#<— sapphic romance by the same author

[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

Red, White & Royal Blue fans, this might interest you

London on My Mind (or it’s original title, Romance Real) by Clara Alves is a sapphic romance with a princess of England love interest.

Originally written in Portuguese, the English translation comes out June 4th, of this year.

Fun fact, I actually started this book around a year ago. Do I know Portuguese? nope but that wasn’t going to stop me. I translated paragraph by paragraph with google translate. I stopped not because the book was bad (it was very good and I was so intrigued) but because it was just too much effort.

What is it about? Dayana, who’s from Rio, always wanted to visit London. Why, you might ask, well, she’s a huge One Direction fan, but more importantly, her beloved mother loved England. She named her after an English princess, her favorite movie was Notting Hill, etc. Every chapter opens with a one direction lyric. This might seem tacky to some, but as someone who had a one direction phase, count me in. She’s sixteen, plus-size, and black. After her mother dies, she is forced to move to London, and there she must live with her estranged father and his new family. She hasn’t yet forgave her father for walking out on her mother and her and she doesn’t really get along with her father’s new family, London’s rainy weather is bleak and, well, she can’t even see one direction live because they broke up many years ago (she knew this already, of course, but it still hurts).

Until one day, on a walk, she finds a certain princess sneaking out of Buckingham Palace who accidentally throws her to the floor, so of course, she helped her escape from the guards following her.

Our princess, Diana (yeah they share a name, just spelled differently), has movie!Bea’s red hair and book!Bea’s personality.

Is she a burglar? Why is she sneaking out? What is happening? Who even is the royal family? And who really is Diana?

If I had to compare this book to other books, I would say that this book is between Red, White & Royal Blue and Her Royal Highness.

Like this

*deeper oops

It’s been long I read Her Royal Highness but it’s the same, sapphic royal romance, I didn’t really enjoy it, it was too simple.

About romance real, well I haven’t finished it but

I have the feeling than it won’t be so “forbidden romance” like rwrb is, since a member of the royal family here is already out as gay, so another won’t really cause such a fuss. The queen is not homophobic, and her name is Diana. Both of our main characters were named after her. Yeah she’s lady Di. Lady Di is the queen. Good for her.

Little character sheet

[lilidawnonthemoon]

[such-a-fellow]

Testing more illumination-style drawing with this!

—

Yde et Olive is a french narrative poem written in the thirteenth century. It’s a section of a larger cycle of poems that are sequels to the legend of Huon de Bordeaux, and may have been an adaptation of the myth of Iphis and Ianthe, though that isn’t known for certain. It hasn’t been studied much in English, but there’s a great translation by Mounawar Abbouchi here, along with analysis and in-depth translation discussion! It tells the story of Yde, the daughter of a king who disguises herself as a man to escape from her father and becomes a renowned knight before gaining the favor of a king and marrying his daughter, Olive. In a very unusual twist for this type of story, when Yde confesses the secret of her identity to Olive, Olive brushes her concerns off and vows that they will be happily married regardless of Yde’s biological gender. Like in the story of Iphis and Ianthe, their secret is found out and Yde is transformed into a man by divine intervention before he can be prosecuted for his transgression of gender.

it’s not an unusual story in itself (a young woman disguising herself as a man, doing brave deeds, and being transformed into a man so she can marry a woman in love with her is a familiar formula!), but its handling of Yde’s gender is striking, both in Olive’s blithe acceptance and in the combination of feminine and masculine language used to refer to Yde throughout. Stories of same-sex romance that end in transformations like this are often written off as heteronormative and of-their-time, and while obviously that’s a necessary lens to apply given the religious and social context Yde et Olive was written in, I don’t think that’s the end-all-be-all of what this story can be. The transformation allows this, a story from the 1200s, to contain both a sympathetically portrayed story of sapphic romance and a wonderful, nuanced tale of a transmasculine character who grows into himself through the story. Yes, this is applying a modern lens to it; we don’t know what the author of Yde et Olive intended when they wrote it and these aren’t terms they would have had or used. But regardless, in a time when being trans is day-to-day becoming more and more difficult in many parts of the world, I think it’s comforting to find glimpses of joy in stories from the past.

[thequeenofsarcaasm]

Don't you think it's funny cause actual canon gay characters in BL manga will say "I love you" but only the shounen bromance can spew out some of the most romantic shit akin to a 19th century poet writing a letter expressing his surpressed love for his lover 😭.....

GOSPEL

A few of my faves:

“If I die you die with me”- Uzumaki Naruto (he was smiling when he said it too GGGFDDGHG)

“I guess my only disappointment is that you weren’t there to tap me on the back”-Gojo Satoru

“Satoru~🍑🍆”- Geto Suguru

“As long as I’m here, you’re invincible”- Kageyama Tobio

“We are the protagonists of the world.”- Akaashi Keiji

“-Just the two of us?

-Do we need anything more?” Nakajima Atsushi and Akutagawa Ryuunosuke

“Start by saving me,”- Fushiguro Megumi

The entire Code Geass series

I just think it’s funny how authors will create the most powerful and beautiful friendship/rivalries and in the same breath give us the blandest romance ever. The bar is literally in hell for heterosexual love and I think it’s not only very telling but also super sad. I want better for my girls cause imagine getting married to a man only for him to abandon you during 12 years cause he’d rather travel the world to make amends for hurting his boyfriend when they were kids (Kishi I’m looking at you)

Listen,“I love you” is just too simple and boring for the queers. Some seasoning needs to be added to get that immaculate flavour we all love lol. The authors can’t openly write “I’m in love with you” so they need to use convoluted ways to express it and atp I’m not even mad anymore.

I wouldn’t mind a few kisses tho. Or backshots. Idk. A yaoi audio maybe?

Oh and another thing I’ve learned from anime is the extreme danger of unchecked twinks (ahem Griffith ahem Ryo ahem Pucci). If Guts took one for the team perhaps none of that shit would have happened (hence the importance of backshots). I also believe that having just a little bit of sex would have saved SatoSugu as well (Geto just needed to sit on someone’s face. He wanted a throne so bad lol)

They ain’t got nothing on the sapphics tho. Girls will destroy the world, reset the universe, defile their goddess gf and kill themselves just for a kiss, and I love that for them.

Thanks for asking ❤️

[theladyofshalott1989]

Queer Hogwarts: Legacy Fanfic Masterlist

Hogwarts: Legacy fans, whether you be a creative yourself or a content consumer, send me your queer content and recs! I will update this list regularly. LGBTIA+ inclusive Guidelines for Submission: - The main pairing should be on the LGBTIA+ Spectrum - If the main pairing isn't queer, then the author should be - Self-recs are welcome and strongly encouraged! - Please include the author's username, a link to the fic or series, and specify any possible triggers and/or warnings (same as you would do for AO3). Note: I will do my best to double-check for triggers and warnings as well. Here's an example of how I will be categorizing. If you would like to suggest your own categories, please feel free to (I will accept any and all help LMAO)! I will review with you (either privately or in the comments) before adding them to the list. Sections will be separated by main pairing (e.g., Sebastian x Male MC, Poppy x Natty, Natty x Female MC, etc.).

