Worksheets about line plots

Finally had the balls to watch it even tho before I even started it,I knew how it was gonna end. I’m really not a big fan of whoever idea it was to kill off all of them!! like why?? Why shisan 😭 I loved him so much I cried like a baby when they killed him off he finally found someone even tho I’m not a big fan of her I wanted him to be happy 💔. I really really loved the journey, it was fun seeing them all getting along. I felt so proud of yang ying she came such a long way, she’s really the mvp of the show I loved her. The main couple…. I can’t even describe how I feel about them that’s how much I love them, their love story is definitely one of a kind. I loved Ning yangzhuo his shyness in the beginning, the way he respected Ruyi nd lookout for her was my favorite .I love Ruyi like I really really really love her character she makes me wanna be her,she’s so independent, she’s strong , nd she doesn’t take any bs from anyone, I wanna be her so she’s such an inspiration to me like honestly I’ve never felt like this for any cdrama character before. Yuan Lu my baby 🥹 I hate that they took away ur story , u should’ve told her on that roof and y’all should’ve fall in love right then and there and have many babies but no they took u away.
The story is really not perfect at all of anything it’s far from that. They dragged the journey to an way too much so many plot lines could’ve happened if they hadn’t drag the journey to much,they mess with li tonghuang character over nd over I didn’t know what to think of him even till the end. I don’t like the ending. Chu yue really had no right to be in that last scene it should’ve been yang ying she knew all of them she went through life and death with them so many times it should’ve been her nd was that supposed to be ruyi nd Ning kid? It didn’t make any sense but I’m giving they wanted us to believe they faked their death? But why would they do that? It’s so many questions but I don’t regret watching it. I will probably be in a slump after this it’s so hard to come across a dynamic like a journey to love had. It was perfect the friendship the romance the tragedy.❤️

As far back as the early 90s when Walmart was brown and was facing the expressway I remember this creepy fenced in house. Clearly Walmart/other investors offered stupid sums of money for this plot of land but they've always rejected them, obviously.
It used to say something about free energy on the gate but now it just says "ATA base: manassen free territory" or something along those lines, reminds me of the cult in "Dude, where's my car." I once saw some white unmarked vans inside the fences and couldn't help but do the hand sign and say "Zoltan!"

Hey there! I’m 23 M, been role playing for about 6 year and I see myself being semi-literate. I’m not highly advance but I believe I’m able to be decent for most. What I have in mind I’ve been thinking for about a month and I want to give this idea a go. I’m seeking anyone 18 and up who might be interested in partaking this play and maybe share/ work on some ideas. I’m seeking a fun adventurous play with romance and a crazy plot.
Imagine being in the early 60’s to late 50’s with the idea of having a slight sci-fi and steampunk added to it. Advance tech that is very uncommon to see, being found and used by criminals. Luckily some people of good have some to encounter, but never enough. The master mind thieves and criminals are always a step ahead. The area and architecture of the world being inspired around old London
Examples of the steampunk idea, not so long ago a gentleman invented the exoskeleton. A light frame of gears and pistons connected from the back of your limbs. Its purpose was to help construction with heavy materials and machinery, big companies invested and got their hands on some. Months later news had reported them being used to steal. Reworking the design for shooting hooked zip lines for them to sneak from above. The only downside is mobility and flexibility, but some crazy nutjob had found workarounds. Vehicles has some sort of advancements, people of high class have modified engines to go fast.
I enjoy and prefer an anthropomorphic universe. I was thinking it would be your common domestic cats and dogs. A lovely balance thriving on this small world. I’ll be playing the detective of course, I wanted him to be this brown fur similar structure of a golden retriever. His personality being this courageous, determined dog with a tasteful hint of charm and passion. But that will later, you will be the one to bring him back to his good ol’ self. I’m interested in a cat dog dynamic.
I want you to build your character, but with some things added to it. You being Rudolfo’s assistant (the detective), he needs a right hand man with an understanding of medical, and most importantly one hell of a shot. Skilled with mostly any weapon is given to you. Rodolfo being good with his department, I want you to be amazing with many skills, surprise him! Over the time you’ll discover more of his life and grow a bond that becomes beautiful.
That is all I have to say. Feel free to question anything, I’m more than happy to get deeper into this world.

Didn't know whether to tag this as a table dispute or a DMing issue because it's sort of 50/50.
New to DMing, only about 2 months and half the handbook into figuring stuff out and learning as I go along, players are very okay with this because they also know basically nothing as this is all their first campaign outside of a maybe 1 or 2 having played a one-shots before.
I have 7 PCs (I host in a school and had to turn away so many people) but thought I could deal with 7 as the campaign seemed pretty short and basic. Honestly despite the large number of people I still believe I could host it if the entire party was actually cooperative.
5 of the 7 are probably the best players I could hope for, being super open to suggestions, interacting with all my NPCs, causing just the right amount of chaos to have fun but not derail my campaign completely, they just generally seem to be having so much fun working with the material I'm giving them which is such a relief as a new DM, because I was super afraid of boring them or doing something wrong having known none of them prior to hosting.
The main issue I'm having is with the other 2 PCs, one of them specifically being much worse than the other but they kinda come as pair having joined together as friends.
A little context before explaining the next part I'm 17F and these two players are 34M (who I'm gonna call B) & 31M (who I'm gonna call C). I have no problem with being the youngest of the group of 7, there's a range of ages of people closer in age to me as well as some in there early and late 20s, all a mix of men and women, but B & C do happen to be the oldest two.
B has been getting on my nerves since the first session we had, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt, chalking any interruptions or over eager attention grabbing as a first time player just trying to suss things out. When I got everyone to introduce their characters and explain any backstory, race features, personality all that fun stuff he seemed genuinely interested in playing so I was super hyped about having him as a player, he wanted to play a dwarven cleric, which I was interested in seeing, having a healer with a high AC is really helpful!
Campaign starts and I introduce the first encounter, giving an option for the party to run as they were only 2nd level with only their starting weapons and spells. B immediately attacks, no consulting the party, which is fine I guess, he's excited for combat and I'm pumped to run my first encounter. Party finishes first encounter, runs into the first NPC, a very important one that literally runs everything in the island their on, a little old woman sitting writing in the library.
I go to describe said little old lady and start to get into character, B immediately interrupts before I can finish my second word asks to behead her and rolls to attack. I'm running a pre bought campaign, not a clue how to to do a majority of things story progressing wise and this NPC is a very important pivot for plot. The other PCs are also appalled, wanting to enjoy their first ever NPC encounter, having many questions already about the place they're in and the encounter they've already had.
It becomes very apparent in the next few sessions that B is nothing but a murderhobo, supported by C who also thinks this is very entertaining, while the rest of the party have to spend every minute of their time watching the PCs and making sure they don't try to kill the plot and destroy everything in their sight in the process. My players have gone from having fun and being filled with excitement to having to watch B as a chore to ensure they can continue to play, going as far as to grapple and restrain him for half a session just to be able to investigate the area I had prepared without B killing the NPCs.
On top of this, in actual combat B is very impatient, constantly interrupting me on other players turns to ask if it's his turn yet. There's this unspoken rule that everyone very graciously follows, no phones at the table unless you need it for your character sheet, to check spells or something along those lines. B also constantly betrays that rule despite being asked not to, watching tiktok when I'm not directly addressing him, even answering phone calls in the middle of combat when it's not his turn and instead of leaving the room just talks over the table, again, despite being asked to leave the room if needing to answer phone calls or anything else that would cause disruption.
B's also been making me super uncomfortable, every week I come in he brags about his salary to me, even going as far as to pull up his pay slips in the middle of encounters (when it's not his turn) and interrupt another PCs turn to show me. I don't even give it the time of day anymore, it's rude to both me and the PCs and C is just as bad for supporting his actions.
It's annoyed me so much I brought it to the rest of the group and they all agree they're not the right fit for the party, they're both obviously looking for a combat heavy adventure which is not at all what I'm running. They bring very weird vibes to the table, C even messaging outside of the group chat we have (taking my number without my permission) and trying to start conversation. I ran into him after our session last week outside of the club with a friend as we coincidentally were in the same movie screening, and got a message afterwards asking if I would see a movie with him and his friends.
I don't know these people longer than maybe 6 weeks, only seeing them for 2 hours once a week. It's possible I'm reading into it and being overly cautious because of the sort of rep men have towards women in the gaming community, especially younger women, despite it being way better than previous decades past. The rest of the group do think it's weird though so I'm not alone in picking up the odd vibes two are bringing to the table.
TLDR: At the end of the day kicking them from the party is completely my decision as the DM and a smaller, well rounded, cooperative party is a lot easier to run with than murderhobos. I suppose my only fear is the backlash it might cause as I am running it in a school, funded by student services (the room we use, the dice, notebooks, handbooks, etc.) and kicking the two from the campaign may cause them to complain out of spite and get the whole club shut down, as they are both members of the student board.

I’m just on the most recent episode of family reunion and it’s just dragging on.
I understand they’re trying to get as much content as possible, but how long has the cast been in Columbia?! Bringing in cast member after cast member….the constant partying (yawn)….useless drama in the house….
The most interesting plot line to me is the Cory/Taylor because it’s nice to see things from her perspective. Everything else is just so incredibly boring. I understand that bringing everyone together will always create some action in the grand scheme of things. I liked the previous seasons of FR, but this one is just lacking to me.
How are all you feeling about it?

