Posts made by lordbelh

@Ghost said in Good TV:

Just want to say that these shows are my shows right now, and they're awesome:

• Brooklyn Nine-Nine
• Orville
• Deadly Class
• The Magicians
• True Detective

Watch this stuff.

The Magicians has consistently been one of my favorite shows since its inception. I haven't looked at season 3 of True Detective, as season 2 was shit. Or not shit, just a disappointment.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a masterpiece of comedy, right next to The Good Place as my favorite comedy shows.

I think Amazon's Counterpart should get some love.

@Arkandel said in Wheel of Time:

My - probably unpopular - opinion: Keep Aes Sedai playable by all, make male channelers playable only by application (i.e. allowing them only for select trusted folks and carefully curating their numbers), but permit them to be around.

My view is the exact opposite: Let anyone who wants to play a channeler, play a channeler. I've never been a fan of hiding the special character options behind restrictions. Inevitably they get hoarded. You'll end up with conflict, bitterness and the appearance (and quite often in actuality as well) of favoritism, all over who gets to be the super special. Beyond that, there's never any guarantee that even great players will portray great (or responsible) characters every time. Certainly being buddy with staff never is.

On the other hand, again, the only-female channelers is one of the things that would set Wheel of Time apart from most other games. You'll be cutting off one of the flavor points that really makes its power dynamics unique. It'll feel like a missed opportunity to me.

I do probably also have an unpopular opinion, though, in that I think channelers aughta be fairly OP. Go against one without a plan and numbers and you probably aught to lose badly. On the upside, Aes Sedai can't actually use the one power to hurt you anyway, so there's that! Unless you allow Black Ajah, but I'd probably restrict that to NPCs only.

@Seraphim73 said in Wheel of Time:

An interesting twist on this might be during the Aiel War

I was thinking just that. It allows you to center the game around Tar Valon, while all the nations and leaders will be present. You'll even have Aiel, which you don't really see outside this period and the time of the books. Its also close to the time of the books, so not much is different.

Honestly, I don't see why the game needs male channelers. The setting is pretty specific, and the contrast between how a small segment of females wield awesome world-changing power (and are either revered or vilified - and always feared - for it) while much of the lower-rung society is male dominated is one of the more interesting aspects. Or course it's not universal - in Andor women seem pretty darn independent, and the sea folk are ruled by women.

I used to love the setting when I was younger. And though the world itself is still pretty awesome, occasionally Jordan's writing and characterization (especially of some of the female characters) was pretty cringe-worthy when I reread all the books in an adult age in preparation for the Sanderson conclusion.

Anyway, I'd certainly give a WoT game a gander.

I'm sorta with @Sunny in that, while I'm very much in favor of someone telling me their limits, because I don't want to be an asshole wrecking ball, I also don't really want to hear someone tell me OOCly what kinks they want fulfilled either.

I'm perfectly TS open. That doesn't mean that I do it on every character I have, but if my character is down for it, then I am generally down for it too. Unless I'm not, in which case I'll just suggest we fade-to-black instead. Usually this is if the other person wants more of it than I do, and I'm more interested in getting that stuff over with so I can focus on the plotty or character growing stuff (which TS can certainly be part of, too, but not the 3rd time in a week.) One of the people I most enjoy to RP with hardly ever TS, but if the story takes us down into a romantic (not necessarily romantic romantic), we'll just fade to black on it.

Once or twice someone got overly attached, and projected the IC romance onto my OOC self, in which case I'll say I don't feel it's okay (it depends on the level of it). One time someone wanted to do shit I had no interest writing, and when I said it was cool that the characters did it, but I saw no reason to write it out, and s/he blew up on me, and I just extracted myself from the situation.

If people have boundaries, respect 'em.

I don't think I've ever discussed ts style with anyone, nor do I think I'd see much point in it. My TS writing is just an extension of what I write all the time. While there have been times that I've absolutely not been into the style of whatever partner I'm writing with, I never really felt it was my place to suggest they do it differently. I don't think I'd feel all that psyched about someone unsolicited directing me to write differently so they'd be more into it, though I suppose it depends on how they put it.

