Queen's Reign: Posts & Discussion

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Re: Queen's Reign: Posts & Discussion

Postby FirstBorn » June 20th, 2012, 9:28 am

Champ wrote:Whoa, baby! They have energy busters? Who assimilated an ensign playing MegaMan?

-- Nice catch there, Champ. It does have a certain similarity doesn't it. Not intentional but I approve non-the-less.

Hector2 wrote:Hi there FirstBorn!
Man, #4 of this series was a great issue! I know this site must emphasize about sex, but I just love a great adventure tale and this is it! Those guys can give the Borg a run for their money…

[sic] So, will Nareese save the entire universe? Would Wesley? I don’t know anything except that this story rocks!

Thanks again Hector. I appreciate the kind words. The parallel's with Wesley are kind of intended. She's the story's resident young'ish technical savant. But we have yet to see if she can really bring that expertise to bear against a threat the size of the Queen.

The next chapter comes out on Saturday and I'll finally be done with the flashback!! Which leads to the obvious question: "What comes next?!?!"
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Re: Queen's Reign: Posts & Discussion

Postby Champ » June 20th, 2012, 7:47 pm

Long live the Queen. I do agree that she does give the Borg a run for their money! :)
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Re: Queen's Reign: Posts & Discussion

Postby Champ » June 23rd, 2012, 9:07 am

Chapter 5 was kicking butt! I love that last moment of terror!
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Re: Queen's Reign: Posts & Discussion

Postby FirstBorn » June 23rd, 2012, 9:13 am

Once again I am proud to present another chapter of The Queen's Reign!

Click here to begin!

Synopsis:
Our Heroines hope has left a hollow hole in her heart as it departs. She has just witnessed the fall of the last team that had any chance to take back the station. Now all she can do is try and make it to the shuttle to warn the planet below. But the Queen is not going to make that easy for her. As the door opens down the hall a massive drone emerges with a weapon for a right arm. As this new creature begins to unload her payload at the defenseless Alliance members Angela is left to wonder: "Why didn't I just listen to my mother?" And so once again, the end- continues.


As you might have surmised from the Cover for Chapter 6 this wraps up the flashback sequence. Next we get to begin the story of what happens planetside as the invasion moves to stage 2. Enjoy!

-- and in an effort to prevent a double post, since Champ was so such a fast draw on the comment button:
Champ wrote:Chapter 5 was kicking butt! I love that last moment of terror!

Thanks! I debated adding text to that panel- but I hoped the look on her face would be sufficient. I'll take your comment as evidence that I made the right decision. ;)
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Re: Queen's Reign: Posts & Discussion

Postby Champ » June 23rd, 2012, 9:17 am

Oh the look on her face was priceless. I just tried figuring out who's creepy hand that was. Lol, all the aliens look alike. :)
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Re: Queen's Reign: Posts & Discussion

Postby Hector2 » July 1st, 2012, 7:00 pm

Well, I think that everything here was very obvious: Some alien force who can assimilate everyone cannot be stopped only by a weapon, they must have thought of something more, then again, I know this for having seen a lot of zombie movies and the b org. I suppose Star F leet doesn’t have those advantages.

So, everything is on Angela’s shoulders… man, the universe is doomed.

I am anxious to see next issue!
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Re: Queen's Reign: Posts & Discussion

Postby FirstBorn » July 14th, 2012, 9:39 am

Once again I am proud to present another chapter of The Queen's Reign!

Click here to begin!

Synopsis:
Angela has finally reached the end of her story but her audience doesn't seem to be buying what she's selling. And, to make matters worse, the Security Officer has requested a team from the Space Station to come down and straighten things out. Our heroine is understandably a bit distraught at the idea of escaping the station only to fall prey to the Drones while held captive in her cell. Will one well placed warning be enough to get her out of this one too? Once again, the end- continues.

Once again- Enjoy! And, not to be remiss in answering questions from those of you brave enough to step out from the shadows...

Hector2 wrote:So, everything is on Angela’s shoulders… man, the universe is doomed.

-- Hey, don't be too hard on her. She's had a bad day. I'm sure she'll do better tomorrow. ;)

Champ wrote:Oh the look on her face was priceless. I just tried figuring out who's creepy hand that was. Lol, all the aliens look alike. :)

-- Don't try too hard there. Part and parcel of the whole "drone" thing is the loss of individuality.

There you go guys. I hope you like the latest chapter, and hey- we actually get some sexy in this one! Yeah!

By the by- for those of you who like to keep track of things like this- We're ending this chapter on page 100, with 303 individual renders used in production so far.
~
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Re: Queen's Reign: Posts & Discussion

Postby Champ » July 14th, 2012, 1:12 pm

Epic awesomeness! I can't wait to see how this continues on! Its great!
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Re: Queen's Reign: Posts & Discussion

Postby Hector2 » July 18th, 2012, 5:01 pm

Dear Firstborn

Queen’s reign # 6 has mood dissonance: First we have Angela trapped, conscious about how dire the situation is not only for her, but for the entire space fleet. Then they talk her about letting the infection come to the base, and she seems only a little disturbed instead of the panic she should feel.

