Ani Was Writing

      So, just as a forewarning, things are shifting around for my online presence.      The full process will not be complete until 2027, but you may notice bits and pieces of it between now and then. I am trying my best to shift with as little chaos as possible, but some things will be obviously chaotic.      Just know I am finally doing this because of a calling I have felt for a while. A notion that has pulled me around long enough. Some of it will be easy, but a ton more will be difficult, especially toward December. So we'll see how it goes.     If you stick around, thank you. I could not appreciate it more. If you don't, please go with my fervent blessings. 

  PR #072026 Reported on 2 August 2026 Project 1: Writing     Current Writing Project: Project Lilith          Current Status: Planning/Scattered Draft Phase     Current D&D Project: Custodius Continuum, Project Dungeons and Bitches          Current Status: 3 of 5 Preliminary Sessions Done, Preparing Session 4     Secondary D&D Project: Custodius Continuum, Project Demons and Flames          Current Status: Preparing Sessions 0 and 1     Blog Posts Completed: 34 of 52 (Including Extra Blog Posts) Project 2: Weight Management     Current Weight: 237.9     Weight Loss/Gain: +1.5 in July (+5.3 in 2026)     Goal Weight: 180.0 Project 3: Crochet     Gifts/Commissions Completed: 4.5 of 5 Commissions, 0 of 5 Planned Gifts     Personal Projects Completed: 1

      As you see on the title of this post, it is the end of a personal era for me. As of today, I'm not working two jobs anymore. I'm only working one.     I won't get into too many personal details. There is a lot that could give me away. But those of you who know the situation and are reading this, you know.     With that said, I can still take some time to share some of the lessons I have learned from working this job for multiple years. Corporate doesn't care. I know, obvious is obvious on that one. But the place I worked for... they were given a reputation of somehow being better than the normal corporate competition. Did they prove themselves wrong on multiple occasions during the time I worked there. For a company that seemed to state this to their customers on a regular basis and making it a selling point on their recruitment advertisements, this is a lie. They don't care. Not by any measurement. Employees are not important. The place I worked...

 Discerning Christian Witchcraft By Emyle D. Prata and Sara Raztresen     This book thoughts/book review will be a little different. Partly becomes of time, partly the contents.      In the beginning of this book, it is made clear that this particular read will take a lot more work than their previous work ( Discovering Christian Witchcraft , which you can check out my review for by clicking on that title). It's been a while since I've told you that I read that work fully (which I realized I was only three chapters in when I wrote that review) and it's opened my eyes to the community and the label for the journey I've been on for the last six-ish years, give or take a year. That book gave me the starting point to dig into some of the practices that I would take to some extent and use them.      Lately, my practice has been sporadic, to put it nicely. I don't work with my stuff as much as I did. But a lot of that has to do with other things go...

 4:Discussion   Gen tosses the marble up into the air and watches it land in Karan’s hand. She gives him an annoyed glare and snatches the marble out of his hand. “You still have me curious about how this little world feels familiar to you.”   “And you have yet to tell me how you got that out of Ani’s possession.” Karan mutters as he fiddles with a strange piece of equipment with many mechanical legs and an oblong body. “I don’t even know where she went.”   “Today is the Day of Reconciliation. She is probably in Peponi.” Gen rolls her eyes at the thought of Animus as she would wander around one of her favorite cities.   “Oh, right. I should probably take care of that at some point myself.” Karan keeps his head toward his work. “You are still dodging my inquiry.”   Gen glances down at Karan’s mess of a creation. “What is that thing supposed to do?”   “Gen.”   “Fine. I got the marble when Ani finished her conversation with Hani. It fell out of her l...

PR #062026 Reported on 27 June 2026 Project 1: Writing     Current Writing Project: Operation Eventide          Current Status: Planning/Scattered Draft Phase     Current D&D Project: Custodius Continuum, Project Dungeons and Bitches          Current Status: 2 of 5 Preliminary Sessions Done, Preparing Session 3     Blog Posts Completed: 30 of 52 (Including Extra Blog Posts) Project 2: Weight Management     Current Weight: 236.4     Weight Loss/Gain: +4.6 in May (+3.8 in 2026)     Goal Weight: 180.0 Project 3: Crochet     Gifts/Commissions Completed: 3 of 5 Commissions, 0 of 5 Planned Gifts     Personal Projects Completed: 1

 Suicide Hotline Hold Music By Jessy Randall     This book is not what it says on the tin.      Sure, the first poem is. Kinda. But then it really falls into a nice rhythm of different topics made a little bit more nuanced by Randall's style of poetry. Her style is more free and relatable. On top of that, her visuals for this collection are absolutely wonderful.      It's definitely worth the buy if you really need a good collection to slip back into reading poetry or to start reading poetry. Don't let the title fool you.

