#why is sal on this list?

[central-dispatch]

tell me why in the tags!!

[horsegirlwithnoname]

MY FAVOURITE LANCER MECHS AND WHY

ISP-N Raleigh: I have a lot of time for anything related to cowboys and/or pirates and I feel like my dude rides the line really well. The loop of shooting turn --> scan/lock on/boost turn --> shooting turn is really satisfying while actually having really good net damage output.

SSC Dusk Wing: I am a piece of shit and I like to cause problems

SSC Swallowtail: I kinda love being a coordinator, somebody who doesn't make huge plays but whose presence is the glue that holds the team together, and the Swallowtail is pretty much the apex of that in Lancer. The Lancaster didn't make the list but I like it for similar reasons.

HORUS Goblin: I am a piece of shit and I like to cause problems

HORUS Gorgon: my #1 top fave, best girl, team mom, protector of all, was there ever a mech who worked so hard to make sure their crew got through this okay

HORUS Calendula: I am a piece of shit and I like to cause problems

HORUS Lich: I am a piece of shit and I like to cause problems

Harrison Armory Saladin: lacks the feral and femme that make the Gorgon pop so hard for me, but at the same time I have a huge place in my heart for Big Sal and really anybody who makes it their job to keep their friends safe

Harrison Armory Sunzi: I am a piece of shit and I like to cause problems

[r-o-s-e-f-i-r-e]

ok between evan buckley’s cultural black hole of an upbringing and his noted love of documentaries trivia research deep dives etc what i’ve been turning over in my mind palace the last few days is like

tommy logs into instagram once a week to like all of sal and gina’s pictures of baby lila and whatever memes chimney has sent him. he hits a button weird with his gigantic beautiful fingers and gets taken to an instagram reel about uhhh the irish potato famine it doesn’t actually matter what it is he just watches the first few seconds and goes !!! evan was talking about this!!!!! evan thing! thing for evan!!!! tommy immediately shows it to evan later like hey babe weren’t you just talking about this i found more Information for you 👁️👄👁️ and buck watches it and is just like what???? that’s not true. excuse me, he’s - he’s literally making shit up, potatoes are native to the americas, this is misinformation, there was food the english were just exporting it under armed guards it was starvation under colonial rule!!!! he doesn’t even bother to list any citations? that’s not what a primary source is!!!!! and then buck takes tommy’s phone and starts eviscerating some like podcast bro adjacent “real history” account (it’s a funnel into tradwife conspiracy theories and also the podcast bros MLM which evan will never realize because he doesn’t make it to the end of the video he keeps swiping and is like ALL OF THESE ARE WRONG!!! HOW CAN HE JUST LIE ON THE INTERNET LIKE THAT????)

anyway after tommy is like uh??? it eventually comes out that evan’s bubble boy childhood was the natural extension of both of his parents like. being tenured history professors at penn. the only music released after 1980 that he listened to growing up was paul simon’s graceland. they didnt own a television but he spent a lot of time sullenly swinging his feet back and forth in a corner of the special collections library while his dad gave public evening and weekend lectures about Petrarch and bookmaking and how to properly handle manuscripts and his mom edited what would become The defining collection of churchill’s personal correspondence and he Did Not Retain Much Of It out of spite but they drilled how to Accurately Research Anything into his 8 year old brain and it became a fundamental building block of his identity (and maddie’s duh) without them realizing how fucking weird they are. for examp he’s sooo annoyed he doesn’t have a date for the billy boils rodeo stampede in the hospital. the substack he found was run by a uc berkeley folklore MA who emailed buck scans of microfilms of contemporary newspaper articles abt boils & the gang after buck is like nice wiki template 🙄 tommy hears all of this and is like okay. cool. umm where do curses fit into this worldview. and buck is like you’d be a believer too if you’d had PhD students over for dinner every other week comparing traumatic field research stories while your parents nodded along sagely and said stuff like yeah that’s why you don’t fuck around in the catacombs after dark you idiots. ANYWAY that’s all thanks for stopping by

[leashybebes]

However— well, is Tommy a reliable narrator to himself? Sure, Eddie basically stopped talking to him, but what about Tommy? Did he also delay replying to the 118 so that the time between messages stretched out? Did he think they were only trying to be nice by keeping in touch with their teammates’ ex (never mind that he was Hen and Howie’s teammate first) and he’d prefer to not have their ‘pity’ and cut them off (again)? Did he cut them off preemptively and doesn’t see it that way because if he did then he’d have to also face the fact that he’s a little messed up? We probably don’t have time for them to delve into all of this on screen but it’s interesting to chew on. For reasons.

(Chim gets a pass for the post-throat slashing time of no contact because he was… let’s say preoccupied.)

oh 100% hang on let me get my coffee

okay, SO. mr unreliable narrator over here, mr enjoy it while it lasts, is never going to be the one with the full picture, because he sets it up that way - intentional or not, i feel like tommy is someone who has his view of the world and his role in it and just quietly, fatalistically makes that happen.

so i can totally see a world where no one from the 118 reaches out, full stop. but, y'know, phones work both ways, thomas. BUT. for tommy, that's buck's family. they're buck's people. (and look, my wife has a much closer relationship with her family than i do, and a much larger circle of friends, and it took me WAY longer than six months to start feeling like they were our people, not her people i got to hang out with through her.)

we know that tommy's a jealous guy, and we also get the sense that he's pretty fatalistic, so if no one reaches out, i can see that landing for him as "well, obviously. they never really wanted me around, of course i was never gonna be part of that" and just exacerbating his envy, but also his sense that that chapter of his life is Over Now. i can see the lack of contact from hen and chim actually not stinging that much (or tommy telling himself it doesn't sting that much, genuinely believing that, my king of unexamined feelings) because they're not friends, right? chim calls him when he needs a favour, but they're not close. he's not on hen's christmas card list (and that's genuinely fine, i mean zero shade to anyone involved here. they were friends by the time he left the 118 but for all we know they were mostly or entirely work friends). so i can see his internal monologue about that, his confirmed belief being 'well, hell, i wasn't enough for them to want around on my own merits before, why would i be now'. (again, this is not shade on hen or chim. phones work both ways and my special little guy is fucked in the head.)

eddie's gotta sting a little more because they were friends, right? actual friends. but if we're taking tommy at face value, then we have to assume he feels some kinda way about being friends with eddie once he and buck are together. i don't think he actually thinks anything is happening/has happened/will happen with buck and eddie, but we do get this delicious hint with that little scoff about eddie's straightness that maybe tommy has experience of that queer classic - losing years of your life being besotted with your ride or die straight bestie (sal!!!! but uh. that's a separate post.).

i lost my thought. wait. okay, so i think one of the fundamental mismatches is that for six months buck was in an x-rated rom-com and tommy was navigating something unbelievably fucking complicated because talking? communicating? who does that when you can just make up a scenario and stick to it like your life depends on it. (worth noting there's no way that scenario ends well for him, but uh, that's why i love him. go listen to settle for me from crazy ex girlfriend lol)

i can ALSO see the other part of what you said. tommy says eddie 'pretty much' or 'basically' (can't remember the wording right now and not in a position to check) stopped talking to him which does leave room for some contact. (it could also be read as a kind of deflection of the ouch of it all but ymmv.) so i can see a world where eddie sends a 'man wtf happened?' message which...tommy's not going to reply to that. he's just not. but changing the subject immediately is too obvious so he has to wait a while to say something innocuous, and it just kind of fizzles out.

whatever happens, whether it was zero contact or intermittent, declining contact, my special little guy, my world champion runner, my sad sad man was 100% thinking 'yeah, that tracks'. we definitely don't have time for the show to delve into that, and honestly it's not really that kind of show so i wouldn't expect it, but rest assured i am C H E W I N G

[16woodsequ]

100 Asexual Books Rec List

For this list the goal is fiction books with a main character or significant secondary character that is on the Asexual spectrum, or non-fiction books about being Aspec.

Junior Novels

1. Rick by Alex Gino An eleven year old boy starting middle school begins discovering his asexuality admist the school's rainbow spectrum club. Also features transgender and crossdressing side characters, as well as a LGBTQIAP+ supporting cast.

2. Sal & Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Alberto Pablo Hernandez In order to heal after his mother's death, Sal learned how to meditate. But no one expected him to be able to take it further and 'relax' things into existence. Turns out he can reach into time and space to retrieve things from other universes. Asexual Sal.

3. Hazel's Theory of Evolution by Lisa Jenn Bigelow Hazel knows a lot about the world. But even Hazel doesn't have answers for the questions awaiting her as she enters eighth grade. What if no one at her new school gets her, and she doesn't make any friends? What's going to happen to one of her moms, who's pregnant again after having two miscarriages? Why does everything have to change when life was already perfectly fine? Hazel (main character) is asexual and aromantic (it isn't said in the book, but it is specified in the author's note at the back of the book).

4. The Trouble with Robots by Michelle Mohrweis Evelyn strives for excellence. Allie couldn't care less. Together, these polar opposites must work together if they have any hope of saving their school's robotics program. Allie is asexual and/or aromantic. Junior graphic novel.

5. This is Our Rainbow by Editors Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby Featuring contributions from Eric Bell, Katherine Locke and A.J. Sass, this first LGBTQA+ anthology for middle-grade readers presents stories of queer fantasy, historical and contemporary stories for every letter of the acronym.

6. Every Bird a Prince by Jenn Reese After she saves the life of a bird prince and becomes their champion, seventh grader Eren Evers must defend a forest kingdom, save her mom, and keep the friendships she holds dear--if she is brave enough to embrace her inner truths. Eren is aromantic (and I'm guessing asexual, though that isn't discussed).

YA Fiction

7. When Villains Rise by Rebecca Schaeffer With her best friend, Kovit's, life in danger, Nita is determined to take down the black market once and for all. Latina asexual and aromantic main character (Nita).

8. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee Henry "Monty" Montague was bred to be a gentleman. His passions for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men, have earned the disapproval of his father. His quest for pleasures and vices have led to one last hedonistic hurrah as Monty, his best friend and crush Percy, and Monty's sister Felicity begin a Grand Tour of Europe. When a reckless decision turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt, it calls into question everything Monty knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores. Aro/ace secondary character (prequel to a Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy).

