#all hidden paths

[starlightmeadowbloomthesecond]

By epic_ai_creator

The most enchanted paths are the ones that lead us back to ourselves.

[botanyshitposts]

confirming the Ethiopian wolf pollination hypothesis seems so straightforward in theory, like just erecting anti-wolf barriers around some of the hot poker plants and seeing if those get pollinated at the same rate as the other ones, but also I feel like it could be some lab’s 6 year long project that ends up in Nature and answers more questions about wolf dessert time than I could ever think to ask. and also it would give more beautiful photos of wolves between 3 seconds and 1 hour into passionate nectar indulgence. so hopefully with the media attention they’re getting they can do that

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

In the world of heavy metals, love is denser than hate!

[bet-on-me-13]

Danny dies every night.

So! Danny's secret Ghost Powers remained a secret for about 6 Hours.

After turning back into a Human, he had immediately gone back to his room and tried to fall asleep, pretending none of it was even real, that it was just a dream. The idea that he had just died was understandably hard to swallow, not to mention the fact he had somehow come back.

All he wanted to do was rest and figure it out later. It was a problem for Future Danny.

Except when he woke up, something was wrong.

He felt Cold, Colder than he had ever been before. It was as if he had a chunk of pure Ice stuck in his Chest, the cold spreading across every part of his body. With a start he realized that his chest wasn't moving at all, either from the beating of his heart or the breaths he was supposed to be taking.

He wasn't breathing. His heart wasn't pumping. The Ice in his chest was the feeling of his heart not pumping, still and unnaturally cold. At that realization, he felt his Heart begin beating again.

He ran downstairs, hoping to get his parents help. He didn't know what was going on exactly, but they must be able to help him right?! They were the leading experts on Undead Biology, they must know how to help him!

When he reached the kitchen, he saw his parents and Jazz huddled together at the table, crying together for some reason.

"Mom! Dad! Jazz! Somethings wrong! I don't know what happened, but last night I-"

He stopped when he saw their faces. Their cheeks were tear-streaked, eyes bloodshot, but the thing he noticed first was the grief and absolutely confusion in their eyes. They were staring at him as if they had seen a Ghost, figuratively of course, and they seemed to he trying to connect the dots in their heads.

"Danny?" Jazz asked in a shaky voice. "Is that you?"

"Jazz?" He asked in return, "What do you mean, of course it's me?"

She looked hopeful for a moment, before his mom stood up.

"No." She said, her voice held a hard edge. "It's not."

Danny almost fell over when she said that. "W-what?" He asked, "What are you talking about Mo-"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" She yelled. She gripped the Blaster in her hand tighter, aiming it at him. "I checked everything when we found Danny's body! He had no Pulse, no Brain Activity, and his Ecto Levels were far higher than normal! Danny is Dead! And you killed him!"

"What?!" Danny yelled in shock, "I didn't kill hi-I mean, I didn't kill me-I mean-What are you talking about!?"

This time his dad answered, getting up from the table himself. In his hand was another Blaster. "Danny's Ecto Levels could only have been that high if killed by something with a large amount of Ectoplasm, enough to leave such a mark. The Portal was open for hours last night before we found it and sealed it up, and that's when you got through isn't it!?"

His Dad leveled the Blaster to him.

"No! I'm not a Ghost, it's me! It's Danny!?" He pleaded, "Mom, I always baked you a cake on mother's day! Dad, I helped you clean up the lab the last time you blew it up! It's me!"

"Nice try." His mother said, "Die again, Ecto Scum."

That day, Danny ran away from home.

...

Ever since that day, Danny had been running as far as he could from Amity Park.

After he got out of the house, he tried to find any place he could hide as he figured everything out. His first try was Tucker, but his parents had anticipated that and beat him to the Punch. The same happened when he tried to go to Sam's, he barely escaped that situation alive(?).

At first he tried to stay in Amity, hoping he would eventually find a way to convince his parents of his true identity, so everything could go back to normal.

