Question The Micro-Scenes Discussion thread

There is only one thing more dangerous than a lie. That is the truth, especially when it will embarrass you!

null0trooper wrote: Picturing a bunch of cheeseheads being forced into admitting they don't like American cheese all that much.

Nah, they're all admitting to being Bears fans. For those of you not aware, the Bears and the Packers (Green Bay, Wisconsin) are two of the oldest NFL teams and have been rivals since the beginning.

Getting fanfic views of Whateleyverse Britain is soo cool, 'cause it's such a new location!

Amitjyoti Patel is a baseline.

So three questions (more hints later):

1. Ami is a former member of this organization (wears uniforms)?

2. Ami enjoys what Northern English outdoor activity during her time off?

3. What is Ami's favorite shoe brand (not that she can afford them)?

Katssun wrote: 2. Ami enjoys what Northern English outdoor activity during her time off?

Fell running?

Correct!

Why is she lamenting what heels will or won't do for her legs? She's wearing slacks, her legs are covered...?

E. E. Nalley wrote: Why is she lamenting what heels will or won't do for her legs? She's wearing slacks, her legs are covered...?

Even in slacks, heels make a difference. Sure they look much better with a skirt. But they can help slacks as well too.

Anne wrote:

E. E. Nalley wrote: Why is she lamenting what heels will or won't do for her legs? She's wearing slacks, her legs are covered...?

Even in slacks, heels make a difference. Sure they look much better with a skirt. But they can help slacks as well too.

Want to see how complicated it can get E.E.?

www.alreadypretty.com/guide-pant-length/

Sometimes half an inch really makes a difference, and heels can make any pair of pants go from meh or even frumpy to phenomenal.

edit:
This kind of thing is why Cecilia Rogers exists!

I'm just going to leave this here, in the form of "This is why men have easier lives."

null0trooper wrote: Picturing a bunch of cheeseheads being forced into admitting they don't like American cheese all that much.

I am assuming that you mean 'cheese made in the US' as opposed to 'American Processed Cheese', which are totally different topics. Regional pride cuts both ways; I don't know Wisconsin, but I am guessing that they would be some of the first ones to sneer at the latter, as an abomination unto honest natural cheese.

OTOH, talking smack about "Swissconsin"'s version of Emmental (like, say, pointing out how bland and rubbery it often is... ) would probably be fighting words.

Funny thing is, I only threw in the Wisconsin part because the original micro mentioned her family being dairy farmers.

Kaitha39 wrote: I'm just going to leave this here, in the form of "This is why men have easier lives."

I'll be honest, I'm sort of struggling with that right now, as it does take more effort to fit expectations when dressed en femme, even casually.

Though if I am being honest with myself, for me it is less a matter of, "wow this is a lot more work, that's annoying" than something I use as an excuse not to get dressed that way... or to go outside, period. "I don't really even want to go out, and the effort it takes to get dressed that way saps my motivation to leave the apartment at all".

My 'usual' mode of dress is 'comfortably unisex Nerd' to begin with, but the lack of head hair and presence of body hair (which I usually try to shave off, but, eh, motivation again) means that most people will read me as male if I don't have a wig and makeup on.

Ironically, I really like wearing skirts (or kilts, if I am kinda-sorta presenting as male, though I don't currently own any, nor any skirts that could pass for one), but I get really pretty nervous about the other aspects, both in terms of "how are people going to react?" and "why am I even bothering, no matter what I do I'm still going to look like a cross of the most repulsive aspects of Baron Harkkonen, the Alien Brood Mother, and Cthulhu..." (or at least, that's how I perceive it; I do see my real appearance in the mirror, so I know it isn't actually the case, but the self-loathing sort of does a number on how I think I look. Presenting as female does help with that, but the nagging doubts remain).

And no matter how I dressed, it would still mean dealing with people F2F, which is it's own minor nightmare for me. Just going to the clinic to see my therapist is harrowing, not because I dislike seeing my therapist (who is really very good and has helped me a great deal), but because it means being in public. I honestly would be a lot happier if the sessions could be done by phone, or Skype, or something.

That time when I said my preferred presentation is, 'through a computer screen in a text-only medium', I wasn't kidding.

Wow. Sorry for the pity-party infodump, there.

Anxiety is rough. I don't know how it is for other people, but mine can be controlled through desensitization. Problem is I'm not very social even when anxiety isn't a factor, so I tend to have no interest in activities that would help keep me desensitized. It was unpleasant in school and college, but when I moved out on my own and started working from home, it got to the point where it was crippling. I couldn't even deal with the checkout lines at my local Kmart anymore. I eventually had to force myself to join an RPG group, which was one of the only social things I could think of that I thought I might enjoy enough to put up with. It's a pain in the ass, but meeting up each week to play D&D provides just enough desensitization to keep things manageable. I stress a lot more than necessary if I need to interact with strangers or more distant family, and I procrastinate a lot, but it's not crippling anymore.

Hang in there, and try not to let it trick you into not doing the things you want to do.

Schol-R-LEA wrote: Ironically, I really like wearing skirts (or kilts, if I am kinda-sorta presenting as male, though I don't currently own any, nor any skirts that could pass for one), but I get really pretty nervous about the other aspects, both in terms of "how are people going to react?"

Well, if you want some and cash is an issue, may I recommend the TactiKilt ? It's macho name and being designed rather like BDU pants tends to favorable reactions in my experience (and trust me, I'm no Arnold) and only you have to know why you're really wearing it. Plus, being under $100 makes them the least expensive kilts on the market, despite being very durable and a good investment.

That sounds perfect, thank you. I'll take a look at them.

Hmm... If this gets to be too much of a problem, Carson is gonna say something?

Great prank, though!

Monkeywrench X Mischief!

The pair is gonna be getting suspicious looks in the halls...

Well...considering they were staging the whole thing from the start, everyone knew that something was going to happen.

That said, they should know better, but it's human nature to want to know why the peculiar is where it is.

Trixie makes the best stink bombs! I wonder... Shall we ship Mischief and Monkeywrench yet!? Or is that just a sign of the impending apocalypse? Also no one noticed at the back of the crowd as Jade, Beltane, and Thorn slipped on low profile gas masks. Later Mischief and Monkeywrench received an e-mail: Your scores are 8.9, 9.3 and 9.5.... Beware!

Katssun wrote: That said, they should know better, but it's human nature to want to know why the peculiar is where it is.

... and to huddle in as close to it as possible! When I was playing LARP, I thought of it as "grenade formation".

Anne wrote: I wonder... Shall we ship Mischief and Monkeywrench yet!?

I don't think I would. He's more of a Partner in Crime (caps intentional), like Trixie. BFFLs.

"Mischief Managed" showed that Melissa is interested more toward Rapier.

Katssun wrote:

Anne wrote: I wonder... Shall we ship Mischief and Monkeywrench yet!?

I don't think I would. He's more of a Partner in Crime (caps intentional), like Trixie. BFFLs.

"Mischief Managed" showed that Melissa is interested more toward Rapier.

She may look at and pine for Rapier, but if she does fun things with Monkeywrench, she may one day look up and discover just how much she likes him in other ways as well.

Point. That's essentially how my parents got together. Dad used to have a socialite-type girlfriend who didn't enjoy the stuff he liked (boating and stuff); he eventually noticed that his "little pal-gal" (a niece of an older friend, who did enjoy those things and was a frequent companion) was now an adult woman, and... well, it has been nearly sixty years, and they are still together.

Something tells me that Kessel watched that same video before picking that devise's name...

@Anne - Woah, changing his name. Presumably to match the new body...

Deliberately inflicting gender dysphoria??

... And I was researching Gaslighting right before I read this. ... Coincidence, or what? Lol.

Interesting. Speakeasy smells of an "old adversary" of the Voice. He (she by now?) probably means the Kellith (as opposed to Sara), and/or Hekate's Master. So someone opposed to either one or both of them.
The question is, "opposed" as in "the opposite side" (fighting the forces of the Mythos) or "opposed" as in "competition" (a different branch of the Mythos)?

