Aberrant RPG - The Posts You Never Made

[Vixen]

Quote:

Sakurako Hino wears a lot of pink, has a design asthetic derived from choppy cartoons and lives quite firmly in the present with little regard for tomorrow.

Charr kills people, brags about it, then continues to brag about it like it's something to be proud of, then makes crude sexual advances under the impression he has charm and wit and he is incapable of holding a conversation with someone who disagrees with him slightly without him resorting to name-calling.

Your comparison, Ashnod, could be just about the dumbest thing I've read all day. And I just finished Two Minute's Hate. You hate Endeavor? Fair enough. But don't even think of insinuating that she and Charr are at all alike. It's short-sighted, over-biased and based in nothing resembling fact.

Sometimes I write out a response like this one, to Ashnod's last three-word post. Then I delete it and decide not to post it. I think about half the posts I write wind up this way.

I guess I do it because half my posts fail to pass the what's-the-point test. As in, what's the point? How likely is it that this is going to encourage any kind of real discussion? Is it more likely that it'll just get casually dismissed by boardmembers who think I have a chip on my shoulder regarding certain things? (You know who you are.)

If I made these posts I think my count would be about double. I just write them out to get things out of my system, and delete them feeling that they've got nothing to contribute that anyone wants me to contribute.

Does anyone else do this? Just type out a response and then not bother to post it?

[Ashnod]

Sure. All the time.

But I'd have replied to you within 2-3 minutes of you putting it up. Already considered the response you didn't make before I posted it.

Didn't expect it to come from you, though.

[Wakinyan]

If you are deleting that much then you are really depriving yourself from participating in the community and the rest of us from enjoying reading them.

I mean we should say things in character. Even if they are stupid, angry or what not as long as they are what the character would say?

Would Vixen really stop herself from making these posts or is it the player of Vixen who is stopping these posts from being made?

A prime example of this is last night I posted Totem grumbling about his lack of relationships but deleted it after a few hours because that is what he would have done, not that I wanted it gone OOC.

We should let ourselves make IC mistakes and be passionate even if they are intentional OOC.

[Charr]

General agreement here, Totem.

Do I do anything like what you describe, Vixen?

Not really. Either the character has something to say or the character doesn't. I do tweak things that don't read right but that's generally after I press "post" at least once.

For me it's not about the post count. It's about breathing life into a character and seeing through their eyes for a time.

[Charlie]

Quote:

Sometimes I write out a response like this one, to Ashnod's last three-word post. Then I delete it and decide not to post it. I think about half the posts I write wind up this way.

I guess I do it because half my posts fail to pass the what's-the-point test. As in, what's the point? How likely is it that this is going to encourage any kind of real discussion? Is it more likely that it'll just get casually dismissed by boardmembers who think I have a chip on my shoulder regarding certain things? (You know who you are.)

If I made these posts I think my count would be about double. I just write them out to get things out of my system, and delete them feeling that they've got nothing to contribute that anyone wants me to contribute.

Does anyone else do this? Just type out a response and then not bother to post it? [/QB]

I have done it at least twice today. I had deleted when I meant to copy just in case, since data happens, and I just did not even bother re-typing my response again.

If you are looking for a meaninful discussion, you should let everyone know that the Player - not Vixen wants to discuse x topic.

If your gaming community can't be there for you, who will?

No one understands gamers like gamers.

"Trouble me. Disturb me with all your worries and cares...My back is sturdy and strong." 10,000 Maniacs

[Sakurako Hino]

Vix, you're scared of starting a flame war?

It's in character. We all gotta seperate IC from OOC.

Charr works on my every last nerve, and although IC I try my best to show it, in OOC, I realize that Char is playing his character to the hilt. I try to do the same.

Don't be afriad to make assumptions when IC.

[Understudy]

Well actually I do both. One of Characters is young, bitchy and not very mature. So I have a tendacy just to write the first that that comes to mind. (which on relfection may not be a good thing of an ooc view so I might change) and with understudy I write something I then dicide he wouldn't reply or need a bit more time to think it through.

[Lemmy Chillmeister]

I think you should have posted it. Vixen, the character, comes across as passionate and vibrant, living on the edge of her skin (fur?) Endeavor is right, it's up to us to seperate IC and OOC. You post whatever you want IC as long as you think you're being true to the character.

