#writing for luken

[lal-ffxiv]

#1 - Steer

This chocobo has been neglected because of its primadonna outbursts with the other handlers. The chocobo had a long scar down its neck that Lucien was careful to avoid as he brushed the feathers of the chocobo.

"I see the dream in your eye, conscript. Thinking of riding away on one these birds, free from your sentencing. Let it be clear though, none of these birds would allow you on its back. Its loyal only to its rider."

"Never had the thought sir. It would taken me away from your dashing presence."

The head stable hand sneered. "Then sorry to disappoint you twice in one bell conscript, or should I say recruit Lyezhbal. You'll be joining lastest squadron meant to resupply the canon fodder. Make sure to sweep all the stalls before you go and report."

It not a rare occurrence, and certainly a more frequent one, Lucien regretted ever having been given air in his lungs. The chocobo took its chance and nipped at Lucien's ear while he was distracted. As depressing as it is, to him, a helpful reminder to the miqo'te that he was still alive.

"This is why your stall is cleaned the least"

Escaping a prison sentence by enlisting in the grand Maelstrom, did not let Lucien escape having a warden. The drill instructor ripped person-hood from the recruits to forge then into the little, mindless weapons for the city state.

It would have killed Lucien all together, if he weren't able to steal a little time away. Lucien can't say the chocobo was pleased to see him. It was still a brat of a bird. Lucien could never turn his back chocobo lest it'd kick him into the hay or forbid Lucien not pick the wilted leaves from its food. Whenever the bird did get the better of him it would out great ugly cry "kwehkark", laughing at him These stolen moments couldn't last forever though.

Any training that been drill into him was abandoned on as he deserted the battlefield. Limsa Lominsa had not nursed him enough to accept dying for the city-state.

Loyal birds, loyal soldiers were not him. 'There is only loyalty to hands that care for you, but never hesitate to bite when you need to.'

Lucien blew into the chocobo whistle as he had intermittently done since leaving Limsa Lominsa proper. All the nipped ears, head bumps and kicks were worth it once he hear that ugly squawk from the across the battlefield chocobo.

He mounted the chocobo as the bird ran by him, gripping the saddled and pulling himself on in one swoop. Lucien buried his face into the down feathers, let the stomping of chocobo's feet drown the canon fire. Lucien didn't bother steering the bird. As any direction away from the battlefield was right one.

[schendy]

"There, that should be the last of it." Roral centered a mint leaf on the last chocolate and stepped back to look at his handiwork. "...You don't think using white chocolate will just make it taste like really sweet toothpaste, right?"

Luken smiled, gathering up utensils to put in the dishwasher while Roral put the molds in the fridge. "Nah, it probably tastes like a candy cane. You've seen how fast he drinks those peppermint white mochas."

Roral nodded, but pulled out an earlier tray and looked at it dubiously. "Should we taste one of the test ones? What if it didn't set right? Or maybe I got the ingredient amounts wrong - "

"Or maybe you got everything right. You're not that bad a cook." Luken lifted Roral by the waist and set him on the center island after making sure there was nothing for his wings to knock onto the floor. "Here, see for yourself."

He peeled a chocolate out of the silicone and held it to Roral's lips. The shell gave way under his teeth rather than snapping as it should, but it was nothing a couple more hours in the fridge wouldn't fix. The center was creamy, and the mint was prominent without being overwhelming.

Not that Raine would mind overwhelming. He probably did more to keep the sprawling mint plant in the garden in check than Roral's actual magic did, as often as he pulled leaves from it to chew on the way other people might chew on gum.

"It's good," he said. "Not as good as his, though."

Luken snorted. "Of course it's not. I said you're not that bad a cook, not that you're a miracle worker." Roral slapped his shoulder, and he laughed. "Want to try one of the strawberries?"

Roral perked up at that, eagerly biting into the chocolate-covered fruit and humming in content. "It's so good. Want to taste?"

He reached for the tray, intending to feed one to Luken in turn, but Luken moved the strawberries out of his reach with a grin before kissing Roral. "Hm, you're right. Tastes pretty good."

Roral's wings puffed immediately, his face almost as pink as the strawberries, and Luken laughed. "That's cheating."

"How?" Luken kissed him again and gave black feathers a few gentle pets, and Roral leaned into him happily. "Don't worry so much about it, angel. You know he'll like anything you give him."

"Right. I'm just making chocolates for a man whose mother is a multi-award-winning, world-famous chef, while I can barely boil a pot of water. No big deal."

"You're way too hard on yourself. What happened to trying not to be so much of a perfectionist, huh?" Luken kissed his forehead. "Roral, it's Valentine's Day, and he loves you, and they really do taste good. Relax."

He punctuated his words with a tap on the end of Roral's nose, and Roral squeaked at the small zap that accompanied it. The front door opening pulled their attention away from each other, and as Raine passed the kitchen he raised an eyebrow at where Roral was sitting.

