Quix's Random Bullshit Thread (Comments Welcome)

[Mr Quixotic]

What in the world... This is honestly terrifying indeed. XD You know how at some point I said I'd like to visit Australia? I've changed my mind. This just reminded me of another video you showed; the one with kangaroos everywhere, staring into people's souls. Just why, Australia? Why are your animals so strange?

Says the lady from the land of blood-sucking vampires! (Hey, does that mean I can blame you for Twilight? xD) Lol, I do recall the soul-stealing Kangaroo video, but don't worry, it's still safe to visit, they don't take too many tourists! I'm not really sure, must have something to do with how isolated we are, but now I'm interested to find out

We're just lucky like that. And Echidnas make great pets. Just don't rub them the wrong way. >.>

That truly gives 'rubbing someone the wrong way' a new meaning. XD

Considering the contents of the video, I'd be more concerned about accidentally rubbing one the right way! xD

WTF, Quix! Why is your country so strange! LOL <333
Truly, it's amazing humans survive out there! XD tehe

I don't know, DA, but I like it!

As to how humans survive, here's an interesting map.

See more

Australia's around the same size as the US, and only two percent of the population lives in the yellow shaded area, xD

 

[darkangel76]

O.O
Everyone is crammed on the coast, while the nasties lurk in the middle....waiting. Biding their time. Haha! XD
In all seriousness, I can see why you like it. : )

 

[Sync]

I've always preferred this map of Australia...

Or maybe this map...

 

[Mr Quixotic]

O.O
Everyone is crammed on the coast, while the nasties lurk in the middle....waiting. Biding their time. Haha! XD
In all seriousness, I can see why you like it. : )

That's pretty much it, DA, we stay clear of each other!

A lot of those who inhabit that area are indigenous people, whose tribe's traditional land it is. It's pretty amazing they've managed to have survived in such harsh environments for about the last forty-thousand years. Europeans have only been here two-hundred and fifty, and tend to stick to the coast, as did also a lot of Aboriginal tribes, but they were mostly wiped out, or forced to assimilate, very early on after white settlement.

 

[Mr Quixotic]

Just got back from a interview, and feeling reasonably confident. It's the same as I've been doing for my last two jobs, in the same industry.

After I submitted the application on Friday, I called my ex-boss to see if he knew anyone there, and he said yes, the owner, so then contacted him to put in a good word for me. They phoned this morning to see if I could come in for an interview, which went well, so should be a chance. Not guarantees though.

I'm enjoying the time off, why can't I get paid not to work? xD

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I won't post any more Tim Minchin material here (for now!) as that could be stretching the friendship, however, for anyone who is enamoured with his work, and cares, I discovered a documentary:

Rock n' Roll Nerd

‘Rock n Roll Nerd’ is a documentary that follows the rise of Melbourne born comedian Tim Minchin. And, unlike most documentaries that supposedly follow the life of a celebrity, this is a no holds barred documentary that captures all the important moments in Minchin’s career; both the good and the bad. This is a journey through every aspect of his life and career in every sense of the word."

I can't provide a critique as I only downloaded it yesterday, and look forward to watching it tonight. Not only because it's on him, but as much because the subject matter in itself interests me.

 

[Mr Quixotic]

I'm pretty definite I'm going to be offered that job now. Not because I've heard anything, but because of what I good-naturedly refer to as 'The Curse of Blue Moon.'

In the weeks I haven't been working, therefore had a lot of free time, I've been bumping my threads almost daily, and received extremely few responses. However, now that I have an interview that I'm confident about, and my time could be a lot more limited, two of my partners have returned from hiatus and posted, and I've received more approaches in the last two days than I have in the entire preceding two months. However, I'm still not sure why some message expecting me to write in PM or on IM, as my requests state clearly that I only do Threads.

Fuck, now I'm going to have to most likely decline, though there is one that has particularly snagged my interest, so might see if I can work something out with that. (And, yes, it just happens to be another serial-killer themed story. What's wrong with me! xD) If I haven't responded to you as yet, I will, my brain just needs time to compose what it wants to say!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Never download files from untrustworthy sources! I went to watch that documentary last night, however, the file was corrupted. Then, when I googled to find another copy, the only one I could locate was (ironically for an Australian-made film), a foreign version in which sub-titles in a language that I couldn't identify took up half the screen! So I gave it a miss, xD

 

[Xanaphia]

(And, yes, it just happens to be another serial-killer themed story. What's wrong with me! xD)

It's okay Quix, We will finish ours soon, and then you will have an opening!

 

[Mr Quixotic]

(And, yes, it just happens to be another serial-killer themed story. What's wrong with me! xD)

It's okay Quix, We will finish ours soon, and then you will have an opening!

