L. Lacerta Winters 🪳🏴 ΘΔ

@antarcticempire.net

2232 Followers 1041 Following

Mantis Therian • She/Her • Taken Posthumanist Author & Poet since 2009 Writing comms open! Specializing in horror, sci-fi, bugs, and inner space. sfw/nsfw. DM for details Website: www.antarcticempire.net PFP by @space-salaman.bsky.social

Photo of the top right of a typewritten page.

... July 2026
...fore the grade sharply
... lumpy scar on his blue scaly
... encircled his head in fine

... above Tricorn Rocks. At
... grey sky of autumn, the
...ical feature could barely
...s rising along the edges
...n. Ivan continued his
...t of the crater.
...y of round river stones
... artificial interference
...n would know. He was King.
...hase. They were like

...hen, he prostrated
... Eyes closed, he spoke.
... a tone as his shy
... pinprick. Let my
... tail twitching.

... Regret, mostly,
...ld've been made.
...nd chances t...

Breathe Through the Earth
Story Commission

I don't know why I hide myself. Why I wrap myself up as if to be shipped to some faraway land. Every Berrytwig Festival, in the middle of the month where the Riverfolk dance to honor the trees, I put on my slacks and the coat with the sharp lapels, and join them. I think it makes me feel like I'm floating over the ground, but all it does is remind me of how alone I am.

The humans don't mind, of course. They greet me with practiced smiles: something out of the normalcy of a picture book. "What's up, Rigel?" my friend Cade smirks, his flippant voice granting me the attention of the group for five seconds. "You're looking elegant today!"

I blush a little. A light murmur of acknowledgment travels through the others, before they turn back to their conversations. I stand there, pulling on my cuffs. I don't own many clothes. The expectation for men is to be consistent. Stalwart. Familiar, and dependable. Cade's comment strikes me with a unique feeling. An intriguing one. The only difference this month is my brooch: I'm wearing a pink lotus.

I glance around at the rest of the dancers. Some are nonhuman in strange configurations and arrangements of dirt or foliage or ceramic, casting the light of their honor throughout the hall. They all seem rooted in something, and I with my disconnected beige suit stand deluding myself that I'm free from that -- I'm my own thing. Away from the ground, wrapped up in my own containment, I should be happy. It feels wrong to admit that I'm not.

Tiny little beige mantis nymph on small potted plant in window. They are the size of a dime and very cute

NIBLET AND MR. FROG – L. Lacerta Winters – 3 July 2026

Under a tree hangs a zeppelin of twigs and palm leather enwrapping,
Strewn all about it the implements needed for mischievous trapping.
Waiting, her paralyzed mindscape to wander, fair Niblet, no fairer
Sample of peerless review, picks a wart: thinks it keeps her from napping.

Twenty wise broomsticks on order from Kingdom Tomato, what error!
Such undeliv’rable curses to strike her replete with a terror
“How can an insensate object be wise, Mr. Frog?” ponders Niblet,
While her companion lies dry in a cauldron: an unworthy bearer.

“Do you remember the first time I called out to you?” comes a ribbit
Out of the mystical soup she had let boil away. “You inhibit
Meanings from reaching your pointy green ears all too often, and I must
Give you the first principles. Is a thing not employed to its limit?

“Do I not give you advice that you need?” the amphibian, in dust-
Croaking scry, shakes her down. Niblet enchanted a dead frog to talk. Just
Asking for trouble. Had she left unchecked the effects of her magic?
Dry Mr. Frog still claps back from his paltry environ, atop rust.

“Fine, shake the zeppelin with my own incompetence,” grunting in tantric
Irony, witch says to frog. “But you’re right. There might not be a tragic
Backstory to every wisdom-filled broomstick they’ll get, but until that
Rotten Tomato King faces me, all he’ll receive is your antic!”

Under a tree cackles Niblet the goblin-witch, tipping her black hat
To Mr. Frog, of repute, who is desperately wanting a head-pat.