Ok Di'Anno fans, what are your top 5 songs of Paul Di'Anno when he was with Iron Maiden and why? Here are mine
1) Women In Uniform - we all know this is a Skyhooks cover, but Paul sang this song and made it his own. Not to mention the other personnel (Harris included) made it like they actually wrote it. This was my 1st Paul Di'Anno song I learned on bass, and my introduction to him as a Maiden vocalist.
2) Phantom of the Opera - This is probably the best orchestrated song of Iron Maiden in my opinion, and I consider this the "template" of every Iron Maiden song. The bass in this song is mind blowing. Of course, we know Steve does a lot with E Minor in songs, but he makes give a nice toss up. The solo breakdown is f&$%*ng phenomenal.
3) Murders in the Rue Morgue - Somebody call the Gendarmes...this just recently became one of my personal favorite bass lines to play, and Paul Di'Anno's vocals with the plot of this song are hilarious with the "Jekyll and Hyde" theme.
4) Charlotte the Harlot - I remember looking at the lyrics for this song and busted out laughing so much because this was clearly about a mistress of the night (possibly an ex girlfriend of someone in the band)? Paul gives his typical punkish vocals and a very nice melodic breakdown demonstrating clean too.
5) Killers - I heard "Black Magic" from Slayer 1st, but given the years released, Tom clearly had Maiden influence as he used an exact excerpt. Probably my 2nd favorite intro of any Iron Maiden song. It just gives a great build up and gives a "your being stalked feeling" until the verse riff begins. Song packs a punch.

Usually when people talk about there favourite arcs its rather marinford or ennies lobby but for me its definitely wholecake and by a good amount honestly like… its awesome. The alice in wonderland vibe the musical numbers the island design and one of the greatest battles in the series pedro vs baron ta- i mean luffy vs katakuri.
And the entire plot-line with sanji and the germa is probably my favourite plot-line in the series. The entire arc is filled with someone of the most well written, emotional and impactful moments in one piece for me and i love it to death

This post is very long. This first section, before the first triple-line-break, is the summary. Details follow that.
__________________________________________
SUMMARY
__________________________________________
So, I was very much looking forward to Legendary Tales for a while now after hearing so many great things.
I bought it on sale a couple days ago and played the first hour or so, completing the tutorial and entering the main hub. Then I uninstalled and refunded it.
This is not a 'hate post' and I hope that this post will not only help people understand some of the issues of this game, and what this game is NOT, but also help people understand what this game is and why you might love it. I talked about my criticisms with others who love the game to help me approach this and hopefully deliver some useful thoughts. It's worth noting that I got lots of agreement about my criticisms from the people I talked to - who still love the game.
In short,
People love this game for the combat development in the context of a 40+ hour adventure. All the depth to the skill trees, which of course in my hour I didn't touch. The creativity of building the mechanics of a character RPG style - except you get to physically battle in VR. The reward of unlocking that cool skill you've been excited to try out, or finding a legendary that's a blast to use. Even in my short time with the game I could feel the beginnings of this with the parry system. I did have fun fighting skeletons with a simple sword and no skills, and felt the challenge as I had to aim my sword deflections well and time my counterstrikes. There is an effective mechanic preventing waggle-fest and I can begin to imagine all the room to develop your combat mechanics in a way that is, fun and rewarding, and uniquely VR.
Sounds great right? To some it truly is.
But to me, not so much. Why? Because everything else is lacking to a degree I did not expect.
I've been playing a lot of The Light Brigade lately. And although these two games are totally different, it's a useful game to bring up because The Light Brigade excels in all the ways that Legendary Tales significantly falls short.
Atmosphere - music and sound, lighting and colours, art design, character and enemy models
Interfacing - Onboarding and intuitive learning, UI design and fluidity, control mapping, options, grabbing/interacting with objects, general polish
Storytelling - Plot, lore, world building, characters, character and enemy expressiveness, writing
For many people who play games, combat is at the forefront of their interests. For me, it always takes a backseat priority - if its present at all - to the above three aspects. The combat in Bloodborne is great, but it is because it excels in those 3 aspects that it's one of my favourite games. I also love lengthy games like Pentiment, Disco Elysium, Planescape Torment, and Pathologic 2, which have minimal or no combat and lots of reading!
Legendary Tales is simply mediocre in those three bolded aspects and for me that's a hard pass. If these aspects were serviceable to me - done well enough to facilitate the combat - I might have kept going. But I don't use the world 'mediocre' lightly. This is the appropriate word to me, and because of that, I did not want to spend 40+ hours in this world.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
DETAILS
__________________________________________
For those interested, or for the developers, I will continue with a breakdown of these aspects I am criticizing, trying to go through everything I felt about them in the first hour or so of playing.
Main menu was my favourite part. I liked the scene + music together. Nice. I was looking forward to playing and this had me feeling fuzzy and ready to enjoy the game. Unfortunately, it was not to be.
The very first issue I noticed was that the game felt washed out. Even in that main menu I liked, I was feeling like it was a bit washed out. So I tried adjusting brightness down... then the darker areas felt better, but the light areas felt off. The more I played and tried to adjust to find the right equilibrium, the more I realized the lighting and contrast is just not good and adjusting brightness can't save that.
The second issue I noticed was the menu cursor to select things. It felt like an early VR game that hadn't quite figured out VR menus yet. It's useable but not fluid and pleasing.
The third issue I noticed was the unintuitive controls. I thought that this was the kind of game, kind of like a Souls game, where you aren't taught everything but learn things as you go in an organic manner. Maybe some of that exists in this game, but mostly it's simply bad control design and a bad tutorial. It's the difference between having barriers that have purpose, purposeful friction, and feel good when discovered vs barriers that feel pointless and just build frustration without purpose. The controls feel like a mess and while it's apparent that people can get used to them as they play more, it's not in a justified sense.
Along with this are interfacing issues. For example, grabbing items feels very awkward. The motions are clunky, for example the way a weapon will slowly glide into place in your hands. There's so many interfacing issues. The interface to see weapon/item stats on weapons that are laying about is clunky, the interface to switch weapons is clunky, the magic interface is clunky, dialogue boxes feel clunky,... all of these things feel clunky both in terms of feel and also aesthetic.
A very straightforward and obvious example is dialogue. Character dialogue is presented in a large bland text on a page. To progress through the dialogue, there's no obvious place to click or button to push. In fact, you have to click a particular area of the page, which feels totally arbitrary and unintuitive. Sure, once you learn, you can do it fine, but it's just bad interface design.
To go back to The Light Brigade, think about the difference in both feel and aesthetic to opening a chest or breaking a pot. Grabbing a gun and how it arrives to your hand. The attractive dialogue boxes. Watching a reward pop out of a chest, picking a tarot card. Putting objects into your waist pouch or taking them out. These interactions are all comfortable, beautiful, fluid, and intuitive.
The next thing on my mind was sound.
As I played the tutorial, the soundscape was barren. There was a wind loop, which didn't loop correctly leaving a solid second of space between the end and beginning. Sounds didn't feel like they were placed quite right in 3D space. Point-based sounds (like the crackling of a campfire, that comes from a specific point in space) had too small of a zone (the sound should be heard from further away). In general the soundscape was very barebones. And when I encountered the first character, not only did the character look totally goofy and out of place, but they made no sounds when 'speaking', not even grunts or gibberish sound.
To skip ahead for a moment, I also felt the music did not match the environments enough. The music was quite pretty - that's not the problem. It just didn't feel like the environments were quite synergized with the music.
Again for both music and sound, think of the gun sounds, the ability sounds, the sound of the enemies as they spot you, the sound of the environment, the footsteps and dash, the grunts of characters when the speak, the music... not only does it all sound great, but it all feels like expressions of the unique world of The Light Brigade. This is excellent sound and music design, that truly bring the world to life.
Although a minor complaint, I also noticed lots of grammar and spelling errors. Although I understand the team is in South Korea, and I appreciate the challenges of translation, just like with everything else I was just expecting... more polish. I thought it would feel like a full package, at indie scale. But it feels very much like a partial package.
And that segues into the writing...
There are games with simple and/or unmemorable story, where the story is still servicing and facilitating the gameplay.
And then there is just plain bad writing.
This is very much the latter.
Maybe a bit of this goes back to translation but I am doubtful that it fares much better in original Korean in essence.
The writing is goofy, juvenile, poorly structured, and generic.
I was also seriously turned off by a couple lines in particular, that I'm sure affect me more than most but I will mention anyways. One was something like "valuable gem missing. And a hot girl". Like... There's nothing inherent about calling a woman (or a man) hot that I don't like. Yes gamers, you are allowed to find women attractive, relax. But it's the way its written,... I'm not going to turn this into an essay about male gaze but the way its written simply services a particular male audience that casually objectifies women.
Even worse was the final line I read, a quest line. Paraphrasing, but the primary descriptive words are all exact: "Go kill 10 kill peasants in a refugee camp". I don't think I need to elaborate, people who are on a similar page to me will understand why this was just an incredibly gross line.
I know the above two dialogue criticisms will not be shared by everyone and not affect everyone the same way. I am expressing them as part of what I felt, my personal criticisms and experience, just like the rest of what I'm sharing.
Again to compare to The Light Brigade... every line feels thoughtful and builds character and develops the lore. Whether its the forlorn lines of NPC members of The Light Brigade, or the scenes that appear between runs, and other bits and pieces you get. The Light Brigade develops so much world with few words, it's quite impressive and again a beacon that Urban Wolf Games can learn from.
The final issue I'll discuss was something that struck me earlier on. That is, player character model and lack of customization.
First of all - again an issue that the majority here probably won't be affected by - I could not pick my character model until after completing the tutorial. Specifically, I was forced to do calibration as a male character model, and then had to play the tutorial as this character. Minor complaint but again just another polish issue.
Both male and female models are just... boring designs, and the female model is again very juvenile, obviously serving a primarily male audience, whether intentionally or not.
But more importantly, there's no character customization. Not even the tiniest bit. Even the ability to change just skin colour and hair only would go a long way. Especially in a lengthy adventure like this, I need to be able to identify with my character. Especially with multiplayer it seems essential to me, but even if it were single player, and as someone who plays primarily in single player, character customization is hugely impactful to me.
This does not really have a contrast in The Light Brigade - there's no character customization in The Light Brigade either, although the kind of game it is, it's not as relevant. That said, I do think it would be a nice touch if there WAS some minor character customization in The Light Brigade, and especially if you could play as a woman instead of man if you so choose. Although maybe lore-wise it is intended that all members are male except for 'Mother'. This hasn't been established with any good reason though. So on this point I would lightly criticize The Light Brigade as well.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
ENDING THOUGHTS
__________________________________________
Ultimately, Legendary Tales is quite simply a very indie game that probably had a very small team and limited funds. I don't know for sure, but probably there *wasn't* a dedicated writer, a dedicated UI and interface designer, etc.
However, these things are still failings of the game and its design. The greatest indie games to me are ones that successfully recognize their scope limitations and develop something complete within that scope. Whether it's the roguelike world of The Light Brigade, or the very short and stylish Tiger Blade, or Jeff Minter's trippy games like Akka Arrh and Polybius, or the retro Silent Hill aesthetic of Organ Quarter, or the suspenseful hotel of Propagation Paradise Hotel... all these games are made by small teams but successfully navigate their limited funds to deliver a full package within an appropriately limited scope.
On the one hand, I really value and support BJ's push for indie games to be respected and for that respect to reflect in the price consumers are prepared to pay. But after being totally on board with the price of Legendary Tales based on what I read from BJ and reviewers and many regular players too, I have to disagree with this game's pricing. This game is not polished enough, and is not a full package. That the game sucked out so much funds is an error of scope.
Maybe I will be in the minority, and Legendary Tales has been a success so it seems that I am, and so good on them for knowing the value of their game to the demographic they targeted I guess. And regardless, even if the pricing and attempted scope of the game are an error on the dev's part, I'm glad for the dev to earn back as much as they can, or even turn a profit hopefully.
But to me, reflecting back to the question the devs put forward: "Do you want to see deep combat development like this in VR for a 40+ hour adventure from indie devs?" The answer is no, I don't. I do consider the scope of this game an error on the part of the developers. It sounds like they did not even turn a profit enough to allow them to expand their team (but maybe I'm misunderstanding). I hope that they do continue with VR development, but instead focus on a much smaller scope game. Deliver a polished, complete package within a smaller scope, implementing a much tighter budget that will allow for potential turning of profit with an appropriately lighter sale price (maybe targeting a $30 game?).
If that is successful, do it again, and again, until they can expand and eventually work toward their dream adventure RPG, hiring actual writers and UI designers and sound designers etc. For me personally, this is simply not the kind of game you can half-bake. It should be attempted again when, and only when, they feel they have budget to do this in a truly full and polished manner.
I had the pleasure of meeting BJ briefly at PAX East. He struck me as friendly, kind, totally genuine, and incredibly passionate as a game developer and a VR game developer in particular.
I do wish this team good luck and despite my own harsh criticism I am glad so many ARE enjoying this game, and also feel the price point is justified. I want devs to earn money, including Urban Wolf Games. And I hope that they will continue to develop and bring more VR to the world.
I hope that my criticism is constructive and useful toward these same goals.

