Bump...

 

Did we ever get this going? I still need to do this :)

*peaks in*

No, sadly we never did this. I fluttered off due to another project in rl my boss sucked me into. *sigh* I've been killing myself working on that. Not sure how much longer I may be doing that. Assuming that it's not much longer, I may be back around more and able to help. Give me a week or two to get back to you unless someone jumps in just all fired up to run with this? Thanks for the pm, btw.

*hug*

oc:  Thank you for being SOOOO very understanding of my time away Alin.  I'll drop you a more private explaination after this post but I wanted to just give you a shout out here too.  Can't imagine that it's reassuring to consider taking up a new Sedai and then have her not be around for a while.  :)

ic:

"Well, at least you know how to laugh."  She exposed a guarded smirk. "Trust me Alin, you'll have no fear of dusty bunnies while I'm in your care.  I may not be as young and idealistic as I once was but I am not lay about either.  If you don't lose that sword of yours once in the first year at my side, I will personally take you on a journey to make certain your blade & your skill doesn't lose it's edge."  She looks down to the Great Serpant ring on her right hand, "I've made promises that I must keep, even in this late hour... and I am bound to honor them eventually."

Taking a deep breath and exhaling it with a smile she tried her best for some humor in return, "It's been a long time... Now let's see, is bonding done with Spirit ... or fire?"  She waited only a second and then chuckled.

"Rest easy my friend... my mind isn't that gone yet."  She winked at him.  "Seriously though, I know some make a very big deal about this sort of thing but, this isn't my first trip to Tar Valon, if you know what I mean.  Still perhaps we could have some drinks at a tavern with some friends and Ajah Sisters if you're up for it?"

Miya listened to Alin's words and nodded thoughtfully.  "Making a difference is the goal of every sister and Gaidin I suppose... but the blues like to pick something and run with it more than most.  I suppose that makes us come off as pushy, meddling or nosey busy bodies but, it's not important what people think about your methods... so long as the job is completed at the end of the day."  She nodded firmly to herself, satisfied that because she could say the words, obviously they were true.

"It may sound crass but historians rarely dwell on the dark details of the making of peace ... instead they celebrate that it was made at all.  We Blues pick a cause and commit ourselves to it from the moment the shawl is laid on our shoulders but for most of us... I suppose we knew from the first day we came here what it was we really wanted to be doing."

"For myself, I've always been an advocate of Justice.  I believe that without justice - for all men and women, there can never truly be peace or enlightenment.  The Dark One's power over man thrives in any place where justice is denied ... be it in the backwater villages of Andor where a pig farmer is judged by his demeanor and not his actions or even here in Tar Valon ... the Light forbid that we should ever loose sight of the need for true justice."

She stops and looks Alin in the eyes, “I can’t promise you that your sword will be caked in the blood of trollocs when you are at my side Alin… but the work I do and that I will ask of you, will be equally as important if somewhat less glorious.  Does the idea of that bother you?”

Are we considering NSW sitters?  Might be wise with so few of us and with possibilities for future adventures outside the Tower if we want to lead by example on that front.  Personally, I'd like to keep my main character able to adventure when and if the time comes.

You both know where I stand on the black ajah.

And as for Nasty conflicting with anyone - could be good story... we did discuss the idea of a Blue Internal conflict on the other thread.  Not to bring up a thread that wasn't well recieved but I did throw a few ideas out there that might be worthy something?

I'm with Claire on this one.  Honestly, it seems silly to not let Admins of a site we play on, know what we're playing out since we have to have approval for stuff anywho.  As the admin of another website, if my members wanted to kick me out of an area on my own site, I'd have a few things to tell them about who pays the bills. Besides, it seems like having the admins here would make things a lot less work for us because they could more quickly tell us what isn't acceptable (for whatever reason) and keep us from wasting our time. 

It's not like we have state secrets to protect in here anywho.  But, also in the words of Claire "w/e" if it bothers anyone that much it's not like it's that big of deal to me that they aren't allowed here either.

I'll start the thread asap.  Sorry for the delay, it's been a very long last couple days.  ;D

For half-a-heartbeat Miya lost her composure.  Her eyes went wide, horrified with insult, indignant at the idea that he obviously thought she couldn't handle a short walk around the court yard.

