dragon

Mal

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One of our daughter’s favourite movies is “Uma Mal!”, otherwise known as “Disney’s Descendants”. She calls both the first and the second this, so it’s always a surprise which one she pulls out of the bookcase. to watch (PS the third is coming out this August!)

So when Mal came to our booth, of course we had to grab a picture of her.

Éric’s 2019 Resolution Mid-Year Review

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Hello My Imaginary Friends,

It’s July 2nd and that means half the year has passed us by… whoa. That was fast.

Let’s see how I’m doing with my resolutions.

Doofenshmirtz: You there, what’s your New Year’s resolution?

Writing

1. Write a Monthly Serial Story (Succeeding)

So far, so good; I’ve written one every month except for April. But I wrote an extra chapter to make up for it so I consider that good.

Go Read Seren Plentyn and the Secret of Hokulua Station

2. Write the Bookend Material for the Short Story Collection (Failing)

I haven’t touched this yet… Hopefully I’ll get a chance this summer.

3. Finish Paragenesis (Succeeding)

I’ve written 8 of 15 chapters… so that’s good.

4. Get to the 2/3 mark on Mystery of the Dancing Lights (No movement)

I started the year with 10 of 30 chapters… so that’s a good thing… I’m not sure I’ll get this done but I’d really like to.

JenEric Designs and Coffee

5. Continue to ensure there’s content 5 days a week on JenEric Designs (Failed)

We broke our 6 year streak with a missed post in February. The post was set for the right day but didn’t actually post and we didn’t notice until the next day; so it’s a fail.

6. Test, Design, and Produce 2 new coffee flavours (Succeeded)

We debuted Mighty ThOrange, In Another Castle, and Unbirthday Cake this year. So I went a little overboard.

  • A light roast with orange flavouring
  • A medium roast with peach flavouring
  • A light roast with cake batter flavouring

You can buy them and JenEric Coffee!

Editing and Marketing

7. Edit and send Dinosaur Road Trip to a willing beta reader (No movement)

I haven’t looked at it… 🙁

8. Submit Everdome for blurbs (Succeeding)

I wrote a draft letter, list of names, and started things off. It’s all up to my publisher now.

9. Playtest the higher levels of FADDS (Succeeding)

I’ve playtested level 10-11. In the fall, I’ll start a level 12-17 campaign.

10. Figure out how to market and sell CoasteRPG (No movement)

After a lot of thought, I’m come to realize this is a great concept, but not an easy thing to implement… I’ll think of something.

The game is great and works, but I have to find a better way to market/gimmick it.

Personal

11. Read 20 books (Succeeding)

I’ve read 13 of 20 so that’s great. I’m kinda hating the book I’m reading now, but we’ll see if it gets better.

12. Don’t Burnout (Succeeding)

I’m doing okay. I’ve come close a few times and been really in need of some rest, but overall I’ve done okay.

13. Be More Patient (Succeeding)

I’m trying… Really I am. I have my moments, but overall I think I’ve been better. My wife confirmed that I have been. Yay!

I still need to work on it. Especially at bedtime when all I want is sleep.

14. Play Some Video games with Dragon (Succeeding)

I’ve played some mobile games with her; she helps a little. Hopefully on parental leave we can try some console stuff.

So the breakdown is Succeeding/Succeeded 9, Failing/Failed 2, and No movement 3. At this rate I’m on course for a 60%+.

Hope you’re doing just as well!

Éric

Dear Dragon and Pegasus – Your Mum

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Dear Dragon and Pegasus,

As of this writing, it’s been exactly 4,950 days since I met your mother. On Wednesday, it’ll be our 13.5 year dating anniversary and our 10th wedding anniversary.

By the time you read this, you’ll probably think we’ve been together forever. Sometimes I feel that way too. It’s hard to imagine my life without her.

The two of us have been through a lot together. She’s helped me through some of the toughest parts of my life. To you, she’s just your Mum, but I don’t think you’ll ever understand how much she loves you. (I’m not sure she does either.)

If there’s one thing you have to know about your Mum, it’s that she’s always thinking of your best interests. (Well maybe not always, but in all the big things.) She wants you to be happy.

She’s not perfect; she’ll get completely sucked into a game or story. She can get overwhelmed and get grumpy. She’s WAY too hard on herself about almost anything. But no matter what, she will drop anything for family, friends, and especially you; to listen and support.

She throws herself body, heart, soul, into her relationships. Because of that, she leaves herself open to being hurt, but so often she makes amazing friends. She sees the best in everyone and loves everyone.

If you reach out to her, she will always be ready with a hug, an attentive ear, and a kind word.

There’s a lot in this world that’s scary, a lot that is bad, and even more that’s sad. Count yourself lucky that you have a Mum that will hug you and be there for you when you need her. The world can’t be all that bad when it has someone so open and willing to love.

