#at the end of the day. they are always scifi aliens. and as such. are mildly beyond comprehension without translation and stuff

[telesodalite]

...thinking about the whole concept of transformers being an agender species, and how that implies they have pronouns in their language that we as humans could never comprehend

[stardancerluv]

A Space Journey

Part One of ???

Summary: Introduction to Tyler and his girl.

Notes/Warnings: I saw Alien Romulus and fell very hard for Tyler. 😍 Wanted to give him a story. Might be a bit of an AU in bits giving him a backstory and fuller future..probably write leading up to the movie & such. 😬Hope I do him justice. 😬Also first time writing scifi..and writing in a future of any kind…so 😬 hope I did good.

18 & over. Consensual sex between and man and woman. Angst. (It wrote itself..a bit long!

❤️s, reblogs, comments, & feedback always welcome! Enjoy

The elevator whispered its way up from the depths of the mine to the top level. Some stared blindly ahead or in front of them, you chose some indiscernible place, not really seeing it. Your imagination conjured up happier moments from the past.

Behind you in one of the shadowy corners, the yellow bird in the cage chirped and fluttered its wings. Happy to be out of those large caverns. It was a good day. No leaving work prematurely. You would get your full credits for the day.

Stepping, out of the elevator you saw your boots were caked with the usual soot and mud. A cold, heavy rain dropped from the heavy clouds. It was not long before the rain seeped under the many layers of your clothes.

Tiredness, wore you down as you walked. Your body ached. You knew there were liberal smudges on your face, your hair was matted and oily under the hood you pulled more around your face.

You had not taken a decent shower in a few days since you knew you’d be pulling extra shifts back to back and since your boyfriend was off world till the end of the week. You just rolled in and out of bed and went and returned from work.

With all the soot flying around you squinted and paused when you saw the red neon sign, Bar. You pressed your lips together. You could go for a cold one, but you knew how rough the crowd could be at times. Without Tyler by your side you really didn’t want to venture in.

You decided to keep on going, pulling your hood tighter around you, wishing you could hide completely. A grumble gurgled from your stomach as it twisted in hunger. You would stop at the mess hall and grab some food before turning in at your sleep bunk.

Before, you realized what was happening you were tugged harshly into one of the nearby alleyways. Fear shot through you. You immediately started fighting. It was a regular occurrence people would get beat up, mugged or worse. People lost it out here on the mining planets, at least that was what your parents had always said.

“Shh, shhh. It’s easier when you don’t fight.” The voice whispered, as one hand had already slipped under the top layers of your clothes and now crept across your torso.

Only a thin, very worn scrap of fabric laid between you and the hand. Your hunger turned to nausea as you could feel the warmth from it. It was all you needed to fight even harder. You finally managed to stomp down on one of their feet.

“Oooooouch!” The voice called out and instantly let you go.

You turned around, your heart beating harder since you knew the voice.

“Tyler!” You scream and slapped his arm.

A large smile spread across his handsome face before he howled with laughter. Easily, he pulled you close and this time you wrapped your arms around him. Happily, you pressed yourself even closer against him.

“My strong, feisty girl.” He said breathless against the top of your head.

Easily, you forgot the wind or the rain pelting the two of you.

“You weren’t supposed be back for three days.” You managed to mumble out against his heavy clothes. Your body beginning to relax knowing you were now safe.

“We did good. Found more then expected and came back.”

You blinked up at him. “Really?”

“Yes.” He nodded, he was so soft and warm. “Let me take you home.”

*******

He took your hand as you walked up the steep steps into the hauler he shared with the others. You couldn’t help but notice no one was there.

“Bjorn and Navarro, left in a blink to get their drink and dance on. And Kay barely told me she was going out, when I heard the door shut.”

Leaning against the wall, you were relieved to be out of the soot cloaked air. You pulled and tugged, till you were free of your heavy boots. Once in your heavy socks, you were relieved the boots had kept your socks dry.

“Can’t blame them these last three weeks had felt long despite coming home a week early. I’m sure.”

You said with a fleeting smile. After you pulled off your gloves, you began working on the buttons of your heavy coat. Seeing, two of the buttons had been undone by him you glanced at him.

He winked. “What? I missed the feel of my girl.” You didn’t know how he could look cocky and sheepish at once but he did.

His cheekiness always made your heart flutter. In the few books, you managed to get your hands you figured you shared that with the girls of the past long gone.

“To be fair, I scrubbed up as fast as I could and headed out to find you.” He scratched at the back of his head. “Was going to check at the mine and the sleeping bunks.”

His mouth twisted at the last bit. You went over and gently tugged on his shirt. “I only do it when you’re not around, I’m cautious.”

“That’s what worries me.” He looked down at you and smiled, softly.

You could swim and lose yourself in his dark eyes, as the two of you looked unwavering at each other. No words were needed as the emotions welled up at his return. You swallowed. There was always chance he’d crash during reentry. Heck could during take off too, but Navarro was a pretty good pilot so you didn’t worry too much about take off.

He rubbed your arms. “Why don’t you go and wash up and I’ll make us something to eat.”

“Alright. Just don’t burn it this time.”

“Don’t invite me into the shower cubicle and I won’t.”

“I did that didn’t I?”

He smirked. “You certainly did.”

“Alright. Maybe this time I will behave myself.” You giggled.

******

The water from the shower head fell on you with a good pressure. Since Tyler and the others were known as pretty scavengers the company allowed them some nicer things. Water pressure and rations were among them.

You stood there not worried that the warm water would run out too fast. You just let it melt the cold from the mine and outside that remained in you. The water around your feet obscured with the soot that had clung to you, your hair.

Stretching, you sighed as the crisp scent of his soap comforted you. Turning the knobs, you finally stepped from the shower onto the rough mat which had become a welcome feel under foot as opposed to the cold tile in mass shower rooms.

You smiled, seeing that Tyler had hung up a fresh shirt and the pair of cotton pants, you usually stole when you stayed there. They had shrank in one of the laundry services so they fit you better. Seeing the bundle of yours gone, you knew he must have taken them to put into cleaning cycle.

After slipping on the fresh clothes you reached up and grabbed his towel, it was still faintly wet from his using it earlier. The thought made you smile as you rubbed your hair with it.

*******

You gently slumped against Tyler’s side. Reaching, you placed your fork with a clank on the plate in front of you, only some cornbread crumbs remained.

“You did it. You made a half way decent meal which you didn’t burn.” You said with a half smile on your face.

“Well, I got to do good by my girl.”

******

His sheets were softer, his pillows fuller and they smelled liked him. His bed, softer then the bunks easily gave under the weight of the two of you.

He was partially on you, your arms around him. His hair soft, as your fingers entwined in the inky strands. Your lips had met and not wanted to part. They were much softer now, then a few month intervals after discovering that softening ointment. It beat away the chapping the wind whipping at your faces did and made the kisses all the more enjoyable. They were far sweeter then any candy you could save up for with your credits.

Pausing, as you felt his hand slipping under the hem shirt you wore; you excitedly letting your fingers leave the softness of his hair pulled up on the shirt and more of yourself was revealed to him. You happily tossed it without worry. His room was always clean and fresh, once he had peaked into his cousin’s room and they couldn’t be anymore opposite.

It puzzled you that Navarro could even tolerate it. But then again the two of you were also very different.

You were soft compared to his toned torso. It excited you and made you feel safe. You had seen him handle himself more then one time at the Bar. Whether defending your honor, his sisters or some stupid fight by the tempers flairing.

Opening, yourself you did so with a warmth and love that you would never allow the company steal away from you.

His lips, grazed your cheeks as he drew close to ear to whisper soft words only spoke between the two of you. Never to be shared.

“Are you well, is now a good time?” You could practically feel his heart thudding in his chest.

You nodded.

The first time or at least the aftermath of it had been right on the cusp of your cycle. Your excitement of him reciprocating your feelings and sharing first touches, kisses had stolen your body’s cues to its soon arrival. When the two of you had awoken the next day, worry had clouded your mind, believing it had ruined any chance of continuing things. But he had been kind, warm not just the cheeky guy who had made your heart squeeze with a wink or a smirk.

“I could barely focus these last three weeks, all I could think about was this. I needed to fuck, my sweet girl, remind her who I am after being off world for so long.”

