#vampire efnisien

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Hes pretty scrawny, for a vampire

[not-poignant]

I've noticed that my brain is really bad on retaining character descriptions (I can usually manage at max 3-4 in a book before I kind of just start copy and pasting based off of personality 😅), and it wasn't until I saw the recent fanart of Dr Gary that I realized that my brain had fully just decided to use Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer as my visual for him.

-Older man? Check.

-Seems reserved and kind of posh at first? Check.

-Has a hidden side/history to him that is actually representative of a deeply repressed rage that he willfully subdues in order to live in accordance with his own morals? Check.

-University/academic vibes to him? Check.

I'm so sorry, I just realized that I actually have no clue what the real Gary is supposed to look like and found it so funny. Falling Falling Stars was actually my first FaeTales novel that I read, which probably explains it. Thank you for all your work!

'Real Dr Gary' never had a physical description in Falling Falling Stars and that was intentional. We only know he's old by Efnisien's perspective, but Efnisien's 20-21 in Falling Falling Stars and I've met early 20s who think early 30s is 'old man/woman/nonbinary etc.'

The first time Dr Gary gets a physical description is actually in Underline the Black, and even then, I don't think that actually applies to his appearance in Falling Falling Stars! It doesn't retroactively apply to me. It was a very conscious decision to never give Dr Gary a physical appearance there and it's the first time I've done it and it's likely to be the last unless I think it's important to the story somehow to omit it!

Also Giles is incredible, this is an awesome direction to take things :D It's not what I see, but I love that it's what you see.

[splinter-cat]

Do you ready books often? (And do you have any book reccomendation?)

Unfortunately I don’t read often, I’ve struggled with reading for like 15 years now due to my ADHD. I often miss it because I used to be one of those “reads a book in one night” kids. My "to read" list gets longer and longer each year because I add to it more than I actually read off of it, haha.

That said, I have managed to read a few things over the years that I’ve loved! Long post so it's under a cut:

Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong

Goodreads link here!

Obviously I have to start with the series I've done the most fanfic for, haha. Bitten is about Elena Michaels, the world's only known female werewolf. It follows her as she navigates accepting having become a werewolf and her place in her pack and with her mate.

The series itself follows Elena for the first two books before switching to another narrator, the witch Paige Winterbourne. A few more narrators crop up during the series, each with different powers and romances. Occasionally the series returns to earlier characters, like how books six and ten return to Elena. There are also a ton of short stories and novellas taking place before, during, and after the series, and if you like the werewolves there are plenty of stories following them.

The series still has some of my favorite werewolves I've read about, which is why I like writing in the world so much. It's pretty much what kick started my werewolf obsession, haha. Unfortunately the series is extremely hetero- and cisnormative, so even when queer characters are (rarely) introduced, the writing isn't the best (hence so much of my fanfic being queer lol). But the main characters are still a lot of fun to read about and the plots are full of suspense, mystery, and magic.

So, if you like werewolves and witches and vampires, I recommend this series! Just go in knowing it's a strictly het romance series.

Fae Tales series by Pia Foxhall/not_poignant

Found on AO3 here.

Okay, so really I would rec anything by Pia, but I wanted to start with this one.

The first part of the series is Deeper into the Woods, which follows the Seelie King, Gwyn ap Nudd, as he seeks healing from an Unseelie waterhorse, Augus Each Uisge. It's a shorter introduction to the characters and Augus' healing-through-BDSM methods.

The next part is Game Theory, which follows Gwyn after he has defeated the former Unseelie King, Augus, and imprisoned him. It's an amazing enemies-to-lovers story with a captor/captive dynamic where it's not always clear who really holds the power.

After that the series goes for another million+ words of political intrigue, epic fantasy quests, and another amazing enemies-to-lovers dynamic with Mosk Manytrees and Eran Iliakambar. If you like long, character focused stories of trauma recovery, found family, and BDSM, it is absolutely worth checking out!

(To give you an idea of just how much I love this series, I've styled multiple ball-jointed dolls as some of the characters from it!)

Falling Falling Stars by Pia Foxhall/not_poignant

Found on AO3 here.

Technically, this is a sequel to The Spoils of the Spoiled, which I also recommend (it adds context to a lot of FFS, too). But this one in particular has one of my favorite MCs of all time, Efnisien.

Falling Falling Stars follows Efnisien ap Wledig through a long path of trauma recovery, finding himself outside of what others wanted him to be, and learning to live with the ways he badly hurt people in his past.

If there were ever a manual on how to write a good redemption arc, this would be the absolute best example to use. It is such a thoughtful, soft, and comforting story, even though it touches on some very dark themes. To me, it's hot chocolate and marshmallows in story form.

Chronicles of City M by Lissa Kasey

Goodreads link here.

Hidden Gem follows Misaki Itou, a psi who works at a brothel in a post-apocalyptic city, and his shifter love interest, Shane McNaughton, as they try to solve a series of murders in the city. The subsequent books also follow their friends with various abilities and the relationships they form while still returning to Aki and Shane.

I first read this series during quarantine in 2020, which seems like an odd time for a post-apocalyptic story to be feel-good, I know, but this series focuses on the city and the people rebuilding after everything that happened in the past. It's a story of trauma recovery (seeing a pattern in the stories I like? haha) and hope, even when it seems like humanity itself might be wiped out.

How to Raise an Honest Rabbit by Amy Lane

Goodreads link here.

Another sequel story, this time to The Winter Courtship Rituals of Fur-Bearing Critters, but this couple was one I really enjoyed.

How to Raise an Honest Rabbit is about a former con man, Jeremy, who finds a place he might be able to stay for good in the form of working for an alpaca farm and fiber mill in a small town. There, he meets Aiden, who is determined to make Jeremy stay even when every instinct tells him to pack up and run at the first sign of trouble.

Rabbit is a much angstier story than the very fluffy Winter Courtship Rituals, but the setting still makes it a very comfy story to me, and I deeply enjoyed the characters. Once I can get around to reading again, I'm looking forward to continuing the series and seeing more from them in Blackbird Knitting in a Bunny's Lair.

That's all for now!

I thought about including fanfiction in this post, too, but it's already quite long, so I might do a separate post later. I also have a very long to read list that I can post some secondhand recs off of if anyone wants it, it'll just be less detailed recs since I haven't finished the books yet haha.

And if anyone wants manga or TV show recs I can also provide those. :D

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Bonus:

He just likes freaking the poor boy out

Is it a possibility to see Polly appear in any of your artworks?? Anyway, love your stuff and keep doing what you’re doing <3

And behold:

[Insert montage of efnisien taking various pet photos, as he should]

Thanks for the request!