iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Extreme levels of “Based” detected…

If you are a man who gets offended by a band making room for a female only moshpit then you are PART OF THE PROBLEM. Stay home, read a book by Bell Hooks, come back when kindness, compassion and empathy have landed with you. Incels, homophobes, misogynists, racists, fascists not welcome

Also this isn't up for debate. I don't care for your pedantry. If it isn't your lived
experience, don't fucking speak on it. If you are offended by being told something isn't for you then imagine how it feels to be a woman in the current climate

And finally...When I say a Ladies only moshpit pit, I of course mean a trans inclusionary space. The space is for people who don't usually feel safe.... To dance and have fun without the worry of physical, sexual or psychological violence being used against them while they are vulnerable

011834

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Did y’all just conveniently forget you answered this question last year, or…?

Screenshot of a headline from the Financial Times, “The Big Question: why are people having fewer babies?” published 17 January 2025

Text from the January 2025 Financial Times article “Why are people having fewer babies?”:

“One reason for fewer births could also be the opportunity cost for mothers at work. Researchers have suggested that the “motherhood penalty” makes up more than 80 per cent of the gender pay gap — with the discrepancy between men and women only widening significantly when women hit their thirties and start having children.

“Economic factors, such as the cost of raising a family, including childcare and housing costs, are also a factor. Rising housing costs in the UK now mean Gen Z faces twice as high costs as previous generations — while the average price of a nursery place for children under two years old is now £15,000 a year.”

1924

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The Associated Press: “Artificial intelligence systems do not think, feel, want or understand. Avoid language that gives them human characteristics.” The Actual Pope: “Algorithms don’t have the spark of humanity.” This fucking guy:

Screenshot of a headline from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation News:

“Calling AI ‘other intelligence’ better describes the advent of a new lifeform” by Alan Kohler

Clip of text from an AI-fellating article, “So I asked half a dozen AI models: ‘What do you think of the proposition that AI is a new form of life?”

The “Say, ‘I am alive” meme in which a character is shown telling his computer to say "I am alive," the computer says the line, and he responds, "Oh my god," as if shocked that the computer just admitted to being sentient.

120

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Atchua is a tonal language, but it goes further than just the rise-or-fall of words and syllables. The speaker's pitch and the way they express a word's tone also contribute to intent and meaning. 🧵 #Conlangity #WriteSky

A 3x3 table with the horizontal side labelled "Inflection," and the columns from left to right labelled, "Flattened," "Natural," and "Exaggerated." The vertical side is labelled "Pitch," and the rows from bottom to top labelled "Lowered," "Natural," and "Raised."

The cells in the top row, beginning at left, are labelled, "Subordinate," "Deferential," and "Playful (Childish)."

The cells in the middle row, beginning at left, are labelled, "Formal/Professional," "Normal," and "Playful (Mature)."

The cells in the bottom row, beginning at left, are labelled, "Aggressive," "Imperative," and "*confused head tilt*"

140

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Happy “Haha, no, really, what are Australia’s time zones?” Day to all who celebrate.

Map of Australia’s Daylight Savings Timezones. Southeast Australian states are UTC+11, while Queensland is +10. South Australia is +10.5 while the Northern Territory is +9.5, and then Western Australia is +8.

12710

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

In terms of actual sounds, the IPA chart(s) in the image show which consonants show up regularly (blue) and which clusters are most common (orange). Lots in the dental/alveolar space, trills, and towards back of the muzzle cavity... So yeah, very growly with a prominent role for their teeth. 🪡

An International Phonetic Alphabet chart marked up to show the dominant consonant and vowel clusters for a fictional language. Largest consonant cluster is over dentals, and the vowel cluster rises from open-front to close-back.

170

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

But it was so successful the first time he pitched it, though... /s

Screenshot of an article from msn.com:

President Donald Trump’s promise to send $5,000 to every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans retain control of both the House and Senate is drawing substantially more opposition than support in a new national poll. Trump announced the proposal at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on Sept. 9.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey, conducted Sept. 11-14, found that 63% of adults said it was inappropriate for Trump to propose the payment under those electoral conditions. Seventeen percent said it was appropriate, 18% were unsure and 2% skipped the question. The poll’s overall margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Ipsos surveyed 1,143 adults through its probability based KnowledgePanel, including 896 registered voters. The sample included 309 Republicans, 381 Democrats and 453 independents or respondents who identified with another affiliation. The results were weighted for demographic and political characteristics, including 2024 vote choice and party identification.

