Subject: Re: I always wanted to be a shapeshifter, honestly...
Author:
Posted on: 2013-02-20 03:14:00 UTC
Admittedly, my grandpa had a fondness for terrorizing a young Data Junkie, so I may be missing some bits of lore, but aren't most shapeshifters in Native American mythology, y'know, skinwalkers, which are just sort of terrify?
Hi, I'm Karen. I got involved with the PPC a couple years ago and then fell off the edge of the world. Would anyone mind if I stick around? I'd like to try actually doing missions and such, if I can get Permission.
Welcome back, Karen! Hopefully this time with the PPC will prove more fruitful than the last!
As for your welcome-back gift, hmmm... Have an Ancient-to-English dictionary!
(PS: Is Pokemon one of your fandoms, by any chance?)
Hello friend! *grabs at dictionary*
I do know some Pokemon, but I've fallen out of sync with the fandom lately. If I had the money I'd get the games and catch up, but I'm a poor, broke college student, so nope XD One day though!
So, have you only played the games, or do you watch the anime as well?
How out of sync with the fandom are we talking? Are you only familiar with the original 151 Pokemon, or is it not that drastic?
I watched the original anime series, and parts of the Diamond&Pearl one, but otherwise I've had a tough time finding the anime to watch it.
As for games, I made it to Diamond and Pearl, then stopped getting them. I know most of the Pokemon up to that point. Any games released after I'm not as familiar with.
...wait a minute, some of the games released just after D&P should be cheaper now than they were...hmm...!
You're not that out of sync, then! There have only been four main-series games released since then: Black & White, and Black 2 and White 2. But there is a sixth generation of games coming out: Pokemon X and Y.
But about the anime, how are you having a tough time finding it? Do you not have Cartoon Network?
For most of my childhood, I had neither cable nor Internet at my house, and now that I have it, I'm often busy with other stuff. I could look it up online, but when I'm online I am easily distracted from my original purpose, and thus forget. >.> One of these days, though...
Oooh, Black&White, B2, W2? Hmm I must look into these! And also into XY.
Have a fluffy hat in the color/pattern of your choice!
Do you have it in cookie-and-glittery-pink?
I do actually remember you! Somewhat vaguely, but the name is there. Good to see you again! (If there is a soul alive who has never looked back at their previous efforts in the arts with horror, to themselves, or aloud, I'll eat my hatchet.)
I think your gullet is safe from hatchets, friend.
Hi, shiny new newbie here (though not the shiniest!) thought I might drop in and say hi and welcome back. :)
Looks like we have some fandoms in common! I love the Avatar series, though sadly I haven't had cable or Netflix in a while so I've only been able to get through most of the first two seasons, and none of Korra. I live with a big fan of Hetalia, though I've not watched a lot of that, I am a big fan of Lord of the Rings and Stargate, both SG-1 and Atlantis!
In honor of your return I'd like to present you with a working Stargate keychain and a plateful of mockingjay cookies!
STARGATE KEYCHAIN FTW
Also cookies. Yummy cookies. Intentional Hunger Games reference?
*starts humming Larry's Christmas silly song about Santa's cookies*
Yes, yes it was. :D We've been having some discussion about there not being HG missions even though there are fans, then there were minis that needed a continuum and that was up for discussion too, and so it's been on the brain, and the cookies followed. :D
*VeggieTale ref? High five me. Now*
There aren't any HG missions? Seriously? o.O Someone needs to correct this. Give me a couple months and Permission and I'LL correct it.
I know, I was just as surprised as you are! I have a mind to correct it too, but I too need to wait a bit, and then procure permission. :D
When we both have permission, let's do a double mission on the worst Hunger Games Sue we can find.
I would love to! :D
And the best part is we have over a month before I can get Permission, so all that time lets us scour the Interwebs for a particularly horrible 'Sue.
*starts scouring*
Hello, and welcome back to the PPC. Have some cubically-shaped Generic Food that was sliced by an urple lightsaber.
Yay food! Now I won't starve!
Welcome back to the Board! Have some of my world-famous hydrophobic water to commemorate the event. So powerful it can block out the sun!
Hydrophobic water?! O.O Cooooooool
No, I'm not joking, apparently there actually is hydrophobic water. Check it out: http://www.reactivereports.com/chemistry-blog/hydrophobic-water.html
Google, it will find wonders. There is also a youtube video, but I can't watch it currently, so I can't tell you if it's legit or not.
