Certifying Doomsday cliffhanger-free

[C James]

Okay, in the chapter discussion thread, I said,

 

Okay, I do admit that the end of Doomsday was a tad on the tense side. Those aboard Atlantis do indeed face a bit of a conundrum. They have a killer hurricane the size of Texas coming at them from the east, and Bridget's massive fleet to the west and southwest. And that heartbeat issue. And Atlantis is severely damaged in several ways. So yes, I admit, they face a bit of a conundrum.

 

I'm sure we'd all like to see the final chapter as soon as possible. I'm hard at work on it now. What would spur me to even greater efforts (and thus get the chapter ready sooner) is if we could all agree that Doomsday was not a cliffhanger. (Wildone and MikeL are right!). A tad tense, yes. A bit of a conundrum, yes. But surely not a cliffhanger. (as we all know, I never, ever use those).

 

So, I was hoping that, now that I've explained things and we've all had a chance to digest the chapter (I have, I ate my copy) that we can all come together and agree that it wasn't in any way shape or form a cliffhanger. (as we all know, both our team, and I, are utterly dedicated to keeping Circumnavigation cliffhanger-free) . 

 

I'm rather surprised that the number of declarations of cliffhanger-free has been a bit, um,... low so far. So, to get the ball rolling, I hereby call on our team to step forward and proudly and forthrightly proclaim "Doomsday" cliffhanger-free.

 

I'll even go first (I'm a member of the team too, after all!) Doomsday is utterly and completely cliffhanger-free, and does not even come close to a cliffhanger.

 

CJ

 

 

[MikeL]

    

Edited March 25, 2013 by MikeL

[Nick Deverill]

Ok cliff-hanger free

 

But as I said before, a heck of a goat-hanger. And my dictionary says:

 

Goat-hanger: Noun. The ending of an instalment in a way calculated to make the reader or viewer yearn for the next instalment to hopefully answer the tense and anxious situation that has arisen. The same sort of device in a lesser strength is often termed a cliff-hanger, but a goat-hanger is many times greater.

 

© Nick Deverill's 2013 Dictionary

 

 

I'm getting exceedingly twitchy as the days go by, eagerly, anxiously, and even fearfully awaiting the final parts. , 

[JimCarter]

I'll even go first (I'm a member of the team too, after all!) Doomsday is utterly and completely cliffhanger-free, and does not even come close to a cliffhanger.

 

CJ

 

To put it bluntly.  BULLSHIT!!!!!!

[Daddydavek]

Another time to once again use the oft quoted:  "He doth protest too much!"

[TalonRider]

Actually, that would be GOAT DUNG.

[Benji]

Actually, that would be GOAT DUNG.

 

..............Lots of goat dung, Jan lots and lots of goat dung!! 

[Graeme]

So, to get the ball rolling, I hereby call on our team to step forward and proudly and forthrightly proclaim "Doomsday" cliffhanger-free.

Let's see... how do I put this diplomatically...

 

 

NO

 

 

The reasons for this are:

• I'm sitting at a desk in front of a computer. Stepping forward would not only be foolhardy, but potentially dangerous, as I'd quickly run into a very solid object
• I'm incapable of making proclamations proudly as I'm too shy and reserved to do so
• Forthrightly is not part of my vocabulary
• "Cliffhanger-free" is not in my dictionary. Can you supply a detailed definition?

[bayoudreamn]

Well.....this is something we obviously are just going to have to do because the month of December 2012 is just groaning from the strain of an even longer extension.....

 

......so, I admit......I'm free of cliffhangers. I didn't see Cliff and I didn't see any hangers....and who could possibly expect a goat to hang around cliffs....and I did see the chapter entitled "Doomsday".....so I've said all the things you said we should say.

 

There....I did it

Edited March 26, 2013 by bayoudreamn

[Low Flyer]

It seems to me that the goat has accepted a degree of increased tension at the end of the last-posted chapter.

 

Now, are we really going to disagree with him?

[mickey1952]

My mama brought me up to not lie, but in the interest of getting the last chapter up as quickly as possible, here goes: Doomsday is cliffhanger free.

OMG, I'm probably going to hell now! LOL!!!

[Winemaker]

Quote from wiki: A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma,(Like perhaps facing a cat 5 hurricane in a critically damaged boat with seemingly no chance of rescue or escape) or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction. A cliffhanger is hoped to ensure the audience will return to see how the characters resolve the dilemma.

 

All I can say is if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck waddles like a duck.... Is it a goat??

[C James]

Ok cliff-hanger free

 

But as I said before, a heck of a goat-hanger. And my dictionary says:

 

Goat-hanger: Noun. The ending of an instalment in a way calculated to make the reader or viewer yearn for the next instalment to hopefully answer the tense and anxious situation that has arisen. The same sort of device in a lesser strength is often termed a cliff-hanger, but a goat-hanger is many times greater.

