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I fixed it for you. Here's what Trika's really thinking...

 

I like it. We all know that Trika's not that mean.

 

McClain, she definitely acts like it sometime, but given that face, you know her next thought is like, "I gotta go prank them all," and then, "Kriff! I've got to run away before they catch me!"

Kudos goes out to Lilith for sending me some HAWT edits to the first book. I definitely think that's about it for the little book, save for the extra Telia scene that IA and I have been chatting about. He wanted a scene to explain her side of the argument a little more, and I think we all can agree that it's needed. We don't get a whole lot of backstory on the drama, so just a little from her side will definitely make it more interesting. As for edits, though, everyone's done, from what I think. If anyone still has some, please let me know. Thanks, Lilith!

IA is moooooooooving this weekend, so I'm going to tentatively say that perhaps by next weekend we can get that scene inserted. Maybe. What say you of that, IA? I'm definitely willing to get it going or finish it off... or just leave it to you completely... whatever works best for you, of course. Just let me know.

Muis, if he survived his work schedule, should be back with us this week. Awesome!

I think that when I get a general feel from everyone on the first book, I'll tentatively set a date for release. We'll countdown in the planning thread title and I'll start promoting it to people who have expressed interest by PM. I'll probably even dump a little note in my signature. I just want it to do well, and I hope that with whatever influence you all have in the JC and in the general nerd-world, you'll promote it as well. I've expressed interest in the art forum for an artist to help draw the saga, and I'll be arranging PMs to specific artists to see what we can get there. Things are coming together, and it's going to be interesting.

For me, it's going to be a bit nerve-racking, too. After cradling this baby for two years, I'm somewhat anxious for it to do well with new users. I want it to be everything that it should be and more. The saga deserves whatever perfection we can pour into it, and you all have been both inspiring and a huge help in the journey. I can't thank you all enough for being a part of this restoration.

With that, here's what we need to look at before releasing Book One:
- Telia scene
- roster homeworlds (Danya?/Carre?/Bullwinkle - Atiragram?)
- pronunciation guide (don't want people botching everyone's names; a minor decision by me to add so no one thinks my name is pronounced with a short "i"; you guys knew that, right? Right?! )

I think that's about it for now. I'd like for everyone to check in and give their own go ahead for the story, just to make sure that we're all cool with everything and can't think of anything else except what's on that list. If you think of something, go ahead and post it. I'll set a date for the book release once I get a feel from everyone that we're cool with it.

Thanks again, everyone. This is exciting!

 

Sounds like a plan. I'd like to give Book One a look over with Lilith's stuff, and then I'll give my approval.

I think that that's a good list of what needs to be added. Muis had a good suggestion for Danya (Commenor, I think?) and Carre (Coruscant). Both of those are great from my point of view. Atiragram is classic, and is definitely appropriate for good old Sergeant Bullwinkle. I like the idea of a pronunciation guide. Makes sure that everybody's on the same page.

Good luck to IA with the move, and Muis with work. I've been trying to work on book two, but I'm having trouble getting past the second chapter. I'll give it a go again today or tomorrow. It'd probably work better if I tried during the afternoon, as opposed to when I'm starting to hit the wall. But, yeah. I'll work on it some this week. School's not going to get really busy for another week or two (at least, I hope).

 

Would everyone actually like a fresh copy? If that's the case, I'll wait for IA's addition and then send it out. I've actually given two new readers a copy of the book, and they're looking over it just for the heck of it now. They'll be wonderful additions in the future for editing, drawing, writing, etc., but they've got to catch up with it all. Books for everyone, w00t.

I'm going to wait on saying anything on the homeworlds of Danya and Carre. If MJEH gets in touch with us, she'll have the final say, of course. Otherwise, they'll get taken care of from all of the suggestions. I went with Atiragram for Bullwinkle because the majority sided there. I agree... it just works for everyone's favorite cook and drill sergeant.

The signature's been updated. I'll have to go spread around my nonsense in some different forums to get the word out. I can't wait until we start counting down.

