antiquity

Hosts: The Enemy Within

Seven Hosts were chosen as those with strong moral fiber to resist the temptations of the Sins. For the rest of their now immortal lives, the Hosts would have to live in a constant mental war against one of the seven most powerful demons in history.

@TheNoCoKid

Greetings,

Just looking for some clarification on the above, as I wrote my app under the assumption that purposefully indulging in one's Sin to any excess would have negative consequences or even possibly allow it to escape; is this not the case, or are there any guidelines we should keep in mind in that regard?

-antiquity

The Un-Vanished Palace [antiquity & EchoicChamber]

"You're too kind, Captain," Avernius demured as he began to move again, toward the rear of the crowd, where the growing shadows cloaked those in the square in darkness. "And were it another occasion entirely I might be so inclined to agree. But alas, I think it safe to say that were we in need of someone to play the pitifully distressed while we perform some deft sleight of hand," he gesticulated vaguely with his free hand for emphasis, "Neither of us would quite suit the bill."

"A scholar though, you say," he considered, stopping short. "Genius. I'd say we've two options then. Shall we flag down a carriage and make haste for the University to try our luck getting one to take an adventuring sabbatical? Or shall we instead delve into the back streets and make inquiries of the gutter prophets? Their writings are often difficult to disseminate, but one can hardly expect straightforward scholarship of those who freely share the Correspondence; I imagine they might take a bit more coaxing to join us as well but I demur to you, my dear companion in arms."

Catching sight of himself in a smudged shop window, Avernius pauses to adjust the cravat under his throat just so while waiting for Colette to make the final decision on how to proceed.

Hosts: The Enemy Within

Here's my application for Greed.

Angelica Aziz - Greed

Faceclaim: Gigi Hadid


Quote:
"When the entire world is there for the taking, resisting the call to have it all is a test of one's restraint."
-Fatima al-Umar

Name:
Originally: Fatima al-Umar
Currently: Angelica "Angel" Aziz

Apparent Age:
24

Appearance:
Though in her early twenties, Angel has a sophistication and style that is mature beyond her years. Her grey-hazel eyes are piercing in an almost hypnotic way.

Personality:
Angelica's nature is best described as charitable; she's an empathetic person by nature and even millennia of fighting against the malevolence inside of her haven't changed that. She sees the suffering in the world and rather than wring her hands and lament, she rolls up her sleeves and tries to do something about it. Despite her efforts, she is riddled with self-doubt. In order to give, one must first receive, and in receiving she often wonders if her efforts are truly selfless charity, or just an excuse for her to receive & passively sate her Greed.

Biography:
Before Angelica was a Host, she was a young woman named Fatima al-Umar, the third daughter of a Prince of Nazareth. During a famine caused by a plague of locusts sent by minions of Lucifer to weaken the resolve of the Jordan army of soldiers and priests fighting in the holy war, it was Fatima who left the safety of the guarded compound day after day to offer bread and milk to the mothers of starving children who lined up outside to plead for succor.

In time, after the war had wrought devastation on the land, the famine ended and prosperity began to return to the people, and they sought to repay Fatima's kindness, bringing offerings of produce, fattened animals, and fresh wine day after day. Faced with this abundance, rather than keep it for herself and her family, she convinced her father to set up a fair trade route through which they could sell the offered goods to less fortunate regions at a reduced price to help them through their recovery. In turn, the money made could be reinvested into the populace, supporting those who had little of their own, setting up orphanages, and subsidizing those in need until they too could prosper, in turn donating goods that could be added into this charitable cycle.

When another battle against the forces of Hell loomed on the horizon with bloodshed happening in Jordan, the people despaired, but Fatima, accompanied only by a handful of loyal and beloved servants, set out with a caravan of food to take it directly to those in need. Greed, incensed by this selflessness, interfered with her plans directly. Not pestilence, plague, betrayal, or heartbreak stopped her trek into Jordan to feed the hungry, and though in the end, all those who accompanied her perished at Greed's hands, she persevered. The last servants at her side, monks of the secret order that'd discovered the Demon-sealing method, waited until Greed was distracted and weakened in the face of Fatima's act of charity, then took the Demon by surprise, sealing it into Fatima's body & sealing her fate in the process.

Immortal, Fatima has traveled the world over the centuries, taking on new identities so as to not raise suspicion of her unchanging mien. She was a follower of Mother Theresa, taking part in missionary work for the Catholic Church, though she left when the work became more of a grift, less charitable as much as a religious recruitment drive. She's also gotten involved in various charities, and was instrumental in the creation of both the Red Cross and Amnesty International, though she despairs privately at many of the atrocities committed in their name by predators who use the cover of charity to exploit the desperate and needy.

