Katzaniel

Question: Can I split the line into more than one line? Answer: For sure, if you need to. Especially in poetry, I recognize this will probably have to happen. Question: I can't think of anything to write for this line. Can I have a replacement? Answer: Yes. In general, the point is to inspire you, so I'll work with you to give you something you can use. And let you change it a bit if you have to. And whatnot. Just, warn me soon-ish so that I can make sure we end up with a full circle in the end, and don't change it too much, again for the sake of the circle. Question: Is it like last time, where you don't actually have to say the word (of the theme)? Answer: Yes. Include it however you wish; though hopefully more than passingly mentioned. Still, doesn't have to be the theme of the whole piece, just a theme.

Four rules? Four rules?? *looks it up* Actually, I *did* know that. But I didn't realize *he* wrote it, and especially not that it appeared in one of his books. Huh. See, the ironic thing is that I deliberately threw the linux question because Jhenrau wouldn't know it, but he would have known this one, even though I didn't. (I would have had him guessing between 4 and 5, instead, because I had meant that some author came by years and years later and added another rule, and he wasn't quite sure whether it was Asimov). Looks good, though, Patrick.

Okay, when I actually started to write these I realized how hard it is to write lines that will sound good in any medium. So they're kind of geared more toward stories. But I've decided that you're allowed to alter them slightly for tense, or rhyming, or some such... but only slightly, please. Or maybe I should have two circles - one for poetry, one for prose? This one is geared a little more to prose, but you can use them with poetry if you wish. If I get enough people interested in another, I'll write more lines geared more toward poetry. Or maybe I'm crazy and you'll all do just fine with them. PS. I plan to post leftover lines when we're done, so anyone who wants can use them.

Behold! A new challenge hast come forth! Okay, basically the idea is that I shall come up some number of lines, and everyone who wants to join will be given two: One with which to start your piece, and one with which to end it. Your pieces can, as before, be poems, stories, RPs, essays, or only part of something else... whatever you wish to do. Furthermore, there will a sort of common theme going through the circle, and as each of you signs up I will tell you your incarnation of that theme. This one does not require signing up ahead of time; simply send me a PM if/when you wish to receive your challenge. When you post, please don't indicate on the post that it's part of this challenge... but PM me with the link so that I can post the circle when it's complete. The proposed due date is Sunday, April 30th. Okay, I feel your confusion coming on. Example! * At some point before May, you think, "Okay, I've got time, and I would like to try that." * You PM me. * I send you a first sentence, a last sentence, and one theme for the piece. * You write and post your piece. It sits for a while in its own right, a lovely little piece. * You PM me the link. * On May 1st, or whenever after that I have a majority of the pieces, I'll post the circle comlete with links. * We all sit in awe of the circle. Well, we may or may not do the last one. But... Katzaniel throws a gauntlet to the floor... EDIT: PS, Did I mention that each ending line will become the next person's starting line, and that when everyone's done I plan to write a story/poem/etc to connect the last and first?

Each "item" indicates a rank: Feather is one, plus paper is two, plus ink bottle is three, plus writing on the paper is four. Shields are totally different, though: They indicate us guild-leaders, servants of our guilds. And, just to be sure I've covered everything: AAA is the Articulate Artisans of Alliteration, the poet's guild; AVV is the Alliance of Vagabonds & Vanguards, the RPer's guild, and SWG is the StoryWeaver's Guild, the storytellers.

Well, I think they're here. I mean, they are here. I think they're done right. But that's where you come in! If anybody notices a problem - most likely that their image shows they're in a different set of guilds than they thought they were in, or that I missed them altogether - PM me or post here. We'll sort it out as quickly as we can. Cheers! Katz

Wow, it's awesome that it's in Canada. Sadly, though, I cannot join.

I agree with Wyvern: The "In dreams" bit started out re-enforcing the theme, but got tiring after a few stanzas. If I were you, and if I felt inclined to do some rewriting of this, I would try to find a way to say it less often nearer the end. I really like some of the lines in this poem, particularly the first and last stanzas. The last stanza is very different from the rest, but I really liked how you ended it. I think that the rhythm could stand some looking at, but not at the cost of those great lines. In my opinion, minor changes like (2nd stanza) "In dreams I can take peace" to "In dreams I take my peace" would help the flow of it. I don't have the vocabulary at hand to explain why, but I think it's something to do with what Alaeha and Cerulean were describing here. (Link available to QB+ only, sorry!) Anyway, this is a roundabout way to say that I liked it, because I rarely bother critiquing (sp?) something that I didn't.

