Jan 2017 Archive, part b

Yipe! I haven't been aBoard for quite a while, and I missed your birthday! I'm so sorry!

OTL


Happy (belated) birthday!

It rained today, but it was a pleasant rain, and it was warm, so it all evens out in the end.

Wait for a moment, a truck filled of black-hole coffee and chocolate should arrive near your house soon. If not, tell me. We cannot have lousy employees, eh?

Congratulations on reaching the repeating twos!
Here, have an apple cinnamon bun from my oven! I can even send you the picture of it if you wish!

Oh, by the way, did you get my email? It's been ten days.

Since it appears to have rained in some areas today, here's a magical umbrella to shield you from rain, or snow, or bullets, or projectiles of any sort, really.

Here, have a miniature Carnufex carolinensis. You deserve it, my friend. :D

Incredible!
Unbelievable!
Incomprehensible!

Grown-ass woman scans detect an 89% increase in grown-ass womanry in the local area!
Congratulations!

My gift upon you is: one of those goofy-looking umbrella hat thingos. In case it rains, or you feel like you just look a little too fashionable and want to tone it down a few hundred levels.

Happy grown-ass woman day!

Happy birthday, buddy-girl! Huh, looks like you're a year younger than me, huh? Well... For two months at least we're the same age :D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
J: Have a deck of [Generic TCG] Cards!
W: And this totally-not-suspicious-at-all spoon!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
MAY ALL YOUR WISHES COME TRUE
HOPE NOBODY MAKES YOU BLUE
AND YOUR CAKE DOESN'T EXPLODE IN GOO!

*blows noisemakers*

Would it be acceptable for me to set up shop as Mysterious Voice Mark Two? I adore the concept, and it's left me brimful of inspiration for ways I could chaperone a player through Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse or a Shakespeare mish-mash (oh, Shakespeare isn't a fandom? I and my lovingly-crafted slashfic beg to differ). But I also feel like it would be rude to muscle in on your great idea. . . or at least, I'm worried that if we start adding even more subthreads we might clutter up the Board.

Thoughts? May I go ahead? Should I leave it to the creator and master? Should I go ahead, but take it to T-Board or one of the Discord RP channels, or someplace like that?

--Key is feeling cReAtiVe (it's her favorite idea)

[End thread.]

[Yes, I am being a cow.]

Can we maybe keep these to the existing threads when possible? I know it's mildly annoying, since they're kind of something you want folk to see quickly, but there are three or four such CAHQ adverts on the first page of the Board, and each only had two replies at most.

So each thread with one or two replies pushes another one off the Board, which is mildly problematic when those are active conversations. Make sense?

Sorry for the grumbling. It's just a quirk of the forum style.

I don't know why this is surprising to me, but it is.

I don't know. Something about you, Granz, just made me assume that you were some kind of ethereal, birthday-less entity, who has always existed and always will.
Well, that's clearly not true, now, is it?
What a dope I must be, to believe that, eh?
Happy birthday, Granz, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your eternal existence.

My gift upon you is: very long lived cheese.
So it won't go off, even if you don't like cheese and never eat it.

Happy birthdaaaaaaay!

Many happy returns, etc.

Chondropyga dorsalis!

Allomyrina dichotoma, amirite?

Phew, that's as many beetles references I, for one, can stomach.

Happy Boardiversary! Congratulations on being here for four years! Congratulations on being published, doing research, and almost finishing university! Congratulations on getting permission that one time!

Congratulatulatulations in general!

Get all of this black-hole chocolate cake and cofee, please.

*downs a stein of tea in one gulp*

gist on, gist on l'chaim.
l'chaim tsu lebn, tsu glik.
a glezl vayn nemt un gist arayn,
vos ken nokh besser zayn?!
trink l'chaim!

gist on, gist on l'chaim.
l'chaim in a guter sho.
in reydl kumt ale groys un kleyn,
af tentsl lomir geyn!
trink l'chaim tsu glik

zol zayn mit glik l'chaim!
der nekhtn kumt mer nit tsurik.
nor eyn mol lebt men do oyf der velt
vos toyg shoyn raych un gelt?!
trink l'chaim tsu glik!

zol zayn mit mazl, brokhe,
nakhes un khatslokhe!
makht a koyse fayn!

s'iz min ha'shomaim, trinken l'chaim!
s'iz a groyse simkhe haynt!

mazl tov!

l'chaim tsu lebn, tsu glik!
a glezl vayn nemt un gist arayn!
vos ken nokh besser zayn?!
trink l'chaim tsu glik!

tate un mame shtrebn
simkhe s'iz derlebn.
ver iz tsu zey glaykh?!

meydlakh un bukhirem,
orem tsi givirem,
mit glik, mirtseshem bay aykh!

zol zayn mit glik l'chaim!
gezunt un lang lebn zolt ir!
in reydl kumt ale groys un kleyn,
af tentsl lomir geyn,

mir zoln lebn lang!
vintshen mir mit gezang
trink, trink, trink l'chaim mit glik!

