#rooting for their favorite (luka)

[kingofanemptyworld]

no matter how many times I listen to it I can never get over how unsettling it is to hear the audience singing along in blink gone

[nellasbookplanet]

Book recs: Queer fantasy, part 1

A note: queer here does not necessarily mean “guarantee of an f/f or m/m ship with a happy ending”, but rather simply a significant presence of queerness. Some of the books feature no romance but has a same gender attracted/trans/a-spectrum lead, or features an m/f relationship with bisexual, trans or aro/ace characters, or simply features a world-building which is heavily queer inclusive in ways that don’t always compare to our own ideas of sexuality and gender. I have however disqualified works where the only queer presence is along the lines of “gay best friend” or a blink and you’ll miss it confirmation that never comes up again.

For queer sci-fi recs, click here! For a masterpost of book rec lists, click here! For more details on the books recommended here, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with * are my personal favorites!

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez*

AKA the book the killed me. Two boys travel throughout their land with the body of a god as her horrible, horrible children try to hunt them down. It’s hard to explain more than that, but trust me when I say the narrative voice and literary techniques are incredibly unique in how they blend past and present, reality and story, lead and bystander. Truly an experience. Features an m/m romance.

The Unbroken (Magic of the Lost series) by C.L. Clark*

Tourraine, who was stolen as a child and trained as a soldier for the empire that conquered her home, is recruited by Luka, the future leader of the conquering country, to root out a rebellion. A game of twisted loyalties and attraction is soon to develop as the two must decide where their priorities lie: with each other, or with their respective countries and people.

Sing the Four Quarters (Quarters series) by Tanya Huff*

Though a royal by birth, princess Annice renounced her throne to become a bard, a musician who through training can Sing elemental spirits to do their bidding. Ten years later, she goes on the run for two counts of treason, first by imperiling the succession order by becoming pregnant, second by helping her ex, and the father of her child, escape the palace dungeons and a death sentence. Bisexual lead in an f/f relationship. When I first read this book I described it as, and I quote, 'a fucking delight', and I stand by that.

The Unspoken Name (The Serpent Gates duology) by C.L. Clark*

The sort of portal fantasy you get when all the worlds connected by portals are fantasy worlds, and none of them are ours. The portals themselves become simply a part of the worldbuilding that the characters use to travel between fascinating places, and it’s all really cool. It follows Csorwe (lesbian orc assassin whom I love), who grew up in a cult, indoctrinated as a child sacrifice to a god. But on the day she was meant to die, she instead chose to follow a powerful wizard and train to become his loyal servant and sword. Aside from being an excellent fantasy, it’s also a close look at the hard path of unlearning indoctrination and the search for love and validation where you’ll never find it, and learning to live for yourself. Multiple queer leads.

The Jasmine Throne (The Burning Kingdoms series) by Tasha Suri

A princess held captive by her own brother, who wants to see her dead, tries to trick a servant into helping her escape, but with undeniable attraction growing between them and the servant having her own goals of liberation things quickly get complicated, both between them and in the country at large as rebellion and dangerous magic brews. Sapphic romance.

The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos duology) by Samantha Shannon

Queen Sabran's lineage has protected the country of Inys from dragons for a thousand years, but now the safety of their land is threatened as Sabran is yet to conceive and assassins are closing in. Lady-in-waiting Ead is secretly part of a society of hidden mages, and is using her position to protect her queen. Meanwhile, on the other side of the sea, dragonrider Tané is faced with an impossible choice. The fates of all three are intertwined as they attempt to stop the rise of a great dragon. 800+ page epic fantasy. Sapphic romance.

The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher*

Young adult, fairy tale retelling of the Snow Queen. When Gerta's friend Kai is stolen away by the evil Snow Queen, Gerta must depart on a mission to save him. On the way, she encounters, among others, a talking raven and a pretty robber girl who become her allies. Sapphic romance.

The Rise of Kyoshi (Kyoshi duology) by F.C. Yee*

Young adult. Set in the Avatar universe, but aimed at an older audience than the animated series. Though she will one day be one of the most well-known avatars of the land, for now, young Kyoshi is but a humble girl who has yet to find out her true destiny as the bender of all four elements and keeper of balance of her world. When betrayal strikes and a dear friend is lost, Kyoshi goes on the run alongside fiesty firebender Rangi to find out the truth of her destiny and power. Sapphic romance.

Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes series) by Travis Baldree

Viv is tired of adventures and bloodshed - now she wants a peaceful life, and decides to go after it by opening a café. But going from warrior to small business owner is easier said than done, especially when Viv's old life comes knocking. Best described as a cozy fantasy, with a largely low-stakes but heartwarming plot and a sapphic romance.

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

Gyen Jebi is an artist, but making a living is difficult. When offered a job by the Ministry of Armor to paint the magical sigils that animate their automaton soldiers, they have little choice but to accept. But as Jebi sees the dark depths of the government, especially the shocking source of their magical paint, they must find a way to resist. Perhaps by freeing the Ministry's mighty automaton dragon... Nonbinary main character.

Crier's War by Nina Varela

Young adult. Who says sci-fi has monopoly on robots? In Crier’s War, artificially created automae have defeated and subjugated humans, who live as second class citizens. Young Ayla goes undercover as a servant, meaning to assassinate automae girl and Sovereign’s daughter Crier. This would be easier if the two weren’t quick to develop feelings for each other.

Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky trilogy) by Rebecca Roanhorse

In a pre-columbian inspired world, sea captain Xiala, gifted with an unusual connection to the sea, travels with a mysterious scarred and blind passenger toward a dangerous goal as prophecy heralds the return of a god. Features among others bisexual and nonbinary leads.

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin*

In a world regularly torn apart by natural disasters, a big one finally strikes and society as we know it falls, leaving people floundering to survive in a post apocalyptic world, its secrets and past to be slowly revealed. We follow a mother as she races through this world to find and save her daughter, stolen away by a father who just murdered their son after having discovered a terrible secret of their family. Does feature multiple queer characters and a main polyam relationship, but DO NOT read this expecting happy queer relationships as this series handles many dark subjects (you should still read it though, it's incredibly good).

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan*

Young adult. Kids who can walk between our world and a magical one get recruited into a magical school that trains them to be either fighters or diplomats. Our lead decides that fighting is stupid and that he’s going to peacefully solve every conflict ever, all while being the most delightfully obnoxious little brat possible and getting involved in the most bisexual love triangle imaginable. Very good, funny, and heart-felt coming of age story.

Our Bloody Pearl D.N. Bryn

A siren who’s been held captive by a pirate is freed, but too injured to survive on their own as their tail has become paralyzed. Another pirate captain decides to help them out and has to work to win their trust. Fairly fluffy and light on world-building and plot (though there is a bit of a revenge story in there), with a focus on character and recovery. m/nb romance with an asexual love interest.

A Master of Djinn by P. Djélí Clark

Set in an alternate 1910’s steampunk Cairo, where djinn and other creatures live alongside humans. We get to follow an investigator as she races to catch a criminal using a powerful object to control djinn and stir unrest. Fantastically creative and fresh, and also features a buddy cop dynamic between two female leads as well as a sapphic romance.

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho*

As a toddler, Jessamyn Teoh left Malaysia. Now a young adult, she’s broke, closeted, and moving back. There she’s faced with the ghost of her estranged grandmother, Ah Ma, who was a medium and avatar of the deity the Black Water Sister in life. Now she demands Jess' help in exacting revenge against a gang boss that offended her god. Meanwhile, all Jess wants is to get her life back on track.

Heaven Official's Blessing (Heaven Official's Blessing series) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Once, Xie Lian was the beloved crown prince of a kingdom. Then he rose to godhood at a young age, and was expected to take a step back from his land and his people, but in his inability to do so ended up losing everything. Now, eight hundred years later, Xie Lian has ascended to godhood for a third time, forgotten by mortals and the laughing stock of Heaven. Trying to rebuild his reputation, Xie Lian sets off on a mission, and on it encounters an infamous demon king who inspires fear in all of heaven. M/M romance.

Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore*

Young Adult. Jane is invited by an old acquaintance to an extravagant gala in an island mansion, stranding her among the rich and glamorous. But being surrounded by rich people is the least of Jane’s problems: the mansion is housing secrets, some of them tied to Jane’s own family. The mansion offers her five choices, all of them leading her down different paths and different answers. Jane, Unlimited is a choose-your-own adventure story of sorts, featuring five different endings in five different genres, each more off the wall bonkers than the next. It also features a bisexual main character!

Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children series) by Seanan McGuire*

A tumblr favorite, the Wayward Children novellas feature a school open to children who have returned from adventures in other realms and now have trouble adapting back to regular life. Some installments are set in our world, others follow children as they have their otherworldly adventures. The main characters vary between books, but are generally pretty diverse with among others asexual, trans, intersexual and sapphic leads. Both funny and dark, it takes a closer look at the trauma many endure growing up different.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern*

Surreal and fairy tale-esque, The Starless Sea is stories within a story, following graduate student Zachary as he finds a strange book which, in-between other tales, tells a story from his own childhood. Trying to find out how this came to be, Zachary gets involved with a pink-haired woman and a handsome man who are doing their utmost to protect a strange, otherworldly library available only through magical doors. It’s a book hard to put in words, but which I once described as “romantic without being a romance while stile having a love story at it’s core”, and which can be summed up only as “an Experience”. It’s also quite gay!

Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer*

Young adult. Nita isn’t a murderer - technically. She just dissects the bodies of supernatural beings her mother brings home and sells for parts on the black market. But when her mother brings home a still living victim, Nita has had enough and frees him. As it turns out, no good deed goes unpunished as Nita is betrayed, her own nature as a supernatural entity outed as she’s kidnapped and placed behind bars. Now she must find a way to escape before she's sold for parts. Features two aroace leads and a queerplatonic relationship, though it isn’t made textual until book 3 and briefly masquerades as a romance, which is pretty hilarious.

The Last Sun (The Tarot Sequence) by K.D. Edwards

Urban fantasy. Rune Saint John is the only survivor of the massacre against the Sun Court years prior. Now he’s been hired by Lady Judgement to find her missing son, Addam. Alongside his companion and bodyguard Brand, Rune goes on to question Addam's family and business contacts all over New Atlantis, island city and home of the Atlanteans after their original home was destroyed by ordinary humans. But the more he digs, the more Rune finds clues that Addam's absence is connected to Rune's own tragic past. M/M romance.

Gossamer Axe by Gael Baudino

Centuries ago in Ireland, Chairiste Ní Cummen was trained in the secrets of music and magic. But her pride was her downfall, trapping her and her lover in the land of the Sidh. Only Chairiste escaped, hoping to one day win her lover's freedom in musical battle with the fairy that holds her captive. Now she is Christa Cruitare, harp teacher in the modern world and all but resigned to her loss. Until she comes across a great new music: heavy metal. Taking one last chance to win her lover's freedom, Christa sets out to gather other skilled musicians and bring them with her in her final battle. Sapphic romance.

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

Pantomime (Micah Grey trilogy) by Laura Lam

Young adult. On the surface, Gene's life is that of a noble debutante. In reality, she has secrets: she's both male and female, and has magical abilities that hasn’t been seen in an age. In the face of a betrayal from her parents, Gene runs away from home, dresses up as a boy, and joins a circus. Intersex main character.

Ghost Walk by Kay Solo

Maaya Sahni can see ghosts, and does her best to survive in her small isolated town by keeping her head down. But when an entire street full of people is spirited away by faceless specters that scares even ghosts, Maaya must find a way to stop the specters. Lesbian main character.

Swordspoint (Riverside series) by Ellen Kushner

In Riverside, duels are the way to settle disputes, and Richard St. Vier is the undisputed master of the sword - at least until a death is met not with awe but with outrage. M/M romance.

[walpu]

Child!reader x Belobog: ~ Honorary member of the moles! ~ Sometimes they get together with Clara and the moles so they can play in Boulder Town or Robot Settlement ~ Tried to catch a snowflake in their hand at least once or twice ~ They already used Luka's robotic arm as a swing, with his permission of course ~ Whenever possible, the reader will root for him in his fights ~ Natasha does occasional check-ups on them ~ She also gave them a handmade doll ~ They sometimes mimic the silvermane guards they see walking through the Plaza ~ The Landaus think them as their little sibling ~ Serval sees in them a mixture of all three Landau siblings when they were younger ~ She loves when reader shows up at her shows ~ Serval also taught the reader how to play some chords on the guitar ~ Lynx always brings things from the snowy plain that she thinks the reader will like ~ She likes asking them about things that doesn't exist in Belobog. She also shared about Belobog's snow monster and they theorized together ~ Gepard is protective of them ~ Gepard secretly sings some of Serval songs with them when they are alone ~ Reader helps to water his flowers ~ Gepard always tries to teach them the right thing ~ While Sampo teaches them the wromg this ~ This scammer takes very good care of them, but Sampo has already given them good knowledge of how to scam people ~ Reader never uses them though ~ Despite this, Sampo gave good advice on how to avoid scams ~ Steal buy various gifts for them ~ "Are you two a couple?" From child!reader to Bronya and Seele ~ Seele is the reader's cool sister ~ Seele finds reader easy to get along with because they are a calm kid most of the time ~ Recommended them some cool comics that she remembered from her childhood ~ Overprotective sister ~ Bronya is the sister the reader worries about, because she is always working, and admires, because she is amazing ~ Reader reminds her of herself when she was younger ~ Bronya gifted them with the snow goblet from her childhood ~ Child!reader loves visiting Clara at the robot settlement ~ They always help Clara fix some robots when she's there ~ Svarog did the Clara spin with them once - reader found it extremely funny and wanted to do it again ~ Reader also played Aetherium Wars when the game was brought to Belobog ~ They went very far, but they didn't make it to the finals. They want to try again next year ~ Reader cheered when he saw Silver Wolf, shouting loudly "BIG SISTER SILVER" ~ Giovanni loved meeting them. Even because he had already heard about them from Sampo ~ Reader is Belobog's favorite museum guide. Visitors love it when they are there ~ Reader once ended up in the Fragmentum Zone ~ Everyone was panicking thinking that reader was in danger ~ But upon finding them they were calmly hanging around the monsters there

EVERYONE'S FAVORITE LITTLE SIBLING

they're so real for the bronseele comment

[imsparky2002]

JuleRose July: Monstrous AU Short

Monster SMASH were mere minutes away from performing yet another concert at The State of Decay, a bar and music site near to the school. The band were behind the curtain of the stage, being encouraged by their significant others.

"Good luck, yeti bear. You know I'll be rooting for you" MyLeaf said to Ivan Bumble, as he leaned his head down to nuzzle her hair.

"I will try not to break drums." he promised, as his enhanced strength meant they were easy to snap.

"Be sure to reap the benefits of your talent, babe." Austin Grim said to his ghostly boyfriend, kissing him on the lips.

"As long as I see you in the audience, I'll blow everyone away, darlin'" OperJean replied. Luka Cullen was lucky enough to have all three of his partners backstage.

"You're gonna be fang-tastic, Luka" Average Adrien quipped.

"I-I'll try not to faint this time." MariDoll said, blushing as she looked into his eyes.

"And I will resist the urge to maim any fan who tries to get close to you on stage" DracoGami stated.

While all of this was going on, Draculeka was standing at the right end of the curtain, rubbing her arms anxiously and grinding her teeth. Pre-show jitters were getting the better of her, despite not having flared up in weeks. It wasn't that she felt as though the show would be a disaster, but that crowd wouldn't care for some of the softer songs the band had planned to debut live. One of which was a song dedicated to SkeleRose, Monster SMASH's lead singer and her girlfriend. Aside from a few of her favorite covers, Draculeka had never sung an original work at a live show, feeling that her material wasn't quite up to par for the shows. It had taken a lot of convincing by her bandmates, but she was finally getting out there and showing the world what she had made. If only she hadn't forgotten that the next show would be at The State of Decay, where the band had become a fan-favorite of the monstrous bar patrons. The regulars were a passionate and rowdy bunch, who didn't care for songs that "bored" them, and would let artists know through boos or even objects that were thrown onto the stage. It was that very thought that created a thousand doubts and hesistancy in the vampire's mind.

"Jules?" SkeleRose asked, tapping her back. Draculeka turned around, the doubts and fears in her mind beginning to disappear as she gazed into the scolera of her boney beauty. "You're gonna be ok, I promise."

"Can I bite you? Just for a few seconds" Draculeka whispered, knowing the action always calmed her down, as she knew her girlfriend had no blood due to being a skeleton. SkeleRose nodded and allowed Draculeka to pick her up, the vampire carefully biting at her neck, making sure not to damage either her own fangs or SkeleRose's bones.

"Better?" asked SkeleRose.

"Better." Draculeka responded. "Hey Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's rock 'em dead."

The audience roared as the curtain raised.

Here's the second short, this time featuring opening dialogue from Weebs, who helped out with the beginning. Make sure to give thoughts in reblogs and replies. @artzychic27 @msweebyness @nerd-chocolate

[ambafaerie]

Dead Boy Detectives Ep 1 & 2

• Death! I love her!

• The opening and title cards are so fun

• Sound design was so pleasant and stimulating

• Edwin is so transparent but very mean though his past makes it understandable.

• Charles is very sweet and I liked his moments with Crystal.

• I can’t wait to find out more about Crystal. She has become a favorite character. Rooting for her to get back her memories and extinguish David.

• I hate Esther Filch but points for her fashion and swagger or whatever. Can’t believe Lukas Gage and Ruth Connell play the Cat King and the Night Nurse respectively.

[girlwholikestoread]

My least favorite to My favorite books I read in 2023

24. May The Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor: I wanted to like this book so badly, I really did but this is probably the only book I read this year that I didn’t like. The story is about Jeremy Harkisis who is a transgender cheerleader and his ex-boyfriend Lukas who is the all-star football player; the two exes are both trying to earn the title of Homecoming King. Honestly I loved the idea of this story just wasn’t a fan of the direction. First I did like Jeremy for most of the book, honestly his attitude towards Lukas in the beginning of the book made me not want to root for them and he just seems so mean and selfish, I understand that was the point and usually I don’t mind reading about characters who are mean and selfish but learns their lesson at the end but, Jermey was just so unnecessary cruel to his friends despite all of them showing him support and kindness. I liked Lukas a lot and honestly he was the only reason I had any motivation to finish this book and I thought the ending was cute. Overall a big let down and Lukas deserve so much better.

