#an absolute disappointment to the fae like he has a lot riding on this in his mind

[moeblob]

Look, I just think it's VERY funny and on brand that I thought of an entire premise of colorful characters for half the cast and immediately drew the only one void of color.

[lululawrence]

hello!! i was wondering if u had a werewolf tag for fics? i would search it but not sure how to use tumblr that well :)) if not do u have recs? LOVE U HAVE A NICE DAY<333

hi babes! i don't have one here... damn that's a fucking great idea. hahaha i'm HORRIBLY unorganized when it comes to tags for fics on tumblr. i mostly use ao3 for the organization of fics. so! that said, i defo DO have recs for you!

you didn't specify pairing, which makes me smile because i get to rec rare pairs in addition to larry and hope you read them hehe okay, here we go!

He Carries The Key by me (8k, NR, niall/louis) - this fic is the only one of mine i'll include, okay? promise haha but it is also one i wrote for wordplay just a week or two ago and it's werewolves and a pack fic and i just had a lot of fun. very soft. much fluff. many feels. i hope you enjoy. lol

There's Fur Everywhere by @londonfoginacup / LadyLondonderry (4k, G, Harry/Louis) - this is a 5 times fic, and it's HYSTERICAL. it feels slightly spoilery for me to even be including it on this list, but also... it's still fucking hilarious. emmu is queen of the crack fic that makes you feel all the soft and wonderful things, and she doesn't disappoint with this one.

I Hear Them Calling for You by @jaerie / jaerie (6k, E, Harry/Louis) - this fic is... not for everyone. like at all. please please please read the tags and the summary and if you don't like it or it makes you uncomfortable, then close right out of it. as for ME i loved what she explored with it, all the emotions and the story and worldbuilding of it all. i thought it was fantastic and incredibly interesting. it is A/B/O, pack fic with claiming and... yeah. it's amazing.

Campus Creatures by @kingsofeverything / kingsofeverything and @louandhazaf / YesIsAWorld (25k, E, Harry/Louis) - werewolves! vampires! fae! university! frat houses! science research positions being vied for! enemies to lovers! like... not sure what more you could ASK for, but there's also a fuck ton of humor and nudity and sexual tension and... it's just a lot of fun. can't go wrong, really. haha

From What I've Tasted of Desire by @evilovesyou / 4ureyesonly28 (72k, T, Harry/Louis) - okay so i'm including this one even though like... harry and louis aren't werewolves. but it's a twilight au, so there ARE werewolves and i'm ASSUMING you know twilight and therefore know that means you know they're pretty involved and... that's true for this fic too. ahha for real, though, i love evi's writing and this fic was one of my first introductions to it and it was a fun read, so i wanted to include it in case it had enough of the werewolf flair to entice you haha

Compete Against the Stars by @daggerandrose / amomentoflove (31k, M, Harry/Louis) - omg okay so this one is like ANGSTY AF and i FUCKING LOVE IT because it's one of those fics that you HOPE you have figured out, and you probably do, but also there's SO many twists and turns to it all that you just have NO idea how it's all gonna work out and omg are they gonna just ruin it all for themselves by being stupid and ahhhhh the tension of just FIGURING OUT HOW THEY GET IT ALL TO WORK OUT!!! and of course it does. hahaha but HOW??? this is a RIDE and in my mind feels like a longer fic than 31k in the best of ways, they did an amazing job of packing a LOT of world building and storytelling into those 31k.

the straight for your heart (wolfpack au) series by foreverkneeld and foundfamilyvevo (96k, T/G, Multiple or No pairings including Niall/Louis, Zayn/Liam, OT5, and Shawn/Niall) - This series is the ultimate hurt/comfort and healing pack fic series omg. it was recommended to me when i was in a super hard time and my anxiety was so bad i couldn't focus on anything. These short fics that all focused so much on healing and found family were exactly what i needed. so so soft, so lovely. I still haven't read them all because i'm saving them for when i need them. they're glorious.

when the air ran out and we both started running wild by darlingjustdont (48k, M, Nick/Louis) - OMG OKAY LISTEN THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVS. a tomlinshaw werewolf pack fic?! ahhhhhhhhh i was SO happy when i discovered this one. louis is alpha of the pack and things are... shaky, shall we say. there's a lot going on that he's worried about and then he meets nick and it's kind of enemies to lovers? okay, more than kind of. but omg the FEELS. SO. MANY. FEELS. but also danger and a;lsdgkhas;ldfkja just please read this and rave with me because i don't have many i can talk about this one with and i LOVE IT.

You Smell Like by mystic_believexx (185k, M, Harry/Louis) - i had no idea this fic was so long hahahaha wow ANYWAY louis is human, but he's always been close with harry and therefore basically a part of his pack. but then one day harry leaves and louis kind of accidentally becomes the pack alpha. even though he's human. but there's SO much more to it. there's just sooooo much with the friendship and the pack bond as well as the danger and trying to figure out what the hell is going on... it's just a LOT and one of those epic fics that i still think about even though i read it...a year and a half ago i guess. but it's amazing and i highly recommend it if the word count doesn't scare you away haha

Canyon Moon by @eeveelou / delsicle (41k, E, Harry/Louis) - this is a lion king au, made a/b/o werewolves! i really enjoyed this one a lot, actually, because i could absolutely see the parallels, but also the way it was adapted made it so it wasn't always obvious how it would all play out. it was a really interesting and cool world building as well.

The Truth I Can't Explain (Smoke and Mirrors) by @fallinglikethis / FallingLikeThis (9k, M, Harry/Louis) - ohhhhh this one is SO cool cause it's by tabby so she made it incredibly fun and fascinating to try to figure out. there's magic and mages and werewolves and feuds and they're basically on the eve of battle and holy cow it's just SO cool.

One Touch Is Never Enough by @kingsofeverything / kingsofeverything (4k, E, Harry/Louis) - once again lauren delivers and there's just so much i keep giggling about with this because it is SO fun. there's a lot that louis is dealing with in this fic hahaha and the way she writes it all is so funny. the poor man just wants a fucking massage! lololol it's lighthearted, humorous, and basically filled with fluff, crack, and smut. hahaha

Knot Safe For Work by @jaerie / jaerie (6k, E, Harry/Louis) - a;sldkgha;lfdkjas listen i forgot about this fic until i found it in my bookmarks for werewolves because jenna writes so many fucking amazing fics that when i think of werewolves, i think of at least two others first, but i could NOT do this rec without this fic because now that i remember it exists i am going to have to go and read it again! hahaha harry's a werewolf, louis is a wizard, there's knotting dildos and table sex and... just read it. lolol

Saving's What I Need by @jaerie / jaerie (17k, M, Harry/Louis) - writer louis is out for a drive one day and he hits a dog. THIS POOR DOG! he takes it to the vet and tries his best to take care of it... but things are not as they seem. because yeah, harry is defo not a dog. lollllll this fic was hilarious and sweet and omg there's just so much to love about it. there were so many more emotions in it than i expected. loooove!

Out of the Wild by @jaerie / jaerie (22k, E, Harry/Louis) - this fic has such fun world building, which is actually a huge strength of jenna's fics and you'll hear me rave about it with all 50 of her fics that will end up on this rec list (not really 50, but ya know lol). louis is a fairly wild and undomesticated wolf and harry's from the city and they end up as roommates during the x factor process. oh my word this fic is so fun because of all the challenges they're going through PLUS the wolf side of things and just... the way they work together and navigate it all as well as falling for each other is pure gold.

Out With The Old, In With The New by, you guessed it, @jaerie / jaerie (7k, E, Harry/Louis) - listen, just. this one is smutty as hell and it's gonna take you some places that some people will be uncomfortable with, which is totally valid and fair. please be sure to read the tags and make your decision on whether or not to read accordingly, but also know that its written in a super interesting way that is also pretty amazing if you do decide to give it a shot. lol

Instincts by @marastarfar / StarFar ( 100k so far - it's a WIP!, T, Harry/Louis) - omg listen. i LOVE mara's fics so much and when this first posted it was a one shot little thing that was FASCINATING. i loved it! and then i was happily surprised when i learned more was added to it. and then it was turned into a wip and omg i am so far behind now but i trust mara with my life because i love everything i've read by them and what i've read of this so far is INCREDIBLE so just. yeah. lollll

There's a Power in What You Do by @londonfoginacup / LadyLondonderry (7k, T, Harry/Louis) - i just read my comment i left on this one and it was just mainly me begging for time stamps because there wasn't any way for her to improve upon the perfection of this fic (nesting! softness! even a silly comment in her endnotes to perfectly cap it all!), but i still wanted to remain in the story just a bit longer and learn more about them. hahaha anyway, those time stamps aren't happening, but this fic is still complete perfection.

amaryllis by @hattalove / hattalove (147k, E, Harry/Louis) - for a long time this was thought of as THE werewolf fic. if anyone was talking about a werewolf fic, it was probably this one. is that still the case? probably. i'm not sure. ANYWAY. there's a REASON it was THE werewolf fic and that's because this is amazing. it sucks you in and you feel like you're truly a part of the action. it's filled with the vibe of found family and wanting to figure out what happened while also adjusting to your new life and just... so many feelings. so much angst. SO fantastically epic.

[rosereview]

Top 12 Books of 2020

In this crazy year of 2020 I only read 32 books, but that doesn’t mean that I still don’t have too many good five star books that I want to share. But because I’m pretending that this is a top ten list with two honourable mentions, I had to narrow it down to only my top twelve. So let's get started.

12. Catharsis: Pain by Rowan Dugray

To start off, I wanted to mention this really amazing collection of poetry that I picked up. It’s not very well known but it is really well done. Since I’m not the biggest fan of poetry, I usually stray away or get very nervous going into a poetry novel, but this one was a nice surprise. I didn’t let myself dwell on the fact that I don’t always understand the intended meaning of the poems, and instead let myself take my own meaning from the words. In the end I felt like I really had gone through a process of catharsis and released a lot of built up tensions and emotions. A great read.

11. Vow of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

This book is the second book in the Dance of Thieves duology and it was a treat to get back into the Remnant Chronicles world. It had been a while since I had read the first book so it took a bit for the character relationships and names to come back to me, but after they did this book was a great conclusion. I loved all of the big plot twists and the way that the story went, and couldn't have asked for a more well done novel.

10. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

This book was a surprise hit which I had been putting off for a while, so I was happy when I finally got to it. The way that the novel is written and presented intimidated me a bit, but I was surprised with how easy it was to read after I got into it. But the biggest surprise, which made for a wild experience, was that the book had a big plot line of a deadly virus. It was kind of scary cause it hit so close to home, but also made it relevant and somehow better. It was a great example of how reading a book at a perfect time in your life enhances so many things about it and that was definitely this one for me. So if you’re into sci-fi books, check this one out.

9. Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Next was my first experience reading a Amanda Foody novel although I’ve wanted to read her stuff for a while, and I was not disappointed. This book has some similarities with Caraval, where both have sort of game elements, although this one goes more in the direction of gangs and crime bosses which I loved. The whole book was very well done and fast paced where I just wanted to keep reading until I got to the point that I just couldn’t put it down at the end. Highly highly recommend it, and I can’t wait to get into the next one sometime this year.

8. A Crystal of Time by Soman Chainani

Again this is one that I had been putting off because I hadn’t read the other ones in the series for a while, but when I finally committed to picking this one up I was shocked with how much I enjoyed it. I thought that the book before this one in the School for Good and Evil series kind of repeated a lot of plot points from the previous three books, but this one took a whole different turn. It was nice to see the familiar characters again, but I felt that some of the newer characters were also just as intriguing and kept me wanting more. Now I’m just hoping I don’t take another crazy long time to pick up the last book, especially since it’s already out.

7. The Lost Book of the White by Cassandra Clare & Wesley Chu

No surprise that this book is on my list since it’s a Cassandra Clare novel, and it’s also filled full of Magnus and Alec. This one was super light hearted and fun and was a nice break from the rest of the world. All of Cassandra Clare’s books are just comforting and it feels like I’m coming home every time I get into one. There’s humor, friendship, romance, demons, and shadowhunters… What else could you ask for?

6. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Finally we’re halfway and boy are we getting to the goodies! This is the second book I’ve read by Taylor Jenkins Reid and it matched and exceeded all of my expectations. I didn’t think anything of hers could top Daisy Jones and the Six, but this one did. I’m not saying that Daisy Jones isn’t amazing, but Evelyn Hugo is just a whole different type of moment. I don’t even know how to explain it. All I can say is if you love old hollywood stories with all of the drama and show biz it brings, then you will fall in love with this novel.

5. Beartown by Fredrik Backman

This book was my first Fredrik Backman read that I finished all the way back in January, so exactly a year ago, but I have to say that it is still stuck in my head. I frequently still think about this book and the story, and I badly want to read all of Fredrik Backman’s novels. His writing style is so unique and the way he fits every part of this story together is incredible. It’s actually the work of a genius! Beartown is all about a hockey town and the dark places it can go when too much pressure is put on young teenage boys. 

4. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Unlike Beartown, this is a recent read for me, and I have a feeling it will stay in my head like Beartown but in a totally different way. It is written in Fredrik Backman’s same style that Beartown was written in, although it goes back and forth between timelines, which made it to be a wild ride. There were so many plot twists in this novel that I was jumping up and down in every chapter. It was crazy! I loved how this one shows the natural ways that life can suck which made it so relatable and probably why it beat Beartown in the end, even though I didn’t think any other Fredrik Backman book could. 

3. I Would Leave Me If I Could by Halsey

Now in the top three we have my three favourite creators in the world!! First here we have Halsey, who I hadn’t expected to publish a book, but I’m more than happy that she did. Halsey, being a woman of many many many talents, did not disappoint in this beautiful poetry collection. Again, I’m not the biggest fan of poetry, but Halsey has made me rethink that. I think because I’ve been such a big fan for a while now, her poetry was that much more special for me. So many of her poems are where my favourite lyrics to her songs originated, so to see the way and form that they were first born was very personal. There’s nothing more to say than I just love it.

2. Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

Well since I wrote a whole long review about how much I love this book, it’s not surprising to see that it’s almost first on the list. This book was one of the best books I’ve ever read, and it is agonizing to have to wait for the next one. If you want a more concrete reason for why I love this book so much, then you can read my review for it which is on my post list. Besides that, I guess I just have to say that I love this book so much and everyone should read it and all of Cassandra Clare’s novels.

1. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

And now we have finally come to my favourite book of 2020, House of Earth and Blood. Sarah. J Maas is my second favourite author of all time, beaten only by Cassandra Clare, but at first I have to say that I was worried about this book. It wasn’t purely about the Fae or had a connection with the Throne of Glass or ACOTOR series. For those reasons I wasn’t sure I was going to fall in love with it as much. Oh how wrong I was. This book is an absolute masterpiece. There isn’t much more to say. It is filled with grief, romance, but has a very prominent theme of friendship at its core that was what really hit me hard. Everything about this book was amazing and every character was amazingly developed and interesting. I could not put it down and even though it was supremely long, I was never bored. Not one page. It was just incredible. If you are over 18 and like fantasy novels, read this book. You will be doing yourself a favour. 

And that concludes my list of favourite books in 2020! I hope some of these spark your interest and become your favourites in the future.

Until next time!

~Rose Reviews

[hopefulstarfire]

You've been visited by the random OC question fairy! :D ~☆

What is the worst thing that has happened to your character? Why was this so horrible? How has this experience shaped their personality and actions?

Ohmygod this is so sweet and awesome hello!! Thank you for the question!

I've been sitting here trying to think of which oc(s) to answer this about. With my Astrarium cast, a good bit of the most horrible things to happen to them happen within the story itself (buckle up for anything year 2 and beyond I am sorry not sorry on that aha). So I think it's best to leave them kinda in the corner.

But there are two ocs I don't talk about as much, and thats the twins: Amaranth and Alder McCrae.

Their story is kind of one that's being reworked extensively and maybe someday will be ready but the thing that shaped them was a family death.

Their older brother. Ash.

Ash died when they were about seven years old. And it just crumbled their family. Their father, Callum, was never quite the same and he became very guarded, very defensive and severely overprotective. To the point that it pushed the twins away and there is actually a huge possibility in reworking this story that he actually leaves them with their godfather, for this reason among others, and they don't see him again for many years.

Amaranth was the closest to Ash. She looked up to her big brother more than she did anyone else. He taught her how to play guitar, he helped teach the twins how to ride a bike, he was always so supportive of her. When he died, Amaranth was devastated.

She's always been the one to feel every emotion to every extreme. And that got even more intense in the wake of trying to navigate her life afterwards. And with him gone, she constantly pushed herself to be like him, to be just as great as he was. And in the original drafts of the show, she pushed herself because she felt everyones eyes on her after Ash was gone, and, with her empathic abilities (fun fact: the twins are witches and half fae on their mothers side), all shr ever felt from her father was negative feelings. Disappointment. Fear. And she wanted to make him proud, prove him wrong, show him she could be just as great as Ash.

Losing Ash leads her into a very emotional spiral throughout her life, no matter the direction the story changes in. And it's not until she's older that she's truly able to begin working through that.

Alder, on the other hand, reacted much differently to the situation. Losing his brother was heartbreaking. Seeing his Dad close off and possibly even abandon them, emotionally or in actuality, is harder. He holds a resentment towards him well into adulthood, disgusted by the fact that they weren't enough to keep him together and that he wasn't there for them like he should have been, because they were all grieving. And he cannot stand ever being compared to his father. One of the only times you ever see something in him snap is being told how he's like his father. He even goes out of his way to do everything he can not to even look like the man.

Or to look like Ash. Losing his brother was destructive. And while he doesn't admit it, in a sense, he compares himself to his brother. How great a person he was. And he sees how Amaranth tries so hard to be like him -- when he thinks his sister is great just as she is (no one can tell her that, though. "She's already got a god complex, you don't need to make it worse.") But he'll catch a glimpse of himself in the mirror, think of his brother, think of how much better the world would be if it had Ash instead of him, and the heartbreak comes washing over again. Because Ash was the best kid. Ash was the most loved person in the family. And it showed how much he was never gonna add up, because Callum was a ghost around him after Ash was gone.

Alder gives off an air of being emotionally closed off. It's better that way. Can't disappoint or get disappointed by people if you don't let them in, if you don't trust them, if you don't let them break your walls down. But for those rare few who do, you will never find anyone more loyal. He'll be there to put shit back together because he didn't have that.

Both of them have a distrust in authority figures as well after this. It was believed to be someone in a position of power that got their brother killed. And their own father just crumbled and couldn't put himself back together again after it. The only voice of authority they really ever connect with is Nemo, and that's still only vaguely -- believe me, all 3 of them together are nothing but sass and pettiness.

The two have also grown incredibly close because of it. They felt like they really only had each other, to support each other and to understand what happened to them. Amaranth is very protective of Alder, and was known for beating the shit out o anyone who dared try to bully him when they were in school. Alder was known for pulling the most elaborate and humiliating prank on any asshole who broke Amaranths heart. They are still absolute assholes to each other, what siblings aren't, but by God they will always be there for each other through thick and thin.

I have a lot of thoughts on these two, they're very near and dear to my heart and honestly I really need to work on their story more with the gang to get them perfect. I'm so sorry if some of it's a bit confusing in areas to anyone. They had had a full story planned out but it got scrapped due to a lot of reasons and we've been on a bit of a break on trying to figure out how to redo it. And I've been reworking their story a bit recently but nothing concrete. Though Ash remains a vital role in how they turned out.

Thank you for the question! And I hope everyone enjoys reading the pain I put these characters through lol.

