Hey guys!
Just sorta stumbled on to my old Fiction Press Account, so I figured I might as well populate the site with my stories. It's not much right now, but at least I've got a place to archive my written work.
Why don't you guys drop by and open an account there too? I know Kate and Alex would have more than a few short stories that they could grace the ignorant masses with.
For the curious, I've got a link to my Fictionpress Profile here!
Do drop by and give it a whirl!
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
[Fiction] Lonely Morning Haze
It was a lonely park bench, one where the paint was chipping from the wooden parts, and a small layer of rust covered the screw heads. The seats were not really wet, but not quite really dry either, but rather in a state of indecisive moistness that would bother people who would sit on it, but wouldn't stain clothing. Maybe it was because it was morning, and dewdrops still glittered on the grass that grew around the bench in haggard clumps, looking more tired than they ought to be.
And it was on this nondescript, lonely and inoffensive bench that they sat. A boy and a girl, each one holding a paper cup of expensive coffee, wrapped in Earth-Friendly cardboard sleeves and with the oddly shapped sippy covers.
"So..." the girl spoke, pushing up her glasses further up her nose, her breath coming in small puffs of mist in the cold morning wind. She wore thick clothes to ward of the chill, a beret on her head tilted just so as to appear stylish, "why do you think they have these things, Mark?" she pointed at the oddly shapped sippy cover.
Mark looked at her and shrugged, "Who knows?" he said, looking at his own cup "Maybe it's supposed to stop the stuff from fogging up your glasses." Why are we here, Anna?
Anna's eyes never left her sippy cover, staring at the bead of coffee, light brown and kinda gray in a weird sort of way, dangling near the lip. "Good point." she replied then, bringing the cup to her lips, sipping the coffee, bitter, sweet and rough in some parts. "It really sucks to have your glasses fog up when you drink something hot."
"Yeah," Mark smiled, "I remember being annoyed at that when I still wore glasses. You should really consider getting contact lenses." We're all alone here. What is this all about? Why am I so nervous?
"Maybe." Anna said, drumming her fingertips on the cup, turning to look at him, her voice wavering, "Kerwin dumped me last night."
"What?!"
"He said we weren't going anywhere," Anna, "That we didn't have a future..."
Mark felt his throat go dry, "but wasn't it just your anniversary last week?"
Anna nodded, "He said he had thought about it."
"Thought about what?"
"Our future... and lack thereof." Anna said, taking off her glasses in a hurry as she felt the tears come, "Fuck."
"But you guys had plans!" Mark insisted, What was he thinking? "You and Kerwin were supposed to go into that business, right? After we all graduated."
"I know." Anna fumbled for a hankerchief, her glasses dangling from her hand as she sniffled, "I know we did..." she dabbed her eyes then, "I don't understand it either."
What do I say? Mark looked at her then, "Anna... I don't know if anything that I can say will make you feel any better, but at least you know that I'll be here."
Anna looked up at him, her eyes a little red. A tear rolling down her cheek.
"We'll have coffee together on this ratty bench in the mornings..." Mark trailed on, what am I babbling on about!? "At least you've still go that right?"
Anna smiled a little, "Was that supposed to make me feel better? Knowing that I've lost the man I wanted to spend my life with and all I have to show for it is lousy coffee, a rusty bench, and a guy without a single romantic bone in his body to keep me company?"
Ouch "Umm... yeah?"
Anna sighed, her breath still coming in little suddering gasps, as she took a sip of her coffee. "Yeah." she said, still sad, and yet grateful for his company. "I've still got this."
And it was on this nondescript, lonely and inoffensive bench that they sat. A boy and a girl, each one holding a paper cup of expensive coffee, wrapped in Earth-Friendly cardboard sleeves and with the oddly shapped sippy covers.
"So..." the girl spoke, pushing up her glasses further up her nose, her breath coming in small puffs of mist in the cold morning wind. She wore thick clothes to ward of the chill, a beret on her head tilted just so as to appear stylish, "why do you think they have these things, Mark?" she pointed at the oddly shapped sippy cover.
Mark looked at her and shrugged, "Who knows?" he said, looking at his own cup "Maybe it's supposed to stop the stuff from fogging up your glasses." Why are we here, Anna?
Anna's eyes never left her sippy cover, staring at the bead of coffee, light brown and kinda gray in a weird sort of way, dangling near the lip. "Good point." she replied then, bringing the cup to her lips, sipping the coffee, bitter, sweet and rough in some parts. "It really sucks to have your glasses fog up when you drink something hot."
"Yeah," Mark smiled, "I remember being annoyed at that when I still wore glasses. You should really consider getting contact lenses." We're all alone here. What is this all about? Why am I so nervous?
"Maybe." Anna said, drumming her fingertips on the cup, turning to look at him, her voice wavering, "Kerwin dumped me last night."
"What?!"
"He said we weren't going anywhere," Anna, "That we didn't have a future..."
Mark felt his throat go dry, "but wasn't it just your anniversary last week?"
Anna nodded, "He said he had thought about it."
"Thought about what?"
