Okay, this update is gonna be short because I have parties to get to but… I DID IT! Chapter 42 is up!
Also, for the record, because a bit of a debate has sprouted up in the comments about it… but I haven’t actually ever read Douglas Adams. I know that’s basically nerd heresy but it is true. Just thought I’d throw that in to blow your collective minds. But I do know a lot of the references because of the inherent nerd osmosis that occurs in our society.
Quick heads up, there will be a delay in the usual drops of artwork. Honestly, focusing on story and family has caused me to delay those. They will come though. I promise.
But yeah. More to come later but I did it! Two in December, my busiest month for work AND family interaction! I have a great feeling about 2017! 2016 was really good to me with you wonderful fans being patient, me holding down my job for a full year and getting stable, finally attending Blizzcon, and getting a more ergonomic workspace put together! Next year comes with new goals: 20 chapters! A new project for my patrons to read! Quitting my soda habit (though I’m allowing it on weekends and other days off… I love Diet Dr Pepper too much). Losing 15 pounds! It’s going to be great and I have a feeling it will be great for you too!
Have a happy new year!
Taralynn
Holy crap finally. A monster.
I was just telling myself, while reading, how long it’s been since we had any action.
Well, looks like even thinking that something isn’t right (Eli’s parents) and is going to cause “bad” to happen will tempt Fate into doing something in short order. Of course Robynne teasing Cory and Eli about becoming new members of the ‘squad’ was probably just the extra little nudge that was needed and *BANG* monster in the store! heheh
And it sounds like they’re in a multi-departmental WalMart-esque style place too. Oh the possibilities for the new adversary!
Douglas Adams is right up there with Tolkien on the list of “most overrated nerd fiction”.
With respect to Adams, he tries so hard to be funny. And I guess that many people think that he is funny, hence the popularity. I slogged my way through it when I was young, with the idea that “everybody says this is so good, so maybe if I just keep going, I’ll get it”. I never got it.
Works of literature whose primary purpose is to be humorous: I’ve read many of them–Adams, Terry Brooks’ “Magic Kingdom for Sale”, Cervantes’ “Don Quixote” (it’s 1500 pages of silly bullshit!), Dave Barry columns, …–and they all just plain suck. I’d rather take a nap than read something which was written first to be funny; but if I should try to read it, I’ll fall asleep anyway, so it’s six of one, half dozen of the other.
This is not at all the same as a funny scene (or even many funny scenes) in serious fiction. I would consider Peter F. Hamilton to be one of the masters of modern hard science fiction, and I’ve read many scenes in his books where the situation was laugh-out-loud funny. “Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun…”, on the other hand, is not funny; it’s little more than mental masturbation.
@sam, have you read any of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books? I’d suggest Equal Rights or Guards! Guards! as a good starting point.
Hey, Cory and Eli are back! Finally! I’ve missed their antics.
And now we know both of their families are doing pretty well, financially. Interesting.
And Mal’s chat with her folks went well and got Eli out of working. I expect a Spirit Guard parents day to come of this, eventually. It stands to reason, after all, that the others would see Mal’s situation going well and tell their own families. (This doesn’t actually stand to reason.)
And Stacy showed up! Which…might mean she’s secretly stalking Rob? Trying to convert her to secret BFF level. (It’s not really a secret.) I loved the interactions with her added to the dynamic. She adds so much that Cory can use against poor Rob. They need to be in the same room more often.
And then a monster. I’m excited. Also, this is 2 for 2 for Cory and Eli. They’re gonna need to be at every monster attack going forward. Never mind all the ones from before the arcade.
Great chapter.
Hello, first comment here! I read the whole thing in, was it maybe 3-4 days? Whatever. I just want to tell you that this story is awesome! I hadn’t read something this good in a while. And it’s a genderbend too! (or should I say transgender/TG? That kind of feels like the more mature/official/serious term from what I can gather) And I love those. Sadly, most others I find are kind of shitty. But then again, I haven’t checked the more dedicated websites so maybe I’m just a frog in a well. But I digress.
