ForumsArt, Music, and WritingGantic (Nec)Romantic - on hiatus

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Gantic
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Gantic
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King

Gantic Romantic offers an intimate look into Armor Games' most mysterious moderator beginning with his early writing experience, through his innovative and subversive contest entries, his subsequent inclement vignettes set in the subconscious, and his lean but pithy literary stylings and reserved humor that forever cemented his aura of mystique. In a riveting series of autobiographical interviews conducted by himself in third person, the lexophilic moderator explores his enlightening three years on Armor Games. By drawing on his past experiences and indirectly encouraging others to see beyond the word during the time he has spent in the community, the eclectic writer unknowingly shrouded himself in impenetrable sesquipedalia and Gantitudinal platitudes but in [i]Gantic Romantic[i] now seeks to cut through the clutter capitalizing characteristic incisiveness to unveil the truth. The interviews revel in his sense of wordplay and whimsical subversion of language transparent in his dialogue as both the interviewer and interviewee. While too often are writers, and other artists, too vain to recognize their own failings, this impressive collection of verbose and laconic conversations is both an inflationary and humbling commentary--on himself and the community in which he seems hermetic.

Unravel the mysteries Friday nights at 11 pm, starting June 10th.

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Gantic
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Gantic
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King

I read through all the work posted in here to pass my time at 4am, and i was pleasantly entertained. You're very talented gantic.

The best part of this thread has to be your running commentary though.


Thanks. Running commentary is essentially one of my writing styles. I prefer something that seems reflective and intimate while giving a sense of forward movement.

The beginning of the end.

Yeah, the end of my carpet.

There's something about your writing, Gantic. I find it utterly enthralling. This thread so far lives up to its title's promise. I read it as a rosey-eyed look at the past permeated by a dismal nostalgia. It's certainly interesting.

Find out what it is. I would like to know. And when has any thread I started not lived up to its title?
Strop
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Strop
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Bard

That's rather difficult to do in a heated pun battle which is why most of them devolve into a smoldering mess of terrible puns etc.


I accept the gift of pleading &quotrior commitments" offered, and shall avoid any direct battle with my e-dignity intact!
Gantic
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Gantic
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Deleterious Circumstances

The rabbit had often said that his favorite thread was "Written Nothings" and that there was no thread quite like it. And there wasn't. Although rabbits were common, Gantic was a rare one, even amongst mammalians. His writings were often imitated but never duplicated. His predilection for words, experimentation, and sensibility were nonpareil.

"I started Written Nothings because I wasn't satisfied with the quality of Reaching Out and Touching No One. It was fun, but it was not what Written Nothings was. Written Nothings was something of a raison d'etre. It was uplifting. If Reaching Out and Touching No One was my sense of possibility, then Written Nothings was my sense of sensibility. Lore would be my sense of responsibility and Gantic Romantic my sense of fallibility."

His lack of seriousness was occasionally revealed in his writings through incongruities inserted unblinkingly in otherwise serious pieces. Oftentimes, it was frivolity that seemed to ask, "Are you paying attention?" Other times, it was just nonsense in the form of ploquie and Gantique, a stickman duo named after plokkey and himself.

"'A Red Motor' was a series of anagrams based on the word 'moderator'. A red motor, marred too, re doormat, tamer odor, art demo or, do more art, door art me, dream or rot, arm rooted, OMO retard, tom err ado, art room ed. It didn't make much sense. There's no such thing as an OMO retard. The punchline was 'Moderator is useless.'" He chuckled and cleared his throat. "I mean. yeah, it wasn't like I meant it. It was just silliness. I mean look at me now."

In complement of his word-centric writing approach, Written Nothings was also a sampling of his ideas and what he was capable of writing. Each entry was a relatively short self-contained piece, ranging from several sentences to a couple paragraphs to conversations between unnamed speakers. The theme amongst entries varied as well, though each entry seemed to be tinged with sentimentality. He couldn't pick a favorite amongst them, but he could pick out his favorite reasons for enjoying the thread.

