Yo. I'm nolandsman. Sometimes I like to write stories about narratives present in my childhood. Sometimes I like to write about other things completely. Sometimes I like to skip the writing altogether and move straight on to the hard alcohol. Both seem to be equally as fun, but one leaves you feeling crippled by self-doubt, throwing up in an alley somewhere after you've revealed your deepest longings and fears to people who don't care. The other one gets you drunk.

Some facts about me:

1) I was legally blind until surgical correction at the age of 13

2) I have exactly two webbed toes on each foot

3) My driver's license states my height as 2' 9"

Disclaimer: 2 of the 3 statements above are false. So is this one.

Things I've Done

Tales of Symphonia

Wayward Sons (complete): Like any fan, Lloyd's and Kratos' relationship intrigues me. However, I wanted to explore it in ways other than the canon Star Wars plot knockoff. The character of Lloyd himself, as he's raised in this fiction, is also quite different; whether or not that's consistent with his upbringing or whether or not I'm terrible at characterization is still a mystery. The way he emerged from my story was something that surprised even me; his usual earnestness and stubbornness were redirected away from his well-meaning foibles and turned him into a resentful, sometimes vengeful, unduly insecure person. His canon surety made way for something else, something, I think, that urged him to accept things he has no power to change. Because that, I realized after too long, is what this story is ultimately about.

Preludes and Recollections (complete): An origin story for Raine, who may be my favorite ToS character. I wanted to explore how she had to grow up too fast, where she gleaned her mistrust of the world, where she developed her propensity for blowing things up; also, her relationship with her mother. That, like Lloyd's and Kratos' parent-child relationship, is one of the ones that I enjoy most from the Symphonia world. This story, like all my stories, turned out to be somewhat dark, but you gotta work with the disposition Cthulhu gave you.

Violet Doldrums (complete): You don't hear much outcry from NPCs. Which is especially odd, since in many cases (this one especially), the world's destruction seems to be exacerbated by the misguided efforts of heroes. Many of them seem to think that the sky falling is a given. Many of them still express hope for the future. And all of them, because of their status as background decoration or tools used to complete sidequests, have their hopes and dreams and thoughts neglected for the sake of gameplay. I wanted to explore what it was like to inhabit the body of a helpless human being watching his life crumble around him, not blessed with the powers or fortitude to take on whatever is destroying his world.

Two Sparrows, Rising to the Sun (complete): In Wayward Sons, I decided to let one of Lloyd's parents raise him alone. Now I'm giving the other one a turn. Lloyd had always struck me as an incorrigible mama's boy, even without the mama. So I wanted to see how he'd turn out with her present in his life. This story is actually something of the "darkest timeline" AU. Shit gets real.

Legend of Korra

Enter Naga (complete): A horrendously un-canon origin story for Naga, and a general all-around failure at being a story. I wanted to write a bit about the legends of domestication in a world where every animal seems to be an inexplicable cross between something docile and something wild. Vaguely inspired by the animal myths from Richard Adams' novels. Highly recommended books, if you want to cry for weeks, which is apparently something I do for kicks.

Dark Sky, Cold Ground (complete): After the official canonization of Korrasami, I was such a giggling emotional disaster that I decided to step on the boat of what I only can assume is literally millions of people writing about Asami and Korra's spirit vacation. I'm not exactly one for happy stories, though, so rest assured I destroyed what could've otherwise been a nice holiday by sticking Koh in the middle of it. Koh is, and will always be, one of my favorite oddballs, so it's only natural that I ruin our heroines' good time by plopping him into their story like laxatives into the prom punchbowl. Has anyone else done that? Funny as nuts.

Legend of Zelda

Legacies and Bloodlines (incomplete): This story is the result of the seed of obsession Ocarina of Time planted in my little seven-year-old head. It's been growing for years, and I figured this site would be as good a place as any to post it. The narrative doesn't take place anywhere on the canonical timeline, but it was written as something of a response to the Zelda lore itself--there are elements from nearly every game scattered here and there about the story, so it's more of a collage than anything, disguised as a self-contained tale. The geography of the story is based (loosely) on the map of Ocarina of Time and the gamecube version of Twilight Princess, because those games provide the best layout for inter-provincial drama. There's a whole cast of original characters and a lot of expansion of the world itself, and consequently the story will be quite long. It's a big ol' monster of a fanfiction, but it's my favorite that I've done so far. So far. Given its prospective length there will be plenty of opportunities for me to ruin it!

Darkness, My Only Light (complete): From game to game, romantic or platonic, the Impa/Zelda relationship is by far my favorite in the series. This story finds Zelda recounting some of the more formative moments in her life, examining the years that made her who she is, and who she's not. It's also an expression of longing for a woman she loves dearly, but may never see again. You know, a usual weeknight.

Ars Heretica (complete): So TP Ganondorf is my spirit animal, hands down. He’s got looks, he’s got style, he’s got his dorky hairdo down pat, he’s got a four-part battle, he’s got a damn cute demon horse no doubt plucked from the jaws of hell itself. The man survives his own execution and punches the dude who tried to kill him literally out of existence. Afterwards he ascends to ostensible godhood, only to decide it’s kinda lame and basically piggybacks on some rando to overthrow not one, but two kingdoms. Oh yeah, and he just decides to use the instrument of his own execution as his sword now, because mementos, and he just walks around with that gaping, glowing wound in his chest seemingly just for intimidation purposes, no fucks given. And even when by some joke of fate he gets stabbed in aforementioned wound by some loser in a green hat, the guy doesn’t even fall over to die. Bless his heart, he croaks standing up, like we all aspire to. I needed to give him something. So I gave him a revenge story, with Midna thrown in for good measure. Because she’s the only other person who comes close to being as cool as he is.

Stories of Seven Temples (incomplete): A tale in seven parts exploring the origin stories of each temple in Ocarina of Time. They always struck me as weird places, since despite their designation as "temples" some of them didn't exactly seem like seats of worship. So I've thrown out a few bits of canon and made up my own stories for them; as well as exploring a few moments in the life of Zelda as she lives in the wild with Impa and slowly becomes Sheik, because I'm all about that semi-romantic Zelimpa forever.

All Roads Lead To Castletown (incomplete): Don't really know what this one is supposed to be. Decided that BotW lends itself well to some modern/scifi adaptation, but I also decided to ignore the fact I have no idea what I'm doing and start something that doesn't yet have an ending. We'll see where it goes! Possibly to the depths of hell, but at least maybe it'll drag me down there with it, mostly because I know I deserve it.

Undertale

The Many Souls of Asgore (complete): Just a little story exploring what kind of people may have fallen down below that mysterious mountain before Frisk. Though later I learned they were all canonically children, I wrote most of them as teenagers or adults because obviously I hate children.