tanderbolt

The 'Explain The Appeal Of......' Thread

Post-rock is a strange name for what is essentially a cousin to ambient music that happens to employ rock instruments. It is appealing for the same reasons ambient music is, it's about building music by focusing on atmosphere and timbre instead of melody or rhythm. So you get long songs that evoke feelings and let you sink into them instead of the usual verse-chorus structure, plus the bands have some inventive uses of guitar effects or other instruments. Although it's not universal, a lot of post-rock songs are structured around building up over time to reach an epic finale, and the anticipation of the slow build up draws the listener in. This is something that is harder to find in other ambient music, but common in places like classical music from the romantic era. Now, while all of these separate it from most typical rock music, there are plenty of other genres that have similar characteristics. I mentioned ambient as one of the closest cousins, but you can find it in classical (especially minimalist stuff), cool jazz and other places.

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I've got some ideas for Lex Luthor bouncing around in my head, I might write them up (though I don't know if I'd have any good reference posts to show).

Sum up your week in roleplaying in just 3 words

One Whole Year

Eight IC Posts.

Fate/Empty Providence

I'm interested, though I don't have a comprehensive knowledge of the franchise (making my way through Fate/Zero at present)/

▲ OVERWATCH: A New Era. ▼ (Overwatch Roleplay)

I'm thinking of joining this, but I'm not sure what faction I should make my character belong to. Any side need people?

Upon the Sunset Sea; World of Darkness RP

Shania by @Fallen Muse
Grace Liu by @tanderbolt

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The whining of the Toyota Corolla was now replaced with the gentle rumble of a two thousand three Ford Ranger, complete with tool chest. Shania stared up at the field office, as she opened the door of the vehicle and slammed it back shut. She was back in her FBI officer outfit, button up shirt, slacks, flats, the works. Unfortunately she was also sporting a rather large bruise on the side of her face, and nursing a broken rib as she walked as delicately into the field office as possible.

Grace had arrived early and already commandeered one of the interview rooms for her meeting with the suspicious investigator. The receptionist would relay the instructions, and hopefully the individual would arrive on time. She sat at the table, flanked by two nondescript men in black suits, while she wore usual outfit of dark colored businesswear and mirrored sunglasses, even indoors. She kept her eyes on the door and her watch, checking the time and the growing chain of email alerts she was ignoring. Occasionally she focused on the black case sitting on the table, but most of her nervous energy focused on the doorway.

It wasn't long before Shania found herself standing at the room door, and turned the knob to walk in. She settled into her seat, and stared at Grace for a moment, before setting the files she already had down on the table. "These are the ones I have... I'd like" She slides them in half. "Any that have similarities to these on the right." She looks up at Grace and then frowns. "Excuse me that was rude. I'm Agent Shania Collins." She looked between the two men in black suits, but her focus stayed on Grace, the odd aura that came off the woman. Shania narrowed her eyes a bit and then slid her hands up on the table. "Or maybe we can talk about why you really wanted to meet me?"

Grace did not bother looking at the files, they were not her focus. She maintained a calm voice and stared at Shania. "I want to know why you wanted those files. I know you are not attached to this investigation." a

With lips pursed Shania began to stand. "I am not, and I do not feel the need to indulge you in the whys. Just know they are important." She started to stack the folders together. "I think it's quite clear we're not who we claim to be..."

A slight smile crept across Grace's face. "I haven't claimed to be anything yet. Believe me, I know the importance of these crimes, I have collected significantly more information on this phenomena than is available in those files. Now, that information will stay with me and your deception will be reported to the proper authorities if we continue down this path. Alternatively, you can start answering my questions and we can see where it leads us." Grace made a slow movement to open the case on the table, it folded out and showed an electronic device with a dozen different gauges and a place to place one's right hand. "If you do want to cooperate, I ask that you tell the truth. This little lie detector will do a lot to build my trust in you."

This was all very strange to Shania, but it seemed there were few other choices in this situation. Slowly she retook the seat, and placed her hand on the device."I see.. Well if you really must know. I investigate strange cases, and look for links to supernatural phenomena." She pursed her lips a bit. "Then I seek out that phenomena."

The smile remained on Grace's face, but she looked at the reading from the machine. Satisfied, she asked another question. "Do you do this on behalf or in association with anyone else?"

Shania took a moment as the question gestated in her mind. She considered how to reply, yet be truthful. "Yes I do... On behalf of all innocents in the world. On behalf of those who commit the crimes themselves so ultimately they can understand the crimes they have committed."

After she finished speaking, Grace said "But, ultimatley, are you alone in your endeavor? Is it just you who is out protect the mundane world from the monsters that lurk in the shadows?"

Sitting back, staring at Grace, Shania chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment. "Who said anything about monsters in the shadows? Anyways.. I am in fact alone.. For now, though there are others like me out in the world."

There were many other points of data to discover, but Grace had found out the most essential ones. She gestured to Shania that she could remove her hand from the lie detector and said "You have more company than you think. The organization I represent has a deep and lasting interest in defending human civilization against supernatural threats. I believe we may be able to cooperate, especially in this current climate. From the looks of you, you may appreciate the help."

"I can't say I'm sure if I want to accept your help." Shania pulled her hand back from the lie detector. "I can't say I'm willing to, because I don't know what the hell you are." She narrows her eyes more. "I've never seen someone like you before, That color, that shape. What are you?"

