WritesNaughtyStories

Guilty. I really want to see where things are headed. Next poster buys pens and ink separately.

Somehow Xiangal has taken on the elegance and cultural gravitas of Renaissance Florence or Venice for me. Which begs the question, is there a pleasure house where a master artist, like Florentine clothiers or Venetian glass blowers or Roman painters, craft the greatest pleasures for palaces and princes throughout Xiangalese society? Are there competitions and entrance exams to become the masters' and mistresses' apprentices? Are there tutors and academies that promising Xiangalese and foreigners hope to be admitted to? Or does that all formalize Xiangalese culture in a way that is antithetical to them? And, if it is not Xiangal, who is it that has adopted it?

Looks like we were both posting at about the same time and my question might have sparked an answer to yours. But, beyond Ashebel, the question of Xiangalese slaves and their pleasure or lack thereof, while Xiangal society hinges on pleasure, and it is foundational to their identity, are they the only people who can use their magic this way? Could, say, a Ticca learn to use their magic in a similar way? And, if so, does that constitute a different enough experience for a Xiangal to make it alluring? Are other, more mundane pleasures enough to sustain Xiangal, for at least a little while? Also, is there any kind of feedback loop? Where giving pleasure is pleasurable? I think this might be intriguing for some Xiangal - at least for a minute. To the point of some Xiangal seeking out subjugation - maybe. I would expect the kind of sensory deprivation that causes makes them unwell - do these Xiangalese individuals end up dying young?

So, I have a thought about where some of the Xiagalese abductees end up. I think there's some kind of fortress where the Nullhounds take them while the deals are made, but one of the buyers is (human? Could we be the good guys, once? Feels like there are plenty of real humans that are shitty So maybe someone else?) the lord of a palace - opulent and elegant, like a sumptuous illustrated Rubaiyat, that centers on a lapis lazuli tower. The two shitty names I've come up with are The Palace of The Blue (Azure) Tower or The Palace of the Ocean Tower (which only works if it's nowhere near an ocean). Who resides in this palace and what is it called?

Guilty. More than once - I rode competitively for a while. I have learned that I love horses and riders but am less fond of people who own horses as a business. Next poster has kept livestock.

Not guilty. With bourbon pored on it... maybe... Next poster refuses to drink blended scotch.

Guilty on countless occasions because it's important that people know I'm right. The most notable one is the reason I quit drinking. Next poster has the good sense to let shit go.

Guilty. Always. Chocolate is my first choice, but pretty much anything but strawberry is welcome. Anything strawberry "flavored" can fuck off and not die so I can tell jokes about it it. And heres your hug, dear Next poster loves a plain Coca-Cola.

Funnily enough, not guilty. Skirts start getting lifted and all bets are off though... Next poster uses a bullet journal.

If I plead guilty is there some kind of plea deal available that involves breasts? Next poster has spent $100 on a single order for nail polish (not just one bottle, but one order).

Guilty. I like to cuddle, for a while. While I'm actively snuggling, but then I'm done and I need air and space. Next poster plays in an organized sports league (darts, billiards and tennis all count)

toy poodle

Guilty. I like my Fluevogs. Next poster keeps an article of clothing that does not fit , they would not wear even if it did fit and keeps it just because they like it

Not guilty. Allowing regressive, neo-fascist, pseudo-Christian dickheads to think they deserve a seat at the table got us where we are now. We stopped punching them after the Reagan/Thatcher years - should have never let them be. Everyone else, though, please - join me for drinks and dinner on the lanai. Next poster wants to see the Dylan movie with Tim Chalamet.

Guilty. There's that extended trip to South East Asia to eat and go to fights. Next poster thinks of emigrating.

Not guilty. I've always been inclined toward revenge. Suicide is just letting the bastards win. Living well is the best revenge. Next poster feels like they are living pretty well right now.

Hostile others are few, but dangerous, No one is overly interested in conquering Xiangal - they can barely rule themselves: "No one rules if no one obeys" being the rationale for most would be invaders. Is the threat slavers though? Xiangalese slaves are highly sought after in distant lands, where their exotic beauty and the rich pleasures they offer hard to obtain (although freely available if you travel to Xiangal - but the Xiangal cannot be held or claimed as so many desire) and dangerous Nullhounds - carefully trained void attuned slave hunters who can nullify the pleasure attacks they call "The Dreaming"

Guilty. I'm an American - the vast majority of our food is borrowed and reinterpreted anyway. American cuisine is the culinary equivalent of the English language. But I love Indian, Thai and Central American food - and Pho. Especially pho and cà phê sữa đá. I want to go on a food tour of South East Asia. Next poster doesn't like to go out, they prefer cooking at home

Xiangalese cuisine must be something to experience. What's the name of that floraly, slightly herbaceous tiny flower they grow in paddies? It grows all over the warm, alluvial flood plains of Barra. It's interesting that Varrans outside of Xiangal think of the ka influenced shifts in flavor and texture as abhorrent but insige Xiangal farmers are known for how their ka influences flavor. Are there subtly bitter varieties that point the way to darker ways to experience ka? Is it ka-shah for void attuned magic and ka-vash for fire attunement?

