#Think he did it a lot before he got used to his prosthetics and was stuck in his tower

[vodika-vibes]

Can we get some Echo smut pretty please!! (Also one of my biggest pet peeves is how like every tbb echo/reader fic is always about him being insecure about his prosthetics like I get it but it's so repetitive. My man can be so confident and cocky when he wants to be and people seem to forget that.)

Who's Insecure

Summary:  Several months after joining Clone Force 99, Hunter surprises them with a night off at a local club. But, for some reason, his brothers seem to think he will be insecure about his new appearance. Which means, he has a point to prove.

Pairing: TBB Echo x F!Reader

Word Count: 1557

Warnings: Smut, club sex, Echo uses his scomp for purposes it's not designed for

A/N: So, I love Echo, and I love Echo smut, and I'm really not sure why I don't write more of it. But, anyway, here's Echo smut with some plot. It's not a lot of smut, but I hope you like it anyway.

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It’s a nice club. It’s not 79s, it doesn’t have the same comfortable vibe that 79s has, but it’s good all the same. The alcohol is cheap, the snacks are edible, and the music is loud.

For Echo, it’s good enough.

Honestly, he’s more surprised that his little brothers were willing to go clubbing at all.

While he would never say so to their faces, they aren’t really the clubbing type.

Which is a shame, because there’s a cute girl near the bar who hasn’t taken her eyes off Tech since they arrived. But, knowing his genius little brother, he won’t notice. And, even if he did notice, he wouldn’t know what to do about it.

At times like this, he really misses Fives and Jesse.

But, much more importantly, he has his eyes on a pretty little thing dancing up a storm on the dance floor. So far she’s turned away everyone who’s tried to dance with her. That said, she keeps meeting his gaze and tossing him flirty grins, so he’s just biding his time.

What kind of older brother will he be if he ditches his brothers before making sure that they’re having a good time?

“Echo?” He pauses, his bottle only centimeters away from his lips, and he tears his eyes away from swaying hips to focus his attention on his, suddenly nervous, brother. 

“What’s wrong?” He asks.

“Just,” Hunter nervously shares a look with Crosshair, who looks almost bored, “We just don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

Echo stares at them blankly for a moment, and then he smiles, “Sorry?” He’s got to at least pretend to be a good role model, right? He can’t just ask them what the kriff they’re talking about, that’s rude. 

“We know that you’re a little uncertain about your new look,” Tech says without looking up from his datapad.

I’m what now? Echo blinks at his brothers, genuinely thrown by Tech’s comment.

“And people can be cruel,” Hunter continues, “Just don’t let it get to you if people make comments—”

Suddenly, Echo realizes that his new little brothers seem to think that he’s insecure about his prosthetics. Or his scars. Or maybe both. Maybe he’s done too good of a job at hiding his gremlin personality (as Rex calls it) from them.

He hums thoughtfully, his mind racing, and then his gaze slides back to the dance floor. For a moment, his gaze lingers on a specific pair of swaying hips and legs that go on for miles…and then he smirks.

Echo downs the rest of his drink and sets the bottle on the table, before he pushes to his feet, “I think there’s been a misunderstanding, vod’e.” He turns to head to the dance floor, “I won’t be back to the Marauder tonight,” He tosses over his shoulder with a slightly smug smirk. 

He weaves through the crowd of people and dismisses the two men who are trying to force his dance partner to dance with them with a flick of two fingers. 

She grins up at him, “I wondered if you were going to join me,” She teases, her voice light and conversational.

Echo’s hand slides low on her hip, “Patience is a virtue, didn’t you know?” He’s amused and he sounds it, “I’m definitely worth waiting for, babe.”

She hums and trails her fingers down the front of his shirt, “Prove it?”

“Gladly.”

In full honesty, you didn’t expect the cute soldier to actually come over to you. You don’t expect your flirty looks, teasing smiles, and seductive dancing to tempt him onto the dance floor with you. Let alone for him to clutch you to him as though you’re his and his alone.

He’s confident and cocky, not to mention strong and unfairly handsome. He has you wrapped around his little finger after one dance, after two you’d probably agree to anything he asked, and after the third dance, you’re wondering what you have to do to be able to keep him.

Your back bumps against the cool metal door of a storage room, and you can feel the music from the club vibrating down to your bones, but neither sensation is as important to you as the feel of his lips against yours, and his tongue sliding against your own. 

His arm is tight around your waist, holding you flush against him, as he blindly opens the door behind you and then walks you into the small room. You hear him lock the door as it slides shut behind him, and you whine low in your throat as he pulls away from you. 

Echo chuckles and cups your cheek, “Someone’s eager,” He kisses you quickly, and pulls away again making you pout up at him. He looks amused, you can tell that much even in the dim light of the storage room, though you’re not sure why he’s so amused.

You don’t say anything, just deepen your pout, and lean into his warmth.

His thumb slides across your lower lip, “Ah, cyare. I’m going to have to break you of these bratty tendencies,” But, even as he says it, he looks delighted.

“Not bratty,” You whine, before you take his thumb into your mouth and suck on it gently. You have a very talented mouth, maybe if you show him just how talented you are he’ll continue touching you again.

You keep your gaze locked with his, so you watch as arousal darkens his gaze. “Very bratty,” His voice is lower now, and you shiver at the promising tone in his voice, “Take your clothes off.”

You blink at him and pull away from his thumb, “All of them?”

“Did I stutter?”

You take a step back and slowly start peeling your clothes off. You’re not wearing much, all things considered. A top, a skirt, panties, and your sandals. 

You’re about to toss your panties to join the rest of your clothes, but Echo tugs them out of your hand and shoves them in his pocket. You don’t mind, it’s not like you don’t have more after all.

“Mm, look at how pretty you are,” Echo murmurs, as he backs you toward a table near the back wall and encourages you to sit on it. It’s surprisingly sturdy, for a wooden table. He taps the inside of your knees, spreading your legs so that he’s able to stand between your thighs. 

His gaze drops to your pussy, and he releases a quiet breath, “Look at how wet you are,” His gaze flickers to your face as he slowly brushes his scomp against your clit, pulling a strangled whimper from you. “All this for me?”

For some reason, you feel like you should be embarrassed at just how aroused you are for this man you just met, but you aren’t. You feel safe and warm and you want more.

You are aware enough to know that he’s not a mind reader, so you squirm under him and spread your legs slightly, “More,”

He grins at you, “What was that? You want me to stop?”

“No, More! Echo—”

He pulls his scomp away from your clit, and you release a whine of displeasure, which is quickly muffled by his lips against yours, “Greedy,” He chides against your lips, “And so rude. Did no one teach you manners?” His tone is teasing.

You blink at him, hazily, “Please?” 

“Please what, beautiful?”

You tug on the front of his shirt, “Touch me,”

“I am touching you,”

And he is, his lips are moving across your jaw and down your neck, while his hand alternated between tightly clutching your hip, and caressing every inch of skin that he can reach.

You squirm against him, able to feel his erection pressed against your thigh through his jeans, “Stop teasing me,” You whine.

“All you have to do is tell me what you want,” Echo replies, “That’s it. You can do that, can’t you?”

“I want—” You’re interrupted by a loud moan at the sensation of his scomp ghosting against your pussy.

“You want?” He’s laughing, the jerk.

It takes you a moment to gather your thoughts, and you shoot him the neediest look you can muster, “I want your cock, please?”

His grin widens, “Well,” Echo leans in and kisses you slowly, “Who am I to deny such a polite request?”

He pulls away just enough to unfasten his pants and tug his boxers just enough out of the way for his cock to bounce free, “You’re not gonna fully undress?” You ask, breathlessly.

“If you’re a good girl,” Echo replies as he gathers some of your arousal on his fingers to spread on his cock, “Maybe you can have me in your bed and see me naked.”

“I can be good,” You counter, and then your head falls back with a moan as the head of his cock nudges your clit.

“Yeah?” His hand moves to the back of your head and he makes you look at him. There’s a grin on his handsome face, and you gasp as he thrusts deep inside you with one firm roll of his hips. 

Your fingernails dig into his shoulders, as he bottoms out and stops moving, much to your displeasure. 

Echo’s lips hover just over yours, as he throws your words back at you, “Prove it.”

@n0vqni @bad4amficideas @justiceandwar98 @tiredbi-peach @dukeoftheblackstar

@trixie2023 @kimiheartblade @padawancat97 @falconfeather23435 @etod

@bb8-99 @continous-mistakes @yoitsjay @cc--2224 @adriennelenoir

[gloopdimension]

im so Made

[enchantedanimal]

All of the QSMP eggs as dragons!

Now for my design notes/headcanons! (There's a lot lol)

- The color pallettes are (for the most part) based off of their parent/parents. In lore terms, l'd imagine that more time they spent around their parents before they hatched, the more their color developed to mimic them. It would usually be used as a survival strategy with their dragon parents, however sometimes their personality overcomes this and they develop their own color.

- Being dragonets, none of them can fly due to their currently underdeveloped wings.

- Tilin's yellow spots would make Quackity think that Wilbur was supposed to be the other parent.

- Tallulah's colors/features are close to that of a duck. It would likely be a coincidence, but it'd be enough to Quackity to feel like the island was mocking him.

- Tallulah's "hair" is feathers. She's the only one with feathers, and it may either be a cause or effect of her being left in the attic (possibly being mistaken to be an egg from a different species and not a dragon, or the coldness of the attic caused feathers to form).

- Tallulah and Tilin have the same colored eyes since Quackity once said that she reminds him of Tilin.

- Chayanne has fins bc he likes doing mlg water bucket clutches and fishing with Missa.

- Chayanne's tail fin, Leonarda's ear, and Richarlyson's wing are ripped in a spot due to loosing a life. Bobby lost one of his after I designed him but one of his horns would be chipped, and forgot Ramón only had one as well so let's just pretend he's got a scar on his left leg lol.

- Its kinda subtle, but Chayanne has protruding bottom canines, similar to my (and many others') Techno design.

- Fun fact that usually in my style I have the neck spines start from the top of the head. Ramon is purposely "bald".

- Ngl I don't have much to say about Trump bc he died so quick (rip) and I never saw much about him; but his hat is too big for his head.

- Bobby is a wyvern bc it's easier to slap everyone with his wings. He also headbutts and slaps ppl with his tail (those hurt more).

- Bobby's colors are less based after his parents, but the orange/blue complementary colors are kinda more of a nod to Jaiden being an artist (which doesn't make a whole lot of sense now idk my brain just defaulted to that), but feel they match his personality as well. Also his scleras (part of eye that's not the iris/pupil) are black unlike the rest who's are normal.

- Leonarda has a tiny mushroom pin on her hat and their back has mushroom-like spots for the hat she always wears.

- People keep saying that Leo somehow looks like Foolish which is funny bc that wasn't even intentional- in fact was worried that she would be one of the only ones who didn't resemble her parents enough. I did try to make her slightly taller but I'm going to guess that it's the jawline lol

- [Edit bc I just thought of it] Leo's wings are bigger bc they've grown faster due to using them more to glide off of Foolish's/Veg's builds

- Dapper is built to be more bipedal than quadrupedal (their dewclaws on their back feet act more like a normal toe for better traction/ stabilization). This makes it easier to grab (or steal) things for their collection. And hold a taser.

- Richarlyson is based after an iguana! thought it would fit well (it's kinda hard to base him off of 5 different people lol)

- Had to go off of a secondhand info + auto translations (I can understand a decent amount of Spanish but have no idea when it comes to Portuguese so this could be off) but think there was something about Richarlyson having a bad leg both in and out of rp, and think maybe Cellbit said something about him having a prosthetic for it and I thought that was so so cool! It's based semi loosely off of a dog hind leg prosthetic and a human running one; probably wouldn't actually be functional but tried to keep the general shape of the leg.

- Richas and his dads cover it in stickers :)

- Juanaflippa's tail and probably the lower half of her front legs (which aren't visible) are semi transparent from Charlie (yellow comes from Mariana), and it shifts around a bit! It looks more like slime than it feels like it. I've been calling her Bananaflippa endearingly

- Gegg intentionally looks like Juanaflippa a bit (but he's way more slimy)

- Gegg's inventory basically consists of him absorbing random things which are sometimes visible (he is so full of avocado toast). He's like Bob from Monsters vs Aliens or smth idk haven't seen that movie in forever.

There some smaller less exciting details and other headcanons I have for them (such as extra accessories they'd have like Tallulah wearing sweaters) but that's about it! Feel free to ask about anything I like talking about them lol

[n3kk1tty]

"Imagine being the adopted Daughter of the Sinclair brothers showing up in Travis county one day after buying a piece of land and a home to start a new life for you and your fathers. "

Thomas Hewitt x Reader

Ambrose burned down that night and you were lucky to escape with what you did. Your twin father's clinging to life as tears streamed down your face tearing out of there before the cops could show ripping your family from you. You made sure you wouldn't be followed. No one would find your family and take them from you. You had grabbed what you could in the hours before departure after pulling your father's to safety and killing one of the survivors. You and Lester filled two cars with what you could before setting the whole town ablaze in a finale good bye. Your family home and town in mass flames as nothing would survive. Too many bodies to determine if you all had died in the fire or not.