      Vacation Bible School always wrecks me. Or Day Camp, as my home church calls it.     Don't get me wrong! Being the Arts and Crafts Coordinator/Teacher is a joy. With all the fun we have and all the chaos we enjoy, it is a lot of work. And this year proved to be more difficult for me than I thought. A lot more days where I needed rest and an easier time moving around than normal.      In the end though, I'm glad I did it. It takes me out of my usual headspace and lets me float in a semi-vacuum for a while. But now that I'm out of it, I'm glad it's over and that I won't have to put any thought into it again if I don't want to.      On another note, I'm finally done updating the blog. Apologies again for the mega backlog. I know it's hard to get a bunch of blog posts at once. And for some people ( cough cough my friend Iggy cough cough), it's been a chance to catch up on the mega collection that is about ... eight years of blog p...

 3: Adventures Await  She reaches the gates with a sigh of weariness. It has been a long trek from the Capital to the Holy City, but it is worth it. She touches the archway of the entrance to Peponi and draws a shape on her chest before heading in.   76th Day of the 52nd Cycle of Night. The woman smirks to herself as she slinks through the crowds. A few faces barely regard her as they keep to their rituals. Different parades of people float by with incense burners and incantations. Different gods and goddesses drift with them as they shower blessings on their followers. One of the gods turns their face to see her. They stare at each other for a moment. It is not a surprise to see a god on this given day, but this god seems interested in her. It gives her a formal nod as it follows its disciples and continues to spread blessings on them. The woman winds her way around the packs of followers until she comes to a small temple with no door. With a glance to either side, she ...

  PR #052026 Reported on 13 June 2026 Project 1: Writing     Current Writing Project: Operation Eventide          Current Status: Planning/Scattered Draft Phase     Current D&D Project: Custodius Continuum, Project Dungeons and Bitches          Current Status: 1 of 5 Preliminary Sessions Done, Preparing Session 2     Blog Posts Completed: 26 of 52 (Including Extra Blog Posts) Project 2: Weight Management     Current Weight: 231.8     Weight Loss/Gain: +4 in April (-0.8 in 2026)     Goal Weight: 180.0 Project 3: Crochet     Gifts/Commissions Completed: 2.5 of 4 Commissions, 0 of 5 Planned Gifts     Personal Projects Completed: 0

 They did it. I can't believe they did it.     To be fair, I wasn't very sure they would. I knew the New Horizons crew could do it. But the Chaos Party? That was a trip. But they caught on quick.      I'm worried about that Goliath though. Sutr, I think his name is. He did not seem to really know what was going on. I mean, who could blame him? An amature writer and Otito got his hands off Buffmem and put them in a new path. I'll have to keep my eye on him.      I can help with that.      God blessed, Ani. What are you going to do?     You are now a birb again.      Are you shitting me?     Nope. Besides, my friend is also a birb in Chaos Party. You two will have fun.     You're assuming he'll keep his form.      And you're assuming he won't. But neither of us really knows until he tells us, right? Schrodinger's idea and all.     Don't you mean cat?   ...

      As I'm near the end of a school year as a substitute paraprofessional, I noticed a trend in certain grade levels and specifically with certain set of students. Usually, it's the early teens crowd (about 13 to 15 years old) alongside the teachers and paraprofessionals that work with them. Now that I've sectioned out that group, this little post is for them and others that work with them.      Do not give up on this group. This group is especially difficult, I get that. This is the age group most likely to shove against rules and boundaries that they were given when they first started understanding rules and their consequences. This is the age group that wants to gamble with their life in the most impulsive way possible. But this is also a time where we as the adults can do so much to set them up for the most realistic expectations for life. That life will not be easy, and it will not make us happy all the time, and it cannot give us what we want or nee...

 2: Fetching Hani looks down on Animus’ chocolate hair and sighs. He knows not to ask what he is about to ask, but he does anyway. “What did you need, Novel Writer?”  Animus smirks. “I need you to go find Amethyst for me. I don’t know where she went.”  “I thought you had a tracker on your Time Walker.”  “She’s blocking her energy signature from me. You’re the next best person to find her.”  “And you want me -of all people- to go find her.” Hani raises an eyebrow.  “Without question.” Animus grins. “Besides, she likes it when you go find her instead. It’s more fun, according to her.”  Hani rolls his eyes again and shifts his weight. He gets rather annoyed when he becomes Amethyst’s hunter. He recalls the many conversations before this. Too many to count. Too many times that Animus gave her cloy smile and tried to make her requests as cute-sounding as possible. He looks to her and wonders how many times Animus asked him to find her pet Time Walker when i...

