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crystal (reading malinda lo)

@snailpails.bsky.social

🇺🇸🇭🇰🇻🇳 Asian American, Aspiring Author, AroAce, Cat Lover 🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQA+ Characters ✨ Own Voices 🗽 NYC & New England Settings ❤️ Lover of Horror and Fantasy

41 Followers  |  72 Following  |  13 Posts  |  Joined: 08.11.2025  |  2.1816

Latest posts by snailpails.bsky.social on Bluesky

the devil wears prada is one of my favorite movies ever 🥹 i hope you enjoy!

02.02.2026 15:06 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

i think died is a synonym and vibe? ☠️ surprisingly never used perished!

#WIPSnips, #WriteSky #writingcommunity #horror #romancebooks

02.02.2026 13:41 — 👍 16    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
February 2 - perish
Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration
Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics
Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine.
Support others on the #WIPSnips tag!
Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social

The image behind the text is a border that is dark blue with gold stars with a black background with neon blue border. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner. A different version of the same illustrated caticorn is curled up writing in the lower left corner.

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag February 2 - perish Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine. Support others on the #WIPSnips tag! Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social The image behind the text is a border that is dark blue with gold stars with a black background with neon blue border. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner. A different version of the same illustrated caticorn is curled up writing in the lower left corner.

Welcome to a new week of #WIPSnips

The word for February 2nd is "perish"

Remember content/trigger warnings if necessary!

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

02.02.2026 08:33 — 👍 91    🔁 9    💬 28    📌 103

haha, we all struggle with kanji fr

02.02.2026 01:46 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

はじめまして!一緒に練が張って、勉強しましょう!

02.02.2026 01:00 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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new to blue sky, looking for mutuals #promosky

snail/crystal, 29, she/her pronouns

- asian american
- nyc foodie 😋
- currently working on two novels #writingcommunity
- book lover! #booksky
- i also read manga
- cat lover 🐈 🐈‍⬛
- and learning japanese! hmu for practice

01.02.2026 22:47 — 👍 13    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0

Flip a coin for my mood and see what happens. 🤠

01.02.2026 19:19 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Off to my best start of any year when it comes to number of books read. Finished it off with The Gashlycrumb Tinies after seeing an Edward Gorey exhibit. 💖

💙📚 #booksky

01.02.2026 18:07 — 👍 9    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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A PI and a paramedic, each haunted by an inescapable past, break their own rules to help an undocumented mother assaulted by her daughter’s American father.
💪🏼vigilante justice
❤️love story
🧊anti-ICE
🧠neurodiverseMC
🌈end=hope
👩🏼‍💻prof dev edit
⌨️pgs www.SarahBerke.com/agent-guide
#questpit #Q #A #T #WF #U

01.02.2026 03:50 — 👍 30    🔁 8    💬 1    📌 0
Side 1: Images surrounding “an agent’s guide to BEYOND THE MIST, Laurel Grant, adult fantasy 105k words”: female mermaid, bridge over a river, glowing hands on a tree trunk, cavern, male sailor aboard a ship, a girl running to the sea, a medallion, and a fishing shack. Side 2: coastal background. The Pitch - When fisherwoman Nerissa’s best friend is kidnapped by immortal Fae after she failed to warn her people that the kingdom’s warded Mists were evaporating, she must learn to face her guilt and fight to save her, or climb the mast herself.

Side 1: Images surrounding “an agent’s guide to BEYOND THE MIST, Laurel Grant, adult fantasy 105k words”: female mermaid, bridge over a river, glowing hands on a tree trunk, cavern, male sailor aboard a ship, a girl running to the sea, a medallion, and a fishing shack. Side 2: coastal background. The Pitch - When fisherwoman Nerissa’s best friend is kidnapped by immortal Fae after she failed to warn her people that the kingdom’s warded Mists were evaporating, she must learn to face her guilt and fight to save her, or climb the mast herself.

