#danger safira;

[ligiawrites]

Your life as an alchemist has been safe and comfortable so far... but when your sister makes you one last wish before passing away, you'll embark on a dangerous journey that might change your life—and the lives of your two companions—forever.

game link || all about the dev

YOUR SISTER HAS CARRIED the mantle of "Peregrine" for more than two decades. Twelve years older than you, she saw and wrote about the lives of common people, the birth and fall of foreign noble houses, the discovery of plants and animals, and the complex politics of your home kingdom. She lived a life of dangers and excitement, of travels, passions, and experiences you can't even begin to imagine.

And now that she's dead, this mantle (and her newborn child) is yours. 

Ghosts, zombies, fantastic animals, arcanes, and criminals. Fool the monster hunting you, the bandits trying to kidnap you, and your own fears while you travel from South Safira to the very heart of Dead Water.

Thank Goddess, you won't be alone. But with a conniving liar at your left and a deluded "Knight" at your right, will you be able to fulfill your sister's last wish? Will you go back to your niece? And will you allow yourself to love for the first time?

Develop your personality, see how your choices build, and change your bond with Yulie and Tobias (and yourself).

Hopefully, you'll also learn to see the world in a new light after this Trek to Dead Water.

🍂 Full game release: Autumn 2025 🍂

If you want to support the development of this game and access exclusive rewards, please consider supporting me on ko-fi!

About the game:

This story is set 53 years before the beginning of Love the Guard, Be the King.

Experience the world of Five Kingdoms in a completely different way, learning the hidden lore of Opala and Safira as one of the most influential (and non-highborn) figures in their society.

This is a game about the power of story, the powers that *change* history, and the impact that fleeting relationships may have in our lives. Enjoy this mix of Visual Novel and text-based Interactive Fiction!

This short game will have three chapters, and I have almost half of it already. :) Right now, you can play one out of three chapters (~9k words), and they are only available for my supporters on ko-fi. 

So, if you're seeing this, thank you for being amazing and for believing in my career! :)

If you have any comments, suggestions, problems, or worries, please let me know on ko-fi or in this forum.

AGE SUGGESTED: 16+ for erotic nudity, non-explicit sexual scenes, and mild violence and gore.

Main Characters:

Yulie of No House - The deluded "Knight" - 27 - She / Her

Born in Safira to a Topazian ambassador and a Safiran barman, Yulie saw her world crumble when she was six and a half, and her mother dared to question the Safiran nobility's interference in Topazian politics. Queen Juliana of House Inara did her best to protect Yulie's life, but there was little the Queen could do for her parents.

Stripped of her family and her surname, she lived under the Queen's care in a secretive palacete in the South, but as soon as she turned fourteen, Yulie knew she needed to leave the care of the people who ruined her life.

Now, at twenty-seven, Yulie's dream and main objective is to become a Knight of the Opalean Dragon Order—but focusing on this might be way harder than she thought, mainly when she manages to hold certain Safiran Peregrine in her arms.

Tobias Cidreira Dasherner - The Conniving Liar- 29 - He / Him

Tobias is a trans man born and raised in the biggest capital of Safira. With an immense talent for the Arcane, Tobias was taken under the wing of Great Arcane Master Domingos of Safira when he was only five. 

The Arcane College of the Balanced Arts is an expensive place, though, and despite the Arcane's great fortune, Tobias changed over the years. Once studious and quiet, Tobias grew tired of the absurd rules in the Safiran College and the kingdom's abusive laws. He tried to do good. He tried to change things for the better. Still, thanks to a grave mistake on Tobias's part, the Great Domingos lost everything.

Now, the only thing Tobias wants is to make enough money for the greatest con of all: a nice tavern of his own, so he can recover at least part of the money his old master lost.

… And YOU! - The newest Peregrine in Safira

Child of a long line of alchemists who lived their whole lives in The Village, you never felt the need to travel. Your sister did, so it felt just and good (for you and for her) when she was chosen as the new Safiran Peregrine. But this happened twenty-three years ago, and now she's dead after giving birth to your first niece.

Your task (for more than one reason) is to travel to the dangerous Dead Water, so your sister's soul will finally rest and stop coming back to haunt you.

Build your Peregrine and your relationship with your companions, and discover the hidden history that brought you to this point.

[iamclearlyawizard]

Have you ever been bullied, ostracized, or feared for being different?

"Yes. So very yes." He sighs. "When I was very young we kids were allowed to play around the aether forge when work wasn't in session. We were just told 'don't use magic its dangerous'." He puts on a tone of a scolding adult. "Well, I was... God, five? Six? Very young. And while I wasn't amazing at it, I could use magic. So we go in playing tag. The forge is hot, its there. Me, two brothers and one sister all go in. One brother, Johnathan he can't use magic. The other brother and my sister can. My sister is... She must have been thirteen? fourteen? My other brother was twelve. Sixty days into twelve. I don't know why they chose to play with me that day. Well, you can learn to use magic safely and Safira and Sevin both decide to show off that they can do that. And me, being the youngest, a bit later I decide to do so as well."

He's quiet for a moment as he unbuttons his shirt. "Safira survived only with mild injuries. Sevin and Johnathan were killed." He revealed his scarred chest with a faint blue glow. "I have reminders of the dumb shit I pulled then." He said simply before working back on buttoning up his jacket. "Father... Was actually not the worst at first. Mom? Well I killed her baby boys. Safira? I killed her brothers. But me? I was still alive. Dad also got worse. It was about three months before he realized my magic control skyrocketed. Soon I was as good as Safira and my other older siblings, if not better. Although I was never good enough him. That's when the guilt came. A reminder, that I murdered my siblings. All for being 'the weak one'." There's a spiteful laugh. "I tell people I want to go back to save them. Safira and father?" He doesn't say anything and just finishes buttoning his shirt.