Welcome back! Sorry to say that I have never seen you before, but I have only been here, oh, about two months now. So I'm practicaly new, though not shiny. Acid tends to ware down shiny things. Anyway, enough about me, on to you!
Gifts, gifts... Well an elvish bow rarely goes amis, and seeing as you are a returning champion, I'll even throw in a quiver with arrows!
Haha I'm not exactly a returning champion. Looking back at my writing from two years ago all I can think is "...This is ****."
But thank you regardless! *bows*
Gosh! Nah, the returning champion thing comes from a podcast I realy like, and they call any returning guests 'Returning Champions.' So, someone from PPC past returns, they are returning champions. If it is someone like Mis Cam or GrayLadyBast, they are returning legends.
Acutaly, that reminds me. When you say 'a few years back' about how long ago was that?
Meh...nearly two years? I hung around for a month/month and a half, then other things came up and I just stopped. Really regretting that I did, because the PPC is awesome man.
Returning failure works. I like returning failure, it's very accurate.
You could certainly have failed at some of your goals, 'tis the human way of things, but I only know of two people, out of what must be a few hundred or so, in the many years I've been here, who have ever actually failed at being a PPCer. You have to go pretty far out of the "being a decent human" road to be a failure in this little corner of the Internet.
So - welcome back, returning Human. :P
Mm, returning Human works too. And I do hope I'm a decent human being.
What's your fandom anyway? I have Silmarillion, Total Drama, 6Teen, and recently Detentionaire and Paranorman.
I think I already told someone else? But my current faves are Hetalia, the Avatar series, Rise of the Guardians, etc.
I should've put my glasses on.
And here's your gift: virtual glasses. Whether it is the material, the crutch for the eyes, or the slang for unmentionable items, nobody knows. Even I don't, and I just wrapped it up. Very effective against balrogs' wings, if they have them. I do think I just used some of it to cool my drink, though...
Hi, Karen! I'm KittyNoodles, and as a welcome-back gift I have placed bleepnerds and one Odd Container* in your inventory!
Also, what are your fandoms? (I know you aren't technically new, but I am so I don't know... ^^;)
*Odd Container
Item Level 1
Chance on Opening: Receive one shower of confetti or one huggle - your choice.
[This container is perfectly spherical and appears to be crafted from glite-painted wood. Its weight changes at odd intervals, and you have the feeling opening it may prove hazardous to your health.]
...Pay no mind to the flavor text, it's just trying to scare you. And describe the Odd Container.
Oh, I have a bunch of fandoms. My favorites are the Last Airbender series (Korra and Avatar), Hetalia, Rise of the Guardians, etc. I'm also fairly well-versed on Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Stargate SG-1, and some other things.
*eyes Odd Container* I'm not entirely sure if I dare open this...
Even if you choose the huggle. Worse case scenario, you get knocked over by the force of said huggle.
And yay, a fellow Lord of the Rings lover!
I wanted to be an elf when I grew up. True story.
But then I was raised on Native American creation myths, so my motivations was more because animals always got the cool parts in those stories...
That aside, who wouldn't want to be an elf? They're so pretty~
Admittedly, my grandpa had a fondness for terrorizing a young Data Junkie, so I may be missing some bits of lore, but aren't most shapeshifters in Native American mythology, y'know, skinwalkers, which are just sort of terrify?
But I think she meant the animals, who were not so much shapeshifters, but they jump seamlessly between being the animal and being a human, and stories are often unclear about which is which. Coyote, for example, disguises himself in one story as a baby, in another as an old man, or an old woman - but sometimes he's clearly the canine coyote.
So, yes, I did mean the animals - most of the stories I read portrayed them as being much more intelligent (I thought) than humans.
And it's funny you should bring up Coyote, VM - those were always my favorite stories, and are still today. At least, they were the only ones I ever found that eatured coyotes and didn't rip on them for being sneaks or thieves or called them horrible monsters for eating small baby animals (my grandpa really doesn't like coyotes...)
I recently read a story where coyote took the form of a beautiful woman who lost her shoe, and the guy who picked it up was a total creep who told her he'd give it back for a kiss. She walked away without it, and after that any time he tried to pick up a girl or talked to one of the several girlfriends he already had, his shoes would clamp down on his feet until it felt like he was getting bit by a coyote. I forget how the story ended, though...
Coyote stories are the very best! I started reading and listening to them at about eight, with a massive book of mythologies from my dad. Still love them today, even the ones wherein Coyote is a sneak-thief who gets in trouble for eating that which he should not, or stealing. (My absolute favorite, though, is the one about how the stars got in the sky.)
