 Be warned! Within this post lie potential spoilers to future chapters!
This set of bonus content contains raw plotting regarding character development, the world at large, and upcoming chapters. Some of the things discussed within have since come true, others are ideas that were dropped, and still others have been warped into their current forms.
As raws, these logs have not been edited for spelling, grammar, or readability. In this particular case, the logs have been rapidly hand-typed from a conversation in the now long dead StalinChat of the RFF. You have been warned.
<Catatonic> Right. In Chris’ geo-political landscape, the east in an arid area populated by disjointed bands of barbarian types.
<Arry> Okay, I got that
<Catatonic> Jozra is indeed a ferret, but a black footed ferret. (I had to do some research and they do indeed inhabit deserts. Which works out for my ideas. Whew!)
<Catatonic>I can’t decide if she’s disguised her markings a bit or if nobody cares. Perhaps black footed ferrets aren’t that unusual.
<Catatonic>Er, in the rest of the ‘world.’ I mean.
<Catatonic>Mossflower and the like.
<Arry>Hmm… I like the idea of her covering up her markings…
<Arry>but I guess she never really had to with Soquan right?
<Catatonic> *nods* I’ll explore that then. Not too much trouble around Soquan… just others.
<Catatonic>*laughs* We’re on the same wavelength here. ^_^
<Arry> I know! This is so cool
<Catatonic>Anyway, I figured that to the east and a bit to the /north/ is an area slightly less arid. Here a bit of civilization has sprung up. I’m not sure the government, probably a council of elders (though I seem to use that too much…)
<Catatonic> It’s a nice place, if a bit secretive. It does have the prime farmland in the area and is moderately prosperous and any roving band of maruders would like to pillage it so it stays sort of… hidden.
<Catatonic>In order to stay like this, a rather elite band of diplomats and spies have been trained to keep neighbors friendly, establish trade routes and so on.
<Catatonic> Word of unrest in the south (and north) recently came to their attention and the government reluctantly decided that they would no longer afford to remain isolationist.
<Arry>isolationist? Is that something to do with being isolated?
<Catatonic>Jozra is one of these diplomat/spies. (Though she does honestly come from a farming family. She just didn’t grow up where she said she did.)
<Catatonic>Yeah. It would be if a country decided not to get involved in world politics. Kind of like the US was before WWII.
<Arry> I see
<Arry> Oh!
<Catatonic>Anyway, she and others have been sent to see what they can do about the south. Somewhere along the lines, her (and a couple of others) orders were changed. There was this devastating plague in the north and they were sent to take car of it.
<Catatonic>So that part about going north is mostly correct. And of course, on her way back south she meets Soquan and unexpectedly makes friends. She really does enjoy hanging out with him. ^__^
<Arry> Cool
<Catatonic>And she doesn’t like having to hide the truth about herself.
<Catatonic>I might note that she’s not quite a James Bond. ^_~
<Arry>Before you said that part about going to take care of the plague in the north, I got a brainwave.
<Catatonic>Holst is probably a better fighter than she is.
<Catatonic>Oooh?
<Arry>What if she was sent to go capture a northerner, you know bring the beast back to get info on northerner radical groups. Origonally, she was going to bring Soquan, but she’s gone and made friends, and she starts to feel real guilty…
<Catatonic> Heeeyy… there’s a though!
<Catatonic>I figured the plague part would be a particularly LOW spot on her career. It would be this world’s version of the black plague. The only way to stop it’s spread was to… well, you know. And she is quite deadly with those throwing knives.
<Catatonic> (This is when I wish we could snag transcripts…)
<Arry> *chuckles* Soquan would most likely pick up on her nervousness or something though… hah, them getting to her headquarters and Soquan asking what’s going on, imagine her trying to explain her way out of that.
<Arry>(*will take a screenshot after all this is done*)
<Catatonic>*sniggers*
<Catatonic>Suppose we should show this to Chris? We might get some info on Holst in return.
<Arry>I’m thinking like while they traveled, they’ve become used to eachother and unconsciously do things to cover each other’s weakness, ie: Jozra steering Soquan around a rock or branch, Soquan sleeping really close to Jozra on colder nights. You know, that sort of thing. And something can happen maybie and they realize actually how much they’ve come to rely on each other (Yeah…)
<Catatonic> Yeah!
<Catatonic>So how about Soquan, hmmmmm? ^_~
<Arry>Hold on a sec
<Catatonic>K’doke
<Arry>Okay, let me think here
<Arry>Soquan is indeed a halfbreed, his mother was a ferret but she died when he and his sister were still pretty young. His father was a major part of his life, he taught Soquan almost everything he knows and when his dad died, he took it pretty hard, that’s when he started wandering.