[kingpizzachan]

Art fight batch 7! ---------------------- Puddle [My bean] and Axell - BluePatchy Peanut Sans and Uglie For Maryloo -Felixziee [Had my friend Lemon pic out some characters for me to attack and she chose these two. I weirdly love this picture] Safira - ShadowBlueHusky ✦✦: Lush !! - st4rscribble Iroah - Smimande ☆Skelly - Professional-idiot-g Danger - BubbleIce720 ----------------------

Art by me! Each character belongs to their respective owners!

[menagerie-of-monsters]

It's here!

The Gardener and the Water-horse is a 70k word prequel to the Echoes of the Void series. Meet some of the characters from The Sorceress and the Incubus as they were a decade ago, and learn how Safira became Celyn's consort.

This novel is a complete, standalone story that can be read without knowing anything about Echoes of the Void.

To be loved by a water-horse is to be possessed by him utterly. Safira sacrificed everything to be free, and a remote, sorcerous Spire seems like an excellent hiding place from the wizard who wants to reclaim her. She's had enough of beautiful, powerful men. Being lonely is better. But the Spire is encircled by a lake, and the shapeshifting water-horse is fascinated by Safira. After a century of silence, the sound of her voice is an impossible lure to resist. When a drought means Safira needs water for her garden, the water-horse offers her a deal she can't refuse: water for conversation. Despite her own fear and the stories of water-horses stealing lovers, Safira is drawn to the alluring stranger. Yet every step towards affection brings with it danger. Water never gives up the things it claims, and Celyn's possessiveness grows with every shared intimacy. When the wizard hunting her and the water-horse luring her clash, Safira has the chance to claim freedom in truth—or to throw herself into the depths of danger, and trust love to overcome even the greed of an elemental.

Available as an ebook and on Kindle Unlimited!

[starfall-spirit]

ACOTAR Next Gen Mood Boards

Name Translation: Moonlight

Nesta and Cassian’s Only Child Ayla just recently completed her Blood Rite with her cousin Roxanna. The two are thick as thieves, getting into a little too much trouble with Nyx setting the example as the brother/cousin ten years their senior.

Unfortunately the girls lost their other best friend during an attack during the Rite. In her moment of grief and rage Alya was able to access power that she was unaware of, despite the Blood Rite's laws of power suppression. One of those gifts allowed her to cross worlds, finding her carranam and mate in Terrasen.

Name Translation: Night

Feyre and Rhys’ Oldest Child

36 Years Old

Though the gifts of seven courts passed on to Nyx, he’s prone to using his Night Court gifts, leading some to believe he will inherit his father’s title.

Despite being busy with his many responsibilities as the prince, he is extremely supportive of his younger sister and cousin, going as far as to train them for their Blood Rite Qualifier.

Nyx finds his mate later than his cousin, passing the hundred year mark before finding her on a diplomatic mission securing Rask’s position on the treaty created after Hybern fell.

Name Translation: Little Star/Bright

Feyre and Rhysand’s Youngest Child

Roxanna is a girly-girl. Even still, she knows what dangers linger and she’s trained just as well as her cousin and brother. Essentially, she can kick ass and look good while doing it.

Being significantly younger than Nyx, her magic isn’t quite at the same level, but as they’re both so young she hasn’t been dismissed as a potential heir. Still, with her bubbly personality and wanderlust—as well as some casual flirting with a Winter prince—leadership is the last thing on her mind.

Safira, Princess of Rask

Name Translation: Sapphire

The heiress and jewel of the court, Safira has many weapons in her arsenal, fine tuning the balance of a noblewoman and warrior queen she’d one day be.

Ladylike she may be, but that shouldn’t be assumed interchangeable with a docile daughter. With a hot temper and valiant heart, she’ll kill as fast as she’ll bargain to keep her home and people safe.

And she’ll put a Night Court prince in his place, should he get too arrogant for her taste.

@sjmnextgenweek

[anestofocs]

Muse Profile: Safiya

Eden's vow

Basic Details:

Name: Safira Kiyori (nee Olayinka)

Age: 71

Birthday: 22nd December

Title: Elegant Boxer/Eden

Fighting style: Dambe

Occupation: Owner of Kiyori Pharmaceuticals, Field Agent of the VSSE.

Faith: Judaism

Likes: Knitting, Meditation, Gardening, Collecting Scarves, Her husband, Her grandson, Sergei Dragunov, being with her son and daughter.

Dislikes: Dishonesty, being seen as weak, her family in danger. Heihachi Mishima, Threats to the world.

Appearance details:

Hair colour: Gray

Eye colour: Dark Brown

Skintone: Deep, dark brown.

Height: 5'5

Weight: (redacted)

Gender: Female (cis)

Country of Origin: Nigeria

Ethnicity: African/Jewish

Nationality: Japan

Deeper Details:

Family:

Hayato Kiyori: Husband

Ayame "Crowe” Kiyori: Daughter

Aikko: Grandson

Yuki Kiyori: (Adoptive) son

Personality: A warm, motherly woman with a cheerful disposition. Safiya is one who is rarely seen without a smile. She loves to make others feel welcome. Viewing hospitality and kindness as important virtues. Safiya is also very perceptive. Able to get a good read of people and notice even the tiniest details of her surroundings. Yet behind the jokes and cheer is a woman who takes no nonsense. A proud fighter and spy. Safiya has no problems with getting her hands dirty. Should someone find themself as the target of her ire. They can find her to be as brutal as her fighting style.

