Young Bard

Drat... I was hoping to keep you fooled for another couple cycles or so... Maybe stab you in the back when the numbers were tight. *sigh* Burnt. Lekal? You seemed interested in killing a Cett - now you've got one. Penrod, you're down on numbers, do you really want to let the team that isn't get even stronger?

So, I'm not sure if you've all seen this yet, but I suggested a little while ago that we start up a group to give weekly book reviews. Every week, one of us will put up a review of a book we've read recently (or not so recently, I guess). The first of these was published yesterday here, by Sunbird, who reviewed The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa. I suggest you all give it a look. I know I've got one more book on my "To-Read" list now... EDIT: Actually, that reminds me. @Chaos, would you rather we keep all the reviews in on one thread, or if we had a new thread each week for a new book review?

Didn't Aman say he was trying to get replaced with a pinch-hitter? Which means you're punishing someone who's just come into the game because of something someone else did. Normally, you might have a point, but in these particular circumstances I think it's better to stick to actual reads rather than meta-reasoning. (I would quote all the others as well, but they all have virtually identical reasoning, which is flawed in this particular situation.) And only Lopen has died from your faction, so why shouldn't we lynch one of your team? Because you attacked Venture and lost your koloss in order to kill Stink? I don't see how that's our fault. If anything, I'd suggest Venture, Penrod, and Cett attack your house before you pull off the same stunt against one of us. With that in mind, Maill. Cett has 7 koloss because they haven't attacked anyone, which means they could be friendly to other factions and searching for Spiked, which is more than we can say for Lekal at the minute. I thought I'd respond to this, just because I think it's a case of 'making the right vote for the wrong reasons'. People lie in SE. I acknowledge this. And, people will go for their faction goals, because a defeat is a defeat whether they lose to another House or the Spiked. However, if Maill is spurring on the factions to unite against Venture once, he could easily do it with any other faction again. So, if you want to protect your faction, Maill is the wisest choice to vote for right now. Maybe Aman would have been the best choice - until he's replaced by a pinch-hitter, who probably won't be nearly as experienced or skilled at manipulation.

I actually got this reference because we learned about Batman in school about a month ago... I am feeling very god about myself right now. Also, I'm still sad that Bhathal (the Greens member for Batman) didn't win that seat. She was so close. Uhhh... No it's not (not in Sydney anyway). That's what they have orange lights for - to warn you it's about to turn red so you shouldn't go.

Yit vmm cw fpuk. Jgnzuz'a akuv tqkuvv ou.

Kog ofe mn gtqo. Czicfr'm lxbw anegwa tr.

Dqrs zxzg kvc galtqb Hlvzbjx. Vfi titf chzfez ixl qhi jqulouy?

Maill, you know how to decode this Pppd ascb psc ggltjo Nxbkgii. Puj etuc chzfej ezk lgn zifwwes?

