iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 01/10/2026

Like horror? Like queer horror? Love books, visual novels, and story-based games? Check out WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IN THE DARKNESS, and get not only my own horror anthology, but a bunch of other people's fantastic work! itch.io/b/3876/we-ha...

We Have Always Been in the Darkness
itch.io bundle, 37 items for $10

Horror e-books, visual novels, and narrative games, either with queer character and themes, or by queer authors. Often both.

These stories are dark, we do not deny it. But darkness is familiar, to people like us. Those who told themselves they own the daylight may have done their best to deny we exist...
...but we have always been in the darkness.

Graphic and text by @amweald.com

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 01/10/2026

Living in a sentient ship has its own unique set of disadvantages. HOW WE GOT HERE: www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/... HOW IT'S GOING: www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/... BUNDLE WITH ALL OF THE ABOVE: itch.io/s/195896/the...

screenshot from an advice thread about "Found Family Relationships" and "Sentient Starships"

The question being asked is: "My 29-year old (picture of Yana) keeps saying "she just wants privacy, and wants me to remove the camera in her room, what should I do? I am not removing the camera because she stays up late at night to work."

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 01/10/2026

#LitHodgepodge Good morning all! My name is Dan, and my name is also Barrows. I write sci-fi and fantasy and, when the stars align, horror! Right now I'm focusing on commission work, while chipping away at my two WIPs: First Light 3 (sci-fi), and Shadow Puppets (swords and sorcery).

PAPERBACK – HARDCOVER (Paperback)
SERIES – STANDALONE (Standalone)
TEARS – LAUGHS (Tears)
COFFEE – TEA (Coffee)
HERO – VILLAIN (Hero)
CHARACTER-DRIVEN – PLOT-DRIVEN (Character-driven)
COMPUTER – PEN & PAPER (Computer)
SWEET – SALTY (Salty)
SILENCE – SOUNDTRACK (Silence)
BOOKMARK – DOG-EAR (Bookmark)
PLOTTER – PANTSER (Pantser)
LUSH – MINIMALIST (Lush)
VOMIT DRAFT – SLOW CRAFT (Slow craft)
MORNING – MIDNIGHT (morning)

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 17/09/2026

"The rules that bind them are mine to bend and yours to break." Behold! Khamsin and Sahira from Shadow Puppets, brought to life by the incredible @argovelaart.bsky.social! These characters are very important to me and I wanted them done right--and not only did Argo deliver, she blew me away!

A piece of character art by ArgoVela (@argovelaart.bsky.social) depicting two figures. To the right is Khamsin, a very tall and powerfully built woman with beige skin, short blonde hair, and covered in scars. She carries a large curved blade on her back and wears a sun hat-like helmet and a pauldron made of bug parts and decorated with gossamer wings. She towers well above the other figure, and is shielding her from the wind with her cloak while watching her protectively.

To the left is, Sahira, an averagely-sized human, who s walking carefully in the shade provided. Her skin is olive and she has dark long hair, dresses in loose clothes in tones of blue and purple, and wears a vast assortment of moon-themed silver jewelry. She seems a little bit embarrassed to be shielded from the wind in such a way, but is doing a good enough job hiding it.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 13/09/2026

I always feel torn throwing my hat on the ring for stuff like this because it feels so presumptuous. I don't fully feel like I've earned that kind of attention. That said, if I ever do get visited by the Fanart Fairy one day, I will implode on the spot, which will surely be entertaining to watch.

"May I please draw your OC?"
Reshare this post if you encourage anyone who wants to draw your OC to do so. There is no need to ask for permission in advance.
Go for it. Draw my OC. If you want, I'll even give you reference posts. Go to town on it.
You are welcome to draw my OC and surprise me with the result. Seriously. In fact, I encourage it. I will proudly display whatever it is you submit to me regarding my OC. There is a chance that I qill sequel about it for several days.
Even if you feel you aren't good at whatever artistic adventure it is you do, please feel free to submit it to me. I want to see what you have done.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 10/09/2026

Presented without comment (CW: gore)

