Aberrant: In the Beginning - Table Talk- In the Beginning

[Stargaizer]

Titan, I was just wondering, is there someone or something that you're waiting for on Ch3?

[Titan]

SG - Nope, just energy to do it. My wife just started college (going back to school can be fun!), so on Mon-Wed I have the kids at my complete mercy. I can hardly take time from torturing them to post. This will get easier, as we fall into a routine, and I can do some posting at work, but a long one like Pangaea is usually takes me some uninterrupted time. No excuses, but that's why I haven't. I will catch up on Jedi and Pangaea today.

[Stargaizer]

np, just wondering. Thanks for the info/heads up. Enjoy your time with your kids.

[Titan]

'Enjoy' might be a stretch. I'm aiming for 'Survive'. But, thanks.

[Titan]

Quick heads up. The nifty Aeon cell phone that Fox gave you guys in chapter one is a Blackberry with bluetooth. A blueberry, as it were. For the sake of simplicity, you have whatever contacts you wish among the list posted in Headline news, as well as most if not all of the research or medical staff from W.H.O and Aeon. Just so you know.

[Stargaizer]

I didn't come in until chap 2. Did I get one when I came in, or did I miss out? Just curious.

[Titan]

If writing a series of posts detailing a scene where you receive the phone is something you are interested in, then by all means let's do it. I'm up for anything. If, on the other hand, that doesn't interest you, you may have it already or toss off an, "I pick up the phone the orientation lady told me about from Admin, and drive into London for the day." Whatever suits you best.

[Stargaizer]

I like the last idea. Or, depending on what is going to happen at the development center, someone could give him one there. Barring that, he'll ask for one when he goes to see Nathan (the person closest to Admin that he currently knows about).

Don't need to make a big deal about it... unless we have/want to.

[Titan]

Strange but true:

I was in a coffee shop called Common Grounds in Fayetteville, Arkansas with a friend of mine, when two bicycle cops rode (yes, rode, it was that kind of place) in and started talking to the table next to ours. Their names were, of course, stitched over their pockets. You guessed it (or did if you have been following Richard Stevenson's thread) ...Pope and Church. It struck me, and I occasionally use them as a pair.

[Titan]

If your story seems a little slow, I may not have given you what you need to go on. I am doing this on purpose, a 'day in the life' pace, but I certainly don't have to.

You may have, and will continue to, noticed hints of things going on around you, thus far unconnected to you. You may think you know what I want you to do. But, right here and now, I want to give everyone the option to say no. You do what you want to do, every time, and see what develops. Yes, people are going to expect things from you. (That will probably get worse by the way) But I am not one of them.

I just want to be clear. No one ever has to do what you think I want you to do. If it is important, I will introduce it later. I am giving these characters the opportunity to do something else.

At this point, nothing more interesting will happen in the waiting area of Medical(unless you do something interesting there, of course) and I suddenly think calling roll may be counter-productive. If you wish, you may begin with your character sitting in their testing area, or in fact being tested, or what have you. As always, I welcome improvisation.

Alternately, and again this is an ongoing truth, not by any means a suggestion, if you need a break don't post. When you want to post, do.

Thanks to each of you for this story.

[Jedi]

That's helpful thanks. I was kind of scratching my head wondering what I should be doing. Now I have an idea.

[Titan]

Please excuse my non-postage this week. I am busy as hell, but mostly I have had trouble figuring out where to go from here, or rather, how to get where I want to go from here. But, the best way to do it is just to do it. You have all been very patient with me, thank you. Here we go.

[Fahrenheit]

Don't worry Titan - Take the time you need for inspiration and then -> Full Throttle

[Titan]

Ok, I have to confess that I am moderately confused. Many of the players in the game either don't post at all, or are posting 'placeholder' posts that don't advance anything. Interestingly, one of the players has posted in a thread asking what people want in a game, that they want a game beginning at N-Day where they can do whatever they want. Um, you're IN that game. I have said again and again that you may do whatever you wish. If you are bored, maybe it is because you aren't doing anything. I assure you that life as a test subject at Aeon is not terribly exciting if you don't make it so. I also assure you that you are welcome to:

Overthrow countries

Take over markets

Explore space

Change the face of the Earth

Or, whatever you wish.

If you aren't doing anything, then nothing is happening. I have tried hard, perhaps mistakenly, not to sweep anyone up in a plot not of their choosing. But few of the characters seem to be choosing anything. I came to play, but I will admit that frustrations are beginning to be a part of things for me.