The topline shows sharp partisan differences, but opposition was not confined to Democrats. Among Democrats, 89% called the proposal inappropriate and 6% appropriate. Among independents and others, 61% called it inappropriate and 14% appropriate. Among Republicans, 37% called it inappropriate, 33% appropriate and 30% said they were unsure.

The subgroup results carry wider margins of error than the national figure: plus or minus 5.6 points for Republicans, 5.1 points for Democrats and 4.7 points for independents and others. Those margins make the broad pattern more informative than small differences within any subgroup.

The survey also found the proposal was already familiar to most respondents. Seventy four percent said they had heard either “a lot” or “a little” about Trump’s promise before being asked whether they considered it appropriate.

Poll results from Verasight showing that 33% of voters—including 31% of independents—are less likely to vote for Trump based on the promise to send voters $5,000 if Republicans win the midterms. 52% aren't swayed one way or another.

Screenshot of an NBC News article:

Trump’s latest gambit — an announcement at the recent Republican convention that he wanted to issue $5,000 payments to every adult if Republicans keep control of Congress — isn’t garnering much interest. While 21% of voters say they’re more likely to back a candidate who supports Trump’s plan, 46% say they’d be less likely.

A plurality of Republicans say it would make no difference in their vote choice, while Democrats are uniformly against the idea and 45% of independents would be less likely to support a candidate in favor of the plan. Among independents, 13% say they’d be more likely to support a candidate who backs Trump’s plan.

010

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

The council's actual numbers fluctuate depending on the Keeper's edicts or Assembly legislation—which can be used to modify Peers' titles and towns' charters—but at the story's beginning is 24. It's always an even number so the Keeper can decide any ties. 🪡

Parliamentary chart of a fictional city council showing 24 members. 4 deep purple seats are labelled "Keeper's Appointees", 4 purple seats "The Keeper's Peers", 6 light blue "Landed Gentry", 6 light green "City Landlords", and 4 yellow "Merchants."

One of the Keeper's Peers is labelled "Jarhem Shonek", and one of the City Landlord seats is filled with a purple-green gradient and labelled "Dhivra Wayzhor."

150

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I'm going to open with this diagram of the realm's political organisation, because otherwise this thread will get overloaded with tangents. The main thing to know is that the Keeper is the city's de jure leader, and their word is basically law. But in practice... It's complicated. 🧵 #Septopolis

An organisational chart that shows the flow of authority in a fictional world.

Near absolute authority sits with a monarch, "the Keeper," although there is an assembly of aristocrats who can propose laws and, in theory, override the monarch. There also exist separate courts for trying the gentry and laypersons.

162

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Anyway, get ratio'd and noted, loser

Community note on Senator Tuberville's dumb ass tweet about "MENTALLY ILL FURRY PILOTS" that's getting ratio'd saying that furry isn't a mental illness and that conventions donate to animal shelters.

030

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

aKsHuLLy, there are lots of choices. Admittedly, many are bad ones, but Newsom is objectively among the worst, because he objectively sucks as a human being.

050

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Here you go, found the confirmation. Was pretty easy to do.

A screenshot of Grindr's down detector page confirming a surge of reports coming from Dallas, TX.

220

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Any Dem candidate who won’t agree to a damnatio memoriae policy doesn’t deserve to win.

131

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I was also curious and found this... 👀

Abstract and Excerpt from "The 1918 Influenza Pandemic and the Rise of Italian Fascism: A Cross-City Quantitative and Historical Text Qualitative Analysis" Galofré-Vilà G, et al (2022):

Evidence linking past experiences of worsening health with support for radical political views has generated concerns about the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The influenza pandemic that began in 1918 had a devastating health impact: 4.1 million Italians contracted influenza and about 500 000 died. We tested the hypothesis that deaths from the 1918 influenza pandemic contributed to the rise of Fascism in Italy. To provide a “thicker” interpretation of these patterns, we applied historical text mining to the newspaper Il Popolo d’Italia (Mussolini’s newspaper). Our observations were consistent with evidence from other contexts that worsening mortality rates can fuel radical politics. Unequal impacts of pandemics may contribute to political polarization.

Are those living in communities experiencing rising death rates more likely to turn to radical politicians? A growing body of evidence suggests that they are. In the United States, Bor et al. found that those counties where life expectancy stagnated or declined between 1980 and 2014 were more likely to swing toward support for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Similarly, communities experiencing worsening health in the United Kingdom saw greater support for Brexit. The same association also holds in different historical junctures.

