8 May 2023

This one’s pretty short. I was traveling at the time, attending a wedding, so I was squeezing things in were I could. I think that’s another reason I went for fanfic; I didn’t want to spend too long figuring out what was happening. So here’s my take on what’s going through Malenia’s head during the opening cutscene to her boss fight. There’s one more of these I’ll post tomorrow (10 May 2023), which would eventually lead into the alternate route/side story for Malenia. I don’t know if I’ll ever get back to it, though; I’d prefer to prioritize my own stories.

When she woke, everything, especially her memory, was blurry and indistinct. She had the feeling that a piece of her was missing, but she didn’t have the foggiest idea what it was or where to look for it.

One thing she did remember, though, beyond the flashes of gold and rotten red from her dreams, was him. Her brother. He was… gone. But he heart beat with hope; he had promised he’d return.

By the time she had fully roused, she realized someone was standing before her. She didn’t recognize him, but there was something… His armor, in particular, made her incredibly wary of him.

She narrowed her eyes and drew her sword. “...Heed my words. I am Malenia. Blade of Miquella. And I have never known defeat.”

7 May 2023

I don’t typically write fanfic. It feels… strange to me, I guess? Regardless, Elden Ring sparked something, and I think a lot of that has to do with Malenia. I find her fascinating, both as a boss fight and as a character, and I low-key wanted a Malenia ending on top of the existing ones. Even after playing with the idea for a year and a half, I’m still not positive what that looks like, but I at least had a general idea of how it started.

Then I heard Aviators’ amazing song Half-Wolf about Blaidd, and I had a thought; would the needle free him from the Elden Beast’s influence? So I decided to write a scene about it.

Malenia followed behind the tarnished warrior, looking warily around as they strode through the Carian Manor. “Was this not the lair of the witch, Ranni? I rather doubt she would be pleased to see me…”

The tarnished grimaced. “She… isn’t here. I have reason to believe she’s on the Moonlit Plateau, actually.”

This only confused Malenia even more. “Then why lead us here? The Carians hold no love for me and my brother, not that I can blame them.”

The tarnished stopped, then turned to look at Malenia. “That needle, from Miquella. It can remove the influence of the outer gods?”

“Yes, generally.”

“And would that extend to the Erdtree and the Greater Will?”

“It should. Though… No matter the entity, if the hooks are deep enough, you may have to kill the source…”

He chuckled darkly. “I doubt that will be and issue.” He turned ahead, his eyes distant. “There Is… a good friend I want to save. He is one of the fiercest warriors I’ve ever known, and loyal. So loyal, in fact, that he sacrificed his own sanity rather than betray his lady.”

Malenia’s eyes grew wide. Memories flashed, of a pair of half-wolf soldiers. Brothers. They’d been loyal–more loyal than she’d thought possible. At least… until Miquella had slit from the Golden Order to create the Haligtree. Malenia still remembered the feel of their flesh on her sword.

She shook herself out of her reverie. “You can’t mean…?”

“Blaidd. His name is Blaidd.” The tarnished breathed in deeply through his nose, and readied his halberds. “Could I ask you to stay back and watch? If it’s at all possible, I’d like to avoid killing him.”

She almost denied him, but the tarnished so rarely asked for anything. “Very well. But if you die, I will kill him. I don’t care if you’ll come back, touched by grace.”

That earned another chuckle. “Thank you.”

Malenia watched as the tarnished found his half-wolf friend. It was an intense fight, in large part because the tarnished was pulling back on his attacks. He kept baiting the half-wolf warrior, waiting for the perfect opportunity.

And then it came. Blaidd thrust with his sword, and the tarnished narrowly dodged. He dropped his weapons, and with one hand grabbed Blaidd’s wrist, while with the other, he pulled out the needle and jammed it in the opening just under the armpit.

The half-wolf staggered, almost collapsing into the tarnished’s arms. When he pulled back, the madness was gone from his eyes, replaced with a growing anxiety.

“Old friend?” he said quietly.

The tarnished flashed him a sad smile. “Come. There is much to talk about. And not all of it good news.”

Malenia watched them enter the rise and decided to station herself at the door. It felt… intrusive, somehow, to involve herself further. Not for the first time, she wondered exactly what connection her savior had with the hated Lunar Witch.

6 May 2023

This feels like the first real introduction to the second major antagonist group; the yokai army. They feel a lot trickier to work with; I want to stay true to original Japanese legends, but also leave room for Hanako’s middle ground. Regardless, I wanted the yokai army to be positively brutal, and I think I achieved that here.

Also, we’re finally going to meet Mei. :) She is a very fascinating character; I’m not 100% sure what all I’m going to do with her yet, but it’s going to be fun.

It took a couple of days for the three of them to reach what was left of Tsurui. The smell of char hit them before they could properly see it, but it wasn’t long before they stood in the midst of the desolated village.

Many of the houses had burned down, and those that hadn’t had been smashed apart, as if a giant child had decided he was done playing and knocked everything over. The worst of it, though, was in the village square. A pile of bones lay smoldering. As soon as they found it, Daiki, the younger of the two workers, immediately turned and hurled onto the street.