"No sex on my counters, remember?" he said, dropping his keys and wallet in the bowl on the hallway table, then turned his attention back to the phone held to his ear. "What? No, I was just teasing them! They're not actually - oh, ew, I do not need to know the details about what you and Sverre get up to in your own kitchen, thanks. Okay. Yeah, I'll let you go. If I don't talk to you tomorrow, happy birthday."

He put the phone back in his pocket before coming over and kissing both Luken and Roral in turn. "Sorry, Dark called today since he might be busy tomorrow. What were you two up to?"

"Making chocolates. And not-chocolates. Don't worry, it was all under supervision and we stayed away from your good pans," added Luken teasingly. "Though I don't think you're allowed to have any until tomorrow."

"Of course not. They're Valentine's chocolates, and it's not Valentine's yet," said Roral with a huff. "Besides, they need more time to set."

"Fair enough," said Raine with a grin, and his eyes wandered over to the leftover mint leaves still on the counter. "Can I have those?"

"Only if you answer a question." Roral crossed his arms, fixing Raine with that sharp stare that always meant he was analyzing details in his head. "You said Dark called today because he's busy tomorrow, probably with his boyfriend. Understandable. But then you said 'happy birthday.'"

Raine gave him an innocent look as he put a mint leaf in his mouth. "M'hm?"

Roral narrowed his eyes at the elf. "You're twins."

Raine opened the fridge and pulled out a beer, frost creeping up the sides of the bottle right away as he chilled the drink even further. "What do you want for dinner? I was thinking pasta with that wine sauce you like."

"You're avoiding the question. Luken, he's avoiding the question," said Roral, pouting at Luken. "You heard it too, right?"

"I did," said Luken with a grave nod. "He's avoiding the question."

"I'm not avoiding the question!" protested Raine. "You didn't ask a question for me to avoid! Technically!"

Roral hopped down from the counter, wings flaring out for balance. "Don't 'technically' me, mister writer. You were vague about it the last time I asked about your birthday too!"

"It's not a big deal," mumbled Raine into his bottle. "I always thought of it more as Dark's birthday, anyway. I'm just sort of...along for the ride."

Luken and Roral exchanged a look. "I would say that sounds like there's a lot to unpack there," said Luken, "but I've been explicitly forbidden from going all therapist-y on either of you."

"You have," agreed Roral. "But I haven't. Raine, why didn't you tell us tomorrow is your birthday?" He slid his hand into Raine's, tugging him down for a kiss. "You know we'd want to spend it with you."

"And you will," protested Raine. "My birthday is on Valentine's Day. Of course you'll be spending it with me." He made a face, ears pinned low and tinged red with embarrassment. "I'd just rather be the one to spoil the two of you, rather than the other way around. I don't want you to feel like you have to fuss over me for something unimportant."

"It is important!" said Roral and Luken at the same time, and Raine groaned. "We won't make a big deal out of it if you don't want," said Luken. "But you're important to us. You know that, right?"

"I know." Raine put an arm around Roral's shoulders and kissed Luken's cheek when he moved closer to join them. "...So since it's my birthday, I can go ahead and eat some of those chocolates in the fridge that definitely have mint in them, right?"

"Absolutely not," said Roral. "It's your birthday tomorrow. And somebody doesn't want special treatment."

"That sounds fair to me," said Luken with a nod.

Raine clicked his tongue. "Unbelievable. Ganging up on the disabled guy? On the day before his birthday? My leg hurts so much right now, you know."

"Nope, not gonna work," said Roral, smacking Raine with a wing as he turned to finish the last of the cleanup and getting a laugh out of him. "Go take it off if it hurts."

Raine's laugh turned into a squeak as Luken swept him up into a bridal carry. "You probably should take it off for a few minutes at least if you've been on it all day. Come on, I'll help you."

"Noo, don't leave Roral unattended in my kitchen," whined Raine as Luken carried him to the bedroom. "What if he tries to make dinner?"

"Crazy idea here, but maybe try trusting us," teased Luken, setting Raine on the bed before kneeling down and removing the prosthetic. "Besides, you promised pasta. He won't risk missing out on that."

"I promised nothing," said Raine with a huff, watching Luken roll down the liner and slip it off. "You made sure he got some strawberries for himself when you went shopping, right?"

Luken leaned in between Raine's legs and put his arms around his waist, smiling up at him. "I did."

"Good." He brushed back Luken's loose bangs. "I mean it when I say you don't need to make a fuss, by the way. You two are gift enough."

Luken raised his eyebrows. "So what I'm hearing is, what you want for your birthday-slash-Valentine's Day gift is us wrapped in ribbons and nothing else - " He laughed through the hand Raine clapped over his mouth as Raine's ears went red again. "Love you."

Raine smiled, moving his hand to replace it with his lips instead. "Love you too," he murmured. "...Go sneak me a chocolate while he's busy?"

"And be denied my salted caramels tomorrow? Not a chance."

[hvknono]

reading so this is ever after by ft lukens and guys i swear i had a dream about byler with this exact plotline of mike needing to get married and him choosing will and everyone being shocked

[starfocks]

read my fic for this incredibly obscure book fandom i swear its good

late valentines fic! Rook goes shopping to find a gift for Sun. They have a dinner date and cuddle. And kiss.

