blacklance

Originally published at Highmoon's Ponderings. You can comment here or there.

Read the Intro, First Session Report, Second Session Report, Kale’s Second Session Report, Third Session Report and Kale’s Third Session Report.

The curse has been broken! By that I mean the curse that kept me from playing with the rest of the group since September (which isn’t entirely fair, as in there we had the High Holy Days and our move to a new apt, but alongside days when it all seemed like it would work, then it didn’t). But that’s the past and last night I got to rejoin the crew of The Owl for the penultimate session of our Lady Blackbird game. (There have been two sessions since the Third Session linked above, but no reports have been written for those.)

A Meeting

The game started with a flashback to the moment when the crew of The Owl met Lady Blackbird and Naomi for the first time. Yes, we went for the trope and we actually met in a tavern called The Harping Monkey and we basically recreated the set-up of the moment when Luke and Obi-Wan meet Han Solo in Mos Eisley. It was a simple scene, full of loaded statements that alluded to situations we had already played through. At one point Rich actually flashed us forward to the present, to the crew atop the Owl as it nears a storm in the aether trying to get the savage elf-girl Briaria to not kill the pirate she has in a lock and knife pressed into his neck.*

Personally, I had little to add here; I was getting back into character with Kale and trying to get a grasp of our situation going forward. I put out two flags during this part, sending some stuff Rich’s way to see if he wants to run with it:

1. When we first meet Lady Blackbird, she’s wearing a hood. The moment she takes it off and we see her face, I went pale and tense, muttering “Oh, shit” under my breath. I leaned over to Vance and said, “That’s Lady Blackbird. We have a big problem.” I stayed out of the fee conversation, except to demand that she double her very generous figure, though Vance actually lowered it for her.
2. Atop the Owl, wind beating all around, when I take a look, my first look, at the savage elf-girl, I yell out, “Briaria, what the HELL do you think you’re doing!” The rest of that scene I acted it as if I knew to some extent this girl.

Whether either of these offers gets picked up, we’ll see. I’m personally far more interested in the first one. It actually ties to something else that happened right at the end.

A Pirate

Once inside the Owl with Briaria and the pirate, Torres, we split into two groups, with Naomi and Vance having a chat with elf-girl, while I went to get Torres patched up and fly the ship as fast as possible to the next stop, Nightport. It turns out that Torres and I know each other, and I ran with that. Our chat was short but full of neat nuggets, most important being the one where I asked, “Did you get the message out to Flint?” Now Torres was my accomplice, and suddenly the only one outside of the crew to know of our cargo and mission. We discussed our need for a pilot to navigate the last part of our voyage, and Vance eventually showed up to talk to Torres though only through me, even though they were standing not five feet apart. I chided Vance for letting the ship get out from under his control; “It’s your ship, man, so act like it.”

Here I had a good chance to get into Kale’s skin finally. He wasn’t the nervous Steve Buscemi-esque guy he’s been so far, but that was fine because the company was different (it’s with Lady Blackbird that he gets all tongue-tied). I didn’t quite catch the ramifications of bringing in Torres, an outsider, into knowledge of our secret cargo and mission, but it wouldn’t be long before I did. I also enjoy the moments when Vance and Kale get to trade quips; these two are best friends, and when Chuck plays Vance, even though I’ve actually never met him outside of the game, we click just great in how we portray the relationship between the two buddies.

A Bloody Nose (And More)

Upon reaching Nightport, we bid goodbye to Torres. I called in the return favor for having healed him after his encounter with Briaria, and asked him to lead his pirate crew away from us long enough for us to reach Flint and finish our mission; he agreed. Vance and I realized that we indeed needed a pilot so the search for one we could trust began in earnest. Meanwhile, Naomi decided that just having had this pirate on board was enough to suspect him of putting Lady Blackbird in danger, so she decided she was going to kill him. I as a player decided that I did not like that and would oppose her attempt, so after some back and forth figuring out how, we got to that scene. This is the point where things took a dark turn and Kale went from the Steve Buscemi above to this:

Naomi tracked Torres down to a house where he had been having a bit of a romp. As she was about to knock on the door to deal with the pirate, a thrown knife thunked into the door right where her hand would’ve been, courtesy of me. “What are you doing” I asked. She started with some babble about security and safety and Lady Blackbird and the pirate. I told her that she need not worry about him, and of course she could not believe that I would trust a pirate. Mind you, she doesn’t know for sure that Torres knows about the mission and was actually helping us, she’s just going on a barbarian’s hunch. But apparently she doesn’t trust me either, so what be done; she has issues. I told her flat out, “I’m gonna tell you something once and only once, so please pay attention.” She doesn’t. She starts blabbing about this and that and how she’s going to protect her charge and blah blah blah.

