Planning & Brainstorming

Just for the auqwardness... I am going to adress these backwards...

Ok. I will do what bannana done as it is my character next. Email me at Nelsonemma@me.com

Ok. Sorry, I haven't had the time to flick through the 40 chapters (40!?!? How'd we get that far?!)

Yes, I agree. Just until we get a reply.

Yeah, I keep doing that and having to go back over my chapters to fix it!!!!

Thanks, @elf, I'm grateful for that. I really don't want to give up on that collab.

... Also, @elf ... I think you have a serious problem with the words "awkwardness" and "awkward". You keep misspelling them, even after being corrected on a number of occasions... it's kind of funny actually :) I remember having the same problem with the words "knowledgable" and "completely" (can't even recall how I used to spell them; all I know is I kept writing them horribly wrong despite having read how they were really written multiple times).

40 chapters... somehow, it doesn't feel like we've written that many... I cringe every time I read my earlier chapters because now I know that I'm doing the first person POV COMPLETELY wrong. It's so embarrassing :( ...

1) it's ok. I want you to continue as well. Your character is interesting.

2) I know *guilty face* I HATE that word!!

3) it is. Haha! It's ok. It's all fine. If you want, you can go back and change them a little... I am planning on doing that to some of mine when I get the time.

Ok Denver's chapter will be up soon :D and also I just want to make sure you guys know that Owen has NOT told ANYONE his powers because he himself doesn't know about them yet. I'm planning on him finding out when he and Marina have the big fight. :D

Sweet!!! Can't. Wait to read the chapter!!!

That sounds awesome!

I'm looking forward to everything planned! :)

Oh, yeah, that's right! Owen doesn't know about his powers yet (I knew I was missing something...).

So just so I know we're all in the same page here:

Everyone knows about Cindy having air powers and Aya having control over ether. Aya and Cindy know that Marina has fire powers, but the male characters aren't aware of it.

No one knows about Owen's powers (including himself) and Aya has a very vague idea of Fern's (knowing that he reads emotions but not suspecting that he can access a person's mind and control it).

Denver hasn't told anyone about his powers either, has he? Owen knows but the others don't, right?

ok the new chapter is up! :D and @Firebird so far as I can tell that seems about right :D

@Skooch, thanks for the input, I'm glad I got it right. It's good to write these things down when you're writing a story like this, just so you don't make unnecessary mistakes.

I've read your chapter and it's looking nice, but I have some concerns. I don't know if you've noticed it but Fern has real issues when it comes to people touching him, not only because of his trust issues and uneasiness around people but also because of his powers.

Touch makes accessing another person's mind easier for Fern, and sometimes he can't help the flow of emotions and information that comes from it, specially in the state he's in (the last thing he wants right now is another person's mind influencing his own).

What I'm trying to say is that Fern would not welcome Denver's and Owen's touch with open arms.

ahh ok had no idea...I'll fix that! maybe have him pass out so he doesn't get all that?

You could do that, I guess. It's all up to you, be creative. I'm sure you'll come up with something.

... Maybe Denver makes a move to help and Fern rejects it? Then he would say he was fine and just phone Kai's girlfriend to pick him up or insist on going home alone, or something along those lines. It could be anything, really.

haha I went for the easiest path and it was done before you even posted the comment :P he just fell asleep.

Wow, that was fast, XD ! I guess that's one way to do it :)

well it's not particularly hard :P I generally make the changes right away so that I don't forget :P

That's a good chapter! Way to lighten up the mood!!!!

Marina won't eat fish, as she doesn't like it. Cindy won't as it will feel like eating her self.

They will probably politely decline it.

Right, next chapter. We could have it beginning with the eating orskip it. Put some chapters of them back at school??? This time with Aya in the class?? Or they could begin to work on their project?

I think it is time to really get this plot moving, no more classes unless something necessary to the plot line occurs there. They should start their project I think, and have Alex follow them secretly and see them change into merpeople. She'll keep it to herself for the time being but it will cause problems for them later.

I like Skooch's idea.

Alex's father can be the one to order their capture, right? He's rich, owns pretty much all the island's fishing industry - working and making donations to a lot of marine conservation institutes (a bad man has to keep up his appearances, you know) - very well known in the island and about as mean and vile as they get.

Alex wouldn't tell her father anything intentionally (her parents are divorced; she hates her father and lives with her mother, a singer who, by the way, knows Fern's guardian). Her younger brother, on the other hand, with his hatred filled heart and messed up mind, would tell his father anything and everything (his name's Jason, just in case you need it).


Just as a warning: though you may have already noticed this, I'm really bad at rushing things. All of my stories are slow paced, as I tend to let the plot write itself instead of actually creating one from the very start (this is not good, I know. It's my curse; a hard habit to kick).

But I'll try my best. Although I wouldn't mind a few pointers :)

Umm, I have a question. What exactly is the project that you speak about, @Skooch?

And @Firebird, I think that's a good idea. Just a thought, though -- shouldn't Alex's father be donating his money to a company opposing marine preservation, since it'd still be keeping up his appearances and it would make it easier for the merfolk to hate him and conflict him every step of the way? Maybe a company which releases a lot of chemicals into the water, or something like that.

Would Kara leak something to her father, as she is young and can't keep her mouth shut very well? And do you guys think that Alex's father should have a name? It would be easier than calling him Alex's father every time we mention him.

I'm with you! If I try to create a plot at the very start, it somehow changes, or everything that's meant to happen doesn't, because I just can't incorporate 'outside ideas' with my 'inside ideas' ... if that even makes any sense ;P

Skooch is speaking about the school project, the one where they were split in groups of 6 to make a project on a mythological creature (in this case, mermaids). Our characters are all in the same group.

Alex's father is Walter Fischer (sorry about telling everyone this just know, don't know why I didn't say it earlier), her mother is Yara, maiden name Garcia (she's brazilian, by the way).

I have to say though, I don't understand how donating money to a company opposing marine conservation would be keeping up appearances. Wouldn't that make the people in the island, who are very much in love with anything marine related, hate him and distrust him?

The goal here is to make him look like a good guy, while in reality he isn't. He can be doing a lot of bad stuff (including helping companies release chemicals into the water in return for money, overfishing, etc), but he has to be doing these things in secret.

Some people in the island can see through his mask, but don't have proof. Maybe our characters can find what he's doing when they're captured. Or maybe they're captured because of it (though I like the idea of them being captured to be exploited better).

Ah, yes, now I remember the project.

Walter could sound evil, I suppose. Well I was thinking along the lines of; he's still donating something, so he might be seen as a charitable person. I hadn't considered your point, Firebird. You're right -- the coastal folks would all hate him for it. Sorry about that :S

So it would be kind of ironic, wouldn't it? Nobody would believe the mermaids, because Walter Fischer is the 'nice guy' of the town, making the case even more complicated for them ;P That means eventually they'll have to prove that Walter Fischer is bad. :)

That's probably a more realistic way of doing it. Nice thinking :)

Yes, I think they should find out about his activities after their capture.