[OOC][PLOT] The Fourth Thread of Planning for Arc 1 - Arrivals

[Labster]

Yeah, I think I'm out.  I asked you to be careful with how you use a setting -- basically me just pointing out a trap, something to consider.  If that's going to cause this response, then I don't really think that there's any way I can be on a creative team with you without antagonizing you.  I've held back on an awful lot that I would feel comfortable telling most collaborators, but I think it would have made things worse here.  In hindsight, pairing someone who was abused with a perfectionist wasn't gonna work.  Chalk it up to creative differences.

I know this is probably unusual in your experience, but I only bother to correct people that I think can actually improve.  It's a compliment.  People who are lost causes get ignored in favor of people that can learn.  You write pretty well, you've just got to find your own path.

I guess I'll just leave my stories here -- I hereby grant a CC-BY 2.0 license for all my work thus far in There's Nothing Better, so you can pretty much repackage it any way you want so long as I get attribution.  Do whatever you want with the story -- I may figure out how to repackage mine elsewhere.  Damn if you didn't come up with a great writing prompt, though.

[robkelk]

So, this is how it is.

I've got a lot on my plate right now.  ...

Here are your options:

One.
We stay the course. It's all fine and well to critique something and say that it's going to be hard to do. But instead of just leaving it at that, how about we try and come up with solutions instead of just problems to keep us from thinking of solutions?

Two.
You guys go ahead and bow out. Rob and I will just go ahead and redo this whole thing with just two apartment managers and go from there.

Three.
I put an end to this because it is really bad for my mental well-being.

I don't like Option Three, and I don't really think Option One is gonna happen.

And I'm not happy with Option Two. Since Black Aeronaut has a lot on his plate right now, I'd be the only one writing.

Well, it was fun while it lasted. I'll keep the wiki; I'm sure I can find a use for it. And, hey, maybe we can resurrect this later. Or sooner.

[Black Aeronaut]

I asked you to be careful with how you use a setting -- basically me just pointing out a trap, something to consider.  If that's going to cause this response, then I don't really think that there's any way I can be on a creative team with you without antagonizing you.

What antagonizes me is that you gave warnings with no idea as how to fix the incipient issues.  Constructive criticism, you know.  Instead, you come off as saying, "No can do."  Even with programs, I at least get an error code that I can look up with the context of what's going on and then have some idea of how to proceed.

Take what I quoted earlier as an example:

"...settings like Tenchi Muyo and MCU and DCU and Ranma have a tendency to make all crossover plots look like them, which makes writing other kinds of plots more difficult."

Okay.  That is a problem, and I acknowledge that, but how do we fix it?  This is supposed to be collaborative, but you just dump it at my feet with the expectation that I either abandon the idea, or wave a magic wand to make the problem go away.

Maybe that's how things work on Miraheze where everyone has a specific role to fill, but that's not how things work in collaborative writing.  Look at what the writing staffs at places like Disney and Pixar look like.  Yes, there's a creative lead in the group, but that person depends on all the other staff writers working under them to supply ideas.

Frozen was a great example of this in action.  Someone, not the creative lead, came up with the idea of Elsa not being a villain.  Cue the stunned silence, quickly followed by an immediate frenzy as EVERYONE scrambled to throw out the original plot and come up with a new one to fit the idea.

So I'm not even saying that you should fix it yourself.  Just that some kind of constructive input would have been nice to have.  Instead, you leave the creative burden entirely on my shoulders when it's well known that things around here haven't been easy on me.

Yes, I know.  You have your own plots to work out, but so have I, and so has Rob.  Me probably more than anyone else because in the end I'll have more characters to deal with directly than both of you and Rob put together, so I not only need to come up with major story arcs, but all kinds of fillers and fluff because it's not like all these people won't interact with each other while staying in this one cozy complex.  (This complex is practically designed entirely with social interaction in mind - all the units face inwards towards a courtyard that's perfect for parties.)

So yeah.  That's pretty much what has my knickers in a twist.  I apologize, but I just can't do this all on my own - especially if it's a condition that you yourself wish to avoid.