You were a smart girl and had dreams of one day leaving the nest you just didn't think this is how it would turn out. When your fathers Vincent and Bo came to you were already across Louisiana state lines into Texas with your father Lester following in his truck. In the aftermath your family had found another ghost town to set up in. You were happy your years of prep for a life on the road had paid off as you had a lot of money to spare to help start this new chapter. You were practically tossed the keys to the house and land for cheap as everyone was abandoning this town, happy to sell for nothing. Bo took long to adjust to the change, getting into fits at having nonstop maintenance to do on the house and new garage. While Vincent lamented at the tragedy of what happened and how all his art was gone.

You had managed to snag only a small box of your fathers tools and art journals in the fire but had made sure on a trip to pick him up new art mediums when you went towns over for supplies one day. You remember how hard the quiet man hugged you when you awkwardly showed up in his basement room with a box of different art mediums. Signing to your father while you spoke. " I know it doesn't replace what we lost that night. But maybe it's time to try new mediums just like our new beginning. I love you dad." After that day Vincent would dive into new mediums every time you brought him some. He quickly took up wood carving and mask making to replace his wax prosthetic while using his oil pastels to draw the texas sunsets.

You and your father Lester were the most positive of the family about the move. You did your best to make the house a home and to keep the family together while Lester got work a ways out picking up road kill just like he used to. The only piece of mind with him having such a long commute was the fact Jonesy was always with him and he was just a call away. Your family lived in the quiet town for a few months blissfully unaware of your cannibal neighbors lurking in the ghost town as well. That was until you started frequenting the corner store for goods. Things like nails, cigarettes, and beer became a regular on a trip for you to do as Bo was always asking you to pick up things while he stayed home mumbling to himself.

It wasn't till your third trip did Luda Mae start questioning you. You brought the beer to the counter pointing to the cigarette brand your father liked. " A husband at home who likes to drink and smoke missy?" You let out a small laugh in response to the older woman. " No, no. Sadly not Married nor dating Ma'am these are just for my father. He's been working on our house and having me go fetch him things. " The woman perks up behind the counter. " Working on a house you say. That wouldn't be in this town would it. Ain't hardly anyone left let alone new comers. " You lean across the counter the sweetest smile you could muster in your face.

" We actually like the quietness of the town. Haven't had time to meet our neighbors though after moving in a couple of months ago. We've been too busy trying to get the house in order. I think I have already lost count of the days with how much I've been in my garden or kitchen all day. " The older woman pulls in a seat motioning for you to sit with her at the counter as she interrogates you. " So you like keeping yourself busy? Is it just you and your father and mother in the house, I know I'll be losing track of days myself keeping up with the three boys in my house. "

You laugh as you shyly scratch your head. " No ma'am. Never had a mother before. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it but I'm adopted by three brothers. They kinda found me abandoned when I was younger in this roadkill dumping ground and when they brought me home none of them could decide who the father would be so they are all just kind of my dad's. Now I know that must be a little strange and off putting to most but I sware that's my life. Though I guess legally my Pa Bo is my father as he took me to appointments when I was little. "

The woman could feel her maternal instincts fluttering in her chest as she schemed a way to make you her daughter. Luda Mae was determined to be the mother you never had, or even mother in law. " Oh that sounds like something silly three men would do. Must have been tough growing up with no mother. " You sigh to yourself as you think back to the home you can never return to a sadness hurting your heart. " I mean my father's certainly struggled teaching me to be lady-like. If it wasn't for my dad Vincent I'd probably still be running around in a baseball cap and boy clothes being a wild child. He used to fuss for hours learning how to style my hair like all the other little girls and make me dresses to wear since sometimes money got tight. "

" Oh you poor thing. What brings y'all to Travis? Planning on staying long or are you gonna set out on your own eventually. " Your smile drops as you half heartedly try and smile again at the woman but she can tell that question hurt you. " No, I think I'll stay here with my dad's. Our last home was burned down thanks to burglars and we barely made it out alive. I'm just doing my best to hold my family together. They are all I've ever known and I wanna keep them safe. I should probably be heading back before the beer gets warm."

Luda Mae walks you back to your car patting your back as you finish your chatting. " Well you know men. If you don't tell them to take a break they will work themselves ragged. My old man Bo is probably fiddling in his garage or in the house again. I'd love to come by for a visit, Miss Luda and give a proper introduction since we're neighbors. Maybe I should bring some dessert for your boys. " The woman smiled as you started the car up. " Oh (Y/n) I think my Tommy would fancy meeting you. " A blush and a nervous laughter arises as you remember back to the last time you attempted romance and how Bo and Vincent nearly made him a wax figure in Ambrose.

" I'd be charmed to meet him. I'll be seeing you around ma'am don't work yourself to hard. " After that day Luda Mae became determined to hook Tommy up with you. You were the perfect candidate for her son. The list of womanly house chores you could do was phenomenal and you were a sweet family oriented girl who was pretty to boot. The next visits to the shop you brang the old woman all sorts of things while you two spend the time chatting away. Like homegrown veggies, or fruit you snagged outta town, you even brought her some embroidery you did while learning with Vincent. All things Luda Mae appreciated and shown how you were the perfect daughter in law for her. She brought the things home showing them to Tommy talking his ear off about how she found him a bride finally and the man was excited just to get a look at you.

Hoyt caught wind of the newcomers in town and decided since he was the sheriff he might as well introduce his authority. Luda Mae almost took his family jewels though stating that you were Tommy's and Tommy's alone so to keep his hands off her future daughter in law as the man got ready to drive over. It took the whole Hewitt family to stop Tommy from hopping in the back of the car to catch a peek. Luda Mae had to assure him that you'd meet in due time but she was buttering you up for your new position.

At your house you had snagged bees to add to your new little farms addition so you were attending to your helpers. There wasn't much food out here and you and Lester were the only ones bringing in money so you figured homesteading was good enough to keep your family fed and happy. Trips out to town were long and tedious like Ambrose but you made do with selling things at the farmers market to help bring home ends meat. Your little farm had rabbits, chickens, and bees for wax now. You beamed in pride up at the window as Vincent signed to you. " Bees ? For wax ? Bee- careful not to get stung. "

You laughed at your fathers joke as you smiled as you signed back to him. " Very funny Dad. " Suddenly a cop car came rushing down the pebble road to your home. You freeze in fear as Vincent takes notice of your face rushing to grab Bo and his tools as your brain rushed with the thought that your family had been found. You were panicking. How did they find you. There was no way anything survived that fire or the victims could pin point you. Your eyes darkened as you grabbed the knife in your apron pocket. No one would take your family from you without paying with their life first. The sheriff hopped out the car standing in the driveway to your porch as you stood in your gardeners outfit and sunhat before him. " Well hello sheriff what brings you all the way out here?"

" Well I sheriff Hoyt would be surprised that we have newcomers in town who haven't even met their local police officers yet. Luda Mae has been chatting up a storm about you missy and I figured since I'm the sheriff of our small town it only makes sense to get to know who I'm protecting. " Your grip loosens from the knife in your apron as you let out a relieved sigh. " Well my goodness sheriff what an honor it is you drove all the way here to meet us. I'm sorry I would have been dressed a lot nicer if I knew someone so important was coming. Why don't you get outta the heat sir. That uniform must be blazing in this heat I'll go grab my father and some lemonade to cool you off. " The man's ego felt extremely boosted by your demeanor as he took a seat in the rocking chair on the porch.

You rushed inside in time to stop your twin father's from rushing out the door to mangle the sheriff. You push your hands on their chest signing out with your hands what's happening just so you know no one can hear. " It's just one of Luda Mae's boys. The lady from the store said her son was the sheriff. He isn't here for us, just to introduce. " Bo stares down grumbling as he wipes his hands clean of car grease. " Guess we should make peace with our neighbors. Stay outta it if things go south though. Understand. " You smile at him as you go to the kitchen Vincent following behind as you shout to the man. " I will Pa. You want beer or lemonade?" You laugh as Bo replies back lemonade is fine as he doesn't wanna share his booze with the sheriff just yet.

The front door swings open as Bo towers over the man on the porch. His face switches to a smile as he walks over to the sheriff sticking his somewhat cleaned hands out. " Well hello there sir. How kind of you to stop by. I'm Bo Sinclair the man of the house. Sorry about the car grease, was working on my truck. " The sheriff shakes his hand as he looks the man up and down. At least they weren't bikers or hippies he thought as the pair sit down making small talk as you bring drinks out. The two spend hours shooting the shit almost bonding over there disdain of the bikers in town. They talk about the town and its history while Bo eventually offers to fix up the sheriff's car as it looks like it could use a look under the hood.

By the time the old men are done chatting and taking a look at the car discussing Bo fixing up cars for the sheriff and splitting profits off of car scraps Lester and Jonesey are making it up the drive way for dinner. Hoyt ended up meeting the whole strange Sinclair family that night as he stayed for dinner. Fresh veggies and beautifully seasoned food with dessert and beer. The man almost didn't want to leave and agreed with Luda Mae your family's would be best together through you and Tommy's future wedding. Though Hoyt wouldn't tell your fathers as the twins were built out of brick and Lester was proud to show off his roadkill job so winning the Sinclair's favor was the Hewitts plan.

That night Hoyt went home with a full stomach and plenty of leftovers as your rabbits were well multiplying like rabbits. The sheriff tossed the leftovers plate to Tommy as he patted the boy on the back saying he was lucky. " We found you a good one boy. Gonna have to marry that one so me and my future business partner can keep bringing good meals like this home. " Tommy nearly licked the plate clean as the cucumber salad and roasted rabbit were heavenly on his tongue and when he got to the Mississippi mud pie on the plate he almost wanted to run over there now and officiate the wedding. Tommy was even more excited as Hoyt told him not to worry about his face as your father Vincent had a birth defect to his face as well. Talking about how if Tommy asked he would probably make him one of those fancy prosthetics to boot.

The first time you met the giant guard dog of the Hewitts was on the faithful day you invited them all over for dinner. The Summer heats had been rough but you Sinclair's had made your new home finally to your liking and it only took half a year. Hoyt and Bo were thick as thieves in their car business. Your garden was flourishing as you did wonderfully at the farmers markets selling off eggs, rabbits, and flowers. On rare occasions you'd sell art that Vincent made. All the Sinclair's had pulled together and were now financially stable again and adjusted to their new lives. The past may have burned down but the new peace you had you wouldn't trade for the world.

Maybe Ambrose going up in smoke was the blessing you all needed as it took with it the past bad memories as well as the good. Along with the Sinclair's doing good that meant the Hewitts got to thrive off of your generosity as well. Luda Mae spent hours making Tommy scrub off blood and dirty from his body to be presentable for your first meeting. You had brought the woman many fancy soaps from your trips to town and she was currently doing her best to make the man smell like roses. She even went out of her way to trim back his hair and freshen his clothes. With the last spray of stolen cologne the Hewitts were piling into the new fixed up car they had fixed up by Bo.

When they arrived the porch was lit up with fairy lights and the old Texas farmhouse was now as beautiful as it ever was. New paint and many maintenance later with your adding of decorations and dried herbs on the porch the Sinclair's property was the prettiest in Travis county. How either family never broached the topic of murder was a mystery as it wasn't like Bo wasn't making people disappear for car parts and cash when they wandered into your property. Can't have his new sheriff friend being crossed with him but the Sinclair's weren't going to let anyone take their new home from them. While the Hewitts kept with keeping their freezer stocked.

Both families stood in front of each other smiling while their dark secrets made them even more similar than they thought. Tommy nervously handing you a bouquet of wild flowers he picked while you tried talking to the behemoth. The Hewitts made themselves comfortable in your living room while they talked your fathers up. The same fathers who kept glaring down the Hewitt boy any time they thought he was stepping out of line with their beloved daughter. You two were watched like a hawk as Tommy nervously fiddled with his dress shirt while you softly talked to him trying to get him to look at you. Gentle hands felt his forearms as he tried to communicate back but couldn't as he was unable.

The Sinclair brothers watched like guard dogs around their daughter as you sat with Tommy on the couch teaching how to use sign language to communicate with you. Jonesey sat by you getting pets as you taught him how to sign dog. You liked the sweet man you did. He was shy and big but he was a gentleman to you as electric shot through your heart every time you touched. The Hewitts plan was working and you and Tommy were just in the beginning stages of your love story they thought. The two family's after that night became thick as theives. You and Tommy were paired together most days then not afterwards as the boy would get so excited he would happily do the long walk to your property just to see you.

