“The Story” has two main characters: John and Trishna.
Trishna’s oldest sister, Sammohini or “Sam” for short, is the first character that I’ll be developing organically within “The Story.” This will help flesh out their world, too, since it is essentially a reskin of our reality. Originally, Trishna was just going to have an older brother, Lance, but eventually, that morphed into Sammohini and her older brother, and second oldest sibling overall, Fearghal.
Sammohini’s arc is my first practice run for “The Story.”
Sammohini has some inspiration from my life and the lives of other career professionals. I’ve, at times, lifted straight from my experiences, however, I don’t consider Sammohini to be a proxy for me: her personality is based partially on me, sure, along with a handful of others. Her stories should loosely fit within “The Story,” so if there are any differences in details, then we’ll sort it out when we get there, right?
Meet the relevant characters, probably out-of-date:
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- Main Characters:
- Sammohini “Sam” Lanchester-???: Hard-working, polite, but she rambles on and on. She may eventually get over this. I picked her name because it means hypnotize and looked cool.
- Samuel ???: Sam’s husband. They might not have the closest relationship, partially because he hasn’t made an official appearance as of June 2018…
- Alejandría “Allie Pally” Lanchester-???: Their baby daughter. She might arrive later on into the arc, maybe as part of the Choas Arc?
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- Side Characters:
- Jane Lanyard: Sam’s friend from childhood. Logical and quiet unless she feels like opening up. She just can’t catch a break when it comes to finding work, so though technically more capable than Sammohini, she works a temporary warehouse job, maybe because she doesn’t have as much of a bubbly personality, or maybe because of something else… Also plays guitar frequently to catch her big break.
- Trishna, John, and Pollyanna: They appear as background characters.
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- EVILLE MEDICAL
- Eville Medical Tier I Team/Coworkers:
- Nessa Shailaja: Sammohini’s coworker that helps cover for her. She is probably one of the least petty on the team.
- ???
- Eville Medical Tier II Team/Coworkers:
- Hank Ospfrey: Sammohini’s coworker and mentor. He’s “an almost old-timer technician with insomnia-stained eyes.” Working for the thrill of fixing technical and non-technical problems.
- Venkat “Vinny” Nibhanupudi: Almost like an uncle to Sammohini. He’s just there because he’s so close to retirement. Will go with the flow.
- Nils Dusjen Nilsen III: The character-personification of everything I hate about IT people.
- Eville Medical Bosses:
- Linda Mutiger: Sammohini’s manager. She manages the more customer-facing teams. Former military. Actively in a sobriety program to balance the need for career success with the need to stay afloat.
- Lisa: Linda’s manager and the director of the department. “The Big Boss,” so to speak. Alliterative on purpose. I’ve worked under two bosses with the same given name. Writers avoid alliteration at the expense of reality to be nice to their readers; you’ll get unfiltered reality from me.
- Eville Medical Customers:
- Doctors:
- Dr. Florigen, (Department): Clutter-minded pathologist.
- Dr. Olubunmi Hardman, Optometrist: Polite doctor.
- Dr. 1, (Department): Forgot to list these out…
- Dr. 2, (Department): Forgot to list these out…
- Dr. 3, (Department): Forgot to list these out…
- Other employees:
- Advertising
- Tia: Sharp, fast-talking advertiser. She gets along well with Sammohini, but only when she gets what she wants as soon as she needs it.
- Accounting
- Brenda: Computer complainer…
- Guntur: Young manager.
- Oncology:
- Dusty: Lead nurse. Encouraging to Sammohini.
- Janitorial
- Harlowe: Been around forever. He’s someone that has a mysterious pull on the IT department and yet seems like just a humble worker.
- Advertising
- Other folks Sammohini may meet.
- Doctors:
- The Consulting Agency Staff:
- Addison: Director of Human Resources.
- Fidelity: Account manager that worked directly with Linda to find new contractors.
- Steve: Loser project manager. No one likes working with him.
- Chris: Recruiter.
- Ricca: Recruiter. Jane’s rude recruiter.
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- UPPER EVILLE LIBRARY
- Linda K- – Jane’s old boss. Inspired by two bad managers I’ve had in particular, except, not as exaggerated as it might seem. Her name is the same as Sammohini’s boss because, in life, since we don’t get fiction’s convenience of unique names, it’s actually more plausible.