Okay, so. I just saw the latest video.
Theres one point i feel like should have been mentioned, that could also hammer the nail on the head. And that, is the media TADC is based off of:
I have no mouth and i must scream.
Now i believe the creator herself mentioned it over on tumblr, but IHNMAIMS was an inspiration for the series.
Now, if you don’t know what IHNMAIMS is about, it surrounds five humans (Ted, Benny, Gorrister, Nimdok, and Ellen) being left at the mercy of a rogue master computer called A.M: a super computer made for a potential WW3, After it gained sentience and completely eradicated the human race besides the five mentioned. To torment them for over 108 years to satisfy its lasting hatred for humanity.
And off the bat we can somewhat compare characters to each other, Pomni is clearly like Ted, the “youngest”. She’s the freshest to the circus, so technically she would be the youngest.
Ragatha is similar to Ellen since both are described as Empathetic towards the others. As well as the fact they’re both closest to the main character in their own right.
Kinger is tricky but i would kind of compare him to benny? Both lost most resemblence to who they were. (Especially if kinger was a potential bug finder as a human.) Since both had high intelligence that is now lost.
Zooble and Gangle are hard to match with any character especially since we know very little about them. But if i had to guess, zooble would seem tied more so to Gorrister due to their semi-apathetic approach to the situation they’re in. But that leaves nimdok to Gangle and..yeah. It’s a bit messy round here.
But, whats important to note is- the only other character we can compare jax, our supposed “last human”, is A.M himself. Which, if jax was an NPC that supposedly gets worse further down the line..it’d make total sense.
It’d also be a hell of a plot twist, making Caine seeming to be the only one to counterpart A.M, when in reality it’s one of our “player” characters?
But i dunno. Just spitballing.

Hello! Thank you for taking a moment to read my little advertisement here.
 
I am aiming to run a Savage RIFTS game, on Monday evenings. The game itself will be around 4ish hours, give or take, and be weekly. Voice only as well, though I can easily set up a channel for people to have in character communications throughout the week.
 
As for setting, RIFTS is….it’s over the top. Essentially any character concept can be applied to RIFTS, within some level of reason. It is where magic meets tech, all in a nice post apocalyptic wrapping.
 
For the game itself, the characters will be freshly hired mercenaries into a larger mercenary company. Located in the New West, around what used to be known as Colorado. The game will be a bit more mission focused at first, as I want to give everyone a chance to learn the game. From there though, it will be something more sandbox in nature. I have plot lines for the group to follow if they wish, or the group can simply decide to do something different! Ultimately, it is all about having fun here. So, I am purposely leaving the premise of the game simple in nature.
Get hired, take missions, make money. From there, see where the group wants to go.
 
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, please do apply! I know that forms are something that nobody likes filling out, but they allow me to collect information and put it all in a single place. Just makes for easy book keeping.
So to apply, please fill out the following:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScvSNKFC9SiNU0ZOJv_bcZ3JDWizn1eKtXkz-pATZ6NcL8X4w/viewform?usp=sf_link
Thank you for your time and interest!
 
Monday evenings, starting at 7:30 PM EST/EDT. Games will last around 4 hours, give or take
Played weekly.
Voice only, Roll20

Hello! Thank you for taking a moment to read my little advertisement here.
 
I am aiming to run a Savage RIFTS game, on Monday evenings. The game itself will be around 4ish hours, give or take, and be weekly. Voice only as well, though I can easily set up a channel for people to have in character communications throughout the week.
 
As for setting, RIFTS is….it’s over the top. Essentially any character concept can be applied to RIFTS, within some level of reason. It is where magic meets tech, all in a nice post apocalyptic wrapping.
 
For the game itself, the characters will be freshly hired mercenaries into a larger mercenary company. Located in the New West, around what used to be known as Colorado. The game will be a bit more mission focused at first, as I want to give everyone a chance to learn the game. From there though, it will be something more sandbox in nature. I have plot lines for the group to follow if they wish, or the group can simply decide to do something different! Ultimately, it is all about having fun here. So, I am purposely leaving the premise of the game simple in nature.
Get hired, take missions, make money. From there, see where the group wants to go.
 
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, please do apply! I know that forms are something that nobody likes filling out, but they allow me to collect information and put it all in a single place. Just makes for easy book keeping.
So to apply, please fill out the following:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScvSNKFC9SiNU0ZOJv_bcZ3JDWizn1eKtXkz-pATZ6NcL8X4w/viewform?usp=sf_link
Thank you for your time and interest!
 
Monday evenings, starting at 7:30 PM EST/EDT. Games will last around 4 hours, give or take
Played weekly.
Voice only, Roll20

Hello! Thank you for taking a moment to read my little advertisement here.
 
I am aiming to run a Savage RIFTS game, on Monday evenings. The game itself will be around 4ish hours, give or take, and be weekly. Voice only as well, though I can easily set up a channel for people to have in character communications throughout the week.
 