[mariailoveyou-guerin]

Okay now I’m actually sad because it means I won’t get more Marcus as Perrin yeah let’s bring this show back immediately with haste whatever it takes for him alone

He worked so hard to bring life to Perrin Aybara and as I’m reading the book right nw the amount of tiny micro expressions and details of Perrin that Marcus brought should be applauded immensely like how whenever someone mentions Perrin eyes he looks down looks not ashamed but closes himself off to the people world or how in s1 you could not see that man head be up but now he’s always standing up tall not for himself but for the people that are looking towards him and when he’s like alone with Faile Alanna or loial he’s head is down again and he’s not as closed off like he usually is, it’s not there bc he knows he can’t pretend around them because they see through him it be it mainly because they’ve experienced that same feeling he’s carrying Faile Alanna Illa or because they know him say Loial

and no one knows nor is more connected to their character more deeply then Marcus like you can tell he understands Perrin and the people Perrin interact with in such way that he should really start writing his own scripts and characters because his analysis of Perrin or Faile is just incredible and how little time we had Faile or was there but he just got/saw her too it takes a great actor to live with his character and have that kind deep connection havent seen an actor have that since Emilia in GOT, Peter as 12th Doc + LukeN as Colin and Matt as Daemon all great actors that so no surprise there!

I’m make video of interviews and his answers yall book readers will understand and get it! No one could have given you a better Perrin Aybara no one would’ve ever understood Perrin better then Marcus he’s just wow I have no words what a great talent and actor he is!bravo

[sending-wishes]

ahhh i got tagged by @kidspawn thank youuuu!!!

last song: Beautiful Delirium by Blackbriar (in the time i have been answering this, it has switched to Madwoman In The Attic, also by Blackbriar)

favorite color(s): dusty blues and purples, yellow in any shade, greys, and pastel pink

currently watching: my mom and i are making our way through all of buzzfeed unsolved supernatural and ghost files, so currently ghost files.

last movie: i genuinely think it was last month when i watched Rockula (1990) with my dad (it was BRILLIANT highly recommend)

sweet, savoury, sour: trick question, it's salty (i have pots) (but savoury ig)

currently reading: Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens, but I am also perpetually reading Anne Of Green Gables.

current obsession: my own writing (which is pretty typical for me), IVE Empathy, Chuu Only cry in the rain, and PBS' Grantchester. also, The Raven Cycle, Charlotte Holmes, The Baby Sitters Club.

working on: making my way through my June TBR (someone save me), writing (both midfell and a secret second project that doesn't have a name or a plot quite yet), editing product photos, planning my Halloween costume, not dying in the Midwestern summer heat, trying to learn at least part of the dance for Pookie by FIFTY FIFTY.

tagging: @sweet-thyme & @calcium-rods but also anyone else is free to do this! i mean it! do it!!

[yulin-xiv]

\\ ACTIVE - OPEN \\

FFXIV OC for RP, Gpose, Writing.

Yujia Naginata lived as the personal assassin of a powerful foreigner in Kugane. She escapes that life by death and is given a second life. She now lives as Yulin.

#my monogatari ~ all writing for Yulin's story // Born of Blood and Rain (first component of her story) #Yujia Naginata ~ her character tag. everything from writing to screenshots, and tag memes. #aesthetics ~ posts that represent Yulin's characteristics \\ #philosophy ~ post that reflect how Yulin feels or thinks. # a recollection ~original gpose photosets #music ~ songs with inspirational vibes for Yulin. \\ OC Playlist

Yulin's life was recovered by the staff of The Hideaway Exhibition. The location fronts as an exhibition gallery, but has backroom dealings in thieving, forgery and smuggling.

#workplace ~ for posts related to The Hideaway (carrd) and it's staff.

Yulin wouldn't call the staff her found family. Neither would she say that it's founder Luken Meharianni (@lal-ffxiv) saved her life. However, The Hideaway is a transitional home for Yulin as she learns to navigate life from being a living weapon to person with freewill.

#blades & coins ~ tag for Yulin's relationship with Luken as friends, family, soulmates, enemies, coworkers, recovery companions.

[the-heir-of-salazar]

Masterlist+ requests open.

