Ethan Lee
@ethan-lee.bsky.social
Writer, dad. Coffee and Pokemon addict. Hopefully someday author 🤞🏻
Born to be mild.
Born to be mild.
I never realised, until I’d tried to trace the pathways of our shared history, what you saw.
Or rather, what you didn’t.
Only your #pain is real. Felt.
Mine is words, illusion, imagination, artifice, manipulation.
A blinding madness you see clearly.
Reflected in a mirror.
#vss365
Or rather, what you didn’t.
Only your #pain is real. Felt.
Mine is words, illusion, imagination, artifice, manipulation.
A blinding madness you see clearly.
Reflected in a mirror.
#vss365
February 3, 2026 at 6:23 PM
The machine before me extended its hand.
I forced a smile, wiped my palm on my top – why? – and gripped it.
Despite myself, I could feel the #thrum of components beneath the polyskin, sense the too-smooth movement of expensive servos.
A head tilt. It saw my despisal.
#vss365
I forced a smile, wiped my palm on my top – why? – and gripped it.
Despite myself, I could feel the #thrum of components beneath the polyskin, sense the too-smooth movement of expensive servos.
A head tilt. It saw my despisal.
#vss365
January 30, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Every year the count would #loom, and hope sunk further.
Our kids were losing faith. Their sadness showed in the world. Storms. Droughts.
Eventually, we uprooted the town.
We showed them life, took them to distant shores, let them play in the sea.
Made them whole again.
#vss365
Our kids were losing faith. Their sadness showed in the world. Storms. Droughts.
Eventually, we uprooted the town.
We showed them life, took them to distant shores, let them play in the sea.
Made them whole again.
#vss365
January 20, 2026 at 6:10 PM
A count confirmed 15 captives in total.
We’d hoped to sort this peacefully, but Her Majesty’s law was clear. Execution.
The masters were not from where they claimed – the accent and #wonky pronunciation betrayed them.
I turned away as the evening was calmly painted red.
#vss365
We’d hoped to sort this peacefully, but Her Majesty’s law was clear. Execution.
The masters were not from where they claimed – the accent and #wonky pronunciation betrayed them.
I turned away as the evening was calmly painted red.
#vss365
January 14, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Tunbar was a bulldog of an examiner. Nothing got by him.
Failing 10 of our mechs and calling them #slapdash riled me enough, but picking on Ganymede was the last straw.
‘Had a loose bolt,’ he yawned.
Thank god for the engineer who stopped my hands closing in on his neck.
#vss365
Failing 10 of our mechs and calling them #slapdash riled me enough, but picking on Ganymede was the last straw.
‘Had a loose bolt,’ he yawned.
Thank god for the engineer who stopped my hands closing in on his neck.
#vss365
January 12, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by Ethan Lee
#WritingCommunity
#vss365 #firewords280 #BraveWrite
@darkxfer.bsky.social
-
In this demonstrably driven world, I've adorned myself with so many roles. The most comfortable one was the snafu. Identifying with the mistake presents you with the illusion of having the power to...
1/3
#vss365 #firewords280 #BraveWrite
@darkxfer.bsky.social
-
In this demonstrably driven world, I've adorned myself with so many roles. The most comfortable one was the snafu. Identifying with the mistake presents you with the illusion of having the power to...
1/3
January 8, 2026 at 9:32 AM
#WritingCommunity
#vss365 #firewords280 #BraveWrite
@darkxfer.bsky.social
-
In this demonstrably driven world, I've adorned myself with so many roles. The most comfortable one was the snafu. Identifying with the mistake presents you with the illusion of having the power to...
1/3
#vss365 #firewords280 #BraveWrite
@darkxfer.bsky.social
-
In this demonstrably driven world, I've adorned myself with so many roles. The most comfortable one was the snafu. Identifying with the mistake presents you with the illusion of having the power to...
1/3
One rule when camping in the outer reaches: leave nothing man-made behind.
The Collector scoured its land for any trinket, any item to #adorn its form.
A veritable mound of clothes, utensils, and personal effects, groaning under the weight.
And it would follow your scent.
#vss365
The Collector scoured its land for any trinket, any item to #adorn its form.
A veritable mound of clothes, utensils, and personal effects, groaning under the weight.
And it would follow your scent.
#vss365
January 8, 2026 at 10:07 AM
A brief introduction, and all were seated.
Beneath the gentle hum of conversation and the tinkle of teaspoons on porcelain, a secret motive was taking invisible shape.
Double-meanings said with smiles carried #power, testing or exerting it.
Pleasantly, rebellion brewed.
#vss365
Beneath the gentle hum of conversation and the tinkle of teaspoons on porcelain, a secret motive was taking invisible shape.