"My favorite thing about the thread was just writing it. It's just fun, you know? I enjoy the possibilities of writing and the possibilities of a story. I never really liked endings. I always loved the adventure, or the possibility of adventure. Paradoxically, I dislike endings that are new beginnings more. An end, to me, should feel as if nothing beyond the moment matters. Regrets and unanswered questions don't matter anymore and loose ends have been tied. That's why most of the pieces are glimpses, moments, in someone else's life. They're complete in and of themselves."

"It really gave me good practice in characterization and exposition. I'm still not great at it, but I think I've gotten to a point where I feel capable enough to tell a story without outright telling it. It also allowed me to showcase my enjoyment of bringing together alliteration and internal rhyme and slant rhyme schemes in a singsongy fashion. There's not much I enjoy more, even if it doesn't makes sense sometimes. It's fun."

Some glimpses were more than practice and showcasing. Inspiration, as he had written in 'An Introduction' often left him with nothing after a day. A couple of entries were legitimately things that he had wanted to write but lost interest in. 'In 2321' was supposed to be a springboard for a futurist fiction/RPG. 'Oranges', he had stated several times, was supposed to be a short story. He kept to his flirtatious romance with inspiration as there was no other so consistently thrilling. She was Eureka, the goddess of endless possibilities. However, endless possibilities did not allude predictable outcomes. Outcomes themselves were almost always possible, always unpredictable, and mostly delightfully surprising.

"My second favorite thing were the responses. It was illuminating. I'm not sure that's the right word for it, but it was..." The rabbit seemed lost in thought. "It was delightful. Strop, kingryan, thisisnotanalt, Parsat, Merciless_Mercenary, I enjoyed their comments. Discussions between and, a few times, amongst myself, Strop, kingryan, and thisisnotanalt often branched off into parallels, tangents, and extrapolations. And it was spontaneous. How awesome is that?"

"On the other hand, one of the things that amused me the most were the questions wondering what the thread was about. I believe that was pondered no less than five times. The purpose of the thread was stated in 'An Introduction'. I certainly didn't spell out it by saying, 'This thread is about blah.' That's what I did for Reaching Out and Touching No One. I wanted to weave my intentions into the first entry. The thing is, though, with that thread, if you didn't understand it, there was no point in explaining it, because you wouldn't get it unless you got it. A sense of... maturity was required. That's why I was always so roundabout. That's why I'll never write an entry for the last 'elegance'. If you knew what it was, you'd know why."

While each entry was essentially self-contained, some were related to previous entries or other threads. One could infer that the overarching purpose of the thread was to tell a story of a man who was trying to recapture the days when things were better as he lived in a world where mutant chickens have taken over and fish are grown in waste treatment plants, a prelude to the Transhumanist War peppered with unrelated anecdotes on things that didn't matter as a way to keep his mind off his troubles. Or that it was just a writing thread used yet again as commentary on the state of the Armor Games forums, as Reaching Out and Touching No One was used.

"There are a few entries related to my other thread at the time. I included some foreshadowing in Written Nothings. I used 'Reaching Out to Touch No One' as a reflection and a springboard to foreshadow upcoming characters. It doesn't take much to notice that inserted within the text are characters from Reaching Out and Touching No One. You have the Bullman, Space Cowboy, the Stranger, Stallion Man, and Star Straddler all in the first paragraph. Bad Luck Bronco shows up a little later. What I also hid in there was Crowman who made his debut in Part II. Part II of 'Reaching Out to Touch No One' wasn't as good. It only contained three characters and hinted at the Condor, who wasn't a major character. I'm guessing since I've revealed that much, it wouldn't hurt to make an offhand remark and mention the Sunset Sheriff to throw everyone off the scent of a different character I've disguised, who'll show up in Lore. But then again, who would waste their time to comb through so many words? It could be anything anywhere, but the astute will know where to look."

With that, he smiled and turned in.

Next Week: "The Way of Gantic"

thisisnotanalt
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thisisnotanalt
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His predilection for words, experimentation, and sensibility were nonpareil.