Or was that permission? Could be both. Not sure.

Either way, congratulations! Four years. Man. How time flies.

Happy Boardaversary! I'm very glad you joined—gave me one of my best online friends I could have asked for. *hugs tight*

((See here. ~hS))

I started writing this project for NaNoWriMo last year. I failed to reach even a third of the goal, but I'm still working on it, albeit slowly.
It might as well be fanfic of Hyun's Dojo with my own OCs, but I'm building an alternate world to compensate for the lack of solid canon.
...I don't really have enough to describe the story properly, I'm still working on the beginning act.

...but I'm not sure what to do with it now; it's such a mess of a rough draft.

I dabble here and there with different things (scripts, nonfiction, things written for role-playing purposes), but there are two universes that I focus the bulk of my attention on. The first is a contemporary setting with the presence of superpowers. They've been present in the world for ages (due to the interference of magical outsiders during the ancient era) but were amplified during the 20th century due to things like the Tunguska explosion and rampant nuclear testing. There are many historical differences, most notable of which is the second Russian civil war in 1987 which resulted in the creation of several nations run by supervillains. I've sketched out several different ideas for stories, but I often come back to the character of Jackie Wylde: a costumed criminal with a gambling motif operating in not!Philadelphia.

The second universe takes different elements of classic fantasy and puts them in a world with a tech level roughly equivalent to the 1910s. Autocarriages are gradually phasing out horses and carts, firearms and artillery have replaced magic and swords in the military, and global travel is becoming possible through massive airships. I've focused mainly on an elf journalist by the name of Telly Oleithanam. He's a bit like Dorothy Parker mixed with P.G. Wodehouse's Psmith.

Historiography essays, scholarly book reviews, and countless pages of research on gender, labor, and tribal sovereignty in the Pacific Northwest…

…and, of course, years of fiction writing, too.

I actually opened a Dropbox full of source materials a while back, but only a couple people were interested at the time. The 'verse was somewhat uncreatively dubbed "Starships & Sorcery," and the basic idea was that magic and post-light-speed tech (and highly specialized genetic modification, in some places) coexisted. Tech, in fact, was considered one of the major ways people could access high quantities of power. Essentially, the way magic worked was that all living things had some inside them, and channeling it was a skill. Some people did so through technology, but some people, of course, are not good at tinkering and engineering, so it was only a select group of people who had and actively used both skill sets, especially together.

The other sources of magic, though known to be so powerful that the risk of tapping into them was illegal in some places, and required great skill and usually very well designed machines in others, were planets and stars, which were known to have cores of immense power; stars emanate their energy, while planets have to be tapped into.

At this point, given the last little bit of trickery in the setting (and that my story has long since fizzled out), I've been thinking it would make a better tabletop setting than an actual novel. I know some folks who are extraordinarily good at those designs, so I might give that a shot in my copious free time*, one of these days.




*Ha! Just kidding.

Because of course. =]

I tend to think of a project, start it, then think of a different project and start on that one. I'm not very good at finishing any of them. Thus, I have three or four "novels" that I should be working on instead of writing Overwatch fanfiction.

The first was a NaNovel from... two years ago? Maybe last year? I posted about it on the Board; basically, musical instruments and songs have magical power, with different songs doing different things and different instruments having different strengths. Violins are great at emotional magics, trumpets can knock walls down, that kind of thing. The actual plot of that novel was insipid, so right now this one is just a magic system.

The next one is more recent, and is about a Wrong Genre Savvy woman being tossed into a world of selkies, dragons, trolls, and Faeries. Basically, a twenty-something woman moves to Scotland to work as her mysterious uncle's housekeeper, and ends up becoming an apprentice alchemist, keeping magical creatures safe and brewing interesting potions. I like this one a lot; I think it has potential.

The third has maybe one page to its name and is only a week or two old. It's about an ensign training to be a starship pilot getting kidnapped by aliens who intend to sell her to a zoo or something similar. Not much to it yet, but I like it.

