it later on, depending on how many people post consistently and how the story develops. You don't need to post as a character... feel free to work on background, or add events or something else that gives more 'flavor' to the story. With each post being just 50 words, it's too easy to make mistakes when writing someone else's character; so, let's be careful when including other characters in the posts. For the same reason, it would be a good idea to avoid writing the whole post as/about another character unless you've talked to the player. Short OOC comments clearly separated from the text are okay; we don't want this to be too planned ahead, so we'd rather not set an OOC thread at the Greenroom - unless we feel the need to. Have fun! RP starts next post... ~Tanny & Venefyxatu

Ozy, as you said the story thread is just for *your* comments... I wanted to say that I liked the opening post, and got really curious! I have a couple of comments, but I feel it's early to voice them yet; I'd rather wait to read a bit more of the story to get its feeling better, and then I'll say something more helpful than "I like it, go ahead" . So... I like it! Go ahead, please!! ~Tanny

Hey Ozy! *tacklehugs* WEEEEEEEEEEEE!! Welcome back!!!!!! Then, according to Venefyxatu, we've been living in the Vaults fro 45 years already, so I think your age is a bit off... (Don't feel bad for not knowing, I talked to him to create my character and needed also to know that to set a proper age ) *HUGS* ~Tanny

Darlynn smiled, passing a hand over her scrying pool - the waters calmed down once again, and the shadows closed again over her. Turning, she went to the stone table and surveyed the open book. Darlynn's right hand traced the carvings on the edge of the table, while she chanted softly in a language as old as the world. A ball of fire appeared, hovering over her open left palm, and she compressed it with both hands. Then she opened her arms in an arch above her head, and the fiery ball became a fiery rainbow that suddenly disappeared. She laughed - a surprisingly cristaline, clean laugh - and murmured to the air. "It's done. And so it begins... the righting of many wrongs." Still smiling, the Mage left her laboratory, shadows swirling around her until the light coming from a window thinned and baned them. However, Darlynn knew they were still around her, and went about her duties with confidence.

"A panther? Is he around? Thank you, Gryphon!" Hugging her friend, Tanny hurries towards the Recruiter's Office, changing into her wolf form for speed and comfort. "Yay!" Lord Panther turns his head in surprise as the door opens and a black wolf runs in, coming straight to him and jumping the last feet to rest her front paws on his chest. ::What's wrong with cat shapes, then? I have a kind of dog shape, and don't intend to chase you all around, no sir no.:: As Panther blinks, not sure if he has listened to something and staring at the bright grey eyes not five inches away from his, Mynx grins and tugs gently at Tanny's tail. "Hey, Wolf Lady... not nice to add to the tear and wear of his clothes by leaving claw marks into them..." ::Hmmph.:: Tanny leaves Panther, surprising him as she changes back into human shape and grins affectionately at Mynx. "Alright, alright... as if you don't go around here doing the same... " "Huh... Tanny?" Panther's surprise turns into a grin, and she curtseys with a smile. "Sorry, Lord Panther... I forgot you have never seen me as a wolf. I'm really glad that you have finally found your way into that scheming lizard's..." "Ahem..." Mynx cleans her throat, hiding an amused face. "... I mean, honorable Elder..." Tanny glances at Mynx, grimacing, "...Wyvern. We'll make you company, as he usually takes some time to get rid of his problems." And I really hope that this time he doesn't have any new use for those manniquin limbs... maybe I should take some precautions, though... ~~~~ So glad to see you finally applying here, Panther! Be welcome!

I'm in. Let me think of a character, and I'll post again later - probably tomorrow. This will be fun!! ~Tanny Edit: Okay, got permission from Venefyxatu... I'm an old lady from the first generation. Surprisingly sharp and lucid for her age. More details later... Edit2: character below! ~~~~~~~ Kyraine Morgan Now 75, Kyraine is a Molecular Biology professor, expert in her area, who was around 30 when she entered the Vault. People would expect her to be dying or at least doddering, but she's kept her wits, knowledge, and sharpness all around. Sometimes she does wander, but that's more like the way scientists wander than because of advanced age. She has married in the Vault, and her husband died of some unknown disease. By the time they found out what it was and how to cure it, he was too far gone to be saved. That made her quite cynic and sarcastic - she loved him dearly. She had three children, one of which has died in an unfortunate accident. OOC: Kyraine's children would probably be either young adults or middle-aged by now (there was a dead child, so I think the ages can range from 20-40 years old). she might also have grandchildren... they'd be teens, I belive. So, if any player considers taking those role(s) please PM me

