iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 18h

I wish there was more tangible, irl support for new mothers (and not simply one million digital posts to wade through alone). I wish it were easier to find community in this exhausting, lonely, difficult time.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Writing style? Tolkien and Murakami Haruki. Subject matter/genre/characterization? Brandon Sanderson.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I would give anything for 8 hours of consecutive sleep.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Buying fancy coffees (aka my preferred sweet treat) is my financial downfall…

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Yes! Ezra, the main character of my current WIP is bi 🎉 There’s no romance/sex in this WIP (a novella), but I have intentions to include a spicy enemies-to-lovers-ish romance for him in the next installment (if I end up writing more in that setting…shh it’s not like Im already planning it 😆)

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

It’s interesting how characters have “minds of their own” as you write them. I went into my current story thinking two characters would have an established on-again-off-again hook up relationship; turns out that wasn’t right at all 🤣 they are much more like siblings! #Writing #WriteSky

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I think one of my biggest goals in life is to fully move past feelings of discomfort surrounding my “worthiness” as an artist. Art is subjective, yes, but art is also progressive. Meaning: artists are always in a constant state of improvement. That should be a freeing thought, not a negative one.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Made some progress today on my next hand-painted card binder ☺️ #artist

Hand-painted card binder partially depicting a Valkyrie-inspired female angelic warrior. The acrylic painting is currently in progress

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I finished the outline for my kaiju novella WIP! 🎉 I’m actually pretty happy with it! Elements of the post-apoc survival, progressive fantasy, and monster hunting/taming genres. Lots of details and names to work out still, but I can technically start writing soon 👀 #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

This is beautiful. I have always believed that it hurts to become, to create, to manifest. Art is the ripping-off-a-piece of what makes us inherently and passionately and remarkably human and offering it to the world: a painful yet transcendent ritual, that AI will never be able to replicate.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Hit me with the first line of your novel, published/finished or not (this one is unfinished/in progress) “Don’t touch it!” (lmao)

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I like this one! Caessenia Trilogy: Lou - I’m content being nobody special Livia - I’d never find joy in marriage Andi - I don’t need help to accomplish my goals #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Spent three glorious days in crisp, perfect 60°-70° weather… but now it’s back to the hot and humid 😔 hoping we start getting Fall weather at home soon!

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I get a viscerally negative reaction to posting anything personal on Instagram these days. Like physically ill. If that’s not a sign to continue divorcing myself from that app, then I don’t know what is.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Oddly, Ive made more art since my daughter’s birth than I did the entire year prior to my pregnancy. I think it’s because, when faced with so little free time, I find myself naturally gravitating towards a creative hobby to help maintain my autonomy and self-fulfillment outside of mothering.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

There is no question: the Lord of the Rings trilogy absolutely changed my life. They were/are my comfort books during my darkest days. My own writing style has been influenced by Tolkien’s poetic, wordy descriptions. The fellowship was the first literary chosen family I fell in love with.

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Reposted by Brooke

lex! ✨ sleepy @paavonia.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

friendly art tip: just make it. please, make it

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I fear it might be time for me to really lock the fuck in and learn how to properly garden. Resources for a total beginner welcome. I grew lavender on a roof deck once.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Haven’t been motivated to write lately, but I’ve been making great progress on visual art projects! Being equally interested in both is a double edged sword: on one hand, variety! Lots of ways to feel creative! On the other: sometimes you lose progress in one area while gaining in the other.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

It’s not being a mother that’s hard. It’s being a mother in a capitalistic society that does very little to protect, care for, or understand mothers.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Absolutely! I was a visual artist before a writer; many of my story concepts, fantasy creatures, and OCs were originally conceived in visual art form. I love drawing my own fantasy maps, too! #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #pretendpanel

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Valorant, Overwatch - really any of those types of games. Im a competitive person, and have enjoyed pvp games before, but those games in particular have an unforgiving learning curve, move way too fast, and are too repetitive. It’s like if the experience of getting whiplash was a game. Not for me!

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Rocking a baby to sleep is one of the most tender and precious experiences in the world.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Excited to start a commonplace journal today! I encounter so much stuff (quotes, recommendations, things I want to remember or come back to) on the daily that I wish I could jot down somewhere other than my phone/taking random screenshots that get lost amongst the baby photos (lol)…

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Elly "Enormity" Bangs @ellybangs.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

It's so crucial to be bad at art. To just make things. The more machines crudely simulate masterful end products, the more vital it becomes to engage in flawed human experimentation and fight to express things beyond your abilities.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Me before baby: man, why is it so hard to go to bed early? I just want to keep doing all my hobbies! 😭 No matter what I do, I can’t make myself sleep before 11pm… Me after baby: 9pm bedtime? Say less. *falls asleep within 5 minutes of head hitting pillow*

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

I now experience the thing many mothers sadly come to experience: nobody asks how you are anymore, they only ask about the baby.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

The Caessenia trilogy doesn’t really have the space for all of the juicy details of Evagoras’s backstory, sadly. Maybe I’ll write a whole prequel novel someday. He’s one of my favorite characters!