"My ... staff," she stressed the word "is a traditional artifact of the Blue Ajah that has been a vital part of our identity dating back nearly to the Breaking."  she first shook the stick at him as though she considered thumping him and then she motioned towards the door as if to say 'shall we?' and then began to walk.  

"Every Blue sister has one in some form or another though some do not carry them with the pride or frequency that I do.”  Calming she continued thoughtfully,  “I suppose it's seen by some sisters to be like the shawl.”  Seeing Alin’s thoughtful expression she decided she would explain though it was less than customary to do so.  “Wearing it too much makes one appear as new to her station as a babe to life… it‘s prideful, boasting and infantile in nature to do; but,"  she snorted, her eyes looking to her gray braids. “...with me there is little chance of that error in assumption being made, is there?"

Before Alin could go on about how he didn't mean any insult to her personally, she waved a hand dismissively and pushed forward.  She didn‘t care to waste time assuring him he‘d have to do a lot more than that to hurt her feelings;  though she'd walk all day just to prove to this bloody man she could do it, burn her but she would!  

“I want you to know that the previous evening we spent together is not typical of me.  Our circumstances puts us both into … awkward and unfamiliar territory.  Most of all, I want you to know that I don’t intend for you to confess to me anything further about your business with Aaolain.  Whatever has passed between you and she is for you and the Creator alone.  It is privileged information and sacred and only the most insulting of sisters would dare disrespect either of you in that way.  It is regrettable that I asked as much as I did of you and for that, you have my apologizes.  It’s not the foot I would have chosen to start off on with you.”  

“Breaking a warder much in the same way as you might a horse is no good way to bring him into your service.  Though some might say as much but, I‘d call such women witless and inexperienced.”  She wrinkled her nose with the thought of more than a few women who thought the only reason to have a warder was to have an animated sword at their side.  

“Personally, I prefer to simply make my expectations known from the first moment and trust my brother-in-arms to work within those boundaries using the resources and mental acuities I chose him for to begin with.  After all, if I wanted a mindless protector, then I have found myself a wolf-hound and not a partner in my quest to serve my cause.”  Let him wonder about what that means for a while, it’ll do him good to be thinking about more than just how he phrases his words while we talk.

“So, I suppose that‘s where we need to start our discussions.  Explanations and expectations.  I’ve always been a woman to say what’s on my mind, I suppose all Sisters are to a certain degree or another but I… more than most.”  She smiled.  You can take a woman out of Arafel but you can’t take Arafel completely out of the blood of the woman.

“Leaving Aaolin out of the explanation, because your care for her only clouds the facts surrounding your own personal desires; I want to know why you took up the fan cloak rather than continuing your loyal service on Tower grounds.  Obviously something in you was inspired to act and I want to be familiar with that side of you and I want to know what it is you expect as a warder of not just myself… but in general.”

“Miya Sedai?”  The girl surely couldn’t be of an age to be in the books… but there she was, all in white and jabbering nervously.  Had she sent this girl on some sort of task before?  Light, but how was she expected to keep track when they all seemed so much alike?  Weak spirited, complaining, lazy young twigs of women who were barely fit for novice white let alone to aspire to a banded dress.

“What is it child, the day isn’t getting any earlier.”

“Forgive me, Aes Sedai but there is a handsome fellow asking for you at the end of the hallway.”

This made Miya’s eyebrows raise for two reasons… the first was the idea that Alin had finally made his peace and was ready to move forward and in less than a ten-day and the second was at the girl’s interesting choice of words to describe Alin Gaidin.  Yes, not hard on the eyes but she may have chosen any number of other descriptors for the fellow not the least of which included his proper rank.

“Thank you girl.”  Miya said thoughtfully.  The child tried to hide a smirk as she nodded, obviously she felt that this encounter had gone her way.  Full of herself and her abilities and fixated on men… future Green if I’ve ever met one.  “Now take yourself to the Mistress of Novices and ask her to find a way to help you better to remember the proper address for Warders and for Light’s sake stand up straight and take some pride in your position.”

Taking her walking stick she made her way down the hall to the ‘handsome man’ waiting for her.  “Alin Gaidin, it‘s good to see you.”  She greeted him.  “Shall we take a walk while we speak or would you be more comfortable finding a private location?”

