CaliforniaState

Nomadic Odyssey: Find Your Heart

Wondering if this is still open

OBLIVION

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“Don’t tempt me” A harmless line that didn’t evoke much, but would later set the stage for the rest of their lives. Even Ivy herself knew not the gravity that word carried from Jack’s, of all people, lungs. The reception to her toast was a medley of reactions that did not surprise her in the least. Well that was a lie, Lucas, the ever trodding dark horse came from out under the searing lights to ease Ivy’s misplaced blame. Something that sent a shiver up her spine and down her skin, leaving bumps that read like braille on the tops of her mocha skin. A coy smile etched on her face wondering if she had been too quick to judge and file their once great friendship somewhere far away. “That bureaucratic circle has been following me since the day I left babe. It’s a whirlpool that looks to consume me at every turn and corner, appearing in my coffee, in the curls of hair of people I work with and even now in this swirling mystery of what’s in the capsule. I almost feel like Brad Pitt” ensuring pop culture had not been wasted on the prissy president, surely she was not wrath though, that role seemed to be reserved for CJ. The jokes and negging from Jack and CJ was a refresher from the doom and gloom from PJ’s even if they were slightly sardonic. There was a strange air of competition or discomfort between the two she kept feeling from the table to the bathroom. Cigarettes and empty liquor bottles ushered in a wave of nostalgia, reverting the circle of alumni back to their appearances from their first day of freshman year. “Are you implying you wrote some of your own? Or maybe you received many a letter from a secret admirer? Most of Hanna’s would be hate mail so we’re safe on that end” she shot a wink at the recovering actress still relishing in her friends impromptu speech. “Kick it and end up on our backs like Charlie Brown? Be my guest CJ, I think it would be good for you I’ll even hold it for you. But lets save the kicking for after we crack it open” before she could put the quip to rest the thought of burning Ritman and Delton to the ground sounded oddly refreshing but the pair would not make an arsonist out of her, “Like a Pheonix they would just rise from the ashes CJ, you know that.” Anni failed to chime in and Ivy sensed a new invisible membrane of anxiety and reluctance form from the pores on her skin. She failed her in high school, but she wouldn’t fail her now. Instead she clapped her hands twice snapping the attention to her. She strutted towards Lucas and snatched the capsule out of his hands. The cool touch of the steel felt good against her palms. It was finally the moment of truth, they could finally put their memories to rest. Hanna undoubtedly would have started a dramatic drum roll with either her hands or mouth. Ivy’s fingers found the crevice that kept a small door hinged to the rest of the capsule caked in dirt. “Okay everybody here we go. I haven’t been this nervous in a minute” she said between hurried breathing and a smile. She pulled the container open letting the lights above flood the depths of darkness within. Her expression of authentic curiosity turned sour in a matter of seconds. Wrinkles formed around her eyes and clung from the middle of her forehead. This was wrong, it was all wrong. “No no no no no, this can’t be it, this isn’t happening right now. Oh Ivy why didn’t you open the fucking capsule before you got here. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Ughhh no no no” Ivy’s arm had completely sunk into the void of the capsule appearing as if it had no start nor end. She fished around viciously with sounds of her fingers and nails scratching and swiping against the metal. Coming up with nothing but a singular item in the capsule. A loud thud echoed through to both end zones at the drop of the capsule. Ivy’s eyes began to sting and she could feel the saliva in her mouth starting to get hot and cling to the pockets of her cheeks. “Don’t cry, don’t’ cry, they’ll understand right? Right?” Fighting against the inevitable welling of tears she made no movement to turn to Hanna despite wanting to find comfort in her best friend. Looking at her would only hasten her untimely end. “I don’t know what this is! It’s all wrong! This isn’t our capsule…I’m…I’m sorry guys..show’s over” her nails dug into the leather backing of the book that was tattered and stained from years of wear and tear. No author was transcribed on the spine and the cover was blank with no title. She wished the lights overhead would have gone out and left them all in the dark, but she wouldn’t be so lucky. Wiping away some loose tears she opened the book to see who had played such a vicious joke on her, it was probably the bureaucratic circle Hanna mentioned. Except when she opened it there was no table of contents nor a sleeve with a check out ticket. The pages were stained with indelible lettering that was no written alphabet she had ever seen. She tore through page after page and it was all the same until it ran blank. More perplexed than she started, Ivy sprang to the last page to see if there was a hint or clue to what this was. One word, centered in the middle of the page, that shifted from the illegible text into english language. “Oblivion” she whispered to the group. The pages fluttered and the book shook violently in her hands like a ship at sea during a swelling storm. Her grip was cemented on the book against her will. The letters from the pages bridged from the paper up into her hands, quickly wrapping themselves around her arms and across the rest of her skin. Fear tinged with desperation attacked Ivy sending her into shock, her mouth formed the words for help but found them stuck, unable to leave the creases of her lips. Her tongue and mouth went limp and the whites of her eyes became clouded in smoke that swallowed any perceivable sclera. The earth began to shake below them sending the bleachers into a panic of uncontrollable tremors. The lights above them flickered in and out and a gale wind swept through the football field, lifting Ivy into the air. Her limbs and head went limp as if someone was reeling her up by string. A violent shake occurred in her body that immediately went still not a second later. Oppressive light shined out of her eyes as her eyelids shot up like a curtain, a piercing howl left her mouth, punishing the eardrums of those around her. Her mouth closed and she fell to the ground sending a massive kinetic explosion out of her body that traveled through the bodies of her classmates and instantly knocking them unconscious. All movement and wind ceased around them immediately and the lights shut off leaving the group in total darkness. Her wish, granted. ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

