#tiber: 001

[elokian]

who?: @vuldak-juneau where?: tiber bay when?: neptunalia

Naturally, Elokian was eager to put the whole experience behind him. Whoever he became in the prism would remain in the prism. The things he brought back with him were far more pressing than worrying about the state his other competitors had seen him in. Elokian was still the Captain of the greatest armada on the Veild Sea and that had to remain his priority. Though, however resolute he may have been in such sentiments, from atop the deck of his ship he couldn't stop his eyes from following her down below. Everyone experienced a unique sort of pain during his trial, and Elokian experienced more types than anyone. But the feeling of Juneau's impacted him deeper than any pain he'd experienced before. "Aye there girl, don't tell me you've come to cash in on my offer already," he shouts down, leaning over the edge of his flagship. "I have a rather busy day of tavern hopping and flirting with pretty boys ahead, but I can squeeze a kneecapping or two in for a fellow survivor."

[bountiesofkian]

who?: @ryujinseaborn where?: some tavern near tiber bay when?: one of the progress daysss

Mutually assured destruction was one hell of a thing. Sure, Valdís promised to sweeten their deal, but Kian was not satisfied as long as she continued to pursue her Tower endeavors, murderously so. They were sea witches, born to be free on the tides, not cooped up in a monument to stifling talent. The Dreadnought was a dark cloud over the Progress Day festivities, sticking to the shadows of taverns the crew of Rán's Armada bounced between. He wasn't with them, but the moment they started clashing with another crew, he acted out of character and got involved. One fist thrown at one of The Dreadnought's "crewmates" was all it took. The assailant began screaming and clutching that very hand as the blood in it boiled, intensifying as the large, masked figure in black pushed his way through the drunken pirates. Beneath the mask, Kian grinned wickedly, but the shocked attention reminded him that regardless of his foul mood, he needed to control his impulses while in Eterna. "Have your Captain call your crew back. We get the message: you guys are tough. There's no need to escalate," he says in his modulated voice directly to the bristling pirates before him, sure Ryujin of The Leviathan was nearby. "I really don't feel like patching these brutes up today, but your man might lose the hand if you want to fight. Let's get back to drinking."

[aegeanxcalla]

"Are you ... trying to start a zoo?" Aegean couldn't blame the elvhen. After all, his illusions were infallible. The animals would feel real down to their weight and newborn cutie scent, so it'd be easy to get caught up in the visions he showed. For everyone except him that is. Aegean couldn't help but laugh out loud as he held nothing in his arms, letting the other stack the animals as he pleased. "I've never had that exact comparison, but I'm not surprised. I do live on the streets begging for gold, remember?" Though Aegean assumed the other had already forgotten this "truth" of his life. He seemed to only consider what interested him and nothing else. "People don't care about me like you care about these babies, and cuteness would never get them to. That's just how people think. Sucks, doesn't it?"

The eyes of all the animals sparkled, and so did Abelas's. This had to be a trick... Unless... Maybe this guy was an actual magician instead of one of the boring ones that the Tower had. Abelas scooped up a kitten, a turtledog, a fire ferret, a llamapaca, an owl wolf, a rabaroo, a skunk bear cub, a- there was a sudden panic as Abelas realized his arms weren't big enough to hold all of them. "Oh no, um-" he looked at Aegean and then deposited everything he'd just picked up in the stranger's arms. "Here, hold them." Was this guy- handsome? If you covered him in enough adorable, fresh baby animals you couldn't smell the human stink anymore. "has anyone ever told you that your hair is messy like an ottercat?" The struggle of an animal that both lived in and hated water.

[kentmansleys]

WE’RE SNOOPING YOUR PLAYLIST. PUT YOUR WRITING PLAYLIST ON SHUFFLE AND LIST THE FIRST TEN SONGS, THEN CHOOSE TEN VICTIMS.  repost don’t reblog!

i don’t have a set writing playlist, so these are all from my spotify wrapped playlist from last year. frankly as long as a song slaps, it’ll give me muse. any song that particularly gets me in the mood for kent is bolded (not to say it fits his character...).

