Hey if you struggle with hypervigilance/feeling perceived by your own internet history, OR you have a tendency to have one thousand tabs open, (a number I've literally hit before) remember that you can use private/incognito browsing for literally anything!!
I'll use it to look up totally innocuous things that I know I won't need to refer back to. I'm like "this search does NOT define me, do not remind me of it ever again!"
(idk if it's just me, but sometimes I get peeved or unnerved when my old searches get suggested to me. Like, ew, don't invoke the past!)
And on my phone the private tabs end up being closed eventually automatically, so I can guarantee certain ones won't be added to my Hoard. It's a pretty easy way to force a small impermanence.
good morning, friends! seems like there's a bit of a misunderstanding on how the skeletons are laid out - to be clear, none of the characters are actually a mayor, a sheriff, a tv personality, etc;. that is the role they play in the television production that this story is centered around! bigotry is not welcome in this roleplay.
when it comes to the comedian, public controversies that celebrities have been "cancelled" for over the past few decades include things like cheating, a young celebrity participating in recreational (legal) drug use, being outspoken against conservative/fascist political and other public figures or agendas, accusing someone of abusing their position of power (a la monica lewinsky), filming a music video in a church, plagiarism/stealing someone's likeness (joke stealing in the comedy world is a bigggg no-no), slapping someone who insulted your wife (and her disability) or someone who cheated on your sister, a DUI (a la the party girls of the 2000s), shoplifting, bribery, a bestie breakup where the other person is more well-liked, any public breakdown (especially if the comedian is marginalized in a way that makes their public image "less sympathetic" - such as the wide public having less empathy for people of color, women, etc;). for things that are "less forgiveable" (such as association or defense of another controversial figure), consider things like being locked into a contract or also being a victim of an abuser and being unable to speak out for their own safety or being forced to publicly support them by a label/agent.
there are, of course, options that are genuinely bad such as complicity or (even unknowingly) engaging in harmful behaviors and things that people do that are bad and rooted in harmful ideologies without realizing the roots (like the example i gave about making fun of another celebrity for something that ends up being a part of a disability or their culture). taking advantage of fans with a cult to continue to keep them giving money despite not producing anything new, etc; is also an option that is not rooted in bigotry as much as it is someone being an opportunistic shitheel.
if you have any questions/concerns or would like clarification, please reach out directly to the main. happy to assuage any worries! at the end of the day, this is a story about someone being murdered in an industry that is known to be problematic of itself. if you are uncomfortable with that being explored in fiction, that's totally fine! however, playing imperfect/problematic dolls with people is not inherent support of those imperfections/problematic aspects.
Once I learn how to make chainmail I am going to make one of those bolero type tops where it’s mostly just sleeves, and a small bit of your back and upper chest/ collar bone area so I can wear it under normal tshirts!
The next night, Grace prepares to return to her dream, or Nightmare Time, as he’d called it. She hopes that’s all it was, a nightmare. Nightmares aren’t real. They’re just conjurings of the mind to pass the idle time of sleep. Maybe they’re indicative of deeper fears, but most of the time–Grace insists–they don’t mean much. He was just a mental phantom. He couldn’t hurt her. He couldn’t tempt her. He was dead. She had watched him die, his chest torn open, eyes glassy and lifeless… but as she tucks herself into bed, in the black of her room, she can almost see those glassy eyes burn to life, vivid and green.
When she arrives, the right side of the church is exactly the same. She could count the six windows, spot the communion table, and the cross far back and above. She would reach to count the pews as well, but her focus on the ritual is completely disrupted by the left side of the room.
The symmetry of the church is shattered. Just to the left of the pulpit, a tree has taken root. It’s massive and old, certainly older than Grace, with a thick trunk grown all the way to the ceiling. The tree’s roots run like cracks in glass all across the left side of the room, reaching around the pews, up the walls, across the windows, so as light shines through them, they cast fractured shadows on the floor. One branch stretches out over the stage like a brambled hand, and at its very tip, offers a single green apple.
The apple. It was the apple, of course. Grace mentally kicks herself. That was a stupid mistake on her part, leaving it. Holloway had explained to her and Hannah the importance of symbols, but she’d let herself get caught up in her anger and frustration and left it there.
Grace makes her way towards the tree. She counts the pews out loud, hoping the sound of her voice will cast out the tree like it does her anxiety. It doesn’t. Not only that, but she finds the only change mirrored across both sides of the room is that darn missing fourteenth pew, which isn’t much of a comfort.
Will be working on my verses post ( though as a preview they are, obviously, hero of time, hero of the wild and hero of twilight plus maybe hero of skies and hero of wind ) and also lock in to work on replies here BUT find me on discord in the meantime to chat/plot!
majaaaaa may i please have a summary of each of your two worlds characters :3 i must know them better!
