#/half of my crack back in my days of playing my xv muse

[mjm5655]

12. what roleplay trends do you remember from the year you started tumblr rp? how did you feel about those trends?

munday meme // accepting ! // @electricea

in the fandom i started in here, which was the ffxv one way back in 2016, there was a lot of crack, & dash com, & honestly when i look at that rpc, as small as it is now, i still see a lot of that tends to go on there. i did used to participate in it myself but honestly, i find both hard to get into now, i prefer to write threads, & develop some proper plots & dynamics between muses.

not saying i don't do crack anymore, but it's something i rather not have on my blog, like me & tasha ( @chosenbythecrystal ), had an ooc convo with each other that just involved noctis vc and majima vc about the pair playing games & eventually bonding over fishing of all things. but even that was kind of plotting, because i'm the kind of person who can turn a silly convo into "man we should actually roleplay this in a proper thread sometime".

[olympivnshq]

congratulations izabella !  deliberating on EURYDICE was really intense for us because we got two applications that were equally beautiful. what stood out for us was how much of an individual you made this character in a way that made us believe she is the tragic protagonist of her own story. your passionate advocation for that came through in every section in your application, and while it was a tough decision, we know we ultimately made the right one. we’re happy to welcome you with your first faceclaim choice: BENSU SORAL.

☆ﾟ*・ﾟ  OOC INFO.

Hi there! I’m Izabella, I’m 22 years old and I currently live in CST. I’m super excited to apply, especially since I’m such a fan of greek mythology. I’m also a gif maker in my free time for the rpc!

☆ﾟ*・ﾟ  DEITY  —  GENDER. AGE RANGE.

Eurydice, Female, (23-27)

☆ﾟ*・ﾟ MORTAL NAME. JOB/OCCUPATION. BOROUGH/NEIGHBORHOOD.

Adara Phillips, Cabaret Dancer & Waitress, Greenpoint

☆ﾟ*・ﾟ AESTHETICS.

i. The pale orange sky of a 5am morning ii. Flowers growing back as thorns iii. Ripped fishnets paired with boots iv.The lonely howl of wind through an empty apartment v. A single spark of hope vi. Smudged eyeliner vii. Standing in a crowd of strangers viii. Cracks on the ceiling ix. An old leather jacket, well worn x. The smell of hot coffee xi. Cherry lips, a smart mouth xii. A canary in a golden cage xiii. Guarded walls xiv. Winter snowfall on the city xv. The hazy lights of a club

☆ﾟ*・ PLAYLIST.

E U R Y D I C E; A playlist (listen here)

ft. H.E.R, Frank Ocean, Billie Eilish, & more

i.  Sweet, sweet fate I had about all that can take You’re my living in the breath that I make Is it yours? I wonder

ii.  Shower your affection, let it rain on me Don’t leave me on this white cliff Let it slide down to the, slide down to the sea

iii. Oh, Father tell me, do we get what we deserve? Whoa, we get what we deserve Way down we go

iv.  It’s seeming more and more Like all we ever do is see how far it bends Before it breaks in half and then We bend it back again

v.  I’d be the dreadful need in the devotee That made him turn around And I’d be the immediate forgiveness In Eurydice Imagine being loved by me!

vi.  But nothing is better sometimes Once we’ve both said our goodbyes Let’s just let it go

vii. And we were grown on the same round little blue dot Although the answers will take their time and the spinning won’t stop So could it be that the nightmare is upon us And heavy hearts can’t decide when they’ve had enough

viii. Two drifters off to see the world There’s such a crazy world to see We’re all chasin’ after all the same Chasing after our rainbow’s end

☆ﾟ*・ HOW WOULD YOU PLAY THEM?

( y o u t h )

Disillusionment. Adara is no stranger to the darkness the world has to offer, too many times has it plagued her path. Born into a poor family, each breathe was a struggle. There was never enough food on the table, never time for love to blossom when her parents were forced to work graveyard shifts. In a house that threatened to fall apart, Adara began to understand just who she could rely on: herself. Still, little inklings of childhood dreams would float into her mind. Was there a life out there waiting for her, warmth and yearning pushing her to try and find it. So she did- at the naive age of eighteen, she packed a bag of her belongings and disappeared into the world. The greyhound bus took her from her empty South Carolina town into the heart of New York City. For the first time in forever, she could taste a possibility on her tongue: the kind of future where she didn’t have to live day by day.

It wasn’t like that.