The contrast to his sweet nature and razor sharp lust, made you moan and make your desire sharpen for him.

“I’m all yours.”

A soft moan broke from your lips and his, as he entered you. You arched against him, you had craved him as well. It had been hard to not answer any of the wanton calls from your body in his absence. Together you found your rhythms and moved. Your breathless moans became louder, sharper the closer you drew to cumming hard under him. You always felt so wonderfully wilted liked the dried flowers people once would keep in those books you had read from that had spoken of love and dreams.

Clutching him hard, your fingers gently pulling on his soft strands you arched against him once again. Your body tightening with pleasure he was giving you. Before you could hold it; it all shattered into moon dust. You softened and wilted under him. He was and would only be the only one to ever make you feel like this.

You met his hungry kisses, whimpering at the well placed love bites, he loved leaving. You felt how his body tightened above you. His deep, pleasure filled moan that filled the small room, you knew he had felt what you had. You relished making him feel just as good. His breath hot as he panted, a soft peppering of kisses as he rested his forehead against yours.

*******

“Hey! Where are you going?”

You had thought you could safely grab your discarded shirt from earlier and curl back up to his side before he even noticed. But that wasn’t the case.

One of his strong arms wrapped around you and held you tightly against him. You turned easily in it to face him. “Was just grabbing my shirt. I had taken a small chill.”

“You’ve got me.” And soon he pulled the blanket and himself closer around you. You were enveloped by him, almost completely.

You pretended to think about it. “This is so much better.”

“It had better be.” And he gave you a quick kiss.

The rain streaked down his window. The brightness of the fluorescent lights that lined the roads of the colony were muted from where he was.

“How long do I have you this time?” You whispered after a few beats of your heart.

“Long enough.”

You wanted to reply with the snappy answer that it never was but you learned this, right now was long enough. Every moment the two of you were together was.

A commotion, peels of laughter and a door slamming shut; drifted through his closed door.

“They’re home.”

You could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

“Hey, hey you’re here lady. Missed you! We need to catch up and have some girl talk in the morning!”

“If she’s awake.” Tyler called back.

“Hey! I wasn’t talking to you.”

You giggled against his chest. “Sure! Sounds like a plan.” You finally called back.

“Great.” She called, her voice further away and then you could hear the one creak in the floor that you knew meant she was now by her own room.

“Here we go.” Tyler whispered.

As the exaggerated laughter came closer flowed by a thud as either Bjorn or Navarro bumped his door, by tipsy accident or deliberate. When they had a few drinks one could never be sure.

“Tyler, now you better be treating that girl of yours in there right. No funny business.”

“Hey, hey now.”

There was a smack and a similar oww, must run in the family you mused.

“He used to be a brute my cousin. He had to learn to be nice and charming.”

“He was always charming and nice to me.” You spoke up.

“Good.” His cousin replied.

“See she confirms. He’s been good to her.”

“Do I give him a gold star then?”

“Come on, let them have some peace. I want to get out of these high boots.”

“Now, I like hearing that.”

And there was only muted muffled sounds, if at all.

“Now that the circus passed.”

You giggled and shook your head. “You love them.”

“I do. I do.” He stretched, but still kept an arm around you. He gave your hip a squeeze.

“So you used to be a brut huh?”

“Yes, but you changed things.” He winked.

[nellasbookplanet]

Book recs: monster romance, part 1

Do you prefer your monster relationships platonic? Check out this list instead!

Do you love The Shape of Water and Beauty and the Beast? Do you always find yourself romancing Garrus in Mass Effect? Enjoy movies and tv-shows like Warm Bodies, He is Dragon, Trollhunters and In the Flesh? Are you intrinsically drawn to Imogen and Laudna in Critical Role? Do you like your relationships complicated and maybe a bit fucked up? Then do I have the rec list for you!

Bonus reading: check out these video essays by la'ron readus, lindsay ellis and princess weekes on the subject of monster romance!

A note: the criteria for “monster” are subjective. I mainly separated monster romance from paranormal romance (meaning vampires, werewolves, fey, etc are excluded unless the book does something especially interesting and non-human with the concept). I may have included books you feel aren’t monstrous enough, or excluded ones you feel are sufficiently monstrous but I don’t agree about. Again, it’s subjective.

A (second) note: I do not as a general rule care for smut, and intentionally curated this list to not focus on erotica (though there are some exceptions). The books are mainly fantasy, horror and scifi with romance subplots or romance subtext.

Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis*

It’s 2007, and a leak has just confirmed that the US has reached alien contact. Cora wants nothing to do with it, but as her absent father is the whistleblower who dropped the news the media won’t leave her alone. Even worse, she soon finds herself meeting and being pursued by the alien presence itself as it tries to remain in hiding - and discovering that there is a much larger threat on the horizon.

Dawn by Octavia E. Butler*

After a devastating war leaves humanity on the brink of extinction, survivor Lilith finds herself waking up naked and alone in a strange room. She’s been rescued by the Oankali, who have arrived just in time to save the human race. But there’s a price to survival, and it might be humanity itself. Absolutely fucked up I love it I once had to drop the book mid read to stare at the ceiling and exclaim in horror at what was going on. While it does feature human/alien relationships, it also features themes of coercion and consent, so read with caution. This is NOT a fluffy or traditionally romantic.

Bonus: Butler's Survivor also features a human/alien relationship

Strange Love by Ann Aguirre

After having failed to find a nest guardian several Choosings in a row, Zylar has only one chance left to find a mate. Desperate, he uses a matching service and finds a potential partner off-planet. But something goes wrong, and instead of picking up his intended he accidentally abducts Beryl Bowman and her pet dog from Earth. With it being uncertain if she can ever return - and not having much going for her on Earth, anyway - Beryl decides to take part in the Choosing alongside Zylar. Perhaps, together, they can build a new future. Unlike most other titles on this list, Strange Love does feature a fair amount of smut, but it is creative and alien about it.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Sapphic. Rosemary Harper just got a job on the motley crew of the Wayfarer, a spaceship that works with tunneling new wormholes through space. With a past she wants to leave behind, Rosemary is happy to travel the far reaches of the universe with the chaotic crew, but when they land the job of a life time, things suddenly get a lot more dangerous. A bit of a tumblr classic in its day, this is a cozy space opera with an episodic feel and vividly realized characters and cultures. While the romance plots aren't the main focus, there are multiple human/alien romantic relationships.

Cottonwood by R. Lee Smith*

20 years ago, aliens arrived on Earth, neither invaders nor diplomats but refugees. Now they are being kept in integration camps away from the human population, meaning Sarah has never met one before getting a job as a social worker in one of the camps, at which point the true treatment of the aliens at once become horrifyingly clear to her. Sanford, single father, has a decades long plan to flee the prison that is Earth, and maybe with Sarah's help it can finally reach fruition. Includes dark elements such as torture, sexual assault, and pet death.

Bonus: I believe The Last Hour of Gann by the same author is also an alien/human romance

The Summer Hikaru Died by Mokumokuren

Gay, manga, eldritch horror. Six months ago, Yoshiki's best friend Hikaru went missing in the mountains. When he returned, he claimed no memory of his time missing, and went right back to his old life. But Yoshiki knows better. He knows that his friend is dead, and that the creature that returned wearing his face and speaking his words is anything but human. But even knowing this, Yoshiki won’t turn his back on Hikaru, whatever he truly is.

East by Edith Pattou

Young adult, retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon. Rose and her family have been hit by hard times; her sister on the brink of dying from illness, food and money running out, and their farm taken away. When a talking white bear appears at their door, claiming the family's fortunes will turn if only Rose comes with him, she can’t refuse. Taken to a strange and near empty mountain castle, Rose must find out the truth of the bear and what he wants from her - and perhaps save him in the running.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

Sapphic, young adult. Soraya may be a princess, but she's also cursed, her very skin poisonous to the touch. When a demon is brought to the dungeons, Soraya hopes to gain from her knowledge of how to be freed from her affliction. Meanwhile, a boy enters her life, not scared of her like others but rather understanding of who she is. Between them, Soraya will have to choose who she is - princess or monster.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik*

Historical fantasy with strong vibes of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale. Miryem's father is a moneylender, but his inability to collect on debts has left his family on the brink of ruin. Desperate and ruthless, Miryem steps in to take his place, and suddenly the family's luck has turned. But Miryem's reputation of being able to turn silver to gold catches the attention of the Staryk King - a dangerous creature who seems made of ice in body, mind and heart. In her schemes to survive the King's demands, Miryem's actions ensnare a local farmer's daughter as well as the new wife of the tsar. As their fates are bound together, the three girls may change their land forever, for better or for worse.