Even if his help wasn't needed he would be there for an hour so you could teach him sign while Vincent worked away on a better prosthetics for your boyfriend to be. Every time this boy lumbered up the porch he'd bring you a gift and be as clean as possible while happily making noises at you. You even started sneaking off to the Hewitts under the guise of helping Luda Mae in her own garden and home just to see Tommy. Under the Texas heat love bloomed in the air and the families grew closer and closer together. You were so close it was becoming harder to hide each other's secrets.

It all came out in the open one day though when one of the victims came out of the basement when Bo and you were over to help. They came running out covered in blood begging you for help in the kitchen with you and Luda Mae in the middle of pickling. They yanked you away while swinging the knife at the old woman shouting for everyone to hear that the Hewitts were monsters and you should leave. The old woman panicked begging for you not to leave coming up with excuses as the victim lunges at her. With a swift wack of a cast iron they were slumped in the floor as you made work to cutting the vocals cords and Achilles tendon in the poor thing.

Luda Mae stood in shock as her sweet gentle future daughter in law was blankly using a knife to finish the girl off making sure she wasn't gonna be causing a fuss anymore. You stood above her as you looked at the old woman, blood smearing your face as you laughed. " Guess our families are a lot more alike than I thought Luda Mae. " Bo and Hoyt came sprinting into the room noticing the blood and girl on the floor as Hoyt was prepared for the worst of having to fight his friend before the mechanic gave an approving chuckle. " That's my girl. Quick and effective. Well come on Hoyt the ladies can't keep pickling with this bitch on the floor so let's get it cleaned up. I'm hungry for some lunch too. Would y'all ladies mind making us men something. "

After that the families solidified a friendship between the two Travis County quickly became a place for people to disappear and die. The Sinclairs did not partake in the cannibalism like their friends but they would gladly help lure victims or finish people off. The families were always at each other's places to help and soon we're even helping fix up the corner store and the Hewitt home. Life was peaceful and eventually Tommy got the courage to ask you to be his girlfriend. Through the little sign language he did know under a southern live oak tree Thomas Hewitt asked for you to be his girlfriend.

You gleefully said yes as you tackled the man down to the ground placing a loving kiss to his face. You two hid under your tree from your prying families as you spent the evening in each other's arms giggling away as you exchanged kisses and bated breath. Your life in Ambrose may have been destroyed in that fire that night but you wouldn't trade your new beginning for the world. A fire could destroy the past but it also could warm your heart to the new future to come.

This was an idea in my head after I rewatched both movies. If y'all want more of Thomas Hewitt X Sinclair daughter make sure to let me know or if you want more Sinclair Daughter posts in the future.

[hypnoneghoul]

okay more tail amputee phantom thoughts as promised, under the cut because it got long

i think the piece that's left is under a half of what he had, just where the bone ends so he has full control over the nub. the thing is that it's not something he's used to, he lost the rest of his tail on his way topside so he's had the full thing most of his life. he does het phantom (pun not intended) pains but that's not the worst. the worst is that because he's been alone in the pit, he's never had a chance to wrap his tail around another ghoul. and then when he came topside and would finally be able to do that, his tail got all bit ripped off and now he literally mourns that ability. it's not only a customary ghoulish way of showing affection but it's an instinct. when a ghoul cares for another ghoul they wrap their tail around them to keep them close and safe and show they care. it's like a human holding hands and hugging and kissing and so so much more. phantom can't do that and he's heartbroken because of it. omega and aether tried to come up with a prosthetic but nothing seemed to cut it and only caused phantom more discomfort so they eventually gave up, but he still can't, and probably never will, accept the fact that hes missing something so important. of course his pack tells him that it's not that important, that theres other ways of showing how he loves them and all that, but phantom is just...lacking

now the first time that someone actually came up with something that would work was swiss. you know those tricks when they set a fake hand next to a real one and cover your wrist with something and then touch the fake one and you can feel it? yeah imagine that with a tail and some quintessence. swiss used some quintessence to convince phantoms mind even for a split second that rains tail that was wrapping around his waist was phantom's. it worked, as I said for just a second, but it did. phantom cried. a lot

another step I would say was dew. I think he and phantom were cuddling one time with dew on his back under a sleeping starfished phantom. dew would roam his hands all over his body and he'd get to his nub tail and start fidgeting with it. it feels just like the first part of a normal tail and dew wonders if it's not enough to wrap around a hand at least. or another tail. it must be, so he tries to coax it to wrap around his wrist as phantom sleeps. it would probably be easier if he were awake and helped, but it still works, more or less and dewdrop is delighted. he leaves it like that and waits until phantom wakes and the moment it registers in his sleepy brain that he's holding dews arm with his tail he starts sobbing with relief like never before

it's still not the fulfilling feeling he'd get if he had a full sized tail, but he knows his pack loves him so much that they will never stop trying to come up with new ways to feed his instinct

[strawberry-lemonade-kisses]

Empty Nester's (M)

Tags - manga spoilers, new manga ending because it's mine, Fem Reader, Reader is called mama, mom, etc. Cunnilingus, squirting, idk

"With the children away for the weekend, what do you guys have planned?” Makio was swaddled with your baby, 11 months old and so big already, she could easily be mistaken for much older than she is. She was like her daddy, big, smart, and sweet. Harumi had been visiting the Uzui’s on the weekends for the past month giving you and Gyomei a break but also preparing them for the arrival of their own bundle of joy in the coming months. Of course, you had spent weekends as a family with them but then it was suggested that she stay by herself. You compromised with all three of the kids staying with the Uzui’s that way at least Muichiro and Genya knew their sister and could help.

“I don’t think we are doing anything special, a night in, maybe we will get a full night of sleep” Gyomei laughed from the doorway where he was talking with Tengen, the boys crowding him as he talked of their weekend plans. Makio squinted, rolling her eyes before turning back to you. “How is Hinatsuru? Has the tea been helping ease her stomach? It was heaven sent for me, Shinobu had trained Aoi so well” Makio nodded, bouncing slightly as Harumi stirred from where she rested.

“She is doing much better, eating a lot more which we are grateful for. She had us all worried. But she is well, excited to see Harumi, I think the maternal instincts are already kicked in because she hasn’t stopped talking about Harumi since she left last weekend” You nodded, understanding the feeling, throughout your pregnancy just seeing babies made you want to cry from happiness, some mothers would even come chat when they noticed your heavy stomach, letting you gush over their baby.

“Yeah, but Harumi is also the sweetest girl, so patient and she loves her brothers so she’s happy when they are around” Harumi’s head lifted at the mention of her brothers. “You should head home before she falls asleep, she sleeps like her father at night and Hinatsuru may not get to play with her” You urged the Uzui wife back towards the door, Tengen noticing the movement moved to let Makio pass.

“That’s our cue then, we will see you all in 3 days, have a good night, and try not to have too much fun!” Tengen winked before turning to follow his wife, your sons leaving with a wave and a few air kisses before following as well, a row of little ducklings.

As the door slid shut your husband turned to you.

“Come on, I have something for you” He was rocky, still settling into the prosthetic leg, it made him sway a lot when he walked but he no longer had to hold onto your shoulder, he could walk just by holding your hand which was an improvement. He was still hesitant about holding Harumi while standing but that would happen with time, just had to be patient.

“You’ve been so patient with us, every single one of us, from the boys to Harumi, and to me. Since the fall of the demons almost 2 years ago you’ve been so attentive and working nonstop, making sure everyone is comfortable and happy, you’ve kept everyone fed and bathed. You even changed our bandages and helped us bathe, which is no small feat. You did so much and I just wanted you to know how grateful I am, and how grateful the boys are to have you, to call you my wife, to call you a mother. I am so happy to be here with you, to have been given the chance to stay on this planet with you and live happily.” He paused his speech as you got to the backyard, lit with lanterns and decorated with flowers. There was a large blanket in the middle of the yard, filled with pillows to create what looked like the coziest bed ever. Sitting next to the bed was a tray lined with snacks and wine alongside 2 glasses.

“What is all this? When did you do all this?” You turned towards your husband of 5 years someone who you had watched grow into the beast of a man before you today, so gentle and loving and at the same time he held power you couldn’t even imagine carrying after knowing him for 8 years he still gave you butterflies.

“Had some help, you are quite oblivious when you are with Harumi so it was easy, she loves her mama just as much as I do. You are an amazing woman and I’m so honored and blessed to call you my wife.” Your eyes watered at the thought behind this surprise and his sweet words, you hadn’t put thought into the things you did, there was a house to run and a family to take care of after they literally saved the world, the least you could do is take care and help them, it was almost natural, you had been taking care of Gyomei’s injuries since you had first met in the wisteria house your family-owned, although it was closed now, once again it was just a home but more than welcome to those who were former corps members.

“I don’t know what to say” his hands moved to your back, gently guiding you towards the bed, the warmth from the overwhelming amount of candles provided such comfort that it didn’t take long for your muscles to relax as you sunk into the cushions and pillows.

“you don’t need to say anything, just relax, enjoy your night” There was a soft smile on Gyomeis face as he sat down, stretching his legs. “c’mere let me hold you” his words were quiet, like a whisper to draw you into his space, you didn’t hesitate before moving between his legs, letting your back rest against his chest while he wrapped you in his arms, letting his hands rest on your thighs. You both sat in silence, enjoying the clear night with the stars shining so bright you could probably see without the candles, but they provided extra comfort to your night. It was nice having a night with just the two of you, it was something that you hadn’t experienced in years. Between them fighting Muzan and having to relearn how to live normally, to giving birth to your daughter there was always a full house. Now they were able to leave, more than ready to get out of the house and spend time with their friends and family. It was something you weren’t quite ready for. Large hands were wiping away tears before you could realize you were crying.

“What ails you? What can I do?” Gyomei was soft as he addressed you, still holding your cheek as you relaxed back into him.

“They are all leaving, they can leave us now” you sniffled, turning around to face your husband, sitting on your knees. “Gyomei, the boys are gonna get married and leave” Deep down you knew it was ridiculous to think that they would suddenly leave, they were only 17 but you were dating Gyomei at 19 and he was 22, they could leave at any age. Gyomei smiled, his clouded eyes flickering about.

“Let’s slow down, no one is going anywhere. They are spending the weekend with the Uzui’s, and no one is getting married anytime soon unless we marry them off. Lay back, listen to that quiet, no kids, no screaming or fighting, no crying. Tranquility. S nice isn’t it?” You sat back, taking Gyomei’s advice and listening to the world around you. “What do you hear?” you listened close, relaxing into the embrace of your beloved and closing your eyes to truly listen.

“I hear the trees as they shake.”

“Mhm”

“I hear The birds sing their young to sleep. It sounds like they are getting tired” You were focusing, you swear you were, but his hands were distracting, wandering from your hips. His touch started slow, just rubbing your sides like he did when you wanted to relax, but then they started to move inwards, resting on your stomach and moving up.

“What else do you hear” His voice was low like he was telling you something you were allowed to hear, trying to hide it from the world.

“um…” You couldn’t focus on the sounds, not when he cupped one of your breasts, applying pressure as he leaned into your neck, wet kisses trailing from your jaw to your collarbone.

“focus, what’s going on?” The tone of his voice was a warning, a baritone hum as he continued his ministrations, biting into the skin of your neck as you leaned to the side, giving him more access.

“Frogs” is all you got out, moaning as one hand undid the ties to your clothing and the other continued to fondle you.

“good girl, what else” He paused, leaning back to watch each inch of your kimono fall off your shoulders and reveal your skin.

“I-“ a moan interrupted you as both his hands went to work, pinching the nipple of one breast while massaging the other. His lips still danced along your skin, slowly compared to his rough hands. “The river” He hummed into your skin, encouragement to continue as he worked like he was tuning a violin, plucking the strings of your pleasure until he had it just right. “You” Your answer was met with his hands removing themselves from your body, his mouth detaching itself from your skin. You sat up, turning to look at your husband.

“Yeah? What do I sound like?” His disheveled hair and lack of prayer beads had him looking almost feral, his hooded gaze staring down at you as he crawled over you, moving you until your back hit the ground, looking up at him. Your answer never came as he engulfed you in a kiss, claiming your lips as his own. You couldn’t stop the moan that erupted as one of his hands found purchase on your hip, pulling the band of your panties until they snapped back at your skin. Your tongue grazed his lip, asking for more, and was met with a hasty reply. Your mouths danced so familiarly with one another, like every movement of the other's tongue was rehearsed, practiced an infinite number of times over, each clash of teeth and head tilt a piece of intricate choreography. Gyomei pulled back gasping, head tilting towards your ear.

