Please put the name of the story in the subject line.
Dicey! I love it! I think my favorite part overall is your use of the spiders. When she was talking to them on the bag of sugar, I didn't expect them to be anything more. Then the welts and searches... wow.
I love how your story hangs together; it makes sense; each chapter leading seamlessly into the other. I love your language, too.
I'll be honest, the idea of this child being the sister of Alanni (?) and coming to Qeynos.. Uh.. Hm! Should be interesting, to say the least.
Keep writing! I gotta hear more.
Gorgeous from beginning to end. Like your other story, this one..each paragraph..builds on the last to an unexpected, awesome last word. I am envious of how you take the lore of Norrath and weave it into your stories. Somehow you bring normalcy and an everyday feel to your stories that I can't imagine. Of course there must be a place where monks are trained. (or, of course there must be orphanages in Freeport)
Some of my favorite lines:
Jystana had tried, for hours to find this peace, this tranquility, but all she found was pain
The monk had left her alone with her palm and the emptiness it held, a Teir'dal statue, in the middle of an otherwise empty room.
This had not been the first time that Jystana had been left to examine that emptiness that seemed to fill both her hand and her mind
...her inability to fill her palm with anything but air forgotten until the next test.
I want to meet this monk.
Thank you Lyrima!
I'm not too sure you'd want to meet Jystana, she sort of turned her experiances in on themselves and became a rabid Innorruk follower. She's a bruiser actually since there are no Freeportian monks. She is calm and purpose driven, but too bad her purpose is to follow the god of hate. There is also her troll friend that she follows around who is fond of pickling anyone he kills and eating them.
Interesting thing about her story is that it was written before the Lore for DoF started to come out, and of course SoE decided to bring back the Ashen Order in that expansion. There is actually a place now where you can see the monks training.
I chose the Ashen Order as a nod to PoCobblepot's EQlive character that was an monk of the Ashen Order, whose story when he retired that character was that he went to Everfrost to try and teach the children of his wife's people to follow Quellious. It seemed fitting to me that from his story would come a branch of the Ashen Order willing to try and teach all children regardless of race. Who knew that SoE was bringing them back.
Edana may betray. She was made to try out the necromancer class, but her story is evolving away from that. She seems to me that she is headed to the summoner path that only Qeynos teaches. She's got to face her father first, and it isn't going to be pretty, and then she is going to spend a few years before she leaves learning all there is to know of her family, who were not very nice people being slavers and all (again a nod to a story from EQlive, this time one of my mains). Right now she isn't aware that she is causing the spiders to do what she wants them to do, and she isn't really in control of them. I suppose if I really betray her depends on how she reacts to the knowledge that her vivid imagination caused others hurt, and how justified she feels it to be. If she reacts the way that I want her to, she will betray and be contrite for the unintentional hurt. If as I write it she doesn't, well then she may not be the nicest person to head to Qeynos, but she may still come anyway! I just hope she doesn't embrace her father's path.
Dicey, you are a true story teller. Wow :)
More more more! Amazing stuff !! :)
I'm glad I waited this long and read it in one fell swoop. Waiting for the chapters would make me crazy :kia
MOOORE!
*standing ovation*
YAY! Well done :kia
I enjoyed the alliteration too :)
I really like how you wove the newbie experiences and the lore of Tanvu into Jezerai's story. I'm always so envious of how folks can do that.
It is from these types of writings that I gain an image, an idea of what these towns and areas might have been like. And then I can start imagining the worlds of my girls.
But I really need folks like you Alanni, to see it first. So thank you, thank you for writing it and for sharing it.
:kia
Jezerai's Tale (http://sagafamily.org/index.php?topic=2506.msg25795#msg25795)
I am amazed at the vivid imagery in the most recent installment of this tale. Something got in my eye while I was reading it. A speck of dust maybe. Yeah. That's the ticket.
:'(
Kami! I am loving your quest journal! I get the feeling you are a story teller and I am a very willing audience! Keep it up!
