Rictus & Apebe

[Warspite]

AAR Writers of the Week : Rictus & Apebe

Welcome back folks, its a new week and its time to lift up two more writers and get to know them a bit more.

First is a solid veteran of the AAR forum, Rictus. I remember last year around April and May you started to get busy on the AAR forum and helped Ariel create some of the most famous collaborative AARs on the forums. Such as "The Case of the Oerheated chamber pot". I know many of the guys were from England and you helped make that group a very big part of building the forum up. Thanks for that
Your AAR on the "Golden Horde in 40 easy Steppes" is one of the neatest titles on the forum, very clever. Your presence in the bAAR and help in so many other threads has made you a regular in our little AAR pub. Its a pleasure writing with you this past year and a half, now if you could, tell us more about yourself and lets have a bit of a chat around the table to get to know you. This threads for you well half of it is anyways


I want to put the spotlight on another member of the forum who has been here only a month or so and has produced one of the most original ideas for an AAR "AART is AARt the odd painting experiment" and it has become one of my favorites of late because, well I like pictures, especially ones of great sailboats Apebe it is really nice to have you on the forum and It is my pleasure to get to know you more, please take this time to let it all hang out and tell us about yourself

Again, thank you both for your participation and efforts to enjoy and help others enjoy this forum of writers.

What a Game!

 

[Barkdreg]

Rictus? What can I tell about him?
He has some twisted sense of humourn he clearly drinks way to much, he recently lost his hairs.
I believe he's quite a nice guy and a good adittion to the AAR forum. He became an active AAR participant around the same time as me and we had quite a few adventures together.
Highlights include me nearly killing him and a bachelor party...
Just imagine, Rictus dressed up as a camel.
To bad it only happened in writing.

 

[Norgesvenn]

Rictus, old boy: Congratulations on your award!

I've had the great pleasure of participating together with Rictus in Ariel's "For God, King and St. George" and in the "Free Company" thread. Furthermore, Rictus was one of the participants in "Fear and loathing in the Med", the drunken AAR featuring the young Jedi, MrT, Lord Durham and yours truly.

The clever, witty and slightly twisted "The Golden Horde in 40 Easy Steppes" soon became a favourite of mine among the AARs. Rictus is a funny guy, and one I'm looking forward to meeting at the AAR Con.

Congrats!

Apebe's odd painting experiment really hit home with me. It was very different to the usual first-time approach to an AAR, and I loved it. Apebe seems to be a very nice guy as well, and both he and Rictus have already provided me with great feedback for the future TemplAARs AAR.

Congratulations to you both, and may you stick with the forum until we all end up in retirement homes. Or in my case; cigarette pack.

 

[Apebe]

The Highlight you're giving me is really something wonderful to start a working week with. So thank you Warspite, this thread you're animating each week is something great to try to learn each other a bit more.

So it's with great pleasure I'll give you keys to my existence (woooaaah)…

Full Name. Armand Profe Bracht, but a few years ago changed into Armand Delalande when I became French.
Age : 31, one wife and one lovely kid that just turned 1.


Well I have to say that unlike some youngsters here I have seen Games that aren't played on computers. Hum. I have a computer since/about ten years only, since I was able to work and buy me one. So my first years were spent on Diplomacy, Risk and some French Games called Fief or l'An Mil (that one is a must play). I love that kind of Board Games and I've spent quite a time on them, or inventing new ones where we were playing with a paper, a pencil, some odd dices and a calculating machine to know how many sheep were in that field or if we were able to send our armies into the neighbours provinces.
I have, since I can remember, always loved History and Geography. My first choice for Christmas Presents has always been an Atlas or a Historical Atlas.

The computer came as a relief, but the offer was large so I never went on programming myself.

Meanwhile, by the age of 19 I really didn't know what to do with my life. Well girls took me some time but didn't bring me money. I played a lot of music and started painting as well, but I decided to study economics at la Sorbonne. During the Night I was working in Hotel. That took me to the age of 25 where I was sent to the Army. France had conscription by that time. Having well prepared my National Service I was incorporated as an Aspiring Lieutenant. I'm now a Reserve Captain.

After that I had to go to work for real. I'm now in an advertising by the Object company. I sell goods that are mainly produced in China or Pakistan/ Bangladesh. It's a lot fun.

Now to the Game. It was recommended to me by my best friend. I had great times with it. I also hanged for a while on the French forum, reaching 250 posts or so. But the AARs were sort of rare. My little boy was taking much time so I didn't come to play that much. Also, EU2 was released shortly after and I found it odd to buy the update just a few month after. But I couldn't resist forever and here I am.