“You know what I want?” He hummed pressing a kiss to your collar, lips wet with your shared saliva. You made a noise of acknowledgment, too high-strung by his constant touches everywhere but where you wanted. You're sure if you looked down you would see your panties soaked through, uncomfortably damp but you couldn’t care less. “I want to be the one to listen to the pretty noises you make when you cum on my tongue” Your breath hitched as he placed another kiss on the slope of your breast, moving his way down your body, with teasing touches and wet kisses. “Okay?” He continued his path down your body, nipping at your hip bone, tracing the soft skin of your stomach as he nosed at your panties.

“Yes sir”

“Good girl” His praise was accompanied by his tongue, licking at the wet patch that had stained your panties. He was never a patient man when it came to pleasure, you had grown used to it, he knew what he wanted and he wasn’t afraid to take it if you let him, and who were you to deny your husband of such pleasures? He pulled aside your panties, not bothering to slide them off your hips, just revealing the glistening beauty of your pussy. The groan he let out was pure sin like a predator warning its prey before it eats them. Which is what he planned on doing. Gyomei didn’t waste time, diving into the heat of your pussy. His tongue flicked at your throbbing clit, teasing and divine. He went from flicking to sucking, not wasting a breath between both, switching the rhythm to keep you on edge. You reached down, hoping to hold onto him as grounding, afraid you would float away in the thralls of pleasure.

“Mei, please don’t stop” You moaned a symphony for him, following the beat of his tongue. 2 fingers pushed their way into your heat, thick and practiced it was almost too natural for him to do it, like he was using the hand to tighten the ropes of your pleasure, cranking at them in hopes they would break. He hummed into you, enjoying his meal thoroughly, eyes closed like he was lost in his own heaven and that ad you clenching, teetering on the edge of orgasm thinking he was enjoying this as much as you. By the way you could make out the subtle shift of his hips against the ground, you had no doubts he was. His fingers curled upwards, thrusting in at a speed faster than his tongue. You fell, the pleasure quickly overwhelming your body jolted, trying to breathe through the pleasure. You saw stars, eyes rolling back for a few seconds as his ministrations continued, not wanting to slow and end his own pleasure. Another groan resonated through your core that had you yelping, an unfamiliar swirl in your stomach itching forward.

“C’mon baby” He moaned again, begging for your body, and his hand continued it work, mouth quickly attaching back to your overly sensitive bud. A second orgasm came crashing down on you, a litany of explants leaving your mouth as you released all pent-up energy, coating your husband's face in a stream of pleasure. He lapped eagerly at your sex, not wasting a drop of you, pulling his fingers out and licking them clean as well while you tried to come back to earth, breathing heavily and holding weakly to the and that still held your panties to the side. Gyomei sat on his heels, rubbing at your tighs while you tried to get ahold of yourself.

“You did so good mama’s, so good for me, huh?” His tone was encouraging. He was careful as he moved your legs together, giving him room to lay next to you, a space heater for your bare body, still recovering. You looked at him through lidded eyes, a sleepy smile gracing your lips.

“Gyomei,” You whispered, still breathless. He smiled, pulling you into his chest so you could snuggle in, using your kimono as a blanket to cover you and keep you warm.

“I’m here” He pressed a kiss to your head, damp, but you didn’t care.

“Thank you” He hummed, knowing that this was just the beginning of a long night.

[anonymouspuzzler]

you know what? fuck you (heartbreak gulch's my own guys)

(@heartbreakgulch courtesy of the inimitable @strangegutz & collaborators, also miscellaneous Thoughts under the cut bc it's my blog no one can stop me the doors have closed behind you)

HEARTBREAKER BULKHEAD:

Probably does not have superpowers anymore but still came from a family of considerable influence and was under pressure to inherit, pressure which he very much Broke Under.

Turned to a life of crime, definitely got in over his head with it, and essentially got rescued by Eddie, who he is Utterly Obsessed With And Heartsick For.

Has spent literal years as one of Eddie's attack dogs and generally jumping through hoops for him for Whatever Scraps Of Affection He Can Get, though he's still kind of squeamish around Literal Murder and thus tends to be assigned to supply runs and such most of the time.

Amateur mechanic and car enthusiast. Probably did a lot of McGyver-ass fixes around the Gulch-slash-generally assisted Ami til Davey was recruited.

Speaking of, was still the guy who recruited-slash-rescued Davey. They fell for each other hard and are in a committed relationship now, which has helped Buck take a little bit of a healthier step back with whatever the hell he and Eddie have going on (and helped him be a little less jealous and curmudgeonly about the Hot Young Things In Town, ie Zeki and Felix).

Absolutely not prepared to be a guardian to Minnie which has led his and Eddie's whole Relationship to enter a fun new stage of "hey man can I ask you for parenting advice nothing weird"

HEARTBREAKER DYNAMO:

Pretty similar backstory to the Villain-Coded version. Civilian turned criminal, lost his arm when he got in over his head on a job and Buck rescued him.

Has a bunch of different prosthetics he swaps out for different purposes, ie. one for combat, one to use for mechanic work, a kinda general use/everyday one, etc. That said, he goes without a lot to make sure he's prepared for a situation where he doesn't have access/one breaks or fails on a job/etc.

An alarmingly good recruit; I feel like originally Eddie kind of let him stick around as a kind of "gift" to Buck, but now that he's actually got him on jobs he's become a real rising star. Real good in a scrap and is a little more flexible with his moral lines in the sand compared to Buck. Outside of that he works with Ami a lot doing mechanics and repairs - probably interested in learning CompanDroid maintenance/repair but figures it'd be skeevy for him to push that point too much.

He and Eddie have a complicated relationship I think. They'd be kinda suspicious/distrusting of each other but also have a LOT of similarities and work really well together. To say nothing of their respective relationships with Buck.

I don't think he's Trying to Uncle the younger recruits in the Gulch but he definitely Does. He likes White a lot. He and Ami would also definitely get along really well. He is being The Bigger Man and Mature Adult and not giving Felix a wedgie no matter how badly he wants to

HEARTBREAKER(?) MINNIE:

From the same family of prominence as Buck and is currently very much on the run after a failed attempt to kill her own dad.

Extremely a city kid and is Not necessarily adapting well to Middle Of Nowhere Self Sustained Living.

Knew Of Buck but never met him before this so his whole Life and Little Criminal Commune featuring Multiple Guys He's Got SOMETHING Going On With is. it's a lot

Would like to do some crime actually but is A) still a little traumatized and adjusting to the whole Situation and B) 13 Whole Real Human Years Old.

Fascinated by Zeki's whole deal and his work but I think they would absolutely bring out the worst in each other they would fight so much. Autism to autism hostility

Having a very complicated response to White and Ami wherein she thinks they're SO cool but interacting with them at any length would make her realize Things About Herself that she's not consciously ready to confront so just like. Imagine being White and looking over your shoulder and that 13 year old is just Intensely Staring At You Unblinking from around a corner and as soon as she realizes you've seen her she turns around and runs off as fast as she can directly into a wall

Zarita absolutely hitting that Cool Just Slightly Older Kid niche for her.

[ghouly-boiiiii]

THE GHOUL: WHY HE'S HOT - (A SCIENCE!)

࣪⊹°˖✧ Welcome to a Powerpoint Presentation by Some Ghoul-Loving Freak ✧˖° ⊹

Why is The Ghoul hot? I think many of us who find ourselves swooning over this necrotic, murdering cowboy have been asking ourselves that very question lately. Is there something wrong with me? Do I need therapy? Will my friends ever look at me the same way again? Well my fellow ghoul lovers, you are not alone. And I am here to explain to you the exact reasons why this gun-slingin’, ass bitin’ baked potato with teeth has captured the hearts of so many... with science! (sort of) 🤠

------(Spoiler warning... lots and lots of spoilers below the cut!)------

1. Walton Goggins… just Walton Goggins

I think we can all agree that the man behind the makeup and prosthetics is a large reason as to what makes The Ghoul so attractive. Walton himself is a very nice looking fellow, and he absolutely oozes charisma, both on the set and off. And for some reason decided to amp that up to 100 while playing The Ghoul. He managed to make Ghouly Boi likable and endearing, even when he's doing murdery things. So yeah, the dude's mad talented.

"Strong enough to keep out the rads... and the reds." - Cooper Howard shooting a Vault-Tec commercial in episode 6.

2. The makeup artists knew what they were doing

Attempting to make The Ghoul “kind of hot” was absolutely intentional. There was serious discussion behind the scenes about how they could make The Ghoul attractive to viewers, despite him being… well… a ghoul. (So yeah, it is 100% the creators fault. They did this to us on purpose!) When creating The Ghoul’s design, they deliberately ghoulified features that weren’t that important for attraction and left the rest alone, or made them more accentuated.

For example, when it comes to the attractiveness of a male, specifically in the face, most people focus in on the eyes, lips, jaw and cheekbones, which they emphasized and brought out with the makeup. Things like the nose, hair and even skin can be safely tinkered with, and even with those they went pretty easy on. Many ghouls have cloudy or discolored eyes, but not Ghouly. (in fact, bro’s still got his eyelashes, lol) They also kept his ears, despite most ghouls’ tending to fall off just like the nose. His teeth are still intact, despite being rather discolored. And they even made his skin relatively smooth compared to most ghouls. (I’m willing to bet he gets made fun of in a lot of ghoul circles for being such a baby smooth smoothskin)

If the creators had made him any uglier - messed up his eyes, took away the ears, rotted out some teeth, or made his skin a lot more torn up - we might not be here right now. But the character designers and makeup artists were very intentional in his appearance, making him look rotten enough to be recognized as a ghoul, but not so nasty he’d be hard to look at. By keeping and even accentuating Walton’s eyes and bone structure, while giving the ghoulishness to other features, they managed to balance out the ‘yuk’ with the ‘hmmm… wait what?’ just right.

"Sometimes a fella's gotta eat a fella." - The Ghoul to Lucy while munchin' on Roger in episode 4.

3. His charisma, charm and sense of humor

Look, Ghouly is charming as FUCK, okay? There’s no getting around it, so let’s just get that out of the way right now. He exudes confidence and beats you in the face with his overwhelming swag. He also has these… looks. Which I can only describe as “sexy” looks. I’m not really sure how to explain, but if you’re reading this, you probably know what I mean.

As mentioned before, a lot of this is just Goggins being Goggins, but the writing is brilliant as well. He definitely embodies that sort of hot badboy/outlaw/pirate sort of archetype that is often found in romantic settings/stories, so yeah. And also, who doesn't love a man with a great sense of humor? He's got all the best lines in the show and is just a joy to watch, even if it's just for the funny. Really, whoever wrote for Ghouly was a comedic genius, a gentleman, and a scholar. They should be commended.

"I'd offer you one a' these cherreh tomaydas, but you got a hole on yo neck." - The Ghoul to some guy he just shot in episode 2.

4. He loves dogs

Okay, so yes, we all know he stabs Dogmeat in order to keep her from ripping his face off, which ALMOST ruined his character for me, but then he brought her back with a Stimpak and all was forgiven. I’m willing to bet he probably also tried to stab her in a place that he knew wouldn’t be fatal, and also his choice to stab instead when he could have easily just shot her, letting her get right up on top of him before doing anything to defend himself, shows his hesitation in harming a dog.

It’s clear that Coop has a lot of affection for dogs, especially when we see the flashbacks of him with his OG dog and how pissed he gets about not being able to bring him into the vaults. The way he handles Dogmeat with such loving care, and smiles with genuine joy as she leaps up off the table was one of the first moments to show that, underneath that hardened exterior, he’s still got a soft, squishy, gooey center (other than the rotting flesh, I mean).

"Who decided that there were no dogs in the vault?" - Cooper to his wife upon finding out their dog Roosevelt wouldn't be able to go to the vault with them in episode 6.

5. He's a genuinely good person, deep down...

Not only does he save the dog (twice), but Ghouly also did other things that were surprisingly unselfish and not awful. Does that make up for the bad shit he did? Well, no. But again, it shows that he’s at least not ALL bad, and that the man he use to be is still in there somewhere.

For example, he could have easily ratted out Lucy for busting up the Super Duper Mart, but he took the heat for it instead. And despite the fact that he shoots (and eats) Roger, he does seem to have genuine empathy for the turning ghoul. So his choice to kill him wasn’t completely selfish, but also an act of mercy. Roger was essentially dying anyway, and Cooper saved him from an arguably worse fate than death. He even took a moment to remind Roger of a happy memory before doing the deed, a scenario reminiscent of the book Of Mice And Men, when George shoots Lenny at the end after reminding him of their dream in order to save him from a worse fate as well.

And let's not forget that before the bombs dropped, Cooper struggled to even fake kill a man on screen while shooting a film, not wanting his character to go down such a dark path. This shows that he was once a man who lived by a code of morals and principals, so much so that just the idea of stepping outside of that made him deeply uncomfortable, even if it was just pretend. This is why Cooper gives Lucy the line, "Oh, I'm you, sweetie. Just... give it a little time." Because he sees himself in her, or rather the person he used to be.