█ #1.01 WAY DOWN WE GO blackout —turnstile p. johnson’s bar▸ ritman high football field interacting with: Hanna/[@Prisk] Anni/@Kuro CJ@TGM Jack[@nodogs] Lucas/@Mao Mao ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

Mahz's Dev Journal

@Mahz

Looks like the only checkable box for the email notifications is for private messages. Besides that, experimental just needs to be spell checked

bug

Mahz's Dev Journal

@Mahz

That fixed it thanks

Mahz's Dev Journal

@Mahz

Not sure if this a big but some users can’t change their usernames in their profile settings. I myself get this message when I scroll down.

bug?

Mahz's Dev Journal

There’s some features from the old site that I think could be useful to integrate on this one. Like how visitor messages used to work instead of being redirected to your own profile with every notification. Or the ease of browsing your own post with a previous button instead of a first page button.

Also with allowing us to change our own usernames, can you return to old names or are those locked behind those forever links?

OBLIVION

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That indeed was the plan she just wanted to confirm it with the group before she moved onto the next part of the reunion without much hassle from the rest. “Yes that is the plan so eat up or take whatever you don’t finish home with you” she suggested seeing as they ordered more with their eyes than their stomachs. A few more minutes to an hour passed at P.J.’s before the rush of the weekend crowd begun to cluster in the heart of the bar. Pretty soon their pleasantries were swallowed up by the drama and gossip that made whatever petty grudges the group aired out to each other seemed dwarfed in comparison. The bar was starting to get hammered with drink orders and more black suits came from the swinging kitchen door churning out all kinds of bar food in attempts to quell the grazing by the watering hole. Ivy had gotten up with Hanna once more to head to the bar to close out the tab and leave a generous tip. Fitting through the gaps and having to push through while no one heeded their “excuse me’s” felt almost as bad as the boys way too young to be hitting on them, trying to chat them up. The two of them were loud enough to clear out any stifled attempts, leading them to the bar. With everything cashed out they returned to the table. “Okay gang lets head out before we really feel the weight of Delton. I know you guys must have drove separately but I rented a car with more than enough space for us to all carpool, now don’t get too excited about it” she sarcastically said. Leading them out to the parking lot she clicked the key fob that flashed blocking lights from the teal colored BMW X5, large enough to fit all 5 of them comfortably to the field that was a matter of minutes away. She pushed the button to start the engine and craned her neck to the back, “The capsules on the floor in the back if any of you want to carry it when we get out.” Mirrors adjusted, they backed out of the parking lot and made their way back the old and familiar winding roads that led back to Ritman High. Ivy took the back way to make it easier to walk to the field instead of the front and around. Luckily she had been in talks with the schools staff, mostly the janitorial force, about permitting her a key to unlock the entrance to the parking lot adjacent to the field. Who knew if you treated workers at school as humans they would be more willing to help you out when you were an adult. The masters lock glinted from the shine of the headlights. Ivy quickly hoped out and opened the gates, scampering back to the car and driving in to the closest spot she could get to. The lights that draped over the field shined with luminescent intensity, so much so you could almost count every bead of turf on the field. The stands were barren but intimidating with a little square box in the middle to host announcers and analysts for the games. Excited for the next part of the night, Ivy killed the engine turning back once more. “We’re here! Everyone get out or