For nearly three years, I’ve had a reoccurring dream of an epic choreographed battle for one of my main characters. His name is Braden Pierce, the godfather’s nephew and one of the most dangerous swordsmen in the syndicate. For nearly three years, I’ve built up the circumstances, the motives, the purpose that drives Braden into a spectacularly violent battle against the best mercenaries an ego-centric, sadistic billionaire can buy.
Finally…after already completing 31 chapters, churning out over 400 pages…Tomorrow I begin “Chapter 32 – The Berserk Tribute”. The title named in honor of the “Berserk” anime I watched back in 2005.
Finally I get to put my dreams to paper. This is weird, right? To dream of the same violence for so long. But its not the violence that I find beautiful…its the martial arts. Its the choreography and how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together to the groove metal soundtrack in my head. It’s over a hundred cause-and-effect action sequences that blend together like the circuits in a rocket ship. It’s the emotion, the anger, the hidden desire, an explosion of freedom that’s conveyed through brute force and unrestraint action.
Tomorrow I aim to create the most detailed (graphic) action sequence ever written for a novel. And before you judge my guilty pleasure, I ask that you just stay tune for the release of the novel and decide for yourself whether certain nefarious characters had it coming.
The following are raw unedited thoughts from yours truly. Read at your own discretion.
Sometimes I wonder…vainly of course. if Jesus Christ was like me in his twenties. Bearing the pressures of expectancies of family, toiling and committing himself to his craft that was carpentry and fish…all the while resisting destructive impulses and fighting off the waves of crashing temptation of fornication and immorality and drunkenness, and covetousness and acts of violent revenge against perpetual offenders.
Why did it take him till the age of 30 to get baptized? Could it be that he himself understood himself, and recognized that he knew he was not ready to commit himself to that path. I wonder if he too, saw the hypocrisy of other clergy-men and proselytizers who led double lives and promised himself that he wouldn’t become one of them.
I wonder if he too, saw the flaws of boxing himself into one religion when he knew better than most that the way others were worshiping Jehovah, while it may have been earnest and in good intentions, were overall daunting and diminishing to the souls, the different hearts that needed a different approach when it came to them approaching and praying to God.
I say different hearts, because more and more, I’m beginning to believe that not all hearts are the same. Is there a study of hearts? Like the study of psychology, and I realize that my use of “hearts” if figurative and thus, vague and intangible and essentially non-existant. But it’s the feeling we all have, and not everyone feels the same. And I think that’s okay.
For instance, my life is saturated with men and women who don’t know I exist, but they are in my world because I have learned of them, either through news articles or random research. Even those who do know I exist, often and understandably presume that I hate them just because they annoy me. But it’s not hate. My annoyance with them is based on the lives they lead, and I care because I love them.
The love I bear for them, is incomprehensible by many of my peers because they either don’t believe it or can’t understand it. I weep for families I’ve never had the pleasure to make their acquaintance. My heart is girdled in chains when I hear of victims. My skin peels and crackles into embers when I hear of children sold into slavery, their lives ruined and tainted by the selfishness of adults who care nothing or see nothing beyond a certain point like spiders.
The more I see…the more my heart cries and begs for wickedness to be washed away sooner than later. I sometimes lament being born at all and then slap myself for thinking I’m any better than they who I cry for. Why has such a walking contradiction such as myself been allowed to exist? The strength I continually prayed for has been given to me, and with it I keep walking. But for how long? I wonder, if that’s why I crave purity and innocence for my company.
“Surround yourself with like-minded individuals” they say…
I won’t go so far as to say that’s impossible. But I will say that I’m tired of looking. I am the lone wolf who talks to everyone. I judge everyone as everyone judges everyone. To call me judgmental is to declare yourself judgmental. There’s nothing wrong with it. To accept oneself, the essence of romanticism and inner peace and happiness and an honest unbridled and naked self to present yourself in your prayers…what’s the point of it all if we continue to deny what’s right in front of us. The obvious truths we ignore for the sake of…fitting in?
Appearance – 6’1, 180lbs. Shaved head, slender athletic physique. 32 known tattoos on his upperbody, from the back of his head down. The tattoos on the back of his head conceal surgical scars
Body Modifications – Extensive cybernetic prosthetics implanted due to a massive spine injury. Right solar powered eye capable of discharging heated concussive energy beams.
Weapon of Choice – Firearms specialist. Known particularly for his signature pair of twin long-barreled semi-automatic chrome plated pistols.
