As to the medium or genre or technical how-to, I don't think I'd have a strong preference, because I have basically no experience with any form of collaborative writing (except to the extent that a good humorous volley in an MTS forum — when it sort of spontaneously emerges — is that.) I see that there's a role-play section of MTS, where might be clues to try to get the idea of it......but my brain just went into an infinite loop and sort of melted. You see, I practically live in-character, and have sometimes lost track of which is me & which is the role. All versions of me, including the original, love Fenton & that's a true fact. Maybe somebody else would be a better choice to pursue the "role play" modality.

But as to the spirit of the thing, the single best thing that I could say about getting in the right frame of mind to understand and appreciate Fenton is this: get your flirt on. By achieving the mental state of Flirty, then Good Sense of Humor should come naturally with it, and you will be in a healthy & useful kind of Fenton-space.

Even if this does not sound like you, or you don't live most of the time in that kind of world -- if you are at least able to picture it and acknowledge the possibility of it and see how it could be good, then you will have some understanding of a specific type of magickal energy with which Fenton works.

("Well she's a genuine fanatic tending towards creepy", you may say. "Next she'll say let's all put on blinders and play pinball." That's because I'm not Fenton. He's more fun than I am! Some of what kind of fun he is, that's what I'm trying to describe... alas! the description is not the actual experience.)

Today I would like to celebrate Nymphetamine.
In another forum, she said:

Splendid Nymp,

I'll bet it comes from being tired, because of all you do whilst not being powerless. I am thinking about how many times you've moved house in the last couple of years, and then each time job-hunting and all the new dealings-with-people, any one of which would be considered quite a big life event by most of us -- and this with a baby! You're not powerless by comparison with anyone else I can think of, maybe only by comparison with what you've gotten accustomed to doing as a strong beautiful loving Space Nymph on a full-on workday. I bet Eve knows you aren't useless. I'll bet she thinks you're God, and her judgment is probably not far off since she's been in a position to observe you pretty closely.

These things are tiring in all kinds of ways, and it's not just a matter of counting hours of sleep. As you solve all these problems you've been solving, there are neurotransmitters that get used up and take a while to replace. That naturally affects your mood, and that is OK -- even though, with your mood down like that, it might be hard for anything to feel OK. I am not trying to tell you that your feelings are wrong and you ought to just perk up, if perky isn't how you feel! I'm just saying that it's likely you'll feel better soon, as you would from a cold or anything else that comes upon you when you're sort of run-down.

To the rest of our posse, I declare: Nymp has let me stalk her on FB and in addition to what I said about her above, she is beautiful. I mean not like "we're all beautiful in different ways" or "it's what's inside that counts", but beautiful like once you've seen her, you must kiss her face or go knead your pillow in frustration. I have known other people with toddlers, whose lives are in other ways a lot easier than Nymp's, and I tell you the best photo-op look they can manage is still sort of haggard and used-up-looking. That Nymphetamine? Not powerless. People who are really good at something sometimes don't realize how hard it is, because it isn't as hard for people who are very good at it, so then they don't realize that they're very good at it, and can even think the opposite.

Sorry for the double-post

Another objective thwarted by the ocean; another incentive to try and cross it.


But then, Nymp's done modelling, so I imagine being good-looking just comes with the territory.

Being useless is okay: sometimes I drop my hammer, scrape the side of a building with a trailer or miss the wastepaper basket when I throw the latest 'please fix this POS!' note at it. I always pick it up, work it out and put it in (strictly in this context ) eventually, and the useless days pass.

Yours will too Nymp!

Fenton - I saw you were in the forums and hoped you'd stop in. Sounds like you need to hew yourself a kayak with those tools so you can cross the ocean for a round of visits, instead of dropping them all over the place (must be fun to watch you work )

It's probably the chocolate talking...but I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Chocolate? What did you bring us?

Yeah, judging by the work I've seen him do here :lovestruc

chocolate-covered man cookies.

Noubie! You're fantastical haha. In response:

Saying Eve thinks of me as a god actually reminds me of what the protagonist from the Silent Hill movie said – in the eyes of a child, mother is God.

It's a lot of things. The moves, dealing with the landlord, dealing with the rentalsman, doing all the fighting. I just get really, really worn down, especially since I realized that I do indeed have an eating disorder of some kind. So, I'm starved, my brain is starved, and I barely get any sleep, to top it all off. I spend too much time fighting. Which, isn't a bad thing, especially for things worth fighting for. But honestly, a vacation would be absolutely lovely. Lately, between fighting, working, making sure Eve is happy, I've just kind of forgotten about myself. I DID put make up on today for the first time in ages. I felt pretty

And dear Noubie exaggerated about me. However, I will not pass up an opportunity to show off my darling little Evie. The avatar I have now, she was only six months old. an update, I suppose. I'd flood the entire forum with pictures of her, were it not for the fact I'd likely be told to knock it off haha. Psst .. Noub, I think you may be right about me. I think I am a little too open about myself. No shame, or worries I suppose. So please, take a moment to squee over Eve's goofy grin. When I think about it .. I din't think I've ever seen a baby or toddler that wasn't adorable. :lovestruc

Nymphy - you and your little 'un are dolls. Thanks for sharing. Sorry for your stresses - you have so much going on and fighting does take a lot from you, even when it's the right thing to do. I hate doing it, myself. Wishing you strength to keep soldiering on and comfort when you can lay down your burdens and a fab vacation as soon as it's possible.

