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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈

@mshades01.bsky.social
539 followers 850 following 1.7K posts

Expat American in Osaka, Japan. Teacher, writer, calligrapher, dungeon master. He/Him D&D Writing: encountereveryenemy.com Writing Substack: theunglamorouspart.substack.com AO3: archiveofourown.org/users/MShades01

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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 7h
Got a few ideas ready to go for a solid start. Just gotta put them in Procreate so I can make them suck less. #Art #Inktober #Inktober26
The cover of a sketchbook with “Inktober ‘26” written on the front.
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 15h
Day 21: I made those 485 words out of the piece I was cutting, and wrote 988 words of the next Encounter Every Enemy entry, so a net of 503. And then another 115 of Septopolis work. #AmWriting #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #DontBreakTheChain
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 15h
That's a question I don't really have an answer for. They're part of an Empire, so it has to have relationships with other cities and states of that Empire. But I haven't really worked that out, as it's not relevant to the story I'm writing. At least not yet. #Septopolis
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 15h
Laws are enforced fairly arbitrarily, mainly because that's how the King thinks. There are local councils in areas of the city that handle things, usually with the aim of keeping themselves off the Royal radar. #Septopolis
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
PRINCE ESSEN: "What do you mean I 'do something'? Do what?" ME: "We'll find out when we get there." ESSEN: "I hate this." ME: "And here.... we... go!" #AmWriting #WriteSky #WritingCommunity
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Reposted by Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈
Kaleidotrope @kaleidotrope.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Kaleidotrope re-opens to fiction and poetry submissions three weeks from today, October 18. It will be open for just one week, closing after October 24, and won't re-open again until some as yet undetermined time, probably in 2027. kaleidotrope.net/guidelines/
static.klipy.com
Monet X Change: Get Ready, Honey!
Alt: Monet X Change: Get Ready, Honey!
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Okay! I worked backwards from my villain’s plan and I now have a 22-point outline of the story. All I need to do now is replace some of those worryingly vague “Essential does something” placeholders and we’ll be off to the races. #AmWriting #WriteSky #WritingCommunity
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Day 20: Actually I wrote -469 words today, trying to do the last LeGuin exercise where I cut a piece in half. Still have 485 to go and I have no idea where they'll come from.... #DontBreakTheChain #AmWriting
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Reposted by Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈
Brad T. Jonas @bradtjonas.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
hooray, thoughts
p1: “Finally, some time alone with my thoughts.”

p2:

p3:

p4: “This is horrible.”
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Reposted by Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈
purplebirdman @purplebirdman.com · 26/09/2026
comic linework in progress today... laurie got eyes for someone 🦊🐴
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Reposted by Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈
Scazrelet ~ Suffering @scazrelet.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
October is nigh So once again I repost my very long thread of fifty Ways to Become a Better Artist Without Making Art #ArtResources 🧵
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I think if I want to really get moving on my Fantasy Conspiracy story, I have to first write the Third Act Villain Speech. You know, “Before you die I wanted to tell you my plan.” That way I know what is plan is as soon as he tells me. #AmWriting #WriteSky
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Day 19: Wrote a new entry for Encounter Every Enemy - a Dragon, so it came in long at 1629 words. Another 223 for Septopolis, for a total of 1852. Also started some editing on "For Science". Took out 657 words. Added back another 246. NET: 1441 words. Whew. #DontBreakTheChain #AmWriting #WriteSky
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Sovereign power is held by the Monarchy. The King, in particular, and in theory, he has absolute power over the kingdom. In reality, however, the current King, Matanus a’Rickter, has no interest in proper governance. #Septopolis
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Day 18: I wrote 186 words for Septopolis. BUT, I created a whole new Google Sheet to track Works in Progress, started the transfer to Obsidian out of Google Docs. And commissioned some art. And finished marking essays. A productive day. #DontBreakTheChain #AmWriting
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Most citizens of the Sunrise Kingdom are born there. Because of its origins as a "safe harbor," it's still resistant to outsiders - not actively hostile, but if you immigrate from elsewhere (with some exceptions), there is a bureaucratic struggle to be had. #Septopolis
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Because of the walkability of the city, there are plenty of places for people to meet. Small parks, little shops, cafes, performance halls. #Septopolis
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I was going through my Google Drive folders to move things into Obsidian and realized I’ve got EIGHT novel projects in various states - from finished and already rejected once to barely a rough sketch. EIGHT. And yes, titles never come first. #AmWriting #WriteSky #WritingCommunity
A screenshot of a Google Sheet listing my current novel projects. Mostly Fantasy.
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This week, Ursula wants to to embed a complex task into a story that's not really about that task. How'd I do? #AmWriting #WriteSky #WritingCommunity theunglamorouspart.substack.com/p/expository...
theunglamorouspart.substack.com
Expository Lump 2
#NAME?
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Finally getting around to putting all the art I bookmarked here into a swipe file so I can stare at them and mourn decades of lost time making art and know that I’ll never be as good as I could have been no matter what I do. That’s… that’s what it’s for, right? #Art
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
#DontBreakTheChain Day 17: Started writing the next Encounter Every Enemy entry - don’t have a precise word count from here. Graded more essays.
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Goblins: You Know What a Goblin Is Everybody knows what a Goblin is. Or do they? This week, we look at one of D&D's most familiar monsters: what their ubiquity says about the world, what our assumptions about them say about us, and how a DM can make “Goblin” mean more than “roll initiative.”
encountereveryenemy.com
Goblins: You Know What a Goblin Is
Everybody knows what a Goblin is. Or do they? This week, we look at one of D&D's most familiar monsters: what their ubiquity says about the world, what our assumptions about them say about us, and how a DM can make “Goblin” mean more than “roll initiative.”
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Human artists! Use one piece only to convince people to follow you! Saint Leo, the fighter who would rather be something else. #Art #OC
A lion man warrior sitting on a stone. He is half in shadow. He has a sword and shield by his side, and he looks oh-so-tired.
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Day 16: Wrote the next Monthly Monster Mashup for the blog, coming in at 952 words. Today's Septopolis entry as well - 225 words. Grand total, 1177 words today. Also marked some essays, so that should count for something. #DontBreakTheChain #AmWriting
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
As noted yesterday, in the absence of organized sports, the arts are what brings the people together. The largest theatre venue is the Royal Performance Hall near the palace. This is the dream of all the performance troupes in the Kingdom, but most will never make it. #Septopolis
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Reposted by Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈
purplebirdman @purplebirdman.com · 22/09/2026
Support my comics at patreon or subscribestar and see high-quality comic pages over a month early for just $2!
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Day 15: I wrote my LeGuin exercise for this week, so that's 726 words. And I am FINALLY caught up with the Septopolis prompts, at 723 words. 1,449 words total. Mind you, I haven't written any actual fiction in a little bit. So. There's that. #DontBreakTheChain #AmWriting #WriteSky
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I couldn't care less about sports, so this didn't even occur to me until now. I was a theatre kid, so I'll say that's where the overall pastimes go - performances. Music, poetry reading, drama, that sort of thing. #Septopolis
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
"The children yearn for the mines!" No, not really - they don't use children in the mines. But mining, and the associated industries, are foundational to Anssen, so one way or another, you have work because the mines are working. #Septopolis