3736

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Going with a variant on this. Nathan doesn't want to take advantage of his hosts' generosity, but he is pretty hungry... #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingPrompts

Nathan responded with a simplified retelling of his journey so far and what he hoped to get from his visit to Leadville. Solomon appeared smitten by the story of his journey into the valley. "A true mountain man!" he exclaimed. "How long have you been at this lifestyle?"

Nathan was never able to do math in his head, and he didn't want to embarrass himself counting out the years on his paws. "I came out prospecting in Seventy-Four, I think it was," he said, "but my father brought us all to Pike's Peak country in the gold rush just before the war. So I've been among the mountains as long as I can remember."

He regretted mentioning his father and hoped none of the others would use it as a hook to ask more questions. Fortunately, if they had intended to, Kate interrupted the conversation by bringing out bowls filled with dinner: a corned beef stew with root vegetables and a large piece of bread.

She served Solomon and Martin first, and then offered a bowl to Nathan. He put up a paw. "Thank you," he began, "but like I said—."

Kate swiftly interjected. "My mother would swim across the ocean and put my pelt on top of your furs if she heard I didn't give a warm dinner to a guest who had been sleeping in the snow." She set the bowl in his lap before he could object further.

Nathan smiled. "Your mother and mine would have gotten along well," he said as he cupped the warm bowl in his paws.

"Was your mother also from the old country?" Patrick asked.

"'Old country!'" Kate said mockingly. "You've been gone all of four years."

"Five in April!" Pat offered as a meek rejoinder. Kate rolled her eyes and returned to the stove to prepare bowls for herself and Patrick.

0171

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

I'm going with a variant from a winter-set WIP that hopefully helps to take attention from the summer heat. #SundaySnips #WritingPrompt #WriteSky

Exhausted from the effort it had taken to get down the mountain and through the gulch, and aware of the deteriorating weather, Nathan used the remaining daylight to dig a cave into one of the drifts. Once he made it to a sufficient size, he crawled in with his pack, rifle, and satchel, covered the opening with a bearskin, and tried to sleep

But the wind picked up into a roar, and it became apparent to him that another blizzard was making its way through the mountains. Twice Nathan had to leave the cave to move his toboggan out of the wind and make sure the snow didn't pile up too high around the cave's entrance.

The second day of travel was better—he could even keep a pace through the fresh snow without the blasted snowshoes! Without the toboggan—or, perhaps, if he were not feeling so tired—he might have made it to Leadville around nightfall. However, as the mountains' shadows began creeping into the valley, he decided to stop at Twin Lakes rather than accept another night burrowed in the snow.

The village was a popular summer resort for both locals and visitors from across the country, with many of the more prosperous Leadville residents owning cabins either to use for themselves or to rent out. In the years that he couldn't make a full income from his furs, Nathan would come here to offer his services to visitors as a guide and hunter. He could usually stretch those wages into winter.

Although the town relied heavily on a transient workforce to support the summer tourist season, it also had several dozen permanent residents of miners and general laborers. The permanent population had grown enough in recent years to even merit the construction of a schoolhouse. Nathan hoped for the generosity of one of these families to see him through the night.

Nathan scanned the homes for ones with smoke rising from their chimneys, and then began down the main street—really, the only street.

171

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Every once in a while, I manage to hyperfocus on something I'll actually use later 😅

Two panel meme using a scene from "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" in which Peter Parker attempts to showcase Miles Morales' powers. Miles Morales is labelled ADHD.

In the top panel, Peter says, "They can DO THINGS exceptionally well and inhumanely fast! Watch this."

In the second panel, Miles/ADHD says, "I can't do it on command."

"They can't do it on command," Peter restates.

130

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

I got tired of the lack of specificity about how much land area would have been needed for farmland to sustain a modest Medieval city, so I went deep-diving on pre-mechanisation agriculture. Ended up with this table for my city of 75k + surrounding farm communities... #AugustWorldbuilders

A table showing growing cycles, caloric yields, and labor requirements for common staple crops.

270

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Got in a conversation about "how businesses are rapidly adopting AI," so I looked at the gov's data. Last year, 21% of SMEs were using AI in some form, 17.3% were planning to, and 35.4% weren't. For the last three months, those numbers are 24.7% (+3.7), 13.5% (-3.8), and 45% (+9.6) respectively.

Screenshot from ai.gov.au's dashboard showing rates of AI adoption for small-to-medium enterprises as of last year. It shows that around 35% of SMEs weren't using AI vs. 21% who were.

