As a bald man, I must say, that was incredibly wrong of you to try to take Santa's hat. The hat protects us. It keeps us safe. Maybe you didn't deserve your end but to take a balding man's hat, is to invite trouble.
Excellent read, and I look forward to more in the new year.
Loving that it's been such a wildly successful year for you and Jan. Perhaps 2026 is the year that you get the MVP of the author-centric Goodreads-killer out into the wild. Like stories, tech does a lot better with a human-centered approach.
We should talk about the app. I've been plugging away at the Substack alternative where our content is our own, and not a product of the American investors.
Blending the social aspects that are healthy and allow authors to interact with readers. Where it’s easier for readers to find stories and read them. Focusing on fiction. But where the authors own their work and can get better compensated for it.
Of course flucking substack didn’t give me a notification! Congrats on such a productive year!! I’m so glad we found each other and so glad you’re easily bullied 😌 can’t wait to see what’s in store for you in 2026!
Chuq and me are thick as thieves! Also, the Flucks is one of my favorite serials. Top notch. And I'm more than happy to have nerdy conversations anytime!! Can't wait to binge-listen to The Spectral Agent soon! It's on my list.
Omg I'm screaming 🤣🤣 YOU PUNCHED SANTA HAHAHHAHAHA
Deleirideleirideleiri!! He punched Santa 🤣🤣
Deleiri: FAVOURITE YOU PUNCHED SANTA???? HAHAHHAHAHHAHA 😃😃😃
(Thanks for the tag heehee xD I love the Flucks!! I love Slacy and Chuq and your humour and the way your mind works and the stories you spin. 💪🏻💪🏻 Keep posting! Looking forward to more!)
(Also started in the Spectral Agent on Spotify hurhur..)
Ohhh yes xD it's nice to have audio so I can listen to it while travelling. It's.. AI voiced was it? I think you mentioned somewhere 🤔 if so, how did you guys get such cool voices? :I
Also I keep forgetting to post comments on the Substack side x_x
Hah. The Viktor voice does some odd pacing sometimes. Each one is different and has their own quirks. So I think the Viktor voice quirks are part of his accent. The other voices are more consistent.
Ohhh that's interesting 🤔 I'll remember this programme, if I ever need an AI voice xD at least peeps are getting paid for their voices that they’ve allowed to be recorded heheh…
Ed, I more than forgive you for the lack of squelch with the anti-coziness that this was. And thanks for the shout-out! Slacy's adventures are a ton of fun. Also, color me intrigued by this talk of the app I'm seeing in the comments. For whatever reason, I think this is the first I've heard of it.
I’ve been talking about an app mostly with KJ. I started on a social reading/writing prototype, but haven’t been able to dedicate time to it. I’ll make a more formal announcement if I can put enough time into it to invite people to use it.
As a bald man, I must say, that was incredibly wrong of you to try to take Santa's hat. The hat protects us. It keeps us safe. Maybe you didn't deserve your end but to take a balding man's hat, is to invite trouble.
Excellent read, and I look forward to more in the new year.
Haha. I’m starting to bald, my head was cold. He left it behind!
Thanks for reading!
Loving that it's been such a wildly successful year for you and Jan. Perhaps 2026 is the year that you get the MVP of the author-centric Goodreads-killer out into the wild. Like stories, tech does a lot better with a human-centered approach.
Thanks KJ! I would like to spend more time on the app MVP in 2026.
We should talk about the app. I've been plugging away at the Substack alternative where our content is our own, and not a product of the American investors.
That’s exactly what I want to make.
Blending the social aspects that are healthy and allow authors to interact with readers. Where it’s easier for readers to find stories and read them. Focusing on fiction. But where the authors own their work and can get better compensated for it.
Substack’s payment model is flawed.
I’ll need to dust off my old UXD boot camp materials from 2019 so I can be of help. All I remember is the double diamond 💎💎😬
🙌
Of course flucking substack didn’t give me a notification! Congrats on such a productive year!! I’m so glad we found each other and so glad you’re easily bullied 😌 can’t wait to see what’s in store for you in 2026!
Why thank y—wait, what? Did I just show weakness? Now it will never stop! 😫
😌😌😌😌
Chuq and me are thick as thieves! Also, the Flucks is one of my favorite serials. Top notch. And I'm more than happy to have nerdy conversations anytime!! Can't wait to binge-listen to The Spectral Agent soon! It's on my list.