( n e w y o r k ‘ s l i g h t s)

She’d gone from place to place, landing in a rundown apartment that was far from being a home. The cracks on the ceilings mirrored that of the girl, each one growing more severe with every encounter. What money she had she hid under her mattress, the dollars beginning to dwindle under New York’s gaze. In an act of desperation, Adara found herself in an interview for a cabaret bar. The flier’s bold letters made a claim: be a star, shine like a dream. That was all she really wanted, a chance. So she took it head-on, promises coming back to tie a rope around her neck. Instead of a glimmering stage, she was tossed into the works as a waitress and dead beat dancer. The crowd was reminiscent of sharks in bloody waters- the disgusting comments made them high, all at the expense of Adara. And kindness? It was as prevalent as water in a drought.

Dreams withered away and the knife twisted in further.

( t h e h e a r t a c h e)

What little solace she had was in a neighbor. He’d introduced himself with a soft smile, eyes that shone like brilliant emeralds. It was hard not to lay all her hope into him, when every other hour spent was under the shadow of skyscrapers. Falling in love was something Adara had never done before, and it terrified her. We’ll run away from here, we’ll find something better. They were promises again, made under linen covers and the stars. Yet once she was ready to give herself away completely, heart in the palm of her hands, he left without a sound. No note, no word, nothing but the wind blowing through an empty apartment. It was a lesson learned- trust no one but yourself.

( t h e d e b t )

Money was what made the world around, and she never seemed to be able to get enough of it. Each dollar made was stuffed away, rent looming overhead, demanding to be paid. The first of the month would arrive with a fury, and Adara would struggle to make the payment. She’d fall short another hundred, and her debt would begin to rise. The threat of eviction notices began to pile up at her door, and she’d plead with the landlord to give her another chance… however the question remains, how many chances does she have left?

( e u r y d i c e & a d a r a )

What I wanted to do was have Adara’s life mirror that of Eurydice’s. I think that the original version is someone that was plagued in her own fate, a tragic hero that despite her hope, was taken apart by the world. She was known for being resilient and putting her faith in others, only to be betrayed. Such was the case when it came to Adara chasing her dreams and the man she was willing to fall in love with. I think a common thing between each character is their transition from innocent hopeful to a realist. Both approach life as a pragmatist, after understanding that in order to survive, they cannot hold onto things like hope… however being human, this is something that they desperately want in their life (despite not being willing to admit it). A sense of warmth, someone to hold. Adara, like Eurydice, carries the heavy burden of being alone and it’s an extremely tiring thing. They each trudge on because they have to, but if given a better option, both can be swayed into falling for a trap. For Eurydice, this is the encounter with Hades or even marrying Orpheus. For Adara, this was the lure of the big city and promise.

All of these factors determine how I would portray the character if given the chance, both Adara and her mythic counterpart: as someone whose weathered, someone who finds complications in giving away her heart too easy because of fear, someone who understands that the world can sometimes be a machine that takes people and spits them out… and someone who desperately wants this to not be true.

Personality traits

+ Resilient   +Independent  +Complex  +Fiery

+/- Cunning

-Desperate  -Unhappy  -Disenchanted   -Guarded

*please include both how’d you play their “mortal” version, as well as their original, unadulterated selves.

answer these questions: 1. are they more likely to stand with the pantheon or against it?  ( if you are choosing a god they may endeavor to dismantle it for whatever reason )

I think that Eurydice would potentially stand against the Pantheon, after all, she sees the gods and goddesses as beings who have everything. It’s their job to help take care of the mortals, but she herself has been left to the devices of the world. It gives her little to believe in, and if it’s beneficial to stand against the pantheon and serves her, then she would do it. 2. what is their stand on mortals?

Mortals are unkind. Mortals have been put through hell and back, Eurydice included. However if they can tap into their human nature, maybe just maybe, the world can begin to bloom again.

☆ﾟ*・ SAMPLE PARA (OPTIONAL)

A mosaic of pink and orange painted the sky, dawn falling on the city that never slept. For a moment, she could hold onto a sense of calm. No streetcar horns, no sound of the train rumbling past her apartment, no neighbors airing out their Saturday morning grievances. Peace. If only. It’d been another late-night shift at the bar, a job that left little to be desired considering the clientele. Come on sugar, how about you ditch the drinks? When she’d been younger, she always dreamed of becoming something great- one of those actors that shined under the spotlight. Maybe a dancer at the ballet. Unfortunately, life had cast aside dreams in favor of reality. There was no room for fantasies when she needed to survive. So, another grimy eight hour was another table set with dinner.