Side 1: ocean waves background. The Comps - THE VOICE- A fiery tempered, iron willed female protagonist who will stop at nothing to deliver justice to her people, however different she is from them – or how much pain she carries (pictured: The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent); THE POLITICS- Class elitism, prejudice, political infighting, coups, betrayals, conspiracies, rebellious royalty – and lies, lies, lies (pictured: The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen); THE CAST-
A multi-POV ensemble cast of unlikely friends, reluctant allies, magic wielders and wannabes, and converging paths that you won’t want to see parted (pictured: Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard; THE STAKES-
The protagonist is fighting for a noble goal – but once it is achieved, she’ll realize the true
rot is under the surface (pictured: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas). Side 2: coastal background. The Blurb: What if it wasn’t curiosity that pulled the Little Mermaid out of the sea, but guilt? With a cynical eye to all but the fisherfolk who raised her, Nerissa lives in a sea-glass prison of her own making. She did nothing when she suspected the Mists were failing – so now, Nerissa must abandon her home to rescue her best friend, Alicen. The royal knights dismiss Alicen’s abduction as a peasant’s delusion, and their rejection propels Nerissa desperately forward to the kingdom’s criminal underbelly, where a violent outlaw fresh out of the dungeons is in the mood to make a deal. The conditions of securing his supposed militia? Murder the knight who locked him in chains. Nerissa harbors no loyalty for the knighthood that has neglected her people, but the closer she gets to delivering the poison promising Alicen’s survival, the more Nerissa doubts the righteousness of her bargain. The Fae grow impatient with a prisoner whose value wanes each day, and before her assassination plot is exposed, Nerissa must decide with whom she will place her faith: the bandit, the knight, or herself.  N…

Side 1: ocean waves background. The Comps - THE VOICE- A fiery tempered, iron willed female protagonist who will stop at nothing to deliver justice to her people, however different she is from them – or how much pain she carries (pictured: The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent); THE POLITICS- Class elitism, prejudice, political infighting, coups, betrayals, conspiracies, rebellious royalty – and lies, lies, lies (pictured: The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen); THE CAST- A multi-POV ensemble cast of unlikely friends, reluctant allies, magic wielders and wannabes, and converging paths that you won’t want to see parted (pictured: Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard; THE STAKES- The protagonist is fighting for a noble goal – but once it is achieved, she’ll realize the true rot is under the surface (pictured: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas). Side 2: coastal background. The Blurb: What if it wasn’t curiosity that pulled the Little Mermaid out of the sea, but guilt? With a cynical eye to all but the fisherfolk who raised her, Nerissa lives in a sea-glass prison of her own making. She did nothing when she suspected the Mists were failing – so now, Nerissa must abandon her home to rescue her best friend, Alicen. The royal knights dismiss Alicen’s abduction as a peasant’s delusion, and their rejection propels Nerissa desperately forward to the kingdom’s criminal underbelly, where a violent outlaw fresh out of the dungeons is in the mood to make a deal. The conditions of securing his supposed militia? Murder the knight who locked him in chains. Nerissa harbors no loyalty for the knighthood that has neglected her people, but the closer she gets to delivering the poison promising Alicen’s survival, the more Nerissa doubts the righteousness of her bargain. The Fae grow impatient with a prisoner whose value wanes each day, and before her assassination plot is exposed, Nerissa must decide with whom she will place her faith: the bandit, the knight, or herself. N…

Side 1: coastal city road background. The Opening: The slick burn of wine rolled down my throat as another strike of lightning flashed outside, the spark illuminating just enough to confirm what I already knew. The dark figure in the corner of the tavern was staring back. It was the senselessness of a waking dream: for an evening promising a quickening storm, the tavern was reasonably sparse … and far too quiet. Others should have noticed him. And yet, only I seemed to know that he was watching us – had been watching us. Side 2: cavern background. The Tropes: lovers betrayal, stages of grief, father & daughter bond, abandonment issues, morally grey protagonist, found family/sisterhood, he sails to save her, knight academy, the Quest, mythical creature sidekick, discovery of power, runes & ancient magic, decoding messages, healing magic

Side 1: coastal city road background. The Opening: The slick burn of wine rolled down my throat as another strike of lightning flashed outside, the spark illuminating just enough to confirm what I already knew. The dark figure in the corner of the tavern was staring back. It was the senselessness of a waking dream: for an evening promising a quickening storm, the tavern was reasonably sparse … and far too quiet. Others should have noticed him. And yet, only I seemed to know that he was watching us – had been watching us. Side 2: cavern background. The Tropes: lovers betrayal, stages of grief, father & daughter bond, abandonment issues, morally grey protagonist, found family/sisterhood, he sails to save her, knight academy, the Quest, mythical creature sidekick, discovery of power, runes & ancient magic, decoding messages, healing magic

