Her Mantle Is Love

Kappa it' been stated that Rose isn't participating. So spending time in her would be worthless thing when we have so many other people.

Also our Sister Priestess has said that she's a complicated case and to leave her alone. If she wants to talk to us and trust us we'll listen as is our job as Rite Leader but that's really all Elasandra can do.

Unfortunately, we have to recognize our limits here.
 
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Adhoc vote count started by Evenstar on May 19, 2018 at 1:05 AM, finished with 48 posts and 18 votes.

  • [X] Write in: Look for only names and pictures to identify Supplicants. After meeting with Supplicants read the files of those we could not meet or those we feel will need more information to keep safe. The letters are private information and should be used conservatively.
    [X] Read none of the entry dedications.
    [X] Read all of the entry dedications.
    [X] Read some of the entry dedications.
    -[X] Read Ansuz's entry dedication.
    -[X] Read Aura's entry dedication.
    -[X] Read Shimmer's entry dedication.
    -[X] Read Sofya's entry dedication.
    -[X] Read Sunshine's entry dedication.
    -[X] Read Strawberry's entry dedication.
    [X] Read None.
    -[X] Read Pidgeon's entry dedication.
    -[X] Read Cocoa's entry dedication.
 
Thank you for the praise! If you enjoy Mantle, I highly recommend the Flamingo Cabal thread here on SV - it already has multiple of my favorite stories recommended, so I expect the remainder of the curated works to be similarly high-quality.

That said, please refrain from debating the moderator decisions of another forum in this thread: I would really rather not turn this thread into a discussion of gender politics, even if there isn't a rule against it here.

Can you link me this flaming cabal thing? Please and thank you.
 
Sealed
Your finger flicks down the row of red-sealed envelopes, just once: then you slide the drawer closed, and lock it. You don't need these right now: the basic files will have names, pictures, which room they're staying in.

You flip through them, and commit names and faces to memory. Strawberry: a red-haired catgirl in a pink dress, a ribbon tied behind her into a huge bow. Ansuz: a half-dragon woman, built like a boulder - is that bracelet on her wrist hand-made? It must be. Shimmer: opalaescent like her name, every scale of her Lamia tail a slightly different shade. She almost looks too pretty to be real.

You pause on the photo of a wild-haired teenager with pointed ears like yours - Nuria. Her smile... something about it is a bit. Off. It's like she's forgotten everything in the world except for the photographer. Maybe it's just that she's unkempt, but...

You set her photo aside, and continue on through the stack - these are all out of order, they ought to be alphabetized, Tasha's getting sloppy - okay, that's a face you don't know. Talulah? She's - blue. And translucent. Species... Naiad? Oh, she's made of water. That would explain that. Next... Grace. Black, close-cropped hair, a slight smile. Human? Human. Huh.

... what is a picture of Ishaza doing in here? Your eyes flick over to the name, expecting one of Kumi's practical jokes - but the name on the paper isn't Ishaza. It's Echo. Species: Reflection.

Well, that's a security hazard if you've ever seen one. Why weren't you told? Is there some drawback? From the picture, it looks like a pretty spot-on impression...

You sigh, and make a mental note to not assume everyone is actually themselves. Next photo - nope, that was the last one.

... Something's off. On a hunch, you count out the files. One, two, three, four, five, six, seveneight, nine, ten, 'leven...

... twenty. Somebody is missing, and it's not Rose - her file's here with the rest.

The sinking feeling in your gut hardens into a ball. Opening the desk drawer again, you count out the sealed files. Five, ten, fifteen, twenty... no one.

You count them again.

They still come out to only twenty files.

Shit.

- missing private room key, missing file, person who can look like anything they want - what the fuck have Tasha and Ishaza been doing, letting a security breach of this magnitude happen right under their noses -

You touch the back of your golden key to the red sealing-paper, and the embossed runes flare into bloody light. Your molars grit together in the back of your mouth. There. Properly sealed, accessible only to you. Not to someone wearing your face, not even with your gold key.

Of course, if anyone else was foolish enough to approach, the sealing might kill them outright, but... you have a duty.

You focus on your golden key, and reach out for the file it's bound to.

... nothing.

Goddess damn it can't anything be simple around here? You breathe out hard, closing your eyes, and -

Wait. Wait, there's a simpler explanation here. Someone already left, or someone was late joining, or someone declined to have their reasons recorded, that's allowed. It's - possible. Much more likely, actually.

You take a deep breath, and shake the tension out of your arms and shoulders. Get a grip, Eli, just because Liath was a bitch doesn't mean everyone's out to get you. You can ask Tasha or Ishaza about it later: right now, you have an announcement to make.

... you leave the restriction active, just in case.
 
