I never thought I’d actually say this. I’ve always thought that an open window and a sponge down before bed would beat any heat wave. I’m gonna hold my hand up and say I’m wrong. I’d give anything for a good portable fan right now. It’s not unbearable heat or anything like that, but it’s still hot. Maybe too hot to actually sleep. Even with having got less than a full nights sleep last night. It’s a good thing this holiday stay has a lot of reading material. Cause I’ve got a feeling I’m gonna need some tonight.

Namely a copywriting gig for a games company; writing blogs about tabletop and boardgames. Not a paid position or anything like that. And that’s okay. Experience and a portfolio of work is more important to me at the moment. Something to give me a body of work and references for future employers.

Thankfully the workload isn’t too extreme at the moment. As part of this probationary period I have to produce three blogs within a month. Not too bad and I get to choose what I write about, so far that’s been pretty easy. After that, I imagine the content they want will become more focused. Another perk will be that I will get new games to try out and review. That should be fun. I can’t wait to see where this goes.

Since most of my posts here recently have focused on Serenity Base, I’m going to take a little time to give my Patreon some love. In a nutshell it’s focused on fan driven stories and art that are developed by my Patreons. I come up with the broad strokes and my Patreons fill in the gap with details they would like to see. The fun of it is that we often come up with cool ideas I’d never have thought of myself. Right now we are working on a story from my Greenwood Series, a fictional university with a reputation for messy hijinx. Based on the classic ideas of a British Summer Fete, this story brings in all the messy tropes you would expect with a seriously adult twist in places. And that’s before the sun goes down. Things are only going to get more interesting after dark. If that sounds like fun, you can see all current Greenwood stories on my Patreon with no paywall. It would mean a lot if you would check it out.

https://www.Patreon.com/white66

I’m trying to get back into regular weekly events and one of those is a TCG tournament at a gaming store in Bermondsey. For those outside of London/UK it’s a suburb of London, about half an hour away from where I live by train. Shouldn’t be hard to get there right? Wrong. My last two attempts to get there have been hit by serious issues on the Underground. Although last night was pretty bad. I’d made it to my final stop when the whole line ground to a halt, with no trains leaving Bermondsey. Ten minutes later the whole station was closed. And I was like, nope. Not having this. So I abandoned the whole thing and made the journey home. Proved to be a good idea too, the tube line was still screwed up when the event finished. It would have been a real struggle to get home. Still, there is always next week.

..and I think I’ve finally worked out one of the real kinks with the whole issues I’ve been having with Serenity Base. I don’t want to be to crude about the whole thing but it seems my libido must have been more suppressed than I thought. Looks like the change in my meds has stopped suppressing it to the point where I’m actually feeling horny again, not to put too fine a point on it. Which has its own problems since I’m now being tempted to go ‘enjoy myself’ quite often but I’m holding back since I don’t want to lose this feeling or this energy I’ve got. I’m hoping to channel it into some more regular work on my writings here. I might even throw out a short story before weeks end. Watch this space.

Thankfully we are talking less of the first and a lot more of the second. Right now my document for the next chapter looks equal parts finished prose and hastily scribbled notes. With any writing project I do, there is always a bit of a warm up period before my brain gets into the writing zone. And with Serenity Base that can often lead to the games not jelling at the start before I get my flow going. A few years back that would really have frustrated me, now I’m working more on seeing it as part of the creative process.

On the whole, the next chapter is pretty much complete as a first draft. I’m not sure the final game will stay exactly as it is, since I’m toying already with a few tweaks, punching up the content a little. As a description of a game, I’m happy with it. It flows, it’s believable and not too scripted. I hope. It just might do with a little more ‘content’ to keep the reader hooked. But that can come later.

That’s kinda the reason I rejected my few false start ideas, both ideas seeming overly complex and more than a little contrived. So for now they have been cut and are sitting in the smelting pool of my future game ideas, where no doubt they will mix with others and form new ones.

For now, I’m hoping to have the first draft of the next chapter finished by the end of the week. Then we will see about any rewrites and adjustments, so it might not get published then but I’ll keep you in the loop.

Which apparently is a thing. I’ve always been a pretty strong believer in the idea that age is just a number. One reason I’m glad I’ve stuck with my tradition of not being at work for my birthday. I’m sure some of my colleagues and friends would see it as a reason for a celebration, to mark a milestone of sorts. I really don’t see it as a milestone and I certainly don’t feel 40. I’m not doing anything different this year. A few presents, a couple of friends round for a small party, and a family meal later. That’s really all I like to celebrate a birthday.