 

I managed to work on Book Two for a couple hours tonight after watching Terminator 2 with a friend. A good night, in deed. It hasn't been too bad working on the book. I've tried to make sure that Kit is promoted to XO and consequently knocked out by the explosion. It's been a little tricky, but not impossible. I decided to add Qui-Sein in the mix after the explosion. I figured that there should be somebody else there replacing Kit, and that he is attached to the Talons. Bullwinkle had him running errands (specifically getting more ljutefisk) during the Gala, but was ordered to help out afterwards.

I've been thinking of putting him on the Eagle during the main mission. We have a couple of good pilots, but maybe he knows a thing or two about engines that Kit knew. What does everybody think about that? If you have a better idea, let me know.

Alright, that's all for now.

 

Stone, who's gonna be your actor, buddy?

 

I survived the week, but only barely... Anyway, I'm back. Going to do a lot of reading on Book Two tomorrow, so I'll be back on track in the coming week.

My thoughts on Bullwinkle's homeworld: Atiragram is fine with me! And I agree with Trika that MJEH has the final say when it comes to her characters homeworlds. And pronunciation guide = good idea.

Adding Qui-Sein to the mix is a good idea as well; makes sense that he'll be asked as a temporary replacement.

Good to be back!

 

Add another vote for Atiragram over here; it sound -perfect-.

I'd like one last read-through on Chapter 1 before it goes live; not that I really expect to add anything more at this late stage, I just want a jump on the public. ;p Although in my most recent copy, I did notice a repeat of "frigate" instead of "freighter"; Ctrl-F should fix that pretty easy.

Still working on Chapter 2; I made it about halfway through before my mojo crashed for some reason, and with work... yeah. I WILL get my share done, though, don't worry.

And to revisit an earlier topic, what're we gonna rename the High Council? I was thinking a nickname that could be used to both flatter AND insult them, like "the Five Princes" or something similarly overblown. The exact number is, of course, up for correction.

 

Well, I just wrote a long post and erased it all a couple of minutes later. I had to go back in the second book to check up on a couple of things.

I like the idea. It would work, too. Delph would be a suitable addition in place of Kithera. I'm just... worried. At first, I posted that all we would need to do is change Kithera's ranking. It seemed pretty simple at first. Then, I was reminded of just how much she gained by being on the mission. She and Rinin ended up working closely together, which was a major part of the original text. Kit and Rinin had a sort of inseparable bond by the time they both "left" TIS, so I had put that in there to give it some background. And having Kevin and Kaiba as the sole members on base I guess was part of that drama for Danya, who can only muse at what had happened since the Talons left the Nest. All in all, I'm just not sure where Kit fits well as XO.

I guess I had it in my head to give a nod to the idea along the way. Having Kit as the lead of the Ops II team, having her speak out more often, and, in Book Three, I actually have her introducing herself, in the absence of Jaren and Kevin, as the head of the Talons. My nod to Danya for all of her leadership in the saga was to partner her with Kevin so that she got to do an incredible amount of work aside from her normal tasks with the squad. My nod to Kendrick along the way was to make him the most efficient and competent pilot on board, save for Kevin, of course.

Making Kit XO is going to be rough, I guess, but not impossible, like McClain said. I'm just not sure at this point, though. I guess I just don't want to really mess up the balance, and I'm worried it's going to happen. Kit, in the original text, was a commander. I guess when I demoted everybody I just didn't think the lofty ranking itself was good enough to warrant XO status.

Is it too much to change at this point? If we gave more background to her leadership capabilities in the first and second books, would that be enough? What do you all think? I'm open to anything, of course, but after I had looked back over some of the book, I kinda had to give it a second thought.

Muis: Great to have you back, buddy!

 

I like that. Let me muse on it today and see what I come up with.

Stone!! Who's your actor?!

McClain, I didn't mention it earlier, but lol @ Delph being forced to get more ljutefisk. Poor dude. How'd he get this position in the first place?

 

I think that we can make Kit as XO work. Could she be a flight officer when she comes in to the Talons? It would make sense for all of the squad leaders to be officers. She shows leadership potential when she's sorting out Ops II and dealing with Ty. Book 2 will me more difficult with her out of commission, especially with Rinin. Maybe Rinin could be worried sick about Kit while they're out in space and get distracted once or twice by wandering thoughts.

As for Delph...I guess that he did something that made some higher ups upset. Even the High Council isn't as mean as to force somebody to fly Bullwinkle around and do his errands without some sort of reason.