Now, the name... besides being an obviously feminine name, Flora suggests something vegetable/flowery. Maybe Speakeasy will wake up to find out he became Whateley's answer to Pamela Isley? Or perhaps Oak's dream girlfriend?

That the Voice would pull Speakeasy in that direction suggests familiarity with the natural/vegetable world. Perhaps one of the Sidhe?

Actually, if you read the rest of these pieces you'll find that they are closely coupled and that so far as we know Gothmog or some aspect of him has captured/rescued Speakeasy. We recall from canon works that Speakeasy was working with chaos magic under the leading of Hekate's master, and that he captured Sara/Kelleth in the fools circle on the Tyvek(r) sheet....

@Sir Lee, alt.sysadmin.recovery?

Y'know, I've been thinking, and I think that Westmont may be Hekate's master. Think about it. He's been a largely underutilised character within the body of staff at Whateley with magical abilities. He hasn't had any significant plot involvement outside of a few minor interconnections, which makes him perfect for a big outing. It would be great shock material towards us, the audience, having thought the character wasn't evil for so long. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it would put him in a perfect position to do his work without suspicion. He's been mentoring one of the more important magical characters, he's a respected member of the magic department...in fact, it's almost stupendous that he hasn't been a source of suspicion as a possible character. The authors won't just introduce a random new character to be the master. If they want us to go 'oh, it was xxx' instead of us just giving blank stares or going 'wait, I didn't care or know about this character' then they'll have to use the existing characters they've put into the story already. We know that the guy is a older man with magical abilities and who (possibly) teaches at the school. We know that they were tutoring Hekate before her reveal as a practicing villain and oh my god I just crashed my own idea. It can't have been Westmont in the dining hall with the magic wand, as he only came to the school after Fey arrived. Hekate had been being tutored for far longer. Damm.

null0trooper wrote: @Sir Lee, alt.sysadmin.recovery?

Of course. It's a monastery with scary-looking devilish creatures, where they go for recovery.

CrazyMinh wrote: It can't have been Westmont in the dining hall with the magic wand, as he only came to the school after Fey arrived. Hekate had been being tutored for far longer. Damm.

Some of the stories, starting from spring 2007 or so, have also revealed that HM is masquerading as a student. He could also be masquerading as a teacher, but the more masquerades he's running simultaneously, the more likely he'll screw up.

To be honest, I wrote the second of those mainly just to bring up the whole 'persistent ones' line, and point out that you would think someone who took 'being a ninja' (not just a professional assassin, mind you, ninja) that seriously would bother to learn enough Japanese to figure out that the 'translation' he'd been given was bogus (and I am not talking about a Hungarian shapeshifter). Or, you know, look it up on Wicked-Pedo.

The first one was mostly that I figured that Bravo Company would come up with this sort of brain-damaged bullshit, and that Long John (by far the smartest of the four, insofar as his IQ approaches the year of his birth by century - approaches from below, but still) was enough of a dick to try and weave it into an attempted pick-up. Also, I wanted to say, uhm, something about CeeCee trying to get into the Capes, but wasn't quite sure what.

So, why did I pick Pucelle as the one with that brainwave? Mostly because, for all her fake 'sympathy' for GSD students, she strikes me as a nasty and self-righteous bigot who would be glad to 'support' one low-status group while turning her claws on another, provided she could spin it just right. Still, I am not sure if it really was the right call. Dunno.

Schol-R-LEA wrote: To be honest, I wrote the second of those mainly just to bring up the whole 'persistent ones' line, and point out that you would think someone who took 'being a ninja' (not just a professional assassin, mind you, ninja) that seriously would bother to learn enough Japanese to figure out that the 'translation' he'd been given was bogus (and I am not talking about a Hungarian shapeshifter). Or, you know, look it up on Wicked-Pedo.

There's also some amusement to be had over someone who calls himself 'Nex' necking himself.

Schol-R-LEA wrote: The first one was mostly that I figured that Bravo Company would come up with this sort of brain-damaged bullshit, and that Long John (by far the smartest of the four, insofar as his IQ approaches the year of his birth by century - approaches from below, but still) was enough of a dick to try and weave it into an attempted pick-up. Also, I wanted to say, uhm, something about CeeCee trying to get into the Capes, but wasn't quite sure what.

I read it as "Future Fags of America" being Long John's nickname for the group. That Pucelle might oppose the group's anti-bullying initiative would not be surprising if she holds religious views that are in opposition to acceptance of LBGT+ rights.

null0trooper wrote: I read it as "Future Fags of America" being Long John's nickname for the group.

Pretty much that, yes. I wouldn't be surprised if he were calling the Capes that even before the recent events, simply out of sour grapes.

null0trooper wrote: That Pucelle might oppose the group's anti-bullying initiative would not be surprising if she holds religious views that are in opposition to acceptance of LBGT+ rights.

Again, yes, that was my thinking. But I also get the feeling that she is the sort who needs to make herself look good to her own eyes, either by making a big show of being a 'good person' (the mock-sympathy for those with GSD - and I am sure that it doesn't take an empath such as Deimos to see right through that), or by pushing someone else down (her overly-dramatic displays of disgust at the Bad Seeds, etc.).

Since (based on her codename, Foxfire's comments about her , and her actions in "Vamp" ) Pucelle is already playing at - it definitely doesn't seem sincere - a semi-religious Joan of Arc theme, I can see her view of LGBTI+ people going in either direction (since Joan herself wasn't exactly a conventionally feminine woman for her day, though that was probably about getting the men of her era to take her seriously rather than any gender-variance), but she also seems the sort to take the path of least resistance when it comes to her causes (not a great trait in an alleged hero), so she would probably go with homophobic rhetoric just because that's what 'Greggie' would want.

Of course, we really don't know what her real motivations and thoughts are, so all of that is based on what little we've seen of her. Still, this all seems to fit what we know of Pucelle's character so far.

You know, there are plenty of Brazilians who are enjoying schadenfreude over Germany's elimination. I'm not one of them, however -- I would prefer an eventual rematch later on.

That 7-1 defeat... we used to have a President (now presiding over his jail cell) who was fond of the phrase "Never before in the history of this country..." to claim he was bringing meaningful changes to Brazil. He was no longer President at the time due to term limits, but his hand-picked successor also indulged in the phrase now and then. They invested a lot of political capital (and a ridiculous amount of government money, a substantial part of which went to graft schemes) to bring the World Cup and the Olympics to Brazil.They were probably counting on these events raising their popularity (already high) to even higher levels.

And then... "Never before in the story of this country..."

(Yeah, the national team had lost 6-0 to Uruguay back in 1920, but that was not a World Cup, just a regional cup... and it was in Valparaiso, so no home ground advantage... and there wasn't much of a reputation to be lost back then, since it would be the Sixties before Brazil was considered a major soccer powerhouse)

I'm not saying that the defeat brought down the government. It certainly wasn't directly responsible. But I think it played a role in the national mood, so that when the Car Wash scandals broke out, there was less willingness to "forgive and forget." I mean, we are still paying the bill for the stadiums built for the World Cup, which brought only bitterness. If the memory of that Cup was more positive, people might look at those white elephants with more of a sense of pride than with disgust.

To answer the questions in reverse order:

He didn't, which is why he is using a paladin rather than incarnating.

Neither of the Titanides (specifically, the sons of Pallas and Styx) who served as Zeus' retinue (bodyguards, armor and shield bearers, etc.) are at Whateley, but they are around. Being abstract personifications of the concepts of kratos (strength) and zelos (zeal), they weren't effected by the Foreigner at all, but at the same time, they did not have enough divine force on their own to do much. This is likely to change once Imperious realizes he can summon them to him; if he does while they are still at WA, they will presumably seek out hosts from among the unbonded Avatars (which apparently is about a quarter of those at the school, IIRC).