"Our future... and lack thereof." Anna said, taking off her glasses in a hurry as she felt the tears come, "Fuck."
"But you guys had plans!" Mark insisted, What was he thinking? "You and Kerwin were supposed to go into that business, right? After we all graduated."
"I know." Anna fumbled for a hankerchief, her glasses dangling from her hand as she sniffled, "I know we did..." she dabbed her eyes then, "I don't understand it either."
What do I say? Mark looked at her then, "Anna... I don't know if anything that I can say will make you feel any better, but at least you know that I'll be here."
Anna looked up at him, her eyes a little red. A tear rolling down her cheek.
"We'll have coffee together on this ratty bench in the mornings..." Mark trailed on, what am I babbling on about!? "At least you've still go that right?"
Anna smiled a little, "Was that supposed to make me feel better? Knowing that I've lost the man I wanted to spend my life with and all I have to show for it is lousy coffee, a rusty bench, and a guy without a single romantic bone in his body to keep me company?"
Ouch "Umm... yeah?"
Anna sighed, her breath still coming in little suddering gasps, as she took a sip of her coffee. "Yeah." she said, still sad, and yet grateful for his company. "I've still got this."
Monday, June 13, 2005
Quarter of a Century!
Ah yes, one of the milestones of life is that you get to exist for a quarter of a century. As such, I'm pretty lucky.
I guess this is a good time as any to remind those around me that I am grateful to have them in my life. I've got fantastic friends, a devoted and loving Kitty, and plenty of blessings. Right now, I'd like to put up a great big thank you to everyone for being so supportive of my existence.
Normally, this would be the part where most people would wax philosophical and write something about their hopes and dreams of the future, and their anxieties. I'm sure everyone has read their share of such things, and I don't feel the need to repeat it.
Let it suffice to say that I am grateful for friends, for God, and for the opportunities that I've been granted. If things go wrong, they'll go wrong for a reason, and I'm sure that no matter what, I'll find a way around it.
I am the pointyman, after all... ;)
I guess this is a good time as any to remind those around me that I am grateful to have them in my life. I've got fantastic friends, a devoted and loving Kitty, and plenty of blessings. Right now, I'd like to put up a great big thank you to everyone for being so supportive of my existence.
Normally, this would be the part where most people would wax philosophical and write something about their hopes and dreams of the future, and their anxieties. I'm sure everyone has read their share of such things, and I don't feel the need to repeat it.
Let it suffice to say that I am grateful for friends, for God, and for the opportunities that I've been granted. If things go wrong, they'll go wrong for a reason, and I'm sure that no matter what, I'll find a way around it.
I am the pointyman, after all... ;)
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Dance Dance Immolation!
This is Fantastic!
Given the popularity of the game here, we should install one of these in the arcade, in a flame-proof booth where bystanders can watch and enjoy. Make sure that the players have no protective suits for double the fun!
Given the popularity of the game here, we should install one of these in the arcade, in a flame-proof booth where bystanders can watch and enjoy. Make sure that the players have no protective suits for double the fun!
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Writing Challenge: Manga / Wolves / Cosmic
"Remember this: The wolves are your friends, your companions, your family. They will not abandon you, and neither should you abandon them." The Instructor eyed all the new graduates of the academy, boys and girls no older than 13, decked in their dress uniforms, their wolves sitting beside them. "There are worse things out there than the simulations can ever produce, and when you face them, your wolf if your only ally. Remember this, and we can all hope to see you when you attain your citizenship at your sixteenth year of life."
The Instructor saluted the recruits before walking out of the room.
Shiro breathed a sigh of relief. The Instructor had always make him nervous. Sascha, his wolf, looked at him and cocked her head sideways, a question in itself.
"Ne," Shiro chuckled, crouching down to rub Sacha's silver-gray fur, "Don't worry about me, I'm just a little nervous." The bionic headband he wore twitched it's two side mounted "wolf ears" to make up for the human lack of non-verbal communication, properly conveying the internal undertones even as Sascha's psycho conditioning processed the human speech. The wolf, nuzzled Shiro's hand in reassurance, even as the other graduates and their wolves began to file out of the room.
----
The sound of the transdimensional disruptors hurt Shiro's ears, but between physical discomfort and being torn apart like his companion, Shiro preferred the former. He and Sascha advanced, followed by several other of their packmates towards the hill. It was a starless night, and only their night vision lenses allowed them to progress and keep up with their wolf companions.
On top of the hill stood a figure drenched in blood, a knife in his hand, and a bloody mangled corpse beneath him. He cackled even as strange things shifted into this reality. Sascha growled as she pounced on one of the things, biting down into it's flesh with her fangs. Shiro didn't exactly know the explanation to how it was possible, but wolves were the only creatures on earth that could fight and hurt transdimensional creatures. In this case, Shiro was more than thankful that Sascha was with him. Shifting his own transdimensional disruptor in his hands, Shiro advanced even further.
Their packmates has cleared out most of the other monsters and the bloodied figure fell to his knees. Sascha ran beside Shiro then, her muzzle splattered with green ichor. "Good girl, Sascha!" he said looking up to see that the clouds above began to swirl into a massive circle, the sky above red and alien, with several moons and stranger colors that his human mind could not contain...