---

The Labrats

-Marcus Davenport-

Pizza Night

Dead boy detectives

-Monty-

__Esther's pet__

••A laugh can change a life••

(xreader)

-Esther-

""stillBetrayed""

Harry Potter

-Tom Marvolo Riddle-

**The grey world**

The last kingdom

-Osferth-

He should have knew

Send me a message

For these following propositions :

TV shows/movies

-Dead boy detectives

-the Last Kingdom

-the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

-Gotham

-Gravity Falls

-Lab rats

-Harry Potter

Books

-Babel R.F. Kuang

-Evil Book [the first only/ Vicious] V.E. Schwab

-If we were villains M.L. Rio

-Captive prince [the entire saga possible] C.S. Pacat

-The last binding [the first only/ a marvelous light] Freya Marske

-So this is ever after F.T. Lukens

-the saxon stories-original book of the tv show The last Kingdom- [until the book 6]

Video games

-Detroit Become Human

I accept :

-xreader

-with only os

-a little of nsfw {if it's a good one}

-yandere, horror

-other fandom if the request is clear

I decline :

sorry. / :' ( /

-with OCS (can't write them)

-pure snfw (but can try to write a little)

-fandoms I don't have enough of information (even with reserches)

[lgbtqreads]

Do you know of any lgbt ya with a snarky/funny narrator, preferably fantasy? I have a sibling that seems to only read the first few chapters of a lot of stuff and struggle to keep picking them up unless the narrator is really engaging and funny and then they’ll sit next to me and read all the parts aloud that make them laugh. I’d really love to find more things they’ll enjoy. Lately trans and sapphic stuff has been especially requested by them, and we’re looking for more trans fem things in particular, but anything with stuff that’ll make them laugh would be phenomenal! Their most recent favorites were Legends and Lattes and Aces Wild if that helps at all. Thank you so much for everything! Reading through your recommendations and website has been such great resources for us!!

Ooh The Afterward by EK Johnston might be a great pick for them - Sapphic, I believe there’s trans rep in there too (maybe even transfem? It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but I’m pretty sure), and it’s just a fun read with a fun voice. And while the rep isn’t quite as much a fit, I’d try them on FT Lukens as well - they write really fun, light fantasy. And maybe The Brilliant Death by AR Capetta? Demigirl MC and genderfluid LI and I remember finding it really engaging. Ooh and it’s trans masc but I recall solid snark in The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon.

[r1bbonluvsu]

ELI’S INTRO !!

(I guess…)

Color Code;

Anybody

Friends only

YESYYEYSYSSYS

Names ;

Eli / Shadow / Ribbon

Pronouns ;

He / Him / She / Her / Any

Age ;

Minor…. flippin weirdo!!!

Interests? ;

MOUTHWASHING (heavily hyperfixated on it rn) / LEGO MONKIE KID / Sonic / Neon Genesis Evangelion / Death Note / MHA / Genshin Impact / Soul Eater / Demon Slayer / Psychology / Reading / Horror / Alien Stage (also a fixation, though not too strong) / Undertale (save me from this fandom please.) / Writing (hoping to write a book one day!!!) / Danganronpa / The Owl House / Guilty Gear (Strive’s my fave)

Fave Music Artists? ;

Lyn Lapid / JVKE / Glass Animals / The Stupendium / Taylor Swift unfortunately / Eminem / Ghost / S3RL / 6arelyhuman / Mitski / ICP / Lil Darkie / Laufey

Fave Authors? ;

J.K. Rowling / F.T. Lukens / Adam Silvera / Stephen King / Bryan Lee O’Malley / Madeline Miller

Fave Characters? ;

Katsuki Bakugo / Kyojuro Rengoku / A.B.A / Akaza / Douma / Hunter Noceda / Darwin & Gumball Watterson / Donatello (ROTTMNT) / Leonardo (ROTTMNT) / Donatello (MM) / Shinji Akari / Nagisa Shiota / Wallace Wells / Envy Adams / Misa Amane / Lawliet / Light Yagami / Ryuk / Luka (ALNST) / Till (ALNST) / Ivan (ALNST) / Sun (Spellbound) / Sun Wukong (LMK) / Nezha (LMK) / Macaque (LMK) / Shadow the Hedgehog / Achilles & Patroclus(TSOA) / Riley Freeman / Huey Freeman / American Mcgee’s Alice / the list goes on…..

Kins? ;

Shadow The Hedgehog / Dipper Pines / Ivan (ALNST) / Tanjiro Kamado / Zenitsu Agatsuma / Darwin Watterson / Hunter Noceda / Donatello (ROTTMNT) / A.B.A / Troy Calypso / Toga Himiko / Katsuki Bakugo

Additional Info? ;

Autistic as shit and I probably have a load of other issues too but I’m too scared to get diagnosed so WE SUFFER IN SILENCE BOYS!! THUG IT OUT!!!

Black + White + Italian

I love rats.

Feel free to ask for my discord if you’re bored, idrgaf

Bye bye chat <3

[glowingmushroom0]

Top Ten TBR for August

1. The Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (currently reading)

Back in December, I was re-watching a bunch of Zhao’s videos on YouTube and in one of them she was promoting her novel Iron Widow. While I’ve never been too into mecha-novels in sci-fi, I decided to give this one a try! I’ve been finding the mechanics of the mechs really interesting, and I find Zetian a very engaging character. It also helps that Zhao explains some of the history of the real-life Wu Zetian in two of her YouTube videos. I still haven’t finished the book, but I am pretty close to finishing it.

