arc v: alem | cr & plotting meme

[groundrules]

ALEM

---

Sound the drums, head on to war — seized citadel Alem has already been there for the lion's share of a year.

Under the Scavengers' guidance, the four sand worms the party captured gently graze underground corridors allowing the group to reach halfway up Mount Attevar. From there, they quickly infiltrate Alem through a bustling trade route.

Young King Deimar strikes a simple bargain: serve Alem in its bitter last days until inevitable downfall, and the citadel will grant access to its Beacon before the final evacuation is completed.

Sounds simple enough. Now, survive it.

Characters arrive today, with our first proper taste of event chaos due on 27-28 January. Get your character settled in, check out the setting and their assignment, and strike some CR:

■ Arc setting & locations

■ Character assignments

■ New NPC inbox — more this round, because most won't make it so every level has a patron. As usual, reach out to NPCs at will and please share findings with the class!

■ Questions

CR & PLOTTING MEME


<b><small>PLAYER</small>:</b> <b><small>PREFERRED CONTACT</small>:</b> Are you open to plurk / discord friending? <b><small>CHARACTER & CANON</small>:</b> <b><small>THEIR ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH</small>:</b> <b><small>THEIR ASSIGNED LEVEL & ROLE IN ALEM</small></b> <b><small>WHY THEY'RE GOING TO MESS EVERYTHING UP, REALLY</small>:</b> <b><small>THEY'VE SECRETLY GOT A THING FOR RATHAKKU, DON'T THEY?</small></b> Just look at that handsome face. <b><small>PLOTS AND PLANS</small>:</b> <b><small>WHAT THEY CAN OFFER</small>:</b> <b><small>CR YOU WANT</small>:</b> Specificity is key!

Comments

allison hargreeves

[rumorate]

PLAYER: Emily

PREFERRED CONTACT: iluvroadrunner6 | iluvroadrunner6#1178 - friend away!

CHARACTER & CANON: Allison Hargreeves | The Umbrella Academy

THEIR ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH: I heard a rumor that this former actress, current ball of rage, is always terrifying when she's telling you what to do.

THEIR ASSIGNED LEVEL & ROLE IN ALEM In the Keep! Listening for some rumors (pun intended) on the king and how sound his role in things are. Also hanging out with McCoy when he's around.

WHY THEY'RE GOING TO MESS EVERYTHING UP, REALLY: Either she's going to get too emotionally involved or she's going to rumor the wrong person. It has yet to be seen.

THEY'VE SECRETLY GOT A THING FOR RATHAKKU, DON'T THEY? Undead isn't really her type, even if technically all of her husbands are dead.

PLOTS AND PLANS: Don't have anything concrete yet! I do think Allison will be hanging out around the keep and will be available for chats/combat as needed. All of her people are going to separate places so clearly this is a prime time for her to make some new CR!

WHAT THEY CAN OFFER: Charm, style and powers of persuasion (please see permission post for opt outs/more information!). She also has been here for a year and a half-ish, so please feel free to ask her questions about her previous adventures.

CR YOU WANT: Friends romans, countryman, mostly, but also please come bug her if you want to bitch about Five. Five is going to Hell, so clearly she's going to miss him. I'm also down for frenemies or outright enemies, we can see where the thread takes us. Let's have an adventure!

[margenes]

keep buddy!

no specific plans for pietro either re: what's up in the keep, but i'm sorry he can't bitch about five. she can bitch about five to him? i'm sure they can strike up a friendship somehow

[matermali]

rumor the wrong person if this doesn't happen I will riot

and don't worry, Vanessa will keep one eye on Five while they're around Hell

nothing will go wrong

[cosplayqueen]

I do think Kamala is going to call her at some point to cry it out because this setting and spooky dreams are getting to her. :(

[makemeasong]

I really loved Clara and Allison's chat. Clara's a negotiator for supplies, so we could definitely do something with that if you that sounds like something you'd be interested in! And I'm always good with quieter chats if you want :D

[somebadnews]

Five's complete shock that she misses him, he always assumes he's the least favorite sibling (you're the only one left here, Five). He'll remind her that he's a call away from blinking up there to see for himself how bad it is so there's no use lying about it. Because it's going awesome where he is, absolutely zero problems.

He's mildly-concerned about her, so he'll probably be pressing her for information until she gets angry at him for being on her all the time, just wait for it.

AND NO he did not cause this apocalypse, you know these things are a group effort.

[inferus]

PLAYER: Rizzy

PREFERRED CONTACT: PM is best way, but you can also find me at snowed on plurk :)

wrath | kingdom of the wicked

[inferus]

CHARACTER & CANON: Wrath | Kingdom of the Wicked

THEIR ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH: the devil

THEIR ASSIGNED LEVEL & ROLE IN ALEM the wards | investigating the reaper

WHY THEY'RE GOING TO MESS EVERYTHING UP, REALLY: It's unlikely that he would, because war and strategy is his Thing, and he has an incredible amount of willpower to make necessary decisions even when they're difficult.

