I can only imagine how thin your patience must have worn by now, Merc, and I'm aware that you and the others have been waiting for far too long, many times as long as I had hoped it would take and even longer than I ever had the imagination to fear it would be; as I just said in my previous post that is one of the reasons that I really can't keep just silently accepting the absence of posts. I haven't heard anything about anyone reacting to anything I've done in such a way, which honestly doesn't do them any favors in my eyes and display a complete lack of willingness to communicate and work towards the good of the RP and its players. That kind of behavior makes me think that such a person was incompatible with the way I run things. Those kinds of issues don't go away on their own, usually... it takes talking to solve them.
(That last part obviously wasn't meant for you, Merc, but for the as of yet anonymous player you mentioned.)

And the thing is, while I would prefer to be the agreeable and understanding GM that endeavors to accommodate everyone, there has to be a point where I say "enough". I am prepared to write out characters if that is what it takes, even if doing so ends up seriously affecting a lot of other characters and players, but I would prefer not to do that and find a different solution instead and wanted to give the people we're waiting for a chance to help finding a solution.

I don't know why people would prefer to try to sabotage the RP rather than talk through what is wrong, but I imagine part of it might come from the fact that people more and more go to Shien with their thoughts and concerns instead of me, making her the one people work with constructively and me the "bad guy" that keep complaining about everything. Now, I'm fine with people going to Shien for most part - she knows a lot about the TP-universe and I have nothing but trust and respect for her - but completely shutting me out just isn't going to work.

So yeah... Here I am, trying one more time to find a way to move forward cooperatively and figure out what the problems causing people to post so very slowly are. And yes, if we can't find the tools to constructively improve the situation, I'm prepared to break out a bulldozer and force things along if needed.

I have not physically melted, for what it's worth. Sure is warm here, though. And busy.

To my knowledge, situation is unchanged: MIA, and reasons. It might also be worth noting that removing either of the players' characters would compromise at least my characters in turn (necessitating the removal of at least one of them, and at minimum leaving the other in a near-impossible situation, and he'd be even harder to remove in turn than the other). EDIT: MIA people have been at least located.

I will think about it some more once I'm done with work for the day.

Just...popping in to say I am indeed still present. Thanks for the tag Merc, it does do to keep track of what's going on in the OOC at least. Just...someone tell me when my writing is needed, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Life is somewhat busy for me at the moment. Preparing for a big move from North Carolina to Florida, so yeah. Got a job and placce set up though so it's really just the shipping my electronics and then taking a flight there and hoping I have the money I need after shipping part that is troubling me. Otherwise I've got other RPs I'm either running or in, but I've always left room for time for the Prophecy since I kind of decided to be in it for the long haul since it's a brilliant, vast, and well fleshed out world with amazing writers. It's hard to find something this good, even if things have slowed down considerably and been stalled. So yeah, that. Gonna stop rambling now.

*Waves*

Just weighing in - while along the same lines of Merc and Yosh:

I understand that life can get in the way of things, but a year is enough time to try anyone's patience when it comes to post-to-post RP. That being said, I'm still in. This story is the type of stuff that is easily considered rare, where the story is as engaging as it is with the people writing it.

I'm still around and eagerly awaiting the moment when Morgan, Ixion, and I'on are able to continue their side of the story. Other than that, life has been good - graduated college, got married about a week ago, have my own place, looking for a job, etc etc. Life continues!

I can only imagine how thin your patience must have worn by now, Merc, and I'm aware that you and the others have been waiting for far too long, many times as long as I had hoped it would take and even longer than I ever had the imagination to fear it would be; as I just said in my previous post that is one of the reasons that I really can't keep just silently accepting the absence of posts. I haven't heard anything about anyone reacting to anything I've done in such a way, which honestly doesn't do them any favors in my eyes and display a complete lack of willingness to communicate and work towards the good of the RP and its players. That kind of behavior makes me think that such a person was incompatible with the way I run things. Those kinds of issues don't go away on their own, usually... it takes talking to solve them.
(That last part obviously wasn't meant for you, Merc, but for the as of yet anonymous player you mentioned.)

And the thing is, while I would prefer to be the agreeable and understanding GM that endeavors to accommodate everyone, there has to be a point where I say "enough". I am prepared to write out characters if that is what it takes, even if doing so ends up seriously affecting a lot of other characters and players, but I would prefer not to do that and find a different solution instead and wanted to give the people we're waiting for a chance to help finding a solution.

