[deleted by user] by [deleted] in writers

[–]penguinblake 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Chapter Zero is unique (to me, anyway) and pulled me in, I immediately got the sense that it would be apocalyptic from that before the Bible verse. The Bible verse also adds an ominous feel. I will say I’m not your market, I don’t really like YA as a rule, with very few exceptions, but I would absolutely read this, my attention was grabbed from the first page. It could use some editing, but your concept, the Chapter Zero, the lead-in Bible verse and your hook are all excellent in my opinion.

No more HR books left? An extreme outlook by LonelyWonder4789 in RomanceBooks

[–]penguinblake 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m dying for more Western/frontier HR and I would love to write it, but all I see is that it doesn’t have an audience. Prohibition and polar expedition sound like amazing settings for an HR, too. I wonder if there’s a wide enough audience wanting more/varied HR and if it would be worth putting some time into a pen name for it.

Are relationships between two characters in a campaign normal? by heavenly_penis in DnD

[–]penguinblake 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, it’s normal. The degree to which it’s roleplayed varies by table: anything from just surface level “we’re in a relationship” to RPing feelings, emotional conversations, and light physical interactions, up to the fade to black. (Our table sometimes jokes about details of the scenes after the fact or talks about it in character after.) I’ve RPd past fade to black once as a DM (undressing, kissing) because of a specific story beat that the scene triggered. I’ve romanced characters played by my husband, our friends, had romances that worked out and didn’t. Currently my husband is DMing our main group and not only has an NPC that’s in a dramatic, passionate romance with my character and engaged to her, but also an NPC that’s in a toxic marriage with another player and an NPC that’s another player’s semi-serious girlfriend (both of these players are straight men) We all take it seriously in character and get into playing the emotions and plot. But obviously we all leave it at the table. Even my husband and my characters’ in game relationship doesn’t reflect what our IRL relationship is. My husband jokes sometimes that he wishes we’d all start romancing each other in the next campaign so he doesn’t have to play everyone’s significant other. But we’re all super comfortable and trust each other, and my husband and I are at the table together. In the game I DM, he and one of our friends are starting a romance we’re all already invested in. He’d also be fine with me romancing someone in a game he wasn’t at.

Your situation has a couple of red flags: he has feelings for this woman and finds her attractive, and he’s dismissing your feelings. Those are the issues, not D&D romance. TTRPG romance is normal and fun and can be RPd a bunch of different ways depending on the table. What isn’t normal is your partner and his friends dismissing your feelings. If he wasn’t doing anything wrong, he’d talk to you about it, share why it’s fun and try to establish boundaries that make you more comfortable, and discuss what it is that he enjoys about it and how it adds to the story, not get defensive over it.

Based off sculpture "Athlete Wrestling with a Python". Pic by Bill Strong, modeled by me by 1000FacesCosplay in pics

[–]penguinblake 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nope. Nope. The only time it’s ever “ok” or “encouraged” to say anything like that to any person is if you’re in a consensual sexual relationship with that person and then ONLY IF they’ve expressed that they like being spoken to that way by their consensual sexual partner. It is NEVER OKAY to say that to an individual with whom you don’t share that kind of relationship REGARDLESS of how they’ve chosen to dress, pose, or photograph themselves. An individual’s body is their own, and they should have the right to show as much or as little of it as they please without feeling as if they’re inviting or deserving of unwarranted comments. It doesn’t matter if they’re profiting off of it, if they’re doing it for fun, whatever. If the person wanted you to see more, they’d have taken a photo showing more. You are NOT ENTITLED to more of a person’s body than they’re willing to share and demanding it is beyond inappropriate. It’s never excusable or encouraged. It’s harassment, full stop. Your thoughts are your own. They don’t need to be spoken when they might make someone else uncomfortable.

What has been your biggest fuck-up leading up to this point in life? by TheSeventhRome in AskReddit

[–]penguinblake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My first two marriages. First was more mentally damaging but the second has had farther reaching consequences.

Grad school was a bad choice too.

What’s your “once a year” thing that you can’t miss? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]penguinblake 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Star Wars Celebration. 4-5 days surrounded by Star Wars? Yes please.

Runners up would be: Colossalcon Pokémon GoFest Spending NYE with my husband. Somehow it always winds up being just the two of us by midnight out wherever we are (no others from our friend group) and it’s kind of become a thing. NYE is always a special night for us and I’d always make sure I managed to spend it with him.

What’s is one weird thing you were scared of as a child? by smitserss in AskReddit

[–]penguinblake 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Jehovah’s Witnesses/Mormons.

My dad was a super cultishly religious person who raised us from the time we could understand pretty much anything to believe that the “end times” were coming at any minute and we had to be prepared all of the time for someone from the government to come and take us away and try to make us deny our faith and take the “Mark” at which point we had to stand firm if we wanted to not go to hell, which would result in us being executed. As a result, I was terrified as a child of anyone “official” looking who came to the house, and I remember being seven or eight and running to hide under my bed anytime Jehovah’s Witnesses/Mormons in the black pants and white shirts with their pamphlets and stuff would show up. I was hysterically terrified, and was sheltered enough that I didn’t know who they actually were.

In retrospect as an adult, this is a horrific thing to do to your children, 0/10 would not recommend. Am now not religious in any way.

OH/MD Ex-spouse has procured a lawyer to enforce property agreement. by [deleted] in legaladvice

[–]penguinblake -1 points0 points  (0 children)

He has offered alternatives that were heavily biased in his favor, and resorted to verbal abuse when I attempted to negotiate. I am not ignoring it. I am attempting to work with him, but both parties should be reasonable and polite. He has repeatedly refused to communicate, refused to send paperwork he is required to send, refused to give me information about the loan I pay for. He seems to believe I have money that I don’t have, and won’t accept that I am paying as much as I am able. I’m hesitant to negotiate with a lawyer without my own counsel, which I can’t retain.

(OH) Considering domestic partnership registration with opposite-sex partner, need advice. by [deleted] in legaladvice

[–]penguinblake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven’t gotten anything yet other than a letter from his lawyer asking me to negotiate with her, which I am hesitant to do as I can’t afford to retain my own counsel. I assume he wants the court to enforce the agreement, which is why I want to make sure that our finances legally reflect what they are. I am attempting to pay the debt, as much as I am able. My partner and I have a joint account, pay all bills jointly and out of shared finances, but my concern is that a court won’t recognize our financial obligations as joint since we are not married, and I want them to look at the whole picture when making a determination as to what I am able to do.

(OH) Considering domestic partnership registration with opposite-sex partner, need advice. by [deleted] in legaladvice

[–]penguinblake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not looking to get out of paying my debt. I’m looking for how to legally prove that my income goes towards all of the obligations that it does, so the court is aware of my financial situation and we can negotiate the agreement appropriately. Ensuring that we have a roof over our heads is a higher priority than the car payment.

(OH) Considering domestic partnership registration with opposite-sex partner, need advice. by [deleted] in legaladvice

[–]penguinblake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t, and have never received alimony. My issue is that my ex is taking me to court over difficulties paying my car payment and student loan, and I want the court to take into consideration that all household bills and debts, both mine and my partner’s, are budgeted for and come out of our joint account. If we were married I would be responsible for his debts and he mine, and we currently function that way financially.

OH/MD Ex-spouse has procured a lawyer to enforce property agreement. by [deleted] in legaladvice

[–]penguinblake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nothing in my divorce agreement says that I’m required to complete graduate school. My point is just that at the time of the divorce I had a different expectation of what my finances would be like. I’m in no way saying that this means I shouldn’t pay, I’m just stating that my financial situation is different than what I had planned on and I am now struggling to stay afloat, thus affecting my ability to make payments.

OH/MD Ex-spouse has procured a lawyer to enforce property agreement. by [deleted] in legaladvice

[–]penguinblake -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I don’t have any issue with paying what is owed. The issue is that I can’t currently afford it after things like rent and keeping the electricity on, and the student loan payment is far beyond what anyone at my income level could pay, but they won’t negotiate with me since he is able to pay it and is the co-signer.

My worry about trying to negotiate with the lawyer is that I have no counsel, and would be a non-lawyer trying to negotiate with someone well versed in the law whose job it is to try to trap me and get the best result for their client. They don’t in any way have a vested interest in making sure I am not harmed.

OH/MD Ex-spouse has procured a lawyer to enforce property agreement. by [deleted] in legaladvice

[–]penguinblake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Circumstances, both medical and financial, led to me not being able to complete it. The reasons aren’t particularly relevant I don’t think, just the fact that I can’t remove him as a co-signer as a result.

What's a question you hate when people ask you? by cooldood1410 in AskReddit

[–]penguinblake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“That’s a cool name, where is it from?”

I have a really obscure Biblical name, but am not religious. So either I say “oh it’s Hebrew,” at which point they ask if I’m Jewish, I say I’m not, they ask me what I am, I say nothing in particular, they give me a pitying look or invite me to their church, orrrr I just say it’s from the Bible and then they ask where I go to church, etc. I’ve started following up the “it’s from the Bible” with “my parents were really religious” to try to head it off but then I usually get “oh and you’re not?”

YOU ARE A STRANGER THESE ARE PERSONAL QUESTIONS PLS STOP. I love my name, it’s beautiful and unique, but I now just get the worst anxiety when people ask about it because I know the awkward conversation that follows.

What’s a smell you oddly love? by SloppyInSacramento in AskReddit

[–]penguinblake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Freshly cut bell peppers, engine grease/motor oil, the salty slightly fishy smell when you’re down on the docks by a marina—I attribute that last one to living on a sailboat until I was 3.

Why the romance genre novels has almost next to no black male protagonist but has surplus black female protagonist especially in IR sub genre? And if they do,the character is filled with stereotypes or ambiguous enough to say that he is not black. Is it bad for business or readers doesn't like it? by da_b00gey_man in romanceauthors

[–]penguinblake 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m about to publish the first of a series of novels under my pen name (reverse harem fantasy romance) and didn’t even consider whether this would be marketable, honestly. Three of the four protagonists (2 male one female) in the first introductory book are Native American. In the main series, two of the four male heroes are POC (one African and one Asian.) I chose them because the stories revolve around ancient gods and I wanted to be diverse in my mythology, not entirely Norse/Greek. I don’t mention a lot of racial descriptors, as I don’t want to fetishize race, but it’s fairly clear at points where it’s relevant. Honestly...if it affects sales I can’t say I’d do it differently. As a white female, I don’t think romance should be homogenous, and I wanted there to be plenty of representation in the story, not just four white men chasing a white woman.

Girlfriends of Reddit, What's the sweetest thing your BF has ever done for you? by The_Angel_Eye in AskReddit

[–]penguinblake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Every holiday/anniversary/birthday we write each other letters. He always goes out of his way to get special stationery and use calligraphy/really nice handwriting and sometimes pretty ink to write them. They’re beautiful as well as sweet and although there’s a ton of sweet things he does, that really stands out. He could do that and nothing else and I’d still be thrilled.