A Lack of Handwaving

[agentxthirteen]

So I've been working on Sharon's notebooks to replace the ones her mirror stole (i.e., the ones I never did much with because time is a Thing) and I was going to work on Sharon's event notebook when it eventually occurred to me. I am a stupid goose. Because there have been SO MANY residents in Wonderland who have kept track of events! There's no reason there wouldn't be at least one copy - probably multiple - copies around!

I know we're in the habit of handwaving things, but I've seen some characters note that events seem to correspond to holidays, and since not all of us have brilliant memories, I thought it might be good to have a reference that we can point to?

What I have is still a work in progress (yeah, I've been writing it down), but if anyone's interested in helping out, I'd be happy to have it. The bulletin board only covers character-inspired events, and I know we've had more events than that. So if anyone wants to help with a reference that we can look at and "Hmmm yessss yes that" over, please don't hesitate!



Also, I'd like to keep the post-event talk going since handwaved things tend to be forgotten. With no one dying this time (that I'm aware), would anyone be interested in having a D&D&D session and sharing bad-ass moves they did (or didn't) do? If anyone wants to help out with those and get a rotation going so it isn't all-Sharon-all-the-time, I'd be glad for that, too. I'm hoping the posts can help serve as an AC opportunity for characters who don't speak out on the network much, so yeah. I'd like for the post-event talks to not completely fizzle out, but I also don't want to be me-me-me about them. I've been thinking about one log each AC period with events under header comments, but I don't want Sharon to be the only one holding each of the meetings.

In short, anyone interested in being a Wonderland Leslie Knope and having some crackpot conventions where people may care at you very loudly? (I DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, I ONLY KNOW THE MODS ARE A DELIGHTFUL KIND OF EVIL.)

Comments

[shrinkage]

I've really enjoyed the progress that's unfolded from your/Sharon's efforts! Are you open for suggestions / wider OOC discussion about it at all? I have some suggestions, but I don't want to assume my voice carries more weight than it should depending on your intentions.

I ask because it seems like something Ray would want to help with but I personally don't have a ton of time or energy to spare. I have done some similar work at other games in the past (esp regarding collaborating with a group), and I'd love to spitball a bit if you / others who are interested are willing.

(And if not, I'll still jump on in what limited capacity I can ♥)

[agentxthirteen]

OH FUCK YES PLEASE SHARE.

The more I've worked on the character notes, the more I've come to realize that in the grand scheme of Wonderland, there's nothing really noteworthy about them, lol, mostly because 1) other characters have kept notes on residents, and 2) there's actually a bunch of stuff archived in the library about the characters, and Evelyn encourages people to check it out. So I think the only purpose the character notes will have, ultimately, is to be, like, "There are notes similar to these, but far more detailed, in the library."

I've got a notebook on things around Wonderland which is a flipping mess right now, lol, but I'll be trying to get that one cleaned up. But I think, ultimately, that will only be a reference, too, to keep track of things people have discovered about mirrors and such.

And then there's the event notebook, which... so many characters have been keeping up with events that it would really only serve as a reference for the players.

So there's no real plan/intention here for anything except providing resources for the comm, so YES GIVE ME ALL YOUR SUGGESTIONS AND THOUGHTS!

[shrinkage]

I think it's worth me disclaimering that my RP style trends toward 'the less OOC work the better,' so our styles might not match up very often. With that in mind, I'm striving to stick to the places we'd intersect on enjoyment for now, since it's not really my place to tell you how to enjoy your internet playtime.

I'm interested in your intentions because I think it helps to define what exactly it is that brings someone joy in a thing. So, for a project like this I'd ask if you just enjoy organizing information, or if you're looking for a way to contribute to the setting/world-building as a facet of creative RP, or if you're most interested in the social/political dynamics of a Wonderland where residents old and new seek to collaborate (and, naturally, the OOC collaboration itself inherent in RP at its more basic level).

Based on that, I'd move to asking you whether the tools you're using / offering others use of are the best ones to promote your goal and onboard new players/characters both OOCly/ICly. I don't want to lob ideas about HOW at you before I get a general sense of the WHY.

Without knowing those things, my suggestions boil down to 'narrow your scope' and then 'let it grow to fit needs, rather than planning for needs before they're needed.'

[agentxthirteen]

It helps me, personally, to put a bit of work in OOC, especially since I have a character who would seek out answers on these things. I've actually been enjoying it because of how much I've learned about the game and its history. I really do enjoy organizing things and, since I play a character who invests so much in knowing what's going on, feel I can do better work when I don't have so many blind spots/blank spaces.

I started the notebooks because it was IC for Sharon to do, but I've come to focus on the events notebook because a list of events might be of most benefit to the comm. Many of the characters in Wonderland are keeping track of the events and have been doing so for a long time, but as far as I know there's no written account of what Wonderland has inflicted on the residents, I thought it might be a good resource to have that characters can refer to.

Because characters have been writing down the events IC for so long, it doesn't really make sense for Sharon to ask for help with them, because in-verse they're readily available. So the characters can read them, but the players don't necessarily know what the characters are reading. So this is an OOC venture to help come up with the events list as a resource for players and their characters.

[shrinkage]

Ahh yes, thank you for humoring my rambles! I think I get a better sense of the two sides of this big ol' coin, now. On one side you're making sure to be transparent about something that's in-character for Sharon to do because it could feel like you're stepping on toes. And on the other, Sharon's looking to get characters to discuss events and at least try to combat/deal with the things that they can't control. (Apologies if this is off the mark -- I hope you'll correct me if I've misunderstood.)

