memovouloir

[memovouloir]

I wasn't going to say anything more here, but there is one thing I'd like to clear up as it was a concern brought up to me: I did not follow anyone from this account to make them uncomfortable. I followed the master list this weekend like I would if I had freshly applied with a new muse, as until today I figured I could still come back someday, and because I still have friends in isola that I'd like to keep up with their writing too.

I specifically tried to avoid muses that I knew for sure were members of staff that I knew would be uncomfortable with it, but I was not able to remember who all their muses were. I know I accidentally followed one of Mod Caelum's muses, and probably a few other staff muses by mistake too, but they were not intentional, malicious actions. So while I understand the thought that I did it on purpose, I can promise that it wasn't. No following I did on this account was done with specific intent of anything relating to this. I apologize for that discomfort and confusion.

As well, my pronouns are she/her. Some of you talking about me on Twitter already know this. Please stop using they/them for me. Thanks.

[memovouloir]

With all due respect, much of this is very incorrect, and I say this as someone who worked on the policy update in question as an Isola mod at the time. That policy update and the discussion that went into it is one of the last things I worked on for Isola before I was no longer staff, so I remember it rather well.

For starters, regardless of the reason for the change, changing defined policy, that the memberbase has been operating under for a year, without any sort of notice, is not something that should happen, especially when doing so invalidates a reserve that someone sent in that would’ve been valid otherwise. A change in policy should happen with a post on the masterlist discussing the change, so that everyone is on the same page about the rules.

It’s not something that staff should just silently add to the rules page and straight up edit out of a past policy update post (and then link to that policy update post as a justification for cancelling the reserve; how would they know why it was cancelled when you completely edited out the relevant rule already?).

More to the point, that policy decision about no longer allowing drabbles was discussed amongst Isola staff at the time. A point was even made about why we would disallow drabbles but continue to allow meme responses—memes are still interactions with other members, whereas drabbles are not. The drabble rule was talked about, agreed on, and the entire policy update post was double checked by every member of the mod team at the time as well as any of the assistants who wanted to double check it, too, since they were also involved in the policy update discussion. Drabbles no longer counting for activity was not an oversight or misunderstood.

Further still, it was even brought up a month after the policy update went live; it was mentioned in the context of the Lost In Space activity check posts. You’ll notice that the January 2021 activity check mentions that drabbles are allowed, while the March activity check does not. Removing that wording was acknowledged in staff discussion channels and acknowledged by an assistant who is now an Isola mod, even.

Whether the current mod team agrees with the ruling now is a different story; changing the rule is fine if staff decides drabbles are fine, but to claim it was a mistake at the time and that no one meant for that rule to be added is just a lie, and even if it was, it was still written down as policy and has effectively been a rule for the memberbase to follow for a year now. Everyone (who is not staff) including the person who was sniped had the same information on this rule available to them, and the person who tried to snipe them had the right of it. Changing that policy should require telling everyone, not just stealthily changing it with no announcement, editing previous posts to hide it, and cancelling their reserve because of it.

Had skysprism not messaged you about it, how would someone else, who saw last year that drabbles were no longer allowed, know that the rule was changed? There was no announcement of it. When it comes to things like whether or not you’re inactive or snipeable, that’s kind of something people should know about when the change happens.

Now, putting the issue of stealth-changing rules aside, and looking at the rule you have re-added to the rules page:

“One drabble per month can count towards activity, but it must be at least 500 words and if they are constantly used we may deem you inactive.“

As far as I’m aware, the drabble in question is only 330 words long. So, the discussion on the rule being suddenly changed doesn’t even matter because they were inactive either way, and the person who tried to snipe them should’ve gotten the reserve whether drabbles count or not. Are you going to do anything about that?

This post got a bit longer than I intended it to be, so apologies for that, I suppose. I might’ve made it a message to the masterlist, but based on past experience with that both as Isola staff and an ordinary member, I wouldn’t expect a speedy response to that, if at all.

hey guys, just a quick question: when did the policy update get changed to exclude the update that said "drabbles will no longer count for activity requirements regardless of the post length"? i remember it being there but noticed it was silently changed. is there a reason for that and why was no announcement made if there was?

