startropicsmaster
Argonian Hero
The best intentions invite the worst trouble...
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Post by startropicsmaster on Mar 6, 2006 18:02:21 GMT -5
That is the best story I've ever read! I can't stop looking back at parts I just love to see. Can't wait for the next update, and hopefully it'll be soon. If you get that bad boy published, I will certinally buy it, no matter the cost!
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Scotty D.
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Post by Scotty D. on Mar 6, 2006 19:27:23 GMT -5
Oh man...if that ever got published it'd be fantastic!
I have the whole story, word-for-word, saved on Microsoft Word on my computer and so far it's up over 400 pages. Granted that's w/o editing and some weird spacing in some parts...but still. That's a long book! I really hope you find this story good enough in your own eyes to get it published, Erico. I know the majority of us here, in the StarTropics community, would buy it regardless of price. I know I'll buy it if it gets published.
BTW: Any guesses on when the Epilogue will be up?
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Post by Michael Jones on Mar 6, 2006 19:45:45 GMT -5
I really hope you find this story good enough in your own eyes to get it published, If he did he would have to change the names of all the charaters and make it seem a bit less like it was Startropics because of COPYRIGHT laws .......Or maybe you could sell it to Nintendo. That would help people know what startropics is.....and I would have a great book to do for my novel study.
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Coralcola
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Post by Coralcola on Mar 6, 2006 21:39:40 GMT -5
If he did he would have to change the names of all the charaters and make it seem a bit less like it was Startropics because of COPYRIGHT laws ....... Exactly... I've been thinking about that story a bit over the past couple of months. Does anyone even know where Erico is? I'm still waiting for that Epilogue, it's been nearly 3 months now!!! Come on Erico! I know you're out there somewhere...
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Scotty D.
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Post by Scotty D. on Mar 7, 2006 9:48:18 GMT -5
I saw him online very briefly last night...but it was probably only to check his email because he was only on for like 5 minutes and then signed off again. I really hope he hasn't given up on this.
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startropicsmaster
Argonian Hero
The best intentions invite the worst trouble...
Posts: 728
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Post by startropicsmaster on Mar 7, 2006 16:16:22 GMT -5
well, I sent him an e-mail yesterday, I don't know.
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Erico
Coralcolian Villager
Life is a story. You are a chapter. Fill in the pages.
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Post by Erico on Apr 9, 2006 1:09:06 GMT -5
Sunday, April 9th, 2006 1 AM Central Standard
Given up? GIVEN UP?! BAH! I don't know the meaning of the word. There hasn't been a story I've started that I haven't finished, and I'm not about to start now. But I'll be honest with you;
I'm in a bit of a slump. I'm not quitting on it. I pick it up at least twice a week, but usually all I can manage is a sentence or two before I groan and put it away again. As Jack Sparrow would say, "You have to wait for the opportune moment..." And as lousy as it sounds, I just haven't felt it.
Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that most of Chapter Seven is pretty much review of Startropics 2, and I haven't been able to pick up my copy to verify my stuff lately. (FEAR SUBSUMES MY NEED FOR ACCURACY) Moreover, there's a difference between writing something new and writing a summary...
For the record, the Prologue where he goes through Startropics 1 took me 2 months to write. And that was the one I knew by heart (Because I'd played ST1 a lot longer than I had 2), if that gives you any sense of comparison here.
So no. I haven't given up on it. Yes, I got that E-Mail, and (hopefully) I replied to it.
If you were to break down all the reasons why this next section's been so long in coming, I guess you'd have to go back to the kitchen in my brain. It's a wonderful place, with a fully stocked spice rack, teflon frying pans and brass pots. However, there's one thing you might find unusual about it. My stove. See, the stove in my brain is where I do all my writing. You'd think I'd use the oven, but I'm too afraid that an idea'll come out half-baked (That's a joke there for you). And there are about 10-20 burners on this stove. More knobs than the local power plant! Currently, I have about 10 projects on the stove, and I tend to rotate them between the front and backburners.
Yes, I said 10. I counted them three nights ago with a good friend of mine who takes walks with me and gives me a sounding board for my nutty ideas. Startropics is one of them.
But it's also one of the hardest, and that might be another one of the many reasons why you haven't seen anything lately. See, this isn't just another one of my fiction pieces, where I can fly where I like and nobody cares, because it's all fresh and new.
