Author: Jordan

Assembly

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“Do you know where your father is?” Mrs. Plunderton asked.

“Out shopping,” Karessa replied automatically as she tied the laces of her boots. In truth, Karessa had not seen her father in four years. Nobody had. “You know how the Mish Mash is. You get all the best deals this time of day.”

“Doing anything after school?”

“Theater. I’ll be home late.”

“Oh, for the love of – are you still wasting your time there? Do you know where we’d be if your father and I wasted our childhoods playing pretend instead of working?”

Maybe not in the Mish Mash, Karessa almost said. Instead, she chose to endure her mother’s rant and try not to take it personality. It wasn’t easy. Never was. Continue reading “Assembly” →

Recursion, Part Two

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With four employees in the store at once, Odd & Ends quickly became overcrowded not merely in terms of space, but also in terms of work to be done. Sure, if the shop were busy Donovan could be managing the books while Karessa swept, Nestor helped a customer, and Linda restocked the displays. But the shop was never busy. Even three workers could often feel unnecessary.

So, for the first time since arriving in Skymoore, Donovan took an entire day off. He hardly knew what to do with himself. In the morning he walked about the city, casually familiarizing himself with it in a way he hadn’t yet had time to do properly. He discovered a library, an aquarium, and a place that sold something called “pizza,” all of which he made a note to check out when he had the time. Continue reading “Recursion, Part Two” →

Update: A brief note on scheduling

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As I write this, I’m feeling a little defeated. Odd & Ends was conceived as a twice-weekly series, which then became a once-weekly series because these stories got longer than I intended, and now, with the acquisition of a new job, even that has become a little difficult for me.

Recursion, Part One was written kind of on autopilot, and I’m not very happy with it. Same can be said for Recursion, Part Two, which I am currently writing. I could get it out tomorrow…but it probably wouldn’t be as good as it could be. As of now, I am aiming for Wednesday.

After that? I intend to slow down a bit. I think I can actually knock two out next week because the stories I have in mind are on the short side (and they are Karessa stories, which seem to flow the most naturally for me). For the rest of December, updates will simply come whenever I can get around to it, because I want to spend the month fleshing out my ideas for the future, so that I don’t have to do something like this again any time soon.

Anyways, that’s all. I can’t thank you all enough for your readership! More good stuff soon!

Recursion, Part One

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Getting to Seamoore was never an easy task. It was near the western edge of the continent that is mostly called Penscarop, but which has been dubbed “Remainia” by many recent immigrants and their children. To get to it, you had to cross either the Frostlands, the O’grofkala mountains, or troll territory, depending on where you’re coming from, none of which is anyone’s idea of a good time. Continue reading “Recursion, Part One” →

Fetch Quest, Part Two

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There is a small subset of people within Skymoore which most people suspect the existence of, but about whom few have the confidence to talk about openly. Their signs are visible to the skilled observer – esoteric characters carved into the leaves of trees, the handles of tankards, and the heads of unsuspecting bald people – but their purpose is shrouded in mystery. Their members are secretive. You might see one from a distance, standing atop the old lighthouse, scanning the city with binoculars or merely their expertly trained eyes. Always watching. Always listening. Always waiting. And although many know they exist, few are willing to speak their names out loud. Continue reading “Fetch Quest, Part Two” →

Cold in a Colder World

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“Just a minute!” Gwendolyn called as she groggily pulled a silk nightgown over her head. The wave of cold as her bare feet touched her wooden floor washed the cobwebs out of her mind. Though an unpleasant sensation, the frigid floor was sufficient motivation for Gwendolyn to prance quickly across her home, the size of which she was regretting for the first time in her life. Continue reading “Cold in a Colder World” →

“Have a Safe Walk”

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Cas gingerly opened and closed the doors to Luminous as he stepped out into cool evening air. The theater’s famously bright, variegated sign blinded him as he exited. For just a moment, his vision consumed by psychedelic light, it was as though the hill atop which Cas stood was all that existed, with only endless dark around him. Walking up toward the theater at night was a spectacle unlike anything in Skymoore. But to come out of it, alone, on a quiet summer evening, was an otherworldly and isolating phenomenon.

Cas shivered. Continue reading ““Have a Safe Walk”” →