All that said, I'm pretty much on the second person bandwagon. Don't do it.

Edit to add:

1. I mostly play it by ear.
2. I write pretty explicitly in my regular writing, so my TS is the same.
3. Never stopped playing with someone over TS. Its never been too little, and if its become too much then I'll just Fade-to-black. I assume my opposite side'll let me know if they think its too much.
4. Discuss limits if you have them, when you think things might veer into sexual territory. Generally there's an escalation, at least in my experience.

@auspice It probably should be more transparent and open about the systems, though. I mean, I commend you for poking into it and just giving it your full go, but a lot of people tend to just follow what's easily out there and defined. I usually think everybody benefits if the systems and the expectations of staff are clearly written. It makes for less confusion, and less disappointments. They've taken some steps with that with suggesting people use requests if they have things on their minds, but still not the most effective way of doing it I think.

Edit to add: Of course some people will just sit around and expect to be spoon fed no matter what you put out there. But some just don't want to bother staff unnecessarily, too.

@gingerlily I don't know why, but I got a chuckle out of that.

Personally I like the idea of going into debt, and then solving that debt through favors. One vote for in the Major Council, or something or the other. I mean, it sucks failing, but everybody is going to fail at some point right? And it gives you a reason to interact with the other Houses if you're willing to do that.

Failing at the very beginning of course isn't ideal, since you have nothing banked to pay with, and the whole favor system isn't really in effect any. But as a long term incentive I like it.

@lotherio Yeah, I haven't been able to meet mine at all, even if we've tried to match up. I guess we're just two ships adrift in the sea!

I made a character and while it can sometimes be slow to get a scene (its not a huge game), the rp I've had has been enjoyable. I went with a mercenary because I honestly don't know if I have the time to be seriously invested. It's soon summer here, too, and if its a nice one I'll be outside enjoying it. Last one absolutely sucked.

I play a wide variety of characters. Slick politician, quiet schemer, bumbling fool, corrupt mercenary, lazy cop, etc, etc. I guess if I have a type its characters with pronounced flaws. I also like to look at what's on the grid already, and then I go against type. If there's a lot of villains on a game, I'll play a good guy, and vice versa. But even my good guys'll have serious flaws to their personalities. Ie, my good guy earnest cop who tried his best to help people who were in front of him, and who was absolutely faithful and dedicated to his spouse, was also lazy and complacent unless reality forced upon him a choice to do the right thing or horribleness might follow. If he wouldn't see an immense harm in just kicking back and taking a nap on the side of the road, he'd do just that. He was also addicted to pain killers, and had a hit-and-run in his background that kept gnawing on him in self destructive ways.

Sometimes I lose sight of the fact that I honestly have the most fun when I play characters who have big blind spots. I can get caught up in the moment and want to win the game, which I usually regret.

Edit to add:

When it comes to judging other people for the type of characters the play, I generally don't. If they make the character (and/or) the scenes interesting and believable, I don't care what they're playing.

@lithium The horror of someone thinking you're on the bandwagon.

40K will always have a special place in my heart. I loved my lil miniature army when I was a kid. I'd probably check it out if nothing else.

A combination of someone asking me to join a game, and having spotted them on MSB.

Yeah, the wiki is atrocious. Which is a shame, since there's obviously a lot of love and effort poured into the game and setting. Its one of the more interesting game concepts I've seen in a while, and is on its way of luring me back into some rp.

For example the theme files really shouldn't be buried, but given their own tab up where its easy to see and find.

@lotherio I was sad that show never got its final season.

I love the WoT universe. They were the very first fantasy books I read, and they became my gateway to reading for pleasure in English, as I couldn't wait for book 2 to be translated into Norwegian, and picked up the English version. But when I reread the books a few years ago it was obvious they could've use way better editing. Jordan started to get pretty repetitive in his writing, too. There are only so many references to women with their fists on their hips glowering I could take before it felt like I aught to do a drinking game.

Anyway, if I were to set a game in this world, I'd probably do it either 1) After the books, or 2) during the rise of a False Dragon sometime in the past.