 

Stone, who's Stone's actor? (I sense a trend here in my posts... )

EDIT: I didn't mention it before, but HIGH FIVE on the signature McClain!

Well, I hopped in the shower and no longer have a headache. Correlation? Maybe. All right, so I thought about the XO situation a little more and maybe have a compromise that would be better all-around.

IA has expressed that he really never saw Jaren as a leader beforehand, but it kinda just happened. With as many XOs as we flung around, that's understandable. Everyone was bound to be XO eventually. Anyway, we had talked a bit about maybe making Jaren hesitant to lead, then having to accept it. He's sort of forced into the role. That makes sense, and it's hinted at when he briefs the Talons about Devlyn Rossy and their mission status in Book Two.

Who's to say that anybody would really want the leadership role? Ski, sure. He's pretty much earned it if he wasn't born into it, practically. But Jaren and Kit could both be hesitant to lead. In fact, I think the only reference I've made to Jaren specifically being in charge was when Kevin wakes up and finds his medical ward being torn to bits. He asks if someone had seen Lieutenant Kai at the base. Aside from that, though, I think that it would help everyone's characters if there's a bit of tension as to who will eventually be placed in the role of XO.

First, we need to bump Kit's rank to Flight Officer in Book One. She'll need an introduction as one of Ski's officers or an excuse why she wasn't there with Jaren and Jane. Aside from that, though, we can maintain silence on the issue, save for maybe two additions. One: Ski needs to make it known to the reader that he's attempting to choose an XO, but isn't sure. Both would be good, but it's far too soon to name one. (Jane's already been noted as a trouble spot for her stern ways. No need to choose her.) Two: Jaren and Kit need to have a scene discussing their hesitance toward being a leader in the squad. Sure, they've got their teams, but XO?

Second, on to Book Two. Everything's peachy up until the Gala blast. Ski's gone. Who takes over now? If Jaren and Kithera were to have a couple of scenes arguing the point, it not only would give the nod back to Kithera that she can lead, but it would give Jaren a chance to grow into a Talon leader, like IA originally mentioned that he wanted to do. During their discussions, arguments, etc., Jaren will sort of step up for the briefing, and we can edit Kithera into more of a leader on the actual mission. A quick edit to Kevin's statement about seeing either Jaren or Kit on base will suffice there, and aside from that, I can only recall one instance where Kevin mentions almost losing his sole officer (to Jane Muir's horrible ways!) at the very beginning of Book Two.

Third, in Book Three, both should feel better about leading the Talons. Maybe then Kit could be made the official XO? It would be short-lived, but it would avoid editing a rather large chunk of mess. At the end of Book Three, whether he wants to or not, Jaren would have to step up to be XO.

I think I fried my brain with that one. Still thinking on the High Council name change. I'll get back to you all on that one.

Thoughts?

 

Alright! That definitely saves a lot of editing and preserves some Danya drama. I like it. Anybody opposed to Delph helping out after the blast when everyone's chilling in the Nest,even though Kit still is still around? Maybe I'm being greedy, but I think we can give him a good scene or two every book. It also makes sense for him to get to know the Talons a little better ( and more than casually) and then give Karn some advise in the beginning of book 4.

Sorry, I don't have anything good for the High Council right now. Hmm...

Well, back to work on book 2.

Thanks, Trika, on the sig.

 

Sweet, McClain. Just sweet.

I actually like having Ensign Delph around. It keeps the other Talons available for real plot development and, of course, massive DRAMA and ACTION, while Bullwinkle still gets to have his goofy moments. Delph definitely keeps Bullwinkle in the story, and that's an absolute must.

Stone, who's your... well, you know.

I was thinking for the High Council... maybe taking a a cue from the YJCC here, but how about Intelligence Sector Ruling Circle? I was gonna go with the Awesome Council, but I think AmazingB might sue for copyright infringement.

Failed Names
New Republic Intelligence Super Pompous Guys and Gals
New Republic Intelligence Sector of Backstabbing Little ********
The Awesome Council

Potential Names That Show Some Promise
New Republic Intelligence Sector Ruling Circle (commonly referred to as the Circle?)
New Republic Intelligence Sector Council of Five (or whatever number)
New Republic Intelligence Sector High Command (has a military hint to it instead of governmental)

That's all I got for now. Thoughts?

