Nocturne Alley

[pegkerr]

*Sob* So nocturne_alley is over. What will we do without it?

I originally wasn't going to do this. Then I decided, what the hell. Then I got cold feet again. Now I'm back to blurting it out. So here I go before I change my mind again.

For the past fifteen months, I have been playing Neville Longbottom, wheresmytoad on nocturne_alley.

I like mentoring writers. Upon occasion when I've read something fictional on the internet that I really like, and I think the writer(s) might have talent, I'll contact them and say, "You know, you should think about trying to do this professionally." I ran across nocturne_alley about eighteen months--good lord, I could hardly avoid it. Practically all my friends talked about it in their journals and had it on their friends list. I read this post where Harry was outed, and I thought, geez, some of this stuff has potential. Although I knew players in the game were anonymous, I e-mailed a friend who I had a pretty good hunch was involved, and said, if you know any of the players, please pass on from me that I think some of them are doing excellent work, maybe professional-caliber work, and they should know that.

And I added casually as a P.S. to the end of message, wow, this game sure looks like fun. Wish I'd been in on it at the beginning, I might have liked to have given it a try.

She wrote back and said, are you serious? Because we could find an opening for you.

Wow. Um, yeah, sure. Why not?

They offered me a couple parts, and I chose Neville. And I'm glad that I did, because I have come to love him even more dearly. I made him (I hope) endearingly clumsy, and perfectly capable of sticking his foot in his mouth and getting everyone hacked off at him just when he's trying to do or say the right thing. I gave him a summer job and a muggle girlfriend and a hobby designing bonsai trees. And I hope I gave him a little bit of truth, and made him fun (if occasionally maddening) to read.

This was my first post.

Shortly after I started with the game, Sirius and Remus got married (yeah, yeah, we're talking fantasy here), and of course, this was the occasion of the famous incident where the veritaserum got into the punchbowl at the reception. See Neville's participation here, here (where I finally got to tell off Snape) and here.

(Discerning people might notice, by the way, that while under the influence of the veritaserum, Sirius Black revealed that one of the people that he slept with was Sean Donnelly, one of my characters from The Wild Swans. That chuffed me very much.)

I was hooked.

Another fond memory involved Neville managing to blow up the Hogwarts library. See here here and here.

Here is the post where the fan community nraged interviewed Neville. That was fun, too.

I had never ever been involved in anything as frivolous as a role-playing game before and it's been delightful. It has been unbelievably fun. And I found, when done really really well, role-playing can be more than frivolous. It can get at the core of the human condition in ways that can break your heart. nocturne_alley was all about choosing a heart of flesh over a heart of stone (think Lucius Malfoy), which is why it was exactly suited for me.

It wasn't too much of a time commitment, although it was occasionally, but whenever I started feeling guilty, I would ask myself, what else are you doing in your life just for the sheer fun of it?

I do wish I had been in on that game from the beginning, as I think it would have changed my interactions a bit with the other players if I had started with the rest. But I'm so grateful that they let me come to play with them in their sandbox. I hope that, in my own small way, my additions to the group sand castle were good ones. Thanks for all the memories, nocturne_alley.

(So . . . are you surprised?)

If you've written a post about what nocturne_alley meant to you in your Livejournal and are so inclined, leave me the link in a comment to the entry. Thanks!

(Ok . . my finger's hovering over the "post" button. Okay, I'll do it. Posting.)

(Eeeek.)

Comments

[anemonerose.livejournal.com]

My post about NA is here.

And you were a fantastic Neville. :)

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

Welcome to the grand community of role-playing. *g* I actually don't do any online/email gaming any more, because it doesn't have the energy for me that face to face does, but it's always nice to find another gaming geek in the making.

*g*

[sternel.livejournal.com]

ack.

You?

REALLY?!

That just made my night!!!

And I almost feel kind of stupid for not realizing, because looking back now -- and knowing to look for it -- I can see your style all over Neville's entries.

I was a complete NA lurker the whole time. I hardly ever commented on Nraged, but I voraciously read *everything,* and laughed, and cried, and developed a total crush on lupercus, and I will forever until my dying day treasure the little mental image I have of Harry and Sirius going to Amsterdam together, because they said they would, and Seamus and Dean taking their leap, and Neville finally taking that deep breath and standing up straight. His (Your?) last post brought tears to my eyes, and it was all I could do to not start dancing around the room going "Yes! Go Neville!"

Sidenote: I had always loved Neville for having a bonsai tree, because my grandfather used to grow them. That was such a personal thing, for me, and it really is what brought him alive for me.

My little wibbly-loff fest to NA is on my journal here, since you've asked for linkage.

Much much loff to you, Peg, for the amazing work you did. You guys made your little slice of Hogwarts its own form of canon for me, and I'll miss it. Thanks.

[sincelastjuly.livejournal.com]

(So . . . are you surprised?)

:O

YES.

:O PEG!

:X!

[vass]

(So . . . are you surprised?)

Yes! And delighted. I liked Neville, and I was so glad to see him come into his own in the final battle.

Thank you for your part in it.