Sebastian Sallow x Male MC (m/m) fics:

Angst, happy ending, post-canon, multichapter, Transmasc main character x Sebastian Sallow, werewolves as queer allegory, trans and gay author (@heyitszev on Tumblr):

✪ To be Loved is to be Changed series by Unreliablenarrator on AO3

Romantasy, happy ending, events of Hogwarts: Legacy through post-canon, multichapter, Ravenclaw Male main character x Sebastian Sallow, relic possession, bisexual female author (@theladyofshalott1989 on Tumblr) *Content warnings: The second multichapter fic ("Burning Bright") is underage explicit. The three-part short story ("The Proposal") is explicit:

✪ The Like Moths to a Flame Series by TheLadyofShalott1989 on AO3

Coming of age, post-canon, multichapter, Multiracial Slytherin Male main character x Sebastian Sallow (@dom1re on Tumblr):

✪ The Keepers by domire on AO3

Imelda Reyes x Nerida Roberts (f/f) fics:

Fluffy romance, broken friendship, found love, love confessions, first kiss, one-shot (@amberlide on Tumblr):

✪ Reflection by Amberlide on AO3

Mirabel Garlick x Female OC (f/f) fics:

Muggle/witch relationship, fluff, introspection, declaration of love, one-shot (@libellule-ao3 on Tumblr) *Content warnings: Mature rating, implied sexual content:

✪ Late Bloom by Libellule_Sulfureuse on AO3

Natsai Onai x Female OC (f/f) fics:

Established relationship, fluff, introspection, one-shot, werewolf Female OC (@boxdstars on Tumblr) *Content warnings: Nondescript gore mentioned in passing:

✪ Cold Mornings by boxdstars on Tumblr

Poppy Sweeting x Female MC (f/f) fics:

Developing relationship, post-canon, multichapter, Slytherin Female main character x Poppy Sweeting (@celestial--sapphic on Tumblr):

✪ Kiss me (like you wanna be loved) by Celestial__sapphic on AO3

Sebinis (Sebastian Sallow x Ominis Gaunt) (m/m) fics:

Pining, banter, chess, post-canon, one-shot, Ominis Gaunt x Sebastian Sallow (@the-invisibility-bloke, @kis0_0kis on Tumblr) *Content warnings: Explicit:

✪ The Last Gambit, written by the_invisibility_bloke, illustrated by kis0_0kis on AO3

Threesome fics:

Modern Day AU, F/M/M, one-shot, smut, Female MC x Sebastian Sallow x Garreth Weasley (@pheexblack on Tumblr) *Content warnings: Explicit:

✪ Dare-aoke Night by Shanza_Bonanza on AO3

Morally gray MC, post-canon, dark content, Anne & Solomon bashing, dubious happy ending, multichapter, Sebastian Sallow x Ominis Gaunt x Gender Neutral MC *Content warnings: Explicit:

✪ Everybody Wants To Rule THEIR World by Jazlyn_Riddle on AO3

Let's goooooooooo! Send me ALL THE QUEER CONTENT (please and thank you) <3333333

Also, authors, if you see your content here and are not happy with how it is categorized, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE reach out to me and I will happily change anything and everything (even remove you from the list if you don't want to be on it!). THANK YOU, LOVELIES. You are loved and appreciated <333333 I should also note I've never done a masterlist before, so please bear with me as I'm learning. Phew. 😅😅😅

[boombox-fuckboy]

Hey. Could you rec any podcasts with sapphic couples as their mains? Or a sapphic story. And so on. I only really know about where the stars fell and Alice isn't dead.

You're off to a strong start. Here's 20, there's more out there, but I tried to pick a variety. I'm going to put a ★ next to the ones I think will fit best, but they're all good.

Arden: (Fictional "True Crime", Investigative, Comedy). On the 25th of December, 2007, heiress and young actress Julie Capsom crashed her car into a tree and fled into a nearby forest clearing, leaving a trail that seemingly vanished into thin air, and a dismembered torso in the trunk. A decade later, Bea, the first reporter on the scene, and Brenda, a detective on the case, are hosting a true crime podcast about it, and neither is remotely impressed with what the other has to say. Arden is also a retelling of various Shakespeare plays.

The Author's Anathema: (Horror) Looking for some extra cash, and with some help from her girlfriend Eleanor, college student Natalie takes a small job to narrate an audiobook for a reclusive anonymous author. The book being a horror wouldn't be such a bother, but the stories within are... Familiar. Too familar.

The Beacon: (Urban Fantasy) Bee is a perpetually anxious university student who discovers she has the ability to create fire, and decides to start a podcast to find others like herself. She quickly discovers she's not alone, but a series of bizzare animal attacks suggest superpowered freshers are far from the only strange thing on campus.

The Department of Variance of Somewhere, Ohio: (Weird Fiction, Horror, Sci-Fi) On day one of a new job at the Department of Variance, in the middle of her workplace orientation, Jasmine's new workplace goes into lockdown. Guided via walkie-talkie by Scarlet, an experienced security officer, Jasmine must make her way down 20-odd shifting floors of strange entities and experiments. Ideally without becoming one of them. As a disclaimer, this one is the only addition to this list that isn't actively romantic yet, however there are canonically sapphic characters, and I am fairly confident it's headed that way.

★ Elixir: (Urban Fantasy, Romance) Set in a fantasy world's equivalent of the american prohibition, lawmakers daughter Elsie approaches someone unexpected in search of her missing sister: Vera, an alchemist and propriator of the local now-elicit hush bar.

The Far Meridian: (Magical Realism) An agorophobic young woman wakes up to discover her lighthouse home has moved overnight. It quickly becomes clear this isn't a once-off, and she decides to use this as an opportunity to search for her missing brother, having some strange encounters along the way.

Interference: (Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Romance) Jacq is a D&D podcaster. Geneva is an orc scientist studying ancient human ruins the next world over. What happens when these women from different realities begin picking up each other's broadcasts?

Khôra Podcast: (Sci-Fi) Somewhere between adapted from and inspired by various greek myths, Khôra follows four women who deserved better (Atalanta, Echo, Medea, and Medusa) on a grand space adventure to find the golden fleece while keeping out of the reach of the olympians who own and run the galaxy.

★ Mabel: (Mystery, Supernatural, Horror, Romance). The live-in carer of a dying elderly woman attempts to contact her granddaughter, with little success. The contents of voicemails only get stranger, and what starts as a subtley creepy mystery-horror develops to poetic lesbian fae body-horror.

★ Midnight Radio: (Light Supernatural, Romance). Sybil McIntyre, host of the ever-popular 1950's nightly radio hour, begins exchanging letters with an old fan who has reluctantly returned to visit Sybil's beloved town.

Mina's Story: (Sci-Fi, Romance Elements) Still dealing with a major loss in her family, a young woman volunteers for a long-term cryonics project. The episodes are her audio logs after waking up each time, always the same place but centuries after she went to sleep. A story about grief, change, and the intersection of past and future.

Mirrors: (Sci-fi, Mystery, Supernatural). The audio journal of three women from different periods (past, present, and future) who seem to share little in common bar the strange inhuman, ghostly figures they have started seeing.

Night Life: (Supernatural, Noir) Utterly wacky one-episode story (more of a short audio movie) about an ex-vampire hunter turned private eye who finds herself dealing with the shenanigans of mafia and vampires in the wake of an upcoming mayoral election. Find it on the feed for The Lightning Bottler.