When she finally shut up, I just flat out told her, “Listen, if I wanted you captured, you would’ve been captured already. If I wanted you dead, you would be dead already. Can we both at least agree on that?” Simple question, right? Nooo, she has to start yappin’ again about honor and duty and a bunch of other bullshit I did not pay attention to. “Naomi, it’s a simple yes or no question. If I wanted you or Lady Blackbird captured or dead, that would’ve happened already. Yes or no?” More words other than yes or no start to pour out of her mouth. “Geez, you talk a lot for a fighter! Yes or no? That’s all I’m asking for, yes or no? Yes or no? YES OR NO!”

I guess I kinda asked for it. She just went berserk and bull-rushed me. I tried to weave out of the way, but damn, she was fast. (Mick rolled 14 dice and I rolled 12 – Mick beat me by 2 successes.) Naomi tackled me to the ground and started to lay into me with the fury of a wild beast. Punch, punch, punch, punch, punch, punch. Through the punches, through the ringing in my ears, through the thump of my head being slammed against the ground, I could hear her saying something about talking to her like that, that only two people could, blah blah Lady Blackbird. And that’s when I realized it. That’s when I started to laugh.

I guess this threw her off and she threw me off against the side of the building (from which Torres was now long gone). I just kept laughing, cause I finally understood Naomi, and she was so wrong about so many things. Through the swelling, through the falling teeth, through the blood in my mouth and the pain in my ribs every time I said a syllable, I told her so. I told her how deluded she was, how much of a fool she was. And then I gave her the key to it all. “And that Lady Blackbird you worship so much, she’s not the paragon of virtue you think she is. But you’ll find out soon enough.”

As she walked away, leaving me in a serious amount of hurt, I laughed once more, because I now had Naomi’s number, and thus, Lady Blackbird’s as well.

We called scene and session at this point, frankly all of us surprised the story had gone to such a dark place all of a sudden. No one had been planning on anything even like this, but it just emerged, which is fantastic when it happens organically in a game.

We have one more session planned to finish the game by the end of the year, so it will be very interesting to see how the saga of Lady Blackbird comes to a close.

---

* How we got to this point is something I only know second-hand. Briefly, we were “attacked” by pirates with whom we had made a deal to get info on the location of Pirate King Flint, and somehow this savage elf-girl that followed us from Nematron (session 3, above), since she’s starstruck with Naomi, killed a whole bunch of pirates thinking she was helping us, in turn souring the deal with the pirates and getting them now on our tail as well.</p>

Originally published at Highmoon's Ponderings. You can comment here or there.

Today I announced that I am stepping down as the person behind the @BikeMiami Twitter account as of January 1, 2010. You can read the (very diplomatic) letter I posted here.

Honest truth is, I got tired of just being a cheerleader for a team that is not even playing at the moment. I started that Twitter account as a volunteer effort to help the Bike Miami team get the word out about events and to promote regular city cycling in Miami. After that, there were two Bike Miami Days (neither of which I could attend) and a couple of Bike Miami Rides, all of which were properly promoted. But then the period right before the city election hit, and before more pressing matters like City Budget, Bike Miami was set aside. There was a moment of victory when the City of Miami Commission approved both the Miami Bicycle Master Plan and Miami 21, but then Mayor Diaz’s term in office came to an end, and the candidate that would have followed his lead was not chosen. And there Bike Miami ground to a halt and has remained since.

With the Bike Miami Coordinator also loosing her job in City Hall, there was a cease of communication about the future of Bike Miami that has yet to be rectified. I did keep the Twitter account going through this time but without any official backing, it became more and more difficult to truly have a direction and to know what message to broadcast beyond “get on your bikes, Miami.”

