#and would need a novella to explain maybe

[theverglaswindow]

[blindbeta]

I've noticed that you are interested in stories with multiple blind characters and often propose adding more blind characters to a story as a solution. I really struggle with this because it's not as simple as that -- stories don't have infinite narrative space. The idea that every story has a large cast is influenced by the prevalence of long serialized media in fandom: webcomics, TV shows, etc. But many writers (myself included) write a lot of novellas and short stories which often only have a few characters -- maybe even only 1 or 2! Even novels don't usually have huge expansive casts -- maybe 5 main characters with some additional side characters.

Considering this, I don't understand how it's realistic for every story (or even, say, 50% of stories) to have multiple blind characters (without it feeling forced). This is compounded by the fact that most blogs that talk about other forms of representation say the same! So if I write a 2-character short story and the protagonist is a blind Latino man, does the second character also have to be a blind Latino man? It just doesn't make sense! This is just a general problem I've noticed in discussions around representation -- there's an assumption that every cast will have 10+ characters and narrative space to develop those characters, even though that's not realistic for most narrative forms.

Do you have any thoughts on this?

Writing Multiple Blind Characters in Short Stories

Hi Anon! Surprise. I write short stories as well. I have experience with this. I have never felt like my blind characters were forced or unrealistic, even with having several of them in the same story. I’ll try to explain what might help you.

First, the idea that multiple blind characters is forced or unrealistic comes from ableism. Think about why you feel there is a limit on disabled characters. If you can create stories, I would hope you are creative enough to consider the possibility that multiple blind characters could exist in the same place and time. Challenging this barrier opens up more possibilities, allowing you to explore different types of blindness, different reactions to it, different upbringings, and multiple ways of living, adapting, and navigating being blind.

Second, blind characters need access to their own community. This is where they learn how to be blind. This where they get support. This is where they might find understanding and belonging. You can find more information about community here in an excellent reblog. Also, here.

As you mentioned, I often suggest adding more blind characters when writers insist upon using stereotyped portrayals. Having multiple characters with different experiences helps to make your story more realistic and nuanced, contrary to what people might implicitly believe. Having more than one blind character is something I highly recommend because it helps with not having all your representation rest on the shoulders of one character.

For example, if you are worried a main character who has cloudy eyes might reinforce the idea that all blind people have cloudy eyes, having another blind character with a different experience may help. If one of your blind characters is naive and innocent, you might have another blind character who is brash, displays a lack of trust in others, and has a lot of shocking stories. Maybe they’re in a rock band together. They met while playing blind football (aka soccer) on a middle school team. They bonded over their pet cats and sour patch kids.

Or something.

Another important thing to remember when writing is that you have control over the story. Too many writers come to me feeling stuck because they feel they cannot change their story while also wanting to incorporate my suggestions. This makes it challenging to address implicit bias or stereotypes, much less guide writers in going in different directions.

Additionally, I feel uncomfortable with the complaints about other blogs in this ask. I feel like this isn’t really about me, nor is it something I can comment on. I will say that it sounds as if a bunch of blogs dedicated to helping people write marginalized characters are mentioning some of the same things. They are probably doing so for a reason.

However, while it helps, writing multiple blind characters won’t improve every story, which I explained in my review of the book Blind. I was not impressed with this book. I did not feel that the four blind characters were very good, nor did having them help with offsetting the portrayal of blindness as a miserable experience.

Conversely, one of my favorite blind characters is Toph Beifong from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Despite being the only blind character in the show, the writers did a good job with her. Would I have liked her to meet more of her community as she travels with the Gang? Absolutely. Even though I like her, she still never had access to her community after being isolated by her parents for so long.

So, no, you don’t need to have multiple blind characters if the suggestion bothers you this much. I even provided good examples of what to do, what not to do, and times where my typical advice was not as helpful for the resulting story.

However, please consider where these feelings stem from. Consider the origins of the idea that having multiple blind characters is unrealistic. Using the example you provided in your question, I wonder, would you say the same if both your characters were white and abled? Is there any way you can challenge the fear of seeming unrealistic? What about being considered unrealistic bothers you so much?

You don’t necessarily need to have characters in the story for them to exist. Even background characters can help. I will try to give some ideas for this:

Does your blind character have family they can talk about or remember? Are any of their family members blind?

Do they have any friends? Just because the friends aren’t in the story doesn’t mean they don’t exist at all.

Does the blind character have any formative memories or flashbacks?

Does the character who isn’t blind know any blind folks?

Your characters should have lives outside of the story. They should have memories and experiences that made them who they are. This is where you can have other blind characters. Perhaps this is how your blind character can have a community.

However, I would still like to see more blind characters interacting with each other. This is what I want as a blind person. If you don’t want to go that direction, that’s fine.

I hope this helps.

[charlieg1rl]

𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡?

𝐥𝐞𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐥𝐞𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟔𝟎𝟎

You sat at a small table in the corner of your favorite café, the soft light casting a warm glow on your book. It was a well-deserved break from your busy life as a student, and you cherished these moments of peace. You were about to immerse yourself in another chapter when you noticed a familiar figure striding through the entrance—Lee Minho.

His trademark smirk was present, and your heart did a little flip as he spotted you. He made his way over, looking effortlessly charming in a fitted black t-shirt and ripped jeans. “Hey there, bookworm. What’s so interesting?” he asked, leaning against the table, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

You glanced up, a playful smile tugging at your lips. “Just a novel. But I suppose it’s not as thrilling as whatever you were doing before you came here.”

He chuckled, sliding into the chair opposite you. “Well, I was just practicing some dance moves, but I could definitely use a break.” He stretched his arms above his head, showing off the muscles that had you fighting the urge to stare.

“Dance moves, huh? Show me what you’ve got!” you teased, knowing he would never back down from a challenge.

“Maybe later,” he said, smirking. “First, let’s talk about your reading choices. What’s this book about?” He leaned in, his curiosity piqued, but you noticed the way his gaze lingered on your lips, making your cheeks heat up.

“It's about a girl falling in love and having an affair with her sex therapist,” you replied, attempting to maintain your composure. “The guy's charming but also a bit of a jerk and toxic as fuck.”

“Sounds like a fun read,” he replied with a grin. “You should let me borrow it when you’re done. I like a little drama in my life.”

You rolled your eyes playfully. “Are you sure you can handle it? I wouldn’t want to ruin your innocent mind.”

His smirk widened, and he leaned in closer. “Oh, please. You’d be surprised by what I can handle.”

You raised an eyebrow, intrigued yet slightly amused. “Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

He let out a laugh, clearly enjoying the banter. “Of course! I’m a good son. But you might not want to think too much about where this mouth has been.”

You felt a rush of heat creep up your neck. “Minho!”

“What? I’m just saying,” he shrugged nonchalantly, though the mischief in his eyes betrayed his teasing nature.

You shook your head, trying to suppress your laughter. “You’re impossible.”

He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms with that signature confident grin. “Maybe. But you like it.” His gaze was intense, the playful atmosphere shifting slightly as the two of you locked eyes.

“Maybe,” you conceded, your voice barely above a whisper. “But don’t let it get to your head.”

