#Terra Wars

[ncthandrake]

Yeah, I'll keep that in mind.

[nellasbookplanet]

Book recs: black science fiction

As february and black history month nears its end, if you're a reader let's not forget to read and appreciate books by black authors the rest of the year as well! If you're a sci-fi fan like me, perhaps this list can help find some good books to sink your teeth into.

Bleak dystopias, high tech space adventures, alien monsters, alternate dimensions, mash-ups of sci-fi and fantasy - this list features a little bit of everything for genre fiction fans!

For more details on the books, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with * are my personal favorites. And as always, feel free to share your own recs in the notes!

If you want more book recs, check out my masterpost of rec lists!

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor

Something massive and alien crashes into the ocean off the coast of Nigeria. Three people, a marine biologist, a rapper, and a soldier, find themselves at the center of this presence, attempting to shepherd an alien ambassador as chaos spreads in the city. A strange novel that mixes the supernatural with the alien, shifts between many different POVs, and gives a one of a kind look at a possible first contact.

Nubia: The Awakening (Nubia series) by Omar Epps & Clarence A. Hayes

Young adult. Three teens living in the slums of an enviromentally ravaged New York find that something powerful is awakening within them. They’re all children of refugees of Nubia, a utopian African island nation that sank as the climate worsened, and realize now that their parents have been hiding aspects of their heritage from them. But as they come into their own, someone seeks to use their abilities to his own ends, against their own people.

The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown

Novella. After having failed at establishing a new colony, starship Calypso fights to make it back to Earth. Acting captain Jacklyn Albright is already struggling against the threats of interstellar space and impending starvation when the ship throws her a new danger: something is hiding on the ship, picking off her crew one by one in bloody, gruesome ways. A quick, excellent read if you want some good Alien vibes.

Dawn (Xenogenesis trilogy) by Octavia E. Butler*

After a devestating war leaves humanity on the brink of extinction, survivor Lilith finds herself waking up naked and alone in a strange room. She’s been rescued by the Oankali, who have arrived just in time to save the human race. But there’s a price to survival, and it might be humanity itself. Absolutely fucked up I love it I once had to drop the book mid read to stare at the ceiling and exclaim in horror at what was going on. Includes darker examinations of agency and consent, so enter with caution.

Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson*

Utterly unique in world-building, story, and prose, Midnight Robber follows young Tan-Tan and her father, inhabitants of the Carribean-colonized planet of Toussaint. When her father commits a terrible crime, he’s exiled to a parallel version of the same planet, home to strange aliens and other human exiles. Tan-Tan, not wanting to lose her father, follows with him. Trapped on this new planet, he becomes her worst nightmare. Enter this book with caution, as it contains graphic child sexual abuse.

Rosewater (The Wormwood trilogy) by Tade Thompson

In Nigeria lies Rosewater, a city bordering on a strange, alien biodome. Its motives are unknown, but it’s having an undeniable effect on the surrounding life. Kaaro, former criminal and current psychic agent for the government, is one of the people changed by it. When other psychics like him begin getting killed, Kaaro must take it upon himself to find out the truth about the biodome and its intentions.

Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh

Young adult. A century ago, an astronomer discovered a possibly Earth-like planet. Now, a team of veteran astronauts and carefully chosen teenagers are preparing to embark on a twenty-three year trip to get there. But space is dangerous, and the team has no one to rely on but each other if - or when - something goes wrong. An introspective slowburn of a story, this focuses more on character work than action.

The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord

After the planet Sadira is left uninhabitable, its few survivors are forced to move to a new world. On Cygnus Beta, they work to rebuild their society alongside their distant relatives of the planet, while trying to preserve what remains of their culture. Focused less on hard science or action, The Best of All Possible Worlds is more about culture, romance and the ethics and practicalities of telepathy.

Mirage (Mirage duology) by Somaiya Daud

Young adult. Eighteen-year-old Amani lives on an isolated moon under the oppressive occupation of the Valthek empire. When Amani is abducted, she finds herself someplace wholly unexpected: the royal palace. As it turns out, she's nearly identical to the half-Valthek, and widely hated, princess Maram, who is in need of a body double. If Amani ever wants to make it back home or see her people freed from oppression, she will have to play her role as princess perfectly. While sci-fi, this one more has the vibe of a fantasy.

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Life on the lower decks of the generation ship HSS Matilda is hard for Aster, an outcast even among outcasts, trying to survive in a system not dissimilar to the old antebellum South. The ship’s leaders have imposed harsh restrictions on their darker skinned people, using them as an oppressed work force as they travel toward their supposed Promised Land. But as Aster finds a link between the death of the ship’s sovereign and the suicide of her own mother, she realizes there may be a way off the ship.

