<p>Píp the cat was patrolling the rooftops of the city, stopping occasionally when something caught her eye. With her was, as always, Ból, the forest spirit. </p><p>You should tell him. Ból's words manifested in Píp's mind and carried a feeling of urgency. </p><p>"But he loves me as he knows me." Píp's tail twitched. "I don't want anything to change right now." She was now perched on the edge of a roof, watching the busy street below. </p><p>Ból filled the air around her and Píp arched her back, her hair standing up. </p><p>"I won't fall." she hissed. "Not again." </p><p>Sometimes it's not in your hand. Ból gave her space. </p><p>"I've thought about it, you know?" Píp's gaze returned to the street. "Could you take it back? Make me as I was?" </p><p>Yes, I can. Do you want me to? It would be like nothing ever happened. The words were tinged with an anticipation of sadness. </p><p>"No. Never. I'm perfect." </p><p>That's such a cat thing to say.</p><p><a href="/tags/writing/" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="/tags/microfiction/" rel="tag">#microfiction</a> <a href="/tags/smallstories/" rel="tag">#smallstories</a> <a href="/tags/tootfic/" rel="tag">#tootfic</a> <a href="/tags/fantasy/" rel="tag">#fantasy</a></p>
writing
<p>Solifan the wizard yawned in the darkness and uttered an unwilling grumble.</p><p>"Mrp." said the weight on his chest.</p><p>"No. Psh." Solifan gently pushed the weight off the bed, and tried to fall asleep gain, which worked for about thirty seconds, then the weight returned and started purring.</p><p>"I liked it better when you went out at night." Solifan sighed. A subtle glow filled his eyes and the candle on the nightstand began to burn. Píp the cat was sitting on his chest, intently staring at his face. Now that she had his attention, she repeatedly bumped her head onto his nose.</p><p>"Fiiiine, I am getting up." Solifan pushed her off his face and sat up. Píp was already sitting by the door, waiting patiently, and purring.</p><p>Solifan shuffled to the door in a drowsy stupor and opened it just wide enough for the cat to fit.</p><p>Píp sat in the gap, relishing the fresh air streaming into the room, and looked out onto the street.</p><p>"In or out." Solifan grumbled, waited five seconds, then gently pushed the cat through the cracked door out on the street.</p><p>"There you gooouow." he yawned as he turned to go to sleep again.</p><p>"Thanks." a tiny voice whispered through the door.</p><p><a href="/tags/writing/" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="/tags/microfiction/" rel="tag">#microfiction</a> <a href="/tags/smallstories/" rel="tag">#smallstories</a> <a href="/tags/tootfic/" rel="tag">#tootfic</a> <a href="/tags/fantasy/" rel="tag">#fantasy</a></p>
<p>Just a reminder that if you like my writing on Substack, it’s very likely that you will also like my book ‘Drystone - A Life Rebuilt’ </p><p>If you buy it on bookshop.org you support me and indy bookshops. </p><p><a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/15919/9781846976469" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="uk.bookshop.org/a/15919/9781846976469"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">uk.bookshop.org/a/15919/978184</span><span class="invisible">6976469</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/book/" rel="tag">#Book</a> <a href="/tags/writing/" rel="tag">#Writing</a> <a href="/tags/writingcommunity/" rel="tag">#WritingCommunity</a> <a href="/tags/reading/" rel="tag">#Reading</a> <a href="/tags/scotland/" rel="tag">#Scotland</a> <a href="/tags/uk/" rel="tag">#UK</a></p>
Edited 63d ago
<p>A cry of anger and anguish swept over the cubicles and made many a head pop up and look around; like meerkats looking for danger.</p><p>The noise, coming from one of one of the few non-cubicle offices, subsided, presumably to let the producer draw some air, and was replaced by a different scream.</p><p>"STEEEEEEEEEEVE!"</p><p>I sipped my coffee and marveled at the screamability of my name, then I made my way to the office with a quick detour to the coffee machine.</p><p>I knocked on the flimsy door and entered without waiting.</p><p>"Hey Ronald, what's up?"</p><p>"There's ADS in our software!" Ronald pointed at an email on his screen showing a photo of our main screen with an ad for an exotic spa.