(Anna) 21.50 EST and it’s approaching 3am my time…
I write this as we wait for chapter 22 with weary fingers and a weary heart. Whilst not as frantic and draining as #3D1D, this live-writing (and alongside liveblogging) malarky really does take its toll on you. The whole “having chicken pox” doesn’t really help matters, I suppose, and neither does my brother’s complete and utter disdain for the whole thing.

You see, unless you’re involved in the thick of these things, typing furiously away, cursing at the breakable console as you try to get demented answers to the chapter questions into the stream, and, for us backstage-pass holders, discussing tentacles and physics in a secret chat room with MCM, well, you’re not really going to get it.

But I love it. I love that sense of community that can build across the internet. It’s not something the “normal” people understand, but, well, they’re lame. Fine, that’s a lame insult, too. I’m tired. Give me a break.

As for how things have been backstage… it’s almost like being in a VIP area of a club, you know? All these exciting people milling around yelling nonsense, the true stars (in this case, MCM) only popping their heads in now and then before running away to somewhere more hidden from us crazies e.g. the dinner table.

Anyway. It’s been fun.

So. For the last time. The outline:

Lucas asks Jyi if she is okay. She lies about getting the antidote, and he accepts it without question. They finish processing the Tobors, have call with Orillians, who [THREATEN OR PRAISE]. Jyi makes not-so-subtle threat that the Tobors may give up the masterminds, and the Orillians laugh, say Tobors are famous for not having masterminds…
Darvey furious. He wants to pursue Orillians, but Jyi admits there’s no real evidence tying the two sides together. All the same, the Orillians won’t be going after Earth again any time soon… the active genocide plot has triggered more active Confederation protection for Earth, meaning the planet is relatively safe…
Relatively? Well, the last time someone asked for better protection on a non-spacefaring planet, it brought all the scum of the universe down on them, looking for easy marks. [BIG CRIME PROBLEM] Safe from military incursions, not criminals.
Jyi asks Darvey if he’s going to stick around, or if they can interest him in an accidental needle to the brain or {Najela:[A WAY TO KILL SOMEONE]}. He says he’s going to have to put off his suicide for a while longer, because if the Earth is going to be at the mercy of this kind of opposition, they’re going to need more competent protection than Jyi and her band of losers can provide [UNDERSTAND OR MISS THE POINT].
They eat a modest but filling meal of {Najela:[THREE WEIRD FOODS]} and have a toast of {Najela:[ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE]}to a job well done, and discover the food and drinks have all been spiked with {Najela [POISON LIQUID]. Darvey’s more than anyone’s. Things are looking good. There are {Najela:[THREE THINGS YOU MIGHT SEE IN AN ACID TRIP]}
And then an explosion rips a hole in the hull,a [Najela: [A LARGE ITEM]] gets sucked out and things go black.

And can I just do one more tired little dance for having 3 (three!) of my answers picked in this last chapter? The insertion of “janoda juice” was just to get her back for the “Anna brain juice” thing from earlier on. And the three weird foods, rok, golli and jan? Based off of the backstagers here with me.

Anyhows. As MCM would say, thanks for being part of the problem.

Over and out.

(JAN 9.23 pm EST // 3.53 the next day at me) Anna writes lovely, even when she’s close to death. I loved many things about this event. Some were the same as before (like MCM having dinner really early, even when he only has 1 more chapter to write) others were new, but it was all great fun. Yet I feel it can still be better. Ideally the Backstage shouldn’t be backstage, because it is so much fun being silly together, fighting sleep together, making it until the end together.

#2D1D was lovely, the people behind the scene were even more so, and the console was very sci-fi, as it didn’t do what we espected :p

As for the last chapter, I loved it. It was funny, (some truly genious lines!!) I was referred to as normal ( okay I admit, I also caused hallucinations, but Aphid was my girl already anyways!) and we end with a BomB.

I quote:

MCM
04:03
HA!
there have to be 3 explosions
Jan Oda
04:03
so there will be more stories?
MCM
04:03
yeah, this is the first of a series

Some things will never change Rests us only 2 more questions. Why was the girl kidnapped?

And how will we call our team? All superhero teams have a name, so I say th same goes for aliens. SUGGESTIONS ARE VERY WELCOME

Over and Out!

(Mike G, aka ‘mjgolli’) 8.08 am ET the next day, 7 Dec 2009…
It is hard to believe that 2d1d is over! I miss it already, even thought I wasn’t really active during the whole thing and didn’t really add much chaos to the already terrific outline that MCM had up. But, was it fun? Oh, absolutely! It was a treat having an invite to the backstage festivities and getting to sit in on the shebang in real time.

Speaking of real time, I think that MCM has gone and taken the act of writing to a new level. Web fiction, even though it is in its relative infancy, has been the forefront of new ‘interactive’ media where authors can connect and collaborate with others, fans and fellow writers alike. Not only that, but web fiction authors can actually publish themselves to the world and get noticed whereas paper-bound authors previously could only do so at great expense for self-publishing or by submitting endless copies of works to publishing houses so they can get coveted prizes like rejection letters.