“Too late,” he winked, and you couldn’t help but smile.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, he broke it again. “So, tell me about this hero of yours. I need to know what kind of trouble he gets into.”

As you started explaining, you couldn’t help but feel grateful for moments like these—where light teasing turned into deeper conversations, and a simple coffee date with Minho felt like an adventure of its own.

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

tags: @estella-novella, @therealmsbahng, @amarecerasus

[x-liv25-jamieswife]

i might get hate for this (cause ive gotten hate for less by toxic stans) but fuck it. this post is a little all over the place bc im tired but eh.

idk if this post will make sense but ill try my best to explain. ill be so pissed if jlb takes the prague storyline (which is JAMESONS) and somehow gives it to lyra/grayson or like anyone else (like, for example, if she makes another character go through the same thing jameson went through in prague or smth). jlb treats jameson like shit and almost never gives him any time to shine (she gives all of the spotlight to grayson... makes me think of a certain grandfather). i feel like the prague storyline would be such a good opportunity to explore jameson's character and actually do him justice (bc although i loved him in tbh, she could've done better. she clearly focused more of grayson's chapters). like, for once, i want him to have smth thats actually his (other than avery) (yes he had that entire plot line in tbh where he got the castle and stuff, but its just not the same. idk how to explain T-T (maybe its cause a castle isn't really important/doesn't truly solve the main problem, his self worth issues (aka the reason why he needs something to be his in the first place)?). i feel like his story wasn't truly finished bc his self worth issues weren't really resolved). i wish that jlb delved more into jameson's mental health and stuff like she did with grayson, and i think the prague plotline would be good for that.

the only reason i'm worrying about this is that we have no confirmed jameson pov. avery doesn't know what happened in prague, so we won't find out in games untold (unless pain at the right gun is about that night). jlb definitely has to address it at some point, and, since she constantly ignores jameson's character, and the entire series is coming to an end in a few years, i don't think we'll be getting another novella (in jameson's pov) or smth solely about prague. i'd hate for jameson to just mention what happened briefly at some point in the tgg series as if it's nothing. like, why would she makes jameson go through all of that/keep it a secret just to completely scrap that plot line and give it to someone else.

edit: there seems to be some confusion (my post was kinda confusing so i get it). i've had people message me abt this. i don't think lyrason are going to be in games untold. there's no reason for lyra to be in games untold bc she isn't really part of the og series/cast. this is the og cast's time to shine. i honestly don't really get how people can think she'll show up (not hating or anything). it just doesn't make sense. i'm afraid that the storyline will be given to them in tgg.

also i'm using lyra and grayson as examples bc they're the only characters that know about alice (and prague definitely has something to do with alice). rohan/savannah/gigi etc are all doing their own thing and don't know about alice.

[horrorisunknowntoyou]

The Moon will Sing

[SAGAU x Mexican! Creator-Reader]

A/n: I love SAGAU but realistically if I was stuck there I would be so sad I can't eat my culture foods ngl. Also y/n is implied first gen. Sorry lol. Also heavy leaning on y/n x Zhongli. Also title is from the song from The Crane Wives.

Also sorry if this sucks, it's kinda rushed and Idk what to do.

TW// obsessive-ish behavior

------------------------------------------------------------

You were transported to Teyvat after staying up all night playing Genshin before eventually passing out Infront of your computer.

When you open your eyes, you weren't in the comfort of your room but instead on gold altar.

People you recognized Infront of you as you sat up in shock. You hand hurting slightly as you looked down at it.

Blood.

In matter of fact, the blood was gold.

You watched as the wound healed itself on its own but your thoughts get interrupted as someone speaks up.

"My Grace, we are honored to have you here. The imposter has been dealt with, we pledge our devote loyalty to you."

You straight up passed out after this revelation.

After that whole fiasco, and you woke up to a bunch of crying acolytes.

Turns out, you were asleep for DAYS.

But you eventually grew accustomed to everything, honestly it wasn't as bad you thought it would be. Besides the weird obsessions and yandere like tendencies But there's one thing you missed dearly.

Home.

You were home sick and even the acolytes can see that. You didn't smile, you look off into the distance.

You miss the parties, music, going to swap meet and family members. Even the novellas your mother watched and eating her cooking.

Hell, you missed the internet.

It was just boring.

Then you got an idea, why not share them with your acolytes?! You get to explain your culture and maybe try to recreate dishes your mom made with ingredients here!

You immediately stood up from your throne excited. You immediately ran out of the temple, with the archons following you panicked.

"Your grace wait!" Zhongli yelled out chasing behind you. " You can't just leave abruptly like this! Please take me with you. "

You stood there, looking at a map you summoned looking at the places. "Sure! Let's go!" You grabbed around his waist and flew to places you needed to go.

He was practically beating his heart against his chest. The Creator was holding him! His ears were burning red in embarrassment.

You literally searched high and low, for ingredients alongside Zhongli. You either found substitutes or you quite literally had to create the ingredients. But once you had everything, you went straight to the kitchen.

The Archons were begging you, that they can someone else do it.

But you declined them, deciding to do it yourself.

You think the easiest recipe to do would be caldo de res. It's the one you seen your mother do countless times. And with your powers it should quicken the pace.... probably

Some of your acolytes were watching you, making sure your safe and do any task you asked.

Venti stood by the door way, along side zhongli and Xiao. Making sure your grace was fine.

At this point your at probably your third attempt at making this but you were really determined to get it right or at least

You took a spoonful and blew on it, taking a sip. And God it tasted like home, you place the utensil down and started to cry.

Venti was first to noticed, and thought you were upset. " Your grace don't cry! We can have some one else do it for you if your tired! "

You shook your head, wiping your tears smile. " I'm not sad, in fact I'm happy. Really happy. Would you like to try? It's a soup my mother always made."

Venti was so honored that the creator would even let him try, let alone a recipe the creators mother made!

Zhongli and Xiao whined, they wanted to try it too!

"Don't worry, you'll try it too!" You smiled, as you got a small spoonful.

Venti blushed, he's truly being rewarded, to be fed by the creator itself. He knows Xiao and Zhongli are practically seething in jealousy over this.

You were oblivious to it, feeding Venti small spoonfuls laughing. " Is it good?" You asked practically shaking in excitement.

He nodded happily, unknowingly teasing the other two in the room.

You made the jealousy even worse when you grabbed a handkerchief and clean up ventis face. Getting to be touched and so close to the creator smelling your perfume/cologne.

The other two pushed Venti aside, practically begging to be fed too.

You stood their dumbfounded but reluctantly agreed as well. Spoon feeding both of them, their faces light up.

They were so happy.

-----------------------------------------------------------

After that, you started cooking other dishes, your acolytes and followers were always so excited to try it.

They saw how much you emotionally improved so they was no discussion over it.

You also started telling them old folktales and customs from your culture. Scholars started to appear and request to write it down and study it. You even taught them Spanish!

Thought they call it, [y/n's] language. And etc.

Sometimes when doing a task, followers can hear you quietly sing songs in your language.

---------------------------------------------------------

Your favorite thing, was reactions. The reactions your acolytes and followers had to your culture. They saw it as sacred, but you saw it as home.

You remembered talking to Zhongli because he remembers all of liyues stories and such.

