While we finish up various things, let us begin with our neighborhoods to keep things moving!

Who wants to go first?

I can.

Hello everyone, I will be playing Bhaskara Kohli, an Iconoclastic Gallant of the Order Goetica who Listens to the Whispers.

Bhaskara will be a curious sort for a Goetic, as they primarily won't be traveling down either the Right Hand Path or the Left, but instead will focus the vast majority of their colloquy upon the summoning of spirits of arachnids.  I promise not to lean too heavily onto the Spider Vislae theme, I'm not making a superhero, but the idea of Truespiders is incredibly interesting to me and I want to develop that as a concept into a full fledged, multi-story character arc.  The books don't even list stats for them in general, just giving the stats of a particular Truespider named Raajathamos.  A quick scan shows Raajathamos with nearly Godlike powers, which isn't all that uncommon for this setting, but it still means that Bhaskara is going to be aligning themselves with dangerous and utterly alien powers.  To start that journey off, one of their contacts is an agent of said Truespider, and their Hidden House in infested with Spiders.

More importantly, the Whispers that they Listen to are the vibrations of the universe transmitted along the great web.  They are the mindless chitter of lesser spiders, the utterly alien conversations of other Truespiders, arachnid spirits speaking in tongues.  Bhaskara is connected to the great web, and it sings to them.

Why go Iconoclastic then?  I didn't want Bhaskara to be comfortable, I wanted them to already have an enemy that is much bigger than them, and not already be connected with the Truespiders.  Stalwart would have gotten me Rank 3 connections with Turespiders and no enemies, the interactions would already have been done.  So instead I took Iconoclastic to give them beef with the Abnormous.  What beef?  Well, the books say that Spiders tend to get seduced by Demons, and the Abnormous are all about possessing themselves with Demons, so I saw a good opportunity for overlap.  Easy to have a problem with an organization who literally keeps tricking and arachnid-napping your potential allies.

How about you both?
This message was last edited by the player at 00:02, Fri 17 Jan 2020.

Hello!

I will be playing Everly, An Eremetic Empath of the Order of Makers who walks with a secret companion.

Everly is a woman who isn't quite sure of who she is. She's lost an arm to the War but she doesn't know the how or why. She lives in a house that bears what she is certain is her family surname... but there's no one else there and the House goes on seemingly forever... much to her quiet and secretive horror. Stranger yet, she's surrounded by portraits, pictures, and other visual representations of women rather too similar but not exactly her from all sorts of eras, places, and dimensions as if the house was a strange little nexus of probability and branching paths of the multiverse. All the more disquieting is the ubiquitous presence of mirrors, though no where near as omnipresent as the portraiture of self yet not self.

Perhaps made all the more maddening that apparently there has always been a Ms or Mrs Everly as long as the House has stood. The rest of the family coming and going as the whim of Suns wills. In the end, her great enemy is perhaps no more than the notion of her own identity. Great swaths of it lost to the lies of the Shadow and other parts locked behind the fog cast by The War that no one can recall or talk about. Her exploits and deeds past that saw the loss of her right arm all the more maddening for the fact they can't quite be recalled. Her face further reflected in a dozen lifeless gazes from beyond the frame or seeming to follow in her reflection from mirror to gilded mirror.

That slipping sense of self by the same token has made it so she is sensitive (Empath), after a fashion, to the feelings and motives of others which has, in turn, aided her in a way to market herself as a Maker of some skill with metal and clock work. The latter especially reinforced by the exquisite details of her now purely clockwork right arm in it's silvers, brass, and golds.

Regarding the great orders and people of the Actuality, she's remained somewhat distant (Eremetic). Wrapped up in herself and the establishing of what may have once been or will be from her home on Listener's street. Her only standing and renown among the guild halls of the Order of Makers and those seeking her out specifically for her skills as a Maker of clockwork and metal. Some as a result come to her for weapons, others for art, and others yet for a little something to make them whole in the way she's done for herself.

Of course, even as an Eremetic, she can't quite and wholly exist in a vacuum beyond such transactional interactions. She has a rare few friends and colleagues. Fragments of whatever fell by the wayside or were born of a certain necessity when it came to her work. Those underlying motivations and questions though means she can't exactly be away from the Actuality, stewing in a house of familiar yet not faces captured in paint and ink... and that does drive her out from time to time into Satyrine and it's sub dimensions. Whether by her own will or perhaps at the goading of something else that shares her home with. People with information or the possibility of greater insight into past happenings always catching her eye, attention, and orbs.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:30, Fri 17 Jan 2020.

Excellent, Bharskara and Everly.

Bharskara, shall we start with your neighbors?

How many do you have?  One on each side?  A third in the back?  Who might some of them be?

Excellent.

I’m happy to add as many neighbors as allowed, I like doing this sort of thing.