OOC: We tried to keep this from Lady D'Ander's POV but Erilyn's parts were written by Tanny IC: Lady D'Ander stroked her brush carefully through her hair. Her hair tangled so very easily, which is why she usually had Erilyn do it. But Erilyn had gone to answer the door (what was taking the woman so long?) and Lady D'Ander had a party tonight, for which she didn't want to be late. So she sat on the not-so-comfy stool in front of her vanity, brushing her own hair. Finally Erilyn came back into the room and took over. "So, who was at the door?" queried Lady D'Ander. Erilyn took some seconds to answer, a bit startled by her Lady's voice. "Just Alfonso." The maid untangled Lady D'Ander's hair deftly, managing to not pull it. The young woman was much better than she'd been when she first started working for her. "Oh yes, Alfonso. Pity about him, hmmm? Well, it's actually a good thing. Now I'll have you Thursday evenings again, and just as fall fashions start to come in. I'll need your help picking out a dress tonight, by the way. Anyway, whatever came into your head - riding lessons! A maid! - I don't know, but I'll certainly miss the occasional ride with him myself. I do love horses." Erilyn nods, sighing inwardly. "He was a good company, m'lady. He certainly had good looks and was able to impress most of us." "Oh, yes! He had nice shoulders, for sure. But he talked very strangely. A woman can't end up with a man who can't even speak decent english." "However, Spanish can be of advantage, m'lady. A trusted man who can understand what potential enemies talk behind our backs is valuable. You yourself commented this some nights ago." The noblewoman nodded, wondering briefly why Erilyn was defending him, but immediately forgot as her mind drifted on to other things, and eventually back to recent events. "Erilyn! Did you know, today a man was flirting with me, but he was being very shy about it? I'm going to have to find him again, and see if I can't get him to show his affections a little more openly. He was certainly very good-looking, and I like a man who's decently shy. But it shouldn't be up to the woman to do the courting, either." Erilyn finished her hair, and Lady D'Ander stood up while her maid went to the wardrobe and picked out a few dresses. As the girl brought them forward, Lady D'Ander remembered something else. "Erilyn! D'you know what? The other night, someone gave me a very funny note. Something about a tree and three people. It didn't make much sense. And ... and ... you don't think it was one of the other women, do you?" "What did it say, m'lady?" Lady D'Ander was distracted. "Huh? Oh, the note! Just something about a tree. I think it said two men and a woman. But what if he wasn't looking at me at all? Surely I'm not losing my charm." "You don't remember who gave you the note, m'lady? It might be either an invitation for a meeting, or someone trying to warn you about a dangerous meeting... and it's impossible for any man not noticing you, m'lady." "Oh, dear, I hope you're right. An invitation? No, it was very mysterious. Just said something about these people that had already met. Whyever should I care about a meeting that already happened? At any rate, I simply must know his name." "Maybe the meeting was important for you, m'lady... and if it involved this man who is interested in you? You wouldn't want to have him deceiving you. And if you describe him to me, if it is your wish I might find out his name." "Oh! Would you do that for me? He had very nice hair. Long. Very well-dressed, too. He obviously has pride in his appearance; he stood out among everyone else there today." "I know who he is... his name is Dennis. But my lady should be sure that the meeting you were warned about does not include him. It would be terrible if any of the other women were using him as a plot against you." "Oh, don't be silly. A plot? Oh, you're thinking about the Princess gone missing! But what would anyone have against me? Anyway, this will have to be the last dress I try on, or I'll be late. Maybe this Dennis - what an odd way to pronounce it - will be there. Yes yes, don't fuss, I'll be careful. But either he's interested, or he's not, and if he's not, well, I guess I'll just have to be devastated. But you've already told me he can't help but be entranced."

Ack, I've gone and read it, and now you've charged me with a comment. Well, I don't have much to say, but I'll respect your request and give you the "something". I did enjoy it. Short but powerful. I'm not certain whether I'd have understood the point if the title hadn't said it, but then again I'm not known for understanding poems well. I tend to see only the surface words. At any rate, I liked the imagery. Thanks for sharing.