Wow :o Thank you! :tan:
Wonderful story! I really like the vividness of your writing and the use of imagery. It makes a definate impression and I can't wait to see what happens!
Nicely done! Thank you for this addition and I hope to see more!
Love your use of language and how you manage to convey the same people/concepts using different ways/language--something I"m always trying to do.
Loved how you gave both perspectives of the sides of the raid; your violent imagary is almost too much for me. I was fine until the momma and her boy :( I was tracking along so well in my head/images that reading that took me to the place of nightmares. Heh.
Momma of small boy here. :(
Even so, all the markings of an amazing author and story. Thank you for sharing. Please write more !
the pink wash cloth and warm breathing blankets...love it love it love it.
Wow, it keeps getting better with each installment! Very much enjoyed the ending of that last one.
Everything I've read here is very good, it all motivates me think and write more to define my characters to have a background worthy of my guildmates in Saga :)
Yes. Wow. Nicely done.
*nod*
Really well thought out and tied up beautifully.
Almost no need to go on, except I'd love to know what happened to Remus. Although I can imagine.
Hm.
You set a HIGH standard Aukai! Not sure how I'll tie Lyri's story up :kia
ahh THANK you ! :)
You remind me with your quick, well written story that length does not a good story make!
I wonder, though, how a Bear Shaman happens with no talent? IS trying enough? Or is this the setting of the stage for interesting escapades? :)
AHHHHHHHHHHHH!
You are all such GREAT writers!
Loooove the story of Khale - 'imagined he had a choice' Yes! And the use of the trees and their meanings..did you make that up or have some source ?
Intriguing..what does he need to survive to become a Bear Shaman?
Marvelous writing and story!
I'm actually using Ogham lore for the meanings for trees, and the style in which he attempts to fortell the future. As far as what it takes to be a Bear Shaman I think he has been chosen by the spirits of his clan to become one, he has been taught some things, but still has a ways to go to truely awaken the power within him.
I'm working on the next portion, I'll try to get in up today :)
Hhahahaha I love the glimpses into the insanity you cook up in your adventures...!
I can only imagine the conversation about the fae wings ;D
I'm looking forward to hearing more about Jez, the long lost daughter of the worlds greatest bard. ever. heehee
Oh, that Vox story was hilarious!
QuoteHe said "NO! Just stay put and they will have an easier time finding our corpses."
"Corpses?! I'm not even DEAD YET!"
:2funny:
Bou! Oh my goodness, that "Forbidden" story got me all flustered and I'm at work!!
*fans herself to cool off*
Well done, lady! :smitten:
Your story is very unsettling and well-written! Thank you!
Thanks, I'm trying to be tasteful with everything, not be overly stereotypical (which is nearly impossible to avoid when doing fantasy stuff really), and yet still tell a decent tale. Hopefully I'm balancing it, but it's hard to make this a condensed version...I could easy have made each vignette it's own chapter in a book.
Kindly tell Jarith to hurry, I'm dying for more!
Right, I am now starting to put Trial of Fury ingame- for anyone who wants a copy of this for their libraries, please just get me whatever book you would like it in and I'll copy and paste accordingly. Any further story will also appear ingame - and I'll probably now have to keep copies myself so I remember what it is I actually wrote.
Cheers.
Well written, Eliezer of Erudin, and the closing sentiment was a special touch.
Very well done! Very Jystana! :bdg
Awww Baby Borus! Great job, Bou! Loved the dramatic letter-burning ending! I bet Missa always wanted to do something like that, it's very romance novel-esque, Missa's favorites! :smitten:
Re: "Soul Searching"
Nicely written, Bou. A great reflection (if you'll pardon the pun) on the whole concept of some of the less savory souls.
I'm loving these SWTOR journals/stories. If I can't be playing with you all in game, I can use these to fuel my falling-asleep musings and dreams.
Vilidius--So amazingly entertaining. I just want to hear every sordid detail of poor Vilidius' debased tedium. I feel so guilty laughing at his plight. Can't wait to see how the hairy robe comes out.