One of the things I love about how Cooper’s story is told is that we get to see his present and past self right away, juxtaposed against each other. His backstory isn’t revealed as a surprise later on. Instead we really get to see up front the complexities of his character that make him so compelling. He’s not just some heartless killer. He’s like this because he’s been through so much pain, and pushed to the point where he was forced to become something he's not in order to survive and carry on. Because of this, it makes The Ghoul a lot more likable and relatable than he would have been otherwise. It also kinda lets you put yourself in his shoes and ask yourself what you would do if you found yourself in his position. Actually brilliant writing, in my opinion.

"Do I have to kill him?" - Cooper to the director of the film he's shooting in Episode 3.

6. That tragic backstory

This is where the character of Cooper Howard really got me in the feels. Not only does Ghouly love dogs, but he loves his family too. And it’s revealed at the end of the season that even after 200+ years, they are still on his mind. He’s spent over two centuries looking for them, and putting himself through absolute hell, because he loves them that much. And not just his daughter, but his wife as well. Even though they had gotten divorced, presumably because of what he learned at the end of the season. Maybe he’s even hoping his old dog is still alive somehow, although that’s admittedly very unlikely...

So... you know what that means... Although he’s done horrible things, Cooper is a man driven by LOVE. He's stayed alive because of LOVE. He does these bad things because of LOVE. He’s become a monster IN THE NAME OF LOVE!!! It’s all about the power of LOVE, you guys. Call it cliché, but if that isn’t romantic as hell, I donno what the fuck is, ladies.

"Now, I've waited over 200 years to ask somebody one question... Where's my fuckin' family?" - Cooper to Hank in Episode 8

In Conclusion

So yes. He's ugly. He's mean. He's murdery. Kinda toxic AF. But that doesn't mean he can't also be a sexy motherfucker as well. 👍

He's a fictional character. It's a fantasy, and fantasies are allowed to be kinda fucked up. 😃 Hey, don't ask me why humans human the way we do. I didn't make us, so I don't know. It's all in good fun though, so let's just enjoy ourselves and try not to think too hard about it, eh? 😆 (So says the person who literally just wrote a fucking essay on the subject)

Alright, well... I guess that's about it. Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk. I hope this helped anyone who was feeling their sanity slip a little bit (like me 😃). Refreshments and resources are at the back. Exits to your left. Have a lovely evening and please excuse me while I drop my mic and go find myself a fuckin' gin martini. Team Ghoul Forever, baby! 🤠

[marivoid]

Entry 35

Day 228

Scott.

The same Scott who was supposed to no longer be here. The same Scott who had gone missing in our G.U.I.D.E.- The same Scott who had dark blonde hair the last time I saw him. Somebody who didn't have blue-tinted skin and an icy stare.

Somebody who didn't have ANTLERS of all things.

All I could do was stare. That was all I did. I just took in the face of the man who... that was my best friend. But it's been ten years. By the Watchers, I wish I knew what happened to him.

"You are not supposed to be here, Martyn."

His voice had changed too. Rougher. More defensive.

"And you are supposed to be in the G.U.I.D.E, but here you are. You're changed. You're not..."

"Not what? Not normal? Not that stupid, aloof boy who ran around the G.U.I.D.E with my head so far up in the clouds I couldn't tell reality from fiction?"

A sigh had escaped my lips back then. I wish it didn't. "You were never aloof, Scott. You were incredibly smart and witty and could do so many wonderful things- But then you left. You vanished in the middle of the night. You left the G.U.I.D.E! You left the people you were supposed to help- You left... You left me!"

"NOT WILLINGLY!" His hands slammed against his chest. "Look at me, Martyn! Does it look like I left willingly?! Those damned Watchers, feeding your brain- I bet you still believe everything they told you too!" The world around us had gotten quiet. People were looking.

And the "Jimmy" guy finally stepped in between us.

"Scott- Scott, hey, you don't need to tell him anything." He was definitely trying his best to keep the peace. But I've been told that I'm one stubborn bastard.

"No, actually, I think you do!" Jimmy's wing -Golden and soft and organic- stopped me in my path. "Scott, you left the night of your birthday! You left after freaking- You KISSED me, damnit! And then left! I thought you had died!"

"I WAS TAKEN YOU DUMBASS!" His hands got more blue with... With ice. Ice that he should have never had.

"Scott, you really don't need to do this, you know it makes you upset-"

"OH REALLY?! WERE YOU?! THAT SOUNDS LIKE A HELL OF A LOT OF BULLSHIT TO ME!" I shouldn't have yelled back then. Especially with Brian cawing the way he was.

"I WAS! THE WATCHERS ARE NOTHING BUT AN EVIL GROUP THAT JUST WANTED TO TORMENT US!" He was crying now. I, ME, I made him cry. Over ten years and I made him cry. But my anger was still speaking for me.

"And why would they want to hurt us, Scott?! They gave us everything!"

"They took away everything from us, what do you mean?!"

"ENOUGH!" Pearl's voice. I was pushed back from Scott while Jimmy stood in front of Scott like he was something that needed to be protected.

Needed to be protected from ME.

I should have been the one to protect him. I shouldn't have made him scared, but I did.

"Both of you are acting childish- You both are taking this out of my Emporium. Now!"

And that was how we got kicked out. And yet Jimmy was still protecting Scott.

Even when we left the Emporium and were finally in a quiet place... I still let myself be dumb. I wish Brian poked my head more often for my dumbass-ery at that moment.

"I thought you were dead."

"I'm not."

"They told me you left- That you hated the G.U.I.D.E and wanted to let yourself die in the wastelands. I... Didn't want to believe them."

"You did. Didn't you?"

My silence was the wrong answer.

"Martyn. You're a dumbass. You're a stubborn dumbass who never thinks things through. Why the hell would you even come out here?"

I held my arm up for him. His stunned expression... I wish it hadn't been with tears in his eyes. "A year after you left, a virus ran rampant. Killed everyone. Took my arm. I had to slice it off before it destroyed me." Scott's and Jimmy's shared silence let me continue. "Had to make a prosthetic. It was absolutely dog water. Held up for a while though. A couple of years. But then I had to make another one. And another... And another. It was okay for a while! Wish you had been there, Scott, would have been really nice to have my best friend with me to keep me sane but hey! Shit happens.

I made a fourth one when these... Bandits broke in. Took everything in there. I had to leave. I've been out here for almost a whole year now. Trying to find the Doctor. Give me an arm that will actually last." When I looked at Scott, his eyes were so... Empty. Void of anything. "When you left, everything changed. I became the Admin of the G.U.I.D.E. I got to read so many books- Things that I wanted to share with you!"

"I never said you had to be Admin, Martyn! I never even hinted at it!"

"I did it for you, Scott! Damnit, I did it so you and I could have been happy together! Unlimited access to everything, keep the G.U.I.D.E healthy and strong- We wanted that!"

"YOU wanted that, Martyn!" His hands collided with my chest. Gods I wish I wasn't so angry. I wish I had held his hands. I wished I hadn't gotten so headstrong. "Those were your dreams! I just wanted to be happy with you! That's why the Watchers took me away!"

More tears. His face turned an ugly shade of purple and ice crawled along my torso. I still have frost burn on my chest from it.

"That's... That can't be why. Why would they take you away just because you made me happy? That's stupid! That's absolutely stupid to even suggest-"

"Because you're too dumb to realize what they were getting at! We were just players in a game for them, Martyn!"

Jimmy stepped in. Again. And this time I didn't get a chance to speak. Not with a feathered wing shoved in my mouth.

"Scott. Enough. You don't owe this guy anything. Come on. Let's get home."

Two pairs of eyes glared at me as they walked away. One pair that I wish I'd been more calm with. I wish that I had just pushed down that rush of anger- Goodness-

His pen hit the paper with a loud shout. "GOD DAMNIT!" He held his head in his hands as he stared at the unfinished entry. "God damnit. I fucked up. I... Fucked up so much." A caw. "Yeah, I know. Big time."

Martyn didn't even bother to sign the entry. He shut the leather journey and tucked it away in his backpack. "I don't think I'll ever see him again either. He'll never forgive me. By the Watchers... What did he mean by that? Taken?? Nobody gets taken for making somebody else happy! That's just ludicrous!"

Another unamused caw.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Stupid." He collapsed onto the incredibly hard bed and let out a groan. "Ow... Forget these things are practically concrete..."

A cawing-like laughter from the bird.

"Oh ha ha. Very funny Brian."

Martyn rolled onto his stomach and stared at the comm. The reflection disgusted him. That reflection was him. "I need to find him again. I... I need to apologize to him, Brian. It's been almost fourteen years. I need to make things right by him. I need to hear him out, find out what happened to him. I made it sound like it was HIS fault for the G.U.I.D.E collapsing."

Another caw. Much louder.

"I know. Pretty shit of me. He's... He looks like he's been through a lot as well. He didn't have those antlers. Didn't have blue skin. He's... I've messed up so much."

Another quiet caw, followed by a trill. Martyn didn't bother to move as a weight made itself comfortable against Martyn's side.

"Didn't know you'd be a cuddly fella." His hand traced the bird's head while a quiet coo escaped its metallic beak. "Warning, I might move a lot in my sleep. Don't peck me if I end up rolling over."

Another caw and an unamused look.

"Just a warning, little fella." A yawn escaped his lips. "G'night, Brian. Sleep well."

Martyn was out before the bird could chirp again.

(@hermitadaymay )

[return-to-ravenbrooks]

Return to Ravenbrooks:

Biography

Entry 3

Name: Maritza Esposito

Date of Birth: 1997

Gender: F

Current Address: 910 Friendly Court

Height: 5'5

Hair color: Black

Eye color: Green

Key features: Shaved head, prosthetic leg, custom-made bat

Role: Defender

Abilities: Boxing, strength, speed

Occupation: [REDACTED]

Status: Fair

Biography:

If I had a nickel for every time a little argument or scuffle emerged between Nicky and anyone else in the newly formed "Ravenbrooks Investigation Club" I could get one of those nice professional metal bats. Maybe then I could practice my swinging instead of just sitting back and kicking my legs on the arm of Trinity's couch while they scuffed.

Usually, it was nothing. Stress boiled into anger and frustration. Usually, some yelling and gritted teeth and nothing more.

But today wasn't a nothing more day. Today things began to get heated again. Trinity brought up going into the old house again. The stress of investigating must've been getting to her like it's getting to all of us because she shoves him, hard. His head hit the wall hard enough that the thud made us wince. I jerked upwards out of my seat. If it'd been a few months ago I wouldn't have. Nicky had a hard time forming a proper fist, let alone throwing a punch. He was a flighter, not a fighter. But now? I don't know if that strength had the real temper behind it to do anything, but if somehow someway this did get violent?

I didn't have to take a full step before something distracted all of us.

Knocking.

The lot of us exchanged glances. Trinity's parents wouldn't have knocked on their own front door, and they, like most of the parents in Ravenbrooks were away at parent-teacher night.

I leaned toward the living room window, peeking out at the front step. I have to close the curtain and open them again, then again. Like somehow that'll make the familiar face change into someone else.

"...Who is it?" Trinity asks finally.

"A boy and-" I stop, having to think my words out carefully, "...The Carrion's kid..." I mumbled. The words are meaningless to her ears, but I can feel Enzo's eyes widen.

Ivan was the one who opened the door at last, and without a word, the two boys rushed in. They looked awful. An all too familiar level of awful. The taller boy, whose head was decorated with strawberry-blonde hair tangled with sticks and leaves, and what I slowly realize is blood. It's smeared across his face and around tear-stained eyes. His name is Damien, I think, but out of the two of them, it's the boy he's gripping tightly I'm focused on.

He looks different without the thick black eyeshadow and old all-black clothes. Instead, the boy's face is covered in bruises, scratches, and blood. His left eye is swollen shut and there's blood dripping from his mouth. He's dressed in shredded brown shorts and a hoodie much too big for his frame. I can only assume it was Damien's.

No one wanted to take the time to explain the Carrion family to Trinity. It felt dumb and unnecessary. What good was 'Hey did you know there's ANOTHER weirdo family in Ravenbrooks?' What help was it to talk about Lucy Yi's funeral, and the boy from the rich old family who stood up in front of a crowd of sobbing adults and talked about how graceful her corpse looked?

Dad interviewed his parents after it happened, or tried to at least. Apparently, they slammed the door in his face, violently. Stopped showing their faces in public. "I'd be a shut-in two if my creepy son ruined my family name" he muttered angrily after the fact. Hard cut-offs from rich snobs were an annoying barricade to reporters everywhere.

There's such a long period of silence. Empty cold silence and Trinity got out a first aid kit. Enzo cleared his throat finally, but didn't speak.

