Who Makes The Porn Bots. Where Do They Come From. What Do They Hope To Achieve.

Chinese Satellite - Phoebe Bridgers / Disco Elysium / My My, Hey Hey - Neil Young / Cowboy Bebop x 26 / Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book / (unknown) / Andy Muschietti’s direction during the quarry scene in It: Chapter Two / DE / Chelsea Wolfe, from Hisspun; “Two Spirit” / Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A history of Folk Horror (Kier-La Janisse, 2021) / Catherynne M. Valente, Deathless / DE / The Four Generations of Chang E - Zen Cho / DE / (x) / DE / James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room / DE / W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence / Safia Elhillo, from Home Is Not a Country; “The Stranger” / Succession 03x07 / My Tears Ricochet - TayIor Swift / DE / Thomas Wolfe, You Can’t Go Home Again / DE / James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room / Stalker (1979) / Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children’s Crusade, Kurt Vonnegut / Cinema Paradiso (1988) / John Murillo, “Mercy, Mercy Me,” from Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry / Riches and Wonders - The Mountain Goats / Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces / Warsan Shire, Home / Pathologic 2 / Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords / Warsan Shire, Home / Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me / Emily Jungmin Yoon, from “Related Matters” / Kentucky Route Zero / Lorde - Buzzcut Season / The Umbrella Academy Volume 1: Apocalype Suite, Gerard Way & Gabriel Bà / The Penumbra Podcast 02x09 / Black Sails 01x02 / Anne Carson, Men in the Off Hours; “Interview with Hara Tamiki (1950)” / DE / When the Sick Rule the World, ‘Phone Home’ by Dodie Bellamy / Night in the Woods / The End - Kings of Leon / Hermann Hesse, Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair’s Youth

My attempt to draw Alessa from The Golden Rose, by @anathemafiction 

Apartment 502 is a 18+ slice-of-life romantic drama inspired by shows like New Girl and Friends.

Content warnings include: explicit language, sexual themes, substance use, violence.

Moving from your small home town to New York City was supposed to be a dream. You were supposed to start your new life with your long-distance partner and dive headfirst into full-on adulthood. Everything was supposed to be perfect. How can you not love being in your mid-twenties in the Big Apple?

That is until your put-together, white collar partner dumps you the same day you arrive.

Fun.

Essentially homeless and and determined to make the life you dreamed of, you take a last-minute offer to move into the spare bedroom in Apartment 502. Now, you're twenty-five and living with three other longtime best friends with their own drama and messy interpersonal relationships. Parties, late-night pizza runs, drama, fights, heartbreak, betrayals...maybe the life you want won't be as easy as you first thought.

Will you find romance in the city that never sleeps?

**Apartment 502 is a romance, angst, and drama-centered story **

design your mc from clothing style to appearance to pronouns, gender identity, name, looks, and more.

choose 1 of 5 jobs that grant you different scenes and different people: (artist/musician, news anchor, writer, teacher, bartender )

curate your MCs personality and how they react to all the hijinks Apt. 502 has to offer, especially the drama that ensues. Style your MC's room and their aesthetic style.

navigate angsty and dark dramas that weave your roommates in a a narrative that can either save their friendship, or break them apart.

engage in a romance with 1 of 6 characters: one of your roommates, your ex, your neighbor or work rival.

Ruin relationships or mend them. Center yourself around the roommates and become part of the core group.

Follow Apartment 502 throughtout MC's first year as a roommate: from holidays, to birthdays, to everything in-between.

Atlas/Athena [f/m] - 1 of 3 roommates. A is the elusive and isolated musician who makes a living writing songs for others and doing gigs down at the local bar. A is quiet, nonchalant, and prefers their isolation. After getting their heart broken by their high school sweetheart, A has swore off love and vowed to focus solely on their career. A has no room for love, and they make it clear.

Appearance: Olive, freckled skin. Atlas has shaggy brown hair that falls in front of their eyes in a wolf-cut with bleached white dyed pieces at the bottom. Athena's brown and white hair falls down her back with black, straight-cut blunt bangs. They usually wear all black and have a variety of piercings.

Cal/Calliope [f/m] - 1 of 3 roommates. Cal is the ultra nice, slightly uptight, easily flustered college professor who is currently dating their longtime partner...that everyone seems to hate. Cal seems very in love with them and is oblivious to their best friends' irritation, but is that all a ruse?

Appearance: Cal has golden blonde hair. Cal's hair is curly fluffy while Calliope's falls down in soft ringlets around her face. Pale skin and green eyes. C dresses down, wearing basic clothes like button-downs and plain dresses.

