It's not a problem really. Good luck with whatever kept you from posting!
I'll try to get my post up ASAP so we're not too behind on schedule. I have plenty of inspiration from all those Ghibli films I watched.
It Began in a Tavern (OOC Thread) (Part 2)
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I'll try to get my post up ASAP so we're not too behind on schedule. I have plenty of inspiration from all those Ghibli films I watched.
Post is up! I couldn't have it up as early as I wanted because I was lost on what to write. But I got it after all.
There is a lot going on in that post. We're in the midpoint now so I basically set up the later half of the story. Your typical story structure advises that this is the point where almost everything goes wrong and all seems lost. But our characters rise up to the challenge, become even stronger, and prevail in the third act.
So, because of that theory, I was thinking that the Queen and Kurai do end up (eventually) succeeding in blowing up the sun. The world then plunges into complete chaos and darkness. "All seems lost" at that point, but Katara, Ravenna and everyone else rises up to it and try to correct the world, which they succeed at the climax of act three.
What do you all think of that? I don't really like "spoiling" like this but I think it helps to agree to some key plot points. This is hardly all of the story of course. There is so much in between all of that. But having a "skeleton" helps.
There is a lot going on in that post. We're in the midpoint now so I basically set up the later half of the story. Your typical story structure advises that this is the point where almost everything goes wrong and all seems lost. But our characters rise up to the challenge, become even stronger, and prevail in the third act.
So, because of that theory, I was thinking that the Queen and Kurai do end up (eventually) succeeding in blowing up the sun. The world then plunges into complete chaos and darkness. "All seems lost" at that point, but Katara, Ravenna and everyone else rises up to it and try to correct the world, which they succeed at the climax of act three.
What do you all think of that? I don't really like "spoiling" like this but I think it helps to agree to some key plot points. This is hardly all of the story of course. There is so much in between all of that. But having a "skeleton" helps.
Louanne Learning
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fantastic post! I'm already thinking about how to proceed from it!
That would take some amazing powers to bring the sun back! But it opens up a lot of possibilities for the plot.
I'm game!
Indeed! But the climax will be complex enough to allow for that.
I honestly think that the climax should be more than a battle. We should summon every drop of our creative spirits and make it otherwordly, almost like a fever dream. Anything is possible then, even bringing the sun back.
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Hello, I am going to be a day or two late with my entry. Sorry for the delay!
I was doing some calculations out of curiosity.
By Friday next week (approx of course), I'm expecting the total word count to hit 61k! The "goal" is 80k, so we'll have approx 19k words left to write. That is a good amount to finish the rest of the story. But of course, that's just an approximate goal. We could do less or more. And though we aren't restricting ourselves to a final word count, I think it helps to have this rough point of end in mind.
If our posts collectively hit 3k words a month, this means that we can be finished this February (19,000 / 3,000). Of course, if we can do more than that, it'll be even sooner.
We're not that long from the finish line now. I'm so happy that we will have the very first finished RP project in all of WF's history, even when you consider the old site. Of course, this couldn't be done without everyone here. I'm really grateful for everyone's commitment.
By Friday next week (approx of course), I'm expecting the total word count to hit 61k! The "goal" is 80k, so we'll have approx 19k words left to write. That is a good amount to finish the rest of the story. But of course, that's just an approximate goal. We could do less or more. And though we aren't restricting ourselves to a final word count, I think it helps to have this rough point of end in mind.
If our posts collectively hit 3k words a month, this means that we can be finished this February (19,000 / 3,000). Of course, if we can do more than that, it'll be even sooner.
We're not that long from the finish line now. I'm so happy that we will have the very first finished RP project in all of WF's history, even when you consider the old site. Of course, this couldn't be done without everyone here. I'm really grateful for everyone's commitment.
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I'm going to try to give over the major part of my day today to getting my entry done!
It's very exciting, I'm glad to be a part of this!
The most important thing is everyone having fun. I am glad that's still the case!
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I'm really liking the way you're handling Arthur. Dusca and Barnabas' storylines are also really interesting. I want to see them progress.
Kodama Abbey seems to be an important place now as you mentioned it several times. Could you maybe share some thoughts around it so we're all in the same page?