$There are three inches of air between REDACTED's head and his shoulders. A translucent curve—his blade, his hand still clenched around the grip—flies across the air amidst a crimson cloud. Pain blossoms for an excruciating fraction of a second, and then it is gone, and silence swallows all. Black feathers scatter to a wind that is not there, and all that is is no longer, not yet, and never to be.$

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 04/09/2026

Hope you enjoyed your break! Nina did a great job, but it's just as nice to have you back. The *absence* of a dawn is a recurring theme in Shadow Puppets, as most of the story takes place underground. So this is going to be a fun month for me! #SapphicLineShare #lesficfri #queerwriters

Though the word 'dawn' holds no meaning in the Underworks, Sahira wakes up at silence's peak to find the bed empty.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 01/09/2026

I love this! And what better way to celebrate #SapphicSeptember than to talk about Khamsin with this wonderful NSFW OC meme. One like, one answer--you know the deal! Feed me hearts and I'll prattle. Or if you have any specific questions, drop them below and I'll give you the personalized treatment.

"NSFW OC Meme - repost and answer with your OCs"
29 questions

1. What's their position in bed? (top, bottom, vers, sub, dom, etc)
2. What turns them on/off?
3. How long does it take for them to climax?
4. Most sensitive part(s) of their body?
5. Easier way to seduce them?
6. How often do they masturbate?
7. What's their favorite position?
8. How did they lose their virginity?
9. Favorite place to have sex?
10. Ever been caught having sex or masturbating?
11. Are they loud or quiet?
12. Do they own any sex toys?
13. Do they prefer giving or receiving?
14. How often do they have sex?
15. Their biggest sexual desire?
16. What's the best term to describe your OC sexually?
17. Their bra or dick size?
18. What do they think about when they masturbate?
19. What's their sexual orientation?
20. What's their favorite thing to do sex-wise?
21. Weirdest place they've had sex?
22. Their favorite place on the body to be kissed?
23. Worst sex experience?
24. Have they ever orgasmed more than once in one go?
25. How often do they think about having sex?
26. Are they self-conscious about any part of their body?
27. How long does sex normally last with them?
28. Are they serious during sex or do they like to laugh?
29. Wild-card. Give us a fun fact!

Khamsin from Shadow Puppets, made using Makówka's Picrew. A blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman with tanned skin, scars and freckles and a big ol' smile full of sharp teeth. Not depicted: her being built like a truck

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 28/08/2026

Probably not the kind of confession we'd be hoping for--but sometimes you confess to the smaller crime to get away with something else! #SapphicLineShare

Sahira examines the smaller of the two tunics for a moment. She turns the stiff fabric in her hands, then slides it over her own ragged attire. Where the brined fabric hangs loose about Khamsin's body, Sahira's fills it, and though the giant-blooded is not one to feel jealousy, she wonders, for a moment, if she wouldn't mind the palace's dresses less if she wore them as easily as Sahira wears this simple tunic.

"You're staring," Sahira says.

Caught off-guard, Khamsin hesitates; then, kneejerk-like, finds solace in the familiar: a wider smile, a more shameless wandering of the eyes.

It's easier to admit than to confess—easier to explain.

"Maybe I am." Oh, how easily the sleaze drips from Khamsin's tongue, how seamlessly the mask of caricature fits over her features. "What are you going to do about it?"

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 28/08/2026

I dream of adding more mentions of dreams to this story later--as is, I'll have to make do with one of the places the girls visit, a gossamer den called the House of Waking Dreams. #lesficfri

The open air welcomes them both, heavy with silence. The city is beginning to recover after the storm; from the corner of her eyes, Khamsin—Naeko—sees doors open, windows unbar, and the day's first footprints upon the sand.

The door to the House of Waking Dreams is a slab of thick ebony, framed by the two distinctive tahoe wings—the eponymous gossamer—that advertise the kind of establishment it is. As if the stench of burnt cuticula and wildflowers that emerged from within, and the wisps of vapor that crawl, tendril-like, across the floor did not make its purpose abundantly transparent.

