#c: danika

[deathlesssaints]

danika pienaar merci de créditer (c) deathless saints.

[legends-and-savages]

@sacredpyre liked for a starter from D.anika

Danika's head turned just slightly at the sound of someone approaching. The shifter paused. "You need something?" She asked.

[ircnwrought]

sjm book prompts

❛ Don’t feel bad for one moment about doing what brings you joy. ❜ // @homebehind (danika) !!

__________✷    SHE KNEW SHE'D NEVER BE A PROFESSIONAL DANCER LIKE JUNE. though what she may lack in grace, she more than made up for it in passion. something about the music, about the rhythm clears every thought from her head until all that is left are the notes that pull her body in time. only she had burst through the apartment door, tossing her bag across the room after practice today. she knew she'd never be top of the class, she knew it'd never be a career. to be forced to stand against the barre in front of all the other students, to be berated for missing a step, to be told she doesn't have the body to succeed && might as well quit ... she suddenly became aware of every curve, every eye in the room assessing.

✷__________    IT IS DANIKA'S WORDS THAT PULL HER OUT OF THAT SPIRAL. her bruised pride && temper disguising the deep hurt over the episode. she offers her friend a small smile, bravado trying to replace what seems to have cracked open in the embarrassment. ❛  fuck them, right ?? they can stick their opinions up their asses.  ❜ a sigh as she buries herself deeper into the couch, honeyed eyes rising to the ceiling above. ❛  does it make me a coward for wanting to find a new studio ?? i don't think going back there is particularly at the top of my list of things to do.  ❜

[rosieethor]

Aromantic Books Let's Go!

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath

Black Wings Beating by Alex London

This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson

The Siren, the Song, and the Spy by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Fire Becomes Her by Rosiee Thor

Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer

This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria

Immoral Code by Lillian Clark

Tarnished are the Stars by Rosiee Thor

The Last 8 by Laura Pohl

Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Loveless by Alice Oseman

Take Me To Your Nerdy Leader by Hailey Gonzales

Being Ace edited by Madeline Dyer

Queerly Loving edited by G Benson and Astrid Ohletz

Common Bonds edited by Claudie Arseneault, C T Callahan, and RoAnna Sylver

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria

Godly Heathens by H. E. Edgmon

The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl

The Butterfly Assassin by Finn Longman

At the End of Everything by Marieke Nijkamp

Switchback by Danika Stone

Tell Me How It Ends by Quinton Li

Awakenings by Claudie Arsenault

Stake Sauce by RoAnna Sylver

The Ice Princess's Fair Illusion by Dove Cooper

The Threads That Bind by Cedar McCloud

Not Your backup by C. B. lee

Fallen Thorns by Harvey Oliver Baxter

Natural Outlaws and Fractured Sovereignty by S. M. Pearce

Wander the Night by Sydney Cobb

Stones Stay Silent by Danny Ride

The Story of the Hundred Promises by Neil Cochrane

Two Dark Moons by Avi Silver

The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia

An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows

Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace

Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

Syncopation by Anna Zabo

Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao

The Loudest Silence by Sydney Langford

Lord of the Empty Isles by Jules Arbeaux

Our Deadly Designs by Kalyn Josephson

The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray by Christine Calella

[nesta-attorney]

Nesta is a c*nt but she has done no wrong in my eyes. She owes nobody.

Gwyn is a BOSS ASS BITCH. She’s a Nesta stan (as she should be) and the hottest redhead in Prythian. (Soz Lucien, ily)

Bryce is unapologetic and idgaf if she don’t tell people shit, SO WHAT.

Danika has done everything she could to protect those she loves. Her and Bryce are two different sides of the same coin. She has done nothing wrong in my eyes.

If liking strong female characters makes me a fucking mean girl, allow it. I hate the hate all four of these women get. Be fr, if all of them were written in TOG you’d all gobble them up.

Fr fr. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[skyfallscotland]

Ok, House of Sky and Breath live reactions, final part! We're done! Only one more Maasverse book to go. Thank fuck

• Ithan noooo! How will Tharion ever survive if you die before he realises how perfect you are together?

• Oh, Tharion's actually here? Don't worry Dumb, Dumber is here to make sure you're ok 😭

• Wait??? Is Tharion with Hypaxia?? I mean...that's ok, she thinks Ithan's cute? We could make that threesome work??

