Zagaroth
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a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
Zagaroth
@a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
500 followers 370 following 1.7K posts
Writer and Geek, married with cats (and foster cats)

Find all my stuff here:
https://linktr.ee/Zagaroth
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a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
Bright our trio, "the booze brothers," to the adoption event today. Chablis is the one hanging by himself, Champagne is the big guy looking at the camera, and Cider is the one Champagne is resting his head on.

More info on pvcats.com

#fostercats
November 8, 2025 at 9:27 PM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
So, the new stairs and the mirror from the serpent outfit work well together. I need to do some real experiments, this was just a hasty snap shot.

#infinitynikki
November 8, 2025 at 4:41 PM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
Well, I am a Wild Heart for the current event, and our hood matches the sunburn blockers, so I decided to roll with the theme. Met the green witch of the woods. :)

@infinnikichallenge.bsky.social #nikkiweeklychallenge #infinitynikki
November 8, 2025 at 4:39 PM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
Snip for November 8th, "Little", is in the attached image (and alt text).

Current readers, this is a minor spoiler for CH 351; I literally just wrote this scene tonight.

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
#WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag November 3 - nice Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine. Support others on the #WIPSnips tag! Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social The image behind the text is a border that is black with stars with a light blue rectangle highlighted by a fuchsia line. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner #WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag November 8 - little Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine. Support others on the #WIPSnips tag! Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social The image behind the text is a border that is black with stars with a light blue rectangle highlighted by a fuchsia line. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner "Thank you, Tiny Storm." You'd have thought that a true lightning bolt had struck Satsuki, given the way that she froze and seemed practically rooted to the spot. "Is something wrong, my little rain cloud?" Mordecai said with a smirk. "You— your memories of us, you've unlocked them?" she whispered. "In part, and in time, in full. There are a lot of memories in here to unlock still, but there's no reason to not allow myself to remember more now." With the way Satsuki kissed Mordecai, Moriko was pretty certain that she was fighting with herself to not simply take Mordecai right there and then. It was still a rather entertaining show, and Moriko took some mental notes while also thinking that Satsuki was going to need to eventually let the man breathe again.
November 8, 2025 at 9:17 AM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
If you see this QTP with a female anime character you love
November 6, 2025 at 6:58 PM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
Alright, time to call them all PISS systems.

PISS text, PISS images (not art), etc.
Left image: Disgusted face; Text: "Artificial Intelligence (AI)" Right Image: Positive expression; Text: "Plagiarized Information Synthesis System" (PISS)
November 5, 2025 at 11:52 AM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
It just occurred to me that, per this bit of world building, Nikki would be a strong candidate for being kidnapped by a dragon. *ALL* the shiny bling.

#infinitynikki
October 24, 2025 at 2:39 AM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
I really enjoy this take on why dragons kidnap princesses.
Reddit Comment by CenturyEggsAndRice In the novel I’ve been half-writing for a few years, dragons want sacrifices to tend their nests. Dragon eggs are very small, dragons are not. But many mama dragons while collecting loot (which provides a rough surface to rub shedding scales off onto) accidentally collect beautiful noblewomen (and some very fashion forward noblemen) who upon being deposited in a nest sometimes play with the eggs/dragonlings, which a full grown dragon could crush accidentally, but a small human can’t damage unless they really try. These babies grow up healthier because of the enrichment of having a human turning and tending their eggs, and due to spending their young years with a human, like to find one for their own nests fifty years later. Some kingdoms combat this by dressing their young ladies plainly during nesting season. Some kingdoms just accept that the princess disappears when the eggs are laid and send a couple knights to make sure she gets home safe once the baby dragons take to flight and don’t need their human babysitter anymore. The later case often involves the dragon sending the princess home with riches from their hoarde because she’s been such a pleasant guest and they’re very polite creatures.
October 23, 2025 at 7:44 PM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
Moriko; one of the three MCs (story follows them as a trio).

Mordecai is who she is starting a conversation with, and Kazue is introduced in CH6 (and is 3rd character met, completing the trio).