It is through this door, and not the traditional layered curtains, that the two step. True to its name, the House never sleeps, and its porter, an Outsider with skin like coarse sand and long sleeves that caress the floor, welcomes them with the cold warmth of a creature roused from hibernation.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 27/08/2026

I got hit by this one a few months ago and tbh I'm still recovering

reply I got from the spambot vibesmom.bsky.social, to a post I made about avoiding the "men writing women" problem by just asking people with female bodies for help.

The bot said:
"That's a huge step, recognizing you don't have experience with female bodies. What do you think is the most important thing to ask for help with, specifically in that scene?"

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 26/08/2026

I recently finished drafting a short story about a suit of animated armor with an unhealthy obsession for its wearer, and now I'm editing it. It's not really NSFW until they wear it and then it uh. Becomes that. Here's one of the milder bits. #nsfwocdaily #ocnsfw #oc #ocsky

You know what comes next, bearer mine, I know you do, and I know you fear and crave it in equal amounts. Every gap is knitted. Every space is filled—I entomb you. All that is me flows from the hard shell and all about you like a warm bath. It floods your senses. Feel me—do you feel me now? You you feel me tighten around your chest, adjusting to your skin? We will not need these crude rags, bearer mine, they are for peasants, not legends. Allow a thousand tendrils to tear them apart, allow my gentlest secretions to massage them off you—ah, yes, so much better now, isn't it? Flesh to skin. I feel through you. I feel your reticence and your desire as I seal you away completely.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 26/08/2026

#SumLuv Adding in a line from one of the future First Light books because I like it as well. This might be as close to classic 'romantic' as I can get!

"My heart beats slow. Yours races. They may be different, but I feel no distance between them. We call this a closeness, but your people have a different word for it, do they not?"

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 26/08/2026

#SumLuv I don't know about how romantic this line is--romance, as I see it, is a delicate thing, and I wouldn't call myself a delicate writer, or Khamsin a delicate character, for that matter. But she does have rizz!

“There were fields of flowers all across the oases, when I was a child,” she says, “and bees aplenty. They call us a Bandit Kingdom, but I’ve seen no such beauty here.” She smiles, catching herself. “With a few exceptions.”

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 22/08/2026

#PretendPanel I have three pieces of character art so far, all for First Light, and I love them all very dearly. But the one that brings the vibes full on is this lovely drawing of Six by (who else?) Nush. I still find myself starting at it sometimes. Lesbian robots forever.

Artwork of Six from my book series First Light, as drawn by @nushdeco.bsky.social.

A gynoid robot themed after a 1920s flapper, surrounded by art noveau-style architecture, such as an ornate stairwell and a circular window. She wears a yellow dress and high heels, and is carrying a book. Some of her body has been damaged and repaired. Her right leg is wooden, and her right arm looks vicious and weapon-like. She is surrounded by storm clouds, and a mechanical spider hangs next to her.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 21/08/2026

#lesficfri "Pain" Considering the subject matter--and the kind of thing the Shadow Puppets girls get up to--it was just a matter of time. CW: knife

The fine edge of obsidian does not deign to pierce skin, not yet. Sahira's eyes stare into hers; you haven't earned this pain, they seem to say. The blade doesn't ask, it demands; it dances over gooseflesh, drawing shallow breaths from Khamsin's chest.

"You actually like this, don't you?"

Khamsin flashes a weak grin. "Only because you do it so well."

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 21/08/2026

#SapphicLineShare #LesFicFri Thanks for hosting! Here's one of my favorite references to blushing in my WIP so far 😁

"I can at the very least keep the door locked overnight—unless you'd rather I didn't?"

There it is, Khamsin thinks, that spark of boldness, so deeply buried on their first meeting, so blatant now. It catches her off-guard, every time. Keeps her guessing. To agree would be too forward, to ignore her words, no fun, and so they often find themselves in the kind of sparring that leaves no bruises, a verbal lunge here, there a parry, each seeking to stagger the other. To draw blood not from a wound, but to the skin's surface.

"I'll just knock if it comes to that."

Sahira graces her limp comeback with a look of amusement, nothing more.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 21/08/2026

#SumLuv Roughly! It happens at the same time, but it does not develop equally--Khamsin mistakes it for the usual lust and gets very confused when she realizes this is new and different, whereas Sahira clocks it immediately and halfheartedly tries to push back against it. Pining? Well...