"Zhongli, would you like to listen to a folktale?" You quietly asked, sitting on your throne. Him standing besides you.

" I'll be honored. " He says with a smile.

"There's different variations of this story depending of the region, but this is how I know it. Usually told to children to scare children into obedience. "

You cleared your voice, " long ago, a beautiful indigenous women fell in love with a man of higher social status. They lived happily together, having two children of their own. One day the man abandoned her, to either marry a more beautiful woman then her or a woman of his status. It depends either way, he leaves her. Her feeling threatened by this, consumed by rage and despair. She drown her children, meeting her own demised along side it. God curses her to wonder as a ghost searching for lost children so she can get into heaven."

Zhongli perks up at the story, " did you curse the woman yourself ?"

"ummm...yes?" You said unsurely.

" I see, a fitting punishment of her. " He says proudly.

" ahem, yes of course. Anyway she's called "la llorona" meaning The weeping woman..forever walking near bodies of water in search of her children so she may enter...umm.. heaven? "

Zhongli, tilts his head " what is heaven? " At this point your hands were sweating. " Ummm it's kinda like Celestia? But instead angels and stuff are there and it's like... Holy. You know? Anyway no more questions."

--------------------------------------------------------

Random Head Canons and such

If you have curly hair, best believe the acolytes would be fascinated by it. Especially if they give you baths and pamper you.

You would teach Venti songs you know for example: hijo de la Luna.

Sometimes you sing them if you feel like it. Mostly to little kids.

The Adults are definitely not jealous.

The Archons fight each other over being your dancing partner. This is because you needed someone to show how to dance bachata. And ever since they just fight over that spot.

Same for being food taster, they like eating your food and being the first one to try it is such a big honour. You don't know why? Either way they like being spoon fed your cooking.

They all listen to your stories and take your advice very very seriously. It's annoying lol

You taught them your cultures customs, for example birthday customs. You're absolutely not allowed to have your face smashed into cake. They absolutely refuse to do that to you.

Also if you like spicy food, they probably be amazed at your spice tolerance. You'll probably mess with them by eating a whole chile Infront of them.

There are times where you do get very home sick and won't leave your room. When you do, they try their absolute best to comfort you.

Also you have given some of your followers Spanish nicknames for funsies.

Sometimes you and your acolytes would speak Spanish with you. They think it's like the biggest honor to understand your language and speak it with you. But you just think it's nice. Plus you get to have secret convos with people you don't want to know what your saving.

That's all I can think of , off the top of my head lol.

[nicosraf]

Hello!! I hope this isn’t an odd/rude question to ask but it’s been on my mind a lot.

And forgive me if any of my assumptions about these characters are incorrect or if I’m just missing something, my media literacy isn’t always awesome hahaha

So anyways, we all know Rosier and Asmodeus’s relationship is pretty unhealthy, but if I’m remembering right I feel like I’ve seen some descriptions of their relationship that imply that they’re Both bad for each other.

Maybe I just wooby-ify Rosier too much because I love him lol, but I honestly have a bit of a hard time not seeing Asmodeus as the sole aggressor/one in the wrong regarding their relationship issues, and mostly only seeing Rosier as a victim of Asmodeus’s assault.

Perhaps Rosier’s wrongdoing just comes from his desire to stay with Asmodeus despite the pain and trauma it left him with? I’m not sure, but I was just wondering if there was something I may have missed that Rosier had done/currently does that would also hurt Asmodeus too?

I mean obviously other than cutting his head off but that was in self defense so I don’t count that haha. But then again, maybe that is what Rosier did wrong? I’m not sure lol

Hi! Not a rude question at all! I really like talking about Rosier (that's why he's getting his whole own novella (in case you didn't know, since I've only discussed this on my newsletter).

Rosier doesn't have... any wrongdoing, so to speak. In terms of his relationship with Asmodeus, he definitely hasn't done anything wrong. Asmo and Rosier are not a case of "they're both bad people so it's fine that they're toxic" (like Lucifer and Baal, for example, or even Lucifer and Michael in A&M). Rosier is a victim and there's not a lot of nuance about it. He was hurt and it wasn't his fault.

I'm not sure if you mean something I've said when you say "descriptions" but if you do, let me explain what I mean when I say that Rosier isn't that "good" of a person. (This isn't going to be "Rosier is toxic and evil too, and he's evil to Asmodeus" because he's not. He has (toxic) codependency issues with Asmodeus, but that doesn't make him evil. I mean, we can understand that as a result of the trauma of losing, you know, God.)

So to make it very clear, let me tell you about demon Rosier without bringing Asmodeus into the equation about Rosier's morality:

Rosier knows what Lucifer is up to all the time. He knows a lot of the awful things Lucifer is responsible for. Rosier might be out of place with the demons, but he's kind to them (see: Baal). He will clean up the blood of innocent people if Lucifer asked him to. He would do it if Baal asked him to. (Even if he's sad about it, he'd still do it). If Baal needed someone to comfort him after a mass murder, Rosier would hold him. If any horrible demon needed a shoulder to cry on, Rosier would offer his.

Rosier is a very kind person. He's actually what happens when you're too kind. He makes excuses and he allows bad people around him to do whatever they want. He's almost a complete bystander. He's not as trapped as he thinks himself to be. And (this is important in his novella) being a "good person" is about more than just smiling at people, it's about not letting bad things happen to innocent people. (Sometimes we read about horrible people irl and we're shocked by the family/friends around the perpetuators that just let them get away from it. We like to imagine they agreed with it, but the truth is that they probably just kept making excuses. They downplayed it because they loved them. (I used to know the son of a very bad man (a guy with a wiki page, so yeah it was bad), and though the man is locked up for life, the son loved his father. He loved him so much he just refused to think about the people his dad hurt. Does this make the son a bad person? Who knows, but it definitely puts his morality into question. I mean, are you really willing to forgive the worst crimes imaginable against innocent people just because you love someone or think that you do?))

This is also why demons can be annoyed with Rosier for acting so angelic. They think that Rosier is just as bad as everyone else just by virtue of never doing anything about the bad things. They think he just wants to feel better about himself.

So returning back to Asmo, yeah Rosier is not the aggressor here. Not even a little. Rosier's imperfect goodness exists even though he's a victim. (I feel like I say this a lot in relation to characters in the series but yeah — you can be a victim and do things of dubious morality). His imperfect goodness exists independent of Asmodeus (Lucifer, Baal, for example) but exists within the context of his love for Asmodeus, as well. Not that Asmodeus is hurt by it. Asmodeus is mostly hurt by his own actions and his own thoughts. If you asked Asmo, I think he would tell you that Rosier's never done anything wrong to him.

Anyway! This is really long! but Rosier's morality is very fun for me to talk about because of how complex it is. There's a line in his novella about how there are 2 kinds of demons: those that kill and those who knowingly welcome the killers home. And Rosier realizes that despite how kind and good he wants to be, despite his intent, he's become the latter.

In essence,

[nestastits]

Maybe the reason sjm is so scared to release anything about the next acotar book is because it’s another Nesta pov book 🤞🤞🤞.

