Sunday, September 23, 2012

Lizzie's Entry for September 2012

((Another 3 exp points. At this rate, I'll evolve at least once by the end of the RP.))

Hey guys, sorry for not getting around to this sooner. I've been getting ready to head over to visit Kris. I don't have too much to pack, but I did want to make one final push to solve the mystery out here. Unfortunately, I don't have anything to impressive to report. Looks like it was just some stupid cultist wannabes that didn't know how to properly summon Cthulhu or something, so they ended up just tearing a hole in the universe. As far as we can tell, they didn't manage to penetrate out into the void, so we don't have to worry about anything like that coming through, but we're gonna keep a few small ships posted in case there's anything from any of the other realms coming through.

But oh my god, I'm not even talking about the important stuff here. Amelia, contact me as soon as possible once you and Rick are safe. I wish I could send some help your way, but I have no idea where the four of you are specifically, and by the time I found out, it would be too late for better or worse. Hopefully you'll be able to get Rick to safety and hopefully Darrel and Austin won't kill themselves facing off against whatever else is down there.

At any rate, I'm not sure if I'll make it to Kris' new place before my next chance to write anyone. The usual paths through the Underworld have been getting more and more volatile with the increasing violence and chaos up here. I might have to travel by more traditional means, and that involves either relying on Japan's unstable economic situations or getting a ride on one of the Dim Suns' ships. In the case of the latter, that means going with them on their normal operations until they get to the port I want. Oh well, I'm sure it'll be worth the wait.

Well, with my life seeming to be far less interesting than any of yours, I'll go ahead and end this here. Be safe everyone. I know you all far too well, so I know just how much a pain it'd be to put any of your ghosts to rest. More importantly, I know death better than any of you, and I have to say, living is so much better.


-Lizzie T. O'Conner

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Rick's Amelia's Entry for September 2012

(( 4pts: 1 for being on time, 1 for progressing the main plot, 1 for a bit of mention of what the others are doing and 1 for the subplot. ))

Hello? Hello? Is this thing working? Hello?

I hope so! I hope I'm not getting into anything I shouldn't here, but I really need help! Ricky is... not well right now! He's stable for now, but who knows for how long!

Ok, Amy, calm down, take a deep breathe... you gotta stay strong and calm, or else we won't make it.

Oh God, it wrote this down?!? How do I delete...crap... craap! Sorry!

No biggie, really, it's only a few thoughts being openly broadcasted to everyone. Gotta focus on what happened...

So... I... we... deep breathe deep breathe... so we came down here to the States on that cool plane, really good flight service by the way, and we arrived in this... dump... sorry Rick, I didn't want to insult your country! It's just... everything looks so broken and ewww... I thought Toronto had it bad, but you guys have it awwwwful, 'eh? I bet China is better... I totally didn't say that, sorry!

So we came down here to help this Austin guy, really sweet guy, hospitable... when you don't argue with him. I swear, I thought I was seeing some snotty Army General when we argued a bit with that other guy... the werewolf... who was totally trying to piss us off with his non-sequitur sentences and his... scent. Bath. Bath! Always take a bath and stay clean! Something Ricko should improve on... I mean... aww.. sorry! It's just something you don't smell very good and it's a bit of a turn-off and...

...

...you totally didn't see that. Close your eyes and forget! Or... brain. Shut your brain off. Or... something... geeze, this thing no sense at all... I mean, you hold this stone and just... stare into that thing... some weird magic at work here. I don't have much of it... I can communicate with foxes, but everyone can do that, eh?

Okkkk, getting sidetracked here, sorry, it's just so weird and embarrassing. I don't even know who you guys are, and it's all Magicky and Rick is laying unconscious right next to me... maybe we shouldn't have come here. Maybe he wouldn't be so...

