#rebatrolls

[skegulium]

Cat's Getting Out of the Bag

@rebatrolls

"Orivar's SUCH a hardass!"

The corners of her lips twitched and turned downward at the poorly hushed complaining of her little shitten. Baiyan's trying her best to be subtle, but she's never been good at controlling her voice - especially when she's railing against whatever rules she's been placed under.

"I know like, it's the rules of the ball to make us leave after 10, but like! We could pass as old enough Phemoe! Ugh, she just needs to help vouch for us, it's not like we'd get in any worse trouble than -" Baiyan's words were cut off with a sharp yelp as Orivar's cane rapped hard against the back of her ankles.

"Watch your mouth," Orivar scolded as the child stumbled. "And my name is Lu. Mind yourself."

Big, baleful olive eyes stared and sulked at her little reprimand, but Ori paid no mind to it. Children needed to be taught lessons lest they become a little bit too full of themselves. Wild children had to be tamed.

(There was something to be said about the way Orivar was distinctly reminded of her own caretaker's behavior when she was younger and with his wooden spoon and how much she fussed about that, but she refused to explore that memory further.)

Next to the two of them, Phemoe blinked her even larger, more baleful eyes at the two of them. Chin pointed up, she straightened her shoulder and flicked her long, braided hair over one shoulder of her loose, crimson robes to pat gently at the gold leaves mounted against her horns. "I have foresaw," She drawled ominously. Oh joy, her psychic persona was taking the reigns again. "During our glorious entrance into the castle grounds, deep within the courtyard and as we stood upon the shores of babbling lake -" Fountain, Orivar thought, "- Was an ominous sign of bad luck for trolls. The aural reading I pulled from the golden apple given to our most dearest leader -" Orivar shot her a moody look, "- and the way the leaves fell post apple harvest meant that we do not have long for this world."

She paused. Baiyan stared at her, mouth agape. "Do you mean -"

"By world! That is to say!" Phomoe interrupted dramatically with a flair of fin, "This world of magic and wonder!"

Baiyan sagged in relief at her words while Orivar pinched the bridge of her nose. Still, the seadweller continued.

"I believe we will soon come across ill fated encounters, ties to pernicious scenarios trapped in the shards of frozen time, which henceforth will cause us to begin a quick flight from these grounds. That, my beloved diamond, is the future that I have foresaw as the Oracle of Delphi."

Phomoe fell quiet after her declaration, eyes half lidded and expectant as she held her sheaves of wheat against her chest. Expectant for what? None of the trio knew, not even her. Baiyan looked as perplexed as ever hearing her moirail's 'divination' while Orivar simply looked upon her with exhaustion. As much as she's told the child she never did believe in the so-called future sight of seadwellers (psychic abilities never showed in their cooler bloods after all) the child still insisted.

Still, regardless of what Orivar thought, the two of them continued their shenanigans despite it. Baiyan looked increasingly introspective as she digested her words, and her brow furrowed before Phomoe gasped and grabbed her hand, pointing towards a troll across the way.

"Look! Forsooth!" Forsooth? Orivar squinted in confusion, "A hero in the flesh! Hercules himself, draped in the pelt of the monstrous Nemean lion!" The three of them swiveled to look where Phomoe pointed, instantly spotting the massive troll towering over the rest of the guests. With tight braided hair, too much skin showing, and a glorious cape of the whitest lion skin Orivar has seen, he was hard to miss, though she was unsure how much a lusii skin could really carry an outfit. Animal skins are a dime a dozen and with not much else to help accentuate it? Mediocre, at best -

But did the children share the same thoughts? Orivar grimaced as the answer was absolutely not as the two of them immediately bee-lined towards the troll to leave her in the dust. "Is that a real Lusus pelt?" Baiyan's voice floated over the crowd. The tops of her curls barely hit at his elbow as he turned to stare at the two wrigglers accosting him.

"Did you kill it yourself, O Descendant of Zeus?"

"Wait - the fangs are gold! Did it have gold teeth?!"

