Balladeer

Jewels wanders her way back to the bus and climbs on without comment. There is still much dancing in the aisles so she joins in as she wends her way around and through to the back trying to get to the bathroom. She closes and locks the door behind her but yelps when she turns around. Jewels: MM! Goodness you startled me! You... you alright? Mysterious Man mumbles incoherently, his breath still reeking of alcohol. His damp pants also exude another unpleasant smell. Jewels: Give me a minute I'll be right back. She disappears through the door only to return holding a pink frilly skirt and a toothbrush. Jewels: I know it's not your color but it's all I had in my bag. Sylae has a whole closet of them back at CalRef. Pictures to prove it, too. Think you can handle changing on your own? Mysterious Man: Why's everyone always trying to change me?! Can't I just be myself? Jewels sighs and does what needs to be done. In short order she leads Mysterious Man out; fresh breath, frilly skirt and all. She leaves him at the back of the bus with a glass of water and his hand washed pants now set out to dry on the back of the seat next to him. She returns to the bathroom for her own needs before returning to her seat. She pointedly tries not to worry about the flash she thought she saw in her eye in the mirror. Jewels: Just a reflection of the light...

Heh, I remember having those kind of 'discussions'. Very difficult to be a conservative Christian in the midst of such theology. I have to say, though, arguing against 10 people that strongly disagree with your deep seated beliefs does wonders for ones mental and spiritual growth.

Huh, it was Stughalf that I was thinking of. The guy with the thing for weasels, right? Sturg was the first name I found that seemed to fit when I went looking for his moniker. Probably should have tried the picture threads. That's where I remember him from most.

For some reason Jewels feels sick to her stomach. Jewels: Oohh... I think the lamb chops are having a wrestling match with the pizza after that last one. She turns to Slarty with worrisome eyes. Jewels: Please tell me Chewbacca is NOT on the tour... Please! Slarty: What's the matter, Jewels? I once watched you take in the Karma Sutra whole without even blinking. WildKarrdeSmuggler didn't stand a chance. Jewels: You're right, you're right... gotta suck it up. Sorry. I... I think I know what it is. Jewels walks back to the bus and opens up the gas cap. Crawling around on a big hamster wheel inside are a couple dozen cute fluffy turtles. Jewels reaches a hand inside her forehead which phases through like a ghost walking through a wall. Her hand retracts bringing out a clump of white fluffy goo with it. She promptly stuffs it into the hole and watches as the fluffy turtles snap it up. She walks back to Slarty wiping her hands against her skirt. Jewels: There, all better. Slarty: Ah... you've been gone for so long your sanity started to grow back. Jewels pauses to crack a crazed sideways smile. Jewels: Aye, that it did captain. That it did. Crazed smile shifts to crazed frown. Jewels: Seriously, though, Slarty; if Chewbacca is on the tour I'm throwing myself under the bus and letting it run me over. Jewels walks off seemingly talking to herself. Bits and snatches of the mumbling are loud enough to be overheard. Jewels: You know you want to... another life... better life... in whose opinion?... yours... not anymore... forevermore! The rumble of a stifled evil laugh muahahas through the air for a few seconds before it is lost to the ether and forgotten.

How about: Locmaar Sturg Hawk King Spring Sarasaphilia Dolphin All members at large for Era 3 though I'm thinking Sturg was in with the SV crowd and Spring was into designing.

Went to the theater to watch Grandma's Boy with the pastor... He turned to watch our reactions during the... uh... scene where... uh... the guy plays with action figures. At least I was not guilty of being the one to choose the movie. Chris said it was supposed to be good so I didn't even glance at the rating. Or was that the pastor... I can't remember anymore.

Originally Posted By: Dintiradan There have been quite a few new scenarios since then. Then TrueSite is woefully out of date...

Originally Posted By: Kelandon But the list to look at is this one: http://calref.net/misc/boa-timeline.txt Any new scenarios since 2010 not on the list or did everyone pretty much stop? 4. I actually fought BoA for quite a while. I was a diehard BoE and was reluctant to see the community start to favor the newer game. I added BoA scenarios to TrueSite in May 2005 but didn't purchase it until November 2006 when the call for contest judges got a bit more pleading. Don't know if you consider the website enough to count me in on the transition or not. I was there, but I was dragging my feet for the most part.

