An Apolymask short story.

in #writing6 years ago (edited)

To start with some context.. I've never really done a short story before that I can remember. I have wrote a tiny small amount of fiction years ago, like a couple pages for a book I was planning on doing some day which I still might.. But.. This is pretty new to me.

I don't really go into the realm of fantasy or fiction very much in my writings and try to keep it in the real world, but.. I've been inspired by a lot of the creativity in the IFC and I've been having this vision play itself out numerous times when I go on walks out into nature for some strange reason and thought it would be a cool story.. So I felt like I had to try to bring it to life.

If you enjoy this story, I may do more in the future. In fact, I may do more even if you don't enjoy it, cause I enjoyed it. :D It was fun writing this, I felt like I challenged myself and learned some new things.

OH.. And.. There's adult language and blood and fighting, so.. Don't read it if those are sensitive issues for you. Anyways.. I'm going to shush now.. Onto the story!


It started like just about any other day for Apollo.
He woke up, got some water to drink, washed, dressed and then spent some time on the internet connecting with the broader world and seeing what was happening out there.
After a couple hours of work and networking he decided to go for a walk out in nature.

He used to go for a walk virtually every single day when younger, though these days.. He's been perhaps a little too busy and focused on distant yet nonetheless serious issues.
Sometimes even just a five or ten minute walk is enough to help, though he had been caged up in his digital existence for days, if not weeks without going for a proper walk in nature.
He couldn't remember the last time he went for a good walk.. And that was bad, he was out of balance.

Nature was like medicine to him, and he had enough darkness in life already to deal with.
Apollo put the computer on sleep mode, grabbed his phone and keys and hat and scanned the room numerous times to make sure he didn't forget anything.
Locking the door behind him, the negative thoughts continued to attack him.

Cutting down through his neighbors yard he moved quickly up the dry creek full of rocks, jumping from rock to rock like some sort of acrobatic magician while listening to some music on his phone.
The dark thoughts lessened. The cool breeze and birds chirping and the movement of his body were all positive things temporarily pushing back some of the frustrations as he processed and progressed through the environment around him. It was strange to be Apollo.. On the one hand he had so much potential and good things going for him, was seen in a favorable light by many.. Yet.. Was always a bit dark, deeply unfulfilled and troubled.

He didn't understand how so many people could just look the other way in regards to all the injustice in the world, and not empathize with others more.
Apollo considered himself to be very good at putting himself in the shoes of others.. And.. He had gone through some deep darkness of his own and wasn't living up to his own expectations or dreams by any means either.
Every single day was an existential crisis difficult to get through.. Every single step a challenge at times. Though.. One of the wisest lessons he ever learned was.. To keep putting one foot in front of the other.

He had hiked the Grand Canyon in a day and down to Havasupai Falls on a bruised heel which was even more difficult and.. When he was in so much pain he didn't know how he would ever make it.. He just kept putting one foot in front of the other foot, and somehow.. He eventually made it.
Though these days he felt like that was a metaphor for his entire life and that he was sort of still in the Grand Canyon and hiking to Havasupai Falls on a bruised heel.
It's like those hellish never ending marathons never ended and life itself was a never ending marathon. Yet.. What else can you do...? But put one foot in front of the other..?

He kept putting one foot in front of the other until he got decently away from civilization and up into a canyon where the wind was much more active.
It was okay though, he liked the cold wind.. It was one of his favorite things. The cold wind kind of drew him in even more you could say.
He wanted to feel the cold wind more, so he kept following it while listening to his music and luckily no negative thoughts had bothered him for a while.. He was starting to enjoy himself.

Further and further up the canyon he went and the wind got stronger and colder, but he loved it. He jumped excitedly from rock to rock quicker with the beat of the song matching the rhythm of his feet, he even started dancing a little bit.
Then.. All of a sudden in his happiness he was reminded of Amanda who also loved the cold wind, perhaps one of the main reasons Apollo was so drawn in to the canyon in the first place.
And.. He stopped dancing. As much as he knew that Amanda would want him to be happy and to keep dancing.. It just didn't feel right anymore.