Cigarette extinguished into the ashtray, her eyes looked across the street at a familiar bedroom. The light was on, he was probably headed to work again. They’d met on the NQ train, each encounter furthering the blush that threatened to creep in her cheeks. But it was always the same. The minute life offered a warm bed and a hand to hold, a sense of doubt nudged her heart aside. There was no room for love, not for a woman who didn’t have the luxury of falling. Another person was a liability, and wouldn’t they only hurt her and disappoint her like the rest? Adara’s gaze lingered for a moment, the myriad of what-ifs swimming in her mind before she cast them aside. Life didn’t work that way. Life wasn’t kind.

☆ﾟ*・ ANYTHING ELSE?

here is adara’s muse tag

[the-telegraph-sport-yahoopa-blog]

Exclusive Warren Gatland interview: England are feeling the heat for Six Nations, which is great news for my Lions

As befits a combative former New Zealand hooker Warren Gatland has always been drawn to the fray. So when he talks of his relish at seeing England obliged to stand tall against all-comers in the 2017 Six Nations championship you know that his enthusiasm is genuine. 

In a Lions year a Kiwi with deep-seated Welsh connections rooting for a powerful English performance as they look to defend their Grand Slam title is part of the enduring appeal of this four-yearly sporting odyssey.

It throws together unlikely bedfellows, forges seemingly conflicting alliances, and on the eve of the championship it is in keeping with such contrived affiliations that the Lions head coach should want England to be a focal point of his watching brief.

In Gatland’s eyes, a dominant England is good news for the Lions’ prospects in New Zealand in six months’ time.

“Absolutely,” said Gatland. “The best thing is to have a strong England for the simple reason that all the other countries will be gunning for them, looking to knock them over, and so England will have to cope with that as well deal with the pressure of expectation that is on them as Grand Slam champions and on this long run of successive wins. 

Greenwoods Lions XV

"A Lions tour is about pressure, of all sorts, and particular in the Test series, finding a way to come out on top. You’ve got a couple of shots at it in the Tests and that’s it. All over. Four more years until the next crack. So, for England, can they do it? Can they win another Grand Slam? Can they go and break the All Blacks record for most Test wins in a row [18, with England currently on 14]? 

"The players from the other countries will be absolutely up for it, busting a gut to put one over on England because the rewards for doing so are going to be massive, in the tournament itself and potentially for the Lions selection.

"I want to see how they go at England and how England respond. I want pressure to bring the out of them all. I want those players to front up. I want the English players to front up. And if they do come through it all, yes, that is good for the Lions.”

Gatland admits to being more upbeat about the Lions chances in New Zealand than he was at this stage four years ago when he was running the rule over what he had in front of him as he plotted the Lions’ strategy to take on the Wallabies in Australia.

As it was, the final game of the 2013 Six Nations between Wales and England at the Millennium Stadium turned into a selection decider, Wales smashing Stuart Lancaster’s side, 30-3, ruining the tour chances of many in the process, notably England captain, Chris Robshaw. Not surprisingly the tour party had a Welsh hue to it.

Yet some of those self-same players, such as Lions captain, Sam Warburton, centres, Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies, have yet to hit those heights of form that made them such compelling items in a Lions shirt. Gatland did not identify individuals but his message is clear.

“There are a lot of guys from 2013 still playing but if they are to be selected for 2017, their form is going to have to improve,” said Gatland. “There are a lot of things up in the air and there is a lot of exciting talent about.”

Gatland name-checks Irish duo, centres Robbie Henshaw and Gary Ringrose, as players who have caught his eye, understandably so given that the Lions coach was in Chicago in November to witness Ireland’s dramatic win over the All Blacks. England lock, Maro Itoje, also crops up in conversation, as do a raft of others. Gatland has some 70-80 players on his radar and will have to whittle that down to 35-37 by mid-April when the touring party is announced.

“I’m really upbeat as to the squad we will take,” said Gatland. “We have so many choices. We’re looking for various elements: X-factor, because that is what the All Blacks have got but we’ve got those players, too, Stuart Hogg in Scotland, for example. We’ve got a range of things. We are going to have some size, some physicality, some footwork, some pace, skill, experience – it’s all there. We can match the All Blacks in that regard.”

There is much to be decided in the coming weeks, the captaincy included. Gatland professes an open mind.