"...What happened to you, Zach?" I looked up from my spot on the couch. I was surprised to see Nicky speaking, his arms crossed anxiously over his chest. There was almost an heir of demand in his question. Like he of all people was owed an answer. I fought the urge to scoff.

"We... I-" Zach's lip trembled, showing off how busted it up was. If it weren't for the nature of the town, I would've thought he was mugged. His trembles turned into violent sobs again. Damien, who was seemingly deep in thought until now, was snapped into reality by this.

"...Can we trust you guys not to tell anyone?" Damien asked. We all exchanged glances suspiciously, and worriedly, then nodded. He took a long breath. "We were having a sleepover at my house." He said quietly, chewing his lip like he was preparing his words. "I- I don't know if my parents put something in our food or what, but for some reason, we were feeling really tired before the sun had even set, so we went to bed. By some miracle I woke up maybe an hour later and- he was gone... so was my parent's car."

He sat there for a minute like that was enough explanation for their busted-up state.

"...and then?" I prodded. His eyes snapped to me, blinking and chewing his lips in the unsure thinking way again.

"Oh- uh... right. Well-... listen. You- you guys really can't tell anyone about this. Please." He pled.

"We won't," Trinity promised again, this time aloud. She ripped the end of the bandage on his arm, tying it off.

"Well- I'd been getting suspicious of my parents, they always get weird and clingy when Zach visits, and other times they'll disappear for the whole night- so- so I put a tracker on their car." He inhaled after the reveal. Silence again. "...and- I followed the car to the old weather station."

Even breathing seemed to stop in silence as he described the scene to us, the weird tunnel, and the people in robes, two of whom he said he recognized as his parents. Who else could've brought Zach there?

"...what were they doing?" Trinity asked nervously.

"I don't know for sure, something about attempting to 'repeat the steps'. All I know is the group went from quiet and mysterious to- really violent." Zach began to sob again.

"A pit..." he whispered between large tears that matched his wide blue-grey eyes. "Th-they wanted to push me into a pit..."

"I grabbed whatever I could get my hands on around me, I think it was a metal rod from some piece of old machinery. I swung it at their heads. Then there was this- flash of blinding light and- I don't remember much of what happened next..." he admitted. "All I remember is that as soon as I could reach him I grabbed Zach's hand and ran through the forest. We didn't stop to breathe until we saw your house." He looked at Trinity. "You guys are the ones investigating 'whatever evil crap this town is built on' after all, aren't you?" Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Nicky's shoulders raise awkwardly as he rubbed his arm.

The last time I checked, helping the hippy kid whose parents are, apparently, attempted child murderers and the creepy boy whose dad gives money to crows wasn't in the club's mission statement. But there was this spark in Trinity's eyes. It reminded me of the spark she'd gotten months ago, standing infront of Peterson's house in the middle of the night.

"it's us, or it's nobody."

[sunshine-zenith]

Actually yeah I’m jumping back on my bullshit and doing another ramble about small details in Nimona

Specifically the fact that, in the movie, little Ballister already has his eye scar

In the comic, he gets the scar at the same time he loses the arm, but how he loses it in the book and the movie are different — in the comic he’s basically hit by a tiny missile, so it makes sense he would take a lot more damage overall, while in the movie it’s lost in a sword chop, so unless Ambrosius’s impulsive “disarming” also involves additional face stabbing, it wouldn’t make sense in the movie canon for him to give Bal the face scar here. But Ballister bleeds a bit from the head after the Gloradome collapses, and while him walking away with just one face scar instead of several might seem like a stretch, they could’ve played it off. They already had to make a new character model for him with the prosthetic arm, they could’ve also added the face scar to the second model

Instead, they “backdated” the scar all the way to his childhood without giving a backstory for it, and it implies so much about how his life was before he joined the knights

This concept art by Crystal Kung sure doesn’t show a happy and well cared for kid. We know he was homeless/impoverished (the visible patches on clothes, the “street kid/charity case” comments, zero signs of parents when his “commoner” bloodline is emphasized). He could’ve gotten the scar running from someone in the streets, or by getting into a fight since he was a pretty impulsive/bold (see what I did there) kid — jumping a fence and interrupting a knight training session. I can’t help but wonder though…

It’s implied that he’s an orphan, given the fact that all of zero parents are brought up when discussing his “commoner blood,” but it’s never outright stated. ND Stevenson stated that in the comic Ballister’s father gave up custody of his son to pay off his debts, and while the knights are no longer exploited orphans/the Queen doesn’t seem like the type of person to ask for that kind of transaction, it does make me wonder what movie Ballister’s parents were like

Look at those blotches on his face. Sure, they might just be dirt, since it doesn’t look like they bothered to give this poor kid a bath before throwing a media circus in his honor, but compare them to how bruising shows up on his adult self’s face. And if they are bruises, it’s possible that a couple of them are from the whole Tackled By Like Three Fully Grown Adults In Armor thing, but If you look closely, it looks like he already has a blotch before he’s tackled

Granted, his body language doesn’t really change when he sees the knights coming towards him (no flinches or attempts to cover his head, and while he doesn’t move it doesn’t look like he’s freezing) so him being abused might be a stretch, But think about how he holds Ambrosius back from confronting Todd, how he just quietly accepts the verbal harassment and rough treatment. He doesn’t think confronting Todd is worth it — Todd’s bullying was clearly never shut down or addressed over the years, and it’s likely that any attempts at retaliation from Ambrosius or Ballister got them in trouble instead. Bal is just… used to it

Listen. This vulnerable kid was hurt physically by something before he joined the knights. Maybe he had abusive parents, maybe he had an abusive foster family, maybe he was attacked by someone who caught him trying to steal food or something to survive, maybe he was attacked just for being homeless, maybe this wasn’t his first tango with knights. We have no clue. But he got that scar at a very young age and he got it from somewhere

[whumpinthepot]

Hamster Interactive Story

Chapter 12. Decision

Prev - Masterlist

Content: Giant/tiny, tiny whump, pet trope/whump, kidnapping, cages, loss of mobility aid (prosthetic leg), solitary confinement (non descriptive), manipulation, power dynamics, fear, female cast

Ashley’s Pov

Poll winner: Let Hamster decide what to do with Soap Scrub. 

ART, WRITING, AND POLL UNDER THE CUT

-

A row of ideas fills your mind on what to do with this pest. Just as you’re thinking of chucking the whole jar out, you look at your little girl's face. Hamster’s eyes are full of worried tears and it dawns on you to get her input on the matter.

Placing the jar with the tiny man inside in a different room, you return to converse with Hamster. Admittedly you sway the options in your favour when speaking to her. Picking her up, you wipe her tears and brush back her curly hair. “Do you want him gone sweet pea? I can get rid of him for you,” you roll the words slowly, “Or, would you like a new friend?” A careful smile spreads across your lips while you rub her back gently. “I think he could warm up to us. He could be a new model for our blog. Who knows, if we got rid of him he could get hurt again. He would be safer with us don’t you think?” 

Hamster frowns slightly with pressed lips. You can only guess her worries and reassure her. “Don’t worry honey bunny, I would never let anyone hurt you. Ever. If he’s not nice we can make him go away after all.” 

Hamster hums and then nods her head. She smiles some, and dare you say she’s starting to get excited by the idea. You give her a little kiss on the cheek and explain that it might take some time to become his friend. She’ll have to be patient with him. You also tell Hamster that she gets her cast taken off in the next few days, giving her more to look forward to. 

Once that's settled, you go into the room where the pest was left alone. He’s there in the jar with his head slumped against the glass. He becomes alert when you get closer. 

You rest your arms on the dresser with your face close to the jar to talk to him. “I know it was you who scared her before. Tell me what happened.”

The man reacts exactly how you want, and goes rigid. “I- I never hurt her. Ask her. When she fell off the counter a mouse was going to attack her, and I scared it off.”

“And then?” You raise a thin brow. 

“And then, what? That's all that happened,” he defends quickly. 

You watch him for a second as his eyes dart around, then break the news to him. “I’ve decided to keep you. It's that or I sell you and who knows what could happen to you then. I won’t hurt you as long as you never upset Hamster. M’kay?” 

“You have to be kidding me…” Tears well up in his eyes and he cradles his bandaged hand. “Can’t we make some soft of deal? I- I can do what ever you want if you let me go after. Then you’ll never see me again, I swear.”

Furious, you pull the jar closer just to startle him, who does he think he is trying to negotiate as if he has any leeway. “That is the deal, little boy. You’ve caused a lot of stress to my pet, and now you’ll pay it back to her with nothing but kindness. Do that and I’ll make sure you’re comfortable, well fed, and I won't hurt you. If you don’t, well… I’ll sell you and who knows where you’ll end up. Snake food? Some kids live Barbie doll? Neglected, starved, forgotten in a tiny. Little. Jar?” You tap the glass with your long nail between words. “The choice is yours.” 

The man is left speechless with his mouth gaped open and his hair sticking out everywhere. You take a second to breathe deeply to calm down. The thought that you're taking this overboard clouds over you - but he really did cause a good amount of grief for you last week. "So, tell me your name or I'll come up with one." You smile, feeling just slightly sadistic. "Maybe Rat, Pest, or maybe Hamster can choose."

“It’s Soap.” He chokes out in a tiny voice.

You snort at the strange name, but wild pets are usually an odd bunch so you don’t hound him on it. 

“It's nice to meet you, Soap.”

The next few days you set things up as a precaution. Making sure there are no other wild pets in your home, getting Hamsters cast off, setting up an escape proof cage for Soap, and isolating him just enough for him to crave the company of yourself and Hamster. On the fifth day of leaving him in the dark alone, you enter the spare room to check in. He’s sulking, hidden under a toy that you’ve given him in his cage. 

“Soap?” You use a softer tone than the last time you two spoke, “Are you ready to come out? What would you like to do?” You give him a few options to choose from and offer to give him his doll leg back if he cooperates. 

—-

(Multiple options may be used depending on the top poll winners)

Thank you @alittlewhump for looking over my chapter <3

Tag list: @frogkingdom @verkja @whumpsday @octopus-reactivated @marvel-gt @rsitb-second-account @fallen-grace-smd @winged-wolf-s-collection-of-arts @kyp-the-spacekiwi @ilasknives @hollowgast1 @redd956 @zobodahobo @alittlewhump @blackrosesandwhump @angst-after-dark @sandygarnelle @coppercoyoti @kim-poce @mayisreallygay @smoll-stace @demondamage @vickytokio @whump-in-the-closet @sunshiline-writes @coyotehusk @cypresscove @shadowsnowdapple @whumpy-wyrms @re-whump @whumpninja

[saturnalmoss]

ARM-WRESTLER

CHAPTER ONE

A curious case of littering

Master Post

An arm was what had caught York’s attention.

He was taking his daily jog around Fancy Town. There weren’t much in the way of alleys here, but the older parts of town had some number of dark nooks and crannies. It was here that York noticed an odd shape on the ground.

It was still there on the second lap. He stopped and looked around. It was getting to be evening, but the brownstones remained quiet, curtains drawn or maybe empty. The irregular lots between them like rotten teeth grew wild with weeds and garbage.

York walked up to the thing on the ground: an arm - as he had thought. He had felt the call to wrestle in his hindbrain before his eyes had even registered it, but if they were lying on the ground, they probably hadn’t got the energy for a good armwrestle. That’s what he had decided on his first lap.

Now, he realized, this arm would never wrestle again. He stood a little longer, then pulled his brand new, refurbished, little flip bone out of his jacket pocket. He was reticent to get an iBone when he couldn't be bothered to memorize a bone number but Rosé way struck with inspiration after their last adventure.

York carefully pressed the buttons marked with stars in the order of the constellation. He had even written orcish on them to help practice the foreign numbers. He figured, in for a phalange in for a femur.

“York!” Rosé said happily.

“Rosé.” York said. “I found an arm.”

“Uh.”

“It’s on the ground, and ain’t attached to no one.” He wanted to hold it up, but Jancy had drilled into him that the crime scene was not to be touched until photos could be taken, and his iBone did not have picture capability.

“Oh no. Uh. Okay, Jancy isn’t in the office - she went to talk to a potential client. UH.”

“Can you call her?”

“Potential client! Her bone is on silent.”

“Can you call Grandma?”

York listened patiently as Rosé muttered something about holding and groups and beep boops.

“Grenda Highforge speaking.”

“Grandma, I found an arm.” York said. There was silence on the other end while Rosé thought of how to rephrase.

“...It’s by itself, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Also Rosé is here. On the bone, not with me. Rosé, I don't know where you are,” York crouched down on the ground to examine the lone arm again.

“Hi, Rosé!”

“Hi. I'm in the office and Jancy isn’t in the office so we don’t know what to do. Can you do your best Jancy for a minute and tell us what to do?”

“Uh! Yeah. Uh. Don’t touch anything!” York nodded; accomplished. “Secure the area?”

York looked around. Still not a soul, as far as he could tell. “Next?”