Where It Rains in Color by Denise Crittendon

The planet Swazembi is a utopia of color and beauty, the most beautiful of all its citizens being the Rare Indigo. Lileala was just named Rare Indigo, but her strict yet pampered life gets upended when her beautiful skin is struck by a mysterious sickness, leaving it covered in scars and scabs. Meanwhile, voices start to whisper in Lileala's mind, bringing to the surface a past long forgotten involving her entire society.

Eacaping Exodus (Escaping Exodus duology) by Nicky Drayden

Seske is the heir to the leader of a clan living inside a gigantic, spacefaring beast, of which they frequently need to catch a new one to reside in as their presence slowly kills the beast from the inside. While I found the ending rushed with regards to plot and character, the worldbuilding is very fresh and the overall plot of survival and class struggle an interesting one. It’s also sapphic!

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah*

In a near future America, inmates on death row or with life sentences in private prisons can choose to participate in death matches for entertainment. If they survive long enough - a rare case indeed - they regain their freedom. Among these prisoners are Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker, partners behind the scenes and close to the deadline of a possible release - if only they can survive for long enough. As the game continues to be stacked against them and protests mount outside, two women fight for love, freedom, and their own humanity. Chain-Gang All-Stars is bleak and unflinching as well as genuinely hopeful in its portrayal of a dark but all to real possible future.

Parable of the Sower (Earthseed duology) by Octavia E. Butler*

In a bleak future, Lauren Olamina lives with her family in a gated community, one of few still safe places in a time of chaos. When her community falls, Lauren is forced on the run. As she makes her way toward possible safety, she picks up a following of other refugees, and sows the seeds of a new ideology which may one day be the saviour of mankind. Very bleak and scarily realistic, Parable of the Sower will make you both fear for mankind and regain your hope for humanity.

Binti (Binti trilogy) by Nnedi Okorafor

Young adult novella. Binti is the first of the Himba people to be accepted into the prestigious Oomza University, the finest place of higher learning in all the galaxy. But as she embarks on her interstellar journey, the unthinkable happens: her ship is attacked by the terrifying Meduse, an alien race at war with Oomza University.

War Girls (War Girls duology) by Tochi Onyebuchi

In an enviromentally fraught future, the Nigerian civil war has flared back up, utilizing cybernetics and mechs to enhance its soldiers. Two sisters, by bond if not by blood, are separated and end up on differing sides of the struggle. Brutal and dark, with themes of dehumanization of soldiers through cybernetics that turn them into weapons, and the effect and trauma this has on them.

The Space Between Worlds (The Space Between Worlds duology) by Micaiah Johnson

Multiverse travel is finally possible, but there’s a catch: No one can visit a world where their counterpart is still alive. Enter Cara, whose parallel selves happen to be exceptionally good at dying. As such she has a very special job in traveling to these worlds, hoping to keep her position long enough to gain citizenship in the walled-off Wiley City, away from the wastes where she grew up. But her job is dangerous, especially when she gets on the tracks of a secret that threatens the entire multiverse. Really cool worldbuilding and characters, also featuring a sapphic lead!

The Fifth Season (The Broken Eart trilogy) by N.K. Jemisin*

In a world regularly torn apart by natural disasters, a big one finally strikes and society as we know it falls, leaving people floundering to survive in a post apocalyptic world, its secrets and past to be slowly revealed. We get to follow a mother as she races through this world to find and save her missing daughter. While mostly fantasy in genre, this series does have some sci-fi flavor, and is genuinely some of the best books I've ever read, please read them.

The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings*

In an alternate version of our present, the witch hunt never ended. Women are constantly watched and expected to marry young so their husbands can keep an eye on them. When she was fourteen, Josephine's mother disappeared, leveling suspicions at both mother and daughter of possible witchcraft. Now, nearly a decade and a half later, Jo, in trying to finally accept her missing mother as dead, decides to follow up on a set of seemingly nonsensical instructions left in her will. Features a bisexual lead!

The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden

South African-set scifi featuring gods ancient and new, robots finding sentience, dik-diks, and a gay teen with mind control abilities. An ancient goddess seeks to return to her true power no matter how many humans she has to sacrifice to get there. A little bit all over the place but very creative and fresh.

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson*

Young adult. Young artist June Costa lives in Palmares Tres, a beautiful, matriarchal city relying heavily on tradition, one of which is the Summer King. The most recent Summer King is Enki, a bold boy and fellow artist. With him at her side, June seeks to finally find fame and recognition through her art, breaking through the generational divide of her home. But growing close to Enki is dangerous, because he, like all Summer Kings, is destined to die.

