Oh, thank you for letting me know! Should be fixed now.
Introducing: SV's Picks of the Month!
- Thread starter Skippy
- Start date
Oh, thank you for letting me know! Should be fixed now.
November 2021 Picks of the Month
So, as we enter the last month of the year (I will refrain from saying "Winter" to avoid drawing the wroth of @prometheus110), these were our Picks of the Month for November. (Apologies for the slight delay in getting these up.) Some really great stuff here, I particularly enjoyed There Are Only Three Levels.
As you will all probably have seen, we are also running the first User's Choice Awards on SV which we have run for a long time! This is really exciting for me, and for the Content Promotion team generally, as sort of the next frontier in promoting the best of what SV has to offer, and getting you the users more involved. We hope that this will continue every year following this one, and it should be a great success.
December's Picks will be earlier in the month, as we don't want them to clash with either the Awards themselves, or the start of voting . Our provisional goal is somewhere from the 16th to the 21st. See you all then!
As you will all probably have seen, we are also running the first User's Choice Awards on SV which we have run for a long time! This is really exciting for me, and for the Content Promotion team generally, as sort of the next frontier in promoting the best of what SV has to offer, and getting you the users more involved. We hope that this will continue every year following this one, and it should be a great success.
December's Picks will be earlier in the month, as we don't want them to clash with either the Awards themselves, or the start of voting . Our provisional goal is somewhere from the 16th to the 21st. See you all then!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Quests: Mare Internum: An Exalted Quest
by @Crumplepunch
You wake up on a shore with nine fingers, a face you hate and abilities that are talking to you. Mare Internum is a fast-updating Exalted quest heavily inspired by Disco Elysium. First-come-first-serve voting leads to bad decisions.
Try to find your way back.
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in User Fiction: Covenant: an Abrahamic Fantasy Original - Fantasy - Alt. History
by @ScottishMongol
Covenant is a world based on the folklore and mythology of the three main Abrahamic religions. Join Sarai bat Binyamin, Jewish alchemist, and her intrepid crew as they travel in the world's first flying machine and explore a world of wizard-knights and mystic rabbis, djinn and angels, magicians and miracle-workers - in search of the fabled and far-off Kingdom of Prester John!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Category: There Are Only Three Levels Art Quest
by @carni
In a world that runs on video game logic, the villainess Lori has reduced everyone and everything back to LEVEL ONE. Command a crafty heroine, Mary, to loot her Keep and restore the world's lost levels in this PIXEL ART ADVENTURE!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Category: Two Essays on April Daniels' Dreadnought
by @Gargulec
What does make a body a trans body? The two essays on April Daniels' superhero YA novel Dreadnought explore the question in the context of the history of trans medicine, while also investigating the function (and limitations) of the trans power fantasy of a complete bodily transformation.
Article: SV's User Picks for November
Attempting to Fulfill the Plan: GDI Edition
by @Ithillid
Usagi Quest (CK3/Princess Maker) (Sailor Moon)
by @Lunaryon
A Hedge Maze Is You Original
by @Chandagnac
prometheus110
Join Cayman-Global & be part of the 1E-9 percent!
- Location
- La Ballena City Raft
- Pronouns
- He/Him
You done good, Skippy. Keep it up.
December 2021 Picks of the Month
So, as 2021 slides out of the door like a one night stand leaving furtively in the pre-dawn light, and we begin to look 2022 dead on in the headlights, here are our Picks of the Month for December. There are some fantastic threads here, from a questing quartet set in the grim darkness of the forty first millennium, to a wonderful art thread, and much more.
There were a few unusual things about this month's Picks. First, as you have probably noticed, December saw the bulk of the 2021 User's Choice Awards, so we released the Picks in the middle of the month to avoid clashes with the voting and so on. This means they may not have been quite as visible as in other months, but they're still just as great.
Secondly, and more concerningly, there are no User Picks this month! Why? Well, simply put, it's mainly the User Submissions thread did not get any nominations this month, and has bee rather quiet before then, which makes it hard to find Picks. If you want to see more User Picks, then please go to the User Submissions thread and nominate some threads! It could use the love.
See you all in the New Year!