</p><p>"Oh, Copilot must've put that in there; I forwarded you the new terms of service, they now do ads, too."</p><p>"Didn't you CHECK the code?" A little bit of spittle landed on Ronald's screen. I took another sip of coffee.</p><p>"Claude checked, said the code was fine."</p><p>I think Ronald needs to see someone for his blood pressure, a vein on his temple was undulating under the skin.</p><p>"DID. YOU. NOT. CHECK?"</p><p>I sighed.</p><p>"AI use is mandatory, remember? Also: we are not allowed to change Copilot's code anymore. It's in the new terms of..."</p><p>Ronald interrupted me with another guttural scream and more spittle.</p><p>My coffee was getting cold anyway.</p><p><a href="/tags/microfiction/" rel="tag">#microfiction</a> <a href="/tags/aislop/" rel="tag">#aislop</a> <a href="/tags/enshittification/" rel="tag">#enshittification</a> <a href="/tags/writing/" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="/tags/smallstories/" rel="tag">#smallstories</a> <a href="/tags/tootfic/" rel="tag">#tootfic</a></p>
<p>The sun was slowly climbing over the horizon, bathing everything in warm, morning light. Flocks of docile clouds dotted the sky, a welcome contrast to the angry storms of the last week. All-in-all a perfect start for a haircut day.</p><p>With a cup of steaming hot wakeup tea in hand, I went through my morning routine. Energy storage was full, thanks to the storms, and I diverted incoming power from the wind farm to Bearlington, they still had capacity. Two turbines with reduced efficiency and a couple of blades due for their checkups. I sent a message to the maintenance list. Solar output was way down, but we'd take care of that today.</p><p>I took a careful sip of tea and scrunched my face. This harvest had extra punch. The startup routine for the drone went through without issues and I loaded the shears and chainsaw before I took my seat, which made the load indicator turn yellow. Curse those cookies. Well, as they say: "fly yellow, it's mellow".</p><p>The trip up the mountainside to our solars went smooth and I saw that two drones had already landed. Sam and Juri were chatting and drinking tea when I joined them.</p><p>"Pretty early and pretty fast, this year." Sam said, as she drew work areas onto a map on her tablet and sent them to us. The mild and wet weather had made the forest spill into the clearing for the panels, and reclaim what was rightfully hers.</p><p>"Jup." Juri laughed and let his hydro shears clack. "Time for a haircut!"</p><p><a href="/tags/writing/" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="/tags/hopepunk/" rel="tag">#hopepunk</a> <a href="/tags/solarpunk/" rel="tag">#solarpunk</a> <a href="/tags/microfiction/" rel="tag">#microfiction</a> <a href="/tags/tootfic/" rel="tag">#tootfic</a> <a href="/tags/smallstories/" rel="tag">#smallstories</a></p>
<p>Today is the official launch of my new blog: <span class="h-card"><a href="https://blog.stygiantech.dev/" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>buildnotes</span></a></span> </p><p>Build Notes is a more focused blog through my personal business, Stygian Tech designed to highlight how I think about the products I build and the space in which I operate</p><p>The Digital Renaissance will remain my home for my less refined and broader thoughts and opinions, but this will be my home for talking about my apps, why I build them, and the like</p><p>Check it out at <span class="h-card"><a href="https://blog.stygiantech.dev/" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>https://blog.stygiantech.dev/</span></a></span></p><p><a href="/tags/blog/" rel="tag">#Blog</a> <a href="/tags/business/" rel="tag">#Business</a> <a href="/tags/writing/" rel="tag">#Writing</a> <a href="/tags/socialmedia/" rel="tag">#SocialMedia</a></p>