001 . goodbye l.a - blah blah blah 002 .  nautilus - anna meredith  003 .  bad bad news - leon bridges 004 .  easy lover - phil collins and philip bailey 005 .  s’il on ride - muddy monk 006 .  acid test - river tiber 007 .  not in love we’re just high - unknown mortal orchestra 008 .  those who can’t, cheat - clarence clarity (noise warning on this one) 009 .  twilight - electric light orchestra 010 .  tiden flyver - boom clap bachelors

tagged by: @motelmirrors !! tagging: you. just say i tagged ya so i can discover some new tunes!

[shellheadtmarc]

OH AND BECAUSE...i realize not everyone is a lore nerd like i am and i have been consumed by dwemer lore trying to actually put meat on the bones of tony’s dwemer au (which i think i have successfully finally done) -

here are some fun tidbits about the dwemer in general.

+ dwemer are, if not exactly atheist, close enough as being so in the tes universe.  they deny the divine nature of the gods, claiming, basically, they’re nothing more than elevated creatures and that mortals have the same chance of doing exactly the same (it ties into the idea of CHIM - which is kind of like a form of enlightenment, and if they knew about talos they’d just see it as further proof). + there’s an actual dwemer tale that compounds this concerning azura, where a tonal architect and a chimer priest/mage were friends, and they called up azura and presented her with a closed box and asked her to tell them what was inside.  she answered wrongly and the dwemer took it as proof to something he already suspected, but that’s the thing:  the dwemer are very much about proof over belief. + there are a couple of good, solid theories as to what happened to the dwemer:  001 states that when kagrenac used the tools on the heart of lorkhan, he basically unmade the entire race of the dwemer, erasing them from existence.  the only ones to survive this were the ghosts of the dwemer cities and yargrum bagarn, a dwemer who was in the outer reaches (basically not on nirn and in some other plane of existence which means the dwemer had the ability to travel between planes physically without the aedra or daedra) when this happened - he has no idea what happened and when you meet him in tes iii: morrowind he’s suffering from corprus disease. 002 kagrenac used the tools and the entirety of the dwemer race’s souls melded with numidium, a colossal construct they built known as the brass tower or the brass god to mock the aedra and the daedra.  tiber septim later gets his hands on a second building of numidium. 003 azura, offended at the dwemer’s blasphemy and pretty much sick of their shit, scoops them all up and puts them in oblivion jail for eternity, where they still exist waiting to be freed (but does nirn really want these amoral bastards back - that’s the question).  this one’s probably the most likely since bethesda knows we want playable dwemer. + dwemer are telepathic.  they have what’s called the calling and can communicate that way with one another, which is probably really useful in a forge where it’s loud and shit. + the dwemer are extremely amoral.  they wrote up an agreement with the falmer about taking them in and blinding them to save them from the nords (which it should be noted that the falmer ultimately agreed to) and used words like “our affection” and had bits about not fearing the darkness overcoming their vision because they were “safe”.  but it should also be noted that everything that befell the falmer under the dwemer was in that contract, and the falmer were no angels themselves. + it’s speculated the dwemer and chimer are just two separate tribes of the aldmeri.  it would explain similarities in physicality (eye shape, ears, stature), and when you remember the dunmer are grey skinned with red eyes because azura cursed them for turning on the pact made with the “good daedra” and following the tribunal (it’s also why there’s a difference between house dunmer and velothi ashlanders). + there is a possibility the dwemer were trading concepts, ideas, and magical knowledge with the dragons during the age of the dragon cults.  yeah. + the first council (an alliance between chimer and dwemer) came about because nerevar of the chimer and dumoc of the dwemer were bffs. + the dwemer think being alive in the world is living in a dream, and they want out.  thus wanting to destroy the world and use the “earth bones” to reverse engineer immortality. + they replace most magic with music.  it’s why their engineers are pretty much called tonal architects, why in game in skyrim especially you hear those tones every now and again, and why their own translated (yes, we have enough of dwemeris to actually translate most of it) language mentions tones and music a lot. + they were so technologically advanced they had:  airships.  cameras.  amuniculi.  steam power.  a form of electric light.  space observatories. + dwemeris had dialects, once you look at the inscriptions in different parts of tamriel.  the academy for dwemer studies is actually putting it all together, if you’re interested. + dwarves is a misnomer.  the dwemer people were of average height, compared to other races on tamriel.  the name dwarves actually comes from the giants in dwemereth (morrowind) who first saw them and thought they were tiny.  note:  these are not the same giants as those and the frost giants found in skyrim and solstheim. + dwarves are also described as being a slender, willowy people.  pretty much your standard tolkein elf build without being super tall. 