Awesome, Tyrion. Awesome stuff. Not sure if I trust ya though.

Paul Stinging political commentary... or overly long setup for a very silly joke? It was my first day of school in the new city, and though I would not admit it to my parents, I was worried. By grade five, all of the other students would know each other. All the cliques would be already formed, and fitting into one - the right one, that is - would be a difficult task. The first day, maybe even the first hour, would set my course for the whole rest of elementary school, probably even high school. Probably even beyond! If I made the wrong impression today, it might seal my fate forever. Mom and dad dropped me off at the gates. They had insisted on making sure I arrived safely, but they were decent enough to understand my need to make the rest of the trip on my own. We had met with the principal when deciding schools, and he had shown me the classroom, so I knew the way. Of course, it would be different today. Today, it would be full of students. "Paul Burrows?" asked the teacher, looking up from her desk, when I walked in. I nodded. "There are other Pauls in this class," she said then, "so would you rather go by Paul B, or perhaps your middle name?" "Paul B," I responded immediately. All respect to my great-grandpa, but I didn't want anybody to know my middle name. It might have been cool in his day, but being known as Archie or Archibald would not help my case for being cool. "Alright," the teacher said, getting up. "You can sit here. In front of you is Dwayne, and behind you is Paul M. I'll leave it up to them to introduce everyone else, and at recess they can show you around. As for this morning, you chose a good day to come, because we're decorating the classroom." She went to the front, then, and addressed the whole class just as the bell rang. She told us what she was expecting, then set us free. Dwayne showed me to the art supplies cupboard. "Dwayne is actually my middle name," he confided as he pulled out a pile of construction-paper circles. "I'm Paul, too." "No, you're not," I said, laughing. "Good one, though." "What, you think I'm lying to you?" My mind raced. He seemed so serious; why continue if it were really a joke? Then again, I didn't want to be gullible. They always pick on the new kid. I know how it works - I've picked on my share of them, too. "No," I said, cautiously. "It's a little hard to believe, though, y'know? Sitting next to the other Paul and all. I just assumed you were joking." "Nah," he replied, suddenly smiling again. "It's not just the two of us, anyway. Otherwise it might seem like quite a coincidence, for sure." Paul M had come over by this point. "You're telling him about all the Pauls?" "Yeah. He didn't believe me at first that it was really my first name... he's going to have trouble with this, I think..." "With what?" "Well, it's really strange, this class is. Never seen the like. Every student in it is called either Paul or Polly! No, don't look like that, it's true." He paused to grin at me. "We think it's some kind of conspiracy!" I just sort of laughed weakly, not wanting to commit on the belief or disbelief. It seemed so extremely out there that I wasn't sure they would have said anything if it weren't true. But how could it be true? It was ridiculous. "Don't you believe us?" queried Dwayne. Put to the point like that, I had to decide. "Not really," I told him. "Do you blame me?" "Nah. But you'll see." And I did. All through the rest of day, kids were introduced to me, and about half of them went by Paul or Polly and their last initial. More than one of the others laughed at some point about Paul or Polly being their middle name. What was this? How far they planned it in advance, and how gullible did they think I would be? And why was the teacher in on it? Finally, at the end of the day, I broke down and waited for everyone to leave, so that I could ask the teacher about it. "Miss? I... this is going to sound stupid. But half the boys in this class have told me that they're really named Paul." "And?" "And? And I don't believe them! What's going on?" "Oh, honey. They're not lying to you. Why should they do that? No, it's just a new educational initiative. We decided that we're going to try organizing kids by their names. We feel that names are never chosen by chance; names give information into how a child learns, how intelligent they can be, the best way to teach them. There are classrooms all over the state organized by popular names and using a certain method of teaching.... are you all right, hon? Is there something wrong?" "It just seems pretty stupid, is all. How can you think that something as ordinary as my name can tell you how smart I'm going to be? You can't pigeonhole us and expect us to like it! It's ridiculous! It's ... it's .... It's appalling!"

Well, it seems a little soon to do exactly the same activity again. But I liked seeing things pop up around the Pen and then later discovering that they belonged here, too. Perhaps I'll think of something similar to post in the next little while.

