Question you have a plot thread dangling there.

Plot threads and twists, those as yet unresolved ones that we wait each week to see if they get touched upon. Those ones that you sit and wait for with baited breath, digging your nails into the desk until the newest chapter is posted. What are they? I wonder what the writers think we think are the best ones. The ones we most eagerly anticipate getting more details about, or more happening behind. So... what untouched plot points are you waiting on?

mine?

Lifeline's blood oath, and her plans for Grizzly. - She declared the blood oath and sealed it. Meaning she is bound to it. What will she do? How will she try to "save" Lanie from Grizzly? What will the repercussions be?

Jamie Howe's plans for Lapin - Jamie loved Lucas, but wants to kill Tia. She's the right combination of crazy and crafty. She has a super-vilian in the making vibe going on, so what will her long-game be? Will it tie in with Tia's problems with her increasing libido? Perhaps a sabotage of her medications, in order to shame her, or get her out of the school? Whatever happens, with TIa's increased fear response, it will be interesting.

Hank and Leanne and Fey and Koehnes - This will not end well. Koehnes is very much a remnant of Aunghadhail's presence, and her haughty ways and insistence on Nikki being more like The Queen to Come will drive a wedge into team Kimba.

Danny and well, everything. - The Witch has her eye on him, Elrod has said there may be a "regular teen girl" form of Danica, How will Danny cope with the constant demands for kitty-boy? How will he react if human Danica ends up being hot, and pursued? As much as Kayda had massive psychological damage inflicted by her ordeals, Danny seems to be vulnerable to many of the same, plus additional ones. The realization that he is stronger as a girl (due to Winnihape), he is vulnerable as a boy, and so forth.

The Amazons, and the potential outing of Poe - This one interests me on the basis of how wide-sweeping it could be. If Poe's secret is revealed, can the school ever put that genie back in the bottle? Plus the ramifications to allumi as well as current students. As an example: In 2nd Gen, if a student discovers that Miss Reilly was in Poe back when she was a student, how does that undermine her, in her students eyes?


So... what unresolved plot points are your favorites?

I really am intrigued by your list. However, most of these are merely things not yet reached by the stories being told, rather than plots left to dangle

AJ Blackstone meeting Jadis/EVERYTHING to do with the Spring Break Trip

Gwen and Collin.

Imp and Ryan Chambers

Phase still living in a tiny apartment bulding/townhouse when she has billions of dollars...

But Lifeline's oath? That feels like a true dangling plotthread, one set up and then left untouched for a long time (in terms of how many stories have been written since it happened). I mean, it's been what, 3 months, four, maybe five since she made that oath in terms of actual universe time, right?

Well, let me see if I can stir the soup a bit...

You could argue that the conditions of Maggie's oath were met the moment Tansy accidentally pulled Grizzly from Elaine. While Lifeline didn't 'do the deed' the conditions of her oath stated:

Galatea Debutante wrote:
...burn you from her body and cleanse your filth from her soul!

In that moment, Grizzly's connections to Elaine's hallow (her body) and mind (her soul) were completely severed, such that Elaine went into spirit separation shock. It was only for a few seconds, but everybody knows what kind of Rules Lawyers Mages are, right?

Not that I'm saying that's the way of it. Just that it could be argued. It could also be argued that Maggie has to physically be the one to do it because she said:

Galatea Debutante wrote:
...there will be no peace between us until I burn...

Sooo, could go either way. Just say'n.



Now, dangling in the sense of we forgot about it? Oh no, we NEVER forget about things, but we LOVE to let you guys stew over it, and argue about it, and then YOU forget about it, THEN we pop the big reveal so we can go back and say, "Ya know, all the way back in X we did Y and..."

Actually, I don't have much of a problem with the "Ayla living in Gracie's basement" thing. Thing is, Gracie and Janet LIKE the house. They sweated blood to buy it, (even if they had a mortgage to pay off), and they are proud of achieving it despite the difficulties associated with their life choices. They have their pride, and don't want to live off Ayla's handouts. And they like the neighborhood, where their lifestyle is well accepted.

Now, Ayla is a minor. He can't realistically live on his own. And he can't TELL Gracie and Janet to move to a McMansion. And it's just for a fraction of the year -- most of the time, Ayla will be off in Whateley (or, eventually, in some college with a first-rate MBA).