And I am sure that Chris' first question was rhetorical, as if they had seen Centurion, they would have confronted him immediately, and made sure that the other New Olympians knew about it. Not that Jim has any idea of all that... yet...

(What, you thought that Sony invented Kratos whole cloth? Er... well, OK, they sort of did, albeit leaning heavily on the Herakles, Perseus, and Bellerophon myths, but they did grab a name from a vaguely relevant figure in Greek mythology for the character.)

FWIW, my muse ships Odin/Rindr(Loki) for Vali's parentage, because sex with a giant shapeshifted reindeer sounds like something they'd do.

W.A.N.K.E.R.S.

Trying to resolve the different versions of Vali , I take it?

My understanding (based on a quick refresher course via Wicked-Pedo) is that the more common version of the binding of Loki holds that Vali was the son of Odin by Rindr , whom Odin has raped after a rather elaborate set-up job. Vali was the one who tracked down Loki after the death of Baldur . In some (most?) versions, the reason Vali took the form of a wolf to tear out Narfi's guts was so he could use them when binding Loki.

However, a (possibly different) figure by the same name is referred to as the brother of Narfi, and that they were both the sons of Loki. However, the sources for him being Loki's son and Narfi's biological brother still mention the murder and the binding, so... it's a mystitistery!

But if Rindr was actually Loki in disguise... hey, as fix-ups go, I've seen worse. And the idea that the she was Loki in the form of a reindeer (and thus also becomes the source of the animal's name?) rather than any of the other things the stories describe her as, is too funny for words.

And yeah, I can totally see Odin banging a doe. Actually, I doubt he'd care about the deer's sex, for that matter, any more than Zeus would have. Gods are often like that. Not that I am complaining - after all, my own Patroness isn't exactly the paradigm of sanity (Hail Eris, All Hail Discordia).

Schol-R-LEA wrote: In some (most?) versions, the reason Vali took the form of a wolf to tear out Narfi's guts was so he could use them when binding Loki.

Odin was also the patron of the Úlfhéðnar. For a little extra brain bleach needed, consider that Vali's shapeshift to wolf form in the story may have only been a kenning.

Schol-R-LEA wrote: Not that I am complaining - after all, my own Patroness isn't exactly the paradigm of sanity (Hail Eris, All Hail Discordia).

Who do you think suggested Nyx - or was it Nicks? - to the Neopagan club?

Well that explains Cheese's account on GRindr.

Incredibly Lame Pun warning:

Ah, yeah, just "a race". Never specifically said "a footrace". All about the exact words, with contracts.

And if he almost won last time, I'm thinking she's letting him almost win, so this should end well, since the implication is that she wants this date.

Oh no, it's still a race. It's a Beer Mile.

And it's never the alcohol that does even the best runners in. It's the carbonation.

Katssun wrote: Oh no, it's still a race. It's a Beer Mile.

Ah. Beer Mile .

Hmm... She's still an EX though, and possibly got other powers to help. We dunno.

If she was an energizer, maybe. But even an exemplar only has so much room in their stomach.

Malady wrote: And if he almost won last time, I'm thinking she's letting him almost win, so this should end well, since the implication is that she wants this date.

If she's been holding back, it could just be to avoid getting sweaty and having to go take a shower. Doesn't mean she's into him. This whole thing could even be a game, if she's the sort of person who is entertained by watching people desperately chase after unattainable goals. It's not like she couldn't just speed up again any time he threatened to overtake her. (Of course, that would be just begging for an accident to trip her up and make her lose the race because she didn't give herself enough margin for error. Tortoise and the hare.)

Ah, and here I was figuring he was planning to pull a Meleager, and just leave the beer in the path of his own Atalanta on the assumption that she couldn't resist stopping for them...

Shame on you Imp for giving Jobe such a wonderful idea...

There could be side effects, depending on the genes used.





That won't be a problem, will it?

I'm sure Jobe will try her best to not have any unforeseen side effects. What she plans the final shape to be? Well.... A banana slug might do....

If anyone cares, I was picturing Veritas thanks for the code name and refining her powers Schol-R-LEAO) as looking like Taylor Swift as an elf..

In case anyone isn't familiar with it, the song I just posted is to be sung to the tune of Sabaton's "Primo Victoria":


This was something I've had floating around unfinished for a while, but the people awaiting the late update in the Foodie Bookies thread finally gave me the inspiration to finish it.

This is also partly a response to Dreamer's Imp 7, Part 3, review , and partly having a little fun with how some characters might see things.

Null,
Had to laugh at your last line there. Yes Aquerna would have a vast advantage in that situation!

Kettlekorn wrote: In case anyone isn't familiar with it, the song I just posted is to be sung to the tune of Sabaton's "Primo Victoria"
This was something I've had floating around unfinished for a while, but the people awaiting the late update in the Foodie Bookies thread finally gave me the inspiration to finish it.

I have to wonder, how many got the reference during or within the first four lines...

Very very well done.

Dances with Code realized that his program had been successful at ruling the world. The only problem? He had failed to specify that he would be the supreme ruler rather than the machine intelligence he had created...

@Anne - Interesting plot there, but the descriptiveness seems like what's expected from a introduction to a story. Soo much explaining, when you're posting to an audience that should know this already.

Malady wrote: @Anne - Interesting plot there, but the descriptiveness seems like what's expected from a introduction to a story. Soo much explaining, when you're posting to an audience that should know this already.

It is a micro-scene, after all

However, I'm not sure that Kayda's ever gotten much in the way of detention. Hospitalization, isolation, suicide watches, and extra homework, but not detention and not at Hawthorne.

Hmmm, now I'll have to reread Kayda. I could have sworn she either ended up in Hawthorn as a resident for a short time or got at least one detention to there if for no other reason than that she bound Grizzly to Loophole.

Anne wrote: Hmmm, now I'll have to reread Kayda. I could have sworn she either ended up in Hawthorn as a resident for a short time or got at least one detention to there if for no other reason than that she bound Grizzly to Loophole.

They threatened to move her there after one too many Buffalo attacks.

I remember that. I thought that they did move her there when they were looking at her as a murderer... And I was pretty sure she had done at least one detention there, and met Stephanie Wolfe.

Anne wrote: I remember that. I thought that they did move her there when they were looking at her as a murderer... And I was pretty sure she had done at least one detention there, and met Stephanie Wolfe.

Lupine's a member of The Nations.

Then maybe she is familiar with the dorm through visiting Lupine? I do agree I did quite a bit of explanation in the scene, and I don't think I've ever really seen Kayda react to the OC except for to Jericho's clothing choices...

To clarify a point assumed in some previous points...

Hawthorne is not the campus prison. If someone is detained for suspicion of a crime, they aren't sent to Hawthorne (which has a bunch of very vulnerable students, by the way). Security has a couple of detention cells for these sorts of situations.

@Ebola - Woah! That's a... Powerful plot!

The relation revealed at the end! WOW!

Also, how did such a thing happen?

... I guess I'd know more, if I followed your stories...

I'm certainly wrong, no less because I don't see how this would have anything with Ratel, but the silly, half-formed idea that came to me was the Aussie lass having "Barbie" as a codename and the T-Shirt slogan being "Throw a shrimp on the barbie".

Precisely. (Both of these are NSFW, of course.)

Bravo, Nulltrooper! Well played indeed!

E. E. Nalley wrote: Jasmine cocked her head to one side. "You are not fooling anyone, Mr Hallowell! You are having on just to lure me into your embrace to have your wicked way with me!"

Likewise, it's good to see that Southern gentlemen have not lost track of their priorities!

@Schol-R-Lea: Woah, this is deep.

And that's assuming that everything Daisy knows, is true, and the White Brotherhood hasn't just been made recently, to fake people out and stuff.

Malady wrote: And that's assuming that everything Daisy knows, is true, and the White Brotherhood hasn't just been made recently, to fake people out and stuff.