YAYAAYYYYY YESSSSSS! i'm still trying to fix some things because it all started in middle school so the lore's not perfect but i'm working on it!
first a bit of geography (there's more countries but those are the homelands of my characters)
Northern Galafei: Lorenzo D., Aurea, Izma and Runa's country. monotheistic religion, absolute monarchy, military superpower.
Middle Galafei: Daria, Lorenzo A. and Honoria's country, country-cities, no state religion, no centralised authority, open to everyone.
Southern Galafei: Zira and Johari's country, religion similar to the north one but less orthodox, monarchy, cultural superpower.
the Holy Land of Ilir: Hari, Mela, Nalin and Nila's country, closed to outsiders until recently, religion centered around water, matriarchy, parliment.
the Kingdom of Ranav: Rian, Izma, Runa's country, no state religion, absolute monarchy, not rich.
the Grand Lyssin Duchy: Ilsa's country, monotheistic religion, multicultured, recently became the centre of world's commerce, gets richer and richer.
Crescent Islands Union: Teru, Nalin and Nila's country, federation, no state religion, one of the richest countries, trade with luxury items.
[in our world people from Northern Galafei would be from middle and eastern europe, people from Southern Galafei would be from south africa, people from Ilir would be from south asia, people from Crescent Islands would be from east and southeast asia, people from Lyssin would be of many ethnicities, people from Middle Galafei would be from north africa and middle east.]
prequel characters:
Aurea Oriela Danika: first a princess denied her legacy, then a powerful empress. her mother got dethroned by her husband and Aurea's life mission was to regain what was taken from her. she did it by starting a rebellion, she teamed up with Rian, the future king of Ranav (they fell in love and soon had their first child, Izma) and cursed her father with the help of Daria Ayari, her best friend and a witch. as a queen she tried to fix her father's wrongdoings but she wasn't perfect herself. used religion to manipulate the masses, turned Daria's children into living weapons, erased Daria's legacy. she died in a fire caused by her younger daughter, Runa. [slavic]
Rian Gordon Voronin: son of Teru Ihara, king of Ranav, his country was on the verge of war with Northern Galafei, so he took Aurea's offer and teamed up with her to defeat her father. after Aurea's death he couldn't bear looking at Runa because she was too similar to her mother. he came back to his country, stopped appearing in public and stopped caring about his duties. [celtic/wasian]
Lorenzo Dragun: knight loyal to Aurea's father member of a very powerful and noble family that disowned him because they were were conflicted with the Danikas (they claimed the throne should be theirs). he got sent to a mission to find Aurea and stop her, but he switched sides (partially thanks to Daria) and decided to stay. eventually he got captured and executed for treason. [slavic/germanic]
Daria Ayari: young witch from the Middle Galafei, she was a medium and an oracle. her country was invaded by the north and her family killed for their abilities by the invaders in the name of god. she wanted revenge so she teamed up with Aurea. she and Lorenzo Dragun fell in love and she had twins. she predicted Lorenzo's death. she and Aurea cursed the king together and she died in childbirth. [persian]
Zira Berhe: first a princess, then a queen of Southern Galafei, teamed up with Aurea to protect her country that got invaded by the north. after Aurea's rise to power and Daria's death they drifted apart because Zira didn't like how they used dark magic. [lesbian, south african]
Johari Berhe: Zira's older sister, was meant to be the queen but after north's invasion she got married off to the grand duke of Lyssin in the hopes of gaining Lyssin's help in the war. her first child died right after being born but she revived it using dark magic. Ilsa came back wrong, she had vampiric nature and Johari quickly became afraid of her. [south african]
Teru Ihara: noblewoman from the Crescent Islands, married the king of Ranav because she wanted to make a political career and she didn't have a chance for it in her country. she had a huge influence on her husband and son and she was the one to decide which granddaughter inherits what. [east asian]
main story characters:
Runa Suliena Danika: heir to her mother's kingdom, killed Aurea when she was 10 but doesn't remember that. has huge religious guilt, feels like she needs to be perfect and virtuous to deserve salvation (later gets over it). after the accident left to herself, jealous of her sister because Izma got to travel while Runa was stuck in the palace. never knew anyone her age until she met Hari Lalwani, Ilir's ambassador's son, a few month before her 16th birthday. after turning 16 she was meant to become the queen, but before she was allowed to travel to Ilir with Hari. during the journey they got kidnapped by pirates (one of them was Nalin, Hari's best friend). Runa slowly started to realise that she liked this life much better and decided to not return, especially that she remembered the accident and was crushed by guilt. at the same time she started to gain confidence and became joyful again. [15/16, aroace, slavic/¼wasian]