Jewels decides to disembark with the rest excited to see where this trip would start. She walks among the posts reminiscing to herself. Jewels: Hmm... where was I in 1993? Middle School? Goodness, I bet I didn't even have access to the internet yet. Played Dig Dug, NES, and Galaga. Wonder where my parents ever got that huge arcade size game... She browses a few of the topics on the front page but none seem very interesting. Then she notices the posts made by Jeff Vogel glowing brightly from the tour highlights Slarty had put on them. Her initial smile becomes a smirk then a furrow then a frown. Having seen her fill she heads back towards the bus muttering as she gets on. Jewels: I'll never look at gardening or Star Wars the same way again...

Jewels holds her spinning head for a minute. In only a few hours she seems to have eaten her fill of lamb chops and a whole pizza from Sylae, been sprayed in watermelon goo and washed clean of it with an indoor rain, and now she's dancing in the aisle with Iffy and Sylae to Justin Bieber who she apparently has always liked though she cannot recall the name of even one of his songs... Jewels: I knew this trip was going to get weird but... Oohhh, my head hurts. Sylae: Just try not to think about it too hard, Jewels. All you really gotta do is make sure you don't step into a plot hole... Iffy: Plot hole? I don't see a plot hole... Meanwhile, Dikiyoba really gets into the dancing doing flips and spins along the whole aisle. During one impressive fouette Dikiyoba's tail swings around knocking BJ's bottle of ink halfway across the bus. It lands in a giant splatter where Trenton and Nightwatcher used to be. Their characters turn fuzzy and incoherent. Iffy: Oh... there's one. Jewels shakes her head and pulls out the pair. Jewels: Hey, Iffy. Think you can write a script to get their stories back on line? Iffy: I'm on it... Now, let's see. Code: beginfix 7;if (plot_status(TRENTON) = "hole") {rewind_plot(TRENTON, 1 post);run beginfix 7; }break; Iffy: That should work for both of them. Just replace Trenton's name with Nightwatcher's for the second run. Jewels smiles and nods as the fuzzy characters become more substantial. Trenton: Hey, any ladies wanna dance? Jewels: Ooh, I'd love to! Who needs a disco ball when you've got shine? Sylae unzips Trenton's bag and pulls Nightwatcher out of it. Sylae: You too, Vampire Hunter, time to put your differences behind you and par-tay. Iffy takes a moment to disarm Nightwatcher of any unpleasant items and joins the rhythmic expression. The group finds that dancing their cares away is so much more fun than fighting at each other's throats. Petty squabbles are left behind as the lights on the bus start to get brighter.

