Into the darkness I've sought

Aye, it sounds dark and disturbing already... let me explain.

So, I've always searched for that story that could inspire others. A story with a believable premise, endearing characters, and a dark plot to move my audience. For the last few months I've been working on a story involving some acapella singers and the adventures they are inadvertently thrust into... I liked the characters, particularly Wynan Thatch, but... it still didn't have what I was looking for in a story. I still want to write some short stories on those characters, but it's not what I've been looking for.

For years, I've always tried to come up with a story that could realistically involve furry characters in some way and still have the characters relatable and emotionally compelling. I think... I think I've finally come up with a story that could very possibly happen in real life. A story involving genetic research gone wrong. A man mad with desire who's driven to perform traumatic and extremely painful "genetic therapy" experiments on people.

The base plot is coming together as sort of a dark mystery, almost Lovecraftian in mood but without breaking the feel of true realism. This is a thought experiment... of the kind of person I try to avoid being but is always on the very edge of my mind... would I do it knowing the consequences?

Anyway, let me know your thoughts/questions/concerns. Sorry I don't post often.

~Wes

Panic attack

So, I very nearly had a panic attack today. Here's the summary of my previous semester leading up to today's freakout.

So, for the summer semester, I was taking Chemistry prep (at 7am to 10am), Geography(1pm to 4pm), and precalculus (5pm to 9pm), all of which were crammed into a 6 week course. I had THOUGHT that my chemistry class was an 8 week course, and I missed the final... failing the course entirely... 0.0 SO, I have to retake that course. BUT, I hadn't gotten the rescheduling done. I was planning on taking that care of today...
I log on to OASIS and find out that classes start today, including my new chemistry class that I can't take since I failed the previous one... so, I panic and rush to the school to get my rescheduling done immediately. Get re registered... thankfully I managed to get the class I needed which would otherwise have messed up my entire academic plan... but I got it... turned in my new schedule to the VA... I'm likely going to have to pay back some of my BAH... joy...
I run to go get my new books only to find out that some of them aren't on the shelf. They're probably all taken already. Great... I'll have to order them online or something, right? No... they haven't been stocked yet. Why? August 25 is the final day for book return. They're currently stocking the books for all the classes which don't start until September 22nd... the book return date is the date I saw when checking my schedule... I pretty much collapsed in front of the poor lady with relief... Aaaaand then I had my first cigarette in a month when I got home...

SO, note to everyone... DO NOT PROCRASTINATE... I'm going to have a lie down for a little bit to cool off...

Wynan's Legacy

I just wanted to let everyone know that I haven't stopped writing. In fact, I'm currently working on a compilation of short stories having to do with Wynan Thatch and his legacy. Right now, I've written 2 short stories based on some characters he's tutoring as a professor of music theory and history.
1: Takayuki Shoichi - a japanese exchange student who enjoys physical activities and has a voice for bass and beats.
2: Amy Snow - a strong LDS girl who sings a beautiful soprano to praise the Lord with her musical gifts
3: William - ex sailor with a gift for techno and dubstep. Searching for the perfect sound to shake the foundation of music at its core
4: Flora - Hispanic girl , fairly promiscuous, has a very large scholarship in music from an unknown donor as long as she's taught by Professor Thatch.
5: Zacharius Nectario - Italian American boy with a strong tenor voice. Picked up out of high school by Wynan himself and paid for his tuition in order to teach him the value of his voice. Zach has a strong attraction to Wynan due to his generosity and his talent for music.
6: Wynan Thatch - Professor at a small community college somewhere in Washington (likely OC... because why not?). Not much is known about his past. His credentials check out, but something still seems off about this old musician.

The first two have rough drafts written so far. I may or may not post them as teasers as the story comes together.

Zacharius

Hey everyone. Sorry I haven't been on in a while. I've been a bit of a slump lately, and I recently signed up to the YMCA to get in shape... cause I'm getting ugly. Oy...

Anyway, I got these new headphones that let me hear my music SO much clearer and a piece of inspiration hit me. Some of you may remember my story in class called "Zacharius Iphus Nectarios" the one about the bat in love with a human girl. He goes to visit his crazy brother and gets the ring, right? Well, that's part of a much much larger story that I even wrote a book to once... it was pretty shitty. Don't ask to read it. It's a travesty... but the story has stuck to me because I've always wanted to retell it.

Benjamin has been trying to get me to write stuff that's more... normal... believable... real world situations. I agree for the most part, but I just can't get out of my head the idea of a story that has something unbelievable to it. Some little bit of magic, or a creature that doesn't exist... SOMETHING to take away from the stagnant reality... and it hit me...

I had a few ideas regarding Zacharius and Wynan Thatch... Lets remove all the anthropomorphic animals and the vast majority of crazy epic magic. We have this normal every day joe named Zach who is in love with another guy. (yes, the gay thing... bear with me... it's the only way that really makes it work, or it turns into a different story with a different meaning entirely... hell, we may as well turn it into Romeo and Juliet if we leave it as "boy meets girl" etc...) Anyway... This other guy kinda likes him too, but not in a totally committed way... bored already?

