Recent posts by TheDarkFlame on Kongregate

Topic: Forum Games / Master FGF Thread

Don’t worry, I’m pretty much the definition of inactive. I mean, I can write and write and write, go on forever creating settings, characters, scenarios, etc… But I also tend to get bogged down with other things and just disappear suddenly.

If any names I recognise would like to send me a PM, let me know how things are around here, who’s still around, what stupid drama I’ve missed, etc, I’d be grateful.

Topic: Forum Games / Master FGF Thread

So er, hey guys. What’s new?

…Er wow, this page of this thread is kinda utterly terrible. What gives?

Topic: Forum Games / The World After (Ather City 2) [Main Game]

[Hey, in my vision of Britain, the sprawling cities and road networks have deteriorated or even disappeared due to neglect, the remnants of civilisation living in sparse, ramshackle towns with little or no interaction with the wider world. The Monarchy and Parliament have been removed long ago, and the country relies on more local, informal forms of leadership. London, once the central hub of the UK, has (or had) no trace of its rich heritage or famous landmarks, having become a fortress-city with a violent, anarchistic population as there are too few guards to treat their behaviour as anything more than normal, unimportant chaos.

We’re not basing this thing on reality, by any means.]

Topic: Forum Games / The World After (Ather City 2) [Main Game]

[How long are you guys going to take to get to England?]

Topic: Forum Games / The World After (Ather City 2) [Main Game]

Argent – Whitehall Manor

As the three of us wandered towards the grand iron gate, I wondered where I would go from here. I’d left my ancestral home fifteen years beforehand, and from then on every day had a purpose, whether I was working on London, or trying to get to the next city, or just trying to survive the night. Now, I was back home again, and I could relax, but I couldn’t bear the tedium. In the past week I had introduced my friends to my family, and then what? Walked around like the security guard of a museum while my father rambled on about the house and its vast history, trapping the newcomers beneath a waterfall of inane factoids.

At last, I had something to do. But this wouldn’t take long. Perhaps five minutes at the most.

There were easily a hundred men pushing against the gates, and no doubt more were joining the crowd with every second. The gates would withstand anything short of a direct run by an armoured tank at full speed, and the only tank in the south of England was in our vault, being in no state to charge anything.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment, allowing myself to prepare, and then opened my mind. I could feel the fear emanating from Gladdys on my left, and Lukas on my right was emotional as a statue. I studied the crowd, feeling the aura, the power of their brains working, their thoughts and emotions rippling back and forth. This was something new to me, something dangerous and unknown.

On an individual scale, the mind is a complicated thing on its own, a vortex of ideas, feelings and emotions, but en masse the individual mind gives way to a group consciousness, every person a drop in the lake as it flows and ripples, pulling everyone together. A leader can take advantage of this, and whip the lake into a whirlpool of energy, ready to be directed towards a specific goal, but the energy there is only usable if you push it where you want it to go. A pent-up crowd without a leader will eventually dissapate, as everyone gets bored and goes home.

But this was no crowd, outside the gate. This was something else, a chaotic mess of energy writhing around like a swarm of bees, a terrible cacophony of noise, the rage of the mob an infinite furnace to fuel the tempest of thoughts. A hundred minds, all full of rage. All aimed at us.

“That’s enough! Stop this nonsense, and go home! There’s no need for all this!” I bellowed as loud as I could to reach the farthest point of the chaos, my voice an unignorable command. But there was no loose thread to pull, no hand I could play to get them on my side. And I couldn’t work on the people individually, the mob itself was too strong, and all-encompassing.

“Richard… Something isn’t right, why aren’t they listening?” Gladdys spoke up in a quiet voice. I didn’t want to admit that I couldn’t do it, but Lukas was already on the ball.

