Sup?

Not much. X)

All of the tags on Colors are broken, the two most recent Shacklestone rooms don't show up in the tag. I hope they fix that soon.

Actually, I think that the tag just has its maximum amount of paintings, as the tags I put on my nightmare worked fine.

Hmm, I hadn't known tags had a painting limit. But maybe that's it. I'll try removing the April Fools post from the tag and see if I can then add this one.

Hopefully, it'll work. I'll brb, going to get food.

Well, I tried removing some stuff, but it doesn't seem to have fixed it. I'll just wait a while and see if it fixes itself, maybe it's just slow to update the tag or something.

And alrighty! I'll write a thing while you're gone.

'Yeeeeah...' said Wendigo, 'I'm glad I wasn't around then, if monstrous creatures like you existed.'

Frederick considered the question for a while. 'Well, I always wanted to be an author. I told you I liked writing, but I never got anything published. I doubted that Sargon would have approved of his minions spending their time doing such pointless things. But now he's gone, maybe I can finally publish some of my books.'

{Dianne looks up, mildly curious.}
Dianne: "Oh? What genre do you write?"

{Titan just grins at Wendigo.}
Titan: "Oh they still exist, you just need to know where to look."

'Fiction,' Frederick replied. 'I enjoy weaving stories together... I've written a lot of horror books in particular, but I can write things of other genres too.'

Wendigo just snorted and pushed his head back into the window to observe the party. 'Well, I'm not going looking for 'em. Even if this wasn't the last night of my life, I never would. Sounds too scary to me.'

Dianne: "Fiction is nice. Sometimes, reality can just be...disappointing." {Dianne then smirks.} "Horror, huh? Give me a synopsis of one of your stories."

{Titan just laughs.}
Titan: "Hahahah, you don't need to look far, just look in the mirror."

{As Magnus finished a song, one of the soldiers yelled out to him.}
Soldier: "Play something metal!"
Magnus: "Metal? Is that what y'all want to hear next?"

{While Armin was sitting in the corner, Eliza limps over and sits next to him.}
Eliza: "Hey, Armin."

'Are you sure? I don't think my stories are very good. But I'll tell you a little about my favourite one. The main antagonist is a dark sorcerer who kidnaps people and does experiments on them, turning them into monsters. He creates an army out of those creatures that were once people and uses them to take over the land. As you can probably tell, Sargon's motives helped inspire that story.'

Wendigo looked at Titan, then looked at each of his own heads. '...Wait, you mean those things were hydras?'

'Yes! Play a metal song, that would be awesome!' another random soldier called out. Ivy was also in the crowd, cheering enthusiastically.

Armin seemed to have been lost in thought, but his expression lightened when he noticed Eliza. 'Oh, hey,' he greeted. 'We haven't talked in a while. Nice to see you walking around again.' He was holding a half-full glass of wine, though it definitely wasn't the first glass he'd drunk that evening.

{Dianne's expression drops a little, but picks it back up quickly. You see, that premise fully summed up her role under Dolorus, all those years ago. And she realized just how much terror and sorrow that role could cause.}
Dianne: "Yes...I can tell. At least Sargon only made monsters figuratively. But, that's an excellent premise for a horror book. Perhaps someday, I'll see it in the bookstore."

Titan: "No, but Hydras and Elemental Titans are both under the "Behemoth Class", or beings that stand over two stories in height."

Magnus: "Ok, if that's what you want."
{He then proceeds to start up a heavy metal song, however, it doesn't have lyrics. (See Doom 2016 BFG Division for reference.)}

{Eliza rubs the back of her head.}
"Yeah, hard to talk when you're bed ridden and high on pain meds...So, I heard you finally killed Sargon. How'd that go?"

Frederick smiled, not seeming to notice the way Dianne's expression had shifted for a moment. 'It's one of my biggest dreams to one day see my books in a store or library, so I hope so. Maybe if you see a book with my name on it, you'll give it a read.'

The crowd gathered around Magnus erupted into appreciative cheers and shouts when he started playing.

