Jan 2018 Archive, part c

And while I'm asking, do you just pick one off the list, or is it randomly determined somehow?

~Neshomeh may have missed an obvious thing?

I am personally terrible at telling people what they mean to me. This is partly because I'm also terrible at receiving personal praise, partly because there's a not-that-small part of me that lives in certainty of eventual disappointment if I commit too hard, so I tend not to.

None of that is a good excuse. I'm working on it.

There's one person here without whom I would almost certainly not be part of the PPC anymore. We've been through just about everything together, and even though we've disagreed, argued, and occasionally hurt each other's feelings, we always seem to pull together and support each other when it matters the most—and though I say "we," I'm sure you're better at it than I am.

You're one of my best friends. Maybe even the longest-standing one, too. I admire your idealism, your energy, and your continual efforts to make the Board a better place. For the times you've supported me, and for the times you've challenged me, thank you. You really are a hero.

Everyone probably knows who I'm talking about. And if they don't, they should.

I'm not letting nerves scare me out of posting this.

~Neshomeh

I almost wasn't going to post. But then AC posted, and his formatting gave me some idea of how to pull this off. So... Uh. Thanks, AC. I haven't talked to you much, but you seem like a cool guy.

The thing is, through some strange twist of fate, I know a lot of awesome people. All of whom frequent the board, and will thus read this. So, like AC, I'm not going to name people. But I think everyone will know who they are. It's one paragraph per person, so... yeah:

You were the first person here who really seemed willing to be friends with me here. You introduced me to so many people who, like yourself, I'm proud to call friends. You're an amazing person, even though you doubt it. Without you, it's doubtful I'd even still be here.

On a dark day, you told me one of the best things anyone's ever said to me. You said, "welcome home, kid." That phrase has stuck with me ever since.

And you... you're a big part of why I almost didn't write this: Because I couldn't figure out how to say what I think of you without sounding like an idiot. You are astonishingly kind, incredibly caring, and you helped me when nobody else could, and when I needed it the most. You are nothing short of an inspiration, and I still am amazed you could forgive me. Thank you.

Thank you, brother. To you, I need not say more.

That's only some of the amazing people I've seen. Thanks everyone, for being awesome.

I can't say I know a whole lot of really, really awesome people like Quincy does, but there is definitely one person that comes to mind as someone who's saved my world. He's this one guy who's the best person I know. He is 100% a hero who has helped me up more times than I can count, and I can only hope to be like him one day. He's unbelievably selfless, heart-meltingly kind, and just... so, so caring. He's never judged me about anything I've done, and I can't imagine he ever will; he's the most supportive person I've ever met. He can brighten up my day with just a few words and one of his funny and random jokes. I'm not ashamed to say that I have absolutely no idea what I'd do without him.

Thank you for saving me; I owe you everything. If you're reading this and you're the guy I'm talking about, you know who you are and you know there isn't anyone else I'd say these things about.

There were a good few funny moments throughout (the entirely "doggy style" thing, Ave teasing Zeb about Jacques, the "domestic" part, the superhero landing part), the execution method was clever, and the framing with Elanor's tantrums was neat. The whole thing felt TOS-y.

- Tomash

That's ridiculous. You've been here about five minutes, or possibly forever, but definitely not four years. That's a silly number.

Of course, 'ninety missions' is also a pretty ludicrous number...!

hS

I offer my sympathies for the tantrum.I don't have memories of this, but my yougest brother could be an handful when he was at that age.

'Plus' side of being sparklepire: At least chances of durable hurting are considerably weaker? Dunno if that's enough though.

Noodle Incident sense twitching. The mystery always mean they're juicy.

Valuable brain space, uh? *Thinks about these bad cartoon and diverse tidbits refusing to just go away even after years* Lesser sort here, but oh yes, brain can be weird that way.

*Raspy Sidious-like voice* Do it, Zeb. Ask about that position. You know you absolutely do not want to.