Fumito looked a bit green, himself. “They just… burned everyone alive? Why?”

Pushing down her own nausea, Hanako approached the pile. With her sword, she poked among the bones. Many still showed teeth marks; some were even cracked to get at the marrow. She managed to cough out, “They… they weren’t burned alive. This was what the yokai did with the ones they’d finished eating.”

Fumito’s eyes went wide, and soon he was spewing out the contents of his stomach next to Daiki. Hanako closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe, then turned away from the pile to see if there was anything she could learn about the monsters that had done this.

She noticed one house at the edge of the village that seemed somewhat better intact than the rest; instead of being caved in, it was only the windows and the door that had been smashed open. It seemed the ushi-oni had spared this one for whatever reason.

Cautiously, Hanako stepped in and immediately wrinkled her nose. The smell of urine and other foul scents permeated the place; had the yokai army saved it as an outhouse? But no; Hanako found manacles, and then began seeing other traces that prisoners had been kept here. This must be where they stuffed everyone they hadn’t eaten during that initial feast.

Not that it stopped some of them from sneaking a snack before they left. In the corner, Hanako found a skeleton, with bones far too small to belong to an adult. Her blood froze, then started to boil. With tears in her eyes, she screamed, with such force it [could be heard for miles around]. 

Daiki and Fumito came running over. Hanako gathered her composure. “I’ll be fine. It’ll be fine.” She paused and heaved a breath. “We should go. There’s nothing more we can learn here, and the sooner we catch up to them, the better.”

As they left, however, a woman’s voice called after them, “H-hello? Is someone there?”

Hanako spun on the spot, hand reaching for her sword, only to find an exceptionally beautiful young woman running toward them. Her hair was black and tied back in a braid, and her clothes, while filthy, seemed to have once been of high quality.

5 May 2023

Well, I have more of a backlog built up than expected, considering how much time I wasted this summer, so for a while, at least, I’ll be double-posting again. It’s also been long enough that many of my thoughts on what I’ve written have gone fuzzy, especially for today’s posts, which I actually typed in months ago and just never posted on here.

I do know that I feel the crew’s reactions are way too muted for their circumstances; they should be pissed off, and even if they can’t really act on that anger directly, it should still express itself in some way. Wouldn’t surprise me if Jasper even revels in such things.

While Jakob surveyed the damage, Charles and Elliott headed above deck to see what was going on. The whole crew were dispirited; some were shaking with fear, while others just shook their head and looked at the Siren’s Lament with pity.

Their sister ship had already pulled a league or two ahead of them, and the pirate ship had drawn close enough Charles could make out the faces of individual pirates.

And just like Jakob had said, none of them gave the Dragon’s Flight more than a passing glance. All of their focus was on the Siren’s Lament. Charles noticed a man with sandy blonde hair, perhaps in his mid-20s, standing at the helm. He wore a bright scarlet coat with the sleeves rolled back to the elbows, and a green wyvern draped itself around his shoulders.

The man in the scarlet coat gave an order, and their cannons thundered. One of the masts on the Siren’s Lament cracked and fell, and it stopped dead in the water. They raised a white flag, but the pirates didn’t care. The man barked the order again, and another volley of cannon fire tore into the hapless ship.

The passengers and crew of the Siren’s Lament panicked. Some tried to prepare longboats, while others jumped straight into the ocean, trying to put as much distance as the could between them and the doomed ship. All the while, the pirates unloaded volley after volley, and did not stop until the ship had finished sinking.

Charles couldn’t pull his eyes away. His entire body shook, and nothing he did could make it stop. Next to him, Elliott bent over the railing and threw up. When he finally stopped, his face was pale and sweaty. He and Charles shared a look, and quietly collapsed onto the deck.

Soon, the pirate ship pulled back alongside them and prepared to board. Charles finally saw its name; the Fortune’s Blessing. He looked again at the remains of the Siren’s Lament and shuddered.

Jakob came back above deck right as the pirates began to board. The man in the scarlet coat was one of the first to arrive, and Charles noted he had an earring in one ear, a fang of some kind. He looked around, then demanded, “Who among you is captain?”

Jakob stepped forward, arms folded across his chest. “Aye, that’d be me. What can I do for you?”

For several long, intense moments, the man stared at Jakob. There was a sharp glint in his eyes, and Charles was sure Jakob was about to die. Then he smiled, which was quite unnerving, and offered a handshake. “Jasper. King of the Pirates.”

Jakob hesitated only a split second before he took the pirate’s hand in his. “Jakob.”

The Pirate King shook once and let go. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll be helping myself to the contents of your hold. That alright?”

With a snort, Jakob answered, “Couldn’t stop you if I tried. Not with my ship in this state. Still, don’t tink you’ll find much. Got caught up in that mess back in Averny; with all the refugees, didn’t have much space for cargo.”

The King’s eyebrows rose, and his smile widened. He nodded at a couple of his crew, who headed belowdecks, probably to verify Jakob’s story.

3 May 2023 Notes

POINT stands for Pluses, Opportunities, Issues, and New Thinking. Came from a Great Courses I got on creative thinking.