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- SNEAKER TRANSPORT
- Sneaker-Wiles-Scribe Transportation Team/Coworkers:
- Jim ???: Jane’s coworker doing driving/warehouse work. Has a daughter around Jane’s age with a similar problem. Supports Jane’s career ambitions and covers for her job hunting.
- Detlef “Deadlift” Gebhard: The big boss. Has some fingers missing, and might eventually hire John into the company based on Jane’s recommendation. Speaks with a thin German accent.
- Abe: Second in command.
- Amund “Almond” Snorre: Rookie mover. Speaks quietly and stutters.
- Andrius Darko: Just another mover with a cool name.
- Jakov Randulf: A mover with an idea… Speaks with a thick Croatian accent.
- “Ruckus”: An outspoken mover that speaks in bold typeface.
- Kaja Keto: A mover that works occasionally when her ex-husband had the kids. Speaks with a thick Polish accent.
- Karina Batul: A party-er that has some memorable orthography.
- Sili Mariota: A mover that gets along well with Jane because he knows she’s more shy than rude. Speaks with a thick Samoan accent.
- Jim ???: Jane’s coworker doing driving/warehouse work. Has a daughter around Jane’s age with a similar problem. Supports Jane’s career ambitions and covers for her job hunting.
This is roughly the chronological order of the stories, updated whenever:
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- [College days]
- “Edge of Nowhere” [##] – Sammohini and Jane had some fun, maybe in college.
- “Thirty Minutes Left” [##] – Sammohini and Jane, in college, try to solve a problem.
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- [Sammohini’s Helpdesk, or Tier 1, days – starting off as a temp…?]
- “Tia’s Business Meeting” [DA] – The prequel, before Sammohini works at Eville Medical.
- “First Day Nerves” [DA] – The time before Sammohini’s first day at work.
- “Remember Your Name” [DA] – Sammohini talks to Hank for the first time.
- “The Gig Life VII” [##] – Sammohini helps out Tia.
- “The Gig Grind I” [##] – Linda has a crappy commute.
- “Dreaming of Data” [##] – Sammohini is a devoted employee.
- “Honorary Technician Award” [##] – Sammohini provides encouraging words.
- “It Concerns Me” [##] – Sammohini has two pivotal exchanges.
- “Ten Years Ago V” [##] – Sammohini and Lisa talk about the dipshit.
- “In Ten Years V” [##] – Sammohini, Linda, and Lisa talk about Sammohini’s contract.
- “Honorary Technician Award” [##] – Sammohini provides encouraging words.
- “Five Minutes Away” [DA] – Sammohini takes the helpdesk’s dreaded “last-minute call.”
- “Server of Embarrassment” [DA] – Sammohini feels insecure over a rude jerk.
- “My Last Day?” [DA] – Sammohini delivers the bad news to return to work.
- “Password Reset Laughs” [DA] – Sammohini takes a help desk phone call.
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- [Sammohini’s Promotion, or Tier 2, Days]
- “Beginning of Turn” [##] – Sammohini and Hank try fixing a working computer.
- “Middle of Turn” [##] – Sammohini and Hank return the working computer.
- “End of Turn” [##] – Sammohini and Hank fight against something more…
- “Addressing Overdue Emergency” [DA] – Sammohini returns from lunch to trouble…?
- “Boss is Away” [DA] – Hank and Sammohini see beyond what is known.
- “Cleared Side Job” [##] – Hank and Sammohini go on a sloppy side job.
- “Deep Dive Troubleshooting” [DA] – Hank shows Sammohini the ropes.
- “Doctor of Troubleshootology” [DA] – Sammohini overcomes some anxiety.
- “Don’t Disrespect Yourself” [DA] – Sammohini troubleshoots her insecurities.
- “Lemme Sit Down” [DA] – Sammohini tries to be polite and patient and…
- “Nervously Resizing Windows” [DA] – Sammohini wants to help but there’s a catch…
- “Nothing Of Value” [DA] – Sammohini and Hank talk about work.
- “Nothing To Do” [DA] – Sammohini, Hank, and Venkat find something to do.
- “Screwed Without Drive” [DA] – Sammohini gets caught up on something embarrassing.
- “Server Farmer’s Crops” [DA] – Sammohini finds some unexpected common ground.
- “Service Is Down” [DA] – Sammohini overcomes insecurity to restore functionality.