THEY'VE SECRETLY GOT A THING FOR RATHAKKU, DON'T THEY? No, he is only attracted to his wife and weapons.

PLOTS AND PLANS:

+ Want to get him involved with fellow investigators into the Reaper to figure this shit out and get it sorted

+ He is ordinarily the king of Hell so he will be looking into this... hell... that's trying to spill out into this world. Trying to figure out what it's about and stop it, because... no.

+ Will be trying to figure out why the Gut's Bind is having these sharp fluctuations of 'alive' and 'dead'

+ Fighting any danger that comes through

WHAT THEY CAN OFFER:

+ Wrath has a lot of powerful magic including but not limited to very strong ice powers, super strength, super speed, expertise in wielding weapons, hunting, and monsters, and battles. And okay, he has all these powers too. Plus more, because he knows and can do most witch spells from his realm, which includes protection wards, silencing wards, etc.

+ Can sense most magic, lies, demons, curses, supernatural beings, etc. if anyone wants anything sensed about them at all.

+ Very Strategic - he is the General of War itself from the dawn of time in his world - back when he was an angel even so y'know... he's good at war and strategy, can help with all that.

+ Has a very good boy - aka a three headed hellhound named Yadid (thanks Kamala).

CR YOU WANT:

+ Magical/supernatural people especially given Wrath can generally sense that shit though it's up to player permission, of course!

+ People who are religious or who have familiarity with the devil/god/etc, cause whoops he's here.

+ People who are willing to follow his lead/order/General of War-ness, because he is happy to order

+ Other ancient beings who are not quite human/mortal.

+ Negative or positive CR, I'm really up for anything on that front. : ' )

red | original character

[growlies]

CHARACTER & CANON: Red & Original

THEIR ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH: Cerberus mixed with bits of teenage human soul - everything's fine

THEIR ASSIGNED LEVEL & ROLE IN ALEM Southern Tower - fighting off a dragon

WHY THEY'RE GOING TO MESS EVERYTHING UP, REALLY: Gonna be incapable of shifting into Cerberus one of these times, gonna shift into a Too Big version of Cerberus and squash everyone/hurt everyone around her. It's fine.

THEY'VE SECRETLY GOT A THING FOR RATHAKKU, DON'T THEY? /Bites that face.

PLOTS AND PLANS:

+ Red will focus her attention toward her assignment, but her powers and her control on them are a bit questionable still. She's still attempting to get hold of it so I can imagine injury to her/her team when she fails to really catch hold of what she's got to do. Sorry about that.

+ Will desperately want to check in on Her people, will bodily throw herself in front of the danger and her people at any and every time when she can

WHAT THEY CAN OFFER:

+ Red is Cerberus - aka the three headed dog from Greek mythology protecting the Underworld. Hades just mixed a bit of teenage soul into it for Purgatory High School, but over all, she can see people's souls/auras if you'd like - leaves a fun chance for Red to see more about your character than they'd otherwise ever share if you're interested.

+ As Cerberus, she can transform into the giant dog at will (for the most part, it's still new to her in the mortal/living realm), to act as protection and fight back against the dragon or any other threat that might come. She cannot always control the size of it - sometimes too large, too small, somewhere in the middle.

+ Otherwise she can offer the typical teenage shit of yelling, having an attitude, etc.

CR YOU WANT:

+ Other individuals who know what it's like to not be just one thing at a time, but multiple things. Other individuals who are not mortal but more than that/different than that.

+ Other young'uns

+ Older-ish people who want to take her under their wing

+ Friends, family, frenemies, anything and everything. She was alone in the Underworld for a long time - any kind of connection will be precious even the negative kinds.

[spoilers]

PLAYER: Ashley

PREFERRED CONTACT: formallyintroduced#6606 (discord) or formallyintroduced

Feel free to add me on either. I don't post much on plurk and am usually invisible on discord, but I get notifications for both and am happy to chat!

[spoilers]

CHARACTER & CANON: River Song | Doctor Who

THEIR ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH: Bespoke weapon has mind of her own.

THEIR ASSIGNED LEVEL & ROLE IN ALEM Gut's Bind. Finding escape routes, teaming up to explore corridors.

WHY THEY'RE GOING TO MESS EVERYTHING UP, REALLY: Curiosity and a general knack for finding trouble?

THEY'VE SECRETLY GOT A THING FOR RATHAKKU, DON'T THEY? She's dated worse.

PLOTS AND PLANS:
I'm really trying to find my footing again, if I'm honest. But let's definitely team up to explore those corridors, maybe poke around in business where they aren't welcome.

