The Shared Worlds Writing Group

Forum Post: Re: Sci-Fi Play-By-Post IC thread

sorryjzargo — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 21:00:00 GMT

Why'd you guys stop? Also, 4 years seems like a pretty big jump for a galactic war.

Forum Post: Re: Sci-Fi World

Caudex — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:29:00 GMT

That's a really intricate backstory, SorryJ. Nice job.

Oh, one thing regarding my navy: all crew and combat personnel wear soft vacuum suits. So all they have to do is don a breather and they're vacuum-ready.

Forum Post: Re: Star Wars Offshoot

The Great Cubone — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 02:27:00 GMT

Scratch that. He's returning me. Too bad I'm not his Pokémon!

Forum Post: Re: Official Jumbonium Thread

sorryjzargo — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 17:37:00 GMT

Here is the link to the stories! Enjoy!

http://www.gameinformer.com/membergroups/platform/classic/the_shared_worlds_writing_group/b/weblog/archive/2012/06/07/two-recovered-jumbonium-stories-in-their-original-format.aspx

Blog Post: Two Recovered Jumbonium Stories in Their Original Format

sorryjzargo — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 17:36:00 GMT

Hello once again, people of the Shared Worlds Writing Group! I have found two of my Jumbonium stories saved on my laptop, and will now share them with you in their original, unaltered forms! The first story I have for you I wrote in 6th or 7th grade and originally called it "Petsmart" but then later changed the name to "Pet Shop" in order to avoid any copyright issues. Because it was written so long ago, it is very poorly written, but it has historical value as the VERY FIRST Jumbonium story ever written. I'll revise it in my free time, but I'll go ahead and post the original. Enjoy!

Petshop

Sirens roared at the town of Johnson, Oregon. It was the day of the attack of the Guinea Pig Horde.

9:00 a.m.

The blue jay sang its sweet song to awaken the world. Everyone in the village had the feeling that the day would bring happiness. There was a special presentation in front of Hair Salon Extreme. Jumbo the clown would appear to entertain the children. Unfortunately, Petshop Superworld resided in the same strip mall.

Petshop Superworld was the largest Petshop in the world. In its 5,000 aisles, 700 were fish, 1,000 were supplies, 100 were parakeets, and 3,000 were rodents. The rest were filled with random assortments of pets, food, and doggy doors. All the employees were busy, none noticing the evil grimaces on the faces of the pets.

An employee, Jack, was posting signs throughout the building that stated, “Come see Jumbo the clown put on a display of talents!”

This disturbing sign roused Man-eater, the tyrannical king of the Guinea Pig Horde.

10:00 a.m.

A meeting had been called for all rodents, rabbits, and birds.

“Squeak!” Man-eater declared!

“Squeak!” agreed his second in command.

There was a loud chorus of approving squeaks and squawks. It was decided. Man-eater would lead his horde to attack Jumbo and hold him hostage.

11:00 a.m.

“Squawk! Squawk!” crowed Rob, the parrot spy. He was delivering information regarding the location and schedules of Jumbo. Rob was one of the few animals that could read. He could also speak.

Rob took off towards the clown.

12:00 p.m.

Rob read the schedule during Jumbo’s break. One time caught his eye! 5:30, the grand finale!

“Squawk!” shrieked Rob! He was satisfied. A few feet away, Jumbo jumped from the sudden noise, and Rob was forced to flee to avoid detection.

When Rob reported the big finale to Man-eater, he too was satisfied.

1:00 p.m.

Man-eater watched Jumbo perform from his secret hideout. He was confident that his large horde could capture Jumbo with ease.

Man-eater had hated clowns all his life. His hate started when he was a baby. A clown purchased him from Petshop, and the clown forced him to swing on a trapeze. Man-eater fell and broke a leg. Rejected by his clown owner, he limped slowly back to his only home, Petshop. His leg healed, and he organized the secret Guinea Pig Horde.

2:00 p.m.

Man-eater noticed that people began to lose interest in Jumbo. He knew that some would be back for the grand finale, but most would not. This would make the attack easier.

3:00 p.m.

Man-eater counted his army to pass the time. His army included about 50,000 rodents, mostly guinea pigs, 5,000 parakeets, 1,000 parrots, 500 canaries and other birds, 200 reptiles, 50 amphibians, and 100,000 crickets.

