Return of the Emblem: Chat

[scorri]

Missouri decides that 70 one day followed by low 30s the next day is an acceptable reenactment of this. I'm less than convinced.

[Phoenix]

SMALL UPDATE:

-Item list updated.

-Adaptive Book added.

-Smoke Grenades added.

-Galeforce (Book) added.

Oh and since it feels a bit small for an update, I guess I'll throw in something gigantic to make myself feel better. I've stopped here for now because I'm not sure exactly how I want to draw on the greenery which is an issue I kind of 'settled' on with the original map and I was never truly satisfied with the results. Anyway, until I figure out how I'm going to add the greenery, blend all the layers and polish things up, this is what it looks like (settlement placements and measurements are being left out until the basic map is finished).

[spoiler=Sardius Map Progress]

[Eail]

just finished giving blood not feeling too great

Gonna sleep for a while when I get home

[Phoenix]

Appearing by popular (and nigh violent) demand ... Phee's shipping list (still under construction).

Disclaimer: This list is not yet complete. Also, these are just little personal ships and other ships or actual pairings different from these are in no way frowned upon or discouraged.

Types:

BFF: Best friends forever

<3: Love and romance

AK: Would have awesome kids

FAH: Funny as hell

List:

Amon x Silvia - AK (heirs to the dodge dynasty)

Athrun x Lilith - <3

Gabbie x Connor - BFF (with a friend like her, who needs 'the talk'?)

Veronika x Reign - BFF (drinking buddy/eye candy/Raquel theory exchange)

Synthia x Griffin - <3/FAH ('they'll blow you away then blow you a kiss, you'll never find love more breezy than this~')

Reign x Lilith - <3

Hoshi x Zach - AK (basically some kind of dps god child)

Gabbie x Steinn - BFF (with various benefits)

Gabbie x Gar - AK (might produce a Rider(F/SN) expy)

Raquel x Blake - AK (might produce a Rider(F/SN) expy)

Morgana x Dominik - AK/BFF (Unlimited Destruction ... nough said ...)

Sirius x Kit - BFF (fun times, jah)

Nadya x Ryder - BFF ("We love ... gooooooold!")

Gabbie x Naomi - BFF

Veronika x Emil - <3/AK

Arietta x Raphael - BFF ("Come, let us de'maul'ish things~")

Lev (Mikoyan) x Kit - <3 (expense is no problem)

Amon x Faatina - <3 (no relation)

Reign x Athena - BFF

Elrey x Fizza - <3 (may actually be true love ... sick, twisted, true love)

Chelsea x Io - BFF (someone who understands the importance of naps)

Reign x Nadine - <3 (it's complicated)

Io x Alphonse - <3 (too many black knights around here, could use a white one)

Norbert x Brynhildr - FAH

Nadya x Cosmos(aka Sympan) - BFF

Veronika x Silvia x Lyra - BFF (Triple blade massacre extraordinaire!)

Amon x Angelica - AK (heirs to the dagger dynasty)

Norbert x Svanhildr - <3

Chance x Karina - <3

Axel x Ryder - BFF (they'll never meet face to face, but the friendship will still endure)

Cecily x Simon - <3

Deniska x Angelica - FAH

Veronika x Dominik - AK (you have no idea how awesome these kids could turn out ... no idea man)

Colin x Chelsea - <3

Raquel x Hypnos - AK

Morgana x Thanatos - <3 (it shall become more d'awwful than you can possibly imagine)

Shadrak x Siv - FAH

Gabriel x Io - BFF

Evert x Annelise - BFF

Raquel x Wynn - BFF (cute)

Weyland x Chie - <3 (but mostly just fun)

Veronika x Chance - <3

Elrey x Nyx - <3 (one sided as all get out but neither is unhappy)

Zach x Morgana - FAH

Ernesta x Raphael - <3

Chance x Kit - BFF

Sinbad x Synthia - <3

Zach x Carmen - <3 (unnnnlimited poooowaaaaahhhhh-)

Ayano x Blake - AK (gotta have the blue legacy)

Norbert x Aisha - FAH (Amon is not amused though)

Sirius x Griffin - <3

Hypnos x Kit - BFF

Veronika x Fox - <3/AK

Nadya x Zoe - BFF (unnnlimited flaaaaaaaavvvvoooooo-)

Elrey x Susanna - BFF (with various benefits)

Kit x Fox - FAH/AK (you know the kid, if one were possible, would have an appropriately themed name XD)

Deniska x Alyssa - BFF (best bodyguard and possible empress? :O)

Valdimarr x Siv x Brynhildr x Svanhildr x Runa x Ida x Sigrid x Ragna x Helga x Annelise x Kit - AK/<3/FAH (... yep)

[GoD]

It's kind of sad that someone is cool with the group when they shut Shadrak up. Almost makes me feel bad for him.

