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Saga - ST ASCENDANCE (Action, Drama, OC's, Kylo Ren, NEW Cover Art, Video Intro Added) CH. 3 UPDATE 11/19/17

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by The Ascendant, Feb 3, 2017.

  1. The Ascendant

    The Ascendant Jedi Knight

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    Apr 26, 2014

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2022
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  2. The Ascendant

    The Ascendant Jedi Knight

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    Apr 26, 2014
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2022
  3. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

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    Jun 14, 2005
    Now I am intrigued. Seduction through the Dark Side of the Force, obviously through somebody who is not a Sith. And the victim a boy with no memory. [face_nail_biting]
     
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  4. The Ascendant

    The Ascendant Jedi Knight

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    Apr 26, 2014
    First of all, thank you for reading, Angel! I'm sure you can probably guess the owner of the voice, but if not, it will be very apparent in the next chapter. I wanted to tell it from an angle of a first meeting, but where the seduction of what he can teach the boy is the main draw, and not who the person is.

    I should probably also take this moment to mention a couple things to you and other readers. The plot, which takes place after TFA, is based off where I believe the franchise will go. J.J. Abrams has stated that Snoke and Ren are not Sith, so that should be of note throughout the story. I will also be peppering more custom art pics throughout the story to give it a more graphic novel feel. They won't be in every chapter, but they will be in enough of them.
     
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  5. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

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    Jun 14, 2005
    I can guess, indeed. But I do not want to spoil anything for other possible readers at this point. O:)
     
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  6. Almerus

    Almerus Jedi Master

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    Jun 14, 2006
    I have to say, there was a lot to like here. That artwork is top notch, and it was unique to see someone seduced my not just the dark side, but a form of their own inner dark side. Your style of writing is very well written and thought-provoking. The cliffhanger at the end was also intriguing. I eagerly await your next post! :)
     
  7. The Ascendant

    The Ascendant Jedi Knight

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    Apr 26, 2014
    Thank you for reading, Almerus! I cannot take credit for the artwork, for that, and the others to come are by my good friend Clay, who is a very talented artist. I do try to add a more cerebral approach to my writing, as I feel one's mind or situations that involve it gives you better insight into a character. Lanon Kinova, who is the buzzed-head individual in the pic yet to be introduced, is a particularly fun character to write for in that regard. He is the "brilliant procurer" in the synopsis, who relies heavily on his mind to read people and assess situations before even agreeing to take the job, which is why he's always seven steps ahead of everyone, and has contingencies for contingencies. As for the cliffhanger, well...you'll have to wait and see. :D
     
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  8. The Ascendant

    The Ascendant Jedi Knight

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    Apr 26, 2014
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2022
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  9. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

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    Jun 14, 2005
    Thanks of giving us more background on a Death Trooper. It was fascinating to read Warvane´s story.
     
  10. Almerus

    Almerus Jedi Master

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    Jun 14, 2006
    I agree that Warvane's backstory painted him as a heartless foe not to be reckoned with, even if he wasn't a former Death Trooper. No one is sacred to him, not even his own squad. I really enjoy how you take the time to flesh out your characters with detail, but not to the point of overloading us. And yet again you leave us with another cliffhanger right at the best part.
     
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  11. The Ascendant

    The Ascendant Jedi Knight

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    Apr 26, 2014
    Angel & Almerus: Thanks for reading! After watching Rogue One, I was fascinated by the Death Troopers and how convincingly deadly they were. Unlike their other trooper brethren, they can't seem to miss hardly at all. lol That said, I wanted to incorporate a seasoned vet of their class into this story because readers who have seen the film will already have a good idea how dangerous of a man he is. I don't know if Death Troopers still exist in the TFA era, so him being a former one will have to suffice. However, that doesn't mean I won't be building up his persona in my own, and trust me, that little tidbit about his backstory does not even scratch the surface of how brutal he is.
     
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  12. Kurisan

    Kurisan Jedi Master star 4

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    Apr 26, 2016
    Hello The Ascendant Just had a look through the prologue so far. Wow, you have a flair for the literary devices. This looks like it could go on for novel length. Is that your plan? Very epic in scope and execution.

    Your pictures are boss, too, and I'm envious. How did you make them?

