Last updated July 4th, 2007: Coping Mechanisms and A Thing of Beauty.

Works of fiction. All persons are fictional and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All events are fictional. The province of Saskatchewan, however, is not fictional. All that follows is the intellectual property of I. B. Atkinson, who can be reached at iatkinson at sasktel dot net or startredder at gmail dot com. She is very, very pleased to receive any comments, feedback, or adoring praise you feel should be sent in her direction, and she does not bite when strangers want to tell her how great she is.

The gorgeous layout is courtesy of the always wonderful Meimi. My hero.

Most everything should probably be rated mature of some kind or other, because apparently kids -don't- learn to swear in kindergarten anymore.

In December of 2003, while Christmas shopping, a kind of hopeless guy named Erik and a hyperactive guy named Ray claiming to be a law-ninja just showed up in my head. Over the Christmas break I wrote a short story about Erik's moving into his first apartment, shortly before the beginning of his first year of university, a building that I would later, after much laziness, dub King Place. Sometime not long after that, every other semi-creative thought or idea in my head died. These are stories about Erik and Ray, their friends, their neighbours, and how much Erik thinks his life sucks. Sometimes, though, they aren't.



The Brief and Unlikely History of the Beggar of the Foyer - Erik arrives at his new home at the beginning of his first year of university.

On the Subject of Ninjas - Erik meets his new roommate.

Attack of Ballista Boy - Erik tries to get some peace and quiet hanging out with his best friend, and fails miserably.

The Great Pancake Expedition - Ray has a cunning plan.

Questing for Alcohol - Ray, Erik, and Dustin go on a road trip to Lloydminister, Alberta.

Multipurpose Roommate - Erik loses his keys and meets a neighbour.

Happy Halloween - A very memorable first Halloween in Saskatoon for Erik, Ray, and Dustin.

Ice Water Remedy - Erik tries to cope with schoolwork, final exams, and Ray failing to cope with final exams.

The Importance of Mac and Cheese - Exams continue to stress Erik and Ray out, food's running low, and Ray's invited someone over.

You Smell - Ray returns home for Christmas.

The Grassy Jelly Incident - The guys have been drinking and Ray decides to go grocery shopping. Grass jelly insues.

Desolate - Dustin contemplates emptiness.

Suicide Break

The Mystery of the Sexy Lady at the Door - While Erik's at the library, Ray tries to get in some quality gaming time.


Suicide Break - The beginning of February break, and Erik, one of the people who could definitely make use of a week free from classes, gets a very stressful surprise sprung on him.


Invasion of the Mini-Thor - Collin Thorbiornsen arrives.


Teenagers are Morons - Not long into his stay with Ray and Erik, Collin begins stirring up food-related difficulties and critiques.


Drowning in Stupidity - As entertaining as sibling dramatics can be, Ray's getting tired of repeat performances of the personality clashes between the brothers Thorbiornsen.


I am not Ray Fujimoto - Collin's stay in Apartment 306 draws to an end and Erik is very relieved. Not that this makes him any less irritable.

The Women from B.O.B. - It's time to decide about lease renewal at King Place, and Erik has to decide whether he wants to willingly to subject himself to another year of sharing an apartment with Ray, while simultaneously coping with confusing architecture, bad food, conspiracy theories, and the snow.

Indecent Exposure - Ray brags, Erik threatens to involve the law, and Ash punches things.

Dear Grandfather (You Suck) - Final exams begin. Erik needs to study. So does Ray. Technically.

Ninja Muffins - Ray versus fundamentalist Christianity. And bake sales.

Not a Party - It's the end of the school year. Naturally, Erik wants to get illegally intoxicated and play video games. Ray wants to party. Guess who wins? And guess whose soul and brain get crushed and traumatized repeatedly?

Summer

Zen and the Art of Employment - Erik quests for a summer job, which isn't made any more enjoyable by the presence of a roommate who doesn't need to work.


Inappropriate Emotional Response - After writing his LSAT, Ray wants to forget about it with partying. Erik, however, wants to sleep.

Intellectual Freedom - The new school year looms on the horizon as people flock back to Saskatoon and Erik is subjected to the most traumatic thing in the world: change.

The Perfect Place for a Serious Conversation - If Erik were capable of making grand speeches and showing subtle insight into the human character, this is where he would be subjecting Ray to such things. Of course, he isn't that guy, he's Erik Thorbiornsen.

Boney - Ray examines Erik.

That Monkey Game - Erik tries to relax with an old computer game, and fails utterly.

Snow, Damn Snow - Ray observes the evils of Canadian weather.

