In which Kindra has a great time and everything goes tits up for Titania.

This one was a TON of fun—so much so that it's almost four times longer than chapter 1, so it goes to early access instead of public release, because I only get to write stories this long thanks in large part to you all.

Enjoy! 

Bleugh! Been working through a depressive episode the past two days—nothing to worry about, just something that hits me from time to time and wipes out my energy. I took yesterday as my 1/week day off writing, and was able to write today without issue, so we're back on the upswing.

Hex Mania 3 is close to being done (real). After that, Ardor Online 2. When I start working on AO2, I'll throw up a poll for the next Pandion Original™ to get an update, and work on that once AO2 ships.

In which I post a day early for once, instead of several days late!

Progress on Hex Mania 3 is good—6k words as of time of writing, with WIPs going up in the Discord as per usual. I'd like to take some time to talk about commissions.

Commissions are complicated. They're where I make almost all of my writing money, and I really do enjoy writing to specific specifications, to an audience of (primarily) one person, and earning positive feedback from them (as well as the paycheck). It's fun to throw myself into satisfying someone's very specific wants, because as a long-time hypno art enthusiast, I know how good it feels when you see art that gets it. I think every fetishist has a similar experience—encountering a piece of art that resonated so uniquely to their wants, and usually by accident. You may have heard me say before that the reason I write, more than anything else, is because there aren't enough people out there writing exactly what I want to read. I have a great many incredible peers (like the excellent Kallie) who make works of incredible quality featuring kinks I adore—but even then, they don't quite satisfy, and I'm left wanting more.

Ergo, I must write.

And one day, I would love to be able to support myself just by writing—but that day is yet far, far away. And that's fine. I write because I have to. Making money off it is a privilege, one that I try to recognize and appreciate for what it is.

But it comes at a consequence—namely, I spend so much time writing commissions that my personal stories, Bodyslyde and OEI first among them, with Heroine Will Not Lose also lurking in the background, go long lengths of time without updates.

Hex Mania also doesn't help but you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.

This dilemma—the balance between commissions, which make me very comfortable amounts of money and personal stories, which are probably the reason you're reading this blog in the first place, has bothered me for a while. Even within a commission-heavy paradigm, I've had pain points: Right now, commissioners go months between new chapters for their comms (with the patience of saints, if you're a commissioner reading this, I love you for it) and that has increasingly felt unfair to me. Waiting is one thing—waiting in the middle of the story is another.

So! With all those thoughts in mind, I've been trying to think of a better, fairer, more transparent, more agile framework to write within, and here's where I've landed:

Starting from now onward, my current "rotation" of works is locked down. New commissions, should I receive them, will not enter the writing rotation, until I have finished all but one current commission. At that point, a queued comm will enter the rotation, where it will remain until finished.

The workflow I envision will move thusly:
Chapter of Commission A > Personal Work > Chapter of Commission B > Personal Work > Chapter of Commission A > ...
until Commission A is complete, at which point it will be replaced by Commission C, and Commission B with Commission D, etc. Two ongoing commissions, with personal works (OEI, Bodyslyde, Hex Mania, HWNL) interspersed between, resulting in a clearer understanding of when you can expect your commission to be completed.

Additionally, after this chapter of Hex Mania, I think I'll have worked through the brainrot sufficiently that I can start polling my subscribers for which personal work gets the next update. So if you really miss Stelle or Marie Mukao, you'll be able to say it.

I've updated the Trello to reflect the new workflow—it doesn't look very different right now, because it won't until I finish the current crop of comms.

Please let me know how this new system sounds to you—either in the replies here, or on Discord, or in DMs. I have the privilege to get paid to write—so it's my responsibility to make sure I'm taking care of all of you as best I can. Thank you so much for supporting me, reading my works, and surviving this blog post.

In which I have little to report beyond business as usual. With Dragon Tamer Neeko ch1 wrapped, it's onto Hex Mania 3. Since this is non-commissioned work, WIPs will be going up nightly in Discord, and you can check those out if you're a WIPper or ignore them until the chapter's read.