Thanks Ver It always passes, eventually.

On a related note, Fenton, if I held a hammer we'd all be in trouble haha. Oh god. Last time I tried to use a hammer, or any sort of tool, I put a book shelf together. I had a lot of books. The shelf came with instructions .. in French. I sat there with Google translate for hours. .. after about half an hour of Tetris-ing all my books onto the shelf, it collapsed. I didn't realize the nails were for the back, and not holding the shelves up. The noise at two am would have woke the dead.

I was at my son's over the summer and, after a trip to Ikea, helped him put together a chair. He finished it and then held up a single...screw, was it? Or something similar - and then we both looked at each other with a worried face.

I'm not much for instructions. If I have to build something, I prefer to figure it out on my own and only use them if something doesn't feel intuitive. Me and my boss put together a prefabricated garden shed and greenhouse the other week and only looked at the instructions once or twice for figuring out where everything goes. Hardest part was laying the foundations for them - more than once I thought, "I wish I could drag and release this, like on TS3."

I don't recall the last time I put together a bookshelf, but if you get those budget jolt nails to fix everything together, don't expect it to hold a lot of weight. A shelf full of hardcovers is begging it to fall apart on you.

Nymp, you make a beautiful family! I'm cooing and squeaking at the monitor. I think I woke my neighbor up. It's 8 am here, 'bout time.

At least being woken up by a person cooing would be much nicer than the sound of you screaming in disgust.
Well, there we have it. Fenton is going to have to teach us all about intuitively building stuff. Is that a man thing? Like, forgetting to put the toilet seat down? I was seven months pregnant and got stuck in the toilet. Lee had to rescue me. He left it up, I hadn't turned the light on, and couldn't pull myself out. He got an earful after he stopped laughing.

Oh, Nymphy, no! Stuck in the toilet? (But I can't stop chuckling just the same).

I, on the other hand, could miss the side of a building with a hammer.

A way to get real good at something: Start with talent, and then earn the intuition that comes from experience. I'll bet Fenton could look at your bookcase and instantly say "well, that thing's gonna collapse sideways because, you know that thin fake-wood-tone back that you left off 'cause you figured it was just cosmetic and the bookcase is against the wall anyway? That would have been your diagonal bracing. But hey, at least your shelves will land neatly." (How do I know this? From the time I've spent picking up books and being thankful no one was killed, that's how.) He probably doesn't even spend any time considering approaches that don't make physical sense, but just goes straight to the alternatives that will actually work -- just like a good chess player doesn't think about making a bad move (let alone an illegal one like a new player might), or like your Noubie doesn't consider putting rosemary & thyme in a peach pie.

A guy that good with his hands, doesn't it lead you to think of what some alone-time with him could be like? (I'd put a smiley, but there are none good enough.)

Oh swell. I need to go catch a bus to school in a few minutes, and here I've gotten into a Fenton-trance, the way that I do sometimes. Not really complaining though

I wouldn't say I'm a master builder or anything - my boss is the real brains in that department - but I've learned enough from my job that I think about things I wouldn't have otherwise. Not necessarily a man thing, more an awareness thing - anyone can brace a shelf, but not everyone is aware a shelf needs to be braced until it collapses. Trial and error is actually a great teacher, so long as you don't damage too many things in the process.

Hey, Fenton? This is a fan club, remember? If we say you're a master builder with a handiness skill of ten, take it

Does that apply to giving them, as well? Because I was going to say, I probably need instruction more than you do, and the cuffs probably fit my wrists better than they do yours anyway.

I'm very glad Fenton has come back to the forums ^^ We missed you!

With today's antics, it probably would have been better if I stayed away.

You've done good today, Fenton. As good as anyone can, anyway, given the topic.

EDIT: Your post above must be the first one ever to cause me to click both Disagree and Love. Evidently I'm not the only one, either.

I decided that I don't like the game of bridge. It isn't the technical aspects of the game, it's the tendency of players to fume at each other during and after. I don't see that with chess, or soccer, or poker. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with bridge, but from what I can see, it has some kind of strange power to turn people into snots. So, apparently also, with TS4.

Fenton, I'm glad you showed up and am sorry you felt like it would have been better if you hadn't. Thanks for gracing us with your presence. What is a fan club without the object of the fan's affection? You need to show up. More.

How was your vacation Mr.Ninja? I hope you had time to relax. Are you already back at it?
And oh my goodness. I dislike that post you made immensely. Don't ever think that arguing online invalidates you or your opinions. Everyone LOVES when you're around to post and contribute. Serious. Elsewise, this fan club would not exist. Even without it, obviously you made an impact on all of us.