Space Marine and Dragonwrangler Bar & Grill

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aliwood

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I already yelled at her about being here all the damn time, and apparently she's pretending that didn't happen.

I know you already have more advice than you could possibly use so I hesitate to provide more, but perhaps...

1 - When you find yourself in the same room as this lady, look disappointed

and

2 - speak very quietly when you do speak to them.

Humans deal with shouting and confrontation very badly. I understand that when you're mad you want to yell, it's built in to all of us. Quiet voices become very difficult to ignore.
 

jallenecs

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Didn't get to sleep until 4:30. Woke up a minute ago, at 6:30, with surprisingly scary bad dreams.

That's what I get for reading Lovecraft before going to bed.
 

aliwood

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Didn't get to sleep until 4:30. Woke up a minute ago, at 6:30, with surprisingly scary bad dreams.

That's what I get for reading Lovecraft before going to bed.

Er, what other result would you expect?

Or are you just stating a fact.

ION, I am now plotting. There are pieces of paper everywhere. This is great fun.

I seem to have the 1980's coal miners strike mixed in with the story of Alfred the Great, the lead up to WWII, the Falklands conflict and the rise of communism, all done by dwarves, one of whom is a reluctant spy in a bicycle.

You know, that sounds so funny now I've written it that even I would read it.
 

Debio

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!!! RANDOM QUESTION TIME !!!

Please tell me about your proudest moment, Cantinarets & Cantinarettes. 'Cause I'm stuck at a crucial point of character development in the space novella of doooooooom and this will help.

If possible, a moment that made you feel like a good person, as opposed to one that made you feel like you were good at something.

ETA: the younger you were at the time, the more helpful it'll be to my brainstorming.

I was 13 and in the 8th grade. I was just finishing up a 3 month long rampage of fights that ended the bullying I had been under. That's a different story, but has some slight bearing.

I was coming home from the arcade* one evening, and saw two 7th grade girls I new from a music class we shared. They were being harrassed by two 7th grade boys who were well known to be jerks.

The girls called out to me to give them a hand. Well, I had been in fights almost weekly for months where I didn't care if I won or lost and the only goal was to hurt the other guy enough to make him leave me alone. So, I helped. While I was fighting them, the girls left, which was the point. Thirty minutes later, I made it home a bit bruised and scratched, but okay.

I felt good. Even when the girls still wouldn't even talk to me or say thanks. :p

Ahh, junior high.

*For you young ones, an arcade was a place where they had stand up video games that cost a quarter to play. This is when Asteroids, Space Invaders, Pacman, and Donkey Kong were around. You may have to google a couple of those ;)

oh, and the only home game system was the Atari 2600. My computer was an Apple ][+ with a 32khz processor and 64k of memory, a 5 and 1/4" floppy drive. And I double sided my own disks with a hole punch to save money.
 

Debio

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Well, Johnny Depp does owe me a favor...


Another friend of mine suggested I blast emo break-up songs the whole time she's here. Maybe she'll take the hint?

I had a similar situation, once. I'm afraid to tell it cause you folks will know how nasty I can be when annoyed. :D

Roommate had his girlfriend over all the time, just like in this situation. And she was, well, very vocal in their night time activities. Can't sleep levels of vocal. Even through the walls.

I finally got fed up with it. Next time they went at it, I plopped a tape into the tape deck and recorded them. The next morning I put it in the stereo and cranked the volume.

Then we had a nice little discussion about imposing on other people selfishly.

Jerk moved out the next week with no warning and I had to scramble to find a roommate. It was worth it though. Even if neither of them ever talked to me again.
 

Fenika

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I'd love pizza.

And I threw water on a couple that humped like rabbits in the room next to me. Both beds touched the same wall, and their headboard rammed the wall for a verrry long time. Knocking on the wall did nothing, so I barged in with a cup of water, eyes averted, ignored their wtf?!, splashed them, and left. The silence was golden.
 

Fenika

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Had to look this up.


Kind of sorry I did.


A little warning next time you start slinging medical terms about?

:eek:

No.

That would be like linking something and stating it's a great rick roll right after.

:evil
 

Stanley_Ford

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*spits out gag*

It's ok. It's not the first time I've ended up tied to a chair because of a jealous wife. But not for the reasons you might think....

Thanks for the hold. But I realize, that I had actually already killed. These particular people were actually dead before my current story even started....which was such a weird thing to realize.

Who said anything about a gag? Sorry they were dead before you started.

Originally Posted by Stanley_Ford
*tackels bettie and holds her down. ponders how bad this must look and how not happy Mrs Ford will be and desides to tie her to a chair instead*

Obviously I was exhausted when I wrote this.. desides? Really Stanely, really? *le sigh*

Morning :Sun:

I have not been swept away in all the rain. This is good.

It seems to be the same roads are closed, streams are up, villages are cut off and people are still expecting normality routine.

I shall stay here. Mainly because there is a reasonable chance of the postman having something for me and also because I need to plot.

:Coffee:

And :Hug2: for Liosse and anyone else who wants one

YAY for not being washed away!
 
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Kricket

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*runs in and dives into smibble pit*

I'm home!!!!!!

*gleefully swims around then gets out, heads to the bar grabs magic glass. After brushing the dust off, fills it with hot chocolate*

I survived the in-laws, barely. I forgot how much smog there is in Utah. We were all suffering from it. So happy to be home in the clean air and my comfy bed.
 

Raventongue

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I have not been swept away in all the rain. This is good.

:eek:

Quiet voices become very difficult to ignore.

