Night's Omen

Here's the deal, and you can all take it or leave it.  I don't care whose feelings it hurts, because nobody's cared about mine this whole time.

Everyone worries that NO is going to turn into TNG, and I worked my ass off to keep that from happening, but what I didn't accept from the start is that it wasn't anything I could control.  It was the people here that were doing it, whether I liked it or not.  I tried like hell to be fair to everyone, to keep the board balanced, to make everything fun for anyone who wanted to play here, but you all worked against me every step of the way.  When there are so many guidelines and rules and warnings to keep someone from being offended, it's no fun anymore.  

Grow the fuck up.  

We are all adults, or close enough that we shouldn't need me to babysit every situation so that someone's feelings don't get hurt.  Stop taking everything so personally, and just learn to turn the other cheek.  Being strong enough to fight for yourself and your beliefs is a great thing, but knowing how to choose those battles is even more important.  The middle of a game that is supposed to be simple fun is not the place.  Show a little fucking grace and strength of character, and just let it go.  If the OOC chatter bothers you, then don't post there.  I've been doing that for months now, avoiding the OOC talk unless something cropped up, which it inevitably did, repeatedly.  I truly enjoy you all, but I think it was obvious to everyone that my patience is NOT infinite, and quite frankly, I'm sick of the bullshit.

This is like politics, and I hate politics.  Diplomacy should not be my native language when posting here, and I'm not doing it this time.  If this pisses people off, so be it.  I'm pissed, so why not you?  Just recently, two characters were validated.  I'm assuming that was because someone whined at an admin other than myself, since I was so frustrated with this place that I wasn't around.  I needed a break before I did something like this.  I was just informed that a third profile, that had been there about as long as the other two, had been left in validation.  Because that person didn't whine and complain about not being validated.  Everyone wants to see fair?  I'd like to thank bluemoon for her patience, and I will handle that character myself, since I personally thought it was one of the better written that I've seen here.  I'm glad I've worked to be fair here.  Seems that fairness only extends to a certain few, and to hell with the rest.

The final deal is this: I like you people.  I honestly, truly do.  I hate all the bullshit and drama and obnoxious issues, and I'm not by any means demeaning anyone's personal beliefs, but perhaps this is NOT the place for them.  I have no problem whatsoever with continuing as though nothing has happened here, so long as everyone can stop bickering and taking sides and turning this place into TNG.  I have been more than patient, and I have dealt with more shit here than any admin on any board I've ever seen.  Apparently, I've been too accomodating, when someone can argue my word on something and get their own way.  I don't mind listening to opinions, but I'm not budging anymore.  If I feel a certain way about something, that's it.  And if someone doesn't like it, quit.  That's all I can say, because it's either you, or me, and the concept for this board is mine and Rhi's, so I'd rather not abandon it.  

Everyone, decide.  And be aware that any long, drawn out and annoying goodbye posts will be deleted.  They'll only piss me off more right now, and the only people who will want to read them are your buddies, so go whine at them.

-Darren.

Fine, you give your opinion, I'll give mine.

About the validations. I took it on myself to do that, because I had pointed the three characters out to you about a week ago, and said that if you didn't have time, I could do it for you. You said you were in a hurry but would look at it when you got back from work. Six days later, nothing had happened, and when I poked you again, you said you'd been busy, and that's fair enough, I guess. Except that I'm of the opinion that the boards should still go on despite your inactiveness. That was why I validated characters, not because I was being "whined" at.

I validated two of them; Edgar and Deidra, after having pointed out some (IMO) flaws in Deidra that didn't make sense in my head. I did not validate C?leste, because in my eyes that character wasn't balanced. First of all, you agreed, way back (after Kyne Perry went inactive), that there would be no falcons, because to be honest, one falcon could pretty much destroy both Midnight and Mayhem with little problems. It says nothing in the profile whether the character has or hasn't inherited the falcon magic. If she hasn't the falcon magic, her mother's nature is less of an issue, I admit.
Secondly, from what I could see of her vampiric powers, she had four of them rolled into one. Even Aurashka, who is over 3000 years old, apparantly has one fourth of C?leste's powers.

If you consider that to be more in line with the rules you were part of creating, that's fine with me. But don't blame me for having a different opinion. And if you can't stand someone else taking up your responsibilities when you don't have time, then you can bloody well take the time to do it yourself.


