The Trials of Misguidance

Some fo the writing I did on the train home yesterday.  Man, I do love my little lap-top.....

This is a small piece from the first half of the novel- a Birmingham hero, Lamplight Black (under his normal name of John Stanford), has an unfortunate encounter during an otherwise ordinary night in the city.

Smiley faces will be awarded to anyone who can identify the other character. :P
 

( Cut because a wall of text this size would be a shooting offence on LJ... )
For those of you wondering, my doll Jon has nothing to do with Lamplight's name. XD  It's just me, failing to notice  that I stole my own character's name for one of my resin minions.  But then, we all know I such at doll names.

*fails* 

OK- This is it.  I am packed and leaving the house reeeeally early tomorrow morning.  I will be home again in a week, so if anyone needs me between then and now, hang tight and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

I may check in while I am at home, but I can't guarantee it.

*does the happy dance*

Today I treated myself to a solo trip to the cinema, to see Star Trek.   I wanted to go on my own because JR and Martin also want to see it, but I have no desire to listen to them bitching about the special effects while I am watching a movie.  Normally I don't mind that- it's pretty interesting- but not today.

This is one that I actually wanted to just sit and watch, and enjoy.

( Cut for SPOILERS and Me Whinging. )

I would be very interested to hear what everyone else who has seen it thinks of it.

Hey guys- is anyone on my f-list planning on going to the SanDiago comic con this year?  And if so, would you be willing to pick something up for me, in return for the appropriate money?

I've done a (very small) cut of my f-list.  Basically, I've removed pretty much everyone who was not a mutual friend on my profile (bar, like 2).  I've done it because my f-ist is huge, and this is the only thing I could think of to keep the numbers down a bit.

If this affects you and you want to be added back, please let me know.  But please add me back too, cos otherwise I'll probubly just take you off again in a few months. >_>

Also, if you have come to my LJ and this is the first post you see, and normally you can see everything, then you may have been removed in my second F-List cut.  Please comment here if you would like to be added again. ^__^

(post unlocked, so anyone can see it.)

Halp!

This is a massive shot in the dark, but I am looking for a Dollti D. 

I missed this doll when he was released (it was just after I got into BJDs) and I have always regretted not getting one.  I don't care about skin colour or condition- if you have one, and you want to sell him (or you know someone who wants to sell / see one for sale), please let me know.  I have been looking and looking, but haven't seen one on the second hand market for over a year.

If it's yours, drop me a note with a picture and the price you are looking for, and I will get back to you fast.  If it's not yours, send me a link and I will be in your debt forever.  Either way, any help at all would be massively appriciated.

Thanks guys!

^__^

The VtM Forum Is Now Closed.   

I will not say when it is re-opening, because there is a good chance that it never will.  

I am tired of people breaking the few simple rules that we have.  I am tired of people sending me inane messages, for problems that could be sorted out by other mods or bitching over issues that are covered in our extensive and (remarkably) easy to use FAQ.  I am tired of other mods and admins sitting by and letting a few of us be swamped with these messages, while doing nothing to help.

I am tired of seeing only one or two of the 50+ mod and admin team dealing with people's issues.  I am tired or constantly being under attack for the way the rules of VtM works in the stated hard copy rule books.  I am tired of people asking me to put my real, off-line life second so that they can play a fucking online game. 

Most of all, I am tired of people making child vampires and then trying to shag anything that moves. 

I am tired of people debating the law with me.  I don't write the law, assholes, but I am not going to be liable for your perversions.  MYSELF AND THE OWNER OF THE FORUM CAN BE ARRESTED AND/OR SUED BECAUSE OF YOUR CHARACTERS.  This is not, and never has been, a joke.  I would think that after what happened a few months back you would all have gotten the hint, but apparently not.  So- no forum for you.  Enjoy.

Did i discuss this with the other mods?  No.  
Did I discuss this with the owner?  No.

Do I have to?  No.  

When the VtM forum was created, I was given sole responsibility by the man who pays for and hosts the entire thing.  His words to me were very simple: The forum would exist for as long as I was happy to run it.  If I was not the senior mod, then no-one would be. 

I am no longer happy to run it.   I am not happy to let someone else run it, when my name will still be associated with it. 

