Posts made by Hella

@Runescryer said in Good TV:

@Hella Can't wait for A Game Of You next season...

Barbie was great and Martin Tenbones looked and sounded amazing.

Agreed. Stephen Fry was also a highlight for me. But he always is.

@reimesu said in Good TV:

Only finished the first three eps, but holy shit.

The Sandman is fulfilling all of my wildest dreams.

That ENDING though.

Season 2 is when please

Wasn't sure whether to put this here or in TV, but it's got a few good chuckles.

Gandalf ROASTS the Rings of Power trailer

@Derp said in Highlights of Ares?:

@Devrex

But that's another benefit of Ares. All the communications are easy to pull back up and go 'look, we definitely agreed on this thing here and that has not been happening so I think that we should work on wrapping this up asap'.

I really REALLY love that, too. I also love that logs are share-able. I think it's amazing to be able to read the stories being told outside of your own, if people are comfortable sharing them.

I've been exploring the code and features of Ares and have come across some features that I think are really cool, that had me going 'Oh, that's useful! I wish I'd had that in X situations!' Stuff like separate windows for PMs and the web-based platform as a whole, and how everything is integrated really cohesively.

And I'm wondering if anyone else has any epiphany moments with aspects of Ares that they love, that they'd care to share; favourite features, obscure helpful features, etc.

@reimesu said in 2022: A New Year, New Dead Celebrities:

According to a tweet from George Takei, we lost Nichelle Nichols today.

All I saw at first was 'George Takei' and I nearly cried.

RIP Nichelle

Helix has graciously fixed the code issue that wasn't allowing folks to finalize their sheets/buy new gifts. Everything is up and running smoothly and there's RP to be had in Lyonesse, specifically around the Chromatic Order.

@TNP said in What Would it Take to Repair the Community?:

@Derp said in What Would it Take to Repair the Community?:

Let's not pretend that some of the BMD users have no axe to grind.

Honest question, can you blame them? Our board - and by our I mean all of the community - had their board basically hijacked out from under us. It was decided pretty much unilaterally that MSB would be something it never had been in any of its past incarnations. I've been here for all of them going back tot he original WORA before Nymeria got Tasteless Descs shut down.

I'm not sure I get the logic behind this. It kind of feels like saying a MUSH would be 'their' MUSH, just because they play on it.

There've been a ton of threads about this in the past and the general consensus (that I've seen) is that you wouldn't get to dictate rules of a MUSH just by playing on it (unless you were asked to do so, under a specific set of circumstances, I guess?) Otherwise, their game, their rules.

I don't see how MSB is different but I'd be interested in hearing that viewpoint.

@Tirit said in What Would it Take to Repair the Community?:

On a lighter note, what about the communities perceived inability to adapt to newer ideas of doing things like how to run games, and using newer technologies?

How can we appeal to a younger generation to bring them into our love for MUs?

It would be kind of cool if there was some form of promotion to capitalize on what seems like the resurgence in popularity of 'nerd culture'. Platforms like Critical Role, or things like all the new D&D-based/LotR-based TV shows and movies.

@hobos said in What Would it Take to Repair the Community?:

@Kestrel

Anyway I'm... so tired of this.

I've seen the toll it's taken on your mental health, and while I don't intend to speak on the details in public, now or ever again, just know that I have appreciated your support. But on my behalf, I hope you don't feel the need to engage with it any further, to the detriment of your own balance and well-being. I said what I needed to say and people will believe or disbelieve according to what feels right to them. I think it's okay to just let them do so.

"If" by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

I get inspired to write and RP through reading the incredible words of others so I'd love to read some of people's favourite poetry, if they'd care to share.

I read Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman today and fell in love with the poignant urgency of her words.

Hymn for the Hurting
by Amanda Gorman

Everything hurts,
Our hearts shadowed and strange,
Minds made muddied and mute.
We carry tragedy, terrifying and true.
And yet none of it is new;
We knew it as home,
As horror,
As heritage.
Even our children
Cannot be children,
Cannot be.

Everything hurts.
It’s a hard time to be alive,
And even harder to stay that way.
We’re burdened to live out these days,
While at the same time, blessed to outlive them.

This alarm is how we know
We must be altered —
That we must differ or die,
That we must triumph or try.
Thus while hate cannot be terminated,
It can be transformed
Into a love that lets us live.

May we not just grieve, but give:
May we not just ache, but act;
May our signed right to bear arms
Never blind our sight from shared harm;
May we choose our children over chaos.
May another innocent never be lost.

@reimesu said in Book suggestions:

I just read "Uprooted" by Naomi Novik and it pretty much blew me away. It didn't go where I thought it would, which made it a lot better, and it was a wild ride.

I know, I'm late to the party.

Naomi Novik is an amazing storyteller! I've really enjoyed all her books, and if you haven't, check out her Temeraire series. So good

Along those same lines, if you haven't already, you could try Madeline Miller. I just finished reading 'Circe' and every sentence feels like an artform. It was beautiful and engaging.

Ultimate wish fulfillment.

Displaying empathy and compassion for your friends is really important,definitely not a bad thing. And at the same time, shouldering another person's problems and absorbing their stress will eventually wear you out if it's happening a lot/you're not able to do the same in return.

There are a couple of strategies, like be supportive but put the responsibility back on their shoulders. Something like, "You're a smart person. I am confident you will figure this out and come out stronger than ever." Or whatever makes most sense for the situation.

You could also set boundaries/an alternative while still employing compassion. At a time (not game night, in the moment) you guys are just chill and hanging out or chatting, you could say something like 'Hey, you know I'm here for you, right? Why don't we set up a time to just chat and catch up about <insert issues> so that we can focus on stress free fun on game night?'

It's also really important you don't take on a role you're not qualified for. Suggest professional counselling and if they don't accept, at least you tried. If they blow up? It's tough but fair to recognize that not all friendships last. This person might not be a good fit for your life right now, and that's okay, too. It doesn't mean it's forever. It just means right now you also need to take care of yourself. It's not their fault. It's not your fault. It's just a crappy situation, as Faraday says.

@arkandel said in How can we incentivize IC failure?:

However swiss cheese model approaches can absolutely apply. For example while still building a game ask some questions:

• Which in-game rewards (positions, XP, etc) will the game offer? How are they going to be distributed and why?
• How do we engage players in structured plot (PrPs, staff-ran scenes)?
• How do we match reward to risk?
• How do we handle character death?

And so on.

I think this would be really great in a thread on its own, on questions to ask/answer for folks interested in guidance on setting up their own games.

@silverfox I think that's amazing. I read a quote once about adoption and I thought it was a good summation:

"For our kids, we meet them with a compassion and understanding that gathers up all the broken pieces of their stories and holds them together in love."

Good luck to you both. It's a great and hard thing you're doing.

Technoblade. RIP King.

Maybe not specifically a celebrity but a hard loss none the less for anyone in the Minecraft community. He was a legend and a huge part of this hobby, and his presence will be missed.

Fuck cancer.
Technoblade never dies.

My kid graduated elementary school today (grade 7) and her artwork won the contest to be on the front of their yearbook. I'm proud and everything, but she's ecstatic beyond all belief and seeing her that happy and proud of herself is the RL thing I love the most.