ooc Sombra's Shadow [OOC]

[Count Paradox 3,548]

I apologize for my recent lack of posts. I've just been really busy for a bit. I'll try to have a reply out sometime later tonight to move everyone along.

[-Octavia- 1,176]

Not how I intended that to play out, but improvisation is always fun.

 

I imagine Psych will have overheard that exchange with his hearing, or part of it depending on how close behind he was.

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

Sorry about not posting; I had a Slipknot gig and in order to get the day off to go, I had to sign up for a lot of overtime. -.- It was worth it, tho.

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

 

 

Slipknot gig

 

Oooh, Slipknot. Did you enjoy yourself?

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

@, Very much, it was awesome. Suicidal Tendencies opened, too.

[Pucksterv 4,508]

@@Randimaxis, 

 

That was a incredible post... I don't why but it made me sad to the core. Your writing skills keep surprising me every time ^w^

[JonasDarkmane 19,785]

@@Randimaxis

 

I agree with Pucksterv here. Your posts were magnificent. Very insightful and deep, for us to understand your character. 

It made me sad as well, which means you managed to reach out well to the readers as well as getting them to feel as if the RP was actually happening IRL. 

 

Great work  

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

@@Pucksterv,

Your last post concerning Rarity doesn't make me angry (though it did initially)... it only makes me sad.

 

10/10 would accidentally crush my cup in rage again

[Pucksterv 4,508]

I was listening to some music and I thought this song was pretty fitting for the rp... just thought I would share

 

 

 

Edited February 15, 2016 by Pucksterv

[Count Paradox 3,548]

I apologize for my absence once again, everyone. The past few days have been hellish for me. I have only been on here to see how many notifications I have missed over the past few days, but now I'm finally able to get a break and reply to things. I promise I'll have a post in by tomorrow.

[Pucksterv 4,508]

@@Count Paradox, @, @@Pripyat Pony, @@-Octavia-, @@Stardust*, @@Randimaxis, 

 

So I've been thinking about this a lot lately and I think it's time I actually say something about it cause it's really starting to bother me. To me it seems that the excitement and enthusiasm from the beginning is somehow completely gone. I know that you all are very busy and so can not always respond fast and I'm not saying that you should do it faster, I don't want to hurry you or annoy you with that. I'm just saying that the fun I had in the beginning has disappeared, for me at least.

 

Then there is also the issue where I feel like we are 'growing' apart as characters but also as an rp group. In the beginning (here I go again with the beginning) we were much closer. I want that back because I'm not enjoying this anymore. Nowadays is seems we are just writing post for ourselves, staying in our own world when instead it should be something we do together. So do you guys have any solutions? Because honestly, I've been trying to think on my own but it has brought me nowhere. 

Edited February 20, 2016 by Pucksterv

[Stardust* 3,302]

I kinda feel like all the side stuff is taking away from the fun. I mean, I understand the whole Trivy being lost and eventually finding her way back, and seeing Jinx develop and how she deals with her internal torture of good and evil.

 

But I think that when Harcourt and Winter left is when everything went south. With them being gone and now learning that not only pinkie pie but rainbow dash is evil or have evil intentions is a lot to take in.

 

I think we lost focus on the original mission. We are getting carried away by the side missions and the additional characters that are staying active for a bit too long.

 

Puck, you shouldn't have to keep adding characters to make the story go forward. That is putting too much pressure on you.

 

We should have everyone check in here. Let everyone know what is going on, if they are still interested. And figure out where to go from here.

 

I don't want this to end. It is too good to end, but if we don't come together soon I fear that it will be the end.

[Randimaxis 8,652]

As much as I feel extremely... hesitant... to post on the OOC page here, I feel that I must stand up and speak.

 

When I first started coming to this site, I felt absolutely shut out because of the age gap; I always got along with those younger than me, but it's difficult to keep up with much of the terminology and the subject matters that seem to shift daily.  I had tried a few RPs, but nothing seemed to really stick to me.

 

That's when I found Sombra's Shadow.

 

I was quite nervous about joining at first, as I had just been in another RP with Jonas, and that one had tanked, so I wasn't sure I was even invited here.  Pucky and Mr. J let me in, and I simply started posting, having no clue as to what I would be in for... and I fell in love with it.  Unlike any other story here on the Forums, I have set myself into this world and tried my best to not only occupy it, but FILL it with life and character.  I've written posts in this thread that I am fairly certain I will never write the likes of again.

 

But it was getting invested in this thread - no other - that actually has kept me coming back to the Forums.  The people here are awesome, don't get me wrong... but I've fallen in and out of fandoms before; never have I ever held onto a fandom simply because of a single, solitary story.  Until now.  