Gotta go.  I have that appointment coming up here.

[robkelk]

Okay.  That is a problem, and I acknowledge that, but how do we fix it?  This is supposed to be collaborative, but you just dump it at my feet with the expectation that I either abandon the idea, or wave a magic wand to make the problem go away.

On the flip side, we can't solve problems that haven't been identified. Somebody needs to point them out, whether that somebody has any idea how to solve them or not.

[Labster]

I asked you to be careful with how you use a setting -- basically me just pointing out a trap, something to consider.  If that's going to cause this response, then I don't really think that there's any way I can be on a creative team with you without antagonizing you.

What antagonizes me is that you gave warnings with no idea as how to fix the incipient issues.  Constructive criticism, you know.  Instead, you come off as saying, "No can do."  Even with programs, I at least get an error code that I can look up with the context of what's going on and then have some idea of how to proceed.

Take what I quoted earlier as an example:

"...settings like Tenchi Muyo and MCU and DCU and Ranma have a tendency to make all crossover plots look like them, which makes writing other kinds of plots more difficult."

Okay.  That is a problem, and I acknowledge that, but how do we fix it?  This is supposed to be collaborative, but you just dump it at my feet with the expectation that I either abandon the idea, or wave a magic wand to make the problem go away.

Maybe that's how things work on Miraheze where everyone has a specific role to fill, but that's not how things work in collaborative writing.  Look at what the writing staffs at places like Disney and Pixar look like.  Yes, there's a creative lead in the group, but that person depends on all the other staff writers working under them to supply ideas.

Frozen was a great example of this in action.  Someone, not the creative lead, came up with the idea of Elsa not being a villain.  Cue the stunned silence, quickly followed by an immediate frenzy as EVERYONE scrambled to throw out the original plot and come up with a new one to fit the idea.

So I'm not even saying that you should fix it yourself.  Just that some kind of constructive input would have been nice to have.  Instead, you leave the creative burden entirely on my shoulders when it's well known that things around here haven't been easy on me.

Yes, I know.  You have your own plots to work out, but so have I, and so has Rob.  Me probably more than anyone else because in the end I'll have more characters to deal with directly than both of you and Rob put together, so I not only need to come up with major story arcs, but all kinds of fillers and fluff because it's not like all these people won't interact with each other while staying in this one cozy complex.  (This complex is practically designed entirely with social interaction in mind - all the units face inwards towards a courtyard that's perfect for parties.)

So yeah.  That's pretty much what has my knickers in a twist.  I apologize, but I just can't do this all on my own - especially if it's a condition that you yourself wish to avoid.

Gotta go.  I have that appointment coming up here.

You asked me to bow out publicly, and I obliged.  Let it go, Elsa, and take the win.

[Rajvik]

BA I am sorry its come to this, it was fun while it lasted.

That said, maybe I can offer a 4th option, everyone back burner the idea for now and we revisit it in a few months when things are better for everyone. Meanwhile, anyone who wants to keep pounding the keys on this can.

Labster, he didn't ask you to bow out, he asked you to offer possible solutions.

[robkelk]

Labster, he didn't ask you to bow out, he asked you to offer possible solutions.

Two.
You guys go ahead and bow out.

Stepping back sounds to me like the best idea right now.

[Black Aeronaut]

Yeah, that's probably for the best right now. I've been getting rushed every damn time I try to make one of these posts, and it's been getting to be irritating - both the disruptions and the reactions when my half-assed posts go up.

I dunno what I'm gonna be doing these next few months anyhow. I do know the neurosurgeons want me to start physical therapy. Fortunately they feel surgery is a bit extreme at this moment, and I wholeheartedly agree, so at least that isn't a worry for the time being.

But if at some point in the future I'm bitching about having to learn to type with only one hand, you'll know why.

School is definitely a possibility.

My brother is still gonna see about what he can do about getting that car to me, but that's not gonna be until the weekend of next week, if it happens at all.

And so the hiatus begins...

