All posts by Kendra Short

Just Super (Working Title), Stories, Uncategorized

Just Super (Working Title) – Part 1

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“Oh, no, I don’t talk about family in my interviews. I can’t risk them being tracked down, with more rogues popping up every month,” the brightly colored character on my screen laughed lightly. “While rogues are on the rise again, I think you’ll find a lot of newer powereds, heroes and villains alike, returning to the secret identity style. It’s just safer for those we care about that way.”

“But you aren’t that new. You’ve been at this for two years now, well before the rate of rogues increased. You’ve never once given a hint about who you are behind the mask, even when you were starting out as a new hero! The world would love to know more about you, Flare. Rumors abound that you have a powered parent, or even two!” An eager newsperson was clearly hoping to cut through the hero’s defenses.

“Rumors also abound that I’m dating Jet Force or Hurricane, but that doesn’t mean they’re true,” the hero replied with an easy, loveable smile. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t risk it. Is there anything else you’d like to discuss? Perhaps the charity event coming up next week? I’m sure your viewers would love some sneak peeks at what I’m planning to do to raise money for our kids in need.” The interviewer ate that up, launching straight into the new topic.

“Idiots, all of them. So easy to redirect,” I sighed, flipping off the television and standing, stretching.

“Now, that’s not fair to them, dear. You’re just good at reading them,” My grandmother said from across the room, where she sat at her desk working on a novel she swore she would publish one day. I didn’t think it was likely, as much as she kept re-writing it, but it was fun to read and made her happy to work on.

“I guess that’s true. What are we thinking for dinner tonight? I could cook when I get home from work.”

Grandma laughed. “Alix, you know you can’t guarantee you’ll be home in time for dinner. I’ll make pork chops, and I’ll make sure to save you one if Grandpa’s in a hungry mood when he gets off work.” She teased. “Go do your rounds, save the world.”

“Grandma, I’m just a steel tier. I don’t save the world, that’s the platinums,” I laughed, walking over to hug her.

“You’ll get there. You’ve only been at this two years, dearest. Your father needed three just to get to steel, so you’re already doing better than he did!”

“And mother needed only three months to go platinum. She’s the one I’m more concerned with catching up to,” I pointed out, making her frown.

“You don’t need to catch up to her, as I’ve told you a million times. Now, go on. Jet will be furious if you’re late again.” She kissed my cheek and sent me on my way.

She was right, and I knew it, but stubbornness was a trait I picked up from both of my parents. As I trudged out to my car and went for HQ, I thought on it.

My father had died when I was nine. He had been in a massive explosion, trying to keep civilians safe. Flash Fire was his hero name, and was written in large font on the three statues of him in town and on his gravestone. He’d never wanted that, but the city didn’t listen when we said he wasn’t interested in being immortalized. One of the lesser risks heroes take, I suppose.

My mother was also powered. While Dad had fire power and was a hero, Mom didn’t bother to use her powers for more than maintaining a nice garden as I grew up. She was so sweet and kind, helping our neighbors when they needed it and making sure I learned right from wrong. At least, until Dad died. The day after his funeral, she brought me to my grandparents, promised me that she would always love me but I was safer with them, then left. The next time I saw her was three months later, as the fastest growing villian in the League of Villains, ever.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. We were a family that supported and raised heroes, my mother had always said so. She threw it all away to be a villain, just because Dad died doing hero’s work.

But that wasn’t what spurred me to hero’s work myself. I had hope she would come to her senses and come home to me, one day. When I was 16, I gave up that notion and realized the only way she would stop would be if I came to stop her. So I started training to be a hero.

Now, I was Flare, one of the up-and-comers in the Hero’s Association. I was still pretty new, only a steel rank, but I was determined to work my way up through the ranks. I was expecting to move up to bronze in a few more weeks if I kept up my work, and if my team didn’t get into any trouble.

All heroes below silver worked in a set team, and most in gold rank did as well. Heroes in iron rank had a silver rank volunteer leading their team, since they were the bottom rung of the ladder and most of them brand new. They needed watching, and training in how to handle villains of different calibers.

The villains had the same ranks: iron, steel, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. The two HQs did work together enough to come up with the scales, so the heroes wouldn’t be throwing newbies at strong villains, and the veteran heroes could be sent for villains that would need someone stronger to take them down. The only time this system failed was when rogues, villains who refused to work with the League, popped up. Those were usually people that had mental health issues that triggered their villainy, or were simply deeply mistrusting of the League having any level of work with the heroes. Some people, after all, assumed that all the villainy from the League must be staged to keep heroes in business.

In reality, the villains of the League just knew that if they went as crazy as they wanted, all of them, they could probably wiped out the heroes. There would, however, likely not be any place to take over if they did that. What was the point of being villains if the only other people were villains and the only property belonged to other villains? Some villains would have to become heroes just to get things to a point where there was a point to being a villain again, and the cycle would repeat. They decided it wasn’t worth it and set up rules and limits so it wouldn’t screw all of them over if one or two went rogue. Made sense, and made our lives easier.

I was in a team of four, with Hurricane, Jet Force, and Technix. 

Technix was a techno-path, a powered that could control electronics with his mind. It could be pretty useful, but a lot of veterans were already sure he wasn’t going to get above bronze rank with a power like that. 

Hurricane could summon and control winds, and had prevented a number of disastrous tornadoes from harming anyone. She said she would never completely stop one, as the planet had its own needs and weather was one of them, but she could reroute it slightly to protect people.

Our team captain was Jet Force, a dualie who could fly and had super strength. It was a handy combo, easy enough to go silver with at the minimum, but he also had enough combat sense that people thought he might make platinum one day.