[pixelsbichoice]

Ranking Choices series by how Gay they are

A review no one asked for but an important one nonetheless

EDIT: Updated for latest books 6/29/19

The Freshman - While Zack, Kaitlyn, Becca, and Zig make this a sweet Gay Squad, the book has prominent bi-erasure if you date a man and forces you to deal with toxic Het Drama for multiple books that leaves you begging for the sweet release of diamond death to never come - 4/10 Gay but at what cost

The Crown and the Flame - Kenna is a bisexual Queen, but the fact that they don't give Dom a male li until awkwardly at the very end is tragic - 5/10 Could be gayer

Most Wanted - Look Sam is a Lesbian Icon(tm) but the narrative pushes for Sam and Dave - 3/10 Pretty Het

Rules of Engagement - Forces the MC to be with a man, doesn't give Party Twin a female li until the third book, and older brother's het drama is insufferable - 2/10 Some gay but too much straight to try

Endless Summer - MC can be a guy or a girl. Pretty gay, but the female lis are not treated as well as the male ones, also there are a lot of straight couples and the fact that Pirate Queen Yvonne ends up with a man? Tragic(tm) - 5/10 gay but could be gayer

LoveHacks - Points for the bi black man and the lesbians, but the first book paywalls its only female li to shit, only has the MC date men, and has Brooke end up with a man instead of Seerena - 3/10 Gay but too Het to handle

The Haunting of Braidwood Manor - Nothing but love a respect for my lesbian ghost girlfriend, but you have to pay to stay together (but it is only 17 diamonds and that is a bargain these days) - 8/10 Lots of lesbian love but at a cost

The Royal Romance - Largely forced to spend time with a man, has only one female li even though Olivia is literally right there, and has Penelope get with Kiara's brother even though Kiara is literally right there - 3/10 Very Het

Hero - MC can be a guy or a girl. Kenji is a BIcon but it takes a while to meet the only female li, also the Poppy and Dax het drama is too much - 6/10 Decently gay and has potential

High School Story - MC can be a guy or a girl. Besides the fact that we have to deal with the Het Tragedy that are Brian, Max, Kara, the dumb Autumn love triangle, and what the ever loving fuck is that set up your Dad with Emma's Mom nonsense, these books give a lot of LGBT+ rep - 7/10 Gen Z is the Gayest Gen

It Lives in the Woods - MC can be a guy or a girl. Gay Icon right here, we stan our Trans King(tm) King Kang, Ava and Stacy are female li legends, Lily is our beautiful Lesbian Queen, nothing like the raw gay energy of swinging a barbed wire bat at the undead - 15/10 GAY ICON

Home for the Holidays - One female LI, but at what cost? Can't play as a guy and forced to have dated one (1) man. Don't even get me started on Nick Peralta - 1/10 Literally ever Het Hallmark Christmas movie ever so RUN

Red Carpet Diaries - It feels like it should be pretty gay between the BIcon that is Seth, the Lesbian Legend that is Teja, and the absolute QUEEN that is Victoria, but man does it throw that all away to be SUPER FREAKING STRAIGHT between Matt and Hunt and paywalling the fuck out of Victoria - 3/10 RIP Gay potential

Perfect Match - MC can be a guy or a girl. Can choose to have your perfect match be a guy or a girl. A beautiful array of lis to choose from and they can all be yours because PB said Polyamory Rights! Even though there is some Het stuff with Nadia and Steve, it is actually tolerable. The President can also be a black lesbian and that's the America I want to live in - 10/10 Living my best gay thot life

Bloodbound - Even love interests whom? Sure you get two wonderful female love interests, Lily and the ultimate BI QUEEN Kamilah, but forget ever hanging out with them. This is the JAX AND ADRIAN SHOW ONLY BABEEE - 4/10 Not even a cheap Priya scene can help, PB said fuck wlw

Veil of Secrets - MC can be a guy or a girl. Ms. Harlenay is a Lesbian icon. Kate is a true BI disaster and the fact that we can only get with her romantically at the end of the book is the Biggest Tragedy of Choices - 6/10 It's fun and gay until you die alone bc you don't have enough diamonds

America's Most Eligible - MC can be a guy or a girl. You can thot it up and kiss so many people, Mackenzie is the only female li you can hang out with most of the time and there was one weird scene where Adam and Derek were super "no homo"??? - 6/10 Gay potential but oof the Het

Desire & Decorum - Only one female li, but she is Amazing. Mr. Chambers gay ass is the real MVP. God bless our non-homophobic gay ally of a dad (rip). But still this book got a lot of Het nonsense bc of the time period - 4/10 Press F to pay respect to our gay ancestors

Across The Void - MC can be a guy or a girl. Even number of lis with even screen time and your siblings can be gay too if they weren't so annoying and stealing your screen time - 7/10 Gay but it's hard to read

Big Sky Country - MC can be a guy or a girl. If you are a wlw, there is a lot of Het nonsense and it is hard to be with the female lis. If you are a mlm, ooh boy is this book Really Gay. Like literally every guy wants your city dick. Still there is some Het stuff - 6/10 Average; Life is what you Gay it

High School Story: Class Act - MC can be a guy or a girl. You can choose the gender of the li you are forced to have a crush on so that is nice. If you play as a guy your twin can be a Lesbian Icon and Erin can like girls but if you play as a girl it's like super het. Don't even get me started on Natalie and Clint - 6/10 Gay but oof

It Lives Beneath - MC can be a guy or a girl. Great even bunch of lis and our gay little brother is the most wholesome thing - 8/10 Good gay content minus you know all the Gore and Death

The Elementalists - MC can be a guy or a girl. Let’s hear it for Ace rep! Except the imbalance of li scenes and how Beckett is constantly forced onto you continues to put this book on thin ice, especially with the lack of flirting options for wlw - 5/10 Gay but lesbian struggles

A Courtesan of Rome -  Forced to kiss men. Female characters treated like shit. Sabina stans deserved better. But Gay brother can get his happy gay romance. Caesar/Cleopatra/MC threesome said bi rights. Parents are the biggest gay allies. The biggest disappointment is the untapped potential - 3.5/10 RIP to anyone who hoped to romance Cleopatra

The Heist: Monaco - MC can be a guy or a girl. Allows you to choose gender of one your lis. Has the potential to have 3 female lis who are all iconic. But makes you pay for not 1 but 2 women crew members so having an all women crew is a struggle - 8/10 Let's go Lesbians!

Update:

Ride or Die: A Bad Boy Romance - Everyone thinks you and Logan are dating even if you haven’t romanced him in the slightest. Gay rep in minor characters but at what cost. - 3/10 We been knew of the het nonsense since we saw the tagline

Open Heart - MC can be a guy or a girl. If you are guy this book is great. Seriously Dr. ER always down for the BJ (sorry homophobes he BI!✨). If you are woman, HAHAHAHa. Only one female li who is forced to hate you for a few chapters. Seriously Sienna and Aurora and Kyra are right freaking there just give the wlw something!!! - 4/10 Gay but could do so much better

Passport to Romance - MC can be a guy or a girl. Even number of love interests except for the fact that one of the female li has a boyfriend for 75 percent of the book. Still this book is dreadfully boring or annoying which is sad because Sumire and Ahmed are wonderful. - 7/10 Gay but forgettable

Wishful Thinking - Story has MC spend most time with the two male lis, but MC, Anna, and Ellen working together to take down corrupt politicians ala Charlie’s Angels is awesome! The fact that you can sleep with Ellen coming out of nowhere like a dark horse? Amazing! - 5/10 Gay potential

Nightbound - MC can be a guy or a girl. Even number of love interests, but recent changes make it obvious the book wants you to lean towards Nik. Barely any scenes with Vera or Katherine. There is a gay fae and rock troll love story but you have to pay for it -  4/10 A fun supernatural story PB is forcing to be the next great het romance

Platinum - Can choose for your two main love interests Avery and Raleigh to be male or female which means you are not forced to romance men unless you want to! The women are so pretty it hurts. Get to kiss beautiful women for freeeee. Shoutout to non-binary audience. Every song is bop that fills me with gay pride. Only major downfall is you can’t choose to play as a guy. - 9/10 Move over Hayley Kiyoko there is a new Lesbian pop star in town

And Sunkissed is still up in the air while The Royal Heir is on the thinnest of fucking ices.

[kaisooficrec]

Hi mods, thanks for opening up the Ask box! It's my first time doing this :/ hope I do it right… Can I ask for recs of long fics (say more than 50k? can be chaptered/one-shot) that the mods like but think are underrated? They can be any genre, and they can be from any writers (even some of the older ones who wrote more before 2017?) Thank you!!

Hi lovely anon! You rang the right bell because we have TONS of long fics to rec!! There are old fics but also a lot of recent ones, many different AUs and they’re all above 50k! ! we also made sure to rec fics that are underrated and need more recognition. It will probably take a long time to read all of those so TAKE YOUR TIME AND ENJOY

Amuse-Bouche - hehe this was recced not too long ago but its place on this list still stands! Chefs AU, very unique fic and extremely realistic! a true gem. (139k words)

Legends: The Chosen Twelve - this is an oldie! it was recced back in 2014 but still is pretty underrated and such an amazing fic! it’s ot12, MAMA AU. enjoy ^^ (151k words)

All is Said and Done - another oldie! BFFs!kaisoo that fall in love. it’s angsty c: (70k words)

Common Ground - also from 2014, this is a fantasy/ghost AU that doesn’t disappoint! (84k words)

Start Over - High School AU, lots of drama :’) originally posted in 2012, deserves so much more recognition! (65k words)

Lapis Lazuli - Fantasy + (School of) Magic AU, originally written for the exordium fest in 2015! ot12 although Kaisoo are one of the main pairings. There are adventures and action, it’s very entertaining, a good read c: (55k words)

If Only for Tonight - College AU, pretty angsty (warnings: violence, character death). Police officer Kyungsoo meets gangster jongin :-) (56k words)

French Lilac - Artist AU, jongin loves kyungsoo’s voice, but he’s already married. angst + smut. (50k words)

Trust You The Most - Cat Hybrids AU!! we need more of those . Soo ran a shelter for hybrids and he ends up (accidentally) keeping one for himself. (52k words)

Dear You - Kyungsoo really, really tries to get over Jongin. It’s not that easy. (sorry for all the angst o/) (59k words)

EXODUS - Supernatural AU, Kyungsoo meets a creature that makes him feel safe and cherished (55k words)

Beautiful Butterfly - CEO!Jongin and HS student!Soo, nini tries dealing with all the confessions thrown his way. Read on AFF. (63k words)

hearts and bones - High School AU, swimmer!jongin and photographer!soo meet, and the unexpected happens. (68k words)

Mixed Feelings - College AU, soo has a crush on his straight roommate jongin. pretty fluffy (50k words)

Fly With Me - Fantasy and Fae AU, jongin wanted an escape from reality but he didn’t intend to meet a bunch of men with wings on their backs. (warnings: slight gore, character death) (50k words)

Moon-Child - Fantasy AU, Kaisoo find themselves caught in a fairy tale. (warnings: character death). smutty too (51k words)