-Alleb

...but I'm terrible at worldbuilding; I work much better with a previously-established universe. ^^;

If you remember my You wake up in a forest post, you already kind of know what's going on with this one.

Basically, reincarnation is a thing, but instead of reincarnating on the same planet, it's on different planets, in different universes (technically 'pocket universes'; as Death explains, all thirteen worlds that people can reincarnate into make up their own single universe, but it's a bit too meta for the silly mortals' brains to understand. Yes, she knows about the PPC.)

Certain people, however, remember their past lives, and work to spread knowledge of the different magics and technologies in different worlds, but they're a very small group (only twenty or so) and have to work slowly to avoid introducing too many things at once... and then you have the villain, who discovers a way to rip through the fabric of the universe in an attempt to conquer all thirteen worlds...

Nothing set on stone yet, but is very anime inspired. It has mechas. And idol singers. And, despite that, a serious storyline and serious themes.

But I'd like to write a heroic fantasy novels series.

I've got two main ideas for now:

-Something inspired from the different way kingdoms worked in Asha (MMH V-VII), but with twists of my own (and few additions...). I got more than a little worldbuilding done there.

-For the basis, a classic setup 'Light' vs 'Dark', with their own magic system (or at the very least energy), and another, mixing shamanism and elementalism. As for the way this clash goes... Well, I'm being a bit inspired by MegaTen here, for those who know what I mean.

Most of anything worth looking at is here, in my dA account, if you're curious. It's all old now.

Every so often I get ideas, but the task of actually writing a whole novel seems way too huge anytime I think about it. It's not just the writing, it's the research and world-building and plot development and everything else.

So, er, if anyone is really good at sitting down and pumping out words, but needs ideas and direction, hit me up? I've got a couple modern fantasy plotbunnies I wouldn't mind sharing. One's got lunar magic, the other's got a supernatural SWAT team. {= )

~Neshomeh

I have two flagship projects planned, and I've been worldbuilding for both of them with plenty of significant characters in the works. Unfortunately, with Real Life being a pain, it's safe to say that I won't be able to actually write these works anytime soon, at least until I get a steady job as something to fall back on for when I eventually need the money to publish them both.

For the first project, I've previously stated that I have a project that started out as a mega-crossover but now involves tons of expies of fictional characters in a multiverse of my own creation. "Heroes of Yonder" is basically an AU of popular culture as we know it - instead of so many continua being separate, interacting only sparingly and within their respective companies, the vast majority of fictional characters in this universe can meet up in a "world beyond worlds"-type place, broadcast to the real world in the style of an MMORPG/MOBA mix that's essentially a real-time fanfiction generator (you can play as both your player avatar/a generated OC a la the Mii Fighters from Smash 4, or as an "instance" of a "canon" character). The main antagonists are entities generated by players that were automatically rejected by Yonder's screening system for character legitimacy but somehow end up in whatever worlds they were intended for anyway, with the characters having to somehow get rid of them. It's a bit of a parody of fandom in general and fanfiction specifically, though I'm trying to make it a well-written story in its own right; the fact that several of my PPC characters either come from or are planned to be integrated into this project is enough of an incentive for this particular goal, I hope.

The other project I have planned is "Magizoic", which addresses and makes a decon/recon-fleet of one of the few things Heroes of Yonder won't cover, the Mons Game genre. Combining this with my love of speculative fiction, this is basically an AU future fic of Earth itself, where magic (and mana, its essence) is a thing, in no small part thanks to leakage from portals to the various elemental planes that cross over at the stellar coordinates of Earth, and a series of calamities has caused it to infuse the entire planet and all life upon it. Accelerated evolution, genetic and alchemical tampering, and alternative evolution have resulted in a wide variety of magical monsters known as Manazoids. In typical Mons genre fashion, combat with Manazoids is a worldwide sport, and one of the big highlights is a once-a-decade Olympics-style tournament - but the plot is kicked off by one of the countries participating suddenly imposing a punishable-by-death ban on Manazoid combat, with handlers of these creatures for that purpose being killed on sight. It's up to the main characters to escape the country, then figure out why, and finally undo this fatal policy and the world-destroying plot behind it - all before the tournament itself begins... in the country in question.

If anyone wants to talk to me about these particular projects, or lend their assistance with worldbuilding and character/plot ideas, please let me know! I'd be happy to get feedback regarding them both, so I can make these projects as great as they can be. :D

Honestly, the only two big things I'm currently "writing" are novelizations of my Pearl and FireRed Nuzlockes, and the FireRed one's on hold while I revise a bunch of chapters/progress in the game. I keep getting ideas for a modern Zelda AU where Link is a Chinese-American girl, but I haven't really done anything plot-wise with that either.