Screenshot from ai.gov.au's dashboard showing rates of AI adoption for small-to-medium enterprises in the last three months. It shows that around 45% of SMEs weren't using AI vs. 24% who were.

000

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

I don't have much at all—art is out of reach right now—but here are some very low-poly/model/texture/res renderings of the story's main setting. I peck away at this when I need a break from writing, so there's a long list of things to add + improve. Made in Blender + Terragen, 🚫AI. #PretendPanel

Low resolution rendering of a lakeside city with mountains in the background.

Low resolution image of a hilltop fortress overlooking a lake and city with mountains in the background.

Low resolution image of a hilltop fortress overlooking a city.

1133

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Dhivra sometimes reaches for wine to help her cope with things... #WIPSnips #WriteSky

The dream had started innocuously—one more in a parade of others that would be erased from memory by daylight. But at some point it decided to become more than ephemeral, and soon Dhivra was flooded by recollections of battlefield horrors. Not just the visions of people dying around her, not just the sounds of their final cries, but the weight of terror that replaced the air in her lungs and made her breaths short.

Dhivra killed the nightmare by forcing herself awake.

But her breathing was still short, and her chest still tight. She blinked out the tears which had welled up while her eyes had been closed. Her mouth was painfully dry.

Rehni was still sound asleep beside her, his moonslit chest rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm. But she felt much too alert to coax herself back to sleep.

Dhivra sat up slowly so as not to disturb him, trying to ignore the tremors in her hands. Dhivra stood on unsteady paws and walked across the room to fetch a flagon of wine. Finding one that was still appreciably full, she shakily poured herself a drink and downed it quickly. It barely relieved her parched maw and did nothing for her shakes.

She thought to pour another drink, but she heard Rehni stirring in bed, and so she quickly put the cup and flagon back on their stool.

Rehni's hand searched the bed where she had been lying a moment before; and, not finding her, he tilted his head up to look around the room. His eyes reflected the moonslight when he gazed at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a voice caught between sleepy and wakeful.

"Fine," she replied as certainly as she could manage. "Just need to go down the hall." Rehni nodded and then lay his head back down.

090

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

And then A Very Smart Person wrote this…

Archive screenshot of one of the dumbest articles ever posted to a mainstream media website:

“Flight simulators could be a problem”

Could flight simulator software have trained four pilots to kill?

By Dr. Bob Arnot
MSNBC

Sept. 13 [2001]: The twin towers of the World Trade Center loom in the distance through the cockpit window of a 767 flying south over the canyons of New York City. The picture isn�t real, it appears on a popular flight simulator. The experience brings up a chilling question. How could a terrorist learn to fly a sophisticated jetliner? There�s one surprising answer: by purchasing a computer program for $34.95.

More of Dr. Bob’s bullshit:

“How did American�s Flight 11 find the World Trade Center with such ease?
The most chilling answer may be this. One of the most popular flight simulators has a complete 3-D map of Manhattan on it, allowing a terrorist to practice approaching and hitting the World Trade Center again and again.
Curiously, this software package says it�s for sale only in the United States and Canada. I tried �flying� to the World Trade Center myself using a laptop computer. The view of Manhattan was amazingly accurate. I�ve flown my own plane down the Hudson River dozens of times right past the twin towers. The simulator view was pretty accurate � accurate enough for a pilot unfamiliar with the area to become familiar enough to find and target the towers.”

010

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

In WWII the U.S. Navy had ships dedicated to making ice cream.

April 16, 2025 Bluesky post from weedle.bsky.social noting that Sun Tzu’s “obvious” military advice (eg, “remember to feed your soldiers”) was written for aristocrats who sucked at the basics, and then goes on to predict in a reply that Pete Hegseth will forget to feed the troops.

382

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I'll put this chart up to start 😅 Wolves have complex family/pack dynamics. The basic household/family unit is traditional on its own; but most houses have multiple, interrelated families across several generations living together—and a pack might be several of these. 1/2 #AnthropologyAugust

A complex family relationship chart with a Mother, Father, and Children at centre (the "Household"), and then fanning out to four degrees of separation from the Mother and Father, including in-laws. Closer relatives are labelled as "Family," while most 3rd degree relations are labelled "Pack family," and the remainder "Extended pack."

The chart notes that under common wolven family-pack structure, the Household is the foundational unit of society. Wolves live in multigenerational houses (noted on the chart by a dashed line marking the usual scale of cohabitation), and that packs span multiple, related families.

