Feb 2014 Archive, part b

She must have seen a badfic. :D

Then again, she's an agent, if she's happy the Flowers are assigning her to the wrong things.

I would be happy to help, though if I knew what world it was in, I could help more. I'm also a little busy at the moment, so it may take some time for me to get to it, as I'm a little busy right now, but I will still look it over.

Send it over to tds3ak AT gmail or yahoo if you want my help.

I mean, I don't know how good I'll be at it, but it always helps to put stuff before a fresh pair of eyes, right? =]

Woo. As an audiophilic fanfiction writer, this interests me highly. I haven't read the Tumblr, so excuse me if this was addressed, but what about remixes? Would that be Alternative Character Interpretation, Character Derailment, or Mary Sue? Perhaps that would depend on how it was handled- after all, these things are up in the air themselves, and so are remixes- either you love it or you hate it, just like with those character conventions, you either consider them acceptable or unacceptable. (Sad that Mary Sues are acceptable, but that's just how it is. That's why this site exists, after all.)

Or remixes could also be like the Seventh Sanctum generators where it's like "your favorite characters if they were like this" or "if they were in this setting".

But if we consider the evolution of, say, the Doctor Who theme, what does that make it? Tone shift? Re-branding?


Anyhoo, since this appears to be a fan-music thread, allow me to plug a few favourites.

Sir Tomash arrived is Borrd some time ago. After dwelling there for some time, he was knighted by Baroness VixenMage. He then took up residence in Iric, and has yet to prove himself in battle against the Marizu.

In the meantime, Tomash, a student of arcane magic, consulted with the Baron Dann about a re-working of the protective spells around Borrd. Dann blessed the effort and provided guidance, and the spells were prepared. However, they have not been cast due to fears that they would bring about a great cataclysm.

[Sneaking in before this drops off the front page.]

Geography

Batveg Mountains - The range of mountains which divides Ozerbord in two. The Spalchik Lowlands, to the north, are significantly higher than the Geymez Plateau to the south. No-one is quite clear on why the names are the way round they are, though rumours abound of drunken parties in the castle Jenerel'stor during the time of Baron Leto.

Bulapka, Font of - Lake, Refuge of Ozerbord. The only body of water of any size in Ozerbord, the Font of Bulapka was famously the goal of the Quest of the Five in the early days of the Triumvirate. It was thus the cause of the first expedition beyond the Wattuf Mtns. On its shores stands the ancient castle Jenerel'stor, once the seat of Baron Leto. The waters of Bulapka are rumoured to have healing properties - or, according to some, the power to erase memories.

Friwep - River, Protectorate of Borrd. Flowing down from the Hustit Range to the Gu-Gel, the Friwep is said to have once been a mighty torrent. These days, it is barely more than a stream.

Geymez Plateau - The southern lowlands of Ozerbord, bounded by the Batveg and Wattuf mountains. The city Ozerbord stands here, and when Ozerbord is used as a refuge, the Plateau is filled with tent cities. At other times, the tents are held in Ozerbord City - except when they are brought out for festivals.

Gu-Gel - River, Protectorate of Borrd. Formed at the joining of the rivers Wep and Friwep, Gu-Gel marks the eastern boundary of the barony of Huinesoron. It is known for its boat people, who sail up and down, searching the currents for anything that might be of use. Due to their living outside the baronies proper, they also serve as Borrd's unofficial banking service - the security of their vaults is famous, though they do ask a lot of personal questions...

Hustit Range - The eastern branch of the northern Wattuf Mountains. The question of whether Ozerbord's border should follow the Wattufs or the Hustits was a contentuous one when the Union of Plort was being organised.

Obref Chain - The southern branch of the Mountains of Reverence, the Obrefs form part of the border between Borrd and Wechi. There are said to be many paths through them which can only be found by those in the know.

Reverence, Mountains of - Branching off the Wattuf Mountains, the Mountains of Reverence are named for the old tradition of journeying there to give thanks after a pilgrimage to the Permeshun Range. It is said that each mountain resembles another in the Marizu lands, and that the mountain a knight climbs will determine his or her destiny.

Spalchik Lowlands - The northern highlands of Ozerbord. Despite the lack of a large city, Spalchik actually has a higher population than the Geymez Plateau.

Wattuf Mountains - The range which forms the border of Ozerbord. In the early days of Plort, it was deemed impassible, until the Quest of the Five climbed over the range in search of the fabled Font of Bulapka. Nowadays, elderly ladies wander across the range to see their grandchildren.

Wep - River, Protectorate of Borrd. The Wep forms a large stretch of the boundary between the baronies of Huinesoron and Phobos. Where it meets the Friwep to form the Gu-Gel, the ancient city of Odolotos can be found.

Settlements

Critta' - Town, Protectorate of Borrd. A small town founded by Dark Civilian Aakmal as an industrial hub on the Gu-Gel.

Ozerbord - City, Refuge of Ozerbord. The capital city and only major population centre in Ozerbord, the city would likely be called a town in any other nation. Many of its buildings stand empty most of the year, accomodation for those who visit for festivities. The annual Games of Batveg are held here, in the shadow of the Batveg Mountains.

Risersh - Town, Protectorate of Borrd. The southernmost town in Borrd, Risersh serves as both a centre for the mining operations south of the Mountains of Reverence, and as an illicit trade route with Wechi across the Obref Range.

Sparbor - Town, Refuge of Ozerbord. One of the 'twin towns', Sparbor was once larger than Ozerbord, but has declined much in recent times.

Teebor - Town, Refuge of Ozerbord. One of the 'twin towns', Teebor tends to experience bursts of population growth, followed by rapid decline. Its buildings are designed to echo the architecture of the city of Borrd.

Castles & Landmarks

Calbek Mine - Mine, Protectorate of Borrd. One of the three great mines which provide the knights of Plorrt with metal for their arms and armour. The disposition of the mines was a source of major contention during the founding of the Refuge of Ozerbord.

Jenerel'stor - Castle, Refuge of Ozerbord. Jenerel'stor was once the seat of Baron Leto, and was the first building founded beyond the Wattuf Mountains. It sits by the fabled Font of Bulapka, whose waters are rumoured to have healing properties - or, according to some, the power to erase memories.

Kwenaya - Castle, Refuge of Ozerbord. In this castle dwells Baron Huinesoron, with the fair Kaitlyn, knight of the legendary and defunct Order of the Knights Who Go ^-^. It is said that Kwenaya holds a vast collection of arms and armour from those knights who have departed Plort, or fallen in battle, and that when he goes to war, Baron Huinesoron often bears such arms, in memory and honour of the lost.

Maklaur - Castle, Refuge of Ozerbord. Former seat of Baron BeautyID, Maklaur lies in southern Ozerbord. Its beautiful orchards are tended by a large number of servants, for the former Baron has a habit of returning unexpectedly for visits.

Trevaya Mine - Mine, Protectorate of Borrd. One of the three great mines which provide the knights of Plorrt with metal for their arms and armour. The disposition of the mines was a source of major contention during the founding of the Refuge of Ozerbord.

Wurtplai Mine - Mine, Protectorate of Borrd. One of the three great mines which provide the knights of Plorrt with metal for their arms and armour. The disposition of the mines was a source of major contention during the founding of the Refuge of Ozerbord.

In times long past there lived in a distant land far to the south a scholar and bard named Ælcalen. Tiring of his studies, he left his home in search of new lands to explore.

Evil chance led his wanderings to the Empire of Fanvik-Neht, where he narrowly escaped capture by the forces of Emperor Xing. Fleeing, he wandered into the wild, until by chance he discovered a secret refuge high in the hills - the fabled Hanathanun. In this high valley Ælcalen rested from his labours and bided his time reading tales of the Kingdom of Medullurth. Amongst the scattered leaves in the library of Hanathanun Ælcalen found a brief account of the exploits of Jay and Acacia and of the far land of Plort.

Intrigued by these tales, Ælcalen set out to find this distant land. Taking a ship out of El-Jhey, Ælcalen made port in the city of Borrd and set out to explore the land of Plort.

Ælcalen arrived on the island during a time of relative peace and stability - Cam and Bast had not yet departed and many of the fabled knights of Plort still frequented the courts and fountains of Borrd. Inspired by these heroes of renown, Ælcalen trained in feats of errantry and enlisted with the forces of Plort sailing on an expedition against the Kingdom of Lotor. Ælcalen joined a company of brave companions known as the "Midylbees", young eager for battle, although sadly few returned to Plort - or those that did soon departed for other lands, unable to find rest on the isle of Konti-Nyuum. The archives of Wechi contain a roll of their honourable names and deeds: the warrior maidens Niscang'el, Æris and Kiwi, mighty in song.

No tale now records who knighted Ælcalen, but in the fighting in Lotor he found honour by killing the dreaded Marizu warlord known only as the Scarlet Maiden in single combat wielding the renowned sword Lo'gann.

Upon returning to Plort, Ælcalen put away his sword - for now - and settled into life in Plort. Ælcalen chose to dwell in the marches between El-jheycom and Borrd in the mead-hall L'Urque, but he travelled often to the festivals of Plort, including the Shipfest and the festivities of Filling the Plothole.

These days Ælcalen rides rarely to war - although the sword Lo'gann remains sharp and ready should need arise - but travels the world, voyaging even unto the Scholar's Empire in search of new lands, leaving the hall L'Urque empty sometimes for months on end.

When in Plort, Ælcalen stays mainly at home in L'Urque, resting from his travels and attending to his kennels filled with wondrous creatures called "manguese" which he bestows upon newcomers to Plort.

L'Urque's location on the boundaries of Borrd and Wechi means Ælcalen travels often search the fabled archives of Baron Neshomeh as he does to the bustling city of Borrd.

Wherever he travels, though, he is sure to return to Borrd for his customary role as herald of the great spring festival of Donning the Lilac, in which the citizens of Borrd wear garlands of lilac flowers and carry ells of rich damask or samite and parade through the streets of Borrd. Often Ælcalen is the first citizen of Borrd to begin the festivities.

Although Ælcalen is now one of the longest-dwelling residents of Konti-Nyuum, he is content living a simple life of freedom in his hall of L'Urque or travelling the lands of Plort.

Elcalion

This may be worth a look. It's a presentation, so click to move to the next map.

(Note that the base does /not/ change - it's the current, and slightly inaccurate, base map. Just the overlay)

For the information on Permission Givers, I would like to thank Baron Araeph for this post. It took me a while to find it, but it solved all my problems. (That said, it claims Leto to have been appointed in '05/'06 - he was already giving out Permission in '04. There's an exchange between him and Bast which appears to be that nomination, so I've gone with that)

hS

The tale of Storme of Hauk, starts in the far lands of Are-Pea, where he tended a tiny city-state and was known as Auran the Blazing. A young man at the time Storme knew not of the threat that is the Marizu, instead enjoying the multitude of contests and games that often occurred between the various city-states in that part of Are-Pea. However, Storme soon grew bored of these contests and games, and handing his lands over to an old friend and fellow ruler of a neighbouring city-state he took leave, journeying beyond the nation-state that had always been his home and off into thee other lands of Are-Pea and beyond.