But 2d1d, like 3d1d before it, really did take the art of writing and make it a real time art form. Usually one thinks of a writer toiling for long hours behind an old, beat up manual typewriter with a million-billion miles…er, characters…on it. This project has shown that writing can be truly interactive performance art. It is something that not only gives the writer an interesting challenge to bring different elements in to their story, but also to find away to work around the seemingly impossible bits-n-pieces and monkey wrenches that readers can throw in. It also give the participants a vested interest in seeing the result of their participation. If they like what they see, they will be quite likely to sign on for more and follow along with other works of the writer…er, artist.

I, for one, am in awe of web fiction writers in general. I’ve written some fan fiction, but I don’t like to talk about that because I don’t write well at all and am very apprehensive to share anything. These writers are in a class by themselves! They put their work on display where the whole world becomes your editor, commenter and critique-r. I’m not sure that I could handle that!

If you haven’t already, definitely check out the result of the 3d1d project at http://3d1d.1889.ca/typhoon. You WILL be amazed!

In regards to the 2d1d story, I thought it was great! I was quite pleased that my suggestions were picked a number of times. (In the immortal words of Dr. Zoidberg from Futurama, “Hooray! I’m helping!”) It was wonderful to see the number of people chiming in and having their interesting choices picked. As far as the characters are concerned, MCM gave them a lot of personality which is, in my opinion, the hallmark of great writer. Darvey’s feelings regarding what happened in the first chapter were quite palpable, the devastation felt real. I think a great many people were cheering him on at the end, having redeemed himself. I think he’s going to fit in nicely with the rest of the intrepid crew.

The only thing is that it really didn’t portray the Tobor in a good light and only showed their bad side. Not all Tobor are bad and not all of them are stupid, either! I think there should be a good, kind Tobor that helps out our favorite CSA crew! ;D

That’s just my opinion, though. What say you!?

OUTLINE

The Tobor are about to stab the [JYI or THE GIRL] with [drug] when Jyi makes her move, strangling one with her chains and holding him hostage [DEAD OR ALIVE].  The others aren’t scared.  Her amplifications are being blocked, so she can’t hurt them.  She’s cornered, and there’s nowhere to run.  They reach for their guns.
Just then, the speakers come on and Darvey asks them to surrender.  Five minutes to comply.  They’re about to argue about what to do when five seconds pass, and the power goes out on the ship, including gravity.  The Tobor are freaked, then look at Jyi, who is {{Najela: HEADS=laughing maniacally OR TAILS=smirking}} .
She cripples them with so much terror that by the time Darvey and Kaps arrive, they’re slobbering messes begging for death.  They’re taken into custody, and Jyi helps the Governor’s daughter by telling her {[Najela: YES=a joke OR NO= Words of Encouragement}].The girl starts {Najela:[CHUCKLING NERVOUSLY or CRYING]} giving her some hope and boosting it as much as she can. Jyi pats her shoulder, the girl smiles sadly
Jyi asks why Darvey isn’t dead yet, and he says he’s working on it.  She offers to help, but he doesn’t want to get her in trouble with Lucas.  Bicker all the way back to the ship.

Chapter 21 Answers
Jyi or the Girl?: The Girl by mjgolli
Dead or alive?: Both (Schrödinger\’s cat ftw) by Rok
Heads or Tails?: Kaps,attempting assaniation, hits the coin instead by porlob
Yes or No? : YES YES YES by am_harte
Chuckling nervously or crying?: nervous chuckle, but sounds like malevolent laugh by porlob

(JAN 8.34 EST) It just hit me, why was this girl kidnapped? Anyway, somehow this chapter feels a bit odd. There’s action and all, but it ends as an ending. Not like there is another chapter coming. Which makes me wonder about the questions for the next chapter. Acid Trip? Don’t tell me this was a dream!! On to other more coherent people!

(JAN 7.32 pm) Doing it all night all right! It’s way beyond midnight here, and yesterday we sat around at The Dispatch until 4 in the night, and since we started with a bit of a delay today, I’m probably here for a looong time. The title refers to the marvellous fact that my song of choice got picked TWICE. How’s that for some botlove. This is EPIC EUROTRASH WIN.

The Answers picked were:

Chapter 20 Answers
Action or reason?: RT @1889ca Action or reason? // reaction by am_harte
Heads or tails?: Can\’t tell with that species by Bismod
A song on the radio.: Do it All Night by Dance Dance Revolution by janoda
Another song on the radio: youtube.com/watch?v=mPp7Vs0mLvA by janoda

The video is the same song. So now he has to use it. I suggest the following. Kaps, finally discovering his lusty feelings for Aphid, sings the song to her so she’d stop lusting after Darvey. A happilly ever After ending indeed. For your convenience, I’ve also copied the, if I may say so, EXCELLENT LYRICS, of the winning song.

Do it with me
I’ll take you to heaven if you make me feel free
Baby do it tonight
Do it allright
Just take me and shake me till I burn up inside

Come on baby

Rap:
You may have good sex
With Sam and Fred and Fritz and Max
You may be the slave
Of Tim and Tom and Ed and Dave
You may do it again
With Hans and Franz and Jack and Ken
But you’re gonna feel so free
When you’re doing it with me

[repeat 1]

[2] Oh do it all night
Do it with me
As hot as a fire and as strong as a tree
Do it tonight
Do it allright
You got it – I knew it – you can do it tonight

[Rap:]
You may find you need
Alfredo, Jerry, Ralph, or Pete
It may be okay with Bernie, Willy, Tim, and Ray
You’ll love to get a kiss
From Andy, Georgie, Red, and Chris
But you’re gonna feel so free
When you’re doing it with me

[repeat 1, 2 (x2)]

Come on do it with me

MCM BY THIS YOU ARE FORWARNED THAT I EXPECT IT TO BE FEATURED OR EARTH WILL DEFINTELY GO TO DOOM NO MATTER WHAT YOU WRITE!!