Levi/Lani [f/m] - 1 of 3 roommates. L is boisterous, arrogant, and the comedian of the group. L makes their money as an influencer and uses their abundance of free time to pick up all kinds of people. L doesn't believe anyone can get them to settle down, especially considering they've never been in love..nor believe it exists.

Note: you can only romance L by starting a purely physical relationship first.

Appearance: Russet brown skin and long black hair that falls down their back and tied in a messy bun. L usually wears a white, billowy button down tucked into black slacks with an abundance of rings.

Garrett/Gaia [f/m] - Your neighbor. G is friendly but distant, always looking down at their phone when they see you. They seem disinterested in the happenings of Apartment 502. You can't help but wonder more about them...and their young child.

Appearance: Brown skin and curly black hair. G usually has headphones on, and Garett's hair is cut into a curly undercut while Gaia's is primed in a slick bun. They're usually dressed in a pristine black turtle neck and matching black pants.

Rainn [f/m] - your perfect, financially-stable lawyer ex. You thought what you and Rainn had was special, until they abruptly dump you the same day you were set to move in. The worst part? They live in the same building.

Oddly enough, Rainn doesn't seem to be acting like someone who should be completely moved on...

Appearance: Rain either has a severe black bob or black slicked back hair and usually seen in a pantsuit or business-casual clothes. They have tan skin and bright blue eyes.

Mason/Mona [f/m]- your old academic rival...who is now your co-worker. What are the chances you two ended up in the same place? M seems to have a lot of fun making things harder for you at your new job, especially considering you guys are competing for the affection of your boss. Tch.

Appearance: Long or short dyed dark white hair and tan skin with bright brown eyes. (M's outfit is dependent on job of choice.)

DEMO TBA

6k Followers Raffle!!! 🎉

Wow! This is a crazy number. Thank you all so much for giving this blog a follow ❤ To celebrate, I thought we could do a raffle! 

The prizes:

A short story featuring your Romanus and a character of your choice — must be SFW, and if it’s romantic in nature it has to be with the official ROs only.

You pick one snippet in the Patreon tag, and I’ll send you the whole story!

You pick one snippet from the Ko-fi tag, and I’ll send you the entire commission!

The first winner gets the first pick of the three prizes, the second winner chooses between the two left, and the third gets the last.

Rules:

Must be following me.

Reblogs count as 2 entries — but only one reblog is valid, so please don’t spam your followers’ dashes with the post! 😄

Likes count as one entry.

On the 12th of May, I’ll put all entries in a random number generator and get the winners! Please have your messages open, so I can contact you :)

I hope this will be fun, I’ve never done anything like this. Thank you, again, for all the support, it only motivates me to work harder and pick up the pen even on days when it seems to weigh a ton.

I know I’ve been quiet regarding Book Two’s progress, but that’s only because I want to get to a specific part before I make any sort of announcements. But I hope you find comfort in knowing that I’m working on it almost every day — and the days I’m not, I’m thinking about it constantly. It won’t be very long before I invite you to step back into the world of the Rose.

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

And may you have an amazing Friday. 🌹

CHAPTER 4: SYSBA'S ROUTE IS NOW AVAILABLE

I'm very pleased to announce that, after a brief bout of burnout, the demo has now been updated to include the first of the five routes!

This update includes:

Treating yourself to some new clothes, embracing nature (perhaps a bit too much), or getting in-tune with your artistic side.

Trying to figure out why terrible things keep happening (it's getting quite ridiculous)

Embracing the trials and tribulations of a fashion show

Dealing with an emotionally-unintelligent eldritch horror

Other house business:

Just the usual tidying up of code, bugs, and minor discrepancies!

The next route planned will be Operator; voting for the one after is available on patreon. The word-count now sits at 450, 647 with an additional 43k added in this route.

DEMO // PATREON // KO-FI

Imo the most important thing a writer (or any artist) can be is earnest. You can have no technical skill whatsoever and write a complete stinker and you'll still have a story some readers will fall in love with, so long as they can tell you really meant it and really gave it a shot. Everything else is artifice.

What are your favourite ifs/WiPs?

So this got out of hand. And then my internet crashed and my Tumblr crashed and I had to rewrite this all… I might have missed something and I could rec more, but I need to keep this readable length.

The first one I ever read: Zombie Exodus: Safe Heaven. This was before I followed any creators on the forums/Tumblr. Liked it and played multiple times the first few chapters but I have not kept up with it. Of the published I’ve read or started a lot of them but nowadays WIPs are flying high above most of them in terms of quality. My taste has also evolved, you could say.

The big, long, angsty ones:

A Mage Reborn by @mage-parivir

Long, good story in high fantasy world with anime influenced vibes. Good RO choices and other NPCs. Some stat balancing and actually reading stuff to get the results I wanted required, which is why I needed to start it a few times before I got over my hang-ups and got really into it.

