#but I just... feel it in my bones dang it

[hopesworlld]

౨ৎ lot of pretty boys, lot of funny business

౨ৎ 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 — percy has missed you, and dang wait to show you just how much

౨ৎ 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 — just a little bit freaky nothing explicit

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“angel,” percy crooned, slipping behind you and slipping his arms around your waist. you melted into his warmth, head lolling back between his muscled pecs.

“hey, babe,” you hummed, smiling at the feel of your boyfriend holding you in his arms.

“i missed you, gorgeous,” he said, leaning down and pressing a kiss to your cheek, “missed your face, your lips,” he held you closer, trailing kisses along your jawline. suckling on the spot just bellow your ear. “your voice,” a small gasp escaped your lips.

“percy, we’re in public,” you sighed, but you couldn’t help but curl closer into him, tilting your head allowing him more aces to your neck.

“so…” he said, his hands tightening on your hips, rubbing circles along your hip bones. “i need you, angel,” he groaned, “haven’t seen you in so long,”

“it’s only been two days, percy,” you laughed, but percy growled quietly, tugging you closer. his hands slipping down your thighs.

“have you not missed me?” he questioned, lips on your neck, “did my gorgeous girl not need me while i was gone?”

“percy,” you sighed, “of course i did, i always miss you,” you replied, turning in his arms so that you could face him, leaning up and wrapping your arms around his neck. percy grinned at you, that charming smile that made your knees weaken.

“then love me, angel,” he pleaded, slipping his hands beneath your thighs and cocking them up so that they wrapped around his hips. he was so strong. effortlessly so. the way he could easily support your weight as though it were nothing and still hold that gorgeous smile that swept you off your feet.

his long tan arms holding you so impossibly close, you wanted him closer. so so much closer.

“baby,” you whispered, finally drawing his lips to yours.

percy kisses you as though you were the air in his lungs, the stars in his sky, his entire world held in his grasp.

he kissed like he would never kiss you again, would never feel the caress of his lips on yours, the slide of your tongue against his.

kissing percy was something like you had never felt before, you adored his lips on yours, would sacrifice everything for just five more minutes of being his. and only his.

“oh, my gorgeous, lovely girl,” percy said against your lips. “never leaving you again,’ he declared, running his fingers down your sides and playing with the hem of your top. “can’t,” he declared, kissing you deeply.

“won’t let you,” you hummed, feathering kisses along his lips and across his cheeks, “the gods have had you long enough, you are mine,” you said, sucking his earlobe into your mouth.

“oh, gorgeous you are gonna get us in trouble,” percy chuckled, swinging you around so that your back was pressed against a tree. you were sure there were probably nymphs pressed together giggling about the pair of you but you couldn’t bring yourself to care as percy slipped his fingers up your top, squeezing your breasts.

“fuck,” you groaned, lopping your fingers through the belt buckles of his shorts. “i love you, love you so much,” you whimpered, as percy pressed closer, his flush against yours.

“i love you’re more, gorgeous girl,” percy swore, words sweeter that a promise.

“prove it,” you hummed and percy dove straight back in, determined to prove himself.

[misctf]

Country Living

When he stopped to help you on the side of this lonely country road, you couldn’t have been more grateful. You didn’t expect your car to breakdown on these desolate backroads. Nor did you expect a lack of cell service. Your years studying in college didn’t exactly give you the knowledge on how to diagnose and fix cars. But based on all the smoke, you figured something was wrong.

“Aw, don't you worry none, I'm right happy to help y'all out.” He removed his ball cap and ran his hand through his short brown hair, “Name’s Bucky. What brings y'all to this neck of the woods?”

He was certainly taller and more muscular than you- not to mention ripe with the smell of a hard day’s work. And you could tell he was looking you over, the juxtaposition couldn’t have been clearer. Country vs city boy, manual laborer vs keyboard warrior, dropped out of high school vs college educated. The list could go on. But despite the bias you held towards these country folks, you were happy he was helping. And so you introduced yourself and expressed your sincere gratitude. Bucky smiled and gave you a bone crushing handshake.

“Ain't no trouble at all, I'm just glad to help out.” He smiled warmly, his dark eyes, while lacking intelligence, were filled with kindness and just a bit of mischief.

He winks at you and you felt your heart flutter for just a moment. Maybe it was the way his stubble framed his tanned face. Or the way the sweat dripped from his muscular arms as he worked on your car. Or perhaps it was the occasional glances he gave you and the sly smirk that told you he knew you were checking him out.

“I reckon I know what's wrong. Just need to grab a tool from my garage.” He said, wiping the sweat from his brow, “You care to join me? Looks like you could use a sip of somethin’.”

It was true. In the sweltering heat, you were certainly thirsty. And while part of you wanted to stay with your car, you felt beckoned to go with him. And so you did. You climbed into his pick-up truck and watched as he revved the engine. And before long, you were cruising down the old country road with your car disappearing from sight.

“Well, dang if this ain't my favorite tune!” Bucky said, turning up the volume, “You figure you into this kinda music?”

It was some country song. One about cars, beer, and living on a farm. Not something you’d listen to voluntarily. But as Bucky sang in his southern twang, you found your foot tapping along. Soon you were mouthing the words, almost as if you knew the song by heart. And a moment later you joined in with him, the two of you putting your hearts into every lyric. You barely noticed the southern twang that garnished your voice.

“Well, I'll be darned! Can’t believe you like these kinda tunes. No offense intended, but you don't quite fit the mold, do ya?” He says with a chuckle.

Bucky gives your arm a playful punch and you look down at the exposed, tanned skin of your bicep. Your muscles were contracting and seemingly getting larger, highlighted nicely by the wifebeater that clung tightly to your skin. You look up at Bucky and he gives you a wink. Again, you feel comforted by his kind smile and playful dark eyes. You turn away and absentmindedly run a hand over your growing biceps. So firm and tight, the skin somewhat weathered. But deep down you know something isn’t right. Its nagging at you, begging for you to say something. To at least find out what’s happening to you. You want to tell Bucky, but he’s just pulled up to his garage.  

“Mind givin’ me a hand findin’ my toolkit?” Bucky asks. You nod quickly- your anxiety being pushed deep into your subconsciousness. And as Bucky enters the garage, he pulls off his sweaty wifebeater, “Don't pay me no mind, it sure gets mighty hot 'round these parts. You’re welcome to do the same.”

And you follow his example. As you do, you catch a whiff of your pits. The musk that invades your nostrils is a far cry from the vegan deodorant you applied this morning. Moreso, your usually well-trimmed pit hair is now a curly damp bush of dark brown hairs that poke out when you lower your arms. The smell makes you dizzy and you feel like you might fall over, but Bucky lends you a hand.

“Don’t go faintin’ on me now.” He says with a grin, “We got a lotta work to do.”

“Don't you worry 'bout me none, I got this here handled.” You say- the words leaving your mouth without much input from your brain. Bucky’s eyes light up and he grins.

“I shoulda known that.” His laugh fills your ears and you swear it’s the most beautiful thing you’ve heard. He notices you admiring him, “Gotta find those tools now.”

You nod and start rummaging through his garage and workbench. You pick up a wrench and place it down. Then another and another. You never really needed to learn basic mechanic stuff, let alone the names of wrenches. You were more focused on your degree. Your degree in... In...? You stare at the composite wrench in your hand and your eyes narrow. You were studying something at that univer... uni... book-learnin’ place of yours, right? Your thoughts are distracted when some oil spills on your hands.

“Gosh darnit.” You mutter, wiping the oil on your work jeans. Work jeans that were stained and torn from years of laboring.

You turn towards Bucky to say something, but instead find yourself gawking. His perfect stubble across his face, the sweat gleaming on his firm and toned muscles, and the way his chest hairs frame his pecs. Your dick gets hard and you quickly start to massage your bulge. And when you see how well his work jeans fit tightly around his juicy ass, you can’t but help let out a whistle.

“You say somethin’?” He asks, turning to face you, “Yeehaw! Look at you!” He says, clearly gawking.  

You turn to catch a glimpse of yourself in a nearby mirror and your eyes widen. You bounce your juicy pecs, appreciating the light dusting of hairs that decorate them. You raise your thick, meaty arm and flex, causing your muscles to bulge. And then you look at your face. It had squared out a bit, giving it a masculine edge and your cheeks now sported stubble. You felt powerful, and you couldn’t help but continue to flex.

“Hey there big fella.” You let out a masculine moan as Bucky comes from behind you, his arm reaching around, and his hand grabbing a fistful of your muscle tit, “You’re bigger’n a bull in springtime!” You just nod, unable to produce words as pleasure courses through you from his teasing hand, “It sure does get lonesome out here in these parts. Reckon I wouldn’t mind some company, if it ain’t too much trouble.”

He spins you around, your bodies pressing up against one another. His hand moves down your abs and then down your work jeans. He’s staring deep into your eyes now, a primal lust replacing the prior warmth from earlier. And for the first time, you feel lost. Scared even. As though you’re going down a path you wouldn’t be able to back away from. The end of one chapter of your life and the start of another you weren’t sure you wanted.

“Wait a minute... somethin’ don’t feel right. I... this ain’t who I am.” You say, unable to talk like you used to.

“Now, don’t go overthinkin’ it. Just keep your eyes on me.” Bucky whispered, his hands working to undo the buckle on your jeans.

You watch as he pulls down your pants and slowly gets down on his knees. Your enlarged, throbbing dick continues to grow, adding inch after inch. Bucky is nearly salivating as he comes face to face with your monster, and without another word, his tongue traces along the shaft. You moan as his mouth expertly works your cock. He bobs up and down, taking its entirety into his mouth. You feel as his hands wrap around your waist and he grabs a fistful of your muscular ass, causing you to let out another deep, masculine moan. You can feel your dick throbbing, your balls growing heavy with your seed. And as he expertly works the head of your cock, you can feel it. You’re getting close... so close. And then it stops. You’re breathing heavy now, and you look down at him. A sheen of sweat covers your body, dampening your body hair and filling the air with your country musk.

“Wh... why’d ya stop?” You breath out.

Bucky smirks, “You sure 'bout this, darlin’? Leavin’ behind all that city livin’ and book-learnin’? Just you and me, livin’ simple out here?” He licks along your shaft again, “Once you say yes, that’s it. No turnin’ back, no second thoughts. You sure you’re ready for that?”

Was this what he wanted? To bring you so close? To send you into a horny frenzy? To make it so that in this moment, all you’d be able to say was yes? With a smirk and a wink, he went back to sucking your cock. And as he did, you could feel it. You could feel your brain shrinking. Your memories growing up in suburbia vanished. As were your memories of going to college in the city. Nerdy interests like videogames and comic books vanished from your brain, and you felt terror as you forgot about your friends and family. Everything that made you you was vanishing from your mind. Instead, you could feel new interests: farming, hunting, woodworking, lifting weights, and drinking beer with your husband after a long day. Your fashion sense simplified: wifebeaters and work jeans, and honestly going shirtless was preferred. And as your eyes dimmed to reflect your lack of intelligence, and Bucky bobbed up and down on your dick, you finally came, releasing all of who you used to be. And as you filled your husband’s eager throat, you blacked out.

If someone told you who you used to be in your past life, I’m not sure you would go back. When the police came by a few days after your transformation with a missing persons poster of some kid, you had no idea who they were talking about. You quickly forgot all about that encounter. You had more important things like fixing the truck. But before you did that, you should check on Bucky. It’s been a few days, and your balls were mighty full.

[flawssy-227]

All I Really Want To Do (part 1)

(ex) best friends dad!Joel Miller x f!reader

summary: It's been 10 years since you got betrayed by your best friend, graduated high school, and left Austin. After a serendipitous run in with Joel, you decide to be friends.

tags: 18+, female reader, always write for woc in mind, but there are no descriptions so everyone is welcome to read. tlou AU, no outbreak au, modern au, Sarah sucks (sorry), age gap ~20 yrs, reader is 28, Joel is ~50, infidelity (in past), Tommy and Maria flirting, no smut yet!

a/n: my first planned series on this blog! I hope y'all like this! pls leave comments and feedback if you enjoy <3 chapter 1 loosely inspired by All I Really Wanna Do

w/c: 4k

It was too early on a Sunday morning in Texas for this many people to be at hot yoga. Whatever happened to going to church? It was a new hobby of yours, one your coworker, Maria, had been dragging you to ever since you moved back to Austin. You were finally in shavasana, feeling relatively relaxed after moving through power moves for the last 45 minutes in 98 degree humidity. 

Once you had wrapped up and wiped down your mat, you and Maria were idly discussing which restaurant you can run to and grab a quick bite while you patiently waited for the crowd to clear away from the cubbies so you could grab your stuff and head out.

“There’s a diner down the block I haven’t tried,” Maria offered before nudging you with her elbow quickly. She leaned over to whisper in your ear as subtly as she could. “Don’t look now, but there’s a gorgeous man with dark, curly hair walking our way.”

You tried to play it cool for her sake. Maria swore this yoga studio was filled to the brim with attractive single men, but you weren’t sure if you were really interested at the moment. You had a lot to focus on with work and dating just for it to end in failure—again, was not ideal. You were determined to be a great wing woman, though.

The man quickly sidled up to Maria, asking her if she enjoyed the class and if she’d been coming here long before he introduced himself. You had kept your focus straight ahead, still waiting for everyone to clear away from the cubbies when you heard her introduce herself, and then you.

Turning to meet his gaze, your jaw couldn't help but drop. Staring back at you was Tommy Miller. Looking nearly the same as you remember from ten years ago. His hair was shorter than it used to be, no longer long enough for the bun he used to wear, but still jet black and tucked behind his ears. 

You heard him say your name, almost in disbelief before he reached out and tugged you into a bone crushing hug. “Dang darlin’, you grew up on me!”