My father in law is making some pictures for me... check out Miya as he sees her based on my descriptions of my old, plump, gray-haired blue sister.  I totally dig these!

http://madhatterrgames.com/miyaupperbody.jpg[/img]

Miya rose from her seat once Alin was done speaking.  Nodding slowly she says, “Of course you need to talk to her.  If you didn’t she’d wonder why you didn’t care enough to come asking about her reasons for letting you go and she’d assume you wanted to be rid of her …but, don‘t make too much of this.  She already feels horrible about letting you go Alin.  What she does now isn’t for herself it’s for your happiness and for the good of Tower & the world.”

Walking over to the wall of a man she let’s Saidar slip away from her grasp.  It was never good to hold the power too long, no matter how safe and powerful it made her feel in the face of less than promising odds.  “You would serve as her friend and confident on a farm and be loyal to a fault… I have no doubt.  But we all know that your talents would wither and waste on a farm where as a few years there might serve to make her a better Aes Sedai.  You’ll grow older and slower and she… only more wise as it will be many, many long years before she’s got gray in her hair like me.”

In a compassionate gesture, one she usually reserved only for children and victims of injustice, she put a hand on Alin’s arm.  “You have so much yet to give the world Alin and she’s selflessly making sure you don’t squander that.  Appreciate her wisdom and concern for your comfort and happiness… love her for putting the world first just as she swore she would… because if she couldn’t then every bit of the woman we care so much for would be gone.”

Drawing breath she let her eyes lock on his, filled with more empathy that she’d spared for any man since Hamad. “… and promise whatever you can to help her to not question this decision because, regardless of how much it may sting both our prides that we can not reassure her enough to keep her here; forcing her to stay through guilt will only complicate and worsen matters.”  Letting her hand fall away she finishes with, “I hate it… I made every argument to urge her to stay that was logical and reasonable, but she needs this.”

Stepping back away from him she cleared the path to the door.  “Dinner is my treat.  Come find me tomorrow after your talk and when you’ve cleared your head enough to discuss the particulars of what must be done.  If you don’t come tomorrow, I’ll wait until the next day… and the following and the one after that if it’s necessary but - I will wait for you and I expect that eventually you will make your peace with our duty as I have.”

We're gonna give this just a few more days to get us past the new years hang overs (not that ANY of us would do that LOL) and then we'll post class #1.  So, if you want in... sign up now!  :)

Well,

Miya's pretty old and has a big hang up about looking like she needs help *cough*Prideful*cough*, however, she does have to report to her Ajah Head... maybe Serena and I could be taking a lunch to discuss what I've been doing since returning to the Tower (giving me a chance to tell her about some other novices I'm working with too btw) and when I mention nabbing your character up... Serena could inquire and want to at least observe my attempt to break your block?  After all, it's the sort of thing that might make a girl like or dislike the blues depending on Miya's level of success.  

That would give Serena reason to join us on every rp after the first one, if she likes.  What do you say Carly?  You up for something like that?

“Mostly.”  Miya confessed.  “I suppose in the way of things the Tower is a place united but, always divided.  You can sooner get six cats to swim in patterns than you can expect the Tower to be kind to all who come through it’s doors.”  She smirked, her eye brows rising up to nearly her hairline with amusement at the statement.  Light but it was true!

“You’re right to keep her confidences and you’d be wise to say no more about what she went through… to anyone.”   Taking a sip of her milk she decided it was time to start pulling the horses from the barn.  “Aaolin has decided to take some time on a farm and that can lead wagging tongues.”   Putting her cup down she leaned back in her chair, a sign she was finished with her meal, at least for the time being. 

“I’ll do what I can to silence any gossip mongering but, you’ve been around the Tower long enough to know that all the penance in the world won’t stop it from spreading just the same.  All we can do is prepare ourselves and bear what must be borne.”  There, she had begun to open the door to it… she could almost see his mind working through her words, muddling out that she had implied she and he would be doing something together… that he wouldn’t be on that farm ignoring the world like she would be.

“There is no way to make this pleasant to hear.  I won’t waste our time trying to find a sugar coating to make this tonic easier to swallow.  Aaolin called me to her today, to ask that I accept the passing of your bond.”  She wanted to wince or to look away, she didn’t want to see how he reacted… easier to kick a puppy than to tell a Warder that his Sedai didn’t want him anymore; no matter what the reason and surely Aaolin had a few for wanting to be free.  However, she had to see his reaction to learn more about him, to see the type of man he really was.  “…at least until such time as she willing to return to her duties at the Tower.”