He abandoned that hope about a week later, when his parents got the local authorities on their side and issued a public service announcement stating he was a Murderer who killed their son, and to contact the Police if anybody saw him. The mindless Ghost they captured and presented on the Local News cemented the publics view on him.

So he ran from Amity.

The first few weeks on the Run were the worst. He wasn't used to surviving on the street, much less evading the Law Enforcement that seemed to keep finding him. He had to constantly stay on the move to keep away from the pursuit of his Parents, the Police, and the weird guys in white suits who had shown up once he passed the State Border.

His new Ghost Powers were the only thing that had let him get away most of those times. He could turn into a Full Ghost whenever he wanted, unlocking all of his powers for the time being, but also seemingly sending up a Beacon to whoever was looking for him. He found it was much easier to use their weakened versions in his Human Form.

As for his Undead-ness, he had mostly figured it out. His body was lying to him. He was Dead, but his Body was just pretending to be alive for his own sake. He didn't need to breath anymore, and his heart didn't need to pump, but they did because he felt that they needed to. He probably didn't even need to eat anymore.

The problem was that it couldn't keep it up when he was asleep. No matter what, every time he fell asleep his Body would die again, and when he woke up he would have to make it Live again.

One of the main reasons he kept getting caught recently was because well-meaning civilians would report to the Police that there was a Dead Teenager under a Bridge, or on a Park Bench, or on one memorable occasion in a Ditch. He would wake up in a Body Bag, escape, and be reported to his Pursuers.

At least his pattern of movement was untraceable so far.

Turns out, the Portal's opening had much more of an effect than his parents had anticipated. The Shockwave in the fabric of Reality when they punched a hole through it (and him), had caused dozens of Natural Portals to form across the Country, opening and closing in random places, soaking the area of Ectoplasm.

As an apparent Ghost, Danny was somehow drawn to these places. Whenever he got to one he felt rejuvenated, as if the stress of the past few days had never happened to him. He could only assume that he was Absorbing the Ectoplasm in the area to feed himself, based on a few of the things he remembered from his parents constant ramblings.

Whenever he would go to one of these places, he would find a bunch of Ghosts. Some were friendly, defying all of his expectations, while others were...less so.

They seemed to resent the fact that he was still half-alive, some simply jabbing insults at him, others straight up attacking him. It seemed that Life was a sore subject among those guys. Or maybe it was him stopping them whenever they attacked humans...that was probably more accurate.

Sometimes the Ghosts he would meet were in the middle of attacking humans to fulfill what they called their "Obsessions". He learned that all Undead, and basically all Immortal Beings, have Obsessions. They are their Sole Purpose in existence, a built in defense mechanism against insanity by giving them something to dedicate Eternity to.

He didn't know if he had an Obsession, but if he did he hoped it was easier to manage than theirs seemed to be. One of them was obsessed with attention, but got it by hypnotizing humans into adoring her. She chilled out after a while. Another loved the thrill of the Hunt, but only wanted rare game. He chased after Danny a lot in pursuit of his "One of a Kind Pelt".

He fought then off and saved people whenever he could, although sometimes it was risky. Many of them were older and more experienced than him, so he was forced to use his Ghost Form against some of them, sacrificing his hiding spot to save the people being terrorized.

He sort of enjoyed it. Whenever he helped people, saved them from danger, he felt better about his situation. As if he was making the best out of the horrible situation his life had turned into by helping as many people as he could. He always felt a bit more motivated to keep going every time he helped anybody.

Maybe that was his Obsession? Helping others? He didn't really think so, he was nowhere near altruistic enough to consider that a possibility. Maybe it was Space? He always felt that same relief when he would camp out away from the Cities. Eh, he'll probably never know.

This cycle of finding a new hiding spot, getting discovered, and running away again continued for a while. Years even.

Danny had Died at 14. He was now 17, and had been homeless for 3 years.

He hoped this next hiding spot would last a bit longer than the previous ones. This one felt different, the Ectoplasm he was wandering towards felt older than the other places he had gone. His previous hiding spots had always been the site of a recent Natural Portal, and the Ectoplasm in the atmosphere would feel Fresh and Wild.