The moment he finished counting, a Petshop employee wandered into their aisle. Man-eater decided to test his horde.

4:00 p.m.

When the battle ended, the employee was unconscious with about thirty lumps on his head. They only lost ten crickets. Crickets were expendable. They hid the unconscious man in a doghouse, where no one would search.

The horde spent the remainder of the hour resting.

5:00 p.m.

Man-eater was restless. There was just half an hour left before his revenge on clowns. He paced his cage, impatient.

Finally, a hamster reported to him that it was time to start.

The horde marched to the electric sliding door. It would not open, so a parrot flew up to the sensor. Freedom!

What happened outside was meant to be a stealth movement.

“Look! Mice!” a young girl screamed. The horde was detected.

The Guinea Pig Horde rushed for Jumbo. He screamed and jumped onto a chair. It collapsed under his weight, and he crashed to the ground, knocking him unconscious. The rats arrived and began to drag him. They carried him back into the building.

“My eye!” screamed an overreacting child with a scratched eyelid. “They ripped out my eye!”

6:00 p.m.

Man-eater smirked when he saw Jumbo crammed into a bulletproof (don’t ask me why) parakeet terrarium. Even the large terrarium was too small to fit Jumbo comfortably, and he was crushed between the glass. In the few openings, animals would extract their revenge on clowns, biting, pecking, and clawing at what they could reach of Jumbo. Rob, the parrot, swallowed the only key, and Man-eater jammed the lock.

Epilogue

Police arrived at the scene, and were nearly overwhelmed by the pets before the flamethrowers were brought in. After battling their way through and eliminating most of the Guinea Pig Horde, law enforcement officials managed to open the container that housed Jumbo the clown. Jumbo suffered many broken bones, and his insurance didn’t cover “being attacked by pets.” Lawsuits from families with children who “nearly had their eyes ripped out” put Petshop out of business, and the few remaining animals, including the instigator, Man-eater, were released.

Ok, that was horrible, but I now have for you a slightly less-horrible story written somewhere in 8th-9th grade. This is a stand-alone story, but it also references characters seen in "The Great Clown Massacre" that I am still searching for. This is probably my third revision of the story, last revised somewhere in 10th or 11th grade, but still very rough. Enjoy!

The Door Behind the Door

The streetlamp fluttered and faded. No light glinted on the little road, only shadow. The darkness covered the street like a blanket.

Suddenly, a flashlight beamed its dull rays into the labyrinth of darkness around it. The man carrying the lamp was apparently no stranger to stealth, as he rushed across the empty, houseless path. He paused and reassured himself that he was not being watched. Turning on his heels, he rushed to the lone building on the deserted road, a small shack, labeled “937 Charles Circuit.” At the angle he was standing, a brown sack, apparently half-full with some material, became visible. He produced a key from his coat and unlocked the door. He dashed in and swiftly but silently closed the door.

A dove cooed the morning song, awakening the Linda’s Circus early. The hammock tent #4 was emptied, with Pete the lion tamer first, Kozo the announcer second, and, finally, the clown-in-training. The other tents unloaded, revealing a crew of over seventy three performers.

“Okay, troupe, today is our big performance,” Linda, the C.E.O. of Linda’s Circus reminded. “Don’t forget to smile, do your best, and have fun being a clown…” Turning to Koco the clown, Linda added, “…and no smoking on stage.”

The large troupe caravanned together and began to walk to their destination, only five blocks away.

“Hey guys, a shortcut!” exclaimed Kozo to the hikers.

“You’re right. Walking down…” Linda paused to read the street’s name, “…Charles… Circuit should save us a block or two.”

Halfway down the road, Carl, who was barely older than eleven, paused to gaze at the house labeled “937 Charles Circuit.

“I wonder what that is,” Carl mused aloud.

“It’s prob’ly just some ol’ house no longeh’ used,” suggested Pete, who was, by most standards, a hillbilly.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Carl muttered and trudged onward.

That day, they performed beyond expected, and raised a fortune for their research organization, T.O.R.C.H. (The Organization of the Research of Clown History).

“Let’s go back to the tents and rest,” suggested a tired tightroper.

