#shadow mate

[books-in-a-storm]

Book Of The Week

Title: Wolf Moon Academy #1 Shadow Mate

Author: Jen L. Grey

Pages: 205

Synopsis:

One little party turned my world upside down.

After I challenged the Blood Council's four shifter heirs at a college party, the last thing I expected was to receive a full scholarship and an admittance letter from the exclusive Wolf Moon Academy.

Despite never desiring to be an alpha, this was an opportunity of a lifetime… or so I thought.

I soon learned that there was more behind my admission to the Academy than my education. I was there to be a lesson to the heirs -- in particular, the sexiest and strongest one, Liam Hale.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, it turns out that he is my true mate. A fact that should be treasured, but he makes it clear that we will never be together.

However, things aren’t always what they seem, and we all have secrets— some bigger than others. When the truth comes out it’ll either set me free or set me up for disaster.

#book of the week #book week #book of week #booklr #booklbr #paranormal romance #shadow mate #jen l grey #bookworm #recommendations #june 2023

[smallpwbbles]

LOOK AT HIS FIT??? WHAT IS WITH ALL THE SHADOW RESPECT LATELY

#mate this is a early Christmas present I beg #sonic #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the Hedgehog #shadow

[fairrryprose]

[BOOK TOUR] SHADOW MATE (SHADOW WOLVES #1) // ALEXIS CALDER (*w/ INTNL GIVEAWAY*)

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the SHADOW MATE by Alexis Calder Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

##

About the book:

Title: SHADOW MATE (Shadow Wolves #1)

Author: Alexis Calder

Pub. Date: September 20, 2022

Publisher: Alexis Calder

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 214

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon

##

My review:

4/5 stars

A fast, interesting shifter romance read with a dual POV (always a treat in a romance!); definitely a good time for those who enjoy shifter stories.

I liked the characters; we have a spunky protagonist in Morgan, and other feisty females, and a kind and gentle alpha in Luke. Morgan has a fun personality (despite having been mistreated by everyone around her her whole life - "regret and daddy issues"🤧😳), and has a façade of badassery (which she is; a girl does not go down without a fight, and she is soo resilient) yet is soft and sensitive inside; meanwhile, Luke (who is definitely swoon-worthy) is like the reverse of her - a gentle giant type, with coiled power rippling under the surface, commanding awe and respect for his warm heart and powerful might and leadership both.

The writing is quippy and made me chuckle at times. I also liked the fast pace and quick action, though I did feel at times that it went a bit too blindingly fast; I would have liked more scenes with Luke and Morgan alone to develop their budding romance, and certain scenes that were meant to be emotionally-charged felt impersonal because of how frenzied the pace is.

It also felt kinda info-dumpy at the beginning, but it did help to quickly establish rules and the world so we could dive quickly and with full comprehension into the action - pack secrets, mysterious deaths, powerful magic and threats.

It'd leave you eagerly anticipating the sequel to see just how they navigate all the revelations and threats going forward!

##

About the author:

Alexis Calder writes sassy heroines and sexy heroes with a sprinkle of sarcasm. She lives in the Rockies and drinks far too much coffee and just the right amount of wine.

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

##

**GIVEAWAY**

1 Winner will receive a $10 Amazon GC, International.

Ends October 4th, midnight EST.

Enter here⤵️

##

Check out other stops on the tour to read an excerpt of the book and other reviews!⤵️

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

@allyluvsbooksalatte

A Dream Within A Dream

Sadie's Spotlight

BookHounds

The Reading Devil

Lady Hawkeye

fairrryprose

Epic Book Society

hauntedbybooks

Book Sniffers Anonymous

Week Two:

Wanderingwitchreads

Book Reviews by Taylor

@jacleomik33

#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog

Nagma | TakeALookAtMyBookshelf

More Books Please blog

The Momma Spot

GryffindorBookishNerd

Books With A Chance of Traveling

bookbriefs

#shadow mate #shadow wolves #werewolves #shifter #witches #werewolf romance #shifter romance #rockstarbooktours #alexis calder #dark fantasy #dark paranormal #book tour #book review

[shadowsxgwynriel]

Azriel: You’re telling me that you have a mate?

Bryce: Yes.

Azriel: And you also have a mate?

Aelin: Yep.