• Ooooh Ruhn setting up his own Cinderella moment? 🥺 top tier shit!

• Ruhn's Cinderella moment getting ruined by the evil step-sister? Not top tier shit 😤

• WAIT, Hypaxia and Celestina?! Ok, that one I didn't see coming! Literally everyone in this fic book is in an arranged marriage and none of them want to be in it and honestly, I'm so tired of SJM using consent and rape as a plot device and barely ever touching the consequences

• Almost as sick as I am of Bryce and Hunt's sex drive. Shut the fuck up, honestly, you're insufferable!! I'm almost finished this book I think? I hope? And there's been barely any (worthwhile) plot whatsoever. I'm here for the smut, I love smut, but there is such a thing as too much and these two are so boring, I can't even. I'd rather eat stale bread, bye

• Lidia 😭😭 Imma take that as confirmation that I'm right and Day is the Hind. I have such a soft spot for the sister who was discarded and turned into a vicious little thing, may she get her own shadow wielder, she deserves it 😭🖤 Remi 🤝 Lidia forever

• "I don't have a foot fetish." You're BITING HER TOES 😭 I hate them istg

• Oh, we're talking about a war? Yeah, must be the last 200 pages.

• Tharion is such a fucking idiot. Maybe that’s why I ship him with Ithan—just...dumb and dumber.

• Baby Baxian being Danika's mate? Danika not telling Bryce a single thing? No, no, nope, not having it. Firstly, Baxian deserves better tbh. Secondly, Bryce is an idiot if she a) missed aaaall this and b) still thinks Danika was ever her friend, what a [insert c word here]

• It’s actually incredibly depressing how much emphasis she places on sex and the way the men are always thinking about sex. Like?? I’m not here for realism gal and I’d like a side of feelings with that. Ruhn is at least more interesting than Hunt in that regard, but still…ugh.

• “Your starborn bloodline specifically hailed from a small isle a few miles from the mainland….the isle existed in a near-permanent twilight” ACOTAR Dusk Court???

• Celestina being a backstabber? I was surprised tbh, you lulled me into a false sense of security in those many, many pages, good for you SJM, but also, fuck you for handing her someone as nice as Hypaxia, unless she's about to turn into a hidden psycho too

• YAY, the internet's worst kept secret is here! Hiiiii Rhysy! 👋🏼

• Also the internet: what if Azriel is Bryce’s real mate??? Me: what if Azriel and Bryce are related??? 👁️👄👁️ Not sure how my mind jumps to the complete opposite place of other people all the damn time but…here we are 🤷🏼‍♀️

Final impressions: • fuck that was a big book for not much happening • why the fuck did i ever need to find out anything about sofie or her brother at all, what a waste of time, really • danika's still winning the world's worst friend award, two books running • if i ever have to read about bryce and hunt having sex again it will be far too soon.

[highladyofterrasen7]

People who are going on my suicide note- sjm edition

Please note that this is satire and I’m not going to kill myself

Also, it’s the entire alphabet

A. People who hate rhys for how many houses he has

B. People who undermine what Mor went through (especially the Eris part)

C. People who praise Nesta for how she acted in acotar, acofas, and the beginning of acosf primarily

D. People who say it’s misogynistic to dislike Elain

E. People who came up with the “gwyn is a lightsinger” theory bc they realised their favourite ship is sinking.

F. Anyone who talks bad about my girl Feyre

G. People who say Cassian is abusive

H. People who say Rhys drugged and sa’d feyre utm

I. Anyone who says anything good about tampon

J. Quinlar deniers

K. People who say Danika was a terrible friend

L. Anyone who says Aedion’s reaction for the aelin-Lysandra secret wasn’t justified

M. People who in the same breath as attack rhys and cassian for keeping the mating bond a secret will praise aelin for doing the same

N. People who say Dorian isn’t the best tog man

O. Full and 100% chaol stans

P. That one person that said rowaelin aren’t allowed to dislike Lorcan and wrote a whole paragraph about it

Q. People who think acosf was the best book in the series

R. People who dislike acofas

S. Anyone who says anything bad about Sam

T. Anyone who is anti inner circle

U. People who ship lucien and tampon

V. People who attack fanartists for depicting utm rhys as pale when he’s literally described as pale

W. People who say manorian shouldn’t get a novella

X. Those weird people with their Eris and Nyx things

Y. People who say feyre is boring now (bc she had a baby)

Z. Anyone who uses there every breath to attack and find plot holes in sjms work (if you don’t like it, don’t read it) get a life

