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cryptidghostgirl · 2 months

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Music (Lute x Reader)

Paring: Lute x Reader

Description: Y/n has been dating Lute for years. After her girlfriend gets home from the most recent extermination, she tries to talk to Lute about the person being around Adam makes her.

Warnings: I know that the description makes this sound angsty and like they're gonna fight but its actually really sweet. Fluff. Just fluff.

Word Count: 829, short and fluffy.

Master Lists:

Master Lists

Hazbin Hotel Master List

A/N I came up with this when I couldn't sleep last night. I just think it'd be cute. (Listen, I could fix her.)

"I don't like who you are around him."

Lute let the door fall shut behind her. Her whole body ached and was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, demon blood, and grime. As her eyes fell on her girlfriend, laying on the bed casually with a book loosely clutched between her gentle fingers, she scoffed.

"This again?"

"Yeah." Y/n nodded, closing her book and putting it to the side as she got up off the bed, "I don't like it. He makes you..."

"He makes me what?" Lute spat back.

She was tired. The extermination had taken a lot out of her, been so much to deal with. Lute didn't mean to lash out like this, she just couldn't deal with it right now. It was all too much.

"He... just... when you spend too much time with Adam, you start acting different. I don't know."

"Well, not like I really have much of a choice." Lute exclaimed in exhasperation, letting her mask and her spear fall to the floor by the doorway she still stood in.

"No, I know." Y/n hurried to correct herself, getting to her feet, "I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry."

"Whatever."

Lute stalked off into the bathroom. The drying blood felt tight against her skin, she was exhausted. The fact that she knew Y/n was right on some level, that being around Adam did change her, made her more volatile and rude, only fueled her anger. The truth was, without him goading her on, Lute would never do half the terrible things she did.

She began to unhook her armor, letting it fall haphazardly to the marble floor of the bathroom. Lute shot the doorway a glance as she heard a slight rustle of fabric. Y/n stood there, leaning against the frame with her arms around her waist, watching.

"What?" Lute grumbled.

With a sigh, Y/n straightened herself and crossed the room. Turning on the shower, she stuck her hand under the water as she messed with the temperature, trying to make sure it wasn't too hot.

"Look, Music, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to start something, I know you've had a long day. We'll talk about it later."

There it was, Music. Y/n had called her that since the minute they'd made things official. When Lute had asked her where the nickname had come from, she'd smiled softly and said something about her being art. Not the overlooked instrument, but the masterpiece that comes from it. All the fight slipped out of her.

Taking the chainmail off from beneath her plated armor, Lute walked over to her girlfriend. Y/n let out a short gasp of surprise as she snaked her hands around her waist, leaning her head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry I snapped." Lute admitted, her cheeks flushed pink.

Apologies had never been her strong suit. Y/n smiled. Taking her hand out from under the water, she gently took Lute's arms from her waist. Turning to face her head on, Y/n held her hands in hers.

"I shouldn't have pushed it, Muse."

Muse. Y/n’s inspiration, her guiding light. How could Lute have forgotten? All the chaos, all the blood on her hands, and still -- Y/n loved her. Through all the bad, she somehow found the good.

"No, no." Lute looked away bashfully, "You were right. I... I just don't know how to get out of this. There is a person I have to be when I'm around him and... I don't like her either."

"Hey hey hey! Pretty girl!" Y/n exclaimed, dropping her hands and instead holding Lute's face gently, turning it to face her own once again, "We will figure it out. Together, we always do. All I ask of you is that you don't bring it home."

"I know, I wont anymore. It's not fair to you, I know."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Lute nodded.

Y/n smiled, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead as she let her hands fall from Lute's cheeks. Lute caught them in their descent to Y/n's sides and, leaning back in, kissed her lips gently in return. Y/n's cheeks were flushed a pretty pink when Lute leaned away a few seconds later.

"Damn, how many years has it been and you still get all flustered?" Lute teased.

"Oh, hush." Y/n waved her off, looking away, "Take a shower, you smell like... like..."

"Demon blood and sweat?"

"Yeah." Y/n nodded apologetically, meeting Lute's eyes.

Lute laughed. Somehow, Y/n just had a way of making her feel better. It could be the worst day in the world and coming home to that girl would make it all go away.

"I love you." she whispered as steam began to fill the bathroom from the hot shower.

Lute wrapped her arms around Y/n's waist, holding her close.

"Always, Lute." Y/n confirmed, nuzzling her forehead into Lute's shoulder, "Always."

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scifrey · 3 months

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NINE-TENTHS

Oh my gosh, the book is now officially out! This is the first original novel I've published since 2018 and I am very excited and very nervous to share it.

☕♥️🐉

➡️ You can read it here. ⬅️

Chapters drop Wednesdays and Saturdays, and if you're worried, the story is already finished and fully uploaded. This is not a WIP that I will abandon later--it's totally complete.

About the book:

Twenty-four is one year too young for a quarter-life crisis, but hey, Colin's always been an overachiever. He's got a degree in Sustainable Tourism, which his family says he's wasting as a barista, an annoying anxiety disorder, and no freaking idea what to do with his life. The only thing going his way is the cute coffee shop regular, a homo draconis named Dav (who, in his humanshape, is a total hottie.) Still, it'd be easier if Dav didn't have a habit of accidentally setting things on fire when he's startled. Like the café kitchen.

When Dav breaks draconic taboo and volunteers as a replacement bean-roaster to apologize for the inferno meet-ugly, sparks really fly. Everything's finally happening for Colin, until he learns that hooking up with Dav means that under dragon law, Colin is absorbed into Dav's hoard.

Possession may be nine-tenths of the law, but becoming his boyfriend's property does not make this whole identity crisis thing easier. Especially now that Colin must navigate politics, paparazzi, and legal questions about his personhood. Colin's still angling for his Happily Ever After, but the growing scrutiny on his relationship with Dav threatens their budding romance. And if he's not careful, Colin's fight for agency may just destroy symbiotic human/dragon relationships worldwide.

