Category: The Story

[The Story] Fame and Offenses

“We have a right to exist![1]” John’s words, shouted at some ignorant heckler, caused the hairs on my arms to stand up, rang through my ears, and punctuated a brainstorming session I was having while walking back from lunch along a summery pier. In this scene, Trishna already felt insecure about going out with painted toenails in some nice open-toe shoes… but let’s start at the mellow introduction of that brainstorming session for “The Story“

Spoilers?: Minor (character trait exploration)
WANNA CONSIDER HOW OUR ACTIONS, EVEN WHEN INNOCENT, COULD BE CONSIDERED OFFENSIVE? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[Sammohini Arc] Peanut Gallery’s Commentaries

“What else’s on your mind? We’re still, like, 30 minutes to base.”
The two furniture movers, driver Andrius and passenger Jane, were over one hour later to their anticipated clock out time, already, and traffic on the E100 was just starting to loosen up on the formerly blazing Evillain summer afternoon.
“Can I tell you about this one time that really got me fuming bad?”
Andrius looked over, his foot firmly on the break.
“Sure thing.”

WANNA READ PART 3 of 4 OF THIS STORY ABOUT THE PRESSURES AND STRESSES OF CAREERS? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] The Smallest Details

It’s the smallest gestures that usually mean the most. Attention to detail over a certain amount of effort, determination to do something correctly, or noticing something that might have seemed easy but actually wasn’t, even if over-applied can feel nice. Along with the way they’re brought up; with kindness and a smile. In “The Story,” most of the periphery characters may act like this, but I think John and Trishna will be the most attentive.

Spoilers?: Minor (character-building through observations)
WANNA DIG INTO THE FINER DETAILS? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[Sammohini Arc] My Last Day?

“IT, this is Sam!”
“Hey, Sam, this is Vincent Preminger in Finance… looks like I’m locked out. Are they trying to tell me I’m fired?”
“Oh, umm… well, let’s take a look at your account!”
Sammohini clicked around on her small computer screen, through a few labyrinthine programs, before finding Vincent’s name. The rookie helpdesk technician contracting at Eville Medical looked at the account details, and with knowledge of corporate policy, proceeded to tell Vincent…

WANNA HEAR THE TWO MOST COMMON QUESTIONS IN ANY HELPDESK? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] Their First Kiss

“What’s he doing to that dog… no, just kiddin’![1]” What I enjoy most about interacting with people outside my comfort zone is how they take an idea, run with it, and when I catch up, it turns into something much better. In “The Story,” there are millions of ideas that need to align just right for it not to fail. One ruminating idea was: when will John [left] and Trishna [right] have their first kiss?

Spoilers?: Minor (brainstorming a scene)
WANNA CONSIDER IT’S NOT SO MUCH ABOUT THE SINGULAR EVENT AS MUCH AS THE MULTIPLE EVENTS SURROUNDING IT? JUST LIKE IN LIFE? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[Sammohini Arc] More Passive-Aggressive Punkery!

“Since we’re stuck in traffic, what else is on your mind?”
The two furniture movers sat in traffic that moved ever so slightly then stopped suddenly every few minutes, with the driver, Andrius, keeping an even pace with leg muscles refined through years of playing football. Jane, meanwhile, had been glancing through a technical book before they got on their impassioned previous employers topic.
“Why do you think bosses act like that? Rude, passive-aggressive bit-“

WANNA READ PART 2 OF A 4-PART SHORT STORY? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] Anxiety Over Progress

I get the most anxious when I strive to achieve something but have no room for intolerable failure. It’s fine when there’s an acceptable tolerance for failure; things just break. However, when it seems like there is no tolerance for failure, that’s when my pulse weakens and my senses overextend. John [left] and Trishna [right] will face plenty of anxieties in “The Story,” but how they handle certain conflicts will be interesting and perhaps helpful.

Spoilers?: Minor (minor character musings)
WANNA CONSIDER HOW ANXIETY EXPOSURE CAN BE HELPFUL? BUT ONLY IF WE RESOLVE OURSELVES TO OUR FATES AND WORK TOWARD OVERCOMING OUR SHORTCOMINGS? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[Sammohini Arc] Surgery’s Dead Mouse

“Thanks for showing me around, Hank! I’ve never been over to the Surgery department before! Well, other than on a tour… I would’ve got lost…!”
Two computer repair technicians walked through a white corridor.
“No worries, Sammohini. Let’s say hello to the charge nurse first, just in case there’s a last-minute booking before we gown up.”
They arrived at a window cut into the wall.
“Gown… up…?”
“Namaste, Sona. We’re doing surgery on OR3’s mouse.”

WANNA READ ABOUT HOW TROUBLESHOOTING COMPUTERS WAS SIMILAR TO TREATING PATIENTS? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] Programming New Opportunties

Our only limitation is our willingness to tolerate adversity toward achieving new opportunities. If something is difficult, but we see it as a necessary step, we’ll do it. If not, we won’t. Most characters in “The Story” have some ambition. It’s the varying degrees of how much adversity they’re willing to tolerate that makes it interesting. John [left] and Trishna [right] have higher thresholds for tolerating adversity to achieve opportunities than, say, Sammohini or Jane.

Spoilers?: Minor (character personality explorations)
WANNA CONSIDER HOW LEARNING ISN’T JUST A MATTER OF BEING THERE AND INCIDENTALLY LEARNING? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[Sammohini Arc] Some Passive-Aggressive Punkery!

“What a passive-aggressive punk!”
“I hate when people act like that!”
The windows were rolled down in the muggy cabin of the Sneaker Transport moving truck, letting in an ambient traffic rhythm for the two furniture movers to listen to as they complained about past jobs. Andrius, a former minor-league athlete nicknamed “43” after his jersey number, drove while Jane, a former computer repair “Doctor” as they called her, reclined.
“Woah… that’s it!”
“Lemme tell ya…”

WANNA READ ABOUT HOW BEHAVIORS IMPACT PEOPLE LONG AFTER THOSE INCIDENTS RESIDE? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!