Argus

Update

Astute readers who aren’t completely lost in the timeless void that is modern living may have noticed I didn’t post a new chapter last week. I apologize for this. At some point, I managed to injure myself badly enough that I’ve been basically stuck in bed for the last who-knows-how-long.

At first, I thought this would be a good time to get some writing in. But it turns out, when you can’t sit up without inducing nausea, that’s not super likely. Everything I was writing was...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 129 - Epilogue

It's really more of a chapter, honestly.

Q&A next week!  A your Qs!

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“Yeah, okay.”  Anesh spoke into his cell phone, standing in the corner of the room that he and a few other people were working in.  “That’s not great news, but it’s another check on the list.”  He sighed.  “We’ve got too many rows in the lost and found column these days.  Hopefully we can figure this one out sooner rather than later.  Or, knowing h...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 128

The Daily Grind - Chapter 127

Two chapters after this before book two is going to wrap up, I think.  After that, I'll be taking a bit of a break from TDG (though I *will* be coming back to it, for sure this time).  I'd like to take a moment to ask everyone to let me know how they feel I should handle the gulf between patreon chapters, and public chapters, since you all are the people paying my bills at the moment.

Thanks for reading.  You're fantastic.

Enjoy

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“They’re back?�...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 126

Kinda shorter than I'm used to today.  I'm still, *still* exhausted from the process of moving.  But at least I'm mostly done.  Though I've still got a frankly idiotically large pile of board games sitting behind me that need to be shelved.

Also, today marks the start of the November writing challenge for our little discord server.  I'll be posting my own entries here, but if you want to read everyone else's, there's a space for it on the Discord.

Happy Hallowe...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 125

Trying something a little different for this one.  The Daily Grind is one coherent story - as much as I can make it anyway - but I still like to experiment with style and theme within it.  I probably won’t do exactly this again, but I would appreciate feedback.

Also, there will be no chapter next week.  I’m moving to a new place, it’s a whole *thing*, and while I’d love to say that I’ll try to push a chapter out, I’m just gonna play it safe and take the week o...

The Commissioner Is Doing A Great Job

I've been writing more nonfiction lately than I ever have before.  I'm not sure why, exactly.  But it's very cathartic to share some of these slices of my reality with all of you.

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I want to take a minute out of your day to talk about Blaseball.

If you’re one of the people who hangs out on the discord server, you have almost inevitably seen me bring up my newfound love of this *thing*.  But if not, and you aren’t familiar with it, I’d like to be you...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 124

I got another review this week from someone who was mad at how I'd 'tricked them' into thinking that James and Anesh were straight.  Normally, I get kinda annoyed at these, but ultimately I'm just mildly amused and a bit tired of them.  This time, it was actually quite funny, because they didn't even read all the way to the part where things get *very bisexual*, and instead, they got offended at the foreshadowing itself.

I guess that saves time?  I dunno, most people comp...

Gunpowder Punch

I'm as shocked as you that I needed to make a nonfiction tag.

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The summer when I was nineteen years old was largely composed of new experiences for me.

I had just come home from college; away from home for the first time and having rapidly come to the conclusion that I hated it.  I did not, in my four tormentous years of high school, make many friends.  I had largely saved actual friendship for being a junior, and only begun to polish my strategies halfway th...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 123

Hey, I know this is probably the audience that

The Daily Grind - Chapter 122

Alright.  Took a week off to not die, but we're back now.  Let's roll.

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James was currently sitting in what used to be his office, fingers steepled in front of his face as he leaned his elbows on the new desk that now occupied the room.  He was on the other side of the desk from normal, facing a middle-aged man in a grey suit.

The man’s name was Randall, no last name given, and he was a bit of a twit.  Big nose, shaved and polished ba...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 121

This one is late, and I'm sorry to say I might have to skip next week's chapter, too.  Right now, there's smoke leaking into my apartment making me sick, fire bearing down preparing to make me charcoal, and a host of add-on personal issues.  Soooooo... I may take a week off.  We'll see how things shake out!  Though I've been enjoying keeping to something resembling a schedule, so I'll do my best to keep that good feeling going.

Anyway, here's this.

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...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 120

This one is a day or two late, due to depressio

The Daily Grind - Chapter 119

Is this one shorter?  Longer?  I can't tell anymore.  Either way, hope ya'll enjoy.

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James and Alanna pressed their backs against a low wall of lockers, trying desperately to ignore the smell of whatever was leaking out of them, while on the other side of the hall, Sarah and Cold-Wind-Friction did the same.  It turned out, their camraconda ally was remarkably flexible for their kind, with more of the cord ‘muscle’ in his back than the othe...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 118

I'm actually not sure I like this one very much.  Let me know how ya'll feel; I might actually redo it entirely if it doesn't hold up.

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James drove the van, doing his best impression of someone who had left traffic laws far behind, while in the rear compartment, Sarah did her best to recap the briefing for everyone who hadn’t read it.

“The school dungeon, which we’re tagging as the Akashic Sewer…”

“Are we?” &nb...

[Writing Prompt] The problem with space warfare is just how far apart things are, and how long everything takes.

We arrived to be told that the war was over.