These are very me-specific opinions

Lmk which ones you strongly agree with

[shallyne]

Well, anyways, I was bored and made a list with book characters that I like from A to Z (couldn't come up with something for Q)

Book Characters List

A

Aemmory Percyval Taxus

Aelin Galathynius

Andarna

Amara Maroni

Alpha Villanova

Abraxos

Annaleigh Thaumas

Aedion Ashryver

Alexis

Asterin Blackbeak

Aaron Warner

Apollion

Aidas

Ansel of Briarcliff

Ash

Addie LaRue

Avery Kylie Grambs

Ash Maddox

Alex Volkov

Ava Chen

Alessandra Davenport

B

Bryce Quinlan

Bryaxis

Bone Carver

Brie

Barney Fitz-Amobi

Bel Price

Bridget Van Ascheberg

C

Corvina Clemm

Cassius

Cardan Greenbriar

Chloe Green

Camila Dunne

Cinnamon Hotpepper

Cormac Donnall

Catherine Pinkerton

Cara Ward

Cal

Carter Price

Chrstian Harper

D

Danika Fendyr

Dante Maroni

Donatella Dragna

Declan Emmett

Dorian Havilliard

Dante Russo

Dominic Davenport

E

Elide Lochan

Evangeline Fox

Emilia DiCarlo

Envy

Evelyn Hugo

Ember Quinlan

Elspeth Spindle

Evangelina Sage

Elm Rowan

F

Feyre Archeron

Fenrys Moonbeam

Fallon

Felix

Fleetfoot

G

Gavriel

H

Hunt Athalar

Helion

Hannah Rooney

I

Imogen

Iris Winnow

Ione Hawthorne

Isabella Valencia

J

Jacks

Juliette Ferrars

Jude Duarte

Jesiba Roga

Jurian

Jest

Jack Brunswick

Jespyr Yew

Josh Chen

Jules Ambrose

K

Kenji Kishimoto

Kaltain Rompier

Kai Young

L

Lilith

Lyla

Lorcan Salvaterre

Lidia Cervos

Legend

Lysandra

Lehabah

Liam Mairi

Luc

Luna Caine

Libby

M

Manon Blackbeak

Morrigan

Morana Vitalio

Meghan Chase

N

Nesryn Faliq

Nazeera Ibrahim

Nash Hawthorne

Naomi Ward

Nightmare

O

Oraya

Oak Greenbriar

P

Pippa Fitz-Amobi

Purrcival

Q

R

Rhysand

Raihn

Ruhn Danaan

Rogan

Rowan Whitethorn

Randall Silago

Rhiannon Matthias

Razor

Ravi Singh

Ravyn Yew

Renelm Yew

Roman Kitt

Rachel Price

Rhys Larsen

S

Shara Wheeler

Scarlett Dragna

Stryga

Suriel

Sartaq

Syrinx

Sgaeyl

Sal Singh

Stanley Forbes

Stella Alonso

Sloane Kensington

T

Tristan Caine

Tristan Flynn

Thea Delion

Tairn

Thimble

Tandri

Trystan Maverine

U

Usha

V

Violet Sorrengail

Vale

Vincent

Vittoria di Carlo

Viv

Vivian Lau-Russo

W

Wrath

Wren

X

Xaden Riorson

Y

Yrene Towers

Z

Zephyr Villanova

[velarisvalkyrie]

HOFAS Spoilers: What I Liked vs What I Didn't

Disclaimer: I just need someone to process this with. Usually, I enjoy my entertainment quietly and don't feel the need to make public posts but I need someone to process this book with lol. Anything you disagree with me about is 100% okay!!! I'm not one to argue or put down opinions in fandoms. I'm just curious if anyone else is sharing similiar feelings as me.

What I Did Enjoy:

Bryce flicking peas down to the beasts below her holding cell. It was so on brand of her and funny to me.

Bryce having to explain what a cell phone was.

