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121
Fan Fiction / Re: Chrono Break (fan fiction work in progress)
« on: October 08, 2008, 07:28:08 pm »
Well, do expect a certain departure from the characters as you know them from the game. One of the overall themes of this story is to show what happens when heroes have nothing heroic to do. I mean, how would you get back to normal life after having saved the world? What would there be left to do? How would you keep your everyday existence meaningful? Against all this is another pointed question: do warriors make good peacetime rulers?
I would prepare yourself for a very dark exploration of these issues, with the characters you know and love twisted to fit them into a more realistic setting.
But then, that's what I like to do. I don't think fan fiction should simply fulfill what we've come to expect from characters. That kind of thing is good for a lark, but what I find really interesting is to see familiar characters challenged in ways that forces them to change in unexpected ways.
Kidd's name is duly noted. I prefer the double d as well, so I'll probably jump back and change that. Doesn't really affect Lucca's naming system, though ^_^
I would prepare yourself for a very dark exploration of these issues, with the characters you know and love twisted to fit them into a more realistic setting.
But then, that's what I like to do. I don't think fan fiction should simply fulfill what we've come to expect from characters. That kind of thing is good for a lark, but what I find really interesting is to see familiar characters challenged in ways that forces them to change in unexpected ways.
Kidd's name is duly noted. I prefer the double d as well, so I'll probably jump back and change that. Doesn't really affect Lucca's naming system, though ^_^
122
Fan Fiction / Re: Chrono Break (fan fiction work in progress)
« on: October 07, 2008, 11:32:33 pm »
Part III
“... and so they want the taxes lowered.”
Nadia’s voice was a calm amidst chaos. Lucca’s main room, as always, was packed corner to corner with odds and ends, tidbits and tinkerings. And now, children. Crono sat on a rickety chair with an orphan on each knee, bouncing both of them in a steady creaking rhythm while they played a clapping game with each other, calling out a memorized rhyme in time with the claps. Nadia sat nearby at a cluttered table, sipping tea that two other children (now chasing each other around the cluttered room) had prepared for her.
Lucca Ashtear herself poked her head out from behind a mess of electronics and metal and wiped her forehead with an oily rag. Though usually quick to reply, now she simply regarded Nadia, as if debating whether an answer was required of her. Of the three friends, she had perhaps changed the most in appearance. Although still a bookish girl, she looked even more ruffled these days, as if personal hygiene was a secondary function in her life. Her hair was cropped short to prevent her the trouble of caring for it, and her nails were chewed to the quick. She rarely wore socks, so her feet had a blackish tint to them, as if she’d walked through soot. Her glasses were huge, rather than large, and gave the constant impression that she was studying intently whatever she looked at.
When she finally did reply, she ducked back under the machinery and spoke as she worked, as if not really wanting to be part of the conversation.
“You could raise taxes in Poore. They would pay without a fuss. They enjoy the fruits of the kingdom too much to complain.”
Crono dismissed the idea. It had come to him many times already. “Truce enjoys the same treatment. I won’t have one city paying more to make up for the faults of another.”
“Fault? And what exactly is a fault?” Lucca’s voice was quizzical. Crono had known her from the time he was a child, and he was keenly aware of all her little ways. He recognized her voice now as the voice she adopted when talking herself through a difficult problem. He prepared for a lecture. Lucca didn’t disappoint.
“I suppose first we must look at the etymology of the word. It comes from the Zealian word fallere, which means to deceive or disappoint. But then it is also used in geology, where it indicates evidence of relative movement as designated by a fracture. Taban, could you hand me that wrench?”
One of the children running around the room veered in their course to grab the wrench and put it in Lucca’s outstretched hand. She went back to talking, grunting occasionally as she tightened one bolt or loosened another.
“Of course, a fracture indicates a break between two objects. In the case of geology this can be represented as a chasm or as a simple crack in a rock... which is really just a small chasm. I suppose that’s another line of inquiry, though, the relative nature of perception as based on size.”
Nadia and Crono shared a bemused glance. Lucca certainly hadn’t lost her ability to chase tangents.
“In this case, though, that is irrelevant. What really defines your situation is the nature of the fracture that you are perceiving as present. Obviously Truce hasn’t broken in two, so it is to be assumed you are discussing a fracture between intent and action, or maybe more specifically, between expectation and reality. Which brings us to the question... what are you expecting out of Truce?”
Lucca looked at Crono, her eyes magnified behind her glasses. He felt like he was a specimen under one of her microscopes. The children clapping distracted him, he couldn’t formulate a real answer. After a moment, Lucca continued.
“Of course, another meaning to the word fault is weakness, which implies then that you see Truce as weak. Which brings us to another discussion on the point of what makes something weak. The correct answer in this case, especially if the problem is mechanical, is to define where something is structurally weak and then tighten it.”
As if to illustrate her point, Lucca began furiously tightening a screw bolt on the top of her machinery. A blast of steam seemed to indicate that she’d done enough. She stopped and looked at Crono again.
“Of course, tightening it too much can result in too much pressure and can bring down the whole system. In this case, strength becomes the ultimate weakness, or fault, if you will.”
For a moment, the room was silent. Then Nadia giggled. “You always go too far with your explanations, Lucca.” Her laughter was pleasant to Crono, relaxing him, allowing him to laugh as well. Certainly laughing was easier than trying to decipher Lucca’s riddles. Nadia took another sip of tea and continued. “Anyway, the solution is simple. It’s as you said, Poore’s taxes will increase, and we’ll lower Truce’s.”
Crono stopped bouncing the children on his knee. Oblivious, they continued their game. “And give in to the demands of rebels?”
“They aren’t really rebels. No one is contesting our reign.”
“Before you know it, they’ll be writing their own trade agreements and charging us for access to the harbours!”
“Love, this is simply natural discontent. The kingdom is growing fast, and no one wants to be left behind.”