The Night Post: (Supernatural, Mystery). The conscripted couriers of Gilt City are both respected and shunned, integral to the city's function, but inexplicably tied to the supernatural. It's not something they like to talk about. When his husband goes missing on the job, Milo is called to take over. Clementine took over from her father a long time ago, yet recently someone else with her face has been delivering her own unsent letters. Val's not going to discuss how she ended up there, but she will absolutely open people's mail (filled with their own supernatural tales) to read aloud.

Palimpsest, Season 2: (Horror, Romance, Fantasy Elements). Set in the 1800s, a young woman becomes the maid to a supposed fairy noblewoman, who is being kept as one of many "denizens", living curiousities, in a large house. Each season is a different story, this is Season 2.

★ The Pasithea Powder: (Sci-Fi, Thriller?) The last major interplanetary war was full of atrocities, but none more infamous then the creation of Pasithea Powder, a memory altering drug which was used to horrible effect and landed it's entire team of creators in prison. So when decorated war hero Captain Sophie Green sees one of them wandering free, worlds away from his prison, she gets in touch with a very old, estranged friend: one Dr. Jane Gonzalez, who's behind bars for the very same reason.

Starship Q Star: (Sci-Fi, Comedy) The small crew of a tone-deaf space agency's attempt at a PR mission wake up at Mars to discover that they - and the one botanist abandoned on Mars base - are now the last surviving members of humanity. Co-captains and ex-girlfriends Aurelia and Sim must now dedicate themselves to protecting their crew and finding a new home, but they're rarely on the same page about how best to do it.

★ The Strange Case of Starship Iris: (Sci-Fi) When the shuttle carrying the crew of scientific research ship Iris explodes, Violet Liu finds herself stranded in space, the last survivor with no way out. Until her emergency broadcast is picked up by a passing ship. But the crew aren't who they seem to be, there's more going on here than anyone knows yet, and Violet must decide who she can really trust.

Unwell: (Supernatural). Lily Harper revisits her supposedly haunted childhood home to help take care of her aging mother. The house is weird, sure, but there's something far stranger haunting the town of Mount Absolm than simply ghosts.

Weaver: (Supernatural, Romance Elements). The musings of the entity within the old house about the girl she fell in love with (the only thing she can remember), and her two new coinhabitants, who do not yet know she exists.

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

TransRightsReadathon Sales & Freebies!

I will be collecting books that are reduced or made available for free by authors for the TransRightsReadathon here. Feel free to share any that you know of that I might have missed:

Queeird: A Collection of Unusual Trans Masculine Erotica edited by Max Turner | ebook 2,80 £, paperback 6,30 £

Androids and aliens, werewolves and vampires, furries and… tentacles? This is a collection of unusual, and at times monstrous, erotica featuring trans masculine characters. From the ridiculous to the romantic, expect kinks, quirks and tropes. All the stories feature trans masculine main characters, with a variety of cis, trans female, trans male and non-binary lovers.

Deck the Holes by WrenVLothaire | ebook 0.50$

It’s Yule, a celebration Aloysius is well versed in but never has the time of year been his favorite. But with Malachai, a partner with whom he’s come to love and cherish, this holiday may not be as somber as it’s always been. This time he has a surprise in store. Let’s just hope the owner of the home approves of the decorations. t4t, trans man MC

Tales of Genesis I-III by H.S. Wolfe | ebook free, (the book one that these short stories are based on costs 1.99$)

Out of the Rain by TinyLesbianRobot | ebook 0.50$

Echo interrupts a lazy morning with a strange request of Ender. The first in a series of shorts set in the Genesis universe and can be read as a stand alone without having read In The Garden Of Echo t4t, trans man MC & trans woman MC

The weather has taken a turn, forcing Flax and Lost to rush for shelter.  But now that they've found a place to dry off, Lost's drenched clothes are clinging to her, and Flax is finding it difficult to keep from staring... This story is a non-canon short set in the world of my novel 'Messenger': just under ten thousand words of warm, fluffy, robot-on-angel-on-human smut, a cozy and affectionate scene between women who love each other a whole lot. transfemme MC

Rien Gray's Trans Rights Readathon Sale | ebooks 60% off, $6.00 for 2 books

Follow a fellowship of sapphic knights as they’re seduced by witches, queens, goddesses—and each other—in a dark, lush fantasy inspired by Arthurian legend. genderfluid butch MC, agender MC

Valerin the Fair by Rien Gray | ebook free (+ other free sapphic books)

genderfluid butch MC

Our Monsters by Jemma Topaz | ebook 69% off, $1,23

Rosemary Dulahan, answering a strange job posting, arrives in Monstertown – a place inhabited by magical beings from another world. Navigating the politics of sphinxes, lamias, and secrets, she must learn how to get along with her non-human coworkers and maybe romance a few monster girls along the way. There's nothing she wants less than getting caught up in a murder mystery troubling all of Monstertown… but the mystery doesn't care what she wants, and she's about to discover the darker side of her new world. trans woman MC

A.A. Fairviews TransRightsReadathon Bundle | ebook free

In celebration of the second TransRightsReathon you can grab A Doctor's Touch and Peaceful in the Dark for free.  Following a trans masc vampire and queer werewolf- these stories are as sweet as they are sensual.  transmasc MC

Bury your Gays & Bound in Flesh | ebook free

Anthology of tragic queer horror & anthology of trans body horror by ghoulish books

The Fealty of Monsters by Ladz | ebook free

Winter 1917. After years on the run from a dangerous cult, twenty-three-year-old Sasza and his father have established themselves among the Odonic Empire’s ruling class. But there’s a problem: Sasza is a vampire, and vampires aren’t supposed to get involved in human governance. What the aristocracy doesn’t know, after all, cannot hurt them. Unfortunately, Sasza is far more involved than a stealth vampire should be. Not only does he work to quell the rumors of the vampires’ responsibility for an unsolved massacre, his lover is also the pro-proletariat Ilya, the Empire’s Finance Minister, who tries to recruit Sasza into the same cult hunting him. Then—the Emperor declares war against the Vampire States. Diplomacy has failed. Sasza quickly learns that he will do anything to preserve peace–including giving in to the monstrosity he spent so many years concealing from even himself. nonbinary MC

Trans Readathon by Wicked Witch Writes | ebook 50% off, $5

Your Body is Not Your Body anthology | ebook $1,99

A centaur seeks illicit surgery in an alien bodily modification club. Two medieval monks react to their transformation and demonic pregnancy in very different ways. A resourceful trans teen destroys sports bigots through the power of pluckiness...and abundant body horror. A stellar cathedral crosses galaxies to dump the corpse of God into a star before the mission devolves into a panoply of psychedelic orgies. A doxxed teen falls victim to violent assault and dishes out some harrowing retribution of their own. Over thirty Trans and Gender Nonconforming creators unite to voice their rage, and the rules of conventional Horror go out the f$%&ing window in this collection featuring murderous pleasure-bots; proselytizing zombies; acid-filled alien cops; science run amok; sorcerers, ghouls, cannibals...and that barely scratches the grave-dirt.

