A new story, and a small beg...

[elfs]

As promised, Journal Entry 136 / 3262: Honest Questions is up and ready to be read. The codes are the same as the last story: F/F with a well-equipped android making her appearance. This is one of the first "Star Trek riff" stories in that I introduce a character from a patently Trek-like (or Eganesque, I supose) scenario, namely the Elvangoreans.

In two weeks, expect Fragile Dream, which will have a more traditional M/F, all-humans all-the-time theme.

And a small beg: the bill for keeping up the Journals website came due for the year, and I'm $90 short. If you've enjoyed reading the stories and they're worth anything to you, consider dropping a buck or two into the tipjar, okay? Please? I promise I won't PBS you with daily exhortations to "Donate Now!"

Comments

404 Not Found?

[(Anonymous)]

I've been re-reading Journal Entries today (and cherishing the characters like the old friends they are), but the site now (6:45 PST) appears to be down. www.drizzle.com is there, but /~elf (and everything further down the hierarchy) comes back with a 404. Given that drizzle.com is still reachable, I was worried that something had happened to your account.

Re: 404 Not Found?

[elfs.livejournal.com]

It may have been a temporary thing; they feed the website off of a variety of NFS-mounted storage boxes. I can get to it now. I noticed the last time I was there that the main server is under quite a load. I hope they upgrade it soon (or I'm going to have make good on my threat to move).

The second time you've done this to me

[bogobob.livejournal.com]

(sorta spoilers ahead if you haven't read this and "The Last Journal Entry")

The bit about the mourning boats and Ceremony of Lights is the second time while reading a Journal Entry that I've gotten all, for lack of a better word, faklempt. That feeling when your shoulders tighten, you shiver a little, butterflies erupt in your stomach and you say to yourself "holy fuck, no movie or TV show has ever done that to me!"

You've done that to me twice now. The other was the end of The Last Journal Entry, in particular Oenone's departure. I don't know what it is about them, but these situations both got to me in a big way. In TLJE's case it was certainly helped along by the fact that I knew that I was at the end of reading 2 to 3 entries a day for the past two months, but I just re-read it and worked almost well as the first time.

Thank you.

That, and the line about wanting to forget the first law is genius.

* the closest thing I can think of from a visual media is the line "so can you" in CSI #315 "Lady Heather's Box", but that's completely different.

Re: The second time you've done this to me

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Oh, man, I'm just happy to have succeeded.

I find scenes like the Festival of Lights hard to write. They're sort-of rote: everyone knows how the scene begins and how it ends, and all that's important in the middle is the light in which it shows the three characters involved. It's kinda like the battle scenes from a space opera: there's a lot of techno-babble, but it's supposed to be written because it's why the reader spends his time reading.

And I think I re-wrote that scene three times until I was happy with it. It wasn't easy to get just right. I'm glad I succeeded with someone. Thanks.

Re: The second time you've done this to me

[(Anonymous)]

fwiw, I felt this way about the scene in the tent in Ritachan Morning. The love, hope, acceptance, and cooperation is palpable, and moving. What's the line from beethoven's ninth? Brueder, ueber'm Sternenzelt muss ein lieber Vater wohnen? something like that?

I keep telling people I don't read the Journal Entries for the sex. They keep on not believing me, but it's absolutely true.

Unwritten Stories

[(Anonymous)]

I first came across the Journal Entries long ago (by Internet Time standards), shortly after when I came to grad school in late '89. I've been captivated ever since.

There's one story I'd really like to see... first contact between Pendor and Earth. "Embassy Tales: Terran Sands" is the earliest story we see concerning Pendor/Earth relations.

I've also wondered about what came immediately before "Goodbye, Donna" (the events that lead up to it), and how Ken endeded up being blinded some time before "Goodbye, Kris."

Lots more stories to be told... and I hope you'll be telling them for a very, very long time.

Re: Unwritten Stories

[(Anonymous)]

Erm, the whole landing event has already been told, sorta, in Journal Entry 209 / 1028: Movie Night (http://www.drizzle.com/~elf/journals/1028_209_000_Movie_Night.html).

I liked that it showed how unhappy Shardik was at how some hacks had tarted up "actual history" with inaccurate eye-candy. Nothing was said at all about the requisite sex scenes. (*^_^*)

--Gon

Re: Unwritten Stories

[(Anonymous)]

Huh... how the Hades did I miss this Journal Entry the last time I read them all? Oh well... guess I'd better read them all again, in case I missed another one. :)

Tails' commentary was a riot. "We want your women!" and "It's only a movie," had me laughing out loud.

Sigh... I want a T-Shirt that says "I'd rather be on Pendor", with the text sitting above the eight-stars-and-ring emblem. I'd pay money for that.

Hmmm.... Pendorian merchandise?

Speaking of which, why "Pendorian" rather than "Pendoran" ?

T-shirts

[bogobob.livejournal.com]

Ditto on wanting a shirt, though I'd go with a more subtle reference. Life Under Tension (http://www.drizzle.com/~elf/journals/0916_187_000_Travellogue,_Day_5.html) for example ;).

Seems like spreadshirt vector printing would be perfect for both of these (though the tension diagram might have to have undesireably large variable labels to get it past the feature size constraints.

Re: Unwritten Stories

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Well, Late '89 would have been about the right time. That was when the very first one came out. The "First Contact" story is in "Movie Night," which is full of Our Heroes riffing on a NBC Movie Of The Week-quality video of the first contact.

[fireye.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to write and say how much I loved the Travellogue serials. I'm just starting in on Reunion serials, I can't wait to finish it, but I can't help feeling that regardless of the outcome, I'll want more. Oh, and the Battletech references were looked upon kindly. My next paycheck has some money earmarked for supporting your hobby and passion, thank you!