Beautiful cover art by @seancefemme

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fabuloustrash05 · 1 year

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Canon Facts About TMNT 2012 Everyone Seems To Forget, But I Remember For Some Reason (Part 2):

Shout to my friend @pumpkinpie59 for having a good memory and remembering some of these other fun facts that slipped my mind. I decided to put them and other facts I remembered all together in their own post. Check out Part 1

Casey hates dubbed anime

April is apart of her school’s chess club

April is failing trigonometry but is also Casey’s tutor in the subject

Karai is 1/8th Chinese

Some characters often refer to the Turtles as “Yokai” or “Kappa”, Yokai are mythical Japanese monsters and Kappa are turtle yokai

Raph once dressed up as a fairy princess for Halloween

According to the official TMNT 2012 concept art book, Leo has a “man-crush” on Captain Ryan (Bisexual Leo confirmed??)

The Turtles like to hang out in Mikey’s room when they are bored

Raph can play the drums

Shinigami’s cats eye hypo ball weapon is a family heirloom, meaning her entire family are all witches and magic users

The Rat King and Dr Rockwell are old friends/colleagues

Before he met Raph, Casey had a childhood best friend named Nick who he no longer speaks to because of a hockey game incident

Donnie is a milk guy #milkatello

Mikey is one of the only people who can make Karai laugh

Fishface hosts an underground racing tournament as a way to earn some extra cash (does Shredder not pay his henchmen?)

April’s dad is a psychologist

There is a meteor that flies by on Karai’s birthday. Every year, Splinter would go up top to watch the meteor and wish his daughter a happy birthday, and unknown to him, Karai (when she was trapped in her snake form) would also watch the meteor.

April used to wear glasses and had braces before she met the Turtles, meaning April wears contact lenses and most likely wears a retainer when she sleeps

Mutant Apocalypse is one of many alternate timelines for the Turtles’ future

Raph hates sour cream

Fugitoid used to be a selfish and greedy man

Renet has been promoted from Assistant Time Master In Training to Junior Assistant Time Master

Casey is left handed

When the Turtles are asleep, Splinter plays their video games and is pretty good

Muckman is known to the public as New York’s mutant superhero, he often uses this image to cover for the turtles, taking the credit while they did all the work in the shadows

With her psychic powers, April can enter people’s dreams

When Raph, Slash, Rockwell and Karai were under the brainworm’s control they were consciously aware of everything they were doing, but were unable to control their actions

Bebop and Rocksteady left New York and became heroes in New Jersey

According to the producers, in the future Raph and Mona Lisa got married and had turtle-lizard hybrid babies

#more important things to know #fanfic writers take notes!#tmnt fun facts #random thoughts #tmnt 2012 #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt leonardo #tmnt leo #tmnt raphael #tmnt raph #tmnt donatello #tmnt donnie #tmnt michelangelo #tmnt mikey #april o'neil #karai #casey jones #master splinter

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bhxrdy · 5 months

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starry night | aemond targaryen

author's note: my first aemond fic to officially write - though not the first one that came to me (👀). hopefully, this will be enjoyable. spotify has the playlist from the expo. you can listen to it while reading or not. all up to you :) lots of love & stay safe 💕

She was unbothered by the crowd, her ears soothed by the soft orchestra as its violin and cello strings swiftly danced through her headphones, the item covering the entirety of her cartilage.

Her focus was given to the timeless masterpiece, her gaze following the road of the paintbrush as it retraced the softness of the model’s curves; from afar, she had the sight to detect the faintest of details.

Even in-cased by thick glass where soft glare could be reflected at times, she could still depict the colors colliding with such ease from the forms of the background to the veil she wore, down to her right hand resting over her left wrist.

She was taken by the art until a presence quietly made itself known by her side; to her left stood a tall man. He bore a pronounced jawline, platinum hair and from the corner of her eyes, she could depict a hint of lavender decorating his right iris. He was slender and held himself with his arms behind his back as he gave his attention to the painting in front of him, ignoring the commotion of the cameras and the people surrounding them.

Removing her headset, it rested around her neck when she heard a soft grunt, a little ‘hm’. She smiled, biting the corner of her bottom lip as she dropped her head down, stifling a chortle. She then turned her head to the man as he spoke under his breath.

“She is overrated.” His gaze hadn’t moved, his words disappearing into the collective but not to her.

“Then why are you here?”

Her tone wasn’t accusatory. Instead, she was indulging him almost, amused at the fact he still stood and stared at Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

He was taken aback by her comment, not having realized she had heard him. He turned his head to her and huffed - almost a chuckle - as the corner of his lips curved upwards. “Good point.”

She turned her eyes back to the painting, her head slightly tilting as she searched for her words. “I find her… intriguing.” The man remained put, his one good eye reverting to the piece of art that hung a few feet away from them. “She is hiding a secret, forever kept in the back books of history.”

He chuckled, not fully impressed by her remark. He thought it generic even though he knew, in the back of his mind, it was made to amuse him. “That is what everyone is saying.”

The lopsided grin won him over, her eyes meeting his. “Doesn’t mean it isn’t true.” She had quickly glanced to his injured eye, the color now a simple faded crystal blue. It didn’t bother her, and no reaction had come from her, which he silently appreciated.

He inspected her as she, once again, looked away. She wore a wool wrapped coat that covered her down passed her knees, the belt tightened around her waist. Her hair looked almost disheveled from the knitted beanie she had removed, though her locks covered her gracefully as they rested around her while highlighting the shades of her eyes.

He saw the headphones around her neck and smiled to himself; his own pair were held captive in his coat pocket.

They stood for a few more minutes in silence, looking ahead at the painting.

She was ready to move on but lingered, not wanting to part ways with the man standing next to her.

He had grown annoyed with the crowd, desperate to leave the herd, but refrained as he was not ready to separate from her just yet.

She picked her phone out of her pocket and looked at the time, the clock dangling above her paused playlist. She then pivoted to him, biting down her lip as she gathered courage to speak to him again.

He noticed her changed position and peered at her, entranced by her stature. She had placed her arms behind her back, close to rocking on her toes as she quickly scanned the people around her before setting her eyes on him again.

Inquisitive and hopeful, she held her breath.

“This might be a bit forward, but… how do you feel about Van Gogh?”

It was overwhelming to say the least.

Diving headfirst, they were transported into a new reality, surrounded by moving images, the projectors guiding them across the several rooms that inhabited Van Gogh’s life through his works of art.