I went by Flare, and could control fire. It was a harder power to rank highly with, but I’d learned by watching my dad, another fire user. I also happened to have another power that I didn’t tell people about: Invisibility. I was a secret dualie, holding that extra power in reserve for dire circumstances. 

Sometimes, it felt like my teammates didn’t really trust me to stay a hero. Most fire users that tried to become heroes did end up as villains, usually after feeling like they hadn’t been given a fair shake. I knew that wouldn’t be the case if I didn’t make it far, since I saw my dad make it to the top with the same power.

When I parked in our lot and went to enter HQ, I saw that Jet waited for me, still in plain clothes and looking grouchy. “What this time, Trevor?” I sighed. “I’m not late, and I know I did my paperwork well because Thorn complimented it before I left after our last patrol.” Jet just scowled more.

“Your stupid interview. ‘Rumors abound that I’m dating Jet Force but they aren’t true,’ said with a laugh like it’s the stupidest idea you’ve ever heard.”

I couldn’t believe this. After a moment of stunned silence, I looked around the street and found it mercifully empty before I grabbed his arm and towed him inside. He looked confused for a moment, but at least hit the badge scanner for me so I wouldn’t have to fumble my badge out of my bag. Once we were behind doors the general public couldn’t hear us through, I let go, turned, and glared.

“My identity is a secret to the public. If you go talking about my interview while we’re in plain clothes on the street and someone hears that, you put my family in danger. You want that on your head? Do I need to take you back up to the ethics board about privacy concerns again?”

“Well, I’m not wrong!” He retorted, clearly not caring. “Your-”

“You’re wrong for saying it in the middle of the street, and you weren’t exactly quiet about it. As far as anyone on the street knows, I’m a young woman working here as an assistant. I have potential enemies remember? Not to mention the rising rogue threat! And no, I don’t see you as a datable option, because you may be great at being a hero and thinking quick in a fix, but you are an idiot when it comes to social situations, privacy of your coworkers, and your own emotional intelligence.” I did my best to keep my voice level and calm. One of the biggest downside to fire-type heroes was a perceived anger problem. It was a negative stereotype, and one I’d seen was pretty well not true, but I wasn’t intending to further it.

“You don’t have to yell at me-” He started, then paled a little when someone put a hand on his shoulder. A rather large hand, and I’m betting there was some force behind it. What Jet hadn’t realized was that one of the platinums, a hero by the name of Valiant, had been near the door when we entered and heard the whole exchange. The older man stood a good foot taller than my teammate, and was also known for his strength and rigid moral compass.

“She didn’t raise her voice once. But keep it up,” Valiant told him coolly, “and I will. You’re a team captain, Jet Force. You need to respect your team, even out of uniform. If the lady doesn’t want her identity to get out, you keep her identity. If you think this will be a problem, then I’m sure we can pick a different captain for the team. Maybe Flare here, she seems level headed.”

“She’s a pyro, she-”

“Is intelligent, calm, and hasn’t had any errors her entire career. You, as smart and quick thinking as you are, have still had 20 errors this year alone.” I winced at that. Calling a hero out on their errors, times when an action they took cost lives that would have otherwise been spared, was harsh. Admittedly, only a handful of heroes made it past the two year mark without any errors, and even less made it to three that way, but no one needed or wanted reminders of lives they themselves had cost.

“She’s… a good hero…” Jet said reluctantly. “I uh… I’m gonna go… suit up. Flare, see you in a few at the meetup.” With that, he quickly walked off, trying to look as refined and dignified as he usually did, but looking more like a snob with his nose in the air.

“Sorry, kid. You know how some people are,” Valiant sighed watching my “fearless leader” scurry off. “Just keep your chin up, you’ll get there one day.”

“If I can make it even a fraction of your career length without errors, I’ll feel like I’m getting there. 40 years, and not a single error. You’re what every hero should strive to be, sir,” I admitted. “Thank you for the help with my… Captain. He has his moments, but he’s not usually that bad.”

“You’re a good hero. Your powers don’t decide that, it’s how you use them. I know of another fire hero that went a good, long career without errors. I think you’ll be every bit as good as Flash Fire was.” Valiant smiled. He was one of the few heroes who actually knew Flash Fire was my dad. It wasn’t exactly hidden knowledge, but most heroes didn’t bother to look into who the newer heroes were or where they came from. Valiant had been the silver for my dad’s iron rank team, and ended up at the house a lot as I grew up. He was like an honorary uncle to me until I went to my grandparents. “Now, go get ready for patrol. I hear they got something interesting for your group to investigate today.”

“Yessir!” I grinned, saluting, before heading off to the locker rooms. They were broken up by tier and by gender identity, so they were never too crowded given the different shift times. I’m sure that isn’t the case in bigger cities, but we only had about 6,000 people so we didn’t need as many heroes as often.

Hurricane was waiting for me in the locker room, already in her costume but without her mask. “Jet stop you and cause trouble?” She asked, smiling.

“Of course he did. And got his ass chewed by Valiant,” I snorted, going to my locker and pulling out my own costume.

“No, no, don’t tell me, let me guess…. He started shit in plain clothes out on the street, where anyone could hear him.” Hurricane grew up with Jet Force, so she knew him pretty well. They were actually cousins, and raised as practically siblings once their powers developed.

So, naturally, she knew the exact level of dumb he could be. “Yeah, that exactly. And got defensive when I reminded him I have reasons for keeping my identity secret.” Hurricane nodded and slipped her mask on. “On the bright side, Valiant said he thinks they’ve got something interesting for our patrol today. Let’s go meet up with the guys and see what they’ve got for us.” I finished getting my costume on, masked up, and went out to find our team’s meeting room. Hurricane was right behind me.