The Derra arrives in the Terran system, find the Tobor ship is already approaching Earth.  Lucas warns communications so close to Earth are forbidden, but Darvey says they need to break the rules.   Aphid {Najela:[RELUCTANTLY OR WILLINGLY] sides with Darvey.  Darvey resolves the issue with [ACTION OR REASON].
They warn the Tobors to surrender, but get fired at.  They take evasive action (no shields against kinetic weapons) and Aphid asks permission to engage countermeasures.  Kaps begs to be given a chance, that he’s a really good shot… Darvey agrees — disable them so we can question them — Kaps [HEADS: disables them after a short fight and leaves them orbiting; TAILS: disables their engines in the atmosphere and they burn up on descent].  No information forthcoming from the Tobors.
Lucas appalled, trying to smooth over diplomatic niceties with CSA headquarters as Aphid is scanning frequencies, hoping that Jyi is beaming a distress call from somewhere.  Darvey listens in, pause at the sound of [SONG]. At first they don\’t hear it and thinks it\’s {{Najela:[ANOTHER SONG ON THE RADIO]}. But it\’s not that song and it’s not coming from Earth, it’s coming from the Kuiper belt.  It’s the distress call!

It was that song. MCM took me to heaven :p YAY YAY YAY I’m doing a happy dance eurotrash style now :p ALso, great funny quotes in this chapter! Aphid purred. I wonder how insectoids purr. Rrrroaaaaow! Over and out

(Anna) 7.57 pm EST
I am totally spacing out here. It’s ridiculous. But I want to know what’s going to happen next! I’m here on tenterhooks to find out whether Darvey will commit suicide or not.

OR MAYBE… Darvey wakes up and it is all a dream?

Notice how I am pointedly ignoring Jan’s eurotrash ranting? Yeah.

(JAN 8.37 pm EST, Anna forgot to close the edit button :p )

Ha! Ignoring?! Backstage Anna has been rooting for the Ding Dong Song by Gunther, and the subtitled version of Dragostae Din Tei. And this time I have proof!

Anna
00:31
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfEE_nYehZ8
that is worth watching
while i read chapter 19

(JAN)

In the backstage we are all learning each other strange sentences in even stranger languages. We’ve also come up with the plan to make all future songs EUROTRASH. Let’s unite and make MCM shiver. After all, it is the end of the World we’re talking about here! We’ve also discovered a Dutch rapper named MCM. In the linked video he sings about how sorry he is. He also sings about the big and the small MCM, but even I don’t get that, and I speak Dutch FTW!

Aphid and Kaps are bickering about the technique of escaping the bomb earlier.  Aphid suggests {Najela: [ESCAPE PLAN]}Kaps goes off to ready the weapons… Aphid warns Jyi said he can’t shoot anymore, he’s too wild.  He says Jyi was joking, he’s doing it anyway.  Aphid points out the [SOMETHING YOU SHOULDN’T SHOOT] wouldn’t agree. {Rok: Suddenly, the [SIMPLE LIFE FORM STOWAWAY] scurries across the floor, as if afraid to be shot. Neither Aphid nor Kaps seem to notice it, despite the irritating cricket-like noise it makes when it moves (Life form from a previous question, in ch. 10)}
Darvey argues with Lucas about the legality of the techniques he’s using.  Darvey says legalities aren’t important when there are lives at stake.  Lucas disagrees: the key to law enforcement is replicable results that deter crime.  If you don’t build your case carefully, the Orillians will put up a big fight for jurisdiction and sabotage the case.  Also, giving away the game to the Orillians is blowing their carefully-crafted cover.  They may be transferred out of District 27, which would mean Darvey wouldn’t be near his home anymore.
{Rok: Darvey stares directly at the [SIMPLE LIFE FORM], which now has reached their room, but he doesn\’t seem to register that it\’s there. The creature stares back for a few seconds and says [Najela: A JOKE], then scurries again into an out-of-the-way corner.} {Najela:
Wait, the Orillians are in charge of the district Earth is in?  Yes, Earth has one council member, and the other [NUMBER] are Orillian.  So don’t think you can depend on the district authorities to back you up if…
Darvey realizes a power grab when he sees one.  The Orillians aren’t trying to kill Centaurians, they’re developing a drug, using the Tobor to test it, and planning to use it to wipe out the human race!

I love how it was all very obvious 2 chapters ago, and now it’s in the outline officially :p However, if they only have 1 earthmember in the council, is a powergrab really necessary then? As in, don’t the Orrillians have power already?

Chapter 19 Answers
Something you shouldn’t shoot.: crates full of contact explosive by porlob
Number between 10 and 30.: 24 by mjgoilli
Escape Plan: just stroll out, nonchalantly by porlob
A joke: What do you call three indians in a tree? by mjgoilli

Mike totally was a bad slave and entered that joke like a gazillion times. CHEATING I call it!! I wanted my joke to win.

Don’t inhale ramen, you’ll need curtains!!!

It’s really really funny. If you don’t get it. ramen are also windows in dutch. but if you’d inhale spicey ramen, your nose would probably run a lot, soooooo, a handkerchief wouldn’t be enough. No? Anyone? ok. Backing away now.