'It was way easier than I expected,' said Armin thoughtfully. 'When he managed to escape from his execution, I thought we'd lost him... But then we chased him into the mountains, and with Dianne's help, I managed to catch him again. She let me strike the final blow. I'm quite glad about that.'

'Huh, that's pretty neat,' said Wendigo. 'So there are other creatures that are as big as hydras...'

{Dianne smiles slightly at Frederick.}
Dianne: "I'll be sure to pick one up when I see it."

{Titan nods.}
Titan: "Giganoto Coleoptera. They're a species of giant beetle native to the landmass of Ferros. They stand a bit taller than a Hydra on average and they prey on dragons. The world has its fair share of monsters."

Eliza: "Well, if anyone deserved to land the final blow, it was you. Now that you're free, what's next for the exciting life of Armin?"

'Thank you. I hope that if you do, you'll enjoy it,' said Frederick. He subsided into silence and watched Magnus playing from across the room.

Wendigo's face fell. '...Giant beetles? Oh he.ll no. I hate bugs. I do /not/ want to see bugs as big as I am that /eat dragons,/ thank you very much.'

Armin chuckled. 'I don't know. I haven't thought about it very much. Maybe I'll travel for a while. Or maybe I'll settle down somewhere nice and try to build a new life. Whatever I do, it's probably not going to be anything 'exciting'. Sorry to disappoint you.'

(Wifi is going off, gotta go!
Goodnight.)

{Dianne nods before turning back to her reading.}

{Titan just continues to grin.}
Titan: "Then it's a good thing you're not coming with us tomorrow, because we're headed right for the great forest, beetle central!"

Eliza: "It's not disappointing. After all this shet, I don't care if I never have anything 'exciting' happen to me again."

(K, bye!)

(One last reply.)

Wendigo pulled a disgusted face. 'Whyyyy? Why do you want to go there? You guys are crazy.'

'Well, I can agree with that.' Armin drank some of his wine, then grinned down at Eliza. 'So, how about you? If you don't want to do anything exciting, does that mean you're not gonna be a monster hunter anymore?'

(Bye now!)

Titan: "Because that's where she's hidden all her wealth. Starting a new life ain't cheap, y'know."

{Eliza frowns in thought.}
"...I don't know, gotta pay the bills somehow...But I sure as hell am taking a looooong vacation after this. I need a friggin break from zombies, curses, lunatics, everything..."

'She hid all her money in a forest full of giant bugs?' Wendigo shuddered slightly. 'Couldn't she have put it anywhere else?'

Armin laughed. 'Understandable. Though, I think now that Sargon's dead and Dianne's leaving, you're not going to be seeing much of those things anymore.'

Titan: "Because it's the one place no one would ever go there. It's genius. Also, there's a lot of it, so it's not easy to move."

Eliza: "Thank God for that. Sargon was bad, but Dianne can take all her dark magic crap and f.uck right off with that. I don't fricken get paid enough to deal with that."

'Well, she did help us out a lot,' said Armin lightly. 'We probably wouldn't have beaten Sargon without her... So don't be too hard on her.' He took a sip of wine. 'Dark magic is disgusting, sure, but it has its uses.'

'Urgh. And I suppose you're not worried about the giant beetles trying to eat you while you're there?' said Wendigo.

While Magnus was playing and everyone was chatting, the door to the room creaked open (though nobody would hear the sound over the metal music). A man stepped inside, looking around cautiously. It was the King - not that he really looked like a king anymore, as he was wearing casual clothes and looked like he'd been living in the wilderness for some time.

'Um... what on earth is going on in here?' he whispered to himself, staring in disbelief at the draugr band.

{Eliza just sighs.}
"Yeah, I guess so. But, I still hate it. That curse could have killed us all and those Hydras just give me the heebie jeebies."

Titan: "The structure it's all housed in was designed to keep the beetles out. Once we make it inside, we'll be completely safe."