The smile was gone from Grace's face, and her voice grew more monotone. "The reality of our present world is more fragile than one might expect. Out of the world, some have the power to alter it greatly, and each of them must choose whether they will serve it or serve their own selfish interests. I count myself as one who defends it. Now, at present we do not ask much of anything of you, just that you keep the line of communication open. As we both learn more about each other and build trust, our shared mission will become clear." Grace hid the fact that she did not know how Shania could see her aura, but she reassured herself that reviewing the reading from the device would answer her question eventually.

Shania stood and nodded. "Fine. I will keep my phone open to receive calls, but do not expect me to come to your bidding like this anymore. You do not want to entrust me with information when I ask questions, and only give it when you are ready. Expect the same in return. She opened the door to the room, preparing to leave.

Grace gestured to one of the men, who handed her a briefcase and smartphone. "I promise I do not intend to intrude on your time like this again." Grace held out the briefcase and phone for Shania to take. "I will entrust you with these, each of which may be needed in our continued dealings. Do not share them with anyone else or attempt to access them without being directed, the anti-tampering mechanism will make them useless if you do. It was a pleasure doing business with you."

Upon the Sunset Sea; World of Darkness RP

Los Angeles traffic was a strange beast. The usual roads at the usual times were congested to the point of being parking lots, but there was also the random unpredictable traffic jams that could arise at any hour or any road. In this case the cause was fiery crash on the small road Grace took to the hills where the city sprawl grew thinner. At first there wasn’t much to look at except the glowing red brakelights of other cars, but as her slow journey went on and the road climbed in altitude, the rest of the city came into view. The urban tapestry was lit up with thousands of lights, and even at this hour Los Angeles was restless. Views like this reminded Grace of what she worked for, what the organization had achieved so far, all the millions living with greater safety and prosperity than humanity had ever know before. While the successes were visible, apparent when looking at the vast grid of streetlights or any other piece of modern civilization, the obstacles that stood in the way of further progress preferred to remain hidden.

The other reminder of the importance of her work was currently blaring over her car’s speakers. Traffic jams provided ample time for conference calls, and nothing important could ever happen in her line of work without them. On quiet night drives she preferred to listen to something stimulating yet contemplative, like chamber music by Babbitt or Carter, but there was business to be done. This was one of the most hair-pulling types of meetings, one where they had both the local Syndicate officials and some NWO higher ups from far away, each expecting the world and threatening to blame her for all the mistakes.

At the moment a voice with a thick German accent was droning on “Given that we are all available at the present time, I believe it would be prudent to review some of the regional gamma-level scenario containment plans. I trust that you will all update them with the latest intelligence and developments so that we may further refine them and incorporate all of the latest points of data in our future plans. Now, firstly we will start with 11B, Reality Deviant in clear view of public and covered by one or more live forms of media with significant geographic reach.”

Another voice chimed in, this one sounded quite nasally “Um, given the recent discussions of the present situation regarding Hemophages, I think it would be prudent to spend our time going over a related scenario. May I suggest 47E, Major media figure infected by Hemophage carrier, it’s one we haven’t revisited in quite some time.” Luckily, by the time they started Grace’s car was near her destination. She interrupted, because she wanted to let them know she would be absent for the next section of the call and because she couldn’t stand the fact that she worked with people who managed to call the bloodsuckers a term that sounded even more pretentious than their chosen moniker of Kindred.

“Excuse me, but I will be absent on a brief intelligence gathering and communication mission at the location previously discussed. Current events have caused me to believe that we are in grave need of updated intelligence.” One of the people had a question for her “You’re doing this yourself? Isn’t this the kind of thing we’ve got all the databases for?” She said “These are the kind of people who have done a very good job of avoiding what is covered in our databases and traditional intelligence gathering activities. As you all are aware, I have limited resources at my disposal and few of them are directed towards the Kindred, as they are rarely create problems for us or the public at large. Given the time pressure, I am investigating one spot myself”.

Grace parked the car and shut off the engine before a reply came. She stepped out her nondescript black luxury sedan and donned her wide brimmed hat and NWO-issued sunglasses. Her attire was formal, it would be more at home at business luncheon than a place like Sunrise, but it helped give her a sort of anonymity. Just standing outside she could see the place was crawling with kindred and other reality deviants were probably present too. Even the most novice tradition mages could sense vampires in a crowd, all you had to do was know enough about lifeforce to pick out who wasn’t truly alive. Enlightened science was no less effective, but what simple tricks couldn’t tell you was what really mattered, facts like who they were, who they knew, what they wanted, what they were capable of. That was something that took work to find out.

She wanted to take a careful approach, observing before actually trying to communicate with anyone. Grace found a spot just inside the doorway, watching silently as people came and went. The place was quite large, big enough to accommodate several different distinct clienteles. It was also a situated on some prime land, though who knows what the owner originally paid for the spot. For now she just took in the details, trying to get some general context and waiting to see who it might be productive to discuss current events with.

Upon the Sunset Sea; World of Darkness RP

Should we just start posting with our characters, or do you have an idea for an intro scene that needs to play out first?

PRO WRESTLING WORLD DOMINATION SMACKDOWN

Great concept, I'd love to be a part of it.