You forced out a smile, trying not to let on how awkward you were feeling. You could feel Maria’s questioning gaze on you and you were not looking forward to explaining how you knew Tommy to her later. Before you could choke out a response, you saw Tommy look just over your shoulder.

“Joel! Look who I just ran into.”

You and Maria both turned around and you were met with the brown eyed gaze of Joel Miller. He was exactly how you remembered ten years ago, broad shouldered, tanned skin, and brown hair, albeit he had a few more greys mixed in now then he did all those years ago. He looked just as shocked to see you as you felt.

“Hi, Mr. Miller,” you said sheepishly.

Maria looked wide eyed at the incredibly soft way you spoke to Joel, Tommy just laughed and Joel blanched slightly.

He cleared his throat at your shy endearment. “Just Joel’s fine now, darlin’.” He was vaguely aware there was someone else standing next to you, but his focus was solely focused on you. It’s been a decade since he’s seen you, and you looked the same as you did back then, just more… fully formed, he supposed. “You’re back in Austin?”

You nodded your head. “Yeah, I’ve been back for about a month now,” you said shyly. “I’m working in the DA’s office. This is my friend Maria by the way,” you turned to introduce her but hadn’t noticed that she and Tommy had taken a few steps back and seemed to be in deep flirtatious conversation away from you and Joel.

“Didn’t take you for a hot yoga guy,” you said to Joel, trying not to gawk at his beefy arms. 

He chuckled at that, letting his hand run over the salt and pepper scruff over his face. Was he always this attractive?

“Yeah, it’s something new,” he told you. “Sarah was getting onto me about not exercising enough and Tommy dragged me here because he swears it’s a good place to meet women.” He met your eyes closely and looked away before he allowed his gaze to get too intense. “Not that that’s what I’m doin’ here,” he offered softly.

“Oh,” you quickly shook your head with a quiet laugh. “No judgement!”

Everyone had finally cleared out ahead of you and you were finally able to grab your phone and keys from the cubby. 

“A month, huh? Have you spoken to Sarah since you’ve been back?” he questioned.

You were happy you were facing away from him when he asked that, the answer was a definite no. But seeing Tommy and talking to Joel was nice and familiar, you didn’t want to ruin it, so you just grabbed Maria’s things along with yours before you turned around and gave him a polite smile. You quickly shoved her things into her hands, effectively cutting off her conversation with Tommy. “We’ve got reservations,” you responded. “Nice to see you both.” You gave them a wave and pulled Maria out of the studio by her hand and briskly walked as far away from the studio as quickly as you could.

The Miller brothers watched you and Maria power walk your way across downtown Austin.

“Well, she grew up,” Tommy said.

Joel nodded, unable to verbally respond. You sure did.

Maria barely waited until you had your first sip of coffee before she was grilling you about how you knew the Millers.

“You didn’t have a thing with either of them, did you?” she asked. Your jaw dropped at the question. “Please tell me it wasn’t Tommy!”

“Oh my God, are you into him?” you laughed.

“Answer the question,” she responded, quickly putting on her lawyer voice.

You took a deep breath and rolled your eyes. “No, I didn’t have a thing with either of them. It seemed like you and Tommy hit it off, though.”

Maria couldn’t resist the dreamy look that fell over her face. “You have no idea. He’s such a charmer.” You matched her smile, thrilled your friend had some romance on the horizon. “He asked me to get drinks tomorrow night!”

You squealed across the table with her. “That’s such good news! Honestly, Maria, he’s always been such a good guy. I think you’ll enjoy yourself.”

Maria nodded, taking a moment to push her excitement aside. “But how do you know them? Seriously, my mind is in the gutter.”

You shook your head. “Okay,” you sighed. “It’s nothing crazy, I just grew up with Joel’s daughter, Sarah. We were besties,” you said with a scoff. 

Maria furrowed her brows, and noticed your tone. “And what? You guys had a falling out or something?”

You mumbled over the rim of your coffee cup. “That’s an understatement.”

“C’mon,” Maria whined. “Stop edging me. I need all the details.”

You rolled your eyes at her almost carnal need to gossip, but you couldn’t be too annoyed—you were the same way. It’s why she had become such a close friend over the short month since you’d known her.

So you told her all about you and Sarah. How your family moved to Austin when you were in sixth grade and you had never felt more lonely at leaving your old friends behind until you met Sarah Miller in homeroom. You became fast friends, inseparable in the way that only 11 year old girls can be, and soon you did everything together. She convinced you to join soccer with her, you convinced her to do debate club with you. There were countless sleepovers, infinite secrets shared and a multitude of tears spilt between you two. She told you about her mom leaving when she was little. You told her having one loving parent was better than two neglectful ones. She was more than just your best friend. She was your sister.

And then you started high school. The distance was uncomfortable for you at first. You quit soccer and joined drama club. She decided she was never really that into debate. You were still each other's closest friends, but now you both had other friends and hobbies that increased the ever growing chasm between you two.

When your parents finally stopped fighting and divorced, Sarah was there for you just like she was when you were 11. And so was Dylan, your boyfriend. You were happy in your little circle of three until the end of highschool with your best friend closer than ever and the cutest boy in school as your first everything. And then one day that spring, you got off the waitlist for Southern Methodist University. You got in. Dylan didn’t.

Sarah was unusually quiet during those last few months of highschool, always busy and rarely answering texts. You chalked it up to AP exams and the anxiety of leaving Joel behind. Dylan was being weird too, though. You knew he was jealous that you got into his dream school, but he was your boyfriend, he should be happy for you. And you knew you could make long distance work, you just needed to hash out the details with Sarah. 

You figured you would just pop over to the Miller residence and bring Sarah her favorite cookies as a bribe so she would listen to you talk about your relationship drama. You let yourself in with the spare key, just like you always did and called out for her. You could hear her in the house, and it had never been an issue before, so you just made your way to her bedroom. You remember the hot tears falling down your face when you saw them. Sarah was your best friend, your sister. And she was fucking your boyfriend behind your back.

Maria’s jaw dropped. “You caught them?” she asked incredulously.

“Yup.” You were done with breakfast now and waiting for your server to drop off the checks.

“That is not where I thought this story was going.” Maria shook her head, mostly to herself and looked lost in thought. “So Tommy has a slutty niece?”

You bit back a laugh at that. “I wouldn’t call her a slut. Just a really bad fucking friend.”

As you dropped some cash in the checkbook you realized you weren’t done talking about them. “You wanna know the kicker? This all went down like two weeks before prom. And those assholes went together! I had my dress and everything but I ended up just skipping it and watched 13 Going on 30 with my mom.”

“That is fucking vile. Those two deserve some bad karma.”

You hummed in agreement. There wasn’t much left to say 10 years after the most devastating heartbreak you had ever experienced, but it was out there again. You figured if you should open up to anyone it should be Maria.

“You know what you should do?” she said with a smirk, not waiting for you to even say what? in response. “You should fuck her dad. Joel, right?”

You look horrified. Fuck Mr. Miller? “No way. Maria, he’s like 50.” You shake away the way too intrusive image of you and Mr. Miller together. “I’ve known him since I was a kid!”

“Not a kid,” she shrugs. “Just a teenager right?”

You nod and she just continues. “Was he ever, you know, weird with you?”

“God no!” Your eyes are wide and you can’t help the tingly feeling you get at the thought of you and Joel and how it won’t go away. “I barely saw the guy. He worked so much back then. Honestly, I was around Tommy way more than Joel.”

“So, he’s good with kids?” Maria practically beams at the mention of Tommy and you wish you could roll your eyes at her, but it’s actually pretty sweet how smitten she is with him already. She waves you away before you can answer. “Doesn’t matter. Look, Joel wasn’t looking at you like you were some kid that grew up with his daughter. He was totally checking you out. And it’s been a full 10 years since you’ve seen him? I doubt he sees you as a kid. And it’s hardly weird.”

You guess she’s right but still, you can’t help but grimace at the thought. Of course you thought Joel was attractive. You may have had a mild crush on both Miller brother’s when you were 17 but you chalked it up to the fact that your dad had just left and Dylan was being a childish asshole.

“Look, I’m not saying that you should literally have sex with the man, but how fucking horrified would Sarah be when she finds out you’re hanging around her dad? She fucked your high school boyfriend and you get to play step mom. It’s karma, babe.”

You thought about what Maria said for the rest of the day and well into the night. You weren’t a vengeful person, but if you were being honest, that deep, spiteful part of you that you tried to push down came alight at the simple idea of getting back at Sarah. You were over Dylan. Of course you were. It’s been 10 years of college and law school and jobs and boyfriends and it’s not like you really thought the two of you would end up together. But Sarah? She really broke your heart in a way that only a best friend could. It still hurts to think about.

Joel probably wouldn’t even be interested in me, you think to yourself. “What a dumb fuckin’ idea,” you mumble as you sit up in bed and open Facebook. You’re gonna look Joel Miller up and just see if he’s in a relationship, and then maybe if he’s single you’ll think about what Maria suggested a little more seriously.

And maybe it was a sign, something straight from the universe, that the first thing you saw when you opened Facebook was a bright red notification: Joel Miller sent you a message!

Monday morning in the DA’s office was nothing unusual. You were already two coffees deep at 10 AM and trying to focus on the research you were doing for an impending case when Maria perched herself on the edge of your desk.

“Stop frowning so much, you’re gonna get wrinkles.”

You dropped your hand from your head and gave her the widest, fake smile you could muster before dropping it with an eye roll.

“It’s too early in the day for all that attitude.”

You frowned at her comment. “Look, sorry, but I’m trying to focus on work. It’s my first case here and I need to be prepared. Not trying to have an attitude,” you mumbled at the end.

Maria tuts at you, nodding in mock sympathy that makes you want to roll your eyes and walk away from her. She wants something, you realize.

“You’re stressed,” she notes, as if this is something she just noticed. “Let’s get a drink after work.”

A low unease curled in your stomach. Why did the offer of getting drinks after work seem weighted? You didn’t know Maria that well, but your friendship had been steadily developing. One thing you knew for sure about her though? She was meddlesome. Always conspiring and persistent when she wanted to be. Toeing the line between annoying and clever. It was what made her a great attorney, but you weren’t sure if you liked being on the receiving end of her attention.

“What are you up to?” you questioned.

Maria raised her brows at you, silently daring you to figure her out. “Nothing. I want to go to this new bar after work.”

“What bar?”

“Mean Eyed Cat.”

You ticked your jaw at that. “Right.” You’d never been but you knew that bar and you knew two regulars who mentioned it pretty often 10 years ago. “You want to go to Tommy and Joel’s favorite bar? Why? Just to see if you can run into them again?”

Maria’s grin was massive as she looked down at you. She was practically buzzing with excitement now that you’d practically figured her out.

“Tommy invited me to meet him around 6,” she started. “And then I suggested he bring Joel and I bring you…”

“What?” you couldn’t control the volume of your voice as you snapped at her. “Maria, please tell me you’re joking? I-I can’t go on a double date with Joel and Tommy Miller.”

She was completely unaffected by your reaction and just pushed herself off the corner of your desk. Standing fully, she looked at you a beat too long. “You can, and you will. C’mon, you don’t want Joel to be a third wheel, do you?”

Your day was pretty much shot to hell after Maria told, not asked, that you were going to get drinks with her, Tommy and Joel after work. You were feeling incredibly uneasy about the whole situation and you wondered what Joel was thinking, and if Tommy had a similar approach to drag him to the bar. Wait, does he feel like he’s being dragged here? Or is he excited to see me?

The bar was only a 10 minute walk from your office and you and Maria decided fresh air would be good before you went to the bar. She was talking idly beside you, something about one of her more challenging clients, when you saw him. He was getting out of the passenger side of Tommy’s truck. Tall and familiar, that bronzed skin you’d been thinking about since yesterday on display under his grey t-shirt, veiny forearms on view as he slid his phone in his jeans pocket. You almost smiled at the tight line his mouth was in, frowning down at the sidewalk like it personally offended him before he looked up, undoubtedly feeling your eyes on him. His face softened just a bit when he saw you and you offered him a weak smile in return. 

Tommy and Maria immediately floated to each other on the sidewalk and fell into easy conversation. If you didn’t know any better, you would think they’d known each other for much longer than a day. You let Joel pull you in for an awkward side hug and let his woodsy scent comfort you. You closed your eyes for a second and just let yourself take it all in; the warm, balmy Texas night, the firm embrace of Joel, the leathery musk that floated to your nose at his nearness. It all gave you a sense of relief. This whole situation would be fine, you realized. It was just Joel, and while you definitely didn’t know the man, you knew he was kind and trustworthy and probably feeling just as awkward as you were to be grabbing drinks with his daughter's friend from high school.

Everything was going incredibly smoothly. Tommy and Maria were getting married, you had decided. Watching their easy banter and the wide-eyed way they were looking at each other during everyone’s first round just confirmed it. Conversations on first dates had never been that easy for you, and you were happy you were able to witness it, at least. They pretty much dominated the discussion at the table, you and Joel laughing with them and contributing occasionally, but mostly just taking a back seat. It was so easy, and you realized maybe Maria wanted you here for moral support, it being her first date after getting over her breakup and all. You decided you wouldn’t kill her for forcing you to come here.

After one particularly longing stare, Tommy cleared his throat and looked down at the mostly empty glasses. “Can I get everyone another round?” he asked.

You were tempted to leave and call it a night, but a quick thigh squeeze from Maria deterred you. “I’ll do one more,” you offered with a not so subtle eye roll to her.

Joel grunted in acknowledgement as Maria offered herself to help carry the glasses back. And just like that, they were off, leaving you and Joel alone in the booth.

“Well, they’re gettin’ on like a house on fire.”

