moreeinnight-blog

[moreeinnight-blog]

Short Story Idea: Radio Earth

- The last DJ on Earth broadcasts on a high-powered satellite. His audience does not live on the same planet as him, rather our hero DJ speaks to a visiting generation ship that appears every quarter-year to replenish supplies and transport resources.

- The DJ reports to the crew of the ship about the status of the planet and where best to extract resources around the now-barren planet.

- Originally, the DJ was one of many who volunteered to remain at Earth, but was eventually left as the only attendant. Though he originally spoke to the crew in a professional manner, he eventually adopted a DJ persona.

- The DJ speaks in a highly enthusiastic voice that shocked the ship's crew at first, but now they have him broadcasted all across the ship. Marking him as the attraction to witness on the ship's rare trips to Earth.

- On this particular broadcast, the ship has given the DJ a set of questions about Earth. The questions were sent to him by the first generation of post-Earth children.

-The questions range from how the Earth works, what it looks like, and as well as what it was like. When asked to answer questions about the Earth's history, the DJ offers a shaky and personal answer.

- Eventually, one of the children is given the chance to speak to the DJ directly, giving the DJ his first chance at a real conversation outside of crew members in years.

- The child laments connecting with someone they'll never be able to meet, but the DJ assures him that the experience of connection is worth all the trouble.

- As the ship begins to sail away into the stars, the DJ continues his duties and dons his harness to resume his routines on Earth.

[moreeinnight-blog]

Let me breathe for a bit.

A commentary / history / actual blog post on the whole darn thing ----------------------------------------------------------------- In May 2017, the club room that I frequent wanted to play Dungeons and Dragons together for their last meet-up. I was not very interested in playing something that required so much planning with people who are too busy with studies. However, I decided to step up as Dungeon Master when someone no one liked, to put it lightly, said he wanted to be just that.

Immediately, I wrote down some ideas on what a DnD session involving the LGBT club. I didn't have a clue as to how a regular campaign was like, so I just jotted down the initial setting.

Since everyone was going to a relative newcomer to the game, they were all, at the very least, to be level 1. This gave me some leeway into how each player characters would meet up.

The initial premise was as followed: a mandatory festival occurred at a town's festival grounds. Everyone attended and/or set up shop there so it'd be nonsense to go anywhere else. Once there, a ceremony occured at a barracks (which was the college everyone we all went but in a way that fit a fantasy setting). In the middle of the mayor's speech, an ambush by low-level monsters happens. The confusion from the attack forces our players to gang up together, setting up the first fight of the campaign.

The first fight should have been of relative ease since the monsters would have been confused over defending themselves or attacking the defenseless NPC vendors. In a sense, the monsters do not aggro on the players until attacked, giving them first priority in combat.

Afterwards, I give the players a choice:

Aid in escorting the villagers to safety. or.... Aid the soldiers in eradicating the threat.

The former would test the players in their non-combat skills, while the latter tests them on their inventive killing skills. Afterwards, I let them freely roam in the town.

It was at this point in my writing where I begun to flesh out the campaign setting. Where can the players go? What sort of names should I have for NPCs? What is the main threat of the story? How best to suit non-combative players?

The whole campaign, I was going to try and make the players wonder why was there even an attack and investigate that.

I didn't think that I had much to take from, so I just started inserting as many areas from Montreal and converting them into a fantasy setting. In particular, I found inspiration from the Old-Montreal area. An area that just so happen to be pretty much from the medieval times, at least in architecture and history.

And then the DnD meet never happened. All that writing and planning for nothing. Thus, the first iteration of the story ended.

I kept the manuscript hidden in some drawer for an entire summer.

------

In my first semester of University, Fall 2017, my thursday consisted of a class in the morning, a four hour break, and then a class at night. Not knowing what to really do, I suddenly picked up writing again in that break. This time, I started with a new premise. I kept the idea of "Montreal, but in a fantasy setting" along since making up a new setting was too much of a chore at the time.

In this new iteration, I had a strange fixation on names. Back in my LGBT club, many people had multiple identity changes. Some of those changes were in name identity, gender identity, and even sexual identity. It was incredibly difficult to keep track of them all. At times I thought of how silly it seemed to change names whenever you wanted, but who am I to talk when I change my Steam name once every month.

So I wrote a premise where citizens of this kingdom were given a name only after their 15th birthday. A person's name would be held as their highest title. In this story, an individual isn't given a name. They have to earn it. Commoner names would be related to items or something related to their occupation. Higher names would be like titles, normal, or even biblical names.

For example, the original main character's name was Sheperd and another main character would be called Keys.

As for the story, it's not very different to where it currently is right now.