I can drop plots on you, and force you to deal with them...

OR

I can present what is happening around you and allow you to do whatever you wish..

I am having trouble figuring who wants what, I guess. And I feel that my only input is in outside threads. Or none.

Probably shouldn't post this, as I do try to keep pretty positive, but I am going to. I guess I'd rather have you all miffed at me than silent.

Please understand that I am NOT speaking about folks who just don't post regularly because of life, or who take breaks as needed. I am being general, but if I'm talking about you, you know it. If you're in, be in! And part of being in means speaking up if you aren't getting what you need.

I don't know what else to say, so I'll stop now. I apologize if the tone is offensive. I certainly don't intend it to be. I just thought it would be different, I guess.

/rant

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Titan

Overthrow countries
Take over markets
Explore space
Change the face of the Earth

You're the *first* novas. All of those things are on the table. If you have superhuman luck, you can walk into Vegas and win until... they realize you're a nova you break the bank.

Basically there's *NO* *ONE* around to balance you. Mega-App means you can make silly amounts of money in show business. Ditto.... well.... all of the other powers. Geshia decided to bring peace to the middle East.

[Mr Fox]

heh. Yeah, but what I posted about in the other thread was a 'bad guy' game in which all the characters were bad guys. That definitely doesn't describe ItB. A few months ago someone announced a game for villians but it crumbled very quickly before anything could really get going. That was what I was getting at, it was not in any way a shot at ItB. I am plenty happy with this game. I originally thought about Colin going darkside but the character has grown in unexpected directions and I'm happy with that.

I've just been busy with other stuff the last week or so and haven't done anything with Colin.

[Nathan Dayes]

Well, Nathan hasn't gone out and overthrown governments or changed the face of the planet earth because he is an agent of the status quo and the changes he prefers are incremental instead of radical. He's seen what radical change can do to a country and a population and prefers to avoid that.

Moreover, without other novas around Nathan is just a man who can stay up late. He has a keen understanding of what all of these big changes mean to someone who's on the ground looking up. From that perspective he's seen a lot more evidence of novas being problematic than he has of them adding to the greater social good. He's trying to put out fires rather than build new infrastructure because right now he sees a lot of fires and not a lot of firemen.

Finally: I have to confess that *I* prefer reactive games as well. I like the GM being the prime instigator of conflicts instead of me. This doesn't mean that the other type of game is meritless or one I won't play, it's just a matter of preference.

[z-Wei Fang]

Titan, just to be clear, I have no problems with what you're doing. Now that we have discussed Fang's Grand Plan , I'm content to let her play along with Aeon and follow their lead for a bit. Though I will break out into my own thread (possibly alone) for a time.

[SalmonMax]

Erm...I don't know if you mean me, but just in case, I know I've been slow in ITB lately. Bear in mind that my time at work's been much busier than usual, and I haven't been online in the evening as often either.

There are times, given the number of games I'm in, that I sort of rotate through them, and occasionally I'll miss one, or delay a post in one so I can think, and then become further delayed by other events afterwards as well.

Juno, I like to think out a bit, especially when Interesting Things are Afoot. In this case, that slowed me down a bit, and I'm sorry.

I encourage you to PM me if you ever have any worries or concerns about me or my participation. It doesn't have to be much...even just a quick 'Ping!' will get the message across.

[Stargaizer]

Thank you for your input Titan. I for one want to try and make this game as interesting for you as it is for us.

That being said, Joe has already set up several things to do 'later today'. Basically, he's going to interact with the people around him until he gets to those events. Right now that means a game of dodge ball, then it'll probably mean deciding how much to tell the examiners about how his powers work, then lunch, then interaction with Nathan, then either something until or directly going to catch the murderer with Wraith and co.

I haven't posted a whole lot about the dodgeball, but I wasn't entirely sure how you wanted to handle it (dice/no dice/etc.), and I don't feel comfortable calling a hit or a miss vs. any of the NPC's.

Just letting you know where I am and see Joe going short term.

[Fahrenheit]

I believe a good mixture of active and reactive plots is the best advice I can give. We are virtually at the very beginning of everything and some PCs are still trying to figure out what this all means (and just how huge this is) while others have already made plans and set them in motion. I can consider myself lucky to have been 'born' with an agenda which basically gives my PC always something to do.

This does not apply to everyone, at least not right now. I'm sure once some of the other PCs have found their 'destiny' things pick up more pace and the world will be reshaped to their liking. I also believe that we the players have to get used to this kind of story, where everything lies in our hands. It is unusual and new for most of us and thus we learn on the go.