A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

Young adult. A retelling of beauty and the beast, where ‘beauty’ is a girl brought in from our world to a fantastical one and the narrative focuses a lot on what actually happens to the kingdom when the royal family suddenly disappears, and whether it’s even possible to fall in love with someone you know is deliberately trying to seduce you to break a curse. While the male lead spends most of the novel in human form, there are some scenes which are sufficiently and intriguingly monstrous that I had to include it.

Curses by Lish McBride

Young adult, reverse beauty and the beast. After being conned into falling in love with a man after her money and refusing to marry the much older man her mother chose for her as a result, Merit is cursed by a fairy godling into being a beast. Her curse will only be lifted if she marries someone who actually loves her or of her mother's choosing before her 18th birthday. Scared of being fooled again, Merit employs the charming conman Tevin to help her choose which of her prospective suitors is most likely to make her happy. Of course, nothing goes to plan.

The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells

Moon doesn't know what he is. Having lost his family young he lives on the move, shifting his shape to hide his true form. The only ones similar to himself he's ever encountered are the vicious, bloodthirsty Fell, but he knows he cannot be one of them. When chance leads to a meeting with someone like him, he hopes his days of loneliness are over. But his new people stand against a dangerous enemy, and not all of them welcome Moon's help. A departure from other titles on this list in that it features only creatures, with not a single human on page.

Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley

Beauty and the beast retelling, stays fairly close to the original story but with some interesting twists and well-written characters. After a merchant loses everything to creditors, he and his three daughters move out to a cottage on the countryside, where one of his daughters revives the cottage's rose garden. After he makes the mistake of plucking a rose from an enchanted beast's home and calling its rage upon him, one of his daughter's take his place as prisoner. There, she takes it upon herself to revive a second rose garden.

Bonus: this is McKinley's second batb retelling, the first and more well-known being Beauty

Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher

Beauty and the beast retelling, featuring a more lighthearted and modern tone and some hints of horror. After nearly perishing in a snow storm, Bryony takes shelter in a strange magical mansion. Upon leaving, she picks a single rose, putting in motion a dangerous series of events and trapping herself in the mansion alongside a terrifying beast. But the beast is more than meets the eye, and Bryony soon comes to suspect that he is as much a prisoner as she is. Can she figure out and lift the curse that traps them both?

In the Vanisher's Palace by Aliette de Bodard

Sapphic beauty and the beast retelling, novella. When the failed scholar Yên is sold to the dragon Vu Côn to pay off her village's debt, she expects to be killed for the creature's amusement. Instead, Vu Côn whisks her away to a dangerous palace in the spirit world, asking her to teach her two unruly children. There, Yên finds herself growing complicated feelings for her jailer.

Providence Girls by Morgan Dante*

Sapphic horror re-imagining of several of H.P. Lovecraft’s works from the point of view of the women sidelined as victims in the originals. Forced to abandon her not-quite-human children to escape a cult seeking to sacrifice her, Lavinia nearly dies from exposure in the woods. She’s saved by the prickly Asenath. The two women find themselves growing close as Lavinia regains her strength. But Asenath’s own dark past is catching up, as she too begins to transform into something not entirely human. Beautiful and unsettling with heavy body horror as well as more human horrors such as emotional and sexual abuse.

Our Bloody Pearl by D.N. Bryn

A siren who’s been held captive by a pirate is freed, but too injured to survive on their own as their tail has become paralyzed. Another pirate captain decides to help them out and has to work to win their trust. Fairly fluffy and light on worldbuilding and plot (though there is a bit of a revenge story in there), with a focus on character and recovery. m/nb romance with an asexual love interest.

The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro & Daniel Krauss*

In 1960s America, Elisa works as a cleaner in a government facility when a strange fish creature is brought in to be studied. An immediate connection sparks between the two, but the creature's time is running short as plans are to vivisect him. Alongside her colleague and her reluctant neighbour, Elisa must find a way to save him before he's laid under the knife.

Cold Skin by Albert Sánchez Piñol*

Horror. A young man fleeing the horrors of war arrives at an isolated island near the south pole, where he is to spend a year as wheater official. His only neighbour is the asocial lighthouse keeper Gruner - at least that is what he thinks, until night arrives and he comes under siege of bloodthirsty monsters from the sea. Now he must find a way to work with Gruner for both of them to survive the year. But as isolation and desperation sets in, sea monsters becomes the least of their worries. Probably the least romantic title of this list. There isn't really any monster romance, but there is monster fucking; do with that what you will.

Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls*

Novella, 1980s classic. After the death of their son, housewife Dorothy and her husband has begun drifting apart, leaving her lonely in her mourning. When a strange, frog-like sea monster appears in her home, having escaped a science institute and seeking refuge, Dorothy is quick to offer him sanctuary. At once tragic, mundane, and beautiful, Mrs. Caliban will make you question what's real.

Monstersona by Chloe Spencer

Sapphic, young adult. After disaster strikes and her town is terrorized by a monster, sixteen-years-old Riley goes on the run with her dog Tigger and her traumatized classmate Aspen. With a conspiracy afoot and air travel grounded, the two girls set out on a cross-country road trip to reach Riley's dad. But Aspen has a dangerous secret, and the two keep finding themselves followed by a mysterious SUV. Will they reach safety before the harrowing truth catches up to silence them?

The Company of Death by Elisa Hansen*

For those who yearn for a death and the maiden type dynamic. A wild mix of genres, where a zombie apocalypse has struck and vampires gather up humans to keep their food source from going extinct, a robot travels across America with a young man she’s tasked to keep safe, and former-vampire-hunter-recent-zombie Emily teams up with Death himself to stop the apocalypse. Features bi and ace characters!

Bonus rec: the author also runs the youtube channel Maven of the Eventide, where she talks about various vampire media. Check it out!

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion*

R is just your average zombie - maybe a bit more philosophical than most. He spends his days hunting humans and eating their brains for a fleeting glimpse of life, and hanging out in the abandoned airport with the horde. But when eating the brains of the human Perry gains him the memories of Perry's girlfriend Julie, R finds himself unable to kill her. Instead, he hides her from the other zombies. The two grows close, but the war between their kinds is threatening to pull them apart forever.

Hearts Still Beating by Brooke Archer

Sapphic, young adult. Three years after a zombie apocalypse hit, seventeen-years-old Mara comes back to life thanks to a new medication. Still struggling with the guilt of what she did as a zombie, Mara is sent to live with the family of her best friend, who has since turned cold towards her. But with the zombie threat ever-present and one missed dose away from a relapse, public opinion towards the altered is dangerously low, and the two girls' messy feelings are the least of their troubles.

The Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs

Living in a land that fears magic, Aren has spent her life quietly hiding her ability as a Seer. But things change when her village comes under attack of raiders - killing Aren's husband and family - and the magic of the wilds becomes unexpectedly unlocked. To save her home, Aren must now not only rely on her own magic, she must also employ the assistance of the newly awakened Hob of the mountain. But the Hob is the last of his kind, and for him to help Aren must first agree to pay his price.

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood*

Sapphic, orc main character. Csorwe was never meant to live. Raised to one day sacrifice her life at the Shrine of the Unspoken, her world is shaken when a wizard appears at the end of her intended life and offers her an alternate route at his side. Leaving her old life behind, Csorwe trains to become his loyal servant, fighting and spying on his orders, seeking the approval only he can grant. But he is hiding something, and with the help of the young mage Shutmili, maybe Csorwe will find out what before her life, once again, reaches its end.

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Sapphic, cozy fantasy. Viv is done with adventuring and bloodshed. She wants to try something new, something peaceful, and so she hangs up her sword and opens a coffee shop. But running a business comes with its own challenges, especially in a city that's never heard of coffee before. To succeed, Viv will have to build new skills and new relationships, especially as her old life comes knocking.