I think my problem is that I have too many ideas and not enough time management/confidence to write them. I should get more serious about my writing...

Currently on my 5th (I think) attempt at writing a dark (ish) superhero novel. You can see my previous attempt as my permission piece (Which I believe is still in the archives somewhere).

Basically it's kind set off of X-men, with new genetic strands giving a bunch of young people powers (the whole science behind it hasn't been fully worked out yet). But the world is a lot more xenophobic than today and so it''s perfectly legal for people to kill these new Powered if they are 'attacked' by them, and huge camps are set up focusing around enslaving and capturing/killing these Powered. The majority of the Powered who are free have subtle powers that aren't immediately obvious to the eye. I'm thinking of trying to write three books in the series with the overall view getting lighter as the series goes on as more hope is introduced to the world. The first book is going to focus on the six protagonists (they're not really heroes, they're anti-heroes at best) who are trying to live their lives as normally as possible by day, and improve the situation for all Powered by night. Oh and they're all Students, none of the Powered are older than 25-30. The antagonists (the majority of whom are more like anti-villains than outright villains normally) are a similar bunch of Powered with slightly more extremist methods who are being controlled through their leader/telepath who is also the 'daughter' (or possible clone of the mother) of a CEO of a large company (who will be the Big Bad of the book). I've got the ideas for the first book all planned out I just have yet to start writing it up.

It originated as a sort of personal project, but now I've just sort of rolled it into a school project, as a major work kind of thing. I mean, it works in this particular case, as it's only really meant to be a single short story.

I'm writing a dark, absurd cyberpunk comedy. The world is unofficially (everybody is generally too embarrassed to admit it) ruled by the monstrous bureaucracy that is the High Tide corporation, whose focus is equally split between things like shoelace manufacturing, and planning the construction of orbital lasers.

The natural human body most of us came pre-packaged in has been totally outdated, what with being packed with all those diseases and easily ripped skin and with not having even a single implanted cupholder. Bodies hold all the sentimental value of very complex scooters, the only difference being that you need to buy new ones more frequently because, really, who makes scooters?
Having broken parts is considered negligent, and is illegal, punishments going from fines to proper imprisonment. Even going insane is illegal - it's easy enough to just buy a new brain, isn't it?

The internet has evolved into Axiom, a constantly running AR display. Things like street signs, ads - a good portion of peoples' appearances - are managed by the overlay.

Even war itself has been defeated by the advancement of technology, service in the military having become little more than an office job, as a result of advances in drone technology. How lovely!

The actual plot involves a soldier called Neil Wong losing his connection to Axiom.
He sees things that are very specifically designed to not be seen, and has a generally hard time of it.

I, er. Still haven't figured out a good title for it.
So, y'know. You title-masters out there looking for practice, or some such.

that always confuses me:

Privately, anyone but the Aviator couldn't have paid him to return to the RC right now.
So, only the Aviator could (because only she had enough money, or because the Detective wouldn't accept anyone else's money?), but she didn't, and thus he stayed? I'm not quite sure whether this is what you intended to say. Maybe I'm overthinking it.

HG

It feels like roleplay with the POV switching at just about every paragraph.

Still, it shows that things are not always fun an games for the agents.

Alright, so, I've sort've said this on Discord, and because I am a broken robot, doomed to say what it has once said again and again and again and what it has once said again and again and again and again, et al, I'll say it again: from a visceral point of view, it bloody works. It's a very rough, ugly situation, and the atmosphere made in it gets that across. It's uncomfortable feeling, it is. There are various moments where it delves into their individual thoughts (which sounds really quite trite right now, considering that all stories ought to do that, but give me a moment) and those are delivered in such a way as to get across that atmosphere.

Things like:
'He really did look like Gavan, and her hearts clenched at the thought. Gavan was dead, why should this even matter; why should she even care at this point?'

And: 'But he was hurting too. Only thing he had going for him was some stupid promise—some need to earn death, before he could finally go. Why shouldn't he do this?'

That self-doubt and discomfort is very evident, and, well. Relateable, I suppose, solely through delivery.
I mean, there's also odours. Odours can make anything look ugly.

