Where chatting will occur, babble will rise, talk will be cheap, and witticisms will run like water. Does water run in space? Huh.

Anyway: Here ya go, chat away, ask questions, be generally a good egg!

It does if you've got the gravity settings activated.

Otherwise it just 1. floats around and 2. ruins any unproofed electrical systems

Heh. Have you read anything by Mary Robinette Kowal? She wrote one of my fav SF books of a couple years back and then had this awesome twitter thread about peeing in space: https://twitter.com/maryrobine...166996017152?lang=en

Totally worth a read.

I have not.

The Calculating Stars is really phenomenal. It is not space opera, it's just hard-SF/AU stuff, a 'what if a meteorite hit the Earth off the coast of Maryland in 1952 and caused an extinction level event and then we get the Space Race but with higher stakes that not everybody believes in' sort of deal. Really, really fine work.

I think I'm getting near ready to start, perhaps over the weekend, if not sooner. Can you take a look at The Stage and pick a Great Power for Istvan's Dyson Sphere to be beholden to? The Dominion, The Cthonic-Cervantes Confed, The Serene Republic, or Uncivilized Space...

ERGH... can't know any more about each of them...?

If I can't, then I'll pick The Serene Republic of Dawalnujum.

If I can, though, I'd rather hear more about each first...

You can know more about them!

The Dominion is the more autocratic, Spartan, everything run ship-shape Order Above All a lot of focus on state religion. An aesthetic Roman Empire, emphasis on 'Empire.' Although individual planets in the Dominion's sphere may govern themselves in a number of ways, they do not actually have much of a voice. Technology in the Empire is particularly good, as is funding for research. When they suppress an idea, they do it with particular ruthlessness. Dissent spikes up, dissent is squished. There's a lot of jockeying by Noble Houses here, and if you're part of their space fleet you get extra cool points from the people.

The Serene Republic of Dawalnujum is more chaotic, politically speaking, with multiple rises and falls of individuals in power and the seat of the Serene Republic changes due to some coup or other every few decades, but for the most part quality of life in the Serene Republic is supergood and supergreat. They're the Byzantine, decadent choice. Think Renaissance Venice, the whole sprawl of the Ottomon Empire, Heian Japan and New York City in the 80s/90s--but in space. Technology in the Serene Republic is also good, but they have more of an emphasis on body modification. Noble Houses and Bureaucrats and Inventors seem to jockey for most recognition in this power.

The Cthonissel-Cervantes Confederation is scrappy, relatively 'new.' It's the one with the most non-humans in positions of power, the one with the least centralized power, and the one with the most wild west glamour. Being part of the Cthonissel-Cervantes Confederation is mostly a stand against the Dominion and Serene Republic, and its greatest weakness is probably its disorganization.

Uncivilized space can be anything, but it means probably no contact/knowledge of the three big powers/other planets outside your star system.

Helpful? More questions?

Yeah, I'd say I chose appropriately, thanks

Excellent. I'll add those slightly better descriptions to the Stage thread. Will try to figure out how I want to name the stats/potential other cool things for yer sheet today or tomorrow! :)

How're things goin' over here?

Added some character creation stuff for you, if you want to look at it, but it's not ready yet!

Mm, okay, I'll wait then. Just enthusiastic.

Enthusiasm pleases me. :) I was having fun working on the rules last night!

Stat/Char Creation Stuff up in the Rules of Engagement thread, go on and take a gander.

So basically it's
--Forceful
--Confident (plus "reflexes") (why would reflexes not be under "Proficency?")
--Charming
--Insightful
--Agile
--and "Using tech that is functioning" (since "repair" is under the "Insightful"...)



Will probably choose these




So... I don't have to choose one... Hmm...




But this one fits, so I'll probably choose that anyway... and therefore probably



Thinking about this one




Probably this one.


probably this





So... I'm... guessing I should wait, because all this is still at the rough draft stage...?

Uh? Maybe/more-or-less? Remember, I haven't actually used the system outside of your Amber game, which doesn't (I'm pretty sure) use any of those words! But if I understand them, I believe so? I put 'reflexes' under Willful b/c reflexes = initiative/staying on course, but if that term seems too confusing w/ what's usually under agility/dexterity, we'll just strike it from the list. Proficiency isn't about coolheadedness (which I imagine reflexes falls under?), but actual natural-or-learned skill.



Cool. Lemme know. And repeat the "Lemme know" for all of the 'Probably choose X.'



Nope! It's really just a way to balance out getting some extra bling to spend on Cool Stuff at this stage.



Wait for...? I'll start a proper IC thread once you've settled for sure on all the other sheet stuff (no probably!), but if you've got an idea about starting stuff already, throw it out there! :) I made the sheet editable-by-you if you want to add stuff there.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:19, Mon 11 Jan 2021.

And talk to me about...




This would be Martin, his AI? What kinda form would his AI take? What cool thing does his AI do/how is it helpful?




What kinda super cool weapon would you like Istvan to have?

Ah HAH! I went to add one more thing to the 'Cool Stuff' list and I noticed WIP was still on that post. No, go ahead and settle on what you want, ask questions, etc., and I added a small thing to the 'Cool Stuff' category (though I don't think you're going to want it? Still, it's an option) - minor Psionic Power.

Dr. Istvan Vanoson (doctorate, mass communications), Adjunct Professor of Philosophy of Information and Informational Ethics at Bright University


* Physical: 8 (-1)
* Willful: 11
* Charm: 13 (+1)
* Expertise: 15 (+1)
* Proficiency (Agility): 9
* Techsmarts: 16 (+2)


[ ] You’ve got an AI companion which is loyal to you. Martin can hack most computer systems/robots without putting Istvan at risk. On screens/digitally, Martin looks like a stainless steel rat (that can speak English/Common/Interlac).

[ ] Super Cool Weapon: Glass Flechette Pistol: fires little flechettes as sharp as cut glass (but they aren't literally glass, they're look like it and are that sharp). One-handed ranged weapon, very small and flat and easy to conceal, never needs reloading (nanotech, probably?)