I have big plans for Olive. I didn't want her "revived" this soon. But it's fine. I think I can still make them work!
There are also two notable things I'd like to mention:
1. Yuuna doesn't really have any daughters, even in a metaphorical sense. She's just one of the many spirits. The lore is basically that the world was born through their contributions. Yuuna brought light and music. But that sea scene can still exist. She could call on a fellow spirit or something.
2. I think @IgnitedxSoul established that Olten, Pria and Wren were there to "research" the stopped time. It happened when they were first introduced. Here is a segment:
But to be honest, the gathering of the fragments never progressed much even though they are such an important plot device. I say that your instinct to have them made progress on that end was very right. Which is to say that I like the idea of them gathering the fragments, but at the same time, we have to keep consistent.
Also, there are actually only a handful of fragments that make up the gear. The idea is that they were hidden throughout the country. So if Wren and his group were there to find a fragment, they should really find only one. That said, I like the idea that the complete set of fragments should represent the colours of the rainbow. Let's go with that! Can you edit into the post about the fragments into the encyclopedia thread?
I'm not really going to ask for any changes and just let you decide if you want to make any. But if I were to make suggestions, I'd say to remove the part about Wren and the others finding fragments for now at least. The scene about them can stay because it shows their concern for Pria. That should become its focus.
I hope you don't take all of these to mean that I disliked your post. I really liked it! The ending with Arthur had me really excited. And Hemios and Araspeth's scene was great too.
Kodama Abbey seems to be an important place now as you mentioned it several times. Could you maybe share some thoughts around it so we're all in the same page?
I have big plans for Olive. I didn't want her "revived" this soon. But it's fine. I think I can still make them work!
There are also two notable things I'd like to mention:
1. Yuuna doesn't really have any daughters, even in a metaphorical sense. She's just one of the many spirits. The lore is basically that the world was born through their contributions. Yuuna brought light and music. But that sea scene can still exist. She could call on a fellow spirit or something.
2. I think @IgnitedxSoul established that Olten, Pria and Wren were there to "research" the stopped time. It happened when they were first introduced. Here is a segment:
Wren slowly walked closer, the two bronze mages lingering behind. As he approached the exclusion zone Wren felt a tugging sensation in his chest, the hairs on his whole body standing on end, every sense in his body screaming to run as far away from here as he could. It intensified the closer he got.
Pria’s voice trembled as she spoke. “Sir? I don’t know if that’s a good idea…”
Certainly she was right, but the assignment was to investigate, and his curiosity deepened the closer he walked. He felt as though he were being incrementally slowed, little by little, as he approached. Cautiously, he stopped and waved his arm before his face, feeling the newfound resistance in the air. It was almost like moving through water.
I mean, technically, the Queen knew all about the reason this happened, but I always supposed she had ulterior motives to sending them there. And she did "use" Pria by the end of it. But to be honest, the gathering of the fragments never progressed much even though they are such an important plot device. I say that your instinct to have them made progress on that end was very right. Which is to say that I like the idea of them gathering the fragments, but at the same time, we have to keep consistent.
Also, there are actually only a handful of fragments that make up the gear. The idea is that they were hidden throughout the country. So if Wren and his group were there to find a fragment, they should really find only one. That said, I like the idea that the complete set of fragments should represent the colours of the rainbow. Let's go with that! Can you edit into the post about the fragments into the encyclopedia thread?
I'm not really going to ask for any changes and just let you decide if you want to make any. But if I were to make suggestions, I'd say to remove the part about Wren and the others finding fragments for now at least. The scene about them can stay because it shows their concern for Pria. That should become its focus.
I hope you don't take all of these to mean that I disliked your post. I really liked it! The ending with Arthur had me really excited. And Hemios and Araspeth's scene was great too.
It's your turn now, @IgnitedxSoul!
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yes, I've set it up so that Arthur, Hemios, Araspeth, Barnabas and Dusca will all be at the ruins of Kodama Abbey at the same time. I'm not sure yet what will happen there, but of course I'd like to see some twist in the plot.
Great! @IgnitedxSoul is up next, so you two may like to trade some general ideas about what he should now do about the girls.
