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Mid-Childan is rendered on-screen as broken-ish English, though, so it is totally fine for her to sound clunky at times.

It's totally intended! Not just an an excuse to hide the fact that I'm the one being a clunky non-native speaker honest!

Sometimes it's fun just to write complete reckless mania. ^_^ But also, I keep learning or remembering things about her. The "tiny baby" comment comes from Araeph's smiting ceremony, one of the first appearances of Starwind, which establishes that she "shared [Simnal's] protective nature when it came to children". (I really need to make a list of all her appearances at some point... probably after I come up with a better picture for her Wiki page than her Page 3 photo, jeepers cripes Starwind what was going on with you.)

Glad you enjoyed it!

hS

Because they almost never appear in actual stories, I can just... stick random stuff into their dialogue and not have to justify it. Does Starwind actually think the Flowers are robots who use Ferengi idioms? Who knows! It'll probably never come up again. ^_^

The Great Chocolate Heist of '07 is whispered of in hushed tones, but mostly only when Leto from the General Store is around. Otherwise it's a hilarious story, especially once Mylissa and Pippin joined forces. I don't wanna spoil it, but you can access the Monitor's archives on most PPC consoles that aren't in RCs starting with a 7.

On Corolla: I kind of figured she was working in a second language (I think she originally speaks Japanese), so certain idioms would slip through, especially when stressed. I will correct 'plains' though.

hS

Those summaries are equally incoherent.

-Ls

I've seen my keyboard suggestions get into loops like this before.

That, or they're just posting the outline of the fic and this was the placeholder.

Been working on a short little piece to fit the upcoming Halloween season and also fill the gaps while I work on my next mission (been a busy time, but hoping to finish it within the year). It’s about 3000 words, and mostly focuses on the PPC New Caledonia settlement’s Cemetery Hill and the topic of resurrection. The main thing I’m concerned about here, though, is balancing a Halloween tone with the normal Strangeness of the PPC setting. And whether the ending works or not. This type of story is very new to me, I’ll admit.

As standard, if you want to beta you can contact me by email or by Discord, whichever works best for you.

In case anyone is interested, we at the Asylum also have a collaborative riff that anyone can add to, here.

-Ls

This author has written three fics, two for Batman, one for Ouran High School Host Club. The most notable thing about those fics is that no matter the fandoms, they all read like this, over and over:

So there was some dark ideas and there was some dark things and it was going nice and such was ideas and there was some things and there was some elements and one would get bored sometimes and there was some other things and there was some other ideas and this was nice. Ok. Great. Ok. So something was kind of serious was things and it was going great and there was some ideas and there was some things and something was very serious was things. There was some ideas and there was some things and this was great. *

I think something was serious was thoughts and there was some things and it was a good story to tell and there was some ideas and there was some things and it was going nice and there was some ideas and it was going fine and there was some things and this was some nice ideas and there was some things and there was some context and this was fun and there was some other things. I hear you sometimes. Ok. Great. Ok. ( I see that one. Ok. Great. Ok.

BatJamags over at the Asylum has a great MST of one of the fics in this entry.

From a Makes-Things perspective, episode 2 was a good one - there's at least two scenes showing just O.B., one surrounded by tech, one at a console. There's even a scene of him being handed a CAD or RA, and plenty of useful dialogue lines too.

The biggest issue is the TVA's "Cave Johnson's Aperture Science" '70s look. The brown shades are very easy on the eye, but it would make matching O.B. to clips from any other movie a nightmare. We definitely couldn't do a full "PPC short", and even a trailer would look obviously mashed-up.

As for "everyone's a Loki" - I'm rewatching Season 1 and nobody in the TVA likes Lokis. Recruiting them would be a major misstep - and, in fact, recruiting just a single Loki was.

hS

This was such a delight! When I first opened this, I was expecting some articles showing different characters’ reactions to the Blank Sprite incident, but I love that you two worked a whole narrative through the issue! It gets more and more obvious as time goes that the editors not only didn’t bother to do any research beforehand, but that they barely have any clue who Sergio and Nikki even are! And their cluelessness gets even funnier with Corolla revealing at the end, that the incident wasn’t even kept secret in the first place, since she told everyone about it! I love it, and I love how Corolla gets the editors back good in the end!

