Best posts made by mietze

For the first time in 18 years I have had two blocks of time where I am the only human in my house. I have been able to get the most essential part of decluttering/purging of unused belongings in huge chunks rather than small progress per month almost done.

I am a (people loving and social) introvert homebody with 4 kids and a work at home spouse (who's been out of town on biz all week). It is so wonderful to finally have my truly-alone-and-at-home energy recharging for the first time in sooooo very long!!

I do think that people need to have a certain level of tolerance with uncomfortable situations/history/even history revision in order to play here. (I'll admit it's one of the things that draws me to it, so I don't think that's a bad thing.)

I admire how the developers have worked pretty diligently to put in some safety bumpers around most everything BUT detailed ones in Asia (but I'm sure after this discussion it's coming). I think there is some risk that some players will conflate real history (especially not really that understood history) and let it inform play, but it seems like that could be handled on a case by case basis. I'm guessing there might be some of that at work here with the Japanese military PC--either they weren't super aware of or assumed that too might have been given some softening by the alternative history view about Hirohito, but I also appreciate that the IRA is not given a lot of press and the crackdown/harsh imprisonment policies in Northern Ireland with the British Government is not in the timeline and presumably has not happened, so we're also not setting up for the Troubles and terrorism either, and given the huge change to women's rights and social status I'm not really certain that war rape is a strategy in-game either on any side. There's not a lot of detailing about how colonialism is playing out now, but I also assume THAT may be gentled as well, in regards to racism and social status.

What I do worry a little about is people leaping to assumptions about the motivations of people playing PCs that would make them uncomfortable if real timelines were kept, and then calling for their heads OOCly. That happens on every game, and if I didn't have a certain amount of tolerance for that sort of thing or tons of "you're not playing it right, listen to me I'm a history major/hobbiest" then I wouldn't be playing here. (Thank goodness there hasn't been much of that if any that I've seen, but I am sure at some point I will!) I love historical themes (but not strict adherence to historical accuracy), I find alternative history really interesting.

I like that there is tension built in, but the intent seems to be very clear to me in looking at the changes made to the culture and the timeline very deliberately make it so that you really aren't going to have people allowed to play gross stuff. I would worry more about it creeping in over time if staff wasn't so obviously invested and responsive.

Just binge watched the last two Harry Potter movies with my teens. Sure, there was some dorky showing off about how unimpressed they were but when the first movie was over they asked if they could watch the second and the whole family minus the 3 year old (we didn't start until 9:30ish so he'd been long asleep) was camped out on the couches together.

It was nice. I'm sure I'll want to kill them tomorrow because of obnoxious squabbling. But tonight was super sweet.

Having just enough energy to get the final stuff crafted for a project I've been working towards for a long time now. It's kind of silly in the grand scope of things, but it's led to a lot of character growth, interesting RP (albeit a long absence for the last two month), and I think I'll feel pretty proud when it's done, and I think there will be a few folks who really enjoy it. It's nice to do stuff even if I'm still limited greatly in my actual on grid playtime right now.

@Groth it also can be a real shitty way to treat people, too.

Sadly in our areas there are often dogwhistle descriptions or just people outright saying that they fear their precious white children will be taken by brown people/"illegals" in particular. Might wanna keep your eye closer on your kid's coach,youth pastor, and relatives/family friends than "people who don't belong", lady. But way off topic. Still irritating!

When I have seen it crop up most often it is usually in the context of decrying horrible things like helmet requirements, vaccinations, anti-bullying and anti-discrimination discussions in schools, and usually with a dig at wimpy "millenials" (as if they were children) who need participation trophies and to be wrapped in bubble wrap.

Very seldom is it ever in the context of having compassion for other parents or respecting the bodies or needs of children.

I can think of many examples right now of admittedly white players policing how black and brown PCs were being RPed as well as their back stories, while not realizing that the players of those characters were brown or black. This is why I think people should be careful about assumptions, because even do-gooder "ally" people can slip into the very old cultural habit about stepping in to "correct" other people without bothering to learn more about that person, and thet tend to assume the unseen person is also white. And then also sadly mostly digging in their heels when they in turn are called out on that.

Scallops, angel food cake, classic fondue, Mashed potatoes (and baked potatoes but I grant that the crispy skin of the baked potato is the best part), vanilla or coconut ice cream, divinity, meringues, coconut sticky rice, congee, jicama with like a little lime juice squirted on it...

She had skin like a tender scallop?
Her complexion was as pale as a big bowl of congee before anyone put the toppings on...

Doesn't super have a nice ring to it though.

His cheeks were as robust and smooth and tender as a porkbun!

I do not think it's realistic for a prp runner or staffer at a medium to large game to keep track of individual triggers. Some people have a social gift for doing so, but it doesn't come naturally for a lot of people.

I do think it harms nothing to give a content disclosure for graphic gore/violence or sexual content (rape, seductive NPCs, detailed descriptions of sexual activity in the background or foreground). I also think its good as a GM to always have a parachute out for a player that is non disruptive as possible either because a lot of unexpected issues can come up whether that's a trigger or needing to bail for a family emergency or a migraine/gutbuster diarrhea/someone has a kid throwing up type of situation. One person bailing shouldn't disrupt the scene as callous as that sounds and I find that genuine people are relieved by that and the problematic people don't pull that shit when they realize it won't deep six everything.