[mobileautorepairpros]

This Just In: Jaguar Prototype from Spectre Bond Movie Heads to Auction

A rare 2015 prototype Jaguar C-X75 stunt car from the James Bond film Spectre is set to be auctioned at RM Sotheby's Abu Dhabi sale on November 30th.  The C-X75 was featured prominently as the villain's car in the film's iconic chase scene through the streets of Rome, before winding up in the Tiber river.  RM Sotheby’s will offer chassis no. 001 in Abu Dhabi, one of just a handful of Jaguar C-X75 examples used as stunt cars in Spectre. The Jaguar C-X75 was intended to be a hybrid-electric, two-seat concept car produced by Jaguar in partnership with Formula 1 team Williams F1’s Advanced Engineering division. The C-X75 was unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show and in 2011 it was announced that a limited production run of approximately 250 examples of the 780hp car was planned. In 2012, the production was cancelled, and a mere five developmental prototypes were built to the intended production specifications. A further group of stunt cars were built for and used in the filming of the 2015 film. Pre-auction estimates value the car at $800,000 to $1,200,000.

from MotorWeek Entries https://ift.tt/2JAURMv via IFTTT

[fharzai]

Fharzai looks at Lothar with an unreadable and far-off expression, completely in character for him. But amusement trickles across his features slowly in small ways. A glint in his eye, a twitch of the corner of his mouth, the drumming of his fingers against his mighty staff; Fharzai knew he should've had a little more grace, but he couldn't help but see the humor in Lothar's statement.   "We know each other well, or at least we did in another turn of the Wheel. And I've seen you in your dreams, as well as mine. That's plenty of meetings if you think about it." He nods forward, walking with his usual, measured pace. Fharzai always had a lot to say, even if there wasn't much he'd tell, but in either case, they didn't need a stranger in the crowd picking up on too much. "This is your first Progress Day. How do you feel about that now that things are in full swing?" he asks, though his uplifted mood gives way to a more somber one with each step taken. "You should enjoy it. I fear moments of revelry will become rarer. Enjoy yourself as much as you can."

starter for @fharzai.

where: progress day

when: day 1 or 2 ya kno

note: hello my son in law and fellow red hand, this will get better

Their paths seemed only insistent to cross when on the battlefield, whether that was in Fharzai's genuine dreamscape or here, in this scope of the world. Lothar hadn't ever had the chance to truly chat with the dream druid, and considering he was never a man of many words, Lothar often didn't know where he'd start if given the opportunity. Fharzai had done a lot for the Iskarans, it seemed each battlefield Lothar was, so too was Fharzai, and yet he was of the Queensguard, too. He was one amongst the crowd of those Lothar scrutinized, but one who could sway how the barbarian truly felt about Lysarans as a whole it would seem.

"Fharzai," Lothar greeted gruffly, nodding, "So we finally meet outside of battle," the barbarian wasn't necessarily known for smiling but his tone was softer than normal, borderline kind.

[aegeanxcalla]

"Well, I have to start somewhere. Witches to begin with, then work my way up to fooling other creatures with stronger minds. Like yours." That's how normal people thought, wasn't it? Aegean was, after all, a simple street witch with no formal training. He had to slowly work towards his goals because his power was limited. He was only one witch. "I'm not sure what you mean. Have I lied?" he says, his pointed gaze betraying his dumbfounded look. "Not everyone is born as talented as you. Besides, undead minds are super tricky to toy with and I don't have much experience with that." When would a humble street thief ever have access to a powerful mind to practice psionics on?

"I'd rather you not relate me to the likes of a witch," through rigorous studies he tapped into his own pool of magic, casting through objects and manifesting elixirs; but he was no mere witch, even if they were pandering enough to call him skilled. "Also, lie better," Casimir was amused though not fooled; he can appreciate another thief's intention even if it was misguided against him, "Your fake shame is endearing."