"Impervious to blade and spear you may be, but surely not to the chill of Hel herself touching the air - are you not cold?"

"Can I touch it?"

Alright alright alright - time to stop this party before it gets started.

Orivar was quick to step in once Baiyan's hands started reaching for the fur and she used the end of her cane to knock her hand away from the troll. "Can you two behave yourselves without attacking this man all at once?" She said, firm enough to make Baiyan pout and Phomoe blink. "Ask and don't touch. Greet and introduce yourselves. Don't act like animals."

[12thperigeeball]

And last but not least, the winners of our Ball Writing Contest!

"Well The Weather Outside is Frightful"

"Is This the Part Where we Switch Partners?"

@rebatrolls | @byrdstrolls

[activatingaggro]

UV: Are you going to the Ball with Liyiji? UV: Perhaps we can meet up, if you have some free time. I will be going with Iconic.. UV: And Averii. Do you think it is alright to invite both your kismesis and your matesprit to the same event? UV: Perhaps I should have planned this better.

@rebatrolls' Vadaya, with his kismesis and matesprit. Vadaya's going as King Arthur, Averii is Heracles, and ID is a supplicant of TDO.

Vadaya's embroidery is stolen from Cal's absolutely gorgeous commission of him last year, go look at it and marvel!

[fantrollology]

Alaska, do you get many eccentric patients?

"I wouldn't say I see any more than any other fleet doctor. I do have some recurring patients with notable abilities, and I've dealt with some interesting cases because of those abilities, but outside of that working with them is like any other patient."

His gaze turns to the ceiling and he presses back in his chair to consider this for a second. Did anyone stand out? After a moment, he taps his pen on his desk and returns to look at you.

"Actually, I do contract work for fleet programs occasionally. I'd say one of the more eccentric mix of trolls I've worked with are probably those over in the IPC. Specifically those within the Rebel Rehabilitation Program. Lots of stories there."

[prince-liest]

@rebatrolls I feel like this was a fittingly cinematic moment to immortalize.

[mirkstrolls]

And adding on to that, how important is being hemoanon to Taz? Is it simply business, or are there religious connotations to it? Why did she choose going hemoanon over caste impersonation?

It’s pretty important to her, but the reasons why are somewhat of a muddle!

Taz got religion at roughly the same time she became aware of her ancestral legacy, both of which combined to give her one hell of a grudge against the status quo. Caste inequality wrecked her ancestor’s life; caste inequality led to the death of her religion’s messiah figure, that sort of thing.

The actual order of events, though, started with the ancestry thing. Taz inherited a vast treasure, but she also inherited several enemies who may or may not be on the lookout for the next Tasend. Her ancestor’s letter advised her to conceal her caste, name, symbol, and even horn shape – Taz chose to go hemoanon rather than impersonate another caste because of the religious implications, and also because if she couldn’t be her Real Self, she’d prefer to dodge the whole system. 

And then once she was hemoanon, she figured she might as well get into the criminal underground. If everyone already thinks you’re a criminal, why not roll with it?

[cloudbattrolls]

GLIESE: reunite.

It’s weird when the sky is a ceiling, even if it’s a really high ceiling. Nott station rotates around the planet like a particularly crazy top; it probably keeps going through the sheer power of spite.

No wonder Hadean wound up here.

You worry your fang with a lip, eyes darting back and forth in the crowded streets. Some trolls openly carry guns, others sport obvious tech on their bodies. Cigarette smoke and trying-too-hard cologne waft over you as you take out your phone and tap the map icon.

It’s an open space, Hadean will be able to see you coming. You’re dressed in as casual of wear as you have, blue t-shirt and sweatpants, stuff Karina brought you that you’re sure will come at some kind of cost. You still can’t figure her out.

Whatever. You get to see him! That’s what matters.

You bounce over to the open-air restaurant and scan for him, but he’s never hard to find. He’s right in the line for the sizzling vendor’s stand.