Om nom nom. I like this. Small, sly, whimsically ornate.
Gantic
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Gantic
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The Way of Gantic

The rabbit had once entered the Bullman into the Way of Moderation, and he made it to the eighth round before elimination by default. Prior to elimination the Bullman was as full of himself as he ever was, unwaveringly believing he was the hero perfect for moderation. He weathered challenge after challenge beyond his abilities and discovered his lack of 'equine' agility was a liability. But why the Bullman?

"I chose the Bullman for the Way of Moderation because he seemed the best fit, the one who would but would not want to become a moderator, the one who was and was not the most able. It seemed like a fun and interesting idea to stick a wannabe hero in a position that would legitimize his claims and put him in a position of actual power. If he believed in himself so much, why wouldn't he enter? It wouldn't make much sense if he didn't."

"I approached each challenge as I would in Reaching Out and Touching No One. That was my favorite part of the challenges, figuring out how the Bullman would handle the situation well beyond his control. He believed he'd make it. He truly believed. And maybe, I, too, believed that he would make it far if not all the way to the end, but I got sidetracked with school stuff and writer's block. I had free written 1100 words and never actually got to the actual fight. The end of the semester was nearing and I felt I was spending too much time. I never actually got back to it, but here is what happened."

The Bullman had been paired with the Hyenaman, who was potentially a worthy opponent for a good brawl. After all, the others were merely scrawny, scruffy, and perhaps psychologically unsound humans or half-human⦠things. Leon looked well-travelled, well-wised to the way of the road and the soul of the wilderness, the only frontier left after civilization. The wilderness had a way of changing a man's exterior by expelling his true self to the surface in ways only seen by the well-traveled. Of course, the Bullman thought anyone with a hooded cloak was well-versed in the wilderness.

"Ready for a good old fashioned brawl?" the Bullman asked the gnoll.

The Bullman was a couple feet taller than the gnoll and stood a little straighter to emphasize the point. As the gnoll looked him over, he could almost see the words "You would need a lot of luck and great equipment!" flashing in the gnoll's head or perhaps it was "Do you feel lucky, punk?" He wasn't quite sure where it was, but he doubt the gnoll cared for "Are you mad?" and "You are MAD!"

To his disappointment, the gnoll replied, "How about something more civilized?"

"Come on. Mano y mano. Thrill of the fight. Eye of the tiger."

The gnoll hesitated to reply. The gnoll did look like a biter and bite marks did not leave manly scars. Claw marks, however, had a disfiguring appeal to them, but the gnoll did not look like a clawer.

"How about a good story?" The Bullman suggested. "Everyone love's a good story. The one with the best heroic adventure wins."

"And admit defeat? Never! You'll probably put the entire audience to sleep before you get through one of your tales."

"How about a shootout? My rubber ducky versus your bow and arrows. First one hit loses."

This appeared to be a good idea to the gnoll. "Where would this be?"

"Uh, the Construction Zone."

"Fine. No ricocheting water."

"No horn hits and hoof hits."

"No shot limit."

"Alright then."

The rules had been set.

"By the way, what is your name?"

"The Bullman."

"No, your real name."

"The Bullman."

"The name your mother gave you."

"Just call me 'The Bullman'."

The stage was set. They were to meet at the Construction Zone for a shootout. The half-finished building that dominated the yard and construction materials piled about it made for the perfect playing field. There were even hiding places for someone of his stature. A shootout was just as good as a brawl, though his large size and lack of agility were potentially a disadvantage.

The two challengers performed the customary dance and started on opposite sides of the construction yard. The Bullman moved slowly and cautiously, as a predator stalking its prey, or as best he could approximate since he was thoroughly an herbivore. Then, and only then, he realized how much of a disadvantage he was at. Surely the gnoll would know how to stalk its prey unless he was clumsy.