There were a few unusual things about this month's Picks. First, as you have probably noticed, December saw the bulk of the 2021 User's Choice Awards, so we released the Picks in the middle of the month to avoid clashes with the voting and so on. This means they may not have been quite as visible as in other months, but they're still just as great.
Secondly, and more concerningly, there are no User Picks this month! Why? Well, simply put, it's mainly the User Submissions thread did not get any nominations this month, and has bee rather quiet before then, which makes it hard to find Picks. If you want to see more User Picks, then please go to the User Submissions thread and nominate some threads! It could use the love.
See you all in the New Year!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Questing: Rogue Trader: Tales from the Expanse
by @DragonCobolt
An SV first, Tales from the Expanse is a four-part quest series set in Warhammer 40,0000. Each chapter chronicles the story of House Scourge, a Rogue Trader dynasty rising from obscurity to greatness as they match wits with Eldar, Orks, and the fell powers of Chaos themselves!
Take a look at the first chapter of the now-completed quartet!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Questing: Chosen by the Dragon God
by @Chandagnac
Elys Allardyne is the Chosen of Mishrak the Dragon God. Join in her fantastic adventures: travel to wondrous places, battle against demons and monsters, defy the darkness and bring hope to the despairing. Become the heroine the world needs in this charming original fantasy quest.
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Art: Renu's Art Thingies
by @Renu
SV is proud to host a number of very talented artists. Renu's commissioned and non-commissioned work has been excellent and spanned genres, and this Art Thread has over one hundered pages of wonderful art from an artist we're proud to have on SV. Come, take a look!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in GSRPs: Legacy of the Weltkrieg V: A World's Civil War
by @DanBaque
Revolution, democracy, and reaction duke it out in a struggle for the world through diplomacy, internal politics, and war on a scale not yet seen. Read or participate in a genre of history and fiction games where players lead their factions in close contact and competition with each other.
January 2022 Picks of the Month
So, the first month of 2022 is over, and as always we have some more fantastic Picks of the Month to show for it. There were some really interesting threads this month, ones which I think showcase how dynamic the creative scene on SV is.
Of particular note is ANT QUEST, which uses a kind of collaborative voting mechanic - each player's vote determines an equal share of what happens - which is really novel and I have personally never seen before. (This might have been a great entry for the Creative Questing Confabulation which recently finished as part of Winterfest.) Postcards from Eternity is an "AAR" or After Action Report, a kind of Let's Play interweaved with written narrative elements, which are apparently very popular on Paradox Interactive's forums, but quite new here. Then we have Ralson's wonderful Dragon Summoning, another flower in the renaissance of art quests we're seeing on SV right now. And of course The Westerosi II, which is both very entertaining, but also the sequel to a completed fic; we seem to be seeing increasingly many completed fics and quests these days, and it's lovely to see.
All in all, if we have started the year of off like this, then I think we can look forward to another great year for creative projects and writing on SV, and one that promises many more new and exciting things. Lastly, I would once again urge people to please nominate things in the User Submissions thread! We had one last month, which was better than the preceding month, but I would love to see more!
Of particular note is ANT QUEST, which uses a kind of collaborative voting mechanic - each player's vote determines an equal share of what happens - which is really novel and I have personally never seen before. (This might have been a great entry for the Creative Questing Confabulation which recently finished as part of Winterfest.) Postcards from Eternity is an "AAR" or After Action Report, a kind of Let's Play interweaved with written narrative elements, which are apparently very popular on Paradox Interactive's forums, but quite new here. Then we have Ralson's wonderful Dragon Summoning, another flower in the renaissance of art quests we're seeing on SV right now. And of course The Westerosi II, which is both very entertaining, but also the sequel to a completed fic; we seem to be seeing increasingly many completed fics and quests these days, and it's lovely to see.
All in all, if we have started the year of off like this, then I think we can look forward to another great year for creative projects and writing on SV, and one that promises many more new and exciting things. Lastly, I would once again urge people to please nominate things in the User Submissions thread! We had one last month, which was better than the preceding month, but I would love to see more!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Quests: ANT QUEST
by @ScottishMongol
No SV, you are an ant colony.
Play a riot style Quest where every vote matters because each voter controls a portion of all actions done. Control part of a growing ant colony as it battles other colonies and strange monsters in a backyard battlefield, and seeks to gather food and resources to survive the coming winter.