<p>I'm so tired. People, I am not interested in reading *blogs* generated with claude, gemini or chatgpt. No, not even ones proofread by AI. Do it yourself. I do not wish to even accidentally click on "one-shotted" dummy projects. Don't show me your AI-generated analysis of anything. Above all, I do not wish to see images/artwork someone prompt created.</p><p>I value real content, with all its good and bad quirks, from actual human beings. </p><p>Somebody please normalize auto-tagging of AI generated content across all formats - text, images and code so I can blanket ban them from my personal computer.</p><p>This is a plead for help I never thought I'll have to make.</p><p><a href="/tags/noai/" rel="tag">#noai</a> <a href="/tags/enshittification/" rel="tag">#enshittification</a> <a href="/tags/writing/" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/reading/" rel="tag">#reading</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/quotes/" rel="tag">#quotes</a> <a href="/tags/quote/" rel="tag">#quote</a> <a href="/tags/cybersec/" rel="tag">#cybersec</a> <a href="/tags/mentalhealth/" rel="tag">#mentalhealth</a> <a href="/tags/adhd/" rel="tag">#adhd</a> <a href="/tags/art/" rel="tag">#art</a> <a href="/tags/cooking/" rel="tag">#cooking</a> <a href="/tags/blog/" rel="tag">#blog</a> <a href="/tags/indieweb/" rel="tag">#indieweb</a></p>
<p>In light of this recent interview with <span class="h-card"><a href="https://me.dm/@medium" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>medium</span></a></span> CEO <span class="h-card"><a href="https://me.dm/@coachtony" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>coachtony</span></a></span>, I'm interested in candid (but respectful) feedback from other <a href="/tags/writers/" rel="tag">#writers</a> and readers about that <a href="/tags/writing/" rel="tag">#writing</a> platform.</p><p><a href="https://medium.com/medium-handbook/is-medium-worth-it-in-2026-194a85fb2f35" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="medium.com/medium-handbook/is-medium-worth-it-in-2026-194a85fb2f35"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">medium.com/medium-handbook/is-</span><span class="invisible">medium-worth-it-in-2026-194a85fb2f35</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/medium/" rel="tag">#Medium</a></p>
Edited 47d ago
<p>This is how I do most of my <a href="/tags/writing/" rel="tag">#writing</a>.</p><p>Sometimes diagrams.<br>Mostly text.<br>A comfortable pen.</p><p>Coffee stains sometimes.<br>Circular water marks from condensation sometimes.</p><p>The sketch pad allows less ink build up on the pen.</p><p>A bad pen drags or slides.<br>That's not good.</p>
<p>Chapter 18 of Princess of Kurg is available to read on <a href="/tags/royalroad/" rel="tag">#RoyalRoad</a>: <a href="https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/108234/jigsaw-city" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.royalroad.com/fiction/108234/jigsaw-city"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.royalroad.com/fiction/1082</span><span class="invisible">34/jigsaw-city</span></a></p><p>Nicole attends a city council meeting and eventually tells a little lie about why she's not sleeping very well. Irkith reacts badly to that, ordering her to tell the truth.</p><p>The piece of Kurg lodged in her mind tries to take over and Kazic levels a blaster on the Ulkun King...</p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://fedigroups.social/@bookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>bookstodon</span></a></span><br><a href="/tags/author/" rel="tag">#author</a> <a href="/tags/indieauthor/" rel="tag">#indieauthor</a> <a href="/tags/writing/" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="/tags/fantasy/" rel="tag">#fantasy</a> <a href="/tags/scifi/" rel="tag">#scifi</a> <a href="/tags/sciencefiction/" rel="tag">#sciencefiction</a> <a href="/tags/sff/" rel="tag">#sff</a> <a href="/tags/actionadventure/" rel="tag">#actionadventure</a> <a href="/tags/fiction/" rel="tag">#fiction</a> <a href="/tags/fairies/" rel="tag">#fairies</a> <a href="/tags/webseries/" rel="tag">#webseries</a></p>
<p>What I really don't like is that it often feels that way even when it's not 😂 </p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://fedigroups.social/@galacticwriters" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>galacticwriters</span></a></span> @writers @books @fantasy <span class="h-card"><a href="https://fedigroups.social/@bookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>bookstodon</span></a></span> <span class="h-card"><a href="https://fedigroups.social/@joinin" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>joinin</span></a></span><br><span class="h-card"><a href="https://fedigroups.social/@writingbooks" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>writingbooks</span></a></span> @keepwriting </p><p><a href="/tags/writingmemes/" rel="tag">#WritingMemes</a> <a href="/tags/meme/" rel="tag">#Meme</a> <a href="/tags/memes/" rel="tag">#Memes</a> <a href="/tags/humor/" rel="tag">#Humor</a> <a href="/tags/humour/" rel="tag">#Humour</a> <br><a href="/tags/author/" rel="tag">#Author</a> <a href="/tags/authors/" rel="tag">#Authors</a> <a href="/tags/indieauthor/" rel="tag">#IndieAuthor</a> <a href="/tags/indiebooks/" rel="tag">#IndieBooks</a> <a href="/tags/amwriting/" rel="tag">#AmWriting</a> <a href="/tags/writerdons/" rel="tag">#Writerdons</a> <a href="/tags/writers/" rel="tag">#Writers</a> <a href="/tags/writer/" rel="tag">#Writer</a> <a href="/tags/writing/" rel="tag">#Writing</a> <a href="/tags/writingcommunity/" rel="tag">#WritingCommunity</a> <a href="/tags/writinglife/" rel="tag">#Writinglife</a> <a href="/tags/writersofmastodon/" rel="tag">#WritersOfMastodon</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a></p>
<p>On the rare occasions that I’m not taking pictures of my <a href="/tags/cats/" rel="tag">#cats</a> (see: almost all my other posts), I make a podcast called The Worst Writer in the World</p><p>My co-conspirator, Howard, has spent his life writing badly. Now we try to bring his stories to life, and maybe make them better</p><p>We laugh a lot. Our listeners do too (or so they tell us)</p><p>There’s over 250 episodes, all free, and - most importantly - they don’t have ads. We do it because we love it</p><p>Maybe you will too</p><p><a href="/tags/writing/" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="/tags/comedy/" rel="tag">#comedy</a> <a href="/tags/humor/" rel="tag">#humor</a></p>
<p>New post: Can we have a more “social” media?</p><p><a href="https://profpatsch.de/essays/a-more-social-media" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="profpatsch.de/essays/a-more-social-media"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">profpatsch.de/essays/a-more-so</span><span class="invisible">cial-media</span></a></p><p>On advertising, the Fediverse, and what a more human social web could look like.</p><p>Special mentions: <span class="h-card"><a href="https://social.coop/@smallcircles" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>smallcircles</span></a></span>, <span class="h-card"><a href="https://fluffytail.org/users/phnt" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>phnt</span></a></span>, @happy-programming </p><p><a href="/tags/fediverse/" rel="tag">#fediverse</a> <a href="/tags/activitypub/" rel="tag">#activitypub</a> <a href="/tags/socialmedia/" rel="tag">#socialmedia</a> <a href="/tags/writing/" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="/tags/essay/" rel="tag">#essay</a></p>
Edited 13d ago
<p>Ebook: <a href="https://books2read.com/TheMostPowerfulWords" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="books2read.com/TheMostPowerfulWords"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">books2read.com/TheMostPowerful</span><span class="invisible">Words</span></a><br>Audiobook: <a href="https://owentyme.bandcamp.com/album/short-of-tyme-the-most-powerful-words" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="owentyme.bandcamp.com/album/short-of-tyme-the-most-powerful-words"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">owentyme.bandcamp.com/album/sh</span><span class="invisible">ort-of-tyme-the-most-powerful-words</span></a></p><p>Hungry and hunting alone, a goblin boy meets a bouncing, blue slime and assumes it will be dinner. Naturally, the slime has other ideas, and the boy gets his hind-end handed to him by what’s supposed to be one of the weakest monsters of the forest.</p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://fedigroups.social/@bookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>bookstodon</span></a></span><br><a href="/tags/author/" rel="tag">#author</a> <a href="/tags/indieauthor/" rel="tag">#indieauthor</a> <a href="/tags/writing/" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="/tags/fantasy/" rel="tag">#fantasy</a> <a href="/tags/fiction/" rel="tag">#fiction</a> <a href="/tags/goblin/" rel="tag">#goblin</a> <a href="/tags/shortstory/" rel="tag">#shortstory</a> <a href="/tags/audiobook/" rel="tag">#audiobook</a> <a href="/tags/prejudice/" rel="tag">#prejudice</a></p>
