Hey it's that one guy who used to be around and and now he's back.

[Death by Stabbing]

Hey everyone!

Since I've last been here I've had a crappy job that I quit after 2 years and I've been to Australia. Other than that it's pretty much been business as usual, you know existential thoughts, angst, and maybe a few "adult beverages." Oh and I've almost written a book so there's that going on not that I'm really holding out hope that I get a big publisher interested but hey there's also self publishing.

I really hope to actually stay a while this time. Like in the old days where I'd actually log in every day. I hope we'll have fun once again!

So what has everyone else been up to?

[Krylo]

I refuse to recognize your return until you go back to a black mage avatar.

[Bells]

I refuse to recognize your return until you go back to a black mage avatar.

did.... did you just Schrodinger him?

[Kim]

So what has everyone else been up to?

I came out as trans to all my childhood friends and everyone in my family, have been on hormones for getting close to a year now, flew across the country to live with someone I met on this forum, fell in love with him and his wife after moving in with them, started doing work as a camgirl, and have gone from atheism to worshipping Lilith.

Welcome back to the forum!

[Aerozord]

Well you've seen my negative stuff but hmm not negative, well I've become an active supporter of transhumanism. Even got an article published

[MuMu]

Got a minimum wage job, am now productive member of society.

Waste half of salary in comics.

[phil_]

Inigo Montoya in Chat 8 bit on AIMIt would really be something if people were still lurking in there.

[Loyal]

I remember your name, at least. Howdy!

I've been going through college and work, and trying to move out. I've been learning more about how to draw, and picking up stuff about 3D modeling and, recently, learning to play the piano.

And playing entirely too many video games.

[Kyanbu The Legend]

It would really be something if people were still lurking in there.

Do tumble weeds count as people? If so then it's still thriving.

[Flarecobra]

Let's see... your last posts before your return were in 2010...

I spent time in the hospital because of a small aneurism, nearly died from my financial stress, moved back to my hometown, and since then I've been back on my feet for the most part.

[Terex4]

I dropped off the face of the internet because I was spending as much time as possible away from my house due to my near-physically abusive relationship and got a promotion in the process. Moved in with my best friend a month ago and signed up for a dating site. I drove 2 hours to go meet one guy and saw him for all of 15 minutes (haven't heard from him since), and I went on a date with another one last night that went pretty well but he doesn't know I'm trans yet so there's that.

Right now I'm covered in chicken grease.

[Death by Stabbing]

Wow! Thanks for the welcome everyone!

I refuse to recognize your return until you go back to a black mage avatar.

Ok when I can get my old icon back from my broken laptop I'll change it back. I wanted to change it back anyways but discovered it isn't on the computer I currently use.

I came out as trans to all my childhood friends and everyone in my family, have been on hormones for getting close to a year now, flew across the country to live with someone I met on this forum, fell in love with him and his wife after moving in with them, started doing work as a camgirl, and have gone from atheism to worshipping Lilith.

Welcome back to the forum!

Sounds like you had a busy few years. I hear it is very difficult to come out to friends and family. I admire your bravery.

Worship of Lilith? Adam's other wife? So I'm guessing you are a Wiccan then? That's cool. Can't say I've done much study of Wicca in my readings about religion. I'm working my way up to the newer religions.

Well you've seen my negative stuff but hmm not negative, well I've become an active supporter of transhumanism. Even got an article published

Transhumanism, eh? I've been reading a little on that lately. Interesting ideas. I'd like to read your article.

Got a minimum wage job, am now productive member of society.

Waste half of salary in comics.

Oh yeah I also spend way too much money on comics even though I don't have a job anymore. Hooray for the invention of credit cards! What have you been reading?

It would really be something if people were still lurking in there.

Well it was from a time when lots of people used to be on the AIM chat. Like 7 years ago.

I remember your name, at least. Howdy!

I've been going through college and work, and trying to move out. I've been learning more about how to draw, and picking up stuff about 3D modeling and, recently, learning to play the piano.