So they compromised. Ayla helped them with the mortgage and they used their newly-available disposable income (that used to go towards mortgage payments) to improve Ayla's room. They probably don't really NEED to take boarders anymore, but they get along well with Tiffany and Amy and, well, extra money.

By Gen2, who knows? Ayla might be living on his own somewhere else. Tiffany and Amy may have moved out, and Gracie and Janet didn't take any new boarders, so the house looks quite roomy now. Perhaps they have kids (I don't think there was any indication that Gracie had lost reproductive function due to Anlage). Perhaps Ayla convinced Gracie to take a chair in AJG board of directors (those board jobs pay well and don't involve a lot of hours, so she could still pursue her music career).

Things left dangling? For me, it's Nikki's red hair. I just get hung up on the incongruity thus far.

Aunghadhail in visions of the past (and inside the dreamscape) has had blonde hair. So why does Nikki have red hair - as does Cirque. why should they appear so similar to each other, whereas Aung has only been seen with blonde hair (outside of that very first dream in Nikki's intro)?

It struck me that perhaps it might be an effect of the world-class magic that protects young Sidhe royalty. Maybe it does more than just give them glamours, but also ensures that they are physically attractive and "perfect"?

Ametros wrote: Things left dangling? For me, it's Nikki's red hair. I just get hung up on the incongruity thus far.

Aunghadhail in visions of the past (and inside the dreamscape) has had blonde hair. So why does Nikki have red hair - as does Cirque. why should they appear so similar to each other, whereas Aung has only been seen with blonde hair (outside of that very first dream in Nikki's intro)?

It struck me that perhaps it might be an effect of the world-class magic that protects young Sidhe royalty. Maybe it does more than just give them glamours, but also ensures that they are physically attractive and "perfect"?

If you stop and think about it, you already have the answer. And her hair isn't blonde, read the description again:

Whilst Any Speaks Chapter 3 wrote: The queen, for she could be nothing else, was a tall, sharp featured woman with milk white hair worn combed back from her high forehead to fall to the small of her back and held in place by a circlet of what Wyatt took for platinum at first glance, but was likely the much more valuable Mithril he'd heard of but never seen. A single, perfect amethyst hung from the circlet, which lightened her pale complexion and lit a fire in her icy blue eyes and for all her cold and imposing regal nature, the woman was still very beautiful in a distant, unobtainable way. She was dressed in a white linen gown with a waist cincher she didn't need of a gold and white brocade pattern and held a knurled wooden staff that was as white as the rest of her wardrobe.

The other clue is in North to Atlantis, but I won't spoon feed that one to you....

I would not consider those to be dangling plot threads, as they are from active stories.

How about this one:

Parent's Day wrote: The middle-aged oriental gentleman leaned back against the bus seat and smiled at his 'wife'. In a few seconds, they would be safely off Whateley Academy grounds, in a perfect position. Their masquerade had gone perfectly. No one in their organization had ever managed to infiltrate Whateley Academy before. But finally they had a teenaged member enrolled as a student at Whateley. Their 'student' had been the perfect mole, and had provided the ideal cover for a 'parental visit'. They still didn't know who the girl Chaka was, but they were now on a bus with the girl's relatives, and they would arrange for the relatives to be followed all the way to their home. As a bonus, they had been able to spot the Wilson girl and verify that her parents were indeed the infamous Flashlight and Weasel: there was a very large open contract from the Syndicate for tracking the Wilsons.

However, their main focus was Chaka, the martial artist. Even if Whateley Security could not be breached directly, there were other ways to get around it. And if one happened to know where Chaka's loved ones lived, then there were ways to 'persuade' her to cooperate in their plans...

Generator's transitioning.
Make and Overclock.
Ayla and Circe.
Vox's self voicing.

Valentine wrote: I would not consider those to be dangling plot threads, as they are from active stories.

How about this one:

Parent's Day wrote: The middle-aged oriental gentleman leaned back against the bus seat and smiled at his 'wife'. In a few seconds, they would be safely off Whateley Academy grounds, in a perfect position. Their masquerade had gone perfectly. No one in their organization had ever managed to infiltrate Whateley Academy before. But finally they had a teenaged member enrolled as a student at Whateley. Their 'student' had been the perfect mole, and had provided the ideal cover for a 'parental visit'. They still didn't know who the girl Chaka was, but they were now on a bus with the girl's relatives, and they would arrange for the relatives to be followed all the way to their home. As a bonus, they had been able to spot the Wilson girl and verify that her parents were indeed the infamous Flashlight and Weasel: there was a very large open contract from the Syndicate for tracking the Wilsons.