Tell me if I did anything wrong... I'm currently just zooming around the Pen trying to deal with everything I've let fester... (also, I finally linked your Circle post for you, but I haven't bumped the thread just yet)

I'm still alive, I swear!! I was half hoping I'd been voted off and thus didn't have to catch up, but I will try. I won't promise for the end of today, because I still need to read everything that's been posted for like 2 weeks but I'll aim for tomorrow. And no worries, RL-wise, there were no catastrophes or anything, just a preponderance of projects and panic aplenty.

Lady Yvonne D'Ander surveyed the room. Most of what she saw was the usual crowd, all dressed up and animatedly discussing the Princess' disappearance. There was Lord Henry, who was rather too fond of holding hands in public - a disgusting habit. In private, of course, Lady D'Ander enjoyed holding hands as much as anyone, but it was a very private thing indeed. Standing near the door was Prince Richard. He was too quiet; Lady D'Ander liked someone with whom she could discuss things. And - oh! - who was that? The man saw her notice him, even met her eyes for a moment, then looked away. How odd. He had clearly been looking at her, and wasn't embarrassed to have been caught looking, but he hadn't offered a smile, or come over to talk. Just then the King and Queen came in, so she filed away the man for later thought. Partway through the conversation, Lady D'Ander heard a discrete cough, and saw that it had come from that same man, who was now blushing and rearranging his coat. He was looking in another direction, though, and Lady D'Ander strained to see what woman had made him cough and blush. Obviously he was trying to flirt with someone, but who? Surely not Lady Amanda, the only one who seemed to be in the direction he was looking. Perhaps he was playing hard-to-get, and cleverly facing the other way, when really he was flirting with her. It would explain the lack of a smile. When the speeches ended, the man left quickly, apparently trying to catch up with someone. Still Lady D'Ander failed to see anyone that it could be. She sighed inwardly and made her way to her rooms. She would have lots to talk about to her maid, tonight, what with this strangely flirting man on top of the princess' disappearance.

Wow, it's an amazing feeling to write something you like in a medium you find difficult, and then see that it made some people smile - three of them enough to reply to the piece. Thank you for the feedback. Oh, I keep tripping over "Dance disco moves and Irish jigs" - if anyone can think of a less awkward word in place of "moves" please tell me.

Pen was down yesterday when I planned to post, so this may take a bit ... Not until later today, at least. On the plus side, I get way more work done when the Pen is down.

*laughs* Sweetcherrie, if you keep that up, we're going to have to move the IC thread to the Scarlett Pen! (I, by the way, will reply sometime tomorrow, most likely).

So, who are our suspects? Or do they come in later? (Also, you seem to have accidentally started two IC threads - I'm guessing it's the x:21 (depending on time-zone) one that you want to keep).

Sweetcherrie and I were having a discussion about the different ways we play a character in an RP, and I got curious how many different ways there are. Well, first, do you determine a character's actions differently depending on whether you're RPing or just writing them? And how do you do either? I, for example, might determine a fairly inconsequential character's actions simply by guessing what a logical reaction to the situation might be. For small characters, it's usually fairly basic. For larger characters, I try to "inhabit" them. Not to make them like myself, or to assume that they're like me, but to figure out how they're different. What makes them tick? Usually I get a pretty good idea of their history and personality before I ever begin to write them, and then I try to look at whatever situation they're in, from their point of view. For example, the character I'm going to play in Gwaihir's game. She's different from me primarily in that she's from a setting where royal blood matters, and she happens to be royal. She's not different from most of her culture, in that she doesn't think highly of commoners - mostly, she doesn't think about them at all. They're not as important as she is. She's similar to me in that she likes men - no surprise - but she's much more outgoing about it, and willing to have many relationships going on at once. Of course, in her society it's not a matter of sleeping with them, but she will flirt with as many men as she can, because men are fun to be with and she considers it fun to make them interested in her. It's kind of a hobby with her. Those are the eyes I try to see through when I look at her interaction with Tanny's character - her maid - or Sweetcherrie's character - an in-the-closet gay man. I put myself in her shoes, visualize everything that makes her who she is (concentrating most, I think, on the differences between herself and me) and then think, how would I act, were I her? If I do it well enough, if I can become her, then I end up with how she would act. In this example, she would talk to her maid as if her maid existed only for her own interest, and not beyond. She wouldn't consider that the maid has thoughts, or feelings, or might share her gossip with others, nor would she ask her opinion on anything, unless offered. She wouldn't be shocked that the maid has an opinion, but she would assume that anything the maid was right about was probably just luck, as clearly a noblewoman is more intelligent than a commoner. As for the gay man, she would see him as single, and try to get him interested in her, like all the other men. If he didn't appear interested, she would wonder why, be slightly insulted, and only try harder. If she found out that he liked men, she would be very confused, a little disgusted, and assume that it was possible to "convert" him, never wondering whether it's possible to "convert" herself to like women. Then, naturally, she'd proceed to try, doing everything in her power to be as womanly as possible around him, absolutely sure in her knowledge that eventually he would weaken and show his interest. What I'm trying to do is explain *how* I figure all that out, not what it is I've figured out, but I'm not sure if I'm succeeding. Anyway, I hope that if enough people try to explain what their method is, it'll become easier to articulate, because then I'll have a basis to explain similarities and differences... So I'll wait for a bit and see who replies to this before trying again.

