The Lost Boys

[D'Artagnon]

Don't worry.  Less will be explained.  Eventually.  Tee Hee Hee!

All teasing aside, this chapter was the hardest to write.  When you have important character moments for several characters happen all at once, it gets complicated quickly.  Don't want to drop secrets for those who haven't read yet but the logistics of all the movements and fights and changes and such that happened in this one took a long time to figure out.  And all the mysteries that look like they were about to end but just got weirder, well...  Can't have a continuing story if it all wraps up neatly. 

I will say this much.  There are two chapters and a codicil already written and awaiting their turns upon the stage.  All of our Lost Boys will return.  Some of the mysteries will deepen and others will click into the bigger picture soon enough.  And they'll have, well, some friends, some foes you already know, and... well, you'll just have to see what happens next.   

[Castle Herald]

D'Artagnon

The Lost Boys

If you knew how great is a mother's love,
you would have no fear.

Chapter 12

[D'Artagnon]

Sometimes, after the world has turned for you, and things change completely, you need to get back to the things that are important.  You need a point to connect to for the next stage in your life to begin.  And we all need someone's arms to enfold us from time to time.  Growing up takes its toll, but it has perks too.  Lost Boys, Chapter 12  -  If you knew how great is a mother's love,
you would have no fear.    is next!

 

Home, sweet home.

[Jeikor]

A very nice chapter and just what was needed after all the excitement and struggles.

You said ALL the Lost Boys would be back. Does that mean the werewolves were able to save Tom?

Also you didn't say who they were but wouldn't they have been from Nick's and Cody's sept (hope I got that word right)?

[D'Artagnon]

Thanks.   =P  I did say something like that, huh?  Interesting.  And while you did get the word right with "sept" I cannot reveal any secrets until things reveal themselves.

[Jeikor]

I wouldn't expect anything to be revealed until the correct time especially from you. lol

I will TRY to wait patiently for the correct time.

[D'Artagnon]

Well, there is one chapter left, waiting for Thursday, and a fairly thick codicil the week after that.  Might answer some questions, might make you question what you already know, and it might give rise to even more questions.

But that, too, is another story.

[Castle Herald]

D'Artagnon

The Lost Boys

Forever is a Very Long Time

Chapter 13

[D'Artagnon]

There have been a lot of changes for our heroes.  And while our story here is reaching its end, new beginnings are forming.  Lost Boys, Chapter 13  -  Forever is a Very Long Time    is next!

 

Do you feel that chill in the air?

[Castle Herald]

D'Artagnon

The Lost Boys

Three days after

Codicil

[D'Artagnon]

Just because our story here has ended, doesn't mean it can't get... stranger.  Time to get things back to the ole school.   Lost Boys, Codicil  -  Three days after    is next!

 

Even secrets have secrets. 

[Jeikor]

Thanks for the codecil; everything makes perfect sense now . . . . . . .  NOT!

Can't wait for when all these stories start coming together. The convo between Andy and Jack was in another chapter/ codecil but from Jack's point of view. I think more was revealed this time. The most troubling part of the codecil involved the Rite. That definitely prompted some questions. Was that Tom and the werewolves? or Was that the missing Ralphy and a nefarious group?

When and in what story can we finally expect an answer?

[D'Artagnon]

You've touched on some interesting points.  And without giving anything away, I can say that your questions are heading in the right directions.  The "Robin Hood" event, showing Jack's skill with the bow and Andy displaying diplomacy despite being in a dangerous position, was sort of leaked months earlier in the forums, but seemed appropriate to add in here.  From this it will lead directly into what is currently planned as a two story, side by side sort of series.  Similar to Riposte, but where the events in the two sides of Riposte directly influence and share plot with each other, these two will show entirely different sides of the boys' lives.  Tentatively titled "Tales of the Canterbury Knights" and "Secret Life of Parents" these two should help answer some of the questions about the boys future and past simultaneously.

And I don't say that to be confusing.  Some of the dangling plot lines do relate to events that happened before the boys were born, primarily the friendships and romances of the parents when they were in high school, as well as where those relationships go from here.  Not to tease too much for something I've not even put any words on yet, but it will explore the events and aftermath of the plague, some of the reasons why certain parents act as they do now, and a few things that may shape how our young pack of supernatural heroes in the making go from here.

I would be remiss if I didn't point out that there is one story left hanging that will need to happen before ToCK and SLoP begin.  One summer story left, which will be hinted at in (quickly counts on fingers) fourth next chapter of Riposte, after the stuff about to come down about the Battle of the Y.  For those who frequent the forum, I posted a teaser of that story some months ago.  About a boy named Glen who was having a typical summer picnic day at the beach with his family when he was struck by lightning.  Once Glen's story, currently set up to be similar to Alex's story as far as length, possibly also in three parts, is done, ToCK and SLoP will have my full attention.  There may be one other player to introduce... but that too, is another story.

