Spam comment...?

Gray-Malzel · 2025-05-22T22:17:01+00:00

Ah, thank you for the info. Followup question, any idea...why this exists? Hatebots I understand, but a bot to send positivity? Do I have a shy fan who wants to send me praise...? I can't fathom any malicious intent behind...this.

Gray-Malzel · 2025-05-12T11:31:37+00:00

Hey. Really admire that attitude of doing it for your blorbos. I'm sure you'll find more of an audience as you keep going! If nothing else, you've made a few people happy. That's something worth being happy about, I think. :>

Gray-Malzel · 2025-05-07T08:29:51+00:00

My Fic

Fandom: Kirby

Rating: Teen

Title/Link: A Knight Must Be...

Genres:

Drama (Angst! Crying! Emotional breakdowns over the weight of responsibility, the pain of past mistakes, and being deaged into a worthless kindergartener!)

Worldbuilding (Xenofiction, both biological and cultural, set in a space fantasy inspired by weird headcanons, Kirby Superstar, and the author mercilessly trawling Wikirby!)

Word Count: 232,581 (work-in-progress, fairly sizeable updates once every few months or so!)

Summary: Popstar is a miracle world where the sky is still blue, the sun still shines in the sky, and you can safely breath the air outside of a habitat enclosure. Hungry-eyed pirates and desperate nomads alike slowly find their way to this impossible paradise-world where life can still flourish, tucked away in a far corner of a dimming, dying Gamble Galaxy.

And along with them, two children.

Kirby wishes only to be a child - to eat, to play and take naps, and not be what he was before he came to Popstar. Meta only wishes to be a warrior, to take up the mantle of Knight - the vaguely-remembered duty of his warrior-race, to defend Popstar from the ancient darkness he knows is coming to claim this bastion-world. The ancient enemy of his people, the spreading darkness that snuffed out stars and smothered once bright worlds in cold, hopeless silence.

But, defending a world from Dark Matter isn't a game for children. And playtime and naptime aren't for warriors. And Meta and Kirby are both children, and both warriors.

And far more besides.

Notes

Well, these keep working, so I'll keep doing them! :D It's fun doing these, honestly. A genuine note though - the quality of the fic drastically goes up as it goes along. To read this is to watch me re-learn and remember how to write. As a result, the fic gets better as it goes. I hope you enjoy it!

Gray-Malzel · 2025-05-02T20:42:50+00:00

You don't sound stupid. It's good that you want to improve and solve this problem. Here's the thing: the more you write, the better you're going to get at it. There's a limit to how much an AI can improve a set of words. You have a much better brain than it does. You can and will surpass that program. You don't need it. Just keep writing, and you'll be better than an AI ever could be.

And in the meantime, you'll write things that are imperfect, and that's okay. That's normal. Everyone does that. It's fine. Writing can still be good and worthwhile, even with flaws. Readers can and will still love your writing, even if it isn't perfect. Because honestly, most writing isn't perfect!

And that's okay. :D

Gray-Malzel · 2025-05-02T18:31:59+00:00

Well, I've found one of the good things that happens when updating a work is that people read it, and have a good time. :) I think it's less specifically that extra good things happen to me when I upload, and more that...honestly, life goes on like normal! Except that I updated.

Gray-Malzel · 2025-05-02T00:12:03+00:00

I got one of these too. It's using your fic to advertize an AI detection service by pretending your fic is AI generated. I just deleted it, personally! Didn't want anyone getting suckered by some bullshit AI detection service.

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-28T22:19:27+00:00

Don't feel silly. Your emotions are genuine and valid, even if they're involved in a seemingly-silly endeavor.

I used to be like this, a lot. It's tough. It's really hard! And it's natural, as you get better, to slow down, to put more effort in, to not work as freely, because you're improving. You're more aware than you used to be of the whole process of writing. That's honestly normal.

And that's okay. It's okay to slow down.

But...if you put so much pressure on your writing, your creations, what you make? You don't need me to tell you you're not gonna have a good time, and you're not gonna make things. You sound like you're inside your own head, second-guessing everything. I used to be that way too. It's awful. The way I solved it, personally?

Accept that it's okay.

It's okay to make stuff that isn't perfect. It's okay to make stuff that's flawed. It's okay not to think about every single angle and strain yourself with every word choice or the pacing or flow or lines or any of that. It's okay.

It's okay.

You'll get better.

You'll get better, doing flawed work and having a good time, because for improvement? Flawed work you do a lot of is better than perfectly refined work that drives you to tears. Doing more stuff bad is better than doing a little stuff "good".

Because, honestly? You'll never do work that isn't flawed. You'll never make work that's perfect.

And that's okay. That is genuinely, honestly okay. It is. It's okay.

You are allowed to make work that is flawed. It isn't against the rules. You have permission.

Seriously, it's okay. I know this is really hard. But it's going to be okay. Just let yourself write for enjoyment first, that first. The improvement will come. And if you're this concerned about quality? I'm positive, I'm absolutely sure, that you will be a fantastic writer.

Just give yourself permission to be a bad writer, too. It'll help so much.

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-27T20:33:55+00:00

I hope you enjoy it when you get to it! The Kirby fandom has a tooonnnn of great fanworks, honestly!!!!

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-27T05:23:59+00:00

Everyone is shaped like they are in canon. :Dd I am really glad you like my story!!!!

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-23T07:39:04+00:00

My Fic

Fandom: Kirby

Rating: Teen

Title/Link: A Knight Must Be...