[ ] Super Cool Piece of Tech: Bulletproof Suit (Formal, +1 Armor, Meshweave, flexible and comfortable as cotton, never needs washing//self-mends tears)


[ ] In Debt. You don’t have many spare resources and when you do the creditors are always after them.


[ ] Xenoanthropologist. You’ve paid a lot of attention to non-human races and won’t embarrass yourself if you’re invited for tea.


[ ] You're prejudiced against one of the following: Dominion Military




How's this?
This message was last edited by the player at 20:27, Wed 13 Jan 2021.

Looks grand to me!

Now, do you feel ready to start?

The last thing I want is for you to feel overextended or spread too thin by any game I'm running for you (or playing in!), so please know you can be as chill as you want here re: postings, etc. I'll never be in any rush.

Yeah, as long as we all know there's no hurry for me to post each time.



That very much sounds like an endorsement of what I just said above...

...So... yes, I'd say I'm ready

Tch. If you went a couple weeks without posting, I wouldn't nudge ya. Maybe after a month. :P

Good lord, this is funny:

Incidentally, I see I messed up-- there's only TWO screens in the office.

I haven't bothered editing to correct, tho

Thanks, didn't even occur to me to do so!

...Do you want me to use color when Istvan speaks? Or are you one of those who just feels like "nah that's a lot of trouble"

I feel like nah there's no need to, unless it helps you keep things straight.

On the same token, d'you want me to use colored speech when NPCs speak?

Mmmmmmmm let's try saying no for now.

So many people like it that I have gotten fairly used to it, but when I first got to RPol I felt it was a lot of extra trouble, and I still retain a bit of that feeling...

Looking forward to what happens next...

I feel the same way. At first, the colored text was not my jam, but it's been so beaten into me by now--and let's be fair, I can post A LOT OF DESCRIPTION/scene blocking around the darned dialogue--that I automatically do it.

And (beams) I'm glad you are. I feel like I'm roasting academia a bit, which is always fun. :grin:

You are up incredibly early...!

Couldn't sleep for a few hours. Started with allergies, and then turned into irritation about the concept of a free and democratic society.

Understandable.

I mean, y'know... the danger looming over the concept of a free and democratic society.

I rather expect you do know, one way or t'other...

I do know, alas.

“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Also, perhaps you could keep track of XP the way we keep track in your games, in the biography? I would like that.

I... believe I am already doing that...

Guess I did it right after my last message, and just hadn't posted again until just now...

Ah, weird... It didn't seem to show when I went into character details, but maybe it's a cookie thing... :handwave:

Aaannnnnnd if this were a TV show this right here



would definitely be in the trailer.

I think you need a "favorite quotes" thread, young lady

We'll see! I do generally like those...

So yeah I like playing guys who talk their way out of stuff. Not even always CON MEN, not Rinaldo/Lukes, just guys who do something else but who always act like conflict is just a misunderstanding that they can straighten out if you'd just listen to them for like four minutes (even when it is NOT actually just a misunderstanding).

In a Dungeon World game I'm in, every other player but me disappeared (as often happens on RPol), and the GM has decided heck with it it's this guy's solo game now.

--A thief stole a list of names that we were supposed to get back.
--We trailed the thief to some bandits in the woods that he's hiding out with
--My teammates killed two bandits guarding the perimeter.
--I cast invisibility and just walked in and found the thief. He'd given the list to the bandit chief for safe-keeping; it was in the chief's tent
--I walked out and cast a different spell (meaning Invisibility wore off)
--A new bandit patrol showed up and my teammates (who hadn't gone AWOL yet) started picking a fight with them.

--Then the last players went AWOL... and I took over.

--I calmed down the bandits
--A monster suddenly showed up to attack
--We all ran from it into the bandit camp
--I got the bandits to go attack the monster. Charge!
--I told the thief to go get the list from the bandit leader's tent and give it to me
--THEN we went and helped defeat the monster
--Then I asked the bandit leader if he'd seen the thief with the list we were looking for
--He offered to sell me the list THAT I ALREADY HAD IN MY POCKET for 200 gold
--I said we'd go tell our employer the offer
--The thief caught up with us and we ran before anyone found out about the perimeter guards.

This is what an Istvan can bring to the party.

Glad to hear it!

Characters who try to talk their way out of things (...not necessarily conmen, but sometimes conmen...) are my preference for playing, too.

I alllllmost said obviously--but then realized you haven't actually seen more than two of my PCs (how is this possible? I feel like we've been gaming together now for so long, but I guess it isn't that long really) and Lyric is not a good example of this. Ballad is, though. She'll try to talk her way out of something (or, uh, into something) every time...  I just think the 'can I social through this?' option is usually more interesting. I ... uh, also like to play characters who value life, even if it belongs to NPCs... otherwise, boring, right? I think so anyway.

But a character who talks their way out of stuff (or tries to, anyway) is also my preference for GMing... so much more scope for shenanigans... Nothing wrong with some combat now and again, but if combat + getting cool things is all you want from a GM, this GM will be bored out of her ever loving mind.

Lyric is a good example, I suppose, of the other character I tend to play which is... Arrogant, but community-building? I GM so often it's hard not to play a character who's motivated to get other characters to do stuff :grin:
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:01, Sun 17 Jan 2021.

Do you have a personality in mind for Martin? Are they wisecracking or enthusiastic or serene or anything else or... no preference...?

Like Loiosh in Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos books

Buuuuut if you haven't read those...

Wisecracking. Little sarcastic. Devoted to Istvan, really, but also acts like he thinks he needs taking down a peg sometimes a little. (This is incorrect. Life does this more than enough for Istvan. The real reason is that Martin simply thinks this is how male-gendered friends talk to one another.)