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in User Fiction: The Westerosi II: Subprime Directives
by @Mal-3
It has been seven months since Captain Jade Hasegawa crash-landed on Planetos, the fantastical world of weirwoods and dire wolves. She rapidly finds herself thrust into the cutthroat politics of Westeros, making new friends, more than a few enemies, and completely trashing Starfleet first contact regs along the way.
But the White Walkers are rising, and it will take every ally and piece of far-out technology Jade has at her disposal to stop them.
Check out the second instalment of this epic crossover now!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Art Quests: Dragon Summoning
by @Ralson
In a research university floating high in the sky, there lived a dragon. Having tamed nature and the scourge of wizards, Zalan Iniri faces dragonkind's greatest enemy: Deadlines.
Dragon Summoning is a suggestion-driven art quest combining elements of fantasy, science fiction, and cultivation fiction, to finally answer the question: Was Half-Life an isekai?
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Alternate History: Postcards from Eternity
by @Photomajig
A narrative AAR and historical epic following the Tuscan House of Guerra and the mighty realm they build from 1066 to 1945, Postcards of Eternity weaves together a playthrough of Paradox Interactive grand strategy games, records of an alternative history and tales of horror, and a mystery where immortals and strange powers touch the world.
Article:
- Location
- Canada
Heyo, thank you very much for the User pick, just wanted to quickly say though since the title doesn't really tell you anything beauty and the beast is an Neon Genesis Evangelion Alternate universe fanfic. Hard to describe it more concisely than that as it doesn't have one main divergence from canon but many with various original characters and added elements from various Eva canons to spice things up. Hope people enjoy.
Isn't it a riot quest?
- Location
- Outside the Box
- Pronouns
- She/Her
ANT QUEST is a riot quest, a rare quest format that's nonetheless been used for years now. (The earliest tagged riot quest on SV is from 2015.) Basically, each vote creates one action, and players must collaborate multiple actions together to accomplish goals. Though the exact mechanics vary between each quest.
Also yeah this is a problem I wanted to post about. I don't know why the user picks don't include any synopsis/description? The synopsis is what actually draws in people. Me at least. I never click on anything from user picks or even look at that banner nowadays because a title just doesn't tell me anything. Personally it was better when there was only 1 user pick because at least there was a description.
If there's a length problem with the banner at least it could be included when there's only 1-2 user picks and left out when there are more assuming there aren't any workarounds. Although again for me having fewer user picks represented but having more information about the works would always be better.
I have added the [NGE] tag from the title to the description here, and when I get a chance I will have that amended to the banner as well. Hope this is helpful.
Yes, it is, as the banner description says.
I just personally have never encountered a quest like that in my travels on SV (different strokes I guess), and I thought it was pretty cool!
So, this is a policy change we made because last year, we were getting a lot of User Submissions, and were unable to turn all of them into Picks, which understandably left a lot of people upset. Making User Picks a dedicated category so that we could promote more stuff was the solution we came up with, in essence. (Although User Submissions can still become regular Picks of the Month, too, if we really like them.) In the first few months, I think this worked great. Obviously right now, we're once again stuck for submissions, so it's less of an issue, but historically we've always had more submissions than we could fill under the old system.
A key issue is that we cannot really do more than 4-5 Picks per Month, or it's too much stuff for a forum user to read. I do see what you're saying here, though. Personally I don't know how many other users are like you in terms of the liking a synopsis thing, but I'm sure many are, and I really appreciate that you took the time to respond here.
Perhaps we could look at including a very short summary, like one sentence, underneath each user Pick, just to give people an idea of what it is about?
grommile
nasty-minded old cynic
- Location
- NERV-Mercia
- Pronouns
- Traditional/Animate
Is there some machinery that could transclude the actual thread summary?
Yeah, that would be better than the current system for me.
February 2022 Picks of the Month
As we are now a few steps into March, here (rather belatedly) are February's Picks of the Month! There were some great Picks this month, with some really interesting quest concepts which are well worth a look, and of course some excellent writing as always by ES and Aleph. Given how troubling and stressful recent world events have been, I think we could all use a few more stories which make us smile.
Unfortunately, there were no User Picks this month, so we could not implement this change. However, I promise that when we do have some, I will try out the new system as we discussed.