2. Epithet Erased: Prison of Plastic by Brendan Blaber (currently re-reading)

This novel is a part of the Epithet Erased series on JelloApocalypse’s YouTube channel, which also includes several trailers for this novel and a part of chapter 1 of the novel’s audiobook. I remember seeing the original show on YouTube when it was coming out and it’s a really fun series! This part of the novel focuses on the story of Molly Blyndeff, a twelve-year-old with an epithet, a power that depends on whatever word the epithet is based off of. The story focuses on Molly’s relationship with her older sister Lorelai, and how her friends support her and try to help her as she tries to stop her sister from expanding her dream world within their family’s toy store. I’m actually listening to the audiobook while writing this post! I really recommend the audiobook version of this novel, the voice actors did an excellent job!

3. Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austen

I actually was recommended this book a couple of years ago by an aunt and a cousin of mine. I had gone to a Catholic school and they both knew I was pan (I still haven’t come out to them as agender though, but that’s because I don’t see or talk to them very often). However, what actually convinced me to try the book was an old friend group that started a book club, and this was their first book. I still haven’t read it because I didn’t end up making it to the meetings, but I am interested in reading it.

4. The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

This novel I was interested in more from the author than the subject matter, but that doesn’t mean I’m not interested at all. I first read Jaigirdar’s Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating and really enjoyed it, so I wanted to read more of her works! That’s when I learned that this was her debut novel, and I wanted to compare the two. Plus, I will always find some joy from learning about different art forms through writing in novels. The most I know about henna so far is from a friend of mine who had another friend who wanted to practice henna on them. Because of that, I’d like to learn more about how Jaigirdar depicts henna artists.

5. A Queer Dharma: Yoga and Meditations for Liberation by Jacoby Ballard

I actually found this book at a book exchange that was at an LGBTQ+ friendly event. My friend and I are both interested in this book because we’re both into learning about different kinds of religion and how to express different kinds of spirituality. From what I’ve looked over with the book it talks about how queer people create their own spaces within Buddhism and yoga.

6. So This is Ever After by F. T. Lukens

I’ll go more in-depth with this particular choice in the next book, however the main reasons why I was interested in this novel is because I had already gotten a book from this author that I was pretty interested in. And after looking through another book of Lukens’s (or Lukens’), they also seemed to be really interested in fantasy, especially magic. I also thought it was an interesting idea that the story takes place after the typical “ever after” of defeating an evil king.

7. In Deeper Waters by F. T. Lukens

Now this is the novel that I originally found F.T. Lukens from, and the main reason why I was interested in reading this novel is because I love pirates. I also found myself hooked from just the summary of the novel. When people say a character is mysterious, I don’t really know if they’re going to be mysterious until they appear in the story. However, the summary does show how mysterious Athlen can be, considering he’s introduced as a prisoner on a burning ship. So, I’m interested in learning more about Athlen just from the summary.

8. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

This novel has a bit more controversial reason for why I want to read it. I originally got this book because it was popular, and I was vaguely interested, but then I started hearing about debates on whether this is good MLM (men-loving-men, not multi-level-marketing) representation. However, I then had another friend that’s a part of the queer community that read the book and he liked it. So I wanted to read the book to figure out my own opinion on the novel. Plus I thought it would be a good time to read it since the novel’s getting it’s own show soon. 

9. Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Trans (But Were Afraid to Ask) by Brynn Tannehill

This book is less for me and more for family reasons. I’m not going to go into too much detail for privacy reasons, but a lot of my family still don’t quite understand much about what it exactly means to be transgender, especially not someone who’s under the non-binary umbrella. So I wanted to read this book and see if it’d be a good fit for some of my family members who do read.

10. Video Game Storytelling: What Every Developer Needs to Know about Narrative Techniques by Evan Skolnick

This book is more for my own learning and future career. My specific dream job is to create a video game story, which would go into scriptwriting. However, most of the creative writing advice and tips I’ve gotten were either for fiction in general, or for short stories and poetry. This book might be able to teach more about scriptwriting, but also how to develop scripts for video games.

[lal-ffxiv]

Prompt #6: Halcyon

The unpredicability of the seas was the reason Lucien never became enamoured with idea of being a pirate.

For two moons of sailing the seas where calm as could be, the wind giving them speed for a timely journey.

The captian wise to avoid storms by the smallest signs.

The very same capitan was strugging to keep the ship in one piece against the storm which sideswept the ship into its cold embrace.

Having lived by the sea, Lucien knew that a storm could only be weathered.

How can a storm be weather at sea with no shelter?

Lucian asked the same question of the capitan.

"I haven't time for complaints! The days of serne seas are over!"

"I haven't sailed four seas, and part of the glass ocean to die on the shores of higanashi!" Luken shouted back over the winds and rainfall.

"Our fates are in the hands of the Navigator now, so go below and pray for Llymlaen's mercy."

Lucien did not pray as a rule. None of twelve owned his life, not even the Spinner.

Lucien did sing as his mother did.

cuando hay una tormenta // el cielo grita // Y la tierra tiemble // estoy aquí para ti // dame tu manita y nos sentiremos las lagrimas del cielo//

The days were his mother's agitations could be lulled were the peaceful days that Lucien missed the most.