Bio:

Born to wealthy parents of two prestigious families. Safiya had a blessed life, nothing was off limits to her. Not even fighting lessons. Training in Dambe, a brutal yet traditional boxing style, Safiya was a prodigy at it and soon focused her efforts towards becoming a professional tournament fighter.

As she began to grow as a fighter, Safiya met the man of her dreams during a tournament in Japan at the age of 16. Hayato Kiyori. Hayato and Safiya felt love at first sight and quickly grew a long distance relationship. They were also approached by the same agency. The V.S.S.E. Who viewed the pair as potential agents due to their fighting poweress and righteousness.

When Safiya was 20 she married Hayato and moved to Japan,a Lengthy immigration process sped up due to the pair's service.

At 26 years old, she gave birth to her child Ayame. The two were thrilled and raised Ayame to be an intelligent and compassionate person. Even when she came out as non binary, the pair accepted her with open arms. But paradise was not to last. 

When Ayame was older, the pair tried for a second child. Yet each time, they had failed. They tried everything they could. Their only option was to try IVF. But the process was unusually slow. 

A few years later. They learnt that their samples had been stolen. Ending their chances of having another child.

More heartache soon followed. 

At the age of 50, Safiya's beloved Hayato vanished without a trace. Devastated, Safiya spent the next 18 years searching and waiting for any sign of her husband. Using the V.S.S.E's vast intelligence network when police and private detectives failed. 

It wasn't until, after the third King of Iron Fist Tournament"s end that she would learn of what happened. After investigating why his and Safiya‘s samples for IVF went missing, Hayato had discovered a terrible secret involving the Mishima Zaibatsu. A secret that led to his abduction, years of experimentation, then his tragic death, just moments after Ayame had finally found him.

Devastated, Safiya had to navigate her grief, all while aiding Lee Chaolan in caring for a young man named Ayato. Her husband's son. A product of dreadful experiments that Hayato had discovered. 

Nowadays, Safiya lives with her family in a new home given to them by Chaolan. Still serving her intelligence agency in secret.

[sezja]

Safira when Kiera falls: nooo i am so weak and useless there's nothing i can do to protect my home

Safira when the Final Days come to Thavnair: Get the FUCK out of my HOUSE

I don't talk about Safira enough and I should fix that

[artlasllm]

safira

designed by a friend 💛

[atlasifyllm]

f r e s h

[inquartata30]

Thaia’s Family

Thanks to the fantastic @skyllianhamster​ we get to meet Thaia’s fam! Her father, mother, and three sisters.

First up, Thaia, the character most people are familiar with:

Full Name: Althaia Kallistrate

Other Names: Dash (callsign), Waterbug, Karyote

Born: 1882 CE, Kunoura, Republic of Armali, Thessia

Occupation: commando, shipwright, astrophysicist 

Distinguishing Features: partial set of white commando tattoos around her eyes, small scar on her crest line from head butting a bully as a child, notch scar on her left jaw from falling on a rock, matching scars below her ribcage and on her back from metal debris

Personality: Thaia is the youngest of four, an unabashed flirt, swears a lot, and gregarious. She does have somewhat of a temper, but she’s usually good at keeping control of it, save for a few extenuating circumstances. She also has a not-so-hidden tendency to turn into a six-two ball of anxiety when people she loves are in danger. 

Bondmate(s): Lexi T’Perro

Children: Anahera Kallistrate, Zahra Kallistrate, Carian T’Perro, Aella T’Perro

Story Appearances: Tessellation (Tessera) A Valuable Learning Opportunity (by @dr-jekyl​) Cartreesian Coordinates Handful of Water The Scenic Route Approach Vector

The rest of Thaia’s family under the cut:

Next up, Thaia’s father, Sula:

Full Name: Sula Calfuray

Other Names: Suul (call sign)

Born: 1332 CE, Kathuomalai, Republic of Armali, Thessia

Occupation: Systems Engineer

Distinguishing Features: faded commando tattoos, tall, willowy

Personality: Sula is outgoing, forthright, yet mostly easygoing. She has a temper, but it’s softened over the centuries and now it usually takes a while to truly get her angry. Will troll any of her daughters at any given opportunity and they really wish she wouldn’t. Sula is also often a ball of anxiety when it comes to her children and their safety. However, her children don’t know *how* deep her anxiety runs and she intends to keep it that way.

Parents: Aysu Calfuray (mother), Talyth Manto (father; krogan)

Siblings: Jarah Calfuray

Bondmate(s): Indah Kallistrate (dissolved 1904 CE); [REDACTED]

Children: Safira Calfuray, Meir Calfuray, Eirian Calfuray, Althaia Kallistrate

Story Appearances: Tessellation (Tessera) Cartreesian Coordinates The Scenic Route Approach Vector

Next, Thaia’s mother, Indah:

Full Name: Indah Kallistrate

Other Names: Karkin (callsign)

Born: 1133 CE, Kunoura, Republic of Armali, Thessia

Occupation: Professor of Literature, Poet

Distinguishing Features: large back tattoo of a lysthanama (Thessian manta) in blue biotics-reactive ink, tall, ripped like a commando 

Personality: Indah is well-spoken, choosing her words with both precision and melody in mind. She maintains a highly active lifestyle, rowing on the ocean daily, along with a weightlifting routine. She tends to be a source of calm and patience when in a room, a trait highly necessary when raising little blue blurs of energy like her youngest daughter.