It wasn’t unheard of, but it was jarring to have it happen to us, personally.  To watch the great Vishian Third Sociocide Fleet drop out of the subspace corridor and into real space, to see them assemble into the battle formation that would let us screen for our planetkillers in the two hours it would take to line up shots, to witness in *awe* the majestic  level of power on display.  And then, to receive a messa...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 117

Feelings and stuff today.  Unmitigated violence next time.

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When James woke up, he was almost surprised to do so in his own bed.

It was the same king sized monstrosity it had always been, although an observer who knew what to look for now would be able to see the stratified patterns of blankets and sheets that denoted the higher number of people that called it theirs.  Taking up the majority of the floor space of the master bedroom, with parts of ...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 116

This one is a bit weird, I think.  I know where the story goes *soon*, but these bridge sections always feel off to me, even though it's characters doing that thing I like best, and communicating and plotting.  Anyway, I leave it up to all of you to let me know if the pace gets too glacial.

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Loose ends

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“What?”

The word was half incredulous, half  honestly confused.  It came out of James’ mouth as he was talking to...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 115

I'm way ahead today!  Enjoy these assorted scenes.

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Momo’s first totem, refined over a dozen iterations as her skill in making the things grew, guided them to where they needed to be.

It found emergency medical care.  Originally, it did that, didn’t have a range limiter, didn’t give extra context, and if you listened to it for too long you’d start to feel like someone was trying to scoop out your right eye with a melon baller.  These ...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 114

Did you guys know I have other short stories ag

The Daily Grind - Chapter 113

Two *hours* late this time!  I'm slipping!

Also, holy shit, I didn't mention this last time, but I blew right past a hundred patrons when I wasn't looking.  You guys... have no idea what this means to me.  With my hours at work cut due to plague reasons, I make the majority of my money off writing now.  This is an insane point in my life, and I wouldn't be here without all your help.  You keep me going.  Thank you. 

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James...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 112

I am here to report with shame that I missed my deadline for "one a week" by *fourteen minutes*.  I make no excuses, and will report to the stockade alongside George Martin at once for the fate of all delinquent authors.

Fifteen minutes now, since I took my sweet time writing that.
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Hospital waiting rooms sucked.  James, at this point in his life, had a lot more experience with emergency waiting rooms than he’d really expected to ever acquire.  And right...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 111

Keeping up the pace.  One a week.  One a week, *forever*.

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The car screamed into the school zone with approximately zero regard for such petty things as ‘rules’ or ‘speed limits’.

James had several ranks in driving.  And he’d used them before, sure.  But he’d never *used* them.  Not like this; pushing his imbued skills and his physical ability to the absolute limits.  He had slipped into a state of total awareness, ...

[Writing Prompt] You awaken to a bright room with 12 mysterious figures who tell you to roll 2 dice. The outcome decides your faith. You roll snake eyes.

I think the poster meant "fate"?

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The  voice boomed, dire and eternal, vibrating the very stone of the  chamber.  "Mortal.  You are hereby sentenced by the whims of fate to  servitude to one of the Twelve.  By the cast die, you are Bound eternal  to..."

"Wait.  Stop.  Hang on."  I held up a hand, staring at the plinth that I'd just rolled double ones onto.

The hooded figure, towering twenty feet tall...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 110

Holy shit, I actually hit my target of "one a week" this time.  *Barely* within the window, but I did it.  Yes!  Excellent!

Now to do it... again...

Hm.

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Order Of Endless Rooms Operations Manual.

Section 3-1, Part 5 : Officium Mundi, Life Forms - Stuffed Shirts

Stuffed shirts, also called paper pushers or Dilberts, are not human.  This is important.  They will appear to be humans wearing business dress, and perform...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 109

Better late than never?  Maybe?

Man, I just gotta get faster at these.

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“When does You-Three get back?”  James was asking Anesh, as the two of them rode the elevator down to whichever basement hosted their dangerous wildlife containment zone.  There was a greater than fifty percent chance that it was the one they were on the way to, because Anesh had pushed the button, but it was still a bit of a gamble.  Despite over half their acti...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 108

This is a short one, partially because of more life things happening to me with unnerving frequency, but also because it's kind of just a bridge.  It's a conversation that I feel needs to happen, but it's also not the really off the rails fun bits I was excited for.

Those bits happen next time.  I promise.

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“So, fundamentally, we have two problems.”  Anesh said, idly drumming his fingers against the table in a casually complex rhyth...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 107

I'm not dead, I'm just sleeping.

Serious

The Daily Grind - Chapter 106

This one is about five months out of time, and it's kinda weird, but that's just how time be sometimes, I guess.

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“You wanted to see me, boss?”  Harvey asked, sticking his head through James’ office door.

“Yeah, two things.”  James said, digging through his outbox - another new invention that had been recently brought to his attention - and coming out with a padden tan envelope in hand.  “First of all, here’s your paycheck.”...

The Daily Grind - Chapter 105

Let's set a plot in motion.

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James slid into the padded diner seat across from the short, scruffy man with the chevrons on his grey-green shirt, assuming that there were only so many police sergeants in the building.  The man across from him, bearing the stenciled name of ‘Madden’ on his breast pocket, wasn’t really what James thought of when he thought of ‘the police.  The guy was maybe five foot eight; not *short* short, but shorter than the...