zotmeister | (no subject)

Adam has been meaning to update his journal for quite some time now, but has been consistently dissuaded by other concerns. I can assure you he is (relatively) well; he's merely pining (though not for fjords, that much I'm certain of). Much has happened in his life as of late, and although he has written about much of it, he has yet to organize it in any manner acceptable to him - an obstacle that keeps him from much he would like to do, I theorize - and is therefore not yet ready to present it here. I am actively encouraging him to try and share his thoughts with others apart from just myself; I would ask on his behalf that he be given just a little more time to "pull himself together", as it were (as much as I feel that phrase is overstating the situation, I lack a more appropriate one). To be fair, he has been trying to get me to post here myself for even longer, and I am only doing so now, so it would be rather unjust of me to be unnecessarily "pushy" in inciting him to action, a strategy I try to avoid anyhow. Permit me to introduce myself: my name is Zotanna Ophelia Terran. A number of you may already be familiar with me; I trust you both are in good spirits. (Adam is right: 'both' is the most intrinsically humorous word in the English language. But I digress.) For the rest of Adam's readers, I may be a little difficult to explain, but I shall attempt it anyhow for those who are interested. I was largely stuck on how to try to describe myself until Adam suggested I simply list that which I am commonly described as and comment on each. He does seem to have a natural talent for logical structure. I will start with the present tense, work to the past, and end with the false: I am a mage. This is, where I come from, practically a given, so if I may be more specific, I am a sorcerer. I specialize in light, healing, and abjuration. I also am a capable wizard, as I feel magic should be shareable. I am a healer. I do not consider this a redundant claim - there is much pain magic cannot heal, and I do not shy away from trying to heal it through other means. I am a tribunalist. The closest equivalent term I could use that would apply to your society is 'law enforcement'. Effectively, I am a detective. The purging of the corruption in the Mage's Guild several years ago is probably what I am best known for at the present time. I am a dancer. I am, for some reason, almost embarrassed to mention that here, but there it is. Serves me right for winning the most prestigious dancing competition my planet offers two years ago. I was a war hero. Personally, I eschew the term 'hero' for myself, but it nonetheless persists. I did not win the war against the Sekakt, but by all accounts I kept my people from losing it. My expertise was mainly in tactics, a skill I continue to maintain and develop. I was royalty. In my homeland of Kelvaria, this and the previous point were inseparable - the only purpose of the monarchy was to fight the war. In the land now known as Utopia, the situation was more... complex. Anyhow, neither monarchy still exists. I was a traveler. Technically, I am still currently homeless, although this is not really an issue for me generally speaking. There are many places I am very welcome at, some a little too welcome for my own taste... Suffice it to say that I am much more settled now than I was, say, a decade ago, but I still seek experiences in other worlds. I was an artificer. Truth be told, I still am; I am simply more private with my creations. They tend to be smaller, practical objects, although I frequently update them with new functionality. I am not invincible. In fact, I am technically both handicapped and cursed, and in such manners that were I not an accomplished healer and abjurer, my life would have been forfeit long ago. I still remain ever vigilant against my physical and metaphysical weaknesses being exploited. I am not a loner. This public opinion of me has been changing greatly as of late anyhow; I'm seen "in public" much more often after having become a frequent patron of my dance partner's restaurant. I feel compelled to single out the last element of the list: I am not real. I am merely fictional. I am aware of this fact, but it's surprising how many others were not! I felt it would be in the best interest of us all for me to say this "up front". However, I am still actively studying to find a way to remedy this dimensional rift... I could likely expand each element of this list into an article all its own, if not several, but this should be more than enough for introductory purposes. Frankly, I don't much care to talk about myself quite so much, especially given how often others do it for me (at least where I'm from and known). Regardless, if all I have done is prompt more questions than answers, I will "reap what I've sown" and answer them if anyone cares to ask. I'd be perfectly happy either way. As those of you who know me already are no doubt aware, I enjoy telling stories, but the stories are not always enjoyable. I gladly leave the decision in others' hands, as - and this has no doubt been noted by all here - I decidedly lack the knowledge of when to "shut the hell up already". Having come "out of the woodwork", it is my intent to observe and carefully decide whether and when to participate in any conversations. For commenting purposes, I have my own account here on LiveJournal - "ladyterran", as I am called "Lady Terran" by all but my friends (as I am the last of my family, the name is unambiguous, but I digress) - but I will not be keeping my own journal. Adam has been kind enough to share this space with me - he claims he's not using it enough anyhow - so in the interest of keeping commentaries from getting segmented, I'll simply be posting solely here. No doubt I will frequently figure in Adam's fiction, but I will perhaps make more direct communication - like this entry - in the future as well. He has asked me to tag all of my posts for reference purposes; I figure my username will suffice. As Adam used to do - I seem to like employing tactics he has previously abandoned - I will end this entry with a question: I was unable to come up with a subject for this entry. Would anyone care to suggest one? Sincerely yours, Zotanna Ophelia Terran