[Jager]

Keep in IC, and fire away. If your character has real feelings about something, they can come out. That's why we call it roleplaying, right?

[Charlie]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jager:
Keep in IC, and fire away. If your character has real feelings about something, they can come out. That's why we call it roleplaying, right?

With trying to sound to religous...Amen Bro!

[Vixen]

It's not fear of starting an IC flamewar, actually. It's not really an IC thing at all - it's more of an OOC thing that over time I've had to justify IC.

During more active days, I could count on getting my nose swatted if I stepped out of certain boundaries. For details, sure - if I flubbed a detail relating to something, then I took it on the chin. But quite a number of times it was more than that. Quite a number of times, the message I was being sent was "how you interpret the world is not how we interpret it."

Even though I own the same books as everyone else, how I interpreted the data within was not aligned with how prominent board members interpreted them. And whenever there was a dispute, those with seniority seemed empowered by their seniority. To essentially dictate to me that the way they saw it was the way things were because they'd been on the board longer and had filled in the cracks with their own interpretations. And it was really my own fault for not having the time to dig through five years of board topics for whatever I was misinterpreting.

After this happened about a half-dozen times I started giving up. The what's-the-point scale came into being. I had to ask myself before every post if it was going to result in another private message, another "damn, you're way off base" OOC letter fired my way. It sucked the enthusiasm right out of me.

I started purposefully keeping my character away from anything important. I rendered my character comatose while I tried to figure out what to do, and when I couldn't figure out what to do I brought her out and did basically nothing with her since. Came up with a story explaining why she hardly ever posts to OpNet any more. I had an alt I fiddled with on occasion that I retired because the first couple of posts made with that alt attracted the same kind of OOC chastisement, so I knew it wasn't just the character of Vixen.

How I interpret certain things inside of the world setting seems so divergent from the board consensus that I don't even know what the board consensus is anymore, other than Utopia alternates between idiocy and fascism with next to no middle ground.

So in a nutshell, it's not fear of anything IC. IC, I can handle. It's when it swerves into OOC territory - or when the threat of it going that way hangs over my head - that I grow hesitant. And it's happened often enough that I've grown very hesitant indeed.

[Wakinyan]

Since I don't have the examples I can't 100% grasp your problem Vixen but I think I understand it.

Basically some people are looking for the Angsty, conspiracy and racist aspects of the game. Meaning to portray the setting in it's most dark atmosphere. Where you like to look at what Utopia and what Novas have done in the positive light.

Hence your posts about this being a super hero game rather than just a super human game.

I am not sure the way around this but I know people shouldn't harass you over it. You can just ignore them of course and continue on your way. I am sure most of us will not be like that toward you.

[Hugin]

As one of the 'senior' members mentioned (I make no attempt at claiming 'prominent') I'd like to give my side of the story.

Vixen-I'm sorry you feel that way. You come along and you feel that everything that you've tried to offer is smacked down. But, as you noted, we'd been doing this for a couple years before you came along. The 'world' had been kind of defined in a lot of ways. It wasn't the four color goodness that you had interpreted from your read of the books. So, if someone comes along and starts offering a world that doesn't match the one that has been reflected in the hundreds of posts up until then, it can be a little hard to swallow.

Maybe, if presented as a world view, that the character in question simply doesn't see things the same way, that could be included into everything that has come before. But the presentation of objective factual changes (competely out of line Chrysalis variation, erupted animals, the disappearence of an entire species) can't be swallowed as easily.

Totem-I disagree with your descriptive. Yes, some of the board members focus on that. Others do not. Also, look at the angsty paranoid crap that hasn't been brought up: The sterilization plot is almost never touched upon, Reignofevil hasn't been mentioned, only one regular poster has brought up the Aberrants, no one talks about Triton and Bahrain is rarely mentioned. On the other hand we have stories of Novas going to the Moon, undersea, having a party, etc. I look at it as more of a mixed bag.

To both of you, we are capable of accepting things not completely in line with what has gone on, just as long as it doesn't disregard what has gone on before. If you want to play the municipal defender of San Diego and you wear a cape and a mask and act like a four color hero, that's great and I'd love to see the impact you'd have here. But if you play the same character and start peppering the world with four color realities (super villain prisons, a floating city, otherdimensional tyrants) well, that's a place I'd have trouble going.