Shiro stopped, watching in a mixture as he heard something barely out of earshot. A chanting that grew larger even as massive tentacles reached out from the portal above...
"Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fhtagn!"
"Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fhtagn!"
----
Okay, so it wasn't my best work. :p But I was hitting my head on so many barriers like how to incorporate anime/manga influences into the story without the visuals. Anyway, enough with the excuses... check out Andrew's Brass Buddha Machine to see what he did with my challenge to him: "The autoiography of the color Purple as it pertains to politics" Dunno if it's up now, but I'll be waiting for his entry.
The Instructor saluted the recruits before walking out of the room.
Shiro breathed a sigh of relief. The Instructor had always make him nervous. Sascha, his wolf, looked at him and cocked her head sideways, a question in itself.
"Ne," Shiro chuckled, crouching down to rub Sacha's silver-gray fur, "Don't worry about me, I'm just a little nervous." The bionic headband he wore twitched it's two side mounted "wolf ears" to make up for the human lack of non-verbal communication, properly conveying the internal undertones even as Sascha's psycho conditioning processed the human speech. The wolf, nuzzled Shiro's hand in reassurance, even as the other graduates and their wolves began to file out of the room.
----
The sound of the transdimensional disruptors hurt Shiro's ears, but between physical discomfort and being torn apart like his companion, Shiro preferred the former. He and Sascha advanced, followed by several other of their packmates towards the hill. It was a starless night, and only their night vision lenses allowed them to progress and keep up with their wolf companions.
On top of the hill stood a figure drenched in blood, a knife in his hand, and a bloody mangled corpse beneath him. He cackled even as strange things shifted into this reality. Sascha growled as she pounced on one of the things, biting down into it's flesh with her fangs. Shiro didn't exactly know the explanation to how it was possible, but wolves were the only creatures on earth that could fight and hurt transdimensional creatures. In this case, Shiro was more than thankful that Sascha was with him. Shifting his own transdimensional disruptor in his hands, Shiro advanced even further.
Their packmates has cleared out most of the other monsters and the bloodied figure fell to his knees. Sascha ran beside Shiro then, her muzzle splattered with green ichor. "Good girl, Sascha!" he said looking up to see that the clouds above began to swirl into a massive circle, the sky above red and alien, with several moons and stranger colors that his human mind could not contain...
Shiro stopped, watching in a mixture as he heard something barely out of earshot. A chanting that grew larger even as massive tentacles reached out from the portal above...
"Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fhtagn!"
"Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fhtagn!"
----
Okay, so it wasn't my best work. :p But I was hitting my head on so many barriers like how to incorporate anime/manga influences into the story without the visuals. Anyway, enough with the excuses... check out Andrew's Brass Buddha Machine to see what he did with my challenge to him: "The autoiography of the color Purple as it pertains to politics" Dunno if it's up now, but I'll be waiting for his entry.
Monday, June 06, 2005
It's Fast and it's Free: Aki, A Cute Little Roleplaying Game
It would seem that my free rpg radar has been active lately, and I've dug up a link to a design award winning mini rpg. Aki, is a small (literally, it's only 3 pages including the character sheet!) RPG about normal Japanes high school kids, in the suburbs of a perfectly ordinary Japanese city.
It's certainly not a game for kicking ass and taking names, but it does provide some interesting roleplaying avenues. Actually, thinking about it, it's a great game to use for "Dating Sim"-esque campaigns. Heck, it's a Shoujo Manga inspired RPG after all.
If you're interested, you can check it out Here, to get the links to the 2 versions of it. Or for a direct link to the pdf, click here
It's certainly not a game for kicking ass and taking names, but it does provide some interesting roleplaying avenues. Actually, thinking about it, it's a great game to use for "Dating Sim"-esque campaigns. Heck, it's a Shoujo Manga inspired RPG after all.
If you're interested, you can check it out Here, to get the links to the 2 versions of it. Or for a direct link to the pdf, click here
It's Fast and it's Free: Chalk Outlines Waiting to Happen, a caper-flick roleplaying game
Hey guys,
Been taking a look around the net when I stumbled upon this rules-lite RPG for caper-flicks like The Big Hit, Snatch, Reservior Dogs and Ocean's Eleven. I know some of my gaming group have been itching to play something like this ever since watching Ocean's Twelve.
Interestingly enough, it's got a simple mechanic, and seems to be very intuitive, considering that the character creation is essentially a job interview for crooks.
It's pretty cool, and I'm actually tempted to give it a test drive. check it out
Here
Been taking a look around the net when I stumbled upon this rules-lite RPG for caper-flicks like The Big Hit, Snatch, Reservior Dogs and Ocean's Eleven. I know some of my gaming group have been itching to play something like this ever since watching Ocean's Twelve.
Interestingly enough, it's got a simple mechanic, and seems to be very intuitive, considering that the character creation is essentially a job interview for crooks.
It's pretty cool, and I'm actually tempted to give it a test drive. check it out
Here
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