[robkelk]

random.org, give me a number between 3 and 10...
"4"
See you here in four weeks.

EDIT: Heh. D-Day.

[Dartz]

I've been staying out of the discussion. I've nothing really to add about the problems and I don't really know what the solution is when it's sort of an incompatibility and wanting to do two different things. I really just sort of wanted to be part of something active and exciting but nothing about this really excites me anymore.

I think I'll keep slowly chewing the cud with Fenspace. Even if 3 years for a story is a long burn. I've burned longer.

[robkelk]

random.org, give me a number between 3 and 10...
"4"
See you here in four weeks.

EDIT: Heh. D-Day.

Meh. Close enough.

(blows dust off forum)

[Black Aeronaut]

I haven't been able to get anything done. My depression has been raging against me this whole time and I've been doing what I can to fight it by trying to put my life into order.

Again.

I'm going back to school starting this Monday. Only two classes with seven credits between them, but it's enough to qualify as a full-time student during the summer term.

Now if only I can just stop feeling like a worthless sack of shit all the damn time so I can get some other things done, like writing. Instead, all I get when I look at the stuff I've written is what a fuck-up I am. I know it's not true, but no one has ever said that depression and anxiety are reasonable things.

[robkelk]

So... the Halloween Party story. The dragging-its-heels, growing-like-Topsy Halloween Party story. I'm going to see at least that story finished, even if it kills me.

I've tossed a couple of "prep" scenes onto the wiki, giving Tomoyo and Urd a bit more to do and giving Mira some screen time. I have also at least started storyboarding the Sosuke/Mikoto sparring match - that's the last big scene that still needs to be written. However... some characters don't have any spotlight time yet. Many of these characters are from what have become NPC apartments, so I'm not too worried about them, but there are some from the "big three" (Ottawa, LA, and San Antonio) who still need spotlight time.

The Ottawa group is pretty well represented, but Luna and Artemis don't appear at all yet, and Last Order is only seen in passing in one scene.

The L.A. group is pretty well represented at the party, but Akira, Athena, Sonomi, Kero-chan, and Mr. Tadakichi don't yet appear at all. (I suppose Sonomi could stay home to hand out treats alongside Toya and Yukito... but then she'd miss out on networking with everyone else. Tadakichi probably should stay home.) Fujitaka is only in one short scene, although he gets roughly half the lines in that scene. Maya and President Aria only appear in Akari's sidestory.

The San Antonio group... oh, the San Antonio group. The hosts of this party aren't very visible at all, excepting Ben. And almost everybody there still haven't picked their costumes. Mihoshi is in one scene. That's one more than Tenchi, Ayeka, Kaname, Chihiro, and Sora get. Sasami is mentioned as being in the kitchen the next morning. Sousuke, Teletha, Kurz, and Mao aren't very visible yet, but I still have that sparring match between Sosuke and Mikoto to finish writing - Tessa and the AS pilots can discuss their opinions of the match with each other as it's taking place.

And then there's the other buildings' displacees and managers, all of whom are barely present:

• Dublin: Meg has one scene, and 33-Stars is mentioned once.
  
• Montreal: Rin is mentioned once.
  
• Penscacola: Ritsuko, Maya, River, Simon, and Jayne each have one line. Rei is mentioned once.
  

[Dartz]

There's stuff I want to do with the Stars...

...stuff I will get finished.

Eventually.

[Black Aeronaut]

Just checking in with a status report.

Got freaking blind-sided by the bureaucracy at my school the other day. Apparently, at your third attempt at a class, you get hit with a fee that's an additional 200% of the regular tuition fee for that class.

No, that's not a typo. It's literally an additional 200%.

And for some reason that is absolutely beyond me, the advisor that certified my course selections for this term failed to check if I was okay with this.

The good news is that for whatever reason, the department the class was in decided to cancel that class outright for everyone for some reason - god only knows what. But it was that little miracle that made it so I could attend my math class at the very least.

The bad news is that I will be getting substantially less money for my living stipend because I'll only be a part-time student.