Blood from Stone by Bellamy Scott | ebook PWYW

Hitting a deer while driving a country road is unfortunate, but common enough that no one expects it to re-order the fabric of reality as they know it. For Sam, a rogue stag on a summer night takes his husband, his life, and his name in a single blow. As months of grief pass, he things he's begun to get used to his new reality, until an encounter with a childhood friend changes it all over again. BLOOD FROM STONE is a story of an old lady doing good deeds for bloody boys on the side of the road, of poisoned wine, and of a trans man Becoming Real.

Becoming Light by Riley Nash | ebook free

When people meet me, they see a bright faced, happy-go-lucky kindergarten teacher who will do anything to support his friends. Not everyone knows the struggle I’ve faced to become the man I am today.  Now it’s finally time for the gender-affirming surgery I’ve been dreaming of for years. But when an emergency leaves me without a caretaker, the only person who can take me in is my best friend’s aloof, reclusive, and incredibly sexy dad. The one who has no bedside manner and struggles to communicate. The one I’ve had a crush on for years. The deeper we see into each other’s worlds, the stronger the attraction gets. I’m not sure either of us can make it through the next four days without giving in. Trans man MC

​TransRightsReadathon Sale by Matthew Zakharuk | ebook 50% off, $2.50

a story of trans transhumanism + a dystopian gothic

[melanielocke]

Book recommendations: queer adult SFF

It's been a while since I did one of these posts but I'm thinking of doing more regularly. I have read a lot more new books that I hope some of you will pick up and I've made another selection. I'm reading more and more adult SFF lately because lots of YA is getting a little too young for me. But I also find that transitioning to reading more adult can be difficult, and it's not always easy to find what you're looking for. I found YA a far easier market to navigate, so I figured I'd make a post featuring some of my favorite adult SFF books.

The Unbroken & the Faithless I read recently.

This is a trilogy, with book 3 coming out most likely in 2025? Not sure actually. The series focuses on Touraine and Luca. Touraine is a conscript in the Balladaire army, stolen from her homeland and trained to fight from a young age. She is originally from Qazal, a country colonized by Balladaire, but doesn't speak their language or understand their customs. In the first book, she returns home for the first time since she was taken, to stop a Qazali rebellion.

Luca is the princess of Balladaire. Her parents both died when she was young, and her uncle is ruling as regent, refusing to allow her to be crowned Queen until she proves herself. She too is sent to deal with the Qazali rebellion. What makes Luca interesting is that she often means well and is definitely more benevolent towards the Qazali, but she's also very power hungry and wants her throne, and no matter how much she does to help the Qazali she is still the princess of the empire that colonized them, and the author continues to hold her accountable for her role in the empire and some of the choices she makes.

Luca is also disabled, she injured her leg when she was young and uses a cane.

There is a sapphic romance between Luca and Touraine. It is not really the focus on the series but at the same time it is what shapes much of the negotiating between them since Luca has a very obvious soft spot for Touraine and Touraine has to use that to improve things for Qazal.

The world is inspired by North Africa and French colonialism (in Balladaire they speak French so I'm pretty sure they're supposed to be France), and the author themself is Black and North African. The series as a whole is very political.

Next is Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans

This is the first in a duology (I think?) with book 2 coming out this November.

This is set in a world where there are four different planes, and Siyon is a poor man who can delve into the different planes to get ingredients for wealthier alchemists. He wants to be an alchemist himself but can't afford the education. There's also the problem of magic being technically illegal, which means rich people can do alchemy but poor people can't.

Then one day Siyon accidently unleashes wild magic and is thrust into the world of alchemists where he wants to belong but doesn't. And there's also the matter of the four planes being instable and at risk of collapsing, and Siyon might be the only one capable of stopping it.

Siyon is bi/pan and his main love interest is a man, though this is not the main focus of the series.

Then Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

I think I had this one last time too, but not enough people are reading it so I'm going to discuss it again.

Check out the summary, but honestly not sure if that does it justice. Some Desperate Glory is the story of a girl who grew up in a fascist cult and was raised to believe in everything this cult stands for.

The earth was destroyed before she was born, and the Majo, aliens, were responsible. Kyr has been training her entire life for revenge. She wants nothing more than to be the perfect soldier for earth. As a result, she is a terrible person and everyone hates her.

Kyr first starts questioning Gaea station when she is assigned nursery to have babies even though she is the best fighter in her mess. When her brother disappears, she teams up with his friend Avi, a queer genius who works with the station's systems and was always aware of how fucked up Gaea station is. They discover Magnus has been sent on a suicide mission and go after him, and Kyr is confronted with the outside world, including a Majo she grows close to, and has to unlearn everything Gaea station taught her.

This book has a difficult to stomach mc at first, though it is very obvious what she believes is not what you as the reader are supposed to think. But there is some wonderful character development going on in here. It's hard for her to change, and she's thrown into lots of difficult situations before she gets there, but in the end you can see she's nothing like the person she was before.

There's an amazing cast of side characters, though not a very big cast. There's her twin brother Magnus who never wanted to be a soldier and is actually very depressed, which Kyr never noticed. Yiso, the cute non binary alien Kyr develops a weak spot for even before she comes to realize Majo are people. And my personal favorite, Avi, who is an unhinged little guy who is way too smart for his own good. He's a great example of how a cult can affect different people in different ways. He doesn't believe in Gaea station like Kyr does and is aware of how fucked up he is, he experienced that first hand as the only visible queer person on the station. But he did internalize their messages of revenge and violence which plays out in interesting ways.

This edition is the Illumicrate edition of the book from April's box, which has the UK cover.

Witch King by Martha Wells is next

This is a confusing book for people who do not have a lot of experience reading adult fantasy. It has a lot of world building that is explained gradually, the book doesn't really hold your hand, so be prepared for that.

Kai is a body hopping demon. He has been betrayed, killed and entombed under water. When he is freed by a lesser mage hoping to hone his power, he kills them and frees himself and his friend, the witch Ziede.

Together, they have to uncover what happened to them, who betrayed them and what is going on with the Rising World coalition. He's not going to like the answers.

Alternating is a past timeline in which Kai and his band of allies rebel against the tyrannical rule of the Hierophants, which happened decades before the present timeline.

The strenght of this book is really in the characters and how they grow and the bonds they have with each other. I loved the relationship between Kai and Bashasa, who is the rebel leader in the past timeline in particular. It's not quite clear what the nature of their relationship was, though it is implied to be romantic and I do think Kai is supposed to be queer. He is a body hopping demon after all, and spends his early life in the body of a girl. There's also a sapphic side pairing between Zieden and her wife Tahren, who they spent much of the present timeline looking for.

The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach

This is a science fantasy set in a world inspired by New Zealand and Maori (I think? The author is Maori and a trans woman herself)

The main character is a police officer from a poor background who believes she's making the world better for people like her. She's already been demoted for being queer but believes she can make the police force better from the inside.

Then she's murdered by fellow officers and thrown into the harbor. Unfortunately for them, she comes back from the dead with new magic powers.

She teams up with a pirate crew with similar powers and has to stop a plague from being unleashed on her city.

This book focuses on how police functions in many modern societies to protect the wealthy and harm and restrict poorer, non white communities. The main character doesn't believe this at first but it's obvious to the reader that they're not helping anyone doing their job. Next book is coming out next year.

Last is the Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

Two books are out and book 3 is coming sometime in 2024.

