This is going to be the new pinned post on my blog for the foreseeable future.
I realise that I never really introduced myself, usually I just talk about my projects, but not the person behind it.
I'm Lizzy (she/her) and in my mid-twenties. I'm from Belgium and in my day-to-day I work full-time in payroll for a non-profit.
When I'm not working, I'm writing, reading or playing video games.
My current writing projects:
Little Prayers for Dead Gods
A romantic fantasy adventure novel starring a disgruntled God and a charming traveller
100k of travel banter, religious worship and inappropriate altar usage
second draft in progress
Surface Shimmers
A feel-good mermaid mystery novel about three siblings discovering their latent mermaid powers amid a mass disappearance case in their quiet seaside town.
Features: lots of sibling banter, generational trauma and elaborate mermaid lore & worldbuilding
My brother, girlfriend and I have recently started collecting Pokémon cards and apparently I'm doing something wrong when I sort my cards in my binder by alphabetical order.
”how do i get people interested in my ocs” TAG THEM. BY NAME. HAVE AN ORIGINAL CHARACTER TAG I CAN LOOK THROUGH. PLEADE. SOURCE TAG AND THEN INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER TAG. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I HAVE CLICKED THROUGH THREE DIFFERENT VARIATIONS OF “#OC” ON SOMEONES BLOG TO GET THE FULL EXTENT OF THEIR ORIGINAL CHARACTER ART I REALLY WANT TO SEE. TOO MANY. THREE HUNDRED POSTS HIDDEN BECAUSE I WAS GOING THROUGH THE “ORIGINAL CHARACTER” TAG AND NOT THE “OCS” TAG ON THEIR BLOG. YOU MUST DO THIS FOR ME.
Found an open call for submissions for a short story anthology with the theme ‘space ace’ and I hadn’t heard anyone talk about it. There’s compensation (£0.02 or about $0.03 per word) and its from an indie press focusing on queer/lgbtq+ works.
It seems really cool and I might join myself, but I also figured theres a few people on writeblr who this would be pretty perfect for so i wanted to post it!! Also its just cool to see an anthology specifically focusing on aro/ace characters.
The rules/guidelines are listed here: https://www.farlandsfiction.co.uk/submissions
july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good
an incomplete list of reasons why sex scenes are good, necessary, and a character study, & rarely gratuitous (from a seasoned smut writer and published author)
body image and dysphoria. does this character voluntarily throw their clothes off, do they have to be coaxed, do they enjoy looking in the mirror, are there any areas they refuse to acknowledge? scars? tattoos? what does this say about their past?
what role do they take in the bedroom, and what relationship does it have to the role they take in day to day life?
social/communication skills. how good are they at eye contact, asking their bedmate what they want, are they about verbal communication or body language? what is their body language, is it open or closed off? are they nervously chatty, are their words short and clipped, are they nervously quiet?
touch starvation. how do they react to touch? when's the last time they were touched intimately? how does this touch remind them of their previous encounters with touch, or is this their first time?
glimpses of their education, sexual and otherwise, and the ways this influences their view of the world. what is their understanding of consent? where did they get it from? what do they think of kink vs vanilla? what is their relationship to both?
self esteem. do they take on a role of service in the bedroom because they want to, or because they feel like they have to in order to be worthy, no matter what they really want? how good are they at expressing these thoughts? do they freeze up when their bedmate asks them what they want? do they even know what they want?
how much attention do they want on themselves vs how much are they comfortable with? would they rather the attention was just on their bedmate?
how much guilt, shame, or repression do they have about sex in general? does it feel like a performance, is it true for them? how do they do with being vulnerable with another person, clothes on or off?
how do they feel about submission/domination, about penetration? do they want marks to be left, or do they insist on no trace left behind?
how do they treat their bedmate? loving, rough, tender, gentle, harsh, sadistic, deferring, no matter the scene/dynamic?
what about aftercare? for themself, for their bedmate? do they do it, do they know what it is, how do they do it? do they value it or do they do it just because you're supposed to?
an incomplete list. might add more. sex scenes add SO much value, insight, and development to a character. they are an incredibly intimate and vulnerable setting, which is how the right writer can show readers so much about who this character is in a bedroom setting. it is not gratutious.
The first of the poll winners back in... idk march? april? in any case, this is long overdue (and around 900 words). Enjoy!
Isidore has been in the service of the Lord Mazda, the God of Wisdom for give or take half a year and in these past months he has gained access to more knowledge than he had in all the twenty-three years since he was born. The maze-like library he helps maintain is filled with rows upon rows of scrolls, books and the occasional pamphlet.
Lord Mazda is known to be a collector, but if you asked Isidore —specifically after a whole day of tedious cataloguing— it looked more like the handiwork of a hoarder. A hoarder who has been able to do this for literal centuries and shows no signs of stopping.
With this grand a collection to upkeep and expand, it's not uncommon for Isidore to find himself lost in a corridor that he could've sworn he encountered yesterday on the opposite side of the hall. And yet, here he winds up between a thirty-five part epic of "The Darkness beyond Yania" and a small, easy-to-overlook booklet simply called "Furthermore, Darkness".
Isidore takes the booklet from the shelf and flips through it. All the pages are black. If there is text beyond the title on the spine of the book, he can't see any.
Is it a statement piece or has it been vandalised? Or does it use some special ink that only lights up in specific circumstances?
He contemplates allocating some time out of his busy schedule to test out some different methods, when his ears pick up the sound of voices down the hall.
It concern him, since his shift is far from over so it can't be any of the other scholars here to take over, and visitors are announced far in advance. There were none scheduled for today.
Poking his head out of the aisle, he catches a glimpse of a familiar bronze-skinned, dark-haired, purple robed scholar with the moniker of Lord Mazda —the God of Wisdom himself. At his side walks a figure Isidore has only ever seen in drawings. They're more than a head taller than Lord Mazda and clad in white from head to toe. A faceless mask covers their facial features. If anyone has ever seen the Spirit Sovereign's face, no record of it exists.
Before the two Gods can notice him peeping, he ducks behind the shelves and continues listening in on their amicable back-and-forth.
"It's fine if you don't wish to part from your precious collection," A rich voice rings out from behind the mask.
"I don't have any issues with it."
"I can stay here and read it, if you'd rather have that."
A sigh leaves Lord Mazda's lips. "I'd rather you'd spent as little time in my library as is."
"How come?" They reply, "Are you afraid I'll find something you'd rather not have me see? Because I can assure you, I was most likely there, witnessing it firsthand before it was even written."
Lord Mazda lets out a huff of laughter, breathy and soft in a way that Isidore is entirely unfamiliar with. "You should know me better than that. I would never keep literature of that nature in my public library."
"Ah, naturally." The voices grow louder as the pair passes right by the aisle Isidore is hiding in. He ducks further into the shadows in the hopes that will obscure him enough to fool the Gods. "You always keep your treasures close."
"Not all of them." The response comes instantaneous, tinged with a discontented edge Lord Mazda cannot hide.
A silence lingers, turning each second into minutes and each minute into hours. Isidore's heart pounds in his chest as he holds his breath in his attempt to remain completely still.
He knows he's hearing something he shouldn't be. He knows he should've made his presence known and excused himself. But now, it's too late.
And which one of his peers will ever believe he bore witness to the ancient Spirit Sovereign and all-knowing Lord Mazda being at a loss for words?
No one, that's who.
"We agreed-"
"We aren't having this conversation here and now," Lord Mazda cuts them off, "not with an audience."
Isidore's heart skips an alarming amount of beats.
They know he's here.
'Of course they do, they're Gods!' A panicky voice in his brain yells.
"If you cared about anyone listening in on us, you would've kicked them out already," the Spirit Sovereign says, "but you haven't."
That is true. Why hasn't he?
"It's inconsequential."
"Unlike the reason you're cross with me."
"I'm not cross with you."
It sounded like a lie even to Isidore's ears.
"Even after I left and ignored all your attempts to contact me for two years, you do not feel the slightest ounce of contempt for me?"
"No."
...
"......Of course I do," he sounds drained, "but I understood why. The floods in Tide Lustrae, I'd heard they were… quite bad."
"'Quite bad'" The Spirit Sovereign lets out a soft humourless chuckle, "for us it may be described as merely that. But for the families whose loved ones I helped bury, it was devastating."
"It never gets easier, does it?"
The burden resting on a God's shoulder must be immeasurably heavy. To do their duty and toil perpetually, as endless life becomes both a blessing and a curse.
Closeness, companionship… is it even within the realm of possibilities for a God? Are they able to dream of a quiet day, spending time with their loved ones, leaving their duties for another day?
An ache Isidore identifies as sympathy grips his heartstrings tight and plays them like a lyre.
"Mazda, I'm tired."
His God's name spoken with such reverence, more akin to a worshipper addressing their God, than an equal.
"Then rest in my library for as long as time permits you."
Their dreams might not be able to come to fruition, but damned would they be if they didn't at least try.
Little Prayers taglist: @sarandipitywrites, @northwyrm, @trixierosewrites, @inadequatecowboy, @cheerfulmelancholies
The makers of Kinktober 2025 are back again with a brand new list! The graphics are once again created by latte-cucumber. Check out our AO3 collection, or keep reading for more information.
More information
Kinktober is a kinky October prompt challenge that’s been running in one form or another since 2016. There are three prompts for each day in October, and the challenge is to use one (or more!) of the prompts to create something for that day. If you don’t want to use any of the three daily prompts, you can swap them out for the bonus prompts at the bottom of the prompt list.
If you have any questions, check our FAQs. Unfortunately, due to personal commitments, we won't be opening our askbox for questions this year. We've made it as rules-light as possible, though, so if your question is "Can I do this?", the answer is almost certainly yes!
Sad little priestly or otherwise devout character who discovers their faith is a sham or something otherwise darker than expected, you will always be real to me!!!
Can I remove seeing a person's posts or other people reblogging that person's posts, without blocking them?
I just don't like their content and I don't want to see posts they make, but blocking them feels like it might do more than that. For example, I don't mind if they see my posts at all.
