#this was soooooo incredibly fun to make

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

art history album moodboard – folklore by taylor swift

The Forget-Me-Not – Gabriel Schachinger // Meadow – Anna Billing // Children Playing in the Garden – Auguste Viande // The Seamstress – Joseph DeCamp // Girl in a Field – Eliseu Visconti // Children Playing – Eduard Ameseder // Spring: Three Girls and a Sheep in a Flowery Meadow – Francesco Gioli // Wooded Landscape with Little Birches – Lajos Csordák // The Pic-Nic – Thomas Cole // A Girl Wearing a Garland of Wild Roses – George Lawrence Bulleid // Children Playing in the Garden – Auguste Viande // Meadow – Anna Billing // Memories – Erik Werenskiold // Kindred Spirits – Lionel Percy Smythe // Conversation on a Path Close to the Lake – Firmin Salabert

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Hi! Your Hollow Knight AU has really cheered me up so I wanted to do a little drawing for it! This got me to get my art tablet out after months of not feeling like it so thank you for the inspiration! I hope the colors look good on any monitor that's not mine sdfsdf

Bugs In the Jingshi wyd?

I am so genuinely awestruck at how well you translated this AU to the hollow knight style! Also obsessed with the height difference.

[skitskatdacat63]

those 2011 pics remind me of hard the McLaren race suits used to fuck, I loved the vodafone era suits so much 🥹

YES AGREED!!! I love the Vodafone McLaren livery, literally peak!!!!!

Thank you for sending this ask bcs now I get to talk about 2011 in particular. There were these special Saturday race suits and they're all so pretty!!! Hugo Boss did a design competition to celebrate their partnership with McLaren and different artists made different designs for the Quali days. They're so beautiful 🥹🥹 Why can't they do anything fun like that now???? I digress, I went through all the Qualis and compiled pics of all of them!!

[landfilloftrash]

If I told you there was a series of games created before I was born, developed by Capcom, and that I was obsessed with a pairing of middle aged men within; The pairing being comprised of a someone around a decade or so older than the younger, lighter colored hair, stern and serious with a very deadpan sense of humor, along with “this is my job. I shall do it perfectly” demeanor about his work— very cat-coded in general, if you can think it, it will most probably apply— and the younger being very a determined brunette with firm morals who goes toe to toe with the older man and is frequently one of the only ones who can do so with their hell-bent insistence to do good and defend those who cannot, no matter the cost, who is quite dog-coded in reverse. They spend a few years in each other’s company, learning about each other (even if it’s at a distance and professionally) and then. Something happens. The older one of the pair betrays the brunette — his strings being pulled by a higher power, but it does not excuse him— and in the process reveals a cowardly and vengeful side after the event, causing the entirety of the franchise we play to happen. And then only a bit later in the storyline, one murdered the other, in cold but passioned blood, because destiny deemed it this way and they only heed the call of it. And whether or not it was intentional, leaving said murdered man’s child an orphan completely alone in the world as a side effect. For years after the event, they are satisfied with what happened, if burdened by guilt. But they were right to do so, weren’t they? They proceed to be metaphorically haunted by the man they killed for the rest of their life, however. And that will come to a head for them.

Now… am I talking about Chrisker (Chris Redfield/Albert Wesker), or Shingou (Mitsurugi Shin/Karuma Gou) ?

[sunnibits]

every day on this website I see bad izzy hands takes,, starting to think y’all had the right idea just following me and other sexy people instead of ever checking the actual character tag. I need to make a bunker for only me and my like three mutuals who have good izzy opinions™️ and just never have to witness any izzy posts by other people ever again unless it’s some cool fanart dropped through a slot in the bulletproof door.

[evanescentsun]

alchemy of souls, my beloved. I miss them so much already 🥺

[speckledfiction]

Rotating laios/kabru and kabru/mithrun in my head and wondering if I can get to laios/kabru mithrun...