{Once the king walks in, Dianne happens to glance up. Seeing the king, but not recognizing him, she squints right at him, her red eyes fixed on him.}

'Well, good luck, I guess,' said Wendigo doubtfully. He then fell silent, watching Magnus through the window. He didn't seem to have noticed the king.

'I get how you feel,' said Armin. He finished his wine, then squinted at the glass, wondering if he should go get more. 'I hate dark magic too. I just think it's useful sometimes. I can't say I'm sorry that Dianne and all her zombies are leaving tomorrow.'

Frederick noticed Dianne looking at something, and followed her gaze. 'Who is that...?' he wondered out loud.

The king also noticed Dianne looking at him. Immediately, his face paled and he stumbled backwards. 'Gods... it's a room full of terrifying non-humans...' he whispered in horror. 'I shouldn't have come back! It's not safe!'

{Eliza giggles and raises her hand.}
"Same. I'd drink to that! Except I can't...Dad forebode it."

{Dianne leaned in slightly, not liking the king's behavior.}
"I don't know. One of Sargon's perhaps?"

{As the king stumbled back, Pythia approaches him, having noticed his look of distress.}

Pythia: "Sir? Are you alright?"

Armin looked down at her. 'He told you you can't drink? That's stupid. You can make your own decisions.'

'I don't see why a follower of Sargon's would walk into a room full of Sargon's enemies,' said Frederick. 'Especially after he's dead. What could they hope to gain?'

The king stared wide-eyed at Pythia. 'Th-there's zombies and monsters everywhere! So many... I thought that the evil vampire and his army were all dead... so why is my castle full of non-humans?!'

{Eliza pouts.}
"But he does have a point. I can't exactly walk straight yet, and if I get drunk, I might fall and hurt myself."

{Dianne is still glaring at the king.}
"Revenge, perhaps? I still have Ana tucked away in my purse. Maybe to liberate her?"

{Pythia still hasn't figured out that this is the king.}
"Zombies? Monsters? Sir, they are all apart of the relief force that drove Sargon's forces out of the city and vanquished him. These people are heroes"

'True,' said Armin. 'Though that wouldn't happen unless you drank enough to get drunk. Just saying.'

'It's hard to imagine anyone caring about Ana enough to do that,' said Frederick dryly. 'Most of Sargon's people were either scared of her or thought she was a joke. Don't worry. It's probably just a random citizen who's shown up late to the party.'

'H-heroes?' The king took a good look around the room, and began to recognise a few of the people he'd spoken to before. 'Oh... I see now. They ARE the ones who defeated Sargon. But I didn't realise that they had /zombies/ with them... and why are the zombies playing such awful music??'

(Finally managed to fix the darned tag. XD I also counted up the rooms and noticed that this is the 100th one. Knew we'd get there eventually.)

{Eliza looks down at her feet.}
"Yeah but...I'd better not. He wouldn't be happy with me."

{Dianne glances at Fred, smirking slightly.}
"She's a joke to be sure. I suppose you're right. Still, I don't like the way he looked at me. Keep an eye on him."

{Pythia just gives an unamused frown.}
"The soldiers requested that they play metal. Personally, I don't like the genre. And they might be zombies, but they're pretty nice people when you get to know them."

Armin shrugged. 'If you say so. Though, on the subject of drinking... I gotta go refill this.' He looked at his empty glass. 'Be right back.' He stood up and headed towards one of the tables, his gait just slightly unsteady.

'It looks like Pythia is talking to him,' Frederick observed. 'I'm sure she wouldn't let him come in here if he's dangerous.'

The king nodded, still looking a bit unsure. 'And are you also one of the people who helped to defeat Sargon?'

{Eliza watched Armin, a little concerned.}

{Dianne turns back to her book.}
"I don't think that's a valid conclusion. Pythia might be an absolute sweetheart with a strong sense of morality, but she's naive and a complete pushover when it comes to sob stories. If he were a former goon, all he has to do to get past her is weave some sad lie and play the victim."

{Pythia shakes her head.}
"Well, I'm just a priestess who helps the wounded. I'm a non-combatant."

Frederick continued to watch Pythia and the king. 'Still, he doesn't look dangerous to me. He looks kind of terrified.'

