iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

It’s said that the difference between fantasy and sci-fi is thus: fantasy spends a chapter describing a spread of food, and sci-fi spends a chapter describing faster-than-light travel. Well, considering I spend a whole book describing FTL, let’s spend a thread post comprehensively covering the food.

140

Reposted by Boter Bug

Jill Pantozzi @jillpantozzi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Last month, a Google alert directed me to an interview I did with cartoonist Matt Furie—creator of Pepe the Frog…only I haven’t done any interview and I’d never even met Furie. So I clicked. "None of this is true": AI, content farms, and one completely made-up article. bsky.app/profile/then...

12708372

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

In Destroyers, I intentionally avoided specifying what kind of weapons exist in the Subspace setting. Ballistic/bullets? Laser beams? Plasma bolts? In The Light of Unfamiliar Stars I decided, screw it, they all exist. #HockisMissing #NewBook #selfpublish

110

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Hanging with Spenceley in voice-chat while I try out a Skyblade in the demo for G-Rebels! www.twitch.tv/boterbug

twitch.tv

BoterBug - Live on Twitch

Sci-fi VTOL? | Brunch With Boter | Streaming g-rebels.

030

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

An earlier draft of the cover art that @molotovmina.bsky.social sent me had a skull on the prow of the Alabaster Shrike. It didn't feel right to me - not very Liz, too generic. I asked if it could be something avian. She came back with this Shrike logo. Nailed it, first try. #HockIsMissing #scifi

A spaceship, gray with green details. A rough green skull design sits atop the front viewscreen of the ship.

110

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

What is your favorite (fictional) (?) faster-than light method? Either for how it works or how it enables unique storytelling! For Destroyers, I had to come up with more details, which fortunately left me with a lot of leeway and interesting things I could do in the next book! #scifi #spacepirates

121

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Hey, Mint Mobile / T-Mobile, why does one of your towers in upstate NY think it's in Texas?

A screenshot of Bluesky telling me to submit to age verification because it thinks I'm in a state that wants corporations to have as much personal data on citizens as possible.

100

Reposted by Boter Bug

Micro SF/F by O. Westin @microsff.com · 22/09/2026

A spaceship landed in the park. A door dilated. An alien emerged with a chair, which they sat down on, backwards. "Look," they said, "we're not here, okay? You know why nobody contacts you? Because the write-up would be such a pain." They sighed. "Get your shit together, okay? We know you can."

632796

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Happy Autumn Equinox, fellow Earthers! As we celebrate a celestial milestone in our planet-based calendar, it’s time to LORE DROP how calendars work in the multicultural galaxy of the Subspace Saga! (Throw to public Facebook post because LONG.) www.facebook.com/share/1HoDMY... #HockisMissing

facebook.com

010

Reposted by Boter Bug

Paul F. Tompkins @pftompkins.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Once you start conceding ground to the “protect sports” angle in order to win an election you’re not fighting for anyone’s rights

493557356

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Avast, space scallywags! Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day! May the spacelanes grace you with bountiful plunder and you always remain two subspace jumps ahead of the law. Enjoy this memento Hock keeps of happier times. More coming soon on how to get that smile back! #HockIsMissing #NewBook #selfpublish

A large floating alien pufferfish dressed in a pirate coat with a small tricorn is smiling while next to a human woman also in pirate garb. A green filter overlaid suggests this is a holographic record or part of a transmission.

010

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

When writing Destroyers in 2022, it didn't occur to me to have an artificial lifeform or entity; it just didn't come up. Writing The Light of Unfamiliar Stars, it became a more conscious decision to exclude AI from the universe. It just wasn't a topic I felt I could do justice to. #HockisMissing

140

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Of HUGE importance to me was making sure that The Light of Unfamiliar Stars would look good on the shelf next to Destroyers! Even though it has a different artist (lovely and talented @molotovmina.bsky.social), I wanted the same layout designer (Jeff Brown) to unify the look! #HockisMissing #NewBook

3D mockup of How We Stopped the Destroyers, by Andrew Bugenis.

