Star Trek: Theurgy

• Just continue with what you're doing now. It's perfect.
• I think the general posting length is just fine. It pushes me to keep up with my word count, forcing me to be more descriptive in my writing, which is a good thing I figure.
• I think your posts are a good length, and while they are occasionally lengthy, the information conveyed is always useful or plot related. Carry on.
• I'd say that the posting length over all is sufficent. Keep it as is.
• Good so far.  You've been doing a better job at breaking up long posts with lots of POV's.
• Posting length is fine.
• Is there such a thing as more for you? xD No, but seriously, you're more than okay as you are. However, if you end up increasing ... then que cera, cera. That sorta stuff. But you're posts are amazing as they are.
• Keep it the same. GM does great!
• Depends. I'm detail-oriented and have a reasonably good memory for certain facts and can border on OCD. Other times, I just skim and review. So I say keep your posts handy, though I would recommend compartmentalization with the 'spoiler' textbox feature.
• I think the length is perfect as it is now.
• Keep the same
• My rule of thumb is that content matters more than quantity. You write a lot, but everything you write has meat to it, so there's no need to adjust how much you post, I think!
• Keep the same. You usually write to fit the scene.
• Honestly you can write whatever you feel your post needs. I have in the past felt overwhelmed by your posting length in threads like Black Opal but I realize that thread was designed to drop lot of dialog and important information. That said on the few times that we have written one on one, your post length was perfectly suited for the situation. I'm someone who really wants to match their partners output but you have threads that are 'plot dense' and make it very hard to match or read at times, but once you get through them they can be rather fun.
• I believe the GM posts are just fine.
• I don't think so. Sometimes a short response in a few words can say just as much as 5,000 words.

• I feel as if I have more control over my direction than I have had in past roleplaying groups, which is wonderful! I know I can come to you if I need guidance, but so far I'm happy!
• I don't feel lost. Sometimes I do wonder what direction to push myself but chatting with others on Discord seems to help with that.
• If I feel lost, it is my own fault. There are wonderful outlets for conveying information already. I just have to use them. And I personally do not feel lost. It's more a timing issue. I am bout overly comfortable with posting "out of order", meaning if I post with X doing something at 1700 hours, then post again elsewhere at 2000 hours because that scene is ready, but skip the scene at 1800 hours and's return to it later, I'm worried that I'll goof up my time continuum.
• There are times when I'm not sure what all is going on with other characters, and how much that does, or should, impact my own characters.  I do not know of a way to glean further information about that in a fashion that also doesn't force the GM to do EVEN MORE WORK, however.
• You must be kidding, right?  Something you do extremely well is make sure everyone is in the loop.
• No.
• Nope. I can't say I'm 100% sure about the series, still. But I have ways to get caught up, and that helps prevent me from feeling lost or without direction.
• Sometimes. Working on coordinating more with players my character would be close to.
• Sometimes. I want to branch out, at least in this day and age in the sim and provide the opportunities to kick ass In-Character and also be the wisecracker I aim my characters to be.
• Most of my characters are in their own unique subplots, so the overall plot is more a backdrop to them. Thus if I felt lost it would be my own dang fault. As for how informed I am about the overall story, I think the story development thread allows me to read up on the various plots and the central plots.
• No
• Not at all.
• Not currently, no.
• Lost is not the word I would pick. Interregnum 04-05 has very little in the way of instruction just various plot threads all going off at once. It's actually really fun to weave all of these things together. I like having various suggestions and just running with it.
• I don't feel lost at this time.
• If I'm lost, it's only because of myself. Sometimes I don't know where to look even when it's in my face. But that's just my own bad.

• Come up with crazy plots and mission ideas :D
• GMing.
• You have the best communication. Seriously. Keep it up.
• The gentle reminders about who needs to post when.
• Keep doing what you're doing
• Being a good and fair GM.
• Everything else you're doing except what I put in #4.
• Your posts.
• Sexy pin-ups. And Sexy ships... you know what, Sexy images all around. Oh, and of course organizing when and where settings are, where the player characters and NPCs belong.
• Listening to the voices of the players and allowing them to explore their characters, while at the same time encouraging them to further the overall plot. It's been a big boost to try and figure out what I can add to the overall plot while still keeping try to my unique subplots.
• Supporting players to strive further and be better writers
• Newletters are very helpful and I love finding them in my inbox, even if I never message back! They keep me up to date not only on the threads going on, but also the cool art we get as a group!
• You are very responsive and encouraging of your writers' ideas, keep doing that.
• The most helpful thing that you do is by far the weekly newsletter. I imagine that takes a lot of time to write and collect the information on, but I'm an avid reader, and there is a lot of cool stuff you have done for us with that letter. I actually look forward to the updates every week on the current situation.
• Continue fighting for that consistency of story.
• Being the most awesome, incredible, talented storyteller and person that you are.

• Not stop but I agree with recent sentiments about slowing down on how many scenes you start, how many characters interact directly with you and not each other. Burnout would be a bad thing.
• This is harder because I generally have no complaints.
• Assuming the worst out of players when they drop off or don't respond for a bit. I can't even imagine how frustrating as a GM it has to be to have players not respond, but always assuming it is because they have some kind of spiteful motive isn't exactly the best. Not for your health, let alone the health of the RP. And to be clear, I say this becuase I've caught myself doing it, ascribing darker motives to people that constantly let me down (IRL, not in the RP) and seeing it in myself, I recognize some signs of it in you. This isn't a criticism, by the way. Just a concern that if you allow it, it'll eat at you. And I'm bringing it up as a friend, not just a player.
• Can't think of anything.
• Stop killing off our poor NPCs. Although I do get we need room for new characters at some point. Yet I do like some of the NPcs.
• Nothing. Even the strict talking/encouragement/whatever you wanna call them were needed. So, thanks. Actually, re-thinking about it, maybe there is one thing. I'm glad you did get a few assistants for you. But maybe assign other mods to help you out? Either way, don't shoulder all of the responsibilities on your shoulders.
• Getting mad at me for using 'I' when I mean my characters; it's in the hurried shorthand. :P
• I've got nothing. Truth be told you're an excellent GM. If I had to say something it would be to advise you to not worry about how well you're doing and be aware of other people's anxieties about it. I think there might be a fear of "breaking the plot" as it were, or at the very least I tend to feel hesitant with interacting with the larger plot threads for fear of damaging them. Not sure if that counts as something I want you to stop doing or not.
• I can't think of something at this point that isn't covered by another question.
• N/A, all is well
• Don't stress so much about how long it takes you to put up new chapters or begin the interregnum. We understand your work load is intense and volunteer. Don't get burned out.
• I have to think about this one I will get back to you at a later date.
• I can't think of anything for you to stop doing at this time.
• Honestly can't think of one. Everything you do, I generally find agreeable, even if it's things or matters not in my favour. I'm honestly very okay with that, and I respect your leadership and decisions.

