WRITING

All samples written and owned by Rin Duong. Absolutely no usage of AI.

NINE TEARS - Excerpt

"My heart aches in the chasm between us. I am but a solitary echo of what I long for— love, connection, feeling. The only sense available to me now is an empty one. My sight is full of things I do not know. Things I have long forgotten. I see color and life. But I do not feel it."

The Boy In The Moon - Short Story Excerpt

“My moon, what is love?” A small boy in a small paper hat turned his small chin up to the vast sky. And his wide, almost transparent-blue eyes gazed into an unwelcoming emptiness. All was empty in that sky, except for his moon. It was an ocean of solitude.

“My boy, why do you ask?” His moon stayed stagnant, as it always did. And answered the question with another question, as it always did.

“Well, my moon, I have fallen in love,” The boy sat down on the grass, and then fully laid on his back to face his moon. “I have fallen in love. I think.”

“You think?” The white orb answered, again, with a question.

It was not long after that, a complete silence fell between the boy and his moon, as tears began to prick his eyes. His bottom lip quivered delicately. He tried to speak. He tried, and tried, but could not muster a word from his mouth.

“My boy, speak. Please, speak.” His moon cradled him as he curled up into a fetal position on the hill, right below the tree.

“I cannot. My moon, I cannot. It pains me to ask, but,” The boy spoke through tears and small shivers as he wiped the salty water from his crying eyes. “Is love supposed to be this painful?” Shaking, he held himself harder. “My moon, answer me, please.” 

Silent his moon stayed, for days on end. In silence he weeped, for so many hours it felt like stabbing his heart over and over with the same words. A plea of forgiveness, not knowing what he had done to make the moon run away. 

“Please, help me,” Sometimes, the boy would say through tears.. He wouldn’t know what else to do. It wasn’t like he had the moon.

Again, and again, and over and over, he paced across the hill until the roots of the tree shown through the ground. Until the grass was stamped out and the dirt from his feet formed a mound. Until the stars shined down on a lonely face, cold and unwelcoming. His gaze was so vast, his eyes still so bright. 

“Please, help me.” He would hear himself echo. As the echoes got quieter and quieter, so did he. So did he silence himself in the vastness of the world. He let the wind caress his face, drying his tears. The boy with the paper hat, a lost little boy who was never happy anymore - a boy who never left that hill, found himself staring into his own empty reflection.

LIGHTKEEPER: The Starlight era - Excerpt

Koroku falls to his knees, soft fabric draping over his exhausted form. Ceremonial Lightkeeper staff in hand, his grip loosens. The light flickers, and then it goes out. A moment of silence breaks the action, as if the entire world had its eyes on him. The kingdom’s people are left in awe. The darkness that had left them trapped in a state of sorrow that filled their minds and stole away their lives for centuries had dissipated in mere seconds. 

LIGHTKEEPER: The Starlight era - Dialogue Excerpt

“You feel it too, don’t you? It’s a calling.” Koroku kept staring at the fish, encapsulated by their glow. “Like the sun, they’re leading us on a path of light. One that prevails in darkness even below the surface.”

“You’re speaking nonsense again, brother.” Faelen shook his head, laughing. The two were floating gently in the depths, garments flowing with a slight glow just like the jellyfish around them. “Let’s go, then. You lead the way.”

BURDENED LANDS - Excerpt 

Pollen made her way to the edge of the large pool of water and leapt out onto the sheet of ice. She shook her fur, letting the water fly off rapidly. Rekavoran shielded himself with his wing to protect him from the tiny splash. He shook his wing like a wet umbrella and trotted over to Pollen, leaping out of the same water pool with great strides. He glanced back at the ripples in the water. A vibrant blue danced across the surface. The glow of the miniature dragons above trickled along the small waves. It was quite a hypnotizing scene. Ear-fins flicking with curiosity, his head jerked back to listen to Pollen as she abruptly began speaking.

“There is a chamber here somewhere, Scarletcry must be sleeping,” Pollen looked up to the ceiling, far, far above them. This ice castle was attached to a very large glacier and had dragon-made chambers and tunnels sprinkled throughout. The ice dragons seemed to be either sleeping or away, because the castle looked, sounded, and felt rather dormant. However, the sheer cold of the cave could have played a part in hiding their scent.