The white and the black magi were attested to in "The Vision And The Voice"

And the first of the adepts covered His shame with a cloth, walking backwards; and was white. And the second of the adepts covered His shame with a cloth, walking sideways and was yellow. And the third of the adepts made a mock of His nakedness, walking forwards; and was black. And these are three great schools of the Magi, who are also the three Magi that journeyed unto Bethlehem

1909 recent enough?

The piece has lots of chewy bits in it. I like the fact that she wonders how the white brotherhood can have a confirmed brother working for Dr Diobolik. I think the short answer to that is length of perspective. They agree with his goals if not necessarily his methods. Though to be honest sometimes 'criminal' activity is considered 'criminal' mainly because it would disrupt the current status quo, rather than that it actually causes harm to the populace as a whole...
There is a certain elegant truth that people who are not troubled often are not advancing or even doing much beyond stagnating in a condition that is really more threatening than a little chaos...

Anne wrote: The piece has lots of chewy bits in it. I like the fact that she wonders how the white brotherhood can have a confirmed brother working for Dr Diobolik. I think the short answer to that is length of perspective. They agree with his goals if not necessarily his methods. Though to be honest sometimes 'criminal' activity is considered 'criminal' mainly because it would disrupt the current status quo, rather than that it actually causes harm to the populace as a whole...
There is a certain elegant truth that people who are not troubled often are not advancing or even doing much beyond stagnating in a condition that is really more threatening than a little chaos...

To quote Sam Starfall, "If there's too much Order, then there isn't room for anything new to grow..."

That's what much of conventional thought gets wrong about the order x chaos dichotomy. Since we have centuries of powerful agents (government, religious leaders...) telling us that "order" (i.e., doing what they tell you) is "good" and chaos (i.e., rocking the boat) is "bad", many of us have internalized the idea that chaos is inherently bad. To give credit where credit is due, even if I'm totally non-religious, there's one religion that gets it right, and that's Taoism. (There's also Discordianism, but that's more of a parody religion).
George Lucas didn't help any when he came up with his weaksauce-Taoism-disguised-as-sci-fi, since he equated one side with "good" and the other as inherently "evil", although I give him props for two small details (which are sorta inconsistent with the rest of the rest of the Star Wars approach to dualities):
1. Although the Jedi are quite obviously by nature agents of Order and the Sith are agents of Chaos, they switch places when the Sith become the Empire and the Jedi become revolutionaries, implying that neither Order nor Chaos are inherently "good" or "bad";
2. In the prequels, there is this whole thing about Anakin bringing "balance to the Force" which everybody (even the Jedi, who are studying the Force for millennia and should know better) gets wrong: he brings "balance" in the sense of strengthening the Dark Side which the Jedi had almost nullified.

Babylon 5 does a much better job of dealing with it, including playing with the conventional perception: at the beginning of the series, the Vorlons are allies and we soon get the Shadows as "Big Bads." As the series goes, it becomes eventually clear that the Vorlons represent Order and the Shadows represent Chaos, and that the Vorlons are not inherently good, and real victory comes from rejecting both extremist views.

I was watching "Star Trek: Beyond" and Kraal, the villain, hated the Federation because it had too much order (peace). He was the villain and everything, but the thing is, like the best villains, he had a point, in that war (chaos) fosters growth. It's an extremist, villainous point, but a point nonetheless. What he didn't get is that the apparent order of the Federation is sustained by the very chaotic elements in it -- elements like the assemblage of mavericks that is the U.S.S. Enterprise. Also, the Starfleet public motto may be "To Boldly Go", but its real motto might as well be Si vis pacem, para bellum: Starfleet may overtly be dedicated to exploration and diplomacy, but they are ever ready for a confrontation.

Sir Lee wrote: 1. Although the Jedi are quite obviously by nature agents of Order and the Sith are agents of Chaos, they switch places when the Sith become the Empire and the Jedi become revolutionaries, implying that neither Order nor Chaos are inherently "good" or "bad"

You know...you'd make an excellent Discordian.

Sir Lee wrote: That's what much of conventional thought gets wrong about the order x chaos dichotomy. Since we have centuries of powerful agents (government, religious leaders...) telling us that "order" (i.e., doing what they tell you) is "good" and chaos (i.e., rocking the boat) is "bad", many of us have internalized the idea that chaos is inherently bad. To give credit where credit is due, even if I'm totally non-religious, there's one religion that gets it right, and that's Taoism. (There's also Discordianism, but that's more of a parody religion).
George Lucas didn't help any when he came up with his weaksauce-Taoism-disguised-as-sci-fi, since he equated one side with "good" and the other as inherently "evil", although I give him props for two small details (which are sorta inconsistent with the rest of the rest of the Star Wars approach to dualities):
1. Although the Jedi are quite obviously by nature agents of Order and the Sith are agents of Chaos, they switch places when the Sith become the Empire and the Jedi become revolutionaries, implying that neither Order nor Chaos are inherently "good" or "bad";
2. In the prequels, there is this whole thing about Anakin bringing "balance to the Force" which everybody (even the Jedi, who are studying the Force for millennia and should know better) gets wrong: he brings "balance" in the sense of strengthening the Dark Side which the Jedi had almost nullified.

Babylon 5 does a much better job of dealing with it, including playing with the conventional perception: at the beginning of the series, the Vorlons are allies and we soon get the Shadows as "Big Bads." As the series goes, it becomes eventually clear that the Vorlons represent Order and the Shadows represent Chaos, and that the Vorlons are not inherently good, and real victory comes from rejecting both extremist views.

An interesting contrast is the Clive Barker's "Hellraiser" series.

NO! Not the movies! Yes the first three were canon, and good films in, and of themselves. (Don't look at the rest of the sequels. I couldn't finish watching number 5, it was so bad, and they made 9 of them...)

However if you look at the short stories that Barker wrote, and the others written by other authors that Barker approved as canon, it's the Forces of Order that Cenobites work for.

Life is chaotic and messy, so life has to be expunged, so that the universe will return to the single, static, crystalline form that it originally was.

A very different approach to this dichotomy.

Lots of chewy narrative threads to weave tales from.

You could also read L.E. Modesitt Jr books on order and chaos. Of course you would need quite a bit of time, as none of them are small, and together the series makes more than one tome! Still lots of chewy discussions about chaos and order and how that too much of either causes problems.
I started with The Magic Engineer I believe, about midway through the series.

If you flip a coin 100 times, and it comes up tails 100 times...is that Order, or Chaos?

Katssun wrote: If you flip a coin 100 times, and it comes up tails 100 times...is that Order, or Chaos?

It means Prince Hamlet swapped the papers you were carrying while you were asleep.

Speaking of homoerotic double entendres, does anyone have anything to say about the scene with Tracer and Counterpoint? Well, actually, single entendre in this case...

Schol-R-LEA wrote: Speaking of homoerotic double entendres, does anyone have anything to say about the scene with Tracer and Counterpoint? Well, actually, single entendre in this case...

Some swords are sharpened on both edges, others only on one, but if the blade is true even when blunted it can run a man through.

And here you thought Tommy Chong couldn't ac... no, wait.

re: nuking it until it glows

Father Arturo continued, "But what really got Moscow's attention was the crucified black goat left on Nikita Krushchev's desk with a note pinned to it: I haven't had such a lovely tan in ages! We will be doing this again some day. See you in your beloved Ukraine. xoxoxo, Baba"

Cloud Strife and Lara Croft are in da houzze!

Though I am guessing the Lara is going to be in Poe. And not in Gurlzone.

Didn't someone mention that there's a Rinoa on campus already? They really need a Rinoa, just so she can get pissed at Bernie for assuming that she's interested in him.

We can probably expect an Ashe or Vaan some time soon, I imagine. Not a Sora (lead brat character in the Kingdom Hearts series), I hope, but given who I tapped for this micro's OC... yeah, actually pretty likely. Probably a one who manifested early, at that - Team Awesome part 2.

