Okay, this is what we have so far, I'm putting it in here so we don't have to switch threads. 

+×+×+

"It was nearly dark when Serai caught another glimpse of them. Purple sky-sand bleeding from strangled blue to black above a sea of off-white dunes -- there they stood. Xe'd seen them before. [INSERT DESCRIPTION OF THE RESEARCHERS SEEMING DISORGANISED/CULTURALLY UNAWARE HERE]

What fools, xe thought. It wouldn't surprise xer at all if these nosy foreigners never made it out alive. Sarai knew what they did not about that tomb, after all. Xe shrugged. It was really none of xer business, though. Xe would not bother to sit around and wait for the cries of horror to fly up to the sky; instead xer sleek black coat of fur slipped silently into the falling night from whence xe came, knowing that something terrible was soon bound to begin.

It was quiet for some time after." 

+×+×+ 

I'm here! Didn't see this earlier XD

OK, since this sorta fizzled out lately, should we get back to considering our story?

I don't think we've discussed some of this before, so let's just review what we do have, and build out from what we can pitch and stitch together:

> What'll be the main conflict overall?

> Should we have a main character/core set of characters? Or will the story be sort of zoomed-out, and the characters are only there to reinforce whatever points we're trying to get across?

 > What character design should our big-bad entity have?

  >> What exactly are they, too? A spirit/mummy or something? A human/wizard trying to control others/attain immortality? A government conspiracy, which many rotten, underhanded components?

  >> Or should we have a mix/layers? (For instance, with it seeming to be the first option initially, but eventually morphing into more of the second and/or third as time moves forward?)

OK, so those were some of the big-picture questions, here are some smaller ones: 

> Researchers?

- Do you have them figured out yet, Flamarestii?

- Also, do you have any other characters you'd like to introduce eventually/experiment with? 

> Setting?

   - I plan on us having multiple 'biomes', but our focus seems to be mainly on the desert civilizations for now :) If you have any suggestions, do share!

- Hex, do you have have anything you'd be excited to work on, specifically? Like do you want to do the writing bits, or would you just want to brainstorm culture-stuff/specifics of the characters? Or are you interested in the language and architecture more? Knowing may help us craft a more fun experience as we go through with all this.

> Plot-stuff?

- Sorta goes along with my big questions from before, but who wants to do the brunt of the writing? I'd be fine with being the one to synthesise our discussions into a story, but if either of you feel particularly inspired to write a section or take over in certain areas, go ahead!

- Let's also sort out who'll mainly be in charge of character relations. I assume Flamarestii will have a pretty big part in that, since they're the one doing the charries and all that, but I just want to make sure we've got that covered. (I love nefarious schemes and plots :))) so I can take care of that, but the more friendly conversations/interacts may require some of your help.)

~~~~~~~~~~

Oki, and if either of you feel like I'm being to bossy or regimented, just tell me: I've mostly worked alone in the past, and tend to prefer rather organised processes over just tossing stuff together, so I can definitely see how it could be construed as overbearing. Well, that's all for now! Let's discuss so we can keep moving with this story! :D

~Jaybells 

Okay, here go some archeologists: 

Name: Lucille F.

Nickname: Lucy

Pronouns: She/her (unless we want other ones)

Species: Human and/or with special powers

Appearance: Wispy red-gold hair, bright green eyes, light freckles, kind of a wry smile 

Personality: Outgoing, independent, subborn, thoughtful, serious

Skills/strengths: Natural leader, can take control in tense situations, nerves of steel

Weaknesses: Waiting for things to happen makes her anxious- she wants to be the one doing everything. Also doesn't realize when she's reached her limit. For example, if she were to sprain her ankle, she wouldn't rest it. 

Likes: Adventure, going out in the wilderness with just primitive supplies and her own intellect.

Dislikes: Sitting around doing nothing

Accessories: Wide-brimmed hat to keep off the desert sun, weathered backpack full of supplies: coil of rope, headlamp (how technologically advanced are we here?) digging tools.

Other: If anyone would face up to an evil entity, it's her.

Name: Joseph S.

Nickname: Jo

Pronouns: He/him

Species: Probably human

Appearance: Messy brown hair, dark blue eyes, huge grin 

Personality: Very talkative and adventurous

Strengths/skills: Communicating with others, making friends

Weaknesses: Too trusting of everyone, doesn't pay attention to important things, jokes about serious things, immature and unexperienced

Likes: Eating and talking

Dislikes: Running out of food in the wilderness. And canned food- it just isn't the real thing. 

Accessories: Big shovel for digging, pack with lots of sandwiches (and equipment) 

Other: Could eventually be [Lucy's] love interest if the story decides to turn that way

Name: Norman H.

Nickname: N/A

Pronouns: He/him

Species: Human

Appearance: Very old, partly deaf and blind, balding, snowy white hair 

Personality: Sometimes cranky, but mostly excited about adventure despite his age

Skills/strengths: Tons of experience since he's been in the field his whole life, good advice

Weaknesses: Besides being somewhat blind and deaf, he has trouble walking

Likes: His greatest ambition is to find some ancient lost treasure trove before he dies, and he's always wanted to excavate this spot, but the locals wouldn't help him, there being legends of a monstrous evil lurking below ground. Finally he got Lucy and Jo to help him out.

Dislikes: When his age slows him down. Despises people who believe in myths about the monstrous evil.

Accessories: A knobbly cane

Other: Technically the leader of the archeologists, but Lucy helps him out a lot. He's like a grandfather figure to them.

So, any thoughts? Anything to add, subtract, should there be more archeologists, or is 3 fine for now? What if they had a guide that is a native species to the region (aka, not human)? 

Yo, so this is more of just a 'me wondering' kind of question, but what kind of deity would you be if you had the chance? 

Like I assume Flamarestii would be fire, but you could choose anything. Hex feels like more of a dark/shadowy and neon-greenish-yellow(firefly colour?). I feel like Jaybells would go with water/ice or wind...

Maybe we can base some of the higher-authority figures off of us a little. That could be kinda cool. Imagine the goddess of fire and life/personality, one that represents night and world-creation, and the seasonal one, I guess, who is also... a storyteller? Lol, if we do end up using this idea, maybe we should space them using this, more; have multiple characters holding fragments that resemble us instead of copy-oasying ourselves in. (I just started playing Genshin Impact for the first time and have all this pent-up story-builder energy inside now, sorry. :p) 

Maybe we could still with more basic dieties -- ancient, forgotten gods, if you will.

The categories could be the following-- 

> Primal Deities:

- Land, water, sky; (this may be a but wild, but maybe together they could merge to form Creation/Life)

> 2nd Generation Deities:

- Land: Sand/desert(+habitats), mud/marshes(+habitats), etc.

- Water: Fresh-water, saltwater, river, oceans/seas, rain?, etc.

- Sky: Day, night, wind, storms, etc.

> Minor Deities:

- Very powerful spirits or ghosts, of specific animals/plants, of specific families/nations, etc.

y'I don't know, this is sounding more and more complex, and less and less like it'll work out. We can totally brush this aside, to be honest. Just felt like it'd be a good idea to brainstorm freely, regardless of the strange directions may take us in.