#I write stories for adults

[brightlotusmoon]

https://mobile.twitter.com/pricklypearbyer/status/1601333156925575168?s=46&t=M3ogKPUBMZ8dvfShJqhUHA

[inkskinned]

you're grabbing lunch with a nice man and he gives you that strange grimace-smile that's popular right now; an almost sardonic "twist" of his mouth while he looks literally down on you. it looks like he practiced the move as he leans back, arms folded. he just finished reciting the details of NFTs to you and explaining Oppenheimer even though he only watched a youtube about it and hasn't actually seen it. you are at the bottom of your wine glass.

you ask the man across from you if he has siblings, desperately looking for a topic. literally anything else.

he says i don't like small talk. and then he smiles again, watching you.

a few years ago, you probably would have said you're above celebrity gossip, but honestly, you've been kind of enjoying the dumb shit of it these days. with the rest of the earth burning, there's something familiar and banal about dragging ariana grande through the mud. you think about jeanette mccurdy, who has often times gently warned the world she's not as nice as she appears. you liked i'm glad my mom died but it made you cry a lot.

he doesn't like small talk, figure out something to say.

you want to talk about responsibility, and how ariana grande is only like 6 days older than you are - which means she just turned 30 and still dresses and acts like a 13 year old, but like sexy. there's something in there about the whole thing - about insecurity, and never growing up, and being sexualized from a young age.

people have been saying that gay people are groomers. like, that's something that's come back into the public. you have even said yourself that it's just ... easier to date men sometimes. you would identify as whatever the opposite of "heteroflexible" is, but here you are again, across from a man. you like every woman, and 3 people on tv. and not this guy. but you're trying. your mother is worried about you. she thinks it's not okay you're single. and honestly this guy was better before you met, back when you were just texting.

wait, shit. are you doing the same thing as ariana grande? are you looking for male validation in order to appease some internalized promise of heteronormativity? do you conform to the idea that your happiness must result in heterosexuality? do you believe that you can resolve your internal loneliness by being accepted into the patriarchy? is there a reason dating men is easier? why are you so scared of fucking it up with women? why don't you reach out to more of them? you have a good sense of humor and a big ol' brain, you could have done a better job at online dating.

also. jesus christ. why can't you just get a drink with somebody without your internal feminism meter pinging. although - in your favor (and judgement aside) in the case of your ariana grande deposition: you have been in enough therapy you probably wouldn't date anyone who had just broken up with their wife of many years (and who has a young child). you'd be like - maybe take some personal time before you begin this journey. like, grande has been on broadway, you'd think she would have heard of the plot of hamlet.

he leans forward and taps two fingers to the table. "i'm not, like an andrew tate guy," he's saying, "but i do think partnership is about two people knowing their place. i like order."

you knew it was going to be hard. being non-straight in any particular way is like, always hard. these days you kind of like answering the question what's your sexuality? with a shrug and a smile - it's fine - is your most common response. like they asked you how your life is going and not to reveal your identity. you like not being straight. you like kissing girls. some days you know you're into men, and sometimes you're sitting across from a man, and you're thinking about the power of compulsory heterosexuality. are you into men, or are you just into the safety that comes from being seen with them? after all, everyone knows you're failing in life unless you have a husband. it almost feels like a gradebook - people see "straight married" as being "all A's", and anything else even vaguely noncompliant as being ... like you dropped out of the school system. you cannot just ignore years of that kind of conditioning, of course you like attention from men.

"so let's talk boundaries." he orders more wine for you, gesturing with one hand like he's rousing an orchestra. sir, this is a fucking chain restaurant. "I am not gonna date someone who still has male friends. also, i don't care about your little friends, i care about me. whatever stupid girls night things - those are lower priority. if i want you there, you're there."

he wasn't like this over text, right? you wouldn't have been even in the building if he was like this. you squint at him. in another version of yourself, you'd be running. you'd just get up and go. that's what happens on the internet - people get annoyed, and they just leave. you are locked in place, almost frozen. you need to go to the bathroom and text someone to call you so you have an excuse, like it's rude to just-leave. like he already kind of owns you. rudeness implies a power paradigm, though. see, even your social anxiety allows the patriarchy to get to you.

you take a sip of the new glass of wine. maybe this will be a funny story. maybe you can write about it on your blog. maybe you can meet ariana grande and ask her if she just maybe needs to take some time to sit and think about her happiness and how she measures her own success.

is this settling down? is this all that's left in your dating pool? just accepting that someone will eventually love you, and you have to stop being picky about who "makes" you a wife?

you look down to your hand, clutching the knife.