Honorary mentions AKA these didn't work for me but maybe you guys will like them

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell

Sapphic and ace. Fantasy horror featuring a The Thing-like monster. Tries too hard to be fluffy and validating to work for me, but the monster lead is truly creative.

The Misadventures of an Amateur Naturalist by Ceinwen Langley

Sapphic beauty and the beast, historical young adult fantasy. Again, too fluffy and lacking in conflict for me.

Secunda by Joanne Kwan

Body-sharing and venom vibes, but too much erotica too soon for me.

Transmission Lost by Stefan Mazzara

A human cargo pilot and an enemy alien soldier get stranded on a dangerous planet and must work together to survive. Interesting premise, but frankly I found the writing to be subpar.

The Orc and Her Bride by Lila Gwynn

Sapphic romance featuring an arranged marriage between an orc and an elf. If you enjoy traditional romance narratives more than I you'll probably like it.

Legend of the White Snake by Sher Lee

Young adult. Gay retelling of the old Chinese legend in which a snake spirit falls in love with a human.

[zadr-day]

Why ZaDr?

Think of every worthwhile rival ship that has ever existed; dip it in a poison coating of cynical worldbuilding, sprinkle it with a topping of shunned existence, and let the devil kiss it with a waxy pair of slimy, scifi alien lips. Only then, will you  have yourself a sample of what ZaDr has to offer. These characters are compelling in themselves; one being a bizarre and paranormal obsessed clone of Earth's greatest scientific mind, the other a malfunctioning spaztic robot ant from beyond the stars. Each of them ostracized, for one reason or another, largely by virtue of their own passionate past mistakes.Those mistakes, failed efforts to be seen as worthwhile, to be praised, to be loved. But then you set them against each other, as enemies. As mirrored foils. Neither of them in the right, gray morality reigns supreme as they are  purely obsessed with their own selfish reasons for self aggrandizement. Anything “good” that might happen as a result of their actions is always cast in the light of unintended circumstance. The true fight is with reality itself, while the sharp end of that crushing conflict is pointed towards the only one who could possibly understand what they’re going through. In the world of Invader Zim, every mentor, leader, parental figure, teacher, adult, child and Invader, feels more real by virtue of misanthropic absurdity. Their inability to provide the support and guidance for the main characters to function in a healthy way, is so very like the absence of nurturing many people feel in their youth. To anyone who has experienced life at its worst growing up, these caricatures of the real world provide a powerful sense of being seen. There is something radical about a story that isn’t written with any other moral than “ this living in society shit sucks”. That speaks to people, and continues to speak to me. ZaDr has always smacked of tragedy, in that you know things will end badly for everyone involved, but it’s still impossible to look away as everything is set ablaze. Two headstrong protagonists, locked in a battle of opposing wills and addictive delusion. It makes the sweetness sweeter, it makes the pains of grand fantasy ache deeper, knowing that these two characters are ultimately fighting losing battles for pitiful reasons.The denial of personal failure, the stubbornness to find purpose. In all of reality, all they truly have is each other. To see that dynamic and ship them is to say that love is possible even in the most dire of circumstances. Time and time again I find myself returning to ZaDr. I think something about the dynamic speaks to the part of us that knows things are wrong and that the fight against it is worthwhile. And that struggle, while futile, can still hold a tremendous amount of personal importance. It speaks to failing, and having the strength to get back up to try again. No matter the odds. For a pairing hated by its own creator, the fixation that Zim and Dib have on each other is an undeniable magnetism seen by the fandom since the launch of the cartoon, all the way back in 2001. This ship has staying power, and after over two decades has failed to fall into total obscurity.  Those touched by its effects have gone on to create resonant, deeply meaningful works. This blog, and the posts that I make on the topic, are my way of giving back to the ZaDr community. By displaying the stories of triumph and tragedy put forward by the IZ community, I hope to welcome new fans and give back to long standing fans by providing a living archive and blog space. I look forward to sharing the wonderful talents of so many artists with you all. Happy first ZaDr day of many

[positron2399]

🎀✨️Just ignore/block, don't report pwetti pweeze✨️🎀

(Tw for $h and sui stuff from time to time)

Just call me Positron or Positron2399 if you're somehow dorkier than me.

He/Him

19, somehow, hopefully, I make it to 50 or even 150... I really hope technology lets me reach 100-110, but with the body of a 60-70-year-old and the brain of a 40-year-old. Not that I'm a "technology cultist" ... guess I'm pretty close.

I... I really look forward to the day the world starts embracing nuclear and renewable energy.

Lifestyle jirai... as in I'm a NEET, so please, please understand I don't have money give.

Really like hard scifi shit that most people would find boring... to the point where I'm trying to understand AB matter... same as conlangs, though these aren't exclusive to sci-fi. Maybe not tomorrow, but one day, I will study those college books I downloaded. I know it won't be anything equivalent to a college degree, but I don't do it to get a job, I do it because I simply love learning... regularless of how dorky that makes me sound ^_^

I don't want to learn to seem like the smartest person in the room, I want to learn so the kid who dreamed of finding life on Europa, Titan, and Ganymede doesn't die. The kid who hoped Tachyons and such were real so he could talk to an alien, a weirdo from another world who would understand, even if they were weird fetal sibling eaters like sand tiger sharks. I can't let him die on a somber note, a statistic for drug-related suicides, a bad memory, and a warning to others.

I know for certain I have severe depression (diagnosed)... hopefully don't have BPD (Big Penis Disorder)... Borderline Personality Disorder if you're smoother than marble. Don't have the money to get diagnosed, hope I'm right.

... I'm gonna try to get back on my antidepressants soon, though definitely lowering the dosage on one of them, other is fine.

Sorry if I pester you in a state of "euphoria," I really hate him too. Small things tend to rapidly change my mood, and I might get so, so excited i s/h... or sad that I well, ya'know. Not self punishment, know enough about endorphins and such, just have nothing else... that said, I might check in on you from time to time. I'm not gonna try to force your recovery, but I'll try to stand by you, if you let me. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't? I hope I can meet you in person one day! I truly mean this with all my heart!

Thanks to my best friend, I was finally able to discard my cutting implements. I can't say that I won't s/h from time to time if I get really upset/excited, but it will be much harder now. I know it'll never understand, but it means so much to me. If you see this you aquatic pastry, you archangel incarnate, I love you platonically and romantically, I don't care if we never marry, never date, I just want to, no, need to see you grow old. Thank you! It really means so much to me! You mean the world to me, for so long, I didn't have a reason to leave the bed, didn't have a reason to wake up, I flushed the pills for you and I'll try my damn hardest to not do that shit again! I'm so glad you could forgive me, I wish there were more people in the world like you... perhaps there can be, there's always tomorrow!

Shitty artist, wannabe writer, don't think I'll ever get around to writing that shit.

Beginner artist

No, I need to see Whispers in the Stars and Crimson Ash//Valentine not only published and loved, but possibly animated and finished. It won't be easy, but nobody else will make my dreams come true. I hope these stories are what Re:Zero, Blindsight, Undertale/Deltarune, The Killing Star, and The Three-Body trilogy are to me as to the fans I hope to have one day. As in, I hope it helps delay their suicide, for them to have to see how the story ends, and hopefully... hopefully it'll get better for them in the wait for the next issue/chapter. Maybe they'll manage to make their dreams come true as well.

Same for "Cunningham's" slice of life, semi-cosmic horror. I want to help it write it's story, see it published as well, see our characters cameo in each other's work from time to time.

"Dreams" about getting coords one day, I hope it will happen, I want to show myself to the world, to be the amalgam of Mana Sama and Jerma985 the 6 year old watching MLP dreamed of, the one he wanted to be. I will never stop being that nerd who wished Fluttershy was real, I will never stop trying to be kind to animals, even the annoying and "gross" ones like spiders, ants, and cockroaches.... not that I knew who either of them were, but you get the jist

... I'm so glad my friend @cyannidex33 feels the same... least about the bugs... this dweed, along side @ki-2-ur-heart @toxetta @piko-chan @the-real-loser-otaku-girl and @bladeechan mean so damn much to me. I'm so glad I've meet you, even if it wasn't in person... yet!