God, I hoooope he doesn't die! What a dumb idea, going down into that dumb cave with that dumb werewolves in this dumb country in this dumb town! Dumb dumb dumb! I wasn't any better, what an idiot, "Oh look Rick, look at that thing over there, it's so shiny!" What do you know, a minute later, there's a cave in, and Rick got injured by falling rocks and I'm here, talking to a rock! Or with a rock, or gem, or magic. This is so crazy! I did the best I could, I bandaged his leg, and made sure he wasn't like, dying, but what now? I've looked around this cave for anything useful for escape... no, nothing. If I was looking for a creepy place with a feeling of gloom and doom, I would have found jackpot. The air around here... the pressure... the walls... the deeper I went, the more alien it felt. I don't know how to explain it... the natural caves ended and I landed in some kind of temple, it looked indian, but at the same time, not really. Like a place of cult. It reeked too! There was that large circle in the stone, made out of stone, its rim surrounded by strange symbols, like those in those books Rick has about ancient cults of magic. I took a picture with my phone, but I doubt it can be transferred in text, I'm going to try to think them in here.

[A random sequence of Atlantean words follow, seemingly just being random symbols to Amelia]

Wow...! It worked... whatever it is I did there... I hope it helps you guys! But wait, I'm the one who need help here! Creepy or not, there doesn't seem to be a way up through that temple, and there's still a bloacade of rocks and Rick is still unsconcious! Good thing I have food and water for like a week on me, you're never too prepared! If Rick wasn't so lifeless, I would so tell him 'I told you!'!

But... he is, and I hope he wakes up soon. Or that we find some exit. Or that this thing gives us some answers. I'm sorry I'm not really talking about what you guys are doing, I would, but they're not giving me help at the moment! I do have one little thing to say, though... Lizzie and Christian, you should... you know... duh! There's electricity in the air, is all I can say. ;) Rawr!

-Amelia

PS: Help!!! Sorry to be bothering, again!

Monday, September 10, 2012

Austin's entry for the month of September

Oh thank god... ohhhh yes, I was starting to wonder whether I'd get reception right now. Radio's dead. But that's entanglement, for you. Anyway, everyone please pay attention, we may need help. I'm currently stuck with Darrel in the dungeons beneath Arkham city. There was a very big collapse while we were poking around. Ricky and Amelia were with us too but not anymore, and we don't know what happened to them. I'm hoping he'll see this and SOUND OFF RIGHT NOW. I'm told the elements of harmony won't work without him.

Now besides Ricky potentially being dead I get the feeling this sinkhole might have opened all the way up to the surface. Pray that hasn't happened, please. Who knows how much of the base it could have taken with it, and anyway we don't want that attention. We'll be absolutely fucked if the police find out about us down here. I do know that June and company are alive. But now in the meantime I'm trapped in the dark with this loveable fleabag with my pockets full of roast beef sandwiches, NONE of which have enough mayo. AND I've got a plane to catch in a few days.

Anyway. Anyway. Anyway. We're going to do our best. In the meantime, holy crap Chris, thank you! I wish there was some way I could get a look at it right now. I do NOT like the idea of that just sitting there. I'm imagining it'll need a crew. Not sure what we'll do with it, but just having it will be fantastic. Ancestors beckon we, nearer our gods to thee. I was gonna' be mad at you for a while, but now I think I'll put that off for a few months. Still I wasn't expecting YOU to come over all defeatist. I'd rather die than see western civilization end.

At any rate institutionalism must survive; it doesn't even really matter what institutions, I think. That's why I've been so happy to be at the mercy of the Scientologists, of all people. The religion, I've gathered, is mostly just a front and a scam. Sea Org on the other hand is legit. They've got all kinds working for them. Speaking of, they disagree with you, Chris. I've talked to some of them about diplomacy and they told me that's the plan. They want to expose constructs with rudimentary intelligence to articles from the void, and then use them as translators, instruments and what-not. The constructs, that is.

I simply refuse to accept that diplomatic solution is impossible. These are not lesser beings than us, they're greater than us. There's more to them than there is to us. Perhaps we'll never be able to understand them but it must be possible for they to understand us. And only a few hours ago one of their spiritual constructs actually SPOKE to us for a moment.

