the trick is to keep breathing

(content warnings: i just talk about the shit that's going on rn cause i gotta, but if any of it is triggering for you, be careful or scroll past)

so, as it turns out - as anyone could have predicted - i'm behind AF on nano.

look, a lot of it is that the first week of november got tied up in the hellhole that was america's election. fuck. i had done a lot of research and i knew what to expect and i STILL DIDNT KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT. that entire week was draining as fuck and even the relief of them finally calling it for biden was destructive and devastating in its own way. (i cried. i dont ever cry. i fucking bawled.)

and some of it is another lesson in preparation. i have a great outline for this novel! i know all the plot beats for all three plotlines! but i didn't practice getting into either character's voice, so while im still writing, it's very third-person-onmicient type, very distant, rather than the third-person-intimate that im going for.

and ive become STUPIDLY hung up on that! LIKE, ITS STOPPING ME FROM WRITING. i realize i just need to forge ahead and i'll find their voices eventually, but like, brain matter no go. head empty no thots.

SURPRISINGLY, though, if i count all words i've written (including nano, patreon, work words, fanfic, etc) i am on pace to hit the 50K. guess what I might be doing, rather than focusing entirely on the nano words. fml. etc.

my two oldest nieces are coming this weekend for their birthday celebration. when they were young i decided that instead of birthday gifts, what each girl got was a weekend alone, just with me, where we would do super fun things and they get to have all of the focused attention from their aunt and uncle. it's worked great, but this year, because of the rona, their schedules are all fucked up (you would not BELIEVE what my bro and SIL have had to work out to manage both of their jobs with 3 children under the age of 7 at home; it's crazy), and we wanted to limit the travel as well. so both girls are coming together to stay with me, to celebrate together. i'm very excited, but wow, that's also been a whirlwind.

i had to clean the entire house. the thing is, when you've been in house since march, and you're already disabled, and you're depressed, and you're tired, and you have 5 cats, the house can quickly get to a pint where you really give no more fucks about it. hugely. bigly. i had to summon my mum, Crown, and murder husband to help me out with it, but now the house is gorgeously clean and i am happy. doing all the work at once was kind of a sledgehammer to the face tho, RIP me, but i did it.

fought with Crown over a bunch of stuff too. it's resolved and we are in a better place after having it out, but that also hit me like a fucking pickup truck, thanks.

also didnt help nano.

isolation is weird. i dont mind being alone - i love being stuck in my house alone, that's like, my dream world - but i feel like i've hunkered down here in other ways as well. friends i used to talk to daily, i check in like once a week. a BIG part of that is, well, having nothing to really say. my new contract remains in covid limbo, my other work continues, and my desire to write a novel to sell is just aksjdlkasdjggs, so like, ??? why bother to talk, there's no news here, etc.

im also just not very good at staying in touch because of (reasons) and the situation is compounding that and really doubling down on it. how can i reach out to people when im spending most of my mental energy not going completely batshit??? "hey demons. it's me. your boy."

i mean i also feel like other friends are pulling back as well, probably because none of us really have anything new to say. it's just an interesting side effect of isolation, i guess?

plus it's the jazz hands depressssiioooonnnnn ~! for all of us!

i really just exist on discord these days. honestly.

ANYWAY.

i haven't yet given up on the novel, nor have i given up on trying to grow my kofi and patreon to help me out in these terrible times. (crankyoldman, thanks so much for the Kofi! that covers this month's entire Chewy order! <3 <3 aaaaaaa ILU and i miss you guys!!) it's just such a bizarre fucking time to be a conscious thinking creature and that's weird, i guess.

went to target and bought a bunch of men's shirts for the winter. sorry but for what i want men's clothes are vastly superior. you can't get a women's t-shirt that's long enough to go over hips or really be tucked in unless you find a "tunic length" and they're like $25. i got 3 mens tees for $18. i also now have a giant hoodie with thumbholes. bless.

plus big ass sports bras. i just want my tits to be comfortable. dont always bra them, but like when im cleaning they gotta be held. gently. softly cupped in place so that they don't get tossed around too much. i dont know where im going with this.

i just want to be comfortable here in my private cave.

the stasis of isolation. such an odd year it's been this last month.

Ko-fi for the cats || Patreon for CYOA and the novel || Sev's Pub, my creative works discord || carrd for the rest

captain's log: i'm ahead in nano at the moment, which is great, but im hitting the point where i haven't thought much about the transition from intro to story. so i'm... just writing. whatever happens to come out. editing is for losers, uh, i mean, for december. i know i'll get there and i can always use my usual [BUTTS] placeholder where i mark a scene that needs to exist but i haven't met it yet.

it's funny; i've done a complete 180 so far for november. i'm sticking to a schedule, i'm more proactive with work, i'm getting things done around the house. i've challenged myself to be a real functioning adult in november rather than a waste of space wearing a scarf, and i'm not perfect yet, but progress is being made.

mama rosa is in my lap right now while i type this, her head resting on my ankle. it's really sweet.

does anyone want to see snippets from Reflections (the nano work) or i mean i'm gonna post them anyway so oh well

Hey y’all — figured I owe some people updates on their commissions.

I’ve gotten sidetracked the last couple weeks, for three specific reasons:

1. I started working for an online client and it was a bit of a struggle to figure out how to get their style to meet mine;
2. I accidentally became the mod of an incredible MCU fandom discord, where we chat and stream movies together and do word sprints, and it’s very very fun except that I accidentally run a discord now I guess;
3. The leadup to Avengers: Endgame, and the aftermath, was actually my first time experiencing something so big in a fandom that’s alive and current, so while the MCU is still just the MCU, I kind of let go and let myself enjoy the hype and excitement of being a part of that, cause I could.

That being said, I’ve looked at my money situation again, and I’m ready to get back to working on these commissions, and I’m probably going to have to reopen commissioning at some point. More on that in a second; here’s what I’ve got in the queue:

• queenlua/@queenlua — Sokka piece, 4000-5000.
• sepdet — a beautifully hilarious intricate crossover of FF into LOTR, 5000+
• lassarina — Locke, Celes, and Setzer pull off a heist and then porn happens, 5000+.
• flonnebonne — something from Momentum-verse, length TBD.
• /@clintobarto — prompt TBD.
• kebarnett88 — GW, 1x2 pining, nice full prompt, 3000-4000.
• RainDriesOut — continuation of the soulmark universe, Tony and Steve, 4000-5000.
• some lesbians who are paying me to GIVE HER THE STRAP fucking /@kangofu_cb /@aw-Hawkeye-no /@spidergwenstefani, likely to be over 10K of absolute filth.
• /@awheckery — Winterhawk In Kushiel , length TBD.
• /@mispelheim — winterhawk, misunderstandings trope.

As you can see, this is a lot of words to write!! And I am excited to get back to them!! It has taken me longer than expected, and the other reason is - as you can see - switching back and forth between fandoms can be tricky when you’re in one headspace and need to type switch to another. It’s harder than I gave it credit for, really.

That being said, I intend to turn in all of this work by the end of May.

The reason is, there’s more bullshit going on with my fricking pension payout than I expected, having budgeted for a huge cashout 01 May that isn’t here, and unless I can convince them to to an off-cycle payout for something THEY fucked up I may have to open commissions again. If so, they’ll open 15-20 May, with a new post and new price points.

Anyway — anyone on that list, if you’ve got additional ideas, now’s the time to throw ‘em at me! More inspiration always helps. I’m doing some paid work today but I’ll be starting on one of the top three tonight.

Thanks yall for the support, I have not forgotten and I intend to make good on all of these, yay me