I mean she didn’t have to include acotar at all in cc if she really didn’t want to, but she did. And she chose for the acotar character who played the biggest part of that crossover to be NESTA. Bryce asked Nesta why she had the eight point star and what it meant, then at the end she gave Nesta the most legendary sword known in Prythian history and told her to go figure out why she had the star on her. And you’re telling me this isn’t at least a little foreshadowing to Nesta’s story not being done? Pair it with sjm herself saying acosf was only Nesta’s happy beginning and her story isn’t over yet. Like I need more of my silver flamed mother, okay?

As much as I want Elain’s story and for this dumbass ship war to come to an end, I genuinely don’t give a fuck until I have more Nesta content 😭😭. I need to know if Nesta is actually the chosen one, I mean girly has a friendship with THE MOTHER and a bargain with the cauldron, the two most highly respected and revered object/deity in acotar universe. WHY? Why is Nesta the one who has a special connection? Why can Nesta, after centuries of it being impossible, able to make and unmake objects/people just bc she feels like it? Why can Nesta wear the dread troves without them taking over? Acosf did not do enough explaining of this or enough of Nesta actually figuring out her powers for my sanity.

If I was sjm I would be terrified too to say if the next book was another Nesta book with the amount of backlash she got from acosf being Nesta’s pov+Nesta having a major influence in cc3 and the hate she’s currently getting now bc of the shipwar.

Sarah could even decide to be kind and give each of the Archeron sisters a trilogy+novella for the whole obsessive thing she has with stuff coming in threes in her books. I know this will never happen but my god would it be wonderful if it did😭.

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #36 – Life Does Not Allow Us To Meet by He Xi

I read this basically entirely because it got a hugo nomination, and assuredly would never have tried it otherwise – I literally wouldn’t even have heard of it, let alone be able to get my hands on a (digital) copy. So I went into this with frustratingly little context. Overall I’d call it an interesting read if not necessarily a loveable one.

The story follows a trio of explorers being sent to the colony of Caspian Sea, decades after the previous attempt to check on its progress was lost in a freak FTL accident. The planet, seeded with a population of genetically engineered ‘pioneers’ - humans modified to thrive in its environment - needs to be graded for suitability, and the colonists introduced to advanced technology and welcomed into humanity. Unsurprisingly, things do not go according to plan – the last mission’s destruction wasn’t as reported by the lone survivor, and the population has strayed increasingly far from the plan the Constitution of Earth demands.

Its heritage is of course entirely different, but the story was just incredibly reminiscent of old Golden Age American sci fi to me. The reason is some combination of style and content, I think. It’s overwhelmingly a novella of dialogue and exposition – pages at a time are dedicated to one character explaining a principle of the story’s science or technology to another. With the exception of the very final reveal, the whole plot is dialogue explaining the laws which the story is an expression of or decisions that they had already made – ‘action’ in any sense is in very short supply (despite the genocide). Reminded me of reading my dad’s ratty old paperbacks in the basement as a kid. Oddly nostalgic reading experience.

Prose-wise the story does come across as slightly stilted? Or maybe distant is the better word. Characters emote and have strong reactions, but in nearly every case it felt a bit tell-not-show. I’m not sure how much of that is from the original and how much is an artifact of translation (such is life for the tragically monolingual). While I mean, I’m fairly certain the translation could have been more graceful in places (I simply do not believe that referring to the original colony ship as Big Ship as a proper noun reads the same in English as whatever the original Mandarin was), but beyond that.

Speaking of being in translation – this is a story that made me desperately wish I was more properly familiar with the Chinese SF scene. If only because my initial reaction to it is that it’s obviously in conversation with the whole Three Body Problem series, but also those are literally the only two works of Chinese science fiction I’ve read so I really have no knowledge at all of the wider context they’re both swimming within.

Regardless, Life’s presentation of alien life absolutely does rhyme with Three Body’s, right down to the same examples of historical genocides being used to make the point. The xenophobia is presented as policy rather than an actual law of history, but it feels like a very intentional reference (and the story clearly considers it at least plausible if not necessarily self-evident). Which is what drives the central moral drama of the story – that despite the most careful possible genetic engineering, stellar radiation has left the pioneers of Caspian Sea incapable of reproducing with earth-born humans, and so made them functionally a different species. And thus, by the constitution of earth, axiomatically a potential threat to the survival of humanity that must be exterminated out of hand.

Going from Children of Memory (a series motivated in large part by wonder and joy at the idea of truly nonhuman intelligence, and possessed of ironclad faith in the potential of cosmopolitan, liberal societies to integrate wildly disparate parts) to this was something of a shock.

The book’s vision of humanity is kind of interesting, honestly. Subspecies modified to thrive on different planets, but capable of interbreeding to ensure some level of biological solidarity or shared destiny or something. Not making drastic changes to the appearance, even if it means awkwardly hiding gills under arm pits or not even trying to colonize worlds that would require exuding a thick mucus layer, basically explicitly to make sure that everyone will still find each other fuckable. Fascinatingly shallow, almost?

Anyways yes, interesting ideas and central drama, let down some by prose and execution. Very Asimov.

[miladydewintcr]

happy friday!!!! i feel like you just opened my eyes to davrin/neve and i am so fascinated. so maybe those two with the rivals (to lovers?) prompt: "well, someone's cranky today." happy writing!

-broodwolf221

Thank you for this!!! I'm so happy you're seeing it too!! I feel like they would work really well together!

For @dadrunkwriting (Veilguard content, set during Act II)

ship: Neve x Davrin word count: 862 rating: T

Neve was up early. Truth be told, she hadn’t really slept at all. After a few hours spent staring at the ceiling in the dark, ruminating on what to do about Aelia, she had thrown on her house-coat and made her way to the kitchen in search of coffee.

She was two cups into her reading (this week’s book club pick- a rather unrealistic horror novella about a quite frankly embarrassingly sloppy serial killer- Harding’s choice) when her focus was broken by a steady pounding in the courtyard outside. Neve set her book down and tried to place the sound, but couldn’t.

She heard a frustrated groan, and that she recognised. It was Davrin.

Picking up her still-warm second cup of coffee, she made her way outside. Her curiosity always got the better of her in situations such as these.

Davrin was chopping wood in the courtyard. It made sense, she supposed. All those little pieces he was constantly whittling down into figurines had to come from somewhere. She’d always assumed the Fade just provided him with them, the same way the wisps always seemed to ensure she never ran out of red thread for her crime board. She should’ve known better than to assume anything. It was shoddy detective work.

For a moment, Neve just observed. Davrin didn’t seem to have noticed her presence. His back was to the dining hall. She’d never seen him shirtless before. It was a nice back. More importantly, though, there was a certain…. frustration in his movements. He wasn’t just chopping the wood. He was swinging his axe at it like it had insulted him personally. Or, perhaps, that it had endangered Assan...

The Gloom-Howler. Of course. Neve wondered if he’d also had trouble sleeping.

Deciding it was only fair that she make herself known, Neve cleared her throat. “Well, someone’s cranky today,” she said teasingly.

Davrin swung the axe towards the piece of wood on the block one last time before turning to face her. His eyes dipped down, taking in her state of relative undress- the satin house-coat, the pyjama bottoms peeking out from beneath its hem. “You’re up early.”