End of Chapter 3.4 of Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Strife, describing a character messily directing the evolutionary course of a biosphere from within to favor the "underdogs" as opposed to the dominant and resilient arthropod life that has been frustrating the terraformers. The last lines are "But at least it wasn't bugs, right? Who'd ever want a planet controlled by bugs?"

L. L. Winters Writing Commissions ~ SFW/NSFW ~ Price Sheet!

Hello! I'm a praying mantis at a typewriter. For more than 15 years, I've had a passion for pretty words, and the deep thoughts & feelings one can paint with them. So, I'm offering paid services! I specialize in the horror, sci-fi, and inner-space subgenres. My style is intimate and metaphorical, while my comfort zone centers on bugs (since I am one) and other "alien" creatures within abstract, mysterious, or esoteric settings.

In addition to SFW pieces, I do offer NSFW comms, however I can be picky about that specifically. Please make sure to check with me beforehand on whether I'm willing to take something on as a project.

Thank you! Remember to cause good trouble and be kind to small creatures <3

If you would like to know more, you can contact me on my discord. I don't bite, usually! :} [dot]monteverdi

Poetry
Traditional: 20USD for 4-16 lines, an additional 5USD for each additional line
Free verse: 20USD for up to 100 words

Prose
15USD for every 500 words

All Products are 100% claw-typed, void of any Abominable Intelligence

[mantis photoshopped in front of typewriter] Me hard at work (artist's interpretation)

Screenshot of white and green text on a black background. It reads:

Tonic Immobility
A Short Story

I'm a soft thing. You know me. Tapping on your windowpane every so often, always at intervals. Falling into a rhythm of life. I become a pattern in yours, just as you are in mine. This is normal, isn't it? I'm not sure because I'm not thinking about it.

A flight of a pale young glimmer, showering its milky white scales over me. I'll be like that someday. If you'll permit me to dream and imagine what I work towards. It's beautiful, isn't it? Don't you think I'm beautiful? Don't you think I'm doing fine for myself, despite how soft I am? Despite the way people look at me?

[Italic text]
I think you outshine me ten times over. You're positively radiant. I used to struggle to understand why you love me. A grain of sand in the oyster of your joys. You told me once that you could make a pearl out of me. It leaves me wondering what I should do. How I should respond to you.

I see you traveling out along the lines of life. Outside. Making strides through your foolishness that's somehow endearing to me. I'm pained by your patterns as much as enthralled. When will you protect your heart? Please protect your heart.
[End Italic text]

Look at the way this leaf glides in the wind, even though it's tied down! Rooted on its plant, but still flying. I feel like that leaf. Sometimes I'm sad that it'll be gone. I'll eat it. A good leaf. Was that the leaf's dream?

Crusty JPEG of a spider next to a bathtub drain. A speech bubble from the spider says "love being small and no one will ever kill me for my small"

Screenshot showing Adrian Tchaikovsky liked the last quote post I made

Saddest lizard alive, 2024 (Art by @space-salaman.bsky.social of my former iguana sona Levi reading by candlelight in a dark room. He has a pensive expression, and is wearing a blue shirt)

Photo of Seattle waterfront on a sunny clear day. The sky, water, and mountains are blue and several ferries and other watercraft make white wakes behind them. The Ferris wheel is visible at bottom right

Bag of raw spinach, several cans of herring fillets, 4lb jar of peanut butter, typewriter, rifle

Screenshot of the website in question showing results for Moscow, ID at 54°F clear sky at night. It is "Rothko Chapel painting, 1967" and its description is "A heavy quiet outside -- the black field carries the same somber hour". The image depicts an octagonal chapel with four benches in a square formation in the center of the floor, and black canvases on the three walls that are visible. The ceiling tapers up from the walls into what looks like a halo of light surrounding a black center octagon.

Page in a typewriter, showing a conversation between a couple. The last visible paragraph reads:

I look at the ground. I'm definitely a charity case. I just wish Mingo would ask for something in return. Sure, I never know if I'll have the dice to offer him anything but loyalty, but maybe that's all he wants. Why are his standards so low?