My initial impression was the Xiangalese don't so much craft spells as manifest stimuli the way we caress a lover - acting, experimenting reacting to their pleasure. The more I think about it though, the more I think that the truly revered Xiangalese are artists - precise, intentional, creating deliberate, challenging experiences. Are there dark, twisted Xiangal who explore pain and suffering as legitimate paths of experience? Are they hidden pariahs, driven from the elegant, sensual garden-cities into wild, dark places beyond the reach of society. Or are they forbidden drugs that polite society pretends don't exist?

We have not decided on humans. What does everyone think? I could go either way, but in favor of adding humans, it gives us a way to perceive the world through a human perspective. I concur about the element+mage thing. *mancer seems marginally better. Some thoughts: Aquamancer Pyrothurge Vitalist Aetherist Geothurge Void is vexing. There's no good root coming to mind. Voidmancer isn't awful, but it damn sure ain't great. Not that any of those are great either, but it gives us a place to start the conversation. Please, let's see some regions/cultures.... Everyone add one or two.

Do we actually like any of that? If so, what else do we need to know about either species? Do they interact? Because this is EcchiDreams, can they interbreed? What I want to know is, are there trade routes through the forest? Do they send through the fungal undergrowth? I can't see the Revans letting anyone cut through so is it a long, twisting route or has someone built a suspended highway through the middle layers of the forest? I see some kind of vegan culture, who revere the Birth Mother, coming to trade for mycelium. Are they some other culture of Revans, some new species? What are their clothes and wagons like?

That makes a lot more sense to me. Where the River Vho joins the countless nameless streams that spill down the jagged faces of the Nightrazor Mountains, grows the vast Sunless Forest. Its trees stretch above the world, challenging the Nightrazors' height. Their canopy is so thick light never reached the floor. Here grows the under forest of mushrooms, lichen and gray moss. In the canopy scamper and flitter the delicate Ticca - their patterned wings incapable of true flight, but enough to help them leap from limb to limb in the sun-dappled green. The Ticca clans fight wars of bravery, counting coup with elegant, graceful lunges and pirouetting cuts. The blood of Ticca offends the trees and they are careful not to spill it, and offer tribute to the trees when they do. Among the Ticca, Air mages are treasured - those who can boost their wings, dive and swirl amid the leaves and branches and count a hundred touches before yielding one, are among the most prized. Tales of Naharang, the mightiest of the Air Dancers are told in all the great, communal nests. In the shadows beneath the limbs, where the air is always cool and dew feeds the moss, gather the dreaded fire mages of the Ticca, their power dark and terrible. They dare not strike the nests, but there are those whose wing membranes are scarred, who can do little more than leap from twig to twig who can testify to their fearsomeness. Below, in the perpetual night, lurk the centipede-like Revvans. Two thirds of their bodies have pairs of short legs while at the front they have two pairs of foot-hands and two pairs of manipulative hands. They burrow among the roots, letting air circulate and planting the fungi that allow the trees of the forest to act like a giant brain. Their colony spreads throughout the forest, countless warrens and entrances marked by sculpted stonework forged by their earth mages.

I 'd like to suggest we not do this. Avatar: The Last Airbender leaned heavily on the Fire. Earth, Air and Water nations. Almost anything that we concoct is going to look a lot like that, I'm afraid. While there are probably guilds and colleges centered on the various elements, I have a strong aversion to building political entities based on elements. It gets to the same kind of problem I have with metahumans in Shadowrun - why, after 14 years of living with whatever group birthed them, do people suddenly wander off and band up with strangers because they manifested a hidden genetic trait? That kid, born with an affinity for water and a strong water element doesn't move to Watertown when he turns 14 or whatever. What do societies do with powerful spell casters? How does the importance (or lack thereof) of an element in a society's values manifest? Is there a secret cabal of Air Mages who quietly influence the regent of Blackshard Castle by softly blowing whispers as she sleeps? That all make far more sense to me. HOWEVER - this is a COMMUNITY project. I can be told to sit down and shut up.

I do not think you're wrong.