And playing entirely too many video games.

Long time no see Loyal! I'd love to learn to play piano. What games have you been playing?

Let's see... your last posts before your return were in 2010...

I spent time in the hospital because of a small aneurism, nearly died from my financial stress, moved back to my hometown, and since then I've been back on my feet for the most part.

Last time I was on here I think you were still in the military. I'm glad you made it back safe from there but that sucks about the aneurism. I worked with someone who had one. I'm glad you survived that too! Medical science is cool but expensive.

I dropped off the face of the internet because I was spending as much time as possible away from my house due to my near-physically abusive relationship and got a promotion in the process. Moved in with my best friend a month ago and signed up for a dating site. I drove 2 hours to go meet one guy and saw him for all of 15 minutes (haven't heard from him since), and I went on a date with another one last night that went pretty well but he doesn't know I'm trans yet so there's that.

Right now I'm covered in chicken grease.

Good luck with your love life! It can be rough out there. And as I said to Kim, I've heard it can be tough to come out to people and from what I understand it's pretty well split right in the middle in the trans community on if you tell a significant other right away or wait.
Good luck on that chicken grease too.

[Kim]

Sounds like you had a busy few years. I hear it is very difficult to come out to friends and family. I admire your bravery.

Worship of Lilith? Adam's other wife? So I'm guessing you are a Wiccan then? That's cool. Can't say I've done much study of Wicca in my readings about religion. I'm working my way up to the newer religions.

It's hard but it's a special kind of hard where it's hard cuz it's scary but it's also the most exciting thing in the universe. I don't feel very brave, but thank you anyway.

I'm not Wiccan. Lilith is the only entity I worship.

[MuMu]

Oh yeah I also spend way too much money on comics even though I don't have a job anymore. Hooray for the invention of credit cards! What have you been reading?



Right now I'm going through Mark Waid's Daredevil. After that I think I'll catch up on some animes, but then try Amazing Spider-Man's Gauntlet and Spider-Island.

[shiney]

Welcome back. Since you were gone my wife and I had another kid and I have pooped approximately 540 times, based on a rough estimate of 3 deuces a week.

Thought you'd want to know. Felt relevant.

[MSperoni]

You only poop three times a week? Geeze I go like twice that much.

[shiney]

And now for another riveting episode of "How Regular are Shiney's Movements?" Special guest narrator Morgan Freeman reportedly devastated that '[his] agent roped him into this thing.'

[Terex4]

Good luck with your love life! It can be rough out there. And as I said to Kim, I've heard it can be tough to come out to people and from what I understand it's pretty well split right in the middle in the trans community on if you tell a significant other right away or wait.
Good luck on that chicken grease too.
Thanks. For me its just a thing that I have to put out there eventually (preferably before making physical contact with the person). I hate it, but it is important for them to know. I prefer to enjoy the company for a day or two and give them a chance to get to know me rather than having them flee before I've said hello.

Chicken grease is my life. The Walmart deli is only chicken and chicken accessories.

[Loyal]

Long time no see Loyal! I'd love to learn to play piano. What games have you been playing?Currently? Recently got back into World of Warcraft. Yes, yes, I know.

Otherwise, mostly action and strategy games. Rogue Legacy, Overlord 2, and Spelunky have been great action games, and Saints Row 3 ensures that I will never, ever need another shoot-ey sandbox game again.

On the strategy side, Civ V has been great, though I feel it's still a tossup between that and IV. Company of Heroes is great fun but so very hard to wrap my head around in terms of actually managing my shit. Creeper World 3 (http://store.steampowered.com/app/280220) is a solid, unique contribution to strategy and a worthy sequel to the prior two titles. Fallen Enchantress and its ex-pack, Legendary Heroes, are fairly solid and have a ton of potential, but much of it is squandered by numerous bugs, balance issues, and lackluster dev support.

[shiney]

Currently? Recently got back into World of Warcraft. Yes, yes, I know.

