Spirits of Civilization - On The Stormy Streets

The group assembled at the intersection of Gravois and Lindbergh, near I-270. It figured that Gravois wasn’t even here, off to meet with Des Peres, much to Lindbergh’s chagrin.
 
Slicking back his hair, Kirkwood gave his usual cocky smirk as he approached the assemblage of his fellow spirits. Lindbergh gave his usual trademark scowl at his “little brother”, which Kirkwood just ignored.
 
It was a bit of a motley crew tonight. Big Bend, the twins Laclede and Hanley, Lindbergh, Kirkwood himself, and to his surprise, Sunset Hills stood among them. The town spirit, standing taller than all of them, looked grim, unusual for his normally high spirits. He kept glancing upwards, to where the dark clouds roiled. Even Kirkwood could admit there was a restless energy in the air, unusual for this time of year. Probably just an early tornado, surely.
 
“Took your time, little brother,” said Lindbergh.
 
“I always arrive when I mean to arrive,” said Kirkwood.
 
“Fashionably late,” quipped Hanley.
 
“Fashionably lame,” quipped Laclede.
 
“Fashionably blamed,” said Hanley.
 
“Fashionably shamed,” said Laclede.
 
“Yes, yes,” Kirkwood waved them off. If he didn’t nip the twins in the bud, they’d be going all night. “So what are we looking at at?”
 
“We think it’s a hurricane,” said Sunset Hills. He looked off into the distance somberly.

Digital Dragons, Book Three

Digital Dragons proceeds along! Bobbi continues to build up her resources, acquiring stronger armors and equipment in rapid succession, just in time to meet another powerful enemy! It's clear the world isn't going to wait for her to keep "getting prepared" before she goes on her Quest. After this latest harrowing encounter, it's time to get a move on!

I really hadn't expected to pop this out so soon after the last one, and I can tell the drag is really hitting me now, so it's time to pull back and let this one recharge a bit. Thanks for reading thus far!

As before, you can read the PDF from here: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T8Tn0lOfDuqXUjXyjhFx3kxqkUsV7bt5/view?usp=share_link

Digital Dragons, Book Two

Digital Dragons continues with the further adventures of Bobbi, Miner And Crafter Extraordinaire(ish)! As she slowly builds up her resources, she encounters a potential new ally, runs afoul of a powerful foe, and takes her first step into another dimension! Things are looking rather hectic, but hey, she's got nothing if not time on her side, conveniently divided into twenty-minute chunks at that!

Made with modded Minecraft and Comic Life 3. I didn't think I'd get another book out right away, but the muse stuck around for a while longer this time! After this, though, I'm taking a break before I give my wrists, and my brain, carpal tunnel.

You can download the PDF here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NeNkS3ojHyUC_uUJz9TolxyK_NcN708_/view?usp=share_link

Digital Dragons, Book One

Digital Dragons is a comic book project created with Minecraft (including several mods) and Comic Life 3. Born from a half-joke/half-desperation move to break me out of another prolonged bout of writer's block, as well as conveniently justify continuing my Minecraft addiction, the comic tells of the first few days of "Sharkerbob" seemingly awakening into his Minecraft avatar, whereupon he becomes stuck in the world of the game! Yes, it's just about the most cliché premise you could think of for a Minecraft "fan fic", but it fits the conceit of the game well enough, and made for an easy jumping off point for wacky early-game shenanigans. As improvised dialogue and characters, I also did not set up anything about the environment ahead of time (aside from one plot-relevant detail), so Sharkerbob's responses are real-time reactions to my own exploration of the area, making for some great organic writing.

This was a really fun project, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed making it!

The comic has been saved as a PDF format, which you can download here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pJRZMOpaYo56VDtdX2YZUQwuVuQq9UaE/view?usp=share_link

The Roil

CONCEPT
The Universe is finite. It is cosmically vast, to be sure, but it does have an edge, an endpoint beyond which reality as we know it ceases to exist. Beyond that edge is the Roil, a truly infinite expanse of raw, energetic potential. What we think of as the Big Bang is actually more like a Tiny Hollowing within the Roil; our unfathomably huge Universe is merely a microscopic bubble formed within the Roil.
 
