[FFML] Farewell Old Friend...

[Peter Ahlstrom]

"So of course, we blow up the Horrid Chaos Dimension From Whence There Is
No Return and use a *several-pages-long onomatopoeia* to describe
the noise."

Ah Benjamin, I will truly miss those peeks into the amazing place that is
your brain.

I joined the list only 20 years ago, so I'm still a baby compared to some
of you! And I only ever posted one prologue to a fic. But this list has a
special place in my heart, even though I've had Google filters shunt it to
a folder that I look at only occasionally with fond nostalgia. Tai'shar
FFML.

Nowadays all my work in the fiction world is for my boss, fantasy writer
Brandon Sanderson. You'll find me hanging around the community for that.

Peter

On Tue, Apr 6, 2021 at 1:52 PM Benjamin A. Oliver <
benjamin.a.oliver at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: "Weiss Schnee" <weissschnee333 at gmail.com>
>
> >Are you ever going to continue "Heart of Sugar"? Because I really like
> that
> > one!^_^ It was what inspired to write all my SIs.
>
> That was a gloriously fun one to write.  Unfortunately, it required a
> lot of time and idea bouncing with an online friend (Jason) who has
> his own RL to live.  I assume he's still alive.  Hope so.  Probably
> is.  Hopefully not stuck in the pizza industry forever.  And I was
> going through an existential crisis at the time, oh, more than a
> decade ago?  Wow, it has been a while.  Then I got married.  Twice.
> Had a kid.  Then the universe exploded.  Then the continuity reset and
> we had a reboot as--I don't know, where was I again?
>
> Best I could do is do an idea dump of all the storylines I left
> pending such a long time ago.  I could probably manage that if there's
> interest.  Problem is, the actual story as it would have been written
> is way, way different than what actually ends up happening.  All
> writers know that you don't write the story so much as the story
> writes you.  It wouldn't be an accurate view of what might have been.
>
> Still fun to think about.  Sure, why not; let's do that.
>
> Heart of Sugar?  Ben finally figures out the cheat codes that
> manifests as a black pegasus that says "Cheat Enabled!" whenever a
> code gets activated.  Ben, Jason and Chibiusa use it to snag the Holy
> Grail... until it turns out that the cheat plugin was unregistered
> early-version beta shareware and stops working at a critical time
> because Ben was too cheap to pay the registration fee, leading to a
> lot of blame getting shouted back and forth while the villain at the
> time takes advantage of the situation.
>
> Nuke 'Em Till They Glow?  I've got a giant incomplete chapter sitting
> on my hard drive somewhere.  The Ranma / Setsuna subplot is unwritten
> because I had NO idea where to go from there.  Crosses over with
> Nanoha as Terra's Galactic Destroyer soul is ripped out by the leader
> of the Horrid Chaos Dimension From Whence There Is No Return.  So of
> course, we blow up the Horrid Chaos Dimension From Whence There Is No
> Return and use a *several-pages-long onomatopoeia* to describe the
> noise.  Terra finally gains a real personality once her soul gets
> ripped out.  The last survivor of the Horrid Chaos Dimension From
> Whence There Is No Return uses her soul to start conquering the main
> universe, which leads to the climactic final battle in which the Dark
> Kingdom surrenders and everyone lives happily ever after.  Or
> something.
>
> Going At It Like Rabbits!!!  Ranma's childhood friend Minh shows up.
> After some weird fighting, it turns out that Minh's full name is
> actually Minako, who in this universe either replaces Ukyou or
> Ryouga--I hadn't decided.  I have NO idea what to do with Genma by the
> time the story's done.
>
> Codename: Project Sailor Stylin?  Stylin' gradually megamans up enough
> powers to be more useful, or an equal to Sailor V.  Stylin's dad
> eventually confronts her... but it's actually a monster in disguise.
> They have a fight like Homura vs. Mami in the Madoka: Rebellion movie.
> Hadn't thought much past that.  The British Motor Boat Police
> eventually helps secure England against the youma hordes.  Stylin'
> either dies dramatically or reunites with her estranged
> energy-construct daddy.  Hadn't decided.
>
> Terra in Tokyo, that NETTG reboot that was an experimental piece?
> There's a full original copy of the draft where it just kind of ends
> with the main character dead after the climax.  Then there's the
> rewritten version that never got a full ending and in my mind is
> supposed to have a better version where Queen Metallia (the merged
> band!!) is deliberately made an abomination-made-human like Terra.
> There's some timeline-busting weirdness since Terra is actually a
> 5-dimensional eldritch abomination that can change her own past to
> suit a better future in order to survive.
>
> Did I miss anything?
>
> Anyway, it all felt like a lot of fun in my head.  In all likelihood,
> none of these stories will ever be completed.  Seriously, it's been
> like a decade since I put any serious work into any of them.  I'm just
> not in that place in the world anymore.  Or in my head.  Or with
> enough spare time to do much else.  But in the interest of closure and
> completion, I'll answer anyone's questions that posts such a question
> to the list.  I promise a straight answer.  Or a crooked one.  Or
> something like that.
>
> After all, the FFML is going to end.  Why not go out with a bang?  If
> you somehow, after all this time, have kept the faith and still
> somehow like the stuff I wrote, and have unanswered questions about
> it, you deserve at least that much.
>
>
> --
> Benjamin A Oliver
> benjamin.a.oliver at gmail.com
>
> Technical Writer / Translator
> M3 Engineering & Technology
>
> Master of Science in Management Information Systems
> Eller College of Management
> University of Arizona
>
>
>
> "And lastly, a party of devout believers from the Church of the Second
> Coming of the Great Prophet Zarquon? Well fellas, lets hope he’s
> hurrying because he’s only got eight minutes left! Ta-hinh-ha! "
> -The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
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