Some notes, real quick. 

Next Hanako scene is the ruin of Tsurui and the jorogumo encounter. Does NOT end in violence; jorogumo will either be a recurring villain or a token-evil teammate. Or both. Not sure yet.

Other story idea–Someone from our world winds up in a fantasy one somehow, and because our world has no magic, he/she is impervious to it. Probably been done to death, but I had fun imagining a handful of scenes and figuring out how to make it work. Don’t know that I’ll do anything with it, though.

Also–Theoptosi–Greek style Ragnarok? Or just throwing Zeus out of power? Somewhere in between? Do I start it before 2020 and have Covid be a part of it? …Seems a bit much. I know MC doesn’t want to replace Zeus… What forces him into action?

For Majesty:

What is Roland doing out of fear? Ideas I had yesterday:

A wall that collapses?

A death-machine that goes out of control?

Rather than denying getting a king, what if he brings one in? Shifts main antagonist for the book to that king, instead of him, but still…

Why would Moira oppose this? Is it the idea, or just Roland’s specific choice of king/queen? Is it the current ruler of Moira’s homeland?

P–Tie-in to existing characters; more backstory.

O–Backstory; deep trauma between Moira and current queen; multiple possible resolutions.

I–Not tied to Charles (minor); Why would we need Ferghus?; What kind of threat does our “Cleopatra” pose? How do fear and courage tie into this?

NT–Does the “allied” country actively attack/invade? What if Roland became a turncoat out of fear–either of Cleopatra and/or Dark Conqueror–doesn’t just have to be DC.

I–How effective is Ferghus at truly eliminating the threat if he dies right after? WOuldn’t that just invite them to come back?

What if Roland, trying to make his machine/prepare his defenses, set off a volcano?

P: Closer to original idea; easy, big thing for Ferghus to stop by sacrificing himself.

O: Delve into options for magic or tech; easier than Cleopatra route to give Roland a redemption arc.

I: HOW!? What would they be doing that could set it off?

NT: Mining (Balrog-style); something that shakes the earth for miles… Like what? Testing explosives? Wrong feel to it…

3 May 2023

Hanging out with family is not particularly conducive to being timely with things. Especially when I’m a time zone over…

Anyway, this is exploring some potential story arcs for the end game, particularly Roland, who I was thinking could actually be the exact opposite of what I imagined, and be the one inviting foreign powers to take charge for one reason or another. This is trying to get a feel for that other power. She is not Asian, if she even exists; I went back to a more Egyptian vibe for her, after all, shortly after this.

I sit across form a woman straight out of Egyptian history; dark hair, tanned skin, lots of gold jewelry with her Egyptian-cut white dress. The room around is just as lavish; almost too bright for my eyes. I look over the Cleopatra look-alike again; I doubt she’ll be staying like that by the time I’m done. But who knows?

Then I have a thought and snap my fingers. The aesthetics shift, and we are sitting in an Asian tea room, and a very Chinese empress now sits across from me. I’d been considering adding or changing things to include oriental dragons; would this work?

The queen gives me a knowing smile. “This certainly does feel more comfortable.” She takes a sip of her tea, and for a split second I thought I saw fox ears. She’s certainly not a kitsune, but all the research on Japanese legends lately, especially Tamamo-no-Mae, is affecting my perceptions. How would I want to handle this?

For a long time neither of us speaks; we just study each other carefully. Then she says, “I hear you’re not sure if I even truly exist. Is that correct?”

“Indeed. I need a major threat Roland himself created; I’m not sure that has to be you.”

“Oh?” She leans forward. “And what, pray tell, would you replace me with? Volcanoes?”

“Perhaps.”

She scoffs at me. “As if anyone would accept that.”

“We’ll see.” My smile turns devilish. “But first, my dear queen, what on earth drives you to fear Agthere so much?”

She freezes, looking for all the world like a teenager caught sneaking back into the house past curfew. “Whatever do you mean?”

I lean back and waved my hand dismissively. “Come now. This is a story about courage, especially here in Book 1. Charles arc is about overcoming, and helping others overcome, their own fears. Am I wrong?”

When she didn’t reply, I continued, “And if you are the antagonist, you must serve as a foil. Ergo, you would have to be motivated by fear.” My smile turns malicious and I lean forward to rest my elbows on the table. “So then, tell me, O Queen, what are you so afraid of? And what do you intend to do about it?”

1 May 2023 Notes

I did not sleep well last night. And it is late. What to write?

Not in the right mindset for Hanako/Majesty. Is there another story I could do simple worldbuilding for?

Is there a joke or pun I was thinking of I could leverage? Oh, shoot–I had a cool random daydream earlier at work today. What was it?

I think it involved calling someone out on their lack of trust…No! It was about a fae who made a real friendship with a mortal man… and then broke that trust in a couple different ways.

May have been a fae debt, which was paid in full, partially because the fae didn’t understand the severity of what he’d asked the friend to do, and partially from lack of follow-up. Why does the fae need this help? WHat’s at stake?

Probably takes some inspiration from Changeling: the Lost. Had some armor-piercing dialogue… What was it?