“So are you.” She made her way over, looking down at the chopping block. From this angle, she could also make out the pile of already-cut pieces of wood ready to be taken inside and whittled into something new. “Do you have enough wood there?”

He huffed out a chuckle. “It’s not about the wood right now.”

“You’re upset.”

“I…” For a moment, she thought he was going to protest. But then his shoulders slumped slightly and he looked away from her, his gaze unfocused. “Yeah. I’m worried about Assan.”

He didn’t need to explain. Neve knew. He was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to protect him. He was terrified that The Gloom-Howler might get her hands on him. Assan would be blighted. He could die. And regardless of the outcome, she would take Assan away and Davrin might never see him again.

Neve knew all that, and she also knew that Davrin didn’t need her to voice it aloud right now.

So instead she said, “Can I have a try?”

“Well, you’re not exactly dressed for it.”

“I can take off my house-coat.”

Davrin was clearly torn. Eventually, though, he took a step back from the chopping block, made a little gesture with his hand. Go ahead.

Neve set her coffee down on the steps leading up to his quarters. She untied the sash on her house-coat, folded the garment roughly before putting it down beside it.

She felt Davrin’s eyes on her as she made her way back to stand between him and the block. Her pyjamas were not the most sexy. Her shirt had big round buttons down the front, and the bottoms stopped only an inch or so shy of the floor. He must be wondering what she was thinking, wearing them outside like this.

She didn’t care.

Davrin held the axe out to her handle-first.

“Aren’t you going to teach me what to do?” she asked. “Proper form, and all that.”

He rolled his eyes, though his smile betrayed him. Coming up behind her, he reached around and positioned her hands on the handle correctly. This close, Neve could feel the warmth radiating off of him. He smelt like wood shavings and sunlight and the varnish he kept in his room for his finished projects. She resisted the urge to inhale deeply, because that would be insane of her.

Davrin kept his own hands on the axe. “Legs apart slightly,” he said, nudging her ankle with his foot. “That’s it. Perfect. You wanna use your back to do the lifting. We’re gonna go up over your head like this, and…”

She was sure that most of the strength was coming from him. He was a Grey Warden. She was a mage in her pjs. But even so, the sense of satisfaction when the blade crashed against the wood, splitting it into two almost even pieces, was unexpected.

She turned to look at him over her shoulder, grinning. “Like that?”

His smile mirrored her own. “Just like that.”

[acourtofthought]

This may be too far into headcanon territory… but do you think that Elain was pregnant when she entered the cauldron? I feel like it could explain 1) how Nesta “took something” from the cauldron, perhaps Elain had to give something up and 2) also be a main contributor to the deep depression Elain fell into, and 3) another reason why she distances herself from Lucien… and finally I keep thinking this could be another reason why SJM dropped the detail that Elain slept with Graysen before she was changed.

I know a few have considered this theory but it's not one I ever connected with.

First off, the timeline doesn't work because Elain only slept with Graysen for the first time a month before she was Made.

In their world I doubt there was anyway to confirm a pregnancy that, at that point would have been only 4 weeks along. A

missed period could have been a possible symptom however not confirmation of anything. Morning sickness doesn't typically begin until at least 4 weeks so I can't imagine that would have been a possibility for her. Even if she were pregnant, I don't think she would have had any idea at that point.

Also, if Sarah were going to delve into miscarriages, I would hope she would not introduce it into Elain's storyline given where Elain is at now, 2 years out from having been made. Writing about it now, after Elain is somewhat on the mend and was willing to kiss Az only to then say, "oh by the way, I lost my baby!" seems a little callous to me. During her depression she spoke about wanting to go home, about Graysen looking for her, about the wedding she was supposed to have in a few days. Talking about those things but not mentioning the sadness over the loss of the child? In my opinion it wouldn't read right.

As far as Elain's depression, I think everything she went through all on it's own was reason enough for her state.

Nesta was not engaged and was not attached to being human yet she went on massive downward spiral for nearly a year and struggled to call Cassian her mate because of having to finally let go of the last piece of her humanity.

Elain not only went into the Cauldron, just as Nesta did, but she lost her fiancé and the entire life she had planned for herself as a result. Elain was happy in the human lands, much happier than Nesta ever was. She was also very close to her father and I imagine the thought of having to leave him was also a contributing factors to her struggles.

Feyre went into a depression for killing those fae.

Aelin went into a depression over the loss of Nehemia (and everything that happened surrounding her death).

I think what Elain went through was plenty enough reason for her to have sunk to such a low place without there needing to be some other hidden reason for it.

As far as Elain ignoring Lucien as of the novella, I think it's not all that different from how Nesta behaved with Cassian though Elain had the added angst of being engaged to another and trying to move past the loss of that. While there seemed to be a sliver of hope for Elucien after ACOWAR, once ACOFAS began it became clear Elain was still mourning Graysen and her human life. When SF started, it seemed she had started moving forward from what she lost but it wouldn't make any sense for her to go running into Lucien's arms just like it didn't make sense for Nesta to go running right into Cassian's arms. These sisters have dealt with a ton and there needs to be an adjustment period before they skip happily into the sunset with their bonded for life mate. It's actually healthy (though maybe their execution was poorly done) for them to explore what it is to be fae on their own and even consider other fae males before settling down with THE MOST fae kind of all fae relationships. That way they know they want their mates because of who they are, not what. They won't be accepting their bonds solely because it was just handed to them, they'll accept because they know their mate is the best male around regardless of a bond.

[surrealisticduvet]

Album Review - The Prison: A Book With a Soundtrack (1974)

The Prison - Michael’s first album to be released under his own record label, and the first album maybe ever to be released with its own novella. The Prison’s concept is hard to explain (you either over-explain it or over-simplify it) but in a nutshell, it is about a man (interestingly named after Michael’s second son) who lives in a prison which he discovers is not real - he can walk out at any time he likes, and the prison will fade away. This is an allegory for the troubles of society; when one is entrenched in it, it is real, and constraining; when you leave, which you can do at any time, at great personal cost, you discover that it has been, all this time, a fabrication. The book itself is very interesting, but this review is about the album, and the music it contains; let us begin.

Favorite parts of the album:

It’s clear, between the album itself and the way he spoke about it, that this was a monumental production for him. It’s very different from his previous work, and much of his post-Prison work is influenced by it. The lyrics are very strong and poetic – which makes sense, considering that writing was his focus with the book. The instrumentation is wonderful too (I love the guitar and subtle pedal steel - yes, of course Red is on this record!). although the higher level of production can make it sound a little stiffer and more impersonal at times (compared to, say, And the Hits… where he did a huge chunk of the playing himself). I don’t think the album suffers for that, however - it’s a soundtrack, so the production is perfect. 

“Dance Between the Raindrops” is probably the catchiest song on the album - starting here, and continuing in other tracks, is the trend of using a subtle background melody to drive your reading along. Amidst the lyrics and the music itself, it’s easy to get a little distracted at times, but having that baseline to keep you grounded is nice. This happens again in “Hear Me Calling,” where he utilizes a sort of “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” western shuffle deep in the background of the song. (He uses this again in the next album I’ll be reviewing – I’ll rave about it then.) 

