Stern Algorithm

Intrigues of Venedig [Reboot, Lore-Rich, Mature]

Name: Shen LinMu (森 林木)

Age: 33

Physical Description:

LinMu has fair skin, long, silky raven hair that goes down to his waist, and pointed yet welcoming golden eyes. He has an effeminate air about him, lightly perfumed and dressed in delicate fabrics, with a confident, elegant strut. yet he only barely approaches opulence, though his wealth is readily apparent, it is not visually oppressive, staying just humble enough for people to see him as relate-able and charitable.

Important items:

• Apothecary's desk -
  A desk with plenty of paper, ink, and quills for writing important missives. Mounted on the desk are shelves and shelves of tiny drawers full of powders and bottles of ingredients, and bags of seeds. Beneath are bookshelves containing ledgers and receipts that record his business transactions.
• Alchemy table -
  Table with mortars, pestles, crucibles, flasks, burners, distillers, etc. for preparing medicine.
• Wood and silk folding fan -
  Used to gesture and to fan himself during hot, Venedig summers.

Short Bio:

LinMu calls himself a merchant and trader from Tian, but that is only because he has a very loose definition of what constitutes as trade. In actuality, he is a spy and dealer of information. His father was a pharmacist, like his father before him. Being humble and poor, LinMu bristled against his life of poverty and simplicity, soon learning about more lucrative, and less legal, applications of his skill. He soon found himself embroiled with the criminal underworld, but due to his talent for earning the trust of people, he soon found that not only were corrupt officials involved, but that it went all the way up. His people skills and prowess with his craft soon caught the eye of those in the intelligence division. Recruited as a spy, he was sent to Venedig, the city of trade, to gather information. There he established Dr. Shen's House of Healing, an apothecary storefront that traded in medicines, but also served as front for seedy operations, such as the manufacturing of poisons and recreational drugs, as well as slave trade, human trafficking, and prostitution. And all this was a front for the trade of information. Of particular note was Dr. Shen's willingness to allow slaves to buy their freedom from him if they provided him with useful information. This makes his establishment a tantalizing destination for escaping slaves, but also a bit of a trap, because if the information is not worth enough, they become his chattel, to do with as he pleases. And Dr. Shen's House of Healing is not the kind of place an unprepared slave would want to be.

Starting Faction: Celestial Empire of Tian

Spell List:

• Wood manipulation -
  A world spell, LinMu has a strong affinity to wood, allowing him to bend and shape plant matter, living and dead, to his whim. His understanding of plant-based toxins and the plants which produce them allows him to use this spell to deadly effect. That coupled with the fact that almost all the furniture, and the entire building of his establishment is made of wood, means that his store is his weapon.
• Merge with wood -
  A Change spell, LinMu can turn his body into wood and merge with plant matter. This makes him extremely difficult to kill and can be used as an escape. It also allows him to merge with his store. In conjunction with wood manipulation, his control is greatly increased, abolishing the typical sluggishness that is often associated with animated plant matter.

Exceptional Skill List:

• Exceptional Aesthetics -
  LinMu carefully dresses and decorates his store to appear as welcoming as possible, offering him a high degree of charisma and charm, and creating an uncanny level of trust towards him in those who seek to do business with him.
• Exceptional Alchemist
  Dr. Shen's store's success is based off of his high-quality medicines, poisons and drugs. Not only does he have access to the finest ingredients, he knows how to extract their essences flawlessly, and if confronted with the unknown, can superbly deduce much information given enough time to experiment.
• Exceptional Persuasion
  LinMu has been trained to speak and negotiate, exuding a willingness to hear out what the other side needs, while providing acceptable justifications for his own desires. This coupled with his use of mild, opiate incense allows him to accentuate this trait.
• Exceptional Businessman
  LinMu has a good head for finances, and is not afraid to make a risky investment. Though he has profited and exploited others, it has never gotten to the degree that his reputation as an honest financial partner has been harmed. He preaches the Tian principle of Love in all his dealings, and many leave Dr. Shen's table feeling like they've struck a fair deal.

A Guild Adventure: An RP with Monster Girls! (ENDED)

@Lmpkio Jus' gonna give a quick bump.

Noble Arms: Restoring Hope - With Gratitude to TheHangedMan

Ishaq sat through the briefing quietly and pensively, looking at the others present and trying to gauge their mission-critical-ness. The Blood of the Martyrs was no cheap gift, so either he'd have to determine who was most deserving, or whoever was planning the operations would have to give him an order. As their objectives were laid out, Ishaq saw that he could do little to help with the first objective, that of mine detection, unless they intended to test for miens by having people swim into them. Sure, he could bring the poor saps back, but it just seemed like a sick joke if that's really what they were going to attempt. Of course, Ishaq knew that to express these thoughts out loud would be in poor taste. Instead, he just sat there, smiling at his 'comrades', hoping to at least build rapport with them. He did however say, "There's not much I can help with in the first objective of clearing mines, unless the operation involves a high likelihood of grievous physical harm. I'm Ishaq Alkhawaja, by the way. Arms master. Support-type."