You smiled at that. “They are. Tommy’s always been great and she deserves a good guy. It’s funny to see him all smitten so quickly.”

Joel meets your gaze and you can’t help but stutter out a shallow breath at how attentive he looks when you’re speaking.

“I sent you a message on Facebook,” he says, leaning forward across the booth.

You look in his eyes softly. “I saw.”

“You didn’t respond.”

You shrug and shake your head. “No, I didn’t.”

The question is there, but he doesn’t have to ask it before you speak again. “Didn’t open it. Was scared, I guess.”

At this, Joel laughs, leaning away from you. “Nothin’ scary in that message, darlin’.” He pauses, and then nervously scratches at that grey and brown scruff of his. “It was just nice seeing you yesterday, is all.”

Joel’s back looking at you again, that intense gaze he seems to fall into quickly making you shiver. “It was nice seeing you too.”

“Yeah?” a small smile breaks across his face. “You ran off pretty quick.”

It makes you ache, looking at how relaxed he looks with a smile. You kinda feel bad for running off so quickly now that you know it bothered him. Joel and Tommy are harsh reminders of Sarah and that time back in high school when she betrayed you, but you’re an adult now. Your new best friend is probably going to start dating Tommy and you know he and Joel are a package deal, the same way you and Maria are. You can’t hold your distaste of Sarah over Joel’s head, and honestly, you don’t want to. Joel is kind and earnest, and you feel a sense of peace around him now that those awkward initial interactions are out of the way. You decide right then, you won’t fuck him to get back at Sarah or whatever cockamamie scheme Maria had been cooking up. You will move on, be a big girl and develop your own friendship with Joel and Tommy.

You finish the last dregs of your lukewarm beer and offer Joel a sheepish smile. “You’re right, I did run off. Kinda rude, huh?”

He clears his throat and pins you with an easy look. “Nah, not rude. Just made me feel bad. Like I made you uncomfortable or somethin’.”

He looks down at his own glass and you see the contemplative furrow of his brow. It makes you feel terrible. You frown and without thinking, reach for his hand. “It wasn’t you, or Tommy. It was just… Sarah.” You let your hand rest over his for just a moment longer, letting the heat radiating off of it comfort you before you removed it.

Joel swallows nervously, pinning his stare at his now lonely hand. “My Sarah?”

You nodded. “She… Just seeing y’all and hearing her name brought up some not so good memories. That’s why I ran off so quickly.”

Joel looks confused at that. He supposes he did know you two had some sort of fight towards the end of Sarah’s senior year. He remembered when Dylan showed up to take her to prom and you weren’t there, and how you were also missing at her graduation party a few weeks later. She wouldn’t open up to him though and eventually, he guesses you just slipped his mind.

“What happened between the two of you?”

Your mouth parts a bit in surprise. “She never told you?”

“No,” he says quickly.

You swallow and Joel notes how contemplative you look now. Nothing like the easy grin you had a few moments ago. Whatever happened, he realized, is still a sore subject for you.

You look up and pin him with a smirk that doesn’t quite reach your eyes. “You should ask her.”

Before Joel can ask any follow up questions, Maria and Tommy slide back into the booth and drop off your second round. You feel incredibly at ease, much more relaxed than you were when you had first arrived. You fall into conversation with the group a bit easier, and you try to act normal when you look at Joel and see him staring back at you.

Tommy all but insists you two hop in the backseat of his pickup so you don’t have to walk back to your office so late. You’re fairly certain he just wants to extend his time with Maria, but you express gratitude at the fact you don’t have to walk 10 minutes in heels again. 

Once you are back at the District Attorney's office, you and Joel allow Tommy and Maria some space as he walks her to her car. Joel is quiet, but it’s nice and peaceful, not uncomfortable. 

Joel clears his throat and you look up at him, just to once again, see him staring back at you. “Can I take you to lunch sometime this week?”

Your head is spinning and you swear your mind goes blank. Lunch? With Mr. Miller? You’re spiraling as your steps slow down to an almost stop, like your brain can’t compute what Joel is asking and how to walk at the same time.

“Just as friends,” he offers, clearly trying to tread lightly based on your lack of reaction. 

“You want to take me to lunch?” you ask. “With Tommy and Maria?”

Joel smirks, a little maddening considering how flustered you are just thinking about lunch.

“Nah, just us.”

You noticed the heated stare he’s giving you, the way he subtly licks his bottom lip and the magnetic pull as he inches closer to you. He knows exactly what he’s doing. 

You realize then, that Joel Miller is a liar. Just friends? Yeah right.

“Okay,” you muster all of your confidence and give him the flirtiest smile you can muster. “Let’s get lunch. But Joel?” 

Joel hums, a cheeky grin on his face while he waits for you to continue speaking. His smile falters slightly when you take a tiny step closer to him and press onto your tiptoes to whisper in his ear. He can feel your warm breath like a caress on the side of his neck. He can smell the citrus and amber from your perfume. You’re overtaking his senses completely and when he hears you speak again, he swears his heart skips a beat.

“We’re not gonna be friends.”

Part 2

[multi-fandomedfreak]

🦉 Owl Mannerisms 🦉

Authors note: <-(gosh it feels good to write that again) Needed to get this out of my system or else I wouldn’t be able to sleep :P

Pairing: 2k12!Leonardo x owl mutant!reader. Established relationship.

Description: Did you know some owls prefer to take nests built by other animals? You happen to be one of them.

⚠️Warnings⚠️ : ok a little proofread now

~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~

So. You’re part owl.

It’s pretty awesome, you’re not gonna lie.

Like, you can do so many cool things that you now.

Scaring the lights out of the brothers by moving your head a full 180 always makes you cackle.

Oh! Night vision! Super useful. It’s practically cheating when you play hide and seek with the boys. But do they gotta know that? …nahh.

Although, there are some things you’re still getting used to…and that you’re discovering about yourself.

Like the little feathers that litter your skin. They tickle a bit at times. Your wings are pretty huge too. Plus you have zero space awareness. Chaos ensues.

Also—apparently—owls are a little different than other birds when it comes to nesting. As in, some of them sorta just take the nest of other animals.

Which would explain why you simply refused to get up when Leo asked if you could move off his bed. To be fair, he didn’t try that hard.

“Leooo…let me stay..”

Your uncharacteristically whiny voice made Leo raise a nonexistent eyebrow, despite knowing you couldn’t see it. Since, ya know, your head was buried so deep under his blankets he wondered if you could breathe.

You heard a breathy chuckle come from him nonetheless, his breath tickling your arm. The feathers there fluttered in response. His fond smiled widened.

“I’m not asking you to leave. I’m just asking you to move over. I wanna lay down too.” He stroked the feathers on your arm as he spoke. You noticeably leaned into his touch and let out a small cooing sound.

Dang. You folded like a lawn chair, huh?.

“Totally knew that. Now get in here.”

You scooted closer to the wall and lifted up your tawny colored wing for him to lie under. Your eyes opened slightly to see a triumphant smile on Leo’s cute face as he settled into bed. Your face broke out into its own smile.

Your wing enveloped him as his arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you as close to him as possible. A content sight left your lips as you snuggled into his collar bone and he pressed a loving kiss on your forehead in response.

After settling into a comfortable silence for a while his voice mumbled out a question.

“Not that I’m complaining but why the sudden interest in my bed?”

His words slurred slightly and his breathing deepened—a clear indicator that he was getting sleepy. You could feel your own eyes drooping as well as you replied.

“When owls are nesting, they like to take the nests of other animals.”

He hummed in response, pulling you a little closer.

“…and your bed smells like you…so..”

Despite having been together for quite some time now, you could still feel your face heat up after admitting this.

His chest rumbled as a small laugh escaped him which only deepened your blush. It made you feel a little less embarrassed when you felt his neck heat up as well.

“Anything else I need to know?”, he asked in reference to the owl part of you.

You hummed in contemplation. You couldn’t think straight, however, due to his finger absentmindedly playing with the feathers on your back. Which is why your deepest, darkest, secret spilled out of you before you could stop it.

“I can cheat during hide and seek ‘cause of my night vision.”

…

“traitor.”

[meanbossart]

Oh boy, VaM is kind of a trial and error experience LOL I couldn't really show you how to use the interface and stuff without a whole video or something, but it's not THAT difficult to get a hang of if you just give yourself a day or two to play around, not to mention the number of tutorials you find out there. Luckily, if you only want to use it as a reference software that makes the process far easier (to this day I have no idea how to animate on that thing, since that's not what I use it for)

As for how I use it, it's pretty self explanatory - if there's a complicated pose I want to draw but I'm either having trouble with it, or just want to double-check angles/anatomy, I will use it as a resource! I use for most of my "proper" pieces (y'know, the nicer looking ones) and every once in a while for my silly comics if I'm having trouble with a pose.

Lets use this drawing for example (the character on top of DU drow belongs to @namespara )

I don't draw a lot of mud-wrestling (shocking, I know) but I had an idea of the kind of pose I wanted them to be in. So the very first thing I did was make a rough sketch of what I was envisioning:

I often do a rough sketch first, even If I know I'm going to be pulling the program up because A) It's less tedious than adjusting the models over and over again until I pick a pose and B) because sometimes I'll decide I don't need the reference, after all, and so that's 30 minutes I'll have spared myself of playing around on the software.

Now, this is a pretty complicated pose! It's in a weird angle and the bodies are making contact in ways I'm not used to depicting, so I did choose to whip out VaM for this one. I went into the program and after some messing around, I flopped my little dolls together like this:

Now something really cool about VaM is that you can completely customize your models, and if you have the patience, I would definitely encourage you to do so! Obviously, you don't have to make picture perfect replicas of every single character you have, but as you can see here I have made a DU drow "decoy" to help me better understand some of his features when I draw him: he has a strong brow, a short nose, a square jawline - these are all going to look a very specific way from certain angles, and I might not always be sure of how to draw it right! So it's useful to have models that bear SOME semblance to the character so you can better understand how different viewpoints will affect their bone structure and mass.

Also thank fucking god for the elf-ear slider. Figuring out how to draw those shits from certain angles was a huge pain in the ass when I started drawing DnD races.

So, with the reference in hand, I go over the sketch again:

Now you may notice that I don't stick to the reference 100%. There's three reasons for this:

posing on VaM is tedious as hell. You can get something incredibly natural looking and picture-perfect to reference from if you wish, but it's going to take you hours to do. So, for the most part I just slap guys together until the results are "close enough" and use that.

In my opinion, you should always aim to ENHANCE your reference material, not replicate it exactly!

While VaM is a PRETTY DANG GOOD source of anatomical reference, it isn't perfect, I often supplement it with further reference from real life resources or make tweaks based on my own knowledge where I catch it falling short (and, antithetical to what I just said, I sometimes fuck the anatomy up further on purpose if I think it looks better that way LOL it's all jazz baby).

Then lines, color, yada yada. I don't have a tutorial on that and I don't think I could make one, because my process is chaotic as hell, but I do at times use Virt-a-mate as loose reference for lighting too when coloring - waaaaayyyy less so however, because that process is even more tedious and I feel like I often get better results by just winging it. It is a feature of the program though, and I'm sure it would be helpful for someone who has a difficult time visualizing lights and shadows. I only started using this program a few months ago, so I happened to already have a pretty good understanding of that kind of thing and just don't personally feel like I get much out of that particular mechanic.

Here's a few other examples of pieces that I made reference for (WARNING: Suggestive)

Now, for the question many of you may want to ask:

"Can I trace this junk?"

And to that, I say: Buddy, you can do whatever the hell you want with the reference material you created.

However,

If your goal is to learn and improve your art, and to recreate realistic proportions and anatomy from memory, tracing won't help you.

Developing your own style, your muscle memory, and personal technique will all be hindered by choosing to trace instead of drawing from observation, so I would encourage against it. Hell - even when tracing is employed as a technique, it's usually by high-skill realism & concept artists who are looking to either cut some corners, save time, or just double-check their own proportions in order to improve further - if you try tracing as a beginner, you will most definitely find the result to still look stiff and "off".

So trust me, there is so much more to be gained from drawing from observation. Make note of tangents, compare proportions, use all the elements of the picture to dictate where and how things should go - it will be a far more rewarding experience.

Hopefully this has been helpful! VaM is a really cheap program (you get it on the guys' patreon for I think 8 dollars, just google it!) and it's definitely been worth my money as an artist since I found it. Learning to use it can be a little intimidating at first glance, but as I said above you only really need a day plus one or two tutorials to get a hang of the interface.

A fair warning though, IT IS A SOFTWARE MADE FOR VIRTUAL SEX/ADULT ANIMATION So when looking it up expect to see a some spicy content.

[weevil-writes]

Am I annoying?

Rottmnt Leo x reader

Today, boys. Today is the day the last of few slivers of dignity I have left are ripped away from me. But hey, we all gotta post a character X reader at some point in our lives, right…? Right?

this is my first post. My first attempt at actually writing. So here goes.

warnings: none. I absolutely hate anything nsfw and will not ever post it. Just some angst, fluff. Unconfessed feelings.

…gosh. 

When was the last time you slept?

Not last night. The night before was fitful and blurry and you weren’t sure you got any sleep then either.

It was noon now. And being awake for 32 straight now hit like a pile of bricks. 

Dull pain echoed around your head and your limbs were sore. Occasional shivers and tremors ran through your body, and your hand would spasm and drop whatever it was you were holding.

Right now, you slowly climbed down the sewer ladder- on your way to your hangout you were invited to by the turtles today. 

Despite having to share your conscience with insomnia, you felt so tired. But you could never fall asleep…

Head going slack for a moment, you momentarily closed your eyes…just a second, just one second………just-

Your sneaker slipped on one of the mossy ladder bars, and you nearly lost your grip. 