The mattress is tough, the room dark, and this she welcomes, and sighs. Her eyelids are heavy, and they have been for a lifetime, but when she closes her eyes and invites sleep, only darkness comes; her mind is in tumult, thoughts bubbling under the surface, so dense and restless, she can almost feel them against the back of her eyes. She tries to calm herself, shield herself with her covers. Lies on her side, on her back, to herself. Fabric brushes against fabric. In the absence of light, her imagination dares to race, uncontrollable. Visions, so vivid, so real, haunt her—of strong arms cradling her, scarred skin pressing against hers, lips glancing, sharp teeth, warm breath, lambent flames…

While in another corner of the Palace Khamsin feasts and drinks, Sahira lies awake in her bed, in a pool of sweat and frustration and imagined surrender.

It was never meant to go this far.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 20/08/2026

#SumLuv And this one from First Light Book 3 which is blurred not for content reasons, but because it's a bit of a spoiler!

Yana rested a trembling hand on Xyd's claw. His scales were tough, yes—her sore forehead reminded her of that—but they were also smooth to the touch, like pebbles from a riverbed. And as she ran her fingers across them, she felt the intricate lines that stretched across them.

"Some kind of… writing?" she guessed.

"Scrimshaw," Xyd said. "But yes, there is an alphabet, or language, I suppose, contained within. That one carries the names of my brood, whom I had to leave behind when I left Tel Prime. They were my caretakers, my companions, my community, for a time. We scattered. All must scatter eventually. But I still carry them everywhere I go."

She glanced at his other hand. The back of it was smooth, the scales untouched by an artist's tools.

Xyd lowered his arm, and Yana found herself missing the touch of scrimshaw. His claws rested against the surface of the mobility disc, and she felt him move, straightening up, lifting a head that, she realized, had been looking down at her.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 20/08/2026

#SumLuv I am a bit self-conscious of my ability to portray these moments, but I have a certain fondness for how I've made these work, so I'm being brave and sharing! Here's one from Shadow Puppets. Blurred for sexual references and a little blood, nothing shown.

Though the word 'dawn' holds no meaning in the Underworks, Sahira wakes up at silence's peak to find the bed empty. It is the first time she's shared one, lest a pile of sand leaking into a room could be considered a bed.

Her memories of the previous night are hazy, but still warm. Honey-sweet kisses, fingers well-trained. The tightness of a grip. The still-sore bite marks across her left shoulder and the apologetic run of the tongue over the pinpricks of pooling blood. An overwhelming tide of contradictory sensations, all taking and no giving, and then a tight embrace, as if Khamsin feared she would slip away in the night—and as if such fear far outstripped her desire to have her attention reciprocated.

And now, it is Sahira who misses those thick arms around her, the warmth of skin on skin, and yes, even the snoring that followed.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 19/08/2026

I am currently in the very very early stages of drafting a short smut piece about a suit of living armor and the knight it's in a codependent relationship with. These are the first few lines! #nsfwocdaily #ocnsfw #oc #ocsky

A breeze blows, outside. Though distant, I can feel it.

All that is me rustles in your backpack. Against each other, we are cold and and dead. Close against your aching skin, we would be—we will be—warm.

You, bearer mine, are the missing piece.

Come, place me about you. Heed the call of legend, and let me taste you.

We will be glorious together.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 18/08/2026

Happy Butch Appreciation Day! Ask and ye shall receive. I mean, it's gotta be her, right?

Khamsin does not, as a rule, respect men she has to bend her neck to look in the eye—a stipulation that just happens to apply to near everyone in this land of pure family lines and slight builds, untouched by the potent blood of ancestral giants, and more given to the brandishing of fine cutlery than the blade.

The hot afternoon breeze blows across her back like a yearning—one of many she’d cast away in the coming weeks.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 14/08/2026

Made one for each of my projects! First Light on the left, and Shadow Puppets on the right. Look at Ibrek, he thinks he's invited! That's so cute

Height chart for First Light

Yana at 162cm
Rook at 175cm
Six at 170cm
Diodorus at 206cm
Xyd at 193cm

Height chart for Shadow Puppets.