The Bullman barreled across to a pile of wood. A muffled thud indicated that he had been spotted. The gnoll probably even had the best vantage point already. He peered out across the dusty sandbox and saw no motion but a puff of dust, perhaps a trick of the over-observant eye. The next closest obstacle was a sprint away, but without knowing where the arrow had come from, any rash dash would leave himself open to an arrow in the side, and if he were lucky, a fine slash. Whether or not Leon's arrows had the edges to make such a cut, he did not know, though he would settle for a jagged scratch by a tip, but that was improbable.

The Bullman tensed. Someone approached. He readied the ducky, turned and fired⦠on an odd unsuspecting Armor Gamer.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

The Bullman had no reply, but hid himself after recovering from hitting a bystander⦠who shouldn't have been on the field in the first place.

"You can't hide from me!" the Gamer shouted.

The lankily squat full-fleshed stickman rolled stridingly across to the Bullman. The Gamer reeled as an arrow flew past. Clearly the gnoll had scaled the building already.

"Hey, get out of here," the Bullman said.

"You can't tell me what to do! **** you're shooting ******* arrows too? What the **** is wrong with you ******* ****** *** **** ***."

"Get out of here. We're in the middle of something important."

"Hey, try out my awesome map ****."

The Bullman almost wished that the Gamer had gotten hit by the arrow. Not only would it rid him of a nuisance, but⦠it would rid him of a nuisance and quicken his path to moderatorship! There was no possibility that they would accept moderators that caused grievous bodily harm to a fellow citizen. But! Perhaps this was all part of a larger test! A test in dealing with undesirables! And the best way to deal with them was to ignore them and report them to a moderator⦠if that were at all possible in his situation. This was quite the reticulated crystal cage!

"I know you can hear me. Lalalalalalala!"

Restraining his fist, the Bullman ducked and dashed to a stack of I-beams and slipped forward, anticipating an imaginary arrow. He was almost certain that even though he was nearly prostrate on the ground he was exposed and awaited the sting of an arrow but none came. Instead of remaining where he was, he advanced forward in a brazen effort to both elude the Gamer and approach his target and shouted, "Interference!" If Gnolls ever swore in Gnollish, it was then, and perhaps continued muttering expletives on his way from his perch.

"Kill him and bury his body under some concrete," Leon muttered. "No one will miss him. Or we could feed him to my hyena. No one will ever know."

"Heroes don't do that," the Bullman explained with a hint of contempt in his voice.

"Aw come on, it's gnoll humor? Don't you know a good joke? I know a good joke. A gnoll, a minotaur, and a gnome walk into a Tavern. You're not a Minotaur are you? You look like this one guy I know but you're probably not him. Anyway, a gnoll, a minotaur, and a gnome walk into a Tavern. You'd think the gnome would've passed right under it!" Leon chuckled and then frowned. "You're not laughing. Where's your sense of humor?"

"We should close off the field and continue with our challenge," the Bullman stated.

"You knew I was going to win anyway."


"I don't know what would've happened next, but I knew how it would've ended. Regardless of whose version would've made it, it only made sense for the Bullman to lose at the end. That's partly why I got stuck. I had to write the Bullman winning, but he had to lose. How do you write a win when you know it has to be a lose? That's unprecedented. He would lose anyway, but this was an elimination. What would've happened it been allowed and my version was better? I eliminate Xzeno but the Bullman loses to Leon. Does that mean I won but Xzeno who gets to continue? Probably should've asked had I had time to get back to it, but it's an interesting puzzler."

In the end, Leon beat the Bullman, and the Bullman went on in search of his next great adventure as he tried to make sense of what being a hero meant. While Gantic went on to continue Reaching Out and Touching No One, the Bullman's stint in the Way of Moderation occurred after the end of Reaching Out and Touching No One chronologically, but in the universe of fiction, time was the stuff memories were made of. It wasn't until a year after the Bullman's loss, in the real world, some months after the end of Reaching Out and Touching No One, that rabbit continued the adventures of the Bullman in Lore, a retelling and reinvention of the story of the Bullman and his stalwart foil, Stallion Man, not in the Imaginarium but the Phantasmagorium.