Suburban Nightmare - Erik celebrates his 19th birthday, but not in the way he had hoped.

Christmas Sucks - For varying reasons, Erik and Ray find themselves stuck in Saskatoon at Christmas. Erik doesn't care. Ray, however, has on his angstpants.

Christmas Hangover - Christmas day. Erik's hungover, confused, and not gay, and Ray just wants something to eat.

Tomatoes are Fruit - Ray gets antsy over something he reads in the newspaper. And by antsy I mean "batshit insane paranoid".

Strip-O-Gram - Visitors intrude on what would have been a peaceful weekend. Thankfully, they aren't Erik's brother. Unfortunately, Erik still has to interact with them.

Volunteers for Vodka - Ray's all about helping non-profit organizations . . . in the name of booze.

Coping Mechanisms - Erik faces an unexpected source of stress. Ray tries to help him deal with it, which may be worse than doing nothing.

It's Not Paranoia If They Are Out To Get You, But It Is Stupid - Ray can't sleep which means Erik isn't allowed to sleep.

A Thing of Beauty - Ray and Ash make a bet. When it's all over, hopefully Saskatoon will still exist and no one will be dead.

The Question - Seven-year-old Ray Fujimoto has an important question. And it's not -that- question.

Laser Tag - Anne Evans, mathematical genius of Ottawa's St. Faustus High School, runs into the ambitious new student, Ray Fujimoto, at a laser tag arena.

S. Erik Thorbiornsen. In colour and everything - oil pastels and ink. Very bad, but hey - colour!

Raymund I. Fujimoto. Oil pastels and a marker, which might be more impressive if there were more bright colours than just the yellow and red dead-face on Ray's shirt.

Ash S. O'Hara. Oil pastels, marker, and a very angry Ash.

Erik, Ray, and a cat. And, of course, The Couch Fantastic. Pen and ink, and nothing else, baby. Shame it sucks. But hey, look at the kitty!

Ninja Weight! Because . . . there was a reason for this at some point, I swear to God. Pen and ink. Check out the jeans on Erik!

Too Much FFIX. Oldskool, in ballpoint pen. Erik and Ray dressed up as Zidane and Vivi from Final Fantasy IX for . . . no real reason except "I felt like it".

Ray and the cat. Awwwww. Ballpoint pen on loose leaf.

Posing. In-class sketch, so of course ballpoint pen on loose leaf. Dustin, Erik, and Ray, presumably having their photo taken. I . . . have no excuse. Beyond "I was bored", of course.

Ray is the Snow King! Ballpoint pen on sketchbook paper.

Dustin Zachary McCloud. Just a simple drawing of Dustin on sketchbook paper with fancy, fancy pens.

Happy Dead Flower Day. A schmoopy pic of Ray and Anne.

The Sock Puppet of Love.

Happy Mother's Day. Wee Ray and Daniela celebrate Mother's Day. Pen and ink.

Fujimoto Family Portrait. Ballpoint pen.

Erik and a Moose. Pen and ink. A Giftmas present for Katie.

Forward, My Border Collie Army! Pen and ink. A giftmas present for Meg.

Our Heroes. A portrait of Erik and Ray in pencil crayon and ink. A Giftmas present for Geoff.

Superheroes! Erik and Ray dressed as Spiderman and The Question in pen and ink. A Giftmas present for Sarri.

Their Love is So ... Tiny. A pen and ink drawing of Sarah and Ash for Dead Flower Day.

Ray on a Cow. A pen and ink drawing that is exactly what it says it is.

A Day at the Zoo. What it says. Pen and ink.

Yeah, I'm not sure what to make of it either, aside from assuming the eventual destruction of the world.

Tomatogunner! by Mooncalf.

Banzai! Also by Mooncalf.

Dustin McCloud. Hooray for Mooncalf! with some really sexy shading.

Why Erik should never drink warm beer before bed . . . By Sarri! To accompany That Monkey Game. It's cracked out and adventure-licious, rolled into one!

Why They Call It That. A little comib thing by Moo! Featuring physical violence. Yay!

Fun! Pencil crayons and fence-related banter. Really! By Sarri.

Ray portrait by Sarri. In awesome, awesome ink.

Erik. Like above, only . . . Erik!

Asskicking Ray by Sarri. This just looks -cool-.

Erik and Ray . . . in Crayon by Sarri. She's like a art technique guinea pig. That, uh, experiments on itself.

Ray and Erik, adorably rendered in Layout Fairy Meimi's lovely style. Erik's never looked so cute.