You know, I like using disguises to catch the glitterbag unaware, but I never really thought about using it to deliver the charge list in an unsuspiscious way before. Would you mind terribly if I shamelessly steal respectfully borrow this great idea?

Oooh, Elanor is fan of Equestria Girls? Repeat after me, little girl: Sunset Shimmer is best human and best pony.

Nice mission to read. Also, do you have any preference for the cake, or will black-holechocolate and red berries will do?

But it was totally worth it. (Yep, surreal is the word I was looking for.)

Since your writing is so unique, I hardly dare to nitpick, but I guess these repetitions aren’t intentional narrator’s quirks:

In the third part: The voice was faint and wavy and unsure, exactly, of what it was it was meant to do.

In the last part: Anne looked back and and saw the rest of Shift Twentieth marching down the corridor

Also in the last part, how did Ninetwo get a daisy clock? Isn’t she a dandelion?

HG

It's actually funnier now that I'm reading the whole series in order, rather than seeing parts of it for beta-reading. It's all rather hilariously surreal, and you've got a nice descriptive and imaginative narrative voice.

Basically, this feels very PPC, and, uh, yeah. I'm bad at reviews. I'm working on it, sort of.

- Tomash

This is fantastic, sir. I loved reading this. You have such a dry, sarcastic, Douglas Adams-y sense of humor to your narration. I don't think I could ever manage to reproduce that sort of writing voice, and I'm a little in awe of your ability to keep it going so strongly through this entire story.

I especially love the long-winded, highly metaphorical descriptions of your characters' personalities and physical appearances. Also, the little recurring details, phrases and sounds you use to keep all the different parts of the story tied together. And even with six characters on the page during the framing parts of the story, you use the voices of all six to maximum effect, and they all play off of each other so cleverly and effectively, even the cat.

Plus, the entire story is just pure humor. There's no time to think about the realistic implications of such injuries or whatnot because there are always more jokes taking up my mental space as I continue. There's not a single moment of slowness or other weakness to the entire piece.

You, sir, are an excellent writer, and this story was an intricate work of art. Well done!

Errors! (Some, maybe.)
There's one paragraph in the "Ninetwo and Anne's Cat" section where you start mentioning a Nineone, but I can't tell from the context if that's Ninetwo thinking about another Weed, or if they're typos.

"Nineone never understood that, never did. All the grey, and how long - very long - the corridors were. It boggled the mind. It boggled, Ninetwo hastily reconsidered, her mind, which was, among other things, she was certain, very easily boggled. Nineone was not very fond of her own mind, among other things.

In "Finch and Bingle":

"he used much of it comprehending, dissecting, understanding, and lengthily observing and imagining every single one of these potential deaths."
That first "he" should have a capital "h," since it's not connected to the dialogue of the previous line.

"‘Why are you being so loud,’ Finch hissed, covering his auditory sensors with a pair actuators, wincing at every whir and click they made."
I think you wanted, "a pair of actuators"?

—doctorlit, the most entertained

That was awesome! XD I loved the way the characters interacted with each other, especially Finch and Bingle. And that part with Anne about World One agents legitimately gave me the feels. I feel kind of bad for making my agents so environmentally destructive now.

I particularly liked "Do Mustafar shadow-demons have wings?" Excellent question, well worth debating.

I nominate Urag gro-Shub of the Mages' College of Winterhold for a position on the list of Most Dedicated Librarians. He's an Orc, both defying and living up to cultural stereotypes in pursuit of his calling. Not even the Arch-Mage is above his rule in the Arcaneum. He's one of my favorite NPCs in Skyrim. ^_^

~Neshomeh

Information-retrieval "missions" is a nice concept, the gaggle of kids asking silly questions was a nice touch, and it's really good to see the universe being expanded generally.