And one final word:
I have been more than patient, and I have dealt with more shit here than any admin on any board I've ever seen.

*raises hand* I took care of a lot more at another board I was admining. So there you have it. Now you've seen another admin who's dealt with more.

Gosh...I've only been gone a little while and things have happened.

Darren, I really don't think there's any need for that language, not that I am personally offended by it but since we are supposed to be making this board a friendly place (something I have tried to do since talking to you by avoiding the OOC) I think perhaps you should reword it.

Surely there was no need to make this public. If you had a problem wouldn't it have been better to take it up personally with the person involved rather than create drama and hostility among more players?

And I have to agree with chibs...I've done more on other boards than you seem to do here. It's no longer a fun game when you cant get your characters validated or you can't have your character in the place you want them.

I'm a mod on several forums as well. I don't see how they relate to this.

It is impossible to take the issues up with the people themselves when it is half the board.  The people who don't do it know exactly who they are, because I've thanked them repeatedly for their cooperation.

I wasn't referring to the job of adminning itself.  I have never had a problem handling validations on any board I've adminned, and don't now.  I simply can't stand this place if it doesn't change.  I WANT it to change, because I like how things work here IC.   I was referring to dealing with constant political-ish bullshit.  I've always been reasonable, I've always tried to work with people, I've always been as helpful as I can possibly be, and people have walked all over it.  I hope you know who you are, but I'm sure most of you don't.  Why was this not made private?  Because since it's started, I've tried to avoid offending anyone on a personal level.  Now, it's so much, and so built up, that I don't care if I offend on a public level.  Thus the language.  I apologize, since I should have told everyone off personally over time, but I'm bad about being too lenient and easy going about things, until people take advantage and I have enough.  But don't make the mistake of thinking I'm apologizing for getting pissed at all.  This needed to be done, needed to be said, and I don't feel like rewording a thing.  The only reason I'm not cursing as badly in this one is because I just got done with a 12 hour shift, smashed my ankle with something and kept going, and I'm a little tired.

The situation with TNG is something I don't want even hear about again, just for the record.  I am positively sick of hearing about it, and the problems there, and how everyone SEEMS to be gunshy after that.  You people caused it, you dealt with it wrong, and you're doing it here.  This is my last attempt to prevent NO from turning into TNG, and it may fail, but at least I'm not the same as the admins there.  I read your ooc posts, and that board was a load of bullshit.  I'm just really disgusted that this place is having those sorts of problems, and frankly, disgusted in myself that I went along with it.  I attempted to keep one main admin to keep that from happening, but I tried to please everyone and it bit me in the ass.  I have no sympathy for those who adminned at TNG, since they created the shit they dealt with, believed in it, and if you're referring to other boards as well, then I haven't personally seen it, and I don't care.  It's a travesty that it should come to something like this, and I'm feeling pretty apathetic about that one.  I'm guilty of being a people pleaser.  I'm over it.

I've been as quick with validations and other issues as was possible with my schedule in the past.  This last batch I was slow on because I dreaded the idea of touching this place, and my situation has been busy.  I don't quite get what you're saying in reference to having characters in the place you want them.

As for bluemoon's character, I've seen her to be a good roleplayer, I've talked to her, and I trust that she won't take things to the extreme, or play her character in an overpowered manner.  

And to make things clear: I will handle the validations myself, as I prefer to.  I've stated my reasons for being slow on this, and realistically, I'm allowed some off-ish time, too.  Other people essentially vanish entirely for months on end, and if I slack for a week or two, I'm suddenly a hypocrite.  Maybe I am, but that's life.

Confessions time, my favourite! I'll start in order of posting and will pause only when I have something to point out, to keep it clear and simple. Also, before anybody is tempted to bite my head off, please bear in mind that this is my opinion and I don't expect anyone to feel the same about things. In the same time, it isn't to start a flame war, nor to hurt anybody. It's my point of view and everyone is intitled to consider it blatantly wrong, as much as they are intitled to agree with it. Whether I am right or not is your decision.

