#the thing that IS full is my drafts lol. ig an ask could get lost there...

[velvetwyrme]

Hey, I love your jeetle and peetle content. I was curious about if bug Prowl is aware that bug Jazz isn't a Praxian enforcer too. Don't feel like you have to answer though, I just hope you have a good day, even if this ends up getting lost in your inbox :P

hiya!! i'm glad you're enjoying them :3c!! and hehe... you get two answers!

short answer is... in universe, it's not clear either! the general consensus is nope! he doesn't know.

and the longer ("word of god") answer is... a chatty informal loredump/thoughts under the cut lmao

(disclaimer: i am not an entomologist nor a biologist so if any of this sounds weird please understand im just generally enthusiastic about bugs and am drawing on my knowledge of random animal facts to loosely worldbuild for fun 👍! plus i like taking creative liberties lol)

Specific patterns and coloration varies, but Praxian Enforcers are generally characterised by colour (black/white, with a little blue and red) as well as their loud sirens and flashing lights. The combination of doorwing-elytra and chevrons is also an overall species indicator. Also, the markings on their doorwings/elytra are kind of meant to act like the eyespots that some moths have :]!

Jazz' mimicry isn't intended to hold up to intense scrutiny- it's mostly just to dissuade/scare other cybugs and predators from messing with him at a glance. He lacks the chevron and lights, which is a dead giveaway for him NOT being a Praxian Enforcer. He can however make siren like sounds, and has enough similar traits that would trip Prowl up into viewing him as an Enforcer.

Prowl probably knows that Jazz isn't a fellow Enforcer (he's a smart cookie!) but he also continues to act as if Jazz is one because of warring protocol and instincts. Logically Prowl knows this isn't true, but Jazz still FEELS like one of his cohort, yknow?

There's also a certain element of "cheetah and emotional support dog" to the way they work imo. Without a colony to defend and protect, Prowl would be a lil lost, so he kinda latched onto Jazz for that reason too. I like to imagine that usually Enforcers work in lil sets of 2-3 to defend colonies, so he was also probably a bit lonely at the time :(( I kinda imagine that he treats Jazz as another Enforcer (albeit a particularly unruly one) and ALSO as another member of the colony to look after/protect. It's a confusing time for all involved.

Now they have The Grub though :] Which... probably just complicates things further LOLOL

(Also! something I wanted to mention in the original notes was that this mimicry came about specifically to offset certain subspecies' generally easygoing/lax attitudes [which puts them at risk of predation and capture] but I ran out of room lol)

[floofsol]

a promise’s a promise

word count: 1.5k (i apologise, this is a lot longer than i usually do)

member: Joshua

genre: mafia!joshua. prosecutor!reader, irritatingly posh-is!hreader

summary/prompt: you and your best friend made a pact. you both agreed that if neither of you had gotten married by the age 30 then you’d marry one another. it’s now time to fulfil that promise, the thing is, over the years, your best friend has become the leader of mafia. you have become city’s top prosecutor

warnings: cursing, mentions of blood and violence

a/n: i got this prompt from an ig account called writing.prompts.re and the moment i saw it, i thought it was perfect to write about sooooo here it is :))) on a side note, i do try to keep my reader’s “character” as genderless as possible, but i finally realise that i can do more to be more accepting. so from now on, i’m going to use they/them pronouns for the reader and if you notice, i also try to keep the reader’s past relationships genderless as well so that i don’t stay too heteronormative. so i really hope that you won't mind and this will obviously change how i write but i hope that you can still appreciate it anyway!!

You were never known for a sloppy memory. But you have never wanted to forget anything more than this, considering the reminder was in your hand. Said reminder was in the form of a letter. Now that you look at the letter, you even remember writing it...you remember sitting at the cafe with your best friend at that time. And if you think even harder, you can roughly recall how the conversation went...

“This is just sad....”, you pouted.

“What is? The fact you get to spend time with your best friend???” Jisoo was starting to tease you about your mood. You felt the biggest eyeroll come out of you.