Let’s see, for the first one let’s go with a paranoid Weaver by the name of Carthis, who is convinced that mirrors are tracking them everywhere that they go.  It’s what led them to take up residence in the painting, with the hope that mirror can’t follow them in there.  They regularly patrol the Street, looking for even the smallest hint of a mirror infestation.  If they find anything reflective, be it a puddle of water or a shiny piece of metal, they weave their magic to render it unreflective.  Specifically, they have a cloth that when rubbed against a surface renders it unreflective, a reverse polish if you will.  If they can’t do that, they destroy the offending item.  As such, they are seen as a nuisance by most of the other members of the neighborhood, constantly defacing things in minor ways.

Their house is a single story to the right of Bhaskara’s hidden abode, a canvas tent almost as large as a circus tent.  Within it is filled with hanging silks and cloths, covering every surface and billowing in an unfelt breeze.

Bhaskara likes them, because they ensure that the windows of their Hidden House are always unreflective.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 14:54, Wed 22 Jan 2020.

A most excellent sort to have about!

Let's chuck in a few more possible neighbors - any we don't use for one person's neighborhood, we might use for another, or use them to spark another idea.

Killian - a lacuna who runs a small spice shop called "Variety".  He offers such spices as existential ecstasy, isolated loneliness, hearth contentment, old flame returns, first crush, exciting accomplishment, really any sort of spice you need for your life.  Killian resembles a tall man through which can be see a bed of ferns in a rain-drenched forest.  He is gregarious and very interested in what people have to say about their lives, recording them avidly in an endless stream of notebooks.

Dilah Jawo - A collector of musical woodwind instruments and stray birds, Dilah is a zilat who can control small winds.  Her home is constantly full of musical sounds, chirps, screeches, and bird talk.

Mimsy - a young woman who lives in a house not much bigger than her oustretched arms, she nevertheless seems to be cooking constantly, providing an endless stream of aromas from her window.  People seem to be drawn to her window by these scents, and she rarely doesn't have someone chatting at her window at any hour of the day (and evening).

Will try and have some neighbors out this evening. Just been a rough on and off sort of week.

Going to hop on the Lacuna train for my first one because I like them.

Carol Hall - One might fault this Lacuna for not being creative in the name she's taken but the precision of it is certainly admirable. Her figure is, nominally, that of a woman shaped glimpse into a lavish dark wood hall way furnished with a variety of apparent antiques ranging from suits of baroque armor to standing displays of china, funerary masks and everything else one might imagine. The occasional vague specter of a moving figure glimpsed from time to time in the far distance of the hall. Her own professional calling is something of a historian and clerk for the Gerent, keeping track of the trials and travails of the neighborhood and generally being an incorrigible gossip.

Sublime Routine - Someone that lives and, occasionally, dies by the tick of the clock. They serve as constable and enforcing of all those little rules and rituals that seem to keep life generally running along at an orderly clip even in the Actuality. Notoriously obsessed with their agenda and the finer points of their routine, they're rather sharp with anyone that makes too much of a fuss about anything and puts them behind schedule. A fan of the Changeries, their aspect is somewhat androgynous but uniform in the appearance of something almost like a train network given form and figure complete with small steam locomotives racing from place to place with wide and long tankers of what appear to be either blood or wine.

Two and Three Quarters Faces - An Elderbrin with a fondness for human form but notoriously indecisive to the point where they're often wearing many faces at once as the fancy and whim takes them. More curious for the fact that they're a seasoned cosmetician and general dealer in the many strange and wonderful things one might consider as cosmetics in the City of Notions... Some less physical and more... notional than others like a foundation of reason or familiarity, for instance. Their little shop is run out of a an adapted studio apartment built into the loft of one of the many town houses of Fartown.

Kramer and Kramer (Shush Bhaskara) - A pair of twins that run a small grocery store serving to the needs and tastes of the community. Both seem to have an unseemly familiarity with each other and often complete the other's sentences and thoughts. It's a rather unnerving display but the pair have some of the best selection of conjured raw materials that one can hope for in addition to the more common completed dishes. A fact that has kept them in business with a rabid little sub market that likes to experiment and play with their food.

The pair of them are rather, at least when people think they've met them in the flesh, unremarkable. Dark hair, no particular distinguishing features, average height and build and a passable sense of fashion. The only thing that stands out really is how in sync they are and the concerning fact that no one is really sure it's even them. A fact exasperated by their rumored affiliation with a few weaver groups around Fartown.

Candle Quick - A lover of Flame, one can hardly consider it a shock that she possesses a particular passion and temper that's seen her at the heart of more than on little rumour or scandal at the Vancian Campus and around the neighborhood in question. The real shock is, really, that she is a practicing and accredited member of the Order of the Vance... Let alone a teacher on the Campus. She's also said to know just the best dance hall around though few have taken her up on the offer and shown up to the usual socials again.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:49, Mon 27 Jan 2020.

Love it, fluffing them out more.

Kilian:  A lacuna who runs a small spice shop called "Variety".  He offers such spices as existential ecstasy, isolated loneliness, hearth contentment, old flame returns, first crush, exciting accomplishment, really any sort of spice you need for your life.  Killian resembles a tall man through which can be see a bed of ferns in a rain-drenched forest.  He is gregarious and very interested in what people have to say about their lives, recording them avidly in an endless stream of notebooks.

