My own year end post

The official report doesn’t have all the information I would have included, so I’m adding to it here:

My most-viewed post is part one of my Top 25 Impractical Transformations list; in fact that whole series is the top 5, thanks to traffic from The Allspark. After that, it goes

6. The crime against Jennifer Lawrence

7. Transforming Mecha and the History of Change

8. I Will Change the World with Representation

9. Crossover Chaos Final

10. 30-Day Anime Challenge

And some posts that I personally think deserve more views than they got relative to my others:

Human Nature

Video Game Challenge Day 1

The short story Breanna and the flash fiction Sisters and The Greatest Treasure.

Posts that have more likes relative to views than others (this could be considered an objective way of determining what should have more views)”

Thermodynamics and Creationism

The flash fiction Showdown and Sideburns, in addition to the ones I already named above.

(Super) Robot Wars

Search Engine Terms

I Won Flash! Friday

Pokebiology: Words with Too Many Meanings

Showdown

Over at Flash! Friday, it’s Flashversary. The prompt this time allows almost total freedom, but having to be exactly 150 words instead of within a range sounded like it could be a challenge; I was kind of surprised that it wasn’t really a problem. Here’s my entry for round one.

Showdown

Luna’s jet ripped through the smoke, but it wasn’t fast enough. Thousands had already burned. “No more! Tonight, Orochi dies!”

She rolled to dodge a tongue of flame from the mechanical wyrm, and fired a missile straight down its maw to little effect. She was relieved to see impacts on two of the monster’s other heads.

“Adam! Michiru! Formation Alpha!”

All three screamed “Combine! Guardian Susanoo!” as three machines became one unbelievable warrior.

Orochi ignored the steel samurai and spat a fireball at the hospital. Susanoo dashed into the projectile’s path and drew the Sword of Storms. The flames danced around the heavenly blade until it glowed red. The blades on the robot’s left gauntlet extended and were connected by a plasma bowstring. The trio fired their sword as an arrow straight into the fusion reactor that was the dragon’s heart. The beast fell to Earth, into its own inferno.

Growing Up

I wrote this for Flash! Friday.

Growing Up

“That umbrella won’t protect you from a storm if you’re in the sea!”

“Maybe I don’t want to be protected.”

“He can’t be worth it!”

“Good guess, wrong pronoun.”

“If you mean you like girls, I’ll be your comfort. For half price.”

At that, the lady in red turned around. “Go home.”

“I don’t have a home.”

“Runaway?”

“Orphan.”

“Where do you sleep?”

“With whoever pays me to.”

“I mean the rest of the time.”

“In the park.”

“Not tonight. Come to my place.” Amanda happily followed. “I’m Akane.”

“Amanda.”

“Maybe it’s time to grow up.”

“I’m not inexperienced.”

“Not you. Me.”

“Usually anyone who looks like you isn’t a virgin unless she wants to be.”

“I never said I was…or that I was buying. That’s not the area where I’m being immature. My mother thinks I’ll outgrow liking girls…but I think what I need to outgrow is giving so much weight to what she says.”

Sideburns

Another Flash! Friday entry.

Sideburns

Isaac reluctantly got up from his typewriter to see what the noise was about. “Hello, Gentle Non-Reader.”

The monkey climbed up his body and tugged at his sideburns.

“You like those? You’ve got nice ones yourself.”

Isaac sat back down and resumed typing.

“Ook?”

“The Gods Themselves.”

“Ook ook eek?!”

“No, it’s not about you. And they say I have ego.”

Someone knocked on the door. Isaac answered it, wondering how he was supposed to get any writing done with so many distractions. It was the man staying next door. “What’s all this noise about?”

“It’s this animal, Mr….”

“Nagai. Do you have a pet monkey?”

“It followed me in from the balcony. Can you help me get it back out? I’ve got deadlines to meet.”

“As do I. And I’m already behind because I was stuck in traffic. If only my car could…”

“Yes?”

“Never mind.” Mr. Nagai looked at the monkey, then Isaac, and said “Nice sideburns.”

I won Flash! Friday!

My story “The Greatest Treasure” was this week’s Flash! Friday winner. And yes, winning feels great. To be honest, it came as a little bit of a surprise too.

The Greatest Treasure

Here’s a little something I wrote for Flash! Friday.

The Greatest Treasure

Anna smiled at the chef. “They say that everyone who takes this train finds a great treasure. Are they talking about your soup?”

“I’m flattered, though I know you’re hoping I say no.”

“Your soup is your soup; it is unchanged either way. To find a series of increasingly greater treasures and continue to be told that they are still not the treasure would be a treasure in itself. Don’t you agree?”

“So you don’t want to find the greatest treasure of all?”

“I already have. I wish I hadn’t.”

“I don’t understand.”

No one ever did. How could they, if they hadn’t met the most perfect person in the world for themselves? And then been rejected. “They say ignorance is bliss. That’s not quite true. What I say is this: you have to be ignorant of bliss to settle for mere happiness.” But Anna still looked for the one who could improve on perfection.

 

 

Sisters

I wrote this short story for this week’s Flash! Friday!.

Sisters

Aoi ignored the footsteps behind her.

Midori tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey sis, what’s the gas mask for?”

“I’m going to where Dad died.”

Meeting the Parents

Here’s a little story I wrote in one day.

Meeting the Parents

              Opening the door to meet Beth’s family was the hardest thing Lucy had ever done. Beth had only been trying to prepare Lucy, but maybe she’d warned her a little too much. But Lucy had always been taught to face her fears, so she held back her nervousness and knocked.

              A man that Lucy assumed was Beth’s father opened the door. He scanned her up and down more than once before saying anything. “Are you Lucy?”

              “Yes.”

              “Come in. We’ve been expecting you.”

Writing Challenge: Good Fortune: Breanna

Jay Dee over at I Read Encyclopedias for Fun has posted a writing challenge, and here’s my entry.

In any genre, just write a story about someone who very quickly (as in overnight) has gone from broke or poverty to being very rich. The source of good fortune can be anything… winning the lottery, a gift or an inheritance, a genie, … or ???  The only other element that needs to be included: they are required to share the new found bounty with another person or persons they don’t like or don’t trust.