Well, here we are at another update and still recovering from Thanksgiving 2024. And as I write this, it’s 6:15 in the morning on the day I’m to see the doctors again. Hopefully they have some good news and I can soon sit down again.

This is honestly the earliest I’ve been awake in the last week. Seriously, I’ve been sleeping in super late which I rarely do. So itchy right now that I can’t really fall back asleep. I think that might be a good sign that I’m returning to my old self.

But man, I really want to lay back down.

Laying down helps out a lot because I still cannot sit down and being on my feet all day is a drag. Yeah, I failed my Beefeater training, my legs are strong enough but my feet keep on barking.

Anyway, I’m healing and I’ll say no more about it until I see the doctors.

Onto other news, I finished the first draft of the Horror Comedy I was writing for the blog and I’m now at the proofreading phase for both the Horror Comedy and the Romance story. I’ve decided to proofread the Romance story first since it had been a good two weeks since I last looked at it. And so far, I’ve proofread the first two chapters and it’s been a hoot to return to it.

Seriously, this story is just weird. I’m not really sure what I was thinking when I did write it but I’m glad I did. It’s just so weird and of its own universe, if that makes any sense. And the narrator is kind of all over the place and a little unreliable. But, honestly, I would not have it any other way with this story.

I like weird and eccentric characters and I especially like writing them.

I’m also adding a final chapter to both the Horror Comedy and Romance called “Author’s Afterthoughts.” It essentially is my notes on the development of the stories. I’ve already written a small piece giving my thoughts right after the first drafts are done. And I plan to add more as I proofread the stories as well.

While writing in the Author’s Afterthoughts for the Romance story, I wrote a paragraph that I will share here:

“Proofreading a story has always been a joy to me, just as much as writing. Well, maybe writing is more fun and rewarding but the fun of editing and rearranging and adding or subtracting to a story during proofreading is like a puzzle. A puzzle with no real solution but infinite parts to play with.”

That pretty much sums up how I feel about proofreading. Writing new material will always be more rewarding but proofreading is like a nice little puzzle. A puzzle that can be neverending which is why I decided to only proofread the stories for the blog once.

And post them as they are.

Yes, it is a reckless and foolhardy approach to sharing these stories but I’m taking a bit of a gonzo approach to all of this. The purpose of writing stories for the blog is to share them, at the end of the day. After Zach and I’s experience with “The Last Job: File 3454” we learned there really is no end to the work that goes into creating a novel.

These stories will never see the light of day if I do not draw the line somewhere. I want to keep my writing skills sharp and keep active with it. That’s why I’ve continued to write even after my injuries. I feel better and more relaxed when I write, even if its a few pages or a little proofreading.

So, yes, the stories are going to be flawed and a mess but they are my flawed mess and I really want to commit to this wild endeavor. Will it pay off? Not sure at all, nothing is certain. But at the very least I can look back on this and have a good laugh regardless how things turn out.

I’ve got a lot of proofreading to do and I’d like to finish both the Horror Comedy and Romance stories before the end of December. It’s already the tenth and a third of the month has passed. Yes, I have been productive and progress is being made but i have to keep at it.

And in other news, in case some of you were wondering, I have skimmed through the Call of Cthulhu RPG Rules book and wow, it looks like a lot of fun. There is a chapter on HP Lovecraft that was very informative and a whole chapter dedicated to “Chase Scenes.”

If you like horror or RPGs or both, I recommend checking it out, it’s a blast to read and the overall layout is so well done.

And another thing before I go, I have to admit that I still am indulging in anime during my recovery. I’ve been super into the Isekai subgenre lately. Is it a subgenre though, I think google might be mistaken. Isekai had grown so much that I’ve found a seemingly endless supply of it.

I really should do some anime blogs, I’ve watched so much of it.

Anyway, this blog is beefy enough. I’ll add more to it once I get back from the doctors. I’m just grateful I’m still healing and not in worse shape. I’ll soon be back to my old self again and after this, I really have no excuse to skip writing again.

Honestly, if I can wake up at 6:00 in the morning, with a very itchy rump, and write, standing with my laptop on my dresser no less, then I should be able to make the time to write after my rump heals.

Regular rump roast or “Burnt End” right here. Hopefully come next update, I’ll be writing in my old chair again, on my healed rump. For now, I’m up and got the time, might as well proofread. Solve that endless puzzle!

Good Luck and never take sitting flat on your rump for granted,

—Buck

PS: Well, I’m back from the doctor before posting this update so I’ll get this out of the way. Another two weeks and I see the doctor again after Christmas. So . . . yeah. Two more weeks.

There is no shortage of things to do to pass the time. And hopefully, over time, the itchy bees on my burns will go away. But the thing that is really nasty is the tape that keeps the pads in place over the burns.

If I ever come up with a story where a character is being tortured but I want to do it in a silly and comedic way, tape. Tape being ripped off the skin, taking some hair with it, all the OUCH!

Well, I have plenty of proofreading to do and now I have the time on my hands. I have to do something and might as well be productive. Or I could read something that's been on my list for a while, like the Call of Cthulhu RPG rulebook. Or I could play with this sweet viking rune die, from Steve Jackson games, I just got today.

It comes with this cute little booklet that describes what each symbol means. And I found one rune about the “warmth of a hearth” or something, let me go get the booklet and see . . . “Nied is the hearth fire that burns through the night.” Yeah, so going to put that die in the update’s pic and facing up will be Nied for sure.

Anyway, I’m going to end this post before it gets any longer. I’m okay, I will be okay, and I will once again sit on my butt. “All I want for Christmas is [to sit on my butt again!]” A new song to add to the Christmas shuffle this season.

Written 5:50 pm on 12/10.