Parents: Asteria Kallistrate (mother), Drau Gera (father; krogan)

Siblings: None

Bondmate(s): Sula Calfuray (1683-1884 CE); Aulus Corium (1899-1904 CE)

Story Appearances: A Gift of Mud and Flowers The Scenic Route Approach Vector

Next, Thaia’s oldest sister, Safira:

Full Name: Safira Calfuray

Other Names: Regent (callsign)

Born: 1780 CE, Kunoura, Republic of Armali, Thessia

Occupation: Hydrologist, Agricultural Engineer

Distinguishing Features: fading commando tattoos

Personality: Fashionista who dispenses advice kindly, haughty at times, surprisingly loves a good practical joke, highly protective of her family, well-spoken.

Bondmate(s): Jirou Anaxo (salarian; d. 2180 CE)

Children: Auri Calfuray (b. 2175 CE), Basya Calfuray (b. 2178 CE)

Story Appearances: Tessellation The Scenic Route Approach Vector

Next, Thaia’s second oldest sister, Meir:

Full Name: Meir Calfuray

Other Names: Topside (callsign)

Born: 1810 CE, Kunoura, Republic of Armali, Thessia

Occupation: Commando

Distinguishing Features: commando tattoos, scar on her arm from flying glass, scar on her calf from an errant fishhook, a stylized compass tattoo on her right shoulder blade

Personality: Meir is loud and brash, shameless, teases those whom she loves but never in a way that punches down, highly career motivated.

Story Appearances: Tessellation The Scenic Route Approach Vector

Last, Thaia’s third oldest sister, Eirian:

Full Name: Eirian Calfuray

Other Names: None

Born: 1844 CE, Kunoura, Republic of Armali, Thessia

Current Occupation: Primary School Teacher

Former Occupation(s): Art Historian, Geologist, Surveyor, Art Recovery Specialist

Distinguishing Features: perpetual almost-but-not-quite smirk

Personality: Eirian is nearly as well-spoken as Safira but only while working, has loved all her jobs despite her apparent job-hopping, sensitive though she hides it most of the time. Absolutely killer at Kepesh-Yakshi. None of her sisters will play against her anymore. Ever.

Bondmate(s): [redacted]

Children: [redacted]

Story Appearances: Tessellation The Scenic Route Cartreesian Coordinates

[ligiawrites]

A little sneak peek!

I couldn't work much on "Love the Guard, Be the King" in the past few weeks (sorry about the delay, everyone ç.ç), so here's a small sneak peek of one of the CGs coming in the Extra Story. ;)

In this bonus story, you'll revisit an old memory of your Dragon Commander, back when you were just a Hatchling Knight.

Your relationship with Mathias and Mandreis was still unmarred by Matt's decision after your failure in the Battle of Oscanza, the Queen was still a woman you couldn't recognize, and young Melike was still in the castle, getting ready for her one-way trip to Safira.

You'll enjoy a little speck of Paradise in this... but don't get comfortable, for the danger will increase tenfold after that.

And if you don't know who Melike is, you can read this post!

[iheartsunset]

Got any Scooter headcanons? Also, I just wanna say your hcs are so awesome and detailed and I thoroughly enjoy reading them. ^^

Papa Louie Scooter HCs

(You guys are all so nice, this is why I love writing HCs for everyone because it makes me smile when you all love them, I’m thoroughly touched thank you so much 🥺)

-Safira Hernandez is a 17 year old high school student and Donuteria waitress living with her three older brothers, Jordan, Phoenix, and Atlas, and her grandmother, Tamara, in a Starlight City loft. While she is referred to as “Scout”, “Sansa”, and “Slytherin” by her brothers, she prefers to go by “Scooter”, her grandma’s longtime nickname for her. Overly ambitious with a rebellious streak, she’s known as the bad girl of Eclair Academy. She hopes to go to college in Tastyville with her best friend, Penny, and become an anesthesiologist.

-Scooter is a tomboy that mostly keeps to herself in school, but she’s not afraid to get into someone’s face or insult them. She absolutely hates doing schoolwork and will often times refuse to do it or even talk back to teachers, meaning detention and the headmaster’s office are often places she hangs around in. She also has a sick interest in watching people struggle in life. She’s often compared to each of her brothers, leading to this behavior with a bit of an inferiority complex. She’s still clever enough to find loopholes in assignments and pass exams, but her grades are still very low. In spite of this, she’s very sweet, though teasing, to the kindhearted Penny and many other kids, including Iggy, Sasha, and Austin. In the restaurant, she’s basically that one goth server who clearly doesn’t care about anything, but still does the bare minimum on their job.

-She carries scooters, y-flickers, and her skateboard in her bag so that she could make quick getaways from detention or a dangerous situation her dumbassery has gotten her into. They also serve as weapons for her to swing at someone’s ankles or shins when they disrespect her or any of her friends. Like imagine being Guy Mortadelloa and trying to rob her then she just unfolds a razor scooter form her bag and just zips away.

-She doesn’t really like Prudence since Prudence’s mom is Eclair Academy’s headmaster and always suspends her. Prudence hates her mom, too, and secretly respects Scooter for always defying her, something Prudence wished she could’ve done when she was younger.

-She and Penny met in a shared ballet class when they were 4. Scooter absolutely hated ballet, so she always causes havoc. The students and teachers didn’t like her, but only Penny wanted to hang around her. Now, their friendship is still strong even though they live in far away towns and they always hang out together. They share Tohru, Austin, Sasha, Clover, and Wylan B as friends as well. Scooter also appoints her as Alberto’s “sister in law” and will secretly monitor Penny on her dates, along with Utah and Gremmie.