“Alix, you know you don’t have to put up with him, right? You can request a transfer to another team,” She pointed out. “There are days I’m sorely tempted to myself…”

“With any luck, one of us gets promoted soon and we’ll be on different teams anyway. I’ll tough it out. Thanks though, Abby.” I got the door to our meeting room and we stepped in to see the other two waiting. “Alright- So, what’s on the agenda today, Captain?” Jet still looked mildly bothered, but like he didn’t want to talk about it.

“There’s been some strange noises out by the old warehouses. Higher-ups want us to go investigate the area today. We also need to check out old Martinville Hotel while we’re on that side of town. There’s apparently been some lights on in there.”

“I didn’t think electricity still ran to that place. Unless someone rigged up a generator…” Technix shrugged. “Well, let’s get on the road, then, unless there’s something else?”

“That’s all we’ve got today. Come on, let’s head out,” Jet shrugged, leading us out. None of us knew what we were about to experience, or that this would be the patrol that changed everything.

The Technician

The Technician – Part 1

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I go by many names. Tech Support, Help Desk, Geek Squad, Super Nerd… This was even before I started my job, and they weren’t all terms of endearment.

But there are those who depend on me, see me as a hero. There are others who fear me, because I am the essence of their nightmares, the one being who can end their existence.

To them, I’m The Technician.

It started in high school. I was, once again, the new kid. Dad was the stay-at-home sort, and Mom’s job moved us around a lot. I hadn’t had a stable friend group since the fifth grade, and had stopped even trying since the seventh. Here I was, a junior, and my only friends were some gamers I had met online. Of course, since this was high school, other kids were quick to notice I was always on a device and didn’t socialize unless I was forced to.

“Tech Support” first popped up in gym class, one of those forced socialization situations. We were picking teams for dodgeball, and the jocks chosen as captains were arguing over me.

This wasn’t because I was bad. I was usually picked quickly for gym class, because I was nimble and could catch well. Throwing wasn’t my strong suit, but I was good enough at catching and dodging to be a valuable player. I rarely got out in dodgeball unless I wasn’t paying attention.

“Come on, man, you got Tech Support last time! Take Cody instead.” That was Tyler, a varsity basketball player. He was, as expected, tall, with dark hair and tan skin. Apparently, his parents had saved up and taken the family for a trip to Hawaii over summer break, and he remained outside a lot after they got home as well.

“No way, bro. Cody’s good, but he’s never touched her. If you get her, I get Noah. He’s the only one that can get Tech Support out. You can’t have both,” August, a track superstar for the school, countered. He was also tall, and wiry, with pale skin and red hair. I assumed he wore some strong sunscreen when he competed.

Cody and Noah were both football players, and cousins. Cody played defense, and Noah was the quarterback. Honestly, looking at them, they could’ve been twins. Cody had bleached his hair, for some unknown reason. At least be told apart, for now. Otherwise, they had the same dark complexion and eyes.

“Ugh… Fine, but if you get Noah, we get Cody too,” Tyler sighed.

“Deal, we get Noah,” August agreed.

“Cool. Cody, Tech Support- uh, sorry, Andy. You guys are with me.”

That was when I clued in that I was “Tech Support.” There must’ve been a look on my face, because a couple girls started snickering.

“Wait, I’m ‘Tech Support’? What the hell kinda dumb nickname is that?”

“Come on, Andy, it’s all in good fun. Better than mine,” August assured me. “I’ve been ‘Crash’ since I was ten. It’s just because no one knows you well enough for something better.”

“… Yeah, sure,” I replied with a shrug, moving to join Tyler’s team. He had a point. I’d only been there a couple weeks and hadn’t gone out of my way to make friends.

From that day, I was ‘Tech Support’ to this group, and a few others. To their credit, these boys didn’t let people harass me over it. I found out after another couple weeks that Cody was actually into computers, and hoping to be a programmer after college. Noah wanted to go pro in football, but he planned on going through college first so he could be a teacher if his football career fell through. Tyler and August each had their own dreams as well. Slowly, these four and I grew to be friends, and any bullies had to find a new nickname for me.

It was actually Cody who got me my first job, when my mom confirmed we would be staying until after I graduated high school.

“Yo- Tech Support, you got plans for part-time work?” He asked one day as he joined our group for lunch. A couple other girls had joined our little group too, Bethany and Sabrina. “My old man’s looking for a part timer. He has a computer repair shop.”

“Isn’t that a little too on-brand?” August joked. “Tech Support working in tech support?”

“I could use some income…” I admitted thoughtfully. “You sure he’d want some kid with no work experience?”

“He actually asked if you’d want the job,” Noah admitted. “I was over when they were talking about it. Uncle’s heard us talk about how good you are with computers. He said, if you want to work in the field when you grow up, it could be good experience. Even if not, customer service is a good field to get experience in.”

“Oh… Well, sure. I don’t know what I want to do with my life yet, but computer repair is always a needed field. Could be a good fall-back if nothing else,” I answered. “I just gotta make sure my folks are cool with it. I’ll give you a call later?”

“Sounds good, I’ll let him know,” Cody grinned. “I help out at the shop too, so we’ll get to work together. Well, when I’m not at practice.”

“I’ll disown him if he skips practice,” Noah agreed solemnly. Tyler and August just chuckled.

“Hey, you start making some money, we could take you out to the best shops sometime,” Bethany offered.

