Hmm... Well, it is possible to achieve that effect with magic, but technically only through the significantly more advanced combo-spells, I think. It would require at least two different spells to either be cast consecutively or interwoven with one another during casting, one of which would be the offensive spell (obviously), and the other of which would have to be a protective spell to be placed on those to be spared from the effects of the offensive spell. It would require significantly more magical energy than just casting the offensive spell - nearly twice as much, actually, as one would have to spend energy on the offensive spell, and then an equal amount on the protective one if it was to be able to completely cancel the offensive one - and it would be quite advanced magic, but it would be possible.

Now, what's in the news... Well, for one I have to go to the joint celebration of three or four birthdays tomorrow (one of which is my own) so I probably won't be able to be very active then, and the university has my schedule full to an (to me) unprecedented degree next week, so... yeah, if I have time and energy I'll spend it where it is needed, but otherwise I really can't. The next few weeks after that should be a bit better though, so maybe the RP can pick up a little again by then.
Eh, and I've become an uncle. My little sister has given birth to my first niece, Freja (Danish spelling of Freya). So that's... special. I'm terrified of the baby for some irrational yet primal reason, but she's here.

Three or four birthdays celebrated at once? That sounds like a lot for one day... Granted, I myself just happen to literally share the same day of year with two of my relatives / extended family members (as well as one of my mother's very best friends, but her I've little contact with) as far as birthdays go, but these birthdays aren't generally celebrated together. ...If for no other reason, then because said two extended family members, albeit individually either very close or fairly close to me, are from different branches of the family, and thusly any joint birthday would end up like one of those family reunions where no one knows who half of the people are ... and we'd have to rent some kind of mansion for that, since it is wintertime and I don't think there'd be a private house or restaurant to fit all those people.
- As far as all the birthday-related well-wishes go, I think I shall postpone them to the (as far as messages and other means of contact which do not come with meeting in person go) more traditional, actual birthday.

(...Unprecedented university degree? What is meant with the unprecedented-part?)

And about everything else ... I think I've expressed most of my thoughts, if (as seems to be characteristic for me these days) a bit incoherent manner. Although I'm quite certain I left out something I either forgot or didn't manage to fit in... Er... Yeah. Take time, give yourself time, and may things work out to the best possible outcome.

---

On a RP-related note, I do intend to get the collab opening post finished before I go to sleep again; been a bit preoccupied with various matters over here.

I just meant that my schedule at the university hasn't been this full yet, nothing more. Interesting things are going to happen, though, albeit not the coming week, but the one after that, as I will be visiting one of our laboratories for the first time. I've had to procure myself a labcoat just for the occasion, since they are required for safety (couldn't find a really long one, though, and had to settle for one that reached just past the pelvis... but I figure that aesthetics aside, it's more practical like that. Lots of pockets, though. I do find it very funny that when I ordered it from the web-shop, I ordered XL, and the coat I got had a label with L sewn onto it, with a sticker reading XL just slapped on top of it. Curiously it fits well enough despite of this).

These birthdays are all in my immediate family (my father, my uncle, my aunt and me... and now my niece, too), so the main reasoning behind celebrating them at once is that the same guests would show up anyways and that this way we can share the expenses of one party rather than each have to pay for one of our own. Obviously we don't all have the same birthday, they're just grouped in the same month (except my father, whose birthday was September 30th, but close enough). Our actual birthdays are as such pretty normal days in most regards, which suits most of us fine - especially since there is a five out of seven chance every year that it isn't in a weekend - and we just celebrate that day much more relaxedly... A cake, maybe, some mandatory happy-birthdays, presents and usually a meal by that person's choice.
Eh, and I'm still slightly struggling with accepting that I'm turning twenty-five this year... a quarter of a century. It sounds like a lot. Feels like a lot. Logically is still quite young. Sometimes I'm pretty sure that I'm a lot older on the inside than I am on the outside.
And I'm rambling. Maybe a nice change of pace from the shockingly curt OOC posts I notice I have produced pretty consistently since the start of September. But I figure that should improve once I get used to things the way they are now.

Your university doesn't have lab coats available on the spot? Huh. Every single lab, be it an university or institute lab (mostly biology and chemistry labs), I've been to has had an entire cabinet stock full of white lab coats of all possible sizes in some corner or back room. (I, however, do own an actual lab coat due to an event which handed them out some years ago.) Well, the Tallinn University of Technology's chemistry faculty's labs actually have dark blue lab coats, for some reason ... it has been theoreticized that it makes it easier to understand whether and what exactly you managed to pour onto yourself. Considering that many - if not most - of those lab coats actually have some bright pink and bleached-white stains on them, this theory just might hold true... (White for alkali, pink for acids?)

(...Clothes shopping is a horrible thing. Not only do I find it fairly tedious, but most things are either too short or too wide or both, except for when they are too narrow (though the latter more occurs with footwear, half of which clearly haven't been made to accommodate five toes). And I think companies actually label the sizes quite arbitrarily, so what is L for one is M for another and so forth.)