1 May 2023

I’ve always found fae fascinating. Deals, exact words, true names… I don’t know that I’ll do much more with these characters; perhaps finish this scene/short story, and leave it at that. But who knows? We’ll see.

The clank of a blacksmith’s hammer rang over the homestead. Fynn didn’t recognize the old man, though something did seem familiar about him. After looking around for a bit, Fynn finally found David. He called out to his old friend, with just a touch of suggestion laced into the words; he needed David’s help, and on the off chance he was still sore about what happened last time, a little… persuasion could go a long way. “Good day, old friend! How goes the farm?”

To Fynn’s surprise, the magic found now purchase in the young man, sliding right off him like water from a leaf in a rainstorm. The young man turned and gave him a puzzled look. “Do I… know you?”

Concern tickled at Fynn’s heart, but he hid it behind a jovial laugh. “Come now, David! Surely there are better times for games!”

Behind him, the clank of the hammer stopped. The blacksmith spoke, his voice low and gravelly. “Leave my son out of your schemes, Fynnelion Summerchild.”

Fynn was rocked to his core. Those words carried power, especially with the use of Fynn’s true name. What’s more, Fynn realized why the old man looked familiar. He spun slowly to face the blacksmith. “David?”

29 April 2023 Notes

No main story for this date; I only brainstormed.

I am wiped. I did get the major assignment for my marketing class finished, though.

So where do I go today, then? It’s late and I want to keep this short… What else do I know or can I see about the Goddess of Battle story?

As I thought about it more, the idea of a modern fantasy take on the world when Kyra wakes up might not be so bad. Fit the aesthetic I first pictured her as… but I’m not sure.

jDon’t really have time to consider how the world evolved during her timeskip, though. Do I want to write about beating the demon lord in the first place? What did happen? Did they manage to knock him unconscious? Did they kill him, but his death wasn’t supposed to be permanent for some reason? …I like that. Did Kyra steal that ability from him somehow?

Who else was in the party? Kyra was a fighter/melee type; Fera was the cleric/healer priestess type; was there a prince? …Not likely. Probably a rogue–might even be Fera’s love interest–and a tank. Big knight/paladin type…

Decided I’m going to count my brainstorming today as my writing. So I’ll keep at it a little bit longer. Kyra was definitely not the leader; that was probably Fera, or maybe her and the paladin both. I’m thinking the paladin is surprisingly easy going, and soft-spoken. The sturdy, supportive type.

The rogue, though… What kind of rogue is he? Explicitly Robin Hood-y, or does he (try to) play everything off as for his own benefit? Considering the risks involved with facing this demon king, if he were truly selfish I don’t think he’d be there, but I don’t want him to just be a standard rogue, either. Hmm… Is he actually a cop with a roguish skill set? I’ll have to ponder that idea more…

What bits about the past, of Kyra’s mortal life pre-sealing, are actually relevant to the story? Defeating the demon king, of course, and losing her family. Does her dynamic with the other party members affect the present timeline at all? Or Kyra’s choices here? I’ll have to think on that…

28 April 2023 Notes

Been a rough week; I may split up notes and main entries into two separate days for a while. Also, it’s interesting how much has already shifted from the thoughts I present here below. A lot can happen in a week, I suppose…

I’d like to consolidate things for this story, so I’d like to figure out a beginning. Random thought before I do; could Roland’s foolish action be trying to force Ferghus somehow? Or do something to him? How would that interact with Charles’ goals and accomplishments? More on that later, perhaps….

What I have so far:

Attack on Elliot’s homeland; death of his parents alluded to. Charles’ mother, as a guard, may leave some final words with him, too.

How do they know their parents are dead? I want to make it clear to the readers, at least. And I lack Hoid’s tongue-in-cheek meta mention, like he uses in Tress of the Emerald Sea. Do they hide for a day or two and say their bodies on display on the way out? Kinda dark, especially compared to the rest of Book 1…

Anyway, got on a ship fleeing. Are they disguised as civilians? Journey with 1-2 other ships; cornered by Jasper. Other ship, trying to get away, cripples the ship Elliott and Charles are on; in retaliation, Jasper focuses fire on the, destroys the ship.

What if, instead of moving to Moira’s ship, Jasper gives her the refugee ship? It’d have a bunch of displaced people w/ nowhere to go, and could be the beginnings of a pirate crew. If so, why are they spending so long in Bethany’s homeland? There’s a disconnect, there.

What if Moira came specifically to speak w/ Ferghus, and it’s the bureaucratic red tape–represented by Roland–that gets in the way? There’s a thought. Why, though? And what happens as a result?

Also, what if crew gets mad at the way Moira treats Elliott, and one attacks her, and she reveals herself as a dragon by blocking w/ her wings? Also, what if dragons can’t wear armor for some reason? …No, don’t like that. But items above a certain density might not “morph”... Kinda like Animorphs, once they started being able to morph with clothes.

I’ll want to plan out the intro better, so for now, the naval battle (rough outline) and Jasper handing the ship off to Moira. Or the crew. Or something.

28 April 2023

I really hate our internet.