Alas, the only Brust I ever read was the one he co-authored w/ Emma Bull, Freedom & Necessity... and I think one other, which I was kind of meh on, so thanks for the expansion! :)

Not only do I highly recommend the Vlad Taltos books, they came out of his RPG sessions with his friends (and his ex-wife). Some people say that-- aside from, perhaps, the Wild Cards series of books-- it never works to bookify RPG campaigns, but Brust is another example of a time when it absolutely can/did work.

Huh. That's interesting, I didn't know that bit of trivia about them. I feel like the only book I've read that I know came out of an RPG 'campaign' was a YA by Patricia C Wrede and Caroline Stevermer--and it was an epistolary game, so just letters back and forth. I went through quite a kick of diggling epistolary novels (that's when I read Freedom & Necessity).



Hurrah for perfect, but :sheepish: what's vaguely Runyonesque mean? Tell me more of this preferred flavor, because I am extremely intrigued.

When characters talk like cheap, funny gangsters from the '30s or so, that's because of insanely-popular-at-the-time author Damon Runyon. Basically, gangsters, pickpockets, and gamblers who talk like they're in GUYS AND DOLLS (because it, like a ton of other things, is based on Damon Runyon's writings).

Low-class hoods and criminals (often with a heart of gold) who try to pretend that they are law-abiding citizens, officer, by being in the habit of trying to use the best possible diction and vocabulary they can possibly manage (and sometimes failing).

"Honestly, officer, I am deeply hurt and insulted by your odious insinuation that dis stiff youse has happened to find in the trunk of our automobile was bein' transported to the river by us fer nefarious poiposes. I leave youse to considah that perhaps de poor gentleman was simply a freezing hobo who, seein' our trunk open whilst we wuz preparin' fer our excursion to the countryside, crawled in to get out of the cold, there to subsequently just happen to expire." (Takes off hat for moment of silence for poor frozen hobo.) "Why his feet are coincidentally encased in cement, I cannot venture to offer a hypothesis."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Runyon


To expand slightly on what I mentioned earlier, in one chapter of L. Sprague DeCamp's classic The Compleat Complete Enchanter, all the trolls and frost giants in Asgard talk like this, which is hilarious.

Ha! Okay, I getcha. Thanks! Never even heard of him or that term, or if I did, I've long since forgotten. Is that a quote from his work? Trolls and frost giants talking like that sounds darned hilarious.

See... I just like slangy PCs/NPCs in fantasy/SF, with hints of noir/pulp/gee gosh golly 50s-type aesthetics + elevated poetry. Feels more genuinely otherworld than thee and thou and all that jazz. :grin:

But all that begs the question, have you read or do you read the online comic Lackadaisy Cats?

No, I just made it up as an example





IKR




I have not.

(Goes and looks)

Mm. I'm not really getting into it...

...You don't write it//draw it, I hope?

... Huh, solidly impressed. Nice 'un.



Aww, too bad! It feels like the kind of thing you'd maybe like? But I admit I haven't read it for some years. It IS cats, but the character dynamics are nice and the research into the era/swanky over-the-top 20s-style glory is *chef's kiss*



:grin: No, and if I did, I wouldn't be offended if you didn't like it! I wish I had the patience/sticktoitiveness to put up an online comic.

Thank you; I put effort into it




Mmmmm, no, it's not for me... I don't like the sepia... nor the dialogue-writing... nor the plot, really... (So, it therefore doesn't matter that they apparently eventually get past the sepia...)

Webcomics I do keep up with:
--Girl Genius
--Modest Medusa
--Kill Six Billion Demons
--Godslave (I don't check in on it NEARLY as often though)

There were a bunch of others, back in the day...

Girl Genius I loooove, but it has been an age since I checked that one, too. Never heard of the others, maybe will check em out.

I think the only webcomic I check semi-regularly anymore is Order of the Stick. Which I also recommend highly! And is definitely more of a comedy...

Oh, right. I knew I was forgetting something. I read that... But (like Godslave, only more so) it feels so slow to update that I don't check in that often.

I also did read Erfworld... until it disappeared because something horrible happened in the creator's family or whatever that was...

I tried Namesake for a while and liked it... then somehow I got tired of it. Was good for a while though.

Same with Stand Still Stay Silent... That's one that I'm a lot more likely to go back and try to pick up again someday.

Oh! And I just recently started reading Lore Olympus, and follow it weekly now... Little surprised I forgot that one...

...There are others I used to do... can't think of any I'm dying to mention...

AHHHH i forgot my extra +1 for Xeno stuff! I got a 10! is it too late?

(cries)

Did you? I thought his Expertise was a +1 and ya rolled +2, or am I math drunk? If I am wrong (hard to look at sheets on my phone), it's never too late!!

Oh yay, I was remembering it as 2 but that's his tech powers, yes you're right it's 1 it's all legit

Wow, Istvan - Professor of Information and Occasional Smooth Talker.

Haven't lost interest-- just ran out of energy today.

Like I said before, I'm pretty chill and do NOT really expect daily updates in games I run... I wouldn't start to worry or poke you (here, anyway) until a couple weeks went by. :) But thanks for the heads up anyway.

Started reading that Medusa web comic, couldn't get into it, though I bet I would have liked it if I started reading it back when I was doing a lot of webcomics/a lot of webcomics I read updated regularly. But the Demon one is pretty neat. I both really like the art style and really dislike it at the same time, which is interesting.

Oh yeah, we talked about this specific thing. I forgot



Oh, K6KD... yeah, I know. The art style gets... more proficient over time... and the plot... starts making you say WHAT THE ACTUAL WHAT NOW? a lot less over time... well, very gradually... but the art never fully loses that... quality of being... A LOT

"'A lot'?" asked some random (and hypothetical) third person who hadn't seen K6KD yet. "In what way does the art have the quality of being 'a lot'?"

"Well, like, in... EVERY way," Istvan's player answered...

Yup. I just want you to have fun at your own pace. And I will try to match it! though tbh the amount of speed I've been able to give you here and in that other game of yours is pretty darned unprecedented. Gonna just enjoy it while it lasts.



