ddwebb

slogging ever on

The following is cross-posted from the update I put on the newest public chapter on RR, because I don't even have the mental energy to write a second explanatory post today.

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Hey, everybody. I'm really sorry about the long silence there. Don't worry, I'm not dead and not abandoning...

And a happy new year

Welcome to 2025, everyone!

No great urgency in this notification, I just wanted to stay in contact for transparency's sake. Last you heard from me I was taking the holiday off and planning to be back at the start of the year with new content. That is still the plan, I am simply struggli...

I wish everyone a safe, happy, and blessed holiday season

No matter what holidays you celebrate, or even if there are none, I earnestly hope it treats you well. I know things are rough for a lot of us; just remember that no matter what is going on in the world, the one thing you can always do is to show some kindness and caring, to yourself and especia...

Status Report

Hey folks! I'm here to provide an update on what's going on, what's been going on and what's about to be.

You've probably noticed the slowdown in new chapters; those who are active on my discord server are also likely aware I have been struggling through a particularly bad depressive episo...

Attack of the Return of the Revenge of the Brain-Eating Weevils

Hey folks.

I find myself once again at a place it seems like I've been too many times before. Specifically, the place where I recognize how many times I've been here before and what I have to do about it, that as usual I really don't want to even though long experience has taught me it's t...

Progress update

Sorry for the long silence, everybody!

As I indicated previously, I took a break from new chapters to work on the TGAB manuscript, and that...did not go as I'd hoped. The project itself proved a lot more difficult and involved than I'd anticipated, and then just for flavor I had a flare-...

H - 48: Tell Me

She should have gone to Dragonvale.

Cora’s week in Spiders Gorge had been productive; all her preparations there were laid, and should be undetectable to any passing adventurers. Nor had she taken so much as a scratch, being more than capable enough to handle colossus spiders. Even better...

H - 47: Living Well is the Best Revenge

“I’m sorry I kept this from you, Izayaroa.”

Kaln had rarely put so much effort into his delivery, but the stakes here were far more than just maintaining his relationship with her. He made his voice a performance, but a subdued one: sincere, warm, and above all, calm. Th...

H - 46: The Truth Reflects Well on You

“You know Kaln as a smooth talker and a people-pleaser,” the shadow declaimed while they all pushed their will against the force of its words. “Now, I know we’re none of us on intimate terms, but I’m willing to bet that some of you can’t help reacting with ...

H - 45: The Tale of Ar-Kaln Zelekhir

Kaln had lived through enough moments in his life in which everything fell apart that he was practically a connoisseur of them. To his surprise, now that this one had arrived, he found that it wasn’t all that bad, to the point he was almost unsure what he’d been so worried about.

In the...

H - 44: You Tell Her

Kaln was not a fighter. Even in the rougher taverns he and the other scribes had sometimes frequented, he’d always been proud of his ability to talk his way out of fights with even the most drunk and aggressive dockworkers. So he’d simply never realized how liberating it felt to just haul off...

H - 43: Family Are the People You Find Yourself Stuck With

The toast was actually pretty good when separated from the charcoal; Kaln found the crispy texture of twice-cooked fluffy northern bread delightful, particularly when it was used in its intended purpose as a vector for butter and jam. The bacon was edible, once he showed Pheneraxa how to drain it...

Having a rough time

Hey all, just checking in because it's been a while since I posted anything and I don't want y'all to think I disappeared or anything.

I'm having a flare-up of a long-standing dental problem that would cost way more than I can afford to have permanently fixed. So, once or twice a year, I g...

H - 42: Do You Not Have Toast

“Good morning!”

“Hello,” Percy answered with less enthusiasm, emerging carefully into the kitchen where Kaln was making breakfast.

“Help yourself, I’m just finishing up here,” he said, scraping eggs around the pan with a wooden spoon—the pan handle glittering with jewe...

H - 41: So She Would Be Safe

It did not matter how somber the mood in the palace or the city of Boisverd was—it mattered even less how the Queen suffered. There was work to be done, there was a nation dependent upon her. To be royal was to be responsible.

This view was not universally held among the household, but th...