“He’s one of the enemy, his words mean nothing. His voice means nothing.”
“Yes, they’re driven by rage, and there’s too many of them for me to stop.” Stating the obvious wasn’t helping, but I didn’t know how to deal with them. The first attempt had given me a violent headache. Another strike might force my brain out of my ears.
“Surely you can do something?” Gladdys wasn’t any help against such numbers either, and she knew it.
“Well, what do you suggest we do? How do I stop a mob?” I started to panic slightly, being out of control was a feeling I was very uncomfortable with.
“They’re mostly unarmed. I can easily take down many of them. That might turn them.” There was no humour in my bodyguards voice.
“We can’t just kill them, Lukas. They live in our villiage, and even if they didn’t, that would be barbaric.”

Lukas stepped forward and drew his sword from the sheath behind his back, the sliding steel ringing like a bell as he drew the five-foot blade and speared it into the soft ground. For a brief moment, all fell silent. The scarred, muscular mercenary stood tall, his matted mane falling down to his shoulders, his eyes burning in rage. He crossed his arms and addressed the crowd.

“Who is in charge here? Which of you is leading this parade?” He roared at the mob, who suddenly panicked over who to blame. Nobody wanted to challenge the warrior in front of them, even from the other side of a solid iron gate. After a few moments of bickering, the crowd vomited a man weilding a rake.

“But, no, you bas-” He muttered to the people behind him, but had no choice as he was pushed on, and let through a small gap in the gate.
“Come here. Now.” Lukas pushed on with the fear offensive, and had the entire crowd’s attention, drowning the crowd’s anger in a torrent of fear. But I had to let him finish the show, or the anger would erupt again.

The man was a farmer, and had never fought in his life, but he clung to his rake like a magic talisman as he steped forward. In the blink of an eye it was snatched from him, snapped in half and tossed aside. Lukas took him by the throat and hauled him a foot off the ground so they could speak face-to-face.

“I have fought my way through life, every day a constant battle for survival. Swords, knives, guns, fists, Whatever I’ve had, every day I’ve had to kill something to survive. Warriors. Assassins. Enraged animals. I have even killed bears with these hands, so I’m pretty sure I could get rid of you.

“You, who have lived in this town, safe and secure in the knowledge that there is nobody brave enough to attack a town guarded by a dragon. You, who want these people dead, just because they are mutants, mutants who have for decades put up with this unrest, and refused to just have you all eaten. You, who will happily storm the home of a friend of mine, a man I greatly admire, and have devoted my life to protecting. So why shouldn’t I kill you? Give me one reason.” The roar succumbed to a growl, which by the end of the final sentence was barely a hoarse whisper. His eyes still burned into those of the farmer, an unblinking stare of infernal rage.

The farmer dropped to the floor, clutching his throat, trying to remember how to breathe after what seemed like an eternity. He had no answer. He had friends, family, people who relied on him. He ran a farm that fed many people, and owned a pub that many people visited. But would all that make his life worthwhile to this demon of a man?

“This man survives, today, and for one reason!” The roar sent a shiver down the spines of the people congregating outside the gate, they could taste the rage in his voice. “This man survives because your Lord wants him to survive! I would have no qualms in killing every last person who has attacked this manor today, but he wants nobody to be harmed. You are his people, and whether he knows you or not, he doesn’t want you dead. So go home, every last one of you, and remember this day for the rest of your lives.” The last words dropped into place like a hammer on an anvil, and the crowd dissolved in an instant. Nobody wanted to take the brunt of that rage.

***

Six hours later, we were sat in the man’s pub, and Lukas was leading the enthusiastic singing. And like all drinking songs, not a single person was singing the exact same words or tune. All animosity had gone, thanks to the wonders of alcohol.

I still sat in silence, nursing another cup of coffee and trying not to draw any attention. This was hard when my right-hand man kept starting rousing calls of “Long live King Richard”, but I tried nonetheless.

“So, Argent, when are we leaving?” I didn’t bother asking how he knew my thoughts.
“As soon as we can. Maybe a week’s time. I need to make sure this doesn’t happen again, start talking to the people, sort things out properly.”
“A week? That long?”
“Well, I need some time to rest.” I smiled for the first time in the evening, still reeling from the display of rage from my normally pleasant bodyguard.

Topic: Forum Games / The World After (Ather City 2) [Main Game]

[I’ve had more goddamn computer problems on my end. Hooray. I’ve had to duct-tape a power cable together, and it’s by no means perfect, but it will have to do. Have I been killed yet, or can I carry on?]