“You’re not speaking sense. No kind of discontent is natural.”
“It is natural when a reign is changed. Early on a king has to be generous, to win the hearts of his people, to show them that their lives will go on as normal. There’s been a lot of change lately. People are nervous. Give it time, and the grumbling will go away.”
Crono put the children on the ground and stood up. “That was the way of your father. Just wait until it becomes someone else’s problem.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Nadia’s voice was cold.
“Where would we have been if we’d waited for the future to just happen? Things don’t just magically get better. Someone’s got to take charge.”
At that moment, a young girl came running in.
“Lucca! Lucca! Kidd is crying!”
Lucca got up and wiped her hands on her trousers. Seeing her standing, Crono realized how thin she’d become. And there was something tired about the way she carried herself. It wasn’t until she’d left the room, Nadia and the children following, that he realized she had simply gotten older.
Alone in the room now, Crono walked around and looked at the product of years of tinkering and collecting. Lucca had certainly kept busy. He wandered over to the machine she’d been working on before she left. To his eyes it appeared to be a random assortment of pipes, levers, and keyboards. Some parts seemed to have limited locomotion, and steam would occasionally blast out from an exposed tube. Wires stretched all over the contraption, marked with little sticky notes labeling them in an untidy scrawl which was as indecipherable as the machine itself. He felt slightly ill looking at the mess. His own room had always been relatively tidy. He was somewhat compulsive about the order of his space. He needed things to be simple in order to function. He wondered how the children who lived here fared, and suddenly imagined an entire house of Luccas, all as disorderly and chaotic as her.
He could hear her voice now, coming from the other room. She was talking to Nadia about Kidd, the little girl she’d found in the woods near her home a year ago, the girl whom she believed had some connection with the events they’d all been involved in five years ago. The girl who had the same pendant around her neck that Nadia wore, the pendant of the royal family passed down by the Zealians. How the pendant could exist twice in the same era (for Nadia still wore hers) was a baffling conundrum. Lucca, of course, had her theories, but Crono tended to try and steer her away from such postulations. They made his head hurt.
When she’d first found Kidd, it had seemed to Crono that Lucca viewed the child as simply a fascinating paradox. The very fact that Lucca hadn’t simply named the child Kid, as if categorizing her, seemed to support this theory, but listening to her coo over the child in the other room, Crono had to admit that Lucca seemed to have real feelings for the child. Nadia wasn’t saying much in response and Crono imagined the pain she had to be feeling. He knew that Nadia longed for a child. She had become pregnant shortly after their marriage, but the birth had ended prematurely, and she hadn’t shown signs of carrying a child since.
Though their child had never made it into the world alive, Crono still felt strangely attached to its memory. He tried not to think about it, but sometimes the sight of children would bring a sadness in his heart so strong that he would have to fight back tears. He and Nadia never talked about it. Each was left to their own longing. Even so, he prepared himself to silently support her when he heard them coming back into the room.
However, his concern proved unnecessary. The two girls were talking contentedly about nothing in particular. Seeing Nadia so seemingly carefree made Crono feel strongly displaced. He said little more until they left.
“... and so they want the taxes lowered.”
Nadia’s voice was a calm amidst chaos. Lucca’s main room, as always, was packed corner to corner with odds and ends, tidbits and tinkerings. And now, children. Crono sat on a rickety chair with an orphan on each knee, bouncing both of them in a steady creaking rhythm while they played a clapping game with each other, calling out a memorized rhyme in time with the claps. Nadia sat nearby at a cluttered table, sipping tea that two other children (now chasing each other around the cluttered room) had prepared for her.
Lucca Ashtear herself poked her head out from behind a mess of electronics and metal and wiped her forehead with an oily rag. Though usually quick to reply, now she simply regarded Nadia, as if debating whether an answer was required of her. Of the three friends, she had perhaps changed the most in appearance. Although still a bookish girl, she looked even more ruffled these days, as if personal hygiene was a secondary function in her life. Her hair was cropped short to prevent her the trouble of caring for it, and her nails were chewed to the quick. She rarely wore socks, so her feet had a blackish tint to them, as if she’d walked through soot. Her glasses were huge, rather than large, and gave the constant impression that she was studying intently whatever she looked at.
When she finally did reply, she ducked back under the machinery and spoke as she worked, as if not really wanting to be part of the conversation.
“You could raise taxes in Poore. They would pay without a fuss. They enjoy the fruits of the kingdom too much to complain.”
Crono dismissed the idea. It had come to him many times already. “Truce enjoys the same treatment. I won’t have one city paying more to make up for the faults of another.”
“Fault? And what exactly is a fault?” Lucca’s voice was quizzical. Crono had known her from the time he was a child, and he was keenly aware of all her little ways. He recognized her voice now as the voice she adopted when talking herself through a difficult problem. He prepared for a lecture. Lucca didn’t disappoint.
“I suppose first we must look at the etymology of the word. It comes from the Zealian word fallere, which means to deceive or disappoint. But then it is also used in geology, where it indicates evidence of relative movement as designated by a fracture. Taban, could you hand me that wrench?”
One of the children running around the room veered in their course to grab the wrench and put it in Lucca’s outstretched hand. She went back to talking, grunting occasionally as she tightened one bolt or loosened another.
“Of course, a fracture indicates a break between two objects. In the case of geology this can be represented as a chasm or as a simple crack in a rock... which is really just a small chasm. I suppose that’s another line of inquiry, though, the relative nature of perception as based on size.”
Nadia and Crono shared a bemused glance. Lucca certainly hadn’t lost her ability to chase tangents.
“In this case, though, that is irrelevant. What really defines your situation is the nature of the fracture that you are perceiving as present. Obviously Truce hasn’t broken in two, so it is to be assumed you are discussing a fracture between intent and action, or maybe more specifically, between expectation and reality. Which brings us to the question... what are you expecting out of Truce?”