A princess named Rea has just reached the age where she would rule over her own dominion. This dominion just so happened to be the island-state of Reasboro. It's no coincidence that they share names, but I never really decided on the significance yet. 15 weeks in advance, a nobleman and his son arrive in Reasboro to prepare for the princess' eventual arrival. However, the leaders already in charge of Reasboro are not having it and decide to avoid having the sovereignty rob them of their current place in Reasboro. The main character is forced away from his father and narrowly avoids death. The main character, under the alias of Aura, is forced to reunity with his father before the 15 weeks are up, whereby the powers that be are plotting to kidnap Princess Rea. Along the way, the main character enters towns with internal problems that relate to Montreal's own problems.

Trapped in a new place, Aura must adapt to their new environment to not just survive, but also to understand the problems around them. Originally, it was going to be have a coming-of-age feel to it. Aura would struggle to come to terms with their new identity. Solving and fixing the problems of Reasboro would help them overcome the hurdle and eventually accept their new name.

The conflicts and sub-plots of the stories revolve around the differing groups of people within Reasboro, something that is reflective of Montreal's absurdly diverse population. It sheds light on the feelings of those who believe are in power and those who actually have power. Those who are trying to earn riches, and those who are robbed of it.

I was a bit afraid of getting too political in this because of recent events that caused tensions among racial groups, but in real life Montreal this is a reality. Anglophones and Francophones have a very shaky relationship. To list every tensions would take forever and can probably act as a rough dissertation for any history paper.

It was at this point that I wanted to fully explore Montreal as a setting. I stopped writing as I felt I needed to know Montreal better, even though I lived here all my life. I picked up some books, visited landmarks, explored the island more, and even read up on historical accounts.

The writing slowed to a crawl, only keeping myself from being rusty by writing short autobiographical posts.

--------

Starting from Summer of 2018 up to the present, it's here where I currently am so far with writing. I dropped the entire fixation on names and focused more on the adventure and characters. I finally gave myself a fresh idea on what Reasboro is going to be like without relying too much on historical facts and on the past. What mattered now more than ever was characterization.

The last iteration of my story revolved around the son or daughter of a noble named Aura.

This time, the main character is Princess Rea. She has snuck into Reasboro under the disguise of Aura, a knight from Reasboro. I have multiple reasons as to why she would choose to be there, but I'll have to eventually settle on a few of those.

The story remains the same, Reasboro will experience change in leadership and those in power refuse this so they ambush who them assume to be Aura, the Princess' personal bodyguard. They don't realize that the one they tried to attack was really the Princess who came earlier than she should have.

Princess Rea / Aura narrowly avoids capture and is found by the deuteragonist, June. June is the original basis for Aura from the second iteration, but as a native of Reasboro who attends the local school in the area.

Instead of focusing on identity, I switched the theme of the plot towards something that every single one of my scenarios shared. It was all about a certain change in multiple characters/groups' environments or way of life. Every possible scenario I had thought up about were about change and the reaction towards it.

In a way, the focus of many of the scenarios was not the change. It was how some characters were resisting it or trying to stop it.

Rea/Aura's entire character arc revolves around the loss of the original Aura.

June's past is about the family values he struggles to hold up to and being stuck in his own self-imposed soldier-like behavior.

The leaders in charge of Reasboro are reacting to their possible loss of power.

I had written about a town in the middle of disputes due to its expansion into the forests.

I also had a scenario about a shop keeper whose wares were going obsolete due to a competitor selling a better product and how he reacts to it.

It was silly of me not to see this back when I wrote it, but at least I finally see it after all this time.

--------------

I don't really write about the future, because it hasn't happened yet. All I can say is that I hope that I've written more than what I've got so far.

A story that never got a chance to be explored survives through multiple changes. It's a story related to an island that is so precious to me. I hope to create a personal story that can acccurately portray the feelings and culture of the Montreal people. If not, then I hope it reaches someone to inspire them to do something better than this.

[moreeinnight-blog]

The Yield of the Kingdom

~Among the field of potatoes~

[The second time I saw Aura, I couldn’t bare to look.]

—– “Take care of these potatoes, for they are your citizens. Keep them happy and they will greatly reward you!”

The thought of my royal tutor’s outrageous metaphor crossed my mind. It came very late in the day. The sun is setting, and the moon is already present if you looked hard enough. Today was a day off from studying due to an event that required the castle to be occupied. My tutor, Keyes, was kind enough to cancel his visit today, saying that he had business to attend to. Even without lessons to learn, I did not rest until all the preparations were personally accounted for. Maybe Keyes thought this was a day to learn all by itself. No doubt it would be something he would attempt. I returned to my chambers before the sun had set, content that everything was taken care of. Except for the potatoes. Perhaps it was Keyes’ absence that had caused me to forget about them. He was the one who never failed to mentioned how “the Kingdom” was doing every day. Those were just excuses. Without any more thinking about it, I made for the door.