 

And here's the bit I've been working towards: This story would be absolutely NOTHING without you folks.  ALL of you.  I can type away on a screen until my damned fingers bleed... but it feels shallow and empty without you folks there to type back.  And this group specifically?  Are you kidding?  YOU FOLKS ARE AWESOME.  Whenever I log on and see even a single post on this thread, I open that page first - I don't wanna miss a thing, to quote Steven Tyler.

 

There ARE some issues here that we all need to address, yeah.  There are issues no matter what you do; it's a matter of surrender or fight.  Me?  I'd rather fight for this story, as it is hands down my favorite online post-based RP ever... and I've done a few.  Each of you has garnered my attention in one form or another, and I've lurked each of you simply because I've caught the fever this RP has given me.

 

Look, I know there's quite a lot that needs addressing here.  But I don't think it's impossible to solve.

 

We need to try to work towards reuniting the group; I agree on this wholeheartedly, as I can see the loss of cohesion between characters while they're separated.  This could be an easy fix, so I'm confident that this will become a non-issue when we gather everyone together again... but doing so in a feasible manner will be the hard part... but I'm sure we can do it.

 

We need to try to get those characters to not only LIKE each other, but TRUST each other.  This one will be tricky, as there are issues that are buried beneath layers of doubt, suspicion and lies on the characters' parts.  I think that is stemming from the darkness of the story, and from the characters all being worlds unto themselves... yet not orbiting each other.  WE need to make those orbits, folks - they won't just happen by osmosis.  We need to communicate with each other and find ways, even small ones, to try to ingratiate characters to each other... and we need to be more open and accepting of opportunities like these.

 

And that's another issue I feel should be addressed; where is the hope?  In a good story, the enemy always seems impossible to beat, as that makes for an epic win at the end... but even in some of the bleakest stories, there is usually SOMEthing that makes all the suffering worth fighting for.  There seems to be very little of that here.  I know that the idea of hopelessness is what is trying to be conveyed here... but I think it looks a bit TOO hopeless.  Maybe we've just been dragging our OCs through the mud for the majority of this story, but maybe things could start to turn around for them finally.  A pronounced lack of hope for too long can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

The three things above that I have discussed are the areas that I feel we have issues in, and I also feel we have what it takes to solve those issues.  That being said, if we wanna save this RP from going belly-up, we need to not only work at it, but work TOGETHER at it. 

 

And I, for one, am TIRED of joining RPs just to have them peter out on me... and with everything we've all been through here, I'd say we OWE our poor, long-suffering characters an ending to this story.  A good ending.  A HAPPY ending.  One that will make the pain they've been through worthwhile.  One that will make people reading it applaud from their chairs at home when they finish it.

 

On top of that?  I want this story to live, not just exist... and we are all the organs that keep it alive.  I'm all for pushing onward; I want to see this through to the end.  Too many RPs out there fall short of greatness; this RP has touched greatness a few times already - and I swear to Luna that this RP does not deserve to become our collective 'Firefly', where we mentally lament about what we could have done or what we never finished...

 

... I want this to be more like our Star Wars.  And if that analogy holds, then I feel that it's time for Chapter Four: 'A New Hope'.  Let's talk this out and work it through.  We've come so far - and I'll be DAMNED if all that walking was for nothing.

 

So let's talk.  Let's figure it out together.  And most of all, let's get back to where we once belonged, to paraphrase the Beatles.

[Stardust* 3,302]

,

 

I applaud you sir. And I love each quote, reference, and paraphrase that you used! Let's get this going and do some good! Let's get the gang together and go catch us some ghosts!

 

But I do believe that you are right with getting everyone back together and working on the trust and cohesion with everyone. I think that alone is going to be a challenge. And there is enough there to be more than just walking down the path finding the next element and moving on.

 

It is going to be tough but it is going to be worth is when we see this group walking into the sunset beyond the smoldering body of Sombra. And the rest of Equestria is finally safe. And honestly why does it have to end there. We could do a little time skip after the evil is defeated and see where everyone is at. I think it would be cute.

[Count Paradox 3,548]

I don't want this to end. I don't want to see this wither away. This is one of the only RPs that I fully love and enjoy. I would hate to see this just go away. Whatever ideas you have I'll be fine with if it means getting everything back together.

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

Well, since everyone else has posted... ditto. I agree with everyone here; this is a fun roleplay that I hope gets to the end. I haven't even found an excuse to use music yet.

 

But... yeah. I'm not too good at heartfelt speeches, so... meh. But yes, totally continue on with this.