Other things I lurved:
-I love the phrase, “wouldn’t see the grey light of HQ.” A prefect substitution!
-Starwind characterizing the Flowers as robotic with her “beep boop” impression. Not really accurate, but it still makes a certain amount of sense as a commentary on the moral and emotional differences between humans and the Flowers, especially from a human with a more manic disposition, like Starwind!
-fantastic unplanned coincidence with “What happened with those Agents and the SWAT Team”
-looking forward to learning about the Chocolate Heist!

Sergio, I’m sorry, but I’ve got some nitpicks with this paragraph:
"If that wasn’t enough to prove how much unreliable is this sorry excuse of a tabloid, well not only they tricked Arumi into writing for them, but when she did an honest article pointing out that what they wanted to imply simply had no legs to stand on, they went and rewrote the article to further their agenda! Of course, that couldn’t stand, so I reverted it back to the WIP version with Arumi’s own words and those two idiots’ notes detailing their plains."
-That first sentence will flow more naturally as, “If that wasn’t enough to prove how unreliable this sorry excuse of a tabloid is, well not only did they trick Arumi into writing for them . . .”
-If we’re going to detail the plains, then we’d better detail the islands, swamps, mountains and forests as well, just to make sure the set matches!

—doctorlit had to look up “Jeremy Bearimy”

• Nume and Ilraen
• Gall and Derik (with bonus Thoth)
• Crew of the Bonny Robin (from the All-HQ Boat Race)
• Team Blast Hardcheese
• Team Physical Therapy
• Team Nevermind
• (Bonus: average Space Marine vs average human)

~Neshomeh

In this album, though I'm not sure if the link will work. Let me know if not.

Looking at it, those images were split over two posts, though. {= )

~Neshomeh

There were 130 files (all but one of them images) spread over 90 posts, which isn't nearly as many as I thought there'd be. I haven't made them publicly available, but I did upload them to plotprotectors.org, along with a spreadsheet of post ID, subject, author, body, the URL that was detected, and the filename I used for it.

This means the data itself is safe and we can figure out what to do with it later.

Also, Linstar, since you mentioned it, uploading images to the Board is something it might make sense to do eventually, but I've got much chaos (yay moving, and job, and so on) so who knows when/if it'll actually get done.

Also, in fun facts, there's a two way tie for most Discord links in a post at 6. This 2018 post linking some interesting Tolkien illustrations, and Nesh showing off character heights

I'm glad it's not outright impossible. ^_^ And I've never imagined cars were permitted there anyway, so it would mainly be foot traffic plus bikes. Maybe the odd horse, but horses would be out of place in the city center, too, IMO.

Cheers for doing those!

~Neshomeh

Is it just me, or is Starwind getting more manic over time? Is she okay? ^_~

I... should get around to actually reading Blank Sprite at some point. I think I planned on waiting until it was finished, and then life happened and I never did. >.> My apologies.

~Neshomeh

I'm divided on the italics for thoughts myself... I do have it for thought-speak of course, so if Moira'd had any thoughts in that scene there would have been confusion as to whether or not it was a Flower speaking, and I want character's private thoughts to be consistent. Moira's thoughts are usually inferred more than written out, so they have never been italicised before, and I don't know... It's a matter of personal preference of course. I find an abundance of italics clutter the page, and prefer to have them for emphasis or thought-speak.

Thank you for reading!

/Ekwy

Guessed wrong but ended up finding more evidence anyway:

If they're gonna take you from me
They better bring a whole army
You know I'll fight back the sea
No, there's no wave that can stop me
When the sky turns black, I'll be the light you need
I'll go to hell and back, I'll be your remedy
And God, I have no doubt, I'll do it endlessly
With every breath I breathe
-Tom Grennan, "Here"

He'll be there for you, wherever you try to run. Waiting. FoReVeR.

hS

Woo, got this posted just before the thread fell off the main page!