“Maybe draw a chalk outline?” Grenda suggested.

“I don’t got chalk.”

“Oh, I do! Well, with me.”

Rosé chimed in, “Grandma, I’m heading over there. Let’s all meet up.” York nodded again, unseen.

“Good idea! Where should I go?” There was a sudden silence on the other end. Rosé stopped in her tracks.

“Uh. Yeah. Uh, what do you see nearby, York?”

York listed them the landmarks nearby. The city folks insistence on naming all the places they go instead of just going was still weird to him. Then again, Northern Tribe orcs didn’t tend to plan to go places together so much as just run into each other sometimes.

The other two tell him to stay on the iBone, maybe look for a blood trail.

“Ain’t no blood.”

“What.” Grenda said.

“Don’t like that.” Rosé said. York peered closer.

“Actually, I don’t think this thing ever had blood to begin with.” He held it up triumphantly. “Yeah! It’s metal! It’s a metal arm!”

“What like a prosthetic? Or a mannequin?”

“Or a crash test dummy?” Rosé added.

“A prosthetic?” York said derisively.

“A prosthetic is a replacement limb!” Grandma told him helpfully. A dog yipped in the background.

“I know what a prosthetic is! But this ain’t no prosthetic. It doesn’t even have spikes.”

“Northern Tribes do prosthetics differently, eh, buddy?” Rosé said.

York turned the arm over in his hand. “Yeah! You just stick a weapon in there! Whose gonna make a whole fake arm to put on your arm when you can stick an ax in there?” He looked at the arm again. “Oh, shit.”

“What?” Rosé asked

“Even for a leg?” Grenda said at the same time.

“Uh, no, hammer’s best if you lose a leg.” York said distractedly, putting the arm on the ground gingerly. “Swords and axes’ll just stick in the ground.” He pushed the palm a little, then pulled it back again.

“What if you just lost the front of your foot, could you get a dagger and do sick kick flip stabby stabs?”

“Yeah. Classic.” York muttered.

“I’m here!” Rosé said and York stood up sharply. She looked at him, then the arm. She raised an eyebrow. York stared.

“Ooh, in stereo! I’ll be there soon. Plus, I have a client! Maybe she can do a little sniffing?”

Rosé, Grenda, and York stared down at the hand together. A dog panted happily nearby, tied tightly to a stake. A little bowl of water glittered. “So, no blood. No body.” Rosé said. “Does that mean this is a lost item, not a murder?”

“It could still be a missing person!” Grenda said helpfully. “You never know.”

“It’s definitely a prosthetic, though? Even though it’s not a weapon?” York asked.

“I mean, I could knock someone out with that.” Rosé said. “Not that I would, because I am a good girl.”

Grenda nodded. “See the bits here? I think it’s so the arm can move. And the fingers have grippies for... gripping. And up at the end it’s kind of softer? To stick to the person. Not a mannequin, Probably a prosthetic. Definitely missing! I bet someone wants this back.” Grenada beamed up at their friends.

Rosé hummed softly, and stroked her chin. “The rules are different for a missing belonging...” York nodded, Grenda smiled. “So... what if we hunted down the owner and returned the arm?”

“And fined ‘em for littering.”

“Wouldn’t Jancy be proud of us?”

“So proud.” Grenda said.

“So proud.” York agreed.

[ghostlymarauder]

MONSTER HIGH G3 IS NOT AS INCLUSIVE AS MONSTER HIGH G1

EDIT: THIS IS JUST A RANT, DON'T TAKE IT SO SERIOUSLY LOL

Maybe that sounds crazy. Maybe it's been said a million times. Anyway, I'm just ranting about my 3 am thoughts.

I know in G3 we have non-binary Frankie (who also has a prosthetic leg), and the Draculaura doll is more curvy. But as far as I'm concerned, they took everything else that made Monster High inclusive.

For starters, and I know it was never actually confirmed, but still, Clawdeen is lesbian (bisexual at best). Once again, it was never confirmed, but in my opinion is a theory popular enough for the Monster High management to hear about it.

If they really wanted to make it more inclusive, why did they not confirm Clawdeen sexuality and give her a female romantic interest?

No, they had to break up one of their best couples. This leads me to my next point, what the fuck are Cleo and Deuce doing being separated?

The first G1 dolls literally came as a package. If you got one, you got the other. That's how much of an obvious couple they were. And not only that, in the Boo York movie, they broke up for like five minutes before realizing they didn't want to be without each other.

Which, in my opinion, it's so fucking cute because they come from completely different worlds. Cleo is royalty, Deuce is just a normal guy. Cleo is a little too superficial, and Deuce looks like he never showers. But they love each other and that's enough.

And you know who else loved each other and that was enough? Clawd and Draculaura. What do you even mean with "Clawd likes Cleo"? That man was in love with Draculaura, that man would've done anything for her, and you're telling me they also broke them apart?

Especially since they made Draculaura curvy, it would've been beautiful to see them together. Because it would've been a great plot point to have jock, almost-bully Clawd evolve into falling in love with curvy, smart, witchy Draculaura. But no, they just separated them.

On a completely different note. What the fuck is Gil doing without his tank? Do I even have to explain why this is taking inclusivity out of the Monster High concept? He couldn't live without his tank outside the water. Ergo, he was limited without his tank. If you ask me, this is Monster High equivalent to something like hearing aids (and this is just an example, there are many other things you could compare Gil's tank to)

Also, Ghoulia talking bothers me a lot. First of all, she was the smartest of the group, but we couldn't understand what she was saying, which added a lot of comedy since us, the spectators, were only pretending to know what the fuck Ghoulia's plan was. And I repeat, she was the smartest of the group.

The smartest of the group couldn't communicate like everyone else. I won't even explain why that is fascinating in itself, because it just is and it added so much depth to whole story. And to add more to my problem with G3 Ghoulia, why is she standing straight and walking at a regular speed?

Ghoulia standing like a zombie was, again, to me, a form of inclusivity to all the kids out there who had some walking impediment, or, in general, had any chronic illness that stopped them from moving around. And her walking slow as fuck was just straight-up funny (especially that one web episode where she got a motorcycle).

There's a lot of things I do like about G3, as I think it improves the brand in wonderful ways, but they definitely took some of the most essential things that made Monster High what it was.

[ghost-likes-drawing]

Just Wish I knew what caused it

(Fitpac exs to lovers)

Ch. 1 (to be named maybe)

Next Chapter

Translations done with assistance from: @caracolast (Portuguese) @keezers and @iridescentpull (Spanish)

Fit was driving along the interstate in silence…. okay mostly silence.

The Radio had given out about an hour beforehand and Ramon was sitting in the passengers seat fixing it; which wasn't all that quiet.

Fit was almost thankful for the lack of music, even if it did mean he couldn't stop thinking, because at least that meant he could wear his prosthetic arm and keep control of the wheel. With this distraction Ramon wasn't itching to take it apart again.

Fit’s mind was wandering, thinking about the circumstances he'd ended up in.

A single father traveling halfway across the country in the middle of summer to live on a ranch with strangers; one of which he had possibly fought in a war with.

The only reason he was even entertaining the idea was because Phil had suggested it.

And the only reason he was going is that he ran out of ways to avoid it.

He had no job, no extended family, and his savings were dwindling fast.

Phil had called Cellbit last week asking if he still needed more hands and if he had space for them.

A few days later, Fit and Ramon had as much of their life as they could fit in the back of their truck, that was almost twice Ramon's age, and were off to California. Everything else of value they managed to get in storage and Fit had a Trust to keep that paid for a while.

And as he thought about how he'd even get their stuff, he realized he didn't ask nearly enough questions. He knew he name of the guy who agreed to hire him; Cellbit. He knows he has kids near Ramon's age and that he is married but to who? Phil mentioned another hand who lived there but through the frenzy Fit didn't at all hear who it was and based on how Phil was talking about it, maybe he was supposed to know one or both of them? And if he didn't were they trustworthy? Were any of them? Fit had already been thinking of that anyway. He didn't care much if something happened to him but if something happened to Ramon, his beautiful baby boy, a gift from heaven, Fit could never-

There's a sudden loud static noise before some cheesy pop song that Fit doesn't know starts playing. The volume is turned down, “Finally! Fuck… look Fit I got it.” Ramon proudly lifted up the radio for Fit to see out of the corner of his eye before Ramon put the Radio back in its spot in the dash.

Fit smiled letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding “Hey good job kid… you're going to make a lot of money one day, just don't forget about me when you're a rich and famous mechanic.” He ruffled Ramon’s hair and Ramon laughed.

“I could never. I learned everything from fixing your shit” Ramon scoffed, smiling before flipping down the visor and opening the mirror.

Ramon gently traced his fingers over his upper lip examining it excitedly. Ramon had wanted a mustache since he was 5 and he finally had some dark lip hair develop after his 15th birthday.

Fit was excited for him. Even if it would come with the discussions of how the hell do you even maintain and clean facial hair. Fit had personal experience and it could be a hassle.

“How much farther do we have?” Fit asked after a bit getting worried they somehow missed the exit.

Ramon checked his phone which was navigating them; “5 miles to the exit, then another 10 till we're actually there. It'll be about 20 minutes”

Fit nodded appreciatively. “Alright then.” he mentally calculated which lanes he should get in and when based off the traffic level in each. “You excited? There's bound to be plenty of stuff that could use your touch.”

Ramon nodded but even only half looking Fit could tell something was off. “…Tallulah and Chayanne wouldn't lie to you about the kids you know”

“I know… it's just a lot of change… and… I still feel like it's my fault.” Ramon shrugged

“Ramon…” Fit cooed in his usual tone when he's trying to be assuring

“I know… I know. You're the one who wore the wrong arm and then lost the data but just-” Ramon faltered

“Ramon, this could have happened without you being around. And honestly my arm was a bad place to store the data I don't know why he insisted upon it.” Fit put his hand on Ramon's shoulder “This isn't a ‘you’ problem. I have it handled now, and if this doesn't work out I'll get us a cheap camping spot and I'll find something eventually.”

Ramon nodded “alright” he hummed and looked out the window “Thanks, dad”

Fit smiled feeling that maybe this time Ramon would internalize it.

Soon they were off the interstate and driving straight until they got to the Ranch. Waiting to meet them was a man Fit hoped was Cellbit, with a child who Fit thought couldn't be older than 6 and an older child that seemed to be around Ramon's age.

The older one was sitting on the fence, swinging his legs. He wore a yellow and green Jersey for a team Fit didn't recognize but seemed to have a Brazilian flag on it. His eyes were covered by his curly hair that he seemed perfectly content on leaving despite acting like a lookout. He was wearing shorts and one of his socks seemed to go up higher than the other. Fit thought this looked odd…

The younger kid, who was using the paved road just inside the fenced area of the ranch to skateboard, was wearing a red and white striped shirt that was definitely to big for him as you could only just see his shorts even though they went to his knees. His knees were covered by his pads, the kid was also wearing a helmet that covered most of his hair but it seemed to have a curl of its own.. He did note this kid probably had the largest pair of glasses he ever saw on someone under 18. The kid almost looked like Where’s Waldo.

The adult, who appeared to be taking a break from his own skateboard, wore a white tank top and brown pants with a green long sleeve tied around his hips. The back of his brown hair, that was graying in the front, was pulled back and he seemed to be enjoying the sun. He turned as he heard Fit’s truck pull up and stop before the gate. He smiled and climbed over and hopped down.

The older kid went to hop down as well but the man clearly recognizing it before it could happen stopped him “Richarlyson! Tua perna não aguenta isso! Não pula dessa altura.”

The kid, Richarlyson, frowned climbing down instead and walked over to stand next to the man. Fit put the car in park and got out. “Hello, my name is Fit. I got hired to work here, I'm looking for Cellbit?”

The man smiled and offered his hands “I'm him, It's nice to meet you, Fit” he looked him over, his eyes eventually landing on his prosthesis “Nice arm, who do you get them from?”

Fit looked at his arm “oh. Uh my son actually made this one, I had kept a bunch of my old arms in a box and he managed to put this together for my birthday one year.”

“Que massa! My Pai made my leg!” Richarlyson proudly proclaimed pulling up his shorts to show where flesh met the sleeve of a prosthetic. That “sock” was not a sock at all but metal painted fully black and honestly it looked very well made.

“Oh wow” Fit looked to Cellbit impressed but Cellbit shook his head.

“Ah! Não sou eu. that's someone else. I mean I am his Pai but not the one who made the leg.” Cellbit chuckled putting an arm on Richarlyson’s back.

Now that Fit was closer, the scars that littered Cellbit’s arm’s and face became more obvious. That was a war veteran if he ever saw one.

“So kid,… uh how old are you?” Fit asked, that was a question you were supposed to ask kids you don't know right?

“14” Richarlyson answers. “You?”