Tanar-Re--I love a good gambling story. Is Galaxy your own invention, or is it part of the SW universe? Very nicely thought out. I also like the references to "Pops". It's good to remember that while Han may have been a solo artist (pun intended), many smugglers are not. I love the hard-boiled tone, too. I think the noir-ishness of smugglers are one of the major things drawing me to the class.
More, more, I want more!
--Mixxi
Thanks Mixxi!
I'm getting quite a kick out of writing the backstory on this guy. I doubt it'll ever get old. It's a simple enough concept and it's sure been done before, but there are layers of it still to be explored.
I'm almost embarrassed at the scope of what I'm doing, by contrast, to Tanar-Re. I know it's not a contest but that's quite a narrative you've got happening. I haven't even absorbed it yet. Read it on my blackberry the first time and it needs another pass.
Now I'm off to read your first entry too. I think we've got a great start to things, and we're building a library I wouldn't be ashamed to stand on as our guild's advertisement to the TOR player base.
well i'm glad you're both enjoying it so far. this was sort of an attempt to get a grip on Tanar personality wise. i might be going a bit oo jade since this is when he's just starting out- though i only touched on it early about him going solo for only a couple months. he's about 19ish at the time so maybe i need him to be not quite so much of a hard case just yet :knuppel2:
or i can pretend he's trying to act older than he is to show off since he's up against folk a lot older than he is in the card game. holochip game! i said chip not card!
and yes Galaxy is something i completely made up though it's pretty much based on poker. i couldn't think of sabacc at the time and wanted some sort of card/chip game (you don;t know how many times i had to go back and keep changing "card" to "chip" for this- like the previous paragraph). only real original part is the black hole card- sort of like a double wild card.
i noticed as i kept going Tanar was starting to slip into a bit of an old west gunslinger type (shows up more later on in the tale) but i think that'll work for him. would have posted a bigger chunk but i wasn;t sure where a good cut off for the next part would be so i figured that was a good enough stopping point for now.
haven;t had a chance to read anyone else's yet though. need to catch up when i get a chance. :)
Vilidius,
Nice story. Good and gritty. Kipper reminds me of Sven Tveskoeg, the anti-hero from David Gunn's Death's Head series. I like the name "Kipper"...that way when you die in an operation we can cry out in our best Knute Rockne, "Win one for the Kipper!"
I don't RP on boards very often, so I'm certainly looking for comments, feedback, encouragement to Vifi Sunfell - Pernam Minor (http://sagafamily.org/index.php?topic=5081.0) I like writing little bites at a type, probably because I prefer reading little bits at a time rather than 3-4 screens of text.
Also, if anyone has ideas about an RP I can do after the intro is done, let me know.
I think I prefer to keep groups smaller and with a good deal of communication behind the scenes to make it less disjointed for non-participants.
I have no problem being in something for 30% of the thread - I don't feel that once a character is introduced in a thread that it means that character needs to be entirely present at the end of the thread. Think of it like a guest appearance.
I like the story so far. I like small stories, since there were so many small victories and defeats during these wars. My own thread is just some illegal arms being imported to the separatists on Ord Mantell, nothing too epic. I think someone just doing what they always do is a good way to get to know characters.
Given how seemingly random Val's travels are while he wanders the galaxy investigating corruption until the strand runs dry and he moves to another, Val is capable of popping in and out of stories randomly as he comes in to get whatever evidence he needs and then is on his way, so if you need people for a thread I can put in some posts.
Val is my best friend.
:smitten:
More coming later after I get work done.
Still trolling for more comments. :D
Well aside from enjoying the story, I think the way you split it up is kind of nice. It is like reading a forum RP. Personally I am much too paranoid to do that. :D
@Ryscandor
Re: Vifi Sunfell - Pernam Minor
I quite enjoyed those passages with Vifi's confrontation against the Sith! Decent fight/action is one of the most challenging things for me to write. Nicely done.
