no_apologies | Reading

Hello! Sorry for missing yesterday's check in. For a grand total of four (4) people (plus one dog), Thanksgiving gathering ran much longer than anticipated.

Poll #33889

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What are your weekend writing plans?

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Writing!
0 (0.0%)

Reading!
0 (0.0%)

Revising!
0 (0.0%)

Outlining!
0 (0.0%)

Taking a break!
0 (0.0%)

I, uh, also did not come prepared with a new word for the day.

BUT I do have news that the 12th Edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary has been published! So many new words!

gs_silva

Heather and Jon used to date, broke up, and now they're together again. The other girl is nameless at the moment, but she also knew Jon before his motorcycle accident.

Prompt: Quirks in romantic relationships
from

tesariel

gs_silva

Me, an allegory:

brussels sprouts all over

I can't even stand coffee right now, idk.

Time for sprints, I guess.

gs_silva

Backstory: a year prior to this, two much larger people tackled Maurice and broke his arm.

gs_silva

New icon. In my comic, Maurice has a tendency to dissociate, to protect parts of himself from himself. The dryad is the crumb of cheerful, flowery weirdness in him that gets beaten down when socializing gets to be too hard.

It seems like many interactions I'm having these days is exactly like that - painful, soul-crushing, no connection made, full of WTF, and I'm so done! But guess what! Today is American Thanksgiving, and it's going to be a big crowd, and I love those people (the ones I know, anyway - it's the in-laws) and I can't do this. But I have to, and I will.

There's also the alien, who is Maurice's will to live. She shows up when his internal will to live falters. There was a whole backstory about that, but no one was interested, so it's just for me, I guess.

And the ghost, Marie-Jeanne, represents... I don't know. All I know about her is she's in denial about her predicament, and she calls Maurice 'Alain'.

I wish there was a bigger gap between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Maybe like about... 9 years. That sounds about right.

I know, that means I'd only get two more Christmases before I die. I'd be okay with that.

I usually use the internet for a distraction against real-life socializing, but it's been stressing me out too. I guess a paper sketchbook will be my refuge. I'm grieving pretty hard, and I only realized that just now.

Current Mood: so done!

fleetsparrow posting in

writethisfanfic

Happy pre-Thursday, for those of you with me in the last remaining time zones. And happy actual Thursday for the rest of you!

Poll #33884

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 3

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What's your favorite of the 5Ws+H to write?

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Who
1 (33.3%)

What
0 (0.0%)

When
0 (0.0%)

Where
1 (33.3%)

Why
2 (66.7%)

How
0 (0.0%)

Other, or mysteriously none of the above~~
0 (0.0%)

I won't lie, this evening got away from me once I got home from work. But, as foreseen, I did actually write today! One more point for Routine being helpful.

Today's word:

Potation: (noun)

A usually alcoholic drink or brew
The act or instance of drinking or inhaling; the portion taken in one such act

Per our frenemies at Merriam-Webster, the first known use was in the 15th century.

And for some etymology fun: Potation came to English from Middle English potacioun, from Anglo-French potation, from Latin potation-->potatio "act of drinking" from potare "to drink"

After that long of a trip, I could do with a potation, too!

fleetsparrow posting in

writethisfanfic

I was going to make a "What a week, huh?" joke here, and then realized it's not even Wednesday yet. x__x

Poll #33880

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 5

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What was today's Prime Task?

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Writing!
1 (20.0%)

Editing!
1 (20.0%)

Researching!
0 (0.0%)

Crying into my preferred beverage!
2 (40.0%)

Adult Business!
1 (20.0%)

Recovery!
1 (20.0%)

Pre-covery!
0 (0.0%)

Other...
1 (20.0%)

Today's word is brought to you by the shipping and transporting industry! Because nothing says, "Happy Holidays" like the memory of dozens of shipping containers tipping into the harbor.

Stevedore:

(noun) One who works at or is responsible for loading and unloading ships in port
(verb) To handle (to load or unload) cargo as a stevedore

Per our friends at Merriam-Webster, "stevedore" came to English from the Spanish "estibador" which came from "estibar" meaning "to pack". The first known use of "stevedore" in English was in 1788.

gs_silva

Maurice is not getting a lot of help figuring things out. :)

In kind of a rush today, scribble scribble. I'm still tired from the weekend, and holiday-type stuff keeps creeping up.