However, their main focus was Chaka, the martial artist. Even if Whateley Security could not be breached directly, there were other ways to get around it. And if one happened to know where Chaka's loved ones lived, then there were ways to 'persuade' her to cooperate in their plans...

Wasn't that the Tong of the Black Madonna, leading into one of Sun Wukong's visits to suburban Baltimore?

Valentine wrote: Generator's transitioning.
Make and Overclock.
Ayla and Circe.
Vox's self voicing.

One of my WMGs is that Generator's transition might be associated with an on-going plot point and/or another background character's origin. Some plans of action start with steps that become less obvious with time.

Make and Overclock: Logically, they need time to build back their grubstake, establish their cred, and then make their strike. If they're good at the first two, they could easily end up being too busy for the third. Then again, revenge is a dish best served cold.

Ayla and Circe: In progress. Hey, someone has to spend some time actually learning the Western tradition! We don't see Circe in Gen 2, nor Ayla/Phase by name. A traditional teacher/student relationship takes years, so I wouldn't consider the plot "dangling" while both are at Whateley - just something I'd like to see more of.

Vox's self-voicing: Putting a Krispy Kreme cherry pie on the risks of Sirens doing that to themselves being covered in one of the siren-specific or general psi classes, where one of the first exercises being how to recognize if you've been doing yourself (and others!) wrong. Dangling, but too early to snip.

null0trooper wrote:

Valentine wrote: I would not consider those to be dangling plot threads, as they are from active stories.

How about this one:

Parent's Day wrote: The middle-aged oriental gentleman leaned back against the bus seat and smiled at his 'wife'. In a few seconds, they would be safely off Whateley Academy grounds, in a perfect position. Their masquerade had gone perfectly. No one in their organization had ever managed to infiltrate Whateley Academy before. But finally they had a teenaged member enrolled as a student at Whateley. Their 'student' had been the perfect mole, and had provided the ideal cover for a 'parental visit'. They still didn't know who the girl Chaka was, but they were now on a bus with the girl's relatives, and they would arrange for the relatives to be followed all the way to their home. As a bonus, they had been able to spot the Wilson girl and verify that her parents were indeed the infamous Flashlight and Weasel: there was a very large open contract from the Syndicate for tracking the Wilsons.

However, their main focus was Chaka, the martial artist. Even if Whateley Security could not be breached directly, there were other ways to get around it. And if one happened to know where Chaka's loved ones lived, then there were ways to 'persuade' her to cooperate in their plans...

Wasn't that the Tong of the Black Madonna, leading into one of Sun Wukong's visits to suburban Baltimore?

The Tong of the BM was targeting Chou and DW, these two were focussed on Toni. Seems like an odd switch.

From "Five Elements Dancing - Book of the Wood"

Greeting to you, True Handmaid of the Tao, from the Tong of the Black Madonna,
You have proven yourself through the trials and have fought against us in both the physical and dream realms. We acknowledge your skill and this has proven to us that you are indeed the Handmaid and that you wield the blade we seek. However, the time for games is over young lady. Turn over Destiny’s Wave or you and your loved ones shall pay.
We know where your girlfriend’s parents live, as well as where Miss Chandler’s parents live. As you read this missive, they are being watched. Our demands in this are quite simple, you will give us the sword, or they shall die a most horrible death as sacrifices to our Dark Mother. The choice is yours.
We shall give you a day to think this over. Deliver the sword to the front of the school by noon day after tomorrow or they shall die.
Preceptor
Tong of the Black Madonna

Exactly why they expanded their interests, other than just to provoke The Handmaid, to include Chaka before this point?

The only one that really stands out for me is the identity of Jobe's betrothed. Not a hint, snide remark, or reference in sight.

We were given a fair amount of information, as asides, in other stories, that summarize what happened with the giant amethyst and engagement jewels in New York...that I'm pretty sure Jobe is still wearing at school. Or is she alternating wearing a more simple tiara instead? Megs got involved, etc.