Bubbles like these exist everywhere within Roil, an effervescence of creation, where fragments of that cosmic potential briefly solidify into a set form of reality before crumbling back into non-existence. In the Roil, these Reality Bubbles last for a comparative instant; within them, eons upon eons pass for as the Universe within forms, evolves, and eventually dies.
 
The Roil exists in countless dimensions. While it is technically possible to travel to it via reaching the edge of the universe, this is impractical for numerous reasons. However, any one can reach the Roil from any physical point within a Universe via dimensional travel. Indeed, with the proper protections, it is possible to use the Roil as a medium by which to access other Universes entirely, as well as different points within a single Universe.
 
This is the secret of hyperspace travel, time travel, pocket dimensions, alternate timelines, and other such deviations from the standard reality.
 
The Roil is also the secret behind the reality breaking powers of superhumans, magic, and breaker technology. The Roil being a realm of pure potential, it is capable of rewriting existence as we know it. By channeling the energies of the Roil, one can perform impossible feats. Civilizations that manage to achieve reliable access to the Roil have the capacity to effect God-like change in the Universe.

SalQuest, Draft One, Concluded

Author’s Note: My intention was always to go back and do a full re-write of SalQuest if I ever came back to it. However, no matter how many times I turned it over in my head, I could never get things to work out. Instead, I ultimately ended up adding more chapters continuing where I left off from SalQuest: Draft One. 

After trying to hack away at it for about the tenth time in the year and a half since Draft One, I finally decided it was time to put a fork in it, even if it meant resorting to a hackneyed, screech-to-a-dead-stop of an ending. As a story helping me work through my writer’s issues, I think SalQuest, (along with another project I wrote under another pen name), has already served its purpose. Going back to it repeatedly like this, with all the baggage it brings, and the impossible standards I keep foisting on myself with it, well, it isn’t very healthy to keep flaying myself with this whip over and over again.
 
So, fuck it, let’s get this done. I find it’s much easier for me to move on from a project if I am able to put at least some level of “official closure” to it, so for what it’s worth, this story does now have an ending, pure bullshit though it may be.
 
I am condensing all the “continued” posts I had made previously into this one just to minimize clutter, as I am want to do on my websites. For context, the first three chapters of “Arc Two” were posted in April of 2022, and the next two after that in early January of 2023. SalQuest: Draft One, “Arc One” was posted in August of 2021, just to give you an idea of the time gaps that can occur between my writings.
 
As truncated as this story ended up, I hope there was something to enjoy for those who give it a look. I am ultimately glad I tried writing it, even if it didn’t get very far. It’s ultimately for the best I move on, though. (Now let’s see if I can actually mean it this time.)

For those who haven't read the previous parts, this "series" starts with Final Story of Salvador Roberts, and continues with SalQuest.
 

Kat meets Hot-Head

 NOTE: This is a very old piece written back in college. After doing a drawing of Hot-Head, I felt a bit nostalgic for the scene, and decided it was still decent enough to post.

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    “’Scuse me, mister.” Dammit! Another zipper-pocket! Didn’t anyone trust the people around them nowadays?

            “Watch it, girl,” said the man, not bothering to really look at her. She laughed, not paying attention to him. She wasn’t quite one to talk about trusting people, really. At any rate, she’d have to move down a few blocks and wait at least another twenty minutes, or she’d start looking suspicious. Idly walking with the flow of the crowd, she let herself get lost in thought; however, her stomach growled, reminding her of its neglect. She wasn’t sure she could wait twenty minutes.

            She looked around, trying to spot someone self-absorbed enough to make an early run on. It was then she noticed him. The boy looked normal enough, but for the ungodly large stocking cap on his head. Below the cap, she could make out his deep blue eyes. He was hanging around the outdoor produce market, looking this way and that. She kept a cool eye on him as he made hesitant grabs at an apple here, an orange there. She smiled thinly to herself. He was really such an amateur.