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Hey after the poker game didn't we give our key to one of the girls? Who was it and did we get that back?

Edit: Going to assume the post isn't 100% ready l.

Still hmmm
 
It must be. Shimmer: opalaescent like her name, every scale of her Lamia tail a slightly different shade. Somehow she looks

Seems like half of the sentence got cut off at the end there.

Also, taking bets on whether or not the missing 21st file is the result of a clerical error or theft.

I'm willing to assume clerical error just to help with our sanity and group cohesion, but in the event that something else suspicious happens, I'll want to start investigating with some actual zeal.
 
I think that the file was stolen, since we were informed of 21 supplicants and Tasha appears to be too much of a workaholic to misfile these kind of things (tiredness doesn't apply - filing should be literally the first thing done for a Rite)

Not sure who'd want to steal the filing of a sex rite application though.
 
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Is it possible that someone took a peak at and/or copied Rose's file, then stole someone else's file as a distraction? Then again, stealing the file would alert whoever had the files...
 
I think it's more likely that it's the file for one of the supplicants we haven't yet gotten to know very well. There are 21 of them, after all--there's a lot of room for drama in amongst all of them.
 
I'm so intrigued by the missing file! It might be a clerical error, but somehow I suspect otherwise.
 
I'm so intrigued by the missing file! It might be a clerical error, but somehow I suspect otherwise.

Just saw this. I think it's because of that missing key we never explicily got back. I think one of the outlaws we were with decided to get some blackmail on someone.

Heck, for all we know they set it up pretty well.
 
@Valkur: You mean this key?



Apologies for the slow/partial update: my muse is being recalcitrant on the announcement.

I think so? We should report that and a possible missing file to Liath or Tasha. Hopefully, they'll know what to do.

OH!

Also @Evenstar are there spells in this world that can compel the truth like in D&D 5e? Just an idea but we can have all of them take some lie detector tests with those to find possible culprits. We can even be very American about it (HAH!) and say it's for security reasons.
 
21 Problems
Locking up the office behind you, you lope down the hall towards the supplicants' common room, brain still buzzing with names and faces. Despite yourself, you can't help but worry for those you already know: Shannon needs help with her alcoholism, feather girl - Tasha used her name, what was it - Pigeon! Pigeon needs help with navigating relationships, especially after that fiasco with Rose. Speaking of fiascoes, you were going to help Portia learn how to do suspensions safely, weren't you? And - Sofya, Sunshine, Portia, Aura, all of them deserve to have more friends than they do. Cocoa is a bully and a gossipmonger and is going to cause problems long-term, Alice needs help orienting herself in a more human world, Ipsea's doing something weird with her pheromones, Kayla's maybe a bit too subby for her own good - Agh! Agh, agh, agh!!! There's just too fucking much to do, how does Tasha stand it?

...well, you do have to admit this is at least partially your own fault, taking on the duty like this, but... How on earth are you supposed to - sort out all the hangups and personality problems of almost two dozen people? You haven't even touched the issues surrounding Rose -

- you're pacing back and forth in front of the door. Smooth, Elisandra. Smooth. Anyone notice? No? Good. Take a deep breath: you're not going to be of use to anyone all worked up like this. I mean, really, did you have a plan? Were you just going to march in and announce that you're the Rite Leader now? It's not like you - called an assembly or something, they have things of their own to do -

You run your hands through your hair, and straighten your robes. One thing at a damn time, Elisandra, you can't get involved in everyone's personal issues at once, you don't even know a third of them yet. Get the whole picture before you fuck with things, that's always the rule...

Okay. So then... how are you going to approach this? Tell people personally? Get it out through the gossip network? Call an assembly? How would you even call an assembly, is there some - mass communication thing? A P. A. system? You don't think so, Ishaza would pitch a fit over the implications for the temple atmosphere, but there's got to be something -

Goddess, you wish Tasha was here.

Still, there's only so much time in the day, so - best to stop dithering and get on with it.

((Pick as many as you want.))
[ ] Get on a table or a chair or something and make the announcement to whoever happens to be in the common room right now.
[ ] Go find Ishaza or Tasha and ask about procedures for this kind of announcement.
[ ] Organize an assembly later tonight so you can tell everyone at once.
[ ] Just go about your business and tell everyone you encounter.
[ ] Tell some of the local gossips and trust they'll get the word out.
[ ] Tell Cocoa.
[ ] Tell Ipsea.
[ ] Tell Sofya.​
[ ] Enlist some help spreading the word.
[ ] Get one of your Sisters to help. (Write in a name.)
[ ] Get some of the Supplicants to help. (Write in a name.)​
[ ] Write-in.
 