Dni, Bigots, especially fascists (Nazis, Zionists, Proud Boys, etc... gvmt treads all over you till ya "freedom" up the middle east or wherever the hell Onii-chan tells you to hate in the moment). Don't want Terfs and other transphobes here either.

Erm axhualli, tat is da land of the isreale

Shut up bro, I'll believe you if you take an picture of yourself with your God, preferably in your afterlife, maybe even a bit of a video tour if that isn't too much to ask of him. Till then, you're invaders

Me typin' to u ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🎀✨️🎀✨️

Ain't putting crap like this on the Web why Chris Chan got bullied so hard?

Never removing the anti-fascist stuff, I'll always stand by that. It's the very least I can do for them, if the Isreali's murdered them. I have to live, live so their memory carries on, so they didn't die for nothing in that hell built of rubble. I don't pray much, but when I do, it's for them, I want to see them one day, I want to see her boy graduate from college, or trade school, or whatever the hell that kid will wanna do.

Eh, fuck it, you can hate me for the "cringey" hopecore bullshit, I don't care, I hope you can be true to yourself one day as well, that you can love yourself one day.

[lilolilyr]

Heyyyy! 2, 11 and 15 for the unfinished business ;)

Thanks for the questions! It's always fun to talk about my wips :D

I feel like maybe I should've posted a list with the ask meme with my many many unwritten or unpublished fics for you to choose from xD so for future askers, here goes, my main current and future projects at the moment:

- Bering and Wells days 12, 16 and 18 of the Advent Calendar

- Star Trek college AU continuation

- chaos scifi dystopia idea

Plus some ideas I might or might not ever write:

- twilight SIOC

- Berena continuation to the matchmaker fic

- St Clare's (for example something introspective about wlw Alison... or reader x headmistress Theobald smut because reasons xDxD or some character studies!)

- Malory towers Clarissa x Bill or Billx Miss Peters or Miss Peters x Self insert… so many options xD

- St Clare’s or Mallory Towers SIOC (like the stories where readers end up in the world of Twilight as Bella or in middle earth or the galaxy far far away? Except you end up a boarding school girl in the 40s. both fun and very very unfun I’d say)

- Emily Lake Trauma

~

but as this ask is still open to interpretation I'll go with my most recent dumb idea, it'll probably be a Milippa fic but more to why I'm not entirely sure on that point in the actual answers!

2. How did you get the idea to write this?

It came to me in a dream!

No, seriously.

I don't usually remember much from my dreams, or when I do it's just a jumbled mess of scenes that don't make any sense or don't fit together or both, but yesterday (day before? idk) I woke up and had a fully fledged dystopia novel in my head. Well, not really, it still was dream-like and chaotic, for example I wasn't entirely sure whether it was aliens taking over the world or some kind of robot and that seems like a major plot point doesn't it xD plus

11. Is there any scene you can't wait for people to react to when reading? Why?

Already answered something for that particular fic here, so how about I'll talk about a Bering and Wells WIP, that's probably more what you're here for anyway! :D

I haven't written this one at all yet, but I'm really excited to get to Myka noticing how it isn't just a crush, she's falling in love with Helena, and her panicking and all the feels! And I'm also excited to see what people will think of whatever I'll come up with for that one!

15. Do you have any unwritten scene that you think about a lot?

At the moment it's the reunion of the main characters of the (maybe)Milippa fic! But that's just right now really. I have tons of scenes I keep thinking about - but most of the ones that I think about again and again have a tendancy to be very removed from canon, after juggling them in my brain for years and years xD and that way it gets even less likely for me to write the fic, because it would have a target audience of 1 person namely me!

unfinished fic ask meme

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

2023 Movie Journey #7: Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania

ant-man and the wasp: quantumania. wow, these titles just keep getting longer, huh. pretty soon they’re going to be listing every character in the name.

i saw this one in the theater, and saved the following as a note while i was waiting for it to start:

omg, i wondered why they recast cassie in the third movie with an actress that's much more prominent, featured in everything from big little lies to detective pikachu. and then very helpfully, while i'm waiting here, one of their pre-movie features was a game with the actress who will be starring soon in are you there god, it's me margaret...and she is the same actress who originally played cassie!! i didn't know that. so now I wonder if she had a scheduling conflict, rather than just getting replaced. that would be better imo since the actress who took over the role is great but i liked the original too and i don’t like when an actress is dumped from the role she originated for reasons like ‘we need somebody more well-known now that the role is more important’

gosh, i have a lot to say about this one i think. i always intended to watch the ant-man movies because they seemed fun, but it was the release of this one that got me to finally, actually do so. by the time it was coming out and jonathan majors was going to be the new antagonist and i was a huge fan of his (all things that weren’t true a couple of years ago) i was really happy to be able to catch up on the others and then see this one in the theater. and it was a great time. spoilers ahead.

ETA: i wrote this whole review, and saw this movie twice in theaters, only days before the news broke about jonathan majors being arrested. i have big, complicated feelings now about what he’s accused of and the consequences he’s faced versus how so many white men have been treated when they face similar accusations; about how it changed my opinion of him and destroyed my desire to see him in creed iii; about how talented an actor i still think he is and how much it sucks that people can be both talented and behave in ways that horrify me when i don’t even know them; how he was the beating heart of lovecraft country and i’d never seen a black man in a TV drama get to be that before, especially when surrounded by such a scene-stealing, strong cast; and how i may never be able to watch that series again, the same way i doubt i’ll ever rewatch this movie. but i reviewed this movie not knowing any of that yet, so my thoughts about him were true for that moment, and i’m leaving them in like a time capsule for my own experience.

it was NOT what i was expecting, though, so that made the first part of the movie really hard for me to get through--i was probably at least a third of the way in before i started enjoying it. there was just a ton of worldbuilding and what felt like a huge genre shift, from the action-comedy (with a hint of scifi) of the first two to suddenly a lot of scifi-fantasy. i couldn’t help being reminded of star wars, and how much the details of the whole ‘alien world’ part of it bore me, when i just want to watch carrie fisher exist. here, i was thrilled to see michelle pfeiffer have a much bigger role, but i didn’t need it to be happening inside a world we didn’t previously know existed in the ant-man universe, one where even the ants that had originally been the point were absent during all that worldbuilding.

however, i felt like the setup did pay off enough in the end that i enjoyed it, and i don’t think it would bother me so much in a rewatch. part of what had me so off-balance in the beginning is that each movie occurs inside the larger mcu with a huge time gap between ant-man installments, so they expect you to know what happened offscreen (they include minimal descriptions, but it can still be confusing as a standalone viewer) and the offscreen happenings create real effects on the story you’re jumping into. for example, knowing that the snap happened at the end of the last movie (and even knowing vaguely what the snap was) didn’t stop me from wondering what cassie’s life was like while the others were gone. was she raised by her mom, or were all the adults in her life vanished? if so, what happened then? i know i could try to look that up with mcu research but i wish instead it had been more directly a part of the movie since she was a more central character this time--or that there had been an ant-man movie that fit between this one and ant-man and the wasp, somehow.

but anyway, this movie was very clearly setting up a new antagonist, which they did by further developing the backstory of michelle pfeiffer’s time in the quantum realm. once i got into it, i enjoyed it a ton, because it meant a ton of screentime where she was working opposite jonathan majors, and all of those scenes felt like gifts just for me--they’re both so unbelievably talented and they’re also actors who can do such great dramatic work, it was hard for me to wrap my mind around them being in this marvel movie with all its action and cgi and creatures.

the family dynamics in this one were also important, and we got great interactions between the two couples, but it really did feel quite different than the first two movies, and i think that’s why--the ultimate focus of the story was kang, the new villain, even when it came to how scott’s burglar talents would be called into action. his sudden existence drove the action. i feel like my opinion was backed up by the very end of the movie, too, when the movie flashed a closing card like the first two had. that was one of my favorite little parts of the sequel, when the closing card added a question mark because the snap had left scott stranded and we would have to wait to see if he returned. but whereas the other ones ended with ‘ant-man will return’...this one ended with ‘kang will return.’ 

and i can understand why, since scott was left feeling uneasy about kang’s death but otherwise his life--and therefore his story--was neatly tied up. even if they bring him back for other mcu appearances, there’s no part of this movie that requires a next ant-man installment. which further points to how much of this film was an extended setup for kang to move on to other mcu battles, even though i think they fit it all into scott and hope’s families and lives and overall development well enough. 

there is one question i found myself left with after seeing this, that may have been explained in the movie--it was such a long movie with so much happening, i might have just forgot that they addressed it. but scott was stranded in the quantum realm for years after the snap. even though he was stranded for less years than michelle pfeiffer, i wonder why he never discovered any hint of the other worlds she roamed through? was it just that his suit tech kept him in one layer of that space, and she had moved through so many of them, she ended up in a place he couldn’t get to? did he just stay put and try not to move for five years and thus wouldn’t have seen anything? another thing i could probably research but won’t, lol. 

overall, i don’t think the ant-man world was necessarily improved by being moved to space (even if they call it the quantum realm)--but for me personally, that was heavily outweighed by my enjoyment of michelle pfeiffer and jonathan majors getting to fill the spaces they were in like the talents they are, and the rest of the characters and cast being just as great as always. living so intensely in this world for a couple of days really left an impression on me, but it was a super fun impression and i’m glad i visited.