[aegeanxcalla]

A little honesty went a long way to sell a lie. Words were his primary weapon of choice for a reason. Did Aegean live on the streets currently? Hell no, he liked the nice things his thieving lifestyle awarded far too much for that. But he does have every inch of Eterna memorized plus can never forget the desert slum he hailed from no matter what mask he slipped on. So he's the picture of happiness, showing her around the twisting alleys of Tiber Bay, where the lowest wrung of Lysaran society got by. "I just realized I never caught your name. You can call me Aegean," he said as they stopped at another corner that received good foot traffic if she ever wanted to try being a beggar like he was. "Did you have to scrounge like this in Iskaldrik to get by? I imagine it's all the same no matter where you go. But I was raised in the slums, I couldn't imagine having to learn how to survive the streets after losing everything.

She had coin but had yet to have dire need of it, she had lent her axe towards fights that had needed manpower although lately she had been staying close to Caer Glas Keep and fighting the Darkspawn that awaited just beyond Lysara's boundaries. Forever wasn't promised for her and she doubted she would have another generation after her, the Darkwood name with it's woodcutter secrets for how to burn Ironwood blue would die with her. "I'm happy to help." It was his to do with, he was a stranger and could have pulling a con and yet if he was asking, there must have been some need present. Luna wasn't ready to accept a fate on the streets and yet she knew that even the most unexpected mission could be found and knowing the streets would prove useful. "Show away, I would love to see what you can offer."

[aegeanxcalla]

To be fair, Aegean didn't like most people either. But instead of letting his feelings become a source for vitriol like the elvhen, Aegean manifested a shameless disposition from using them and of course, taking from them. Understanding was at the crux of that. The baby animals all with big shimmering eyes would merely serve to distract most people, perhaps sway their hearts a little and get them to lower their guards. But Aegean would never cast a weave like this for the sake of simple entertainment, which was why he couldn't really say what compelled him to maintain the illusion. The animals were solid and warm to the touch, moving to cuddle against Abelas' hand while making their various noises. Aegean was incredibly talented after all, and while he wouldn't call this guy harmless, he didn't seem like the type to know anyone who'd care just how good Aegean was.

"What's there to understand?" Abelas folded his hands behind his head as he leaned back a bit, closing his eyes to the sunlight. "Boring, gross, violent, gross, boring, and then they die. People suck, I haven't met a single human I've ever liked." Said very loudly, as always, the elvhen earned a few stray looks before he looked down and met eye contact with the witch. Immediately, Abelas's eyes began to sparkle as he practically fell to the ground and started playing with all the creatures, "See, this is much better." They were very obvious illusions but they were cute, anyway. Abelas moved to pet them to see if they'd be tactile or not.

[aegeanxcalla]

Aegean knew her words to be true. His upbringing taught him how to take out of necessity, his life thereafter taught him how to never feel guilt for his avarice. His life was quite comfortable now despite what he may say or seem, but even if he were the wealthiest man in the queendom Aegean would probably continue deceiving and stealing anyway. “Well, giving me your coin was not one of those mistakes I assure you. You’ve really saved my ass,” he says, already assessing her value as a potential mark. It was likely she held none, but looks could be deceiving. He knew that better than anyone. “Like I said, I don’t have anything to offer in return. However, I can help you in other ways. I can show you the best places in the city to scrounge up some scraps. I can even show you the best corners to be a beggar on. I’ve lived on these streets for so long I practically know them like the back of my hand.”

"I think you're better off for it." Maybe she never learned how to hide her thoughts, how to lie in order to get ahead and to please the crowds for her own benefit. She felt as if she was having the rug pulled out from her after entering the games for what she believed was to be a needed break for fun and ended up with being boo'ed at various times by a whole stadium of Eterna citizens. "I wouldn't say that, I've made too many mistakes along the way to be better than anyone." The amount of times that she turned a blind eye to those who suffered within the mines as often as she turned a blind eye to those who smuggled the prisoners safely out through the Ironwood forest, she took a passive role in life content to stay within her neck of the woods until she was forced forward through a trial of fire. Not to mention the revenge that she didn't seek agaisnt the unicorn poachers that she met, the world was in shades of grey, never black and white. Doing the right thing wasn't something that came easily or naturally.