Lucca looked at Crono, her eyes magnified behind her glasses. He felt like he was a specimen under one of her microscopes. The children clapping distracted him, he couldn’t formulate a real answer. After a moment, Lucca continued.
“Of course, another meaning to the word fault is weakness, which implies then that you see Truce as weak. Which brings us to another discussion on the point of what makes something weak. The correct answer in this case, especially if the problem is mechanical, is to define where something is structurally weak and then tighten it.”
As if to illustrate her point, Lucca began furiously tightening a screw bolt on the top of her machinery. A blast of steam seemed to indicate that she’d done enough. She stopped and looked at Crono again.
“Of course, tightening it too much can result in too much pressure and can bring down the whole system. In this case, strength becomes the ultimate weakness, or fault, if you will.”
For a moment, the room was silent. Then Nadia giggled. “You always go too far with your explanations, Lucca.” Her laughter was pleasant to Crono, relaxing him, allowing him to laugh as well. Certainly laughing was easier than trying to decipher Lucca’s riddles. Nadia took another sip of tea and continued. “Anyway, the solution is simple. It’s as you said, Poore’s taxes will increase, and we’ll lower Truce’s.”
Crono stopped bouncing the children on his knee. Oblivious, they continued their game. “And give in to the demands of rebels?”
“They aren’t really rebels. No one is contesting our reign.”
“Before you know it, they’ll be writing their own trade agreements and charging us for access to the harbours!”
“Love, this is simply natural discontent. The kingdom is growing fast, and no one wants to be left behind.”
“You’re not speaking sense. No kind of discontent is natural.”
“It is natural when a reign is changed. Early on a king has to be generous, to win the hearts of his people, to show them that their lives will go on as normal. There’s been a lot of change lately. People are nervous. Give it time, and the grumbling will go away.”
Crono put the children on the ground and stood up. “That was the way of your father. Just wait until it becomes someone else’s problem.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Nadia’s voice was cold.
“Where would we have been if we’d waited for the future to just happen? Things don’t just magically get better. Someone’s got to take charge.”
At that moment, a young girl came running in.
“Lucca! Lucca! Kidd is crying!”
Lucca got up and wiped her hands on her trousers. Seeing her standing, Crono realized how thin she’d become. And there was something tired about the way she carried herself. It wasn’t until she’d left the room, Nadia and the children following, that he realized she had simply gotten older.
Alone in the room now, Crono walked around and looked at the product of years of tinkering and collecting. Lucca had certainly kept busy. He wandered over to the machine she’d been working on before she left. To his eyes it appeared to be a random assortment of pipes, levers, and keyboards. Some parts seemed to have limited locomotion, and steam would occasionally blast out from an exposed tube. Wires stretched all over the contraption, marked with little sticky notes labeling them in an untidy scrawl which was as indecipherable as the machine itself. He felt slightly ill looking at the mess. His own room had always been relatively tidy. He was somewhat compulsive about the order of his space. He needed things to be simple in order to function. He wondered how the children who lived here fared, and suddenly imagined an entire house of Luccas, all as disorderly and chaotic as her.
He could hear her voice now, coming from the other room. She was talking to Nadia about Kidd, the little girl she’d found in the woods near her home a year ago, the girl whom she believed had some connection with the events they’d all been involved in five years ago. The girl who had the same pendant around her neck that Nadia wore, the pendant of the royal family passed down by the Zealians. How the pendant could exist twice in the same era (for Nadia still wore hers) was a baffling conundrum. Lucca, of course, had her theories, but Crono tended to try and steer her away from such postulations. They made his head hurt.
When she’d first found Kidd, it had seemed to Crono that Lucca viewed the child as simply a fascinating paradox. The very fact that Lucca hadn’t simply named the child Kid, as if categorizing her, seemed to support this theory, but listening to her coo over the child in the other room, Crono had to admit that Lucca seemed to have real feelings for the child. Nadia wasn’t saying much in response and Crono imagined the pain she had to be feeling. He knew that Nadia longed for a child. She had become pregnant shortly after their marriage, but the birth had ended prematurely, and she hadn’t shown signs of carrying a child since.
Though their child had never made it into the world alive, Crono still felt strangely attached to its memory. He tried not to think about it, but sometimes the sight of children would bring a sadness in his heart so strong that he would have to fight back tears. He and Nadia never talked about it. Each was left to their own longing. Even so, he prepared himself to silently support her when he heard them coming back into the room.
However, his concern proved unnecessary. The two girls were talking contentedly about nothing in particular. Seeing Nadia so seemingly carefree made Crono feel strongly displaced. He said little more until they left.
123
Chrono / Gameplay Casual Discussion / Re: Strange Boss Battle at the bottom of Mt Woe, "Break the Seal"
« on: October 07, 2008, 04:26:14 pm »
Yeah, one thing's been sadly true in all iterations of the game... and that is that Edge kinda sucks. Throw isn't too bad, but none of his abilities are particularly useful. The one thing he's good at is speed. I equipped him with focus. Within one or two enemy attacks he can be fully charged and do some massive damage. Even so, Cecil does about the same damage with one attack, so...
I did the namingway quest up to the rainbow soup (or whatever it was). I had no idea where to even begin looking for THAT.
I did the namingway quest up to the rainbow soup (or whatever it was). I had no idea where to even begin looking for THAT.
124
Fan Fiction / Re: Chrono Break (fan fiction work in progress)
« on: October 06, 2008, 06:45:35 pm »Quote
I believe so, yes.
And EXCELLENT touch with the electricity when Crono got angry. I loved it.
I snuck that in there after your favorable response to the little "non-talker" bit, so you had a hand in that one, friend.
