New Character Intro and Not So New Character Intro.
This is the place where most people tend to say something about blaming me, but as I'm totally responsible for these decisions - I blame myself, totally and without shame.
Amaya Bertineau is a new character - totally human and an employee of Thomas Smith aka Hephaestus, and she will likely become involved in the business of the gods as she attempts to sort through the data that will be gathered after the infiltration of the Society Compound.
And then there's the not-so-new. As no one has shown any interest in picking up Athena, I've decided to give her a shot. This may or may not work, and if it turns out that it doesn't work, then I'll turn the character back over for adoption.
PLOT: The new dirty word.
When we were putting together the outline for the game and brainstorming about plot lines and characters, I think it's safe to say that we had no idea that the word "plot" would turn out to be among the worst of the so-called four letter words. Even the lightest, fluffiest games have plot - it's impossible to avoid it all together without making the characters little more than interlocking parts.
Several of you seem to worry about overstepping or messing up the plot, to worry about what to do with your characters or where to send them - that what you might decide to do with your characters will somehow mess up the overall story and therefore you don't do anything until, well, I nudge. And yes, I do generally nudge. I'm a long-time chronic nudger and pusher. I also have a pretty mean poke, but that's another story for another time.
We set the story in motion, yes. What had happened, when it happened and that brought us to the beginning of our story. Dionysus and Hermes blew up the throne as a wake up call, and everything that has happened since... that's all been figured out on the fly.
Nothing is set in stone.
Leonard was supposed to die months ago. Dionysus has changed direction more times than I can even begin to tell you. Aphrodite is impossible to predict. Adrestia was someone I planned to bring in and take out after a few threads. Adrian and Chase both yearn to take over the world given the opportunity.
Plot with each other, against each other (character wise, anyway). Let your characters decide where this story goes and don't worry about what it might do to the overall plot, because all of you are here because we love what you do and how you do it, and we want you to propel the story. Pipe up with questions and if you want to do something and have reservations about what the repercussions might be, never hesitate to nudge and poke for yourself. That's how the story has been developing and while the mods are here to help you however we can - don't worry that we're going to leash you or stomp our feet about anyone ruining the storyline. (See above regarding nothing being set in stone.)
This attack is the end of season one, so to speak - if you think of it in terms of a television show, or the ending of book one, if you're more comfortable thinking in terms of books. The sky's not even a limit in this world, which is rather fantastic, if you think about it.
Talk Dirty To Me.
Yep, this is the part where I get all modly about communicating. If you have a thread open with someone and it's taking you time to get back to it, or if you don't feel you can go back for some reason - please talk to your co-writer. We've all been there, all of us, and to a one, every single one of us has had that "it's because of me" moment, and it's seldom because of anything having to do with anything but illness or real life drama or lack of time or balking muses. We know that, all of us, but it's nice to hear out loud.
If you've not gotten a tag on a thread in a while, nudge the person you're writing with and ask about it. Sometimes notifications get lost, and sometimes someone just needs that nudge or some feedback. If you know you're having problems or are going to be out of pocket for a bit, just let your co-writers know. Simple.
Don't leave all the poking to me. Poke me, poke us. Poke yourselves. Poke each other. Poke-a-palooza! Poke Fest! Pah Pah Pah Poke-her Face!! Try it, you might like it!!! (okay, don't poke her in the face, face poking is bad, someone could lose an eye)
If you need or want anyone's contact information to talk about stalled threads or threads in progress or new threads - just check the contact list for email addresses and such.
If you think that it would be helpful to have group chats on occasion, let us know here and I'll do what I can to set that up. I've written in communities where that was a huge help when it came to threading with each other and getting to know each other.
*****
Okay, sorry for the wordy stuff, but I just wanted to put everything out there, and I'll screen the comments to this entry so that anyone who wants to comment on the down low may do so, or contact Gracie, Fan and I privately if you have any specific questions or issues.
And just to get that poking out of my system - the threads are up for the party with Komos and the gathering at Olympus - feel free to jump in.