I really liked this scene, though. Even if the presentation is different, this scene comes directly from the dream that started this whole story. Well, that and specifically when the second ship is actually blown out of the water. The name of the second ship is probably going to change; I’m pretty sure its current name is the title of a comic on Webtoons I saw and read a bit of, though I’m not sure. If not, I might just keep it. Also, I figure they wouldn’t necessarily have the same motifs for their version of the Jolly Roger; I’ll have to figure out what I want to use instead and how to communicate that.

I am also considering, almost certain, that rather than send the boys to Moira’s ship, Jasper gives Moira and Arylwen this ship. Dunno if it got it’s current name [the Dragon’s Flight] before or after they took over, though, so it might change in this scene still.

There was a shout from the crow’s nest, and old Jacob’s face turned pale. He pulled out a spyglass and looked off to the horizon.

“What is it?” Charles asked. “What do you see?” He squinted, as if that would help him see farther.

“Pirates,” Jacob whispered. “And not just any pirates. It’s the bloody Pirate King himself!” He spun and barked a furious string of commands, eyes focused as he strode the length of the ship. Charles couldn’t understand more than half of them, but the crew scurried about, racing to keep their ship moving as fast as possible.

At a gesture from Jacob, they signalled their sister ship, the [Siren’s Lament], and even from here Charles could see how their crew, too, burst into a frenzy of action.

“I-is the Pirate King really that scary?” Charles asked. “Scarier than the Dark Conqueror?”

“I don’t know about that, but he’s terrifying enough. Unpredictable.” Jacob set his mouth to a grim line. “Run along down with the other refugees, lad. Leave this to us.”

Charles wanted to protest, but Jacob looked as serious as Charles had ever seen him. Reluctantly, he headed below decks. Almost immediately, Elliott came over and started interrogating him. “We can hear the crew up there, busy as bees. What’s going on?”

“Pirates,” Charles said simply. “Jacob said it was their king.”

There were more than a few gasps and sobs from the other refugees. One even fainted on the spot.

Elliott’s own face soured, and strode to the stern, Charles on his heels. Soon enough, he’d found a porthole and smooshed his face up into it. Charles squeezed in next to him.

By now, the pirates’ ship was clearly visible, even with the naked eye, including the flag featuring [a dragon’s wings]. Combined with the black sails and all the cannons, the ship looked very intimidating.

Over the next hour or two, the boys took turn watching the pirate ship creep closer and closer. It wasn’t until then they heard the distant roar of cannonfire, followed by a column of water bursting upwards just a hundred or so yards behind them. There were a couple more shots, as both they and the [Siren’s Lament] returned fire, but they were still too distant yet to do more than try to warn them off.

But one didn’t earn a moniker like “King of the pirates” by backing down from a fight. The pirate ship continued closing in, and soon enough they were exchanging fire with both refugee ships. 

Then, there was a pause from the cannons on the [Siren’s Lament]. Worried they’d been hit, Charles darted over to a portside porthole, and saw that no, the other ship was fine. They had just been turning their cannons…

Which were now aimed directly at the Dragon’s Flight.

Charles could only stare mutely as their sister ship prepared to fire on them. Elliott barely had time to pull him down before cannonballs tore into the ship, leaving them crippled in the water.

Only a moment later, Jacob stomped down the steps to survey the damage. “Tend to the wounded,” he ordered the refugees, “and stop up the holes as best you can. Ship’s carpenter’ll be along when he can.”

From there, he headed over where Elliott was stilling covering for Charles. “You alright, Your Highness?”

Elliott shrugged and sat up. Charles looked up at Jacob. “Why? Why would they do that?”

“Because they’re damn fools, that’s why,” Jacob spat.

“They thought, since the pirate ship had us outgunned and outmaneuvered, only one of us would escape. Then they wanted to make sure it would be them, am I right?” Elliott’s voice carried more than a trace of bitterness.

“Like as not. That was a mistake; must not have heard much about the latest King o’ Pirates. May the Goddess have mercy on their souls.” He saw the confusion in the boys’ faces, so he explained, “This King might be unpredictable, but if there’s one thing he hates, it’s cowards. And what’s more cowardly than shooting an ally in the back so you can escape yourself? He’ll sink ‘em without question.”

27 April 2023 Notes

Alright, so I was typing in Hanako stuff today. (See here for what I was typing in at the time.) Where do I go from here? What happens to connect the father bit to Chiaki?

Keep the father bit short. (What is his name? This’d be a good place for him to naturally introduce himself…) The point is info on yokai–what would he know?

- -Mostly oni

-2 massive, bestial ushi-oni

I don’t need to showcase everything with this company; it’s a small splinter off the main army, after all. Who’s their commander, though? Would the father know/recognize them? How early into the attack did he and his daughter get out? Probably pretty early, since they made it that far before they got caught.

Are there ranks for oni? They have variance; how does that play into their battle formations? The twin sets fight in pairs; bigger/stronger ones might order whole gangs. They thrive on chaos… Hmm.

Does the father comment on everyone else? ANything I can think of for him to say on the subject sounds forced or unnatural, especially since he’s only just arrived, and they’re giving him a place to live and food to eat. …That’s it! He doesn’t but it does push him to more directly express his gratitude, since that’s all he can do for her.