Another Emo Kid here

I really liked the story, Cherrie Mandy is a credible character, and I enjoyed following her memories and imagining her life. A couple of more specific comments... In the beginning, you describe Mandy attending the funeral and talking to the notary; I thought that she was dead, and it was her "ghost" there, and that the talk wasn't really to her, but to someone from family. At the end, when the choice was between letting go or fighting to live, I was caught wondering about that first post... if she wasn't dead, why did she attend her funeral? Or was it just how she imagined it? I understand that changing that (funeral/notary) might compromise the whole mood you set in the beginning, and I have no suggestion at all about that... but my feeling is that it seems a bit contradictory when we read the end of the story. Another point that caught my attention: when Inge suicides, I felt the transition in Mandy's attitude to be somewhat abrupt. I understand the shock, and how it would have made her realize she shouldn't be bullying people, and lead her to her promise. However, the first time I read the story, the decision as described felt too abrupt, because Mandy clearly enjoyed bullying Inge. Maybe an extra line or two showing some conflicting thoughts while she cycles home helps smoothing it. The last happening in Mandy's life so far - Gabriel and the ouija board - seemed a bit fancy... but, given the whole setting of the story, maybe not so far-fetched as I felt it at first. It broke a bit the whole mood for me, because so far there was a nice touch with reality, even knowing that we were reading the memories of a "ghost" (in a way). But in this point, it's probably just me and the way I see things... I hope you keep writing, Cherrie... I really enjoy reading your stories. *hugs* ~Tanny

The discussion on how to link to each individual post is... here. The easiest way, if you use the Blue skin, is to click on the "Posted on" link at the top of each post. ~Tanny

*tacklehugs* Happy, happy, HAPPY Birthday, kitty!!

*giggles, shaking her head* Maybe I've been working too much and seeing things that aren't there... or, more appropriately, not seeing things that are there.. A question, Vlad... (forgot to mention last post)... are the Guilds going to have their own FAQ? (I think I read about that somewhere.) I think that maybe their existence could be mentioned... mainly because, specially during the Carnival activities, we hear about guild-sponsored events. A cent more ~Tanny

It's really really nice, Vlad - thanks for taking the time to do this . As a small note... in both the Table of Contents, and the post title, you might want to correct the typo on plagiarism (it's correct in the text per se). ~Tanny