It was in the lands of Fanvik-Neht that he appeared next, spending some time wandering freely in those lands before settling down in a small keep which he named after himself and his old city-state. Still innocent and unaware of the Marizu and the danger that they beheld Storme began to get acquainted with his new lands. It was a short time later that a small warband of Marizu ended up in his land, asking for shelter and a place to stay for a small while. Seeing no reason as to why not, Storme allowed them to stay. However things do not last forever and soon Storme started to become weary of the warband. It was because of this that Storme started to research the Marizu, taking a long trip to Tivit to study up on them in the great libraries they held there. It was here that he first learnt of the Union of Plorrt, although unlike others he did not travel upon the Hyparlink trade route instead, now knowing the true horror of what was in his lands in Fanvik-Neht he decided to return to his homeland in Are-Pea.

Whilst his homeland had changed drastically from when he had left, and many of his old friends had either been replaced or had withdrawn from the normal contests that he had competed against and with them in, Storme was still welcomed back, and here he lived once again for a small while in peace and happiness.

Eventually Storme remembered that he had to face off against the Marizu that had, by now, no doubt taken over his land or die trying. Bidding farewell to his friends in Are-Pea, he said to them “Now I ride back to Fanvik-Neht to fix my mistakes, my road is long and arduous and I may not see you again.” With that he rode off upon the finest horse from his city-state, his armour, sword and shield sparkling in the night.

Upon returning to Fanvik-Neht and his lands Storme allowed himself a sigh of relief, his worst thoughts and not come to being and his lands still held some semblance of what they had looked like when he had left. Setting up camp just inside his borders Storme waited until he and his horse were rested before they carried on to the Marizu camp. Spotting it, now standing right outside his keep Storme drew his sword and his shield, and with no cry of battle thundered into the Marizu camp, intent on slaying them all.

In the end the Marizu were beaten back, but at a cost, beaten and bloodied Storme dragged himself into his keep, his armour was broke, his shield useless and broken beyond all recognition, his sword snapped and his horse lying dead amongst the few Marizu he had killed. Swearing revenge against Thawne, the leader of the warband who had managed to escape, and the rest of the Mariu still alive Storme locked himself away whilst he healed and brooded and planned what he was going to do next.

It was after a warm summer’s night that he decided to travel to Plorrt and aid in their crusades against the Marizu. Taking the long and potentially dangerous journey by himself Storme eventually landed in Wechi, where he renounced his old name, taking on his current name instead swearing that whatever damage he had done as Auran he would undo as Storme. Intent on moving into Borrd Storme moved through Wechi, stopping at each town on his way to pick up more information that he could use when his time came to confront the Marizu, sometimes even chasing scraps and rumours of information that caused him to deviate from his original route.

Arriving in the lands of Baron Phobos, in the nation of Borrd he was met as most are with a shower of gifts and warm words of welcome. Settling in a small town in the hills to the north of the Gudryting River by the name of Hauk, it was not long before he started to prepare for his pilgrimage to become recognized as a knight.

On his first attempt at the pilgrimage he was unable to ford either the Graymar or the Ponchuashun and as such turned back and never quite reached the Permeshun Range. Unlike in the past where such failures would cause him to withdraw from the world, Storme continued to train and improve himself, before on his second attempt succeeding in his mission to travel up to the Permeshun Range. Journeying back to Cokirt Storme was approved by the Baron and became a knight. However for his own reasons Storme does not truly recognize this title, still referring to himself as a Squire until he truly recognizes that he has become a knight. With bow in hand Storme prepares himself for his first raid against the Marizu, hoping he will prevail and be able to do as he swore and eliminate Thawne and his band of Marizu.

[Wow, I didn't mean for it to be this long.]
[Storme Hawk]

... who refuses to write her own, so I did it for her.

Out of the Magedom of Yung Wi-Sods, before its fall to the Marizu horde, wandered the woman known as Kaitlyn. She travelled into the wide lands of Fanvik-Neht, and there she came upon the fair Castle Harpwire. From within its marble walls she watched the riding forth of the famous knights Jay and Acacia, and heard the tales of their exploits told and retold, and welcomed them joyously on their return.

And when, on an overcast night, the forces of Fanvik-Neht came upon Castle Harpwire and tore down its walls, Kaitlyn was one of those cast out into the biting rain, exiled by force from her home, and by her own choice from Fanvik-Neht.

She followed for a time the wandering knight Cam and her mobile war-camp Ofum, and revelled in their campaigns against the Marizu in the Kingdom of Lotor, but became lost in the northern wastes. There she encountered the fabled Blue Knight, and joined the quest for the idol of Emestee, but forsook the journey before its end. At last she reached the northern shore, and set sail for an island she had heard rumour of - the island where the camp Ofum had permanently settled, and to which the Blue Knight had returned with the idol - the island of Konti-Nyuum.

Joyous reunions there were in the streets of Borrd, and Kaitlyn became a regular sight in the Castle Otik, resplendant and beautiful as Harpwire before its fall. She became fast friends with the Paladin Thalia, and was knighted indeed. She rode to battle with Jay and Acacia’s war-bands, but out of duty, not enthusiasm: her love lay rather in healing, and the arts of Beytah.

Through all the events of the Elder Days - the sealing of Castle Otik, the secession of Chaett - Kaitlyn lived in contentment in the city Borrd. She travelled oft into the south, visiting her friend Thalia in her castle Fanvik - and she was there when the news broke of Thalia’s betrayal. In the trial that followed, Kaitlyn defended her friend - but when the truth was all known, she could not bring herself to follow Thalia into exile.

Rather, Kaitlyn befriended the newcomer Huinesoron, who had been granted possession of the Fanvik Whirl (though not of Fanvik castle itself). When the memories of Fanvik became too much for her, Kaitlyn removed to the city Vaekew - and extended an invitation for Huinesoron to follow her.

They abode there, in houses close together, when the fledgling nation of El-Jheycom declared its independance. Forsaking the city of Borrd and the Protectorate of Plort entirely, Kaitlyn dedicated her healing arts to the service of El-Jheycom - and when El-Jheycom elected to rejoin Plort rather than face invasion and war, the fugitive Duchess Nathonea came to Kaitlyn under cover of night.

“Our nation has fallen,” she whispered behind locked doors, “and I can no longer bear its burdens. I pass the crown to you. When the time comes, restore our freedom - until then, carry the torch, even in the darkest hours.”

None knew of the new-minted Duchess Kaitlyn’s task. Huinesoron, created baron over an eastern land, left Vaekew, with many backward looks. Now Kaitlyn laboured under the dominion of Baron Araeph, building the resistance in secret. She came no more into the streets of Borrd - indeed, many said that she had departed the island forever. But still she worked.

The years passed slowly. When the Republic of Iric announced itself, Kaitlyn watched in silence - its borders lay too far from Vaekew for it to secure El-Jheycom’s renewed existence. And when the Librarians’ War swept through the southern mountains, Kaitlyn herself led the defence of Vaekew, securing its place in the remnant Protectorate - and assuring Wechi’s swift assault should El-Jheycom attempt to free itself from oppression.

Kaitlyn despaired. Should the resistance show itself, it would be swiftly crushed by the armies of Plort, now vigilant for any sign of rebellion - and if, by some miracle, El-Jheycom gained its freedom, the knights of the Commonwealth of Wechi would surely pour down from the mountains to crush it beneath their democratic heels. With her nation’s hopes at an all-time low, Duchess Kaitlyn at last yielded to Baron Huinesoron’s invitations and joined him in his castle Kwenaya.

Before another year had passed, they were wed.

Note that this is less based in reality than some of the others. Kaitlyn has no actual desire to build the LJ comm up as a community to rival the Board. Probably.

Alas! The minstrel retained to cast these deeds in song has been taken ill with gout; thus, we must simply tell the tale in prose.

Many and many a year ago, the man called Huinesoron left the land of Prashette, seeking wider pastures. Passing into the Empire of Fanvik-Neht, he drew near to the borders of Lotor - and there saw for the first time the deprevations of the Marizu. For Prashette had not at that time been overtaken by the Marizu League, though their domains were growing rapidly following the treaty signed by Emperor Xing.

Taken aback by the barbarian hordes, Huinesoron chose to stand in opposition to them. Inspired by stories of Cam the Ruthless and the knights of Ofum, he forged a band of defenders, the Eyes of Pace. In the mountains of eastern Lotor, they laid their traps, sharpened their swords - and, one by one, fell to the Marizu.

Flying from the final wreck of the Eyes’ camp, Huinesoron chanced upon a wandering knight who gave her name as Vemi. Seeing the valour of his heart and the strength of his arm, Vemi undertook to guide Huinesoron to the island of Konti-Nyuum, and the Protectorate of Plort.

Plort was in a state of turmoil when Huinesoron arrived. The castle Otik was sealed, Jay and Acacia long gone. Now the Triumvirate, too, was divided - accusations of treason had been levelled at Thalia. Even as Huinesoron found a home for himself in Borrd, the weaver’s betrayal was bared for all to see, and her departure was assured.

Already seasoned by his time with the Eyes of Pace, Huinesoron was soon knighted under the hands of the two remaining Triumvirs, Cam and Bast. He rode swiftly to war, and his sword Davuth gained fame - and not a few nicks - in the battlefields of Lotor, defending the distant Kingdom of Medellurth. Many were the quests he undertook, including the fabled Quest of the Five, when he found the legendary Fountain of Bleepka.

The field of war and journeying was not Huinesoron’s only home. He was a constant presence in the festivities of Borrd - whether ceremonially Filling the Plotholes, winning laurels at the Games of Batveg, or walking the wharfs in the Shipfest. He was a common sight at the vast Gatherings, always ready with a word or a joke. In recognition of his achievements, he was created custodian of the records of Batveg, and granted possession of Thalia’s former stronghold of Fanvik. But Huinesoron desired more.

Leaving Fanvik and the Whirl to the household staff, Huinesoron returned to the lowlands and took a house in the city Vaekew. He fought, indeed, for the independance of El-Jheycom, but his heart was taken up with a different labour. He sought no less than to chronicle the entire history of the orders of knighthood - to bring their disparate stories into a single whole.

It was a daunting task. The mountain paths between Vaekew and Andbuc became a second home to him, and many assistants came and went. When the first, the wandering knight Vemi, departed for good, he grew despondant, and for many years forsook the great task. Rather, he returned to war, fighting both overseas - he fought honorably in the Battle of Goldberg - and in the petty wars within Plort itself. In the brief but brutal Snowbound War, he emerged as El-Jheycom’s most fervent defender, a warrior and war-leader.

Perhaps that was why, when the treaties were drawn up between Plort and Chaett, Huinesoron was created baron over vast swathes of the eastern regions. He was loath to forsake El-Jheycom, but the Principality’s citizens grew weary of their isolated existence: they elected to rejoin Plort, unifying the island, and freeing Huinesoron for his new duties.

Residing now in the hastily-built citadel Pankae (for Huinesoron had no magic like the Baron Dann’s, to summon a castle from the very air), Huinesoron returned to war with a vengeance. Now his sword hung on the castle wall, but his great mace Nado and his mighty steed Llew swiftly became household names in Borrd. When he found the time, he continued his research - and continued, too, his courtship of the fair knight Kaitlyn.