“No, you idiot. I’m probably gonna end up sad and alone...I doubt I’m gonna be married by 30...”A sigh came out of you. You knew it was still a little young to think about it but being an only child, your parents had always told you that you would need to carry on the family line. But how were you going to that when you barely had time to have a relationship in the first place? How would you even find som-

“Hmm how about this....if the both of us aren’t married by 30....we’ll marry each other.” Jisoo said it with such confidence that you almost agreed without actually processing the idea.

“The fuck? You complain that my crackheadedness is tiring already and you want propose a marriage?” Needless to say, you were at a lost for words.

“Well...it is sort of a last resort for the both of us. And I’m pretty sure that the both of us will find someone by then....soooo, deal?” 

You could tell that he was being serious about this, that this wasn’t a jokey “haha here’s a weird idea”. And you thought to yourself, ‘Why not? It’s not like Jisoo would be the worst person to marry if it came down to it..’

“Then, it’s a deal. If we are both lonely, sad losers at the age of thirty, we’ll marry each other. Let’s seal the deal with a letter...” You declared your decision.

Why younger you chose a letter you can’t remember well but knowing yourself, it would have had something to do with a letter writing phase at that time of life. It would get really stressful and writing letters were therapeutic for you. You had found one of those services that holds on to letters and that would send them out at a later date. Both you and Jisoo agreed for the date to be the first day of the year after since Jisoo was born near end of year so a few days wouldn’t hurt right.

And with the letter dealt with, the both of you had went on with your lives. You remember that you parted ways with him because you disagreed with some friends of his. They would sometimes get into trouble and with you studying law, you didn’t know how to feel about this and when you voiced your troubles to Jisoo, he had dismissed them entirely and said that if you didn’t like it, you could leave. And to his surprise, you actually did. 

With that letter in your hand, you brushed the thought aside. You knew long ago that it was a joke. And you left for work, knowing that with your recent promotion to the top prosecutor position, you would have a mountain of cases to look through. The blood, sweat and tears that took for you to finally be promoted to this esteemed position paid off. You knew that it was an honour to be where you wanted to be. This expectation stemmed from your own overachieving tendencies and the fact that your parents had also worked in law, along with several family members. Being an only child only fuelled that expectation further and as such, people who were close to you understood that sometimes you had to pour your free time into cases as well. You had lost many relationships that way, with your partners saying that you never spared them any time or that you loved your job more than them or the fact that you could always procure a solid point in any fight due to your experience in court. 

And with every failed relationship, you came to accept that with your work life, you would never be able to find a partner understanding enough. Although that meant that you having a lasting relationship was low, you were content. That feeling came from knowing that you tried and you could accept if it wasn't written in the book of fate for you to find a loving partner. 

The letter brought you back down to earth. You were shocked, to say the least, that you didn't even open it until you drove to work. You obviously knew what was written inside but weren’t ready to face it yet but you knew you would have to sooner or later. You heaved a sigh and read the letter;

Dear future me,

I know that this might be sudden and this might not even apply to you now but you made a deal. Do you remember it? The deal might not even apply ti you now and it might sound crazy but hear me -yourself- out okay?

If you aren’t married by now, well then you are kind of engaged to JIsoo...go give him a call or something

And if you are, well then, you can throw this or keep it for a laugh lol

Love,

Me

You recalled how close the two of you were. All the random hang outs and Netflix sessions at each others houses. All those sweet moments where you remembered why the both of you because friends in the first place. Those thoughts brought a grin to your face.

Until you remembered why the friendship broke off..

You were starting to worry about Jisoo. Especially about the company he was hanging out with. They were definitely not of the savoury type. You passed it off at first, until you realised that it was affecting Jisoo as well. And that was when you knew, you had to speak up about it once and for all.

You were nervous. This would obviously not be a very comfortable experience but you just knew it had to be done. You decided that it would be best to bring it up as nonchalantly as you could which happened to be during a platonic Netflix and chill session. 