Submerged under the rays of colors, bathing under their illuminating glow, they were consumed by the sensory experience; bodies were wrapped within the various masterpieces, from the elegant portraits to the hundreds of landscapes. The duo was entranced into captivation as the musical score resonated from wall to wall, catching the essence of the paintings into its staff where the clefs kept the notes afloat with the shifts and swirls of the artist’s hopes and dreams.

He was buried under the cascading lights, their intensity following the waves of the moving pictures. He was lost in his own amazement, in the thrill and sheer emotional rollercoaster he had embarked on; he enjoyed these works in passing, but only now could he truly understand the man’s pain.

He turned around, his sight taking in the floating petals washed away by the wind to the waves of the oceans, to the ogling stares of portraits and voiced-out letters, until he eventually saw his companion.

She stood a few feet away, intently staring at Van Gogh’s Self Portrait with a Pipe, when he was pulled in.

She had been staring at it for a while, her eyes never wavering away from the man’s stare as he would blink while the smoke of his pipe danced in the air. She couldn’t tell what it was that shook her, what made her tremble to her very core, when she broke down. Silently tearing up, the old man was looking down at her as melancholy soaked his eyes, the gaze — a feathered touch of poignancy.

Her guest was befuddled at his sight, to find her quietly crying in the dark was perplexing. He couldn’t have known the truth behind her tears, the reason her emotions strangled her through the music. The heartbreak she endured months ago, when she was forced to part ways with her fiancé due to his indiscretions — she had finally let the bourgeoning storm find her, drowning her in her impending ache.

“Are you alright?” He approached her, worried while she remained frozen in front of the portrait.

“Y-yes!” She had forgotten about her surroundings, his inquiry pushing her away from her trance. “Sorry about that. I don’t know what happened…” She let out a broken chuckle as she wiped the tears that strung across the corners of her eyes.

“Was it the painting?” He was still curious, wanting to understand the circumstances of her gentle unraveling.

She tilted her head to him, offering him a small smile. “I think the painting just brought it out of me.”

As she spoke, the old man went away, the projectors continuing their route as they rode the audience into other works, welcoming them with more notable pieces, such as Starry Night.

She took a deep breath, finding herself a seat on a bench and watched the stars move around them from across the four walls to the ground, right under their feet.

The instruments’ chords brought her back to her trance, leaving only the boy in their shared reality.

He could only stare at her, the echoes of her voice quieting down the static noise that lived in his head; all was now left unplugged, creating utter deafness.

It was peaceful, and he felt he could finally breathe.

He watched her in awe, the variation of blues etched across the sky where the golden stars warmed the hues; she was absorbed by the landscape as if she had been part of the picture itself.

He was enthralled by her presence, the feelings thrumming against his heart and rekindling the spark of a dying flame, the embers laying low within the desert of ash around them.

It had been way too long since he last felt this way.

The heat raised his skin, shivers covering his entire body as he stuck to her, unable to partake in the rest of the exposition any longer. He had lost himself in her, taking in the way she had been immersed in the moving brushstrokes as they danced and rippled to her every footstep, her ability to appreciate the works around her, her knowledge of these renderings, the connection she had built by the simple look just enough to bring her to tears.

All he could do was take her in, like fresh air, and admire the work of art that stood in front of him.

And then the lights went out, the room once again diving into the darkness until a voice was heard above their heads, reading out loud the written words that were shared between the painter and his brother.

The young man was pulled out of his reverie and looked away from her, taking in a slow breath to calm the bombardments in his chest.

His mind was still quiet, which he thanked.

It had been a while since he could last hear himself think.

But even now it seemed, his words strung nonsense.

The woman had taken his senses captive, luring him into complete ignorant bliss, and he loved it.

The expo, eventually over, the ending was presented with simple sentences that were etched across the walls.

They made their way towards the exit, both parties reluctant to walk away from one another.

She turned to look at him, catching a glimpse of his bi-colored gaze into her sight. She held her breath, enjoying the way the remaining lights captured the shades of his irises into perfect harmony.

Afraid to end the momentum, he took the lead and stepped forward, though not too close as to invade her personal space.

“I would like to see you again.” He spoke gently, carefully, patiently waiting for her response. His words were not a request, nor were they imposing.

She smiled, flattered. “I’ll make room in my schedule, then.”

Questions were not part of their relationship; they always held affirmative back-and-forth instead, knowing that inquiring was unnecessary.

“I’m honoured.” He spoke up, cheekiness underlaid in his tone as he indulged her with his infamous smirk, the one that always made her bite the inside of her cheek to hold herself back.

She grinned at him, dropping the playful charade they have been sharing this evening.

“It was nice to see you again, Aemond…” She sighed, content. “It’s been too long.”

He nodded, pensive. “It has.”

He had missed her terribly.

They lost touch in the last few years. She had moved away after getting engaged and started a new life on the other side of the world while he was left alone, their love for each other withering away before it had a chance to bloom, the dirt drying up without water.

Silence hung between them, like a friend wrapping its arms around the couple’s shoulders in a joint trio.

She then spoke again, biting her lip in thought. “I’m not really ready to go yet, and god knows I could use some air…” She let out a breath, her courage gathered on the tip of her tongue. “Do you want to go and get some coffee? We could catch up.”

He agreed to her proposition, marching towards the door as he opened it for her, inviting her into the cool air of the city’s night.

She smiled and graciously walked through before he followed her.

They stepped outside meeting the dim lit stars and their moon hovering above them; the golden colours were present whereas the blue had been transformed into its reality counterpart - pure darkness wearing an essence of sublimity instead of its usual malevolence.

Side by side, they took their time walking down the streets, his name tickling her lips into a softening smile. It was better than any orchestra, he thought, the composition of her voice alone making him feel like a spectator at his own opera show, his lost love becoming the conductor of their renewed symphony.

The past caught up to them, taking them left and right without a real destination anymore.

The roads were open, the warmth of their encounter illuminated under a starry night.