Originally Posted By: *Bus halts, doors open.* Man, I miss when we all made a big deal over somebody we thought was male came out and said she was female. So, for old times sake, !!!. Really? You didn't know? I'm sure she's stated so a long time ago. ----- Jewels finds it difficult to concentrate on anything as it seems twenty different conversations are going on at once around her. As long as they're stopped anyway she decides to put her homework away and mingle. Jewels: Suppose I don't have to be so anti-social. Jewels gets up and makes her rounds but first trips over a body lying in the walkway. Jewels: Lt. Sullust! Oh my... Jewels checks his pulse and notices a line of blood running along the floor board at his head. Noting that he is still alive she quietly mutters a quick healing spell and hopes no one was watching. They all seem to be more intent in getting the food that they stopped for anyway. Jewels: You alright? Lt. Sullust nods. Lt. Sullust: I didn't know you could do that... Jewels: Shh! Learned it at CalRef... learned a lot of things at CalRef. One of the perks of administration; you can write your own cannon. But I'd rather not have everyone knowing about it, k? I'm sure Slarty already thinks my head is big enough as it is. Now be careful where you're walking... Spiderwebbers... together? It's an inevidably dangerous place to be. *huggles* Glad to have you along for the ride. With Lt. Sullust properly tended to Jewels proceeds to the rest of the passengers. Jewels: Slarty! *huggles* it's been too long, really. Remember back when we... you know, and then all those other things and... oh, good times weren't they? So many good times... Rosycat! *huggles* Haven't seen you in forever... well, a few years... well, except for me passing you on the bus when I got on and stuff. Thanks for the memory chips. They're delicious. Dinti! *huggles* I know we're putting the whole 'take over the world thing' on hold for the trip but... <.<...>.> *whispers* I got your back when we get back if you know what I mean. *wink, wink* Drakey! *huggles* Hey... watch the hand kid. Ahem. So... Uh, nice to see you again and all. Been, what, since the deathmatch or so? Yeah, so... maybe we can catch up later... or, you know, whatever. The Ratt! *huggles* Been keeping yourself out of trouble? I suspect you must have since I haven't seen you at the Refuge for a while. Aran! *huggles* Hey, thanks again for the bot blueprints you sent Sylae a while back. They have been such a help with knowing what to do and, you know, what not to do. Roentgenium! *Jewels hesitates* I... I'd give you a huggle but... you know... you're on fire and stuff. Not that I have anything against fire but the confines of the bus are a little bit restrictive. Maybe I'll catch you another time... If Slarty lets me...We'll see. You look familiar but... I can't quite place the name. Must just be my faulty memory. I sure hope this trip can help with that. Goldenking! *huggles* Oh... gee, you're wet. Can I get you a towel? Maybe a new shirt? I might have something in my bag. I'll see what I can find. Dikiyoba! *hesitates for a second then snatches a quick sidehuggles from the seemingly irate dikiyora* Glad to see you brought your camera along. This trip down memory lane will be that much easier to remember if we can get some retroactive pictures of it. Trenton! Don't believe I've had the pleasure. *huggles* Woah... your skin is so cold... you're not coming down with something are you? You should see if this Mongolian Barbeque has chicken soup. Might do you some good... put some color back into your cheeks. BigMan! *huggles* Have we met before? Don't think I said thanks for the pie even though I didn't eat it. Doctor's orders... well, suggestion... well, he would have said it if I ever went in to see him, I know it. But maybe you should ask people if they want them rather than just throwing them all around. You're making a mess... and don't get me started on how much I dislike messes. Now take this mop and bucket (which aparrently appear out of the thin air from behind her back) and clean up the pie Lt. Sullust just slipped up on. Jewels walks on but trips over BigMan's bag. She yelps as her knees hit the floor. Her frustration is clear as she looks back up at BigMan. Jewels: But maybe first you can stow your bag a little better? Sylae! *huggles* Keep my seat open. I'll be back in a few more minutes. Iffy! *huggles* 'Ello. *whispers* I'll have one of those cupcakes... but not yet. Save one for me. Vergil! *huggles* Or do you want to be called Xelgion here? I have such trouble pronouncing that name... Anyway, nice to see you'll be joining us on the trip. At least now I know it won't be boring. BJ! *huggles* Hey, welcome to the Spiderbus, I don't think we've met. I'm Jewels. ... Nice longsword! Where'd you get it? Looks expensive... can I hold it? No? Later, maybe? K? K, later. Mysterious Man! *huggles and smells alcohol* Now MM... You do realize this is a family friendly trip, right? I mean Slarty's going to be inducing enough hallucinations with all his shenanigans that you don't need to add any other chemical reactions to further impair your perceptions. Mistb0rn! *Jewels attempts to huggles but the odd angle makes it difficult* Hey Mistb0rn... how's it hanging? MMXPERT! *huggles* Hi. Do I know you? I've been off on sabatical for quite a while. I can barely remember my own password anymore, but maybe we can chat a bit-- Jewels' sentence is interrupted with the smell of food and she heads towards the front of the bus again. Jewels: Excalibur! *makes sure the pointy end of his sword is safely away then huggles* Lookin' sharp man. That smells great! Actaeon! *huggles* Hey, mate! You do me a favor and keep an eye on this guy up here for me, eh? *points a finger at Slarty* I'll take some of those lamb chops off your hands, too. Mmm... Jewels goes back to her seat satisfied that she has been proactive in the friendship process and looking forwards to her stomach being satisfied, too.

Jewels eyes the pie from BMA and hands it to Sylae. Jewels: Here, I'm not hungry. Have another. Sylae: Thanks! I'm famished. Haven't had a descent meal all week. Jewels: You're mom's been cooking then? Sylae nods and both giggle like school girls. Jewels: Not sure about the trip yet. You know how many things are already on my todo list. But I expect it to be fun. Jewels leans in to whisper to Sylae. Jewels: Tell you the truth, I don't fully trust Slarty to get us home in one piece. I mean how long has it been and Tyranicus is already dead again? Don't suppose we should bring up any of our adventures at the Refuge, eh? Sylae: Yeah. Keep it on the low down or Slarty'll be demanding demonstrations. Jewels had to cover her guffaw to keep it from ringing throughout the whole bus.