One nights of full moons, with sea of stars, under the trees they would sing and make stories until the sun came up.

sentiremos la lluvia // respirar con los vientos // se la calma y no el miedo//

Lucien realized in the last verse that the rage of the storm has quieted. He ran above deck, but did not recieve the clear skies he had expected.

Above him a bird with malms of wingspan soared. It had spotted wings, sunburt chest, and an aetherial glow.

A warbling call resonated in the silence in the eye of the storm. There was an answering call as a another bird broke through the windwall to join its mate.

"The Halcyons" an old sailor said in awe as he sail fell to his knees.

The birds joined together in flight swooping into the sea. Then, breaking from the surface, parting from eachother. Both fly high and out of the eye. One to the west and the other to the west. The wind from their wings dissapated the storm.

"What was that?"

"An answer to prayer." The captian said with revel. "Land ho!"

Sure enough, the lights of Kugane's port twinkled in the distance. The Spinner wasn't done with him yet, or the thread of his new life.

[ninapedia]

Jan 2025 Books Read

TOTAL: 9

The Wolf and the Woodsman, Ava Reid

This was Ava's first published book, and it shows. I can see the foundation of what I've come to love in Juniper and Thorn and A Study In Drowning there in it's infancy, but not fully developed. Her plotting gets better with each book she's written but the world building, characters, and character VOICE are all incredibly strong. Walked away enjoying the read and what I got out of the book.

Otherworldly, F.T. Lukens

It's F.T. Lukens. It's queer fantasy romance fluff. I knew what I wanted and I got it.

Lady M*cbeth, Ava Reid

Last Ava book I had to read and the most recent one. Ava's at her strongest when she's in her own world and not working within the confines of another. It is a wholly unique story though, and like The Wolf and the Woodsman I walked away satisfied with what I got out of it. I think Ava's incredibly strong at giving her heroines unique voices despite the core of the circumstances being similar. No two protag sounds alike even if they're all the same sort of 'flavour'.

Don't Let The Forest In, C.G. Drews

I am going to chew off my own arm. If someone touched me while I was reading this book I would have bitten them. I'm obsessed. I'm Insane. I want to scream about the ending specifically until my throat is raw. I want to eat the book in an entirely literal sense, like physically bite into it. I won't be able to stop thinking about this book for AT LEAST the rest of the year.

My Throat an Open Grave, Tori Bovalino

Unfortunately I read this book RIGHT AFTER Don't Let The Forest In, so it was in it's shadow. I still very much enjoyed the book and the messaging of it, and it's almost exactly what I look for when seeking out Faerie Romance (even if they don't use that term), but it's not what I wanted in that moment.

Compound Fracture, Andrew Joseph White

I know the tension in this book was written well because I had to keep stopping to brace myself for what was going to happen next. Adding the rest of Andrew's work to my list. Already bought the one that wasn't at my library.

Hell Followed With Us, Andrew Joseph White

See, now I have a problem with Andrew's books. And it's that I've gone through them way too fast. Finished Hell Followed With Us in two days. Love the way he writes body horror and especially as it relates to the trans experience. The Spanish Catholic that still lives inside of me was going feral over all the religious bits. Nothing subtle about the allegories, and the reflection of real world events is very loud and honestly probably too on the nose for me, but the writing was so my cup of tea it was easy to overlook.

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, Andrew Joseph White

UNHINGES MY JAW AND SCREAMS. I think this was favourite of the three books, which is so funny to me because medical related horror is usually one of the things I cannot handle because I'm deeply terrified of Medical Things. NGL there were some rough moments for me, but I was so invested with Silas that I was determined not to drop it.

Catch all for AJ's writing as a whole:

I think the best written tension is when I see exactly what's going to happen and still flinch when it does. Build up liking blowing a balloon bigger and bigger knowing that it'll eventually pop and knowing exactly WHICH breath will push it over. The eventual cathartic release after the final string snaps is so so good.

Bury Your Gays, Chuck Tingle

This is probably going to be the last book I finish this month but it's a good way to end the month! This is my first time reading Chuck Tingle's work and I'm SO IMPRESSED by the way he used foreshadowing, like I'm hesitating calling it Chekhov's Gun but it does feel very Chekhov's Gun. There were so many little details that felt inane until they weren't. I was able to approximate what was going on but even when the reveals happened there were certain elements I didn't guess but with hindsight I saw that they were foreshadowed perfectly. Very entertaining read, I really want to read Camp Damascus now (his other horror book) but it's not in my library so I gotta wait until I can buy it.

CURRENTLY READING:

Old Wounds, Logan-Ashley Kisner

Where the Dark Stands Still, A.B. Poranek

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, David Grann

BOOK CLUB BOOK:

Inkspell, Cornelia Funke

[light-effects]

Luken Lightbringer

Class: Combat architect

Age: 25 years old

Personality: Like the speed of light, Luken is constant and unwavering. He is emotionally stable to the point that he seems disinterested. Still, there are evidences that he doesn’t actually want to live like this. Despite his love of spoiling people with affection, Luken will speak his mind without the fear of hurting them. In a way, he's both the kindest and the most heartless person anyone will ever meet.