The sudden declaration of the Republic of Iric caught Huinesoron unawares, and before he knew what was happening he was forced to flee into the night, as his castle crumbled behind him. From Borrd he watched in horror as his former barony rose anew as a foreign power - and when he resettled, it was in the west, as far from Iric as he could travel.

The great work continued. Huinesoron now journeyed often into the Commonwealth of Wechi, seeking the great libraries that were found there. The unexpected granting of independance to the Refuge of Ozerbord meant he was seen less and less in the cities of Borrd - and after he was finally wed to the fair Kaitlyn, the doors of castle Kwenaya were unceremoniously shut.

Huinesoron returned to the public eye two years later, and has become a whirlwind of activity. The great work begun so long ago can never be truly complete, but he has announced his part accomplished. He has undertaken new wars, striking valiant blows against the Marizu, and indeed founded a training unit out of Ofum - the small but fierce Ofodisks.

His reputation, once so golden, has become somewhat tarnished by his actions in the Union of Plort. He is often found feuding with the other barons, and has fought in ill-advised skirmishes against both Iric and Wechi. It is rumoured in Borrd that only the guiding wisdom of Kaitlyn has deterred him from truly rash action - or, as some would have it, that she provokes it.

Seeking perhaps to restore his lost honour, Baron Huinesoron has declared a new great project: building on the work of the far-off scholars of Medellurth, he will examine their legends and draw out all that is hidden within them. Though this may begin to consume his time, he will still journey to war, striking now from afar with the bow known only as the Shadow of the Eagle.

'Cause I had an idea for a Janitor, and so, where would they fit in? I'm thinking something like base maintenance. They'd probably still cleaning stuff up. :)

He travelled wide and far, looking for a place where to dwell when his livelong journey came near its end. Following rumors about a dreaded plague called the Marizu, and the brave knights who fought this evil, he came to the shores of Wechi. Unseen by anybody, he roamed this vast land for over a year, even sneaking into Arkive and the Hall of Ancient Records. Only when a stranger accused the noble knights of vile malefaction, Hieronymus stepped forward to Borrd to defend their selfless deeds.

Since then, he has talked to some of the denizens of Plort, and he began to build his home in Wechi, and to prepare his offerings to Kanun and Spelin, for he pondered to explore the mountain range of Purmeshun, but now he seems to be lost in the wood of Kar’eer. How he got there is still a mystery, for he has never been seen in Iric.

Some may conclude that Hieronymus is a fearsome mage who comes and goes of his own volition, and has not revealed his full power yet, while others may believe that he is a leave in the wind, never knowing where he may be tomorrow, and both may be right, for being self-contradictory is his very nature.

[How dare you teasing me with this. I should have done something totally different today. But double-foreign language is a challenge I couldn’t shirk.]

HG

The coming of Sir Ekyl to the lands of Konti-Nyuum is not one tale but two or perhaps three, and many details of his earliest ventures have been lost to even his own memory, though he estimates that his first journey to these shores came before the fracturing of the Protectorate of Plort but after the departure of Jay and Acacia.

The Protectorate first came to Sir Ekyl's attention years ago, when he made his residence in the then-fertile lands of Gaf and El-Jheycom, where he and many others made war of their own against Fanvik-Neht and the Marizu. He fought well in those days, and when traders from Plort met with him he was enthralled by tales of Jay and Acacia, the monk Wolfram, early reports from the future Baron Huinesoron and many other tales of snark and heroism. So intrigued, he convinced these traders to take him to their own lands, where he settled for a time.

Unfortunately, this was a time of idleness for the people of the Protectorate, and their customs rang strangely in his ears. When he returned to Gaf, the people of Plort faded from his memory and were seldom thought about, for not long after his time spent among them the island of Gaf was laid low by a great earthquake, his holdings in El-Jhaycom besieged by trolls, and concerns in the lands beyond Weab occupied his attention further still. He joined with the survivors of Gaf in their diaspora, and when the troll-queen Lolita was revealed to have taken power over them he was in the van of the great battles fought against her forces, where he rode under the banner of the newly-proclaimed Gaf king Nihilo and fought alongside paladins from the empire of Somath-Aful, a mighty realm to the east that is largely unaware of Plort and its successor nations, which observes and fights against the worst excesses of the lands of Weab.

Many survivors of Old Gaf fell, heroes from the golden days distinguishing themselves once more or meeting their end on both sides of the conflict, but finally Lolita fell in single combat against King Nihilo. The new king pardoned those survivors of Gaf who had been deluded into fighting under her banner, but ordered her capital razed and formed the islands of the diaspora into a new kingdom, which he called Wugwha. There Sir Ekyl, who at the time was named Kaygee, lived and made his trade for quite some time, continuing his battles against the forces of Marizu under the banner of the grimacing sun.

It was in these days that he became aware of the realm of Tivit. Enamoured with what he found, he travelled often to the demesne of King Edward the Swift, where he became aware once more of the island of Konti-Nyuum (he would, in fact, briefly encounter Acacia herself in Tivit, but there is sadly not much of a tale to be told about it). Remembering at last how fond he had been of the Protectorate, and intrigued by the records of all that had changed in the years he had been gone, he moved from Wugwha to what was now the country of Borrd and attempted to reintegrate himself into the society he had once thought abandoned.

There, he was met by Baron Huinesoron, who told him quite frankly that nobody on the island remembered his past visit and he would thus be treated as a newcomer. It was suggested that rather than throw himself immediately into the fray, he spend a time acclimating himself to their lands, get to know the kingdoms' residents and prepare himself for the traditional pilgrimage to the mountains of Purmeshun. This he did, getting to know citizens like future baroness Cassie, current barons Dann and Neshomeh, and Lady Sara, whom he romanced for a time but now does not speak of. When the day came for his pilgrimage, he threw himself into the task with great vigour, making the traditional offerings at the temples Kanun and Spelin. When he arrived at Permeshun, he again encountered Huinesoron, who confessed he was amused by the tales Ekyl (or then still Kaygee) had spun on the way and granted him a knighthood, though not without one reservation: the target of Sir Ekyl's first planned campaign was none other than the Marizu warlord King Sciurus, who had once faced the great knight known only as PA and been defeated, and who was suspected by many in the courts of Borrd to be a troll in disguise. He warned the young knight of this fact, but gave him leave to do as he would.

Undaunted, the knight led a force into Fanvik-Neht and met the host of King Sciurus in the expansive Halo Valley, where his troops broke the powerful but ill-disciplined Marizu warband. Seeking to restore the morale of his men, Sciurus challenged the knight to personal combat, but was swiftly unhorsed, and where he fell the grass turned red from the grave wounds dealt him. While Sciurus was not dead for good, and in fact many years later would confess to have been a troll from Somath-Aful before leaving the lands of Fanvik-Neht for ever, his army was smashed and Ekyl returned to Konti-Nyuum victorious. In other sorties, Ekyl would defeat Marizu and Fanvik-Neht leaders such as the Hammerspace Knight, who conjured weapons from nowhere, and the Pirate of Storms who conjured clouds of urple to confuse and dismay his enemies, and on several occasions lent his strength to the forces of Cassie in battles and raids.

Unfortunately, not all was well. In those days Ekyl, while brave and skilled in the ways of war, was bellicose, opinionated and often vulgar. He would argue with or alienate many of his fellows, and while his later apologies and attempts to redeem himself were sincere, it was not always enough; there was never peace between himself and Baroness July, for example, and these were already days of much conflict due to trolls, rebels, clashes between Borrd and Iric and immigrants from Tivit who cared nothing for the workings of the realm. The problem there was eventually deduced to be flaws in the records in Tivit which gave its residents improper ideas of what the Union of Plort stood for, and Sir Ekyl (among others, such as Baron Dann) was part of a delegation sent to the court of King Edward the Swift to correct the matter; unfortunately, King Edward and his men refused to do this and even barred the delegation from doing it themselves, stating that the flawed records being about the knights themselves was not relevant and that they were mere invaders.

Hearing this, the delegation was forced to take the matter in their own hands, and when they next returned to Tivit they did so wearing arms and armour, and leading soldiers. The aim was not to destroy Tivit or harm its people, but to make the required changes themselves and engage King Edward's forces in self-defence if need be. Despite these nonviolent aims, battles were fought and the army of Tivit driven back again and again as the delegation forced its way into the city of Weabwork to make the changes they had peacefully requested before. The attempt was mostly successful, but King Edward had sent troops led by his own personal guard to prevent them from returning to their ships. Sir Ekyl slew many knights of Tivit (or in their dialect, tropadours) in these battles, but was himself wounded, and a spell cast by the Tivit mage Fighteer drove him from the field and barred him from ever returning to Tivit. The delegation and their troops were able to safely retreat, however, and while many of the things they changed were reverted the mission was largely a success; Sir Ekyl would later counter Fighteer's spell with rites from the ancient school of magic known as Eyepi, but had no interest in returning anyway, for he had by then learned that Tivit was a corrupt realm led by hedonistic and tyrannical lords.

Soon the tensions among the lands of Konti-Nyuum died down, and Sir Ekyl would go on a number of adventures and (at least begin to) write many stories, though few have been released to the people of Borrd so far. He continued his correspondence with many other great lords and knights and tried to make peace with those he'd wronged, something that was more often than not successful; it was also through this correspondence that he developed many ideas and theories for the Union, and would end up collaborating with Baron Huinesoron in the latest part of his historical research. Unfortunately, when the beginning of this project was released to the people of Borrd they responded with great outrage, and while they did not actively drive Sir Ekyl from the land he was left humiliated; soon afterwards, he would embark on an important quest to lands far from Weab, to the Federation of Academia, Scholars' Empire and mythical Arell, and while this was no intentional exile he would not return for many a year, and many important things would happen in his absence, such as the departure of July and destruction of her baronial seat. Baron Huinesoron would complete their project without him, though when they spoke on the matter he invited Sir Ekyl to continue the work he had started on his own time, for the baron had been pleased by it.

When Sir Ekyl did return, no longer going by the name Kaygee, he was wiser and more mature for the experiences he had in those far off lands, and felt struck by guilt for what he saw as abandoning his duties. His friend Cassie, now a baroness, granted him a fief and castle, and he proceeded to do his best to continue warring against the Marizu and contribute to the affairs of Borrd and Wechi. Recently, when pirates raided Wechi by night, having come to Plort with claims of friendship only to turn their cloaks and plunder the land before fleeing to the islands of Fafka and Plopos, it was Sir Ekyl that Baroness Neshomeh called upon, and he sailed with his retinue to present the pirate lords with offers of peace and friendship. When he arrived at the two islands, however, he found the halls deserted save a handful of servants who still remained, maintaining the grounds as if unaware the masters had left. He left the same message to servants on both isles, an offer of friendship and request for Plort's former friends to explain themselves, and reclaimed what had been stolen, but had to return otherwise empty-handed, and the islands and those servants still on them were later washed away by the intercession of the gods of Wechi-Ah, called upon by Baroness Neshomeh when the pirate lords failed to respond in the time Sir Ekyl had given them.

