Tag: reading

Normal Man In A City of Superheroes

On By Jacob WallaceIn flash fiction, reddit, writingLeave a comment

A writing prompt I just did.  A normal man grumbles about being in a typical superhero city.

I hate superheroes. There, I said it. It was time for me to get to work, and I could already hear the explosions outside. Something that people that watched the news never understood was that those explosions were human lives. Often dozens at a time.

When I was a teenager, I proudly bought my first car with my own money. Know what happened to it? Some guy in tights picked it up like it was nothing and used it to beat someone down. He was declared a hero. Meanwhile, I had to go through insurance claims. They had the decency to rule it as vandalism. Not that the vandal in question would ever be reprimanded. Nobody even knew who these people were, which was the scariest part. No accountability ever. I’ve seen them kill. Are they ever punished? No. Not that we could punish them. How do you stop a guy who can smash through brick walls like they’re Styrofoam?!

I sipped my coffee as I headed to the elevator. It was time for me to work. Yes, work. What normal people do. What do these people do anyway? The state swears up and down they’re not paid with taxdollars. Which have skyrocketed by the way. No other way for the city to repair itself after these regular battles. What were they fighting over? Shit if I know. The news always hails them as heroes, and always paints the villains. Never do they say what either side was fighting for.

Outside, the air was thick with debris dust. For several blocks, crumbled remains of buildings marked old battlegrounds. Some of them had construction crews. Sights like these had become routine. What the hell happened to us that this carnage is routine?!

Another explosion sounded in the air, and I saw them fighting. They were barely visible. Newscrews below filmed everything. What they’d never report is what happened to these energy blasts that missed. Lives. Dozens of lives.

My own car had been grazed by plasma blasts and dented to unrecognizability. It would be worth nothing now. I drove to work and went to my office. I buried myself in paperwork. It was the only way to get my mind off this insanity.

A writing prompt

On By Jacob WallaceIn reddit, writingLeave a comment

On the subreddit, /r/writingprompts, a prompt was posted for an intervention for a guy who has gone far too long sober.  All drugs are common and sobriety is frowned upon in this setting.

—-

They were all there. Uncle Bob was tweaking out on uppers. My mom was drunk. Dad was spaced on hallucinogens. And here I was, sober as could be.

“Son, what the hell is this?” Mom clumsily threw a baggy of ground up green herb.

“Holy shit, it’s a tarantula!” Dad climbed over the couch and hid behind it.

“Mom, it’s my weed.”

“Bullshit.” Mom hiccupped. “This is oregano. You think I don’t know what oregano smells like? I was young, I partied once too!”

“Mom, come on.” I tried to laugh it off. “I wouldn’t have oregano as fake weed.”

“That’s not weed!” Mom pointed at the baggy. “I know weed!”

Tears streamed from my eyes and I collapsed into the chair. “I’m so sorry everybody.”

Uncle Bob said nothing while he smoked meth in the corner and gave Dad another drop of acid. It was Mom that came and put her arm around me. “There there son.”

“It’s just, sobriety made me feel so alert and active.” I let the tears flow. “I just couldn’t stop once I started.”

“How long?”

“One year.”

“Take this.” Mom thrust the whiskey into my hands. “Take it now!”

I chugged and felt the vaguely familiar sting of alcohol. “Thanks. I needed this.”

Thoughts after reading Game Of Thrones

On By Jacob WallaceIn books, reading1 Comment

So, I finally read Game of Thrones.  Yes, the first book.  About damn time.

Not going to post a review, since it is such a famous book by now that anybody who will read it has probably either already read it, or has watched the show.  Though personally, I have not watched the show since I wanted to wait till the book was finished.  Not sure if I ever will see the show other than the clips of sex scenes (Emilia Clarke got a banging body), since HBO DVD box sets are so severely overpriced.  30 bucks for ten episodes?!

One thing that makes me scratch my head is how everybody seems to sugar coat the books since the show has aired.  While I have not read the show, I found this extremely odd.  People say that HBO has added sex and rape scenes.  Wait, did we read the same book?  Just about every other chapter has a sex scene or some woman getting raped in the plunder of war.  It very much is a story with a lot of sex and violence.  That isn’t to cheapen the story, George RR Martin tells a very good story.  It is a very good story with lots of sex and violence though.

It also reminded me of how different my writing was so many years ago.  I had initially planned on writing serious epics like George RR Martin.  In the present though, I write humorous parody.  Just a thought, it is funny how time flies and desires change.