Biography –
A rebel to the core, Sean Pierce chose his code name due to the irony of blind cave Mexican Tetras. When assigning his code name he was given the choice of eagle or hawk to compliment his legendary sharpshooting ability, but he chose Tetra because those other names were worn out, cliche and played by “lame” characters in history. So, he chose to go with the most misleading name while avoiding other animals with poor vision like bats and moles.
Sean Pierce is the younger brother of the more feared and popularly infamous Braden Pierce, aka the Godfather’s Sword. Braden received this moniker due to the fact that he and Sean were nephews to the boss of the Pierce Syndicate and billionaire CEO of the Pierce Corporation, Isaac Pierce.
Like Braden, Sean can’t remember much before his parents were murdered in 2194. Unlike Braden, Sean didn’t witness the murder because Braden shielded him from seeing their mother’s dead body. Thus, Sean lacks the silent coldness that consumes Braden. He lacks the sense of responsibility and maturity that Braden has displayed at an early age.
While Braden was put under the tutelage Guile Takizawa to learn the art of swordsmanship at the age of nine, Sean and his adopted Irish brother Forrest were shipped off to train with the older Black Creek Security soldiers at the age of fourteen. During those brutal, arduous years of training Sean showed a natural talent with his marksmanship, mastering a wide arrange of long ranged high-power rifles, machine guns, submachine guns, assault rifles, and hand guns. Braden and Sean were so separated during their training years that Sean bonded with Forrest and subconsciously considered him more of a brother. Braden has often sensed this and would make up for this by being overprotective later on during field missions.
Going against his Braden’s wishes, Sean took the Furyx Gene at the age of seventeen and nearly died from the injection, spending two months in the coma. The Furyx Gene is a gene-modification drug developed by Japanese pharmaceuticals to permanently enhance the user’s strength, speed, with all five senses heightened. The downside of course is its 68% chance of subjects dying from violent cerebral hemorrhaging fatalities. Sean did survive however, and as expected, his sharpshooting ability excelled beyond imagination.
His most impressive feat came during his first international assassination. In that mission, Sean perched himself cloaked on the balcony of a hotel with a modified M82 scoped rifle. At 2,275 meters out, Sean used a high-powered scoped rifle to snipe a state senator who was throwing a birthday party for his daughter off the coast of Tampico, Mexico. The yacht was so far away that the police didn’t even know where set up a trajectory. Sean’s uncle rewarded him with two antique long-barreled semi-automatic chrome plated pistols with his name engraved on it. These twin pistols would become Sean’s signature weapons.
With the combination of his deadly precision, his uncle’s favor and being the younger brother of the most feared enforcer in the Western Hemisphere, Sean’s natural cocky swagger has never gone checked. It would only manifest and blossom into a greater arrogance, narcissism and blazen disrespect towards authority and the rules, set by both law enforcement and the strict structure of the syndicate.
For instance, while most Black Creek soldiers wore standardized black professional uniforms. Sean and Forrest would casually strut the murder scene with hip hop apparel, complete with heavy coats, gold chains and trendy hoodies. Not only did he talk trash and dish out threats out to Tampa’s top tier mob bosses, he acted on those. Often times, killing associates for the most trivial offenses. Like tapping their shoulders, playing bad music. Or sitting someone else to a table after Sean and Forrest entered an establishment and made their presence known.
It wasn’t until his fight with Eliza Christie where he was kicked off a speeding train and sent crashing through an office building that he began to wizen up. But only to an extent. After Eliza kicked him into a building he spent nine months in rehab following his cybernetic surgery. The team gave him a new bionic spine and a right eye that can blast a solar powered energy beam. It has to be recharged by sunlight for three minutes after each use. Blasting this beam takes a strenuous physical toll on his legs and back so he only uses it as an ace in the hole.
While Sean appears to have matured in the face of the Syndicate’s top brass, in the eyes of his trusted friends,Forrest and Silver, Sean continues to enjoy the finer things in life, splurging on fancy cars, running up tabs at the casino and clubs and fathering six children from six different women before reaching the age of twenty-one. And if you think being a father has slowed him down, think again.
Sean has ambitions of moving up the power ladder within the syndicate. But no matter how much success he achieves, fate seems to be working against him. Eventually he comes to accept his place in the underworld. If he can’t take over the throne, he’ll gladly slaughter hundreds to make sure Braden will…Whether Braden wants it or not.
Sean’s calling card is was shot three times in the face at point blank range, a bullet in each eye and a direct impact into the tip of his victim’s nose.