Save Yourself - Fantasy & Magic AU, Hybrids AU, War AU. Jongin is a cat hybrid and Kyungsoo’s just trying to make the spell that could save them all work. (68k)

The Stars, Our Saviour - Space AU (+ Royalty AU) + Bounty Hunter AU. Very impressive and unique fic! also smutty ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) (77k words)

Close To Home - a kai-centric fic, kaixeveryone but mainly/endgame kaisoo. Soulmates AU + Aliens AU. very smutty. (warnings: alien dicks?? alien sex, tentacles and knotting) (53k words)

Across - Assasins + Hitman AU, dark themes. (WARNINGS!: mental illness, mental instability, blood, violence, gore, murder, unhealthy relationship, mental and physical abuse.) Jongin has a crush on hitman!soo. Things don’t turn out as he planned. If you like freaky stuff, this is for you. (69k words)

Ghost of You - Future + Robots AU. Robots VS Humans. Kaisoo. A love story. (59k words)

Monster - VAMPIRE AU YES!!!! I can’t believe this isn’t as popular as it should be! one of my absolute favorites, it’s vampires VS vampire hunters, a fic where jongin realizes vampires aren’t all bad (especially kyungsoo). OT12 and definitely underrated. (115k words) (warnings: unhealthy to healthy relationships, blood (obviously), murder, psychopath killer, attempted rape)

Bugs and Space Elves - LOVE LOVE LOVE! !! this was originally posted for the happyendingexo fest, but the author decided to rewrite some old parts and continue with the story and i’ve never been more thankful. IT’S SO UNIQUE AND WELL WRITTEN AND MINDBLOWING! i really love this. Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Space AU, human kyungsoo helps elf jongin on his quest to save the universe! worth the read, i promise. (96k words)

The Gates of Horn and Ivory - married!kaisoo are taken into a world of darkness that they probably should’ve avoided. Dark fairy tale elements. (135k words)

The Boy Next Door - kyungsoo finds out his neighbour is a pornstar ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) very funny, fluffy and smutty. PERFECT TRIO! (53k words)

The War. (226k words) + The One After Ten Years. (149k words, on-going) (sequel) - WHERE DO I EVEN START? these are MONSTER fics! OT12, High School AU and Slice of Life AU in the sequel, but also includes their powers from MAMA era. Kaisoo is one of the two main pairings and honestly, these two fics gave me so much feels. It’s not underrated per se but has been only recced once on the blog and i wanted to fix this! 

Kim Jongin’s Must Kiss List - College AU, kyungsoo embarrassed himself in front of nini a few years back and he’s still bitter and hateful about it, but jongin won’t stop running after him. (66k words)

2088 - Sci-Fi + Dystopia AU, kyungsoo has a mission to find a mutant boy after the war, but he realizes too late that they’re all just pawns part of a bigger plan. THIS IS HIGHLY UNDERRATED! (122k words)

I Feel Awake (This Time) - Hotel manager jongin and detective kyungsoo : truly a concept! the story of how jongin did his best to win the love of do kyungsoo. THIS FIC DESERVES SO MUCH LOVE! (57k words)

Being Brave - Non AU + Slice of Life AU. cute and smutty stories of kaisoo :-) (95k words)

Perfection - College AU, ballet dancer!jongin is going through a rough time. will singer!kyungsoo be able to save him and give him hope? (53k words)

Through Fire and Ashes - this was originally posted for the exoggedon fest but deserves so much more recognition!! Post-apocalyptic AU + Zombies AU. Basically humans VS zombies, established!kaisoo are ready to help defend their town. (warnings: blood, gore, side character death, PTSD) - ALSO MY FAVE - J

BITE - Vampire + Werewolf AU, both species are rivals (kind of like a twilight parody). Kaisoo and Chanbaek are both the main pairings, Baeksoo are vampires who find their soulmates in werewolves Chankai. Very interesting story! ! worth a shot :D (50k words, on-going)

Admin Macaroon at your service 💜

Mirrors - Youtuber AU, College AU, 132k and ongoing!!! kyungsoo makes covers a popular songs on yt and his fans get into a fight with fans of an idol named kai. it’s minty-pixie whew!

Horizon - 63k. one of the less known works of jongnugget imo! they have soo many fics over 50k wow :’) jongin is a new student at his hs and meets boy that changes his life

Kiss and Cry - 93k, figure skating au. jongnugget did it again

Enamoured - 96k. age gap with teacher soo and bad boy jongin, who is a lot younger than soo. soo always helps him and jongin likes him but they can’t be together for many reasons obvi. happy ending!

Bus Rides & Sleepy Misses - 133k, ot12 with main kaisoo ;) both meet on a bus ride and immediately catch each other’s attention! soft and fluffy :) 

Two Sugars / AO3 - 57k, ongoing jfjsjf this is so good ;) a lot of smut, fluff, comfort a bit drama whew! fashion editor soo falls in love with a cute barista by day, sexy dancer by night jongin and when they are together it’s very…cute and sexy :p

Lackadaisical Blue + White Night of Silence- 53k and 61k, kingsman au, with spy exo, also ofc there’s kaisoo too, and this is absolutely well-written!!! if you know And the Rose Said to Me, you’ll understand the quality of these stories!!

Growing Seasons: A Universe of Us - Farmer AU, farmer jongin finds an unknown bloodied man passed out in his cabbage field and decides to take care of him, not knowing this man will change his life forever. (warnings: blood, PTSD, mentions of murder) (77k words) - Adm. Ginger

- Admin J

[terramythos]

Now that I am finally through the 12 book odyssey that was catching up/rereading the October Daye series here's a post of my general thoughts. (ADVANCED spoilers. Like I don’t hold anything back, lol). 

A. Just for fun, my favorite books tended to be the ones where shit (especially Lore Shit) went down in a Really Big Way. My top 5 for that...  

1. The Winter Long (#8). I don’t think you can beat this one in sheer fuckery. Two MAJOR twists that basically change everything up to this point in the series, and they’re both dropped pretty casually. One, Simon Torquill is maybe not as evil as previously thought? and is also Toby’s step-dad? Whoops? And number two-- fucking EVENING, the fucking throwaway character killed in book one-- isn’t even dead AND she’s a fucking Firstborn and also a total piece of shit. God. It was a ride re-reading book one because there are so many hints (my favorite line: “no one knew her true face” YEAH OCTOBER, YOU SURE AREN’T WRONG). I pointed it out but even the Shakespeare quotes of books 1 and 8 foreshadow this shit. That in particular was 999-level fuckery. 

2. The Brightest Fell (#11). I was not expecting this book to gut punch me so hard. Like, everything goes to shit, obviously, and the consequences of that stretch well into the next book. But then to give Simon a genuine redemption arc, to invest in that so emotionally, and somehow find a way to end it in a WORSE way than him just dying? That stuck with me. I was so fucking upset I just couldn’t do anything of value for like a day. So that’s how you know it’s good I guess! :D 

3. An Artificial Night (#3). God what do you even say about this one. It’s where shit really starts getting real for the whole series. It’s creepy and more fantastical than the first few books and you learn more about The Firstborn and what they’re capable of. There’s a lot that’s just viscerally traumatic too. Literal children being twisted into horrific monsters. And if I’m right, I think the whole series is going to loop back to this one in a big way. There are so many... mentions and (dare I say) hints dropping even now about Blind Michael.  

4. One Salt Sea (#5). I mean, a lot of stuff happens in this one that ultimately ties into book 12, but a really major character gets killed off, Rayseline is taken out of commission, the Undersea gets introduced, and you learn what the hell is up with the Selkies. I really truly believe the epilogue chapter of this one is some of the best writing in the series, it’s so well put together and has such great beats. Idk like it was a tossup between this one and Ashes of Honor (#7), but while the latter had some of my favorite bits I think this one had a lot more. 

5. Night and Silence (#12). Maybe it’s cause it’s the most recent one and the most fresh in my mind, but DAMN. Kinda like The Winter Long this one had two big twists, and while they weren’t as major they really defined the book. The whole Janet thing I really and truly did not see coming and has some BIG implications for everything we know. Amandine’s a changeling! What the fuck! Gillian being very decisively rewritten into the series (and turned into a Selkie) was ALSO not something I saw coming in any way, shape, or form. This one really fired me up wondering where things are going next. 

B. I mentioned it but GOD the Simon thing made me so viscerally upset! I don’t think I’ve run into a series that approached a redemption arc that way. You take a character who’s pretty much evil, then start making it way more gray. Was he a bad guy? Yeah... but he had a reasonable motive. Is he still a bad guy? Yeah kinda, but he seems to genuinely want to change, and actually assists the heroes without ulterior motive. OK, so then he comes  back a few books later as the deuteragonist and gets a whole lot of character development, and he starts to improve. You even get a concrete indicator that the horrible shit that corrupted him is going away. And then, when he ultimately reaches his goals? He’s forced to give it all away, to turn back into the monster he’d been, in order to do the right thing. Fucking unreal. I’m fully aware this is to make the whole “finding Oberon” stakes more personal but it hurt, man! 

C. My vampire crack theory is pretty much dead, so rest in peace, that.

D. OK so what is with the month names? Seriously. You can explain it away a little bit with the whole “fae like to honor people but don’t like to reuse names” shit but there’s absolutely no way it’s that simple. They’re all female characters who are related, however slightly, to the Torquills. I made that observation pre-book 8, but dismissed it because Toby wasn’t technically related to them. ONLY AS OF BOOK 8 SHE IS, SO CHECKMATE. THERE’S SOMETHING HAPPENING, DAMN IT. Anyway I like making lists, so... 

1. January -- January O’Leary, She’s September’s daughter, and she gets killed off in book 2. This might be enough for me to dismiss the month name thing except the epilogue of 11 brings her Back to Fucking Life, so honestly all bets are off imo, she was absolutely brought back for a reason. 

2. February -- no one.. yet. 

3. March -- no one.. yet. 

4. April -- April O’Leary, January’s adopted daughter. She’s a cyber-Dryad and we see her perspective briefly when January gets resurrected. I’m not sure what else to say about her in relation to this? 

5. May -- May Daye, October’s blood clone (basically). I mean, her whole existence is pretty weird. You could make the argument her name is just a coincidence (she was once a night haunt named Mai), but there’s absolutely no way I’m buying that. 