Almost~

[Snowy_One]

Something happened last night. We're not sure if it was another seizure or if I'm simply sick, but either way I spent most of the day sleeping (Just waking up now) and am still tired as well as having my arms and legs hurt. So if I end up missing a post or something... yea. That's why.

[Mercakete]

So, my computer's acting weird and won't connect to the internet. I'm writing this from my 3DS. I'll do what I can, but I don't know if/how long I'll be out of commission. Hope to see yas soon!

Edit: Well, that was fast. :D Compy works again.

Edited March 29, 2014 by Mercakete

[roymbrog]

We should do something for April Fools

I was a part of a forum group once that would RP each others characters (though everything posted was non-canon)

We could all post in pig latin

Every post could reference Robin

[Snowy_One]

While I have no objection to doing something, I wish you had talked about it at least last night, if not earlier.

[ReformBlade]

April Fools' day is a pile of pig tits and I want to hide away from it.

*hides*

[Nanami Touko]

I AM MERELY OKAY WITH THE CONCEPT, THOUGH MOST APRIL FOOLS JOKES AREN'T VERY CREATIVE.

[roymbrog]

Well we don't have to do anything : <

[Snowy_One]

I tried RPing as myself, but that didn't work.

[Phoenix]

I'll be on IRC shortly. April Fools! I'll actually be on ME3 because I got drafted. So ... yeah.

[-Cynthia-]

We should do something for April Fools

I was a part of a forum group once that would RP each others characters (though everything posted was non-canon)

We could all post in pig latin

Every post could reference Robin

I don't mind these ideas, but I would prefer they not be in the thread. That would get confusing for any backreading.

[roymbrog]

Hey Toogee, if Eli's going to where there are survivors mind if I throw some Kimiko and Elliot at him?

[Phoenix]

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Okay starting today we'll be implementing a new rule (rather a set thereof). To help explain why I'm going to go over something first. We tend to get new characters almost at random. That's not inherently a bad thing even if some aren't to GM preference (really it's not lol), but new characters shouldn't be coming along at all if current PCs aren't active, so to curb this, we're changing a few things.

1: First of all, the posting requirement for getting second, third, and fourth PCs is hereby void and I'll be removing any mentions of it from the OP shortly. You'll still need to assign at least one PC to a different group (or already have at least one PC assigned to both) for a fourth to be approved, and only one new character can be signed up (and approved) per chapter. Activity level is also subject to GM discretion (that means we can count or discount posts where appropriate).

2: Characters who don't post at least 5 times a month will lose their PC status and can neither participate in battles nor gain any averages from battles while in this status. In order to regain PC status, that character must post at least 5 times during the following month. PC status is restored at the end of that month (a full month in time, not at the end of april, may, etc). Once PC status is restored, that character is bumped up to the minimum total (within 60 points of the overall average). This rule is not retroactive.

[Toogee]

ANNOUNCEMENT:

2: Characters who don't post at least 5 times a month will lose their PC status and can neither participate in battles nor gain any averages from battles while in this status. In order to regain PC status, that character must post at least 5 times during the following month. PC status is restored at the end of that month (a full month in time, not at the end of april, may, etc). Once PC status is restored, that character is bumped up to the minimum total (within 60 points of the overall average). This rule is not retroactive.

I'm not sure I'm a fan of this one. I have Jam back at the mansion, where pretty much nothing is going on. I guess I could make a couple sentences to let everyone know that she's alive, but that feels like borderline spamming the topic. I don't know. I'm iffy on how this is going to be enforced.

[Snowy_One]

Jam could finally reply to Robin...

Edit: And yea... I don't know how I feel about this new rule either. I made a bad choice in having Robin and Tia stay behind, and because of that neither has really had the chance to be active. I risk losing both simply because of that stupid mistake now.

Edited April 2, 2014 by Snowy_One

[roymbrog]

I probably have the least legitimacy to protest this considering my actions (or lack thereof), but

I do think forced missing battle averages for specific characters is a bit... iffy. I don't like it. I'm ok with them not being able to participate in battles but then you get cases like Snowy and Toogee right now where perhaps some PCs are in places where things just aren't happening, and the RP is moving like molasses. I don't like posting for the sake of posting if there's nothing for the PC to do or no reason to update their location. It just feels really forced.

[-Cynthia-]

You aren't entitled to points if you don't even post.

If nothing's happening where your characters are at, then make something happen. There are a lot of other characters to interact with at the manor and even without that you can monologue. It's one post every six days on average.

[roymbrog]

Cynthia, can I talk with you and/or Phee when you guys get on? It's not complaining about this I just need advice on a couple things.