[blueskittlesart]

at a certain point i think we need to acknowledge that art is very rarely created accidentally. if you can see a theme in a work than that theme was, more likely than not, at least somewhat intentional on behalf of the creator. you don't put a piece of yourself out into the world without thinking about what it means at least a little bit.

[jemmo]

so gmmtv only does 3 genres of bl now: school, workplace and crime

[crows-ace]

He’s slipping, poor ducky

(Wip)

[astxrwar]

“why do you HC bucky as desperately wanting to feel needed” well you see

Steve. pre-serum. scrappy smart-mouthed 5’4 zero brain cells. always sick and asthmatic and losing everyone in his life and Bucky took care of him! loved him! loved to take care of him!

and then one day steve didn’t need somebody to take care of him anymore. and he started taking care of Bucky (saved him the first time, then the second time, essentially brought him back to life!!) and bucky started needing him and he never really stopped needing him and he hated himself for it and for not being able to do things for Steve the way he used to. and then steve was just. gone. and now he’s alone. and he feels okay only when he’s being useful to people and Proving Steve Right about him being good under the decades of abuse trauma.

he is absolutely not comfortable with the side of himself that Needs people that badly, he’d gone most of his life being the caretaker and not really knowing what that even felt like, and it’s easier to allow yourself to need to be needed than it is to just. need. they’re both basically the same thing but it’s an extra step to assuage his pervasive self-worth issues and feel Secure in caring about people because he really just feels like a burden unless he’s being Useful.

[fictionadventurer]

I have a germ of a theory that good Christian fiction has stories that are less about shaving down your personality to meet some specific mold of what a good Christian looks like, and more about "how gloriously different are all the saints."

Not that the Christian life doesn't involve fighting against our own sinful nature and conforming ourselves to Christ-like behavior, but I think it makes for better, more realistic, and more universal stories when you also recognize that people have different gifts and flaws and they're going to be called to use their unique personalities to serve the kingdom of God in their own unique way, instead of assuming everyone has to conform themselves to a very specific (often secular-culturally based) image of good behavior. It makes for a much more vibrant story.

[wiltkingart]

I just wanted to thank you for your book arts and rec list that made me find so many incredible m/m books! (İ have a huge folder of them now, hyped to read) honestly i mistakenly thought almost all m/m books were teen lit or y.a slice of life/light scifi so im glad to find some adult recs !!(also ur art is amazing)

so happy that you like my book arts!! but so so sad to hear about the second part :( the current book market is absolutely saturated with YA but i promise there are still queer adult books (not even in a smutty way) that are out there waiting for you all to read! i recently made this new list for my favorite queer books published pre-2010 if you want to take a look at that too. though i will say i tend to be drawn toward stories with difficult themes, so look up cws if you need them and make your own choices.

older (and obscure) books can also be much harder to find, but i'm always happy to answer questions to help narrow down anyone's options/search efforts. happy reading!!

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

Where's my unhinged Sun?

And not in a murder, manipulation yandere way.

I mean in a constantly screaming, foot in mouth, horribly passive aggressive, can't hide his emotions crying if a music shaker knocks over kinda way.

This man couldn't manipulate his way out of a paper bag.

His daycare only has ONE rule because he has no boundaries with anything and is just desperate for attention to be on him.

Where's my unhinged Sun?

The Sun that screams at you.

The Sun who, is very forward in his actions about what he wants even if he doesn't explicitly explain himself. (Constantly grabbing Gregory if he moves one foot away from him cus he doesn't want him to find the security desk or turn the lights off or leave his sight)

The Sun that throws children out of the Daycare if they piss him off to literally die.