Since then, Sir Ekyl has quietly conducted his affairs in his keep, the imposing castle of Godreve, where he watches over the small fief granted him and pores over innumerable dusty tomes - some his work, which he scrawls at by the day, and some that of others which he reads - in the great library; a town has formed around the castle as well, but aside from overseeing various civic projects or defending it from the occasional troll raiders who penetrate that far into the Union of Plort's territory Sir Ekyl is not often seen there. His keep is in the middle of Cassie's baronial lands, and lies equidistant from Wechi, Iric and the rest of Borrd, between which he travels frequently to interact with the people there and assist wherever he may. He has still not released many stories, and many of the ones he has done are said to have been written purely in personal correspondence between himself and the oft-absent baroness, but he claims to still be working on them, as well as attempts at gaining a foothold in the land of Autor, and that he will put out his reports and stories when they are "ready". Until then they are jealously guarded by his retinue of men-at-arms, though he sometimes invites other knights or even barons to come read some of the tomes. Some say he himself harbours ambitions of one day rising to a baronial seat...

[Hoo boy, that came out a lot longer than I meant it to so I'm just going to cut things off there so I can have something done and deal with the work I've gotta do. I hope people don't mind the read though. :P]

Hear now the tale of the Filius Caeli, Seeker of Lore.

Filius was a traveler along the lands of Weab, and could often be seen in Fanvik-Neht, Yu’Tub, and Tivit. He was a seeker of lore, always on the search for new stories to satisfy his curiosity.

During a sojourn in Tivit not too long ago, Filius heard of the valiant knights of the Protectorate of Plort. Seeing in Plort a trove of stories yet unread, Filius sailed along the Hyparlink trade route to the island of Konti-Nyuum, where he immersed himself in the exploits of the renowned Jay and Acacia, the lore of the Knights of Retben, and many other divers and sundry tales of the knights of Plort. However, even Plort could not satisfy his never-ending desire for new stories, so he set out for Weab once more, returning to Plort whenever he heard that a knight returned from battle against the Marizu.

Filius would have been content to continue living as a wanderer, going between lands, had he not seen the dread Marizu face-to-face. One day, as Filius was sampling a new tale in the land of Fanvik-Neht, behold, he came face-to-face with a band of Marizu that were sworn enemies of the Knights of Retben. Thus Filius set forth for Plort to seek the knights’ aid.

Filius was warmly welcomed in the City of Borrd, but alas! the knights whose aid he had sought to procure had either disappeared or had never been to the region of Fanvik-Neht where the Marizu had attacked. Yet Filius harbored no ill will against the knights, but decided to become a citizen, for even a wanderer will find the path to the Mountains of Permeshun closed to all but citizens of the nations of Plort.

Though Filius still wanders far and wide—as is his wont—and has even extended his wanderings to the fabled Library of Dammd, he is somehow never far from Borrd whenever a knight returns from battle. Eager to hear of the conquest in full detail, he will be one of the first to welcome the hero of Plort upon his or her return from a raid against the vile Marizu.

[As a bit of clarification, I have no intentions as of yet to gain Permission, but I had to find some way to make Filius a citizen despite never receiving the aid he sought! Somehow, "he knew that the knights were busy people, and he liked the people of Borrd" doesn't seem to fit.]

[P.S.: To forestall any questions, "filius caeli" is Latin for "son of heaven," and the Library of Dammd is a reference to the Library of the Damned. What Huinesoron decides to do with this new place is up to him.]

[on the wars of the Union of Plort against the vile Marizu, why don't you or Baron Neshomeh enlighten the masses with a tale of one of Plort's valiant knights in the Union's quest to rid the world of the vile art of pla'tool?

In plain English, what would a PPC mission look like in this world?]

[P.S.: And if anyone else wants to try their hand, feel free; this isn't restricted to hS and Neshomeh. Who better to Plort-ify a mission than the original mission writer?]

[Is there a rank for those who have permission (have been knighted) but have yet to write a mission (go on a raid/crusade)? I was working on a post for this and the thought struck me]

These maps are of course still provisional. New forests can go on the first two, new towns on the second, and whole new lands on the third. Still, I thought it was time we knew what we were looking at.

In line with that, and since there's places there which haven't been mentioned yet, the main document has been updated to include Baron Huinesoron's Cyclopaedia of Plort. Here you will find entries on virtually everything and -one mentioned so far, including appropriately-marked quotes from this thread. Endless fun!

hS

Deep in the coastal forests of Borrd lives a young lady-knight with the image of a curiously twisted baked good on her heraldic banner. She occasionally visits her fellow knights, spreading tales of her most trusted hired swords and the continuous fight against the bane of the Marizu. It is long forgotten as to how the lady-knight came to live in Borrd, though after an eager initial start in the battle against the Marizu, her battles have lessened greatly.

At times missives with her personal seal are seen, but rarely so; recently she has turned her attention towards schooling, bettering herself against the threat of the Marizu and their ilk, gaining one level of mastery and continuing on to aspire towards an intermediate but by no means lesser achievement. Only occasionally is she seen in person, appearing just twice to enjoy the company of her fellow brothers- and sisters-in-arms at one of the Great Gatherings. She is a prolific writer, competing in grand contests such as the Nahn-Oh Wry-Moh each autumn, as well as scribing stories for her own amusement in the long, rainy winters of her small demesne.

Legend has it that the tower of Tegnoh, a structure assembled from perfectly cubical blocks of stone, once traveled between Iric and Borrd as it saw fit. Years ago, though, even before the fires claimed Flayme, the encroachment of the great Kar'eer forest left the tower permanently anchored in Iric. Its master, the wizard Dann, watches across the lands of Iric and Borrd quietly, only rarely appearing in Borrd outside the festival times.

Cut off from Borrd by two great mountain ranges and a raging river, the port city of La Wunj is full of strange ships, exotic accents, and rituals of greeting and farewell that would seem outlandish on the streets of Borrd. Dann is found there frequently in the evenings, after tending the exotic trees and blossoms of the Kar'eer forest all day. After a lab accident involving one of the regular La Wunjers, he occasionally takes the form of a black housecat rather than his normal arcane attire.

... and wish to offer our congratulations and applause to all who have contributed their life stories.

As all (well, most) know, our island home lies at a critical juncture. To the south lie the lands of the Marizu and their allies, occupying the eastern half of the continent Weab; they are our foes. To the west can be found many nations, some near to us, some bitter enemies - the land of Tivit lies nearest, as many migrants along the Hyparlink trade route know.

To the north-east, far distant, can be found continent of the Scholars' Empire - wherein are found such lands as Doktaru, Sureloch, and so forth - and the Confederation of Academia, from where such revered names as En'gleesh and Mats hail.

The Marizu, having subjugated and subverted the lands around them, would wage bloody war on Scholars and Academics alike. With the catastrophes that have struck our sister islands - the volcanic destruction of De Litarios shocked us all - Konti-Nyuum, and the Union of Plort, is the only significant power lying between the Marizu and their prey. We must continue in our valiant defence - lest all the world fall before their urple power.

Baron Huinesoron the Historian, by my own hand from Kwenaya

[Seriously - I love it all! Great stuff, guys. This post is mostly a preview of the world map which will at some point appear. ~hS]

This knight started as an apprentice binder in a land far from the countries known as "Weab," restoring the tomes which carried the words of the Academics (Bai-Yo, En'gleesh, Mats, etc.). From hearing the tales from other lands, he yearned to reach them, initially through voyages setting out from the Kingdom of Hearts.

Eventually, however, the Book Repairman learned of the mighty fleets of Plort, and the greater ease of access their ships provided to reach many different lands. Upon arrival, the Repairman did not settle in any one land, but traveled constantly from Iric to Wechi to Borrd, meeting and learning from the diverse peoples throughout Plort.

Initially, he yearned to serve chiefly as knight, and made scant few, overly-funded missions to some lands beset by Marizu. However, between the material investment in such voyages and the disappearance of his good friend July from the island, the Repairman eventually spent more and more time in Wechi. He has currently returned to his roots, repairing the records of knights of ages past, and ensuring word of their heroics lasts forever, that the future peoples of Plort might never forget what has come before.

Nonetheless, his campaigns against the Marizu are not yet at an end.

The Wandering Winterwood journeys ceaselessly, starting from the domain of Fixionarly where she learnt the magical arts from the Lady Cassandra. In time, she sought to be greater (and more true to the deity Kanun) than her mentor and the denizens of Fixionarly, and left.

For a time she dwelt in Fanvik-Neht, where she heard of the gospel of Cam and the military camp Ofum. Migrating to El-Jhey, she discovered Cam in hiding there, and befriended her. From thereon her magic was inspired by the once-fearsome Cam, and through her new mentor she first heard legends of the lands of Plort.

The Wandering Winterwood arrived in Borrd, eager to find new mentors, to continue learning and refining her magic. Alas, her spells were hasty and immature, and she had not yet gained enough experience to ward off the ever present threat of spells from Marizu, and unwittingly fell under their enchantments even in the safety of Borrd.

Ashamed, the Wandering Winterwood left in the dead of night, wandering to other corners of the realm. Whispers of her presence in the lands of Are-Pea and Fanvik-Neht travelled in the wind and through the woods, sometimes reaching Plort, sometimes not. It was only until she had crafted her own military training camps in the fashion of Cam that she fully returned to Plort, armed with new purpose and new domains to protect -- that of Hitalya, Sureloch, and Doktaru, amid others.

With her return, the Wandering Winterwood took up residence in the town of Tumblar, a liberal-minded port town with trading connections to all the different lands, though she maintains land won through her numerous connections in Tumblar in Ayohtree, a land where few denizens of Marizu have taken root. She alternates between slaying the evils of Marizu, crafting her own spells (oft with her companion Intell), and training the next generation of the defenders of Plort.

The west of Borrd is not so wild a place as other regions. The land was settled in the days of the knights Jay and Acacia, and it is bordered by strong allies. The people of the region are, for the most part, an industrious and creative lot with many artisans and craftspeople among its citizens.

The landscape is mostly rolling plains north of the three rivers: the Graymar, the Ponchuashun, and the Gudryting (which is formed by the confluence of the other two near the Temples of Kanun and Spelin). South of the rivers is the woodland of Umor that borders on the realm of Wechi. The arm of the Wattuf Mountains that reaches into the plains is known as the Purmeshun Range. It is to these mountains that every would-be knight must make a pilgrimage, leaving offerings at the Temples of Kanun and Spelin along the way, before they may be knighted.

Baron Phobos, in his castle at Cokirt, is one of the newest Barons. He was a knight, before his ascension, and his favored weapon is the warhammer. There are some that say he owes his Barony to a political marriage with the Baroness Neshomeh. Others claim it was earned through battles across both Borrd and Iric. Still others believe that he gained his seat through some democratic process. Whatever the method, he watches over his lands, even when his attention may seem to be elsewhere.

While he can be more strict with his rulings than some of the other Barons, he is often in seclusion for long periods of time. He maintains the laws of his realm and seems to do little else. However, it would be unwise to think him lazy for, while he is slow to act, any action he does take is forceful and intended to end disputes quickly. The border his realm shares with Baron Huinesoron's is often the site of minor skirmishes. While little damage is ever done in these clashes, some treaties have resulted.

-Phobos

Aila vyn Sini came originally to Plort in pursuit of rumours and fragmented stories of they who resist the scourge of the terrible Marizu, upon whom she looked with loathing, though without understanding of why it was so. It took her some time before she found her way, but after wanderings through Fanvik-Neht and the smaller Aohtree, she came upon a tale of the City of Ofum, which included a wandering set of directions to the Commonwealth of Wechi. She resided therein for some time, combing the archives of Neshomeh before tentatively setting out to wander in Borrd.