Before that though, I’m on holiday at a place that has some very special memories to me. It still stands as my favourite holiday stay from my youth and I’m pleased to say it hasn’t changed one bit. Its almost like a second home, I know it so well. It does feel like coming home the second you walk through the door. It’s really the perfect place. Cosy inside. Grand gardens out back to just sit and enjoy the sunshine. And a sports hall with basketball court and table tennis. Even if this time I might use it more for my workouts. More than any place it’s had a lot of family memories here, all good ones I’m pleased to say. Its almost a sanctuary. A place I can just get away from the world for a little. I’m sure everyone as place like this, right?

Foxes aren’t a new thing around my place. I can remember seeing them around often when I was a kid. These days I see them more frequently, pretty much every other day. Might have something to do with the biscuits I’ve been putting out for them. Controversial idea in some areas maybe. I’m always wary of getting them too dependent on humans for food and trying to encourage natural foraging instincts. Worries made worse by the one fox who rolls up, sits on the lawn and just stares at me judgingly; like he’s asking where are the biscuits?

Today I saw something that makes me think maybe I’m worrying over nothing. Not once in thirty years have I seen a fox hunt. But this one was hunting today. I wasn’t even sure they bothered to hunt, given they have ignored other animals and birds around them while foraging. Looks like despite my worries their natural instincts are being lost might just be that.

Seriously…I should. I really should. I end up creeping myself out to varying degrees. Often the mistake I make is letting my morbid curiosity get the better of me and looking up an article or video on the Black Death or something. Now..it’s not the fear of getting sick that bothers me or prays on my mind. That I could deal with. More than once I’ve literally convinced myself there is a Plague Doctor lurking behind every door or around a corner. Sometimes to the point that I have to grab one of my collection of weapons before I leave my room. Polypropylene weapons I should add. I’m not risking stabbing someone who catches me by surprise. Tonight I’ve ended up doing the same with a video from the SCP cannon and now I’m deeply unsettled. If you haven’t watched them, I’d recommend it because they are quite compelling. Just beware of watching them after dark.

As something of a serious writer (or so I’d hope to call myself) often I find myself telling too much of a story with Serenity Base and not writing enough Gameshow. One of the next games I have in mind will be more weighted towards story and less towards game. For I’ve kinda had a little bit of character progression in mind since I started this episode and I think now is the time to let that play out. So for this game gunge is going to take a backseat though I’m going to make up for that in the one that follows. And the one that comes before. So I hope you will forgive me a little less mess in exchange for a bit more prose.

Things are going well with this new chapter of SB. Seems I’ve hit upon something of a zone with my writing, the whole process feeling easier than it has done previously. I’ve just finished a very fun game that Uma enjoyed lot and now I’m planning out the next thanks to a sudden surge of inspiration. For the moment both of these games will be in part 6 unless I think it’s taking too long to finish, in which case I’ll cut it into two parts since I’m conscious I’ve not uploaded anything SB in a while. Either way, it will hopefully be worth the wait.

Just as something of a refresher, I’m dropping a link to the art I had done for the ladies of the episode. If you haven’t seen it yet, I’d recommend checking it out.

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/38194559/

Certainly can’t help that thought if I look out the window. Maybe not so much if I actually go outdoors. The sunshine makes it look warmer than it is lol. Still, brighter days are ahead. And I do love Summer, for a number of reasons. One, my birthday is only two months away, so I’m working to cut down my usually expansive list of things I’d either like or need.
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I was going more for things I need this year, up until a day ago when I saw two new releases from a game franchise I follow. And they have pushed a few things down the priority list. Whenever I grab a newly released game from a franchise, there are always things I’d love to see in future releases and rarely do I get them in exactly as I want them. Not this time though, this time one has just what I was longing for and I can’t wait to get it.
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Another reason I’m jazzed for summer is summer holidays. Summer holidays have always been a family tradition here and we are returning to not just one of my favourite places from when I was a kid but my favourite. Even more so since my second favourite isn’t there any more. Anyway, it’s just such a cool place. Description doesn’t do it justice so I’ll share some photos of it as they will be better than anything I could write.

What are you guys, gals and folks looking forward to from Summer?

The writing zone, that is. Following something of a dry spell of success with Serenity Base I’m cautiously gonna say I’m getting my stride back. Mostly because I’m making a conscious effort to write and not overthink what I’m writing about. Just get words down on paper and go with the flow. Don’t get bogged down by the nagging voice in your head that has become my doubts, and follow the course of writing it says you shouldn’t. Okay, that got a bit metaphysical there. I think I’ll stop rambling.

Another thing I think has helped is I’m getting back into a practice of mine that I’ve let slide for a few years. I’ve gone from having done no sessions for about three years to having two sessions of Tantra within the space of a month. I’ve shied away from this for so long because I’ve struggled to find someone to match the heights of my past experiences.