He has the mental stability of a fainting goat.

I do think these traits are just a result of being abandoned for so long....

But I just think that he's always had these issues. So even if the story takes place before or after the events of Security Breach, I do think he should still exhibit some of those behaviors. Even if to a lesser extent.

I think the idea steamed from, "oh he works with children so he's good at manipulating kids to do what he needs them to do" hahahaha... No he's not. He can't hold Gregory in place for five seconds before he gets ignored and Gregory goes awall. And the messages in the dufflebags claim kids are scared of Sun as well as Moon. It's both of them.

Everytime I see Sun act with some level of level of passive agressive master manipulation like he's Kira or something....

Cool characterization. Appreciate it. Like to see a new side of him cus there's not much to work from in the games.

Not my Daycare Attendent tho.

[brightlotusmoon]

"So, my philosophy at this point is to make myself happy. I just want to make music that makes me feel good, and if you don't like it, I didn't make it for you. If you do like it, welcome to the club." - Singer T-Pain, via This Is Pop, Ep2 Auto-Tune

[hamable]

Hey I just finished Hilda season 3 and I am forever changed.

I joke that I could write a thesis about some media but I could really truly talk for hours about how fucking good Hilda is.

It’s core strength, which tears at my heart and soul so earnestly, is that it is not just a story about child adventurer, but equally a story about the MOTHER of a child adventurer and it’s just so beautiful. So impactful.

I think Johanna may be one of my favorite characters… ever. I think she is Absolutey Incredible.

Season three was just so amazing, the whole series is. I beg y’all to watch it because it’s so so good and deserves all the love it can get.

[lilybug-02]

Talking about the distinction between monsters and animals reminds me of a line by Catty in the pacifist epilogue where she says her and Bratty can "fulfill [their] dream of having a pet cat." You can ask them more about cats and Bratty jokes about eating them (which Catty takes offence from.) Bratty also implies cats are a rarity, which is interesting.

At the same time the spiders in the ruins are talked about like they're monsters, and shown to be much more intelligent than real spiders, while also being eaten.

This is giving me a headache

Also epic comic!! I am obsessed with the way you characterise everyone, Asriel and Chara's dynamic gives me life :D

As someone very invested in biology and animal science, Undertale’s (and Deltarune’s) microtaxonomy and magic system make me want to scream. ❤️

And also thank you!! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the comic! Asriel and Chara are so fun together. It’s so nice writing something not angsty between them.

[newera-interactiveif]

|NEW ERA|

BOOK ONE

Synopsis: You are a vampire who has been transformed a one year ago, still struggling to adjust to your new life, and now part of the supernatural community at city. Murders occur ,and they were not caused by humans, even worse that some who died were members of supernatural clas and the group of hunters ,so you and several other beings are accused and the group of hunters of the city are investigating and keep an eye on the supernaturals, and that included you.

With such keen senses, there is still some difficulty for you to control yourself and in the midst of this the problems of teenage life don’t give you a break and now with tensions on the brink of war, you and others are forced to find out who is causing these deaths before a mass slaughter occurs in the city of New Era.

__________________________________________

•Play as a novice vampire hiding among humans.

•Choose your gender, name and appearance.

•Fight against or meet hunters, vampires and other supernatural beings.

•Fall in love, hate, cause chaos or peace, you choose.

•Investigate, find out who or what is the real culprit while trying to stay hidden from hunters and find evidence to prevent supernatural clans and human groups from fighting each other.

•Control your bloodlust or let your instincts take over.

•Survive a city and the problems that can arise from being a teenager and a vampire.

Demo | Ko-Fi | Patreon | Discord

Chapters :2 : 131,000 Words ,Including the code.

Last update 14/march/24

Categories: romance, horror, young adult, mystery, drama, action, supernatural.

+18:Violence,Death And other mature themes

Playlist 👇

Romantic Options:

_______________________________

Taylor Roberts (she/he): A hunter and a high school student ,raised from an early age to hunt supernatural creatures like you. Quiet and reserved, focused on the mission, or so should be. It was part of your past, until you had to walk away for good because of your new life, or non-life.