- “Surgery’s Dead Mouse” [DA] – Sammohini and Hank explore medical support.
- “WARNING: node down” [DA] – Sammohini and Hank address one issue but not another.
- “We Drifted Apart” [##] – Sammohini and Jane hadn’t hung out in months.
- “Working While Sick” [DA] – Sammohini’s colleague gets sick on the job.
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- [Jane’s Tech Support Days:]
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- [Jane’s Post-Tech Support Days:]
- “Words Mean Nothing V” [##] – Jane and Fidelity talk about employment opportunities.
- “Can’t Stand By” [##] – Sammohini and Linda talk about…
- “Let’s Say No” [##] – Jane talks to a rude recruiter.
- “Why’d You Leave?” [##] – Jane takes an odd phone call.
- “Talk Talk Talk” [DA] – Sammohini and Jane listen, listen, and listen.
- “The Old Guy” [##] – Jane asks the right question to get the dirt.
- “Meeting With Us” [##] – Jane has an unfortunately negative interview.
- “Career Mishap Trilogy I” [##] – Jane has an unfortunately positive interview.
- “Career Mishap Trilogy II” [##] – Jane just can’t catch a break.
- “Career Mishap Trilogy III” [##] – Jane catches a different break than expected.
- “Arriving Too Early” [##] – Jane waits anxiously for an interview.
- “Your Barnyard Animal?” [##] – Jane’s misstep in that interview.
- “It’s… Just You” [##] – Jane interviews for a different interview than expected.
- “Transportation An Issue” [DA] – Jane deals with a manipulative recruiter.
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- [Jane’s Furniture Moving Days:]
- “A Club’s Retirement” [DA] – Jane addresses a drunk coworker.
- “A Deferment’s Retirement” [DA] – Jane does what she can for that drunk coworker.
- “Carefully Caddying Cargo” [DA] – Jane’s joyous jam jetting junk…
- “Covered With Artificiality” [##] – Jane and Jim consider buying a car.
- “Eville Medical Move” [DA] – Jane explores her troubleshooting past.
- “Faint for Money” [DA] – Jane and Conaire talk about the worth of a dollar.
- “Knives in Bags” [DA] – Jane and Kaja consider the actual weirdest thing about work.
- “Not Feeling Numb” [DA] – Jane has what would be the ideal day, except…
- “PACKING PEANUT PANIC” [DA] – Jane helps out someone having a bad day.
- “Paid to Work” [DA] – Jane complains to her colleague of the day about tech support.
- “Selling New Boots” [##] – Jane tries to sell some new boots.
- “Some Passive-Aggressive Punkery!” [DA] – Jane complains about the library.
- “More Passive-Aggressive Punkery!” [DA] – Jane gets some of that stress out.
- “Peanut Gallery’s Commentaries” [DA] – Jane brings up an emotional story.
- “Excellent Training Questions” [DA] – Jane gets to the root of the issue.
- “Talker or Walker?” [DA] – Jane accidentally asks the wrong question of Jakov.
- “Unreliable Heartbeat Employment” [DA] – Jane endures some stress.
- “Working Through Sickness” [DA] – Jane gets sick, but is she junk sick?
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The Sammohini Arc concludes with the start of a few key short stories.
I caught myself before getting too deep into the mythos here, so just consider these as you would if you mistakenly read the first page of Book 2 in a multi-book series. There wouldn’t really be enough to spoil anything, but you can tell from the get-go that it’s a new direction, mainly because rather than casual worldbuilding, there are significant additions to the plot and a generally increased sense of tension.
This will be called the Chaos Arc.
Not entirely because of “Chaos,” aka, Carrie. Since you’re reading, you might be curious as to the overall details. Well, in the Sammohini Arc, my fiction practices were all an attempt at refining my writing abilities, along with casually building up the world of Eville Medical, Sneaker Transport, and the lives of Sammohini and Jane. That’s so that when I write the Chaos Arc, well…
- Jane
- “Stress Versus Stress” [DA] – Jane fights back against mild stress.
- “Dumping Jade Table” [DA] – Jane receives a table and pep-talk.
- “Good At Moving” [DA] – Jane meets Chaos.
- Sammohini
- “Part 1” [##] – Something happens to Hank.
- “Part 2” [##] – Something further happens to Hank.
- Before writing part 3, I realized I’m not ready to write an involved plot yet…