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[T.O.O.O.]

Oh, wow. Sorry to hear that, Marae, but I'm glad everyone's OK. I've seen what storms can do to trees where I live.

Just a little FYI anecdote: I had planned on writing out Cannax for a long time, but somehow always managed to bring her back. (You know you've been doing this too long when you get THAT attached to your characters!) I always pictured her as some kind of warrior queen, but only because I wanted a scene in which she shows TOOO her Personal Privy, and he refers to it as the Royal Wee. Okay, so the pun didn't make it into the story. I also liked the idea of Yeesha taking her under Her wing (so to speak), but I have no idea what's going to happen there.

I'd also like to say that I thought this project (for lack of a better word) was supposed to be collaborative, but it's getting more and more difficult. When the Main Story stalls, that's when I wander off on my own (mis)adventures. But it's not just enough to complain about a lack of cohesion. We really need to discuss this. Find solutions.

[MystNovice]

Ouch! I'm sorry to hear about all the problems you've been working through, Marae. Nothing upsets your daily routine like being in a constant state of transition. Hopefully, your new roof will lend a firmer foundation for your life, so to speak.

Well, I'm not happy about where things have ended up story-wise, and I really do want to resolve the situation, but I don't presently see a solution given the state of utter ambiguity that things have been left in. While I would like to try to wrap up the plot properly, that's difficult to accomplish when I don't even know which characters are still in Now Here and which were "poofed" back to the A&C, let alone how the "poofed" characters got there. I am simply unwilling to accept "it was god-moded, so there!" I gather that Zander and Jahura expected all the other writers to get together and decide on these things as soon as they left, but given the infrequency with which most writers check in, that's not really practical. What's worse, now that I am aware of the behind-the-scenes-behind-the-scenes discussion that I was never invited to participate in, I have no idea whether or not whatever solution I attempt will just be sabotaging what has already been decided on without my input.

Seeing as I was out of the loop, my take on the situation might not be relevant, but from my perspective, the story got off the rails when the setting was mysteriously moved from the caves of the werewolf cult's mountain stronghold to a modern suburban setting and a lychan-fae war was thrown into the mix. Up until that point, the story we had, such as it was, was the somewhat logical result of the previous contributions of many different writers, none being held in more esteem than any others. Most of the group was being held captive for the efficacy of the peanut-butter-between-the-toes cure while Boppy, Dorian, and Murinna poked around, looking for the source of the link-blocking effect that was preventing everyone from Reltoing out, and as far as I knew, the lychans and Unseelie were allied in their efforts to bring the hotel to Now Here for some unknown purpose. After that point, it was Zander and Jahura's show, and I couldn't figure where to contribute without mucking things up as I could barely recognize the story that was unfolding. Now that Jahura has shared in this thread the unseen discussions on the plot, what happened makes more sense, even if being inconsistent with what came before, but at the time, I was unaware of these blog discussions or that how the plot would unfold had already been decided. Ultimately, though, Zander and Jahura didn't seem to like where they themselves had led the story, so they threw it against the wall and left it for someone else to clean up.

Well, that's my take. Feel free to disregard it and do as you please.

[marae]

"Hopefully, your new roof will lend a firmer foundation for your life, so to speak." I like that. With a new roof securely in place, my life will return to its previous mode, i.e., completely topsy-turvy, as I walk about with my feet firmly planted on the ceiling.

I have still not got caught up on the reading, but perhaps when I have I can make some suggestions about what direction to take this and how to resolve whatever loose ends we feel are worth resolving. Since I don't have much invested in what happened after I went on "vacation," perhaps I can bring in a needed sense of detachment... wait a minute. As I understand it, people have been walking off right, left and center. Sounds like we don't need any more "detachment"!

What I mean is, maybe with a fresh look from a slightly more "outside" perspective, we can get a better sense of how to work things out. Since it sounds like we don't know yet whether or not Marae and Duke and Tully made it back to the hotel (although I know that was Zander's intention), I may have a bit of flexibility there to have one or more of them stay behind and tidy up if necessary or desirable.

I did just read Jahura's comment about not being able to communicate behind the scenes, and I fully feel her pain there. We did a tremendous amount of work "backstage" on OLBH and Faerie and some of the other major story threads, and not having any reliable way to communicate in a non-public venue really puts a damper on our (Zander plus Jahura plus Marae) collective style. It is very challenging to write to a climax or conclusion if you have no collective goal in mind. The reason forumites could write the Mysthillariums was because we did have a collective goal: in addition to whatever goal might be stated at the start of a MH, we always had the ultimate goal of returning to our homes/the forum. Here, I believe the equivalent ultimate goal was to return the A&C to its original location, with most if not all of us along for the ride.

The problem was that we had several writers with several different premises about what had brought us to "Now Here" in the first place. I hoped that this topic would give us a place to work that out, but it looks like it didn't. My apologies for the possibly misleading title (I did catch that in someone's post); I saw this as the equivalent of the old A&C private topic, a place where participants could mingle to discuss anything they wanted, a use far beyond the current need. But I did intend it to be a place we could discuss story if need be. The real drawback is that these discussions will be in public so people who just want to read the story might end up encountering spoilers here if they read this thread first.