125
Special Event Polling / Re: Rate Cross Characters 46: Best Unused Character (vote three times)
« on: October 06, 2008, 06:40:04 pm »
Old topic, but for my money, the choices are fairly obvious. First and foremost... Nu. Because life ends and begins with Nu! That's my belief... at least for now...
Seriously, the Nu was one of the more enigmatic creatures from Chrono Trigger, and with all the lack of real connection to Trigger, Nu would've been a definitive and interesting one.
Journey to the West Character gets my second vote, because the design of the character and enigmatic (there's that word again) connection to the classic is enticing.
And of course, the mechanical doll. Just for the uniqueness of her combat style.
Seriously, the Nu was one of the more enigmatic creatures from Chrono Trigger, and with all the lack of real connection to Trigger, Nu would've been a definitive and interesting one.
Journey to the West Character gets my second vote, because the design of the character and enigmatic (there's that word again) connection to the classic is enticing.
And of course, the mechanical doll. Just for the uniqueness of her combat style.
126
Chrono / Gameplay Casual Discussion / Re: Strange Boss Battle at the bottom of Mt Woe, "Break the Seal"
« on: October 06, 2008, 05:26:09 pm »
Ah, the mud imp. I remember my first time through the game he was one of the tough ones (and then I was trounced by Big Doublez G). Of course, I was something like 9 then, and video games as a whole felt harder. Now I have no trouble in Chrono Trigger, though I wouldn't mind trying a low level run once the DS version comes out. i just feel so weak running from battles...
Anyways... you know what game is still pretty hard? Ff4. I've been playing through the DS version, and the last dungeon is hellish.
Anyways... you know what game is still pretty hard? Ff4. I've been playing through the DS version, and the last dungeon is hellish.
127
Chrono / Gameplay Casual Discussion / Re: Chrono Trigger real instruments?
« on: October 06, 2008, 05:22:23 pm »
You guys could always check out Chrono Symphonic at Overclocked Remix.
And Yatsunori Mitsuda released a live jazz version of some of his more famous material. I can't quite recall the name of the CD, but you can find it at Galbadia Hotel.
And Yatsunori Mitsuda released a live jazz version of some of his more famous material. I can't quite recall the name of the CD, but you can find it at Galbadia Hotel.
128
The Lost Sanctum - Completed Items / Re: Chrono Cross Ending Enigma
« on: October 06, 2008, 05:20:48 pm »
Wow. I can't believe I hadn't come to this forum before, despite being a Chrono Fan since the game came out... what, ten years ago now? Fourteen? I still play my original copy...
Anyways, all I can say is this is the most awesome forum of all time. In depth discussions on where sprites came from, shaving threads, and a poster who is so incredibly awesome that they've devised a way for the developer's room to be a nest of conspiracy theory of riddles more vast than the magic bullet.
I love this place and whatever drugs it's on.
Anyways, all I can say is this is the most awesome forum of all time. In depth discussions on where sprites came from, shaving threads, and a poster who is so incredibly awesome that they've devised a way for the developer's room to be a nest of conspiracy theory of riddles more vast than the magic bullet.
I love this place and whatever drugs it's on.
129
Chrono / Gameplay Casual Discussion / Re: Is Magus really all that cool?
« on: October 06, 2008, 05:10:44 pm »I'm really getting tired of everyone saying that magus is the best character in either of the Chrono games.
I'm really getting tired of how out of every 5 CT fanfics I read, at least 3 center around him.
Am I really the only one who isn't freaking obsessed with Magus? I mean, come on! Sure, he's cool and all, and he's Schala's little brother, but in the end he's just BORING. He has very little Personal Development, and he always acts all stuck up, like he's better than everyone else.
AND HIS HAIR IS PURPLE >:U
Not sure if the conversation has deviated at this point, but I'll address the original question.
I think there are many reasons Magus comes off as "so cool."
For one, he's built up from near the start of the game to be a momentus figure. Most of the bosses in the game you're introduced to moments before fighting them, but Magus gets at least a quarter of the game devoted to fighting him. not to mention his dungeon, which is still one of the coolest in video game history, and his three henchmen, who have enough personality to cure cancer.
Then you get to him only to discover a massive plot twist, so he gets that attributed to him as well. Which brings me to point number two... plot twists. Magus is surrounded by them. His role as the prophet, his role as Schala's brother and the Queen's son...
He's also the most single minded character in the entire game. His entire will is bent on revenge, and he doesn't deviate from that course for any reason (except to occasionally turn someone into a frog). He has no loyalties beyond those that will help him reach and defeat Lavos. Even defeating him, which leads him to offer advice on how to get Crono back, seems to be a selfish act: after himself, he figures Crono has the best chance of defeating Lavos. Along with this, I have to disagree that he's not developed. In fact, aside from Frog, he's given the most back history of all the characters. We get to see his dark relationship with his mother, his attachment to his sister... hell, we literally WITNESS his backstory.
Then, too, his future is left uncertain. Even Radical Dreamers doesn't really finish him, and he's only there in spirit in Chross. Of course, this is true of most of the Trigger characters, but it still adds to his appeal. That he's searching for Schala only makes him cooler, because we all love Schala (well, at least until she stopped dying her hair).
He's also rather innovative in a lot of ways. He was the "cool evil tall guy with long hair" long before there was a Vincent or a Sephiroth or an anime explosion in America. He's also one of the few villains in video game history which you can get on your party.
Lastly, his music rocks.
130
General Discussion / Re: Dear Fanfiction.net I have problems with your login and....
« on: October 06, 2008, 04:58:13 pm »
Fan Fic is somewhat of a fiery piece of shit. They have a lot of restrictions on newer members, but none on older members (who are inevitably dicks). Compared to say, Deviant Art or Overclocked Remix, it really doesn't hold up as a group art site.
However, it is a great way to host your material in an organized fashion. Also it's good to know that with all the shit on Fan Fic, you only have to be halfway decent to be revered as a god.
