Aniel's Kudos Thread

[Aniel]

EDIT: This was originally called "Aniels Belated 2019 Recap", but It's being repurposed to serve as a continual kudos thread. I prefer this format so that the older posts don't get buried; amazing players and characters deserve to be observed from time to time still.

I cannot remember the exact timeframe but I've been playing on Arelith for well over a year, probably closer to 15 or 16 months now. I first started writing this in September of last year but I've been very busy and so it's been continuously delayed.

Nonetheless, as much as I don't like kudos threads, I wanted to take a moment to express some thoughts on a variety of characters that I've immensely enjoyed interacting with. I hope with this I can shine a spotlight on some obscure or otherwise overlooked characters though I didn't shy away from mentioning some more well-known ones.

The characters I'm about to go through are listed in fairly random order. There are a lot more things I could say about several characters I'm about to go into that are excluded for the sake of them still being active and for being huge spoilers. Also, while there have been many incredible interactions and experiences recently I wanted to keep this post to its original purpose. That being a recap of some of the best interactions from 2019. Maybe a good while from now I'll write up one for 2020.

Ilphaeryl Xun'viir
Easily one of the best if not the best drow characters I've ever interacted with. There was a point early on in Isandra's stay in Andunor that she was experiencing a faith crisis and ended up speaking with Ilphy about it. Ilphaeryl's comments and views on the Lolthite faith alongside the comparisons with La'laskra are some of the most insightful and imaginative dialogue I've read when it comes to in-character religion.

These talks would go on to reinvigorate Isandra's zeal whilst also setting the stage for her views of what Lolth and the faith is to radically shift into what would become a deeply enrooted heresy. One that was in large part inspired by Ilphearyl's views and opened Isandra's eyes to what was possible. Absolutely a character that was always looked up to as a role model.

Elrithrulia Thielle
Another hugely impactful character that's hard to put into text without gushing into what is largely spoiler territory so I'll focus more on the positive characteristics of the player and how that reflects onto the character.

One of the single most inclusive roleplayers I've ever met that's ready and willing to go far above and beyond to include others into various activities. A player that's willing to organize various functions for others and isn't afraid to pass the spotlight around to push other's characters forward. A true enabler for some of the best RP and moments I've had on the server without question.

Vance Gravelle
Hours of plotting coupled with witty insights made all of the meetings all feel unique and honestly enjoyable, a great feat considering how horrendously boring most meetings turn out to be. Vance was almost like a father figure in many ways, always offering incredible insight and wisdom. Vance is a character that I genuinely never get tired of interacting with as there's more being uncovered constantly. Of course, this is all without commenting on the absolute stellar player that Archon is. I think it's absurd to call anyone a "pillar of the community" granted just how massive Arelith is with a huge number of players, but if someone was to ever truly stand out as that pillar then Vance/Archon certainly did for a few subcommunities on the server.

Zuelsul
Zuelsul is undoubtedly one of the most interesting and long term Killian the Temple has seen in a long time. Isandra's many long conversations with her were always very engaging and eye-opening to the sheer number of situations that could be viewed from a different perspective. Some of the most enjoyable days of RP were sitting around for hours having those chats.
Of course including her leadership of the Grove that Isa frequented a few times. The entire Grove was always incredible.

Miranda Magna
A character and player that's always been phenomenal to interact with and one that I regretfully haven't seen as much as I would've liked to as a result of having lost interest in Kalia's character and redirecting my time to Isandra.
Nonetheless, Miranda has been a consistent joy that offered no small amount of impact on Kalia's existence as a person. While it was for a brief window Miranda certainly pushed me to see much more of the server at large.

Ezekiel Klennald
The most compelling surface faction leader that Isandra has spoken with. Despite the amount of time the character has spent as mayor of Guldorand, I've sometimes felt that their contributions have gone underrated. Few players are willing to extend as much of a hand towards antagonists as Ezekiel's, let alone ones that can take losses and defeats in stride.
Their many conversations and the adversarial relationship Ezekiel and Isandra have shared is something very beautiful and has offered no short amount of motivation to pursue future endeavors.
In addition, from my time playing on the surface with more recent characters I've found Ezekiel to be a welcoming, stunning example of inclusive play.