WHAT THEY CAN OFFER: River lies (or used to) as a matter of course. She's also excellent at breaking into or out of places/cells/etc. And she's an excellent fighter, with or without a weapon.

CR YOU WANT:
Friends would be nice, proper friends.
Maybe someone to...go off the beaten path, so to speak. Make mischief, cause chaos, ignore rules and/or good sense.

Anything and everything else!

[spoilers]

CHARACTER & CANON: Sarah Bishop | All Souls

THEIR ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH: Witchy lesbian aunt, temperamental.

THEIR ASSIGNED LEVEL & ROLE IN ALEM Assigned medic for the Western Tower. The Keep.

WHY THEY'RE GOING TO MESS EVERYTHING UP, REALLY: Did I mention temperamental? She's known for her temper and for speaking her mind. She also doesn't lie much.

THEY'VE SECRETLY GOT A THING FOR RATHAKKU, DON'T THEY? Hardly.

PLOTS AND PLANS: Again, gathering my feet back under me. But she's absolutely available for Healing. Also available to give her particular brand of "encouragement." This will probably involve yelling. She's good at yelling.

WHAT THEY CAN OFFER: Yelling? And Healing, of course. She's quite a powerful witch, and I'm flexible as to what sort of things she might know a spell for. But spells for combat are not among them, I'm afraid.

CR YOU WANT:
Honestly, just a few people to get used to her and the fact she's really got a kind heart under all the insulting nature.

Magic friends. She's used to a coven.

Anything else you want to give me!

Jon Snow

[northerndragon]

PLAYER: Elizabeth

PREFERRED CONTACT: detectivefiction & detectivefiction#1669; friend away!

CHARACTER & CANON: Jon Snow, Game of Thrones

THEIR ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH: Medieval hero-king guy, but with more psychology. Genuinely a good person! Often sad. He fights real good and we're proud of him. Currently happily unmarried to a girl who he doesn't know that he absolutely shouldn't be dating. Is a Targaryen, unlike all the NPCs, but has no idea. Will give a speech if tempted enough.

THEIR ASSIGNED LEVEL & ROLE IN ALEM General Southern Tower watching and combat! Apparently capable of telling you what a big zombie dragon is going to do.

WHY THEY'RE GOING TO MESS EVERYTHING UP, REALLY:

1. Worries about his girlfriend in lieu of actually talking to other people
2. Yelling at Irenia does nothing
3. Someone waves a creepy mirror in front of him (it's been a year and he's not over it!)
4. Has not yet admitted to his girlfriend that she's down one dragon back at home.
5. Will try to earn the right to exist by getting himself killed
6. He can still fight with that wound! Step off. (He can't and you shouldn't.)

THEY'VE SECRETLY GOT A THING FOR RATHAKKU, DON'T THEY? Ruxi called me innocent when I was like, "I don't think the game has that many monsterfuckers..." (Anyway, no, Jon doesn't. Not his type, which is basically "women who might murder him.")

PLOTS AND PLANS:

Jon's assignment means I don't have anything specific to do, but he will probably want to know what's going on in the rest of the citadel (what are the politics, the brothers, what about the uncle, etc). Either he wants to get his two cents in, or he wants to know why you're bothering him with these trivialities when that dragon is circling ba-- seven hells.

+ May try to find out if there is a way to mitigate, redirect, or kill the undead frost dragon.

+ The long hours of watching, waiting, and defending might make him more inclined to converse, whether in person or on the network.

WHAT THEY CAN OFFER: Protection, sword fighting and other close combat, a friendly hand or a shoulder to lean on, scouting dragon things, endless lore about Westeros and the North? (includes some alarming legends), zombie-related dismay, effusive praise of Daenerys Targaryen, a rumbling burr, etc.

CR YOU WANT: Almost all of it except really negative corrosive hatred. I'm returning to (hopefully?) full activity after a very long period of not being able to RP enough to manage new CR or anything interesting, so I have nothing but room on my dance card. If we have talked about it before and can work it out now, it's a good time! If we had CR before but it's been kind of neglected, let's get it rolling again.

As far as what works for Jon, he is into action and not really into talking about his feelings except in superficial ways (like, it's reasonable that he mourns his dead relatives, so that doesn't require Friendship Level 6 to unlock). He can be friends with almost anyone, because he isn't difficult to get along with, except in two ways: the talking thing, and the fact that he demonstrates bravery mostly by taking crazy risks, which tends to be upsetting for his friends.

