OngoingWorlds blog

News & articles about play-by-post games, for roleplayers & writers

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Flashback week 2013

Flashback week - write and roleplay about your character's past

Flashback Week is a week-long writing event where writers and roleplayers were encouraged to think about something that happened in their characters past. The event doesn’t have a physical location, there’s no fee, and there’s barely any rules – only to write a flashback about your character and your story and tell everyone about it. Oh, and to have fun! There’s also a competition for the best flashback story (see below).

The competition is now closed. The winner was announced here. Read More

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Announcing the winner of the Flashback week competition

A few weeks ago we ran a week-long even called Flashback week where we encouraged roleplayers and writers to think about the backstory of their character and write about a flashback to a different time in their lives. We held a competition which finished on the very last day of Flashback week, and our team of judges have been busy over the last two weeks reading the entries and voting for the best story, and we’re happy that we can now announce the winner! Read More

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Flashback story – Lieutenant Saveron

This is a story submitted as part of the Flashback week competition. It’s a Star Trek story written by Sarah Eccles from the roleplaying game USS Thunder on Starbase 118.

Lieutenant Saveron

The Vulcan doctor was accustomed to having the answers to questions or the where-withal to find them. His professional life was ordered, organised and logical; his personal life was anything but, and he had yet to deduce a solution to the problem. He had no answers, only a determination to search until he found them.

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Flashback story – Xanxa Symanah

This is a story submitted as part of the Flashback week competition. It’s a Babylon 5 story written by Sarah Xanxa Bartlett, the roleplaying game is called ‘Beyond Babylon’, and is played on Facebook.

Xanxa Symanah

So you want to know what a Centauri is doing in the Anla’shok?  Well, I’m not the only one, but that’s not my story to tell.  First of all, I’m not pure Centauri, in fact I’m half Minbari on my mother’s side, so my entrance into the world was bound to be controversial anyway.  So many questions were asked about how I came to be conceived when Centaurii and Minbarii are physically incompatible.  Well, love conquers all, as the old saying goes, and with much consultation of Technomages and other shady figures, I came to exist.

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Flashback story – Diagnosis

This is a story submitted as part of the Flashback week competition. It’s a Star Trek story by Adam Pracht from the roleplaying game Star Trek Borderlands

Diagnosis

~I wish my feet touched the floor.~ Marius thought sadly as he swung
his feet, making his Awesome Angel superhero shoes flash and blink
with red lights. ~Then I’d feel braver.~
But the wooden chair remained tall, hard and unyielding. It was as
uncomfortable as everything else in the sterile office – the while
walls, the books that were somehow all the same color and height, the
lights that were too bright and too harsh.
He felt his father place a hand on his shoulder and give it a little
squeeze.

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Flashback story – Warren DeMontford

This is a story submitted as part of the Flashback week competition. It’ a story written by Sue Wilson about a tabletop rolplaying character.

Warren DeMontford

The man they now call Warren DeMontford stares at the water drops freezing to the window. The image takes his thoughts to darker places and memories he does not want. Beyond that window had not been the white expanse of Antarctica. That time the other side of the pain showed the rolling ocean of the southern Atlantic. Still he leans his head against it and closes his eyes….

The SnowBird rolls again. He can’t afford to sleep, not properly. The waves are too large. He could head north in the hope of calmer seas, but it would lengthen the route and loose him more time, and he knows at least Peyron and Lamazou are ahead of him. He drags himself from the bunk and climbs back onto the deck to check the auto-pilot.

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Flashback story – Rites and Responsibilities

This is a story submitted as part of the Flashback week competition. It’s written by John Wilson, and is about a character from play-by-wiki game that grew out of an old World of Darkness Changeling game that has been ongoing for over a decade.

Rites and Responsibilities

“So, you are to be my replacement?”

Master Tyr looked down his hooked nose at the young troll stood before him. Even with the loose robes of an apprentice draped over her, it was easy to tell that his new student was slightly built. She bowed her head, letting her blonde hair fall loosely over her flat horns.

“Yes, Master Tyr.” Read More

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Flashback story – Lucinda Steel

This is a story submitted as part of the Flashback week competition. It’s written by Duri Aspire, the roleplaying game is Two Halves make a Whole played on OngoingWorlds.

Lucinda Steel

“Pack your things, Lucinda. We’re going on a trip.” Her father said to Lucinda as he woke her. Her mother stood nervously behind him, shaking.

Without complaint, Lucinda did as she was told. Her teddy, some clothes and a colouring book were all that she crammed into her backpack. Lucinda was scared. Nothing like this had ever happened before. Her mother held her hand tight and told her everything was going to be alright as they walked out to the car. Lucinda still thought that her mother said it more for her own benefit to calm herself down. Read More

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Flashback story – Sienn t’Lovok

This is a story submitted as part of the Flashback week competition. It’s a Star Trek story written by Juliet Anderson, the roleplaying game is S. S. Seiklon Axel on Star Trek Borderlands.

Sienn t’Lovok

I don’t like mirrors.

They remind me. Of what – of who – I used to be. And how different I am from that person now.

My name is Sienn t’Lovok. I’m half Romulan, half Human, and 76% machinery. Formerly a blogger on unclutterer, now I’m an engineer on an independant freighter that I get the lovely job of holding together, the S. S. Seiklon Axel. The UFP doesn’t trust me, and neither does the Romulan Star Empire. Although sometimes I think it’s not so much my abilities render me untrustworthy, more that – I scare them. People are scared of what they don’t understand. I’ve learned to accept that.

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Why we love flashbacks

Flashback week write and roleplay about your character's pastIf you’ve not heard about Flashback week, see the details here and remember to enter the competition here.

In my last article I explained that flashbacks are great ways to help build your character, and they’re also really great fun to write because it gives you a totally open canvas to put your character anywhere and in any situation. If you’re writing about them with others as part of a roleplaying game, this can sometimes be quite a difficult thing to do, because you’ll have to get everyone else to agree that the story is taking a turn in the direction you want it to. But as anyone who’s ever done collaborative writing knows, the story won’t always go in that direction!

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