6. June -- no one.. yet. 

7. July -- Gillian Marks-Daye. October’s daughter. I mean. I was going to say “no one”, but she just got decisively re-written into the series. “Gillian” is the feminine form of “Julius”. I’m pretty sure she’s supposed to be the dark-horse contender for this slot. No way that’s a coincidence. 

8. August -- August...Torquill? She’s Simon’s biological daughter and Toby’s half-sister, so.... She was ALSO introduced pretty late, unlike most of these entries, so I am still convinced this is A Thing. 

9. September -- September Torquill. She’s Simon and Sylvester’s sister. Also like, decisively dead I think. She hasn’t shown up in the main series (only mentioned), but I think she shows up more in the short stories? I don’t know enough about her to say much. 

10. October -- October “Toby” Daye. Like. That’s the name of the series. She’s the main protagonist, dawg. She’s Simon’s step-daughter. What more do you want from me. 

11. November -- no one.. yet. 

12. December -- no one.. yet. 

E. So where is the series going? Obviously next book is about The Luidaeg finally calling in the Selkies’ blood debt or whatever, which we knew was coming for a long time. But #12 just made that way more personal with the whole Gillian thing. I have no idea what’s going to happen with that. Beyond that? There are some loose ends here and there, but the big thing is Oberon coming back. That’s pretty much a given. If I’m right, I think the consequences of Book 3 are going to start showing soon, but idk if it will be in relation to that or not. I’m sure she can come up with way more to put into the series (maybe a book around Toby and Tybalt getting married? SOMETHING THAT EXPLAINS THE MONTH NAMES???), but that’s all that’s really evident to me. 

F. So, the characters. They’re probably my favorite bit of the series. The Luidaeg and Tybalt are undoubtedly my faves, but I’ve really enjoyed seeing how Toby, Quentin, and May have grown over the course of the series. I know I mentioned this previously, but I really like how the series’ initial allies end up... not being allies, so much-- whether by getting killed off or severely disappointing Toby. Sylvester, Evening, Luna, Lily, and Connor all pretty much disappear or greatly alter their role in the story. 

Yet the main cast, the “found family” the series focuses on? Pretty much none of them started out even liking each other that much. Quentin is a snotty noble kid, Tybalt is straight up an antagonist who HATES Toby, The Luidaeg is just plain terrifying, and May is some bizarre doppleganger that (seems to) randomly show up. Yet over time they’ve forged into such a strong and really likeable crew. Idk, it really gives me the feeling that it’s not just FOUND family, but EARNED family, and I really like that. 

G. While we’re discussing characters, I want to talk about The Luidaeg in particular. 

I think she’s probably one of my favorite characters of all time. That’s a high bar but she is just so damn INTERESTING. Morally gray for sure, but not in a traditional way. 

Like, she clearly has her own agenda. She’s probably the oldest character in the series, and she’s fucking terrifying. People use her name to warn their kids at night. We see samples of her powers and the things she knows, and she’s basically a walking eldritch horror. A great deal of the series is her calling in and collecting debts from the main characters so she can use them for one purpose or another. She’s the fucking sea witch. Right? 

Except... the series humanizes her so much. She is clearly kind and compassionate and does her best to hide it. While she initially intimidates the main characters, Toby gradually realizes she’s lonely and seems to enjoy their company. Every single bit of her backstory you get adds more context to her behavior. She’s protective of children because hers were slaughtered like animals. She speaks in riddles because there are so many things she’s forbidden to say. She asks for terrible prices because she HAS to help anyone who will ask her to, and there are certain things she doesn’t want to do (and often, it’s because said things would harm others). This is also why she’s so standoffish and avoidant of others-- because they take advantage of her. Despite all the horrible shit that’s happened to her, she still does her best to be kind and do the right thing. And her ultimate goal, I feel, must be a good one. That’s the only thing that makes sense to me. 

There’s more. A lot of what she does is clearly calculated to achieve a particular result. She mostly shows kindness to certain members of the main cast (Toby and Quentin in particular) and very few others. It’s always interesting to see how she interacts with other characters, because it closely mirrors her initial behavior. Yet even then you see little things, like how she took in Poppy as an apprentice. One of the few times you get her perspective, it’s when she realizes Amandine is abusing and literally killing child!October, and you see how horrified she is, enough that she steps in and puts a stop to it. Does she have a use for Toby down the line? Yeah, obviously, but it doesn’t mean she didn’t do the right thing for the right reasons. I suppose it’s possible she’s just manipulating everyone, but the stories like that and her blood memories make me feel otherwise. Also, the amount of human profanity she uses is pretty funny, since so few characters use it. 

Honestly this may seem like an odd comparison but she reminds me of Akane from Zero Escape. She’s playing the long con, and a lot of what she does seems strange and mysterious until you get more context. And she clearly has some ultimate goal she’s working toward (probably something to do with finding Oberon), but we won’t really know what that means until it happens. It’s probably going to be an emotional rollercoaster. 

There’s more to her than that, but I find it hard to articulate. I just really like her! Pretty much every scene she shows up in is interesting, because she has intriguing lore, dialogue, or insights. She’s almost certainly a big focus in the next book and I don’t know if that means I’ll love her or hate her at the end, lol. 

H. Much shorter note, but Toby/Tybalt? How DARE you make me care about a M/F ship THIS MUCH. They’re just so good. The ultimate slow burn Enemies to Grudging Allies to Friends to Lovers. It’s such a ride and a treat to read. Their early interactions are fucking hilarious on a reread. And I find myself caring so much about what happens to them. 

I. I think this is my last point, but I REALLY appreciated the LGBT rep in the series. There’s obvious stuff like “all the fae are bi unless stated otherwise”, but there’s a really good amount of overt rep. May’s a lesbian, Madden’s gay, Quentin’s bi, and no one bats an eye. It’s AWESOME. Also, making Walther (a certified badass and cool character) a trans man was just wonderful. The fact that he goes on right after the reveal to do one of the biggest Lore things (curing motherfucking elf-shot) is the best. I really like Walther and we need more characters like him. 

I’m probably missing SOMETHING, but idk. These were my main thoughts on the series as a whole. I’m interested to see where things go. 

[angstsplatter]

This is a little something I wrote for a magical realism contest that seems to have gone under and disappeared. It’s about two unlikely traveling companions coming to terms with each other. Tumblr crashed each and every browser I tried a copy’pasta on, so I’m including just a snippet before linking to the full story, which can be read on google docs (and hopefully not edited but I had to link from my phone because google on laptop swears it “just can’t share”). Please note that no oppressions here are meant as some allegory for real world oppressions. Anti-orc stigma exists right alongside racism, ableism, sexism, and sizeism (and etc.!) as we know them. This story does touch base specifically with racism, ableism, and sizeism.

On the Road

“Fatass orcs thinking the sidewalk belongs to them,” some skinny white man with an obvious comb over muttered under his breath, as if I hadn’t stepped into the gutter, risking getting hit by a car, so he wouldn’t have to leave the relative safety of the sidewalk during my short walk to stretch my legs. “I hear the darker they are, the more humans they’ve eaten,” some snarky teen girl loudly commented to her friend as they smoked behind the gas station, where the bathroom large enough to accommodate my race of orcs was located. The comments stick in my head, refusing to stop bouncing around in there and give me a moment of relief.

If it’s not that I’m an orc of Clan Gorosh – big and thick and apparently inherently intimidating – it’s the deep hornblende-like color of my skin that can appear a rich glauconitic green to coal black depending on the light. If it’s not the color of my skin or my ancestry, then it’s who I love and how (not that I’ve dated in years) – and if it’s not that, then it’s all of them or any mix of them. That’s what makes it so easy to move on from town to town, to never put down roots. Doing so also feeds the monster in my brain, though, and I don’t mean how most sentients think of us orcs having monstrous, murderous instincts. I mean the depression: that which tears at my mind and heart, ripping it apart and eating it, small piece by small piece. It’d be bad enough on its own but when others confirm what I’m thinking, how I’m feeling… well, it’s better to keep moving. Better to make sure I’m always alone. It’s easy enough to lie to yourself and pretend the next place will be better – or at least not worse – when you’re alone. When you’re alone, there’s no one there to tell you otherwise.

That’s not why I got into truck driving, but it is why I stayed. I got into it truck driving because it doesn’t require a whole lot of face-to-face time with people, who tend to become defensive and aggressive when facing down orcs, especially if they’ve never really been around us before and especially if we’re Gorosh and absolutely huge compared to them. Employers consider that bad for business. Truck driving is mostly just the driver on the road and deliveries, most of whom go to poor workers who probably grew up in neighborhoods similar to mine, a clash of humans and orcs with a smattering of vampires and the occasional outcast fae (usually elves) all trying to survive poverty, and aren’t as intimated by orcs – by me.

By now, my job is a shield. The long, odd hours keep me from regular contact with anyone, which includes my maus, or moms, especially as I’ve taken to a mostly nocturnal schedule in order to avoid even more people. Stretching over the wheel, I pull into the well-lit truck stop as carefully as possible. I’ve long since learned that any slight accident can result in a fight I just don’t want any part of. It’s not that I couldn’t win most the fights just based on my sheer size: it’s that I don’t want to fight. Hunching over, I drop out of the truck in a jump that would probably hurt a human’s knees and do some minimal stretching before filling up the tank. I briefly debate heading inside for some food but decide that my snacks will last, instead doing a cursory once around the truck to ensure everything looks alright. Nothing much has ever happened to my truck, and in my comfortable routine, I almost miss it. The back straps for opening and closing the back are not how I carefully leave them. It’s possible I was in a hurry after the truck was loaded and did this myself, but the unlocked door tells me it’s more likely a stowaway. I let a growl burble up through my throat and pull back my lips to expose my tusks just a little more. That should be enough to scare whoever was brave or reckless enough to stow away on my truck. I yank on the strap to set the door in motion, glowering back into the back.

They haven’t bothered really trying to hide. “Oh. Eheh. Hi there,” the sentient waves. I don’t immediately place them as a dwarf, but the longer I look, the more clear their heritage becomes. Of all the sentients I might have been expecting, the dwarf in front of me isn’t really one of them. My purposefully set murder face (as the humans call it) easily crumbles into one of confusion as my bravado and anger melts into interest.