QuoteWe are all adults, or close enough that we shouldn't need me to babysit every situation so that someone's feelings don't get hurt. Stop taking everything so personally, and just learn to turn the other cheek. Being strong enough to fight for yourself and your beliefs is a great thing, but knowing how to choose those battles is even more important. The middle of a game that is supposed to be simple fun is not the place. Show a little fucking grace and strength of character, and just let it go. If the OOC chatter bothers you, then don't post there.

I have to say that I do agree with you. It gives way to bickering if one posts in chatter and starts a flame war. But. Yes, there is a but. You say, and I quoted it above, that we should "stop taking everything so personally". If I am to relate to the OOC forums, I don't see how in the TTTOYM thread, when Bex complained about smokers, Angie took it personally. I fail to see where anywhere in Bex's comment she had given names. Heck, maybe she didn't even know Angie was a smoker. So it clearly wasn't aimed at anyone. I am quite sure Angie isn't the only smoker on the boards. Why did only she have to take it personally?

QuoteJust recently, two characters were validated. I'm assuming that was because someone whined at an admin other than myself, since I was so frustrated with this place that I wasn't around. I needed a break before I did something like this. I was just informed that a third profile, that had been there about as long as the other two, had been left in validation. Because that person didn't whine and complain about not being validated. Everyone wants to see fair? I'd like to thank bluemoon for her patience, and I will handle that character myself, since I personally thought it was one of the better written that I've seen here.

Yes, two characters were validated out of three. Yes, it happens that I am raising this issue because one of those characters that were validated is mine. chibs told me he had talked to you about validation and you said you'd get around to that when you came back from work. Perfectly understandable, work and RL will always be more important than a game. So I can sympathise that you didn't get around to it right after you came from work because I gather as much as to know that work is very stressful and draining. So then it is perfectly justified and I'm not blaming you at all.

However, six days later nothing had changed. So I asked chibs about it because I thought something was wrong and I had failed to receive a PM. And I knew there was another character, blueemoon's, awaiting validation. And chibs looked over her profile as well and he decided, for reasons specified in his post, that in his opinion (and you of course have every right to disagree and think that C?leste deserved validation then), she seemed a little too powerful. Now, you've cleared that up in your most recent post that you've talked to bluemoon and the both of you decided that C?leste will not abuse her powers. But chibs couldn't have possibly known this, right? And, bluemoon was not online at the time (this is also understandable and I'm not blaming her) so he couldn't talk to her about it. Had he talked to her like you had I assume the situation might have been different.

I hope this clears up why she hasn't been validated with the other two. I also hope you'll see that it had nothing to do with being whined at.

QuoteI'm glad I've worked to be fair here. Seems that fairness only extends to a certain few, and to hell with the rest.

I'll agree with you there, although probably not the way you expect me to. Where is this fairness when only a select few have canon characters? Where is this fairness when rules are bent to make a character possible (after the release of 'Falcondance', wasn't it decided that there would be no more falcons allowed? I remember, and chibs is free to correct me if I remember wrong, that even Akahebi Kazuo had to be changed somewhat to subdue his powers.) Where is fairness when we have an invitation-only RPG within the RPG?

QuoteI have no sympathy for those who adminned at TNG, since they created the shit they dealt with, believed in it, and if you're referring to other boards as well, then I haven't personally seen it, and I don't care.

Well, I'm sorry to hear that you think so low of TNG admins. Funny when one of the admins here has been an admin on TNG, and two other players here have also been admins there. Even more ironic is the fact that by your statement you are semi-accusing chibs of the drama that goes on here because he is partly responsible for the one at TNG. I have taken onto myself the liberty of searching TNG archives for your characters there. Now, from what I managed to piece together, you had three. Now, I can't find whether all of yours were yours from the start or if you adopted one or two of them. But either way I am sure you have not been on TNG for longer than I have, thus you do not know how things were run around there as well as I do. Don't think I claim to know everything: even if I had admin friends and still do doesn't mean they told me everything that happened. But people can figure things out by the way things are.

Do not think for a minute anyone was happy with the stuff going on there and that they complicated things because of some sick twisted desire. No. Maybe some admins were comfortable with the way things were run around there, but many were unhappy. Why else would they have left? Sure, it is your decision what you think about people from TNG (admins or players), but don't you think that if they enjoyed the mess you seem to think they created, they wouldn't have left?

Also, you are contradicting yourself. You say you like us all and in the same time you say you don't hold any respect to people that were admins on TNG. Like I said, there are three people on this board that have been TNG admins. Can you both like and dislike them at the same time?