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a/n: the exposition was based on something I attended. Loved it. If you need an outing and this happens in your city, go for it. You don't have to be an art advocate, or even really know Van Gogh in depth to appreciate his work and this immersive experience. It's overwhelmingly beautiful (does that make sense?) and worth the 1-2h :)

#hotd fanfic #aemond x oc #aemond x reader #aemond targaryen #aemond targaryen fanfic #hotd #aemond targaryen fanfiction #hotd fanfiction #aemond fanfic #aemond fic #aemond targaryen fic #hotd fic #aemond #mywriting

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the-solar-system52 · 5 months

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THE RUIN FILES BOOK COVER JUST GOT RELEASED AND OF COURSE I NEED TO GIVE MY TWO CENTS ON IT!

First of all, it's coming out on April 2nd and my birthday is April 8th, meaning I will actually be able to buy and read this book! I will no doubt be reporting on anything of interest and doing some theorising, so I'm really looking forward!

People have already commented on this, BUT OH MY GOD ARE WE FINALLY GETTING SOME BONNIE AND FREDDY LORE??? They could've used any other render of Freddy for the cover, there's even a version of this poster without text, but they SPECIFICALLY used the version Freddy wrote on! I really hope we get some insight into Fronnie being canon or not, I mean, even MAT PAT ships it now. I couldn't have been unintentional.

MY DUDE!!! THERE HE IS!!! Look, I'm not expecting any crazy lore drops since DCA's plotline was already wrapped up pretty nicely imo, but what I do want is CLARIFICATION. Like, even though Youtooz technically confirmed my Eclipse theory, Youtooz is only a merch manufacturer, so it can be debated whether or not they can be relied on for 100% CANON info. And even though I'm quite confident in my theory (that post is probably one of my longest) some parts are a little bit of a stretch and it takes AWHILE to explain. It'd be nice for it be confirmed and just have ONE reliable source to point to.

So I was VERY excited when I saw this because many fans pointed out that this is CONCEPT ART, and not the official poster. I thought we may be getting more concept art in this book! But unfortunately, this was not the case.

Scott replied to this situation saying that the use of concept art was entirely an accident, and will be changed in the final product. I gotta say, this is a bit disappointing. But it is in character for Scott and Steelwool. Unlike the Bendy creators posting concept art on their social media, or Undertale having a whole 'The Art of Undertale' book, FNAF has never been one to share behind-the-scenes stuff.

But I don't blame them. This is most likely due to how theory-focused the fandom is. It'd be easy to see people use concept art as evidence for a theory, despite it not being credible. Like how people use unused lines in the code of the game for theories, despite them probably being UNUSED for a reason. Unfortunately, sharing unused creative ideas would only make the lore even more confusing for some people, so I think its good they didn't go this route.

Anyway, I'm SO excited for this book to come out! Though fnaf books do have a history of being leaked before their release date, if that does happen, it'll most likely be closer to April. But I'll keep you posted!

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tafferling · 2 months

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Book Release: Aphelion, The City of a Billion Stolen Souls

Aphelion is a love letter. In incomplete one at that, which is still being written as I make my way through the series. But as each of its seasons is finished, a book gets released! And here we are! My first official 'omg I published something' novel: Aphelion, The City of a Billion Stolen Souls

If you like science-fantasy with soul-harnessing magic and tech, a cyberpunk (or aetherpunk, those two are having fisticuffs) flair, and a slow burn simmering away in the middle of a (mysterious) zombie apocalypse, then Aphelion may just be right for your bookshelf. Literally, because you can buy all of book one's 531 pages in gorgeous print!

What's in it?

In a world where tech runs off the concept of one's soul and where dragons steady cosmic scales, heroes are shaped in the shadow of an ancient grudge. Horizon's Crown was an Earther triumph; a stage at the frontier of the settled systems, a city of hope and dreams and infinite potential. Now, under the watchful eye of its orbital island, it straddles the line between dead and dying; a city of nightmares and endless sorrow. Varrett Vild Vickers belongs into a pilot's chair. He's meant to dodge asteroids, to race dragons, not chase credits so he can pay rent while HC's major demographic clicks its teeth at him and tries to eat his face off. But it's fine. Really. He copes. Or that's what he tells himself, all the way until a woman falls from the sky and turns his already upside-down life very sharply sideways. Armed with nothing but her worst-kept secret and a ledger of lies, Sophya Soulwright tricks her way into Horizon's Crown, looking for not only her sister, but for redemption and a meaning to a life she’s never held dear. What she finds instead is a city trying its hardest to live, and a man who courts death every step of the way. He's infuriating, tireless, and after a glitch binds their souls together, he is now stuck with her.

Don't want this chunky darling on your shelf and prefer to read it digitally? Dontchu worry, Taff has you covered. I release Aphelion as a free-to-read web serial, both on Campfire (where you can tip me if you like to get world building extras) and Archive of Our Own. 'cause like I said; Aphelion is a love letter. I just want to write it and share it.

But that doesn't mean I don't want to hear from you if you choose to give it a chance.

Where to find Aphelion:

On Amazon (531 pages, paperback).

On Goodreads (oh gosh I have an author profile there now).

On Campfire Explore (where, if you choose to tip, you may feel the sudden sensation of an ethereal cat slinking around your ankles in appreciation).

And on Archive Of Our Own (where it all started).

BIG BIG BIG thanks to @hermit-writes for her amazing typesetting skills (and book photography) and of course @drawinglinestoconstellations for the cover and interior art.

#Aphelion #I can't believe I can say “I published a book”#Indie Authors #Indie Publishing #Science Fiction #Zombie Apocalypse #Slow burn #Soul Magic #Web Serial #Campfire Explore

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mistysblueboxstuff · 8 months

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this is kinda going off that ask you got about ur job, how'd you manage getting painting to be your full-time job?