This series is set in a world inspired by India. Priya is a maidservant with a secret. She is one of the few surviving temple children and still has some powers from being once born.

Malini is the princess of Parijatdvipa, the empire that conquered Priya's land. Her religious zealot brother has taken the throne and imprisons Malini because she refuses to be burned alive.

Priya is one of the maidservants sent to take care of Malini in her prison, which is the old temple where Priya grew up. Together, they can change the fate of an empire, but they can never quite trust each other.

This is a sapphic fantasy with magic but also lots of politics and I think if you like this series you'd also like the Unbroken and vice versa. I've talked about this one before but it should definitely be included on a list for adult fantasy.

I hope you can find something you like on here. All these books are not super well known and deserve a bigger audience

@alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer @life-through-the-eyes-of @astriefer @justanormaldemon @ipromiseiwillwrite @a-dream-dirty-and-bruised @amchara @all-for-the-fanfiction @imsoftforthomastair @ddepressedbookworm @queenlilith43 @wagner-fell @cant-think-of-anything @laylax13s @tessherongraystairs @boredfangirl16 @artist-in-soul @aliandtommy @ikissedsmithparker

[leighlew3]

So I watched the animated Legion of Super Heroes and I just can’t. I can’t with straight Supergirl anymore. Mon El as a villain? Phenomenal. Do I hate Brainiac 5? No. But the romance doesn’t work for me. Despite its flaws, once you’ve seen Supercorp, the plot beats and heteronormativity of Kara and Brainiac 5 just can’t compete. You also can’t convince me Sasha Callie’s Supergirl was straight either.

Preach. While it was hilarious to see Mon-El as a villain and have Kara kick his ass (which now makes 3 separate versions where that ship has been buried one way or another by DC, The CW, WB, etc) ... I'm honestly so sick of watching them do the same things with Kara again and again and again, especially on the romantic front, and it's entirely uninteresting for the most part.

I mean it's pretty ironic that the single best love story she's ever had in any medium was the queerbaited one between she and Lena Luthor in TV series, ffs.

Until they realize that the concept of Kara/Lena (aka the real "Supercorp" despite a couple of DC writers recently attempting to st-- I mean conveniently use the exact LGBTQ fan-created phrase, a very similar logo to the LGBTQ fan-made one and even utilize some eerily similar SC elements from the SGCW TV series) is a literal GOLD MINE of creative opportunity and money to be made... they're going to just continue to rinse and repeat the same dull shit and wonder why most people simply just don't care and they can't break out of the box (except with a couple limited runs like WoT which have no love interest).

Kara/Lena as a romantic couple literally subverts a 60+ year lore of Super vs Luthor -- taking it from a story of hate to a literal love story, and also bringing the characters back to some rather interesting and queercoded dynamics they already demonstrated between the two way back in the Silver Age comics.

Interestingly, DC has already toyed with a sapphic Supergirl in various versions already. In Bombshells: United #33 she kissed Lois Lane. In DC's Dark Knights of Steel Miniseries in 2021, they had Supergirl and Wonder Woman in a queer relationship. And with the CW tie-in Batwoman comic run for DC, the author recently subtly confirmed Kara/Lena as dating.

So why continue to go back to the same old outdated, bland, repetitive heteronormative angle that doesn't even sell enough to maintain a long-running Supergirl solo comic series, lead the show to be critically panned half the time and end on a flop note with furious fans, etc? Inexplicable, beyond the usual blind spots and phobias.

At some point, somebody will wake up and smell the creative potential and profits. Until then, we wait. And keep pushing, creating fan art and fanfic, etc and show 'em how it's done.

It'll happen eventually. I have faith. I fully believe it. Whether it's in a year, five, ten or twenty. It'll happen. Greatness cannot be ignored or avoided forever. 😉 Some day...

[lilareviewsbooks]

Queer Normal-World in SFF Books

Here are five books where being queer is the norm, aka there is no homophobia or transphobia at all! Not all these books are fluffy though -- most of them have heavy conflicts and a bunch of shit going down, but at least no one has a problem with anyone being gay!

These are my favorite kind of books and I have so, so many recommendations, so let me know if you ever want more of these :) And I can also absolutely do only fluffy queer books, too!

The Genesis of Misery, by Neon Yang

Mx. Yang's books are perfect for this type of prompt. The Genesis of Misery is their most recent, and the premise is absolutely killer. It follows Misery Nomaki (she/they), who is haunted by an apparition of an angel. While she is convinced she is mentally ill like her mother, and that her visions are a symptom, people around her seem more and more certain that she is actually some sort of messiah. 

I have my issues with The Genesis of Misery, but it’s a very creative sci-fi that’s worth the read. It includes mecha, interesting depictions of religion, which permeates the entire story, and, of course, excellent queer rep. We have characters who use neo-pronouns, a polyamory situationship and most characters are queer. Not to mention, it’s written by a queer and non-binary author, which is always a plus. It’s part of an on-going series, though, so be prepared to wait a little while for the sequel! 

Plus, The Locked Tomb fans might be interested to know that there’s a very cavalier-necromancer dynamic in this, and that Rebecca Roanhorse (who wrote Black Sun) described it as Joan of Arc meets Gideon The Ninth. 

Yep. You wanna read it, don’t you?

(Also, if for some reason you’re like: “gee, I really wish there was a black-and-white silent movie with a killer score that touched on these same themes”, then you should probably watch The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928). It’s not explicitly gay, but it is queer in my heart. And it rocks.)

The Locked Tomb Series, starting with Gideon The Ninth, by Tasmyn Muir

Since I mentioned it, I guess I might as well include The Locked Tomb in here! This is a Tumblr favorite, and with good reason, because The Locked Tomb fucking rocks. It’s hard to pitch it to someone without ruining the whole point of the series, but the first book follows a necromancer, Harrowhark and her sworn swords-woman, her cavalier, the butch-as-hell Gideon, as they’re summoned to the First House to compete to become Lyctors, the companions of God. 

Yeah, I know that’s a lot, and, to be honest, it’s probably not gonna make much sense to you at many points throughout the story, but that’s the point of The Locked Tomb - everything is confusing, and it’s about sapphics in space! 

The thing about this series is they’re the most unique books you’ll ever read. Every volume has a different approach to telling its story. There’s so many mysteries and it’s almost impossible to understand all the intricacies without sitting down and doing some work. The magic system is also the wonkiest, coolest thing - it involves eating people, sometimes, y’know. And, I promise, you’ll love every single second of it. Especially because there’s absolutely no homophobia or transphobia in any of it, and almost every character is queer as fuck - especially after the second book, when gender starts getting a little funky!

Winter’s Orbit, by Everina Maxwell

I love this book so much, and so know that it comes highly, highly recommended! I have a whole five star review on it you can check out here. (Do check trigger warnings, though! You should always, but especially for this one. I didn’t and they really got me!). 

Winter’s Orbit features my absolutely favorite trope - queer arranged marriage. (Nothing better - those three words and you know it’s gonna be a queer normal world, have some politics and probably be really fucking sweet.) This one is probably one of only ones out of this list where the romance is very predominant and serves as an important B plot. It’s also a standalone, but has a companion book in the same universe, called Ocean’s Echo, which rocks, too!