She still wanders there, finding herself often congratulating those knights recently returned from the slaying of Marizu, but not brave enough to attempt to face the menace herself, as she doubts her skill with arms and seeks to improve before attempting to become a knight. Her occasional returns to Wechi are quiet, and often for the sole purpose of returning to the archives, but she is forever expressing support of all that catches her eye, both in Wechi and in Borrd.

[The 'vyn' would mean 'child of,' I think.]

[When I first saw this, I went, ooh, interesting, another AU. And then I realised it was a PPC community AU. You should have seen my face.]

-Aila

Hear ye, hear this tale of a wand'ring bard,
He who formed a life, rather avant-garde
He will sing a part of his life-song now,
And he will tell you much, I fear, a shortened tale of how
His life would never at all remain, by any stretch, unscarred

From a small Vaekewian lumberyard
Songs of heroes, and of the vices they sparred
Sung by this youthful man with a lightened brow

Hear ye, hear this tale of a wand'ring bard,
He who formed a life, rather avant-garde
He will sing a part of his life-song now,

As his songs became grand and rather hard,
He took his song to the world at this church's yard;
But while there, he heard a tune quite low-brow
And found such verse that quite good taste would quickly disallow;
With music terse, and words debased, these verses he'd bombard

Hear ye, hear this tale of a wand'ring bard,
He who formed a life, rather avant-garde
He will sing a part of his life-song now,
And he will tell you much, I fear, a shortened tale of how
His life would never at all remain, by any stretch, unscarred

----**----**----

He went out to the world, and he saw the knights of yore
And decided then to join them, braving all the blood and gore,
His sword hand was quite steady, even though he would not dare,
To admit his sword-hand raised high, from a special temper flare
But even so he fought this fight, as any good knight would,
A warrior 'gainst Marizu, he would fight for forces good.

And yet a doubt assailed him in a time of inner strife,
A doubt that made him flee the world, and seek advent'rous life,
And yet he felt a hole inside which grew each lonely day,
How could he have let himself be led astray?

He went out to the world, and he saw the knights of yore
And decided then to join them, braving all the blood and gore,
His sword hand was quite steady, even though he would not dare,
To admit his sword-hand raised high, from a special temper flare
But even so he fought this fight, as any good knight would,
A warrior 'gainst Marizu, he would fight for forces good.

----**----

((Whoah. Okay, so maybe doing it in verse (and further, having the first part be styled after a medieval rondeau cinquain and then styling the second part as a da capo aria) wasn't the best idea, but I did it! I don't think it's settable to music in the way the form is intended to be set, but I'm just happy I kept the rhyme scheme intact! Yay! *happy dance*))

One would have not thought much of the man known as PC upon his arrival in the city of Borrd. He was just another wide-eyed wanderer from Tivit with a head full of preconceptions and a belly full of snark-fire. A follower of both the Great God Pterry and the Scientific Theatre of Three Thousand Mysteries, he had dreams of leading men and women into battle against Marizu and all their associated ilk. He would descend upon his opponents with a sword made of mockery in the style of the saint Mike and Joel.

PC was eventually granted a knighthood after much training and patience. He did rest on his laurels long, instead launching himself into a series of battles against the Marizu. His most famous victory came against the Marizu leader known as Chizzstake, who was so persistent in his attacks it took two battles to finish the fiend off properly. PC reveled in it.

Those days did not last. After several protracted campaigns against the Marizu, PC found himself tiring of the same old warfare. The reports from other knights no longer compelled him in the same way. He saw no lessons being learned from their conflicts. That, combined with the border conflicts between Borrd and Iric (both places he called home), eventually led to one fateful day. On that day, PC marched into the halls of government, threw down his sword, and announced that he would leave Konti-Nyuum.

No one quite knew where he went after that. Some say he wandered the world as a freelance man-at-arms, offering his services to random fiefdoms. Some say he went mad penning random treatises that no one read. A few even whispered that he had ventured to the distant and dangerous lands of Yu'Tub in order to carve out a barony for himself.

In any event, PC did eventually return (the snark-fires within are not so easily dimmed). But the PC that came back was not the same one who left. His armor was gone, replaced with robes of black and grey. He sought not more battles, but instead to educate and train the new knights (and maybe even a few barons). The stories he tells now are not of warfare and the Marizu, but of personal drama and partnerships made strong.

PC wanders vagabond-like between the realms of Borrd, Wechi, and Iric. He has no fief of his own. That might change, however. Those he speaks to claim he aspires to a grand fortress and school called Worhkshap, where he can educate the warriors and barons of tomorrow.

((Man, I can be full of myself. Not to mention a bit prone to purple prose. Eh, it still sort fits.))

((Imaginary internet points to anyone who can spot all the various references I make.))

...As I tell you the tale of the knight Jumper, wanderer of the world.

Before Jumper earned the honor of Knighthood, even before he moved to the land of Plort, he was a Man of the Horse, proud citizen of Bronee. Bronee was known far and wide in the world of Weab, their song and art spread far beyond their borders, and loved even by those who rejected the Horse. For this young Man of the Horse, it seemed as though he could not receive enough tales of the Six to satisfy his hunger.

Jumper traveled through Weab, finding holds of the Bronee wherever he went to rest and sample the tales from those lands. While he found grand fare wherever he traveled, continuously he heard hushed whispers of darker holds, taken from the Bronee by those known only as the Marizu. After hearing the rumors one time too many, he finally built up the courage to ask about these holds. As he heard the atrocities committed by the Marizu, his horror built. How could anyone do such unspeakable acts to the Six? To the Princesses of the Sun and Moon which he held in the highest regard? He renounced the Marizu that day, vowing particular revenge upon the Marizu known as Pinkamena, for her atrocities committed against Bronee.

The man continued his travels, and as he did, receved a vision of another traveler. He thought on this character long and hard as he traveled, until the day he chose to visit the land of Tivit. He had heard of their scholars, how they recorded and codified near every tale, finding the tools used by the storytellers and bringing them to light for all to see. He stayed awake the long hours of many a night, combing though the archives for tools for which he could build his own tale. It was here he found reference to the Protectorate of Plort. He found himself enthralled, fascinated by the tales of those brave Knights who hunted down the dreaded Marizu, including his sworn enemy, Pinkamena. He had to know more. He had to find this land of Plort, and see these Knights in person, to thank them for what they have done.

He followed the path of other Tivits sailing towards the land of Plort. He landed in the country of Wechi, where all documents pertaining to the land of Plort were archived. For several weeks, he stayed there, resting in an inn as he read on the laws of the land. When he felt himself familiarized with the ways of these people's customs, he took the road of Hyparlink into the kingdom of Borrd.

When he arrived, he found himself showered with gifts, a practice of these peoples he was warned of, yet did not properly anticipate come the actual event. There, he was greeted by citizen and Knight alike, including some of those who inspired his move to the land of Plort. He knew then that he was a citizen of a land that he would call his home as much as Bronee. He gave himself the name of Jumper, and settled in the city of Borrd.

However, he was not fully content. He had seen the knights in their splendor, and wished to join their noble ranks. He worked and labored, crafting the tools for which he would strike at the Marizu for many months, forging them just so, to impress the Barons and earn his knighthood. When at last he was satisfied, he presented himself to the Barons, pledging himself to the extermination of the Marizu. He swore to drive their Urple taint from his homeland of Bronee, not to rest until they are thoroughly defeated.

The Baron Huinesoron looked upon him, to see if this Man of the Horse was worthy of Knighthood. After much pondering and debate, once demanding to see another example of the man's ability, the Baron came to a decision at last. The Baron withdrew his sword, and said, "From the work that I have seen, in various stages of completion, I have come to a decision. This man shows determination and skill enough for knighthood. Do any other Barons oppose his advancement?" Upon hearing no objection, Baron Huinesoron lay his sword to Jumper's shoulders. "Then, I dub the Knight Jumper. Thine hold is nothing, for now. Build your keep where you will, and keep it safe."

And so, he did. The Knight Jumper, Man of the Horse, built his keep nearest to the borders of Bronee. There he resides, venturing out when he can to drive back the Marizu from his old home. When not in his keep, or slaying the forces of the Marizu, he sings praises to the Six and the tales of Bronee in the city of Borrd, much to the joy (and annoyance) on many.

((And...CUT! Whew, that went on much longer then anticipated. Well, after writing the Epoch of Jumper, who has completed only one crusade thus far, I find myself thinking even more about this world. I think I'm going to tell the story of Bronee later, going through the history of the fandom in the same style Huinesoron did with the PPC. There is a lot of history in this young fandom, that I think lends itself beautifully to this style. I'll write it in a Google doc and share it when it's done, if I do it.))

Or maybe a coach builder.

Or artistic licence, whichever. :P I'm thinking up my thing, that'll be in a new reply.

And the baronies of Plort are no exception. A figure arose, trained in the arts of the harlequin over many years, turning from a sullen and melancholic young maid into a true harlequin. Alas and alack, not everyone shares her gift for laughter - her book-keeper, kept at her side by the vague promise of one day returning to her homeland of Doktaru, being one of the more notable ones - especially the fiefdoms of the Marizu, who outlawed levity and gaiety of all stripes in the Treaty of Sirruz-Biznuss. Despite this, the pair have traveled extensively throughout Plort, with Signora Wobbellini the toast of both children and harried parents grateful for a moment's respite. Recently, they have taken to touring the mainland, in particular the Tynee-Vandam Co-Prosperity Hegemony (a vassal of Marizu in all but name), to conduct a charm offensive against the Marizu as only a clown can. Custard pies and slapstick may or may not be involved.

Wow, where to even begin?

Well, as to shifting borders and such, Baroness Neshomeh must've had a domain in Borrd before settling down in the wild frontier of Wechi, although Wechi was founded before Neshomeh even became a baron (the wiki was created in December 2007, Laburnum and I became PGs in May 2008). Perhaps this became Phobos' domain when he joined his house to hers in 2011.

There was, of course, the uncertain period when the Baroness sojourned in exile from Plort altogether, returning only because she could not rest from the war against the Marizu, whatever troubles awaited her on the island. It was then, no doubt, that she settled permanently in Wechi, though frequently visiting Borrd to perform official military functions and such. She remains a stranger to the lands of Iric; although she is on friendly terms with the barons there, the climate is not much to her liking.

She leads occasional strikes against the Marizu, but devotes most of her time to maintaining her land, which remains somewhat wild and untamed despite efforts to lay down common roads and other infrastructure. It remains a somewhat daunting land to those who have never journeyed there before, and only a hardy few, such as the brave knight doctorlit, make their homes amid the wide, lonely moors. Even Neshomeh's beloved husband, Phobos, rarely visits her in the remote highland castle of Vaekew. (Which may be renamed Arkive...? There could be a city of Vaekew, though, to go with Andbuc and Manyuel.)

(Also, Wechi is Scotland, apparently.)

~Neshomeh

[You should be a Duke, or even a Petty King since we are a Protectorate, although I don't quite catch who our Baron are vassal of. You see, most Dukes hold a few cities, but Barons holds very little land, only a village or two. Based on English Peerage, anyway. Are you using your own Peerage system? Tell us, so we could adjust accordingly.]