“You got piercings!” You say, incredulous and delighted, shifting from foot to foot as your ears flick. “Now you have a new brand of douchebag to fit into.” You toss off, but your huge grin takes away from the snideness.

You want to hug him.

You press your fingers together instead, your worry crashing back down on you. 

Will Hadean even want to be friends with a psychic blueblood anymore?

[ladytrollfishes]

How often does Download think of his caste in relaton to his teammates? Does he think it influences the way they all treat him compared to each other?

Often, really. He’s probably more aware of it than his teammates, but he’s probably aware that it influences how he treats them, than they treat him? He’s confident they love and respect him and don’t think of him as the lowblood of the team. 

Like. Firewall has him interpret for her because he gets to tell people to fuck off, and she thinks its funny that a yellowblood does it, but that’s not because Firewall thinks differently of him. That’s because other people think differently of him.

But half of Download’s insistence that everyone else be on the front lines and is also an asshole about it, is because he knows that his teammates are tougher than him, and could basically wipe him out clean. He can’t be bothered by the fact he doesn’t have privacy because he’s lowblooded and lives with Sniffer. Sniffer mothers the people she’s around, because that’s how she copes with listening in on people constantly, but Download hates it when she does it because he’s absolutely 100% vested in maintaining his personal agency in his day to day, that most yellowbloods with useful psi don’t get this, and her slight infringement on it is a reminder of those blood caste politics. He gets snappy with Sniffer about this. 

He’s bothered by the fact Virus could hop in his head and use his psi and basically just keep him around for doing puzzles because he knows his psi is the most useful part of him! He also dislikes that Virus reminds him of all the gross shit he has to do on the job, and so Virus gets the most shit from Download, but also Virus is like a dumb baby cactus who rolls over people’s toes and offers hotel rooms to children and he’s touched by kindness even though he’s not particularly inclined to be kind himself. 

He’s not so bothered by Firewall. They go way back. He communicates for her and the best with her, and her powers just like. short out his, which yes, could get him sick, but also like... doesn’t really impose herself on him at all. She cooks for him, he talks for her- BEST BUDS (: 

And of course, sometimes his teammates do that castist thing and he’s like. EYE ROLLS and gives them shit accordingly. But you know, he doesn’t always say why. Sometimes he just gives them shit. 

[anontrolls]

> Kindra: Do a fetch quest.

[ closed starter for @rebatrolls ]

You are not, typically, the sort of person to play errand-guppy for other trolls. For one, it’s not a particularly efficient job for you to be doing, and for another - well. It’s hardly fitting for the station you’d prefer most people to see you as a part of. Just because you’re not, legally speaking, much to speak of doesn’t mean you have to act like it.

Unfortunately for that impression, however, you sometimes have to make sacrifices on that front for other goals. In this particular situation, it’s got just a little to do with wishing to make a better friend of dear Riccin, and more than a little bit to do with the opportunity to test your new theory on Kindra!

Riccin has asked Kindra to retrieve something for them, from their old hive. It’s a rather important fetch quest, the sort that you’re immediately somewhat disinterested in on the basis of it being for an ancient book Riccin claims to have excavated from a set of nearby ruins. Your utter lack of religious or ancestral beliefs, and also, well... not being able to read the damn thing, you’re assuming, means you’re not particularly invested in the item or its impending translation, yourself.

But it benefits you to be interested in what your friends are interested in, and you are interested in Kindra, who Riccin has soundly instructed to not enter their actual hive. You can sort of see why, standing in front of it - it’s an epic thing, a towering thing of stone with large panels outstanding from one circular face that rotate as the wind blows.

It looks old, is what you think. You don’t imagine ‘old’ is a good place for Kindra to be. For you, though - well, you just hope Riccin hasn’t left the place too cluttered. It doesn’t look as though it’s got an elevator installed.

Still, you’re not wandering in there on your own just yet, not before he arrives with the keys. You can jimmy a lock with the best of them, but you don’t exactly want Kindra arriving to watching you break into his best friend’s hive.