“Nah, I wanna stay wid’ my fans,” Koco, the alpha clown, declined. That day, she was wearing pure white Clown-Up®. She also wore her famous baby-blue afro, stained pink in certain places by misdirected blobs of Clown-Up®.

“Let’s go. She can stay if she wants to,” announced Carl.

They retraced the same path, passing through Charles Circuit again.

“Hey, the door is open!” yelled Carl. Indeed, the street’s lone building had its door ajar just enough to see a pink glint on the inside.

“So what. Come on,” forced Kozo.

Carl reluctantly continued, yet still felt the tug of childhood curiosity.

The tents were in sight when Pete yelled, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! I left mah money at the circus over yonder. Carl, go get it for me.”

Under normal circumstances, Carl would have protested, but he wanted a chance to explore the building.

Little Carl jogged halfway to the circus when he took a detour to the building.

To his joy, the door was still cracked open, and he curiously flung it wide open. Inside the room, there was a strange, pink fur hanging on the wall. Carl touched it. It was very smooth and soft. There was another door on the far side of the room. Carl slowly opened it.

“Oh my Fuzzo!” Carl screamed in terror and agony. The floor was tainted with blood, human blood, and more of those pink skins were hanging on walls. There were other colors: sky blue, sun orange, and bright white. They were labeled with small tags, and Carl grabbed one to examine it.

“Bop,” “Gobo,” “Pepper Paul,” “Pobo” were all names on these skins.

A shadow fell in the shape of a human over the room.

Carl dropped the fur and turned to face the intruder, whose wicked grin outshone all other features. Worst of all, in his hand was a bloody, but somewhat familiar baby-blue fur.

“They’re clown scalps, son. Join me, or you’ll join them.”

And that's it. I hope I can find more of my stories, but if not I will attempt to reconstruct them from memory, and probably improve them. Have a great day!

sorryjzargo

Forum Post: Re: Introduce Yourself

JBBs — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 23:05:00 GMT

Sorry I'm so late on this... Been grounded... :/

Anyway. I'm JBBs (aka Jubbs_01 or Jubbs). I love writing and gaming. I have written almost every genre. Except romance (eww love in writing :/). I'll be posting a poem I wrote this year for English class.

Forum Post: Re: Soooo...

Caudex — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:59:00 GMT

Yeah, sorry about that. As I said in another thread: Job-hunting and wonky internet. I'll try to participate more.

Blog Post: Sci-Fi World: Tylor Empire Introduction and First Story

sorryjzargo — Sun, 27 May 2012 21:02:00 GMT

Hello, members of Game Informer, and specifically the people of the Shared Worlds Writing Group. This is my first "group" blog, so I don't know if it shows up with the regular blogs or not. Anyways, this is an introduction to the Tylor Empire, the faction I will be writing about in the Sci-Fi World forum. It also serves as the first story in my Tylor story-arc.

That's my first drawing of the Tylor Galaxy, I did it on my laptop on Paint so it's not very good, and it's not 100% complete.

Ok, well here's my story/introduction!

The shuttle touched down on the planet Tylor, capital of the Tylor Empire and most heavily populated planet in the known galaxy. The Tylor Empire had ruled most of the galaxy since history could remember, and although they had ruled benevolently compared to other empires, there have always been those who have tried to destroy the Tylor Empire.

The shuttle’s boarding ramp lowered and a lone figure strode onto the grassy land. Miles north, but still visible, was the Tylor Capitol, an enormous structure built as a monument to the power of the Tylor Empire. Virtually unassailable, it had withstood at least a hundred assaults, from the poorly conceived Clognorp Retaliation War to the nearly-successful Resher Invasion. Over time, the foundations have been improved, the defenses optimized, and the structure reinforced. It was as solid as the planet it stood on.

Billions of sentient beings lived in the Capitol. When it had first been built, it was conceived as a military stronghold, but housing and economic needs had led to it being expanded to hold the many citizens of the Tylor Empire. Thousands of species mingle in structure, from the dominant humans to the peaceful Sslinurrur, the newly allied Clognorps to the intellectual Gerands. It was a center of trade, and if an item couldn’t be found in the Capitol, it was likely that it did not exist.