Then we have the call from Angela’s mother. .. I cannot believe Angela’s attitude, she still acts like a snarky teenager that is condescending with her uncool mom… hello! The alien invasion?

Then, Angela manages to save her sorry ass when the door opens… only to be distracted by the sexy show ? Again, how can she be so shallow with the destiny of several planets in the whole galaxy on the line?

Even when I am always complaining about Angela attitude, I find her a very idealist (if annoying) character, and given that star fleet has always been a series with heavy handed moralism, I find disturbing the implication that she is trying to end the suffering of the security officer. I believe that if a character could avoid that, is Angela.

Is not Kirk, after all, the patron saint of the “I take a third option” attitude?

I am anxious to see next issue!
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Re: Queen's Reign: Posts & Discussion

Postby FirstBorn » July 20th, 2012, 9:36 am

Forgive me for multi-quoting here but I think its the best way to deal with your points Hector- and before I start I'd like to thank you for the time you're putting into analyzing the story I'm telling here. Agree or disagree, I need to know how others see the story so I can adjust it to make sure I'm better delivering the story I intended to.

Hector2 wrote:Queen’s reign # 6 has mood dissonance: First we have Angela trapped, conscious about how dire the situation is not only for her, but for the entire space fleet. Then they talk her about letting the infection come to the base, and she seems only a little disturbed instead of the panic she should feel.

-- Hmm. I was trying to convey a bit of incredulity if not outright panic in Angela. It was only her vehement reaction that reached the security officer to offer to arm himself for it. She is pragmatic if nothing else so outright panic doesn't do anyone any good; including herself.
Then we have the call from Angela’s mother. .. I cannot believe Angela’s attitude, she still acts like a snarky teenager that is condescending with her uncool mom… hello! The alien invasion?

-- I can see the dissonance there... but I would argue that it is *totally* in character for her to deal with conflict and anxiety with flippancy. She's been demoted more than once as we learned early on in the story so there is precedence that her brain-to-mouth-filter is not always functioning properly. Plus- there's the growing aggravation that her mother, while being helpful, never has enough time to explain things to her daughter. It's an aspect of her character that I can easily identify with. I hate it when I'm not given all the information regarding what's going to directly affect me. So is she. Of course, that's exactly what I must do to build drama within the story but she has every right to be annoyed by it. ;)
Then, Angela manages to save her sorry ass when the door opens… only to be distracted by the sexy show ? Again, how can she be so shallow with the destiny of several planets in the whole galaxy on the line?

--I knew I'd get some people annoyed with this one. I took a moment to inject some sexy into the story and Angela (once again, I remind you) gets distracted. But- I would like to point you to the last statement in the narration text on that page as a teaser. I'm afraid I can't say anything more here other than "it wasn't by mistake."
Even when I am always complaining about Angela attitude, I find her a very idealist (if annoying) character, and given that star fleet has always been a series with heavy handed moralism, I find disturbing the implication that she is trying to end the suffering of the security officer. I believe that if a character could avoid that, is Angela.

--On this one you can take whatever position you'd like. I'll tell you right now that although she is carrying the weapon in the cover page for the next chapter I am *NOT* going to go out of my way to tell you what happened after the "fade to black" for a while. If you feel that she wouldn't take that extreme position then that's great- perhaps it will inform her position as events unfold in the future. If you think she has seen enough to drive her to a more militant solution then that's entirely possible as well. Its part of watching her character evolve as the story continues.

She is the eye of the storm and is watching all of the destruction happen all around her. Right now she's just running- trying to save herself before she can do anything to save the planet/galaxy.

The opportunity to actually DO something about it is where we're headed in the next couple chapters.

[[[ Watch this space ]]] ;)

Champ wrote:Epic awesomeness! I can't wait to see how this continues on! Its great!

-- I didn't forget you Champ. Thanks for the comment!
~
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Re: Queen's Reign: Posts & Discussion

Postby Hector2 » July 20th, 2012, 9:00 pm

Hi Firstborn!

About your comment:

She is the eye of the storm and is watching all of the destruction happen all around her. Right now she's just running- trying to save herself before she can do anything to save the planet/galaxy.

The opportunity to actually DO something about it is where we're headed in the next couple chapters.


It's funny you say that, because when I saw the first time the cover of Queen's reign # 7: http://www.mccomix.com/gallery2/main.ph ... ewsIndex=1, I thought:

"OMG, Angela is doing something useful! Are my eyes deceiveng me?" ;)
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Re: Queen's Reign: Posts & Discussion

Postby Reinhardt » July 24th, 2012, 8:41 pm

FirstBorn wrote:Forgive me for multi-quoting here but I think its the best way to deal with your points Hector- and before I start I'd like to thank you for the time you're putting into analyzing the story I'm telling here. Agree or disagree, I need to know how others see the story so I can adjust it to make sure I'm better delivering the story I intended to.