Shepherds of Haven by @shepherds-of-haven

Epic high fantasy story in a deep and thoroughly thought-out world. LOTS of Ros (Trouble is my <3) and NPCs. Also involves keeping track of your stats and thinking before choices. Long one. I mean, really long. In tone, to me, a bit darker than A Mage Reborn even with the BBQ. I have at times wondered how well this could turn into an video game.

I, the Forgotten one by Bacondoneright (the work is on Dashingdon but has no Tumblr)

No magic but an eastern European inspired world. This might not be for everyone as it deals heavily with wartimes in ‘realistic’ medieval world. Involving homophobia, misogyny and lots of death and adult themes. I played a male MC to skip some of that. Lots of stat balancing and following, hard choices and angst. So much angst. You will have to be in a certain mood and have hours of time to read through it but if this sounds something that you’d like to try I encourage it. The writing and plot are really good and the overall quality is better than most. But it’s a hard read.

Mind Blind by @mindblindbard

Modern superhero world where you play a nobody in a family of somebodies. Good mystery, lots of angst and awesome ROs and NPCs. (Grayson has my <3) Not so stat heavy than the others. To my knowledge is close to being finished and I can’t wait to throw money at it.

The Exile by @exilethegame

All the angst. Oh my god the angst. A fantasy world with ‘monster hybrid’ people and you’re exiled and suffering and nothing is going to be good again. The last update left me infuriated. If it would be badly written I could stop reading it and be happy again but no. Have to keep going back. 10/10 would recommend.

The Northern Passage by @northern-passage

Even if I’ve never played or watched the show this has Witcher vibes. I’m sure I will die or kill someone accidentally or something else horrible. Lea is what keeps me going back. The asshole. Love it.

The shorter, angsty ones:

Ouroboros by @honeypeabrain

Plants. Lots of plants in a fantasy, slightly apocalyptic world. The world is really intriguing and the plot pulled me in at the start. Loved especially the option to customize one of the possible Ros. Can’t wait for where the story goes and the RO routes that have been teased. (I have not made up my minds who I like the most)

Ripper’s Plague by @ripperplague

One I have recommended before. Steampunk world where you are a ‘mad’ doctor with past full of trauma. The humour is fun and the story is turning up to be intriguing, even though not all the major players have been introduced yet. Love the way everyone just casually hits on the MC. It’s hilarious.

The not so angsty ones:

College Tennis: Origin Story by @allieebobo

Play tennis, go to college, annoy, and charm everyone while succeeding at everything. Or that’s how I play it. Gets really into the actual games and tennis but everything is written by a person who clearly knows what they are doing so it’s all good. Recommend it even if you’re not into tennis. Living like a jock is fun.

Anything written by @leftski-if

Lots of monster romances (werewolves, vampires, orcs etc.) Light hearted stories in more serious worlds. For more mature readers, not because of NSFW but of tone that’s written with more mature readers in mind. (at least to me) You want a good, hard hug from a RO that’s three times your size? These have it.

The adventures of Sherlock Holmes- An affair of the heart by @doriana-gray-games

It’s Sherlock Holmes but make it actually gay (if you want to). The writing equals the originals by sucking the reader in. There’s murders and mysteries and maybe the tone is not especially light but to me Sherlock Holmes and the stories are comfort read and so is this. Can’t wait to meet H of the ROs, but in the mean time Lestrade is and awkward duck who gives me sandwiches.

 Defiled Hearts: The Barbarian by @defiledheartsblog

Look. Listen. Does the story start with your family being murdered and you being sneaky and enlisting to the Roman army? Yes. Do I still consider this more light-hearted one because I’m having too much fun being pain in Marcus’ backside? Yes. I really need to restart another save and be less confrontational and before I get myself murdered at some point when I’m caught. The writer knows a lot of Roman times, and the Picts while taking liberties to introduce inclusivity and fantasy elements.

Ifs with really short demo so I haven’t really got into them yet because of that but the premise sounds awesome:

Absentia by @absentia-if

Having been ten years stuck in a void and then coming back without time passing for you. What could go wrong?

Sinners and Saints by @sinnersandsaints-linwrites

Hah! I’m in danger!

Novaturient by @kalorphic

Smexy agents doing secret agents things. Gimme.

Shoutouts to things I have read but weren’t for me at the time:

Citadel- A medical Romantic Drama by @bouncyballcitadel

Writing and medical knowledge top notch. Unfortunately, I’m still recovering from the last semester and couldn’t focus enough to read with thought and failed at everything. Which caused me to quit, start again next day from the start and then rinse and repeat. Will have to try again at some point when I have more spoons.

Blood Moon by @barbwritesstuff

Modern werewolf story. Awesome writing and lovable characters. Is to my knowledge finished if you don’t count editing, rewrites etc. Have played it about but not the last few updates. Another one I’ll try again when I find my spoons somewhere.

There are lots more that I follow or read but these came to mind. I also acknowledge that I have a problem with remembering names and have a bad habit of skipping paragraphs while reading, so I tend to forget especially shorter ones. I have not included ones without demos because I have gotten my heart broken a few times when the creators disappeared after posting awesome premises but no demos.

This got really long… Hope this was informative?

College Tennis: Origin Story

Will the once-great Cargill Coyotes succeed in reclaiming the NCAA Div I championship title for the first time since the 90s? Will you succeed in making a name for yourself, both on and off the tennis court? And perhaps more importantly…how much are you willing to sacrifice in pursuit of these dreams?

Start at the bottom as a newly-recruited freshman at Cargill university, and claw your way to the championships. Forge lifelong friendships, pursue budding romances, attend classes, and rush term papers -or party- till the sun comes up.

Fifth update (16 Oct) is here!

Demo | Separate Tumblr [New] | Cast of characters (images)

Play as female, male, or non-binary — with options to be straight, gay, or bisexual.

Experience the ups and downs of college life alongside an ensemble of colorful side characters.

Play nail-biting singles and doubles matches (both home and away) throughout the fall and spring seasons - that is, if you make the cut.

Romance the gruff, hot-headed no. 1 seed, an enigmatic, broody international student on your floor, the warm, unflappable team captain, or your nerdy and spirited high-school best friend.

Build (or neglect) your relationships with your teammates, hallmates, coaches, family and friends back home.

Rayyan Afiq | Gender of your team* | 20

No. 1 seed, vice captain of the tennis team

Nationality: Egyptian-American

*Follows your gender/gender of your team

Description: 5′7 (f) or 5′10 (m). Muscular, athletic build. Dark, wavy curls, and thick sweeping eyebrows over piercing dark-olive eyes. Tawny, honey-brown skin.

Surly, intense, proud, and intensely focused. One of the most talented players in the American college system currently, and will stop at nothing to win. Will you ever get past their stony exterior, and get to know more than just the machine that they are on-court? 

Tobin Harris | Gender of your team* | 21

Captain of the tennis team

Nationality: American

*Follows your gender/gender of your team

Description: 5′10 (f) or 6′1 (m). Tall, lean build. Short black hair, warm, brown eyes and a calm, assured demeanour. Dark bronze skin.

Kind, laid-back, selfless, sociable and gentle to a fault. They go out of their way to make everyone feel welcome, and light up every room they’re in. But they also have a bad habit of putting other people’s emotions in front of their own, and stuffing down their own feelings until it’s too late. 

Sam O’Connelly | M or F | 18

Nationality: American

Childhood best friend, plays for the UCLA Bruins

Description: 5′5 (f) or 5′8 (m). Trim build, with a small frame. Slightly curly russet hair. Mischievous light blue eyes.

Adaptable, excitable, scattered, and fun-loving. A competent tennis player, but has too many other interests to concentrate on any one of them. Has a vague fear of commitment, but secretly wants to find something worth holding on to. Will they finally admit their feelings for you, or will they eventually fade with time and distance? 

Guillaume/Geneviève Lavigne | M or F | 20

Nationality: French

Third-year exchange student, hallmate.

Description: 5′6 (f) or 5′10 (m). Toned, supple build. Dark, tousled hair with fair skin. Smoky grey eyes, with a smattering of freckles.

Quiet, with a rich and intensely private inner world. Never lets on what they’re actually thinking or feeling. You know almost nothing about them despite living on the same floor. The sheer number of times you bump into them will start to get ridiculous. Coincidence? Perhaps. Fate? Possibly. On purpose?? Most certainly not?

First Update (15/11/21): 

Prologue - USTA U18 championships match semi-final 

The summer before college 

Move-in day

Second Update (15/12/21): 

Team introductions

First day of training - strength and conditioning test, 5-mile run 

Training snippets, team lunch 

Third update (25/03/22):

Singles challenge match against last season’s No. 5 seed

Hall party before freshman orientation begins

Rooftop scene with G

Fourth update (28/08/22): 

Freshman orientation (icebreakers, amazing race, laser tag) 

Head to the library with Tobin/go on a run with Rayyan/skype with Sam

Sign up for a club at the club and activities fair, pick a major

Fifth update (16/10/22) is here!

Attend your first week of classes, and find out if you’ve done enough preparation not to make a fool of yourself (go through your first surprise test)

More training (get the chance to show off your finesse chops!)

Challenge match with Jacks or Max (This decides if MC will be within the Top 6 in the singles rankings!)

my skills include reading an entire page of an academic text without absorbing a single word