In writing "Follow the Southern Cross", I've had to balance out my usual pattern with something else. The respect I have for the series, the inner conflicts of Mike Jones, and an absolute desire to be as true to the games as possible. Tedious? Bet your ass. Difficult? One little mistake will haunt you forever.
Give me time, I haven't forgotten. And yes, I'm still alive, despite my monthlong case of laryngitis. This will be finished. On my oath.
Now, then. I think you all deserve a little something for waiting this long, soooo.....
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EXCERPT
Dr. Jones was waiting beyond the range of the helicopter’s main rotor, smiling with his arms crossed when Mike came by. There was excitement on the older man’s face, but a respect as well for the youth who had grown so much in only three months. “Did you say all your goodbyes?” He asked his nephew. Mike looked at his Uncle and smiled, trying his best not to be sad. He nodded his head, and Dr. Jones let out a chuckle. “Well, all right then.” They got onto the helicopter, relaxing back into the fake leather seats and bracing themselves against the vibration of the craft as the rotors revved back up, lifting them into the air in seconds. The pilot spoke over the intercom. “It’ll be about a two and a half-hour trip to Hawaii. Settle back and enjoy the ocean view, gentlemen.” It wasn’t the ocean view Mike looked for. As they went up hundreds, thousands of feet into the air and turned to the northeast, he put his face up next to the window in the helicopter’s side and stared down. Coralcola, always there, destined to become a distant memory, fell away from them. Mike bit his lip, thinking back to when he’d first come here, looking for a vacation and loads of fishing. Instead, he’d found an adventure worthy of a Nintendo game, almost like Link or Mario. The island had held more than its share of secrets, and for all he knew now, all he’d experienced, Mike somehow felt that seductive crescent of land in the middle of the wide blue Pacific had kept more hidden from him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could hear something his history teacher, a somewhat whimsical man who diverted on philosophical tangents, had once said. “And no secrets were truer in times bound and free, than those left still and cold in the sea.” It had haunted him then, and he was surprised he could remember it now.
His hand went up against the window, as if he could somehow grab the now small island and put it in his pocket, take it with him. He couldn’t, of course…but the memory of Coralcola, all he had endured would stay with him forever.
“I’ll come back.” He promised. Maybe the promise was meant for him. Maybe it was meant for Princess Mica. Maybe it was for Coralcola itself, as alive to him now as any person ever was. It was just a promise. One to be kept.
Princess Mica’s thoughts floated up to him, clear and true even by the great distance between them. Mike smiled, thinking to himself that the bond they shared could even reach to the other side of the earth if it had to. I’ll be waiting…Right here. And if you ever get lost, if you ever want to find me, all you have to do…Is follow the southern cross.
Mike closed his eyes, receiving the message. She had expected no reply, and he gave none. But their connection lingered, as she let his presence swirl about her, comforting and knowing. Dr. Jones reached over and nudged Mike’s shoulder, ending their link and bringing him back to the smaller world of the helicopter. “I’ll bet you’re glad that I invited you to spend your summer vacation with me.” His Uncle said, smiling. Mike nodded slowly, acknowledging it. “More than you know.” Came his answer, so soft the archaeologist could barely hear it over the steady thrum of the helicopter’s rotor. Dr. Jones knew by the distant, glazed look of his nephew that Michael’s thoughts were still back on that island. He was still thinking of Mica, and probably would for a long while. For a moment, Dr. Jones thought it might do to take his nephew aside and warn him of the dangers of his thinking, of the course he had chosen. Princess Mica was beautiful. She was receptive. She, and all the other Argonians saw him as a hero, rightfully so. But no matter how one put it, the archaeologist thought to himself with a glimmer of sadness, they were still from two different worlds. She had lost one and now belonged to another. Michael’s world was back in Seattle, and all of this was nothing more than a fanciful dream, when seen in that regard. Yet…In Michael’s eyes, there was a new fire there, a strength of will and a determination that had not existed before it all. It may have been a dream, but it was Michael’s dream. Steve Jones had never allowed anyone to sway him from his own dreams. So Michael Jones, the new generation of his family…Could keep his. For a while.
Dr. Jones patted Mike’s shoulder, looking past the side of his head to the last sliver of Coralcola as it disappeared into the horizon, and out of their lives. “We’ll come back.” Michael said, determined, yet not demanding. His Uncle nodded, for next summer was coming. “We’ll come back.” He said, reaffirming Mike’s words. The boy looked back up at him, smiling gently with those youthful eyes of his. Eyes still looking for the world’s wonders. Eyes that Dr. Jones had almost forgotten. In that moment, Dr. Stephen Jones felt closer to his nephew than he ever had before. He may have been his brother’s son by birth… But Michael’s spirit was a mirror of his. And all was right with the world.