Azriel:

*Meanwhile*

The Shadows:

#everyone has a mate but Az #or so he thinks #at least the Shadows know 🎶 #acotar memes #acotar incorrect quotes #azriel #azriel’s shadows #azriel shadowsinger #bryce quinlan #aelin ashryver galathynius #pro gwynriel #gwynriel #acosf #sjm

[mycadences]

Gwyn: *flips opens smutty book* Shadow: *wriggling in greeting* Gwyn: Oh hello there sweetie. Did you replace my bookmark with yourself? Shadow: *nods proudly* Gwyn: Does your master know you're here? Shadow: *slinks back between the pages and closes book on itself*

#gwynriel #gwynriel headcanons #az's shadows like to sneak out to play with gwyn #he has to come and collect them #and that is how they not so subtly make gwyn and azriel interact #takes place before gwynriel are mates #somewhere in the friend stage?

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

the body language is fucking wild

#i mean #when is it not #but this little moment always just gets me #oh yeah let me just visibly check out my best mate and then reflexively thumb at my nipple #in the middle of an interview #totally normal behaviour #this has been sitting in my drafts forever #i’m doing a drafts clear out so expect a weird assortment of posts from me over the next few days lol #milex #alex turner #miles kane #tlsp #the last shadow puppets #lulu posts

[hlizr50]

Just thinking about the precious minutes SJM spent confirming that Bryce and Hunt are mates even though it was well established in HOSAB and further solidified in the blurb for HOFAS, when she could have been talking about Ruhn and Lidia.

#crescent city #house of sky and breath #house of flame and shadow #hosab #hofas #quinlar #quinlar is endgame #quinlar are mates #mates #sarah j maas #sjm #sarah j maas interview #ruhn danaan #lidia cervos #bryce quinlan #hunt athalar #ruhnlidia #daynight #nightbright

[foxylady13]

Either Azriel Bonus Chapter is canon or its not.

You can't have it "confirm" E/riel but dismiss the Gwynriel moments of foreshadowing. And FYI, there are Gwynriel moments of foreshadowing otherwise you wouldn't argue against them so much because it threatens your ship 🤷‍♀️

#gwynriel #pro gwynriel #anti e/riel #azriel's shadows #they know who his mate his #gwynriel endgame #gwyn and azriel #gwyn x azriel #azriel and gwyn #azriel × gwyn #azriel shadowsinger #gwyneth berdara

[corffee]

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐘 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝟑𝟏: 𝐒𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐁𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆

I can’t believe after fourth months of work, it’s finally over. I had so much fun participating in MarinerMay and I’m glad everyone on Insta and Tumblr has enjoyed my prompt pieces. A huge shoutout to @youhalfwit for making this prompt list and for boosting my art on your marinermay acc. This will not be the end of swashbuckling duo art! I hope to draw more of them in the future but a break is needed. Enjoy this last prompt and goodbye MarinerMay!!!

Other vers. under the cut

#bro your relationship with your first mate is borderline homosexual and I think that’s beautiful #marinermay #sonadow #pirate sonic #captain shadow #swashbuckling duo #swashbuckling duo fanart #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog fanart #shadow the hedgehog fanart #sonic #sonic fanart #sth #sth fanart #digital art

[bythepen98]

Doodles || Hawks

Loosely based on "A Gilded Cage is Still a Cage" by @cuspidgoddess (great work! I enjoyed it)

[Long; tldr at the bottom] Thoughts while I drew this, and disclaimer: I'm no author, just someone who can't shut up sometimes when inspired

Family LoV and complicated relationship with the HPSC. Not quite bashing like in the fic, but still shady and contributed to Keigo's lack of self-worth and tendency to keep a tight leash on his more mutant instincts until Tokoyami and the league encouraged him out of it.

Dabi spoils him and calls him pretty bird. At this point, it's a dabihawks headcanon that I'm sticking to.

searched google: "do hawks mate for life?" Answer: if conditions allow, then yes. OKAY THEN. Noted

It's hard to say what the future will hold what with Keigo's life being a complete mess, but he's willing to latch on to Dabi for as long as he's allowed to. Forever, preferably. If the way he melts into putty under Dabi's hands instead of flinching away from it is any indication. Tokoyami being the first person he allowed himself giving physical affection to and that was more of a paternal connection than the fluttery feeling he gets whenever he thinks of Dabi's blue, blue eyes.

Been enchanted with him since the early days when they've first met and Dabi finally looked at him with a less wary/hostile gaze. When the moonlight glinted onto his staples just right (blame his bird fueled fascination with shiny things), and the low, albeit sarcastic croon of acknowledgement from the man, he was completely gone. The chirp -with a pathetically pinning lilt to it- that rose out of him in response was embarrassing but worth it when it made Dabi chuckle.