[Kynet]

Vixen, I know your feeling. I posted an experience I had in response to a question, with another character of mine, (BlackStar). Well, I'm not going to repeat the object of the post. It was an OOC, but the problem was that I was attacked by several members of the board, (including one of the Admins.).

Then, I post an explication inadvertently with this new character. Well, no one of the people who pounds on me, acknowledge my post. It's very easy to see that the person behind the two post is the same, even if the character names are different.

The corollary of this is, (for me at least), that now, I have a lot of care what I post here.

[Hugin]

Quote:

Originally posted by Kynet:
Vixen, I know your feeling. I posted an experience I had in response to a question, with another character of mine, (BlackStar). Well, I'm not going to repeat the object of the post. It was an OOC, but the problem was that I was attacked by several members of the board, (including one of the Admins.).

Then, I post an explication inadvertently with this new character. Well, no one of the people who pounds on me, acknowledge my post. It's very easy to see that the person behind the two post is the same, even if the character names are different.

The corollary of this is, (for me at least), that now, I have a lot of care what I post here.

Where were you 'attacked'? I've looked through the posts you did as Blackstar and didn't see anything that looked like an attack.

[Matryoshka]

James, I claimed San Diego.MINE, not yours!MINE!

And I would point out that at least for me, my characters are ones doing the best they can with what they got.Sure one is pushing for the war,and lets people die all the time, but she is chosing the least "evil" thing she can.

The things I left out are rather purpusfilled, such as Anne's "new" skin color.

As it is, super heroes in Abberant should be rare,at best. But what really pisses me off, as the whole " Utopia" is evil. Let''s make a character and well, the teragen aren't bad guys.They only the rebels, down with Utopia! Can anyone name the last new character what was pro-utopia? I have characters who don't work with Utopia,and have problem with them, but aside from Anne, they would all rather have the Utopia running things than the teragen.

[Mister]

Me, I'm pro PU. I am I am

[Wakinyan]

I think the point is there is room for everyones ideas for this game. Fleets of attacking zepplins aside (that's adventure) I think the world allows for things based on personal character viewpoints. I mean Pax pretty much thinks he is Superman. So do what you like and if you go off on wild tangents that simply cannot be viewed as part of the actual setting well... That's called mental abberation.

[Matryoshka]

So Mister,and do you know who was before you?

[Hugin]

Violette, Gerald Haney, Babylon, just to name a few.

[Matryoshka]

And compared to the teragen fans, or the people who hate Utopia? I see at least four in this thread.

[Hugin]

So, run a Utopian. If you, or anyone sees something 'lacking' here, step up and play the character. I saw a lack of Elites and I ran Vile Bill, I saw a lack of independents and I ran Lemmy Chillmeister.

[Matt]

Quote:

Originally posted by Kynet:
Vixen, I know your feeling. I posted an experience I had in response to a question, with another character of mine, (BlackStar). Well, I'm not going to repeat the object of the post. It was an OOC, but the problem was that I was attacked by several members of the board, (including one of the Admins.).

Then, I post an explication inadvertently with this new character. Well, no one of the people who pounds on me, acknowledge my post.

I'm calling shenanigans here. I contacted both of the other admins, as well as a few of the people that I thought you may have thought were admins, just to see if something was said in PM, chat or e-mail that I didn't know about. Then I went back through your posts and realized that you must be talking about me, as I'm the only person that you could possibly perceive as having attacked you.

We don't know each other, and the basis for this medium requires some translation from what someone types into what the reader perceives to be the meaning, simply because there isn't a possibly for continued discussion with audio or visual references to show tone when discussing a subject. I'm sorry that you feel that I attacked you, but I am in no way sorry for posting what I said.

You posting something and I disagreed with it. I stated my opinion and referenced something in my game where a player and I were both unhappy because a method similar to yours was used. It in no way has anything to do with what you do in your game, or how you handle yourself on this site, but rather my experience with my particular group. In my opinion, when someone runs a game, they are entitled to do what they want and to advise players on manners of play that they think will help out the group. When I run a game, I want to make sure that everyone has as much fun as possible. I'll usually let anyone try whatever they want, but after the fact I'll discuss is with them and ask how they think it affected the game, their fun, as well as others. Those are my methods as a storyteller, and unless you are in my group, it shouldn't affect you in any way, unless you decide to take something from it and either institute it in your game, or use it as something you know will never go into your game. Either way, I'm only posting my opinion about my experience, which any reader can do with as they please.