'Oh, I see...' The king gazed around the room for a moment longer. 'Well, if you don't mind, I will be coming in. I was told that this was the celebration of Sargon's death and the saving of the kingdom. I ought to be here for that.'

Armin went up to the table and got himself another glass of wine, pausing for a moment to watch the draugr band. He still hadn't noticed the king's existence in the room.

{Dianne just shrugs.}
"I guess he's not used to large get togethers. I'd still keep my eye on him."

{Pythia smiles warmly.}
"Of course. You should enjoy yourself."

{As Magnus finished his song, he begins to speak.}
"Thank you, thank you. Now this next song is a popular one, most of you might consider it a 'meme song', but I always felt that it just about summed up my time alive on this world. So, here we go."
{He proceeds to cover "Through the Fire and Flames" by Dragon Force, hitting every cord and note flawlessly.}

The king walked into the room and sat down, still keeping a wary eye on Magnus and the other draugrs. Finding a place to sit down, he poured himself some wine and watched them playing. It might seem odd that he wasn't announcing his presence as the king of Sovereign, but the reality was that he hoped no-one would recognise him, because he was a little embarrassed at running away the other day.

The crowd roared in approval. It seemed that most of them recognised the song. Armin started to walk back to Eliza, then paused and looked around, trying to see if he could spot Jerry anywhere. He hadn't seen him since the party began.

{Magnus noticed the king, but didn't recognize him, as he has never seen him. He just continues to play. Jerry is on the other side of the room, playing cards, drinking, and laughing with some of his family. As the king sat, the Old Man approached him from behind.}
Old Man: "Your Highness."

Armin spotted Jerry and almost walked over to talk to him, but upon seeing that Jerry was in the middle of a card game, he stopped and went back to Eliza instead. //Eh, he looks busy. I'll do it later.//

The king drew in a sharp breath out of surprise, and gingerly turned around. He didn't recognise the Old Man. 'You know who I really am?' he said uncertainly.

{The Old Man sits down next to the king.}
“Of course, I don’t forget faces. Besides, how could I forget the man who abandoned his people during their time of need?”

{Eliza looks up at Armin as he approaches.}
“Hey, saw my cousin playing cards, huh?”

The king visibly cringed. 'I couldn't have done anything to help,' he said weakly. 'I'm no soldier... it was better that I left, rather than stay and get in everyone's way.'

'Who, Jerry? Yup, he's off playing some kind of card game with a bunch of other people.' Armin sat down next to Eliza. 'I'd have joined in, except that I don't know any card games. And most of them probably don't like me anyway.'

{The Old Man gives the king an unamused look.}
"You couldn't help? Your people look up to you, as you are their leader. You're the guy in whom everyone places their trust to look after them. To be honest, the stunt you pulled paints you as a complete coward, and you'll be lucky if the people don't toss your monarchy out on its head and elect someone braver."

{Eliza frowns at Armin.}
"Who cares if they don't like you, it's a party! And I can teach you the game, I clean them out every time I play. If you want to go say hi, go say hi."

The king frowned, although he knew the Old Man was right. 'Might I remind you that, though I may be a coward, I /am/ still the king. You shouldn't talk to me like that, unless you want to be thrown out of my castle.'

Armin looked at her, wearing a thoughtful expression. 'Well, I don't like forcing my company on people who don't like me. And I'm not really interested in learning to play, either. I'll go see Jerry later, but for now, I'd rather just stay here and talk to you.'

Frederick, who was still sitting near Dianne, suddenly smiled. 'Jerry's father is talking to that man who just came in, and I heard him refer to him as 'the king'. It seems like the runaway monarch of Sovereign City is back.'

(Just noticed that the Old Man never actually said 'the king' but ehhh, I'm too lazy to go rewrite that)

(Actually, the Old Man referred to him as "Your Highness.")

Old Man: "I meant no disrespect, your highness, I'm just being frank. Food for thought, if you will."

{Eliza shrugs.} "Alright. I've always liked your jacket. Where did you get it?"