Luken is a very easygoing and serene person. He suppressed and disassociate his personal thoughts from everything so he never takes anything personally and it’s really hard to emotionally hurt him or make him get truly angry with anybody. Despite that, Luken’s mental fortitude is not invincible and he secretly wish to be treat with delicacy so he does his best to treat people with gentleness and affection he wish he received.

Despite his chill attitude, Luken is discipline and can be stern when need. He’s quite strict with his friends when it comes to manner, living space and disturbing the town. He will not hesitate to scold them if he sees fit. However, Luken tend to assumed that he’s in the right and often forget to listen to the other.

Luken likes to play and listen to emotionless music unemotionally. He loves bland, tasteless food. He also has the tendency to sleep around with lonely people. To everyone’s demise, Luken think he’s cheering people up and helping them out rather than messing around.

The letter describes Luken as "A walking statistical anomaly" and that he is a heartless executioner of the evils.

Fighting style: Luken main weapon is scythe. He mainly relies on achieving momentum, using his scythe and armor's weigh to achieve massive impact force. Despite his size, Luken's physical strength is considerable, given how he can drag and throw his opponent into the air with notable speed using his scythe. When being counter in close range, he will use his arm guard in substitute for shield to defense himself until he got into desired distance once again.

In the case of small space combat, Luken can wield sword where in this case he would hold sword on his right and the sheath on his left. Using it both as a shield and baton, he prefers to knock his opponent with his sheath then thrust them with his sword by surprise. While he does have dagger with him, he'll only use it as a last resort as he personally finds close combat to be his weakest skill.

As an architect, Luken has a habit of setting up trap and use his surrounding to his advantage whether it be structural or geographical. Luken aim is on par with Arland and Lennard, passable but not the best.

Luken’s left eye cornea was damaged and while it is healed up properly without loss of vision, Luken is very sensitive to bright light.

Although Luken write and draw with his left hand, he engages combat with his right hand as the dominant one. He aims, holds sword and dagger on his right hand. Luken mention, this allows him to defense himself without having to stop sketching IMINT note. However, he doesn't seem to have a prefer hand when it comes to his scythe.

Skills and abilities: Luken mainly specializes in creation magic which are separated into macro creation and micro creation. For macro creation, it can be separated into buildings that Luken constructed himself and building that were constructed by others.

In the case of building that were constructed by other, Luken can renovate, adjust or rebuild the building by drawing over its architectural plans. However, the process must be done with care and consideration especially with order of change as wrong part being move in a wrong time can resulted in said building collapsing. He can also do the same to town or city if he ever gets his hand on a city plan.

This also allow him to animate buildings in a way. By politely knocking them and speak his request, he can ask them to move, lock and unlock their entrance or ask them for what they see and hear behind their closed door.

In the case of constructing his own building, Luken can conjured them out of his sketch as long as there are materials. He can also swap the rooms and floors inside like a Rubik cube.

Luken can also animated statues by amputating their head, the statue will return to their static state once their head returned to their body. This results in Luken usually being surrounded by bloodied statues with their hands on their head like they are losing their mind. The animated statue will have mind of its own and can declined to help Luken out. Usually Luken can win them over with a favor or offer like sewing them pretty clothes, move them to places they want to be or destroy another statue for them.

For micro creation, Luken can create, shape and manipulate threads which can be separated into white thread and gold thread. Both types of threads are indestructible as long as Luken's magic is active.

The white thread is less deathly and can be used to bind his opponent, weave safety net, conjure trap and aid him when he climbs mountain or building. Any threads and fabrics can be conjure into white thread, but he might not be able to return them to their original form.

The gold thread though, will cut anything in its path and it is being weaponized by Luken more often than the white thread. The gold threads are special threads Luken milled and blessed by himself which he wears underneath his outer tunic in the form of fishnet fabric.

Other notes:

1. Luken tend to use his gardening scythe to fight and use his war scythe for gardening.

2. Luken‘s tunic is hand dyed using flowers he grows; he re-dye it once every week or the color will fade.

3. He own the place that the group is staying at which is a renovated abandon hospital in the forest.

[chicgeekgirl89]

TBR 2025

Thanks to @bonheur-cafe for the tag! I have soooo many books on my TBR this year, and we are starting with a mega amount of Romantasy drops in January!

Onxy Storm- I know. I'm so basic. But I've been out here loving dragons since I was like, six, so...you know. It has to be done.

Love at Second Sight- I looooove FT Lukens, can't wait to see what this one is about!

The Fragile Threads of Power- @bluenet13 introduced me to the Shades of Magic trilogy and I can't wait to be reunited with Kell and Lila and Rhy and my favorite little pirate Alucard.

Four Ruined Realms- The first one ended on a major reveal and a bit of a cliffy! Ah!

Accomplice to the Villain- I read the first two of these SO FAST. Might be the best thing TikTok ever gave us, Evie and Trystan are SUCH a delight. Great for if you're loving the Wicked vibe of "who is actually a villain here?".