As for setting, RIFTS is….it’s over the top. Essentially any character concept can be applied to RIFTS, within some level of reason. It is where magic meets tech, all in a nice post apocalyptic wrapping.
 
For the game itself, the characters will be freshly hired mercenaries into a larger mercenary company. Located in the New West, around what used to be known as Colorado. The game will be a bit more mission focused at first, as I want to give everyone a chance to learn the game. From there though, it will be something more sandbox in nature. I have plot lines for the group to follow if they wish, or the group can simply decide to do something different! Ultimately, it is all about having fun here. So, I am purposely leaving the premise of the game simple in nature.
Get hired, take missions, make money. From there, see where the group wants to go.
 
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, please do apply! I know that forms are something that nobody likes filling out, but they allow me to collect information and put it all in a single place. Just makes for easy book keeping.
So to apply, please fill out the following:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScvSNKFC9SiNU0ZOJv_bcZ3JDWizn1eKtXkz-pATZ6NcL8X4w/viewform?usp=sf_link
Thank you for your time and interest!
 
Monday evenings, starting at 7:30 PM EST/EDT. Games will last around 4 hours, give or take
Played weekly.
Voice only, Roll20

Do you spend a lot of your time day dreaming what life would be like with your perfect match? Would that life consist of lots of quality time spent together, shared hobbies, travelling together, supporting each other and sharing not just the good times? Are your passions a weird conglomerate of sciency and artsy topics? We might just be a match. No, this is not an infomercial.
What makes finding my match somewhat difficult i,0s that my personality is all over the place, I can't really be put into a box and I dream of finding someone I'm deeply compatible with. I have a PhD in physics/math and work in a related field, involving IT and programming. My take on life is rather critical, rational and I'm not religious. BUT I'm also very by morals, emotional in certain aspects and my biggest aspiration in life is having a happy, fulfilling relationship where we are inseparable, each others best friend and more. A soulmate sorta thing if you wish, even though souls obviously don't exist...right?
Soo what are my passions that we could hopefully share together? I have to get the cliché out of the way first, I'm really big on films/tv shows/video games/manga and some books. It's not just something I consume to overcome boredom though, I'm extremely interested in stories and the art of story telling. My tastes are varied and something that would be fun to discuss, some of the things I like:
* weird, obscure horror movies that sometimes make me wonder if anyone else on the planet has ever seen them (spoiler: yes they have). Also horror movies in general.
* "artsy, deeper" movies without bordering into pretentiousness, a line that is entirely subjective but I shall still defend as if an objective truth. Kubrick I really like, also Disney.
* big sucker for romantic comedies and enjoy some goofy comedies as well.
* mostly story driven, single player games, Life is Strange would be an example of a game that had a deeper impact on me, wowser.
* would enjoy getting into multiplayer games together, I consider it a fantastic way to bond. Mario Kart (GoldenEye?) should be obligatory for a couple, friendly trash talking included (or not so friendly, if you're into that). LoL? Yes please (even though I hate it)
* I already feel like it's getting too long (that's what she said) but I enjoy the Harry Potter books and don't like when people call them children's books. They contain more wisdom about life than most literature classics.
The point being, talking about stories, analysing movies together or writing our own video game plot (don't worry I already have an amazing idea, but not so good at writing dialogue)/short stories is a big thing I'd like to share in a relationship.
Still with me? Some other things I enjoy:
* music, especially older stuff rock, pop, some metal, classical and soundtracks!
* photography, especially nature & architecture. Going on a hike or exploring nature with the intent of taking pictures gives you a whole new outlook on things.
* running, that would be a really fun activity to share together as well.
* cooking and every now and then baking. Let me cook a romantic dinner for you?
* travelling! I've somewhat dipped my toe into the digital nomad thing in the last year and loved it. Exploring a new city/country is super exciting to me. My style of travelling is definitely more adventurous. I like being out and about all day and see as much as I can in the time I'm there, doing a moderate but not too crazy amount of research beforehand about attractions. I like a certain degree of spontaneity and some days where we would just walk wherever the wind carries us. Long... really long walks on the beach are the best, especially at night. That being said, I also enjoy a day laying at the beach, café hopping, exploring restaurants or a mall haha. My favourite place so far has been Japan for sure (not a weeb I swear)(lot's of malls here!). If you're a solo traveller let me know. If you're younger or haven't travelled so much, this is not a deal breaker. As long as you're curious and open minded with a sense for adventure.
Phew ok, not done yet. I need to say something about the type of romantic connection I'm desiring as it's somewhat off the norm. I want to spend a lot of time with my partner. A lot. That doesn't even mean constantly engaging with each other, but just being around each other, checking in on each other, leaving little notes, generally what they would call being clingy. Maintaining a happy relationship should be the number 1 priority in your life, as it would be for me. I would never neglect you in favour of other people or obligations and expect the same in return. Location wise would be great if you're in Germany of course, but really doesn't matter that much to me. This would just be an awesome motivation for me to travel somewhere and as I'm very flexible in my day to day life, I would make a visit happen sooner than later.
Appearance wise, 183 cm, caucasian, slimish/fitish/averageish build, short dark brown hair and eyes. Finally, I'll finish off with an arbitrary list of traits that describe me and I'm simultaneously seeking out in a woman: sense of humour (did that come across...like, at all? Writing this post I felt like it was all rather serious at times, because I take this seriously, but my style of communication is more light hearted, being silly together, not taking everything too seriously, but being able to talk maturely should the situation require), responsible, curious, reliable, trustworthy, loyal, honest to a fault, dedicated, creative, self-aware, honest again because it's important, thoughtful, caring, kind but not a pushover, enjoys arguing/debating, romantic, sweet. If you have a (very?) k1nky side that would be the cherry on top, but it's not a must and all in due time.
Have a virtual cookie for making it this far. Now don't be shy and send me a PM already, telling me what's on your mind. If you send a chat and I don't reply, send a little PM as a follow up in case the chat didn't work.

Main question: After a surprising R&R and halfway through the querying process, should I attempt to save my manuscript by getting editorial help, or should I let it (potentially) die out with the last half of my agent list?
More context: Back in October, I started querying my novel after 5 beta readers, 1 critique partner, and two big-name agent consultations who gave me the green light to query. I started off with several agent requests from various pitch contents, and within a month, I had several fulls out. By December, most of those fulls turned into rejections, some kind and some form. I knew this was to be expected, and decided to take a break from querying for a few months in case I had some thoughts about revisions.
In early 2024, I was accepted into an acclaimed mentorship for the novel, and after another round of revisions with this trusted mentor, I sent my novel back into to query trenches in April. Now it’s been technically 2-3 months of sending this MS out and 7 months of this MS being out in agents’ hands, and I now have a decent request rate paired with 8 full rejections. Of the 4 full rejections who gave personalized feedback, 3 made it seem like there was a small reason why they had to pass (using only one personalized sentence) while one agent gave me a very lengthy R&R letter begging me to rip apart my beginning and start in a completely different manner.
After careful consideration, I’ve concluded that this agent did not read beyond 25 pages (my 20-25 page mark features one of the major things she told me my story lacked). However, their primary advice was to have my 1st chapter start somewhere else and have the main character do something completely different. As much as I’d like to consider this feedback, making such a change would alter the rest of the manuscript, as I’d have to introduce everything from the current Chapter 1 at some other time — all of which doesn’t make sense to me, and would only make my already long manuscript even longer. My book is a mystery/thriller, and shifting the pace and creating a new goal-based plot line (as also suggested) would upend the characteevidence balance I've already worked to create. They even said the way I’m setting this story up is not doing justice to everything else I’ve created for the book, which they listed to demonstrate specifics. I have no idea if this R&R is pointing out something crucial to my story succeeding, or if it's just their preference and I should take it with a grain of salt.
If you’d like further context, I can provide it, but TL;DR: This R&R is making me wonder if I need to rewrite the book or seek editorial assistance (possibly $3,000, I would go with someone on Reedsy) in order to save this book for the last half of my querying journey. Should I try to salvage, or should I let this book die in the trenches and move on? Or, is there an underrated craft book anyone can recommend if you've had to go through the same thing?
I'm aware this is a highly personal situation, but if anyone has gone through this before, I'd be happy to hear about it.