So, this is probably stylistic, or some such. And I will admit to, at the very least, not having yet read all of the Aviator's stuff.
But I'll, er. Admit, I do find the Time Lord angst thing a little tiring, I don't want to say 'Oh, make them have a happy jolly good time and buy balloon animals and such!' because, er. That's very trite, indeed, it wouldn't work, it's a clumsy solution, et al.
But from what I've been seeing with these fellows, it really is near constant. I suppose I can say this more convincingly with the Detective (bloody sorry Aegis, but, er. Y'know, haven't finished Ave's stuff, have finished yours, and such. Sorry, mate,) but I honestly cannot think of a single story or RP involving them where there isn't some form of angst.
And not to say angst is bad, or to say that having writing centred around angst and angsty characters having generally angsty times is bad, but I feel there ought to be a better balance!
I mean, again - I can't think of a single story or RP thingo involving one've the two without some form of angst, and it, as with all overused sort of things, is beginning to feel a bit off, as it were.

So, er. Does the story work? Do what it's (I assume, anyhow,) what it's meant to do?
Yes! Well!
Did I get a little bit miffed when they mentioned that war, again?
Yes. I did. A little.
Is at least half of what I'm saying really, really stylistic-based and subjective?
Most likely.

I'll say that you two certainly did something, whatsit, out of the box? Brave?
Brrrph, I dunno.
It took bollocks to do this sort've story, is what I'm saying, shake up status quo and such like that. And, I mean, it was ultimately delivered well, wasn't it?
So, brilliant job, there.

I mean, I'm certainly interested in seeing where it goes!
Got a little thread at the end there with Zeb, and all.
And perhaps Ave and Dee'll get forced into a mission together, and we'll have the first mission in PPC history in which a pair of agents avoid eye-contact for the entire time.

I guess it beats alcoholism as a copeout mechanism? And deep down I hope something ... well not bad comes out of that. They really need it.

Cannot really say more to this. The story shows clearly how broken they are. Hope is pretty much last thing left about them. Congrats for the emotions.

I gave more detailed concrit in the chat, and I figured I should post here so that the thread doesn't look all empty and lonely.

Hello, Lurker! I'm going to give you a gift. Because I can. So there! You can't make me not treat you with kindness!

The gift in question: a full set of dice! It's all your favorite shapes - d3/4, d6, d8, 2d10 (your probability dice), d12, and a d20. The pattern is yours to choose! Do be careful when, how, and most importantly why you use them, though - dice have been known to have... certain amounts of power, when put in the right (or wrong, as it may be) hands.

Here's some popcorn to eat while you read all the stuff at the top of the homepage (or reread, as the case may be), a red pen (always helpful), and a pack of sticky notes shaped like your favorite animal!

So, tell us a bit about yourself. What are your fandoms? What do you like to do in your spare time? Are you involved in any cool community service projects?

Glad to see that you were quick to say hi and introduce yourself the moment you got spotted on Discord!
Please accept this 6 oz jar of kimchi and this crowbar!
Hope you enjoy your say!

Please have a pot of black-hole coffee.

Well, you presented yourself on Discord but, well not everyone use it, so...

How did you discover this madhouse?

Beyond Laburnum's spinoffs, what are your favorites?

And finally, what are your fandoms?

And once again, welcome.

Hi there !

Have one of my own shed feathers and a complimentary kit of Spikes!

Allo!

Allo allo allo!

Welcome, my friend. My gift upon you is: an entire cow, as a meal or a snack, depending on your size, metabolism, and general tastes.

I bloody love Laburnum and Foxglove's stuff. Ever read Nesh?
You should read Nesh. Nesh's spinoff is brilliant.
I'll also recommend Trojie and Pads.
You should read Trojie and Pads. Trojie and Pads' spinoff is brilliant.

Welcome!

Have a Cloak Which Billows in Dramatic Gusts of Wind (wind included).

Since I assume that as a lurker you've done all the required and recommended reading, and then some. . . what are your favorite spinoffs?

--Key

Jesa: Here, have this Brimstone!
Side effects may include horns, blood lasers, and a serious tan!

Waltz: And from me.... well, here's a nice set of four mirrors.

Welcome!

*obligatoryfirst glomp-poke*

*offers SPaGhetti*

For lack of ways to go back through the Discord chat to find evidence of past misdemeanors, I took a screenshot of our most recent one and put it in the mod channel to better keep track of the "three strikes rule" we're (ostensibly) trying to implement.

However, this has brought a few things to light, namely, do we want to put a permanent record that will let people scroll through and use to shame people, even after they've long since apologized/grown out of the habit of posting chat-inappropriate stuff?

