Necro

IC: The Rockman grinned as the gatling gun's barrel slowed to a halt. "Not exactly small, but a nice addition to the collection." He picked up the shotgun and revolver, placed them back, then staggered over to Kharon, grabbing at the sidewall for support as he maneuvered awkwardly. In spite of the size and fortitude of the Rockmen, stun rounds still had a sting, and plenty of effect. "You fight well. Hopefully this is the last fight of our voyage, but in the likely case it is not, it is good to know one of your skill is aboard." At that, he raised a jerking, twitching hand to his head, readjusting the helmet to its proper position, then tapping the side of it. "Colonel, this is Ovechkin. Our portion of the boarders are neutralized. All three of us were hit with stun rounds, but should be fine within a few hours. Send medical and security when you can, we have five prisoners, two in need of medical attention. We also have an abnormal Engi carcass I believe both medical and scientific staff will be interested in."

IC: With the diversion provided by Kharon, Ovechkin jumped out from behind the table, running to the discarded gatling gun the Engi had dropped earlier. As he reached it, he dropped the shotgun and revolver, picking the stun weapon up, wrapping a hand around it, and unloading on the three pirates remaining up.

IC: As quickly as a lumbering Rockman could, Signi ducked behind the abandoned mess hall table as it sat on the floor, projectiles from the pirates deflecting off of it. The whirring of slugs flying through the air before clanging against metal echoed through the airlock as the botanist reached to his belt, pulling out a small revolver, or what qualified as a small revolver for a Rockman. For most humans, it would be closer to the size of a small shotgun. He tossed the shotgun the Engi had tried to wrest away into his left hand; accuracy wasn't as important with scattershot weaponry. "Draw their fire." He said flatly to the privateer, yelling to be heard over the gunfire. "I have a plan, but it requires not getting shot."

IC The Rockman grinned, the internal padding of the helmet squishing to absorb the force of the headbutt. Even an off-kilter helmet still provided protection. With the Engi's lone arm battling for the shotgun, he reared back, then slammed a hulking fist into its left knee.

IC: Ovechkin staggered back as the blows landed, his helmet jostled askew. Boxing with Rockmen has a habit of making you able to focus through massive blows to the head though. As the second punch landed, he grabbed the Engi's arm with a massive hand, then turned, slamming his, and along with it the Engi's as well, into the ground, and dragging the metal behemoth with it. As he did, he reached his other arm behind his back, grabbing the shotgun off of it and jamming it into the chin, or what appeared to be its chin, of the Engi as it fell, and pulling the trigger.

Alex, will we be seeing any more giant Engi later on? I have an idea to kill it, but I'd be kind of sad offing it this quickly if it's the only one we see.

IC: Ovechkin turned as the Engi pushed back, planting his left heel into the ground and spinning around, gripping the table like an athlete would a particularly large discus, letting go of his grip on it to allow it to careen into the newly-arrived pirates. As he completed the spin, he raised his outer arm, clenching it into a massive, boulder-like first aimed squarely at the Engi's head, all the force of the Engi's own push concentrated back into the blow.

OOC: I join the RPG and everyone's eating and watching TV. I leave because of finals, and the colonel loses a leg and firefights break out on space stations. I come back and all that there is to do is bond over botany and play cards. I take a break for a day or two and we get into combat. Why does everyone get violent when I'm away? Av, Shadowhawk, I'll be joining with you, hope you guys don't mind. IC: As the stray rounds bounced around the surface of the hull, they also deflected off of the polished surface of a mess hall table. Another Rockman had entered the airlock, a belt of handheld firearms draped over his security armor, along with a shotgun strapped to his back. None of the guns were drawn however; both of his hands were occupied holding the table as a shield, its metal surface deflecting the bouncing projectiles as he charged at the massive Engi, silent aside from a low, rumbling grunt as he rammed the table into its midsection, shoving it to the side in an effort to pin it to the wall. "Apologies for my tardiness." The Rockman barked. "Airlocks lack cover, so I stopped at the mess hall to borrow some. Talk later though, shoot this dastad's head off." OOC: For those thinking I'm bypassing the filter, I'm not; dastard isn't vulgar, it just rhymes with something that is. It refers to an unpleasant or despicable person, and it's where the term dastardly comes from. It's also a word that Nintendo's US localization seems to really like using.