Next Week: "Enter into Lore"
Strop
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What would've happened it been allowed and my version was better? I eliminate Xzeno but the Bullman loses to Leon. Does that mean I won but Xzeno who gets to continue? Probably should've asked had I had time to get back to it, but it's an interesting puzzler."


Indeed, probably if you had shot us an email informing us of the circumstances we would have organised for your entry to be submitted for ajudication as per normal, but after the event we probably would have arranged for Xzeno to continue anyway. The net result would have been the same, but we would have merely not spent a couple of weeks wondering what happened.
Gantic
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Gantic
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Enter into Lore

"Lore" was the latest of the rabbit's fiction featuring the further adventures of the Bullman following his leave from the Way of Moderation and into the Phantasmagorium. He did not seem as comfortable with the interview over an ongoing fiction. We were nearing the end of our interviews with one more left the current one and they had already found their way into the present. The rabbit made it known that he "really didn't like talking about himself" and that his present works reflect who he is rather than who he was.

"I wanted something that was adventure and characterization, but I haven't gotten the adventure part yet. It's been over a year and it's basically gone nowhere. I know where I want it to be, I know where it's going, but getting there is the hard part. Lore is a blend of Reaching Out and Touching No One and Written Nothings. The adventure, the character, the fantasy comes from Reaching Out and Touching No One. The contained characterization comes from Written Nothings."

"I see it as the other side to Reaching Out and Touching No One." He would not elaborate further as to what he meant other than saying Lore and Reaching existed as something of a duality. "You get to see the Bullman behind his foolhardy exterior and conceited interior monologues. Beyond that, I want to show the world as much as I show the character. That's where some of the adventure lies, in discovery of wondrous creatures, cultures, and countries."

The culture and mythology of Lore were entirely made-up for the purposes of the plot, but again, the rabbit would not go into any detail. He simply stated that they were all based around existent mythologies and literature. And that was all.

"I don't want to reveal too much. It's still ongoing and things will become clearer as they go. It's hard to do any retrospect on an ongoing project."

Next Week: "Hare and Back Again"

Gantic
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Gantic
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There and Back Again

Uncertainty threaded the air in the room. The rabbit seemed half lost in thoughts and half aware of the impending end. I had been interviewing him for weeks, and he was a difficult subject, even though he did agree to it. Now, we were at the end, back to the beginning, the beginning of Gantic Romantic.

"I chose this format because I thought it'd be interesting, you know? It's not like it's done a lot." The rabbit chuckled and continued. "Honestly I don't know how I did. It was a bit spontaneous. I mean, I'm still doing it now. Anyone would think I was just talking to myself, but I'm not. I'm just interviewing myself, for a bit. It really does show me more than anything else really."

The weeks had been enlightening and nostalgic. Still, it did not seem to directly answer the question, 'Who is Gantic?" but perhaps, he doesn't know the answer. Perhaps all he has are what he thinks are answers to questions he had been wondering about himself.

"Sometimes I lie to myself. We all do. It's the only way we can keep things together. Sometimes we don't even know we're lying to ourselves. It's impossible to be objective. You never know who you are, you just know who you were and who you aren't. It's easy enough to look back at things a year or two from now and see who you once were. If you look further back than several years, you'd be surprised at what you don't remember and probably embarrassed by a few of the things you don't want to remember. On the other hand, the close you look to the present, the more uncomfortable the questions get, because the past, that's a different person. It's not you anymore. The present will always be you."

He only paused to take a bite of the carrots and cilantro that had been sitting in front of him. Perhaps, some years from now, he would return to Gantic Romantic and take a retrospective introspective look into the introspective look upon himself and wonder if he was, in fact, any different. Perhaps, some years from now, he would look upon Lore, and wonder if he was being honest with himself.