Miya was almost ashamed to admit it, and she never would if put to the question later but, she embraced Saidar.

Sorry to hear you're ill Myst.  *huggles*

*hugs her hubby*  About time you decided to join DM and rp with us.  :P  Love ya babe.

I always try to at least be in pm contact with my rp partners but sometimes the best laid plans fail in execution :)  But yes, usually people are better with replies when they've been talking to you outside of rp.

Andrea,

I would have caught you on skype the other day as you asked except I'm lacking a mic that works after my toddler got a hold of it.  I have aim and msn (not sure if you do since it's not listed on your profile) but if you do, mine are on my profile and you can ping me.

To be clear on a few things (since it may have been lost in my attempt to be honest and forward):

1)  This was not meant to insult you or Estel and if I accomplished that then you have my sincere apologizes.  Please understand, I’m not trying to “air dirty laundry” on our private board.  I’m not sure why you might feel that’s what I’m doing (it seems you don’t want to do rp planning on the blues private board and I don’t get that) but if you do feel that way… understand that’s not how I meant this to be perceived.  I think we've known one another long enough that you should know that I call it like I see it and I am rarely mean for the sake of being mean.  In this case, it was not my goal so please accept that I am sorry for hurting your feelings during this process of discussing future roleplay for the ajah.  I meant it with the best intentions to help the ajah and estel in planning rps that would be accepted by the admins here at dm and better the drpsw over all.

2)  I wrote all of this here because it’s the Blue Ajah Private discussion board and it seemed like a good place to discuss Blue Ajah RP.  I also wanted to discuss it here there are other members of the ajah besides you and me and I wanted a record for the other ajah members to be able to read and give input on. 

3)  Being a mom now has made it so my time can be quite limited and I just don't know when I'll have a quiet 20 minutes to get this sort of thing out to my fellow ajah members.  Witty banter for five hours on chat just to get through all the points I can type up in 20 minutes, it just isn’t practical anymore.  I could have done that 2 years ago but I just can‘t anymore without winning worst mother of the year award and very likely not giving you 110% in planning.  When I got a toddler crying at the side of my computer chair begging for my attention, food, or whatever… it makes it hard to brainstorm or anything else. 

I hope this clears up personal offenses I may have unwittingly made and explains why I chose this medium to talk to you and the others of the ajah so that we can move back into rp planning rather than letting this devolve into something personal.

*offers hand*

We good?

It was good to see he was quick enough to read her pleasure in choosing The Stone Wheel.  Of course she’d be more subtle in the future to see just how refined his skill at reading expressions really was but, at least he was not as thick as hardwood trees.  It was a good quality for anyone to possess and it was uncommon in many of the soldiers she’d met in the past.

Alin was a quiet man and she enjoyed that in moments like this; pointless banter often lead to mistakes and that was something that all too often lead to bigger trouble than her old heart was willing to take.  This situation had all the pleasurable qualities of a wet bee’s nest and the silence gave her time to think over her words a bit more.   

The inn was just as she remembered it to be upon her last visit.  The girl behind the counter surely couldn’t be Ronald’s youngest?  Light she was marriageable now!  Had it been so very long ago that she held the babe?  Closing her eyes while Alin made the arrangements for their room, she banished the ghosts of the past from her mind once more and made her way into the quiet dining area to take a seat.

“Milk please,”  she ordered from the pleasant serving girl who came walking up to their table.  “… and whatever stew your cooks have on hand will do; just be sure to include those rolls and honey butter.”

The girl immediately inclined her head and replied that she would do just as instructed, making certain to call her by her title.  Amusing as it was to note, she did miss having every person in a city immediately identify her for what she was.  There was no where you could go in Tar Valon and not be known as a Sister of the Tower… well, perhaps maybe the docks if you happened upon someone who had never been here before, but that surely was rare enough.  No, everyone here knew her to be Aes Sedai and were sure to pay her all due respect for that title.

Alin ordered his food and then Miya found herself in the unenviable position of staring into the eyes of a man who once lead what was, arguably, the world’s most powerful army.  Granted, she was a Sister of the White Tower and no pushover when it came to impressive men, even one such as Alin Gaidin, but he was obviously a man who cared about his Aes Sedai (as was only right) and judging by the simple meal the man ordered… one who probably did not appreciate the effort that went into an elaborate and well phrased explanation.  He wanted answers but, was at least gracious enough to wait for them.  So, if only to ensure he knew who was in charge during this discussion, she made him do just that - wait.

