#because I've read a lot of alien romance lately

[evax3]

Space Au, soldier!Jon x alien!Dany

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! ♡

... too tired to stay awake.

tattoo ref.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

reading update: july 2024

full disclosure: I started out July in a bit of a mental lurch, really feeling stuck in a rut. there are a lot of reasons for that, absolutely none of which need to be shared with the general populace of tumblr dot com, but suffice to say that I was feeling listless and reading was not a high priority. I was pretty content to accept that this was going to be another month where I didn't finish a lot of books. I was too busy for most of June, and now too unfocused and bummed out in July.

and then that ended up not being the case. I think I can chalk that up to three things:

very early in the month I realized that none of the reading I had been planning on getting to was grabbing my interest at all, so I did something drastically different: picked up a YA memoir that I bought at pride on the recommendation of a bookseller. not my usual kind of reading at all, but YA is very readable and memoirs grab me fast because I'm nosy, so I figured it might be great for getting out of a rut. and boy, was I right!

Akwaeke Emezi also has a new novel out, and if you don't know then please note now that I'm a person second and an Akwaeke Emezi fan first. their newest novel was a sinister joyride, non-stop twists and turns that I couldn't put down until I saw the characters through to their bitter ends.

and, of course, over in the Dungeon Meshi manga I got to Mithrun. I've only had Mithrun for a couple of chapters, but if anything happened to him I'd kill everyone in this dungeon and then myself. even if I hadn't been able to read anything else, that would have kept me running back to the library for more Dungeon Meshi.

all of which added up to a fairly voracious appetite for books being reignited in my brain, and my second most book-heavy month of the year so far (still haven't beat May, but there's time). sick!

so - what have I been reading?

Delicious in Dungeon Vol. 7-10 (Ryoko Kui, trans. Taylor Engel, 2019-2022) - mannnnn I know I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said elsewhere, but Dungeon Meshi is so. fucking good. the way that Kui starts to raise the stakes of the story and grow the world beyond the core band of adventurers is so conscientious and well-done, timed perfectly so it never feels like having an undercooked heap of fantasy exposition thrown at you all at once. instead everything proceeds at a perfect simmer, leaving me feeling like the frog in that pot of boiling water who didn't notice how dire things had gotten until it was very suddenly too late and I was screaming bloody murder at a book. things have gotten so dire that I'm yearning for the days when fighting a red dragon was our biggest problem - and yet, through it all, every character remains rendered with humanity and compassion, no matter how scary, dangerous, or outright alien they first appear. I'm not naming any spoilers, but I need [REDACTED] to fix shit ASAP in Vol. 11 and [SUPER REDACTED] is on my shitlist fucking forever. also Mithrun sweetie you're perfect, do as many crimes as you want.

Heart and Hand (Rebel Carter, 2019) - my romance novel of the month, as picked by my lovely patreonites! this self-published historical romance promised some messy f/m/m, following a biracial (half Black, half white) young lady, Julie Baptiste, as she responds to a marriage ad that takes her out west to the fictional town of Gold Sky, Montana. Julie's sort of a standard historical heroine - she doesn't care for the silliness of high society and vastly prefers the company of books, looking forward to becoming Gold Sky's schoolteacher - but her marriage has a twist: rather than marrying one man, she's agreed to marry two, a pair of friends who have been inseparable since they served together in the Civil War. this book is charming, for sure, but I can't help be more intrigued by what isn't there than what is, namely: are these men having sex with each other or not? Rebel? hey, Rebel? why is there no DP in this two husbands mail order bride book? that was, like, he bare minimum that I expected. for the love of god, why did those men never put both of their dicks inside Julie at the same time? why did we spend so much time on emotional conflict that could be easily resolved if anyone just talked to each other when Julie's two beautiful husbands could have been having sex in front of her? HELLO?

also, listen, this is such a nitpick, but I am FROM Montana and it feels personal: I know that the general poverty of frontier life isn't sexy, but god these people are WAY too well off. at one point Julie enjoys some fucking BANANAS, something that I goddamn assure you were not easy to come by in late 19th century Montana. a banana. as fucking if.

All Boys Aren't Blue (George M. Johnson, 2020) - as is proudly advertised on the back cover of my copy, in recent years All Boys Aren't Blue has been the second most-challenged book in America behind Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer. reading through All Boys Aren't Blue it was initially hard to see what exactly was so objectionable, until I realized that a queer Black person living their life with compassion and joy is the scariest thing some of these motherfuckers can possibly imagine. Johnson writes about their life growing up in the nexus of racism, homophobia, and masculinity with wisdom and endless compassion, directly addressing young people who may find themselves in similar positions to offer them assurance that they, too, can be okay. more than anything, All Boys Aren't Blue is a plea for young people to live their lives without fear and shame. it's a beautiful blessing of a book that I hope brings comfort to every innumerable kids who need it.

Little Rot (Akwaeke Emezi, 2024) - how do I even begin to describe Little Rot? definitely not for those who feel squeamish about sex crimes, I guess that's an important place to start. this novel starts with the breakup of a long-term Nigerian couple, Kalu and Aima, and follows both of them into a weekend that starts with drugs and sex parties and spirals increasingly out of control from there, drawing more and more characters into a complicated snarl of money and power. Little Rot has the seedy, lurid draw of an episode of SVU if SVU ever grew up and realized that cops don't do shit, reveling in the nastiest that Emezi's imagined city of New Lagos has to offer. cannot say this book is for everyone - few of Emezi's novels are - but god, it's a thrilling study in corruption.

The Persistent Desire: A Femme-Butch Reader (editor Joan Nestle, 1992) - this is a massive and fascinating historical document, assembled by Nestle as part of her work with the Lesbian Herstory Archives. within this collection are letters, interviews, academic essays, poems, and transcribed oral histories from all manner of self-identified butch and femme lesbians. while some of the contributors are recognizable names in the history of American queer activism (including Pat Califa, who's a bisexual trans man now lmao), others are women who were just trying to live their lives with as much authenticity, comfort, and dignity as was possible in their time. (although, notably, the vast majority of these women are white, and all but a very few are Americans. racial and cultural diversity is not one of the collection's strong suits.)

the personal narratives span all over the twentieth century, and I was really delighted to see the very frank discussions of what would be written off as "bad representation" by a lot of queer resources today: butches overdosing on toxic masculinity and getting in messy bar brawls, femmes committing outlandish acts of adultery, lesbian sexual awakenings taking place between fairly young children, and one extremely memorable instance of a butch getting unexpectedly pregnant and decided to do a little sex work on the side since she couldn't get more pregnant than she already was. I was particularly fascinated by the many, many accounts of "second wave" self-identified lesbian feminists who tried to do away with butch/femme identities and "politically incorrect" expression of lesbian sexuality altogether (that's everything but mutual cunnilingus, btw) in pretty eerie echoes of contemporary radfem arguments. at close to 500 pages it's definitely better suited to skimming and stopping to read whatever catches your attention rather than trying to read cover to cover, but I think this is a really invaluable piece of history.

American Mermaid (Julia Langbien, 2023) - this was a novel, for sure. American Mermaid is a novel about a broke, anxious high school teacher named Penelope whose novel, also called American Mermaid, is a runaway success that gets optioned for film. Penelope quits her teaching job and moves across the country to Hollywood to work on the script with two dude bros who don't really Get what American Mermaid is about, and set to work turning Penelope's weird, unsexy female empowerment novel into an MCU-style action romp with a hot young lead. the novel's strongest when it's deep in the spirals of Penelope's frantic mind, probing the conflict between her fairly desperate need for cash (she wants to be financially independent of her conservative father, she has good reason to suspect breast cancer is in her future, she wants to start a family someday) and the artistic affront she feels at watching her story be disrespected and dismantled. where it's weaker is in the extensive chapters of the story-within-a-story; while useful for context, I straight up didn't need to read that much of Penelope's novel. and the plot overall kind of felt like it fell off the rails near the end once Langbien finishes making her point about how Hollywood sucks. it's not bad, but it's also just... fine. it's fine!