It's been years since the defeat of Muzan Kibutsuji. The world has setting into a peaceful period. The word demon has become the thing of myths or legends. As the years had passed however, the legends of demons never truly died. A small group of twelve humans had kept the legends of Muzan throughout the years, traveling the world in an attempt to find something to break away from their humanity and resurrect the original demon. Almost one hundred years later, the twelve had found the very thing to become demons, plunging the world back into chaos. New Demons have been created and the original twelve human in search of immortality and ultimate power have formed a new Twelve Kizuki. With the rise of demons seemingly out of nowhere, ancient contingency plans had been put into effect, the Demon Slayer Corps forming from almost nothing. This new Demon Slayer Corps had immediately recruited as many members as possible, gathering a team to rid the world of demons once again and stop the new 12 Kitzuki from executing their ultimate goal. The Resurrection of Muzan Kibutsuji.
So, the Plot of this roleplay will be set in modern times, following two slayers (Mine and your OCs) as they travel the world, cutting down every demon they can. Sometimes, the new 12 Kitzuki will be involved, during those times I would ask that we both can be able to play a second character. This will also apply to regular demons as well. Though this roleplay may end sometime, I do hope this will be long term, our characters slowly rising the ranks and eventually ridding the world of demons.
Rules

• First off, read ALL THE RULES and SEND A PM with the words "New Slayer Reporting!"
• This will be a Discord Roleplay (Reddit is nice but Discord is easier for me to get updates)
• 21+ partners only! (This is mostly a personal preference)
• OC's ONLY! (This won't be the children of Demon Slayer Characters or the reincarnated versions of them. ORIGINAL CHARACTERS ONLY!)
• While I enjoy creativity, NO OVERPOWERED CHARACTERS OR BREATHING STYLES!
  • We are not Hashira or beyond that, the Rank I'm limiting it to is Kanoe!
  • No "Trained after my parents were killed by the military of demon slayers" or "My mother was a prostitute and I hated it and realized there was no god"
  • God Breathing? Breathing style more powerful than all of them? Please have your breathing style be an offshoot of the original breathing styles with Strengths and drawbacks!
  • The bastard child of a demon and human? Humans only!
  • Nichirin gun? Nichirin chainsaw? Please limit to swords or any other plausible weapons! Axes, Katanas, ect.
  • Sun or Moon breathing? No
• Talk it out! (Got an issue with the roleplay? Want to add in something Random? Want to just ask about the day? Ask away! In essence just asking for a little communication. If something happens and you can't write for a bit, let me know!)
• 3rd Person and Past Tense Only! (No First person please.)
• Multi line replies. (We're talking at least 7+ sentences per post. I understand blocks sometimes but please try to keep in the 7+ sentence range or more.)
• Read the rest of the rules? Change the Subject to "Lets Slay Demons"

So, with all that done and if you are still interested, please send me a PM and we'll discuss a bit before moving to discord! I look forward to hearing from yall!

SPOILERS AHEAD
TLDR: After finishing the Penacony story arc I feel like nothing meaningful happened in the story since the prologue and I lost my excitement for this game. Do you guys feel this way too?
Hey folks, I just finished the Penacony story arc this week and I hate to say it but... I am very disappointed by the lack of development in any meaningful aspect of the story.
Now, I know some things happened, we got the reveal of Acheron as an emanator of Nihility, we discovered that all of the popular characters in the Clockie animation are based on the Nameless of the past that helped shape the Penacony that we see, etc.. My point is that for all the cool reveals and new characters, absolutely nothing of any substance ever happens in the story. For example:

• Robin and Firefly were seemingly murdered, but then we got the reveal that they were just transported elsewhere and were fine
• Aventurine gets killed by Acheron at the end of his battle, "proving" that death exists in the dream but then just walks it off
• We defeated an emanator of Harmony, hijacked by the Order, and essentially preserved the status quo
• Even the new event is about restoring the Theather and undoing Acheron's damage

And it is not only Penacony, from the top of my head

• On the Xianzhou, we defeated a fake boy of Phantilia, she even mentions that that loss doesn't affect her in the end
• On Belobog, we hide the truth from everyone and despite Cocolia's defeat the world will remain frozen for centuries
• On Herta's space station... nothing meaningful happened outside the prologue

And on the topic of the prologue, we have a cool set up about how the Nanook the Destruction is a mission to destroy the whole universe and Elio is seemingly trying to prevent it, a script in which we seem to have a pivotal role to play... and that plot line is barely mentioned afterwards, nothing meaningful happened yet.
Overall my excitement for the game has hit rock bottom, what is the point of meeting new characters and exploring new worlds if everything will stay the same as before we arrived ther?
How do you guys feel about the story? Does any of this bother you too or do you think I am being a bit too harsh on HSR?

My normal posts are 2-5 paragraphs. This is long because it's a starter.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The sloping ground around the Kiaurk family mesa had been sculpted into shelves or terraces, and it was on one of those upper terraces that Kiaurk Nshurr now lounged beneath a pergola anchored to the striated stone face behind her. The mesa rose at her back: an enormous, looming, almost sheer outcrop that her family's dwellings had been carved into the face of. Wide, shallow steps cut into the artificial (but entirely convincing) sandstone wound their way up between landings and porticos leading inward, between tiny balconies shaded by bright solid-colored canopies, between rooms with flat walls and rounded corners that came jutting out to shadow the steps below. Rriigkhans rarely used glass as window barriers; smooth-edged holes had been cut through the rock in varying shapes and sizes. It could be difficult to tell which apertures were windows and which were entryways. A physical barrier that kept out the elements was obsolete in all but the crudest dwellings, though some of these larger holes were curtained with braided string or strips of cloth that served a purely decorative purpose.
From her high vantage point Nshurr could see the shelves stretching out below her as the base of the mesa leveled out to flattish terrain that was a wonderland of vegetation in muted rainbow colors: mustard yellows, clay reds, earthy browns and the occasional dash of sage or dusty blue. This scrubland lay like a blanket around everything below that was not part of the village between the mesas. Down there, adobe compounds never taller than two or three storeys seemed so squat compared to the mesas that Nshurr could see towering in the distance, many of those family mesas only a few hours walk from her own if she traveled by foot. The village sprawled, with tile parkways winding in serpentine fashion between the various buildings, courtyards, parks, and ponds. There were no property lines, no clear division of the land into neat little plots owned by the individuals who lived and worked in these places. It all seemed to be part of a whole, with a single unifying aesthetic. The village housed those rriigkhans of the lower castes, the kharratah and chelhautah, and the humans which were a caste all their own, haukagh-ar, except for a small number who lived with their masters in the caverns of the mesas or up on the plateau.
This planet, Sgarrl, terraformed over three hundred years ago, was home to more human servants than any other Ssaarian world – aside from Earth, of course, discovered eighty years ago. The fact that humans shared so much in common with rriigkhans made them the perfect species to incorporate into the rriigkhan caste structure as servants. They breathed the same mix of gases and required similar gravities, and their nimble little fingers were very useful for all sorts of work.
The rriigkhan language was not necessarily too complex for humans, but it was wholly unfamiliar – too many phonemes that did not fit comfortably in human mouths, from grunts to huffs, to rolling trills that might by voiced or not, sometimes rumbling out like a purr. To a human, Nshurr's name was a sigh and a trill, and yet she was accustomed to humans vocalizing her name in their heavy, slurring way: Na-Shuurr! Nasher! Sometimes simply: ɽ͡r! which she recognized more easily as her name, or at least part of it, and not some random sounds.
Still, despite the weird pidgin humans had made of her language and their English, she liked the little creatures. She had come to live with her Grandmother on Sgarrl only days ago, and had never encountered them before. The males only stood as tall as her collar. The females were shorter still, much like the males of her own species.
To human eyes Nshurr was felinoid, with a muscular swimmer's body and the broad muzzle of a big cat, with watchful, forward-facing predator's eyes that seemed unexpectedly expressive, because rriikghans had almost as many muscles around their eyes as humans did around their mouths to convey the nuances of emotion. Despite being larger than even many Earth men, she was considered sleek by rriigkhan standards. She made up for that with her broader crest.
The rriigkhan crest was something like the crest of Utahceratops – a keratinized plate growing up out of the skull, except divided into three lobes instead of two, with scalloped edges along the outer rim. Unlike depictions of Utahceratops, the rriigkhan crest was not covered by skin. At least, not on the top. Thick ropy veins squiggled under velvet fur on the underside, closer to the neck. (A thick, arching neck muscular enough to support the weight of that crest meant that Rriigkhans walked with a stoop that made them seem hunchbacked, to humans.) The surface of the plate on top was often rough, even bumpy or corrugated like deer antlers in some areas, smooth in others. Every female crest had four tines jutting from the front – a pair several inches above the eyes, and another pair further up. Directly above the lowest set of tines were twin holes, the howrf channels, just big enough for a human to insert a finger. These holes were very much like nostrils – much deeper, but damp inside, and lined with short, fine hairs to protect the sensitive mucous membrane from debris. The organs housed within these channels were the heart of rriigkhan culture, the foundation of all relationships, of sex.
Male rriigkhans, of course, had only their neotonous crests: diminutive, mostly smooth with rounded edges, without tines or howrf channels. Cute.
Nshurr's crest was wider than average, her upper tines spaced further apart, and combined with a compact face this made her look top-heavy. (A human might say that she was more snow leopard than lion.) Most female crests did not interfere with the movement of the ears – highly mobile, highly expressive paddle shaped things – but the edges of Nshurr's crest did jut out enough to almost shield them.
That her crest was weighty, that it was inconvenient, that she was often aware of it – this was Nshurr's pride. Her long tail curled in pleasure when she caught males looking at it. Humans seemed to be intimidated by it sometimes, as if she might decide to gore them with her “horns.” She considered herself a confident person; not a braggart, but self-assured, and to carry her jhekaah so visibly pleased her to no end.
Her fur was an almost peachy off-white, but a mask of pale peach shaded each seafoam green eye. The mask blended into the white further up her forehead until fur gave way to bone-tan crest, and was split between her eyes by the white of her nose. Oblong spots in that same peachy color, each blending from dark to light, streaked down her sides.
These weren't the natural colors of her distant ancestors. It was unheard of to see a rriigkhan who was not gene-modified in some way, even if those modded genes had been part of rriigkhan life for so long that no one thought of them as mods any longer. She also thought nothing of the subtitles her augmented reality implant displayed whenever a human spoke, AI translated to help her decipher the pidgin. AR was simply a part of her, had been since she was a kit.
Reclining as she was on a padded lounger in front of an iron brazier, full of cold ashes from last night's fire, Nshurr was dressed in a pale coral shift only a few shades darker than the peach of her fur. Medallions trailing fringes of cloth had been sewn onto the front bottom half of the knee-length garment. A row of those ornate medallions defined a plunging neckline that bared much of her chest, muscular and broad, possibly even masculine to a human. Her breasts were lower on her body and similar in appearance to a mare's udders: long nipples on a pudge of fat nestled close together on the pelvis, just above the place where her thighs joined her body. They were only small lumps beneath the shift when Nshurr stretched out her legs so that the thin fabric fell across them. It was the roundness of her hips and buttocks that marked her female to the human eye. (As if her crest didn't make that obvious!)
She was listening to the sound of two younger female cousins wrestling on a nearby terrace, and although from her vantage point Nshurr could not see them, she could imagine the scene from what she heard: Fherou and Lahk growling while they grappled with their arms, the crack of crest hitting crest and then the scrape of tine sliding against tine. Each was fighting to control the other's head, each trying to bite the other. It wasn't easy when each had a shaggy ruff to protect her neck, and any attempt to bite the other's face would be thwarted by an interposing crest. Rriigkhan hands were less dexterous than human hands, more pawlike with stubby fingers, but capable of delivering hard blows, and once or twice Nshurr heard a cousin snarl in response to a strike against her body.
The competitive pheromones her cousins exuded from their unextended howrfs, quite unconsciously, were beginning to make Nshurr's own heart beat faster. The end of her long tail, where it hung down from the reclining chair, lashed in agitation. She was beginning to imagine sinking her teeth into someone's skin herself, and if her cousins had not been so much younger and smaller than herself she might have gone down to their terrace to show them a thing or two. It was putting her off the human flute music she'd been listening to, fed directly into her own brain through her implant for her private enjoyment. (Certain aspects of human culture were very popular here on Sgarrl; she'd been curious about it.)
She did not feel like going inside to escape the pheromones; Nshurr craved the warmth of the sun on her fur, not the cool stone and artificial light of those warrens. Most of her male cousins had gone into the village for boating today. Well, perhaps she would go down and join them after all.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
OOC Information:
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
For this prompt I imagine you'd play a human servant, probably a new arrival to Sgarrl but maybe someone who was born there. Even though I've set up a situation where my character would have a lot of power and yours very little, I want to clarify that I'm not interested in abusing your character I am looking for a slow burn interspecies romance that develops naturally. This story may deal with power imbalances and even speciesism, but I'd like to explore those topics realistically.
I want to explore all aspects of loving relationship... Flirting, cuddling, kissing, lots of romantic scenes and character growth. My “type” that I'm most attracted to are men with average bodies in the 40-60 age range, with realistic personality flaws. I am more than willing to tailor my character's personality and physical attributes to suit your tastes, within reason. I appreciate partners willing to do the same.
I prefer to reply more than once a day. 2-3 replies per day would be ideal, but I understand life gets in the way. I usually write 2-5 paragraphs, or 150-450 words per post. This starter is much longer than my typical post length, but my lengths vary according to need. If I'm introducing a new character or setting a scene, my post might go up to 1,000 words.
Please send a writing sample if you have none in your post history. No need to custom write anything for me, old samples are fine. Click here to PM me!