Besides, you have a surprise for him that’s just as likely to please him as it is to put him off, so you’ll take all you can get to tip the judgment in your favor. Thus, you are left standing on the stone path up to Riccin’s monumental hive, hands tucked primly to the small of your back - just for long enough that when you see Kindra, you grin, blatantly fluttering your fins in greeting.

“Fancy meeting you here, darling,” you call down, feigning shock, “Don’t tell me you’re also here for the robbery? You hardly seem the type, my dear!”

[trollsjam-blog]

this is just a psa my girlfriend @rebatrolls completes me and i love her, bless

[skegulium]

[Don't you ever tame your demons But always keep 'em on a leash]

----

WOOOOO RIGHT IN TIME!

Commission for @rebatrolls of her troll Vadaya Urvata! It was a really fun experience getting to dress one of my favorite boys, and I learned a lot about rococo leaves and floral patterns since I uh. Decided to be stupid and hand draw on the gold embroidery. And rendered the mask.

This really was a labor of love and I'm really honored to have the chance to draw him proper and looking snazzy!!

Thank you again Reba for commissioning me!

[Full Resolution]

[12thperigeeball]

WRITING CONTEST NOMINATION

Ball Writing Contest Nominee No. 2

Submitted by: activatingAggro This drabble features: Nanako, Melete, Glitch, Vadaya, Tomie, Saevus.

The trolls Nanako and Melete belong to activatingAggro, Glitch and Vadaya and Saevus belong to rebatrolls, Tomois belongs to skegulium

This drabble is… [x] Platonic [ ] Romantic

https://www.tumblr.com/activatingaggro/770212842827857920/jai-la-boule-au-ventre?source=share

[activatingaggro]

“There you are, little priest,” a familiar voice drawled, and Nanako buried her face in her hands as Glitch’s voice echoed through the bathroom. (Not on purpose, she reminded herself, because Glitch didn’t know she was in here.) “Looking good enough to pray to yourself, yes?” “As you are aware, that is theologically implausible,” Melete said, and Nanako didn’t have to see her to know the expression she was making. That was the problem with exes! She didn’t have to see either of them to know exactly the scene that was outside. The scene that she’d have to walk past - with the two trolls she wanted to see here the least - if she wanted to escape the bathroom and get back to the rest of the ball.

@rebatrolls' Glitch and my Melete for the ball! Nana got dumped in pitch and flush, which does conveniently leave the pitch quadrant open for what's mostly not a spite-fuelled date.

Lore deets on outfits below:

TDO, "The Descending One," is a pre-Empire god associated with burrowing bees, creation, and the underground.. and, to an extent, horrorterrors. TDO's cult held that life was created six times, and they were involved twice, creating mind honey bees in the first world iteration and rainbowdrinkers in the fifth. These creatures are uniquely tied to the depths, capable of returning from the far underground without losing their minds. Bees were psychopomps, guiding troll souls to the Underworld, while rainbowdrinkers were feared for disassembling trolls and delivering their bodies to the same destination. TDO was both the creator of rainbowdrinkers and a protector against them. Trolls invoked TDO’s protection by burning circular marks on their wrists and throats, offering themselves as sacrifices to the god to deter rainbowdrinkers in the area TDO's cult was most prevalent. The hope that was that any attacks would then be seen as sacrilegious theft. However, in practice, trolls often resorted to sacrificing a blueblood as bait to ensure safe travel, viewing the rare survivors of such rituals as blessed by TDO. Glitch's outfit represents TDO, while Melete's outfit matches to a blueblooded supplicant! Is this kind of fucked up? Melete's already prepared a six paragraph verbal theological essay on why it mostly isn't.

[prince-liest]

Curse of Strahd: An Angel, a Devil, and a Grandmother Walk into a Bar

Basic session summary for the Curse of Strahd campaign I’m DMing for @pigeonfancier, @cloudbatcave, and @rebatrolls. We had our second session today, in which they successfully defeated a potentially haunted suit of armor using what was technically a sword-and-board, in the sense that it was a sword permanently attached to a decorative board backing used to hang it on a wall.