“Is it someone who has been a Lion already [Alun Wyn Jones or Rory Best qualify on that basis] or someone who has done a good job in this Six Nations?” muses Gatland. “And yes, if Dylan Hartley leads England to another Grand Slam that could sway it.

"Dylan has done a great job with his leadership with England. The sending-off [for Northampton] looked like frustration to me. But Dylan has to contend with pressure, too, that of Jamie George pushing for his place. As for Sam [Warburton], he’s got to get selected for Wales first and foremost. The captain has to be sure of his place. If he is not, then we will ruthless on tour and drop him. ”

Warren Gatland with Sir Ian McGeechan at a Telegraph Lions event 

 Galtand has just returned from his native New Zealand and is savouring the interest expressed in the Lions the length and breadth of the country. There was plenty of media speculation, too, that Gatland’s son, Bryn, a fly-half in the Auckland Blues development squad, might be selected in the Provincial Union XV for the opening game of the tour in Whangarei. Dad has promised to send the Lions' big men down his channel. 

The former Waikato hooker and All Blacks’ back-up to Sean Fitzpatrick has a high profile in his homeland, with a degree of scrutiny that will only increase. Gatland found himself drawn as a clown on the front page of the New Zealand Herald after he rebuked the paper for depicting Wallaby coach, Michael Cheika, in such terms.

“The clown bit was bad enough but it wasn’t even a happy clown, just a miserable-looking sod,” said Gatland, who had also taken his countrymen to task for what he billed as their ‘arrogance’ in repeatedly booing Australia’s New Zealand-born playmaker, Quade Cooper. “My comments got twisted but the point is that even though it is only a minority, we, as New Zealanders, ought to be better than that. The All Blacks are very conscious of how they project. They’re humble and that’s how it should be.”

Gatland knows the Kiwi rugby psyche as well as anyone. His was a typical upbringing in Hamilton with rugby the heartbeat of the community.

“I can remember my father taking me along to local club, Eastern Surburbs in Hamilton, black and white hoops, as a five year old and every Friday night I used to fold up my shorts and my jersey to put them at the end of bed, ready to go the next day, excited about what was ahead,” recalls Gatland. “It was all barefooted rugby. I didn’t wear boots until I was 10 or 11. I didn’t wear shoes to school until I was 12. That was the way it was. Every playtime, every lunchtime you were out there, playing bullrush or rugby, just throwing and kicking a ball around. That was the way you were brought up.”

Gatland has vivid memories of the 1971 Lions side beating the All Blacks, just New Zealand’s second ever series defeat on home soil, the Springboks winning in 1937. And those are the only times they have been toppled in New Zealand, an arresting statistic. Yet John Dawes’ Lions managed it.

“I was eight years old and I thought New Zealand had invented the sport so, yes, it did have a real impact on me,” said Gatland. “I’d be quite happy if we manage to play as the 1971 Lions did with their hard, robust, tough forwards, skilful backs and kickers as well.”

Gatland was a No.8 until he turned 20, good enough to even keep the legendary All Black, Michael Jones, out of the Northern Regions New Zealand Schools side that Gatland captained. He was a stalwart of the Waikato team but got splinters in his backside on the All Black replacement bench understudying Fitzpatrick, never winning a cap. 

He did play against the Lions, though, scoring a try for Waikato in their 38-10 victory in the final midweek match of the tour. Gatland knows how much that game meant to Waikato, all that pent-up desire to get stuck into the tourists in their one visit in the 12-year cycle. This tourists will be primed for what awaits. Each and every team they face on the ten-match trip will want a piece of the Lions.

“Society has changed but rugby still means so much to New Zealanders,” said Gatland. “I went past my old school, Hamilton Boys HS, a few years back and whereas you’d see kids here playing soccer, there everyone was playing touch rugby in the playground, using shoes for a ball, or rolled up socks, if needs be. Those handling skills are honed from birth almost. It’s in their blood. And rugby is an expression of what the nation is about too. It binds them together. That’s what the Lions face.”

Gatland, the well-travelled, multi-layered head coach with an insider’s awareness of New Zealand, knows the terrain better than any. The 2017 British and Irish Lions, with the competitive riches of a Six Nations championship to fortify their ranks, will want for nothing.   

Warren Gatland was speaking on behalf of Standard Life Investments, principal partner of The British & Irish Lions and jersey sponsor of the 2017 tour to New Zealand

Rugby world XV