Variety is a two story tower of stone, perfectly round, with a spiral staircase about the outside that leads to the sole entrance on the roof.  The staircase is so shallow as to be more a ramp then stairs, taking two full rotations around the building to reach the top.  The long walk offers the traveler time to appreciate the beautiful stained glass windows that encircle the shop, each depicting the same scene of a bustling city, but each under the light of a different sun.  Sharp eyed viewers will see that while the buildings in each glass are roughly the same, the architecture and inhabitants of each Is altered to best reflect the nature of the sun above.

Dilah Jawo:  A collector of musical woodwind instruments and stray birds, Dilah is a zilat who can control small winds.  Her home is constantly full of musical sounds, chirps, screeches, and bird talk.   Dilah is tall and slight, herself almost a reed in the wind.  Her limbs are so rail thin that it looks like she might snap at any moment, a fragile but graceful thing.  This apparent fragility is merely skin deep though, for while she make look practically anemic, her long limbs possess a surprising strength.  It is rumored that she knows the Secret of a Knife in the Wind, though why the Zilat would need such a thing is anyone's guess.

Mimsy:  A young woman who lives in a house not much bigger than her outstretched arms, she nevertheless seems to be cooking constantly, providing an endless stream of aromas from her window.  People seem to be drawn to her window by these scents, and she rarely doesn't have someone chatting at her window at any hour of the day (and evening).
Mimsy is small and squat, and loves to joke that "no one should ever trust a skinny cook."  Her skin is a dark brown, and she is almost never seen without an apron and a smile.  She likes to experiment with Killian's spices, but abhors their overuse, thinking that the tongue should taste no more than a whisper of such overwhelming sensations.

Despite her jovial appearance and demeanor, the rumors about her are surprisingly grim.  Longtime residents on Ambassador Street speak of her sometimes as "the Thief of Names," a concerning title that belies a much deeper meaning.

Bhaskara - do you want to go with Kilian, Dilah, Mimsy, and Carthis as your neighbors?  One above, one behind, and one on each side?

And then Everly, I can work up some other neighbors for you to pick from (though yours are fabulous), or we can jump right into notable locations for both of you.  :)

Think I'm good with mine as otherwise I'll be at it forever and a day.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 22:50, Mon 27 Jan 2020.

That works for me.

What else would you like me to construct?

Okay, so the new few things we'll need are:

Points of Interest - such as a park, a business, a curious repeating phenomenon, a landmark, or something of the sort.

Point of Interest: Illargo’s Mural

The alleyway that leads to the entrance of Bhaskara's hidden domain is tall and narrow, the neighboring buildings crowding in oppressively from all sides to swallow up most of the light.  The locals tend to give it a wide berth, not for the claustrophobic alley, but because of that which resides within.  Not a person, or even a being, but a work of art which dominates an entire wall of a long abandoned building.  No one knows who Illargo was, but their legacy offers unsettling insights into what must have been their mind.

The mural itself is unassuming, dozens if not hundreds of butterflies in a multitude of sizes and shapes, whose brilliant colors are only just muted by the shadows of the narrow alleyway.  Each has hidden among the patterns of its wings a set of eyes, some human, others entirely too alien.  The artist painted them with such skill that the many irised gazes seem to follow every movement of those who pass by, silently tracking those who brave the shortcut.  Worse, those who live on Ambassador Street whisper stories of those who found that meeting the gaze of any of those eyes causes them to change, becoming a mirror image of the eyes of the beholder.  The truth of such stories is anyone’s guess, as none in recent memory have felt brave enough to try.

Point of Interest:  the Stormgarden

Despite the turbulent sounding name, the Stormgarden is a source of joy and delight for most of the residents of Ambasador Street.  It looks unassuming at first, a small community garden at the very end of the street, a dozen small plots.  Each is lovingly tended by one of the residents, reflecting the personality and aesthetics of numerous locals.  Some are carefully ordered fruit and vegetable plots, while others a fantastically curated beds of magically altered flowers, waving vines, and buzzing insects.

The Stormgarden gets its name from the fact that any who enter it generate their own personal weather event, entirely dependant upon their mood.  Calm and tranquil moods summon gentle mists and light rains, light cascading through in a brilliant display of color.  Darker moods summon darker weather, rain, blowing snow, even hail.

Rumor:  It’s All in the Name

It is always worthwhile to pay attention to names in Satyrine, and names of streets are no different.  Ambassador Street is a curious name for such an isolated place, leading to many gossips to speculate on its origin and purpose.  None know of an Embassy that might lead to the title, but that does not mean there isn’t one.

Getting a lot of things prepared for the weekend right now but will try to have my proposed places of interest up this weekend.