This one follows Jainan, a recent widower who is rushed into an arranged marriage with Prince Kiem in order to keep the alliance between their homelands intact. Together, they must navigate court intrigue I’m trying my best not to spoil and investigate Jainan’s ex-husband’s death, which might not have been an accident, after all...

In this sci-fi fantasy world, being queer is completely normal, and their system when it comes to gender is absolutely fascinating. People will wear little gender signifiers, like a wodden token for female, for instance, so that others know how to refer to them. It’s super cool to see these kind of things incorporated into the world-building, and it’s something you really only get when queer authors are behind the helm.

(Also, this was originally written online, and it was actually picked up and traditionally published! Which is so cool! Queer fics becoming traditionally published books is so rare, it’s so nice to see it actually happen!)

The Teixcalaan Series, starting with A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine

This is another one of my favorites! I read it last year and it blew me away - so much so that I’ve been itching to re-read it ever since I finished the second book.

The Teixcalaan Series is a political sci-fi duology focusing on the themes of language, empire and cultural domination through imperialism. It’s amazing, and I wrote about it in a full-length review, here, if you wanna take a look! 

It follows Mahit Dzamare, from the tiny Lsel Station, who becomes the ambassador to the huge Teixcalaan Empire, whose culture she’s been in love with for ages. The problem? Something happened to the Lsel ambassador, and the Empire’s control over the Station has been growing ever bigger. To make matters worse, Mahit’s imago machine - the cerebral implant full of her predecessors memories and experiences - doesn’t seem to be working properly, leaving her with a ghost of her predecessor inside of her head...

With all the problems the Teixcalaan Empire has, it’s not homophobic or transphobic, which is a plus for us gays who want to read in peace. Mahit has a charged relationship with her cultural liason, Three Seagrass (yes, that’s her name; yes, there’s an in-world explanation; no, I won’t tell you what it is, you’ll have to read it and find out), not to mention all the hijinks she finds out her predecessor was up to. And none of it needs to be justified or explained at all - people are just gay, and that’s fine!

On A Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden

This graphic novel has a stunning art style, and, listen closely sapphics, absolutely no men at all. Yep. Literally there’s only women and non-binary people in this comic! 

And guess what? It’s available to read for free, here. Thank you, Ms. Walden!

Here, romance is also an important plot point. On A Sunbeam follows Mia, who starts working for a crew of repair-people who rebuild broken down structures. In another timeline, we flashback to her experiences at her boarding school, and to her relationship with a new student.

What’s most unique about On A Sunbeam - apart from the fact that there are no men at all - is it’s unique version of outer space. It’s almost historical, with huge sprawling marble structures decaying, surronded by trees. The ships are shaped like huge fish. You can feel the whimsy in your bones from the colors and the art style that Ms. Walden uses, here.

This standalone is definitely worth a read. And if you like it, you should definitely check out the rest of Ms. Walden’s work - it’s all as beautiful as this is, if not more. Her The End of Summer was one of my favorite reads, last year.

That’s all I’ve got, guys, but lemme know if you want more of these - I have so many, I can definitely recommend you more! Drop me an ask if you have specifications, too - I’m always happy to do some digging :)

[castielslostwings]

Please help me tell people about my book!

Hi! I'm publishing a book! It's HERE, just in time for Christmas!! It's GAY!! It's romantic!!! It's HOT! It has firefighters and background sapphic romance, and is exciting AF!!!

I'm very excited, too!

Both U.S. domestic and international friends can order shipped Paperbacks from me directly via my Ko-Fi shop (retailers take less of a cut): https://ko-fi.com/castielslostwings/shop Or you can order on amazon directly, this is the only way to get the KINDLE ebook option: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1945687126

Standard EPUB format is available to download directly from me for $1 cheaper than Amazon: https://ko-fi.com/s/2a82c64d56

And WILL be available at other retailers soon!

Here's the thing: I had a pretty solid platform on Twitter, but since Elon took over, a lot of my followers left, the algorithm crashed, and the whole thing might go under. I don't have the same reach on other platforms, so I need some help! Please share this post if you like GAY SHIT and BOOKS and helping indie content creators be successful!!! Please follow me or check out my ko-fi for updates! Thanks!!! Here's my pitch, hope you like it:

"Fire & Ice": The flaming hot queer romance novel where a foray into BDSM helps two best friends find themselves, each other, and what it really means to burn. Summary: "Firefighter Tripp Truett has somehow tumbled into a whole new kind of relationship with his quirky paramedic best friend, Lee, but mutual relief from their high-stress jobs quickly develops into something more. With all the missed signals and crossed wires, can these two ever figure out that they're so much closer to being on the same page than they think?"

**************************************** About the author (info dump ahoy!!!!) :

I'm Robin, sometimes known as Wings! I'm a 36-year-old, queer, autistic, disabled mom of 2 humans and 5 senior rescue dogs, former R.N. & paramedic. I'm a hardcore fangirl and a proud fanfic writer (and reader), and while I know some people will judge me for that, I am not ashamed! I started writing as a hobby after becoming physically disabled and unable to work as an RN. Fanfic gave me an audience and an outlet, gifted me purpose and hope again. Transformative fiction is FUN! It fosters creativity and passion, heals wounds, and makes people happy. If someone wants to discredit me for that, then perhaps they aren't the audience I'm seeking.

Ultimately, I know I'm taking a risk, but since people seem to enjoy my fics, this book is my attempt to try and make ends meet through original fiction! I know some people WILL discredit me. But I'm always about being myself and speaking on what I feel matters: Fanfic should be legitimized as a creative medium. I assure you, friends—the thousands of hours I've spent on my fanworks are as REAL as it gets. The intersection of disparaging fanfic + sexism/misogyny can't be overstated—women (esp queer women)'s unpaid work is often treated as a "hobby," not worthy of uplifting. I'm here to uplift! The risk is worth it—I would have nothing without fanfic & I'm proud. Younger creators shouldn't feel shame about writing/reading fanfic. We should ALL approach it as a legitimate medium. In fact, MOST new media these days is transformative "fanwork" of SOME kind, whether it's inspired by, based on, or outright rebooting existing worlds.

Plus, we queer folk simply deserve to see our stories in the mainstream media and to see the characters we fall in love, identify with, and root for to get their happily ever afters.

TL;DR: I'm keeping my name and history. Hopefully, I'll be successful in original fiction, but if not, I'll still be a fangirl. Please consider supporting me + other creators attempting to dip into original works. Follow or subscribe to my ko-fi for previews, updates, access to my discord community where I share exclusive content, and more: https://ko-fi.com/castielslostwings FIRE & ICE IS NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH MULTIPLE PLATFORMS! Ko-Fi subscribers will have the option to buy signed copies & merch bundles! The link to purchase will also be posted there first.

A MAJOR thank you to my friends, editors, and to everyone who in my server for supporting and encouraging me to put myself out there and try something new. Love you guys so much. <3 Thank you to @chaoticdean for the beautiful cover. Many more thank yous to come. P.S. If you are reading this and know anyone with a platform who might be interested in receiving a free copy in exchange for promo (only if they enjoy, ofc), please holler at me, I can use all the help I can get!