That said, let us, by all means, use this thread to best advantage. Now that we have all had a chance to explain our confusion and dissatisfaction with the way things have gone, perhaps we can let those feelings go a bit and try to take things in hand to salvage our story. None of us wants to step on anyone's toes: we all have respect for each others' characters and plot ideas, and that is admirable, as long as we are able to keep it from crippling us; but it sounds like that's exactly what we have not been able to do. However, I do believe that with communication, our extraordinary individual and collective imaginations, and a bit of patience and persistence, we can maintain that respect and still come up with a satisfactory resolution to our story's dilemmas.

And whatever we don't resolve can always be the basis for a sequel.

[T.O.O.O.]

I'm not 100% convinced the story needed to be "god-moded". Okay, so the original storyline/plot got mucked up. We could've probably improvised a way out of that one. We'll never know now. My point is Don't Panic! Have a little faith in our little... erm... group? community? mob? herd? Take a look at some of the past Mysthillariums: http://www.mysthillarium.com/ (Incidentally, when are we going to have another one?)
These stories started really from scratch, and yet we managed to improvise our way into some really (for lack of a better word) interesting tales.

Show a little faith in your fellow writers - and in yourselves. (At the same time, don't dump the entire responsibility on just one player, either - as MN complained.)

[marae]

Agreed, TOOO. We need to have faith in one another and also in ourselves. We are all decent writers; and though we each have weaknesses, one of the beauties of group writing is that one writer's weakness can be bolstered by another's strength, if we are willing to trust enough to let that happen. Well, trust and communicate, because trust alone can't do it. Communication is our friend; otherwise we wouldn't be writing, would we?

That said, I'm off to read what we have wrote (or wrought, as the case may be).

[marae]

Just wanted to let you all know that I just finished page 392, and I am really enjoying this! There have been some exquisite moments, including Tully doing what a Nyrond does best and TOOO's irrepressible puns, that have had me laughing out loud. Jahura and Zander have been in fine form, and I do love the way the stories have been interweaving. I was a bit concerned when I encountered Jahura's rewrite, but that seems to be working out just fine, and the dilemma with JoJo is really interesting.

I'm sorry I wasn't around to write some for Marae and Duke, but I am grateful that they have been kept active, and I think all who have written for them have done a fine job so far.

I'm taking it a few pages at a time, which helps keep it fresh and interesting, so I'll probably finish the reading tomorrow.

I have to say, for a group of people allegedly stuck and floundering for ideas and understanding, you're writing a splendid story.

[marae]

I finished reading day before yesterday, took a day to digest things and let the ideas swirl around, and now I think I'm ready to post. Jahura, if you're still reading here, and Zander, too, please know that you both wrote excellent story, and regardless of the feelings of frustration or panic that led to the evacuation from Now Here, I think it all worked out well in the end. I do have some ideas about where to go from here, and I can either post those here or e-mail you, Jahura, if your e-mail is working (I still have to get caught up on reading this thread, but I do recall seeing something here about your e-mail being unreliable). I have already pinged a few ideas off Zander by e-mail.

I am specifically thinking that although the return to the hotel may have been the work of a god-moder, it wasn't necessarily Jahura, or Zander, or either of their writers that was to bl-- er, responsible. I am thinking it might more likely have been someone with a deep connection to Faerie (in other words, a fairy god-moder).

To all the rest of you punsters (and you know who you are): Ah, revenge is sweet.

[Tora_Neko]

We seem to have left Toz and Tir in Now Here. Also, Tora is still astral projecting. Her observations could clear up that war without deaths (I have some ideas).

Also, someone mentioned somewhere that we Writers got scared off. On my end, that was my fault, losing track of what I was writing and then being distracted by Real Life and World of Warcraft. Sorry. But not anyone else's fault.

Third note: that doesn't seem to be the real Bast. Neko wouldn't react that way to Her. Bast is out of character. And yes, TOOO should demand a lawyer.

[MystNovice]

So I take it we have decided that everyone is definately back at the A&C, except perhaps for Toz and Tir? The ambiguity on this point has been the biggest stumbling block for me, and I would like to be sure before I get in the way of someone's master plan again.

By the way, what is the range of Tora's astral projection? Can it really reach across Ages?

[marae]

So, two of us at least were not scared off by anyone's Writer or story line or anything else in the thread; we just had a few outside distractions. I mean, coming from a family of kite flyers, I always knew trees could be dangerous - we've all heard of kite-eating trees - but I never expected to meet up with a house-eating tree...! So yeah, just a bit of a distraction there.

Tora makes many good points, and I know (because we've been discussing them) that these are not intended as *criticisms* but points on which we might build story.

I would like to further suggest that we (i.e. Marae and Tully and Duke and Tora and company) are not actually back where we "belong" - remember, if you will, that the "real world" location of the A&C was a disaster area, with a gaping hole in the ground, broken pipes and wiring. I think we still need to get the hotel, and her denizens, home, and I'm prepared to work on that story.

As noted, Toz, Tir, and company have been left behind in Now Here. I still have not, I confess, caught up with reading this thread (but I will!), so I'm not sure if Toz said he was leaving or just hasn't been around for a while (as many of us are wont to do). I'm content to let him pick their story up when he comes back, although we ought to resolve the storm angle at very least. I do have some thoughts on that as well. I just don't want to be too specific just yet about some of these things, but rather than let the story hang again, I will soon start tossing ideas in here so we can work them into the mix.

P.S. Oh, hi there, MN! I don't think you've gotten in the way of anyone's master plan lately. (We have a master plan? How did I miss that? lol). I think we're more or less all back at the A&C... but the A&C is not necessarily where we think it is.