World of Light

Din

Level 3 - (24/30) EXP
Location - Peach's Castle: Garden
Word Count: 320

As the feast wound down, it seemed the team was in agreement to not split up, though the idea of the two groups connected via teleporters was a surprisingly elegant solution that could be tried in future excursions. As it got dark, Din pondered her first night in a strange world, and kept mostly to herself, though she did walk the gardens looking up at the alien stars, and wondering how it could be night when the source of light, Galeem, didn't set. But tomorrow would be a long day, so Din took to one of the rooms and slept.

When morning came, she was woken up by one of the toads and hurriedly ate her breakfast, still having not formed a particularly strong bond with her allies, save maybe for the Courier. In the courtyard, Peach's announcement took Din by surprise. The princess looked more delicate than herself, yet she seemed to be a more capable fighter. Although in a world where short plumbers could regularly defeat giant dragon turtles, perhaps the princesses were made of tougher stuff. The introduction of the carts worried Din, despite Tora showing everyone how to drive them. She still felt more comfortable riding a living, breathing creature, though Din was surprised to see Linkle immediately go for one of the less properly balanced, two-wheel machines. Instead, the idea suggested by Steven Stone seemed more palatable. Din had been averse to collecting the souls of the fallen, but she did feel a need to pull her own weight. Having domesticated animal friends seemed like a good idea, and perhaps she would get a suitable mount instead of having to pilot one of these machines. So she followed the Courier towards the Pokemon trainer, witnessing his capture of the Heracross. "This is amazing, and there are so many of these wonderful creatures in the garden. Mr. Stone, is it possible to ride one of these...er...Pokemon?"

One Piece: The Scarlet Pirates (Reboot!) [Chapter 1 END]

@EnterTheHero @Jerkchicken @Noodles @Savato @BladeSS4 @vancexentan

Handel noted Coyote's concern for the smoke. "...yyyeeeaaaahhh...crew's probably responsible for that. I mean, we could check it out, but part of being a good crew member is not to abandon the post you've been assigned." Handel pulled out a cigarette nonchalantly, lit it and began smoking, making her explanation come off sounding like an excuse to not get off her ass. Also, it wasn't like the captain told her to stay at the ship, Handel had volunteered for that important job all on her own. But as luck would have it, Flint soon returned with word of the crew, verifying that the Black Dragon had indeed joined, just as Arafael had surmised. Speaking of the dog, "Oh yeah, friendly fellow, took an immediate liking to me. Came right on board. But if you're carrying out one of the Captain's hare-brained whims again, sure you can have him. As long as you call him 'Scruffy'."

Handel had to chuckle though, as Flint introduced himself to 'Kurt', expressing confidence that Handel had already vetted the newcomer. She just invited him on-board as collateral against the Marine Lieutenant in wolf's clothing. But soon the oppressive wingspan of Bakuto covered the sky, as the captain and the rest of the crew descended. "Welcome back, Captain, Ship's all in order, and we're ready to sail whenever you'd like. Kurt here wants to go to the Grand Line, or just Loguetown if we're not crossing over just yet. And I see you've already met the dog Flint got for you." Did she intend to reveal that they were harboring a marine Lieutenant on board at some point? Maybe. Did it make matters worse that she was making this more tangled by getting Flint involved? Probably. Was it fun to keep spinning this ridiculous web of lies? Definitely. But considering that they flew back instead of walekd back likely meant that time was of the essence, so Handel set to preparing the ship to sail, ready to unmoor from the dock and unfurl the sails. Calling to Erizala and Coyote, "Just don't accidentally give him chocolate. Shitting your life away is a bad way to go."

Power Play

As Eileen scanned the area, she picked up a trail, honing her drones to zero-in on the unique energy signature, and began attempting to find other signals that displayed heavy correlation with said energy signature. However, the alert that the data protection software sent to her by one of her drones drew her attention. She looked up at the source of the alert, seeing another vigilante on a hoverboard above her, and hearing the message patched through the drone. The drone that Lightning Bug had tossed away flew back to land on Lightning Bug's shoulder and began to speak in Eileen's voice, though Eileen's mouth wasn't moving. "Impressive! Thank you for exploiting this weakness in the system. It means my idea to have the encryption of my devices mapped to the neural network of my own brain is an idea worth pursuing. As well as completely switching to quantum optronics, which was in the works anyways. I hope you didn't find out too much information you're not supposed to, teehee! Anyways, you're definitely in! Come see me after all this is over, and I'll get you initiated."