23. Radiant Black, Vol. 3: Rogues’s Gallery: It was the first book I read this year because my brother insisted I read it. It was fine, I’m personally not a huge fan of the series but I think the story is pretty good. Overall I gave it 3 stars on GoodReads so not bad.

22. Blackwater by Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham: So this book was different…not in a bad way. I actually really liked this book but this went in a direction I did not expect. So the story about Tony Price who is a popular high school track star and a quiet boy named Eli Hirsch who has a chronic autoimmune disorder become unlikely friends. Seems like your standard romance, except it’s not. Eli has a special ability to see ghosts and most recently he’s been seeing a ghost of a fisherman, while that happens Tony gets bitten by a werewolf-like creator which turns him into one. The story was alright, I was a bit confused at times but I still mostly enjoyed it. The romance was also lacking. Tony and Eli have a few cute moments together but I wish there were more, and I wished there were more interactions between the side characters and the main character. Overall Loved the spooky art style, I would recommend this for Halloween.

21. The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta: I Devoured this book, I couldn’t put this down because I was so invested. The story is about our main character Micheal who throughout the book will grow up and start questioning his sexuality, gender expression, and his relationships. The story is formatted like a poem which I really liked. Seeing Micheal throughout his life from his adolescent years to his adult years, seeing him grow and form meaningful relationships was such a great reading experience. Overall beautifully written story, I hope Micheal and Kieran ended up together.

20. Husband Material by Alexis Hall: This book was great. I loved Boyfriend Material and immediately bought Husband Material once I finished the first book because I needed to know what was next for Luc and Oliver. This book did great continuing the story of all the couples from the first book, and showing that Luc and Oliver were made for each other. I especially liked Luc's shitty ex-boyfriend from college. I really wanted more information about that relationship and seeing Oliver stand up for his parents was so satisfying…but then the ending happened. Honestly I liked the ending, I thought it fit Luc and Oliver who always has an unconventional relationship so them deciding marriage isn’t for them makes sense, I just wasn’t a fan of the execution of them making that decision. Overall much like Sherk 2 perfect squeal.

19. The Princess and the Grilled Sandwich by Deya Muniz: This book is so fucking cute! I loved the characters, I loved the artstyle, I loved the cheese pun, I loved everything! This book is about Lady Camembert and how her before she passed wanted her to marry so she can get her inheritance and rights to her father kingdom, which could only be given to a man and he only had one daughter; she decided to disguise herself as a man and inherent everything but is forced to live a low-profile in order to not lose everything. However she breaks this rule and goes to a ball hosted by Princess Bri, they form a friendship and slowly start falling for each other; the only issue is that Bri believes that Camembert is a man. This story was cute, fun, engaging, and the ending was perfect! Overall I devoured this book like a grilled cheese sandwich.

18. Sorry Bro by Taleen Voskuni: This book was so good! This book is about Nareh who after ending her relationship with her boyfriend who, while wasn’t a bad person just wasn’t for her, decided she wants to explore her options dating with both men and women. During this she meets Erebuni and she becomes her wingwoman and helps her find a new guy or girl. However during this they both start following each other, with Nareh falling hard first. The book was great, it was a bit slow and I personally didn’t find her issues at work a compelling subplot but thought everything else great. I loved Erebuni and thought she was so sweet and understanding and like Nareh and her mom talk after she came out. Overall Sweet and Sapphic

17. I wish you all the best by Mason Deaver: This was the first book I read with a Non-Binary MC. We follow Ben De Backer who on Christmas day decides to come out to their parents as Non-Binary, this however doesn’t go as planned and they end up kicked out of their home on Christmas and have to call their estranged sister Hannah and her husband Thomas who they haven’t met yet. This leads to them having to live with her and start a new school where they meet Nathan Allan and start a friendship. This book made me cry a few times. Ben goes through a lot in a short period of time. Building a relationship with their sister, trying to make new friends, and figure out how they feel about their parents. This book is amazing and Ben and Nathan's relationship is so pure and it’s hard to find sweet innocent romantic connections in books nowadays but Ben and Nathan were so sweet. Overall this book felt like a hug on paper.

16. I’ll Be Home For Christmas by Mason Deaver: We loved a Christmas squeal! This takes place once Ben and Nathan have graduated and Nathan is attending college while Ben is taking time off school and living with roommates. Ben flys to Hannah house for Christmas Eve and plans to bring a surprise for Nathan by bringing his dog back home. Unfortunately their perfect gift plan ended up blowing up in their face when it snowed in and flights started being canceled. This short story is very sweet and does a great job showing us how Nathan and Ben are now. Ben’s determination to bring Nathan his beloved dog was so sweet and the ending was the perfect ending. Overall Ben and Nathan are a couple goals.

15. Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell: I loved space adventures with a hint of romance, it’s one of my favorite combos. This book was written by the same author of Winter Orbit and it takes place in the same universe, however this isn’t a sequel since Kiem and Jainan aren’t mentioned and we have new main characters. In this book we follow Tennal, an absolut flirt who is constantly getting himself in trouble and Surit a Lieutenant who is very by-the-book. After Tennal gets himself in trouble yet again he’s forced to join the military where he meets Surit and they are forced to work together and forced to sync; and syncing is a type of merging of the minds. However Surit doesn’t want to sync because Tennal has made it clear he doesn’t want to be controlled. This leads to them coming up with a plan to get Tennal out of the military while keeping Surit rank. While this is happening they start slowing noticing a power struggle within the military. This book had me on the edge of my seats and I couldn’t stop listening, the romance wasn’t much which is fine because the overall plot was so intriguing it made up for the lack of romance. Overall Space politics are confusing but in a fun way.

14. Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall: This is the funniest book I read all year. Hands down. Boyfriend Material is about Luc O’Donnell who is the child of two retired rockstars and because of this he’s constantly in the spotlight and usually for all the wrong reasons. Wanting to clear his image he needs to find a perfect boyfriend, which he does with a successful educated man named Oliver Blackwood. They enter a fake dating situation which benefits them both. Luc and Oliver's relationship moved along so naturally and Luc is so funny. All the side characters were great too and while I knew what the ending was gonna be I was still surprised on how it ended. Overall UK comedy is undefeated.

13. She Gets the Girl by Racheal Lippincott, Alyson Derrick: Sapphic slow-burns are perfect for the summer. In this story we follow Alex Blackwood who has lots of issues both in her family and her dating life and Molly who has a close relationship with her family but never had a real date or relationship. The two are polar opposites but come together to help each other out, Alex helps Molly get with her long time crush Cora Myers and it helps Alex prove to her ex that she’s a better person. Molly and Alex are so cute together, Alex encouraging Molly to come out of her shell was really sweet, and I related to Molly a lot. Overall Sweet, Sapphic, and I want to learn how to roller skate

12. Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli: This book was so cute. In this we follow Imogen Scott who is a huge Ally and very involved in queer media. She visits her best friend Lili who’s thriving in college making new queer friends and everything is great…except Lili told a small lie saying that her and Imogen are ex’s and that Imogen is bi. Not wanting to make her friend seem like a liar she plays along, however while doing that she starts falling for Tessa, who is one of Lili's new friends. Imogen is such a sweetheart and one of my favorite main characters, The cover is also one of my favorites this year. Overall “I’m not homophobic, I’m an Ally”

11. A Mark on My Soul by Jordon Greene: This is the only book I read that didn’t have a happy ending. In this we follow Noah who decides to come out as gay to his friends, family, and publically online. When this happens he gets a message from a “secret admirer” which turns out to be his best friend Parker who’s in the closet. This book ripped my heart in half and ended up sobbing my eyes out. I already knew how Parker's story ended because I accidentally spoiled the ending for myself but despite that I grew so attached to Parker and wanted him to be happy. This book was a hard read for me but I loved it so much. Overall Parker deserves better!

10. The Long Run by James Acker: Ngl I almost DNF this book. I didn’t like the first 3 chapters and since I was listening to this book on audible I also wasn’t a big fan of Sandro’s VA, but chapter 4 is where I truly got invested and I’m so glad I keep reading because I ended up loving this book. In this story we follow Bash and Sandro, who are both finishing their last year of High School and after kissing at a Party they form a friendship. This is a true slowburn because even though they kissed in the beginning they stay mostly platonic and do “dude-bro” stuff. I also love that Bash never makes the fact he’s Bi a big deal, he just accepts that he fell for a guy and doesn’t care. Sandro and Bash are so cute together and I loved them so much. Overall Bash the Flash and the Italian Yeti are my OTP

9. Time Out by Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, Carlyn Greenwald: I found out a lot of people don’t like this book and it honestly breaks my heart. In this we follow Barclay who's basically a sport legend in his school, at least he was until he decided to come out very publicly and the reception wasn’t what he was anticipating, because of this he leaves the Basketball team and help his friend Amy with school related politics where he also meets Christopher and together they help the voiceless have a voice. Barclay and Christopher's relationship is so sweet and wholesome I loved reading about them watching movies and kissing goodnight. I love non-sexual intimacy. Barclay is also great, he’s really kind and understanding given the circumstances of everything that happened to him. Overall everyone on GoodReads is wrong.

