Answers to your questions about Terra Group...
SCI: Terra Group is probably the stupidest idea I've ever had--and that's
saying something.
*Everyone else nods* SCI: *scigh* A very large, multi-writer, continuous fan fiction project, a large offshoot of the newsgroup alt.fan.wedge, is the most succinct explanation I can come up with. |
SCI: Terra Group currently consists of:
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ARREK: Terra Group is about half of the Men In Black. We are repsonsible for hunting down illegal aliens, regulating alien contact with Terra, and keeping Terra off the galactic charts. The other half, the "clean up" half, is outsourced to a small organization in Marin County, CA. |
NICK: Short answer: No-one
CRISPY: Long answer: Everyone BETHANY: Correct answer: Scifantasy (Sci) proposed the idea of TG in the first place, and served as "coordinator" (archiving posts and maintaining story order) for Boussh. The rest of the writers are justly awed by Sci. We don't show it very often, though. SCI: Co-coordinators for Arrakis are Josh Cochran and Becki. Brad's coordinating Darkness... SYLVANA: Allegedly. NICK: When it comes to the stories, we submit them to the rest of the group, who then make suggestions, offer praise, roll on the floor laughing or whatever. MIKE: It's all very democratic. SCI: If it's the website you're talking about, the space is owned and maintained by Kristy. BRAD: No-one's in charge of the marbles. That's why so many have been lost. VICKIE: They gave themselves to the cause. ALL: *Sniff* |
JOSHC: Oooohhh... Yes, but... Once a story is very advanced, introducing
new characters is tricky. This very question led to a -remarkably polite-
flame war on AFW.
ARREK: *looks skyward and whistles innocently* JOSHC: *cough* If you do want to join, e-mail Sci. |
BECKI: We wanted a cool sounding name for our group, and 'Earth Group' didn't really cut it. When Terra Group was suggested, it just fit. |
VICKIE: Currently, TG has two completed adventures and two ongoing, one of
which is non-canonical. Project Boussh, our founding adventure, and Operation Arrakis, the official second story, are
completed. The current "canon" story is TG 2011.
BRAD: Operation Darkness is our side-story, not officially happening, but what we do when we get prodded by Muses with no official story to add to. |
NICK: The story has to fit into the general running of the storyline.
SCI: It can't contradict the existing canon. MIKE: It should be at least semi-relevant to the plot development. VICKIE: That can be difficult... MIKE: ...as we often don't know where the plot may take us next. SCI: In short, a prospective story should be well written, respect what has gone before, and allow room for further development. |
SCI: Project Boussh (AKA PB, Boussh) is roughly defined as "the gigantic mother of all AFW story threads." It was the first Terra Group adventure. |
KRISTY: Boussh was an offspring of the 'Wedge Antilles for President'
campaign that ran on AFW for a number of months prior to the 2000 American
presidential elections. Quiara, the campaign manager for the Antilles ballot, disappeared from AFW a short while before the election took place. Project Boussh was launched when it was decided that Imperial involvement--technically, renegade Imperial involvement, as PB takes place after the Hand of Thrawn--was the reason behind her disappearance. |
MIKE: The writers (and, for the most part, founding members of TG), as they
appear on AFW, were:
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SCI: I suggested the idea on the 31st of October, 2000, and posted the
initial piece a couple of days later.
CRISPY: The initial aim of rescuing Quiara got sort of shunted sideways in the intervening time. MIKE: I blame the Ewoks. |
SCI: The writers had been asking themselves that, with increasing degrees
of desperation, since late November 2000. Truth be told, Boussh had grown
way beyond what was initially planned. It did draw to a close eventually,
however, and...
CRISPY: Surprisingly... SCI: *scigh* The sun's still here. The last story was posted on January 10, 2002. |
MIKE: I'm glad you asked... A quick survey of Boussh writers produced the
following suggestions: Sci doesn't like Jedi.