QuoteI've stated my reasons for being slow on this, and realistically, I'm allowed some off-ish time, too. Other people essentially vanish entirely for months on end, and if I slack for a week or two, I'm suddenly a hypocrite. Maybe I am, but that's life.

No, you have the right to want time away from this place, heck, you're human. Everybody needs a little time away once in a while. But you never left a note in the absense thread about it. If you did tell some people but not everbody, than you surely can't expect the entire board to know? So, again, I'm not against you vanishing for as much as you want to until you feel up to get back to this place and you are definitely not a hypocrite for doing so, but it would save confusion if you'd leave a note, right?

I think this is all I had to say. This post is long enough as it stands, but these are some points I felt needed to be brought up and again, I've stated them to get them cleared and not to blame anyone of anything. I'm sorry if people feel offensed but this is my impression and feel free to prove me wrong.

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QuoteI was referring to dealing with constant political-ish bullshit. I've always been reasonable, I've always tried to work with people, I've always been as helpful as I can possibly be, and people have walked all over it.

And that was what I was referring to as well. Even if you want to hear nothing of it, that was my reality for a long time. I did stuff, and got shit nothing for it. Things went wrong that had nothing to do with me, and I got blamed for it. When I did things, no one appreciated it, and when I didn't do things, I got blamed for it.
If you want to say that was my fault, then the mess here is certainly your fault.

I have to agree with Ithen: It's interesting you say that you like everyone here, but that you could care less for three of us. Not to mention that you say you haven't heard of anyone dealing with more admin shit than you, and when people are offering, you say you don't care about that. Other people are inactive and therefore they can't have "special characters", but if anyone tries to return the favour and say you're inactive, that's not fair. Apparantly other people, and their experiences, aren't as important as yours. That's at least the impression you give.

I could probably write a lot more, but I won't, cos it would be rather pointless. Oh, and if you don't want me to take up responsibilities when you don't have time, stop fucking introducing me to others as your co-admin!

QuoteI have to say that I do agree with you. It gives way to bickering if one posts in chatter and starts a flame war. But. Yes, there is a but. You say, and I quoted it above, that we should "stop taking everything so personally". If I am to relate to the OOC forums, I don't see how in the TTTOYM thread, when Bex complained about smokers, Angie took it personally. I fail to see where anywhere in Bex's comment she had given names. Heck, maybe she didn't even know Angie was a smoker. So it clearly wasn't aimed at anyone. I am quite sure Angie isn't the only smoker on the boards. Why did only she have to take it personally?

I never named names, and I spoke with Angie personally on the issue.  Those who were ORIGINALLY involved (Angie and Bex) cleared it up on their own.  Angie was wrong for taking it like that, but she is DEFINITELY not the first or only one to do it.  She also apologized and handled it rather well.  Not everyone does.

QuoteYes, two characters were validated out of three. Yes, it happens that I am raising this issue because one of those characters that were validated is mine. chibs told me he had talked to you about validation and you said you'd get around to that when you came back from work. Perfectly understandable, work and RL will always be more important than a game. So I can sympathise that you didn't get around to it right after you came from work because I gather as much as to know that work is very stressful and draining. So then it is perfectly justified and I'm not blaming you at all.

However, six days later nothing had changed. So I asked chibs about it because I thought something was wrong and I had failed to receive a PM. And I knew there was another character, blueemoon's, awaiting validation. And chibs looked over her profile as well and he decided, for reasons specified in his post, that in his opinion (and you of course have every right to disagree and think that C?leste deserved validation then), she seemed a little too powerful. Now, you've cleared that up in your most recent post that you've talked to bluemoon and the both of you decided that C?leste will not abuse her powers. But chibs couldn't have possibly known this, right? And, bluemoon was not online at the time (this is also understandable and I'm not blaming her) so he couldn't talk to her about it. Had he talked to her like you had I assume the situation might have been different.

I hope this clears up why she hasn't been validated with the other two. I also hope you'll see that it had nothing to do with being whined at.

It did clear it up somewhat, but it's still why I prefer to handle validations myself.  I apologize for the time it took, but it was still a case of me trying to make myself get back here to deal with shit.  Not to mention, they were NOT people new to the board who had nothing to do while they waited.  They were existing RPers here who could have easily simply paid attention to other characters of theirs who are falling inactive.