That's true, perfect timing I'll be a mixture of happy/sad when ours does end as I'll miss it, but it'll also provide a sense of achievement, and we have our next to look forward to! It'll only be my second ever story written to full completion, after my first with Mail, though I do also have another very close to reaching its finale.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just got offered the job, and they want me to start Thursday, if I accept. I'm not totally sure yet that I will, as there's a couple of things to be ironed out first. Will know definitely tomorrow.

 

[Mr Quixotic]

Accepted the job offer, and told them I'd start Monday, so am now back in the workforce, xD

Also just received the most amazing compliment (after being called terrifying!), from a potential new collaborator, which I think is more down to us being on the same page as to what we look for in a story than anything else, so it's been a good morning. Thank you

 

[darkangel76]

Congrats on the job, Quix!!! <3

I think 2016 is going to be a good year for a lot of people and this is making me glad. So happy to hear this wonderful news! It's adding to the smiles I've been donning lately. : )

 

[Malicious Lullaby]

You keep smiling DA ^^ <3

 

[darkangel76]

Thanks, Mali!! : )
*hugs*

 

[Mr Quixotic]

Congrats on the job, Quix!!! <3

I think 2016 is going to be a good year for a lot of people and this is making me glad. So happy to hear this wonderful news! It's adding to the smiles I've been donning lately. : )

Thank's DA, I appreciate it, and here's to both of us loving our new jobs. As Mali says, keep smiling, xD

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In regards to the new job, I start Monday, so uncertain what affect that will have on my story reply rate. My stories, fortunately, mostly move at a fairly relaxed pace anyway, but for the first couple of weeks at least, they (and OoC) could potentially slow down until I get my head around what I'm doing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mentioning stories, it looks like I've picked up a new one (in the process of planning), and it's to incorporate some extremely dark themes. I'm not fully sure what it is that attracts me to dark stories, it could be the challenge of getting into the character's mind, my interest in human nature, or simply the fact that I'm drawn to the provocative, both in a writing sense and in regard to those who may read it. Possibly a combination of all.

However, whilst I definitely enjoy them, at the same time I also require stories with witty banter, sarcasm, humour and occasional parody to offset the darkness, and fortunately have some amazing partners who indulge my tastes for those as well.

Once thing I have noted is that all of my stories, regardless of theme, need to contain some element of 'competition' to keep me engaged.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mum's coming up this weekend, staying with my brother, and we're all heading out to watch my nephew's play football tomorrow morning. Have to feel for my sibling, as his youngest son this year has decided he wants to play Australian Rules and Soccer. His first game is at 10am then, when my other nephew is due to start his, my brother or sister-in-law will need to drive him across the other side of town, to play his next!

That happens every weekend, and as I mentioned to someone the other day, those two boys exhaust me when I have to simply baby-sit them for a few hours. I don't know how parents do it, and stay sane, xD

 

[Sync]

'gratz on the job, Quix. Hope it all works out for you.

As an aside...I'm starting to get the feeling that a few people here plain don't understand just how deep Aussie sarcasm can run. It's...amusing.

 

[Mr Quixotic]

Thanks Sync and, yes, you're right, though my humour tends to be even drier than most. Thankfully, I've found a few people on the same sarcasm wavelength, xD

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Looks like I've landed on my feet with the new job. Couldn't have asked for the first couple of days to have gone more smoothly than they have, and am feeling totally comfortable with the work, the people, and the atmosphere.

One of the questions asked at the original interview was, 'How do you feel about working autonomously, without supervision, because that's one of the requirements of the position, and struggling with that is the main reason the person you'll be taking over from has resigned."

I had to reign my enthusiasm in whilst answering it, and now that I've started, I've found that I will indeed have the autonomy I need. That's worth more than any amount of money to me. Saying all that, as that person left before I started, I have to learn my own way around the idiosyncrasies of the job, and will have less time on my hands, so story responses and OoC are likely to be slower than normal for at least the next couple of weeks.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Talking about stories, thought I'd share an approach I received after Ari kindly bumped my thread the other day, xD

See more

"Instead of a mindless subordinate, would you be interested in playing against a female character that would hate every minute of it?
If I may outline my rough idea, Nina is a 19-year-old lesbian student, struggling with a part time job that consumes all of her time. Your character may provide some sort of potential for financial relief, as well as having to work a lot fewer hours. Only catch is that she doesn't like sleeping with men and has a terrible fear of getting pregnant, only surpassed by her phobia of anything anal."

Yep, Lesbians, with particular anti-anal-and-pregnancy bents, and absolutely no sexual interest in my male characters, or in sex with males in general, is precisely what my I'm looking for from my threads, I just hadn't realised it yet. However, now that I've re-read them with a fresh eye, I can see how obvious my subliminal cravings are, and am glad she took my preferences into account first, before worrying about her own. That's unusual, and appreciated. Look out for the story coming to a thread soon, xD

 

[Mr Quixotic]

It's only when you start working again, that you realise how wonderful weekends are. Still extremely content with the job, and even more confident that I'll enjoy my time here. However, after having not worked for a while, the week was mentally draining.