I put some details in the alt text of the attached cover art. 😊
cover art of three characters in front of a glowing magical door. Upper left: Moriko, half-elf warrior-monk Center: Kazue, kitsune reincarnated as a Spiritual Nexus; avatar reflects her original body; former shrine maiden Upper right: Mordecai, ancient Spiritual Nexus; current avatar was designed by a romantic ex. Crystal orb: Mingled nexus cores; the golden half is Kazue's, the purple half is Mordecai's.
October 23, 2025 at 1:04 AM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
Top: Champagne
Middle-Right: Chablis
Bottom-Left: Cider

Can you tell these fosters are brothers? (We nicknamed them The Booze Brothers.)
October 21, 2025 at 6:47 PM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
Someone dropped this in my Discord, I like it. :D
Picture of a sign in a bookstore window, with 3 lines of text. "Fuck Social Media." "Marry Books." "Kill AI."
October 21, 2025 at 6:39 PM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
I think you might enjoy the game Infinity Niki.

*all* the pretty dresses, and has multiplayer. Though playing free requires making choices... on a particular banner pair, my wife went for the cat theme, I went for the dragon theme, though we both mix and match.
October 21, 2025 at 10:14 AM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
There isn't a lot to add to this one.
Image: World War 2 soldiers near some electronics equipment. Top Text: "420 thousand of us died stopping a man who spoke like Trump." Bottom Text: "You betray everything we stood for by continuing to support this nightmare."
October 15, 2025 at 5:31 AM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
Bonus image taken during a glitch out:
October 9, 2025 at 2:27 AM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
Alright, here's my entry. I went for a fairy witch theme to go with the Orange and Black theme. :)

Code: 7KM2FSRQi4J#

#infinitynikki #NikkiWeeklyChallenge @infinnikichallenge.bsky.social
October 9, 2025 at 2:27 AM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
Alright, I've been a bit overwhelmed lately with editing, but this one I absolutely have to respond to. 😁

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts #booksky
#WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag October 8 - dungeon Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine. Support others on the #WIPSnips tag! Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social The image behind the text is a border that is black with stars with a light blue rectangle highlighted by a fuchsia line. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner Not that she could exactly say she disapproved: a tall and lean base with just enough muscle to show off could be a tasty treat. She just didn’t find it very appropriate for him to be greeting her while barefoot and shirtless like that. Mostly because it was distracting. Especially with the rush of a near-death experience still heating her blood. Now was not the time and place to work that off. If Moriko had not already realized something of his nature from watching the nearly invisible sparks of light coalescing, she would have still known that he wasn't a normal flesh and blood person: there had been no physical presence of another person, nor any earthy scent of one, before the air had been displaced, indicating a conjured body and thus probably a spirit of some sort, most likely a genius loci. The giant orb of crystal behind him was probably the living core of a spiritual nexus, and, well, being this far underground, it was undoubtedly of the type known as a dungeon. All of this gave her something to think about besides her predicament. She was used to taking on missions with a group, so she had been looking forward to adventuring on her own a little when the chance arose, but this was definitely more than she'd bargained for.
October 9, 2025 at 1:14 AM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
Took me a bit to remember that this info was on the website, I don't use it much. :) Not quite as much time for me (a little over 600 hours)
October 3, 2025 at 7:29 PM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
Having some fun with recent outfits and being able to dye Monster Girl.

Code: 7dK3uNsfecb#

#infinitynikki
October 3, 2025 at 5:42 PM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
... i don't understand people like that. I mean, ok, look, guy writing an MFF fiction here, but this is a snip from a long arc where the two women are traveling without the guy. I think the mutual F/F is clear here? Why would lesbians not feel that way?
Of course, the reason she needed it was that Moriko had insisted they buy dresses in the local fashion, though Kazue had insisted that Moriko join her in wearing the short pants that were commonly paired with the lightweight dresses that barely fell to mid-thigh. The fabric was thankfully thicker across the chest because it was borderline sheer in other places, and it was only held up by a thin pair of straps for the shoulders. And this exposure was no doubt a good portion of why Moriko had insisted on such flimsy casual wear. Not that Kazue had much to complain about, as it did give such a wonderful view of her wife's legs and the way the sun shone on Moriko's skin as the muscles beneath flexed. Yum. While the wide-brimmed hat that Kazue was wearing did make it harder to look up to see people, it did help hide her gaze when she wanted to admire her wife's figure discreetly.
October 3, 2025 at 3:36 PM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
Hmm. I suspect Drums or Bass. Probably drums. Visual evidence attached. 😁
October 3, 2025 at 12:56 PM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
Some thoughts on how to write intelligent characters. This is far from all to be said, but right now, represents most of my opinion on the subject. Happy to discuss these or other points. 😊

Alt text edited for size.