“Hey Jisoo,” you began shakily.

“Yea?” He seemed to not expect anything, which was advantageous to you.

“Umm, about you know, Seungcheol and your other friends...are you sure it’s...you know...in your best interest to be uhh hanging out with them?” It took you a lot of effort to bring this up. 

He heaved a sigh.

“y/n, it’s really none of business and also not in your best interest to ask...Plus, it’s not like you know what’s best for me and you also do not know anything about them.. ” Jisoo was understandably irritated. This was not the first time that you had hinted about this. 

His comment had really gotten under your skin. What’s best for him?? He says that you would not know, even though you spent the better half of your lives looking out and taking care of each other. And yet, he now cites that you don’t know anything about them either...

“I know plenty about the riff-raff you are hanging out with. They are borderline CRIMINALS!” You don’t know why you had shouted that last word but it definitely took a weight off your chest. 

It also seemed to dislodge Jisoo’s surprisingly calm attitude. 

“You don’t know anything so don’t say shit that you will never understand! You were brought up with privilege you never knew you had. My friends didn’t so I don't see what’s wrong with me making sure that get that privilege now. And that’s all I’m going to say about it. If you aren’t happy, then you can leave.”

And you did. You left that day and never looked back on your friendship. And if you had physically turned around that moment, you would have seen the broken look on Jisoo’s face. But you walked off, towards the future that you never knew was coming. 

The memories plagued you sometimes and there were moments where you felt guilty, after all in your line of work, you knew that sometimes the accused were partly innocent but a job was a job. And with that memory resurfacing, you shook it off and continued your day as per normal. 

It was a long day, full of paperwork and meetings about new cases and everyone was blabbering about a group that was becoming dangerously powerful. It was a mafia at this point and you knew that one day, you would have to face them and try your best to put them behind bars. 

You were more than happy to reach home and take a nice long shower and just..relax for ten minutes. But before you could even put your bags down, your phone rang. 

It annoyed you. The probability of it being someone from work calling about a missing file was high. And you answered the phone with an annoyed, “What”

“Is that how you greet everyone, darling?” 

The voice was lilting and somewhat familiar and yet, you couldn't place your finger on it. 

aight imma end it here for now, this has been in the drafts for a while as i was slowly writing this

as usual, feedback is welcomed!! thanks for making it this far!!!!

[fantasticbookdragon]

Hello!

I was so excited to get an email about the Nexus blog tour and jumped at the chance to host a date! Not only do I get to host a date, I got to put together a Q&A post for Sasha and Lindsay (I’m still pinching myself). I hope you enjoy it! My review of Nexus will follow shortly.

1. For those who don’t know already, can you tell us where the inspiration for the books came from?

S: We are both space nerds. We love sci-fi, action and a whole lot of epicness! So instantly, we knew what we wanted to write. Friendship and our love for space were both huge motivations for us to write The Androma Saga. We wanted to create a book where girls could be friends without turning against each other. We also just wanted to have a space opera with a diverse cast of characters like they do on Firefly and Star Wars. Sci-Fi is dominated by men and it isn’t very popular in YA, so we wanted to take a leap of faith, and show readers what we got!

2. The Androma Saga was originally a self-published 60 page novella. Was expanding it always on the cards, or brought on by the positive response from readers?

S: YES! We were always going to write the full story, just release it in parts. But then we submitted the book to publishers after hitting #1 on the NYT list and BAM! We finished the full book in a traditional hardback form.

L- We always wanted to write the whole thing, we just didn’t expect such an amazing response from the community! And once the first novella came out, we decided to give readers the entire book as a whole, and I’m so glad that we did!!

3. Did the writing process differ for book two, and if so, how?

S: For sure. Every book is written a wee bit differently, no matter if you try to do it or not. Although Zenith was written in a tighter turnaround time, Nexus was more of a longterm uphill battle, for the better. We really had to rip I apart and rewrite it to make it what it is today, a better and tighter story that has a worthwhile ending. Also, a huge difference was for Zenith, we wrote on top of each others writing but for Nexus, we each took a few characters each and wrote 4-5 chapters from each POV then would switch.

