Tapestry of Dreams, Part 2 Discussion

[littlemanpoet]

Originally Posted by Feanor of the Peredhil

Indil sleep walks away from camp. Thoronwe's interest has him trailing her. Somebody finds the women during their search for Indil while his attention is otherwise fixated?

Duh. I got lucky and saw this post. Nicely done. Shows how forgetful I am.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by Elempi

He set her on the ground, but did not let go. "You will come with me and we will see the fair lady you dream about. Would you like to go see her?"

Oh you wicked, wicked man!

I'm positively wriggling in anticipation of writing her response.

[littlemanpoet]

Originally Posted by Feanor of the Peredhil

Oh you wicked, wicked man!

But I only write him.

[littlemanpoet]

I've set it up so that Tharonwë is so obsessed with "this opacity in the girl's brain" that he forgets about Bella and Leafa and everything else. Not sure how realistic that is, but I hope it came off.

The opacity is, to my mind, a blockage that is there separating this young personality from Angela and all of her memories. Maybe this blockage will remain that way, maybe it will be broken through. Perhaps Tharonwë's curiosity will get the better of him and he will choose to break the girl's mind to find out what it is, and to his horror he discovers that this little girl is suddenly talking with the knowledge and wisdom of a young lady from the 21st century! Now that would be fun... but we don't want to get ahead of ourselves......

So anyway, the two former captives can be found by the men. And if Celuien's hectic schedule ever gives her a break, she can have Sathryd heal up Mellonin, and Firefoot can have Rugh confront Saethryd on her cruel means of survival. Hmmm.... that could be interesting....

[Nurumaiel]

I don't know if you're going to need Leafa to do anything over the next couple of weeks, but I've found that I'm going to be unexpectedly unavailable. I don't know if you recall our family's little hobbit with the medical problems, but he's going to have at least a brief stay in the hospital. He got the chicken pox. With his immune issues it could potentially cause problems, so prayers would also be appreciated.

[Celuien]

As of Monday, my schedule will be considerably less horrible. At least for a little while.

For now...back to work.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

You know...

The main problem with active writing when you're working with a group is that once you finish your piece, you have to wait for the response.

On a side note, just something I thought I'd share, I read some interesting writing tips the other day. The one that stuck in my mind was:

Just when you think your characters have it bad, make it even worse.

[littlemanpoet]

Wow, Fea! You know how the saying goes around the Downs: "I'd rep you if I could but I have to spread it around." That was one aitch ee double toothpicks of a post! How do I follow that up? (Elempi scratches his head) I can only imagine that Tharonwë is going to go into throes of interior analysis, completely lost to the world. In particular I was just astonished with your idea of him noticing her hurt from reading her mind instead of hearing her. How right! How twisted! Awesome! Inspired! And not a little obscure with all those delectable dreams. Guess I'll go dive down into Indil's subconscious and see what a bit of a swim will produce....

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by littlemanpoet

In particular I was just astonished with your idea of him noticing her hurt from reading her mind instead of hearing her. How right! How twisted! Awesome! Inspired! And not a little obscure with all those delectable dreams.

I'm absolutely delighted by your praise. You've no idea... There should really be a blushing smiley.

And I love handing you pieces of inspiration. I love seeing what brilliance you give back to fuel me further onward.

[littlemanpoet]

I'm sorry but I'm certain my last post isn't really up to snuff. It's late and I'm tired, but at least I like the beginning and the end. Hope it's enough.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Not sure what comes next for Indil. But it seems like a really good spot to jump back to The Boys on their search for The Girls (euphamism for highschool romance?), since they've now had all day to look for Indil and find (or not find) things or people...

[littlemanpoet]

That would mean that of those who are more or less active, either Immy or I need to post next. Immy, would you like to? You need not feel yourself limited to only Aeron; there are other characters that could be written, at least at third person, such as Erebemlin, Liornung, Ravion, and Bergil.

[littlemanpoet]

Back to you, Immy.

[Imladris]

I'll try to get a post up by the weekend.

[Formendacil]

Wow...

That was a long two months.

Or a short two months, depending on how you look at it.