Fit pauses, that's not usually how these conversations go, but before he can answer

"¡Apa Cellbi! ¿Puedo ir y decir hola?" The younger child called

Cellbit waved him over.

The kid took his helmet off and crawled through the fence before running up and hugging Cellbit “Hello!”

“This is my youngest, Pepito” Cellbit introduced

“Aww, hello Pepito, my Name is Fit.”

Pepito pointed to the truck “Who’s he?”

Every one looked to see and Ramon waved through the window realizing he was being stared at.

“That's my son Ramon. He's a bit shy” Fit explained

“Oh okay…” Pepito nodded “I like his hair.”

“I’ll tell him you said so” Fit assured.

“Let me go open the gate and you can drive up to the house” Cellbit said “we’ll catch up”

Fit nodded “I mean, I can drive you. The only stuff in the back passenger area is a couple of suitcases and a cooler that can be put in the back since we're here now.”

Cellbit nodded “Alright, thanks, thank you.”

Cellbit had the kids move to the side and then hopped the gate before getting it open. Fit got back in his truck and after explaining to Ramon, he slowly drove through, the kids walked in and Cellbit closed the gate before Fit got out of truck to move the bags.

Ramon got out too. “Hey Fit” Ramon said grabbing his bag and keeping his voice low.

“Yes, my child?”

Ramon held back a huff “I can sit in the back with the kids” he offered

“You sure?” Fit asked, in Fit’s mind the truck was more Ramon’s then it was his own. Sure Fit bought it well before Ramon was something he even dreamed of having in his life but it only still ran because Ramon had got really into machines at age five. Ramon was his go-to mechanic since he turned eight. When Ramon was ten, Fit adapted his Will to specifically say the truck was not to be sold till Ramon decided. If felt wrong to sit Ramon in the back.

“I'm sure. It's a short drive. Makes you look better if your son has manners anyway.” Ramon nudged Fit with his shoulder

Fit nodded and patted Ramon’s shoulder before everyone filed into the truck.

Since Pepito was so young and Also small for his age, he sat upfront in Cellbit’s lap while Ramon and Richarlyson sat in the back. They were at the house in less than 2 minutes.

“So you're going to just pull up here. There's been a change of plan unfortunately.” Cellbit stated.

Fit stopped the truck and looked to Cellbit, worried.

“The guest house we'd usually have you stay in had a pipe burst and it flooded 2 days ago. It's still getting maintenance.” Cellbit explained “so for the time being you'll be in the guest room in the main house. It does lock” he said assuredly seeing Fit tense up.

Fit nodded. That was fine wasn't too bad, they'd manage. “Thanks for the heads up” he turned the truck off and got out.

As soon as Pepito was allowed to get out he ran into the house to go put the skateboarding things away. Cellbit chuckled and got out as well.

Ramon and Richarlyson waited a second but they didn't have much to stay in the car for, so they followed their dads.

“Mr. Cellbit?” Ramon piped up.

“Hm, yes?” Cellbit looked at him “what is it?”

“If you need help with the pipes situation I might be able to lend a hand” Ramon offered “I'm pretty handy”

Cellbit smiled “that's good to know but I think we got things under control"

“Yea my Pai is handiling it!” Richarlyson smiled “he's pretty good with that stuff.”

“It's true. I'm lucky to have him around” Cellbit shrugged “but hey, maybe he’ll want the help. We can always ask”

The door to the house opened “Cellbit, 'cê não me contou que o funcionário novo 'tava aqui” the door closed.

Fit thought the voice sounded familiar but… no that couldn't be. He looked up to see his new co-worker.

“Foi mal, Pac,” Cellbit states although whatever else he says was drowned out in Fit’s brain as he locks eyes with Pac for the first time in over a decade.

This couldn’t be happening… right? This was all a weird fucked up dream.

“Pai!” Richarlyson runs up to meet Pac pulling him into a hug that disrupts Pac’s eyes from looking into Fit’s as Pac hugs Richarlyson back “Olha pro braço do cara novo! Ele disse que o filho dele que fez, igual você fez minha perna!"”

And the nightmare gets worse as the realization dawns on him that not only has he disturbed his Ex’s peace half way across the country, but that Pac’s husband is his employer. “That’s just great”, Fit thinks.

Fit adjusts his shirt some and finally averts his gaze. Yep, he only feels the shirt in his right hand, he’s wide awake.

“Do you two know each other?” he hears Cellbit ask as the world goes back into focus.

“Oh uh, yea we did.. once..” Fit responds, not daring to lie

“Don't worry about it” Pac adds “it was a while ago.” But Pac’s face hides nothing in this moment. He's not happy. “I'm going back to fixing the guest house” And Pac kisses the top of Richarlyson’s head before walking off.

Without his permission, Fit’s eyes follow Pac .

If Cellbit knows what's happening he saves Fit the embarrassment of making it clear. “Come on. You're probably tired from all the driving. Let’s go get you two settled”

He pats Fit’s back hard enough to bring his attention back to the present and helps them get their bags before he leads him and Ramon inside. Pepito is coloring at the table and Ramon smiles and waves as they pass.

Cellbit leads them upstairs and to a room that's the most separated from the rest on that floor. “Com licença, I need to get the door unlocked”

He counts five bedroom doors and one labeled bathroom plus the one him and Ramon will be sharing for the time being and Fit starts trying to work out who they belong to. Just to keep his bearings. Only two of the doors actually seem to lock so one is probably Cellbit and Pac's while the other probably belongs to the other ranchhand he hasn’t met yet. One of the doors has a little pillow on the outside meant for teeth when parents don't want to risk waking their kids up by going under the pillow. That's probably Pepito’s. One of the blank door’s is probably Richarlyson’s but then who's the other belong to?

Cellbit finally managed to unlock the door, “Entendi!” He hands the key to Fit. Cellbit holds the door for Ramon and Fit as they shuffle in and put their bags to the side. It was a nice room, Decently decorated, there was a photo of an older gentleman labeled “Alfredo” on the bedside table that caused Cellbit to sigh "ai meu Deus...” he rolled his eyes and grabbed it “sorry I thought I cleared all the photos out, my husband must have snuck back in here and left this as a joke.”

Fit nodded not getting the joke himself “No worries. Thank you so much again for this. You have no clue what this means to me”

“Of course, of course, veterans have to look out for eachother.” Cellbit shrugged “and honestly you're saving my ass, we really need the help”

Fit nods and Cellbit leaves them to unpack

“That guy, Richarlyson’s other Pai.. you knew him, more then you let on.” Fit looked to Ramon “didn't you?”

Fit paused but before he could answer he was getting a call and used that as an excuse to avoid the question “one sec Ramon, Hello?”

“Hey Fit, haven't heard from you since you left just making sure you're safe.” It was Phil, he could have checked he just forgot.

“Oh yea… things are good… We got here safe, everyone's been nice…” Fit nodded

“Seeing Pac bothered you more then you thought it would huh?” Phil hummed sympathetically

“You knew?!” Fit demanded

“ I told you! How did you miss that!?” Phil demanded back

Fit paused and the more he thought about it the more of that conversation felt like a blur “You-!… you… probably did…” Fit sighed “yea it shocked me…”

Fit could hear Phil frown “I'm sorry Mate.., would you have not gone if you realized?”

Fit thought about it “no I would have… just would have been nice to be more prepared, it's my own fault I didn't pay attention” he chuckled. Ramon sat down on the bed testing its comfort.

Phil hummed “yea kinda is.” He said in his usual smug tone that at least caused Fit to laugh “but seriously, you going to be alright? It's a big change”

“Yea we’ll be alright don't you worry” Fit assured

“Alright, just remember if you need to talk-”

“I know I know” Fit interrupted “alright old man get back to your kids and let me get back to mine”

Phil scoffed to hide his laugh “yea whatever. Talk soon”

“Talk soon” and Fit hung up

Ramon looked up at him “didn't you” he repeated less a question and more of a reminder.

Fit frowned “well if you have to know, Drama Queen, yes I did. But it doesn't matter. Please drop it.”

Ramon seemed unsatisfied with the answer but shrugged “fine, that picture of the old guy was a really weird joke though right?”

Fit smiled “totally weird. Also ‘Alfredo’?”

Ramon chuckled and nodded “double weird”

Fit chuckled back.

Things just seemed to get complicated whereever Fit goes. But maybe this time… maybe this time things will just be okay.

Next>

Please point out any weird looking errors if you see them so I can fix them. I did get this beta's like twice and I found 3 different problems while making this post.

[mr-styles]

Aube Perrie is doing his best to keep things slimy and gross.

Some excerpts from Aube Perrie's recent article with promonews.tv:

PROMONEWS/DK: I was going to say that you’ve had a busy year so far, but I guess that this run of work has been going longer than that…

AUBE PERRIE: I have a bad memory for these things, but it's been pretty continuous. And I guess it started around a year ago, when Harry's team, actually H’s creative director Molly Hawkins and Columbia’s SVP Bryan Younce reached out and we started to try to make something happen for the new album. That's when, among other things, I wrote Satellite and Sushi. Satellite was actually written first.

I mean, there were also a couple before that - it was a long process. Among many things, Molly Hawkins is a brilliant creative director. She’s very cautious about the work they put out there, and so is H, Bryan and this whole team. But I was very fortunate and spoiled enough for having them letting me explore on a couple tracks, being extremely open and supportive. The process spread on a whole year, but that was all to the benefit of pushing the creative, pushing the ideas, giving ourselves the opportunity to explore and use the time to make something that really feels right.

When Satellite was written, I think we all liked it, but it just stayed only as an idea, we kept exploring, maybe we weren’t going to do it. And then it came back like, months later - after Sushi. It was a busy year but giving lots of time to reflect, to develop.

What did they give you, to prompt your ideas apart from the music?

The briefs were very different. Satellite was completely open. For Sushi they actually mentioned just one thing: Harry wanted to be a fish. That was the brief.

And he went from a fish to sort of disgusting Tulu octopus - that's what I was aiming for. I guess I didn't want to make a classic mermaid figure. And we tried to make it as disgusting as possible. But somehow, I don't know, Harry is so handsome…

Yes. So it still ends up being quite glamorous...

Exactly. It's terrible! But we really did our best to really make this world very slimy and gross - I kept insisting on that, and we were lucky to have everyone very much on board to go for a world that felt sweaty and textured. The texture of the tail and the squid body part had fight scars, our brilliant prosthetic lead Chelsea Delfino added the ones that white sharks have, went for a skin marked with shells. We really tried to put some gross details in there.

I wanted to design a world and restaurant location as disgusting as possible, that had this very odd and long back story. My friend and producer Josh Sondock took me to this great location that was already pretty intense, it has this crazy backstory that has been untouched, an amazing kitchen to work with - and we made it ten times worse. Still, H’s beard is kind of hot...

Having said that it's glamorous, he's still a very convincing man-squid. How did you go about creating something that good, that really does look like it was captured in-camera? 

It was very much captured all in-camera. Time was challenging because we had very little time to build the tail, the prawn masks, in time to fit the schedule. H was in the middle of the craziest tour, to say the least. We presented two different options. Something more fishy - closer to the classic mermaid I guess, but still pretty gross and unsettling, more like a slimy eel– and the squid, which was more difficult to do, but got us very excited. And H, Molly, everyone went straight for the squid. So much fun.

Wow. Not much time to fit in a lot of narrative. Did you get a much of a chance to discuss with him beforehand what was going to happen?

H definitely kept an eye on everything and it was nice to have him excited and on board jumping into a huge slimy tail and catching fishes in-camera beforehand, so we knew the main challenge would be to make it through the days. But at least we were all super aware of the challenge and up for it including H.

A lot goes through Molly, but they're also very close, so if you're discussing with Molly, you're discussing with H eventually. But I guess there was not so much discussion, but more support, especially for Sushi. It was just very easy and supportive and went very smoothly. There was just a lot of trust. And we were all here to try getting something fantastic.

I think we were all very strongly convinced it was actually good to try going for what was not so much expected of him. And I think we all were very excited picturing a result that felt like it had the potential to be quite unique. Including H.

He's familiar with the film world, having done features, and I guess he's toying with his image in quite an interesting way. Obviously not all pop stars are prepared to do that.

More should - because…it’s fun. Take Sushi. The shot list was wild. We had one day with H. At some point, you have no time to always explain what you’re shooting all over the place with A & B cam, you just need to get on with it. I guess it was way more indie film than blockbuster. But H is blockbuster. So the day would be impossible without him being very much prepared to be on the same boat as everyone one else to get it, embracing it and having fun with it. There is just no other way.

But I’m so glad that’s who he is. Everyone saw that day he’s definitely amazing at doing that and getting it. He’s very much prepared indeed. And by focusing the energy on nothing but getting it, it allows space for fun. And more than anything, it was all a lot of fun. That’s how it should be.

You can read the whole article here!