-She listens to Taylor Dane, Madonna, Girl In Red, Arctic Monkeys, and various classic rock bands. She’s been teaching herself how to dance on a skateboard so that she could jam out while riding her skateboard. So far, all attempts have led to her tasting concrete or dirt, or having to get tooth surgery. On the subject of teeth, she had to get a gold tooth as well due to the damage.

-She pulls pranks in the zoom classes and real life classes for Alberto’s prank channel. It usually results in suspension, so her overprotective brothers keep holding interventions for her. She hates how involved they are in her life and prefers spending time with her grandma, who no matter what, always treats her amazingly and will definitely listen to her problems without judgement. Scooter just really misses when her brothers were younger and more goofy than they are now.

-Tony tries to act as some sort of moral compass by hiring her to look after his kids. She’s a good babysitter, but a pretty and influence, so Chuck mostly ends up watching the kids instead. In spite of her being a bit of a jerk, they have a normal sort of dad-daughter-like friendship and she holds him in higher regard than most people.

-She keeps her hair short because Penny once accidentally got gum stuck in it and it had to be cut. Scooter decided that’s he liked the style, so now she prefers it that way under her hat. She likes to keep it on even indoors because of how it looks.

-Ask her any medical question and she’s got a great answer. Tohru trusts her more than an actual doctor and will always cask if she has weird symptoms.

-She will trash talk you on an online game, which made Tohru fall in love with her. It’s unknown if Scooter reciprocates, but Austin has caught her slipping a Valentine’s Day card into Tohru’s mailbox once.

-Scooter actually has lots of skateboarding and science fair awards. She just keeps them on the floor cause she doesn’t really care about these achievements, though, she just likes skating and medicine.

-I love Scooter so much like yes queen go skateboard throughout Flipline do your thing boo I support that

[menagerie-of-monsters]

I'm Mallory Dunlin, an avid reader and writer of monster romance. I talk about the things I'm writing, alongside a rotating collection of eclectic interests. Scroll long enough and you might be graced by a picture of Moon or Dawn, my borzoi.

As I hope anyone who picks up my books can tell, I'm queer, neurodivergent, and fascinated by the interplay of identity and society. My novels are dark fantasy romances, where the world can be brutal, but love wins the day. Most explore trauma, recovery, and the healing power of accepting others as they are.

What I'm working on: a fae enemies-to-lovers arranged marriage romance with Hades/Persephone vibes

Catalog below the cut!

Monsters of Faery

Modern-day fantasy, primarily set in Faery

CAPTURED BY THE FAE BEAST: Leah expects to die after a backcountry climbing accident. When a monstrous fae prince rescues her instead, claiming to be her soulmate, she strikes a bargain: a year and a day in his company in exchange for freedom at the end of it. But the Beast of Phazikai is more than his bloody reputation suggests, and there's far more at stake than her heart.

IN THE CLAWS OF THE RAVEN PRINCE: All deals with the fae have a twist, and when Lilly makes hers, she finds herself with a sword instead of a pen. But fate steps in when she faces the half-fae, half-manticore Chimera on the field—and discovers that the greatest enemy of Stag Court is her soulmate.

CLAIMED BY THE FLAME OF FAERY: To save her father's life from the vengeful half-dragon Duke of Nyx Shaeras, Isabela offers herself as his life-debt servant. Weathering his arrogance and pique, she starts to see the man beneath the dragonfire—but the secrets he's keeping might destroy their chances of happiness forever.

TAMING THE WILD HUNT: (novella) A deadly encounter with the Wild Hunt leaves an art thief trapped in the deep wilds of Faery—with a hellhound who won't leave her side and a Hunter who wants far more than merely her life.

Echoes of the Void

High fantasy with Renaissance-level technology

THE GARDENER AND THE WATER-HORSE: Fleeing from an abusive wizard, Safira takes refuge at one of the remote, sorcerous Spires. Though she's wary of beautiful, dangerous men, she strikes up a friendship with the water-horse of the caldera lake surrounding the island, and finds herself in deeper waters than she expected.

THE SORCERESS AND THE INCUBUS: The sorceress Rain has spent the past decade struggling to protect the world from meteors falling from the broken sky. She summons a familiar to help - and is answered by an incubus shapeshifter. As time runs out for the world, the two must learn to work together in order to save everyone from a fate only they can prevent.

THE CHANGELING AND THE DRAGON: A human woman raised by unseelie fae escapes death at the hands of slavers, only to end up in life-debt to a part-dragon sorcerer and his full-dragon cousin. Sersha knows she'll be his slave for life. After all, a regular mortal can't hope to save a sorcerer... or can she?

Standalones

HOW TO SLAY A DRAGON: Novella; originally part of the I am the Fire anthology and available for free on Bookfunnel. A dragonslayer finds more than she bargained for when a contract to kill a beast leads her to half-dragon prince driven out of the dragonlands to his mother's kingdom.

[flareblitzedyt]

Tied by Numbers (Horror Visual Novel) - Part 2 | Flare Let's Play:

Reached the 3 endings of this tale as we dive deeper into the mystery behind the eerie girl from Amanda's video. This is Tied by Numbers, a horror visual novel made by MustacheSkullGames. We invite the most popular girls at school round for a slumber party, nothing bad like calling a number that ends with 666 will happen, I promise!

"Safira thought she had hit her lowest point after her "newfound" sister starts to create drama at school. But once she invites her aspiring friends to a slumber party she realizes that danger awaits her only one digit away."