I remember that I used to have issues with providing (or receiving) too much RL private information. It was born out of a general desire to keep my real life and my online world compartmentalized, having seen early some bad examples of people who'd lost all perspective. With time I stopped being too worried about it, though. Which is not to say I tend to be awfully forthcoming, but I don't shut down conversations about these things anymore, either.

1. I don't really care. My e-mail address does contain half my name, sort of. (Its written backwards and missing one part.)

2. I'm indifferent to people knowing my social statuses, too.

3. I can count the number of times I've shared a picture of myself on one hand. I don't think I've ever asked for someone else's picture. I've only video chatted with one person that I met through RP, and only a couple of times at that. I've never met anyone in person from RP (though I also live off the beaten path as far as RPer hot-spots go). I do voice-chat sometimes, though.

4. People can have my e-mail address if they need it.

5. I don't care if people know who I am on games. I listed my alts a while back on MSB, though I haven't updated that in a while (I haven't been RPing for a goodly long while now for various reasons). Admittedly I haven't always lived up to my own standards on behavior in the past, and it is an easy temptation to simply shed your old skin and try on a fresh and new one. But ultimately I prefer to just own it, good or bad. Not to say that reason to wish privacy is why everybody (or a majority, or many at all) might want privacy of alts, but that's where I get my occasional temptations. Mind, I do often like starting a game as an unknown - its harder to grab scenes or become involved in rp, but it also offers opportunities to break old patterns and forge some fresh new stories and learn some new perspectives. But I never really try to pretend to not be me, so much as avoid announcing it loud at the start.

Anyway, tldr; eh.

I've had plenty of characters I've enjoyed, but some do shine a bit brighter in my memory than others. On MUs, I suppose these three stand out the most:

Faolan O'Rourke, a rundown and lazy 'old hand' in The Reach's Police Department. I loved the Law Sphere and its sense of community, and the small beat cop moments that some pretty great storytellers wove. And of course the people were (if not universally) pretty great. At least the ones I had anything to do with. He nearly had a heart attack getting shot at, fell into a massive depression after being dragged into a ghost story (he was willfully ignorant of the greater world of darkness), and had a chance to educate some new grunts from the academy in the best ways of avoiding a) working too much, b) where to get the best food for extended lunch breaks, c) how to get other people to do your paperwork and d) survive!

David Wright-Phillips Austere, of RfK. I find it hard to count the brilliant moments of fun on that game, even if it had its share of great frustrations as well. He was only really supposed to be a Carthian to look after his ward, while trying to convert her into proper Circleness, but for various reasons he ended up deep in the Carthian conspiracies. I'm still a bit sad that the first version died before he had a chance to seize the reigns of Prince, since I'd have loved to see the fallout of all the double dealing scheming he'd been up to to secure it. Shoutout to @Ganymede 's Cai, who was delightful, and @Caryatid 's Nora, and @mietze 's cannibal ghoul (the things you can bond over). The dynamic he had with Baptiste was pretty great, too. Both working for the cause, but with all the tension of ambitions vampires with opposing religious views. They orchestrated the ascensions of the Movement and the overthrow of the Invictus. He always intended to make Baptiste pay for making David beg forgiveness for insulting Phineas, (Phineas' condition for being Baptiste's Sheriff and supporting his Praxis), though. No, neither being made Seneschal or the boon covered the burning humiliation of that moment, not even by a long shot!

Alphard Pollux Black, of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I pretty much made him just for a lark. He was obnoxious, and terrible, and quite easily manipulated by preying on his various bigotries or oversized ego. Both happened quite a lot, which I greatly enjoyed. He was also the butt end of many a joke, and that was sort of the point, too. I remember best Ria, and Medusa, Andromena, Douglas and Julian, and all that Harry Potter hijinxing.

With honorable mentions to brutish Victus Thrax, the always cowardly Corrigan (Pete, you should've listened when he said he was going to run away. RIP, buddy), the always dependable Ser Harold Charlton, and vamp-hater Recket with his endless supplies of fireballs.