Have had some thoughts. I think the story is kind of.. meh at the moment. Nothing disagreeable, nothing really agreeable either.
I do 'think' we could benefit from a re-think, and maybe even restart. The story is just too... incoherent. It's a mess. We go from one char to the next to the next, not really focusing on anything. I wrote most of it, and I'm totally lost.
I am going to look at what I 'liked' about what we did and didn't like and maybe trim the fat or focus on the best of them. So... story arcs I did like:
Hollowed Earth: The idea of the Earth becoming the outer layer of some strange new plane of existence, due to an error by the new Gaia. What can I say, I like bringing an entire world into disarray.
The magic girls losing their powers: Because frankly... such loss makes an interesting story. It also enhanced the story of magic girl six. Her story is interesting to me, being the outsider that never got to help out due to her late awakening.
Internet problems/Hiro's sacrifice: I like that it completed Hiro's story in some way. Going from a bad guy, to trying to make amends to making the ultimate sacrifice... to get as many digital fairies off the internet as possible and saving them all in the end.
Time travel: Yeah... okay I do like the idea of 'revisiting' certain places. We haven't actually done that exactly but... it might be interesting to give it a shot.
Planet Clockwork: Okay I couldn't make it work but... it was a cool concept. A planet that could make universal wishes...
The following characters:
Jeff the Giant clockwork girl, stuck as a child... probably my favourite scene was of her seeking time when it froze for everyone but her.
Doppelgangers: The idea that the transformations might have doubles, existing and doing what comes very naturally to them in that world.
Anne's Jeanie transformation: well... we didn't do anything with it, but... I think it suited Anne's general character.
Neko-girl TF: because we needed more cat-girls. Cute ones.
Companies exploring the use of 'magic': Something that is probably new to the world and so they might mess it up... eh, I don't know.
The idea of our Big-bad from the previous story starting out as a DM playing dungeons and dragons: Kind of a... 'what?' moment for me. But it fit so well!
Lilly turning into a full squirrel: We had not done a full animal change before... it was interesting to experiment with that. Though it was always going to be temporary.
Things I didn't like:
Arachne: She was supposed to be a 'big bad'... but in all honesty, she was a hard character to write. I did like the idea of someone from the past stirring trouble but... I don't know if it worked right
Uber Lucas: Lucas as a character is fine. But she is very powerful, and it makes it hard to work things.
Past characters with no introduction: We have to assume nobody has or will ever read the previous stuff... I think we've been mostly careful about that, though I've slipped up a few times.
Lack of exploration in Jon's family: We barely did anything on it...and that annoyed me. I really wanted to focus on Jen being a mother and sorting things out for her family.
Lack of an actual plot: There's no real... 'bad thing' in the story. I don't know... maybe we should do something a little bolder. Something that actually makes the plot go forward.
Lack of getting to a 'particular scene' I had in mind: I was hoping for Lilly to find someone rather special on the other side of this weird reality... hoping I can make it happen at some point when it feels right. But this sort of thing is true for many characters. I always had 'particular' scenes I was trying to get to, but couldn't find a way to make it happen.
So... basicly I think we need to select the 'right' Time frame, and focus on only certain characters. We need to make the story about something, rather then 'slice of life' post TF situations. My instinct is to set the story into the future. I think we should be 'less realistic' too. Being realistic in a fantastical setting is severely limiting us.
The lack of a plot is a big problem. We need some kind of 'tragic thing' that is going to cause problems and instigate events. In the previous story we had mass transformations and the immediate effects on people's lives. So... what can honestly compare to that in a sequel? Without a 'spark' of events, there is no story.
So... I'm at square one. Just... seeking the story that's in there.