She’s my favourite person, my best friend, and by far the best part of me. Remember to take care of her the way she will always take care of you.

Your loved Papa

P.S. She gives great hugs.

Dear Pegasus – Fear of Cults

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Dear Baby Pegasus,

You are on your way and I’m both excited and nervous. I wrote about my anxieties in my previous letter but I left one out.

I’m terrified because you are a perfect target for cults. When your Gramma was young, she joined a cult. They separated people from their families, fed them little, sleep deprived them, and made them believe that the central figure was faultless if not deific.

When I was young I noticed similar behaviour in school. In this case, it was a teacher with bad intentions who used all the same tricks to turn the class into his own private cult and he took advantage of select people. Even when he was caught, there were elements of the conditioning left in the class to make people want him to return.

You are growing up in a different age than your Gramma or I, and in some ways it’s wondrous. The entirety of human knowledge is available to you with little to no effort. As is the entirety of misinformation and hate that we as a race are capable of. It means that cults today don’t need a compound, they don’t need their old tricks. They have direct access to you through multiple channels and they prey on your fear, distrust, hurt, and pride.

Modern digital cults are cults of hate. They’re not new but they are much more far reaching. I’m scared I won’t have the ability to save you from them; I’m scared I won’t be able to prepare you to defend against them; and I’m scared they will steal you before you know what’s going on.

Your Mum and I do, and will do, our best to raise you and your sister to think rationally. To look at the evidence, opposing views, and make a critical decision based on that and your values.

I just hope it’s enough. I hope that in your darkest moments where you consider joining or participating in these things that you know you always have us to talk to.

I love you so much and I’ve yet to meet you,

Your Papa

P.S. This article explains a lot better what could happen.

Dragon at Comiccon 2019

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Hello My Imaginary Friends,

This was Dragon’s third Comiccon and she had a blast! (Read about last year here)

She spent this year playing with her new (they were actually her mum’s) Fisher Price Little People, hanging out with Vic, Aunt Lindsay, Modryb Sonia, and all the other wonderful people who vend around us.

Madona Skaff was nice enough give Dragon some rides on her scooter.
Learning to draw from Vic Putinski
Playing with her toys in the wagon
Aunt Lindsay and Vic
Wearing Aunt Lindsay’s hat

Her favourite thing to do was stand on the cooler and “help” me sell coffee. Other things she enjoyed include:

  • Playing in the wagon
  • Hanging out with Vic, Lindsay, S. M. Carrière, Madona Skaff, and Grannie.
  • Walking around the Con floor
  • Fries
  • Pepperoni Sticks
  • Saying hello to everyone
  • Getting her face painted by Paint Me Playful – Face and Body Painting

The two big highlights for her were Daleks and amazing cosplayers. (Tinkerbell by Princess of the North, Sailors Moon and Venus by Mysticfae, and Rapunzel and Eugene by East Coast Speedster)

Dragon had another great year at Ottawa ComicCon.

Thank you to everyone who interacted with her and helped us this year.

Éric

Marinette and Adrien (and an overwhelmed Wasp)

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Our little Wasp is a HUGE fan of Adrien Agreste from Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir. So much so that she shut down completely when she met his Cat Noir persona at Holiday Edition this past November. So a smile and standing approximately near Adrien is a huge step up for her.

Dear Pegasus – Being a Man

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Dear Baby Pegasus,

As a parent, my goal is to help you be the best version of yourself you can be. That’s the goal, but on a daily basis I’m usually just trying to make sure you and your sister survive with limited trauma.

You’re on your way, two months now before you get here and I’m terrified. I feel like I just got used to having three members of the family. I have no idea what you’ll be like, or how you’ll get along with your sister and it scares me.

I also harbour a strange fear. I’m not sure how to raise a boy. I’ve spent most of my life surrounded by girls and when I made friends with boys it almost always ended poorly. I often have no idea what to say or how to act around other males. I can count on one hand the men I’m close to and feel comfortable with.

Gender is a social construct, but with it comes social constructs on behaviour and shared truths. I feel like I missed the “male” seminar and that means in groups of men I often feel like I’m missing something. Some subtext that I just don’t follow.

Yes I’m empathic, yes I’m a writer, and yes I am a man. But those are despite my anxieties, not because of them.

All that to say I have no idea how to raise you to be a good, great, or any sort of a man. Sorry.

What I do know is that I’m going to do my best to raise you as a caring, intelligent, and good person. It means I’m going to try and ask myself if I treat you differently than your sister and if it’s because you’re a boy. I want to make sure you don’t just respect others but have genuine compassion.

No matter what, know that your Mum and I love you and want what’s best for you,

Your Papa