Tenir was practically vibrating as she stepped back into her apartment, throwing her key-chit onto the kitchen counter before – delicately – dumping her most recent hobby purchases onto the floor.
“Ugh,” she grunted as she slid onto her couch.
A couch on which she’d had a man last night. A couch which had served as a prelude to getting laid.
She’d gotten laid.
By a guy!
One who hadn’t been weirded out by her hobbies – despite their reputation both...
2025-06-20 18:31:32 +0000 UTC
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AN: Art by "justspicy"
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“Why the fuck am I making breakfast when we have a private chef?” Saria growled, yellow eyes narrowed, ears flicking back in irritation.
Kalia sighed, setting her mug down with a soft clink. “Because, he’s a private chef, not a live-in-chef.”
And there was a significant difference between the two - apparently. Or so Kalia had learned, given her only previous experiences with the concept were ...
2025-06-09 14:48:04 +0000 UTC
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Tenir watched, almost against her will as on screen Zane tore off the tattered remnants of his battle uniform shirt, revealing long rows of perfectly sculpted pecs. Lovingly rendered in two dimensions, the Nighkru’s bare torso practically glistened on screen. In ways not entirely dissimilar from the last time he’d suffered a wardrobe malfunction while fending off that Ice Cobra.
Three minutes ago.
Relative time. For her and Mark as viewers. Within the context of the story, it ...
2025-06-01 16:46:35 +0000 UTC
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Mark generally tried to not think of himself as a cliché, but he’d admit that standing outside the massive arena gates, the air thrumming with the palpable roar of the crowd within, it was the smell of sizzling vraka skewers and charred xilli root that most stood out to him.
Not the gigantic holographic mech that loomed over the entrance gates, nor the crowd flowing between its legs into the massive maw that was the arena entrance.
It was the food.
Idly, he pondered wheth...
2025-05-25 14:34:29 +0000 UTC
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Returning to consciousness came with a mixture of sensations for Mark.
First, there was a pleasant warmth, soft and pervasive, that seemed to have spread all across his torso and the entirety of his right arm. It was in his opinion significantly more pleasant than his earlier experiences lying on the threadbare sheets of his apartment’s sole bed.
Very nice.
Of course, that was the positive side of the contrasts that he’d woken to. Or rather, been woken by - because the l...
2025-05-18 09:49:54 +0000 UTC
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Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on your perspective – her surprise didn’t last for long as her whole body seemed to shift, that blank featureless face turning to regard him.
“This one thinks you’re playing a dangerous game, Mark,” she said, her voice dropping to a sultry, liquid cadence that sent a shiver racing down his spine. “This one’s tried to play the lady, but there’s a limit to that.”
There she was again. Gone was the surprised and tired young...
2025-05-10 12:33:09 +0000 UTC
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“Well, here it is,” Nendra said as she pulled up the car.
From his position in the front seat next to her, Mark stared out the window as the massive building they’d stopped in front of.
The apartment Tenir had selected for him was… functional looking. A towering rectangular block of grey stone that screamed mass-produced housing. Still, the lack of graffiti’d gangsigns daubing the walls suggested, if nothing else, that the place was at least slightly safer than many of t...
2025-05-02 11:47:10 +0000 UTC
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The kitchen was a chef’s dream - sprawling counters of sleek black composite stone, a bank of ovens that looked like they could double as starship engines, and finally a fridge unit big enough to store a small cow.
Or whatever the local equivalent was.
Mark set his bag down on a nearby countertop, scanning the setup with a gleeful eye. “Holy shit, this is…”
Saria leaned against a counter. “Not bad, eh? Never let it be said Kalia’s the type to skimp.”
Mark...
2025-04-23 13:53:37 +0000 UTC
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Mark adjusted the strap of his duffel bag as he collected it from the waiting trolley, the weight of it grounding him as he stepped off the ramp and onto another world.
Krenheim.
The dock was a sprawling mass of metal, chaos and motion - bathed in the flickering glow of neon signs that pulsed in a way that made the whole city feel… alive.
He paused at the foot of the ramp, letting the scene wash over him. Maybe it was the afterglow of his time with Sabine, but the whole wo...
2025-04-14 10:52:16 +0000 UTC
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The hum of the Trenva’s Grace vibrated faintly through the deck as Mark stood outside Sabine’s cabin door, his knuckles hovering an inch from the smooth metal. It was late - well past the ship’s artificial ‘night’ cycle - and the corridor was dim, lit only by the soft glow of the deck lights. His heart thudded in his chest, a mix of nerves and anticipation coiling tight in his gut.