The Blood Trials (The Blood Gifted duology) by N.E. Davenport

After Ikenna's grandfather is assasinated, she is convinced that only a member of the Praetorian guard, elite soldiers, could’ve killed him. Seeking to uncover his killer, Ikenna enrolls in a dangerous trial to join the Praetorians which only a quarter of applicants survive. For Ikenna, the stakes are even higher, as she's hiding forbidden blood magic which could cost her her life. Mix of fantasy and sci-fi. While I didn’t super vibe with this one, I suspect fans of action packed romantasy will enjoy it.

Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany

1960s classic. Rydra Wong is a space captain, linguist and poet who is set on learning to understand Babel-17, a language which is humanity's only clue at the enemy in an interstaller war. But Babel-17 is more than just a language, and studying it may change Rydra forever.

Pet (Pet duology) by Akwaeke Emezi

Young adult novella. Jam lives in a utopian future that has been freed of monsters and the systems which created and upheld them. But then she meets Pet, a dangerous creature claiming to be hunting a monster still among them, prepared to stop at nothing to find them. While I personally found the word-building in Pet lacking, it deftly handles dark subjects of what makes a human a monster.

Bonus AKA I haven’t read these yet but they seem really cool

Lion's Blood by Steven Barnes

Alternate history in which Africans colonized South America while vikings colonized the North. The vikings sell abducted Celts and Franks as slaves to the South, one of which is eleven-years-old Irish boy Aidan O'Dere, who was just bought by a Southern plantation owner.

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

Young adult dystopia. Ellie lives in a future where humanity is under the control of the alien Ilori. All art is forbidden, but Ellie keeps a secret library; when one of her books disappears, she fears discovery and execution. M0Rr1S, born in a lab and raised to be emotionless, finds her library, and though he should deliver her for execution, he finds himself obsessed with human music. Together the two embark on a roadtrip which may save humanity.

Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

Lelah lives in future Botswana, but despite money and fame she finds herself in an unhappy marriage, her body controlled via microchip by her husband. After burying the body of an accidental hit and run, Lelah's life gets worse when the ghost of her victim returns to enact bloody vengeance.

Orleans by Sherri L. Smith

Young adult. Fen de la Guerre, living in a quarantined Gulf Coast left devestated by storms and sickness, is forced on the run with a newborn after her tribe is attacked. Hoping to get the child to safety, Fen seeks to get to the other side of the wall, she teams up with a scientist from the outside the quarantine zone.

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

A neo-victorian alternate history, in which a part of Congo was kept safe from colonisation, becoming Everfair, a safe haven for both the people of Congo and former slaves returning from America. Here they must struggle to keep this home safe for them all.

The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa

Space opera. Enitan just wants to live a quiet life in the aftermath of a failed war of conquest, but when her lover is killed and her sister kidnapped, she's forced to leave her plans behind to save her sister.

Honorary mentions AKA these didn't really work for me but maybe you guys will like them: The City We Became (Great Cities duology) by N.K. Jemisin, The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull, The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

[zeravmeta]

really does hit the moment that both the bloodthirsty king of vampires and the warmonger nachzehrer king are utterly baffled by the sorrow they feel the moment theresa dies

because that's really the only reason why the sarkaz, why theresis, are declaring this endless war on the world starting with victoria: it's pride, it's suffering, it's anger, it's revenge.

it was cruel of theresa to ask them to forgive and forget, yes. the suffering of the sarkaz is not something that could have been fixed within a single lifetime, the wounds ran too deep. no matter how much they wish they could have believed in theresa, the suffering of the sarkaz would not just vanish no matter how much she did. the core issue between the sarkaz and the rest of terra lies in their ancient grudge, the thousands of years of entrenched bitterness and loss that the sarkaz suffered and still suffer to this day. they have no home, not even kazdel, because the only thing kazdel really is at this point is the reminder that they once did have a home, have dignity as the teekaz rather than just "the sarkaz, the devils".

but even then, theresa was simply born ahead of her time. they were not ready for her future, and they all know this. babel was a dream that theresa tried her damnedest to accomplish, but they were too bitter to accept it. no matter how much they wanted to believe in it, the royal sarkaz court, scareye, the countless sarkaz we see through Babel, none of them could ever see true unity.

it's a unity that neither theresis nor pre-amnesia doctor could conceive.

theresis and doctor have their own roles to play, and their own promises to keep: the sword of kazdel that will revitalize their past glory and strike down all who oppose them, the last survivor of an alien race dedicated to completing the ancient project of a world long past to ensure its future, they are unable to accept another way.