Point of Interest: Realty of Echoes

A strange facade greets the eyes when looking upon the place known as the Realty of Echoes. It's exterior walls are pitted and scored black iron, etched with effigies of an infinite variety of ears seeming to belong to an infinite variety of beings. No two ever quite the same suggesting their twin long lost to history and strange twists of the fabric of time rife throughout the Actuality. None the less, it's an almost macabre sight when contrasted against the neatly arranged blue-green lawn and the carefully manicured trees of saffron and fuchsia hue that gracefully over hang the walk way to a no less grim trio of steps to the black oak doors. The inside of the building is no less daunting with it's vaunted ceilings and numerous smooth, angled surfaces. Such grows all the more disturbing when one comes to appreciate the acoustics of the place. Sound becoming trapped and magnified as it rebounds endlessly, becoming more and more distorted before finally being captured by one of the bespectacled and helmeted attendance in a strange little apparatus of brass, wax, and lacquered wood; a reverse gramophone of sorts.

In this place is a thriving business of captured and sold sound (And maybe soul), a form of communicated idea with nothing more than reverberation of air and bone and flesh... and business for such acoustical accompaniments is doing quite well.

Point of Interest: Line 89

Oxidized and green tinted copper arches greet with quaint charm at the entrance to Line 89, it's signage all faded and corroded from exposure to scalding steam and careless touches. The smell of hot water, tea, coffee, and other such scalding fluids mingle on the air and leave one with an almost effervescent feeling as they approach the ticket booths standing like grim guardians to the turn style between them. Past that is then the loitering arrangement of cafes, small shops, and kiosks rising like barnacles against a back drop of the greater, and weathered, train station. Finally, one comes to the boarding area where the locomotives come to rest... A keen eyed and fresh from the Grey mind could not a distinct lack of tracks and only a bed of gravel that each black iron engine comes to rest on but such doesn't seem to bother anyone else for one reason or another.

The train can take one to many places in Satyrine and many places beside, linking onto the half built rail ways of Fartown and passing through the no man's land with seemingly ineffable reliability between the pocket neighborhoods of the devastated City of Notions. Each precisely and unalterably on time every 89 minutes and 89 seconds, a strange distinction but minutes seem to be a little longer than normal on this particular locomotive. It's maintenance is left to a strange few who no one is quite sure if they are real or not in the same vein as the Thah; each clad in gowns of grease stained lavender with limbs of marble hand joints of brass. Their features always hidden away by lingering just beyond the edge of peripheral vision and laving behind strange souvenirs like lost change, watches, and from time to time more alarming things to those who spot them.

Rumors a plenty of dark workings and stolen minutes or tickets paid with time shaved off long lives and short alike.

Point of Interest: Chamber of Suns

Power is a drug quite like any other but some find a more potent vision of such addiction than others. The Chamber of Suns is just such a place... A place where magic is found and twisted to achieve a vision of power and grandeur that is peerless through endless pipes of brass and bronze and arcane apparatus of strange mediums beside; thudding and thundering like veins tied to a heart. An infernal heat burns though this place and ceases at the mind yet there are strange wonders and terrible secrets to be found beneath those first layers most find themselves waylaid upon and with such things the burden of terrible insight into the underlying mechanisms that drive the whole of the Actuality... Or so is the popular rumour among those addled few that have stumbled away from the secretive halls and through the all the more illusive door of the Chamber of Suns.

There are other whispers of darker things; that it is a cradle and the reason for the War. That a crime took place here that couldn't be forgiven by the prosecutors of that War. It's all hearsay, of course, and the truth is likely merely a peddler of a drug to those whose egos demand more of their perceptions of reality.

Rumors: Something Wicked This Way Comes

There's rumour of a devil, though that's hardly new, but a devil all the same. Not a small thing either but something scary and thrilling and old and terrible and charming. The mongers say it's looking for an old colleague and has been snapping up the leads with Faustian bargains a plenty for anyone with a kernel or secret to spare towards that end. It's gotten itself something of a name; the Gambler... and from all descriptions is a rather pretty dandy in the guise of one woman or another.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:36, Fri 13 Mar 2020.

Most excellent guys!  I am setting aside several ideas from your neighborhoods to weave in later! :)

Last three things:

One or two local issues

PC Bonds

Desideratum

Rumors: There is a wind on Ambassador Street

There has always been light, within the painting.  The cycle of night and day, the suns rising and setting.  More often than not, the sun within the painting even matches the one over Satyrine.  Yet there has never been weather, the sky has always been crystal clear, the sun and the moon right and unblemished by clouds, and the air tranquil and calm.  Now there is a wind, capricious and ever changing, and no one knows why.

Rumors:  The Music Box

Someone has been leaving a beautiful silver music box, perhaps several, about on the street.  Children have been seen playing with it, giggling with delight as it dispenses not just music, but candy and other treats.  A few discerning adults have grown concerned and investigated, but reported that it did not seem to do anything dangerous.  Instead, it sings a song of a spider trapped in its own web, and unfolds like a beautiful flower to reveal a glistening dew colored web of silk.  Placing a spider within this web, as the song that emerges suggests, causes the flower to snap shut, and the prize is won.  No one knows who the owner of the box is, no one sees who places it, and no one sees who moves it, but rumors are that others have been seen within Fartown.