QuoteI'll agree with you there, although probably not the way you expect me to. Where is this fairness when only a select few have canon characters? Where is this fairness when rules are bent to make a character possible (after the release of 'Falcondance', wasn't it decided that there would be no more falcons allowed? I remember, and chibs is free to correct me if I remember wrong, that even Akahebi Kazuo had to be changed somewhat to subdue his powers.) Where is fairness when we have an invitation-only RPG within the RPG?

Make no mistake: I have no expectations of getting any support on this.  Anyone on my side is too fed up to get involved, or is trying not to in an attempt to keep the situation from getting worse, so I had no expectations that you would agree with me in any way that I'd like.  Not to mention, I haven't ASKED for help.

In the case of bluemoon and the falcon, there is no issue over the powers.  I have handled that.  The problem with falcons is not their heritage, but their magic.  Nobody has attempted to make a falcon that wasn't in touch with their magic. Kazuo was changed because he was a wyvern, and it was discovered that a falcon hybrid would not create a wyvern.

Canon characters have been allowed for people I knew for a fact could handle them.  Sarel could have had one, but didn't want it. Angel could have had one, but the issue never came up.  Maria could have but didn't feel comfortable enough with her understanding of the books, and prefers original characters.  Angie thought they would help give the board more of a feeling of Atwater-Rhodes' novels, and it was an experiment we were trying.  Nobody else requested a canon character, other than Rhi who already had Jeshickah, so the issue wasn't important.

The 'Invitation Only' RPG was a small group of three to four of us who were playing around with a horror theme.  It was put on this board only because we hadn't thought up a decent enough idea of where else to have it, and the explanation was just to keep other people here from being too confused over it.  Nobody mentioned an interest in joining in, so we didn't offer.  There are people I talked to about it who would have been welcome, but weren't interested.  It wasn't an open sign up because we didn't want fifteen people joining in and making it too big/chaotic to control.  Also, nobody else showed an interest in such a thing of their own, so it wasn't offered.

QuoteWell, I'm sorry to hear that you think so low of TNG admins. Funny when one of the admins here has been an admin on TNG, and two other players here have also been admins there. Even more ironic is the fact that by your statement you are semi-accusing chibs of the drama that goes on here because he is partly responsible for the one at TNG. I have taken onto myself the liberty of searching TNG archives for your characters there. Now, from what I managed to piece together, you had three. Now, I can't find whether all of yours were yours from the start or if you adopted one or two of them. But either way I am sure you have not been on TNG for longer than I have, thus you do not know how things were run around there as well as I do. Don't think I claim to know everything: even if I had admin friends and still do doesn't mean they told me everything that happened. But people can figure things out by the way things are.

Do not think for a minute anyone was happy with the stuff going on there and that they complicated things because of some sick twisted desire. No. Maybe some admins were comfortable with the way things were run around there, but many were unhappy. Why else would they have left? Sure, it is your decision what you think about people from TNG (admins or players), but don't you think that if they enjoyed the mess you seem to think they created, they wouldn't have left?

Also, you are contradicting yourself. You say you like us all and in the same time you say you don't hold any respect to people that were admins on TNG. Like I said, there are three people on this board that have been TNG admins. Can you both like and dislike them at the same time?

I read over my post, and don't see where I said I had no respect for them.  I may have missed that when I reread it, cause I was pissed when I wrote it, but I don't see the spot.  I also never said anything about a 'sick twisted desire'.  That's all your wording, not mine.  

What I DID say was that they created it.  They created it just as much as I created this, if not more.  I didn't and still don't feel the need for any of the warnings people have decided are necessary, and I've adminned other boards that didn't need so many rules and concerns for the members there.  Everyone got along, everyone played fair, everyone was fine.  Here, and at TNG, the members complicated things, and the admins went with it in an attempt to keep everyone happy.  The admins at TNG however, felt the need for such things as well.  I know that because it has happened here, and not at any other board I've ever been on, and it happened there.  I may have had three characters, all of which were MINE and not adopted, but I lurked there a hell of a lot more than I posted, and I saw a good deal of drama even after I stopped posting regularly.  I don't claim to know everything about it because I obviously wasn't in the clique there, but I saw enough to get the gist, given what's happened here.

