I'm sorry for the interruption--for those of us among the unenlightened, what are the "PPC" stories? I'm assuming it stands for something, but maybe I'm wrong.
--M. J. Young
Dragons Welcome: James in a new world
(67 posts) (3 voices)-
Fri Jun 19 2009 11:02 pm #
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JTM
MemberIt stands for "Protectors of the Plot Continuum". It's a giant shared project meta-fiction setting, in which the characters go into bad fan-fiction, stick around a while to make a list of affronts to the source materials, logic, laws of physics, and the English language. Then they destroy the blatant self-inserts and characters that act as accessories to said blatant self-inserts. It's a bit like mystery science theater, except that bad things happen to the annoying characters at the end.
It's hard to feel sorry for the self-inserts, given just how bad things get in the fan-fiction stories.
Sat Jun 20 2009 1:57 am # -
They really are revoltingly bad. As for the PPCs, I'm fonder of the concept than the stories (or at least the one I glanced though). They strike me as more fun to write than to read.
The blinds are closed. Are you getting up to look out of them? (And if so, what would stop you?)
_
I hate to use a whole post for that (especially since I might not post at all this weekend - out of town), but it occurred to me - very late in working on your post - that not only had I been completely remiss in my description of the window, you might wish to conceal your intent (a quick glance being okay, but getting out of bed and raising the blinds not okay). While usually I would push forward and let you rein me back in if I overstepped, information of this kind is very hard to take back.Sat Jun 20 2009 3:49 am # -
Her smug expression drops away. "Ah - wait, um, don't you - ?"
The view from the window is not your neighborhood. For one thing, your room had ought to be on the second story, and the view is at ground level. For another, there is nothing at all suburban about the lush vegetation you see through the window glass. Tall trees whose canopies are out of sight give a green cast to what daylight makes it down this far. The bushes, shrubs and grasses are all in bloom, and have a wild, uncultivated look to them; despite that, there seem to be well-kept paths winding through it all.
"Ahem. I was going to ask if you wanted to move this conversation to the garden . . ."
__
I figured impotent stuttering was far enough shy of yelling that you'd go ahead with peaking out the window. Also, I made another roll. It was 17, a success.Wed Jul 1 2009 9:07 am # -
"Rest yourself easy, James. Your room hasn't gone anywhere. This isn't your room, any more than that out there is my garden. This is a dream of your room, and that is a dream of my garden. I am a dream of me, talking to a dream of you. I am a witch; we find visiting is simpler this way.
"Shall we?" She motions to the door.
Wed Jul 8 2009 5:41 am # -
She pouts. "I was hoping to extend you an invitation. If you're going to keep reacting to everything with such discourtesy and suspicion, I'm not sure I should bother.
"Your turn, then. What is it you want?"
Mon Jul 13 2009 4:29 am # -
JTM
MemberRather late on this, mostly because I got bored partway through writing it and then lost it before I got back to writing. There was an extended period of live play.
I was generally evasive her. She turned out to be a witch, and perhaps inadvertently revealed that she knew about the device. At that point, I went with dead silence. She woke me up by turning into a snake.
Later, Grimalt, the king, and a nameless, completely nondescript goblin showed up to talk to me. Grimalt was apparently convinced I was a dwarven spy. I attempted to persuade them otherwise by showing off my LED flashlight. At some point during the conversation, the dragon began talking to me. He suggested that I blame it on witches. I did so, which attracted a great deal of interest from all of the goblins. The dragon then gave a description of a clearing in which i could claim to have met them, but I decided to instead be vague. The dragon was disappointed and ended the conversation, while the king was persuaded to arrest me and put me in "The Well". I sprinted off but immediately got a cramp, and was caught by Grimalt and the king, at which point I surrendered.
I was taken to The Well, which turned out to be a large number of cells with stout wooden doors with small windows, only accessable via a lift lowered from the top, dug into clay. A while later I got a sudden urge to escape, then was let out by a guard who seemed to be in a trance, then I walked off into the forest and met the witch in a clearing matching the dragon's description. She implied that the whole situation was an elaborate ploy instigated by Grimalt, who was himself a dwarven spy.