See, I don't mind a plot that makes me say WHAT THE ACTUAL WHAT NOW, and don't think I'm far enough in for that to be an issue yet. I'm in the 'sure that seems legit whatever you present to me I will roll with' stage. The art... yeah, it definitely is A LOT. Gloriously a lot? But also... I don't know how to put my finger on what it is that I dislike about it. While liking it. It's just something... snarly about it.



bwaha. So much of a lot it makes Istvan's player pretty meta and third person refer to themself--that's... a lot indeed.

Oops, should be K6BD... force of habit from MST3K

MST3K? Dunno what that is! But my brain didn't even miss a beat/pay enough attention to the acronym to realize it was wrong, ha...

Mystery Science Theater 3000 (3K)...

I know what it's meant to be, but how about mcl003 for Martin...?

This one? That works for me, if it works for you... If you've got an image you like, perhaps we can sub it for an addition to the portrait options.

Urgh, oh no... Now I'm distracted trying to find portraits... The most dangerous rabbit hole of all...

Yah, wouldn't've said it if it didn't


 

Ugh, no, that's always felt like way too much trouble


BUT JUST FOR LULZ here is an image anyway for you to look at and enjoy


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sszM...inless+Steel+Rat.jpg

That picture is -awesome-. Aww. Maybe I'll put it in Martin's DP page.

And yeah, I agree it's always felt like way too much trouble to me, too. But I'm also super finicky/particular about pictures, so it's just the worst, ha. I think mooooooosssst of my PC pics in games here have wound up being the zoom in of an eye or somebody with their face partially obscured so I don't have to be annoyed by it.

Realized I was way behind on the webcomic Stand Still Stay Silent... caught up, the last two days... Ah, such good scary goodness... But kind of trigger-warningy, now, since it's about what's barely left of the world after a freaky scary (kinda-paranormal) pandemic...

Hmm. Link? That sounds up my alley.

There's a book I read right before the pandemic changed the way we do things (like, literally, early March last year) which was so very very very very good but also very trigger warning-y since it dealt with the aftermath of a pandemic that changed the way people were allowed to be in public. (It's angle was musicians in a world with non-congregation laws and everything virtual...)

https://sssscomic.com



One of the more disturbing books I ever read was Earth Abides, a 1949 novel by George R. Stewart...

Good lord, finding profile pics gets even harder when you're using alien species... This isn't quite right for Thorn, who I imagine lankier/wayyy more nervous, sort of like a blue Chaucer with less cockiness from A Knight's Tale. And no antenna. But this will have to do.

This for Prosper, I guess? Gilda... is turning out to be tricky. So many profile pics just look... too model-y.

And tell me about Earth Abides? What's it about?

Are you hinting that you'd like help...?




Earth Abides is a 1949 American post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by George R. Stewart. The novel tells the story of the fall of civilization from deadly disease and the attempted emergence of a new culture with simpler tools. Set in the 1940s in (mostly) Berkeley, California, the story is told by Isherwood Williams, who emerges from isolation in the mountains to find almost everyone dead.

(Istvan's player: "'Ironic because it means he has to set out to find other humans who will-- like all the others before the plague-- say: "Someone named their kid 'Isherwood?!?'"'")

I was just being complain-y, but I'd take help. Gilda should look like a warm human person who can be sardonic... I would like her to NOT be blond or too fancy looking, but that's it, and my pref is for real person pics to drawings...





OMG! LOOK! I DID IT!!!!!!!!! Holy heck!!!! THANK YOU!

Also, ha! Interesting. On that note... Have you read many classic SF short stories and novellas...? Because I'm suddenly thinking you might be able to help me solve a mystery I've been unable to remember the answer to for years. Someone told me about a novella (I believe?) they read which ... probably was written before the 80s? Might be 50s? ... In which people just start falling asleep with no explanation, and there is a lively business in storing the sleepers. Bodily functions are all tip top, people don't seem to be sick in any way except they fall asleep. It happens to people of all ages. The narrator/viewpoint character is a doctor trying to figure out what happened. Does that sound familiar to you at all?
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:45, Sat 30 Jan 2021.

Hmm. I sort of did it... *mucks about*

Yeah I didn't see her as blonde at all...

I went looking for FEMALE and PHOTOISH and GILDA-LIKE and I got these three:


fms043 ffw191 fsh096




It doesn't sound familiar to me at all... There are places online that specialize in that kind of literary mystery, though... Want me to find you one or two of them...?

Hmmm.... the ffw one is kinda close, but not quite... (Things came up for GILDA-LIKE? The portraits baffle me.)



I've pretty thoroughly beat the pavement w/ SF-readers/professional SF nerds, but I guess it couldn't hurt! Toss 'em my way.

I'm also enjoying Istvan's surprising-to-me team-building efforts...

No no, that was just my personal brain-filter.



It's just how he operates-- he likes having allies around him.


Anyway:

1. I hate goodreads, but there's this: https://www.goodreads.com/grou...he-name-of-that-book

2. Then there's this: https://www.librarything.com/groups/namethatbook

3. This: https://www.utne.com/arts/howt...spentyearslookingfor

4. This: http://forums.abebooks.com/dis...6&redirCnt=2&;=

5. This: https://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/

6. This: https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsthatbook/

HA! Okay that makes way more sense. :laughs: I was like, 'dang, sometimes I can't find anything if I'm looking for, like, a redhead with blue eyes' or some generic stuff, who else is using Gilda-like?!



Ha, thanks. Librarything, haven't thought about that site in a thousand years...

Yeah.

And of course I was also (mentally) throwing out//ignoring any results that were suggestive of "supermodel," since you'd mentioned that as a problem...

:grin: Hilarious juxtaposition of lines here, Istvan:

But that also means that you're too good and too honest to be suspicious of your fellow man. You need me and my associates watching out for you, at least for a while.

ikr


still seems like you need a "favorite Istvan quotes" thread

Mayyyybe I do. I like favorite quotes threads, but I hate to be the only one posting in them!