I like kabru/mithrun mainly because the idea of mithrun realising that he desires something is soooooo fun. Like him just having this little lightbulb moment of 'oh no I want this' and then pursuing it. Particularly if it's a queer relationship, and the reason he's able to get there is that it was a desire so deeply repressed when he was part of actual elf society that he never acknowledged it and so the demon never found it. And then you know once he did realise it was there, he'd pursue it with that super intense single minded focus... Extremely good imo. And kabru would be soooooo twitchy and paranoid about it, wondering what mithrun's angle was and what the consequences would be, so focused on everyone else's feelings that he hardly notices his own.

But then on the other hand laios and kabru... They're narrative foils. They complete each other. Kabru has to learn to eat and understand monsters, and laios has to care about people. They spend the rest of their lives together, king and counsellor. They can each offer the other genuine love and care in a way that both are desperate for and have been denied. Kabru doesn't mind explaining to laios the things he doesn't understand, and conversely laios can help kabru to shed unnecessary social constructs and be more himself. You know that when they start smooching kabru would be like "we have to be careful, this could damage your reputation as king if it gets out" and laios would be like "why? Homosexual behaviour is found in the majority of animal and monster species..." (and then talks for like half an hour before kabru can get him to go back to kissing).

And there's a version of this in my head that makes me think of that incredible sasuke and gaara comic, where laios and mithrun are kabru's boyfriends who are not really friends... Except that they do actually have quite a lot in common and I think if they ever sat down and talked they would get on really well. So over time they probably do all grow closer and maybe eventually mithrun is like damn these new desires keep piling up and we get some good three way smooches.

Do you see my vision???

[gooey-the-goodra-649]

Meet Alice!

This is Alice! (Short for Adelaide). This Is her Carnival design! (Carnival au belongs to @sm-baby !). She's a purple spool of thread, and she's a ditzy type character!

I based her outfit offa' 50's things in general (TO kinda keep with the barber shop quartet thingy with players). I imagine she was close friends with Caine and Abel before they got trapped in the the carnival . She would always get them up to trouble, being a bit of a rascal! Always pushing them out of their comfort zone and all. I live to imagine she'll casually "Flirt" with them (nothing like, explicit or vulgar. Kinda like "oh you got all dolled up for ME! What a show!") But she wouldn't make any actual romantic advances. She just knows they're a buncha bible slinging goody-two-shoes and likes to tease and fluster them a lot.

Since I realized Caine and Abel were kinda like mugman and cuphead I decided to make her A LOT like Miss chalice. She's got a bit of a "Ditzy" voice goin on, she's a lot more witty and brazen, and she's always getting the two brothers in trouble. But she cares about them quite a lot!

She primarily wears puprle, and she carries around a large sewing needle which she uses as a weapon. (Courtesy of Caine, for self defense of course!). She's not a coder by any means, so she has no "power" like the boys. But they coded in some extra stuff for her (Like a respawn screen, a few extra buff here and there.) But she's crafty and quick on her feet, always being able to weasel her way out of a tough spot! I'd like to say she's on Miss Pauling's (from TF2) level of dexterity, so she can hold her own pretty decently.

Just some extra stuff about her: Relationships: Caine: Oh VERY close! She likes how goofy he is, always bringing a smile to her face! Though she also loves teasing him. Abel: Also incredibly close! She's always trying to drag him along with her to who knows where, but he always has to be a "goody-two-shoes" and reject her. Whatever. Pomni: They get along just fine! At first Pomni didn't like her very much, a she she thought she had a thing for Caine. But no! Pomni usually turns to her whenever she needs to know something about Caine. Ragatha: Not much to say. She thinks ragatha is too uptight and needs to learn to live a little. Ragatha thinks she's a wild street dweller. They don't care for each other much Zooble: Fine. Able gets along with her, so she makes an effort to get to know her purely for Ables sake. They don't really chat 1 on 1, only when they're both around able. Gangle: She can respect her enjoyment of plays, but they have some creative differences. Alice prefers stand up comedy and improv, so following a script ain't really her thing... Jax: They don't interact very much. She actually sort of likes his wildness, but only to an extent. She avoids him at all costs though. (She's not willing to be crushed AGAIN). She sets up counter pranks and traps to keep him away, and so far its worked. Kinger: She knows the least about him, having never even been in the same room as him. Though from what Pomni's told her, he's a ruthless tyrant. She dislikes him off the bat, having a general disdain for authority. Some backstory tid bits: She met Caine and Abal as they all grew up in the same church community. Where as Caine and Able became "good stand up Christians" she got more and more wild as the years went on. Adam and Eve always though she was a bit of a "bad influence" on the boys but they hung out nonetheless. She was always getting into trouble and hanging around some of the street kids (with Able and Caine stuck to her hips). She was always a bit scrappy and crafty, having more street smarts than books marts. She's mellowed out a bit but she's still fun as ever!