Side 1: apothecary desk background with scrolls, herbs, flowers, journals, and burlap. The Style: I yearned for that intoxication, not to save me from the nausea, but to numb the torment that relentlessly pinched my heart with every moment of Alicen’s absence. I knew I couldn’t feel anything more. It was unfamiliar. For all my life, I’d noted the absence of my mother, but I’d had no tangible sensations, no vivid memories to attach to her. Her absence was a constant; the origin. Missing her was to miss something that had never been there . . . to love a phantom, to long for the touch of nothing. When Andris had decided to leave for Fjordan, I’d feared that the same curse would befall us, and he’d join my mother in being utterly lost to me, as if he’d never been there. Though, the morning after Alicen disappeared was so much more horrifying than that. So much more vivid and surreal than I could’ve ever imagined. Suddenly, the grief over my mother that had always consumed me, that had likely been the genesis of the melancholy that had become inherently part of me, seemed merely more than a passing wind. What I felt now was a storm. Side 2: map of the Glynea continent; an island with 5 offshoot bluffs joined by bridges.

Side 1: apothecary desk background with scrolls, herbs, flowers, journals, and burlap. The Style: I yearned for that intoxication, not to save me from the nausea, but to numb the torment that relentlessly pinched my heart with every moment of Alicen’s absence. I knew I couldn’t feel anything more. It was unfamiliar. For all my life, I’d noted the absence of my mother, but I’d had no tangible sensations, no vivid memories to attach to her. Her absence was a constant; the origin. Missing her was to miss something that had never been there . . . to love a phantom, to long for the touch of nothing. When Andris had decided to leave for Fjordan, I’d feared that the same curse would befall us, and he’d join my mother in being utterly lost to me, as if he’d never been there. Though, the morning after Alicen disappeared was so much more horrifying than that. So much more vivid and surreal than I could’ve ever imagined. Suddenly, the grief over my mother that had always consumed me, that had likely been the genesis of the melancholy that had become inherently part of me, seemed merely more than a passing wind. What I felt now was a storm. Side 2: map of the Glynea continent; an island with 5 offshoot bluffs joined by bridges.

Hi Bluesky & #QuestPit!

🌊 What if it wasn’t curiosity that pulled the little mermaid out of the sea, but guilt?

Adult crossover fantasy ⚓️ BEYOND THE MIST 🗡️ is a dark twist on the original Little Mermaid tale & is out for querying! ✨

#agentsguide #Q #A #F #amquerying

01.02.2026 03:41 — 👍 40    🔁 11    💬 0    📌 0

SUCH A FICKLE FATE 🖤

NA grounded fantasy!

PERCY JACKSON x SECRET CIRCLE

⌛️working against the clock
⌛️celtic mythology
⌛️academic settings
⌛️roadtrips
⌛️female rage
⌛️slow burn romance
⌛️elemental magic + curses
⌛️fleetwood mac references!

#questpit #Q #F #R #S #crossover

01.02.2026 01:37 — 👍 22    🔁 4    💬 1    📌 0

💯 fumbling through this as a newb:

THROUGH THE PINES

🎨 foster kid whose drawings open portals
🏫 island boarding school hiding secrets
💫 quantum physics equals magic
🏰 visions of a boy in another world
🌉 one girl connecting two universes
🍰 layered mystery

#Q #YA #F #writingcommunity #questpit

01.02.2026 01:37 — 👍 25    🔁 6    💬 0    📌 0
a moodboard for Fault Lines 

upper left: the upper portion of a sword leaning against a stone wall
middle left: flickering flame against a black background
lower left: a slab of stone underwater; the water appears disturbed, bubbly 
upper middle: a spacious stone cavern with water at the bottom 
true middle: "The Fault in the Lines"
lower middle: a pipe against a background of stone 
upper right: a cloud-shrouded mountaintop 
middle right: a closeup of blue scales
lower right: a closeup of a person walking across the surface of water

a moodboard for Fault Lines upper left: the upper portion of a sword leaning against a stone wall middle left: flickering flame against a black background lower left: a slab of stone underwater; the water appears disturbed, bubbly upper middle: a spacious stone cavern with water at the bottom true middle: "The Fault in the Lines" lower middle: a pipe against a background of stone upper right: a cloud-shrouded mountaintop middle right: a closeup of blue scales lower right: a closeup of a person walking across the surface of water

Civilization is built upon fault lines—some well-mapped and others undefined.

Sachial thinks the whole world is out to get him; he may well be right. Caleb doesn't believe a word Sachial says, but he always listens.

#QuestPit #W #sf #lgbt

01.02.2026 03:15 — 👍 17    🔁 4    💬 2    📌 0
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The Mummy × Bridgerton × Gods of Jade & Shadow

A teen linguistics prodigy deciphers ancient glyphs & resurrects a queen erased from history. Now the gods are hunting them both, determined to drag the queen back to the underworld & silence the girl who dared to wake her.