130

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Picture with alt-text... I need to not post before I've finished my coffee istfg

Fictional star chart depicting a constellation that looks very crudely like an anthropomorphic canine.

010

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Repost b/c I messed up the tag 😫 Most caenids regard this constellation as embodying either the "First Mother," "All-Mother," or "Wayfinder," depending on their school of faith—ancestral veneration, monotheism, or polytheism, respectively. 1/2 #AnthropologyAugust

230

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Because this is not at all conveyed in the silhouettes: Rehni, Korrin, and Æsho are wolves, Dhivra is a coyote, and Oyinn is a serval. They need art 😭 Korrin is considered tall for a wolf, and Rehni is always the tallest person in the room. Dhivra gets over 6' if her ears are included.

030

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

It's hard to keep secrets from your wolf friends when they can get a pretty good profile about you from a few sniffs. #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingPrompts

Farauk’s ruminating was broken when she spotted her friend, Roun, waving as she approached. Farauk smiled and warmly embraced the black wolf nose-to-cheek. She reflexively sampled her friend’s scent: a floral perfume doing its best to cover dual smells of burnt pork and a male wolf she didn’t recognize.
When Farauk tried to pull away, Roun grabbed her shoulders and pressed her nose into the tufts of fur along Farauk’s neck, sniffing purposefully. She stepped back, still holding onto Farauk’s shoulders. “Are you okay? You smell stressed.”
“I’m fine,” Farauk replied with a weaker smile. “It was a stressful morning, but nothing serious.”
“Are you sure?”
Farauk nodded as she smiled and put her paws over Roun’s to ease them off her shoulders. “I’m sure, but thank you.”
“Okay,” Roun replied sounding less than convinced. “I also had a bit of a stressful morning,” she said with a short laugh. “I got distracted making breakfast and almost started a kitchen fire.”
“How did you get distracted?” Roun responded with a coy grin, and Farauk chose to be polite and not press further.

0223

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

When he wants you to feel It in 4D…

Newly minted twink icon Wile E. Coyote leaning forward on a table, ass pressed against a plush green leather chair, looking at the viewer.

0201

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Maybe don’t treat your dates like psychology test subjects, Emmie…

Others, like AI sales company Yuzu Labs founder Emmie Chang, go even further. Chang admitted to the WSJ that she records most of her first dates by putting her phone on the table or chair. Afterwards, she asks Anthropic’s Claude how the date went, wondering if she could be “more engaging or empathetic.”

010

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

A headline that gets worse with every word.

Headline from NPR: “Private prisons announce $1.4 billion in revenue as immigration detentions climb”

021

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Manifesting for the Manifesto...

Drawing of a kid praying at bedside saying, "Please God let this happen because it would be so fucking funny."

000

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

May I offer you some neuron activation, then?

A leather-wearing gryphon named Griff from Disney's "Gargoyles." He likes to punch Nazis.

210

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Post a perfect album from the 90s that isn't Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam or Alice In Chains.

Album cover for "Siamese Dream" by Smashing Pumpkins, features two young girls—who are not actually conjoined twins—embracing while wearing dresses and fairy wings. The photo has the quality of a blurry and slightly overexposed Polaroid photo, which was the style at the time (1993).

030

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Immoral cowards with room temperature IQ political instincts. Let them have their "schism" and get run out in the primaries.

Results from an Economist/YouGov poll conducted July 25-27 showing that 71% of Democrats think Benjamin Netanyahu is guilty of war crimes and 68% believe he should be arrested if he arrives in the U.S.

040

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Risk #1: You’re asking a fucking chatbot for relationship advice.

Screenshot from ABC News mobile site with the headline, “The risks to be aware of when using AI chatbots for relationship advice.”

050

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

I try to be detailed enough to translate what's in my head, but I don't like to be overwhelming. A couple of passages of what I'd consider to be my typical style... #PretendPanel #WriteSky