<Arry>It’s during these long roaming sessions there was a storm and basically either the wind or some lighting blew a big branch loose and it hit his head, when he came to, he was blind. He doesn’t really keep secrets, it’s usually a matter of that he just hasn’t told you. The only thing he is keeping from Jorza is specifics about his mother.
<Catatonic> *nods* Okay.
<Catatonic>How might this tie in with the idea of Jozra taking him in for info on northerner radical groups? (Perhaps she’s just confuuused, heheheh)
<Arry>Yeah, confused
<Arry>Anyway, as you know, Soquan lives in the north, giving him thicker fur than most otters. The climate there can range from, “Your door is frozen shut” to late summer/early autum weather. As mentioned in the rp, trees do explode up there, the cold freezes the sap and other moisture to freeze and expand until… “boom”
<Arry>The tree thing Can happen, I watched it on Discovery Channel once I think.
<Catatonic> *nods* I think I read about it in a book somewhere once upon a time too…
<Catatonic>And I would like to say, since Highwing’s not here, Exploding Trees would be a good…
<Arry>So yeah, with Soquan covering up info about his mum, it also covers up that he’s a halfbreed too…
<Arry>Yes, it would
<Catatonic>Which, if disclosed, could make him a target in the south…
<Arry>Yesh, it would wouldn’t it?
<Catatonic>(I’ve actually just recorded this whole conversation in Word. o,O Glad to see I still have mad typing skillz…)
<Arry>O.o
<Arry>Maybie Jorza could somehow find out about his mother…
<Catatonic>Well, she does have the hints from the shopkeep in town before they left for the mountains… Perhaps she suspects but isn’t sure and is uncomfortable bringing it up or something.
<Arry>You know Chris’s little, anti-vermin idea? I was thinking of a line…
<Catatonic> Ooh?
<Arry>Anti-vermin beast(AVB): You two filthy vermin better get your hides out of my sight. Soquan: C’mon mate, be reasonable, they’re not doing any harm. AVB: I wouldn’t talk mister, you’re worse than the both of them put together and a group of pro vermin, I can smell what you’re hiding… halfbreed…
<Arry>(oooh! What if that could happen in the caves, with that mining colony? We’ve seen already that they’re not fond of Jozra…)
<Arry>*already
<Catatonic>Heeeeyy! There’s an idea!
<Arry>I’m just full of those today, aren’t I?
<Catatonic>*laughs* Yep. ^_^
<Catatonic>It could also show how the sentiment from the south is spreading…
<Arry>Yish…
<Arry>Tell me, how would Jorza react to that?
<Catatonic>Unless she knew already about Soquan being a halfbreed, she’d pick up on that comment first.
<Catatonic>It depends on the situation but if they’re outnumbered or in an unfavorable area for a brawl (say the caves) she’s try to talk her way out of it… not cause a confrontation. She relies more on stealth and having a particular target.
<Arry>I say they’d be getting to leave the caves, and it’s that mouse they had trouble before when they first encountered all that. I don’t think Soquan’s ready to share his halfbreed thing anytime soon.
<Arry>Ooh! Brainwave!
<Catatonic>You are on a roll!
<Arry>Just a thought, maybie he didn’t tell her, because she’s a ferret and he didn’t want things getting awkward…
<Catatonic>*nods* Good stuff. ^__^
<Arry> *is itching for a rp now*
<Catatonic>*laughs*
<Arry>*puppy eyes*
<Catatonic>Aww… you’re cute when you do that. The only thing is I didn’t get to bed until 2:00 last night and we’re going somewhere tomorrow.. Have you gotten your computer issue resolved yet?
<Arry> The little one is still hoped, but my dad says he might get the new one up this weekend maybe.
<Catatonic>(Stayed up too damn late finishing this… http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/3370522/ )
<Catatonic>Well, I’m trying to get back in a better IM schedule. So possibly Sunday night (depending on when we get back) and hopefully sometime next week I’ll be on.
<Arry> very cool picture
<Catatonic> Danke ^_^
<Arry>(back in the rp train of thought) here’s a thought, how would Jozra react to Soquan showing a bit of affection to her?
<Catatonic>So I will add to the main RP before I go to bed. Hopefully we can get this thing really rolling. ^_^
<Catatonic>I think she would probably be rather flustered and unsure as to how to react, or even what her feelings are in return..
<Arry>Hah, I bet the whole halfbreed thing will really mess with her mind…
<Catatonic> *laughs* Oh you bet it will. ^_~
<Arry>Wat that a bit of what happened the morning after they took shelter under that tree?
<Catatonic>*nods* Yeah.
<Arry> *grins* cool
<Catatonic>You know, I’ve been thinking… We have this RP sort of scattered all over the place. I wonder if it would be a good idea to put a little site together for us with cleaned up transcripts, backgrounds, any pictures we want…
<Arry>Oh?
<Arry>Hey, I’ve been meaning to tell you, there were two transcript files I most likely lost on the little computer… I’m afraid it might be one of ours.
<Catatonic>Yeah. It wouldn’t have to be massively huge or anything. Just a reference for us. I forget little parts here and there and it’s a pain to hunt down what transcripts I have.
<Catatonic>Well, what we can do is pull up the transcripts we have, fix them up a little (spell check maybe. get rid of uncecessary OOC stuff) and then we can peice together what we have and throw them up on a little page.
<Catatonic>Also, the massively massive block of RP on the front of the Voy forums we have is kind of a pain to scroll through…Heh. Having that elsewhere that is handy would be useful though.
<Arry>*chuckles* I’ve already cleaned up a lot of our transcripts.
<Catatonic> Oh goody! Less work for me. ^_~
<Arry> Heh
<Catatonic>I even have a place to host it, as long as it stays relatively small (which it should, being mainly text)
<Arry> nice!
<Arry>I can put that picture of Soquan up on the site.
<Catatonic>No ads, long address though.
<Catatonic>Yeah!
<Arry>Where abouts in the rp do you think that picture would fit?
<Arry>*Grins* How could Jozra not want to hug the otter in that picture?
<Catatonic>Just about anywhere during their travels I suppose… Probably before they met Holst but after they got out of the mountains.
<Catatonic>Hee!
<Arry>Trust me, that thick fur would be very comfy
<Catatonic>*grins*
<Arry>*chuckles*
<Arry>*wakes her foot up*
<Catatonic>Wake up little footie. No pins and needles now, y’hear?
<Arry>Pins and needles my ass, more like thumbtacks and dentist drills
<Catatonic>*laughs* Poor Arrin.
<Catatonic> Alrighty. I’ve posted.
<Catatonic>And I’d better head off to bed. I may be needed to drive a bit tomorrow.
<Catatonic>Shall I send this to both Chris and you?
<Arry> Sure
<Catatonic>Alrighty
<Arry> *Grins* So what do you think of my idea of how they realize how much they’re dependant on each other? Any ideas?
<Catatonic>I think it’s a great idea, especially since they’re traveling together. Perhaps Jozra never realized before she met Soquan how much she wanted a friend, especially when travelling.
<Arry>Too much of a lone wolf eh?
<Arry> brainwave!
<Catatonic>Something like that. More that she’s been put in a lone wolf position but she really does like being around others.
<Catatonic>Woo! Another one!
<Arry> You know how they’re spending the night in the caves right?
<Catatonic> Yeah.
<Arry> It’s just a detail to add in the rp but… well they’ve probally gotten used to having the other close by while sleeping right? You know body heat, sleep breathing and other stuff, what if they were in separate rooms then? How would that turn out?
<Catatonic>Hrm… That would be interesting!
<Arry>Maybe one creeping into the other’s room to get some sleep?
<Catatonic>Hee!
<Arry>Not that the other would care much… Well at least Soquan wouldn’t..
<Catatonic> That would be fun to rp.
<Arry>It would…
<Catatonic>Just thought of something..
<Arry>Just curious, how would Jozra react? I mean Soquan would just wake up slightly, make room, and fall back to sleep…
<Catatonic>Hehe. That leads into what I was going to say. ^^
<Arry>Oh? Go ahead then
<Catatonic>I think Jozra would be plagued with nightmares. I mean, she’s a goodbeast at heart and what she’s had to do probably doesn’t rest easy on her mind. But she hasn’t had any since meeting up with Soquan.
<Catatonic>Its entirely possible that in her own seperate room, Jozra has this nightmare, wakes up, makes the connection and is the one sneaking into Soquan’s room.
<Arry>Hey! That’s an awesome idea! What if she was really sketchy about asking him too?
<Arry> (you’re getting all this down in word right?)
<Catatonic> Yeah! (Yep yep!)
