Ninjastroni, this was gloriously unhinged. 😂 What I enjoyed most is that the senryu form should, by all reasonable expectations, impose discipline upon proceedings. Instead, you and Ricky somehow use it to create escalating wrestling chaos involving stolen shine, trash cans, flying hot dogs, a steel cage, and the eventual kidnapping of the King by Sasquatch.
The collaboration works particularly well because each writer inherits the previous line and then has to find somewhere even more ridiculous to take it. “Crowd throwing hot dogs” becoming “Madness, bedlam, mustard, buns” made me laugh, but the real turning point is King confessing that he stole Pet Rock’s shine. Suddenly, amid complete lunacy, there is an actual plot twist. 😂
And I loved the ending. After everything that has happened, “Jim, I got the shine!” gives King approximately three seconds of triumph before Sasquatch abducts him and leaves the building. Perfect. No resolution required. Just further pandemonium.
I’m happily subscribing because I enjoy writers who experiment with form, collaboration, and humour without taking themselves—or the act of writing—too solemnly. Satire and occasional absurdity make fairly regular appearances in my own writing at The Reflective State, so I suspect I may enjoy this particular corner of Substack. If curiosity ever leads you there, I’d be delighted to have you read some of my work and share your thoughts.
Very glad to have discovered you, Ninjastroni. I have absolutely no idea what I just witnessed, and I mean that as a compliment.
This was a fun read and a great listen. Your voice-over work was stellar. The illustrations reminded me of my favorite childhood book, "Where the Wild Things Are." I just subscribed to your publication.
In a world where stealing shine is a common trade...
.
Rock:
You stole my shine.
.
Narrator:
...but the kidnapping of a King is unheard of....
.
King:
"Wait, you can't kidnap the King!"
.
Narrator:
...one Squatch crosses the line
.
Squatch: Haha haha! Who's gonna stop me?"
.
Narrator:
This summer, Pet Rock is out for vengeance.
.
Pet Rock:
I'll stop you. (Looks directly into camera) Because I'm out for vengeance.
.
Squatch:
You'll have to catch me first!
.
Narrator:
But he'll have to catch Squatch first.
.
Squatch:
And I see a plethora of tedious levels and what appear to be castles...
.
Narrator:
Through a maze of painstaking levels and a variety of castles...
.
Squatch:
...with plenty of obstacles to lay in your path.
.
Narrator:
with plenty of obstacles to...
.
Squatch:
Hey, buddy, I got it. I can reveal my evil plan to the protagonist, thereby informing the audience of the backstory and foreshadowing what is to come as they venture forth in this really awesome game. I got it, but thank you.
.
Narrator:
Experience the world of Pandemonium that totally won't be a knockoff of previous platform games. Collect turnip power-ups, exclusive gear, and a whole host of upgradeable skins that won't have any effect whatsoever on gameplay. Pre-order now, so you'll be ready to download the 18TB game file and play this August!
Two of my favorite writers collaborating, what a freaking blast! I loved everything about this, including the artwork. And the voiceover was the most spectacular thing I've ever heard. Your commitment to the characters and the sound effects made me smile so hard.
Can't wait for Amy to wake up and check this out. I just showed it to Amber and while laughing she said, "This is amazing. You have cool friends."
Amy was a huge fan too! She loved the way you said “by gawd” and she's been saying it all day so thanks for that, it's been a treat (no sarcasm!). 🤣 Oh, and the end with Squatch kidnapping the king, that got some extra laughter and attention haha.
Thank you both for all the effort and fun energy you put into this!
Top tier voiceover work, and I love the art. Squatch is my favorite. Such presence.
This was a lot of fun to put together. I was a huge wrestling fan growing up, and I think we captured the excitement and absurdity of a great match pretty well.
Ninjastroni, this was gloriously unhinged. 😂 What I enjoyed most is that the senryu form should, by all reasonable expectations, impose discipline upon proceedings. Instead, you and Ricky somehow use it to create escalating wrestling chaos involving stolen shine, trash cans, flying hot dogs, a steel cage, and the eventual kidnapping of the King by Sasquatch.
The collaboration works particularly well because each writer inherits the previous line and then has to find somewhere even more ridiculous to take it. “Crowd throwing hot dogs” becoming “Madness, bedlam, mustard, buns” made me laugh, but the real turning point is King confessing that he stole Pet Rock’s shine. Suddenly, amid complete lunacy, there is an actual plot twist. 😂
And I loved the ending. After everything that has happened, “Jim, I got the shine!” gives King approximately three seconds of triumph before Sasquatch abducts him and leaves the building. Perfect. No resolution required. Just further pandemonium.
I’m happily subscribing because I enjoy writers who experiment with form, collaboration, and humour without taking themselves—or the act of writing—too solemnly. Satire and occasional absurdity make fairly regular appearances in my own writing at The Reflective State, so I suspect I may enjoy this particular corner of Substack. If curiosity ever leads you there, I’d be delighted to have you read some of my work and share your thoughts.
Very glad to have discovered you, Ninjastroni. I have absolutely no idea what I just witnessed, and I mean that as a compliment.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. We had a blast creating this one. Thanks for reading!
This is great! :D
I really love the art too! 😍
Well done! 💯
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it and my wonderfully horrible doodles. 😊
This is epic! Great audio
Thanks. 😊
Thank you for reading, viewing, and listening!
This was a fun read and a great listen. Your voice-over work was stellar. The illustrations reminded me of my favorite childhood book, "Where the Wild Things Are." I just subscribed to your publication.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the story and the voice-over.
I can understand your comparison. Maybe I need to consider putting on a crown and heading into the woods. 😊
Love it!
😊 Thank you!
You reminded me of when I used to watch wrestling on Sunday mornings. Just perfect!
Those were the good old days.
No good King, always stealing the shine.
Lol, this was wild. Now what's next for rock?
Idk. He might have to chase Squatch through various levels and castles in search of his shine.
That sounds like a platformer! Are we moving into mixed media? :O
I'll have to see if I can pull it off. Maybe Rock will use turnips for power-ups.
Of course, because they’re good for you!
I can see it now.
(Game trailer audio)
.
<Extremely unnecessary bass drops>
.
Narrator:
In a world where stealing shine is a common trade...
.
Rock:
You stole my shine.
.
Narrator:
...but the kidnapping of a King is unheard of....
.
King:
"Wait, you can't kidnap the King!"
.
Narrator:
...one Squatch crosses the line
.
Squatch: Haha haha! Who's gonna stop me?"
.
Narrator:
This summer, Pet Rock is out for vengeance.
.
Pet Rock:
I'll stop you. (Looks directly into camera) Because I'm out for vengeance.
.
Squatch:
You'll have to catch me first!
.
Narrator:
But he'll have to catch Squatch first.
.
Squatch:
And I see a plethora of tedious levels and what appear to be castles...
.
Narrator:
Through a maze of painstaking levels and a variety of castles...
.
Squatch:
...with plenty of obstacles to lay in your path.
.
Narrator:
with plenty of obstacles to...
.
Squatch:
Hey, buddy, I got it. I can reveal my evil plan to the protagonist, thereby informing the audience of the backstory and foreshadowing what is to come as they venture forth in this really awesome game. I got it, but thank you.
.
Narrator:
Experience the world of Pandemonium that totally won't be a knockoff of previous platform games. Collect turnip power-ups, exclusive gear, and a whole host of upgradeable skins that won't have any effect whatsoever on gameplay. Pre-order now, so you'll be ready to download the 18TB game file and play this August!
This deserves to be its own post!
Ha’ a fun one!!!
Thank you. Glad you liked it.
This is amazing!
Thank you. We had fun creating it.
Two of my favorite writers collaborating, what a freaking blast! I loved everything about this, including the artwork. And the voiceover was the most spectacular thing I've ever heard. Your commitment to the characters and the sound effects made me smile so hard.
Can't wait for Amy to wake up and check this out. I just showed it to Amber and while laughing she said, "This is amazing. You have cool friends."
Thank you! It was a blast. Ricky is a great writer to collaborate with. I hope we get to do it again.
I'm glad it made you smile. You'll have to let us know what she thinks of it.
Yay! I made it to the cool corner of Substack.
Amy was a huge fan too! She loved the way you said “by gawd” and she's been saying it all day so thanks for that, it's been a treat (no sarcasm!). 🤣 Oh, and the end with Squatch kidnapping the king, that got some extra laughter and attention haha.
Thank you both for all the effort and fun energy you put into this!
Nice! Maybe the laughter will help her heal up faster.
Thank you for reading and sharing!
Top tier voiceover work, and I love the art. Squatch is my favorite. Such presence.
This was a lot of fun to put together. I was a huge wrestling fan growing up, and I think we captured the excitement and absurdity of a great match pretty well.
Agreed. It was fun.
You were the spark that set it all in motion. Squatch really does steal the show.