Context:
I’m rewriting my WIP for the fifth (and hopefully last) time to make the story more character driven and make my characters motivations stronger. I’ve changed the first three chapters so many times I have no idea what’s good anymore. It’s a portal fantasy Reverse Harem with fated mates. You only meet two love interests in the intro (and one of them only shows up towards the very end of the set up), but I am just looking to see if my FMC's motivations make sense, or if I have made the Set Up too convoluted and given her too many goals.
**Please note the scenes I am posting have been written as an outline, and is not intended to read line by line like a finished manuscript. I will be writing it in First person POV when I finish plotting.**
Backstory (TLDR; Character A needs to gain access to the Other World so she can make a bargain to trade her Father's life for hers, we open on the 6th anniversary of him being taken, her 24th birthday. I ramble on for quite a bit so if you would like to get right into it please skip to Intro/Set Up)
Motivation:
Character A’s Father was stolen by otherworldly creatures 6 years ago and taken to their lands. Character A harbours guilt and blames herself because she disobeyed her Fathers rules and snuck into the woods with her friends on her 18th birthday to go swimming. Her Father came looking for her and that is when she witnessed him being taken.
In the area they live in, disappearances around the full moon were common, with many losing their loved ones over the last 50 years with no explanation. There were a lot of theories of aliens, bigfoot, cougars, werewolves, and only her Father claimed that magic wielding creatures were responsible.
Character A grew up being told stories about these lands, how the creatures enslaved humans to play in their games until they died for entertainment. Her Father told her magic was real but it was to be feared and to run from any sign of the unusual, forbade her from leaving her house after sunset or from ever going into the woods, and he always tried to keep her close to him.
He had a hard time holding down a job due to the grief he felt from losing Character A’s mother during childbirth and when he would drink he would make it known that he resented Character A for derailing his life, because now he was burdened with protecting her instead of living as a family. Her mother was buried there and her father refused to move away from her body. Character A internalized this, feeling guilty for being the reason he struggled so much, and spent her life caring for her father the way she would a child. Cooking, cleaning, paying bills, etc. She would even get revenge on his bosses for firing him. Her Father always claimed it was never his fault, that they were abusing their power and couldn’t handle somebody smarter than them, and losing his job would send him into an alcoholic depression.
Character A heard her Fathers words, and combined with the way out-of town business men had turned her small mountain town into their own personal resort, developed a deep hatred for anyone that held power. She would find little ways to get revenge on her Fathers bosses, and when she was older, spent her spare time getting revenge on the trust fund kids who didn’t care if their actions had consequences for the people living there.
She had a big dream of leaving her small town and exploring the world, but she felt responsible for her Father. She took care of him, and she was afraid of what would happen to him if she left, but she knew she was suffocating under him. Although her guilt and love for her father prevented her from seeing the full truth of what he was, narcissistic and abusive, deep down she knew and she became restless under his restriction.
When she was young she believed his stories but as she got older and never saw any evidence to back up his claims, the more she chaffed against his rules and started sneaking out. She wasn’t dumb, she always carried a knife and bear spray. She read up on what to do if you encountered a predator in the forest, and she begun stealing what little freedom she could for herself. She didn’t believe in magic, wolves and mountain lions were the only things that made sense to her.
Wound:
After her Father is taken Character A is broken. Everything her Father said was true, all he was trying to do was keep her safe, but she disobeyed him and now he was taken to a magical land to be tortured by never ending games. She is distraught and depressed. She begins sleeping in the woods, hoping to be taken too so her pain can end.
A few months later, at the end of summer, her best friend and boyfriend, the only people her father approved of her spending time with, tell her that they still plan to leave for the year long trip they were all going on. They want to start their lives, they think Character A has become delusional in the wake of her Fathers disappearance, they can’t be stuck there taking care of her, they can’t handle her emotions, they need a fresh start. She realizes they have been having an affair, she internalizes them telling her she is too much to handle and that she is unlovable. She was a burden on her father and then a burden on them. She doesn’t see them again for six years.
Present Day:
Character A has spent the last six years trying to get to the other world during the full moon. The weeks in between she spends physically training, researching anything she can, working just enough to cover her bills for the month, and distracting herself with casual flings or sleeping with the trust fund kids in order to gain access to something she wants to steal from them as payback for something they have done. She never lets herself get too close to anyone, knowing that she plans to disappear, but she partied with whoever is willing to distract herself until the next full moon.
Every passing year on her birthday she grows more and more desperate. She begins researching magic spells and rituals that might show her the entrance to the otherworld. She finds a newly discovered mushroom being sold that claims to help you see what is hidden from human eyes.
Character B:
A month ago Character B was sent from the other wolrld to retrieve Character A. She is the descendant of a lost royal line and they have received a vision from the goddess that she is her Heir, the key to defeating the darkness and restoring balance to the land. Character B does not live a good life in the other world, he is nothing but a glorified prisoner in his own life, and all he’s ever wanted was a family of his own, but because of the queen and his father, he cannot have that. He avoids confrontation, always choosing to run from his problems instead of fight. He first lays eyes on Character A as she is driving a motorcycle into a lake.
He is unsure if the vehicle is supposed to drive under water, so he waits a moment before trying to do a rescue. He doesn’t know it’s her until she swims up into the shore, and begins gathering weeds from the lakebed. he thinks she’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen and can’t imagine dragging her back to his world where she could be in danger. He wants to watch the curious human for a bit longer to see what she does
He silently follows her and watches her climb into a window and place the weeds around a man sleeping in a bed, then creep down the hallway to an office where she unlocks a safe and pulls out a stack of papers. She then meets up with somebody, hands over the papers with a hug, then walks into the forest.
She walks and walks and he realizes she heading towards the portal and gets nervous, until she reaches a tree with five different coloured ribbons tied around one branch. She takes a new yellow ribbon , adds it to the branch and continues walking until she reaches another tree with ribbons where she adds another ribbon, then walks to the very centre of both trees and sits down. She softly hums a tune to herself.
She seems relaxed, strong and confident, he thinks this must be some new human ritual he hadn’t heard of yet and her humming is soothing to him, but he notices a shiver. He feels a strong need. To wrap her up in a blanket and make her warm. He decides right then that he cannot take her back and ruin her peace, that he himself would not go back, that he would befriend her and they would hide together her in her world and they would be safe and happy. It was pointless trying to fight anyway, they were never going to win and it would be better for them both to be safe and far away from the evil queen.
The next morning he follows her to her favourite coffee shop, glamoured to look more human and remove his pointy ears, and introduces himself as a man trying to get away from his overbearing parents and family he doesn’t get along with.
Intro/Set Up
Chapter 1
-Character A is thinking about how she has to get laid tonight, because it will be her last chance before she disappears and probably dies. Character A is stealing some documents and a bunch of cash from a safe in The Guys home office, she pulls a bag out of her pocket and with it, a card for the bookstore she works at flutters under his desk. She puts the documents and money in the bag and bends down to pick it up when she notices the family photo on the desk and she stops.
It is a picture of The Guy, His Son that she stole and crashed his bike into a lake last month, and The Other Son that she may have killed nine months ago when she burned his cabin down. She is filled with rage when she looks at the photo and thinks she doesn’t regret what she’s done. Character B calling her phone snaps her out of it and when she hears someone come home, she leaves, but she forgets the card.
-She stops at the bookstore to give Coworker 1 the documents and money. Coworker 1 says she will never be able to thank her, that this was the last thing she needed she could get out of town. Character A tells her good luck and to give them hell. Coworker 1 is leaving town tomorrow, she connected with a journalist who can help her expose The Guy and once she does she won’t be able to come back. Coworker 1 is very grateful to her, and Character A makes sure to tell herself that they aren't friends, because friendship requires a level of vulnerability that Olivia could not give her, but she knew Coworker 1 was a good person and deserved so much more than what she got when The Other Son sexually assaulted her at work while His Son filmed it. How when she received a payout in exchange for her silence they knew it wasn’t the first time. They were determined to find further evidence, and they did. Signed NDA’s from all of the employees they had paid off in the past.
Character B joins them at the store. Character A is petting her beloved bookstore cat and goes to pull some treats out of her bag. Her hand brushes against a vial of red and white mushrooms and Character A hopes that they are the key she has been searching for. For six years she has felt like she has been brushing up against the edge of something, but has never been able to get herself to the other side. She was deep in a witchcraft discussion forum when somebody posted about a new discovery of mushrooms, one that allowed the ingestor to see through the Veil, to show them all the magic they cannot see. The poster was pretty insistent that it wasn’t just a trip, that they were able to see threads of magic. After years of failed meditating, drinking teas, burning herbs,and chanting spells around the ley line conversion and not finding anything, what did she have to lose with some magic mushrooms?
Character B calls her name, startling her from her thoughts and she knocks over a box of alien and bigfoot merch. Coworker 1 cracks a joke about being careful with the product or else the alien truthers will riot, Character A rolls her eyes at the people who flocked there in search of the wrong thing. Character B apologizes for startling her and says he was just admiring one of her new Boxwood Topiaries, three trees of varying height that ended with hearts on top, and she says she finished it yesterday.
