She staggered and fell. A half cloak of crimson stained the white bodysuit and tattered blue skirt of her senshi fuku. Her lungs ached, and her head swam. A fearsome chill ran through her slender frame. The ruddy smell of dirt and grass brushing failed to irritate her numb, worn body. Tears had been long spent. Was Ami alive? Where was anyone, anywhere? She had never dreamed of such violence, but she would not give up.
– Starlit Ruins: Reframe – Read: Wattpad – Fanfiction.net – Ao3
Whelp. That’s it. I can put a pretty sailor bow on this one. I fully admit that I don’t want to. I’m pondering some ideas for this work – maybe a comic or a podcast – but the impression I’m getting is that I need to let it do it’s thing. There’s no way the editing is perfect. I’m not a professional editor, and there are always things to adjust, even if it’s not the typography.
But the reason I decided to finish the story…well, in a nutshell, I accomplished my goal.
I might, yet, produce some artwork from this story. Some scenes are visually compelling, but such is the nature of anime/manga. Though I wouldn’t want to try and reproduce Naoko’s style in order to recreate it, and I know my skills are not up to par. Besides, there are other priorities in my life, such as my health.
Isn’t that the thing we keep hearing about? Various creators burning out and stepping away from public work for personal health reasons? You know, I’m actually glad that I haven’t created that “million seller”. Watterson has the right idea. Create, but don’t jump at shadows and be sure not to let the shadows jump at you.
Yes. To me, you’re a shadow. Nothing personal. I just don’t know you, and frankly, it’s enough work just trying to know myself. That’s enough burden for this kid. I need to make sure I don’t drop off the edge of reality in the landslide that our culture has become.
Make a fortune! Take off your clothes! Do a little dance! Take off someone else’s clothes!
In whatever order degrades you the most. I know, I know: It’s your choice, and so help me I’d never even try to say don’t do what you want, but media has a real impact on how we function in all levels of our life. I’ve learned to be careful about the content and message of my creations. Yes, so should you. We’re all kids.
That’s why the opening scene of Starlit Ruins: Reframe is not the fight between Usagi and the one who maimed her. Yes, I could write it. I’m not squeamish. The first writer I ever imitated was Harlan Ellison and Stephen King not long after. These are not subtle writers, and nor am I. My story is written with emotional honesty and focuses on relationships, because after you’ve been stung, what matters is who is there to help you deal with it.
The Internet in all of its collective wisdom has problems, but it’s not anywhere as bad as it sounds. Yes, Generative AI is making the production of lies and deceptive messages easier than ever at a scale we never imagined possible. Cyberpunk stories never get it right, even mine.
We just can’t decide what matters.
Oh wait, I’m lying to you. Thanks for that, Fellermeller. Anyway, we do know what matters. The problem is that we’re afraid that what we do won’t matter. We love stories that put the importance of individuals up in lights for all to see, because that’s the truth.
Charlie Kirk? Look, I’ve said before that hatred has no place in the world, and that’s it. If you’re doing anything other than lamenting the loss of a life and then getting on with your own day to day, then your priorities aren’t good. I didn’t even know the name until he was murdered.
So that’s that. Hating anyone does nothing but leave you with energy in your body that could eventually lead to your death. Since we’re all headed there anyway, why make it a journey of needless suffering? Yes, there are lots of people trying to sell us, and tell us, things, but we don’t have to add to the damage. It’s a choice. Everything is a choice.
We feel how we feel, then we decide what to do about it. I don’t write the rules.
Let the AI bumblers trot out the slop, as if we could stop it. If there’s one thing that gAI makes more clear than ever, it’s that personal connections mean more than they ever have. Build them. Yes, you introverts, too. I get it. I’m one of them. I don’t like staring out into the world with little to no hope of having any sort of impact.
I know better, though. I have learned to worry less about the metrics, the click throughs and whatever other numbers some team has gathered for me to obsess over to get me to throw money at the “problem” of personal brand failure, so to say. There are ways to deal with the problems we’re all facing, and that is to band together and not fight. Put down the gun.
I know. You won’t, and that’s your call. You’d rather not die.
I understand. If you read, or have read this latest work of mine, Rei says, after having lost the use of her legs:
“I have crossed paths with death many times, and I know its face. I do not fear what I know. I am alive now, so there is hope.“
That’s where we’re at, my brothers and sisters. We’re not at the end of our ropes yet because we still have the wherewithal to shout at each other. We don’t have to shout, though.
I know good works are the answer. I know Jesus Christ lives. He’s not looking down in disappointment. He grieves for the losses we suffer. All of us. The worst of us. The best of us. He knows the good we can do. He knows that we can serve each other with love, not judgement. Don’t hold back. Choose the Right.
It’s clear who follows Christ and who does not, but our concern needs to be our labours, not that of others. What can we do to change them? We have no power over others, even the ones who have endless piles of resources over those who do not. Some are dying, and being slain, on the hills they choose.
Not so fun, that phrase, when it’s real, is it?
Things will get worse, I keep saying, but the reverse is true as well. We can band together, and when you have a good cause, there is a natural tendency to do so. There is also an increasing amount of contrast between those who serve good and those who serve themselves, and indeed, to say, evil. Which begs the question, why did I decide to finish this fanfiction?
Some of the reasons are private, and so I will say this: It is an indicator that I have grown and matured. I’m pleased to say that I have, and I have a lot of people to thank. You know who you are.
That’s it. Take care of yourself and those you love!
P.S. Newsletters are useless to me. At least, Substack, in its present condition, becoming a mirror of Facebook with relentless video content and echo chamber of narrow views. So, nuts to that. Maybe I’ll start something new, or maybe I’ll just be more holistic about it and wait for a need to be filled. So, yeah.
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