Welcome to Gaia! ::

Any chance of a status update?

OPENING PLOT:

You have been back in Creation for less than two months. It was a terrible shock, at first, but you are getting the hang of being in a mortal body. Perhaps you have embraced this new way of living. Perhaps you have set about on your infernal agenda. Regardless of your own choices and inclinations, however, you soon receive an unwelcome call...

Discussion:

The game will begin with the characters living out their lives. They may be in different locations (including other states or countries, though you should discuss doing so with me) at the time of the game's start, but after receiving a message from one of the imprisoned dukes of hell they will be brought, under threat of their True Name, to Los Angeles. After the message, the players will have the chance to describe how their characters react (especially interesting if they receive the call at a bad time), and how they get to L.A.

So, post a bit of your character concept so that everyone will know who they'll be playing with, and if there are any questions about how the game will start off, please ask.

Here is fine for just talking about the characters and the plot itself. When the game starts, I'll make an In-Character thread. My intention is that this thread will be used for behind-the-scenes discussion. If anyone had to go dormant for a while, they could post about it in here, and the story thread wouldn't get cluttered up. Right now, its just supposed to be a meet-and-greet between you and the other players.

Mortal Name: Serafina Aracelli
Celestial Name: Serys
House: Devil
Faction: Luciferan
Demeanor: Child

Serys - She was partly responsible for weaving bonds of Faith between humans that had fallen in love, reinforcing their freely-given feelings for one another by giving them divine power and motivation. When Lucifer called for rebellion, she joined what she felt was the side of the humans, wanting to help them better, but also wanting to learn more about just what love is. Unfortunately, the war was hard on her. She saw hearts broken, lovers torn apart (sometimes literally) by the fighting, and the love that her fellow rebels had once had become bitter hatred. During the Babel Project, Serys fell in love with a mortal, and tried to help him reach his full potential. When the project failed, her love was one of the ones to die under the onslaught of his own near-divinity. She was rather quiet after that, and was mostly ignored in the Abyss.

Serafina - Sera's life had not been going too well. She was teased at school for her child-like attitudes and interests, and the last boy she had a crush on had turned her down after a confusing back-and-forth. Her sensitive heart was ready to burst when she met Harold Seldon. He was what she had always been looking for, a kind, thoughtful boy that humored her childish impulses and sometimes even played along. They had been together for three years when she had the operation. It was a relatively minor problem, as knee surgery is not supposed to be fatal, but there were complications. In the peace of sleep, Serafina was taken over by Serys. Harold waited anxiously outside.

Excellent. Now that everyone has some introduction, I'm opening the main story thread.

The story will start with the message from the Duke, and I'll let each of you decide how to role-play your character's reception of and reaction to that message. Good Luck!

And now a note on dice rolls:

Someone brought it to my attention that the results of a dice roll only show up after posting. Please feel free to post the roll, then use the Edit button to actually post your description of the event. I'm sorry that I hadn't caught this problem earlier.

The bookshop was old and beaten, through the thick grime that lined the window, beaten tattered books stared mournfully onto the street outside, watching the trash float in the puddles of rainwater and into the gutter, a forgotten shop on a forgotten street.

Isiac watched it from across the street, jacket collar pushed up, tattered hat pulled down against the rain. "damnit" he muttered as his pencil tore through the wet paper of the notebook. He tore it out and threw it to the street before hunching further over the notebook, turning his back to the rain.

