The Rogue's Scribe: Zenmisery's Life-giving Comments

Friday, August 29, 2025

Zenmisery's Life-giving Comments

Est. Read Time: 8min
This Month's Font: Playpen Sans

Good lord. I need a steady schedule again. Ah, how I miss the days of my youth when I worked a 9-5 Monday-Friday office job. I thought I would prefer a non-office job that had something new every day and a spontaneous schedule. I was a fool.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't essentially working an uneventful office job, BUT with the added benefit of an inconsistent work schedule. Best of both worlds (sarcasm). Add in Hubby's chaotic work schedule, and I've been a mess pretty much all year.

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Hubby used to work more-or-less the same hours as me, which meant we had evenings together. Then, at the start of the year, one of the managers retired. The company then basically strong-armed one of the few remaining full-time employees into the newly vacant managerial role, which then left their position open. Best part is that the company no longer has "full-time" non-managerial employees (aside from that person being grandfathered in). So, their last position still needs to be filled, but without the added benefits of full-time status. Naturally, no one wants the job. But the hours still need to be covered. During the personnel shift to fill the hours, Hubby somehow got shuffled to closing shift more often than not. Problem is, he's not EXCLUSIVELY closing. Nope. He's also still working day shift on occasion, morning shift at least once or twice a week, and he was recently trained on opening. So that means THAT is going to be added to the chaotic-schedule mix now too. Some days he has to be at work by 6:30am. Other days he's at work until after 10pm. Fun.

This means Hubby and I have spent the past year scrambling to try to find days off together, plan out whole-day excursions (usually to do chores/run errands) for those days off to make the most of them, and then lazily lounge around the house the rest of the time so we can have a few hours each day to just be a couple. Not to mention our horrendous sleep schedule.

I actually woke up at the time I was supposed to be clocked in at work this week! Yup. That's where I'm at right now....

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I'm telling you, our house - and my writing - has not been terribly happy this year due to this scheduling conflict between me and Hubby. Our D&D sessions are just as wanting... as in, we STILL haven't found a chance to play. The few times Hubby actually had a Thursday evening off, he's been too mentally fried to host a session, let alone advance the campaign.

So many of my friends have objectively had a much harder year than I have, but that doesn't terribly lessen how much 2025 has sucked for me.

Which is why it was such a delight when zenmisery reached out to me! As I mentioned last update, it meant the world to know that I was a motivating factor in her writing. That she pictured me reading and commenting on her stuff, and that helped encourage her to provide content for me to enjoy.

Like WHAT!? That is so cool!

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It made me want to repay her in kind: provide something for her to enjoy. Or, at least, something I'd hope she'd enjoy.

I had mentioned it when I first started working on Seduce with Caution years ago, but I reminded Zen that certain spicier chapters in her story Dressed to Confess had inspired me to start working on SWC in the first place. I then gave her the "elevator pitch" of the story:

Over the course of the 6 years since they’ve met, Chat Noir has developed the habit of visiting Marinette on a nearly-nightly basis. They have become best friends within these two personas - Chat Noir and Marinette - and one of their main topics of discussion is their failed love lives. One night Chat Noir proudly proclaims that he’s sorted out how to get Ladybug to finally fall for him. Marinette playfully dismisses him. To prove his point, Chat Noir decides to try out his new flirting tactics on Marinette. Neither of them expected his new seduction moves to actually work. When they do, chaos ensues.
So now, 19yo Marinette is trying to sort out her newfound sexual attraction for 19yo Chat Noir and what that means for both her love for Adrien and her partnership with Chat Noir as Ladybug. Meanwhile, Adrien is also trying to figure out why Marinette swooning over him is such a huge turn-on. Is it just the swooning? Is it because it’s swooning over his superhero persona instead of his model status? Is it because it’s a friend of his instead of a random stranger? Is it because it’s Marinette specifically? Can he get her just as hot-and-bothered as just plain-old Adrien? Would it be as much of a turn-on if he could? What does ANY of this mean for his friendship with Marinette (both as Chat Noir and as Adrien) or his supposed undying love for Ladybug?

Zen seemed so excited to read my story. Which gave me absolute WINGS! Considering I was kinda writing this story FOR her, since it was her story that inspired me. Due to Life being chaotic for everyone, Zen hasn't finished my WIP file I sent her (which, to be fair, IS 44pages/18k+ words long... and it's only a FRACTION of what I have planned for the overall story). She's about half-way through, though. And I'm already LIVING for some of her comments!

This just drips with hip gyration and I am HERE FOR IT!!!

