iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Maybe the reason all my fiction is character-driven is because all my plot-driven concepts would work better as a D&D campaign. 🤔

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

#SumLuv Werewolf wip: Valkyrie’s nails dig into your skin. Red trails follow her fingers like comet tails. Your skin burns. Stitchbriar: You’re wrapped warm in a blanket. The fire crackles quietly, casting the only light in the room. You take a sip of your tea, then gasp - it is unexpectedly hot.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

I generally avoid rules because rules invite industrialization. In my werewolf wip, when Aria learns Valkyrie is a werewolf, her 7th question is: “How does the transformation conserve energy and mass? Important! Significant if it breaks laws of thermodynamics. Lycanthropic energy generation?”

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

#SumLuv A Stitchbriar beta reader told me they were “uncomfortable with the excessive touch [between the MCs] until it was explained culturally.” Sooo… it’d struggle outside fantasy 😅 (Spoiler: my love language is touch. It was, I think, an appropriate amount of touch for once...)

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

My most common general tropes are: Hurt/comfort, found family, anxious/confident, bodyguard, secret identity. Thematically, however, all my writing is about emotional safety and loving across a divide. All my lovers live in different worlds and can never quite understand or reach each other.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

My werewolf novel’s setting is contemporary and mostly serves as a way to push on systemic discrimination through the lens of a fantasy monster. Sometimes comically - Aria is asked by HR to hold a silver rod to prove she’s not a werewolf for insurance reasons.

“W-w-wh-wha- Wha-“ Aria paused. Rowan reached out and briefly touched Aria’s arm with his fingertips. It felt like an electrical discharge, a sudden awareness he was on her side. Of the desk at least. Her shoulders dropped and she took a breath. “What’s the complaint?” She managed.
Isaac opened a drawer and pulled out a long wooden box, set it on his desk, and opened it. Inside was a metal rod, maybe eight inches long, and a stop watch. “There has been a complaint that you are a werewolf,” he said, matter-of-fact.
“What? Is this because I took off the full moon a few days ago?”
“You have been absent, sick, or working from home for every full moon for six months.” Isaac didn’t look at her when he spoke, carefully picking up the stop watch then the rod. “All I need you to do is hold this pure silver rod for 60 seconds. Then you can get back to work.”
Aria stared at him for a moment. Six months? She had only met Valkyrie 4 months ago. “I’m not a werewolf.”
“We know,” Rowan said, his voice forced gentle. “I told them. You don’t have the temperament of a werewolf. But corporate policy is to check.”
The temperament of a werewolf? An urgency rose in Aria’s throat. “So what if I am? What is the problem?”
“Ms. Wellen,” Isaac started but Rowan held up a hand.
“It’s okay, Isaac,” he said, then looked at Aria. “Our insurance policy doesn’t allow werewolves to be in the office for the same reason we ban firearms and other weapons. Too much liability if someone is hurt.”

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

#SumLuv Growing up, I wasn’t a romance reader. Got some in fantasy - e.g., Mistborn - but my first romance was “Someone you can build a nest in.” Super good, Shesheshen was a great character. Felt weirdly not embodied. I later learned Wiswell is asexual, so probably says more about me than the book

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

#SumLuv It is fairytale love, in so far as werewolves are fairytale 🤔 The first time they meet, Aria is terrified of Valkyrie. Still tries to kiss her. Dork. Valkyrie is delighted! A good hunt! By the next day, she is already terrorizing Aria to get over the death of a friend. So much for safe…

The hand on Aria’s shoulder squeezed and let go. “Mostly that you are new and nervous as hell. So tell me, why did your therapist send you here, of all places?”
Pressing her lips together, Aria risked another glance at Valkyrie. She was still looking at her, eyes wide and intense. Aria swallowed and looked down again, but could still feel the eyes on her. “So, you know about proprioceptive input. I’ve found that in addition to deep pressure, certain other sensations can…”
Valkyrie was still staring unmoving. “Go on.”
“I, um.” Oh god, oh god. “I’m a masochist?”
A wide smile broke across Valkyrie’s face, her eyes squinting at the size of it. “You’re in the right place. Among your people.”
Aria’s shoulders relaxed. “Oh! Are you a masochist, too?”
The woman laughed again, loud and bright, then put her hand on the side of Aria’s neck. “No, I’m here because I like to hurt pretty women wearing video game t-shirts.”
Aria’s heart stopped, and a small cough escaped her. Valkyrie’s thumb brushed back and forth across the corner of her jaw. Aria dared not move. Her mouth was so dry. And those teeth. And the curls. And the leather vest. Oh god.
It seemed like Valkyrie was getting closer. Maybe Valkyrie was moving. Or maybe the room was getting smaller. Oh god. Or maybe Aria was leaning forward. “This place is so overwhelming.”
“It is, but I’ll keep you safe.” Aria watched the woman’s lips as she spoke. “I’ll protect you.”