In other news, I've found a pic that'll do for Joey, I think... Not quite lantern jawed enough but...

Edited my last post...

I feel like talking to Joey has gotten Istvan about as far as it can go.

I feel the same about Thornton.

I'm tempted to try to look each of them up to get clues.

Thornton: What is his deal? Is anyone talking about his digitally, lately or ever?

Joey: Who did this to him? Is anyone trying to sell the stolen swords digitally?

I guess my main question is, can Istvan do this from his phone-device? Or does he need to get to a better computer terminal...?

As far as inquiring into Thornton's backstory, probably! But Istvan's got innocent lil' Joey willing enough to take him along, he's just confused about the Thornton addition...



Go for it!



He can do it from his phone-device... A better computer terminal might theoretically have access to more, though, or be more secure for Istvan...
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:12, Thu 04 Feb 2021.

Logical, and good to know...

Yeesssss so curious. I'll totally talk about this... but not yet. I only just finished episode one, so my opinions are not formed very much yet.

OOPS, sorry for spoilers.

Nah, don't worry about it. It's all my friends posting about episdoe 5 that made me go, "OKAY FINE I WILL WATCH IT." (grin)

Okay. Wandavision. Say more now! I'm caught up. (grin)

My relationship with the Marvel franchise is basically 'Oh, THAT was cool' without any huge investment. There are a lot of movies I still haven't seen, but I also made a point to hustle to see a few of them in theaters, so a little of this and a little of that.

Hm... now that we're here, not sure what to say.

...Although okay I guess I will say: I think Monica is wrong about Wanda doing ALL of this, because the whole FOR THE CHILDREN thing seems rather obviously not Wanda's idea. (And where are the children who were living in this town before The Weirdness?) Also, her own kids, and what goes on with them, also seem very much not actually Wanda's idea...

Also, I think not pushing Monica's health tests is a mistake. In fact, someone (preferably Darcy) needs to hold a Geiger counter up to Monica, and try a few other counters too.

Of course, I already know everyone's provenance in the comics, so...

..So I know that "we can't get a clear reading on Monica's body" is slightly more likely to be as much a lucky thing as it is an unlucky thing, but I also feel that the sooner we make Monica aware that there's something funny going on with her body, the more useful that information might be...

Episode 6 = best episode yet...

It was really good!

Pietro (or, if you will, Piet-Bro) was the additional shot in the arm needed for this week.

Although Agnes did the creepiest job.

Also points to Darcy. "Are you serious right now?" and "...Fffffudge--"

Also: clowns/circus/hot air balloon

Also: Evil candle is evil and viewers should pay more attention to it.

How immersed in Marvel comics lore are you//do you wish to be?

I did LOVE that they turned into clowns/a circus/and felt quite distressed for Vision. And Agnes is... very, very creepy. Her and Herb, man.

Evil candle? Wait, what candle? What evil candle?! There's a candle? I need to rewatch already.

I KNOW. DARCY.

I'm not very immersed, but I do not care even remotely about spoilers/much prefer when it comes to Marvel to be told things 'coz I have no time to go through the kajillion trillion properties / stories / AUs etc and get myself up to date. (grin) So theorize madly as you like! I do LIKE Marvel (I loved reading the Civil War comics as they came out, and was into Runaways for a bit), just my laziness kicks in hardcore for comic universes.

I'm bettin' my 10 bucks on Agnes being totally a friend, not a foe.

...Lessssss confident about Herb.



OKAY. This is when Piet-Bro and Wanda arrive at the Town Square Scare. There are various decorations. One of them is an evil candle thing with a scary face and claw-arms. It's a big inflated thing, thick as Herb.

The problem is not that it has a scary face-- the problem is that it has a red internal glow that's exactly like Wanda's powers... or like the red in her eyes right before/during/after she's expanding the Hex area.




IKR




Evil Candle's face looks a lot like the classic face of Dr. Strange villain Dormammu.

So... maybe Dormammu said "Okay this Dr. Strange guy is bad news, but maybe it behooves me to mess with human magic types a bit more, learn what they're capable of, practice messing with their minds..."

Just one personal theory of mine.

(Evil Candle's stick-arms are a lot like Dormammu's gauntlets look, too.

(Then again, this is a show that I suspect has a lot of red herrings.

If NONE of the clues are red herrings, there's like 5 to 7 villains involved in this.))

I'm not 100% happy with this pic, but I think it's as close as I'll get. Finally. Now I can try and post Istvan along... Perfectionism with the Portraits is no joke...

Oop, somehow just noticed your post now. I'm so sleepy today... But will try to post further Istvan adventures before I sleep!

Disappointed with recent WandaVision episode. Except for

1. What Happened With Monica and

2. The Last 30 Seconds Before The Credits (phrased so as to not count the post-credits scene),

it was a big pacing mess. Most of it (especially the whole What Happened With Monica thing) could have and should have been done in easily half the time... except that that would have left us with one episode that was half the length of the others, and they couldn't have THAT, so...

I mean the beginning was okay enough for a while, but... it was all just too nuthin', in general.

I thought the episodes were different lengths anyway, for some reason.

And I was wondering what you thought! I liked it though wasn't blown away. I did like the 'reveal,' though it felt -- hasty. Like there was a scene or a couple minutes of amp-up that was missing somewhere in the episode.

What d'you mean with the What Happened with Monica? The powers-getting...? The confrontation...?

Glad you're feeling better, btw! And I hope you didn't feel stressed about any RP stuff while you were mending/taking it more chill. I'm kind of post-meh myself... slept thirteen hours last night/this morning...

From "well here's where I'll pick up my truck" to her eyes turning blue? All of that could have taken less than two minutes in my very well-qualified opinion. Felt like it took more than 5... honestly FELT like it took TEN.




Nah, you'll get to it when you get to it

Meh. Wandavision 8 dropped. With the exception of one scene in the middle, I'm not impressed. It's been downhill for me since the Halloween episode... I'm ready to just Wrap It Up...

https://i.gifer.com/3inu.gif

Let me know when you've seen it so I don't have to worry about spoilers

I shall watch tonight and let you know immediately! V. curious!

