For instance, I have been dreaming about making some sort of "PPC Agent Maker" and posting it on dA or something, as a way to attract newbies. I also almost considered starting a PPC-"brand" writing clinic on Scratch, but then again, Scratch is a wretched hive of immature teenagers and OC justice warriors. What I mean is, would some "advertising" for the PPC help us or hurt us, or in what situations would it do each?
Also, about people's motives for dropping off of newbies, not saying we should change the Permission time-frames, but could it be that part of why people drop off is because they have to wait a while before asking for Permission and writing PPC stories (which they came here for) and they don't see anything they find interesting until then? I suggest that maybe to help that, we make a more visible page on the wiki and/or link in the Board description about all the fun things we do here that don't require/aren't about Permission and stuff? Maybe then we can encourage them to have some fun while they wait.
-Twistey
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Huh. So, would a couple small outreach projects help? by
on 2018-04-16 01:35:00 UTC
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Heh. Yeah, that's a hard thing to Ordeal without... by
on 2018-04-16 01:10:00 UTC
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I really would like to hear more of your thoughts and guesses, though- I tried to lean on a reasonable amount of implication, as I was writing this all, and I'd love to know what did and what didn't work.
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They're pretty good. I'd recommend them. (nm) by
on 2018-04-16 00:33:00 UTC
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That's pretty close, yeah (nm) by
on 2018-04-16 00:32:00 UTC
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Thanks! (nm) by
on 2018-04-16 00:31:00 UTC
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Thanks for the cupcake! (nm) by
on 2018-04-16 00:30:00 UTC
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Thanks Skarm! *dodges spikes* (nm) by
on 2018-04-16 00:30:00 UTC
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Thanks, cousin! (nm) by
on 2018-04-16 00:29:00 UTC
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Thanks Maxe! (nm) by
on 2018-04-16 00:28:00 UTC
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Thanks! (and you arrived on time) (nm) by
on 2018-04-16 00:24:00 UTC
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Heh. I was not trying to be subtle! by
on 2018-04-15 22:49:00 UTC
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And... Yeah. That parallel was a late realization and I loved it so. In keeping with the noble tradition of authors everywhere, I decided to make it a thing that I'd been planning all along.
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/Punches the air in great glee (nm) by
on 2018-04-15 22:20:00 UTC
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'The Arc of Duane' by
on 2018-04-15 22:19:00 UTC
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Don't think I didn't see what you did there. :V
In other news: that parallel with Julia and the cloud was brilliant. Heartrending, but brilliant.
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Oooh, gotcha. by
on 2018-04-15 21:58:00 UTC
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Just wondering if I’d done something to upset you. Glad that’s not the case—hope you’re having a good time!
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And because I forgot: place is Piedmont of North Carolina by
on 2018-04-15 21:57:00 UTC
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(That's general area, not county or anything. =P)
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A Busy Summer by
on 2018-04-15 21:56:00 UTC
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The defeat of the virus - likely a prelude to what would become known as Conficker more than a year later - took more time than Marisa expected. It shouldn't have surprised her, though; there was still a lot she didn't yet know about the world! To go along with that, working the spell left her drained of energy for more than a day, leaving her parents with many questions.
That she had a detectable fever made it possible for her to claim illness and have it be genuine - but it also meant she had to stay off the computer until her parents were sure she was better. There were times she wished she didn't have to share a room with her brother, and this was one of them.
How could she keep being a wizard when everyone was watching? Telling them about magic seemed right out to her: the most they knew about 'magic', she thought, were the Harry Potter books and the occasional figure of speech. Also, this felt like something that was hers, and she was reluctant to share that perspective.
Fortunately, once she did get well again, there was no shortage of things to do. Here's how some of them went:
- When Marisa and her family made their next trip to visit her grandmother, she chased the cat with her brother as usual, only to find herself later apologizing. /It's our reaction to cute!/ she ended up explaining to the affronted Person. Further apologies (out of sight of the family) and many pettings later, and things were set somewhat more aright again. Marisa did, however, end up coughing and sneezing all the way home in what was definitely an allergy attack.
