vallo

It it strange to think that three months has passed since I first found myself among those now calling Vallo home, and it still feels as though there is no shortage of interesting things to uncover. The sheer volume of books alone, the information stored in this device, it seems endless at times.

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to everyone for making this transition into a new world a smooth, and rather pleasant one. My life back home was one that required a certain level of seclusion and covertness for many years, it has been a nice change of pace to speak freely, and if I dare say, embark on friendships.

I would also ask a favour if I could. I am not - entirely alone here in Vallo. Five years ago I took into myself a part of Ultima, a god with rather nefarious designs for my world back home. I have kept him trapped for some time now, and am more than willing to continue to do so. However it is very clear to me that what is possible here may be boundless, and that a more viable solution might be had. With that, I would like to ask if anyone here has had to contain a god before, or part of one, and how it was done. I am, of course, not asking for anything to be done at this moment, or for anyone to take on this task themselves. I had just thought perhaps it time to begin gathering information, to see if there are other options at hand.

Is this some sort of test
Or...a reality I created?
I'm going to be in so much trouble
I want to go back I want to go back I want to go back
I can't
What if I just break reali

I'm certain everyone says this, but I really can't be here Victor's going to literally destroy this place and. Wherever here is.

I think if I can get access to a few magical tomes, I can do it myself. Or if anyone can open a portal to Latveria?

Great.

Magically Minded (do you think your character would see this? then yes!)

Greetings all, I am sharing on behalf of myself and Wanda (though I would never venture to speak for her, obviously) as your magical representatives for the DOA. The Directrix of Geliara Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry has requested assistance in first, containing, and secondly, closing, a portal that opened on the grounds of the school. Apparently a conjuration class had a spell go...incorrectly and now there is a portal that they are unable to do anything with.

The second piece to that is that somethings may have escaped. The details on what, exactly, they are, are a bit sketchy, so this may take some time and energy. You can come to the DOA office and read for yourself what the Directrix sent over and if you are so inclined, we can then proceed to the school for closer examination of the portal.

Certainly no one is required to participate but if you do we will most likely have their eternal gratitude and a favor to be called upon later, ho hum, it is very good for relations, and I will purchase the Dashing Doors for lunch. And probably have wine if this goes very late.

I'm gonna be picking up Eddie's DMing for kids on Sundays at Wicked Games. It's kind of intimidating trying to pick up where the master left off, but I'm gonna do my best. So if you have kids who play, go ahead and bring them: the battle to defeat The Dark Omnificus and rescue the Unicorn Princess is still on.


[Filtered to Kamala and El]
So obviously our gaming group has taken a big hit. I wanted to ask you guys if you want to keep going with this campaign and come up with something to do with Eddie and Dustin's characters, start something new with just us, start something new and try to recruit a couple more people, put the whole thing on hold indefinitely, or put the whole thing on hold for a set amount of time (like a month or something).

I'll roll with whatever you guys want to do, but I'm hoping you'll want to continue in some way at some point. You're both great players and I like playing with you.
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[tiny baby Wanda voice post in Sokovian, presumably the device can auto-translate]

Pietro? [...] Pietro. Are you on this? I think the orphanage sent me somewhere strange, and I was not even the one who threw the eggs at the building. It is not fair. I am hiding in a closet. Come find me.

BILLY, TOMMY & TEDDY.

[selfie of wanda & a little green boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, SMILING, and there are sprinkles all over their mouths.]

Hello. We had (and still have) ice cream for breakfast. This is Sebastian, and he is very good at shapeshifting. Billy and Teddy - this one's yours.

I'm only a little sorry for the sugar rush.

MOM? Do you want me to just off this person FOR you???? WHO IS IT????

Yeah so, if any new Skrull or Kree pop in, guess it's kind of obvious after two days that we'd like to know? It's all with good intentions, I swear.



Which I realize is probably something someone with bad intentions would say, but here we are.

BILLY

You have to search Theodore Altman, babe.

It's my first autumn in Vallo. On a scale from 1 to 10, how intense is Halloween here? Does shit get wild or what? I've noticed the uptick in pumpkin stuff and now there's search engine crap (getting ahead of this now: I will not be shamed for my fanfic prefs) but I didn't know if it got worse as the month went on or what.

Barely a month into being on a defense team and we got to fight skeletons. I've been here long enough, and have lived the life I've lived, to not really be surprised by that.

Now that I'm rested and recovered (not that I was as hurt as some--I hope you're all doing okay?), a question: what's your favorite Pokemon and why?

BILLY

All this to say: Pokemon Go date tonight? Eat across the city and catch Pokemon as we go.

So I'm like 99.8% sure I didn't end up here through some kind of quantum entanglement or anything. The welcome was definitely better than the last place. Plus, you know, no one is trying to catch me or kill me or stop me or- yeah, I'm gonna stop there. So this is like NextDoor for Superheroes or something?