Hey Mew-mun!

It was a change that was made the other day due to an issue with a member being sniped over a drabble (this member was not staff nor were any staff familiar with them personally, for transparency). The rule read strangely to us, and upon discussion the most we could find that contributed to this rule being added were some vague discussions that weren't finalized conclusively and clashed with another of our policies. We made a lot of changes consecutively around that policy update and were having a number of conversations that bled together while ironing everything out, so we believe that this caused a misunderstanding and it was accentally added to the post without a full discussion because of it.

The rule itself actually contradicts one of our other policies, as mentioned above. We allow drabbles for events, so we didn't want to keep the misunderstanding in place when it would affect members who use drabbles in that way and have done so as recently as the last event. We also didn't want any issues to arise from it such as someone mistakenly losing their spot.

As for the snipe in question, there was no mention of drabbles on the rules page whatsoever, whether they were eligible or not, and so we weren't in a position to enforce that rule as it was written on the policy update. That just wouldn't have been fair to the mun.

This sniping situation was the first time it had come up in the year or so since that change was made and both parties were understanding when we spoke to them about what happened. We apologize for not publicly making it immediately clear and thus inadvertently lending itself to further misunderstandings. We have a number of updates rolling out in the coming week or two and had planned to note it in one of those posts so it wasn't just a toss-away mention that could get lost in the hustle and bustle of the dash.

In the future we'll make a quick post either way, so thank you for your question about it!

- the island stars.

[memovouloir]

haemoneiron​:

She heard her before she saw her, though that wasn’t much to brag about when she had her back to the entrance. Wearing a large sombrero with a poncho draped over her  shoulders, instantly identifiable regardless by the hair falling down her back. 

“You might want to be careful saying something like that with a raised voice when you enter  a place like this.” 

Voice still as ever, but wearing a smile when she eventually turned. Then after a moments hesitation, she raised her hands

“Please, don’t shoot.”

Memo had her right where she wanted her, which was in front of her in this case. Memo continued to aim at Crow, and a conveniently timed tumbleweed blew past, just visible between her legs in the dusty street behind her.

“But I was told that the only way to solve the problem with the town size is to get rid of either me or you.” she said, briefly speaking in her normal voice before going right back to her Hoennic drawl.

“And I ain’t wantin’ to leave town myself. It’s a nice place. Bit sandy, though.”

[memovouloir]

{;EVENT STARTER @haemoneiron​}

"This town ain’t big enough for the two of us...” she said, dressed in a period-accurate cowboy outfit fitting of the old western film she was placed in.

That was basically the only line she could think of to say, though. So after a moment of hesitation, she just blurted out, “Draw!” and unholstered her finger guns and aimed them directly at Crow, who Memo already knew would be waiting for her after she threw open the saloon doors.

[memovouloir]

{;STARTER @haemoneiron​}

“It almost feels bad taking down these cute stockings so soon...” she said, plucking one off of the hook above Crow’s fireplace. “They’re nice decorations, and it feels like we only just put them up.”

“Do you think it’d be weird if we kept them up for New Years?”

[memovouloir]

“Oh, that’s such a pretty phone case! Where did you get it?”

“I’m kinda in need of a new one soon, so...” she said, sheepishly holding up her own phone to show off her space-themed phone case that’s very much covered in scratches.

[memovouloir]

haemoneiron​:

“Taller popped collars, and a hood. I see, I see.” She said in the manner of someone taking notes, even nodding slightly. “We do have many mirrors. Is that a trait of theirs? Marvelling at oneself.”

Her brows arched slightly, but her smile was purely one of affectionate admiration. “Why else. It’s nice to collect things. Me? I suppose not. Personally  they’re not something I would number in my collections. And no, I don’t get given any.”

Crow glanced between Memo and the machines, then gave a certainly more extravagant than necessary bow (some might say any bow was superfluous extravagance) as she gestured for the Jirachi to take the lead. 

“Please; show me how’s it done.”