Dinner was served and for a time they ate in silence.  It was strange to have a man in the room with her again.  How long had it been?  There were a few she did visit with from time to time… merchants, eyes and ears across the whole of the land but none of them quite like this one.  It was strange to consider any man an equal when you were an Aes Sedai.  No man could ever stand in the glory of the Ivory Tower and compare to those who survived and rose above the challenges which the Sisters were asked to endure yet, warders were expected to try.  Their training and experience, in time, made them unique in all the world as they might be able to claim the honor or being compared to those they served. 

Miya analyzed his chiseled features as he took bite after bite, wielding the spoon as if he might know six or seven various ways to kill a man with it.  She smiled around her own spoon at that thought, mostly because she figured he just might.

Sitting her spoon down she folded her hands in her lap and spoke in an unwavering but conversational tone.  She knew she must come across as though there was really no discussion about this, she wouldn’t let Aaolin look incompetent just to soothe this man’s pride, but somehow she must not make him cold and indifferent to her lest the bond be a difficult thing for both of them.

“At the request of Aaolin I spent the afternoon in her company.  She told me a great deal about your journey and I must say that I am slightly in awe of  the tale.”  That was true enough… Light!  The girl had been busy. 

“It is not unusual for a young sister to take off with her warder right after gaining the shawl, nor for her to get into a fair number of difficult situations but, Aaolin may have just set the bar a bit higher for the next wet-behind the ears Sister to achieve.”  Sipping her milk calmly she took in his every subtle motion and even the way he controlled his breathing.  She’d seen men do this before, but usually they reserved this calm for the fury of battle.  Does he see our meeting as a battle or is this just his way of not disturbing Aaolin?

She returned his gaze from her seat across the table.  “Without breaking Aaolin’s trust, perhaps there are some things you wish to share about your travels too?”  She arches an eyebrow slightly.  “If I were willing to give my word that I would speak of it to no one but yourself or Aaolin, if she asked me directly what we spoke of tonight?”

Oh, yes, she’d agree not to speak of these things… Alin had been at the White Tower long enough to know that he spoke his concerns for Aaolin that it might reflect poorly on her and decrease her standing in the eyes of her fellow sisters.  No Gaidin would betray his Sister that way… at least no Gaidin she was willing to bond and she didn’t take Alin for that sort.  And so, if only to get him moving towards the conclusion that he must accept, she conceded her silence on all topics discussed from this point forward.

Hi Tai!

Just wanted to touch base with you now that Christmas is over... when would you like to start a thread for this?  Would you like to make the first post or should I?  I'm following your lead since this is about your character coming into her own.  ;D

Okay,

So everyone knows the blues have an in-character eyes and ears network which is the envy of all the other ajahs and most every organization in the wheel of time world.  However, the pcs of the drpsw don't always make the best eyes and ears... and it rarely yeilds any good rp (trust me, we've tried the pc eyes and ears thing, you're welcome to give it a go... but be warned it's never been successful in practice.)

Anywho... I had another thought about what our drpsw blue ajah eyes and ears might be:  What if we each chose a division board to keep an eye on/interact with and report back here when we see interesting rp opertunties for sisters who have time or ability to go take part!

This way we wouldn't rely on others to come asking us to send our sisters places, we'd proactively FIND rps that we can add something to.  AND, by reporting back here on this board what we're seeing on the other division board we're assigned to... even if we're not interested in taking part in what that division is doing, maybe someone else will be!

Thoughts?

Okay,

*shakes off the critical and puts on the constructive*

Arie’s goals listed above are super fine.  Almost every one of them has a point and purpose to improve the drpsw and make the blue ajah look great (and isn’t that what we all want?)  So let’s work from there.

Andrea’s Super Keen-0-rific RP List

+  Blue Ajah Leadership Shake Up

I suspect this is an rp we can outline and get in play before the end of January to show the story about Serena’s rise to power and the shift in blue in the Hall.  Personally, I love the idea of a blue ajah civil conflict to match the one going on in the Tower among the ajahs.  Blame being placed, fingers pointed, and the other ajahs left to watch the blues turning inward on each other while still holding their ground in the inter-ajah conflict that is splitting the tower currently.  This isn’t something we can lure people who are new into joining us for (novices will be raised long after this is done, I think a few threads worth of rp should wrap this plot) but it should make our ajah look interesting and fun and active on the boards.