#YA #F #QuestPit #W

01.02.2026 03:27 — 👍 24    🔁 4    💬 0    📌 0
An agents guide to the unmaking an upmarket speculative novel querying now

An agents guide to the unmaking an upmarket speculative novel querying now

The pitch: nova makes people forget what pains or impassions them, but her own grief unleashes a glitching witness who remembers everything she’s erased. And he won’t let her forget.

The pitch: nova makes people forget what pains or impassions them, but her own grief unleashes a glitching witness who remembers everything she’s erased. And he won’t let her forget.

The comps: with the haunting erasure of the memory police, the escalating momentum of chain-gang all-stars and the corporate ritual menace of Severance in Apple TV+

The comps: with the haunting erasure of the memory police, the escalating momentum of chain-gang all-stars and the corporate ritual menace of Severance in Apple TV+

The opening: nova once wondered in the memories she’d cut out followed her around, waiting for their moment to tear out her own.

The opening: nova once wondered in the memories she’d cut out followed her around, waiting for their moment to tear out her own.

THE UNMAKING — 95k Upmarket Speculative Fiction

The Memory Police x Chain-Gang All-Stars

🧠 A memory technician that makes people forget.
📺 A glitching stranger who remembers.
🧪 A system that calls emotion error.

Some things cannot be erased.
#QuestPit #A #Q #LF #S

31.01.2026 16:03 — 👍 29    🔁 11    💬 2    📌 0
Stylized movie poster of saltwater saints

Stylized movie poster of saltwater saints

🌊 SALTWATER SAINTS | 75k words | Upmarket Fiction

Set against the backdrop of an idealistic beach town, SALTWATER SAINTS explores friendship, love in all its stages, and the consequences of living your entire life for other people—and what happens when you finally decide to stop.

#questpit #q #a

01.02.2026 00:53 — 👍 28    🔁 9    💬 0    📌 0
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NOWHERE TO RUN: A black cat homicide DA and a wolf shifter crime boss with Rip and Beth vibes, a missing grandmother, an offer she can't refuse, and the family she always wanted.

Except she has to prosecute him for a crime he didn't commit.

Dark paranormal mafia romance
#questpit #dr #pr #r #q #a

01.02.2026 02:37 — 👍 17    🔁 5    💬 0    📌 0

so when do we get to shoot some vampires

01.02.2026 03:26 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

chris and bea <3

01.02.2026 03:23 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

i can confirm she is indeed unhinged and i love her

01.02.2026 03:22 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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KARBA VALLEY

🤠 Gothic western vibes
☠️ bleak fantasy setting
🖤 twisted tragic romance

Vampires and gunslingers are gonna be the next grumpy and grumpier let me tell ya...

#questpit #W #A #H #F #DF #RF #DR

01.02.2026 03:13 — 👍 14    🔁 2    💬 2    📌 0
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There’s a miscommunication crisis in The Great Republic. Foreign languages are the culprit. To sever connections to their mother tongue, multilingual children must undergo tongue removal surgery at age 4.

🩸Vietnamese MC
⚕️Immigrant family dynamics
🩸Explores systems of power

#questpit #NA #SFF #W

31.01.2026 22:45 — 👍 18    🔁 7    💬 0    📌 1
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SILVER ELITE X RINGS OF FATE

Kiaara has been hiding all her life. And you know what? She’s comfortable. Now, that’s changed. In order to take back the throne she has to put her life, and heart, on the line.

😘 Rivals to Lovers
🪾Quest
✨Chosen One
🪄 Hidden Magic

#questpit #F #Q #R

01.02.2026 02:48 — 👍 20    🔁 7    💬 1    📌 0
Mood board with images for the book title

Mood board with images for the book title

A slide with the pitch

A slide with the pitch

A slide with a quote

A slide with a quote

A slide with comp book titles

A slide with comp book titles

MY SISTER THE SERIAL KILLER X SUCH A FUN AGE 🔪💪🏾

Who’d ever think that motherhood would awaken your homicidal tendencies?

Milly is loving. Rational.
A new mom doing her best.
She’s also planning to murder her ex-boss in his Chelsea mansion.

Nothing could go wrong, right?

