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Astral Nodes and Toxic Behavior

For the past week or so I've had the displeasure of having to hear about and/or deal with drama over astral over-linking. These people are often wrongly accused and still threatened, or griefed, or otherwise harassed because players have chosen to be overzealous in their policing of the nodes.

I think it is fostering an unhealthy environment where it will drive several well-meaning players away and still leave behind the offenders. Is that what people want? Make the game even smaller than it has been? It is causing combat, sure, but it's not a healthy combat situation. It mirrors that of why we have Avenger in the first place.

People need to consider that this is a game, first and foremost. Try not to take it so seriously with accusations. I thought once to report with adding a LastLink for astral nodes to help catch or deter the true offenders, but I was told this idea was shot down, even though we have something like LastHarvest. If this is true, why?

Anyway, this is me saying, ye Enforcers of Astral Nodes need to tone it down a notch. Keep your zealotry levels to motes, please.

Tyrus

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Re: how do you say your characters name?

Inquiring minds want to know: KEEL-inn. Or Kay-linn, depending on your accent.

Caoilfhoinn

1

Re: Lusternian Divine AMA

Eve said:

This thread has been too quiet here recently. Inquiring minds would like to know:

1.) What is your favorite thing to do when you need a break from a project?
2.) What do you miss most about being a mortal? Like an activity or a quest that you could mindlessly do.
3.) What do you not miss about your mortal skin?
4.) If you could do one thing to bring the basin together as your Divine self what would it be? Would He/She ever do it?
5.) What FanFiction needs to be written about your Divine self and why?

Like, any kind of project or a Lusternia specific project? Ultimately the both are the same kind of thing, but they end up being done for different reasons--i.e. playing video games of some kind, haha. For Lusternia at least, I usually turn to them for some sort of inspiration or ideas to think through ruts.
I don't really miss being a mortal, but I do always going to Shallach and bashing the orcs. There was something very nice about the simplicity of that area.
The feeling of guilt about not investing time or energy in an alt when my "main" was all equipped and good to go; the feeling that I didn't have much interest in my "main."
This is a hard question. I think the problem is, unless there are certain circumstances, Terentia (and maybe all Warrior Elders) would have little need to "bring the basin together."
I don't really read fanfiction, so I have no idea what would need to be written about Terentia or why.

(PS--take this meager post as a sign that I have passed through my exams--so expect Terentia soonish... hopefully 🙈)

Terentia

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Re: Lusternian Divine AMA

Eve said:

This thread has been too quiet here recently. Inquiring minds would like to know:

1.) What is your favorite thing to do when you need a break from a project?
2.) What do you miss most about being a mortal? Like an activity or a quest that you could mindlessly do.
3.) What do you not miss about your mortal skin?
4.) If you could do one thing to bring the basin together as your Divine self what would it be? Would He/She ever do it?
5.) What FanFiction needs to be written about your Divine self and why?

1.) Other than taking a break from Lusternia and taking a breather? Building, usually. A lot of my favorite work I've done in Lusternia hasn't actually been under Lantra's IC domain, but things I've written anonymously as an admin behind the scenes. I like piecing together stories in Lusternia and answering "What if?" questions through quest and area building: not just for Celest, but for the game as a whole. It's especially rewarding if I can churn out creative goodies for other admin, giving them toys I know they'll benefit from being put into the Lusternia universe. Year arcs are fulfilling because they scratch this itch as well, but they have a stricter timeline. If I'm puttering away at a brand new area behind the scenes, it's done when I want it to be. Works well as a backburner if you chip away at it slowly in your downtime.

2.) Being able to goof around more easily and fly under the radar. Lantra is a very serious character and she has little room for joking around or levity. I love that about her, but it's a static dynamic; her responses to various types of characters are set, and she will have limited changes in how she reacts to the world. It can also be frustrating to have those reactions interpreted as how I, the admin, feel about a player rather than how Lantra feels. This is to say that I can't just hop on an OOC clan and say, "PS, I'm not Lantra IRL." And this isn't even including the fact that when a god shows up, many players go completely silent and don't know what to do! NPCs can give more options, but it's not the same as just logging in and chilling at the nexus as a fun, low stakes alt.

3.) The mechanics and combat. The reluctant obligation to participate in political drama. Revolts/aetherflares/etc etc.

4.) This is an interesting question. I'll just say that Lantra believes she is always right and the sooner everyone else agrees to it and stops being Just Another Disappointment, the better.

5.) Thax x Lantra fanfiction, one-sided: unrequited love turned to hate from the metal man in a suit for the goddess who views him as the embodiment of everything wrong in the world. Mm, angsty angst. Delicious.