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Greetings, Zotanna. As you have requested suggestions for a subject entry, I will submit a few:
-From the Looking Glass
-The Inner Reaches
-Dimension 2.5
-e and em

Is Adam planning on coming to URICon? It begins on Friday, 2/20/09, and continues till Sunday.

Adam speaks very highly of your contributions to the case file. I am happy to make your acquaintance. However, I cannot honestly say I care for your subject suggestions - the first three all sound too much like The Twilight Zone, and the last I fail to see the significance of.

Apologies.
'From the Looking Glass' is intended to be a play on 'Through the Looking Glass.' Except instead of a character from the real world going into the world of fiction, it refers to a (no offense) fictional character speaking out into the real world.
The inner reaches is also a twist upon the 'Outer Reaches' expression. It refers to looking inward into our psyches and imaginations.
Dimension 2.5 is yet another pun. Instead of the 3rd dimension that I exist in, or the 4th dimension of time, or higher numbers that are usually used in science fiction, I presented dimension 2.5, a lower number. It refers to a joke Adam and I had and also refers to the not-real-...yet nature you seem to be.
E and em is also a pun used on the gender-neutral pronouns that is intended...

To be honest, you're right. When I type these out, none of them are particularly good. I do apologize. I had the idea, ran with it, and then realized I'm now alone in a field, half a mile from my car, holding an idea that weighs more than I initially thought.

Another question to both you and Adam: Why is 'both' the most intrinsically humorous word in the English language?

Zotanna and I actually discussed gender-neutral pronouns before e posted here; es habit is to use whatever linguistic style is popular where e currently is. E uses gender-neutral at home and gender-infused here. I am intentionally insisting on using only gender-neutral pronouns myself here on my journal, but e can write however e feels comfortable. E did say that going back later on and editing es posts is a possibility if they seem out of place, but for now e writes es way and I write mine.

The font, on the other hand, is something e would have changed if e could find a suitable replacement. Perhaps I should work on that a bit more. I'm sure the Apostrophic Lab has something... E did change color from red (which we thought would be garish on a black background) to the same brown I use for es cell in Seeking Syren puzzles. (That's es hair color, by the way. Syren is blonde, and the 'S' I used for em in the sample puzzle is es hair color as well.) Speaking of which, that 'Z' avatar is really only temporary; I should be able to get some actual graphics of one or more of es "incarnations" (for lack of a better term) soon.

I didn't make the "two-and-a-half" connection until your reply. E didn't know your end of it. I need to put this in a coming-soon "terminology" article. May I have your permission to present your (clever) use along with mine?

Generally speaking, Zotanna doesn't need to be reminded that e isn't real. Just for future reference. E's not offended, though - there's no need to apologize. Unless you do it again, in which case e might write your name down or something.

To answer your questions to me:
- I do plan on being at URICon on Friday for a Shadowfist draft. Saturday I'll be taking part in a Street Fighter IV tourney elsewhere. Sunday I have no idea at present.
- The word 'both' simultaneously means two things: "absolutely ALL" and "ALL is only two". Its humor is so naturally engrained that jokes practically write themselves around it: How many members of the Honest Car Mechanic's Association attended their convention last year? Both! How many smart [insert your favorite dumb stereotype here] does it take to change a lightbulb? Both! No other word lends itself as a one-word punchline as readily as 'both'. - ZM

Welcome to LiveJournal, Lady Terran. Though I am one of the two who are familiar with you (assuming there's more than just humor in the comment, "you both"), it's still nice to actually meet you. Well, inasmuch as one can meet a person online...

At any rate, I'll be looking forward to any posts you wish to make in the future. In particular, I'm curious about this dance competition you mentioned. Though I knew you are a dancer, I hadn't heard of this before.

I still need to get my own journal back on track. The timing of this response shows pretty clearly how poorly I've been keeping track of things here.