Crap, I need sleep, you mumbled to yourself as you gripped onto the ladder, watching each slow and cautious step as you descended. If you had dozed off for a second longer, you would’ve fell down 15 feet.

You imagined the turtles grimacing at the sight of you splattered across the cement, having to scrape you off like a burnt pancake.

Gross. And humiliating, especially if Leo was there. 

Your thoughts wandered as you lowered to the sewer ground, step by step.

Step by step. Step by-

Oh. Right. You’re on the ground now.

You walked the familiar route, crossing over a small bridge over flowing water and into a circular entrance.

You tried ignoring the million little thoughts prodding at your head, teasing you, patronizing you-

The homework due tomorrow, the essay that needed to be turned in on Friday- and it was Thursday, and you hadn’t even touched it!! Gosh, and that horrible grade you got today on the quiz, it would probably affect your grade report…

The familiar sounds of the lair grew louder as you drew nearer.

The volunteer work you promised to pitch in for, that you completely forgot about..dang it, I’m such a jerk! And you can’t just do it tomorrow, they would be done by now without you. Because you had school again.

That annoying cramp in your back, it wouldn’t go away, and it was growing stronger than your migraine… that gross splash of the sticky sewer puddle you stepped in that now clung to your brand new pants. 

It was all itching at your bones, pulling at your nerves—

You finally walked into the lair/subway tunnel like you had a million times before. The familiar lights, posters, comic books and Lou jitsu memorabilia scattered all over the place. But it just made it worse. Everything felt so overstimulating. So, so- so much you can’t even think straight! How long have I slept? How? W Wh- 

Leo, seeing you finally arrived, perked up from his spot on the beanbag and ran over to greet you. Never mind that you looked like you were run over by a subway train, he smiled wider than  he ever had today! His heart did little flutters and he tried to think of a funny, witty thing to open with.

Grinning, he poked at your face and joked,

“Hey, someone’s looking grumpy~!”

You weren’t thinking straight, all you could process was Leo’s annoying quip and tease. It was the little butterfly that landed on the heap of Jenga blocks that sent it all crumbling down. In other words, your final straw had snapped.

“What dark cloud decided to hover ov-“

Before Leo could finish another cheeky tease, you cut him off in a frustrated, loud voice, almost a yell. 

“ Will you shut up, for ONCE?”

Leo’s smile quickly fell. 

He looked small, and confused, and guilty.

It had escaped, without a thought. You were overwhelmed. You covered your eyes and ran your hands over your face in exasperation. 

Leo quickly stuttered out an apology.

“I-I, I’m sorry. S-sorry.”

He quickly walked away, out of sight. He was probably the last person you wanted to see right now.

Once Leo made himself scarce, he let his mind wander. run a mile a minute.

Was that annoying?

‘For ONCE?’

….Was he…always annoying?

He loved teasing and prodding his brothers, sure. It was almost like a sport to him.

But you? No, he wanted you to admire him. He wanted to make you laugh and smile and he wanted to hear your rare obnoxious snort. 

Maybe even try making your heart flutter. He tried so hard to fluster you, and yet you flustered him effortlessly. Just by looking at him and smiling.

And yet he let his false hope fall. He wanted your affection and love so much and yet he made himself look like an annoying jerk around you. 

You never snapped at him like that. 

Leo itched his neck, spacing out as he blankly stared at the wall. His lip wobbled at the thought  of you, hating him. Please don’t hate him. Please please please.

You now stood alone, and the harshness of your own words just now hitting you. 

No, nonono! That was so rude! That made it sound like you wanted him to shut it every time he started talking and joking around you! Which was the last thing you wanted. You could listen to him talk and laugh forever.

Rubbing the sleep and buzzing away from your eyes, you trudged around the lair- looking for Leo so you could apologize. You tried thinking of what to say, how to explain.

Really? You snapped because you were tired? Sounded like an excuse.

You rubbed the static off your arms as you tiredly swayed into the kitchen traincar. No, nobody was there. Dragging yourself into another hallway, you peered into their arcade filled with loud game machines and lights and lasers. It was a good thing you didn’t see Leo among the other three, because that was too much stimulation right now.

You stumbled into the entry of the dining car.

Then Leo’s room. Surprisingly, he wasn’t there.

Then Raph’s room.

Then Mikey’s.

Donnie’s.

The welding lab.

The bathroom.

Other bathroom.

Was he even in the lair? Did he leave…? Did you upset him that much? No, you never wanted to hurt Leo in any way.

Another yawn escaped for the 50th time. Your vision grew dark and blurry around the edges and sometimes little colorful spots would dance in edges of your eyes.

The projector room. Only splinter sat there on his recliner, dozing off.

The entrance again.

Why was being awake…so hard…?

Even though you thought it was a little disrespectful, anxiousness drove you to peer into splinter’s room.

 No Leo.

You tripped on nothing as you wandered around pointlessly, disoriented.

Looking at the rooms you had already peered in through half open eyes, you spotted the tunnel entrance to a room you hadn’t thought of.

Dragging yourself into the car, you recognized the pipes and the washing and dryer machines. Stacks of towels and blankets and clothes. Chemicals and soaps and an ironing rack.

And Leo, with a miserable and contemplative face and wobbly expression, or lack of. He usually wore the flashiest grin, but now he looked null and void.

He sat among soft blankets and towels, but he didn’t hear you enter. 

So you called out to him to grab his attention. Or mumbled.

“….Leo…hey…”

He looked up, flinching at hearing his name. How did you sneak up on him? That was his thing!

His bandana that covered his non-existent brows rose apologetically. Like he was about to say sorry again.

Hold on. Time out- just-

You couldn’t hold up anymore. Your legs buckled uselessly underneath and you crumpled to the ground. Ironically missing the plush piles of blankets and fabrics and instead hitting the cold tiles.

Leo jumped over to you, scrambling in a small panic and pulling you up.

“Hey, h-hey! Are you ok? What’s going on? Wake up!”

He shook you in his arms, hoping for an answer now.

You very slowly opened your eyes halfway and tried sitting up.

“….I-I’m…. So tired, Leo….and I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean to yell. I didn’t- I-I’m…I’m so, just, stimulated, too, too much is going on. I’m sorry.”

Leo’s expression somehow grew even more miserable. But instead in empathy, watching tears of exhaustion forming at the corners of your eyes. 

“Hey, it’s ok. I understand, ok? Relax…You need to take a nap.”

He gave you a small smile before he grabbed a warm blanket and tenderly wrapped it around you. 

You tried mumbling incoherent objections and “I can do it myself”s, but he only shushed you and picked you up like a bride.

Effortlessly carrying you into his room, he gently placed down on the bed and sat next to you awkwardly.

“…you need a nap, so don’t even try escaping.”

He gave you a quick teasing glare, but it only lasted a moment before his expression softened and he brushed a couple strands away from your face.

his face grew warm and pinkish, which was strange for someone with green skin.

“…do you want anything? I-I’ll just let you sleep in peace-

But before he could stand up, you wrapped your arms around him with what strength you had left and latched on.

“…don’t, don’t go…please…”

You rubbing your face against his shell only served to weaken his knees and prevent him from going anywhere. 

“…I-I- ok…”

He smiled and laid down next to you, leaving a reasonable space between you both.

But still pretty close. Pulling out his phone, he started playing some Jupiter Jim spin-off cartoon. 

You scooted and shuffled closer, as if you couldn’t properly see the phone screen. But it was his warmth by his side you were after, because your eyes skimmed over the animation on his phone without a thought.

He glanced at you, then back at his phone. He couldn’t stop that stupid warmth from leaving his cheeks, but he didn’t exactly hate this, either. In fact, he had dreamed of a moment like this. 

Except he wished you weren’t sleep deprived and on the brink of shutting down.

But it didn’t take long for you to be fast asleep, nestled right into his side. 

He admired your peaceful face. Heck, you didn’t even have to be conscious to fluster him! 

He turned his gaze back to his phone, watching the episode but still thinking about you.

And how tired he was.

When was the last time He slept?

Yawn.

His eyelids grew too heavy and he dropped his phone.

It was 20 minutes until Raph found you both, tucked in like lovey cats.

He cooed and tried not to squeal in adoration. He quickly whipped out his phone, silently taking a picture from every angle. 

And once he was done, he left Leo’s car to tell everyone to quiet down.

 And to entertain them with the cutest pictures ever. 

hope you enjoyed! please PLEASE let me know if there are spelling grammar mistakes!

@likablemuffin hey it’s me! Anon! I made a blog wahoo

[rom-e-o]

NSFW Alphabet Headcanons (Emmrich/F!Rook)

Well, after waiting 10 years for Veilguard to come out, I’ve been enjoying it! So much so that I’ve gotten very carried away with my F!Rook OC, Belisma Ingvellar. And completely fell in love with her relationship with Emmrich.

@quill-pen had the amazing idea to do this exercise for them, sooo … away we go~ Thank you, and I hope it's a fun read!

Some background: Belisma is a 35-year-old Mourn Watch mage. Bookish and a bit awkward (she’d rather read tomes and dance ballet than lead troops against ancient gods), but she has a kind heart and can’t say no, especially when nobody else deserves the stress of saving the world.

18+ only OC content below cut.

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Although she’s usually completely tuckered out after every tryst with Emmrich, Belisma always offers to assist with aftercare and clean-up. However, being the strict gentleman he is, Emmrich will not let her lift a finger.

Does she need a washcloth? He will fetch it, and make sure it’s soft and warm. Does she want water? He’ll get a pitcher. He’s even offered to carry her to the tub (Belisma is a fairly slender woman, about 110 lbs, but even then, she doesn’t love the idea of him carrying her in such an exhausted state.) He’ll do it though, and run her bath too.

Emmrich is a giving and sensual man, before, during and after any and all activities.

"Emmrich, this is too much! You don’t need to …" "Nothing is too much for you, my dearest. And I assure you, when we’re here, like this, I enjoy every moment."

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Emmrich: His favorite body part of hers is her collarbone. Just watching how the cords of her neck lead into those symmetrical, flared clavicles captivates him. He loves to run his lips along the bone, all the way to the acromion bump on the outer edge of the scapula. The delicate but complex bone structure is always something he’d admired during educational dissections, but that fascination takes on new meaning when he feels her skin flutter and flush beneath his lips during kisses. She feels alive. It’s exhilarating.

If asked what his favorite part of his body is, at first, he’d say his hands. But if you really pressed him to be honest, his arms. You don’t hold your limbs aloft and spend hours conjuring the dead with the grace of a musical conductor without getting some nice definition.

These are also the parts of him that he most adorns in jewelry and grave gold via rings and bracelets.

Belisma: She loves his back muscles and spine. Emmrich will say he’s too slender or thin, and that his ribs are too noticeable, but she disagrees. Watching the muscles of his back move and flex, even when he does something as simple as shift in his sleep, hypnotizes her. Those amazing shoulder blades, the contour of his spine … she kisses each point often. Sometimes Emmrich rolls over to return her kisses. Other times, gods forgive him, he feigns sleep so he can lay there and let her do it. Because it feels amazing, and he still can’t believe he’s not dreaming.

She loves her hair. It’s long and braided, and strong as a dang rope from how she tends to it. Also, from her years dancing ballet, she does think her calves are nice (and they are – she EARNED those muscles).

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Emmrich is a fastidious and tidy man. That being said, bodily fluids don’t disgust him. They’re natural, after all, especially when specific activities and positions are involved.

After eating her out, the scent and taste of her arousal lingering on his lips and moustache delights him. As does the aroused look on her face when he licks it off.

Belisma, also being a member of the Mourn Watch and also having clinical experience, views bodily fluids somewhat neutrally. They don’t turn her on specifically, but she knows her own wickedness and uses them to her advantage. If he drips or cums on her early or too soon, she won’t clean herself up. Instead, she’ll slide her fingers through it, bring it to her lips, or use it as lube on his cock.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

They could never do it, but they share fantasies of it – having sex at his work desk in the Lighthouse. And not quickies – full, bold, sensual, fully-undressed sex. With the doors open. The idea delights, but no. Even if their companions knew to stay away, Manfred would not. And Hezenkoss would be HIGHLY displeased.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Emmrich is quite experienced. He’s been with ladies and gentlemen, and knows his charms (as well as his likes and dislikes in the bedroom). He’s dated and easily found companionship, but each eventually fell through. He always wanted love, commitment and marriage. He's in it for the long-run.

Belisma dated some, but her only serious relationship was with another mage named Cyril. They separated because, surprise, he didn’t want commitment. And for Belisma, he wasn’t worth the effort.

Neither are virgins, but Belisma definitely isn’t as experienced as he is. He did have a head start, though, haha, to be fair. He groans when she playfully brings that up.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Belisma loves to ride him. She gets to feel him proudly jutting up into her, and he gets to lean back and focus solely on grinding up into her. Win-win. After she comes, she switches to more of a bouncing motion, which quickly brings him to whimpering ruin beneath her.

Emmrich gets to admire her face, feel her bum smacking his thighs, and watch her small tits bounce with each thrust. So, it gets a thumbs-up from him too. Doggy-style is also favorite because of how deep it allows him to go.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Emmrich takes romance and sex very seriously. After all, like we established, he is a man who wants love. True love. Marriage. He wants a lifelong commitment and partnership. As such, he takes lovemaking very seriously. He’s not a silent statue during it, of course, but he’s not cracking jokes, haha. He wants to make sure she feels good, is enjoying herself, and is as ‘in the moment’ as he is. He’s attentive.

He might smile and laugh afterward, when they’re laying together in the afterglow of it all, but in the moment? He is very serious and focused.