stay in the car I really don’t care at this point” enthusiastically unbuckling, turning to Hanna in the passenger seat to giggle a bit, then exiting and heading to the turnstile that let them onto the field. It wasn’t long before the ragtag misfits stood in a circle around the schools mascot, now a meteor, in the dead center of the field. Whoever brought the time capsule would feel it being early lighter than they had imagined, but wouldn’t take too much stock in it. “Well now that we’re all here and ready, we can finally put our past to rest and walk out of here with whatever we put in this rinky dink tin can. I just wanted to again, express how much it means that any of you decided to come out tonight against your better judgement. We all could have been doing something else that we thought was more important for our time. I’m glad to see everyone has been doing better even if it’s just on the outside. I know I could have been there or done more for you all as your President, but I failed in my responsibilities and I would like to apologize for that. Believe me or don’t, we’re all adults now and can make our own decisions and deal with the consequences later. Enjoy the rest of your lives and remember that we were all magpies” “Now with further adieu let me see the capsule so I can do us the honors of brining our night to a close” ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

█ #1.01 WAY DOWN WE GO map change — every time i die p. johnson’s bar▸ ritman high football field interacting with: Hanna/@Prisk Anni/@Kuro CJ@TGM Jack@nodogs Lucas/@Mao Mao ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

OBLIVION

Got my HOPES up

The Hourglass Order

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Chapter 5 : A Town in Chaos

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Present: Ymiico'luun'yoru @Salsa Verde, Casii’fyret’alan @Pirouette, “Ismet’ych’lahiin’dichora” @Force and Fury, Cristophe@YummyYummy

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Cries for help could be heard all over town, but they were all dwarfed by the sudden explosion that could be heard at the Eastern edge of town where farmlands could be found. Flames engulfed a large barn that had since partially collapsed. A man's torso, burning and freshly severed, lied dead twenty yards or so away. The cries continued, however, as Bertha, a woman that voiced her displeasure for the group during the town meeting, was trapped under wooden debris and other heavy, metallic materials. There was also her unconscious husband deeper in. If the growing flames didn't consume them, the quickly deteriorating conditions of the barn would ensure their demise by crushing. This wasn't all, as the threats that had been previously repulsed by the explosion, were coming back. Three lycans emerged from different sides, one of them on fire and frenzied. The latter did not pay specific mind to the free prey and was ravaging whatever was near it, but the other two were eyeing the trapped meat. They were fast, and if it weren't for a sudden spray of flames from an interloper wearing a tricorne hat, they would have been goners. However, that one man was no match for the three big creatures. They would soon perish without help. There wasn't any time to waste. If the nearby Yasoi group was to act, now was the time!

Things had moved rapidly since they made it back to town. Casii had believed they were done but they were not. The town invasion was a taste of that shortcoming and now they were in a fight for the town. Casii, Isii, and MiiMii had charged out to the farms to try and pull the straggling yaniis back towards safety of the central defense. Unfortunately they found themselves in a tough spot. "Just needin' a moment..." Casii rushed into the barn, chasing the distressed cries of the yaniis inside. The fires were first. She raised her staff pointing it at the fire, swirling in an action that drew the air away from the fire. The fire slowed but only the most dangerous fires that were closer to the yaniis. "Quit yer cryin' yanii! I need to focus!" She cursed.