- Tomash

I always love seeing more of the Musée, and of Lorelai and Dr. Cornelius. This new type of "mission," as it were, is very unique, and I like that there's an element of difficulty to it without making it dangerous or tense. Good use of Ekyl's character, and of the younglings. A lot of their questions were quite amusing!

I also like that you found a way to give both Jocasta and Cator screen time, and then honor them with statues and the name wall at the end. Aside from being nice from our out-of-universe perespective, it feels like the sort of thing Dr. Cornelius would do. (Or maybe that part is Lorelai's contribution?)

A long typo ago:
The dimly-lid corridor behind the shelf led to an equally-dim flight of stairs.

—doctorlit, too old to be trained as a Jedi

Librarians are the best. I might be biased, because I am a librarian, but you can take my word for it: Librarians are the best. Aside from Jocasta's awesomeness, it made me think of another Library, which does contain some quite amazing people in it.

The book (and T.V. show) "The Magicians" has a library (titled "The Library", what a name) of quite epic proportions, and the contents are quite special. Feel free to check it out, but fair spoiler warning for The Magicians!
http://themagicians.wikia.com/wiki/The_Library


- Maxewell, Librarian who has a spot in a niche now

The official Constitution has been updated with the Fifth and Sixth Amendments - AKA the Harassment and Discussion Amendments. It also now lists the Chitchat Amendment as rejected, and I've updated the list of signatures too.

Somehow, we managed to keep the whole thing in exactly the same number of Articles (29), though the Sections have increased by two. Given how broad the changes are, it's probably wise to go and give it another read.

hS

But then again, I'm not too good at judging this type of thing. I especially can't predict if I'll end up bringing any of this on my head, so apologies in advance.

Yep. It's decided. I'm not going to partake in the Discord. Hearing about Discord drama on the Board throws me for enough of a loop already.

-Twistey

I'll restate my approval for the Harassment Amendment and the Discussion Amendment, even if they get shuffled around a bit.

I've left some comments on the Harassment Amendment.

For the Discussion Amendment, perhaps 20 might go better as 17.5? I think it's related closely enough to the "please talk about things and don't just post bare links" point. (20 is such a nice number, though, if that's what it ends up being.)

I agree that the Chitchat Amendment is unnecessary and thus disapprove.

~Neshomeh

Okay, first thing's first. I admit I was involved in this to some extent, and I apologize for anything I did that may have caused harm. I especially want to apologize for this specific comment I made:

GoodModAddict - Last Monday at 12:09 AM

TL;DR a newbie came, Drama happened twice, and he left and Iximaz decided to leave the Discord but stay in the PPC. Iximaz will probably be taking a break.

As Quincy pointed out, that wasn't the full story, and I knew that at the time. I was trying to respond quickly to Mattman, who was confused by the conversation, without giving out information that (while possibly relevant) would violate trust some people have placed in me. In doing so, I only caused more drama, and I'm sorry about that. For what it's worth, I also think it's a good thing that Quincy called me out immediately.

Instead of posting what I did, I should not have posted anything at all. I should have waited for somebody else to summarize what happened and continued the conversation from there.

With that out of the way, I ratify the Harassment and Discussion Amendments. However, I agree with everyone else who's commented so far about the third amendment. The Board has too little going on as it is, and limiting what people can post when there isn't even a problem (as far as I can see) would be counter-productive. I reject the Chitchat Amendment until there actually becomes a problem with people misusing the Board.

...And I'm glad I did, I'd rather stay out of this argument (though on the off chance I accidentally insult someone while in the chat, I want to apologize beforehand, I have a bad habit of saying/doing things without thinking.)

And while we're on it, I've noticed that the atmosphere here has gotten rather toxic and I'm sick of it. That and the prevalence towards angst in the current PPC missions. Character development is fine, but what's wrong with a little levity?

Sorry, I just wanted to get this all out...

-OpinionedAngel, fed up.

