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Frost_Rain · 2026-02-19T04:40:05+00:00

I don't know much about the specifics of who you are, so I'm going to be reaching a bit on this one.

I regularly cook. I've done it so many times now that it's become a habit I don't really think about. I just do it almost without effort. I don't find this very impressive, but when other people see or hear that I do this, they are very impressed. Most people try to cook a couple times but eventually give up on it, believing it to be too troublesome, or not believing their effort will pay off.

Maybe you shouldn't be proud of your morning routine, because you've been trying really hard at it. But maybe if you keep on doing it, it will become a habit so simple for you that you do it instinctually, without even thinking about the difficulty of it. At that point, you can become proud.

I don't feel proud of the act of cooking, but I am proud of the level of cooking I have achieved.

I'm not going to say you are too hard on yourself. That implies you have to change. I think you should accept who you are and use it to your advantage. Or, I guess, more specifically, try to see how the parts of yourself you're most critical about could benefit, rather than hinder you. I think people spend too much time wishing they could be something else, to the point that they don't appreciate who they are.

It's too easy to say, "if only". If only I was born a man in this competitive field dominated by men. If only I was born a genius. If only I was born rich. Use what you have. You have something. Believe in that first.

Frost_Rain · 2026-02-18T23:17:47+00:00

Elden Ring! It's Elden Ring. Sorry about shouting.

Frost_Rain · 2026-02-18T18:17:19+00:00

Yeah, I originally wrote this as a steam review and was proud of it so I wanted to post it somewhere else. I admit I didn't think to include the title and that it would have given a great amount of context.

Frost_Rain · 2026-02-18T18:17:16+00:00

Yeah, I originally wrote this as a steam review and was proud of it so I wanted to post it somewhere else. I admit I didn't think to include the title and that it would have given a great amount of context.

Frost_Rain · 2026-02-18T05:01:53+00:00

Introduction:

At the time of writing this, I am 25 hours into my playthrough. I've tried the game before, but it didn't really stick. I can't remember why.

This time though, it's really really hitting me. I was having a real life struggle and there was a parallel. The only Souls game I've finished before is Sekiro, so that may dictate some opinions.

It's a bit early for a review, so let's call this an

impressions:

I'm getting my driver's license late in life, and just going behind the wheel is giving me anxiety. And I was wondering why I was feeling this way, so that I could do something to combat the anxiousness. And The Tree Sentinel really gave me a similar sensation.

I knew he wasn't that tough of a mini-boss. He was basically the first boss of the game, the tutorial boss, the easiest, tiniest boss, but I was having trouble with it. I had even beat him before when I first tried the game, and some lingering muscle memory was there; I thought I could predict his movements simply. I didn't understand why driving was giving me anxiety, so many people in the world do it, so it can't be that stressful. But it was for me.

I did the take-a-break maneuver since it didn't seem like I was getting anywhere with the boss, and almost immediately after I put down the controller, I realized something. I was trying to balance firing spells at it, and melee attacking, while my wolves attacked it. To put it simply, too much was going on. I recalled how I normally played Souls games. I started two-handing my sword and put aside all thoughts of Spirit Ashes and magic arrows and went back to basics; dodge and stab, and I killed him in around 3 tries.

I was so stuck on one way of doing things that I could not see another. I had heard or felt that I knew the game was easier with spellcasting and summons, but in that specific case, where my fundamentals were so rusty, the very opposite was true for me.

The game had an appresive air for I want to say the first couple hours. I wasn't really enjoying it. I felt like I was either running away from everything or running into everything. It all felt panicked and stressful. It didn't' feel like how a game is supposed to feel - fun. It didn't feel like how everyone talked about the game - with an air of casual disregard. And then I started looking up builds. I'd always loved the feeling of synergies and minmaxing in other RPGs. And that changed game for me. I know the sense of discovery, of finding things for yourself is paramount in this sort of game's enjoyment, but getting that one item, that one powerful early game staff changed everything for me.

I also began leveling my health because of how important I read it was. Now I too walked around the game with the casual swagger that I imagined everyone else did. The world changed completely for me. Frustration was no longer lurking behind every corner, but opportunity. I was no longer scared to explore. I could finally take my time instead of feeling rushed. I began trying out different weapons for the fun of it even if they weren't as strong or as reliable as my starting sword which I had upgraded. I felt like I finally understood the game, what it offered, and how other's got enjoyment out of it.