Ismette swallowed nervously as her peers rushed into the burning building. She felt... different after encountering the other version of herself. Casii had looked upon her with reproach, called her a monster and it had... hurt. But am I still a monster if I use this power to save people? She reached out with her senses and took the warm, dark, comforting power of the VOID in an embrace.

The yaniis here had a penchant for danger and destruction and somehow Ymiico always found herself right behind it along with her peers. The barn was set ablaze and the shrill screams of the people who denounced them before were now pleading for their help. Rushing in they were treated with prone yanii and ravenous beasts. Ymiico looked at Ismette and Casi, ”I save yanii” rushing to the husband first. She tripped over some debris, but was assisted by Cristophe to recover and arrive at the husbands aid.

Casii cursed, not believing she could do much more for the growing inferno. She dug into her bag tossed a seed under the beam that had the yanii woman pinned. She threw what chemical and binding magic she could to grow a balloon kelp that expanded an airbag to lift the beam off of Bertha enough for Casii to reach down and grab the yaniis had, pulling and dragging her out. The balloon kelp wouldn't hold as it was far too dry and hot for that to hold much longer.

Ymiico committed to saving the husband and managed to avoid the onslaught of the Lycan by the shield provided to her by the shield. Just as she were about to save the husband, one final attack by the beats was made against her. Her apple dragon yipped and tugged at her clothes alerting her to the attack. Thinking to herself she quickly spoke ”Ninpō: Bunshin no Jutsu” creating three quality clones of herself to divert the Lycans attention. She closed her eyes hoping the gods would help her, the claws through a clone allowing her to successfully save the husband.

"Quit yer cryin' 'n stand up!" Casii hollered as she gripped the yanii's hand tightly. She was willing to drag the wailin' yanii at first but felt bad and hefted her up over her shoulder with the help of a little kinetic magic. She carried her out and gave her a toss. "Go'n run. Center of town or whatever yer wantin' to do."

Ismette, meanwhile, had called forth a hungering shield, and it proved a saviour for her allies. However, she then had the bright idea to try to teleport forward and punch one of the beasts in a wound it had received. It dodged her cleanly and, in return, its partner mauled her arm. She attacked that beast with a dark bolt and she could've sworn it laughed. Her guts twisted in anxiety. She was not cut out for combat. She was not and it showed.

Again and again, the fiery beast threatened them, forcing Christoph to intervene to save Ymiico. Casii ran out of the burning barn with Bertha and then there was nothing to hold Ismette back. She gathered all of the VOID's energy that she could and unleashed it in that monster's direction as if charged towards her. For a moment, its animalistic eyes appeared to widen in surprise. Then, the dark bolt struck true and... it was erased from existence, utterly. She stopped and stared at the space where it had been and was no longer. She - Ismet'ych'lahiin'dichora - had done that. She was... a monster.

Casii huffed as one of the beasts came for her. That snapping mouth lunged for her with the yasoi ducking and thrusting a weave of roots to catch it. "Yer in way over yer head, taca!" From those roots Casii suddenly grew a a sizeable tree trunk suddenly that nailed the creatures stomach. It didn't exactly hurt it outside of a your average gut punch but it did launch it right into the barn crashing inside!

Ismette had considerably less luck with her attempt to compress space and drop the barn and its contents on top of the beast. She was just too slow and, instead, it was at her throat within a second, only a last-moment bound shield knocking its head aside. She scrambled backwards before it seized upon a new target.

Ymiico saw her chance once Ismette was unsuccessful in her attempt. With immediate resolve she unsheathed a kunai from her thigh and spun it around her finger before slinging it out into the barn bursting the kelp bubble Casi made for support. Upon puncturing the bubble the barn collapsed crushing the big bad wolf undertow leaving nothing but ash and cinders.