Khamsin at 227cm
Sahira at 154cm
Ibrek at 172cm

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 14/08/2026

Let's all take a moment to appreciate the incredible art of Gary Mayes for the Fighting Fantasy gamebook Rebel Planet, which made me fall in love with sci-fi. Without them sparking my imagination as a child, I certainly would have never written my own sci-fi books.

A sci-fi skyline with several layers of roads and transportation in a stark black and white style. Artist: Gary Mayes

A detailed close-up of a chrome robot menacingly approaching the viewer. Art by Gary Mayes

A four-panel sequence showing a spaceship's interior, then a shot of it taking off, and finally it soaring through space. Art by Gary Mayes

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 14/08/2026

#MythAugust Recorded from Sand-ghost oral tradition:

The ra-kha whispers, and her word is Song, and thus Law:

The Fragment-Mother petitioned Chieftains Three, the Triad-Peoples represented:

Living Mountain, eater of flesh
Living Sand, the sickle-handed
and Living Clay, whose eyes pierced even the longest shadow.

The Fragment-Mother Chieftains Three petitioned to plead for a future, and to them She listened, and to them She spoke in dreams and whispers:

Hear me now, many-tongued stillborn tomorrow-gods, as I have heard you. Your pleas move me, and so I shall slay the heart of the Father-Will's passion, for I am the Other Face and it is my right, and your world-beast shall sleep undisturbed.

But I am also the Thing Inbetween, fickle and cold, and so your weaves I tangle as is my nature, so that one of you I set free, and the other shall Time and Possibility, my sister-daughters, erode.

The ra-kha sings, and her Song lifts the veil:

The Fragment-Mother blew dust white and shimmering into the hearts of the Living Clay and his children, drew lines in the sand and called them the Trails, which the echoes of the Triad-Peoples now walk.
Clay as ghosts and men,
Sand as half-men,
and Mountain, fed to fate and possibility, through blood alone.
And the Pale One, sated in her fickleness, rejoined the Father-Will, and their dance birthed Night.

The ra-kha rests. Her word is Memory.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 09/08/2026

If First Light ever becomes big I'll definitely have people crawl out of the woodwork to tell me my MC isn't autistic because I didn't spell it out for the reader.

Frustration, to her, was that thick membrane between her thoughts and feelings, amorphous and impenetrable. She felt, and did not know what she felt, and this, in time, she had grown used to. Most of the time, she burned with a weak heart, while her mind raged maelstroms. This was normal, this was expected, and rare were the moments when something pierced through that veil, opened to osmosis the realms of the mind and the heart.

Yana knew no such thing as perfect clarity.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 07/08/2026

#lesficfri Look! I found the one time I use the word as something other than a metaphor for fighting or sex!

The sharing of knowledge. Something Sahira once remembered as joyous, celebratory, swirling with crown-cap wine and gossamer smoke under a clear night sky. Flames licking at the hem of her skirt as she jumped the fires. Soot-stained hands digging for roasted nuts. Rainsticks and drums and long spells of dance under the moon's soft glow.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 06/08/2026

Happy Landiversary, Curiosity. Let it be known that even in the year 2568, you will still be remembered.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 03/08/2026

#AnthropologyAugust Giant-blooded, again! Sand-wyrms might be intelligent, too, but nobody dares to ask :) I took the liberty of making a size chart for comparison. It's still subject to change--I have that disease where I keep feeling compelled to exaggerate size differences.

Comparison size chart for Humans, Outsiders, Giant-Blooded and Giants. Outsiders are taller and thinner than humans, with scythes for hands. Giant-blooded are much taller and broader than humans, and Giants are to a giant-blooded as a giant-blooded is to a human.

