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I’ve decided to stop being a slave to the numbers. For too long, I’ve checked my website and social media metrics with a regularity bordering on the compulsive. It feels like I’ve fallen into the classic trap of intermittent reinforcement; the same “variable ratio” hook that keeps a gambler at the table. Does it feel…
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The old river road began sensibly enough. It was a modest dirt track lined with elderflower and the occasional flock of chickens, and for the first hour Gerdy felt quite confident he was the sort of man who went on journeys. He had his provisions. He had his map. He had a small piece of…
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The yard belonged to Reginald. Under the Mango tree, he was the sun around which all life orbited. His harem moved in a synchronised dance of scratching and pecking, always within the shadow of his mahogany wings. He was the “Main Man,” the undisputed law round these parts. His crow was the authority: a weathered…
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I don’t think my experience was unique, but I do wonder if it’s becoming a thing of the past. Bear with me; it’ll make sense in a moment. I grew up during the rise of manga like Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, and I deeply identified with the heroes and their superpowers. I kid…
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The village of Staple Green clattered with the rhythm of practical hustle. It was a place defined by the sharp clang of hammers on iron, the sounds of livestock in the crowded market, and the tireless calls of merchants haggling over salted fish, fruit, and other wares. The villagers moved like well-oiled parts of a…
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The midday sun sat heavy over the meadow where Buttercup and his young trio were grazing. “Can you head back and check on Mum? I’ll be a tad later,” he bleated softly. After a moment’s fuss, since they would much rather have stayed to frolic around their father, Bramble, Clover, and Aster finally obeyed. “Stay…
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“The ground didn’t just shake,” Buttercup said, his voice dropping to a low rumble. “It groaned. For a heartbeat, Zamba stood frozen, the same fear that had hampered him at the lantern returning with a vengeance. But as he looked into the glowing throat of the earth, he realised the truth. There was no beast.…
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“The lantern was dead,” Buttercup whispered. “Total blackness. Zamba’s hooves felt like lead as he fumbled with the lantern, his grip slippery with the cold sweat of a goat who knows time is running out. In the dark, the only sound was the frantic clink-scrape, clink-scrape of stone against iron. Zamba struck the flint again…
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“I’d have headbutted it right off the cliff!” Bramble roared, charging a defenceless pine stump with a crack that echoed through the crags. He shook his head, dizzy but grinning broadly. “One hit. Boom! That’s all it takes to be a hero, right Papa?” Clover didn’t even look up from fastidiously cleaning a hoof. “You’d…
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There’s a lot I wish I was better at. But to pick one thing in particular, I wish I was better at practical skills. It probably stems from how I feel about them. It’s a combination of them boring me, meaning I’m not interested in them, which then leads to me not learning enough to…