The rest should probably wait on robert writing up his section of live play, as he showed up around this piont. On a side note, this session involved perhaps the worst rolling in my gaming history, counting nethack. I failed every single attribute check I attempted, and got high 20s on the GE roll for the dungeon
Tue Feb 9 2010 11:50 pm # -
And unless I misremember, two of those attribute checks were critical failures. I know the cramp was (chaining a stamina check), but I have a vague notion that a persuasion check during the "I-am-not-a-spy" conversation went nova as well.
I'll pop over to Robert's thread and check on how much he has to write; I think we left him still alive in Turok's world, poor dear. Tell him to email me if he's got questions or if he wants to make futile attempts to get me to write it for him.
At some point during the conversation, the dragon began talking to me . . .
I'll just mention for clarity that this was mind-to-mind, and all James/dragon communication was concurrent with his conversation with the goblins, as well as apparently undetected by them. Conversing with the dragon in this way was less like answering a mental cell phone call (selective two-way communication) and more like being addressed over the PA system by the man behind the two-way mirror (effectively two-way, but only one party is transmitting).
The LED flashlight was thought to be Elvish make, which clouded the whole issue of "dwarvish spy" but raised more questions than it settled.
There was a great deal of subtlety, detail, and tension in the scene, most of which is lost to time and wouldn't come through well in a summary anyway. Such is the way of things.
She implied that the whole situation was an elaborate ploy instigated by Grimalt, who was himself a dwarven spy.
If you remember anything else on this point, it would help if you could recount it for me. If not, no worries.
Wed Feb 10 2010 5:27 am # -
JTM
MemberThe remander of the summary is in Robert's thread.
I'm pretty sure the final question was me asking what the device did.
Tue Sep 7 2010 12:23 am # -
Do we remember what became of Robin Strange? Is he still in the clearing, under the care of the ensorceled Robert (who still considers him friend, but is in the awkward position of considering the witch a friend as well)?
Did we ever name the witch? If we haven't, fine, but if we did and don't remember the name I'll just invent one now (or let you invent it).
I'll post for this just as soon as I'm back up to speed with my own scenario. Probably that will be by tomorrow night sometime. Glad to have you back.
Tue Sep 7 2010 2:48 am # -
You sit near the trunk of a sturdy maple, perhaps a story or two above the forest floor. Evelyn turns the stone over in her hand and smiles as she answers your question.
"It's called the Crystal Tear. Supposedly, a dragon hatchling in pain began to cry, but before it could shed more than a single tear, its mother took pity on it and used her magic to suck all of the suffering out of the hatchling and put it in the tear instead. Well, the amount of pain it takes to make a dragon cry - even a baby dragon - was so great, it made the tear instantly solidify, hardening like an ancient tree. (That's this crystal.) And supposedly, whenever the Crystal Tear again comes into the presence of love and pain at once, it will draw that suffering into itself just like before, thus curing any ailment or malady imaginable.
"Supposedly. I intend to discern the truth."
Turning the stone over again, she adds,
"Well, at least the last part, anyway. I'm not certain I care about its provenance."
Thu Sep 9 2010 12:11 am # -
JTM
Member"So what was the point of taking it from Robin while he was planning to take it to heal his family? Seems like it would have been simpler to make a deal where he got to try it on his family in the first place, then give it to you. Then you wouldn't need a follow-up test."
Fri Sep 10 2010 8:58 pm # -
She blinks, once, then smiles, cat-like.
"Clever boy! If things were otherwise, that would be a very sound plan. But, I think you underestimate Robin Strange. Notice how easily he made an ally of your brother - and in how short a time. An ally, I might add, who either has friends among dwarves or the talent to wrest their weapons from them. I dealt with your brother easily enough, of course, but you see how the thing might go on. And you would have me allow him to complete his journey, gathering who-knows-who along the way, and reach Sparrowhome? So he can renege on the deal while surrounded by friends and family?
"An understandable mistake; you've only just met him, after all. When you've a bit more experience, I think you'll make a fine witch."
Sat Sep 11 2010 11:52 pm # -
JTM
Member"I'm pretty sure that's not dwarven work. It looks rather like the sort of shotgun made in our homeland, which only has legends of dwarves. My only direct experience with dwarven weaponry is that mysterious object the goblins have, but they seem to favor over-engineering."
Mon Sep 13 2010 2:32 am # -
"Mmm! You're getting more interesting by the minute.
"You know, I never got around to issuing that invitation, earlier. You remember - in your dream. Would you like to hear it now?"
Wed Sep 22 2010 5:35 am # -
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