…Why didn’t she quiz him about the yokai army back in the oni scouts scene? …He was obviously still scared of her then, and if she thought she could find out more clues in the area–or had already agreed to check in with Keiko–that would be enough.

27 April 2023

Sorry about the delay. I have been writing off and on, but it’s been hard to get things typed in. Next week will be rough, as well—my brother’s getting married, so I’ll be driving halfway across the country to participate in his wedding. It’ll be awesome! I just don’t know how timing and scheduling are all going to work.

I’m really enjoying Hanako, especially now that I’ve broken through to see roughly how this arc actually plays out. Should be getting into properly new content next time I write, rather than just filling in gaps.

…everyone around. For half a second, he seemed to want to say something, but then changed his mind. He gave Hanako a lopsided smile. “I… never did thank you, did I? For saving our lives. I… Words can’t express how grateful I am.”

For such a little thing, it was incredible how much that lifted Hanako’s spirits. She smiled bashfully and tried to play it off. “Nah, don’t worry about it. What else could I have done?” She offered a hand for a handshake. “I dunno if I ever properly introduced myself. I’m Hanako!”

The father hesitantly took it, reaching past the pot of rice he was tending. “Mitsuo. And my daughter is Ayami.”

Hanako beamed at him, but her smile dropped a moment later. “Actually, I came to ask you a few things. Is there anything you can tell me about the army that attacked Tsurui? If you can’t remember, or don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.”

Mitsuo grew somber. For a while, he just studied Hanako. “Are you going to try to take them on all by yourself?”

Hanako shrugged. “They said they’re headed to Nanmoku next, right? I want to protect the people there. Or… at least give them a chance to evacuate.” She looked aside. “Although… Not really sure how much I can do on my own…”

Mitsuo nodded and looked down at the ground. When he looked back up, he said, “I can’t tell you much. Ayami and I fled as soon as the screams started. There were oni–a lot, all different colors–and at least one monster. A massive beast the size of a wagon or bigger, with eight spidery legs and a bull’s head, and teeth as sharp as knives.”

“An ushi-oni,” Hanako whispered.

Mitsuo nodded. “It plowed through our homes like they were made of paper. I’m not sure what even you could do against that thing.”

Hanako wasn’t worried about that; while they were plenty dangerous, she was confident enough in her skills and strengths she thought she could take care of one. But it would require focus; what was the rest of the army going to do in the meantime? Did she have a way to stop that?

After a moment, she shook her head clear. “Thank you.”

Mitsuo shrugged. “It’s the least I could do. Just… Don’t get yourself killed, alright?”

“I’ll do my best.”

From there, she headed to the tents by their makeshift hospital to find Chiaki.

26 April 2023 Notes

It… hasn’t been my best week so far. Still, pushing through!

So I have a couple options. I think I’ll try out my latest story idea first, though; if I have extra time later, I can have another writing session. I hope I do… [Spoiler: I did not.]

The idea is to keep/maintain the seal on the demon king, someone has to go in with him. Instead of the priestess person who stereotypically would, it’s a fighter-type woman. (Or maybe a battle mage? I dunno.) When the seal is undone a century or more later, it isn’t the demon king, but the warrior woman who steps out.

What is she like? What tech do we have to work with? What does she find when she steps out?

In my initial imaginings yesterday, she used guns. Twin pistols, even. Why? Did they lose that tech in the intervening years? I don’t really like that idea.

Is the new world post-apocalyptic? If so, what happened? Since the demon king’s dead and all…

I don’t really want to go from high fantasy/medieval to modern day, either. Hmm…

Let’s have Kyra be a swordswoman/barbarian. Twin blades? Ooh, no, let’s go twin axes, w/ some brawler mixed in. She’s actually the older sister of… No, just good friends with the priestess. She does have personal beef with the demon lord; he killed someone important to her (husband and child, I’m thinking). Don’t know how personal his involvement in their deaths was…

She gets some demon lord powers for spending so long trapped with him.

Connected Entry

26 April 2023

This was fun. I think I do intend to do more with these characters at some point in the future. That said, I would like to focus more on Hanako and Majesty for the time being…

There are definitely some spots I’d tweak in this scene, though. The biggest one is that I’d like to have Kyra have a bit more banter with the cultists; give her a chance to actually confirm things are what they look like, and make it a more ironic twist for them before she kills them in some way. Also, without knowing the rest of the story (both Kyra’s past and where the story goes after this), it’s hard to set timelines, so all that may change.

Notes

Brinja (pronounced brin-ya) trembled in fear on the altar. She struggled against her bindings, but the ropes were too tight for her to break free. With tears in her eyes, she watched as the cultist raised a dagger to plunge into her heart.

Just before it fell, there was a sharp crack, and the seal on the great evil split. An eerie red light beamed from it, and the seal crumbled to pieces, revealing the figure of an eight-foot-tall humanoid monstrosity with horns on its head.

“My lord!” All the cultists, including the one holding the dagger, turned and knelt before the figure. 