Oh I'm TOTALLY gonna do more w/ her! Than you SOOOOOO MUCH @sm-baby for making such an AMAZING AU! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK GIRL! :DDDD

[lilliths-httyd-blog]

Why not watch Race to the Edge? We have:

The neurodivergent guy who's just so tired. Threw himself off a cliff once or twice. Likes dragons soooooo much and everyone just rolls with it. His entire life revolves around his hyperfixation (dragons) and it kind of bleeds into everyone elses life.

The neurodivergent guy's best friend cat. Does not like it when neurodivergent guy puts himself in dangerous situations and frequently sasses him for it. Is often seen batting around balls of paper for fun. Has killed an unfathomable amount of people and will kill again.

The token girlfriend who wasn't actually a token girlfriend in the show and had an actual personality and hobbies and insecurities and stuff. Has anger issues and will take it out on the twink at the slightest provocation. Probably more worthy of being chief than the chiefs own heir at this point in time. Secretly feminine. The superior version of this character and everyone loves her.

The twink. Used to be one of the jocks in high school and turned out to be the most flamboyant and feminine of the squad. Wrote a book once. Probably to impress the nerd like he's so gay for the nerd. Loves baby dragons like sooooo much he will cuddle them all day. A little sassypants who pouts and complains a lot. Is not good at following instructions. Will sacrifice life and limb for his friends and almost died for them several times.

The twink's self insert oc. He larps as a Coachella kid. Once fooled the smartest man in the world into thinking he was actually a Coachella kid. Deep in his heart he is just a misunderstood rich white boy.

The nerd. Reads books to the point where the universe decided every almost single one of his spotlight episodes would be a parody of a book. He made dragon trading cards once because he's a fucking nerd. Is probably a licensed doctor and if he's not then nobody's noticed yet. Is a total helicopter parent over his fucking dragon who spews lava and has a tail-bludgeon so who knows whats going on in his head.

The twink made a self insert OC for his boyfriend the nerd and then there were some hypnotism hijinks. I want to see God Complex and Coachella Kid interact so bad.

The resident drag queen. A scholar, philosopher and fashionista who would do a dramatic reading of Dante's Divine Comedy for fun. Has a pet chicken who he has a... questionable relationship with. Has a mace who he also has a... questionable relationship with. Doesn't know how to do math.

The resident pyromaniac. Has literally no fear and will actively dare people to kill her. Has not once been killed so it seems to be working. Will be captured and spend her entire time in captivity mercilessly bullying her captors. Could probably make Ryker Grimborn cry. Made Snotlout cry. Way smarter than she looks and is considered the smarter twin which is insane considering Tuffnut is a known genius.

The incredibly angsty Mary Sue. You either love her or hate her and I love her. Fits every single Mary Sue trope in existence to a T to the point where I feel like it was on purpose. Don't get me wrong though, she's a genuinely compelling character. Emo. I think that she should date Astrid.

[randomness-is-my-order]

there was a distinct point in the throne scene where i could hear the emotion really taking over percy’s voice and my jaw actually dropped. had to pause and take a lap. grab tissues. mentally plan their emmy campaign. shoutout walker scobell for having a Moment in each episode (sometimes multiple) and showing up every single time, doing each one better than the last

this ep just made me so excited for all of the trio’s actors, i feel like i’m watching the start of some very impressive careers and it’s an honor

i agree with absolutely everything you said!! truly, walker’s been impressing me since i first saw him on screen (the adam project; just a few months before he was announced for pjo). initially, i thought his comedic timing and physicality set him a cut above the rest but really, in pjo, i’ve been constantly stumped by his emotional intensity. he brings a gentleness, authenticity and emotional maturity to his portrayal of percy and the throne scene was so well done!! you can tell the thoughts behind his eyes, you can see BUILD-UP before he says something or he collapses from the poison from his face alone. again, he’s serving fucking microexpressions already which blows my mind!! his little brave smiles and wavering tones as he reassured annabeth (and himself) while he was being swallowed by gold BROKE me.