#QuestPit #W #A #T

31.01.2026 21:38 — 👍 31    🔁 7    💬 0    📌 0
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Revisions are finally complete!! I am seeking a #literaryagent for this spicy romantic horror featuring:

🩸 Dracula, but immoral gods
💀 Find you in every lifetime
🫀 Exploring trauma via body horror
🩶 You came, you called

(More slides—and art—in comments👀)

#amquerying #agentsguide #questpit

01.02.2026 02:57 — 👍 15    🔁 5    💬 3    📌 0
A pinboard with an assortment of images and notes pinned or taped in place.  There is a subtle branching mycellium pattern on the board.  In the top right a note is taped that says "Make me a hero." In the bottom left corner is a sticker that says "You can do it" but can is scratched out in red.  Attached to the board are the following images: a sandy horse, with a speech bubble coming off it that says "Hi! I mean... uh neigh." A crystal ball with a tree at sunset. A smoking volcano. A photo of a broken red clay pot. A calendar with the month labeled Seguster. A man in an ominous black cloak standing in a field.  A castle with a dragon flying near it.  A black kitten being held. A raven. A meteor approaching a planet. A highland cow whose photo has tape with the lesbian flag pattern. A red string loops in a heart to a picture of the shadow of a gorgon. An alder branch with catkins. The photo has a gold star sticker and blue thread connecting it to a photo of mushrooms.

A pinboard with an assortment of images and notes pinned or taped in place. There is a subtle branching mycellium pattern on the board. In the top right a note is taped that says "Make me a hero." In the bottom left corner is a sticker that says "You can do it" but can is scratched out in red. Attached to the board are the following images: a sandy horse, with a speech bubble coming off it that says "Hi! I mean... uh neigh." A crystal ball with a tree at sunset. A smoking volcano. A photo of a broken red clay pot. A calendar with the month labeled Seguster. A man in an ominous black cloak standing in a field. A castle with a dragon flying near it. A black kitten being held. A raven. A meteor approaching a planet. A highland cow whose photo has tape with the lesbian flag pattern. A red string loops in a heart to a picture of the shadow of a gorgon. An alder branch with catkins. The photo has a gold star sticker and blue thread connecting it to a photo of mushrooms.

SHE-RA x TALES OF PELL

Ota and Alder have been destined enemies for countless reincarnations. And frankly, they’re sick of it.

⚔Enemies to divorced
🖤Unchosen Ones
🤬Fuck destiny, let’s kill god
🪢Soul bonds
🌱Genderfluid dryad
🏳‍🌈Sapphic subplot

#QuestPit #Q #NA #F #Comedy

01.02.2026 02:49 — 👍 15    🔁 4    💬 2    📌 0
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YOU WERE HAPPIER BEFORE THE BABY. Psychological Horror. Lit Fic.

She would offer rest and take only what was already being pushed away.
She was the woman in the mirror.
She did not deceive.
She did not trick.
She waited.
And eventually, she replaced.

#questpit #q #a #h #lf

01.02.2026 02:29 — 👍 21    🔁 3    💬 0    📌 0
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📖 IT SHOULD’VE BEEN YOU 📖
#WF #LF #RF #A / 89k / #Q

After twelve years of marriage built on stability, a thirty-something woman secretly reconnects with her first love—forcing her to confront whether safety is enough when desire and identity have quietly eroded.

#QuestPit

01.02.2026 02:29 — 👍 14    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
Vibes of my FYP, all photos are from Pinterest and not my own work!

Vibes of my FYP, all photos are from Pinterest and not my own work!

WIP (Draft #5)
Adult Fantasy | 106k words
Pitch: when a shunned earl issues a bounty for a stolen heirloom, a cat and mouse game ensues with a reluctant bounty hunter and an ambitious alchemist prodigy both set on changing their fate.
#QuestPit #F #W

31.01.2026 22:45 — 👍 20    🔁 6    💬 3    📌 0
Haley and August - slowburn romance introduction

Haley and August - slowburn romance introduction

Haley & August - the love interest

Haley & August - the love interest

Haley & August - the love interest

Haley & August - the love interest

Haley & August - the love interest

Haley & August - the love interest

LITTLE THIEVES x NINTH HOUSE

When a nefarious witch schemes to come back to life, 16-y/o Haley Thorne must wield her death magic to travel to a realm of dead witches and monsters to stop her.

🎃Halloween deadline
🏙️NYC-setting
❤️‍🔥Slow-burn romance subplot
💀Spooky graveyards

#QuestPit #Q #F #YA

31.01.2026 22:47 — 👍 30    🔁 9    💬 0    📌 0

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