By Robin de Voh on 2021-10-07
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tags:
nanoprep, personal
The video flickered on and a bespectacled man appeared on screen.
"So why are you here?" the therapist said.
"I'm here to learn what therapy is like, so maybe I can put my doubts, fears, to the side and be willing and able to
commit to it," I said.
It was awkward to sit here, staring at a computer screen, having a one on one with someone I didn't know, with both a
clear idea of what this conversation was going to be about, and also no clue whatsoever how it'd progress beyond the
first few sentences.
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By Robin de Voh on 2021-10-06
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tags:
nanoprep, hiking, creepy
It was the 3rd day of his first long hiking trip ever. He'd started in a little town and was following a mostly
well-marked trail. Wild camping was allowed in the area, so he'd been enjoying the sunsets from the comfort of his tent.
The nights were soft and rain-free, so he slept without the rainfly on, just the mesh inner tent. The first night he'd
seen the stars a little, since he wasn't that far away from town, but last night, the second night, all of the stars in
the sky just popped. He'd been amazed. And so were the two other campers that had set up their tents near him.
He enjoyed the stars every time he woke up -- he thought he just hadn't adjusted to sleeping on the trail yet -- because
he kept having nightmares. He usually didn't have many nightmares, but maybe he was just really tired. It was his first
long distance hiking trail, and it probably didn't help he'd run out of water earlier in the day, due to his water
filter breaking. He eventually fell into a deeper sleep though.
Until he woke up early in the morning, earlier than intended. He had heard a sound he hadn't expected, which shook him
awake suddenly. He noticed his tent was open partly. He'd groggily got up and looked around, but he couldn't see
anything.
But then he saw it. And then he ran.
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By Robin de Voh on 2021-10-05
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tags:
nanoprep, scifi, climate
High, shiny apartment buildings formed the skyline of Geo City. Between the different building, skyways snaked back and forth. They were the only way from building to building, and all of the skyways and buildings together, well, they essentially were Geo City. Most of which was invisible, due to the heavy fog.
King looked down and adjusted his footing on the edge of the building top. He was up on the highest building he had found an entrance to the upper levels for. He checked his breather stats and they were fine. 89% full, he'd be fine for another solid 17 hours. He took a deep breath in, and closed his eyes. It's now or never. After all the preparation, he couldn't turn back now. He tensed up and let his breath slowly escape.
Then he jumped.
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By Robin de Voh on 2021-10-04
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tags:
nanoprep, halloween, creepy
It had been 2 years since their last Halloween party, and though normally they weren't even that into Halloween, it was one of the first 'holidays' they were able to go to a party for. Vaccinated -- though not against the spookiness! -- and ready to mingle, Alim and Esther got out of their car and double-checked each others' costumes.
He was dressed as Aladdin, and Esther, against Alim's many, many requests, as Abu. Something about not wanting to dress up as the token 'sexy girl'. But once the costume had come in he'd agreed it was way funnier and she had been right to choose it.
"Ready to go?" Esther asked him.
"After you, my... monkey?" he said tentatively, awaiting her approval.
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By Robin de Voh on 2021-10-03
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tags:
update, nanoprep
Last year I did not write 20 stories in October. Fail.
Last year I did not even get to 25% of a NaNoWriMo novel. Double fail.
I've been getting diminishing returns on my November novel writing year over year, and it's no longer fun.
So I'm not doing NaNoWriMo this year.
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By Robin de Voh on 2020-10-29
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tags:
nanoprep, weird
I haven't slept in about a month. I'm not sure exactly when it started or what caused it, but I simply haven't been able to sleep. I'll get into bed, but I'm not even tired. I can close my eyes, but it feels unnatural. Like when you're fully awake, but unlike when you're sleepy and your eyes naturally want to close. The only bit of calm I get is when I pass out for whatever reason. But that doesn't leave you rested either.
And recently, I've started seeing things. One thing in specific. I call him Loud. Because not only is he actually loud when he speaks, but his fur is all the possible colors that have ever been turned into neon. And the pattern of his fur shifts over time.
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By Robin de Voh on 2020-10-27
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tags:
nanoprep, contemporary
Every day he'd come in, just before lunch time, face set to war, grumbling to himself, and sometimes he'd even swear. He'd then hardly look at whoever was working and say, shortly and with no friendliness to spare, 'one baguette'. Sometimes he'd add 'and quick, please, I haven't got all day," but that was reserved for particularly nasty days.
Sometimes the vein on his forehead would be pulsing and he'd be even more agitated.
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By Robin de Voh on 2020-10-26
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tags:
nanoprep, corona, personal
"They look so stupid," Chloe said, smirking. She looked at Chase, sitting closely next to her, and he shook his head while smiling, seemingly agreeing.
They were sitting on a tombstone, looking out at a socially distanced funeral procession of -- as mandated by the measures -- a maximum of 30 people. Solemn faces, some covered in veils, but all covered in face masks.
"Glad we don't have to worry about it," Chloe said as she floated off the tombstone and onto the ground in front of it.
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By Robin de Voh on 2020-10-22
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tags:
nanoprep, fantasy, weird
They took a first step forward and almost fell over. This was awkward. These leg things were not doing what they had expected, but as a god-like abstract concept they honestly hadn't known what to expect. They'd watched these humans waddle around in their blood-filled flesh bags for centuries, somehow building giant structures and having a somewhat coherent society. They'd seen them love, hate, fight, other things, and they'd been intrigued. They had watched, listened, and attempted to smell and taste.
But they had never before become a physical being like them.
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By Robin de Voh on 2020-10-21
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tags:
nanoprep, scifi
The sun came up over the rim of the Boguslawsky crater and it illuminated the moon's surface to a brightness Levi still didn't fully understand. He squinted and it was almost as if the regolith covering the surface was glinting, all specks of tiny moon dust lighting up individually as the sunshine hit it. It had been almost a month since the sun had shone like this and he knew from previous months that it would take a few days getting used to it.
"Good moon morning, Levi," Avery said over the intercom. "Ready to do some scanning?"
Levi gripped his portable scanner tighter and nodded to himself. Daydreaming over, time to get to work.
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