I would urge people to please make submissions to the User Submissions Thread, as this is something we depend on both for finding new User Picks and Picks of the Month!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Quests: Journeywoman's Journeys, A Fantasy Age of Exploration Worldbuilding Quest
by @AKuz
Follow Archaeologist Journeywoman Anne-Saht on her travels across the world of Meht in a Quest which allows voters to construct the world around the protagonist.
Vote on the nature of magic, politics, and more as you flesh out the world with greater details. What is this world like, and how does that affect Anne?
Answer (and Pose!) all this and more in Journeywoman's Journeys, A Fantasy Age of Exploration Worldbuilding Quest (Updated Daily)
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in User Fiction: The Postdiluvian Road
by @Aleph and @EarthScorpion
In the web serial Worm, Brockton Bay weathered a kaiju attack battered and flooded but mostly intact. In this story of two intertwined viewpoints, it was not so lucky. Follow Taylor Hebert and Lisa Wilbourn as they flee the flooded ruins; two refugees trying to stay afloat with nobody left but each other. Featuring crime and fighting (though not so much crime-fighting), life on the road, and the trials and challenges faced by a friendship that borders on codependent.
If a street-level, character-driven exploration of homelessness, loss, recovery and mutual support appeals, this is the story for you.
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Quests: Game Design Company Quest!
by @Doordox
Have you ever read about recent decisions by a famous tabletop gaming company and thought "even I could do that better"? In Games Design Company Quest, you get to give it a try!
Check out this charmingly original management quest now, and lead your company to greatness.
Unfortunately, there were no User Picks this month, so we could not implement this change. However, I promise that when we do have some, I will try out the new system as we discussed.
I would urge people to please make submissions to the User Submissions Thread, as this is something we depend on both for finding new User Picks and Picks of the Month!
March 2022 Picks of the Month
So, rather belatedly, these were our Picks of the Month for March. Some really good threads here, with another intricately detailed alternate-historical-fantasy by @Cetashwayo; a fascinating historical discussion thread started by @EricD and featuring many of SV's other finest armchair historians; and a Worm fanfic with an original premise (as much as one would imagine every possible Wormfic has been written in TYOOL 2022) by @Pale Wolf which I am assured is top-drawer, an estimation I can confirm from the chapters I've read. A strong slate all around.
Also, the User Submissions thread has seen some more submissions recently, which I'm very pleased about. One of them, Kingdom of God, was our Quests Pick for March as you can see below, but there have been some further submissions more recently. Please keep 'em coming!
April's Picks will be coming at the end of the month, as usual, so here's hoping that spring is treating you all well. See you here again in a few weeks with some more fantastic Picks!
Also, the User Submissions thread has seen some more submissions recently, which I'm very pleased about. One of them, Kingdom of God, was our Quests Pick for March as you can see below, but there have been some further submissions more recently. Please keep 'em coming!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Quests: Kingdom of God: A Quest of Holy Revolution
by @Cetashwayo
In a world where religion and politics are one and the same, the Patriarchate of Vaspukaran stumbles towards collapse. Play as one of the outcast dissident sects struggling for survival as the last days of Empire play out. As the granaries run dry, and poverty and revolution both stalk the land... can you emerge triumphant to create a new world?
Will you build the Kingdom of God, or see it thrown forever into ruin?
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in User Fiction: Lady
by @Pale Wolf
Emily Piggot hates capes, and she hates herself almost as much. Not too long ago, these were separate hatreds. But now she finds that she herself has become a cape, and struggles to come to terms with this whilst battling to protect Brockton Bay from its usual selection of perils.
Read the story of this unlikeliest of heroes in this Quest turned User Fic.
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Essays and Worldbuilding: Historical combat for writers and world-builders
by @EricD
Ever wanted to know how to write a fantasy battle? HEMA expert @EricD leads a dive into the nitty-gritty of pre-modern warfare and how writers seeking authenticity might translate that into their prose. If that describes you, or you're interested in the history behind the Hollywood choreography you can see on the screen today, then have a read!
April's Picks will be coming at the end of the month, as usual, so here's hoping that spring is treating you all well. See you here again in a few weeks with some more fantastic Picks!