“Let’s take a look then.” Rekavoran flew up and hovered, turning around at every angle to try and spot the red dragon. Pollen could not hover with him, as she was far too large to do so. Rekavoran had no issue flying up the narrow cavity due to his smaller stature. His tail occasionally brushed against the ice wall, but that was it. He did not do any permanent damage to the castle. Pollen instead looked around frantically, as if she was not allowed to be in there. Reka picked up on her slight panic, hearing the pitter-patter of her feet on the ice as she uncomfortably shifted. Thinking nothing of it, the water dragon continued to search for his lost mentor.

Drops Of Fate: Chapter Zero - Prologue

“If I ought to be alive, I ought to make something of myself.” Kyndako sat atop the displaced tree branch, seemingly chatting to no one at all. Her voice echoed through the emptiness that sat before her. Her tail swayed behind her in a breeze that didn’t exist, drooping far below, like that of a fox made of paper maché. 

The universe was empty— if you can even imagine an empty universe. There were no birds to weave rhythmic melodies, no pitter-patter of creatures on a forest floor. There were no leaves to crunch, and no one to crunch the leaves. No blooming greens and popping colors, no melting temperatures and burning plants. In this space, no trees existed to experience each four distinct seasons. There was even no concept of time to advance to winter, to fall, to spring, to summer. And there were no animals to adapt to those changes. 

This large, lanky, and unusual being, sat all by herself on this branch. A branch that appeared more like a child’s drawing than anything else. It had a form, but it was strange. It was not like any tree that any human had seen. It looked as if a god had generated a concept of a tree, without ever actually seeing one, feeling one, or knowing one. What she sat on was but an idea, surrounded by a blinding emptiness with nothing and nobody else. It painted a lonely picture, but she was not lonely at all. One could speculate whether or not she could ever feel lonely, or if a being like herself ever felt alone in her own mind.

If time had existed, persisted, and dominated this space, she would have been doing this same routine for hours on end. Maybe even two whole days— 48 hours of nonsense. She would turn herself inside out, place her tail on her head, rip out her fur piece by meticulous piece, and dance with her bones while she was only a skinsuit— it was a horrific display of shifting her physical form beyond the casual boundaries of a typical universe. And after all of this, she would be perfectly fine. It is up to you whether you consider her “living” or not after that.

DEATH & DESIRE - Excerpt 1

“I need to meet the warrior face to face. It is my duty, and my right. I need to talk to her.” My pride got the better of me. I listened to my tone deteriorate into a statement to defend my ego.

“Talk? Have you not seen what she did to one of the Scouts? You’d be easy pickings for her, Sir. Especially if she snuck up on you. And humans are very sneaky!” Chevrik took a seat on one of the rock-shelf formations in the small room. His long, feathery tail hung so low it nearly touched the floor.

“I understand–,” I attempted.

“No! You don’t get it at all. If you got hurt,” Chevrik pointed a claw at me, “If anything happened to you, the entire cave would be in shambles!” 

He took a breath and settled down. “I get that you want to face this head on, but you need support. It wasn’t your fault you weren’t born with.. you know. But because of that, you don’t have the advantage of a high aerial view. If you don’t have that, the humans might set an ambush on you.”

And then what happens next? It’s, what, 20, 40, 50 to one? You won’t be able to take them all if there are more warriors like her.”

“You… make good points, Chevrik.” My mind spun circles around my heart. 

I just want to talk. I want to figure out this misunderstanding- tell the warrior the stories of how dragons and humans used to live harmoniously together. I just want to connect. Yes, we’re destroying villages to gather supplies. But this all has been a last resort. 

“No matter what, I have to speak with her myself. If she is as powerful as they say, her influence over the humans must be just as great.”

“Okay,” Chevrik sighed. “If Vier and Weshlie follow you from above, then I suppose it’s fine. But you know you have to take this up with the people as well. The monthly meeting is tonight, so I expect you to know what you need to do. Everyone’s worried. Word spreads quickly, but you know it’s because we trust each other,” Chevrik fluttered to the door again and heaved it open. 

“And we trust you, too.” 

DEATH & DESIRE - Excerpt 2

Through my body coursed a fire so hot I could feel my blood burning. 

Gods, help me. I have dug myself into a grave I will never forget. I can’t erase this. Everything is already set in motion. I go with it, or I don’t. Either way, nothing is going to end up in my favor. 