"I can't accept your beautiful and fleeting dream, theresa. not after all the sacrifce."

they were not strong enough to believe in her. no matter how much they loved her, how much they wish they could have seen her dream come true, they simply couldn't.

it was always going to end on that bloodstained floor. they were always going to sleep, and dream that things could have been different. that one could have let go of their past, be it the long held suffering and revenge or the guilt of duty as the last survivor.

we will always be equal. i will always hold your beautiful dream in my heart.

you have to keep going, even if I am not here anymore. you're free now.

[brakken]

Two students corrupted by darkness, facing their masters

(who are both played by Mark Hamill)

[will80sbyers]

So much potential… All cancelled

[shitpostingkats]

It's possible I'm reaching a bit here but I find it interesting that, in their boss fights in bbs, Xehanort manipulates the rock and dirt of the graveyard, while Vanitas utilizes the actual keyblades left behind. For one, it's foreshadowing for the characters they're about to fuse with: Xehanort using earth, Vanitas doing a sort of jetstream aerial attack, the preferred element of Terra and Ventus respectively. But also, they're literally each using half of the world against out heroes. Vanitas is the Keyblade, and Xehanort is the Graveyard.

[epiclad]

At the precipice... 

[mofftarkinandglossurabbansquares]

MOFF TARKIN AND GLOSSU RABBAN SQUARES

🟨🟦🟥🟥◼️🟥🟦🟦🟥🟥

◼️🟦🟥🟦◼️◼️🟦🟦◼️◼️

SQUARE MILITARY RANK INSIGNIA MILITARY SALESMEN FROM OUTSIDE THIS CLUSTER OF GALAXIES

NO I DON'T WANT TO BUY ANY MORE STORMTROOPER ARMOR. I HAVE ENOUGH, THANK YOU.

[antarcticconfessions]

"I keep a picture of silas wright in my locket and tell people he’s my husband who died in The War "

[pridoo]

It's been one year since part 3 of Terra Obscura was published! To celebrate, get 35% discount from all Terra books (including the bundle) from Tuesday to Friday ❤️ use code TERRA1 on Gumroad!

Thank you for all your support in the past and in the future, I'm sending a virtual hug to all of you so grab your arms and give yourself one 🫂

Etsy

Gumroad

[ncthandrake]

At last, the time has come for me to eradicate you once and for all. Then I shall complete this world – my world!

[totallywizard07]

My new clone OC, Terra!! You’ll probably be seeing a lot more of him in both doodle and illustrative form

The shading was inspired by this post by @hauntingacorpse bcs I saw it and really like the way they did it, and while mine’s not quite as good, I really enjoyed it!

I’m super excited to draw more Terra!!!

[strayheartless]

Things heard in the Land of Departure Pt. 4:

1 | 2 | 3 | extra

Aqua: Oh please, My mastery credentials are just a scrap of notebook paper that say “can hit orb with giant key,” I am in no way qualified to mediate a fight to the death!

Sora: Hi Terra any advice for your students?

Terra: Give up, it’s safer for everyone involved.

Roxas: Gee thanks…😐

Riku: In times of crisis always remember, if it ain’t your circus you cannot be held responsible for the actions of those monkeys.

Ventus: *staring at the ceiling* please for the love of the gods, I’m begging you with every fibre of my being, just let me sleep!

Roxas: who are you talking to?

Vanitas: *from under the bed* me.

Roxas: THE FUCK?!?!

Xion: todays the day I train without embarrassing myself! *immediately trips and face plants Terras chest*

Vanitas: so you all just… try to murder eachother?

Sora: with boundaries.

Vanitas: murder with boundaries ?

Sora: yeah I heard it as soon as I said it.

Lea: if I can’t see it I didn’t set it on fire.

Kairi: hypothetically, you could use your keyblade as a giant shish kabob!

Riku: hypothetically you could not.

Sora: I don’t suffer from foot in mouth disease, I excel at it!

Isa: I’ve done many things in my life: I’ve been the right hand of a mad man; I’ve mutilated my own face out of loyalty; I’ve tripped headfirst into love the minute I regained a heart; and insulted Squall Leonhart to his face… yet nothing has this far terrified me quite like the 4”11, red headed, ball of female rage I currently have to train with.

Riku: you are a fuck head Roxas! A fuck fuck fuckety fuck head from fuck ville fuckania… and so’s your dad!

Roxas: *mouthing silently* Woooow

Vanitas: I don’t know whether to be impressed that I’m not the most psychotic person here or disturbed…

Ventus: I like having Van here, it means I can exact my revenge outside of the reach of the law!

Terra: how’s it going boys?