Why a video that includes kind of gross dismissal of trans folks along with other issues, something i suppose i should be prepared to deal with here by now but is nevertheless disappointing, needs to be used to initiate that discussion (which has been initiated many times here and is a good thing to have imo, multiple times) I dunno. I guess it does unintentionally illustrate why its so hard to have real discussions like that on a game though and how easy to slip up and forget known experiences of others.

Hence why I think that its good to have no harm no foul parachutes for any given scene and disclose level of graphicness and common squicks. If someone is using it as a way to escape consequences it can be noted and passed on to deal with by other means, that kind of issue will never be deal with in any given scene anyway.

I'm a flowery poser, myself. But if I'm constantly shoving it down people's throats when they don't like it because it's my "style"--honestly, I think that means I'm a horrible RPer, no matter how awesome of a writer I am. There's a very distinct difference. I've learned to adjust myself to the enjoyment/time expectations of my companions as I can, and to attempt to not be super selfish. There's a happy medium to be found. Terse posers who like to contribute to everyone in the group enjoying themselves should do the same.

And hopefully everyone can agree that psychic poses are very dicey, and pretty much almost always a hallmark of a shitty RPer (note, I did not say writer) when they're used to provide negative/snide commentary that the other PC can't possibly react to except to do it back. That's not present in the example given though.

I think it's used as a slur far more than it is factual. To the point now that if someone says to me "don't play with that persons they're just after TS" absent factual observation (like dropping into once sentance sloppily punctuated or non attentive poses as soon as there's no longer a penis/vagina in the room), then it partially raises a red flag for me with the person engaging in the whisper campaign.

But you know, if they are all about the TS /who the fuck cares/. I don't. It doesn't make them a less nice person than the "OMFG I NEVER" people.

Frontier settings RL were often a far cry from the rest of societal norms, by necessity. Also keep in mind that "it was like x back then" history was not true for anyone but rich people.

Women worked and were expected to. The average age of marriage in the American colonies, esp outside of the Deep South would be shockingly old to most people's assumptions. Sex before marriage was common, if people bothered with formal marriage at all, and even amongst the puritans it wasn't uncommon for brides to be pregnant (since sometimes that was the only way to liberate oneself from their family in order to marry).

If you tried to do that on a "historical" MUSH people would whine that you were modernizing it.

So really I think you can take influences where you like, do what you wish, if some people don't like it hopefully they'll self select out and those that feel the need to loudly complain and disrupt can be shown the door.

Unbelievable.

While I'm sure that lordbelh could have phrased things differently, being human, banning him like that? That's enough for me to never darken the door of that game.

You guys have lost a mature, even-handed, inclusive player; who does not stir drama, play favorites, pass on gossip, etc--as proven across multiple years and games.

I'm sorry you were treated that way, lordbelh. Thank you for being open (and charitable) about your part in it.

@arkandel, that’s not really what many women experience.

It’s more like going in for chest pains, extreme fatigue, night sweats and being patted on the hand and offered an anti-depressant and a referral to a bariatric surgery program (that I wasn’t even close to qualifying for since at that time I was only about 50 lbs overweight. And being told that I’d probable feel better if I looked nice and got more exercise.

I was experiencing autoimmune hemolytic anemia. By the time found a doctor who was willing to believe I was fat not stupid, I needed blood transfusions and probably should have been hospitalized.

Many women have even worse stories to tell.

Sorry we are no fun to troll anymore, but honestly you are kind of boring too. Sorry.

Stuffing friends and chosen family full of awesome food is really my favorite pastime.

Really, I also don't see the problem with a game runner who wishes to advertise on MSB coming by every few months to bump up their thread and say what's currently going on. Games (hopefully) are dynamic. What you advertise at opening hopefully will be a little different over time.

I think a Game Closed addition to the title to be sufficient. Or an indicator that a locked thread (which is obvious on sight) shows that a game is closed.

@Carex honestly, if a place looks boring to you (in addition to your concept not being allowed right now), then why not just be glad that you dodged the bullet of putting in extra work to make an app for a place you'd just fizzle out/be meh about within a few weeks?

Clearly some people really enjoy it, but that's irrelevant really. You can't make yourself like something, and if you're already feeling negatively about the place and wondering out loud why anyone would find it interesting, why not just dodge the bullet and find another place?

My partner is out of state at a business conference for the week, and gets back less than 24 hours before we drop our first college student going back to school at his school. I have the other two college kids working crazy hours to get as much $$$ as they can before they go back to school next thursday. It is blackout week for taking time off from work, so I'm not (thank goodness all the college students are home this week to get my youngest on and off the school bus). There are just a lot of last minute things that need to get done this week (flu shots, prescription refills, other appointments, ect) which means this week through Saturday I am going to be more stressed out and fried and kind of scatterbrained than usual.

It's fine, I'm fine, nothing is on fire RL or otherwise, but this is also a time kind of hitting me in the feels so I will be monitoring here less frequently until this Sunday, because I don't want my feels hitting me here too.

Please keep pinging Gany or me for issues or reporting posts so that they're easier to spot, it's such a big help for catching things when we are juggling a lot.