- Invitation Status
- Looking for partners
- Posting Speed
- Multiple posts per day
- 1-3 posts per day
- One post per day
- Writing Levels
- Advanced
- Prestige
- Preferred Character Gender
- No Preferences
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Hey y'all! You can just call me by my 'IGN' Astro. I use any pronouns & I'm a butch lesbian of color! I may be new to this site, but I am certainly not new to writing! I've been writing for about 14~ years, both in online and offline contexts. I've honestly always loved writing, and I'll probably always find myself writing! Whether it's with others (as I'm seeking to do now), or individually!
I'm currently a 1st year grad student in a PhD English program with a sociological focus, studying American hysteria in 21st century literature. I've always really loved research, and my past theses have been centered on: Frantz Fanon, Edward Said, and Audre Lorde. My favorite books from each (respectively) are: Wretched of the Earth, Orientalism, and Sister Outsider. Cliche picks (in context of their bibliographies) for certain, but they're their most popular works for a reason!
As for fiction, I've got silly little faves. Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, as well as her Circe, are two I've really enjoyed recently! Yes, yes, I'm a little Greek mythos nerd! Aside from those two works though, magical realism with Queer (and/or feminist) subtext always does it for me! Thousand and One Nights, Three Thousand Years of Longing, that vibe is always fun! Winter's Orbit (Everina Maxwell) was also a fun recent read of mine! A Little Life mentally destroyed me, but that one was good too! I'm a book nerd! Just like every other English major.
Speaking of being a nerd, I'm big on video games too! My Steam account is about as old as my writing record! In terms of favorites in that category, Disco Elysium is by far my crowned, best-ever, top-of-my-list game. Such a cute little D&D-like experience (I'm a long-time DM, speaking of), but with all the grittiness of a detective mystery! And, yes, I've played Baldur's Gate! I used to be into Overwatch (Ana Main), I'm on/off with Valorant (Killjoy), I dabble in some League (Azir) here and there... And currently into Honkai: Star Rail!
I also adore music! Seriously, like, recommend me some music you love from a favorite artist in your intro post! I'll love it!! My fave artists (that sing in English) have got to be Mitski, Hozier, Rio Romero, Ricky Montgomery, and Orion Sun. In addition, I am a big foodie- I'm pretty lucky to live in a part of the world that has nearly every cuisine at my disposal, so I've practically tried it all! Here's a sampling of what I've been listening to lately:
Aside from my own region's cuisine (which will always rank on top for me!!), A close runner-up has got to be South Asian. Spicy food is my lifeblood, and the unbelievable diversity of spices and dishes in South Asian cuisine is too good! A final fun little fact, I'm trilingual!
So, yeah! Books, games, music, as well as a bit about me generally. Just little interests and hobbies of mine! Feel free to tell me a little about you as well! -
Advanced and/or Novella. Yep, pretty much what's on the tin! This means around 1k+ words a post for me, though I'm not a huge stickler on this. I've written 5k words in a post before, and I've written 600 in a post before. It just depends on what level of responsiveness is needed! And outside of those speaking English as a second language (or those with disabilities), please, please, keep the typos and grammar mistakes in your post to a minimum. In other words, try to proofread your posts! I'm big on editing personally, and I'm definitely a perfectionist when it comes to my own writing- You don't have to be, but just don't post something I can hardly read! Constant typos can really take me out of the post.
18+. Due to my own age, I'm pretty uncomfortable writing with anybody much younger than I am! It's really that simple. I can do with or without 'Star' content, so that isn't really why I'm saying this.
OOC Or Not, IDC. I'm a pretty low energy/maintenance kind of gal, and I like to be fairly private concerning my daily going ons! I can do with or without active OOC, so I'm flexible on this. Whichever you prefer, let me know! Regardless, basic rapport and clear communication is important.
Ghost-Friendly, To An Extent. If there's some reason you can't post, or just aren't feeling the vibes, that's totally cool! I don't mind at all, especially when we're first starting out, and feeling out if we're right for each other. But (big but) if we've been writing together for a while, please try not to just disappear!
Writing Sample(s), Please! This just helps me gauge if we're going to mesh! And of course, I will also attach a writing sample to this post, so that you can judge for yourself, too.
