Butterflies & Achievements

Butterflies inside the Butterfly Dome

For the last few weeks, I’ve been playing Planet Crafters, which is currently in beta. The game is surprisingly good for something that is relatively new. It has a couple of things that appeal to me a lot. One — stretching resources and challenges that make you push and plan your game strategy. Two — frivolity, of a kind. While insects would be important in any terraforming effort (though I have some ethical questions about terraforming these days that I didn’t when I was younger), butterflies wouldn’t have been my first pick of insect. The developers picked them though, and I have enjoyed their in-game presence.

My basecamp

It also led me down a bit of a rabbit hole on terraforming in general. Here’s one thread I found interesting.

Overall, I like the game. The achievements are mostly chronological to the game play, which I like. It reminds me of another game I play a lot called Planetbase, though that one has more of a sim style, verses the first person aspect.

Some things I hope the game designers improve: An option to switch from a POV camera to a third person camera. An option to switch from a “right hand” POV to a “left hand” POV. A portable map via the hand held device. While it does have maps in the game progression, it stinks that you can’t access it via the HUD.

Book Stuff

All through the month of November, Mythical Desires eBooks are $0.99 for the month across all platforms. If you’ve been waiting to purchase the eBooks when they are on sale, now’s your chance! For quick reference, I’ve included my Linktree. You can click here to check it out.

You can also check out this month’s Bookfunnel promos which has a wide variety of books on sale. I’ve compiled them all into one helpful post with links you can find here.

If you’re wondering what I’ve been working on in the meantime, here is an excerpt featuring Jason and Mason from Death Warmed Over in a new novella that focuses on their relationship.

Excerpt from Tulips & Fangs

Tulips & Fangs is a novella in the Vampire Accords Book series due out sometime in 2023.

We stopped in front of a large wall covered by a massive array of vines supported by a lattice. Jason reached out. The vines moved slowly to touch him and caress his hand.

“Have you ever seen a fae vine?”

“I’ve heard of them, but I’ve never seen one. They’re supposed to be sentient. Like ents, but non-verbal.”

Jason smiled. “Oh they are very sentient. This is Sydney. Come say hello, Mason.”

I reached toward the plant and it moved toward me while continuing to stay in contact with Jason. Vines stretched across my hand and caressed my palm. A moment later, other vines twisted and formed a face that looked like Jason’s with an approximation of a smile. I wondered how long it took for them to learn something as complex as a facial expression.

“Sydney helps me take care of the greenhouse. They’ve been my assistant and companion for about twenty years now.”

“Jason, are you telling me that you have a fae vine as a familiar?”

I’d never heard of vampires having familiars, but Jason’s magic wasn’t typical for vampires. It made him as unique as me in some ways. Maybe even more so.

“You could call them that, but I prefer companion. When we started together, Sydney was a clipping one of my professors gave me from his own fae vine, with their permission of course. Bobby was their name. They were over two hundred years old and had ancestors that were associated with my professor’s family as far back as he could remember. At a certain age, they start branching off small parts of themselves to ensure their continued survival.”

The vines were supple and made a rasping noise as they moved. Sydney reached out to caress my face with a hand like appendage they had created from a mess of their vines. The vines themselves had streaks of red and purple interwoven into the dark green that was even darker further into the mass that was held up by the lattice.

“You’re remarkable, Sydney, truly. I’m happy to meet you.” I glanced at Jason and watched as his lips curved into a smirk. “Is there something else?”

He nodded. “Sydney, would you like to offer Mason a seat?”

Strong vines stretched out from two points on the lattice above us. We stepped back and watched as Sydney created a swing, complete with a seat. Jason gestured for me to sit down and when I did, the seat shaped it self to my ass. I kicked and the seat swayed gently.

“Did you show this to Dorothea? She would have loved it!”

Jason smiled. “Sydney has a few surprises that I don’t think would be suitable for a child. Jason pointed out some of the nodules on the thicker vines holding me up. “These are feeding spikes. While fae vines can subsist on water and sunlight, to make them thrive, they need flesh and blood. Not all the time, but enough to keep them healthy and maintain a good growth rate.”

“And why isn’t Sydney trying to devour me right now?”

He leaned down and kissed my lips. “They aren’t because like most things in this world, if you treat them with respect, they will do the same. Do you want Sydney to bite you?”

I stared at Jason. Was he serious?

“Stop thinking and answer the question, Mason.”

“Fuck. Yes, please.”

October Reads

I didn’t read as much as I wanted to, but what I did read was all quality! You can check out the short list here.

That’s it my friends! Thanks for reading and for fun, feel free to answer the poll below.