DrBlackJack
48873
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A link to the original story: https://reddit.com/r/HFY/s/lNUt8SJQLY
My co-author. Ignore the messy bed, or don't, I'm not your boss!
ChewyTheWookie
JormungandArt
Oh how delightful!
JustBoone
Kinda like that Birdbox movie but instead of killing yourself the entity claiming to be Gods drain you of... life? Interesting, I'd watch a psychological thriller movie with that plot.
gilliamv
They just need your fluids.
Zahnradfee
Nice story, but it kind of falls apart when he doesn't even try to leave. If it was me, I'd find a handcart, pack camping gear, lots of food, and possibly weapons, and be off the next day. You can wark 15 to 30 km a day. Maybe 10 if you have aching feet. In a week you must be SOMEWHERE.
electrajet
My thought, too. Cars wouldn't start so he just wandered around town for a couple of weeks. You can be damn far away in couple of weeks on a bicycle or even on foot.
FalZzen
I really enjoyed reading your story, thank you
ChewyTheWookie
Ratman72
That was entertaining. Thank you
Sufferwell
Not gonna lie, it was fairly riveting. Well done.
Totallyscrewedinaustin
Neat!
susancreature
That was a fun read
DiabloD3
This was pretty good.
GuerrillaschaukelnInDerTodeszone
Not bad! Reminds me of "From" a bit (with the tapping and sweet talk n such). I like the ending's sweet sadness very much. Co-author's name?
DrBlackJack
That would be Alfred. He sits with me while I write and keeps me focused. And by focused I mean he's constantly begging for attention while I'm writing...
FinancialRavioli
"What it's like to be the only bastard in town with a decent Will save modifier." the story.
SharkDoctor
this kind of reminds me of bird box except it's not shitty. good story!
manystripes
Living several lifetimes of bliss while reducing my carbon footprint to a literal carbon footprint? Sounds like a better apocalypse than the other one we've got scheduled, sign me up!
JPDG
TheIncroyableDindonVolant
« Short story »
DrBlackJack
My last three books were over 150k words. A little 2k word story is short!
evildrfrog
A gripping story, I started thinking I'd read the first paragraph and quit but then I read the whole thing. I like the imagery of the white stain and the ash. You should keep writing!
DrBlackJack
I do write a lot! If you check out my account here you'll fund a bunch of short stories. On reddit I have long running stories I write chapters for Monday through Thursday, then on Fridays I write shorts like this. I don't do horror very often though, I focus more on wholsome, bittersweet, or action/adventure. Here's a link if you want more. https://www.reddit.com/u/DrBlackJack21/s/uk5xqvKkv0
phobosorbust
Weird to catch you here on FP after giving up on reddit... do you by chance post on RR or anywhere else? Also, "common man" should be "come on, man"
DrBlackJack
I'm on here and RR as well as reddit, though I don't post my long series here. You should check out "Of Men and Spiders" on RR. I honestly think it's better than Dragons was in many ways.
ICountFrom0
I see you paid the cat tax. Thank you for the story.
DrBlackJack
My coauthor always gets an appearance! He was a barn cat who developed health issues (lost his teeth) and proceeded to become the most spoiled house cat ever!
DrBlackJack
That's him mid yawn.
CaviaPorcellus
ChewyTheWookie
You in particular? Yes. Just you. And we're all just waiting to know what you think.
DrBlackJack
gamer2k4
Why was this posted to /r/HFY, though? Just because the protagonist happens to be human?
DrBlackJack
Yes and no. r/HFY is different from r/humansarespaceorcs in that any form of human excellence goes. Right now my ongoing series is about 2 kids who got stranded on a planet and are kind of adopted by a hivemind-spider-alien (the readers have dubbed her a "spider momster") they have no physical or even mental advantage over the alien, but they do have "tool using" which is new to it as they slowly learn to trust eachother.
gamer2k4
I guess my point is that there's not any sort of "human excellence" in this story, though. Everyone is normal, then they all succumb to supernatural coercion. Where in this story do humans stand out in any unexpected or admirable way?
DrBlackJack
Well, I suppose it depends on how you look at it. Maybe the MC is just a helpless victim, but it's also possible to say that he fought against an impossible situation long past the point everyone else had given up. The hero doesn't always win in the end. Many of the people who died in the first night of the living dead exemplified human excellence despite everyone dying.
Akaszkronos
Well written, nice read
DrBlackJack
Thank you! If you ever want more, check out my profile, I post most of my short stories here as well. Or if you want the big series toy can find those on reddit.
algavinn
Well fine, maybe I will just track down this story on reddit and then your wiki profile with your list of stories and start reading through them one by one and linking them to other like minded people of fine taste and appreciation of the written arts. Fine.
DrBlackJack
Lemme save you a step. Here ya go! https://www.reddit.com/u/DrBlackJack21/s/QSpSkvT62i
NaughtButOne
Not very "HFY", but a cute story.
DrBlackJack
I do like to approach HFY from a different angle than most. Right now my big story on the subreddit is about two kids who got stuck on a planet with a spider-hivemind-alien who kind of adopts them. (The readers have dubbed her a spider momster!) r/HFY is different from r/humansarespaceorcs in that any form of human excellence is accepted. One of the more classic multi chapter stories even takes place after humanity has already gone extinct! Chrysalis I belive it was titled...
NaughtButOne
I'm not being critical of your story. The writing's fine, the plot's fine - it's an existential horror short story. But the essence of HFY is victory in the end; whether that's military victory, moral, or even pyrrhic. Ending the story with your hero making friends with the big bads, and musing about giving in to them -- it just takes away from that idea. There's no "fuck yeah" there. No downvotes, no hard feelings, just my opinion for what that's worth.
DrBlackJack
Again, yes and no. There are plenty of stories on HFY where humanity losses on the end. Sometimes badly. There are many stories where we're the villains. There are even stories where people are just being people. A really popular short was about a a day on the job for a modern day EMT, no sci-fi or fantasy involved, and it wasn't even action packed, just a guy who kept working despite feeling exhausted. HFY allows for a pretty broad definition of human exceptionalism.
NaughtButOne
Okay.