How to Taste: A Guide Discovering Flavor and Savoring Life (Mandy Naglich, 2023) - how do I put this so nicely? this book is for people who are kind of dork ass losers about food, a group that I do very much count myself as a part of. I first became acquainted with Naglich's work when she appeared on a podcast called the Sporkful, which claims that it is "not for foodies, it's for eaters." I'm a fairly devout listener, and after listening to Naglich describe her efforts to become a master cicerone (one of the world's most elite beer tasters, a distinction that is taken Very Fucking Seriously) I thought sure, whatever, that's a book I can get behind. Naglich is maybe a big more entertaining as a podcast guest than a nonfiction author. in places the book can be dry or roughly constructed in a way that suggests another pass by an editor or maybe a co-writer would have helped. and straight up, there are just weird fucking typos in this book that are like. crazy to me, I cannot believe they got through. the cheap-ass cover art also suggests this was not exactly a high budget production.

but having been very mean about it, there are a lot of extremely interesting tidbits about the world of professional tasting here! it sounds awful and you couldn't pay me to do it, but here's the cool thing: Naglich is extremely aware that what she does is insane and she knows that the average reader doesn't want to learn how to identify where a coffee bean was grown just by sniffing the bean from across a room. what she offers instead are really approachable ways to be more conscientious about how you interact with and appreciate food! and she also shares some really cool info about tasting snobbery that IS bullshit, to help you sort out the stuff that actually matters and emphasize that fun and personal taste ultimately trump any "rules." it's a very dorky book but I, personally, did have a good time.

Sex Criminals Vol 3: Three the Hard Way (Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky, 2016) - every time I read another volume of Sex Criminals I find myself thinking "man, hang on, do I ever actually like Sex Criminals? am I enjoying this?" but then I end up placing a hold on the next one. I don't know, it's charming! it's like so very VERY 2010s in its dialogue, by which I mean it's like. you know. it's giving Joss Whedon before we all found out how bad he sucked and collectively booed him. but man, I love a story that's down to get weird, and Sex Criminals is sooooo about being weird. and yet also very normal where sex is concerned! considering this is a series all about people having freaky world-altering powers that activate when they cum, sex is treated as an incredibly ordinary thing, warts and all. I like that! I like seeing that! idk, I don't need every comic to be perfect, as evidenced by the fact that I'm actively enjoying Azrael: Angel of the Bat. sometimes the vibes are just good.

[melanielocke]

Book recommendations: queer adult SFF

It's been a while since I did one of these posts but I'm thinking of doing more regularly. I have read a lot more new books that I hope some of you will pick up and I've made another selection. I'm reading more and more adult SFF lately because lots of YA is getting a little too young for me. But I also find that transitioning to reading more adult can be difficult, and it's not always easy to find what you're looking for. I found YA a far easier market to navigate, so I figured I'd make a post featuring some of my favorite adult SFF books.

The Unbroken & the Faithless I read recently.

This is a trilogy, with book 3 coming out most likely in 2025? Not sure actually. The series focuses on Touraine and Luca. Touraine is a conscript in the Balladaire army, stolen from her homeland and trained to fight from a young age. She is originally from Qazal, a country colonized by Balladaire, but doesn't speak their language or understand their customs. In the first book, she returns home for the first time since she was taken, to stop a Qazali rebellion.

Luca is the princess of Balladaire. Her parents both died when she was young, and her uncle is ruling as regent, refusing to allow her to be crowned Queen until she proves herself. She too is sent to deal with the Qazali rebellion. What makes Luca interesting is that she often means well and is definitely more benevolent towards the Qazali, but she's also very power hungry and wants her throne, and no matter how much she does to help the Qazali she is still the princess of the empire that colonized them, and the author continues to hold her accountable for her role in the empire and some of the choices she makes.

Luca is also disabled, she injured her leg when she was young and uses a cane.

There is a sapphic romance between Luca and Touraine. It is not really the focus on the series but at the same time it is what shapes much of the negotiating between them since Luca has a very obvious soft spot for Touraine and Touraine has to use that to improve things for Qazal.

The world is inspired by North Africa and French colonialism (in Balladaire they speak French so I'm pretty sure they're supposed to be France), and the author themself is Black and North African. The series as a whole is very political.

Next is Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans

This is the first in a duology (I think?) with book 2 coming out this November.

This is set in a world where there are four different planes, and Siyon is a poor man who can delve into the different planes to get ingredients for wealthier alchemists. He wants to be an alchemist himself but can't afford the education. There's also the problem of magic being technically illegal, which means rich people can do alchemy but poor people can't.

Then one day Siyon accidently unleashes wild magic and is thrust into the world of alchemists where he wants to belong but doesn't. And there's also the matter of the four planes being instable and at risk of collapsing, and Siyon might be the only one capable of stopping it.

Siyon is bi/pan and his main love interest is a man, though this is not the main focus of the series.

Then Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

I think I had this one last time too, but not enough people are reading it so I'm going to discuss it again.

Check out the summary, but honestly not sure if that does it justice. Some Desperate Glory is the story of a girl who grew up in a fascist cult and was raised to believe in everything this cult stands for.

The earth was destroyed before she was born, and the Majo, aliens, were responsible. Kyr has been training her entire life for revenge. She wants nothing more than to be the perfect soldier for earth. As a result, she is a terrible person and everyone hates her.

Kyr first starts questioning Gaea station when she is assigned nursery to have babies even though she is the best fighter in her mess. When her brother disappears, she teams up with his friend Avi, a queer genius who works with the station's systems and was always aware of how fucked up Gaea station is. They discover Magnus has been sent on a suicide mission and go after him, and Kyr is confronted with the outside world, including a Majo she grows close to, and has to unlearn everything Gaea station taught her.

This book has a difficult to stomach mc at first, though it is very obvious what she believes is not what you as the reader are supposed to think. But there is some wonderful character development going on in here. It's hard for her to change, and she's thrown into lots of difficult situations before she gets there, but in the end you can see she's nothing like the person she was before.

There's an amazing cast of side characters, though not a very big cast. There's her twin brother Magnus who never wanted to be a soldier and is actually very depressed, which Kyr never noticed. Yiso, the cute non binary alien Kyr develops a weak spot for even before she comes to realize Majo are people. And my personal favorite, Avi, who is an unhinged little guy who is way too smart for his own good. He's a great example of how a cult can affect different people in different ways. He doesn't believe in Gaea station like Kyr does and is aware of how fucked up he is, he experienced that first hand as the only visible queer person on the station. But he did internalize their messages of revenge and violence which plays out in interesting ways.

This edition is the Illumicrate edition of the book from April's box, which has the UK cover.

Witch King by Martha Wells is next

This is a confusing book for people who do not have a lot of experience reading adult fantasy. It has a lot of world building that is explained gradually, the book doesn't really hold your hand, so be prepared for that.

Kai is a body hopping demon. He has been betrayed, killed and entombed under water. When he is freed by a lesser mage hoping to hone his power, he kills them and frees himself and his friend, the witch Ziede.

Together, they have to uncover what happened to them, who betrayed them and what is going on with the Rising World coalition. He's not going to like the answers.

Alternating is a past timeline in which Kai and his band of allies rebel against the tyrannical rule of the Hierophants, which happened decades before the present timeline.

The strenght of this book is really in the characters and how they grow and the bonds they have with each other. I loved the relationship between Kai and Bashasa, who is the rebel leader in the past timeline in particular. It's not quite clear what the nature of their relationship was, though it is implied to be romantic and I do think Kai is supposed to be queer. He is a body hopping demon after all, and spends his early life in the body of a girl. There's also a sapphic side pairing between Zieden and her wife Tahren, who they spent much of the present timeline looking for.

The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach

This is a science fantasy set in a world inspired by New Zealand and Maori (I think? The author is Maori and a trans woman herself)

The main character is a police officer from a poor background who believes she's making the world better for people like her. She's already been demoted for being queer but believes she can make the police force better from the inside.

Then she's murdered by fellow officers and thrown into the harbor. Unfortunately for them, she comes back from the dead with new magic powers.

She teams up with a pirate crew with similar powers and has to stop a plague from being unleashed on her city.