Belisma is also quite serious when it comes to their time in bed together. She’s a little awkward and bookish, and she knows that. If she tries to joke or force levity, it would ruin the mood and come across as less than genuine, and she values him too much for that.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

We know Emmrich is meticulous about grooming, bathing and shaving.

He’s got some salt-and-pepper chest hair that matches the thatch between his legs, but he’s not overly hairy otherwise. Pretty sparse, to match his in-game model. He bathes daily (and after any workout/battle) and always takes care to present himself perfectly with the poise and grace expected of him.

Belisma will get so engrossed in work that she’ll accidentally go days without bathing, but she wouldn’t sleep with Emmrich in those moments. She’d bathe before any intimacy. For her hair, she washed and makes sure to condition, oil, brush and smooth it properly. Her hair, ideally, is braided. If it’s braided and up, she needs to wash it. If she’s donned a hood, it’s … been a rough/busy week. She does shave her legs and under her arms. Between her legs, she keeps hair trimmed.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Emmrich and Belisma are slow, sensual lovers. Nothing is fast, frantic, or quick. They always take their time with foreplay and undressing. LOTS of slow kissing, sighs and words of affirmation. The romance of every encounter is very important and non-negotiable for them. Both are very likely to set up their rooms or even decorate.

For example, if Emmrich plans to bring Belisma to his chamber, the bed is made and cleaned, a fire is roaring with cinnamon-scenter timber. There will be wine, music and a gradual build-up to their coupling.

Belisma will do the same. If he comes to her quarters, she makes sure to clean the entire room beforehand, and make sure everything is perfumed. She also makes dinner for him frequently (rarebit is a favorite), and always makes hazelnut torte for dessert. She even has sleep clothes and a dressing gown for him (in lilac, his favorite color) at the ready.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

One they’re a couple, they do experiment with watching each other masturbate and seeing who gives in first and crosses the room to the other. (They keep a playful tally – a straight tie, right down the middle. The ‘loser’ from the previous time owes the other a drink for next time.)

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Emmrich: Very light bondage, wax play (all those candles come in handy, and the dripping wax is exhilarating) and praise. This man yearns for sweet, sweet words.

Belisma: Praise. Praise, praise, PRAISE KINK all day long. She’ll try anything once (the candle wax is fun, she’ll admit).

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Their bedrooms, mostly because they know they won’t be interrupted. By people, or by Manfred. Thankfully, even with gloves, his skeletal hands aren’t dexterous enough to turn a key in a locked door. Obviously, their first time was in the coffin in the Necropolis, which was also nice and private (but a bit cold).

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

At the dinner date with Rook, he admits that it’s been a while since he’s enjoyed anyone’s company. Handling semesters of students, keeping matters at bay in the Necropolis, and teaching Manfred takes time, after all.

Emmrich really doesn’t need a ton of motivation, honestly. He’s been waiting for this forever – finding someone to love and cherish. Someone to read with in bed, or dance with at the end of a long night when gentle music enters through a cracked window.

As for what turns him on, he will admit that he loves to watch her dance. Belisma was a ballet dancer for many years after all. She’s graceful, and the art shows off her skeletal and muscular forms quite perfectly. Seeing her jump and twirl so effortlessly, hair spinning behind her, her cheeks flushed and a light sheen of sweat forming across her chest and face? Color him very interested.

Belisma gets turned on, honestly, by seeing him happy. He’s so reserved usually that seeing him get giddy or ramble about a new discovery or relic just makes her want to take his face between her hands and smooch him silly. Also, when he’s focused at his work desk, that also makes for quite a lovely picture. She’ll bring him tea and find him looking at thesis submission from student, glasses perched on his nose, head down, gaze focused. It’s a dreamy picture. Then, when he notices her, and his entire demeanor shifts to one of excitement (“Isma, darling! Hello!”) her entire body blushes every time.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Anything non-con or sadistic is a no for both. Also, they are not interested in any third parties. Spectators or participants.

When she is in ANY kid of pain, it causes him immense distress.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Emmrich prefers to give oral. Not that he’ll say no to Belisma on her knees, taking him into his mouth (not at all) but it’s just not his preferred method of intimacy. He can’t see her face as well when she blows him, and honestly, he wants to be able to look at her. To admire the subtle changes in her expression during intercourse. Oral complicates that. Yet, he does LOVE to give oral. The entire time, his eyes stare up at her, watching her blissed out expression. He uses on hand to furiously pump his own cock while he moans and licks into her. The sounds alone are enough to bring him to ruin.

Belisma loves both. She’s a little shy about receiving it the first time, especially since Cyril never liked doing it) so he puts it off. What if she tastes/smells bad? What if she looks weird down there? Emmrich catches on eventually, and asks her:

“Isma, I can’t help but notice … when I’m pleasuring you, my hands and fingers are welcome, but when I lean down, you always stop me. I can only use my hands, if that’s why you want, but I want to be certain.” “Oh. I’m sorry. Um, yes, hands are fine. I’m used to that. I guess I’m just a little…” “Self-conscious?” “Yes. I’m sorry, that’s immature of me.” “Hardly. It’s a matter of immense vulnerability. Darling, we’ll move at your pace. If you’d like to try it, just say the word. I’ll just add this, if it happens to help; I know there are foolish schoolboys who think women should taste like sugar cubes and smell like roses between their legs. I am a man with no such expectations.”

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Slow and sensual, all the way. The only time things get ‘rough’ is when they’re about to climax. Emmrich will grab her hips and pick up the pace to something a little more punishing. Belisma will tug his hair and bit his shoulder as her body clenches around him.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Nope. If there is not enough time for the full wooing process, there is no sex. I really can’t stress how important intimacy and romance is for these two, haha.

Emmrich especially. He’s a man, and his anatomy doesn’t require as much … preparation. Belisma? Without foreplay, things can be painful for her, and that thought sickens him.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

They are way more game for experimenting than risk-taking. ‘Experimenting’ implies genuine interest and carnal fascination. ‘Risk-taking’ feels … unnecessary, haha. Like, would they risk having sex in their private theatre box next time they go see the Nevarran Ballet perform ‘Faustina’? No, not during the show. Buuut after the show ends, and they lock the door and pull the curtains? That’s an experiment in semi-public sex. Way more comfortable and controlled for them.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

So, Emmrich is 52-55. Belisma is 35. They’re not mating like bunnies, but they have impressive stamina. Both are quick and spry on the battlefield. His refractory period is definitely existent, but that’s fine. They mostly talk between rounds, because frankly, that’s what they love most.

“My, that lilac lingerie was a delightful surprise. Where did you come across it?” “Oh, Neve recommended my to this fabulous boutique! A little pricey, but—” “Definitely worth it, if I may say so.”

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Both of them do, haha. You’re not single for decades without investing in some good tools to tide you over. They’re also both adults. I imagine Emmrich (who seems to have been quite the rambunctious/flirtatious youth) frequented them quite a bit as he found companionship with other ladies and gentlemen.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

They both loooove to tease the other. Flirtatious looks, winks, holding hands under the dinner table. It's fun, and for them, it's getting to enjoy that teenage-esque delight of being cute and in-love for a bit.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

They can be loud, but it’s harder for them. Stealing moments with each other and keeping things slow can sometimes mean their engagements are on the quieter side.

They sometimes need reminders that it’s okay to make noise. It’s okay to sigh, and moan, and cry out the other’s name. Belisma loves when Emmrich grunts or gasps against her. She’s so used to him appearing composed, it’s exciting being the one that makes such a gentleman comes beautifully undone.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Emmrich: After he starts seeing Belisma, his morning workouts and exercises become a little more intense. He wants to be able to keep up with her, you know. She’s around 20 years younger, after all.

As for Belisma: She had a stuffed nug from when her parents left her as an infant. It was bundled in her swaddling cloth. She still has it, and even sleeps with it sometimes. She does NOT want Emmrich to know (how embarrassing, she’s 35!) but Manfred finds it one day and brings it to her while she and Emmrich are talking.

“Pet!” “Where did you … Manfred, did you use your allowance to buy a toy? Hm … it looks well-loved.” Then Manfred gives it to Belisma. “Rook! Pet!” “Oh. Is that yours?” Emmrich asks, blinking.

Oh, she could have died on the spot. He just laughs and says it’s sweet. Then lightly chastises Manfred for going through people’s belongings.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

We’ve discussed body hair already. As for anatomy, Emmrich looks … decently endowed, honestly. There’s some noticeable cargo down there, even when he’s completely casual.

He’s quite thin and slender, especially with his height. His muscles are decently toned, but there is a softness to him. Nothing is cleanly cut or defined but he is trim. Even a little gaunt, especially around his ribs and hips.

Belisma is also very slender and thin. Even bony in some places. She has s smaller chest (B-cups) and noticeable hip dips.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

SO HIGH. They may not have the energy to mate like bunnies, but they go for hours. And they can jump in and out as needed. For example, they’ll make love, stop to make dinner, eat, then have sex again, then bathe (doing another round in the tub) then finish up with one last round in bed.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Belisma always falls asleep first. And she is out like a light, snoozing away. She also talks in her sleep, haha.

Emmrich takes time to fall asleep. It’s just harder for him, but watching her sleep and breathe beside him is an immense help for soothing his own worries. She calms him better than tea and lavender, and he’s at his most relaxed when they’re sharing a bed together, wrapped in each other’s embrace.

[michaelscorneroftheinternet]

ALRIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!!!

IT'S ABOUT TIME I GIVE SOME LOVE TO MY FAVORITE CREATORS!!!

And by love I mean scream my lungs out-

@strange0-0storm

Bro your character SMG8 has me in a chokehold!

He had me with music. I mean hell I'm listening to music right now while writing this (Digital Hallucination by OR3O) and was when drawing this. I listen to music constantly for inspo. I can imagine sitting and vibing with SMG8 just sharing music together.

Your art style specifically is a big love of mine. I very much envy how you draw SMG8's teeth-

@ominus-potato

BRO....

I literally originally started lurking around your page just finding Marware a fun crack ship but at this point you've dragged me into this ship full on. I'm a sucker for idiot with a charismatic partner. Will always remind me of Roger and Jessica Rabbit.

I continuously look forward to any post of yours! <3

@purpdrawsthings

WHERE TO EVEN START WITH YOU BUDDY-

BRO I SWEAR EVERY TIME I WAKE UP AND SEE A MENTION FROM YOU I GET A GOOFY ASS SMILE ON MY FACE! YOUR ART IS CONSISTENTLY AMAZING!

Your love for all my Aus and me and my friends au brings a smile to both our faces!!!!

@misskamilyvision

YOU.

WHEN I FREAKING GET YOU!!! YOUR LITTLE LORE BITS HAVE BEEN DRIVING ME INSANE!!!

I SWEAR ONE MORE AND I MIGHT COMBUST!

STOP BEING SO GOOD AT SAYING SO MUCH AND SO LITTLE IN ONE POST!!!

Not to mention but the fanart you have done for me in the past still brings a smile to my face whenever I find it in my fanart folder!

Never stop being so dang creative!

@grinnames

Hhiiiiiiiiii buddyyyyyy~

Fun tid bit about God Box AU Michael.

They know we exist.

They can see us.

Past the screen.

Teehee! But that out of the way your GodBox AU posts are always a pleasure to see! As someone who loves some good horror I lovingly enjoy each post!

I look forward to another lore drop on those bois. Especially maybe more of Mario as I'm intrigued about our spaghetti loving Italian.

@its-a-me-mango

Aye it's the doc!

The one and only Mango!

Your art is consistently just great eye candy for me.

Though I must repeat as I did to KamilyVision....

STOP DROPPING SUCH VAGUE LORE WITH LITTLE CONTEXT!!!! /J

IMMA FUCKING LOSE IT WITH THIS SHIT!!! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU MAN?! FMSKKDNFBDKWLKJFOSLWJBD

@tiredsmashbros

YOU....

I GOT A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU BUCKO!!!!

STOP JUMPSCARING ME WITH FANART MAN!!! YOUR GONNA FRY MY DAMN CIRCUITS!!! YOU MAKE IT SEEM LIKE ITS NOT A BIG DEAL!??!!?! AND YOUR MOST LATEST ONE BEING FOR PRACTICE?! FUCKING HELLO?! LOOKS LIKE A FULL MASTERPIECE TO ME!!!

SO IN RETURN IM GIVING YOU FANART OF YOURSELF WITH ME FUCKING TEASING YOU!!! BITE ME!

@coralalala64

Youuuuuuuu........

Your damn angst almost every FREAKING TIME feels like you are personally putting your hand through my chest and yanking out my heart and squeezing it like it's a damn squeaker from a squeaky toy!

STOP BREAKING MY DAMN HEART!!!!!

YOU ARE SO STUPIDLY TALENTED AND ITS DRIVING ME INSANE WITH ALL THE WORK YOU DO!!!!

Keep up the good work but if I see another angst post anytime soon I'm going to implode and I'm taking you with me. /J

Okay that's all of you!

But yeah, hi all you lovely creators! You all are big inspirations of mine and I adore all your works in a unique way. Plenty of the things you all create have inspired me within my own art and series Change in Script! You guys are honestly amazing!

I can't wait to see what you all continue to create within or outside of the SMG4 community!

[oatmealzz]

Firstly so sorry for the graphic image. I found this on the Danganronpa reddit. Also MAJOR DANGANRONPA V3 SPOILERS.

I feel like this very crudely drawn image of Kokichi’s dead crushed up corpse is the last piece I needed to fully accept his death.

Not being able to see the state of the body during the investigation, created a barrier for me to fully understand Kokichi’s exit out of the main story. It just felt like he “left” rather than died.