Furious Dusk By David Campos     There are a lot of books I feel like I've read already. I also feel like I've talked about this book on this blog before. So far, I haven't found a blog post about it yet. If you think you might know, feel free to say so.     In the meantime-          I feel the best way to talk about this book would be to reference the introduction to this poetry collection. It is written by Rhina P Espaillat, the final judge for the 2014 Andres Montoya Poetry Prize. Considering this is his first book, I'm sure Espaillat had a lot to say about it.      "From the opening of Part 1, a brutal hunting scene that plunges the reader into the book's pervasive violence... the reader witnesses a life spent trying to become what his own nature does not accept..." I will give some perspective here. A lot of the imagery in this part can be considered violent. On a different level, a lot of this imagery actually more palata...

      At the time of writing this, I am just tired.      I am trying to finish prep for a large Dungeons and Dragons campaign finale. Things are pretty crazy for a potentially 14-player game with 2 DMs (myself and my Lutheran pastor) working together. We'll see how it goes.      On top of that, I'm still in a little pain. Not nearly as much as I did last month, but enough to still feel a difference. The medicine is helping, but I'm still bone tired from that.     The cherry on top is just trying to get some stuff done. I've got crocheting done, and I'm trying to get my mind back into a writing mode so I can work on my novel instead of just writing blog posts.      We'll see how that goes. 

  PR #042026 Reported on 26 April 2026 Project 1: Writing     Current Writing Project: Operation Eventide          Current Status: Planning/Scattered Draft Phase     Current D&D Project: Custodius Continuum, Eventide's Path          Current Status: 8 of 9 Sessions Completed     Blog Posts Completed: 20 of 52 (Including Extra Blog Posts) Project 2: Weight Management     Current Weight: 227.8     Weight Loss/Gain: -2.2 in March (-4.8 in 2026)     Goal Weight: 180.0 Project 3: Crochet     Gifts/Commissions Completed: 1.5 of 4 Commissions, 0 of 5 Planned Gifts     Personal Projects Completed: 0

      For years, I thought I knew.      I thought I knew that was just another character in another story, started by a young lady who just need some sort of companionship while trapped in a world she thought had abandoned her. And I am still that, at my core. Just like a lot of others are around me.      But now, I see it clearer. I see my role. I see my Guardian. No, not the Royal Spymaster. He was there for me, but never could truly fulfill that role due to his loyalty to his duties. Not that there is anything wrong with that. And I am grateful for the children we have had together because of our intimacy. But my true Guardian. The one that was given to me a long time ago, when all hope seemed far away and I -like my Creator- was swimming in a dark, chaotic sea of abandonment.      I hear now that both groups are coming to the Void. Both under a different pretense. But both groups are set on fulfilling. My Guardian faces rev...

 It is difficult to function when pain is a roommate.      Currently, I am dealing with some sciatic pain. During some strenuous labor will do that to me. In the few days I have been dealing and healing, I learned a lot about how I deal with pain and healing. A lot of it is related to my tolerance -or rather, intolerance- to letting myself rest. I grew up in a family where rest wasn't necessarily an encouraged action. I wasn't punished or shamed either. It was just a less-than-desired option when it came to healing. So with this new pain, I have tried my hardest to let myself rest and sit down when I feel I need to.     I will admit, the other part of this I learned about is when to stretch and push my muscles sometimes. As much as I would love to rot in bed all day, I know my body needs movement and at least some stretching to feel less cadaver-like. As much as it hurts. I know it is one of the things I need to do to get back into full rhythm and into my f...

      It hits me as I start to write this that this is essentially a mark of doing enough of these that -had I did these in consistent month installments- this would have been at the two-year mark. Factually, I started doing this about five years ago, then took a massive gap in time to write a bunch of fictional series and to hammer out some metaphorical life thoughts. Now I'm back here, with the same collection I fought with in 2016. Let's see if this can truly relay how I feel without marking up your perspective of me too badly. Citizen: An American Lyric By Claudia Rankine     If memory serves me well, this was my summer Senior Seminar for my English degree. Even though I was only halfway through my Junior year of my Bachelors of Arts, I took this class. It was a class in African-American Poetry, both older and newer poets. I got some of my most interesting interactions in that class, mainly from the tension between the Hispanic-American students and everyone...

 Be careful what you do with your time.      I thought I was just playing a simple golfing game with my friends and family. Something cute and sweet, yet difficult. Mini golf is supposed to be like that, right?     But it's the patterns. The patterns are ... enticing. They call to a deeper instinct in your mind. The one that trusts others no matter what happens. The one that gives up control no matter who it is given to.      Before long, I was lost. Lost in the golf course with others who gave up on golfing at all. They lived and danced in the streets below the golfers above. I tried to live with them. I really did. But the patterns couldn't steal my mind so easily. And it only took one person to stop it all.      Now I have the map. The layout of this place. And I will seek to set it ablaze with a zealous fire.      The patterns will not seduce another again.