3D mockup of The Light of Unfamiliar Stars, by Andrew Bugenis. Note the similar text style.

111

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Live now! Last two levels - should be finishing our Heroic difficulty run tonight! UNLESS one of you cheers or subscribes to pay for me to enable some truly diabolical skulls. That would be _awful_. www.twitch.tv/boterbug

twitch.tv

BoterBug - Live on Twitch

Solo Heroic CHEER/SUB FOR SKULLS | Brunch With Boter | Streaming halo: campaign evolved.

021

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Name a TV show with two or fewer* seasons. Girls Und Panzer (does it count if it's one season, a half dozen OVAs, and like three movies?)

static.klipy.com

Anime Girls Riding a Tank

Alt: Anime Girls Riding a Tank

110

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

What flags would ships fly in Destroyers and Unfamiliar? Wadja: 🏴‍☠️ Alabaster Shrike: 🇨🇽 Exo Sovlin Hygeia: 🏳️ Swiftpack: 🇺🇳 Galtean Duchess: 🇵🇦 Bonus - what flags best represent who runs the ship? Wadja: 🚩🚩🚩 Alabaster Shrike: 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈 #HockisMissing #NewBook #selfpublish

010

Reposted by Boter Bug

Joel Auterson | DWG out now! @joelotter.com · 11/09/2026

I kind of crashed out this week. Generative AI has made a lot of my hobbies and creative endeavours feel pointless, when I'm not in a good headspace. I had a good conversation with a friend that helped, so I wrote about it, so I can read it when it happens again. www.joelotter.com/posts/2026/0...

joelotter.com

Fuck it, make it anyway

Carrying on in the face of creative devaluation.

1113435

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

So, without a "How We" title, how did I come up with "The Light of Unfamiliar Stars"? Well, call it silly, but the original outline was for "Untitled Destroyers Sequel". As a gag, I came up with "Unfamiliar, Distant Stars" with the same initials, and it developed from there. #HockisMissing #NewBook

011

Reposted by Boter Bug

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 11/09/2026

I wrote this the day after, 25 years ago. whatever.scalzi.com/2005/09/11/t...

whatever.scalzi.com

1625020

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I spent a couple weeks working on this video, and am really proud of it! Thanks to all who participated in the streams. youtu.be/TKiEB_YlwVI Last two levels of the game will be on stream this Sunday.

youtu.be

Tormented by Skulls on The Silent Cartographer

YouTube video by Boter Bug

010

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

"How We Saved My Idiot Captain" is, I think, a good title for a book, particularly as a sequel to "How We Stopped the Destroyers". But after the first beta readers took to the manuscript, it became apparent that it wasn't a good fit for *this* sequel. #HockisMissing #NewBook #selfpublish

230

Reposted by Boter Bug

Mina Bo Bina Banana Fana Fo Fina @molotovmina.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

No, like, for real! Please check out this book!! We are going to kickstart soooooon. Thats my artwork!!!! #booksky #artistofbluesky

042

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Admit it, you keep around two dozen tabs open at any time, right? What's one more? Learn more about The Light of Unfamiliar Stars here and keep that tab open - it'll be updating soon with how you can make the launch of this book an event to remember! www.press-enter.net/unfamiliar/ #selfpublish

press-enter.net

The Light of Unfamiliar Stars

Space piracy is never an easy career, and when your last big adventure saw you cross into another universe and get wrapped up in galaxy-shattering events, you end up getting a target on your back. For...

010

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

"Why did you write The Light of Unfamiliar Stars as a sequel? Wasn't Destroyers a standalone?" It was! Then I was listening to the audiobook and the Intelligence agent said that when he caught back up to the pirates, he'd be more worried about Liz than Hock. #HockIsMissing #NewBook #SelfPublish

120

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I don't think description bores me, it just doesn't occur to me. I don't think that way. In fact I just realized that I introduced someone in The Light of Unfamiliar Stars as in a jumpsuit, then they continue through the story and SHOULD have a wardrobe change but I never specified. Oops.