Game: https://mustacheskulls.itch.io/tied-by-numbers Developer(s): https://twitter.com/MskullsGames

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/flareblitzedyt Discord: https://discord.gg/Zkyej67

[inforapound]

Boundless Chapter 5

A/N -  A story of forbidden love. King Harald and a young Princess. Thank you for your likes and reblogs and amazing comments. A short but important chapter.

Pairing - Harald and Safira

Words - 1,320 

"Where do you think you are going?"

Gasping, she spun around, Fritjof was just feet in front of her, blocking the path to the tent door. His expression was exasperated, as usual.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?" his brows shot up. "Do you?"

"You are theatrical tonight," she batted her eyes, using a cavalier tone.

"Safira! Now is not the time for your glib horse shit."

Saying nothing, she looked down, stopping herself from reaching up to the sapphire pendant, hanging from her neck, tucked into the front of her ivory dress. "How much do you know?" She peered back up to him.

"Enough," he glared, seemingly unable to blink. "Everything."

Turning, he walked to the only wooden chair in the tent, dropping down to sit. She could see he was anxious. More than that though, he looked afraid. Resting his elbows on the arms of the chair, he ran his hands over his face.

"Eighty-eighty ships," he muttered, dropping his hands, looking back to her.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked, knowing exactly what he was referring to.

"Stop it!" he hissed, causing her to startle. "Do you think King Klak is going to just, what? Accept the loss and swallow the fact that his promised queen ran away with the rival of your father? You do realize, somewhere in that pretty little brain of yours," he tapped his skinny finger against his temple, "that he will suspect Red of shifting alliances."

"Eighty-eight ships?" she asked sharply. "Is it worth my life? My happiness?"

"Oh, stop it," he spat. "I know you are not naive about these matters."

"I love him," she uttered quietly, looking down to her clasped hands.

He shook his head slowly, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It is my future. My life." She looked up to him, her resolve beginning to waver. "I-I, too, have ambition. He wants me as his Queen." Lifting her chin subtly, "A future alliance may not be an impossibility between him and father."

"I was wrong," his expression dropped. "You are not only naive but stupid." Again, he rubbed the palms of his hands over his tired eyes, his poorly cut hair, a tousled mess.

"You think you are the only woman who has been charmed by Harald Finehair," he jeered. "More ruthless for title than any king in Scandinavia. Do you truly think he is in love with you? He barely knows you! He wants a queen and an heir. You are no different than any other conquest." He laughed dryly, his eyes narrowing. "Sweet little Safira," he mocked in a patronizing tone, "thinks by chance, the most power-hungry man in Norway, just happened to fall in love with the only daughter of Erik the Red?"

"Are you done?" she scowled.

Dropping his gaze, he stared at the flattened grass floor, his glassy eyes skipping over the ground. Squinting, he glanced back up at her, "He suspects something is going on."

"Father?" she asked, her eyes flashing wide, her hand automatically going to her chest, pressing the fabric of her dress over the sapphire. "How?"

"Because Safira," he sneered, "the man misses nothing. Particularly when his mischievous daughter, who flirts with anything on legs, speaks with every man at the table, except for the handsome king seated directly beside her."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh," he glared.

"You are just lucky that he did not see Harald, nearly loose control, when Earl Heimir came to your seat, kissing your hand, bidding you a pleasant evening. Pfft." He looked away. "Your king is about as subtle as... well," his eyes snapped back to her, "you!" Shaking his head, he shifted forward in the seat, lowering the volume of his voice. "Red outright asked me if I thought anything was happening between the two of you."

"And?"

"I said no," his face indignant, "of course."

"He believed you?"

"It was not a case of whether he believed me or not. He grumbled something about you, and once you get an idea in your head.... oh yes, he did ask me if I had a single memory of you NOT getting what you want."

Smiling, she bit her bottom lip.

"Is this amusing you?" he narrowed his eyes. "Safira, he is sending you to Klak's. To Denmark, directly from here." Gawking his head tilted forward, "You are not coming home with us."

"What!" she gasped. "I am supposed to have until next season."

"That was before your flimsy performance. What did you expect? You did not even glance at Harald tonight, but sat fixed, arm to arm with him. And...after swooning all over him in Kattegat, cornering him after his self-indulged song," he rolled his eyes. "You think the detail of you drinking from a king's goblet went unnoticed. How understated, Safira. You wonder why I ushered you out so fast? Do not go to him tonight," he closed his eyes a moment, "please."

"I need to."

Letting how a long sigh, Fritjof looked up toward the tent ceiling. "He is going to take you to his stinking whale carcass of a city. Dump you there, likely pregnant, and head out in search of his next kingdom." He looked back at her, his expression truly worried. "You do know what happened to the last woman who upset him."

"I will talk to him."

Scoffing, "Oh, I feel so much better." He shook his head, in frustration. "If Red finds out that I know, he will cut off my head. Literally."

"Fritjof, you may be his bastard, but you are still his son. He would not kill you. I would not let him."

Laughing sharply, Fritjof stilled, bringing his hand up, he nervously bit the nail of his little finger. "When my mom died and he was forced to take me in, do you think he was welcoming?" Lowering his hand, he straightened his posture. "I was a nuisance. A reminder of that painful time in his life when he lost your mother, his true love, and dealt with it by taking comfort in the bed of a kitchen slave." He shook his head, "I grew up knowing that I was his regret. If it had not been for you....." his voice trailed off quietly.

Exhaling, she too shook her head, the image of him as a trembling four-year-old flashed through her mind. Shoes on the wrong feet and unbrushed hair. Skinny, and always fumbling with an old rag that had been sewn to look like a rabbit. Most princesses had ponies and dolls to dress and feed and snuggle with at night. Safira had Fritjof. Only four years older, she still recognized he needed someone and there was really only her.