<3 Wings

[theladyragnell]

Ooh! Re: book recs for the new year, do you have any lesser known fantasy (or sci fi tbh) recommendations? Or better known but pre-2010s books - I've kind of devoured a lot of the modern stuff, and we have a shockingly similar taste in books

Ooh, excellent! I never actually know what's lesser known? So I'm going with things I haven't seen a lot of internet buzz about, with a decent amount of indie and self-pub. A lot of it will be fantasy romance, but I'll try for a variety!

The Devotion of Delflenor by R. Cooper (I'm going to keep trying until someone reads this piney piney lady knights book, damn it)

The Tea Princess Chronicles by Casey Blair

Salt Magic, Skin Magic by Lee Welch (a lot of people were talking about Seducing the Sorcerer by the same author a year or so ago, but I like this one better!)

Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky, and then if you like the concept behind that, try the Steerswoman books by Rosemary Kirstein

Ariah by B.R. Sanders is very worldbuildy and cool

Sharon Shinn flies under the radar sometimes but tends to have cool worldbuilding concepts, I'm midway through the Elemental Blessings series and really enjoying it

Felicia Davin's Gardener's Hand trilogy is great, and Davin now has a historical fantasy romance(/verging on erotica in places) epistolary series coming out, of which I've read the first, The Scandalous Letters of V and J is very fun.

I've only read the first of Effie Calvin's Ieflaria series of largely sapphic fantasy romance, but I had fun with that one!

I like Amy Rae Durreson, who usually writes m/m fantasy romance, try Reawakening on for size but be warned the second book has a plague in it

If you like middle grade, I really like Merrie Haskell's fairy tale retellings and her short stories for older readers too, she's very Robin McKinley-esque

(Speaking of, if you haven't read Robin McKinley, please do, any of her you can get your hands on but particularly her fairy tales and Chalice)

Three Princes by Ramona Wheeler is one I don't remember a lot about but the concept is great, it's the kind of alternate history I wish more people were writing instead of 18,000 "The Nazis/Confederates Won" books (and similarly, P. Djeli Clark's Dead Djinn books, though those have a much bigger dose of fantasy)

CJ Cherryh can sometimes be a bit dense for my mood, but I've read the first three books in her series that starts with Foreigner and there is SO much fun politics and worldbuilding. (I haven't read fantasy from her, just sci fi, sorry, almost posted this without making that clear, this is very much sci fi!)

Okay, that's what I've got for this exact second! I'm on a different floor from the bookshelf that has the most of my older fantasy on it, so there's not quite as much of that as intended, but it's what I've got in me!

[dobercorgis]

It’s spooky season so here are some webtoon recs

apologies in advance for the low quality images some of them are locked behind paywalls now (on the kr app the translated ones should be fine) and I was too lazy to go through all the chapters for the good panels

Ghost Teller- I’m so biased but this is one of my favorite webtoons. Summary in one line: ghosts go to therapy

Real summary: various ghosts (s1 is eastern ghosts, s2 is western ghosts) tell “human stories” (like how we talk abt ghost stories lol). the art is amazing, and all the episodes are all pretty solid. even if some stories are predictable you still feel for the characters (although personally I prefer s1 over s2)

Sweet Home- some of you might have seen it on Netflix but whether you watched it or not I highly recommend the webtoon (I have issues with the adaptation but that’s another story)

basically people suddenly start turning into monsters and the survivors of this apartment try to survive together. except the mc shows signs of becoming one of those monsters which creates unrest amongst the survivors. not going to get too into the monster part bc spoilers but the webtoon explores what people would do for survival so you get to see scummy ppl, kind ppl, all trapped together and try to survive 👍

the art style captures the story’s spooky/horror vibe so well. I didn’t include Bastard on the list (the previous webtoon the same author and artist worked on) bc it’s more of a psychological horror/thriller than creature? horror but if it sounds interesting or you liked sweet home I highly highly recommend Bastard as well.

+) There’s also a prequel called Shotgun Boy that’s more about the creatures’ origins

Surviving Romance- despite the title there’s little to no romance although it can probably be read as sapphic if you’d like. if you read makeup remover it’s by the same author. I’ve also seen some people compare this to orv but I can’t speak for that since I haven’t finished orv… haha

one line summary: mc gets isekai’d into a romance novel except it suddenly turns into a zombie apocalypse

long summary: mc is the mc of a romance novel but on the day she’s supposed to receive a confession from the male lead, there’s a zombie outbreak. she already read the novel so she knows the story and characters, but literally everybody that’s not the love interests don’t like her bc that’s how the mc of the novel was written. she finds out that the day resets when she dies but she doesn’t really care until someone she doesn’t know the face of saves her and she decides to find that person and make sure they make it out alive

even if you don’t like isekais (I personally don’t) it’s worth a try. it plays around the isekai premise well and the fourth wall moments were just *chef’s kiss* the impact of those moments especially when the webtoon was still ongoing was 🤌

the cast is primarily female characters, and despite the cast being on the slightly larger side, each of them are distinct from one another and the characters designs are very cute and colorful. overall it has an unique premise that it delivers pretty well on

Night of Shadows- kinda underrated tbh. mc has prophetic dreams, creatures from her dreams start appearing irl, and she’s the only one that knows how to deal with them.

mc is great. she’s strong, smart, and knows when not to give a fuck. the other three characters of the main cast are also pretty strongly established, and the plot and pacing are pretty good. this is the only one on the list that’s still ongoing (currently on hiatus after s1)

[marzipanandminutiae]

I know you like Carmilla and *problematic* sapphists, have you heard of Education in Malice? It's essentially a retelling/take on Carmilla (with the main characters sharing the same names as the original story). Only this takes place at a fictional Seven Sisters college in the 60s.

I have not and I will not, because that's by the author of A Dowry of Blood, AKA the least sapphic book I've ever read that nominally has two queer women as part of the central polycule. Genuinely, the romance between the female leads was so minimal and glossed-over that I felt cheated.

If an author writes an F/F/M threeway scene where the two women- who are also supposed to be lovers! -focus ENTIRELY on the man and not on each other at all, I'm not interested in her take on Carmilla. Sorry.

(I have read A Lesson In Vengeance, which is also a sapphic dark academia novel, albeit in a modern high school. That one was pretty good, although I expected the supernatural elements to end up meaning more than they ultimately did.)

[zethwritesss]

Heartthrob

modern au: actress!ellie x actor!reader, afab!r, reader plays a female character, but they/them pronouns are used for reader.

Warnings: cursing, no use of y/n, reader is not fem, angst, fluff, eventual; kissing, substance use and smut. ALSO SPOILERS FOR 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU!!

Synopsis: Following a recent heartbreak you promise to never fall for another person again. Ironically you’ve been chosen to play a lead role alongside oscar-winning, Ellie Williams. Ellie is an actress you’ve looked up to since you started your acting journey. “10 things i hate about you” is a lesbian rom-com parody of the 1999 film of the same name. Despite the acting being a breeze you’ve encountered a major problem; can you and Ellie keep the romance on the set only?

word count: over 1k

Authors note: i don’t know how long this fic will end up being but your support and reblogs are very appreciated! also enjoy the little phone call audio!! i watched the movie last night and rip heath:((( GO WATCH THE GODDAMN MOVIE IF YOU HAVENT ALTHOUGH THIS IS A SFW POST MINORS AND MEN DONT INTERACT

soooo… with out further adieu:

Heartthrob: The Prologue

The clock read 7:04pm, you were situated in your tiny apartment located in L.A. Your phone buzzed, you picked it up quickly, excited that your crush, Freya had texted you. You and Freya had matched on a dating app over a month ago and things were going good so far.