However, it is a great way to host your material in an organized fashion. Also it's good to know that with all the shit on Fan Fic, you only have to be halfway decent to be revered as a god.
131
General Discussion / Re: Shaving
« on: October 06, 2008, 04:55:45 pm »
As said before, this is brilliant. A shaving thread on a video game forum! It IS performance art!
As for me, I tried electric, but my hair is kind've curly and thick, and it got stuck in the blades for major pinchage.
A straight razor would be awesome, and would double as a nice murder weapon or easy suicide device. But... er... I'd be afraid of those last two... I'll stick to gilette.
As for me, I tried electric, but my hair is kind've curly and thick, and it got stuck in the blades for major pinchage.
A straight razor would be awesome, and would double as a nice murder weapon or easy suicide device. But... er... I'd be afraid of those last two... I'll stick to gilette.
132
Fan Fiction / Re: Chrono Break (fan fiction work in progress)
« on: October 06, 2008, 03:28:57 pm »
By the by... this is the right board for this topic, right?
~ Zipp, hoping to have Part III up today
~ Zipp, hoping to have Part III up today
133
Fan Fiction / Re: Chrono Break (fan fiction work in progress)
« on: October 05, 2008, 11:00:36 pm »
Part II
Breakfast was more of a feast than a meal. It was Crono’s habit to have food on the table all day long, both to provide his guests with nourishment as well as to give him something to do while listening to them. He ignored the fact that this habit had had something of an unfortunate influence upon the growth of his paunch. Still, Crono was a hard muscled man at 21, well built, with an impressive mane of fiery red hair that made him an imposing leader. Still, he thought the effect would be greater with a blade in his hand than with a fork.
His day passed, as usual, in a blur of faces and complaints. The only good thing about it was that it forced all irrational emotions from his mind, leaving him with an unrelenting, but familiar, boredom.
The matters of the day were routine. Poore was engaged in trading agreements with Choras and Medina that needed his approval. Nadia looked the agreements over, made a few changes, and he signed his name. Most of the other matters were resolved in a similar fashion.
Then there was the matter of local taxing. Some people in Truce were complaining that they were being taxed unfairly compared to Poore. Crono had to admit that taxes were definitely higher than they’d been during Nadia’s father’s reign, but even Nadia admitted that they were no higher than necessary. The kingdom was growing at an alarming rate. Poore was now the largest city-state in the known world, while between it and the castle numerous smaller cities had sprung up in land that was once deserted except for the odd hermit and Shittake monster. The truth was, the kingdom was growing too fast. To maintain some semblance of infrastructure, roads and farms needed to be built, and such things took resources. Nadia’s father, perhaps sensing that he was approaching the end of his life, had avoided the issue, preferring to die as a loved ruler and leave the mess for his successor to clean up. And yet Crono couldn’t think an ill thought of the man. He had treated Crono as his own son, and had hinted more than once that he felt Crono had acted as the foil to close the age old gap between his daughter and himself. The old man had died without any regrets, and Crono didn’t begrudge him the act.
Even so, the matter was now his problem, and he would be expected to find a solution. The truth of the matter was that even though Poore did have the largest landmass on the continent, much of that landmass was taken up with Fiona’s Forest, acres upon acres of green wilderness considered holy ground, and which couldn’t be disturbed for farming, timber, or the building of homes. Crono himself made sure that the place was untouched. He had a rather personal connection to it. Thus, while Poore had the largest population, it was confined to a small area and the city state produced little beyond the arts, which it was famed for. A sculpture or painting from Poore would gain much in trade from a wealthy family in Medina or Choras, and Crono himself was proud of the city’s artistic achievements. The literature, too, was brilliant, as Poore was home to the foremost scholars of the day. There one could find experts not only on philosophy and religion, but also on technology, commerce, and city planning. Poore’s expertise allowed for the creation of sewers, public buildings such as libraries and schools, the wide use of electricity, and safer forms of sea transportation. These leaps forward in evolution were all the more impressive for having taken place over the course of half a decade.
These advances were helped by the fact that the Zenan continent held one of the most brilliant minds in the world, that of Lucca Ashtear. Lucca had been instrumental in the establishment of Poore as a scholarly city, and her works featured prominently in the Poorian libraries. Her presence on the Zenan continent had ensured the growth of Gaurdia’s culture, single-handedly in some ways. For instance, though electricity was in wide use across the world, it was Lucca who had developed a way to capture the very power of the elements to produce it. Thus, while places such as Medina and Choras were still relying on fossil fuels and steam to provide them electricity, Gaurdia had wind turbines and solar panels that fed large electrical plants.
An active inventor, Lucca was hands on with everything she did and had helped build most of the plants herself, although of late, the scientist had become reclusive, mostly keeping to her home on an island off the shore of Zenan. There she had recently begun an orphanage, and Crono assumed she was busy much of the time with the children.
In comparison to Poore’s massive achievements, Truce seemed very archaic indeed. It was Crono’s hometown, so he held a certain fondness for it, but while Poore had turned into a city of massive artistic and technological value, Truce had grown in size without growing in culture. Being situated along the mountains and coast, it produced little in the way of crops and remained isolated from the rest of the kingdom. It had already been decided that the next summer’s fair, traditionally held in Truce, would be held instead in Poore, a move that had hurt the pride of many of Truce’s citizens. They were mostly rugged individualists, who had begun to chafe under the mandate of paying homage to a king. As the rest of the kingdom grew without them, they began to secede more and more. Despite all of this, two things made Truce an important piece of the Gaurdia empire. For one, it was the largest and most accessible port town on the continent. By some quirk of the tides, it was far easier to sail a ship from Medina and Choras north to Truce than it was to sail south to Poore. Secondly, Truce was the home of the great swordsmith Melchior, who also happened to be an extremely learned sage and personal friend of Crono. Though the old man didn’t take much pleasure anymore in the crafting of weapons, his presence still ensured that the Gaurdia military, while small for the amount of land the kingdom owned, had the best equipment in the world. He provided enough of a deterrent to ensure that Gaurdia had little to worry about from foreign invasion. Not to mention, of course, Crono’s own prowess in battle. Though none had witnessed it themselves, it was still widely believed that the King and Queen of Gaurdia both possessed powerful magic, and one had only to look at Crono to see that his body was that of a warrior.