I am very tired of drama. I have offhandedly whinged about it quite a few times, before, and I find it disappointing that it's just so consistent.
So, I was miffed. I was miffed that another drama - which I thought was over with - was brought back into conversation. I was miffed that I attempted (weakly, I admit, and an attempt that I immediately went back on, myself) to drive conversation away from it and it was immediately brought back.

But miffedness is really all I have going for me. I was annoyed and my blathering gob said something completely unnecessary, which added nothing to the conversation, help cool it down, or anything. I didn't think big of it at the time, but, well, somebody was hurt and them being hurt can be tied directly to something I said.

So, I apologise for that. I didn't need to say what I said - could've just, I don't know, gotten off the computer, squeezed a stressball or whatnot - but I said it. Don't have anything nice to say, don't say it, and so on. I never want to be the person who's hurting someone or getting involved in dramas (the irony being that I have now enrolled myself in one) but there it is. Good effort on my part.

Sorry. I expressed myself immaturely and I won't do it again.

The Harassment Amendment
I've left a few comments in the GDoc (which is open for anyone to comment in, hint hint), but my vote is to ratify it, overall. I don't think anyone could argue we don't need it, in light of these situations sometimes occurring.

The Discussion Amendment
I also ratify this. More discussion leads to more thinking, which leads to smarter, more well-rounded PPCers. And I need all your brains as developed as possible before I can connect the entire community into a story-developing think tank.

The Chitchat Amendment
I can remember massive text chains between only two people happening, uh, once, or maybe even twice? And since the Board displays each page based on number of root posts only, and not response posts, it should hardly matter. I don't feel this amendment is necessary or productive, so I disapprove.

Dear Discord
I don't want to talk too long about this, partly because I wasn't present (or was busy on another screen at the time, if I was in fact in the Discord at the time these events took place), and partly because I feel it's being resolved as this thread goes on. I will briefly say that I don't see the comments posted as being serious or incendiary enough for me to view this situation as anything more than hurt feelings being expressed. I do, however, agree with Neshomeh that the individual who reported the conversation to Iximaz, seemingly with the intent to create conflict, does owe an apology to at least Iximaz and the other two parties, if not all of us.

—doctorlit, hopefully staying as diplomatic as he feels

The harassment amendment as written seem good enough. It's not perfect, and I might have some comments on how to tweak it later, but I think I'd be happy with it going in.

The discussion amendment is good to go (I helped write it, after all).

The chatter amendment seems unnecessary and a bad idea, and I think it'd stifle discussion by making people worried about having their conversations be "too long" or drive good discussions off the Board that other people want to see. If that situation comes up, we can poke people on a case-by-case basis. It doesn't need to be in the rules.

- Tomash

First of all, thank you to the people who supported me. I believe it was Maxewell who provided and alternative explanation on my comments and I have to say that he was right on the money. I hate myself for how I acted during the whole shebang and I cannot apologize for my insensitivity enough.

Also, I want to make it very clear that I DO NOT HATE IXIMAZ. I am upset, yes, and angry, but I make NO accusation and I expect NO ONE to share my views. And I am so hurt that someone could think that of me. Why didn't you just come to ME? I wouldn't... I didn't even know this was an issue. I would have apologized and explained in a heartbeat. This isn't... This was never what I wanted and it kills me that this made it to the Board as a real issue before I even knew somebody thought I was out of line.

And I've seen the log, which I very, very much appreciate.

What I see there is a hurt, upset kid (Quincy and Sprinkles are both about 14, I think?) being hurt and upset and maybe looking for support and reassurance.

I also see their accurate perception that people tend to unconditionally favor Iximaz over all comers--note Mattman's comment "Just how bad was the newbie?" indicating that anyone who doesn't get on with Ix MUST be bad. (And preemptive apologies if I'm reading it wrong, but it does seem telling.)

I also see Larfen's accurate perception that Ix leaving has happened before, and may logically be predicted to happen again. Could he have expressed it more kindly? Sure. But I'm here to tell you he's not the only one getting frustrated with cyclical drama.