Should there be a period of time where, if no strikes happen, the person gets their slate wiped clean? People change, after all, and it seems unfair to me to hold two strikes from two years ago against them* when taking into account future misdemeanors.

*In this case, I'm imagining said misdemeanors are unrelated to their past ones; if they start up behavior identical or nearly so to what almost got them kicked in the first place, I think in that situation bringing up their past record would be applicable.

Thoughts?

"The discord around La Wunj is increasing."

Baron Huinesoron didn't look up from his desk. "I don't care."

Duchess Kaitlyn leant against the doorframe, hiding her smile. "A traitor has been exiled from the city for 'crimes against the Lady and common decency'."

Baron Huinesoron sighed softly, and turned over a page of the tome in front of him. "I don't care."

His wife studied the back of his head, timing her next words. "The Mords are trying to set up a new faction to cement their authority over the city."

"I don't-" Huinesoron twitched as the words sunk in. Then, slowly, he straightened up and turned to meet her gaze.

Kaitlyn did her best to keep her smile from turning into a smirk. "Yes?"

"Aren't there already a half dozen factions at play out there?" the Baron asked.

Kaitlyn nodded cheerfully. "That's right."

"And aren't..." Huinesoron frowned, his fingers drumming on the massive book in front of him. "Aren't the Mords already in a position of near-absolute authority?"

"That's what I hear," Kaitlyn agreed. She pushed off the wall and walked over to perch on the end of the desk. "And?"

Huinesoron opened his mouth, shut it again, and shrugged. "I suppose if that's what they want to do-"

Kaitlyn snorted. "You want to sneak over there and see what they're up to."

Huinesoron rolled his eyes. "I do not."

His wife leant across and prodded his shoulder. "You do. I can see it on your face."

The Baron ducked away from her hand. "I have a lot to do here," he said.

"Yah-huh."

"And Kar'eer has grown vast and tangled these last few years."

"Yah-huh."

"And the affairs of Borrd are of far more interest than those of the far east."

"Yah-huh."

Huinesoron looked up, meeting Kaitlyn's gaze. "And... I can't be bothered."

The Duchess of El-Jheycom (In Exile) grinned. "Now that, I can believe."

(in that order)

The idea of a mod channel didn't come out of nowhere.It arose during discussions following a series of incidents involving GlarnBoudin and our (the mods, excluding Cat-on-the-Keyboard, who wasn't around for significant parts of this) handling of them.

Because those of you who aren't in chat much probably don't know what I'm referring to (and in the interests of transparency), I'm going to try and summarize the situation as I saw it.

GlarnBoudin joisted the chat a few months ago. While he was there, he repeatedly did unacceptable things, mostly in these categories:

1) Starting highly inappropriate/NSFW conversations in chat, and attempting to continue them even after being told that they were inappropriate and unwelcome (usually by multiple people)

2) Posting (often NSFW) nightmare fuel directly into chat (as in, the picture showed up directly in chat). The usual practice, if someone feels the need to link to that sort of thing, is to both warn people about what it is and (especially for images) to rot13 the link so it takes a bit more effort to open it.

3) Harassing Iximaz.

4) Harassing Iximaz's characters in the RP channel.

He was warned repeatedly about how these actions were unacceptable and that they should stop. Eventually, Desdenelle, Iximaz, and I came to the conclusion that enough was enough when Glarm posted a really creepy GIF in chat again. (Des had even warned Glarn after an earlier occurrence that if he did something like that again where he could see it, he would be kicked, as it was his "third strike"). We PMed each other a bunch and realized we were all on the same page about this. The morning after that final infraction, Iximaz kicked GlarnBoudin from the chat, sending him the following message (screenshot here)

Glarn,

Due to your repeated violations of the chat's rules, the other mods and I have decided to temporarily remove you from the PPC Discord. This is not a permanent ban, but we'd like you to take some time off and think about why this happened, and when you feel you are ready to follow the rules, PM one of us for an invite back.

If you decide you would like to return, and continue your previous behavior, it will be brought to the Board's attention.

Since this was a kick (and not a ban), Glarn is free to come back to the chat whenever he likes. However, he has not done so.

After all of this, we realized that our handling of this incident had not been very smooth. We'd all been sending reminders and warnings repeatedly, but none of us knew in any detail what anyone else was doing or thinking. It took us a while to conclude that everyone else was also fed up with this, and a series of private conversations to decide on what to do. In retrospect, we figured this wasn't the best way to handle this type of incident, and so the idea of a mod channel came up.