“Yeah, the mall has some places I think you’ll love,” Sabrina agreed. “Could be a fun girl’s day.”

“Sure, sounds great,” I agreed.

It didn’t take much to convince my parents about getting a job. Dad thought it would teach me responsibility, and Mom said she’d help me start learning about finances when I started making money. She said school never really prepared anyone for that part of life and, admittedly, she was right.

When I called Cody later, he put his dad on the phone. “This is Joseph, how can I help you?”

“Hello, sir, this is Andrea Jones. Cody mentioned you might have a part-time job I could apply for?” I’m pretty sure I sounded nervous, because I was, but Joseph sounded really calm and cool.

“Oh, Andy! Yes, of course. You have your parent’s permission?”

“Yes sir, they think it’ll be good for me,” I assured him.

“Perfect. Now, I’ll have you on a couple nights a week and on Saturday’s. I’m closed on Sundays, so you’ll have that off. It’ll be hard work, make you think a lot, but I’ll pay $15 an hour starting out.”

“Wow, that’s more than I expected. Sounds perfect. I’m not afraid of a little hard work.”

“Then swing by my shop with your folks on Saturday and we’ll go over paperwork and everything. I want your parents there in case they have any questions for me, or concerns.”

“Yes sir, thank you! We’ll see you Saturday.” With that, I had a job lined up that, unbeknownst to me, was going to radically change several lives.

The job went well for a few weeks, until a lady brought in a machine on a Monday night that had a virus. Joseph called me over and smiled. “I’ve gotta step out for a few, but this looks like it should be pretty easy for you to handle. Just do like I’ve been showing you, shouldn’t take but an hour or two I think.”

“No problem, Joe. Shouldn’t be too bad,” I promised. He smiled and left, leaving me in charge for the first time. I took the machine to the back and set it up, getting to work on it. As it booted up the first time, though, something odd happened. I saw a little pink character peek out from the corner of the screen at me.

“That… has got to be the oddest thing I’ve ever seen on a computer,” I muttered to myself, leaning closer to the little figure to try to decide what it was. I slipped a little and caught myself by grabbing onto the old CRT monitor Joe had set up for testing purposes… And my hand went right through the screen.

Not in a “broken beyond reason” way, but in a “portal to another world” way. As I stared at my hand, or where my hand should be, the pink figure moved over to where my hand had gone through. I felt a tug, and suddenly I was being pulled into the computer screen. I was falling into a dark void with no idea what was happening. Pretty sure I screamed, but my ego says I didn’t. I landed pretty hard on my back on what looked like a grassy plain.

“Oooh, that didn’t look like it felt good,” Someone commented. I tilted my head up to look and see the pink character standing there. “Well, sucks for you. Guess you can’t get rid of me now, if you’re stuck in here with me.”

“Excuse me?” I couldn’t believe my eyes. This character looked like a woman’s bathroom symbol, but with a face. It wasn’t a super detailed face, but it was there. “What the hell kind of contact high did I get from that computer?”

“You didn’t. At least, I don’t think so. You’re a Linker. You can enter our world, and interact with it as if it was yours,” Bathroom Sign Lady smirked at me. “But since you’re just a little girl and you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re gonna be stuck here unless another Linker finds you and pulls you out. And now there’s nothing you can do to me.”

“Wait so… like… you’re real? I mean… you pulled me in here, so you and I can touch each other?” I asked, confused but plotting. I wasn’t exactly fighter material, but either I was high and about to shadow box myself, or this was real and I could punch the thing annoying me most right now without anyone getting mad at me.

“Uh, yeah. That’s how you got here, duh,” BSL retorted, clearly thinking I was dumb.

“Oh, good.” I stood, wincing a little. I didn’t feel anything broken, but I was definitely sore. “Then I can do this,” and I gave her my best right hook. At least I think it was a right hook. I’d never thrown a punch a day in my life.

She didn’t dodge it, though. I don’t think she thought I would be with it enough to do so. But my fist hit her face, and she shrieked. Then, she shattered into small pieces and disappeared.

“You did it! You stopped the virus!” A small voice cheered behind me. I turned and spotted a little cat that walked over, sitting at my feet and licking its paw to wash its face. “Not that she was a very strong virus, but she would’ve done a lot of damage to the local area.”

“Uh… Are you… a talking cat?” I asked, confused.

“Yes. I’m a program out in cyberspace. The owner of this system has me installed, so I have a home nearby that I visit when she needs me.” The cat stopped washing and looked up at me. “So, you’re a new linker just learning your powers. What are you called, Linker?”

“Uh… I uh… I’m not sure what a ‘linker’ is, I’m just a technician…”

“Technician! I like it, it has a nice ring to it. Alright, Technician… So I suppose you don’t know how to get out, do you?”

“Uh… No?” It felt odd, being judged by this cat. I mean, cats judge everyone all the time, but this was a talking, virtual cat apparently. So it felt a little more odd than usual.

“Well… I can see who I can talk to. Or you might get lucky and have a linker swing by,” The cat chuckled. “You might be stuck here a while while I look for someone who knows something, though. I could ask an old program, but… The only one I think would know is Staple Mable, and she’s kinda annoying, so… I’d rather ask anyone else first.”

“Staple Mable? Like… The old Macroverse assistant? The one that would pop up and talk to you when you opened one of their products?” I only barely even remembered the little stapler that would pop up in older versions of Macroverse products.

“That’d be the one. She’s older, but she’s been around long enough to know things. And you know some of it was picked up in the course of her duties. I’m Jabber John, by the way. A talking companion.”