He started getting angry at life for what happened and kicked some rocks, which proceeded to fly violently half way up the side of the hill.
Apollo tried to regain his composure and continued putting one foot in front of the other foot. Further up the canyon he went and the wind got even colder and stronger.
He almost felt like.. It was making it more difficult to walk at this point the wind was pushing him back so strongly. But.. He enjoyed it, it reminded him of her.

Somewhere in the twilight of his mind he was digesting how bizarre it was for him to be so happy one moment and so overwhelmingly depressed the next.
Yeah.. Being Apollo was strange alright.. Constantly feeling like he was part of multiple worlds.
Less and less sure of where his own thoughts were even coming from, or who he was as well.

He had been reading up on some conspiracy theories recently and knew the secret government had the power to at some level and some degree control peoples minds and even put voices into their brains.
The "Voice of God" technology, and to him he just had to think.. Isn't it all the voice of God regardless? Yet.. Clearly, some more artificial and human guided than others!
However, in the end he knew he wasn't a big enough threat to warrant such attention from the occult forces, he just went through some really difficult things in life and it's to be sort of expected to have some psychological issues after experiencing such kinds of things.

He kept walking.. And started to get a sort of creepy weird feeling.. Like.. He wasn't alone anymore.. Like he was being watched.
The hairs on his skin started to stand up and he felt an electrical energy pulse throughout his body.
Aware of his own over active imagination, but also not wanting to ignore the potential signals he looked around quickly to see if he could spot anything unusual.

He kept looking and looking.. And didn't see anything, but the negative thoughts creeped deeper and deeper and got more and more intense and something definitely didn't feel right!
And then.. He saw it.. Or.. He saw something.. It was looking at him from sort of behind a big boulder and some bushes and trees.
If the hairs weren't standing up before, they were practically jumping off his body at this point!

With the adrenaline really kicking in big time all of a sudden and fight or flight fully triggered Apollo saw what appeared to be some kind of creature coming out of the foliage.
As the thing walked more and more into view Apollo couldn't decide if he should run, or try to communicate or fight? The possibilities ran through his mind a million times, though he couldn't decide. It's like he was frozen.
Perhaps petrified with fear, or perhaps the creature had some kind of ability to hypnotize him? Either way.. Apollo was just stunned, he didn't know what to do.. He didn't know if this was even real or not.. Was he dreaming?

It reminded him of his experience with the "Shadow Man" he had when he was younger.
A shadowy being had walked through the wall of his room and approached him while he was in bed and just stared at him, like.. It chose him for some reason or purpose. And similarly that time Apollo was frozen in his bed unable to do much of anything but stare at the being. He wasn't sure if it was a vivid dream or hallucination but it felt so real.. Later on in life he found through research that he wasn't alone, and quite a few other people had reported very similar experiences with the "Shadow Man". Though.. Was it a real being? Or some kind of commonly shared delusion?

This creature which was almost twice the size of Apollo walked out into the middle of the creek-bed and just stood there staring at him. The being was terrifyingly ugly and had the most colorful and bizarre looking eyes..
The phone finally dropped from Apollo's hand and clanked across the ground playing a sort of futuristic tune that was fitting for an encounter with what seemed like some sort of alien.
Apollo didn't get the impression this thing wanted to talk or be friends, but.. Desperately trying to find enough courage to find his voice he partially managed to croak out "Who.. Or.. What are you?".

The dark alien-like being didn't respond, it just continued to stare at him.
At this point.. Apollo was legitimately freaked out. Starting to panic now, it almost seemed like the creature could sense the panic and enjoyed it and started to walk towards him.
Apollo suddenly regained control of the rest his faculties almost as if by miracle, or by the ultimate realization that if he didn't do something soon, he might not be able to ever do anything else again.

The creature continued to amble towards him, as he yelled out.. "What the fuck.. Seriously? Dude.. Stop advancing.. Back off. I'm warning you." Apollo's voice started to tremble, both with a fear of him knowing he probably should have been trying to run away like the moment he saw the thing, and also at the idea that he was literally telling some kind of alien like creature that was advancing on him to back off.. Was this real life? Or some kind of dream? What the hell was going on?!" The creature didn't seem phased, it just kept slowly moving forward at a consistent pace, hopping over the rocks in a way that made Apollo look rather amateur.