Unfortunately, all the Coyote stories I know that involve beautiful women are really far too raunchy for the 'Board. >.>
I know, right? My personal favorite - and the first one I ever read - was 'How Coyote Stole Fire'. It was a variation, a less common one from what I've seen, but still totally awesome! (How the stars got in the sky? I don't think I ever read that one! Mine were more about how owl saved a human baby or how fox became so sneaky...)
Hee, that one I was referring to only gets as nasty as a coyote pretending to be a nekkid woman and the same coyote (a rare female variant, even on all fours) snagging a kiss from the guy later on when she stole HIS shoes. On the mouth, by the way. I cackled.
Ooo, neat, I may try to poke you for information at some point if you weren't adverse, I'm trying to write a story with a significant Native American mythology base.
I don't know, I kinda feel I'm way to short and klutzy to be an elf. XD I live with one though! I got stuck (only bad if the other option is being an elf, and still really not so bad) being a Hobbit. ^^
You might like Gunnerkrieg Court - it's a webcomic that uses a lot of myths, but the Native American component seems to be one of the heavier influences.
I've often been compared to a hobbit myself, due to my short stature and large appetite. Seriously, why isn't second breakfast a recognised thing in World One?
That was very enjoyable, until I got to the part where the comic stopped mid-story and it was Friday evening. O_O
Of all the webcomics that I've read, there's only been one where it's been finished by the time I've caught up with it all.
Going from being able to read a comic all through a lunch break / all evening to getting one or two new pages a week is kind of annoying.
But even that's better than finally catching up with the latest page of a comic you like, only to find a note from the author saying it's been abandoned.
Gunnerkrieg Court is currently one of my favourites.
Despite having gone from 3 solid days of reading to waiting a day or two between pages. XD
Oh no! That would be terrible, I'm glad I haven't found any like that, though to be fair, I've not read many webcomics, especially not ones with plots. I do like xkcd when I can remember the letters, and one on deviantArt called Scandinavia and the World, though it seems to have been moved off dA.
That looks like it will keep me busy for a very long time!
Ahahaha. XD I don't know, but it should be! Along with Elevenses (unless you count brunch as being that)!
Honestly, the only one I remember word-for-word is one of many versions of 'How Coyote Stole Fire'. Then there are scraps of creation myths, like why the great horned owl looks the way it does or how the rabbit came to be so skittish. But I've never minded reading up on the old favorites!
Agreed - at least on the klutziness. My feet are too little, so more often than not I end up falling over due to bad balance.
You're a Hobbit and you live with an elf? -tilts head-
Well you've got more knowledge than me already! Why does the horned owl look the way it does anyway?
And I have mad skillz!
Once I even managed to trip over myself while I was demonstrating to someone how exactly I would probably trip over myself...
I am and I do. :D I'm too short and klutzy to even be able get into the right mind-set to personify an elf online, and she says I'm a Hobbit... no two ways about it. Even threatend to fly me to New Zealand for open casting! But she's an elf. She's got a fanfiction featuring her elf-self, Teleri to be exact, as a background character during the time of Maeglin's story I believe she said. I'm reading the Silmarillion now and she said after I read that story, I'd have an idea of the time in Middle-earth that her story occupies. So, I'm a Hobbit and I live with an elf. ^^
Eh, the memory's a bit fuzzy, but I think it goes sommat like: The Great Creator was walking through all the lands and helping each and every creature become what it wanted to be most - the mountain lion became brave, strong, and the color of dry earth to better hunt his prey, and the little hummingbird became swift and beautiful, such that every creature who looked on him fell in love with his beauty and would not harm him (and he could easily escape from those who tried!)
The Great Creator eventually came to rabbit, and rabbit wanted to be swift--
--And owl, who was listening in, jumped in and said he, too, wanted to be swift and strong, even more so than rabbit. The Great Creator told the horned owl to hush and wait his turn, just as all the other animals had done (including the poor rabbit!) Having said this, the Great Creator turned back to rabbit and made her legs long and powerful, so that she could cover much ground in little time.
The rabbit went on to say she wanted a sleek body and soft, warm fur--
--And owl jumped in and declared that he wanted brilliantly-colored feathers, a lithe, beautiful body, and long, sweeping wings. Again the Great Creator told the owl to be quiet and wait until He had finished seeing to rabbit's requests, and this time also told owl his impatience would get him nowhere. Then the Great Creator turned back to rabbit and gave her a sleek body and made her fur as soft as down.
Rabbit next asked for long, gorgeous ears, elegantly formed and strong enough to hear danger from miles away.