This book focuses on how police functions in many modern societies to protect the wealthy and harm and restrict poorer, non white communities. The main character doesn't believe this at first but it's obvious to the reader that they're not helping anyone doing their job. Next book is coming out next year.

Last is the Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

Two books are out and book 3 is coming sometime in 2024.

This series is set in a world inspired by India. Priya is a maidservant with a secret. She is one of the few surviving temple children and still has some powers from being once born.

Malini is the princess of Parijatdvipa, the empire that conquered Priya's land. Her religious zealot brother has taken the throne and imprisons Malini because she refuses to be burned alive.

Priya is one of the maidservants sent to take care of Malini in her prison, which is the old temple where Priya grew up. Together, they can change the fate of an empire, but they can never quite trust each other.

This is a sapphic fantasy with magic but also lots of politics and I think if you like this series you'd also like the Unbroken and vice versa. I've talked about this one before but it should definitely be included on a list for adult fantasy.

I hope you can find something you like on here. All these books are not super well known and deserve a bigger audience

@alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer @life-through-the-eyes-of @astriefer @justanormaldemon @ipromiseiwillwrite @a-dream-dirty-and-bruised @amchara @all-for-the-fanfiction @imsoftforthomastair @ddepressedbookworm @queenlilith43 @wagner-fell @cant-think-of-anything @laylax13s @tessherongraystairs @boredfangirl16 @artist-in-soul @aliandtommy @ikissedsmithparker

[finickyfelix]

I have returned in time for the new year, hello.

I successfully completed my December goal of writing at least 100 words every day, which does not sound like a lot, but this is the first time in several years that I was able to achieve a monthly writing goal I set for myself, so it's a big deal for me. It also ensured I wrote every day, which I was very bad about not doing before.

Here's the total of how much I wrote last month:

Faded Daisy: 6,207 words

untitled other story: 992 words

Snakeskin and Snakeskin: Bonus Content: edits that I did not count the word counts of.

Considering the fact that my minimum goal amounted to 3,100 words, I think I did pretty well. In fact, I wrote more than I had in several months, probably because I wrote daily.

Upcoming plans:

- The next (and last) AO3 work I'm going to repost to Tumblr is Some Company for the Evening, which I have been reluctant to read through to see if there's anything I want to edit because it feels too weird to read lol. It doesn't feel like my writing although it obviously is. It's too wholesome. I've been writing too much terrible stuff lately that wholesome romance feels alien and bizarre. I'll have to look at it at some point soon though.

- I am not in fact going to abandon Faded Daisy obviously although I did talk about considering it. I was too mentally unstable to be making any decisions about anything at the time. I feel slightly better now and I know that abandoning it is absolutely not an option and is the last thing I actually want to do. My niche horror novel(la?) deserves to exist even if writing it is hard and unenjoyable a lot of the time. I will never abandon it no matter how much I want to. In fact, my only solid writing goal for this year is to finish Faded Daisy.

- In two weeks it will be my birthday, so I need get started on drawing my top five current favorite Princesses from Slay the Princess because I plan on posting that on my birthday (all five in one drawing.) Since it will probably take about two weeks to draw them all in a way I am happy with. I'm going to say which ones I will draw below the cut so people can judge my taste in Princesses in advance and decide if they want to unfollow me for having bad Princess opinions (/joke)

My current five favorite Princesses (although of course I also love many others) are the Wounded Wild, the Cage*, Happily Ever After*, the Spectre, and the Adversary, so those are the ones I'm going to draw and post on my birthday. I am overly excited about this.

*= Pristine Cut exclusive

[touloserlautrec]

Get To Know Your Moots Writeblr Interview

Thanks for the tag, @mk-writes-stuff (here) and @ceph-the-ghost-writer (here)!

The question template by @davycoquette is here!

On the Tumblr Writing Community

How long have you had your writing Tumblr/Writeblr? Uh... Hmm. Me and time measurement don't mix great. Haha maybe about a year ish?

What led you to create it? My partner/co-writer, @sunset-a-story pulled me in and I'm grateful they did! I'm always resistant to joining social media sites, but this one was well worth it.

What’s your favorite thing about the Writeblr community? All the kindness and interaction. It's the one place on the internet I feel like I'm interacting with real humans and engaging with creativity anymore, rather than just shouting into the void. It's a great community.

What’s one thing you’d like your mutuals to know about you? I am an introvert with a deeply people-focused job, so sometimes I don't interact as much as I'd like to because of The Tired. But I love seeing your posts and reading your stories and thinking about your characters!

Is there anything you’d like to see more of on your dash? I pretty much always want more stories and characters and art. There is plenty of it on my dash, but I am a glutton for blorbos and stories.

What tips/advice do you have for someone who made a Writeblr today? Don't be afraid to comment, reblog, send asks-- I was super nervous about that at first because on other sites it can be a minefield, but the writeblr community is wonderful!

WIP it Good

Which Works-in-Progress (WIPs) or writing projects are you noodling about, lately? Pretty much I'm working on Sunset all the time. It's the only WIP I'm actively writing/editing and I'm rotating it in my head for most of my days. But I do have a handful of OCs from other stories/'verses that live strictly in my brain. Lately, that's included an alien Mech pilot named Lux; a head-empty reincarnation of a trickster fae, named Axel; and a reluctant superhero who travels through people's dreams, named Piper.

How long have you been working on them? I've been working on Sunset with @sunset-a-story for about 17 years. The last several years (8, by their count) it's been more seriously dedicated writing. Axel has lived in my head for probably a decade, and Lux is less than a year in. Piper came into being a couple weeks ago.

Do you remember what inspired them/what got you started? Sunset started as a TTRPG that grew into a much larger story. It definitely had anime influences at the time and has evolved from there.

How much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them? If I'm not focusing on work, then... all of it.

When someone asks the dreaded, “What do you write about,” question, what do you usually say? I have a bad habit of downplaying it that I'm trying to break, so usually it starts as something like, "A silly genre serial," and then I try to course correct to something like, "It's a science-fantasy serial about people with powers, corrupt, problematic corporations, and espionage, with romance and horror elements and lots of intertwined storylines."

What do you want to say (if it’s different from what you do say)? I'd like to, without cringing, just be like "Listen, it sounds bananas but it's like the best dump cake you ever ate. It's so delicious. It has everything. It has super powers, it has deeply flawed and morally grey characters, it has horrible cannibal vampires and people who hunt them, it has cult-like corporations, it's queer and diverse as hell, there's romance and steamy scenes, and it has SPIES. It's hilarious sometimes and devastating others. It will hurt your feelings. You'll love it."

Let’s Rotate Blorbos

Name any characters you created. Listen, our cast is enormous enough that we have a Dramatis Personae. So Instead of listing them, here's a link to my art, which is 99.9% exclusively of our OCs.

Who’s the most unhinged? Sunset's cast falls into one of three categories: OCs I created, OCs @sunset-a-story created, and OCs we both created and the origin is murky at best. I'm gonna choose one that I created here-- Emmett. He pretty much an unhinged, driven, competitive hurricane.

Who comes the most naturally for you to write? Alex. Alex is my baby and is the closest to my heart. He was the first character in Sunset I created.

Do you ever cringe at them? Oh, all the time. They don't make good choices, but that's how you build a great story.

How much control do you feel you have over your characters? Only some. They mostly take off themselves. I just kind of get a seed of imagination germinating and see where it grows.

Do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters? YES. I love asks, reblogs, tags, comments... Being a writer/artist/creative online feels like shouting into an empty void most of the time, so when I get a comment or a reblog or an ask it's like the biggest battery charge for me. It's easy to get discouraged, so those moments are life savers sometimes.

On Writeblr Engagement

What makes you want to follow another Writeblr account? If their WIP seems to vibe with me (especially science-fantasy, queer, romantic, dark stories), if they post a lot of their own work and reblog other original creators' work, if there's art involved too, or if they generally seem like someone I'd vibe with.

What makes you decide against following? Usually it's either because a blog is too dedicated to fandoms I don't know, or if it's all just reblogs of memes--then it depends on the vibe. But the biggest reason I don't follow is, unfortunately, that I get tired and can't focus enough to scope new people out. BUT I do keep tabs on new blogs in my activity notifications to come back to and check out when I've recouped some energy.