Congratulations!! It was well deserved! *hugs all three* ~Tanny

Thomas's face brightened when he heard the MC calling for the Open Mike, and quickly left Zariah's ministrations to pick his lute and revise his poem. So quick was he, that Zariah gasped in suprise when she turned back with some more salvings in hand and found the Minstrel gone. A thud, followed by angry hooting and a strangled yelp told her that he and Mynx had probably got entangled again. Mynx's face showed her surprise when Thomas waved the owls away, more worried about the tuning of the lute than about the claws - either the birds' or hers. "Thomas?" He looked up sharply, and smiled. "It's the Open Mike, Mynx. They'll never forget the day I told them this ballad." Playing a warming sequence on the strings, he smiled again then signed his name on the open book, breathing deeply and stepping on the stage a few minutes after Guido left. Thomas sat on the bench, and played a soft and sad tune that called the attention of the audience. His voice was soft as he started. "This happened a long long Winter ago, in a land that has been completely forgotten... it's my interpretation of a ballad called In Summer, and was written by a lady poet." He struck a chord. "One day in Summer... " Thomas paused for a fleeting second, sure that his memory was playing tricks on him - the tale happened in a Winter, he was sure of it. Licking suddenly dry lips he repeated the opening chord, and restarted. "Hrm... called In Winter." "One day in Winter when the sun was high and the breeze was slow a sudden cloud came." So far so good... "The sun was still bright but the..." Thomas faltered, and his fingers moved without thinking, filling hesitatingly his pause as the next words disappeared from his mind. "... the... ... ... the silence was done as shadows grinned close swallowing threads of... of... " Some whispers from the audience started to find their way into Thomas' awareness, and his tongue hurried to provide the words that his mind had decided to hide. "...threads of.. watery thought.. as shadow winked... .... " Thoughts... thoughts... oughts... "... hrm... ought spreading ... wispy threads of ... .... d-d-d-dark...." Someone laughed, and there was a rustling sound as another one crossed the room without any regard to the minstrel's performance. "... wispy threads of dark... laughter... The rustle flashed brighter the girl flowed deep in lands... smiling evilly... ... hrm... The ... song stirred darkly but the laughter was louder... " And indeed it was, as most had just decided to ignore Thomas while others, closer to the stage, started to question audibly if the Open Mike was open for that kind of performance. "The ... song... lowered slowly the... words... threading into the.... the... a place ... ... it... it came, .... something or other... the shadow... ehh... the sh.... oh, it was complete." Mynx, who had been listening with increasing horror, looked at Thomas, at Zariah, at the MC... and a dismal thought struck her. If Tanny listens to this... Thomas slaughtered it... The next chord was a bit dissonant, and disturbed the owls. They starting hooting at each different chord Thomas tried, and someone nearby mused that the chorus was better than the main artist, eyeing Mynx and the hooters. Mynx smiled absently at the comment, her tail twitching nervously as she tried to remember the whole poem. One day in Summer when the sun was high and the breeze was slow a sudden cloud came. The sun was still bright but the breeze was gone a shadow winked close spreading wispy threads of darkness made true. The sun flashed brighter the shadow flowed deep in lands blind to evil The breeze stirred weakly but the shadow was gone, buried too far The sun lowered slowly the shadow sunk, threading into the land Night came, silent and dark the shadow smiled, its kingdom complete. Thomas struggled on bravely, but the tale had already drifted far away from the original one. "One late Winder... mm... Winter... " One late Summer day "... when laughter spread and ... things... ran wild..." when the land smiled and the children ran wild "a... sudden... void... appeared..." a sudden chill came. "Autumn.... fall... fell... right and spread his dark wings..." Autumn was close by and night spread dark wings ".... .... " (music filled the silence) colored by shadows (more music) hints of purples under shades of blue. (A deep sigh, and a loud dissonant chord) Life giving way to sleep and rest and the evil hidden deep The chill breeze howled high darkness unsuspected feeding off life Dreams came full of hope tattered claws reached in endless hunger Sleep disguised deep unrest ripping apart the laughter, the bliss, the dreams Night went on, restless and dark "... shadows smiled.... the kingdom done." the shadow smiled, its kingdom growing. With a final, soft and subsided sequence of notes, Thomas stood up and bowed to the audience, leaving the stage. Zariah was waiting for him ready to offer comfort and support, but blinked in suprised as Thomas bowed to her, smiling. "I hope you appreaciated this memorable performance, my lady. It was done with you in mind. " "It... it was... yeah, memorable, Thomas... " "I had to improvise a little bit, but it adds flavor. I'm sure that the original author of the poem feels happy that it gave me such wonderful, great inspiration." A soft hooting from somewhere in the middle of the room seemed to remind the minstrel of his other duties, and he bowed again. "I'm sorry, but I have other duties... I'll soon be back to wait on the tables. Let me just rest My Lady here..." he showed his lute, patting it fondly. "... and I'll be back with some refreshments for all. They're so awestruck that they don't have strength to show their appreciation, you see. But I'm used to that." ~~~ The original poem is called In Summer and is posted at Banquet

"Oh... thank you... erm... I hope I didn't hurt your tail... I mean.. you..." stammered Thomas when Mynx suddenly appeared at his side to help cleaning the broken glasses. "You're a charming kitten... huh... maid... maiden... " he tried a sheepish smile, fixing his puppy-dog eyes on Mynx. "And your owls are... so... inspiring... I might create a song for them... " On cue, both owls hooted and fluttered their wings, cocking their heads and staring intensely and unblinkingly at the minstrel, who swallowed and looked pleadingly at their owner. When Mynx nodded, he reached a finger to caress the downy chest of the owl perched on the right shoulder. "Huh... you're a hooting... haunting beauty... " Mynx smiled, patting Thomas' arm gently. "Don't you be scared of them... they're certainly harmless..." Unfortunately for the minstrel, though, the touch of a feline's paw on his arm was completely unexpected - as his mind hadn't yet decided if his companion was an overgrown and charming cat, or a somewhat feline woman. Startled, Thomas poked his finger sharply into the owl's chest. Some time later, Thomas eyed warily the owls as Zariah finished salving his scratches, then sighed deeply staring at his finger. "I hope it isn't ruined..." He stretched it carefully, and reached out to recover his lute from inside a cupboard. Stroking it tenderly, he smiled and started to play a simple lullaby. Mynx looked at him in awe, for the music was soft and soothing, and the melody reached straight to her heart. The owls blinked, and soon one of them hid his head under his wing.