Rhaeg
The ultimate komrade, he who will save us from the tyranny of that foul King Edward and bestow upon us a new revolutionary economic policy.
All jokes aside Rhaeg is easily one of my favorite characters on the server and is one that always fills me with joy to see and be able to interact with. Very few interactions were as impactful and deep with some sense of wisdom as Rhaeg and Isandra's. A very underappreciated or over memed character I think for sure.

Sevrana (Disguised)
A character that Isandra only ever interacted with twice, once briefly during a chance meeting and later during a much longer, drawn-out conversation. While nothing huge came from their conversation it was easily one of the most interesting situations I've found myself in with the bonus of peering into the Machiavellian mind that Sev had. One of the many characters that I wanted to highlight.

Ecthelion
A long time ago Isandra met Ecthelion by sheer chance, both of them having arrived at the same portal. Even more surprising was the relationship that sprouted from it. Their many meetings, discussions over news and politics, the questions they asked each other and the thoughts they provoked. I think Ecthelion was misunderstood by a lot of people and harshly viewed for it. Nonetheless, it never impeded his wisdom which gave her many things to think about again and again.

Caine G'heim
Caine was monumental. While I've never played a proper Sencliff character I can only imagine the amount of weight and direction she offered to people. The alliances, intrigue and diplomatic meetings that Caine offered are to this day still the best experiences I've had with any Sencliff-based faction or group of players. I'm very thankful that you were willing to engage with my character and that we could build the interactions that we did. The best pirate queen.

Nedylene Kha'Lazza and House Kha'Lazza
It's hard to remember super exact details because of just how long ago everything was but these names still distinctly come to memory despite this, a testament to just how good they were. Kha'Lazza is, without hyperbole, my favorite house I've ever interacted with. Nedylene, in particular, being the focal point for many of those interactions was outstanding. There were very few conversations I ever found as equally engaging as the ones Nedylene and Isandra shared. I cannot overstate how crushed I was when I woke up one morning and heard that the house was gone. Even if the house was just a flash in the pan it was incredible to watch.

Filianore
An extremely hard one to put into words. Filianore is the catalyst, the one who managed to question and challenge a character of mine's convictions repeatedly with great resilience until they were reduced to only being able to question their own convictions as well. Never has someone so irrevocably shaken and altered a character of mine singlehandedly to such a degree for them to completely veer into a different I had previously never considered for them. When it came to conversations dealing with beliefs, faith and general philosophy I'm hard-pressed to think of any character that was as articulate and well-reasoned as Filianore. There could be a lot more said but that lot more would fall into FOIG territory.

Qorlunel Jyltras
When I was very new to the server I ended up making Kalia and going to the Underdark as a slave. While she wasn't bought by Qorlunel and overall maybe interacted with Qorlunel a very tiny amount compared to many other faces it's still incredibly hard to downplay any aspect of the working relationship the two managed to construe. So much so to the point that Kalia ended up becoming a slave again in part to continue their business. While many people may not remember Qorlunel I'll certainly never forget her as one of Kalia's biggest inspirations.

Frannie Swift
The premiere shifter, the incredibly elusive man of few words. He of intrigue; master of spies. This is as theatrical as I think I can be for someone that lived to be as otherwise incredibly mundane and non-descript. Frannie was the that purchased Kalia when she was new. He provided her a paper even to mark his claim since she wasn't high enough level to be purchased yet, a paper that she still holds onto and wouldn't relinquish. The player was incredibly helpful with learning the server's mechanics and helping me get my bearings, setting Kalia up with tons of contacts and helping me get over the immense anxiety I was feeling from all of the strangers in a game environment I had no familiarity with. The Frannie experience was a treat, as was walking the pet manticore.

Eclipse Silverbane
Something unforgettable is that after Eclipse had been examined due to having been subjected to Harder's torture is the long conversation that followed, how memorable and character-defining it was. It was the first and maybe only time I felt like I was seeing the real Eclipse. It was also the first and one of the overall few times anyone has ever made Kalia have to reevaluate all of her views. Distinctly I'll never forget the comment she made on Kalia's selfish viewpoints and how that would be what gets her killed. To this day I think it still rings true and will be a contributing factor.