Additionally, none of the characters saw the dead body and that definitely had an impact on their attitude towards him. His death was brushed off because they also never got to see his dead body. Maki didn’t investigate the body and such. There was no opportunity to be traumatized but ample to refuel their hatred towards him. Remember when Nagito’s body was found? The characters wouldn’t stop talking about the stab wound and the spear. The graphic depictions of Nagito stabbing himself added to the nightmare fuel situation. Like SOMEONE did that to his body vibe. In this trial, that wasn’t discussed in a manner that resembled 2-5. Not being able to see the graphic nature of a body being crushed flat means the characters can avoid it. Again, put yourself in the situation you felt when you initially saw Kokichi’s death. Seeing his crushed body would absolutely impact your experience because it’s like DANG, WHO DID THIS?! Did he really deserve a death like that? And so on.

This is why his absence during the class trial wasn’t discussed to its extent such as with other characters. Imagine seeing the body and then going to the trial where the exisal was talking in his voice. It would be SUPER weird. LIKE I SAW HIS CRUSHED BONES AND ORGANS OUT ON THAT PRESS AND NOW IM HEARING HIS VOICE? I know for some people, not seeing the body meant that maybe both Kaito and Kokichi were alive and that they used another body to substitute a killing. After Monokuma revealed that it wasn’t possible to do so, I don’t remember anyone who acknowledged the body afterwards due to how the trial was going.

I’m no Kokichi Stan but I did warm up to his character pre-chapter 4. I always felt that his death and trial were lackluster and lacked needed impact. Personally, I thought the trial wasn’t very good but seeing a depiction of the body has changed my opinion on the trial.

Kaito also never saw Kokichi afterwards because he never lifted the press after it crushed him. Kaito doesn’t really have to carry the weight of the plan and his actions, because he never gets to see the honest result of them. Therefore, he was able to focus on the plan to foul Monokuma and stick to the script that a dead boy wrote. Personally, my entire view on Kaito would drastically change more if we both saw the state of the body. Like learning that Kaito killed Kokichi in the most violent way possible. This is no stab to the neck or strangulation where a character might crack a joke (throwback to Ryoma, Miu and even Nagito). I remember thinking that their plan failed because the gang ended up figuring out their scheme and there is a viewpoint that Kokichi’s plan failed. If it did, he died for nothing and in the most violently unnecessarily way possible too.

Danganronpa V3 had many victims where the remaining cast had a short mourning period for (Rantaro, Ryoma and Miu). Each student had different circumstances where the cast couldn’t comment too much on their dead peers. Rantaro distanced himself from others, and no one was particular close to Ryoma or Miu.

However, Kokichi was one where almost no one mourned his death.

It’s interesting for sure. I think more people mourned the losses of the culprits more than the victims.

Anyways - I recommend reviewing 3-5 again and seeing this image somewhere during the investigation. I promise, my opinion on 3-5 drastically improved afterwards.

[bloopitynoot]

Reading TGCF: Chapter 82

For those who don't know, I am reading TGCF for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag Bloopitynoot reads TGCF. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read BUT if you followed along with my SVSSS read, the rules and vibe are the same.

A cozy Wednesday deserves a cozy masala chai.

Today I had a half day of work as we took Charlie to the specialist for his check up. He got some blood work done (we'll know the results in a couple days) and a physical exam.

They said he looks a LOT better! His weight is up and he is less yellow (it will take a while for this to cycle out). So good signs so far, fingers crossed the blood work turns out well too.

Let's go chapter 82!!

Xie Lian's response to the blood rain turned flowers being "How fun!" fundamentally shifted my soul. If there isn't a mafia au out there...(Murder husbands) p213

Oo! What is the history between Hua Cheng and the Brocade Immortal?? Why is it so chill with Hua Cheng? p214

wtf? The mural just disappeared? p215

Instead of a swear jar, Pei Ming needs a womanizing/objectification jar. Here we go again with him being gross. p216

Weird for this temple to be in the middle of the road. I agree- ominous. pp218-219

What an inauspicious mural to have in a temple. Horrifying. p221

The mountains move too? I thought it was illusory not literal! p223

Art- stunning! p224

Dang, Pei Ming is literally holding two mountains apart p227

I feel like it's been thee chapters in a row with Xie Lian digging holes LOL. This guy just loves burrowing. p228

Xie Lian (see's someone with an average face): Fake as fuck for sure. p231

Though I do want to know how they got the earth master's shovel. p231

Oh! We finally get to know who the other banished official is; Yin Yu! p232

I also don't believe Hua Cheng just found that shovel on the ground... p233

Pei Ming out here even objectifying rotted bones. Why. Why does he even have an interest in corpses. p236

What are the odds that they ended up digging into a cave in the mountain they were avoiding. p239

omg. And they've (Hua Cheng and Xie Lian) lost everyone. p240

I still have 0 idea what's going to happen next

We have moving mountains, a plot between Hua Cheng and the Brocade Immortal, and now a temple prophecy/mystery/tragedy??? Y'all weren't lying when you said this book would be a trip.

[atwas-gaming]

People who complain that Sonic's character is "static" must have never played Unleashed or Black Knight. Or they did, but they didn't understand them.

I think one of the reasons why Unleashed and Black Knight are such fan favorites and stick in our memory so well is because the entire theme of both games is about taking Sonic out of his element, taking away things that he has relied on for so long- speed, jumping, spindashing, boosting, homing attacks- taking all those things away from him, and seeing how he does.

And he still shines. Even without all the abilities that he has relied on throughout his entire life, he still manages to beat the Big Bad.

(Please note that I haven't finished either game yet and I'm just drawing from what I've been spoiled on.)

As the werehog, Sonic is not able to curl into a ball at all (we're ignoring the mobile games for this post), and his greater height and weight, probably due to a larger bone structure, as well as heavier, thicker fur, keeps him from being able to run as fast or jump as high as he's used to. He now how to resort to fighting styles he has never used before, including several forms of martial arts (aided by his Dark Gaia-powered stretch abilities). Perhaps the most unusual of all is how he has to get down on all fours to run.

In addition, Sonic describes his werehog form as "pretty ugly." Sonic thinks of himself as good-looking, and this is a part of his personal identity, which is part of why he was upset that Amy didn't recognize him (no matter what feelings he may or may not have for her). The werehog form also seems to be physically uncomfortable and taxing on Sonic's body due to the heavier weight, as the werehog idle animations include Sonic stretching in an exaggerated way and forcibly rotating his shoulders (motions I, myself, have learned to use after years at a desk job that has ruined my neck and upper back). Sonic's idle animations also include him being jumpy and looking around every few seconds- basically, the werehog never fully relaxes.

All in all, Sonic is very uncomfortable as a werehog, and prefers not to be seen in this form. But the reason why is not fully evident until he thanks Chip for protecting him and keeping him from turning evil. To this, Chip replies, "I haven't done anything, Sonic. You're too strong to lose yourself."

On top of this, Amy doesn't have a problem with Sonic's appearance. She still loves him. Tails also doesn't care what Sonic looks like. Neither does Professor Pickle. Neither does ANYONE. Even if they're startled by the werehog's appearance at first, they all seem to go, "Oh, it's just Sonic. This is just what he's like at night."

The entire story of Unleashed was about Sonic coming to realize that he is not who he is because of what he looks like or how he is built.

Black Knight takes this a step further. In Unleashed, Sonic wasn't able to run, but he was still able to use his body as a weapon. In Black Knight, Sonic can run again, but nowhere near as fast as his normal speed. All of Sonic's abilities to fight with his body are stripped from him, and he is forced to use an actual weapon, instead. And Sonic hates this. He even says it: "I wish I didn't have to use this dang sword!"

Sonic has never used a weapon before in the games (as far as I am aware, anyway). His weapon has always been his own body: his feet, his fists, his whole body via spindash and homing attack. Now he's having to train himself to fight with something outside of his own body. This requires not only the creation of new muscle memory, but also a complete shift in the way his brain processes information to fight. He always has the option to just crumble and say, "I can't do this, it's not what I'm used to, I give up." He never does that. He complains a bit at first, but eventually rises to the occasion and excels at swordfighting.

Please bear in mind that I haven't ever gotten past the King Arthur battle. I presume Sonic is forced to kill him, and then I believe there's another half a game after that. But so far, it seems that Sonic's character arc in Black Knight is about him learning that he is not who he is just because of what he can do.

What makes Sonic Sonic is not what he looks like or what he is able to do, but about who he is inside. Sonic is someone who cares, someone who is strong, someone who doesn't give up, someone who sees a difficult situation and, no matter how much of an inconvenience it may be, turns it around and finds a way through.

[illusioncanthurtme--art]

hello!!! im subbed to your patreon but i am Too Embarrassed to reach out on there lol

just wanted to say how much i adore your art?? its very rare to see someone posting as often as you do, and with PENCILS? holy mackerel.

your grasp of form and shape is amazing, i love your style, the way you draw... like, not to get hyper specific, but - the way you draw the zygomatic arch on people?? its really good 👍 personally, i can never figure out how to marry cartoon/simplified eyes with a solid face structure, so im just really impressed when i look at your stuff!

very very excited for the billford comic you're making on patreon to continue 👀 i wish you great luck and success

also i concur with the anon from a couple weeks back. u should draw ford licking bill's eye at some point lol

That is so kind oh my god!!! You got me grinning from ear to ear, no lie!!

It means so so much to hear that from you!! Having an actual patreon audience is VERY new to me, so I'm doing my absolute best to make stuff for you guys regularly, and as frequently as I can. So I'm very glad you think so!! I think I wanted to say this on my patreon last night after posting that comic: (and I probably will soon, but I don't like making a bunch of "update" posts cuz I think it might be annoying) I'm REALLY enjoying patreon!! It's a shit ton of fun, now that there's actually people there to see my stuff and leave comments. It makes things very exciting and gratifying for me! I'm always looking forward to sharing my next thing! And I've been on the lookout for a third social media to post to for a while now, and I feel like this has become it for me! I'm just having a great time and I want people to know that.

Dude I had to look up what that bone is and I've never given it a single gosh darn thought SDKHKJDSJKSD but to make your point, that bone is located at the spot between the eye and the ear. And I'm always super mindful of the amount of space that exists there. Sometimes I make it too big, sometimes too small... but I'm always thinking about it when I draw. 🤔

And THANK YOU!! I'm super stoked to keep working on that comic. I think I'll post the drawings as I make them to patreon, and when a "part" is done, I'll leave it on patreon for a week before sharing it elsewhere. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, I started a billford comic thingie, and I'm expecting it to be pretty dang long. It's a slow burn situation I've got cooking. So far I posted the first half of the first part to patreon. I'm really excited for it >:)

Dude, you are like the sixth person to want me to draw ford getting sloppy on that eyeball and I'm starting to feel like it's inevitable at this point DJKSDGFKLJFDKLFG oh god, what does my future hold :'D

[anonymous-dentist]

A tiny little merpepito au for the week

-

Pepito misses Apa Roier. Pepito misses Apa Roier so much it hurts, and Apa Roier is so close! He’s just on the other side of the ship, and Pepito can tug on his shirt and get picked up and held the way Apa Roier used to hold Pepito in The Ocean, but. But he’s sad, and it’s all Pepito’s fault, because Pepito is a Very Bad Pepito.

Every night, Pepito eats dinner at the same table as everybody else. He sits by Pomme, because she’s nice, and by Richarlyson, because Richarlyson is too small to sit at the adult side of the table. But Pomme sometimes leaves her seat and asks her mom to hold her, and Richarlyson always goes to bother his dads. But Pepito… can’t. Because Apa Roier looks so sad when he looks at Pepito, and Pepito might start crying if Apa Roier tells him why.

Tonight, four days after Apa Roier joined the crew, Pepito sits alone and eats Pepito’s dinner. Pomme is with Miss Baghera, and Richarlyson is with Captain Celbi, and Pepito. Is. Alone.

Pepito sits with his head down, and he picks at his food idly with a fork.

He jumps as a plate it dropped in front of him.

He looks up, and there is Apa Roier with a fish bone sticking out of his mouth.

In the Language Of The Ocean, Apa Roier says, “Ayyyy, Pepito! There you are! I’ve been looking for you all day!”

He sits, and Pepito’s hands shake.

“Have you been avoiding me?” Apa Roier gasps.

Pepito doesn’t like lying, so Pepito almost nods. But then Pepito remembers that he’s a pirate now, and pirates are evil. So Pepito shakes his head slowly.

Apa Roier nods. “Ahhh, I see. You’re just too busy for me now, I get it.”

Pepito’s stomach turns uncomfortably.

“You’re a big Pepito now,” Apa Roier says. “And I’m just an old man.”

He even puts on his old man voice- the one that he does to piss Ama Rivers off that makes Pepito laugh- when he says that, but all Pepito does is put his fork down and stare at his plate with a chilly-feeling heart. He feels bad.

Miss Mouse laughs at the other end of the table. Misters Pacandmike are arguing with Captain Celbi.

Apa Roier is quiet.

Pepito isn’t going to cry. He isn’t!!! He’s a Strong Pepito! And he’s a pirate! Pirates don’t cry, they make people cry!

…Pepito probably made Apa Roier cry. Apa Roier probably broke down the second he heard what Pepito did, all because Pepito did a Very Bad Thing because Pepito is a Very Bad Pepito and and and and-

“Pepito,” Apa Roier quietly says, “I’m not angry.”

What?

Pepito looks up with wet eyes. He makes eye contact with Apa Roier, which honestly makes Pepito feels so much worse because Apa Roier looks kinda depressed with only two eyes. The Sea Witch took his eyes because of Pepito; just one more bad thing that Pepito has done.

Apa Roier gives a small smile. “I don’t know why you ran away, but I’m not angry. I mean, I’m pissed, but I’m not angry, you know?”

Pepito doesn’t know, but he also doesn’t care, because what does Apa Roier mean, he doesn’t know why Pepito ran away? He has to know! He’s a genius!