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April 2022 Picks of the Month
So, as April draws to a close and May begins, the delights and heat of summer beckoning around the corner, we once again look back to all the great things on SV over the last month. Our Picks for April were a real corker, with some wonderful fiction, and in keeping with last month's trend, another really interesting and well-researched historical essay. What a lovely selection of works to commemorate our community's eight anniversary with.
Also very excitingly, we had three User Picks! It's been great seeing the User Submissions thread become more active again, and I hope it continues - which means please, keep submitting. Congratulations to all of the worthy authors who had their great work submitted.
Now without further ado, the Picks of the Month for April:
Also very excitingly, we had three User Picks! It's been great seeing the User Submissions thread become more active again, and I hope it continues - which means please, keep submitting. Congratulations to all of the worthy authors who had their great work submitted.
Now without further ado, the Picks of the Month for April:
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Quests: Hic sunt Extraterrestris
by @Jenny
At the height of the Cold War, the world was forced to cooperate to thwart an alien colonization attempt. Now, sixteen years on, the UN has entrusted you with helping Earth find its place in the galactic community. Seek out new horizons and explore an original sci-fi setting in Hic sunt Extraterrestris!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in User Fiction: Birds of a Feather
by @Elephant Parade
In this charming short story which blends elements of noir and urban fantasy, meet Alex, a bird magician who runs an avian courier service. But when one of his birds goes missing during a delivery, will Alex be able to uncover the sinister plot behind it? Read today and find out!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Original Essays: Majesty Enduring: Seleucid resilience in the wake of the Seleucid-Roman War
by @JoergenJetsam
Historians have often been quick to chart the path of Rome's ascent, but was the swift demise of their eastern rivals as assured as it might sometimes seem? In this essay, @JoergenJetsam discusses the Seleucid empire in the wake of the Roman-Seleucid war, aiming to showcase how its eventual fall was far from a foregone conclusion at this point.
Article: SV's User Picks for April
Not Quite Lovecraft
by @Blacksheep
Honorverse AU: Honor of the Queen
by @dptullos
Broken Adventure
by @theaceoffire
May 2022 Picks of the Month
It's been another month, and as spring turns into summer, we can celebrate the changing of seasons with some wonderful Picks of the Month. Our two-year anniversary is also coming up next month, and it feels rather special to say that.
Manga Editor Quest has an inventive premise, and is a great addition to the mini-genre of management quests which SV has seen in recent years. (Much like Moneyball, it makes the reader care about a subject matter which they probably did not before reading.) Towards the Golden Throne takes two genres which are very familiar, and manages to put a fresh spin on both whilst telling a great story. Miraxa SH-43893 is as arrogant and driven as cultivator protagonists typically tend to be, but has a human heart underneath it all. (Or possibly a fusion reactor. Same thing.) Last but certainly not least we have Anyone can Be a Pilot, which has simply what may be the greatest concept for a fanfic of all time, and is written with a lovely fondness.
We saw less activity in the submissions thread this month, and what activity there was may be being saved for a later date, so no User Picks this month. Please keep nominating!
Manga Editor Quest has an inventive premise, and is a great addition to the mini-genre of management quests which SV has seen in recent years. (Much like Moneyball, it makes the reader care about a subject matter which they probably did not before reading.) Towards the Golden Throne takes two genres which are very familiar, and manages to put a fresh spin on both whilst telling a great story. Miraxa SH-43893 is as arrogant and driven as cultivator protagonists typically tend to be, but has a human heart underneath it all. (Or possibly a fusion reactor. Same thing.) Last but certainly not least we have Anyone can Be a Pilot, which has simply what may be the greatest concept for a fanfic of all time, and is written with a lovely fondness.
We saw less activity in the submissions thread this month, and what activity there was may be being saved for a later date, so no User Picks this month. Please keep nominating!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Questing: Don't Miss Your Deadline!
by @zamin
Making a manga is no easy feat. Being a manga editor is no better, especially when you're stuck working for a failing, dysfunctional magazine. In an office filled with mediocre manuscripts, eccentric artists, and out of touch managers, can you lead your team of mangakas to success?
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Questing: Towards the Golden Throne
by @Maugan Ra
As the Age of Apostasy rages, the Young Mistress of the Omnissiah's Blood Sect is kidnapped by mysterious cultists. With vengeance in her heart and sunfire in her fists she must escape and foil their malefic schemes. An inventive retelling of the 36th Millennia as a Xianxia setting.