No Snow or Lightning though... I can't imagine why...

OK, so I don't actually know those games except by reputation, but my understanding was that FFXII was fairly popular and critically acclaimed though not the huge hit FFVII and FFVIII were, while FFXIII was, uhm, not well received would be a polite way to put it - not a bomb, but not the sort of wild fan success that would cause manifesting Exemplars to copy the characters.

FFXIV was another story. Having initially bombed so bad that it was yanked from sales, it got majorly retooled before being re-released in a very different form, to some mild but not overwhelming praise. However, for this micro it hardly matters since - again, if I understand correctly - it was a MMORPG, and didn't really have any stand-out characters; the PCs' names and dispositions were up to the players.

FFXV? That would have been out for about a month and a half at the time of this micro, If memory serves. Still, a lot of praise went its way, so probably we'll see some of those characters in, say, 2020 or so.

But that still doesn't answer the most important question of all: why the hell did she want to be Yuffie of all people?

Hmmn, wrong kind of changeling there, Melody.

As for Alexis, can you say "Broken Paradigm"? I knew you could. She was pretty much screwed (in several ways) even before she, uhm, was screwed (I wonder if the Eshu who thought it was a good idea to seduce her regrets that; I'm sure Melody's father, Dain of the Euthanatos, did, though no one has heard from him since).

Even more than most Orphan mages, I mean. I was trying to steer her into the Sons of Ether, so how did she end up with the Cult of Ecstasy (with brief flirtations with the VAs, Hollows, and Verbena along the way)? And the 8-Ball? Well, she was in a pretty messed up state of mind when she picked up that point in Entropy...

@Schol-R-LEA: How many imports do we have now... Like... 5? Null's, Yours, that fanfic that had one from Bad Future Whateley...

Not enough for a Deportation Agency, but enough for a club?

Cool backstory hints!

What can I say? It was weird campaign. The old group of LARPers in Berkeley got a bit wacky, and even by their standards Alexis was over the top.

Oh, and don't worry, those arrow tips are magically peace-bonded, the covers can't come off without magick. Also, the thing about her getting pregnant actually did take place in-game, during the last few weeks of the campaign.

(No, not like that, sadly, we talked through the scene rather than playing it out... I mean, the guy playing Dain was pretty hot, but he was straight, and in any case we didn't get along very well IRL.)

Now I have to wonder what HIVE's banality rating would be.

Ooh, that's actually something of a pertinent question, isn't it? Not sure.

I should add that another one of my less-often-used WA micro OCs, Euterpe, is based in a Hollow One I played in a different campaign with (mostly) the same group. The original idea was that she had the Past Lives trait at 5 - and that all her previous lives had been Ecstatic musicians, going all the way back to Orpheus and including Mozart, Liszt, Bessie Smith, and Jim Morrison (in a later re-use of the character in a game running in 2006 but set around 2015, I also added Biggie Smalls). Her vision quest was to get together other reincarnated musicians to stage a massive End Of The World concert.

I also used Katie Lehrer in one of my unfinished Sick Sad World of Darkness fanfics , "Highland Reels", in which Daria has to travel back to Highland, only to find that Mystik Spiral are on a road trip there with Jane tagging along. Trent and Co. end up double billed with Katie's band, who are there to find the current incarnation of Jimi Hendrix. Another story there, "Burning Bright", was an attempt to write out part of Katie's story.

The Whateley version is an Avatar instead, with the namesake Muse as her spirit, and it is explained that Euterpe (the muse) had been temporarily bonded with most of those historical musicians while Inspiring them, so bits of memories from them keep popping up.

Schol-R-LEA wrote: What can I say? It was weird campaign. The old group of LARPers in Berkeley got a bit wacky, and even by their standards Alexis was over the top.

WRT "weird" I might be a little jaded after playing:

Malkavian-embraced Child of Osiris with botaniphobia.
Caitiff with a Totem, always reeked of booze, because that's what New Orleans preferred.
Modern Orthodox Jewish Get of Fenris kinfolk
(The doppelganger bard following that was fairly normal, for a campaign in which it was determined that a half-ogre could supplex a horse.)
CN Half draconic dark elf / half brass golem ranger multiclassed into (copper) dragonblooded
NG Aasimar variant planar Oracle (Dark Tapestry mystery -> Void when Deep Magic came out) multiclassed into Paladin
CN changeling sea-witch

Leave hand-modded ops-critical hardware on to run an AI while traveling through the Dreamlands?
What could possibly go wrong?

I have had the image of a bunch of Poe gierls on the stage singing "Natural Woman" with their house mother face palming, but I haven't had the time to write it out.

Speaking of musical numbers, this song came to mind with Schol-R-LEA's tale of a spirit who'd lost once and again.

Bad shaggy dog! No biscuit for you!

I really shouldn't be torturing poor Spirit-chan like that, it isn't as if dealing with Tansy wasn't bad enough for her.

What? No, Nina's last name is Farrell. It's her codename that is "Einsteinian". Fortunately, they caught the misspelling she was about to use before it got put on her MID, that would have been embarrassing otherwise.

As for why Amanda Britton (projective empath, codename Euphoria) didn't notice her roommate's interest in her, well, the truth is that she was interested in Nina, which was why she'd agreed to room with her in the first place, but they'd both been too shy at first to tell each other that. However, the real problem was that Amanda's brother Lee (PDP, codename Geas) was messing with her head and had roped her into the politics of the Golden Kids (and the Bad Seeds, though their membership in that group is a secret), which included manipulating her into brief relationships with several of the others in the group(s) - some of whom were boys, and almost all of whom Amanda disliked anyway. Mrs. Horton had to step in at times, going so far as to forbid Lee from visiting her at Poe, but he managed to keep manipulating her when they were elsewhere on campus anyway, such as when they visit their older sister at Hawthorne.

(I'm not being too subtle about this, am I? )

Anyway, just as in a certain other story, this did indeed lead to Nina molesting that unfortunate piece of furniture. Hopefully, no one is getting ready to kill Euphoria, as we've seen where that could lead already.

Schol-R-LEA wrote: (I'm not being too subtle about this, am I? )

Nope.

Quick Epileptic Tree after looking over some of Domo's older micros: the reason Rose's parents didn't want her to go to the MCO for testing was because they didn't want it to come out that she's an android.

Possibly a pre-Whateley Medley, even, whose sweet innocence went away along with her more human appearance, after she wasn't able to rebuild herself properly.

Do You Believe That?™

Here's a quick question WRT my last microscene. I was sure that Kayda would have reason to recognize Lewis Gintz. Some of the pushback I got on that was that she might not (I don't recall myself) have served detention or been placed in Hawthorn due to her powers being amok. As she was a murder suspect at the time her powers were somewhat uncontrolled, Hawthorn probably was not where she was... What other reasons could she have had for meeting and knowing Mr Gintz? Where might I find the passages in her stories? Thanks for all your support.
If it turns out that Kayda doesn't know Mr Gintz, who might she, Jericho, and Sandra (Diamondback) have in common that would know that Kayda is sensitive to the astral plane? Mrs Carson probably, so roundabout that to Mr Gintz. What about Mr Twoknives, or Mr Lodgeman? Possibly the tribal chief for the Indian tribe whose reservation is the home for Whateley. She surely knows Diamondback, and I think she or her shaman should know of Kayda at least.
Would the request in my microscene here be best addressed by one of the magic teachers? Or Ophelia Tenant as a member of the healthcare/healers team?

Anne wrote: Here's a quick question WRT my last microscene. I was sure that Kayda would have reason to recognize Lewis Gintz. Some of the pushback I got on that was that she might not (I don't recall myself) have served detention or been placed in Hawthorn due to her powers being amok.