“BadBoy might be a real fucking creep sometimes, but he brought you to a real good guy,” Apa Roier continues. He glances over at Captain Celbi, his smile turning Weird. “I mean, Cellbit is kind of an asshole and he’s probably going to Hell, but he’s a nice guy.”

“Are you talking about me?” Captain Celbi calls, the same Weird smile on his face. Huh.

Apa Roier rolls his eyes and flips him off.

Pepito’s eyes widen. Apa Roier is so brave! Everybody knows not to mess with Captain Celbi, he’s evil! Mister Mike says so at least once a day!

“But listen, Pepito,” Apa Roier says, looking back at Pepito, “if you think I swam for a month to come and get you just for me to say I hate you or something, then you really are as stupid as your Apa Mariana. Because I-” (He reaches across the table and boops Pepito right on the nose.) “-will never let any stupid human pirates bully my Pepito. Only I get to bully you.”

Pepito’s eyes are starting to water again, dang it. Pepito is a Strong Pepito!

But then Apa Roier looks at Pepito’s plate of food and sighs and starts moving stuff from his own plate to Pepito’s, saying, “Pepito, Pepito, Pepito… You’re allowed to have more than fish for dinner. We’re pirates now, have pirate food. Here.”

And Pepito can’t help it. He missed Apa Roier so much…!

He jumps from his spot at the table and runs around to Apa Roier. He holds his arms up, and Apa Roier clicks his tongue annoyedly, but Apa Roier picks him up with a groan:

“Pepito, what the fuck? When did you get so big, eh? You’ll be taller than Mariana at this rate!”

Pepito is a growing Pepito, Pepito knows this. But he settles down in Apa Roier’s lap, anyway, and he hugs him because he can because Apa Roier doesn’t know that Pepito is a Bad Pepito. He still thinks that Pepito is a Good Pepito even if he is a Pirate Pepito now.

Apa Roier doesn’t know what happened. And Apa Roier never will.

[fiulanda113]

Mushy May Day 7: "Better now that you're here"

Pairing: Dewdrop/Phantom, Dewdrop/Aether, Dewdrop/Copia

Characters: Dewdrop, Phantom, Aether, Copia

Tags: Fluff, Comfort, Hospitals, Broken foot, yes Dew I’m looking at you, poorly translated italian

Word Count: 525

Summary: Mushy May Day 7

Dewdrop breaks his foot, Phantom is worried and visits him, Aether and Copia are there through video call.

Fic below the cut or in ao3

@forlorn-crows

Dewdrop was bored out of his mind, he had already looked at everything around him in that dang hospital bed while he waited for Perpetua to pick him back up. He had even come up with names for the shades of the colours on the walls and random abstract paintings around him. He had stared at the chart with bones on the wall for long enough, that if they gave him an exam on them, he was confident he would land an excellent on it.

Then, a nurse knocked on the door, “you seem to have a visitor… he has… hors, though?”. “Let them in.” Said Dewdrop, knowing it must be one of the ghouls, too worried to realise that they hadn’t glamoured their horns on their way here.

When the nurse said that, she looked back at the person next to her, who was staring at her expectantly, “you said you’re his… partner?”. “Yes,” said Phantom, “I am.”. The nurse sighed, clearly tired from her shift and done with seeing odd shit. She just signalled to the door and walked away.

Phantom immediately walked in and dragged a chair to sit next to Dew. “How are you? What happened?”. Seeing the worry in the other ghoul’s eyes, softened Dew’s expression a bit, “I fractured my foot, bat, it’s nothing I won’t get through don’t worry.” Now more than ever, Phantom wished that his quintessence wasn’t only the vision sight type, and was the healing one.

Dew ran his fingers through the quint’s hair, knowing fully what was going through their head. “Don’t blame yourself for not being able to heal my leg, bat, it’s okay.” Phantom nodded and leaned into Dew’s touch, “Aether called, turns out Perpetua tried to call Copia about what happened, but he didn’t want to pick up the call, so Aeth did. He wants to know if you’re okay.”

Dew nodded and reached for his phone, we went into his contact list and clicked on Aether’s contact, then videocalled him, once he picked up, Dew could hear a faint “Sapevo che non potevo fidarmi di lui” in the background, knowing it was Copia grumbling about something, he decided to just focus on Aether for now, “Hi Aeth.” He greeted, earning a similar response, “Perp- your new boss called, how is your foot doing?”

“Well, it’s doing better… At least now I know what’s up with it. I have to wear this big ass boot though.” Dew was in pain, but tried to mask it, thankful that it was currently nighttime in the ministry and Aether wasn’t paying as much attention as he normally would. Aether sighed when he heard that, but then Copia came into view, “how are you doing, amore?” He asked. “I’m fine, C, don’t worry.” Dew tried to reassure.

After a few minutes of being on call, Dew turned to look at Phantom after hanging up. The younger ghoul asked, “Now, without lying, how are you feeling. I can tell you’re in pain, Dew.”

Dew sighed, he knew he couldn’t lie to Phantom, so he settled for grabbing his hand, “Well, I’m better now that you’re here.”

[anonmousegosqueak]

Another headcannon about Roach! (Can you tell he's my fav?)

Roach rarely talks, it's even more rare if he yells. But he is a Sergeant l, and that means scolding people sometimes.

You ever watch someone put the fear of God in a man a foot taller than him? Let Ghost (of recruits) piss Gary off enough and you'll see (⁠@⁠_⁠@⁠)

I feel like it's happened a few times before (still it's pretty dang rare) and with a few different people.

1) Gary is overstimulated (aka my everyone-in-the-141-is-autistic agenda)

The day had already started off awful. First his alarm hadn't gone off, Gaz had put the shirt Roach was planning to wear in the wash (it was Gaz's shirt and it reeked, it's not his fault). Then he had to miss breakfast, he didn't have any of his snacks around, AND both Ghost and Soap were on a mission so he didn't even have friends.

He doesn't even fully remember what set him off, he just remembers one second he was fine and the next he was yelling. Yelling at who? He doesn't know. He's just shouting. Everything is too loud, too warm, too uncomfortable, and the only thing he knows for sure that he can do is scream.

That wasn't anger though, that was sensory overload.

2) Actual frustration at stupid recruits

Another shitty day. This time though, it was 1,000% worse because Price had him running drills. Was he paired with Ghost? Yeah. Was that enough...?

Roach slowly got more and more annoyed at this one pair of recruits... They. Wouldn't. *Listen*. Normally it wouldn't be too bad but this is an important lesson and they should be paying attention. (Maybe something to do with "what do if fire??" Aka something that hits close to home with Roach. I don't know how the military works tho.)

Ghost could only watch as Roach finally snapped, shouting as loud as Price. You think an angry Ghost is bad? Try an angry Roach.

You better believe those idiots shut up real quick.

3) Tea.

Gaz drank Roach's tea. He didn't like that. Bro proceeded to gnaw on Gaz like he was a dog with a bone- switching to chewing only after he got tired of shouting.

Uhhh- the end? I don't have anything funny to add in my end notes. Okay bye!

[vermiculated]

books, Q1 2025

It became very important to me to complete my local romance bookstore's bingo challenge. No other real excuses.

The Outskirter's Secret - Rosemary Kirstein Before I started this, I saw a comment that the romance had been inexpertly added, and I thought, Bel and Rowan have too beguiling a bond to convincingly date, there's so many overlapping loyalties and such honor to Rowan's self-possession and Bel's expertise. And then Rowan meets a guy with whom she shares easygoing intimacy and slowly, slowly, betrayal of the self for the possibility of the future? A guy?

The Language of Power - Rosemary Kirstein Why yes, some of book four made more sense after I read book three. Picking the wizard programming bombs and hand in glove sexual treachery was a nourishing throwback. I wish I had read these books two decades ago so I could re-read them now and say, dang that was as good as I remembered!

The Courtship of Princess Leia - Dave Wolverton SHE is the princess-general, HE is the prince-treasure, oh and HE is a third guy, a smuggler, regular type guy you know the drill, THEY could have gotten married and lived in fabulous plenty, real twist posed for the revanchists. One of the best things about tie-in novels is that a meaningful, but not broadly-applicable invention like the Witches of Dathomir will be created, and thereafter everyone either has to use the genius matriarchy who meld with another genius matriarchy or explain why the universe doesn't let witches appear in glorious raiment.

Tikka Chance on Me - Suleikha Snyder SHE is waitressing at her parents' restaurant, HE brings his motorcycle gang to dinner, THEY do convincingly have reasons not to meet in public, which is a difficult trick to pull off when writing about adults who can generally go places alone.

40-Love - Olivia Dade SHE is controlling, HE is controlling, THEY have an excruciating meet-cute. Unusually the first-half banter in this one reads as two people who enjoy telling jokes to one another as they glide over their certainty that if they unwind it, they can both get back to a point where they hadn't made any self-defining mistakes, that is: authentically.

Ravished - Amanda Quick SHE is an archaeologist who prioritizes her needs and interests (cool bones) over everything else, HE is not very good about expressing his feelings but he is going to need to learn if he wants to keep up with her. THEY get married to clear title to her plesiosaur fossil and also convince everyone else that despite their zesty sexual chemistry, they won't get bored of one another. Zany spin-up of a Beauty and the Beast premise, which despite slacking in the second half (no! stay angry at your father forever! sell his horses and hurt his feelings!) is consistently rescued by the dinosaurs.

Capturing the Silken Thief - Jeannie Lin SHE is an artist living hand to mouth, HE is a student doing the same, THEY find the missing erotic scroll together and perhaps … learn that there are greater forces than money? jk no there aren't, they still have a happy ending.

My Fair Concubine - Jeannie Lin SHE is a teagirl who needs to get away from her life & job situation, HE has an incredible offer, THEY cultivate her manners and her beauty in a series of enjoyable makeover montages. Interestingly, the Pygmalion premise is substantially complicated by tenuous diplomatic relations, ethical obligations, and the risk of financial catastrophe. Every book should have so many events and such a clear thematic arc, nonetheless complicated by love. AND she dresses as a boy so they can go to the theater.

An Illicit Temptation - Jeannie Lin SHE is a faux princess, HE is a temporary bodyguard, THEY share a night of passion on the steppes.

The Moon in the Palace - Weina Dai Randel SHE is Wu Zetian, HE is honestly I did not even care I was just waiting for him to die, which he signally failed to do because apparently that's in the sequel? The sequel? There is a good simile about the blackheads on the emperor's chin appearing as flies clustering around his mouth.

The Hidden Blade - Sherry Thomas SHE trains to be responsible for cultivating her chi and jumping up the sides of buildings, HE believes himself to be responsible for everything that happens in his vicinity and can't do that, THEY do not even meet on the page in this one, he only sees her from a distance, look up look up look up. Sherry Thomas is the BOMB. The alternating points-of-view pay off as devastatingly here as they do in Sarah Moss's Signs for Lost Children.

The Cowboy Christmas Glow-Up - Suzy Langevin SHE is a driven makeup executive, HE is is a driven cowboy, THEY are the spares from their exes' cozy Christmas romances, which is a great concept. We are creatures of the polis, beings of brick and stone, and we don't have cute jobs.

How to Find a Princess - Alyssa Cole SHE is a beleaguered people-pleaser, SHE is largely ignorant of the effects she has on others, THEY have sex on a lifeboat. My book club had a really insightful discussion about attachment styles.

My Beautiful Enemy - Sherry Thomas SHE is a spy, HE is a spy, THEY have to fight the Centipede who flies a black flag. Two former gifted kids who go for broke and realize their true potential: I found the sex passionate and the light backstabbing in Uzbekistan to be enormously gratifying. The interpersonal dynamics are intricate and while I would have enjoyed more politics, I can go re-read Wolf Hall on my own time.

Dark Season - Joanna Lowell SHE is, for complicated reasons, obliged to pretend to be psychic, HE must, for complicated reasons, pretend to have killed his ex, THEY nearly have sex al fresco. Ella's management of her epilepsy and Isisdore's total nightmare of any social situation provide them both with the important Gothic motivation to never reveal anything. This banged, the interlude where they recognize the self in the other and nearly have sex in the park was perhaps the highlight, but Lowell has a keen eye for shame and really makes hay of the panopticon of pain and parties.

Undead and Unwed - Mary Janice Davidson SHE is a vampire, HE is a vampire, THEY live in Burnsville. This aged not as well as I might have hoped.

Red Dragon - Thomas Harris My cousin's husband recommended this to me. The best scenes are all of Will Graham, alone with the dead, and passed through with insight that he does not wish to have and cannot reject. The diligence, of how to be a person in the world when the world is vast and uncaring, is as closely-observed as Zola looking up and down the stairs of a Parisian tenement. I did not care for the shift in perspective.

Never Trust a Dead Man - Vivian Vande Velde I established for the nineteenth time that I don't enjoy YA, so I tried a middle grade novel. Sure can do that!

Asterios Polyp - David Mazzucchelli SHE is Penelope, HE is Odysseus, THEY love one another. Hana observed at her mirror is a really masterful splash page. Always a delight to see an artist's wikipedia headshot and see that they're drawing people on the order of what they see in the mirror.

Trumpet - Jackie Kay SHE is a widow, HE is her dead husband, THEY loved one another. The unusually effective formal choice to break the isolation of grief with third-person observations from the doctor, registrar, and so on, breaking out of the forward chronology of the novel, elevated this.

Golden Kamuy vol 17 - Satoru Noda trans. John Werry HE is a veteran of the Russo-Japanese War, HE is a veteran of the Russo-Japanese War, HE is a veteran of the Russo-Japanese War, HE is a veteran of the Russo-Japanese War, HE is a veteran of the Russo-Japanese War, HE is a veteran of the Russo-Japanese War, HE is a veteran of the Russo-Japanese War, HE died in the Russo-Japanese War.