-from someone who does not want a normal job

purely by accident if I'm honest xD

okay story time I guess: so i had a baby in 2009 and i decided to be a stay at home mum, i expected to get a job once my kid was a bit older, then my grandma moved in with us and my dad got sick and i had lots to do at home so never did get a job, i started painting with a tablet my husband got me several years prior (but was too scared to learn how to use) as a way to cope with everything that's been going on, especially when my dad passed in February 2016, my grandma passed in August of the same year and it was A Lot. It was the most difficult time of my life and i never felt more hopeless, i got pneumonia and in general was feeling like I'm about to die myself.

but painting would take my mind off things, it was my escape, so i kept doing it, started getting some commissions in 2018 and figured okay maybe I'm not terrible at this. 2019 and the first season of Good Omens happened and more people began noticing my art. from there i sort of started to be able to make a bit of a living from my art. i never planned it, or expected it to happen. i just painted because i loved it.

last year i was painting a lot of Our Flag Means Death stuff and some people noticed me, i got my first official book cover deal from Penguin Random House/LucasFilm and i got to do an officially licensed BTS art for Sideshow Collectibles.

i do commissions too, sell prints and artbooks, and i paint all the time. like 8/10/12 hours a day, art is both my job and my hobby and i love it so much. I really hope i get to do this forever xD

#reply #anonymous #long post #text

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gurggggleburgle · 1 year

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being about unhinged headcannons is kinda my entire thing so with that this in mind i am about to say something truly terrible. Given PIDW in universe was generic stallion novel with given it's popularity and the nature of light novels/web novels in general is it safe to assume to Shen Yuan's exposure to Binghe through official art had the man drawn with (and do forgive me for saying this) the same energy and vibes as the tall mature kirito protagonist variant. And here's the thing I KNOW that is fundamentally not our boy as any of OUR art portrays him. But consider that art style for male characters varies between work genres. Like a novel targeted for mostly cis het males looking for sex and violence is going to have different art than high girly romance with a lot of smoochie smoochie meow meow sparkle. So it is completely possible for Luo Binghe to be handsome but bland in the way only this specific archetype can be in all of the official art work. Because the emphasis is on them TIDDIES. So I think PIDW would probably have the most boring book covers. The ones where there's like one of the harem girls on the front in a cute pose and then our boy's just holding his sword looking cool or he's got one in his arms mid catch. You have seen this novel cover in stores and it never makes you wanna actually pick up the book.

Baby Luo Binghe straight up has just generic anime guy art. He's bland wonderbread character design until the abyss and then he becomes long wonderbread with eyeliner and blood. What this would mean is fanart never features him obvious but also it becomes a whole debate about what does Luo Binghe look like in fanart and the inevitable market of nsfw works. It becomes a whole thing of telling artists apart by how they draw him and arguments about what is the CORRECT BINGGE!!

And you bet your ass Shen Yuan has opinions on that shit. Man absolutely has a headcannon for Luo Binghe. Absolutely has his own designs and ideas which is why i think the juxtaposition of seeing him post transmigration is so funny. Like imagine seeing this guy after reading the novel and be like 'that's just an incredibly cute fluffy child!'. Huh, real human features i hadn't considered. Like he sees the protagonist get a pimple because like it's puberty. Everyone gets pimples and is floored. He's in awe that it's even possible. He's completely shook by the fact that Luo Binghe is actually handsome after years of having a specific imagine in mind that does not promote that which only adds to his gay panicking. He's already internalized the concept the protagonist will be the most attractive person but actually seeing it and then having to compare everyone else around him...

Man is just like dial up noises. All around.

#svsss meta #svsss #luo binghe #bingqiu #sqq #shen qingqiu #shen yuan #scum villain self saving system #scumbag system #scum villain

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cellarspider · 3 months

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Since I’ve been thinking about it all morning: here. A partial introduction to my favorite villain.

In the days of yore, when I was a teenager and video game hype was almost exclusively magazine-based, I saw a kid reading a copy of Game Informer.

“Hey,” said I, “could I see that for a second?”

The kid, not knowing what they were about to unleash, handed me the magazine.

I had seen this on the cover:

I had no idea what this was, but I knew that I wanted whatever it was selling.

I found out that this was an advertisement for City of Villains, an expansion to the previously-released MMO City of Heroes. I’d never played WoW with its Alliance and Horde split, so the idea was new to me. WoW also failed to present me with anything like the vibes of the newly-introduced lead villain, Lord Recluse.

Yes, they liked this art so much they did it twice, and I’m glad they did. More below the fold on why he was so appealing for a young queer kid, for those who are intrigued.

I’ll keep this focused on a single topic for now: The intensely queer vibes that Recluse acquired over the course of the game’s plot. Keep in mind that this game came out in 2004, so the actual amount of openly queer content was very minimal. However, CoH/CoV developed a reputation as an extremely queer-friendly space, with a community Pride event becoming a semi-official yearly celebration, complete with the devs showing up as major NPCs, custom assets, and spawning in unique raids that tanked everybody’s framerate. Equivalents of this have carried over past the game's tragic shutdown in 2012, with community-run servers still staging their own Pride events.

If the art above doesn’t make it clear, Recluse had a much-beloathèd archnemesis, Statesman. If the art above doesn’t make it abundantly clear, this was always an extremely fraught relationship, with a complicated backstory that became more and more tragic the deeper you got into the game lore, eventually bordering on cosmic horror. But one thing was for certain, this was Hark A Vagrant levels of obsession over a nemesis.

The game at first seemed to backstep on that: oh, it turned out, Recluse had once been villainous life partners with a woman who went by the villain name Red Widow. She died decades ago in the collateral damage of one of Recluse’s nigh apocalyptic confrontations with Statesman, and her death left him with nothing but his obsession. So sad.

And then when Statesman died in the course of the game’s plot, Recluse spiraled into depression and nihilism that was only halted when someone managed to dig Red Widow’s soul out of storage and resurrected her.

It was always deniably presented, but the implication was very much that the two were functionally equivalent emotional anchors to his psyche, and losing both of them was something he couldn’t survive.

Also, there was that one time that the game’s Valentine’s Day event was advertised with a heart split down the middle, half Statesman’s iconography and half Recluse’s, topped with a banner that read “AMOR OMNIA VINCIT”, meaning “LOVE CONQUERS ALL”.

And that’s without getting into the first tie-in book. A prequel starting at the end of the 1920s, it was a delightfully and deliberately pulpy book, which… centered around a complicated man slowly dying of lingering health problems after his exposure to mustard gas in WWI, and his very good friend, estranged from his family for unknown reasons, who’d devoted the last ten years to caring for the protagonist, and helping him seek a cure. This has carried on year after year, even though the man’s illness has made him unresponsive to the emotional needs of others, something they both know is going to culminate one day in the two parting ways.