Owl watched on in silence for a moment as the Great Creator gently pulled rabbit's ears until they were very long, then shaped them until they were beautiful to rabbit's eyes. But just as rabbit opened her mouth to ask for one final thing, the owl spoke up again, vainly proclaiming that he would look much prettier than rabbit or any other creature, that he would ask for a beak made of gold and eyes like the stars and a singing voice sweeter than the most beautiful music.
The Great Creator had had enough of owl's vanity and selfishness, and turned on the hapless creature in anger. Instead of a long, sleek body, the Great Creator made the owl squat and fat, with a round, blocky head and no neck to speak of. Rather than feathers of every color and eyes like starlight, owl's feathers were smeared with mud and his eyes, already stretching wide in fear, were turned yellow and given the ability to unsettle all who looked on them for long - so eventually, no one would want to. And instead of a beautiful singing voice, the Great Creator decreed that owl would never sing, and would have to hunt in silence if he was to survive at all.
The Great Creator did give owl a voice, but in order to keep him from ever interrupting anyone again, the Great Creator made it so that owl could only let out an eerie hoot that chilled even the poor owl to hear; over time, this hoot would become mournful and solemn as the owl eventually came to accept he had brought this upon himself. Last of all, the Great Creator gave owl long ears of his own, so he could listen twice as well as he would ever speak.
This finished, the Great Creator finally released the owl, whom he now named the horned owl as a final form of punishment. Then He turned and went off in search of poor rabbit, who had fled when the Great Creator first turned on the horned owl. To His dismay, rabbit was nowhere to be found. She never did come out of hiding - the Great Creator's fury gave her one last, unfortunate characteristic: She would ever after be fearful of all other creatures, and would ever after be the first to flee from any sign of danger.
...Or something like that. I think one or two details might have gotten a little muddied up; it's been about ten years since I read the story, but it feels pretty accurate...
SO MANY MUCH PICTURES AH MAH GUH.
Totally with you on the balance problems. Ask anyone at my old high school why I always got picked last for basketball (and NO, it is not because I ran through a basketball game while chasing a classmate I had a crush on when I was in the fourth grade. That is total poppycock.)
Ah, okay, that makes sense! XD (Any idea where I might find that fanfic, by the way? It sounds fun!)
Some lessons just have to be learned the hard way. Poor rabbit though! And poor me, I'm going to be forever curious what her last request was! XD
I guess it worked though, I would never have pegged owl as a prideful and selfish animal, very interesting. ^^
Definately sounds like poppycock to me. XD
As to her fic, I've been told I got it wrong. XD Her elf-self shows up at the end and gets the story from the Teleri elf, but it's actually a different elf that is her main character in the fic. And it spans from around the time of Maeglin to the Battle of Five Armies. I got the main characters mixed up with a different story she was writing that her elf-self is in, but that one's not really a fanfic, so much as it borrows the professor's world, but doesn't interact with his characters, other than brushing up against them in that they are named as present during certain recorded events.
Anyway, as the the real first one, that is a fanfic, and "public" She said she'll see about posting it somewhere public so you could read it, even though it's still a few inches from complete. But she's kinda shy about her work so right now, it's just been distributed privately for her friends to read. ^^
I always liked to think she would have asked to be a different color. Maybe blue or teal? (I never thought of owl as proud either - not that kind of proud, anyway. Strangely enough, it kind of works!)
ABSOLUTELY TOTALLY DID NOT HAPPEN EVER that one time in fourth grade. Ever. And totally not because the event scarred me for life and made me afraid of basketball as a sport. Because that it also poppycock. The scars on my knees are from something else.
-shifty eyes-
Still sounds like a sweet read, although I respect that she isn't ready to post it yet. Maybe that shyness will go away if enough of her friends really, really like it? (And I understand the shyness, too - I've a couple of good ideas for WoW fanfictions, but I've only had the courage to post OFUA so far, because I fear the backlash if I accidentally create Sue!Varian! XD)
Blue and teal bunnies? *swats owl* Now look what you've done, they're all boring colored! XD
Oh good, I'm glad these things are total poppycock. ^^ I don't know if it's not ready to, or just doesn't have the urge to ever make it really public. She doesn't mind sharing it with individuals mostly though. And she did say she would see about making it semi-available somewhere. ^^
You should go for it! Not that I know anything about the world of World of Warcraft, but still! :D I would actually think running an OFU would be super intimidating. oO
(Actually, that all did happen; I was attempting to use suspiciously specific denial there... XD)
Ah, good point. Oh well, I'll keep my fingers crossed!