Hmm... Tyah, I must say that the people who can be found at my various family members' birthdays aren't necessarily the same, save for a few... Some of my family (the not-so-young cousins especially) actually celebrates their birthdays twice: once with family, once with friends. Understandable, in a sense, what with the atmosphere and activities being different. I personally mostly ignore my own birthdays.
(Which reminds me, I should ask my family again when my father's birthday will be celebrated ... he is out-of-country on the two weekends closest to the actual date, and a couple of days ago no one still had any idea. Makes planning a bit hard for me.)

(For some reason, your mention of age reminded me of a specific bank's handling of people's 26th birthday "Happy 26th birthday! Regrettably, you are no longer entitled to the various discounts meant for young people". Why, thanks... But eh, if my one grandmother had no problems climbing mountains in Peru in her mid-seventies and the other one is flying between Sweden and Spain and Estonia and so forth all the time, twenty-five or thirty sounds quite insignificant.)

A quick question for very near future - how are blades on the backs of male lohks arms actually positioned? In which direction do those extend compared to the arm and hand, do those actually extend to cover the backs of their arms...?

(Oh, and Claw's sheet has not been added to the opening post. It's here: http://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/1781334 )

I didn't? I could have sworn I... But then, I don't remember coming up with a quirky title for him, so I figure I didn't. Very well, I will do so now!
Might as well remove Salas from the OP, too, and update the rules-section on how many free spaces are left for new characters. Wait, I didn't give Iridiel a title, either? Unforgivable. That must me remedied immediately as well.

The skeleton-blades on male lohks' arms protrude from a fairly long and relatively wide base running along nearly the entire length of the back of the lohk's forearm, from about half an inch from the elbow to an inch from its wrist, drawing an approximate lens-shape with slightly rounded tips, quite thin at the ends but more than an inch thick at its thickest. From the elbow-end of the blade it extends outward in a soft outward curve, protruding only around two inches outward from the arm over the first four or so inches, and is actually quite dull, but then curves outward a little more dramatically from there, reaching out (with the outer edge of the blade, as in the one facing away from the arm) about ten inches at its farthest, which would be the portion positioned behind the lohk's hand; it is also only on this more strongly curved part of the outside of the blade that is actually comparatively sharp along its edge, though obviously still not comparative to the sharpness of man-made blades or even other creatures' claws. The inside-edge of the blade curves more roundly along its first portion than the outer one does at any point, starting out protruding almost perpendicular to the arm instead of the near-parralel start of the outer edge and then sharply curving to approach a similar form to the outer one. It protrudes nearly six inches outward from the arm like this over nearly the same length in continuation of the arm, after which its curve softens significantly. Only after the first eight or so inches of edge - which is quite dull - does the blade sharpen to a similar degree as the outside edge, and extends some ten or so inches farther than the lohks outstretched hand, where the edges meet in a point that is much sharper than either edge.

EDIT: Very nice start to your collab, and a deeply fascinating portrayal of a lohk, I must say. I'm actually genuinely impressed and interested... I want to read more about the lohk.
Ah, but my dear intriguing little arbitrary obstacle, I suspect your life won't last much longer. A pity. But then, I felt similarly about the piaan-addicted yth.

Just so that we're all clear on this: who is waiting for who to post right now?

I started a post, though my job has made me busy. I could do with some more input, but I can finish it off and post it.

M3

Well I was going to cook up a post with I'on real soon. Within the next few days, so if you want to wait on that, Merc, there'd be a bit more input.

I'm also planning to post today, or at the very latest tomorrow. :3

(Double posting is a terrible thing ;_;)

Ok, that sounds good to me, guys :)

M3

I'll post after Rhae.

Alrighty, post is up! A little dissatisfied at its length, but I plan on responding to both Merc and Yoshua once they get up their initial responses up. :3

At least one small correction to that post: the Fixer's mask did actually dematerialize with the rest of him. The dry blood-smear on it that remained behind and crumbled away, the while the mask itself stayed with the Fixer.

Dark Jack said
At least one small correction to that post: the Fixer's did actually dematerialize with the rest of him. The dry blood-smear on it that remained behind and crumbled away, the while the mask itself stayed with the Fixer.

Fixed!

So if no one else was aware, I've been (and many others) unable to post till just now, hence the lateness of my post. Nonetheless, there it is :)

As for me, I am waiting for either Legion or ASTA in the Claw/Iridiel/Domhnall collab ... Legion I know has started writing a reply, not sure about ASTA, but he's around. Well, and for Nessa in our collab...
(Nessa? Are you still around? It has been a rather long time since my post, and you've been very silent here... How are you? Doesn't Thaler have anything to say?)

- And glad you like my portrayal of a lohk. I tend to be a bit uncertain in whether my interpretation matches what was imagined by the original creator writing someone else's creations, but looks like I hit the mark there. Certainly enjoyed writing the post, too.

@Shien no she doesn't.

@Nessa: No? Not even when you poke her a bit and think a bit more thoroughly? It occasionally happens that some parts are not as easy to get through as others, but things can change at any time, and when the situation seems bleak, it is often best to focus on here and now, start from something, and not think too far ahead, lest it starts to seem too much and becomes something to put off indefinitely until maybe someday one feels ready to face it. They already hit the bottom; it is far more likely things will get better now. Not instantly and all at once, of course - that wouldn't be natural -, but bit by bit. And regrettably, we would never find out what would happen unless we move on.