C James

ACK! 90%!?!?!!??! How did that happen? :wacko: Is this a good time for me to remind everyone that the voting is now open too? Should I urge everyone to vote for Shadowgod as King of Cliffhangers?

ROFL!!! Where did you find that? And how? But, ummm, goats go boom? And the Goat is re-creating the scene from Dr. Stranglove, where Slim Pickens rides a nuke down... Uhoh.... Edit to add; I thought a link to the founding post for SPiCE would be good.

I will comment that, apropos of nothing, that Blackheart in FTL was in some ways a hit man. And as for Shadowgod, hrmmm, I think I see a connection here. In addition to being the King of EEEvil cliffhangers, he;s also the King of Eeevil Contract-killers! Oh my.... BTW, I will point out, before anyone else does, that even if you are correct in your interpretation of the quoted text, it isn't a cliffhanger. See? He IS the King of Evil Contract-killers!!! Hrmmm, maybe he's just the king of EVERYTHING evil? And, ummm, how may you be placated?

One thing that really stands out to me; the rich detail in descriptions. They really set the stage, beautifully. I also like the very evocative character traits. For example, Joe is apparently very comfortable hanging around in Just boxers. Okay, sure, that's hot and all, but it also shows, without having to say so, that Joe is very confident and also at ease with his body. He knows Cody is gay, so he's obviously not afraid of being looked at. I also have a hunch that Jonathon, based on his actions so far, might be inclined to be trouble during a break-up. He came across as hyper-possesive, and I have a hunch the other shoe is about to drop on that one. Any opinions? I'm also intrigued by Cody and Joe's past together. I remember that scene in the park in LiS... Cody, at some point at least, had an interest in Joe, IMHO anyway. Did Joe ever find out? Also, this is a spinoff of LiS, and takes place weel AFTER the end of LiS. So, does this mean that we will get to see how the gang from LiS is doing? More chapters, please!!! Yes, Shadowgod rules the roost when it comes to cliffhangers, emotional and otherwise.

It is great to have you here, Ty!!! And thank you so much for your other post as well, that really made my day! Welcome!! But Conner 365, I never use cliffhangers. 0:) I can't comment on specifics of upcoming things, so I'm afraid I cant answer any of your question, only to say that they won't be left unanswered for too long. ROFL!!! I admit it, I like hot guys in speedos. But in this case, they were forced to were speedos by Helen, becase she has a reason. Ummm, doesn't it worry anyone how easily Shadowgod can put himself into the mindset of a hitman?!?!!? ROFL!!! TANSTAAFL! Are you by chance a Hienelin fan? (It stands for "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch") ROFL!!! Well, ok, I'll give it a shot... Here's a quote from Ch 23, which bears on The Scar's plans, including some of the issues asked above. Shaking his head, The Scar replied,

I noticed that I made a few formatting errors in Ch 24: Scene breaks where they don't belong. I'll upload a fixed chapter with the new one on Tuesday. BTW, I don't know why y'all are so suspicious of The Scar. He's even planning to buy Eric a few drinks.

Very true! (on the all in good fun part anyway). At least Blackheart survived his plunge off the cliff. But I think you are being very mean to a poor, innocent, quiet and shy goat. Stuffed and mounted indeed!

Now, now, Fossil... That goes both ways you know. When have I ever done anything to you?

The Lord of Darkness is, by definition Evil, and Shadowgod is, of course, the Lord of Darkness. (the names mean the same). And it's not my fault that Shadowgod is brain-damaged and writing stories on the internet. I will support you in one respect: Shadowgod is the King of Evocotive Descriptions! Of course, he's the King of Eeevil Cliffhangers, too, but one does not preclude the other. In fact, the compliment one another. Humph! I';ll have you know I almost never post. And AHHEM, *I* never said a word about the magazine reference. YOU DID! :P:p

