Altas Park

City Hall

Seraph sighed as he waited in the
M.A.G.I. Office, only a day back from his vacation to Florida with
Tish and already they were bugging him. Not that he could really
complain, they did pay him pretty well to destroy some of the more
dangerous artefacts that came through their hands

Looking around, he spotted Azuria
walking in with an arm full of paperwork, he couldn't help but wince
slightly as she noticed the scars on the back of her hands, left over
from a rather brutal assault on city hall by Arachnos. As she
deposited the papers on a desk, she turned and smiled. “So glad you
could make it Magus.” she chirped slightly, her smile widening as
Seraph shifted uncomfortably.

“You know I don't like that tilte.”
He grumbled slightly.

“Ahh, but it is your rank... and
sadly since the fall of Galaxy and the loss of the main M.A.G.I.
facilitates... along with most of our staff.” Her face darkened for
a moment. “Right now we need men of your skill more than ever...
and well.” She paused and looked a little sheepish. “How do you
feel about an apprentice?”

“A what?” He asked, his voice flat.

“I know this is a lot to ask you, but
many of our teachers were killed in the shivan attack... it will take
months, maybe years to find mages to replace them... and looking at
your paperwork, I noticed you were both highly skilled and seemed to
have some spare time now that most of your work load is buried under
several tons of debris.”

He slowly took his glasses off and
rubbed his eyes. “Am I really
the only one available?”

“Well, we have
tried other mages with this woman, but they didn't have your... um...
determination? ”

“You mean
stubbornness?”

“Yes, but it
sounded better the way I worded it.”

With a growing
sense of dread, he stood up and blinked. “What is wrong with her?”

Azuria was cut off by a large crash as
a winged woman fell through the door, smacking face first into a
crate.

“That would be her now.” walking
over, she helped the woman up. “You okay Diana?”

The woman climbed to her feet and
rubbed her nose, shaking out a messy mop of blond hair. “Oh um...
I'm okay, just tripped... um... again.”

Seraph gave the woman a once over,
besides the light greyish wings and dirty blond tail, she didn't look
that odd. Getting up, she some how tripped on her own feet and fell
back into a bookshelf, several tomes raining down on her, causing her
to let out a slight squeak.

As she climbed to her feet, Seraph took
Azuria to one side. “Why the hell are you signing me up with a
clutz?”

“Remember all those smart ass
comments about me and the revolving door?”

He winced as he felt karma kick him
square in the nads. “Fine then... I'll give her one day then.”
Stepping back he turned to Diana as she straighten out her shirt and
smiled, her amber eyes staring off in mismatched directions. “After
all... what’s the worse that can happen?”

* * *

Azuria checked the clock curiously,
four hours had passed since Seraph had walked out with Diana. A mild
surprise seeing the last two mages she teamed the girl up with didn't
even last an hour.

There was a loud squeal of panic from
outside her office and then the sound of something falling down a
flight of stairs, followed by some swearing.

Stepping out of her office, she saw
Seraph laying face down at the bottom of the flight of stairs,
sitting on his back and apologising profusely was Diana.

Helping them to their feet, she looked
them over and winched inwardly, Diana looked so nervous, she wasn't
sure if the girl was about ready to burst in to tears or run off,
while Seraph looked like he had been through through several trees
and a shop window.

He took her arm and lead her to one
side, his voice low. “Okay, How
the hell is she a Hero? She has to be the biggest walking
disaster in history. She managed to smash two shop windows, four cars
and send me bouncing across half of atlas... and that was in the
first hour!”

“She isn't.”

He paused,
blinking. “What?”

“She isn't a
Hero, we implemented a three strike system recently for young mages
that couldn't truly control their powers. If they can't find a
teacher, we deny their application for Hero status and issue them
with a limiter.” Sighing she entered her office and started looking
for the paperwork, Leaving him slightly slack jaw in the hallway. It
was a pity that Seraph hadn't taken Diana on as an apprentice, but
she could not force the matter.

As she found the
forms, she heading back to him, she saw an odd look on his face, she
was about to ask what was up when he raised a finger to his lips.
From around the corner she could hear Diana talking on a phone by the
sounds of it.

“... No... it
looks like I flubbed it again... yeah, Ditzy Derpy doo spectacular...
I don't know, if I can't get a licences, UPS will let me go... They
can't have a unregistered hero on the pay roll... It doesn’t matter
if it is unfair, it's the law... I don't know what we will do...
yeah... I'll tell you more when I get home, later sis.”

Seraph took the
papers out of Azuria's hand, magic crackling along it for a few
seconds before they burst crumbled to ash. “Oh Dear Azuria, it I am
such a clutz... lucky it was the wrong from, wasn't it?” His voice
having an almost cheerfully idiotic tone to it.

Blink at the ash,
she looked back to him. “Why?”

“Because.”

“Because?” She
asked, raising a sceptical eyebrow.

“Okay okay... as
my girlfriend loves to point out, I can't help but be a nice guy and
always try to help a damsel in distress.”