I also see Iximaz in the Discord, making passive-aggressive, emotionally manipulative remarks, when they'd said they were going to stay out of the Discord. I thought that was a good, responsible decision. I want to know why they weren't called on not sticking to it. I also want to know why someone thought it would be a good idea to run and tattle to them in the first place. Did you really think that would result in anything good, for Ix or for anyone else? Why?

Because as Ix is a member of this community, so Ix is responsible for their behavior, just like the rest of us, and so we are responsible for holding them accountable. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: enabling someone with a problem is not helpful to them. All of you, stop it.

~Neshomeh

the general commentary about Iximaz, I did not, and still do not believe that it was meant as an attack on their person. Given what happened which made them leave in the first place, which, I'm just going to paraphrase here, "amounted to a painful and horrible situation", I don't think that anyone in the PPC is angry towards Ix for what happens.

I tried to distract from the commentary, because frankly, I thought it could lead into a bigger discussion, which should be on the Board or someplace where everyone could see it.

tl;dr: I think it might've been blown out of proportions, but I can see why the comments could be seen as an attack.

I support the first two amendments, but not the third, for basically the same reasons hS did.

As for the Discord thing... as someone who went and read the logs, that is a massively warped view of what happened, and I don't find it accurate at all. Nobody in any way had any intention of turning Discord against Ix. In fact, here's the tail of a response to Ix from the person who doesn't like Ix (sadly, Ix was already gone and didn't see it):

stop with the "I'm not welcome". That's my line. You are more welcome here than I ever was, and the only thing about that I begrudge you of is that you can't see it.

In fact, the individual said repeatedly that they would be glad to see Ix return, even if that meant they would no longer feel comfortable staying.

As for the "direct attack on Iximaz," I once again find this to be blown far out of proportion of what was actually said, unless I miss my mark on what you're referring to.

I have nothing further to say in this conversation, and no further remarks to make. My blood pressure does not need more of this drama.

Thoth out.

Alright. I'm not gonna say anything on the amendments, or even the event on Discord. I do not have enough caffeine in my system for that. However, I would propose that the relevant text from the 21st of January, or any other day being referenced, be screenshotted and copied so everyone knows exactly what's going on.

If so, it was never my intent to turn anybody against Iximaz. I know you guys love them; I'd never want to do that. Never. I personally do not like them very much, but... they're your friend, and you're their friends. I would never intentionally try to defame anybody within this community. If you'll see my messages on the chat, I never said anything bad about them- and I never wanted to.

Harassment Amendment: I think this is generally good. It may be a bit long, and I feel that the language used in article 4 (on Harassment itself) is probably too specific, accidentally excluding types of harassment that aren't listed.

I would also like to find somewhere to include language along the lines of: You do not have the right to someone's time or attention. Everyone has the right to prioritise their own mental wellbeing, including cutting off communication with others if that communication is damaging to them. Not sure where it would go, though.

Discussion Amendment: We hashed this out fairly recently. I would ratify this.

Chitchat Amendment: This was pulled out from the Harassment Amendment (since it addresses something entirely separate). I don't think this is a problem we actually face, and I think I have to disapprove of its inclusion; the Board is quiet enough that a 'private' chat can actually be invigorating, and can draw in other people.

hS

First, I want everyone to know that I don't think hS was wrong to raise his concern, even though I disagreed with his interpretation. It would have been better if whoever went to him had spoken to Quincy and Larfen first, and it would have been better if hS had spoken to Quincy and Larfen before bringing it to the Board. However, it is important to raise concerns when you see them so that they can be resolved, whether that's by putting them in a new light or by corrective action taken, or even both. Let's please acknowledge that he acted with the best interests of the community in mind, of his own volition, and not as an attack.

