"A Tale of Fire and Panic" - Chapter 11: Leaving Noob Isle

If you are new to Project:  Spiral, then click here to read the teaser, or click here to read from the Prologue.  Otherwise, welcome back!

Content Warning!

This story contains instances, descriptions, and frank discussions of:  depression, personality disorders, and other mental health issues; suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts; child abuse and neglect; graphic violence, war crimes, and institutional/systemic violence; gender dysphoria, body dysmorphia, and transphobia.  Reader discretion is advised.

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"Project: Spiral" - Art Update #19

Sliding this one in under the door!  Look, between the tutoring gig I took on (which just recently ended), holiday activities, arguing with fascists and proto-fascists on the internet, and mental health stuff, I actually haven't been able to do more than 20 hours of work on P:S in the last two months.  This is me getting back on track.  I had a bunch of written material ready to go, but it has all run out, and now it's friggin' Christmas.  ANYWAY.  I'm just writing off the last three weeks of missed updates, because I love myself and sometimes I just fall off the map like most authors and artists do from time to time.  Here's some work on my self-portrait, trying to just bang out the solid color fields:

Click for huge.  I haven't blacked in the lace on the dress,but that's a whole fkn thing and it's my bedtime, so whatevs.

That is all for now.  I'll see you on Saturday for a chapter update.  I've been struggling with this one, because Chapter 11 (Journey to Salinas) is forked in three different directions for most of it, and there are plot points from each of them that I want to include, which makes it way too long.  But if Chapter 11 is split into two, then Chapter 12 (Over the Sands and Along the Coast) becomes Chapter 13 (Hope's End), and Chapter 13 is supposed to be when Pannych dies.  So... uhh... I mean, that was just a happy numerological coincidence, and I'm willing to let it go.  But I spent way too long staring at the screen and trying to decide.  I'm decided now, though, and Pannych dies in Chapter 14 now.  Oh, well.  Maybe I'll smash together a couple chapters earlier on when it's committed to paper.  We'll see.  Cheers!

101 Interesting Things, part fifty-nine: YouTube Cover Bands

We thought the internet would enable people to educate themselves, put an end to disinformation by making fact-checking easily available to all, bring the world closer together through open communication, and radically open up artistic collaboration.

Uhh... instead, we enabled people to look at cats (and porn), gave superpowers to disinformers, balkanized the world with micro-communities that enable all kinds of awfulness from pedos to Nazis, and... wait.  We actually radically opened up artistic collaboration.  One outta four... is an F minus minus.  But at least it's not an F minus minus minus!

Today, I want to talk about some of my favorite cover bands that I only found out about because of YouTube.  There are cover bands older than YouTube, of course, such as Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.  But YouTube makes it possible to check out their sound and then... do whatever?  I guess you could participate in the crowdfunding, but even if you don't, there's still the ad revenue they get.

Ew, that means I like something a corporation did.  Le sigh.  I can't be all-commie all the time, I guess.

"A Tale of Fire and Panic" - Chapter 10: The Influences

If you are new to Project:  Spiral, then click here to read the teaser, or click here to read from the Prologue.  Otherwise, welcome back!

Content Warning!

This story contains instances, descriptions, and frank discussions of:  depression, personality disorders, and other mental health issues; suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts; child abuse and neglect; graphic violence, war crimes, and institutional/systemic violence; gender dysphoria, body dysmorphia, and transphobia.  Reader discretion is advised.

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"Project: Spiral" - Art Update #18

I have missed a couple of art updates while everything else has been on autopilot during this busy time.  Rather than backdate a make-up post, I'm just gonna leave 'em like that to rub my nose in it.  And here's a self-portrait I'm working on, because I don't feel like doing Tom's cabin right now.

I realized at some point that this is the first time I've ever tried to draw myself, unless you count a thing I did when I was fifteen:

I still like that drawing, kinda.  Hey, it's just a couple weeks away from being twenty years old!

Anyway, here's the sketch overlaid on the photo, because I always think that looks neat:

OK.  Time to get back on these art updates!

"Stories About My Life," part 9: Six Scars with Stories

While P:S is in editing mode, I thought I'd write up a few stories about my life.  These are things that I have wanted to talk about, but haven't really been able to because P:S is written mostly from the perspective of my seventeen-year-old self.

If you've been reading these stories since the beginning, then I feel like we're friends.  Not really.  But close enough.  And today, I want to talk about something personal:  the stories behind my scars.  This post was inspired by this video that Lady M shared with me:

I just love her foul-mouthed positivity!  (Seriously, how could that not be up my alley?)  Anyway, we'll get right to it.  Content Warning for child abuse, self-harm, NSFW stories, and (SFW) photos of scars.

"A Tale of Fire and Panic" - Chapter 9: Offender of the Gods

If you are new to Project:  Spiral, then click here to read the teaser, or click here to read from the Prologue.  Otherwise, welcome back!

Content Warning!

This story contains instances, descriptions, and frank discussions of:  depression, personality disorders, and other mental health issues; suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts; child abuse and neglect; graphic violence, war crimes, and institutional/systemic violence; gender dysphoria, body dysmorphia, and transphobia.  Reader discretion is advised.

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"Stories About My Life," part 8: Tamment and Norissiel

While P:S is in editing mode, I thought I'd write up a few stories about my life.  These are things that I have wanted to talk about, but haven't really been able to because P:S is written mostly from the perspective of my seventeen-year-old self.

Today's story is about my friend's Extremely Homebrew d20 RPG we just played today (I'm writing this in early September) with some of my old college buddies.  As P:S is loosely set in a d20 fantasy world, I thought it might be cool to get an idea of how my friends and I actually play.  Enjoy!

"A Tale of Fire and Panic" - Chapter 8: The Next Morning

If you are new to Project:  Spiral, then click here to read the teaser, or click here to read from the Prologue.  Otherwise, welcome back!

Content Warning!

This story contains instances, descriptions, and frank discussions of:  depression, personality disorders, and other mental health issues; suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts; child abuse and neglect; graphic violence, war crimes, and institutional/systemic violence; gender dysphoria, body dysmorphia, and transphobia.  Reader discretion is advised.

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"Stories About My Life," Part 7: My Dumb Ass

While P:S is in editing mode, I thought I'd write up a few stories about my life.  These are things that I have wanted to talk about, but haven't really been able to because P:S is written mostly from the perspective of my seventeen-year-old self.

Today's story is 100% in service to the idea of character balance, because the picture I've painted of myself so far is that of a Chaotic Good Legendary Polymath Ninja, and I don't want to leave the impression that I either have no flaws or are unaware of them.  So here are several quick stories of me, being a complete and utter dumbass, just to paint a more complete picture.  The last one's even Halloween themed!  Enjoy!  Also, BEWARE NSFW CONTENT.

"A Tale of Fire and Panic" - Chapter 7: The Loaded Die

If you are new to Project:  Spiral, then click here to read the teaser, or click here to read from the Prologue.  Otherwise, welcome back!

Content Warning!

This story contains instances, descriptions, and frank discussions of:  depression, personality disorders, and other mental health issues; suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts; child abuse and neglect; graphic violence, war crimes, and institutional/systemic violence; gender dysphoria, body dysmorphia, and transphobia.  Reader discretion is advised.

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Careful What You Wish For

Right.  So.  I get these ads from the Wish app whenever I'm browsing Faceborg, and lately, they've been getting... weirder.

Like... what even is this?  A homemade grenade press?