Question Stories we really should have

There are a number of topics that it appears we will not be seeing in print, but I can hope can't I?
Spring break: Nach, Misty and Gloriana are going to visit Sunny in Palm Springs. It sounds like a good one.
Xmas stories for Outcast Corner and Hive look like they will not be told.
Fall term Tyr/Wallflower story is uncompleted.
Several more.
Any chance? Please?

There are many orphaned stories here. Some are orphaned because their authors are no longer active WU participants, and others are orphaned because several authors have rather spectacularly ADHD muses. We may see continuations (Bek mentioned recently that some long orphaned plotlines of hers were seeing development), but in general I wouldn't hold my breath.


However, I take issue with the implications of your chosen thread title. None of these stories are stories that we "really should have." The stories that are told here are told because their authors love telling them, and they have no obligation to the readers.

Yeah, as Kristen said a lot of the stories we might like to see take place in timeframes that we just don't have time to cover by the authors and, if we did, we couldn't actually advance the storylines...

The ones you asked about specifically are ones that were hinted at in a couple cases and started in another but the Authors have either moved on to advancing the main plot and continuing other stories that are in progress or, in one case, have left writing in the Whateley Universe currently.

The authors have to feel like working on a story and in some cases they may just feel that other stories are more important to tell at the time... Will they return to these stories at some point? maybe... can't say for sure. But these are ones that I wouldn't hold your breath waiting to see.

DanZilla wrote: Yeah, as Kristen said a lot of the stories we might like to see take place in timeframes that we just don't have time to cover by the authors and, if we did, we couldn't actually advance the storylines...

The ones you asked about specifically are ones that were hinted at in a couple cases and started in another but the Authors have either moved on to advancing the main plot and continuing other stories that are in progress or, in one case, have left writing in the Whateley Universe currently.

The authors have to feel like working on a story and in some cases they may just feel that other stories are more important to tell at the time... Will they return to these stories at some point? maybe... can't say for sure. But these are ones that I wouldn't hold your breath waiting to see.

What do we know about the end result of those stories? Like mental effects on Wallbreaker (Whoops, Wallflower!) from her mission?

Maybe more RL heroing EXP and that's it?

Kristin Darken wrote: and their only contact with each other for the summer is via phone/text/etc. Again... just because you want follow up... doesn't mean what you want is writable.

Text log dump is writable... Story is between the lines at that point, though...

Only thing that which can't be described, is that which can't be described.

We know that Outcast Corner did something in Australia, something very visible, but not likely criminal. So it's not likely that Razor went rager or anything like that, it more than likely involved some sort of joke.

The Plaid Perth Prank?
the Jurassic Ayers Rock Excursion?
Diamondback meets a Diamondback?

We know they left, had a "time" (good or bad) and returned... same as for Eldritch's Tattoos... In the next year they're shown as being there... We know these things because the Author was still in touch and was able to confirm these things. note: I'm assuming on this since I wasn't around at this point... but I know it's the general way we proceed with Canon stories involving another authors characters... we check with them and verify conditions and changes when possible.

Would it be nice to have some stories finished/told... Absolutely. But we can't make things happen against their authors wishes which means we can't write it for them in some of these cases. In the absence of the author we can't just adopt a character out to be written by others unless they gave permission.

Don't forget that some things are also considered to be 'Noodle Incidents', the 'Radio-active Condor Girl' scene being a prime example of such. It is referred to in several stories and we all know it happened but the chances are that we will never see the scene in detail.

John.

Kristin Darken wrote:

Malady wrote:

Kristin Darken wrote: and their only contact with each other for the summer is via phone/text/etc. Again... just because you want follow up... doesn't mean what you want is writable.

Text log dump is writable... Story is between the lines at that point, though...

Only thing that which can't be described, is that which can't be described.

If you think our average story is on par with a text log dump... well... I don't know what to say about that. I'm going to 'assume' that you meant this in a just a semantics argument sort of fashion in the sense that "yes we could write it down" ... because otherwise... I'd have to be insulted.

Yes, that was a semantics quibble. If you had said "doesn't mean what you want is worth a story / would be entertaining", I would have been less likely to say something, I think.

... And now I'm wondering how to spice up chat logs to make things so that effort could be placed around it? ... I guess it'd involve expanding on the environment of each participant, and reactions to each text... Or have them as flashbacks as part of some larger story...

But, that's a lot of work for little reward?

I think that Malady meant something along the lines of an epistolary novel. Although texts work less well for that, but you could probably get away with emails.

Arcanist Lupus wrote: I think that Malady meant something along the lines of an epistolary novel. Although texts work less well for that, but you could probably get away with emails.

Yeah. That sounds about right?

rubberjohn wrote: Don't forget that some things are also considered to be 'Noodle Incidents', the 'Radio-active Condor Girl' scene being a prime example of such. It is referred to in several stories and we all know it happened but the chances are that we will never see the scene in detail.

John.

Uhhh... actually, we have seen both the Radioactive Condor Girl AND the Noodle Incident via flashbacks in Phoenix Spiritus' second Hank story, So Shalt Thou Show Me Friendship

Every time someone brings up the "missing" stories I am reminded that there are different kinds of readers and the Whateley writers pay more attention to the first group. The first group wants a long epic story and doesn't care how long it takes to be told, they want to see the vast tapestry unfold before them. The other group could not care less about an overarching plot; instead, they want to read stories about interesting characters. They want to read every minute of every day those characters go through because they are attached to the characters.

Whateley cannot satisfy this second group if the character's author is gone. And that disappointment is not mollified by "the big picture".

I'm not saying it is good or bad how the Whateley writers stick to the long term. I'm saying there are people for whom that long term is not the carrot that keeps them here reading the stories.

On that subject, not to open old wounds or anything, but... does anyone know what happened to either ScramblerJ or Liliandra? My understanding is that they both just disappeared around 2006, with no indication or clues as to what happened. Does anyone know if they are all right?

Well, Scrambler J has popped up now and again. He provided a conversation that was the basis for the creation of the Bad Seeds. But given his rate of writing, he may still be plugging away at his first Ayla story.

As for Liliandra... well, she said that she was going on duty with the Navy, and that's the last we've heard of her. Take that as you will.

I'd like to point out, that at the insistence of the remaining G1 cabal - the characters in Gen 2 cannot be orphaned, so as long as anyone is left (and I'm not going anywhere until death) that lone wolf can write all of the characters involved, and the entire plot arc with the other authors complete blessing.

There will be no repeats of missing or lost story arcs for gen 2... (though if we lose a lot of people it may be glacially slow) and you have Gen 1 to thank for that.

Ditto what Nagrij said.

Right from the start, we in G2 knew we didn't want to run into the same problem we saw in G1 with the abandoned characters and story arcs, but we also acknowledged that things do happen in life and situations could come up which prevent an author from continuing to write in the universe. So we all made an agreement that, should any such thing happen to any of us, our characters and plot ideas would then be free for the other members of the team to use. So yeah, we're learning from the past and looking to make sure the same situations don't happen again.

Nagrij wrote: I'd like to point out, that at the insistence of the remaining G1 cabal - the characters in Gen 2 cannot be orphaned, so as long as anyone is left (and I'm not going anywhere until death) that lone wolf can write all of the characters involved, and the entire plot arc with the other authors complete blessing.

There will be no repeats of missing or lost story arcs for gen 2... (though if we lose a lot of people it may be glacially slow) and you have Gen 1 to thank for that.

Very true. One thing we have is recorded e-mails / chats where the authors have given permission for other canon authors to write for their characters should they drop out or otherwise disappear. After the Gen 1 experience, it was seen as vital to get that consent a priori.

Kristin Darken wrote: and maybe you'll understand why we get so upset and frustrated by the comments.

You miss their stories? We miss our friends.

Since we are both suffering loss, we should console one another, not be upset and frustrated.

Kristin Darken wrote: *We* aren't the ones posting demands for stories.

I demand that your friends return.

What they do once they return is up to them.

I demand that people stop demanding things.

Arcanist Lupus wrote: I demand that people stop demanding things.

I demand that all my demands are met.