I've thought about this for a while, and I realized that this thread started with the wrong question. It asked "How can the bods coordinate better?", when the more appropriate topic would be "How do we handle this type of situation going forward?" I think this is something we might want discuss as a community, so I'd be glad to hear everyone's input.

There's also a sub-question "What's the process for kicking someone from chat?", which I would like to get some clarity on (because "the mods sort of make it up as they go along" is not quite the right solution). Note that kicking just removes them from the server and they can (IIRC) come right back, unlike with a ban (which obviously requires a vote on the Board)

And finally, this is a page to GlarnBoudin, since accusing people (especially those who don't post here much) of doing bad things without letting them know about it is a bad thing.

Have you considered e-mail? It solves all those problems you mentioned: giving everyone a chance to have a say, having a complete record in one place (as long as everyone remembers to hit Reply All), including oldbies for perspective if you wish. I know it's not necessarily real time, but I tend to consider that a positive, too. Taking your time to think your responses through when discussing serious issues is a good thing. {= )

I suppose it doesn't quite answer the "secret clubhouse" issue, but it doesn't exactly have the same feeling as setting up a private chatroom, does it? I don't think anyone can seriously object to people exchanging e-mails when they don't want to drag everyone into a conversation. That's what e-mail is for, yes?

~Neshomeh

I'm pretty sure they did something similar on the IRC, and it was a disaster. ;) Basically because it was an exclusive secret clubhouse used for insulting people behind their backs.

Now, I'm perfectly happy to watch the idea of a PPC chatroom collapse for, what, the fourth time? But in the interests of fairness, I present two questions for your consideration:

1/ How are you going to keep your roomful of 'people with power + people they like' from turning into a place to insult people they don't like?

2/ How are you going to reassure the people who aren't allowed in, that it hasn't turned into the above?

hS

I finished reading it when I got home. Where he wakes up in the medical ward, you should mention that it's Nume earlier.

I was thinking that it was Ilrean until he reached for his glasses, and then I got confused.

Just before he sank beneath the waves unconsciousness, …
I guess these are meant to be metaphorical "waves of unconsciousness", unless you want to make Nume sink beneath literal "waves unconscious".

HG

Well, I didn't see that many missions where no killing is involved, or DIC without any sort of things which should be killed (guess it's time to fish for more DIC Spin-offs). Make for an interesting read.

Anyways, I found the mission good at showing what was bad in the fic, especially with the writing...

On one hand, I can understand Ilraen being in love and wanting to fit with his supposed culture, but... Farilan is a textbook Andalite, and Andalites are these guys with planet-sized egos, dripping xenophobia as qualities. You deserve far more and far better, dude.

And if you really want to try your chance, find a way of making her eat cinnamon buns. Andalites seem to have a problem with them.

V nyfb yvxrq gur sberfunqbjvat sbe Fhowhtngvba jvgu Ahzr. And nw, I'm curious about how the poor guy was burnt in the past to develop this mindset...

Well, it seems that some more Neshomeh/Iximaz cowrites will be in store, yes? I, too, wonder how Farilan will react to that Monster Book of Monsters.

One error and one comment:
The error:
Where did he get that? Never mind," he interrupted as Ilraen started to respond; "he pulled it out of his a**, that's where."

That semicolon should be a period or a comma.

The comment:
Sandra pulled out her wand and began chanting, almost singing. "Vulnus Sanetur . . . " She waved the wand over the wound once . . . "Vulnus Sanetur . . ." twice . . . "Vulnus Sanetur."

Correct Latin, but perhaps incorrect spellcasting? The HP Wiki lists the spell as Vulnera Sanentur, and it doesn't show that the incantation switches to the singular if a singular wound is being healed. My HP knowledge is very limited, so I don't know about this.

[The following opinions have been run through rot13 to protect people who haven't read the mission yet but still clicked on this thing]

Fb, V yvxrq guvf. Gur zvffvba jnf jryy-cnprq, naq V tbg n tbbq vqrn bs ubj onq gur svp jnf jvgubhg orvat birejuryzrq. V cnegvphyneyl yvxrq gur qrfpevcgvbaf nobhg ubj gur sbeznggvat pnhfrq cnegvphyneyl cnvashy (abg gb zragvba onq sbe lbhe fnavgl) qvfgbegvbaf.

Ahzr naq Vyenra unir n tbbq zvk bs cynlshy onagre naq frevbhf pbairefngvbaf.