Yet it seemed his greatest threats lied within his own borders. Truce’s citizens, usually content with just complaining, grumbling, and eventually paying their taxes, seemed to have reached the end of their short tempers. It was midday when Crono received his nervous tax collector, who said that the month’s taxes would not be coming in from Truce.
Perhaps it was a leftover of his emotions from the morning, but Crono found himself incensed at the news. His usually quiet demeanor shattered along with a glass goblet that he tossed at the wall in frustration. In one quick motion he was out of his chair, stalking around the table towards the poor tax collector.
“Damn those Trucian whores! Pig’s sons and ship rats, the lot of them! This is an act of blatant secession! How would they fare without our farms and military protection?”
In his anger, Crono seemed to grow taller. A strange stuffiness overcame the entire room. Nadia felt the hairs on her head standing up the same way they did before a lightning storm. The tax collector squeaked out an incomprehensible reply and bowed repeatedly, as if this would salve the situation. On the contrary, though stunned by her husband’s uncharacteristic outburst, Nadia managed to maintain her composure.
“And how would we fare without their trade? We have to maintain a symbiotic relationship with each of our cities, or else we’re just a well provisioned castle. Please calm down.”
“But they don’t understand that, do they? No, this is an act of secession. They wouldn’t make a claim like this unless they had something planned. They must be getting support from one of the other cities! Or maybe they’ve got farms hidden up in those mountains? Well, if it’s war they want, then they can have it!”
The excitement in his voice shocked even him. He fell silent again. Nadia stood and dismissed the tax collector, who ran off with a final thankful bow. She felt fortunate that only one of their civil servants had witnessed the episode, though she still suspected that the event would be all over the castle within the day, and spread throughout the kingdom by the end of the month.
She came over to Crono and touched his arm gently, then kissed him on the cheek. It was like kissing one of Lucca’s batteries. She felt a slight jolt through her mouth.
“How about we call it quits for today?”
Crono didn’t answer.
“We could go out of the castle, you know? It’s been nearly a week since we last left, I think. It’s been busy, hasn’t it?”
Crono looked at her and nodded. His skin, which had been hot, cooled suddenly and noticeably. “Maybe you’re right. Ah but hell, it has been rough. A bit of fresh air would be nice. A day off would be nicer.”
“It’s only going to be like this for a short time. It always takes a while for people to get used to a new reign. There’s always grumbling. I remember father used to nearly pull his hair out when I was a child.”
“I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a ruler.”
“How about simply being my husband?”
She kissed him again, this time on the lips. He gave her a weak smile that grew as an idea seemed to come to him.
“We could run away. Run away like the old days.”
She smiled in return, but it was a sad smile, filled with the memories of ringing bells and the slow shock of sudden collision. He laughed.
“We’re well and truly trapped then,” he said. “But at least we’re trapped together.”
He kissed her again and again, and she drew close to him. He held her in his arms, thinking that he really had everything he needed to be happy. He knew, more than anyone, that time would show this, if only he could wait. But deep within himself, he felt his rage still burning softly, making him feel more alive than he had in years.
Breakfast was more of a feast than a meal. It was Crono’s habit to have food on the table all day long, both to provide his guests with nourishment as well as to give him something to do while listening to them. He ignored the fact that this habit had had something of an unfortunate influence upon the growth of his paunch. Still, Crono was a hard muscled man at 21, well built, with an impressive mane of fiery red hair that made him an imposing leader. Still, he thought the effect would be greater with a blade in his hand than with a fork.
His day passed, as usual, in a blur of faces and complaints. The only good thing about it was that it forced all irrational emotions from his mind, leaving him with an unrelenting, but familiar, boredom.
The matters of the day were routine. Poore was engaged in trading agreements with Choras and Medina that needed his approval. Nadia looked the agreements over, made a few changes, and he signed his name. Most of the other matters were resolved in a similar fashion.
Then there was the matter of local taxing. Some people in Truce were complaining that they were being taxed unfairly compared to Poore. Crono had to admit that taxes were definitely higher than they’d been during Nadia’s father’s reign, but even Nadia admitted that they were no higher than necessary. The kingdom was growing at an alarming rate. Poore was now the largest city-state in the known world, while between it and the castle numerous smaller cities had sprung up in land that was once deserted except for the odd hermit and Shittake monster. The truth was, the kingdom was growing too fast. To maintain some semblance of infrastructure, roads and farms needed to be built, and such things took resources. Nadia’s father, perhaps sensing that he was approaching the end of his life, had avoided the issue, preferring to die as a loved ruler and leave the mess for his successor to clean up. And yet Crono couldn’t think an ill thought of the man. He had treated Crono as his own son, and had hinted more than once that he felt Crono had acted as the foil to close the age old gap between his daughter and himself. The old man had died without any regrets, and Crono didn’t begrudge him the act.
Even so, the matter was now his problem, and he would be expected to find a solution. The truth of the matter was that even though Poore did have the largest landmass on the continent, much of that landmass was taken up with Fiona’s Forest, acres upon acres of green wilderness considered holy ground, and which couldn’t be disturbed for farming, timber, or the building of homes. Crono himself made sure that the place was untouched. He had a rather personal connection to it. Thus, while Poore had the largest population, it was confined to a small area and the city state produced little beyond the arts, which it was famed for. A sculpture or painting from Poore would gain much in trade from a wealthy family in Medina or Choras, and Crono himself was proud of the city’s artistic achievements. The literature, too, was brilliant, as Poore was home to the foremost scholars of the day. There one could find experts not only on philosophy and religion, but also on technology, commerce, and city planning. Poore’s expertise allowed for the creation of sewers, public buildings such as libraries and schools, the wide use of electricity, and safer forms of sea transportation. These leaps forward in evolution were all the more impressive for having taken place over the course of half a decade.