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Mining is a huge industry, so they export whatever minerals and materials they don't use for themselves. They extract a lot of gems as well, which are by default the property of the Royals, who control their export jealously so as to keep prices high. #Septopolis
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
There is no formal education system in Anssen, at least not for most people. The wealthy kids get tutors and are usually educated in the kinds of things that will help them with their social and political standing someday. History, languages, politics, that sort of thing. #Septopolis
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Reposted by Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈
Justin Jest @justinjest.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Day 14 I wrote this week's Encounter Every Enemy, so that's 1,222 words right there. That's all I've got for today. More tomorrow. #DontBreakTheChain
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Reposted by Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈
Steven (with a PH) @sjksalisbury.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Christening a baby is nothing like christening a ship. I know that now. Once again I can only apologise.
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Rin, looking mildly confident. I think. Probably. #Art #WTLGI #ArtSky #OC
A wildly amateurish sketch of Rin, a character of mine. He’s a young (20s) deerboy, seen slightly from above.
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Day 13 More Septopolis work: About 400 words. Then I got into cleaning my workspace and POOF that was my day. #DontBreakTheChain
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Power is largely geothermal, though as a pre-industrial city, they don't have things like electricity. They do have excellent hot water systems and the like. In a hundred years or so, it'll probably boom as a tourist destination what with all the mineral hot springs. #Septopolis
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Anssen is a walkable city. It's pre-Industrial, so there's no motorized transportation. Most people walk, while the wealthier might have some Earth elementals acting as porters to carry them around. #Septopolis
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Oscar and Archie. Happy #Caturday
A photograph of two cats in loaf mode on top of a dresser. The one on the left - Oscar - is a cream-colored flamepoint with a green collar. The one on the right - Archie - is a black cat with a grey collar. They are both looking judgmental, but in different ways.
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Day 12 About the same as yesterday - some Worldbuilding, a little work reading some story feedback. I have shorts waiting to go out that maybe I should look at. #DontBreakTheChain #AmWriting
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Anssen is a city of 100,000 people. After a little researching around, I'll use Kyoto city as my physical model, since i used to live there. Take Kyoto, turn it 90 degrees so that the mountains are to the west, and the rivers flow east to the sea. #Septopolis
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I alluded to this earlier, but Ignis Eve is a big one. Twice a year, when the sun sets directly behind the central cone. Special gifts are given to the elementals. Humans wear masks and bring food to neighbors. It's a holiday of kindness. The Royals do not participate. #Septopolis
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Day 11 Lots of grade comments, but I don't think they count. A couple more Septopolis posts, at a total of 266 words. I feel like I'm using a lot of my writing time in planning and worldbuilding, not so much in writing. Need to think on that. #AmWriting #WriteSky #WritingCommunity
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This city is as yet pre-industrial, so most people are going to make their clothes at home, or have a local make them, and they're pretty simple. The general attitude of "don't draw attention" means a lot more muted colors than you might find elsewhere - colorful, but not bright. #Septopolis
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
A little Googling tells me that volcanic soil is great for crops, though, so I think they have thriving agriculture. Coffee, perhaps (yes, I'm thinking of Hawaii). Yeah, let's say coffee is something this place does really well. #Septopolis
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Rin's strength is that he's very self-reliant. It doesn't mean he's always successful, but he knows he can handle things on his own. His weakness is that he sees any kind of help or kindness as a debt to be repaid, and so avoids it at all costs. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Had a little time on my hands and a stack of new index cards, so I tried drawing Rin, the main character from my novel. This is him in the prologue: 12 years old, left at a bus station for an "Auntie Mia" who will never come. Can't wait 'till I can draw him without references. #Art #OC #WTLGI
A pencil sketch of a young deerboy sitting on a bench at a bus station (though, to be fair, the setting isn't all that obvious because come on - I can barely draw people well, you think I'm managing a fully fleshed-out, recognizable background?) with a backpack, a sad look, and a note that says "Be Good" pinned to his shirt.
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This week, Ursula wants us to lore-dump without making it too obvious that we're lore dumping. How'd I do? #AmWriting #WriteSky #WritingCommunity theunglamorouspart.substack.com/p/expository...
theunglamorouspart.substack.com
Expository Lump 1
“No, it is too long. Let me sum up.”
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Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈 @mshades01.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
All right, Furries. Get to work. Seriously, though - this little guy is adorable. So small, so angry. www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...
nationalgeographic.com
Meet the First New Cat Species Discovered in 100 Years
A small, spotted tiger cat from Bolivia may just be the beginning of a wave of new small cat species.
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Reposted by Chris Gladis 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🏳️‍🌈
purplebirdman @purplebirdman.com · 17/09/2026
Support my comics at patreon or subscribestar and see high-quality comic pages over a month early for just $2!
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