ERode

Iris Ascendis

Iraleth behavior.

Iris Ascendis

Hm...

So, would we have heard of Adapa before? More importantly, are they protected by any particular legislation, or are they classified as tools?

Iris Ascendis

I will never use the Status Bar, but Nanaya, just use Danbooru for your pic-hunting needs. As far as I'm aware, they have a blanket ban on AI works and they still link to the artist's twitter/pixiv, so you can use it for a jumping off point for searches anyhow.

Iris Ascendis

They're in ghost mode, but it still indicates they've logged in within the last day or so. Probably just busy.

Children of the Otherworld - An Isekai Story

Just chilling (when I should be finishing off some work instead).

Otherwise, you know how it be. Waiting on responses from NoCo.

Iris Ascendis

And thar. Erryone gets chairs, and Otis gets questions.

Iris Ascendis

_{@Nanaya@Estylwen@AThousandCurses@Sifr@Psyker Landshark}

Otis didn’t respond to the shield-summoner’s words, instead snapping his fingers.

And like that, the spiderweb of thoughts that he had ensnared the others in was cut off. At this point, the situation had calmed enough that they no longer needed such silent cooperation, and while there was a wealth of essence present, Otis wasn’t going to waste any more than necessary. Mannekins continued to shuffle in and out, back and forth. There won’t be enough chairs left for those who remained, that much was certain. The calamity of lightning delivered in Gulliver’s rage, the tangled horde of Mannekins, and the similarly destructive responses from the Paladin and Ciara, had all seen to it that there were hardly any seats left to retrieve to begin with.

That was a good thing. He didn’t want to pick even 50 out of the 100 who were present. And with the professor who organized all this on stage, serving as the clearest sign of authority present? Otis continued to call out names, down his mental list of those who proved to possess something meaningful. An Ethos perhaps, or an obsession. Family names and martial deeds mattered less here. If they had created something before, they wouldn’t be so reliant on charity here.

Time dwindled with the seats. He disregarded what Chunji whispered. Such an offer was outside their agreement for cooperation, but the bespectacled boy would receive a chair nonetheless. All of them would, as the time neared. Perhaps if any of them stumbled or fumbled, they wouldn’t have made the cut-off mark. If they failed at the very end though? It didn’t matter to him that they had defeated Gulliver together.

He was only part of the process. It was the result that mattered the most.

As the Strigidae seated himself right in front of the stage, he sent out one last command to the Mannekins under his control. With stiff movements, they approached the prone form of Gulliver and seized him by the collar, lifting him up and off from the stage before stepping towards that woman with hair of dark flames.

“Madam,” Otis spoke, his gaze drifting towards her two horns before settling upon her eyes. “Was this one a prospective student as well, or a hireling sent by you to impede our progress? If the former, I would like to know how he reached the auditorium before all else. If the latter, I would like to know whether he falls under your condition of “be seated, or else leave with dignity.””

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

_{@Psyker Landshark}

Serenity gave a sympathetic look towards Elias. Fatherly temperaments were a common burden for children of noble houses, made more awkward when one was stuck inbetween, caught in the crossfire of others' battles. At 15, the youth was likely less ignorant than Renar believed, but they both put on masks still.

It wasn't her job to pry though. Nor her place to remind Renar of the myriad of methods in which a blue-blood could get back at a bastard. For all she knew, he may be excited at the prospect, of having justification for striking back at the house that disowned him.

"The Danbalions are lesser nobility, yes, but the Arcedeens..." Serenity shrugged. "If Elias here wished to bed an Arcedeen lady, I would recommend earning martial fame enough to become a titled knight, at least." No need to say that her family was equally open to those who weren't knights, so long as they were exemplars of strength and skill. "Though that brings up the question. How experienced are you?"

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

_{@Psyker Landshark}

"A rare thing though, to choose when to die. The tragedies of playwrights exist to remind us that our lives aren't ours to shape."

As a preference, however? Yes, it would be good to have accomplished something. Serenity would have gone a step further, and desired to accomplish something that only she could have. Humans don't have much sway though, not when spirits and immortals possessed knowledge and power to dwarf armies of men. Her finger tapped a slow tempo on her belt. The limitations of time and mortal flesh, of the aging body and the wandering mind.

"Might I remind you, Sir Renar, that I am but a Knight?" Serenity eyed Elias, placing a hand on her hip. "Someone like you, I figured, would rather play matchmaker for a more profitable pairing like...Elias and Knight-Captain Fanilly Danbalion. They'd be even closer in age."

She flashed a smile. All in good fun.

"And in height."

Why Were We Reincarnated as Orcs?!

It was easy to imagine what she was walking through. Winter snow building up, then melting in spring and summer. Gradually spilling into the depths, before breaking out the other side. Erosion, over the course of centuries or millennia. Her fingers glided over the tips of the stalagmites, knuckles rapping against their sides. Whatever flowing waters had crafted this tunnel was gone now. Perhaps it was glacial then, rather than snowmelt.

Regardless, she was reaching the point where light had all but vanished and still, there wasn’t a thing in the air that suggested the presence of any particular beast. If she wanted to go further, she would have to go up with a torch, but at that point, she may as well be climbing the mountain in its entirety, just to poke and prod at a beast that may have done nothing more than acted like an old man, shouting at the kids outside the street before going back to sleep.

She snorted at the image.

This was no place for smiles and jokes. Even without a monstrosity, there was still something skittering about in the dark, something that had an advantage over her in this gloom. Was it the creature that exploded? Or something else? The orc runt tightened her grip on her antlers, holding it close to her body like a makeshift shield. If she could lead it back to that forest of stone, there would be light enough for her to see. And if it attacked her here, she could flash freeze it so long as she wasn’t immediately crippled.

There was risk and there was reward, but mostly, there was a simple need to walk back. Step by step, at the same tempo as dripping water.
@Zeroth