It's the same for Gloriana's and Misty's visit to California. We might not have the details, yet(?), but we have a good idea what happened.

Maybe the other one, now that we're questioning the mutant status of Caitlin's mother, is June Franks a low-level probability warper (edit: or precog)? She says quite a few things in earlier stories that end up, retrospectively, as foreshadowing.

As to Jobe's betrothed... I'm pretty sure it was either A) A test/joke/thing by her father or a Clone of Jobe Wilkins pre-drow serum accident (including pre-serum memories)

Actually, good point about the sinister Oriental couple in the first Parents' Day. Even if they were the now-stomped Tong of the Black Madonna, the real point was that they had placed and agent in Whateley. Who is that agent? As the scene suggests it's the couple's first visit to Whateley, that is, their first Parents' Day, the implication is that their mole is in the Class of 2010.
How many Oriental-looking students are there in the Class of 2010?

null0trooper wrote: From "Five Elements Dancing - Book of the Wood"

Warning: Spoiler! [ Click to expand ] [ Click to hide ]

Greeting to you, True Handmaid of the Tao, from the Tong of the Black Madonna,
You have proven yourself through the trials and have fought against us in both the physical and dream realms. We acknowledge your skill and this has proven to us that you are indeed the Handmaid and that you wield the blade we seek. However, the time for games is over young lady. Turn over Destiny’s Wave or you and your loved ones shall pay.
We know where your girlfriend’s parents live, as well as where Miss Chandler’s parents live. As you read this missive, they are being watched. Our demands in this are quite simple, you will give us the sword, or they shall die a most horrible death as sacrifices to our Dark Mother. The choice is yours.
We shall give you a day to think this over. Deliver the sword to the front of the school by noon day after tomorrow or they shall die.
Preceptor
Tong of the Black Madonna

Exactly why they expanded their interests, other than just to provoke The Handmaid, to include Chaka before this point?

Um, I always figured it was Molly and Toni's families because that was where Chou spent Christmas break, so it was the only place they actually knew she had a connection to.

Sir Lee wrote: How many Oriental-looking students are there in the Class of 2010?

They wouldn't necessarily have to look of Asian descent...
depending on parentage and ancestry, they could pass for another race.

as an example: Kristen Kruek, who only looks vaguely Aisan, IMO. Despite having a mother of mostly Chinese ancestry, and a father of Dutch ancestry.

One plot thread dangling for me? I'd say Vox and Phase's falling out and the self voicing problem. There are other plot lines much more interesting to follow and speculate, and I'm really curious about the outcome, but I consider that as the more... irritating.

I discovered it while I was reading along the Dated Stories Thread of the wiki, and to be honest, had forgotten the early mention in May Your Death Be Sweet before arrinving to Wine, Women and Ayla, so I got a real impression of Left Field Out of Nowhere. Now, the self voicing feels like a potentially great plot line, exploring Vox's real faults, like a tendance to use her power quickly, relative intolerance to the Kimboids' shenanigans and deep insecurities, which honestly made her an interesting love interest for me. Faults were there, but at a same time, you had someone who had been bonding from Phase from the start, was able to see past the Goodkind thing, and led to an interesting relationship, who broke apart because of Vanessa's flaws, but would have been a great way to force her to confront her faults.

But she's pretty much shunted away from the very start of the story, after it (for me) happened like a lightning strike, and off to the main characters of the story, making me feel like she was pushed away to make place to a new character at first. An impression, I'll admit, not helped by the fact at the moment I read the story, my most marking memories of Charge were Charge 2, and the fact she look like a rather vicious, dumb, and racist little bitch refusing to learn anything who burned out any sympathy earned from Charge 1 didn't help (I'll admit that maybe the fact she's French made it sting more for me).

But after that, Vox flat out disappear, except distant mentions where she's pretty much referenced through this break-up with Phase, and I get a feel of... contempt against her during these encounters, like she was there only to be bashed, and not for setting up any progression for her, making me feel like this whole plot-line is supposed to be that way, with her forbidden to give her part of the story (pretty literal feel, we don't see her telling anything that could suggest the self-voicing, or attempt something to speak to Phase's friends when he's not there), of progressing past that event and being... well, punished each time she appears.

Well, now I'm wondering if she's got an author or if she's just a free character...