• I was going to say distribute some of your work to others, but you seem to already have done that by passing on some of the artwork for chars. So I'd say more of that to free up your time for story and such.
• Can't think of anything.
• Also tough. I assume you do EVERYTHING, so it's hard to think of something I want to see that you don't do. Oh, well it would be cool to see the updated trailer with X in it, hehe.
• Letting some of the players help you run things to ease the burden a bit.
• I can't think of anything right now.  I'll let you know if I think of something.
• On the same line, you might want to think about selecting people to take up some of the burden for you. The work on the Wiki is a good example of how some are already doing this, don't be afraid to let that happen in other areas such as coordinating Interregnum, plots, sending out reports and reminders, etc. If there's anything about managing the RP that you don't find fun or energizing, someone else might.
• Remember when I brought up assigning mods/other assistants? Yeah. That was a real thing for ya.
• Hopefully enjoy yourself.
• Something will come to mind at a later date, but no complaints in this department... Hmm, maybe download Star Trek Online and join us once a week or so for 'poker' night in-game for family photos and joint missions. Key word there is 'maybe.' 
• Let people know how fluid the plot is, make it clear exactly how much power each person has over the outcomes and if  you want to outcome to go in a certain way, make that very clear to the writers. I missed a fair bit so you may do this already, it's just a things I'd like to see.
• Allowing forum to have mods to do grunt work. Like compiling lists of plot suggestions for the interreggnum.
• Start planning a vacation, goodness gracious. If I was half as productive as you I'd probably be a millionare.
• I would like to see more open brainstorming between other players in all honesty. I come to you with ideas all the time, but I honestly don't know if other players do the same, and the few times I have reached out to others aside from a small group I often recieve no reply. I would love if you could start to play match maker more often or even just find a way for more open collaboration. Discord is great so that people can talk and through talking we can all plan out bits of our story.
• My recommendation for something to start doing is to lengthen out the time frame a bit.  This was something that came up during conversations on Discord.  Temporally speaking, a LOT of things have happened to the ship and crew in a very short period of time and much of it has been traumatic.  I can't imagine how any amount of counseling has kept the crew sane.    While I believe the forthcoming "rebellions" and "cult activities" are logical outcomes, I can't see it as something that resolves over the course of a week-long interregnum.  Plus, certain life changing events (such as the thought of one of the female crew becoming pregnant and carrying to term outside of some Q-induced time manipulation or something) can't happen which denies the players some significant role play opportunities.  Perhaps the ship could 'disappear' to throw off the heat so to speak for a couple months or a year and everyone is invited to write a personal update; secure training on things; etc.  Those that wish to play out events directly in those months could participate in a "Lost Chapters" sort of situation.  Just a thought.
• Maybe delegate a little more? You carry the weight of the universe on your shoulders sometimes.

• I think the run up to Starbase was going on for a while. Plenty of things going on at two fronts, but it seemed we were going at dead slow ahead.
• I'm new enough I figure that there hasn't really been a point the story seemed to drag.
• Since I joined in January, the energy seems lowest right now, with all of us seperate and doing daily ship things. But that's probably only because im not reading each and every thread. I read most of them and we're all spread apart. But this statement is not exactly what it seems.  If the rescue from the Black Opal and the battle at the starbase was a 10 on the energy scale, right now we are solidly at a 5 in most threads, though some are dancing around 8.
• I'm not sure I can point to one time, exactly. I have noticed it gets cylicial; it feels that the group lagged towards mid spring and then has suddenly sprouted back up as summer has arrived, for example. In myself, i know i have lagged for most of the year (work).
• The tail end of the last episode was kinda dragging on.  Maybe open up an Interregnum when things are wrapping up, instead of right at the end of an episode?
• From what I've seen, summer [thus, now] seems to be a low point. A lot of people are probably on vacation or busy with something else, and it's definitely slowed down regardless of what's going on.
• Um, I haven't been around that long.
• As a relative newcomer, no comment.
• I have only just recently rejoined the group and to be honest the story has only seemed to drag in so much as I wind up waiting for other people to reply. This is not the story in and of itself, only my own impatience, something I try to keep in check.
• Mainly when wrapping up. I.e. Chapter 4 before Theurgy arrived. Chapter 4 before interreggnum started
• If I ever felt low energy in the group, it's usually because I feel low energy in real life. I can say maybe it gets a little too confusing when there's massive threads with many people involved, but that may be due to my own inexperience.
• There was a bit of time when the Resolve and SB84 crew were in the conference room reacting to the ship battles that slowed a bit for me, as both of my characters were in there, but I don't know how it could have been done differently, and I understood and didn't mind. The chances of that happening in the future are pretty low.
• Oh that's easy the final chapter of 04. I played four characters during the last chapter, and aside from X it honestly felt like none of my guys could contribute in meaningful ways. Y got to sit in a room with his thumb up his ass, and Z became very tedius and boring to write one of the reasons I pushed him back into A. B had a few repairs he could do, but by that point the story felt like it was dragging on because I could only write one character for basically three weeks.
• No opinion here since I've only just joined.
• Err...never happened yet.