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

I think all relationships- even friendships- have some sort of meetcute. You interact with thousands of strangers across your life, only some of them become friends/lovers/whatever. Retroactively, however you first met becomes part of your joint story.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Aria and Valkyrie meet at an LGBTQ+ kink night held at Squirt!, a local gay bar. Aria was sent there by her therapist to find “affiliative proprioceptive input” and a community. Valkyrie is hunting. Aria arrives to find the event full of men. Valkyrie spots her prey and closes. #SumLuv

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Hi! I’m Marissa and I write sapphic romance. I’ve only been writing for about a year last month. It’s a lot of fun! My first book, Stitchbriar, a romantasy, is a good edit away from querying. My current WiP is a contemporary werewolf romance. Decidedly funnier than I planned, but still romantic!

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Does anyone else do that thing where it’s too bright out and you don’t have sunglasses so you like keep your eyes closed and reverse blink, then navigate by the afterimages? Like little photographs in false color?

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Reposted by Marissa Grave

Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

My controversial opinion is that you shouldn’t know the ending of a book before you start. How can you know what they’ll do if you haven’t lived a few scenes in their head? Otherwise you’re not letting them actually come alive on the page. I’m certain there are some hard disagrees out there 😂

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

I mostly just want to hear people’s responses to #45: Do you have any controversial writing opinions?

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Why did you transition? Right answers only. Because not transitioning was just really slow suicide. Every day required shaving off a little more of myself, slowly hollowing out the husk. Figured I might as well give the transition thing a chance at that point. Glad I did! It’s awesome!

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Out walking the dog this morning, I saw a woman on her stoop arguing with a cat. She stopped when she saw us. I heard them start again as we went out of sight. I recognized the cat.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Nice and sore today 😋 Really need to run more often.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

On a run quoting GATTACA to myself. “Nothing for the way back, Mars. Leave nothing for the way back…” 😵‍💫

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Eat local. Buy local. I am psychologically dependent on a plant that doesn’t grow on my continent. ☕️

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

#QueerPrompts Best advice was to just start writing, and you’re going to rewrite the opening chapter anyway. You don’t know your characters or the story or where this is going, not as well as you will when you finish. Chances are this isn’t the start. So who cares how good it is? Start writing!

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Sent the note to my friends like “look at this!” Overwhelming response: “Gay enough princess vibes that you could be forgiven for being mistaken for a character in She-ra.” 🙃 not how I usually think of myself.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

My mom sent me a flower bulb and a note saying “I saw this and immediately thought of you.” … it’s a dahlia called a “gay princess”.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Been focusing on letting my writing be play recently. Wrote the opening to a hard sci-fi romance and the opening to a dark fantasy romance, then came back to my WIP more energized than ever. Something to be said about just letting yourself play in the sandbox.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

#ThreeBigFeatures For my yet unnamed werewolf romance: Valkyrie: - Confident! - Theatrical. Everything is a bit. - Top dog. Err, wolf anyway. Aria: - Anxious. Oh God, so anxious. - Neurodivergent. - Smart as hell.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

My top 10 games of all time: 🥇What Remains of Edith Finch 🥈Strange Horticulture 🥉Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura 🏅Stellaris 🏅Company of Heroes 🏅Kerbal Space Program 🏅The Guild 2 🏅Fallout: New Vegas 🏅Cultist Simulator 🏅X3: Terran Conflict

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

This is fun because my current wip has a lot of refrains: Valkyrie: Leather vest. Curls. Teeth. Aria (experienced through a more olfactory-focused/lupine umwelt): Fear. Sex. Valkyrie’s old clothes.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Finally able to articulate something I’ve been working through here: the danger is what makes it feel safe. 🧵 #Writing

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Fellow authors, without any context, what’s the 1st of your current WIP? Valkyrie’s arm brushed the bones hanging from the ceiling and they clattered with a dull noise. #Writing

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Got my first tattoo yesterday! Maybe not surprisingly, a red clover.

An illustrative botanical tattoo of a red clover on the left forearm, using shading and color to add depth and detail both to the trifoliate leaves and to the flower itself.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

An unexpectedly fun part of contemporary romance is putting my own Easter eggs in. The werewolf doesn’t *get* Rubber, but then again, who does?

