Incantation commits every single found footage sin possible, and its non-linear narrative is a bit muddled at times. But five things elevate it: -stronger plot than I remember -the mother/daughter relationship -the extremely cool buddhist horror imagery -the big twist -HOU HO XIU YI SI SEI WU MA

Fuck it, we're watching Incantation again

Just remembered the Taiwanese horror film Incantation (2022), which despite it having difficulty maintaining the found footage format, and being fairly standard plot-wise, had such a fun twist that I completely forgave any misgivings I had Would recommend for that alone

This still looks cool the next day

Back to our regular schedule with a new chapter of The Path of Poison! Join young apothecary Sepp and his fellow refugees as things begin to kick off in the bustling Free City of Farhaven... shadowsandsorcery.substack.com/p/the-path-o... #Fantasy #SerialNovel #WebSerial #IndieAuthor #FantasyReads

A few weeks back a friend of mine who runs an academy here in Dublin hosted a masterclass with Frank Miller and he's released the talk as an episode of his podcast, Creator in Conversation. Give it a listen, it's funny, informal, AND informative! www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwoS...

Chapter 1 is here! 🌒 
Azriel, the immortal Alumivari Shalik, faces rising tensions as the Azantium build their Palace of Light beside his sacred grove. When Thelinth, a mysterious Sentrient, enters his life shadows begin to stir… 📖 Read mycelialwriter.substack.com/p/kingdom-of... #WritingCommunity

🍂 Looking for your next cozy fall read? 
🌿 The Chrysillium Tree—a tale of rebellion, forbidden love, and ancient magic.
A stolen girl. A sacred tree. A kingdom on the brink of war… 📖 Available now. Link in bio 🎵 sound on 🎵
#WritingCommunity #AmReadingFantasy #IndieAuthor

Just finished my first counselling session and it was lovely🙏

#SciFiSeptember 23. None here unfortunately! Only a very underdeveloped cast manning a contracted space mapping vessel. One of them isn't legally human because they crossed the implant/prosthetic threshold a long time ago. All that's left is a modified nervous system and augmented brain.

Seared branch from a tree in a land devastated by the gods' flames. It will never stop burning. Small flames dance around the branches and seek out sinners. #art #myart #fantasy

Dark Souls 2 Pure Caster Damage Report 7 -now we hit a snag -the game has plateaued -78 dark orbs pretty much solve every single problem, everything else is superfluous and just flavour -casting is, sad to say, boring -might not even do the DLCs tbh, there's nothing for me in there

Reading up on the Dunsany family for if arrangements are ever made to visit the place, as it isn't exactly a tourist destination Current Lord Dunsany has an article about his efforts to rewild the estate, and in the pic he's wearing a Darkthrone shirt👍

One thing that makes Dark Souls 1 stand out from everything else that came after is that build variety is real. My pure caster playthrough of DS1 was distinctly different to all others in every approach. Come Elden Ring, despite being much smoother, it feels mostly based on squishiness.

#SciFiSeptember 22. Nope. There's machine learning (for translators!) and sophisticated daemons (programs that do a lot stuff autonomously in the background) but nothing is capable of doing anything but surface mimicry of reason/creativity. Philosophical systems determined this is a Bad Idea.

Passed by Dunsany Castle just now, once home of Lord Dunsany, early and influential writer of fantasy, such as The Gods of Pegāna and The King of Elfland's Daughter. This is just an old gateway, the house itself is still lived in. One day I'm getting in there and absorbing the atmosphere.

Dark Souls 2 Pure Caster Damage Report 6 -gutter wasn't bad, BUT GULCH WAS -pilgrims of dark joined and finished -lost two levels because i decided to try darklurker again from a different shrine -classic complicated ds2 jank was involved -half of drangleic castle done, pretty ez -dreading amana...

Nothing in the rest of the Dark Souls series, or anything after, comes half as close to the delivery of DS2's "No matter how tender, how exquisite, A LIE WILL REMAIN A LIE"

I'm trying to find a way of saying what I want to say without coming off as extremely hostile but I just can't so please understand these sound way WAY (only slightly) worse than I intend 1. Guidance aka what's popular on booktok 2. If? I thought everyone did that!

Watching a guardian smacking Libra's bubble and not destroying the sigils when he has a fully charged ult that could destroy them all instantly We failed the expedition #NightreignThingsThatMakeMeUpset

Sometimes I feel like my fantasy imagery isn't, well, fantastic enough. Like I could or should be going further than I do. So I'm trying to reconcile my love of highly visual Elden Ring-style stuff with my love of "heightened reality" Romantic-style stuff.

I used to write nothing but cosmic horror and ghost stories, and began drifting into fantasy via worldbuilding I always enjoyed doing. Now my stuff is fantasy of various flavours, but my horror background informs how I describe certain things. I have, however, always been a short fiction writer.

Back to our regular schedule with a new chapter of The Path of Poison! Join young apothecary Sepp and his fellow refugees as things begin to kick off in the bustling Free City of Farhaven... shadowsandsorcery.substack.com/p/the-path-o... #Fantasy #SerialNovel #WebSerial #IndieAuthor #FantasyReads

Jasmine is responsible for beautiful Carloman art and also a lot of other beautiful arts, so take a look!!!

New free serial fiction just dropped!!