8. Snowflake Kisses by Jordon Greenee, Yayira Dzames: Skylar and Jacob are back! In this book we follow Skylar and Jacob who are spending their first Christmas together. Honestly this book is just vibes, no big conflicts, no third act breakup, no Jacbo’s dad, just pure sugary vibes. Seeing Skylar and Jacob have snowfighters, cuddle in the car, and get each other thoughtful gifts, everything was just so nice. Skylar's parents were also great and seeing them treat Jacob like family made my heart skip a beat. Plus I loved art. Yayira Dzames did an amazing job capturing the characters. Overall My favorite Christmas comic.

7. Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake: Small confession, I wasn’t a big fan of Iris in the first two books (Delilah Green Doesn’t Care and Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail). However I ended up liking her a lot at the end of this book. In this we follow Iris who has given up on dating and sticking to casual hook-ups after her two failed relationships. Unfortunately for Iris who’s a romance author she suffered from writer's block and needed to find inspiration. We also follow Stevie, a struggling actress with anxiety issues trying to get her big break while helping her ex keep her community theater studio open. When Stevie finds herself in a web of lies her and Iris start a fake relationship, this helps Stevie prove to her friends that she doesn’t need her feeling protected and helps Iris find inspiration for her needed book; they of course start actually falling for each other. Iris and Stevie have amazing chemistry throughout the book and I loved how patient Iris is with Stevie when it comes to sex and intimacy. The consent checks and making sure they both enjoyed each other was so hot. Stevie such as sweetheart and I related to her when it comes to how she views sex and her anxiety and Iris is great too. Overall Stevie has my whole heart.

6. The Sun and Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure by Rick Riordan, Mark Oshiro: Fun fact I didn’t read any Percy Jackson books before this but I liked this anyways. We follow Nico di Angelo the son of Hades and his boyfriend Will Solace the son of Apollo as they travel through the underworld to find their friend Bob who was left behind in Hades Realm. Despite not reading anything Percy Jackson related I loved his adventure, Nico and Will bounce off each other perfectly and I wish there were more books where the main couple are already together because seeing these boyfriends act like boyfriends made my heart flutter. It was such a fun ride from beginning to end and I enjoyed it so much. Overall I should read Percy Jackson.

5. The First to Die at the End by Adam Slivera: This book destroyed me…so 5 stars. This is a prequel of They Both Die at the End, in this book we follow the first ever Decker and see Death-Cast go live for the first time. In this we follow Orion Pagan who lost his parents young and suffers from a deadly heart condition and while he has big dreams for his future he doesn’t see himself living long enough to achieve those dreams and we also follow Valentino Prince who moves to New York with his twin sister to start his molding career, however that’s cut short when he gets the call at midnight. I cried like 4 times reading this book, it was amazing. All the side characters were great and I love multiple POV’s in books. Overall I need more Death-Cast books.

4. Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake: Jordan Everwood is hands down my favorite character. This is the second book in the Bright Falls series and I couldn’t wait to read this one. We follow Astrid who just ended her engagement and is trying to focus on work, we also follow Jordan who helps her grandmother renovate her inn to avoid having to sell. After a not so great first interaction they find themselves working together to fix the inn for a reality tv show. As they work together they start to get to know each other and open up to each other about their family, relationships, and jobs. I loved Astrid in the first book and was so excited to see her story continue and I loved her and Jordan's connection. Overall “You deserve a destiny Jordan Everwood”.

3. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: This book was so good! In this we follow Monique who has just been assigned to write the autobiography about famous Hollywood Icon Evelyn Hugo and her glamorous and scandalous life. Evelyn is probably the most complex character I’ve read this year, out of all the characters she felt the most human, she made mistakes and did things she regretted but also had moments of kindness and had to make really tough choices. I liked Monique however if I had to change anything I wish we focused on her more, but what we have is great. Overall I need this to be a movie.

2. Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo: This book has amazing writing, I stayed engaged the whole time and couldn’t stop listening. We follow Lily Hu who is a seventeen year old Chinese American living in ChinaTown. This story takes place in 1954 when the red-scare was a big threat for Chinese Americans. Due to this Lily faces many problems, her father may be deported, her friend group is changing, and she starts developing feelings for other women especially her friend Kath. She and Kath start going to an underground lesbian club called the Telegraph Club. This book was so good, I can barely put it into words. Overall Speechless

1. The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas: I loved this book! I knew this was gonna be number one because this was the only book I’ve ever dreamt about after reading. In this we follow Teo, a seventeen year old trans son of Quetzal who finds himself in a century old battle to the death. Teo has no training and is convinced he will not make it out alive. I adore everything about this book, the comedy, the characters, the world building, and the plot twist left me speechless. I cannot wait for part 2! Overall I already miss Teo, Niya, Sol, and Aurelio.

[fragileizywriting]

Day 1: Coming Untouched

“Come in your pants like a good boy.”

“I would rather die,” Adrien bites back, quite plainly, face flat and dull, from across the living room.

It takes a Herculean effort to not roll her eyes. He’s being a bit of a brat about it, something about how his slacks take such a long time to come back from the dry-cleaners, something about who-knows-what, because she’s not paying attention. Who cares? That thing doesn’t even matter anymore, not really, because she has enough magic to make it disappear if she wants. Hell, if he’s really that concerned, she’ll suck the come right off the fabric itself, but he’ll probably complain about that, too. Something about it being gross.

God. She just can’t win.

So she twirls her finger around, just snagging his orgasm like she’s threading her hand through a taut string. With it, Adrien’s face cracks just a bit, showing the inescapable stress on his face, wheezing in arousal. His face is flushed darker than night, green eyes screwed shut when he lets out a shaking breath. That cock of his is hard. His abs might be harder. Maybe. He’s squeezing his own muscles in an attempt not to give into her, because, again, the pants, but it’s a losing battle. She has enough stamina to keep wrapping her magic all around him until he’s cocooned, looking up from her sketchbook as she doodles and draws and focuses on a round of anatomy— he’s on the other side of the living room, far enough to theoretically escape her grasp, but he should know better by now.

That’s what he gets for feeding her his magic for two years. And isn’t it just a perfect return gift? She’s always been so thoughtful, always so caring to reciprocate.

“Why now?” he hisses out.

She leans into her palms, chin right on the flesh of her hands, never once letting her forefinger curl on her cheek. “Oh. Huh. I’m not really sure, but you look just so cute today.”

Maybe she’s biased. There’s something so attractive about him when he’s absolutely minding his own business, which usually is practically never, but recently the dynamic in the house has changed. He minds his own business, nowadays. He knows better. Luka has taught him to relax. All he was doing was reading a book, curled up on the couch, cozied up next to the table lamp to see the words on the page. That was it. That was all. But she’d fallen for those expressive lips, peering over her sketchbook as she did her studies of him, following the contour of his nose… and here they are now, her toying with his arousal because she likes the way his lashes flutter like a Princess, expensive slacks tenting with an impressive dick.

Hello!

“All I’m doing is reading.”

“I know! But in a cute way.” The taste of his orgasm is lingering in the air. “You’re like my very own little nerd, so cute and so adorable, I can’t help it. You look so innocent when you’re reading your books with your little sweater vests. So helpless. I can’t stop myself.”

“Please…” Oh, begging, this is her favorite part. He looks ashamed, though, looking down at his lap. “Don’t make me ruin my pants…”

“I’ll clean it for you.”

“You hate doing laundry.”

“No more than you.” Checkmate! “I’ll suck you off straight through your slacks,” she replies with a shrug, and a grunt comes out of him like he’s exhausted already.

He whines. “What if we… didn’t make me come today? Give my balls a break?”

Ever since Luka’s felt awake enough to exist, to be part of the relationship in a more active way than passive, he’s made Adrien’s life living Hell. Both of their lives. How many times has she walked in on them both going at it, Adrien’s face pressed into the mountain of pillows in the bedroom, getting the life pounded out of him? How many times has Luka snatched her, grabbed her chin and helped her open her mouth until the root of his dick was right behind her fangs? Even as her eyes had teared up, Luka had sighed in relief, thankful for some help relieving what he claimed to be one of the worst erections in his entire life, using her throat and lips like a vacuum seal. 

The orgasm had been worth it. Delicious.

The lack of voice hadn’t. Kind of hard to do anything without it.

Every time Adrien is done getting wrecked, she helps him get back to health. Usually, it’s by having him cuddle up with her as she smooths out her magic inside of him to fix anything that hurt or tear; their boyfriend loves it rough, loves it hard, loves making them scream whenever they can. Her approach differs sometimes. Adrien’s temple finds her chest, and the poor thing dozes against her breast. She’s fond of it. It’s cute. He finds her too soft.

“What was that? Something about coming until your balls break?”

“Don’t you dare—” It’s not really a scream that follows, but it’s a noise, and she loves it. A yelp. A surrender. A mewl. Adrien manages to drop his book onto the couch, frustration beading at the corners of his eyes, golden-brown hands turning white when he fists them, just doing his best to weather through it as she tightens the coil of his orgasm around her finger. Oh, demons are just so fun to manipulate. Large hands touch his abs, down to his belt, and he fumbles with the opening, trying to give him reprieve. “M-Marinette, Lord, please—”

“Poor Adrien Agreste, can’t even fight back a poor little succubus’s spell!”