These advances were helped by the fact that the Zenan continent held one of the most brilliant minds in the world, that of Lucca Ashtear. Lucca had been instrumental in the establishment of Poore as a scholarly city, and her works featured prominently in the Poorian libraries. Her presence on the Zenan continent had ensured the growth of Gaurdia’s culture, single-handedly in some ways. For instance, though electricity was in wide use across the world, it was Lucca who had developed a way to capture the very power of the elements to produce it. Thus, while places such as Medina and Choras were still relying on fossil fuels and steam to provide them electricity, Gaurdia had wind turbines and solar panels that fed large electrical plants.
An active inventor, Lucca was hands on with everything she did and had helped build most of the plants herself, although of late, the scientist had become reclusive, mostly keeping to her home on an island off the shore of Zenan. There she had recently begun an orphanage, and Crono assumed she was busy much of the time with the children.
In comparison to Poore’s massive achievements, Truce seemed very archaic indeed. It was Crono’s hometown, so he held a certain fondness for it, but while Poore had turned into a city of massive artistic and technological value, Truce had grown in size without growing in culture. Being situated along the mountains and coast, it produced little in the way of crops and remained isolated from the rest of the kingdom. It had already been decided that the next summer’s fair, traditionally held in Truce, would be held instead in Poore, a move that had hurt the pride of many of Truce’s citizens. They were mostly rugged individualists, who had begun to chafe under the mandate of paying homage to a king. As the rest of the kingdom grew without them, they began to secede more and more. Despite all of this, two things made Truce an important piece of the Gaurdia empire. For one, it was the largest and most accessible port town on the continent. By some quirk of the tides, it was far easier to sail a ship from Medina and Choras north to Truce than it was to sail south to Poore. Secondly, Truce was the home of the great swordsmith Melchior, who also happened to be an extremely learned sage and personal friend of Crono. Though the old man didn’t take much pleasure anymore in the crafting of weapons, his presence still ensured that the Gaurdia military, while small for the amount of land the kingdom owned, had the best equipment in the world. He provided enough of a deterrent to ensure that Gaurdia had little to worry about from foreign invasion. Not to mention, of course, Crono’s own prowess in battle. Though none had witnessed it themselves, it was still widely believed that the King and Queen of Gaurdia both possessed powerful magic, and one had only to look at Crono to see that his body was that of a warrior.
Yet it seemed his greatest threats lied within his own borders. Truce’s citizens, usually content with just complaining, grumbling, and eventually paying their taxes, seemed to have reached the end of their short tempers. It was midday when Crono received his nervous tax collector, who said that the month’s taxes would not be coming in from Truce.
Perhaps it was a leftover of his emotions from the morning, but Crono found himself incensed at the news. His usually quiet demeanor shattered along with a glass goblet that he tossed at the wall in frustration. In one quick motion he was out of his chair, stalking around the table towards the poor tax collector.
“Damn those Trucian whores! Pig’s sons and ship rats, the lot of them! This is an act of blatant secession! How would they fare without our farms and military protection?”
In his anger, Crono seemed to grow taller. A strange stuffiness overcame the entire room. Nadia felt the hairs on her head standing up the same way they did before a lightning storm. The tax collector squeaked out an incomprehensible reply and bowed repeatedly, as if this would salve the situation. On the contrary, though stunned by her husband’s uncharacteristic outburst, Nadia managed to maintain her composure.
“And how would we fare without their trade? We have to maintain a symbiotic relationship with each of our cities, or else we’re just a well provisioned castle. Please calm down.”
“But they don’t understand that, do they? No, this is an act of secession. They wouldn’t make a claim like this unless they had something planned. They must be getting support from one of the other cities! Or maybe they’ve got farms hidden up in those mountains? Well, if it’s war they want, then they can have it!”
The excitement in his voice shocked even him. He fell silent again. Nadia stood and dismissed the tax collector, who ran off with a final thankful bow. She felt fortunate that only one of their civil servants had witnessed the episode, though she still suspected that the event would be all over the castle within the day, and spread throughout the kingdom by the end of the month.
She came over to Crono and touched his arm gently, then kissed him on the cheek. It was like kissing one of Lucca’s batteries. She felt a slight jolt through her mouth.
“How about we call it quits for today?”
Crono didn’t answer.
“We could go out of the castle, you know? It’s been nearly a week since we last left, I think. It’s been busy, hasn’t it?”
Crono looked at her and nodded. His skin, which had been hot, cooled suddenly and noticeably. “Maybe you’re right. Ah but hell, it has been rough. A bit of fresh air would be nice. A day off would be nicer.”
“It’s only going to be like this for a short time. It always takes a while for people to get used to a new reign. There’s always grumbling. I remember father used to nearly pull his hair out when I was a child.”
“I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a ruler.”
“How about simply being my husband?”
She kissed him again, this time on the lips. He gave her a weak smile that grew as an idea seemed to come to him.
“We could run away. Run away like the old days.”
She smiled in return, but it was a sad smile, filled with the memories of ringing bells and the slow shock of sudden collision. He laughed.
“We’re well and truly trapped then,” he said. “But at least we’re trapped together.”
He kissed her again and again, and she drew close to him. He held her in his arms, thinking that he really had everything he needed to be happy. He knew, more than anyone, that time would show this, if only he could wait. But deep within himself, he felt his rage still burning softly, making him feel more alive than he had in years.