You are 100% able to post your opinion, and I don't want anyone to ever feel scared to post their opinion on the site. Because I'm the webmaster doesn't mean that I'm not entitled to share my opinions with people. I state what I think and will continue to do so whenever I want. I have as much of a right to free speech on this site as anyone. I don't expect people to agree with me on everything that I say. Hell, in real life I'm lucky if anyone agrees with me on anything. But because we don't agree doesn't mean that I feel attacked my them. I think your being over-sensitive, as I wasn't and an not out to attack you or to make you feel bad.

As for not responding to your second post, it had nothing to do with your post. The subject moved on and I didn't think there was a need for me to comment further on it.

Because you thought the other message was an attack, I have no idea what you'll think of this one. To me, both messages are my statement of disagreement, but neither in any way invalidate your ability to have you opinion, or your ability to share further opinions.

I hope that you don't take offense to this. But I can only post my opinion. It's up to you how you deal with it.

[Miss Baby]

It's not a lack of Utopian love, it is a mass of teragen lovin, that bothers me.

[Ghostwriter]

I would like to see some more Utopians out there. Good, bad, ugly, it doesn't matter.

Back to the topic, Codex posts what she shouldn't be all the time. I leap into trouble with her, especially when it comes to Charr. The flame-wars I've had with him are amongst the coolest roleplaying situations I've ever been involved with.

BlackStar, I hope nothing I said as Irini was taken as a flame. I should have stomped on 'Hush' a lot sooner before it became the monster it did.

[Speed]

I have a Utopian character...Titan, who I originally registered with (because I love him, he's my fave character)...but the only game in town was Dr. Zero's and he wanted elites, so I made Speed, an ex-T2Mer...I haven't posted Opnet style because I'm not sure I'm comfortable being so confrontational with strangers (even IC)...anyway, no one asked me, but there it is...

[Hugin]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ghetto Funk Baby:
It's not a lack of Utopian love, it is a mass of teragen lovin, that bothers me.

Terats:

Apep
Prodigy
Bastian
Charr
Ashnod

Terat 'Friendly':

Avatar?
Jager? (depends on the day)
Lemmy Chillmeister
Wizard?

This is a mass?

NonTerat Friendly Types:

All 150 of your characters
Endeavor
Dr. Troll
Vixen
Codex
Neil Preston
Preston
Hammerhead
Sphere
Jordan Rossi
Jack Chance
V
TUM-TUM
Digigeist
Teknokat

and others I'm sure I've forgotten.

Doesn't seem overwhelming to me.

[Wakinyan]

I'd like to say Totem is on the fence as far as that goes.

[BlackStar]

To Irini's player: it has nothing to do with the fiction. Excuse me if I give you that impression.

To Chosen: I only state a method which worked for me because of the explaining I did in the other post. Of course with my TT ST permit, (we had known each other for a very long time).

[Vitalis]

Prodigy, it isn't merely numbers, although certainly a disproportionate number of the most prolific characters fall into anti-Utopian camps, whether teragen or otherwise. It's also about the things various anti-Utopians have incorporated into the shared world.

I've been an on and off visitor to the site for years, although admittedly more off than on and I mostly lurked. I've become a bit more active lately, including spending a lot of time over the last two months reading old threads I missed earlier, etc.

--- Warning! Opinions, not facts, follow! ----

This process of re-reading old posts, as well as seeing for the first time posts I missed during previous periods when I wasn't lurking, has left me with the impression of a distinct anti-Utopian slant to the site. Board characters have fiction and op net posts that define some very anti-utopian world history.

The actual topic of a piece of fiction or an opnet thread rarely seems to have anything to do with Utopia, good or bad. Off the top of my head, I can't even think of a single fiction piece that is focused on an anti-Utopian theme for its main plot line.

However, scattered throughout other stories and opnet threads, in-character discussions reveal Utopia did some nasty thing in the backstory for many characters. The events themselves may not have ever been portrayed on the site, but there are references to a lot of things Utopia has supposedly done in various character interactions.