Topic: Forum Games / The World After (Ather City 2) [Main Game]

[Okay, this post is going to be a bit vague and might already cover ground that I’ve mentioned already but no matter, I haven’t posted in a while so it might be helpful to remind people of a few things, especially if I intend to crash someone else’s party. Also it’s stupid-o-clock in the morning here so it might be a convoluted mess but that’s what happens when I have to borrow other people’s computers.]

Argent – Whitehall Manor, South England.

London had been brilliant. I’d turned a decrepit, dystopian dump of a city into a gleaming, whirring, mechanised gem of civilisation. The city’s politicians worked for the people rather than in spite of them, and the people coexisted in peace. Okay, admittedly not quite in peace, because you can’t change the inherent humanity of people, but they’d stopped killing each other. Okay, they’d stopped killing each other over petty things like money, or inane arguments. Mostly. And even better, mutants had become part of the people there. People like me and Gladdys, whose changes were not cosmetic, could live without fear of being turned in. Those who were more obviously mutated could finally live in the city, rather than under it, in the endless tunnels and sewers that they had depressingly called home before I arrived.

As well as that, the haphazard inner-workings of the great factory-city ran like a well-oiled machine, working hard to reverse-engineer the long-lost tech of past generations. There’d even been a few successes amongst the hundreds of failures. I was quite pleased with the few post-production pieces I’d managed to salvage before retreating. But all that effort was nothing now. I’d spent most of my life working on that city, every day of my life devoted to fixing what was broken and improving what I’d fixed. And they said you couldn’t polish a turd. Still, it amounted to nothing in the end, just so much time wasted.

No… Not nothing. I’d honed my skills over the years, like weightlifting for the mind. When I’d entered the city, my mind was weak. I could grasp the thoughts of others with my voice, and carefully drag them along, but cracking the strong-willed mind of one of the city guards had drained me so thoroughly that I slept for two days. Now, after so many years of arduous training, I could command anyone to do anything, and control the masses with barely a whisper. And I’d discovered other aspects to my skill, that didn’t rely on the Voice…

In normal interaction, simple eye contact can convey a number of things, but my vibrant green eyes could pierce the soul and burn straight into the mind, issuing commands and planting thoughts. Simple things, a smile, a glare, allowed me to control my targets with ease, meddling with their emotions. The surface-thoughts that tear across the mind in a constant miasma of energy could be spun like cotton to weave a tapestry of my own design. My skill wasn’t quite telepathy, but it was something close, a form of mind-control that was rooted in the most basic levels of communication.

And I was starting to become aware of something else, as well. My… I suppose you’d call it a presence, or an aura, or something like that, and the closer someone was, the stronger it became. Being close enough to touch tended to disarm people of their natural barriers, and open their mind, a posh hotel with expensive drinks and excuisite cuisine, and I was there on an all-expenses-paid trip.

Of course, such skills were of little use in a family-owned manor full of loyal servants who wouldn’t dream of disobedience. I sat in the grand hall, a room several hundred metres long which comprised the core of this wing of the house, one wall of which was completely covered in swords, axes, spears, and an assorsement of other weapons. There were a couple of scythes crossed in the centre, and even a pitchfork somewhere. People could be bloody stupid, and some of them had travelled for weeks just to have a go at being a dragonslayer.

I sipped a cup of coffee and watched Lukas and my father worshipping the collection. My father was a manic collector, even though he’d never weilded a blade in his life, but he was an expert on the differences between a variety of different styles and eras. Lukas stood wide-eyed as he looked around this section of the room, fascinated by the beauty around him, listening to the old man’s lecture like the disciple of a fabled prophet.

Weapons had never interested me. My voice was all I needed.

“Argent, there are people at the gates, fighting to get into the grounds.” Gladdys’ soft voice called from the other end of the hall. There had been occasional uprisings in the surrounding town, but typically they were put off because we had a great black dragon as a guard dog. He had left late in the night, reasons unknown, and hadn’t returned. We didn’t need him this time.

“Thank you, Gladdys. I’ll deal with them momentarily.”