Edited June 12, 2016 by D'Artagnon
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[Jeikor]

As a frequent visitor to the Forum I was aware of Glen's story. I am looking forward to the finish of Riposte, Glen's story and then on to ToCK and SLoP. (love those acronyms; may have to refer to them often )

Keep writing!

[Wolfhighlander]

Well done as usual.  Looking forward to more

[David McLeod]

I said elsewhere and earlier I was re-reading D'Artagnon's interrelated stories. The past few days, I've focused on one of the best: "The Lost Boys." The first chapter (prologue/introduction) is telling, without telling too much. It sets up the story in the reader's mind and certainly encouraged this one to continue reading.

 

Of particular note, in my opinion, is the contrast between what Sammy is and how he sees himself. His understanding of bullying – what it is, how one defends against it, and how that understanding progresses – offers insight into his character. I hope we see more of Sammy in other stories.

 

Besides the usual sources of conflict (good guys vs bad guys), there is conflict among the protagonists. For example, early in the story, one takes a life; one saves a life.

 

Besides the handful of protagonists, D'Artagnon introduces a collage of antagonists drawn from the most perverse of humanity and the darkest of humanity's dreams.

 

The complexities of the plot are further explored in other stories. I've read them all; I am enjoying re-reading to find the commonalities that tie them together.

[Al Norris]

D'Artagnon will be the last to admit it, but he is an excellent writer.

I am constantly amazed how he weaves his many stories together to be an almost seamless whole, yet still standing alone by themselves.

[D'Artagnon]

Such praise.  I'll be blushing brighter than a roaring fire in a Franklin stove.  Which I just started for Mom.  Cold in Florida tonight.

There is a sort of interesting story behind that particular one as well.  At the time I started writing Lost Boys it was for a young man in my care.  He was a cancer patient, undergoing very experimental treatments.  That whole drama related to his treatments is immaterial for this explanation.  He asked me to write him a character in a story.  Bits and pieces of what eventually became Lost Boys had been perking in the back of my head for a while.  Inspiration from the now classic Disney animated version of Peter Pan.  The  young man in question's name was Sammy.

Sam had a group of online buddies he spoke to on a regular basis over at an allied site to this one, the IOMFATS story site and message board.  I should say that this was back in the early 2000's.  I had been writing there for a while and Sam loved reading things there after finding out I wrote there and basically coming out to me.  He begged me to write a character for him, similar to the character I had helped him develop in the online X-Brats game I ran.  It was a game played over first AIM and later YIM.  Ran for many years, a few different groups of players.  That's kind of not important here.  Sammy's X-Men character was a young telepathic shape-shifter who frequently took the form of a half grown tiger when he was in control of his anger, and a giant green, red-eyed T-Rex when he was gone round the bend pissed.

 

  Please excuse my horrible art.  I was trying to put out three or four images a week for the games and only had color pencils, ink and a very bad scanner at the time.

So, Sammy asked me to write a character for him.  I took a few moments, scanned his friend lists from his AIM and asked a few of them if I could use their names and basic personalities (at least as I knew them) to write a story just for Sam.  They loved him and loved the idea.  So I went to it.  Came up with a little rhyme to tease it, treated the whole thing like a literary exercise for Sam himself, since I was his tutor at the time, and set about it.

Sadly, Sammy died before I could complete the story.  Complications from his therapy and a failed bone marrow transplant caused his death.  Bit of something got stuck in the blood vessels of his brain.  There was literally nothing we could have done about it.  He went to sleep in my arms and never woke up.  There was other drama that went along with all of that, some of which changed my life forever (also not important here), and I went into a mild depression.  I put the story aside and tried to make something of what was left of my life.

Later, when I began writing again, Benji, my future husband, asked if I was going to finish it.  Then he hit me with "finish it for Sammy."

Sometimes the person you love the most in the world can remind you of the other people you love the most in the world and smack you right where it hurts the most.  I found my old notes for the story and picked up the thread again, mixed it in with other stories written in the same semi-fictional town and offered it again for readers.  Benji was right, I had to finish it, but not just for Sam, but for me as well.

Now, seems I will have to keep writing more of Sammy and his friends, even if most of those who the characters were based on have allowed my little Tyger to fade into the mists of memory.  He would be happy to keep bugging me so.  Little attention hound that he was, he'd find the story and any attention it gathers enormously funny and flattering, even as he complains that I wrote the character a little too close to his actual personality. 

So watch this space.  Sammy, Andy, Kyle and Joshua will return.  And maybe someone else.

But that is another story.