Neeeerrrrrrrddd I love him SO much!! This is so him. 😆🥰

🫠❤️

🙌🏻😏 Get ‘im, Plagg!

chokes on drink 😳 “Who would… who would be into…. Something like that…?” 🫣

Great wording and description. 👌🏻

🫦

Naughty boy!!! Planning to destroy the poor girl.

Love this. Really adds to the feeling of being absolutely lost in the moment of experiencing sensory overload.

Perfection. 👌🏻

I think the ones that are just emojis are my favorites. She has a lot of constructive criticism as well, which I so appreciate. However, her running commentary is absolute life-blood!

I'm actually really excited to pick this story back up again now! Maybe nearly a year away from the story, coupled with Zen's comments, is precisely what I need to reignite my passion for this project. Maybe I can now find that connective tissue to really finish fleshing out this story.

I have to say, I'm hyped! Now to find time to actually lean into this passion again before it dries up once more.

Unrelated, but still writing-adjacent, earlier this month I randomly got struck with an idea for another alien race for Scum & Villainy. Honestly, I can't recall now what sparked it. I just remember watching or listening to something. Then this idea of a humanoid race with longer fingers with a carapace over the tips (instead of finger nails) just popped into my head. Of course, it was right before I wanted to go to bed. That's always when ideas spring up, huh? Darn, Muse! I frantically wrote down any details I could think of. I haven't gone back to refine it really at all. I'm not sure what is here that I can keep. But it was fun to try to come up with another human-like alien race and why their bodies might have evolved the way they did.

They have slender, pointed fingers about double the length of a human's. Their fingertips come to a claw-like point, almost stiletto in shape. They have an extra digit on each finger. Due to the structure of their hands, they have incredible dexterity, fine motor skills, and grip strength. Most of this race are renowned for their expert craftsmanship in the arts, their superior culinary skills, their advancement within precision technology, and their fierce mastery of finesse fighting.
Along with the elongated fingers, their toes are longer, like a monkey's. They have four clawed, front-facing toes, and a fifth one coming off their heel for balance and grip/anchoring. Their shoes have holes to accommodate this toe sticking off the heel, to not hinder their balance. They have extra bones in their feet to make them extra flexible. They make ungodly ballerinas.
Hands and feet evolved from their need to rock climb. Their clawed points are tough like a carapace.

Do these evolutionary differences in their limbs and digits make sense? No clue. Do those extra joints in their feet and toes truly translate to their societal advancements? No clue. Why were their ancient ancestors forced to live along cliffs; resulting in the evolutions I picked? No clue. But it will be fun to poke at these physical features and try to sort that out.

While actual narrative writing has still alluded me, I feel like I'm at least in an upswing this month. I'll gladly take it!

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(old school) Bitmoji

I think it's fairly obvious that my month's blessing is that smidge of a writing itch again. Specifically, my blessing was Zen reaching out to me and leaving me such encouraging comments on my SWC WIP. It's so hard to constantly shoo away that self-doubt and imposter syndrome. Having her excitedly ask to read the story, and just as excitedly leave comments on it has been fantastic. Much needed.

Also, just the blessing of Nuria Sanguino including the song Junts arribarem al cel by AGGAPPÉ in her series Love 4 a Walk. I mentioned this in August's LRRC, but I've been OBSESSED. It's just the PERFECT bright, sunny day, upbeat, Life Is Great song. I have been listening to it on repeat for HOURS on end, especially out on my porch enjoying the last remnants of summer. It really helps lift me up and puts me in a more positive mood. In particular, the bridge, when this large chorus chimes in to sing

OH LAI LA, vull que tu m’acompanyis, tu m’acompanyis,
OH LAI LA, vull que tu m’acompanyis fins el final
OH LAI LA, vull que tu m’acompanyis, tu m’acompanyis,
OH LAI LA, vull que tu m’acompanyis fins el final

(Google translation of the Catalan lyrics:
OH LAI LA, I want you to accompany me, you accompany me,
OH LAI LA, I want you to accompany me until the end)

The energy is just so hype and I love it. I eat it up so much. When I'm in a funk, I can just blast Junts arribarem al cel and it all becomes a little more positive. Man! I love the power of music!

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Goodness, those Avatoon images are kinda rough, huh? Well, they still help me create images for this blog without turning to a.i., so I guess I'm grateful for that too.

Lots of little blessings this month.

Alright, I'm going to crank up Junts arribarem al cel yet again and dance my way over to.... something just for me. More reading. Writing. Catching up on video games. Watching my backlog of shows/movies. Something.

Which means, I'll catch you all in a few weeks for September's LycoRogue's Reading Corner. I already have a bunch of things to talk about. Including those pieces of original fiction that Zen sent me earlier this month! I'm excited to talk to you folks about it all. Maybe I'll be excited enough to actually get the post up by the 15th???? We'll see.