If it was just a case of "I heard a rumor Utopia did so-and-so" that would be one thing, and easily refuted in-character. But when it is "Utopia did such-and-such to me/my friend/my family/whatever and I saw it", as actual first-person IC knowledge, that presents more of a problem because the rest of us are under an OOC expectation to accept that out of consideration for the integrity of another poster's character. (at least, that's my opinion)

In the canon setting, Utopia is flawed, and there are a variety of horrible things it has done. It's also a *finite* number of horrible things, and is balanced by also portraying a greater number of good things. On the dark side of canon Utopia, there is the sterilization agenda, taint labs, various wet-works (ala Slider), etc. That is arguably realistic (unfortunately, considering what it says about the real world), and in my opinion, it is exactly what the designers were shooting for: a balanced world of greys instead of white and black. Utopia's protrayed as a flawed institution, not the epitome of all evil.

In a table top game, we can add some other nasty plots here and there, but it is up to the ST and players to decide exactly what balance to strike, exactly how pervasive an effect Proteus has on the world.

But unlike a table top game, a public forum adds new complications. When coming up with a character concept and background for the anti-Utopian character, it's human nature that many players will come up with their own unique Utopian atrocity to add some uniqueness to their character, instead of tying them in to existing plots.

While that is not an issue for a table top game, on the scale of a public site like this it can result in a vastly larger number of Utopian atrocities that the consensus world has to accomodate. Heck, it isn't even just during character creation. I get the impression a variety of characters on here are versions of characters played in table top game. That means they have legitimate experiences with the Utopia of their particular table top game that they bring to this shared world, which somehow has to accomodate all of them.

The accumulated weight of all that provides a distinct anti-Utopian slant to the site, in my opinion. As I said above, this is all just my opinion, my impression. I can't, or at least I won't currently try to, back it up with facts and examples. I don't have the time to go back through all the threads I've read in the past few months and find these little tidbits.

By the way, I am not saying that this is "wrong" or "bad". If anything, I think I'm tending to view it as inevitable, given this medium. Most of those little tidbits actually felt appropriate in their own specific context. But Utopia, unlike the Teragen, is fairly monolithic organization, which means it has to answer for the actions of all its component parts, and these various incidents add up to portray a darker Utopia.

As a side note, I expect if things were reversed, it would have less effect on the Teragen. Even if we had more anti-Teragen characters on here, each voicing their own experiences of Teragen atrocities, the other Terats don't share the same degree of group responsibility. The Teragen aren't a monolithic organization, and it is much easier for a moderate Terat to distance himself from the actions of an extremist (ie, Orzaiz and Geryon, or Prodigy from Bastion), than it is for a Utopian.

Anyway, enough rambling. It just feels to me that the accumulated mass of little incidents scattered throughout this shared reality, Utopia really is much worse than in canon. I can certainly see how the site might come across to a visitor as very anti-Utopian.

I've toyed with making a vocal Utopian just to have some IC fun on the Op Net. However, I am OOC reluctant to do it because it seems basically indefensible in this shared world. I can't truthfully say "you are wrong" when another character says "Utopia sucks because they did X", because apparently that really did happen in this shared reality. So to defend Utopia on these boards means I am either playing a character who cannot see the reality around him, or that I'm willing to tolerate and even support a very dark vision of Utopia. That isn't what I'm looking for in that character concept, so I will probably never play an actual Utopian here.

(Though I might enjoy playing a Proteus op... hmmm... )

[Mister]

I will agree that their does appear to be an anti utopia slant to the site. One way of looking at this is that the folk who post to such a site probably are the ones with issues with utopia. After all which utopian wants it reported that they where chatting in a serial killer terat over the opnet. It probably doesn't matter that much they you where saying that they where a serial killer at the time.

One of the reasons I dicided to play Mister was the lack of Utopian noise on the site. It took me a while come with enought details of Mister for me to be happy with him being here. The anti utopian slant would but a number of utopians off.

I don't think that the good PU does is not in the shared world I just think it over looked a lot by the characters. After all very few of them have anything to gain from saying how cool PU is.

There are things on the site which have been stated factually which don't think is 100% correct according to cannon I accept it. I might a soem point post a fiction that is closer to my view then other peoples and read the replies to see if people do disagree or it simply how characters are trying to present the world. Most of what is put forward here is people trying to convert other people over to there view. (Actually thats probably not true it probably the topics that I pay most attention to) which can be seen as propagander.