“Oh… I’ve heard of Jabber John. Also popular for a while…” I blinked. “Uh… Sorry if that was… Insensitive…”

“Oh, no, not at all. Such is the life of a program,” John laughed. “Well, let me see-” He looked up. “Nevermind, looks like you won’t need my help after all.”

I looked up to see what he was talking about. A strange tool was above our heads and lowering towards me. “Wha-” Before I could react, the tool latched on to my arm and pulled. Now I was flying up toward where I’d fallen from, then out and into Joe’s arms.

“Easy there, kid- I’ve got ya,” Joe told me as he steadied me and made sure I got my feet under me. “Well, I had suspected you might be a linker, but… Wasn’t expecting to get back and find you in an old machine!” He chuckled.

“What?” I straightened quickly and met his eyes, baffled. “You can do that? Go into machines?”

“Computers, phones, video game consoles… Yep. Haven’t tried car systems yet, but… I’d imagine we could go in those too,” Joe answered, moving to grab one of our desk chairs and sit. “Take a seat, Andy, and let’s talk a minute. I already closed the shop for the night. We’ll need the quiet.” I obeyed, taking another chair and sitting. Well, at least I knew I wasn’t high.

“So… Linkers… Are a thing. And I just punched a real computer virus,” I stated, clarifying what had just happened and admittedly not fully believing it.

“Oh, you did take care of the virus? Perfect, that will make the night easier!” Joe said cheerfully. “Yes. I’m not sure where the term came from, but linkers have a… Superpower, I guess you could call it. We can enter technology, fight viruses from within and even travel that way if we know what we’re doing,” He explained. “We can even interact with regular people, if they’re at the computer. They’ll assume we’re a program, of course, but what can you do?” He smiled. “I’ll start teaching you how to use this power. After you’ve had time to process this, that is.”

Over the next couple years, I slowly grew into my abilities and learned all I could from Joe. When I went to college, Joe pointed me to another linker he knew in the local area and got me a job at her tech shop. College was where my adventures really began, and my life started to change.

Updates

New Projects Coming Soon!

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It’s been a bit since a project was running on this blog. Haven’t really posted one since Taking Back the Kingdom.

But I’ve started two new projects that I think will fair well here.

The first is a story that I’m currently calling The Technician. It will follow a computer tech with an ability to enter technology and fight viruses and tech issues in person, and how they use that ability to help those around them.

The second is a new superhero story that I think I’ll have a better time with writing than I was having with Life is Super. Right now, I’m calling it “Just Super” but I’m not sure that’ll stick. I’m working on a better one.

The Technician should have its first part up sometime this week. The superhero story might come this week or next, and might not. When they come out, feel free to leave feedback in the form of likes or comments!

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more!

Updates

Moving Forward – Taking Scary Steps Into The Future!

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I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching. Viewers seemed to like my first ever completed project, Taking Back the Kingdom. I’ve recently been encouraged that I should submit it for publication as a book.

It’s a dream of mine to publish a book. I worry less over if it becomes a best-seller, though that would be amazing. I just want to be a published author. So now, I research the process.

I’ve been on the fence about publishing Taking Back the Kingdom. I never really meant it to be published. I never really meant it to get popular on the blog. It was just a writing exercise, when it started, and then… I was driven to finish it.

Now, that’s changing a bit. It’s a completed manuscript. It’s a rough draft, sure, but I can polish it up before I find an agent for it. I don’t plan to self-publish. If I’m going to be a published author, I’d prefer it to be through a publishing company. It doesn’t feel like it’s as real if I just self-publish.

I still have other projects I’m working on. One, The Rose Queen, will be coming to the blog. I plan to do it just as I did Taking Back the Kingdom, posting a chapter at a time. It will likely be just as rough draft when posted as Taking Back the Kingdom was. The main difference is that I am writing The Rose Queen with the intention that it will, one day, be submitted for publishing.

Now, where do I go from here? Right now, the next step is to edit the original manuscript, add details where needed and clarify any bits that need it. Once I’ve done that, I’ll try to get an agent. From my research, I’ll do far better with an agent than trying to do anything on my own, and the biggest publishing companies won’t even touch manuscripts without agents.

Do I think my book will be a best seller? Probably not. There can only be so many of those. Do I think it might get a nice fan base? Here’s hoping!

I still struggle a lot with “imposter syndrome” and feeling like I’m not as good at this as some people seem to think I am. There will probably always be some of that. My books could become as popular as The Lord of the Rings and I would still think I wasn’t that good. It’s just going to be something I struggle with.

But I thank those who read Taking Back the Kingdom, and who helped me realize people actually would enjoy my writing. Without likes on those posts, I probably would’ve given up on that project ages ago and never completed that story. I definitely never would have considered having it published.

Let’s see what the future holds as I take one step forward towards my dream.

Monologued Dialogue, Updates

An approximately 6 month check in – Where have we been?

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Man, it’s been a minute, hasn’t it? We haven’t posted anything since May, and that was just sharing a few spreadsheets I’ve made to help other gamers with specific game tracking things.

And it’s been an eventful few months. You started a new job, got in a car wreck, lost two puppers, and got a new car.

I didn’t need the reminder about the puppers… But for our readers, I had a little dog, we’d guess about 3 or 4 years old, that my mother had taken in when he was found wandering near her house. No one claimed him after they looked for his owner, so Mom kept him until Dad wanted him out of the house because he wasn’t fully trained. (And Dad was looking to get a different dog, admittedly.) So, little Phil came to live with me, my cats, my brother, and my brother’s old basset hound named River.

Phil was a cute little stinker, wasn’t he?