Photo of a page of typewritten prose. A significant portion of the right side of the text is out of frame. In the center, the heading "CHAPTER II -- 17 May 2026" delimits a transition from third-person past tense to first-person present

Some account "@llacertawinters.bsky.social" trying to post paypal links

Cover of Noah Corey's debut novel, entitled Clementine H. Hopeful Is Not A Hero. It features a boy in a purple and pink dress, carrying an old backpack with pins on it and a sword over his shoulder. Spiders crawl on the sword, and one descends from it on a line of silk. Flame-like shimmering magic highlights the character as well as the book's title and author. In the background, mask-like glowing faces with many eyes and odd shapes float in front of a pine forest. Small text on the cover's top right corner reads "Would you rather save the world, or change it?"

Reference sheet showing art of Septima, an anthropomorphic mantis character, from the front and from the side. She is spring green on a purple background, dressed in a dark grey buttoned coat, an old-fashioned Sunday hat with a light purple flower, and a short skirt of light purple. She wears purple glasses and a black and purple kufiya over her shoulders. Her arms are the classic mantis raptorials and her feet are digitigrade with two toe claws each. This art was drawn by @miragevision.bsky.social

Stylized plush toys of an orchid mantis, a black and brown spider, and a crocodile on a desk. The spider sits on the back of a chair, and the mantis appears to be holding onto the chair's backrest

Noodle dish in a red bowl on a windowsill. Small meat pieces, green onions, and purple cabbage can be seen, and some herb sprinkles show against the noodles

Photo of paper in a typewriter. It reads:

Chapter I -- 12 April 2026

Rich, warm light filled the windowed galleries of the Council ship *Ukiah* as it pitched into the plane of an old star.

sketch of a woman with a speech bubble that says "waow" and a thought bubble that says "based based based based based based based based..."

"Anti-Trans Legislation Risk" map of the US with key. States under each key item:

"Worst Laws Passed" -- West Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Idaho
"High Risk Within 2 Years" -- New Hampshire, South Carolina, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska
"Moderate Risk Within 2 Years" -- Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Alaska
"Low Risk Within 2 Years" -- Delaware, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada
"Safest States With Strong Protections" -- Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado, New Mexico, California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii
"Do Not Travel" -- Florida, Texas

Beautiful photo of a mediterranean mantis (Iris oratoria) leaping in flight with its claws extended. The mantis is in sharp focus while the background of grass is unfocused. Both the subject and background are a nice spring green color. I found the photo on iNaturalist

Close-up on gum pack, with "New Comics" label in the corner

A whole 10-pack of Bazooka, opened to show "comics" that look like NFTs of professional athetes. There are 9 shown in the photo because I threw one out a few days ago

Photo of an opened 10-pack of Bazooka bubble gum. Three "comics" are shown, each is a boring single-panel caricature of a professional athlete

My friend Noah holds a copy of his middle-grade book Clementine H. Hopeful Is Not A Hero in front of a bookcase at Barnes & Noble. The book has a beautifully-designed and colorful cover depicting a boy in a backpack and dress holding a sword over his shoulder. Noah is smiling proudly.

Meme edit of a book cover featuring a guy pointing at a car engine and speaking. Title is "Everything I like is Trans: A Book for Navigating Transition". Under the car's hood is the album art of Traffic's Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys. The guy is saying "This progressive rock album from 1971 is trans."

Screenshot of my website showing the title and first couple paragraphs of my short story "Rhizome":

Rhizome
A Short Story

A maze of tangles made up everything. Because it made up everything, nothing existed outside it, nor were any of its parts distinct from it or from each other. In a turn of this maze, where it couldn't be seen whether the tangles branched or simply twisted about indefinitely, a green glow enlivened its cytoplasm. Here, it had a thin surface, and the emptiness outside seemed to hunger for the tangles' light.

Two threads which often rounded this turn, and had passed each other on occasion, ceased their movement independently on either side of the corner to watch rays of green light dance in silky whorls amidst the nothing. Due to the bend's shape, neither had a direct line of sight through it. However, because the two threads were part of the maze and thus each other, each felt the other's presence, and was eased by it.