For those that don’t know, Tantra is therapeutic discipline of guided sensuality and pleasure if you can find the right person. For me the right person was a lady called Venus who had this amazing intuitive touch, who could relax and arouse me at exactly the same moment. Sounds a bit silly but she could do amazing things with a soft breath on the ear or kiss on the neck at just the right moment.

Anyway, I had given up on finding a therapist to match this service only to stumble across one with a twist. One idea central to this form of Tantra is sensual or body to body massage. Which is fine when I’m laying face up but face down doesn’t really relax me and didn’t during my first session. Luckily they also offer therapeutic cuddling. There is nothing more relaxing than just being held and cuddled. And that’s something we are going to focus on for todays session a little more.

I hope you all get bundles of prayers, good wishes, good vibes and a relaxing day; along with a truck load of chocolate if your celebration is that way inclined. My day may end up being not quite as relaxed as it might usually be. Following on from my new position at work and my recent completion of my Duty Training, I’m one of two official keyholders for my place of work from 1pm to 8pm today. Basically if the fire, burglar or gas alarms go off, I have to attend, investigate and resolve the situation appropriately.

I don’t want this to be taken as a gripe. I’m kinda looking forward to it, if I do get called out. It will be a good experience for me. I’ve already prepared a grab bag with everything I should need to deal with an emergency. Emergency Instruction Print out. Check. Branch keys. Check. My Sai’s. Check. I hope I won’t need them, but if I do run into trouble I want to be armed. Wish me luck.

Silly, fun and a little OTT. That is Serenity Base in a nutshell. Something I do have to keep refocusing on at times. Like I get a fresh idea for a game and can write it, yet it often feels too serious. It’s not bad writing by any means, just sometimes feels more like a scene from an action movie rather than a lighthearted, goofy, messy Gameshow. That’s when I try to turn something on its head and reimagine the idea into a silly a form as I can manage, something both my characters and readers can enjoy and have a laugh with. My latest game certainly fulfils that idea, having gone through about four changes alreasy to get it where it is now.

Previously I would have seen that as a failure on my part, now I’m seeing it as positive steps towards creating the best chapter I can write. One step backwards, two steps forward kinda thing. I hope you guys will enjoy it as much as I do when it’s finished.

…work wise I mean. I’m still enjoying the challenge of this new management secondment, each day providing a lot of new experiences and lessons that are good both for me as a person and for my career development. Yet I feel kinda stuck with the goals and aims I was given when I took this position, mostly due to a lack of staff to actually make the improvements I was brought in to make. It’s frustrating to want to focus on availability and sales when all the staff in when you are, are already arms deep in established tasks and can do little else otherwise we just fall behind. So for the moment I just end up doing the same thing every single night. Make sure checkouts are coping with enough staff to meet customer demands, field customer complaints or queries and make sure paperwork is signed off at the end of the evening. Which is needed of course, I just feel I could do more. *sighs*

….well, more work if I’m completely honest. One of my plans for this year was to be more active around here and in the furry world in general but so far that hasn’t gone at all according to plan. This new position and role of mine at work is sucking up a lot of my time. And I think that’s only going to get worse since the grace period to find my feet is done and I’m now expected to produce results.

That’s not to say I’m not getting some progress with my writings here. Even if Serenity Base has slowed down in progress, I’m still working on it. I have hit a bit of a roadblock with the current game I’m writing cause I can’t quite visualise it. So I’m gonna do some sketches of what I have in mind, see if that helps. If it does, I’ll upload them here so you can have a look. Stay safe.

White.

I’ve been doing a lot of introspection recently and this question just popped into my head. There are things we do and things we feel and believe, but which of those are core to us as a person? For me, I’m a writer. That’s a given as not just something I do, but something I can do. My talent or calling, I guess you could say. The one thing in life I’d like to be known for being and being good at. Maybe better than good. I’d hesitate to use the word renowned or famous, but I’d like to be known for it.
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As for what I believe, kindness is key to the world. Especially when others don’t always think or act the same. Which is a hard learned lesson in some ways. I thought the only way to deal with that was to respond in kind. Which doesn’t work, it just leaves me amped and frustrated as well. So now I just let it wash over me and not bother me. Anything else just adds more pain to the world. And there is too much of that these days. So..be kind and don’t say anything you wouldn’t want said to you. That’s a creed I’m trying to live by, rather than the extremes of personality i have. I’m either really shy and quiet or when pushed far enough, I can have a really sharp tongue on me. So I try to hold the middle ground when I can, using both of those when I need them. Ying and Yang kinda thinking.