So, time I would have been spending working on my homework for the other class will now be spent Ubering to make up for the shortfall.

Maybe I'll be able to come up with something for there.

[robkelk]

Oopsie... from what's reported on various wikis, it looks like I severely underestimated the ages of the youngest of Blossom's displacees. Wiki pages have been updated to show Diana and Last Order as 10 and Chibi-Usa as 8 (instead of all three being 6).

---

BA, I really need you to choose some Halloween costumes for Ben's displacees. I don't need story fragments, but I do need this.
https://theresnothingbetter.miraheze.org..._Megami.29

[Rajvik]

i do have plans for my group, its just a matter of getting my muse to cooperate and not cling to my other three stories, (or one of them in particular) honestly i think we took to short of a break, why don't we let the summer go and reconvene around the begining of October?

[robkelk]

The beginning of October is right in the middle of election season - bad for me. And I'm trying to speed things up, not slow them down even farther - we only took a break because people were almost at each other's throats, and that problem's gone now.

Hmmmmm... I seem to be the only one who's both willing and able to write now. Sidestories for me, I guess. Even though I really want to get the Halloween Party story out the door.

EDIT: Rajvik, since you haven't bowed out yet, we need costumes for your displacees, too. I went with a gag that Rei Ayanami was going as one of the Rei Ayanami Expys, but if you have something better, go ahead and change that.

[Black Aeronaut]

I'm sorry, Rob. I've been getting nailed with a lot of early mornings lately, and it's really screwing with me.

[robkelk]

Okay.

Since I appear to be the only active writer at the moment, I am setting a deadline.

The Halloween Party story absolutely must be published before this Halloween. Period. Even if "before Halloween" means 23:59 on October 30th. Even if it kills me.

[Rajvik]

Rob, that sounds fine, and I am having this weird idea of having the rest of my cast switch roles. IE, Mal and Inara dressed up as Kaji and Misato

[robkelk]

BA, I really need you to choose some Halloween costumes for Ben's displacees. I don't need story fragments, but I do need this.
https://theresnothingbetter.miraheze.org..._Megami.29

EDIT: Rajvik, since you haven't bowed out yet, we need costumes for your displacees, too. I went with a gag that Rei Ayanami was going as one of the Rei Ayanami Expys, but if you have something better, go ahead and change that.

Rajvik, thank you for your reply. I'll go with that.

BA, I see not even one of your character's costumes listed here. The only changes on the wiki since the end of the cooling-off period have been made by me. I have not received a PM or an email from you.

I wasn't asking for stories. I wasn't even asking for plotbunnies. I only asked for something that you should be able to at least partially come up with in a few minutes idle thought while sitting at a red light. And I didn't even get the courtesy of a reply asking whether this could wait. What I got was:

I'm sorry, Rob.  I've been getting nailed with a lot of early mornings lately, and it's really screwing with me.

I've had early mornings every day this calendar month.

Throw me a bone here, man. Give me at least one displacee's costume.

[robkelk]

<sigh>

You had time to post twice in the Politics forum, but you couldn't even be bothered to say "let me get back to you" here in this forum that you started.

Okay. I get it. I'm the only one interested in writing here.

Fine.

I'll pick costumes for your displacees. And the other displacees who don't have them. And I'll finish the goddamned Halloween Party story myself.

But not today. I'm too pissed off.

[Rajvik]

Almost all of my people are doing straight swaps
Kaji dresses up as Mal and vice Versace
Misato swaps with Inara
Ritsuko goes as Shepard Book and vice vera
Maya dresses as River,
River dresses as Rei, ( sorry couldn't pass that one up so yo have two Ree to add to your shenanigans)
Shinji and Wash
Asuka and Zoe
Hikari and Kailey
Toji and Simon
Kensuke and Jayne

Some material suggestions for lines.
Kensuke: Jayne, are you sure it's supposed to ride like this?

Jayne: Huh, I almost look wholesome like this.

River: I like blue...

[Norgarth]

i don't see what Rei is supposed to dress as in that list