[Dukes-> Marquis-> Earl-> Viscount-> Baron. Each ranks is lower than the next, beginning with Duke. Since you hold a rather large area of land, the city of Ozerbord and town of Kwenaya, you are definitely a Duke, although a bit on the poor side.]

[You can't really have a castle without it also be a small town, unless it belongs to a military order, then the town will usually grow around it. IRL, French and English villages often spend some time building their knight a small castle, even a motte-and-bailey, to defend themselves against raiders and Chevauchees. So everyone participating will have a small village with a castle in the middle of it, because we are still a bit in the medieval age.]

My king's domain was taken over by an usurper from the next kingdom. With his bad policy against orcs, (genociding them, destroying the gold mines they are forced to dig, forcing them to ballet, seriously?) and a host of bad habits that make Caligula seems a modest person, my kampung demands that we uproot and find some new lands to open. Confident that there are large swaths of Nusantara to explore, we don't expect a thunderstorm to attack our ship. A bomoh falls off his boat trying to pacify the garuda behind the storm, but only by me giving up the last of my pitis do the garuda leave. Seroiusly, garudas can go bandit sometimes.

After almost rioting over the lack of food, even after having to fish, we arrived at a new world we never recorded on our maps before. Lord Huinesoron take our oath of peacekeeping, and we set up a small town, Critta' (Ch-rit-ta'), where industry is to be done with the least cost to achieve best quality and highest profit. We have trouble setting up shop at first, but the ability of orcs to improvise and men to make life comfortable are most underrated. Many come to buy our textile, and soon some orcs and men begin to craft fashionwear based on the memories of our former homeland.

I myself mostly sail beyond Plort to gain extra cash, returning with curry powder, onions, and garlic to spice up our paltry dish of fishflesh and cowflesh, as my orcs call it, in wheat gruel or cooked rice. Our meals are further enriched by cottonseed and some kangkung we bring along, which as luck would have it, have already mutated before we arrive to be edible. Our greatest risk, should we be besieged, are our inability to find enough wheat and rice to stock for emergencies. Seriously, my people inhale food.

Our main source of conflict with the rest of Plort is the accusation that Dark Lord Aakmal tries to spread Glitter throughout the whole kingdom, the kangkung weed infestation, his inability to answer summons, laziness to defend the land from Marizu, and the high price of spices at my town. Also the fact that he hasn't downgraded his rank to Knight yet.

[I ask that Critta' is placed at the delta at the north, right between the boundaries of Huinesoron's and Phobos' barony. And are we having four seasons in Plort? My people are going tobe extremely angry is I fail to secure winterclothing materials before the first snow falls.]

I don't think chocolate itself would be outright poisonous to a horse, not in an emergency way. More like, just bad for the horse's health long-term. If you wanted to actually kill a horse with chocolate, you'd have your work cut out for you.

However, it does occur to me that chocolate would be an excellent way to conceal many types of poisons--namely, the ones with a bitter taste. Chocolate is already bitter, though it's sweetened with sugar. Mix a bitter poison into a chocolate bar, and you might have a poisoned candy that tastes like low-quality chocolate rather than like a murder weapon. Would it work in the real world? Who knows. But it makes for a plausible murder plot in a detective story.

1. Alright, a murder mystery based on...chocolate? Um. First, in canon, chocolate is more then perfectly safe for ponies. Pinkie eats copious amounts of it, and Derpy was shown drinking from a chocolate fountain in all of her wall-eyed glory. Chocolate cake has been consumed, chocolate chip cookies, ect. But, fine, let's ignore canon for a moment and see what chocolate does to horses.
   
   So, you know that chocolate is bad for dogs, right? Well, that is because of theobromine, a chemical found in chocolate, as well as some tea leaves and other foods. Fun fact, theobromine is derived from Greek, and translates into 'food of the gods.' Anyway, the reason theobromine is bad for dogs is because it can cause problems with the kidneys, heart, and central nervous system, building up over time until they cause tremendous problems. It is fatal to dogs, and can even be fatal to cats. So, what about horses? All of that was near useless information. Horses need a LOT of chocolate to affect them near at all. Due to ponies being smaller then horses, it would require less Theobromine to affect them then horses, but much more then dogs. However, the chemical stays longer in their system then humans, so it can build up to cause problems over time. How long? Years. Of insane amounts of chocolate.*
   
   However, Theobromine is banned form all horse races, as it is very similar to caffeine, and (supposedly) gives horses an advantage in races. Of course, it takes copious amounts to cause any physical effect on horses... Still, in acknowledgement of this, I would have horses get more energetic from eating chocolate. Like, if they had just a little too much caffeine. But, that's about all it does. As far as I know. Let's just say, most horse owners will recommend that you never feed them chocolate. It freaks them out. For some reason.*
   
   2. Most zebra body language is the similar to horse/pony tells. They flick their tales when annoyed too. Though, usually they flick their tales to get rid of bugs.
   
   *Don't take my word over some others. I just searched the internet and talked to my father who was (and in a way, still is) a horse nut. Should a veterinarian come in and say, "Yeah, what he said? That's all BS. Feed a pony a bar of chocolate and they will curl over dead the next day," then listen to the vet.

I'm sorry,Anonymous, I'm afraid I can't let you do that.
I have found many a badfic on 4chan and I will not dive in to what my friend calls the " Slough of Despair" ( He is a Doomer. ) But I believe that you should start an expedition into this hellhole.

No! We are not going in there, no way, no! Printworthy does not understand how these fics could be any worse then what we gotta kill already, but I do! Any fic found to be from 4chan, any at all, I send a warhead from Fallout Equestria, no questions asked, no further charges, nothing, just BOOM!

((Otherwise known as, no thank you, I have plenty of material elsewhere. Thanks for the tip though. Perhaps some other MLP fan will take some of those on.))

-World-Jumper

Believe it or not, this is the place where the MLP G4 fandom took off, thanks to the valiant efforts of the /co/mic board and /b/.



If you want to explore, thread carefully: there's porn absolutely everywhere on that website. It's like Tumblr without tags or self-restraint.

Oh, and for the love of all that is good and holy, stay the heck away from /b/ and /pol/ (random and politically incorrect, respectively). I've been shown what goes on in there, and it's not pretty. The only board on 4chan which isn't total garbage is /ck/ (cooking), but even then Sturgeon's Law applies in full force.

Sorry I've been unable to answer them untill now, but truly, thank you! I'll give the answers as responces to the posts, and I will get to them as soon as I can. However, some are so broad, it will take me a while to formulate my responces, so I'll be answering questions in ease of answer, not necessarily in order of who asked first. Fear not, I will answer all questions in due time, even if the post falls off the first page. Should not take that long, but, you know how the IO is.

Snowmageddon, among other things, actually.

So, here in good ole southern Indiana, we've recently had a lot of snow (and by a lot, I mean maybe a foot or so). The people around here aren't used to snow (*eyeroll* my mom and dad were raised in Idaho and New Jersey, respectively, so we aren't terrified of it like everyone else seems to be), which I think is hilarious. We've had nine snow days so far (not so hilarious) because of just a centimeter of snow. What do your schools wait for before deciding to close? I know my mom had 'mud days' in Idaho, when the roads would be so muddy the busses couldn't travel- do you have anything like that?

What about the general climate? Are you in an area further north where the seasons are pretty much winter and summer, or is the climate in your area more like 'regular', with four seasons?

What sort of animals do you see every day? The most exciting/exotic wild things I've seen here are deer, turkey, a fox, and roughly fifty cows that got loose from a nearby farm's pen and decided to take up residence on our front lawn. Okay, maybe that last one wasn't so exotic, but still.

Any particular holidays? Since we're just a few minutes' drive away from Louisville, my school always gets a few days off for the Triple Crown thing. We also have something called Thunder over Louisville, which is a giant fireworks show that kicks off Derby week. Everyone gets drunk and/or mugged, trampled, wasted, arrested, knocked up- it's lovely, let me tell you. We tend to stay away from /that/ one.

What do you guys generally consider 'shorts weather'? Here, it's about 65+, though I do have a crazy friend who I believe has worn pants twice in the past year: once for his Confirmation, once when his family and mine went sledding.

Also, is it possible to look across the Bering Strait and see Russia? :3 Okay, forget that, but what about neighborhoods? I'm guessing it's not muh like New York where everyone's on top of everyone else, or here where it's mostly suburbs and inner-city areas. Lots of nature? I miss having trees in my backyard.

Wow, I got really distracted. :P

What's the best way to know when or if it's safe to go for hikes? And where are the best places to hike if you're moderately experienced? What sort of trouble can people get into if they aren't careful, but stay relatively close to major population centers?

(Since I live in a desert a day's flight away and all.)
What do you have there in Alaska, snow and ice not included?

This mission is now completed and I need some betas to look it over before I post it. The mission is set in Reboot Trek. Any takers?

... But I will of course defer to those older and wiser than me.

An Agent being triggered could make for many kinds of interesting stories, depending on what you want to do with it.

Would it be an option to hide somewhere and just watch the Words? Or for Christianne to stuff her ears and close her eyes and just let Eledhwen watch the bad parts and tap her on the shoulder when they are over?

If an agent is past their Toucan Limit*, extract the operative and send in a replacement. An emotionally comprimised Agent cannot possibly hope to fulfill the Duty as per regulations. It's better than overdosing on Bleepto-Dismal, at any rate.

Just kidding. It's up to you, I guess. I don't think we've ever had a precedent for this situation before, but don't quote me on that.













*The Toucan Limit: the point where a person loses their ability "to can".

I'm glad to see you here.

Always nice to see a familiar face! Or name, I suppose. Cluster of text. Whatever.

On a more serious note, it definitely sounds like you're in a bit of a rough place mentally. I've been there, or at least thereabouts. I'm more than willing to listen if you ever need someone to talk to.

Welcome back to the Board, Bryn! How're you doing? I don't think I've met you yet, seeing as I joined the Board last year.

Nice to meet you, and I hope your problems work out.

Well, we've seen each other quite a bit in the chat, so I'm just gonna say hi again.

Oh, and since you're back and all, have some Boulez: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJevBESCSH4

Don't be shy; you should know that we don't bite. And if you want to know more about us, then take a closer look at the AU; it's a surprisingly good look at how our community has grown.

(And thanks to yours truly, there are quite a few discussions about PPC history--and yet another about PGs from your good friend Outhra).

I beta-read your Antiochos and Roxana story, back in my first month on the Board! Wow! Welcome back!

Here! (wheels over the table full of welcome-back pastries) I haven't had to use this in a while, but I swear, they're all fresh! I replaced them just earlier today, after the minis ate all of the other ones. Take anything you like!

I'm sorry I haven't seen you in a while. I kind of drifted away from the chat as well, due to being overly neurotic about the electric bill. (I moved out and am paying my own bills now! Yay/Wha!) I'm still working at the zoo, but I'm now only a fifteen minute drive away, which cuts down on gas and frees up more time after work. Where are you working now?

I've kind of fallen out of fandom myself, unless you count the PPC as a fandom. I play Pokémon a little, but most of my free time is making backup copies of old PPC spin-offs and working on the mini pages on the wiki. My writing is taking a backseat, too. (I did just watch Sherlock seasons one and two. I was amazed at how much I, a Doyle-purist, found myself enjoying it.)