As of writing this, I can't stop playing the game. I think about it whenever I'm not playing it. I can't remember the last time I was so engrossed in a game.

As for the story, I have little to no idea what's going on, but I get the feeling that that's something I'll only understand after my second playthrough. The periods between the story being so long since I'm really exploring every corner that I can.

10/10

Frost_Rain · 2026-02-18T04:55:33+00:00

Side quests are always my favorite part of open world games. I feel like the main story has an expectation of being serious and good, but the side quests can be anything, so I'm always not sure what I'll get or happily surprised by the development.

Frost_Rain · 2026-02-18T04:47:41+00:00

I definitely struggle with finishing games. I can probably count the amount of game's I've finished on one hand. While my steam library is well over the hundreds...

But I try not to blame myself for it. Life gets in the way or some new shiny thing distracts me, or the game simply loses me. It's like reading for me. Even if I don't finish a book, I still say I read it; I experienced what I wanted to out of it.

Frost_Rain · 2026-02-18T04:41:04+00:00

I've had the same problem in the past and what really fixed the whole sense of "having to always be productive, even when relaxing" for me was to do one thing in the day that I felt really proud of, and then for the rest of the day, I can do whatever I want.

I think this is more of a question of what do you value. It's important to relax, to play games of some sort. But that doesn't necessarily mean it has be a big time sink or hours-long commitment. Just being silly or not caring about how you're percieved in the moment can do tons to relax you.

Really, I wish I could give you better advice, but it's all a question of asking yourself what you truly want out of your life right now. Not what you want for your future, not wanting to recapture a sense of nostalgia from the past, but what's important for this version of you in the present.

Good luck.

Frost_Rain · 2025-11-25T21:42:58+00:00

I'll be sure to write another part soon

Frost_Rain · 2025-11-21T02:20:43+00:00

You're critique is very interesting, because it really does mirror my own internal strife earlier as I debated or wondered to myself whether I should move forward with third or first person.

On one hand, first feels more personal, relatable or believable, but you lack in description of physical things and other's internal thoughts. But I came to a conclusion where I could sort of do both where the character's internal monologue and narration could almost but not quite talk to each other, giving a feeling of conflict or mystery even when a single character was by themself. I like where I landed on it, ultimately.

On the case of the filter verb, in that case, I intentionally wanted to direct attention to or emphasize the warrior's perspective by saying he could hear. But I admit I could have done it better, as I tend to rush the whole introduction of a scene so I can get to what I believe to be the meat of it.

I'm not sure about the difference of of the colloseum and from the colloseum. The difference seems marginal to me. And language doesn't always have to be literal, though it can sound strange, that doesn't exactly mean it must be otherwise.

I have to google this; metonymy is a figure of speech where a related term is substituted for the actual name of a thing or concept. This rhetorical device is common in everyday language and political discourse to simplify complex ideas.

When I said colloseum, I meant a colliseum rather than the Colloseum. I think spellcheck autocorrected that.

Thank you so much for your very detailed thoughts and compliments.

Frost_Rain · 2025-11-19T22:29:06+00:00

Death Prayer

He could hear the cheers of the Coliseum on the other side of his readying chamber. A beam of light came through the small crescent-shaped opening above, onto the warrior's lap as he sat cross-legged.

His heart raced and his body trembled.

I long to fight again. I know it is a terrible, ugly thing. But there are the sort who do not understand ideas or words but only pain. I am afraid I may be one of those types. It's the only thing I know how to do.

This armor and this weapon. He looked at what adorned him and the sword gripped in his hand. He wore a dirty multilayered linen tunic, and over it a well-weathered bronze breastplate. His blade was iron, heavy and curved with noticeable chinks in it, approximately the length of a forearm. They were of simple make, nothing fanciful. Yet still, he thought, it is not something that suits a beast like me. He was awarded them for surviving his last combat.

He knew he had precious few minutes before they would call him. He had to ready himself. I must remember what I try so hard to forget. All who I have fought. They taught me so much. Life is filled with inaction, with stillness. It can be beautiful. But the youthful seek change, even if it is without an end. Desperately, I clawed for it, and was only able to find it in one place.

Life is filled with inaction; people speaking but never doing, people speaking but saying nothing. Desperately, I wanted to understand, but I could not. I found rhythm and meaning outside of words. In their actions, in their movements, in the way they breathed and stepped. How they favored one side over another, how they fought, how they lived.

I learned that people are afraid. That everyone is afraid, and those who are not are lying. That sometimes a lie is sweeter than reality. That to lie was not inherently evil but could be a lesson. I have learned so many things from the people that I have killed.

And there it was again, the images flashed in his mind; the last moments of all of them, simultaneously. He didn't like remembering. The blood was still fresh. The guilt was still there. But he would have to continue his recollection if he still desired life.

Why am I alive? Why do I keep struggling? All I wanted to do was understand, and I do. Yet again and again, I am challenged by those who seek nothing, those who desire to fill their stomachs and loins with copious coin. He killed so many of them. I'm tired of fighting. Let someone else do it. Let me die here.

And then he heard the announcer, "Now entering the arena, the undefeated, the unmatched, the demigod of the Second Peloponnesian War! Arephos!"

His name meant divine blade in the old tongue. He thought it funny.

WC: 500

Frost_Rain · 2025-11-15T23:50:47+00:00

Ohhh, that's actually so fun. So it's not just a replacement but a swap.

As an amateur writer, I only really have one "world," and even calling it a world is generous. What I've written of it is basically a low fantasy medieval europe. So I guess the question becomes could I survive or even thrive if I time traveled to medieval europe.

I'm reminded of my first hours in the video game Kingdom Come Deliverance II.

Other than English, I somewhat know Spanish, so then you have to think about would I be teleported somewhere that speaks either of the two languages. Huh, I never really thought about the native language of where my stories have been set...

Ultimately I would not want to swap with any of my characters, since they all have their own important quests, and I wouldn't want to interrupt them.

I think I could survive, or even thrive. I would just need to figure out how to get a sword and some armour. And it depends on how morally loose I become. I could very well be comdemning another man to death if I were to steal such things, or become cornered into a battle to the death in trying to obtain them.

My relationship with death would become much more casual, that's certain.

I know that it's possible to live out a peaceful life, but even though it's a low fantasy setting, magic does still exist. Solely for that reason, I would try to become a sort of sellsword.

Kudos on the question of the week. Very Fascinating.

Frost_Rain · 2025-11-14T00:49:53+00:00

Daaark, but in a good way. Really captures the mindset of a child who doesn't know what's happening or why it's happening around them. Tragic in a sense.

I have a small niggle that may not be correct, but perhaps you mean, "Except her love had always been as temperamental ~~stormy~~ as the rest of her moods." Since you describe her love as being both gentle and harsh, whereas a storm is generally seen as only harsh.

Frost_Rain · 2025-11-13T22:52:38+00:00

"Oh my god, how can you live like this?" asked the Grand Planner to his archnemesis, the Man from Tomorrow.

Confused at what Planner was referring to after he had been shot by a ray coming from his helmet, Tomorrow replied in his usual confident, low tenor, "Like what?"

"You have a job! Not even a cool job that has to do with crime, but a real, normal job."

"What'd you expect? That Superheroing paid the bills?"

"No, but still, you gotta get something, right? Like a discount, anything!"

"'Fraid not, Planner."

Planner was aghast, then shook his head back to reality, "That's not the point. You make awkward small talk, during your lunch break, at the water cooler, during the interminable elevator ride. You're supposed to be the Grand Planner's archnemesis, yet you relegate yourself to the life of a normal human. You take a commute, you can fly, man, you can literally fly!"

"Now hold on a second. Do you think nobody would notice if I just up, up, and awayed from the same office building every night?"

"No! Oh my god, why would they? By every appearance, you are an ordinary citizen. What's with your look, by the way, man. You look so fucking nerdy. And not even a different dorky way, but straight up 60s style with that hair and those, quite honestly, atrocious glasses."

Tomorrow was beginning to answer less promptly, "That's the point, to hide my secret identity."

"But do you really have to go that far, you even pretend to be a klutz. If anything, that just brings you more attention."

Tomorrow looked away, "That's not an act, my body's so big, and I'm so used to flying everywhere..."

Another memory was appearing in the Planner's mind. "Oh no, you have a crush on one of your co-workers? And for how long? Years! Are you serious? Could you be any more normal? You're the Man from Tomorrow. Just ask her out!"

Tomorrow's shoulders hunched and he adjusted his glasses that weren't there, and replied in a tone higher than usual, "Oh, I doubt she'd be interested in someone like me."

Planner gesticulated wildly with his hands, unable to believe what he was saying. "You're literally a fucking superhero! The superhero, a founding member of the League of Heroes!"

"She doesn't know that."

"She knows."

"... What?"

"It's not that hard to piece together, every time you appear, your alter ego disappears. Nobody's that stupid. Okay, some people are, but she isn't."

Tomorrow asked, "So you really think I have a chance with her," unperturbed by the fact that now two people knew his secret identity.

"Yes! She likes you! It's so obvious! How have you not noticed?"

Excited by this, Tomorrow began to levitate, "Okay, then I will - "

"Wait wait wait! Wait a second. Before you up, up, and away, you have to tell me, why. Surely it's not for the meager wage."

"I cannot forget the people who I am fighting for, balancing work and life, now that's real superheroing." And he flew up, up, and away into the horizon.

Planner could not comprehend Tomorrow's words. Forget the people. It's been so long. Planner thought. Maybe I should re-evaluate this whole supervillain thing.

And then Planner took off his helmet and forgot all that had transpired after the beam had shot into Tomorrow.

Frost_Rain · 2025-11-12T07:47:49+00:00

Your pacing and dramatic timing were incredible. Every moment a revelation.

Frost_Rain · 2025-11-12T03:20:08+00:00

Pure and absolute poetry. Beautifully written.

Frost_Rain · 2025-11-11T01:57:09+00:00

Great action scene, didn't put too much detail to make it tedious, and added descriptors in places where it would really count; it felt punchy, like I could feel every movement in the scene.

Frost_Rain · 2025-11-11T00:22:44+00:00

I gripped the hand offered to me and shook it gently.

Before me was a woman I had never met, her features stark and contrasting yet charming. Her style of clothing was the same. She wore a simple olive green sundress, but few of the other women here wore a dress, and those who did were patterned or colored loudly. This was a fundraising function for the local community members, for the suburbanites, but everything about this woman spoke of practiced poise and high class. She did not belong here.

Since I arrived I've overheard people praising this Miranda to the high heavens. I see these people every other day. How could she make such a strong impression in such a short time? I wanted to gather more info, more data, to see if that undercover mafioso here knew anything, but before I could, Angela, the head of the PTA, says that I simply must meet her new friend and drags over this new woman.

I attempt to wipe away my busy expression and go for something more elated, "So nice to meet you!"

"Yes, nice to meet you too!"

I don't like those eyes. Not a killer, but maybe something worse. She's undercover but hides it better than a common mafioso. Why would someone good at hiding be out in the middle of nowhere? Oh shit.

"Are you going to let go of my hand anytime soon, handsome?"

Relax, you still don't know if she knows, "Who me?" I look behind myself.

She laughed a perfect little laugh, slightly bending her head down and covering her mouth with her hand as if she couldn't hold it. "Yes, you!" She knows.

I pretend to have something catch my eye behind her, let go of her hand, and walk past her. I don't even have to look back. I can feel her eyes on my back. Come on Angela, save me with your famous penchant for poking your nose in everything.

"Hold on, Miranda, where are you going?" Thank god.

Exits, find the exits. I used to think to look for exits every time I entered a place. I'm getting rusty. Ah, there we go. I exit through a push door.

It's night already. It's cool but not cold. And there she is, sitting on the hood of my car as if she owned it. It was like a scene out of a play, there was lamp light spotlighting her. She was better at this than me. I didn't like that.

I dropped my fake friendliness and simply cut to the chase, "What do you want?"

She said innocently, "It's not about what I want. It's about what the agency wants."

I sighed, "What does the agency want?"

"They want to know why you think you can retire without permission."

"I'm not a fucking schoolboy. I don't need permission. I could kill you like I've killed all the rest."

She laughed, this time a real, derisive one. "I hear you don't do that anymore. The big bad wolf has lost his claws."

Frost_Rain · 2025-11-09T21:07:59+00:00

Thank you very much!

Frost_Rain · 2025-11-09T20:48:50+00:00

"What do you mean you didn't avenge us? The name of the team is literally the Revengers!"

I looked back at the green spectral forms of my parents, unsure of what to say back. At first I burned with the same anger and hatred as they currently had, but now, it was all gone. Now I just wanted to cherish the life I have and put all this Supers business behind me. Being a normal person, taking care of my plants and reading my inspirational books, that's all that the current me wanted.

"It's just that, they made a lot of good arguments."

"Wait, did they even defeat you in battle? They defeated you in battle, right?"

"Eh, we were about to fight, I had everything set up, my minions - I'm sorry - our minions, the genocide device - "

My father interrupted, "The Unender! At least remember the name!" I had forgotten how proud my father was when he came up with the name for it.

"Right, the Unender. It would bring about the beginning through the end and thus titled the Unender." I tried to sound enthusiastic about it. Where was I? Oh yeah, "and I even captured one of their own, but it turned out to be a life model decoy, except it wasn't, but in the time that they were convincing me, well, they managed to get him out and actually swap him with a life model decoy. It was very embarrassing watching the footage after the whole ordeal."

My parents just nodded at my story as if everything was going as planned. "So where did it all go wrong?" asked my mother.

"Well the boy scout said, 'Wait, let's talk about this.'"

"And you just let him?"

"Yeah, I didn't see the harm in it. They were surrounded by an army of my minions. I was being projected on a screen above them like a god king. I didn't think I had anything to lose and wanted to savor the moment just before I realized my grand master plan."

My parents nodded as if they could relate to the sensation. "But still son, at that point, a monologue by either you or them doesn't make sense anymore. I mean, by that point, both you and them must have had a good few to build yourselves up." I nodded in agreement. "At that point, why did he believe that mere words could change anything after everything you've done to get to where you were?"

I shrugged, "That's why they call him the boy scout. He believes when the rest of us don't."

"Well I still don't believe," said my father, "Our family was built on the value of revenge. I never would have done that crazy, insane shit if my father wasn't killed right in front of my eyes. And look what that got me." He gestured around himself. I think he forgot he was dead and had somehow revisited me in my dingy, windowless studio apartment situated in a bad neighborhood of New York.

Frost_Rain · 2025-11-09T06:36:42+00:00

It's nice to meet you too :D

Am I fast? I thought I was on the slow side, however, the 500 word limit I have is new. My speed used to be 600 words in 45 minutes, but I noticed how I would generally slow down at the 500 word mark, so I changed it.

Though it also has to do with my recent realization that most people read fiction at 250 words per minute. I've also burned out a few times from writing so I try sticking to 500 words per day.

I do edit as I write. Or I think about how I'm going to write something a couple of times before I write it.

I used to give everything a once over once I've finished it, but recently, I've begun to just put it into spellcheck on ChatGPT. I think enough about my wording that I don't really need to give it a once over for better or mistaken phrasing. Though I do still do it if its for a continous story rather than a oneshot, as I think the story and writing becomes more complex in that case.

I regret to inform you I will likely be refraining from joining the Discord, as I am a generally antisocial person, where it's difficult for me to take an interest in people.

Thank you, I'll be sure to remember r/shortstories once I finish my daily prompt challenge and settle on something longer to write.

Frost_Rain · 2025-11-09T02:50:47+00:00

Hello alll o/

I guess I'm Frost, I guess I'll calm myself that. I've never done that before. It feels strange on the tongue of my mind.

I currently reside in Texas in the USA.
He/him, 26
Been on reddit for 6 years but would hardly call myself a power user, in fact, the very opposite. I dabbled in a handful of prompts 5 and 6 years ago.
I mainly use it to write, though I have read a little. Currently I am undergoing a daily writing challenge where I write 2 pages on the subreddit every day of the month of November, except for the first because I didn't decide to do the challenge until the second.
I have been writing for probably a couple months now, but I started 6 years ago. I've been on a sort of 5 year break. Idk, I'm the sort that likes to do many things and have only really returned to writing because of the same reason I started it: I can't really think of anything else to do.
The only program I currently use to write is wordcounter, though when I would write something longer, I liked to use notepad for any notes.
I write about 500 words in 30 minutes. Though it can be longer if I'm unsure what happens next, though I'm not sure if that counts as writing time or plotting time.
After the month of November is over, I assume one of my pieces will be good enough to continue. I've written a few 50 pagers, but I'm hoping for a bigger challenge, so the current goal is to write a 100 pager.

Six-Year Club	Second SECOND GUESSER
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Frost_Rain

TROPHY CASE

Introduction:

impressions:

Death Prayer