When the whorls began to ebb, the threads continued their movement until they came face-to-face. An immediate

Notifications screenshot showing Chiitan liked my post "Liberals treat trans people as people challenge"

Digital art of a slender red-haired man in an early 19th Century Prussian army coat, square goggles on his upturned wide-brimmed hat, and a Teutonic belt buckle. He is armed with a short sword and a pistol fitted with a rifle optical sight. His right hand braces the pistol's holster, and his left arm holds a book against his hip. He wears an angular wooden/leather mask which conceals his face. His eyes are bright green.

A caecilian, which is a long, snake-like legless amphibian with ridges down its sides, small eyes, and little tentacles on its snoot

A very cute and squishy-looking digital drawing of an orange cartoon bug. The bug is blushing and has hearts around it. A string of speech bubbles above the bug says:

uh.. i'm bug...
i am bug.
i am so bug.
i am a bug
i like bugs

Most Used Words visualization from the source of the above post. It's a bunch of notably anarchist-sounding shit. By humorous accident, a large "fucking" is positioned immediately above a larger "state"

Bubble chart visualization showing accounts you interacted with, sized by total interactions across all engagement types in 2025. Top interacted accounts: @jobeans.bsky.social @hexedragon.bsky.social @moxiest.art @spiderdungeon.bsky.social @toadcialism.bsky.social (from Anisota's Annual Bluesky Harvest)

Reply from Aaron Rodericks (@aaron.bsky.team) to a CSA survivor:

First I’m sorry that you had such tragic experiences. That’s horrific.

1) if a person on the news, such as a female journalist talks about a topic, does she deserve threats in a joking way?
2) would you believe those acceptable to receive on your account?

2-panel comic. In the first panel, a speaker at a lectern asks a crowd "Who wants to repost visual art?" and everyone raises their hand. In the second panel, they ask "Who wants to repost poetry?" and no one raises their hand.

Screenshot of green and white text on a black background:

Rhizome
A Short Story

A maze of tangles made up everything. Because it made up everything, nothing existed outside it, nor were any of its parts distinct from it or from each other. In a turn of this maze, where it couldn't be seen whether the tangles branched or simply twisted about indefinitely, a green glow enlivened its cytoplasm. Here, it had a thin surface, and the emptiness outside seemed to hunger for the tangles' light.

Two threads which often rounded this turn, and had passed each other on occasion, ceased their movement independently on either side of the corner to watch rays of green light dance in silky whorls amidst the nothing. Due to the bend's shape, neither had a direct line of sight through it. However, because the two threads were part of the maze and thus each other, each felt the other's presence, and was eased by it.

When the whorls began to ebb, the threads continued their movement until they came face-to-face. An immediate spark struck across the small gap keeping them from merging, until it appeared from the outside that the two had become one. Still, they kept themselves. One thread shone bright yellow, with a fringe of curls that writhed out into the surrounding cytoplasm. The other thread glowed a dim blue, covered with stiff bristles it kept flush against its surface.

The yellow thread lit up the spark with a stuttered chemical message. "Sorry!" it said.

A cicada stands still for several seconds before jumping and flipping. The GIF loops shortly after the flip begins. Caption above reads: "post this bug on the 28th of every month"

"Abyss Queen" monster card from the game Here To Slay. It's a huge, shiny black spider with steel blue highlights, red markings, and glowing red eyes. A raised antler-like crest decorates the spider's back, and venom drips from her fangs. Very woman, very relatable

THE DIVISION BELL by Pink Floyd. The cover features two metal Moai sculptures in a field with target-like eyes, facing each other and appearing mirrored. Their silhouette forms a heart shape against the background, whose horizon is centered in their open mouths.

My sona, an anthro green iguana with purple glasses and a serious expression, on a light purple background

Quote superimposed over photograph of an iguana.

