*sings* Hire a samurai!

Subject: *sings* Hire a samurai!
Author: twistedwindowpane
Posted on: 2018-10-22 00:02:00 UTC

(Sorry, that was a reference to "history of japan". Moving on.)

Hey Irish, welcome back! I'm Twistey, and I've been here for about a year and a half. I think of myself as the resident wild-card Boarder, as I've pulled several embarrassing stunts on the Board that I'm... rather glad you missed. I'm currently building my Permission attempt, and I guess that's enough about me.

As for your returnbie present, here's the opposite of a snow globe: a fire globe! Inside is one of my own fireballs, kept burning by magic. You can replace it with fangirl flames, though, because even I know they look cooler. You can also carve a wooden figurine of a chosen badfic author, stick it in here, and watch it burn. Good stress relief.

Anyway, nice to finally meet you after hearing about you for a while, and welcome back to the PPC!

-Twistey

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Hey guys, how are you all doing? by the Irish Samurai on 2018-10-19 23:21:00 UTC Reply

Hello again / Hello (delete as appropriate depending on if you recognise my username or not).

For those of you that don’t know me, or just don’t remember, I’m not really actively involved in any fandoms, but I like to read/watch fantasy and sci-fi, and I watch a lot of anime. The show I’m most excited about at the moment is the new series of Sword Art Online, which I’ve been looking forward to since it was announced.

I’ve been absent for a long time now, but finally wandered back. I had hoped that when I came back I’d be able to post an Interlude or something, but I haven’t actually finished any writing for a while now, so there’s that plan fallen at the first hurdle. So instead I thought I’d share some things that have caught my eye since I was last around here.

First, the obligatory Tolkien-themed link. Yes, I know, it’s random youtube link - but I promise it isn’t a rickroll. Because this one is the rickroll.
(Does it still count as a rickroll if you tell people that’s what you’re linking to? I’m not sure).

Because I don’t have any of my own writing to share, I’ll share some I found: Pay Me, Bug! is a sci-fi heist story, following the (mis)adventures of a smuggling crew, who have a (slightly undeserved) reputation for carrying out an ‘impossible’ job. Life gets a little interesting for them when someone comes along with an offer they can’t refuse, and asks for a repeat performance.

I found the characters interesting, with good humour, and the explanations of the sci-fi tech were detailed enough to give a good idea of how it worked, without bogging it down in technobabble.

And finally, for anyone that has a few hundred free hours and an interest in Dungeons & Dragons, I can thoroughly recommend Critical Role. It’s a D&D game that gets livestreamed every week, with the episodes posted to youtube too. The players and the DM are all professional voice actors, and they really get in to their characters. It’s very entertaining, and it’s given me a bunch of ideas for my own campaigns.

It’s been running for a few years, so there’s a huge archive of it which can be found on https://geekandsundry.com/critical-role-episode-1/"> Geek & Sundry.

-Irish

Hey, welcome back! (nm) by eatpraylove on 2018-10-22 14:17:00 UTC Reply

Thank you :) by the Irish Samurai on 2018-10-22 22:58:00 UTC Reply

It's good to be back, and good to see another name that I recognize.

-Irish

Hallo, good sir! by Thoth on 2018-10-22 13:13:00 UTC Reply

I'm sorry to say that I largely know you as "that guy whose name appears in the credits at the bottom of Lost Tales," but I'm glad to get to know you better.

Like sci-fi and anime, huh? In that cause, I highly recommend checking out The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, which is an amazing space opera comedy that had me rolling in the aisles.

Hope you enjoy that (assuming you have time to check it out...),
--Thoth

Hello by the Irish Samurai on 2018-10-22 22:48:00 UTC Reply

Well, at the moment I suspect most people would know me as 'that guy who used to be around more' - so I'm glad I'm known for something else too :)

I've heard of The Irresponsible Captain Tylor (I'd actually misremembered it as 'Taylor'), but never seen any. Was very pleased to see that it seemed to be available on crunchyroll, only to discover that it was some kind of spin-off with 3 minute long episodes that... wasn't that good. I'm going to assume that the original is better.

Sadly it doesn't look like I will be able to watch it, as the only Amazon listings I can find are US imports, which I don't think my UK stuff will play. Found some clips on youtube though, and it does seem cool - I'll have to have a hunt around for full episodes. Thanks for the recommendation (hopefully I'll be able to watch it).

-Irish

Well, the good news is... by Thoth on 2018-10-23 00:18:00 UTC Reply

..that the full series and OVA are actually viewable on YouTube. For free, and legally. Right here.

Of course, that might be regionlocked... If that's the case, TunnelBear or another proxy service might be cheaper than buying the thing.

Yeah, looks like it's region-locked by the Irish Samurai on 2018-10-23 13:06:00 UTC Reply

When I try and watch them it just says 'video unavailable'. Still, I might be able to find a way around it, or maybe it'll give me something new to watch next time work sends me travelling.

-Irish

*sings* Hire a samurai! by twistedwindowpane on 2018-10-22 00:02:00 UTC Reply

(Sorry, that was a reference to "history of japan". Moving on.)

Hey Irish, welcome back! I'm Twistey, and I've been here for about a year and a half. I think of myself as the resident wild-card Boarder, as I've pulled several embarrassing stunts on the Board that I'm... rather glad you missed. I'm currently building my Permission attempt, and I guess that's enough about me.

As for your returnbie present, here's the opposite of a snow globe: a fire globe! Inside is one of my own fireballs, kept burning by magic. You can replace it with fangirl flames, though, because even I know they look cooler. You can also carve a wooden figurine of a chosen badfic author, stick it in here, and watch it burn. Good stress relief.