But the Ectoplasm where he was going tasted Older, Stronger, more Set in Stone than the others had. Wherever he wad headed to next, it had been soaking in Ectoplasm for far longer than any other place he had ever been, even in Amity.

He walked up the the Sign at the side of the road, introducing the City to newcomers.

"Welcome to Gotham City" it said.

[sillytriumphdragon]

Despite the setbacks and frustrations, I know that tomorrow is a new day, brimming with opportunities for redemption and renewal. I refuse to let today's misfortunes define me, choosing instead to approach tomorrow with optimism and resilience. After all, every setback is merely a stepping stone on the path to growth and self-discovery.

[fozmeadows]

Hi! I’m in the US right now and I’m not feeling so good. The Tithenai Chronicles are my favorite books. Can you share some happy fun facts about the characters to cheer me up?

Once they settle at Ravethae, Cae and Vel soon find themselves custodians to a litter of kittens sired by Son of Spoons. One kitten in particular becomes so enamoured of Cae that she starts using his braid as a ladder to climb up and sit on his head, clinging on contentedly for as long as he'll allow it or until she gets bored. For this feat, Vel names the kitten Chamois, after the silk chamois that scale cliffs in the mountains, and so it becomes a not-uncommon sight at Ravethae for Cae to be seen walking around with Chamois riding him like the tiny, furry captain of an ambulatory ship. Cae, in turn, makes a game of pretending the kitten isn't there, to the bafflement of adult guests and the particular delight of various children.

When Yasa Kithadi comes to visit them and asks, somewhat exasperatedly, why there's a kitten on Caethari's head, the whole estate holds its breath to see if the heir apparent will commit to the bit, or break character in the face of his grandmother's judgement.

"What kitten," Cae says blandly.

Outwardly, Yasa Kithadi appears unmoved. Inwardly, she's endeared. And if Chamois just so happens to acquire a fetching collar during the course of the yasa's visit courtesy of some anonymous donor - well. That's neither here nor there.

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Adult SFF Books Bracket: Round 1

Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (Hainish Cycle series)

A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants spend most of their time without a gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters.

Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.

Science fiction, classics, speculative fiction, anthropological science fiction, distant future, adult

The Tithenai Chronicles (A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, All the Hidden Paths) by Foz Meadows

Endorsement from submitter: "Incredible plot, incredible worldbuilding, incredible relationship building."

“Stolen me? As soon to say a caged bird can be stolen by the sky.”

Velasin vin Aaro never planned to marry at all, let alone a girl from neighboring Tithena. When an ugly confrontation reveals his preference for men, Vel fears he’s ruined the diplomatic union before it can even begin. But while his family is ready to disown him, the Tithenai envoy has a different plans: for Vel to marry his former intended’s brother instead.

Caethari Aeduria always knew he might end up in a political marriage, but his sudden betrothal to a man from Ralia, where such relationships are forbidden, comes as a shock.

With an unknown faction willing to kill to end their new alliance, Vel and Cae have no choice but to trust each other. Survival is one thing, but love―as both will learn―is quite another.

Byzantine politics, lush sexual energy, and a queer love story that is by turns sweet and sultry, Foz Meadows' A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is an exploration of gender, identity, and self-worth. It is a book that will live in your heart long after you turn the last page.

Fantasy, romance, arranged marriage, politics, murder mystery, secondary world, series, adult

[vxlinart]

just starting All the Hidden Paths and oh man we’re really goin through it huh

[heres-someart]

He said he loved me, and it was like a dream

Click for better detail. ID under cut. Reblogs are better than likes

ID:

A digital drawing of Juno Steel and Peter Nureyev, both in profile. Nureyev has his hand on Juno's face, bringing it up. Their faces are near each other but not quite touching. Peter is seen from the shoulders up and Juno from the neck up. Juno is a black person who wears a dark eyepatch. Peter is an asian man and is wearing a sheer red shirt. He has on dark red lipstick. His mouth is open slightly, making his sharp canine teeth visible

End ID

[hubr1s69]

ahoy or whatever the fuck pirates say

[x-v4mp3y3lin3r-x]

tithenai chronicles characters except they're pins I saved on my phone, and I don't explain anything

Cae: Vel:

Markel: Asrien:

Telitha: Naza:

Liran: Keletha:

I don't have any for Riya or Laecia, sorry 😭

[xxlilnifflerxx]

Tithenai Chronicles - Incorrect Quotes Part 1/?