Not really impressed with the one scene in the middle, either, but it was certainly the best part...

The internet and my phone are trying their BEST to spoil me--didn't get a chance to watch it yesterday, as my in-person work has gone crazy (and will be crazy until Thursday, blurgh).

On that note, Martin gave Istvan a file to read before--is he gonna read it now? If so, I'll drop a big ol infodump mystery message on ya, but if not, I'll just have Martin give his opinions :grin:

He won't reject Martin's input, but I think he's got time to look at the file...

Okay. It's been seen. No reason to worry about spoilers. What was the scene in the middle that got you, the Vision-Wanda-grief-talk?

Yeah-- it didn't really "get me" at all, but it was the best part, and they should have spent more time with it-- in fact, they should have spent MOST of their time with it.

--the first thing I would have done different would have been to shorten EVERYTHING before and after the Wanda And Vizh At Avengers Compound And Him Being Nice To Her scene

--and then lengthen that to like 18 minutes or so

-make me believe a woman could fall in love with a robot guy and vice versa

--but no

---

--Then there's the first scene. Should'a just burned 'er...

"Coven-Mother, since Agatha has studied the forbidden texts, then perhaps instead of using our magic to deal with her, we should instead just bur--"

"--NO! That is the weapon of the ENEMY."

---

--Also, it answered every question i didn't need answered and answered zero questions I wanted answered

1. How did YOU show up for this party, Agatha? Did you feel a disturbance in the Force?

2. What the hell is Fietro? The bunny?

and so on.

---

Also I have many strong opinions on the show and televisual literacy

"Who's really behind this? Mephisto? Nightmare?"

"It's Agatha Harkness."

"Nah, that can't be it-- we spotted her in episode 1. It's gotta be somebody else-- somebody BIG!"

---

"Who's really creating this? Mephisto? Nightmare?"

"Maybe Wanda's just doing that herself, out of grief."

"Nah, that can't be it-- we could've figured that out right from the start. And how could she have that kind of power? It's gotta be somebody else! Somebody BIG!"

---

I was mildly amused, the morning after, searching articles saying "uh well so I guess it's not mephisto after all. Um moving on..."

I mean for pity's sake, it didn't even show us nor even MENTION Monica the whole time.

People's sense of televisual literacy has turned the show into a more complex show than it turned out to be.

Because the obvious answers were too obvious

"All I know is, it couldn't be THAT. That would be trite."

Yes. Yes, it would-- at least, it would after so much build-up. And yet.

LOST did a terrible thing to television in America, and it's still doing it.

---

"And now, episode 9 of WandaVision."
Wanda blinks anxiously: "...'Scarlet Witch...'? ...What the crap is that?!"

---

The show could have been good.

WandaVision that is.

If it'd been as clever as they thought it was...

---

While I'm on the subject: Are you aware that Agatha's actress was also the voice of Viv (female Doc Ock) in SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDERVERSE?

because she was

i only found out the other day when i looked her up

Hmmm. I liked the meat of that scene, but I don't know if extending the show-us-how-they-were scene would've worked... Hmm. Maybe if it called back to things that had happened in the show already or in the movies. Paul Bettany is charming, maybe he could have pulled it off.



(laughs) I had the same thought re: Agatha and the witches. Like aw c’mon, guys. If she’s been using dark magics which are more powerful and forbidden, why are you using magic to do whatever you’re doing? It’s not gonna work, man. Dark magics, you were literally just saying it.



Yeah. At the end, I was sorry not to have had a check in with the stories of the other characters, except for the sword guy who sucks. That said, I don't really think there was room for them in this episode, so I wasn't too upset.



Hmm, interesting.

I hard disagree on the whole thing being Wanda's fault because of grief = trite. I also hard disagree that simple answers can't be complex, and that complicated fan theories like "oh, it's this villain I know from the comics because" are cleverer. Heck, 'the bad guy was there all along' is a classic for a reason. Done well, it's a lot of fun, and it's not as though there weren't hints that Agatha was different the whole time. I'm not sure how 'well' it's been done, but eh. I maybe give first reveal a solid B, this episode a C.

That said, I'm really not interested in Wanda's grief being manipulated before any of this went down by that annoying generic sword director guy just so he can get a weapon back online and use her power to do it. That director guy is just so darned generic and I hate that plot I hate it so much I cannot express how boring I find yet another rich dude doing shady things just so they can get the perfect weapon under their control.



What terrible thing do you mean? (curious)

I never watched Lost. I remember the furor around it, but I just never got around to it and then when it was done I was like 'well, it sounds like a show I will not waste my time with.' Samesies with Battlestar Galactica, though I did catch a couple episodes of season one. Then nothing and I heard about the end and was like, 'Nope, not interested in that payoff, sounds so bad I don't think I'll be watching it.' Honestly would also have been the case with GoT, if I'd known how terribly the writing was going to go. (Note: not Daenarys going mad, I didn't mind that per se. It just needed a hellova lot more specific lead up in a full season dealing with her sense of isolation in Westeros and the Westeros politicking as people she believed were close to her betrayed her or seemed to betray her.)



I did know that! But I only knew it because a youtube reviewer I like watching mentioned it in a review of one of the WandaVision episodes. I know her more as Jennifer Barkley from Parks and Rec. (grin) I think she's such an interesting actress--I hope she roles with some range. I think she does such interesting things with her face.

I was, because there could easily have been room for them, because there were so many beats I didn't need to shown.





I mean trite in the sense of "too obvious" or, alternatively, the sense of "unsurprising."

Because most viewers commenting online seem to want NOTHING about the show to be obvious. Annnnd most things about the show are obvious.

--Wanda's doing this out of grief
--Everyone's being mind-controlled
--Agatha all along
--Monica will get powers
--The guy in charge of SWORD is bad

etc.