• Not really.
• I never have. I also believe that if the situation is part of the storyline and the character belongs there, then the scene should be played out.
• Actually, not anymore. 
• I haven't felt rail roaded since I agreed to play an alien I knew nothing about for a friend and then got stuck with the character/race when the left. It got fixed though.
• Nope.
• No.
• Nah. Just that I came in and had to learn a shit ton in a fast amount, but that's no one's fault. I knew that would be part of what would be needed.
• No, not really.
• Just once, when I was getting my bearings back on SB 84, but that's water under a brige lightyears away; besides, X kicking Y's ass was a fine 'welcome aboard' notch under Z's belt.
• Not really. I feel like I have a great deal of control with my characters and the various subplots going on. I feel free to start subplots and to explore them as we continue forward.
• Only when tagged into threads without consent (like in X)
• Not at all!
• I haven't felt this here yet, no.
• The last chapter of 04 had X, a character I consider my main, sitting on his ass and doing nothing to contribute.
• Rail-roaded?  Not that I can think of.  If I don't believe my character belongs in a circumstance or I don't feel it's appropriate to them or where I want to take them, I'll speak up.
• Hmm, that would be zero. But then I need to get more interactive.

• I'm all good.
• I am enjoying my characters so not anything specific I want them to get into that hasn't already been sorted out.
• I absolutely love them! I still want to bring in a Klingon female but right now my time is limited so I must content myself with my badass X.
• By and large I am enjoying where my characters are going. They all seem to have some options and threads either in course or lined up, and I've been taking steps to grow at least one of them without having to drag you into it  Like many of us,I have a new character that i'm itching to focus on. But all in all, i feel they have plenty of potential.
• I'm good.  And as discussed, I'm looking at creating a new one
• Yes.
• Absolutely! I wouldn't have made/inherited a person I didn't think I would enjoy. :P
• So far, yes.
• Hell Yeah, I like my dynamic duo! I even got to mull over what their Mirror Universe counterparts are like.
• I am having a great deal of fun playing my characters. They do somewhat exist in their own subplots with only passing connections to the main plot. I think one of them will be more involved as the main plot takes off, but we shall see.
• I'm happy with my characters.
• X is difficult, I admit. She's very irrational and inconsistent when I try to find her in my mind. I'm not sure what she needs, a good thumping maybe.
• Yes. I'm still trying to get a handle for the one I took over in my head, but it's coming along well. I think I need to do a deep dive analysis of her in my head and go from there.
• X: Now that he's active and building connections around the ship yes he is a much more fun character when he has people to play off of. Y: Oh, gods I love this character, the transfer to the X department was an interesting idea and I want to see how that pans out, but I'm also worried that I am taking him away from the Y. If anything I want to get the other Z to write with me, but so far I have been unable to convince anyone. Right now repairs are needed all over the ship, it would be cool to have a thread where they are actually doing that job. Z: This is the character I have the hardest time writing. My entire effort with the character has been to get him to get rid of his rebel without a cause attitude, and form him into a better over all person. He's a work in progress and if it doesn't work then we may need to talk about going down in a blaze of glory.
• I love X. I'll love him more in the next month or so once Y is done.
• Yes I am. I think you've accommodated all my characters so well and so thoughtfully. I find the situations they go through realistic and believable.

• I think you're fair, wouldn't know why not.
• Fair.
• I think you are fair. If you have favorites, then it's likely because you've been writing with them for quite some time and you enjoy the interactions. That is natural. To that extent, even I have favorites.
• You totally spoil that one guy, you know, that one, the one that gets all the pretty space ponies? Seriously though i think you treat everyone pretty fair. You let us all get away with plenty of stupid from time to time. He'll, if your favoring anyone, its me, by letting me have gone as many weeks between posts as you sometimes do.
• Nope, you're pretty fair across the board, and tend to grant more latitude to the players who've proven they can handle it, as it should be. 
• Fair yes; favors no.
• Hell no!
• Not really, no.
• Fair-- and that's an understatement! Compared to virtually every sim I've been in since the early '00s, and certainly compared to my last and longest-tenured community, couldn't ask for a better leader... I gotta say this (totally J/K, Lucan), whoever plays ThanIda, that player deserves a gorram medal for class, bad-assery and all around good sim points. If not for this valiant/noble/creative innovator, I myself wouldn't be here.
• Not that I have noticed.
• I think the GM works hard to try to actively not favour a player.
• Very fair!!
• I think you do your best to help everyone.
• I hope that everyone comes to you with their ideas. I personally bring you a lot of my own, and I have worried in the past if I have been pushing my characters agenda's a little too often, for my wants and desires. I hope that everyone gets fair treatment and has the same opportunities I have, but I also have started to feel like maybe I am one of the people being favored and if so you need to tell me and get me to stop.
• I don't see any favoritism that I'm aware of.
• Nope. You're as fair as humanly possible. I don't find you playing favourites...as far as I can tell.

• It's always handy to have floor plans or schematics posted in certain situations as it gets everyone on the same page. There's no room for bodies to fall out of a closet if everyone knows what's where in a certain area.
• They help sometimes to plan out in my head how a scene should go down writing wise so more often, perhaps, yes. But not full blown amazing graphical work that's display quality, simple diagrams can work just fine too.
• YES! They are so helpful!!
• Yes.
• They're good for getting a lay of the land, but they shouldn't become the end-all, be-all.
• Would be cool but not a priority.
• Hmmm. For combat situations, probably maps, with floor plans being a close second.
• If possible, and doesn't cut in to the GM's time for posting.
• I think the steady flow of new graphics is just fine, don't try and overdo it. Right now it's fine.
• Yes although I am aware on how long these take to put together
• Floor plans are very helpful, even if they're simple. If there's a way that all the players in an area can access the same floorplan and move our characters individually, like on a gridded map or something, that'd be awesome. Even the most basic graphics are immensely useful, and I don't expect that one-off, disposable maps be extra fancy either.
• These always help me a lot, but I'm a very visual person. I tend to picture a movie scene playing out in my head when I write so having a map and images are very helpful.
• In all honesty not really. I think during all of episode 04 I consulted the map of SB84 all of twice. It's pretty easy for me to keep track of my relation to other characters as I have been rping now without graphics and maps for a little over 9 years.
• I think maps for scenarios are always useful.  If I had some way to create ready-renders of X showing various themes, I would post them up to give a better impression of the atmosphere.
• Yes, that might help for someone like me. Then again, I'm a little scatterbrained… So...