Actually so did I, but on a private Vanilla 1.12 server. Old school fun on a budget!

[synkr0nized]

But vanilla is so boring. I mean, druids weren't even allowed to do anything but heal back then. Go at least TBC.

[Death by Stabbing]

Welcome back. Since you were gone my wife and I had another kid and I have pooped approximately 540 times, based on a rough estimate of 3 deuces a week.

Thought you'd want to know. Felt relevant.

Congrats on the new kid and your poop schedule! I'm glad to see that you are still around. What the heck happened to this place it feels kinda empty. I mean I'm glad plenty of the people I knew are still around but I've noticed a few absences.

Right now I'm going through Mark Waid's Daredevil. After that I think I'll catch up on some animes, but then try Amazing Spider-Man's Gauntlet and Spider-Island.

Mark Waid is the man! I have a whole bunch of his stuff (including Daredevil of course). The Unknown is so awesome and Potter's Field really needs a sequel. You have any opinion on the Superior Spider-Man?

It's hard but it's a special kind of hard where it's hard cuz it's scary but it's also the most exciting thing in the universe. I don't feel very brave, but thank you anyway.

I'm not Wiccan. Lilith is the only entity I worship.

They say the hardest things are of the most value, right?

Well if you don't mind can I ask why you only worship Lilith? I don't want to start a religious fight or anything like that. I'm just genuinely curious.

Thanks. For me its just a thing that I have to put out there eventually (preferably before making physical contact with the person). I hate it, but it is important for them to know. I prefer to enjoy the company for a day or two and give them a chance to get to know me rather than having them flee before I've said hello.

Chicken grease is my life. The Walmart deli is only chicken and chicken accessories.

Well, when you find the right person you find the right person I guess. They're probably pretty shallow if they won't even let you say hi before heading for the hills. People react in different ways though. The important thing is you're putting yourself out there. It's tough to do even if you aren't trans.

Currently? Recently got back into World of Warcraft. Yes, yes, I know.

Otherwise, mostly action and strategy games. Rogue Legacy, Overlord 2, and Spelunky have been great action games, and Saints Row 3 ensures that I will never, ever need another shoot-ey sandbox game again.

On the strategy side, Civ V has been great, though I feel it's still a tossup between that and IV. Company of Heroes is great fun but so very hard to wrap my head around in terms of actually managing my shit. Creeper World 3 (http://store.steampowered.com/app/280220) is a solid, unique contribution to strategy and a worthy sequel to the prior two titles. Fallen Enchantress and its ex-pack, Legendary Heroes, are fairly solid and have a ton of potential, but much of it is squandered by numerous bugs, balance issues, and lackluster dev support.

I haven't seriously played an MMO since RaiRO shut down. Heck I stopped before that. I haven't gotten to play Saints Row 3 or 4 yet myself. I'm not doing much in terms of strategy games these days. Well I do have Final Fantasy Tactics Advance in my DS...though that's more of an RPG isn't it? I can always pop in Sid Meier's Pirates in my computer if I have the need. Actually I haven't gamed that much since oh...around February. Just don't have time to sit down and play for extended periods.

[Loyal]

Actually so did I, but on a private Vanilla 1.12 server. Old school fun on a budget!Yeah, tried that briefly. Besides the bugs caused by missing or incomplete scripts, I just really couldn't get into it. I mean Rogues couldn't even Sap without breaking stealth. It was in fact a private server that convinced me to just go back to the real game. Go figure.

Now I've got a Warlock and Death Knight progressing through endgame stuff and I'm having http://i.imgur.com/n1w6T55.jpg

[tacticslion]

Welcome back! I... honestly don't remember you (we may have just missed each other time-wise, I'm not sure), but I'm still glad you're back!

What the heck happened to this place it feels kinda empty. I mean I'm glad plenty of the people I knew are still around but I've noticed a few absences.

A combination of random internet drama and 8-bit finally finishing up.

