It’s early May, 2021. The weather is warming up, albeit inconsistently. A few weeks ago I was vaccinated against Covid-19. Somehow I managed to make it through this whole pandemic without contracting the virus, and nobody in my immediate family did either, to my knowledge. I feel very, very lucky. It is amazing the number of ways that this last year has changed what could be considered ‘normal’ behavior. Having groceries delivered instead of going to the store. Wearing a mask everywhere you go. Homeschooling your child for an entire year. It was a year of sitting on the balcony, watching the cars go by. A year of revisiting old hobbies.

I was furloughed from my job as a digital media designer last year, which was unsurprising as most of my job centered around live events of one form or another. One of the radio stations I’ve listened to since I was in high school (way back in the aughts), and felt fortunate enough to work for, was effectively killed off. Suddenly all of the posters, stickers, lanyards, and what-nots I kept are vintage.

It hasn’t been all thunderclouds and downpours. Spending nearly every day of the school year with my step daughter, watching her grow and learn, has been an unforgettable experience. This kid has some serious artistic skills. I’ve joined a writing discord and worked at turning a hobby into, maybe, a career.

Life may emerge from the seeming purgatory of the last fourteen months, but just like Bilbo Baggins returning to the Shire after traipsing his way to Mordor, you can never truly go home again. There will be no going back to the old normal. Just something new that isn’t quite as bizarre.

P.S: I’ve begun migrating my fanfiction to archiveofourown.org, where you will be able to find the latest versions of my work. I don’t intend to completely abandon fanfiction.net but the community there has died down a lot, and the site’s design hasn’t changed at all in ten years. The old versions of my fanfic will still be there, perhaps with new chapters if they aren’t finished, but I won’t repost or spend too much time trying to edit old chapters. After I finish Part Two of Kaeliterra I intend to edit and reorganize my longest works, Agents of Imperial Intelligence and Order of the Flickering Light.