Originally Posted By: Mysterious Man Thank you to the few that remembered me. Hey, thanks for heeding that itching ear and coming back to grace us with your presence once again. I thought I had remembered your account being #5 but I had forgotten about the UBB upgrade change. Went to profile #5 and found TM.. made me think for a minute 'cuz I was so sure. I was all like, 'Was MM an alt account for TM??' but then I went to profile #6 and found you and was all like, 'Phew!'

Jewels watches nervously as an odd looking bus full of oddly familiar people pulls up to the gas station across the street for a pit stop. It reminds her of an old Magic School Bus episode and she shakes her head. A huge banner across the side of the bus reads 'SPIDERWEBBERS RIDE FREE!'. Jewels: Nothing good can come of this... Sure of that as she is it only makes it all the more tempting to get on. She argues with herself for a minute before grabbing her backpack and stepping up through the open door. Slarty gives her a little nod. Jewels: This trip better not come up to bite me in the butt... twice. I'll be in back if you need me; doing my homework. A wave of deja vu washes over her as she finds a seat. She has the explicit feeling like she's done this before but can't quite place it.

So, right, names... Started looking over the account profiles and found some names I recognize as 'seeming' important and some I don't recognize but who had a significant (~700+) post count. Dragyn Bob Fallen Seletine Milla Arctic Miriam The Inquisitor Rantallion Frahhamn - made a number of BoE scenarios with his own graphics Chaldrath Reaper antisocialdragon mung - remember him as funny and respected Princess_Ruth Erik Westra - BoE author or graphic artist I think Radiant Undine Boots X - Not to be confused with Nalyd's old moniker -X-. He made over 2000 posts the last recorded in 2003 and seems to have concentrated in Nethergate and the Exile Trillogy forums. Kakashi Motrax - has a nice website and a handful of graphics for BoE. Rupert --- Slow going and I think I'll only go through era 2 but I'm in mid 2002 with that. Then you may want to add Triest and Tim Farland to the artist list. Triest did a lot of everything and Tim did some great monsters for BoE

So what? He's arguing the 'long' bit? Nine year anniversary this month so... yeah, long. Edit: Don't worry FF; if you feel old, just be comforted in the fact that the rest of us are getting old right along with you. My nine year anniversary is in less than four months too and my !teenager! things BoE is a kids game. Edit 2: !MM! Mysterious Man was a rather active poster at one point. Acct #6. Member at large at least for era 1, 2 and 3 and possibly part of the Lyceum. Wait... isn't there a list of SW account names somewhere? Aran is that up and running?

Originally Posted By: Frozen Feet Originally Posted By: Jewels in Black Frozen Feet and Wiz could go on the Quiet Long Presences. Quiet what now? I swear, you did that just to add to me feeling old. You've been here longer than I have with significantly fewer posts and I haven't been adding very many for the past year so... yeah, quiet.

Annoying != harmful. Annoying may lead to harmful when those being annoyed are annoyed beyond a point of their ability or desire to contain their ire at the annoyance. But then it is not the annoying one who becomes harmful, but rather the annoyed. Me thinks by then someone just needs a HUGGLE But really, a splash of color, if not something pleasing to the eyes, is something to roll one's eyes at, not forbid. /submitted respectfully as my own humble opinion on the matter.

Originally Posted By: Dikiyoba Wasn't Nebulan the person who started the rainbow text meme? Possible, though I lean more towards Vergil as the culprit. In any case, I know it was one of the main reasons Neb stopped posting here, that he was told to stop posting rainbows. I never did understand why the 'establishment' put their foot down on that one. The fad soon died at CRF with no intervention needed. We just lived with the annoyance until the novelty wore off without crimping anyone's harmless creative expression./ Also: Riibu!! How could I forget those beautiful green eyes?

Frozen Feet and Wiz could go on the Quiet Long Presences. Ishad Nha did a lot of work on OBOE... I'm sure there are other notable ones but Ishad stands out to me. And Dantius is oh-so anti-establishment.