The Capitol could even be seen from space. It stretched out for dozens of miles, and stood even taller. On stormless nights the bright lights of the Capitol would create a beacon of sorts, and it had become a major navigation point to spacers, just as the north star had been a navigation point in the ancient legends of Earth.

The man stood still and absorbed the scene. Starships flew to and from the Capitol in a nearly unceasing buzz. It reminded him of confused bees. After getting his fill of the Capitol, he pulled a circular object from his pocket and pushed a button on it. It started flashing red, and he dropped it onto the dirt and walked away. He boarded the shuttle, and it took off silently into the night.

As the shuttle gained altitude, he looked out the window longingly at the city. As a child he had always wanted to live there, but his family was too poor. He had never even been able to visit. Once, as a child, he had run away from home to try to get a look inside of the Capitol. He had been stopped by the guards at the entrance, and the only inside he saw was the Juvenile Detention Center where he stayed while his parents came to pick him up. Just that one view was worth it, though, and he had seen creatures he had never before, and never since, seen in his life.

He moved away from the window and let his mind focus on more relevant thoughts.

The Capitol was also the economic center of the Tylor Empire. Stocks were bought and sold at millions per minute, and fortunes were made and lost faster than one could blink an eye. The richest executives lived in the highest floors of the Capitol, with the grandest views and the most beautiful servants. The stock brokers lived further down the structure, in luxury apartments built to keep them healthy and entertained. Just below them was the Entertainment District, which was every parent’s nightmare. All manners of gambling and debauchery could be found there. Under that was the visitor’s lodgings, and the millions of offworld visitors could stay the night in comfortable hotels catered specifically to their species. Under the visitor’s lodging was the Shopping District, and virtually anything in the galaxy could be found there. Shoppers sampled the exotic foods from far-off planets and bought the necessities and luxuries of life. Below the Shopping District was the Inhabitation Layer, where those who needed a more-permanent residence would lay their heads. Finally, the bottom layer, which was built underground, was reserved for the prisons and those who couldn’t bear to live with decent company. Every hundred years or so there would be a massive push to clean the streets of the bottom layer, or the Slums as the locals called it, but the effort would always die when the first cleaner did. The crime rate was high, and very few outsiders ventured there.

As the shuttle exited the atmosphere, a ship came into view. The shuttle redirected its trajectory and flew to the ship. It was sleek like a raptor and had a clearly non-human design.

The shuttle docked with the ship, and the man walked into the ship. He walked the memorized corridors and reached the command deck. At the controls was a young woman, and as the man entered, she turned an saluted. Through the viewport, the planet Tylor was visible.

“Should we commence, sir?” the woman asked. She seemed excited, a good quality if not taken too far.

“No,” the man answered, “I’ve always wanted to see the Capitol at night.”

“Yes, sir,” she nodded and then turned back to the controls.

The man walked over to the command hologram, and he could see the locations of his seven ship, floating in geosynchronous orbit around the planet. This could wait until night.

In the Capitol, humans ran most of the daily functions. They were the most populous sentient species in the known galaxy, and, from encounters with extra-galactic life, in the known universe as well. Humans seemed to be everywhere, and involved in everything. Besides humans, the Gerand were the most populous, having made an early alliance with the Tylor Empire thousands of years ago, and enjoying the benefits of the strong alliance. Gerand were tall, roughly ten to twelve feet on average, and completely transparent, except for their claws and teeth. Instead of organs, their body was composed of a highly flexible gel that performed all the necessary functions of life. The reptilian Sslinurrur also made up a large portion of the population, as they originated from the Tylor System on Tylor’s sister planet Sandressa, which had turned into a massive desert due to its proximity to the system’s suns. Other major species included the tentacled Clognorps, the highly linguistic Carx, and reformed Mutants.

The man glanced out the viewport, and it was night on the planet Tylor. The Capitol glowed with the lights of a bustling city, and from space there was no way to describe it but beautiful. He was glad he had waited, there was no way in the galaxy he would miss this.

“You may begin now,” he said to the woman, and she nodded and repeated the order through her communicator unit to the six other ships. She pushed a button, and the lights began to flicker as the energy was diverted.

For all its greatness, the Tylor Empire had managed to earn its enemies. Some attacked the Empire economically, some physically, but either way, there were many, many enemies of the Empire, some of them with the resources and the knowledge to do something about it.