Ren with the weird nicknames - he knows perfectly well how to pronounce 'Arzamastsev' but he messes around on purpose. He uses 'big brother' because Maurice is two years older than him, and is more like a big brother than Ren's actual big brother.

Cathy's line: "Aie! Maurice, you're some kind of sausage." Which is a somewhat affectionate way to say "you're a goofball/weirdo/fool."

gs_silva

The rave is over and Cathy and Ren go upstairs

This covers a lot of context very lightly. I was thinking of waiting until tomorrow so I could type it all out, but you know what, it's fine. It's cool. No context for you. I'll only post the translation to the one line in French:

"Music transcends language, and I'm sick to death of you all yammering on in English."

I like the word 'jacasser'. I finally got to use it.

Cathy's song is nonsense. There's no translation. She's just uttering random speechlike syllables. (I figure somebody would ask about that.)

Oh yeah, the Patreon link in case anyone wants it.

fleetsparrow posting in

writethisfanfic

Here's to a new week of writing!

Poll #33876

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 5

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What are you working on today?

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Fanfic
3 (60.0%)

Original
0 (0.0%)

Poetry
0 (0.0%)

Lyrics
1 (20.0%)

Nothing! It's a rest day
1 (20.0%)

Other
0 (0.0%)

Instead of a discussion topic this week, I thought I'd share some fun words and definitions I've saved. Today's word, per Merriam-Webster:

Wilder: (pronounced as in its remaining form "bewilder")

(transitive verb) 1. To lead astray; 2. Bewilder, perplex
(intransitive verb) 1. To move at random, to wander

kalloway

As usual, these are all free to a good home in the US. Alas, international shipping is beyond my budget, never mind the ridiculousness of the current everything. If you'd like something, it's yours. Please just say thank you and let me know it arrived.

* ~~One lot of BPAL perfume, including a couple of little bottles and quite a few of the tiny vials. I'll have to inquire how best to ship these but I'm guessing in bubblewrap and tupperware.~~

( Books, Videos, etc. )

fleetsparrow posting in

writethisfanfic

Hello, all! I hope your day has been full of writing or resting or at least something fun!

Poll #33872

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6

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What *kind* of day, Denny?

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Writing!
1 (16.7%)

Reading!
2 (33.3%)

Resting!
2 (33.3%)

Recovering!
0 (0.0%)

Staring contest with the Abyss and losing....
4 (66.7%)

Staring contest with the Abyss and WINNING!
0 (0.0%)

An infinitely more accurate answer than the above foolishness
0 (0.0%)

Discussion: Oh boy. Here we are at another week, huh. How'd that even happen? But enough mourning the inexorable passage of time!

This week sees--for those of us in the States--a major holiday which often correlates to major stress; it's not the most conducive to writing! But there's still a bit of time on either side of the holiday for the possibility of writing. (And for y'all not in an American Thanksgiving world, it will just be Thursday.)

So, what are your writing plans for the coming week?

kalloway

Comic-con complete!

- when I went to borrow the ancient rattly hand-cart from my father, he told me I could just store it in my garage from now on, which is basically saying it's mine.
- for the first time ever, evening load-in was not delayed by having to wait for the Ghostbusters car getting itself situated.
- more than made table back before load-in had finished.
- arrived a tiny smidge early day-of and had to wait for the Ghostbusters car to get itself situated. (I feel like this set the Universe back on track or something?)
( more notes below )

At some point in the coming week I'll get a post up to give away a bunch of stuff I don't want to store/keep hauling around. Now to try to catch up on everything else...

gs_silva

I haven't done one of these in a while. I find a photo that has themes and vibes similar to my own work, and although I don't literally time myself, I try to make it quick. Sometimes I turn the subjects into my own characters, or sometimes I tweak their features just enough so it's not an exact copy. In this one I sorta-kinda gave the girls Ella's and Cathy's hairstyles.

Girls in 1988

I need the practice every now and then. Cartooning in a vacuum isn't good for me. I end up getting 'style drift' which is when the sheer repetition of it all makes me gradually draw differently.

silvercat17 posting in

justcreate

What are you working on? What have you finished? What do you need encouragement on?

Are there any cool events or challenges happening that you want to hype?

What do you just want to talk about?