“Er – hi?” I respond, not really sure what to do next. Nobody is on TV as much as the white humans, but dwarves aren’t a totally unheard of sight. With the color of my own skin, darker than the greens and browns of many other Gorosh orcs and even darker than the tans of some other clans, it surprises and disappoints me to suddenly realize that I never thought of dwarves as having dark skin. The ones on TV are always white. The one in my truck is only a few shades lighter than I am with a jet black beard and equally dark eyes. Other physical aspects seem different to me as well, and it takes me a moment to think that dwarves, like all other sentients, must have different races/clans/families (or however they must classify themselves in their own culture) just like the rest of us.

“I suppose you’ll be wanting me to get out, then.” The stowaway’s accent is lilting, deep and beautiful. I’ve never heard another like it before. I wonder if it’s a dwarven accent or they simply grew up somewhere I’ve never come in contact with before.

“It’s kind of illegal,” I reply, smartly, as if they aren’t aware. I wonder where my usual eloquence has gone.

The dwarf laughs and swings their body around, revealing that one leg is gone from slightly above the knee. My arms twitch as if to help catch them if they fall when they fling themselves out of my truck. The height getting in and out of the truck is nothing for me, but dwarves are more than several feet shorter than I. The missing leg must not be new, though, because the dwarf lands easily – if not heavily – on their other leg. Dwarves are definitely sturdier than your average human. “It was nice meeting you,” they say, giving me a salute that reminds me of the human military but must be dwarven in nature for its differences. Then with a shake of their arms, two canes swiftly appear, bursting forth from each of their sleeves.

“Good luck.” I don’t know why I say it. Something about this dwarf is making me even more awkward than usual. I yank on the strap to close my truck back up as the dwarf begins to walk away. Trying to not look behind me, I lock the door, then start to the left back to the driver’s seat, abruptly switching towards the right as I remember I need to finish walking around my truck, no matter how unlikely it is that I’ll encounter another issue.

“Or maybe you could give me a ride?”

I turn. The dwarf looks both hopeful and resigned. I open my mouth once, gaping like a fish. I sigh. I’ve never picked up a hitchhiker before, and I don’t know what draws me to it this time, but on instinct and already regretting it, I answer, “sure.” I gesture towards the passenger side of the truck. “I’ll have to unlock that for you.”

Read the rest!

[siraranispleased]

Fire Emblem Elibe - New Hidden Characters

Continuing on from the New Characters who joined automatically (or, in Bauker’s case, somewhat telegraphed recruitment requirements), there were also plans for three other characters to be promoted to playable (in the main game), albeit with more challenging or arcane requirements to recruit them. Two of these were for the FE7 side of the story, one of these was for the FE6 side, all of them are late-game units, and ones I wanted to keep the most held back for a surprise, but, since the projects probably not going to actually ever be a thing, anyway, might as well share those plans I had.

Careful, folks, under the cut, this gets pretty long.

Ursula

Recap/Summary: One of the Four Fangs, and technically the first one whose presence is felt. While perhaps the least “sympathetic” of the Fangs, Ursula still had a tragic quality both in the text and the subtext, between a manipulative, no doubt unrequited and exploitative relationship with Sonia, and the understanding that, Jaffar aside, the Fang used to be a noble if anti-heroic organization before Nergal and Sonia corrupted it, and Ursula was already one of the Four Fangs before they joined. Frankly, I just wanted to give her a chance.

Recruitment: Which is ironic to say given what you have to do to recruit her. First, talk to her in Chapter 26...with Nino. If you can somehow get Nino through the fog of war and Bolting, Nino will ask Ursula why they even had to kill Prince Zephiel in the first place...and keep asking her when each answer doesn’t satisfy her, until Ursula’s cool facade cracks and she admits that she doesn’t know, either, and has her own concerns. She doesn’t technically join the party, yet, but this does unlock 26x as well, and Ursula joins Nino and Jaffar in confronting Sonia, to which Sonia shows disappointment and casts Ursula aside. With lingering affection for Sonia holding her back, Ursula still only joins the fight as an allied NPC who otherwise doesn’t move. If she survives the Chapter, she finally joins as a playable character.

Gameplay: If you never recruited or used Priscilla that much, Ursula proves an alternative for your Mounted Magic User needs, especially given her very high Weapon Ranks compared to freshly promoted Priscilla. Her stats might pale a little bit in comparison, but Ursula would prove a very solid end game unit.

Supports: Ursula could support with the following characters: Vaida, Nino, Legault, Priscilla, Sain, Jaffar, Rath, Leila, and Karla. A lot of these supports would touch on a lot of tragic feelings: Ursula would’ve been resentful of Legault for being able to walk away from the Black Fangs despite being a founding member; Ursula would join Nino in mourning Lloyd, Linus, and Brendan; and talks with Rath and Karla would let her know more about Sacae, and of Uhai, another former member of the Fang. Priscilla and Sain would be somewhat of a bright spot, taking Priscilla on as an apprentice of her own without the manipulative relationship Sonia had with her, and Sain would continue to do his thing of helping his female partner forget her worries (she quickly makes it clear that no amount of flirting will actually woo her to him, but she appreciates his jovial company). With Vaida, Ursula is at first bitter to swallow her pride and apologize to her former “rival,” and though Ursula at first mocks her, she takes pity on her in their A Support, and offers for Ursula to ride with her in support of Zephiel, if it’d give her new purpose. In most of her endings, Ursula goes into hiding, living out her days in obscurity, continuing to pursue her knowledge of magic and history. In a paired ending with Nino, she even offers the girl a place to lie low until she can go back for her family after the events of FE6. However, if Ursula pairs with Vaida, she instead joins her as Zephiel’s “shadow,” and shows up with Vaida as an unnamed bonus boss during the fight in Chapter 22 of FE6.

Leila

Recap/Summary: This one was tricky. I mean, I always intended to have Leila become a playable character; she was too cool and had just the perfect potential Serra support not to promote to playable. The quandary was: what about her death in Chapter 18? I was really inclined to just dump it, since you didn’t need more of a reason to despise Ephidel, and the man-pain it brought Matthew and Hector was rote, less-so with Matthew, but, still, could’ve easily been dropped... But there was what it brought to Jaffar. The emotionally void Angel of Death, when he finally starts to become human, is confronted by the lover of one of his victims, repercussions of his deeds come back seeking revenge, and confronting him with the weight of his past. Entirely for what it does with Jaffar, that support works, and thus, Leila’s death works...but it can still work with her recruitment.

Recruitment: At the end of Chapter 27, after defeating Linus or Lloyd, and the last remnants of the Black Fang, Eliwood and co meet with Bramimond, the Enigma, the Legendary Hero who lost their soul and their identity to the Dark. To unlock Leila as a character, you’ll need to have deployed Matthew, Canas, and Pent during Chapter 27, and all three of them must have gotten at least one kill, each. So long as you’ve been using all three of them, there’s more than enough enemies to meet that bar, but the key word is using. Once you meet that requirement, during the meeting with Bramimond, a bonus scene plays out, where Canas and Pent seek to find out just why Apocalypse stole Bramimond’s soul while the other Legendary Weapons didn’t, to which Bramimond reveals that Apocalypse wasn’t the ultimate power of Dark Magic, but Oum. The magic of resurrection, which Bramimond was able to achieve. Hearing this, Hector immediately suggests using it to revive Elbert, but Bramimond explains that those whose Quintessence were drained and stolen could not be brought back. But Leila wasn’t; Matthew steps forward and pleads with Bramimond to bring her back. Bramimond tries, but, without her body present, and without using all their power for fear of their body deteriorating to nothing, Leila is brought back to life on borrowed time, doomed to pass on within a year’s time. Deciding to make the most of it, Leila joins the team to defeat Nergal. This also sets up just how Bramimond was able to completely resurrect Ninian, why that seemed to kill Bramimond, and why Ninian’s human life span was cut so short afterwards.

Gameplay: Like Jaffar, if you’ve been using Matthew and Legault strictly for their utility and not actually putting them in battle, Leila can function as a more combat oriented Assassin, and is, along with Jaffar, the most statistically capable of that class with the Strength, Skill and Speed to back it up. Using the absolutely bonkers stat growths hidden in the FE7 data, Leila would’ve just been insane, “held back” only by her “low” for an Assassin speed of “just” 26. She was, next to Athos, the “treat” character. You jumped those hoops, you have fun.

Supports: Leila would’ve supported with the following characters: Matthew, Hector, Serra, Jaffar, Raven, Guy, Karla, Ursula, and Bauker. Like with Ursula, Leila’s supports would have been on the more sad side of things, albeit presented with a stiff upper lip and attempt to be chipper. Her supports with Matthew, Hector, and especially Serra are her last chance to connect with and bond with her friends and loved ones before she dies for good, although Serra insists that, just because Leila’s on borrowed time, she not actually throw her new life away without fear, otherwise she’d never forgive you and “won’t eulogize your funeral.” With her past as a spy, Leila is able to confront Raven and help bring clarity and understanding as to what happened with his noble house, and impress on and convince Bauker to turn his talents to field intelligence rather than be strictly a soldier. She also gets a chance to forgive Jaffar, or, rather, allow him to make amends and wish him well on his journey of humanity. In her ending, Leila eventually settles down and just enjoys a quiet life before passing away peacefully. In a paired ending with Matthew, they have just enough time to sire a daughter, to carry on Leila’s memory after she’s gone.

Gale

Recap/Summary: The true Third Dragon General of Bern, made official after the death of Narcian, Gale is a noble, if grim, knight, ever true to Bern, whose only crime was committing to Zephiel and Murdock as much as his lover, Melady, committed to Guinevere. Though bearing no true ill will to Roy, Melady, or Zeiss, and indeed encouraging them to remain true to their convictions just as he does to his own. But does he really have to throw his life away for “honour?”

Recruitment: First, talk to him in Chapter 21 with Melady, the one time he shows any sort of hesitation in his conviction. Then, talk to him with Roy, which will prompt Guinevere to take the field and speak with Gale, herself, impressing on Gale just why Melady chose her instead of all of Bern. Realizing that, even though they’ve treated him personally well, Murdock and Zephiel aren’t best for Bern anymore, and wouldn’t have been exclusive in giving a lowly foreign-born like him a chance, Gale leads his squadron off the field, giving you room to breathe. So long as you quickly defeat Murdock afterwards, Gale will join the party at the end of the chapter.