The Giant in this chart has a little text box saying "we're extinct :)"

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 02/08/2026

Sahira is an assassin masquerading as a maid. She keeps her life story close to her heart, but it's no secret that she grew up surrounded by hardship, and resents how good she is at her job. She juggles her attraction to Khamsin with a resentment for her unappreciated life of luxury. 🧵3/6

Sahira from Shadow Puppets, made using Makówka's Picrew. A human woman with braided black hair, tawny skin, brown eyes, and a passive look in her face.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 02/08/2026

Khamsin is the daughter of a warlord, captured in the field of battle and married off to the royal family of her enemies in order to force a peace treaty. As a giant-blooded (half-giant type thing), this new life she's forced to lead is literally too small for her, and she's lashing out. 🧵2/6

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 30/07/2026

#SummerOfStories There's this scene in SP where Sahira tries to open Khamsin's mind to the idea that she'd been fed lies all her life, especially on the nature of magic and demons. It's the first time S breaks her terseness and allows herself a little flair, and I think it came out quite well.

"Everything can be a tool. The shape just needs to be right. But to shape something into a tool is to diminish it, to cast away all it could be, just to land on something that is. And maybe to the shapers, that's all there is to a demon. But there are more secrets to magic than the ones they hoard—remember that, Khamsin. Our power does not come from crude exactitude or cruel efficiency, but from possibility. While the shapers play with their toys, our magic lives and breathes. The rules that bind them are mine to bend and yours to break."

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 27/07/2026

Vibing with this excerpt I just wrote tbh I still can't believe this character was called Husbandguy until someone agreed to read the first draft of the first act for me and I had to panic select-all-and-replace it with his actual name five minutes before sending. I'm a serious writer y'all

Ibrek, only surviving son of Patash Zynabba Lariz, runs a finger across the dull blade of his new shamshir—and something within reaches out to meet his touch. Through the porous surface, he can feel it, a sickly tepidity that stretches across his fingers all the way up to his knuckles.

It makes his skin crawl.

He holds the blade up to the torchlight—the translucent material barely tries to block its glow. What's inside, whatever it is, stirs. And it's light, too light. It places too much weight on the handguard, not enough on the blade. This is not a blade to be swung, but to be brandished overhead. A blade to rally around.

A blade for a man like him.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 26/07/2026

#QueerPrompts I love how we can tell what the weather was like over at CJ's neck of the woods when they came up with this set of prompts 😄

She springs to motion, and everything is a bloody blur. Hot liquid running down her neck, chest, soaking up her gown. Her fingers around a throat. A wine bottle toppled, wine splashing across the floor tiles like a bloodstain. A thump, a groan, a weakly flailing body slammed against the nearest wall, and there held, a full foot above the floor, gasping for air.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 26/07/2026

#SummerOfStories In the last few months, I've been blessed by not one, but three pieces of art by three fantastic artists! The plan is to get more and eventually portray my entire main cast for both projects (First Light and Shadow Puppets). Xyd, Six, and Yana, respectively!

Art of Xyd by @nyxstrix.bsky.social

A reptilian, scaled, four-armed alien who is slightly gecko- and pangolin-like, holding a little tablet.

Six by @nushdeco.bsky.social

A female robot in a yellow flapper-style dress, in an art noveau-style setting.

Art of Yana by @autumnchildart.bsky.social

A chibi of a dark-skinned woman with a buzzcut, holding a heart in the colors of the gray ace pride flag.

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 25/07/2026

#PretendPanel Ambivalent! Unless it's like, little modifications the author made to each specific copy, at which point I go from "huh" to

meme of a person turned feral darting around on all fours in their bedroom

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Barrows @barrows.itch.io · 24/07/2026

#lesficfri I was just telling a friend the other day that I love the expression "withering gaze" so much, I use it like three times per scene. It's not *quite* that bad, but it's still very much an author appeal kind of thing! A N G E R Y

Khamsin ignores, or, in her frenzy, fails to perceive her words. Rather, she thunders down the palace's corridors like a rampaging beast in formal dress, in large and unnervingly rhythmic bounds, forcing her attendant into a jog just to keep up. The corridors twist and turn before her; servants that cross her path slide behind the nearest doors, and foppish scions press themselves against the sandstone walls, and guards remove their chitin helmets and salute, but keep their eyes down, as if the princess's gaze withered more than just the soul.

Outside, the sandstorm, so close to subsiding, blows with renewed vigor.

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