You don't need to work yourself up about talking here. This message board is as casual as they come, and all you need to "offer" the community is your conversation and company. There are still plenty of familiar faces around (like me!) (and also the new faces are good guys too), so there's no need to hang back.

I'm also on Skype still; any time you feel like talking, please throw me a message. I'm at the zoo a lot, but I always get back home eventually!

Nice to see you again. Please accept my gifts of a potato cannon, a basket of potatoes and an Official Fan fiction University of Doctor Who sweatshirt.

Your time zone isn't too bad, I'm in Central.

Hello and very much welcome!

Here, have a Generic Gift for your rewelcome. *tosses*

(I'm in the same timezome as you!)

-Aila

I think I've seen you around here before - I lit out of here last year because of school.

It seems to be going pretty well around here... if you want to talk about Harry Potter, I've got a big-ish question prompted by something I saw on Tumblr: at what point does a character pass out of the realm of being forgivable, not factoring in backstory, death, or future actions?

Basically, I've seen people complaining that Umbridge is treated worse than Snape by the fandom because she's female (and not played by Allan Rickman,) but I think that's sort of grasping at straws. Snape is a bastard on many levels, we can all agree, but for me I think Umbridge passes out of the realm of forgivability because of the things that she does: for example, in third year Snape attempts to defend Harry, Ron and Hermione from Sirius, who he thinks is a murderer. Sure, he probably wanted heaps upon heaps of revenge, and Harry has to live because of Dumbledore's plan, but he makes sure that Ron and Hermione are mostly okay because they're his responsibility. Umbridge, on the other hand, is willing to abandon the three to the centaurs to save her own skin, and fosters a culture of lies, betrayal, and torture. So, while I can see Snape having been fairer to the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff double potions section than he was to the Slytherin and Griffindor section in Harry's year, I can't see Umbridge as being fair or acceptable in any capacity.

That's not to say that Snape should have been allowed to keep teaching - he terrorized Neville, for a start, and his treatment of Hermione was horrendous, especially given that he was once more or less exactly in her shoes - but I don't think it's fair to say that the fanbase hates Umbridge because she's a woman. The fanbase hates Umbridge more because she is having "I shall not tell lies" carved into your hand with a pen, and the very real fear of authority cracking down on your world and turning it into a seething pit of fear and lies. Snape's the asshole teacher who grades based on whether or not he likes you and whose picture you will spit on in your yearbook.

Welcome back – although you’ve been here before me.

Unfortunately, your timezone is awfully terrible for me, I’m in Germany.

HG, going to sleep now.

Because I love Elementary. Did you know Lucy Liu's directing an episode? And how much do you love Clyde?

That "conflict" is the least-linked element. Of course, it could be because conflict is more of a required basic component of storytelling (except in stories that use contrast and transition as their driving factors... though it's easy to see those kind of plots as being driven by a thousand miniscule conflicts,) and it could be because TVTropes is focused on the specific.

The fact that Face-Heel Turn is the trope most linked suggests that either it's prominent in the most referenced fandoms on TVTropes, or that it's being overused or become overly general...

I need to stop thinking now. Funny graphic, should probably give it to my writing group...

Unfortunately, as pointed out by others, it kinda appears to just be a bunch of tropes, thrown together in a table-shaped format.

I'll bet we could do better, if we tried. What if you made "character archetypes" roughly analogous, to, say, metals? What about 'verse tropes - like dystopias and utopias and so on - roughly analogous to noble gases?

So it's just... a bunch of assorted tropes? Thrown together in a rougly table-like format? What makes these ones particularly distinctive? Why are they arranged like that? Normally, a periodic table groups elements that share similar properties into columns, and groups related columns into sections, but this just seems to dump any tropes that might be found in a single index into an arbitrary number of periodic columns and then moves on immediately to something else. At least the left columns seem to have sort of a theme, namely the factors involved in a story's construction, or at least tied to its construction out-of-universe, but after that, it just goes off the walls. And why are the fandom tropes in the same spot as the noble gases? Noble gases are the least reactive of all elements, while fandom is traditionally the most reactive group in all of the human collective consiousness!
Okay, that last one might have been a joke.

I do love TVTropes, and as many do, I reference it and spend time on it more than is probably mentally healthy, so I'm not anti-trope. I just have no idea what this table is trying to do.

Assuming 'done' means 'had a mission written about it', then AFAIK no. It isn't even in the Unclaimed Badfic list.

Quick, before anyone notices!
-Drags Rina to a corner-
I've heard tell that there's a badfic report thread further down in the first page! But don't tell this to anyone, they'll laugh at me!

A little belated, I know. Luckily, the extra time means that I've reordered and/or rebaked all of the food on the welcome-back table. No more mini fur in anything! The people responsible for the previous slip-up have been demoted to bathroom-cleaning duty.

Also, since you're a magic-using Baron on the PPC Boarder AU below, I'll add in an additional gift: your very own wizard robes! With them, you now have the ability to use magic! It's at a very low level, though. I could only get one of the ones with a handful of stars on it, because the wizards are very close-guarding of the robes that allow for high-level magic for reasons that are very obvious in retrospect.

Hi, have some welcome-back fudge!

Good to see yet another familiar face/name return to the PPC. I'm getting all nostalgic-y up in here.

Slightly off topic, but when I saw the phrase 'local band of crows' my mind immediately leapt to SoIaF/Game of Thrones. It made me think that you're hanging around with a posse of the Night's Watch. Yes, even though you mentioned actual crows in the previous paragraph. Behold the curse of thinking in fandoms and references too much.

Have a collapsible unicycle and a Bleeprin-laced custard pie. They're surprisingly useful, in that if you ever find a use for them you'll be surprised. =]

But be careful- it's been a while since I've let out any of the furry little critters, and they're getting jumpy. Don't let them hug your face, as it will get hair in your mouth. It's really REALLY uncomfortable, so watch out.

Have a nice day, VixenMage! :)

And a paperclip, and a cocktail sword, and a ton of snow. Yes, I'm just giving away the snow!

I know what you mean about life - I had a couple of years there where I was barely able to do, like, anything. But hey, you made it back!

Someone had told me - Kaitlyn, in fact - but this gives me a chance to talk about it! I've always liked Diaz's art style, and seeing someone work through the Silm like this is thrilling. I like a lot of the pictures - though, being me, I do object to some things:

-Melian has horns. Wut.

-Yavanna-the-deer. While technically she is the patron of wild animals, the deer is more associated with Orome the Hunter - or Nessa, who specifically associates with them. I do like the linking of the antlers with tree branches, though.

-I think he's made Melkor too dark. He has devil horns and a dragon tail - why, exactly, did the Valar think he'd repented? I like the linking of his appearance with that of the balrogs (he was the Vala of Darkness and Fire, which they are spirits of), but I think it's a bit... eh. I suppose the argument could be made that the 'devil' association is because of Melkor - that, assuming our world = Middle-earth, those aspects were originally non-evil, but have become so because of him - but it's a bit too blunt, I think.

And since it's a constitutional requirement on the Board to discuss the Sons of Feanor when they come up (isn't it? Can we get that put in?), I think he's hit Cel'n'Cur dead on. Caranthir I can get behind. Amrod and Amras... don't have personalities anyway, so I can't comment either way. Maedhros I guess, though it's playing up the 'tragic' a bit much. But I don't much like Maglor.

That's not true. I think he looks just fine - but his expression is too evil'n'angry. Remember, he's the only one who ever said 'Silmarils... yeah, can we not steal them?'. He wrote the Noldolante - the song about how rubbish all their decisions were. I don't see him as being that angry-looking.

My favourite pictures are probably Feanor making the Silmarilli, and the Two Trees. Oh, and the Lamp. I guess I just like light. ;)

Right, should I talk about something else? Heeeeey, New Cal crows! Why do I suspect they're actually escapees from the PPC City, and that's why they're so smart? (Probably because the alternative is too terrifying for words)

Speaking of writers' block, I have a fairly ridiculous way of getting around that - randomised stories. They're often easier to tell verbally than write down, but it works both ways. The way it works is to take... something. Anything, really - I have a set of Story Cubes which are quite fun to work with (and I think there's an app), but I've also used the semi-precious stones I have around the house to cobble together a lithomancy set, not for fortune-telling (because it's a ridiculous method), but because it tells great stories. I'm sure you can think of other things to work with - illustrated playing cards, for instance. Then, rather than trying to write a story, let the thingies do it for you; you just have to add the words.

(I'm actually doing a full-on random version of this: with the plot decided by story cubes, the characters by a combination of Dragon Dice and tarot, names by random letter generation, and places by litho'mancy'. It's good fun, if a little surreal - my protagonist is a blind Ent)

HOW 'BOUT THEM TELERI. Man, all that hanging about by the seashore, mucking about in (very pretty) boats - it's a good life, in't it? Not to mention the truly vulgar number of pearls they get - and the high collars, if the Silmarillion Project is to be believed.

hS

PS: You're a Baron! If you want to come down and join the fun, we'd love to hear the Epic Tale of Baron VixenMage. ~hS

Glad to see you around again!

I've been drifting in and out for the last year or two (I'm effectively working three jobs at the moment so RL is insane) but I'm trying to be active on the Board a bit more.

While I'm at it, have a welcome back mongoose!

Elcalion

The obvious: Hey, you're back!
The not-obvious: have a welcome-back present of a cup of Sencha tea. Just don't let it eat you. (Or your crows.)

They didn't prophesie-size-soufflé your return, though.

So, welcome back. Not sure if we've ever met, but I suppose you're a local celebrity of sorts and good manners demand a greeting and...where was I going?

It's good to see you around again!

Wow, I haven't posted here in a while ...

(Obviously following Aila's lead there.) But either way, welcome back! BTW, that "Feral Sheep" link doesn't work. It leads to http://disc.yourwebapps.com/theferalsheep.blogspot.com, and I think that you mean to type http://theferalsheep.blogspot.com

*takes a look at the blog*
Speaking of which...may I have your e-mail address, please? Mine is linked to my username.

Welcome back!

Hello and rewelcome!

(Ohmigosh, I've been here long enough to recognise a returnbie! That's... unexpected.)

Here, have a Generic Gift to mark the occasion! *tosses*

-Aila

(My, I'm all about the exclamation points today, aren't I?)

Sorry you had such a rough road, there, but I'm glad things are evening out. Hope you have more time to hang out around here!

But glad to see I'm not the only one crawling out of the Forest of Kar'eer. I'd follow your tumblr(s) again, but uh. I can't be bothered to make a new one.

Bookmarks it is! And here have a welcome back waiver- for old time's sake! I promise it's just one about liability. This time.

That looks missionable indeed, but maybe you should look to see if there are badfic report threads already on the front page before posting, in future? Everyone posting their own instead of adding to what's already there clutters up the Board and pushes a lot of other threads into the ether.

I'm pretty sure 2005 is around the time I discovered fanfiction in general. Congrats on nine years of PPCing!

Whether they be Nine Walkers, Nine Riders, the Ninth Doctor, Nine Circles of Hell (though admittedly you won't get many blessings out of those), or simply an outdated Nine Planets.