• Loved it.  Thanks for letting me have fun writing up the damage to Calamity. 
• I don't think I was here.

• That was good.  Enough story to keep people interested, but ran a little long.
• I was only here for like a small fraction of this, but I had a few writing opportunities.

• Didn't take part, but liked the opportunity to have X give Y advice.

• That was interesting.  The warbird was a nice twist and good foreshadowing
• Man that was intense. I was present but my life was going nuts so I wasn't as involved as I could have been.
• I think this is where I kind of learned the domino effect of the crew. I X Y, which caused another Z to go balistic, honestly this one was group writing at it's best.

• Wasn't involved.
• While I was there for that I was also dealing with stuff in my personal life. It was cool mostly.
• X was fun to write in the early stages, drinking with Y, playing CSI with Z, and of course uncovering the bomb threat's mastermind he had a lot to contribute in those early scenes.

• Lucan's repression of the monster and Heather having no clue that she was standing in the jaws of the beast only for her to escape because he overcame the beast, yeah that was so cool.
• Dragged a little bit towards the end
• It's a shame that as soon as the theurgy arrives suddenly X's contributions didn't really count for anything. He was too late to inform any of the crew about his discovery, and spent most of those mid to late chapters in tubes, or even having an impromtu Y scene. X fairs a little better with the repairs of the ship, and the stunt with artificial gravity, Y gets to go on the away team, but unlike the others he feels like a late addition, not really being anything more than another red shirt to shoot, and be shot.

• Great so far.
• So far I have been pretty active. I am most happy when I have things I can write and so far I have a lot of stuff on my lap, Currently I have four threads on this site that are active, with another two in planning. So it feels great.
• We squeezed a lot of things in to a few hours.
• With potential to keep growing.

• Hard to complain about a stroyline I jumped into mid-stream like Ep 4 and was finding my footting on.
• Kicking X's ass? Priceless. There are somethings Latinum can't buy. For everything else, there's the dish best served cold... or at the temperature the parasites homeworld will fry at.

• A good conflicted captain
• Hmm... can't say. The whole (in Tucker's accent) two-genders... thing, hmm... I found that weird when I first joined, but I've gotten used to it as a writer/reader/theurgist, so nothing to judge sharply. *Shrug* I'd rate the Skipper a good 9/10. -- and no, that's not the 33rd rule of acquisition determining that; COs have to be held to a higher standard and reputation. Plus FemIves looks great
• I can't wait for the scene between Ives and X. I should like to speak with you about that sometime.
• I have such a crush on them so I am completely biased I will read literally anything that Ives is in.
• X hasn't met Ives yet, but from a player perspective, s/he looks like someone who needs someone to open up to who won't judge him/her.  I would recommend a large, Y eat belonging to someone not part of the command structure who is specifically trained to give advice to the Z.
• Needs more Ives in the interreggnums or on away missions.

• I have been enjoying his struggle, though I am not involved with it in any capacity at the moment. Still very cool.
• On the other end of the scale this doctor thinks he's a villain or some sort of redemption ark, and I just don't really find him that interesting. Sometimes when you try to mastermind everything you end up just boring, all the red threads go back to him, and that can be predictable.
• Nicander seems like he's in a particularly dark place, and that's not even going into the parasite inside him (which I'm still trying to understand).  I am almost waiting for him and Ives to come to blows.  Personally, I think he needs a friend.
• As long no one I play gets poked by certain... Tools.
• I like him, what with struggling with a parasite himself

• Tough bitch she is :P
• A perfect 10. I wouldn't be a Theurgist if not for finding that Blue Angel... even though she's Andorian, and thus bad-ass to begin with, I'm... rather studious in the field of Blue now. 
• I really did want Ida and X to be friends and have coffee. I think he was more willing to have some sort of relationship with her, and the fact that she was the one to Y him Z him, and essentually X him  is great and I love it. I look forward to the next time she and Y interact once he has been proven X on his Y.
• To be honest I know little of this character and my characters haven't had any scenes with them.

• She's nuts!
• To be honest I know little of this character and my characters haven't had any scenes with them.
• Heh heh… [Show/Hide]

• I like how she's learning to deal with her sentience and all that.
• Can't wait to pester her with question after question, favor after favor. I wonder, if prompted, she'd partake in mambo, wearing a cocktail dress-- think that scene from ST: Insurrection, for X to spend his quarters time brushing up on his dance skills, while making technical specifications conversation.
• To be honest I know little of this character and my characters haven't had any scenes with them.
• I have not interacted with Thea once, and I would love too, the ship AI is by far one of the more interesting characters on this ship, but I have yet to encounter her.
• Ironically, I can see X actually liking her to a degree.  She intrigues him, especially on the grounds that he can't really Y her like he does everyone else, and because he sort of mentally discounts her as not alive, he doesn't feel as on guard around her. 
• We need more Thea development threads, I loved that thread with Lin, Skye and Thea.

• Whatever floats your boat and to each their own, but ....  Permission [Granted] to speak freely? If Rihen were someone else, or an anonymous face/model/pornstar/anyone really, this toon wouldn't even cross my mind. Try Margot Robbie for this character, even 'Hackers' (1995) -era Angelina Jolie. *Now* that's a better portrayal, face-and*ahem*-otherwise. Otherwise my contempt for her is infinite and limitless. In my humble opinion, I find Rihen categorically appalling, offensive and outright flame-worthy. If it were any other faceclaim, I'd think otherwise or simply give her a mid-range score. You'd think Morena Baccarin's face and likeness would play a Doctor, Scientist, heck, even a Counselor-- hell, an especially splendid counselor --- and sue me, I'm a fan of Morena's, as a Latino and as a Firefly/Gotham/Deadpool fan. I find this depiction of her to be completelty cringe-worthy.