Thus, I am NOT contradicting myself.  I like you all, I've talked to most of you in IM or chat just for fun, but I don't have any SYMPATHY for the TNG admins.  That word does not mean 'respect,' and therefore doesn't say I dislike them.

Sarel has been the tech admin here since it started, and I have handled the people.  THAT is why I've introduced you as co-admin, and don't worry, it won't happen again.  I KNOW you're a people pleaser as much as I've been and more, and I'll apologize for not saying "EXCEPT SAREL" after a dozen different things.  I'm as much to blame as you were on TNG, because I guarantee you just tried to make people happy, just as I did here.  I don't know Bex near as well as you, but I respect and like her simply for the way she handled her issue with Angie.  I have no problem whatsoever with Bex, and none of this is directed at her.  Otherwise, I wasn't unaware that there were admins from TNG here.

QuoteNo, you have the right to want time away from this place, heck, you're human. Everybody needs a little time away once in a while. But you never left a note in the absense thread about it. If you did tell some people but not everbody, than you surely can't expect the entire board to know? So, again, I'm not against you vanishing for as much as you want to until you feel up to get back to this place and you are definitely not a hypocrite for doing so, but it would save confusion if you'd leave a note, right?

I should have left a note, but it wasn't my intention to be gone.  I was online during that period, but didn't have the motivation to touch this stuff.  Obviously, I have to check and post here at least daily now, so validations will be handled if any pop up.

QuoteI have to agree with Ithen: It's interesting you say that you like everyone here, but that you could care less for three of us. Not to mention that you say you haven't heard of anyone dealing with more admin shit than you, and when people are offering, you say you don't care about that. Other people are inactive and therefore they can't have "special characters", but if anyone tries to return the favour and say you're inactive, that's not fair. Apparantly other people, and their experiences, aren't as important as yours. That's at least the impression you give.

Already addressed the 'care less/don't respect'.  Lack of sympathy regarding TNG doesn't mean lack of sympathy or not caring about the rest of you and your life.  I said I didn't care about the admin shit when people offered because I didn't.  I would rather handle it myself and know what was going on than push it off on someone else.  But people take things too far, and as it turns out, I've been too reasonable and too much of a pushover.  In the future, if this board has much of a future, that will change.  On top of that, I couldn't have been inactive if validations were handled.  Yes, I fell behind on everything as a whole recently, but that has been addressed.  While I was handling validations and arguments, I couldn't have possibly been inactive on this board.  

*timid* ... um.... hi everybody....

Wow, my new character has created quite a stir....

Right, chibs, just to clarify, C?leste didn't inherit any falcon magic whatsoever. This includes a second form or demi form. (I'll go clarify that in the profile right now) Just about the only way her falcon blood plays into anything is how pale she is and that odd little bit where she thinks that she is half angel.

If you consider her vampiric power too strong, it really isn't as powerful as it sounds. For the most part it is more projecting thoughts with a bit more subtlty then anything else, so that the person thinks that they are the one who 'thougth' that. She's had some experience which makes her more adept at doing this then most, the only reason for this is that the inner workings of the mind facinate her.

Other then that, you said that she didn't seem 'balanced.' What do you mean by that? I try to work long and hard on my characters profiles before submitting them to make sure that each is unique and will be fun to play (C?leste grew in an odd way, she was a mesh of a few random vampires I had a vauge idea for and a shapeshifter), and each has its own little quirks. Why don't you consider her balanced?

BTW- Please don't consider this a flame or me lashing out, I just want to know.

Actually four players were admins at tng and all four left (as admins and most cases players) because they didn't like how it was run. We wouldn't be here if we wanted it to be like TNG we would be at TNG.  Acutally make that five. Angel, Sarel, Bex, Liv and me.

And Darren, your comment in your first post about goodbye posts, was that aimed at the thread that i made?

QuoteMake no mistake: I have no expectations of getting any support on this. Anyone on my side is too fed up to get involved, or is trying not to in an attempt to keep the situation from getting worse, so I had no expectations that you would agree with me in any way that I'd like.

Now this is about sides? I always thought this rpg was a group of friends who posted on a board together and that was always what I liked about this, I didn't realise we were taking sides now. That's unfortunate for me, I have a horrible habit of not being able to take sides, must be the Italian in me.