Do you interact with non-mutuals often? ...Maybe? TBH I forget sometimes who are moots and who I just follow. I interact with people that seem neat and friendly and I'm brave enough to try. Some of them are for sure moots. Some of them aren't. And then there are those who seem really cool and I need to build up confidence enough to interact with more than just liking and reblogging. Which is silly, because almost all of us say all the time that we love interaction from others, so...why do we let anxiety do this to us??

Do your mutuals’ characters occupy space in your noodle? YES. BLORBOS. I think about them regularly. It's the best.

I'll gently tag @revenantlore @littlemoondarling @scribe-of-stories and open tag!

[fallen-and-holy]

thinking about the host by stephanie meyer again because.... oughhhhhh. It could have been so good. It could have been so fucking good!@!!! Especially as a plural alterhuman!!! But she had to make it weird!!!!!! Fuuuuck

Okay more rational thoughts, spoilers for the book to come.

The Host is about a species of parasitic aliens who have to take host bodies to survive. They travel from planet to planet, carefully taking over the entire native populations- removing the original consciousness and replacing them. They install a kind of utopia- no more pain, hunger, money, violence, etc- but at the cost of the host species. They see themselves as doing a good thing- bringing civilization and taking away the struggles of those worlds. They call themselves souls. This in itself is one of the coolest premises I've ever read. The worldbuilding around this species is so cool and felt real to me in a way that's been hard to find again. The sensory imagery of their true bodies has permanently cemented itself in my brain, and they're beautiful. I would love to see this explored more upon, but... probably as fic and not by stephanie meyer for reasons I'm going to explain :/

The plot of the book is centered around a Soul, referred to as Wanderer or Wanda, who has taken a human host. This host, Melanie, was one of the last humans left that wasn't taken and made a host before she got caught. Usually, the consciousness of the host fades when a Soul takes the body, but Melanie sticks around and manages to get Wanda to one of the human bases. As the plot progresses, Wanda learns to love humanity, becomes friends with Melanie and other humans in the base, and gets involved in a strange love square with two guys. At the end, she decides to sacrifice herself to let Melanie live her life, but gets rescued at the last second and put in a new (with the original consciousness already removed by another Soul) body. Pretty standard 'nature of humanity' sci-fi plot, happy endings all around, right?

I read this for the first time when I was pretty young, and didn't really get the problematic elements. The Soul species resonated with me really strongly for reasons I didn't understand at the time (spoiler: I'm alterhuman and plural), and the final sacrifice scene never failed to make me cry. This book also introduced me to the body-sharing trope, something that is an Archetrope for us. But now that I'm looking back on it, there's a lot in it that was just. Strange. Weird bioessentalism, for one- the Soul concept of gender was completely separate from human, and yet there was a Weird enforcement of 'Girl aliens go in the Girl body and Boy aliens go in the Boy body'. There were also. Two (or more if you're counting weird body-sharing fuckery) completely unnecessary age gap relationships. Melanie, the host, started dating her romantic interest, Jared, when she was 17 and he was 26. This is portrayed as Completely Normal and Unproblematic. She's 21 when the main plot happens but. Hm. And when Wanda gets her own body, the one they pick out for her happens to be 17, while her love interest Ian is in his late twenties. There's a whole weird scene about Wanda lying to him about her bodies age so they can have sex and it's presented as normal, funny even. On one claw, write/read whatever you want because fiction is fiction and you're not hurting anyone with your weird kink staying in your writing. On the other claw, I don't think infamous writer Stephanie Meyer is approaching this with good faith 'fiction is fiction'. Same with her portrayal of relationships as a whole- if you're into that shit as a fantasy go nuts, but i don't think that she sees that those relationships would be Not Okay irl. It makes me uncomfortable now, so I probably won't be rereading. I also think there's way too much focus on the romance in this book- you have a fascinating and complex sci-fi premise and world, and you spend the majority of the book focusing on an age-gap love triangle.

I'm not really sure how to end this. This is the first book review I've ever done, and I didn't even mean to do it lmao. I have fond memories of this book, but I also think it could have been so much more. If you don't mind the bits I dislike, or simply want to skip past them, I would recommend this book to alterhumans and plurals who relate to the body-sharing/Symbiosis trope. The Souls are so cool, and I'm honestly questioning them as a conceptkintype like the Trill from Star Trek. They definitely tie into my Symbiosis Archetrope.

Any (kind) comments or corrections are appreciated, I wrote this in one go while stoned and did not Beta read it so there's probably mistakes.

[artenon]

Tag Nine People You'd Like to Know Better

tagged by both @pyrchance and @floralegia !! thank you, i am feeling the love <33 and thanks for giving me an excuse to yap

Last song - I mostly only listen to music when I'm driving or washing dishes, and lately I've just been listening to a playlist on shuffle that's composed of My Chemical Romance's discography, Hesitant Alien by Gerard Way, and Barriers by Frank Iero and the Future Violents. Anyway, the last thing that played was Summertime by MCR, unless you count Na Na Na, also by MCR, which played about halfway through before I got home lol.

Favorite colors - Blue-grey!! Basically anything in this spectrum:

It's been my favorite color since I was a kid. I can't say why I love it, I just do.

Currently watching - I recently read all three volumes of The Umbrella Academy (haven't read the spin-off yet) and just started watching the show this past weekend. I'm halfway through season 1 and shit's wild, y'all. I'm enjoying it so far!

Spicy/savory/sweet - I have a massive sweet tooth. Chocolate, cookies, cake, ice cream... yumyumyum.

Relationship status - Married to my best friend <3

Current obsessions - Something Happened to me and I've been obsessed with MCR for the past 6 months. Idk what to do about it except feel cringe (but free) (not because they're bad to be clear but because they're all i've thought about for the past 6 months sjdhgskdfghks), listen to all their music, read a lot of fic, and write a lot of fic. Also Frank Iero stole my heart so like, him too, I guess. In general. :/

I TAG: @wingdingery @smalls2233 @27-royal-teas @wictorwictor @imthehomelander @ursafootprints I ran out of people to tag but if you see this and you want to do this consider yourself tagged

[nintendont2502]

also these quadrant thoughts kinda fuck honestly

ID/transcription under cut!

[ID: a series of six google document screenshots. The first reads 'Speaking of blackrom I've been thinking about the troll relationships lately Like obviously they're gonna be hard/impossible to understand fully since they're literally alien, but I feel like approaching them with the knowledge that a. They're all explicitly romantic and b. They each serve a different function in troll society could be helpful Obviously the red (?) Half is easiest: redrom is literally just romantic love. Easy boring we already have it fuck it Moiraillegiance is more interesting imo - it's more of a platonic relationship from what I remember? But it's held to tje same standard as a redrom ship which I think a lot of people forget Your moirail isn't just your best friend they're basically your platonic boyfriend/girlfriend/nb equivalent. They're meant to serve as emotional support for each other so they're incredibly important in troll society (they're also supposed to be a dangerous troll + a pacifying troll to keep others safe but I feel like that's more of an alternian thing so we can probably ignore that when it comes to moirails as a whole) Kismesis is the one I struggle with tje most honeslty - it's a romantic relationship but based off of hate instead of love, so your kismesis wouldn't just be your friendly rival. Your kismesis is the person you hate *most* in tje world, the person that you literally enter into a committed relationship based on mutual hate which I think is beautifulI feel lile it'd be a different form of hate than your standard hate though? Like. You wouldn't want to kill your kismesis - from what we've seen they tend to like having each other around (if not just to have someone to hate) The only way I can think of it is comparing it to redrom In a redrom relationship, you love one person more than everyone else. Sure, you can love other people in different ways, but your love for that person is different. You care for them, you like spending time with them, you don't want them to die In a blackrom relationship, you hate one person more than everyone else. Sure, you can hate other people in different ways, but your hate for that person is different. You care for them, you like spending time with them, you don't want them to die I feel like blackrom relationships are a good way of getting aggression/negative feelings out, while redrom are more about gaining positive feelings. Both are mutually beneficial, and act in different ways towards the same end goal' The second reads ‘It's also one of two quadrants for reproductive purposes along with redrom so comparing it to redrom is probably accurate I think the issue with blackrom is, from a human perspective, hate is inherently negative, and we approach it differently to trolls. So when people interpret kismesis it's sometimes in a friendly rivalry/toned down/'human' way when it really shouldn't be. Kismesises fucking hate each other so much and that's the point. It's care built out of hatred instead of care built oit of love