[rehandle]

It's time to be aggressively told to step back and stop almost getting yourself killed by a man who is actively in the process of not stepping back and almost getting himself killed

May the not!dading commence

[faceblocker]

Vi would be pretty useful for scouting (in theory, if she doesn't yeet herself into danger instead of reporting back on it)

[kahl_175]

"he demonstrates bravery mostly by taking crazy risks, which tends to be upsetting for his friends"

Hi, I've got a big lad who shows his love for his family by taking crazy risks to protect them. They're usually calculated risks, but sometimes it's just 'well it didn't kill me last time we crashed this ship'

Does Jon want to meet someone from space

[stephanivien]

Stephanivien , manufacteer of dragonkilling devices extraordinaire is going to be hitting up the Southern Tower soonlike to get a gauge of what they have and what he can use to start constructing the relevant pieces of a giant, Dragon-harpooning siege weapon.

A fellow experienced fighter of dragons would be swell! Stephanivien's from a country(ish) that have only just ended a thousand-year-long war with them, so he's got the knowledge and the chops, and would love any and all extra insight into the particular draconic task at hand.

And y'know, if Jon wants to learn/have fun with really cool siege weapons, Stephanivien is your man.

[beitangmoran]

PLAYER: Dùlin

PREFERRED CONTACT: on the game discord or journal PM

Beitang Moran

[beitangmoran]

CHARACTER & CANON: Beitang Moran || Oh! My Emperor

THEIR ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH: Imperial prince who had to be regent for his barely younger than him nephew when his older brother was assassinated and also had to watch said nephew get the girl he was in love with, but it's alright, he still loves A-Yi, he's just a fucking punk who needs to learn to be a good Emperor.

THEIR ASSIGNED LEVEL & ROLE IN ALEM Moran will be in the keep, In the faction of the older crown prince Haiva. Both hands and his brain in politics the way he likes it.

WHY THEY'RE GOING TO MESS EVERYTHING UP, REALLY: This is almost literally the situation Moran found himself in in his canon, except in his case he wasn't reluctant to give the power back to his nephew when he decided he was sufficiently prepared to rule and also the oldest inherited as is normal.... so basically this is his reality warped and he's going to give a few lessons of political science to some princes and royal uncles, most probably. And because he's an insufferably smug Aquarius, this will probably go over well.

THEY'VE SECRETLY GOT A THING FOR RATHAKKU, DON'T THEY? Absolutely not. Ew.

PLOTS AND PLANS: probably a lot of politics and spying. Trying to understand how the siege happened in the first place and the evacuation plans, as well as all the tension behind the powers at hand and of course doxxing all those royal people to the group as much as he can.

WHAT THEY CAN OFFER: A lifetime of political savvy - he's an imperial prince who was a military regent for his nephew and who had to dismantle a plot against his country spearheaded by his own mother, so he's pretty ruthless and decisive in that, as well as able to do all the shoulder rubbing necessary to get information. Also his manners are impeccable.

And also thanks to his husband he has access to a lot of money. Like, a lot a lot. so you know, holler if you need something.

CR YOU WANT: Oof this is hard. Moran need smore like-minded brainsexual people to talk to, I guess, and to exchange theories with. Particularly interested in exchanging info with people infiltrating the other factions of power.

Kahl-175 |⍓| Warframe

[kahl_175]

PLAYER: Spider

PREFERRED CONTACT: I'm primarily on Discord (CellarSpider#9984) but I'll also respond to s or friend requests on Plurk (PaleAntiquarian)!

CHARACTER & CANON: Kahl-175 | Warframe

THEIR ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH: A big ol' cyborg spaceman decides to fight injustice and adopt everyone, especially the ones who're nailed down. Who did this to you. Kahl will blow them up.

THEIR ASSIGNED LEVEL & ROLE IN ALEM Western Tower, gun-haver and defender.

WHY THEY'RE GOING TO MESS EVERYTHING UP, REALLY: Has a 0 for 1 track record on heroic sacrifices, but lord does he try

THEY'VE SECRETLY GOT A THING FOR RATHAKKU, DON'T THEY? Reminds Kahl of one of his last bosses, Vay Hek. No thank.

PLOTS AND PLANS: Kahl's going to be figuring out the state of the defenses and where he needs to focus his attention most when up in the watch tower, to protect the lower levels. He has an assault rifle with him, and he'll provide as much ranged support as he can.

WHAT THEY CAN OFFER: Maps. Kahl's augments draw a map of his local area, automatically charting out his surroundings as he goes. He'll have to copy down what he scans, though, unless somebody works out how to link up with his cybernetics.

Kahl can fight, obviously, and he's good with squad-level tactics and command. If someone needs direction or protection, he can take charge.

He also has gotten through absolute War Is Hell horror in his canon, and come out the other side as a pretty well-adjusted guy. If people are having trouble dealing with conflict trauma, Kahl can help.

CR YOU WANT: I cannot stress this enough, Kahl is a social lad who's been through war before. I'm good for action, obviously. But also Kahl can assist characters getting mentally overwhelmed. That can mean any number of things, depending on the needs of the character. I got a big guy who's here to help.