    K
     
  13. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

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    Jun 14, 2005
    I always comment on stories that I wake my interest and your writing style sucked me in. (Besides, I will also have a Death Trooper in Chapter 23 of my story about Palpatine´s niece. So I could not help having a peak.)
     
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  14. The Ascendant

    The Ascendant Jedi Knight

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    Apr 26, 2014
    Thank you for reading, Kurisan! I do have a bit of a love for literary devices! They just make stories so much better, but also deeper, and that's what I think most readers want out of a serious plot. You mention the scope and execution being epic, and you are correct in that I want it to feel that way to the reader, but it's actually going to be a relatively contained story. I don't want to give too much away, but I liken it to a western or frontier film. Like the synopsis above says, the main arc will take place on a backwater planet, where technological luxuries are not nearly as abundant as in other SW book settings. It's here where the reader will also be treated to a different kind of master and apprentice bond than they're use to seeing. As for the length of the story, I shamefully don't really know what qualifies as epic. lol It won't be 20 chapters, but perhaps somewhere within striking distance of it. The art was actually done by a friend of mine under my direction, and the future ones will be the same way. I'll be sure to pass along your praise!

    As always, you're too kind! I'll be sure to check that out, Angel. I don't know how I missed the update? lol
     
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  15. The Ascendant

    The Ascendant Jedi Knight

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    Apr 26, 2014
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2022
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  16. Almerus

    Almerus Jedi Master

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    Jun 14, 2006
    A good writer can make you care about a villain character, but a great one can make you care about the throw-away villains like the storm troopers. For a minute there, I actually found myself relating to the Squad Commander, and even dare I say, rooting for him. It's looking like he won't be around much longer, as what the Prisoner did to the other squads was brutal in a non-gory way. Great, foreboding ending! =D=
     
  17. Kurisan

    Kurisan Jedi Master star 4

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    Apr 26, 2016
    Hello again,

    I read chapter 1. That's a neat anecdote about Warvane - and the fact that Snope rewarded such defiance to orders tells us something about the Supreme Leader we hadn't known before, too. The disguised base is an interesting creation.

    So... an escape eh? The plot thickens.
     
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  18. The Ascendant

    The Ascendant Jedi Knight

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    Apr 26, 2014
    Almerus - Thanks! I think like most writers already know, if you're building up to a surprise, you sometimes need lesser characters to carry the load, and to adequately do so from their perspective is a crucial part of that. If I'm just describing the squad as a whole with a term like: "The squad all looked confused." It doesn't sound as enlightening to what's going on.

    Kurisan - Thanks for continuing to read! I actually got caught up on Maya's adventure yesterday as she heads for a certain famous desert planet, but haven't found time to comment. Don't worry, I will! As for my post, I ask you did Warvane defy his orders? He went to the planet with his team and completed the mission, which were his orders. He did sacrifice his squad in order to preserve his own life, but in the Rogue One novelization, Death Troopers are said to be the most elite of the elite soldiers, ingrained to succeed in their goals without sentiment, and at any cost. Warvane is simply a little more devious than most. As for Snoke, in my eyes, I think others revealed prettly clearly how he truly is in TFA. if Han Solo taught us anything, it's that Snoke only cares about getting what he wants, and not so much how he gets it, with the exception of matters of a higher importance, like the necessity of Ren needing to kill his father. Although, it was very telling that even after being told Snoke would destroy Ren when he was no longer of use, Ren didn't dispute it. His eyes even dropped to acknowledge the fact. So if you're that kind of evil dictator, and you see someone like Warvane that is seemingly loyal to you, or at least to what you can give him, and who you have seen will go to endless lengths in your name, why wouldn't you continue to use him like you do everyone else?
     
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  19. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    Wow, wow, wow. I bookmarked this some weeks ago and actually started writing a comment full of these little pesky questions, and then Chrome auto refreshed an inactive tab while I was doing something else. So, while the original comment was only about the prologue and this one will be about both the prologue and the first chapter, I hope I'll remember all the relevant details. Because this is so bloody amazing that one needs to do it justice!

    As for your question so as to what counts as an epic - we all have different ideas when it comes to that, but, according to the 2017 Awards Rulebook, 30K and more is what would make it eligible for being nominated and voted as one next year. Not sure if that will change, but my humble guess is that it won't.