9. The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee A year after an accidentally whirlwind grand tour with her brother Monty, Felicity Montague has returned to England with two goals in mind—avoid the marriage proposal of a lovestruck suitor from Edinburgh and enroll in medical school. A highly loved book in regards to asexual portrayal, Felicity’s journey does a fantastic job of exploring the struggle of navigating a world where marriage is expected of women in order to function in society. Even more refreshing is Felicity isn’t just avoiding getting married out of a sole rebellion against the patriarchy (though those themes are also present), but simply because she doesn’t have an interest in sexual or romantic relationships at all.

10. Silver in the Mist by Emily Victoria Asexual Devlin has grown up in the shadow of her mother’s impressive spy network—and the shadow of the kingdom, too. A magical mist is eating away at their borders, weakening their magic and making them vulnerable to attacks. Devlin is tasked with infiltrating the royal court of the wealthier neighboring kingdom, but when she befriends their most powerful magic wielder, she discovers an ancient mystery that may hold the key to defeating the mists for good. Victoria prioritizes strong friendships between queer characters and an examination of wealth disparity in this fantasy full of twists and turns.

11. Not Good for Maidens by Tori Bovalino Beneath the streets of York, the goblin market calls to the Wickett women-the family of witches that tends to its victims. For generations, they have defended the old cobblestone streets with their magic. Knowing the dangers, they never entered the market-until May Wickett fell for a goblin girl, accepted her invitation, and became inextricably tied to the world her family tried to protect her from. Told through dual narratives in different timelines, the book essentially has two protagonists: Lou and May. Between these two characters, we have some great queer representation for both asexuality and bisexuality.

12. A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger Themes of magic, family, asexuality, and traditional storytelling dominate in Lipan Apache author Darcie Little Badger's delightful and uplifting second YA novel. A Lipan girl named Nina collides with Oli who is from the land of spirits and monsters. But some people will do anything to keep them apart. This is a wholesome, elegantly written read guaranteed to warm your heart! 

13. Arden Grey by Ray Stoeve Arden Grey is a novel about different kinds of abusive relationships, as well as the strength of family and friendships. Following her parents' separation, Arden is depressed and coming to accept herself as being on the asexual spectrum.

14. It Sounds Like This by Anna Meriano Yasm Trevi didn't have much of a freshman year thanks to Hurricane Humphrey, but she's ready to take sophomore year by storm. That means mastering the marching side of marching band--fast!--so she can outshine her BFF Sofia as top of the flute section, earn first chair, and impress both her future college admission boards and her comfortably unattainable drum major crush Gilberto Reyes. But Yasm steps off on the wrong foot when she reports an anonymous gossip Instagram account harassing new band members and accidentally gets the entire low brass section suspended from extracurriculars. Rep: Biracial Latina fat asexual-questioning cis female MC, Jewish gray-aromantic gray-asexual male side character with ADHD and APD.

15. One for All by Lillie Lainoff In 1655 sixteen-year-old Tania is the daughter of a retired musketeer, but she is afflicted with extreme vertigo and subject to frequent falls; when her father is murdered she finds that he has arranged for her to attend Madame de Treville's newly formed Acadaemie des Mariées in Paris, which, it turns out, is less a school for would-be wives, than a fencing academy for girls--and so Tania begins her training to be a new kind of musketeer, and to get revenge for her father. Rep: disability, asexuality, sapphic side characters, POTS and PTSD.

16. The State of Us by Shaun David Hutchinson When Dean Arnault’s mother decided to run for president, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone, least of all her son. But still that doesn’t mean Dean wants to be part of the public spectacle that is the race for the White House—at least not until he meets Dre. The only problem is that Dre Rosario’s on the opposition; he’s the son of the Democratic nominee. In a moment of solidarity and high emotions, Dean tells Dre that he has been questioning his sexual orientation. He isn’t sure if he’s asexual or demisexual. Dre puts a messaging app on Dean’s phone so they can stay in touch.

17. Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim When Amaya rescues a mysterious stranger from drowning, she fears her rash actions have earned her a longer sentence on the debtor ship where she’s been held captive for years. Instead, the man she saved offers her unimaginable riches and a new identity, setting Amaya on a perilous course through the coastal city-state of Moray, where old-world opulence and desperate gamblers collide. Amaya wants one thing: revenge against the man who ruined her family and stole the life she once had. Desi, demisexual female protagonist. 

18. Camp by Lev AC Rosen It’s Randy’s fifth year at Camp Outland, a camp where queer teens get a chance to be themselves. Hoping to win over Hudson’s heart—who’s masc and straight passing and only seems to date other guys like himself—Randy has spent the past year reinventing himself: workout regimen, new haircut, new carefully curated wardrobe. His friends and camp counsellor all think it’s a terrible idea, but what can they do but support him anyways?

19. Little Thieves by Margaret Owen Once upon a time, the daughter of death and fortune was a teenage girl and she was the worst. Little Thieves is, as the dedication says, for the gremlin girls, never has there been a more gremlin girl than Vanja Schmidt. A brilliant and brazen swindler, Vanja could give Kaz Brekker a run for his money. But Vanja has bigger fish to fry. As her body rapidly turns into the gemstones she craves, Vanja must put things right and face her greed head on all while juggling her engagement to a terrible margrave, an investigator with his own magic, and the princess whose face she stole. Vanja’s relationship with junior prefect Emeric could not be more demisexual if it tried, with both sides of the romance experiencing asexual spectrum existence in different and complimentary ways. One part Germanic fairytale, one part ensemble heist, Little Thieves is an unhinged romp of a book.

20. Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller by Meredith Ireland Rom-coms and the asexuality spectrum...two great things that go great together. Kelsie and Eric have been competing against each other their whole lives. But desperation forces them to work together. Kelsie’s best friend stopped talking to her and Eric wants to rekindle his relationship with his ex-girlfriend, and since both will be at UPenn at the same time, Eric and Kelsie decide to go on a road trip together. Sparks fly.

21. You Don't Have a Shot by Racquel Marie Valentina "Vale" Castillo-Green's life revolves around soccer. Her friends, her future, and her father's intense expectations are all wrapped up in the beautiful game. But after she incites a fight during playoffs with her long-time rival, Leticia Ortiz, everything she's been working toward seems to disappear. Queer asexual biracial (Colombian, Irish) protagonist.

22. Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong In 1931 Shanghai, two Nationalist spies pose as a married couple to investigate a series of brutal murders causing unrest in the city. Rep: demisexual Chinese protagonist, bisexual Chinese protagonist, bisexual Chinese main character, Chinese trans woman main character, aromantic asexual side character; (Chinese-Kiwi author).

23. The Spy with the Red Ballon by Katherine Locke Siblings Ilse and Wolf hide a deep secret in their blood: with it, they can work magic. And the government just found out. Blackmailed into service during World War II, Ilse lends her magic to America’s newest weapon, the atom bomb, while Wolf goes behind enemy lines to sabotage Germany’s nuclear program. It’s a dangerous mission, but if Hitler were to create the bomb first, the results would be catastrophic. Gay demisexual Jewish protagonist.

24. Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria Cassa, the orphaned daughter of rebels, and friends Alys, Evander, and Newt, fight back against the high council of Eldra, which has ruled for centuries based solely on ancient prophesies. Alys, an apothecary-in-training and the level-headed one of the crew. She identifies as asexual.

25. Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia Eighteen-year-old Eliza Mirk is the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea, but when a new boy at school tempts her to live a life offline, everything she's worked for begins to crumble. Asexual main character, not explicitly stated in the book.

26. Technically, You Started It by Lana Wood Johnson When a guy named Martin Nathaniel Munroe II texts you, it should be obvious who you're talking to. Except there's two of them (it's a long story), and Haley thinks she's talking to the one she doesn't hate. Demisexual main character.

27. Now Entering Addamsville by Francesca Zappia Zora Novak is framed for a crime she didn't commit--in a town obsessed with ghosts, will she be able to find the culprit and clear her name before it's too late? It's a brief mention, but Zora is ace.

28. Fully Disclosure by Camryn Garrett In a community that isn’t always understanding, an HIV-positive teen must navigate fear, disclosure, and radical self-acceptance when she falls in love–and lust–for the first time. One of Simone’s best friends in the book, Claudia, is an asexual lesbian. The unwavering support she gives to Simone is heartwarming, and she is also openly sex-positive—which flips the script on its head regarding what most people would assume of asexual people.

30. The Art of Saving the World by Corinne Duyvis When Hazel Stanczak was born, an interdimensional rift tore open near her family’s home, which prompted immediate government attention. They soon learned that if Hazel strayed too far, the rift would become volatile and fling things from other dimensions onto their front lawn—or it could swallow up their whole town. Hazel Stanczak identifies as asexual, though she spends time in the book questioning it. The book presents a unique way to show that there is not one single way to be asexual—that it exists on a spectrum and can look different for each person.

31. Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann Alice had her whole summer planned. Non-stop all-you-can-eat buffets while marathoning her favorite TV shows (best friends totally included) with the smallest dash of adulting–working at the library to pay her share of the rent. The only thing missing from her perfect plan? Her girlfriend (who ended things when Alice confessed she’s asexual). Alice is done with dating–no thank you, do not pass go, stick a fork in her, done. Alice is a biromantic and asexual black woman who starts off very confident in her identity as asexual, yet has experiences that have her questioning her orientation and how to talk about it.

32. In the Ravenous Dark by AdriAnne Strickland A pansexual blood mage reluctantly teams up with an undead spirit to start a rebellion among the living and the dead. This book features Japha, an asexual nonbinary character who serves as the best friend to the MC.

33. Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate Life at Paloma High School is much like any other high school, with petty drama, judgmental assholes, and mind-numbing schoolwork. Until it isn’t. A scandal emerges: a student and teacher had an illicit affair. At the center of the scandal are seven teenagers, each with their own secrets, whose lives are transformed as a result of this scandal. One of the characters can be read as asexual (and possibly neurodiverse). He never explicitly labels himself as such, but the way he describes his experiences of [non-]attraction strongly point to him being on the ace spectrum.

34. Quicksilver by R. J. Anderson Tori thought she had left her past behind when she and her family started a new life in a new city. But then Sebastian Faraday reappears in her life to tell her that she’s not quite as safe as she thinks: the relay is still operating and a genetics lab is trying to track her down to figure out the secret behind her unusual biology. Tori is going to have to use all of her considerable technical expertise to escape her past and live the normal human life she’s always wanted to have. Asexual main character.

35. Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie Aisha Un-Haad, seventeen, and Key Tanaka, eighteen, have risked everything for new lives as mechanically enhanced soldiers, and when an insurrection forces dark secrets to surface, the fate of humanity is in their hands. In Hullmetal Girls, Aisha is not only ace/aro but she is also happy with her identity. Crucially, so is everyone else.

36. Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer Nita's mother hunts monsters and, after Nita dissects and packages them, sells them online, but when Nita follows her conscience to help a live monster escape, she is sold on the black market in his place. Aro/Ace main character

37. Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp When Corey moves away from Lost Creek, Alaska, she makes her friend Kyra promise to stay strong during the long, dark winter, and wait for her return. Just days before Corey is to return home to visit, Kyra dies. The entire Lost community speaks in hushed tones, saying her death was meant to be. And they push Corey away like she's a stranger. With every hour, Corey's suspicion grows. Lost is keeping secrets-- but piecing together the truth about what happened to her best friend may prove as difficult as lighting the sky in an Alaskan winter. Aro/Ace main character.

38. If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann Winnie is living her best fat girl life and is on her way to the best place on earth. No, not Disneyland–her Granny’s diner, Goldeen’s, in the small town of Misty Haven. While there, she works in her fabulous 50’s inspired uniform, twirling around the diner floor and earning an obscene amount of tips. With her family and ungirlfriend at her side, she has everything she needs for one last perfect summer before starting college in the fall. …until she becomes Misty Haven’s Summer Queen in a highly anticipated matchmaking tradition that she wants absolutely nothing to do with. Aro/ace secondary character.

39. Dread Nation by Justina Ireland An alternate history where the Civil War was put on hold when zombies started to rise. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston's School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn't pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose.But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems. The word asexual is not used, but that fits with the setting, and the explanation goes into a fair amount of detail, also ruling out that she likes women instead.

40. Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson When her convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia defends the Gray Sisters by awakening the revenant bound to a saint's relic, even though she runs the risk of being possessed permanently by the powerful ancient spirit. Non-explicit romantic asexual main character. Fantasy.

41. Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace A postapocalyptic ghosthunter escapes her dire fate by joining the ghost of a supersoldier on his quest to the underworld Aromantic asexual main character. Dark fantasy/dystopian.

42. Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno While anyone would love to have a bit of magic, what happens when magic turns dark? Georgina Fernweh will come into her magic someday soon. Before she does, Georgina faces a tragedy that tests the islanders' trust. In this book, Georgina’s best friend Vira is aroace, and it’s addressed somewhat in the story at different points. There is a sweet strength between Georgina and Vira, full of loyalty and support that is lovely to see.

43. The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson In this moving and complex narrative, Lou learns to draw boundaries, stand up for herself, all while coming to terms with her demisexuality.

44. The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow One-third of the human population has died and now the world is about to end. Ellie, a fat, Black, disabled, demisexual girl with access to an illegal library teams up with a music-loving alien to risk their lives to save the world.

45. The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl Pohl serves up a veritable smorgasbord of queer fairytale goodies in Grimrose Girls. This tale as old as time follows four students at the prestigious boarding school Grimrose Academy—Ella, Yuki, Rory, and newcomer Nani. When the former three’s best friend dies, all four girls are swept up in a dark and twisted mystery full of old fairytale magic. They must work together to unravel the secrets between them and break an ancient curse that dooms them to a fairytale ending (and not the fun kind). Yuki’s aromantic asexual identity is explored in her relationship to expectations, beauty, and friendship throughout the novel.

46. Radio Silence by Alice Oseman Frances has been a study machine with one goal. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside. Then Frances meets Aled, and for the first time, she’s unafraid to be herself. So when the fragile trust between them is broken, Frances is caught between who she was and who she longs to be. In this book, Aled identifies as demisexual while Frances identifies as bisexual. The story really pays homage to the importance of friendship, and romantic storylines move to the background in a way we don’t often get in YA literature.

47. This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria Forced to serve her country’s ruling group, Karis wants nothing more than to find her brother. But family bonds don’t matter to the sole focus of unlocking the magic of an ancient automaton army. Karis is ace and other LGBTQ+ characters are introduced throughout.

48. Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand A horror novel centered around three girls facing off against an unseen monster that preys upon the young women of the island of Sawkill Rock. Features a black asexual girl fresh out of a romantic relationship, as well as a f/f relationship.

49. Love Letters for Joy by Melissa See Less than a year away from graduation, seventeen-year-old Joy is too busy overachieving to be worried about relationships. She’s determined to be Caldwell Prep’s first disabled valedictorian. And she only has one person to beat, her academic rival Nathaniel. But it’s senior year and everyone seems to be obsessed with pairing up. One of her best friends may be developing feelings for her and the other uses Caldwell’s anonymous love-letter writer to snag the girl of her dreams. Joy starts to wonder if she has missed out on a quintessential high school experience. She is asexual, but that’s no reason she can’t experience first love, right?

50. Not Your Backup by C. B. Lee Part 3 in the Sidekick Squad series by C.B. Lee. Follows a questioning aromantic asexual latinx superhero sidekick fighting to prove her worth on the team despite her lack of superpowers, all admist the team's battle against the corrupt League of Heroes.

51. Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller Noble-born Emilie des Marais, 16, wants to become a physician, a role usually forbidden women of her class because of the corruptive toll the magical "noonday arts" exact. Common-born Annette Boucher wants to escape her domineering parents and master the less physically costly "midnight arts" of illusions, divination, and scrying, normally reserved for those who can afford the expensive education. At Emilie's urging, each girl takes the other's place. Miller (Ruin of Stars) writes in lush, dense prose that can require a careful read, but her protagonists' awareness of privilege and desire to challenge the status quo shines through. LGBTQ representation--including gay, trans, and nonbinary characters (Annette identifies as asexual biromantic)--further widens this tale's appeal.

52. Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor A secret beats inside Anna Thatcher's chest: an illegal clockwork heart. Anna works cog by cog -- donning the moniker Technician -- to supply black market medical technology to the sick and injured, against the Commissioner's tyrannical laws. Determined to earn his father's respect, Nathaniel sets out to capture the Technician. But the more he learns about the outlaw, the more he questions whether his father's elusive affection is worth chasing at all. This YA novel features an aroace character gradually coming to accept his orientation in the midst of everything else that is happening in his life. Perfect for older teens who also enjoy WLW representation and dark themes.

53. Aces Wild: A Heist by Amanda DeWitt An all-asexual online friend group attempts to break into a high-stakes gambling club and commit a heist together. Includes a male asexual character navigating what love looks like for him, an aromantic asexual Latinx gender-nonconforming boy, a Vietnamese American and German asexual nonbinary teen, and a black asexual girl.

54. Planning Perfect by Haley Neil Summer vacation quickly becomes complicated for Felicity Becker as she tries to plan a perfect wedding for her mom, figure out her feelings for her friend Nancy, and wonder what dating will look like for her as an asexual person.

55. Ace of Hearts by Myriad Augustine Everyone around Alvin seems to be obsessed with one thing-- sex. Alvin finds it uncomfortable to think and talk about it and he knows he isn't ready and may never be. His friends, however, think that all Alvin needs is to hook up with the right guy. But the closer Alvin gets to being physical with someone, the more he's uncertain that this is for him and he begins to wonder if he's asexual. Can Alvin find the love that's right for him?

56. Beyond the Black Door by AdriAnne Strickland Everyone has a soul. Some are beautiful gardens, others are frightening dungeons. Kamia comes to know more about her identity as she decides to battle the forces of evil, no matter the cost... Asexual and demi-romantic main characters. Dark fantasy. Kamai is asexual, but isn’t aromantic—she has an interest in relationships that isn’t always depicted for those who are ace.

57. Loveless by Alice Oseman A queer coming of age story featuring a romance obsessed aromantic asexual main character discovering her sexuality and coming to terms with what that means, and a variety of other queer characters that support her on her journey.

58. Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman Rumi Seto spends a lot of time worrying she doesn’t have the answers to everything. What to eat, where to go, whom to love. But there is one thing she is absolutely sure of—she wants to spend the rest of her life writing music with her younger sister, Lea. Then Lea dies in a car accident, and her mother sends her away to live with her aunt in Hawaii while she deals with her own grief. While not the main focal point of the book, Rumi does grapple throughout the story about where exactly she lands on the ace and aro spectrum—and whether she has to label herself at all.

59. Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee In this queer rom-com, a transgender teen must decide if he's dedicated to romantic formulas or open to unpredictable love after an internet troll attack on his blog compels him and a fan to start fake-dating. Through an unlikely friendship with sweet, grounded Devin, who is Cuban American, asexual, and experimenting with pronouns, Noah--initially self-centered and standoffish--learns to value communication and empathy.

60. The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath In 1904 Norway, Asta runs away from her horrible fiancé to live with her two best friends. The three misfits set out to win the annual Christmas sleigh race to prove that they belong together. Queer asexual hard of hearing protagonist with heterochromia of Norwegian descent.

61. Forward March by Skye Quinlan How can band geek Harper have the chance of becoming the First Daughter with a fake dating profile? However, Harper does know that the drumline leader swiped right. Come along with Harper as she explores her truth during her last year of high school. Asexual-questioning cis female MC with anxiety and asthma.

62. Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger What if America had monsters, magic, and interdimensional beings? For Elatsoe, this is real, and she has to uncover her cousin's murder! She can do this with the help of her ghost dog, Kirby, but has to remember not to wake human ghosts. Aromantic ace main character. Paranormal mystery. Casual representation which extends to Ellie’s identity as Lipan Apache. This identity is asserted more often and firmly than her asexuality, and Little Badger drops in nuggets of education for us settlers about what Indigenous people, and the Lipan Apache in particular, suffered at the hands of settlers.

63. All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages by Editor Robin Talley A collection of short fantasy stories, featuring a variety of queer characters across multiple sexualities and genders. Features an asexual roller-skating girl from the 70s struggling to explain her identity to her crush.

64. Black Wings Beating by Alex London Twins Brysen and Kylee live in a world that revers the power of the falconers, but in a world where war approaches, they aren’t safe. Hunted for their power, they work together to trap the Ghost Eagle. Kylee is an ace character, focused on protecting her brother.

Graphic Novels

65. A-okay by Jarad Greene Eight grade can be tough, especially if you have acne and bullies, and lose friends. But our relatable asexual and aromantic protagonist, Jay, pulls through. This is a relatable memoir with colorful artwork.