I shifted my gaze to hers. Again, I stared. I tried to lose myself in those deep brown eyes of hers, which were even darker in the night. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t bear it, no matter how deep she pulled me in.

“No human will ever understand me.” I looked her straight in the eyes, hoping my gaze would somehow sever the ties between us for her own safety. I can’t play two-faced anymore, I don’t even know what cards I’m dealing.

“And if I said I was willing to try?” 

Tears. In both of our eyes welled the same water that’d once fallen from the sky, into our bodies and out again. The same tears that sparkled like stars against the moonlight. Tears, gracing her face that bore scattered scars. 

Please, don’t make me love you again. 

A sparkling teardrop fell from my face. 

You don’t know how much it pains me to deny you of everything I want us to be.

Dear Aspen

Author: Rin Duong

You're not yourself with me, my dear aspen tree

For me, you give what you think is best

—a flurry of colors apart from the rest

For me, you change like seasons come and go

But my dear aspen tree, for all you know

I like you better when you show your carvings

And when you keep your wilted leaves, letting them fall naturally

When you show me all the branches you've lost

When you tell me about the storms that cost

everything

But you're not yourself with me, my dear aspen tree

For what you give me is what you think I want

because I am one of the only lumberjacks

Who has not cut you down, who has not destroyed you,

used you for my own woodworks, or carved my initials into your skin

But I am already carved into your heart

There is nothing here to thwart, my dear aspen tree

But you are not yourself with me

I think you think you are, maybe

But I observe you with your fellow aspens

From behind the darkened shrub

And you are a whole different Aspen

Hiding not only your love, but your true colors

Though the show you put on for me is quite a beautiful sight to see,

You are not yourself with me, my dear sweet aspen tree. 

I see it in your bark, your leaves and your roots,

You wish to be yourself, but to also have proof

Proof that you are beautiful

Proof that I see you

My silly aspen tree, isn't that rough?

To change yourself for me, just to be enough.

Social Media Addiction: Attention Is A Finite Source - Argumentative Essay Conclusion

Without a doubt, short-form social media is highly effective for online creators and business owners. Online platforms encourage it, and creators follow suit. But all that said, short-form social media proves to be unmistakably harmful to its consumers, as it is much more addictive than standard social media. Social media, in general, already has negative impacts for many. Coupled with its now bite-sized form, it makes for a dooming stew of seemingly inescapable habits. The consumption of it continues to negatively impact mental health, shorten attention spans, and ultimately disregard the importance of genuine human connection. Media is constantly changing to benefit the concise. It becomes a trap that leads to social media addiction for people of all ages. Of course, these impacts vary from person to person, and the long-term impacts of short-form social media over-consumption are still being researched. However, once you recognize the consequences in your own life, you can begin reclaiming your attention. Play a stupidly funny card game. Ask how someone’s day went. Appreciate the weather. Eat dinner without your phone. Take breaks, and most importantly, stop to smell the flowers. Literally! Unless you have bad allergies. In that case, smell the metaphorical flowers in life. Regardless, your attention is a valuable, finite resource. Time spent is time you can’t get back. What do you want to spend it doing? 

Author: Rin Duong

Publish Date: June 5, 2025

A Safer Approach to Social Media

Introduction

Ever had the urge to start a social media account but aren’t quite sure what to look out for? Aside from analytics, scheduling, and the actual content itself, safety is one of the most important categories often overlooked by many first-timers. Because of how accessible content creation has become, it is easy to assume that these small details do not have big consequences. I have been a content creator since 2018, and learned young from personal experience and observation about how crucial a safe approach to content creation is.

Sensitive Information

Being a public figure comes with its perks and downfalls. There are plenty of opportunities for business connections, revenue, and an entirely new world separate from the one you enter when you walk outside.

The downfalls come down to these few things: Your face, name, address, home, family, and local locations, to name several. When blogging, many first-time creators are very open to making videos in their own home or in outdoor locations very close to where they live. More times than not, you will find them showing their face, sharing their legal name, and other information that would be considered sensitive if that person were not a content creator.

Generally, it is good to set rules for yourself on what is safe to share and not. Let’s run through a list of sensitive information examples. What kinds of things should be kept private or edited out of your videos? Here are a few to look out for: