8FOLD: Mighty Medley # 32, September 2016, by Messrs. Brenton, McClure, Perron, Russell, and Stokes

[Drew Perron]

On 9/11/2016 9:06 PM, Saxon Brenton wrote:
> On Sat 10/Sep/2016 Drew Perron replied to Tom:
<snip>
>> Aw, it's okay. I figured it was because my chapter was so insanely late. XD;
>
> Wait, what? *You* were insanely late?  No no no.  I'm pretty sure I was the one
> who was insanely late and caused the publishing delay.

Well, I'm insanely late on replying, so. X3

>>>    The Man With The Green Gloves smiled with the face he was currently
>>> wearing, and shook hands with them all. The Gentleman With No Shadow,
>>> The Baron of Ash And Dust, Grandfather Nomenclature, and all the
>>> others.
>>
>> Of *course* they all present as dudes, and aristocratic ones at that. More like
>> The Many-Oppressive-Paradigm'd Ones.
>
> Actually, that's a very good point that I didn't notice until you mentioed it.
> I had been so busy riffing a type of name (specifically some ancient, powerful but
> now largely defunct cosmic entities in the backhistory of the Champions RPG - many
> of which *were* gender multi or neutral) that I failed to notice.  It works rather
> well for exactly the reasons you cite - but I can't claim credit for it.

Hey, these things sometimes come out naturally. :> That's part of the usefulness 
of working with common old tropes.

>>>    Someone that Deidre hadn't been introduced to - he looked like a
>>> human male - suggested, "Maybe they plan to stay inside and convert
>>> themselves into living ideas? Like anthropomorphic personifications?"
>>
>> Great, now we've got Faction Paradox *and* the Celestis all up in this joint.
>
> Among many other sideways references.  I just hope I can remember them all when
> I do the annotations in the hypothetical trade etherback edition.

:3 :3 :3

>>>    "I'm not a ghost," Marcus chided him dispassionately. "I destroyed
>>> my soul with the Effacements, remember?"
>>
>> Hm. Why did he need to do that again?
>
> He wanted to be untracebale as possible while he was busy saving the world/
> committing treason.  His sorcerous oath was binding on his soul, so he decided
> to get rid of it entirely for tactical reasons.

Ahhhhhh, okay. I remember that now. <3

>> --it should've felt tighter, I guess?
>>
>> I mean, full of neat ideas and cool moments, just, yeah~
>
> Can't actually disagree with that.
> I originally started writing a penultimate chapter depicting Joan returning to
> heaven and notifying the memesmiths.  I then realised that it would be (a) another
> instance of repeating information the readers already had, and (b) effectively
> padding at a point in the story when the pacing was supposed to be speeding up
> to a climax.  So I decide to chop it, and then went into a creative funk with
> procrastination that contributed to the aforementioned being late.  With the
> benefit of hindsight that seems to have gotten rid of one pacing problem while
> substituting another.

Yeah, I know that feeling. x.x

> Analysing it: perhaps a final booby trap, with the ManWTGG anticipating a possible
> escape, him leaving a supposedly cunning backup contingency (probably leaving the
> hund as a hidden guard) that threatens to interfere with the timing of the plans.

I like that! <3 I think... I would have not only had a final booby trap, but a 
second threat to deal with at that point, probably related to the impending 
time-running-out of the universe collapsing, so that you have an active clock 
running down towards the end.

Drew "but that's me" Perron