[faceblocker]

MAP! handy for sneaking around and even parkour

let her see, buddy

rose | kamala khan

[cosplayqueen]

PLAYER: Rose

PREFERRED CONTACT: milanobutterfly on plurk / discord: aroseblazing#3394

Feel free to add on either!

CHARACTER & CANON: Kamala Khan & Marvel Cinematic Universe

THEIR ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH: tiny fangirl turns into a superhero; may or may not be Kevin Feige's attempt to stop DC from using Green Lantern

THEIR ASSIGNED LEVEL & ROLE IN ALEM Northern Tower as the local catcher of people who fall off!!! Hope you like a giant purple lightshow. :)

WHY THEY'RE GOING TO MESS EVERYTHING UP, REALLY: Kamala has no concept of acceptable losses. It's not a question of if, but when she overextends herself to save everyone.

THEY'VE SECRETLY GOT A THING FOR RATHAKKU, DON'T THEY? Uh.... no thank you. She's into buff, brown boys. (Sorry, Bruno!)

PLOTS AND PLANS: Nothing concrete! She will of course be taking her job seriously and will push herself to the edge to keep everyone breathing.

One plot point for this arc and especially for the North Tower crew will be not to talk about what she can do.

Minor spoilers for a show that's been out since the summer? Damage Control hunted and nearly killed her multiple times for having abilities while being brown and probably Muslim. If it makes anyone feel better, they tried it with Peter Parker too. Maybe they just really hate teens in general. /shrug emoji!! (But, no really it's a plot point so she's paranoid about it getting out to the wrong people.)

Also can someone please talk to her about the fact they're lowkey in Hell? It's breaking her brain.

WHAT THEY CAN OFFER: Protection. Kamala generates 'hard light' which she can use as a shield. She can also use it to move around freely by creating things like steps and of course catch those guys who keep falling from the tower.

CR YOU WANT: Teen friends, adult mentors, and man children to bicker with. /stares at Pietro!!

[margenes]

YOU RANG??

i'm tempted for the shield option, or like just having a 'normal' person to talk to. fudgey linked me to kamala and wanda talking about pietro, so i'm sure he can show up and it'll be disappointing to know that he doesn't live to the hype of wanda's twin 😔 (UNLESS..he does)

wei wuxian | the untamed, the undomesticated, the undeadlorded

[weifinder]

PLAYER: rakel
PREFERRED CONTACT: om is most effective, also at whimsea

CHARACTER & CANON: wei wuxian | the untamed drama

THEIR ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH: Foreign necromancer married with child(ren), enjoys creative solutions to all sorts of problems, and is the problem, in all sorts of creative ways!

THEIR ASSIGNED LEVEL & ROLE IN ALEM He's in the Guts with access to the Wards, and he's researching/tracking down the Reaper. Don't Fear The Reaper.

WHY THEY'RE GOING TO MESS EVERYTHING UP, REALLY: He's a hero and this never pays off for him, also? A necromancer in a situation where an undead warlord is actively taking over the area he's trapped in.

THEY'VE SECRETLY GOT A THING FOR RATHAKKU, DON'T THEY? Undead lords are! Bad! News! For him (and Wrath) specifically!

PLOTS AND PLANS: steals the checkmarking bit from ruxi:

✔ strong arm him into helping with healing in the wards: he has magic for this, he just keeps forgetting this lmf
✔ he's investigating the reaper, this is the bulk of his attention tbh, help or hinder him
✔ he's going to map out the timing of the uptick in death energies in the guts, seeing if there's anything it correlates to
✔ okay so who wants to blow the whole place up after attempting the beacon/gateway, eh, eh, eh??? no really i wonder if he can call down any resentful energies to go collapseywild to make things v difficult to traverse
✔ comedic failures, comedic rescues, comedic moments with new cr, with established cr, deep moments, i think i need to see more info before i have more specific thoughts

WHAT THEY CAN OFFER: Talented fighter, cultivator who can use techniques but not the sword arts (drains him fast fast fast), necromancer who is totally going to have a terrible time related to that, he can heal guys, use him for healing this is something that doesn't occur to him since he learned in Taravast and then promptly has had too many other things to worry about.

CR YOU WANT: See plots and plans!

[stephanivien]

SO!!!

Stephanivien is gonna be building a giant dragon harpoon shooter. Which he will. Ask for help with... shortly-ish once he figures out how to mass post Network Things!

At the moment his assumption is that dragon must be deaded, but his bigger concern is 'get the dragon to stop attacking the citadel', so he's very willing to be persuaded to just... reel the thing in like, idk, a giant flying whale not-god or something. But anyways that should happen.