66. How to Be Ace: A Memoir of Growing up Asexual by Rebecca Burgess A comic memoir detailing the author Rebecca Burgess's experience with growing up asexual in a world obsessed with sex. Also talks about her experiences with her own mental health and OCD.

67. Jughead, Volume 1 by Chip Zdarsky A comic book reboot of the Archie comics centered around Jughead Jones. Follows an aromantic asexual main character in typical Archie-style shenanigans. Part 1 of a 3 part series.

68. A Quick & Easy Guide to Asexuality by Molly Muldoon A charming introduction to asexuality, created to shed light on the misconceptions surrounding sex and being asexual. Told by writer Molly Muldoon and cartoonist Will Hernandez, both on the asexual spectrum.

69. Is Love the Answer? by Isaki Uta A poignant coming-of-age story about a young woman coming into her own as she discovers her identity as aromantic asexual. A complete story in a single volume, from the creator of "Mine-kun is Asexual."

Domestic Fiction

70. Have You Seen Luis Velez by Catherine Ryan Hyde Raymond Jaffe feels like he doesn't belong. Not with his mother's new family. Not as a weekend guest with his father and his father's wife. Not at school, where he's an outcast. After his best friend moves away, Raymond has only two real connections: to the feral cat he's tamed and to a blind ninety-two-year-old woman in his building who's introduced herself with a curious question: Have you seen Luis Velez? Mildred Gutermann, a German Jew who narrowly escaped the Holocaust, has been alone since her caretaker disappeared. She turns to Raymond for help, and as he tries to track Luis down, a deep and unexpected friendship blossoms between the two. Raymond is asexual (to be precise, he is aroace) And he is depicted as kind, loving, sensitive and realistic.

Fantasy

71. In the Lives of the Puppets by TJ Klune In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots--fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They're a family, hidden and safe. Protagonist: Vic, A curious, loving, & asexual human.

72. The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon In the mid-21st century major world cities are controlled by a formidable security force and clairvoyant underworld cell member Paige commits acts of psychic treason before being captured by an otherworldly race that would make her a part of their supernatural army. Demisexual main character.

73. The Perfect Assassin by K.A. Doore Divine justice is written in blood. Or so Amastan has been taught. As a new assassin in the Basbowen family, he's already having second thoughts about taking a life. A scarcity of contracts ends up being just what he needs. Until, unexpectedly, Amastan finds the body of a very important drum chief. Until, inevitably, Amastan is ordered to solve these murders, before the family gets blamed. Amastan is asexual and, as it turns out, homoromantic.

74. The Bruising of Quilwa by Naseem Jamnia Firuz-e Jafari was able to escape the slaughter of traditional blood magic practitioners by immigrating to the city-state of Qilwa. But now a terrible disease is spreading through the city, and Firuz believes it comes from ineptly performed blood magic. Now they must find a way to break a cycle of prejudice in order to survive. From the author: it's about an aroace nonbinary refugee healer who is trying to cure a magical plague in their new home while hiding their blood magic.

75. The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk The Midnight Bargain is a story "set in a world reminiscent of Regency England, where women's magic is taken from them when they marry. A sorceress must balance her desire to become the first great female magician against her duty to her family. Ysbeta has a clear goal for her life: to discover and share magic. Besides loving learning for its own sake, Ysbeta is asexual, and wealthy in her own right, so the bargaining season offers her literally nothing.

76. Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire Set in a world where a group of children have the ability to find and enter doorways into magical worlds, and now must find who's targetting them for this ability. Lead by an female asexual main character, with a trans love interest. First book in a series of novellas.

Science Fiction

77. The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis She's a priestess of the Sisterhood, traveling the stars alongside the soldiers of Earth who own the rights to her body and soul. When her former captain abandons her, First Sister's hopes for freedom are dashed and she is forced to stay on her ship with no friends, no status, and a new captain she knows nothing about. When the Mother, leader of her order, asks her to spy on Captain Saito Ren, First Sister discovers that sacrificing for the war effort is so much harder to do when your loyalties are split. He climbed his way out of the slums to become an elite soldier of Venus, but now he's haunted by his failures and the loss of his partner Hiro. But when Lito learns that Hiro is alive, but a traitor, and he's assigned to hunt Hiro down, and kill them, Lito must decide what he is actually fighting for - the society that raised him, or himself. As the battle to control Ceres reaches a head, Lito and First Sister must decide what - and whom - they are willing to sacrifice in the name of duty, or for love. Hispanic panromantic asexual protagonist (Lito).

78. Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace Mal is one of many war survivors in the old town working multiple jobs to scrimp by, one of which is her team's streaming video game play. The team lives with several other roommates in a converted hotel room run by Stellaxis, the company that owns half of town, and is the only legal provider of drinkable water. When Mal catches sight of an elusive SecOps character, special non-player characters (NPCs) modeled after Stellaxis' twelve bioengineered operatives, the team pursues her inside the game to catch her on video for two seconds before their power curfew kicks in. By the time Mal heads down for her daily ration of water, they've secured a lucrative contract, involving an in-person meeting and a conspiracy theory, paying them to capture images of the three living SecOps characters. When Mal returns to find out why the next payment failed, she becomes involved in a fracas that will endanger everyone she knows. Aroace main character.

79. To be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers Four astronauts set out to explore the galaxy. This journey spans centuries and many worlds. A thought provoking read that explores the themes of loneliness and sense of purpose. Excellent cast of diverse characters and vivid world building. Chikondi is asexual and the text is careful to note that his relationship to the protagonist is no less emotional or vital than those she shares with people she is sexually involved with.

80. The Circus Infinite by Khan Wong What better person to take down a crime boss than a mixed-species fugitive! Join Jes on this exciting tale of espionage, torture, demolition. Sex-averse panromantic asexual lead character

Historical Fiction

81. Kaikeyi by Vasihnavi Patel The only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya, she is raised on grand stories about the might and benevolence of the gods. Yet she watches as her father unceremoniously banishes her mother, her own worth measured by how great a marriage alliance she can secure. And when she calls upon the gods for help, they never seem to hear. Desperate for some measure of independence, she turns to the ancient texts she once read with her mother and discovers a magic that is hers alone. Kaikeyi is asexual and aromantic. Although the words "asexual" and "aromantic" aren't used in the book.

Western

82. The Complete Lady Ruth Constance Chapelstone Chronicles by L. C. Mawson If you’re looking for steampunk magic, the Lady Ruth Constance Chapelstone novellas are the place for you. Read them individually or all together in this compendium. Chapelstone is interested in her inventions, not love and romance.

Paranormal

83. The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Homes by Joseph Fink Told in a series of eerie flashbacks, the story of The Faceless Old Woman goes back centuries to reveal an initially blissful and then tragic childhood on a Mediterranean Estate in the early nineteenth century, her rise in the criminal underworld of Europe, a nautical adventure with a mysterious organization of smugglers, her plot for revenge on the ones who betrayed her, and ultimately her death and its aftermath, as her spirit travels the world for decades until settling in modern-day Night Vale. Asexual secondary character.

Romance  

84. All the Wrong Places by Ann Gallagher After his three ex-girlfriends in a row leave Brennan because he's not fulfilling their sexual needs, he seeks out advice from Zafir, the owner of a sex shop. Zafir introduces Brennan to the concept of asexuality and slowly something more blossoms between them.

85. That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert Rae needs a fake date to take to her ex's wedding and convinces Zach, a close friend who has recently discovered that he is demisexual, to play along.

86. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood In an attempt to convince her best friend that she really is over her ex-boyfriend, grad-student Olive panic kisses stern associate professor Adam in the hallway. (Olive is coded as demisexual/graysexual, but that label is never used in the book).

87. Far From Home by Lorelie Brown The oddest of odd couples finds unexpected joy in Brown’s warm, sweet contemporary romance. American citizen Rachel, a not-quite-asexual assistant film producer struggling to make a living in L.A., is drowning in student debt; Indian immigrant Pari Sadashiv, a lesbian logistics manager, needs a U.S. green card to advance her career. When Rachel offers to marry Pari in exchange for funds, it’s just party banter at first—but what’s to stop them from crafting a friendship with legal and financial benefits? Their platonic plans quickly go awry as Pari’s mother moves in to help plan the wedding, forcing them to live their lie. As Rachel feels herself awakening to an attraction she didn’t even know was possible, Pari has to decide whether she can live with the possible fallout of Rachel’s tentative first foray into same-sex love.

88. Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun Last Christmas, Ellie met Jack in Powell’s when they both went for a copy of Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, and over a cute argument over “shared custody”, and Jack poking gentle fun at Ellie (who had been crying alone and talking to a footstool as if it were her friend) they start to bond. Jack asks Ellie for coffee, and then they end up spending the whole day together. This is a big deal for Ellie, who is demisexual, and rarely develops attractions to anyone. And then Jack breaks her heart. Fast-forward to this Christmas when Andrew, the landlord who owns the building she works in, asks her to fake-marry him so he can access his inheritance, and shenanigans lead to her agreeing to this and to going home with him for Christmas, and surprise! Jack is Andrew’s sister.

89. The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun Tech wunderkind Charlie has never really been interested in dating, but agrees to join the cast of reality show 'Ever After.' While there he finds himself charmed by his producer, Dev, and questioning his sexuality. The Charm Offensive includes a conversation discussing asexuality and its spectrum.

90. Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky Wren Roland has never been kissed, but he wants that movie-perfect ending more than anything. Thanks to Mateo’s boyfriend, he learns about demisexuality and realizes that when he came out as gay, he had not finished realizing truths about himself and intimate relationships.

91. How to be a Normal Person by TJ Klune Before The House on the Cerulean Sea blew up, Klune wrote this quirky and delightful story of two asexual people finding each other and their happily ever after.

92. Soft on Soft by Mina Waheed This super sweet, low-angst romance centers on two fat, queer women of colour (one Black and one Persian-Arab) who fall in love and find their happy ending with hardly any drama. There’s also anxiety representation. It’s just pure fluffy romance goodness. Demisexual protagonist.

Non-Fiction

93. Ace and Aro Journeys: A Guide to Embracing your Asexual or Aromantic Identity by The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project What does it mean to be ace or aro? How should I approach the challenges that come with being ace or aro? How can I best support the ace and aro people in my life? Join the The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project (TAAAP) for a deep dive into the process of discovering and embracing your ace and aro identities. Empower yourself to explore the nuances of your identity, find and develop support networks, explore different kinds of partnership, come out to your communities and find real joy within. Combining a rigorous exploration of identity and sexuality models with hundreds of candid and poignant testimonials -- this companion vouches for your personal truth, wherever you lie on the aspec spectrum. You are not invisible! You are among friends.