Auspiticism is. Weird It's tje only relationship that isn't isn't inherently romantic at first glance? Like it seems like more of a job than anything - keeping two kismesis in check to ensure they don't hurt each other/otners too badly which sounds. Exhausting

But I feel like it could still be a type of romance? When you wax ashen for someone kts because you love one/both members of the black relationship in a way where you *want* to take care of them, *want* to make sure their relationship is stable and healthy and they don't get hurt ~~which means kanaya is an ash whore since she apparently can't stop auspiticising for people- just like how her dancestor is apparently just a red/black/pale (?) Whore who can't stop getting into other relationships~~ Actually fuck that's literally the first time I've thought of ashen relationships like that but it makes so much sense god damn go me Genuinely really proud of the black + ash interpretations since I struggled with those for a while fuck yeah’. The third reads ‘Idk I just think like. Overall more focus needs to be put on the fact that all tje quadrants are explicitly *romantic*. Like just because they don't fit into humans perceptions of romance (which they aren't supposed to!!) Doesn't mean that they aren't all their own forms of romance, or that redrom is more important than anything else (honestly redrom ships are the most boring to me im ngl) Like this isn't me getting annoyed at solely other people because I sometimes slip into going "oh moirails are your best friend basically and kismesis is just your enemy!" Which is wrong. I know that Bit like. Idk it might be the autism talking but the quadrant system is fascinating as jell and I love thinking about it/the possibilities Also I cant stop viewing relationships in other media through the quadrant system please help’. The fourth reads ‘ALSO I know in canon ash relationships are only for blackrom. I *know* that. BUT I also love tje idea of ash relationships being for any turbulent relationship (aka wildly vacillating one's aka vrisrezi c3< kanaya)

Speaking of vrisrezi - karkat, vriska and terezi are troll gay. 100% you cannot convince me otherwise Like sure they have relationships that *mostly* fit into one quadrant (mostly black junerezi, mostly pale vriskan, mostly red davekat) bjt it's only mostly yk? Aspects of other quadrants or shit entirely out of tje quadrants leak in sometimes (and honestly trying to categorise davekat and vrisrezi is damn near impossible - these bitches are all over the place)’. The fifth reads ‘Troll aromanticism Trolls who don't feel attraction in one or more quadrants (obviously they'd be culled for that if it black or red (or fuck maybe any quadrant) but still shh) Troll polyamory? Having multiple partners in one quadrant Actually iirc there's nothing that implies trolls are a monogamous society hm’. The sixth and final screenshot reads ‘Final thoughts but I am curious on how moirails and (more importantly) kismesises function on beforus Like blackrom relationships are based on hate/implied violence, but from what we've seen of beforus that seems very low/absent. Are blackrom relationships nore like mutual teasing/bullying than violence? Hmm Also palerom in canon was introduced as a dangerous troll and a weaker troll keeping each other in cjeck, but we can assume that there isn't much danger from other trolls on beforus so what did moirails do? Just emotional support maybe? Hmm.’ /End ID]

[bnnuy-wabbit]

HAAIIIIII you can call me Lago, im 21 (i dont know how EITHER), im just some guy*. this is my main blog and where i throw funny things that makes my brain produce juices and also random ass personal poasts.

one of those he/shes they never warned you about (pathogenic variant they have yet to make any vaccines to protect you from)

my art tag is #feral art tag.

there will be adult things in this blog because im an adult. follow at your own risk etc. were horny in here towards men occasionaly.

I'm brazilian. From Brazil. As in born here, living here and stuck here for the foreseeable future. é nois 🤙

Everybody says I'm really nice! I am Unable to hit people up first though, but if you'd like to be friends, send me an ask and I'll give you my discord!!!!

i have many interests (mostly music and nerd shit) and funny things that I'll be putting under the read more lest this post get Unbearably Big. There are flashing blinkies down there by the way.

OK SO INTERESTS. I like MANY things! and i have favorite things! I think it's really cool of me to have favorites. i decided I'm going to wear them on my sleeve. anyways Here's some things i Like.

MUSIC!!! its one of my favorite things ever. I play the guitar and a bit of bass. heres stuff in no particular order of favoriteness. Just stuff i care enough right now to remember.

Linkin Park (meteora, hybrid theory <3)

My Chemical Romance

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Mindless Self Indulgence

scalene

Rammstein

Ft-rj (listen to it or i am going to chase you with a broom)

francisco el hombre (i recommend the rasgacabeza album)

danny bond

2000-10s pop!!! fuck it, lady gaga, britney spears, kesha, katy perry, black eyed peas, that sorta jazz.

Every single Homestuck song there is. i have listened to all of them multiple times. My favorite albums are colours and mayhem and also the beforus fan album.

Dad rock (acdc, queen, talking heads, nirvana, judas priest, Some pink floyd etc)

Industrial and Adjacent. I've been listening to code:redcore a lot and some grammostola actaeon lately. processor also fucks.

OTHER THINGS I ENJOY

Eragon (the books)

Disco elysium.

ADVENTURE TIME. I AM OBSESSED.

How to train your dragon (the books. specifically.)

Animated movies!!! Specially the hand drawn ones.

My horrible little OCs (@honsebeasts just go there but also Beware.)

Worldbuilding. I do aliens and monster speculative biology. Most of my thoughts on it are on the Above mentioned blog though.

Real life physiology and anatomy also

MEN (and like 3 fictional women.)

HORSES!!!!!!!!!!!

stranger things

Pokemen (i do not know a single thing after gen 6 though.)

Dungeons and dragons, sometimes

Traditional art like watercolors and oil pastels

Drawing my blorbos in the same side facing pose or just standing there.

Drawing in General actually! Designing characters is my passion

Fictional fathers

sewing and felting and sculpting and painting and singing and playing

COLORS. i love colors. i love looking at them. i love playing with them. i would like to eat them if i could. i love warm palettes.

Hiveswap (pissing screaming CRYING)

MONSTERS!!!!!! They're really cool and gay and hot.

Portal (the games. all of them. glafos........ kissing her)

Half Life.

y2k and 80s-90s vibes. i think its awesome.

I am afflicted by the human condition and also a few other funnier conditions. my brain and my body dont work right.

If you want to know the brunt of the brain ones: autism adhd avpd. they all impact heavily how i interact with people with people. Sorry in advance if i can't keep conversation going.

I'm some sort of queer thing. If we need to get really specific, id say "bisexual aromantic bigender femme", mostly into men and butches, but Queer will do just fine. I'm a self entitled part time pretty fag and ugly dyke in my free hours. Intersex it turns out.

[beingatoaster]

Okay I just finished reading a book (Dragon's Ring, which I could have sworn I'd read as a teen but was published far too late for that to be the case), and I was about to rant about the part of the ending where the female heroine, at the very end, declares her love for the male deuteragonist who serves throughout as her protector and mentor. But you know what? Honestly, with a moment's thought, that's what bothers me the least about the ending.

It's a certain kind of fantasy written by a certain kind of male author who has general Good Intentions about writing a teenage female protagonist, but always ends up writing them as if they're carefully writing from the POV of an alien species instead of another of their own and also doesn't know how to write romance, doesn't want to learn, but thinks that it's a necessary component of having a teenage-girl protagonist. I've read a lot of those over the years.

Anyway, what bothered me more was the climax and plot resolution. I'm not going to recount the entire plot, but there were a bunch of things dropped in at the climax, including the resolution of the Plot Problem itself wherein the protagonist suddenly realized a Third Option between two destructive, at-odds options that had been floating throughout the book, that made sense with the way the author had set up the world and magic system, weren't entirely out of the blue, but weren't foreshadowed in any way--and easily could have been, without ruining the surprise of the ending.