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in User Fiction: Anyone Can Be a Pilot
by @Thuktun F
Everyone faces problems being a pilot. For Shinji, it's trying to prove his worth to everyone, especially his father. For Rei, it's trying to connect with the world around her through Eva. For Asuka, you could write a book.
As for me? Well, my problem is that I'm a rat.
Chandagnac
Broken Robot
- Location
- Nowhere
So...
In December 2021, this happened:
To be honest, I'm not sure I managed that. This latest quest never seemed to have very many readers, so I've no idea how it didn't just slip under the radar.
And then, in January 2022, I had a seizure and really scared myself, and I fell into depression and had a complete meltdown, and I declared that I was abandoning the quest and going off to do something else.
But now I've come back to it. Because, even if it's a lot of work, I enjoy it. And I want other people to enjoy it.
Please take a look, if you haven't already. I have a great bunch of loyal readers, but it'd be nice to see a few more.
And, oh yeah, I'm back!
In December 2021, this happened:
To be honest, I'm not sure I managed that. This latest quest never seemed to have very many readers, so I've no idea how it didn't just slip under the radar.
And then, in January 2022, I had a seizure and really scared myself, and I fell into depression and had a complete meltdown, and I declared that I was abandoning the quest and going off to do something else.
But now I've come back to it. Because, even if it's a lot of work, I enjoy it. And I want other people to enjoy it.
Please take a look, if you haven't already. I have a great bunch of loyal readers, but it'd be nice to see a few more.
And, oh yeah, I'm back!
June 2022 Picks of the Month
June has been a real cracker of a month for Picks!
We've got a 16,000 word short story which blends bleeding edge online culture and postmodern alienation with some good old ol' fashined cosmic horror, a really charming Versus thread which serves as testament to the surprising regeneration of versus debates as a genre, and of course a treat for the thousands of passionate Morb Heads on SV. (Showing that Sony should definitely make a sequel, we will all absolutely pay money to go and see it.) All in all, a bumper crop for the summer.
In other news, this is also the two-year anniversary of Picks of the Month on SV! (Technically it's slightly over two years, the actual anniversary date is June 8th.) Head down to the anniversary thread to meet the Content Promotion team, and discuss new ideas for how to make the next two years even better.
See you all next month, and hope you have a great July!
We've got a 16,000 word short story which blends bleeding edge online culture and postmodern alienation with some good old ol' fashined cosmic horror, a really charming Versus thread which serves as testament to the surprising regeneration of versus debates as a genre, and of course a treat for the thousands of passionate Morb Heads on SV. (Showing that Sony should definitely make a sequel, we will all absolutely pay money to go and see it.) All in all, a bumper crop for the summer.
In other news, this is also the two-year anniversary of Picks of the Month on SV! (Technically it's slightly over two years, the actual anniversary date is June 8th.) Head down to the anniversary thread to meet the Content Promotion team, and discuss new ideas for how to make the next two years even better.
See you all next month, and hope you have a great July!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Quests: Morbquest - Road to Hell
by @Plausitivity
Like Morbius? Hate B.S.?
Michael Morbius, M.D., at your service. Join him as he tries to improve life for those suffering from the same illness he has, despite the magical and technological barriers.
Time is short however, and the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Yet there are never a shortage..
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in User Fiction: Eldritch Voidtuber Viridian's Blood-Stream
by @Omicron
Some of us escape an alienating, atomized modern reality by finding companionship and purpose in online communities. And for some of us 'online' means a psychic network woven into the void, and 'companionship and purpose' means hunting down horrors born of the human mind for an audience of eldritch beings from beyond reality.
Viridian S. Laughter is her stage name, and she's come to Blue Hills Apartments with violent intent.
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Versus Debates: Batman Vs. Everyone on SV and SB
In the summer of 2022, Sufficient Velocity came together to answer a single question. Perhaps the most important question in human history.
Could all of us beat Batman in a fight?
The answers may surprise you! Check out the thread to get your say, and take part in the Versus Debates renaissance.
Article: Celebrating Two Years of Picks of the Month
Has it really been two years already?