At these words, my father looked up from his collection. He had to look up to speak to me, being a rather short man, but he still had an odd way of looking down on those above him, you felt you should attend to him on one knee. His quiet, deep voice and short, stocky shape put you in mind of a dwarf, albeit an eloquent, upper-class dwarf who shaved regularly.

“Richard, I hope you aren’t being foolish. That unruly group outside can wait until Amadeus returns.”
“No, Father, I shall be fine. They will not be able to harm me.”
“But what if there are more like your servant here, who can ignore you?”
“He is no servant, Father.” I hoped this would distract him from his question. It wasn’t one I wanted an answer to.
“Servant, bodyguard, mercenary, much the same thing, but with more specialised skills. I once had a butler who was rather adept with a blade, and kept a sword hidden inside his cane.” My father wasn’t used to having friends.

I ignored his rambling, and left to deal with the mob, with Lukas and Gladdys in tow. I probably wouldn’t need them, but I brought them anyway. On my right, the tall, muscular swordsman covered in scars with torn dark brown clothes and a wild mane of ginger hair, and on my left the petite, elegant lady with flowing brown hair, wearing a delicate red dress. I wasn’t sure who was more dangerous.

[That’s all for now, but I actually have plenty of time on this borrowed laptop, and plan to spend all of tomorrow reading the entire thread. Message me if you have an idea to get me actually in the plot, or whatever.]

Topic: Forum Games / General thread

Spam games are in general pretty terrible.

Topic: Forum Games / General thread

This year there are some very, very good games out. For example, Portal 2 and Infamous 2 (PS3 exclusive, I think) came out recently and have so far got brilliant reviews. Meanwhile coming up you’ve got Arkham City, the new Batman game, which looks to be even better than the first, you’ve also got Saints Row: The Third which looks about a billion times more insane than its predecessor, and there’s also Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine which could be disappointing but looks very hopeful for fans of the 40K universe.

This is an expensive years for video game fans, it seems…

Topic: Forum Games / The World After (Ather City 2) [Main Game]

[Need ideas on how to get back into the thread. I was planning on using London as a base of operations, but obviously I can’t do that now. So, er, is there anyone nearby, or will I have to magic up some absurd solution? I’d rather not rely on excruciating levels of coincidence to get the job done.]

Topic: Forum Games / Master FGF Thread

Can we not be dicks? For once? Please?

Topic: Forum Games / The World After (Ather City 2) [Main Game]

Argent – London(ish)

In the second time in two days, a dragon roared over the grand steel city of London. It lay beneath us, a silver brooch in the dirt far below, as we tore through the air.

I loved the feeling of the wind tearing past my face, blasting my hair behind me as we soared. It brought me back to being eight years old again, riding through the clouds and laughing until I couldn’t breathe. Lukas, meanwhile, was on the verge of vomiting. We slowed down to a stop, hovering a mile above the ground, the dragon’s great wings beating in a slow, controlled rhythm.

“Amadeus! I’m going to head down and assure you a safe landing! Lukas, just hold on tight. Give me ten minutes, and then touch down in the square by the cafe!” I grabbed a backpack from the dragon’s massive harness and strapped it on.
“What the hell are you doing, Argent!?”
“I’ll see you on the ground!”

I fell, plummeting towards the ground, but I knew what I was doing. To much of the world, flight was the dream of madmen who believed in ancient technology that could make ships of steel soar like swallows. To me, it had been a childhood pastime. The backpack tore open and a great canopy of dark cloth unfurled, the parachute turning certain death into just another game.

I touched down just outside the cafe. The street was full of fascinated people, amazed at the appearance of a man from the sky. It only took a moment before they realised who I was, and they retreated as quickly as they’d appeared, wanting to be anywhere but near me. I’d been important in the city, and while I’d worked hard to remain vaguely unknown, there were enough rumours to send people running. I’d ensured that much.