Double-meanings said with smiles carried #power, testing or exerting it.
Pleasantly, rebellion brewed.
#vss365
September 8, 2025 at 11:02 AM
They always said it wasn’t free. What were they talking about?
No cracks in my teeth, no grey hairs.
I felt amazing.
But they were right. The #conversion always had a cost.
Every renewal, my spark dimmed. My soul frayed.
Until I was nothing but a flawless husk.
#vss365
No cracks in my teeth, no grey hairs.
I felt amazing.
But they were right. The #conversion always had a cost.
Every renewal, my spark dimmed. My soul frayed.
Until I was nothing but a flawless husk.
#vss365
April 28, 2025 at 5:30 PM
They always said it wasn’t free. What were they talking about?
No cracks in my teeth, no grey hairs.
I felt amazing.
But they were right. The #conversion always had a cost.
Every renewal, my spark dimmed. My soul frayed.
Until I was nothing but a flawless husk.
#vss365
No cracks in my teeth, no grey hairs.
I felt amazing.
But they were right. The #conversion always had a cost.
Every renewal, my spark dimmed. My soul frayed.
Until I was nothing but a flawless husk.
#vss365
Life in a loop was exhausting.
Ico and Arn were in the fourth cycle. Each iteration thus far had been moving towards the goal.
Still, it was numbing. Each day, the same #beginning.
Every night, the gnawing guilt.
Drawing ever closer to transposing bystander and victim.
#vss365
Ico and Arn were in the fourth cycle. Each iteration thus far had been moving towards the goal.
Still, it was numbing. Each day, the same #beginning.
Every night, the gnawing guilt.
Drawing ever closer to transposing bystander and victim.
#vss365
April 13, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Life in a loop was exhausting.
Ico and Arn were in the fourth cycle. Each iteration thus far had been moving towards the goal.
Still, it was numbing. Each day, the same #beginning.
Every night, the gnawing guilt.
Drawing ever closer to transposing bystander and victim.
#vss365
Ico and Arn were in the fourth cycle. Each iteration thus far had been moving towards the goal.
Still, it was numbing. Each day, the same #beginning.
Every night, the gnawing guilt.
Drawing ever closer to transposing bystander and victim.
#vss365
Today's writing set up:
- No kids
- Hours to myself in a quiet café
- Soft jazz in my earphones
What I'm trying to say is, I've hit the jackpot. 😌☕️💻
- No kids
- Hours to myself in a quiet café
- Soft jazz in my earphones
What I'm trying to say is, I've hit the jackpot. 😌☕️💻
April 13, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Today's writing set up:
- No kids
- Hours to myself in a quiet café
- Soft jazz in my earphones
What I'm trying to say is, I've hit the jackpot. 😌☕️💻
- No kids
- Hours to myself in a quiet café
- Soft jazz in my earphones
What I'm trying to say is, I've hit the jackpot. 😌☕️💻
“But how,” said the man, “can one ‘deal’ in #death? What deals are to be made?”
“Many,” drawled the Dealer. “Oh, many.”
“But it’s death; the end.”
“Here maybe. I know places where it’s only an end.”
He crushed his cigarette and stood, smiling. “I’m sure we’ll meet again.”
#vss365
“Many,” drawled the Dealer. “Oh, many.”
“But it’s death; the end.”
“Here maybe. I know places where it’s only an end.”
He crushed his cigarette and stood, smiling. “I’m sure we’ll meet again.”
#vss365
April 7, 2025 at 5:34 PM
There was a striking disparity between what the pilots commanded and what they had.
Responsible for the destinies of impossibly valuable ships, yet most owned scarcely anything.
Their #luggage amounted to a jacket, cigarettes.
Maybe a photograph—if they were really lucky.
#vss365
Responsible for the destinies of impossibly valuable ships, yet most owned scarcely anything.
Their #luggage amounted to a jacket, cigarettes.
Maybe a photograph—if they were really lucky.
#vss365
April 1, 2025 at 3:24 PM
One of the most important things you can bear in mind when writing is this:
You can simplify without watering down.
If you're fraying your nerves trying to figure out how to 'make' an idea happen, it's not right.
Simplify.
You can simplify without watering down.
If you're fraying your nerves trying to figure out how to 'make' an idea happen, it's not right.
Simplify.
March 27, 2025 at 3:18 PM
One of the most important things you can bear in mind when writing is this:
You can simplify without watering down.
If you're fraying your nerves trying to figure out how to 'make' an idea happen, it's not right.
Simplify.
You can simplify without watering down.
If you're fraying your nerves trying to figure out how to 'make' an idea happen, it's not right.
Simplify.