Thank you! I appreciate it. I have never been good at writing non-dialogue prose. So I've been taking a good deal of time to write each bit.
:smitten:
Hopefully I'll pen the finale tonight.
I like the dialog and thought put behind the Master's teachings.
When are you setting this? Around the game start (10 years after the Sacking of Coruscant) or around the time of the Sacking of Coruscant?
Thank you! I never intended for it to be quite that long.. the story is set after the sack of Coruscant, but before the start of the game. I should have made that clear. The two have already relocated to Tython.
Quote from: Gourls on November 16, 2011, 11:46:23 AM
Thank you! I never intended for it to be quite that long.. the story is set after the sack of Coruscant, but before the start of the game. I should have made that clear. The two have already relocated to Tython.
No, I don't think you needed to make that clear in the writing, but I was curious, I guess. ;D
Quote from: Askari on November 17, 2011, 07:40:31 PM
Arkturo stowed his credentials with one hand while pointing to his gun with the other, "This... is a modified Czerka Arms A55-KYLR Assault Cannon with a custom overcharged plasma cell system and a rotating gravitic carbine barrel. I use this gun to aggressively deliver a plasma-charged enema to pieces of s**t that constipate my mission."
This. This one piece of dialog just got me to worship the ground upon which Arkturo treads. Thanks. ;D
I must agree with Jasyn. I am a fan of Arkturo.
Quote from: Gourls on November 17, 2011, 10:04:12 PM
I must agree with Jasyn. I am a fan of Arkturo.
Yay, thanks!
I was having "one of those days" at work... so I decided to give myself a time out, and write this little episode about my upcoming Trooper. I plan to play him very Light side, but occasionally he'll have a "Lawful-Good Paladin" moment, when it comes to enemies of the Republic.
He'll politely ask once for their cooperation and/or surrender. But only once.
Really enjoying the work. :D
Rumze--LOVE this line:
"I forgot to do anything but relax tonight."
Greatness. Your Master IS wise.
LOVE it. Must have more of young (determined, stubborn) Catri.
Didn't see that little ending coming and I do like being surprised as a reader. :tan:
Wow.
I really can't say anything else.
Quote from: Alirrin on December 23, 2011, 08:25:40 PM
Wow.
I really can't say anything else.
Hmm. I hope that's a good 'wow', not a bad 'wow'. I just sort of wrote it and posted it, but now that I read it back through it's a wee bit melodramatic and over the top. Ah well, I guess that was my mood at the time.
Quote from: Askari on December 24, 2011, 05:31:41 AM
Quote from: Alirrin on December 23, 2011, 08:25:40 PM
Wow.
I really can't say anything else.
Hmm. I hope that's a good 'wow', not a bad 'wow'. I just sort of wrote it and posted it, but now that I read it back through it's a wee bit melodramatic and over the top. Ah well, I guess that was my mood at the time.
From me, it's a good wow.
WOW.
Quote from: Askari on December 24, 2011, 05:31:41 AM
Quote from: Alirrin on December 23, 2011, 08:25:40 PM
Wow.
I really can't say anything else.
Hmm. I hope that's a good 'wow', not a bad 'wow'. I just sort of wrote it and posted it, but now that I read it back through it's a wee bit melodramatic and over the top. Ah well, I guess that was my mood at the time.
A good wow, for sure. Very well done.
Thanks Mixxi! Belated I know :x I was busy writing mail when you sent me a tell ingame and you were gone when I noticed and then I had to leave on holiday.
Catri,
"Wildcat" great name for a ship!!!
Enjoyed the read.
Askari,
Cannot copy/paste but really enjoyed when "Fungus" brought up IFF targets to Random's display. Fun stuff.
Jezerai,
"He tried to wink, but blinked both his eyes instead."
I was already enjoying the story but that really put me in the moment. Great story telling!
I'm really enjoying "From the Depths" in the tavern. The GW2 world is very unfamiliar to me, but between this and the novels, I'm starting to get a feel for this new place.