Sheris Fane
Lots of fun, lots of interesting viewpoints on how to approach a LE deity/philosophy and make it sound as appealing as possible for even dramatically different characters that would normally not even consider it. Sheris is a character I wish I could've had the opportunity to interact more with, to explore more. The brand of Loviatar that she promoted was immensely entertaining. While it's a shame that Sheris is gone I hope you find joy in the concept you embark on.

Amariana and Lyria Ashvane
I bundled these two together since there's very little I'd say about them that doesn't apply to both. That being said they're some of the better players on the server and present some incredible characters. I'm breaking a rule I imposed on myself with this mention as well, that being if I couldn't write a suitable about them then I wouldn't include it. But with these two they're absolutely worth mentioning but everything I could say about them is also a huge spoiler. Characters with great depth deserve a spotlight without having their curtained pulled back.

Seradria Della'thar and Vesryn
Another double character entry due to both of these coming to mind together. Unlike the previous two, I have a lot more room to elaborate on them. My interaction with these two has always been simply stunning with their ability to include others, to play characters of immense depth with very authentic worldly viewpoints. Sometimes you run into a character that simply feels real, a character that's beautifully written. That's the kind of experience these two offered.
While my characters alternated between cooperation and being adversarial with them I can't say I've encountered players who were more dedicated to telling a good story than them regardless of the situation or circumstance, even if at their detriment.

Matthew Daressin-Gravelle
The second prettiest person to have ever graced Andunor. Also, a person that despite immense pressure is capable of maintaining a steely resolve to provide fun and interactive experiences to anyone. Incredible variety coupled with ground-shaking ideas. I wish he was around longer to push some of the great plans that the Citadel worked up. Maybe next time.

Raudan Hollow
I didn't interact with this character very much whatsoever. I only remember a time when there was some bartering to purchase a magic staff from his shop. But he was always around and always right on Isandra's radar as a big deal. Eventually, this resulted in the assassination plot during the Masquerade hosted by Isak. If for no other reason than the sheer grace that the player had when it happened, I wanted to include them here. That was a very, very special moment and the weight on it increased tenfold at least when Raudan decided it was a fitting end to his character. Only one of the very best players can be in a situation like that, roll along with it and take the punches and have a good laugh from it. While dozens upon dozens of people were involved in setting it up and with the hit taking place the target is the star of the scene and Raudan played it beautifully. I sincerely hope it was fun in the moment or at least in retrospect and that Raudan's player is having a great time with whatever they might have moved onto.

[Rasha]

You have lovely RP skills! I hope you’re enjoying your current character(s).

Peace & Happiness.

[InTheFlesh]

I wish Rhaeg and Isandra could have found more common ground, but I'm happy I've had the privilege of interacting with her.

[Aniel]

So! This is the 2020 recap kudos thread, but only sort of. Turns out one kudos thread a year means there's a lot to remember. I recently rolled Lora who was active around the tail end of 2019. I was originally going to include people I met on her into this list but I omitted them then in the interest of keeping it more in the 2019 era. While it hasn't been a full year since then, Lora's end seems like a pretty good place to do a recap.

The characters I'm going to go through in roughly the chronological order that Lora met them, with a few special entries at the bottom. The time range is roughly from October of 2019 to present day.

Ezekiel Klennald
Admittedly Lora while knew Zeke around the tail end of his stay, their interactions are still very memorable. He enabled her to get herself established and well known to a good number of people. The inevitable eviction, while I wish it could've happened under slightly different circumstances nonetheless was character defining for her and served to push her further out into the world. Their overall history, while sparse, was the catalyst for so many things.

Khal-Dun

I 'member when Lora and Khal were off doing writs together, way back last year. They had such a wonderful rivalry from the start all the way until they basically phased out of each other's lives.

But Lora never forgot him; in fact she loved to hate him, and everyone so often enjoyed making very subtle moves to inject minor inconveniences into his life.

Their rivalry, for what it was, was great. Out of all of the people that Lora held contempt for, Khal-Dun's case was easily one of the most playful ones.

Cordor rules the seas!

Quistillia Song
I want to be witty and quote it exactly, "come meet with me in the theater, a place of masks," but I don't remember what the original invitation projection was.

Regardless, Quistillia Song, despite the relatively short time that Lora spent with her, is probably one of my all time favorite Arelith characters. Everything she said and did always felt so lively and filled with depth. There was never a bland moment, especially when she was providing Clarity.