🥹 That means so much. Thanks! I’m excited to see what you think of TSA
Time to send Slacy after Santa 🎅
It’s been a wonderful year and you’re definitely part of what made it that way 🥰
Next year’s sequel! 😂 Thank you!
Sentimental tears AND a few jaw drops??? That's a good frickin short story. (Santa) hats off to you!
Thank you! Going from cozy to horror in a flash 😂
Omg I'm screaming 🤣🤣 YOU PUNCHED SANTA HAHAHHAHAHA
Deleirideleirideleiri!! He punched Santa 🤣🤣
Deleiri: FAVOURITE YOU PUNCHED SANTA???? HAHAHHAHAHHAHA 😃😃😃
(Thanks for the tag heehee xD I love the Flucks!! I love Slacy and Chuq and your humour and the way your mind works and the stories you spin. 💪🏻💪🏻 Keep posting! Looking forward to more!)
(Also started in the Spectral Agent on Spotify hurhur..)
Haha. It felt goooood!
I’ll keep posting. 😁
Let me know how the Spotify experience is.
Ohhh yes xD it's nice to have audio so I can listen to it while travelling. It's.. AI voiced was it? I think you mentioned somewhere 🤔 if so, how did you guys get such cool voices? :I
Also I keep forgetting to post comments on the Substack side x_x
I listen to a lot of audiobooks too for travel, local or otherwise.
Yeah, these are AI voices. We need to find a Russian-American to voice it when we’re done 😂.
We’ve got a post “hearing our story changed how we wrote it” or something like that with more detail.
We use ElevenLabs. They’re human sourced AI replicated voices from people all over the world. They get paid when we use their voice.
But we do a lot of post processing to make it sound good.
🤩🤩
They do sound close to human, just that the rhythm is a bit uncanny in some spots. I thought it was part of the accent at first 🤣🤣 so cool!
I hope you guys manage to find your Russian-American voice :D
Hah. The Viktor voice does some odd pacing sometimes. Each one is different and has their own quirks. So I think the Viktor voice quirks are part of his accent. The other voices are more consistent.
Ohhh that's interesting 🤔 I'll remember this programme, if I ever need an AI voice xD at least peeps are getting paid for their voices that they’ve allowed to be recorded heheh…
Gruesome!
Thanks! Not your regular holiday story 😂
Ed, I more than forgive you for the lack of squelch with the anti-coziness that this was. And thanks for the shout-out! Slacy's adventures are a ton of fun. Also, color me intrigued by this talk of the app I'm seeing in the comments. For whatever reason, I think this is the first I've heard of it.
Anti-cozy 😂
I’ve been talking about an app mostly with KJ. I started on a social reading/writing prototype, but haven’t been able to dedicate time to it. I’ll make a more formal announcement if I can put enough time into it to invite people to use it.
What is this "enough time" you speak of? Lol. But for real, sounds like a cool idea.
Yeah… time is the problem. If only I could have gotten my hands on those red mittens!
Oh, man, the alpha and the omega would make short work of any to-do lists!
It was a pleasure, my man. Never thought I’d record myself saying “I punched Santa in the face” but I’m glad it happened.
Glad I could push you into new voice territory 😂
" I could kill Santa with my bare hands and keep the hat forever, feeding off its power to do good with cozy and cheer". Bloody brilliant story, 👏🏾
Thanks you! I liked the irony in that line 😂
This was awesome! Flucksed! Lol. The battle with Santa was hilarious. Excellent horror and especially body horror.
Santa's such a bastard for spitting on your dust pile hahah
Excellent writing, as always! I loved seeing both yours and Jan's milestones. Congratulations to both of you for a great year!
2026 will be fantastic!
Yeah, Santa's a dick! lol
This was very dry and cold body horror. No squelches 😔. Probably not going to be confused as anything but horror 😅.
Thank you!
I don't know! I definitely saw some questionable parts...
I'm back to say that I loved the idea of your sudden cozy possession being due to the magic hat.
Uh oh...
Haha. Like I'm frosty the snow man, just a different hat.
Please point them out 🫣
Hahah do you want a restack or just a quiet list in the comments? *Cracks knuckles*
I like the idea of someone finding a restack and expecting something completely different 😂