Yes, he was. But I couldn’t get him house trained. A year later and I was still struggling, but then his health took a dive. Come to find out, poor little guy was extremely diabetic, and it was time to start twice daily insulin shots. I did my best to get his numbers under control, but I was still working a dead-end job with little income, so I was also trying to find a home that could give him the care that he needed. Unfortunately, he took another bad dive and passed before I could find someone who could help him better than I could. That was around the end of May, and the exact same day that a woman I’ve seen as another grandmother and my mother’s cousin passed away. I’ve heard that death comes in threes, but they aren’t usually all on the same day.

On the plus side, you started a new job at the start of July. One that pays better, you already had a friend on the team you joined, and that took some stress off of you.

True. But then in August, I was in a wreck that totaled my car and took me a while to recover from mentally. Physically, the worst I had was a jammed finger and a chipped tooth. Mentally… Well, I’m still not completely recovered, but I’m not flinching from being “too close” to another car anymore. I also did manage to get a nice car after I got the insurance payout.

Things were quieter for you for a few months, at least. September and October weren’t too terrible.

Until River started to pass. He was an old dog, the family’s had him for years. He used to be Mom’s, too, but the brother that lives with me wanted him, and he was getting cranky with the younger and more energetic dogs around Mom’s house, so… He came to live with us! For a bit, he actually was a truck dog and went out with my brother in the semi every week. He loved that! But my brother changed to a different company and wasn’t allowed to have a dog in the truck anymore, so River stayed home. At least things were still calm here, as the cats didn’t bother him. Three of them actually ignored him, but my little orange cat, Flareon, loved him to pieces. Phil didn’t even bother him much when we eventually got him, preferring to play with energetic Flareon instead.

Man, Flareon did not take losing either of them well, did she?

No, she didn’t. She moped and looked for Phil for a solid month. It broke my heart, watching her look for her buddy. At least with River, she was able to see him declining, so it wasn’t as sudden. She’s still definitely been a little mopey, but not nearly as bad.

Well, let’s look at some happier things- What about the project you’re actively working on?

I’ve actually made a decent bit of headway on the start of a new story project: The Rose Queen – First Queen. That’s the temporary title, it may change before publishing. I’m also not yet sure if it’ll be published here, or if I’ll try to get it turned into a book and book series. I have ideas for a couple of follow up books, but I’m not 100% on them yet. But I’ve gotten the intro written for The Rose Queen, and I’ve got a full outline and an idea of how the world itself works.

So, magic, fantasy, sci-fi? What do we have?

It’s definitely a fantasy type story, with magic rather than tech. It’s hard to describe without giving a lot of the story away, but put simply, life is very different for the people of that world than the people of this one. Living areas are nothing like what we have, the social structure is different to a degree, and how people cooperate and survive is adjusted to that.

You can give at least a little overview, to get readers hyped for it, right?

Well… We’ll be following 23 year old Thorn, an illusionist living in District 92, the poorest district in her area. While helping her friends, she is affected by the actions of a serial killer in the district known as “The Stalker” by the residents. No one knows who this is, or why they are doing what they are, but after someone close to Thorn is taken, she starts to take a bigger interest in bringing justice to the crimes in District 92.

What about your other, big, 7 book project? How’s that going? I mean, I know, considering I’m just you, but what about for our readers?

Well, I’m in a holding pattern on that one at the moment. I know what I want to do, it’s just how to do it and how to get from point a to point b that’s evading me. It’s a project that will, honestly, take a long time. Even though 5 of the books will be the same story from different perspectives, there will be scenes in some that aren’t in the others, and how each character retells the tale will differ based on what they see as important and how they talk and think. For example, an analytical type will recall more details that led to various actions on their part, a fashionista may recall more what people wore and how things looked, and someone about the action over anything else may remember more of what people did and less of what they said. It’s both a look at how different characters are written, and how different people will remember the same exact events.

That’s pretty interesting, actually. Even when two people see the exact same thing, you’re right that they will focus on different parts of it and therefore remember it a bit differently. Even if the major points add up to the same thing for both of them, the small details will differ.

Exactly! It’s going to be a difficult project for me, but that’s half the fun. I’m looking forward to my next inspiration spurt for it. Until then, I’ve got The Rose Queen to work on. I’m trying not to start any other projects for the time being, so I don’t overload myself like I’ve done in the past. We’ll see how that goes from here! Let us know if you think I should post The Rose Queen here, or if you’d rather I go straight for book form!

Gaming Tools

A Few Tools for Gamers Like You!

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If you’ve read anything on this site, you may have gotten the impression that I am a bit of a nerd.

Yeah, a bit might be an understatement. I thoroughly enjoy playing games, reading books, watching anime, and making spreadsheets. (I am not, however, at the level yet of a power point nerd. That’s a different breed of nerd requiring a level of creativity I just don’t have.)

In a couple of cases, some of my interests can interact with each other in… Well, entirely expected ways. Specifically, I will occasionally make spreadsheets to help me calculate or track things for video games.

I’ve got a few of these up on Google Docs right now, and I figured it was time I shared these with more than just my friends. You can now find them here!

To make any of them your own, simply go to “File” > “Make a Copy” or “File” > “Download” and edit the data to fit your information!

Now, let me explain a little about the three documents currently in there.

We’ll start with the one that I did purely by myself, as I crafted the other two based off other documents I had found.