She loves plants but, like a cat, she can’t commit to having them because she doesn’t plan to be around long, so she does topiary art as a compromise, and the extra money she earns goes towards buying her herbs and mushrooms. Her Father never managed to save much money and she wasn’t left with much after he was taken. She had to use her savings replacing the furnace in her home shortly after her Father was taken, and now she only worked enough to keep her living until the next paycheck. She spent the rest of her time training and researching. Preparing to go to Wonderland in search of her Father.
Character B is making friends with the cat, having charmed it onto its belly, and Coworker 1 gives Character A a knowing look. Character A shakes her head, says they are just hanging out, nothing serious. Coworker 1 says he could be good for her. She knew they had been hanging out, that Character A had let him stay at her house for the last two weeks. She wasn’t judging though, Character A seemed lighter around him, and he was so nice. She had seen him helping Mrs. Smith with her groceries the other day.
Character A thinks that was what initially warmed her up to him. Coworker 1 was right, she never brought guys home, but the first week that he was here he had never failed to notice when people needed help and always offered to lend a hand. Plus he was fun, and fun to look at, and he was always looking for a new adventure. He took her mind off of what a failure she was for not saving her Father yet, and he seemed relatively harmless. So when he said he had never seen her favorite comedy movie she just HAD to take him home to watch it. And he hadn’t left, she hadn’t asked him to. It was becoming a problem. Because she was going to disappear tonight, and a small part of her was beginning to feel sad she would never see him again. It was why she hadn’t slept with him yet, she knew she enjoyed his company just a little too much and wouldn’t risk any further attachment. Character A agreed that he was a good person but emphasized that it was just casual. Coworker 1 says alright, she will back off, and she will let them get to the party. She needs to finish packing and wants to leave as soon as possible. Character A says she understand, they hug and say goodbye.
Chapter 2
-Character A and Character B are walking to the Board Game party. They are dressed as Clue characters, she is Miss. Scarlet and Character B is Mr. Green. They had played every board game she owned, which was a lot of them, in order to decide what to dress up as for the Your Favorite Board Game Party. He turned out to be a good competitor and got way more into the games than she expected him to.
He hands her a cinnamon bun, her favorite, and tells her he had made a whole batch for her, claiming that he knew she hadn’t gotten one since they were hiking that morning, and all she had eaten that day was trail mix and beef jerky and he refuses to let her party on an empty stomach. She happily takes a huge bite, grateful for this one thing she loved before she left this world forever.
He says he’s been thinking and asks her to go traveling with him. She almost chokes on her food. His words rush out and he assures her he has money and can pay for everything and they can go anywhere she wants. Her heart sinks into her stomach. Before her Father went missing, an offer like that from a hot guy would have been her dream, but she couldn’t now, or ever. She looks at the half eaten cinnamon bun, thinks how he had made them because he had gotten coffee with her every morning for the last three weeks, and he saw how every Saturday and Sunday morning she would get a cinnamon bun the size of her face and eat it. She looks at the Green jacket he wore and remembers laughing in the thrift shop as he tried on a full leather catsuit while they searched for the perfect outfit for the party. He was too good. She begins to think that in another life, they could go. They could adopt an adventure cat and take it with them on their world travels, but that wasn’t possible for her. She wasn’t staying in this world, and even if she was, she was too messed up. Too broken. Too much of a burden. And she could never give all of herself to one person ever again, she did it twice, and was broken by both of them because she was too much.
She decides he’s gotten too close and she needs to push him away, so in the hopes that it will scare him, she explains that she can’t leave because her Father was stolen by a magical creature and taken to the Other World. She tells him the entire story her father told her, of creatures luring people to the Other World and keeping them for the Queen's entertainment, forced to be pawns in her games. They are ruthless and obsessed with games and everything reeks of roses. She tells him its her fault that he got taken and she can’t live with herself until she either gets him back or gets revenge for his death.
Character B begins pleading with her, telling her she shouldn't go. She is surprised he doesn’t balk or think she is crazy. He isn’t looking at her the way Ex-Bestfriend and Ex-Boyfriend did, like they feared she would infect them with her crazy, no, he looks at her with genuine terror in his eyes. She stops walking, they are just outside the party house. What do you know? She says. He inhales and steps forward, desperation etched into hs features, and says that he knows that everything she said was true, and that it is much worse than she even thinks. That if she goes, she will not make it back here. It’s too dangerous, and he just wants to keep her safe. She is flabbergasted, and checks over his features for signs. No pointed ears, no animalistic features such as scales or a tail, no strange eyes. How do you know all this? He doesn’t answer, his mouth works like he’s trying to come up with something and betrayal starts to roil in her gut.
Before he has the chance to lie, two men throw their arms around their shoulders. It is the couple that Character A hooks up with on occasion. They start walking them into the house and the one with Character A asks if she wants to come over later for a joint and to hook up. She tries to muster up a yes, it is what she wanted after all, but she can’t think straight after her conversation with Character B. She turns back to see he’s been steered into a conversation with a few other people and thinks she needs a drink to calm herself and give her some courage.
-She walks into the kitchen for a glass and bumps into her Ex-Boyfriend. She is thrown for a loop again. He says Happy Birthday and remarks that he didn’t think he would find her at a party today, since he knows how much she hates her birthday. Character A is surprised to see him and momentarily forgets about Character B, and asks what they’re doing back in town. He says its because Ex-Bestfriends mom is still missing. Character A says, oh, right. And feels stupid for thinking she wouldn’t run into them. She was devastated to hear Ex-BFFs Mom had been taken, she was like a second mother to her, but after Ex-BFF left she couldn’t stand to look at her Mom anymore and remember what she had lost.
He mentions something about the baby coming soon and Ex-BFF wanting to be as close to her mom as she can. Character A questions the baby and he tells her they are pregnant. Character A flashes back to both of them telling her they were leaving and couldn’t stay in contact with her anymore, that she had become too much for them to handle on the horizon of their new lives. She noted the way they looked at each other and how their knees pressed together, and that was when she knew they had been having an affair. She comes back to the present when he leans in close and says he actually wants to ask her some questions about her dad. She sees a familiar head with a mop of blonde hair moving through the crowd towards them. Seeing Ex-Boyfriend was bad enough, she cannot see Ex-Bestfriend. See her pregnant. And now he wants to hear what she has to say about the disappearances? You can go fuck yourself, she spits and walks away before he can say anything else, and thankfully, before Ex-Bestfriend reaches her. She thinks his betrayal hurt her, but her betrayal broke her.
-She is fleeing the kitchen, heading for the back door, desperate to get away from them, when she bumps into an attractive man in a red velvet sport coat with a red velvet top hat. They are both imprinted with roses. He apologizes for bumping into her and her heart skips a beat, thinking of the Queen's obsession with roses. She asks him who he's supposed to be and he smiles but pauses before saying his name is Character C, he’s friends with Character B, and her heart stops all together. A chill runs through her and Character B interrupts and asks him what he’s doing here. Character C hugs him and says its good to see him and says he thought he was dead. Character C turns to Character A and says that he took off for a month without saying anything, could she even believe it? And they had an important event that the three of them needed to attend tonight. Character B starts to argue with Character C when Character A hears her name called. The Guy she stole from is there, he holds up the card to the bookstore that fell under his desk and said he wants the contents of his safe back, and maybe the sheriff will go easy on her if she returns it, or maybe he won't since he will also be investigating his cabin burning down and one of his sons going missing. Character A plays dumb but he grabs her around the neck and says he knows it was her, she’s a pathetic bum just like her father. Character B punches him, forcing him to release her and they begin fighting. The other partygoers jump to Character A’s defense and start fighting the other guys that came with him. Character C picks up Character A after she was knocked over to keep her from being trampled, and Character B breaks away when The Guy starts fighting with someone else. So they turn and head for the door, but The Guy's Son, the same one from last month who she stole the bike from, blocked the back door.
-Character A turns and together they run into the basement, locking the door behind them. They run down the stairs and into a bedroom where she locks the door again. She whips out her knives and points one at Character C. “Why do you want me to go to the Other World?” He holds up his hands and smiles, “I need your help finding a weapon that will help me defeat the Queen .” “Why me?” “The Goddess showed me in a dream that it is you. I will pay you in gold and return you back here, unharmed, once you find it.” Character A hears them break through the basement door and descend the stairs. “Fine, I’ll help you do it.” Character B protests and steps forward but she gestures the knife at him and he stops. “But first, you will help me find my Father and send him back here. Alive. And healthy.” All she knows about the Other World is what she could glean from her Fathers stories and what she was able to research about lore, but she had no idea what was accurate and what was not. She would be a fool to think she should turn away help if she could bargain for it. “I will help you find you Father, but it won’t be until after tonight, we must attend the Queens party so you can search for the weapon, this is the best opportunity we will have for another year.” The Guy begins banging on the door. She took it back, she was being a fool, she had very little hope that she would be able to fulfill her end of the bargain, but she was out of time, and she may never have a chance to get to the Other World again. “Deal.” She says as she steps forward to shake his hand. Character C grasps it and an electrical charge runs up her arm. He pulls a small vial out of his pocket. He dumps some black sparkly powder on his tongue and a hole appears in the floor. Grabbing Character B’s hand as well they jump through it just as the door breaks open.
If you have read this far, seriously thank you so much and I love you and if you want feedback on anything please direct me to where I can provide it!
I wanted to note that the mention about her potentially killing The Other Son is relevant to the plot because he did not die in the fire, he was lured to the Other World and will be there as an antagonist when Character A shows up. Also, the mushrooms become relevant to her finding the weapon in book 2. She gets sidetracked this book by finding her father and bargaining to take his place in the game (the party they are attending is to watch this game take place) and having to fight her way out of them. The entire first book takes place over the course of one single night.