Writing in English is difficult if you want to make it interresting. Sometimes I feel like writing non sense or using a 10 years old boy vocabulary. So I came up with this Painting Experiment. Maybe I should have a played a little before starting that campaign (I was warned though), but well, now it's on and it's fun. You all have been great and the feedback is lovely.

As you said, I've been here for only a month or so, but I'm really enjoying this community and hope to stick around for a long, long time.

Dankeschön, Merci, Gracias, Thank You and Skal (just love that word)

 

[Syt]

Congratulations!

Rictus, you have certainly made yourself an indispensable member of this community with your AAR and your mingling with the crowd. I hope you will stick with us a lot longer. A whole lot longer.

The latter wish also extends to Apebe, who IMO has created the optically most beautiful and unique AAR.

 

[unmerged(6777)]

Yeah Warspite. Another great pair of selections!

What can I say about Rictus? Let's see....never try to chat with him in the latter stages of a drunken MP game. I was bent over double trying to hold my aching stomach in after his observations about just how plastered he was and how badly his Papacy was getting whomped (and it was....something to do with extensive drunken annexations of co-religionists...). It was a scream. More seriously, he has consistently provided some great feedback in a number of AARs that I've written and has already been a marvelous participant in the Venice collaborative effort (even if he is a lowly B-Teamer. His Golden Horde AAR remains one of my favourites.

I must say that I very much look forward to meeting him at ARRCON 2003 and raising a pint glass or two.

Apebe's AAR is really inspired and his paintings are simply beautiful. I look forward to seeing many more from this fledgling writer. (And look how cute his kid is!) Welcome to the community.

 

[unmerged(9422)]

Congratulations, Rictus and Apebe!
Very well deserved!

Meiji-Tenno

 

[unmerged(8576)]

Congrats, both of you!

 

[Lord Durham]

First off, congratulations to Apebe for a very fine, original AAR. I must say that I enjoy it immensely, and I hope it's the first of many.

Now, Rictus. Rictus - Rictus - Rictus - Rictus...

I remember the very first words spoke from the young Jedi warrior way back when. He posted a short little piece during the days of the interactive 'Chamberpot' caper back on EU I, asking if he could join in. It was like the first words from the mouth of babes (As in baby, Norg!)

Almost promptly Barkdreg came along and killed him.

Never fear, Sgt. Bloomfield resurrected the fine boy. After all, Jedi's are hard to kill. But, we won't talk about the dog collar, will we?

Since then Rictus, despite the huge age difference (remember, I'm older than dirt), has become a really good friend who has not only participated in every version of my Free Company threads, but has worked behind the scenes with me to ensure their success.

I was only too glad to see him finally take the plunge and begin his own work. For, despite his youngish years, he's developed into one fine writer. I just love everything about his Golden Horde AAR.

The MP drunken session was an absolute hoot, and it's something I hope we have a chance to continue at a later date, assuming the young lad's liver doesn't implode first.

Take a bow, Rictus, I hope to see you next year at AARCon.

 

[Rictus]

*blush*

Awww, you guys...

I'm honoured that I should be up in this hollowed space, and I must admit that I've been walking around with one of those unbearably smug grins since I saw it. Like this: of course, people would never understand if I told them...

So much to say...But first, thanks to everyone I've met here over the year and a half. Cheers for making it a damn decent time

As is tradition, you're going to get a blow by blow account of my (short) life. MrT stylee

Born Allan James Shallice on 18th March 1984 in Greenwich (that Greenwich), I had a remarkably stable and dull infanthood. However, as such contented chidlren are wont to do, I developed a potent rebellious streak. Fights, vandalism, (minor) theft, you name it, I dabbled in it, though I left my Criminal Record and parents out of it. This carried on till I hit Secondary School, where I mellowed out and concentrated on my studies. During those rather boring 5 years, I was the epitome of average (being a WASC* and all), being in the top 10 of my class.

My school was named as one of the lowest 18 in Britain in an ill-founded 'name and shame' governmental policy - I avoided most of the omnipresent bullying by being the biggest bastard on the block. Naturally, this made an impact on my education, but I pulled through with excellant results. Much to most of my friends horror, I stayed on to do my advanced education where I passed with flying colours.

Shortly after the made scramble for University positions known as UCAS (where I recieved my first choice, thank God). St. Mary's, studying History. Which is my one non-electronic-related passion.