Hospitality

Hosp is easily the member of the Cordor's government that Lora had the most correspondence with. The willingness to accept conflict and the willingness to accept that bad things could happen, to invite that danger, led to so many memorable and joyful scenes. I enjoyed every moment of them, and hope sometime you can get back to playing.

Peram Flint

Peram was such a great thieving halfling perfectly respectable hin to hang around with. Lora never particularly liked hin, but Peram was one of the few she had a grudging respect for.

The world suffers immensely without his witty commentary and puns. He deserves the best, and I'm excited for what you end up bringing next.

Emilia Sabine von Brandt

We didn't interact much but every interaction still felt special in its own right. The von Brandt's initiatives, yours and everyone else who was associated with the faction that I unfortunately can't recall by name breathed a lot of life into Sibayad and the 'Desert's Jewel'.

It was fun to work alongside Emilia, and it all made for the big betrayal to be even more exciting I hope. I ask myself 'what if Lora had helped Emilia' a lot, but ultimately Lora was a terribly vain and spiteful beast consumed with what were nothing more than petty grudges.

The Artificer

There were so many odd encounters, most of which seemed more circumstantial than any but they were nonetheless always so thought provoking. Everything you touched was incredible, and up until the end Lora kept a hold of the alien flower gift.

Though we didn't interact much, I can't not praise what I did see. Keep going strong with the weird science vibes.

Gul'tel Ken'sek
Okay doggo, here's to you. Though it wasn't long I sincerely enjoyed Gul'tel's leadership of THE IRON CITADEL OF THE THREE HUNDRED SIXTY THIRD, THE SANCTUM OF THE SEEING EYE, THE VASSAL KEEP OF THE ALL-MIGHTY OVERLORD OF ZANSHIBON. It was filled with a lot of energy and created a lot for everyone to do that was involved. I only wish that you stuck around for longer; you made for a great faction leader.

Charlotte Crowe & Youamir & Sydney Harrow

Interacting with you three was such a blast and something outside of the usual sphere / crowd I find myself gravitating towards. I'm really sad that Charlotte wasn't around for longer than she was and that the rivalry with the Iron Brand never grew more than it did.

All three of you play great antagonists. Chaos vs. law is incredibly satisfying to play out and I wish I got to see it more often.

Emma Young

I don't think anything tangible every truly came of their myriad of conversations, but they were always fantastic. I've never felt before like there were two more completely polar opposite characters coexisting- pretty much down to every single little detail, they were just wholly incompatible in every respect.

Still, I enjoyed the conflict between them immensely. If only they didn't live more or less worlds apart from each other as it really impended Lora's ability to be a troublemaker.

What is it Helmites say, "stay vigilant"?

Roselyn Kingsley
Roselyn is such a fantastically well played infiltrator. From the cryptic letters to all of the careful meetings and meticulous planning. The ambitions and all of the energy that just poured off of Roselyn was astounding.

I do honestly harbor quite a few regrets with Lora exposing Roselyn's intentions and disrupting what was going on there, but sometimes stories take unexpected turns. That's no small loss to accept on your part and is something that should be applauded. A great deal of your play on Roselyn is quite inspirational.

Bjorn Frostcloak & Maalafess Enkephalon

Bjorn taking on the mantle of faction leadership was quite the sight to see, and wow did you excel at it. Maalafess too put in an extraordinary amount of work; playing alongside the both of you for the latter half of Lora's involvement with the abyss crew was such a treat.

The tension between them and the conflict that ultimate erupted from it was exciting. It's just a shame that it put so much distance between them that ultimately never hit a thrilling conclusion. But that doesn't diminish at all all of the fun that was built up from the story arc.

Hilda Dwarfsmasher
While we never directly interacted, Lora is who spoke with Bjorn and Maalafess and convinced them to march on Greyport during its bazaar as a political ploy during those shaky times.

While I know little about Hilda, you handled that like a champ. I imagine far, far fewer people could've handled it with the same grace, but you did so excellently.

Vance Gravelle & Kharis & Ausha & John the Elf & Buppi & Sylvia Naern & Laecca Vemc & Honestly most of Myon

Okay, this is a lot of people to group together admittedly but it's because all of you are worthy of being mentioned directly despite the words I'd use not changing all that much.