Mixxi, I love "Sigla, Blixx, and the whole damn story". Nice character intro. I assume Sigla and Blixx are your planned characters, and the mopey kid was an NPC? Or is he a PC, too?
I'm so glad you liked it! I'd been struggling to find a toehold in the GW2 world, but I finally just forced myself to start something. I was surprised at how easily--once I'd taken that first step--things started to come together. I wanted Sigla to be a traditional Norn warrior, but have some reason she would become an engineer (which seems totally un-Norn-like to me).
Blixx invented himself. I had absolutely no intention of playing an ancient, cranky Asura inventor/thief with hairy ears and a thing for big women. He just showed up at that bench in the tavern. The only part of him that came from me was his name, which was my homage to Blixkin Entopop, the halfling bug collector who wandered around Misty Thicket with Ember the fire beetle. As for the bird, Sigla always had Sootwing in her story somewhere. I just didn't know the raven would come attached to an Asura.
I think I'd kill the drama kid if I had to have him around all the time. ;D
Mixxi, I wish to add my accolades. A thoroughly enjoyable introduction to your characters, and quite clever.
I love when characters write themselves. You know you're on to a winner, then.
Yes, please don't reprise the mopey kid. ;)
As an aside, the animal comment reminded me of Pratchett.
Quotefound a nice comfy spot tucked in between the boxes of gun powder and some barrels of oil
Oh, no. This can't be good. :coolsmiley:
I did want to feed the Asura to the armored shark when he hit you.
Mixxi, I absolutely love what you are doing with Lt. Harkner and his sketches, it feels very personal and, dare I say... real? Fantastic.
Quote from: Cyrian on July 29, 2012, 10:58:09 PM
Mixxi, I absolutely love what you are doing with Lt. Harkner and his sketches, it feels very personal and, dare I say... real? Fantastic.
Hear hear! I am particularly intrigued by the introduction of the dancer.
Many thanks, Cyrian. A lot of the credit goes to Talon, too, for letting me drone on and on to him about Harkner. His feedback has been terrific.
Talon, I really enjoyed the next entry in your journal. Is the thief going to be one of your characters as well?
I love the idea of a Sylvari who is fascinated with ancient things. It's such a great contrast--this brand-new being whose race has no past who is consumed with wonder about the remnants of long-gone civilizations. I like that he is concerned about emulating the customs surrounding a place as well. He should be a very interesting character to get to know in game, since Tyria is now filled with echoes of destroyed and drowned civilizations.
Thank you, Mixxi. I always appreciate your thoughts and perspective on my character/s.
He feels very much like he's arrived to the party and missed out on all the really cool stuff that happened before he got there. The past interests him greatly as does learning in general. However, he's not the typical wide-eyed innocent most sylvari seem to be.
I'm looking forward to playing him, and he'll evolve further in game, and meeting all of you.
Naturally he's going to be very interested in exploring, jumping puzzles and treasure hunting. And inevitably overcome the caution regarding the Ghosts of Ascalon and want to explore the ruins.
Rumze, I really enjoyed your short stories. Quick glimpses of character and past. Not the whole story so an air of mystery remains.
Focus made me smile.
Thanks! I didnt want to write too much just yet because the concepts are pretty nebulous - for example im still debating whether to call my sylvari Alixiana or Potatoe Jane and the two will have vastly different personalities.
Also , I enjoy everyones stories on the shelf. They make good reads for when we go out to visit the in-laws. I would comment on them but I tend to ramble and Id post everytime I read an update and that would just spam this thread to death ;D But know that they are quite happily enjoyed.
Edit: really liked payback. Fun and painted a great picture of norn life.
A beautiful piece, Rumze, in so many ways. The images are evocative, and the regretful--yet defiant--tone really affected me.
What a wonderful concept, Mixxi. I love it! O0
Ahhh I love Gnat Mixxi. I may have to keep an eye out on my clothes and look for bits torn off!