For a long moment, the demon didn’t move. Then, slowly, it tipped forward, landing face down on the floor, and slowly disintegrated into dust.

From behind it, a tall red-headed woman in scarred leather armor stretched. “Oh, it’s good to be out of there. I hope Fera won’t mind that I went ahead and killed the thing… if she’s even around anymore, I guess.”

It was at that point she and Brinja made eye contact. There was something fierce in the woman’s eyes, and Brinja trembled even harder.

The woman’s gaze flickered over the cultists around her, drinking in the scene. Before she moved, the lead cultist gathered their wits and shuffled toward her, head bowed. “My, my Lady! Long have we awaited your return!”

With narrowed eyes, the woman simply said, “Have you now?” With a motion so smooth Brinja almost missed it, she spun one of the axes from her belt into her hand. A moment later, the axe-head blazed with an infernal violet flame. “Then I’d better give you the reward you bastards deserve.”

She launched herself toward the cultist, bringing the axe back, and Brinja squeezed her eyes shut. She had no way to block her ears, however, so she heard every thud of the axe, every scream and shout, every interrupted spell the cultists tried to cast before they were cut down.

Things were quiet for several moments before Brinja felt warm, rough hands working on her bindings. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see the woman tenderly untying her.

“Even who knows how many decades–maybe centuries–later,” the woman muttered, “and crap like this is still happening?”

Soon, she’d released Brinja, and the young girl stood shakily on her feet.

“Are you alright? Any injuries?” The woman looked over Brinja with concern.

With a shake of her head, Brinja replied, “No, I-I’ll be alright. Thank you!” She bit herr lower lip, then asked, “U-um, I hope you don’t mind, but… W-who are you?”

The woman relaxed. “I’m Kyra. What’s your name?”

Brinja’s head went blank. Kyra? The Kyra? The goddess of battle that sealed herself off with the demon lord to keep him from escaping [three hundred years ago]? A little awed, somehow Brinja managed to spit out, “It… it’s Brinja.”

“Right. Good to meet you, Brinja. And, er… Sorry if this seems strange, but by any chance, could you tell me what year it is?”

22 April 2023 Notes

I am feeling strangely morose and depressed. Especially since I just went to the temple; that’s supposed to (and generally does) help. Too much time alone in my thoughts on the drive? Reflecting on all my mistakes? Or perhaps just hyper-fixating on my loneliness for a bit…

Anyway. I’ll do my best to work through it. Where am I at? What should I do?

How does the father respond to everyone else’s fear of Hanako? What is his reaction? He has more reason than most to have a visceral reaction, since he’s witnessed first-hand what a rampaging oni is capable of. Yeah, I’d say he’s freaked out, but he’s also starting to trust her.

Connected Entry

22 April 2023

Well. This one’s short. Really short. I’d taken a 3-ish hour trip to St. Louis and back, so I was wiped, and also apparently dealing with some mental stuff, based on the notes. Still, progress is progress!

Also, I should probably name the father character at this point. Not sure what his name will be, though.

Notes

The father seemed a bit shaken, himself, but he managed a smile at Hanako. “I’m… really glad you’re on our side.” Then a thought struck him, and he frowned. “The other oni can’t do that, can they? Make themselves look human?”

Hanako shook her head. “I don’t think so. At the very least, I’ve never met any.”

With a sigh of relief, the father nodded and looked around at everyone else.

<-Hanako First

<-Hanako Previous

Hanako Next->

Current Draft of Hanako’s story (including unposted content)

21 April 2023 Notes

Had the idea that the yokai army has already destroyed a town between new Chizu and Nanmoku, and that’s where the father-daughter pair comes from. Also, that’s who the oni were chasing, not Chizu.

How does that change things? Makes initial convo w/ Keiko more urgent. K probably asks H to visit Chiaki, rather than it happening on H’s initiative. Is that an issue? …Should be fine.

What might the father say to H?Will he trust her? Do the other people in the area yet?

Daiki and Fumito–What are they like? How would they react to the ruined village? Are there any yokai lingering? Stragglers, or perhaps scavengers unaffiliated w/the army?

Potential yokai around ruined village:

Jorogumo–Could be really fun

Okuri inu–”Sounding off dog”--ferocious. Pounces on and eats those who trip/stumble. Focused on travlers.

Not here, but if disease comes up a Korōri encounter could be interesting.

Tsuchigumo–More spidery, more ambitious [than Jorogumo]. Uses all manner of illusions.

Kotengu–More of a pack/flock yokai

Where are the father and his daughter? Are they in the medical area, getting checked over? They’d be close to Chiaki, if so. Are the by the mess tent? That’d give more opportunities for us to see how the rest of the town reacts to her.

Connected Entry

21 April 2023

It all came together. I’m thinking that, in order to establish the yokai army as a threat, they’ve already destroyed a town, and are on their way to Nanmoku; Hanko and the construction duo pass through the ruined city on their way. Still figuring out how they beat the army to Nanmoku; maybe they don’t, and Hanako lays into them from the rear. I’d miss some of the Mikuzume/Hanako banter before, but if that’s what’s best…

Anyway, as part of figuring all that out, it gave me more focus for what she’s doing in Chizu. She’s just stopping to get supplies, maybe grab any extra info she can from the dad, and then going to book it for Nanmoku. Not sure if I carried that urgency into this yet; I’ll have to edit it a few times more before I’m satisfied.