Nesta and Azriel's friendship. I know this is a CC book and I won't dwell too much on the ACOTAR crossover. However, Nesta and Azriel's friendship has always been one of my favorites and there were sooo many cute moments between them. That hug after she uses the mask??? That hug and him stroking her hair broke something in me then hit the repair button.

Bryce really snatched Az's favorite kitchen knife and jumped in a crystal coffin back home. Iconic.

Hunt, Baxian and Ruhn holding onto their brotherhood in the dungeons through humor. Trying to keep one another from breaking. Acknowledging one another in the darkest of times they endured together. They really tried so hard to keep each other from losing all hope.

Hunt thinking of Bryce to keep moving onward. Thinking of how she brought him so much joy. Calling her his mate and his wife and his princess (I love terms of endearment so personally stuff like this sends me melting).

Hunt calling Bryce his best friend :c

Lidia saving the boys like the badass that she is and doing it with a well thought out plan coordinated with Dec and Flynn and all those lovely sprites.

Confirmation that Lidia is related to Aelin. I sobbed. I already expected it but when I got to that chapter of the book I started sobbing uncontrolllably. Aelin would be so proud of Lidia for working to bring the Asteri down by any means necessary and protecting who she loves and cares for so deeply.

Sprites. No explanation needed.

I really liked Flynn this book!!! I saw a side of him that I did not get to see much of in HOEAB or HOSAB. Flynn was really considerate, protective, and remained mindful of circumstances and adapted to them.

Dec deserves several awards for his hacking skills.

Hunt's Daddies lol what a fascinating concept of Hunt also essentially being "Made" and coming from Hel

JESIBA 😭 Jesiba and her love for Bryce and her respect and just - I cried so much because Jesiba always knew what Bryce needed. She was tough love and really kept Bryce moving forward after Danika died. So for Jesiba to step up and finally be at peace while also saving Bryce was so emotional to me.

Ruhn and Lidia finally having that beer together.

Baxian in a panic cuz flying horses lol

Bryce getting to see her real life JJ - I would also be thrilled to see flying horses.

What I Did Not Enjoy:

Tharion's entire storyline irritated me. I'm sorry to Tharion fans but I just could not find it in myself to connect to his storyline in this book. His inability to make a decision and face the consequences had me grinding my teeth especially if his actions put other people in danger.

Bryce vs Nesta and Azriel. While I love all three of these characters, I did not love all of them together when it became very apparent nothing good was coming from their meeting. Both sides were valid in not fully trusting one another but it really felt as though Bryce was written as the excuse to expose Az and Nesta to new information. Like it all felt very strange.

Ithan and Sigrid. Why introduce Sigrid at all only for her to be killed so quickly??? She was built up to be this key role that would change everything for the wolf shifters but ends up dead by the end of Part 1. Also Ithan didn't truly have a well rounded character arc to me. It was very much: Ithan makes poorly thought out choice. Ithan doesn't like the outcome. Ithan feels heavy guilt. Ithan tries to fix it. Ithan makes a larger mess. Ithan makes poorly thought out choice - like it was the same loop until somehow he is the new Prime ????? How is he going to make wise choices and assert leadership over an entire pack when he can't even do so for himself.

Bryce dismissing Hunt's trauma. I understand a lot was going on and she needed him focused but like Hunt, Baxian and Ruhn were put through a lot of pain. The physical torture was brutal. The mental exhaustion of trying not to let your mind shatter from such torment had to be hard. Trying to keep your emotions from getting the best of you. And yet Bryce wanted him to just move on and do what she needed asap. She could have at least told him that she knows he is hurting and she wants to provide her support and proper attention when they are in the right circumstances that she can offer it. When they aren't being chased down or fighting enemies or surrounded by their friends.

Everyone moving on way too quickly from Hunt, Baxian and Ruhn being in those dungeons. They siffered a lot and everyone moved on so fast as if they weren't carrying some heavy shit on their shoulders and in their thoughts.

Characters thinking about sex so often amongst all the stress, battle, and life altering decision making. Like ? We are in a very important part of this journey. A huge battle is on the rise and lives are at risks and somehow all of you are thinking this much about being with your partners? That is so unrealistic. There is a time and place for that type of intimacy and connection with your special person and SJM wrote those moments in the strangest circumstances and places that it became annoying.