PC Bonds:  I guess that depends on if Bkaskara knows Everly or not.  Their first character arc is to acquire a weapon, and they will want a Maker to create it for them.  Likely, they will need to perform some task for the Maker, or assist them in some goal.  Anything of that which sings to you Everly?  What would they do if they were owed a favor?  Some item they need acquired, some introduction made?

Rumors: The Calendar Council

Time isn't quite right on Listener's street and no one is quite sure as to how or why that's the case. Some blame the recent influx of new arrivals upsetting the delicate rhyme and reason of the day to day routine while other, older residents whisper that it's the doing of some shadowy little group trying to engineer and tweak things just right to make things perfect for them and no one else. A ridiculous notion, of course, but it still doesn't negate the fact that Time simply isn't working quite right.

Rumors: A Vision of Thrones

A rash of disquieting dreams has plagued the more sensitive sorts of Listener's street including the Gerent's own daughter. Each dominated by pitted thrones of stone and vine in the ruins of what had once been a great hall. Endless ruin stretching into indistinct grey and dominated by great, crowned figures in tattered robes of yellow, red, grey, and green. The seem to wish for something but their words make no sense and their gestures bring no insight. No one is quite sure as to what any of it means but scraps of that same tattered clothe have been found among the possessions of several who have experienced the dream.

PC Bond: An introduction is definitely something that'd speak to Everly; she's trying to solidify her own identity after all and such things can go a long way towards that especially depending on the order in question as more than a few of her questions relate to her perceived involvement in many things. That all being said finding a maker is rather easy matter of putting out a commission lol.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:11, Sat 08 Feb 2020.

Some good issues to deal with here...

Now, for the PC bonds, that's a good reason to meet, but there are some bonds with mechanics attached in the back of The Key.  Is there one or more that interests you to share?

And as for the Desideratum, do you want to do seeking knowledge or money or association or one of the other common ones?

Maybe Fated Companions? But otherwise, there's not a lot of the PC bonds that might necessarily tie Bhaskara and Everly together beyond a contractual agreement. There could also on that front be an intermediary through Vivali or the like? Heard Bhaskara was looking for a weaponsmith and pointed them towards Everly?

As to the Desideratum; Everly is definitely seeking knowledge of the self and identity as much as to expand her craft and maybe move away from her eremtic ways as said influence grows.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:18, Mon 10 Feb 2020.

Fated Companions for sure.

Bhaskara Listens to the Whispers, and the Whispers are the infinite chittering mouths and tapping feet upon a million threads of silk, vibrations just barely perceptible to their Vislae senses.  The multitude will sing to them about Everly of the Order of Makers, once they meet.

"This one, this one is needed for the great web."
"Befriend her, make her an ally."
"Harduun, ganuranth tymori."
"She must succeed in her quest."
"Help her, so that she will help us."
"The seneschal calls."
"Consume her."
"No. Not to be eaten, not to be devoured, not to be turned, this one we need."
"Tick, tick, time is ticking."
"She will be magnificent, let her grow."

Desideratum

Bhaskara is seeking understanding of what is happening to them as well, and attempting to gain the attention and favor of a being of near infinite power, the Truespider Raajathamos.  To do so, they understand that they will need to grow.  Power seems like a good one?
This message was last edited by the player at 05:34, Mon 10 Feb 2020.

I think this works nicely. Knowledge and power... And I'm sure Everly's secret companion will have a few choice things to say.

All righty then!

From the looks of both of your neighborhoods, it seems that there are more things that trend towards the good or neutral rather than the bad, so I shall award you each one Joy for your neighborhoods.

Each of you now have a wicked key.

Now, as a point, there is supposed to be one Desideratum between you two so there is a single point to start the adventure.  So, do you both seek knowledge, or both seek power at this moment?

Knowledge.

Knowledge. Of self or otherwise. :D

Anything else we need to visit to round things out?

Sorry for the delay!  Had some household things to take care of, but I hope to have our opening In Character post either tonight or tomorrow morning.  :)

Seemed like Bhaskara's post was indicating we weren't together... so I made the presumption despite your lead in post there Legacy.

Hmmm, I am interested about this thread. Hopefully not all the details are taken, and I can offer my own contributions? I assume the neighbors are Bonds or just random people we may like to see out and about, a sort of "Cast of Characters"?

I seem to have added a Point of Interest perhaps with the inclusion of Threadbare Thrifts and Threads in my House thread, a Moth run establishment where people purchase cloth that has been moth eaten, a possible trend among certain types. They also sell silk and silk products, such as silk paper. They might be willing to do a trade in for well conditioned clothing with a set that is of a more tattered nature.

No reason you couldn't add more, and we can contribute to yours!

The Moths' Guest House is a Hidden House then?

What neighborhood is it in?

That is a very good question that I left vague on purpose. As far as my back and forth with The Legacy, it seems to be an undefined place that just happens to exist somewhere in Satyrine, but has no definitive location.

Tryvv is kinda couch surfing there.