What characters would you like to see in spin off series?
How about a spin-off series focusing on David Silver's journey after the events of "Beverly Hills 90210"? Titled "Silver Lining" the series could explore David's career in the music and entertainment industry as he navigates the challenges of balancing fame, personal relationships, and the pressures of the business.
Plot Synopsis: David Silver, now a successful music producer, finds himself at the peak of his career, working with top artists and producing hit records. However, the glamorous life comes with its own set of challenges. David struggles with the temptations of the industry, the complexities of maintaining genuine friendships, and the quest for true love.
The series could delve into his relationship with Donna Martin, exploring whether their bond can withstand the pressures of their respective careers. It could also introduce new characters, including young aspiring musicians, industry veterans, and others who shape David's journey.
By focusing on the dynamic and ever-evolving world of the music industry, "Silver Lining" can offer a fresh take on the "Beverly Hills 90210" universe while maintaining connections to beloved characters and themes from the original series.

When the bomb supposedly fell on shady sands, we can assume that Moldaver wasn’t there, or else Rose would have survived with her. We thought for a while about what would pull her away, and I came up with a theory.
My friend thinks it’s possible Moldaver cloned herself. I at first didn’t feel any reason why that would make sense, but then it struck me:
What if she, having been a leading prewar cold fusion scientist, knew about MIT and the bunker they were preparing, and so to try and get cold fusion tech (since she couldn’t get code from in the vault) she started a journey out to Boston to try and find the ruins of MIT. This gave my friends theory of clones an actual backbone, and put her in a place that could make it possible.
I know there’s a huge lack in information surrounding her, but I felt like this could be an interesting plot line for S2, connecting the commonwealth to the story, and coming back to Moldaver when a clone of her shows up or something

I grew up in a very emotionally turbulent household. Both my parents were hot heads, and demanded compliance from my siblings and I. Towards the latter half of my years in high school, things got particularly bad. My Sister and my Stepmom had a large falling out after years of rising tensions, and my Sister moved out to my Mother's house, which was in a different city. My relationship with my stepmom had becomed intensely strained as well, as I became less scared to fight back when I was being punished unfairly. Fights broke out almost every day, and I was in a very bad place. This was someone I was very, very close to, you see. She was the mother figure in my life. So the constant arguments took a large toll on my mental health. Slowly, things improved throughout my senior year, and I graduated and moved out. Through all the arguments I knew that she still loved me like a son. Through everything, all of the problems, I knew she was just trying to parent in the best way she knew how. So I forgave her, and now I'm closer to her than ever. My sister, however, never forgave her. They haven't seen eachother in years.
A month ago, my stepmom tried again to talk to my sister. I remember she said she wanted them to go get ice cream and to discuss the past and move forward; to have a productive conversation. My sister said no, again. My stepmom had been crying after I told her, at a loss of what to do. She just wanted to see her again; after all, she was what she considered one of her children. She had been devastated that she had been cut out of my sister's life despite her many chances to make her love for my sister known. Me and my stepsister helped her come to terms with the situation, as even after the things she'd done, she didn't deserve to feel like that. She's only human, and despite how she has come across in the past, she is an incredibly emotional person.
The Terrible Little My doesn't have a plot that lines up with my little narrative about my stepmother, but it teaches a very valuable lesson to the people who watch it that, given the story I've just told, runs very deep with me. It tells the tale of Little My, who one day wakes up and decides that nobody can stop her from doing whatever she wants to do. She steals the bread basket and doesn't give it back, and indirectly hurts Moomin by scaring him so he falls down a hill. Little My deserts the scene, not wanting a confrontation, because she knows she's too blame, but is scared of the consequences of what she did. This rings true as she stands up on the hill and initially grimaces, realizing the real damage she might have caused. So she ditches the scene, desperate to not be confronted. Everybody else is quick to incriminate her, and for a couple days, nobody bats a second glance to where she might be after she just up and left (besides Moominmama, that is), and instead all share a collective "Good riddance" feeling towards Little My. After hearing Moomin essentially say she won't be forgiven and doesn't have a place in the Moomin family anymore, she lashes out one last time and leaves again ti hide out with Snufkin. She's deeply hurt by the notion that she's not a welcome component of the family anymore, and believes it wholeheartedly. She believes she's been completely exiled, and that nothing she can do will change that.
This story is brought to an end once Moomin sees how horrible he made Little My feel, to which he happily invites her back to the family and forgives her for what she did. This is the lesson of this episode that I feel is very important for people to know. Deep down, we're all only human, who are capable to making mistakes, grave ones. We will all probably hurt the ones we love at some point another, and we can't change that. But what is important, that is episode helps demonstrate, is that we should all know that forgiveness is always an option. Nobody should ever have to feel disavowed from the others that they love because of a mistake they have made. Everyone is deserving of forgiveness, and when forgiveness isn't granted, that will strike a very deep chord in the very fiber of someone's being. That's deep pain that nobody should ever have to experience; the pain that my stepmom felt when my sister refused to see her.
And that's why it's my favorite episode of Moomins, across all adaptations. With how I can take the lesson shown here and apply it to my own life, this episode feels like it hits very close to home for me.