(Anna) 18.50 EST
Jan forgot to put the time on her post. AND forgot to bold the changed bits of the outline. Gosh! And told a joke that no one will find funny! Double gosh!

Anyway, about Chapter 19? I loved the part where she had trouble hearing the guy at the drive-through! So true!

Can’t wait for the next bit.

(Rok) 19.05 EST

I also want to register my complaint against Mike’s condemnable tactics. Not only he entered that joke a gazillion times, but he wasn’t the one who told that joke backstage in the first place. I was, yesterday! And no one got it or laugh at it. Personally, I’d have preferred a different joke, such as: “Toborians are so fat that when they enter a solar system, an eclipse happens.”

But, we can’t win all the time, so all is well. Mike got this round, but the war ain’t over yet…

(Anna) 17.38 EST
Back from having a lovely, lovely dinner, whereas MCM only got a bagel. Ha! Dinner FTW!

Can you believe we’re already so close to the end? Only four more chapters left!

And with that, the outline:

Jyi talks to the girl about the situation, what she’s heard about the Tobor plans. The girl is too rattled to help. The girl is {Najela:[A STRANGE WAY TO CALM DOWN]} to calm herself down
Tobor comes in, discovers Jyi isn’t drugged after all. Points out the disruptor at the far end of the cabin, which is stopping her from amplifying. Laughs that *MJG: freaky* Centaurian *MJG: mind* tricks *MJG: oooohhhh, waves paws around, rolls eyes, general mocking and condescention* won’t stop the plan anyway. After this last test, they’ll be ready to wipe out {Rok: [KIND OF PEST]} on a big scale. Too bad she won’t be around to see it.
She taunts him, asks how he liked it when his race got their {Rok: [ALIEN BODY PART]} handed to them over and over again in the [NUMBER] Year War. He gets angry, threatens to kill her on the spot, says he lost half his family. But then he stops, calms down, and says it’s all fine, because when the Tobor are done with her and her race, the score will be settled.
He leaves. The girl is getting panicky because of the noise interference. The girl is singing {Najela:[SONG]} in a slow monotone to comfort herself. Jyi says not to worry, that she’s got everything under control… And then a herd of magic cows fly by. (joke by jan who hasn\’t read this outline)

Ha at the random editing of the outline by Jan at the end. Just as well MCM wasn’t tired enough to randomly include magic cows, because that would have REALLY made things confusing. But maybe he is a wee bit tired. Why?

Well the chapter questions/answers were:
1. Number between 1 and 5.: 3 by Jan Thomas
2. Kind of pest.: Slug by The_Squirrel_
3. Alien body part.: tentacle knee cap by Rok
4. Song on the radio: Michael Jackson’s Beat It by Rok
5. A Strange Way to Calm Down: tearing strips of paper into tiny bits by alphabete

And MCM seems to have forgotten to use the song suggestion, and he used the tentacle knee cap in the wrong place.

(JAN 5.44 EST)

Time for some predictions. Earth Will Go Down. Or it will get saved marvelously by Darvey. Who will die doing that, but in an ass-kicking way. And at exactly the time Kaps predicted. A true Happily Ever After!! Meanwhile, behind the scenes,stuff gets even more mellow. On to the DOOM

(Rok) 6.08 EST

And Rok scores twice again! Woohoo!! I rock! Well, duh, of course I rock. That’s my name. Silly me!

My prediction is that Darvey will save the day, of course, but will find himself at the very end of the story strapped to a Toborian canister, finally about to fulfill his wish to die. Of course, though, it’s a Toborian bomb and we all know what that means. His final words then are: “Fuck! I can’t seem to get a break!”

(JAN 16.34 EST.) HA! I claim I miss the sense of urgency, and MCM says the chapter is ready when we haven’t even yet updated The Dispatch!! SO now I have to hurry. I love #2D1D So about ROK and Mike and Najela joining here backstage, I really love it. And they are not very difficult to give a heartwarming welcome too, because they are all so nice!! (Even if the are ancient or resembling Neanderthals or both :p )

Darvey and Kaps argue about how to get back to the Derra without dying. Darvey suggests that they Blowing the bomb out the airlock?  No.  Transporters?  Ha.  Defusing? Don’t know how. Bickering about lack of timer.  Darvey finally uses his grandma’s advice on how to solve problems: [PROBLEM SOLVING].  Kaps is really not sure. Kaps suggests {Najela:[AN ESCAPE PLAN]}
After some quick footwork by Aphid and the Derra, they get back aboard. *MJG: Just in time as bomb explodes and destroys shuttle.* Aphid is [HAPPY OR SAD] to see Kaps.  She’s traced the missing ship: it passed a relay on the way to the Terran system.  They put engines on full blast and pass {Najela:[RANDOM SPACE OBJECT]}.  Gotta catch them!

QUESTIONS:
How to solve a technical problem.: How to solve a technical problem – RTFM! by tenaciousN
Happy or sad?: sappy! by am_harte
An escape plan: swap with lawyer wearing wig by retro_neo
Random space object: trailing garbage by Rok

Lovely chapter. Also, I had no idea what RTFM was, but now it makes sense. YAY for learning new English shortcodes. And what a sick twist that they are now heading to Earth… Which makes the thing I added to the next outline without reading it possibly a tad difficult. But MCM will pass the evil test I’m sure. Over to the others Also LOL at the Tobor Bombs

“A Tobor bomb, you say.”
“Exactly.”
“There’s no way they’re behind this drug plot.”
“No way,” Kaps agreed.