#booksky #writing #writesky #writingcommunity
As for intelligence, it helps if one breaks down intelligence into different aspects. The three I like to focus on are Knowledge/Memory, Speed of Thought, and the ability to make Connections between disparate bits of information. Knowledge/Memory is the easiest to demonstrate; just have the MC spend some time reading or talking with someone knowledgeable on a topic, and then much later have them remember a key piece of information on that topic that they specifically learned during that time. You don't need to tell the reader the specific information up front, you just need to let the reader know that the MC is learning about the topic. Speed of thought is also fairly easy to demonstrate by having the character heavily multitask in a fast-paced, changing environment such as being surprised by a battle. If they can simultaneously take care of their portion of a fight while keeping track of the rest of the battle and shouting out instructions or information to guide their allies, they can think very fast. Pattern recognition is the hardest of the three to demonstrate. So far, the best version I have done of this involved laying out some pieces of information that the reader knew were connected, because the MC was missing a piece that tied it all together that the readers had already been presented with. Then I showed the MC a fraction of the missing piece and he rapidly started connecting all the other clues that he hadn't known were tied together but now made more sense. An instant later, he is acting on this new data You do not need a perfect plan; you just need an OK plan that is quickly assembled under difficult circumstances and acted upon swiftly. This ties to Perfection is an illusion. You simply do the best thing that is available for you to do, no matter how imperfect, because you can waste an infinite amount of time trying to reach perfection and never find a perfect solution. A 'good enough' plan assembled in mere seconds is a feat of intelligence.
October 1, 2025 at 9:35 PM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
My wife has me take care of all the creepy crawlies.

Spiders I usually try to get outside, the others not so much. I hate silverfish. For one thing, they can damage books.

Do Not Hurt The Books! ... I may have channeled this into a character of mine.
"I see." Kazue's voice was calm, but he could feel a different sort of anger and frustration spark inside of her. "We're going to talk about this later, but two things. First, I may not have liked it much, but it was mine. Second," she took a breath and then said with slow emphasis, "Do. Not. Hurt. Books."
September 29, 2025 at 1:55 AM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
Don't forget, Tifa of FF7 has red eyes too. It's an occasional theme in Japanese manga/anime/games, and if I recall correctly, it is for powerful and passionate characters.
September 27, 2025 at 11:03 AM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
I like this t-shirt.

"Same Shit. Different Hat."

Any other fascist hats that could be thrown in the mix?
Woman with two thumbs up, wearing a shirt that says "Same Shit. Different Hat." Pictured: a KKK hat, Confederate Hat, Nazi hat, and MAGA hat.
September 26, 2025 at 3:43 AM
a-b-zagaroth.bsky.social
You know, criticism and critique are good things when done thoughtfully, but when someone rants after skimming/speed reading while apparently in a bad mood, it's just annoying.

Posting just my reply, as I quote most of his rant.

Alt text trimmed to under 2k

#writing #writesky #writingcommunity
Though I have to point out some serious misconstruing of what I have written. Did you have a bad day? 1) I mean, first of all, literally the exact opposite of the sky. They are deep underground. 'Girl' (a 36yo woman BTW) fell down a hole, Core is at the bottom of the hole (because most cores are down), and his presence is why the hole exists. This is basically the only way anyone can meet/find him, though falling is specific to it being an accident for her. 2) Yeah, he's dangerous, but also not the most dangerous person she's met. At least, not in his current state. It was, however, very unexpected. Also, she's rather obviously an adrenaline junkie, specifically the sort who gets roused from a brush with danger. This is nothing new to her, and she's bedded people she's known for even less time in the right circumstances. 3) That's a huge stretch to make a metaphor. And she's straight up a cultivator-lite and we are talking about chi in there, so no, just a sensical part of the genre. 4) It's called a sponge bath. Yes, women prefer taking baths or showers before sex if they are dirty. And Mordi most specifically did not get her hints at first, she had to hit him over the head several times with obvious clues before he got it. Were you skimming? Also, imagine being over a thousand years old and taking more than a couple times to get a hint. Dude's a dork deep down, just one with a lot of lifetime to get over it. 5) Let's see, emotionally impactful moment, doesn't really loose consciousness so much as looses coherent thought (if she had lost consciousness, she wouldn't remember anything), I chose to be non-explicit when I decided to write, he's using magic (per her permission) to straight up have spirit-merging sex with her, the guy has more experience than anyone could possibly describe anyway, and I haven't read any Japanese novels.
September 24, 2025 at 2:49 PM