…And then they get superpowers, and their relationship does not get any healthier from there. But what it does gain is a surprising trans metaphor as our now-antagonist slowly metamorphoses into the spidery villain I know and love.

I completely missed this back in the day. I have no idea if it was intentional. But there’s a scene where this man looks in the mirror and sees the first signs of his oncoming physical transformation, and he likes what he sees. He has no idea where he’s going, but he’s excited for it.

…And he’s started killing people who refer to him by his former name, in the most literal case of “dead naming” I’ve ever seen.

Throughout the rest of the series, Recluse is unapologetically who he is, putting him in that category of queercoded villain that doubles as a power fantasy. He’s grown physically monstrous and loves it. He has respect from everyone around him, either legitimately for his capabilities or out of fear of what he can do to those who don’t give him his due. A new demigod who is only matched by the man he’s never stopped obsessing over. He wins just as often as he loses, and often salvages something from his defeats in ways that nobody expected.

He is terrible. And he is wonderful.

#city of villains #lord recluse #I have so many more thoughts #and the canon is so wild and engages on metatextual themes so thoroughly that it really deserves more analysis #just in general #but for now #this will do

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fullscoreshenanigans · 1 month

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do you know where to find all the tpn official arts outside of the manga? I also want to know where to find the artbook content so I was wondering

I'll have to open this up to @1000sunnygo but my understanding is Art Book World is *the* quintessential collection of TPN art outside of Demizu's character birthday drawings and other pieces on twitter created post-2020 (I have a little incomplete collection of them in my Posuka Demizu tag, with these being my personal favorites of the trio).

Highly recommend purchasing if you have the means and access, not only for the art but also the insightful interviews.

All the art is sourced and divided into sections based on the source.

(Volume 13 frontpiece rough. 🥺 And the volume 14 cover rough is very cool.)

If you're looking for the original raw covers of WSJ featuring TPN, here's a link to them on WSJ's wiki.

If you mean the promotional anime art that typically is put on clear files and turned into acrylic stands, as far as I know no one has ever compiled them all together in one single-page gallery for browsing outside of online shops selling them. (My small tag of it is here.)

On tumblr there's @just-like-playing-tag's compilation lamenting how TPN Committee can't be bothered to understand Emma's character and preferences because marketing that she's a girl takes precedence.

Offsite, the closest you'll probably get is TPN wiki's collaboration page listing, though as I've mentioned before don't confuse tlieilt_625p's art with official promo art. I still have no idea why their stuff is in the wiki gallery pages; it just serves to confuse more people.

For example, the TPN x Princess Cafe collaboration:

Their style is insanely close to the official art on a quick glance, but the heads and limb lengths and widths are a bit off.

My favorite promo collaboration art is probably with Megane Flower glasses (cute comic focusing on it by @kewstiny) just because I'm always a sucker for characters who normally don't wear glasses wearing glasses and vice versa, but also for reasons addressed here.

We are ignoring that Gilda, Sonya, and Vincent would have been more fitting for this promo because they aren't as recognizable for marketing. 😔🙏 Fucking crying over Emma either gluing or duct taping the frames to her face or just like...holding them for the shot vkldlf

Honorable shoutout to this collab though

Whippin' this out on a date like "relax, babe, I got this"

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rapturesbest · 6 months

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Fort Frolic is becoming more and more popular the longer the games are out, much to my thill, as this means people are looking more and more into the muses, the Disciples, the quartet. Which is delightful. I have seen a lot of posts ranging from early 2015 blogs and art pieces as well as forums to modern, recent takes and character dives.

Of course, fandom is a space in which to explore and grow our own thoughts and theories. Some of the posts I have seen are certainly… choices. I have been putting off a brief character study of the muses until my wife and I have finished editing and splicing together our complete comprehensive history of the Disciples.

I have been working on breathing life into these characters for years now. Pulling from every media as well as looking into any rabbithole I could.

The reason behind this post is not to claim others work and ideas as incorrect but instead is to bring my findings to light. Share with you what is one of my two life’s works.

A brief character study of Kyle Fitzpatrick

Oh where to begin with my beloved boy. His canon appearances are so short lived. With three canonical lines I all but built him from the ground up. He is mentioned during DLC Burial at Sea 1 with no voice lines BUT that does give us where he was on New Years Eve, which I will talk about later in this post. He is not mentioned at all in Rapture by John Shirley. But this doesn’t mean that we don’t have clues and context for him as a character.

Let’s start with his name, Kyle Fitzpatrick.

Kyle is a Scottish-Gaelic name and FItzpatrick is an Irish surname. Coincidence right? No. Based purely on his name we can place his origin in either Ireland or Scotland, which comes into play when we dive further into his place within Rapture’s society.

Now I know what you’re thinking, “Oh but he doesn’t have an accent! In his voice lines he doesn’t have an accent.” and you’re right. He doesn’t. Let’s talk about that.

Kyle was employed by Sander Cohen, we know that as a hard fact. We also know as a hard fact that Sander Cohen was heavily on the side of Andrew Ryan when it came to the Ryan vs Fontaine bias. After the Death of Frank Fontaine who rose up in his place to challenge Andrew Ryan? Atlas. Atlas is a working class Irishman. Now, don’t you think it’s rather unseemly to have someone who is in the inner circle of Ryan supporters having a similar accent to his biggest adversary?

Of course, the scottish-gaelic accent is actually quite different from Fontaine’s accent as Atlas, but we also know for a Hard Fact that there is still racism within Rapture. Therefore by piecing together the racism as well as Cohen’s connection to Ryan we can deduce that Fitzpatrick was trained to cover his natural accent to keep up appearances within Fort Frolic and Rapture as a whole.