Caethari: Why are you following me?

Velasin: Because we’re married now.

Carthari: Okay…what about Markel?

Velasin: We’re a package deal.

Asrien: Everyone is addicted to my fun and flirty personality.

Asrien: Lives have been destroyed.

Carthari the moment politics are involved: If anyone has experience with anything or knows anything about something please let me know 🙏

Markel: Look, the only person who can fix this mess is-

Velasin, whispering: Please don’t say me, please don’t say me

Markel: -you

Velasin: [sighs]

Markel: I left instructions for everyone while I’m gone.

Velasin: Mine just says “Vel no.”

Markel: You should apply it to every possible situation.

Velasin: You have thirty seconds to run, and I’ve already started counting.

Asrien: What-

Velasin: [lunges]

Asrien: [screaming]

Carthari: I can’t believe you assassinated our father!

Laecia: “Assassinated” implies it was politically motivated. I killed him because he was a dick, so it was murder.

Riya: That doesn’t make it any better!

Tiern Halithar: If you got arrested, what would it be for?

Riya: Theft

Velasin: Disturbing the peace.

Carthari: Aggravated assault.

Markel: Arson.

Laecia: All of the above, it that order, and more.

Caethari: It’s not my fault my love language is acts of service and all I know how to do is fight.

[a-kind-of-merry-war]

Also, while talking about books I'm excited to get into, I am SO JAZZED to read All the Hidden Paths by @fozmeadows (which took me ages to get my hands on because I was being stubborn about buying it from a brick and mortar shop).

This is the sequel to A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, which some of you may remember me developing an all-consuming obsession with a couple of years ago. I read it just after I'd finished editing One Night in Hartswood and it just. Stole my heart. It was like it had been made for me and me alone, right down to the extremely specific characters of "Buff and impressive yet socially awkward knife guy" and "more aware but guarded guy with trauma".

I'm currently battling both writing B3 and a reading block like a cement brick, but I read the first page or so of Hidden Paths and it was like... oh..... my boys 🥺 I missed you* 🥺🥺

Anyway, if you've not yet read the first one you should go do that right now, then watch this space for my inevitable screaming about this one. I will note, if you do go read it, check out the CWs first because it does get quite heavy.

*I re-read ASASE like, two months ago, shut up merry get a grip

[death-rebirth-senshi]

I once saw a post that was like "Radahn and Malenia are half siblings what beef could they have" and like you cannot possibly comprehend the beef that half-siblings children of divorce can have with one another.

[randomjreader]

Hidden Agenda has its flaws, but I gotta say I love love love that the conflicts of this series aren't super dramatic, but so godamn REAL. The pain Zo felt trying to be happy for his friend, but finding it hard because he's so disappointed to lose out on something he worked so hard for? And him just wanting to make his mum proud? Painfully relatable on all fronts people, this is the real life stuff your average person faces and I love that that's the direction this show took. Nothing crazy and intense, just real average people problems.

[fozmeadows]

i saw your post about disliking radical feminism so i checked your blog, saw your book, checked the description and just. completely annihilated it in uh 8 hours? i loved it and im currently trying to get my friends to read it too. as a gay trans man it really touched me that so many just casually found liran attractive and the normality of trans and nonbinaryhood (in tithenai atleast) i really enjoyed aline as well. honestly all of your portrayals of queerhood just really spoke to me, give me another day and i'll have the second book finished too! i can't wait for more.

Ahhhh, thank you so much! This is particularly touching to hear, as I started transitioning while writing the second book :)