"Okay.. This is it.." Apollo thought.
"I'm fucked. I'm going to die.. Whether it's a dream or real life. This thing looks like it wants to harm me, and how could I possibly win in some kind of physical fight?" Apollo continued to run through the possibilities in his mind realizing it STILL wasn't too late to try to run away if he really wanted to.
But.. For some reason he didn't, and didn't think he would probably get very far anyways.. The thing was probably much quicker and Apollo was a bit out of shape as well.. Which.. Didn't help.

The creature was about 30 feet away from Apollo now and something was going to happen soon.
Apollo yelled at the being one more time. "Look shithead! I understand self defense! If you keep coming at me, I'll do what I gotta do, whoever or whatever you might be!".
Apollo realized he was likely about to die. Life flashed before his eyes. All the good and bad and things that couldn't be framed using such words, or any words for that matter filled his consciousness.

Only feet away now and scary looking as all hell the creature advanced.
Apollo considered retreat one last time, though knew he should have done that a while ago if he was ever serious about it. So he then threw up his hands in self defense, bent his knees lowering his center of gravity and started slowly stepping backwards like one of his Mixed Martial Arts heroes taught.

As he walked backwards, the creature increased in speed and it was already difficult enough walking backwards in a dry creek full of uneven rocks!
Good thing he had a decently photographic memory and knew there wasn't anything big enough to trip over for a little ways. Time was running out though.. He tried everything within reason to avoid conflict, the question now was.. Strike first? Or let them officially infringe before attacking back?

"Why the fuck am I asking this question?" Apollo asked himself.
"It's a fucking alien monster creature coming at me, why should I wait for it to attack me?!".
Then all of a sudden the beast creature moved even quicker as if to ram him and surprised Apollo to the point that Apollo had to change direction, he slipped off balance into a roll and rolled off to the side a couple feet.

His years of martial arts training when younger paid off heavily, especially the Capoeira.. But.. He was still out of practice and even though his years of training and amazing reflexes kicked in to save the day, he was still a little dizzy and a bit off kilter.
Getting back to his feet, the alien beast didn't cease, it actually increased in speed even more and made the first attempted strike. Even though Apollo was a bit dizzy, he saw it coming and knew he wouldn't be able to dodge it in time, however.. He could possibly roll with it, and counterattack if it worked just right..

The beings huge ham fist came at Apollo's face like it was all happening in slow motion.
Still a bit disorientated Apollo continued trying to walk backwards and threw up both of his elbows to deflect.
At the same time as the ham fist was connecting with Apollo's raised arms and elbows, Apollo stomped down on the leg of the creature where the knee would be, but it didn't have a regular human knee, so what would have ordinarily ended a fight and left the opponent screaming and crying on the ground in the middle of nowhere with a broken leg only ended up jarring the beast a little bit.

And simultaneously the blow from the ham fist was just a bit too much for Apollo's guard, and pushed through to connect with him in the face a little bit disorientating him even more.
Apollo desperately tried to focus.
The alien being threw a right cross at Apollo so quick that once again Apollo was unable to properly defend.

Apollo threw up his left arm to try to block but it just wasn't enough. It helped block some of the damage from the strike, but Apollo was still rattled a bit from the force of this "thing".
Looking at the monster in it's face Apollo could almost swear he saw it smile for a second.
This started to annoy Apollo. He really hated it when bullies got their way and took satisfaction in it.

He didn't want that to be the end result of this.
Yet.. What could he possibly do to stop it?
Even if he was at the peak of his physical fitness and days of martial arts training.. This thing was like.. Beyond human.

In the middle of advancing the being paused for a moment to stare at Apollo almost as if intrigued or surprised that Apollo didn't just crap his pants and pass out or run away in the first place and that he actually was trying to stand and engage.

This time Apollo quickly smiled.
Noticing this momentary lapse of attention by the creature Apollo launched a heavy drop kick to the midsection of the creature and it hurt the being a little bit, but wasn't enough to even knock it down or make it lose balance.