    Another thing that I think would be very helpful is to look at this thread and perhaps add a little masthead to the first post. Those quick summaries are helpful when it comes to finding the stories people are interested in reading; plus it comes in extra-handy in cases of time skips like yours. I had to do some math to see when the prologue took place.

    First of all, your friend Clay is incredible digital painter. I'm not that big on the titling, because it's somewhat hard to read and the contrast could be stronger even on a professional grade monitor (I think it's the lightning effect that's causing this issue), but that painting is...wow. I'm intrigued by what Kylo is wearing already, as it's definitely not his Knights of Ren outfit, he looks kind of more confident and sports an almost Han Solo-esque expression. Not to mention being intrigued who were the two men who served as faceclaims for the other two people in the painting. Just wow. Tell your friend that he (right?) is incredible. If he's ever open to commissions, I'd totally hire him!

    Second of all, I am intrigued by the connection between your username and the story name, given that you registered before the time we knew who Kylo Ren was - it was only when the Topps cards were released at the end of 2015 that we found out about his name, outfit and the cross-guard lightsaber. So, I wonder if your original plan was to write a similar story starting a different character - I have a couple of them on my mind, the usual suspects from canon and Legends that needed redemption - but perhaps you really like ascension, ascendance, ascending and the related words for philosophical reasons? Either way, a curious mind and a fellow lover of literary devices wants to know.

    More coming soon. I wanted to finally leave that *general* comment.
     
  20. The Ascendant

    The Ascendant Jedi Knight

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    Apr 26, 2014
    Ewok Poet - So much to get to here, I hope I remember it all. lol I'll be sure to add the masthead if it'll help others. I actually originally did have that in the first post, but I thought it didn't mesh with the cover art. It also never occurred to me that lesser monitors may have an issue with viewing the titling. It looks great on mine, but I definitely want others view it without issue. I'll try and remake it without the red pulse light at the top, and thank you for the heads up! Now I'd like to take a moment to clear up something in case others might be thinking the same. The man in the middle of the title pic is not Kylo Ren. For comparison purposes, here is a painting of Ren.

    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/0d/57/4e/0d574ee929cf6c24dabcb61a9d6b83a5.jpg

    Though, I am encouraged that some might view them as similar, as it serves the plot very well. I won't give anything away, though. As for the philosophical reasons for the story's name and my own, yes, I do enjoy the idea of ascension, especially in novels. I believe the best reads are when characters face hardship of a physical or emotional nature, or both, and find a way to ascend from what they were at the beginning to something more at the end, like Luke Skywalker did in the original trilogy. It's the main reason that Ascendance's theme is Identity. Each of the four main characters is faced with not truly knowing who they are, only who they tell themselves they should be. Two in particular, might be vying for the same identity. As for the face claims of the other two, one is original, and the other is heavily-influenced by a suave western star of old. As for the story, it is a bit of a reboot of a fic I wrote almost ten years ago, but remade to work in the current film continuity. The plots are completely different, but the character names are the same or similar.

    Can't wait for your general comment!
     
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  21. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

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    Jun 14, 2005
    Well, I have not arrived in Chapter 23 on the JC boards yet, but just the beginning of Chapter 20. (Everything up to Chapter 24 can be found in "Archives of our own". So I spoilered you a bit for the things to come.)
     
  22. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    My monitor is not a lesser one, it's a really good Dell, one of those rotatable ones, but I guess it's not calibrated the same way.

    Anyway, sorry about my Kylo blooper (and now I can freely say that the unknown dude is handsome, without feeling guilty) & more coming soon, very very soon.
     
  23. The Ascendant

    The Ascendant Jedi Knight

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    Apr 26, 2014
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2022
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  24. Almerus

    Almerus Jedi Master

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    Jun 14, 2006
    A very well crafted fight scene, layered with action and insight of what the characters are thinking. The Prisoner is a one man wrecking crew, who I wager is our main hero, but is presented as more of a villain than anything else at the moment. The ending was very telling that there is more going on with him than being just a violent killer.
     
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  25. The Ascendant

    The Ascendant Jedi Knight

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    Apr 26, 2014
    Thanks for reading, Almerus! There are technically four main protagonists of the story, but he is the more central one of the group and the man in the middle in the cover art. Though, he is not a hero by any means. He has a reason for doing what he is doing, and it isn't necessarily a righteous one. I won't spoil anything, but what anyone in his situation can realistically shoot for is to be better than he was.