CAST LIST

Rose (Aasimar Cleric), played by Mar (@pigeonfancier)

Ursa (Dwarf Sorcerer), played by Cloudy (@cloudbatcave)

Faithfulness (Tiefling Paladin), played by Reba (@rebatrolls)

SESSION SUMMARY 2 (1/15/19)

The three of you entered the Durst household at the behest of two young children waiting outside, who had pleaded with you to rescue their crying baby brother from his nursery on the third floor. Wary of a monster in the basement and nervous about your lack of equipment, Faithfulness immediately burgled a decorative shield hanging from a wall, and subsequently a similarly decorative sword attached to a wooden backing mount. Now marginally more equipped, you began your search for the missing child, making your way to the third floor nursery.

Before entering the nursery, you encountered a suit of armor - which Faithfulness immediately prodded with his sword, prompting the previously still object to animate and attack the closest party member. After an awkward and damaging battle that ranged up and down the manor’s spiral staircase, Rose managed to lever his decorative sword into a hole that Ursa and Faith magically burned into the chest of the suit of armor, and hauled it over the staircase banister, sending it crashing to its destruction on the first floor. And then proceeded to magically mend and burgle that, too.

Thus armored, you explored the nursery, discovering that the crying baby was but a disappearing apparition, and meeting the ghostly figure of the baby’s nursemaid. Unable or unwilling to communicate, she eventually watched Faithfulness from the nurse’s suit mirror as the party discovered a hidden door to the attic, where you plotted to open a locked door before barricading yourselves in an empty room for a long rest.

HIGHLIGHT REEL

Rose seems to be determined to burn the house down, and has alluded to attempting to do so several times - seemingly not entirely sure if he’s willing to wait until the party is out of the house.

Ursa, delighted at the party’s success, attempts to high-five Faith... who stares blankly and leaves her hanging. Good will? What’s that?

Rose: “Warlocks fuck!” / Ursa: “Of course warlocks fuck, it’s just... but... I lost my train of thought.”

Rose excitedly declaring that he has discovered that the nursemaid is, in fact, a ghost! ... Several minutes after Ursa and Faith had reached the conclusion themselves and were already debating what to do about that.

[mirkstrolls]

What are your thoughts on hemoanonymity? How much of a social stigma do you think there is against it and how much do you think forgoing a solid caste can impact a troll's life?

Because of the amount of hemoanons in both canon and the FTC, I don’t play hemoanonymity as being a flagrantly illegal thing, or a sure sign of mutant status. It does, however, carry a heavy implication of criminality; social reactions would be similar to, in our world, seeing someone in all black clothing and a ski mask strolling around the streets – or, I guess, seeing a stereotypical “gangster” in one’s white suburban neighborhood. Most people assume hemoanons are criminals!

And, like, sometimes they are. They’re also possibly lowblood rebels, slumming highbloods, hippies of all castes, people going incognito for personal reasons, and, of course, mutants. But the first thing that would pop into your average troll’s head on seeing a gray symbol is “welp, they’re probably gonna steal my wallet or try to sell me drugs in a few minutes.”

Which does of course affect the hemoanon’s life! Short of places like Malseka, where the police force is hemoanon except for their officers, forgoing caste markers can get you kicked out of a lot of places in “nice” neighborhoods. Some people might not sell to you or let you rent a hive, some people might consider any crime against you more permissible because, well, you’re a hemoanon, who are you going to tell?

[cloudbattrolls]

you’ll have to repay him somehow.

Vadaya was the one who made sure the cavern let Ullane go (thanks to ID informing him) and Ullane was pleased to see him but did not look anyone in the eye the whole time because she was also embarrassed. and slightly mad at ID. did he think she needed someone else to bail her out aside from Queenpin authority?

but at the same time: she was glad Vadaya was there, even if she feels like she owes him a favor.