“Gladdys! Fetch the servants, grab some luggage, we’re leaving in ten minutes.”
“What the hell is going on?” She marched out of the building, followed by people carrying hastily-packed boxes.
“London isn’t safe anymore. All hell is due to break loose. We’re heading back to the family manor.”
“But what about everything here? And the rest of the people in the city?”
“There won’t be anything here soon. And the people will have to find their own way out, I can’t stick the whole city on one dragon. Regardless, we need to leave. Now. Do not question me.”

It would be such a shame. So much work wasted. The business was running smoothly, the government were actually solving problems, and there would be nothing to show for it soon enough. And then there was the actually important work, beneath the city… But it couldn’t be helped. The world would have to do without, for now.

The few remnants of the crowd fled as they noticed the dragon decending on them. We didn’t have time for discussion and introductions, twelve people were piled onto a saddle built for five, and then we were off, leaving the city to its demise.

Topic: Forum Games / The World After (Ather City 2) [Main Game]

[Okay, this might be incomprehensible nonsense. I’ll proof-read it when I can.]
Argent – Outside London
I left London, my companion in tow. He was apprehensive, having never met a dragon before. I was frustrated, but also enthusiastic, suffering from an unforseen moment of joy that was simultaneously a portent of doom. I hadn’t seen Amadeus in over a decade, and he was the closest member of my family, but he was also the manor’s main defence, and never strayed far from home. If he was here, something was deeply wrong.

I don’t believe in omens. But I know that I should not be seeing a dragon above my city.

We headed into the wilderness outside the great steel walls. It was a depressing place, a barren wasteland that went on for several miles. Past there lay a vast woodland, home to the feral mutants, which was where the black dragon waited for us.

The forest reeked of decay. Gore and dessicated limbs decorated the trees like grotesque baubles. Gladdys would have enjoyed it, I think, but neither of us were too keen. Looking around gave us a clear reminder of how many unpleasant and inventive ways the beasts of the forest could kill us. But all was silent. They knew better than to meddle in the affairs of dragons.

Smoke rose up in the distance, over the nearby treetops. We were nearly there. The meeting point turned out to be a clearing that was relatively free of corpses, and had a small fire in the middle, set by the rather large black dragon on the other side. Lukas instinctively went for his sword at the sight of the monstrous beast. It was several times his size, and covered in thick, resilient scales. His sword would have been as effective as a toothpick.

“How dare you draw a weapon on me! Richard, I would have thought you trained your servants better than this!” his deep voice boomed as his neon green eyes glared at me, shining in the darkness.
“Good morning to you too, Uncle. It has been far too long since we last met. Lukas, this is my Uncle Amadeus, Uncle, this is my bodyguard Lukas. He’s saved my life countless times, and deserves more credit than you give him. Relax, and let us talk for a while.” My attempt at reconciliation had no effect. Even with all my improvements, the mind of a dragon still belonged to only one being.
“I don’t have time for pleasantries right now, Richard. You have to leave for home, now. We haven’t got time to dither around and be scared!”

For the first time, I heard a note of urgency in the old lizard’s voice. Shivers fired up and down my spine, searching for some way to escape the fate that surely beheld me. What did he have to fear? He noticed my reaction, realising he’d gone too far.

“I suppose… some explanation is in order. Now, as you know, our islands have ancient roots, myths and legends going back millenia, occasionally blurring the lines between fact and fantasy. Ancient kings, and powerful beings, and of course, dragons… Back in the olden days, when magic was alive, these legends lived, and held great power. But now, I am the last of the dragons. And there are no more legendary kings weilding enchanted blades. Magic was sealed away, forced into…. I suppose, into an alternate dimension. But these demensions have started to wear thin over time, until finally, a century or two ago, the barriers started to break down, causing a trickle of magical energy to slowly make its way back to reality. Once again, incredible warriors and powerful mosters were unleased on the world, and a great battle was fought for the fate of the world. A myth, come to life.”

Magic. Which explained the abilities I had, and also abilities of those I had met on my journeys. And of course, how a close ancestor became a dragon. And the great battle he had been talking about… A vague reccolection, a memory that wasn’t mine, leaked into my head, visions of destruction, the scent of burning flesh, and peircing screams. Monstrously powerful beings, challenging a creature not of this earth… Ather?