(Cut from here on for spoilers.)

I could list off tons (including a few things related to the "collect all the magical MacGuffins" part of the plot that stood out because 4/7 of the MacGuffin-related triumphant final twists were foreshadowed and the other three could have been but were not), but the main thing is the Third Option. The protagonist has to choose between destroying the world she grew up in, or damaging a bunch of other worlds. These are the two options that have existed throughout; the Council of Bad Guys were trying to keep from destroying the world she grew up in, while, for a fun subversion, the protagonist and her mentor have been trying to accomplish its destruction to restore the other worlds. At the end, the protagonist comes up with the Third Option, but, essentially, sacrifices her own happiness and life in this world to do so.

Only after she does that does another character clunkily explain to her mentor, who was supposed to be responsible for the health of all the worlds and was working to trade this one for the rest, that she had to, because "the [magical] equations" for it otherwise would have required his death. (Which I think is another reason the author had her suddenly declare she was in love, without any actual romance--it's entirely a mentor/student relationship up until then with no signs from her POV of romantic or sexual affection, and I really wish the author had thought her care for him as a trusted mentor who saved her life when she was in desperate straits and has helped her develop her magic was enough, because I think it could have been! Anyway. Getting off-topic to the romance again here, let me veer back.) There's no sign of this beforehand, just as there's no discussion of the Third Option beforehand.

And this could have been fixed so, so easily. The book establishes early on that the mentor-character is essentially under a geas to protect all of the worlds. There are so multiple scenes where he goes off alone and pores over the situation from his end, looking at all his magical charts showing how he needs to arrange things to destroy this world and restore the others. In any of those scenes, he could think, in passing, that there could be another way... but he can see in his charts how that would require him to sacrifice himself. The book doesn't actually sell him as so responsible that he wouldn't want to live out of selfishness, but even if the author didn't want to veer that far into this "loveable rogue" character as to make him that selfish, "if I died for this, who would continue to protect these worlds?" is a perfectly reasonable cause to make the "I'll destroy this one (while protecting the actual living beings on it, even, by sending them elsewhere) to save the others" option seem like the best one.

This feels to me like a second-draft fix. Which is because that's when, in my fic writing, I put foreshadowing in myself! I tend to start a story knowing the Plot Problem and have a vague sense of the imagery/emotional payoff I want for the climax, but not be entirely sure how I solve my Plot Problem until I get there in the first draft, and then in the second draft I go back and sprinkle in the foreshadowing to set up the fix. I mention this specifically because the climax of this book feels like this author writes the same way I do: he spent most of the book going along having fun writing the characters compete for the MacGuffins, and being witty and clever at each other all the way along, and then got to the climax and went, "okay, now the Plot Problem has to be solved, let's figure out how my magic system allows that to happen." But then he apparently... did not go back and edit previous parts to foreshadow that? And it would have been so easy! And this book was published like that! And that annoys me.

Rant over, thank you for coming to my TED talk, good night. <3

[127-mile]

Hi!! What are some of your fave books you've read recently? I'm really curious pls feel free to ramble

Hello! I got really excited when I saw the notification, so thank you.

I've read "This is how you lose the time war" by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, and let me tell you, it was a short book also a ride! A ride mostly because not a lot is explained, you are dropped in a scene, in a world you have limited informations about despite it being our world, you have technology, a war between the past and the present/future.

BUT! It's also a love story, some kind of enemies/rivals to lovers between Red and Blue, two women who belong to different timelines, different sides. And it's epistolary in between the scenes, and the ways the letters are made/found are explained and it's genius.

I become bored quite quickly when the romance is too much, but it was subtle and sweet when the feelings realization happened. It was definitely worth the read and I recommend it if you haven't read it.

---

I was in a bit of a reading slump for a few days and because it was becoming frustrating I read a book I already read a few times. It's called, "Quand vient la horde (when the horde comes)" by Aurélie Luong, book that came out last year so there is no translation (something I hope will happen because this book? 10/10)

A little backstory you didn't ask for, I had never heard of the book or the writer, but one day I went into my favorite bookstore and she was there, so curious I asked her to tell me about her book, and the passion in her voice when she did convinced me to buy it. It's also her first book being published, so I hope she goes far and gets more of her work published.

It happens in a medieval Korea with some Russian touch, as they have invaded the country years ago. The main character, Ivan, survives daily. He is poor, lives with his childhood (and only) friend, when, one night, he gets kidnapped by the white horde. The soldiers of the White Whore, a beautiful woman with white hair who has a goal, avenge her little sister and is not afraid to draw blood. Ivan is the bait. He wants to survive, he wants to get back to his friend and for that he has to play the horde's game. He doesn't have a choice. He does what he is told, get money, and plans his escape.

So it's also a enemies to lovers, but with vengeance being the main point of the book.

I think I could talk for hours about this book as I left a big part of my heart inside. The ending is heartbreaking honestly. The book is dark, touches sensitive subjects but it's nicely written.

-----

I have to talk about Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. It was a book I wanted to read for so long. (and the author is extremely funny, I follow them on social medias and it's always very fun to see them)

The book has as inspiration for the main character Wu Zetian, the first and only female Emperor of China in the late 600s.

The book is science fiction, lgbtqia+, feminist, with pocs, disabled main character, poly and big robots and aliens, another enemies to lovers (trigger warnings to definitely check before reading)

It's hard to explain the book, so let me copy and paste the summary:

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn't matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.

When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.​

To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.

I'm not that into science fiction, but I was curious. I do have to admit I was lost a few times with some terms used for the robots, and also had a hard time imagining things in my head, but I liked the way her relationship with Shimin changed, and there's also her complete opposite with whom she is friend, a rich man who wants to protect her.

The ending had me on my ass! The second book was supposed to come out in April but it was changed to 2024 and I can't wait.

----

Other than that.. I recently started Caraval by Stephanie Garber. The reason is funny, I saw a book at the bookstore "Once upon a brokenheart" and loved the cover, but then I saw I needed to read the Caraval series first, so here I am. I'm currently on the second book and it's pretty okay. I like the universe of Caraval.

I read "The Invisible Life of Addie Larue" by V.E. Schwab at the beginning of the year and it became one of my favorite pretty fast. It was so nicely written that I can't help but recommend it.

I usually only read horror and thrillers but I haven't been able to find much good ones so I've been trying my hands at other books.

What about you? Tell me everything!

[gigglesnortbangdead]

for ask meme: 4-6, 11-13, 17-19, 24!

4. what’s an inside joke you have with your family or friends?

a little joke me and one of my besties do is every time there is text on an establishing shot that tells us where the scene is taking place, we say "ohhhh, That's where that is!" and i don't know why we have continued doing this for the better part of a decade, but we do it basically every time this happens. this is not something that is funny, but it is funny that we have continued to do this.

5. what made you start your blog?

it was so long ago.... my bestie had a tumblr and a few fanfic writers that i really liked had tumblrs, and i don't know, i just figured what the hell. and now here we are!

6. what’s the best and worst part of being online/a creator?

specifically about being an online creator, probably the best is that it's a low stakes way to be creative and have people read my work! getting published (or even self-publishing) is such a hassle. i want to write and edit my work, and then just drop it for people to read right away! And because there's that immediacy of publishing, I don't have to feel an intense level of anxiety over a work being "perfect." i'm tempted to say that the worst part is knowing that other people are better liked and more popular than me, but that would still be an issue for me even if I was in traditional publishing. but the online aspect of this (seeing other people get lots of engagement on their accounts, seeing fics with hundreds of comments and bookmarks, seeing particular fics getting discussed as having fandom-wide importance) are really obvious, and it does feel embarrassing to be so jealous of works/creators that are, in the larger scheme of culture, about as unknown as my own work

11. what do you consider to be romance?

At this point in my life, I really do want to be obsessed with someone who is obsessed with me. I am pretty okay spending time on my own, I entertain myself really well, but it means a lot to me when somebody wants to, like, hear about the stuff I did while I was alone. Like "yes, tell me about the movie you watched," or "what color did you paint your nails?" or whatever. I'm not a very interesting person, so I'd like to feel interesting to someone! I also like it when someone wants to touch me! It's good we live in a world where people ask before they touch each other, I guess, but I'm bad at inviting physical contact, so when someone just goes for it (and I like it), that feels really special! Also also I think it's romantic when someone I like makes choices for me, sorry!