[smoked-salmon-official]

https://www.tumblr.com/smoked-salmon-official/783343688520744960/idw-is-amazing-but-its-not-entertaining-you-know

No wait, I use the wrong words to describe it,

IDW is good but taxing, and want to you think about what happening in story and it use a lot of oc to tell the story, and at the end of the day most casual tf fan like the franchise because big alien robots fighting each other is cool and action-comedy is a lot more popular than scifi-fantasy

Like, I love both IDW and tfa, but if I come home at the end of the day tired and kind of bum, I would watch tfa, not because I love it more but I don't want engage my brain

cliffnote,

You are so right, that’s what I meant as well

I have to be in a certain state of mind to enjoy watching ambulon get sliced in half vertically and the djd do whatever the fuck they do but I’m always in the mood for kids show sillies

Precisely

[abigailspinach]

“Why can’t I get kidnapped by the fae?” I asked myself. “You’re too old, for one,” I responded.

Then I was even grumpier. But I turned the idea over in my mind. Why was it that only those twenty-one and under got to be ripped from their mundane lives, gifted immortality, and elevated to chosen one? Why not choose someone with some life experience and an appreciation for the frailty of our mortal coil?

With that in mind, I set out to write a forty-five-year-old woman who leaves for a morning run and never makes it home. I was so obsessed with the idea that I had ten thousand words in less than forty-eight hours. But I made the deadly mistake of sitting down and thinking about it, and subsequently worried that no one would be interested in a scifi fantasy protagonist older than thirty. I was even scared to show it to my writing group in case the concept “was stupid.”

Several thousand words later, I realized I was going to write the thing whether anyone else ever read it or not, and a writer friend of mine convinced me to let her see the first pages. I handed it over after eliciting promises for honesty if it was a lost cause and was told, “It’s not stupid. I think you should write it.”

This is, incidentally, a mantra I have learned to chant in my head for nearly every first draft I have written since then.

Still consumed with the story, I wrote the first draft in twenty-eight days, to the detriment of almost everything else in my life. And although the core of Imogen’s personality and her adventures were well-captured in that initial draft, there were several things I had to iron out in subsequent rewrites.

Imogen was way too chill about being yanked out of her life in the first draft. I realized that no matter how much I wanted to escape both the planet and my injured body, realistically, no one would be truly thrilled about being abducted. And as cool as immortality might be, there would likely be an adjustment period. I was surprised when I did an ARC giveaway where I asked the entrants if they would like to be kidnapped from Earth and the response was overwhelmingly, “please kidnap me.”

One aspect I really enjoyed was having my immortal alien race frequently point out Imogen’s youth and inexperience. The problem with getting older is that you’ve been young your entire life, but I imagine up until the very end of your life, there’s always going to be someone who thinks you’re young. Because there’s always some direction for us to grow in. When I first wrote Imogen, she was pretty confident and solidified in who she was, but as a result, her character—though charming—was stagnant. I wanted to retain her adult sense of self and no- nonsense confidence, but to also give her some room to change.

I decided to give Imogen her own adult coming-of-age arc. I firmly believe that growth doesn’t—and shouldn’t—stop the instant we turn twenty-one. One of life’s great myths is that we’ve got it all figured out once we’re firmly into adulthood. I liked the idea of a fully adult character choosing to let go of what society expects of her, deciding what she wants, and how to advocate for herself.

My initial goal of exploring what Imogen might lose in order to gain immortality and supernatural abilities ended up giving me a vehicle through which to explore her flaws and strengths. Throwing her into a new world provided a chance to release some of the ingrained “truths” of her previous life and allowed her the freedom to choose her own path, one dictated by her wants and needs.

Of course, Imogen still has to fight for it, and the fight doesn’t end with the book’s final pages. Just like in life, there’s more growth out there and much more to come.

[j-restlessgeek]

Hi Lovely Jay!!

3 12 23 32 46 for the ask game <3

Meow there 💛💛💛, awwww thank you for the asks 💛💛💛💛

3. What was the last song you listened to?

Little Wolf from Epic the musical/wisdom saga, its sooooo good and i had the saga on loop since I woke up 🥰🥰🥰🥰

12. Who are five (or more) people you want to hug right now?

Definitely the entirety of summer camp, my twin and thats about it, i really don't hug others that often 😅😅.

23. Do you believe in aliens?

Not in a action/scifi movie sense, but sure there must be extra terrestrial life out there, they even found proof of such. And the universe is huge and growing still.

32. If you could go anywhere right now, where would you go?

I really looove bamberg, its a town in germany. I have only been there once, its beautiful and has been completely spared from the war, its a lovely town, i would love to live there 🥰🥰🥰🥰 or going to a forest and walking without a goal really, just looking at things.

46. What do you need when you are sad?

Definitely space, like i need to sort my thoughts and feelings before someone attempts to comfort me or else I feel worse and pressured. I usually put on one of my comfort movies (my number one since years has been Tim Burtons A Nightmare Before Christmas, it usually always works) i also like a good hot chocolate to warm me and the chocolate is good to fill up the happy chemicals in your brain :3. And a good cry is helpful too, i am working on just letting them out (was not that good about crying in the past), I also like going on nightly walks but I haven't been in a while (because the last time ended horrible) 😔😔, but i really looooooove watching stars. 🥰🥰🥰🥰

Thank you these were nice 💛💛💛💛, i wish you a nice day 💛💛💛💛💛

[fictionz]

New Fiction 2024 - April

"Jonas" ed. Richard Challoner (1752)

I was here for the whale and left wanting.

"Micheas" ed. Richard Challoner (1752)

Yeah, yeah, the blasphemies of the ancient Hebrews, we've all seen it.

"Nahum" ed. Richard Challoner (1752)

Nineve we hardly knew ye.

"Habacuc" ed. Richard Challoner (1752)

The troubled bowels.

Lesser Evil by Robert Simpson (2002)

They... why? You were doing so well with the sociopolitical ramifications of a smaller state joining the empire Federation. Just a complete cop-out of a feeling with the culprits behind recent events revealed to be scifi trope #007.

The Werewolf in the Living Room by R.L. Stine (1999)

Whuff. Bob had a tight deadline on this one.

Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry (1996)

Maybe it would've been neat at the time, but filling in blanks isn't as appealing as it used to be.

"Strange Bird" by strangerockband (2023)

Don't hate the player.

Aliens dev. Konami (1990)

Aliens as fragile as the arid breeze.

The First Omen dir. Arkasha Stevenson (2024)

Weighed down by the franchise yoke.

Femme dir. Sam H. Freeman & Ng Choon Ping (2023)

Making something of the terror.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire dir. Gil Kenan (2024)

The band doesn't have to get back together.

In the Land of Saints and Sinners dir. Robert Lorenz (2023)

We need more movies in which Kerry Condon is allowed to be Irish.

Monkey Man dir. Dev Patel (2024)

Like a game of whack-a-mole.

Wicked Little Letters dir. Thea Sharrock (2024)

Gimme that house, leave out the neighbors.

The Absence of Eden dir. Marco Perego (2024)

The New Yorker approach to a movie.

Sting dir. Kiah Roache-Turner (2024)

We're trapped inside with them.

Civil War dir. Alex Garland (2024)

Troubling how much I long for the finale.