Such a different take on the events when it's 3rd-person and not 1st-person. Ewin comes off as much less dominant in the friendship with Twig when he's not the one telling the story. Now I'm really wondering what these two have got into, and how much of the caper Ewin really understands. Clearly he'd do anything for Twig, but I'm not so sure the devotion goes both ways. Rafe would definitely worry about Ewin if he knew any of this.
Thanks so much for putting this up. It gives Ewin a side I never suspected existed.
Poor Ewin! So sad. Although Twig's a bastard, I can start to see some of why Ewin cares for him.
And I love seeing the description of a fight through a mesmer's eyes. It's very foreign to me, but the fighting style makes sense when it's in dramatic form like this.
Talon wrote:
Quote"Give us the vial." The leader demanded, now sporting a makeshift bandage around his arm.
"No," Ewin said, his eyes slightly unfocussed. "Is this anger? I've never felt it before."
"Shut up and give us the vial or you're dead like your friend."
The sound that Ewin made then was beastial. All three images of Ewin seemed to explode, he vanished, leaving behind settling purple butterflies before they faded away.
Re-reading this, I really love this section. From a Nightmare Court-like character, this might seem self-servingly dramatic, etc., but knowing Ewin's character for so long makes it quite affecting. Rage would take Ewin by surprise. Although you don't beat people over the head with it, the dichotomy of a mesmer being confused and shattered while simultaneously inflicting that on others is powerful.
Sroth! Fabulous story line! A really wonderful idea and well told! More!
Quote from: Jezerai on August 18, 2013, 11:17:36 PM
Sroth! Fabulous story line! A really wonderful idea and well told! More!
Thank you! :)
What an interesting start, Vilidius.
I like your character already. And it's nice to see an antagonist that can actually be somewhat mature. I also found the focus crystals to be interesting. I've no experience with the mechanics of Norrath's spellcasting and illusionist is a class I'm considering, assuming it will be available. Seeing your approach to focusing magical energies adds another layer to my enjoyment.
Looking forward I am to Silverpalm's story progressing and to see how he grows or how the world changes him. Or how he changes the world.
Quite a different look at Lietta than I usually see.
A great story, Xerali. I'm intrigued. And have to wonder whether her employer may be a certain group that used to spend its time in Bloodtide Coast.
Really liked the descriptions you used for the thief abilities and the elementalist's conjuring.
I truly hope she recovers her dagger.
Lots of good fun, and good backstory for Wragg! He's such an interesting character.
Thanks :)
I know his 'piratey-ness' can get cartoonish sometimes, but hopefully it's never over-the-top ;D
"Ill Nature", "Loose Ends", and "Vignettes" -- some very nice stuff showing up on the shelves here. Xerali, Wragg, and Cemlyn (Tutankhons), you all bring me back here to read and re-read. Very rich, layered, and complex. Although, honestly, Wragg's the only one I'd like to go drinking with. ;)
Loved that vignette, Rumze. Fascinating approach to the character. Looking forward to reading more. :)
I enjoyed the story, Vilidius, even though it still feels as though you are both sneering at and patronizing those of us who were present in the years you were away.
Quote from: Jezerai on January 16, 2014, 09:46:35 PM
I enjoyed the story, Vilidius, even though it still feels as though you are both sneering at and patronizing those of us who were present in the years you were away.
Thanks. I'm really not though, sneering at or patronizing anyone. I couldn't have written the story if I didn't feel the pull of both arguments,
and of both answers.
Despite the bureaucratic debates over how we do things (which I would
never want to continue here) I've come around to a less structured way of considering the problem. There's a tension here. It's an inevitable, underlying, unavoidable tension, between old and new. It's never going to be "solved." It exists in any organization with our history, gaming guild or otherwise. It's just there.
The only way to relieve that tension as much as possible is for everyone to at least acknowledge it, to "get it" as much as possible, and to keep it in mind. I decided to express my "getting it" in story form. Seemed more fun that way. Also, Namae really got me started with her reference to "caretaking." I was thinking about this before bed last night.