Anyway, nice to finally meet you after hearing about you for a while, and welcome back to the PPC!

-Twistey

*sings* Hire a... windowpane? by the Irish Samurai on 2018-10-22 22:24:00 UTC Reply

Now that I think about it, your song was a little snappier.

Nice to meet you, Twisty, and thanks for the gift - curious how the flames keep burning even though they're sealed inside a glass bauble.

Best of luck when you make your Permission attempt.

-Irish

Welcome home, sir! by doctorlit on 2018-10-21 16:41:00 UTC Reply

Glad to see you're still about!

—doctorlit, also still about

Thank you; it's good to be back by the Irish Samurai on 2018-10-21 22:11:00 UTC Reply

And good to see so many familiar names.

-Irish

Hey there! by Neshomeh on 2018-10-20 19:12:00 UTC Reply

Always nice to see a familiar face (or screen name) return. Welcome back! I'm completely jealous that you can just jump on a London Gathering at the drop of a hat. ^_^

~Neshomeh

Re: Hey there! by the Irish Samurai on 2018-10-20 22:11:00 UTC Reply

Indeed, the dropping of hats is key. Which is why, should any photos be posted, you'll see that I am completely hatless (having started with several, and dropped them at strategic points along my journey). But yeah, it certainly helps that one of the most popular Gathering locations is so close to me.

I'm glad to find the Board again, and to see that I still recognize a lot of names :)

-Irish

Dai Stiho! =D by S.M.F. on 2018-10-20 17:20:00 UTC Reply

While I am slightly disappointed you did not link to this video, it is not a problem in the grand scheme of things.

And depending on how you feel about AI, I may have a book series to push you towards~

/hands you some chocolate bark

What did I just watch? by the Irish Samurai on 2018-10-20 21:59:00 UTC Reply

That is one of the most surreal videos I've seen all year. Nice one.

Well, I read a lot of sci-fi, so I'm used to AI's ranging from benevolent to psychotic to in desperate need of human help. So yeah, AI can be cool - and I'll always take a book recommendation. What have you got?

Hmm, I'm choosing to believe that that's 'bark' as in the sound a dog makes, so I guess I've just been given some kind of chocolate-scented acoustic wave? Not sure why I've done that, as it is going to make it trickier to eat.

-Irish

Addressing in reverse order... by S.M.F. on 2018-10-20 23:16:00 UTC Reply

This was more what I intended, though edible sound waves sound... well, interesting! X)

The books in question are the WWW Trilogy by Robert J. Sawyer, which you can learn more about by poking around on his website starting here, orrr by reading my ~~collation of spoilers~~ results of the only Journal RP app to ever exist for anyone from this series. ... At least as far as I know.

And Leonard Nimoy is a delight. X3 Thanks!

OK, this seems cool by the Irish Samurai on 2018-10-21 22:06:00 UTC Reply

Found the first few chapters available on his website, and I definitely want to read the rest of it - thanks for the recommendation.

-Irish

You're welcome~ by S.M.F. on 2018-10-22 00:00:00 UTC Reply

Here's a link to a Book Club Discord - we did that book for our first month. The link expires in 24 hours, though!

Welcome back! by 61516 on 2018-10-20 02:44:00 UTC Reply

Three things:

1) Have a suit of slightly holy Imperial Guard issue flak armor, guaranteed to last the rest of your career. (Average lifespan of deployed Imperial Guardsman: 15 hours)

2) The critical roll link seems to be broken.

3) For a similar RPG series, check out Dice Friends, courtesy of Canadian sketch comedy group Loading Ready Run:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVqemO0oatj5myxlWsrqm-gd1COup23

Ah, LoadingReadyRun by the Irish Samurai on 2018-10-20 21:43:00 UTC Reply

Thank you. Although I notice that this appears to be the Catachan pattern flak armour, which is basically a vest (but at least it's a nice dark camo green), so I'm guessing that expected lifespan is more like 15 minutes.

Yup, messed up the link there, which is odd because I'm sure I tested it. This one should work: https://geekandsundry.com/critical-role-episode-1/

Yeah, I've been a fan of LoadingReadyRun for several years now. I've found Dice Friends to be a bit hit-and-miss: I very much enjoyed Escape From Semolo Plateau, and it's sequel, but some of the others I just couldn't get in to. However, my favourite RPG series by those guys is the awesomely named Temple of the Lava Bears from a few years ago.

-Irish

Thanks for the link by 61516 on 2018-10-20 22:30:00 UTC Reply

I think Catachan flak armor is sub-dermal, but really they don't need it. Being able to shoot them implies you can see them through the thick foliage.

Critical Role is always good. :) by Iximaz on 2018-10-20 00:00:00 UTC Reply

~~Critical Rickroll, on the other hand...~~

It's good to see you back! And don't feel bad about not having anything to post; god knows it's been too long since I've actually written anything.

The story sounds interesting and I'll definitely check it out when I have the time!

RE: Critical Role by the Irish Samurai on 2018-10-21 21:55:00 UTC Reply

Out of interest, do you prefer campaign 1 or 2? (I know it's not really a fair comparison at the moment, due to the huge difference in lengths at the moment).

I think I prefer the later storylines from the first campaign, but find the characters of the second to be more interesting.

-Irish

I'm only about halfway through the first. by Iximaz on 2018-10-21 23:38:00 UTC Reply

Got distracted with real life stuffs, but I'v been meaning to go back to it sometime.