“Princess?! Wait, do not go out there! There are too many early visitors in the castle grounds right now. You’re not supposed to be seen until tomorrow night.”

I was interrupted in my rescue by Miss Elegy, my personal maid. She was passing by my door with a basket of clothes in hand. Now she is blocking the exit of my room using her body and basket.

“Miss Elegy, I have forgotten to tend to the potatoes. Please move out of the way of the door.”

“P-p-princess, please! This isn’t a game. Your appearance at tomorrow’s gathering is vital. You will spoil the entire point of it if you show yourself now!”

Miss Elegy is not to be trifled with, at least when it comes to her strength. No matter how much I try to push her, she does not move. She held onto my shoulders, not allowing me to properly make a move on her. Where did she learn to do that?

Thankfully, a non-violent solution was laying right beneath me. I grabbed the laundry basket from below Miss Elegy and examined its contents. There were clean set of maid uniforms.

“Miss Elegy, I have found a solution.”

I told her while clutching the uniform in front of her.

“Ah. Do you mean that you will ask one of the maids to tend to the potatoes? My knowledge in farming is limited, but I’m sure someone has some skills.”

Miss Elegy’s guess was adorable, but I had something else in mind.

“They are my potatoes and I will take care of them personally. I will do as you want and not show myself out there. That’s why I’ll be needing this uniform. Nobody would bother to look at a maid out there, right?”

Miss Elegy was confused and took a moment to think about my plan. Doing so had left her wide open for me to pull her into my chamber.

“Help me put this on, Miss Elegy.”

—

Here I am, at the farm that Keyes and I dubbed “the Kingdom.” On the tiny patch of land assigned to me by Keyes, the soil was dry. It was lacking the water it needed due to my negligence. It irritated me that the only error that I could have made this day is the one that Keyes could have seen. I looked to the sky to see that the sun is leaving now. I quickly find the watering can I leave nearby the farm and use the only farming skill I’ve learned.

[HIDDEN SKILL | WATER-THE-CROPS NO JUTSU]

After finally taking care of the potatoes, all my duties have finally finished for the day. It’s time for night to set in, then I can resume practicing my speech for tomorrow. I decided to take a break next to my little Kingdom and admire the leaves as it wiggles from the wind. In this moment, everything really was taken care of. I can finally feel true content. Watering the potatoes everyday is like any other duty of mine, of course. Having to sneak past the guests and maid to get here that made watering a bit more satisfying. Is this the reward that Keyes spoke of? If it was, I would not dare to admit my disappointment.

I looked up once again, but at the wall of the castle. I spot the window that belongs to the Study room. Seeing that reminded me of what happened on the ground I stood on. The confrontation of my first tutor and of the unknown knight was right here. It was on this patch of land that my tormentor was dismissed by a guardian angel. I never got his name, and I never gave him my thanks. How long has it been since that day...? After so long, I stopped looking out the window at the end of every lesson. Searching for that knight proved fruitless.

Being carefree for a moment, I barely noticed the group of knights walking behind me. The synchronized stomps from them are what caught my attention. They all wore armor that did not belong from this castle. I deduced that they were more of the early visitors for the gathering tomorrow. They were not as clean as the knights that work inside the castle. Were they really given entrance with those unkempt armor? Suddenly, the knight at the front of the group stopped and so did the rest. The front-most knight was the smallest of the squadron and also had the worst armor among them. It seemed as if he had just gone through many battles.

The reason he stopped was because he saw me. When I realized that, panic set in. I didn’t even know if these were guests, let alone real knights. The knight walked over to me. As a maid, I maintained a welcoming posture towards the knight. His armor was too dented and dirty that not even the fleeting sunlight would reflect upon it. The helmet he wore covered everything. I couldn't tell if he was covering his identity or if it was stuck on place. After a steady pace, the knight stood before me with some room to spare between us. I trembled with my head tilted upwards to see what little I could from the helmet. However, the knight saw that too and reacted accordingly.

“My princess, I hope you are well.”

The knight spoke with muffled speech. He was not standing anymore. Instead, he was down on one knee and head arched down to the floor. He reacted accordingly to a royal member. A knight’s genuflect, an act my father had been given many times. No one had ever done that to me before. It was supposed to be done many times tomorrow night at the gathering. Knights and subjects from all over the Kingdom were to perform this act to me. This knight got to do what no other has done before. Like I had practiced, the correct response was…

Wait, how did he know I was the princess?

—

“Who are you?”

I asked the knight. It was a panicked demand that I know who the knight is. No one aside from the servants and royal members know what I look like. The last time the public saw my face, I was an infant. It’s impossible that some knight knows me.