Anyway, I've been without internet for two months, and I'm nearly broken of the habit, though this sense of responsibility is prodding me into getting back into it. Fortunately for this RPG, there are a lot of new posts (from my point of view) to stir up the creative juices, but I have so much to respond to mentally that I'm not sure what I'm doing...

That being said, I'd like to be back enough by the weekend to have a post up, but if nothing happens--poke me. I don't plan to get kicked out anytime soon (it's a long story why I haven't had internet of late, but the simpleton's tale begins with me getting kicked out of seminary).

[mark12_30]

Ravion goes hunting for Mellonin! What a heartening thing to read while I'm stopping by...

It's good to see the game moving along. Slow tis true but moving. Erebemlin is as stern as ever-- heartwarming, that-- and Raefindan is still twentieth centuy misplaced. It's all good.

Warm regards. I do daydream about re-entering the game... someday. Too bad we no longer have access at work...

Grace and peace, --mark12_30

ps. FOrmie, did I get that right-- kicked out of seminary? THerein lieth a tale, no?

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by mark12_30

ps. FOrmie, did I get that right-- kicked out of seminary? THerein lieth a tale, no?

Well.... a pity-party lieth therein, anyway....

They're letting me back in, in a couple weeks, so it wasn't quite so drastic as it sounds, though it certainly had a catastrophic effect on any RPGing I was doing.

Meanwhile, now that I've been prodded into posting on the planning thread, I feel like I should get the process started on an actual RPG post... but I'm hitting a brick wall. I suppose I can always go introspective on Bergil, but the moment seems to call more for action, and I haven't a clue how I might move that along.

Suggestions?

[littlemanpoet]

What's Bergil's motivating core? What makes him tick? Does he have compassion for Indil? Or not? Does he like Elves? Or is he disappointed with Erebemlin as a representative of Elves? How does he react to other characters? What drives him? What skills does he possess?

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

I'd probably stick with how he reacts to his first plan (finding Indil's family) being shifted into something far more complicated (find a rogue elf who's got the little girl he was supposed to be in charge of, return him to the authorities, make sure the girl's unharmed, find her family, help out with the quest, etc...). If he considered Indil to be his charge, then I can see him being a bit p'd that she slipped out from under his nose. Some Ranger he is, no?

Or you could just make things up as you go... Internal plight isn't that important.

[Formendacil]

Internal plight is well and good, but I'd rather it was framing an action rather than just being a post in and of itself, simply because we are hitting a point of action in the story, and that should continue to build, rather than to stagnate into non-action.

I'm hungry and lazy at the moment, so I think I'll spend my moments ere supper rereading the "recent" postage, and seeing if anything leaps out at me.

EDIT: Okay, I've gone back over the posts, and my mind is beginning to shift out of neutral. Can Bergil and I move the action forward so that the company is divided, or do we need more to happen ere that point?

[littlemanpoet]

Please do move the plot forward. That's a standing invitation. As I said to Fea a little while back, considering the circumstances of this rpg, if you're here and you're posting, your character is one of the main characters.

[Formendacil]

Well, it took me more like 66 hours or something like that, rather than the hoped-for 48, but I've got my Save filled. I didn't quite get the company on the road, simply because Bergil and I were a bit confused as to which company Aeron was travelling with. The indications in the text are that Aeron is planning to go with the Tharonwë-seeking crew, but it doesn't seem 100% decided, and to my mind it would have been more logical for him to go with Ravion and the lady-seekers, since he, through Gwyll, knows best where they can be found.

If I'm just being obtuse, let me know, and I can edit/remove/answer the question in-post.

Also, as always, any corrections to character, continuity, or flow that you can suggestion are appreciated.

[littlemanpoet]

Nice posts! More writers definitely enhance this rpg. I'll need some time to think about what's next for my characters.

[Firefoot]

Save filled.

I definitely love the edit post function on this new version of the site.

[littlemanpoet]

A most excellent post, Firefoot. I suppose with Helen and Nurumaiel not quite active, the next post falls to me. I'll give it some thought and try to put something together tomorrow after a good night's rest.

[Nurumaiel]

Apologies to all. It seems that as soon as I get myself ready to commit myself to this game again, something happens that throws it all off. This past month has been a rough one, and apparently it's had some effect on my general well-being, as I've been miserably ill for the past few days. Hopefully I'll be healthy once again come next week, and then I'll make a very strong effort to get involved once again.