Black Hawk Down dir. Ridley Scott (2002)

The book's right there.

Arcadian dir. Benjamin Brewer (2024)

You'll win me over with a good creature.

Abigail dir. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett (2024)

Always a child in someone's eyes.

Sasquatch Sunset dir. Nathan Zellner & David Zellner (2024)

The dread you feel.

The Outer Limits - Volume 3 (1964-1965)

Clearly lacking in some essential ingredient.

The Boys - Season 3 (2022)

Waiting for the kill shot.

The Boys Presents: Diabolical (2022)

Not the tone you're going for.

Gen V (2023)

Follow them to the ends of the arc.

Fallout (2024)

A questy story, but so many are these days.

The Bad Batch - Season 3 (2024)

Neat and tidy. I'll miss them.

Star Trek: Discovery - Episodes 1-6 (2024)

Just not hitting the note.

[diskmotif]

handle breakdown post

originally posted in blisscord blog channel, edited for this format

this is a breakdown of my work for vai's song handle w/ trustt and nujioh

final cover if you havent seen it ^^

i had some insane work hours working on this ngl i stayed up till 5 am for like 3 days straight (this is the hardest ive ever grinded until legitimately this week) & i listened to vai's entire discography back to back to get into the headspace

initial sketches

concepts is a very good app btw infinite scroll is really nice, it draws in vector so it's extremely blessed for use w/ adobe illustrator (my program of choice)

u can see i was taking it very literally at the start, a literal handle on someone's back or a side profile of a handle kinda inspired by pc music's style, how they take concepts like the word apple and then word associate it with what people think of like this

but like idk i also wanted to get better at more abstract art so i did a lot of different concepts

i'm not really like some designers who get away with like 50 concepts, i always end up continually refining one until it's the definitive version

also i really like this wordmark, it's made out of car door handles but it looked too alien for how tangible the song was

ended up using these two in the final design ^^

this was also right after i worked on my decay design so i was doing a lot of blocky stuff

i started constructing words and letters out of blocks and then deconstructing them so. u can see the original on the bottom right and then the final wordmarks i used (top right) were deconstructions of the original word and rearranged for a better looking product

a lot of the original vector work was inspired by a random shipping label someone sent me LOL i lost the original label but here was my recreation of it (w/ handle text)

this was the first piece of vector artwork i did for it around the same time, i had asked vai for the lowpoly vai model she had commissioned, and the idea was to do like a wireframe similar to what she had before which is this

though i didnt really like how it turned out and i didn't really feel like it fit so i just threw random blender deforms on the model till i got here

idk it looks kinda goofy but i liked how it zoomed into a point

here's the final render

these were my first two drafts i did for putting everything together . i kinda hated them both so i never sent them to vai and i went to bed lol

so i started again with each individual part and started to work on laying stuff out i started w this but i thought it needed more

put stuff in and filled it in

the small design there is the sketch and blockout for the vertical logotype

if you remember the super scifi logotype from earlier it became this

a LOT of this design is just overlaying assets until they're nigh unrecognizable you'll see what i mean when i show the construction of the final psd i also made this like randomly distributed version of the boxy handle type that i used in some places

and from here i was working with blender a lot so this is a draft off that

but like i hated this one too LOL and i thought maybe it was the layout

so i redid it here

a lot of vai's songs have a dual meaning sorta between something like. scifi and used for an emotional beat (this was before eimi btw) so for example automata is used both as an allusion to like robots and also to show how the writer felt, so i was looking for something to work handle off of

and so i referenced windows (the operating system) handles which is basically a structure that represents a resource in windows, which is shortened to hWnd / HWND

and so

back to the overarching thing, one of the strongest elements in the design is the huge cage over the design

and if you have keen eyes you can see that this is actually a cut out version of the logotype blockout and sketch super zoomed in

i did this cause i thought it looked super sick zoomed in instead of just overlayed on top. plus it creates a ton of depth which is nice

this was the first draft with this concept

the big block in the middle with the design was something i tried to make work but uh it did not work :(

the pink just became stronger and stronger as i worked on it

if you notice in the background...

do you recognize these images? :D

scroll all the way back up to the earliest drafts i did, they're all stacked on top of each other + the exploded vai

here's the construction of everything

this represents vai (v000 = vai5000)

she had v000 on a different logo she had for some urlfest visuals during sensory era iirc but i thought it didn't match so i created a different more "serious" one

i found out after that it wasn't actually v000 but that's how i read it LMAO there's also a bunch of references to the lyrics on the design, this Just discard me from verse 1, Don't use me for reference from trustt's verse, and It's a vicious cycle from nujioh's verse

apparently vai thought these were a reference to trustt's earlier work with the figure style bc they used em too on their cover art but it's not LMAO, was just a coincidence

that's pretty much it ^^ ty for reading and pls commission me

[dreamarchive010]

Recurrent dreams within it:

- Picking body parts game: I have to find all body parts of a girl, to clear it I have to befriend a classmate that used to bully me, she will help me gather the parts. We will eventually have to also befriend ghosts and find the killer. When the light of day comes out it's over.

- Butcher and mad scientist: there's a butcher sometimes. If I survive I can find a kitchen where he works, and it connects to a mad scientist room. This dream connects with the Hospital dream so I always avoid it.

- Killing each other: the students and I end up killing each other. Happens way too often.

- The monster: the monster always changes but it's an entity that is looking for us students through the school. It's like a hide and seek game. The best way to win is to become part of the walls and go through walls. Going through walls all the way out of the building takes me to an scifi alien fighting area for whatever reason, every time.

- Snake lady: snake lady is a "mother" who wants all of us students to be their sons. The school becomes closed through barriers with abusers and monsters. There is an underground path full of things for children, and children spirits. The dream plot says we are those dead children in another life. It's scary but it's safe to go through it and there's an exit at the end, so it's worth going if I ever find it.

Later I finish this. Some dreams may have their own post if they're long enough.

The Classroom Dream:

Been going on for: over 10 years.

Feel free to tell me things to do again or new things to do. Doing things people ask me to do make me less tired about it.

Dream resume: I wake up in a classroom, usually it's old. I'm not myself and I'm "the brown haired girl" instead. Corridors are endless and connect to different type of rooms. There's monsters roaming so I have to be careful. There's a lesson going on, so there will be more students, usually bullies and abusers I had irl (adults are students too or teachers in the dream).

In the beginning: I used to investigate the dream and would find some patterns.

- For example, leaving the classroom would lead to a black corridor with a butcher man coming to kill me.

- In the art classroom there was a fish bowl that would take you to another world.

- Jumping through the window would take you to a mountain.

- Sometimes the dream became a "search the body parts of x girl" through the school.

Now: the things I have tried are endless, but these are the most important, I'll go updating:

- Have class normally. Usually interrupted by a monster or bullying or something but sometimes it ends well.

- Have class but at least change the location to a beach or something more fun.

- Befriend students, fight them, kill them, anything I could think of, same with the monsters. I do notice I am pretty short tempered in this dream though.

- Tell them they are part of my subconscious and they should take a different shape and we should change the dream. Sometimes works but sometimes it only works partly and the lesson keeps going somehow.

- Shapeshift but even with a different shape they 90% of the time still treat me like i'm "her".

- Leave class. If I'm not lucid enough I'll try to go back home and end up in a labyrinth. If I'm lucid enough usually I try to fly away somewhere afar. Been every place I can think of but usually the students show up there too.

- Sometimes I can talk to my alters since I have DID, fun sometimes, useful sometimes to learn about ourselves, sometimes becomes another lucid nightmare, and usually just can't be done.

- Separate from brown haired girl and talk to her. She seems to want to go back to the days we went to school. Wants to redo them in a way we are friends with everyone.

- Try to summon new people and be with them. Usually makes it more fun. Still beyond tired of old students tagging along.

- Transform the dream into a game, or a movie, or just anything to make it different.

- Destroy the school itself. One time it ended so well and the characters were happy about it too and I even cried, but then I woke up in another dream, in middle of class again. I'm so done.

- Ask the dream itself why does this happen. Made an alter show up, I washed her hair, we made up because we had fought in the dream before.

[itsfullofstars]

Revisiting The Terminator on the Big Screen

Got to see The Terminator on a big screen for the first time ever at a special screening at the newly-refurbished former Arclight in Culver City, now called The Culver Theater.