Also low key I think ur husband asked me to make chains for u. and also an airtag to track you down. Do u need help or is that just a Thing for y'all? Stephanivien aint gonna judge

licyn mansbane | original character

[bravelyrunsaway]

PLAYER: rakel
PREFERRED CONTACT: pm or whimsea

CHARACTER & CANON: licyn mansbane, original character

THEIR ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH: Mercenary werewolf with a survival complex, commitment issues, and if you're an adult, he's definitely propositioned you. Enthusiastic partner in bed! No feelings necessary.

THEIR ASSIGNED LEVEL & ROLE IN ALEM He's in the Guts, and his main responsibility is getting all you storm-struck fools out, so that's what he's working on. He does not advise they stay to try the gateway.

WHY THEY'RE GOING TO MESS EVERYTHING UP, REALLY: He refuses heroic stands. He will run, ahead of everyone else, if things go even more heavily south.

THEY'VE SECRETLY GOT A THING FOR RATHAKKU, DON'T THEY? I can't believe the reason he passes is because SURVIVAL SENSE and not because Rathakku looks absolutely horrifying.

PLOTS AND PLANS: Licyn wants them gone away. He'll find avenues through the Guts, he'll investigate the signs of activity there to know what to stay away from, and he will actively argue they need to leave sooner, storm take the gateway, this is a bad plan and the nobles here are selling us to die.

WHAT THEY CAN OFFER: Mercenary, werewolf, good nose in both forms, extra strong, has a personal healing factor, and is a magic battery. If you need extra magic to do whatever your thing is, he legitimately just. Exudes it. HAVE AT.

CR YOU WANT: I love people who'll flirt back, who'll shut him down, who'll try to get him to defend others against greater odds, those who'll let him convince them to run, people who don't mind petting and scratching and feeding a giant wolf, people who don't mind cuddling a giant wolf, please just pamper him he'll take it this whole situation upsets him deeply! Anyone who wants to try and emotionally bond with him, he's loosely declared everyone pack (it's a sanity thing for him) but he notably keeps his emotional ties away from people. People to call out his bullshit. Abrasive personalities ironically tend to do well with him, since he'll give as good as he gets, but also doesn't take it personally because that'd imply caring. Truly sweet people, too, but he's not really going to try to preserve any innocence they have, he's too practical for it. So... expect no coddling, sob-laughs.

[matermali]

Vanessa has a history with werewolves (ok, werewolf singular) and it's criminal she hasn't gotten to know this one. They'll both be around the Guts Bind too so that means nothing bad will happen if they hang out, just a good fun time

Jimmy McGill

[slippin]

PLAYER: Carolyn

PREFERRED CONTACT: PM or smugfrog @ plurk

CHARACTER & CANON: Jimmy McGill (Saul of Better Call Saul)

THEIR ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH: WHY DO I ALWAYS LEAVE THIS FOR LAST...uh lawyer! Con artist! Cubs fan! Desert-hater!

THEIR ASSIGNED LEVEL & ROLE IN ALEM He'll be wheeling and dealing in the crossing, trying to secure supplies and maps while easing tensions (we hope) between Alem and the merchants.

WHY THEY'RE GOING TO MESS EVERYTHING UP, REALLY: It's just what he does.

THEY'VE SECRETLY GOT A THING FOR RATHAKKU, DON'T THEY? What a face! Striking! But he already has three bodyguards. And also a wife.

PLOTS AND PLANS:

BODYGUARD CORNER
- BODYGUARDS (Lorna, Kanesada, the Doctor) come to me!!! Jimmy will be easy to guard in that he has no illusions about his abilities as a combatant (none) and will more or less take orders (he may offer some “helpful” suggestions okay!!) from anyone with experience. He will be tough to guard in that he has no concept of “toning things down” or “subtlety” or “shutting the fuck up” and is a big ol coward. Also he might try to get you to run unrelated errands or protect him from Nacho Varga people he's trying to avoid.
- He'll suggest that SINCE THERE ARE THREE OF YOU, one bodyguard be the public-facing bodyguard (makes him look important!) and the other two lurk in the shadows.
- He will be genuinely grateful to all bodyguards, might try to throw an ill-advised bodyguard party (or at least get them a nice bottle of something)! If that's something your char would be into/disapprove of.

ACTUALLY DOING HIS JOB CORNER
- As far as merchant stuff goes, he'll throw himself into it because he does NOT want to think too hard about where they are or the dragon overhead or why there's blood dripping down a mountain...
- He'll probably start out by getting a feel for the personalities involved—might go drinking with Batthour or something along those lines to kick things off.
- BUT ONCE EVERYONE HAS MORE INFO he will not hesitate to dupe these guys...esp if we never have to see them again...
- His wife's gonna be meddling in the political side of things, so it'd be pretty easy to rope him into that as well.