Apollo followed up with a straight jab to the face which hurt his own hand, then a spinning Muay Thai elbow to the head which seemed to have an effect as the creature groaned a little bit and stumbled.
Apollo not one to waste an opportunity continued his assault and led up with a jumping stomp to the creatures other lower leg area and as he did this the creature grabbed Apollo in mid air and slammed him to the unforgiving rocky creek-bed. The air wheezed out of Apollo and most of his sense and clarity of perception went with it.

And that's how quick a battle can all change he thought to himself.. Not that he ever thought he had a chance to win in the first place he reminded himself sighing.
After a couple moments of intermittent consciousness and visiting the dream world, Apollo gasped and coughed some life and awareness back into himself.
The ground game was something Apollo never got that great at though he tried to wrap up with the creature and prevent or control further strikes.

This was mostly futile he knew, and he was literally watching his life flash before his eyes now more than ever as he realized his time was likely almost up.
"God.. What am I going to do.. God.. What am I going to do.." Apollo kept saying to himself.
The alien started to rise up and then rain down strikes on Apollo. Even just one was enough to seriously complicate his already staggered and dazed state, though he kept getting hit over and over again.

"Fuck!" Apollo screamed and spit blood.
Somehow with a burst of energy Apollo managed to inch back a little, curl up and kick the creature off of him.
Apollo got back to his feet with a rock he had picked up from the ground and launched it at the face of the being.

The creature was fast, but.. Not fast enough for this one..
If it was a regular human, it probably would have killed them, or at least busted their face to a mess.
Though while wasn't a human, that didn't mean this didn't do significant damage. This was Apollo's most powerful attack so far, and even though it was an external weapon, it's not like this was a fair fight to begin with, no real fight ever is.

When struck the being let out a sunken groan and collapsed.
It quickly got back up though much more unstable and wobbly this time.
Apollo smiled again, this time much longer. "Even if I lose.." He thought "I still gave this thing a good run for it's money, or whatever the hell it uses for currency, oh shut the hell up overactive brain!"

The creature smiled back as well even longer this time, some kind of purplish blood draining and bleeding from it's nose and mouth, it's bizarre colorful eyes staring just as wide eyed and determined as ever.
Apollo in this moment had a realization, this alien being was.. Just like him in some ways.. In fact, maybe if he was in their shoes.. Alien feet thingies, he would be doing the exact same thing..
And.. Ultimately Apollo believed that all beings are all just different expressions of the "one", so in a sense.. This alien beast was him in another lifetime.. And with this in mind.. Apollo offered as much love and forgiveness as he was capable of.

There was almost a sense of unity being shared between the two as blood dripped down their faces and their bodies swayed in exhaustion.
However brief, however... Rare.
This respect shown, was an anomaly in the greater world out there.

They just stared at each other for a while, each one waiting for the other to make the next first move.
Both a bit rattled, both a bit amused.
The beast charged, Apollo charged the beast back as well then fell back, and fainted with few strikes designed to disorientate.

Almost like out of a comic book or a movie he went from side to side, from top to bottom, back and forth landing critical strikes at critical locations to the point any regular person would have crumpled.
Once again, this was no regular person. The beast groaned and faltered, then managed to grab a hold of Apollo and slammed him to the ground.
Once again Apollo spit out blood and this time wasn't as quick to spring back up to his feet...

Apollo was ready to give up. He had enough. He was exasperated.
Blood dripping from nose and mouth and damaged all over, he muttered "Could you be a little uglier?"
As if the alien understood what he meant and took it as a challenge it screamed in his face spitting all kinds of nasty green and purplish alien spit on him and then proceeded to press up and grab Apollo by the leg.

After securing this lock and with it's almost superhuman strength it managed to swing Apollo around and spin him into a bunch of sticker bushes and eventually a tree.
This was a critical blow and Apollo took heavy damage, probably at least a few damaged ribs.
He couldn't believe he survived this long, though.. He felt like his time was about up.

Breathing heavy and in immense pain Apollo looked up from the ground to a menacing alien like being, which again.. Smiled.
Apollo started to have nightmares of being tortured and his body being dragged around and disrespected after death and his loved ones being pursued.
The alien being oozing from it's wounds stared down upon Apollo as if to signify it's victory and dominance.