(Anna) 17.14 EST
Just to quote what I just wrote on gchat:

WAIT. I am confused by the end of Chapter 17. Wasn’t Darvey BURNT? Shouldn’t he be feeling the burn? The ring of fire on his FACE?

Did anyone else not think that when reading this chapter? I was so looking forward to Aphid’s reaction. She thought the previous guy’s burnt knee was cute – what would she think of a burnt face? Clearly she’d be coming on to Darvey some more instead of getting all sappy over Kappy.

And did you see one of my answers got picked?

p.s. I notice Jan forgot to bold the changed bits of the outline. Tsk, tsk.

(Anna) 3.00 pm EST

You can tell that the mixer-uppers got a lot more confident as time progressed. I mean, the NUMBER of questions for chapters is getting to ridiculous proportions! And, excitingly, it seems everyone is still answering them.

This has been such a different experience from #3D1D in that respect. Last time, people’s enthusiasm kind of dropped off halfway through – to be fair, it was pretty exhausting to keep up with. MCM’s new schedule, which does not run overnight, along with this being over the weekend, and hosted on i09, has really widened the number of participants.

And of course, you may have noticed we have several more backstagers, meaning that me, Jan and Eli have not been going utterly out of our minds (well, Jan only a little) in trying to keep pace with MCM’s frantic writing.

So, yes. Different. Less stressful and insane. But still fun.

And now for this chaoter’s outline. (That’s not a typo, that’s how they say it in my country.)

The explosion was a stun canister. The club is raided, and Darvey and Kaps are dragged off into lockup. Takes a while for their vision to clear up. Discuss Tobor issues with Centaurians… sounds like genocide in the making. The drug isn’t accidentally deadly, they’re trying to wipe out Centaurians…
The same Orillians as before drag them out for questioning. Darvey claims to be the same race as Kaps, just hanging around town before shipping out. Or he wanted to [FUN SHORE LEAVE ACTIVITIES]. The Orillians have the place bugged: they know what he was discussing. He says that was all a joke, that of course he wouldn’t go stealing ships. That’s crazy.
They ask him what race he is, he says “same as him.” They demand to know, he dodges the question. Kaps answers to break the tension. They don’t buy it. They put a gun on Kaps, ready to kill, and take off Darvey’s mask. He starts to burn in the sun [NUMBER], and they think he’s Centaurian. They put it back on, freak out about amplification, but then realize he would have used it by now. He’s human, isn’t he? They’re going to shoot Kaps. He admits it. He’s human.
They realize they’re dealing with CSA, release them, apologize and offer assistance. Subtly hint things would go better if the CSA bothered to inform district police they were in the area. Darvey waves it all off, says he just needs to find the missing ship. They suggest the space station off {Rok: [PLANET NAME]} the third planet in this system… that’s where most of the Tobor hang out because [REASON TO HANG OUT]. They offer him a recently-impounded Tobor shuttle called the {Najela: NAME OF A SPACE SHIP] to get back to their ship, send him off.
Darvey and Kaps debate the tactics of the Tobor. Darvey suggests that they {Najela:[A WAY TO GET RID OF SOMETHING]. Kaps suggests that they {Najela:[A HORRIBLE WAY TO KILL SOMEONE]. Both of them would never work They’re not known for being the smartest, and if they had a drug like this, it would take a lot of effort to deploy widely. And given the timeframe, it’s unlikely they’d kill many before the Centaurians figured it out. Kaps explains how the Tobor only have two planets in their district {Najela:[NAME OF TWO PLANETS], but the Centaurians have [NUMBER]… that’s why they’re doing this. If they can claim a big enough chunk of one of those planets, they’ll get two seats on the district council, which would give them access to a lot more cash. The more power on council, the more resources you control.
Just as Darvey’s about to ask a key question, Kaps discovers a bomb at the back of the shuttle!

And, err, is anyone else thinking that EVERY chapter ends with a bomb? Come on, MCM! It would have been funnier if for once they just found a jam sandwich in the backseat.

(Najela) TIME 3:08 EST EST!!! Sorry about the time fail in the last post. I seriously thought that we were putting our own timezones to reflect the globalization of the internet. One thing I love about #2D1D is that I don’t have any class preventing from participating in the festivities. The weekend is awesome. I can be lazy because I have no class (thought I have finals that I should be stressing out about, but this is more important. j/k j/k, but seriously this is better). I like that it doesn’t go all night and MCM won’t die as hard as he did in #3D1D. I can actually catch up with the chapters and as you can tell I went a little crazy with the questions. I’m just having so much fun, but the lack of sleep is catching up with me. I need to go to the gas station and get that mega super caffeine coffee with all the sugar and stuff. I bet my roommates probably think I’m crazy because I keep laughing randomly and loudly at random typos and the home shopping network and of course, the story itself, and scandals backstage. Oh do I love me some scandals. I really should try to get some sleep. I moved to my bed to write, but now the wifi is acting out. Anna is the group-togetherer or since she keeps adding me back to the group because I either get kicked out by my janky wifi or I keep closing out of the group. Oh well. C’est La Vie. Next post I’ll try to talk more about the story. I’m going through sleep induced rambling.

