EJ Baumgardner
Bio
A writer through and through, I just want to perfect my craft and build a community. This place would not exist without both, you and me.
Stories (17/0)
With Great Love and Pain
Being comfortable is a discomfiting idea. Being comfortable means being vulnerable, and I don’t know if I’m ready to take that leap. It requires trust. I’m not sure I can find any trust in my heart. My heart, which has been broken too many times before. My heart, which has grown cold from the distance I put between myself and anyone else. My heart, which has grown afraid of love and affection.
By EJ Baumgardnerabout a year ago in Filthy
A Starlit Journey For Two
Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Mozzy heard it from two rooms away. Technically, he and his wife weren’t in space. They were in an interdimensional pocket that was linked to the physical form of a magical suit of armor traveling through space toward the nearest star. But his wife had screamed loud enough that they might have heard it back on the surface of the planet they had left behind.
By EJ Baumgardnerabout a year ago in Fiction
The Ballad of Rika Strong-Arm - Episode 7
We stayed in Tarethia, the undercity at least, for several more days. Reading my work for money was a dream come true, if less exciting than I had initially hoped for. I wasn’t getting rich, by any means, but it was a very validating experience to know that so many people resonated with my words. Where I had always felt out of place in my life, I now was just another member of the unwanted, unnoticed masses. Or so I had thought.
By EJ Baumgardnerabout a year ago in Fiction
Like Clockwork
He awoke with a splitting headache and a gun in his hand. The cylinder of the revolver was freed, revealing one round already spent. He lay slumped between two large wooden crates. He could see shelves against the other wall, not far away. They were filled with metal boxes and various tools scattered about. He was stuffed between the crates like a dirty rag someone had tried to hide instead of washing. There was a light rattling, a constant noise that seemed to repeat on an endless loop. It did his head no favors. He latched the cylinder back into place.
By EJ Baumgardnerabout a year ago in Fiction
The Ballad of Rika Strong-Arm - Episode 6
It was several miles before we saw any buildings. Amelia explained that the elves lived high up above in the trees, and I frowned when I couldn’t find them. Where were the walkways? What about bridges between trees and the houses built around the trunks? Looking up at those massive trees, I could only see branches so tightly interwoven that they were nearly a solid mass.
By EJ Baumgardnerabout a year ago in Fiction
The Ballad of Rika Strong-Arm - Episode 5
I had never been much of a walker before. Sure, I would go for hikes in the summer, or wander about town, aplenty… but I had never spent 8 hours a day just walking. Thankfully, we weren’t in any real hurry and took a half-hour break every two hours or so for the first few days.
By EJ Baumgardnerabout a year ago in Fiction
The Ballad of Rika Strong-Arm - Episode 4
Unsurprisingly, it came out that Harley had tried to kill me during the storm. He had untied the rope and nearly tossed it overboard while Fynn was distracted. Luckily, Frost had said something just in time, urging my red friend to come rushing to my aid. He and Harley had fought, which had been the jerking I had felt while fighting with the shark and caused the rope to be unresponsive to my tugging. Thankfully, Frost had taken hold of the rope before it could be lost in the scuffle.
By EJ Baumgardnerabout a year ago in Fiction
A Day Late But, A Dollar Over
To my father, Thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve given me. Thank you for being my dad. You are the hero I have always needed. You are the sort of person I aspire to be. Kind, caring, compassionate, thoughtful, and brave. You are so knowledgeable about so much I once thought I understood but find myself confused by as time passes. The older I grow, the more I realize how often you’ve been right all along. I wish we could have had more time together when I was growing up.
By EJ Baumgardnerabout a year ago in Families
The Ballad of Rika Strong-Arm - Episode 3
Thankfully, sparring matches with Fynn never got quite so intense as that one match again, but I was far from done with my training. We avoided full force throws, or other maneuvers that could disrupt the crew, but Fynn was still trying much harder to hit me than he had been before. Part of me wished we could train with less intensity, but I understood the importance of using real force. In the event I was required to wield a blade, I would need to strike with intent to kill, or be killed myself.
By EJ Baumgardnerabout a year ago in Fiction