Lantra

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Re: Lack of Raves VI: Rave Today, Tweet Tomorrow

Uilani said:

PS. Be sure to check out sarkipose art at the bottom of the website's version of the event post!

It's a trap.

Nepenthe

2

Re: Lack of Raves VI: Rave Today, Tweet Tomorrow

@Eritheyl There's been a lot of debate over ugly vs ugly cute in the Havens over sarkiposes.

PS. Be sure to check out sarkipose art at the bottom of the website's version of the event post!

Uilani

4

Re: Lack of Raves VI: Rave Today, Tweet Tomorrow

Yay for Gaudi gauds! Zhush's fleshseeds are finally available, and the lil worm babies are so...so freaking CUTE???

Looking more like a bud forming from a tree, this seed has been formed from layers of yellowish
translucent flesh, ascending from the base of the seed upwards in layers. The bottom of this seed
remains pliable and sticky, gathering any dust or detritus in the vicinity. As the flesh creeps to
the crest of the seed, it hardens and turns an opaque greenish colour.

Writhing in what could only be described as a worm-like fashion, this odd invertebrate seems to
squirm with every single move. Several eyes with many-pointed pupils each cover the length of this
creature's ever-writhing body. The creature seems to constantly grow and convulse, ripples moving
through its flesh and leaving distortions and growths of varying shapes in their wake.
A juvenile sarkipose looks weak and feeble.
He weighs about 1312 pounds.

Intently watching its surroundings, a juvenile sarkipose paces nervously here.

Eritheyl

2

Re: Bloom! A new and shiny basher and influencer!

The copies on this thread are a little out of date, because it wasn't practical to keep posting a new copy every time I made some small change. The more up-to-date version on my github does have esteem auto-imbue (it'll do it once you pass 250 esteem - not on every influence. It's just a personal preference for round numbers!)

Llani

2

Wisdom, Doubt, and a Rekindling - Lantra Order RP

Avaris's final tenet-related trial for Lantra's Order, pertaining to Wisdom. It's a long one, but the description of the rooms and appearances that Lantra crafted for this are more than worth the read by themselves, and her writing and characterisation is, as always, exquisite.

Wisdom and Doubt

Shortly after, Avaris posts to the Order news announcing his intent for moving forward, which causes Auriella to pay him a visit.

Rekindled

Avaris

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Re: Discussion Regarding Reports

Orael said:

If you think something is wrong or in bad faith, it should be easy enough to debunk their reports/comments with substance rather than just dismissing them because of who you -think- said it. Again, you're probably wrong.

This is one of the biggest problems with the envoy system. Anyone can come along and pop-off with their opinion and the expectation is that you have to prove every reason why they're wrong. The amount of effort that it takes to refute these arguments is vastly more than the amount of effort it takes to roll in and spout off. The admin decision process is also opaque so people are afraid that the nonsense will be taken as truth if they don't respond. Stuck between putting forth a lot of thankless effort (rather, the more likely outcome is that they'll get flamed) to refute the opposing argument, people resort to calling an argument bad-faith. They -are- likely wrong in accusing someone of arguing in bad faith, but if someone is being inadvertently biased or obstinate the point is moot. Bad faith or not, it's a huge pain to deal with.

You of course know that this, Lusternia, is meant to be a game, but the whole envoy process is more of an opt-in volunteer job (to those who aren't metagaming the system). It's essentially offloading dev work onto the players. Engaging in the envoy process as is has become a grinding, thankless, sucky endeavor. There's a reason why I (Ciaran) tried to stay out of it as much as I could when I last played.

I know it's supposed to be a mechanic to allow the players to have a hand in tweaking the game. It's honestly great for QOL fixes, but when some players just use it as a means to their ends of making the game easier for themselves and harder for their opponents it becomes contentious, soul crushing work. On top of that, there's the ever present fear that if you opt-out then there's nobody to counter the arguments of those that would nerf everything you have and buff everything they have. Opting out feels risky, opting in is work.

Envoy reports should be QOL only, and balance changes should be handled by the admin. I mean hell, you're only doing them once a year now anyway, if the admin don't have enough of an idea of what needs rebalancing without seeing people hash out the arguments in report coments, then they shouldn't be the judges of envoy reports either. Handle rebalancing through IDEAs. If you want to let the players have a hand in it then submit balance proposals (made by the admin) to an envoy-like voting system. It'd help turn the temperature down on the schism between the alliances and honestly, it'd probably lower peoples' stress levels significantly.

Chogan

3