In her current identity as Angelica "Angel" Aziz, she is a beauty and lifestyle influencer on social media, well-known for her charity work. She hosts regular contests between influencers to raise money from subscribers for charity, and partners with big-name brands to create aid packages and scholarships for the less fortunate.

Sin:
Angelica's Sin is known as Greed. They feed on the desire of humanity to conquer and acquire through any means possible. At their bosom, they cradle the insatiable CEOs, the oil tycoons, the land barons, the millionaires at the head of supposed non-profits worldwide. They don't just get ahold of the wildly ambitious, however, the tendrils of their influence are felt in the broken crevices of the minds of kleptomaniacs, and all the way down to the kindergartener that steals an extra cookie at snack time.

From the start of civilization up through this very day, one might say the driving force of all civilization has been Greed. The desire for more land, more subjects, more resources, more, more, more. There are those who say without Greed, man would be content to give in to Sloth and languish in squalor, but still, others say that the influence of Pride would never allow mankind to sink that far & that the defenders of Greed are just looking for a convenient excuse.

As one of Lucifer's Seven Generals, Greed was a driving force in the War for dominion over man, tempting humanity with promises of gains beyond their wildest dreams if they simply gave in to Lucifer's demands, sacrificing their country and countrymen for their own betterment and damning their own souls in the process. Greed is unfortunately not impervious to its own temptations, and the desire to see more turn toward Greed had it influencing even the other Demons of Hell, competing with one another to have the greatest number of Sinners under their thrall, even to the detriment of their goals in the War.

When Angelica calls on the power of Greed, she can influence people to risk it all for their worldly desires. During the war in Ukraine, she hosted an auction on her subscribers-only Patreon channel for a limited edition autographed James Charles Morphe palette that sold for $525,000 due to her influence exerted on the top bidders, and though the proceeds went to a good cause - specifically munitions and first aid for the people of Ukraine to defend and tend to themselves - such efforts come at a heavy cost to her confidence, making her doubt at times whether her selflessness is real and if she's truly capable of keeping Greed at bay when it feels so good to let it out for her own ends. Greed preys on Angelica through this insecurity, constantly reminding her of all the good it could do if released, all the poor and destitute it could inspire to actively seek achievement for themselves, and accusing her of wanting to keep Greed all for herself.

Curse:
As a Sin of desire, much like its 'cousins' Gluttony and Lust, Greed is insatiable. Angelica is therefore prone to act on impulse, forever driven by a sensation as consuming as hunger for a starving man, or the need to breathe by the drowning. Her quickness to action can sometimes be a boon, but other times it can cost her dearly; when once a follower expressed a wish for a used car she could use to commute to her new job, Angelica rushed to get local car dealerships, greedy for the free press, to donate a car to the young woman in need. The car was donated, but without due diligence, Angelica didn't stop to look into this follower first - she'd lost her previous car by crashing it into a pole while under the influence of alcohol, and after receiving this new car, she got behind the wheel again while drunk, and killed a family of four.

Likes:
Though at times ashamed to admit it, Angelica likes glitz and glamour and is attracted to beautiful things and beautiful creatures. Her charitable nature means she's prone to giving people the shirt off her back if they need it, which has led more than once to her giving a homeless person an Alexander McQueen hoodie. Ever wary of Greed, she questions her purchases but justifies them as the cost of maintaining her beauty brand and access to those whose Greed can be exploited for charitable aims.

Dislikes:
Large dogs, Cristal champagne, Tommy Hilfiger, makeup brands that do animal testing, ungrateful people, greedy people, people who downvote without even watching the video.

Quirks:
- Except when dismissed (which they always are before Angelica discusses anything regarding the Sins), Angelica is constantly followed by a small filming crew to create content for her various channels as a beauty/lifestyle influencer on social media.
- Angelica has a pair of baby albino ferrets she carries around in a designer shoulder bag. They're rescue, of course.
- Angelica suffers from a mild form of anorexia nervosa that keeps her from ever eating until she's full, so she can use hunger as a reminder that unfulfilled desires cannot hurt her.
- Angelica is sincerely generous; where others might offer help or money out of a desire to indebt others, Angelica offers what she has freely & experiences a brief period of respite from the gnawing sensation of Greed when others accept.

antiquity's 1x1 Interest Checks [MxM] [MxFtM]

New Plot Idea

Overbearing Boss x Overworked Assistant

I'm looking for someone to play the assistant (M) to my character (M) who is a solo practitioner of a highly involved career - either a scientist, a mage, an assassin, a journalist, etc. Said assistant will need to aid their employer in increasingly unreasonable tasks, be it prep for an upcoming project, mind-boggling fetch quests, or responsibilities of a more "personal nature".

