and I dream of the sky, my utopian lie

A friend passed me something I figured might be good to toss to a wider audience:

Rules and Guidelines for the Inkstained Clanks

Welcome to the fan fiction writing group for the brilliant Girl Genius universe. We are a collection of like-minded individuals who enjoy writing and gathering together in order to write and share original fan fiction stories, sonnets, haikus, and prose. We are currently working on creating a website to post the masterpieces that our members create. Each person will have their own log in and their own page, and that way they will be able to maintain their own collection of their talent. For now, however, we will be meeting once a week in order to share our stories, read them out loud if the members wish it, as well as to help each other by giving constructive criticism, praise, and whatever other help our members may need. In order to keep order and to stay on the same page, we have put together a few rules for our members.

Every Sunday a theme will be issued. A theme is sent out in order to motivate and challenge our members to write using a certain theme, be it a situation, topic, type of monster, etc. Suggestions for themes will be accepted but the ultimate decision will rest with the owners of the group.

Every week we will have a meeting where we can help each other write, give praise, constructive criticism, etc. These stories will be G, PG, and R rated, although there will be no explicit sexual or violent scenes. There can be vague or general sorts of situations but nothing offensive or explicit. Which leads us to rule number 3.

Once a month there will be meeting for Adult fan fiction, where we will be reading, writing, giving constructive criticism, praise, and any other comments to fan fiction that can be rated anywhere from G to XXX. We will let everyone know well in advance when the adult meeting will be, so that those who do not care to attend can steer well clear of it. When we get the website online, the adult writings will have their own section so it will be kept away from the rest of the creations.

No Drama. We are adults and surely we can pretend to get along with everyone. We are writers, creators, surely we can act civilized. If you are having problems with someone and cannot reconcile it with them by yourself, please contact Kira Vedrina (Kiralette Kelley). She is the ultimate power of Clank or Crush in the group and will be happy to try to find a way to create peacefulness. Peace enables people to be more creative, and we all want to let those creative juices flowing, right?

No maligning Girl Genius, the creators of Girl Genius, or anyone who is involved in the creative process that goes into the existence of Girl Genius. If it weren't for them, we would not be here making our own creations using theirs as an inspiration.

While it's also nice to know that Miss Kiralette is still alive and kicking, what I would mention to people is that no writing group, no matter the goal, is ever a waste of time. Fan writing in particular--while it can, and usually does, exist in a legal hinterland that occasionally becomes dangerous terrain indeed, what people tend to forget is that it's still writing. Anything that gets us writing, consistently; thinking of characterization and plot; and developing writing routines is never wasted time.

Just search for "Inkstained Clanks" under Groups; they pop right up, and they're a free group to join.

[10:21 PM] Geoffrey Xenobuilder: by the way who ever's Refrigerator is running laps thru Central Caledon Can you collect it before it eats one of the pepole looking at parcels

Never a bad idea.

Unfortunately, this one was:

[00:18] Cxxxx Nxxxxxxx: Well, the fundraiser to help Aeva/Heartsick owner Amesha get a new computer started-only problem is that the sim owner went to bed without opening the sim to the public.

Nrrrrrng.

As I wasn't on the "official" bloggers' list for the Heartsick event (they didn't turn me down, I didn't apply because my scattered brain is having a hard enough time keeping up with blogging just for me), I don't know whether or not the bloggers that were got early access. I'd suggest just keep trying until the event opens--hopefully, when the sim owner wakes up in the morning.

[Update before publishing: it's been fixed! It's now open, so go and support your brains out. There's a lot of great things donated for the event from a lot of great designers, so yay for simple fixes.]

[[Postscript: having now--very briefly--wandered the sim, I'm also amused that the unofficial theme of the affair seems to be Twi'leks. Hee.]]

I'm begging you, please wake me up--in all my dreams I...

This preempts anything else I had planned, 'cos it's kind of that important. From Dare Munro:

The bad news:

My little beast of a computer has finally given it up - it has died on the table several times now and is barely functional.

The good news:

So, on that note, I am announcing the 'Dare Needs a New Computer' sale!

In order to keep running SL and keep doing what I do, the little beast (now 5 years old) MUST be replaced. So I am having a sale for the next few weeks - every few days I will add a room to the sale (as I am able) with hundreds more outfits and more all on sale for 199L (or less). One whole room is ready to go now with almost 100 designs in every color.

Here

In other news - this computer crisis has left me WAY behind in filling gift card orders, but if you have one pending or know someone who does - rest assured they will all be filled as I am doing a few a day as long as the computer holds out.

Cross your fingers for me - I hope to be back at full capacity very soon.

yours faithfully,
- Dare :)

(from the events album)

So what does this mean? Well, first and foremost: SALE AT DARE. Which, like, rarely happens.

But more than that, I know this pain. I wouldn't have the nifty computer I'm typing from now had a dear friend not come through for me. When computers die, they tend to die hard, and if your business is mostly (or even entirely) virtual, this is a BIG problem.

(from the events album)

Dare's not the only one this is happening to, either. Amesha Jewell, the mind behind Aeva/Heartsick, had her computer die a horribly painful death. So friends of hers are organizing a fundraiser, first couple weeks of May.

(from the events album)

I know, I know, timing. We all just spent our hearts out supporting Fantasy Faire. But these are also important issues--and issues that, if not solved, will result in one or both makers losing their livelihood, if not their sims. And that's too great a sacrifice when for around a grand US, you can get a pretty functional machine with some bells and whistles to help out along the way.

(from the events album)

Help if you can, appreciate the art of creation doesn't matter if the medium of creation has evaporated, and spread the word.

(Worn: Heartsick's "Enchant/Illusion" skin gift from a few years back, in Very Berry; Curious Kitties' "Honeybee" eyes from a spring festival last year, I believe; Alice Project's "Delirium" hair in Red/Black from the last Twisted hunt [gacha prize for this color, I think\; and Dare Designs' "Apparition" outfit in Violet from the new sale [but remember, go to the link above for the special sale room]. All shots taken in Evensong Woods, the last hour or so it exists on the grid.)