 

© Nick Deverill's 2013 Dictionary

 

 

I'm getting exceedingly twitchy as the days go by, eagerly, anxiously, and even fearfully awaiting the final parts. , 

 

Cliffhanger free! Thank you!!! :worship:

 

Can't be a goathanger though, because a goat would never have anthing to do with a cliff, or a hanger.

 

To put it bluntly.  BULLSHIT!!!!!!

 

Does this mean that you are, as yet, not fully convinced that there is no cliffhanger?

 

Another time to once again use the oft quoted:  "He doth protest too much!"

 

But... how else can anyone respond to a false accusation of any sort other than by protesting? 

 

 

Let's see... how do I put this diplomatically...

 

 

NO

 

 

The reasons for this are:

• I'm sitting at a desk in front of a computer. Stepping forward would not only be foolhardy, but potentially dangerous, as I'd quickly run into a very solid object
• I'm incapable of making proclamations proudly as I'm too shy and reserved to do so
• Forthrightly is not part of my vocabulary
• "Cliffhanger-free" is not in my dictionary. Can you supply a detailed definition?

 

Hrmmm, good point in stepping forward. How about standing up?

 

You? Shy and reserved?

 

Forthrightly.... they don't use that word down under? Hrmmm...

 

A detailed definition of cliffhanger-free would be something that does not contain a cliffhanger, or even a borderline gray area of one. 

 

Hrmmm... I seem to recall a warrant being issued for your arrest a while back... and the charge was that you'd used a cliffhanger. And in your defense you said,

"I also say I'm innocent of all accusations of using a cliffhanger. There wasn't a cliff or a hanger in sight."

 

Well.....this is something we obviously are just going to have to do because the month of December 2012 is just groaning from the strain of an even longer extension.....

 

......so, I admit......I'm free of cliffhangers. I didn't see Cliff and I didn't see any hangers....and who could possibly expect a goat to hang around cliffs....and I did see the chapter entitled "Doomsday".....so I've said all the things you said we should say.

 

There....I did it

 

Thank you!! I thank you, and December thanks you!!!

My mama brought me up to not lie, but in the interest of getting the last chapter up as quickly as possible, here goes: Doomsday is cliffhanger free.

OMG, I'm probably going to hell now! LOL!!!

 

Thank you!!!

 

Quote from wiki: A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma,(Like perhaps facing a cat 5 hurricane in a critically damaged boat with seemingly no chance of rescue or escape) or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction. A cliffhanger is hoped to ensure the audience will return to see how the characters resolve the dilemma.

 

All I can say is if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck waddles like a duck.... Is it a goat??

 

Is facing a cat 4 or cat 5 that even without the damaged boat one has no way of avoiding precarious or difficult situation? I don't think so... and the dictionary is on my side.

 

 

 

"Precarious"

1

: depending on the will or pleasure of another

2

: dependent on uncertain premises : dubious <precarious generalizations>

3

a : dependent on chance circumstances, unknown conditions, or uncertain developments

 

b : characterized by a lack of security or stability that threatens with danger

 

Atlantis's conundrum isn't #1, because it is not dependent upon the will or pleasure of anyone. We can also rule out # 2 because the danger is not dubious or uncertain in any way (the narration rules out rescue, for example.) We can rule out #3 as well; there's no chance circumstances involved, no unknown conditions, nothing uncertain. And the danger isn't threatening, it's already there in full fury. 

 

Would you call being in the path of a monster hurricane with no way to get away "difficult"?  It's not a word that would come to my mind for that situation, and I'm betting I'm in the majority on that.

 

A shocking situation? Well, I suppose it's possible that there was; the lighting strike. But, we don't actually know who (if anyone) was hit. All we know is that Lisa wasn't. So it';s more the possibility of a shocking situation.

 

What we have with Doomsday does not fit the definition of a cliffhanger, because if you look at any of the examples of cliffhanger listed, in all cases it's easy to guess a means by which the character MIGHT be saved. For example, rescue. But in Doomsday, the narration explicitly rules out rescue. So, what we have in Doomsday is more of a mystery about a conundrum; is there any possible way that any of the main characters might survive? There are even clues to guide the reader. So, it's a mystery, not a cliffhanger.   I do however admit that the conundrum does create a slight whiff of tension.

[Winemaker]

Cliffhanger free! Thank you!!! :worship:

 

Can't be a goathanger though, because a goat would never have anthing to do with a cliff, or a hanger.

 

 

Does this mean that you are, as yet, not fully convinced that there is no cliffhanger?

 

 

But... how else can anyone respond to a false accusation of any sort other than by protesting? 

 

 

Hrmmm, good point in stepping forward. How about standing up?