“Walking Mystery” is another hit in my book (to be clear, none of these songs are “hits” - they would never make good radio songs, except perhaps on an easy listening station.) It has a mystical, ethereal quality and ambiance, which is again wonderful for reading along. This song and a few others almost have a touch of that dreamy 80’s synth - six years before the decade rolled around. 

Overall, the album flows beautifully, and is in fact long enough for you to read the whole book while listening. Which brings me to my critiques…

Critiques:

It may be my fault, for rushing out of fear that I’d run out of music before I ran out of pages – but in fact, it was the opposite: I finished reading long before the album ran out, and I certainly didn’t digest it well enough. Having read through once, I ought to go back and savor it this time, reading slowly and feeling the music throughout. I do believe that while reading, you miss a little of the music (I enjoy it much more when I listen on its own), although Michael said that if you’re experiencing this issue, you might just need to practice. That could be true – or maybe the songs just aren’t as memorable as some of his others. Perhaps; they weren’t made to be stand-alone hits (he had to change “Marie’s Theme” quite a bit for it to sound like a standard track on the Ranch Stash re-release), and they’re not as easy to sing along with as the rest of his discography. 

My next critique is about the book itself, which isn’t very fair to the music, but they are intertwined – it’s very theoretical and a little preachy (a symptom of his present state), which doesn’t ruin the experience for me, but I see why it wouldn’t necessarily be critically acclaimed by a casual listener/reader. Oh well. 

Finally – and this is the big one – Michael here is entering his “hamming it up” era, which gets better as the 70s fade out, but never really gets cured. For some reason, there are many lines which he sings in a half-spoken, comical manner, something that would be natural for “Mama Rocker” but absolutely not for a lot of these songs and those that he performs live or on other albums. (This phenomenon is extremely bad on Live at the Palais, which I’ll get to in a few posts…) I guess it doesn’t ruin the experience for me, but it does make me cringe. 

Conclusion:

I truly wish that, first of all, we had a recording of the ballet (?!) that was performed for this album (if I remember correctly from Infinite Tuesday) and that, second, he was not so insecure/embarrassed about this album in the years after it came out. In live performances he apologizes for making people listen to songs off of it (albeit surely half-jokingly) and teases himself about the outro of “Marie’s Theme” (that it repeats 602,417 times at the end so you have time to catch up on some reading, etc.) 

Overall, The Prison is not my favorite album of his ever, although I do really appreciate it – it’s just not one I tend to listen to often. But I think it was a very important one that paved the way for a lot of his later work - a definite timeline shift. His later work was obviously influenced and inspired by it, and it seemed to be a culmination of what his earlier work was leading up to, philosophically (if not so much musically - sort of separate schools going on there – but he was all about that sort of unexpected, conceptual genre-melding approach to music… and that’s why we love him!)

[serickswrites]

i’m such a sucker for Lonely Place of Longing (the living weapon story, or, at least, the first of yours i’ve seen). especially any hurt/comfort aspects. i can see that story expanding to be novella length. may i request for a continuation if you have the time and motivation? when you take requests, do you like ideas or do you prefer to go off of what you were already envisioning?

here are a few ideas but please ignore this paragraph if you don’t want any. will Whumpee be punished for being too injured to go back into the field in the next month? maybe Caretaker steps in to defend them? i’d love to see more conversation between Caretaker and Whumpee with how isolated Whumpee is and how little Caretaker knows about them. will Caretaker ever see the extent of Whumpee’s powers (abilities? idk what you called them)? would Whumpee see Caretaker’s expression and be heartbroken that Caretaker is afraid of them and going to leave just like everybody else? does Whumpee ever train, would Caretaker be brought into the field (even just a helicopter overhead or watching video live), or would Team Leader see Caretaker becoming too fond of Whumpee and show the mass destruction to try to put distance between them? do the power-suppressing cuffs hurt them intentionally, hurt them unintentionally, or suppress any healing power that might become necessary?

@eyehartart (so i’m notified if you answer this ask)

Hello, friend! Thank you for all the questions! I love it.

So this story has gotten so big that I have changed things up with it. I have named my characters and they have some pretty extensive back stories, so I will be following up this ask with a master post, character bios, and summary because this is so much bigger than I realized (we're now at 17 chapters and it's completely written).

I absolutely love questions. And I love this story so much.

I'm also going to answer your questions from the reply in the second chapter as well!

How has Team Leader punished Whumpee after perceived failings in the past? So this is a complicated answer because Whumpee (now called Dylan) doesn't fail. Without giving too much away, Dylan always completes his missions. BUT obviously he does get hurt in the process. And that is something both Team Leader (now called Thomas) and the authority (I'll explain what they are in the master post) do not appreciate and so Dylan is made to feel very bad about that. He has been yelled at, neglected, and yes, denied his basic needs. He's experienced a lot of emotional and physical pain at the hands of those he is surrounded by.

when you take requests, do you like ideas or do you prefer to go off of what you were already envisioning? I take requests all the time and whether it's just a 'please continue this' or 'i love this i need more' or more specific continuations with requests of tropes or avoidance of squicks, I don't mind. If something is completely plotted or written I'm not always inclined to deviate unless it's a really good suggestion (I try not to be rigid, but if I have written the entire thing I'm not changing it lol). That said, I have written things completely and have written alternate endings on request. If there's a piece you like but don't like the tropes in it, you can always request a similar piece but with different tropes. I love prompts it helps my brain lol.

will Whumpee be punished for being too injured to go back into the field in the next month? maybe Caretaker steps in to defend them? In the next chapter, there will be some more hurt comfort and you'll see how Dylan handles his injuries and how Caretaker (now called Halle) experiences him.

i’d love to see more conversation between Caretaker and Whumpee with how isolated Whumpee is and how little Caretaker knows about them. Halle will learn more about Dylan and spend time with him. No spoilers but their relationship and interactions are actually the driving force behind this story.

will Caretaker ever see the extent of Whumpee’s powers (abilities? idk what you called them)? would Whumpee see Caretaker’s expression and be heartbroken that Caretaker is afraid of them and going to leave just like everybody else? In future chapters, Halle does get to see some of Dylan's powers in action. She does eventually learn the totality of his powers and it's definitely impactful for her (I don't want to spoil but the reveal and the chapter after that are so full of the feels).

does Whumpee ever train, Dylan doesn't need to train. You'll understand why near the end of the series.

would Caretaker be brought into the field (even just a helicopter overhead or watching video live), Halle does get some field action time but is very sheltered. Dylan's abilities are considered like TS/SCI level clearance in the world of this story (in the US that's the highest level of security clearance is my understanding), and Halle does not have that clearance, but is brought in on the know near the very end of this story.

would Team Leader see Caretaker becoming too fond of Whumpee and show the mass destruction to try to put distance between them? Thomas does not like how Halle interacts with Dylan and reminds Halle on a regular basis that Dylan is dangerous and not to be trusted.

do the power-suppressing cuffs hurt them intentionally, hurt them unintentionally, or suppress any healing power that might become necessary Ah, the power suppression cuffs. Those are super duper handy. Originally I was going to pair it with a muzzle, but decided that was too much work to then develop the rest of the story so I nixed the muzzle. They suppress all of Dylan's powers, which do include accelerated healing and higher constitution. So it's not necessarily that they cause harm intentionally, but by design are harmful. Dylan's powers are a part of him and to be cut off from them is uncomfortable and painful. He's adapted to life like that as he's had to wear them a long time (it's revealed how long very close to the end of the series). But they are not comfortable and he doesn't enjoy wearing them.

Please ask any questions you like! I really enjoy the questions. This story got so much bigger the more I wrote and the more I thought about it that by the time I finished, I realized I needed to change the generalness of the piece (but had sadly published two chapters already). So I'm going to be editing those two chapters to reflect the changes AND I'm going to create a master post, charater bios, and summary. Which means I am going to do something I never do and that is tag everyone who has interacted with the first two chapters (normally I only tag reblogs, comments, and replies, but this time I'm also going to include likes) because I have made some changes and want to give them a chance to read.

And this turned into a very long winded answer, so expect chapter three to be out tomorrow!

If you (anyone who is tagged in this post) do not want to be tagged in anything further, please let me know and I will take you off the tag list. If you do want to be tagged and are not already tagged below, please let me know and I will add you!

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[goodluckclove]

Various "Failures" From My Google Docs

Good morning! I'm at my usual coffee shop and got inspired by the troubles of a few friends to embarrass myself.

Sit down with me. I'm enjoying my usual blended chai. There's room on the couch if you'd like to join me.

So I've written thirteen novels. I think thirteen, I've actually lost count. Let's say, like, five full-length plays and twelve to fourteen finished novels. Impressive, right? Maybe. I'm realizing that I consider that not much of a brag, if only because I know the amount of trips and stumbles it took to get to one completed project.

I've ditched a lot of ideas. A lot. If I need to I can dig into my old hard drives to find all the doc files from my youth, but I also have the same Google Docs I've had since middle school.

It's mostly plays and ghostwriting assignments, but if you did you'll find some snippets from my constant attempts at growth.

Some stuff like this is okay. The line "hair slicked back/suit black silk" is pretty good, but a little too the writer thinks they're clever for me now. I don't really remember where I planned to go with this. I think the narrator was somehow going to be given the identity of Roy Fontaine. I was really fixated on the surname Fontaine at the time. I don't know why.

But then there's also a lot of stuff like this:

Hey look it's Fontaine again! I guess he's a doctor, too! Also I am astounded by how casually the main character just pulls out the Necronomicon. He pulls it out? From where? His pocket? Is it a zine?

I don't know why, but something about how suddenly this jumps in terms of dropping specifics makes me think that Sonic the Hedgehog is about to show up. I can't explain it.

This is the only thing in a Doc titled "Psychosis". I have zero memory of what I was planning on doing with this. What's kind of crazy though is that I wrote this in 2014, and six years later I'll use essentially this exact bit in a finished novel without even realizing it.

Another bit from 2014. No clue what I planned to do with this. It's hilarious to me that something stopped me from finishing the sentence. What am I, Franz Kafka writing The Tower? I didn't die. I wasn't raptured. I just apparently tried to think of something a large oak door would do and immediately gave up. It was 2014 I had finished, like, four novels. And this idea was fully stalled by what had to be a fucking huge oak door.

My favorite part of this radio play I tried to write is that somehow, believe it or not - when I wrote this I did not fully understand the Quantum Suicide thought experiment. And for along time I still kind of thought that this could be salvaged into a good idea, until last night when I asked my wife to put on a video describing the experiment and I immediately found it so dumb. Just ridiculously stupid. The only good thing about Quantum Mickey is that the title kicks ass and I'm definitely keeping it for something.

I've written a lot. A lot. I've earned the severity of carpal tunnel I currently have. If I had to put it into a statistic, I'd say maybe seventy percent ends up finished. fifty percent ends up polished to be read or published. Thirty percent actually ends up being read or published. I'm okay with this, because I enjoy the work. But for me, part of enjoying the work is not panicking when a project doing work.

If I need to end a project in the middle of a sentence, I do. I've clearly proven that I do. Sometimes I write for thirty pages and lose interest, other times I get a paragraph in and get distracted forever. That's okay.

That's okay. As long as you're doing something.

I could've included segments of Carnation, my first novella that was supposed to be a novel but I never finished it. But I fucking guess that's getting it's own post when I hit 150 followers so I hope you're prepared for what the type of stuff I enjoyed in middle school.

There's an Irish child that speaks exclusively in slang. You aren't ready.

[heymickie]

𝗳𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗺: our life 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: derek x reader (gender neutral) 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀: 508 🐭: i love his route ( @gb-patch ) 𝘁𝘄: none 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲-𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁/𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗱 ʚ🍓ɞ 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲

𝗖𝗢𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗠𝗘 | 𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗟 / 𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥

𝗙𝗙𝗡 ʚ🍓ɞ 𝗔𝗢𝟯

It was good to be home, especially when you got to see your moms and your friends. You never really paid mind to home during the fall. Summer has always had your eye. However, here you were. You were out during the fall festival with your boyfriend, Derek. You have always matched costumes with Cove. However, matching with Derek was a completely different field.

The two of you had gone over couples' costumes after couples' costumes. You guys had some bad ideas, like a light socket and a plug-in, and you had some good ideas, like… Okay, so the two of you were having a hard time thinking of a good one.

“How about a couple of characters from Lake of Voices?” You suggested walking hand-in-hand with him. You two had time. Halloween wasn’t for a couple more weeks. You could at least enjoy the fall festival.

“Never played.” That's right, you were dating Derek Suarez, the sweetest jock in the world. Of course, he wouldn’t have played the novella games that you have. “How about Peanut Butter and Jelly?”

“I think my moms had me and Liz be that when we were babies,” you admitted. “I would propose some sport duo you like, but I wouldn’t really know who they were,” you said honestly as you hesitated at a stall when you smelled fresh funnel cake. He must’ve heard your stomach growl because he stepped forward and bought you both one.

“Okay, what is off limits? What are ones that you and Cove have done?” He asked, paying for the funnel cakes before handing it over for you to carry.

“Mermaids, Pirates, and fish.”

“So sea-based,” he laughed. He should have figured that out. “What about a couple of Marvel Characters?” You gave a shrug. It was Halloween. There were going to be more comic book characters than a comic con. You pinched at the funnel cake, taking in the fair. How have you never noticed how nice fall was in California? It was cool, but not too cold. You could enjoy the cool weather without worrying about needing to bundle up for Halloween.

“Hm, why is this so hard?” You asked, moving closer, so Derek could take a piece of the funnel cake.

“Probably because it’s our first Halloween as a couple.” Derek offered. “Couple things are important.” Derek licked the powder sugar off his thumb as he went with you down to the craft area. Maybe something there could spark up an idea. “Not to mention, we don’t read each other’s minds the way you and Cove do.” That was true. You and Derek were never as close. It will take a minute to find your groove.

“I suppose that's true. He got himself a shark onesie this year,” you explained, hesitating by a booth with many masks. Your eyes fell into a wolf mask, complete with big brown ears. You turned to Derek. The idea was practically bursting out of you. “Let's do Little Red Riding Hood! Cheesy and classic!”

[the-smut-analyst]

Fantasy Rom-Coms

The genre I never knew I needed. Until I found it.

Short 'n' sweet book rec post today (because I know I've been doing a lot of deep-dive analyses of late). I deserve a break. You deserve a break. So let's do it.

Here's my top three fantasy rom-com series at the moment!

Pick them up if you enjoy a bit of smutty fantasy and are in the mood to laugh.

1. Anything by Kimberly Lemming

I do not know if my tits were built for murder. I don't even think they were built with my back in mind.

Lemming is an auto-buy author for me. This woman is bloody hilarious. The humour is farcical and somewhat absurdist, which is my absolute favourite style. I grew up with the likes of Monty Python, The Mighty Boosh, and The Confessions of Georgia Nicholson - so Lemming's work is right up my alley.

Her character Alexis, the dirty-talking sword (yes, you read that correctly) is, in my mind, nothing short of comedic genius.

"Oh my god, chip my steal, you're so annoying," Alexis snapped. "Maybe if you fixed your attitude and took a bath once in a while, women would talk to you. You smell like old cheese and a mother's regret."

I know some reviewers have been thrown off my the modern vernacular in Lemming's work, due to its medieval-like fantasy setting. However, I think that is exactly what makes these books so good (and refreshing).

The love interests speak a bit more "ye oldy", while the female protagonists speak like we do. The result is something akin to what might happen if a modern romance reader were dropped into a smutty fantasy world. It's brilliant. For example:

"Every scratch," he whispered, his tone gentle and comforting. "Every bruise, I will pay back in fire and blood." I blinked. "Um... that is so sweet but so unnecessary."

I'd recommend reading Lemming's work in publication order, which is as follows (links included):

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon

Mistlefoe (novella - available with KU)

That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf

Two Scoops of Hellfire (novella - standalone - available with KU)

A Bump in Boohail (novella - available with KU)

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human

2. Alphas of Nasila series by V.K. Ludwig

“If you ever see me running in heels, then you better run, too,” she says with a scoff. “What am I supposed to run away from, anyway?” “Me!” “Why? You got a chase kink or something?��

The best way I can think to describe this series is that it is Omegaverse satire. The pairings are alien males and human females, and the smut / romance includes all your fairly standard A/B/O tropes - with the exception of non-con. The consent is refreshingly solid here.

Book one of this series, Heat for Hire, was actually my entry into the Omegaverse. If you're unfamiliar with the genre, then this is a good place to start because the protagonist, Elli, is unfamiliar with how alpha/omega pairings work. So all the... ahem... knotting, heat cycles, etc. are explained via her first experience of them.

My skin prickles at the memory of Rhen’s growl. But only until I remember that I rubbed myself to orgasm on a civil servant.

However, book two, Knot for Nest is by far the best of the series, in my opinion. The chemistry between the two protagonists, Lucy and Tjor, is brilliant - and it's just a genuinely hilarious read. Lucy is a snarky, independent omega who absolutely knows how to play the big, bad alphas to her advantage.

Book three, Purr for Purchase, is a lot higher angst (and less comedic) than its predecessors. It wasn't really my cup of tea, but that's just because I'm not a huge fan of pregnancy in romance.

If you've tried the Omegaverse before but not enjoyed it because of the power imbalances or dub/non-con, then I'd still recommend this series. The Omega / Alpha dynamic is very much reserved for the bedroom and does not reflect how the couple interacts outside of it. This is particularly true of Lucy and Tjor. She might enjoy being "dominated" during sex, but she genuinely holds all the power in the relationship.

“Big, bad alpha, all calm and well-behaved between my thighs.”

The characters in each Alphas of Nasila book are interconnected and the events chronological. However, you do not necessarily have to read these books in order. If you're sceptical of the Omegaverse in general, start with book two. All these novels are available with KU.

3. Claws & Cubicles Series by Kate Prior

Some people really haven’t adjusted to life under the Dark Reign of Terror yet. Some things are different, but honestly it’s all cosmetic. Things aren’t that different from when we had a normal, living CEO.

This series is like The Office, but with monsters (and smut). The dry, relatable humour of a boring corporate job - but with non-human co-workers like orcs, the undead, etc - is genius.

The comedy definitely leans into that classic British deadpan / understatement style. Think IT Crowd, Faulty Towers, and After Life. I think anyone who's ever worked in an office will definitely be smirking and chuckling their way through this series.

“You could have just called me in. I’ve got skin.” I wonder if that last remark is rude or something. After all, he doesn’t really have skin, to my knowledge. I hope I don’t have to take an undead sensitivity training class now.

Book one, Live Laugh Lich, gets pretty kinky (the MMC has three... er... yes). The smut here isn't going to be for everyone. But I liked the humour so much that I didn't really mind if the intimate scenes weren't my cup of tea.

However book two, The Orc From the Office, holds a much broader appeal, I think. I adored this installment. I'd recommend pushing through and reading this, even if you had mixed feelings on book one. The orc MMC is a socially awkward cinnamon roll and I love him.

I wonder distantly if my health insurance covers being eviscerated by Orc cock.

Book three, The Gargoyle from General Management, left me a bit wanting in terms of the character development. However, the setting of everyone being away together on a company retreat was comedy gold.

All of the Claws & Cubicles books are available on KU.

That's all! I hope you enjoy the smutty rom-com fantasy recs!

This post includes affiliate links to help me create content. No pressure to use them! But if you do, I'll be very grateful :)

[skaruresonic]

Now Shadow's only options as a character are

A. Grant someone else's wish then seal himself away in a capsule forever

B. Repeat the same things forever with a mildly different coat of paint

WHERE'S THE LIE THOUGH.

For real, it's depressing when even Maekawa can't think of anything else to do with him other than stuffing him inside a capsule (and yes, I realize that it was a Megaman reference, but Sonic isn't Megaman. feels like that goes without saying).

"The sky's the limit," allegedly, but then they turn right around and dig his past back up. And you know they're only doing it because the fans have spoken, and they want Shadow to "return" to his SA2 characterization, as they believe that's the only time Shadow had depth.

I mean, maybe ST are burnt-out - and with a fanbase like this, I can't really blame them - but the solution to "people hate how Shadow is currently portrayed due to fandom-wide misconceptions" is not to revisit the same material over and over again in the dim hopes of ingratiating yourself to a bad-faith fanbase. There's no need to spell things out for people who refuse to get it.

This also reflects how I feel about SxS Gens expanding on SA2 lore. What do 28 pages of Gerald journal add to our understanding of the game, other than risk the potential for more plot holes than there would otherwise be if they left it alone? If you're going to explain things, then your explanations need to be watertight. And I just don't see how they could manage it with the vagaries baked into SA2's backstory.

That's before getting into the fact that ShTH and Battle already expanded on SA2. Battle in particular confirmed that Maria was suffering from terminal illness. Neither game needed a small novella's worth of Gerald monologue to flesh things out, and that's even after considering that Battle had an entire section dedicated to his journal entries.

SA2 pretty much said everything it needed to say. Some elements were purposefully left ambiguous, and you could argue the ambiguity was the point in certain cases.