Well, I thought Saul was Evil... I mean, shooting a Goat? That's evil! I was intrigued by the interplay between Cody and Joe, and Joe's thoughts of Cody's eyes. Joe is a very alluring character to me, and he sure likes to sit around in just his boxers. Cody's reaction to the innocence speaks volumes to me; I think he's scared of hurting someone like he hurt Jacob. But Graeme!! "Blackheart" was merely a.... coincidence! As for the "Old Goat" in the story, I will opine that not many goats were sunglasses! Also, Blackheart didn't die in that plunge from the cliff, but the goat in this story is dead!!! And then we get to this particular passage; The goat was on a CLIFF?!?!?! Braying its supremacy? ACk, now that's just EEEvil!!! And he refers to it as the devil!!! AAARRGGH!!! I think you are right: Jonathon will be back, becuase we know Shadowgod likes to complicate his character's lives. (how mean to Cody!). I suspect that Cody has a long road to follow in order to dispel the demons that plague him. I'm also intrigued by the letter. It's obvious that it is very significant, but we are left hanging as to what it contains. So yes, I am hereby declaring this a CLIFFHANGER!

Yes, I am. Shadowgod, EEEvil Lord of Darkness (And King of Eeevil Cliffhangers!) that he is, has posted Ch 2 of his new story Dreams and Clipped Wings. And He , he, he, ARGH! How could he? He's evil, I tell you, Evil! He put my is his story and he, ARGH!!! The chapter is named "Eating Crow" and boy, am i ever!!!! Go have a look. If you like teasing me, you'll just love this. It's also shaping up to be a great story!!!

Dreams and Clipped Wings Ch2: Eating Crow is up, and all I'll say is that I'm coughing up feathers!! Great chapter, and I'll be back with more comments later; I just wanted to kick off the discussion thread.

Isn't there any sympathy for J/S's frustration? The poor guy must be really stressed out. Yep! I got that from the classic surfing film "Endless Summer" and I've also seen it mentioned elsewhere over the years. Thanks Woody!! I've encountered sharks a few times while surfing, and I don't mind admitting that I became very afraid when I saw a big finn cruising along, between me and the beach. Me too! I haven't been there in close to 25 years, and I loved it. I was pretty young, but I remember some parts of it very well indeed. I've never been north of Brisbane there, so Graeme and Woody have been helping me with local facts. The scene in Rome was far easier; I was there a few years before I wrote the early one and a few weeks before I wrote the chapter that takes place in Rome. See? Only the best... And y'all thought The Scar was lacking in family values. What? Would I do such a thing as that? Thank you everyone for all the comments and speculation. I'm loving it. This is my main reward for writing, and I can't express how much I appreciate it. There was some great speculation here, and some of it spot-on (and before the Echidna makes me into a pincushion for giving spoilers, I'll point out that I didn't say which ones!) in some respects. Not only do i love seeing that, but it helps me; it lets me know that I have left enough clues. Thanks VERY much everyone!! CJ

Great chapter! It's open war, by the sound of it! I ahve a feeling that this is far from over.

Ooops! I posted the first post in this thread at 2am, and accidently gave it last week's chapter name. I've fixed it.

I haven't posted the announcement yet, but Ch 24 is up.

I didn't try and give Cody any powers at all! If what you read reads that way, I suspect that Shadowgod has been editing again. Shadowgod? After the chapter posts, please do post the three deleted paragraphs. The real ones. Now, as for proving my case, i think I have.

Nooo! I never said, specifically, who Blackheart was based upon. However, it may or may not be a coincidence that a certain writer used that handle on several other boards, including being hosted under that name. However, here, that writer is known as Shadowgod. The T-shirt Blackheart is wearing in the story (for the scene in Hawaii) is one Shadowgod owns (and there is a picture of him in it posted in the thread.) The motorcycle he rode over the cliff was the same make and model as the one Jacob in LiS was riding, and there are many, many other coincidences. One that comes to mind; Blackheart's shoe store was called the Shoe Whore Shoe Store. It is entirely coincidental that Shadowgod had a blog entry with the title "Shoe whore?" a few weeks prior. ROFL! Well, I've always assumed that SPiCE was for LTMP's Eric, not FTL's. LoL. I guess I could just say Eric Carlisle as opposed to Eric Williams (or should that be Eric Emoe, given who his real father is?) I don't want the sequel to be about Eric though, even though he's a major character in it. So, the title is still undecided. But, "misunderstood" fits the plot even without Eric, so....