I'm unclear with the details, yet... I've just gotten the idea, k? I'm writing this down to get it out since I can't find my journal for some reason... SO, this other guy who seems non-committed would be... Wynan... k?
NOW, there's a third person. He's seen as a terrorist. Let's call him Jesse... (he was previously a raccoon necromancer who simply could not die and loved to kill people to make them his zombie slaves... Think Alex (main character from Clockwork Orange) meets Panic at the Disco (band) and Avenged Seven Fold (band) ... He's toned down just a tad... seriously, he pretty much just isn't a raccoon anymore, but he's also not quite so open with his abilities to live through anything and make zombie slaves... In fact, none of the crazy magic shit doesn't even appear until like... at least half way through the story...) Jesse aka Black Spectre as he calls himself.
Now... Zach doesn't really have anything to offer Wynan other than his affection. He tries to convince Wynan that they should be together... Wynan is iffy but not completely against the idea... you know how that goes... There's drama and complications... Black Spectre ends up becoming notorious, on the news everywhere, etc... then just vanishes.
Wynan gets captured (or Zach... undecided...) by Jesse... one has to get over (Zach - Fear, Wynan - Necessity to stay inconspicuous or whatever...) to go after Jesse to discover his hideout in an abandoned nuthouse... sanitorium... whatever... You know how this ends...

Now, I could leave out all magic entirely and it would still hold together as a good story just fine. Jesse is just a really intelligent terrorist who takes Wynan away because they have history together... w/e... However, if I remove all that, then we're missing out on some really fun scenes. I'll give a couple examples.

Zach is invited over to Wynan's place. He gets there a little early and overhears a Wynan talking loudly... it sounds like a phone call. "...You know you're not supposed to talk to me! I told you to stop! ... No. Unless there's a significant danger or emergency, you keep your mouth shut! ... Look, I get it, you care about me, but if someone finds out about us, we could get in big trouble... Look, Zach is coming over, so please stay quiet, ok? We can spend some time alone later, alright?" Zach enters after the conversation ends to see Wynan texting on his phone and a hand over the hilt of his lucky silver dagger hanging on his belt... remember that thing? Yeah... he's talking to the dagger...

So... another scene in mind. Jesse has captured Wynan knowing full well what Wynan (or his bound dagger is capable of). Jesse kills Wynan. Wynan resurrects as his younger self (due to certain properties of the dagger's magic), which is exactly what Jesse wants before he kills him again only to enslave his body and soul, preventing the Dagger's magic from resurrecting him again... at all... until Jesse's magic is released. In comes Zach with nothing to offer the situation except his normal human self... maybe he has a gun... whatever use that would be... Somehow gets hold of the silver dagger which starts talking to him to help him succeed in the situation to free Wynan from Jesse's grasp, and the rest is history...

Let me know your thoughts. I can do it with or without the magic, but there's just so much fun to be had with these characters together, and I NEED a relatable protagonist for once.

Sorry again for not keeping in touch much... There's a lot of personal stuff going on with family... I don't feel up to talking about it yet... but yeah... Story... thoughts?

~Wes

Boomhauer - Dust in the Wind

Even King of the Hill can have something deep to say every now and then... powerful... I've been listening to this every day for the last month. I figured I'd share it.

Some Ideas

So, I got to thinking about my character Wynan Thatch and his dagger, and I realized that this was a character with nearly endless possibilities. This was a character I could do whatever I wanted with in whatever time period, setting, theme I so desired. So many options opened up for him, and I don't know which of these ideas are the best route right now. Some require a little research, some require a lot, some are just silly, some may require an interview with Jack Black just to make them that much more over the top extreme. Regardless, here are a few of my most enjoyed ideas involving Wynan.

Wynan in 22nd century seattle as a homeless man showing the downfall of the US economy. Saves the city from a terrorist attack and becomes famous against his will.

Wynan in 18th century seattle during it's beginnings, battling with Lovecraftian Horrors and cults to protect the world from annihilation and insanity. In this story, Wynan may disappear and effectively die for good. Can't be resurrected if you're just stuck in another dimension.

Wynan in ancient egypt. I'm not sure where to go with this one other than that it's where he first discovers the dagger. That would make him egyptian or jewish, depending on where I wanted to go with it. I'm thinking escaped slave of someone important who had him around as a courtesan or other means of entertainment.

Modern day Wynan decides to stop hiding and becomes a huge musical hit (again), wooing crowds with his seemingly magical music. He has his place in history as several different musical legends who supposedly died, such as Elvis Presley and John Lennon.

Going along with the last idea and possibly the first, maybe Wynan was always taken toward trying to be a spy or something of that nature, but he was never very good at it and died in several important historical ways. For example, he could be the guy who ran the original marathon and died after running. He could also be Benedict Arnold.

Anyway, those are my favorite ideas so far. Let me know what you think.

Random Journal Entry

In my mind, here I stand applauding. I'm crying for the beauty of music. The symphony inspires me, brings images and stories to life. What is life without music? The glorious orchestra with its epic chords and movements echoing through the cathedral. There are no words, no messages, no morals. All is music and joy and sorrow and life incarnate.
I take my notebook and scribble some such inspiration barely coherent or worthy of expression in comparison to this majesty. I hope and wish to move someone the way the music moves me. I desire only to force some emotion from my readers, then my life would be complete. Can I move you? Can I make you love, hate, sing, cry, shout? Eat, read and be merry, for your works will never die.
The music stops, but the sounds reverberate through my heart. I cannot bear it. I must bring as much joy to my own audience. I must bring my own symphony of words to my readers. This is my calling. Come forth, my followers, and "hear" what I have to say.