To this we can add an amount of aggravation caused by a local bike shop merchant who decided he would have a beef with me and anything I did through the @BikeMiami account, whether it was me retweeting info about cool bike-related products (most of which are not available in Miami, something we can lay at the feet of the retailers), bike-related news from around the nation/world, or pushing for the regular kind of bike riding that we see in Europe (i.e. normal, day-to-day stuff, not Lycra or anything else needing special equipment). He simply refused to understand that I was a volunteer that did not speak officially for Bike Miami, but that in general kept the spirit of the message of Bike Miami in mind when operating that account. When it finally got personal, I knew for sure that this wasn’t worth the hassle.

I have a very clear idea of what I would like to see Bike Miami do, but since Bike Miami is simply a brand name attached to a series of events organized by the City of Miami, there isn’t much I expect that name to do beyond the Days and Rides. After seeing sites like BikePortland.org, Bike-PGH.org, Bike PHL or BikeJax.org, I realized what Miami needs is a truly independent bicycle advocacy central site, something I don’t really see Bike Miami becoming unless it goes independent of Miami City Hall, which I also don’t really see happening. So you know, be the change you want to see and all that…

I hope that the people I left the account to don’t let it die off, because it has grown to be a good vehicle for communication with the regular folks out there as well as a link to the larger network of bike advocacy sites. But that’s now out of my hands. I will continue to be a cheerleader for the idea of Bike Miami, and hope that the new administration of the City of Miami can realize the importance of this brand name and the initiative it launched for the future of Miami.

I have plans already in motion for what I want to do and which I will reveal in due time.

Get on your bike and ride, folks.

This week’s Poly Weekly #223: Communicating while angry & realism in relationships</a>.

Download the mp3 directly!

0:00 Introduction and host chat
Intro, under-18 warning and re-direction to www.scarleteen.com; friend me on Twitter and answer questions about what you want on the show, call 206-202-POLY with comments or discuss your own topics at the forums at http://forum.polyweekly.com.

Announcements

• Anal sex in accordance with God’s will
• Polyagony: The mixed feeling you get when your sweetie is dating someone new. A mixture of: “I’m so happy for you!” with “Teehee! Tell me all the juicy details!” with, “But I’m still pretty, right?”
• Ann Arbor Poly Network: munch the second Friday, 7:30 p.m., at Pizza House; discussion group third Thursday at WRAP (319 Braun Ct.)

Cohosts
Joreth
Pepper

Topic: Communicating while angry</a>
From the forums: a different way to communicate when angry

Topic: Realism in Relationships
Jenny Block wrote this response to Tiger Wood’s cheating: monogamy isn’t realistic. How would you respond? Thanks to JazzDuck for commenting via Twitter!

Happy Poly Moment
Courtesy of PolyWolf

Feedback
Vim wrote in about poly anime, Marmalade Boy

Wrap-up
Questions? Comments? Feedback? Email cunningminx@gmail.com or call the listener comment line at 206-202-POLY. And hey, why not attach an audio comment to that email? Check out PolyWeekly at Blubrry.com. Share this with a friend or write an iTunes review!

Want Poly Weekly for your very own? Get the Best of Poly Weekly collection from PodDisc.com

Our intro and outro music is courtesy of Pacemaker Jane, “Good Suspicions”

Originally published at Polyamory Weekly. Please leave any comments there.

This is another alien concept for Dan Repperger’s Epoch of Rysos role-playing game and fiction setting. This alien is called a Mordeth.

At the start of the project, I was given a description:

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Originally published at Out Of My Mind. You can comment here or there.

This week’s Poly Weekly #222: Metamours & Change</a>.

Download the mp3 directly!

0:00 Introduction and host chat
Intro, under-18 warning and re-direction to www.scarleteen.com; friend me on Twitter and answer questions about what you want on the show, call 206-202-POLY with comments or discuss your own topics at the forums at http://forum.polyweekly.com.

Announcements
Please follow us on Twitter!
The Fresno CA Polyamory group meets the Third Friday of every month (excluding November and December) at the Round Table Pizza on First and Bullard at 7:00pm.