I will omit that, then.
Yeah, sorry, I guess I didn't have a good grip on what exactly they were investigating.
I don't have a clear image of what exactly these fragments look like. They are part of a gear, but Barnabas injected them into subjects, and Pria ingested one. Maybe we can draw up some facts about these fragments? What do they look like? What are they made of?
Okay, great. So can we say there are seven fragments in total - one for each of the colours of the rainbow - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet? But then, what exactly did Barnabas inject into his subjects?
I just had a look and didn't see anything about the fragments in the lore thread.
But I checked my Tavern Word doc here and found this - which I think you wrote months ago (should have checked it before I wrote my entry!):
The fragments and the gear:
The queen wants them — They're necessary to achieve her end goal.
They're fragments of a gear — I'm not sure what the gear is yet. But I know that it was broken up into different fragments by those who feared its power in ancient times. The queen therefore wants more power, but power is far from her only goal.
When removed from their location, the flow of time is disturbed — The reason behind that is unknown right now.
"The Architect" constructed them — This is someone who is repeatedly mentioned in the scriptures, but nobody knows exactly who "The Architect" is. There is speculation but the true identity is a mystery long looked into. The queen has her own ideas.
Those fragments exponentially increase the power of mages — This was established during the experiment logs that Barnabas was reading. It was also established that they have some serious side effects. In fact, the queen has him experimenting on them. She wants Barnabas to figure out how they can be used without the side effects.
Scientific findings — Barnabas has established a correlation between mage power and side effects. The more powerful the mage is, the less side effects they experience. He speculates that someone who is powerful enough won't experience side effects. The queen is the most powerful person in the country. She trains everyday to be even more powerful.
Okay. In fact, reading over the above, it seems time stopped because the fragment was removed from the area.
So that leaves me with the question of what Wren's investigation proves. It has to show that a fragment was removed from the area.
Oh, I understand. That seems really interesting! I'm looking forward to what you come up with. All these characters in one place? Its quite smart because they could all do with some turning points that may be this opportunity provides. But most of all, Im interested to see with how they interact with each other.
Arthur is technically a mage since he has royal blood, and is against the Melina. But Hemios and Araspeth are with the queen. Plenty of conflict there as is. But then there is also Barnabas, who was with Melina, but appears to no longer be. So much potential for high level action and drama. I love it!
You're right about that. It's totally my fault for not being clear with it, either in story or in documentation.
The gear should be palm sized. Say 7cm in diameter. Divide that by seven, and you get small 1cm fragments—about the size of a pill. Can be ingested and injected. Perhaps a better phrase in place of "injecting the fragment" is "implanting the fragment".
So, unless anyone has something to add to this, I'm happy to edit those details into the portion of the doc you provided. You can then post it in the encyclopedia.
This is a question for @IgnitedxSoul. But if I may suggest an answer, it's that sending them there was part of Melina's big plan. She wanted to use her for what is happening now.
Another potential answer is studying the effects the stoppage of time causes. Yes, the queen knows that time has stopped, but she wants to know more about what really happens in such regions.
It's also important to note that she wants the power of the gear, not to stop time. Removing those fragments causes that though. And so she wants to know more. The reason why she is so power-hungry will also soon be explored.
It could also be both reasons. She wanted to know more of Cliffcross, but also, Pria is perfect for her plans! But I'll leave the decision of that one to @IgnitedxSoul since they are his characters. Oh, and of course, I did get his permission for what is happening to Pria now. It's part of her character development. That's not in my hands of course. I merely kickstarted it if that makes sense.
One thing is for sure though, Wren and the others don't know about the queen taking the fragment out. Why? Because she doesn't want anyone suspecting that she was the reason for the chaos. She is secretive about her plans so the country doesn't realize what she is really trying to do, which would almost certainly trigger some kind of revolution.
I wouldn't want to dictate his post. Obviously, the general rule is that we don't step on each other's toes. If I were to, say, go and suddenly write anger into Barnabas and have him steer away from Dusca, I would be very clearly stepping in your toes because that'd probably be against your own plans. Not that I would ever do that, of course! It's just an example.