Riku: *laying on the floor next to Vanitas* We are barely holding on. The worlds are still in disarray, and we are still crippled by the weight of our past transgressions. If we are left unchecked we will decend once more into the depths of darkness never to return.

Terra: I meant how is cleaning going?

Vanitas: badly

Xion: *to Naminé* we’ve totally nailed sneaking you into training Aqua hasn’t even noticed!

Aqua: *without looking up* I noticed.

Naminé and Xion: fuck.

Sora: Riku said he didn’t love me anymore!😭

Riku: No, I said you couldn’t justifiably knock yourself out with a sleep spell every time you encounter a minor inconvenience…

Lea: on a scale of one to fuck I am a solid “can’t feel my toes”

Kairi: what did we learn?!

Vanitas: that your a fucking lunatic?!?

Kairi: And??

Vanitas: Zehanort didn’t fucking know what he was unleashing on the world!

Isa: I would like to go on record here and say that never in my life have I called someone a cotton headed ninny muggins, but I’m about to!

Roxas: run be over I can take it!

Xion: No! He can’t take it!

Naminé: Aqua I want to be a keyblade wielder

Aqua: And I want a house on destiny islands with a shirtless Terra to fan and feed me grapes!

Naminé: …

Aqua: Oh you were serious?!

[chungledown-bimothy]

I was today years old when I realized that Terra Kingdomhearts is Anakin Skywalker. Mark Hamill's there, even.

[aresmarked]

Fiametta and Lemuen doing some gun maintenance?

the things i look up for your and ave's prompts, i swear XD

-

It's nothing special to them really, no less regular than afternoon tea to some Victorians—

("Yes, some Victorians.")

—alright, granted. But is it that different from any other experienced fighter? Overtime one learns, how the little details could be the difference between landing your shot, and loss.

So it's worth the time, to unload, to unclean, to tend to its moving parts, to wipe it all down and reassemble it once more. Speed and surety comes with that repetition, sealed with understanding of why one worn spot means efficiency, while another means a trip to the gunsmiths.

And it's worthwhile.

It's worth knowing one's tools, to know if they've changed or the slightest bit off.

When all other circumstance is alien, if all else are storms, you can trust in the experience you've built up, and the sure line of a fired gun.

[ask-glory-haddock-and-others]

First, a little bit about me!

I am a minor, so while I may sympathize with the situation in Gaza, I am broke, I don't have a job, I literally cannot send funds, please stop asking.

I work hard on my drawings, characters, and writings, go ahead and critique me, send me tips on how I could improve them, seriously

I'm a bilingual American, and am working on more languages to better communicate with people

Please don't try to talk politics with me, yes, they suck, no, I won't go into details

I love Transformers, Sanctuary, DC, Marvel, Star Wars, Star Trek, ancient myths, Danny Phantom, Percy Jackson, My Hero Academia, Pokémon, One Punch Man, books, and video games!

Anyone and everyone is welcome to Roleplay with me!

I am a HUGE nerd, and yes, I love certain characters and parts of franchises more than others, but am totally willing to hear out your headcanons!

When it's me, the mod, I'll talk like this or ((this)), depending on if we've rp'd together

Characters talk like:

*"" - different colors, boldness, font, or italicized for different characters

"Talking loudish, verge of yelling, character might not even realize that they're being loud"

"Yelling, and knows it. The character might be scared, mad, or happy. Whatever it is, it's an extreme emotion and you can pretty much assume that the character isn't thinking clearly"

This font is exclusively empurata characters, like S4v3, or my Empurata Perceptor and Prowl au

*Sometimes characters don't talk in quotation marks

"This is character whispering"

Ask me my headcanons/rp with me!!!

For:

Any Transformers, of any continuity!

My OCs! The list currently is:

Glory, grandmother and matriarch of the Haddock family. 68 years old and will kick your a$$. Alfred of the family.

The twins, Elio and Ignacia, oldest children and parents of the younger gen of Haddock family (both widowed). 41 years old. Tim Drake and wet grumpy cat of the family.

Oreo Aetos, a stray Glory adopted. 37 years old. Batman of the family. Broke the matrix.

Perseus "Blueboy" Haddock, Elio's son. 17 years old. Nightwing/Percy Jackson of the family.

Anita "Pink Bubble Gum child" Haddock, Ignacia's daughter. 15 years old. Steph of the family.

S.S. J4ckH4mm3r Prime, really old seeker.

S4v3, relatively young Empurata!Minibot. Talks with recordings, can't speak with their own voice.

Redstreak, sister bot of Prowl, Smokescreen, and Bluestreak. Sassy, has lots of trauma. Avoids sparklings and human babies.

Terra Mater, a planetformer.