Chuckling, she
called Diana over. “It seems you are in good luck, Magus Seraph has
decided to take you on as an apprentice.” As the words left her
mouth, the young woman let out a loud sequel and glomped Seraph,
smacking him into a bookshelves and causing half the tomes to fall on
them.

From under the pile
she heard Seraph grumble. “First rule, Don't do that again....
ever.”

“Sorry Master
Seraph.” she squeaked, climbing out from under the pile off books.

“Second rule,
don't call me master” As they stood up, he dusted himself off.

“Sorry Mister
Seraph, but thank you so much!” She squeaked and spun around. “Oh
I got to tell my sister and my boss and eeeeeh!”

Azuria collected
the registry paperwork and handed it to Diana, sending her upstairs
to register, before turning to Seraph and chuckling. “You do
realise there is now backing out of this, correct?”

“Come on... how
hard can it be?” He smirked.

There was a loud
crash from upstairs and a string of sorry's.

Azuria laughed.
“You just had to say that.”

Amazon's kindle developers have managed to render the kindle for PC unusable if you want to add new .mobi ebook files  to your library in the latest update to version 1.9.1. 
I was trying to open a fanfic I had recently converted from .html file to .mobi using calibre. So I double click on it to open it kindle for PC opens into the Library IT does not open the file. Try again no luck again. No error message and nothing beyond the brief busy animation from mouse pointer.
Exit kindle for PC manually copy file in Kindle library folder restart kindle for PC no luck again. 
Finally decide to contact amazon kindle support.
Arpna the first agent has no clue so leaves me waiting for a kindle customer support expert hour and half later with no activity from chat window I decide to go again and resubmit the entire thing again with my chat transcript. Finally get a kindle support rep who tries some different steps de-registering and re-registering my kindle for pc. still won't open the file. Uninstall kindle for PC and reinstall. Same damn result.
End result was him submitting it to their Kindle for PC developers to figure out what is going on.
 My chat transcript with Amazon below:

Quote:You are now connected to Eric from Amazon.com.

Me:Can you hold for a minute or two while I research this for you?

Me:Ok

Arpna :Thanks so much for waiting.

Can you please give me the name of the document which is not working?

Me:It's a personal document I had converted to a .mobi format which is compatible with kindle format.

Arpna :William, were the files working before?

Me:I usually test them in kindle for Pc prior to sending to my kindle.

yes

Prior to the update to 1.9.1 I could open any .mobi file withou any problem and files are still associated with the kindle app in windows.

Arpna :A member of our Kindle specialist team will need to help you with this. Please hold while I transfer you. One of our Kindle Specialists will assist you shortly.

Me:Thank you

A Customer Service Associate will be with you in a moment.

----Hour and half later I notice that still haven't had somebody show up so resubmit and paste prior chat----
I've waited over an hour and a half on the prior chat for kindle rep to come.

Eric:Hello William

Me:Hi Eric

Eric:I'm sorry you've had to contact us back. You said you aren't able to open a personal document on your kindle for pc application?

Me:Yes

Documents that I'd opened prior to the update open fine anything after the update to 1.9.1 will not open period.

I don't get any error messages whatsoever all the application will do is open to the kindle library.

I have tried restarting the app, rebooting still no luck. I'm seriously considering rolling back to an older version

Eric:Ok well give me just a moment to check a couple of things

Me:go ahead...

Eric:Have you tried to deregister the kindle for pc application and then re-register?

Me:No. let see if that does it.

Eric:Ok give that a try and see if that will allow you to open those

Me:Nope no luck tried twice restarting between tries all I get is momentarily busy mouse pointer.

Eric:Ok are the files that will open on the kindle for pc in .azw format or also in .mobi format?

Me:In .mobi files I had added to the library prior to the update will open anything I try adding after the update will not open.

Eric:Ok well the next thing that we could try would be to uninstall and then reinstall the kindle for pc application. If that doesn't allow you to open those files then we would have to submit this issue to our developers to see if they could determine why those files aren't opening?

Me:Ok...let see what happens

Eric:Ok

Me:No luck. Same result momentary busy icon and that's it.

Eric:Ok well if that is the case I will be glad to send your issue to our developers.

I would just need to get a little bit of information from you.

Me:go ahead

Eric:Firstly what operating system are you using on your computer

Me:Windows 7 pro SP1

Eric:Ok and could you provide the name of one of the files you aren't able to open?

Me:The Cameron Legacy 3_ The Long Road Home - Bynum, Stephen T_.mobi

Eric:Thank you

Me:It will probably open if I email it to my kindle but I wanted to check that the metadata was correct before I sent it,

file was originally a word document I saved as html and then converted to mobi never had an issue with things before the update.

Eric:Well I've submitted that to our developers to see what they can find out. As soon as they have some new information I will contact you back via email, but if you had that file converted and sent to your device it should open fine.

Was there anything else I could help with today?

Me:No that was it.

Hopefully they'll have a solution to it.

Eric:Yeah you should be getting an email from me soon.

I hope you have a good rest of the day!

Me:Thank you.