Note, I am not saying that we wanted you alive because we figured IC that you'd vote with Patrick, although the thought crossed our minds and it did end up being the case. I'm saying we wanted it to end happily - for us if for no one else. Susan being killed by Cedric didn't much sense, anyway. I suppose if we'd had to do it, it could have been explained by Karen sensing you as a threat and doing it without Cedric's knowledge. - Although, to make it really work RP-wise, we may have then had to make the *next* nightkill as Karen! *grin*

I'd let them dance and twirl and sing, For me they'd do most anything; They'd all be sweet and cute and fun - They would not be just anyone! My merry men, they'd join the crew Oh think, the things that they would do! We'd laugh, we'd spin, we'd stay up late, We'd take all night to celebrate. And in the morn we'd go again, Trill endless singing to the rain, Dance disco moves and Irish jigs, And eat a meal of ham and figs. My pretty men, they'd do my will, But never ever have their fill. Such fun beyond the harem wall, And then of course they'd bare it all. (EDIT: typo)

It's really interesting thinking of all the different ways this could have played out. For example, nightkill #2, after we tried and failed to kill Venefyxatu. I wanted to go for him again, knowing that the same person would very likely be baned again, and we would likely fail. My reasoning was that if it was Venefyxatu being baned, (which it was) then the baner would eventually (and at the cost of our nightkills for however many nights) come to the conclusion that the wolf was Venefyxatu. (If it was one of us being baned, then there would be 50% chance of breaking through, and then if we were lucky it would have been Venefyxatu himself that was the baner - after all, many baners bane themselves the first night) Anyway, then the baner would hopefully come out and accuse Venefyxatu, and we would have controlled a lynching and found out the baner. A bit risky, though, and Patrick wanted to go for Jammeez, which is of course what we ended up doing. I'm curious whether we would indeed have still won, if we'd gone that way. Also, Patrick went for Panther, suspecting him to have been the Seer that last night. Before I died, I suggested that I didn't think Panther was the Seer. (I'd missed that line about being sure Mynx was innocent). If Patrick had missed it, too, or if he had agreed with my logic despite that line, then we would very likely have lost. Also, a number of times we wondered if Mynx was Seer and cleverly relying on her being of use to us to keep her alive until she found the second wolf (since she would inevitably have already Seen Patrick). Also, we thought that killing Mynx might make Patrick less suspicious. But we wanted her alive, IC, and we really never needed any more reason to bring Patrick away from suspicion. I was the scapegoat for all hostility. Oh, and I want you all to know, I played Karen the same way that I would have, if innocent - I decided on her coldness and personality before knowing my role - until it became clear that she was going to die anyway (I never expected to pull through on the lynching of Sweetcherrie ) and then I began to show her descent into madness. Descents into madness, by the way, are horribly fun to write. Well, I think that's all I wanted to say. Incredibly fun game, and I will now revert to my regularly scheduled permanent innocence. Were-Katz out.

PS, if you did post one and I missed it, just PM me and I'll fix that.