Second, it is always okay to remove yourself from a stressful or dangerous situation for your own health. It's been expressed to me that what's been said by me and others about Iximaz in this discussion might convey the opposite message, and that is not what I intended at all. No one is obliged to stay in a situation that makes them uncomfortable.

~Neshomeh

(This topic being discussed in a separate thread from the amendments seems like a good idea to me, even if it was an accident.)

I think I've seen all the apologies I need to see except possibly one: whoever felt the need to fan the flames of Ix's trust issues by telling them people were discussing them in the chat. That's the one piece of this that doesn't make any sense to me at all, and I'd love an explanation.

I had a lot that I wanted to say about a lot of things, but it got late, and my brain isn't working so well. But in light of everything that's been discussed today, I do wish to suggest the following:

- Iximaz stays entirely out of the Discord. They are avoiding the place for a reason, and I suspect it's a good one. Let's make it a clean break. People can check the Board for new posts themselves, or someone else can carry the news in.

- Nobody reports on what goes on in the Discord to Iximaz. They are avoiding the place for a reason, and I suspect it's a good one. Respect that.

- Going forward, nobody in the PPC Discord discusses Iximaz at all. They are avoiding the place for a reason, and I suspect it's a good one. Respect that. If you have something to say to or about them, good or bad, do it on the Board. (And btw, do try not to discuss anyone behind their back. If you have a problem with someone, tell them to their face [following the Constitution, of course]. If you have good thoughts about someone, tell them that to their face, too!)

- PMs and emails are an entirely separate thing and are not under discussion at this time. We cannot presume to have any control over what people talk about with their friends in private. HOWEVER, if bad things are happening to you in private, do please come forward to someone. We really don't want anyone suffering in silence.

That's all I've got for now. Let me just stress that this is a proposal, not a dictation. If you find it lacking or unhelpful in any way, please say so, and we as a community will find a better way together.

~Neshomeh

I'm honestly crushed that this... whatever it is... happened. I feel like what I said, if it was out of line, is nowhere NEAR Board-level. That being said, I still don't really feel like I went out of line, especially considering what I posted after the controversial stuff. What it looks like to me (though I am admittedly rather biased, and I feel the need to specify that I AM NOT REGARDING THIS AS THE UNIVERSAL TRUTH, because apparently expressing my opinion/discomfort sics hS on me??? Maybe that was a bit unnecessary but that's how this whole ordeal has made me feel, dang it) is that y'all saw me saying something 'against' Iximaz and decided immediately that I had to be punished for it. Again, I’m not saying that’s what happened, I’m saying it’s how it make me feel. Because I, too, have feelings. I'm legitimately scared, now, that this will happen again, that I'll be thrown onto the Board without even having gotten a warning. It is not as if I always do this! And the way hS just went after me... I don't know if I feel welcome on the Board anymore, and I certainly don't feel welcome on the chat knowing that somebody was there and decided to indict me without even talking to me about it first. To that end, it pains me, but I think I'm just going to have to take another hiatus! And whoever reported me to hS... next time, JUST TELL ME. I SWEAR I AM NOT EVIL. I DO NOT WANT TO HURT ANYBODY. SURE, I PROBABLY OVERREACTED??? BUT I WOULD HAVE LISTENED IF YOU WOULD HAVE JUST COME TO ME. All you've accomplished by doing this instead is upset *everybody* over an issue that could've been resolved through a quick PM. Unless your intent is to harm me?? In which case, congratulations, you've succeeded!

I just wanted to come back and be with my friends. And then... THIS. Maybe it's my fault? I don't know, I don't really *feel* like I've done anything egregious. Maybe I'm paranoid. I told myself I've been overreacting, but as the day goes on, I just get more and more sad. But... I can't believe this happened. I don’t even feel like I did anything??? I don't know! I'm scared this will happen again and I don't know if I could handle it. I hate this, all of it. It’s making me wish I never joined the PPC. I mean, can I not also be upset/hurt/angry over what happened, or is that a premium right reserved for those whose names are Iximaz??? Please, somebody. I just want to know why something of this magnitude happened over something so small.