She was quite familiar with Fubar long before November, though not from detention; they'd met on her first day at Whateley, after Cagliostro (the young idiot, not the presumably-deceased Emerson house parent at the time Mimeo was a student) and TNT tried to mack on Kayda while she was on her way to Poe for the first time - and by 'mack on' I mean "TNT as a group were coming on to her in a menacing fashion, with the intention that Cagliostro could seem to save the day while he also tried to use his esper powers to subtly manipulate her into thinking she loved him''. To say this backfired would be an understatement.

This happened in "Buffalo Gal Won't You Come Out Tonight" part 5 ; the subsequent interview with Foob happened in part six , and Mr. Geintz was the one who stepped in to stop Hartford from trying to railroad Kayda into Hawthorne (presumably for the same reason she'd tried to with Billie - it was Hardass' indirect way of taking a cheap shot at Totem).

Elrod in 'Buffalo Gal' part 6 wrote: Nevertheless, Ms. Franks is a potential hazard, and therefore will be reassigned to Hawthorne."

"That move is highly inadvisable," a fourth voice said, a refined, masculine voice that was suddenly in the office behind me. I glanced around, surprised, and saw a well-dressed gentleman standing behind Admiral Everheart. He hadn't been there a moment before.

"Mister Geintz," Hartford noted his presence, but sounded unhappy about it. "This is not ..."

"On the contrary, Ms. Hartford," the new man countered quickly, "it is completely within my line of duties. This was potentially a psychic assault, and as such, no actions may be taken by faculty or administration until the issue of psychic or magic involvement is resolved. It's in the handbook." He looked at me and smiled confidently. "I apologize for being late, but I was evaluating the other student involved in the incident to determine if they had any psychic involvement, either actively or passively."

Louis later played a crucial role in her psychological treatment the previous Spring, and he'd met her in her Dreamspace more than once, most notably when she was dealing with her repressed memories of the second attack in her home town. This scene is in at the very beginning of part seven of "Buffalo Gal":

Elrod in 'Buffalo Gal' part 7 wrote: I sat at the fire ring, but the flames were low, not at all cheery or warming. The chill of late autumn hung in the air, and here and there, small flakes of snow danced in the air, flickering orange and red as they reflected, for a moment, the light of fire. The moon was obscured by the clouds, making the tepee village an imposing, dark, and almost sinister place. It didn't feel as safe as it usually did.

Mr. Lodgeman sat at the ring near me. He was staring at me, looking concerned. Wakan Tanka sat beside Mr. Lodgeman, looking no less grim. Mr. Lodgeman chanted in some language other than Lakota, while Wakan Tanka prepared some herbal brew.

A third figure strode slowly into the circle and sat down near me but not next to me. It was Louis Geintz, or at least his psychically manifested form.

"Something great troubles you, Wihakayda," Wakan Tanka said as she handed me the brew. Mr. Lodgeman and Louis stared at her, evidently not understanding what she was saying.

He worked very closely with Dr. Bellows throughout that, and in helping calm her anxiety while she was in custody after Heyoka's murder.

Anne wrote: Here's a quick question WRT my last microscene. I was sure that Kayda would have reason to recognize Lewis Gintz. Some of the pushback I got on that was that she might not (I don't recall myself) have served detention or been placed in Hawthorn due to her powers being amok. As she was a murder suspect at the time her powers were somewhat uncontrolled, Hawthorn probably was not where she was... What other reasons could she have had for meeting and knowing Mr Gintz? Where might I find the passages in her stories? Thanks for all your support.

As Schol-R-LEA pointed out, Kayda has met Fubar in his public guise. There have been no stories showing her in Hawthorne or even expressing interest in visiting anyone there. The campus rumor mill claims that something monstrous is being kept in the basement, but she doesn't have much reason to believe that unless/until someone like Ayla tells her the rumor's true.

No problem, thanks. I knew that she was in the know about Louis, just couldn't place where and when. I'll change that passage in that microscene, her not having detention at Hawthorn but knowing him from her first day would be the way to approach that issue. He would know about her, would have talked with Mr Lodgemen about her abilities, and they would probably have spoken about training Diamondback.
Further, given what we're seeing from Kittylicksitsbutt (yeah I know I need to learn the real name of the shaman eater....) I can imagine that there are going to be times when she and Diamondback are thrown together. So it may not be with Jericho, or maybe the medical team holds a fall crash for all the healers? Something inspired by the issues of the blizzard that should never have been? I had hoped this would draw enough attention from the canon cabal that I'd not end up thrashing around in the dark hitting things I shouldn't here...

Anne wrote: So it may not be with Jericho, or maybe the medical team holds a fall crash for all the healers?

From what I understand, the school has medical teams on stand-by at the exits from the Arena. I think that in some cases healers and healing mages may be requested to stand by for riskier matchups. The serious or even fatal injuries that occur each Fall and Spring Term should be more than enough for a "crash".

null0trooper wrote:

Anne wrote: So it may not be with Jericho, or maybe the medical team holds a fall crash for all the healers?

From what I understand, the school has medical teams on stand-by at the exits from the Arena. I think that in some cases healers and healing mages may be requested to stand by for riskier matchups. The serious or even fatal injuries that occur each Fall and Spring Term should be more than enough for a "crash".

I believe during Hank's Crash, Jericho and others were called down when Hippy called about his Burnout. There may have been other cases too.

FWIW, I ran across the Wiki page for that infamous unicorn of waivers: Form 3867B, Religious or Other Exemption Request. There's always going to be parents and students who strenuously object to the combat curricula, and students who simply cannot participate in or benefit much from such things.

Then I remembered that Liz watches the Combat Finals and probably knows exactly who does and doesn't have a valid waiver or equivalent notarized document on file. ( Fenrir would have a deep and abiding cultural objection to the waiver. Evelyn would expect the school and her son to abide by his doctors' decision. )

null0trooper wrote: FWIW, I ran across the Wiki page for that infamous unicorn of waivers: Form 3867B, Religious or Other Exemption Request. There's always going to be parents and students who strenuously object to the combat curricula, and students who simply cannot participate in or benefit much from such things.

Ah, yes - the form 3867B, which was quoted to Kayda when she tried to get out of martial arts training. Don't quite know where I pulled that number from. It just seemed a nice number. And we're on rev B. Nice the school is keeping their forms up to date.

Revision B: Followers of a Deity that supports warfare are not exempt.

@Erianaiel: Micro-Scene elements can end up adapted or adopted in some fashion, but are categorically non-canon otherwise.

In my "If I Had A Hammer" storyline, Metro was called in because Security could call him in on no notice (Bladedancer would be the best choice, as long as the Tao agreed). However, an attempt at sweet-talking his way out of an overnight stay at Doyle Medical would be the stuff of comedy.

@ Erianaiel, that was an awesome piece you posted. I don't even have much to say on the proofreading front. I didn't see anything in desperate need of changing....

I bet there is some leeway on the waiver... I'd imagine if say, Puppet's waiver were lost or mislaid that they would use common sense.

Yeah, I'm sure the school has managed to avoid some of the assishness that comes with believing that the rules can never be wrong, when they are only the constructs of people who may have failed to see some future event. Sure it is important that the rules generally be followed, but not that they be blindly followed!

Anne wrote: @ Erianaiel, that was an awesome piece you posted. I don't even have much to say on the proofreading front. I didn't see anything in desperate need of changing....

Thank you.

I wasn't really looking for proofreading (there is that writer part of the forums for that right?)

Mostly I just wanted to put out what I hope is an intrigueing setting with an compelling (or at least mysterious) couple of characters that somebody somewhere would not mind learning a little more about

Valentine wrote: Revision B: Followers of a Deity that supports warfare are not exempt.

I'm now picturing Counterpoint submitting a request to take part in everyone's sims and combat finals. For religious reasons.

Even Guan Yu would think that was excessive. As would my OC (Thunderbolt, who is the paladin of Indra) who rumbled with the two of them in that one micro. Judicator, on the other hand, would probably just roll her eyes and mutter something to the effect of "pricks just can't help being pricks".

What do you mean like slave raiders? You don't think that the Mi-Go would have manipulated things on Earth for half a century to put the MCO into the right position if they weren't setting up a cover for their slaver teams, do you?