{Eliza put her book down and looked at Fred with a surprised and irritated look.}
"You mean that cowardly weasel who ran out on his people the moment things got hard?"
{She then turns in her chair to not-so-inconspicuously look at the king.}
"Maybe I should go introduce myself."

(I think that's what I meant to type, but I'd forgotten exactly what he'd said.)

The king sighed. 'If you insist. If it makes you feel any better, I regret running away. But when I heard that a giant army of non-humans was coming here, I couldn't stop myself. I had to escape.'

Armin glanced down at his jacket. 'I don't remember,' he said. 'It's about fifty years old. I'd get a new one, but this one's kind of... special.'

Frederick smirked. 'Judging by the way he was looking at you when he walked in, I think he'd just run out again if you actually approached him. Or is that your intention?'

(No, I mean saying, "the king", is perfectly valid because the two expressions are essentially synonyms.)

{The Old Man just chuckles.}
"Sir, look around. They never even made it to the palace. We decimated their forces on the fields and courtyard. If you stayed, you would have been completely fine."

{Eliza smiles.}
"That's nice. Why is is special?"

{Dianne smiles a devilish grin, standing up to walk over to the king.}
"You know I enjoy toying with mortals."

(Ooh, yeah. I see.)

'Well, I couldn't have possibly known that,' the king protested. 'In fact, I was certain that my army had no chance against them. I...' He suddenly stopped talking, because he'd noticed Dianne coming towards him. 'Oh no...'

Frederick watched with amused interest, wondering what Dianne was going to do to him.

Armin pulled back the side of his jacket to reveal a small pocket in the inside lining. It appeared to have been stitched closed. 'There's a few keepsakes in there that I couldn't leave lying about. There was too much risk that they might get lost or stolen, so I put them in there, hoping they'd be safer. Of course, I could get them out, but I haven't seen any reason to yet.'

“Oh no? What’s oh no?”
{He asks quizzically, looking between Dianne and the king. Dianne walks right up to the king, smiles, and offers her hand to shake.}
Dianne: “ Hello, your Highness. My name is Dianne. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
{She might be smiling, but the look behind her eyes is one of contempt. }

{Eliza nods.}
“Huh, yeah. I mean you’re not exactly settled down yet, so there’s still a chance of losing them. I’m curious though, what’s in there?”

The king looked like he was considering jumping up and running out of the room, but instead he forced himself to stay put and take Dianne's hand. He shook it briefly and then let go. 'G-greetings. Can... can I help you?'

'Oh, just sentimental things,' said Armin. 'One of them is an old photograph of me and my family - before I became a vampire, obviously. The other is my wedding ring. I used to wear it, but I figured it was safer in there.'

{Dianne continues to smile as she takes a seat across from the king.}
“Oh no, I just saw you walk in and just /had/ to talk with you, being such an upstanding individual as yourself. I must know, where /did/ you go prior to this mess?”

Eliza: “Oh. Well, I understand why that would be so valuable to you. No wonder you wear that jacket everywhere you go. Maybe someday, when you’re finally at peace, you’ll open that pocket.”

The king swallowed nervously. 'Uhm, well... I decided I'd leave the city for a little while, just while the fighting was going on. I-I can't fight, so I couldn't be of any help to the troops anyway. I went to stay in a nearby village until I heard it was all over...'

Armin nodded, drinking some of his wine. 'I'm sure that day will come soon. After everything that's happened, I don't plan on getting myself into any dangerous situations for a /long/ time.'

{Dianne raises her eyebrows.}
“Oh? And what was the plan if your forces failed? Would you have just let Sargon have your kingdom, no fight from you?”

Eliza: “Amen to that. I’m definitely taking a looooooong ass vacation after this. I’m just done for now.”

'What could I have done?!' the king cried. 'I was helpless against him! If my kingdom fell, then I would have given up my crown, travelled somewhere far away, and started a new life. There was nothing else I could do.'