He'd totally understand if Dabi woke up one day and decided he was more trouble than it was worth though. No, really. He'd probably cry and hopefully not pluck too many of his feathers again out of stress but he'll live. He's made of sterner stuff, been trained to handle sterner stuff. It's fine.

His handlers have always commented on how troublesome he was when they thought he couldn't hear him. The league told him they were lying though, that he was perfect just as he is and, obvious and ironic circumstances aside, made a great hero, but surely there was a kernel of truth to it? Not all of it could be lies.

Someday, he doesn't know when, but someday for sure, the growing affection he can see in Dabi's eyes will fade away and would be laced with annoyance the way some of the few, nicer handlers had during his brief time with them training pre-debut. It's inevitable.

Maybe Dabi would get annoyed with his constant chirping, trills and whistles. Maybe he'll get tired of seeing his bedroom cluttered with trinkets Keigo would collect, his closet with a significant amount of clothes missing and said clothes occupying the bed, arranged in a way that soothed Keigo's brain but probably disgruntled and looked like a mess to Dabi even if he didn't show it. Maybe he'll get tired of lugging him around and then tell him to use his legs or wings when both are perfectly functioning and aren't there for decoration. Keigo just can't help that he likes being carried around sometimes. Dabi indulges it but surely, he'll eventually reach his limit? Maybe he'll scratch Dabi's sensitive skin by accident too many times with his talons and stupid inability to NOT grip on things whenever he's excited or stressed and get a face full of flames for it. Honestly, he's surprised it hasn't happened yet considering how the man acts with other people.

Dabi's gentleness with him? Probably a fluke that wouldn't last. He figures he just looks too pathetic to get angry at. He figures the rest of the league view him similarly too and indulges him the same way one would indulge a stray, enough to feed it and keep it warm a few times but will ultimately move on to live their lives. Never mind that he's there to "spy" on them when he's doing a trash job at it. They probably already know but indulge him anyway out of pity. Whatever it is, Keigo is still grateful with the attentiveness and care they've showed him so far but will back away once he sees that he's overstayed his welcome.

At least he still has Tokoyami by his side who looks up to him and sees him like an older brother, maybe even a parent. Enhanced because of the mutant bird traits they share and the loneliness Tokoyami would see hidden underneath Keigo's smile.

Sometimes Tokoyami is swept up by Keigo's cheerful public persona when they're both out patrolling the streets and being bombarded by people, admittedly gets annoyed by it when sweet, doting Keigo turns into Hawks and makes him run after the hero like the early days of his internship when they weren't as close and misunderstandings were everywhere. But then he'd remember the sad tilt to his expression and the crushing hug before leaving with a red feather tucked into his pocket whenever they have to separate at any length of time. His own loneliness at not having anyone to welcome him back home making his and Dark Shadow's heart hurt.

Tokoyami still doesn't know what to make of Keigo's relationship with the league, dreads the aftermath of it all really if it turns sour (Dark Shadow is more optimistic than him and calls him out for his paranoia), but he'll always be in Keigo's corner. Just give him a few more years and he'll be strong enough to protect Keigo against any villain or hspc-shaped threats on his own and from the shadows, although he'll grudgingly allow Dabi to get a few hits in since it seems like he'll be a more permanent fixture in their life if the man has anything to say about it.

tldr: ooc fluff, LoV as family. not quite HPSC bashing but close, Birdbros, or in this au, more of a parental connection between Keigo and Tokoyami because *instincts*. Google says that hawks mate for life if the condition allows it and Keigo just so happened to find said mate in Dabi, a Dabi who spoils him, calls him pretty and likes to run his fingers through his feathers. HOWEVER, Keigo is sad, insecure and blind to the idea that whatever he has with Dabi (and the league) will last and will continue to latch on to them until he feels like it's no longer welcomed. -insert unreliable narrator angst fest here- Jokes on him because Dabi would gladly burn the whole world for him if he asked but is curbing the idea because Keigo still wants to save people and his pseudo son Tokoyami is a fledgling hero. Dabi's youngest brother is also a fledging hero but he'd really like not to think about that too much.