L- We had SO much more time to get it right! That was a super awesome blessing, especially because I was pregnant (and then had a newborn) through the writing process of book two!

4. The books are told from multiple points of view, were they co-written, or did you write for specific povs?

Going off what we said in the last question, we pretty much wrote these books with an equal stake in each character, with a few exceptions.

S: Lindsay was the mastermind behind Klarens POV in book 1. Originally, we didn’t have her as a POV but added her in later. Thank the godstars for Lindsay because It added all of cool dimension to the book. For book 2, Lindsay came up with an epic addition to Valen’s storyline. In book 1, he was my baby and in book 2, he switched to Lindsay’s in such a unique way. I’m just really proud of Lindsay and her creativity with last minute creations!

L- We write on top of each other!

5. Do you have a favourite character from the books and why?

S: Nor has always been mine. I love creating a character with many levels of motivation that can be seen as bad or good, depending on who he reader is and how they rationalize the characters decisions to do what they do. From the outside, Nor is the “villain” but throughout the series, we see her motivations reveal themselves. I think we did a good job plunging our readers into the murky area between good and evil as they read Nor’s POV. How they emerge from that grayness? Guess you need to tell me!

L- I will always have a place in my heart for Androma, because I love a reluctant heroine. But in NEXUS, I love Valen’s storyline. It’s dark, and it’s sad…and also beautiful, in some ways.

6. Now for some fan casting. If you could, who would you choose to play the lead roles in Zenith/Nexus?

S: EVERYONE FROM THE CAST OF “THE 100” (!!!!) For example: Eliza – Andi Bob – Dex

L- Lol…I always just picture the cast of the 100 when it comes to this duology!

7. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

S: YOU AREN’T A PERFECT WRITER. Let me explain: As hard as it seems, you need to be open to criticism and critiques, they will help you grow as an author. We always seem to strive for perfection, sometimes we see our books as “perfect” after the first draft. Its great to feel that way, but still get another set of eyes to look at it. Another struggle is writers who get fed up because even after multiple drafts, it still isn’t perfect. But what you need to know is that it will never be perfect. WHICH IS NORMAL! You will always want to change something, but thats why you should pass it off to someone else. They will give you a solid list of changes. Edit the book with those changes in mind and you’ll know when it’s ready. Just don’t strive for perfection, no author is perfect. Strive for pride and happiness in your work. Flaws included.

L- I love this question, because people always come to me saying, “I want to be a writer someday!” I ask them, “Well, have you written something already?” When they respond with a yes, I tell them that they’re already a writer. That passion is what fuels the ones who want to become a *published* writer, and they’ve got to carry that into the future. Read a TON. Write a TON. Let other people read your work, and be open to criticism on that work. It is always hard to share a bit of your heart and soul, but worth it in the end, because it helps you find growth.

8. With the duology coming to a close, what’s next?

S: I’m working on an urban folklore fantasy novel called Project Red (no the official title). You can follow my progress on it over on its IG page: @Projectredbook 🙂

L- A new single release for me, (stay tuned on news!!) about outlaw girls and alien horses.. and a lot of dark magic and mayhem.

9. Do you have any book recommendations for the inevitable post Nexus slump?

S: THE CHOSEN by Taran Matharu! So. Good. Its about a group of kids who suddenly disappear, just to be transported to another world and from there, things get really EPIC. It has lost history, dinosaurs, an *amazing* cast of characters and an ancient, unknown evil who is playing puppeteer.

L- I’m listening to the audiobook of A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC right now, and it’s fantastic!!

  I hope you enjoyed reading this Q&A, both Zenith and Nexus are available now so definitely pick them up asap! Keep an eye for my review too!

Blog Tour: Nexus – Q&A with Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings Hello! I was so excited to get an email about the Nexus blog tour and jumped at the chance to host a date!