Schol-R-LEA wrote: What do you mean like slave raiders? You don't think that the Mi-Go would have manipulated things on Earth for half a century to put the MCO into the right position if they weren't setting up a cover for their slaver teams, do you?

Well if that was true, the Sgt wouldn't know it. Indeed it might just be that even the MCO wouldn't know what they are doing, at least not at the street level....

True, that.

Bek de Corbin wrote this I just wondered if the White Lady also held portions of the Tigers and Browns as well?! It would make her task somewhat easier.... if she did.

Anne wrote: Bek de Corbin wrote this I just wondered if the White Lady also held portions of the Tigers and Browns as well?! It would make her task somewhat easier.... if she did.

definately the Browns, 2-2-1 is pretty good though,

Weight Watchers. Department of Motor Vehicles, Incels.me

Finally, there is an actual reason for The Fyre Festival!

I went for a twofer today.

My muse decided to hit me with some stuff after a bit of a drought.

Nice use of Jargon

Bek D Corbin wrote: Nice use of Jargon

Thanks! I was checking Professional Courtesy to make sure I got them all correct.

@Anne - Yeah, it feels like too much exposition too soon, and I'm expecting, some subversion like, "But that wasn't why she was angry at that moment".

exposition is the way I write, but for this one I want to do something different. Then again we don't know exactly what Mama Hartford has been pouring into her darling daughter's ear... So... This is partly (I'm guessing) a chronic problem, that has contributed to chronic anger... But anger sustained morphs into hatred... So...

Inspired by the You're not the same person any more! topic.

So first micro in a long time, inspired by the old "spherical cow" problems

If we build a giant wooden paddle...

Mutant cricket?

Pumpkin toss?

Still better to launch her from the Trebuchet (because the Vulture was in the mech repair bay...) than, say, a flaming gasoline-drenched cat .

I just put something new in the Micro-Scenes thread, I'd appreciate feedback on it... TIA

Anne wrote: I just put something new in the Micro-Scenes thread, I'd appreciate feedback on it... TIA

---

Mama Squirrel carefully hid herself in the hallow of her avatar.

Who is Mama Squirrel? Why is she taking extra pains to hide herself? The Anna Parsons written in the WU stories doesn't have much basis for comparison to other avatar spirits, other than seeing that some have more powerful effects on their hosts and the environment.

Anna Parsons might not think she was a heroine, but as Mama Squirrel reviewed her actions since she had joined the young girl, she was more sure that not only had she chosen well, but that Anna would be one of the best choices she ever had made in her long memory of being the spirit of Mama Squirrel.

Here's one of the problems with telling instead of showing: there's a loss of context. For example:

- Does Mama Squirrel want Anna to be a hero? Why?
- If Anna doesn't see herself as a hero and has other goals, does this mean that she'll be getting no choice in the matter?
- What actions has Anna done this time?
- How are they better than what past hosts have managed?

If these are all things that aren't being shown because they don't matter to the story, then how does the reader know that the spirit is coming to a valid decision?


Remember that anything not put into words didn't happen or doesn't exist.

If you're thinking "He didn't go to that much trouble in his last micro-scene" you'd be correct. What I posted is closer to a dad joke with a long setup, based on a hot take on some of the darker aspects of the setting.

I wanted to take the time to thank you for the effort you put into the short scene I wrote. I've been noodling around thoughts about how Anna behaves, took into account a micro-scene someone else wrote about Mama Spider being the actual spirit that one of the other students has.
As for why she is 'hiding', in part so that she doesn't overwhelm Anna...
Anna's life is hers to live, but her choices please Mama Squirrel. After all she is a protective spirit, of the squirrels first but Anna has the sort of maternal impulse that is going to take her into being a sort of guardian (at least that is the way I read her character in the stories where she is featured) So this was just a peek into that. I got frustrated because I seem to lose a lot of the impact of my imagination when I set words to aether or electronic media... What seems to me to be impactfull as I think about it seems flat when committed to the page... And I don't know what I've done wrong!

I'm not sure why I felt the need to write this; I never even played Ride to Hell: Retribution 1%, though I do enjoy watching reviewers and longplayers tearing it apart even five years after it came out.

Late to the Party playthrough (NSFW, of course)


Also, Pro Tip: If you are in a video game world, and your last name is Gainsborough, get it changed ASAP.

And to think, I had written a scene just yesterday in which Valravn refers to Murphy as an angel. Yes, that Murphy.

Even so, I don't think that Kayda or Sandra are the answers to every problem involving magic. Mads Jensen certainly isn't .

How bad can your life have gotten when the Unspeakable Horrors from Beyond can't even spring for a yellow submarine?

I really was expecting the yellow school bus to be driven by a seriously-injured bald black man, carrying a dozen or so teenage girls, some of them wounded, plus three female college-aged women (blond, brunette, redhead), an Englishman in his fifties and two younger guys, one of which wearing an eyepatch.

I am assuming that Xaltatun's post (which I am assuming was about this micro , as I had asked them if they'd seen it recently) was meant to be here, or maybe in PM. Either way, you're right, I was not really fair to Sted about that, but I have to be honest, I haven't read enough of the Ponygirl stories to get a good feel for her. Also, a lot of my focus was on a) drawing a connection between her, Null0Trooper's Metro and Valravn stories, and my own earlier micros, and b) playing with the way Metro loves to drop major bombs like those in such a casual fashion, without considering how those who haven't had the horrific experiences he's had will react to it.

XoA, if you haven't read Null's stories yet, one of the things about Metro (who is strictly a fan/WhatIF character, not a canon one) is that he is an 'import' - his mind, if not necessarily his current body, is from the Shadowrun universe, and he's used to a level of awful even Domoviye's OCs rarely have to deal with. He's gone through shit that make Phase's time with Emil Hammond, or the gauntlet Pejuta went through, look tame by comparison. Mind you, he's seriously broken and scarred because of those experiences, often to the point of being barely functional as a human being, but that's part of the point Null is making with him, I think.

Schol-R-LEA wrote: XoA, if you haven't read Null's stories yet, one of the things about Metro (who is strictly a fan/WhatIF character, not a canon one) is that he is an 'import' - his mind, if not necessarily his current body, is from the Shadowrun universe, and he's used to a level of awful even Domoviye's OCs rarely have to deal with.

One thing in his favor is that he has had psychiatric deprogramming carried out by professionals in addition to years of therapy. Between astral sensing and an R6 emotitoy (with a mic and a camera), he can do a decent imitation of a human.

Schol-R-LEA wrote: He's gone through shit that make Phase's time with Emil Hammond, or the gauntlet Pejuta went through, look tame by comparison. Mind you, he's seriously broken and scarred because of those experiences, often to the point of being barely functional as a human being, but that's part of the point Null is making with him, I think.

That's part of it, yes. His ongoing problems just aren't things that a motivational speech, winning a contest, or getting laid will resolve. However, he hasn't run across the end of the world yet, and he has learned some things along the way - five years of the practice and study of magic will do that.

Yeah, OK. One thing I know about Mads is that this wasn't just a single awful experience or even a series of them; it was most of his life up to this point, more like an even more intense version of what Sahar went through growing up than anything most of the others at Whateley have experienced.

Also, his particular power problems, and his ontological history (that is, the past lives aspects and his ties to the Asgardians, rather than the current life), seem to have given hum a distinctly non-human outlook in some ways. Maybe not on par with Ecila Mason (hmmn, we have got to have them meet, I think), but maybe comparable to a character such as Lyta Alexander (from Babylon Five), or Protector-stage humans in the Known Space stories (e.g., Jack Brennan did the 'drop big revelations into casual conversation' thing a number of times, while Protector-Teela went into a sort of analysis paralysis from having a very good sense of how many hominids the plan to save the Ringworld would kill, and being able to analyze each and every one of those deaths in detail, leading her to basically subvert herself in order to force Louis to kill her so he could follow through with her solution).