The two looked away from where Coralcola was, staring out to the open waves and the future ahead of them. The sea below was as blue as the sea their helicopter swam them through, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. There were no nightmares. Just dreams.
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Post by Michael Jones on Apr 9, 2006 8:35:20 GMT -5
Very good job Erico! I didn't think you had given up and I really enjoyed reading this!
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startropicsmaster
Argonian Hero
The best intentions invite the worst trouble...
Posts: 728
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Post by startropicsmaster on Apr 9, 2006 9:08:59 GMT -5
awesome! I love it! Can't wait for the finished product! (I got the e-mail too, by the way) Kepp up the good work! I'm rootin' for ya! ;D
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Coralcola
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Forget the Hollywood mess. If I was host, I'd have Wheel tape on C-Island. :)
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Post by Coralcola on Apr 9, 2006 12:39:09 GMT -5
It was like 2 am (Eastern Standard Time), last night, and I was surfing through here, and I noticed you were online Erico. I just knew you had something to tell us... ;D Good start on that epilogue Erico. I just thought of a VERY interesting idea of my own about my own ST story I've been writing (mentally of course), that I formulated while reading the excerpt. Hopefully all this creative writing you've been doing won't make your mental oven get "burnt out" (it's a pun, laugh, I ORDER you to laugh, LOL LOL LOL )... It's good to know you're still around. Don't be a stranger around these parts, ya hear?
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Scotty D.
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Post by Scotty D. on Apr 9, 2006 15:28:54 GMT -5
Amazing...simply AMAZING, Erico! I can't wait till the full chapter comes out.
Keep it up! ;D
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Scotty D.
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Post by Scotty D. on Jul 9, 2006 9:25:09 GMT -5
So it's been 3 months since we've heard anything, and I'm just checking in to ask if there's any news on the Epilogue and when we might be able to see a finished copy?
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Coralcola
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Forget the Hollywood mess. If I was host, I'd have Wheel tape on C-Island. :)
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Post by Coralcola on Jul 9, 2006 14:03:55 GMT -5
IIRC, I thought Erico was having problems with fanfic. I would hope that, 3 months later, he wouldn't still be having them!!!
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Erico
Coralcolian Villager
Life is a story. You are a chapter. Fill in the pages.
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Post by Erico on Jul 21, 2006 17:44:17 GMT -5
July 21st, 2006
5:38 P.M.
I do believe an apology is owed to all of you for a very extended hiatus...The last few months, the bulk of my time has been spent working on a couple of other side projects (Including a novel I was hoping to have done by September for submission) and a full time summer job. Warehousing. Say it with me. Ugh.
Still, excuses and more excuses. I've now forced myself to pick it back up, and I'll chew through this chapter even if it kills me...Well, wait. Writing's never killed me, but it can sometimes be an exercise in boredom. Especially when you're summarizing.
Remember the Prologue, where I summarized Startropics 1? Well, I'm doing that AGAIN in Chapter 7, only now I get to summarize Startropics 2. And let me tell you...
It ain't fun, all things considered.
But I'm at Camelot as I type this, so I'm hopeful. The pain will be worth it to reach the fun parts...That is, Michael's final triumph over the last shred of Zodus/Zoda and the aftermath.
Just a forewarning. The game writes what happens when the Argonians depart in one fashion.
Mine goes in another. Oh, they still leave for home, so don't worry about that. But I never could see Princess Mica simply saying goodbye to Michael in her native tongue and then poofing off with dad and the others, especially NOW, after all that I've put them through.
And the Epilogue...Lord, lord. You know, I was so conflicted about the Epilogue to this Novella that I had three separate endings for the boy? THREE!!!
The one I WILL be using is the happiest of the three, because I believe in happy endings, and I'll take whatever heat may come my way in spite of it. Why would a happy ending cause a flame war?
You'll understand when I finish this sucker, which I'm doing...Starting now.
And then after it's all said and done, I'll share what the other two never to be seen Epilogues were.
-Erico
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Post by Michael Jones on Jul 21, 2006 21:09:21 GMT -5
It's great to hear you're working on it again. I don't se any reason to apologize, Things like that spring up and thats just life.
Anyway Can't wait to see whats next ;D.
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