What have you been watching or reading?

Chores and other not-fun things count!

Remember to encourage other commenters and we have a discord where we can do work-alongs and chat, linked in the sticky.

I'm going to promote my blog post on the Ultimate Text Readability Trick because I had a friend need it today. The secret is CHUNKY OUTLINES (Instructions are text and screenshots, with alt text)

gs_silva

Different design choices this time!

The way Owen is looking at Ren, do you think something's going to happen? (He's undressing you with his eyes, Ren. Pay attention.)

More thoughts and background here at the Patreon page.

I forgot to go into Maurice's fear of crowds, though. As a rock musician, this is a constant struggle for him. It doesn't even take many people to trigger his flight instinct! The smallest party he's run away from has about 8 people in it, I think. And Cathy's no help.

igenlode posting in

writethisfanfic

It's the weekend! What weekend writing plans do you have? Any snippets to share?

It's distinctly chilly, and I'm thinking about getting up and putting on some fingerless gloves, and maybe a rug round my shoulders until the heating comes on. *checks thermometer*; yes, it's down below fifty degrees again. That's always the point at which it starts to feel Unreasonably Cold For Inside. Down to 50F I can cope with thermal underwear and a silk scarf...

gs_silva

I'm having fun figuring out how to visually depict this rave. It's very experimental. Let me know what you think!

Haha, I always forget to add the translation!

Maurice: "Cathy, Wait!"

Maurice: "Look at that. They won't listen."
Cathy: "It's fine. I don't want to ask them."
Maurice: "What?"
Cathy: "This means to say to join them. I'm going to join them!"

Patreon link

igenlode posting in

writethisfanfic

Welcome to the daily accountability post!
As the sun goes down on my Friday, I haven't written anything yet -- have you?

igenlode posting in

writethisfanfic

Happy Thursday!
Good morning to our friends in Alaska and good evening to those in Paris -- how is/was/will have been your writing experience today?

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Marianne Ancapikitty

My Suno music profile

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Page Summary

fleetsparrow in writethisfanfic - Check In: Day 28
gs_silva - Alien Romance, the daily comic strip
gs_silva - Day after thanksgiving. Don't come near me. I will bury you in Brussels sprouts, so help me I will
gs_silva - Alien Romance, the daily comic strip
gs_silva - Dryad
fleetsparrow in writethisfanfic - Check In: Day 26
fleetsparrow in writethisfanfic - Check In: Day 25
gs_silva - Alien Romance, the daily comic strip
gs_silva - Alien Romance, the daily comic strip
fleetsparrow in writethisfanfic - Check In: Day 24
kalloway - Books & Videos (Etc.) Giveaway 2025 Edition
fleetsparrow in writethisfanfic - Check In: Day 23
kalloway - Blue Water Int'l Comic Con
gs_silva - Illustration just for fun
silvercat17 in justcreate - Just Create - CHUNKY edition
gs_silva - Alien Romance, the daily comic strip
igenlode in writethisfanfic - WIP CHALLENGE CHECK-IN, Day 22 -- Saturday
gs_silva - Alien Romance, the daily comic strip
igenlode in writethisfanfic - WIP CHALLENGE CHECK-IN, Day 21 - Friday
igenlode in writethisfanfic - WIP CHALLENGE CHECK-IN, DAY 20 -- Thursday

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Page generated Nov. 29th, 2025 08:02 am

Don't owe anybody anything!

Life is yours to live any way you please. No apologies.

Reading

Check In: Day 28

Alien Romance, the daily comic strip

Day after thanksgiving. Don't come near me. I will bury you in Brussels sprouts, so help me I will

Alien Romance, the daily comic strip

Dryad

Check In: Day 26

Check In: Day 25

Alien Romance, the daily comic strip

Alien Romance, the daily comic strip

Check In: Day 24

Books & Videos (Etc.) Giveaway 2025 Edition

Check In: Day 23

Blue Water Int'l Comic Con

Illustration just for fun

Just Create - CHUNKY edition

Alien Romance, the daily comic strip

WIP CHALLENGE CHECK-IN, Day 22 -- Saturday

Alien Romance, the daily comic strip

WIP CHALLENGE CHECK-IN, Day 21 - Friday

WIP CHALLENGE CHECK-IN, DAY 20 -- Thursday

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November 2025

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