I don't know why people would prefer to try to sabotage the RP rather than talk through what is wrong, but I imagine part of it might come from the fact that people more and more go to Shien with their thoughts and concerns instead of me, making her the one people work with constructively and me the "bad guy" that keep complaining about everything. Now, I'm fine with people going to Shien for most part - she knows a lot about the TP-universe and I have nothing but trust and respect for her - but completely shutting me out just isn't going to work.

So yeah... Here I am, trying one more time to find a way to move forward cooperatively and figure out what the problems causing people to post so very slowly are. And yes, if we can't find the tools to constructively improve the situation, I'm prepared to break out a bulldozer and force things along if needed.

My patience might be worn by the long delay, but a) there's not much I can do about it, b) I was saying that for the others that have been waiting as well and c) I still have some amount of patience left (with another RP that is helping alleviate things). It is through this RP that I've heard about the comments from said player (if they don't come forward to you in either PM or in the OoC, then I might have to drag names into this). I've tried to nag them there but they have since disappeared from the RP's Discord chat. Otherwise, I am definitely in agreement with what you are saying, even suggesting them talking to you.

I can understand the reluctance to do something as writing a character out, especially as it would affect many people who are involved with that character. However, it is sometimes necessary to think about trying to please the majority of the people you are with than the few, especially if something doesn't work out. But I do agree that people should at least try to solve a problem and not shut someone who could solve the problem out.

-------

It's certainly not a problem, Yoshua. Much like what Rhae has said, I'm eagerly waiting to see what happens with the Zerul Trio. I do enjoy the dynamics of the group and would like to see how it plays out, especially when it comes to The Fixer.

...The RP's Discord chat? I know of no The Prophecy Discord chat. I only know of The Prophecy Skype chat, and the only thing that's been going on there recently is a fair amount of talk about building computers.

@Rhaevnn Xeno: Hey, congrats!

Call me out and be done with it, damn you.

Let's not fall back into silence just yet, but please let's be constructive. Right now, what is actually stalling progress?

I did briefly talk to Nessa last Wednesday, including about the RP (we figured it might be 2-3 more posts in the collab and we can fast-forward the three - four, counting the raven - of them to Zerul City and start meeting the characters there). It would appear she is and has been busy ... in any case, she's been notified, though I'm currently still waiting for her.

Legion I talked to, too; he is pretty active on some channels, so I mostly know what he's up to and what he feels about things (up to him how much he is willing to share; probably to be taken to PMs). I also PMed Jack with some of our discussion plans a while (some weeks?) back. Since the people in Zerul City aren't currently waiting behind him (haven't been for over half a year now, in fact) and reasons, I've not poked him too often (it's also not that he's forgotten). That group of characters his characters are involved with was supposed to be arriving a while after Aemoten and co.

I can't post because in both branches where my characters are involved, I'm the last.

Ashgan hasn't disappeared. I know that, too.

Should just about cover what I know.

Let's not fall back into silence just yet, but please let's be constructive. Right now, what is actually stalling progress?

Frankly, it's because people aren't responding. I don't wish to anyone or to be insensitive to real life happenings (because that always gets in the way of the enjoyable, at one point or another), but an entire year might be a good starting marker for those who are waiting eagerly to continue, to continue with the story. Maybe make a point in time where "two weeks later" the trio don't hear anything/see anything indicating that their companions are going to rendezvous and make the move to continue onward with their pursuit of the Fixer?

@Shienvien - Thanks!

(Double post T_T)

Just upping and leaving (with no time-jump) would be technically feasible, a massive time-jump like that ... really wouldn't. Just imagine if you try to time-jump to two weeks forward, but then three days into the two weeks, the entire city they supposedly stayed in gets razed to the ground by the other branch!

The Zerul City people are about 6-7 hours in the future compared to Aemoten/Thaler/Etakar, who are currently the ones supposed to meet them.

Well then, let's hear what people would prefer, @Rhaevnn Xeno, @Mercinus3 and @yoshua171 specifically, since you are the ones that would be immediately affected by the decision: do you want to continue your characters' story imminently, freeing them from their reliance on encountering Aemoten's group but potentially (not assuredly) missing this particular opportunity to join them, or would you rather continue waiting?