Eileen smirked to herself. This fire was a gold mine, and she couldn't wait until the others involved here revealed themselves. She turned to Professor Devil and explained the trail that she was following and that she'd keep him updated. She also expressed that if he'd rather not deal with the inevitable slew of vigilantes that would approach him to either give a status report on the situation, attempt to make a name for themselves by schmoozing with him, or both; that she, as government liaison, would gladly handle it for him. After all, he was busy and couldn't be bothered by every vigilante out to get their fifteen minutes of fame.

Noble Arms: Restoring Hope - With Gratitude to TheHangedMan

Ishaq sat on the bunk in his living quarters on the ship. A cell phone placed in a cup made for decent sound amplification as one of his favorite songs played. He leaned back and closed his eyes, letting the soothing vibrations of the cello wash over him. He had no doubt that he would meet God soon and that this would likely be his last mission. He had lived to see the day that Israel and Palestine made peace, albeit tense and tentative, and for him, that was enough. All this conflict between arms masters and normal people was not something he felt had a foreseeable end. Yet here he was, on a mission to find that end, offered up by the Israeli-Palestinian coalition as an 'asset'. Once again, he would have to place greater value on some lives over others, offer his gift of life to a limited few, and potentially watch the others that he had abandoned die. Perhaps it might be easier to just listen to orders and let those in command be responsible for making since decisions. But for that to happen, he'd have to advise them how to best utilize the power of his noble arms. He glanced over at his wheelchair, folded up and secured to a wall. It wasn't that he couldn't walk, just that he was often too weak to support himself, so he relied on it to get around to conserve his strength. It wasn't that his usefulness required him to be mobile anyways. But the wheelchair was folded up because in the ships cramped hallways, the thing was just too cumbersome to maneuver. He sighed, remembering that he had heard that some of the other 'assets' were children. If only the world would leave all the fighting to the old people, who upon dying, would take all the violence of the world with them to the grave.

Power Play

Dr. Eileen Fang

---

As Eileen worked on her research, a small mechanical locust approached her and began speaking, "There's a fire in the city."

"Low priority, let the fire department handle it," Eileen said, waving Omniac's proxy away.

"But there are several vigilantes on the scene...including Professor Devil. In fact, he's calling you right now."

"What?! I mean, with his powers I suppose...but it's beneath him...pick it up!"

The locust switched channels and connected the line for Eileen. "Professor Devil? H-Hi! An honor! Umm...what's up...?"

---

Fifteen minutes later found Dr. Fang aboard a police chopper, hovering over the scene of the fire. She had received enough information to surmise that this was no accident, nor a simple arson, and she had a high enough of a position that she could requisition the use of police vehicles if she was carrying out a government investigation. With no place for the helicopter to land, Eileen simply opened the massive briefcase she had brought with her as a swarm of mechanical locusts flooded out of it. Fortunately, due to the nature of helicopter blades, to maintain flight, air was pushed down, so the expensive little machines didn't get sucked up into the blades and destroyed. With the case thus lightened, Eileen strapped it awkwardly to her backpack, which she wore over her lab coat and proceeded to climb down a rope ladder. Once on the ground, she dropped the case and took off her backpack in order to pull out a laptop that was synced to the swarm of robotic locusts. She set them to perform wide-spectrum sweeps of the area to locate any clues of the perpetrator. As she was doing this, she meandered over to Professor Devil's side.

Pariah Online III

Eileen Fang // Ailanthus Altissima (Tessa)

_{:: The Laughing Worg Tavern // Thorinn ::}

Tessa looked up from the vice that she had clamped to the bar table. Within the grip of the vice was a magic crystal, delicately filigreed with precious metals, embedded with rare gems, and engraved with runic symbols. Her hands held an assortment of tools. She had been quite busy before the depressing topic of her party mates brought her out of her focus. She slid the magnifying glass setup away from her face to look at Graves. Death was on everyone's mind, but after the initial panic that Tessa had experienced in the dungeon, a cathartic, nihilistic sense of calm had descended upon her.

"'What do we do next?', you ask. We continue to make a killing, that's what we do. People have been so afraid, that demand for defensive enchantments have far exceeded supply. Prices are skyrocketing. Business has never been this good. By the time this bug is patched out, we'll be filthy rich." Perhaps seeing a man in the throes of death was disconcerting for some, but for Tessa, it had had the opposite affect. In real life, she had always felt a sense of dysphoria and disassociation from her body, even more so in the digital realm. But actually seeing someone die made her realize that it was the clinging to life that was the source of terror and pain, that after a swift and maddening explosion of suffering, all that followed death was calm and stillness. Death was inevitable and inescapable, but the fear of it was so easy to exploit. And that was what Tessa had been doing since.

"If you're getting restless, we could try to grind a low-level dungeon. Most people are so scared that we probably won't find much competition. We can farm some low-tier materials, because people will still pay out of the nose, even for C-class enchantments." Regardless of his answer, he could tell he wanted to go after Rael, so she also got up and began packing up her enchanting station.

Pariah Online III

Can I give Tessa a visual armor upgrade?