 

Also, I think that our main issue is that we need to force the story forwards, at least a bit. When I post with Lilith, we should leave soon afterwards, and keep our posting of our time on the road to a minimum unless something important occurs. Also, Pucky, you should probably not play as many characters that are directly involved in the plot at all times- while I can understand why, I think that the siblings that encountered Harcourt and Winter are kinda forced, and it also leaves you without a believable way to respond if you don't know how to answer Harcourt's verbal qualms. It also feels like they're not doing anything noteworthy other than, "We are the DM's plot devices to move the story along for you."

 

Perhaps it's about time to have Trivy and Jay actually find Harcourt soon. It'll give Pripyat her first interaction with the resistance.

 

We need to get the band back together and we need to stay together for an extended period of time, and actually be doing a thing like we were pre-Baltimare. We lost our goal once we hit the open waters...

[Pucksterv 4,508]

okay so what I gather out of all of this is that the griffon kingdom was a mistake of some sorts. Then Winter and Harcourt leaving was also a bad idea because it only brought us further apart. And the extra characters are around too long and all the other side stories are distracting us from our main goal.

 

I suggest we ignore the whole rainbow post I made recently so we drop that side story. Pinkie Pie is presumably dead so I can still decide if she makes a return or not with her side bit.

 

The twins, maybe they are a little forced. From now on, I won't be adding any extra characters (except members of the mane 6) I plan on Harcourt and Trivy to reunited at the smokey mountains, where the twins will also disappear into the background. Winter will also slowly go into the background there. Hopefully this will also be the place where all the lost hope returns. At least, I plan on doing that.

 

The only thing I'm still trying to figure out it how you (Aria, Stardust, Psych and Lilith) are getting back to Equestria after you find the rainbow's element

 

Also, do you guys already have a plan on how you are finding that element?

Edited February 21, 2016 by Pucksterv

[JonasDarkmane 19,785]

 

 

The only thing I'm still trying to figure out it how you (Aria, Stardust, Psych and Lilith) are getting back to Equestria after you find the rainbow's element   Also, do you guys already have a plan on how you are finding that element?

 

 

I think finding the element is going to have to be an event presented by the DM . Unless they can come up with something that goes along with the RP's story . 

[Pucksterv 4,508]

I think finding the element is going to have to be an event presented by the DM . Unless they can come up with something that goes along with the RP's story .

 

well seeing that every idea I have come up with so far has turned out very badly, I think it's better if the rest decides. Edited February 21, 2016 by Pucksterv

[Stardust* 3,302]

I hope that what I suggested was alright. I know that everyone wants to make this as short as possible to find the element and then meet up with the rest of the group. A couple day journey should hopefully give the rest of the group enough time to meet with Trivy at the main camp. 

[Pucksterv 4,508]

I hope that what I suggested was alright. I know that everyone wants to make this as short as possible to find the element and then meet up with the rest of the group. A couple day journey should hopefully give the rest of the group enough time to meet with Trivy at the main camp.

It was a good post,I like the story about rainbow crashing down. ^w^

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

well seeing that every idea I have come up with so far has turned out very badly, I think it's better if the rest decides.

 

Don't beat yourself up like that. Just because they went south doesn't mean that they were bad ideas. RPs like these, with long-term goals, rarely immediately end up turning out alright. Everyone has an idea of a beginning and an end, but no one has any idea whatsoever of the middle parts, which is why we ended up in the doldrums. A good idea for you to do is to list out potential... 'events' so to say, in a word processor someplace, and refer to it. Stuff on it could include things like 'suddenly, the shadows launch a surprise attack!', 'a mysterious figure is spotted nearby', and 'rumor has it that the destruction of Baltimare left behind clues to the location of an Element- but Sombra's forces are already turning the place upside down to find it first.'

 

But no matter which way that you decide to go from here, make sure that you don't stress yourself out! We don't need you frothing at the mouth from behind your screen. Don't be afraid to announce you're going on break for a bit- Jonas is very capable as a Co-DM.

 

Also, keep in mind that the best DMs always think that they're bad.

 

 

 

The only thing I'm still trying to figure out it how you (Aria, Stardust, Psych and Lilith) are getting back to Equestria after you find the rainbow's element

 

We could always do the thing we were talking about with the Rangers, sans the whole 'forcing the plot without the elements' thing- just as an easy way to get back to Equestria. We would just be treated to a view of a ruined Sanctuary before we go off on our merry way in an attempt to meet up with Harcourt, Jay, and Trivy; or on our quest to the next element. It may be interesting, but it gets the whole Ranger thing off the table for a while and gives a viable excuse to get us back to Equestria without you cooking up Winter 2.0 to do so.

[Pucksterv 4,508]

Because of some personal issues, I'm pausing this rp until I have figured out these problems. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

[Randimaxis 8,652]

I miss this.

[Count Paradox 3,548]

I miss this.

i do too...