Gameplay: Already a famed Dragon General and master knight, Gale serves as a sort of Physical version of Niime, the Hermit of the Mountain. He’s already got serviceable, boss-worthy stats, and has pretty much hit his ceiling, he doesn’t have much more room to grow after that, maybe a point in Luck or Defense, some complimentary HP bumps on his last two levels.

Supports: Gale would’ve supported with the following characters: Melady, Guinevere, Zeiss, Perceval, and Fae. Able to repair the rift between him and the other two wyvern riders, Gale would’ve been able to atone for his stubbornness and pride, and continue to act as support and guidance for the two promising knights. But the real meat of his supports would’ve been his chance to meet Fae, the divine dragon, and the youth of dragonkind, to see who Zephiel would’ve turned the world over to, and espousing some truth in Zephiel’s ideals, stripped away of all the bitterness and betrayal Zephiel himself went through that muddled and soured his outlook. In his ending, Gale would have voluntarily stepped down from his rank of Dragon General, serving as a humble rank-and-file captain in the standing army under Guinevere, out of respect for his new queen, and his initial opposing affiliation.

[musicprincess655]

Thanks for leading us, Tanba-san.

Kouichirou sighed. Leading. Sure. That was what he was doing. Definitely.

It wasn’t like he didn’t want to be the leader his team needed. He just didn’t know how. It had taken him all four years to even learn how to be their ace on the field. He didn’t know how to lead them in actual battle.

And people could die. Kouichirou wasn’t sure if anyone else really got that. Chris did, because Chris had faced down death before and lived to tell the tale. Kuramochi might have, but only because the destruction of his hometown had given him a wakeup call. The rest of them were playing icebreaker games and getting to know each other and planning this out like it was just another coven battle match.

A match they expected him to lead them into.

Kouichirou took another deep breath. Whether he thought he was capable or not, he was going to have to something. Everyone was counting on him.

He couldn’t stop thinking about what Fuwa had said. Everything was going to revolve around the origin points of the death curse. How many were there? How many people had worked on them? Where were they?

There was no way of telling how many origins there were, and how many people had poured magic into them, but Kouichirou realized that he might be able to make a good guess on where some of them were. If witches in Tokyo were the target, and the two magic universities were the hub of witches in the city, then the origin points would have to target the universities.

And if the spell reanimated the dead, even cremated dead…

It would need some dead to raise. Kouichirou was almost sure there was a cemetery less than a thirty minute train ride away. It wouldn’t hurt to check it out, would it?

A voice in the back of his head warned that this was how they’d lost Zaizen. Kouichirou ignored it. He wasn’t going to try and interfere or shut the spell down. He was pretty sure he couldn’t do that alone anyway. He just wanted to check to see if his theory was right, especially because he doubted Ochiai and his lab had looked into finding the origin points. They were more interested in understanding the nature of the death curse.

Besides, it was only a theory for now. He didn’t want to bring it to everyone else and be wrong. They didn’t need to see him spinning his wheels and know for sure he couldn’t handle this.

And he could. He was going to. They were depending on him

He grabbed his wallet and headed out the door. It wasn’t so late that the trains wouldn’t be running. He’d be there and back in an hour. It probably wouldn’t even be dark by the time he was home.

Maybe it was Kouichirou’s imagination, but the train seemed unusually quiet. There were hardly any people on in the early afternoon, and the absolute silence was almost eerie.

Then Kouichirou looked over and saw someone he recognized.

What was Inashiro’s wingman doing over by Seidou?

Kouichirou wasn’t planning on talking to him. It was probably best to not engage. After all, they’d had their first practice with Inashiro, and it hadn’t gone as well as they’d all hoped. Divide and conquer was a good idea in theory, but there was so little communication and so much built up tension that it hadn’t worked well in practice.

But then Shirakawa, probably noticing the sensation of someone watching him, looked over his shoulder and caught Kouichirou’s eye. Kouichirou gulped. There was nothing for it, then.

“Hey,” he said, as friendly as he could manage, while still trying not to disturb the silence of the train. “What brings you over here?”

Shirakawa’s eyes darted over to the only other two people on the car, a pair of high school girls with their heads together, whispering so low that it didn’t even carry to them.

“I’m checking on something for the death curse,” he said, voice as low as Kouichirou’s had been. “I had an idea, and…well, it’s just an idea. I want to see if I’m right before I tell anyone else.”

“Kyodo cemetery?” Kouichirou asked. It wasn’t unreasonable to assume someone else had made the same leap Kouichirou had. When all was said and done, the rules of spell design were pretty simple.

“Yeah,” Shirakawa confirmed, looking surprised for only a moment before something like satisfaction settled on his face. “You’re going on your own? Where’s that teamwork you wouldn’t shut up about last week?”

Kouichirou winced. The joint practice really hadn’t gone smoothly, and tempers had run a little high. He, like almost everyone else, had shouted out his frustrations at least once.

Not that he could blame anyone. For Seidou, the loss to Inashiro was still raw, and some people were still scarred worse than others. Sawamura and Miyuki in particular were still recovering in some ways, and Miyuki’s history with Mei didn’t make anything easier.

Inashiro had its own problems pulling together a new team with the loss of some of their key members, namely Harada, and they hadn’t been eager to show any weakness to Seidou.

“Like you said,” Kouichirou shot back. “I want to make sure I’m right before I tell anyone about this.”

“Fair enough.”

“We should go together,” Kouichirou suggested. They were pulling up to their stop, and he stood to prepare for it.

“You trust me?” Shirakawa asked, scorn twisting his mouth.

“Absolutely not,” Kouichirou said firmly. “But we both want to get out of this without getting hurt, and there’s safety in numbers. I don’t expect you to watch my back, but if we have to fight something off, it’ll be easier to do it together.”

“Good answer,” Shirakawa said. “If you’d said yes I would’ve told your dumb ass to fuck off.”

Kouichirou wondered if he was naturally this bitchy or if it was just because they weren’t friends.

“Isn’t this a little far away for you?” Kouichirou asked, in lieu of snapping back. “Aren’t there cemeteries closer to Inashiro?”

“There are,” Shirakawa said, looking like he was chewing on something unpleasant. “I couldn’t find anything around them. I thought I’d check around Seidou as well, but I guess I’m not as good at finding fae magic as I thought I would be.”

“Or maybe there’s nothing to find,” Kouichirou suggested. As much as the idea that he was wrong disappointed him, a feeling of relief was spreading through his chest. If there was no origin point, there was no danger. “We don’t know for sure the origin points will be around cemeteries close to the universities.”

“You don’t think they’d go after the high schools, do you?” Shirakawa asked. The thought of Yakushi being targeted made Kouichirou feel cold.

“Wouldn’t they have threatened the high schools?” Kouichirou mused. “They went after one of our students. I think they’re going after the universities.”

They walked in silence, Kouichirou glancing at his phone every so often to make sure they were going the right way. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, necessarily, but there was something bothering Kouichirou.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Kouichirou started slowly. “You don’t seem like the self-sacrificing type.”

“What’s your point?”

“Why are you really an hour away from home looking for something that might not even be here by yourself?”

Shirakawa kept his eyes focused forward.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed our team isn’t as good as it was last year,” Shirakawa said. “Which doesn’t make a lot of sense, because we kept most of the starters. But I think Narumiya depended on Harada, and he hasn’t gotten used to relying on Itsuki yet. And we’re all feeling that strain. I want to take some of that away, even if it’s only a little, so they can all play cleanly again.”

“You really care about them, don’t you?”

“Does that surprise you?” For a moment, Kouichirou worried that he’d offended Shirakawa, but the scowl slid off his face. “I don’t have a lot of friends. Honestly, I didn’t have any, but Narumiya asked me to form the ultimate team with him. I don’t know why I’m telling you all this, but I care about them. I’m willing to go check out some cemetery an hour away for them.”

Maybe it shouldn’t have surprised Kouichirou so much that Shirakawa had friends and was willing to make some sacrifices for them. It was what he was doing, after all.

“We’re here,” Kouichirou said. Maybe it was just his imagination, but the cemetery sure looked creepy.

“I guess we just look around,” Shirakawa said. “Not that I have any clue what we’re looking for.”

Kouichirou wasn’t much better off. He knew the theory behind spell design, and had a general idea of what to look for in an origin point, but without an idea of how this specific spell worked, he was kind of flying blind. Especially considering this was a cemetery, where death energy was so strong, signals could get crossed easily and hide signs of a spell.

They walked down the narrow aisle, eyeing all the markers. Kouichirou had to resist the urge to nod his head in respect. As creepy as this place felt, it was still the final resting place of a lot of people.

“Getting anything?” Shirakawa asked. Kouichirou shook his head. “Me neither. Maybe there really is nothing to find?”

So it would be back to the drawing board. Kouichirou was disappointed, but at least he hadn’t sent people on a wild goose chase to follow up on his hunch.

“Do you think…?” Kouichirou started, but then he took another step, still subconsciously probing for signs of magic, and felt something stir. “What was that?”

“I don’t know, but that’s new,” Shirakawa said, glancing around. “Where do you think that came from?”

“It has to be around here,” Kouichirou said. His instincts told him to take a step back.

“We should see if we can find the origin point,” Shirakawa said. “It’ll give us an idea of what the spell’s doing.”

“We shouldn’t mess with it alone,” Kouichirou argued. “We need backup.”

“Are we even sure that was the origin we felt?” Shirakawa asked. “We should be sure we know what we’re dealing with.”

Kouichirou couldn’t argue with that. He didn’t have anything solid, other than something being here. It wasn’t much to bring back to his team.

“Let me just…” Shirakawa closed his eyes, letting his magic range out around him. Kouichirou recognized it as it slid past him, ignoring him, searching. And then he looked back in front of them again.

“Run,” he said. Shirakawa didn’t respond at first. “Run, now!”

“What…?” Shirakawa blinked his eyes open, magic already crackling at his fingertips, but Kouichirou was turning and running. This wasn’t something they could fight.

He didn’t turn to see if Shirakawa was following him. He just wanted to get away as fast as he could, sprinting for safety. The ground shook, nearly sending him sprawling, but he kept his feet and picked up the pace, trying not to trip over the narrow rows of grave markers.

Overhead, clouds swirled as a storm gathered. It was unnatural, and Kouichirou wanted nothing to do with its cause.