He took a breath, steadied his nerves, and knocked. Three sharp raps, crisp against the quiet. A...
2025-04-07 06:17:38 +0000 UTC
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“And if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask,” the deckhand that had so kindly escorted him to his room said as she stood just outside the door.
A service he noted hadn’t been offered to any of the other passengers who’d accompanied him aboard.
“…Thanks,” Mark said distractedly, before deliberately, but not unkindly closing the door on her.
Walking over to the small cot at the back of the room, he slumped down against the wall, his duffel bag thudding sof...
2025-04-07 06:17:25 +0000 UTC
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“So, you going to tell me what this is about or just stand there like a gargoyle?” Mark asked, a tad nervously, as he set about chopping the vegetables.
The restaurant was quiet but for the sound of that chopping. The venue’s usual clientele of adventurous humans or homesick aliens had left nearly an hour ago. Even the other staff were gone. Now it was just him, the dim glow of the overhead lights, and the watchful eyes of Francis - his boss, mentor, and the closest thing he had t...
2025-04-01 03:59:23 +0000 UTC
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I thought long and hard about making this post, but I figured I might as well.
Hope all is going well for you all, work continues on editing Sect and it should be ready to go by next month. With that said, I've also been working on an outline for Steam 3.
And if I'm being totally honest, while I think it's a good outline, my heart's not in it.
I adore Steam, it's my favorite series, but it's also complex and unwieldy. The fact that the series is about as long as Space was...
2025-03-17 01:29:46 +0000 UTC
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It's that time again. Time to vote on which book I shall work on next!
There is however a caveat. In my heart of hearts, I believe Space ended on a good point for Jason - if a bit of a cliffhanger for the universe as a whole. The series also had some teething issues borne of it be my first attempt at long-form content.
So, if the vote is for a new Space, it will have a new protagonist and take place a few years after the events of Book Three. Jason's ultimate fate will be reveal...
2025-02-28 16:48:52 +0000 UTC
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As William’s aether lightened feet touched down on the academy grounds, his teammates landing with similar bursts of aether around him, he gazed up at the Royal Navy’s airships. They drifted overhead, their sleek hulls silhouetted against the dim mid-morning sky.
Much like his own descent moments ago, many mages of the royal fleet were constantly zipping between the vessels and the still smoking city below – providing aid or working to put out fires.
The fleet had arrived in...
2025-02-21 15:30:29 +0000 UTC
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Yelena clambered out of the rubble, waving off the waiting arms of her guardswomen who’d gone before her. She emerged, coughing against the dust and acrid scent of smoke that clung to the air. It spoke a lot about the situation on the surface that the air down in what had once been her palace’s basement had been fresher.
Behind her, other guardswomen and staff clambered out of the freshly formed tunnel, exhausted. The former exhausted by the fight they’d been in barely a few minut...
2025-02-10 04:29:03 +0000 UTC
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“Well, that isn’t ideal,” Yelena grunted as she stared down at the bolt jutting out of her abdomen, ignoring the cries of her guards as they too noticed the wound.
The damn thing had somehow gone right through her steel cuirass and the enchantments layered over that steel.
Kraken-bolts, she thought dimly. Well, that would explain why Meave’s invisibility failed during that first engagement.
Sure, the anti-magic field put out by Kraken scales te...
2025-02-03 07:36:30 +0000 UTC
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“Initial reports from squadron leader Inirka of second wave; Two airships struck in initial volley. Damage significant. Fires onboard. Both may be considered combat ineffective. Two shards lost. One chute confirmed. One unconfirmed. Taking over overwatch duties from wave one. Squadron leader Tern confirms her intent to return for refuel and rearmament - with one local element craft,” one of the Jellyfish’s radio operators dutifully relayed. “Current heading parallel to Jellyfish. Will...
2025-01-26 12:23:02 +0000 UTC
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Neither Clarice nor her twin sister had been able to simply stand idly by while their homeland was under siege. Not as nobles, sworn to protect their people, and certainly not as proud, red-blooded Linholmians.
For Clarice’s part, every fiber of her being had screamed for action when the first skydock came down, yet the Queen’s decree was unyielding. The students of the academy were not to make use of their private shards to join the air battle. They were to hunker down like rats an...
2025-01-19 09:01:39 +0000 UTC
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Marinna grinned fiercely, her flight goggles reflecting the flames below as she banked her airship over the smoldering wreckage of an enemy vessel. The ship in question was still afloat, even as it burned, the mithril core within still performing its function. Though it was only a matter of time until the aether ballasts or pipes within burst, at which point the blazing inferno would drop down to the city below, further adding to the confusion and fires already present.
The veteran pilo...
2025-01-12 05:53:50 +0000 UTC
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Yelena had not been sleeping when the first alarm bells had been rung. For while she trusted her oldest child implicitly, rare was the mother that could sleep well knowing her child was headed into battle. It didn’t help that the Queen shared her daughter’s misgivings regarding the peculiarity of the opposing fleet’s presence, but she also held no greater insight as to what surprises their mystery foe might have in store.
Well, now we have our answer, she thought bit...
2025-01-03 12:33:13 +0000 UTC
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AN: For those who read the old version, this one remains the same until the end of this section and partway through Kanna's.
“They’re moving, ma’am,” the Majesty’s Orb-Officer announced, her voice steady and professional. “The Eyeglass confirms it.”
“Finally,” Tyana exhaled, her relief mingling with anticipation as she straightened in her command chair. “Direction?”
“Straight for us.”
“Of course t...
2024-12-22 12:54:57 +0000 UTC
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“They’re moving, ma’am,” the Majesty’s Orb-Officer announced, her voice steady and professional. “The Eyeglass confirms it.”
“Finally,” Tyana exhaled, her relief mingling with anticipation as she straightened in her command chair. “Direction?”
“Straight for us.”
“Of course they are.” The elven woman’s tone held a trace of irritation, but her orders were sharp and precise. “Tell Eyeglass to maintain distance and report...
2024-12-14 11:22:58 +0000 UTC
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Rewrite time. I figure I'm allowed one per book.
Specifically, I finished the chapter, sat back, looked at it, and it's... fine, but I don't love it. For a few reasons, some of which which are plot related.
More to the point, I've got a much better idea.
So I'm writing the chapter again. Even if it's killing me inside because I was kind of hoping to have this book finished by early to mid January - hence why I'm not taking my normal two week Christmas break - and this is ...
2024-12-14 10:59:06 +0000 UTC
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William shot a quiet glare in Xela’s direction as he felt the sensation of her foot sliding against his leg under the table. It had been three months since their first tryst, and in that time, he had learned one undeniable truth: she was every bit as voracious in her passions as another elf he knew.
And not nearly as inclined to subtlety.
Now, while he might have indulged her flirtatious invitation under different circumstances, such inclinations were at least somewhat stymied i...
2024-12-07 10:17:28 +0000 UTC
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The conditions for dream-meetings between mages weren’t complex. Physical contact while both individuals slept was really all that was needed. Such meetings of minds had to have a host though.
It was a reasonably coveted position. Dreams in and of themselves weren’t usually pleasant places to be for conscious minds. The landscape was nebulous and ever shifting, while the objects and creatures within tended to be warped in ways that were both unsubtle and unsettling.
2024-11-30 06:34:20 +0000 UTC
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“Well.” William smirked as he closed the hotel door behind him. “I suppose we should-”
He’d barely started speaking before Xela was on him, all but slamming him into the door as she pounced. The wood elf’s hot breath tickled his skin as she whispered, "You're in for it now, you little satyr. Spending all evening getting me worked up? I'll show you why you shouldn't tease your elders."
Her hand didn’t hesitate to grasp his erect member through his pants, the fabric st...
2024-11-22 11:57:54 +0000 UTC
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Lindholm was a mess of anachronisms to William’s sensibilities – and never moreso than at night. Sword wielding guards in the royal colors of black and gold marched the streets in pairs, their steel breastplates gleaming in the pale light of the gas-lamps lining the cobblestone streets. Horses and carriages filled the roads, while overhead massive airships drifted through the skies, occasionally dropping down to dock with the massive sky-towers that dominated the skyline.
Pretty muc...
2024-11-15 07:13:31 +0000 UTC
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AN: This is just chapter one of an intended two I wanted to release today. Alas, I'm completely out of juice for the day and the second chapter still isn't finished so I'm just going to release this now and the second chapter tomorrow.
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William supposed it was inevitable.
He chose the Corsair as a design to replicate for two reasons. Firstly, because its folded wings meant he could store ...
2024-11-10 07:24:40 +0000 UTC
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This isn't the actual vote for which book I'll be working on after Steampunk Two, that'll happen once I finish the book.
Right now though, I'll admit to some curiosity as to how many people want what for the next book.
Again, this isn't the actual vote, just a little curiosity on my part :D
2024-11-04 10:15:51 +0000 UTC
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