Bryce and her attitude toward the Fae. I was very disappointed im the way Bryce generalized all of the Fae and was considering not doing anything for them after defeating the Asteri. It took away from some of her potential character growth and as much as she hates the Fae she is half Fae herself and there are others like her who need someone in their corner. Her whole conversation with Flynn's sister where she goes on and on about how awful Fae are and they don't deserve to be united really turned me off. I know Bryce had terrible experiences but to generalize everyone because of those experiences and consider doing nothing when she could start the chain reaction toward positive change for the Fae who want to do better and be better was a turn off. I found myself not liking her a lot through the story which is sad cuz I liked Bryce in the previous 2 books so much but in HOFAS she kept disappointing me with some of her thoughts and emotions. It was like she was stunting her own character growth.

Lidia having kids. Why? Why does everyone need children? I don't say that hatefully either! Personally, I love children and I also support anyone's choice to have kids or not to have kids. However, there was no real reason to throw in twins to Lidia's storyline. I don't see how that progresses the plot and it almost felt like writing that she is a mother is a security blanket to make others feel more comfortable with the choices she made when she was The Hind. I'll be so honest, if Lidia just flat out admitted she always intended to be a double agent or she just realized how bad the system was I would have accepted that. Having this plot twist of having twins had me tilting my head.

Did anyone else feel like Lidia became more withdrawn and started leaning into stereotypical traits? Am I the only one who felt like her character in HOFAS was vastly different than how we saw her as Daybright in HOSAB?

Autumn King. I didn't need him to have redemption but it is strange to have scattered a few hints in HOEAB and in HOSAB and even in HOFAS that perhaps the Autumn King cared about his kids at some level and that he had some regrets with Bryce and Ember only for him to be the absolute worst. Personally, just keep him a consistent villian. I already didn't like him for how he abused Ruhn and Bryce, but there were small moments where SJM had me thinking: ... maybe this is an act? Maybe he cares and thinks he is preparing them for the way they may be treated by enemies in the only way he knows how? No! Nope! He was just as awful as I initially thought.

Tharion's marriage. Sooooooo out of nowhere. I couldn't even root for them because the whole time I was thinking about how Tharion had the River Queen, Ocean Queen and Viper Queen all wanting his ass handed to them on a silver tray, fins and all. Like ??? And you just married this girl without considering your enemies might hear the news and snatch her up as a way to play on your guilt, hero complex, and impulse. Like I'll root for this couple when Tharion is less foolish.

[lycanlovingvampyre]

MAG 168 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: cutting the Kolkwitzia amabilis in my garden.

Ah yes, another ambiguous... thing. Roots, routes.

I feel like Martin dancing around at the beginning here, asking Jon if he‘ll gonna be okay on his own is already because he‘s jealous and he wants to bring this situation in a certain direction. It sounds like they have already talked about crossing Oliver‘s domain cause Martin knew it’s his.

MARTIN: "So, are you gonna smite him, then?" Hehe, Martin showing his petty side xD The topic is serious, but it's still funny to hear that conversation xD

MARTIN: "I know what I said, and I don’t – (sigh) I don’t know, Martin. I just – I don’t think he’s – (sigh) I don’t know; I don’t think he’s evil." Yeah, that’s also what I thought. He seems neutral? I mean he even tried to save people at first. It was a bit more unfortunate for that boat crew that they were caught up in his little breakdown… Actually how does Oliver feed the End? Is it just those little gestures like looking all sad at Jane or asking the statement giver of MAG 42 what she‘s listening?

MARTIN: (really?) "Oh, yeah, sure; he’s probably a really kind, benevolent ruler of a hellish fear prison." Martin still couldn't wrap his head around the concept of watcher and watched. He is just as much a watcher as Oliver is. Jon is a watcher, that at least he knows, I think, and he doesn't see him as evil.

Ahhh, this scene is so perfect! It's well written and funny and the acting is on point!

That little laugh when Martin is finally out of earshot xD Like „I can’t believe we actually had that conversation r.ight now”

"I have no power to stop it, and even if I did, I would not do so. For to rob a soul of death is as torturous as its inevitable coming." There’s a reason the trope of not being able to die/a fate worse than death is called And I Must Scream.

Is this statement a comment on the rise of self-diagnosing because of the Internet? There have been Hypochondriacs have been around pre-internet, so I'm not so sure about this.