The real obstacle to communication is how small we are. It's like... if you discovered your forehead was giving birth to a microscopic civilization, would that stop you from showering? Not me. The outsiders know about us but they can't be asked to look out for us. We're too small, it wouldn't be worth it for them. We're so comparatively insignificant and remote it'd be like... avoiding walking on the off chance you might crush an invisible microbial society. This is something we've got to change, obviously. One way or the other. If we can empathize with them somehow, they might help. And if that means sacrificing ourselves to an extent in order to become vaster, greater, perhaps it would be worth it.

But don't take me for some Benedict Arnold. Y'all are the defeatists here, not me. Unlike some I consider ALL my options. Oh yes, you mentioned lord Yog-sothoth. It's a bit premature but my instincts are telling me this temple was dedicated to him. I'm familiar with some of the symbolism related to him, and it's on the walls here and there. The other stuff I don't know, but it's not Cthulhu cult. It makes sense, since for most of the cult's history it was propagated by Africans and this place looks like it might have been transplanted from somewhere in eastern Europe during the 15hundreds.

Anyway, I'm not saying ancient aliens stole the titties, but the clues here indicate they did. Prayer and optimism for all our sakes down here would be put to good use. Hail.

A.A. Merit

(3 points)

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Christian's Entry for September 2012

((3 Points, one point off for late. Still people haven’t said anything about the short story idea for the year mark. If there are no objections in people’s OCC for this month, I’ll assume everyone loves the idea and that is what we will do for the January entry. Which is honestly just fine with me, because I really would like to do the short story idea.))

Hello everyone. Christian coming to you again from the Twin Dragons hotel on 10 Capital. You might very justly ask what I’m still doing here while all of you are struggling to survive in your various near-war-zones. Honestly I am almost as surprised as you are that I am still here, and even more so that Asia has remained so stable in the wake of all that is going on. You would be surprised to hear that the bosses of organized crime are the ones keeping everyone in check. I'm pretty sure at least Kazamagi (of the Yakuza) is a vampire, and probably several more of the other leaders we aren’t sure of. They do a very good job keeping the streets clear. I have seen the chaos in the united states: All those little wilderness towns turned into war grounds. Hundreds of lives lost on the sidelines, but not here. Here when the police are too afraid to do anything about something, the Yakuza are not. I suspect they have been dealing effectively with for a great many years. There is already an intimate understanding between them and the Mages here, so they do leave us alone. The situation is stable. I say stable, but in reality, it is far more than stable. But before I go into detail about the efforts of my fellows, I will talk about what has happened to all of you.

Austin, I’m sorry to say things have come to blows with the Free Council down there. I have always loved them and their ideals, and as we speak we are negotiating a tentative allegiance between the Silver Ladder and the Free Council, the most adversarial pairing of spellcasters in the world. This is the most critical juncture of the unification, because on some level the other orders already /are/ united under the leadership of the Silver ladder, though the bonds are only symbolic in most parts of the world. Still, if we can get that odd body to fix within the mix, that would be absolutely ideal. I think it's possible. President Layton is a very open-minded man. But I‘m getting ahead of myself. If we truly are the tumor of the universe, the unnatural growth, I see no reason that we should not struggle with equal energy for survival.

We CANNOT negotiate with the Outside, Austin. whatever else you might believe, you really must understand that simply cannot happen. You are looking at them within the context of human sanity. You must strip away your assumptions about what sapient life is. They do not understand communication as we do. Remember those friends? They are fundamentally alien to us. The only way we could have succeeded was discovering and conforming to their ideas of communication and power. This is the only way we could communicate with the Outside. It would mean giving in to all their desires for us. Becoming utterly mad and subservient. That is the only communication they understand. To me this is unacceptable. It is a good idea, but not good enough. Really what we need to do is... somehow distance ourselves from the greater multiverse. I think we can agree that trying to vanquish a near invincible foe in a world far greater than our own is not feasible. But somehow I suspect that they would be unable to do anything to attack our universe as a whole. Honestly I don‘t think they would even care to, if we had somehow banished them all. If we could do that... that is the answer.