“Residual magic energy. You can see memories from my mind, memories I took from someone else’s head many years ago when I wanted to know the truth. You see, dragons are innately magical, and capable of many things. I get visions occasionally, and the visions I’ve had in recent days have been terrible. Death and destruction on a grand scale, a great monster at Stonehenge, ghostly flames, and images of London, falling at the hands of an angel. Don’t ask me what it means, but I think it might be very literal. The magic is pouring into this world now like an ocean onto a candle, and the very fabric of reality is changing, old beings are starting to reawaken. You are no longer safe.” He looked down at me, waiting for a response.

“We have to go back. Salvage what we can. I’ve worked too hard to lose everything now.” He was shocked at the words that came from my mouth. So was I. But it was the only thing that made sense.

Topic: Forum Games / The World After (Ather City 2) [Main Game]

[[What, without computer access? I’m not away by choice. I thought I might be able to get something written tonight on this borrowed laptop, but I haven’t got time to catch up.]]

Topic: Forum Games / The World After (Ather City 2) [Main Game]

[[60 extra pages since I was last online? Sixty!? Oh my. Well, I’m not posting anything relevant anytime soon.]]

Topic: Forum Games / Master FGF Thread

I’d like to let everyone who might wonder where I’ve been that my computer was fried a short while after my last post, and I haven’t been able to get a replacement. I may not get one for some time.

Topic: Forum Games / choose your oun adventer VX (sign up)

Originally posted by Drovoxx:

Originally posted by CYrusmaster:

i thought you were referring to the pokemon “ditto” which is a shapeshifter :D

No need for the explanation. I know all 151 Pokemon.

Fixed.

Topic: Forum Games / choose your oun adventer VX (sign up)

Originally posted by Ferdinand137:

travel to defrent places and time perieds then vote out one member baseed on the adventer they had. there will be 2 to 4 ways to go vote by sending me messeges just sign up here and i will tell you when we start ok

En Anglais, s’il vous plait?

Topic: Forum Games / Raterar Science [No sign-ups]

Riddle, there’s no sense in antagonising someone, and Kilo, you clearly need to relax. Both of you, leave the thread alone for a while, relax, have a cup of coffee or something.

Topic: Forum Games / The Black Road: Drumien Stories [ sign ups close on monday ]

Stop arguing, people. It gets you nowhere.

OP: Do I need to know anything about this world before I create a character?

Topic: Forum Games / Types of fourm games

…En Anglais, s’il vous plait?

Topic: Forum Games / Master FGF Thread

Actually, Aether is the correct spelling of an actual word. I actually never noticed that the e was missing, so apparently I’ve been spelling it wrong this entire time. Good job, TDF.

Topic: Forum Games / Master FGF Thread

Originally posted by Gambi69:
We managed to move the plot forward without you, and Matthew even managed to take down one of the end-level bosses with some help. Not bad for someone that wasn’t even posting, huh?

To be fair, I was the one who started stapling the vague and incoherent idea of Aether into an actual world with a backstory and stuff, thus kicking off the string of absurdly long posts… I’ll have to read through that thread and see how everything turned out.

Fog: None of those ideas seem to do much for me, but it’s good to see you around though. I’ll have to see what I can come up with… Maybe I should write about one of the characters I’ve discarded over time. I think I’ll need more coffee first.

Topic: Forum Games / Master FGF Thread

Good morning everyone, it’s me again. Yes, the idiot who dropped out of Aether City after establishing his character as a very important being, and putting him slap-bang into the centre of the plot. Not my wisest move, but I’d been through an odd depressive rut, and I can’t write when I’m in a terrible mood, it just doesn’t work, so it’s probably for the best, or I’d have ruined the fun of the game for everyone, and I’m rambling again so perhaps it’s time to end this sentence… Anyway, things are looking up, so I may or may not be back. Depends on how the next week effects my temperament.

However, I am rather out of practice, and am having trouble thinking of ideas to write. Any suggestions for short stories and similar stuff?

Topic: Forum Games / Mirror's Edge RP! Game begins! (Sign-ups still open)

[So, how is this going to roll? We carrying on?]