Your heart sunk to your chest, your hands began to shake as you felt that familiar pain of heartbreak seep back into you. It's a feeling that you hate with every fiber of your being. It is one that leaves you unable to function for days on end. The girl who you had stupidly fallen for unfortunately had commitment issues, you mourned what you two could’ve had, the dates you could’ve gone on and you couldvt watched the cheesiest of rom coms together. “I will never fall for another girl again” you promised yourself, now ever so aware of the pain that loving someone can cause you to experience. You decided to send your friend Dina a message.

Speaking of rom coms you’re supposed to hear if you got the lead role for “10 things i hate about you'' the highly-anticipated, sapphic parody of the 1999 movie of the same name, starring Juilia Stiles and Heath Ledger. The role you auditioned for was for Kat Stratford, an abrasive but beautiful girl, who’s temperament leads her to not attract many women- and the rule her father has placed, which is that Kat’s younger sister can’t date unless Kat herself has a date. Over the course of the film Kat falls for a girl named Sarah.

Sarah is portrayed by Oscar-award winning actress Ellie Williams, Ellie has made herself well known as the lesbian heartthrob of the 2020s. Her presence sends any lesbian onto their knees, turning them into nothing but a muttering-stuttering gay-panic.

Thinking about working alongside her gave you chills and made your stomach do flips. You and Ellie were roughly around the same age, but she felt way out of your league. You’ve always looked up to Ellie since you saw her in her breakout film. She was an extremely talented actress, and has definitely made a name for herself.

You hear your door unlock. “Hey, I'm here! Where are you?” Dina says with a worried tone in her voice, she knows when you don’t give her much context to the situation that something has definitely happened.

“'m over here” you reply quietly.

Dina walks into your living room. You’re curled up in a ball on the couch, eyes red and puffy from crying. “Aww noo- what happened?”

“Freya and i- fuck… w- we didn’t work out.” You said, in between sobs, Dina hugged you, her hand rubbing your back as she held you. “I am so sorry to hear that- what can I do to help you out here hun? You’re pretty distraught”

“I- i don’t know Dina.” you said, quietly. “Maybe a distraction could help?”

“Ooh! Why dont you tell me about that role you auditioned for!?”

“oh yeah! You’ve seen the original movie right?”

“Yep I have! I’m really excited to see how this movie turns out!” Dina said, smiling, you could tell she was really excited.

“i auditioned for Kat Stratford- i don’t think i’ll get it though- OH FUCK- they haven’t even called me back yet!” You said to Dina, starting to get worried that they wouldn’t call you back.

You were an anxious, emotional heart-broken mess and desperately needed that lead role. Having that lead role would give you something to look forward to. Your phone rang, you quickly picked it up, hands shaking as you anxiously awaited your results. You set your phone down on the coffee table and set it to speaker.

“Hey, this is Jessica! You auditioned for the role of ´Kat Stratford’ in ‘10 things i hate about you’ right?”

“mhm- yep that’s me!”

You twiddle your thumbs together. “deep breaths” you tell yourself. You and Dina looked at eachother.

“Well congratulations! you got it!”

“Oh my god!! Thank you so much! I really needed to hear this.” you said, as a sigh of relief went through your entire body.

“Wait before you hang up, I've got someone else who wants to talk to you! Give me a minute as I transfer you over to her”

You and Dina were freaking out, excited butterflies erupting in your stomach. Dina had brought you into a very tight hug.

The phone switched over to the other person on the other end.

“Hey! It’s Ellie here! I wanted to congratulate you personally on the role, it’s well deserved! I'm really excited to meet you and work alongside you! I'll see you at the script reading on Monday!” Dina gasped and you put your hand over your mouth in shock.

“Oh my gosh it's such an honour to meet you Ellie!”

“And the same to you, you’ve got quite the talent for acting! Also feel free to write down my number, It’d be good for us to get to know each other before we start!”

“Yeah! Sounds good!” Out of the corner of your eye you saw Dina writing down Ellie's number on her notes app! “Thank god for Dina she’s a lifesaver for real” you thought to yourself.

“Don’t be shy and shoot me a message!! Really looking forward to connecting with you! Take care and see you soon.”

“Bye Ellie!”

“see ya later!”

Ellie hung up the phone and you looked at Dina, no words could come out of your mouth at the moment- your mouth hanged open in shock. You and Dina squealed and you two started jumping up and down out of the euphoria you were feeling.

“DINA- WHAT. THE. FUCK. WAS THAAATTTT…”

“I DONT KNOW but i'm so happy for you! you’ve worked your ass off man!! This is well deserved!” Dina exclaimed.

“Dina give me her number- WOAH that sounds unreal. Ellie Williams herself gave me HER NUMBER LIKE WHAT THE FUCKKKKK!!! All of the stans would kill to have those 9 digits! Is this a dream? Dina, slap me please!”

You said, your brain trying to process what happened.

Dina slapped you hard on the arm. “OW- Yep i’m definitely not dreaming”

“NO you are not-”

Your heart was still broken but you had something to hope for and something to look forward to, which really helps you move on. And Dina helps you too, Dina gives you that shoulder to lean on, she’s always got your back and you’ve always got hers!

TAGLIST: @m-3-ijiworld @anchoeritic @no-nameno-face @dropsofs4turn @little-star-bun @girlescapes @elliespookie

[arcadiaak]

A thing that i have found quite a number of times is (normally cishet) men saying that they don't like tlt or find the books interesting/relatable and I have to read this shit ass opinions and be like yeah bc it is NOT for you!!!!

Tamsyn Muir is a lesbian woman writing books for other sapphics and nb people about sapphic women doing absolute terrible things and being absolutely terrible people!!! They're gross and nasty and both feminine and masculine at the same time and they say fuck gender and they say we love gender.

The protagonists of the first two books are a butch lesbian who love swords and tits and a gremlin lesbian nun that has a crush on a dead body and they hate each other and love each other. And all the other female characters are deep and well constructed and have their own personalities and details and little things that make them unique!!! And then you have like 8 male characters and only like 2 and a half are alive by the third book.

So yeah you boys can take your lame ass criticism and go kick rocks because this series is not for you and we do not give a single shit if you don't like it. You dont have to relate 100% to something to be able to enjoy it, I have been reading heterosexual romances all my life and guess what??? I am not straight!!! I do not like men!!! And yet I am able to read about that type of relationships and enjoy the plot !!! I am a white person and I like to read bipoc authors bc it gives me a lot of perspective and insight about their experiences!!! Not everything is about you and you should be able to read about things you don't personally relate to and still be able to enjoy them, and if mentally you are like 3 years old and can not put yourself in other people shoes you should just keep yourself out of our narratives! Leave sapphic books to sapphic readers and go fuck yourself

Idk how to better express myself but yeah this is totally bc a crusty white boy appeared on my tiktok fyp saying that he didn't like the books and it's 6AM here and I should be sleeping but yet here I am ranting to the void and like 3 other people. If this does not make sense I am sorry but I am running on 3 hours of sleep and an insane amount of coffee