[Phoenix]

Slightly belated ...

I have Jam back at the mansion, where pretty much nothing is going on. I guess I could make a couple sentences to let everyone know that she's alive, but that feels like borderline spamming the topic.

There are more people back at the estate, as far as an actual headcount goes, than at the archives. Most are NPCs, but there's hardly 'nothing' going on; they're building a pseudo-tank in the workshop while others tend to the damage done to the estate and or mourn the dead from the previous battle. I feel like when people say there's nothing to do or nothing's going on in a certain area, they're just too used to having 'exciting' things to jump in on. Honestly it's a lot easier to write something meaningful when there isn't a bunch of blatant, exciting, centralized stuff going on.

Jam could finally reply to Robin...

Edit: And yea... I don't know how I feel about this new rule either. I made a bad choice in having Robin and Tia stay behind, and because of that neither has really had the chance to be active. I risk losing both simply because of that stupid mistake now.

Your characters can be as active as you want them to be barring an epic interaction lock. The only risk to losing their PC status (not THEM) is deciding that you can't do anything over and over and over again for the next month. Now you can do that and blame it on some other unrelated choice or you can try shifting your paradigm. Tia's in the workshop with around ten other people. It's noisy, there's stuff being put together, cut, welded, etc; she may be reading for now, but there's nothing stopping you from delving further into that, how she feels about what she's reading, how she feels about what Connor's doing or all the noise or Anna's initial response, or ... anything really.

I probably have the least legitimacy to protest this considering my actions (or lack thereof), but

I do think forced missing battle averages for specific characters is a bit... iffy. I don't like it. I'm ok with them not being able to participate in battles but then you get cases like Snowy and Toogee right now where perhaps some PCs are in places where things just aren't happening, and the RP is moving like molasses. I don't like posting for the sake of posting if there's nothing for the PC to do or no reason to update their location. It just feels really forced.

I've found that there's always something for a PC to do, even if they're by themselves (which none of their characters are, mind you). I think the problem, again, is relying on events, something to plug into, but that's probably part of another problem, the relevance thing. People keep gravitating toward events that only relate to them through Raquel or whoever else they're here for and so about nothing they do contributes in a big and obvious way. When people initiate things themselves, then they're center stage and can do stuff with more meaning and the rper doesn't have to feel like they're just posting for the sake of posting. I mean look at all the hilarious mini-adventures Blake and Bert have gotten themselves into just because their rpers didn't wait around for things to happen and then do something with it.

That aside, I still think the 95% of the time we're not fighting stat battles is more important than the 5% of the time we are, and so if people can't be bothered or are just too busy for the rp then like it was said last night, it's probably not the rp for them. The rules are to help us manage inactivity better and discourage laziness which I think the missed battle averages covers pretty well.

---------------------------------

Anyway, this isn't retroactive, so there's plenty of time to get get into a few new habits to help out, though it might also be good to consider specific characters themselves. Eg: "Do I really want to keep this character, or is the reason I don't post with them because I've already lost interest?" Things like that. If new signups are to fill a void a current should be filling then it's probably better to look at the current character first, figure out whether to keep or get rid of them, and then focus on the new character, if at all.

And lastly, it might feel forced but if you guys can get used to working with very little, I think you'll eventually find more and more interesting ways to flesh out your characters, and in starting some things yourselves, you'll give others more outlets for activity. I have personally had to work with 'nothing' the overwhelming majority of the time and make something of it; the scenes and scenarios you guys are always waiting for are thought up as a result, but you can do this yourselves in addition to what I do as long as you're thinking it through and if you manage it, you'll provide more opportunities for others to get involved in things. Don't just assume that if nothing's going on right beside your characters or within arm's reach, they can't do anything because it's just not true. Hunger, thirst, fatigue, alertness, loneliness, companionship, curiosity, disinterest, a to-do list, and so on. You can use any of these in any number of ways to get some pretty interesting results, no matter how many people are or aren't around. Just relax, and do a bit of musing. Don't get frustrated, just think about the possibilities, keep thinking about the possibilities, and don't stop thinking about them until you've hit the 'add reply' button and made a post. At that point, you can stare down your own work, and see that when it comes to writing, you can make a whole lot of something out of 'nothing'.

[Nanami Touko]

I think the idea's neat. Of course, I've far less characters than others, but unless one's characters end up in a situation that they are forced to wait for a GM or something, there seems to be enough people around that conversation will always be possible, NPC or otherwise. Just need to drum up the motivation to make words.

[Mercakete]

Your characters can be as active as you want them to be barring an epic interaction lock.

Hahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaa! Man, please tell me you make exceptions for interaction locks. XD And does posting in retros count or is this in the main/gaiden chapters only?