In the meantime, thanks for being so patient with me.

[littlemanpoet]

Get well, Nuru.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by Nurumaiel

Apologies to all.

And a voice like thunder rumbles from the sky, booming: Thou shalt feel no guilt for things beyond your control.

[littlemanpoet]

I wonder, Celuien, if with you being so busy with RL, that maybe Saethryd needs to stay home, instead of accompanying the questers?

[Imladris]

Just to help us get our bearings....what needs to happen now?

[littlemanpoet]

From my viewpoint, at Saethryd's it's a matter of taking Mellonin back into the group and heading on. I don't see the use in Saethryd joining the group because Celuien won't be available to write her. For that matter, I'm not sure it's desirable to bring Mellonin back into the group, for the same reason. She has found her brother, so that part of her quest is over. Why is she still involved? - - - because Helen gave her a dream. What was her dream? I haven't the foggiest what it was, or how it impinges upon the plot, especially without Helen here to write the character. Thus, she's just baggage. Sorry, Helen.

What Rûgh does is up to Firefoot. Ædegard & Leafa may now depart from the quest and go home to her papa.

As for the other group, they are chasing down Tharonwë, and maybe they'll catch up to him before he reaches Nimrodel, maybe not. I can't imagine him wanting them to. I suppose he'll have to start setting up ways to put his pursuers out of commission. So that could mean the deaths, or at least the injury (and decommissioning for the sake of this plot), of a number of what have turned into NPCs, which I personally wouldn't mind, because it's hard to carry around all these extras.

Frankly, I'd like to wrap this up soon. I'm out of patience with it.

There is precisely one thing that will bring me back into patience with this story: those characters for whom there are active writers, are the only ones left on the quest.

Imagine, therefore, if we only have Bergil, Indil, Raefindan, Aeron, Jorje, Rûgh (and Liornung should his writer become active), and Mellondu (just because he's central to the plot). A nice tight cast for a nice tight plot. Wouldn't that be refreshing?

[Imladris]

Originally Posted by littlemanpoet

Frankly, I'd like to wrap this up soon. I'm out of patience with it.

Agreed a thousand times over.

I've lost track of the story and the characters and carrying the NPCs I find annoying.

I like the idea of Tharonwe slowing them down. =] Conflict, action, bring it on.

I would post for Aeron, but I'd like something for him to react to (An Indil post or a Tharonwe post), but if time is short I will write a forwarding post from his Point of View.

[Firefoot]

What Rûgh does is up to Firefoot.

I haven't decided yet... he'll probably follow them around for a bit, maybe helping, maybe hurting - he'll probably make his role more explicit once Tharonwe enters the scene - lesser of two evils and all that.

I've lost track of the story and the characters

Much agreed. And not having actually participated in the original, I find it all the harder to remember who's who and how the dreams all fit into the story - especially since there was such a time difference between the start of the planning for this one and the end of the original one.

[littlemanpoet]

Thanks for the responses.

Based on who is still actually writing, our characters are:

• Nuru: Liornung and Leafa
• LMP: Raefindan, Ædegard, Jorje (Marigold too for what it's worth), and Tharonwë
• Imladris: Aeron & Gwyllion
• Fea: Indil
• Firefoot: Rûgh
• Formy: Bergil

Those characters that have lost their writers are:

• Mellonin, sister of Mellondu (Helen)
• Mellondu, within whom lives Amroth (Helen)
• Ravion the Ranger and interested in Mellonin (Orual)
• Saethryd (Celuien)
• Bella (Aylwen Dreamsong)
• Erebemlin (Alaklondewen) & Taitheneb (who is already dispensed with)

Here's my proposal:

1. Have Ravion, Bella, Leafa and Ældewynn discover that Mellonin has received a severe head wound and needs to stay right where she is until they are sure she will live, and then they determine that she must be taken back to civilization. So they stay.

2. But word must reach the others, so Liornung volunteers to follow them and Jorje goes with him; but Ravion's ranger skills will be needed to help Liornung find the trail; once this is accomplished, Ravion urgently returns to Saethryd's cottage. Of course, they don't know that Rûgh is watching all of this and could have shown Liornung the way without Ravion having to go through all of this back-and-forth-ing.