>An apology for insinuating the entire chat hates them/doesn't care about them/... is in order, from the looks of it.

Thing is, from the logs, it looks like Quince went to great lengths to not insinuate that. An apology still might be in order, but I think that's worth noting.

It was never my intent to suggest that Major Drama was happening. I wanted to highlight some relatively low-level behaviour that I found dismaying and not appropriate, to try and encourage the people involved to stop before it could become Major Drama.

I apologise for implying that Major Drama had occured. It was never my intent. I would appreciate someone laying out precisely how I implied that, so I can learn from it.

hS

Ursula K. LeGuin was a fearless and tireless campaigner for the rights of the marginalized and dispossessed, both in speculative fiction and the wider world. She was a champion of the oppressed and the silenced and I would like to remember her thus:-

The time she ripped up the script to a whitewashed Earthsea TV adaptation

*start battle music*

Thought I might as well combine both of my otherwise separate prompt threads into one this week. So without further ado today's prompt will be:

"What's that coming out the top of your head?"

Nova

To start, for the record: I tried to come up with something to make the pants prompt work. I do want to make an effort to participate in each one, but in this case, my characters just aren't the sort to be pantless. But I am sorry for ignoring that one.

A) Honestly (and in light of wanting to participate in every one, both writing a prompt and commenting on all the others), every other week is way too often for me. I think once a month would be a lot more manageable for me.

. . . But of course, I'm only one data point. I recognize it's not fair to everyone else to do it less often just because I'm in a bad work situation right now and have almost no functional free time. I'll certainly bow to the popular vote on this.

B) Literally doesn't matter. If you're ever busy, shoot me a message in any medium, and I'll happily do it for you.

C) Literally anything. From anywhere. In fact, have some random ideas:

*short snippet of the EPC version of one of your PPC characters

*short snippet of one of your PPC characters before they joined

*snippet of an AU version of one of your PPC characters if they were background canons in a continuum of writer's choice

*someone turns into an animal unexpectedly

*a piece of equipment malfunctions

*a stranger arrives

*meeting a Flower from outside your character's usual department

*an entire room disappears

*your agents encounter a physical sign of past events and react to it

*adventures of a mini in HQ

*a store in New Caledonia

*visiting someone from pre-PPC life

*how one of your characters would react to/think about the piece of real world media you most recently consumed

*meeting an animal (or plant?) your character never encountered before

*gnomes

*cafeteria food

*making a mess and trying to clean it before it gets noticed

*a ghost, maybe?

—doctorlit is aware that most of these only work for PPC characters. That is because the PPC is the only canon he truly cares about, anymore.

First, I think that writing prompts are an excellent idea, even though I probably won't participate in them. That's not because they aren't interesting but more because I am a lazy person and writing is hard (I'm mostly kidding).

That said, nobody's forcing you to come up with prompts, as Phobos already pointed out. If you feel like you don't want to do it anymore, then that's perfectly fine! I just think it's a good idea to have something come up for people to write about aside from missions or roleplay, whether that's in the Discord or on T-Board.

Speaking of T-Board, I think it would be fun to have more things happen there. I realize I'm not the best person to suggest this (as, again, I'm probably the least active person here in terms of actually doing anything with characters), but I think things can be done besides holiday RPs and the occasional birthday party. Again, I don't know who'd come up with RPs or how often to do them or anything else about logistics, I'm just throwing the idea out there.

A) Won't comment on this, since I am not writing from the prompts.

B) I think a better question is: Do you, Novastorme, want to continue posting prompts? If 'yes' then please continue to post prompts. If 'no' then maybe someone else will step up. If 'sometimes' then maybe find a partner and pass the responsibility back and forth between you.

