science fiction

Regular Romp #3: Maddyn’s Token Trial

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Regular Romp is an interactive fiction activity over on our Twitch stream where I ask a regular a series of questions before turning their answers and a corruption of their username into a short story.  Stop by twitch.tv/blainearcade if you’d like to participate.

starring Maddyn13

Lucid Maddyn had a passing thought about wordless hours. How many wordless hours had he racked up sitting in that desk chair? Sometimes it was the whole morning, as he avoided eye contact with any of the hundreds of people passing through the arcade in its early hours. It was a skill unto itself, as many of them were children, their eyes drawn by Maddyn’s impressive height. Continue reading →

Twitch Stream Story: The Glitch in Car Seven

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Prompt: In a world with integrated A.I., a badass female detective tracks down a brutal serial killer.

The lights flickered in Car Seven, causing two of the five passengers to glance up. Each and every car had its own intelligence, they proliferated like mad these days, and it apologized to the passengers with a soft voice through its speakers. The apology was appropriate, as even minor disturbances like that were out of character for any programs in that line. They ran a tight ship when it came to the public transport lines of Old Guard City. Continue reading →

Minesweeper Fiction: Session 10

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Author’s Note: This was written live on stream, with the tone being determined by the numbers under minesweeper tiles.  The audience could bid tokens earned in stream to reveal random tiles.  A mine hit results in the death of all characters, unless they are temporarily saved by a lump sum of tokens.  If characters make it to the end of the stream, they survive to be seen another day.  Join us at twitch.tv/blainearcade if you wish to participate.

1-peace    2-alert    3-escalation    4-action    5-tragedy    6-world-changing

The minefield has been moved. It now connects the Trap to a new world, a new game. There is no destruction this time, nothing forcing them to flee. Only the brave, curious, and strange will take the journey. Who will step through the fog and face the myriad dangers of the field?

Three enter: Barton the frighteningly regular guy, Glint the polished talkative labradorite chunk, and the chaotic Man of Lines. Continue reading →

Twitch Stream Story: Cousin’s New Keepers

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Prompt: Fallen rock, as any fool could tell thee for a fact, was a terrible omen for our town of King’s Tact. Yet would any such fool believe I did see, grey of skin and black of eyes, from cursed rock little men emerge, three, upon my stride long ere sunrise.

Inspiration is difficult to find in King’s Tact. It’s a very literate town, one of the reasons I never left, but the literacy is in all the wrong places. We’re drowning in lawyers, essayists, and religious scholars. They know all their rules, they copy everything so perfectly, but they rarely think about why anything gets written in the first place. Continue reading →

Minesweeper Fiction: Session 9

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Author’s Note: This was written live on stream, with the tone being determined by the numbers under minesweeper tiles.  The audience could bid tokens earned in stream to reveal random tiles.  A mine hit results in the death of all characters, unless they are temporarily saved by a lump sum of tokens.  If characters make it to the end of the stream, they survive to be seen another day.  Join us at twitch.tv/blainearcade if you wish to participate.

1-peace    2-alert    3-escalation    4-action    5-tragedy    6-world-changing

The minefield has been moved. It now connects the Trap to a new world, a new game. There is no destruction this time, nothing forcing them to flee. Only the brave, curious, and strange will take the journey. Who will step through the fog and face the myriad dangers of the field?

Three enter: Treackle the candy-thieving pixie, Floab the radically shy dragon, and Dawn the blind swimsuit model. Continue reading →

Twitch Stream Story: The Seven-Star Cheater

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Prompt: Your goal is to create and protect a network of planetary colonies and defeat a computer adversary trying to do the same.

There didn’t seem like much reason to guard it. It was just the last experiment of the mad genius who’d spilled his mess across the entire galaxy and expected the rest of humanity to clean it up. The ship inside the launch facility, just under its exoglass dome, was the government’s final attempt to make him clean it up himself. Continue reading →

Minesweeper Fiction: Story One: The Pip Cages

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Author’s Note: This story is the culmination of our interactive activities over on our Twitch livestream.  Characters and their fates were partly decided based on audience participation.  Check out the earlier sessions if you wish to learn where these characters came from.

People often feel trapped in dreams. They sink into the ground, encounter locked doors, or become surrounded by shadowy figures. Sometimes it’s enough to pull one from sleep, sweating and clutching at their heart as if the nightmares tried to steal it out of their chest. Continue reading →

Twitch Stream Story: Heaven Hound and Heist Heel

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Prompt: this image

h is for

There was a struggle for power in every level of Valor City just ten years ago. It was a complete collapse, with everyone, in every societal increment, upset over their standing. Politicians thought their jobs too dangerous. Those of the blue collar thought the politicians didn’t even do anything. Those of the white collar ran it all but were still dissatisfied. Continue reading →

Twitch Stream Story: Ashes of Masks

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Prompt: Something with a moebius strip plot that reads differently a second time around.

The Gonda was a mighty warrior in the midst of his final journey. Up until now every journey had been a hunt. There was always a monster at the end, a clear goal. He could celebrate once the blood flowed. He could bring the trophy back and the rest of his tribe could make decorations out of it. As the decorations grew, so too did his fame. Continue reading →