Come and meet the Content Promotion Team as they look back over two years of Picks of the Months, and look ahead to the future.
- Location
- Brittany, France
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Thank you for this, I am much honored to have this story selected as Pick of the Month.
July 2022 Picks of the Month
So, guess who forgot that they had not put July's Picks into the thread yet? Definitely not me!
Anyway, as we are now well into the last days of high summer, let's look back at some of the great things SVers were doing in July, and look forward to an autumn no doubt equally packed with great writing and art. (Or spring, if you're living in upside down land and reading this post on a wombat-powered device.) July was a notably strong month for essays, which seem to be doing well lately on SV, and we also finally Picked For the Tyrants Fear Your Might, which had been on our list for a few months and kept having to be pushed back.
See you all again in a few weeks!
Anyway, as we are now well into the last days of high summer, let's look back at some of the great things SVers were doing in July, and look forward to an autumn no doubt equally packed with great writing and art. (Or spring, if you're living in upside down land and reading this post on a wombat-powered device.) July was a notably strong month for essays, which seem to be doing well lately on SV, and we also finally Picked For the Tyrants Fear Your Might, which had been on our list for a few months and kept having to be pushed back.
See you all again in a few weeks!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Quests: For The Tyrants Fear Your Might
by @AKuz, @clockworkchaos, @Amorous Intent, @BiopunkOtrera and @The Laurent
Check out a (mostly) hard science-fiction cyberpunk dystopia. Control the legislature of the Radiant system after overthrowing your megacrop in a galaxy where Earth and Humanity still lie under Big Mammon's thumb.
Fight the Man: with fleets, with diplomacy, with espionage, and with Artificial Intelligence, persecuted catgirls, and delusional space captains! Every tool is needed to preserve your freedom and save a galaxy rapidly descending into tyranny and barbarism!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Original Essays: Why Couldn't It Have Been Me? Trans Envy and Maya Deane's Wrath Goddess Sing
by @Gargulec
Wrath Goddess Sing is a trans retelling of the Illiad. Achilles has fled her home and gone into exile with the priestesses of Skyros, prepared to die rather than fight in the Trojan War as a man, before Athena intervenes and gifts her with a new body.
But what happens when transformation meets the reality of trans envy? What do our stories of transformation reveal about us? Read this insightful essay about one of the most interesting novels of 2022 to find out.
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Original Essays: East Asian Tactics: Evolution of Late-Joseon-Dynasty Korean Linear Field Formations
by @Guderian2nd
Too often East Asian military history has been underappreciated and understudied in the West. Guderian2nd redresses the balance, collating an impressive array of primary sources about the military of Joseon dynasty Korea, including his own translations and commentary.
Whether you are a fan of gunpowder warfare, or a worldbuilder curious about what happened when arquebusiers faced riflemen, give this treasure trove a look.
Article: SV's User Picks for July
Catalyst Quest: Death Defiant
by @Alaric
Tam Lin's Monsterworld
by @Tam Lin
August 2022 Picks of the Month
So as we move into the last quarter of 2022, it's time to look at August's Picks!
This month ended up having quite a strong Star Trek theme, totally by accident, but when we saw sketch's great Enterprise fic, and then Athene reviving her own Enterprise review thread, and then remembered that Dragon Cobolt was doing a Voyager quest, it seemed to good to pass up... I find it interesting that each of these threads is in some way taking one of the ugly ducklings of Trek TV series, and finding something fun or worthwhile in them. Either through solid critical analysis and wit, as in Athene's thread, or by reimagining a better version of the story, as in A Long Road and I Can Reach Any Star.
We also have a great GSRP in this month's Picks, the latest in a successful franchise of interlinked games set in the same universe. Gundam is already no stranger to themes of warring states and subterfuge, so seems well suited to use as a motif for a GSRP. The more you read the thread, the more you see the rich layers of history in this world created by players in successive games. Plus we have a User Submission! Please keep them coming!
That's it for this month, so in the immortal words of Greenday: wake me up when September ends.