I am against those complicated fan theories, and I am also against the way the show is actually doing most things.




I am quite tired of non-poor white governmental dudes doing shady things for power.

AND YET THAT IS A THING THAT HAPPENS LOTS OF TIMES PER DAY AND WE ARE ALL IN HELL BECAUSE OF IT so I can't fault art for holding up the mirror to it all it wants.




It is arguable whether or not it is bad to teach the audience that they should be watching to look for CLUUUUUUES so as to SOLVE the entertainment experience.

(In fact, it could be argued that QAnon gamified that.)

But there is no question that it is bad to do what LOST did, which is to teach the audience that they should be watching to look for CLUUUUUUES so as to SOLVE the entertainment experience WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE A GOOD ENDING FOR THE SHOW IN THE FIRST PLACE AND NEVER GET ONE BY THE END.



Yeah me neither.



I also did not watch it. I watched more of the ORIGINAL Galactica than I did the remake stuff.



Making a show out of GoT that they were unable to end to anyone's satisfation because they passed the original books is also not okay.





Tried watching the very first episode, hated it, will never go back.



Speaking of her face, I do not like how they're "witching her up" in that last shot of ep 8.

This show is unfair to witches, and "but the protagonist is also a witch-- a good witch!" does not make it okay. I have witches in both my facebook and twitter timelines, and they deserve better.

My brain's been pretty trashed w/ work this week and info-heavy GM posts are always tricky then, but I should have a post for Istvan by tomorrow even at the latest! If I don't, feel free to poke-remind me.

Will commentate more on other OOC posts soon too. Just been... a hellova week. Looking so forward to... two weeks from now.

Okay

I confess I did not foresee Monica getting powers from the get-go. I mean, maybe once they mentioned her cells or her labs being weird, but before that, nope.



How do you feel about the finale? (curious) Does it change the way you felt about the show one way or another?



Too true.




Hmmm. I feel like WandaVision, which did have a narrow arc, with a planned outcome that seemed to have always been planned, doesn't really slot into the Lost throwing out clues and mysteries just to deepen its own mythology without any sense of where it's going type. I take what you're saying about expectation versus reality, but amn't sure this is a thing that detracted from this show--at least for me. We're presented with a sitcom world, and it slowly widens to reveal that it's a world within a world, and the character's seem to slowly (in the case of Vision and Wanda a little, anyway) widen their experience/awareness too. I felt like we were invited along, but not like, taunted with clues that we--the viewing audience--should have been able to put together. But perhaps I feel this because I'm not very steeped in actual comics lore?



Never saw the original BSG either.



Yeah. Though I kept wondering if GRRM would feel relieved by somebody else taking the reins for 'ending' the thing, like pressure off, he can just do whatever he wants. And I don't necessarily think the show needed the books to be complete to do a good job once it had become its own beast. Unfortunately, it just... did not do a good job, story/writing-wise.



Oh man. It's one of my favourite comfort shows, but I started--as most people will tell you, I think--with the second season and went from there. The first season has a completely different tone from the latter ones. If you like Brooklyn 99 or The Office or The Good Place, I'd suggest giving it another go sometime. But I get it if that's just not your genre of sitcom.



Marvel doesn't seem very great to women adjacent to power, although I guess tbf it's not like it treats its menfolk with kid gloves.

Skipping ahead though since the show's over now, there was one thing I didn't like about the finale--which I thought was overall pretty satisfying, and more satisfying than I was prepared for it to be! Dang, but Paul Bettany is so charming. But I was annoyed by the 'we're family so we'll always be family' rot. I remember it sticking out to me particularly. What about people who need to escape their families, Disney? What about people whose parents are abusive or siblings are abusive and have decided to separate themselves from those toxic influences? Disney, man.

I watched a YouTube movie reviewer whose videos I like talk about the finale in terms of cementing Wanda as a villain, & liked that thought. Jeremy Jahns is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6gAm7O9vWs

He's very high energy.

Ah, well, no, understandable-- that's a read-all-the-Marvel-comics-already thing.





Made me like the whole thing even less.

I will admit, though, that this short article I read this morning made me look at things slightly differently, namely with more pity: https://www.thewrap.com/wandav...-worst-mcu-villains/






SHOULDN'T have needed them to be complete to do a good job going beyond where GRRM stopped.

Turns out, though, that they did need them to be complete to do a good job going beyond where GRRM stopped.




1. I grasp that there are shows where people should not watch the first X number of seasons, because the shows in question don't get it together until point Y. I, however, was not stopped from watching at S1E1, and now-- so much for that!

2. The Office: I have not watched The Office, and do not ever want to do so.

3. The Good Place: Tempting to me, but a beloved family member does not ever want to try watching it, and I don't wish to try it alone.

4. I... like... SOME of Brooklyn 9-9. It's a mixed bag that increasingly just falls apart and they seemed to just forget how to write it correctly and it got harder and harder to watch. Great cast (except for Terry Crews), great characters (including the character played by Terry Crews), writing got worse and worse.

My advice to people curious about B 9-9 would be: Jump in on S1E1, and then keep going and enjoy seasons 1 and as much as you can of 2. But beware, for Bad Episodes start really coming in hard and fast in Season 3, and I would recommend stopping and bailing out on any episode that smells bad (you can usually tell the bad ones right away-- they often involve "Frustration Comedy" or "Funny Humiliation" plots, or characters who just seem to be starting to act out of character)... I would recommend stopping at the end of S3E8, where Terry Crews' character and his wife have a third child-- that one's almost a return to the quality of the old days, or close enough to make you say "ah, someone remembers when this show was still good, and why, even though they're having a bit of trouble still doing it."

It's where I stopped.






Yeah



Agree



Agree (with you about that)


I strongly disliked the finale. Here is a small list of reasons:

1. Darcy was in it for like 4 seconds

2. We did not find the top hat and bunny and give them to Jimmy

3. "thank you for choosing me to be your mom?" What? Huh?

