[Suzerain of Sheol]

I agree with Espy's assessment, those deus ex mechanical solutions are extremely cheap and the mark of poor writing. I would never endorse something like that, which is not to say it wouldn't happen, since as you can likely tell by the last several events, I have remarkably little input on the kinds of stories we feature these days. I don't think it's any secret around here that I absolutely detest the shop NPCs, never wanted them featured in the site story and was overruled on the matter, and I don't support any storyline involving them period, whatever we end up doing going forward. I think they were the single worst creative decision ever made on Trisphee. That is my opinion as the nominal head of writing around here. They are better left as mascots, not characters. If for some reason we require mascots.

I would much sooner just "[toss] everything we've done for the past few years under the bus.", Espy, than attempt to wrestle the current plot in a completely new direction to somehow wrap it up with an ending that can only be weak and disappointing.

As to the "morbidity" of the plot, I am fully at fault for that, if it is a fault, but I'm sorry, that is what you get when you ask me to write a war story. I never have and never will accept the white-washing of violence into something delightful and adventurous suitable for children. If it's going to be portrayed, it will carry the necessary emotional consequences to do it justice. The original plot for the The Fight for Freedom (I still cringe at that title) was laughable: the plucky underdog rebels against the moustache-twirling aimlessly-evil monarch. That was an interplanetary campaign of insurgent terrorism aimed at igniting a civil war. It should never have been "fun".

But I digress. I'm more convinced that it was a lack of interest in reading long chapters, than the content itself, that played the larger factor in causing the userbase to lose interest in the plot. And that same problem is what concerns me with starting anything new. If the format remains the same, I foresee a similar outcome, regardless of the nature of the plot.

And @DK, I have literally no idea what any of that is supposed to mean, but all of the mentioned NPCs were part of the core foundational problem with the story in its faulted state. All of the staff-insert NPCs should have been obliterated long ago, and the writing should be left to actual writers if there's to be any sense of professionalism to the project.

And quite honestly, the term "NPC" has always bothered me. This is not a video game. This is not a roleplay. Those characters were just that, characters; protagonists, antagonists, foils, supporting roles, etc. Any supposed "NPCs" I personally added were there for a reason, and the others were forced in because of staff politics, "rewarding" non-writers by allowing them to make their own character for the story. This can not happen in the future, no matter what we end up deciding to do. It is a shameful way to conduct a professional endeavor, and the disastrous results it wreaked are plain to see.

I am sorry if I come across as bitter about this, but I feel like a lot of the blame for the failure of the story gets laid at my feet, and I'm not sure anyone understands the hopeless, Sisyphean task I was given in trying to produce something workable out the wreckage of the Taskal War's catastrophic mess of a background plot. Add to that years of being out-voted on story matters, being denied item support for changes in the characters as the story progressed (or events actually relevant to the plot), and the general sentiment around the site that "anyone can write, and everyone should have equal input on the plot direction", and you can get an idea of the sort of framework I would require before undertaking another attempt at a major story for the site.

So, if you were turned away by the violence and despair and what I did to some of the old, beloved NPCs, you have my apology, but if it's anything else, I cannot be sorry, as I quite likely hate it far more than you do. Maybe there's hope for something better in the future, but that's where it stands right now.

-Suze out