also like leah and aryan match his energy 100%!! i think i may be in the minority that wasn’t entirely convinced by their acting chops in the first two episodes (don’t come at me pls!!) but after episode five i would be a FOOL to doubt their capabilities!! leah’s portrayal of annabeth is both full of wisdom yet with the right amount of 12 yr old girl energy. it’s a balancing act. she makes annabeth both incredibly capable yet delivers annabeth’s high intensity emotional moments with expressiveness befitting a 12 yr old. but that’s the thing: she doesn’t overdo it. annabeth is just on the EDGE of losing it, she doesn’t straight up lose it because she does indeed have experience with loss before. she’s gonna do so well. and aryan has added soooooo much more to grover’s book counterpart. not only does he manage to make grover be nervous and be hesitant and grappling with some confidence issues but he also makes grover be fun and whacky and sharp and clever and SUBTLE. his scene with ares was phenomenal coz atleast for me you could see the process of his manipulation through his expressions alone. you can see the little smugness in his eyes as he manages the god of war. just so well done!! also some of aryan’s line deliveries are so goddamn hilarious. 😭

ok yeah about time i rambled about our celestial trio and their very capable actors! i hope they have thriving careers but that they stay happy and healthy throughout!

[seventh-district]

OCD will literally remove your brain's ability to register when a task is Complete and then create 10,000 incredibly ridiculous and extremely specific rules for you to follow in every single aspect of your life (to keep you safe, of course, it tells you.) and then tells you that if you don’t do them Correctly and Completely every single time it tells you to (it tells you countless times per day) then the Entire Fucking World Will End and then it’ll do this fucked up thing where it makes you believe that nonsense.

and then people that don’t have it will make silly little jokes about being soooooo OCD and make t-shirts with fun little acronyms on them like Obsessive Coffee Disorder and tell you how much they like it when things are organized and clean, too!!

and then you’re supposed to just. laugh. like you haven’t been robbed of your entire being and potential and been taken over by a mind and life altering disability

[jesuisgourde]

Okay, All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade is out in the states, so time for a listen and a rambling track by track reaction. I'm listening to the whole album through and writing my thoughts, and then listening to it once more and adding any other observations.

I've already heard Run Run Run, and like I said before, it feels very classic Carl track. It's very catchy. I think I have the same complaint as everyone else, which is that it feels over-produced. No one should autotune the Libs, the whole point is that they're a bit wonky. Also I don't like that they've fucked with the equalizer and the vocals sound weirdly muffled? Also, upon this listen-through, this song reminds me a little of Frank Turner, which is a weird musical callback to like 2012. My favorite thing in any song is when the instrumentals cut out and it's just drums and vocals, so I love that as the ending of the song. This whole album has so many varied cultural references which I find very entertaining. Does Peter yell "Get your pants off" or "Get your hands off"?

Already I like the lyric to Mustangs A LOT. Feeling a Lou Reed influence there. Love Peter's high-pitched backing vocals and also the Pigman reference. I really love Libs songs where it's just a little scene set to music. And this is exactly that, in such a good way. Again, not a fan of the mixing. What is it with producers these days and mixing so shittily that the vocals get lost in the background instruments, and everything gets muddied? I had the exact same complaint with the last Manics album. Anyway, love the little jokey bits at the end. The second verse about the nun is such fantastic imagery. (Lastly, I thought it was Mustang, singular? But it's plural on Spotify?)

I Have A Friend has an AMAZING chorus I love it. Also that solo guitar bit from Carl right after, I literally could see him hopping up and down in my head. Love Peter's rolled R's. Okay, upon listening the second time round I really really really like this song. The lyrics are incredible. I think they're my favorite on the album. Social commentary but also absolutely beautiful and amazing imagery.

