《The Dog with a Chair》Chapter 5 Character Development!
Advertisement
Stanley was in front of a small group of 10 people. And something was very wrong. It was only a few minutes after he started speaking that he first noticed it. The feeling just kept getting stronger as time stretched on. Within 10 minutes, people started leaving. 15 minutes, and he felt like death. After 20 minutes, he started to feel the same thing coming from a few of the people in front of him. Kerala didn’t seem to notice anything. She was still smiling. But as Stanley thought about it, he couldn’t remember the last time she wasn’t. The straw that broke the camel’s back, however, was Toby. He wasn’t smiling. In fact, he was gone. He had only just left, saying he needed to be somewhere. But somehow, Stanley knew that wasn’t entirely true. He knew that what Toby meant was ‘I can’t be here,’
‘This needs to end,’ he thought as he heard the calls of some nearby Ravens. The crows seemed to mock him as he sunk deeper into despair.
He was only half way through his presentation, but he proceeded to wrap it up early. His downcast nature was obvious for all to see. Even Kerala’s smile slowly faded away as she watched him. He hurried past many familiar faces, trying to make his way back home. His exit was accompanied by the flight of the Ravens, who seemed to agree with him.
‘I need to find my brother,’ he thought as he went past the park that contained some of his earliest memories of this town. He decided to cut through it, using it as a shortcut to his property. A mob of Kangaroos casually observed his journey. Under the clear blue sky, Stanley arrived at his destination. He found Toby in the living room with a game running. It was ‘Beat up Aliens on a Hula Hoop 3’ and was left at the main menu. He looked up as Stanley sat across from him.
Advertisement
“Sorry,” said Stanley while looking like someone had just stolen his soul and was now charging him interest for every day he didn’t retrieve it.
Toby revealed a half smile before saying “You’re apologising to me? I’m not the one that was giving that terrible presentation,” he said while chuckling.
“Yeah. What do you think I did wrong? I felt like it started out okay, but…”Stanley trailed off while pondering his day so far.
“Think about it, what did you do differently?” Toby inquired. While waiting for a response, he picked up a game controller and selected ‘Start Solo Game’
“It may not have been a great idea to spend the majority of it reading from a legal document. I think I lost most of the people because of that,” Stanley said while admiring the opening cut scene of a game he first played over a decade ago.
“Not only that, I think you could have kept people there even if that’s all you did. But, well, you weren’t acting quite yourself up there,”
“Tell me about it,” Stanley said shaking his head. ‘It’s almost as if I abandoned any effort to keep the people in front of me interested, and was only doing a robotic reading of a document that was important to me,’
“Remind me why we’re doing this again? Because shooting aliens is looking a lot more fun right now if this is how it’ll be from now on,” Toby inquired while team killing all of his allies out of boredom.
Stanley was tempted to answer the same way he had when Kerala had asked him the night before. But that didn’t feel right to him anymore. It hit him as he watched Toby killing the same friendly npc over and over. It didn’t seem to want to stay dead. ‘I want things to change, but that’s only because I think people will be happier if they did, that I would see some of those familiar smiles that have all but disappeared from some people,’ he thought so hard that some say he looked like he was chewing 6 gum.
Advertisement
“No. There won’t be a repeat of today,” he finally said as he watched Toby adapt his strategy to hitting his un-killable ally through to the next part of the level. “I’m ready to try again,” he added with a fire in his eyes that appeared to be able to consume all that stood before him.
“That’s great and all, but grab the extra controller, I need you to help me see if we can push this Sargent guy all the way to the end of the level,”
“Oh, okay,”
Advertisement
The Path of Ascension
The story follows Matt, a young man planning to delve the rifts responsible for the monsters that destroyed his city and killed his parents. His dreams are crushed when his Tier 1 Talent is rated as detrimental, and no guild or group will take him. Working at a nearby inn, he meets a mysterious and powerful couple. They give him a chance to join The Path of Ascension, an empire wide race to ascend the Tiers and become living legends. With their recommendation and a stolen skill, Matt begins his journey to the peak of power. *** Chapters will now be MONDAY and FRIDAY AT 4:00pm EST. This is a mix between LitRPG and Xianxia. It's like a car that looks like a LitRPG with dungeons and skills, but the interior and engine are all Xianxia. So no blue boxes and clicking +’s to get stronger. *** What you won't see in this novel: Bland protagonists. Bland love interests that immediately fall in love with the MC. Murder hobos who kill entire families and clans for looking the wrong way at somebody. Pacifist MC’s who wouldn't kill a single person to save millions. Cartoonish villains who are bad just to be bad. *** What to expect: A MC who acts rationally. World building that has more depth than ‘strong people 'stronk'. There will be no rules only benefiting the strong and no rule changes as they see fit. An empire that actually cares for its citizens. People who act and talk like real people. A magic system and progression system that are logically and internally consistent. Realistic fight scenes.
8 659The Hero Is Unchained, But Not Free
In a world divided, there are two types of people: the Uni and the Typpe—those with superhuman abilities, and those without. Uni are given jobs based on their abilities, becoming either Hero or Villain, and their battles are used to entertain the masses. All looks to be at peace, but a war brews in the shadows... Author Ivy McLaughlan is down on her luck. Losing her status of bestseller, she is disowned by her wealthy family and forced to take refuge in a dilapidated apartment in a city far from home. There, she meets Satsuya Harada, the most powerful Uni alive...who works as a bartender and barista. Unwittingly entangled in a war for the use of Satsuya’s abilities, Ivy uncovers not only the secrets behind the Uni, but the secrets behind her own life. Now—if only she can stay alive long enough to make use of them. Updating Tuesdays and Thursdays through the end of May, then on hiatus until September. Support my work on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/foxunderfire This story was a finalist in the “ongoing serials” category of the Laterpress 2022 Genre Fiction contest! Text, and Cover Copyright Fox Under Fire (Alexandra Lanc) 2021
8 202Sunset of the Dragons
The extinction of dragons is near. Dragons have existed in the continent of Shieldrake for as long as human history, but nothing lasts forever. This is the story of Akai, the dragon that was destined to bring an end to all dragons. Akai was a black dragon who roamed the continent disguised as a human vagabond. One day, he discovered a degenerative disease to his kind that would render dragons to lose their sense of self and become uncontrollable monsters. Upon seeing a vision of the future, he saw the world filled with ash as armies of dragons flew above raining fire down on all other life. Time is short, and only he can prevent the coming future that haunts him.
8 90Chronos Ascending
Meena has always been running. Why? She had the capability to be the strongest person in the world. Which made her the biggest TARGET in the world. Chronos Corp created a serum that brings out a person's innate super abilities. They're not as strong as those born with powers, but people like that were few and far between. Either way, they were now the most powerful company in the world, catering to everyone from the general pubic to the armies of entire countries. But what happens when you introduce powers into society? Crime goes up, suddenly the entire police force need powers just to stop petty crimes. Wars break out and the terrorism is beyond escapable. What can Meena do against this unstoppable corruption?
8 77Raising Gracie
Life happens sometimes for no rhyme or reason but when things line up magic happens. Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch walk down a path with a young girl named Gracie. Watch as she changes their world and lives and completes things in so many ways.
8 237If You'll Be My Star (Anakin x Reader) BOOK TWO *COMPLETED*
A Jedi shall not know love. It was the code taught to you. But what happens when Anakin Skywalker comes back into your life and you are put under his protection when new dangers threaten your life?This is an Anakin Skywalker x Reader and is set during the events of Attack of the Clones. All rights go to Disney and Lucasfilm, I only own the scenes I wrote in myself.#1 in anakinxreader 08/13/2021
8 91