94. Being Ace: An Anthology of Queer, Trans, Femme, and Disabled Stories of Asexual Love and Connection by Editor Madeline Dyer Discover the infinite realms of asexual love across sci-fi, fantasy, and contemporary stories From a wheelchair user racing to save her kidnapped girlfriend and a little mermaid who loves her sisters more than suitors, to a slayer whose virgin blood keeps attracting monsters, the stories of this anthology are anything but conventional. Whether adventuring through space, outsmarting a vengeful water spirit, or surviving haunted cemeteries, no two aces are the same in these 14 unique works that highlight asexual romance, aromantic love, and identities across the asexual spectrum

95. Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen A non-fiction research book about the asexual perspective on society's facinations with love and sex, and the misconceptions about what being asexual really is and what it means to a person.

96. The Invisible Orientation: an Introduction to Asexuality by Julia Sondra Decker An introduction to what asexuality is, both for people who don't know what that means and for people that may be questioning their own sexuality. It aims to puts asexual people's experiences in context, as they move through a very sexualized world.

97. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe A graphic memoir about author Kobabe's growing from adolescence to adulthood, as e explores eir gender identity and sexuality. Features a gender queer and asexual main character that uses e/eir pronouns.

98. Ace Voices What it Means to Be Asexual, Aromantic, Demi or Grey-Ace by Eris Young This is the ace community in their own words. Drawing upon interviews with a wide range of people across the asexual spectrum, Eris Young is here to take you on an empowering, enriching journey through the rich multitudes of asexual life.

99. I Am Ace: Adice on Living Your Best Asexual Life by Cody Daigle-Orians Tackling everything from what asexuality is, the asexual spectrum and tips on coming out, to intimacy, relationships, acephobia and finding joy, this guide will help you better understand your asexual identity alongside deeply relatable anecdotes drawn from Cody's personal experience.

100. Sounds Fake But Okay: An Asexual and Aromantic Perspective on Love, Relationships, Sex, and Pretty Much Anything Else by Sarah Costello and Kayla Kaszyca Drawing on their personal stories, and those of aspec friends all over the world, prepare to explore your microlabels, investigate different models of partnership, delve into the intersection of gender norms and compulsory sexuality and reconsider the meaning of sex - when allosexual attraction is out of the equation.

I haven't read all of these books, so I can't guarantee all of them. But I did my best researching all of them. I was making this list on my own and I was amazed that I could find over 100 books with asexual characters and I wanted to share it!

The Aromantic Book List is now out!

Tagging some people who were excited about this list: @sweetspiderstew @majorgenerally @shayberri789 @53rdcenturyhero @knightoflodis @neonghost39 @rosaazulina

[apollabarnes]

part nine

tommy's phone rings when they're approaching the first presbyterian helipad.

"really?" lucy calls over the headsets, exasperated.

tommy shrugs. he feels a little bad about it, but he only has four people set to be able to call through if he's flying; howie, melton, sal, and athena. it used to be — it will be five whenever sal and gina decide stella's old enough for a cell phone. their patient — currently unconscious, critical but mostly stable — won't care if he picks up.

"get rid of them before the handoff," lucy demands, "i'm going to need you."

"kinard," tommy says, picking up without looking at the display. he thumbs the headset to take it off the open channel. three out of the four calls are something he doesn't want broadcast across the radio. he's not actually sure why he's got melton on the list; tommy guesses he's just preparing for the day melton needs to him to break the law.

"i need a favour."

tommy laughs. one of these days they'd call when he was actually off duty. this would be so much easier with a private helicopter. "how official is this favour?" he knows he's not going to say no. he hasn't been able to say no to a favour for someone at the 118 since howie saved his life. part of him died in that strip mall. the rest of him got to live because of it. there's not enough favours in the world to repay that.

"not even close."

what else was new? if a little lawbreaking was going to get tommy to toe the line, he never would have gone out in a hurricane in the first place. "give me a few minutes."

"kinard! time to go! hang the hell up!"

"text me the location," tommy says quickly, disconnecting the call before pulling back on the throttle, hovering over the hospital. two minutes to unload, five to argue with lucy, and however long to get to where athena is. what's the punishment for going awol with a missing piece of municipal equipment worth a few million dollars?

"anyone ever tell you you've got a soft touch, donato?" tommy asks, throwing himself out of the helicopter the second the engine stops. he wrenches the back door open, taking the front of the stretcher from lucy and wheeling it out as lucy rattles off their patient's stats to the doctors.

"only when they want to get hit in the head," lucy tells him once everyone's cleared the roof. "i don't remember the last time you actually picked up a call when we were in the air."

that would be because tommy doesn't pick up calls in the air. it's a distraction. it's also why the list of people who can break through the do not disturb is so short. they're the people that, if they need something while tommy's flying, means part of his world is about to collapse.

"i need to leave you here. and i need you to not call the station for a ride for about an hour."

"well i'm definitely not doing that. who was on the phone?"

"athena grant."

"oh my god, she asked you for a favour? you're going to lose your job. i'm coming with."

"what? why?"

"i'm still mad about you not bringing me to the cruise ship. it's my turn for a medal."

"or you're getting fired along with me."

"either way, sounds fun. stop arguing, start flying."

"i'm reminding you of this the second that you start complaining in the unemployment line."

lucy rolls her eyes at him, clicking her headset over to harbor's channel. "melton, we're going to grab some food and refuel the bird. call through if it's urgent, otherwise we'll back in rotation in about an hour."

melton's confirmation crackles over the line and lucy nods firmly, looking over at tommy. "you weren't even going to do that, were you?" she asks rhetorically. "this is is why you almost got fired last year." she considers the helicopter before hoisting herself into the passenger seat.

tommy blinks at her. "you're being very blasé about this."

"hey, i worked with them too. maybe i like them enough to keep them out of trouble. chop chop, let's not waste the headstart i gave us."

part one // part two // part three // part four // part five // part six // part seven // part eight

[convexicalcrow]

Look, it was all perfectly reasonable to invite Jevin and Cleo to dine on his ship, the Symmetria. It was his own little place out here in exile! Where else would he host a dinner party?

Okay, sure, maybe he missed False a little, maybe he did, but that was only to be expected, right? He was fine. Jevin and Sal, they were the weird ones. He'd gone weird with the isolation. But not Ren, no! He hadn't named his ship after the one other person (aside from Doc) that he missed the most, and wasn't planning to serve salmon for dinner either, right? He wasn't mad. No, the others were mad. He was perfectly sane out here.

Still, he did often spend time fishing off the boat, because, well, it was his home! His little slice of paradise! What else would you do on a boat apart from fish?

Honestly, it was just nice to be away from the Gigabase for a while. The sheer extent of his to-do list was, granted, rather daunting. It required a lot of extra blueprints that he wasn't sure still existed in an easily accessible manner in the GigaCorp databases. That would prove... difficult. But, hey, he was 30 million blocks from all of that nonsense! Finally, he could just relax. And, hey, if GigaCorp wanted him, well, they knew where to find him. And the time it would take to gather the materials needed to transport himself back to the rest of the hermits was, quite frankly, astronomical. So that wouldn't be happening any time soon!

At least he had Cleo out here. And Jevin, of course! He'd definitely have gone weirder if he was out here on his own. Isolation was not allowed as a GigaCorp employee. It's why he was with the other Hermits. He could do his own thing, and they would keep him from going insane.

Well.

Ren looked at the salmon skull he held in his hands.

Well.

Okay. Maybe taking Sal had been...

But this was Lord King Sal! Ruler of ExileLands! Of course Sal had to be at the dinner!

And as soon as he thought that, he could feel False judging him. Laughing at his ridiculous theatrics. She would have laughed so hard if she'd watched him jump off his own tower to get himself exiled! His pathetic scream as he realised what he'd done and missed the river below. Oh, how terrible! She would laugh so hard at him.

But, alas, she was 30 million blocks away. This ship was the best he would get. The Symmetria! Of course he would build a boat. That was her Big Business this season. Rivers and boats and waterways. It was just a coincidence he had set himself up in a boat, of course. It was just a nice place to build, and the river was ripe for the taking.

She'd never get herself exiled, though, right? No, False was too smart for that. She'd won Demise, after all. He wasn't sure the Poe Poe were smart enough to exile her. Maybe they would try? But he wasn't sure they would succeed. If there's one thing he knew about False it's that she's very good at winning things. She'll say she's terrible, and then go on to win it and make it look effortless.

He'd sent her a couple of teasing messages though. Very unserious invitations to join them in Exile, knowing full well she would not come at all. He would be without her until such time as the Permit Office allows them to return. And then he would have to return to his gigantic to-do list and catch up on however much he had missed while he was in exile. But he would have False Symmetry back, and maybe that would be worth the hassle.

He set Sal on a ledge, overlooking the table he'd set up. Time to cook some dinner! Salmon, of course, because what else was out here apart from steakage? Besides, clearly Jevin was fond of the fish, so he'd enjoy eating it, right? Yeah, that made sense to Ren, anyway.

He would have lit some candles if he'd had any beeswax. But he wasn't really worried about that. He wasn't really worried about speedrunning out of the early game either. All he needed was this little boat and the fishing dock. He'd be fine with that. Right? He didn't need a proper base, not out here. He'd build if it made sense for New (New New) Hermiton, but otherwise, he would go mining, and fishing, and just relax with his friends. And then come home to Symmetria, and dream about that one missing part of himself. It wasn't just Cleo and Ren, it was Cleo, Ren, and False. One day, maybe, it would be again.

[setmeatopthepyre]

seven(ish) sentence sunday

tagged by @bidisasterevankinard, thank you!

this is from pothos | pathos but skipping quite a ways ahead from what I've shared so far

(previously shared: pt 1 | pt 2 | pt 3 | pt 4 | pt 5 | pt 6 | pt 7 | pt 8)

-

Delirious with heat and staring at his reflection in the river, the flames reflecting off the water around him, Buck lets himself, for one moment, hate.

Hate the situation he’s in, hate the fact he’s here, hate the fact he had everything he wanted and it still didn’t feel right, hate that he’s likely going to die without finding out why, without doing anything about it.