I'm trying to tread respectfully because I think I'm the very opposite of you when it comes to execution-- I actively use those blank spaces to support a similar function. In fact, the constant change/inability to define the world is one of the core game traits that I enjoy most about Eway, OOCly. I only mention this so that you also have an idea of where I'm coming from, not to discourage or judge.

Now, as for Ray's contribution / a tweak I'd make: I feel I'd be more inclined to have him participate via network posts rather than posting mingle meeting logs. Would that be a version you/Sharon could go for? For example, Ray might post an IC postevent survey with questions and prompts to the network. Or, alternatively, we could see if players/characters would run with a forum-style jack-a-thon to ask their own questions and swap/discuss rumors and link to resources they already use?

(And again, if these things don't align with what you're shooting for don't hesitate to veto away <3)

[agentxthirteen]

Oh, that's fine! And I totally get it - different people have different RP styles and such. I actually really admire people who play so well different ways, lol!

And the network is actually a really good idea! I was kind of worried that a log could kind of blow up if emotions ever ran high, but a network post would allow for quicker responses and thread-jacking while still be organized! And Sharon will stop herself from proposing if Ray did the post-event survey - though she'll definitely owe him. So, basically, these are both brilliant ideas that I love!

Do you want to handwave that they talked about it and go ahead do the survey? I'm great with either that or with doing a jacky happy post this time around if you/Ray aren't up to it!

[shrinkage]

Same! I like playing w ppl who do things differently so I can learn, too ^^

I do like log format, especially because there are a good handful of characters who don't make a habit of using the network. So maybe we'll stumble on a best of both worlds option (or someone will slam in here with sth)?

Sure! I'm unreliable for RP this weekend until after the 4th, though. So if you jones to post before then, go for it o7

[agentxthirteen]

I can wait until you get back! Have fun over the holiday!

[shrinkage]

HELLO OK i think it might worth it to have ray survey for the survey first, if that makes sense -- post up looking for volunteers / asking for what sort of information people would want to gather from a survey etc

thoughts / edits / vetos???

[agentxthirteen]

That makes total sense to me! And Alphys wants to do something for the science peeps, so this might be a good way to set that up, too!

[shrinkage]

OH perfect lemme holler at her real quick then <3

[shrinkage]

ok it took a bit of a life of its own, partially bc i feel like it's easier for ppl to interact if there's something to mock ray out for doing first, so i hope THIS is an acceptable start???

[tobelieve]

Just jumping in since surveys were mentioned.

When I had Lydia here she did a couple of surveys based on the worlds that people came from. I don't know if they'd be of any use but if yes we could ~hand gestures say that her notebooks ended up in like the library or something? She never published the results but lots of people responded to the surveys. I can grab links to them if you'd like to look over, too!

[agentxthirteen]

/GASP/ How did I not realize that you used to play Lydia, too? I loved her! I was reading back through the network posts and thinking how much I missed her!

I'd love to read them, if only to remember the characters who have come and gone!

[tobelieve]

Wah don't, I miss her so much 😢 i had her here nearly 3 years, it's ridiculous.

ANYWAY SURVEYS one about magic and one about tech

Helena would also appreciate reading an events list for previous events knowledge bc weird and not so wonderful things she knows a bit about, but that'd be more just to catch her knowledge up. She's out of her depth here a bit

[shrinkage]

yo you mind if ray references / links to those ICly????

[waverides]

I SUPPOSE

[agentxthirteen]

Okay, okay, I'll try to be mum on Lydia! ;p

And those surveys are amazing. I love them!

And here's what I have so far. I'm still working my way back, though, so I'm going to tackle pre-2016 soon!

[tobelieve]

That looks amazing!! I'm looking through some of those events like wow I remember that from my ye olde first days here

I might also have a character that could help Sharon out icly on this if you'd like, though at the minute I don't have an IC reason/way to shove her in on this but I will keep a thinking and find ways to make stuff happen

[sciencelizard]

Alphys had wanted to talk about like, forming a kind of event science team where there could be notes taken on the world to compile into something that could live in the library? As like, a compendium about worlds visited/things people could study if they saw an event announcement and thought it was theirs. She didn't get it off the ground or anything yet (this was concepted at like, the Citadel event or smth) but if Sharon talked about it she'd def want to be involved!!

[agentxthirteen]

I think that would be great! Ray's going to do the next post-event round-up, so maybe Alphys can use that to join the rotation or add an addendum/thread for the science people? I'm sure the science peeps in Wonderland would join in!

[sciencelizard]

yeah!! I know Fitz was doing a bunch of study on the magic during the D&D event so there's gotta be more people than her haha

[shrinkage]

i could have ray do an IC prelim type situation if that helps??? i'm going to frame it as ray being like 'sharon and i chatted and i went searching and found cool surveys from years ago let's do that more officially' or sth?

[sciencelizard]

that sounds good to me!!! O:

[shrinkage]

OKAY as i drafted/edited it turned into something broader -- lmk if it needs more specificity to get alphys' atteniont <3

[sciencelizard]

aah sorry for bein late, I can work with this!!! I'll hit it up now c:

[shrinkage]

oh gosh it's no trouble at all, esp since it took me awhile to write up and i feel like i STILL coulda done a better job at making it both specific and also broad and now i'm rambling

tldr psh you are right on time!