Oh hey, I'm Miles. Go easy on the new guy?

One of the kids at the center alerted me that this is bisexual month. (Color and italics required, I don't make the rules.) They explained there's an awareness week and a visibility day coming up, so they figure that means we should get the whole month and frankly, I agree.

Let's go, fellow bisexuals. September is our month. Maybe October too, on account that I really like Halloween.



Okay okay, I'll share October and the Halloween joy. November, though? I'll report back.

So, right, I run a Dungeons and Dragons group that's been going on for awhile (it's a tabletop role-playing game) (which is basically storytelling while getting into conflicts) (we're always taking new players, I can teach you, go to Mike's store for dice) but sometimes I like trying new games because one sheet games are easier for everyone to learn as there's literally like, three rules to learn and it's a good way to get started or try a new genre. I tried to play Lasers & Feelings with Teddy, but it turns out that when you're the long prophesized ruler of two forever warring races (thank you Kree, thank you Skrulls) who actually has to sit through hours long meetings with diplomatic envoys, it takes the fun out of roleplaying in space.

So, Feng Shui 2 is like playing a character in the most Michael Bay John Cena Dwayne The Rock Johnson Jason Momoa Jason Statham Whoever is the New James Bond John Wick Hey We Need Other Gender Representation Up In Action Movies cinematic masterpiece of all time. Think every action star cliché you can think of, and then put all of those characters in a movie with an unlimited CGI budget. Who are you? The grizzled veteran sucked in one last time? The child of a recently deceased famous parent come to make your parent proud?

For everyone who has always wanted to put on sunglasses while slo-mo walking away from an exploding building or pulled a helicopter out of the air by sheer brute strength, or said a quippy one liner before becoming a blur of martial arts, this is the game for you. Give me your action star name, your cliche/trope, and your signature move/catchphrase, and let's go save the world.

I don't have an official day yet, I figure when I find out who's interested I'll send out a few dates and we can pick whatever works best--and if there's a big demand we can make different groups by who is available when, I don't mind. As per usual, there will be snacks because if there's not food, Tommy will riot.

Teds

So the fighting made me think

Do you miss

Or maybe you don't miss because you're doing it

You were a better superhero than me

But maybe I sort of

What if

Hi.

Right. So I know everyone probably says "I need to go back" because who wouldn't, right? But here's the thing... I really need to get back. Like really really. So on the off chance someone's just been, you know, holding out on the whole getting out of this universe thing now's the time to speak up.

Please?

Since the talk about them has sort of died down, just wondering if the shapeshifting doppelganger thing sorted itself all out? Did anyone get any info on what they were or where they came from?

I've been here long enough to know sometimes things just come and go and are mysterious because that's just Vallo, but I'm just curious. You know, no reason.

Painting miniatures is addictive. I'm still not the total best at it, but I really love doing it. It's like my brain goes on vacation while I'm focused on all those tiny physical details and I'm completely out of my head and into my paint brush. It makes me feel like Will's closer and further away all at the same time.

I also like what it does for how I see the enemies and NPCs I make for my game. This isn't just a faceless bunch of aliens anymore, because I painted every detail on these guys and now they're individuals who matter. It really helps me get immersed in the world, which I think makes me a better DM. Or Spacemaster, I guess, since I'm running Starfarers. (Which is a great game, by the way, thanks Vallo, we're having a blast.)

[Filtered to Hawkins House]
You guys wanna do a beach day sometime soon? I feel like we're not taking full advantage of summer and suddenly living on a coast if we don't.
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[Filtered to Nancy, Steve, and Robin]
Hey, since you guys like to pop in on our sessions sometimes...any chance I could pull any of you in to play some NPCs for me? I've written too many side characters for tonight's session and I'm afraid I'm gonna run out of voices to do for them. You'll have free rein to play them however you want beyond some basic parameters.
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[Filtered to El]
Hi, love you, that's all. Come by the shop today if you're bored, it's always slow during the day on weekdays.
[/filter]

I have always enjoyed the cathedral ceilings--not the cathedrals themselves, of course, never that. There is something to be said for the increased light and it very much makes a place feel larger, even though it is not useable space.

And I know this because I no longer have a ceiling. I had one, and then for some reason it turned to ash and there is a large hole above me.

Is it perhaps a vaulted ceiling? Hmmmm. Morningside residents, do be cautious of this newfound perk. Perk for me, at least, for the person above me I am not so certain they want a hole in their floor, but, perhaps.

I think, perhaps, I've grown dependent on cats to feed me. ( Cut for image! )

That pizza did nothing wrong.

CALEB

This is me, checking in. Hi.

I'm gainfully employed and a contributing member of Vallo society, finally. I could only mooch off of Billy for so long, so come out to Galdin Quay and let me be your waiter.

Also, sounds like people really go all out for Pride here, yeah?

BILLY

Let's celebrate.

The job, I mean. Though I'd be up for celebrating being gay this weekend, too.