#fanart #hawks #mha hawks #hawks fanart #keigo takami #dabihawks #some togachako too #mha fanart #bnha fanart #doodles #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #bird like Hawks #simp -mate for life- Hawks #League of villains as family #ooc fluff #oh and birdbros #Hawks and Tokoyami found family fluff #“Mama keigo” - Dark Shadow; courtesy of the fic #tokoyami hides his face in embarrassment #Hawks cooing over his bird children #nesting habits #this was longer than expected

[elsannej]

Shadow and Rouge can never quite understand to how it feels to be mechanical in both body and mind, and vice versa; Omega can never fully comprehend organic thought processes or physicality.

(500 words of ruminations)

Sure, Omega has a pretty good grasp on the organic brain:

How they're inferior because they can't process huge amounts of data like he can, nor do they have his perfect memory or sense of direction. On top of it all, they constantly make bad decisions based on a bunch of hormones: Biological brains function on thousands of years old evolutionary directives, and they react illogically, such as freezing or otherwise disabling the body at the face of danger, simply because some gland is producing excessive amounts of molecules. "Pain" is an archaic warning the brain gives to inform the body of sustained damage, but it can also completely immobilize the individual. - Organic functions seem to all be self-sabotaging at their core, and it's one of the reasons Omega deems most organics inferior to him.

This is all irrelevant because when Shadow got his first crippling PTSD episode, and began to hyperventilate on his bedroom’s floor at 04:18:25 after awakening from a nightmare, Omega felt powerless ineffectual way out of his element. - Shadow did not show any response to audial cues, and physical contact only made the situation worse. Omega learned this when he went to place Shadow back on the bed after he'd ignored Omega calling out his name for 24.8 seconds: Shadow’s breath hitched and he started to immediately trash in Omega’s hold, eyes frantic. His reaction didn’t cease even when Omega dropped him onto the bed, and instead tried to deliriously induce Chaos Control, eyes locked on Omega without any recognition. Omega was in the middle of calculating the next best manoeuvre when Rouge barged into the room. The commotion had alerted her from her sleep, and Omega could only watch as she kneeled down to Shadow and started doing breathing exercises with him, Shadow's irregular breathing turning into sobs shortly after.

…Or when Rouge sustained serious enough injury on a mission to the point where she couldn't mask her pain, and Omega had to pick her up despite her flinching away with a scream at the initial contact – a noise Omega had not registered form her previously. He tried to adjust his grasp to insignificant success, every bit of movement prompting a noise or a muscle twitch from her, as he carried Rouge through her teeth-gritted wails. She cursed and screamed at Omega until her voice became sore, leaving her with only tears running down her face. – “Hon~ you could never catch me crying. Why, it'd ruin my makeup!” – Her alcohol-based cosmetics were completely intact even when she was being strapped to a stretcher, about to be transported via a G.U.N. medical air carriage. Shadow had been hovering over her for the past 21 minutes - he'd been glued to her ever since teleporting to the rendezvous - and despite being in the middle of arguing with the paramedics, Omega could see him gently holding Rouge’s hand, with her squeezing back.

#e 123 omega #shadow the hedgehog #rouge the bat #team dark #(thinking about... #Omega's learning curve of dealing with his organic team mates and #learning to recognize and harbour sympathy towards their physical & psychological reactions #and how dogshit he was at it at first) #my writing #my hcs #//team dark on my mind - team dark in my brain :3 #e-123 omega #angst #??? #StH

[stargirlie25]

Friends to lovers>

Has to be one of the most simple cutest scenes ever!

artist:

@cutiegwyn-Instagram

@fairytamy-Tumblr account

Her art is sooo amazing check it out!

#gwynriel #pro gwyn #pro gwynriel #gwyn x azriel #azriel x gwyn #mates #shadows

[bonefall]

hi! just discovered this blog from your hearing loss post, which i ADORE. throughout it you mentioned pawspeak, and i was wondering if you had any sources/posts about it, or could describe its fundamentals very simply? sorry if youve already answered this!!! youre very cool

There's not too many fundamentals to share, really! Pawspeak is just the fandom term for a Clan cat sign language. Most people have their own takes on it.

Some people like to make it use two paws, other like to do a single paw in tandem with ear flicks and tail movements, some have omitted paw movements entirely and just use ear and tail signs. Most people aren't my queer ass who worked with a friend to ACTUALLY create a full Clan cat language with its own grammatical structure; so likewise, they're just making a cat approximation of a sign language.

So there's no rules! Do as you please! You can just adapt ASL or BSL for cat paws if you want, the same way no one bats an eye when people animate the cats lipsynching to English.

I would just try to remind you, and recommend, that your sign languages evolve from deaf people.