PMs + 3rd person, past tense. The former is more of a hard rule, the latter is more of a soft rule. I like to keep it to PMs, for both OOC (I really don't care to share discords or anything like that) and OC. In terms of my own writing style, I write in 3rd person, and in primarily past tense (as you'll see with my writing sample + profile). You don't have to do this if you're not accustomed, but I'd strongly prefer it!
Contribute, I beg. Teamwork makes the dream work! Seriously, y'all! I can't do this on my own!!
Be As Active As You Like. I'm pretty active on a daily basis, especially when I get really into a story, but by no means do you have to be as active! I'd prefer to know what to expect, but if your schedule is super irregular, that's fine, too! Just let me know. Communication is key!
Pairings & Preferences. Speaking of, I'm open to just about any pairing but heavily prefer Queer ones! In addition, it's all good if you have a preferred gender to play, but please be willing to- Not double, and not triple, but essentially help me make up an entire world of characters that are diverse in every way. Yes, we'll have 'mains' (which may result in like, 3-4 different romantic pairs haha), but be willing to play 'NPCs' and/or just a wealth of side characters in general! As for FCs, I don't mind the format. Drawn, realistic, whateva! I have a grand range in my own arsenal (both drawn and realistic). I'm not partial to the anime ones, but not a hard no!
No Meta-writing. I know, I know. This is obvious. But it's worth saying! If we discuss an idea over OOC, or if one of my characters is having some sort of concealed thought/emotion, your character doesn't just get to magically know/detect it out of nowhere! If there's a good reason for them to detect/know, that's fine. But otherwise, let's not, please. We can all make mistakes here, but let's keep this one to a minimum!
Okay, I can't really think of anything else right now! But I'll add if I think of more. This is a living document, as they say! -
Alright, now the fun part! Some plots n pairings I've had on the mind! Speaking of- I'm not really into 'fanfiction' style roleplay (I love reading it though! Yes, I am a wattpad girlie), as in I don't love fandom characters or recreating exact characters that already exist in media. That said, feel free to use their faces (as face-claims), and/or their universes! But try to keep OCs as OCs. If you have ideas of your own, feel free to pitch them! And this is a work in progress, so no worries if you don't see anything you like yet! And as always, we can always brainstorm something different. And no need to be familiar with the source material! I'm more than open to explaining the basics.
Some of these are still under construction, but feel free to select them if the genre intrigues you nonetheless!
Generic Pairings & Tropes:
Enemies - Lovers
Hunter x Hunted i.e. vampire, faerie, supernatural creatures in gen (Love Death Robots' 'Good Hunting' is good inspo) - Assassin x Target
((Historical)) High class x working class i.e. royalty x peasantry
Leader x Guard i.e. Queen and Knight
Murderer x Detective
Revenge - Romance (Sought revenge, fell in love)
Friends - Lovers
Childhood friends
Co-Detectives (Disco Elysium inspo, perhaps!)
Opposites Attract
Fake Dating
Second Chance Romance i.e. Exes
Arranged Marriage
Fairy Tale/Mythos retelling (Orpheus/Eurydice, Brothers Grimm)
God x Demigod
God x Mortal
Dealer x User
Royalty x Royalty
Fugitive x Knight
Roommates i.e in uni (or wizarding school, go wild)
Vision or Hearing Impaired (Blind or Deaf) x Siren
post apoc survivor x survivor
scientist x experiment -
The stench of sweat, and shame, and blood, made the air in the arena heavy. Étienne was fucking tired, but he rose to face the crowd anyways, sword in grip, hung back on his shoulder, breaths labored as he tugged off his half-faced, double respirator gas mask, hanging from his neck as he did so. His thick, bulky goggles fell along his chest in a similar fashion. Such was tradition, to face your people, and breathe in that infested air. That of victory, and of course, of death. The sort that was so rarely found and felt. Like clockwork, that big grin crawling upon his face. This was the moment he awaited for his entire life, all twenty-five of those painstaking years. His gaze looked over his now dead opponent. Sliced into ribbons, for the mode of combat he had chosen was fencing. Old, traditional. In a way, representative of himself. Or perhaps a show-offy sort of combat. Perhaps a bit of column A and B. He could feel every ridge, every raised metallic edge, in the handle of the sword he gripped just tightly enough to leave an indentation. Blood, dirt, and sand caked under those fingernails.
For a man who cared so much about his appearance, this was certainly a new low. Although, few had even expected him to survive this match, much less win it. And so, his appearance could at least be excused! Even if not by himself. He'd need to purify himself from top to bottom to cleanse himself of all this grime! The Champion, known only by 'Leonardo', had ruled over his section of the land, over this tribe and people, for 100 years. Of course, he wasn't human either, making Étienne's own victory all the more unexpected. As small as he was. As fleshy. Even needed a mask on while he fought, unlike Leo who wore one for show alone.
Étienne was born of this land, but that didn't matter. Plenty born of this land died in it, all the same. Still. Leonardo was not born of the land. And it was obvious, even in the way he fought. Foreign and strange, yet familiar, influenced by the practices of the land. Regardless, his birth location did not denote some special sort of meaning to his character. It all concerned perspective. In this way, his past was meaningless. Oddly liberating that was, no? He was well-accustomed, and powerful. That was the law of the land. Might is right. And that was no Leonardo-era expectation, but of the Wasteland as a whole. Every leader and council subscribed to this much. If a child were not violent in school, then one was prissy, weak. Not meant to sustain the life of a Wastelander. One had to be ruthless, cutthroat, and everything else.
Étienne was not the sort. Not at all. He did not like to take life. But that was the constraint of this existence. To kill or be killed. Eat-or-be-eaten. Still, at least he had moved with honor. His opponent had utilized magicks he'd never seen in his life- A desperate ploy to maintain his chiefship. Technically cheating, but really, there were no rules in the arena. Who would dare referee? The goal was one. Just to kill the one in front of you. That simple. And Étienne had done just that. For this period, of five minutes, awaiting if Leo would rise. Held in silence. As if Leonardo surely had a final trick up his sleeve. But it wasn't looking so. The man, if it were even accurate to name him one, was dead. Deader than dead. And soon enough, the land would take him right back under the earth. Losers were not to be buried- But rather, left to rot in the colosseum. For the briefest of moments, he wondered to whom the Ex-Chief had been borne to. Where their parents were.
The shrill ring of a bell pulled him out of all thoughts. That was the ring of Chiefship. Étienne Ulysse is the victor! Rung out that familiar speaker, though for once, it bore his own name, rather than the Ex-Chief Leonardo. For years, he had studied the reigning champion. The man had to have been seven feet, minimum, in comparison to his own size of 5'4. Small fry, wasn't that what the champion had insisted on calling him? All boasting and posturing, like men often did. All chest-beating, no grace. But Étienne was not there to participate in such methods of excessive, self-obsessed masculinity. He was there for one reason, and one reason alone. To claim a title he'd felt was always meant to be his to hold.
He had labored hard to get here. And for what? Title. A word, in every day speech, just before his name. Officially. Chief Étienne Ulysse. Ulysse, meaning, the Wrathful. A fitting family name, even if it didn't quite fit him quite right. Or, maybe it did. The condition of his opponent spoke to such an ability enough, hadn't it? Torn up, barely recognizable. That was the cost of victory. Especially when he intended to be a victor over Leo, one who was thought to be unkillable. Immortal. Immoral too, but that was another story.
Suppose today had proved differently. For he was finally dead, motionless on the Earth. Deader than dead. To be consumed by the bugs and whatever avian could find themselves upon him. It was half-impossible to tell what, exactly, Leo had been, with the five-hundred layers of past challenger's clothing upon him. Legends spoke to a Dragonkin sort of character. It'd make sense, for he bled this blue-green. Indeed, that was half what covered Étienne. The other half being his own. Red, red, red.
It was a familiar color, that red. He thought about just what had gotten him here, standing in this spot, in the land and under Leo's rule. After he had liberated himself from his kin? Thievery. It had been thievery, with him and his nimble fingers. Nimble body, too. Knew how to slip through a crowd, and slip right out. It'd been his life, for years. Years and years. He was fully human, as far as he knew. He never knew his mother, but he'd seen art of her. She looked human enough. Ish. The art wasn't exactly the full image... But there were a million and one species among them, especially in the Wasteland. Seen as a lawless land of chaos, when in reality, it was the best shot for most. To make something of themselves. So long as they had the grit for it, that was.
Thievery and lust, for he'd had his fair share of fun along the years, too. He had his own connections in his climb to Chief, or rather, in his preparation to challenge the standing chief. Though, he was most decidedly Queer, and knew this with certainty. He only enjoyed sex, and romantic pursuit too, with non-women. His father had never really approved of those early predilections, but who cared what he thought! He was dead! Most of his family was. And so, here he was. Standing alone. Alone, alone. He had people he knew here and there, a few connections, but not nearly as many as Leo had. But, there was a process. He'd reacquaint himself, and he'd situate himself to absorb and inherit all that power. There would be dissent, shock even. There would be relief. This was the beginning of a new era, and all the denizen's eyes were upon him. Eyes of every kind, shape, color. A human, of all things, had toppled Leo. With just his sword. Against Leo's every magic, every scale, every-thing. People had seen methods of battle that Leo had not needed to use in a century. Not since he beat the Chief before him.
Ah, but first, before Étienne thought further upon any of those things. A shower. He finally exit the dome that contained challengers, reaffixing his mask to which he was still panting in, his goggles strapped along his forehead. Helped with the sweat, as well as holding his coiled hair back, more than with eye protection funnily enough. Besides, his brows and lashes did a good enough job of that in this heat, against that sun, and above that sand. His sabre sheathed, hung at his hip, too, swaying with his movements. Bloodied as well. Right. He was far overdue for a proper bath. He'd be moved to Leo's old headquarters, hm? Perfect. The housing was certainly an upgrade, even if he were going to get rid of every servant in the place as soon as possible. What use would that bring, other than spies? Besides, the idea of women bathing him made his spine crawl. Leo was inhuman, but certainly lived like a human. Like a human man, at that. Or perhaps men, regardless of their species, acted like beasts?
A shame he had such a fondness for them, then. His thoughts, half out of order, reminded himself of all the customs he was meant to take on, given his victory. Unprecedented victory. There was the speech, that victory speech. The speech that was contemporary to give once victorious was not given, nor even attempted, by himself. He hadn't the energy, and what would it even contain? He planned for this moment, down to the letter, but what was he meant to tell a people, who had been under the iron fisted rule of Leo for a century? There was a lot of work to do, and he needn't a whole speech to communicate that. The people knew that. The trophy, meant to be taken from the corpse of the Ex-Chief, or of the challenger, he had also not taken. Corpse looting seemed... A tad dishonorable. And he would participate in no such thing. It wasn't right, he'd leave that work to the birds and bugs. Even if Leo had it coming. Decay was punishment enough. Death, itself, was the final verdict.
Some of the traditions were a bit fucked. But Étienne knew better to throw every single norm out. One, such a thing would not win any points with the people. And two, many of those norms were there for a reason. There was wisdom in them. Some of them. Others, well, they appeared to only be established from brutality and mercilessness. Étienne himself, had absolutely no leadership experience. Even if he was skilled in relations with peoples, that did not guarantee a translation into leadership. He'd have to figure shit out as they came. As he stood outside that dome, in the silence that had overtaken the onlookers who would run home to tell their families the outcome of the match, he heard the beating of hooves against Earth.
Oh, right. This part. Geez, his history lessons could use some work... A brush up, at least. Yes, he was Chief Étienne, but that didn't mean there weren't ample opportunities to embarrass himself in front of the people. Leo's horse. Well, people thought it was a horse. Looked like a horse. It was an unnerving animal of transport. He knew how to ride a horse, but this was barely a horse. The temperament was completely unpredictable. But this was the being that would take him places. That would guide him 'home'. To the new home. To move his things. Hell, he had nothing to move. Everything he owned was on him, and in a scuffed up bag left outside the arena.
He took a deep breath, mounting the horse with all the grace he could muster following such an exhausting battle. Affixing the bag to the side of the mare. He waited for an outburst, for some vapid reaction from the horse itself. But they were silent. Motionless. Hands easing on the reins, to which the horse tensed up. Okay, okay... So, no reins. What kind of puzzle was he being affronted with? Leo just got onto this thing, and it went where he wanted to go. He half-abused this thing. Hm. He could handle it roughly, as Leo had. Or, alternatively. Patting the side of the alleged horse's neck, he reached into his bag. A half-rotten carrot, but it was all he'd had! He offered the fresher side.
As the horse accepted his peace offering, Étienne eased back with a sigh. There! They were just hungry. Not everything needed violence and brute force. Some things could have a softer touch. A kinder one. Even if it wasn't often the solution in these lands, it was the solution this time. Under the eyes of all the people. With that, the horse got moving, unperturbed by when Étienne took the reins in hand, this time. To the lavish home of the Ex-Chief, with his head raised high. Chief Étienne Ulysse.
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