Not a whole lot to say this week—Ardor Online 2 is winding down. Not done, not yet, but winding down. Realistically, I'll have the draft done in a week or so, and then realistically it'll take another few days to edit, because this one's already a whopping 23k words and it still has more to give. Very proud of it so far, and very excited to show you all what I've spent almost the entire month of May writing.

It is, dare I say, that good shit.

Thank you always for supporting me, for reading my work, and for taking care of yourself!

I remembered before bed edition!

Nothing too much to report. One of those weeks where I've been writing and nothing else, which I should always be grateful for. Ardor Online 2 is . . . most of the way done, I think. But a very slight "most of the way." If Ardor Online 1 was "two scenes," AO2 will be "three scenes." Hardly an objective metric but that's internally how I think of these things. Anyway, I'll keep writing, and serve up that Good Good when the time comes.

Thank you all for all that you do!

Stella Starr's tier 3 subs showed up in force—Bodyslyde is the next story to get an update!

A bit preemptive, but having the poll felt good for me. I love writing what I want to write, but I also love writing what people want me to write—so setting up a poll of things I want to write so that you all can vote on what I want to write about I should write about feels like a best of both worlds scenario.

Now I can't always guarantee I'll run a poll for the between-commission work—there may be more works like Hex Mania in the future, where I'll be gripped by inspiration or a compulsion to contribute to a shared cultural moment, or I may succumb to some individualized brainrot (Hex Mania was both). But as long as I'm not gripped by an all-consuming desire to write one thing only, I'd like to keep polling. I may indirectly rig the polls by only including works of similar popularity (or unpopularity), and when my number of ongoing works dwindles (I swear I can finish a story) I'd also love to run concept/theme polls, like voting for writing prompts.

Progress on Ardor Online 2 is tearing along—10k words at time of writing, and I'll probably still write more today. My day job has been a stressor—there's a big important project that has a really vague action plan and due date hanging over my head, and it makes me restless and unhappy. Thankfully, I have writing to retreat to—as much a means to work out that stress as visiting the gym (and even better to do both 💪).

Overall I'm happy, healthy, and writing a lot, so the mild uptick in workplace stress is something I can handle. Thank you all so much for reading my work and for supporting me, and take good care of yourselves.

The first chapter in a three part commission, thank you NextWave!

Shyvana has dedicated her life to a country that doesn't love her back. Love cannot bloom on the battlefield, but how about a lizard-girl's crush immediately after a battle? Can a vulnerable half-dragon stay true to herself, or will momentary weakness lead her down a new life path?