+  Estel’s “Healing”

I feel bad that I didn’t stick around with Telcia to do the arches story with you and left you in the state you’re in hun.  That said, we need to know what can be done to fix Estel.  You know what has set her down this path and only you can give permission for those ills to go away in as complex or simple manner as you choose.  Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know” but also don’t throw up your hands and say, “nothing will.”  If nothing will fix the character, and I hope she’s not beyond repair, then there is little we can do as players to deal with you and I think as an Ajah the blues would do everything they could to force Estel into retirement so they weren’t hurt by her presence in the Tower.  Not trying to be mean but, the ic side of things is very different than what I want … personally I don’t want to lose a single blue player so whatever you decide can be done (if anything) I hope you’ll keep a blue on the books (estel or otherwise)

+ Black Ajah Hunters OR Other Major RP

Personally I say other major rp and my suggestion is this… let’s brainstorm a major world event NOT from the books.  Something that realistically could happen in the books but wasn’t focused on by Jordan.  An idea might be the major rp outline I gave over to the Yellows back when they were big in 2007 … a plague. 

Such an rp like this (if outlined and run by members of the Blue Ajah) will not only give us lots of fun play time and great pr with the other divisions… BUT could show everyone that it’s possible to do unique things and not bend/break the part of the timeline we’re in with regard to Jordan’s world as viewed in our drpsw.

OR … we can take something that hasn’t been touched on in a while and breath new life into it.  We can ask the division leaders what is or isn’t getting interacted with enough… Ogier steadings not coming up in rp much?  We can find a way to write a plot for that!  Manetheran not being played in much… we’ll send sisters to stir the pot.  How about Kandor?  Anything new?  We’ll be happy to do something.

WE’RE THE AJAH OF THE PEOPLE… I’d personally be for us all pushing some nsw’s into the seats of power (we active peeps can rp them) and lead a small revolution in the division to drive sisters and ajahs out into the world and get them active.  Lead by example.  The story isn’t always in the tower… in fact, some of the best stories are out there in the world and we can help show everyone that by building them.

We blues are a darn creative lot - it’s time we show that to everyone. 

Are you guys with me?

a) Create BA Hunters as there were none left (until Claire returned). The BA pretty much got a big lucky break when 'we' left as there was no continued storyline for the Hunters. Meaning the WT knowledge of the BA got rewound many years.

I guess my only thought on this one is ... are the black ajah hunters really necessary?  I know there are folks who still play as blacks and aren't opposed to unleashing their brand of evil on player characters but, unless someone is ready to retire a pc they don't offer up themselves to be shut down/caught by in large.  

This leaves pcs chasing around shadows and npcs and NEVER ever considering the idea of just grabbing the bull by the horns to solve a major problem (and I don't know about you guys but if, in real life, I thought I was in a den of murderers, I'd be all about “outing” them and pulling a full scale witch hunt the second I had hard evidence of their existence.  

There are only so many times a fellow sister can mysteriously go missing or something evil happens in the tower before someone screams “enough is f@#king enough!”  know what I mean?  Until such time as the main plot is ready for the purge, maybe having a plot that spreads knowledge of the black ajah’s existence only hurts rp more than it helps create more.  

As someone who has played some of the more wacky stuff here at dragon mount.com I can safely say that perhaps our attempt to push the major plotlines forward as player characters has only pushed our poor characters into inevitable positions of frustration and (in some characters) insanity.  Granted, one or two of these might be neat to have in your rp world to make it realistic but with as many as we’ve had in the past years here at DM (everyone striving to find interesting, dramatic, and unique rp ideas) it BREAKS the concept of the White Tower from Jordan’s books.

Yes… our characters are DM’s “main characters” if you will and the majority of the NPCs represent the majority of the Tower who is ignorant of such things and goes about their lives as ajah stereotypes… but just because we CAN do something doesn’t mean we SHOULD.

Now that I’ve been “heavy” about my thoughts on this… I’ll address my “yes we can” thoughts below.

b) Killing off NSW's (NPC's, TTpcs... whatever) because the WT has many.

Maybe it’s time we consider another major world rp that involves other divisions with DM?  Instead of offing people in the Tower where eventually anyone with ½ a brain would get wise to the Blacks… perhaps we could do a major rp with the rest of the world involved that will end in a lot of AS NSWs deaths?