"She may see Maria lying in her hospital bed, monitors crowding her as the doctors struggle to get an IV into her wildly convulsing arm. She might have a flash of Bobby, fingers tightening around the rungs of the ladder as the rusted nails give way. She often sees Dennis’s face as the knife slips eagerly between his ribs, even though he doesn’t die for hours afterwards." Jon‘s mum (surgery complication), Jon‘s dad (fell of a ladder) and Jon himself. This says that Dennis didn’t die for hours, so there’s still a chance for Jon to be saved when they‘ll arrive somewhere else!

"a) When Danika Gelsthorpe reaches the end of her Corpse Route, she will die. This new world of fear reviles death as a release, but the Coming End cannot exist without its reality. It is not a being of dangled promises and shifting torments. The certainty of death waits for all who travel the Corpse Routes, and that certainty will be delivered on, without hesitation or consideration of any other factors." That does very much make sense, otherwise it would lose the one thing the End is about.

"b) This place is a limit on the fear that can be generated from them, as their pool is necessarily finite and ultimately, however slowly, it will be exhausted. To be offset, this consideration will require the acquisition of victims from other domains as replacements, potentially inciting… bad feeling between those domains." When they run out of people, they will get them from somewhere else. Wonder what that "bad feeling between those domains" was meant to be telling us. That watchers would start wars against the End?

"c) A metaphysical quirk of this new reality’s divorce from the traditional concept of time, and – one for which I have no further explanation, means that I do not believe new humans are being created or born." This does make sense in the way of their bodies stopping metabolism. They don't need to eat, they don't need to drink, they don't need to sleep. They are frozen in time. Probably also won't age. And without aging no new life can come into being. (I also headcanon hair stopping to grow, fingernails etc.) But what about domains that feed on the fear of pregnancy or childbirth, bringing up a child? Well, we learn in MAG 178 that the Fears can create artificial people, decoys, NPCs for the sole purpose of making the real ones more afraid. I guess it would be like that.

"d) When this happens, the Great Powers themselves will also fade and die, withering away into nothingness and releasing this reality from their grip." If they need to feed on fear to survive, they will starve. Absolutely makes sense. That's also very similar to the stop-feeling-fear strategy because of which we heard a bunch of people escape their situation. There's just nothing that keeps them going.

"I… do not know how I feel about this." I love Oliver Banks. He's my favourite Avatar side-character!

"Perhaps once it might have horrified me, or given me some sense of pursuing the ultimate release of the world that you have damned." Okay, not cool, Oliver. It was Jonah Magnus who did this.

JON: "The Avatar of Death shall live. (heavy inhale) Martin’s going to be thrilled." It's so poetic, I can't imagine why Martin dislike this.

@a-mag-a-day

[pamsimmerstoriesindex]

c h a r a c t e r s

-- gen 2 --

Avery, Collin and Freya

More about Freya and Avery

Danika Pleasant

Jasper Villareal

Erik Bjergsen-Landgraab

[deathlesssaints]

danika pienaar merci de créditer (c) deathless saints.

[legends-and-savages]

Danika's head lifted. "You can stop staring." She said. "Or you should probably pay someone to take a picture or paint it."

[mischievousblade]

Short Story: Naomi Kanakia “Everquest”

If you are a trans gamer, it’s practically a guarantee that some of your first experiments with gender were digital. I absolutely created more than a few female Night Elves on my friend’s World of Warcraft account when I was a deep-in-the-closet preteen. Naomi Kanakia’s “Everquest” dives deep into this relationship between avatar and self. By literalizing the fantasy of this transformation, Kanakia captures a uniquely trans feeling of escape that gaming allows and ends in a space that is both melancholy but also undeniably hopeful and at peace.

The short story is available for free in the Lightspeed Magazine.

This short story is also available in the book:

We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020 by C.L. Clark

Book Genre: Fantasy, LGBT, Short Stories ISBN # 9781952086274 Edition Language: English Date of Publication: 2021-8-

We’re Here 2020 includes the following stories from 2020: “If You Take My Meaning” by Charlie Jane Anders (Tordotcom, February 26, 2020) “A Voyage to Queensthroat” by Anya Johanna DeNiro (Strange Horizons, August 2020) “Rat and Finch are Friends” by Innocent Chizaram Ilo (Strange Horizons, March 2020) “Salt and Iron” by Gem Isherwood (Podcastle, May 2020) “The Currant Dumas” by L.D. Lewis (Glitter + Ashes, edited by dave ring) “Everquest” by Naomi Kanakia (Lightspeed, October 2020) “Portrait of Three Women with an Owl” by Gwen C. Katz (The Future Fire, February 2020) “The Ashes of Vivian Firestrike” by Kristen Koopman (Glittership, May 2020) “To Balance the Weight of Khalem” by RB Lemberg (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, March 2020) “Thin Red Jellies” by Lina Rather (Gigonotosaurus, February 2020) “Body, Remember” by Nicasio Andres Reed (Fireside, November 2020) “Escaping Dr. Markoff” by Gabriela Santiago (The Dark, March 2020) “The Last Good Time to Be Alive” by Waverly SM (Reckoning 4, edited by Danika Dinsmore and Arkady Martine) “Monsters Never Leave You” by Carlie St. George (Strange Horizons, June 2020) “The Wedding After The Bomb” by Brendan Williams-Childs (Catapult, April 2020) “8-Bit Free Will” by John Wiswell (Podcastle, November 2020) Our incredible cover is by Sajan Rai.

[danikavasile]

N E C E S S A R Y  D E A T H

When: November 2, 2022 / 11:50 PM  Where: the lab in Gyeonggi For @ilnerium​

Danika switched on the harsh white light of the overhead lamps, tracing the body’s webwork of veins in brilliant blue. She looked down at the corpse on the medical table and felt within her a germ of aversion. It was not due to her being so near death or the nude body itself (both of which Danika was intimately acquainted), but the species of the body - vampire. She’d operated on numerous vampires in her 620 years but still subsisted a dark animus curling within her ego. 

The ego. Though science could not confirm this fact with any degree of confidence, Danika had long suspected that the ego was the last element of the organism to die. And this proved true in humans, vampires, werewolves, mermaids - the ego was the last to go. 

Likewise Danika’s own ego was throbbingly present whenever she autopsied her own species. It was a fate  - the finality of nothingness in death - she’d welcome the least. But it was rare that she be given such a pristine vampire specimen to study; such was the nature of the vampiric demise that they usually came to her in pieces or a pile of ash, if they came to her at all. This creature on her table had donated himself to research, and she would take an abhorrent delight in cutting him open, appreciating the exquisite object that his body was. Her version of gratitude. 

Later. For now, she was only admiring. She zipped up the body bag and shut off the overhead lights. Her heels clicked against the waxed black laminate as she crossed the lab floor, pushing through the double doors and hanging a left toward her office. Her office was a baroque fantasy of thick velvet curtains before a solitary window and molasses-dark hardwood flooring. It wasn’t especially large but big enough to house three floor-to-ceiling bookshelves stocked with all manner of medical textbooks and anatomy almanacs. The shelves were pressed against the back wall behind her mahogany desk, which faced a voluminous black leather settee. 

Danika hung her lab coat on the rack and went about acquiring a bag of blood from a small fridge, pouring it into two delicate china teacups. The silver dial of the wall clock read ten to midnight. Soa had been expected at 11:30, but Danika had stopped anticipating her chosen sister to be on time. Danika lifted one of the tea cups to her ruby lips and drained its dregs. 

Danika’s hair was secured in a low chignon by one of her most treasured hairpins. It was silver and hollow, once serving as a container for lethal poisons. Danika had never used the pin for the purpose herself but loved its morbid history. She was attired in an ensemble that was rather understated for the ancient vampiress: black slacks and vest with chain detailing, banker stripe button-up, and tie. 

Soa arrived as Danika was pouring a second serving of blood into her teacup. She could feel her presence as she stood in the doorway of her office and needed not to look up. “I would’ve thought,” said Danika, sealing the blood bag and returning it to the fridge. “That your relation with Mr Okada would make you more punctual. Or is your punctuality reserved only for those you fuck?” She rendered a familiar fanged smile at her sister. 

[chickabumz]

วันเที่ยว 😘 #danika #brave #bright #papatsorn #mydaughter #mylove #bumzbondbravebright #22jan2023 #happytime (at Farm in C - Coffee ร้านกาแฟฟาร์มอินซี) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqIvozmvK5FtgzvrzH35s-ukStWsjJbHAXTs5o0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=