Next, Let’s talk about his age. We know Cohen referred to him as “Young Fitzpatrick.” I have seen a million and a half headcanons and ideas on how young “young” is. For this I’m pulling from the book, Rapture, with Martin’s POV. While the Rapture book is not considered Canon, it played a very important part in my construction of Kyle. We know from that that Cohen and by proxy, his disciples, are not only privy but are actively involved in a lot of skeezy, under the table, unorthodox practices and circles. Why does this matter? Because it feeds directly into Kyle Fitzpatrick’s age. In my construction of Kyle I placed him very firmly at the age of 21 when he died. So young right? Yeah I agree, but I have several reasons behind this. The first being that I do not believe that his prefrontal cortex is completely matured; I will touch back on this later. It’s not unknown that I am an avid fan of BaS and I really liked Elizabeth’s line of “This city values children. Not childhood.”

Kyle is the youngest of the muses. Being 17 at the time of Cohen scouting him, 18 when he was made an official disciple and 21 at the time of his death. I’d like to explain my reasoning behind the gap between him being scouted and him being debuted as a proper disciple. We know for another Hard Fact that all four of Cohen’s disciples (as well as others) had a physical, sexual relationship with their employer. Martin mentions it, Silas mentions it. Hector’s audio diary mentions it. Kyle was not excluded from this though I think he was not actively sought after by Cohen as much as other muses were. Cohen is smart, very smart, he knew that bringing on someone under the age of consent would not go over well with Ryan nor a number of the other key players within the social hierarchy. Kyle was groomed for the months leading up to his official debut. Which we know many went through but only 4 have managed to pass. I can go into further detail into his test. But I will spare you the details. He was pushed into the spotlight the second he turned 18 in 1956.

Let’s talk about why he was so young. Kyle is nothing less than a musical protege. He is incredibly talented, especially at such a young age. He is *young* he is not *stupid*. I’ve read a lot of people saying that they think that he’s naive or trusting and I’d like to counter that by saying that he’s impressionable, not naive. Cohen chose him because he knew he could mold him into something special. Which he did. Kyle is brilliant. But don’t think for one second he was stupid. He had three people constantly telling him that he was being manipulated by Cohen, by his Sponsor, by several players in Rapture. But he *chose* to ignore them.

Let’s break that down. Kyle was a victim of love bombing and near constant manipulation from almost everyone around him. I plan on doing an indepth dive into the mental illness within Rapture and the effects it had on those within the city.

Kyle was pulled in two separate directions. After working extensively on fitting him into the world created by 2K as well as John Shirely I chose to have his Sponsor be no one less than Frank Fontaine.

I do have a reason behind this. We know from all media types that Fontaine is an opportunist. Ryan always kept him at a distance. Never really trusting him. Not allowing him into the proper inner circle of Rapture like some of the other businessmen. I think especially in 1956, once things were properly starting to get heated, Fontaine would have looked for a way to worm his way into the inner social circle. He had a lot of people on his payroll, this we know for another fact. But how far did that really spread?

In order to explain the next part of Kyle’s backstory I have to derail to talk about Frank Fontaine. I can cite several occasions where Frank Fontaine openly or internally admits to blackmail, manipulation, sexual favors and paying off several people within Rapture in order to get ahead or get his way.

We know for a solid FACT that he had someone in nearly every part of Rapture with the exception of Fort Frolic. I always found that interesting. Why would the person with his hands in nearly every part of Rapture not be actively seeking out someone within the gossip hub of Rapture.

Unless he did.

I pride myself on fitting my work into being completely canon compliant. Fitting Kyle into the greater canon of Rapture was… difficult. I had to play fast and loose with a lot, backbending and jumping through hoops in order to bring such an insignificant character.

Kyle was young, this we know. Impressionable. I believe that Frank Fontaine saw him as someone he could easily get information out of.

Another solid fact we know is that Cohen didn’t care much for Fontaine or later Atlas. But Sander Cohen is a connoisseur of the arts. He can appreciate people with money, especially when it comes to funding his projects. Fontaine being interested in sponsoring his youngest disciple would have been too tempting a lure to ignore and so Kyle’s ties to Fontaine began.

Let’s dive into the manipulation and abuse within Fort Frolic and Rapture as a whole. Yummy, right? I see again and again people claiming that Kyle was stupid or that he loved Sander Cohen and I firmly stand against these claims. Kyle is young but he’s not blind. Do I think Kyle was once infatuated by Cohen? Yes. He was. Especially for a kid who came from a rocky background. But I think many people forget that Martin had been with Cohen from day one, working for him topside before he joined him in Rapture. Kyle had access and very close relationships with people who had been around Cohen for a lot longer than he had been. But knowledge and outside perspective doesn’t always protect someone from gaslighting, manipulation and abuse. I think that the dynamic between the key players was… difficult. A lot happened out of the public eye, within Fort Frolic, within the Disciples relationships and most certainly the interlocking dynamics between sponsors and their subtle or active gathering of information.

I’m about to step out of my semi-formal setting to get down and dirty real quick. I know y’all Sander Cohen kinnies gonna hate me for this one but that man is absolutely an abuser. We know this. He’s a sadist. And while I *love* that for him, he absolutely took out his artistic (or personal) rage on his disciples. There is a lot of room for disdain between disciple and artist. The prime written example of this is Martin considering just fucking killing Cohen when he first started to splice in 1956. The next example I’m going to pull is from the game with Hector Rodriguez. He says, and I quote, “the things that man made me do”. Which I always found interesting, saying as until the closure of Fort Frolic on New Years, they had *every* opportunity to leave all together. Of course, I could go into heavy detail into why each of the muses stayed but I will spare you. I’m here to talk about Kyle. Why did Kyle stay?

By 1958 Kyle was very firmly rooted within the upper class of Rapture. He was renowned as a musical genius as well as held a lot of social power from his dealings with Fort Frolic as one of Cohen’s Disciples as well as his ties to the essentially untouchable Empire that Frank Fontaine had created.

He was 19 years old and was untouchable by consequences for his actions. If Cohen didn’t bail him out of sticky situations, Fontaine would. Their dynamic is extremely interesting to me and I’d love to really get into the meat of it, but again, I will spare you in this short dissertation. Kyle was feeding Fontaine information he got while in Ryan’s social circles and he was well paid for it. It was an investment, of course, but Kyle gave him valuable information on Andrew Ryan and the inner workings of Fort Frolic as well as started giving him the seeds of ideas for Atlas. Though that’s another rabbithole for another day.