'Cause if she's tied to Ayla's author, which is Bek, IIRC? Whoops, no, it's Diane. Then you'd have to wait for more of their stories or something?

Other than that single accidental self-voicing, how often does she actually use it?? ... What was her combat final like??

Malady wrote: Well, now I'm wondering if she's got an author or if she's just a free character...

'Cause if she's tied to Ayla's author, which is Bek, IIRC? Whoops, no, it's Diane. Then you'd have to wait for more of their stories or something?

Other than that single accidental self-voicing, how often does she actually use it?? ... What was her combat final like??

You see her use it during Ayla's birthday story, while they're in the showers, and frequently use it against people intruding while they're going to a club during their holidays trip.

And as far as I remember and know, she doesn't have any combat final to her name.

Couple big dangling plot threads, that of course are due to writer absence... Sarah's little bundle of joy, and it it's been born, and he pregnant J-team member that spawned off Jett that is trapped inside Sarah's pocket reality.

Rose Bunny wrote: Couple big dangling plot threads, that of course are due to writer absence... Sarah's little bundle of joy, and it it's been born, and he pregnant J-team member that spawned off Jett that is trapped inside Sarah's pocket reality.

It really is sad when a writer goes missing.

Kristin Darken wrote: Vox is not an author protagonist. I don't remember off hand if Diane created her specifically to support Ayla's story or if she just made use of an appropriate existing support character whose creator didn't need them for anything particular for those few months in the timeline.

I think Diane created her, or at least made so much of an use of her it's pretty much all the same, but secondary appearances ofr other authors is also a thing (even in one of AJ's stories for G2).

My problem is... The self-voicing seems to indicate there was some intention for creating a plotline to be explored beyond justifying the break-up between her and Phase, and... Nothing was done with it. Only mentions of Vox after that during the seven monthes in-story show she didn't go a step further after that scene in WWA where she runs off tho her room. No sign she tried something to give even indirectly her side of the story, tried anything to fix the problem, and these cameos give that feel of... contempt against her, like if the only purpose here was punishment, not developping a story.

Greaser's progression along his first year and start of Year 2 towards a nicer life was slow too, but the small steps were visible, even after his first story set up during Christmas break was interrupted before being finished. Compared to that, the situation with Vox feels like... a waste, and that's the irritating thing for me. I said it before, other plotlines are interesting me much more (like for instance Nacht's Spring Break, and what could have led Gloriana to wanting her as a member of Cape Squad too), but that's one is the one feeling like a plot-hole for me.

Kristin Darken wrote:

Hardric wrote: Nothing was done with it. Only mentions of Vox after that during the seven monthes in-story show she didn't go a step further after that scene in WWA where she runs off tho her room. No sign she tried something to give even indirectly her side of the story, tried anything to fix the problem, and these cameos give that feel of... contempt against her, like if the only purpose here was punishment, not developping a story.

Here's the thing. This was Diane's story. Diane left. No one else is going to pick up Ayla's story and run with it. You want it finished, convince Diane to come back and finish it.

This isn't a plot thread dangling. As was already stated earlier in the thread, this is not a place to bitch about abandoned stories ... that's a different thing completely. If this is what the thread is going to be used for, I will close it. We shouldn't have to tell people 10 times a year the various reasons why we don't just somehow finish all the stories that authors who left didn't finish.

I apologize for coming out as bitching when the very reason I tried to develop the more my answers was to avoid that by explaining why I felt like that. Guess my choice of words was less than good. And the reason I was mentionning this was because, well the story where it hapened was published by something else than Diane, at a time she had been gone for a while. I thought that development was somebody else idea.

AS to where Vox went after introduction, I think that's all Diane...

But I feel like I remember that Ayla's actual arrival at Whateley was written by his original creator, ScramblerJ (or was it ScrambleJ?)... and Vox was introduced as Ayla's girlfriend in THAT story, and Diane just kept it going for most of two semesters (obviously, i have no idea of Diane's plans, I'm merely commenting on what I think i remember of her Origins).

Alright didn't know that, Kristin. Sorry for bringing it up, then.

I had no idea he never wrote any ayla. I always thought he wrote the first Ayla story.

Wow am I out of it.