HUUUUURRAAAAGH THE CLUES ARE ALL THERE! Millicent had Skeeter in her hands! Why can’t Hogwarts students be normal kids who pay attention to cool bugs??? Also, Skeeter is way more active this year than she was in canon; it’s starting to feel like she’s living on Hogwarts grounds . . . I’m still positive Crouch Jr. is in Crouch Sr.’s shape, but this does make me wonder whether Skeeter is the one sabotaging the tasks for Harry?

I’m really feeling for Harry’s dejection over the state of his culture. The rate of change does feel so slow and frustrating when you’re living inside it. It’s easy to look back over history and see centuries of big, sweeping changes condensed into a single paragraph, but when experiencing a culture day to day, it’s easier to focus on the one step back than on the two steps forward. Harry’s observation that wizardkind “have been separate from the real world” really gets right at the origins of a lot of bigotry, because there has to be a separation to fuel that kind of fear and apathy towards others. And it doesn’t have to be a separation caused by a culture-wide Statute of Secrecy; it can be as mundane as a privileged middle-class family drawing the walls of their suburban cubicle around themselves and proclaiming that everything outside that cubicle isn’t their business, they’re not responsible for anything Outside. How many Roses will there be? Doesn’t matter to them, they’re not looking for Roses, they have their cubicle to maintain.

I had pretty much the same reaction as Hermione when Nilly went from “We’re unionizing” to “because our authority figure told us to.” That is not how we fight the power, Nilly! But two steps forward, one back, right? Also, Hannah’s point about needing the house-elves during parties . . . I hadn’t realized before, but these pureblood families don’t actually throw parties, do they? They attend parties that are thrown in their own home, but it’s the elves who make and serve the food, who decorate the house . . . that doesn’t even feel like hosting a party to me? I’m not sure I’m explaining myself well, just . . . it’s a weirdly passive way to “do party” I guess?

. . . Okay. I’ve never been the biggest fan of Draco Malfoy, but wow was it hard getting through that scene, where he accidentally confessed his sexuality to Harry. I don’t think he really started that conversation intending to, either, it just . . . grew out of the dialogue? And Harry did NOT handle that well at all, man, you’d think he didn’t have gay kids in his very school year, he shouldn’t be THAT surprised! I never thought I would say these words in this order, but, “Harry Potter deserved getting hexed by Draco Malfoy.” I hope Draco makes it through all right, poor kid . . .

“A good family does not need magic to hold itself together.” Lily? You have just sucker-punched me in the gut so hard. I won’t go into the family drama of why, but uh, Yeah. Congratulations, you have just turned a key in my brain, and I think I will hold onto this quote forever!

—there is a beetle on the floor as doctorlit types this, but it is surely a guud beetel frend, right?

He'll be there: https://spotify.link/WKunwLswRDb

-Ls has literally only heard the one Tom Grennan song

My daughter's teacher has infected her with a love of songs by pop/folk/rock artist Tom Grennan. She was singing in the car this morning, and when I tuned into the lyrics I realised how worrying they were:

I'm not the kind to make it easy
If I say the wrong things, I don't mean it
...
So I won't let you go no where
-Tom Grennan, "Crown Your Love"

At first I figured he was just a bit problematic, but then I realised:

Oh, we took some time but I made that wish
Sometimes stars align
-Tom Grennan, "Crown Your Love"

Tom Grennan is an Elder God.

When you're looking in the mirror
And you can't see the love
It's in the shadows around you
Waiting to pick you up
And you are not alone
-Tom Grennan, "You Are Not Alone"

Tom Grennan is lurking in the shadows.

I wanna know what it feels like
To wake up like a giant
I wanna know what it feels like
To be fearless like a lionheart
And I feel it in my blood (blood, blood, blood, blood)
Like the stars that illuminate the sky
There's a fire in my lungs burning tonight
-Tom Grennan, "Lionheart (Fearless)"

Tom Grennan is a fire-breathing giant whose breath is the death of stars.

