Start from Part I "Your children?" here I have an excuse for starting hella in medias res: the last four parts of this chapter are a single-take deal ft. every main character whose name doesn't start with C "Yeah, were you watching Hector at the funeral? He was staring at me the whole time like … Continue reading The Reaper’s White Elephant (Part III)
Category: Catastrophe Theory
There is no resolution. There are no answers.
The Reaper’s White Elephant (Part II)
Start from Part I The reception wasn't nearly as suffocating as the ceremony. Without a tense central narrative to unite the mourners in their discomfort, and without the noon sun baking them in their suits and full makeup, they could shake off some of the grief; shoulders relaxed, bowties were loosened from stuffy necks, backs … Continue reading The Reaper’s White Elephant (Part II)
The Reaper’s White Elephant (Part I)
Mike stood alone in front of a waterfall of marigolds. Early in the day, the sun cast a shadow over the mourners, but as the day went on, it would bring out the translucent stunning-orange brilliance of the floral display one petal at a time. In the late afternoon the effect would be blinding. Live … Continue reading The Reaper’s White Elephant (Part I)
Sunshine and Laughter (Part XI)
Start from Part I Today's lighthearted alternative is a project announcement. Before Catastrophe Theory even had a name, before the author had any intention of making her silly documentation public, there was a sim whose bizarre life choices blew the author's mind. A sim who took charge of his own life and outdid any planning … Continue reading Sunshine and Laughter (Part XI)
Sunshine and Laughter (Part X)
Start from Part I Today's non-supersad alternative is a redone summary of Book I. Now it's Kendra and Shu gossiping about the past twenty years while utterly failing to sit in chairs. And yes, it's a summary, but also a heaping amount of new content! (Fair warning: if you're early on this, I haven't quite … Continue reading Sunshine and Laughter (Part X)
Sunshine and Laughter (Part IX)
Start from Part I Ok, here's where the light-hearted alternative comes in. Don't read the following post unless you're up for an emotional challenge. Instead, have a shiny new character page. Character page! It's got evidence that I'm trying my hand at digital art and am also very, very new to digital art and drawing … Continue reading Sunshine and Laughter (Part IX)
Sunshine and Laughter (Part VIII)
Start from Part I So, 2020. The year of throwing kerosene on the fire. Massive work deadline drained my juices but I'm back. When I say 'massive,' I mean if I disclosed what it was, you'd ask why the eff I was doing anything else, especially more writing, guaranteed. I had a BLM-type essay queued … Continue reading Sunshine and Laughter (Part VIII)
Sunshine and Laughter (Part VII)
Start from Part I The glass of juice in Claudia's hand, she meant to use as a solvent for the frenetic specks marring her composure. It didn't kick in immediately. The bottle's base hitting the counter made a louder echo than she intended---she'd intended no echo---as she pushed it down with her grip, shifting her … Continue reading Sunshine and Laughter (Part VII)
Sunshine and Laughter (Part VI)
Start from Part I "Come on. Come on, come on, come on." Claudia spoke to herself with butterfly-wing words, the kind that floated without the hiss of a whisper or the aggression of a murmur, the kind whose delicate timbre could be drowned out by the caress of hand on skin. These were words that … Continue reading Sunshine and Laughter (Part VI)
Sunshine and Laughter (Part V)
Start from Part I "Come on. Come on, come on, come on." This marked the fifth time in three seconds Xiyuan had refreshed his text messages. They hadn't changed. There was a moment at quarter-to-eight when he leapt to unholster his phone on the first vibrate, giving Bernard a taste of what phasing through a … Continue reading Sunshine and Laughter (Part V)