• I like her art! Cir'Cie is very pretty and has her trademark dulcet come-hither eyes. Unfortunately, my friend who plays Vulcans and gets into their mind and psyche had some sharp criticisms about her, so I'll pass on this toon and pass judgment onto her.  Aesthetically, Cir'Cie rates rather high in my book, but for character, I cannot yet say. One guy to another, I'd do Neural pressure with that, Lol.

• She was a scary enemy, and a sympathetic victim. 
• Only saw her in the interrogation flashback, but she seemed interesting from what I did see.
• She was a big villain before I got here, but I never interacted with the prisoner.
• The dark side of X would've taken great pleasure in slicing that skin suit off the parasite to see what ticks beneath.  The Y side of him would've loved debating it.  He feels that the original interrogation was done poorly and yielded the crew nothing that the parasites didn't want them to have; which ultimately makes it a failure in his books.
• No opinion; but nice work on her art!

• No interactions but he sounds interesting
• No opinion, yet.  as he's a Resolv'ie

• No interactions but he sounds interesting.  Could be a good asset to the ship.
• Ranks high. Romulans are a fan favorite of mine, and this one is a sterling example of excellent soldierin.
• I'm putting Drauc at a flat five, I encountered him during the escape with X and even saved his life with a point to point Y but his big encounter with Z has yet to come. All in all fun character I would hope he gets adopted.
• Of all characters I have a hard time commenting on this is one of the big ones. I was the one who talked the original writer into joining because I thought they would love it. In truth I wound up working with them to get the character written and helped them get posts written. In the end they just sort of lost interest and I felt like crap for having such an important character suddenly without a player. But then my own life fell apart and I had to leave my characters as well. All in all I like the direction he has gone in since then.

• No interactions but she sounds interesting.  Could be a good asset to the ship
• No opinion, but 'never turn my back on a Borg, even if liberated.'
• Six when she was played by another person actually kind of got under my skin, that said she was the only other member of X to get out alive and join the ship. She and Y were supposed to become friends that would eventually help reveal the 'traitor' aspect of the character, something that can't happen until she is adopted.

• No interactions, but I hope she gets well-used.  Could be a good plot device for X's character development.
• No real interactions outside of X.
• I'm interested in interacting with this one: An idea crossed my mind. Remember when Lwaxana Troi's Xanthi Fever had everyone on DS9 turning into lecherous critters crawling over eachother? Might make for a funny mention in 'to Absent Friends' "Remember when she had Orion Xanthi Fever? I thought at some point we'd all turn Green." She's full of promise, and I want to know her IC further before judging her at 7/8. When we first met, I figured X would issue her a sidearm as a safety/security peace-of-mind peace-maker. 

• No opinion as of yet.
• She is pretty much a blank canvas now.

• Anyone with N/A are people that I, whilst playing in the group, haven't/am 99% sure have not encountered yet.
• Tell you what. Instead, I'll just use the '10' scorecard. Some hover between one or the other, based off this standard. You know how some people have a favorite Beatle? I used to think, I don't like to have favorites, because that'd make the others feel undervalued... then of course I settled on John. Same here, but it's no secret who my favorite is... and who I, well, by this prompt, don't like. Some I don't have an honest opinion of, to be honest.

• So far I'm pouring most of my time in it so, 9.
• Given I only jumped in for the start of Ep 4, I don't feel I can rate the simm overall quite yet, but I will say that it has been a fun ride thus far and would be rated a 9 or 10 for sure.
• 10. This is my favorite place to Role play.
• 10. This is the longest I have particpated in any one online RP, consistently, with any form of structure. Its the one group rp that I keep coming back to and have never let drop off.
• 9.5 There is always room for improvement, even if I haven't thought of it yet.
• 10.
• 9. Honestly though, a lot of what can make it a 10 is linked to me. I still need to get my ass in gear, and I'm working on that. Things like my consistency - particularly in communicating - would make this all better.
• 10. The people keep me coming back, even if I'm a slow reader.
• 10, as aforementioned.
• 10/10 By far the best Forum based RP I have been in. It's the reason I came back.
• 10.
• I'd put it at a solid 7, only because I have been missing my cue to post and I need to pick my butt up off the pavement and find a new way to hook up notifications to my phone 8P
• 10. I've participated in some kind of online RP community since middle school, so, close to two decades now, and this is hands-down the best I've been a part of yet. I have no complaints and everyone here is incredible and talented. I hope to keep up and match that talent.
• 8. I will put myself at a solid 10 when we get a battle with the klingons :P
• I'd give the group a 7 or 8.  What would it take to be a 10?  Greater posting frequency.  But that's a personal nitpick because I don't have many RP outlets and this is my escape from the real world and as you can tell, I become very in-depth with my characters.    I realize everyone else has real life to deal with and not everyone can whip out a post at the drop of a hat (at least not to the level of quality expected around here).  Thus, I am just happy to be here.
• 10. Just… everything that you're doing now. That's my thought.

• Mystery. It'd be nice to have some mystery elements, something to uncover, a truth untold. We already have a conspiracy, but it might be interesting to add to it, add something that needs to be uncovered, aside from the good Doctor's current status. I would also like to see some more interplay between Lucan and the beast. I think it would up the drama if he had to struggle for control and maybe even start to lose it for a time. Something just to show that yes he is in a reprieve, but an impermanent one, that the danger is still there and the beast has not gone anywhere.
• Exploration and danger
• Can't think of anything.
• Temporal time-space stuff is always cool.
• Insight into the state of the Federation.
• More old-school Trek stuff.  Exploration and diplomacy, Theurgy acting as a proper Federation Starship because it's The Right Thing To Do instead of just running and gunning
• Definitely more interaction between X  and Y other than that I don't really know.
• Social gatherings, perhaps?
• Characer interactions or trainings for cross department development/ team building.
• S, D & R'n'R.   (Sex, Destruction and Rock'n'Roll.)   'the good fight.'  
• Klingon Empire
• Intercharacter drama! >:D
• Can't think of anything.
• Klingons! we're so close to their space, I feel like a battle with the empire would be different and fun, their is more than just the task force in the waters after all.
• What should next episode have more of?  Um... time? Options?  Not sure.  I would have to see it unfolding.  I have no qualms dropping a PM to you if I have a recommendation in the heat of the moment.
• Science, exploration, problem-solving.