Millions of hours become days
Your pictures, they keep me awake
I was trying to find ya, see if the love was still the same
Visions of us that don't fade
- Tom Grennan, "Remind Me"

Tom Grennan has been imprisoned beyond time, watching us in his sleepless dreams.

Lately I've been counting stars...
All I'm tryna do is find my path to you...
I've got voices in my head and there's a deafening silence...
Just like the air I'm breathing
These awful wounds ain't healing...
I tried to fly but I used my wings too soon
Now everything got me thinking of you
I tried a million times to cut you loose...
'Cause I'm needing a little bit of love
A little bit of love, a little bit of love
A little bit of love
-Tom Grennan, "Little Bit of Love"

Tom Grennan is returning from beyond the stars, his very breath wounding the air, his splintered wings cutting the fabric of reality... and all because hE lOvEs YoU.

hS

PS:

I said, "I can't sing along
'Cause I forgot the song
So how does it go?
Could you please remind me?
...
And did it go, "Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh"?
Or did it go, "Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh"?
I think it went, "Ia! Ia! Grennan Fhtagn!"
Could you please remind me?
-Tom Grennan, "Remind Me", probably

So Delta pointed me at the Scholomance books (A Deadly Education and so on) and I wanted to see if there were other folks around here who'd read them and had thoughts because I need more people to scream at/with.

Linking out to this one because it is Large.

So I went through and measured the gauge of every road in the PPC city. ^_^ Anything between green and purple is officially "steep"; red and purple are "oh gaaaaawds, why did we have to go this way?".

By taking the main route through town, you can go from the door to the trail riding centre and only pass through a handful of the shallowest "steep" sections. These have probably been landscaped out; I know on one of the postcards I drew the road flat with ramps down (it's Oleander's to Elisabeth).

By and large, the entire city stays green or below. A lot of the yellow sections would also be suitable for landscaping. Everything steeper than that is specific sections deliberately climbing hills; steps or ramps will have been installed there. It's a hilly city, but it's not overly difficult to get around. (Though anyone who's not an energetic biped or flight-equipped should probably live in the French Quarter; the American quarter is a hill with red/purple on every approach.)

The non-Mueo route down to the lowlands, running off bottom left, looks like a fairly steady blue 5-10% slope. Steep for a highway, not unusual for a residential street. My own house is on a 10% road; it's about the steepest an adult can cycle up.

hS

It was not fun. Harlech is ridiculous, there's a whole medieval castle just sitting there on a giant cliff in the middle of town.

The roads of New Cal are actually not too bad! I mean, they'd all carry warning signs, but technically they are all drivable. I've used OpenStreetMap's contours and plotted out a few of them:

(Helpfully, Paint.net tells how how long a line is in pixels, so I didn't have to do any trigonometry at all!)

The overall slope down from the town centre to the south end (red) is about 6-7%. That's steep, but not an official Steep Road. The one section that would be pretty steep has been avoided with a loop in the road - that's not even our doing, that exists on the actual path.

Coming down from the American Quarter is a bit of a struggle. The east-west roads (eg green) are 14-20%. You could drive it, but it would be stressful. The north-south roads straight down into town (orange) are 30% or higher. That's about where the world's steepest roads sit; I suspect they're actually stairways.

The path down to the lowlands (purple/pink) is somewhere in the 10-15% range. That makes sense - we know 4x4s can get up there, we have the photos. So it's not an easy walk back up, but it is doable.

I've not marked the route down from the town centre to the Mueo valley; it would go directly west down that big slope. Um, it's at least a 450m drop in 1200m, which is a continuous 37.5% grade. That's about 20 degrees off the vertical. A playground slide is 30 degrees. What I'm saying is, don't walk that way. ^_^;

My headcanon is that there is some local levelling (eg the top of the American Quarter has been flattened, as has the central square), but the overall angle of the city hasn't been changed. They just do a lot of climbing. It's good for 'em!

hS