(Rok) 3.30 pm EST

I want to say a few words about the experience of joining these folks backstage. First, MCM, Jan, and Anna knew each other already, but I didn’t know any of them. Yet, I was graciously invited to contribute and I was accepted, crazyness and all, with open virtual arms. I am old enough to remember a time when there was no internet as we know it today and it still strikes me as an amazing achievement of the human spirit that people from different parts of the world, people who have not met one another, can join together in virtual friendship and achieve something of the magnitude of what we’re doing this weekend. For some people, this is just a live-writing event. Big deal, right? For me, personally, it’s been yet another proof that there is good will and friendship in the hearts of everyone. All we need is to give ourselves the chance to interact for a common goal. In a small way, it reinvigorates my hope that human civilization can survive, grow, and thrive as a planet, not simply as a number of countries separated by artificial boundaries on a map.

Ok, that was a very philosophically-oriented paragraph. Let me lighten up a bit by relating an specific example of the nutness that goes on behind the curtains. Just a few moments ago, the following exchange took place:

(Rok): so, no one editing dispatch 16? I want to dive in for a bit

(Najela): i need to rest

(Rok): rest in peace

(Anna): dive in

(Anna): HAHA

(Rok): LOL

(Anna): cruel, rokko

(Rok): that was just priceless, the crossed responses

(Anna): no dying allowed

(Rok): I wasn’t suggested death

(Rok): suggesting, that is

(Anna): don’t make me laugh

(Anna): it hurts

(Rok): it’s hard to type fast when you have 18 tentacles

(Anna): surely it’d be easier to type faster?

(Rok): hmm… no

(Anna): i mean you’ve got 8 more things to tap on the kb with than i do

and that’s really just one example. I can honestly say that I haven’t had as good a time chatting as during this weekend in a very long time. I’ve only “known” these people for nearly 2 days and they feel to me as though we’ve been friends for a long time.

2DiD has been, and is still, a fantastic experience. I hope to see more of this type of activity sprouting all over the internet.

(JAN 4.19 EST) Awww. You guys are sweet. I need stuff like this now. I’m tired and I fell off the stairs. I’m in quite some pain, but nothing seems to be broken. I am watching the care bears in between chapters because I’ve been feeling woozy. Can I answer you guys more thoroughly when I feel a little bit more like myself?

On the the chapter questions picked.

Chapter 16 Answers
A fun activity for shore leave.: Playing in cybernetically-enhanced gravity by NXS
A number between 3 and 12.: 4 by NXS
A reason to hang out.: @1889ca A reason to hang out. // 4-20 by LynThorneAlder
A number between 5 and 20.: 13 by NXS
Name for a planet outside our solar system.: Xena by NXS
Name of a space ship: Coriander by janoda
A way to get rid of something: vacuum it out in space by janoda
A horrible way to kill someone: space him by retro_neo
Name of two planets: M&M by janoda

Okay, I totally won For those that don’t remember, Coriander was a C-Quest suggestion by TenaciousN, (C-Quest was the quest for MCM’s middle name), and it was my longtime favorite, only to be beaten at the end by Caligula. So in fact, that spaceship was named after MCM .

I like Darvey more and more, and Kabs is really funny, I hope he earns is cash in the end. Though Darvey probably won’t want to die at the end anymore. Also MCM found this a very hard chapter, and he doesn’t know yet I’ve added something totally random to the outline of one of the later chapters, because seriouslt, how many bombs have we had yet.

I could honestly write a whole essay on the differences with #3D1D, because I think I do miss the sense of urgency that went along with it. Like when you woke up, you had to Catch up fast so you could tag along with The Dispatch and Questions again. I miss that a bit. And I also miss the interactivity on twitter. The console is a great engine (when it works), but it doesn’t really work for discussion. I want DAAAARRRVVEEEYYY cries :p

Anyway, the next chapter is almost ready, and I’m still typing. Publish!

(Jan 13.15 EST) Anna is having loads of food (which means she’s getting better I think), Rok’s food of yesterday is bothering (Sushi gone bad it seems) and I’m talking beer. Life is good (for some of us :p).  I found the questions and answers for this chapter very promising…

Chapter 15 Questions

#2D1D #c15q1 Something you buy. // freedom by Rok
#2D1D #c15q2 A financial goal. // Saving up to buy a houseboat by porlob
#2D1D #c15q3 A type of gland. // sweat gland by Rok
#2D1D #c15q4 Name for strip club. // by 1889ca
#2D1D #c15q5 Card game. // by 1889ca
#2D1D #c15q6 Drug name. // Popswiz. by addisoncort
#2D1D #c15q7 Weird Girl Name // by 1889ca
#2D1D #c15q8 Alien Body Part // Squarependix by SolidSpider
#2D1D #c15q9 Strange Clothing Article // wipple by am_harte

Beforehand I’m guessing on a stripper (preferably of the same species as Aphid) who wants to buy her freedom out by playing cards and winning from Darvey, since he’s now famously rich and all.  Note, if it says by 1889ca that means the picker chose a system message, (or in my language, screwed up), and MCM has to be rancom all by his self!! HOW WILL HE MANAGE. Also, I’m very happy Wipple is now not only Wordpress Lag, but a piece of clothing too.

