Well, it has been far too long since I published anything! Don’t worry, I’m still alive.

Life has been hectic, frustrating, melodramatic, relieving, and satisfying (at various stages) since I more-or-less dropped off the face of the internet in … really, July? Uff da. Rambling is among my strengths, but I’d like to get this done in a single sitting. Frankly, there aren’t huge updates to share. Striving for brevity, let’s start with a bit of life events, then talk about projects.

Personal Life Stuff

The entire back half of 2025 was an emotional rollercoaster. Let’s start with something fun.

See that game? I spotted that in my LGS while Christmas shopping. I edited that! Finding Forestry out in the wild is probably the highlight of my last several months. I worked on it with Pink Troubadour last year. Seeing my work in a physical store for the first time was exciting and a smidgen surreal.

The most significant change is that I’m working a new job. It’s 40 hours per week, my MFA was a mandatory requirement for the position, and for the first time since 2022 I’m (somewhat) financially secure. What an enormous relief! I accepted this position around the start of August. Yes, it is a major reason why I’ve been quiet. This is a contract position with no assurance of longevity. Nonetheless, it’s indisputably relieved several stressors.

In my day-to-day I’m essentially an analyst for a tech firm. It’s a very good match for my skillset—especially my editor-brain’s obsession with details—but certainly is analytic, not creative. I’ve not got much willpower or cognitive energy at the end of the day. Consequently, I haven’t been writing much. (I’ve also begun to over-use rationalizing words like “consequently.”) All of my “writer stuff” is pretty much relegated to an hour-ish on evenings (if I have sufficient brain), or non-social weekends.

We’ll get to why I’m OK-ish with that at the end of this article.

The most impactful event is that I met someone named “Bella” around the same time I began the job. I am choosing to discuss this. I don’t feel obliged to do so. I presently lack the mental focus or emotional stamina to do so publicly, at least not with much semblance of craft. So, a blunt summary:

• We met online in a social group of fellow internet weirdos.
• We got to know one another, and expressed mutual interest, affection, yadda yadda.
• Began a nascent relationship, which she abruptly ended after a month-ish.
• Discover a week-ish later she cheated on me with a mutual friend, without his knowledge.
• Turns out “she” was a catfish messing with three or more guys. (Perplexingly, his fiancé may have also been involved.)

This was a pointless and cruel abuse of my trust. For a point of reference, I was so thoroughly deceived that I shared rough drafts with “her.” Outside of my actual writing group, there are only two or three people with whom I typically share drafts.

The happiness of “new job + new relationship” made exceptionally difficult by juxtaposition the transition to (by intervals) the saddest and then the angriest I’ve been in a long, long time. And to be honest, there are still struggles.

It was a good stress-test on some new meds. Instead of wholly incapacitated, I was merely miserable. I’m grateful I didn’t plummet far enough to lose the job. In the past, I would have.

All that garbage consumed most of September through November. Then the chaos of holidays. Stepping past it, I’ve been pretty OK since the start of 2026. I’m having more good days than bad days. I’m not sure the last time I could say that. 2025 was an absolutely horrible year. I’m not feeling “optimistic” about 2026, but that’s probably because I chose to bring up a negative topic.

RuneQuest

Howl of the Wild Hunt continues to be “Coming Eventually.” I used that phrase for a reason!

I’m not willing to commit to plans after it. I’ll just say that I want and intend to keep writing RuneQuest stuff. Whether that’s here, on the Jonstown Compendium, or something else entirely I can’t reasonably even say an intention.

Still playing RuneQuest, which is good. My long-running trickster, Illostan, recently murdered Harvar Ironfist (our game is in 1619, I think). Bastard had it coming. Absolutely zero regrets. Ignore the political turmoil, incipient war, and potential Crimson Bat visit.

Fiction

No meaningful movement. I’ve finished bringing chapters of Stillness to my writing group. Their feedback is strong and largely complimentary. Just need the time + energy to polish it off. Wrote one new chapter last month, an interlude. I’m still working on the actual outline of the next arc.

Freelance

I resigned my position with DualShockers shortly after starting the new job. I ultimately wasn’t able to find the time to write articles, and so I chose to leave on positive terms rather than force the editor to eventually boot me. We parted on positive terms, and I’m glad about that. The pay per article was lousy for the hours of work required, but that wasn’t my boss’s fault. I liked all the people I worked with, and I liked the labor itself. I’d work a similar gig again.

Pink Troubadour offered me the editing project for their next board game. In hindsight, accepting it was foolish with my current schedule and scarcity of writing time. I took it on because they’re an established client and, honestly, I just plain like working with them. They make cool games and I’m proud of my contributions.

That said, once I’m done with this game I need to put a hard stop on obligations. It’s not quite that I’m lousy at saying no. Some people are, and I don’t think that’s me. It’s more that I want to do all of the 10,000 things, and I’ve got the capacity to do like … two of them? Maybe?

No movement on other stuff, nor interesting news/thoughts/speculation popping into mind.

The Coming Year

I don’t know when my contract position will end. That said, I anticipate I won’t hold it for all of 2026. I participate in some income-based programs and services. If I work the contract past August-ish, I’ll go over those limits. From my hasty back-of-napkin math, keeping the position I could afford to replace those supports. However, paying out-of-pocket, across the whole year I’d net something like $2,000 for four extra months working this job.

I like the job. But c’mon, obviously I’m not taking that choice—especially since I could instead use those months for creative work. As the math above implies, working through August-ish should also meet my financial needs through the rest of 2026. This decision makes sense to me, too, because it’s a contract position. There’s no longevity, benefits, guarantees, etc. despite working full-time hours. I’m not complaining. I know what I signed! Since the position is somewhat ephemeral, my long-term planning shouldn’t assume I’ll continue to have it, anyway.

What will I do during those months? Don’t ask. I’m tired of locking myself into goals and then failing, again and again, to fulfill them. “Creative stuff, hopefully” is the best I can give.

In the near-term, though, I’ve scheduled a week off from my contract toward the end of March. That’s earmarked in particular for wrapping up Howl. I just need time to sit down, remember how to do art direction, remember how the hell Affinity works, and do the last bits of labor needed.

Until next time, then.