Golden Kamuy vol 18 - Satoru Noda trans. John Werry SHE looks within herself to find the sustenance of her own truth. Asirpa has taken command of her father's vision in these chapters, and the dialectic is now, consistently, if his plan for the future is one that she will animate.

A Masc for Purim - Roz Alexander SHE is getting back out there and organizing her synagogue's Purim masquerade, SHE broke her heart and shows back up, THEY have sex on a desk.

The Astronaut and the Star - Jen Comfort SHE is driven, unfriendly, and deeply lonely, HE is learning how to be an astronaut from her and keeps fantasizing about her breasts, THEY have sex on a solar panel.

Justice League United vol 1 - Jeff Lemire et al In this one, they're Canadian! I enjoyed an Adam Strange appearance that's not about how he ruins everything for his disastrous love and divided loyalty. LOOKING AT YOU, TOM AND PATRICK.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake - Aimee Bender The unusual premise -- that lemon cake does taste like sadness -- developed into a much stranger theory of the punishments of self-knowledge: perfect self-awareness is a trap. It's only ever a trap. Schone seele is not a compliment.

Ladder of Years - Anne Tyler SHE is extremely unappreciated by her family and lights out from, yes, Baltimore, to build her own life. One day I will read an Anne Tyler novel under circumstances other than "it's available in ebook, and it's 12:15 am," I only have five or six of them left.

The American Way of Death Revisited - Jessica Mitford I thought I would read some nonfiction. I used to volunteer for a group that started in the wake of this book, so like Mount Fuji, either you're looking at it or you're standing on it.

Ever Faithful - Karen Barnett SHE is getting ready for college, earning a little money housekeeping and teaching Civilian Conservation Corps high school classes at Yellowstone, HE is in the CCC and can't read, THEY don't make that much of this, yet. I have read this twist one hundred times and I will read it again.

The Juniper Tree - Barbara Comyns SHE is a fairytale stepmother; HE is a fairytale father, THEY are basically irrelevant as a duo. Is it true that the better class of fairytale retellings obliterate the narrative to tell a more complicated version of a different story?

A Simple Heart - Gustave Flaubert trans. Charlotte Mandrell Blows the doors off, this translation eddied around the original like a stream over a rocky riverbed, and the locus amoenus of the altar with the parrot looking down is superb.

Golden Kamuy vol 19 - Satoru Noda trans. John Werry HE dies. While the series is about coalescing groups of rivals who share a goal, the first two hundred chapters moved the characters into social configurations so that they were broadly in agreement with their comrades. With Kiroranke's death, the various disagreements deepen and darken.

Cold Hand in Mine - Robert Aickman Mostly spooky rather than effective, like a canal-obsessed Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. "The Clock Watcher" was genuinely ugly, and there's some vivid nastiness throughout. Thanks to @mimaveil and @getlouder for the rec, this one dripped with vitriol.

A Dangerous Kind of Lady - Mia Vincy SHE feels thwarted and ignored, HE is responsible for some of that, THEY fix up a fake engagement. Oh are there real feelings involved? Is this gonna be the time that there aren't real feelings involved.

The Body in the Garden - Katherine Schellman SHE solves crime, HE tags along, THEY see a head roll. I wandered around my house objecting that she, a lady of means in Regency England, only has three servants in her house, -- and he has none at all! -- and I got so annoyed by this that I got to thinking about hiring fairs and patterns of modern employment, and then this book ended, more or less without my notice.

The Skin of Dreams - Raymond Queneau trans. Chris Clarke The word-making, in this novel about film-making, is absolutely on target. Really enjoyed the puns.

The Truth about Leo - Katie MacAlister SHE is self-serving, HE is inconsequential, THEY could have but did not have sex in the garden where she finds him without his memory. I did look up the 1807 Bombardment of Copenhagen, which serves as the background to these intensely unsympathetic characters, and thus I learned something about our world.

Loving a Lost Lord - Mary Jo Putney SHE needs a convenient excuse, HE has recently developed amnesia as a result of an industrial accident, THEY learn to love one another. This book set up appealing stakes -- she's a basically honest person who tells a huge lie! he believes he's living a lie by not regularly revealing his inmost self to strangers -- which it then carefully and comprehensively set to smolder until they collapsed.

Golden Kamuy vol 20 - Satoru Noda trans. John Werry HE is very handsome.

Golden Kamuy vol 21 - Satoru Noda trans. John Werry Asirpa's changing motivations, loyalty to bravery to honor and then back to loyalty, reach a novelistic pitch. The drama hinges on her willingness to do the right thing, and the extent to her understanding changes while her circumstance … also do, but in consistent ways, and so the change she wants really has to be within herself, it cannot be motivated by a useful outcome.

Golden Kamuy vol 22 - Satoru Noda trans. John Werry I, shuddering, begin to suspect that Asirpa and Sugimoto's relationship may evolve from "lone wolf and cub."

Golden Kamuy vol 23 - Satoru Noda trans. John Werry So too Botaro, so I am instantly relieved, as any time a concern is directly addressed in a work of hundreds of chapters, it is certain it will not be so easily resolved.

When the Sea Came Alive - Garrett Graff Your pal and mine Garrett has a very good ear for the quoteable and the lyrical. Exceptional coverage of pre-invasion, especially Exercise Tiger. I would have liked to read more about Juno.

The Phoenix Bride - Natasha Siegel SHE is grief-struck and not particularly seeking a way out of her depression, HE is too, THEY find a way out together. While I was personally hoping for more mouseskin beauty-marks and dresses so big a woman has to walk sideways when she goes through a door, I understand that the power of love is broadly more interesting. The telescope which enables the menage to go forward is an inspired bit of place-setting.

Bitter Spirits - Jenn Bennett SHE is actually a real psychic who can for-real talk to the dead, HE is a bootlegger who feels guilty about his dead, THEY fuck in a fancy hotel. That's what I like to see in a romance! Novel location & time period as well. I did enjoy, after Dark Season and the classic Unnatural Vice, that psychic abilities are real and true and this averts exactly zero of the forthcoming incidents.

Tycoon - Joanna Shupe SHE is a fix, HE is having problems, THEY have sex on a train, I am under the impression this bit is still funny.

The Crying Sisters - Mabel Seeley SHE gets stuck with his nonsense, HE has rather a lot of it, THEY have no idea how they have endangered themselves. Not as sparkling as The Listening House, but you have to go on vacation somewhere.

Golden Kamuy vol 24 - Satoru Noda trans. John Werry They meet Jack the Ripper.

Golden Kamuy vol 25 - Satoru Noda trans. John Werry As comics about Jack the Ripper go, I would say that this one addresses the "true" in "true crime" more honestly than the big dog, From Hell. There's no really tasteful coverage of murders so lurid they're effectively tropes for "something cosmically horrible happened here," and to endorse one theory or another about a murderer is only so interesting, and here, at least, it is surrounded by characters standing for other principles.

Golden Kamuy vol 26 - Satoru Noda trans. John Werry One of the parts of comics I enjoy most are schematics. Each volume begins with a recap, of course, and it is in these chapters that the specific ordering of who is standing where when becomes extraordinarily significant. Good maps.

Henry Henry - Allan Bratton HE is rich and troubled, HE is his boyfriend, HE is his cousin, HE is his father. Less reactionary St Aubyn, and tender in a diligent and quiet way, ultimately, as Hal simmers down the reactivity and improves (he could hardly get worse.) The most beautiful exchange in this book is Edward's revelation to Hal that, yes Richard was unkind, Henry is pitiable, and you cannot allow the dead to control you. Otherwise hot and mean. I enjoyed it hugely, vg.

Silence in the Library - Katharine Schellman SHE is a wealthy amateur detective; for a moment I thought HE was going to be a new character, the handsomest veteran of the late wars, instead HE is the same love interest from the previous book, a regular-handsome veteran of the late wars. Creepier about vulnerability than the first book in the series; the solution to the mystery is not well hidden, and like Richard Austin Freeman, the mechanics of how to talk to withholding witnesses and build usable evidence draw you on.

The Silence of the Lambs - Thomas Harris This was published in August 1988 and James Ellroy’s The Big Nowhere came out the next month, so due to the forward chronology of time, neither of these guys read the other guy’s book and thought: this would be great if Poor Doomed Danny Upshaw had a GAL PAL//man that wolverine was boss I wonder if it could retire and do word-finds. If you were not a particularly fast reader you could have spent all fall of '88 reading about the horrors of misogyny.

Fugitive Harbor - Cassie Miles SHE is a historian-architect-lighthouse keeper’s house restorer who is oppressed by small town mistrust and disfavor, HE stands wrongly accused of the death of his business partner, THEY go on a date to the total firetrap lighthouse and get to second base by the flaming light of the setting sun. 3/3 amnesia books, he doesn’t really even HAVE amnesia. In conclusion, a beloved fanfiction trope best left to fanfiction.

Hither Page - Cat Sebastian HE is a spy who is tiring without knowing of the skulking life yet does not have the capacity to explain that this is all he is and all he has ever seen for him, HE is a country doctor who agrees to help solve a murder due to what he believes is a personal weakness, THEY have a surprisingly warm and inventive discussion of their scars when they strip down. There is absolutely no ground for my fan theory that Leo is a secret German yet I cherish it.

The Missing Page - Cat Sebastian HE is still a spy who has less taste for the work than George Smiley ever did, HE is called for a reading of his grandfather’s will, THEY have to solve the question presented. Again zero evidence for, mounting evidence against my fan theory that Leo was born in Germany, sure, what am I some type of pushover.

Death at the Manor - Katharine Schellman SHE is investigating a suspicious death at a haunted house, HE is the new guy, THEY have a very-poorly concealed affair. The Gothic trimmings (hidden staircases, secret bequests) make this more successful than the previous entries in the series.

The Witness for the Dead - Katherine Addison HE is a beleaguered psychic facing severe interpersonal setbacks and suffering from the belief that he deserves the opprobrium he’s received, HE is a composer-librettist-manager whose opera company is just riven through by secrets, THEY provide solace to one another in a time of great trial. The ghosts (real live ghosts) are blinkered and frustrating, so too the clients: the interpretation of “what if Philip Marlowe got so low” is not altogether that dissimilar from anything Raymond Chandler wrote.

Green for Danger - Christianna Brand Like walking a French formal garden where the hedges are built of the introduction to the suspects, a premise embedded with clues, and interesting information about a world that vanished slightly later in the year this was published. I found this cute picture of a dog while I was looking up medical organization in the British Army.

The Kobayashi Maru - Julia Ecklar A choice framing device — Kirk, McCoy, Sulu, Chekov, and Scotty are all about to die in the silence of space, so they talk through their apparent failures in the no-win situation— for extensive backstory. Chekov’s FPS approach to command is an early work of video game thought, and Sulu’s solution to the titular problem has compelling thematic resonance as he grieves his great-grandfather’s death.

The Strangler Vine - MJ Carter Alex Wyndham read the audiobook and I got through two chapters before bagging that and reading it, but the part of this book which I most enjoyed was how he might be reading it to me. Bro kills at audiobooks, I’m sorry he hasn’t been on tv since HBO’s Rome, he kills at audiobooks.

Shutter - Ramona Emerson I’ll never grow weary of the device that while an investigator (in this, a crime scene photographer) can talk to the dead, the dead are not very reliable tellers of their own, or anyone’s, truths. In this, Rita has even less institutional support than Celehar in Witness for the Dead, and perseveres doggedly, even getting shot at one point and faking her death. I thought the reveal of the evil plan was less interesting than it could be so, in a partially-supported conclusion: she heard it from the dead. hey that guy could be dead.

Solomon’s Crown - Natasha Siegel HE is King of France, HE is Duke of Aquitaine, THEY never do have sex al fresco or in front of all of the mirrors at Poitiers, nevertheless I enjoyed this prequel to some of the events of The Lion in Winter. Anthony Hopkins Week, week three. Anthony Hopkins Month.

Death of Jezebel - Christianna Brand Almost pure form, except for the part I found most interesting. The romantic entanglements and double-crosses are very much enlivened by the participation of refugees from what is now Malaysia: many of the Crime Classics feature detective who served in France, very few are about the closed world of civilians who lived in the suddenly-former colonies. What if The Honorable Schoolboy had solved the crime instead of being about everything else in the world.

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen - KJ Charles HE is suddenly elevated to baronet and in figuring out what he wants to do with all his days lights upon continuing his father’s studies in nature, HE is the head of the smugglers around these parts and has to determine what he wants for himself, THEY have sex on a rotten log. Real return to form for Kimberly Jennifer, I enjoyed this much more having read the sequel and seen where many of the suggestions here develop into full-blown notions in the next book.

Golden Kamuy vol 27 - Satoru Noda trans. John Werry Oh THATS the Golden Kamuy??

Golden Kamuy vol 28 - Satoru Noda trans. John Werry Glad that Sugimoto was always like this. You wonder, in a story about colonialism, if the main character who had to get there on a boat, is recapitulating a desire for an undiminished world where he’s a moral arbiter. No he’s always been like this.

Golden Kamuy vol 29 - Satoru Noda trans. John Werry Star forts forever

Golden Kamuy vol 30 - Satoru Noda trans. John Werry No wait. COMBINED ARMS FOREVER.

Golden Kamuy vol 31 - Satoru Noda trans. John Werry Consistently the best part of this series have been the splash pages of scenery. I have loved marveling upon them. A great recommendation by @tautline-hitch thank you!

All the White Spaces - Ally Wilkes What if RF Scott had command of the Elephant Island boats, and also grief was a monster that wanted to kill kill kill. Do you think Roland Huntford has watched The Terror.