The veranda’s rotting planks groaned under Emry’s feet as he surveyed the neighborhood’s ruins. Nature was steadily transforming the suburban remnants into the forest it had been in the time before humans. Oak, maple, and hickory trees grew in abundance, their autumn colors on full display. Many of these trees, in their youth, had given shade to the humans who lived here. Now, they and their own children formed a canopy that the late-afternoon sun struggled to penetrate.
The suburban street was so broken apart by invading foliage, roots, and successive harsh winters that it was barely discernible. Lawns which had been unkempt for almost a century were overrun by wild, tall grasses and goldenrod, dotted by splashes of purple from late-blooming monkshood. Many of the broken, decaying houses were barely recognizable from mere piles of rubble. Rusted husks of cars crumbled in overgrown driveways.
Emry was less concerned by the steady erasure of human civilization than the effort it would take to turn the tide against nature and convert the former neighborhood into pastureland. Most of the homes they would either burn or leave to collapse into their foundations. That was the easy part. Emry’s eyes darted around the woodland to register the large circumferences of the oldest trees, and he thought about the effort it would take to fell and remove each of them. He multiplied that effort over the dozens of acres they would need to clear.
He sighed, leaned against a wall, and looked up at the veranda’s bending roof to give his thoughts a break.
The Victorian-styled home he rested against spoke to the long-ago days when the town was still a farming community - before it was absorbed by urban sprawl to become just one more of Chicago’s exurbs. Whereas the house’s timber-based neighbors had almost all fallen into unsalvageable heaps, this house’s brick exterior stood defiant against nature’s encroachment - even as vines crawled up the walls looking for weaknesses to exploit.

As the men returned to their seats, Nathan finally took a good look at the parlour. The room was illuminated by two kerosene lamps with the wood fire in the potbelly stove providing some extra light—as well as much needed warmth. A Dutch pot sat on the stove top and filled the room with the aroma of spiced beef and vegetables and incited his stomach to intensify its pangs.

The walls were unpainted and bare except for some religious iconography and a wedding photograph that appeared to be of Patrick and Kate with their respective families. Shelves that served as a pantry appeared well stocked, which told Nathan either the Whelans had been smart and stocked up before winter, or they were not completely cut off from Leadville and were being resupplied. He hoped for the latter.

There were six chairs in the parlour, none of which matched. Patrick and Solomon had taken the rocking chairs, and Patrick's was the only chair in the room with upholstery. Martin reclined in a deep-backed wicker chair. The remaining chairs were straight-backed of varying heights.

Nathan took the tallest straight-backed chair—which also happened to be the one without armrests—not just because of his height, but also because it had the largest gap to accommodate his tail.

Kate hung her overcoat by the front door, and when she turned back to the room Nathan could see she was pregnant, which her overcoat had concealed. He had sense enough to let that come up in the natural course of conversation, though, rather than risk being wrong and thrown back out into the snow.

She put on an apron and tended to the Dutch oven.

Solomon continued as Nathan settled in, "Yessir, we're pioneering the latest in trichromatic photography to exhibit this great land the way it ought to be seen."

040

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

First image is my initial concept for the first books in the series, and it's broadly holding up. I've also started fleshing out character bios in Chronicler (second image) so that I can maintain a very high view of their intended arcs, relationships, and major plot events. #PretendPanel #WriteSky

An absolute mess of brainstormed, interconnected plot points for a multi-book series.

Introductory text of a fictional Wikipedia-like page for Korrin Ahoumrek of Rouhkr-at-Aureya. It's way over the character limit to describe fully in alt text. It describes his accession to be the realm's sovereign, his being deposed, his restoration, and legacy as both tyrant and queer icon.

130

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

The most culture-specific one is jaw sparring. Two people in a ring, hands tied behind their backs, starting cheek-to-cheek. Goal is to either clamp their maw onto the other person’s, or force them out of the ring without any other body contact except their muzzle. 📸 Monty Sloan #JulyWorldbuilders

Two wolves, one with the other’s muzzle firmly in the grip of their jaw.

041

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Managed a bit more work on this and got the city walls blocked out. Works out to be roughly the same area as Medieval London, so pretty close to what I've had in my head. Like the Citadel, it's just rough shapes to help with visualising. Needs texture, gatehouses + towers, etc., but still workable.

3D rendering of a would-be lakeside city except only the city walls are present. Mountains are in the background. There is a fortress-like complex on a promontory overlooking the walled area.

010

Pyke Redrock @pykeredrock.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

My weekend project: blocked out my WIP's main setting, the Citadel. Functionally its first concept art. Obviously lots more needs doing, but I wanted to see better the scale and layout of the main features—also an excuse to try learning Blender again. Landscape + renders made with Terragen.

3D generated (not AI) terrain + buildings featuring a Medieval-esque fortress with some basic structures and mountains in the background.

3D generated (not AI) terrain + buildings featuring a Medieval-esque fortress atop a seaside promontory with some basic structures and mountains in the background.

3D generated (not AI) terrain + buildings featuring a Medieval-esque fortress atop a seaside promontory with some basic structures and overlooking coastal flatlands.

121