“I-I-I am not the princess. She is currently in her chambers preparing her speech.”

I assured him I wasn’t the princess, but that lie failed the moment I said it. This knight’s ability to see right through me began to worry me.

“Oh, Princess. It worries me that you are wearing a maid’s uniform. However, it pains me to know you don’t remember me.”

It was difficult to discern what the knight had said in his muffled state. It was also difficult to see what he looked like. If only that helmet were off.

“Identify yourself. Remove the helm, it’ll help me understand you more as well.”

The knight removed his helmet. Her helmet. Her hair flowed freely after escaping from the helmet. She had the same hair color as mine.

Looking straight at me, she said

“Knight Aura of Snowfront. Loyal subject to the Kingdom of Anon. And also-”

My guardian angel. I fell to my knees, looking straight at her. My face feels numb, so do my legs, my hands, my head. I can’t feel anything. This is the reward, isn’t it. The thought of it was too much and finally my eyes give out.

—

I can feel my body floating in the air, even though I know I’m actually on the grass. No, I actually am in the air. When I came to, I’m back in the castle corridors. Oh no. She’s carrying me in her arms.

“Long day isn’t it? I know the castle a bit, but you’ll have to guide me to your room. Oh never mind, that maid seems to know who you are as well!”

Before I knew it, I was back on my feet. Miss Elegy was hugging me tightly, apologizing for nothing.

“Rest well Princess. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

As she walked away, I looked at Aura until she disappeared from sight. My head remained arched upwards as she did.

[moreeinnight-blog]

It came from a whimper.

[The first time I saw Aura, our eyes never met.]

The light from the Study room's window was barely enough to illuminate this place. Much of my childhood took place in this room. Surrounded by bookshelves on both walls, a single small desk table was in the middle. Aside from my chambers, it was the only room that I knew of. Despite that, nothing in this room mattered to me. My eyes were constantly fixed on the parchment I wrote on and the dais that my tutor stood at. This room would have been my resting place if nobody ever told me to leave.

---

I can't recall what I had done on that day, only that I had offended my tutor. He berated me, calling into question my right to royalty. My dress that was prepared for me by my servants were dirtied by tear drops. Not wanting to anger them, I tried to hide them with my hands. The weight of a nation were to be put on my shoulders, thus everyday was a day of learning. Etiquette, dancing, academics, all of these were thrust onto me with no end. The offence I made was not just affecting my scholar, it was affecting my father, my maids, everyone who is counting on me. It hurt everyone, but myself.

The door opened to signal the end of my torment when a maid came in to console me. The offended scholar left the room through the same door as the sound of whimpering leaked into the corridors.

"Princess, you must be stronger than this. That man is only doing what is best for you. He does what he has to for your sake and ours."

The maid who wiped away my tears said to me.

"Come along now. I'll fetch you some refreshments to bring to your room."

I returned to the table that laid my parchment and held them to my chest as I scurried to get out of this room. Suddenly, a whimper caught my attention. Looking around to find the source, I found it to be from the window behind me.

"I have done nothing wrong, I swear!"

It was my tutor's voice. He was sitting on the floor with something, no, someone standing over him. It was a knight. A loyal subject of the kingdom that have sworn to protect me and my father. That is what my maids have told me. It was the first time I got to see a knight, and the first time I see them fulfil their duty.

"I heard that a scholar was here to tutor our princess. All I heard was an old man making her to cry."

The knight spoke to the tutor with authority, or perhaps with a sword in hand would be appropriate. There was control within his voice, and so was intent and restraint. Doesn't he know how important he is to my teachings, my future and the future of this kingdom?

"Do not come back. I will inform the King of your tenure's end."

The knight, whose authority is unknown to me, is dismissing my tutor before my eyes. The tutor got up to his feet to protest, but the twitch of the knight's sword was faster than his words. Realizing his mistake, he fled from the grounds. The way he ran had me giggling as I realized I would never see that man again. Immediately, the knight turned around to find out where the laughter came from. A quick duck and I was out of sight. I wanted to look back out again, to see the face of the knight who saved me from the tutor. Looking only from behind him, I could see he had similar color in hair with me and quite the small frame of body. I hesitantly tried to look out once again, but the maid's voice caught my attention. The maid yelled for me to hurry on back to my room, at threat of eating my sweets for me. I exited the study room for the first time with a smile.

Perhaps it was from looking outside for too long, but the study room looked a bit more brighter. Every since I saw that knight, I could feel the warmth of summer from the study room's window. Eventually, the lessons resumed with a new tutor. The study room remained as bright as that day did. Or maybe it was just from looking outside the window for too long every lesson.