It's both a misconception, and insultingly common for media to show hearing people inventing sign language for the benefit of their deaf friends and family, when that's not how that happens. Deaf people have agency, theyre not just waiting for an abled person to bestow language on them. Deaf communities, and communities with high rates of hearing impaired people, come up with unique sign languages if they don't already have one!

These languages are often studied by linguists as examples of "isolate" language families, which mean they evolved without ANY genetic 'relation' to another language. Nicaraguan Sign Language is a neat example of that!

(The "hearing people invent sign" thing is perpetuated by the myth that Francosign, the language family containing ASL, was invented by one really nice philanthropist. It wasn't. The man took a bunch of words from an existing deaf community in Paris, which was likely a language under the BANZSL family, didn't care to record or learn what they were ALREADY speaking, and made up his own clunky system called "methodical signs" to make a "signed version" of French. This was practically useless for casual use. Actual deaf people mixed this with the languages they were ALREADY using to talk to each other to make new ones; one famous example of this is actually ASL.)

For BB I actually plan to show Pawspeak evolving as an isolate language after the Clan's move to the Lake. It's going to be born out of Gatherings and Aftergatherings-- while Clan cooperation has actually lead to a period so peaceful that it's allowed a proper community to form. Now with a stable population of hearing-impaired cats of all Clans, each of them bringing new signs and phrases home, it can standardize into a true language around the lake.

So then I can show how most of the signs come from RiverClan, mix with the signals WindClan uses to communicate across the moor, show how violent signs tend to be tail-based because they come from battle commands, etc.

It fits the themes of BB, and gives me a chance to show how fascinating sign languages really are. Even though it'd make sense for them to already have one, tbh, I think it's worth it. (Or maybe have Lake Pawspeak basically be a language that combined the several 'pawspeaks' of the various clans.)

#Stonewing is part of Berry's cats in canon. But I think in BB I need to make him a Heartstar loyalist #Because there's no way he wasn't close with Strike and Dove #Even in canon he was spotted with Strike a lot but in BB I've explicitly made Stone deaf #So Stone Strike and Dove are like a little community in ShadowClan #When the arc is over I'll sit down and sort the Shadow cats into camps. But tbf Heartstar's controversial but VERY popular with supporters #So it could be fun for Stone and his mate to end up on separate sides of that conflict #bone babble #pawspeak

[fairrryprose]

[BOOK TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT] SHADOW MATE (SHADOW WOLVES #1) // ALEXIS CALDER

the blog tour for SHADOW MATE (Shadow Wolves #1) by ALEXIS CALDER has kicked off with ROCKSTAR BOOK TOURS !!! look out for my review of this book on 22 september on my blog ! :)

in the meantime, here's the Goodreads link if you'd like to check it out!

#shadow mate #alexis calder #book tour #rockstarbooktours

[hyper-cryptic]

Do u know when wolves do THAT face when another wolf snaps at them. okay now do u understand why Shade's cringefailing

(Warning, ooc. This is an AU.)

#my art #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #heart of chaos au #sonadow #cringefailinG!! cringefailing from shade !!!! #btw mobians in HOC are way more animalistic and hold a lot of habits from other animals #anyways grooming (cleaning) each other is just a normal bonding activity that you do w idk your friends #like when u get to doing each others hairs or paining nails that kinda stuff #shade is not aaaall that used to it. but he's been with these crazy ass for about 6ish years so yeah #rouge and ames taught all that stuff to shade and he's still flabbergasted but hey he does have those instincts as well #you know when a cat smells another cat then start to aggressively groom said cat. thats shade #it isn't all that conscious sometimes it can be sometimes it can be just an instinct that was triggered #like with cats when you put a hand on their back legs and they start bunny kicking then act like nothing happened. #or alligators when you splash water at the side of them. #anyways yeah! HOC mobians are SILLEY #ALSO REMINDER THAT SPIKES IS SUPPOSED TO BE DIFFERENT FROM CANON SONIC IN PERSONALITY !! WEO WEO!!! IT IS OOC IN PURPOSE !!! #also by this point they are mates. shade is just. shade 😭

[gwyns]

mate. the word you're looking for is mate

#its 2024 and sjm is still making her ships mates huh... wonder why that is.... its almost like she loves the trope or something #hofas spoilers #crescent city spoilers #house of flame and shadow spoilers #cc3 spoilers #kenzie reads hofas #crescent city #ruhn danaan #lidia cervos #ruhn x lidia #daynight