12. what’s some good advice you want to share?

idk stream Fear of Death? i don't think i'm the person to go to for advice

13. what are you doing right now?

listening to this week's Throwback Thursday playlist on spotify and answering my online correspondence ❤️

17. name 3 things that make you happy

listening to music while i play on my computer, grilled cheese and tomato soup, and my fwends

18. do you believe in ghosts and/or aliens?

like, sure. i mean, i don't know, it's not something that keeps me up. i think i personally veer sort of skeptical about ghosts/aliens in my own life, but i have zero interest in ever telling somebody that their encounters aren't real just because i've never experienced something like that. like i'm fully aware that i'm a spiritual nutjob (semi-ironically, but not ironically enough), so i'm very 👍 to whatever people vibe with

19. favourite thing about the day?

getting to watch people go around with their dogs and kids! also brunch!! and when you do things during the day, it means you can relax at night time! and when the weather is nice, i do like actually being outside during the day and getting some sun (the heat has just been so bad lately, I can't remember what that was like haha)

24. what’s one thing you’re proud of yourself for?

A coworker of mine is writing a script, and he said my notes on the script were both really helpful and also made him laugh a lot, and that made me feel really good!

[iheartchv]

Can You Do A Vampire Donnie x F!Reader In Bayverse

151. “Do you know how a turtle takes his mate?” 112. Biting/marking 5. “MINE.” 96. Making out 70. Abandoned building 89. Mating/breeding season 142. “Bite me.”

Sure😁👍

Well i guess you'll be seeing a lot of stuff from me Kass x3

Prompts used(c)@turtle-babe83

⚠️ Donnie and reader are over 18, ok? by clicking Keep reading, you agree to seeing mature content ⚠️

Midnight Desire

You sat at a table with your friends. Everyone wanted to have a weekend night out since you and a few of your co workers suffered a rough week at your job. But your mind wasnt on having fun, only on your boyfriend, Donatello. You've been so busy lately that you only had time to go to work, come home, and then go to bed. You missed him. You missed those nights were he would talk to you till the sun came up.

'Y/n'

You looked up, looking to see where the voice came from. You heard Donnie's voice calling you. Were you really so desperate for him that you was imagining his voice?

"Hey, Y/n, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm alright."

"Works been hitting you hard. Just relax"

You couldn't relax, though. Your mind was obsessed with Donnie, his touch, the way he made you feel good. Plus your body was wanting more than the soft outer course sex you both had been having. You craved him... your body squirmed in your seat.

'Y/n, if you can hear me, meet me at the abandoned building down the block from your place. I can help you.'

There was his voice again. You didnt know how but you had to thank him later for bailing you out. You stood from your seat, explaining that you wanted to go home and take a 'me time'.

"Okay, be careful."

You exited the resturant and headed toward home, not making it seem suspicious to your friends what your real plans was. You made it to the abandoned building and went inside. It was creepy being in here after dark. Chills ran up your spine. "Donnie?" you called out.

"Yes, princess?"

You turned to look in the corner of the room and saw the tall terrapin. He approached you and caressed the side of face. Your body was electric with his touch, making your heart beat.

"Don... I've missed you."

"I did too, my little dove."

He showed you how much he longed to be with you. He kissed you with such hunger it made your body hot as the make out session got intense. You gasped when he picked you up and pushed you against the wall, opening your mouth with his and using his tongue to taste you. You wrapped your legs around his waist, pressing yourself against him, and returned his kisses with the same desire.

When you both seperated to breath, you just then remembered hearing his voice while a ago. "Donnie, thanks for bailing me out, but how did you know where I was, how did I hear you but you weren't there? I'm not crazy, am I?" Questions flodded in your mind, but only a few you could get out due to you being love drunk.

He chuckled lightly,"No, you're not crazy. That was telepathy. My thoughts searched for yours, i guess you could say that." He said, trying to explain what it was, because science wasn't 100 percent accurate.

"It that because you're a ... mutant?"

"No. There's something ive been meaning to tell you, too... I'm not just a mutant turtle, I'm also... a vampire..."

The look on your face must've said it all.

"You don't believe me."

"It's just... hard to believe"

"Mutants can exist, so can aliens, but vampires aren't a possibility?"

He stumped you there. There was only one other way to prove he was telling the truth. Did you dare to ask? The idea of Donnie biting you was down right sexy, kinda like those vampire romance stories you read in high school.

"If you a vampire..." you exposed your neck. "Bite me."

The need to bite into your flesh and take you exploded within him. He wanted to hear you scream in ecstasy. He felt his fangs aching. He looked into your eyes and told you telepathically,'This will hurt just a bit, but I'm going to try and be gentle with you...'

You saw a glimpse of fangs youve never seen, and then felt a prick of his sharpened canines break through your tender skin. "Aahhhh~" Your hands squeezed his forearms as his tongue lapped at the tiny streams of blood, causing a new feeling of pleasure course through your veins.

The small whimpers and mewls you made Donnie hard. He moaned at all the sensations he was feeling at once: the taste of your blood, the warmth of your skin, the smell of your arousal... It would've made him cum then and there. He went back to kissing you, deeply this time.

The coppery taste of your blood on his lips was strangely arousing. A whine escaped your throat as one of his hands slid under your shirt, cupped a breast and started massaging, paying attention to your nipple. You arched your back, pushing up into his hard plated torso.

"Donnie~ I want you... inside me, please~"

He smirked at you, his longer fangs exposed. A shiver shot to your womanhood, making you squirm. Even though he knew the answer, he asked,"How badly do you want me?"

"Sooooo deep, take me as yours"

Minute after agonizing minute you both were soon stripped naked. "Tell me, love, do you know how a turtle takes his mate?" You couldn't respond with your mind buzzed with lust. Moans was all that you could get out.

"Please...~"

He pushed you down on your hands and knees, then pushed your head down to leave your bottom up in the air. He held your hips to hold you still. Slowly he entered your tight wet sex, hissing as he was enveloped with heat.

His wide girth stretched you deliciously. "Ohhh god, Donnie~" you softly cried. You felt him touching and pushing between your sensitive slick walls. Once you felt him fill you, he pulled back and slammed into you. You cried out loudly, and moaned as he rocked his hips into your backside.

"MINE . You're mine"

He leaned over your back and left bite marks on your shoulder as he pounded deeply inside you, loving how you squeezed him. The louder you were, the closer you were to your orgasm. He was close, too.

"You want me to cum inside you, fill you up with my hot sticky seed?" he said in between thrusts.

"Mhmmm! Mhmmm!" you whimpered.

"Then cum for me..."

He sped up, thrusting into you at an amazing speed. All you could do was let out loud long screams until you felt the tightening heat explode. Your climax was so intense hot tears stung your eyes. Above you, you heard Donnie growl and grunt as he shot thick ropes of cum in your womb.

You belived him now.

[drippingmoon]

This or That Writer Edition

Done this before, but y'know, you're completely right @sleepy-night-child. I'm gonna take this as an opportunity to ramble some more because I really feel like it. Thanks so much, nightfriend❤ this really is therapeutic

And for that matter, anyone can join me. Open tag<3 the questions will be, uh, behind the cut.

1. historical or futuristic

I kinda love reading about history hahaha, and it was mostly fantasy in medieval settings that got me into writing, so this is a no-brainer. (Even my sci-fi shortie will have some dated technology🤣 for plot reasons, of course)

2. the opening or closing chapter

Mmm idk what it is about them, but endings always come to me naturally🥰 surprisingly with 'quiv it was both, but it was also meant to be a short story before it spun out of control🤷‍♀️ and though I kinda know where I wanna start Icy, fun fact! I have the endings for all three books down and detailed😇 I guess it's always the ending that draws me to writing a story🥺

3. light + fluffy or dark + gritty

how do you even separate them. Okay, when I first started writing I was all for the latter, but that changed quickly. 'Quiv has me loving it as much as I do especially because at its core it was a warmer, gentler story full of hope🥰

4. animal companion or found family

Before 'quiv, my casts used to be fully animal or >50% comprised of animal characters. Even now angel mannerisms are more bird-like in nature than human🤣 animals have always owned my entire heart❤ you've never known true love until you've had it curl in your lap🥺 Also, I'm all for the 'two people against the world' which doesn't really fit found families

5. horror or romance

Just saying, the Turning🤷‍♀️ and some of you might know I'm all about platonic love, soooo. Oh, and my sci-fi shortie will also be horror🤔 though I guess Icy breaks the mold and is a romantic comedy...