“The Ability to Forgive…A New Practice for Me”
By Rock Kitaro
Date: December 26, 2014
Primary Ft. Yankie and Double K – “I’m Back” –
“Forgive but never forget…”
For the longest time that statement has seemed mature, wise and innocuous, but for some reason a brooding glare of retaliation washes over. I’ve just come out of a personal phase over the past couple of months in which I’ve taken a lot of time to reexamine the kind of person I’ve become. To better myself, from this point on I think I’m going to try something new.
Forgiveness…
Ever since I was 17, the driving force behind my wanting to succeed has primarily come from the negative energy instead of positive. When we think of positive energy, we typically think of encouragement and support from friends and family. I didn’t have a lot of that growing up when it came to things that I enjoyed and wanted to do. I’m sure a lot of teenagers can relate to that.
Well into my junior year of high school, it was my drama teacher who encouraged me to use the abundant amount of negative energy that I was submersed in as motivation. She told me that she saw so much potential in me, that I had stage presence and talent. She told me to use those negative emotions as motivation to be productive and succeed.
But is that healthy? Is that how I want to continue to live my life? Is that what I want to run on when I get married? Is it what I want to pass down when I have children?
In 2206, Tampa Bay has become a paradise for organized crime. Isaac Pierce, the billionaire CEO of the conglomerate Pierce Corporation is also the kingpin to the largest most dangerous syndicate the world has ever seen.
Eliza Christie is a fifteen year old, spiteful and impulsive. When her father, Det. Emil Christie begins to theorize the existence of a possible syndicate and that Isaac Pierce is indeed its benefactor the good detective is murdered. Eliza bore witness to this murder. Only, she views it as a theft. The syndicate has stolen from her the only man worth staying out of juvie for. The only man worth exercising restraint. The only man who could be called family.
She doesn’t run and hide. She doesn’t go to the police. She doesn’t think to ask anyone for help. Instead, Eliza Christie takes up the sword and rides the train out to Ybor City in search for satisfaction. To Eliza, “Revenge is a dish best served when I serve it.”
No one is safe from the wolves of the syndicate. In the four years that the vindictive Eliza Christie was sent to live abroad, the syndicate’s power and influence has only continued to increase with bolder more public acts of terror. Young up and coming enforcers become superstars of the underworld. Forrest is a dagger-wielding maniac who revels in up close and personal kills. Sean Pierce is a sharp shooter whose swag and careless attitude belies his serious gift for precision and accuracy. And Braden Pierce…the deadliest of them all. The mere mention of his name sends a paralyzing chill down the spine of those who oppose his uncle. Unlike Sean and Forrest, Braden lacks a criminal record and his physical appearance has never been officially documented. He’s managed to avoid the press with many believing his existence was just a myth created to scare opponents to submission. But at least one person believes he’s real. Eliza Christie has seen him. Braden Pierce was the teenager standing over her father’s dead body with a bloody sword in hand.
Vol. 3 – A Reunion of Beasts
Welcome to Ybor City! Over the better part of the 22nd Century, this downtown Tampa club district has prospered as the American Empire’s new obsession. What happens in Ybor City doesn’t just stay in Ybor City but chances are they’ll never find you again. Whether you’re caught in the crossfire of some turf war, entranced by the abundance of sexual indulgence or swallowed whole by the fortune to be made on fights and street races, Ybor City is the world’s favorite addiction with the common side effect of death.
Violence erupts when the vindictive Eliza Christie finally confronts her father’s murderer in the VIP section of a packed nightclub. Pandemonium ensues as the crowded sea of flesh and revelry bear witness to the spectacular swordfight that gives birth to the urban legend of the “Three Kings of Ybor”. After unleashing her fangs for the first time, Eliza enlists fellow freshman Robby McCloud to help her create an underground militia to take on the Pierce Syndicate. Of course that’s easier said than done, which Robby explains as he educates her on the history of the Five Pillars of Minority. The Five Pillars of Minority were the last legitimate threat to the syndicate’s supreme authority. They came close to destroying everything the Pierce set out to accomplish…but in the end…
Everyone remembers the killers. No one remembers the victims. August the 18th stands to change all of that.
Comprised of battle hardened ex-military and off-duty police officers who have lost all faith in the constitution, August the 18th is an underground militia in which every soldier has suffered from the abrupt murder of a loved one. The dearly departed all have one thing in common. Whether they were in the wrong place at the wrong time or sacrificed themselves in the line of duty, the husbands, wives, sons and daughters have merely become a statistic in the body count attributed to the infamous Pierce Syndicate.