Cohosts
Joreth
Franklin Veaux
Boone Dryden

Topic: Dealing with metamours in a changing relationship</a>
Listener calls in to ask for advice with a situation in which she begins dating Sean when he and Jill were broken up. When Sean and Jill reconcile, Jill doesn’t wish to have a child while unmarried, so they marry with caller’s blessing, who hopes Jill will then be happy and secure. However, Jill continues to be even more hostile towards the caller. What to do?

Hosts bring up the issues of assumptions: what does marriage mean to you? Where do you see each person’s place in the new relationship?

Happy poly moment of the week!
EdgesBiz: seeing three loving faces after orgasm
Katie: family support after ACL injury

Feedback: Poly Weekly 219: Success and Divorce
Frances and Jazmin offer Steve Pavlina support via Facebook
“Needing a cuddle”
• “Fuzzy”
• Eynstein suggests “tjØnndau” or “shundy”
Doolies called in about getting love and support during an HSV episode

Wrap-up
Questions? Comments? Feedback? Email cunningminx@gmail.com or call the listener comment line at 206-202-POLY. And hey, why not attach an audio comment to that email? Check out PolyWeekly at Blubrry.com. Share this with a friend or write an iTunes review!

Want Poly Weekly for your very own? Get the Best of Poly Weekly collection from PodDisc.com

Our intro and outro music is courtesy of Pacemaker Jane, “Good Suspicions”

Originally published at Polyamory Weekly. Please leave any comments there.

Originally published at Highmoon's Ponderings. You can comment here or there.

Though I received my acceptance letter from FIU a couple of weeks back, the process of getting everything set up in their system was a little slower. Add to that the move and some amount of lethargy on my part, and it results in me not having registered yet for the Spring 2010 semester, starting January 4 (ack!).

No more; I sat down yesterday at my computer with my mooched wifi connection and navigated the murky waters of the greater FIU website, filling out every single form I still needed to (FAFSA, I’m looking at you), applying for Financial Aid, and finally going through the process of registration (and I’m exagerating a bit – the new website is so much better than what was in place when I graduated in 2002!). A couple of hours later I was done and registered for my first semester of pre-Nursing, en route to my BSN.

As is Law, the first semester’s schedule–whether for freshmen or returning students–always sucks, and mine is no exception. Check this out:

• PCB 2099 Fundamentals of Physiology – Mo/We/Fr 9:00AM – 9:50AM
• PCB 2099L Fundamentals of Physiology Lab – Fr 10:00AM – 12:45PM
• PHI 2600 Intro to Ethics – Mo/We/Fr 2:00PM – 2:50PM
• PSY 2012 Intro to Psychology – Tu/Th 11:00AM – 12:15PM
• STA 2122 Intro to Statistics I – Tu/Th 5:00PM – 6:15PM

On Mondays and Wednesday I have a 4 hour gap in the middle, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have a 5 hour gap, which just couldn’t be helped in order to keep all my classes in the same campus. Time to study, I guess.

I am scared shitless, but excited as hell at the same time. In a couple of weeks, it’ll all start.

Damn, I need to get the books now.

Originally published at Highmoon's Ponderings. You can comment here or there.

Late last year I began to work on a project for the Witch Hunter: The Invisible World roleplaying game, a game which, anyone that knows me can attest, I love to little tiny bits. Because of the events of this year, that project kept getting pushed back and back; even though my co-writer and I were committed to the work due to the enthusiasm we share for the game, it just never worked out and never had a chance to take off. I recently officially canceled the project until further notice (I won’t reveal the exact nature of the project just in case it ever can be restarted). Rather than leave the material I wrote gathering virtual dust in a folder, I’d like to share it for free with everyone.

A Matter of Conviction presents rules for bringing in narrative flags into the game. Anyone who’s played Spirit of the Century, Burning Wheel or Primetime Adventures (among many) will recognize these as Aspects/Beliefs & Instincts/Edges – descriptive bits of information that serve as flags about what is important to the characters and what they want narrative conflict to be about. Witch Hunter already has some element of this via Virtues & Vices, but Convictions brings a laser focus to the idea.

The rules have been posted to the Witch Hunter forum in the Paradigm Concepts website, and on Scribd, where it can be read online or downloaded on PDF (or use the widget below).

I hope you enjoy these rules. Please let me know how they work for you, either here or at the PCI Witch Hunter forum thread.

A Matter of Conviction - Final (Witch Hunter RPG)