"No one ever shows their whole hand, not even to themselves. It's like playing Texas Hold'em without looking at your cards and betting on yourself. Sometimes you just play it safe. Sometimes you don't know what to do, but when you look back, you can always see what you've done and what you should've done. Does that have any affect on the present? Doesn't matter. That wasn't you. That was someone else you could give advice to because you know a little more than they do. I think everyone would, at least, every once in a while, even if that while is years long, want to have their future self, or maybe even their past self, give advice. We don't want to look at the cards we've been dealt, or we've dealt ourselves, but sometimes you just have to, even if you need someone else, someone you once were or will be to do it for you."

The rabbit did not seem to believe in his own words. It seemed as if he was only talking just to say something that sort of made sense to him, but I didn't question him. I knew him well enough to know that he would not answer.

"I don't have a favorite thing about it, not yet anyway. It's an experience. It envelopes you in its persistence. Only when the glow fades as the sunset does, can you pick out the brightest stars. But I don't plan on revisiting it though. Possibilities and all that. New avenues and unexplored worlds."

While this was the end, there was always possibility for more. The rabbit did not always go on to new and different things. He often revisited things he found too fascinating to be done with. But these things always held possibility or simple wonderment, a childlike sense of discovery. The simplest way to describe this is in his own word 'botancork'. And this was most definitely botancork, even if he would never explain the meaning of the word.

Nurvana
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Nurvana
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It's about bloody time... Finally something to read.

crazyape
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crazyape
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If ever there was a parallel to having the Mad Hatter interview himself, put it into the White Rabbit's perspective, grab a lollipop, and change his name to "bumblingdwarf", this would be the zenith of pure madman's ravings.

johnmerz
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johnmerz
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I really like this thread so far, and I am enjoying reading all of the tough words. Looking forwards to the next part.

Pieguyme
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Pieguyme
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Well if it's no, then that may not be the final episode. Here, let me help you. *scribbles something on paper* "The maybe final episode although the producers cannot guarantee anything of Gantic Romantic: "Necro or No?!"

I should get a job doing this......

Gantic
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Gantic
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King

Gantic Necromantic is a follow-up to the popular retrospective series Gantic Romantic. This second series covers everything since we last heard from him and delves into the oddities beyond his own writing, from the incisive analyses into the psyche of the collective consciousness of the Amwian hivemind to cryptic weirdness that just plain don't make no sense. Join us as we relive some of the more memorable moments from Armor Games history with insight and commentary from the White Rabbit himself.

Raise the dead Friday nights at 11 pm, starting May 9th.

Gantic
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Gantic
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Down the Rabbit Hole Again

"So what have you been up to?" the rabbit asked.

There was frivolity in his smile and a whimsy in his eyes. It had been a while since we last spoke, and though I have known him for the last six years, it seemed as if I knew even less about him now than I had three years ago. Things had changed little since last I interviewed him. The room was somehow sparer than before, as if he uncluttered what was already neatly organized. Less papers and books stacked his desk. He still had the same copy of Finnegan's Wake sitting in a different spot. The papers on his desk were incoherent fragments of figments.

"Where would you like to start?" I asked.

While he was revisiting a format he had used three years, there was less structure, less predictability on my end as to what to expect. Over the last three years, he had barely produced anything in the way of writings, aside from a handful of short pieces. "Lore" had gone nowhere and was abandoned not long after "Gantic Romantic" was published. "Yesterday and Tomorrow" was infrequently updated. "The Weekly Whoosh!" was put on an indefinite hiatus. "When We Were Young" was a drawn out meta-joke. "Cryptic Media Resolutions" was... something. He wouldn't put anything in specific terms.

Change was an ever-present constant, but some things, like the rabbit's way of using words, never seem
to change. As it was three years ago, it was now. Three years ago was unrecognizable to the new citizens of Armor Games. Three years from now, it would be just as unrecognizable. Three years had passed, but the rabbit didn't seem much different, not in any way discernible.

"How about "I Want to See Your Mental Poop"?" he suggested. "'Poop'! in the title of a thread made by a mod of all people!"

And that was where we began, in the ocean of possibilities in the minds of others.

Next Week: "Stepping into Mental Poop"

Gantic
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Gantic
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Oh, no! I'm crying, because I'm taking this entire thread very seriously. Gantic is very serious business.

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