CramOMatic Calculator – Pokemon Sword and Shield

The CramOMatic Calculator is for use with Pokemon Sword and Shield Isle of Armor DLC. It’s a pretty simple doc, really, and just shows you what you can get from the Cram-O-Matic based on what you put in. In the “Calculator” tab, just choose any 4 items from the dropdowns and you’ll get the output it’ll give you. I got the calculations for this from Bulbapedia, and plugged them in from there. It doesn’t currently handle Pokeball creation from inputting four Apricorn items, but I can look at fixing that in the future.

Legends-Arceus-Tasks&Dex – Pokemon Legends Arceus

Next, let’s look at another Pokemon related document, the Legends-Arceus-Tasks&Dex sheet. This is pretty much what it says on the tin: A tracker for your tasks and Pokedex for Pokemon Legends Arceus.

This document MOSTLY comes from a tracker I found in this article on Screen Hype. They say in the article that the original was created by Patric Gmuer, and the dude did an amazing job! Literally the only work I did on this was some tweaks here and there, calculations, and an overall percentage completed deal. I think I may have needed to change a few numbers here and there, too, but that was a lot of data for one person to gather, so if Patric got only a little wrong here and there, that’s super impressive.

It took me quite a while to get this particular tracker the way I wanted it, to where it gave me a breakdown per region of how close to completion I was and a look at what level I would be when I turned in my data, but I’m happy with it and it wouldn’t have been possible without Patric’s original work. If I knew how to send you to him directly, I would!

BotW Completion Tracker – Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Finally, we have one I’ve been working on for some time now. While this one says completion tracker, I haven’t added the Korok seeds and I’m not sure if I will.

The BotW Completion Tracker is otherwise an overall tracker for your BotW playthrough!

It started as a copy I moved over from this file, then tweaked as I went to make it more useful for my personal needs.

The first thing I did was add a “Current Inventory” tracker so I could see how much more I needed of any given material. Then, I looked at making a more browsable look at how many of any given item I needed, based on the armors I had.

That took the longest, honestly, because I decided I wanted a full list of what was needed to upgrade any armor at any given time. Then, I put in a way to compare what level my armor currently was to the materials I needed to finish upgrading it fully.

From there, I added Shrine, Side Quest, and Shrine Quest tracking, then DLC Armor and DLC Shrines were broken out into their own tabs so they could be ignored if one didn’t have the DLC or wanted to see how many base-game tasks they’d completed.

Then, I realized there was more I could do with the armor tracker: I could make a tab to see what items I could upgrade with my current inventory, and what items from my inventory it required. So far, that’s the last change I’ve added.

This was all done in Microsoft Excel, then moved to Google Docs so I could share with my friends easier.

Coming Up

At the moment, I don’t have specific plans for other tools, but I may finish up an Animal Crossing: New Horizons Island Rating calculator I was working on a while back and post that. Though, there is a website that I was using a bit ago that seems to do that job well enough, so I might not.

I also started a Fantasy Life for the 3DS tracker, though I don’t know how many people would want me to post that. I found very little in the way of trackers for Fantasy Life, so I think it would be useful.

Of course, when new games come out that I’m interested in, I very well may make other trackers and calculators. Chances are I’ll make one for Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, depending on what kinds of collectables there are.

Are there any trackers or calculators that you’re having a hard time finding but you think could be made on Excel or Google Docs if someone just took the time? I can’t promise to make just anything that’s suggested, as I might not know the game well enough to know what’s useful and what isn’t, but if I see something suggested that people feel a need for and I know a bit about, I’ll see what I can do!

Otherwise, the link above is to the folder all these Tools will be in, so feel free to bookmark it and check it out from time to time!

Updates

A Brief Update – Looking Ahead

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Yo! It’s been a while.

Quite a while, but we’re still here.

Life got a little hectic, plus the heat around home made us not want to even write.

Then, writer’s block struck, and it’s been downhill since.

I’m starting to get the writing itch again, though nothing has been coherent yet. I have a few story ideas that might start going up, but I won’t know until that happens. They certainly won’t be anything super polished, just like the stories already on the site, but that doesn’t really matter too much.

I’m still working on a large project, when I can get my brain to cooperate. That project will likely never be put on the site. I can’t figure out how I would do it to begin with, but it’s also a project that I fully intend to eventually be published as a book. While I might put out a few snippets and previews from it, that won’t happen until way further down the line.

I’m not going to set goals for this year for the blog because, frankly, the blog is still a side project. Things will constantly come up that overshadow the blog, and I can’t set goals for something I’m not prioritizing.

If my work starts taking off on here, then I might be able to readjust, or if the rest of my life stabilizes a bit. Otherwise, it’ll stay down on the priority scale while I get other things in order.

I’d love to eventually be able to live off writing, especially books or this blog. That’s not realistic, and that’s not likely, but it would be pretty cool. Unfortunately, unless that happens or a job lands in my lap that gives me a lot less to worry about, I won’t be able to put the time in that would be required for that.

Either way, I don’t plan to go anywhere. It’ll be slow going, but I’ll keep posting things as they come to me. Thanks for reading!

Uncategorized

Talking Out Plans, and Working Out Writer’s Block

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You know, I may have a bit of writer’s block, but I still get some great ideas while I’m working.

Yeah? Like what?

Well, I can’t just give out all of my cool ideas here. But I’m considering a short story about heroes. Super or otherwise, no idea yet.

That could be pretty cool.

Right? I’m also considering posting a project I’ve been wanting to work on. I found that it was easier to start making progress with TBtK when I started it on here. Maybe the same will be true with other single-story projects.

Yeah, you’re working on a much larger project, aren’t you? How many books was it you currently have planned?