Now, now, I merely made a little three-paragraph suggestion for the end of the chapter. It was clearly marked in red courtesy of Word's edit mode, and so of course I made no attempt to sneak anything in anywhere. In fact, Shadowgod has indicated that he won't use it, so it is irrelevant anyway, and best forgotten. It's not my fault... It's Shadowgod's fault!!!! Come now.. think it through... Haven't I been saying for months that Shadowgod is responsible for some perceived clifies in my stories? Now, if I had, indeed, added the "Last and final time"line to LiS 26's cliffhanger, would I be running around blaming Shadowgod for doing the same things to my chapters? Also, would I be proclaiming LiS 26 to be the Mother of All Cliffhangers if I'd done so? As further proof, I offer the cact that I myself cite the "last and final" but as part (admittedly, a very small part) of what made LiS 26 such an absolutely devastating cliffhanger. I think I just proved my case.

Yes, poor misunderstood Eric will be back. So too will Blackheart (the evil hacker himself.;.. remember, riding off that cliff left him just brain-damaged, not dead) The Sheriff won't be back though... I felt his character would be a little stiff. Oh, I never said he was perfect. As for how much time he'd haver served if caught? Likly years. He's a minor but those kind of charges would have landed him in jail for over a decade at a minimum. That's why he had to leave. But, think back.. He stopped by to see Steve once he already had the $$$. Why? On the mitigating side, he was being egged on (in some ways) and also supplied drugs by the Sheriff and his father (Thaddeus J. Emoe). That would be a mitigating circumstance, in the eyes of some. So, did Eric really change? We just don't know. I couldn't show his thoughts in 1st person, so there was no way to be certain. But Eric, at the very least, was certainly... Misunderstood. Thanks!!! I've still got a long way to go in learning how to use third (or first or second, for that matter! LoL) but I'm more comfortable in third. I also need the power of it; 1st person is very limiting, especially for a complex plot; getting your protagonist into position to learn everything the reader needs to know can be difficult. Thank you!!! The tone will be quite similar. BTW, the Epilogue for FTL was written first; before even Ch 1 (YEs, a weird thing to do, but the epilogue for LTMP was sketched out years ago, too). I did of course re-write it in places, including the bits about Blackheart and Dex and Betty's wedding, and it originally took place in San Diego instead of Hawaii, and I brushed up the wording a great deal, but plotwise, that was basically the same epilogue I wrote at the start. However, there was one HUGE change. I originally had the epilogue set fifteen years in the future. I changed that, to leave the door open for a sequel.

Ahh yes, but we also know that screencaps can be faked. We also know that you can use photoshop..., So The same is true of word .doc files. Sneaky, oh lord of darkness, sneaky!!!

Nooo!!! It would be a spoiler, so you can't do it until after DnCW2 is posted. Or the Echidna will make you into a pincushion! (you know how he is about spoilers...) Anything I added, to this or any chapter, would be in bright red (or perhpas blue, depending on the version of word) text in Word's edit mode. I would never, ever try and sneak anything in. Oh, woe is me... Oh, the trouble I've seen... Nobody knows my sorrow... How could you say these mean things about me? And, ahhem, need I mention what some might perceive to be cliffhangers that appeared at the end of some chapters of FTL Now how did they get there?

FOSSSIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In my defense, if you look back on the threads, you will see that it is I who have been saying that Shadowgod is the inserter of cliffhangers in my stories. What he's doing here is trying to blame me for something he does!!! And that "Last and Final" line is irrelevant anyway; the most masterful aspects of LiS 26 are the sum total of it, and the lead-in and foreshadowing. Shadowgod is truly the Lord of Darkness, and the King of Cliffhangers...