"He is a hard man, I know this. But you are still his child and he would not drag you around everywhere with him if he did not see you as such."

Silence settled between them, both distracted by their own thoughts.

"If..." he stood, walking over to face her, "you insist on going, please for the love of Odin, change your clothes. And... do not allow things to go too far," his eyes flashed wide.

"I will not be long," she whispered.

"I will go with you as far as the edge of Harald's section. I will wait there. If father does return to check on you, it will be less suspicious, if I am also gone."

"Thank you, brother." Reaching forward, she squeezed his arm.

"Oh, now I am brother," he rolled his eyes, his bright for the first time that night.

"Sounds better than, thank you bastard," she crinkled her nose, smiling.

"I will get you a pair of my pants and a black cloak to wear."

"No," she scowled.

"A white dress will have you stand out like a torch in a dark hallway. Why not?"

She grimaced at him. "I am not going to feel overly seductive in my brother's pants."

"Safira!" he scolded. "Honestly."

"What?" she giggled.

.

MASTERLIST

@youbloodymadgenius @naaladareia @medievalfangirl @lol-haha-joke @alicedopey @whenimaunicorn @dreamwritesimagines @gearhead66 @geekandbooknerd @no-confidence-to-write

[erinptah]

Super Drags review (tl;dr Show Good)

The post where I do my best to spread the Good News, that there exists a saucy gay drag-queen magical-girl animated comedy and everyone should watch it.

Okay, not everyone -- I'll give some caveats at the end -- but definitely a heck of a lot more people than Netflix has bothered to advertise it to.

Look at this! Why did nobody tell me about this??

What is Super Drags?

Fast facts:

It's a 1-season, 5-episode adult animated comedy series, released in November 2018

Here's the official page, with a free-to-view trailer

It packs more explicit, unashamed queerness into those 5 episodes than any other cartoon I can think of

The only possible competitor would be if you took the whole 5000-episode run of Steven Universe and pared it down to a supercut of Just The Gay Parts

This in spite of being produced in Brazil, which (in my broad understanding, as a total non-authority on the subject) is more oppressively, dangerously homophobic than the US

The original is in Portuguese

There is an English dub, fabulously voiced by contestants from RuPaul's Drag Race

It's wrapped in "for adults only!" warnings, not because the content is any less child-friendly than (say) your Bojacks Horsemen or your Ricks and Mortys, but because Brazilian authorities tried to get it shut down on the grounds of this much gay being Harmful For Children

It was (heartbreakingly) not renewed for a second season

Here's a promo video, in which the main characters (Portuguese, with subtitles) play Drag Race judges for Shangela, who ends up voicing Scarlet in English.

And here's a beautiful flashy music video of the big musical number! (Also Portuguese, no subtitles, but the melody and the visuals stand on their own.)

Plot and worldbuilding stuff!

The elevator pitch is "What if Charlie's Angels, but also drag queens, with superpowers, because magical-girl transformations?"

In this universe, all LGBTQ people have magical energy. The Big Bad is an evil magical-drag-queen nemesis who tries to drain our energy for her own purposes. It's like if Ursula from The Little Mermaid was a first-season Sailor Moon villain.

...sidenote, in case you were worried, the representation isn't "cis gay men and nobody else." There's a butch lesbian in the recurring cast, a genderfluid person (in that specific word!) as a one-off love interest, and all the ensemble scenes are wonderful collages of different races, body types, and gender presentations.

Our heroes also fight non-magical everyday homophobes, who get written with scathing realism.

The moment I knew the show wasn't pulling any punches was in the first episode, where a newscaster complains about being Silenced by the Law of Political Correctness, then chirps "however, we have a special guest who is thankfully above the law!"

According to the reviews I've found from Brazilian viewers, it's also pitch-perfect when it comes to local queer culture, community dynamics, slang and speech patterns, even memes. All of which flies right over my head, so here's a post (with no-context spoilers) about one viewer's favorite details.

The handful of reaction posts on Tumblr have a dramatic split between "Brazilian viewers fiercely defending the show as culturally-accurate, uplifting, and brave in a terrifying political moment" and "American viewers complaining that the show is problematic because it's a comedy about drag queens with no perfect role models and lots of sex jokes."

As the Super Drags tell their nemesis (and this is also in the first episode): "How dare you try to turn the LGBTQXYZ community against each other? We do enough of that on our own!"

In between missions, our girls work sitcom retail jobs and deal with other everyday problems. All of which are written in amazingly nuanced and thoughtful ways for a show that also features "defeating an orgy monster with a lip-sync battle."

Detailed character stuff!

Our heroes are Color Coded For Your Convenience!

The Super Drags themselves go by "she" in-uniform, and a lot of the time when out of it. Like the Sailor Starlights, only more so. I'll roll with that.

In blue: Safira Cyan, or Ralph by day, an excitable college-age kid who's built like a football player and squees like a fangirl. (She's an anime fan in the original, and for some reason all the otaku references were replaced in the dub, but you can see them in the subtitles.)

Ralph lives with her younger sister (they play video games together!) and their dad, comes out to them mid-series, and is very shippable with another young guy who starts out reciting the homophobic beliefs he was raised with but whose heart clearly isn't in it.

Safira's weapon is a classic magical-girl wand that casts protective force-fields. Which are shaped like condoms. Because of course.