Thomas jumped at the owls hooting right at his back, and in his hasty movement his legs got entangled in Mynx' tail, sending him straight to the ground. Mynx yelped as his hand grabbed her t-shirt in an attempt to regain balance, and the owls fluttered angrily. "Huh... oh... sorry... hey, tell them to stop!" Batting his hand against the owls only made them angrier, and soon Thomas' voice could be heard from under the nearest table - where he had crawled in for safety. "Have... have they gone?" Zariah nodded, observing Mynx soothing the owls and checking her t-shirt. "Yes, Thomas... erm... welcome to the Conservatory..." Thomas, now standing in front of Zariah, bows with a smile. "It's a pleasure to be here, lady... hopefully I can add to the entertainment of the night..." The fleeting memory of his previous meeting with Zariah didn't seem to disturb Thomas, though there was a suspicious suprised blink from Zariah. The minstrel-turned-waiter grinned, and turned to get a tray of beverages that needed to be served. As he stumbled dangerously in passing by Mynx and her owls, Thomas sighed softly. I'll have another chance to play and sing... and I know this time it will all go well... after all, Thomas of Taigel is a renowned minstrel! What Thomas didn't want to remember was that his previous attempt to sing had been another one of his usual performances - the ones he was renowned for: suddenly forgetting the words to the song, stuttering over hastily improvised verses, he had succeeded in annoying a couple of customers who had taken some bad rhymes as a joke on them. It had been only Zariah's kindness that had saved him from the usual catcalls and general laughter. And, without money to pay for lodging and not willing to accept it for free, he was here now - being the waiter while the Slam Contest happened without his presence. "I should have paid more attention to the announcements..." he mumbled, holding a glass of wine while ignoring the outstretched hand of the guest in front of him. "I am an excellent slammer!" Thomas finally hands out the glass, slamming it into the proferred hand with surprising force. "Hey!" "Oh! I'm sorry, sir!" He clumsily tried to clean the spill - that fortunately had missed most of the guest's clothing - while his mind went over the poem he had prepared earlier. At least I'll have the open mike... better than nothing...

1. reverie 2. panda bear 3. crawl 4. Loki Wyrd 5. kangaroos 6. tacklehug 7. the deepest shaft in a coal mine in Siberia 8. a beauty pageant in the North Pole 9. freeze 10. thaw 11. shenanigan 12. sink 13. refreshingly calm 14. island

*tacklehugs* Happy Birthday, J!!! *helps Jechum up*

1) Ayshela 2) horse 3) dreaming 4) Gryphon 5) smily 6) socks 7) a four-horse team carriage the margins of the Tiber river 9) Central Park 10) eerie 11) reading glasses 12) yawning 13) keyboard 14) Almost Dragonic Brand Semi-Sweet Lemonoaid™ 15) Gisele Bündchen 16) nightgown 17) dreaming dog 18) the particular color of a lake reflecting the full moon at midnight 19) cheek 20) swamp Edit: Checking the full name of the Lemonoaid...

As a note... I'll be playing a new character for this one New Minstrel coming to the pen...

I guess the timezone attacks again? Anyway... *flying tacklehugs* Happy Birthday, Ozy!!!!! (I know you'll be around some time, so be sure that there'll be a wolf just ready to ambush you - so, no escaping from huge hugs!! ) Hope you have a great day!

Happy Birthday!! *huge hugs*

A wolf pads in softly soon after MinimondoT sweeps in, Door having recognized her and waited for her to enter before closing softly. She finds the newest applicant looking at Wyvern's desk, as always full of scattered papers and, for a change, a somewhat fresh-looking sandwich. MinimondoT yelps in surprise at the gentle nudge, her wings fluttering and wishing to take her away from the wolf. Tanny grins and shimmers back into her human form. "Welcome to the Pen, MinimondoT... I've seen you around, though I'm not sure we've really met before. Wyvern's probably busy in one of his schemes, but you can sit down and wait... " She points to the applicant's easy-chair. "Make yourself comfortable. I think I'll make you a bit of company while our Greedy Lizard... eeeehm... I mean, Great Lizard... uhhh.... Great Elder... gets rid of his trouble..." That are probably fully earned... ".... and barges in." She leaves for some minutes, coming back with a tray with refreshment and cookies. Picking a chair for herself, she sits down with a soft sigh. This time, I'll try to be in clear view... "So... I see that you're starting to explore the Pen... anything I may help you with? I may have a couple of interesting places to show you, if you're interested. " She smiles amiably.

Congrats, Gryphon!! :D ~Tanny

Congratulations *hugs the newest Poet*