- As part of her studies of what she now knew was the Manual, she'd taken to drawing Wizards' Knots on sticky notes and putting them up around the house. Her parents only let her do it because they were on sticky notes; explaining the matter to them as like practicing tying her shoes gave them the impression that she was on something of an artistic streak, but also she was moving on from velcro shoes. This, unfortunately, was not the truth, but she let them get her the new shoes rather than protest.
- There were multiple times, both after taking the Oath that first time and after her work on detaining and neutralizing the computer virus, where Marisa wanted to call her brother - and her mother, and her father - various nicknames, only for the words to not come out. This frustrated her deeply, and trying to sort out the matter only made her feel guilty: if she thought part of her role as little sister was to come up with annoying and/or hurtful nicknames, didn't that make her an agent of the Lone Power, however low-key?
/Not doing the wrong thing is hard,/ Marisa commented one night. Her Manual had no response.
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Considering the real world timeline I'm drawing from, 2007. by
on 2018-04-15 21:40:00 UTC
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(Putting the fic in a separate reply, at this point. =P)
It genuinely surprises me that I'm probably the first to point this out. |D ... Probably makes the PPC's job easier, anyway, though; can you imagine what the fic would be like?
And, well, I (that is, Marisa) am autistic: I suspect weirdness is also a given there as well. :>
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Yeah, everything's fine, I've just been at a wedding. by
on 2018-04-15 21:15:00 UTC
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It was on the other side of the country, so we went up on Friday and are coming back tonight. Sorry if I made you worry. =]
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[OOC] Are we done here? (nm) by
on 2018-04-15 21:02:00 UTC
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Happy Birthday dude! by
on 2018-04-15 20:54:00 UTC
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Hope it's a good one, and congrats on almost finishing the requirements for your degree!
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I really like the AI thing. by
on 2018-04-15 20:43:00 UTC
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I'd never really thought of Bobo that way, but it really is accurate - right down to the 'you get the wrong result if you put in even slightly the wrong parameters'.
I'm really enjoying the time spent in Marisa's head - she's coming over as genuinely ten, if a weird ten (but what wizard isn't?).
Out of curiousity, can you pin an approximate place and year on this? Given that we now have an actual timeline in the NMEs, I'm enjoying putting everything in its right place on the line. (Scape/Siobhan's Ordeal is only a few months after Wizards at War, for instance, and the incident everyone's off dealing with in my ficlet is probably aftereffects from that.)
hS
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This is the Edict of Bast thread. by
on 2018-04-15 20:34:00 UTC
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It's not the full Council, but if there's disputes over baronies, the barons can argue it out here.
The Edict of Bast is enacted without regards to the wishes of the current barons - the formulae simply divide the land as best suits the new appointee. And I think you've provided enough information to let that happen, so...
By the Edict of Bast, the Grey Lady, Last Triumvir of the Protectorate, and Heir to Jay and Acacia, the lands of Barony Juliette in the Riding of Sittorese are proffered to Baron Hieronymus; with them also the lands of Barony Neshomeh in the Riding, saving only that territory between the rivers Jid'ryv and Jid'auks; and in the Commonwealth of Wechi, the lands of Barony Neshomeh between the Auriantym and Auksidentym mountains.
((On the grounds that so far as I'm aware Delta Juliette isn't much involved in PPC writing/beta'ing, and that the triangle around Fanvik Whirl is the most contiguous part of Wechi to break off. I've left Neshomeh the triangle because she really wanted to have access to Flayme.))
None have the right to interfere in Baron Hieronymus' acceptance or rejection of these lands; however, once his initial borders have been declared, negotiations with other barons may commence to reallocate land.
Baron Huinesoron, reader of the Edict
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If you just want a hermitage... by
on 2018-04-15 19:59:00 UTC
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...and you don’t plan on being involved in politics, Baron Iximaz would be happy to give you a plot of land...
(All you have to give me in return is your alliance in voting. :3)
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IÂ’ve never read Young Wizards. by
on 2018-04-15 19:45:00 UTC
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But from the repetition of Julia still thinking she was James, and what’s been said about the importance of names elsewhere in this thread, I did deduce that the spell failed because Julia didn’t sign her true name.
BTW, you and Scape and hS and S.M.F are collectively doing a good job at convincing me that I should read these books.
HG