Over the Horizon

Over the Horizon is a short story I wrote in December 2017 to February of 2018. It is a short story that was inspired by an image I had seen many years ago (drawn by Steven Stahlberg, as seen above), alongside meeting with a friend I had not seen for five years, and a visit to a therapist concerning my mental health and my feelings for this friend. Over the Horizon focuses on Robin, a girl who wakes up to find that her whole world has transformed overnight; after finding herself rescued by another youth, she discovers that he needs more help than him as she tries to figure out what has just happened.

Over the Horizon can be downloaded as a PDF right here. It's about 2750 words. All constructive criticism is welcome.

Steven Stahlberg's online portfolio can be found here, though note that some of the content may not be safe for work.

A Pause in the Rain

A Pause in the Rain is a short story I wrote in March to April of 2018, heavily inspired by a nightmare I had earlier in the year. It is a short story that concerns Quinton on a walk back to his flat through the rain, and an unusual woman he encounters en route; during the pause in his walk, he tries to solve the mysteries of her appearance.

A Pause in the Rain can be downloaded as a PDF right here. It's about 2000 words long. All constructive criticism is welcome.

This work was named after and heavily inspired by the Shadowfax track A Pause in the Rain, which can be listened to here.

Cirrus

Notice: If you made it to this post, you've either clicked a very old link or you've done some exploring on my blog. This project was made when I was younger and more idealistic about writing, and doesn't reflect my current sensibilities; in particular, this fan theory has been debunked by later canon for these games, and I have numerous misgivings with how I tried to tell this story.

This post and project will remain up for archival purposes.

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Cirrus is a kinetic novel project of mine that I wrote and programmed from about November of 2017 to Janurary of 2018, once again using Ren'Py. It acts as a small sequel to Nimbus, a previous project of mine, and by extension, it acts as a fanfiction to Sora, just like Nimbus; while the lore may require some knowledge of the previous works, I feel Cirrus can be mostly understood without having previously read the works.

Cirrus again features Yukito, and it features a much larger role from Sora this time around. The night before one battle in a war that still appears to have no end in sight, Yukito looks over his battle plans one last time. Before he can retire for the night, however, Sora visits him, asking what his purpose in the war is, and ending up learning more about one tragic event that links the two of them together.

Cirrus can be downloaded right here, for Windows. It's about 4000 words long. Like Nimbus, the production values are again rough, but I hope I at least wrote something worth reading.

Constructive criticism is still always welcome.

Those Born In March

Those Born In March is a short story I wrote in May to June of 2017. It is a short story that is somewhat outside of my area of expertise; while most of my previous works are generally moody and depressing, Those Born In March is much more cheerful in its tone. It concerns Hiroki Tetsuzou, a young Japanese-English student returning from America, and his attempts to reconnect with his younger sister, Yaeko Tetsuzou, after missing an important date in her life.

Those Born In March can be downloaded as a PDF right here. It's about 2700 words. All constructive criticism is welcome.

The image above, Heavy rain, was drawn by Marcin Lusnia.

Seeds of Dread

Seeds of Dread is a short story I wrote from October to November of 2016. It is a work of fiction that was inspired a photo of a child beauty pageant I saw many years ago. Seeds of Dread concerns Claire and her eccentric flatmate Johan as they live in an uneasy neighbourhood with meagre funds. Initially mostly satisfied with the routine of their standard lives, Johan ends up forcibly introducing a stranger to both of their lives, threatening the dynamic of their previous lifestyles and the tenuous relationship the two already have.

Seeds of Dread can be downloaded as a PDF right here. It's about 3600 words in length. As usual, constructive criticism is welcome.

The above photograph, entitled "The Shadow," was taken by Vlad-Off-Kru in Belgrade, Serbia. I felt it did a rather good job depicting the rough urban environment Claire and Johan would live in, especially with the unique, dystopian lighting.

A Warmest Welcome

A Warmest Welcome is a novelette that I worked on from August to September of 2016. It's a work of fanfiction based on the shoot 'em up Suguri, itself a prequel to Sora, which I've previously covered. While based on the mythos of the game, it can be read with relatively little knowledge of the game itself. A Warmest Welcome is about two siblings, Claude and Reina, and a pharmacist, Jun, as the spaceship they're on begins to descend onto a new planet with their new lives. Initially excited at what the future seems to hold for each of them, a sudden discovery on the new planet they land on threatens all of their existences, but also makes them learn more about each other than they ever expect.

A Warmest Welcome can be downloaded as a PDF, in the following formats:

 Complete
     Part 1
     Part 2
     Part 3

A Warmest Welcome is about 12,000 words in total. Any and all constructive criticism is welcome.

The Newest Recruit

The Newest Recruit is a short story I wrote in September 2016, during several unending pharmacy school lectures. It's a work of fanfiction based on the shoot 'em up Flying Red Barrel, but the work can be fully understood without having played the game or understanding its mythos. The Newest Recruit concerns Islay, an esteemed pilot in the Blue Sky Union that protects the skies above, and her observations as her own recruit is reluctantly accepted by the Guild.

The Newest Recruit can be downloaded right here, as a PDF. It's about 2000 words long. Any and all constructive criticism is welcome.

No author's notes this time, but that could change; this isn't an extremely complicated work.