“To be fair, I feel like you’d be given a lot more gift cards if you liked going out to eat more often...” she said, playfully and lightly jabbing Crow’s shoulder with her elbow. “And not stay locked up in the castle so much!”

Memo was happy to take the lead, though, and prove just how lucky she could get when it came to these machines. So she took out her phone and opened up her wallet app, and held it close to the little scanner on the gachapon machine.

It rumbled for just a few moments, and then... nothing.

“...”

I think it’s jammed...

[memovouloir]

haemoneiron​:

“A dork? I don’t know if that sounds like me.” She said with the faintest smile as she curled the board to a halt, gently rotating on its heel for a moment. 

“A vampire reaper.” She repeated. “And you don’t think that’s too busy, thematically? Maybe I’ll have to work on the attire.” A pause “Though it sounds  like I wouldn’t have to work too hard.” A slightly longer pause. “I am in possession of a scythe. If I was a reaper, would that make you the reaper fangirl? ”

“How many gift cards do you have? In total that is, not just for here. Where do you even get them? But bereft of cards or not, I think we’ll be fine.”

“You just need taller popped collars or maybe a hood or both and then you’ll be a true reaper, able to marvel at yourself in the mirror like... all true reapers do?” She shrugged. “I’d be a reaper fanrachi.”

“I think I’ve got a small stack on my desk at home? I keep them after I use em for... well, just because, I guess. Why, do you not use gift cards?” There was a line... of course there was a line. So naturally, Memo began gravitating to the gachapon machines.

“Can I go first?”

[memovouloir]

haemoneiron​:

“It’s good to have hobbies.” She hummed. “A bigger salad just  sounds like more of less, if you ask me. I’d rather have more of something… More. Which is most non salads I think.”

She had also been drifting closer, but only to stay within grabbing range. Just in case, and more subconsciously than not.

“Of course I will, probably more than once; it’s exciting.” For a moment she drifted silently in thought. “Perhaps, do you think I’d make a good reaper? Or just a reaper fan.”

“I think you’re just being a dork about it all,” she said, correcting her course to drift away from the road again. She stopped pushing herself forward now too, letting herself naturally slow as they were basically there.

“I think you’d make an excellent reaper, but like, a vampire reaper. But you also strike me as a reaper fangirl too... cliche reapers just seem like your style. And I don’t mean your clothes.”

“Well, okay, I do also mean your clothes.” She skrrrt’d herself to a stop, deftly picking up her longboard and holding it at her side, then pulled something else out of her opposite pocket.

“I don’t remember if this gift card has anything on it still...”

[memovouloir]

haemoneiron​:

“Ah, the  gambling addiction, I see.” 

She even gave a sly wink. “I’ve had a salad.” Then stretched her arms up before relaxing, continuing to roll along. “Didn’t much care for it. Doesn’t really satisfy, you know?”

“Not an addiction! A hobby.” She was well in control of her spending habits, thank you very much! “Maybe you just needed a bigger salad.”

“Also, c’mon, don’t pretend like you’re not gonna try your luck at the gachapon machines too. They have little figures inside the bubbles! They might even have, like, uh...” She slowly started to drift towards the road as she tried to recall what was on tap last time, only correcting her course at near the last second.

“They might still have little grim reapers in one of the machines, you’d want one of those, right?”

[memovouloir]

haemoneiron​:

“How exciting.” She said, Crowly. Then she took a moment to ponder as she rolled along. “Was there more to the reason?”

“Probably not a salad.” Another pause. “Burger?”

“Weeelllll... they might also have a few gachapon machines...” she said, already imagining the satisfying sound and feeling of popping open one of those plastic bubbles. “I want.. things.”

"And c’mon, you never go for the salads! How do you know you won’t like them more if you don’t ever try them?”

[memovouloir]

haemoneiron​:

@memovouloir​

Crow was currently coasting along with a stillness that belied the control and momentum she had. Casual vampire summer attire; big hat, sunglasses a bikini top and sarong.

“So, have you been to this diner before? Is it recommendation? Or perhaps simply something new.”