What happens now?
Over the next few days, I will go through the VtM membership and remove from the database anyone who has broken the rules with regards to sexual conduct, player vs. player killing, mod harrasment, and multiple account usage.

In addition, I will remove from the database any moderator or administrator who has- on more than two occasions- failed to respond to a serious query or plea for assistance while they were online, unless such query needed to be passed to another moderator for resolution.  
The reason for this is simple- our forum has: 25 gameplay mods, 40 admin staff, and 12 senior mods.  And yet, of all of you, I have only ever witnessed around 5 people making any effort to help our members.  The result of this is that I myself am being overwhelmed with messages to the point where my account is crashing every time I try and log in.  

I have mentioned this to you all many, many times.  You gain significant in-game privilages as mods and admins, and yet you do nothing to earn them.  I am sick of it, and under the circumstances I am not happy to hand out any more second chances. 

In regards to this purge, I- and I alone- will have the right to decide if you have violated the rules or failed to do your job.

Once I have completed the purge, all deleted memebers will recieve and e-mail from me to inform them of my decision.  Anyone who wishes to appeal cannot, as this is not a democracy.  You are, however, free to rant and rave about me anywhere that you would like to.  You are free to call me names.  You are free to band together and start a new forum, if you so choose, where I have no power.  Go and enjoy yourselves- have fun.  I will not stop you, and I will not complain.  However, I will also not reverse my decision to ban you. 

Once that is done, I will be sending e-mails to the remaining mods and admins to discuss with them all the possibility of re-opening the forum.  If we can agree on new mod team members, and so long as I have the time and energy to dedicate to the forum again, we will re-open.  When that happens, an automated e-mail will be sent out to all existing members informing them that they can start playing again.

No, I have no idea when- if ever- that will be. 
No, I will not re-open the forum while I am sifting the database.
No, I will not re-open registration on the forum once the purge is complete.  I think we have enough players for now, and until I can ensure the forum runs smoothly and legally with the current player base, I see no reason to re-open registration and run the risk of banned members attempting to sign up again.  

If the owner of the server has an issue with this decision, he has my e-mail and is free to contact me to discuss it.  

I will not answer e-mails from forum members at this time, so please- if you send me an e-mail and I do not reply, consider the amount of work I am doing trying to find a way to re-open the forum as a safe, legal, and most of all enjoyable environment. 

I will answer e-mails from other admin and mods. 
I will not be taking on new friend requests on MSN or Yahoo Messenger. 


I know that at this time, there will be aroun 8000 people who want to skin me alive, but I have been warning you that this was a possibility ever since a forum member made a false police report and got another memeber arrested!  

I do not make hollow threats.  You all know this. 

I am, however, very sorry that it has come to this.  I wish that those of you who have persisted in rule breaking, or who decided to let others do all the work, had perhaps listened and not been such amazing assholes. 

Yours, as ever,

-Kassius Ellodore-

 

PS: I apologise to my LJ f-list.  For some reason, this notice would not post on the forum's main page when I tried to post it there.  Apparently, it was too long.  LOL. >_>

So... Andril and I went to the cinema today (Orange Wednesdays- buy one get one free on all tickets.  Yay! ^__^) and discovered that Sweeny Todd isn't showing until next week.  Boo.  So we decided to see AVP: Requiem instead, because everything else looked even worse. 

Welll..... I'm glad I saw it.  But only becuase it was raining outside and was cold, and inside the cinema was warm and dry. >_>  Below the cut you will find my general musings on the film.  Beware.  Some of it could be called ranting.  Some of it is just down right silly.  Most of it is just epic spoilers, though.  

That's right:  SPOILERS AHEAD for AVP: REQUIEM.

You know.... like anyone really cares..... ^_-  My version is probubly more worth your time, which says a lot given that I am hyped up on diet coke and gummi bears. >_>


TL;DR:
Its a sad day when the most amusing part of a horror film is making bets with the people sitting in the row infront of you, and you don't even care when other people are talking through the film.  The special effects were nice, though, and Predators are still sexy.  But now I wouldn't want to kiss one. >_>  

In Other News:
Still no job, but still looking.  Doll pictures tomorrow, I promise- because I ahve finally found my camera.  It was behind the TV.  Which makes no sense. O_o