Apollo closed his eyes, assuming the worst. Thoughts of Amanda and everyone else he loved came into his mind.
He apologized for failing them.
As he opened his eyes a big hamfist connected with his face sending him sprawling backwards.

It was amazing he put up as much of a fight as he did, though at this point he kinda realized more than ever just how futile it was.
Barely even able to stand, Apollo stubbornly still tried to get up.
The being stared at him as if entertained as he once again fell flat on his face and rolled across the ground.

Apollo was heartbroken and then he heard the creature start to make a noise that resembled laughter.
"Really?" Apollo thought to himself.. As if many of the humans he was normally surrounded by on this planet weren't enough already.. Even the aliens taunt and toy with their victims?
Apollo was on the brink of destruction.. And.. This might have been the spark that kept him alive in the end. Apollo was enraged by bullies and injustice.

Apollo didn't see it as himself that was being laughed at.. He saw it as anyone and everyone, as he saw himself as anyone and everyone.
Even though he was damaged and on the brink of consciousness, he couldn't let this piece of shit get away with this.
Struggling to get back to his feet, he remembered everyone he loved and almost as if by magic, he was back on his feet and speeding towards his opponent.

Blood streaming from his mouth and nose, out of breath, running off endorphins and memories.
He tackled his opponent and dragged him to the ground.
The alien tried to crawl away but Apollo was done messing around.

He once again grabbed a rock from the creek-bed and started smashing it against the aliens head over and over again.
This time a new color of blood spewed out from the wound created, there were no words for it, a color never seen before by him. Apollo was stunned but not stunned enough to ceases his efforts in bashing the life out of his adversary.

He became so engrossed in his mission that before long the creature was no longer what it used to look like, plus he feared the thing might have some regenerative ability so he did his best to prevent it from coming back to life.
Limbs here and there, the torso essentially reduced to beef jerky. Almost all that was left unmutilated, was the front part of the face... Apollo stared at the mess of what was left, disgusted with himself, but also proud he was still alive.

He thought for sure he was going to die.. How was he still alive..?!
If the alien was such an alien why didn't it use some kind of futuristic energy weapon or some shit?
If it wasn't some kind of alien from elsewhere, what the hell was it?!!?
So many questions.. As usual.. Very few answers. He showed respect to his adversary knowing it could be and is a sense was him on the other end and apologized for his own savagery.

The sun began to set and the colors were changing to dramatic reds and purples to suit the bloody landscape that was around him.
As some clouds lit by the sunset floated overhead the cold wind washed up against Apollo who was covered in his own blood and the purple, green and unknown colors of blood and material from the being.
For some strange morbid reason, Apollo grabbed the face and took it towards home with him, stumbling one foot in front of the other.

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Art by @jimramones

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This is great @apolymask!!! Your story just shows what an amazing mind you have! Thank you for being so creative, I could visualize this from beginning to end!

I want the first edition comic when it comes out!!! Brilliant work!

Glad to hear you appreciated it! :) Thank you for the very positive feedback. And hmmm.. You know.. I was thinking something similar in regards to your comment about the comic book, I was thinking maybe some day something like that could be made, or a video/animation of some sort perhaps. :D That would be pretty rad.

I think if steemit and the IFC continue to grow, that could definitely happen some day! We could see a lot of sort of little animations and videos and comic books and short stories and music! -_-;;; There's a lot of room here for the community to create a sort of rich mythical fantasy sort of world.

I'd say Kryptocek was a major inspiration in this short story and all of that just seeing him get into character and watching him write his stories..

Not just him but also.. Iexplore! And yourself and amariespeaks and bashadow and magicalmoonlight and youhavewings and a buncha people I'm probably missing, there's so many great writers here! It's been a treasure just to witness it and soak as much of that positive creative energy up as possible. :) Anyways.. I think I'm starting to ramble, thanks again for the great feedback and for appreciating! ._.

Well! following @kryptocek now.

I could hear the fight scene with electro music my adrenaline was pumping like i was in the scene myself great job

Fabulous story, @apolymask :) Special little touches of truth mixed in with fiction makes for a very convincing story ;) You had me sucked into the drama and I was wondering how it was going to end...glad it had a happy ending! And nice message. I also thought your re-use of "one foot in front of the other" was a very nice touch....like a song's refrain - very effective!

I hope you write more short stories! Isn't it amazing how inspiration and creativity are contagious? I love that and what you wrote to @charisma777 It's true....

And

Those sleep paralysis experiences are no fun! ha!

Thanks! :) In a sense the more I think about it, the more the story is sort of a metaphor for dealing with your shadow side. And.. This is an interesting subject for me. Cause.. I do think in a sense you need to try to hug and love your shadow self, but not too much or else you'll become it even more and manifest or embody that so to speak.. So.. Love your shadow self and then destroy it. Though perhaps some day the destroying part won't be necessary and it'll be possible to just hug the shadow self.

I'm not sure if that's possible or not.. Or how entertaining of a read it would be, heh.. But.. Something to think about! I still believe strongly in self defense, so.. Not a pacifist, but maybe some day I will be. I do have a certain kind of admiration for those who refuse to fight, even though I think it shows a high level of self value and love to fight, for all involved. So it's definitely a deep complex philosophical subject if you get into it in my opinion.. I still haven't totally figured it out, and it's fun to explore in little fictional short stories like this one. :)

Also glad you noticed the "One foot in front of the other foot" part, I thought that was good and meaningful how it repeated like that! :)
Well if you hope I write more short stories, then.. I even more plan on it now! :D
Thanks for the great feedback!

PS.. Yeah.. The sleep paralysis stuff or nightmares or whatever you wanna call them are not fun, I had another one not too long ago, though it was much more clearly a dream, but one that felt sorta foreign, like.. A being somehow got into my dreams, which is bizarre and hard to explain, though.. It felt like not an ordinary nightmare, there was an extra real element to it, like someone somewhere in the world was cursing me or something, heh. The dream world is an interesting one I haven't explored enough since I was younger! I think there's a lot of mysteries to be discovered there.

What an interesting concept....to write a story about your shadow self. In a way, I think my "Girl in a Box" poem was like that. It got a little confusing trying to write from both perspectives - yet it being the same person. But actually it was quite healing. Wounded self/shadow self - are they the same? Hmmmm so interesting.

Hey, writing is an amazing tool for self exploration - it's surprising what comes out of the other side when you finish a piece. We need that creative or soul searching/expressing time-teaches so much.

Yes, yes....that was a really special part of your story repeating "One foot in front of the other foot"


I actually thought that was pretty cool little insert how you included the sleep paralysis in your story. I've had this since I was a child (luckily never saw any hallucinations the experience itself is bad enough). I had 3 or 4 in one night a few years ago and I decided to do some deep researching on the topic (which is also not fun). Two things popped up that people swore by - Rosemary oil on the headboard and sleeping on your side. I tried both and sleeping on my side really did stop it. My sleep paralysis had evolved into literally not being able to 'breathe' - Can someone die of sleep paralysis? Felt like it to me!

I am sure that Amanda would be delighted that you are putting your creative energies to good use. Every time I see you mention her name it reminds me of that wonderful poem she wrote and what a wonderful relationship you two shared. And with all the talented artists on Steemit you just never know, there could very well be something that might come out of this interesting story/character :)

That was really nice of you to say. Thanks plush. :) I think you're right. And I appreciate the sentiments. Also.. I think you might be right in regards to what you said at the end as well in regards to something might come out of this character.. I just had a mutual friend of ours message me earlier saying they wanted to create their own short story based off of my character. :) So.. Who knows! Maybe in time, there will be a lot of little things like that with artwork and short stories and comic book stuff or maybe more. :)

That's a cool thought! I never really predicted my Apolymask character would create a tournament like this!! The Apolymask character was more to just speak out and express myself with.. But now.. There's all these different pictures, he's part of a song, someone wants to make a short story.. And.. This is just the start of the IFC.. If all goes well we'll be around for many many years! :D It'll be exciting to see what happens, cheers! And.. Thanks for the friendship and support.

Oh and.. It won't just be my character, but others as well.. Like yours. The plushzilla! :D One of the coolest IFC characters in my opinion.

Well, speaking of comics, I spotted @arseniclullaby's work and asked him to join the IFC and set up shop at the marketplace as well. I am interested in getting him to do some commissions. I love his dark humour and the clever elements in his comics.

Cool! Thanks for helping to get the word out more, I checked out his artwork and it made me laugh a number of times, mostly in dark ways. I'm not a big dark humor type, but I think it has it's place and I'm guilty of laughing at it. He's pretty darn good at it too. I gave him a follow and will try to check out his stuff from time to time when I see it in the future on my feed.

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Meep!!!!! I haven't seen you in what seems like forever! How have you been? Lemme guess.. "meep"?

meep

Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!

This is a fucking awesome story mate. I'm sure anyone who knows you will recognise that you've put a lot of yourself into the Apollo character. I see the alien creature and the battle as a metaphor for conquering your own fear, rediscovering your true power, fulfilling your potential and finding the strength and courage you need to fight the ultimate fight.

I loved the way the the words and story seemed to fall onto the page, sonething I enjoy about all of your writing. I haveva tendency to overthink things and it stops me from getting any thoughts out at all, which is why I think I enjoy reading your posts so much. It's almost like your writing the post as I'm reading it. :)

It was a really enjoyable read mate and you built up the suspense nicely. I look forward to the next one. :)

Thanks man! That was some awesome feedback from someone who I consider to be a pretty awesome artist and person in general.

Indeed, and I also see this story as a similar metaphor! It reminds me oddly enough of a Naruto episode that I really vibed with where Naruto had to fight a shadow version of himself that was like.. Equally as strong as him or stronger and knew all his moves in advance and.. Eventually.. The way he ended up winning was "hugging" and loving his shadow self.

To me this story was very similar, and also akin to a quote from one of my favorite books Ender's game where he mentions something to the effect that when he destroys his enemies he is loving them, and that you have to sort of get inside the mind of your opponent and love them like you love yourself so that you can see what their motivations really are. And when you see that, it should hopefully give you the answer in how to win the battle.

So this story definitely played off those ideas a bit.. That you have to sort of, love you dark side in order to defeat it.

I think this plays off in regards to our spiritual battle with the corrupt elite in the world.. You have to sorta get in their mind and shoes and think what they think without becoming a "monster" yourself so to speak.

And.. In this story I perhaps failed a lil bit cause I wasn't a perfect peaceful Ghandi type, but I still believe in self defense. I think that's important in this world.. I often say.. I'm not a pacifist, I'll pass a fist if necessary. And hopefully always for the right reason either in the defense of myself or others.

Hey thanks for the nice words about my writing, I feel similar about yours! I think that's one reason I vibe with you a lot cause when I read your words I almost feel like I'm reading myself sometimes.. So thank you, though I think you're an awesome writer too. :)

Glad to hear you're looking forward to the next one! Now I am even more so as well! :D I already have an idea for how it might start.. Anyways.. Hope all is well bud!

That was a long one, I think. And very well written IMO. You think of this when you go out for walks? Oh my God, lol!

It was pretty long, perhaps too long for a short story? I'm not sure, seemed like the right description though cause a regular story would probably be longer? I dunno. Anyways.. Thanks for the positive feedback! Glad you thought it was well written, and lol.. Yeah.. Sometimes I admittedly do think of weird things like that..

Like.. What would happen if I was out here in the middle of no where so far from society no one could hear me yell, and some kind of strange alien attacked me? Part of me would like to hope I would somehow pull off a victory like in this fictional case, though in all reality.. I would probably lose to some kind of alien, especially one almost twice the size of me. It was fun to write though and to explore the possibilities! :D

woo hoo! super cool, and all that came outta ya? good stuff ...i thought he was a goner by paragraph one. is amazing how much you developed the fight. it was a good one! he deserves a beer after that. cheers!! :)

A beer sounds nice! I could use one soon. Especially after all this craziness with all these contests, lol. When this is all done I look forward to a nice break, but then I look forward to doing it all again! I think season 2 is going to be even more exciting and fun in some ways!

Thanks for the positive review of my short story, glad to hear you appreciated it! :) And yeah haha, I tend to be pessimistic in a way where I often think I'm going to lose and then end up winning, I think you do similar! It can be healthy in the right proportions.. "Constructive pessimism" hope for the best, BUT.. Prepare for the worst. I think that's a really powerful saying that sort of encapsulates the idea well.. Hope you win, but.. Prepare for it as if you're going to lose.. And then I think you'll prolly have much better odds of winning. :) But.. That's just me! Some others thing 100% positivist or drill instructor type of negativity. To each their own.

@apolymask yay beer! :)
nice break and then do it all over again. hehe too funny
yea i do the total similar. then i get competitive and i would not give up my tactics everrrr ... soo shhhh
negativity is never a good idea ... even when parts of me wants to wish death on my opponents ... ahahahaha
ahahahahahha ahahah thats horrible, but i would never do that. :)

Really enjoyed the battle, ever without considering the metaphor it still is a great read. I like this kind of reading where I can picture it for what it is describing but also relate it to something deeper that always comes after the fact.

Thanks for the positive feedback! I appreciate it. :) Especially since I'm so new to this, the feedback in the very beginning helps a lot! Glad to hear you enjoyed the battle and the story! :D Also yeah.. I liked how there was a couple of sort of hidden messages in there you might not get until the end! I think it worked out pretty well for being so new to this artform! ._.

Would be epic @charisma777 to have a little comic book of it! I liked the read but I think it would fit perfect in a comic! :) Especially to get a visual..

Nice to see you posting your own stuff @apolymask!! You're always here supporting us and I feel like you need to let your own mind flow and put your own stuff out there as well! Glad you're writing again and hopefully more to come.

It really reminded me of the TV series Stranger Things which is one of my favourite tv shows!

Word! I think that's a cool idea. I just had someone tell me they wanted to do a lil short story on Apolymask so.. Who knows, maybe it'll be a character that people will make different sorts of things like comics and all kinds of stuff about. :) That's a cool thing that applies to the other characters in the IFC as well I think, in time if this all blows up big we could be sorta like.. fanfic/cosplay type of stuff, lol. Crazy to think about, but I think that's a possibility.

Nice to see you posting your own stuff @apolymask!! You're always here supporting us and I feel like you need to let your own mind flow and put your own stuff out there as well! Glad you're writing again and hopefully more to come.

Thanks for the love man. :) Hopefully I can post more stuff more often! I do enjoy it. I just find a struggle to try to keep up with all the messages at this point. But.. We just do our best!

I've never seen Stranger Things but I've heard good things about it! I wonder why it reminded you of such, either way that's cool to hear! :D Thanks for the feedback friend.

This was an excellent story :) I'm sorry to hear you've had a rough time of things. But perseverance definitely does pay off, as you so effectively showed. I loved the imagery, you did a great job of being descriptive enough for me to picture everything clearly.

Did you ever write any follow up stuff to this?

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Thanks for the feedback! And for the empathy as well. :)
I have not created a follow up for this story yet, but.. I do have at least one in mind planned for the future.. I may make a whole series, time will tell! Hopefully I get to it eventually though as I got some pretty good responses.

Of course. Thank you for creating such an awesome tale.

I could definitely see this becoming a very interesting series. I wish I knew how to so graphic design, this could be such a cool animated short.

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You're welcome. Glad it was appreciated. And yeah! I could totally see this being a short movie of some sort, I think it would be pretty badass! Maybe someday, especially if crypto/steem takes off in the future. :)

You know, you could potentially look into pitching it to Netflix. They certainly seem to be open to new content, and I could see this making an awesome show.

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That's a flattering thought, though I'm sure soooooo many people are trying to pitch ideas to Netflix I have no idea how they would ever even find mine in the sea of so many people who are trying. Though I do agree.. I think it would make an awesome show! :D

Sorry it's taken so long to get back to you on this comment. Notifications build up and then it gets hard to stay on top of them.

That's probably true. But, I doubt as many could be backed up by well written scripting. But maybe as making animation continues to get cheaper, better, and easier, this could be an animated YouTube series :)

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