MURDER CORNER
- While Jimmy's a terrible choice for leading an investigation, I love murder

...plots and would be overjoyed if he could be roped into helping with it—if there's a small, morally suspect task that might help (forging a document? pumping someone for info? searching someone's stuff?) please consider him at your disposal!
- OTOH you could run up against one of his, like, three remaining scruples if you tried to frame someone or harass the wrong person and he got wind of it.

ANGST???/GETTING SCREWED OVER??? CORNER
– I do want to play with the setting's effects/his potential for selfishness more, but I'll likely wait till things are underway to figure out what form it'll take!

WHAT THEY CAN OFFER:

- Street smarts! Granted the streets are in another dimension, but he's generally good at getting a read on people/persuading them. Might be able to talk your character out of a tight spot!
- Do you need a cover story for the role you're playing here? Jimmy is here to make it way, way, way too elaborate help!
- He still has some drugs bliss-and-comfort-inducing mistletoe from the inn—he'll most likely try to leverage it with the merchants, but if your char is gonna be in severe psychological distress/can think of another use for it, hit me up!
- He is a normal human man who will (most of the time) have normal human responses to terrifying and/or violent situations, if your char needs someone to guide/protect or a reality check.
- Questionable taste in clothes.

CR YOU WANT:

Merchant stuff: people to egg him on, people for HIM to egg on, people he might try to rein in (maybe)(looking at you, would-be stabbers). I really love the precarious morality of what they're getting up to and would love to dig into that! Also love when things blow up in his face.

In general: people who will boss him around and drag him into things! he's easily bossed. Bonus points if it includes magic. Extra bonus points if you're mean to him.

[downswing]

'What a face, striking,' Jimmy, stop selling for two seconds.

Nacho Varga | Better Call Saul

[nachocheese]

I am so sorry! I am EXTREMELY LATE. Please forgive me.

PLAYER: Amber

PREFERRED CONTACT: Yes plz! candycigarettes

CHARACTER & CANON: Ignacio "Nacho" Varga | Better Call Saul

THEIR ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH: Sad boi criminal who can't catch a break and loves his papa.

THEIR ASSIGNED LEVEL & ROLE IN ALEM He'll be in The Crossing, trying to secure supplies and figure out why the merchants have soured on Alem.

WHY THEY'RE GOING TO MESS EVERYTHING UP, REALLY: wait what do you mean "just poison every bad boss you've ever had" isn't a viable strategy???? since when?? whatever, he's just gonna go do some other impulsively violent thing that backfires, it's cool.

THEY'VE SECRETLY GOT A THING FOR RATHAKKU, DON'T THEY? Of course, but shhh. It's a secret.

PLOTS AND PLANS:
* ANYONE WANT TO HELP HIM STOP A RIOT THAT LOOKS LIKE FUN?? He's not really going to go out of his way to put himself in harm's way if he can help it, but he's not going to ignore or run away from rampant violence happening right in front of him.
* I am signing him up for the envoy thingie SO :O who knows if he'll get picked but we'll see!!!
* He probably won't automatically jump into the murder investigation of his own accord, but he can be guilt tripped / convinced, especially if the victims are people he would view as "innocent" and vulnerable. To that end, he's great at sneaking around and good at reading people. He also knows how to paint a threat while interrogating someone.
* He's noticed some of the merchants aren't on the up and up in terms of what they're charging vs. what they're actually giving people, and plans to try to use that info to blackmail the merchants into giving him a better deal / more stuff. Anyone morally gray want to help him out?? Or you know, make sure he doesn't get murdered if he tries to start shit if / when his brilliant plan doesn't work out the way he wanted.
* He isn't an evil monster, okay, don't listen to Jimmy he doesn't know what he's talking about.

WHAT THEY CAN OFFER:
* He doesn't have any superpowers, but he's fast, agile and a very capable fighter in pretty much any non-superpowered scenario. Good shot with a gun, too!
* Good (really good) at keeping a calm head in stressful situations.
* Brave and willing to sacrifice himself for others / the greater good if it's absolutely needed... he won't go around doing this willy-nilly but it can be something he's willing to do in the right scenario.
* Observant and good at reading people, generally pretty good at predicting others' behavior, although he sometimes assumes people will be smarter / more logical than they actually are.
* Head for numbers, money, good business sense etc.
* ALSO HAS A SENSE OF / HEAD FOR UHHH... ILLEGALITY... and knows when people are going to try some shit. Will help you out and be like "uhhh hey you're not getting a good deal there, man" if he sees you being fleeced.
* Morally flexible.