Schol-R-LEA wrote: Yeah, OK. One thing I know about Mads is that this wasn't just a single awful experience or even a series of them; it was most of his life up to this point, more like an even more intense version of what Sahar went through growing up than anything most of the others at Whateley have experienced.

In all fairness, going from "Can I afford to pay for soycaf?" to "Can I get the troop carrier upgraded to spec and delivered to Port of Boma by the time my team lands in Angola?" in under two years should be enough to make anyone's head spin.

Schol-R-LEA wrote: Also, his particular power problems, and his ontological history (that is, the past lives aspects and his ties to the Asgardians, rather than the current life), seem to have given hum a distinctly non-human outlook in some ways.

TFW when you gaze into the Abyss and it's like, "What's this? You never call! I don't even get so much as a message for ages even after buying one of those hooptie cell phones. I was thinking of covering the mirrors and sitting shiva for you it's been so long. So, what's doin'?"

One of the most common rules of the lands of Faerie and of the Dead is that one can never leave without carrying away some part of them in your soul. He's travelled through both, more than once.

Schol-R-LEA wrote: Maybe not on par with Ecila Mason (hmmn, we have got to have them meet, I think), but maybe comparable to a character such as Lyta Alexander (from Babylon Five), or Protector-stage humans in the Known Space stories (e.g., Jack Brennan did the 'drop big revelations into casual conversation' thing a number of times

The thing of it is, most people ignore such weirdnesses or chalk it all up to insanity and discount everything else he may have said.

Beckoning the action figure-sized spirit closer, Rose whispered to her. "If they were to find out that what they think they are making up is actually real, they would be very scared.

"So, boss. Could you not do the thing in Chapter 7?"
"Which would you prefer? That, or your crew stays on-campus for the Spring Break main event?"
"That's blackmail!"
"That's the writing business: when in doubt look for the worst thing that can happen. In YA, that's usually death, cancer, or getting grounded for the prom."

"Besides, they are creeping ever closer to where you return to the story, and we all know what happened when that happened."

So Spirit-chan really is going to be coming back wrong?

That's great, it starts with an earthquake
Birds and snakes, and aeroplanes
And Lenny Bruce is not afraid...

Null, there's just something that seems ...right... about a 6" tall etherial spirit that is built like a pre-pubescent pixie-girl beating up would-be world-beaters.

When you have enough time, the relative dimensions in space shouldn't matter much.

Otherwise I'd worry more about how GOOs are said to have considered pixies a light snack.

null0trooper wrote: When you have enough time, the relative dimensions in space shouldn't matter much.

Otherwise I'd worry more about how GOOs are said to have considered pixies a light snack.

Clearly not the Ones that aided Gwen's ancestor, or the ones that taught her how to use Needle.

Rose Bunny wrote:

null0trooper wrote: When you have enough time, the relative dimensions in space shouldn't matter much.

Otherwise I'd worry more about how GOOs are said to have considered pixies a light snack.

Clearly not the Ones that aided Gwen's ancestor, or the ones that taught her how to use Needle.

Of course not! Some had to survive so that their descendents could become some of the scariest f--s in Shadowrun: Pixie mystic adepts specializing as snipers.

Awww! So cute!

And so meta?

This is so deep? I need to think a lot.

OH. right! You're talking about this hallow from this scene !

Who's gonna host her, or is she gonna remain independent?? ... Lol if she's a full blown Force now.


----

Rose Bunny wrote: Null, there's just something that seems ...right... about a 6" tall etherial spirit that is built like a pre-pubescent pixie-girl beating up would-be world-beaters.

Yes! Such a cool image!

No Mal, the hallow I was referring to is her little home-spot, in Hawaii. The one Tansy encountered her at.

Rose Bunny wrote: No Mal, the hallow I was referring to is her little home-spot, in Hawaii. The one Tansy encountered her at.

You never did comment on this story , did you? Though you did mark it as 'thank you'... but perhaps you took the advice Anna Nishikinomiya gave to Nina Einstein, and tabled the subject until something better came around.

(Wow, that joke was in terrible taste. Much like Anna's cookies.)

Schol-R-LEA wrote:

Rose Bunny wrote: No Mal, the hallow I was referring to is her little home-spot, in Hawaii. The one Tansy encountered her at.

You never did comment on this story , did you? Though you did mark it as 'thank you'... but perhaps you took the advice Anna Nishikinomiya gave to Nina Einstein, and tabled the subject until something better came around.

(Wow, that joke was in terrible taste. Much like Anna's cookies.)

I saw it and thought it cute, but I didn't fully understand what was going on in it.

I'm half pictuing Charger on the quad sitting and playing the song "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy."

Rose Bunny wrote:

Schol-R-LEA wrote: You never did comment on this story , did you? Though you did mark it as 'thank you'... but perhaps you took the advice Anna Nishikinomiya gave to Nina Einstein, and tabled the subject until something better came around.

(Wow, that joke was in terrible taste. Much like Anna's cookies.)

I saw it and thought it cute, but I didn't fully understand what was going on in it.

It has to do with a character from Code Geass named Nina Einstein , or rather, a WA analog of said character (as explained somewhat here ). Let's just say that Nina was not a very stable person, and a certain scene earned her particular notoriety among fans.

The scene in question is this one (spoilered for anyone wanting to see the series)


Anna Nishikinomiya is an otherwise unrelated character from a different series, Shimoneta, who did something similar at one point, though what she was more infamous still for was



Let's just say that there is a reason they both appear in this list:

oh yes, I remember Nina... been a while since I saw Geass

“Don’t worry I’m never drinking again…” Max coughed.

That's what they all say!

@Schol-R-Lea: It's too easy to forget that Miyet is a member of the St. Louis Five-or-So as well as a member of the He-Man Cat-Girls Club.

Re-reading this,

null0trooper wrote: Who do you think suggested Nyx - or was it Nicks? - to the Neopagan club?

Got me thinking, "I doubt anyone has worshiped her since Fleetwood Mac broke up."

And then, comparing FM to another band of the era, "So the Olympians were bound using Concert Guitar Pop? That explains so much..."

Schol-R-LEA wrote: Re-reading this,

null0trooper wrote: Who do you think suggested Nyx - or was it Nicks? - to the Neopagan club?

Got me thinking, "I doubt anyone has worshiped her since Fleetwood Mac broke up."

Night of a Thousand Stevies has spawned a movie ("Gypsy 83") and the 29th NOTS is scheduled May 4, 2019.
If anything, it picked up steam after "Behind the Mask" was released.

Schol-R-LEA wrote: And then, comparing FM to another band of the era, "So the Olympians were bound using Concert Guitar Pop? That explains so much..."

"You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."

null0trooper wrote:

Schol-R-LEA wrote: And then, comparing FM to another band of the era, "So the Olympians were bound using Concert Guitar Pop? That explains so much..."

"You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."

Hehe! Not the Jukebox Heroes I had in mind, but that works, Null.

(Oops, wrong reference. Fixed it now.)

Now, to be fair, it was a bit odd that Crocodile Commander would start acting all friendly towards the guy who cold-cocked her best friend the first time they met, so Jack was suspicious about her motives from the start. It didn't take much to realize that she thought she could subtly mind-control him - for the greater good, of course! - which needless to say just wasn't working.

For the record, my idea in this fanfic was that Scott and Caramelle Hepburn were still in the local juvenile lockup in Darwin when Dr Reaper came calling; Scott was the only one in the boys' wing to survive the attack. By chance the girls' wing wasn't nearly as badly damaged before the attack ended, but there were several casualties there as well. Neither Tazman nor Dreamtime survived the attack.

Ayer and Croc Commander were given a special parole afterwards, on the condition that they finish their schooling at Whateley. In 2007-08, Carmelle is a senior, while Scott is a sophomore.

What similarities this fic has to JG's own plans for them, if any, is purely coincidence.