I may or may not have captured the sentiment properly, but it isn't badly intended.
I haven't even read it yet Jez, and I already love your story. Reading it immediately after this post. We need to settle every single Saga debate like this in the future!
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra!
Update: Read it now, and certainly appreciate the writing, which was never in doubt. I will say that while it captures the way you feel about certain things in the guild, I wonder if you've been as fair to "my" perspective as I have been to "yours." I really did write The Caretakers with a deliberately positive and hopeful message. It may or may not come through exactly as I intended, but I think it's unmistakably there. Your story only ends in ruin, which strikes me as sad. Now, if they'd proceeded to rebuild together, with much lost (perhaps some unnecessarily so) but also much gained, I think that would be fairer to my point.
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra?
I hope every Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra ends with
Picard and Dathon at El-Adrel.
Let's try to keep the battle to a dull roar in here, please.
Nicely done, Jezerai. The story really works.
If only the Jets and Sharks could resolve their disagreements the same way.
Well done, Merila! I like how your dialogue advanced both the plot and our feeling for the characters involved. You have a very nice sense of timing. It felt very organic!
Beautiful, Merila. I can feel the pull of Arah just reading this.
And Merila and Venitus...very intense.
Nicely done, Merila.
I feel very in touch with the two of them. A nice sensible couple. In dealing with one another, at least. Maybe not when it comes to the heading to certain doom part.
Very much like the new installment of the Orr tale. You really caught that scene from last night perfectly. It was a ton of fun to RP it with you guys.
Really sorry that I missed the roleplay.
The story recap is done magnificently. Makes me feel like I was there, lurking in the corner.
Great work! And the plot thickens.
The callous use of the Charr was an interesting development. ((If she has a company then I hope we can organise an alliance of a sort and organise a second group if necessary to include her))
This is overdue, but I do appreciate the new ending to The Warrior far more Jezerai, and thank you!
I also have to acknowledge Namae's Gilgamesh. When we started writing RP-fic to illustrate our policy differences (and seriously, I still think the mere fact that happened is cool) I think Namae stopped it cold with Gilgamesh. I stared and stared at that story, trying to place it properly in context of our dialogue and gauge it's meaning. And I still don't get it. Not at all. But I thought about it for so long it was too late to continue the exchange. So maybe that was the point of it after all.
Kudos to both Jezerai and Vilidius. I enjoyed both the Caretakers and The Warrior. I like how you took a debate and channeled it into a creative form, so we could see it play out without having to take sides or form ranks. And we got two great stories out of it.
Quote from: Vilidius on January 29, 2014, 08:10:13 PMI also have to acknowledge Namae's Gilgamesh. When we started writing RP-fic to illustrate our policy differences (and seriously, I still think the mere fact that happened is cool) I think Namae stopped it cold with Gilgamesh. I stared and stared at that story, trying to place it properly in context of our dialogue and gauge it's meaning. And I still don't get it. Not at all. But I thought about it for so long it was too late to continue the exchange. So maybe that was the point of it after all.
As for Gilgamesh... well, if I just came out and had to tell you the significance then I'd be a terrible writer/communicator. Which I am I suppose (based on how I wrote it) so here goes. I don't post stories very much, so they have a tendency to be addressed to an audience of just me. The only thing that's changed of late is I started putting things like this in the Library section instead of my blog, or just keeping it on my hard drive.
This story derives from my thoughts on the debate itself as it was in progress. You're right of course, one of the points was to reframe and stop some of the negativity completely by just being a really long block of text. So score one on that account. But I think I failed because I didn't include or weave in enough of the backstory in Gilgamesh to get proper context, and the source is a little obscure. I didn't manage a story that could be enjoyed for it's own sake by someone other than me.