I'm working up a new fanfic trope for the TVTropes wiki, and I just had my memory short out on me; I'm hoping folks can come up with a few more examples for me, as I know I've forgotten at least two that I intended on adding to this.  Here's the proposed trope:

Quote:Virtual Soundtrack
The distant cousin of the SongFic, this is the practice of
annotating a FanFic with music cues in such a way that, if
followed, produces the rough equivalent of a motion picture's
soundtrack for that fic.  Very often these are same pieces of
music that inspired the author as he or she was writing. 
Regardless, they are intended to provide extra atmosphere and
drama to the written material.
The cues themselves can range from inobtrusive citations styled
like pullquotes and set off from the story text proper, to
elaborate instructions as to where to start playing on the track
and for how long, often delivered by the narrative voice as part
of the story. 
Some authors may provide soundtrack listings in separate files,
but these qualify more as [[AllThereInTheManual supplemental
material] than examples of this trope.
One key element which defines a Virtual Soundtrack is that it is
''optional''.  You can ignore a Virtual Soundtrack cue without
losing anything in the story, unlike the SongFic, where you must
wade through the lyrics to extract the story.  Also, if the
music is part of the ''action'' -- for instance, in the
description of a concert -- it does qualify as this trope. 
(Although a listing of all the pieces played at the concert would
be a good candidate for supplemental material.)
This trope is usually limited to larger pieces of {[fan fiction}},
on the order of a novellette or longer.
-----
!!Examples:
* The "pullquote" version is a common feature in stories produced
by EyrieProductionsUnlimited, although it is by no means universal.
It is particularly prevalent in the Future Imperfect era of
''UndocumentedFeatures'', especially works written mainly by
Gryphon.
* Chapter six of Eric Hallstrom's epic ''Ranma And Akane: A Love
Story'' begins with the explicit note, "By popular demand, the
majority of this episode should be read to Fortuna Imperatrix
Mundi from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana" and offers a (long-defunct)
link to an [=MP3=] of the piece.  When the great battle in
Hell begins, the narration pauses to specifically inform the
reader to start playing it, and much later bookends the action
with the note "You can turn it off now."
** ''RAALS'' verges on this trope elsewhere, as well, with a
large number of songs, often from British/Irish/Scottish folk
music tradition, that are sung throughout the story by the
various characters.  [=MP3=] links were provided for these as
well.  This only edges up to the trope because the song lyrics
are provided whole within the story, and are ''part'' of the
story rather than supplemental atmosphere.  In this regard,
''RAALS'' is much like a {{musical}} rendered in text.

Another trailer is up.

On (date/timestamp corrupted), CMarsden wrote:
>On (date/timestamp corrupted), Ayanami wrote:
>> On (date/timestamp corrupted), Proginoskes wrote:
>>> Prog: "I think Ben meant he would like to put QB's creators' heads on pikes instead of a contract, not as part of one."
>>
>> I don't know. I think he looks rather good as a magical girl.
>>
> Rei, do I even want to know why you care about magical girls?
I'm trying to become a more social person.
--
Ayanami Rei
Greenwood Station
ayanami@gss.fen
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

Finally managed to acquire a copy of this rather fun little game.

High Frontier is a game of exploration of the solar system, using manned (and occasionally unmanned) rocketry.
Players take on the roles of Earthly space agencies and build their ships, then expand out into the solar system, trying to locate and claim sources of mineral wealth, water, and scientific glory. Rockets move in genuine orbital paths and must deal with fuel limitations, thrust issues, and crew health hazards (exploring Mercury can pay off really well, but it's dangerous as all fuck...)
And then there's the biggest hazard of all, your fellow explorers.
The basic game covers the inner system - from the Sun out to the Asteroid Belt, edging into Jupiter's orbit. An expansion adds some more detail, and Jupiter and Saturn, and a special poster map is available to cover the whole system all the way out to Pluto and beyond. It's all kinds of fun.
And great inspirational material for FenSpace.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

Because we didn't have a publishing house in Fenspace yet, and the Wizards need some luv... http://www.fenspace.net/index.php5?titl ... s.27_Press]Hogwarts' Press

Feel free to add to the writeup. For that matter, feel free to add to the writeup of Hogwarts, or Hogsmeade or 10 Hygiea...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

Why you keep eating my posts?
As teased here: Link
And confirmed here: Click me
Its coming!

Is (as terr so loveling put it) Statescorpse...  err Statesman and Lord Recluse.
Given that both of these are 45+ and require a full team of 8, organising a scratch team on the spur of the moment becomes... Interesting.
So, DO we want to organize a legendary chat run?  if so what day?
Personally I'd be available any day this week but sunday, and argue for the standard assembly time of 9pm eastern US / 6pm Pacific
And I'll be bringing Staff Seargent Shortimer (Will/SS Tank)  "CURSE YOU BILKO!!!!"
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

Admiral Tigerclaw has a new epistolary fic he's using to batter away at writer's block with:
http://forums.spacebattle...hp?p=7377079#post7377079
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll