A writing tool I've been using to add suspense and tension.

A music video of the ultimate fake-it-till-you-make-it psychic. Word count: 7509

Merlandese muses about how to approach hidden meaning in narratives.

Thoughts on Walt Whitman and art.

Merlandese talks about the theme of identity in Square-Enix's 2000 JRPG hit Final Fantasy IX.

Two kingdoms are at war, and the only hope for peace is serving an impossible soup to a picky prince. Words: 6969

After a long night of sweat and blood and desperate tears, I created a technology that replaced life with words. Words: 4416

An insight of parallels about parents and feeding them. Based on several true stories, and a story of unknown validity. Words: 2055

A lifetime of revenge without a cause. Words: 5619

A historical town, its keepers, and its cutlery face disaster when a rule is broken: someone has been taking photographs of the tourists.

Words: 509

A post-life slacker and his dead aunt solve a mystery. Words: 6078

A man is falling, and all anyone can do is watch. Words: 3787

A very personal goodbye to Brazil and the things I’ll miss. Words: 1475

A lonely postdoc is tasked with caring for her elderly neighbor’s fake cat. Words: 5808

Someone in Sao Paulo has cursed his roommate, who is now transforming into a pig. Words: 4802

Preface to a story set in Sao Paulo. Words: 269

A year after a boy's death, friends and family are plagued by the answer to his simple game of 20 Questions. Words: 4223

An artisan crafts medicinal dreams. Words: 1989

Two second-generation Japanese hoodlums try to rob a convenience store only to be puppeted by its destructive owner. Words: 2252