'Same here,' said Armin. He glanced down at Eliza, apparently considering his next words before he spoke. 'Y'know, if you happen to get bored during this vacation of yours... feel free to come hang out with me. I probably won't be busy.'

{Dianne chuckles and speaks with the utmost contempt.}
"Of course you were. You monarchs are all the same."
{The old man starts to look concerned.}
Old Man: "Dianne..."
Dianne: " The moment anything goes wrong, you run for the hills and leave your people, the ones who've put you in power..."
Old Man: "Dianne, that's enough..."
Dianne: "behind to /die/ at the hands of a lunatic. You're lucky we showed up, otherwise, you'd have all this guilt on you."

{Eliza looks up at Armin, a bright expression on her face.}
"...I'd love to."

The king opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked like he didn't know how to respond. Finally, he sighed and said, 'Yes, you're right. I'm a coward and I don't deserve to be king of this country. And if the people want me to give up my crown after this, then I'll gladly do so. Is there anything else you'd like to say?'

Frederick was eyeing the pair concernedly from across the room, wondering what was going on. He couldn't hear everything they were saying over the noise of Magnus's playing.

Armin clapped Eliza on the shoulder. 'Great. I'll see you around sometime after all of this is over, then.'

{Dianne looks vaguely surprised at the king's response.}
Dianne: "Hm, I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting you to own up like that. I just have one last thing to last. When you walked in here and saw me, the band, and the vampires, you looked like you wanted to turn and run. Why?"

{Eliza smiles.}
"I'm looking forward to it. I'll call first, of course."

*Ask

'...You must understand, after hearing about what Sargon did to Shacklestone City, it's very hard for me to trust non-humans. When I walked in here and saw you all, for a moment, all I could see was a room full of monsters. And, of course, I knew that you'd all hate me for running away, which didn't help at all.'

'Then that's a plan.' Armin grinned. 'I hope that your family are OK with this. Some of them don't seem to like me being around you very much.'

{Dianne chuckles mirthlessly, her good humor suddenly gone.}
"We lay our lives on the line, to save /your/ people, and you have the /gall/ to call us monsters? And don't tell me you thought we were Sargon's, there are clearly soldiers everywhere. We clearly won."

{Eliza blows a raspberry.}
"Who cares what they think, I'm 25, gosh-darnit. I'll hang out with whoever I want."

'I never thought you were Sargon's,' the king replied, his tone starting to go cold. 'But I won't apologise for a rational fear. Non-humans don't normally live in our kingdom, and we've had wars with them in the past. Everyone who lives here has a hard time not being afraid of them.'

'It's probably because you don't really look or act like a 25-year-old that they all worry about you,' said Armin dryly. 'But, I don't care what they think either. I'm a vampire; they can't exactly stop me talking to who I want.'

Dianne: “Oh, is that right? What about them?”
{She motions to the crowd of people enjoying Magnus’ performance.}
Dianne: “They are literally cheering on a walking corpse. Looks like they got over their “rational fear” pretty quickly. I don’t care if you’ve had altercations with my species before, don’t even think about lumping me with them. I am an individual, and I guarantee that I am nothing like those who came before me.”

{Eliza grins and playfully punches Armin on the shoulder.}
“That’s the spirit!

{Bad news. I won't be able to attend the Shacklestone RP for the next three weekends. I have three consecutive camping trips over these three weekends. Sorry, maybe we can just continue over the weeks?}

(That's fine! I'll still post new RP rooms every weekend so this one won't get too full, but we don't have to RP on Saturdays if you're gonna be busy then.)

'W-well, I know that now, of course,' said the king nervously. 'Otherwise I wouldn't have even set foot in this room.' He glanced over at the crowd cheering on Magnus. 'I must say, I'm surprised at them. I never realised that my people were capable of overlooking their fear of dark creatures...'

Armin laughed. After a few moments, he finally noticed Dianne talking to the king. 'Hmm, I wonder what's going on over there. That guy looks weirdly familiar, but I can't put my finger on it.'

(Thanks for understanding The trips are Friday through Sunday, so I’ll reply Sunday night.)

(Alrighty!)