QFT x 10.

oh, and the only home game system was the Atari 2600. My computer was an Apple ][+ with a 32khz processor and 64k of memory, a 5 and 1/4" floppy drive. And I double sided my own disks with a hole punch to save money.

I think I remember those days... I was in preschool. :e2tongue:

It's cool how two out of three answers so far involve standing up to schoolyard bullies for someone else. I didn't realize this was something so many kids did, and it kind of gives me hope for the world or something like that.

I finally got fed up with it. Next time they went at it, I plopped a tape into the tape deck and recorded them. The next morning I put it in the stereo and cranked the volume.

Nonviolent resistance at its finest, Gandhi* would be pleased xD

In all seriousness though, I tip my hat to you for such a creative solution.

* Gandhi was actually an A-hole, but he would still be pleased by nonviolent resistance.
 

Fenika

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Yay for sans Utah and in-laws :)
 

jallenecs

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Where were all you bully-whippers when I was in school? I had to endure that shit with nobody to help. :(
 

Fenika

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Me too. Even some of the smart kids started to bully me in HS. :Hug2: Junely.
 

jallenecs

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Me too. Even some of the smart kids started to bully me in HS. :Hug2: Junely.

I got it in every direction. I was six feet tall before I was twelve. I was smarter than most of the other kids. I liked to read books and write stories. My parents were both teachers. I was poor (probably because my parents were both teachers). I wore homemade clothes (because I was six feet tall).

Pick something. Somebody found a reason to bully me for it.

But it made me strong. It made me the hermit-like, misanthropic bitch you see before you today.
 

Stanley_Ford

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*hugs Junely and Fen* Those days were full of the suck. I like being a grownup, if only because I get to choose the people I have to be around.
 

jallenecs

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*hugs Junely and Fen* Those days were full of the suck. I like being a grownup, if only because I get to choose the people I have to be around.


*shakes finger at Stanley*

Have you read Walter Mitty yet? You gotta read Walter Mitty. It's like my writing manifesto, babe.
 

jallenecs

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Just finished it off. Poor Walter.

See, that's always the argument that Mom and I always get into. Boston, I hope you chime in on this one, because I really want to hear what you think.

My mom -- and all my teachers in school -- were of your mind: poor Walter, what a sad creature.

I don't see it that way. My logic is, most of us in the world are living variations of that life of quiet desperation. Some part of our life is dull, frustrating, demeaning, you name it. Life isn't perfect. Maybe Walter's is a little more pathetic than most, but you wouldn't like him if you couldn't identify with him in some way, right?

But Walter has found a way to cope. A WONDERFUL way to cope. I say, "good on him!"

Yeah, I know the argument, he's putting energy into daydreaming when he could be actually fixing things. He's daydreaming instead of facing life. And I don't disagree with those points. I guess it's an emotional reaction with me: I still get this little frisson of "you go, dude!" when life craps on him and he says, "screw you, I'm going to live inside my head."

Isn't that what we're doing when we're writing? And what our readers are doing when they're reading our stories? It's a big case of "I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

Thought?
 

tjwriter

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To my apartment. I'm tired of my roommate's girlfriend giving me the look every time I walk into my own living room.

I would tell your roommate that if he wants to play doctor with his girlfriend, they can do it in his room with the door closed. You have as much right to the public areas of the house as he does and you are tired of being treated like this. And then occupy the public parts of the house as much as possible.

I know you already have more advice than you could possibly use so I hesitate to provide more, but perhaps...

1 - When you find yourself in the same room as this lady, look disappointed

and

2 - speak very quietly when you do speak to them.

Humans deal with shouting and confrontation very badly. I understand that when you're mad you want to yell, it's built in to all of us. Quiet voices become very difficult to ignore.

I agree with the calm, quiet approach. There are two essential methods to this technique.

One is the "ice queen" voice where the windows frost over and glaciers form whenever you speak. It tends to terrify people. I use a light version of this on the kids when I'm done arguing with them.

Two is the happy, all-smiles voice. This one is useful for making threats because people freak out when threaten with syrup as opposed to booming threats. They also wonder which stick of crazy you are chewing today.

Anywho, a calm, quiet, measured voice is the most effective.
 

Stanley_Ford

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See, that's always the argument that Mom and I always get into. Boston, I hope you chime in on this one, because I really want to hear what you think.

My mom -- and all my teachers in school -- were of your mind: poor Walter, what a sad creature.

I don't see it that way. My logic is, most of us in the world are living variations of that life of quiet desperation. Some part of our life is dull, frustrating, demeaning, you name it. Life isn't perfect. Maybe Walter's is a little more pathetic than most, but you wouldn't like him if you couldn't identify with him in some way, right?

But Walter has found a way to cope. A WONDERFUL way to cope. I say, "good on him!"

Yeah, I know the argument, he's putting energy into daydreaming when he could be actually fixing things. He's daydreaming instead of facing life. And I don't disagree with those points. I guess it's an emotional reaction with me: I still get this little frisson of "you go, dude!" when life craps on him and he says, "screw you, I'm going to live inside my head."

Isn't that what we're doing when we're writing? And what our readers are doing when they're reading our stories? It's a big case of "I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

Thought?

I was mostly talking about his nagging wife. The day dreaming? I totally get that. I feel bad for him that his life sucks so hard he has to recreate reality. His alternates are pretty awesome and the story is well written.

As far as connecting to him? Absolutely. All of us go through this at some point I think. Imagining away the pain or dulldrums of day to day life. Wanting more excitement is certainly something many people crave. Hell, I do this more than I would like to admit.
 
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