With the cutthroat Eliza Christie leading as their commander, August the 18th finally takes a stand to unleash destruction and disruption on the terrorizing world of organized crime. This of course, starts with raiding a notorious casino, exposing a corrupt police superintendent and rescuing a political prisoner from a Haitian hit squad over freezing waters. In spite of their impressive start, August the 18th Captain Priest Edwin voices his understandable concerns toward the longevity of their merry little band. With the overwhelming presence of a modern day Caesar, Eliza Christie declares that she is the 1st Generation Commander of August the 18th. The idea of future generations continuing on through the sands of time sparks an undying fire in her men. If there are to be future generations…none shall surpass the first.
Sometimes when you hear screams during a storm…the screams are real.
It’s been nearly six months since Eliza Christie created the vigilant August the 18th to combat the American Empire’s most powerful mob. She’s seen her share of triumph and glory…but it cost the lives of over a dozen ex-military vets who have elected to put their lives in her hands. The time has come to end the bloody war once and for all.
In August of 2009, I wrote a 90-page screenplay called “August the 18th” It was an organized crime thriller set in the future revolving around three notorious outlaws. The next month, I wrote a more action-packed 120-page prequel to that screenplay called “The Three Kings of Ybor”. It was made to sensationalize how those three outlaws rose to infamy.
After a five-month campaign, I’m finally releasing the last e-book of the “Three Kings of Ybor” series. I just wanted to thank you guys, my friends and family for the enormous support you’ve shown me. It’s not easy, so the encouragement is always welcomed. I know many of you have been asking for hard copies of the books and after much consideration, I’ve decided to honor your request and make the series available for print by mid to late November. I’m taking a risk by doing this because I’ve been told that it’s harder to sell the printing rights once they’re already in circulation.
But that’s all right. My well runs deep. As long as I live, I’ll continue to create new stories, new characters, and new worlds. It’s difficult and oppression comes from all fronts, but I’ll prevail. Believe in me and you won’t be disappointed.
The “Three Kings of Ybor” will always be my flagship piece. Until the day I die I will always keep developing it as a franchise that can be made into video games, TV shows and of course, the dream of having it appear on the big screen. I’ve already written an 80-page treatment for a second novel that takes place three years after the events of “The Three Kings of Ybor” saga. It’s called “The Pierce Syndicate”.
Thanks for everything – Sincerely, your good-natured storyteller, Rock Kitaro
I can relate to the sorrow of being Clark Kent
By Rock Kitaro
Date: August 28, 2014
It isn’t about the powers.
It isn’t about being great or better than anyone else. It’s about the isolation. Being an alien amongst a different race. It’s about being born with a gift or ability that no one else can either comprehend or choose to believe that you have. That frustration of revealing who you truly are to someone else…only for them to either doubt you, look at you like you’re weird…and worst…for them to try to change you when you’ve made peace with who you are.
The best I can do is illustrate who I am through fictional characters. If people know that a character is fictional, they’re more willing to let themselves believe in that which makes the character different from everyone else.
Whether its stubbornness or outright rebellion, there is just something in me that refuses to behave or think the way the majority says I should. I’m not able to jump on the bandwagon or ride the trends and become a stereotype…even if it helps get me what I want such as fame, fortune, or love. I just can’t. The compassion, the conscience, the moral constitution engrained within my very being won’t allow myself to cross various lines that society has gradually lowered year after year.
It’s gotten to the point where I wish I could. Just to be able to feel normal. Just to fit in with what everyone else is doing.
“You’re not the only one going through what you’re going through! Everyone feels this way sometimes.”
I say, show me. Because I can use the company. And I know they’re right. I can’t be the only one. And I have found people who at least understand what I’m going through. But they either live hundreds of miles away from me. Or they’re decades older than me. This is part of the reason why I revel in the thought of getting older. The older I get, the more normal I feel. Because I already think and prioritize like I’m in my 40s.
I’m doing my best to abandon the idea that people who can’t comprehend are stupid. But at the same time, I can’t just say that I’m different because everyone is different in one way or another. So what should I do? Should I just not waste my time trying to explain, even to my closest friends?
Because if someone were to tell me that they felt alone even though they’re surrounded by many…I’d just get it. I’d understand and sympathize with them, telling them that they’re not alone. We are a rare breed but I’d encourage them to keep on whatever path they’re traveling. I wonder if its simply a “you either get it or you don’t situation.” As a writer, this worries me. I wonder if people will be able to understand the plight of my characters whose worst adversaries are themselves.
