Ditto! Happy simulpost!

Sounds good to me! Modify away!

I await your pm or e-mail.

I like the idea of a surprise party for Ryder, kat! (I'll be sending you a PM shortly about it).

Hurray! The new gargoyle has finally hatched!!! I though it would never come!!!! So cool gazer'! I bet you had a blast writing that segment.

Also, the end of my second segment is probably a bad idea, but when has a writer in the Ditto Story ever backed down from a bad idea? (Nobody kill me.)

'Twas fun indeed, Aravanna.

As was reading your latest additions. The opening scene descriptions do a very nice job of setting the stage, and I like the And

And here comes the meat of the hatching sequence. A few incidental comments, if I may:

Parts of it were written long ago, and feature cameo appearances by characters whose writers may no longer be active in the story. I thought it fun to leave them in as a sort of 'salute to old times.'

Similarly, some reference is made to characters whose location is currently not known to our townspeople. If these references are inaccurate, please let me know and I'll make appropriate edits.

Lastly, while a number of characters are named in this segment, it's impossible to name everyone. Please don't feel slighted if your character(s) aren't mentioned - no slight is intended! All of Erik and Abby's friends are welcome at this event, and you're welcome to include your characters' thoughts on the hatching in a segment of your own, if you like. Again, if I've misrepresented anything, let me know and I'll be glad to correct things.

Awesome stuff guys! I'm intrigued by both of the last two storylines (Ara's cause it's ominous and action-packed, SG's cause I still want to know if it's a boy or a girl!)

And looking forward to more of the Jesse storyline and the Grayson family storyline.

Great segments everyone! I don't know how, but I missed that first post of yours Ara. I just now read it and laughed at the fairy dragon's conversation.

Nice cliffhanger, stwin! And your post made me melt at the cuteness/sweetness, Gazer. Awesome job.

Even though I don't know any of ya'll's characters, I'm already intrigued by them.

I suppose I should write another Jesse post now . . . *goes to work on something*

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Oh, a quick note on the setup of my posts this Story:

*tries to figure out how a dream, a phone call, a car ride, and falling off a log constitues "action packed"* Thanks though Shasta.

I'm enjoying the character interaction you have going with everyone so far, but I hope they don't stay away from Ditto Town too long. Also, did you make up that poem or is it from something else? I thought it was an effective and intriguing way to open.

Well done 'gazer, well done. *wipes a tear from her eye*

I'm actually feeling kind of sheepish right now because I thought your first post was all we were going to see of the hatching. It didn't even occure to me you hadn't mentioned gender or a name. BTW, are you making Jint's read your segment? You should. She'd like it.

*waits for the Jesse post*

And Rising_star, you didn't miss much with Alex. I briefly introduced him and his fairy dragons in the previous story. My main characters are actually his sister Erica, and her fairy dragon Val... or is it Val, and her human Erica?

Sorry I've been gone for so long--you'd think summer would be the time that I could get on, but this one proved that the opposite is true. (This is actually the first time I've been on the new NarniaWeb--and I'm kind of sneaking in time before I go to bed! Ah, college is an interesting experience....)

Anyways, I've loved what everyone's posted so far...especially the long-awaited hatching!! Thank you so much for that, stargazer!

And, as you might have noticed, I *still* didn't finish my arc last story. *Sigh* I think I might just finish it up via flashbacks, but I guess I need to figure out the logistics of that. It also might limit what my collaborators would do...so yeah, I have a lot I need to figure out.

Okay, sorry for the ramble. I'm seriously going to bed now.... ^^'

Ara, that poem is the first stanza of Lewis Carrol's "The Walrus and the Carpenter". I opened with that because I liked the sun shining as a description of where they were, and once I said sun shining my mind wouldn't stray from the poem.

That poem is a nice opening, st. (And now, I have the Beatles song "I Am The Walrus" stuck in my head. ).

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that if anyone wants to interact with Jesse or Caelen, just PM me and we can work out a segment.

Here's a random thought I just had...perhaps they could happen upon the surprise party for Ryder? Or happen to meet some of the guests on the way there? Perhaps something like that might work, though I don't want to presume upon those writing about the party itself.

Thanks, everyone, for the kind words about the hatching segments. I had a lot of fun writing and tweaking them over the years. And at the risk of being overly self-indulgent I've one last bit to post to conclude the 'hatching trilogy' (hey, it's not every day a couple has their first kid ). It's not nearly as old as the other two, more of a 'sit and spit,' but I thought it'd be fun to have a sort of open house that also honors some of the old Christmas traditions Erik and Abby have. (And some of the descriptions in it are inspired by some of my own fond childhood memories of Thanksgiving and Christmas as well).

Sorry for taking so long to make comments. My schedule's been nuts. Nice job everyone! I love the hatching segments and looks like everything is set up well for a great story!

Funny you should mention that song, gazer. It's been mentioned or experienced several times in the last week of my life.

I'm working on the party segment. At the moment it's not really something you could just happen upon- the characters in question should be reasonably close to Ryder- but let me know if I need to change that.

That makes sense, JP. Didn't mean to impose.

Another possibility - one that makes a lot of sense given that Caelen and Jesse are wandering the town perimeter - would be for them to encounter one of the PATROL parties. Or they could run into Erik or Abby, even though they aren't formally in the PATROL but still keep an eye on things - but I recall for a while they might have been a bit overused in that capacity and became a sort of "Gargoyles welcome wagon" for the town...