What the hell is in it for the assistant? The joy of being bullied and bossed around. So don't apply if that doesn't appeal to you, naturally.

MxM, romance, adventure, smut, 18+ content, casual/advanced, 25+ age writers only

The Un-Vanished Palace [antiquity & EchoicChamber]

"Worse than torture," Avernius confided. "It's been dreadfully boring," he emphasized the word as if it was actually painful in his mouth. While some lower-tier nobles were content to ride their waves of money and notoriety to jockey for social ranking among the rank and file of the aristocracy, others leveraged their good fortune for the noble pursuit of keeping themselves entertained. Avernius was decidedly of the latter persuasion, and as Colette returned his bow with one of her own rather than the expected curtsy, she solidified the assumption in his mind that she might well be entertaining company to keep indeed.

"The pleasure is decidedly mine, Captain." Accepting her gloved hand, Avernius flinched as the teeth nipped at his own bare thumb. "How very curious," he murmured, his fathomless eyes meeting the fierce gaze of her glove as he proceeded with the handshake. His attention shifted back to Colette herself afterward.

"Never do anything by yourself that can make for an interesting shared memory, my dear. A team is just what we'll need if we want to get our hands on this particular palace." Unless she objected, and even then unless she objected quite adamantly, Colette would find herself with the Duke Dandy on her arm and weaving through the crowd. "It isn't long until midnight, we should find at least one other to join us, don't you think?" he asked, seemingly having decided at some point that he and Colette were now a package deal in the upcoming contest. "What do you think; should we aim for brawn or brains? Or perhaps eye-candy? Loveliness is so often an undervalued trait," he mused, as much to himself as to Colette. Scanning the crowd, he looked over those gathered as if their future partner in crime would simply be holding a sign.

The Un-Vanished Palace [antiquity & EchoicChamber]

"Precisely; I'm so very glad you understand how hard it's been for me," Avernius replied to Colette's ribbing in all seeming sincerity. Someone ever so helpfully offered him a pressed white handkerchief, which he accepted, dabbing the corners of his eyes daintily before returning it to the nameless, faceless member of the crowd.

"Lord Avernius Valentine, of the noble and esteemed House of Valentine, at your service." Avernius swept an abbreviated bow toward Colette before straightening, maintaining just enough distance so as to not have to look up to meet the notably taller woman's eyes. "I say, I don't think I've had the pleasure of making your acquaintance as yet, and a most formidable seeming acquaintance it would be," he says, giving her a swiftly appraising look, from her chocolate curls to her footwear of choice this eve. "If I might now rectify that, Madame...?" He trailed off, clearly hoping she might obligingly fill in the blank.

Around the pair, the crowd continued to ebb and swell, with people grouping up and discussing just what the first so-called heroic deed might be. Already alliances were being made, deals being struck as people decided to throw themselves headlong into vying for the prize. Still others were gripping the iron bars blocking access to the palace grounds, peering inside to try and see what there might be to see. Gossip was swirling, exaggerated and embellished; already there were rumors of ghosts and an undead staff, as well as a prediction that anyone who made it inside would certainly never be seen again. Some members of the Ministry, likely the Estate board but possibly the Cartography Oversight committee, were making some fussy sounds about the audacity of the palace to appear here and what effects it might have on property values, but by and large, they were ignored.

The Un-Vanished Palace [antiquity & EchoicChamber]

Approximately 40 years ago, London was stolen by bats.

It has since been accepted that anything can go missing at any time and that anyone with a bit of sense knows to keep an eye on their possessions if they wish to keep them in their possession.

Of course, everything that goes missing isn't guaranteed to remain that way; rumor has it that the Empress' many and varied wigs are prone to disappearing for days at a time, returning in a most bedraggled and windswept state. This keeps the Official Coiffeuse of the Shuttered Palace up a night, dreading what tangles she might face come morning.

And yet, while wigs and walking sticks and wayward children may come and go, there are some things that people generally expect to by and large remain stationary. 'Like London?' one might ask in a snickering tone, quite correctly. But also real estate in general; it is a truism of the Royal Ministry of Property and Estate Management that addresses shifting about the Neath is very, very bad for business.