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Today is my best friend @gunsmile.bsky.social ‘s birthday!! In honor of her birthday, please consider checking out her debut novel, The Devouring! It’s a super exciting horror thriller with badass married villain protagonists! 🤩

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

#MythAugust Day 2: The Elven Pantheon are as follows: Symandra the Tamer Jinlar the Builder Imnati the Healer Parchandi the Witch Daraxta the Judge (Vaqto's twin) Vaqto the Executioner (Daraxta's twin) These Gods created the five Elations of Elationcraft (Elven magic) #WritingCommunity #WriteSky

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Hello! Day 1 of #MythAugust: My Caessenia WIP fantasy trilogy features several religions, but for this challenge I’ll be focusing on the Elven religion, a polytheistic religion that is the basis for how Elven magic, or Elationcraft, works. #writingcommunity #writesky

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Being able to take the baby places is a game changer! She gets her first vaccines next week and it will only get even better from there. I’m so ready to get off the couch & leave the house more, even though I’m grateful for the K-dramas that got me through early recovery 😆

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Finally making art again!! I found it exhausting/difficult to draw while in the third trimester, and then obviously I had to recover for a bit after giving birth. Here are some recent sketches for custom Magic: The Gathering tokens. #MTG #artist #digitalart

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

I don’t want to go back to work in two weeks 😔 maternity leave isn’t long enough…

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

As a seasoned rock climber of 7+ years, here are my thoughts on rock climbing again for the first time in 10ish months as a postpartum new mom (I stopped during pregnancy around early October of last year, and finally returned to the climbing gym today) (🧵) TW: weight, body image

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

My baby is so cute!!!! I’m a mom, I get to say that now 😤🥰

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

I’m a fantasy writer at heart; Tolkien has been my biggest and most beloved inspiration since childhood. I just love imagining fantastical worlds both similar and different from ours, where magic is real. Magical realism is my second-favorite genre after high fantasy. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Andi is the most likely to say something blatantly hurtful, but at first, she isn’t very regretful about it. It actually becomes a point of growth for her when she starts to regret some of her judgmental statements, realizing she doesn’t want to push certain people away. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Postpartum is such a volatile experience. Last week, I was back at the gym feeling great. This week, I feel like death - a combo of sleep deprivation, what I suspect is inflammatory mastitis, and not eating enough (again) 😔

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Reposted by Brooke

Ange | Author A. M. Shilling @gunsmile.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

DUNE x SHADOWRUN x JADE CITY After a fateful accident puts her father into a coma, a young noblewoman and her lowborn bodyguard must navigate a dangerous game of corporate espionage and city politics, or else lose everything they hold dear... including each other. #BluePit #📖 #W #A #SF #F #R

A dark skyscraper against a pale sky. Three glasses full of champagne, being toasted. A security camera beneath the edge of a building. A bearded man and a woman kissing, their upper faces obscured. Black stone. The legs of a man in black pants and sneakers and a woman in red pants and flat shoes, standing together. An empty hospital hallway. Armored police with guns and shields. A gloved hand removes a test tube of blood from a rack.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

KAIJU NO. 8 X PACIFIC RIM In the future, humans have mutated to contend with the giant monsters that attack their cities. A deadbeat man's discovery of his own mutation leads to a revelation about the monsters that some are violently unwilling to accept. #BluePit #📖 #W #F #SF #H #LGBT #TR #ND

A mood board depicting a post-apocalyptic landscape bereft by giant monsters that come from the ocean.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

D&D X THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE A young woman gets possessed by a sentient sword, another seeks power after being exiled from her homeland, and a third grapples with an arranged marriage. All three must navigate the political machinations of opposing secret societies. #BluePit #📖 #A #F #W #LGBT

Mood board featuring imagery that resonates with a high fantasy adventure setting: a dreary medieval castle, men and women in armor, a mysterious sword, a human skull, a glittering crown, a woman's hand reaching towards a snow-white flower, and a noble woman gazing longingly out of a window.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Being a first-time parent is so crazy!! You just do it!! You just figure that shit out!

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

The thing about becoming a parent is that you will always remember your child as a baby. You will always remember how small and helpless and new they were. No matter who they become, you’ll have that memory ingrained in your heart forever. It is a very unique feeling, to know and cherish that truth.

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Just about 7 weeks postpartum: I went to the gym today for the first time since giving birth! I did all the exercises my pelvic floor physical therapist assigned to me. It felt so good 😭

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Today I got myself a strawberry smoothie full of all kinds of delicious stuff (like gelato) because according to my doctor I’m not eating enough while breastfeeding (apparently) so it is my responsibility to treat myself right? (Obviously) 😆

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

The end of the first arc of CR4 was fantastic, no notes, 11/10, a twist I guessed correctly that delighted me (and most everyone, I think). Hats off to Brennan and the players. I was riveted the entire time. Masterclass storytelling. Can’t wait for it to pick back up again in a few months!

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

So lovely, thank you again!! ❤️ Casimir & Makaria looking so regal 🥹

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Brooke @tryhardmushroom.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Law of the universe: if your baby poops, and you change the diaper, the baby will poop again 5 minutes later.

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