4. Why the hell did White Vision just yeet himself out of there and not come back

5. Who was the FBI informant that got Jimmy involved in this in the first place?

6. Boner joke. I suggested it was a big mistake to cast Peters because of how mad it's made the fans not to follow through at all. Beloved Family Member correctly said that that wasn't a big mistake at all (he was quite fun in the Halloween Spooktacular after all); that the mistake was the Boner joke, signifying "tricked you, suckers, ha ha, you're loser fanboys"

7. So does Ralph have to have Agnes live with him the rest of his life now? are they magic-married now or what

8. I knew a week (and two days) ago that Wanda would use copies of those runes to turn Agatha's magic off

9.  I kept saying "So now obviously Wanda will shrink the Hex to just her one block of neighborhood, or maybe just her house and yard"

kept saying it

kept saying it

then i was like "wait wth why get rid of it entirely--you have kids now!"

If Darcy showed up and showed Wanda an iPad and said "I'm so sorry ma'am but look, you're gonna destroy reality if you keep this thing going another couple days" THEN OKAY FINE

but i mean what the heck



So... Beloved Family Member said: "An unsatisfying marriage between How America Uses Family Sitcoms To Explore Heartbreak In A Pleasantville Way -and- Multi-Part Infomercial For Other Marvel Projects"

(Me: "like the unsatisfying marriage between Agnes and Ralph, amiright? ah? ah? waka-waka!")

And-- that figurative marriage was always expected. The fact that that marriage was expected did not cushion the blow of that marriage of two things being unsatisfying

1 2 and 3 were not a Marvel Infomercial, and that was good as far as it went.

And then it was fine that 4 was, because what they were doing in 1 2 and 3 wasn't enough on its own.

Then 5 and 6 seemed to be doing it right (well, enough), joining the two together.

Then 7 8 and 9... did not do it right.


Got into this as a warm-up for Loki's show, and now we have less-than-zero faith that they'll handle that right. Will not try.

("You have less-than-zero faith?" Yes. The opposite of faith. BAD faith. Faith that they'll mess it up.)

In reply to Istvan (msg # 119):



Ah, interesting.



Honestly, I think they needed D&D to be less controlling at the end and allow other people to take the reins, but this is a whole other debate. I find the way GoT ended really fascinating for a number of reasons, though.



Aw, too bad. If I ever get ahold of time travel, I'll save you from that decision! :grin: If I ever got ahold of time travel I would also:

go back in time to see various concerts and plays

That's pretty much most of what I'd use it for. I'm very tame. If I could save some animals from extinction, that would be cool too! But I don't imagine my hypothetical TC powers being that badass.



Why is BFM so disinterested in it? (curious)



Agree the writing quality slopes off, especially in the later seasons. I actually refused to watch Brooklyn 99 for a long time because I was not a big fan of the main actor, but then I actually wound up bingeing it when a relative died, and I flew across country to help my brother take care of all the stuff one has to take care of, so it's pretty tied with that time.

...gonna reply to rest later, just on my phone rn.

The vibe is that BFM doesn't particularly want to be asked that question.

My best guess is that it's because of an over-sensitivity//resistance to things that have been-- fairly or unfairly-- extremely hyped.

Did you ever happen to try watching Once Upon A Time? I think it might be the show I hate the most in a turmoil of disappointment b/c of this issue.



Weird delivery, yeah.



Hmm. I didn't think anything of it, per se. I figured more of a 'well heck now that I have my memories/the data back I gotta peace,' though it would've been nice to get... more... Maybe a lil' end cut scene.



I thought these were related, since he did have Quicksilver's powers--but admit could be wrong. Did think it was an eyeroll joke. :grin:



Plotholedundundun.



I was also surprised she didn't try to keep the house going! Not that that would have been a good life... Actually reminds me of a Sandman comic plot...



Hee. Interesting analysis!



See, I'm very torn. I love Loki a la the films I've seen and have no skin in the game re: comic portrayal. But. BUT. but but but. I do not have faith--and never did--in an antihero like Loki getting their own show and that show being good. I would love to be surprised. I hope I will be surprised. It was the first show I was told about in excited tones by friends, them fully expecting I'd just be happy--but no. Wary. V. wary.



Mm, I see. I have been called out on this behavior, and occasionally recognize it in myself, so understand. Y'ever hear of Gideon the Ninth? I drag my feet on reading it for this reason.

The Good Place is (imo!) very fairly hyped, though. I like it. A surprisingly well-contained show, w/ a cast that has good chemistry.

Noooooope. Nor any of the many similar shows.

There's a lot of things I don't bother with.




I mentioned to someone that the final cutaway scene should have been White Vision DESTROYING SWORD HEADQUARTERS (while unharmed employees safely flee)




I was already unhappy about "it's gonna involve TIME TRAVEL and stuff like that?! Oh no..."



Heard of, haven't tried.

Not because of the hype, just because I feel like "well if I read that, then good or bad, I'll be like 'great, a NEW writer to feel jealous of.'"

Hate everything about Loki the series.

Glad I didn't watch it.

I don't know anything about the Loki series at all. What everything about it do you hate? Color me curious!

Also, I stand ready--er, well, once I'm a little more "back" myself, obvs--to continue this adventure. I let it slack while your time was severely limited but if you're ready to inch on... I'll start Episode 2 with a summary of Episode 1, or whatever. (handwave!)

I seem to be doing well on time this week, at least...

--Loki is not like the character from Thor 1 nor Avengers 1 NOR is he like the Loki we all got used to
--I honestly think that the writer didn't watch anything but Avengers 1
--Bad pacing
--WAY WAY WAY WAY too much badly handled exposition
--Badly-written romance plot

I could go on

Did you watch Black Widow...?

No.

I didn't watch Loki.

I just read every single article, forum post, and video about it.

I'm not givin' those people my money this time. Wandavision was all three strikes. They're out.

I could have jumped back in at any time but everything I read screamed NOPE worse than Wandavision

So, uh... where's your life at these days?