And to be devils advocate … is it really so bad that we have a variety of nsw’s for people to choose from when they go to write their Rps?  We have how many pcs in the tower?  I’m sure it’s not 300 active at any given time.  If the tower in the books, is it really so bad that we have a bunch of nsws to make up the difference?

c) Re-establishing a new focus for Estel as a reliable Aes Sedai and not the Blue Ajah's Kicked Puppy.

I guess I have to read more of Estel’s rps.  I always assumed she was the Blue Ajah’s kicked puppy because she is mouthy, disrespectful and insane (not trying to be mean here, I honestly know how it is to be involved in rps that brings a character to this point and not all because you planned it that way… Telcia, much?  But, you can‘t say that you had no control over what your character says/does because in the end, you‘re the writer and when she does things you don‘t agree with you should be able to nod when other people say ‘god that gal is mad as a freakin‘ hatter and doesn‘t at all act like a stereotypical Sedai.  And I do mean that with all love Estel.)  Now… if she’s (you are) looking to heal her insanity somehow and make peace with her past so she  can stabilize the character I’m sure we can do that without the help(?) of the Black Ajah.  Let’s brainstorm!

d) Resetting the Blue Ajah Power structure so that way its easier to move forward with a more concise RP that lets the Blue Ajah pick new sitters and a new Head.

I’m lost on this one… we’re having a problem coming up with an ic reason for the blues to change who is in power icly?  If so I have about a dozen realistic suggestions to help with this … not the least of which is the current divide among the ajahs or even something of an ajah civil war storyline.   Blues don’t need the Black Ajah to change their power structure… if nothing else why would we want to limit all these GREAT rp needs to one single storyline when it could be:

a) black ajah hunters

b) blue ajah power change

c) estel’s return to sanity/power

Three major and interesting blue rp’s instead of just one sounds WAY better to me.

e) Giving the Blacks some play time. Unfortunately they didn't bite so we're stuck with NSW's.

To those playing blacks… I love ya… but it’s the black ajah’s problem to come up with rp ideas for their members and by their lack of desire to be involved in this, I’d say either a) they don’t like the rp idea or b) they feel they are getting all the rp they need.  You can only lead a horse to water… you can’t force it to drink hun.

f) Allowing other members to be re-sworn without being completely re-tied to this RP series.

Again, we’re not to this point in the books yet with the main storyline so I think having gals reswear (especially with not knowing why) may be jumping the gun and may just make everyone feel frustration at the pace of the main story here at DM.  

We’re oldbies who left (yep, I left too) to try things on our own Arie and it died down and out because we weren‘t there to carry it as much as we needed to be.  DM is sorta Jordan fan‘s home base on the net and there‘s no denying that (he‘s got his freakin‘ blog here for the Light‘s sake) and it‘s hard to compete with that … hence why I‘m back here and why so many others who left to try it else where always come back too.

However, we both know the pace of DM’s drpsw story is notoriously slow… we can either constantly be annoyed with that or do our best to make good story in spite of it.  I fail to see good story coming out of tying folks to part of the story they can’t explore yet with their characters.

I know I’m beating on your plot idea a lot here but I promise … keep reading … good stuff is to follow.  You have to admit, I rarely break out my Evil Plotter Stick™ without good reason and other constructive suggestions.

g) These posted RP's were meant to be completed in only a few weeks but RL got in the way (as usual).

EXACTLY.  I knew you were on a page with me about the pace here at DM.  I think we can do good stuff with this, just what you got here is a bit elaborate and complicated and puts a lot of ingredients into the soup which are good enough to stand on their own!

With that said I’m gonna start a new post to share my POSTIVE and GO BLUE thoughts.

Saying that we can do "anything" is something that any ajah should be able to argue (to a point.)  However, each ajah has something that they also specifically find that they are good at and focus on.

Yes, it can be hard to put the blues into a box (as you put it Serena) but it's also the packaging that helps sell our ajah to newbies.  And while it's arguable that you don't want to collect people to your ajah that don't realize that it's the place for them... to that I say, I NEVER would have thought I'd like the reds and see how that turned out?

Arie - I'm trying to wrap my head around your metaphor of threads and patterns for the light.  If I'm reading what you're saying correctly you're saying that each person's cause is but one effort (or thread) to build (weave) a better world (pattern) under the Light? 