H - 40: Why Would You Even Have Something Like That

“I didn’t say it was a long story,” she said defensively.

“No, but you said it was funny,” Kaln snapped. “Do I look amused?”

Vadaralshi twisted her head to an angle, studying him. “Little bit? But I figured your face was just shaped that way. You’re a s...

H - 39: Go Easy on Him

“Yes, that sounds fine,” Emeralaphine said vaguely, waving a claw at him without looking up from her books. Kaln had never seen enchanting being done before, and the spectacle was fascinating: she had one volume centered on a table, with the others waiting off to one side, and surrounding it ...

H - 38: Suck it Up

“I’m glad you’re gratified,” Kaln snapped. “And yes, I am being glib, but also genuinely. However, I asked you a question to which I need an answer!”

Tiavathyris’s smile faded. He could feel the shifting torrent of emotion in her… And after a mome...

H - 37: Feel Better?

He stormed out through the front corridor, gratuitously scraping his claws against the Timestone. It was so much nicer now that it was clean. In that moment, he hated it.

Vanimax burst out onto the landing and paused, flaring his wings and swiveling his neck about in momentary...

H - 36: The Simplest Thing Then Would Be to Just Kill You

“I don’t…think my life is in danger,” Perseverance said slowly, frowning, then suddenly glanced around the room and grimaced. “I mean, um, at home, not…you know. I mean… I do not believe my family would have me killed. But, um… There are other ways to get ri...

H - 35: This is Absolutely Hideous

It was really consistent with how this day was going that he didn’t get two steps before the next interruption.

“I hope you are not considering acceding to that…insane request, husband.”

Tiavathyris’s tone was notably flatter than usual. Kaln stopped in his tra...

H - 34: The Balls on This Girl

This was a disaster in so many obvious ways that for a second Kaln was frozen, his mind locked up as he tried to simultaneously parse everything that was definitely going to go wrong as a result of this. What jarred him out of it was Izayaroa, who began stalking forward toward her son with a snar...

H - 33: Something Terribly Annoying is About to Happen

The day started with a good breakfast, or in Kaln’s case, an adequate one.

He managed un-burned scrambled eggs this time; really it was just a matter of using the right amount of oil—much less than he would have assumed—and taking them off the heat at the right time. The...

H - 32: It's Not Her Fault

He never approached the level of “friendly,” or even “personable,” but it was amusing how much better Shadrach the wizard behaved when under the eyes of two unimpressed elder dragons. Back in Kaln’s chambers in the lair that afternoon, he had just enough brainpower to spare from keeping...

H - 31: You Might as Well Come In

It was a surprise to Kaln how much he enjoyed flying; he’d always thought of himself as a bookish type, forced by life circumstances to go out and have physical adventures. But the thrill of it was incredible, something he would clearly have to ask his new family to treat him to regularly.

Well that sucked

The short version is my apartment flooded.

The slightly less short version is that I'm fine, everything is probably going to be fine, but things are going to be upended here for a little while and I expect this to have a distinctly negative effect on my work output.

What happened is m...

H - 30: It's Less Funny When it Happens to You

The hoard of Atraximos the Dread contained some truly surprising novelties. Browsing through the contents, Kaln discovered that it should be possible for him to assemble an entire kitchen out of various enchanted tools which would be able to do everything from conjuring its own water and banishin...

H - 29: The Second Answer is Portal Magic

Izayaroa snorted in such intense exasperation that she produced a puff of flame. Vadaralshi immediately mimicked the gesture, and then before she had the chance to evade, Tiavathyris grabbed her right behind the head with one talon and pushed her to the floor, shifting her whole weight to stand o...

H - 28: A Whole Different Pair of Pants

“Hold tight, Kaln.”

“I see her.”

That was one inaccuracy per sentence; he actually couldn’t see her as such, but he was keenly aware of the presence of another dragon homing in on them with focused intent. It was by the same suite of dragon-related powers that ...

H - 27: The Affairs of Dragons

“They have departed the city?”

“As of an hour ago, your Majesty,” Clarent answered, seating himself at the conference table. “In precisely the manner I predicted. As such, there are as yet no further developments to report.”

“Very good, M. Clarent, thank you,” Queen He...