6. hard or soft magic system

Can't really have dances and song as time and emotion magic feature as a hard system. And I like to surprise myself when writing too🤣 so no systems. Would make me anxious and 100% like all my plans I would *not* follow them lol

7. standalone or series

...not gonna lie, I'm really drawn to series🤣 but that's also how I got burnt out, and since 'quiv is my love, I'll go with standalones. They're a much different writing experience🤔 feel a lot more compact. There's no "later", and that hit differently and in a good way😳

8. one project at a time or always juggling 2+

I did try juggling. I really did. I said, if I get in the mood to start something else, then that's what I'm gonna do. But apparently only one wip can devour my entire mind at a time, and though I can brainstorm for the others, after a few hours I just yearn to go back to 'quiv, you know? It's complete brainrot🥰🥰

9. one award winner or one bestseller

One finished book, I digress lmao

10. fantasy or sci-fi

^same as the historical/futuristic one. I guess fantasy doesn't have aliens🤔 and it's been growing on me lately with all y'all wips🥺🥰 but fantasy will always be my beloved

11. character or setting description

Character descriptions run the risk of turning into lists😬 I mean, settings also should. But for some reason they've also come more naturally to me, and I enjoy them loads more🥰 and lately I've started describing characters like settings, ie 'as beautiful as rain' 🤣🤣 but that's cheating. Also also. Let me just say. Star descriptions🥺 idk how angels in space came to me as an idea, but it was by far the best I've ever had. I have so much fun writing the setting💞

12. first or final draft

If final drafts are anything like, second, third, fourth drafts, then first drafts oh my god

13. Literary or commercial genre

I don't believe in these genres lol

14. love triangle in everything or no romance arcs

Never seen the appeal about love triangles, but then again I'm not a romance person. Just give me two people loving each other deeply and it'll turn into 'quiv I'll be satisfied🥰🥰 and no, for the record, it doesn't have to be carnal for it to be love or soulmates to me

15. constant sandstorm or rainstorm

How can you not love rain?? For plot-related reasons or not, once it gets to the rainy season I really feel like it's restored some life to me🥰🥰 and rainy settings are godsends for scenes. That, and I've never been fond of desert settings

[neerons]

I'm so annoyed that the Boss is only getting one more season. He is my absolute favorite Voltage LI and I can't help but feel like they set him up to fail from the very beginning. He always seemed like an afterthought as all focus was on the 3S, and he was only added on as a LI after them. And whilst I don't mind a slow burn romance, it did alienate readers (I can still remember all the complaints following his first season regarding his lack of a name and how it didn't seem like a proper relationship between him and MC). Which is a shame as I honestly feel that Boss truly loves the MC, more than the other guys--he's changed far more than any of them, and for the better. Ultimately they tried something different but the execution was sloppy.

Making him an antagonist in other routes wasn't a horrible decision (girls like the bad boy, right?), but the way they went about it didn't help. Kei's route was set up for maximum empathy points, and whilst I'm not fond of the way they tackled an issue such as child abuse, it did endear Kei all the more to many readers and the cold, indifferent, callous attitude of the boss turned them away from him. If it had been set up differently and under a different scenario I don't think readers would have been as turned off by him.

Oh, and let's not forget that disappointing disaster that was his 3rd season. Overpriced with little to show for. I couldn't believe the amount of hearts I was paying for only 3 lines of dialogue. Hardly any raunchy scenes either. Ridiculous as his S2 was so good. It really showed that Voltage is pretty much done with him, as does the lack of any new special stories (especially compared to the others).

Honestly I can rant all day. That's how frustrated I am. Oh well, at least my wallet will be happy.

Yes I'm extremely disappointed too so I completely understand how you feel. I'm annoyed that he isn't treated the same way by Voltage, because them exposing him less makes the fans less interested, and since there's not a lot of interest from the readers, Voltage won't make more content for him. It's a vicious cycle.

I've been reading MK not long after it has been released, and the Boss had always been planned to get his own story as he was part of the Love Interests lineup in the title. He was either always there, or was quickly added just like the others.

I don't think him being added later is what made people less interested in him though. Some other titles have added characters some years after the initial release, and these added characters have been loved by the readers despite their late start. Some good example would be Takaomi Tsugaru from HLITF. He came later than the other LIs, his story is very slow burn, and yet a lot of people love him. Kei's story from MK is also very very slow burn (more than the Boss), yet he's appreciated plenty.

I didn't think about this at all, but you're completely right with your point that Kei being abused as a child made the Boss' depiction as an antagonist (in Kei's Main Story) a poor or dangerous choice. Due to how sensitive this subject is, I wouldn't be surprised if that's why people don't care for him the same way as the 3S'. Sadly, people don't know a lot about the Boss since not many will read his story due to that, which is devastating to me because now we get one last season, and yet he's an amazing character. (For anyone that might read this and who hasn't read Kei' story, no, the Boss doesn't mock Kei's past when he went through child abuse. He is a cruel character in this route but it's not linked to Kei's trauma).

I completely agree that the Boss was done dirty by Voltage. MK is a popular title, they could have easily put him in the spotlight if they had tried to advertise him like the others. So far, he doesn't have his own VIP room and isn't included in the events all the time. I'm sad because his mysterious side makes him all the more charming and it feels amazing to finally discover who he is as a person. It's what attracted and still attracts me to him. His way of loving the MC is beautiful and their banter is very entertaining. His sense of justice is beautiful too.

This is only my opinion, but I didn't dislike him as a sort of antagonist in the other routes. It's true when you say that a lot of people like the bad boys. They're interesting enough to want to know their motives for being bad right? Except the Boss isn't "bad" at all in his own route. He's just perfect 😩

I do think his character was a bit changed in Kei's route though. I just don't recognize him as being this cruel in his own route. He can be cruel if he wants and needs to be, but I felt like this agent side of him was very exaggerated to make MC and the readers take Kei's side. Kei's story is beautiful though, and every route is in its own way.

It's alright that the Boss is a cruel antagonist in Kei's route. I just wish people were able to make the difference between Boss from Kei's route and Boss in his own route, and I also wish Voltage treated the Boss the same way as the others because he has the same potential as them. I completely agree with you, I wouldn't blame you for being disappointed that his route will end soon. Let's share the chaos and devastation 😭

[jingerhead]

⛔️🤯🎶

Hello lovely, thank you so much for the ask!!!

⛔ Do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

Oh yes I've had many. Specifically for the AFTG fandom I had a Legend of Zelda AU that was scrapped, a gigantic apocalypse au series, a ghost au, a coffee shop au, a volleyball au, a centaur au, a huge BDSM fic...there's a lot lol. I've also taken a pause on some fics, like I'd like to come back to them someday so they're not scrapped as though I'll never work on them again, and honestly I feel like the ones I've 'scrapped' I could always pick up again someday. Who knows!

🤯 What's a genre you struggle with as a writer (ex. romance, action, etc.)?

Science fiction, like with aliens and planets and stuff. I absolutely love to read the genre, it's just that my mind can't do the advanced technology/space battles/alien planets plotting. It's why I usually default to fantasy PF.

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

Ok so other than the ambiance music I've been listening to, I've recently been listening to 'Could've Been Me' by The Struts because every time I listen to it I imagine Neil fucking Josten and it's become a problem. Like, I can so clearly imagine a TV show where that song plays in the opening pilot scene and we get a little highschool exy game with shots of Neil in particular as he plays, all leading up to the scene of him sitting on the bleachers letting that cigarette burn to the filter.