This story is funny as hell (or should I say honey instead? It’s funnier, and it helps with my swearing) It also has the best conversations I’ve seen anywhere and solid character development, the lead is also very likeable and fun to follow. The character interactions are just gold. Honestly it’s easier to list what I don’t like, and that is that there are no more chapters! (no pressure/offence intended).
The bunch of art is also a pretty nice detail, but I’m not sure if that is supposed to count. I still like em’ though!
Sorry if this reads somehow badly, but aside from been sleepy right now I just feel this weird enthusiasm while mentioning stuff, and that makes an interesting combination. Does that even make sense?
Well, just know that I love this story! Whether I can throw money at you or not depends on a bunch of stuff this year, but if I can I will.
Happy new year and good luck with those goals!
Loco15, thank you so much for your kind words! Seeing new readers show up and plow through my archive is one of the biggest delights as a writer. It’s seriously comments like yours that help fuel me as a writer. I hope I can keep the momentum going for you. Do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions? I just like to pick my new reader’s brains a bit to see if there are things I can improve upon or just get a better feel for how things are going:
1) How did you find my stories?
2) What character were you surprised the most by how much you enjoyed them?
3) What scene can you think of that made you really want to stick around?
4) What scenes can you think of that made you really wish I would just move on already?
5) Have you checked out the MGP Wikia or TvTropes pages at all?
Bonus!) Since we have way too many times where characters really delve deep into figuring out their gaming handles, why Loco15? There a story there?
I can understand if you’d prefer to not publish your answers in public. If you’d rather send them in private, please just email me at taralynnand@gmail.com
So glad to have you on board Loco15!
Taralynn
I’m happy to fuel your creative drive.
1) I found this from TV Tropes. Specifically, Magical Girl Warrior and some genderbend tropes.
2) Vivian. Her character archetype to me seems to be the “Genki Girl”, and they can to tire me out. Vivian is special though. She knows when to get serious, actually thinks about stuff more than others, and is a lovely addition to any conversation. When Vivian is on the scene, you know things are going to get fun.
There is also Angela. While I don’t really love her, I though I would hate her or at least dislike her scenes. She seemed like a Wide-Eyed Idealist, and characters who go around doing things for “justice” or “righfulness” expecting the same of others without doubt for no reason, well, I don’t like them much. Specially on more serious works. But she has had some development, and we actually know why she behaves like that. I find scenes in which there are serious interactions with her to be rather interesting now, and I find her more likeable overall.
3) When Robynne first moved into her new dorm. I found the whole thing an interesting and dramating experience, with fairly believable developments. Vivian’s entrance into the room, and her subsequent actions really cemented that as my favorite scene and Vivian as my favorite character (not counting Robynne). I just love how Vivian goes about things, and I’ve noticed that I kind of see them as BFF now.
4) If I had to pick something, it would be when Robert meet the Spirit Guard at the Standridge Stone Circle. It wasn’t really bad. I know I wasn’t bored. But it wasn’t really that good either, and it was a long period of something so-so. Though I can’t really imagine well how to spread all that info into more chapters without messing up what we have now, so it’s not like I know better.
5) I checked before but I just read all the tropes in it yesterday. And the wikia, well, I only checked a while ago to find the stones name XD.
And nothing much about my name. What friends I had pointed out I could be weird, and I knew myself my mind could go places. Loco means something like crazy/insane in spanish, which is my native language, and I was fifteen when I though to make a nickname out of it.
Glad to be here Taralynn!
P.S: I had a blackout while writing this for the first time, so there is the reason if something feels like it lacks enthusiasm/details. Feel free to ask more.
Taralynn already mentioned the wikkia to you so i just wanted to add feel free to add stuff to it as you check it out. Its there for all of us to use and update. http://magicalgirlpolicy.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page