 

You? Shy and reserved?

 

Forthrightly.... they don't use that word down under? Hrmmm...

 

A detailed definition of cliffhanger-free would be something that does not contain a cliffhanger, or even a borderline gray area of one. 

 

Hrmmm... I seem to recall a warrant being issued for your arrest a while back... and the charge was that you'd used a cliffhanger. And in your defense you said,

"I also say I'm innocent of all accusations of using a cliffhanger. There wasn't a cliff or a hanger in sight."

 

 

Thank you!! I thank you, and December thanks you!!!

 

Thank you!!!

 

 

Is facing a cat 4 or cat 5 that even without the damaged boat one has no way of avoiding precarious or difficult situation? I don't think so... and the dictionary is on my side.

 

 

 

Atlantis's conundrum isn't #1, because it is not dependent upon the will or pleasure of anyone. We can also rule out # 2 because the danger is not dubious or uncertain in any way (the narration rules out rescue, for example.) We can rule out #3 as well; there's no chance circumstances involved, no unknown conditions, nothing uncertain. And the danger isn't threatening, it's already there in full fury. 

 

Would you call being in the path of a monster hurricane with no way to get away "difficult"?  It's not a word that would come to my mind for that situation, and I'm betting I'm in the majority on that.

 

A shocking situation? Well, I suppose it's possible that there was; the lighting strike. But, we don't actually know who (if anyone) was hit. All we know is that Lisa wasn't. So it';s more the possibility of a shocking situation.

 

What we have with Doomsday does not fit the definition of a cliffhanger, because if you look at any of the examples of cliffhanger listed, in all cases it's easy to guess a means by which the character MIGHT be saved. For example, rescue. But in Doomsday, the narration explicitly rules out rescue. So, what we have in Doomsday is more of a mystery about a conundrum; is there any possible way that any of the main characters might survive? There are even clues to guide the reader. So, it's a mystery, not a cliffhanger.   I do however admit that the conundrum does create a slight whiff of tension.

playing with semantics   I certainly wasn't talking about "precarious" I was talking about "CLIFFHANGER"

[Benji]

............... Dictionary definition of Cliffhanger;

.....a melodramatic adventure serial in which each installment ends in suspense in order to interest the reader or viewer in the next installment.

 

I am not a naysayer If I see a cliifhanger, I will hold that to be true. The next chapter is not going to go up any sooner because some may bow to the writers demands. The last chapter fits in with the almost drowning of the alone Trevor and the pirates, and this one as being the one of the most CLIFFHANGING chapters of the saga!

 

Happy April Fools day to the readers!!

[donkehoti]

I totally, 100%, agree with CJ.  Doomsday was not a cliff hanger, and to think differently you all must be reading an entirely different story than I.  

[wildone]

I totally, 100%, agree with CJ.  Doomsday was not a cliff hanger, and to think differently you all must be reading an entirely different story than I.  

 

 

Geez you animals stick together!! (Donke ) )

 

Sorry, just kidding (oops, another animal reference)

 

Welcome to the Forums Donkehoti!! It just goes without saying that CJ endures a lot of ribbing and teasing when he isn't publishing chapters. It is our way to show him that we love him

[TalonRider]

Watch it there, Wildone or this bird of prey will go on the hunt. If you noticed, I didnt' agree with this being what the goat wants us to say it is.

[Daddydavek]

All kidding aside, CJ is a living personification of a cliff hanging sort of person.  And his work more than examplifies that attribute.

[wildone]

I still maintain his stories are all a little auto-biographical

 

The reason he can't seem to understand that they are cliffhangers in his stories is that he knows how the next chapter will start and end. Thus, in his mind, there is no cliffhanger. Yet...the vast majority of his readers don't have that luxury so it is indeed a cliffhanger.

 

Since the Cliffhanger Awards are run and audited by an Independent Autonomous Body here at GA , and it is the readers that vote, his crown as King of Evil Cliffhangers should be restored to his head in just under a year. No matter how much bleating and kicking and head butting he attempts to do.

[Benji]

I still maintain his stories are all a little auto-biographical

 

The reason he can't seem to understand that they are cliffhangers in his stories is that he knows how the next chapter will start and end. Thus, in his mind, there is no cliffhanger. Yet...the vast majority of his readers don't have that luxury so it is indeed a cliffhanger.

 

Since the Cliffhanger Awards are run and audited by an Independent Autonomous Body here at GA , and it is the readers that vote, his crown as King of Evil Cliffhangers should be restored to his head in just under a year. No matter how much bleating and kicking and head butting he attempts to do.

 

............. Hmmm, autobiographical ? Maybe in some instances he has gone off his cliff and delved to sea and boat and lived it, I doubt very much the goat lived anywhere near what he has written. His only solace is his ability to keep writing cliffhangers for us, and then denying them. His April fools joke should not come as a surprise to anyone, I'm sure he will explain it on 4/2/13.