“I could, back when you were weaker—”

“But now you’ve fed me too much and now I’m not weak anymore.”

“If I knew you’d get this strong, maybe I wouldn’t have been so— hnmnh— enthusiastic to feed you on the regular.”

“Awh, don’t be mean. I’m giving your ass a break!” Literally. He’s been complaining about the discomfort for a few days now, how raw he feels from how much he’s gotten pounded. Luka doesn’t play nice. She didn’t either, because succubus, and also because she’s hungry, always, forever, whatever, but she’s been laying low for a while. Double teaming Adrien on the daily is no good for his sanity, even if he’s a young demon who heals nearly instantly. Plus, it isn’t as fun if he gets used to it.

She wants him to like getting numb with pleasure.

Not indifferent.

Also, raw skin starting to blister is not sexy at all.

“My balls also need a chance to rest! I haven’t stopped coming—”

“I know,” she sighs, all decadent, all excited, and no one can blame her when she bats her tail lazily and happily. Who would even want to make her unhappy? “Every day is a gift!” she chitters. “I’m getting protein shakes every day, I’m so lucky.”

“Please, please, please.”

“Just once for me, Baby. You won’t even feel it. A little one. A tiny one. A micro one. Just something to take the edge off.” She pouts when he doesn’t give in. “Won’t it be nice when this stops hurting?”

“Marinette—”

“You should hump the air. Thinking about me being in your lap? Hm? Or are you thinking about Luka easing you wide open?” A waggle of her brows to really sell the story, and her grin blossoms wide open when his hips move, as if he’s giving in. “Just like that! What a good boy!”

“I’m going to die.”

“Oh, please. You wish. You’ve done this plenty of times before, you can do it!” It’s going to be such a delicious snack when he’s done. “Do it and I’ll leave you alone. Just keep thinking about me squeezing your dick with my throat and come, Kitty-cat.”

Pointer finger and thumb meet, and with it, she pulls like she’s ripping the orgasm thread right off of him.

Adrien comes inside his slacks, shuddering out a pathetic, wet grunt, embarrassment burning his dark skin red.

[max--phillips]

Genesis - Chapter 3

*Shows up 2 years and 3 months late with Starbucks* lmao

(Please follow @butchmandalorian-writes and turn on notifications to be alerted to new fic uploads!)

Pairing: Ezra & gn!reader (I'll update this if it changes, I'm not 100% positive where their relationship is going to go at the moment)

Warnings: In line with the previous chapters, Dragonfly is processing a lot. Angst, loss, grief, self-doubt.

Summary: You assist Ezra in his search for cinder violet. A surprise storm rolls in. Ezra asks you some questions.

Words: 4.5k

Prologue / Chapter 1 / Chapter 2

You closed your eyes and focused on the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. You focused on the smell of the salt water and sea air. The feeling of the sand beneath your knees. You wanted to cry, but your body wouldn’t let you. You clutched the plaque to your chest. Words couldn’t describe the mixture of feelings overwhelming you.

You made it.

You made it.

You heard sand crunching as Ezra approached you. It then stopped.

“I personally knew every last person on board that ship,” you said, quietly, eyes still closed. “All 79 of them. I knew their hopes and dreams for the future, their damn favorite color.”

“Sounds to me like you were a good leader, then,” Ezra said.

There was a moment of quiet. You chose not to respond to his comment. “Anthony. Susanna. Blair. Desmond.” You took a deep breath, and opened your eyes, looking over at Ezra. “Chiara. Stacey. Lily-Grace. Kristina. Marlene. Ariella. Mohammod. Harlow. Cheyanne.” You pulled the plaque away from your chest and looked at it. “Lleyton. Ayisha. Tahmina. Connah. Abida. Missy. Danielle. Safah. Poppie. Beverley.” You began to stand, slowly, still recounting names. “Luka. Zahid. Alejandro. Prince. Jena. Salahuddin. Harris. Brent. Milo. Neve.” You turned slightly towards the ocean, and began walking. “Lexi-Mae. Humzah. Rebecca. Waseem. Raisa. Tania. Mina. Cillian. Rick. Reya.” You approached where the sand was wet as the waves rolled in. “Kaydee. Fenton. Isabella. Rachel. Olaf. August. Kacey. Tahlia. Reanne. Andrew.” Ezra followed you, stopping next to you as you stood there, shoes getting wet. “Amy. Alex. Micheal. Matt. Sarah. Dale. Shyam. Adela. Catrin. Aviana. Mallory. Ronnie. Hashir. Felix. Zishan. Kobie. Brenden. Kelsea. Wiktor. Lula. Tyrese. Ayyan. Ricky. Akeel. Zakk. Zahia.”

You looked out at the horizon, dotted distantly with rocks and other islands. You looked at the plaque. Then, in one fluid motion punctuated with a grunt of effort, you threw the plaque as hard as you could into the ocean. It plunged into the water several yards away.

“I don’t know if you believe in such things, but if you do, I’m sure your team is looking to you from beyond with pride, knowing at least one of you got here,” Ezra offered.

“I don’t know, either,” you mumbled in response. “But I hope you’re right.”

You stood there for a few more long moments before Ezra turned and began walking towards the tree line behind you. You took a few more seconds to turn and follow suit. It felt like your consciousness stayed standing at the water, though, your movements almost not your own. Nothing felt real. Perhaps you, too, died on that ship and this was all some bizarre cryostasis dream your brain was having in a fit of activity before the end. Logically, you knew that wasn’t the case, but the grief and anxiety and confusion you were feeling were more than enough to override logical thought.

Your attention came back into focus as Ezra began speaking.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to get to work and not push our chances of getting caught in a storm. We’re looking for a bright purple flower, and where there’s one, there’s plenty more,” he said. “Let’s go look, shall we? Do mind any roots and vines across the ground, with all the ways this planet could kill you, I’d wager tripping does more prospectors in than anything.”

“Is that… a common profession? Prospector?” you asked, more than happy to momentarily change the subject.

“That depends on your origin,” Ezra answered. “If you’re originally from Central, or any of the core planets, really, no, it’s not common at all. Those folks tend to go into more well-educated fields and keep their feet planted firmly on a safe, habitable planet with a functioning government.”

You both reached the tree line, and Ezra began leading you into the brush, pushing some vegetation out of the way to begin clearing something of a path.

“But, if you’re from the Frontier, the Fringe, hell, even some of the tourist planets, it’s damn near your only option to get off whatever rock you were born on,” he continued. “Extremely high risk, no such thing as a safe job. So… my apologies for dragging you out of your nap and right into harm’s way,” he said, looking over his shoulder to you with an apologetic expression.

You weren’t yet sure how to respond to that, given how that “nap” ended up. You continued to follow Ezra, stepping over twisting roots, vines, and other growth.

“But, with high risk comes high reward,” Ezra said. “If you live long enough to turn in your bounty, it can be well worth the risk. ‘Course, so many succumb to the environments they prospect in, or other prospectors, not too terribly many actually make a return. Can’t tell you how many woefully unprepared kips I’ve seen get themselves killed on their first go because they thought they were stronger than nature, or couldn’t make a deal, even on the wrong end of a thrower.”

You both made it to a small clearing, and Ezra stopped for a moment to survey the surrounding trees. The canopy was thick, shading you from the sun, though not doing much to curb the oppressive humidity in the air. On top of that, every step you took seemed harder than the last. Maybe pushing yourself so soon after you woke up wasn’t a good idea. You knew that the planet was significantly denser than Earth, but you weren’t expecting the increased gravity to affect you this much. You wiped some sweat from your brow, looking around as well, taking in the alien plants. If dropped here with no other context, one might be forgiven for thinking this was the middle of a rainforest, but there was an… uncanny valley sort of feeling to it. It was definitely not familiar biology, though clearly not entirely dissimilar from what had evolved on Earth.

“Ah! That way. There’s a tree species this flower particularly likes, I’m willing to wager we’ll find a patch nearby,” Ezra said, pointing out of the clearing and beginning to walk that direction.

You continued to follow him. “So, I take it you’re one of the more successful ones,” you said, continuing your conversation.

Ezra chuckled a little. “I’d like to think so,” he responded. “Not without my fair share of challenges and loss, of course, but I’ve done alright for myself. Well enough I have a home of sorts on Central, nothing too fancy, but it’s enough.”

“You said most people from Central don’t prospect,” you pointed out.

“I am not from Central, Captain,” he said. “Depending on how you look at it, I simply got lucky.”

You wondered what he meant by “depending on how you look at it,” but chose not to pursue that. “If Central has safer jobs, why keep doing this?” you asked.

Ezra sighed. “You can take the man out of prospecting, but you can’t take prospecting out of the man, Dragonfly,” he answered. “Besides, those safe jobs lack the excitement this profession freely supplies. I’d get bored.”

You could certainly understand that. You could’ve much more easily taken a job with mission control, or stopped at test flights for the Genesis program, but no. That wasn’t enough. You had to be the face of it.