_______________________________

Cassie Matthews (She): Flirtatious, sarcastic, and sassy. Cassie is one of the best in her class, in addition to being a member of the cheerleading squad and also a swimmer in the school's swim team. Someone who loves to party and tease, but also someone who is definitely not to be trifled with.

Note:New ro's or new ro's to be added...

[reddorkredemption]

I will always believe that Jack Marston goes on to live a good life after rdr1 ( I have to for my own sanity lmao ), but it breaks my heart that his family-- especially Abigail-- won't get to see that.

I just imagine how Abigail had to watch him slowly deteriorate after John's death. She had to watch her smart, sensitive boy who loved to read become so broken and vengeful and angry, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

And then she died, not knowing if he'd ever manage to break out of it and fearing what he would become/what would happen to him if he didn't.

[despazito]

writers tip: age up your characters by 5 years just do it

[viiioca]

welcome - when was it lacking? when was it extended? which of those moments lingers most strongly in their mind?

The first night in your new home, you hide in the attic.

The manor's hallways yawn like a predator's mouth. You have walked them all your life at your mother's heels like a ghost-girl, but she's gone now and you have no skirts to hide behind. There are too many eyes and too few voices. Staff once your equal – girls the same age and same lowborn breeding as you – move around you like the shadows of hunting birds. No one smiles unless it's to pity you. You feel like a rabbit caught out of cover, trapped somewhere between the den and the dinner table.

The moment you are left alone, you flee.

You know your way around the manor's hollows, as intimate to you as the heart lines criss-crossing your palms. You wedge yourself into a crawlspace – nearly too small now for your growing bones – and emerge in a cramped storage room made warm by the bare stone of a chimney. You played here with dolls, once.  In the cold and the dust and the dim lantern-light, you finally feel like you can breathe. You want to sleep here on the hardwood. You want to stay here until the house forgets you exist within it like some transplanted organ awaiting rejection.

A bell or two passes before the short hatch of a door scrapes open. In comes the sound of breathing, the knocking of knees and elbows awkwardly clambering into your hiding spot. You watch a set of cramped limbs unfold into an elezen boy hauling an oil lamp in one hand and a bag much too big for him in another.

"There you are," Verain says. Verain who grew up in this world half-shared with you, three years your elder and still a fulm shorter, ever-waiting for his growth spurt; Verain who could not possibly be less like his mother, save for his black hair and quick tongue. He drops next to you like a sack of laundry, leg bumping leg. "You weren't at dinner."

"I wasn't hungry," you say. You do not say that your stomach has been full of stones since it happened. You do not say that everything tastes like smoke.

"Thought as much." He pulls a lumpy tea towel out of the bag and unrolls it atop your thigh, revealing a traveler's meal: flaky bread and butter and apple jam, a slim wedge of soft cheese, a fistful of proud red grapes. "It's not much, but. You know."

He waves his hand. You know.

"Oh, and the cook sent this too." He retrieves a glass bottle wrapped in another tea towel; you can feel its warmth. Mulled wine. They water it down in the kitchen for children, you know, because you are not old enough for the proper strength, but it's comfortable and familiar like a bedtime story. He pours some into a mug and offers it like a pilgrim leaves coins at a waypoint. 

"Thank you," you say, gingerly taking the mug. Heat passes through the tips of your fingers, into your palms, up your wrists. The first sip is tentative, spicy-sweet, unsure that your body will not reject it and you will retch his kindness all over the attic floor – but it makes it down your throat and doesn't come back up. 

Progress is progress. Calm is calm.

"I'm sorry," Verain says quietly, small hands on the cold skin of your knuckles. No shortage of people have said this to you – but this, your churning insides say, is real. You believe him. The corners of your mouth manage a smile, and he smiles at you in turn.

You drink your wine and sit quietly with your soon-to-be brother until the lanterns dim and you drift off to sleep next to him, slumping, head on his shoulder. 

There's not much else you could ask for, in the end.