Despite the hollow abysmal pain of walking this path alone, I hold my head up and smirk with defiant determination. I’ve come so far. And even though I’ve had help along the way, the main drive…the main person encouraging me to keep going all these years was none other than myself. No…that’s not true. God’s been by my side this whole time.
“Revenge is overrated if your target is everyone.” – Robby McCloud
How does one stop a terrorist organization? Can it ever truly be stopped?
Eliza Christie and August the 18th has set out to match blood for blood in a brutal war of attrition against the notorious Pierce Syndicate. The situation goes from brutal to tragic when the conflict ends up taking the lives of over thirty Tampa police officers. Racked with guilt, the resentful Eliza comes to a fork in the road where she must decide whether she should disband the 18th or continue to put herself in harm’s way. Her best friend Robby reminds her that at the end of the day, essentially they are just college freshmen.
Just when all seems hopeless with every path just as bleak and dreary as the next, salvation arrives in the form of a blue-eyed angel. After keeping to the shadows for months during August the 18th guerrilla war, the enigmatic private investigator Gavin Hassell takes to the stage. Aside from uplifting Eliza’s distraught spirit, he comes bearing a dangerous yet viable plan to stop an impending Pierce Corporation takeover.
Gavin is a wild card. No one knows his motives. No one knows his background. No one knows that he’s just as deadly and strong enough to stand toe-to-toe with the syndicate’s best. All of this makes him extremely unpredictable with just cause to remain skeptical. To Eliza, none of that matters. Spurred by hot-blooded lust and an insatiable desire to ravage his body, Eliza digs deeper and finally learns the truth about Gavin’s grizzly past. As calm and sedated as he seemed, who knew such fits of rage could devour him whole.
Let’s face it, if you look at the American mainstream music scene, its almost difficult to compare it to the 90s and 80s where even men and women in their mid-40s could bust out a top ten hit. Nowadays, it’s all about trends and spectacle. But what if I told you that there is another country teeming with artists who can do what today’s pop icons do…but better. To make it clear to you fans who already have your torch and pitchforks at the ready, this list isn’t necessarily talking about the “best” Korean artists. It’s about the Korean artists who could literally come over to the land of the free and stand a chance to succeed in the mainstream.
10 – Block B (BlockBuster)
If you checked out the music video, paused it, and still hear the trumpets blaring in your head…congratulations. You’ve only experienced but a taste of what Block B has to offer. Debuting in 2011, this seven member hip hop group has already proved their talents by winning multiple awards not only in S.Korea, but in Europe! Led by Zico, one of Korea’s top ranking rappers, Block B has become a household name with their first full-length album “BlockBuster” topping out at number ten in the “Billboard World Albums” chart.
Think of BoB and Bruno Mars. Eminem and Rihanna. Chris Brown and T-Pain. Justin Timberlake and Jay –Z. All of these artists take two huge followings and combine them with a single song to create a larger demographic. Now imagine a single group where you have all of that, three top of the line rappers and four crooners to captivate the audience. There’s no need to have another artist feature on the track because Block B is more than capable to deliver on their own.
What separates Block B from the hundreds of other kpop groups out there is their wild charisma to perform without an emphasis on the appearance. Primarily specializing in hip hop and dance Block B has been through their share of adversity and continues to produce club anthems like “Nillili Mambo” and “Very Good”.
Every mad man talks about taking over the world. But what’s the point? The world is too huge, too vast for one man to maintain dominion over it. So what they end up doing is taking over the world, not for themselves, but for the warlords surrounding him. Billionaire business magnate Isaac Pierce accepts and exploits this concept. It’s one of the main reasons why the Pierce Syndicate has flourished.
In the heart of the American Empire’s largest metropolis, August the 18th has waged guerrilla warfare against the most dangerous criminal organization in the world, the Pierce Syndicate. Billionaire business magnate Isaac Pierce has no choice but to retaliate, calling an emergency meeting of his respected warlords, the Board of Directors.
Kennedy St. Massacre Book Cover
Just to name a few, Renji Amaruto is the ruthless heir to the largest yakuza group in Japan. Benjamin Garrett is the world’s youngest billionaire who would order a raid on an entire village to just to kill a single penny-stealing theif. Michael Helms is the all-smiling chairman of the notorious Black Creek Security firm with an unnatural affinity for explosives. And then there’s David Pierce…Isaac’s last surviving son. With an insatiable greed to expand and conquer, David won’t let anyone halt his ascension as the next head of the syndicate. Even if that person happens to be his own flesh and blood.
Stage In The Sky 