[aegeanxcalla]

Aegean was simple, unserious, and cared only about immediate pleasure. Puzzles had no appeal to someone like that. However, there was a part of him that thirsted for knowledge in all forms. Keeping that part hidden was a necessity if he wanted to continue to play his game. "You're so weird," Aegean says in response, the subtle way he grinds his molars betraying him a bit. Weird wasn't exactly what he meant, but it was the best adjective in the moment. It was equal parts annoying and intriguing that he couldn't read Kaedon's mind to glean his intentions.

"Well without a smile, how can I know for sure?" Aegean counters as they cross the threshold of Mercury's Abode. Suddenly, he's no longer skipping along as if he had nowhere to go. Aegean's steps are purposeful and confident. He truly believed he was the best and everything in his demeanor reflected that, a far cry from the carefree slacker he attempted to pass himself off on. "Neptunalia is upon us, but I'm not interested in swiping from large crowds. Nobles get so caught up in the opulence of their parties, which makes them perfect targets." The powerful and wealthy had much to steal but also posed the greatest risks. The store room Aegean led Kaedon to seemed like it held the average pickings of a low-level thief, but when he placed his hand on the wall and dropped the wards any pretense of his lack of ambition was squandered. Treasures, books, maps, and dossiers filled the space, clearly the workings of a thief worthy of the reputation Aegean had. "The concentration of Olympians at the soirees would prevent most Guildmembers from even trying to pull jobs during the festival. But us as a team ... I don't know. It could be the time of your life, cutthroat." He nods his head toward the revealed storeroom, figuring the only real way to get the answers he sought from the witcher would be to expose himself a little as well.

Kaedon hasn't figured out Aegean and he had already conceded that working together would be interesting indeed. The other thief was a curiosity and that intrigued the mercenary. The other spoke in riddles and strangely asked questions. It didn't match the easy laugh and smug grin. He did hope to learn something, but perhaps how the other was thinking. That was the means and methods which Kaedon played the game. He had no need of tricks, instead he relied on staying out of the way and watching and learning how someone went about their day. He studied their habits and he found where he could exploit that routine. Ruthless cutthroat, maybe. He's sure he's been called worse.

Kaedon follows at his own leisure along the rocks of the bay that the other nibling jumps down from. "I'll agree to those terms." he strangely gives in to those terms. Honestly, if the thief wants to fill his coffers, Kaedon won't stop that. While coin is enticing, it's not his driving force. He scoffs at the question, "Who is to say I'm not already having a good time?"

[aegeanxcalla]

Aegean was incredibly sensitive to being overexposed. Perhaps it was a symptom of his deep cover mission, but disguising his intentions at every turn whether or not he had a reason to was simply second nature. "Truthfully? I need to get better. I know it sounds bad but ... I guess I figured if I could fool a skilled witch then I could fool anyone," he says, faking an embarrassed disposition as he rubs the back of his neck. "Practice makes perfect they say. But my illusions still lack depth and complexity. I'm nowhere near the level I need to be."

"It's a very simple illusion," a pause at the deceptive nature which rolls so easily off the other, nodding somewhat curtly, "-something which you're already well aware of." A true deceiver never fully reveals all their cards at the ready and Casimir could find a sliver of appreciation over such simple fact, but he nudged anyway. "Why are you wasting your time with such petty craft?" The exiled heir wouldn't be found wasting his time on the outskirts of Eterna pretending to peddle and beg for a scant amount of coin so he could only wonder if the other had good reason to.

[aegeanxcalla]

The world was not kind to those who were kind to it. The weak got exploited by the strong and capable. It was simply the order of things, an order that prevailed no matter the country. "I'm not a native. I hold no titles or stake in the Game. I'm a survivor, which means I'm pretty unsympathetic. Someone who's clearly needy though? That's someone even the coldest bastard would want to extend a hand out to." Of course, exploitation wasn't necessary for Aegean to operate, but it was a tool he could use when opportunities presented themselves. If he didn't, someone else would eventually. "That's ... such a beautiful way to look at the world. No one ever gives me anything. The real me anyway. That's why I disguise myself. I've never known anything else, nor have I ever considered giving away what meager possessions I can gain," he says, his instinctive ability to weave truths and lies into his every statement on full display. "You're rather inspiring, you know that? By all means as outsiders, we should be the same, but you're so much better than me."

