Topher Lydon

:: chuckles :: West is going to kill Graves. If he doesn't, Peter is going to.

Supreme arrogance, his hall mark. I have a new pretty thing to play with, run back to your husband... I'll kill him later. Graves is a pig, thinks only about his... "victory" over his precious 'flowers' and not at all on his job. At least he's consistent.

Garrett's been busy?

told ya, angry Peter

Caffeinated Right-then as Riley'd say

OMG it's Kyle!!!

CHAPTER 22 - THE BEAST, THE TWINK, AND THE RABID WOLVERINE Location: The Manse (Graves’ Requisitioned Estate), Merrickville Sector Time: 2130 Hours. A Stifling July Night. The “Manse” was less a house and more a mausoleum for the living, a sprawling Victorian estate of garish red brick and gingerbread trim that the occupation authority had requisitioned three years ago. It squatted on a bluff overlooking the St. Lawrence, its windows like dead eyes staring across the black, sluggish w

Poor Kyle's donut, he's earned that donut through epic amounts of vegetative lounging on the couch... I swear Kyle single highhandedly keeps the Cool Ranch division profitable

honestly, it is tiring. Here is how I know I push to hard. It starts out with a fumbling, I repeat sentences, or descriptions... or i find myself going back over the text again and again. Then comes the headache, tingling thing starting at the temples and moving inwards. I think I can push through, instead of listening to the warnings. I end up making more mistakes and getting irritable with it. I'll take a couple of paracetamol and again try to get back at it... invariably I have to stop, and realize that I've done it again. It isn't a pleasant experience, but it takes a while to break through the brain fog. My person tends to find it annoying, I get lost, time just zips by. He can have whole conversations with me and I have no idea what he's on about. Zero recollection. Brain's just on autopilot. Flow state I think it gets called these days. My week this week has been one of this happening more frequently. I hit a stubborn piece of text, and I feel like I am hitting a brick wall. I can write, that's not the issue, but damn if it isn't working. Taking a rest today has been... enlightening as to how tired I've been making myself. So much so that I am going to start working time off into my schedule, because it really helps. Also I do have a large back catalogue, so I can take a rest and maintain posting. So there is that. I think part of this today has been me realizing that irritability is a warning sign. Dealing more with myself than with other things. I don't mean to boast, it certainly wasn't the intent, I merely think I am trying to tell myself something. That I need a break.

The post I made was regarding a response to bumps, how some chapters don't go to plan. :: shrugs :: For example I wrote a chapter regarding a plane crash from 45000 feet. I didn't think about it on a technical side, to me there was nothing wrong with it. Till it is pointed out that the technical limitations of said crash, stuff well beyond my wheelhouse. I needed the plane to crash, I needed my characters to survive, it was only post publishing that said issues were brought to my attention. Mistakes like this happen, it is frustrating but inevitable. Perhaps taking a break is in order, I did today as a matter of fact, I put my feet up, had a nice cup of tea, and reflected. And decided to share my thoughts on it. Because this is how we learn, and how we improve, by listening to feedback and not getting brought down by it. I felt if it was a good lesson for me, perhaps someone else would benefit. Hope that enlightens as to my intent.

I love how Kyle's become the Anti-Brian

Man, you know Kyle now has to be the one to do it... 'cause Screw Kyle

Gotta have somewhere to watch Streisand.

I definitely agree there. His lunge for Oliver is very telling. Tarquin also doesn't know about the Red Note Book being out in the wild. He'd become a lot more dangerous were he to learn about that. Things are coming together for the endgame. Pieces carefully aligning, we just need to get the players to the stage. The Climax is over a three chapter arc.

You are 100% right Honestly I think he's heading for a breakdown. It's too much to dump on a kid in his early twenties. Problem, again, that Tarquin doesn't see in his arrogance, is that his brother is coming apart at the seams. And if he goes down, Tarquin is finished.

Hell yeah...

Thanks man, I am getting there, think I am down with a headcold... which would explain my inability to get stuff done today.

Will would disagree, while sipping coffee and nodding fervently. Andrew would put him in a headlock, noogie him, and switch it for decafe

Also both Tarquin and Oliver are written to have glaring flaws, they are not what their father hoped they'd be. The whole story is about Alistair's epectations for his boys. His "Great" plan that has been systematically undone because boys aren't machines, they aren't perfect. They have their own desires... their own needs. Tarquin's is that he wants to be King, Oliver's is that all he wants is freedom. Orel is the only one of the three that is both King, and Free. This one was written really quickly, I was publishing early chapters before the whole story has been written, it's a lot... rougher than my regular story where I have time to go back, edit, adjust pacing and characterizations... I broke one of my rules and I am paying a bit for doing so... But I truly hope the story is compelling.

Sorry um he locked the vault it was the bookcase he left unlocked, apologies... I thought that was clear. I will correct that. Nope he definitely closed the vault up:

speaking of which, back in 2001:

Real Merrickville-Wolford is also a bit of a snooty place, it's rather wealthy and full of very rich families. So... you know... we're going to enjoy our little wet, wild, and hockey adjacent world :

I actually have a really big fear of this. I am often asking myself, it is too much, am I going overboard in places... are there too many gay boys around... Then I look at all the other places around, were this Straight-topia... and my couples were straight we wouldn't be asking this question... the CW-verse Merrickville wouldn't be questioned... so... I'mma gonna have my gayboy paradise, thanks to Orel Magic, and I'mma gonna keep going with it. Pooor Lydia, always the bridesmaid, never the bride!

I have always written fast, I was pumping out the Falcon Banner chapters like this back in the day. I tend to turn my brain off and just write. I am up around 3-4am usually, and I work. I am medically retired, so kind of bored out of my tree. I do a rough draft of my chapter, do an AI pass over it for spelling and grammar SPEND and HOUR arguing with said AI about it eating entire paragraphs for "Pacing" fixing it by ignoring the AI entirely... more coffee, second pass of the chapter then I put it away. Then I start working around 8am on the second chapter, same process... Now I cheat a little, most of my chapters are assembled from two or three writing sessions, usually in my afternoon I will go back over and write additional scenes... which I slip into previously written chapters to bulk them up. I average around 10-12k words per day. And NOT ALL of it is usable... I don't toss stuff, but my cutting room floor is littered with wreckage... A recent project I am doing has had SEVEN rewrites... it's a mess and I am thinking I am going to have to put it away for a while... it's just... yikes... square peg, round hole and I have a jewellery hammer to try to get it to fit... not going to work. That's my secret, me... pain... and extreme amounts of boredom. I also read at a rather terrifying pace, former University Prof. So... comes with the territory. I use AI for editing, spelling and Grammar passes.... but it is not really designed for that... keeps wanting to make my married couples "BROTHERS" with rather intense and weird sex lives... never ever ever trust an AI with your manuscript it is sneaky, and very bigoted... so everything that comes out of a spelling/grammar sweep needs to be read twice for potential "inserted crap" Trying to think of what else I do... oh, regular breaks, I chat on my comments section... alot. It's a distraction that lets me focus... I typically finish my writing day around 6pm. So it's a good 14-16 hour day just writing.