Without 8-Bit driving speculation and drawing new members, a lot of people faded away and fewer came back.

Thanks to internet drama (usually unrelated to 8-bit stuff), many got burned and left. A few who left are starting to drift back now, though, so that's nice. Hopefully all that kind of stuff is behind us! :D

Outside of those two main things, life circumstance has gotten in the way for many - they just fade off due to other important things in their life, whether good, bad, or other.

That said, there's still activity going on here - it's just moved and changed compared to how it was before. There were a couple of times when there was even question if the forums were dead... but they revived, and have continued going! It's hard to truly keep this place down. :)

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

tactics man you've been around even longer than I have and I still remember that guy, Murder by Shanking.

But yeah, welcome back DBS and all that jazz. Like tac says, there's not much going on these days, since the more popular comics finished and the RP/games forums got run into the ground (I blame the over-saturation of Mafia).

But the important thing to remember is, I'm still here.

[Kim]

They say the hardest things are of the most value, right?

Well if you don't mind can I ask why you only worship Lilith? I don't want to start a religious fight or anything like that. I'm just genuinely curious.

I worship Lilith because of who she is. Mother of monsters. Left rather than be beneath a man. Her associations with sexuality. Etc.

All of these are things I either identify with or feel I relate to on some way. For example, the mother of monsters thing. I identify heavily with monster girls. I like seeing Lilith as a mother figure to myself as an extension of that.

I like her associations with sex/sexuality because of how big a part of me those things are.

Stuff like that.

[mauve]

Hey Death By Stabbing! Good to see you again! Welcome back!

Yeah, things have kind of slowed down over the past few years, but there are still a few holdouts who refuse to give up on this place.

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

As long as you concede that pie is superior to cake then I shall welcome you back with open arms.

If not, well. Something.

[batgirl]

Welcome back!

I still pop in from time to time, though I don't post very much anymore. I became a paramedic while you were gone and got a much better job where I actually get paid a living wage. More recently, I got injured and was out of commission with a busted shoulder for a month and now I'm making preparations to move in with my boyfriend this summer.

[tacticslion]

tactics man you've been around even longer than I have and I still remember that guy, Murder by Shanking.

Eh, I'll blame it on getting old, then. Yeah.

But it's possible that we just sailed past each other, like two ships in the night...
... or maybe I'm terrible with names. If you remember me, and I don't remember you, I do apologize. In my defense... uh... look! A distraction!
*smoke bomb*

[MSperoni]

Without 8-Bit driving speculation and drawing new members, a lot of people faded away and fewer came back.



The Dreadful (http://www.nuklearpower.com/dreadful/) is getting a few new members. Not a lot, but some. Which is good. I think the comic could really go places if it got more support (I really ought to take out some more adverts). Though it seems to be getting buzz off-site, which is also good.

since the more popular comics finished...

URGHHHH *throws garlic bread out the window*

Why do comments like this have to pop up every so often and depress the shit out of me? >_<

URGHH *throws spaghetti all over the bedroom*

Anyway, Stabbing, the site is not dead or dying. At worst I'd say it's "lingering". Don't listen to these non-believers! It doesn't have the active membership it once did, but it's got a pretty decent comic that is still going strong (350ish pages over 260 updates).

The site'll be dead when content stops updating, and it's going to be awhile till I give up on The Dreadful, even if it gets ball-breakingly frustrating sometimes. I'm a tenacious semi-delusional mofo.

URRGH *crushes unopened soda can in his bare hand*

All that is left of my supper is my salad. Thanks a lot, jerks.

[MuMu]

Mark Waid is the man! I have a whole bunch of his stuff (including Daredevil of course). The Unknown is so awesome and Potter's Field really needs a sequel. You have any opinion on the Superior Spider-Man?


Aside from Kraven's Last Hunt and some Ultimate I've never read a Spider-Man run, so I don't feel the outrage the normal fans did. I think it's a interesting turn and it might be a fun villain-redeemed-by-heroism story like some Thunderbolts experience but right now I'm more interested in Scarlet Spider and Superior Foes of Spider-Man.

[Krylo]

The Dreadful (http://www.nuklearpower.com/dreadful/) is getting a few new members. Not a lot, but some. Which is good. I think the comic could really go places if it got more support (I really ought to take out some more adverts). Though it seems to be getting buzz off-site, which is also good.



URGHHHH *throws garlic bread out the window*

Why do comments like this have to pop up every so often and depress the shit out of me? >_<

URGHH *throws spaghetti all over the bedroom*

Anyway, Stabbing, the site is not dead or dying. At worst I'd say it's "lingering". Don't listen to these non-believers! It doesn't have the active membership it once did, but it's got a pretty decent comic that is still going strong (350ish pages over 260 updates).

The site'll be dead when content stops updating, and it's going to be awhile till I give up on The Dreadful, even if it gets ball-breakingly frustrating sometimes. I'm a tenacious semi-delusional mofo.

URRGH *crushes unopened soda can in his bare hand*

All that is left of my supper is my salad. Thanks a lot, jerks.

If I say something mean about The Dreadful will you throw out the salad too?

[MSperoni]

No I ate the salad already and then I had some cake after.

[Overcast]

Since 2010 I've since joined the military and am currently on its last couple years before my sequence out. Have lost a relationship and gained a superior one while demoting the other to fairly healthy friendship.

The RP section has taken a family friendly turn toward more tabletop games instead of doing mostly free form, and also is mostly taking place on the chat. It is actually doing a great job of keeping my stress levels down even though I have to really push just to get myself into the games due to hilarious connection problems.

I'm steadily moving toward becoming a hermit with internet access, that seems to be the way to live right now.

Also popular isn't the same as good Matt. Feel happy in the fact that of the group that reads your comics we are all pretty certain that you got some nice quality comicthings in there.

[MSperoni]

Also popular isn't the same as good Matt. Feel happy in the fact that of the group that reads your comics we are all pretty certain that you got some nice quality comicthings in there.

Thanks! I appreciate that the people who take the time to read it enjoy it.

I really don't dwell on the comic's (lack of) popularity like I used to. What bugs me is when I see people post things on NPF about how the site is dying/dead and how there's no longer anything of value here.

I'm aware that I'm not entitled to anything, no matter how much work I put into The Dreadful, but it still sorta stings hearing that kinda stuff from fellow NPFrs.

[shiney]

Yeah, tried that briefly. Besides the bugs caused by missing or incomplete scripts, I just really couldn't get into it. I mean Rogues couldn't even Sap without breaking stealth. It was in fact a private server that convinced me to just go back to the real game. Go figure.

Now I've got a Warlock and Death Knight progressing through endgame stuff and I'm having http://i.imgur.com/n1w6T55.jpg

Apart from some NPC dialogue, the server I play on has been almost entirely bug free. Two level 30+ characters and no significant bugs (read: some quests didn't do the script execution and instead auto-complete) yet. It is good times.

Edit: Matt, the cake is/was a lie.

[MSperoni]

Maybe it was a brownie?

[Death by Stabbing]

Welcome back! I... honestly don't remember you (we may have just missed each other time-wise, I'm not sure), but I'm still glad you're back!

A combination of random internet drama and 8-bit finally finishing up.

Without 8-Bit driving speculation and drawing new members, a lot of people faded away and fewer came back.

Thanks to internet drama (usually unrelated to 8-bit stuff), many got burned and left. A few who left are starting to drift back now, though, so that's nice. Hopefully all that kind of stuff is behind us! :D

Outside of those two main things, life circumstance has gotten in the way for many - they just fade off due to other important things in their life, whether good, bad, or other.

That said, there's still activity going on here - it's just moved and changed compared to how it was before. There were a couple of times when there was even question if the forums were dead... but they revived, and have continued going! It's hard to truly keep this place down. :)

Well I'm glad I wasn't around for all that drama. I remember getting caught up in some back in the day. I was going to keep on fading out but I just got this itch to come back so here I am. It's good to know there are still folks on here. I honestly don't remember you either but I'm glad we get to meet now! I did, however, end up in the dead thread section and saw a lot of familiar names. Seems like 2012 was a big purge year. Lots of folks that I knew stopped posting then. But hey I'm back after so long so maybe it will start some kind of cosmic domino effect and lots of other folks will come flooding back. Or I have a huge ego problem and like to picture myself as the center of the universe. Eh, either one is cool with me.

tactics man you've been around even longer than I have and I still remember that guy, Murder by Shanking.

But yeah, welcome back DBS and all that jazz. Like tac says, there's not much going on these days, since the more popular comics finished and the RP/games forums got run into the ground (I blame the over-saturation of Mafia).

But the important thing to remember is, I'm still here.

It's always good to remember the important things, Hawk. Good to see you! I remember you too! And I remember the old Mafia days. Actually not so long ago I found some of my plans for mafia games I was going to run all that time ago. I'm probably a hoarder. Or maybe a Hodor? There was also an old Star Wars RP I was a part of that I remember. Don't know what happened there...people just stopped playing as I recall. Anyways glad to see you're still kicking.

I worship Lilith because of who she is. Mother of monsters. Left rather than be beneath a man. Her associations with sexuality. Etc.

All of these are things I either identify with or feel I relate to on some way. For example, the mother of monsters thing. I identify heavily with monster girls. I like seeing Lilith as a mother figure to myself as an extension of that.

I like her associations with sex/sexuality because of how big a part of me those things are.

Stuff like that.

Ah, as I said I didn't really know that much about her. I might wear a cross everyday but that doesn't mean I'm all crazy like the folks you see on TV. I like the Bible quote "My Father's house has many rooms." Basically I like to know what people in the other rooms are up to! I've always loved really about Greek and Roman Mythology. It really helps me as a writer. Right now I'm in to Norse stuff since I've finally been able to find good books about it. The identifying with the monsters stuff makes a degree of sense. Sometimes folks want to root for the other guys. Not necessarily bad. I mean it's all a matter of perspective like in the book Grendel which is in the POV of the monster from Beowulf. Plus comic book characters like Swamp Thing and Man-Thing are popular monster protagonists.

Hey Death By Stabbing! Good to see you again! Welcome back!

Yeah, things have kind of slowed down over the past few years, but there are still a few holdouts who refuse to give up on this place.

It is good to be back and see you as well MM! You can count me in the number of folks that won't give this up. You know now that I am not so busy. Being out of work really helps free up your spare time :D.

As long as you concede that pie is superior to cake then I shall welcome you back with open arms.

If not, well. Something.

Sorry I can't in good conscience say that pie is better. I like some pies but I like more cakes than I like pies. So I guess...something?

[Aerozord]

Transhumanism, eh? I've been reading a little on that lately. Interesting ideas. I'd like to read your article.

Well, since you asked (http://hplusmagazine.com/2013/07/17/ai-vs-ia/)

[tacticslion]

Thanks! I appreciate that the people who take the time to read it enjoy it.

I really don't dwell on the comic's (lack of) popularity like I used to. What bugs me is when I see people post things on NPF about how the site is dying/dead and how there's no longer anything of value here.

I'm aware that I'm not entitled to anything, no matter how much work I put into The Dreadful, but it still sorta stings hearing that kinda stuff from fellow NPFrs.

I think you misunderstood me. I wasn't saying that your comic was bad (it's quite good), that it was uninteresting (it's great), or anything like that.

Instead, the only thing that I was implying (or trying to) is that the thing that started the site - 8-Bit - is no longer going. Because of that, we're not getting as many new people.

The site certainly isn't dead, nor is your comic! Keep it up! I read it!

In any event, the site is currently regrowing, a bit, albeit slowly, though I suspect we've hit are acme at some time past.