The Gothic Journals (Comments)

Fiction about Ravenloft or Gothic Earth
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Nathan of the FoS
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Post by Nathan of the FoS »

"Adamantium" is actually diamond--at least, they come from the same word, and they used to be interchangeable.
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High Priest Mikhal
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Post by High Priest Mikhal »

Mithral (mithril, mythril) and adamantium (adamant, adamantine) are metals that get used a lot in the fantasy and sci-fi genres. The name of the latter is no doubt a reference to the hardness and strength of diamonds.

I'm the slow kid, Tykus. What exactly does the map mean?
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Post by Tykus »

High Priest Mikhal wrote:Mithral (mithril, mythril) and adamantium (adamant, adamantine) are metals that get used a lot in the fantasy and sci-fi genres. The name of the latter is no doubt a reference to the hardness and strength of diamonds.

I'm the slow kid, Tykus. What exactly does the map mean?
[sigh] :roll: When you gave the number set, my first thought went back to an episode of the 90s animated Batman series where the Riddler gave an 8-number clue "31753701". Batman first thought it was a map coordinate, then it turned out to be an address (turn the numbers upside-down, you get "10 LESLIE"). My first instinct went to map coordinate; if you take a look at the latitude and longitude, it matches degrees and minutes of the number you gave, respectively. This is what I get for watching cartoons, a lot of trivia only good for game shows, role-playing games, and explaining the methods to my madness.
Hindsight is, after all, caused by a lack of foresight.

Death rates exceeded 100% in some towns.

Charles V spent most of his reign aging.

This was beginning of Empire, when Europeans felt the need to reach out and smack someone
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Post by High Priest Mikhal »

A method to your madness? :shock: Why should there be a method? :D

Seriously though, I doubt I'll be using coordinates as plot devices. I just plain stink at navigation of any kind.
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Post by Tykus »

High Priest Mikhal wrote:A method to your madness? :shock: Why should there be a method? :D
I said "methods." To be truly chaotic, one must occasionally follow the law. Unfortunately, I'm neutral.
Hindsight is, after all, caused by a lack of foresight.

Death rates exceeded 100% in some towns.

Charles V spent most of his reign aging.

This was beginning of Empire, when Europeans felt the need to reach out and smack someone
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Post by High Priest Mikhal »

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Two words: holiday season. Then when I go to my family's Xmas party at my cousin's place, he and his entire family have colds. Guess what? :x

With the release of Resident Evil: Degeneration I'm renewing efforts to move the story along, especially since RE5 is out in two months (have it in reserve and I don't even own a PS3 or XBOX 360!). Yeah, I'm that pathetic a fanboy.

And as for the Lost Journals, I have a post to put up. But I don't like how it turned out and I'm trying to polish it before I post it. Most of the problems lie in my choice to use the Three Hags as antagonists; I'm trying to inject more malevolence into them without straying too far from the canon. That's not as easy as it sounds.
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Post by High Priest Mikhal »

Well, it looks like I've been getting some good reviews on my latest entry. Sorry it took so long, life has been chaotic and I've been trying to find out more about the Shadowborns for the Lost Journals--plus anticipating Resident Evil 5 (Collector's Edition game and SG already in reserve; $108 total!! Yeah, I have no life).

As for the 9/11 take, I just tried to remain objective and stick to the facts. I lack any bias on the matter and so I tried to stay true to what I knew to be fact (sadly including racially/religiously motivated attacks :cry:). When one doesn't see things like skin color, religion, or gender, it's easier to see people as people. That's one of the few good things about Asperger's, as I've said before.

Future posts will continue in journal format until the setting hits post-RE: Degeneration in '05, where I'll begin writing things as I would a novel. I've been thinking of doing that for over a year and a half and this is a convenient excuse (and time in the storyline) to do so.
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Post by Tykus »

High Priest Mikhal wrote:That's one of the few good things about Asperger's, as I've said before.
The down side is that the rest of us have to be very, very specific in giving you instructions. :wink:
Hindsight is, after all, caused by a lack of foresight.

Death rates exceeded 100% in some towns.

Charles V spent most of his reign aging.

This was beginning of Empire, when Europeans felt the need to reach out and smack someone
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Post by Manofevil »

Are you familiar with this:
http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... sc&start=0

I've been doing these for my original characters and posting them in my stories comment threads. And I'd reaaaaaallllly like to get a look at Alexander Dreamfire and company. :D :wink:
Do us a favor Luv, Stick yer 'ead in a bucket a kick it!