Luna had grown up in a cottage deep in the woods where only arborists wandered, there were brief moments where she encountered strangers in the Ironwood forest who seemed to carry dark secrets and didn't want to be known. She had gone to school once she graduated past the primary ages and even then she had gone straight home when the day was done, she had never learned to not trust others, to use critical skills to read for people's true intentions so even though there was a slight ingenuine tone, she didn't read too far into it. "Did you believe that the people of Eterna wouldn't have help you if you had asked as yourself?" A crinkle in her brow and it was like hearing how the Iskarans felt about witchers. "I don't have much to give but when you don't have a lot, giving it away feels easier." She's learned that she can survive with only the clothes on her back and the hatchet on her belt with the aid of others.

[aegeanxcalla]

Aegean was genuinely floored. His scratching his temple while chuckling awkwardly was a sincere expression of that. Were all elvhen this peculiar? "You don't really understand people, do you?" he comments off-handedly, figuring that long-lived magical beings probably didn't need to. "Cute" was hardly an asset in his line of work and he couldn't imagine a situation where disguising himself as an animal over a person would be beneficial, but for all the lackadaisical energy he put out Aegean didn't like having his skill questioned by anyone. One moment he looked at the other with a glint in his eye and in the next the air around him rippled until he was gone. Where his feet were sat a yawning kitten with big eyes peering up at the elvhen. From behind it rolled a young fox, a rabbit, and then even a chirping chick. Stumbling baby animals began to meander about, each exhibiting a different flavor of cuteness. Someone who could simply "turn into" these creatures could never pull off this feat. Aegean's illusion was woven to do the opposite of what he set out to do that day: impress and amaze the spectator.

"I certainly don't!" Why would he ever want to give money to something like a fake old woman, if she wanted money then maybe she should go get a job! Lazy! Too oblivious to notice or praise that the witch had read his thoughts, Abelas only took offense. "If you were a cat though at least you'd be cute!" Imagine wanting to look like that instead of a cute, cuddly feline. Abelas was always looking to add to his menagerie, he'd have given the cat a good home but now he felt inclined to give him nothing at all! Not that he was going to in the first place. Abelas picked up the other's beggar cup and shook the coins around. "Is this all you got? You should've switched it up ages ago. What else can you turn into?"

[aegeanxcalla]

That was the crux of Aegean's issue, though he'd never admit he had a problem. Guessing and assuming was all he could do in the face of genuine antimagic, and that made him uneasy. "That's just part of the trade though, isn't it? Can you ever really know someone? Guessing what makes people tick helps me maintain my edge," he says with a laugh. "You and I may be wholly incompatible, but I'm sure there's something you can gain from knowing me." Aegean's smug grin was just another deception because he was primarily interested in what he could learn about the witcher, but if they helped each other out he supposed that wouldn't be the end of the world. "The ruthless cutthroat and his crafty, fun-loving sneak thief partner who ... gets the larger percentage of the cut on all jobs. There's potential there. Our skills may complement each other, and you'll have a riot of a time thanks to me I'm sure..." With a smirk and a chuckle, Aegean begins jumping down on the rocks of the bay, following the pointing of a statue of Mercury to one of the Guild's secret entrances. "Who will learn more from whom I wonder? And, most importantly, will I get to see you loosen up and smile?"

It was just the opposite, the witcher-turned-mercenary thinks to himself. Hard work meant survival at Witcher's Watch - if you didn't, then it meant you were dead. Perhaps that is one thing he hasn't let go of. Kaedon is constantly on and as much as he hates to admit it, maybe this young thief was right, he didn't know how to have fun. At least not in the sense of what ordinary people may think of in the term. He doesn't really have a hobby, most of the reading he does is for the job. He enjoys it but it serves a purpose. "You assume a lot. You don't know me. I don't hound." What a strange way to say it. But the other's word, not his. "I may tell you to shut it a few times, you do talk a lot." Maybe though, the pair of them are so different, and yet, just maybe, teaming up wouldn't be a bad thing? Or it could end in complete and utter chaos. "No, I honestly can't say I've ever done that." He admits. "That aside, the fact I'm even going to suggest this, maybe working together wouldn't be the worst idea."