• No clue.
• Can't think of anything.
• I found the X in the battle to be odd. Especially since it was mixed into all the high energy fighting and death posts and brine up the continuum somewhat. Unless that was an intentional juxtaposition about life and death, perhaps future Z could take place in their own thread when there is also a battle raging.
• Mutinies.
• Less far-reaching fate of the universe stuff
• I don't know.
• Viruses/outbreaks. Good lord, give poor Jovela and all other medical staff a break, please. xD
• Battles.
• I think the mutiny angle has been played out for now. I think after the uprising of the Devoted has been dealt with there should be an extended period without a mutiny or whispers of one.
• Mutiny subplots
• Politics, I think. I use fiction to get away from the world
• Can't think of anything.
• I would like to see a few villainous threads that aren't connected to Nicander.
• Less of?  Again, hard to say.  I'll let you know at the time.
• Chaotic violence and deaths. I hate character losses, be it NPCs or PCs, but I have no control over that. Just my thoughts.

• Does your GM generally need to increase, decrease, or keep to the same posting length when he writes?
  
  The consensus here is that you are all happy with the way I write, more or less, so that's a relief. Thank you all for your kind words, and I will make sure to try and maintain the same standard.
  
  
• Do you feel lost and without direction in the game? If so, how would you like to be informed about story development?
  
  In general, people seem to be in the loop at most times, and I will of course try to continue being as clear as possible about where things stand. I have two comments, really, on a couple of the answers.
  
  A) If you are lost, you must contact me or the people you write with. It is the only way to solve that, and I do not mind helping out with such easy things.
  
  B) About breaking the space-time continuum when writing your characters at different points of the same day. This, of course, can be a challenge, but my rule-of-thumb is to try and focus on the present scenes in each thread I write in, and if the earlier scene was something really significant, very profound to the character, it can be referenced in the later thread without going into detail. Try just adding a single line of thought, and then move on, and you should be fine. Example:
  
  Walking down the corridor, Ida's mind was still on the encounter with Ives, and even if a few hours had passed, what the Captain had said still lingered in her thoughts. It made her next appointment, with Doctor Nicander, less easy to prepare herself for. Why was she doing a physical when Ives had just revealed what she's done?
  
  Notice that no detail is given on what Ives actually said, because it might not have happened yet in the thread set earlier that day. I often resort to this method, and one time I did so recently was in the beginning of my post in the thread Precarious Parlay, where I had to have Ives reference all the crap that went down during Day 02 without going into details. Here is the link.
  
  Hope this tip helps!
  
  
• Name one thing you want me to continue doing as GM.
  
  Reading these replies, it seems I should in general do what I am already doing, and I especially love the comments "Continue fighting for that consistency of story" and "Listening to the voices of the players and allowing them to explore their characters, while at the same time encouraging them to further the overall plot. It's been a big boost to try and figure out what I can add to the overall plot while still keeping try to my unique subplots." Thank you all!
  
  
• Name one thing you want me to stop doing as GM.
  
  A few awesome suggestions, so I will reply to them separately here.
  
  A) Assuming the worst in vanishing applicants. Yeah, I might have let some frustration show there. I have been at this a while, and there is a risk I might become cynical about it. Thank you for showing the concern, and the worry that it might eat at me. I will try and stop ascribing darker motives until proven they were when applicants bail with their character artwork.
  
  B) Stop killing off the NPCs. Well, this comment about liking some of the NPCs only makes me want to do it more, lol. The loss of characters are supposed to be felt when reading the scenes. It only shows I am doing it right, making people care for what is going on, and when a character is in peril, they are indeed in peril.
  
  C) A fear of "breaking the plot". Excellent point. If someone feel hesitant about interacting in the major storyline for fear of damaging them, they could go about it in a couple of ways. The first and proven way is to write me ahead of posting, and in general describe what you like your character to do. It takes you guys 30 seconds to just suggest a general direction, and just as much for me to give a thumbs up or explain that it won't work because of X. You could also check with others than me what they think about your idea, should I not be available. Or you just post anyway, because even if you make mistakes, it is fine, I will help you, and there is no cause for embarrassment since what we are doing here is by no means easy at all. I screw up all the time too!
  
  Furthermore, I am very understanding, and I am perfectly fine with changing the direction of scenes too. I have rewritten the "manuscript" several times over the years to accommodate character development, and it always turn out for the better. The most prominent example is how Brutus wanted his character to change species from Ash'Reem to Human, which took us many months to write, and all of that incorporated into the main storyline. Now, as a result, we have the Devoted, so it is a great example of how encouraging character specific plotlines add to the story as a whole.
  
  Keep in mind how our story is extremely detailed, but it is also extremely character-driven. It doesn't even matter which position they have in the crew roster. Your characters are important regardless if they are Departmental Heads or NCOs. You are not your job-titles, are you? Write your characters true to whom they are, and the story will be better too.
  
  D) My stress level, yes. I am hard on myself, and I should know that you are tolerant with the delays I cause. Still, I want to write and post things more often than I can, and it is a cause of frustration that I need to handle. Thank you all for understanding, and I keep it in mind.
  
  
• Name one thing you want me to start doing as GM.
  
  Haha, a total of seven members are encouraging me to delegate work more and to assign moderators to ease my burden, so I figure that is a major thing you want me to do. I will assume you are all suggesting it out of worry for my blood pressure and not because you think I am too slow to run the sim. Given the scores and total rating in the poll, I am inclined to think you are just worried about me, and it's humbling how kind and appreciative you guys are.
  