You two continued to walk for a while, you imagine having passed the tree Ezra had pointed out earlier some time ago. Thankfully, walking through the forest was requiring enough of your focus that your mind didn’t begin spiraling despite the quiet. It was hot and exhausting. After some time, though, you came to a large clearing with a pond of sorts in the middle, with some rock formations on the far side. Towards the other edge of the clearing, there was a patch of flowers.

“There! Perfect,” Ezra said, walking over towards the flowers with purpose. You followed. He began digging in his pockets, producing two bags, one that appeared to be empty, and another full of small tools. From the tool bag, he grabbed two pairs of tweezers.

“Now, this is delicate work,” Ezra started, handing one of the pair of tweezers to you. “As should be obvious, we have plenty of chances to get this right, but keep in mind these cinder violets are very valuable.”

You nodded. “Got it.”

“Good. So, to start, be careful picking them. That’s why you need work gloves. The stem on these flowers have sharp thorns,” Ezra explained, motioning for you to sit on the ground near him. You did so, letting out a sigh of relief as you did, thankful for any rest. You watched his movements closely as he reached forward and carefully picked one. You could see the thin, sharp thorns protruding seemingly randomly from its stem.

“Once they’re picked, you need to work quickly to get the stamen. There’s a reason we harvest them here rather than picking the flowers and taking them back to the ship,” he continued. He used the tweezers he was holding to point towards the center of the flower, where the sturdy purple petals were curled around what you assumed to be the stamen in question. “You gotta peel these back, but be careful of the stamen inside. If you accidentally break the stamen, or either of the individual parts, it’s worthless. Couldn’t tell you why, the folks this is valuable to end up burning them most of the time, but I’m not one to argue with a paying customer.”

You watched as he demonstrated what he just explained, carefully rolling back the petals to reveal the stamen inside. You immediately made the connection that it looked a lot like saffron threads, except they were a light purple color rather than red or orange. Ezra used the tweezers firmly at the base of the stamen, pinching the entire structure and removing it from the flower before carefully placing the piece in the empty bag he’d opened earlier.

“Just like that. Think you can handle it?” he asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” you responded.

So you got to work. You messed up the first flower you attempted, breaking one of the threads when you tried to roll back the petals, but you tried again and successfully extracted the stamen whole. Once you got a few under your belt, you seemed to get the hang of it, only accidentally breaking a few threads the entire time. As you worked, Ezra filled the air with chatter, thankfully not seeming to care if you responded or not.

“The petals curl inward like that to protect the stamen from the weather here,” he said. “The winds from the storms can be brutal, but the trees around are rooted deep enough they can usually withstand them, and break up the wind the further inland you go. Of course, there’s still some wind, and these flowers adapted to protect their reproduction in a fascinating way. The petals are stiff enough that only certain pollinators can get inside.”

“Pretty textbook evolution,” you commented.

Ezra made a noise of agreement. “There have been attempts to start permanent logging colonies on the planet because of how strong the wood in some of the tree species is,” he explained. “The incredible winds combined with the strong gravitational force pushed their evolution that way. Of course, all of them have failed.”

Ezra continued to talk about the planet, how lumber and these flowers were really the only things of value here, though some other plants are propagated off-world to be sold as house plants. He began telling some tangent story about said house plants, but you were happy to listen nonetheless. There would be moments of quiet, still, in which occasionally either you or Ezra would curse as one of you destroyed another stamen by accident. Ezra occasionally mumbled something about joints in his hand, or something about servos, though you didn’t think anything of it. Doing this sort of detailed work was starting to make your hand sore as well.

After what had to be a few hours, you and Ezra made a sizable dent in the patch of flowers you’d found, filling the bag about halfway with the prize he was after. Just as you were about to reach for another flower, you heard a rumble of thunder. The light that was coming in through the clearing began to dim, and you could hear rain begin to hit the leaves of the canopy, not quite yet filtering through.

“Shit,” Ezra said, looking around as he started to get up off the ground. “Nothing major, sometimes these storms pop up. But we’re too far from the ship to go back in this. Let’s take cover over in those rock formations, shall we?”

You nodded, getting up as well. Ezra grabbed the bag of cinder violet, and as the rain began to fall through the canopy, you both ran towards the pond and the rock formations on the other side of the clearing. Ezra led you under a large overhang, and you two watched as the rain intensified, thunder clapping occasionally overhead. He sighed deeply, shaking his head.

“Fair timing, I suppose. I was starting to think about calling it quits anyway. The amount we have should earn us…” he paused, humming in thought. “Maybe two or three points?”

“Points?” you asked.

“Ah, yes. It’s payment, I’m not sure how you’d value it. It’s enough for a single person to live off for maybe two months or so,” he said.

You balked at that. “Two months?” you asked.

“I told you it was valuable,” Ezra responded, smiling at you.

He turned and sat down again, back resting against the rock at the back of the overhang. You followed suit. It was quiet for a few moments as you watched the rain fall. Ezra, of course, was the one to break the quiet.

“Dragonfly, I’m sure you have a multitude of questions regarding the galaxy you now find yourself in, but I will admit, I have many of my own for you,” he said.

You sighed. “To be honest, I don’t know what to even ask yet, especially given you’re the only one I’ve met, and you’ve been with me the entire time I’ve been conscious,” you said. “Fire away.”

Ezra grinned like he’d just won a prize. “Very well. Do you mind if I start with a question about you, then?” he asked.

“Go for it,” you responded.

“How did you become captain of that handsome craft I encountered you on?” he asked.

“I wanted to save humanity,” you stated plainly. This was a bit of a softball question, one you’d answered many times at press conferences, news interviews, and presentations at various schools. “My entire life the world was crumbling around us. Every day was another record broken for hottest day, or highest sea level, or least polar ice. I never understood why no one was doing anything about it. I did try the activism route for a while, but I got disillusioned fast. It never really accomplished anything. It’s nearly impossible to make people care about something when they have incentive to ignore it. I caught wind of NASA’s Genesis program, went to test pilot school, worked my ass off… and here we are.” There was some bitterness in your tone at the end of your sentence. Here you were, indeed.

“Saving an entire planet is quite the lofty goal,” Ezra said.

You nodded. “It is. But it’s the right thing to do,” you said. “Was the right thing to do, I guess.” Doubt began to creep in. Was it? Knowing what you know now… was all of this worth it?

Ezra seemed to sense your shift in mood, and asked another question. “I must ask, was the cryostasis technology I found you in… pioneered for this mission?” he asked.

“More or less. I mean, people have been working on some form of it since… I think the bunk cryonics industry started in the 1970s,” you said. “Most of the time after that was spent thinking the entire concept would remain science fiction, but some group of scientists made a major breakthrough when I was a kid. NASA spent the next twenty odd years fine-tuning the technology to get us to Kepler-186.”

Ezra was quiet for a beat. “Cryostasis was deemed too dangerous to continue using decades ago,” he finally said. “Too much risk, side effects were too strong. Much more muscle atrophy and other deleterious effects caused by long term use. As far as that is concerned, Captain, you are very lucky.”

You looked over at him, your brow furrowed. “Other deleterious effects?” you asked.

“I’m no expert on the subject, but if I’m remembering correctly there were some concerns about the agents used to prevent harmful ice crystals from forming, nutrition uptake over time, issues with sleep and attentiveness after being taken out of stasis… we have much safer alternatives now,” Ezra explained. “Although use of any suspended animation is less frequent now that we have faster than light travel.”

“What alternatives are there?” you asked, genuine confusion in your voice. As far as you were aware, cryostasis was the only suspended animation technique that was really achievable. Anything else wouldn’t do enough to slow the body’s metabolism, and therefore aging, or required far too much energy to be plausible, or was simply fictional magic.

“Most true suspended animation relies on manipulation of spacetime,” Ezra said casually. The surprised expression on your face in response told Ezra that that statement was not casual at all to you. “It does take a considerable amount of energy, so it is not used frequently.”

“You can just… manipulate spacetime?” you asked

“Well, I’m sure it’s not as simple as that. Like I said, I’m no expert,” he answered. “I’m not entirely sure how they accomplish it. More commonly, though, is a state of induced torpor, which is more conducive to the length of trips we take with FTL.”

You nodded, absorbing this information.

It was quiet for a long moment, other than the rain falling and wind blowing through the trees. Ezra then began speaking, almost carefully choosing his words.

“In my childhood, my peers and I were told the same stories our parents were told of Earth. Toxic skies that would choke you to death in an instant, poison plants that could burn you with one touch, vicious creatures that could eat you whole. I believe that these began as cautionary tales many generations ago, but they morphed into this mythology of a cursed planet that would punish you for even thinking about visiting its surface,” he said. “I would be remiss not to ask you what Earth was truly like, even in your day.”