In front of him, a grave marker shattered to bits from the impact of Shirakawa’s body. Kouichirou tried not to stop and look, but he didn’t miss the wide, empty eyes.

He ran. If he could just make it out of the cemetery, he’d be safe. Through the quaking earth, the unnatural storm, the gale force winds, he had to make it out so he could warn everyone.

And then a piece of shattered grave marker hit him in the back, sending him sprawling. He tried to get to his feet, looking behind him as he did.

Red eyes were the last things he saw.

[theauthorfiles-blog]

Beth Rhodes - Author Interview

I'm so very excited to have the lovely Beth Rhodes here with us as my first official author interview!  (In the interest of full disclosure, she is one of my nearest and dearest friends in the writing world and since she's been along the ride with me through so many firsts in this industry, it didn't seem right to kick off my pet project without her being my first interview.)

She is the author of eight currently published books, including one of my favorite series…The Hawk Elite series. Please join me as we get to know a little more about this fun author!

TAF: Let’s break the ice shall we? I happen to know that you are also a fan of The Goonies. So…if you were stuck trying to outrun a criminal family while seeking out pirate treasure in a last ditch attempt to save your hometown, and you had three people to help you, who would they be?

BR: I love Goonies! <3 Only three, huh? Okay, so I have this friend I just met when I moved to Georgia. And I would have to take her, because we work really well together…and she keeps me on this straight and narrow, reminding me of what’s at my core. Not only that, we always have a good time together. My husband—as unimaginative as that is!!—because he would fix anything for us or make things or be oh-so- clever like Data. [And as handsome as Josh Brolin!! With big muscles yet totally willing to ride a little bike] Finally, [excuse the brown-nosing] I would take you!! I need another creative mind on board. It would have to be an author who can plot her way out of a good old-fashioned Fae World on the brink of destruction…don’t you think? We have known each other over ten years! There. A few of my closest friends. There are so many to choose from: sisters, childhood friends, college friends, ministry friends,… oh shoot. I just realized these can be ANYONE. In that case: Jason Mamoa, I.mom.so.hard (for levity), and Indiana Jones (duh).

TAF: Brown-nose away....and Jason Mamoa? Yes please! I think that man could be a combination of each of the Goonies. Okay now that we know how you intend to make it through, capture the pirate’s gold, and save the homes of all your friends and family....tell us a little more about you for my readers that haven’t yet had the privileged to curl up in bed with you – I totally meant your books (head out of the gutter)!

BR: Speaking of my bed, though. I just bought this new mattress (Tuft and Needle, a memory foam-type) because the one I’ve been sleeping on was 11 years old, and OMG—no support!! The new mattress is absolutely amazing. Ha!

Okay, me. I’m a woman who is always looking for a better way to live her life. I’ve got a man, writing, family, ministry and church, and I work to balance all of it, a lot of times, failing miserably. And then, inside each of those elements, I question myself, doubt myself, read something to improve myself…and maybe, I think so…get a little better as the years pass. That’s me. In a nutshell.

TAF: First of all, you mattress sounds amazing. Second of all, your aren't failing miserably. I think we all have those moments where we feel like juggling is not our forte. Name one thing readers would be surprised to learn about you.

BR: I’m Catholic. I know. I haven’t decided if this is a good thing or a bad thing. But my stories aren’t tempered or toned down too much. My mom reads my books, and she reminds me—gently—that what happens in the bedroom is sacred. And I agree, but I also think it’s too important to leave out! My characters aren’t always Catholic…and maybe that will change in the future. I don’t know. There are elements of my stories where my Faith comes out… in some books more than others.

TAF: I admire you for your faith. It's one of many things I think I love about you. I also love that while your characters may have faith as well, it isn't the foundation of the story per se. It enhances the characters. Gives them depth. So now that we've brought up your characters, out of all the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite?

BR: So, referring back to the previous question, if you read Strike Force…that one, not so much of the faith elements. That book has lots of stuff not meant for the feint of heart. It’s gritty, dark[ish, nothing I write is ever truly dark], and bold. It’s my favorite book because I waited so long to write it. That’s external, though. And when it comes down to it, I just loved Malcolm and Marie. They really stole the page and my heart as they came alive and fell in love. And that, Kinsey, is the best kind of favorite book, don’t you think? <3

TAF: I agree. The ones where your characters really just come to life for you...that make you fall in love all over again with what you write are definitely favorite worthy. Time for some random questions...If you won the lottery tomorrow, what would you spend the money on?

BR: Easy. I’d buy a car. Yesterday my van broke down—again. Today I had to rent a vehicle. It’s a big, fat truck—six seats, so not big enough for my family, but it’s soooo much fun to drive! Unfortunately, my husband told me not to get used to it. I don’t know, but I think it sounded more like a threat than a warning. Haha. :D

TAF: Well...I guess I can see where the hubby is coming from, but a truck....my dream come true! Random question number two...which household chore do you abhor and why?

BR: Dusting. It’s sooo tedious! I can’t stand it. Second would be folding laundry, for the same reason. Tedious as hell. I can get through laundry though, by playing a movie or a couple shows.

TAF: I hate dusting...and dishes. But I agree, laundry is easily accomplished with television. If I were to buy you a book for your birthday or just because I am such total awesomeness, what genre would I need to scour?

BR: I’m sooo predictable. Romantic Suspense. Period. It needs to have the romance, the external conflict, danger. My daughter scoffs and is often disappointed. But I know what I like. Remember Catherine Boyd [Meg Ryan] in I.Q. when she’s having breakfast with James? And she sits and thinks about what she wants to eat…and then ends up ordering the same thing she always does. That’s me. I try!! Really I do. And I have more how-to type books in my library now in my life than I every have before, but when I get really serious about reading for entertainment, I go to my favorite.

TAF: When reading for your entertainment, why shouldn't you reach for your favorite genre? Not that you can't be entertained by another, but usually we want what we know we love. Are you a morning person or night owl?

BR: Night Owl, who does her best work in the morning. I’ve yet to start calling myself a morning person, though. It’s just…my brain does seem to work better at that time.

TAF: I like to think I'm a Night Owl, but I get up way too early on my days off to be anything but a morning person. I envy Night Owls. Is there anything else you'd like to share to your followers and readers?

BR: The stuff that keeps you reading is what keeps me writing. Hope. Love. Second Chances. Sometimes, we get down and need a pick-me- up. That’s okay. Just don’t lose hope. Find it! It’s in the books and in the people around us.

TAF: I love that, Beth! So tell us...where can your fans find you?

BR: I show my age, answering this question. Eeek! Mostly on Facebook, sometimes on Twitter. ALWAYS in an email. Please! Shoot me an email. Haha. Or, my newsletter, too.

TAF: This has been such a fun interview and I can’t believe our time has drawn to a close. Before we say goodbye, would you tell us a bit about your latest release (and share an excerpt for those who aren’t yet familiar with your work)

BR: This book is one of my best…feels weird to say that, feels braggy, yet I think we just need to admit, that in a subjective industry like publishing, it’s okay to like our own books. :D Released in November, Strike Force is book four of the Hawk Elite Security Series. But it’s a standalone! Like I said earlier, this book is gritty compared to my others. My hero has a relationship with the word f*ck and my heroine is a born thief—sort of. Neither of them want to admit they might be perfect for each other but eventually…through circumstances and work, they come to an impasse. They are forced to share and get to know one another and that little spark becomes a flame.

I’ll share a little excerpt and then you should go! Read it! It’s #KindleUnlimited or only $3.99, so still cheaper than that paperback at the checkout line. [Don’t be surprised. They do have a Happily-Ever- After, and this isn’t even it! But they’re getting there…]

Strike Force Excerpt

Chapter Twenty

Through the two-way mirror, Marie looked like crap.

Stringy hair that probably hadn’t been washed in two days.

Dark circles under glazed eyes.

A flush to her cheeks, which put Malcolm on edge. “What did you do to her?”

The officer standing next to him sent him a slow sidelong glance of wariness. “Nothing. She’s been processed and has been sitting in there for the past hour.” He cleared his throat and lifted his brow. “We don’t mistreat the criminals—”

“There’s something wrong with her,” Malcolm interrupted, turning to Hawk. “Get her out of there, right now. She has a bullet wound in her arm and needs a doctor.”

Hawk looked to the officer. “Has she been checked by a doctor?”

Officer James frowned. “No,” he answered slowly. “She refused anything—food, a lawyer, a phone call. She’s been sitting there.” He tilted his head to look more closely at her. “I guess she does look a little worse for wear.”

“A little!” Malcolm’s head about exploded, but Hawk waved him down, and Malcolm turned back to the mirror to watch.

“We had nothing to do but wait after the bureau called. Red tape. Paperwork. And an investigator who’s pretty pissed that his case got blown up.”

“May we see her?” Hawk said.

James hesitated.

“Please,” Hawk added.

Malcolm scowled. They could arrest him. He didn’t give a flying fuck right now.

James sighed and looked at his watch.

Fuck this. She wasn’t a flight risk in her condition—she could hardly sit up straight. Malcolm left the dark room, walked the three long strides to the interrogation room, and yanked the door open.

Marie jumped in the seat, but the movement seemed uncoordinated. Too slow for his quick-witted lady who had quick reflexes. Her brow furrowed. “Mal?”

The door shut behind him when he moved toward her, a slight flutter of panic originating at the point under his heart.

She stood, forgetting she was cuffed to the table, and jerked back into her seat. “Whoops.” She laughed nervously, grimacing in pain.

He pounded on the mirror. “Get these restraints off her and get me a doctor—no. Get John in here, Hawk.”

When he turned back, her head was on the table, as if she was taking a nap. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow.

The door opened, and a uniformed man released her from the restraints and then left the room.

Malcolm finally touched her with his hand on her forehead. “Jesus,” he whispered. She turned her face to his palm and cupped her cheek. She was burning up. “Malcolm?” she murmured, blinking. “They got me, but it’s okay. I’d already decided I couldn’t leave you with loose ends. I was going to talk to Hawk and call the cops. Then they came. Did they find you? I cooperated. Did everything they said.

“I gave up the armband, Malcolm, so they wouldn’t find you. Hawk Elite is clear of any wrongdoing. I know it. You know it…”

“Shh,” he whispered, lifting her up off the chair. “I’m proud of you, babe.”