Oh noes. The beer is already kicking in, and not dealing well with the only 3 hours of sleep. I feel suddenly so ver very tired, and it’s not even 8 in the night here. I haven’t even had dinner yet. Which is going to be quite fancy btw. My roommate is doing dinner for her friends, and I can tag along. Which is great for #2D1D because it means great food without ANY hassle of preparing it. On to the Chapter Outline:

Darvey is introduced to Ogro, the kingpin of the city in a freaky alien strip club, {Rok: called [NAME FOR STRIP CLUB]}. Discuss state of the union, how it’s hard to find good [PRODUCT] these days. They seem to be hitting it off, even though Darvey has no idea what he’s talking about.
Ogro asks Darvey why he wants the ship.  Darvey makes up a rambling story about ordering merch, getting stiffed, needing merch so he can sell it and buy [FINANCIAL GOAL].  Ogro questions the logic of the plan, but Darvey isn’t giving up.  He’ll do anything to get that ship back.
Ogro asks why anyone would essentially buy the same merch twice.  Darvey says it’s the principle of the thing.  Ogro likes the spirit, if not the brain-deadness.  He makes an offer: steal back the ship, and he can keep half the merch aboard.
Darvey is intrigued… why is he helping?  Ogro used to own that ship, but lost it in a {Rok: [CARD GAME]} bet to the Tobor traders.  He doesn’t want it wasted when they decide to kamikaze it into a Centaurian freighter somewhere like they are with all their ships these days.
Darvey plays it cool.  He only wants his merch back, not the ship. Theft on that scale is a big deal.  Ogro agrees, decides to throw in some incentives.  A free dose of [DRUG] and an hour with his best girl with large {Najela:[ALIEN BODY PART] and {Najela: [WEIRD HAIR COLOR]} wearing {Najela:[STRANGE CLOTHING ARTICLE]}. Best girl{Najela:[WEIRD GIRL NAME]} comes forward, Darvey is unsure what you’re supposed to do with her.  Kaps isn’t interested either [TYPE OF GLAND].
Darvey agrees to the deal, about to shake hands when a canister drops into the room and explodes.

(Rok 13:58 EST)

First, Yay!, Rok scores again, twice in one chapter this time. That bot sure loves me.

Now, about the sushi thing. So, yesterday I had sushi for lunch and chicken for dinner. The sushi tasted like chicken, which is not surprising considering my alien physiology. The chicken tasted like old fish, and it was delicious. Later in the evening I felt a bit queasy, but not enough to warrant losing any sleep over it. Today, however, I’ve been feeling weird all day and all 3 of my stomachs hurt. I don’t think it was the chicken. For one thing, the sushi was on sale and may have been past its shelf life date. Guess I should have checked. Living and learning…

So, in the end, it looks like I’m joining Anna in solidarity to her chicken pox. Only, in my case, it’s sushi pox. The funny thing is, if I get scales over all my body, they’ll look like roof shingles. Very appropriate name, after all.

(Najela 11:16 PST) I feel like I’m a part of some cult. It started with a DM on twitter, then an email. Then a chat a bunch of rules. Don’t touch the Red Squares. Do you know how tempting it is to touch the red squares? I hovered over them for a while. But I don’t want to kill the system. Anyway, I’m excited… I should be working on a final paper, but this is so much more exciting. Plus you know what they say about procrastination… yeah, I don’t know what they say about it. Anyway, Anna has chicken poisoning, Rok has sushi poisoning, and Jan is feeling fluffy. What have I gotten myself into?

(Anna) 14.36 EST
So now that the chapter is ACTUALLY up… I can say that Jan has clearly no idea where anything is going, and all her predictions were WRONG WRONG WRONG.

And why did Najela write her time in PST? Did we not give her the EST rule? There are so many rules we should write a handbook. On the front cover it’ll say DON’T PANIC and on the back cover it’ll say NOW PANIC.

And can I say, this chapter is where the brilliance of MCM’s writing shines through? As in, he takes all these random jigsaw pieces input by readers and manages to make it seem like he would’ve thought of them in the first place.

But, really, where would this story be without reader input?

Let’s finish off with this little quote:

This is Azariah,” said Ogro. “She can provide many kids of pleasure for you both.”

What do you think? Typo, or intentional?

(Rok) 12.50 pm EST

So, things have been a bit quieter backstage for a while. Anna had to disappear to turn herself semi-presentable, though I really don’t understand how disappearing can make someone look better. I mean, when you disappear you’re invisible, right? Must be some human thing I don’t understand. Jan left too, to do who knows what, but she’s back now. Eli has been having connection problems, so he phases in and out periodically. Mike is… where is Mike? I guess his dog must be walking him again. And Najela is slaving on, changing the outlines of chapters to come. That leaves MCM, the mastermind of this evil operation. He must be happy now that all the noise backstage is gone, so he can focus on writing.

Speaking of writing…

CHAPTER 14 POSTED!