  There are many reasons why we don't have moderators, but it's actually more of a pro/con thing. The pros are obvious, freeing up my time etc. The cons are that with a tiered group, we risk inviting a suite of other group dynamic issues, where there are suddenly OOC positions of authority aside from my GM role. It's not a deal breaker, but something that runs the risk of making the sim end up where a lot of other sims have ended up, with a clique of writers running the show and a lot of discontent writers that give up and doesn't care anymore. Right now, the health of the sim and lack of drama is attributed to a lot of things, but one of them is that - as a later question touches upon in the poll - I try to treat you all fairly without any favouritism.
  
  If we have a tiered moderator structure, it also invites a risk that some members will try and become moderators, loosing focus on the enjoyment of writing the story. The focus may shift from what we should all be doing more - to write - and get caught up in OOC drama. I have been doing this for many years in different roles and in different genres of writing, but that common occurrence of a clique running the show and creating a we-and-them mentality has been prevalent in all of the sites I've been at. I do not think I assume the worst in people in saying so either, nor do I think I am cynical, it is just how things end up in most communities, and in retrospect, you all might see this in communities you've been in too, right?
  
  That being said, since the poll was first sent out, I have taken measures to ease my burden. With help from other artists in the sim, the application processes of new members have become easier, and just the other day, I have attempted to get others to solve problems and do projects we need to do.
  
  I am pretty restless though (lol, me?), so unless I get help with projects quickly, I end up doing them anyway. Like, if the wiki needs a new page and info added, I ask for help, and someone says they will do it, but nothing happens for a couple of days, then it becomes a source of frustration for me, and I end up making the page anyway. Therefore, my expectation when someone says they'll help are pretty high, and I think it is unfair of me. Ergo, I end up not asking for help, lol. This is just to explain how I work, and it is a flaw of mine that I need to work on.
  
  Menial tasks have been mentioned. "If there's anything about managing the RP that you don't find fun or energising, someone else might." Absolutely, and I just hope that's the case. One thing I do enjoy immensely, and wouldn't trade away because I don't find it fun, but I have little time for, that is new character introductions. This, so that I don't have to write starter threads with every single new applicant every time one joins. It would be awesome if people would be willing to be there when new members join, helping me out.
  
  Yet again, my expectations would then be that the new members are received well, and with a high posting frequency. I would hate if new members are being left stranded with several days between replies, because then I would regret playing matchmaker, and would rather have taken care of the starting thread myself. The first impressions for new members are essential to them staying and get "hooked", and that needs to be handled well. Otherwise, they leave, and all the work to get them aboard have been for nothing, lest someone inherits the character (which is not that often).
  
  The single member that requested a swifter time progression has been spoken with separately, and a solution suggested in the form of "what if" scenes in Director's Cut. Our time progression is slow, because the development is densely packed into days and weeks, not months and years.
  
  The "Let people know how fluid the plot is," comment was answered earlier, and the trailer project is time-consuming, and time I rarely have, lest you'd be without me posting more. Still, it remains on my list, of course.
  
  
• List the times/periods in the last year where the story seemed to drag on, you were bored, or the energy in the sim seemed the lowest.
  
  Overall, the bottleneck situation of the final chapter in Episode 04 is well known, and the next time we do something of that scale, I will need to take precautions to avoid all the stalling that happened. Duly noted, but even if it was a bit slower, the end result - you have to agree - was pretty amazing, right?
  
  Seldom have so many writers written something of that scale, and pulled it off without any discrepancies and with so much liberty in development and character portrayal.
  
  
• Do you feel rail-roaded in the story? (meaning: you get pushed into an IC-situation you do not want to write) If so, when was this?
  
  Virtually a consensus on "No" here, so no real comment. The occasions it has happened has been discussed individually.
  
  
• Are you enjoying playing your character(s), and if not, what would you like to happen to them?
  
  I was so happy to read how overall, you all are enjoying yourselves! That is awesome to hear. As for me, I have a lot I want to happen with my characters, so I need to get that sorted without overburdening myself. I enjoy my characters, but I need to restrict my activity and play matchmaker lest I burn myself out. I know a lot of members want to write with me, but I hope you all understand that I need to be moderate in this.
  
  I ask you all to please respect how when I say that I don't want to write some scenes, or I feel that there is no need or plausibility for some characters to get a private audience with Ives, for example, you lay off and don't force me to. I try to be nice in all aspects, but don't take advantage of me being nice. It's not healthy for me. Take a hint. No does mean no.
  
  
• Is your GM fair or do you feel he favours any particular player over the others?
  
  It's so nice to read how the consensus was how you all thought me fair. Thank you for that, and I do try to not play favourites since it is the death of sims. We are here, 6 years later, because we are a drama-free and safe place to go to and write. It will always be my intention to keep it that way, even if I do can loose my temper sometimes. In such cases, I try to sort it out, and I apologise profusely again for any such lapses in my conduct. I might have been tired, eaten too little, or I am frustrated with something else, so I am human (and not an A.I., which someone thought I was the other day, lol).
  
  If that's the case some days, I do always try to "smile from my wrists down" when here, lol.
  
  
• Would you like to see graphics, maps or floor plans used more often, particularly in combat situations?
  
  Duly noted here. Pretty much the same answer as the last poll. I'll do it when really needed.
  
  
• For each of the following scenes/events, rate them 1-10, 10 being best. If you have no opinion or have not partaken/read the event, please say so.
    A. The conclusion of Episode 03, where the Calamity and the Harbinger were destroyed after the mutiny
    B. The 03-04 Interregnum in general, with its free-form opportunities of writing
    C. The SAR Away Mission specifically (also in Interregnum 03-04)
    D. The Black Opal Mission specifically (also in Interregnum 03-04)
    E. Episode 04: Simulcast, before the Theurgy arrived
    F. Episode 04: Simulcast, after the Theurgy arrived
    G. Interregnum 04-05 (So far)
    H. Other/Your Choice
  
  Thank you all for these lovely grades! High across the board, and I love the development too in regard to the latest leg of the race. The story is not done yet, and there is more to come, but in a few days, I mean to open up for brainstorming between us all in a workshop, as mentioned in the latest newsletter, so that I can accommodate many more ideas than just my own! I have done so before, and I hope to be able to weave in a lot more than just the bare-bone development ahead, so the next couple of Episodes/Chapters will be heavily influenced by you guys.
  