In yellow: Lemon Chiffon, aka Patrick, the oldest of the group and generally the smartest/most strategic. In most cases, the other two treat her as the de facto team leader -- unless she pushes it too far.

By day she's a single guy with thick thighs and thinning hair, who has some body-image insecurities on the dating scene. And this show has Things To Say about unrealistic beauty standards within the community...not to mention, about masc guys who look down on anyone too flaming or femme because straight people disapprove.

Lemon's weapon is a fluffy boa that can be used as a whip or a lasso, especially when there's a bondage joke to be made.

In red: Scarlet Carmesim, also Donizete, the loudest and most aggressive teammate with the most cutting insults, who refuses to suppress that attitude in an attempt to appease racists. (But will give it a shot when trying not to get fired.)

Donny still lives in her religious/homophobic mom's apartment, and I'm pretty sure it's because neither of them can afford to move out. Her rock-solid sense of fierce self-confidence is the reason it doesn't bring her down.

Scarlet's weapon is a fan that she uses to throw shade. Yeah, you knew that was coming.

The Charlie to these angels is Champagne, who runs operations from a cool magitech compound and breaks the fourth wall at the end to petition for viewers' support in getting a second season.

...we let her down, folks :(

So here's a thing. The show never draws a sharp line between "people who become drag queens because it's a way they're driven to express themselves as gay men" and "people who become drag queens because they were trans women all along." That's consistent with how South American LGBT+ culture works. (Again: best of my knowledge, not personally an authority on this, etc etc.)

Many of the characters, including Champagne, never describe themselves in ways that translate to one of our sharply-defined Anglo-USian identity categories. And I'm not going to try to impose any English labels on them here.

But I can say (in contrast to Safira, Lemon, and Scarlet), Champagne never switches out of her "drag" name/voice/presentation, not even in the most candid off-duty scenes, and still has the same bustline when naked in the tub. Make of that what you will.

You Should Watch This Show

If you have a Netflix subscription, watch Super Drags!

If you ever do a Netflix free trial month in the future, make a note to yourself to watch Super Drags!

It's one of their original productions, so there's no risk of missing your chance because the license expired. But it's absolutely not getting the promotion it deserves. Which means potentially interested viewers won't find it, which means Netflix will think there's no interest, which means they'll keep not promoting it...etc etc etc.

No idea if there's any chance of getting it un-canceled, but maybe we can at least convince them to release it on DVD.

And the sheer gutsiness it took for a group of Brazilian creators to produce this show in the first place -- that deserves to be rewarded with your attention.

In spite of various anti-discrimination laws that sound good on paper, the country has serious problems with homophobia, transphobia, and anti-LGBT violence (warning, article has a violent image which is only partly blurred).

Maybe the creators could've gotten a second season if they made this one softer, less sexually-explicit, more restrained...but honestly? I bet that wouldn't have helped.

Consider Danger & Eggs, an Amazon original cartoon. It was made in the US, thoroughly child-friendly, and restricts its LGBT+ representation to things like "characters go to a Pride celebration...where nobody ever names or describes the quality they're proud of."

And it didn't get renewed past the first season either.

(Note: it had a trans woman showrunner and a queer-heavy creative staff, so I blame all that restraint on executive meddling, not the creators themselves. The showrunner even liked the tweet of my review that complains about it.)

So there's something very satisfying about how Super Drags went all-out, balls-to-the-wall (sometimes literally), all the rep explicit and unapologetic, packing every 25-minute episode with all kinds of queer content that would be censored or muted elsewhere -- but here it's exaggerated and celebrated and just keeps coming.

(...as do jokes like that, and I'm not sorry.)

Okay, there are a few legitimate reasons to not watch this show

Some caveats.

None of these things are Objectively Bad Problems that the show itself should be shamed for...but maybe they're genuinely not your cup of tea.

It does have actual Adult Content beyond "the existence of gay people." This show loves to swing barely-clothed cartoon genitalia in your face. There is, as mentioned, an orgy monster. If that kind of humor is going to bother you too much to appreciate the rest of the show, give it a pass.

I wasn't kidding about how realistic the homophobes are. Opening of the first episode has a guy trying to murder a busload of people while shouting slurs at them. If that level of hatred on-screen is gonna crush your soul, even in a show about sparkly queens flying to the rescue with dick-shaped magical weapons, don't push yourself.

Any fiction with this much crossdressing and gender-transgressing is going to hit some trans viewers in a bad way. Because trans people are such a broad group, with so many different experiences, that Every Possible Trope Involved pushes somebody's buttons. (See also: "some trans readers complain about a storyline that turns out to be drawn from a trans writer's actual life experience".) If this show goes does gender things that turn out to be personally distressing for you...or even just distressing for this specific time in your life...don't feel obligated to keep watching.

It has aggressively-sassy queer characters making jokes and calling each other things that are affectionate in-context, but would not be okay coming from straight/cis people. If you can't wrap your head around that, go watch something else.

Other Than That, Go Watch This Show

For all its big heart, big ambitions, and big gay energy, Super Drags is tiny enough that I've binged the whole show 2 times in the past 2 weeks. Thankfully, it's highly re-watchable -- lots of fun background gags and subtle foreshadowing that you don't catch on the first round.

(Pausing one last time to appreciate that a show with elements like "the high-tech robot assistant is called D.I.L.D.O." can be subtle at all, let alone be this good at it.)

I've also paged through all the fanart on Tumblr and Deviantart, looked up the single fanfic on the AO3, and started brainstorming plans to request it in Yuletide next year. Someone, please, come join me in (the English-language side of) the itty-bitty fandom for this ridiculous, glittery, over-the-top, fabulous series.