You mean that you are open to suggestions? Well, there is one thing I have been thinking about. As we know, it has always been strenght in numbers. So if the number of drones is smaller than the number of those who try to fight them, at least before they are assimilated themselves, who knows what the outcome could be. So how about increase the amount of drones without assimilating anyone? I agree, it's not as interesting as seing someone get absorbed, so it would only be used as a tool to win the fight and assimilate the resistance. Once achieved, there would be no more need to produce drones in a non-assimilating way any more. And it would make the queen and her drones look even more powerful.

How it could be done: A lot of containers are built, and each pod is filled with a mass of goo, made up of individual nanite-cells that has been given nutrients, making each cell divide like any other organic cell. Once there is enough nanite good, it starts to organize, is given a human figure, going through differentiation and specialization like a human fetus. Except that it doesn't grow, because all the mass required is already there, and turns into an adult drone in a relatively short amount of time. It then leaves the pod, which in turn is filled with new nanite-protoplasma, ready to produce another one. It could be a female, male or no spesific gender.

Because their minds are primary blank, there is nothing to absorb and add to the collective of the hive. So they don't make any contributions in that way, they only increase the size of the army. But they are able to immidatly connect with the mind and get access to all its knowledge and experience, making them practically indistinguishable from their brothers and sisters that have assimilated. And they can still make important contributions as they are making their own experiences once they are woken up and joins the others.

But no matter what kind of strategy that is used, I'm guessing the queen will end up as the winner.
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Re: Queen's Reign: Posts & Discussion

Postby FirstBorn » July 27th, 2012, 1:29 pm

Reinhardt wrote:You mean that you are open to suggestions? Well, there is one thing I have been thinking about. As we know, it has always been strenght in numbers. So if the number of drones is smaller than the number of those who try to fight them, at least before they are assimilated themselves, who knows what the outcome could be. So how about increase the amount of drones without assimilating anyone? I agree, it's not as interesting as seing someone get absorbed, so it would only be used as a tool to win the fight and assimilate the resistance. Once achieved, there would be no more need to produce drones in a non-assimilating way any more. And it would make the queen and her drones look even more powerful.

-- Yes, I am actually open to suggestions. This is especially true now that I'm not that far ahead in the story (putting finishing touches on the next chapter tonight if you'd like a look behind the curtain).

As for your suggestion. Not only do I like it, I might have already done something along those lines already and you just didn't SEE it.

Which leads me to another easter egg about the story, or more appropriately the mode of storytelling I have chosen in this case. So far the story has been entirely narrated by Angela as if it was in the 1st person- even during her flashbacks and continuing into the first chapter of "real time". Its almost as if Angela has an invisible camera floating next to her and recording her life. I plan to keep this mode of storytelling alive as much as possible through the series. What this means is that I'm NOT going to be flashing around to 3 or 4 different viewpoints as the chapters progress. When, I do need to move around you may note that I will do so as if the camera has been handed off to another character and then handed back. Unfortunately this also means that I have to NARRATE quite a bit of back details to keep you guys up so Angela doesn't actually get *ahead* of you. (*Read: "the next chapter is gonna be a bit wordy.")

I decided to go with this storytelling technique for a couple reasons. First, it would be impossible to tell a story with the events of The Queen's Reign in pictures and still be GRAND (huge battles, etc) so I have to keep the scope of the story narrow. Second, because it allows me to keep the readers in just as much ignorance as Angela is herself- a theme I intend to play on quite a bit. And third, because it was suggested by another author that I greatly respect and who has had quite a bit of impact on my work: the great Tabico. ((Shout out!))

So- that's the update for now. More to come when I post the next chapter. /Goes-back-to-work

Oh, and just so I don't forget- Thanks for the comment Reinhardt! I'll post another easter egg about the story if you can guess where your suggestion has already been shown. If not you'll see it eventually. It tickled me to see it spelled out so well though.
~
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Re: Queen's Reign: Posts & Discussion

Postby FirstBorn » July 28th, 2012, 12:27 am

Once again I am proud to present another chapter of The Queen's Reign!

Click here to begin!

Synopsis:
Angela has finally escaped the security station- and the drones that had arrived there. Now all she has to do is make it past the every growing number of drones that are fanning out throughout the capital city. Once that's accomplished she then has to navigate the treacherous waters of office politics during a time of war. Everyone is under a lot of stress, including Angela. They're only trying to save the world, after all. If only there was some way to help deal with that... And so the end- continues.

I have RL stuff keeping me busy this weekend, but I promise to get next episode's teaser up as soon as I can. Enjoy!
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Re: Queen's Reign: Posts & Discussion

Postby msgrey » July 28th, 2012, 2:50 am

Hello Firstborn! I have some comments about "A Queen's Reign":

Overall this series is very good! I am enjoying the serial conversions very much!

I love love the total takeover of the 'drones' from the humans! catering to very horror scifiction. a critisism is they are hard to distinguish because they are all very dark.

the 'face' corruption is very well done!

Angela is a bit of a mystery I think, she will have some hard choice ahead.
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