Story responses have slowed, likely because I subtly mentioned to most of my partners that there was 'no rush for a response', which in my speak, means, "Please don't post too fast, as, on top of learning the new job, it'll possibly overload my mind", as well as a couple being busy with real-life, so that's appreciated. However, it does means my they'll likely all now collude to all send me replies at the same time, as they appear to like to do, xD.

Meanwhile, my Jack-The-Ripper story is getting closer to commencing, and I might possibly also be starting another with an old partner with whom I've written before, and both wanted to write with each other again, but just hadn't gotten around to it yet. That's not definite and will depend on if we both have the time and can fully commit. Regardless, we'll work together again at some stage.

 

[Mr Quixotic]

You know what's nice? When I receive an approach that's not just generic, but from someone who's actually been wanting to write with me, specifically, and was just waiting for the right opportunity/story concept to present itself. Not because it's an ego boost, but because enthusiasm is engaging, and immediately gives off a 'this is going to be a partnership from both sides' vibe rather than a 'well, I was looking to someone to write with, and you'll do' type of thing, which is often the impression, rightly or wrongly, that I get from approaches.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One of my stories which has been going for almost a year and half, and was approaching its finale, now appears as if it won't be ending in the foreseeable future. My partner and I have decided that, pending confirmation, with a little change in the original intent, we can send it off on another tangent and continue the story within the framework of the original plot for a good while yet. It's kind of exciting as, with all of my stories, I've grown rather fond of the characters, although I had previously promised my collaborator I'd try my hand at historical when this story was completed, xD

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In regards to the above, I've also known the reasons it intuitively, but lately it's becoming even more clear to me in an expressible way, just how important, and why, the characters, and character-driven stories - meaning one's where internal motivations and desires drive the action and story, rather than actions, motivations or the plot being driven by forces external to the characters - are to me in maintaining interest in a roleplay.

Not for me 'world-building' or scenes where the setting and time-period take precedence, or distract from the characters, I'd rather write about people, their interactions, emotions, desires, and what goes on in their heads, which is interesting and varied enough in and of itself. Or can be, if you find the right partners, who'll, as I strive to do with mine (whether I succeed is another matter entirely), also attempt to write three-dimensional, multi-faceted personalities.

 

[Mr Quixotic]

Happy that my Jack the Ripper story has started, it's the first Historically based scene that I've ever taken on, so it will be interesting to see how it goes, as that's not my forte. I even had to google today to check if running tap water existed in homes in 1880's London, but apart from that, have a good feeling about the story, as my partner is awesome, and we're on the same page with a lot of our ideas for what we intend to do with it, xD

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

If people don't like what I have to say in my personal spaces, become irked by what I have to say in my personal spaces, and/or are emotionally driven to make uninformed judgements, because of what I have to say in my personal spaces, why don't they stop reading what I have to say in my personal spaces?

Common sense I would have thought, and the fact a person, who I've never had a one-on-one conversation with in my life, and wouldn't have the first clue about me as a person, feels the need to speak badly of me to another in an attempt to sway their opinion says a lot more about them, than it does me. Fortunately, I have friends who actually do know me, and are strong enough to stick with their own, informed, judgements, based on personal interactions.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

And this song came on the radio driving home from work today, which I hadn't heard for ages, so thought I'd share. "Got To Get Out Of This Place", by classic Aussie rock band, 'The Angels'.

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRVuJxIRd9U[/video]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Mr Quixotic]

A finalists at Tropfest, an Australian short film festival, which I found rather amusing. I'm sure anyone whose ever worked in an office will be able to relate to parts of it.

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiZjJ0WBBu4[/video]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Swapping musical tastes and links with a friend always turns my mind to particular favourites, especially ones that may not be well known outside Australia. The is the original 'The Mercy Seat', by that Dark Genius, Nick Cave, sung from the perspective of a man on Death Row, awaiting execution by Electric Chair. It was later covered by Johnny Cash, amongst others.