Quick primer on the Epic of Gilgamesh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_of_Gilgamesh) (Thanks Wikipedia!) :
"The first half of the story relates a friendship between Gilgamesh, divine king of Uruk, and Enkidu. Enkidu is a wild man created by the gods as Gilgamesh's peer to distract him from oppressing the people of Uruk. Together, they journey to the distant mountains to defeat Humbaba, its monstrous supernatural guardian. Gilgameshs' victory is so astonishing that it wins the affection of Ishtar, the goddess of love, fertility and sexuality. When Gilgamesh spurns her advances (pointing out that she destroys all her lovers) Ishtar flies into a rage, and convinces her father, Anu, to unleash the Bull of Heaven onto the earth as revenge. Enkidu and Gilgamesh of course kill the Bull of Heaven in an epic battle outside the gates of Uruk, but as a punishment for this transgression against Heaven the gods sentence Enkidu to death.
"In the second half of the epic, Gilgamesh's distress at Enkidu's death causes him to undertake a long and perilous journey to discover the secret of eternal life. He finally obtains an herb that would grant him eternal life, but as he is resting from his long struggles a snake slips in to his camp and devours his herb, granting the snake the ability to shed it's skin and become young again. Despite this seeming defeat, in the end Gilgamesh decides that his legends and the city he built are all the immortality he needs."In a sense, what I'm getting at is the importance of legends, and keeping alive the fires of what was. Gilgamesh is a Warrior of Jezerai's tale, told in a different setting. In another sense, he's answering the Caretakers.
Quote from: Vilidius on January 16, 2014, 04:37:40 PM"That, and one more thing. Every hero wants to leave more than a footprint in the sand. Nothing lasts forever, but forever is a long time. True stories should at least endure for an age. We have a covenant with the past, and with the adventures that were. By honoring them we honor ourselves. And we offer promise to the future. To those who will come. That even when their halls are dusty, and their armor dull, and their stories half-forgotten, yet the history will remain and will be cared for. That's why they will build here, over these old bones. That's why they will come here and join us."
Quote from: Namae Nai on January 17, 2014, 07:30:32 AM"At the end of it all, not one thing shall remain for me and that, I understood then, is my sole reward."
Anyway, I completely understand and apologize. I will try harder next time to make things more accessible, I just wanted something quick and fast that touched on the subject and could be my contribution. Despite my original statement, I didn't want it to end with me submitting to just being a caretaker.
Quote from: Namae Nai on January 29, 2014, 10:59:14 PM
As for Gilgamesh... well, if I just came out and had to tell you the significance then I'd be a terrible writer/communicator. Which I am I suppose (based on how I wrote it) so here goes.
In that case, during the era of my matriculation, my requirements to study literature and poetry most certainly were a waste of time filled with pointless debate about deeper, hidden meanings and archetypical symbolism. They must have all been terrible communicators because it would have been so much simpler if they straight up told us we were just reading an opiate induced hallucination.
Anyhow, don't sell yourself short, Namae. Initially, I may have clicked on the story and thought "OMG! TLDR;" until I realized large fonts and pictures were trying to deceive my senses. I'm not intimately familiar with the legend of Gilgamesh, but I read every word of what you wrote to its conclusion, and by the time I got there, I "got it". Your commentary has affirmed that. Very well done.
Just wanted to say that I have been enjoying:
(WS) The Sound of Two Aurin RPing (Shaylene and Fawkes)
I think it's great that the two of you write stories together and both characters seem very likeable. I look forward to meeting them in game soon.
Quote from: Elsavette on June 05, 2014, 07:40:56 AM
Just wanted to say that I have been enjoying:
(WS) The Sound of Two Aurin RPing (Shaylene and Fawkes)
I think it's great that the two of you write stories together and both characters seem very likeable. I look forward to meeting them in game soon.
Thanks ^^. We both work 9-5 desk jobs so it's primarly us just RPing back and forth when we get a chance. We weren't sure where to post it at first, but looking at the rules for the study about open/closed RP, the Libarary seemed more fitting for this moment. So depending on how work goes for us, you could see us on here alot O0.