Since the neighbors I define might give it more solid status on location, we can say it is more located in one area or another, but at The Legacy's whim he could spill me out just about anywhere in Satyrine or elsewhere. Moths don't just hang out in Indigo afterall.

I trust our GM to keep it fair, or fun... whichever is more useful for the story!

A Hidden House is a specific kind of house that is available to two of the Foundations, Eremetics and Iconoclastics.  So as long as you are one of those Foundations you're good to go as far as the "difficult to find" thing.  Your "no definitive location" idea could work perfectly with that.

It's just harder to write neighbors and neighborhood events for you if you don't have a neighborhood.

I do really like the idea that it's "not your house," as that could potentially mitigate a lot of possible mechanical problems.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:32, Sat 14 Mar 2020.

Neither necessarily applies to me, as my foundation is "Connected." I looked over the house sizes, and "Small House," which is available to me, describes it as potentially a room rented out to you... kinda like a condo or rented room in a larger home.

Which is the direction I went with. I talked about the home design of the larger abode with The Legacy, and he approved for the house to be not directly placed anywhere, kinda making it "hidden." But that is kinda up to The Legacy. I may over time have my "home" be more strange as time goes on, but the fact his home is so "normal" inside the strangeness of the House of Moth, with it's eerie quietude...that itself is rather odd.

I have been brainstorming a bit all day for neighbors, so as soon as I can sit at my computer I will jump onto that and the last lingering aspects of Tryvv.

For all I know I am not the only "Tenant" in the house. It could serve as a hotel or Condominium complex of sorts, I suppose. Again, for the sake of it being interesting and fun I cede these decisions to the whim of The Legacy. If this is the way we go with it, I can easily make a neighbor be another resident in the home, and we could say that the House of Moth can be accessed only in a certain area, making it less "hidden" and more "not entirely obvious."

If this is the way we go I can edit things a bit (and add a bit more strange to my apartment just to make things interesting...a minor quirk or two, as Tryvv likes the normalacy).

It certainly works, it's just harder to pin it down compared to the other houses though it presents an interesting intersection with the Ever House since Everly's home is technically infinite as well.

Neighbor: Mr. Shulks
Tryvv is not the only Itinerant of The House of Moth, as Mr. Shulks lives just down the hall. That statement, however, can be quite deceiving, as "down the hall" can mean up to a mile of corridor, or merely a few steps from Tryvv's apartment door. Mr. Shulks is a brooding, quiet sort, a Vislae of unknown order who mostly looms in shadows eerily, and seems to wear about him the gloom of the house like a robe. He eschews even the dim light in the home, and is entirely unperturbed by the normal moth residents even when they swarm about. Mr. Shulks gives the air that one should know him more familiarly, but the sense always escapes. At least, that is Tryvv's experience. He has not seen Mr. Shulks entertain much, but Tryvv did have him once over for tea. Tryvv can not recall what that was like...

Neighbor: Madame Harlowe
An elaborate armoire in an old burned out Brothel and Burlesque on Lantern Row seems to have a common exit from the House of Moth. despite being burned out and quite obviously haunted by Madame Harlowe herself, Madame Halowe's Harlots is quite operational and draws quite a few patrons seeking Burlesque entertainments (and other fare) at the establishment. Madame Harlowe is quite breathtaking as far as ghosts go (both literally and figuratively), but is good natured, if quite miffed whenever Tyrvv happens to stumble out of her particular armoire. After the first few times that he had interrupted "business," she has set the offending portal into a storage room, and she has been much more pleasant about intrusions from the House of Moth since.

Neighbor: Bervin
Bervin is an Elderbrin who runs a cafe adjacent to Threadbare Thrifts and Threads on Beacon's Way. Unlike most Elderbrin, Bervin is more heard than seen, taking on the shape of music embodied in form. For those who have not 'seen' Bervin before, or another Elderbrin with similar dispositions, the sensation of seeing the formed appearance of a piece of music is quite strange. But nonetheless he is a quite pleasant chap, and his shop, Cafe Allegro (not to be confused with Cafe Allegory three blocks down) draws many who are in the mood for pleasant and calming music while sipping espresso. Except on Tuesdays. Tuesdays is Jazz day.

Point of Interest: Torchlanes
The streets along Beacon's Way see dusk earlier than most, for whatever reason. Residents do not pay it any mind, it is just the way things are, and there are certainly a number of Vislae that could be blamed for it. However, the early fading light along the roads has facilitated the need for transit too and from without leaving residents or visitors stumbling in the gloom of the place during an hour when most think it ought to be daytime. The Gerent of the area created the Torchlanes to fulfill that need, a cab and carriage service that takes people to, from, and throughout The Beacon's Way and all the branching streets adjacent. One merely needs to hail a cab, and their torchlit vehicle will whisk sojourners off, using a route that seems to bend the streets to create a shorter path.

Claimed to be the best way to get about, there is an official cab installment on both ends of The Beacon's way, and from there one can order a cab, or try to hail one from the street. Throughout the rest of Satyrine there are installments that take people to the dusky district as well, but the Torchlanes are idiosyncratic to The Beacon's Way, and only rarely are their cab's called for service far from their standard route.