[ex-greythist387.livejournal.com]

I only dropped in on nocturne_alley due to limited time (it quite deservedly led many people to read it avidly, all the time, every day, whenever updated)--but I remember appreciating Neville's summer job and the bonsais and thinking they were lovely touches.

And I'm glad you revealed that you'd been playing him.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lore/]

Finally! I can do this:

*fanpersons*!!!!

OK, I'm done now. *grin*

love, lore

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lore/]

Oh, wait, I had a question too. So, not done. heh.

How come no one commented much in Neville's journal? I don't think his journal entries ever got more than 30 posts. Usually one or two or none. Was that by design? Feel free to screen this comment if it's...anything. :)

love, lore

[mariannec.livejournal.com]

Thank you

Mischief managed! (http://www.livejournal.com/users/mariannec/47822.html)

[nsmom.livejournal.com]

Neville was always my favorite character on NA - I remember when he got into the Veritiserum at the wedding reception AND when he told off Snape. That has to go down as one of the best RPG threads ever.

And I remember when Sirius announced he'd slept with Sean - I was so tickled, because I'd just read your book, and I love seeing the reference.

Thanks for the tour down memory lane.

[keewick.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to comment to let you know that Neville's account of the attack here (http://www.livejournal.com/community/nocturne_alley/251210.html) was the one that stayed with me. I actually got shivers reading it that first time.

And this - I made him (I hope) endearingly clumsy, and perfectly capable of sticking his foot in his mouth and getting everyone hacked off at him just when he's trying to do or say the right thing - was never quite so clear as when he closed said account with 'There will be other stuff later on, I know, but the only other thing I guess I want to say is I never thought I would ever be so sorry for Draco Malfoy. I can't imagine how he must feel, knowing that his father was involved, murdering children, including some from his own house.'

[aome.livejournal.com]

Like _lore, I'm thrilled to finally be able to publicly fangirl your contribution as wheresmytoad. Whee!!!

I loved him, I really did. He made interesting observations, but he had his sense of humor, too. I adored last summer's storyline with the Muggle girl and the lessons he learned from the gardener.

His contribution to this post had me laughing.

I have a question, though, the answer to which might be obvious, but my memory has been stolen by my daughter. When Neville blew up the library - I remember Snape eventually making some kind of breakthrough about why he'd done it (he'd broken a Memory Charm?) and how he could learn to handle it. I remember there was a veiled compliment that he thought Neville *could* learn to handle it. What I don't remember is why - why did he blow up the library? What triggered it and what was the memory?

I didn't realise you'd only started shortly before the wedding - I think I started reading regularly about a month before that. That was a *great* start. I thought you'd been doing it ages longer than that - it feels like he's always been there.

Congrats again on a lovely, charming character.

[alegriagraciela.livejournal.com]

I had wondered if you were going to announce this or not. :D

I'm really going to miss reading your Neville Peg, but I take comfort in the fact that we can still discuss all things Nev from time to time.

>:D< He was...no, is lovely, and I plan on going down memory lane with him very soon and often. :X :X :X

[novembersnow.livejournal.com]

Neville! I had no idea. You did a wonderful job. :)

(And, if you're interested, my comments on the end of NA are here.)

NA question

[splagxna.livejournal.com]

so... i've heard so many people talking about it i thought i might check it out and read from the beginning forward, just to follow the story. but then i realized - not only is there the NA community story, but all the individual people have journals. isn't it hugely... crazy... to follow all that?

Re: NA question

[cheshyre]

I just discovered it now near the end as well.
Somebody pointed me to historic_alley which appears to be an archive of nraged, allowing one to read by date or incident.

You know, I wish LJBook could handle an entire friendslist, because that would be a great way to read it all at one's leisure...

[BTW, *I* find it cool that you played Neville.]

Re: NA question

[kate_nepveu]

When it was going on, we used to be able to follow it through the friends page.

Some people over on nraged have announced a project to get all the links in chronological order so people can easily read it from the start.

(And no I had no idea! I loved NA!Neville as a person, as well as a character, and I am so impressed that you were able to round him out and fit NA into your demanding schedule.)

Re: NA question

[aome.livejournal.com]

Erm - aren't the links already in chronological order? I can't think of a time when the game progressed out of order.

Re: NA question

[kate_nepveu]

Across journals, that is. Each individual journal is in order, but subjects wander across the community and player journals, so unless you're willing to have a whole lot of browser windows open, it's tricky.

Does that make more sense?

[perigee.livejournal.com]

That's extremely cool. I used to do this kind of role playing online on GEnie and Quantum Link (two very old networks pre-Intarweb). It's good to hear it's still around, should my fingers start a-itching again.

[tarie.livejournal.com]

Peg, I'll miss your NA!Neville. I did so love his posts - his worries, his clumbsiness, his caring, his bonsai trees, his girl woes, everything! I'm just sorry our paths never crossed on NA. Not, of course, that any path-crossing would have been good for poor Nev. ;)

[morganmuffle]

0.0
Wow. I never realised Neville was you. You were completely fantastic though. Neville has been so amazing over the last year, all his bonsai trees and deciding what job he wanted this summer... Thank you for being so wonderful and letting us fangirls in on the fun.

(my post on the end of NA is here)