Well…kinda promoted. It’s more a Team Manager Development Role rather than a full Team Manager position. I will be held accountable for results and performance targets like any Manager, I just won’t have the full Partner Development Lifecycle or Audit of paperwork to worry about. It’s a really a great opportunity to prove I can cut it as a Manager. I’ve seen lots of Partners offered these over the years; I just never expected to receive one myself.

So..what does that mean for my writing here. On the whole I think it’s gojng to be a bonus for that as well. I’m actually working less hours per week, doing all late night shifts and having two days off in a row some weeks. So that will mean every day will have an option for writing time. Which will be a boost for my content here. I’m still waiting on specifics of my rota and will share that when I get it.

Stay safe.
White.

…well, it certainly is looking that way. What had started out as simply a project for my career path could be heading towards not exactly a promotion but more a secondment to a small time manager role. From the little I’ve heard I would be a manager in all but name. I’d have a small team that I’d manage just as a manger would. Hours and payroll. Training and progression. Disciplinary and managing performance on the flip side of the coin.
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​How many people and for how long is just one of many particulars that no doubt I’ll find out tomorrow. I’m having a casual sit down with the Branch Manager tomorrow where I’m expecting to get more details on this brainchild of his. Things do seem to be moving quickly from where we were yesterday, where this was very much just a possibility and know it seems more concrete.
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Which is exciting and terrifying in equal measure. Both for the same reason. It all feels a little more real. How real it will feel tomorrow I suppose we will find out. Looking forward to it.

And it’s the creepiest thing I’ve seen in a long time. Much much creepier than The Rig, that’s for sure. And just as creepy as Sweet Tooth was. Yet enjoyably creepy. Sweet Tooth, with the whole pandemic thing going on, hit a little close to home. And was a little too real. Thankfully I can take The Last of Us as pure fiction. I’m not sure if not knowing anything about the franchise was a good thing or not. It certainly wasn’t a hinderance to following the plot, even if maybe I missed some background details others may have spotted.

I had three main questions going into it; how long, how quick and how many. All three were answered very quickly and pretty much as expected. Despite the not unexpected tear jerker moment just shy of halfway in, I’m sold on seeing where it goes next. On the whole, I’m enjoying it a lot.

It’s all part of my drive to make the leap into Copywriting and start putting myself out there. Not that I haven’t been putting myself out there but there is only so far that random blogging can get you. That’s what I like about LinkedIn, it makes a great place for both job searches and putting together a portfolio of work for potential employers. Something with an entry level position would be a start, something to get myself some real commercial experience. That’s going to be the first foot in the door, something I’m hoping to get within a few months. I guess time will tell.

As we are just shy of saying goodbye to 2022, I can’t let the year go without remembering those we have lost these last 12 months and offer a thought to those who have lost someone. While my thoughts turn to many people that are no longer with us, I’m going to take a moment to mention the loss that is still too raw to me. That of the late and much missed Jason David Frank. The world still doesn’t feel the same without him around and likely never will. Never will I find someone as much of an idol to me. May he rest in peace and power. May the Power protect you, JDF.

…mostly because the day wasn’t that relaxing at all. I thought the run up to Christmas was crazy but this took the cake. Given the amount of people we crammed through the doors, you’d have thought we were closing for a week instead of a single day. Gonna do my usual and just kick back, watch some calm tv and maybe a movie or two until we get ready for the Countdown to 2023. With some champagne and stollen as is our tradition. I’m really ready for this year to be over, given that it’s been such a wash out. With everything opening up again there is so much I want to do. Eat out. Cinema. Theatre. More eating out. Visit some clubs as well. Even if I have to find new ones since most didn’t seem to survive lockdown.

One thing I’m not looking forward to is having to work with a certain colleague again next year. We had a little set to today where the stress got to him and I was gifted with a good minute of vitriol I’ve never heard from him. Apparently asking one question accounts to bullying (which apparently I’ve been doing since day one) and I make unrealistic demands and never offer any help. Im uncertain how to approach this. I obviously want to make sure I support him but don’t want make it feel like I’m being a helicopter boss. Hopefully I’ll figure something out before Monday.

Merry Christmas one fur and all. I hope you are all having a good holiday. This one is shaping up to be pretty cool so far. Work thankfully wasn’t that crazy. Which was also a bit of a let down in another way. I was kinda looking forward to getting stuck into the madness of it, dashing here and there from one hotspot to another like previous years. Or better yet proving my metal running the madness of it since recent events have pushed me right to the top of the non management leadership pyramid. Instead I was kinda separate from all that, pretty much just running goods and stock receiving. Which was fun in its own way. Anyway, that’s done and I’m going to just enjoy these next few days. Nothing more than family time which is what Christmas should be about. I hope you all get time to see yours. Merry Christmas.