Guys, chill out. This is a conversation that we probably should've had a while ago, but having it like this isn't going to accomplish anything productive. Atton, understand that Xom's right about a lot of what he's saying, and that what he's saying isn't intended to hurt or to attack you, he's trying to make you better. Criticism can hurt, but sometimes we need it, and frankly some of the best lessons that I've been given by others and given to others in RPGs have been things that were painful to hear or say. But the person getting advice, be it me or someone else, almost always was being told something that they really needed to hear, and that, in retrospect, they'd end up glad they were told. Xom's not wrong about a lot of this stuff, and I genuinely do believe he's trying to help. You don't need to be on the defensive so much. Xom, if you want to give people advice, you need to be aware of their sensibilities and how to communicate with them. I agree with what you're saying, but not everyone responds to the way you're saying it. I know that, given how I've been in the past, I'm the absolute last person that deserves to lecture on this subject, but college forcing you to take speech communication courses teaches you a lot about how people communicate and interpret messages, and made me realize how stupid and standoffish in the past. Again, I agree with what you're saying, but if you want your advice to actually be taken in instead of just rebuffed by someone that feels they have to defend themselves, you need to be aware of how people are getting your message. Between college, recording projects, work with friends, work, and a ton of family issues, I have no doubt I've missed weeks, if not months, of building tension leading to this, but everyone take a step back and a deep breath, from where I'm standing this is the last thing we need.

Psychedelic music, tie-dye bandanas, incense, laid-back demeanors, the only thing unhippie about him is a propensity for combat. I'm still confused, should I look for the interaction?

Just because he's not human doesn't mean he can't be racist against aliens.

Your character's a Mantis, right? If you're interested in trading racism and getting into arguments and fights, I'm up for it.

IC: "Not all of them require smoke inhalation. The colonel is correct though that, for various reasons, consumption is advised only for downtime." At that, Ovechkin turned to face the colonel. "I feel quite well, colonel. Given recent events though, I should ask you the same?"

IC: "Not so much help with PTSD as much as help ease symptoms during episodes." Ovechkin replied. "Some psychologists believed there are combinations to help the overall condition, however their research was not finished before the Mantis invasion. Rather, they help an individual relax and clear their mind of haunting spectres that cause anguish between episodes. The medical department's lack of a psychologist to help with issues of this nature was disappointing."

IC: "Indeed. Everyone that sees combat and the injuries that result has such scars eventually. At least for humans and Zoltan. Mantis and Rock culture has enough of that to desensitize." Ovechkin stepped forward, extending a giant, boulder-like hand larger than the doctor's head. "Your assistance is appreciated, doctor Sarany. I am unsure as to your area of focus, however regardless of if you are aware, we have plants and plant products that may help with your mental anguish."

IC: "If you use that soil with that plant, it will become poisonous for humans and Mantis to eat." A low, rumbling voice said from behind the doctor. A Rockman stepped out from between assorted plants, walking towards her. "I was told we had a guest helping us. Your uniform is medical, and I have fortunately been yet to need such services, so I do not believe we have met. Signi Ovechkin, combat specialist and head of botanical research and crew support." OOC:Posting on a tablet during a lull at work, can't promise quick responses.

Wanted to post today, but the site was down. Sounds like a plan to me, I'll post as soon as I get home from work tomorrow night.

So, now that I'm on summer break and I have things in order on my end in real-life, where would be a good position to jump back into the RPG?