[Daddydavek]

"His April fools joke should not come as a surprise to anyone, I'm sure he will explain it on 4/2/13."

 

All the while claiming it is really December 122nd......
 

[Winemaker]

I still maintain his stories are all a little auto-biographical

 

The reason he can't seem to understand that they are cliffhangers in his stories is that he knows how the next chapter will start and end. Thus, in his mind, there is no cliffhanger. Yet...the vast majority of his readers don't have that luxury so it is indeed a cliffhanger.

 

Since the Cliffhanger Awards are run and audited by an Independent Autonomous Body here at GA , and it is the readers that vote, his crown as King of Evil Cliffhangers should be restored to his head in just under a year. No matter how much bleating and kicking and head butting he attempts to do.

Looks like a "Cliffhanger theory of relativity" to me

[wildone]

Looks like a "Cliffhanger theory of relativity" to me

 

CJ=CH²

 

Edited April 1, 2013 by wildone

[C James]

When I first saw the above mentions of an April Fool's prank, it did give me an idea; post a brief, bogus "final chapter". However, for a variety of reasons, some of which I can't disclose until after the final chapter posts, and also due to the fact that April 1st does not usually come in December, I decided against it.  

 

playing with semantics   I certainly wasn't talking about "precarious" I was talking about "CLIFFHANGER"

 

I'm glad that you agree that there was no cliffhanger.

 

 

............... Dictionary definition of Cliffhanger;

.....a melodramatic adventure serial in which each installment ends in suspense in order to interest the reader or viewer in the next installment.

 

I am not a naysayer If I see a cliifhanger, I will hold that to be true. The next chapter is not going to go up any sooner because some may bow to the writers demands. The last chapter fits in with the almost drowning of the alone Trevor and the pirates, and this one as being the one of the most CLIFFHANGING chapters of the saga!

 

Happy April Fools day to the readers!!

 

Ah, but each installment would be a chapter in this case, so unless EVERY chapter ends in suspense, then there are no cliffhangers, right?

 

I do admit that Doomsday had a hint of tension, but.... suspense? I think that's a bit of a stretch. Also, your definition specifies the end of the chapter, and the chapter text ended with a period at the end of a sentence. In fact, the final two words of the chapter told us nothing new, it was only the third to last that might have had a hint of tension. The final sentence was "Hanging on the edge of forever, Atlantis, tugged inexorably ever further into the raging heart of the beast that she could not avoid, carrying with her into that seething maelstrom four brave souls – and three beating hearts."

 

I totally, 100%, agree with CJ.  Doomsday was not a cliff hanger, and to think differently you all must be reading an entirely different story than I.  

 

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!! <hug>

 

Geez you animals stick together!! (Donke ) )

 

Sorry, just kidding (oops, another animal reference)

 

Welcome to the Forums Donkehoti!! It just goes without saying that CJ endures a lot of ribbing and teasing when he isn't publishing chapters. It is our way to show him that we love him

 

I earnestly wish the final chapter was ready. I'll be making a post about it on the chapter thread.

And yep, I know many of you are just teasing and don't really think there was really a cliffhanger.

 

Watch it there, Wildone or this bird of prey will go on the hunt. If you noticed, I didnt' agree with this being what the goat wants us to say it is.

 

Huh?!?!?! But Talonrider... you know it's not a cliffhanger, right?

 

All kidding aside, CJ is a living personification of a cliff hanging sort of person.  And his work more than examplifies that attribute.

 

But... me? Cliffhanging? Never! It's true that I live in the high mountains, and enjoy wilderness off trail hiking and climbing, but cliffs? I always avoid them!

 

I still maintain his stories are all a little auto-biographical

 

The reason he can't seem to understand that they are cliffhangers in his stories is that he knows how the next chapter will start and end. Thus, in his mind, there is no cliffhanger. Yet...the vast majority of his readers don't have that luxury so it is indeed a cliffhanger.

 

Since the Cliffhanger Awards are run and audited by an Independent Autonomous Body here at GA , and it is the readers that vote, his crown as King of Evil Cliffhangers should be restored to his head in just under a year. No matter how much bleating and kicking and head butting he attempts to do.

 

Ah, but as it is clearly 2012, and will still be at the final chapter post, I'm in the clear because I'm ineligible for 2012. (I'm also ineligible because Circumnavigation is entirely cliffhanger-free!)

"His April fools joke should not come as a surprise to anyone, I'm sure he will explain it on 4/2/13."

 

All the while claiming it is really December 122nd......
 

 

Today is indeed December 122nd, 2012. Therefor, it's far too early for an April Fool's joke. 

 

CJ