First off, it's always a joy to see a great film in theater. And it's wonderful to see this particular theater open up again. The Arclight was always special. And now Amazon has taken it over but the intention is to treat it like a proper studio-agnostic theater and run films from all the studios, plus they have converted one of their screens to be 8K. I really hope people show up and keep the lights on.

Even having seen this film easily 30+ times, watching it on a proper screen with great sound was a revelation. The Terminator blew me away like it hadn't since I first watched it in high school on VHS.

Everything about it is brilliantly realized. The concept, story, pacing, action, cinematography, dialogue, even the FX which are a bit clunky at times are perfectly executed for the era and budget. It's also subversively funny, and at times darkly hysterical.

And not to mention, it's visceral and scary. I remember when it first came out, it was considered more like a horror film than a sci-fi action film, at least among my friends. It was, along with Jaws and Alien, a movie you had to be brave to watch.

But even more so...

Linda Hamilton's performance is simply outstanding. The Terminator doesn't work without her. Without her as the lead, you have a solid sci-fi action thriller that's an 80s footnote. It's her movie, equally as much as Arnold's, and she doesn't get nearly enough credit for it.

She's sweet and cute, vulnerable, relatable, and yet you feel there's something more going on, an underlying fire and strength to Sarah Connor...

Which makes it possible to believe that she not only could survive this incredible, terrifying situation, but that she will rise to the occasion and become a great leader.

The scene in the motel with her and Reese, well frankly for the first time I've ever experienced with this film, I got emotional. You feel how sad she feels for him, how scared she is, and how attracted she is to him, even having only met him the night before.

She makes you believe a sensible waitress would fall for this crazy future man under the circumstances, and not have it be exploitative or feel creepy or weird when they fall into bed. And she's pretty damn dreamy too. You believe that Reese has been in love with her forever from just an old photo, and threw his life away to meet and protect her.

She makes you believe she believes this is happening. That a normal woman is being targeted by a cyborg assassin from a post-nuclear future, and that some day her un-conceived son will lead a rebellion against the robot overlords. And then, knowing how much she evolves by the next film, into something completely unrecognizable to her earlier self, adds a level of emotion and poignancy to the whole story.

And btw, Michael Biehn and Arnold SchSchwarzenegger are excellent as well. Nearly everyone is. Even the smaller roles are memorable, like the overly talkative cop played by Lance Henricksen, and his jaded boss, Paul Winfield. No moment is wasted. No scene overplays its welcome. And by the time Sarah Connor is crawling away from the relentless metal endoskeleton with the glowing red eyes, you're breathless even though you know exactly how it ends.

It's just a terrific film on every level. Exciting and inspiring as a writer, filmmaker, content creator, creative.

Now get out there and go to the movies, people! Do it!

#film #movies #scifi #sciencefiction #filmmaking #hollywood #horror #terminator

[imposterogers]

Hi, I love your blog and the space you've created on here; I'm basically a long time follower, first time asker. I know this is a silly place to ask for advice on things such as this: but I have a hard time around the holidays due to my family circumstances. This year in particular has been more difficult and lonely than the years before, and I feel especially isolated. Do you have any words of wisdom or activities you'd recommend? Even shows/books/movies that may take my mind off things for the rest of the year? Thank you so much!

hi babes, I'm glad you feel this is a safe space but I am sorry about the circumstances. the holidays aren't an easy time, nor are the long winter months and short hours of daylight. the sun has been setting before four-thirty where I am! i'm not particularly wise, and I don't want to say anything trite or patronizing -- but I understand what its like to feel isolated. or even when you're surrounded by dozens of people, & you still feel alone.

I know everyone suggests it, but weather depending try and find a woods you know/love and go for a walk. look for animal tracks in the snow or mud, listen to the chirping of birds. look at the towering trees that have been there for decades before us, and may be there for decades after -- slumbering giants that provide us w the air we breathe. if you don't want to be left with your thoughts, listen to an audiobook or a new album or a podcast. if your town is doing a new years celebration and you feel comfortable enough, join them. go to a museum or cafe. do something you like. bc while other people will not be there with you, they are there for the same reason you are -- you all share a common interest/joy.

as for recommendations, I listen to a lot of radio! KEXP seattle is my favorite independent station, and every few hours the DJ and genre change. I've been listening to the black tapes (a spooky and fictional podcast full of mystery). the yeah yeah yeahs came out with a new album this year, or take a listen to the black pumas (one of my current favorite bands).

for tv and film I usually stick to comedy in the winter so here is a few off the top of my head: BBC ghosts, the umbrella academy, what we do in the shadows tv or movie (the spinoff wellington paranormal is easy watching as well), psych, sex lives of college girls, resident alien & people of earth for scifi. buffy or angel. futurama. teenage bounty hunters. if you like reality my favorite guilty pleasure show is below deck. I am a sucker for anything 90s/80s/early 2000s (the goonies, ferris beuller, men in black, back to the future, but i'm a cheerleader, saved!, the lost boys, freaky Friday, a knights tale). also a little known secret -- I love rom coms, like 13 going on 30 or how to lose a guy in 10 days or crazy rich asians or not another teen movie

If you end up watching/listening to anything or would like more recs, or just need to reach out, my inbox and dms are always open for everyone

[utilitycaster]

I agree with you that the traitor Baru Cormorant was not quite what I hoped for. what are other political scifi books you would recommend?

I'm going to be repeating myself a bit here because I'm working on building up my reading habits after grad school+pandemic and new job shot them to hell, but:

Ada Palmer's Terra Ignota. I've read the first 3 books but my hold on the 4th came in during my work conference/moving hell period this July and I didn't finish it, but it's incredibly good. Ada Palmer is a historian herself and understands how politics work. It takes place on earth, about 500 years in the future, as war breaks out in what was never truly a utopian society.

The Vorkosigan Saga, again; truly a beloved series of mine, this has everything: interplanetary politics, military sf, a comedy of manners, spy intrigue, romance. The core family of the books is among planetary nobility so there's always a lot of politicking involved, even in the more classically military SF novels (but also military SF that doesn't suck is usually heavy on the politics).

Machineries of Empire by Yoon Ha Lee, a new favorite I picked up by chance this year. It's very much a series that throws you in the deep end and expects you to figure it out but it's truly just nonstop intrigue peppered by a cool sf system and a lot of Thoughts About Gender/The Body One Has.

Thessaly by Jo Walton is another series I've only read part of (the first two books of a trilogy) and the first two books are only vaguely SF but it is very political, based on the premise of "what if we made Plato's Republic from people across the entirety of human history". The third book, which I hope to get around to shortly, is from what I understand much more explicitly SF.

Also some honorable mentions to:

Becky Chambers' books are much more about life in space, but there are political elements, and if Baru Cormorant left you a bit cold because of the lack of investment into deep character dives, this is all character and background politics.

Technically, The Locked Tomb series is intensely political and one day I shall kneecap whoever was like 'what if we just yelled Lesbian Necromancers In Space nonstop and alienated readers who were looking for something deeper.' The politics really kick in during the second and third books, and the fourth isn't out, and there's a whole lot of other stuff going on, but the politics are intensely important and in my opinion an under-explored part of the series in fandom.

It's been a LONG time since I read Asimov's Foundation (like...15 years or something, I read it in high school) but I remember really liking it and meaning to revisit it some day. I feel like it's going to hit some of the same themes as Baru Cormorant but just...as I said, I'm interested enough to read more to know what happens, but Dickinson's writing style is a little too spare in a way I'm not sure is entirely deliberate, and Asimov is spare in a way I know is on purpose.

Also, it's technically fantasy, but I have just read the first two books of the Kushiel's Legacy Phedre trilogy and am waiting to get a copy of the third from my library, and they are very political intrigue heavy, while also having a much stronger literary style and voice. (Note: this series is 1. very sexually explicit, by design of the world and concept - basically, what if instead of Christianity a bunch of angels who were like 'you know Take Me to Church by Hozier? what if that was literally how worship worked' landed in Fantasy Medieval France and now it's the Fantasy Renaissance Era, and 2. extremely from the early 2000s, which is to say, very progressive for like 2001 but somewhat dated now.)