3. Traps and whatnot start waylaying the party, and Erebemlin goes down with a wound (mortal?). Mellondu is the only npc that remains, beause he's essential to the plot. Unless we have it that Mellondu is discovered as Amroth's host by Tharonwë, and naturally Tharonwë tries to kill him (and succeeds?). But in the nick of time, Amroth somehow (we can figure it out later) conveys himself to another of the group (Bergil? Liornung? Aeron? ... not Raefindan because he already has Imrazor to dream about). And things move forward.

What do you think? Are there any other questions as to plot outline?

[Nurumaiel]

lmp, no thoughts or questions, just a brief note to let you know that come Monday I should be up and, at long last, ready to go! And hopefully nothing happens this time around to sidetrack me.

We had a rather chilly and wintery-feeling morning today, and I threw on a warm coat, sat by the empty fireplace, and played my violin... and all of a sudden I found myself missing Liornung, and most anxious to get back to him.

[Formendacil]

Interesting ideas... Alas, but I'm not seemingly able to add anything at the moment, possibly due to this being the first day of classes, and I'm brain-dead as a result...

Anyway, I certainly agree that there is too much deadwood on this RPG, and a serious pruning needs to take place--drastic as some deaths might be, they would probably help the plot a lot.

That being said, my character is probably the least-affected by the changes, unless Amroth DOES somehow transfer, which is a very interesting proposition, and one that both intrigues me and scares me, as a writer. That being said, I'd think the story BETTER if we could ideally preserve Mellondu, but only if he can remain an essential character. If he becomes baggage for the company, or a mere shell for a once-removed Amroth, then he might serve no good purpose to remain, and might be better killed--and would possibly provide a nice artistic contrast to Mellonin, who drops out of the story into a happy, quiet life.

Just some random musings on one of LMP's tangents, really...

At the moment, I'm sort of in the state of mind that it makes the most sense to have some postage about Tharonwë and Indil as they move on before bringing Bergil in after them, so I'm not so much procrastinating about posting, as procrastinating with a reason.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Hi. I'm here, just tired. First week of classes. Moving in, and classes, and homework, and meetings, and... Was it this stressful the last few years I did it?

I can post an Indil/Tharonwe moment this weekend (I'm afraid probably not before then), unless you (LMP) want to.

Though I like each character in turn, I'm all for culling to simplify the story and the writing. Theory is, if we're confused and bored writing it, how the x are casual readers going to feel? It's not like everyone has to die, they just have to get shunted out of the plot in a reasonably (but believably) fast manner. Once we're excited, the writing will reflect it.

And though I think it would be tragically pretty to have Mellondu kick it (especially if contrasted with Mellonin; just think: the innocent are those who suffer most), I also think he's a wonderful Amroth-carrier, and it would be superficial at best for us to remove him.

A side note: Indil's blocking out deaths. It's tugging at my mind that if she witnesses or finds out about deaths of those who have taken her in, and is forced to come to terms with it, it might toss her deeper inside her own mind's capabilities. Anything from insanity to more control over visions, to simply weeping helplessly out of fear and pain.

[littlemanpoet]

It'll be good to have you back, Nuru.

I can post for Tharonwë pretty soon, certainly by Saturday.

My problem about Mellondu is that I remember when Helen was writing him, how interesting and plot-enriching that was; and now that's totally gone. That's not good. We need an active writer to either write Mellondu or have Amroth in him/her.

[littlemanpoet]

Without comment, our dear Helen has posted as Avarien who has taken residence in Mellonin. I guess I finally figured that out. I'm stunned by the depth of it. See what I mean!?!? THAT's what we've been missing. Helen? Are you going to come back again soon? If so, this could take a completely different direction than we've been casting about to take it. Sigh.

[Imladris]

This is probably stupid of me but there are too many pages to weed through to find my answer:

Who is Avarien?

And, I've been wanting to ask this for a very long time now (ever since mark said she could not be involved with the rp) but I didn't want to be a wet blanket: would it be wise and fruitful to the story to continue without mark12_30?