C) I don't think it matters where a prompt comes from. If you don't have time/energy/inspiration to come up with a new prompt, then absolutely use any resource you have access to. It can be a lot of work coming up with something specific enough to speak to people, but broad enough not to write itself, and we understand that.

Remember, you haven't been at this long and it can take some time to figure out what works. Try not to get discouraged when a prompt doesn't grab your audience. That is going to happen, and that isn't a reflection on you. All you can do is keep trying, learning, and working to improve. Eventually you will look back and be amazed at how far you've come.

-Phobos

A comfortable mission length for most people to read seems to be about 15-30 pages (varies with font size and margins), but there's nothing wrong with going over that if you've got enough story for more. The main reason not to extend a mission is to cover an entire fic in excruciating detail. You don't have to go through the whole thing with a fine-toothed comb, especially if it's practically a novel itself. Once you get a significant canon breach and a convenient point for your agents to jump in, you can end it.

As for percentage of quotes, there isn't a number we can give you. My personal rule of thumb is that I quote anything that I think needs to be seen to be believed. That can be in the sense of "wow, can you believe how funny/terrible/bizarre this is?" or it can be because I'm spinning a hopefully-funny interpretation of it and need people to see I'm not just making it up with no justification.

Corollary: If it's boring, don't quote it.

As with any story, you just need to make sure that everything in a mission has a good reason to be there, and it will be fine. {= )

~Neshomeh

A bit late, of course, but to be perfectly frank I'm not sure I've ever wished someone a happy birthday on the Board without being at least a little late.

Anyway, have a commissar cap and laspistol engraved with your personal heraldry.

Oh, and some birthday pizza. Family tradition, you see. Topping selection operates via voice command, courtesy of magic.

Also, happy birthday! *Pfeep*

-Twistey

I give unto you a Campbell-pattern medium laspistol. Luke Campbell is an artist and frequent contributor to the website Atomic Rockets. His designs for realistic laser weapons are excellent.

Glad to hear this place has done so much for you. Have some sticky notes shaped like cats!

I'm glad you were able to have a good experience here!

Anyway, have a triple chocolate (as in chocolate with chocolate chips and chocolate icing) cupcake, and don't forget to blow out the candle and make a wish!

Have an ENIAC!

I do hope you have somewhere to put it.

- Tomash

She had decided that, since she was now in some sort of multiversal hub, she might as well expand her drink orders a bit. This turned out to be rather complicated, as, even with the "things I can drink" filter on, the drink list was still quite long, which made actually picking something to order rather difficult.

Eventually, she lowered the menu and started glancing around, hoping to catch the eye of someone who looked like they knew what they were doing.

It's nice to meet you! My gift to you is a bowl full of freshly homemade potato chips.

Out of curiosity, what about the PPC most appeals to you? What are some of your other hobbies/interests?

I bequeath unto you a Campbell pattern heavy laspistol. It looks a bit like a camera due to convergent evolution: both are created to direct light.

Hey there! Welcome to the board. For your newbie gift, here's a replica of Crescent Rose.

Weird way to introduce yourself. You intend to join or what? Who are you?

-Twistey

So yeah, hi

Have a Campbell-pattern autolaser.

Might not be as big a thing as turning 21, but still something to celebrate. Happy birthday!

Have a cat. https://i.imgur.com/1luI97R.mp4

LOL: Lámar Oia Lalalo, 'peals of endless laughter' [lit. 'echoes of everlasting laughing']

ROFL: Raina Olya, Fólima Lalala, 'big smile, muffled laugh' [lit 'smiling much, secretive laughing', and yes, that is a string of four adjectives]

WTF: Walda Tevin Felu, 'mad, bad witchcraft' [lit 'wild, hated bad magic']

(Making those roughly hit the meaning of the original is surprisingly hard work!)

But I'll also offer up Rohan, Our Favourite Land (weirdos) and Wilwarin's The Fairest (for particular fans of the constellation Cassiopeia).

(And, finally... it's Lay of Leithian...)

hS