  
• For each of the characters listed, rate them in terms of interest level or how entertaining you found them, from 1-10, 10 being the best. If you have no opinion, please say so.
    A. Captain Jien Ives, USS Theurgy
    B. Dr. Lucan cin Nicander, USS Theurgy
    C. Deputy ThanIda zh'Wann, USS Theurgy
    D. Evelyn Rawley, Fighter Pilot, USS Theurgy
    E. Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854, Ship A.I. USS Theurgy
    F. Rihen Neyah, exiled Risian and Engineering Specialist on the USS Theurgy
    G. Ensign Cir'Cie, Vulcan Botanist in the Science Dept. USS Theurgy
    H. Ensign Sonja Acreth, parasitically joined Operations Officer (lost in time)
    I. Liam Herrold, A-COD, Fighter Assault Bay, USS Theurgy
    J. Mr. Drauc T'Laus, Mercenary, USS Theurgy
    K. Ens. Six, Forensic Science Officer [NPC], USS Theurgy
    L. Ens. A'vura Zeshryr, Asst. Chief of Operations [NPC], USS Theurgy
    M. CPO Eun Sae Ji, Head of Fighter Power & Propulsion [NPC], USS Theurgy
    N. Other/Your Choice
  
  Oh, this was really interesting reading, and first of all, thanks for all the kind words on those that I write! Looking at the ratings they got the last time compared to now, it seems most have gotten better ratings too. You want to see more of Ives and Thea in particular, noted, and as usual, people either hate or love Nicander and Neyah, them being of the more extreme characters I write, lol.
  
  I will only make one comment about the faceclaim thing. I am an artist, and not an avid watcher of tv-shows. This might explain how I think in regard to my character creations. For me, a face is just a face. Whether or not said face is a model, actress or pornstar is completely secondary to me. I write a character description first, then I go look for a match in order to make images.
  
  In Rihen's case, I did not make any images of her until she showed up the second time, at which point I needed a pixie-haired, blonde woman, exotic tan, and a blinding smile. The clothing was already set, the open overalls, and so I made exactly that in photoshop. The actress I picked could have been anyone, really, but Ms. Baccarin did have the blinding smile Rihen had, so she was picked. To each their own, of course. My point is this: Rihen is not that actress, she is a character in her own right, a philanthropist trying to make her new home in Paradise City like the home she was exiled from. If me picking someone else would have granted a better score, it proves that the grade has nothing to do with the character herself, so I don't really care, and I am actually planning to make more images of her.
  
  Another good example of how I pick faceclaims is that I used to have Tila Tequila as FemIves, and I picked her because of a singular photoshoot she did, where he had a sword and looked really badass. I knew absolutely nothing about Tila Tequila except for how she was perfect in those images for Ives. Then, as I learned, it was a reaaaaaally bad choice, lol, so now - even if Ives look like Tila in my own head - we have Ming-Na Wenn instead. I only changed because having Tila was bad publicity, but I still regret it somewhat since Ming-Na Wenn is my second choice appearance-wise.
  
  
• On a scale of 1-10, 10 being best, rate your role-playing experience in the Star Trek: Theurgy sim. If you have no opinion, please say so. Also, can you think of what might make the sim score a rating of 10?
  
  Wow, going from a rating of 8,8 to 9,33? I feel so good about this, and I thank you all for the encouragement and positive feedback. Oh, and I can tell you all now, since more than one of you wants it.
  
  There will be Klingons ahead...
  
  
• Name one thing the next Episode should have more of.
  
  Yes, aside from Klingons, you all seem to want a great many different things. A whole range of things, really, spanning from exploration to destruction. I think this is best handled in the upcoming workshop of ours, so we'll see what we can cook up!
  
  
• Name one thing the next Episode should have less of.
  
  A total of three people want no more mutinies, noted! Let's avoid that then, heh heh. Same thing with virus outbreaks, I reckon. The last poll said less mind control plots, and I think that's good too. We try to keep away from things we've done to death already.
  
  As for Nicander, I am sorry, but with him being the main story antagonist (on and off, depending on the circumstances), I will not be writing less of him. "A few villainous threads that aren't connected to Nicander"? Yes, of course, but.... we've done that already too. What about Ida and Cir'Cie in Episode 01, infected and furthering the virus' spread? What about the Ishtar Entity? Sonja Acreth? Declan Vasser and T'Rena? The Calamity herself? What about Ian Hawthorne and Komial Dotnhil? What about Admiral Sankolov? Marcus Slayton? The Devoted? Nicander was not connected directly to any of them, right?
  
  As I said earlier, though, let's go into this more in depth in the upcoming workshop.

My recommendation for something to start doing is to lengthen out the time frame a bit.  This was something that came up during conversations on Discord.  Temporally speaking, a LOT of things have happened to the ship and crew in a very short period of time and much of it has been traumatic.  I can't imagine how any amount of counseling has kept the crew sane.    While I believe the forthcoming "rebellions" and "cult activities" are logical outcomes, I can't see it as something that resolves over the course of a week-long interregnum.  Plus, certain life changing events (such as the thought of one of the female crew becoming pregnant and carrying to term outside of some Q-induced time manipulation or something) can't happen which denies the players some significant role play opportunities.  Perhaps the ship could 'disappear' to throw off the heat so to speak for a couple months or a year and everyone is invited to write a personal update; secure training on things; etc.  Those that wish to play out events directly in those months could participate in a "Lost Chapters" sort of situation.  Just a thought.