Ari Bach's Blog, page 67
May 17, 2017
Dulled Mind - Chapter 1
“Welcome to the greatest hive of scum and villainy in this entire damned sector,” Bulat chuckled as he landed the cruiser in the spaceport of the most aptly named Avarice Quartus. “Now, let’s get fucked up, shall we?”
Naomi leapt off the ship, going through the bubble of contained air after their ship had been maglocked to the port. They landed on the surface of the spaceport, and walked inside. The artificial gravity kicked in, and Naomi’s feet planted firmly on the ground. She brushed the clinging static of the containment field off her black shirt and waited for Kate to get off the ship.
Kate’s long hair stood up in messy strands from the static electricity, levitating in the air. When she straightened her hair and let it hang down again, Naomi decided to have a little fun. Kate’s hair floated back up, suspended high in the air like some sort of creature that had taken up residence on her head. Kate flattened it down again, shrugging it off as just some electricity that hadn’t quite gone away.
Naomi made it rise up again. Kate caught on, glaring at Naomi, who responded with a smug smile. The hair came to life under her influence, moving and twisting around to form a false mustache around Kate’s mouth.
“Hey, stop!” Kate pushed the hair away, trying and failing to hide an amused smirk. “That tickled.”
Naomi blew a kiss over in her direction.
Hey, everybody read this.
It’s good.
Fucking shitting hell goddamn it’s good.
You heard it here first :D
So I hear this author is good…
May 15, 2017
Veikko: We need to kill the people responsible for kidnapping the children.
Weather: Shoot them?
Veikko: Think bigger.
Weather: Rip their hearts out?
Veikko: Bigger.
Weather: Burn everyone alive, including the children we were supposed to protect?
Veikko: Yes.
May 12, 2017
May 10, 2017
sapphicliterature:
Valhalla series by Ari Bach
(Valhalla,...
Valhalla series by Ari Bach(Valhalla, Ragnarök, Guðsríki)
Violet MacRae is one of the aimless millions crowding northern Scotland. In the year 2330, where war is obsolete and only brilliant minds are valued, she emerges into adulthood with more brawn than brains and a propensity for violence. People dismiss her as a relic, but world peace is more fragile than they know.
In Valhalla, a clandestine base hidden in an icy ravine, Violet connects with a group of outcasts just like her. There, she learns the skills she needs to keep the world safe from genetically enhanced criminals and traitors who threaten the first friends she’s ever known. She also meets Wulfgar Kray, a genius gang leader who knows her better than she knows herself and who would conquer the world to capture her.
Branded from childhood as a useless barbarian, Violet is about to learn the world needs her exactly as she is.
Genres: dystopian, Sci-Fi, fantasy
Get the books from The Book Depository here (1, 2, 3) and follow the author on tumblr @the-walrus-squad*warnings/major spoilers under the cut
So sorry I missed this when it was first posted, thank you! It’s an honor to be on @sapphicliterature!
May 5, 2017
A few people over the years have written in asking how badly my books were censored and altered when...
A few people over the years have written in asking how badly my books were censored and altered when they were published. As this is a concern for many aspiring authors and several famous writers have had their books butchered by publishers, I want to give my account as it’s very positive.
My books are published by @harmonyinkpress. They contain a huge heap of material that many publishers would consider absolutely unacceptable, from violence to politics to sexuality and more.
Harmony Ink never even asked me to remove anything to make the books more “publishable.” There was editing to remove typos and improve wording but even for that I had some degree of veto power. The books, as released, are exactly what I wanted them to be. This is an incredible rarity in publishing. Their contracts have also been exceptionally favorable to the author when it comes to rights and properties and such.
I beg anyone reading this to support such publishers. Harmony Ink publishes LGBT young adult fiction: https://www.harmonyinkpress.com/
Please reblog and add other publishers you know who support their authors by giving them freedom and giving their books the authenticity that most mainstream publishers so often remove.
April 30, 2017
fearxthexqueers:The need to read but also the nees to study...
The need to read but also the nees to study cause finals
The books will still be there after finals, and you’ll get to enjoy them without that feeling you should be studying. Trust me, it’ll be worth the wait not to have to worry! And when the time comes, enjoy!!!
steampunktendencies:
Insects steampunk style by Creativity...
www.steampunktendencies.com
www.steampunktendencies.com
www.steampunktendencies.com
www.steampunktendencies.com
Insects steampunk style by Creativity BiooArt
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peppervl:
bethadastra:
tmirai:
This is such an interesting...
This is such an interesting dissection of a very common trope in writing female characters that I never really thought about before, but it’s so prevalent and so obvious and so fucking disgusting.
THIS is what made me so uncomfortable with certain anime/manga stories back in the day, now I have a word for it! I’m so glad they discuss the link between Born Sexy Yesterday and colonialism too, very relevant!!!
Long video, but DEFINITELY worth a watch.
I do wish it had gone into the area of consent too - these women who were born sexy yesterday don’t know what consent is and therefore cannot - but aside from that it’s a excellent discussion of a troubling media trend.
The video clearly shows how prevalent this trope has been, sadly I was unaware of it while writing the trilogy and am now suddenly concerned that I’ve implemented it. I don’t think so, but I’m interested to hear from readers.
GUDSRIKI SPOILERSLike the Bury Your Gays trope, I hope in part that Gudsriki is so over-the-top unusual in its purposes and concepts that whatever resembles the trope doesn’t fall into it. One of the disturbing factors in this trope is why it’s in the story. I know I’ve missed that one because Nel was not written with the “innocent appeal” thing for the male audience in mind. But still-
Nel is literally born yesterday, even mentioning that fact in those words. She is not overtly sexualized, but does have a romantic relationship with the main character. That character is not male and does not see any appeal in Nel’s pseudo-youth, but did in the beginning create her as a surrogate for a lost lover, which may play deeper into the trope than even the males in the video. On the other hand, her actions are never portrayed as a good thing, the heroes of this series are all flawed to the extreme so if she is taking advantage, it’s not condoned. Hacking brings another level to it, probably, though I’m not sure if it makes the trope better or worse, if it exists here at all.
I think there are a couple scenes in which Nel’s inexperience is used as a bond between her and Vibeke, but to me these feel neutral to the trope. I’m not sure I can quantify why that is. Obviously my books are not immune by merit of their unconventional elements, but readers I’ve spoken to about Bury Your Gays generally consider Gudsriki to be not-guilty, seeing as pretty much everybody else dies too and death together in this case is the happiest ending these two could hope for. Also the story ends there, while the worst of that trope tends to be in ongoing media or well before the climax.
I think the most disturbing part of this trope is what @peppervl mentioned, the idea of consent. Nel is about 5 months old (or 3 years old if you count her knife days) when the romantic stuff begins, but I do not consider her unable to consent. She has the mind of a 20 year old, sort of. That sort of is very important when considering this trope. The trope itself focuses however on the fantasy of getting someone ‘fresh’ and untouched, a power fantasy above all. Nel obviously has power over Vibeke at all times in a big way.
So Gudsriki definitely skips some critical parts of the trope, I think, but also has some things fairly close to it. What do you think? I’m very interested in hearing whether I’m guilty of this one, and on any thoughts any readers may have.
"Hmmm, very severe… Poor condition, heavy infection… Disarticulation… Oh no, no… Clearly broken… All..."
- Dr. McCoy, to an anxious patient (via incorrect-trekquotes)
There may have been a little influence there… Especially given the hard drive names :)
April 29, 2017
Veikko: Come on, these things happen for a reason!
Skadi: Yeah. You.