The Inadequate Heir- We can credit this one to @bluenet13 as well, I'm completely hooked on this series and she told me last night that this one includes the perspective of my NEW. FAVORITE. BOY.

Carving Shadows Into Gold- Okayyyyyyy Brigid, it's been four thousand years, thank god we're finally getting this book. It's going to hurt me, but I'm excited to get back to Jax and Tycho! (Although I hope Callyn dies 💀).

When In Rome- Sarah Adams has been all over my insta feed and I'm intrigued! Hopefully I like her writing!

Say You'll Remember Me- I got my first Abby Jimenez from Book of the Month and I swear every book she writes gets better. Can't wait!

Sounds Like Love- Ashley Poston makes me sob my eyes out, everything she writes is gold. Literally I have such envy because her writing it so smart and funny and heartfelt and I will never be on her level!

Tagging @bluenet13, @lemonlyman-dotcom, @guardian-angle22, and if any of the rest of you are bookish, feel free to jump in!

[stareaterreads]

My Anticipated Titles of 2025!

One of my favorite things about New Years is taking a moment to see what are all the new books that are planned to be releasing in the new year. It feel likes every time, there are big releases. 2025 feels no different with some of my favorite authors coming in with some fantastic-sounding new books!

Katabasis by R.F. Kuang (07/30)

From the absolute legend behind the Poppy War trilogy and Babel: An Arcane History, comes another dark academia fantasy about two graduate students who must journey into Hell. Every single word in each description and blurb gets better and better. While I have yet to read Poppy War, I did recently finish Babel and was left completely awestruck. The level of detail and nuance in Kuang’s writing is profound, pulling me to claw for more. This nearly takes the top of the list.

The Dallergut Dream-Making District by Miye Lee (05/28)

At the true top of my list is the return to the fantastical and dreamy world of the Dallergut Dream Department Store. The first novel’s unique style and departure from typical ‘cozy’ qualities had me hoping for a sequel, which I knew existed in Korea, though I honestly shouldn’t have been worried about whether it would get another English translation. If I’m being transparent here, if it didn’t, I would have simply continued my Korean studies and read it anyway. (I do hope to eventually read the original Korean texts someday, though. It’s a personal dream of mine). I cannot wait to explore a little more into other dreamers and dream-makers - and another week of good dreams to follow for me!

I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com by Kimberly Lemming (02/18)

As much as I love monster romance, I did get tired of how dark and edgy it is often written, so when I discovered Kimberly Lemming’s Mead Mishaps series, it was like a love potion got spilled on me! To see she has another book coming out with a cover that had me literally ROFL’ing (does anyone actually use that acronym?) and trying very hard not to keyboard smash my ARC request. With dinosaurs, aliens, and rom-coms all in the mix - hell yeah! How could anyone not be excited about this?!

Love at Second Sight by F.T. Lukens (04/29)

No one who knows me IRL needs to be a reader to know I adore Lukens’ work and have listened to every audiobook, because Lukens’ writing paired with Free’s voice is a match made from the stars. With their latest release, Otherworldly and its gorgeous cover, fun & sweet writing, and queer joy, I knew I would be sitting tight, ready for the next. I am counting the days until Love at Second Sight releases and am so ready for the audiobook to tandem read it!

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst (07/15)

Of the cozy fantasies I read of 2024, I really fell in love with The Spellshop. I know some people felt it stuck so close to the “cozy formula”, but honestly, it does it best. Each of the background characters really make the whole atmosphere come together, the gentle friendship (potential romance) developing between the protag and the seahorse farmer was so wholesome, the sassy plant companion really added some pizzazz to the dialogue, and just everything worked so well to make a truly cozy book for me. I’m excited to see another book coming out in the same universe, and I’m also relieved to know it isn’t a sequel (since I didn’t really see how you could continue after the end of The Spellshop). I’m really looking forward to Durst’s cozy style blessing the world once again.

Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle (08/12)

With my review of Camp Damascus, I am sure it is no surprise to see I look forward to more horror from the tingle king, Chuck Tingle. While I fully intend to continue forward and read every horror Tingler, I intend to read some of Dr. Tingle’s butt tinglers, as I hear they have a fantastic story and developed world. Additionally with the incoming Lucky Day, I am always glad to see more queer representation in fiction that doesn’t just use it as a diversity token. Plus, a global disaster and a supernaturally lucky casino? How is that gonna pair up - I gotta know!

Nevertheless, I am excited for what the future may hold, for both this blog and in the literary world. Let me know what book you’re looking forward to reading in 2025! I wish you a good year of reading, and I’ll see you on the other side. As always, I thank you for reading and supporting my little blog, and a reminder to you, dear reader, that in this brave and hopeful universe, you matter to me. Until next time, I’ll be reading!

If you’re interested in any of the above mentioned book, pre-order it from one of these links here! Bookshop.org - Barnes & Noble - Libro.fm [audiobook] or from your local bookstore, which you can find on IndieBound!