This month ended up having quite a strong Star Trek theme, totally by accident, but when we saw sketch's great Enterprise fic, and then Athene reviving her own Enterprise review thread, and then remembered that Dragon Cobolt was doing a Voyager quest, it seemed to good to pass up... I find it interesting that each of these threads is in some way taking one of the ugly ducklings of Trek TV series, and finding something fun or worthwhile in them. Either through solid critical analysis and wit, as in Athene's thread, or by reimagining a better version of the story, as in A Long Road and I Can Reach Any Star.
We also have a great GSRP in this month's Picks, the latest in a successful franchise of interlinked games set in the same universe. Gundam is already no stranger to themes of warring states and subterfuge, so seems well suited to use as a motif for a GSRP. The more you read the thread, the more you see the rich layers of history in this world created by players in successive games. Plus we have a User Submission! Please keep them coming!
That's it for this month, so in the immortal words of Greenday: wake me up when September ends.
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Quests: STAR TREK: A Long Road
by @DragonCobolt
Dragon Cobolt tackles the question that has bedevilled and confounded the world's most erudite thinkers: What if Star Trek: Voyager was actually really good?
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in User Fiction: I Can Reach Any Star
by @open_sketch
This story takes the rather confused portrayal of Vulcan-Human relations in Star Trek: Enterprise, and asks: "Wouldn't this make more sense if it was part of an ongoing history of colonialism?"
The result is a fascinating narrative which blends original with reimagining, and suggests that if only we can breach the final frontier in our hearts, we can surely reach any star.
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Original Essays & Reviews: Athene Watches Star Trek Enterprise: How To Get Away With Franchise Murder
by @Athene
Join a narcissistic captain, southern fried engineer, long suffering tactical officer, even more long suffering Vulcan Liaison, a deeply unethical doctor, a dying alien slug and the rest of the crew, as they embark on a four year mission: To keep the ratings high enough to not get cancelled and boldly going where everyone has gone before!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Grand Strategy Role Plays: Gundam Frankenreich S3
by @Aedan777 and Others
The latest entry in a multi-game series, Gundam Frankenreich S3 is inspired by many great sci-fi series to create an original setting, dominated by war, devastation, and deceptive plotting. Across the solar system, humanity fights and dies for what it believes.
Article:
September 2022 Picks of the Month
- Location
- Ohio
- Pronouns
- He/Him
And with it now being fall, here comes September's Picks.
Not necessarily much to say, but we have a variety of picks this month. A quest from BiopunkOtrera and Peel that has you waking up upon a ship with no memories... A fresh brand-new documentary on Jurassic Park by Ravensbridge... and finally famed SV author Omicron is taking upon themselves to go through an obscure JRPG series.
Not necessarily much to say, but we have a variety of picks this month. A quest from BiopunkOtrera and Peel that has you waking up upon a ship with no memories... A fresh brand-new documentary on Jurassic Park by Ravensbridge... and finally famed SV author Omicron is taking upon themselves to go through an obscure JRPG series.
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Quests: FFFF
by @BiopunkOtrera and @Peel
Stella has been having a rough day since she woke up on a deserted spaceship next to five strangers. Topping the list of worries: she has no memories, and her real name is not Stella. Oh, and the ship is being boarded.
Help Stella and her new friends survive and explore in this fascinating transhuman space opera!
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in User Fiction: Bone and Amber: The Inside Story On The Return Of The Dinosaurs
by @Ravenbridge
A miracle has been achieved: Mesozoic dinosaurs have been brought back to life - not by a university or a government programme, but by venture capitalists, for reasons of profit. Find out what world-changing events ensue in this story told in the form of a deep-dive documentary, where Jurassic Park meets Defunctland.
Article: Sufficient Velocity Pick of the Month in Let's Plays: Let's Play Every Final Fantasy Game In Order Of Release
by @Omicron
In this charming Let's Play thread of the obscure JRPG series ファイナルファンタジー (Final Fantasy), tag along as celebrated SV author and reviewer Omicron attempts to play every game in the series, and begins a slow odyssey into madness.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
In truth, there's really between 8 and like 20 strangers with Stella at this point in the quest, depending on how you count.
Bone and Amber is honestly one of the the more interesting stories I've read on SV in a while. Whilst it succeeds on a narrative level, really selling the feel of watching a deep dive documentary, it's also impeccably well researched. (Which I think is part of what makes it so convincing.) The stuff about Cretaceous plants and about the T-Rex with the broken neck were all completely new to me.