The lights fully dimmed, but they weren’t needed. The light from the plasma weapon lit up the ship and, from a distance, would appear as another star. All seven of his ships fired plasma weapons simultaneously, directly to the locations of the seven beacons spread on the planet around the Capitol. The plasma struck the planet with immense force, and penetrated deep into the mantle. The energy waves set parts of the atmosphere ablaze, and the ground shook as the holes in the planet caused the mantle to destabilize. Even from space he could see the tremors in the planet. The bright light that was the Capitol started to move as the mantle collapsed in on itself. The ground crumbled around the Capitol, and gigantic chunks of ground fell miles into the unstable mantle. Finally, the ground that the Capitol rested on fell, dragging the monument to the Tylor Empire into the fiery hell. From space, the man solemnly watched as the light blinked out. That one blink represented the lives of billions of people, and all of them were extinguished. The plasma weapons had stopped, but their impact was just beginning. Fire spread through the atmosphere of Tylor, and earthquakes spread from the disaster site to other populated areas of the planet. Only a massive hole existed where the Tylor Capitol had once stood, and the miles-deep crater led straight to the boiling magma of the mantle, which had just stabilized. This one event would change not only the planet, but the entire Empire.

The man smiled, knowing his job was complete.

The Tylor Empire had stood for thousands of years. Some would say that something that old could not fail. Some would say that its age showed its wisdom.

The command hologram showed hundreds of capital ships warp into the system, shields up and armed to the teeth. The man smiled.

It’s time for something new.

That's it! What did you think? Comments would be greatly appreciated, and you'd earn points, so we'd all win!

Thanks!

-sorryjzargo

Forum Post: The Universe Poll THIS IS A TEST

sorryjzargo — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:25:00 GMT

Hello, people of SWWG!

[Poll]

Forum Post: Re: Fantasy World

sorryjzargo — Thu, 24 May 2012 02:21:00 GMT

We should set up a Skype group for this like the Star Wars offshoot is doing for theirs. My Skype account is sorryjzargo. I just created the account, so someone else should probably start the group because I'm a n00b.

Wiki: The Shared Worlds Writing Group - Wiki

Anonymous — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:56:00 GMT

Wiki Page: The SWWG Wiki List and Links

sorryjzargo — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:56:00 GMT

PLACEHOLDER

Wiki: The Shared Worlds Writing Group - Wiki

Anonymous — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:48:00 GMT

Forum: The Shared Worlds Writing Group - Forum

Anonymous — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:49:00 GMT

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Anonymous — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:49:00 GMT

Blog: The Shared Worlds Writing Group - Blog

Caudex — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:49:00 GMT

Wiki Page: The Shared Worlds Writing Group - Wiki

Caudex — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:48:00 GMT

Group: The Shared Worlds Writing Group

Anonymous — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:48:00 GMT

A writing group where everyone writes in the same world(s). Anyone's welcome to join!

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Anonymous — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:48:00 GMT

The Shared Worlds Writing Group

Forum Post: Re: Sci-Fi Play-By-Post IC thread

Forum Post: Re: Sci-Fi World

Forum Post: Re: Star Wars Offshoot

Forum Post: Re: Official Jumbonium Thread

Blog Post: Two Recovered Jumbonium Stories in Their Original Format

Forum Post: Re: Introduce Yourself

Forum Post: Re: Soooo...

Blog Post: Sci-Fi World: Tylor Empire Introduction and First Story

Forum Post: The Universe Poll **THIS IS A TEST**

Forum Post: Re: Fantasy World

Wiki: The Shared Worlds Writing Group - Wiki

Wiki Page: The SWWG Wiki List and Links

Wiki: The Shared Worlds Writing Group - Wiki

Forum: The Shared Worlds Writing Group - Forum

Files: The Shared Worlds Writing Group - Media Gallery

Blog: The Shared Worlds Writing Group - Blog

Wiki Page: The Shared Worlds Writing Group - Wiki

Group: The Shared Worlds Writing Group

Forum: The Shared Worlds Writing Group - Forum

Files: The Shared Worlds Writing Group - Media Gallery

Forum Post: The Universe Poll THIS IS A TEST