Lora was a character that had a lot of dead time due to a hole I wrote myself into, but it was still completely worth going through on account of being able to interact as much as I did with all of you. All of you play amazing characters that breathe so much life into the server. The highest of praises don't do you all justice.

DM Titania

I'm not too sure what to say! So I'll just say thank you for your events in hosting the series of events around the cursed child. Absolutely phenomenal, and the best fey around. Just don't tell Butterfly I said so in case they're a fey too.

Everyone involved in the finale

As much as I don't like very broad generalizations, everyone that partook in that ending was excellent. Love you all!



Also, bonus mention:
DM Wish

I realized while writing this that I didn't include you in the 2019 recap. I really should have as the impromptu event you ran last year, even if it's no longer canon, was so fantastic. It was great fun to be along the ride for. Just wanted to include some public acknowledgment for how good it was; you deserve it.

p.s. got a normal

[nullchronicle]

Thank you for playing. it was the first time I was meeting Lora.. and it was a grand finale. I enjoyed it immensely..

~Elinee Fynn's player

[Dovesong]

No love for Sin'ae, I see how it is *cry*

<3 u

[Aniel]

No love for Sin'ae, I see how it is *cry*

<3 u

I think Isandra only ever spoke with Sin'ae around the fashion contest! Which was absolutely hilarious.

Maybe Sin'ae was the one buying all of the scrolls too? I feel terrible for not remembering now.

Sin'ae was a joy for what I occasionally saw of them!

[D4wN]

My RP sessions with Lora have been amongst some of my most favourite and memorable. There was nothing more tense then being surrounded by Helmites or Cordor officials to get a friendly Lora message. You are an incredible RPer with the ability to bring plenty of conflict RP without a need to go straight to PVP and I can’t wait to see what comes next. I hope we’ll run into each other again despite horrible time zones.

Thanks so much for all you’ve given us with Lora!

[Edens_Fall]

While we didn't get to RP much together thanks to time zones or political intrigue, when we did it was most enjoyable. Lora was always a thorn in our side and a topic of fun gossip. I look forward to meeting more of your characters in the future!

[Cybren]

damn I was rooting for lora to win that fight

[Aniel]

Another intermediary post as I find myself moving on from another character.

They aren't rolled, but I've found less and less interest in logging onto them lately and have been focusing on other things.

I wanted to write a bit about some of the characters I came across on Lishan.

Rayne Windbrooke

I found Rayne to be one of the most nuanced characters around in Cordor, always loved to see her. All of the interactions between the two were great. I'm excited to see what path Rayne ends up going down in the future.

Oskarr

While we haven't interacted a lot, I really wanted to say I love the stuff you do. Between the Radiant Heart investigation and the von Brandt investigation, it's great to see someone put so much energy and passion into conducting investigations in RP, and especially with drafting those record books.

The Fellowship

Glorin, Sybilla, Maeve, Caspian, Keldric, Alanna. The Fellowship was/is phenomenal and breathed a lot of life into the game world from what I saw. The countless hours of RP, the inner strife and friendships that formed were stellar. Wherever you all go, greatness follows.

Saorise

I didn't see you around as much as I would have liked to, but Saorise is fantastic. It's rare to see someone so high energy in their RP and it really just radiates around to everyone else in the scene. Getting to do stuff with the Nomad was a unique experience, and I'm glad I got to partake in it.

Darion

Vile fortune-teller! But one of the best fortune-tellers regardless. I've never seen someone do tarots as well as Darion did. It really stuck out to me due to how good you were at it. The sort of thing that feels truly unique, like I'll never quite see the same thing again. Of course none of that is to detract from how good Darion as a character is.

[Seven Sons of Sin]

I hoped that was all only the beginning! I really enjoyed her. big kudos

[Fallout]

I have no clue who your toon is, but thanks for this very pretty and for me valuable kudos. Glad there was more RP to that assasination so kudos back to you.

Looking forward to meet and RP with you on your next toon.

[Aroura]

Hi there!

Matron Kha'Lazza here.
I'm honestly surprised that my first attempt at a Drow made such an impact. I'm sad that I had to let is fade into obscurity for OOC reasons. I'm glad to hear that the people I asked to join me on that little endeavor made such an impact.

[In Sorrow We Trust]

It was always a great pleasure to play with you. You are an amazing roleplayer and your characters are all quite captivating. I appreciate your kind words!