SCI: Hey! I like Jedi, they just can't do stuff to me. BECKI: Nick and Josh like Ewoks a little too much. KRISTY: Josh the stormtrooper EMILY: Becki's music, and her cats SCI: Clones (Groan...) MIKE: Vickie and Pash... CRISPY: The Uber-Gand, and his Findsman abilities. NICK: Vickie the marble-less SYLVANA: Mike's coat VICKIE: Emily, Alison and sharp objects ARREK: Crispy Fried Aussie (tm) BRAD: Trust BETHANY: The Super-bago MIKE: And there are many, many more. Try and find them all, and believe us, no-one's managed it yet... Oh, and if you don't understand any of them, go read it all over again! |
JOSCHC: The second major Terra Group operation, and the first large-scale
operation to take place since the official commissioning of Terra Group,
Operation Arrakis is the current canonical TG story.
BECKI: A planetary shield has been stolen from an Imperial Remnant supply depot, and the Intellgence services have leads on Terra. The agent they sent, however, has gone missing, and Terra Group has been called in. SCI: These two were the cooordinators, and truth be told they probably had a tougher job of it than I did. |
NICK: My brilliant idea. You'll see the wisdom of it soon enough.
SCI: Yes, that Arrakis. |
BRAD: A result of bad timing and Muses. One day, I needed to
write--badly--but Arrakis hadn't begun. So I started a non-canonical side
project, detailing the arrival of the Yuuzhan Vong on our doorstep.
SCI: As such, in true TG style, the first writer became the coordinator. BECKI: Mostly, we write for Darkness when we have a cool idea for it, or when, like Brad, we find that we need to write but don't have something that'll fit our current official story. |
EMILY: Welcome to our fantasies. From one of our strange conversations arose the determination to open a Rogue cloning shop. Now, for a very low price, you too can own a customised Rogue or Wraith. The price? Why, all you have to do is write a fanfic about what you and your chosen character get up to. |
CRISPY: In the flat I share with Nick, there is a fold in space and time,
which allowed him to build a fully functioning Ewok ranch in my bedroom. By
the time I found out about it, it was too late to complain. This was the
source of all the Ewok products available on AFW, but has now had its
production toned down somewhat, as a result of an uneasy alliance between
Nick and the Ewok leaders.
MIKE: Recent events suggest there may be more than one ranch, however, and chances are these may be operating at full productivity. NICK: I'd like to request that any society for the prevention of cruelty to animals be left out of the matter... SYLVANA: Possibly due to what Josh keeps in *his* bedroom. |
KRISTY: A True Animist Warrior God. This explanation is from the AFW
NewbieFAQ:
Well, aside from the fact that he's obviously immortal (he's survived more battles than anyone), Wedge has been proclaimed the True Animist Warrior God by Prophet Kristy. She has written the Book of Wedge, a must-read for true WedgeFans, which is available on the AFW page, as is her original prophecy. Wedge's feast day is officially 28 August, but it is celebrated on the 28th of every month. [Are we serious? Probably not. Prophet Kristy is a practicing Catholic.] |
KRISTY: As originally envisioned by Amy M. Wade and myself, if a boy makes a plan, and it's incredibly stupid, it will actually work. The original was written by Amy Wade and can be found (along with following ones, and general rules for Stupid Boy Plans) on my SW fanfic site. There's a striking example of one by Tycho in the "Masquerade" comics ("I'll run at these guys even though they're armed and I'm not"). Josh's run at the walkers in Project Boussh's "Ground Defense" could also be counted a Stupid Boy Plan. (As well as the Terra Group propensity for giving *Ewoks* high-powered weaponry!!!) |
NICK: You could look at it that way.
CRISPY: Although we hope it's good anyway. |
SCI: Uhh. . . yeah. Trust me, we're cruel enough to our characters that it's actually good. After all, I know everything. *grin* |
Questions and comments may be addressed to terragroup@swfanfic.com