Casii gives MiiMii a nod, satisfied with their team up, but they weren't done. Turning to face the remaining beast, she charged and, lowering to scrap her hand against the ground in more of a flourishing move before bringing her free hand up to cup over her mouth and blow out a breath of blue flame in a fiery breath that roasted the creature having it retreat further from Ismette and MiiMii.

It only got worse from there as the beast ran off to consume another beast in the barn, burning itself in the process. "Yer dumber than sin, suuthi, so why ain't ya staying down!" Casii reached into the creature's blood to burst as the water and nutrients were converted to grow plant material that clogged up arteries and veins everywhere to significantly damage it!

A shiver went up her spine as she felt Isii tap into that cursed magic, drawing forth some foul monster. She could feel that unnaturalness in it and barely held her ground, only doing so that with their lives at stake with the raging beast in front of them... at least that one was natural. Speaking of, a lunging flaming claw came for her and swiped. Casii had the know-all to drop an orange tree seed before and grew it rapidly, raising above the reach of the beast as it's claw was captured by the demon's hand and pulled back. Black tendrils whipped and lashed out an anyone trying to attack, leaving Casii shaking her head. "Nope, nuh-uh! I ain't goin' anywhere near that thing."

The three beasts had met a fiery ends, one way or another. After what felt like long minutes of shrieks of agony, the monsters finally perished, leaving nothing but the flickering of flames to dress the silence that reigned in the farmland. The three Yasoi had managed to clear the area of danger and saved two lives in the process. One of them, Bertha, had witnessed the whole thing. Partially grateful, and partially horrified, she kept her piece this time and made herself small by her unconscious husband. So long as Ismette didn't insist on getting close to the villagers, everything would go as fine as it could. Hopefully the others were doing fine too.

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OBLIVION

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“I loooooove him. He’s one of my favorite actors right now are you kidding me? He’s been on the up and up since Twilight and I’m happy for him. The new Batman was amazing and I’m excited to see what Matt Reeves does with it going forward. But yes we should throw our headshots out there for the roles. I’m sure you have some kind of connection miss thing” Ivy became just as nerdy as she had in high school and gushed along with Hanna. It was nice to feel loose for once tonight and knowing that Hanna and her were still the bestest of friends regardless of separation. Truth be told, Ivy had a vacancy for a best friend position since Hanna’s departure. Of course she had work friends, but none that could come close to what they had or what they still have. Ivy gagged at Hanna’s declaration of love to her cocktail, “I don’t know how you can drink that stuff. Vodka tastes like piss water, definitely browns over clears girl” hinting at liquor and quite possibly people of color. “Actually I’ve never watched twilight, I honestly couldn’t get past the first book and they did not do werewolves justice. I’m sure you can find an equally brooding incel in your twitch streams” she remarked, grabbing her Paloma moving on from the Tom Collins. Ivy awkwardly bit her straw looking puzzled and a little embarrassed by the guffaw of her nearest and dearest. She shook her head and furrowed her brows looking towards the bartender and mouthing the words sorry. Her lanky arms gripped hold onto Ivy for balance which she was not ready for, almost splashing her drink on herself. “We really have to find you some new hobbies and audiences girl” patting the girls back and supporting her through her commotion. “Now that you’ve had your laugh” she paused as Hanna was still occasionally giggling and reaching for air, “we should head back to the table and stop galavanting around” standing up and pulling Hanna up with her. The food had just come out of the swinging doors in the back that led to the kitchen. On a large black platter was a pizza on a tray and multiple side dishes scattered around it. A rather large burly man held it on an open palm with one hand and a little metal stand that hand been folded in the other. “That’s our cue, Quinn” following the server to the Ritman High table, lacking streamers and balloons. The server called out the names of the plates and handed them out one by one after setting the heavy platter on the unfolded stand. “Spinach dip is mine” chiming in as she sat down, “So what did we miss?” ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

█ #1.01 WAY DOWN WE GO grown up — danny brown p. johnson’s bar▸ Ritman Table interacting with: Hanna/@Prisk ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