You considered his question, then sighed. “While exaggerated, the stories you heard weren’t… too far off,” you responded. Ezra looked at you, surprised. “I mean, the whole planet isn’t like that. Toxic skies… occasionally, as pollution got worse or wildfire smoke ruined air quality for days on end, yes. Not so bad you’d die if you had to go outside, though. Poison plants and vicious creatures, absolutely. There are plants that, if you get even a little bit of its sap on you, it gives you chemical burns or makes you itch for days on end. Some plants and fungi have lookalikes, where one is perfectly edible, and the other is so toxic that if you eat it you’ll be dead within a day. There are animals that can and will kill you given the chance, granted there aren’t many that could swallow you whole. Hippos probably could. Maybe blue whales, but they don’t eat prey as large as us.” You smiled sadly. “Still, it’s beautiful. Vast oceans, lush jungles, mountain ranges and rock formations… even the things we built, to some degree, are beautiful. Bridges, castles, skyscrapers. It’s…” You stopped as you realized you were speaking in present tense, and you gulped, willing away the tears that threatened to begin. “It was worth saving.”

Ezra’s surprise morphed into some cross between interest and concern as you spoke. “I… wish I could’ve seen it, as you did.”

“Yeah,” you said, nodding a bit. “Me too.”

As another moment of quiet passed between you, you realized something. Surely humanity by itself couldn’t span an entire galaxy, right? And clearly, life was elsewhere in the galaxy…

“I just thought of a question,” you started.

“Please,” Ezra encouraged.

“Have we made first contact?” you asked.

“Have we made what?”

Well that’s not the response you were expecting.

“First contact,” you repeated. You then put on a bit of a voice, mocking the many documentaries about this topic from your original era. “Is there intelligent life beyond our solar system?”

Ezra looked at you, confused at first, then he seemed to remember how long you’d been asleep. “Yes.”

You weren’t sure whether to be excited or deflated with his response. “With that kind of reaction I imagine it’s commonplace.”

Ezra nodded. “As humanity fled Earth, it happened multiple times with multiple colonies concurrently,” he said. “Enough so that no one’s really sure who was first. Thankfully, other than the one time a group of us managed to establish an empire across the galaxy, everyone gets along relatively well. Well, on an official level, anyway. All bets are off once you’re in the Fringe, or the Frontier, or prospecting.”

You nodded again, and hummed in understanding. “I’m glad to hear it, I suppose. That was another thing that was still very much science fiction when I was on Earth,” you said.

“I have a feeling that will not be the last time you come across something matching that description, Captain,” he said. “You are always welcome to ask questions. I may not have all the answers, but I do a fair share of reading in my free time. I’ve picked up on some things, at least.”

“I appreciate it,” you said.

The rain began to lighten a bit, but not stop. The humidity had broken slightly, and the wind from the storm was making it a bit cooler where you were taking cover under this rock. For the moment, it was kind of nice. You wondered again if you would’ve made it this far if you had known. If you would’ve rather had your team alive for a short time on this planet’s surface, marking the mission’s technical success, or if they were better off having died painlessly in cryo. Part of you wanted to believe that if you had all made it, you would’ve proved Ezra wrong, and there would be a thriving colony on this planet’s surface in just a couple of years. But… like Ezra said earlier: people get themselves killed thinking they’re stronger than nature.

“We were going to name it Eden,” you blurted. “When we got settled, I mean. The colony, the planet, was going to be named Eden.” You looked over at Ezra. “I… suppose I don’t know if that means anything to you.”

“I believe I get the gist,” Ezra responded. “The Garden of Eden where humanity was supposedly started by some capricious deity.”

“In the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God takes six days to create existence, resting on the seventh. Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and who are tasked with creating humanity, live in this garden God created as a paradise on Earth. It was plentiful, and they were allowed to eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” you said. “Of course, they eat from it anyway and get kicked out before they can eat from the tree of life, which would have granted them immortality.” You tilted your head back and forth for a moment in consideration. “There’s more to it than that, but that’s the condensed version. Wouldn’t be a story from a religion if the details weren’t hotly debated.”

“That is yet another thing that has not changed since your time,” Ezra responded. “I am sorry that this did not turn out to be the paradise you expected it to be.”

You sighed. “I don’t think anyone truly believed this would be a paradise,” you said. “Livable, yes. But a true paradise wouldn’t require us to work for our survival. We were prepared to start from truly nothing but the supplies we carted across 579 light years.” You paused and furrowed your brow. “We made a lot of assumptions. About the planet, about what would grow here, clearly about how the surface of the planet would be.” You didn’t want to admit that the entire program was done out of desperation. It had taken 25 years from the conception of the program to your launch date, yes, but an undertaking as huge as this… it likely would’ve benefited from more time to plan, to study the target planets, to truly understand what you were getting yourselves into. But the planet was dying, and humanity was dying with it. Someone needed to do something, and the sooner something was done, the sooner humanity could be saved.

You supposed it didn’t matter in the end.

You wondered what McCoy would say. He always balanced your optimism with caution and well-timed cynicism. You remembered what he said that night 10 days before launch, on the boat. I’m sick of worrying about what could go wrong… What if it does go wrong? You’d told him it wouldn’t. That you’d make new constellations.

You realized you were crying again. You forced yourself to take a deep breath. You wiped your cheeks with the back of your hand.

“Sorry,” you offered.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Ezra assured you. “You’ve had an incredible amount of information dumped on you in a very short amount of time. If anyone here should be apologizing for anything, it’s me for waking you up.”

You shook your head. “No. I… given the choice between waking up to this and dying without knowing what went wrong, I would’ve chosen waking up every time.”

Ezra nodded slowly. “While I cannot begin to understand what you’re going through, I do understand that choice, at least,” he said.

Soon, the rain stopped, and the wind died down. Ezra moved to stand up, walking towards the edge of the structure you were under.

“I think now is as good a time as any to get back to the ship and head out,” Ezra said, turning back to where you were still sitting. He approached, and held a hand out to help you up.

You hesitated to reach out. Much like your hesitation at leaving the ship, you almost didn’t want to leave. You made it here. Did you deserve to make it any further? What about your crew? How in the world would you even move on from something like this?

You took Ezra’s hand, and hoisted yourself up off the ground.

“Alright. Where to from here?”

[pinkhairswagtourney]

Who are you rooting for now that your favs got eliminated?

hmm ... crona is my favorite out of the bunch but they have negative swag bgfhjdksmbg so i'm gonna go with luka or madoka !!!

[not-playable-character]

Some thoughts I've had after finishing Bayonetta Origins

Before my rambling mess of thoughts here's some general ones for those who don't wanna read.

Its a great game 8/10, the only issues I have with it are skill issue based and the parts the revolve around bayo 3, its beautiful and complex and I love finally learning some backstory (even if it's for my least favorite adult cereza) all the voice work and music are amazing. the art is amazing as usual. I'd highly recommend playing it if you haven't already. Also be wary for spoilers in the read more.

Ok so the rambles and game theories

This game made me realize (in my mind) why bayo 3 cereza was so... weak and emotionless. If the ending is to be believed, she left the village to travel the world. This means that she didn't have jeannes teachings and was more or less self taught (explaining the fact she can't use 2 different weapons) it also explains why she is so socially awkward, people on their own can lose those social skills and she's been alone for centuries. I do adore little cereza and her growth, but she wouldn't have the uh.. trauma that the others would have, if she left there's not reason for her to return for the war if anything she would stay far far away, and I doubt she would think her mother couldn't handle herself. Her dream at the end even shows her without the shackles so Rosa would be imagined at full power (which is very formidable). It also makes sense to me that since she is the arch eve origin she would be the worst so to speak, she was the origin everyone else deviated from her and gained new strength where she didn't. But this is all my own cracked out game theory and thinking too much about it (it's not that deep im just a hater of 3)

Now onto Lukaon, I hate him more the learn about him. why are we supposed to root for their romance when all he was shown to do was manipulate cereza and try to murder her closest friend, like yeah he was desperate but he was still an antagonist. They also just straight up made him a clone of cereza, I won't go into how much I dislike that trope but I didn't like it in stranger things dont like it here. They are just ruining Luka to me and I don't like that I enjoyed bayo 1 &2 luka but now he is a shell of what he used to be. I will say that due to being a hater, I did call lukaon being a villain from the beginning. What I didn't call was Morgana being evil and being his mom.

Onto jeanne, her little side story has just made her death worse for me. You are telling me that she KNEW how she was going to die and just did nothing. Nah, this woman may be insane but she isn't stupid. She so into preserving the umbra legacy and having them live on, she would just accept her death.

Also on that note, the destiny thing. Platinum seems to be backpeddling on the themes of destiny. Bayo 1&2 were all about how you can change your destiny and that fate isn't set in stone but in 3 and origins they say you cannot change destiny and it will course correct if you do so it will always happen. Which imo is detrimental to the story cuz that was always a good message but whatever I'm not a writer (even if I try to be sometimes)

I've realized this is all me complaining and it makes me seem like I hate this game, I don't, I live it! It's just easier for me to put my complaints into words than just saying "it's great!" Over and over.

I will say I loved all the characters (minus lukaon) and I really wish they used the fairies instead of the lameculus, they were so fun and actually unique! But that wouldn't make sense in the lore (even if it still kinda doesn't, like why are there no good fairies that support the true royals??? Maybe they weren't as popular as lukaon said) anyway love the little guys. And the wisps! They were super cute. I do wish we had more of Cereza and Jeanne interacting as they were supposed to be best friends as kids but im not too upset as cereza was in the forest the whole time (maybe some flashbacks would have been fun) and here I go complaining in my positive section lol. Anyway it's a great game and it actually brought back my enthusiasm for the series

[kiss-my-freckle]

What's your opinion on Bonkai? I didn't see them as ending up together, but I thought they had great chemistry and the fact that he wasn't into the other women on the show before Bonnie was good too. It would've been more interesting to see them kiss than Klaroline. Bonnie and Kol hooking up would've been hot too. It would been interesting if Luka was in the show longer so we could've had a friendship between him and Bonnie. I wish we saw Bonnie and Marcel interact at some point too.