Notes

Hanako spent the next day or two making sure no other yokai patrols were wandering near the new Chizu. When she arrived back, she ignored…

…speak with the oni. “Good to see you’re still in one piece. Any news?”

“I ran into an oni scouting party about five miles from here. They said they’d come from Tsurui.”

Keiko’s expression turned grim. “We’ve gotten a handful of refugees. It… doesn’t sound good.”

“And I think they’re targeting Nanmoku next,” Hanako said. She bit her lower lip. “I sent a father and daughter the oni had captured this way. Have they…?”

Keiko nodded. “They’re here; arrived yesterday, in fact. I assigned the father to the mess tent, if you wanted to speak with him.”

Hanako nodded. She needed all the information she could get before she headed to Nanmoku. “Thanks.”

She turned to leave but Keiko stopped her. “Wait. Before you head back out, would you drop by and visit Chiaki? Nothing we do seems to be helping.”

Hanako’s heart tightened. “Are you sure she’ll even want to see me?”

Keiko paused. “Honestly, I don’t know. But even if she doesn’t, I’m hoping that will at least snap her out of this.”

After a moment, Hanako nodded. Hopefully she wouldn’t just make things worse.

She started with the mess tent; it wasn’t too far from Keiko’s headquarters. A handful of people she passed smiled at her, but the vast majority either scowled or refused to meet her gaze. That was fine. Hanako was fine. She was used to it, after all. Right?

She approached the head chef, who gave her a disapproving look. “What do you want?”

Hanako forced a smile. “I’m looking for someone. A father, just came in yesterday. From Tsurui?”

The chef stared at her a long moment, then grunted and gestured toward the servers. Hanako found the father minding a pot of rice, ready for the lunch rush that would be starting soon.

As Hanako approached, the father started, then peered closer at her. “Are… Are you that oni girl that rescued us?”

“Ah, yeah.” Hanako reached up and showed him the talisman. “This lets me pass for human, as long as I don’t use my oni abilities. Normally,” and she took it off, “I look like this.”

As her horns reappeared on her head, everyone around her started muttering. Some hissed, others cursed; it caused a lot of panic. Hanako pretended not to notice and put it back on.

<-Hanako First

<-Hanako Previous

Hanako Next->

Current Draft of Hanako’s story (including unposted content)

Plans and Design Shifts

First, sorry I’ve been out of touch the last two days. Been kind of out of it, even not considering the brain power required by my class.

Speaking of which I am taking DMPC 105, or Intro to Digital Marketing. It’s not a topic I’m very familiar with, and if I ever intend to get more than the automated bots that currently scan my site, it’s something I’ll probably need to learn about that. Last week, I learned about the 4 P’s of marketing, which are Product, Price, Place, and Promote. Price isn’t an issue; the blog is free, and I’m not at a stage where I would set up Patreon or newsletters or anything like that. Place… is definitely an issue (probably the biggest one) but I’m also not there yet. Same with Promote. (We’re actually learning more about those two the next couple weeks, though.)

To my surprise, though, I realized I didn’t have a firm grasp on the “product” of this blog. What did I want people to get out of this? What would they gain from being here, and is there anything here that would interest my target audience? So I spent time thinking about it, and I came up with two general reasons why I, at least, might ever visit a site like this. the first, is to see the writing process in action. Honestly, that feels a bit weak; this isn’t, thus far, a writing blog like K.M. Weiland’s “Helping Writers Become Authors”; I am 100% an amateur, and don’t feel qualified to give advice. I can just show you what I’m doing, for you all to analyze to your hearts content. However it’s something that could be interesting if I leaned into it a little more, so I intend to follow every post with a secondary, “behind the scenes” look at my process. Every day, before I write, I spend 10-15 minutes planning out what I’m going to write, and sometimes letting my thoughts wander. This secondary post would be a verbatim transcription of that (minor typographical errors aside).

Second, I thought people could come here for the stories. With the way I have the blog set up currently, that… would be a challenge. It’s hard to find the major stories I’ve written, and harder to dive into them. So I intend to take time sometime over the next week to include new pages, and focus my writing more so I have discreet chapters or scenes posted regularly, in addition to my daily ramblings. I don’t want to set those on a schedule; life gets weird, and until I’m more firmly established, I can’t honestly promise I’ll stick to one.

Finally, in addition to all that, I decided that once every other week I would include an in-depth review of a story I enjoyed. It will probably be focused on books, but it won’t be limited to those. For example, I intend to do an article on Arcane season 1 at some point. That could be a way to generate new interest, at least once I get to the point where I’m actively promoting this.

As for a timeline… I’m not really sure yet. The bonus, behind-the-scenes post I intend to start immediately. The story-centric restructuring…will not be immediate. It could happen Friday or Saturday, but we’ll have to see how that goes. As for the review articles, I’d like to start that this week; I’d say it’s more likely than the restructuring, but no guarantees.