As for number, number of posts is probably more important then number of folkes. Also a quick glance at Who's who gives an even terat/pu split with most peeps being indy. I expect that is not how the cannon world is slpit by numbers.

[Hugin]

Vitalis-I happen to play an anti-Utopian character. However, Prodigy is anti-Utopian for not a single reason you mentioned. He is anti-Utopian for all of the reasons you put for people to be pro-Utopian.

He doesn't care about the Wetwork, the Tech manipulation or the political intrigue. In his minds eye, those are to be expected. Any organization of significant size simply has to be expected to work in an amoral fashion.

But, the Eden project, the pollution cleanup, the destruction of organized crime, these all leave him seething with disgust.

So, does that mean I should be lumped in with the people who've made up massive numbers of evil, heinous shit that Utopia has done? Or, should we all recognize that every character is different. Every character has their own motivations?

[Jager]

As a longtime poster here, I feel this place has an Anti-Utopian slant.

Two of our longest term characters, Ashnod and Prodigy, have had a personal, in-character, bad experience with Project Utopia.

Prodigy was a member of T2M and quit, for God's sake.

So, when a person plays a chipper Utopian, they do face hostility. That can be intimidating.

I think V's player does have a good story to tell, but in this setting, it is just another blow, in a litany of misfortunes, for Utopia.

And, it goes on.

I would like to see some Utopians, standing tall against the horrors of the Teragen. It would make this world a better place. I don't think it will happen, though.

[Vitalis]

Prodigy, if you thought I was saying any of that applied specifically to your character, it was a misunderstanding. I mentioned you by name in the first paragraph just because it happened to be a response to your point about numbers (from your post about 4 up). You commented that given the distribution (you made lists of characters) it didn't seem overwhelming. I responded that it was more than just numbers, and went on to try to explain why I personally got an anti-utopian feel from the site.

I would have written the same exact post if your comments had come from Paragon, Codex or V. It wasn't about your character, or anyone else's character.

I also don't recall writing or implying that I felt characters shouldn't have personal motivations, nor do I remember "lumping" anyone in together. I explicitly said that I didn't consider coming up with new reason for a character to be motivated against Utopia as wrong, and that it should even be expected that in a forum like this people will all have their own motivations for opposing whatever organization they choose to oppose. I'm just hypothesizing that it presents more of a hurdle for pro-Utopians in this environment than in a more limited table top game.

The whole purpose of my post was to try to put into words an impression that I (and apparently others) have about the site. If there are no threads explicitly about "Utopia sucks" then why do newcomers get an anti-utopian feeling from reading the board? My speculation is just that; it's just a speculation. If you disagree, that is fine.

[DigiGeist]

To, sort of explain DigiGeist, There are several points to his methods of operations.

1: He's still realizing that the "rules" are different, now that he is walking around as a Nova. Things aren't as cut and dry anymore.

2: This has caused him to make several mistakes (taking a vigilante stance when he shouldn't have, resulting in the loss of an innocent.)

3: He's discovering his bravado gets him into more trouble than he should be getting into.

4: He has not really set himself to any side of the Utopia/Teragen issue. Although, he has wavered to either side in one way or another, I still see him "on the fence".

5: Something I haven't mentioned to the people - He has a weakness to women. All women he considers "his foil". Around anyone of the opposite sex, he'll act quite more differently than with any of "the boys".

There's Digi in a nutshell right now.

[Vixen]

Prodigy -

Two things I need to say.

Firstly, and if one more person misreads this I'm going to sig it: I don't see the Aberrant universe as four color. I think that it is a big enough universe and versatile enough to have four colors WITHIN it but it can also be used to tons of other stories. You can have Team Tomorrow agents subduing the homicidal hydrokinetic urchin Tidal Waif in the same universe as Glam Glitterdust ponders the next direction to take her photonic music shows, which is in the same universe as the running espionage games between the tactical geniuses Bishop Six and Codename: Cardinal.

