Revenge of Ask T Questions

[Mr. Brightside]

I really don't see how anyone can say there's nowhere left to take Cyndi. Here she is, a girl from a rich family now looking at certain, vast downward mobility, after years in an environment where she was forced to hone further her ability to lie, tested against professionals, lest she be disowned, stalked by a history of thoughtcrime, her arrest precipitated by an attempt on her life, still compelled to harm others, now desperate and spiteful, even as society watches her much more closely. After the vicious and subtle mindgames she played as a naive and basically apathetically cruel high schooler with the whole world in front of her, what will she do now that others are wary, her prospects are few, and she has every reason to be bitter?

What's more, there's an intriguing story of self-realization hinted in snippets, that we've only seen outlined, and even that buried in her own half-truths. There's too little ambiguity in it to tempt the imagination, but just enough to frustrate curiosity. I'd say, past and future, there's a lot more to be told there.

[Zanosuke Kurosaki]

The only thing about Cyndi is that she's the type of person that bears watching. Preferably, from a great distance. And perhaps through the gun-cameras mounted on the outer walls of your deep, secure bunker.

So, T, here's one no one seems to have covered yet: How are all the parents doing, six Septembers on in their lives?

[Alice Macher]

Oh, we're asking T questions again? Here's mine:

Given that the fight and near-breakup between Penny and Aggie ended up overshadowing it...how did the four girls' fight over Stan's status with "the gang" get resolved, if at all? Did Aggie give Stan the film credit he requested? Did Penny and Lisa become enemies, if only temporarily? (I'm assuming that, like Sara and Daphne, they'd have long since gotten over their anger by 2017.)

[Arky]

I really don't see how anyone can say there's nowhere left to take Cyndi. Here she is, a girl from a rich family now looking at certain, vast downward mobility, after years in an environment where she was forced to hone further her ability to lie, tested against professionals, lest she be disowned, stalked by a history of thoughtcrime, her arrest precipitated by an attempt on her life, still compelled to harm others, now desperate and spiteful, even as society watches her much more closely. After the vicious and subtle mindgames she played as a naive and basically apathetically cruel high schooler with the whole world in front of her, what will she do now that others are wary, her prospects are few, and she has every reason to be bitter?

What's more, there's an intriguing story of self-realization hinted in snippets, that we've only seen outlined, and even that buried in her own half-truths. There's too little ambiguity in it to tempt the imagination, but just enough to frustrate curiosity. I'd say, past and future, there's a lot more to be told there.

I agree, there's absolutely a story in what happens when Cyndi eventually gets out of the asylum, and there's a lot of options just for how and why she gets out, and whether she is at all cured (but backsliding, and does she fight the backsliding?) or just pretending to be, or was she let out due to bribes (from parents or shadowy organisation wanting to make use of her) or did she manipulate her way out, or what?

I'm really hoping for a Cyndi cameo at the reunion, but somehow I can't see it happening. Better to leave her status a mystery for the spin-off then

[Tamar]

Noticing Cyndi's apparently sudden spike in popularity lately, I just want to go on record as saying I prefer to read about characters who sometimes do bad things and sometimes do good things, in different proportions of bad to good, while being basically decent or at least having a conscience to trouble them when they do bad things. I am less interested in reading stories where the protagonist (not the antagonist) is a person who always does bad things because she's inherently incapable of doing otherwise. I find such characters unrelatable and, if made too much the centre of a narrative for too long, unsatisfying as entertainment.

The above isn't meant as a put-down of others' opinions, just as a statement of my own preference.

[Alice Macher]

The above isn't meant as a put-down of others' opinions, just as a statement of my own preference.

And now that you've stated it, T will of course immediately scrap his story outline and scripts for his Cyndanide spinoff and fire Randy Milholland as artist.

[Kamino Neko]

Or create one. This is T, after all.

(Have we ever seen him and Princess Celestia in the same room?)

[Valerie]

Noticing Cyndi's apparently sudden spike in popularity lately, I just want to go on record as saying I prefer to read about characters who sometimes do bad things and sometimes do good things, in different proportions of bad to good, while being basically decent or at least having a conscience to trouble them when they do bad things. I am less interested in reading stories where the protagonist (not the antagonist) is a person who always does bad things because she's inherently incapable of doing otherwise. I find such characters unrelatable and, if made too much the centre of a narrative for too long, unsatisfying as entertainment.

The above isn't meant as a put-down of others' opinions, just as a statement of my own preference.