Hate that he’s spending his last moments alive hating.

He shifts his attention up and away from his reflection, to the flowers on the riverbed, wilting in the heat. Watches them dip their heads in surrender. Wishes he had time to look up their names.

“Buckley, take cover,” he hears Sal’s voice crackle over the radio, and then the roar of an engine overhead.

Buck dives.

-

no pressure tags for @leashybebes @rcmclachlan @sugarpenchant @geddyqueer @epiphainie @beanarie @ambernotember @emphasisonthehomo @trombonechurchill

+ tag list for those who requested tags for this fic under the cut ↓

let me know if you wanna be added or removed!

@fiyaerrigan @bisexualbrainrots @leashybebes @louuieferrignojr @rubydaiquiri @teabroomsandbooks @crimsonwildcat-blog @sweaters-and-silly @nochance-noway

@manifestingchaoticvibes @hyperfocusthusly @frogsinflannel @beanarie @rcmclachlan @sad-girl-hours23 @ambernotember @apartmentsmoke

@bidisasterevankinard @agentpeggycartering @eliotwaughdeservesbetter @daughterofscotland @chococara25 @jujuberry136 @alejaan91 @ferrigno @detectivehorror @a-mel0n @tommysdaddykink

[yvainetres]

Scars

Ninjago Headcanon

Description: Ranked list of who I believe has the most to least scars in the Ninjago crew. (Early seasons) Plus how easily they scar. Bonus Sal (My OC) at the end.

List from most to least.

Jay - This boy definitely has the most scars when he joined the team. With the amount of machinery and tinkering he does, there is no doubt he has burnt, cut, and bruised every bit of his body at some point. Maybe not the biggest scars but the most, and he scars easily. Like ink on paper. He's practically littered in tiny/medium scars with one or two major scars after being with the ninja for a while. I also believe he loses physical awareness when he's focused, causing more injuries which causes more scars. The only thing that doesn't scar him is electricity, thank goodness. Otherwise, he'd probably be dead.

Kai - He worked in a blacksmith with sharp tools since he was a child. Considering the fact he has no self-preservation and he refused to let anyone help him (Nya especially), his body is practically a canvas of scars. A mix of small and medium ones. His skin scars pretty easily, which doesn't help, his hands in particular being the main victim to his normal injuries. The only reason he has less than Jay is he can't get burnt. Removing 50% of the scars he would have.

Coles - About the midrange of the team, Cole has a few scars, but due to being the Master of Earth, he has tough skin. Therefore, he doesn't scar easily, but when he does, he SCARS. Like scar scars. Massive scars that make a person question what animal he had to wrestle to get them kind of scars. Truthfully, none. He did mountain climbing for fun and has learnt many lessons from those scars.

Nya - The only reason she doesn't have many scars when joining the ninja is because her overprotective brother made sure she didn't get the chance to gain scars. And if she did get one, he had a herbal paste he used to prevent it from leaving anything visible (why he never used it on himself Nya doesn't know). However, when she joined the ninja, she started gaining a few. Kai too distracted to take care of them now. Still, she doesn't have many even though she scars easily, (not as easily as Kai).

Zane - Zane's a tough one because well... he's a robot. His synthetic skin does scar, but it doesn't heal the same way as a human, and it definitely takes a LOT to even break the skin. In order to repair it, he has to replace it or coat it with a special metal like paste. Something he didn't know about when he thought he was human, luckily his skin was pretty much perfect with maybe one or two cuts that just didn't disappear. Not until they discovered the paste. Zane hates having to replace sulynthetic skin, which is only done if damaged beyond repair (he's only needed to once). The fake skin is hard to find and leaves patches unless his entire skin is replaced. Something he has never done and luckily never has to do once he gains his titanium body. Overall, his body doesn't really scar thanks to its metallic qualities.

Lloyd - I wholeheartedly believe Lloyd can't scar. Like at all. And believe me, he's tried. With the mix of Oni and Dragon blood flooding through his veins no matter how injured he gets, there will be no trace of it once it heals. His skin is completely flawless.

Bonus:

Sal - When she joined the crew, she was in between Cole and Nya. She doesn't scar easily, and when she was on her own, she was very on top of preventing scaring. However, the moment she joined the ninja, that care was focused on their health rather than her own. Eventually, after a few major events, her level of scaring became roughly in between Cole and Kai.

[blackcoldcrackedheart]

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4

Aaaaaaaaand last part.

(I need a computer for real 😒)

"It's an engagement party, just say that's its an engagement party!" Eddie groaned, clearly annoyed at the Buck’s use of the words dinner party. Chim huffed out an annoyed sound too as he and Eddie carried the food over to the table that was set up in Tommy and Buck's backyard.

"It's just a dinner party." Buck insisted as he chose to ignore the dark glarea as he ticked off his list on his clipboard of things they needed to do before the dinner party.

"It's a fucking engagement party." Sal murmured as he walked past Buck with a grunt, trying and nearly failing to carry 3 boxes of cupcakes and a vase filled with roses.

Lucy was quick to take the flowers away and roll her eyes, along with Karen and Micah at Sals stubbornness. "Careful!" Lucy hissed, nodding at Buck who nodded a thanks towards her.

"So of this is just a dinner party, mind explaining the flowers and cupcakes then?" Chimney asked, stepping out of Karen's reach as she tried to slap him playfully.

Buck shook his head, "what's a dinner party without flowers, right?"

"What are Tommy's favorite flowers again?" Sal asked knowingly, sharing a smug grin with Eddie as the group eyed the multiple vases filled with red and peach colored roses that were sitting on top of every table, with some petals strewn here and there for good meaure.

"Shut up and let's get the rest of the stuff out here." Buck chided, tapping his clipboard impatiently as he led the group back into the house.

Two hours later the dinner party was in full swing.

Absolutely no one was surprised when Tommy and Buck announced their engagement.

"You know you could have at least pretended to be shocked." Buck scoffed but still accepting hugs from the group.

"You both told me, how was I suppose to keep it a secret?" Maddie squealed, squeezing Buck's face together like she did when they were younger, "My baby brother is getting married." She sniffed, tears already falling as she pulled Buck and Tommy in for a group hug.

"Congratulations you two." Bobby smiled, with Athena coming in to hug Buck first as Bobby pulled Tommy in for his own hug.

"So, tell us everything then. Who proposed to whom?"

Buck pressed his lips together, trying to not laugh as Tommy pulled him close and told the group, "Oh, where should we start? Probably from the beginning when we got onto the boat? The little adorable couple that wore those matching Hawaiian shirts-"

"You don't have to take it that far back, just tell us how the proposal went." Hen chided, sounding and looking as though she was already annoyed with them both.

"Well, you know how the proposal went." Buck chuckled, showing the rings he and Tommy had on and smiling genuinely at his future husband.

"Just tell us who proposed first you dorks." Sal huffed, his arms were crossed as he eyes the two men suspiciously.

Buck and Tommy feigned their shock, "Now why so much interest in hearing our proposal? Is it that big of deal to hear who proposed-"

"YES!" The group shouted at them in unison.

Tommy nearly stuffed Bucks shirt into his mouth to keep from laughing. He knew their friends would start a pool, he just hadn't expected nearly everyone in the party to participate.

"Who proposed first?!" Ravi asked, sounding both excited and anxious.

Buck looked at Tommy and shrugged, "Well Tommy proposed-"

Half of the room seemed to cheer while the other half groaned.

Tommy couldn't help but roll his eyes as he added, But I said yes."

Buck this time clutched Tommy's shirt, spluttering a laugh at the demise of their friends bet. It seemed like the whole crowd was confused and unsure what to do.

"Wait." Chimney scrubbed his face, the irritation palpable now. "You," he pointed at Tommy, "Proposed and said yes?"

Tommy nodded "yes"

"How?" Hen asked, her nose scrunched in confusion.

Buck licked his lips as he noticed how fond Tommy was staring at him, he bumped his shoulder into Tommy’s, earning a chuckle and a soft kiss to his cheek. "Well, he did ask first but I wanted to get a chance to ask him too." Buck explained, "So I-"

"Hijacked my proposal right when I asked him if he wanted to marry me." Tommy grinned, looking not even an iota remorseful that his plan didn't work out like he expected.

"Buck!" Maddie swatted her brother on the arm.

"What! I was eager to propose too!" Buck exclaimed, rubbing the spot on his arm where she hit him.

Eddie was the one to point out the obvious, "Okay, but it still counts as a win if we said Tommy proposed first, he did propose first."

"Yeah...but does it count if the proposal never got answered?" Hen asked genuinely, "I mean he asked the question but it wasn't answered, Buck asked and he got his answer"

"Yeah, but we betted who would propose first, not who would get their answer." Ravi argued back.

The group descended into chaos as they tried to figure out which team won.

Tommy let out a loud whistle to get their attention again, "Not that want to break up this riveting debate, but do you guys mind if we celebrated our engagement with the people we consider our friends and family?"

Athena and Bobby nodded in agreement, " They're absolutely right, we should be celebrating Tommy and Buck right now." Bobby pointed out, eyeing the group wearily.

Chimney let out hum of agreement, grabbing a flute of champagne as he walked towards the happy couple, "And as the best man, let me jus-"

"Woah, hold it." Eddie waved his hands, "Who said you" he pointed at Chimney, "Get to be best man?"

Chimney scoffed turning to Buck and Tommy with a "can you believe this?" expression before turning back to Eddie, "Because if it wasn't for me, these two wouldn't have met."

Eddie frowned at that, "Really? Because it was my ankle that got maimed and got Tommy to go over to Buck's." He reminded Chimney pointedly, "If anyone is the best man, it's me."

"You two jerks think you get to be both their best man? I've known Tommy longer than you both." Sal pointed out.

Chimney and Eddie rolled their eyes at that, "You just patched up your friendship with him, you're excluded!" Chimney snapped.

"Uh, excuse me? Do neither men get a best woman, because it's clearly me!" Hen stepped in, only to be given the stick eye by Lucy.

"Maybe for Buck, but I'm Tommy’s best woman." She titled her flute towards Hen's direction, "Let's be clear on that!"

While the group descended into another round of chaos, Athena and Bobby looked over to the couple- each wearing a wry expression.

"Now you know why we decided to elope." Athena quipped as Bobby patted Buck's shoulder in comfort.

[hellfirenacht]

Writing Master List

Request Info

CLOSED

WON'T write: shy!reader, popular!reader, cheerleader!reader breeding kink, parent!Eddie or parent!reader, pregnancy

WILL write: Eddie Munson x Reader, smut, fluff, angst

***Requests are subject to approval and aren't guaranteed.

Stranger Things (Eddie/Reader)

Wing Man: (AO3) Steve ‘the Hair’ Harrington is your best friend, and is constantly striking out. Sick of this, you two make a deal; you’ll wing man for each other. Hooking Steve up with dates is easy, but he finds himself struggling to find you a date. At least, until Dustin starts talking about his new cool friend Eddie. COMPLETE

Anomaly: You can talk to anyone in school with no problem. At least, anyone who’s not named Eddie Munson.

Isekai Chronicles: Through no powers of your own, you end up in Hawkins 1985, in a tv show that you once saw on Netflix.

Candygram: (AO3) It's Valentine's Day and you shoot your shot with Eddie by sending him a candygram.

Clean: (AO3) After the battle in the Upside Down, you and Eddie try and get clean. SMUT

Come On, It's Just One Night: (AO3) (Two-Shot) After getting a fake love note in your locker, you ask Eddie to help you mess up some bullies plans. (Part 2)

Dress Code: (AO3) It’s too damn hot to be wearing your Hellfire Club shirt, unfortunately the rest of the club disagrees. One Shot. Reader x Eddie if you squint (Part 2)

Meet Me At 4:20: (AO3) It’s hard to be the new kid in a small town during senior year, and there’s only one person you actually want to be friends with. So you do the only logical thing, and set up a drug deal.

No One Mourns The Wicked: Years after the upside down, you and Eddie return to Hawkins for a small visit.

Options: (Ao3) Eddie had a casual thing going, but when that ends he realizes he has more options than he thought. SMUT

Saving Throws: (AO3) Hellfire is your favorite place to be, but why is it so hard to show up when the sun sets at 4 pm?

Splash Zone: (AO3) You and Eddie go to Gareth’s Pool Party

This Machine...: (AO3) Your birthday is coming up, and Eddie makes you a present.

Water Balloons: (AO3) You and Eddie agree that you aren't interested in having kids.

Corroded Coffin Friendship Bracelets Trend HCs

Being in Hellfire Club HCs

HIATUS

Players Wanted Master List: A series of one-shots about various Readers asking to join Hellfire Club (HIATUS)

Plus One: (AO3) (HIATUS) Once upon a time, you made a deal with the school freak that if he ever got famous then he'd invite you to be his plus one at a red carpet event. Now a decade later an invite shows up at your house asking you to be the +1 to Eddie Munson, front man of Corroded Coffin. (1 2 HIATUS)

Upside Down to Inside Out: (AO3) It has been four months since anyone has heard from Eddie 'The Freak' Munson. After the Events of the Upside Down, he skips town, leaving you to reflect on the fallout and how your relationship changed during the battle for Hawkins. (1 2)

Crit Happens: (AO3) You are who’s Dustin’s favorite cousin from out of town who is staying with him for the summer. Eddie finds himself jealous as he's suddenly been pushed aside as Dustin’s favorite dungeon master. When Dustin insists that Eddie join the campaign, you and Eddie quickly butt heads about how Dungeons and Dragons should be played.

Sally Face (Sal Fisher/Reader)

Can't Be Unseen: (AO3) Flirting is fun, but flirting with Sal Fisher is the most fun of all.

Beetlejuice The Musical (Beetlejuice/Reader)

The Convention Fic: You were a mod for one of the biggest YouTube gamer, Beetlejuice. Now you’re finally going to meet him in person. Shitpost AU got Wild (Discontinued)

Snapchat: You’re on vacation and to your surprise, your favorite demon sends you a friend request on SnapChat. 18+

Haunt Me: Possession, haunting, rough sex, consensual scene, respecting safe-words, after care. 18+

The Conglomerate (Demon OCs x Reader)

The Ciarog Cockwarming Fic: Exactly what you expect. 18+

**Dividers by @strangergraphics

[wannabebardrambles]

ok spoiler heavy for ch20-22 but i wrote down so many quotes so pls enjoy: Aelys being mentally unwell and devastating for so many hours straight

"What happened?” “I did” FUCK

“I wanted to hurt her” “And what did you accomplish?” “I hurt her” “Why…?” “Because its all I can do”

WELL EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO CRY

‘I couldn’t control it... it wasn’t failure for anyone else but me. Its what Sal was talking abiout. Its what Ive always been’

OH MY FUCKING GOD AELYS NO

"Tell me x did this’ ‘I can’t…my view was narrowed but the feeling was my own…It’s what I tried to warn you abt, what Aal tried to warn us abt....I thought I was different. I'm not’

AELYS???!!!! NO MY LOVEEEEEE

‘Ask Stella. Ask her why shes happy with me’ I AM THROWING UP

‘I cant keep being a thing that is valuable only because of things others gave me’ ‘But that is what you were made to be’ ‘I know…’ ‘The only things that are mine are the things ive done wrong’ ‘LIST THEM IN ORDER LET ME EAT THEM’ ‘NO. THEYRE MINE...I need to remember them’

i CANNOT LIVE LIKE THIS. I CANNOT STOP CRYING. this is insane insane insane behaviour how TF is this improv

‘I understand why you and I make sense. You consume, I destroy, we’re kindred spirits in that sense. I don’t blame you for anything. I wouldn’t blame a fire for burning. You act in accordance with your nature - I’m trying to figure out mine’

‘You acted in accordance with yours moments ago’

‘You said it yourself that is who I was made to be not what I am’

‘And who would you make yourself into’

‘I don’t know’

‘What change would you make if you wish to hold your mistakes and regrets so tightly’

am i just copying the entire show now yes yes i am. this cannot be improv. this is emotional destruction like nothing ive ever seen. im not okay?????

and finally: ‘Ill probably be dead in a week and you’ll have to deal with the godsleep’

WELL I GUESS ILL JUST GO FUCK MYSELF THEN SHALL I??? THATS MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER YALL????

[deepdreamnights]

Hey there, saw your post re: harassment around artists using gen ai and thought it was great esp with the debunking of data usage myths. Would you share your thoughts regarding concerns that models are being trained to copy specific art styles and thus pose a direct threat to the artists whose art styles are being used?

Well, there's several levels to that.

The main one is that on copyright grounds, styles are explicitly non-copyrightable. Moreover:

No one's style is unique

No one's style is unimitatable by analogue means.

The second point is important, because anyone can go on Fiverr right now and and find someone to replicate any given art style, and every competent draftsperson has to be able to do it to some degree or another. No major animation house, art studio, or comic company has ever hired someone because they couldn't find someone else that could imitate the surface-level aspects of their style.

The first point is just a matter of basic reality. Ex-nihlo creativity either doesn't exist or is so rare as to be a once-in-an-epoch thing. Everyone builds on the influences that they learn from, and if you think someone has a unique style what they really have is a different media diet than you.

For example, Don Bluth. Born 1937, aged 15 in 1952.

Same year Time released this this picture of Burlesque Performer Dale Strong.

Someone made an impression.

Marilyn Monroe was also a national sex symbol when Bluth was a teen, putting some context to most of his other ladies, but especially Goldie Pheasant (or maybe she's more Jayne Mansfield, hard to tell through the bird-ness). His art style has obvious roots with Tex Avery and I would guess he read Mad Magazine a lot as a kid.

And Not to hang the guy out to dry alone, I was a teenager in the 1990s, and most of my sexy fictional ladies are 9/10 some combination of Dana Scully, Peg Bundy, and Rhonda Shear.

The point being that style isn't something you create intentionally so much as an accumulation of influences, drawn from the commons. Attempting to claim ownership of such a thing is by itself an act of theft in my view, and allowing them to be protected under the law would mean a judge being shown exactly how many pieces of prior art the Walt Disney Corporation owns that your work superficially resembles. Why, they'll even run it through a style recognizing AI to make sure they catch them all.

But let's talk about style matching.

It just takes one image now, and doesn't require training.

Which I'm sure sounds frightening, but this has been the situation since February for Midjourney, and it was available in the Stable Diffusion ecosystem long before that. If the threat were as pronounced as feared, we'd have seen the impact by now. And we haven't, and we're unlikely to, for several reasons, several of them listed above.

The largest is that style isn't even close to the be all/end all of what an artist brings to a given project. And the kinds of execs who are making a 'replace 'em with a robot' kinda decision aren't the kinds of people who care about art style beyond how much it looks like the most recent successful thing. And nobody's ever needed a robot to ride coattails.

But the next largest part is that AI style imitations aren't really accurate because the robot doesn't see style in the same way we do. It's all just math to the robot, and it prioritizes what it notices, not what we do.

I'll demonstrate.

Jack Kirby will be my example, for several reasons.

He has a bold and identifiable style, he's arguably the most famous artist in western comics history, and he has many analogue imitators and homagers.

Using Midjourney and prompting "an illustration of dana scully by jack kirby, 1968, in the style of 1960s marvel comics --ar 3:4 --s 15"

Using the base model, on the first roll we get three complete style mismatches and one that's kinda close, though I'd say that's way more Sal Buscema or John Byrne.

Kirby's women had a certain, difficult to describe oddness about their faces that the robot doesn't seem to grok, and it doesn't touch on the kinds of wild patterns and bold black/white swatches that make Jack's work feel 'jack'.

Tom Scioli's take on Kirby is a sort of lovingly flanderized parody, but it captures the spirit of Jack's art much more directly even if a lot of individual details aren't period-accurate. He draws Kirby the way you remember Kirby from your childhood, but I don't question whether the page above is trying to be a Jack Kirby homage or one to Sal Buscema.

But Midjourney has style reference, so we can inject the Kirby right in. Using the picture of Sersei dancing from above with the same prompt, we get:

Well, the work is more convincingly period, but again, we're not terribly close to being on-point. In fact, they're not very consistent between each other. Top left is any 80s marvel fill-in artist. Top right is maybe Kirby-esq. Bottom Left is flat out Jim Lee, bottom right is very Byrne-y.

Using three reference images to give the best shot, I'm also moving to using images of a similar color style, and all with a woman as the central focus. I have included the infamous Crystal pin-up shot because as I said, Kirby women have a certain oddness to them (fondly).

Results (MJ 6.1 on the left, Niji 6 on the right):

It all says 60s-70s Marvel, but I don't think Kirby would be the first guess for any of them. Maaaaaaybe the lower-left Dana in image #2 if you squint.

And that's Jack Kirby. Massively popular and prolific with a career spanning decades. If anyone in the comics space should be impersonatable by this thing, its him.

I'm sure you could train a LORA to get closer, and sure, the tech is only going to get better from here, but by the nature of how the system works no generation pulls just from what is referenced. Every generation is both blended with other concepts and emphasizes only what the machine catalogs as relevant, not what we might.

There's not much to stop someone from imitating your style with a machine, but there was nothing stopping them from doing the same with an underpaid freelancer. The results are likely to miss the mark regardless.

If the client wants you, they'll try and get you. If they just want something kinda like you, they've always had an avenue to that.

Fortunately, you're more than your style, and whatever anyone can do with the machine, you can do better because you've got access to both.

[apollabarnes]

thunk it thursday

(skog i think i stole this from you, does anyone know if we actually have a name for today. bc this section sure ain't thirsty lmao)

special tags for @beanarie and @setmeatopthepyre who got elected cheerleaders for this fic

"Hey, Athena said you were having a meeting when I passed her in the hallway. What did I miss?" Eddie asked, coming into the green room. "Need a new videographer," Sal told Eddie, nudging Tommy's shoulder. "What happened to Steve?" "Broke his leg," Bobby chimed in. "We're trying to decide on a new one." Eddie peered at the list over Tommy's shoulder. Tommy turned to look at him, making a face. "Personal space?" "We sleep one foot apart on the bus," Eddie said, unbothered. "There, that's who you want," he continued, pointing at a name near the bottom of the page. "Maddie Buckley?" Tommy said dubiously. "Yeah. She actually filmed my — the audition tape that I sent in," Eddie nodded. "I wasn't going to say anything before, because I don't want any of you to think I'm just like, trying to pimp out my friends. But since we're in a jam, she can handle it." "Has she done any concerts before?" Bobby interjected. "Weddings, theatre, ballet, uh… school concerts." Eddie looked away briefly. "Chris?" Sal asked, and Tommy startled. "I hope you paid the woman and you weren't just taking advantage of a friend." "No, obviously I — you know what, she's been doing action shoots since she was a kid. She can handle it." "What was she even filming when she was a kid?" Tommy asked cautiously. "Her brother was a bit of a daredevil. Skateboarding, mountain biking, that sort of stuff. She filmed a lot of it for him." Bobby sighed, wiggling his hand back and forth. "Well… that certainly is a point in her favour for being able to follow a busy crowd," he admitted. "She's got a reel? Something more than just your audition tape?" "Yeah, absolutely," Eddie agreed, nodding quickly. "I can get her to email it over right away," he added, glancing over his shoulder. "Unless you want to talk to her? She came to the show tonight and we were going to grab a drink before the bus hit the road tomorrow." "Thought you said the friend that was coming tonight was a guy," Sal interjected, exchanging a glance with Tommy. Tommy raised an eyebrow, shrugging. He tried not to get involved in anyone's personal life, considering the fact that he kept his pretty quiet. "He is," Eddie looked back at Sal, making a face at him. "Oh gross, I'm not trying to get in Maddie's pants." "I didn't say anything," Sal protested, laughing as he held his hands up. "That's all you, kid." "Fuck you, Deluca," Eddie grumbled, tapping away at his phone. "Okay Bobby, she has your email and you should get the reel any second." "Why don't I take the night to look at this and then she can come to breakfast tomorrow?" Bobby asked, looking at the three of them. "We'll find out really fast if Sal before coffee is going to be a dealbreaker for her," Tommy said dryly. "Heard it almost was for Gina." "Fuck you, Kinard," Sal cackled, pulling Tommy into a headlock. "Just you wait, one of these days you'll bring someone around and we'll make you pay for all these jokes."

no pressure tagging @ambernotember @weewookinard @leashybebes

[junesfinalproject]

Hey! This is my first post here. I got bored and fell in love with this one song. I also fell in love with Sally Face so, hey, why not make a oneshot about it?

I think that I’m okay with this || sal fisher x reader oneshot

no warnings, just fluff!

༺ ♱✮♱ ༻

It was a chilly day, you and Sal were sitting around in his room.

You guys were bored out of your minds, longing for something to do. It was too cold to go out, but there were no inside activities. The weather was expected to be better this day, so you guys scheduled a small hangout. Little did you (both) know, the weather would change drastically. Sal didn’t want to cancel on you, so he decided he’d find a way to make something work.

“Hey, how about some music? That could always chill out the mood… no pun intended.” He said softly, and gestured to the outside once he said the last few words.

“I’m down.” You spoke with a small smile on your face.

“Alright.” He replied, and smiled back. Though you could not see it through this prosthetic, you knew he did.

He reached over to his C.D. player, and put in a mix, labeled “nothing better to do”

For the first few songs you both just laid back, enjoying the tunes and rambling on about nothing and everything at the same time. Some funky songs came on, some sad songs, and so on.

“So, how’d your week go?” Sal asked.

You spoke back to him, “Eh, nothing much. Just in need of some decompression.. which, you’re helping with..”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

✧･ﾟ: *✧. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sal was happy to be helping with your desire for calming down, especially since it wasn’t intentional.

You normally felt comfortable around Sal, unusually with him a lot more than others. There was something about the blue flame of a boy that you just felt safe with.

His gentle personality, his reassurance, his kindness; especially.

Everything about him was eased out perfectly.

✧･ﾟ: *✧ —————————-

“Well, if there’s anything else you need, just let me know.”

“Okay, I will.” A smile formed on your face.

“Uh- hey.. so I was thinking..” Sal said implicitly.

“About?”

“How come you never do this stuff with the rest of the group?”

You raised an eyebrow, not really getting what he meant, but still intrigued.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you know. I’ve heard the rest of the group talking about their get togethers with you and.. it never sounds anything like we do.”

He verbalized gingerly.

“Is that a bad thing?” You asked.

“No, of course not.” He smiled in the middle of the sentence “I just felt like I needed to bring it up.. it seemed nice, and I just wanted to get your input.” He stated consolingly.

“Well, I guess I just feel a bit more relaxed when I’m with you. Like I don’t have to fake everything all the time. You have that effect on people.”

His grin grew wider.

“Yeah? You think so?”

“Mhm.”

Just then, a song you’ve never heard before started on the C.D.

You couldn’t help but get tantalized by it.

“Hey, what’s this song called?” You asked eagerly.

“I dunno, let me check…” Sal reached for the list of songs on the paper taped to the back of it. “Ah- fly, by blood-witch. Ever heard of them?”

“No. Never..”

You listened to the beat carefully, every tune, every instrument, every lyric; coursed through your veins. You were being injected by a frisson.

Your head swayed a little bit as it continued, tapping your fingers on your knees as well.

Sal noticed your subtle movements, and admired them. He stared at you with a twinkle in his eye.

You looked up, and made eye contact with him right when the beat dropped. It felt like you had heard the song all over again.

Sal inched closer to you, not being shy about things, but looked fairly nervous. He sat beside you on the floor, and placed his hand on the ground next to him, which was also the space between you both.

You kept your eye contact with him, and eventually got lost in thought. You placed your hand down, unintentionally grazing his.

“I.. uhm.. sorry.” You gulped and moved your hand away a bit.

“Hey, don’t be.” And in a swift movement, he intertwined his hands with yours.

. . . . . . . . . . - - - - ╰──╮

‘What was happening?’ You wondered. You were not mad about it though, or confused. You just let things happen.

Sooner than later, you leaned onto his shoulder. Your body moving too quickly for your mind, or at least that’s what it felt like.

He carefully removed his prosthetic with his free hand. You had seen his face underneath before, considering you had known each-other for two years already. He was comfortable doing this by now, though it took some time.

You looked up at him, and just flashed a warm smile. He gave one back, the butterflies hitting harder now, since it was his real face smiling.

Eventually, you two ended up intertwined completely in each other’s warmth. Sal gently stroking your hair, while you rubbed his arm a bit. Still holding hands.

By the end of the song, this just felt natural. Even though you two hadn’t really done anything like this before, it was oddly familiar.

╭──╯ . . . . . . . . . . - - - - - - - - - - -

The song had ended, along with the mix. You basked in silence before Sal spoke up.

“Are you alright with this? I-I know it happened a bit suddenly.. I just wanted to make sure.”

“Of course I am, Sal. This feels right. Like it was meant to happen.”

“Okay.” He nodded and gave another smile.

You shifted your position a little, now with your arms being around his neck and his arms around your waist and lower back, facing across from one another.

The tension was there. Not the bad kind of tension, though. The type of tension where neither of you could get out a word, but knew exactly what you wanted to say.

Sal moved a strand of hair out of your face, following the gesture with a tiny stroke to the back of your head.

Him and you looked into each other’s eyes, his glare full of reverence and love. He slowly started leaning into your face.

You didn’t mind this at all, in fact, you leaned in as well.

Soon enough, your lips met with his. A tiny peck planted on his scarred face.

You two pulled back, and looked at one another with admiration.

He got closer and closer, and closer.. till y’alls lips met again. This time it lasted for a little longer. He rubbed your back softly while you squeezed his hand.

Once you guys stopped, he pulled you into his chest very gently, making sure not to startle you or hurt you. He placed his calloused hand on the back of your head once more, for comfort.

You nuzzled into his chest, longing to be closer to him.

You muttered softly before fully submerging yourself with his love,

“I think that I’m okay with this.”

[fandomnerd9602]

Can you please make incorrect quotes for Gilda Dent (here she is Harvey's sister) x male Falcone reader where Gilda finds out that Y/N is actually The Holliday Killer who unalived Falcone and Maroni families for what happened to their relationships and their unborn child (Gilda and Y/N never stopped being in relationships) (here Harvey never became Two Face since Y/N already crossed Sal Marroni's name out of the list)

(Batman The Long Halloween animated movies)

Y/N sets down his weapons in front of Batman…

Y/N: it’s done

Gilda runs up and hugs Y/N…

Gilda: you did all this, for me?

Y/N: yeah. You and—

Y/N gently rubs her belly. The two lock eyes…

Gilda: she’s a little fighter you know. Just like her daddy

Y/N: gotta protect you. I love you Gilly

The two kiss one last time and Y/N heads over to Batman…

Y/N: I’m ready

Batman: why? All I see is a good man, protecting the woman he loves

Batman turns and walks away…