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HryTQTvLlhA[/video]

 

[Mr Quixotic]

Only thing I like about Australia still being a Constitutional Monarchy, is that we get a day off for the Queen of England's birthday, even when it's not her actual birthday! Looking forward to a three-day weekend! xD

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That gives me the perfect seque into a shout-out for the incomparable Mali, portraying the potential future queen of England in our story, and her fifty-one minute posting abilities! At least this one wasn't within fifty-one minutes of me posting mine, but within fifty-one minutes (actually, I think it may have been less!) of me taking half a day to answer a plot question! Mali, you're awesome, and, not surprisingly, so is Schuyler Lassiter; another character to remember.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another Nick Cave song; somewhat relevant to one of my stories, Xd

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgJVhMEUVoc[/video]


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Mr Quixotic]

I do have a tendency to confuse people when I try to clarify what it is I mean in my request threads, when asking for female characters who possess intent, and/or agency, within the story, as whilst I know precisely what I'm looking for in that regard, I'm never able to find the words to articulate it as clearly as it exists in my brain. I just came across this interesting article that does a much better job at expressing the latter than I ever could:

[color=#FF6347

JUST WHAT THE HUMPING HECK IS “CHARACTER AGENCY,” ANYWAY?[/color]]

Editied to remove the irrelevant crap I found annoying, xD Original link here:

Whenever I talk about character in storytelling — seriously, I’ll talk about this stuff with Target clerks, zookeepers, parking meters, carpenter bees — I frequently bring up the notion that, for me, good characters possess agency. And this, I often say, is one of the things that really matters in a so-called “strong female character” — not that she is a character who can bend rebar with her crushing breasts, but rather that she has agency within the story you’re telling.

Often when I talk about this in public, someone — maybe the zookeeper, maybe the parking meter — raises his hand and asks the question:

“Wait — what is agency, again?”

And it occurs to me I don’t know that I’ve ever defined my terms.

So, let’s talk a little bit about character agency and why a character needs it.

Character agency is, to me, a demonstration of the character’s ability to make decisions and affect the story. This character has motivations all her own. She is active more than she is reactive. She pushes on the plot more than the plot pushes on her. Even better, the plot exists as a direct result of the character’s actions.

The story exists because of the character. The character does not exist because of the story.

Characters without agency tend to be like little paper boats bobbing down a river of your own making. They cannot steer. They cannot change the course of the river. The river is an external force that carries them along — meaning, the plot sticks its hand up the character’s cavernous bottom-hole and makes the character do things and say things in service to the plot.

Because characters without agency are really just puppets.

It sounds easier said than done. In the writing of a story it’s common to find that you had these Ideas About The Story and the character appears to be serving those ideas — she is not driving the car so much as the car is driving her. And it’s doubly tricky when you write a story that has more than one character, which is to say, uhhh, nearly all stories ever. Because one character who has agency can dominate the proceedings and set too much of the pace, too much of the plot. Other characters lose their agency in response. For example: an antagonist puts into play a particularly sinister plot that forces all the other characters to react to it again and again, never really getting ahead of it. That’s not to say that reacting to events is problematic — just that reacting to events shouldn’t be passive. It shouldn’t be the character going another way just because the plot demands it. At some point reaction has to become action. It has to be the character getting ahead of the plot, ahead of the other characters. The power differential must shift.

And it’s the character who should be shifting it.

Look at your characters. Are they fully-formed? Ask yourself: if the character in the middle of your story went off and did something entirely different from what you planned or expected — something still in line with the character’s motivations — would that “ruin the plot?” That might be a sign that the plot is too external and that the character possess too little agency.

Characters without agency feel like props.

Worse, they’re boring as watching a bear wipe its ass on a pine tree.

Characters with agency do things and say things that create narrative. Plot is spun out of the words and actions of these characters. And their words and actions continue to push on the plot created by other characters, because no character has agency in a vacuum.

What gets interesting about a story isn’t when some Big External Plot is set into motion. What’s interesting is when the agency possessed by multiple characters competes. This push-and-pull of character motivations, decisions and reactions is how stories that matter are created. Because they’re stories about people, not about events, and people are why we read stories. Because we are all made of people. Our lives are made of us and all the other people around us. We live in a people-focused world because we’re solipsistic assholes who think that unless we behold it and create it, it probably doesn’t matter. And in stories, that’s pretty much true.

Stories must be made of people.

And that can only really happen when those people — those characters — have agency.

(Because after all, your characters shouldn’t be parenthetical to their own story, should they?)

 

[Sync]

You need a "Like" button, Quix.

 

[Mr Quixotic]

You need a "Like" button, Quix.

I know a few who'd prefer a dislike button

 

[Candy_demon21]

You need a "Like" button, Quix.

I know a few who'd prefer a dislike button

Yes to the like button and if your 'adoring fans' get a dislike button, we get a 'high five them in the face with a chair' button. I think that if they get to express their opinion, then we should get to express our own opinions about them. Only seems right!

 

[Mr Quixotic]

Yes to the like button and if your 'adoring fans' get a dislike button, we get a 'high five them in the face with a chair' button. I think that if they get to express their opinion, then we should get to express our own opinions about them. Only seems right!

I'm beginning to think you have violent tendencies! Where's that like button,