200

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

The Light of Unfamiliar Stars is the next sci-fi novel from Andrew Bugenis, the author of How We Stopped the Destroyers! Follow Liz, Åsa, and the rest of the crew of the Alabaster Shrike as they seek to recover Captain Corven from the clutches of... ??? #HockIsMissing #NewBook #SelfPublish

A book cover. The title, "The Light of Unfamiliar Stars" stands in bold silver over a space tableau of gray, green and black. A spaceship in the foreground runs away from a mysterious crystalline structure shrouded in mist. The author's name, Andrew Bugenis, sits at the bottom.

111

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

The fan-favorite alien pufferfish pirate captain Hock Corven has gone missing and it's up to his former protégé Liz Bewick to track him down. What dangers will they face? Can her new crew pull together, or will they fall apart? And what is that chasing them down? #HockIsMissing #NewBook #SelfPublish

A partially-revealed book cover. The author's name is at the bottom (Andrew Bugenis). A gray-and-green spaceship zooms away from a twisted, crystalline structure shrouded in mist. Text in the blank space promises the rest of the cover and the title reveal in four hours.

021

Reposted by Boter Bug

Mina Bo Bina Banana Fana Fo Fina @molotovmina.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

The Alabaster Shrike ship went thru 4 or 5 different iterations before Andrew and I settled on this design.

static.klipy.com

Kamille Bidan Z Gundam

Alt: Kamille Bidan Z Gundam

011

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Amid the book cover reveal, we also have the usual - stream time! Remember a few weeks ago when people could donate to add skulls to my Halo Campaign Evolved playthrough on Heroic? We're doing The Library now. www.twitch.tv/boterbug

twitch.tv

BoterBug - Live on Twitch

Donate for Skulls on THE LIBRARY! | Brunch With Boter | Streaming halo: campaign evolved.

000

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Say hello to the Alabaster Shrike! After the events of How We Stopped the Destroyers, Liz Bewick got her own ship and her own crew. With its own stolen subspace drive, this pirate ship is nigh-unstoppable. But wait... is it running from something? #HockIsMissing #NewBook #SelfPublish

010

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

You've heard me talking about my next book; now it's time to get OBNOIXIOUS with it! Tomorrow is the cover reveal, bit-by-bit to the full title and more information tomorrow evening! Check back in the morning for the first big piece! #HockIsMissing #NewBook #SelfPublish

A blank off-white page. Boxes each show a time (9AM, 1PM, and 5PM EDT), while the bottom section shows an author name (ANDREW BUGENIS) with art behind it.

021

Reposted by Boter Bug

SaberComp @sabercomp.com · 05/09/2026

Submissions for SaberComp 2026: The Purge are now being accepted! Head over to the website to download the bumper to go at the start of your entry and to submit it to the competition! sabercomp.com/submit/

sabercomp.com

Submit Your Entry

Fill out the form on this page to officially enter SaberComp 2026. Deadline: October 24, 2026.

002

Reposted by Boter Bug

Quiz @quiz0083.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

If we could take anything from this week I hope it's that we can all be a bit more like Dolly Parton and Tim Curry, especially now that they are both no longer with us. 🙏🤍

0125

Reposted by Boter Bug

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 25/08/2026

I ended up having more extended thoughts on Dolly Parton over on Facebook and I thought I would share them here as well.

When I was much younger, I knew her mostly as a caricature and the object of jokes, because young men are kind of stupid that way and I was no exception, and because she willingly played along with the joke, in part because she knew it would happen anyway, and this way she got to shape some of how that would play out for her, and use it for her own ends. It took me a while to realize how canny that was.

When I got older, I learned that underneath the caricature was a formidable songwriting and business mind. I had an inkling of what a rare combination that was in any person, but how even more rare it was for someone who was who she was, in the field and environment she worked in. Hidden in all those sparkles was a spine of steel.

When I got older than that I learned that in addition to a brilliant mind was a heart of kindness, which directed so much of the good fortune she amassed to herself right back out the door through philanthropic work, helping those in her communities, state and country, and which allowed to see the worth and dignity in those whom so many others treated (and still do treat) with contempt.