I think you are doing great Titan and for some of us your idea works right away and for others it'll take some time to get used to this kind of freedom.

Just my 2 cents

[Titan]

I apologize for venting my frustrations publicly. That was a mistake on my part. What I should have done was send PMs to anyone I needed to communicate with. That will not happen again. Thank you, everyone, for your input. I will incorporate many of these ideas in the narrative, and do my best to give each of you what you need and want out of this game. Thank you as always for your patience. And thank you for this game.

[Titan]

I said this over two years ago, and it bears repeating. I consider A Breed Apart, Brainwaves, Forceful Personalities, and NovaTech to be, if not canon, at least approved in terms of powers and enhancements, etc. I will almost certainly consider The New Flesh in the same light. Also, for those who may not remember, I put no limit on Quantum, so the Players Guide is also up for grabs.

That being said, it has been a while since I handed out any xp, so every player please take 5 points of xp for the previous month.

[SalmonMax]

Hmm! New Flesh mightbe good for Juno...body mods go well with Shapeshift...

[Fahrenheit]

Is The New Flash already available? I only saw a preview.

[Titan]

Sorry, F, I should have said "when it is available"...

[Fahrenheit]

good good - I just wanted to indirectly make sure I haven't missed its release

[Titan]

Great post, SG. I am going to give everyone a chance to post, so I'm going to wait a bit, but I'll get you soonish.

[Stargaizer]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I tried to make it enjoyable and descriptive. I wasn't entirely happy with it, but I finally decided to stop working it over and just post it.

[Titan]

The heating oil company has spilled 50 gallons of heating oil (gasoline) in my basement. We have to evacuate the house for cleanup, so although I promised a post, I probably will not. Besides availability of internet, I am so fucking mad I am not in the frame of mind to play tonight. If you pray, pray for us. My kids have played in the house all evening with the fumes, and I am afraid I may physically assault the cleanup crew when they get here. I'll keep you updated.

[Dawn OOC]

Titan, don't worry about us. Take care of your family first. We'll be fine.

I hope everything works out well!

[Fahrenheit]

woah... I second Dawn, because I'm too fucking speechless to say anything else.

[Courier]

[Stargaizer]

Agreed with everyone else.

Oh, and don't hurt anyone, you'd have even less time with us in prison.

[Titan]

Thanks guys. I didn't hurt anyone, and the guy was pretty sympathetic. Of course, he's a peon in his company. We spent the night at my wife's parents house (fumes can cause neurological damage in children and adults) but are now back at the house waiting on the heating oil higher ups to come see what is up (they covered the drain last night so as to preserve the 'area' just the way it was, I suppose to determine fault?) Let the ass-covering commence! Luckily I am off today! And this is exactly what I wanted to do with my day off.

OK. Enough self pity. I'll get something posted late today, probably. It's not like I'm doing anything.

[Stargaizer]

Glad to hear that it's at lest in the process of getting better/fixed.

[Dawn OOC]

Titan, hope things get patched up soon.

Also, Richard Stevenson is an asshole.

Just my 2 cents.

[Titan]

We are staying at the in-laws for the nonce. They have no interwebs. I have nobly taken the girls to a local play-place, and it has nothing whatever to do with the free wireless, I'm just a good dad. I'll try to get something up tonight or tomorrow, but bear with me a bit longer, if you would. I'm here, I want to be here. And now I realize that I didn't fully charge the laptop before I left... dammit.

[Dawn OOC]

Originally Posted By: Titan

We are staying at the in-laws for the nonce. They have no interwebs. I have nobly taken the girls to a local play-place, and it has nothing whatever to do with the free wireless, I'm just a good dad. I'll try to get something up tonight or tomorrow, but bear with me a bit longer, if you would. I'm here, I want to be here. And now I realize that I didn't fully charge the laptop before I left... dammit.

LOL! I understand Titan. I remember when I was in Colorado having to go to Borders to get my 'net fix.

Come back to us when you can! We'll be waiting with arms open wide!

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Dawn, OOC

Also, Richard Stevenson is an asshole.

Just my 2 cents.

Bah. His "Rivals" statement needs to be viewed as both hyperbole and in the context of talking about Politicians willing to fire up a race war for their personal political gain.

If the situation ever comes up there are better, more subtle and diplomatic ways to handle it. And yes, I also admit upon re-reading it comes off as stronger than I'd meant.