Ricky - I‘m glad you've decided to take action and get into the fight. I wish you well in your attempt to pick up magical learning. I would offer to tutor you, but somehow I don't think that we are considering the same types of magic. Another one of those mysteries I guess, all the different abilities? different sources. I do not know what can be done to unify our ideas about how all this stuff works, but... I wonder. Just how different is my magic than the spiritual gifts of werewolves, really? Or... what you do, or Lizzy, or... so Ricky, the Void is not the higher dimension, but the people from it. "people" here used very liberally. They are not the whole multiverse, just citizens from it. Probably from their own universes at one point, who developed or simply had the ability to travel between, that's my guess. We don’t have to "kill" them, and trying to do that is stupid. If we can just banish them from our universe, that would be all we had to do. So long as we could somehow stop them from waltzing right back in again. Therein lies the challenge. The universe is an awful big place, how can we patrol the whole thing at once? I think it would take powers I sure don't have. Do you? Of course none of us does. I feel like I‘m writing the Outcast again, but really the only way to "beat" than is to change the structure of the universe so they can't get in again. And I suppose if we did, we would have to kill any of them that weren't out at that moment, or else they'd run around ruining our universe like a cat stuck in a very tiny box. How would you feel if you were in a tiny box, Ricky? Inside opinion there. (rimshot)

You have a very valid question Darrel. Why aren't the Gods helping us since it's their world that is in jeopardy too? I think in some ways the answer is twofold. Allow me to explain. First, we must accept the following rules:
1. The Godlike Spirits desire to survive.
2. They have the intelligence to realize the destruction of the material means their end.
3. They have the ability to render aid in their defense.
Given those facts, we must realize that they are, in fact, helping us as directly as they can. Chances are, they are being somehow prevented. There is a Spiritual outsider, Yog-Sothoth, who I imagine is greatly restricting their ability to help. I‘m sure you know that the Shadow is as much a battlefield right now as our world, and the battle is only just getting started. How much worse might things get before the end? Somehow I have faith that the greater spirits are doing all they can, and are probably saving their resources for the moment when their aid will be most useful. Like the night we fought Cthulhu. we had their help then, and I suspect we will have it again.

So you all will no doubt want to know what has been happening here. Things have not been easy, though I suspect they have been easier for me than for any of you. It might be a luxury hotel, but that does not mean living here does not come with its own dangers. The foremost on my mind is assassination. Unlike many of the other races, the Mages have a system in place that someone might actually use to unite them. This is why I took the vow in the first place. I wish it meant that I would be in some sort of leadership position, but things are not so simple. The combination of my position among our company and someone of high standing in the Master’s order means that people must let me sit in council with them, and by extension, makes me someone who would help orchestrate the unity of orders in the awakened nation. A noble goal at any moment in history, but now the completion of the goal is critical. I’m sure you all can see the signs that I see. It is perfectly clear to me that this present situation is going to culminate with the dissolution of all the earthly powers currently existent. Austin, I somehow doubt any action from you will be required to bring it about. When that happens, we will be grateful for every friend, we have when, the time comes. Somehow I doubt that your spontaneous ideal anarchy is going to develop in the environment that we'll find at the end of western civilization.

Lizzie, I look forward to your arrival: The suite has two bedrooms! And yes, I am still single. No, those two statements are not related. I’m not the least bit surprised that you’ve got your own team: for better or worse each and every one of us is meant to be leaders within our own domains, such as they are.

As for my own efforts, I have been diligently engaged in the forging of alliances between the orders of the Awakened. So far only two of the orders have answered the call: The Silver Ladder who is obligated to heed my council by their own law, and the Arrow, who has I very much suspect been waiting for any valid excuse to martial for war. As we speak that marshaling has begun! I have requested that some of those resources be provided to you, Austin. I did not know how to find you, so look into the basement of that hotel you told Rick about. I have ordered an interesting relic be transferred there, and by the time you read this, it should have arrived. It‘s basically an Atlantean anti-aircraft gun, meant for large targets. Use it how you see fit, but do not test it on anyone you like. In the Arrow it is called the Fist of Zeus - a name not undeserved from what I hear.

As to the rest of you: Keep the faith. I look forward to correspondence with you soon. Enjoy your party together.

PS: Rick, you have no right to complain about bad memories about Lizzie! You dumped her, remember! That is all.