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The Timekeeper: Chapter 5

The Timekeeper: Chapter 5

“I’ll see you after school, son. I love you.” And he left. I didn’t say anything back, I usually didn’t.

I grabbed the lunch he made for me and left the house shortly after, figuring if I got to school earlier, my chances of running into anybody I didn’t want to would be that much less. Tommy and his friend seemed more like the kind of kid who would rather spend more time outside of the…

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The Timekeeper: Chapter 4

The Timekeeper: Chapter 4

I shut the door to the house and locked it. I immediately felt stupid for doing so and then I unlocked it. It was childish to be paranoid but, in truth, I didn’t know for which reason I wanted to keep the world out most. Was it the bully at school with a knife or was it the crazy voice that reminded me of my mother and was probably all in my head anyway?

I thought about telling my dad when he…

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The Timekeeper: Chapter 3

The Timekeeper: Chapter 3

If dad noticed that I wasn’t taking my bike to school on the first day, he didn’t say anything to me. Which was great because I had enough on my mind without having to defend where my nearly $1000 bike had gotten off to and why. I was putting my bowl in the sink when he handed me a paper bag with my name written on it in black sharpie. 

“You’re going to be hungry and I don’t want you eating…

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The Timekeeper: Chapter 2

The Timekeeper: Chapter 2

The moving truck arrived only a couple of days after we did. Most everything stayed in one piece. Our couch was little scuffed and my bike tires were flat. Dad and I were able to keep ourselves busy arranging the couches or putting the kitchen in order and for a brief while I forgot that my life had been upended. But then it came time to hang the photos on the walls and put up picture frames on…

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The Timekeeper: Chapter 1

The Timekeeper: Chapter 1

If I had known this was going to be my last summer in California, I would have at least tried to spend some time outdoors. It’s amazing the things we take for granted when think they’ll always be there. I guess that’s also true for my mom. What would we do differently if we knew the ones we love wouldn’t always be there? In a way, we already know that. Each of us knows that everyone else will one…

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If a Tree Falls in the Woods...

If a Tree Falls in the Woods…

A Review of Photosynthesis the board game

Name: Photosynthesis

Players: 2-4

Time: 30-60

Age: 10+

Difficulty: Low (place tokens on a board)

Complexity: Medium (placement optimization and which trees to draft)

Intro

Getting to play this game was a happy accident. I went to my local game shop to play a second session of D&D with a new group and nobody showed up. Thankfully,…

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A Mod that Will Not Be Forgotten

A Mod that Will Not Be Forgotten

A Review of The Forgotten City mod for Skyrim by Nick Pearce

The entrance to the Forgotten City

This is a gratuitously spoiler heavy review because, hey, the mod’s been out for like two years. 

I recently completed this award-winning mod for Skyrim by Nick Pearce and have a few things to say about it. But, first, let’s back up a second so you know how I got here. I actually took a…

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How My Fallout 4 Playthrough Must End

How My Fallout 4 Playthrough Must End

A Review of Player Choice and Storytelling

In my Fallout 4 playthrough, I have at different time been allied with every faction: Minutemen, the Institute, the Railroad, and the Brotherhood of Steel. I joined these groups out of the narrative confines of the game and also the greater story playing through my head that allows me to fill in the hollow chasms between the game’s design and my…

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Too Many (Side) Quests

Too Many (Side) Quests

A review of Fallout 4

I am 79 hours into Fallout 4, level 32, and have unlocked 30% of the game achievements. For clarification, my last story mark was capturing a synth. Some quick back of the envelope math tells me that I will log will over 210 hours before I “finish” the game. That is, before I achieve all that there is to offer. This of course doesn’t even include external experiences that…

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Just Write Something 2019.09.30

Just Write Something 2019.09.30

Down the highway, Hashim was certain the squeak of his bike tires could be heard by all. It was embarrassing not because the bike cost thousands of dollars, not because Hashim was in what he considered to be his finest racing outfit, it was embarrassing because he was walking the bike and anybody walking a bike on the side of a road just didn’t look cool. 

Even worse, Hashim was now dead-last…

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Just Write Something 2019.09.26

Just Write Something 2019.09.26

The trees rustled in the morning sun over the planet Genosh casting a striking orange hue in the sky. In the heartland of the country, the farmers stirred from their homes to tend to their animals. Already, the plants were knee high and there was still a stretch of the season to go. After grabbing a morsel from his kitchen, Ma’arlio went about affixed the bozen’s harness. This is was the large…

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Just Write Something 2019.09.23

Just Write Something 2019.09.23

All three of them lounged on the patio, delighting in the breeze that wafted from the lake. It was already pushing six, so the owner of the coffee shop didn’t hurry the kids along, plus, summers were meant for lounging. None of them were drinking anything. Jared twisted his American Eagle hat in his hands, wrangling it to keep from fidgeting further. Monica and Chelsea were leaning back with…

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Just Write Something 2019.09.20

Just Write Something 2019.09.20

This City wasn’t always this way; at one point, we thought we had it all. But then came the recessions and the depressions and suddenly we had nothing. The pundits and the politicians blamed the pensions, blamed the unions, and blamed a bloated bureaucracy. John Q public may have complained about his taxes but as long as the trash was collected and the streets were plowed he paid them on time. 

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Just Write Something 2019.09.17

Just Write Something 2019.09.17

Her shoulders burned his hands like stinging ice. But he still held on. He didn’t know if he was keeping her upright or holding her down but he saw the pained expressions of an internal struggle greater than anything he’d known.

“You can overcome this.” he hoped his voice could carry through this battle raging in her soul.

Something started to leak down her cheeks, too dark and viscous to…

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Just Write Something 2019.08.15

Just Write Something 2019.08.15

The world outside had been silent for more than several hours. While Mark, Sasha, and Karyn had gone to sleep, Jens stayed awake, eyes glued to the window. He wouldn’t have believed what he’d seen even if he’d watched it on an epic binge of the newest show. But here, in the real world, he witnessed it happen in real time.

He saw the cars slam into each other as if nobody was controlling them.…

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Just Write Something 2019.08.08

Just Write Something 2019.08.08

The summer storm continued to shower a torrent of rain. Thunder rolled overhead from lightning that was too close for comfort, and definitely too close to be running through the woods. But Lucy had no choice, Catherine, the sixth grader who the kids called Domino and the child who single-handedly controlled the lemonade stand business for a square mile, had fled out her back yard and into the…

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Just Write Something 2019.08.07

Just Write Something 2019.08.07

She rocked herself back and forth in the corner, her knees cradled under her arms like scared children. It was still out there, outside the warehouse, hunting for them as if they were pests to be eradicated. Go away. Why can’t everything just go away?

The other survivors busied themselves with whispers of encouragement and ferreting out whatever meager offensive weapons had been picked over…