134
Fan Fiction / Re: Chrono Break (fan fiction work in progress)
« on: October 05, 2008, 10:04:43 pm »Pretty cool! Me like!For future reference, though, "it's" always means "it is". When using an "it" possessive, you say "its". I know, it's nitpicking, but you'll want your spelling/grammar in top shape if you're writing a story. It is quite interesting, though... I like the fact that Crono doesn't like talking. ^_^ Poor him. Good thing he has Nadia/Marle to help him.
(her Japanese name is "Marludia", by the way, if you want to include that for whatever reason. I think Nadia sounds better, personally) I like the dream thing, though. Very interesting and foreshadow-y. At first I thought it was the final battle, but instead it was poor little Crono facing the godlike alien parasite alone with a wooden katana... Poor him.
I imagine it's a reference to the fact that Lavos is still alive-ish, and wants to kill Crono and Co. in the most painful way possible? Pretty cool.
Hey, first comment, great!
I'm mildly (AKA greatly) embarrased by the "its" thing. As a graduate with an English degree, I really should've noticed those stuck in there. You know how it is, sometimes in the heat of writing... I'll have to be more careful, it seems.
Marludia... I didn't know that. Very cool name. For my own sanity, I'll probably be sticking to the American versions of the names, though I'm glad to have the information. Thanks!
I don't really want to give anything away, so I won't comment too directly on the Lavos thing. I will say that you shouild expect to see the story go in a drastically different direction than most "Trigger Fics" (at least, based on the ones I've read). The characters as I envision them are having to deal with things more mundane than the end of the world, and some will find that a more difficult task, ironically.
I may be able to get Part II up tonight. Thanks for reading!
135
Fan Fiction / Chrono Break (fan fiction work in progress)
« on: October 05, 2008, 07:33:48 pm »
It's been a while since I've tried my hand at any fan fiction, but last night I had a dream which roughly outlined the plot of a true sequel to Chrono Trigger. Obviously, writing a game and writing a story are two different things. Writing a game is more akin to writing a movie, though even that isn't a perfect translation. Games are more based on the interaction and immersion in a world, rather than complexity of plot or characters. It's this immersion which causes us to fall in love with games, and which makes them so memorable.
Chrono Trigger is unusual in that it had a very strong and detailed plot, with more ins and outs than most games, and with strong characters (though with admitedly simple back stories... "remedied" by Chrono Cross). It's one of the reasons the game is still listed as one of the best RPGs of all time, and one of the reasons that, despite the numerous times I've played it, I can't seem to bring myself to get any ending other than the main one, to see the story through to full completion and resolution.
In any case, this is not a perfect translation of what was given to me in my dream. Rather, it was that plot then put through the translation of a story format. I don't want to give the story away, but I will say that ultimately it will deal with the rise of Poore to a military power and one possible resolution for the dissapearance of Gaurdia and two of our favourite characters. I'm going to keep working on this until I either get bored or finish it. Having a place to put it up for comments/criticism may go a long ways towards the latter, though.
With that said, feel free to comment in this thread. I'll always post the additions to the story with a bolded pre-heading, so they don't get too lost. If I finish, I'll compile and edit the whole thing, and that should take care of any organizational issues.
Without further ado, I give you my version of Chrono Break.
To read the chapters, please use the link below. Scroll to the bottom of the page and you should see the fan fiction under the title of Chrono Break, and submitted as seperate chapters.
http://www.honestgamers.com/systems/game.php?game_id=2242&platform=Super+Nintendo&abr=SNES&gametitle=Chrono+Trigger®ion=all
UPDATE!
As of June, 2009, the above links will no longer work. Instead, the fiction has been relocated to Fan Fiction.net. It will take some time to get all the parts up there, but I expect to be fully caught up within a week or two. Since I'm having to go back and repost many earlier parts, all parts have been slightly edited for continuity and style. Eventually, I plan on a full rewrite, maybe even turning it into an original setting that could be published without fear of copyright infringement. But for now, the re-posted segments can be considered "final cuts."
Enjoy!
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5066583/1/Chrono_Break
Chrono Trigger is unusual in that it had a very strong and detailed plot, with more ins and outs than most games, and with strong characters (though with admitedly simple back stories... "remedied" by Chrono Cross). It's one of the reasons the game is still listed as one of the best RPGs of all time, and one of the reasons that, despite the numerous times I've played it, I can't seem to bring myself to get any ending other than the main one, to see the story through to full completion and resolution.
In any case, this is not a perfect translation of what was given to me in my dream. Rather, it was that plot then put through the translation of a story format. I don't want to give the story away, but I will say that ultimately it will deal with the rise of Poore to a military power and one possible resolution for the dissapearance of Gaurdia and two of our favourite characters. I'm going to keep working on this until I either get bored or finish it. Having a place to put it up for comments/criticism may go a long ways towards the latter, though.
With that said, feel free to comment in this thread. I'll always post the additions to the story with a bolded pre-heading, so they don't get too lost. If I finish, I'll compile and edit the whole thing, and that should take care of any organizational issues.
Without further ado, I give you my version of Chrono Break.
To read the chapters, please use the link below. Scroll to the bottom of the page and you should see the fan fiction under the title of Chrono Break, and submitted as seperate chapters.
http://www.honestgamers.com/systems/game.php?game_id=2242&platform=Super+Nintendo&abr=SNES&gametitle=Chrono+Trigger®ion=all
UPDATE!
As of June, 2009, the above links will no longer work. Instead, the fiction has been relocated to Fan Fiction.net. It will take some time to get all the parts up there, but I expect to be fully caught up within a week or two. Since I'm having to go back and repost many earlier parts, all parts have been slightly edited for continuity and style. Eventually, I plan on a full rewrite, maybe even turning it into an original setting that could be published without fear of copyright infringement. But for now, the re-posted segments can be considered "final cuts."
Enjoy!
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5066583/1/Chrono_Break