Local Concern: Torch Sputter
Their have been a number of issues with keeping the lamps and torches of The Beacon's Way lit, even when there seems to be nothing wrong with the torch, lantern, or lamp. In particular this has been problematic for the drivers of the Torchlanes, who rely on the lights to lead them along their hastened routes.

Point of Interest: Font of Sero
On Gaslight, a plaza that intersects The Beacon's Way, there is the Font of Sero, a fountain that spills out an unending stream of babbling words and phrases. About the fountain are benches who are huddled in contemplative thought, wondering often aloud what sorts of ideas are being conveyed in the endless stream. This makes the benches entirely unfit for sitting upon, as they are quite incessant in their pondering. despite this inconvenience, it is quite a spectacle, and many Vances come to the Font of Sero seeking some bit of stray lore that might be useful in the composition of their spells, or a theory on arcane lore while conversing with the benches. Others, such as theatrically minded Weavers or Goetics, find the backdrop of the fountain to be a good place to try busking, though Goetics sometimes find this occasionally dangerous, as the murmur of the font can be quite distracting. Others like to view this landmark from afar, the murmur becoming a soft lull that they might find relaxing while drinking at the Cafe Allegory (not to be confused with the Cafe Allegro 3 blocks up).

Point of Interest: Twilight's Veranda
Twilight's Veranda is a large open air performance theatre located on Candle St. No one seems to own it, though nonetheless it earns quite a bit of income as there is frequent patronage. While regular performers can have a performance booked at Twilight's Veranda, it more frequently see's Vislae making use of their magical talent to create impressive displays. Weavers frequently make use of the theatre not just for performance sake, but also to advance and hone their skill live on stage, while the other Orders may occasionally book a performance here as well. Theatre goers may dine while they watch the magical performances, and the fare itself is worthy of praise, though it is a mystery exactly where the meals come from just as much as it is unknown where the money spent to dine or view a performance goes.

Rumor: Twilight's Misfortune
The local Gerent is quite interested in who runs and maintains the Twilight Veranda, and has placed a reward for any who can discover their identity. Why he wants this knowledge is kept quiet, though most suspect it is so he can get a cut of the profits through taxes at the very least!

Local Concern: Pesky Pests
There has been a local infestation of moths that have caused some damage to certain textile sales shops, and have become a bother to various tourists trying to enjoy the scenery of the Dusky District.

Rumor: The Unlit Lamp
Down a ways on Shamlamp Ave. is a Lamp Post that can not be lit, and indeed has laid in utter darkness for years. Most give it a wide berth, especially those carrying a light of some sort, as the rumor is that it will douse if one get's too close to the lamp post, and it is seen as highly taboo to stay too long within the gloom of that lamp during the hours after dusk. Some claim to have seen an ominous figure standing beneath it, but can't seem to remember much else about it. These stories almost always seem to be linked to some misfortune that occurs afterward, though this could be the speaker correlating the events together unnecessarily.

Whew! Ok, that covers that... at least for now, supposing that The Legacy has no concerns to raise!

Now for PC Bonds. Any ideas? Since I am late and missed the group development, I do not see any that immediately jump out. Relatives only works if we are distantly related... Shadow Friends could work (But the benefit would likely be lost on us sadly). I do not want to follow the line of "Fated Companions" per se, since I know that is already being used, even if that *is* the easiest to employ.

Whats your starting Character Arc?

fall from grace

I decided to go hard mode. Should be fun.

Want to have trouble with the Abnormous?

Perhaps they are the reason everything is going to shit?
This message was last edited by the player at 05:58, Sat 14 Mar 2020.

meaning that the Abnormous is responsible for my woes? No, I already covered that area, though having the Abnormous as an enemy isn't necessarily a bad thing, methinks. I assume that you are looking at Rivalry, though that doesn't seem as...conflicty as being diametrically opposed. Unless I am mistaking your idea.

Let's start with the basics, what is your character?

A Connected Stoneheart of the Order of Weavers who Turns Tales into Reality.

Obviously a lot of Nuance involved here. Fall From Grace isn't an easy Arc to follow for someone with a lot of connections.

For purposes of relevant info pertaining to PC bond possibilities, he has bonds with Moths (a strong theme throughout the character design), Intelligentsia, and Lacuna. His Shadow life was that of a teacher of Literature and Folktales (which now he has discovered are more real than myth).

It seems like those contradictions are going to be your story, as you lose your connections with one of the three.

I would perhaps suggest a plot line where the Abnormous abduct and possess a Lacuna contact of yours while you are meeting with them, and the greater Lacuna community blames you for the disappearance.  The investigation down the line as you try and clear your good name would bring you into contact with Everly and Bhaskara, who are also investigating the disappearance of an acquaintance.

Gives us a pretty clear Fated Companions hook.

I like the sound of that. The Lacuna are my shakiest connection, and I could see Tryvv drinking away his sorrows at a bar run or frequented by Lacuna, and them somehow blaming him for the disappearance of a person.