I was thinking (a dangerous pastime, I know) that before the forum was so damaged by the server change, the Lyceum was home to many of the older BoE crowd. It was a very popular satellite that people would shell out money to help Al keep it ad free. I would say people like Alcitras, Brett Bixler, The Creator/Ash Lael, Drizzt, Rosycat, Shyguy, Skyle, Milu, Luz, VCH, TGM, and Zaloopa (among others, help me out here... you're relying on my memory?) are a good fit for that forum subculture. I've been a regular on all of the main forums at one point or another and honestly, the Lyceum was my favorite of the bunch. That was where many of the BoE contests were hosted some with actual prizes for the winners. It was a BoE creativity engine. In retrospect, it may have been the only satellite that I didn't go to for the RPs. Other subculture suggestions: Fansite Webmasers - There are a number of people that I know only from the fact that they made a fansite that I added to my Comprehensive List of Spiderweb Links. Caligula, HYZ, Milla, Shinobi, Paul, Olly, Anthony, Hope, Leon. Many of these were either gone from the community when I arrived leaving only their websites or stayed for only a short enough time to put their small contribution to the community on the web. Couple-hit Wonders - Come, make a good scenario or two, then fade into the ethers. Janet Cone, Yoshiyuki Haneda, Desert Pl@h, Akhronath. Spam Specialist - Many people that were once mainly spammers could now be categorized by something else now but there are some that will always be branded with the stigma. Jokers - Those who didn't take scenario making all that seriously. Smoo, Measle, BSR, Alec... or were just plain bad at it. lost_king, Vince Fizz.

Rosycat, and Luz need to go somewhere... Not sure where they were the most prevalent. BoE/BoA creators most likely. Nikki should be in SV I think. How about a Lyceum group? Al needs a place though he could be a creator too. How about a Legend category? Schrodinger, Imban, and Ischi (forgive me if I've spelled anything wrong...) Solberg from the Lyceum for public enemies. Other notable people; mostly BoE/BoA creators though some Geneforge fans too... Bain-Ihrno, Drizzt, Frahhamn, Skyle, WKS, Olly, HYZ, Fiend, Caligula, E-Master, Brett Bixler, Shyguy, Milu, SM Adventurer, The Creator, Tarl Kudrick, Zaloopa... there's lots more but I don't know how many you want. Don't forget the SW satelite Archive as a reference and many a BoE designer is listed in the pages of my website Edit: Lazarus, Lord Grimm, TGM(The Great Mister), Smoo, Enraged Slith, Dintiridan, Dahak, Motrax, Brave Sir Robin. The BoE/BoA people could be separated into those who mostly made scenarios and those who mostly made graphics. Luz, TGM, and Dahak are examples of mostly graphical artists though they may fit in better elsewhere. Idk, just throwing them out there. Edit2: Ohh... there was a subculture over at... that one game... you know... stick figures... massive meat innuendos... Though I kinda feel like that was the SV crowd too.

I would reneg my point except it was Chicago's local law enforcement who reinforced it in the first place. And really... when did Outback start building in the slums?

Originally Posted By: Dantius I DEMAND MORE WINTER! THERE'S A REASON I MOVED HERE! Might be time to think more along the lines of Alaska. Why'd you want to live in Chicago anyway? It's the Most Corrupt City in America. Chris has visited there a couple of times and has a couple of horror stories to share from it. The last time he was there someone broke into his car while he was eating at Outback Steakhouse and stole $2500 worth of Fire Fighting/EMT equipment. The policeman who came to fill out the report was very irate that my husband hadn't filled out the report himself online because "This is Chicago. That's what happens here." That was until the cop realized my husband was a fire fighter. Then he was oh so very nice in giving my husband tips on how to swindle more money out of the insurance company by claiming he had more stuff in his car that was stolen. At least "enough to cover the deductible" anyway. How do you survive?

It's been the warmest March I can remember here in Wisconsin. We had a couple of 80 degree (F.) days and it's been staying steadily in the 70's for the past two weeks except for the last few days where it's been cloudy and rainy. Considering Mother Nature likes to snow in the middle of April here I can't say I've disliked it. Unfortunately, weatherman says that the mild winter and early spring are going to mean the ticks will be extra bad this year. Ours are known to spread Lymes so its a love-hate relationship.