And yet, this is where our intrepid adventurers find themselves at the start of this tale, in a Fallen London whose society has been set abuzz by the perplexing news that a palace has appeared, courtyard and sprawling gardens included, right in the upscale residential area of the city, between the Pickering Estate where Mayor Braxton Pickering resides with his two families, and Loosefang Manor, an upscale retiring home for elderly vampires of wealth and means.

Even more perplexing is the status of ownership of the palace, for it is registered with the Ministry as surely as if it has existed all along but in place of a name or a Trust, the address' owner is listed simply as 'To Be Determined In Due Course'. The meaning of this quickly becomes evident should one visit the palace, its grounds surrounded by a tall, wrought-iron fence, the gate heavily padlocked, and the whole thing sealed up with magic that has made it thus far impervious to scaling, tunneling beneath, squeezing between, or blasting with dynamite. A sign has been posted on the front gate that reads thusly:

Seeking New Ownership.
Seven heroic deeds to claim one deed of the property herein.
Individual and group efforts accepted.
The first deed to be posted at the stroke of midnight.

The Un-Vanished Palace [antiquity & EchoicChamber]

"...and thusly, I laid him out flat!" with a grandiose flourish, a young gentleman concluded his tale in the middle of the public wine garden, commanding the polite applause of those gathered nearby, some for rapt attention to his tale of bravado, and others because word had gotten around that the spirited dandy in the well-tailored suit was buying rounds for all those accompanying him this evening, whether acquainted or not, and so it was a respectably sizable gathering indeed, thus far.

The hour was sometime after six in the evening, and the public house was flooded with those waged workers fleeing their offices for the comfort of the cups and company to be found in such places. The wine garden was a specially reserved area, for the nobility and those who brushed elbows with such elites. Even with such lofty entry requirements, it was still well-populated already and likely to get even more so as the hour stretched further into the gaping maw of night.

All of this is mentioned to give one an idea of just how spectacularly noisy it was in the vicinity, and so just how loudly the following line had to be shouted in order to bring a hush over the place:

"Hear ye, hear ye!"

Heads swiveled as if on greased ball bearings, the assembled turning their attention toward the Ministry page whose training had included how to project just the sort of voice that could command such attention.

"A miracle has occurred, and the Ministry invites one and all to bear witness!"

With that, the page snapped his heels in a well-executed turn, filing out of the garden and onto the street, and at first a few of the more curious trailed behind him, but soon chatter filled the crowd, wondering what on earth qualified as a miracle in the Neath, and if possibly a way back to the surface had been found, or even if the Shuttered Palace had thrown open the patio doors. As more and more were infected with curiosity, they too poured into the streets to hurry after the Ministry page, and from the look of things on the streets, the Ministry sent criers to every public establishment in the city, for there was a parade of bodies in assorted shapes and sizes and manner of dress, all heading in the same direction, toward the most affluent part of town.

"Well, I say," the besuited dandy exclaimed, rising to his feet, the red wine in his glass sloshing dangerously to the side before settling. "Has talk of my daring heroics made its way to the Ministry already? Is perhaps the scene of my duel to be made into a London Historical Society landmark?" he wondered, his vanity seemingly knowing no limits. "Let's go take a look, shall we?" he asked of those gathered, and on the whole, they looked agreeable enough, especially when the gentleman settled up everyone's bill before they joined the flow of citizenry.

The walk didn't take long, seeing as the public house they'd been in was already on the more upscale end of the High Street, and soon enough the wine-sipping dandy found himself before the palace that certainly hadn't been here when he'd passed earlier this afternoon. "What an unprecedented turn," he said, more to himself than his seemingly forgotten companions now, his eyes skimming over the posted sign. "I find myself short of a palace these days, as it so happens."

A woman nearby explained in hushed tones that the man talking to himself was none other than Lord Avernius Valentine, son of Duke Valentine, and recently turned out from his home by his mother with the stern advice to get a job and stop waiting around for his father to die so he could inherit.

Salutations.

Welcome to the Guild! I'm always glad when more GMT roleplayers join!

@Catharyn

There is something quite nice about getting same-day replies! Thank you for the welcome.

Eldritch, Gothic, Victorian London/Searching for a Fallen London RP

Well, this is an Opportunity Card I can't look past.

Fallen London & the subsequent Faibetter Games spinoffs are relevant to my interests; I would love to explore these back alleys with someone suffering the same recurring dreams.

If you'd like to discuss particulars or what have you, I'm more than amenable to doing so here, via PM, whatever suits.