As for my other interests, I enjoy reading fantasy fiction (though I'm open to new ideas and stuff) and am an avid Roleplayer, (GURPS and cyberpunk mainly, though Shadowrun and Vampire: TM have been done). As for my taste in music, well, checking out my AAR should give a pretty good indication. I have no love of TV. I also fancy myself as a bit of a writer, though reading through my stuff, its easy to say I still need a way to go.

I picked up EU1 for my birthday last year and joined the forums shortly after with a bug query. I'd already read the preset AARs by Sapura and others and ventured into the AAR shortly after. In there was some sort of paradise. A whole bunch of people who all liked writing, and EU1 (which I loved to pieces). It was like an electronic EUtopia. Shortly after, I discovered the mastepiece of Mr Ariels work, the 'Something a little different AAR', where I met many, many top blokes, among them Lord Durham, Ariel himself, Barkdreg and others. I've tried to check back to these forums almost every day, when I could.

Since that fateful day, I've felt I've got to know many people here well, and would truly consider many of them friends. Too many to name, but it would be criminal to not mention Lord Durham, who has even helped me through some RL troubles I had earlier in the year. Like he said himself, despite the Age Difference, he has become a truly great friend.

One day, we'll finish that Drinking MP game

And I look forward to meeting everyone at the AARCON (sounds like a mad scientists secret weapon).

I'm bound to remember something to write later on, so expect some hefty EDITS.

Oh, and for once, I'm not drunk

*A WASC being a 'White Anglo-Saxon Catholic'

 

[Craig Ashley]

Rictus: I don't know you or your work very well. Still I have checked out "40 Steppes," and anyone who decided to branch the bAAR off on to it's own is OK in my book.

I haven't read "40 Steppes" all the way through, but what I have read is very funny and very good.

Apebe: I have loved you AAR from the beginning. You have some serious talent as both a writer and a painter. What makes your AAR even more impressive is that English is not you native tongue. I really admire anyone who would write a large piece of fiction in a second language.

I can't wait to see what you have in store for us once the painting project is done.

 

[Sorcerer]

Congratulations, both of you!

What I like most about this section is that I get to know some of the famous/infamous members of this forum. It's very nice to learn who's behind those nicks...

 

[Syt]

Originally posted by Sorcerer
infamous

*cough*infamous=berüchtigt*cough*

 

[Sorcerer]

Originally posted by Sytass


*cough*infamous=berüchtigt*cough*

Regarding Rictus, i'd say that is true. Berühmt-berüchtigt would have been better, I admit.

 

[Rictus]

This is going to be one of those long-running Briechreiz (sp) jokes again, sin't it? I'll never know till I get my hands on the relevant dictionary.

 

[Xanadu]

Congratulations guys!

 

[Storey]

I like the idea of combining new writers with the old.

Apebe started out in his first AAR showing imagination in his writing as well as his paintings. I’ve already made my desktop out of one of his posts and my favorite painter, Monet is still to come. Good looking kid Apebe. Boy? Who does he take after in looks?

Let’s see. What do I remember about Rictus? Dog collar, camel suit, Wlak both short and long strided and what various alcoholic beverages not to combine if you want to see straight the next day. Oh and not to forget how to score with someone you wouldn’t throw out of bed for farting. Yep Rictus is a veteran of these hallowed halls and deserves this award. He’s a good man to have in a fight as he has proven in the Free Company and can cause a reader to laugh out loud as he showed in "The Golden Horde in 40 easy Steppes."

Congratulations to you both!

Berühmt-berüchtigt. Ah, I agree.

Joe

 

[unmerged(7996)]

Congratulations Rictus. Thank you for all the laughs and good writing.

Oh...BTW...I found the perfect gal for ya. Take a look:
http://www.bryanandsarah.net/images/library/Fathers Day 2001/sarah-guns-booze.jpg

*** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** ****

Apebe, I just took a look at your AAR...and...now I understand what everyone else is raving about. Excellent, amazingly creative work.

 

[Norgesvenn]

God, Backpack, where do you find all those nasty links?

Well, Rictus, a bottle of JD, a gun and lass... can't be bad? If she's no good, drink her pretty, if it still doesn't help, pull the trigger...

 

[Apebe]

That reminds me someone who use to say at cocktail parties :

" Champaign makes you look very handsome, my lady"

"but I haven't drunk a glass" replies the woman.

" Yes, but I'm at my third bottle" he says....