V'z nyfb tynq gb frr gung Ahzr unfa'g unq uvf frafr bs pnevat fhetvpnyyl ebzbirq. Nyfb, sebz gur ybbxf bs gur raqvat, ur'f unq fbzr cerggl onq rkcrevraprf jvgu eryngvbafuvcf. Ner jr rire tbvat gb frr zber guna uvagf bs gubfr?

Gur pyvznk unq zr jbeevrq gung Vyenra jnf tbvat gb qvr naq/be trg frevbfhyl vawherq sbe n ovg. (Va bgure jbeqf, vs lbh jnagrq qenzngvp grafvba, lbh'ir qbar vg irel jryy.) V'q nyfb yvxr gb wbva gur ybat yvar bs crbcyr va CCP UD jub jbhyq yvxr Vyenra gb erratntr uvf oenva naq qvfnatntr uvf [jungrire znyr Naqnyvgrf ercebqhpr jvgu], orpnhfr gung jnf n ernyyl fghcvq fghag.

V'z abj jbaqrevat ubj Sneyvna (naq Nyrk, naq gure rfg bs QbFNG) jvyy ernpg gb gung Zbagfre Obbx bs Zbafgref.

Paging Neshomeh, could you please check your email?

I thought that wands wouldn't respond to non-wizards. It's nice that they had a chance to get nice ones, but as showpieces instead of functional magic.

It took a moment to see that MoM was Ministry of Magic.

Also, obligatory cheers to you for sporking that complete disaster of a fic.

Props to you for having the patience to read through this fic; just the samples you put in were enough to make me cringe.

And Ilraen... poor Ilraen. I almost feel bad about introducing Farilan now, except it's too much fun watching Nume get worked up over his partner zoning out at the worst times.

I liked the montage of the agents wandering around Diagon Alley and generally getting the chance to have a breather for once in their lives. I will admit I wasn't such a fan of them getting their own wands (hit a bit too close to all the Sue montages I've seen, maybe?), but I did like Mr Ollivander having connections to Meir Brin. It made me smile.

(Also, slightly off-topic, but Ilraen saying "I'll use my own. Mouths do have some very serious disadvantages." made me think of Bleep patches, like nicotine patches but with Bleep. Carrying on...)

I don't know FMA, but the Harry Potter parts were just so full of cringe. Just... yowza. If the FMA parts were half as bad (and I get the feeling they were worse)... guh.

And poor Ilraen needs hugs, desperately. I'll admit to actually gasping out loud when he got hurt, and teared up a bit at the end there. Nume really does care about him... he's just not very good at showing it. ;)

Great mission, and definitely worth the wait.

-Ix

PS: Philosophies Stone has to be my favorite mini to date (well... after Death Easters). I might just have to adopt him.

PPS: "Nume flashed him again to be safe." Nuuuume, you tease

I might be a bit slow to respond, but I can take a look at it.

Give that email a good old slap (not a click. Slap your mouse as hard as you can. That'll get the best results, I assure you.)

I mean, if it's three pages, I reckon I could sort that pretty quickly.
Unless the multiversal thing is supposed to hint at metafiction, and this story will take fifty years to go through, while technically only being three and a bit-ish pages.

I'll probably take fifty years and a bit to sort it, if that's the case.

I'll gladly look over this soon (I expect to be available no later than this weekend)

And speaking of missions, I think I should be available next week to continue our co-write, maybe this coming Sunday even if I can get computer access! Tuesday and Thursday are my best days for being able to write, seeing as Dad teaches on campus on those days.

I can take a look sometime next week. I don't know anything about Persona 4 though.

Kaitlyn would kill me if I didn't get some hedgepig representation in this thread.









hS

Can you imagine just lying on the floor and snuggling with these cuties?



Boing boing boing



And an otter for Nesh!

The Quokka!

Because I bet you plebeians haven't heard of our planet's insultingly tiny antelope.



And that makes them stern-face at you. (That one's a baby, for the record, but they don't grow a whole lot by adulthood.)



o,o

All the otters!

Because kittens would be too predictable. And I really do love otters. ^_^



~Neshomeh

'I exiiiiiiiist!'



'i dont know if i want to exist'



'I exist, but only within the confines of this tube. Pity me.'



'These snakes all exist and that spooks me, a sailor, a little. Also, I am glued to a wooden post behind me and am completely sessile.'



The last one isn't very cute (it might be a bit rude to call it an animal, too), but I think the snakes help makes this post add up to an ultimate sense of general cuteness.
Which was the plan, of course!

TRUBBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISH