Pax Asteriae

@paxasteriae

M/M fantasy romance and erotica author. Also known as Aphna. Midlands, UK. Transmasc non-binary, they/them. No AI. #MMRomance #GayRomance #AmWriting

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Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· 26d

Bluesky's shitty trending topics strike again! So... are Microsoft the Wildfire or the Snake? Is this the new top/bottom?

Wildfires and Snakes
@trending.bsky.app

Chris Kerr @kerrblimey.bsky.social - 50m

New: Unions in the U.S. and Canada are have filed unfair labor practice charges against Microsoft for allegedly mishandling its latest round of mass layoffs.
CWA Canada president Carmel Smyth claims Microsoft "unlawfully" fired Bethesda Game Studio Montreal workers without notifying the union.

[A photo of people protesting, holding up various signs such as 'We don't run from boss fights.']

Unions take legal action against Microsoft over Xbox layoffs
CWA Canada president Carmel Smyth claims the company 'unlawfully fired people without giving notice to or discussing it with the union.'

www.gamedeveloper.com

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· 26d

On a less 'fuck these morons' note, or possibly just a different one... Bsky's appalling trending list strikes again, but at least this time it made me laugh. The ultimate in private schooling! (If you don't mind getting nommed.)

Private Schools
@trending.bsky.app
See Through Canoe @seethroughcanoe.bsky.social - 50m
A Manatee swimming with a HUGE group of rays in Tampa Bay, Florida. Manatees are found in freshwater but are mostly saltwater aimals. Freshwater habitats aren't big enough to support a breeding population of manatees.
#nature #animals #amazing #florida #wildlife
An image of many, many rays skimming over the surface of green water or swimming beneath it. There's a big clear arc behind them, and in the centre is a manatee, relatively massive compared to the size of the fleeing rays.
White text overlaid at the top left reads, "Manatee Swimming in a HUGE School of Rays"

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· 27d

Noodling my way back through Bunny is fascinating. I remember when we were all playing this! (Even me on dialup, and I didn't *always* lose... 😂) bunny-comic.com/278.html

Screenshot of the Bunny webcomic.
Title: v1.5
Bunny - bunny.frozenreality.co.uk - 06 Jun 05
guest strip by drunk welshy
The Pink Bunny is sitting on a red grid with a green lightcycle trail to its left and a blue spiky sphere between them.
"the Bunny was sure it could hear the deep doom drone of recognisers..."

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· 27d

Is there something Microsoft wants to tell me about the final??

Screenshot of Microsoft's World Cup coverage from the widget menu thing in Windows.

At the top it shows today's match: France vs. Spain. FRA 0 - 2 ESP.
Below that, it shows tomorrow's semifinal: England vs. Argentina.

More concerningly, below that it shows the matchup for the final, where one team is To Be Decided and the other is, inexplicably, France. Who have just lost to Spain.

Not that Microsoft had their own favourite or anything...

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jul 11

#SummerOfStories This is a pretty long one. Milos is assigned a new house and Alex goes with him to look at it. So they're both happy, but for rather different reasons in the end. 😁

Milos turned to him; for one instant Alex thought he was finally going to get the pathetic attempt at a cuff he'd been expecting. When the elf wrapped both his arms around Alex instead, hugging him so tightly he almost slapped Alex across the face with his ear and burying his nose against Alex's neck, it was more than just the force of the hug that took his breath away. "This is incredible! I can't believe it!"
By rights he should be shoving the elf away. This sort of thing — in public, even! — was ridiculous.
His arms encircled the elf without his permission. That they always felt so right around him was Milos's fault, of course. Couldn't be Alex's, he'd never hugged a man before Milos, so obviously it was Milos's fault.
When Milos released him Alex barely had time to take a breath before the elf grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him through the door, without even a pause for them to take their shoes off. They came to a halt in the living room, a space that looked far larger inside than it had from outside and led through an archway into what was probably intended to be the dining room. Patio doors at the end revealed a long strip of green: Milos froze, staring at it with wide eyes. "There's a garden?"
"Apparently so," Alex said drily. He'd seen Milos experience a lot of emotions, but this one was new and Alex found he liked the wide-eyed wonder. It wouldn't last; he'd savour it now, while he could. "If you think I'm mowing it you're sorely mistaken."

Milos grinned and, rather than answer, abandoned Alex in the middle of the room and padded along into the dining space. Alex watched, amused, as Milos peered through the window at the garden, his fingers hovering just above the glass rather than touch it and leave his prints all over the spotlessly clean surface, then glanced away, let out a short cry of delight, and trotted out of view.
Alex found himself smiling and had to turn away to inspect the room to get over the unexpected feeling. The bay window did a lot to add to the impression of space that was so lacking from outside, and the fireplace in the left-hand wall, filled with a neat little electric heater, was a surprise: he'd expected someone to have blocked it up by now and taken out the flue entirely. There was more than enough space to fit in Milos's sole item of furniture, his new sofa. Even with it, the room would still look too open, too empty. Obviously the next step was to convince Milos he was allowed to own more than one item...
"What're you doing?" Milos's voice cut through his thoughts. "Come and look." Alex opened his mouth; before he could say anything, Milos seized his hand and dragged him towards the kitchen, grinning the entire time. "It's amazing, there's central heating! I can't believe it!"
Milos's hand was warm and felt surprisingly good. Was it supposed to feel like that? And wasn't he supposed to let go once he'd hauled Alex into the next room, rather than carry on holding on?

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jul 10

Got here, unpacked, took smol dog for a walk, a doggie ice cream, and an Epic Wee, and now she's conked out.

Photo of a small black and brown Miniature Pinscher in a blue collar laying on a grey sofa. Her eyes are tightly closed and she's fast asleep.

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jul 10

Smol dog at station.

Photo of a small black and brown Miniature Pinscher sat on a train station bench beside a blue suitcase and slightly on my combat trouser-wearing legs.

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jul 9

#FantasyIndiesJuly 9 I don't really have any aesthetics or mood boards set up. It's an awkward project really. I just have these two renders.

3D render of Caeso, a pale man wearing a red shibari rope around his chest and a red leather wrist cuff. He is biting on the arm of a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and is smiling.
Text on it reads, "A little hard work never did anyone any harm, and for Caeso, it's not only the work that's hard..."

3D render of a yellowed CRT monitor, old-fashioned keyboard, and mouse. There are no cables attached to anything because the model didn't come with any (but it was free and generously shared) and the power button is nonexistent because the model doesn't like my 3D rendering program. (I bet it works fine in Blender. I, however, don't.)

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jul 9

#BluePitHype Ahaha... I bought a ball-jointed doll I didn't already have a character for. Somewhere along the line his character appeared, then his personality and his stories, and he now no longer looks like his doll. (This is not the first time this has happened.)

Photo of a slender grey ball-jointed doll wearing a loose, long sleeved white shirt and jeans. He has white hair and red eyes, and is sitting on a bookcase looking forlornly off to the right.

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jul 9

#SummerOfStories Most of my characters are very much *never* exquisitely fashioned. 😅 Caeso likes comfy clothes and Milos lives in jeans and T-shirts. I haven't got far on Caeso's Christmas story or even started the ~1800s one, so... Milos's description of Alex from book 1. Milos isn't impressed.

Milos wouldn’t have cared if it was; a glance up at Jaska made him kept his mouth shut. Something about the way the man stared down at his meal made him think Jaska took food seriously, rather than just being glad it existed at all. Well, of course he did. The tailored cuts of his suits, the immaculate quality of his shoes; Milos had seen people like Jaska before. They owned the glossy shoes that kicked him when they thought no one could see. They wore their expensive jackets loose and their ties undone as they propositioned him in the street after business nights out, and he didn’t want to remember what those ties got used for if he was stupid, or desperate, enough to accept. A shudder rattled through him.

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jul 9

I found the pet Peev! bunny-comic.com/155.html

Screenshot of the Bunny webcomic.
Top line is "its name was alber," dated 02 Feb 05
The comic shows a cute and rounded punk Bunny looking at an equally cute fluffy orange thing sitting in front of a bowl with 'ALBER' written on it.
Text underneath reads, "After months of searching, the Bunny had finally aquired a pet Peev"
Bunny © H. Davies, All Rights Reserved

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jul 7

Changed my profile pic to Caeso, but somehow he looks so grumpy when scaled down. 😂 He's smiling slightly, honest!

3D render of Caeso, a pale man with white hair and dark brown eyes. He is smiling slightly at the camera, his head tilted somewhat to one side, and he's wrapped in red rope with his arms behind his back.

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jul 4

#SummerOfStories I don't really have any scenes like that, I don't think... or if I do, they're a bit spoilery. So here's a bit from Caeso's main story where someone tries to kill him. (Unedited and messy, sorry.)

Probably a blessing, he decided as he took his place at the platform. Funny how much faster it was to get a ticket even when it was crowded when there wasn't a god magically stalling the machine. The only downside to fast receipt of a ticket was that the train was, as ever, inevitably late. Well, late trains were the only reason he'd managed to catch it last time and even as he stood with hands shoved deep in his pockets and shoulders slouching, thinking grumpy thoughts about late trains and mouthy gods, he could feel the subtle vibration through the soles of his feet that indicated the train in question was approaching. From a distance he could hear the train's horn as it approached the bend.
A hand-shaped pressure between his shoulders. A hard shove. Caeso stumbled forward over the yellow line and face-first over the edge of the platform and toward the track; the train breasted the corner, still going far too fast to stop before it hit him—
A hand seized the back of his jacket and hauled him backwards onto the platform again. Fresh air under his feet became reassuring slabs once more.
He twisted to look over his shoulder and thank his rescuer.
Already vanishing into the crowd, the tall and slender form of Mercury gave him a brief wink before he was swallowed by the throng.

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jul 2

#SummerOfStories I try to start with something that might make the reader curious (...novel idea, right? 🤦), but somehow Caeso's stories usually start out with him getting a job from a god, which shows both Caeso's personality and the god's. I enjoyed writing this opening to Hard Work a lot. 😂

Chapter One

He’d had a long, long time to practice his calm nerves and steady hands, but when Mercury strolled unannounced from his living room into his dining room one morning, Caeso’s morning tea tried to leap out of his cup and over his hand instead.
“Hi,” Mercury said, somewhat redundantly, like he hadn’t just meandered through Caeso’s house without even having the grace to knock. “How are you?”
“Why are you here?”
Mercury frowned. “I’m pretty sure that’s not how this conversation is supposed to go.”

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jun 29

Haha, sleep's always more important! Awwww, kitty hugs. 😄 Thank you~

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jun 28

#LGBTQWriteAThon No 'Magic' in Hard Work, so this comes from Caeso's Christmas story instead. Unfortunately for Caeso, a simple glamour to scare bad people isn't the same as a god's magic, so... no sensing of curses for him.

“I think,” Luke said with a grin, “that was more about not scaring off the customers.” Then he sobered, running his thumb in circles over Caeso’s palm. “You mentioned a curse earlier. I know you both dismissed it, but now you’re here, can you tell if there is one?”
Caeso closed his eyes, tried to feel the way Kita had tried to teach him in the past. All he could sense was the unrelenting beat of his heart and the sound of his and Luke’s breathing in the too-quiet café.
Finally, reluctantly, he opened his eyes again. “Despite everything I’m still mortal, you know. I have the magical ability of a brick. Probably even less than that.”
It was a little disconcerting to see Luke smiling at him. “But you’re much prettier than a brick, so it was still worth it.”

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jun 28

#WIPSnips: Sensational I didn't have it so I went for 'spectacular,' which I apparently have two of. This is floating around at the bottom of the scene I'm writing, 'cause the thing with Lee is that I never get his sections done in a sensible order. He's too fond of silliness to let it go unwritten!

A blonde woman in a brown apron came over and placed a small white box in front of him. “Your cream horn to go,” she said with a smile, then returned to the counter.
Caeso stared down at it, then up at Lee, who was failing so spectacularly to hold back his smirk he might as well have not bothered.
“What?” He asked, all innocence. “It seemed apt. I’m sure your boss would love to share a nice cream-filled horn with you.”
He stared a moment longer, then shook his head and laughed. “You bastard.”

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jun 26

Oops, the government accidentally told the truth with their truncated title.

Screenshot of an Android news feed. The central article reads, "Government pushes forward with conversion practices ..."
GOV.UK 21h

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jun 23

I'd missed Lee. 😂

Lee waved at him, grinning broadly, as Caeso entered the café. “Looking smart! How’re you finding the job?”
He slid from his suit jacket and settled into the seat opposite, scrubbing one hand over his face. “It’s tiring.”
“Tiring, or tiring?” He dragged out the last word with heavy emphasis, like Caeso could miss the innuendo with the way Lee’s eyebrows wiggled enthusiastically. “I can’t believe you’re working for Syrinx! But he did seem to like you when he was a regular.” Another vigorous wiggle of the eyebrows.

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jun 23

#WIPSnips I didn't think I'd have this, not even with ~vibes~ but it turned up in Caeso's original story, back when he made an incredibly terrible decision that still worked out perfectly— *checks notes* —Uh... never mind. (So, so unedited. 💀)

He recited it perfectly, enunciating every word clearly just in case another indirect insult might be forthcoming, and it seemed good enough for the official. "Thank you. I hope you both realise what I'm doing for you," he added as he tidied his desk again while his dark eyes remained locked on them. "This is supposed to be decided by a court, not by me. I'm only doing this as a favour, and because you're both sure of this. There's no argument to it so by rights there shouldn't be any objections. But if you," he nodded to Caeso, "are able to pay off your debt prior to the term ending, you can do so without penalty or restriction. Remember that."

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jun 23

#SmutPitHype Caeso is a Roman who was cursed to immortality two thousand years ago after the death of his lover. He became a psychopomp and agent of vengeance. He's just so Done With Everything... but he's still so very human. I've put him through hell, poor boy, and he's still going. 😭

3D portrait render of Caeso, a pale man with short, neatly styled white hair and dark brown eyes. He wears a grey turtle neck sweater and is looking at something just beyond the camera.

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jun 21

I don't collect girl dolls, but I love that Dream Valley decided the world needs a cute tentacle monster girl. 😂 yougudm.com/english.php?...

Photo of a cute blonde Asian ball-jointed doll with a demure white dress and white cap with red decoration. She is smiling and her hands are raised elegantly, and she has three long red articulated tentacles rising out of her dress.

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jun 21

#LGBTQWriteAThon Cheating slightly, because the first humorous moment I chose didn't actually come from Hard Work, but from the untitled Christmas story instead. Then felt a bit bad because it's not the current project and found one from Hard Work too.

For a few moments, blessed silence reigned.
All too soon shattered. “How was lunch?”
He dropped his face to the desk and groaned. “Too much talking.”
“You actually held conversations?” Geoff’s voice was laced with amusement.
Caeso raised his hand, finger and thumb a short distance apart.
“And you’re trying not to have another one?”
He rearranged his gesture into a thumbs-up.

“Oh,” and Caeso could almost hear the raised eyebrow in Geoff’s voice, “did he not mention me?”
Why did everyone think he could condense two thousand years of life into a few short conversations? Reluctantly abandoning the relative safety of the table, Caeso dragged himself upright again. “Luke, this is Geoff. He’s a...” What was relatively normal to him, Caeso realised, would suddenly sound absolutely insane in the polite confines of the café, to Luke who, despite his own issues, had only ever been involved with a safe, mundane world. Geoff’s hair was long enough, and curly enough, to obscure the pointed tips to his ears and, quite frankly, saying ‘satyr’ out loud would make him sound like a lunatic.
He settled on, “a problem,” instead.

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jun 21

#WIPSnips: Jacket I thought I only had one 'jacket' in this in a scene I shared a while ago, but turns out I have one from the chapter I'm currently writing too. Although Caeso might just wear a sweater tomorrow instead...

Geoff’s grin turned predatory. “If you could see the colour of your ears right now…”
“It’s embarrassment. Someone could be along any minute.”
“Mm-hmm.” The finger edged higher. “I meant it when I said you look good. I think this is the most dressed I’ve ever seen you.”
He refused to dignify that with an answer.
Again the finger shifted higher, to tease the line between his thigh and groin. Caeso shifted against the leg beneath him, trying to escape, but all he succeeded in managing was to move nearer to Geoff. “A nice suit jacket too. But no tie. Shame,” Geoff hummed, each word hot against Caeso’s tender ear and sending sparks along his neck and shoulders. “I had some interesting ideas for a tie and your wonderful compliance.”

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jun 19

#FaveLineFriday These two lines amused me probably far more than they should. 😂 I wish I had it together enough to have a proper writing process. 💀

This was a terrible idea: the moment anyone walked through the door, the first thing they’d see was the temp secretary on his boss’s lap, halfway to getting fucked on someone else’s desk. He was pretty sure he hadn’t made a great first impression yesterday; this would be an absolutely awful second one.

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jun 18

*coughs* Might not have had quite the space I expected, but hey, it fits!

3D render of Caeso, a pale man with white hair. He is kneeling on the floor with a red blindfold over his eyes, his hands bound behind his back, and a bundle of red cloth over his left right and in front of his crotch.
The title is very long and reads, "Caeso Catches A Killer While Banging His Boss" but some of it is hard to see as his head and shoulders are in the way.

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jun 18

#WIPSnips: Resume Another god asking Caeso to take a job, except this one is less of an arsehole and more of an overgrown puppy...

“—so I assume that means you’ll say yes?”
Caeso stared at him until Mercury fidgeted, just slightly, then returned his attention to his tea.
From just above the rim of his cup, he saw the other man pout, fold his arms on the table and drop his chin down to them. It was going to be the puppy eyes, he just knew it. He drained the last of the cold liquid, because he’d be damned — again — if he was going to microwave it, put down the cup, and stared into the god’s big, brown, and beseeching eyes. “You know that won’t work on me.”
“Yes, I know.” Mercury sighed and sat up again. “Thought it was worth a try.”
Caeso resumed his Stare.
“Oh, come on. It’s just one job. One little job. It won’t take you more than a week—” He hesitated at Caeso’s continued silence, then added, “okay, maybe two weeks. Three at the most. But you’re good at this, and it’s a job I can’t really ask Dea or Kita to do.”
“Why can’t you?” He hesitated. “You said no brothels.”

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jun 17

Name a TV show you’re positive no one remembers but you.

Poster for the TV show Eternal Law, featuring two angels returning to earth as lawyers to help mankind (and two human women, and a demon who is also a lawyer).

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jun 17

#WIPSnips: Platform No trains in Hard Work, so it's from Caeso's main book instead. Mars is being... well, Mars. (I started writing this in 2018? I'll finish it, uh, one day...)

Mars pouted. It looked handsome on him, of course. It did nothing to stop Caeso wanting to slap it from his face. “You took a job for the first time in over a month today.”
“Kita offered it.” Caeso thumped the heel of his hand experimentally into the machine. It still refused to divulge the ticket. “She looked tired. I was worried she might overwork.”
“I'll have to give her more jobs if it'll get you working again.” He folded his arms, crossed his legs and smiled at Caeso like a male model; two passing women stared, wide-eyed and immediately smitten, and almost fell down the stairs to the platform. “But really, why haven't you taken any? Orcus was worried for you, and you know how he frets.”
Caeso closed his eyes briefly and would have prayed for strength ... if he thought it'd actually get him anywhere. “Please don't try to guilt-trip me.”
Mars' gaze flicked from Caeso's head to his toes and back again, and a more neutral expression settled over his refined features. “Orcus was worried. So was I. You've barely spoken to anyone in months. If you're going back into a decline—”
“What, now you're worried about me?” Caeso asked bitterly. “A good couple of millennia after you ruined my life in the first place?”
Absolutely no expression whatsoever stirred those placid features. “You've had time to adjust.”

Pax Asteriae@paxasteriae· Jun 16

#WIPSnips A very WIP snip, fresh off the press. Kita's a good friend, even when she's teasing Caeso mercilessly.