[X] Plan Red

(In Plan Format since vast majority is a write-in and also needs to be done in a specific order. @Evenstar is this format cool with you?)

We should, in sequential order:
  1. talk to the gossips and ask about people to be particularly concerned about (ask all three, separately, so we can get less biased perspective for this)
  2. Then we talk to Ishaza about the missing applicant (try and get it out of her without stressing her, maybe asking her to help us refresh applicant names?)
  3. If this does not work and we are left ambiguous on status of missing person like if she cannot catch the hint, we outright ask her about it.
  4. After this, we go and check the application forms for risky applicants, preparing in advance for such ppl and
  5. then call for a conference with our preperations, using the gossips to spread the word.
 
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As many?

First and foremost

[X] Plan I AM WAY OVER MY HEAD BUT I WILL DO EVERYTHING I CAN!
[X] Go find Ishaza or Tasha and ask about procedures for this kind of announcement.
- [X] Organize an assembly later tonight so you can tell everyone at once. (Depending on what our Elder Sisters say have this ready)
- [X] Also report the Key we loaned out, bullying from cocoa, and a possible missing file.
[X] Enlist some help spreading the word.
- [X] Get one of your Sisters to help. (Tasha Blackhorne)


[ ] Tasha Blackhorn, cute but wise. You see your duties as a way to connect with others and help them become more truly themselves: more than any of the Sisters, you truly believe that what you do is holy. While some of the other sisters move through clients quickly, you linger on each one, taking the full year, no less. You want to be certain that you leave behind a life made better for your presence.

"Sister! I really need your wisdom! I just spoke with (Isaza or Tasha) about convening this large group of Supplicants for the First Quarter Ritual. I want to be certain that the word is properly distributed."

If Ishaza or Tasha gives us an order we follow it though and don't look for Tasha. Also, we should report to our Sisters so that they know of this very weird situation. They handle most 'overall' tasks in this temple and making sure they are not completely blindsided should be our task. Truth will hopefully lead to trust. Hopefully.

@Evenstar

What pot was that under again?
 
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@RedV: Your plan vote is accepted.

@Valkur: The key was in a vase in Rose's room. Also, Tasha already knows about it: She was with us when we found it.
 
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[X] Organize an assembly later tonight so you can tell everyone at once.
[X] Enlist some help spreading the word.
- [X] Get some of the Supplicants to help. (Melody)

If there's someone who can definitely get people's attention, it's probably Melody with her singing.
 
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[X] Plan Red

(In Plan Format since vast majority is a write-in and also needs to be done in a specific order. @Evenstar is this format cool with you?)

We should, in sequential order:
  1. talk to the gossips and ask about people to be particularly concerned about (ask all three, separately, so we can get less biased perspective for this)
  2. Then we talk to Ishaza about the missing applicant (try and get it out of her without stressing her, maybe asking her to help us refresh applicant names?)
  3. If this does not work and we are left ambiguous on status of missing person like ifshe cannot catch the hint, outright ask her about it.
  4. After this, we go and check the applications for risky applicants, preparing in advance for such ppl and
  5. then call for a conference with our preperations, using the gossips to spread the word.

1. Have you ever played a game of Telephone? This could get bad...
2. Agreed.
3. Agreed again? Not sure why we need to be suble about it. It should be like "Listen this may stress you so brace yourself a bit. ..."
4. Agreed.
5. Okay.

Not that bad but again I don't like Gossip Mongers. They'll distort the messege and it could lead to dumb fucking rumors.

Unclear. Sofya, which is why she was arguing with Cocoa over where it had gone.

Hmm. Either Cocoa stole it from her or...hmm. Maybe there playing it up? Who knows but worth investigating a bit.

Just so that people know we should however FOCUS on the ritual and then later this whole incident. We can't put things on hold for dumb senanigans but we should definetely look into cocoa.
 
1. Have you ever played a game of Telephone? This could get bad...
2. Agreed.
3. Agreed again? Not sure why we need to be suble about it. It should be like "Listen this may stress you so brace yourself a bit. ..."
4. Agreed.
5. Okay.

Not that bad but again I don't like Gossip Mongers. They'll distort the messege and it could lead to dumb fucking rumors.

On gossips- this is why we want to talk to all three. It's definitely possible that one person could have a biased impression, but if all three have that impression then either a) person has bad social skills or reputation among people, which can cause problems working with others or b) there is legitimately a problem .

On subtlety - everybody has a lot of urgent extra duties for the Rite right now, I think. Ishaza is the general manager priestess, so stress on her is already high. Where possible, we shouldn't let her realise a fuckup happened and quietly resolve it so she receives less stress. We'll tell her afterwards in our report, but not when people are likely taking these extra shifts already.
 
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