Well, I'm still taking applications for OFUA, so iff'n you'd like to learn through a fanbrat incarnation of yourself, I can direct you to the fic... (And yes, it's intimidating - the worst part is knowing I've got Warcraft fans signing up who either know more about the game and/or lore than I do or don't quite seem to understand their fanbrats are in for a world of pain and appear to expect a nice, easy school year... XD)
(Don't worry, I was attempting to help your specific denial stand by believing it. XD )
I don't think she's got all she's written posted, but you can find the first bit here, I thought she'd taken it down a while ago, but this is the link she gave me, so apparently not. ^^;
http://www.council-of-elrond.com/forums/showthread.php?p=602200#post602200
*bounces up and down* Can I really!? I was always so sad I found OFUM years after it's writing, I thought it would be fun to be a part of the university, at the time I didn't realize there were more! I would love to learn about it through a fanbrat incarnation. :D
(...I knew that. I just, er, thought I should mention it for, uh, everyone else's benefit. Yeah.)
Ooh, it looks like an interesting read~
-bounces with you- Of course you can! The more fanbrats for us to torture, the merrier we will be! There are lots of OFUs still up and running - I'm reading OFUR, at the moment, and it's just as fun!
Here's the link to OFUA - the application form is at the bottom~!
(Ah XD)
*is sure those crossed out bits are merely misspellings* XD Huzzah! I shall read through that and fill the application out tonight! :D :D
Of course they were misspellings! I only left them in there to show I made a mistake while typing! -brushes shoulders off imperiously-
Yay! :D
I can't PM for 24 hours after signing up! XD I guess I'll have to send my application to you tomorrow. I love the beginning though, sounds like it's going to be a fun year! (If by fun, one means painful!) Someone beat my to my username so I'll be sending it in under Ieles. ^^
Ack, I'd forgotten about that! And yes, it shall be a very... fun... year. XD (Totally understand the username issue - that's why I'm KittyNoodlesPPC on the Pit!)
Alright, just sent my application in! :D
...Because of reasons...
Elves: pretty, with good balance, and can walk on snow. The snow thing is what clinched it for me. I dislike snow.
And helpful on snow days! "Gahaha, cower, puny mortals, for I can run on top of the snow!" -proceeds to pelts everyone with snowballs-
Plus I wouldn't have to worry about slogging through snow when people forget to shovel their sidewalks! It'd be all, "Oh, this person didn't shovel the path I need to walk so I can get home? Why walk on the street and risk getting run over by a car or make my arduous way through all that snow WHEN I CAN JUST WALK OVER IT?" BD
Which has unfortunate implications. XD
I have to like snow, or else become depressed half the year.
Elf huh? I too wanted to be an elf, but for different reasons. They are the most in-tune with nature, and are usually the betters with magic in fantasy settings. Perhaps not a LoTR elf, but I still wanted to be an elf. Now I want to just be a wizard, or a multiverse traveler, either one.
Don't be depressed! :(
Haha be a Timelord, it's the same thing.
I'll have you know my several-times- (I think three... might be four, though...) -great-uncle bought that state! -snorts-
Although it does have a sort of frozen wasteland reputation, doesn't it? XD
Hehe it has quite the "frozen-wasteland" rep indeed. Though it's very beautiful in the summertime.
On my mom's side of the family - great-great-great (I think that's enough greats) -uncle William Henry Seward. He was the Secretary of State under Lincoln.
Of course, I wouldn't have minded terribly much if some o the money he left his immediate friends and family had managed to trickle down to my generation, especially considering he had SEVERAL houses nationwide... Oh well, s'pose we wouldn't have known what to do with it anyway.
-sobs-
But yes, Alaska's pretty polarized like that, huh? Gorgeous when it's warm and sunny, awful when it gets chilly. But surprisingly great for oil mining and crab fishing, so... -shrugs-
One thing at a time, dear. Permission doesn't have to be RIGHTNOWPLEASE, take your time and get comfy first.
Outside of that:
*as you poke your head in, a strange person pokes you in the nose, then drops a package at your feet and flees like a troll. There is a note on the package:
"A present for teh newbie! -Specs"
You open the package and find...*
An adventurer's cape!
Guaranteed to make you look heroic anywhere you go!
Comes in red, blue, green, black and white.
I know Permission takes a while. I've tried before.
Cape? :O If I choose white, can I stain it sparkly pink with the blood of 'Sues?
It might become a sentient Villain Cape if you do.
...And there is another good idea. For science!
Damn it.