I don't disagree - like I said above, changing someone's bigoted views is an arduous and unpleasant process, and while I personally believe that the end result is worth it, I have no issue with people disagreeing and cutting ties - but the primary core of the entry isn't referring to that: I'm referring to scenarios in which people completely cut off any relationship with someone because of disagreements, even if it's kept to a civil point of mutual respect, or "agree to disagree". I'm not referring in the entry to cases of bigotry and intolerance, I'm only addressing those because the idea of severing ties with someone that has those sorts of views was mentioned by Indigo.

While they may be political figures, I don't think there's any political statement in this, so I think it should be okay. The only statement I can find is that "George Washington could totally dunk on Kim Jong Un", which, considering he was five inches taller, I think is a reasonable statement.

Eternal Witness + Essence Warden + Twilight's Call. Nothing is worse than combo abuse.

I understand what you're saying, but the way I feel on that sort of thing is that, in a lot of cases, the most effective way to do actual, lasting damage to someone's bigoted views, and eventually end them, is through example. Being around them, maintaining the relationship, treating them normally, and giving an example about why their views are wrong. My neighbor at college last year was pretty homophobic. Voted against gay marriage, didn't have much of a tolerance for discussion of it, etc., etc. But my best friend(Or at least until she dropped out, haven't had much contact since) was a lesbian, and we'd hang out all the time like best friends tend to. Homophobia aside, he was a really nice, reasonable guy, so I decided to stick with him on at least some basis, with the idea that meeting my friend and interacting with her over the course of the year might make him more open-minded, an idea she was all for trying. Fast-forward to summer break, and last time we talked about things relating to the issue, he had gone from "It's immoral, they're bad people, and it should be illegal" to "I don't like it, but it's not my business, as long as a gay guy doesn't hit on me I can tolerate it" Not perfect, but certainly much better. It's a painful, stressful way to handle things - I managed to all but eliminate someone's antisemitic attitudes by treating them no different, but before I started having an impact, I'd be lying if I didn't admit I wanted to pop him in the head more than a few times - so I have no issue with people not wanting to do it, but I really do believe that, even in the case of intolerance, the best course of action is maintaining the relationship and responding to it calmly when it occurs. That's the way that, both in personal experience and in observations, has had the strongest impact.

If he did, I was not aware of it. Still a valid point either way I think. And the dissolution over trivial subjects, at least in my experience, seems to happen a lot more online. It's a lot easier to split with "Halfman945" who you only know as the guy with a Tyrion Lannister avatar than it is to split with Craig Randomguy, your buddy from down the hall that makes the best subs who you recognize the name, face, and voice of. People are a lot more willing to tolerate small things in-person, but it seems like most people online only want a choir of agreement, something I've admittedly fallen prey to myself at times.

I never said who it was that liked actor Y and who liked actor Z. No, though technically speaking you wouldn't be wrong if you got that from it.

It boggles my mind sometimes how people will completely cut someone out of their life just because of a disagreement. The minute they don't 100% agree and get along with someone, it's like they never knew them. If a friend or acquaintance disagrees with you, that doesn't mean you should cut off all contact with them, or treat them any different than before. Disagreements are perfectly natural and reasonable, and if anything, it's a good sign indicative that you're both able to think for yourselves, reach your own conclusions, and feel there is enough mutual respect in the relationship that this disagreement won't destroy it. If they're reasonable, level-headed, and not intrusive over the disagreement, then there is no need whatsoever to end the relationship. I disagree with most of my best friends on a lot of things ranging from small topics like which Mass Effect crewmember to save, to big topics like politics and economics. I still love them though, because we're all intelligent, reasonable people that don't let disagreements ruin a good friendship. Even if it's something that's truly black-and-white and clear-cut about what is and isn't right, excommunicating someone that is otherwise a reasonable, rational person that you otherwise get along with and have common interests with because of one issue is unhealthy. Doing so because of trivial issues like not liking video game storyline X or thinking actor Y deserved the Oscar more than Leonardio DiCaprio actor Z is even unhealthier. If you burn every bridge that has a single rotten plank, very soon you'll find yourself on an island by yourself.