Ithen, I don't see what the fuck your problem is with me taking offense to something. You were OFFENDED that I was OFFENDED. What the HELL? And yes, Bex and I DID sort it out on our own. Contrary to popular belief, and I'm pretty sure I have a log to prove it, Bex CAN take care of herself. It didn't need your little shitty comments, and no, I'm not going to sit by when some little kid fucking tries to rail me because I don't agree with something someone else said that I took to be pretty damn rude. And, as stated before, all it took was a PM from Bex saying "This is how I meant it, I didn't even realize you would get mad!" and I said "That's okay hon, giant misunderstanding." It never should have gone past that. But I'm apparently not "maturer" (lol madeup wordz) than that. Ha. Right-o. If I'd have said "All gays should go to hell" it would have gone over like a bomb joke in an airport. How is an insult to any one group of people acceptable over another? NOT TO MENTION the fact that all I did was roll my eyes and say gee thanks. Someone ELSE blew that shit out of proportion. I just responded in kind.

Oce: I don't think that was directed at you. I think he meant when someone read this and then did a long drawn out woe-is-me post. You pretty clearly stated that you were busy and just couldn't commit to so much at one time, and I think everyone can feel that. I was very glad and thankful that you notified everyone instead of just up and vanishing. It was a thoughtful thing to do considering the alternative.

I also think it's pretty fucking funny that people threw HISSY FITS over stupid shit and said they wouldn't RP with people for various reasons. I may not like a handful of people here, but that's all OOC business and IC if my character is naturally going to get along with theirs, it's going to happen on my end. I'm FAR from the only person here who takes shit personally.

No, Oce, that was not at all aimed at you.  You and I have talked enough to understand your situation, and you were kind enough to put up a post about it to let everyone know.  Thank you, and it certainly won't be deleted.

I also appreciate you NOT taking a side.  I said that because, in my experience here, there are people who take sides and don't budge.  While loyalty is a great thing, so is neutrality.  Thanks, Oce.  

Ok, just a quick word. I havn't read the whole thing and stuff, but the smoking thing.

It's old news. It really is.
Me and Angie are fine ^_^

But Ithy and Angie....please just...let it go? It's not the smoking thng anymore, it's the 'being offended' thing....
I understand Ithy wanting to protect me, because I do the same with my friends, but I understand how Angie can feel attacked by it.

So...really....there's nothing to argue about anymore, surely?
Especially not here... :/

Bex, you really are such a doll. I wish you knew just how much I adored you. I apologize for falling behind on our threads, also. I've been so packed with IRL junk that I haven't had time to sit down and post. Expect something from me in the next few days.  

And Oce, thanks for the PM. You know I <3 ya.

So, to wrap shit up here, this is the deal.

I am not being walked over again.  If I say 'no', then that is your answer.  I won't argue and give reasons unless I see fit, and if someone else wants to argue, there's the door.  I have too much bullshit going on in my private life to argue with online drama.

If someone has a problem with another member here, it had better be something damn big if it's going to become an issue.  I will not listen to 'I'm not rping with this person because they're mean' or anything like that.  This is a game, and it is supposed to be fun, and if you're going to be petty, go away.  

I will handle validations, and if there is a question as to whether or not something will be allowed, then I'll be glad to hear it, just as I have no problem asking if something sounds realistic with the world rules.  If I slack or fall behind with validations, I apologize in advance.  Poke at me, or just sit around and wait, and I'll get to them.  The one main exception to this is when I'll be at boot camp, and I'll be sure to have someone handle such things while I'm gone.  

There will be no more gay characters without my say so, and that includes bi-sexuals as well.  This is not me being anti-gay, since we all know that I have no problem playing them, but me looking at the numbers.  This board is set in New York City area and Massachussetts.  There are indeed gay populations, but they are a minority.  That is not the case on this board, and that will need to be balanaced out.  There will be no japanese characters, or characters with japanese names or ancestry or appearances, for the same reason.  This is the melting pot of the world, and we are lacking in representation for other groups.

Powerful characters and canon characters are a privilege.  They will be given, if requested, only to someone I trust will do the character justice.  Whatever my reasons are, the decision is final.  Whoever doesn't like it, I wish you luck in finding a board that better suits your needs.

End.