I mean, you have Divis Mal in a gold breastplate and a red cape making a pirate broadcast of his intentions to the world. We're talking about a universe in which aliens exist (they haven't met us yet but they exist) and where in the 1920s the Æon Society adventured in dinosaur-suffused swamps and hollow undercaverns and fought a German guy whose theme was 'balloons.' They even had the stock-issue DC Ape.

I don't see Aberrant, the setting, as having any particular theme or inclination. It's a place where stories happen and those stories may have themes themselves but the setting itself is just the container for them, the place that they occur. The ingredients and not the meal. In fact, what impressed me the most about Aberrant was that it could run such a broad range of stories and themes, from the lure of celebrity to dehumanization to conspiracy to individualism vs. collectivism and the nature of destiny versus free will, and yet still remain essentially the same world.

I'm sorry if you don't see it that way, but that's the way I see it.

And secondly:

,,

Quote:

But the presentation of objective factual changes (competely out of line Chrysalis variation, erupted animals, the disappearence of an entire species) can't be swallowed as easily.

Without giving anything away, let me just say that you have drawn the wrong conclusions on the above 'presented factual changes.' There was no long-vanished species of fox-people, an animal did not erupt, and Vixen did not go through a Chrysalis. That's what I wanted it to LOOK like but that's not what they are.

These aren't factual changes. I own all the main books for the Æon line and what I've got in mind has been researched and is fully within the realm of the possible and if you look closely you might figure out where I'm going. These aren't factual changes. What they are, are mysteries.

Because I like a little mystery. I like the notion that Vixen doesn't know, for sure, what exactly is going on, and neither does anyone else. I like leaving it up in the air for that little X-Files whistle in the background. I hate having to give away part of the mystery but if it's the only way to get you to realize I'm on the level then I'm fine with it.

That's it for now. G'night.

[Charlie]

After reading your second posting, I have to wonder if I have stumbled onto a game in progress, rather than the titled "Aberrant Discussion"?

I too know the pains of people that I thought were fellow players and not spoiled children playing at adults when they were not IC.

I have since learned that it was not just me (which was a relief) they had gone through 8 other players before I had "joined" their "group" (4 core players) and they have since gone through 4 others that they have kicked out. The one remaining friend I have from that group (we have been friends for 9 years) has been keeping me up on the people they have gone through. He jokes with them that they are too picky. He thinks they will kick him out sometime. I told him no way, you have been a part of their group for 8 years now.

If you ever need a reality check and are afraid of flaming, send me a message and I will be happy to discuss with you, not flame you.

[Jager]

Anyone interested in portraying some Team Tomorrowers on this board?

[Hugin]

Not really. We already have two.

[Hugin]

Quote:

Originally posted by Vixen:

These aren't factual changes. I own all the main books for the Æon line and what I've got in mind has been researched and is fully within the realm of the possible and if you look closely you might figure out where I'm going. These aren't factual changes. What they are, are mysteries.

Because I like a little mystery. I like the notion that Vixen doesn't know, for sure, what exactly is going on, and neither does anyone else. I like leaving it up in the air for that little X-Files whistle in the background. I hate having to give away part of the mystery but if it's the only way to get you to realize I'm on the level then I'm fine with it.

That's it for now. G'night.

I should have responded to this way back when, but I didn't. So I'll do it now.

I understand the joy in leaving things a mystery. And now that we have mods I'd be more comfortable with someone coming in with an eruption that "seemed" to break the rules because I figure the mods will make sure that everything is hunky dory. If they let it stand it must be kosher, even if the player isn't letting us all know that things aren't as they appear. But with Vixen you didn't do that. Back when we were all doing this as an amphorous kind of mob mentality that wasn't okay with some people, me included. I, the player, had no way of knowing if you were doing someing 'unknown' or if you were seriously trying to say that there was an eupted fox out there.

If I, as the player, didn't challenge it, I could have been accidently letting something become canon here that shouldn't be. Same thing happened a couple of other times, a hell of a lot more violently too. Someone came up with something, didn't let anyone know OOC that perhaps things were kosher even if they didn't appear that way, and what happened IC is that they were dismissed as unreal, stupid, insane or something to that effect. This is one of the reasons I'm a lot more comfortable with the mods being here. No more worries about whether or not I should jump on someone's case in order to keep stuff from going out of control.

Thanks for discussing things in a rational manner. You and I disagree on a couple of points, but that is no big deal. Hope you feel like joining in again.