Izma Edra Voronina: after Aurea's death she had to take her parent's responsibilities. stopped believing after the accident but pretends she's still religious. she was meant to inherit her father's kingdom. her only friends were Honoria and Lorenzo Ayari, but they drifted apart after the accident. she travelled a lot and tried to live up to her mother's standards. she was overprotective of Runa and felt guilty because she survived the fire untouched. she never let herself gireve properly, and became a workaholic to surpress her sadness. when on a diplomatic mission to Lyssin she met Ilsa Ilona, and they fell in love but they both had too much personal problems and it never had a future. she knew that Lorenzo loved her but she couldn't love him. eventually she announced that Runa was dead, became the queen of Northern Galafei and married Lorenzo (strictly lavender) to end their conflict with the Draguns. [20, bi and ace, slavic/¼wasian]
Lorenzo Ayari: Daria and Lorenzo's son, religious (guilt tm). he's trans and his new name was suggested by Aurea. he has prophetic dreams but they aren't clear. before the accident he dreamt about fire and he felt responsible for the accident because he was too afraid to warn anyone. he has loved Izma since childhood but knew he never had a chance. his whole existence revolved around her. he sworn loyalty to her and accompanied her on all of her travels. he and Honoria drifted apart because she wanted to leave the palace and find out what happened to their mother, but he refused to ever leave Izma. in the end he changed his last name to Dragun and married Izma, which completely alienated him from Honoria. [20, demiaroace, persian/slavic]
Honoria Ayari: Lorenzo's twin sister, atheist, wants to leave the palace. she was Runa's guardian and always felt bad for her. after Runa was kidnapped she was send to find her, and she did but decided to give Runa her freedom and not bring her home. Honoria can see ghosts and is haunted by Aurea's shadow. she gradually realises what Aurea done to her and her brother and starts to hate her and her family while loving them for everything Aurea did for her and Lorenzo. she's worried that Izma will go down Aurea's path. in the end she leaves and travells to Middle Galafei. [20, aromantic, persian/slavic]
Cecylia Dragun: prince, related to Honoria and Lorenzo, heir to the Dragun family, her position is endangered by her brothers, tries to fix the relationship between her family and the Danikas. welcomed Lorenzo into the family and made a deal with Izma to finally end the conflict. knows everything about everyone and likes using this knowledge. [19, doesn't care with who she is as long as they're useful, slavic/germanic]
Ilsa Ilona: Johari's daughter. born dead, resurrected with dark magic, had vampiric traits and because of that was isolated her whole life. everyone just thought she had bad health (in reality she was immune to all illnesses, a few of her siblings died in an epidemic but she was fine). she's afraid of losing her humanity so she clings to every bit of it. very religious, prays even tho she believes she's doomed. Izma was her first love, but she was afraid she would accidentaly hurt her. her aunt Zira proposed to Johari that Ilsa could inherit the southern throne since she was denied Lyssin's, but Johari refused. eventually Ilsa gained Lyssin's throne by force. [21, lesbian, south african]
Nalin Ejiri: Hari's best friend, albino, son of a merchant from Crescent Islands and a woman from Ilir, Nila's brother, hides his real emotions under sarcasm. his family travelled a lot and on one of the travels his sister drowned. after that his parents split up and he run away from home and joined a pirate crew, trying to find Nila because he believed she survived. he accidentaly kidnapped Hari and Runa and quickly befriended the girl. [17/18, bi, desi/east asian]
Nila Ejiri: very sweet, Nalin's sister, Hari's friend, albino. drowned during a storm and got turned into a siren. her brother found her and tried to find a way to "cure" her, but it wasn't possible. she liked her new form and decided to always be near their ship [17, ace, desi/east asian]
Hari Lalwani: unpleasant at first sight, skeptic, atheist in a very religious country, fascinated with sirens who are worshipped in Ilir. wants to perform an autopsy on one but it's impossible. planned to study at a university but his mother asked him to accompany her on one final mission to the north, where he met Runa and was kidnapped alongside her. one of the crewmembers was Nalin Ejiri, Hari's best friend and situationship. he reluctantly joined the pirate crew and tried to help Nila Ejiri, conducting dubiously ethical experiments. [17, bi, desi]
Asha Lalwani: Mela's daughter, Hari's sister, beginner politician, tries to improve the system from within, replaces her mother when she goes on missions, conflicted with her brother about religion [18, desi]
Mela Lalwani: head of her family, Hari and Asha's mother, Ilir's ambassador, wheelchair user, extremely respected genius politician, goes to Northern Galafei to fix the relationship between the north and Ilir, she and Izma work together on concealing the kidnapping to prevent a war [38, desi]
