Grace Rea

@airilaya.bsky.social

Wife & Mom | Aspiring Author | Former HRIS Analyst | Former Engineer | Now Querying: THE DEPARTMENT OF BLACKMAIL & PAPER TRAILS. New here! Mainly here to participate in pitch events and be involved with the writing community. Primarily on X (@Airilaya)!

THE SHADOWS (WIP in 3rd Draft) #W #F #A #QuestPit A middle-aged shopkeeper & retired magical con artist takes one last job to save store & family. She could end the corrupt power of the Skyborn mages. She could end up losing herself, her magic & all she holds dear. Talk about a midlife crisis.

Moodboard for The Shadows WIP. Upper left: Illustration of a crowded, cramped city alley. Upper mid: Four black-clad people with face masks in a warehouse. Upper right: Shadowed cobblestone alley with someone at the mouth sweeping. Mid left. Two memes. "A niche character trope I like is the person who is nice, a good person and acts well-adjusted, then they do something where it's like oh you're secretly a little bit insane actually. Middle: A shadowed portrait of a woman with sparks coming out of her hands. Mid right: A meme: Original poster: "80% exhaustion 10% sarcasm %20 don't care" Reply poster: "that's 110 percent". OP: "20% of me doesn't care." RP: "should've seen that coming." Bottom left: Warmly lit storefront doorway on a cobblestone street. Bottom mid: Painting of fancy buildings on islands floating well above the ground. Bottom right: Cramped thrift store with shopkeeper.The Shadows: The Pitch

The worst day of Ania’s life was when her beloved cousin Piren was dragged off to the floating towers of the Above to serve as a source to the Skyborn mages. The second worst day was when he was returned. Discarded. Drained of his magic and broken in spirit.

Ania left behind her rebellious past to support her cousin as he once 
supported her. In a city where any display of magic makes you a target 
of the Skyborn, keeping your head down and your magic a secret, taking care of your friends, your family and your neighborhood is the only safe way to survive. 

But now, everything she’s built over twenty years of safe, carefully
constructed life is falling apart. To recover what she’s lost, Ania takes on one last dangerous heist that strikes at the heart of the Skyborn’s power. She may end up losing herself. She may just bring the entire system crashing down.The Shadows: Comp Titles
MA Carrick: Mask of Mirrors. Con artist MC out to save her family (and maybe the world).
Shannon Chakraborty: Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi. I'm retired. Really. Okay, fine, one last job.
Robert Jackson Bennett: Foundryside. Magical technology, a corrupt ruling class and problematic heists.
Fonda Lee: Last Contract of Isako. I'm too old for this shit but no one else can do it.“Except you can help me without bringing the bluejackets and their hunters down on my head!” Ania yelled, throwing her arms in the air. “All I’m asking you for is money. You’re asking me to risk my life! My family’s life!” She glared at him, grinding out her words through clenched teeth. “You want me to dust off magic I haven’t used in twenty years! How is that fair?” She spat the last word.
“It’s not fair!” Verasi spat back at her. “None of this is fair!” He flung a hand out. “Our people, our friends and family, our neighbors, are ripped from their homes in the middle of the night. They’re enslaved, ridden so hard they break. Maybe it takes a year. Maybe it takes five. Maybe it only takes a couple of months.” He continued in a harsh whisper. “We live in constant fear that it’ll be one of us. If not one of us, someone we know. Someone we love. Their propaganda machine is turning our own people against us. You know they’re not even testing people to see if they have any magical talent now? They’re just rounding people up at random and carting them off Above. None of them come home, not the same way they left.”

THE DEPT OF BLACKMAIL & PAPER TRAILS 📋✨ Adult Political Romantic Fantasy | 95K Mask of Mirrors x (Mostly) Human Resources Featuring a workplace romance between a "Paper Pusher" x Provincial Leader. Power Imbalance? You tell me. #questpit #q #a #f #r

DIVINE RIVALS X TRAITOR BARU X MISTBORN📋✨ Daphne Kaiser takes her job very seriously. ✅Babysit key leaders + their affairs ✅Dig up blackmail for leverage ✅Resuscitate ex-snipers with drug problems ⭕️Uncover govt-sponsored crimes 📌 Guide pinned. #questpit #F #RF #DF #A #Q

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DIVINE RIVALS X TRAITOR BARU X MISTBORN 📋✨ The question isn't whether HR exists in a fantasy context—it's how could they not exist in a fantasy context? 📌Agent guide for THE DEPARTMENT OF BLACKMAIL & PAPER TRAILS pinned on profile. #questpit #F #RF #DF #Q #A

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