If it works out how I want it to, 7. Five books for one part of the overall story, two for the other. Each book will be from a different perspective, so a reader that reads them all would get the most full picture. Alternatively, you pick the character that you like the voice of the most and read their version. The first part will be five perspectives, then, but only two for the second.

Only two? Why’s that? You’re not killing main characters, right?

Not planning to, no. It’s more a matter of a change of theme, in a way. Not really a change in theme, I guess, but… In what the characters value or learn. The first story will have five perspectives on friendship, relationships, and growing up. The second… On ideals, truth, and a clash of friends that see things from different eyes. Which story you read first could drastically alter how you see the story itself, until you’ve read enough to get the whole picture.

That sounds complicated. And won’t writing that way open yourself to potential plot holes? I mean, writing the same story from so many perspectives… You’re bound to get what someone said or did wrong.

That’s the beauty of it. See, how any one person perceives a situation will be different from how another person will, even people brought up the same or in similar circumstances. One person will focus on what is said, another what’s done. Yet another will focus on what they feel, or think, or think others were thinking. Then, on top of that, add that human memory is fallible. No one has absolute perfect memory of any event that happens to them. So, yes, dialogue will be varied slightly between each book, but that will help you see what each character focuses on or finds important. Likewise, the amount of description for each character will change, scenes that they find important will change, and how they interact with other characters when alone or in a smaller group won’t show in every single book. There will be scenes only in one book, or two, all the way up to scenes shared by all.

This is the kind of writing challenge you’ve been looking for, isn’t it?

Oh, definitely. Nameless is another good challenge, but I’m not sure I’m up to it as a writer yet. And the original prompt for TBtK is one I intend to hit up again in the near future, but I’m again not sure if I’m at the point I could manage it yet.

Well, what else are you thinking about working on?

I’m hoping to get some more dialogues like this one out. I’m hoping that I’ll start to find more time to write them as these “conversations” happen in real time. It feels inauthentic to sit and write about things in this style when I pre-selected the theme and all. It feels more legit to just sit like this and chat in real time, at least as far as we see it.

I agree on that! I feel like it’s a lot more fun this way. And we can still write things and publish them in the future. Juuuuuust like this talk!

Bingo!

Monologued Dialogue

When Life Gives You Restless Energy…

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GAH! WHY?! Why can’t I focus and get cleaning done? Why can’t I even focus on the games I like? Or books? Or videos or TV? Why is it so hard today?

Have you considered your brain works differently than those around you?

Yes, but that doesn’t help me if I don’t know how to manipulate it!

How about-

I don’t want to go to a doctor right now. Last time I tried to bring up this concern, it was brushed off.

Do it anyway. I know it’s unnerving, but-

I don’t want more pills I’ll forget to take. I need to figure out how to work with this.

Well, that long walk last night seemed to do the trick, at least somewhat. Or when you start writing absolute nonsense at the speed of a mad woman.

Yeah, but I can’t always do either of those, either due to where I’m at or weather or supplies at hand… Besides, walking 2 miles just because I’m frustrated, restless, or can’t focus really isn’t feasible at the moment just as is.

That’s true, but you can find a solution for those times that walking or writing won’t work. “Daydreaming,” for lack of a better term, also seems to focus you down.

Yeah- not really daydreaming but intentionally writing a story in my mind while I work on things… That does help sometimes. Other times, it gives me a headache.

That’s because you’re tensing up and stressing about other things, kid. As you figure things out, you’ll be fine.

What if it’s not fine? What if I can’t ever get this under control because I don’t want to go get medication for it? What if it’s not something that can be treated or helped and I’m just not normal? What if-

You read enough books to know what I’m about to tell you. You can “what if” yourself to death, kid. Instead, let’s look at what you’ve got going. You’ve got three potential ways to help you focus. You’re finding new ways to help yourself all the time. And if you don’t go to a doctor or therapist or psychiatrist? That’s fine, so long as you’re willing to accept the consequences of not accepting help and learn how to handle it without a professional.

Stop being so rational.

I am literally the rational part of your brain given a voice and personality. Can’t help it. Learn and grow, kid, that’s all you can do. That’s all anyone can do, at the end of the day. You can do this. Countless people do every day, with or without professional help.

Yeah… Yeah, I guess you’re right. Though remind me to be smarter the next time I want a two mile walk. That hill was brutal on my knee.

Sure thing, kid. If you’ll listen.

Monologued Dialogue

Doing What You Love And Loving What You Do

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It’s been a bit. We haven’t had a public chat in quite a while.

No, we haven’t. Haven’t had much private chatting either. You’ve been discouraged lately.

Well, when you start a writing blog and one fitness review gets all of your views for months on end, it kinda wrecks your motivation. Plus, writers block for the stuff I’m thinking of putting up as much next project… I kinda feel lost as a writer.

That’s fair- to work hard on something and see nothing for it, that can break a person. So, what will you do?

Keep on keeping on. I didn’t start this blog for exposure or to become famous. I did it to break out of my head, share my writing with whoever would find it, and maybe inspire others along the way. Through my chats with you, I want to help others see how to look in a different way at things. Or, at least how I do it.

And if nothing else you put out gets views?

It’ll be here if someone wants to view it. I don’t write because I have to, or I need to be seen. I started writing because I love it. I started writing because I love it. It’s freeing, a release from stress, and a way to explore myself.

So, you’re more worried about doing what you love?

Yes. I want to eventually publish a book. That will be for other people. This, though… this is mostly for me. A sort of public diary, public workbook.

Then that’s the important thing. Do things for you, not because it will make you look good. You’ve grown a lot lately, and mostly on your own.

I’m never on my own, really. You’re literally part of me, so I’ve always got you, too.