Thank you Kristen

I think we may have a few Ayla scenes by ScramblerJ in "Welcome to Poe" and "First Assembly", since they get a co-writer credit on those. But there was never an actual solo story.

I just checked that out.

Amusingly, i learned that Phoenix did a very liberal interpretation of Hank's backstory as told in "Welcome to Poe" and Diane did a very literal one for Ayla.

I also found out that Vanessa as a person who exists IS mentioned in the story... once. A black chick named Vanessa. That's it. That's all there was.

Iwasforger03 wrote: I just checked that out.

Amusingly, i learned that Phoenix did a very liberal interpretation of Hank's backstory as told in "Welcome to Poe" and Diane did a very literal one for Ayla.

I also found out that Vanessa as a person who exists IS mentioned in the story... once. A black chick named Vanessa. That's it. That's all there was.

She is also mentioned, nearly identically, in "Enter the Chaka."

Kristin Darken wrote: And Hadric.. its ok. It just comes up over and over... its not that you asked or what specifically you asked.... its that its the fifth time this year... and at least once of those handled it like saying that the only reason they read the stories are for Jade... so unless we tell more Jade stories, they're done with the universe. I mean... hey, we all love Jade. And we miss Babs too. thanks for making us feel like our contributions to the project only have meaning within the context of displaying Jade.

Yeah, I can imagine how that must be. Harsh. I doubt they’re the last one either.

I’m sure you know where they’re coming from: when we get into these stories, we start with Team Kimba, they’re our hook into this universe, and why one would keep on reading. To see them fall to the wayside as nothing but secondary characters is troubling to say the least, especially with so much invested there. Jade and everyone else’s story feels incomplete, without conclusion.

At the same time though, it’s not fair to you also. You did put time and efforts on these stories after all. You’re following on these legacies, with stories that matter too. To be told you’re always going to be in their shadows... ow.

Another case i’m afraid will require a thick skin... And a reminder that people still support you nonetheless.

Is there any hope of Saraha (our favorite lust demon) being rescued, or is she going to stay locked in that little piece of paper, attached to the underside of a desk drawer in an unused storage space, forever?

Anyone have contact with the character's owner?

Sara was intentionally "put on a bus" when Dr. Bender went on hiatus because her lack of action in several scenarios would be troublesome for a number of reasons.
And yes, Dr. Bender is around, and she apparently is again working on a Sara story, so she might be freed eventually.

I was going to say much the same thing that Sir Lee did, and actually Dr Bender has mentioned that s/He's working on more Sara. Maybe I'll write another Speakeasy micro-scene?

Sir Lee wrote: Sara was intentionally "put on a bus" when Dr. Bender went on hiatus because her lack of action in several scenarios would be troublesome for a number of reasons.
And yes, Dr. Bender is around, and she apparently is again working on a Sara story, so she might be freed eventually.

Glad to hear. I loved the interaction between her and Whisper in that story.

Hope that Dr. Bender doesn't wait too long before making an appearance.

I got a bit busy around Christmas, then I had a short vacation after which I got a head cold that I'm on the edge of recovering from still (been recovering for the last week).

New Sara story is coming, I got interrupted at the 15k word mark and I'm keen to get back to it.

I hope you get to feeling better. I've always hated having to weight the options of being doped up on Nyquil every 4-6 hours vs. stopping every few minutes to blow my nose, sneeze, or whatever else. (In case anyone thinks cold == no problem)

William.Starfox wrote:

Sir Lee wrote: Sara was intentionally "put on a bus" when Dr. Bender went on hiatus because her lack of action in several scenarios would be troublesome for a number of reasons.
And yes, Dr. Bender is around, and she apparently is again working on a Sara story, so she might be freed eventually.

Glad to hear. I loved the interaction between her and Whisper in that story.

Hope that Dr. Bender doesn't wait too long before making an appearance.

Which story is that? I haven't gone back and read every story since I started reading Whateley. I've seen Sara frequently, but I haven't actually read any of her stories aside from Jet's origin.

Whisper is one of my favourite origin stories and I'm sad that her author seems to be MIA like so many others.

In terms of active plot threads, I actually can't name any other than characters I just want to see more of, namely R & R, Imp, Bianca, Morgana, and Hikaru. I guess there is Hunger which came out of nowhere, faded as quickly as it came, brought back with no warning, and will probably not come back for a while.