"Suck my hemipenes Uncle Sam"
-- Levi L. Winters

Screenshot of green and white text on a black background, showing the first few paragraphs of a blog entry:

We Knew
12 July 2025

<Photograph of a table with a glass of water, salt & pepper shakers, soy sauce, and condiment packets on it. Above it in the window is a synthetic flowering plant in a pot.>

Be it remembered that we knew.

We knew what was going on. We put the math together, before any reports came out. Before every point, we told ourselves it would lead to this -- told others. We urged and pleaded the people we trusted to put aside their fear and stand with us. We imagined ourselves carrying rifles in the streets with our comrades, creating barricades behind intersections, and rising up against the menace we saw being made. Comrades we never found. The menace that completed itself.

Why didn't we stop it?

Person with a bunch of Mormon buzzwords in bio replies to one of my previous posts, "If its motive is to make Christianity "whiter" it's having the reverse result for membership as the Church continues to grow and brown."

I reply: "Whiteness isn't a lack of Brown people in a church. It's a removal of people from their roots in favor of a standard of politeness and behavior that's imperialist in nature. The church 'growing and browning' is arguably more worrisome because of that"

Person replies: "You don't know enough to understand the history of Mormonism and whiteness. Good place to start on that topic if you are interested:" then links a pro-Mormon book written by a white man about the church's history of oppression at the hands of white people via denying whiteness to Mormons

Discord screenshot of a reply from me ("Leviathan"):

Good question. I can't remember

Though I think it was more in the affirmative, me thinking about what's memorable, instead of what's not, that led to me saying that

Villains that are systemic problems are more memorable because not only is that how the world actually is in reality, but having more stories about it helps us build a universal plan of action. It helps make real change. A villain who is an individual not only indivdualizes evil, but it individualizes the solution to evil. Its call to action is essentially "don't be this specific way" or "don't do these specific actions" or "fight people who do these things or are this way". It doesn't meaningfully teach how to resist or prevent systemic oppression

Cover of Noah Corey's debut novel, entitled Clementine H. Hopeful Is Not A Hero. It features a boy in a purple and pink dress, carrying an old backpack with pins on it and a sword over his shoulder. Spiders crawl on the sword, and one descends from it on a line of silk. Flame-like shimmering magic highlights the character as well as the book's title and author. In the background, mask-like glowing faces with many eyes and odd shapes float in front of a pine forest. Small text on the cover's top right corner reads "Would you rather save the world, or change it?"

Big gold sticker reading "Made from SCRATCH every day!" on a plastic package that got shipped to the store frozen

Big crowd of people holding signs in front of Moscow Hotel

Footnote 11 on page 71 of Space Bug by K. Wholesaler

"The Recorder employs several different terms for Grig's becoming: transform, metamorphose, pupate, change. We have debated simply using 'become' in the place of all others for we are not convinced that there is any more significance in the variations than amusing the reader with a lurid style. It is arguable that with repetition, 'becoming' might encapsulate the types of physical and metaphysical alterations undergone by Grig. We decided to honor the structural integrity of the text in the end, and cast about for different synonyms, as did the original narrator."

Diagram showing the results of the Sonic Syndrome test that I received:

Shadow (PTSD) 60%
Sonic (ADHD) 55%
Amy Rose (Dependent) 75%
Knuckles (OCPD) 70%
Dr. Eggman (Narcissistic) 45%
Metal Sonic (Schizoid) 25%
Tails (Anxiety) 95%

At the bottom is my diagnosis -- "Tails: You're the cautious crafter -- smart, shy, worry-wound."

Photo of page 7 of _Space Bug_ by K. Wholesaler, with a paragraph titled "A note from the editors" where it's explained the book you're holding has been translated into billions of languages and the editors hope the reader's landed on one that's somewhat intelligible. There are footnotes defining the words "languages" and "print" from a humorously distant perspective

Zine consisting of a poster, a sticker of a cartoon kangaroo holding an explosive device reading "Bomb Data Centers", a handmade flower sticker, and the bag containing it labeled "Hyper Alienation"