CR YOU WANT:
* GOOD COP / BAD COP interrogating or bargaining with merchants lmfao... he can take either role depending on the other character's personality. He doesn't really love hurting innocent people for no reason and will def try to be the 'good cop' and rein in anyone who's being crazy aggressive in response to no or minimal provocation, but he can be hot-headed and impulsive if someone's really pushing his buttons so someone who will be the 'good cop' to his 'bad cop' as he loses patience would be great too.
* People who he can be protective of! Especially people who are very young, elderly or in some ways vulnerable.
* Older men / fatherly figure types who are willing to provide him with guidance and direction. Nacho absolutely craves this kind of interaction ever since he hasn't been able to talk to his dad. Older women / motherly figures work too but not quite as well -- he respects strong women, but it's a surrogate-father figure specifically he's really craving.
* He often can't catch a break in canon, so people who will actually be kind to him would be great! He might not be super trusting at first, but he'll melt eventually. I'd love for him to meet people he can actually trust here, since that's not something he ever really gets to have much in canon.
* ...but people who will put him in his place and use magic, superior knowledge of the situation, whatever else etc to get him under their thumb, bully him a little (or a lot) are great too, I mean, he can't have things too easy, right? He's not super easily bullied, but it can be done if you're intimidating enough / a big enough deal.
* BUT ALSO people he can bully and push around a little bit, lol. He can seem a lot harder and more intimidating than he is at first glance and he doesn't always do a lot to disabuse people of this perception. That said, while he can be slightly mean in minor ways, he won't be too awful to anyone who hasn't actually done anything to deserve it.
* Other people who have made bad decisions they regret in life, esp if lead them down immoral or criminal roads they now regret.
* Other people who are good at / enjoy / money and business, etc., or just people who are very pragmatic about getting things done in general.
* People who are cheery, talkative or very extroverted! Nacho himself is kind of reserved and quiet and prefers to listen more than speak, so I enjoy the contrast of him interacting with people who are LOUD and LIKE TO TALK A LOT.
* Because he's dead, he's a little more inclined to accept the magic etc as part of his... "afterlife?"... although he's still going to be weirded out by it for a while. But while I'm totally down to have people use their magic as a way to control him, get him into a subordinate position, etc people who will introduce him to magic as something of joy and wonder would be really sweet, I think.

[soloritur]

I have Marcos in the Crossing, and he's already semi-familiar with Jimmy, so I'd be happy to throw him at Nacho. He's also played good cop/bad cop so he's happy to jump into that if needed lmao. AND you know. Marcos was once in a drug cartel and he's trying to make up for that time in his life when he used to go around blinding/torturing people for them so... I feel like they'd vibe just fine!

Izuminokami Kanesada + Xiao Xingchen

[fushichou]

PLAYER: Rose

PREFERRED CONTACT: LadyotRings Feel free to friend me just as long as you have EB information in your profile or whatever. I love new friends~

[fushichou]

CHARACTER & CANON: Izuminokami Kanesada (Touken Ranbu)

THEIR ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH: Historical sword turned pretty boy who does limited time travel to protect Japanese history from The Bad Guys

THEIR ASSIGNED LEVEL & ROLE IN ALEM
The Crossing
- dealing with the merchants and helping prepare war envoys
- gettin' suspicious of Deimar's correspondence volumes
- one-third of the Protect Jimmy McGill party
- gonna "inspire" the sad fuckers left to defend this dang place

WHY THEY'RE GOING TO MESS EVERYTHING UP, REALLY: Yeah so like he might subscribe more to a heroic last stand option than retreating, it really depends on how the cookie crumbles

THEY'VE SECRETLY GOT A THING FOR RATHAKKU, DON'T THEY? He'd rather eat seafood than look at it too long, excuse you

PLOTS AND PLANS:
- definitely want him seeing how much Deimar and Rathakku write to each other. help him get into the courier business maybe? or just help him be a legitimate snoop and read those letters. sorry not sorry but first impressions of Deimar are that he's kind of an asshole and Kanesada doesn't particularly like him, oops
- protect Jimmy! whatever that entails. stabbing people, probably.
- he's going to try and inspire what's left of Alem's fighting force to hang in there. he's not a smith so he can't, like, sharpen swords well, but he can do his best.
- in general he'll probably channel Hijikata and try to be vice-captainy and make sure this place doesn't let a stiff breeze blow it over. yikes.

WHAT THEY CAN OFFER:
- SWORD. I mean yeah they're trying to not murder each other inside Alem's walls, but if he has to fight, he absolutely will.
- words of inspiration! he's pretty blunt, though, if well-intentioned
- war/fighting is basically what he was made for, so he can keep a calm head in this situation if anyone else needs him to hold their hand for a second

CR YOU WANT:
- friends in general, people who respect swords or are just interested in them, anyone he can gush to about how cool swords/samurai are
- partners in crime, preferably those who are competent enough to not immediately get in trouble. I'd love for him to do some sneaks or just stick his nose in places it doesn't really belong because recon is important!
- drinking buddies??? probably not for this arc, but for future endeavors, this boy needs a drink. just one. he'll pass out after just one.