#trippedside

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Chatter - The Forgotten Stories ———————————————— For The Citizenry, death is an unknown concept because none of us ever truly dies. Our lives are just a story that gets recorded upon it’s conclusion, and then our experiences are mixed with another recently concluded, to create a brand new Citizen. In this way, we can live forever. Sometime during this recording process, something goes wrong. When this happens, a Chatter is born. They are stories that could not find their conclusion, Citizens who yearn for an ending, but can never find one. Books, ink and paper that sits rotting away in some dusty forgotten corner, their desire to be remembered is so strong it consumes them and an inky abomination is born. Named for the sound they make when they move, the voice of their past self trying to reach out and finish their story. This desire is so strong, it drives them to consume other Citizens in a vein attempt at completion, but inadvertently birth more and more Chatters. To us, The Chatter, those forgotten stories are as close to death as we’ll get. For what good is a story if there is no one to remember it.

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The Sword Maiden ------------------------------- Depending on who you ask, the Sword Maiden is either a single citizen, or several. No one knows for sure as each time you meet a Maiden, she's always different. Identical in appearance but completely different in voice and personality. The Maidens exist along side the Church of Solomon. But even the church doesn't know who they are, for no one has ever seen the Maidens together. Some say she's a kind hearted Citizen named Alienor who defends the down trodden and rescues those in trouble. Alienor is said to lead a group that hunts down villainous and wrong do-ers. Others call her Amelia, a sweet and gentle citizen who roams the streets singing quietly to herself. Other more troubling accounts say she goes by the name of Queen, a heartless information broker who operates out of the The Imperium Bar. Often seen in the company of the Fence Nives, Queen buys and sells information as well as controls all information that flows through the Lower City. No one knows for sure who these Maidens are, or even if they are truly one citizen or several, each day they are different, each using a different name and persona. Perhaps they are multiple personalities within one body, no one knows for no one has ever been able to see behind her mask and glance the true Maiden beneath.

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Solomon - The Prior of Gold

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Knives - The Architect

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Locke & Pik - The Duality ------------------------------- Deep in the depths of the Lower City, outside The Church of Solomon's reach, beyond the glitz and glitter of the High City, spoken of with hushed voice and averted gazes is the Imperium Bar. To the peasantry, this unassuming hole in a wall is simply a place to wile away the hours, but to those in the know, it could be said that The Imperium Bar is the largest concentration of sensitive information in all The City. One thing must be remembered before entering the bar, and that is to hide your identity. All those wishing to enter must dawn a mask, and take a new name. The bar's proprietor, Queen, asks this of all her patrons, but don't think this is for her protection no, this is for yours. To Queen, you are nothing more than a resource waiting to be utilized. For she deals in information and will think nothing of using what is freely available to her. Of course, to run a successful brokerage, you need agents, and that's where The Duality come in. Locke and Pik came under Queen's employ randomly one day with a very specific set of skills. Like their names imply, their strengths lie in breaking and entering, with Locke being able to create nigh uncrackable locks, and Pik being able to crack even the most difficult lock. The Duality is nearly inseparable, where one goes the other follows. The idea of love is a foreign concept to us, but it does happen on occasion and it could be said that these two are the closest thing to love that we The Citizenry will ever experience.

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Eligor ver.XXXIX The Scribe They say that our lives are a story that has yet to be written and that the author will start the first page upon our death. Death though is a relative term for us, for no one in our city ever truly dies, they're just...redistributed. They say that all inhabitants of our city come from the Code. That when we die, we return to the Code and our experiences are mixed in and distributed with other newly decreased, and this new jumble of data will become a new citizen. With no memories of our past lives, we continue on forever adding to the Code. Our lives aren't just erased though, no. Who we are and everything we've ever done is recorded in a book and stored away. Who writes these books, you ask? That would be The Scribe, Eligor. He, along with dozens of Drones record, and process each and every story that comes through their halls and by doing so ensures that no citizen is ever forgotten or lost. There have been thirty nine previous versions of Eligor so far, with a new Eligor being chosen every few generations. Who Eligor is exactly is a mystery as we only ever meet him twice in our lives. Once at our inception and then again at our conclusion. It is He who decides what makes up our code to go into the world with, and it is He who writes our story at the end.

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My final character before I leave Japan officially. I've been working on a steampunk project for a few years now, but I always put it off in favor of designing other characters as Steampunk always demands more ornate details that I don't have the energy to do really. Thought I'd post up my progress.

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No-Eyes - The Predator ------------------------ In the early days of The Great Schism, before tempers flared, before our spirits were broken and despair settled in. We employed more creative ways to fight The Unkn0wn. We developed a covert unit known as The Beast Corps. A four unit squad specializing in different types of warfare. Each deadly in their own unique way, but none was as unique or as terrifying as 'No-Eyes'. No-Eyes' speciality was combat through paranoia. It carried with it Nanites that when introduced into prey subjects would cause hallucinations and steadily increase the targets aggression levels until they were so hysteric with fear and anger that insanity would set in. No-Eyes would feign an attack, injuring the victim just enough for its Nanites to infect them. It would then allow its target to escape, only to return days later to retrieve its Nanites and devours its prey. Beyond the Nanites, No-Eyes is a silent and effective killer, without the need to see, it can hunt in complete darkness. It's sharp claws and nimble body make for a difficult opponent for even the most skilled fighter. Worse yet, that if cornered, No-Eyes is able to split itself in two, severing its upper and lower body. Do not think the fight is over as it will continue to fight in its split state, and as long as one half escapes, it is able to regenerate itself completely. After the war, without word from their commander, we assumed the Beast Corps was lost, and so we all migrated to Halcyon and forgot. It wasn't long before rumors began to circulate about beasts that roamed the darker corners of the city. Citizens disappearing into portals, screams into the blackness of night, fear and paranoia began to take hold. Was this the Beast Corp again? Did they somehow make it into the city?? If so, from where? We don't want to die. Not yet, not so soon...