Kyle was very dangerously intertwined with Fontaine, which did not go unnoticed by Ryan nor his associates. After the ‘death’ of Frank Fontaine, anyone who had any ties to him were detained and questioned extensively. Kyle being one of them. But again, a story for another day.

Kyle was young and impressionable, as I have stated before. But he was also constantly being manipulated, gaslit and abused by those who saw him as an asset rather than a person. They took advantage of his love and lust for life. Kyle was burned out in record time but that does not mean that he wasn’t an absolutely awful person. He was a teenager given an outrageous amount of power. He was making extremely questionable decisions and was facing very few consequences for his actions.

I am not defending him as a good person. Anyone who enjoys Bioshock knows that these characters are extremely flawed and that is what makes them so fucking interesting.

I can go on and on about how everyone in Rapture was a simple pawn in a bigger game in a city that was destined to fail, but that’s the beauty of Bioshock.

Kyle Fitzpatrick was not a good person but he was the PRIME example of what Rapture was made for. He was a kid who came from a backwater town in Ireland who clawed, bit and fucked his way to the top. He loved too much and it was taken advantage of, brutally. Do I think that love extended to Sander Cohen? No. Kyle recognized him as a genius, albeit an outdated one, but he did not love him. Not like he loved his fellow Disciples or his work. Cohen was a security blanket for his debauchery, he signed paychecks and Kyle was willing to entertain him until New Years.

It is my belief that it was Kyle’s plan to bail from Fort Frolic after the Civil War started. He was in too deep with Atlas and Ryan knew it. His choices had landed him directly in the spotlight. Secrets were exposed and Kyle was brutally punished for it until his death in 1960.

I plan on posting a complete comprehensive history of him as well as the other Disciples.

TLDR:// Kyle Fitzpatrick is a dirty little bastard man who’s age is being confused for him being naive or stupid. He doesn’t really love Sander Cohen and he got exactly what was coming for him.

#bioshock #rapture #fort frolic #kyle fitzpatrick #fort frolic radio

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dharmafox · 3 months

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When I was researching the Mononoke 15th anniversary celebration, I discovered this spin-off novel written by Niki Hideyuki. It contains six new stories - written in Japanese of course, but nothing the liberal usage of Google Translate can't decipher. Take a look at this neat cover art!

Note that classic Kusuriuri is holding the new Kusuriuri's exorcism sword. And while the colors are somewhat inverted, he's also carrying the new backpack. In the background, the top eye graphic is new. On the bottom left corner is a rather faded O.G. eye graphic.

I'm reeling from the lore implications of this. Are the movie and anime versions of Kusuriuri actually the same person?? What circumstances caused the costume change??? I'm rather curious at what your theories are for this!

(Also, the cover art is created by 2964_KO, an artist who drew lots gorgeously illustrated Mononoke fan comics back in 2019. How lucky they are to get early access to production art of the new movie, possibly months before anyone else even got a glimpse of it!)

This looks so cool! I'd love to read a translation. It looks like the electronic version is available here for less than $5.

I've definitely seen that artist's work around, and I think some of his fan comics have been translated.

I've been assuming the design update was due to licensing issues, but that's only because I've seen people say that. This cover art does make me wonder if they just chose to do a new design and based it on this artist's work. He must have had some kind of agreement with them in the first place to release his book (and get it hyped on the official site, no less).

I do assume movie Kusu and original Kusu are the same person, albeit maybe at different... stages of development? For now I'm rolling with the idea that's he's just our Kusu but younger. Whatever that means when you exist outside of time. :p

#mononoke merch #mononoke theory #asks

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lauraroselam · 3 months

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I was supposed to be able to ignore social media all this month, but I keep having stuff to announce. Anyway: 1. Dragonfall got longlisted for the British Fantasy Society Award, which was unexpected but delightful. If you're a member you can vote for the shortlist until Feb 20th. Not really expecting the shortlist since the list is stacked, but still happy to be longlisted. I'm aiming to bring a different approach to gender in epic fantasy with this book, in a genre that is usually fairly traditional in its depiction of gender roles in the name of 'historical accuracy.' Side note, but I've found it...interesting when one of the early, pre-pub reviews I saw (before I stopped looking) complained that the book 'ranted about my gender agenda' when the book has two very short scenes explicitly about gender. Maybe 3 pages in total in a 400+ page book? The first is the last male dragon who has been raised among only women getting a quick primer on how gender works in Loc after he's fallen to the human world and is trying to pretend to be a human himself (he's not very good at it), and the second is the nonbinary character sharing their own experiences of gender. The rest of the time it's just embedded since it's a queernorm world.

I've felt a bit hurt by that, to be quite honest--as a femme presenting AFAB nonbinary person, it reminds me of the occasions where I try to remind people that yes, I am nonbinary, and they'd rather still pretend I'm a woman because I look like one and it's easier for them to not have to think about it. Also no group is a monolith, so even some other NB readers might bounce off the way I want to talk about gender, which is fine. On the flip side, I've received really, really lovely notes from nonbinary and gender non-conforming readers who have felt it's one of the very rare times they've seen themselves represented in fantasy. and that's been really lovely. It's basically why I published the book, even though it was quite personal, and, as the years go on, I find myself increasingly bruised by trying to release art that means something to me in late-stage capitalism. I spent a lot of time last year seriously wondering if I was going to quit publishing once I finished my contracts, I found it so exposing this time around. I cherish every note from a reader that helps me remember my words connected with someone. 2. I thought Dragonfall was only going to be 99p for one day on Amazon UK, but it's still cheap. Grab it if you're in that geographical location if you like. 3. If you're in the US, Barnes & Noble is doing a pre-order sale so you can use PREORDER25 to get 25% off the paperback of Dragonfall, out in June, or you can go to the B&N Emberclaw page and maybe see the cover for it even though it's not yet been officially announced. You didn't hear this from me and when it's officially revealed you have to promise to still act surprised, okay? https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dragonfall-l-r-lam/1141941880?ean=9780756418922

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/emberclaw-l-r-lam/1143890903?ean=9780756418441

Thank you for reading. Ask me about my gay dragon gender agenda.

#dragonfall #epic fantasy #will promotion never stop feeling awkward #no #and yet we persist #in the name of weird queer dragons

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