Kai and Bonnie would've been 100% better than Klaroline. Kai's my favorite villain so I'll always root for him. He has that same humor Damon has that makes me laugh every time I watch him, and he was very into Bonnie. Poor Damon was trying to protect her, telling him to buy her a drink first, then she started getting fresh with Kai and it bothered Damon. I know Bamon shippers think it's jealousy, but it's not. They're stuck in an empty prison world. He doesn't wanna lose the only person he has and be forced to watch her be happy with Kai while he's missing his girl.

I hated Kol at first, but I love him during the Silas storyline.

[thebowerypresents]

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real Cut Loose at Webster Hall on Saturday Night

Lukas Nelson – Webster Hall – November 18, 2023

It’s been a few years since Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real last visited Webster Hall and what feels like a lifetime of world tumult, happenings and music that’s passed since then. That the songs from the band’s crisp 2023 release, Sticks & Stones, sound like people eager to break out and boogie is probably not an accident, but then Nelson and his snappy country-rock squad have always walked the line between wistful-moving and barroom-blastoff — better than most. They’re love-me-tender when they want to be, with a joyful, almost goofy earnestness. They can deliver sad songs that hit the feels. And they can rock your face off. 

There’s a lot of Nelson’s dad, Willie, and a lot of occasional employer Neil Young, and a little of other obvious touchstones like Tom Petty in what they do, but these days POTR sound most like one of the best live bands of the past decade, never leaving behind their party-hardy roots, keeping the rock part of folk-rock firmly in mind, writing better and better songs that adequately pace a lip smackingly fun show. On Saturday they once again got after it, nailing the newer tunes and finding new excitement in the old ones. Opener “Entirely Different Stars” began mysterious, got to a crowd-stoking boogie and ended with a psychedelic guitar breakdown. “Sticks and Stones” had double-barreled piano and plenty of saloon in it to push the song forward. Nelson was rocking so hard during the fist-pumping “Four Letter Word” that his signature hat flew off. The early POTR favorite “All the Pretty Horses” underscored just how far the band’s come in their command of their own dynamics, starting quietly solo, patiently building to a full-band sound that filled up the room.

Those were just part of the action. The tunes that at this point might be called the POTR classics — including stinging-sweet “Forget About Georgia,” groovy “Find Yourself,” country-gospel “Set Me Down on a Cloud” — all delivered, as they always do. But the band went deeper still, especially Nelson himself, who delivered a good chunk of the set solo, near-solo and acoustic, either guitar or piano, and left the room spellbound with the sentimental “Smile,” the proud “Just Outside of Austin” and the achingly beautiful parent-to-child-benediction “Giving You Away,” shimmering with steel from multi-instrumentalist Logan Metz. There were surprises, too: The brilliant NYC-based soulful R&B singer Emily King joined Nelson to duet on what was described as a new song, loaded with New York-centric lyrics.  As ever Nelson and the POTR band — Metz, Corey McCormick, Anthony LoGerfo, Tato Melgar, aces, all — brought things to a blowout finale, barreling through the hilarious “Wrong House,” a nifty segue from their own galloping “Ladder of Love” into Willie’s “Bloody Mary Morning” and then “Find Yourself” to close the set. It was as full and varied a show as POTR have ever played here. We wrote of this same band at this same venue in 2019 that they’d “earned their swagger.” In 2023, they totally own it. —Chad Berndtson | @Cberndtson

(Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real play Royale in Boston tomorrow night.)

Photos courtesy of Marc Millman | www.marcmillmanphotos.com

[honeybyte]

What is a favorite and a least favorite fact about any of your OCS? Can be anything about them--anything about their lore, or how they were created!

oh man. thinking abt Lukas and Theo, there's roughly a million versions of them (faerie and wife, farmer and priest, mechanics, baker and florist, etc). probably my favorite thing abt them tbh, there's always smth new to do w a grumpy old scarred man and his bouncy beloved.

least favorite fact is where they came from. theo was originally a vent character, and lukas was a gift from someone i dont talk to anymore. i try to distance them from their roots as much as possible, its still there in the back of my mind but ive been leaning more to the positives abt them recently, esp when it comes to Birchmoss and Gideon (faerie and wife iteration)

[potatoleeksoup]

ZEA hello. i feel like youve seen every movie that came out last year do you have opinions on best picture/actor/actress/etc???

tee hee thank you for asking 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩 i love to talk about this stuff. and BOY do i have opinions!!! the movies this year were imo not... great... usually i have a real dog in the fight and a true favorite from my heart to root for but this time not really! anyway in this essay i will

best picture is kind of gnarly because at least 50% of these are hack jobs. my favorite of the bunch is banshees but i do not think that should win.. it probably will be everything everywhere and i think that's pretty much the right move. but this is an ugly category!!!! elvis is abominable all quiet is a bad adaptation that misses the point i hatedddd tar the fabelmans is self-indulgent top gun is propaganda women talking is stupid and ugly etc etc...

cate is kind of undeniable for best actress even though tar was really not for me i think she's doing good work.. but again michelle yeoh should and hopefully will win for an equally great performance plus an incredible body of unrecognized work. boring category despite the controversy!

if austin butler wins best actor im burning hollywood to the ground. it's colin farrell for me !!!!!!

i want brian tyree henry in supporting actor but that will neverrrr happen... supporting actress is such a stacked category. i think i want it to be hong chau but i will also clap and cheer for angela bassett

my pet category is international feature but this year i just go blind with rage when i think about it because of the unthinkable and incomprehensible decision to leave SNUB!!!!!!! i haven't seen eo yet but of the rest... i would be happiest with an cailin ciuin although i thought argentina 1985 was good! id like to kill lukas dhont with my bare hands so if anyone has intel on his current location please contact me thank you

i could talk about this stuff forever and i probably will be insufferable on oscar night because i firmly believe despite having no credentials that i should be invited to vote in the academy. i could turn that sinking ship AROUND!!!!! i would have nominated decision to leave for best picture AND made sure it won. then we could all be happy

ANYWAY UMMM..... yeah 👼 but you've been seeing stuff too what do you think???

[armored-core6]

thankies my beloved @arlo-parks for the tag; share 10 favorite songs with name in it:

Stella was a driver and she was always down - Interpol

Loretta - Gineger Root

Roxanne - The Police

Tommy’s Party - Peach Pit

Layla - Eric Clapton

Eugine - Arlo Parks

Luka - Suzanne Vega

Harvey - Her’s

Rylan - The National

Clint Eastwood - Gorillaz

[vettir]

The rest of the first week was, well, kind of boring. I had Radha in most of my classes, and Luka in a few of them as well. Plenty of others, but those two had been the only ones to accuse me of weird magical shit. Until PE. Everyone's favorite game, dodgeball. I swear, this game shows that every PE teacher that uses it is a sadist. Everyone was supposed to keep from using powers, but some kid came up with a brilliant way to use them, and by 'brilliant' I mean 'stupid and obvious'. Apparently, he could either move at high speed or teleport, and so he did so with the ball, hitting almost everyone on my side. They didn't seem to see him coming, but I did, and as he came up to me, he noticed I saw him. And he stopped, in midair. "Wait. How can you see me? Nobody can see me!"

I just looked at him. "You know that's cheating right? Bad enough we have to play this stupid game, but here you are cheating."

Everyone else just stared at me. Including the kid floating in midair. "My grandfather stole the seat out from under Auberon just as he sat down, and nobody saw him. How are you seeing me?"

I looked him right in his multi-colored, swirling eyes. "No idea." Then I grabbed the ball from his unresisting hands, and he teleported back to where he'd thrown the ball from. And everyone saw him there. Everyone went nuts.

"Holy shit Timothy stopped a Puck!" On hearing that from Radha, I groaned, then looked over at the kid.

"Hey Goodfellow. Just don't cheat in games like this!" I called out. He turned white. Literally white, like a sudden blankness on the world, then sort of fell over.

Mister Sigurdsen came on over. "Was it another root this time, Rajmund?"

I looked around at the hardwood gym floor. "Nope. Just saw him teleporting around holding the ball and hitting people with it."

Sigurdsen frowned. "Huh. I just saw him throw the ball in a way that as clearly cheating." He looked over at the kid. "Goodfellow, when I say not to use powers, I mean it. Try it again, and I'll have your grandfather's namesakes chase you down." He turned to me again. "This is the third time I've heard of you doing something weird, and the first time I saw it directly. You sure you're just human?"

I sighed. "Got any tests for if I'm not?"

He grinned. "Yes, but most of them would kill you if you are. We'll talk later."

After mistakenly transfering to a high school for monsters, you try to tell them that you’re just a regular human. However, because of bizarre coincidences creating apparently inexplicable situations, the school population and teachers come to believe you’re actually an Eldritch Abomination