That said, it does sometimes happen that I have to make posts like my previous. It does make me feel a little bad because I don't want to have anyone erasing the words that they wrote. They are there for a reason. But the story as a whole is also important, so inconstincies is something I point out.
That, and unwanted changes to my own characters. Everyone here has that "right" of course. If one alters another's character, they do have the right to ask for changes. Characters are very personal creations after all.
I hope I'm fair in those regards and that I'm not accidentally insulting your work or anything like that when I point things out. Needless to say, we're all humans and we make mistakes. If I point something like an inconstincy out, it doesn't mean that I dislike your post, or that it's "bad".
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Also - I am totally fine with either you or @IgnitedxSoul taking the reins by the hand with this one! But if not, I'm game, too
My thoughts exactly
Me too! I'd like to see something totally unexpected happen
Great, we can add that to what we already know and add that to the lore thread
Thank you! But I think anyone can post to the lore thread?
Also - how about if we make it that fragments can be copied? This would explain Barnabas having fragments to implant.
And I appreciate it greatly!
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I am also wondering if the Architect will be coming into the story.
@ps102 hit the nail on the head for the motivations I had in mind for sending Wren, Pria, and Olten to Cliff Cross. The fragments have been in place for as long as anyone can remember. There is no modern history of them being displaced. And while people place a general trust or expectation in the scriptures, there's always this undercurrent of "well maybe they're wrong"
So I think it is absolutely within reason that she would send expendable people to that location to study the effects of the fragments removal. And I think it even doubles down on why she chose to send them, and not Arespeth, who originally was jealous she was not sent herself to investigate. I think Pria becoming a pawn was not initially a part of the plan, but with everything converging at Cliffcross it suddenly became very opportune for the Queen that Pria is there and is so easy to manipulate.
So I think it is absolutely within reason that she would send expendable people to that location to study the effects of the fragments removal. And I think it even doubles down on why she chose to send them, and not Arespeth, who originally was jealous she was not sent herself to investigate. I think Pria becoming a pawn was not initially a part of the plan, but with everything converging at Cliffcross it suddenly became very opportune for the Queen that Pria is there and is so easy to manipulate.
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@ps102 @IgnitedxSoul
How is this for the revised paragraph in my entry?
Wren examined his jars of specimens stored in a crevice near the cave entrance. He was no closer to discovering which particular fragment had been removed from the Cliffcross area. The queen would not be pleased.
Seven fragments existed, representing the colours of the rainbow, and they had been scattered throughout the country. Disturbance in their distribution interfered with the normal passage of time, which apparently had happened here. Who—or what—took the fragment from Cliffcross was another question altogether.
How is this for the revised paragraph in my entry?
Wren examined his jars of specimens stored in a crevice near the cave entrance. He was no closer to discovering which particular fragment had been removed from the Cliffcross area. The queen would not be pleased.
Seven fragments existed, representing the colours of the rainbow, and they had been scattered throughout the country. Disturbance in their distribution interfered with the normal passage of time, which apparently had happened here. Who—or what—took the fragment from Cliffcross was another question altogether.
Likely. I imagine the Architect appears during the climax at some point. But I don't really have an idea of who the Architect is. The name suggests a God. But we want something much more interesting than that, I think.
We don't have to decide right now. It might be that inspiration hits us during the climax. It might be that the Architect never appears. I guess we'll find out! Whatever the answer, I think it needs to be a bit bone chilling.
That wouldn't work. They are supposed to be very special, so copying them would make them not so special anymore.
Barnabas is essentially the royal scientist Melina appointed. He had access to a fragment that the Queen had already found during his experiments. She entrusted him with it. The idea is that he understands it better for her own purposes.
That's why I had Gamma say that they should get Barnabas into the scene. He knows the most about them... which would make him very useful to the side of light once he converts!
Yes, exactly. Nobody dares touch them. But also, their location isn't exactly readily available. The ancients hid them because they feared the gear they add up to.
Here is where me not being an English native gets me. Does a specimen refer to a model of the original thing? As in, Wren having replicas of the original fragments for study reasons?
If so, this paragraph works, but where did he get those models from? Either way, I am okay with that if you and @IgnitedxSoul is.
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