The birds had moved again... Fascinating, fascinating. In their own, ignorant way they were acting it all out again - the rise, the fall, the abyss. He sketched furiously, a missmatch of algebra and crosshatch, forgotten Hyperborian sigils mixed with Binary and Cubism. The pidgeon with the one white wing - obviously Lucifer, fluttered onto to roof of the shop, edging closer towards the Ravens - here representing the Angels, while the others flew down into the gutter, chasing some morsel of food - that was it - the fall to the abyss. He stared up, rapt, his hand moving furiously over the pad, sketching blind. This was the moment - Lucifer the Pidgeon looked up at the Ravens, their eyes locked as one Raven, the biggest stepped forward - this was it, the answer, what happened to Lucifer, why he didn't join them in the pit.
Somewhere in town a car backfires. The bang bright and loud in the empty street. With a screetch, the birds take to the air, Ravens and Pidgeons, just birds again scatter.
Isiac screamed in rage, there it was again - the crack in the program, whatever it was that went wrong, happening again. He hurled the notebook across the street, it skidded in the water, ink spreading and blurring as the pages flooded. He screamed again, more of a roar this time, his teeth clenched, cutting into his gums as they grew. His fingers grew, cutting groves into his clenched fists.
'Wait'
Issac's voice cut through the thick red blur filling his head
'Wait'
Issac pulled his lungs, filling them with a fresh mouthfull of air
'Wait. We were close. There'll be another chance'
Issac shuddered. his fingers loosening, his teeth pulling back, wings folding up into place. He rubbed his eyes and jogged across the road, pushing the sodden notebook into his pocket, something might be salvageable. If nothing else, the book was another clue. He pulled another notebook out of his pocket and made some quick notes on that, he'd study it better once he got home - work through it page by page, noting each individual blur, smudge and whirl, another puzzle, another story.

He pulled off his hat and pushed open the door
"We're closed" a voice muttered "...and isn't the door locked?"
Isiac smiled, stepping around a bookshelf and into view of the man behind the desk "It was." he smiled "You've got the book"
It wasn't a question - Edgar had the book, that was one of the things Isiac liked about him - perfect timing, almost like clockwork. It wouldn't last - there was always the flaw, but in this case Isiac knew what it was - him. The things he'd demand, the amount Edgar would give, Edgar's life was changed by the mere presence of Isiac - his decline had already started, he left everything behind to take this dead end job in this bookstore, simply because Isiac had told him too. Issac felt a moment of remorse, Isiac quickly quashed it - Edgar's downfall would be noted like all the others, another clue, another hint.
Edgar wrapped a hankerchief around his hand and slid a book onto the table. Another sign of his collapse - there was a time Edgar wouldn't have even believed a book like this had existed, certainly wouldn't have dealt with the kind of people who owned it.
Isiac ran a finger along the cover of the book. It was old, if he hadn't seen the birth of man he'd consider calling it ancient, but even at this age you could still tell what it wasn't - this fleshy, wrinkled binding wasn't leather. He smelt the tip of his finger, savouring the scent briefly
"You know, I once had a thousand books bound like this" he muttered, watching Edgar supress a wince. The truth was he didn't even need this book - there might be a usefull titbit in there somewhere, but it's true purpous was a test. He considered asking for it to be rebound, Isiac had allready decided against it, but it was tempting. So many questions sprang to mind, it wasn't a question about whether Edgar would agree, but about who he'd choose for material.
He slid the book into his pocket and with a parting nod, began to walk towards the door.
"It's fascinating"
Isiac stopped. A moment of confusion crossing his face. "I'm sorry?" He turned back to face Edgar, who's face was flushed with panic and fear
"You read it?" Isiac asked, calmly, quietly.
"I... I couldn't resist. I've never seen anything so fascinating. I'm sorry."
This... This wasn't part of the plan. Isiac had planned this all out, predicted Edgars fall in minute detail, he lost track eventually, the crack always came though. But never this soon, he wasn't meant to fall this fast.
"I have to go" he muttered, quickly stumbling from the shop.
'It Keeps Happening' Isiac screamed inside his head 'It never works. I ran every permutation. He shouldn't have looked into something like this for months!'
His body tensed as Isiac started to push free, his wings pressing against the back of his jacket. He screamed in rage, lashing out at the nearest thing he could find.

As he left, the Pidgeon with the one white wing gasped for air on the sidewalk, it's leg twisted beneath it, it's ribs piercing it's lungs. It's last sight before death was that of Isiac returning, notebook in hand, to record the dance of it's final moments.