Memo was currently coasting along with a wavyness that Memo would say was absolutely demanded of her. Controlled wavyness, though, just swaying side to side along the sidewalk as they went.

“Both? New to me, but recommended by a friend! Great salads, apparently. Not the whole reason I wanted to go, though.”

“Whatcha gonna order!”

[memovouloir]

theacemagician​:

@memovouloir​

There are so many vendors in the Fibonacci Ward that Trucy has found herself spending most of the day windowshopping. She hasn’t actually bought anything though. While she absolutely wants to, she was the one doing the finances back home for the Wright Anything Agency and thus knows better than to be wasting her own money when she only just got a job.

She walks up to one of the stalls, looking over the different items laid out. She glances to the side, noticing someone else at the stall - and what she has in her hands. A key and a notebook with a lock, a character that looks like the head of a magician on the cover. She recognizes it. It absolutely shouldn’t be here, let alone in the hands of someone who isn’t a Gramarye.

“Hey! That’s mine!” 

Memo was just window shopping too, for the most part. The pop-up stalls during this time of the year always had such an odd variety of things for sale, things she could only assume came from worlds other than this one, since she’s found stuff she recognized before, too.

So, while she wasn’t super doubting when the girl next to her suddenly claimed the book Memo was examining was hers, she wanted to be sure, y’know? I mean, it was for sale, and Memo didn’t want the shop owner to lose out from someone taking advantage..

“Is it? What’s your name?” she asked, turning the book over to see if she could find a name anywhere.

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind if it is! But I wanna make sure, right?”

[memovouloir]

Have you seen Memo in a Spinda onesie? Now you have! Super cute art I commissioned from cremanata_art on Twitter! 💜🌠💜

[memovouloir]

haemoneiron​:

“I’m simply saying not to use it as a sword, for a sword it is not.” Truth be told, it wasn’t honestly a mace either, but here we are.  “Blunt weaponry isn’t really my fort-”

And there it was. She was without her otherworldly speed or reactions yes, but it wasn’t the most subtle of movements. Still, there was little she could do to avoid the foam thing tumbling towards her and glancing of the edge of head. Bonk. 

“…Yes, there’s something to be said about being unconventional and unexpected. Yet I am not in the water and now you are unarmed, vulnerable. What will you do now?”

Memo did a little fist pump when the mace hit its mark, more than proud of Crow for actually sticking to their deal on inhibiting themselves! She also burst into giggles that got progressively gigglier as Crow talked.

“Oh no, you’re right... my only weapon! Gone. Ah...” She sighed, spread out her arms... and did a controlled fall onto her back on the sand.

“Parley? Parley with the poor unarmed girl?”

[memovouloir]

haemoneiron​:

“That’s…” She spent a few moments glancing back over the armoury. “A good idea.” Then a moment later she was glancing at a pair of foam knives in her hands. 

“Of course, I want to stand some chance.” The corners of her mouth turned to a smile. “Think of it more like a bat, or a racket. Jabs should be a last resort, keep the reach in mind and use it to your advantage.”

Memo rolled her eyes at Crow taking her suggestion seriously. Good that she did about the powers, too, because now the odds were just about even! “You haven’t trained me with bats or rackets though...”

Maybe not so even, if she was unexperienced. She was quickly starting to doubt her weapon choice, so she did the only sensible thing. She threw it right at Crow’s forehead.

[memovouloir]

haemoneiron​:

“But I always fought with a pair.” She said almost distantly, staring between them. For a moment she eyed a rather oversized example of what she assumed was a foam sword. “I could swap if you think it’s… Unfair.”

But she stood opposite her nonetheless, glancing at the dart gun as she rolled her wrist holding the sword. 

“Speaking of unfair, I assume we’re keeping this… Inhibited.”

“Maybe you should branch out then... to a pair of tiny foam daggers? That would be fair, no?” She stuck out her tongue, doing her own little wrist twirly motion to try and give some sense of knowing what to do with this thing.

“Inhibited? Like, no powers? I think we should... might make it easier on you.” She glanced at the dart gun, then at her own mace again. “...I can use this like a sword, right?”