Right now, there are about the same number of phonemes as in the english language (so roughly about 45 or so, though I'm still searching up a few others that don't appear in the English language - I'm aiming for an even 50). There might be new phonemes that appear, yes. I'll have to think about how I manage that though, as it would have to be a popular idea that came into existence in the not-too-distant-past. I'll have to make a new field of study in technology just so I can place this in now... Thanks! Thanks! I'm not sure I want to head in exactly in that direction (part of the world has wars going on mostly due to vastly different cultural beliefs, so I don't think unifying traits like languages really mix with what I've got), but it's a good idea if I ever recycle the language in a future worldbuilding project. 1. Thanks! Silly 1am typing. That's what I meant. 2. And that idea helps a lot. I'll make sure to do that. Also, I'll probably make a few words which don't make sense if you look at the meaning of the phonemes compared to the meaning of the word unless you know context (in the same way that 'break a leg' meant as encouragement would seem strange to someone who didn't know the phrase) 3. I hadn't set anything firmly, but I have a few rough ideas. 4. That sounds complex, but if each of them equals a single sound, then it shouldn't matter too much, particularly since most people will recognize most words right off, and it's only more unusual or technical words that people need to analyse in that depth for. So, in the end, it would sound something like (making up the phonemes as I go along, because I haven't firmly matched them all up yet, and I haven't used all the same ones as you have): Das ir kalew jvump ko? Which, if you are familiar with the language (and I'm a bit cleverer about how I make the sentences so I don't get words like jvump), then it might sound quite simple. Think about one trait. Build from there. Your one trait can come from anywhere. News articles can help, as can taking a walk. From there, you think about how that trait would influence other aspects of society. Don't necessarily take the obvious approach. Thinking about your world, one of the major questions that rises in my head is the role of women in this society. Either: a) there's a less inequal society than there was in Alexander's time, in which case, there have probably been other theological, technological, or societal factors to influence that, or; b ) their society is just as sexist or more so than Alexander's Greece, which makes the plot a lot more daring for the MC personally, but is aided by enough socially progressive people in the army that she's able to wrest control and those who don't like it have to put up with it. In which case, how did these people get there? Have they always been the black sheep of the army? How does the army, and society in general, treat people who don't fit in? Are they socially ostracised? Are they conscripted to the army because of their dangerous beliefs so that they'll hopefully get blown up there? What else would a society that wants to stick to the status quo at all cost do, and how would they react to this latest turn of events? How would the sudden shift of the society be felt after the wife has her first major victory (or defeat) in battle? Once you're done with that society, move onto something else. I'll choose a slightly ludicrous example, and use it to explain my train of thought when developing my societies. You have a society where having warts is considered the height of beauty. The obvious effect is that 'wart cream' would have a whole new meaning. However, if you think deeper, then you might come up with other ways that society would change in more dramatic ways. As warts are often a result of lack of cleanliness, people would frequently be a less cleanly people in general. You can alter your original point here, and maybe broaden it to 'Cleanliness is considered undesirable' or some such. So, disease rates would be much higher, but that also means that their immune systems would be much improved, as those that do survive despite the lack of cleanliness would have developed resistance to most bacteria, etc. In which case, there would probably be a pride about those that survived many illnesses as strong. It might affect their political beliefs, or who's the most respected member of the community. Depending on how long the community has had this belief, it might even stretch to their physical appearance, as their noses would grow larger to have extra filters to cope with the smell, and possibly other things I can't think of at the moment. Now, that took me... 15 minutes or so? I could probably go further, talk about how their hatred of cleanliness meant that they developed a pathological fear of water, meaning that they had no navy or only for the condemned and scum of society, but a large part of what my society looks like, the psyche of the society and how it influences there lives, is essentially broadly mapped out.

Alv, is Aman telling the truth about your action last night? It might help solve this mess if he is.

...I think I've made my language too perfect. This might sound like boasting, but it's not. The thing is, languages are messy, senseless, and lack any kind of logic or order. The thing is, I started making a language on the basis that each phenomes has a specific meaning, and that you combine these phenomes to get a word which means something specific. In this way, even someone who's never heard the word before will know the rough meaning of what they're trying to say. But, the problem is, that it means my language can't grow and develop. The modern letter for 'a', if you go back far enough, came from the Egyptian hieroglyphic for the 'a' sound, which was a resemblance of an open human mouth (which makes an 'a' sound if you voice something in that position). With this system, it's just... simple, yet efficient. I can't think how this language came to be. Was there a revolution for the lower classes to better be able to understand the language (which is what happened in Korea in the 13/14th Century, making it one of the easiest to understand.) Is this a language that has somehow remained unchanged throughout the years? If so, why? Is it some sort of holy language? Was it invented by humans, or the gods? The thing is, this hypothetical language would be easier to speak than English, unless I'm missing any major flaws. The fact that I did a better job of creating a language in a single afternoon then humanity did in 5000 years is kind of bizarre (and now I sound like I'm boasting again. That's not the point of this... I can't get the words to speak out right. Maybe I should try Bard's language... ) Of course, I'm also yet to create sentence structure, dialects, and any other fine details besides the words themselves, but... it's weird. Also, I really should be focusing on a bunch of other things, both in-universe and in real life as well... But this is fun, and I don't want to... #whoneedsadulting

Technically, it's already started, but you can still create an account and join in. You'll be slightly behind, though. (Particularly since I didn't notice this for two days...)

VIVA LA REVOLUTION! (Also, I am in support of this idea.)

Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Basically, put people who's names you find suspicious in red, and try to get them voted off. Unless you're the suspicious one, in which case try to keep you and your team-mates alive and put everyone elses names in red.

No, Elantris and Dragonsteel are the first two chronologically. The in-world explanation for the Elantris Ars Arcanum is that it was written retrospectively, well after the actual events of Elantris.

I somehow missed this before. But the thing is, it wasn't somehow less boring before. In fact it was a lot more so. If you go back less than 50 years, this is what a TV Advertisement for the Liberal Party looked like.

Except of course that you don't get additional boxings after the first post (unless you vote). Also, does that mean you're going to green out your vote on me?

Normally, yes. But a team-mate I spoke to said that in LG21 you were posting your usual amount and are posting more than usual this game, instead of the posting less than usual in LG21 to your usual.

1. Wait... *doof* I meant in the previous round. Sorry for the confusion. I'm fixing silly errors now. It also helps to look at your old post when you're talking about them. 2. Care to elaborate? (On names, I mean. I know what you're trying to say.)

1. Sorry, I should have clarified. By last game, I meant the last game you played, which was LG21. 2. Well, I'm revealing who I'm suspicious of, at least. Do you have any alternatives?

If you're interested, Republicanism is considered a left wing principle in Australia (and most of the rest of the world) too. *shrug* Names are weird. Case in point, I've heard that 'gift' in German means poison.

That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying that Alv is: a) not revealing as much information as I'd like him to by keeping his cards close to his hand, and b ) bucking his own personal trend by being strangely active. Some of my faction-mates I spoke to also agree that Alv has been acting a little suspiciously, before I actually asked them about it. The fact that we both saw it separately makes me more confident in my own assessment. Plus, Alv has a reputation for a reason. He's a very skilled player, and I don't want him working against me, which I think 3/4 of the players will agree with me on. And a players playstyle is very important for catching an eliminator. In LG22, Meta was playing like... Meta. This was seen as normal for him, so no-one really criticised him about it. However, if Elb or another player who's not noted for having an aggressive playstyle started playing like that, it would be noted, and if Meta started trying to be extremely friendly with someone in thread, it would be noted. This is strange behaviour for them, and therefore they should at least be asked for a clarification or explanation.

Well, I am (actually, I exaggerated slightly. Most likely, the Liberal party - the equivalent of the Republicans in America - are probably going to get it, it's just a question of whether they do it in majority or minority government). Sadly, there's one of the highest levels of political disengagement... ever in Australia, which is sad. I honestly don't know why, but it seems to be part of a global trend.

I'm going to toss a vote at Alvron. He was lurking a lot in the previous round, but didn't seem to post much (but still a fair bit more than I remember him doing in LG21, though, which is strange.) Of what he did say, not all of it was fully explained. And, I know enough about Alvron just to have paranoia about him. Plus, everybody dead that's not in my faction is a bonus, particularly if that player is skilled at SE. In addition, he is known to have asked a question that an Inquisitor would be likely to ask. Yes, I know that Alvron is a very good player, and might have asked simply to know what an inquisitor was capable of doing. However, I also think that that piece of info is the strongest that we've got if we want to lynch the Inquisitor at this point in the game. Even if he's not the Inquisitor, he'll still be one important rival faction member dealt with, and if he is, then we'll have stopped the Spiked faction in record time. Plus, if I were the Inquisitor and picking a player in another faction not knowing any roles, I'd probably try and Spike the best player that hadn't attracted too much attention yet, in this case - Alv. While this isn't very much evidence, this is Alv we're talking about. I doubt I'd be able to get much evidence on him if he jumped up and down yelling "I'm an inquisitor. Lynch me!"

Eh, #1amhumour. I was laughing at a lot of weird things too. The ABC commentary ended at 12:46. They realized the previous ABC election talk record was 12:45, and they wanted to beat it. So, one of the final words of the transmission was "Suck it, Kerry O'Brien." Because this was nearly one in the morning, I cracked up. This will be forever imprinted in my head. By the way, for those Americans who might be wondering how the election went, the answer is... we don't know. It's too close to call, and they've stopped counting ballots until Tuesday.