By that statement (assuming I understand you correctly) you see the cause of the Blue Ajah to be the improvement of the world in general?  Not a bad take really and honestly it's where I was going with "True Blue Heroes" idea.  The idea that each sister does her part in her little area of expertise to improve the lives of the common man and the world (whether in politics or in small village life.)

Now again, assuming I understand that you and I are on a page Arie, then it's said that Blues appear to nosey and busy bodies but in truth people are either too ignorant to see the importance of our work or too arrogant to think it important or worth while (a common problem in the Tower) and it's also that "misunderstanding of our purpose" that keeps the Blues the smallest ajah... most folks just don't see the Blue Ajah's true purpose as it's not spelled out in a word like:  "Healing"  "War"  "Law"  "Knowledge" etc.

I'll close this post here with the question... am I understanding what you're trying to explain Arie?  If so, and Carly is on a page too, we can try to begin to word this a bit better.

The child must have thought her deaf and dumb as well as old not to know of the Ashaman.  Of course she knew of them but what use was there in getting overly dramatic about the whole affair.  The Dragon was set to put the world in ruins before the last battle was done, had she really expected less?

Still, the horrible news that sisters had been forced into subservance to male channelers was something that did ruffle her feathers a bit.  Even worse that the Ajah's First Selector had been so compromised.

"Light..."  She breathed the word, horrified at the idea.  "Please tell me you've been released from this abomination."

A smile split the old sister’s face as she saw the thin gray wings the man was beginning to develop.  The look was dignified, strong, and handsome framing his face that way.  He would, if he wasn’t careful, look the part that he’d worked so long to cultivate.  Silently, she contemplated just how good with the blade he’d gotten since she last watched him spar with another man. 

“Light and honor,”  she responded, deciding to give over to the borderlander manner that she was born to.  “fill your life Alin Gaidin.”  Leaning on her staff slightly she moved forward to get a better look at him.  If only she were a few years younger, the journeys and adventures this man could accompany her on… Light!  If only it did not pain her to stay in the saddle so long, Miya could just imagine the good they might accomplish out on the road together.

“The years have been good to you.”  The discussion of one’s Sedai passing the bond simply wasn’t you dropped casually as you please on a man’s lap and hoped for the best.  Granted, it really was a discussion that almost never occurred to begin with, in truth.  Only in the most dire of cases where a Sister feared her own death did she ever consider such a thing and the fact that Aaolin had come to her about this meant nothing good… that was certain.  She’d have to watch the girl closely over the next few weeks. 

No doubt Alin would be troubled and want to see Aaolin straight away once he learned why she was really here or at the very least his emotions might wake her from the sleep she so desperately needed and neither was a particularly good result.  No, she had to find a way to handle this with care but honestly, clearly he wasn’t the sort of man who appreciated long winded speeches or elaborate set ups to bad news.

She paused only a moment before making the shift to the topic of the business at hand.  “You will accompany me to discuss some serious business but, I’d appreciate it if you’d be sure to control your emotional reactions throughout our evening together… Aaolin needs her rest and I‘ll thump you with this stick before I let you go waking her up.”  She seriously doubted that she could thump Alin unaided but she wasn’t beyond the point of paddling the man with weaves of air if he took to irrational behavior.  Not that she expected that, he was younger than her but he wasn’t inexperienced.  The man had lead these very grounds once and was one of the foremost fighters in the known world.  His reputation more than proceeded him it was the thing of legends for village children to here stories about on feast days.

Looking around Miya considered where would be a private enough place to speak about such a sensitive matter.  Surely the man’s pride could be wounded by this revelation, previous ranks and titles aside… he still was a man after all, and she didn’t want to add embarrassment to the load he’d bear after all was said and done.

“Now, it’s been a while since I’ve been on grounds myself but if memory serves me… there is a sitting room in this building over here which we can make easy use of.  I imagine at this hour it’s cleared out of petitioners, unless of course you’d enjoy some dinner?  Light knows I haven’t eaten yet and we may have a long night ahead of us.  Surely there is some nice place in town where we can get a descent meal in private?”  Time to see if the boy picks up on cues well and just how efficiently he can secure what I require when it’s implied to him that I need it.  Hmmm, I wonder if the Stone Wheel still has that delicious honey butter…

Oc:  Realized you use italics for speaking and I use them for inner thoughts so I decided to color my spoken words blue for clarity sake.  ... bloody typos!