 

Well, I think I'm back now...sort of. I got moved in over the weekend but all of my stuff is still in boxes. That's to be expected. The unfortunate side is that my computer is out of commission. I'm not sure what happened, if something got damaged or just knocked loose in the move, but it worked for a little while on Saturday night and then on Sunday it decided it wasn't having any part of that Windows crap.

I've got access here at work so I'll try to keep up as best I can, but until I get my home PC back in action I'll be a bit out of it.

The suggestions for Jaren sound good so far. I like the interaction suggested for he and Kit. I'll keep working on the scene for Telia and get that in as soon as I can.

Stone, you got an actor yet buddy?

 

Stone!!!!!

Glad to hear the move went well, IA, but bummer about the computer.

Just to refresh our memories, here's what we need to look at before releasing Book One:
RED = IA; GREEN = Trika; BLUE = MJEH
- Telia scene
- Kithera rank change
- Kithera introduction
- Ski thinking about choosing XO
- Jaren/Kithera hesitant to lead
- Jaren/Kithera arguing/chatting/conversing scene (Book Two)
- Kithera bump in action for Book Two missions
- Find Jaren as sole officer reference in Book Two and change it
- Kevin asks "Have you seen Lieutenants Kai or Rinani?" in Book Two
- Kithera named XO in Book Three
- roster homeworlds (Danya?/Carre?)
- new High Council name
- pronunciation guide (I think I've got this. I'll post it a little while later for everyone to attempt saying stuff.)
- Stone, Milan, Kaiba, Rinin actors
- confirmation of Mekial, Rubi, Kithera, Jane actresses


Everything not colored is up to anybody and everybody. I'll go ahead and deal with Book One edits since I know everyone's been a little drained on Book Two lately. School's got me down, too, so don't worry. You guys do a heck of a job; don't kill yourselves or anything.

Do drop in here, though, to let everyone know what's going on in your life. I'm always changing the title for added emphasis on how super cool we are in here... get some added attention and stuffs. Here's another list to keep in mind...

Business-Like Things to Do in Addition to Writing
- Post promo in the trailer thread hanging around here somewhere (no trailer needed... just a mention or two. Actually, I've got an idea to put a banner-like post in there every now and then... like, a different character for each image and a real simple quote. Dropping a hint every few days would be cool. Be better than just text, anyway.)
- Add TIS to new stories index for February when we're ready
- PM artists
- PM potential readers who've expressed interest so far


Lemme know what's up. Or just post more HAWT pictures. Or make me a sammich. That is all.

Oh, and Stone!!!!!!!

 

I'm still trying to plug away.

But, I really just wanted to say that January 29 is the anniversary of the creation of Talon Intelligence Squadron. Wow. That's 8 yeas ago. I don't think that TSL had any idea what was going to come from his "first attempt at FanFic", as he put it. But what a journey it's been. I'm glad to have been part of it. Hats off to you, TSL.

 

Happy Talon Squad day, everyone. TSL, this kegger's for you.

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Eight years of greatness! Happy TIS Day!

I'm honored to say that TSL's creation is the only reason I started writing at all, and that his influence is responsible for my current obsession with soundtrack music and interest in anything to do with graphic and website design. I pretty much owe Kevin more than I could ever repay. I'm hoping that this restoration of TIS will suffice as a small piece of my thankfulness for it all.

Thanks, Kevin. This is all going to be another monster adventure, but it's going to be worth it in his honor.

 

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In honor of glorious TIS Day and in celebration of IA getting his mooooooove on, I thought we'd give his new place a TIS kegger!

 

Nice one, Trika! Wow.

 

So I'm passed out behind the Budweiser... That's nice...

Well, anyway, happy TIS-day! 8 years? That's a mighty long time. I can't believe it has really been that long. It was such a big part of my life back then. I'm really glad we decided to do this, even though it will take up a huge part of our lives. I do think we owe it to TSL to do this and save it for the future. And I'm really proud to be a part of it. Thanks, you guys!

 

Wow. We're only missing a couple more in the thread... the gang's coming together for a real kegger, after all!

Oh, and I forgot to mention in my last couple of posts...

Stone!!!!!! Where's your actor??!!!