<Arry>What about using him like a big stuffed bear or something? She doesn’t say anything, she just hugs him around the middle tightly and burys her face somewhere like the chest or neck or somethin’…
<Arry>y’know, just trying to calm herself down somewhat after the nightmare…
<Catatonic>*nods* I can see her doing that. She knows him better now and would feel more comfortable doing that. Not to mention that it’s been quite a while since her last nightmare and she forgot how much they disturbed her.
<Arry>…and then we have a very confused Soquan trying to figure out what’s wrong…
<Catatonic> *laughs* Poor Soquan. ^_^
<Arry> …would she be kinda embarrassed about it in the morning?
<Catatonic>Yes. Very much so. Heheh, poor Jozra. ^_~ She doesn’t like to show that she’s weak in some way.
<Arry> Heh heh, just quietly ask that they pretend that never happened?
<Catatonic> *giggles* Sure!
<Catatonic> Ooh… now I need to do a bit more research on ferrets….
<Arry>I can see it now, she wakes up and the first thing she sees is this mass of fur, she panicks and tries to back away, falling out of the bed in the process, Soquan wakes up, and the awkwardness begins…
<Catatonic>*laughs*
<Arry>…and cue a brainwave
<Catatonic>o,O
<Arry>Maybe she can have a slight attraction to him before she finds out that he’s a halfbreed and she brushes it off with a “He’a an otter, I’m a ferret, it wouldn’t work” sort of thing, and it just confuses her even more when she finds out about the halfbreed stuff.
<Arry> I’m on a roll!
<Catatonic> *chortles*
<Arry>Whatcha think?
<Catatonic>I think it makes for a VERY confused Jozra. ^___^ Poor girl. I’m starting to feel a little sorry for her, heheh. But only a little.
<Catatonic>In a moment of frustration she yells, “I wasn’t SUPPOSED to make friends with anybody!”
<Arry>Cool!
<Arry>… and she tried to cover up her attraction, making for a very confused Soquan, you know, jerk away from a touch on the arm, or refusing to bed down beside him when it gets cold so he has to move and warm her up when she’s asleep and shivering like crazy…
<Catatonic>Hee!
<Arry>Possible add on to your dialogue there maybie it could be just her thinking? Either that or when she’s alone and Soquan’s gone off somewhere.-Ã “..let alone fall in love with an otter halfbreed!”
<Arry>Or!
<Catatonic> *chortles*
<Catatonic>Eeeexcellent… *Monty Burns impression again*
<Arry>Soquan is there when she yells that out, making him even more confused
<Arry>(BTW, I replied to your post on the RP board, it’s Chris’s turn now)
<Catatonic>(*laughs* Poor Chris. “But! I just took my turn!”)
<Catatonic>Alright. I just finished listening to the entire album of Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” and it’s high time I get to bed.
<Catatonic>I’ve got all of this and I’ll be sending it off to you guys as soon as I close this window, okay.
<Catatonic>Erm. That should be one of these. –> ?
<Catatonic>I’m still having punctuation problems. ^^;;;
<Arry>*pats*
<Arry>Alright
<Arry>I should hit the hay too
<Catatonic>Okie-doke. ^_^
<Arry> When you start getting on IM on a regular basis…
<Arry>We should do the three way RP over IM again
<Catatonic>Soon I hope. Yeah, that would be fun. ^_^
<Arry>That way we could ask questions and get an answer right away and we don’t have to wait forever
<Catatonic>It’s this stooped crapulous. (Mitya’s friend’s word for the class from HELL!)
<Catatonic>*nods*
<Arry>*Doesn’t have to take Math this year, in fact, she never has to take math ever again*
<Catatonic>Ack! You lucky lucky little llama bum!
<Arry>llama bum?
<Catatonic>Sure. Why not?
<Catatonic>I have to take crapulus if I want a physics class… Seeing as how I am a science major, and high school physics was fun… I want that physics class.
<Arry> Be truthfull, how long have you had that thought up for and have been waiting to use it?
<Catatonic>*giggles* Actually, I just thought it up right now.
<Arry> Heh heh
<Catatonic>I was going to just say little bum but then I saw all the ‘L’s and thought, “Arry’an’the’washer’an’the’llamas!”
<Arry>Anyway, I should go sleep now or else I won’ function properly tomow
<Arry>Yopu can see my typing slip now, more tyops…
<Catatonic>*nods* Same here. Just logging the last bit (Chris has to see the llama bum part. ^_~)
<Arry>*you
<Arry>*typos
<Catatonic>*laughs*
<Arry>*laughs* okay
<Arry>I’m gonna close down now
<Arry>’night1
<Arry>*!
<Catatonic>Goodnight!
***Arry Quit (Web Browser moved off chat page)