She was always all the things she was. What changed was my ability to see and understand who she was. I'm glad I was eventually smart enough to see it all.

432247284

Reposted by Boter Bug

Micah @rincewind.run · 25/08/2026

Discworld QOTD, from The Shepherd's Crown "FOR I CAN SEE THE BALANCE AND YOU HAVE LEFT THE WORLD MUCH BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT, AND IF YOU ASK ME, said Death, NOBODY COULD DO ANY BETTER THAN THAT…"

362249671

Reposted by Boter Bug

Game Changer @gamechanger.dropout.tv · 25/08/2026

The reviews for Game Changer's new episode "What's the Catch" are in! 🎣

2033035

Reposted by Boter Bug

Becca @beccabeckery.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Found a game being made about the Irish language and I get really excited! Then I find out they use generative AI 🫠 The person creating The Last Gaeltacht supposedly has been working on it for the last 9 years and then decided to use gen AI “art” Congrats! You ruined your game before it’s release

2132

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Last week, the Silent Cartographer bested me (on Heroic and with the Iron skull on, with some others). Today is redemption day. www.twitch.tv/boterbug #HaloCampaignEvolved

twitch.tv

BoterBug - Live on Twitch

Campaign Evolved Solo Heroic - CHEER FOR SKULLS | Brunch With Boter | Streaming halo: campaign evolved.

011

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

A very special part of my playthrough of Freespace 2 was getting to do it with Bryan, and being able to record separate live-action introductions for each greenscreened into the hangar menu environments. I hope you enjoy this compilation of all of them together in one place. youtu.be/7FXmS_RNQkQ

youtu.be

Boter Plays Freespace 2 - All Live-Action Scenes

YouTube video by Boter Bug

000

Reposted by Boter Bug

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 14/08/2026

My upcoming book Monsters of Ohio has gotten a nice blurb from someone who knows a little bit about both monsters and Ohio:

"This isn't the Ohio of my youth. Monsters and horror in every small town! This book made me laugh--and shudder. Wonderful chilling fun!" – R.L. Stine, author Goosebumps and Fear Street

3056530

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Damn, my Aurebesh reading skills are now at the point where my mind can wander while I read and I end up not actually absorbing the words for a paragraph or so, just like with normal latin letters. That's, uh, a milestone.

020

Reposted by Boter Bug

SaberComp @sabercomp.com · 14/08/2026

For years, building a complete, browsable and dynamic archive has been the white whale of Council member @natecow.com. Learn about the latest progress and how it's been achieved in the latest news post: sabercomp.com/feed/buildin... Want to be part of the archive? SC 2026 deadline is in 71 days!

sabercomp.com

Building The Real Archive

Back in February, I wrote about the playlist checker tool I had built with Claude that helped us monitor YouTube links in our Notion database. In that, I referenced the elusive "Official Archive" that we've mentioned over the years. Freaking years. That's what it's been. I've

011

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Always with the moved goalposts. I lost YouTube monetization in 2017 or 2018, when they raised the eligibility requirements. I finally qualified again this year (on the back of a popular video that ironically can't be monetized in itself), and now this. How long until I get dropped again?

Increased requirements for entering the YouTube Partner Program (aka being able to get a cut of ad and Premium revenue).

010

Reposted by Boter Bug

Cohen is a Ghost @skullmandible.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

people will be like "well homeschooling worked great for me" and like sure, ok, I don't doubt it, but religious conservatives are raising swarms of children who can't read and don't know what the sun is and I think we may need to return to a seatbelt-mandate-style solution to this issue

382139327

Boter Bug @boterbug.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Good morning! I've been finding a lot of skulls in Halo: Campaign Evolved - not all, yet - but if you want to modify gameplay, cheering 100 bits lets you choose one (sub for two!) to add to our loadout! We'll lock in skulls at the beginning of every mission. See you there! www.twitch.tv/boterbug

twitch.tv

BoterBug - Live on Twitch

Campaign Evolved Solo Heroic - CHEER FOR SKULLS | Brunch With Boter | Streaming halo: campaign evolved.

010