Following tradition, here’s the outline for this chapter, with the added-in bits in bold:

The Tobor break in the door and discover Jyi half-conscious *MJG: sticking halfway into interesting hiding place from Ch. 12* on the ground, spent [DRUG NAME] *MJG: [alien-sounding intravenous drug delivery DEVICE NAME]* hanging out of her arm.  She invites them to [INVITATION], seems utterly gone.  They’re about to kill her when they realize she’s Centaurian, and can be used for testing.
They drag her out into the cargo bay, strap her into a seat next to a young woman who is seriously drugged.  They leave the “two tweakers” and head out to see the status of the next batch.
Jyi was faking, asks if the girl is alone on the ship.  The {Rok: [HAIR COLOR]} girl is utterly wasted, {Rok: her eyes open wide and pointing nowhere in particular} keeps going on about [STRANGE CHILDHOOD MEMORY], but eventually spills that she’s the Governor’s daughter.  Her friends were with her until recently, but they’ve been melting, one by one.  She wonders if it’ll be her turn soon… it looks like so much fun…

(JAN 12 58 pm) Ha Rok, how could you forget I was taking an emergency bath. As in “woops forgot I had guests coming tonight”. Can I say I love this chapter!!! Finally some more emotion. Also, the plot thickens very much now doesn’t it. but the biggest reason I absolutely love this chapter is because there is a reference to  the timezones. And MCM and we have been joking about those hideous things for a week #iblamethetimezones apparantly also counts for space

On to the questions:

Chapter 14 Questions
#2D1D #c14q1 An invitation to do something. // ice skating with a head of state by tenaciousN
#2D1D #c14q2 A strange childhood memory. // confusing timezones by am_harte
#2D1D #c14q3 Drug name.
#2D1D #c14q4 Funky hair color. // Fluorescent Beige by najelacobb
#2D1D #c14q5 Alien device name // Transfibulator by addisoncort

Okay. Those all fitted most geniously. Really I very much feel like we’re tuning more and more into MCM’s brain and know what he’s asking stuff for.

Also, some more breaking news (i love how MCM is giving totally new meaning to that) The Question Picker isn’t working properly, but he’s trying to fix it.  Also, in the backstage, Najela was having so much fun her head exploded.

I hear beer downstairs. I’ll be back!

(Anna) 12.02 pm EST

BREAKING NEWS: NEW MIXER-UPPER ADDED TO THE MIX!
The swelling ranks of #2D1D slaves has been of some concern to officials, as previously-innocent Najela Cobb (@nlcobb on twitter) was drafted into the mix, bringing the total number of slaves up to three.

The slaves – which include Mike and Rok – are expected to slave away by editing the outlines, adding chapter questions, and providing less than scrupulous entertainment for megacorp author MCM, without any recompense whatsoever, nor any rights.

“We are not trying to take over the world,” MCM said to eager reporters in a hastily-organized press release. “We care very much about equality in the workforce, and thought some gender parity might bring new insight to a creative project that is ultimately engineered at the betterment of mankind.”

Najela was not available for comment.

LESS BREAKING NEWS: CHAPTER 13 POSTED!

We are well into Day 2 now, and things seem to be running smoothly after the initial breakdowns of the console due to MCM’s typo skillz.

So here the outline, with the added-in bits bolded:

Darvey’s kinetic shield takes most of the blast, but he hurts like hell afterwards. He’s found by Kaps and Aphid, who have lost contact with Jyi. Aphid wants to chase the Tobor ship, but Darvey says the bigger problem is the distribution of the drug to the Centaurian system. He gives her the registration number on the ship, and she heads off to try and track it.
In the meantime, he and Kaps are going to go into the city and find someone that knows the Tobor pushers… maybe they can find them that way. Kaps is keen to bust heads, so he agrees.
***
The fifth dealer they find is very erratic *mjg: extreme paranoia*, keeps going on about [NASTY LIQUID] in the water supply, how it’s giving him hives. They offer him [NUMBER] *mjg: [ALIEN CURRENCY]* if he can remember anything about that ship, and he wants to know why. Darvey says he bought a boatload of [SILLY DRUG NAME] and they stiffed him on the merch. Wants it back. Skittish dealer heads in to check with his boss.
Kaps warns dealers in this district aren’t known for indulging in freebies… Darvey’s going to have to pay to get what he wants. Darvey calls Lucas, asks for liquid assets. Lucas says he’ll need to make a request, and it could take some time. They don’t HAVE time… but then the skittish one comes back. His boss wants to talk. Serious business.

Did anyone else laugh at the alien species “tweeps”?

And I loved the description of the drug pusher. Not only his weird alien physiology, but his odd character… MCM has a knack for oddness, I must say.

Also, for being suicidal, Darvey is pretty non-suicidal, huh? I mean, he seems almost reasonable in this chapter! I’m curious to see what happens next, although I may be late to the game as I have some things to do.

Anyhows, any thoughts of your own to share?

(JAN 12.33 pm ) Catching up since I took a quick bath. I really liked this chapter, didn’t quite get the whole shield vs needle thing, I believed it made more sense in the outline. Also, Darvey does sounds a bit out of characther here, as in it’s not obvious when he got some sense kicked into him. Probably while he was unconscience and all that jazz.

And yes Anna, I very much laughed at the tweeps thing. Which reminds me that you forgot to add the questions in, so I’ll do that now. I promised we’d do our duty better!!

Chapter 13 Questions
#2D1D #c13q1 A nasty liquid. // Liquid Penetroleum by comm9
#2D1D #c13q2 A number between 10 and 150. // by Squi (no number?)
#2D1D #c13q3 A silly drug name. // fluffbalz by muppetjedi (I LOVED THIS ONE!!)
#2D1D #c13q4 Name of Alien Currency // Picolents by TJ229ER

I loved the whole fake currency thing. Anyway, bring it on MCM. I am ready