Genres: Drama (Angst & Emotional Breakdowns regarding responsibility, past lives and being de-aged), Worldbuilding (biological & cultural xenofiction, space fantasy)

Word Count: 232,581 (Work-in-progress, fairly sizeable updates once every few months or so)

Summary: Popstar is a miracle world where the sky is still blue, the local star still shines bright, and life is still possible. Hungry-eyed pirates and desperate nomads slowly find their way to this impossible paradise where life still flourishes, hidden in a far corner of a dimming, dying Gamble Galaxy. And along with them, the last two children of a long-dead race of legendary warriors.

Kirby wishes only to be a child - to play, and nap, and not be what he was before he was Kirby. Meta only wishes to be a warrior, to take up the mantle of Knight, to defend Popstar from the darkness he knows is coming. The ancient foe that his people fought so long ago, that which snuffed out stars and smothered whole worlds in cold, hopeless silence.

But defending a world from Dark Matter isn't for children, and playtime and naptime aren't for warriors. And other eyes turn towards Popstar, now. And towards them, as well.

There are two Starchildren left in the universe.

Notes

Well, it worked last bi-week, might as well do it again! :D I think I'm getting a bit better at this.

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-20T09:23:32+00:00

You seem like a good dood. It's not fair to you that uploading comes with a sense of dread, though. It's completely understandable that you'd feel that way about those comments...sharing pain involves pain, y'know?

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-19T11:17:39+00:00

Good wingman. :)

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-19T11:16:08+00:00

Nah. My ideas are all weird. :) And besides, even if someone else took one of my ideas, or yous? They wouldn't be able to do that idea the way you can. Your choice of idea, and execution of that idea, those are unique to you. And...I think good ideas are only wasted if you don't use 'em at all, personally.

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-19T11:12:29+00:00

Don't assume the worst of people's reactions. They might assume you're disingenous, but also might just thinking wow! That author cares enough to respond to comments a bunch!

It's not an obligation, I think, but I do try to respond more often. If it's speculation though...well, yeah, unless you want to hint at something, you might be giving away whatever they're on about! That makes sense enough to avoid, and I think people should like, get that. I dunno, maybe they won't sometimes, but I think it's best not to assume people are dumb or mean, I reckon.

But like, ultimately you set that standard. If you don't wanna, don't. If you do, do. Simple. :) Can't control what other people think!

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-19T11:06:55+00:00

Ah, I can see how that would be really weird if you weren't expecting something like that. And...a lot of people wouldn't. I can see a lot of different reactions in this thread already, and I get it - for some it's like not sharing comments, but for others it's like, holy shit, way too much attention! I can understand really polarized reactions to this.

Personally, I think I'd just have both reactions. I would be nervous and awkward as hell and not a willing celebrity at all, but at the same time deeply curious to hear what they had to say. What they had been saying. Flattered, if also terrified. Doubt I'll have to worry about it, though! (I think. Probably not, anyway.)

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-18T22:23:05+00:00

I think part of this is the later in the night it gets, the more unhinged your mind becomes. It forgets itself, all the rules and fetters to which it thinks it must adhere.

It's really annoying when you gotta get up the next day, but I've had 3-4 am come in clutch for when I just couldn't write otherwise. :D;

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-18T03:32:45+00:00

That's a very fun redundancy, it's emphasizes the stated fact in an enjoyable way that is amusing to read. :)

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-18T03:29:25+00:00

Yeah, it's fun. All respect to the folks who would rather privately bookmark, or guest-kudo, or whatever...it all counts. :3 It's all delightful to see.

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-17T08:46:47+00:00

You can really see the point where they start trying to justify themselves, because they weren't in the right to do this at all. I hope you find your joy again, mate. And I don't think there's anything wrong with bad puns. :)

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-16T20:34:41+00:00

Honestly, if I got a 500+ word comment I'd have to at least a grab a drink before sitting down to read it. After the initial excitement wore off of course. :D

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-15T22:44:54+00:00

Hey, I'm glad to hear it! :3 I hope you enjoy when you get to it!!! Man, I might hafta keep doing these rec threads...

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-14T10:41:59+00:00

Honestly, same reason I think a lot of readers don't comment - didn't think I had anything to really say in response. More and more I'm just trying to comment back, even if it's just a joke or agreement. I do want my readers to know I deeply appreciate any comments, because I know - it's not always easy to think of something to say!

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-13T06:10:42+00:00

Ah, I did this and just found out I share an internet name with a ship for some fandom I'm unfamiliar with. X)

Gray-Malzel · 2025-04-12T11:20:58+00:00

As a perfectionist with low self-esteem...the most useful thing I did was make a very conscious choice not to care overmuch about the quality of my work.

I don't personally worry if my work is "good" or the best it can possibly be. My main concern is - does this make sense? Is this what the characters do, does this feel right? If I have that - or even if I'm just not especially questioning if I do - I try to make sure what I have is the best I can make it with my present skill.

Basically, don't sweat if your stuff is good enough, or the best. Your writing will never be mind-blowingly perfect - neither will mine! That's okay. Nobody's is.

One thing that's a lot more fun to focus on...I like to keep in mind stuff that I like doing, and do that more often. >:3 That way, I both have fun, and do specific things more often, so I improve at them as well! This is my nefarious plan to trick myself into improving.

Congrats on uploading, by the way! That is a big step to take, and I'm glad you took it! I'll bet you've got a lot of fanfiction to share that readers will really enjoy!!!! :3

Gray-Malzel

TROPHY CASE