So, gentlemen, that's how it is. Until Grissome.... resurfaces, I'm the acting president, and I say starting with this... anniversary festival, we run this city into the ground! :D
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High Priest Mikhal
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Post by High Priest Mikhal »

Now that I had honestly not thought of. It certainly seems to be a better chance to illustrate Alexander and the others than WotC's character builder. I'll have to see what I can pull together.
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Post by High Priest Mikhal »

WotC's character builder isn't purely cosmetic, which is what I wanted. No mechanics, no numbers, just a picture! So this is the best I could do, thanks to Manofevil's suggestion I use the chibi avatar builder.

Note that in this case his matter manipulated armor of the celestial battallione is hidden under his clothing. The amulet around his neck is actually a very close image to the fictional one. The figure now carries an actual mind blade--or something like it.

Image

Although lawful good in alignment, he retains his hold on law only tenously and leans more towards ethical neutrality. Centuries of different experiences and a century and a half as a slave to the succubus goddess has left him with a very different view of life and philosophy than most people. "Open-minded" would be one (understated) way to put it.
Last edited by High Priest Mikhal on Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:45 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Post by High Priest Mikhal »

Image

This is Kyra Dreamfire, Alexander's wife in the Gothic Journals and a unique, redeemed succubus. This is her in her natural form and it's quite obvious she likes to leave little to the imagination. And yes, she is left-handed. Her preferred weapon is a rod of epic might (p. 127, ELH) and as an archivist she always has her prayerbook on hand to ready new spells for the day. Red is her favorite color (duh). Her appearance does nothing to express her heart of gold; she is ethically neutral in that she doesn't particularly lean towards law or chaos, but is solidly good in morality.

Image

One of her few remaining abilities as a succubus is change shape, to a "dressed down" version of her real form that lacks her tail and wings, or a third form that can't be made with the avatar creator. In this shape she also adopts a somewhat passive persona and defers to others as if she had low self-esteem. The reality is quite the opposite. As a gestalt divine exorcist-archivist she possesses a consecrated aura as well as an aura of positive energy and holy radiance unless suppressed, though neither can be represented using the avatar creator. Her book and rod are often stored inside a portable hole in her pocket until needed. Like her husband, she wears armor of the celestial batallione, matter manipulated to adamantine, under her clothes.
Last edited by High Priest Mikhal on Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Gothic Journals (Comments)

Post by High Priest Mikhal »

:oops: It seems I made a mistake about the date of the end of Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. That's according to The Umbrella Archives Vol. 2. So I've had to go back and rewrite some entries. But on the plus side it gives me a chance to portray the events in the Journals. I also went back and redid the heading entries regarding Herbert West and ties to Splatterhouse. That's something I've been meaning to do for a while (yes, I know Miskatonic is a fictional place, but so is Gothic Earth).

Star Wars: The Old Republic has been eating up a lot of my time, as has a return to WoW (the new dungeons are so dumbed down compared to the first sets it's like Wrath all over again, but I can get true epic gear and the PUGs aren't half as bad as they were in the Zuls thanks to the ease, so it's balanced out). If you play SW:TOR and have Republic toons on Beregen Colony, send a mail to Mikhalstarfire saying hi.

EDIT: After a falling out with one of the Enclave's officers (who himself got booted for "showing his true colors," whatever that means) I'm now guildless in TOR. Still, I'm playing--not as much as I probably should be, given how much money I've sunk into it, but I'm still at it. If you see any other characters with the surname Ashlanti or <The Ashlanti Legacy>, that's me.
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Re: The Gothic Journals (Comments)

Post by Manofevil »

Re: the latest, I believe Alexander would have been seeing a PSYCHIATRIST rather than a psychologist. Otherwise, great.
Do us a favor Luv, Stick yer 'ead in a bucket a kick it!

So, gentlemen, that's how it is. Until Grissome.... resurfaces, I'm the acting president, and I say starting with this... anniversary festival, we run this city into the ground! :D
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Re: The Gothic Journals (Comments)

Post by High Priest Mikhal »

Manofevil wrote:Re: the latest, I believe Alexander would have been seeing a PSYCHIATRIST rather than a psychologist. Otherwise, great.
Actually, psychiatrists are the medical (pharmaceutical) half of psychological medicine (I should know, I see both). Psychologists handle the purely psychological half. And no, psychiatrists aren't the ones pushing pills--well, usually--so much as the insurance companies are. It's cheaper to pay for pills than therapy.
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