(Or fluorine! Here, have some fluorine. Wait, no, that's a terrible idea...)

hS

Here is the guide on how to get it.

hS

No, that isn't a challenge. Or is it?

Also, Bryn/VM/Miah, since they're the (newly expanded) returnbies club.

Mind you, these are the (mild) crackships. (I say 'mild' because that really long one Wobbles wrote with the penguins far outstrips anything else).

Neshomeh/Wiki, because reasons. No, seriously, there are reasons. With all the time and effort she spends making sure it makes its way towards achieving perfection...well, there must be something there, right? Right? /hides/

And, of course, Boarders/Shipping. Look how much fun we're having! Almost...too much fun, if you know what I mean...

(I don't think I've ever written so much innuendo in my life. No idea if it's even good innuendo, for that matter. Oh well.)

~DF

Since I've only been here a month (Wow, really? It seems a lot longer...), I doubt anyone would really care about crackshipping me with anyone else.

But I don't care! :D I'm gonna just do some ships based on names alone. The ship names are very important, after all!


Wozzektheclown: Just because it sounds funny. Seriously, that's it.

Lily WinterWorld-Jumper: Seen them interacting a few times, and I like how world and wood sound kind of similar.

*dons hard hat* This should get interesting...

Desdendelle/theIrishSamurai/Dawnfire
Because so many other people have shipped their beta's I might as well go for it as well.
Or alternatively
Desdendelle/theIrishSamurai (first 2 beta's for my permission piece) and Dawnfire/sonofheaven176 (second two beta's)

....that I'm not on this list. *parties* Of course, now I just opened myself up to attack....

Anyway, I can't really think of many ships. Maybe Outhra/Huinesoron ?

...Araeph/Phobos because their baronies are right next to each other.

And, by implication, all the other neighbouring baronial seats (which is totally not the right term, but oh well).

-Aila

So Ima ship World-Jumper/Huinesoron. 'Cause thanks for leaving me all cold an alone, World-Jumper! =P

...who would you guys ship me with? I'm not sure who I'd ship with one another, merely because I haven't quite thought about it.

Notary/Morgan

This is something of a one-sided hatecrush on the Notary's part, one that the poor dear's trying deeply to repress. =]

Wobbles/Sugar

"GET IN ME" -- Agent Wobbles

Kellysinaga/ThatThatShan'tBeNamed Because Newbies.

I, myself, am not much of a shipper. I find it a strange hobby to pair two people who you know barely anything about together.

That said, stuff like this is hilarious! So, let's break out the rum and skervy our dogs, 'cause we gots ships to sail!

Arrright, who do I be shippen togethar? Oi hav' in my personal fleet:

DawnFire/Karen - Day call demselves Brain Twins! Day arrre worken on an OFU togethar! Karen even wrote a poem for Dawn! Iffen dat aint enough resens for yeh, oi don't know what to tell yah.

DemonFiren/darklordaakmal - Because Dark Lords and Demons need somebody to brood with. Oh, wait, my accent. Um, Yar!

Herr Wozzek/sonofheaven176 - 'Cause dey were me beta readars, and oi thought oi'd pay dem back. By shippin' dem togethar!

And, 'o course: Jay/Acacia. Ye nevar said dey had to be active members, did yah?

Now, iffen yeh excuse me, oi got some ships to plundar.

(And now one that I made for a God-awful joke:

Huinesoron/Phobos - While they're both permission givers, some nights, they're fine with receiving.)

Let's see what I can come up with.

hS/VM - I ship the two-letter abbreviations.

firemagic/wobblestheclown/darklordaakmal - No capitals? Words slammed together? I'd ship that.

Storm Hawk/SeaTurtle/99Hedgehog/Sevenswans - So many animal names to ship.

Huinesoron/Lily Winterwood - They do seem to be enjoying each others' company further down the thread. This ship is totally not a revengeship. Nope.

-Phobos

..But seeing as it isn't mentioned anywhere, I offer to you, boarders of the PPC a challenge *takes off imaginary glove and throws it onto the floor*. Who would you pair me with? Yes, I am fully aware of what I'm letting myself into and no, I really don't care.

Storme Hawk

For some reason Huinesoron/Neshomeh seems like a really good brotp. Mostly because of the wheelhouse joke. And the number of times they've backed each other up.

Has anyone done Neshomeh/Phobos? Because that's canon.

And I might as well take this time to say that IntelligentAirhead and I are in that fuzzy place between a relationship and friendship (it's the distance thing), so yeah.

Since people have started posting, holding mine back makes next to no sense. Therefore: if you strenuously object to your name appearing, say so, and the Nameless Admin will remove all instances of it.

Let's see...

Lielac and Rin because of that tilde thing

IntelligentAirhead and Lily Winterwood because they're writing fic together now.

Wow, a quick crtl-f turns up 3/4 of those usernames haven't popped up on the first page of the Board...

I ship VM and Bryn because they're both returnbies who returned to the Board recently.

Congratulations on achieving adulthood.

And because I didn't get round to it when your mission was on the front page, I'll take this opportunity to say that I really enjoyed it, and plan on e-mailing you a proper review sometime soon.

Here, have some cake to help with your celebrations.

I hope that you take the time to enjoy your special day!

Now don't throw things on the ground, m'kay? The last thing we need is for you to transform into the kind of guy that Andy Samberg made fun of when he got tasered over and over by Ryan Reynolds and Elijah Wood.

Have some variations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG2JMZUehBY

Though we all know that most of us lied to LJ and various other sites about our ages in order to access higher-rated fics. It's just kinda One of Those Things.

Now you won't need to lie, though, so that's good!

/throws confetti and blows noisemakers

Wow, eighteen?! Congrats on making it to legal adulthood! *throws confetti*

Huh, that means I'm a little more than a year younger than you. I turn seventeen in May. :/ But then again, Randa's even younger than I am, so tee hee.

Just because you're legally an adult doesn't mean you ARE one. Fellow victims of Peter Pan syndrome, to me! *brohoof* Seriously, congrats, man; just don't forget to keep having fun! :D

and have nothing to say that has not already been said in better words than are available to me, but may I ask one question?

When you wrote "extremely problematic for the twenty-third country", did you intend to write "twenty-third century", or did I miss something there?

HG

Poor li'l guy.

Can I have him? I may or may not give him to a Vulcan...

Still working on reading the finished mission, but I'm looking forward to it!

~DF

...let me just say that I utterly adore Christianne and Eledhwen, and a new mission with them in always makes me uncontrollably excited. I love how you explored the new developments in their relationship here, and how Christianne lets--nay, relies on--Eledhwen to support her when she is triggered. Spock following them around was wonderful, too.

I have a thing where I don't read the responses to a mission-posting thread until I've read the actual mission, so I got to see the discussions going on in one fell swoop, and they were so terribly interesting, and made me think a little.

I love this Board so much. The combination of humour, acceptance, and good writing will never fail to make me smile.

-Aila

I'd send my agents to those, but Wobbles doesn't like technology and the Notary doesn't like, well, anything. With the possible exception of 15-B requisition forms. Anywho, if you find an angstfic and you need someone who isn't a DoA agent but probably ought to be, I'd be more than happy to write a crossover with you.

On to the mission itself:-

It was great. Your agents are well-rounded people and I want to read more about them. I also want to find whoever hurt Chrissy and give them an enema with the run-off slag from a steelworks, but that's immaterial. They respond well to danger and they're actually smart; we don't see enough of that in fiction. The last example I read was, um, Worm, which is about a high-school dropout who can control bugs with her mind and how this makes her one of the most terrifyingly adept capes in the world. It's not a happy story exactly, but I think you'd like it.

But yeah, back on topic. The mission is brilliant and, having read the midden you were sporking before reading the mission itself, thoroughly necessary. You write well and with flair, and I can't wait to see the next mission!

Of course, this means inflicting more badfic on you, which is probably bad, but w/e. =]

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE PREVIOUSLY POSTED STORY. JUST A HEADS UP.

I really liked how Eledhwen seemed to take on the properties of her chosen disguise. It's a mechanic I really like, and one I don't feel like I see enough of in other PPC stories. It lends itself to comedy (and heck, drama sometimes too) very well. The one point I would raise regarding it, though, was that Spock didn't really seem to be affected when he was disguised as a human cadet (nice touch making him look like Sylar, by the way). Just a little consistency bugbear, but I felt it should be pointed out.

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about having Christianne being triggered, but I actually wound up appreciating it as a device. Not only does it make her character seem more real, it actually creates a sense of genuine distress. I felt like that was a far more accurate reaction than the typical PPC hyperbole of slamming one's head against a wall due to how stupid the fic is. That being said, you do have some of those over-exaggerated moments yourself (not so bad as head-walling, mind you), and they sort of clash with the more serious triggered reaction. It made it a bit more difficult for me to accept the overall gravity of the situation.

Regarding Mrs. Jones: I can't defend the character by any stretch of the imagination. She's woefully out of place, more suitable to some Fifties or Sixties sitcom family than Star Trek. That being said: no society, no generation, is mentally monolithic. Not everyone shares the prevailing ideals. You are going to have outliers. Trek may be progressive, but as we see DS9 and later TNG episodes, it's not a utopia. I could see a vaguely Mrs. Jones-like character existing in the Star Trek universe, but her character would have to be altered. Maybe she wants her daughter to pursue a family life because she doesn't want her to be killed by some oil slick monster light years away from Earth.

Finally, the concluding charge list. These two giant paragraphs (one for Seraphina, one for Stupock) are really not good. They kill the overall pacing and repeat just about everything you've already critiqued about the story up to that point. A bit of advice for you and everyone else when it comes to charge lists: generalize. Instead of going over every single point of contention, just present it as something 'multiple counts of making canonical Star Trek characters OOC' or 'creating unknown artifacts of dubious power.' You've already told us all the plot-breaking points. Sum up.

I do appreciate that you actually incapacitated the Sue and Stupock in some way before reading the charges, however. Too many times (including, I will admit, a few times in my own missions) I've seen agents just read off the charges to the Sues or Stus like a supervillain monologuing to the hero. I sometimes wonder why the Sue or Stu just doesn't take off the agent's head while he or she is staring at a notepad full of charges. So thank you for taking that into consideration.

Some minor things:
-- "her partner (and girlfriend) Eledhwen Elerossiel" This line feels forced, especially with the parentheses. There's enough in the story that shows the audience that Eledhwen and Christianne are a couple.
-- Spock spends quite a bit of time just blithely listening to Chistianne and Eledhwen snark and discuss matters about the PPC. I know his memory was coming back slowly, but it still felt like they just forgot he was there sometimes.

All in all, this is a pretty solid piece. I like the interactions between your agents and the characterization you give them. Kudos to you! I await your next story with eagerness.

PC

Eledhwen started being vulcan-ish so fast it's uncanny. And hilarious.

Congrats on making the team!

“You mean the Sue’s soul is the number 42?” wondered Christianne sarcastically. Eledhwen facepalmed.

Lol. I eagerly await her failure to learn to fly. Preferrably from a great height.

I forgot you'd been wandering around the Circle of Lemmings! *Passes bleepka*

... Wait, Sues are basically illogical, sparkly Q's in this continuum. Uh... I've gotta go hide under something. And the bracelet is one-ring-ish. Eeek!