I have an idea on who and where, but let me slide it past The Legacy. Otherwise that sounds like a good idea.

I'd like to add...



...to my neighborhood.

Most of your local events and rumors seem keyed to your street.

I'll write up one or two to give to you today.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:56, Sun 15 Mar 2020.

Kind of plays well with the whole Calendar Council rumor I had  proposed for my own neighborhood so there's a nice affiliation there. The Cab system also makes a good link for the rail way station (Line 89) that was one of my PoIs as well.

The more connection the better! I confess I looked to everyone else's ideas to help structure mine.

Excellent, sounds most intriguing Tryvv!  A lovely strata of light and shadow to play in.  :)

I'm stealing my favorite one of these from another game for you, and writing a new one.

Place of Interest:  Iljin's Archway

A simple stone arch between two tall buildings, someone has taken the time to scratch "linger not" into the rough grey.  Passing through reveals a dark alleyway, but one need only pass twenty paces within to be greeted by a brilliant swarm of incandescent butterflies.  They take wing from the walls, alighting in ones and twos on any passersby with a delightful tingling sensation.  Closer inspection with a light source reveals their true purpose, bellies swelling rapidly with crimson.  Fortunately, the insects are sluggish enough that one can pass through the alleyway at a brisk pace and attract less than a handful of them.  Thus far, they have resisted any and all attempts at eradication.

As a rule, most of the locals avoid it but there's a small few who brave it as something like a right of passage and the euphoria that comes with the touch of the Butterflies is rumored to be more addictive than just a spat of light headedness.

Place of Interest:  The Well of Eyes

The Well of Laughter used to be an idle amusement, a small fountain attached to a deep well whose shimmering waters provided a great assortment of emotions to those who partook.  That all changed two weeks ago, when the water lost some of its imbued aspects.  Something was called, a denizen of the Red, and it has infested the well.  It has grown fat, corpulent, swelled to bursting on the rich wealth of emotions upon which to feed.  To some, this many eyed horror is an improvement, for it filters out all the negative emotions that the well used to impart.  Others ward themselves and avoid the square in which it resides, shuddering at the thought of consuming anything having anything to do with the clustered gaze that lies beneath the cobblestones.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:14, Sat 21 Mar 2020.

Ok in my shotgun approach to character creation I’m going to put out some character bond and neighborhood building stuff.  Jonah it seems is pretty good at getting things to a lesser extent by negotiation and to a greater extent by being physically able to get places. Honestly his skills are lacking in his players opinion, but I think it’s the nature of Vances and most other Vislae the start of the game so we will go with it.  He is, however, not a fighter so keep that in mind.  He is far more of a runner awayer.

As for his house, it is a doorway in an empty lot in Fartown.  The door is at the top of a set of stairs that would lead to what should be a brownstone, but is more of an alley breaking up a row of brownstones.  From the rear the door is invisible but the stairs can be seen.  The area that should be a house is actually heavily trafficked as a shortcut in the neighborhood.

To the left of his house is an artists studio.  The artists name is Laveh and he is a zillat creator.  He specializes in in forming sculptures from captured light and is quite abusive of anyone who comes to his studio In addition to being a raging alcoholic.

To the right of the door/house is a grocer that specializes in herbs that have been grown under different suns.  There is nothing special about the herbs it’s mundane things like chives, parsley, cilantro but all are imported from the other suns.  Chefs claim that one can taste and feel the difference and, while Jonah has made the rounds of the shop he can’t tell the difference.  Of course, he has trouble telling the difference between parsley and cilantro, so...

That’s my start so anyone who feels inspired can just tag on of course.

Jonah, what is your house's name? The Nowhere House?  The Door?  Staircase to Nothing?

For a neighborhood feature, how about:

Once Fountain - This fountain on the corner appears only a particular way once.  It has been a stone basin, various kinds of statues, a bronze urn, an elaborate multi-figure memorial, a silver orb, even someone's house!  It seems to change with the setting of the sun, and despite sometimes dramatic changes in size, never seems to infringe upon the road or businesses near it.

and/or

Eloquent Haberdashery - A store for men's hats made to order. What most find unique about it is there are no hats on display, only large broadsheets that describe each hat in beautiful poetry.  The proprietor, a lacuna name Ingrid whose form looks out upon a calm blue sea with silver bubbles in it, will only examine a potential customer's poetry to determine if they rate a hat from her shop.

We'll also need a rumor about your neighborhood...

I quite like the fountain and, while the haberdashery is probably a place that Jonah wouldn’t go (Not a hat guy)I think it could also be a good addition.  I figure more stuff is likely better or at least leads to more stories.  Perhaps a name for the house could be the Winged Door as the casement around the door is made of bird wings.  Neither I nor Jonah know why the wings.  The wings are stone, but occasionally they move or flap though rarely.

For a rumor...  Perhaps he gerent is rumored to have made a deal with one of the emotion mills to allow them to build a new factory.  The rumor also suggests that a number of houses will be torn down to make space for it though it is unclear which houses and the gerent denies the rumor.