Excerpt from a draft novel that reads:

“Why is the tire watching her shower?”
“It’s a commentary on the male gaze,” Aria said, not looking up. She was on the floor, half under one of Valkyrie’s legs - her suggestion, for whatever reason, but Valkyrie kind of liked it. She could control whether Aria went anywhere. Not that she would. “Look at how she’s showering, that’s not how people shower.”
Valkyrie shrugged and grabbed a handful of popcorn. “Hot, though,” she said then shoved it in her mouth.
Aria nodded and squeezed Valkyrie’s leg. “Precisely. She’s not a character, she’s an actress performing for the audience. The tire doesn’t have a sexuality, it’s a tire.”
Valkyrie made a noise, then swallowed. “This movie doesn’t make any fucking sense, Ars.”
“I told you,” Aria started, looking up at Valkyrie, “it’s about the relationship between the audience and the film. The tire is just a vehicle.”
“A vehicle that can blow people up with its mind.”
Aria grinned. “Exactly.”
Such a fucking dork.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

I got to vote for two trans people in my local primaries yesterday, so that was pretty cool.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Slowing down to slow blink at the neighborhood feral cats as I drive past.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

I'm allergic to nickel - specifically the nickel ion. Easy enough to pick out nickel free jewelry but, apparently, the electrical ground my electrolysist uses has nickel in it. She covers it with a damp cloth to improve conductivity but... current causes ions to migrate right through. So itchy.

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Reposted by Marissa Grave

Sable, Final Girl 🏳️‍⚧️ @ghostlysable.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

regardless of how you pronounce it, it's good when your radiation scientists are unionized

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Consulting my dog Charlie on his umwelt. Apparently the trashcan has an unexpected chewing tone.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Releasing thousands of parasitic wasps into my house. What could go wrong?

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

I’m about 20k words into my new WIP, written entirely with one thumb on my phone due to life circumstances. All I can say is: Ow. Do not recommend.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Marissa, Darling, you know what a feedback loop is. Stop trying to compensate for a bad night of sleep with extra coffee.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Reading the 10,000th response essay to “Dump your Puppygirl”. Why do I keep reading these?

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

My biggest tv/movie pet peeve is when THE CUPS ARE EMPTY. For God’s sake, put some fucking water in them! Or coffee! Holy fuck! Currently watching Man on the Inside and it’s so bad for this. You can tell they are all empty. Ruins my immersion immediately.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Vicariously playing Bannerlord through a friend of mine. Beside the complex roleplay narrative he’s sharing, he’s also a skilled artist, which means I keep getting these incredible screenshots.

Screenshot of a castle siege from the game Bannerlord.

Bitter cold wind and sweating bodies under steel. Men shout. Warning. Hatred. Fear. A mass of Haelnlynd galloglaigh press against the Vladian palisades, the last hope of the castle’s defenders. The Vladian soldiers raise their shields against the rain of arrows and return a sporadic fire of their own. Dawn has just broken and the sun sits low over the walls.

But the palisades are already broken. Winter sun glints off of spears. Blood sprays steaming against ice and man alike. Snow falls and drifts against broken stones. There will be no tomorrow.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

The thing that separates fire from Pride is green. This was originally supposed to be a flaming sword but when I got done with the color blocking… anyway, now he’s the gayest Skulltaker in Khorne’s bloody service.

A painted model of the ‘Skulltaker’ from Warhammer 40K. He’s holding aloft a sword that, rimmed in black, has the Pride colors in it. Purple near the hilt up to red at the tip. In his other claw, the Skulltaker holds a skull which both burns bright in flame and drips bright red blood. It is pretty metal 🤘

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Sometimes I get caught up in some bullshit and start thinking about lizards. Basking on a warm rock under the sun. Sometimes I think Civilization was a mistake and I need a heat lamp.

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Reposted by Marissa Grave

Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

I think, generally: Fantasy: what if it always was? Contemporary: what if it was now? Scifi: what if it could be? But I appreciate how I can take any trait, slap it on an elf, and the reader just accepts it instead of pathologizing it. It’s not xyz, it’s just how elves are.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

The iconography of a warning sign must immediately convey the hazard to the reader with specificity, in case there is a language barrier. This warning sign is my favorite because it clearly warns of malignant ghosts.

A warning sign that reads “Warning! Hazardous voltage inside. Can shock, burn, or cause death. Keep out. If open or unlocked, immediately call electric power or light company.”

There is an icon of an angry looking spiked entity with eight arms of lightning reaching out to shock a person, who is falling backwards in distress.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

It’s remarkable how much of writing with ADHD is just figuring out your own dopamine triggers and then triggering them over and over again.

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Marissa Grave @radioactivemoth.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Queer monster romance has proved so durable, I think, in part because an essential aspect of queerness remains socially transgressive and indigestible to the heterosexual zeitgeist.

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