The appeal of a character like Cyndi is that she's hit some incredible lows, yet can go lower, and (as someone else said) we've seen some hints that she knows something is wrong with her and possibly that she knows she needs to change in some way. She can go either way, or she can go back and forth, or she can have a lot of stunning self-awareness while being unable to do anything about it. We might be able to see her fight with herself. That sort of thing has always been more interesting to me.

...Should we start a separate thread for this? Like Alice hinted, this is supposed to be for questions. XD

[TCampbell]

It'd be true-crime style and my goal would be for half the readership wishing she gets caught and half wishing she's not.

Doitdoitdoitdoitdoit.
Teeeee, let her do iiiiit. D:

Maritza officially has my permission to do a non-canon Cyndi series. That's for her protection as well as mine: I wouldn't want either of us to have to be bound by the other's decisions.

[TCampbell]

I really don't see how anyone can say there's nowhere left to take Cyndi. Here she is, a girl from a rich family now looking at certain, vast downward mobility, after years in an environment where she was forced to hone further her ability to lie, tested against professionals, lest she be disowned, stalked by a history of thoughtcrime, her arrest precipitated by an attempt on her life, still compelled to harm others, now desperate and spiteful, even as society watches her much more closely. After the vicious and subtle mindgames she played as a naive and basically apathetically cruel high schooler with the whole world in front of her, what will she do now that others are wary, her prospects are few, and she has every reason to be bitter?

What's more, there's an intriguing story of self-realization hinted in snippets, that we've only seen outlined, and even that buried in her own half-truths. There's too little ambiguity in it to tempt the imagination, but just enough to frustrate curiosity. I'd say, past and future, there's a lot more to be told there.

I'm not sure if this was a response to me, but I'll just say that I don't think Cyndi could be taken any further in this series. I have a very strong opinion, for better and for worse, that a series can grow and develop and change like crazy as long as it doesn't change the core of what it's about. Penny and Aggie is about 21st-century teenage girlhood, and Cyndi's life up to the asylum reflects some of that topic's most chilling aspects. Once institutionalized, she was basically made an adult. There's definitely the potential to tell more interesting stories about her, but I have to decide whether that would mesh with my larger goals.

[Valerie]

It'd be true-crime style and my goal would be for half the readership wishing she gets caught and half wishing she's not.

Doitdoitdoitdoitdoit.
Teeeee, let her do iiiiit. D:

Maritza officially has my permission to do a non-canon Cyndi series. That's for her protection as well as mine: I wouldn't want either of us to have to be bound by the other's decisions.

SDAJDGAJDHSA I LOVE YOU.

[Cheshire]

A little curious about the futures of characters who we're unlikely to see in-person or named dropped in the last few pages (Samantha, Braz, Meg, maybe even Karen?). Any bits you feel okay dishing out?

[TCampbell]

The only thing about Cyndi is that she's the type of person that bears watching. Preferably, from a great distance. And perhaps through the gun-cameras mounted on the outer walls of your deep, secure bunker.

So, T, here's one no one seems to have covered yet: How are all the parents doing, six Septembers on in their lives?

All three are living comfortably. Nick is still teaching. Linda has become director of social media for a gaming site with a 35-65 female demographic. Rob is still in management, but investing shrewdly, and preparing to quit and join some of his buddies in the motorcycle gang for a tour of America. Once that's done he thinks he might borrow a page from Linda's career and do some Web/app-based writing for midlife men.

[Cheshire]

Linda has become director of social media for a gaming site with a 35-65 female demographic.

That's about the most awesome future out of all of them.

[TCampbell]

Oh, we're asking T questions again? Here's mine:

Given that the fight and near-breakup between Penny and Aggie ended up overshadowing it...how did the four girls' fight over Stan's status with "the gang" get resolved, if at all? Did Aggie give Stan the film credit he requested? Did Penny and Lisa become enemies, if only temporarily? (I'm assuming that, like Sara and Daphne, they'd have long since gotten over their anger by 2017.)

In the end, Aggie's principles would not permit her to do anything but give Stan the credit. She would have given it to anyone else if they'd provided the camera and then asked for such a credit. Penny sure wasn't going to push the matter any further at that point, given that her future relationship with Aggie was in doubt. Things between Penny and Lisa were tense here and there for a while, and certainly the split didn't help matters. But Lisa had always been a good, supportive friend to Sara and to Aggie, two people Penny never stopped caring about, so the tension never really blossomed into full-fledged hatred, just a sometime mutual irritation.