I agree with Shien that skipping to next week is quite a stretch; I needn't remind you that I keep track of what goes on everywhere IC, not just in the immediate vicinity of the characters, and would have to pretty much simulate an entire week's worth of events everywhere... and then retroactively change all of those events as the characters still in the past do whatever they end up doing. Even without something as jarring as the future-occupying characters being in a place that turns out to be destroyed by present-occupying characters, circumstances can change in a lot of ways. I'd really prefer that all characters stay relatively close to occupying the same time so I won't have to deal with paradoxes and the like. Still, considering how exhausted the characters are, it'd probably skip at least to the next morning. Where to go from there, well... that'd be up to the characters.

...Another option would be me just winging the end of the collab and moving Aemoten and co to Zerul City entrance, at least. Say, if there is still no sign of Nessa on site by the upcoming Wednesday (two weeks since I spoke to her). If Ashgan's character doesn't get involved right away, the first non-NPC they'd run into would probably be I'on.

Well, here's my question: How far away from Zerul City are they in terms of travel time?

Beyond that I'd say I'm really not terribly partial to either option, though the longer I don't play I'on the less attached to him I get, which could be bad in the long run. So I suppose the sooner things become intermingled, or the sooner I can play him again, the better. I would honestly say that you remove the necessity for the two groups to meet, but stay open to the possibility of such happening. Besides, I don't think I'on and co are allowed to leave Zerul for awhile due to the Fixer Incident so they very well may run into eachother anyways.

Lastly, I'm totally up for a skip to the next morning since I'on won't be awake till around then anyways and that'll give me the opportunity to start posting with him again. So yeah, there's that.

Rambling done.

Dekkun will usually move at 30-35km/h or so walking at a steady pace (with maximum running speed of about 55km/h, though they will only rarely maintain it for any longer than they see necessary, as much as it puts almost as much strain on their joints as leaping, which they also tend to avoid outside of combat/ambush and otherwise noncircumnavigable obstacles, and does so consistently; they do endurance tracking and ambush alike, but not much fast chasing), so even with Etakar slightly limping, the highest feasible estimate would be around four or five hours or so since the "end" of the collab (which we just about might be about four or five paragraphs short of). Enough to cover an extra 120-175km, which is more than the highest possible estimate of distance left regardless of at which point Sloth's River was exactly crossed. It could be as little as an hour and a half.
I'm not entirely certain what time of the day it was that the fight against Fixer took place (other than that it was during high daytime, possibly noon). Aemoten I had waking at about five in the morning. Three hours for the bloody mess (a lot happened, but most of it progressed quickly and often concurrently), maybe three hours of traveling, two-three (let's say two and a half) hours of the Iridiel/Domhnall/Claw/Angora encounter before first Thaler and then Aemoten upped and left the others to their own devices, let's say half an hour for meeting Thaler again, then the final end to Zerul City... Between two and five in the afternoon seems reasonable.
...I might have overestimated the time-shear a few posts ago, it feels like. If you think it's anywhere past 2PM for your characters, Aemoten/Thaler/Etakar/Beatrice are probably already in the city (where they were supposed to meet I'on - he was supposed to be caught before he goes to sleep, and Aemoten/Thaler/Etakar/Beatrice were to stay with him rather than the rest of the group).

It's a mess to keep track of that many branches if they run out of sync.

Well then, let's hear what people would prefer, @Rhaevnn Xeno, @Mercinus3 and @yoshua171 specifically, since you are the ones that would be immediately affected by the decision: do you want to continue your characters' story imminently, freeing them from their reliance on encountering Aemoten's group but potentially (not assuredly) missing this particular opportunity to join them, or would you rather continue waiting?

I am in the same position as yoshua about this: I am fine with either option though the sooner something happens, the better. There was also the thing that the trio aren't able to leave the city immediately due to the Zerul guards needing to question them about what happened with The Fixer.

-redacted-

I am still talking with Jack. And Legion. And I guess I did reply/write to Merc, too.

<Snipped quote by Dark Jack>

I am in the same position as yoshua about this: I am fine with either option though the sooner something happens, the better. There was also the thing that the trio aren't able to leave the city immediately due to the Zerul guards needing to question them about what happened with The Fixer.

Same here! Whatever will be easier/get the story rolling again.