It’s live! ✨ Chapter One of my fantasy novella Kingdom of Shadow & Light just dropped today—on the Fall Equinox. 🌙🍂 Set 300 years before The Chrysillium Tree and Star of Shalik, it’s the bridge into book two (SoS, coming Jan 2026). Read here 👇
open.substack.com/pub/mycelial... #WritingCommunity

Sharing more older Shadows & Sorcery editions #92 was not only a five parter edition, it was the first Vampiric Arts story, and I still rank it among my best. shadowsandsorcery.substack.com/p/shadows-an... #Fantasy #DarkFantasy #Horror #FlashFiction #ShortFiction #ShortStories #IndieAuthor

The 34th chapter of The Path of Poison is, as they say, DONE and going out tomorrow Stuff is popping off in the Free City of Farhaven👀

The 34th chapter of The Path of Poison is, as they say, DONE and going out tomorrow Stuff is popping off in the Free City of Farhaven👀

Daily Affirmations:

May have to get a tooth pulled because an ancient filling came out and it is now a problem Got maybe two hours sleep max because I literally cannot lay down without half my head flaring up in absolute agony

Sharing more older Shadows & Sorcery editions #92 was not only a five parter edition, it was the first Vampiric Arts story, and I still rank it among my best. shadowsandsorcery.substack.com/p/shadows-an... #Fantasy #DarkFantasy #Horror #FlashFiction #ShortFiction #ShortStories #IndieAuthor

#SciFiSeptember 20. Warp Drives! You cannot use them and yes there are people who will know. This may be a galaxy-wide setting with a deeply imbalanced tech level, but those in charge made sure that was seen to first. A rare case of it not being about secrets and control, but genuine safety.

Sharing another Shadows & Sorcery This time, #76. I think Armour of the Undead might be one of my favourite "quiet little moment" stories, it came out well. shadowsandsorcery.substack.com/p/shadows-an... #FlashFiction #Fantasy #FantasyReads #IndieAuthor #ShortFiction #ShortStories #ShortStory

Dark Souls 2 Pure Caster Damage Report 5 -iron keep was ez -royal rat authority was not -tseldora spider spam = annoying -picked up soul vortex, sadly very situational -heavy reliance on two spells, a bit sad tbh -magic got evened out in later games, bad decision imo -gutter next -uuuuuughguhhgh

Sharing another Shadows & Sorcery This time, #76. I think Armour of the Undead might be one of my favourite "quiet little moment" stories, it came out well. shadowsandsorcery.substack.com/p/shadows-an... #FlashFiction #Fantasy #FantasyReads #IndieAuthor #ShortFiction #ShortStories #ShortStory

Absolutely suffering on Nightreign's Depth of Night 2 In like a dozen really good runs with fantastic gear and perk, a bare handful of teams I've been with have been able to get past night 2, I think I've only ever beaten one boss. I'm decked out with good relics but this is really punishing.

Sharing some more older Shadows & Sorcery editions #70 is one I remember well: a really cool Carloman story, and a two-part tale in a demon-infested city. Try 'em out! shadowsandsorcery.substack.com/p/shadows-an... #Fantasy #DarkFantasy #FlashFiction #ShortFiction #ShortStories

The personal height of all Star Trek is, for me, the TNG episode Darmok. In another show, blood would have to be shed first. But Picard refuses to even pick up the knife Dathon offers. It's about bridging gaps, exploring boundaries, and good faith. It's so fucking NICE, and it isn't without peril!

Hot take: I don't like Star Trek DS9. It's a great show with great characters and episodes, but I believe it represents a turning point for ST where it left behind the hard-won utopian idealism that made that world interesting. I LIKE a hopeful future where reason and creativity win the day.

At the risk of coming off as more weird and hostile than I usually do: lietening to other writers' advice. New writers are more likely to take things from Big and Serious Authors as gospel and emulate them in the hopes of cargo culting their way to success. It's art, you'll find your own way.

#SciFiSeptember 19. Funnily enough, warp drives that distort space are this setting's thing😂 The technology allowed mankind to colonize more than half the galaxy, but it caused irreparable damage to space, creating cosmic Bermuda Triangles called Warp Zones that whole systems have vanished in.

Just heard the baby cry they used for Mergo in Bloodborne in King of the Hill

Sharing some more older Shadows & Sorcery editions #70 is one I remember well: a really cool Carloman story, and a two-part tale in a demon-infested city. Try 'em out! shadowsandsorcery.substack.com/p/shadows-an... #Fantasy #DarkFantasy #FlashFiction #ShortFiction #ShortStories

#SFFChat Outro: Thanks for tonight! Share my microfiction, everyone! :D bsky.app/profile/cath...

#SFFChat 3. Robert E. Howard's consistent disdain for government, nobility, and the corruption of civilization is always refreshing, especially when his characters are kings, either by their own hand like Kull, or hereditary like Bran Mak Morn.

#SFFChat 2. Carloman is beholden to no state or power, and stands alongside the gods, but as a Voerlunder, even he gets a little flustered around members the country's Lunderman nobles. He also usually defers to authority, titles, etc. for politness and making things easy.

#SFFChat 1. They're getting better. Voerlund's ruling dynasty ended the imperial tyranny and instituted a strong honour system. Silverden and Minosmir have mellowed out from their zeal considerably. Mul Manatar has somehow always been cool. Baletor, however, still sucks. Run by unregulated guilds.

#SFFChat Intro: I'm Seán and I write flash fiction, usually about wizards, which is all I ever talk about. A leader I like is Paul Atreides from Dune. Weird guy who genuinely seems to mean well but is utterly doomed by the narrative his mom's evil space nuns invented.

Sharing another older Shadows & Sorcery Draconic Depths might be one of my favourite stories. A different side to the Dragonmagick world and one of its recurring characters. shadowsandsorcery.substack.com/p/shadows-an... #Fantasy #FlashFiction #IndieAuthor #writingcommunity