Merry Old England has a bit of a Hamburg Demonstrations vibe to it, which I love. The further I get into this song, the more I love it. It's such a creative and sarcastic critique of Tory policies and all that. Again, I've criticisms about the mixing. Also the pretty violins makes me miss Miki Beavis's wonky violin in Madres, which I think suits Peter/The Libs way better. Still, they add a nice touch.

Ohhh I love Man With The Melody, the clear pretty vocals. I like that each of the Libs have their own verse, that's so cool! Fuck the autotuning though. I really like this song. Melodically it sounds like a sequel to Milkman's Horse, and thematically a sequel to Fame And Fortune. It sounds like a "reply" or a look back at Anthems. Very pretty, with the lovely piano and minimalist guitar.

Hahahha Oh Shit! feels soooooo early 2000s American pop, in a fun way. It reminds me of something but I can't quite put my finger on it. Something that was on the radio a lot in like 2003 or 2004 maybe? This is clearly a Fun Song, like a slosh your drinks around while dancing all goofy type song. Peter's "And that was the news today" at the end is so silly. I think this track is my least favorite but it is fun.

I already know I love Night Of The Hunter. Firstly because anything that uses the Swan Lake motif has my heart instantly. But also because I love the lyrics, I love when Peter writes songs about noir-type vignettes. Finally, some good shared vocals that aren't drowned out by instruments. Gosh, I love the lyrics of this song, I love the dual meaning in that it is technically about an actual noir film but could easily be talking about Peter's past as well. I really like that the lyrics get priority on this one and the instrumentals are pushed back in the mix with the Swan Lake motif coming forward sometimes. It feels like it needs that minimalism.

The guitar on Baron's Claw is already great from the start. I hear Peter's taking a leaf out of Daniel Darc's book with the close-in breathy vocals, which I'm so into because since I learned about Daniel Darc from Peter and Frederic Lo I've actually fallen in love with his music too. Melody-wise it's very close to The Glassblower from the Fantasy Life album, which is my favorite song off that album, so I'm not surprised I like this song too. I like the story in the song and I like the jazzy brass and piano and Peter's vocals. It feels like it's being sung in a smoky jazz bar. This one is so good.

Shiver is sooo catchy. I find myself humming it sometimes at work even though I haven't yet absorbed all the lyrics in my memory. This is also the real "Libertines mythology" song, so of course it's good. The fact that the lyrical subject matter is made up only of criticizing the monarchy and talking about specific Libertines lore is just so them. It's so short, though! I wish it were longer!

The guitar on Be Young is so chaotic lol. It reminds me of Horrorshow a bit. Okay, actually this whole song is chaotic. Melodically, lyrically, it sounds like they were crashing around in the studio while recording, which is very fun. The random calypso bridge bit is so....random! I like it, just a surprise in terms of musical style change. Suddenly they're the Clash! A fun way to pay homage to influences, I think. Also Carl yelling "Woo!" and then collapsing into a cough at the end is really really funny.

I can definitely hear the early-ness of Songs They Never Play On The Radio. You can tell the scaffolding is there from that early set of Libertines-to-Shambles transition songs like East Of Eden/Love Reign Over Me/Merry Go Round etc. I really really like the guitar on this one. And the vocals are so nice. Again I don't like the mix, where Peter's voice is a bit overtaken by the muddiness of the backup singers and instrumentals. But I do like this song a lot. The lyrics are pure Libertines mythology. Ahahah the dogs howling! The bit of acoustic and messing about and chat, I really like that. I think it's a really lovely ending to the album, just a glimpse of them obviously being friends and having fun. It's like a beautiful reply to the question "What became of the likely lads?"

As I've only listened through the album in full twice at this point, I'm sure my thoughts will change over time. But at the moment I think my favorite is torn between Night Of The Hunter and Baron's Claw. I Have A Friend and Songs They Never Play also are just so lyrically good. Least favorite is definitely Oh Shit. I'm excited to see which songs grow on me and in what ways.

[communicationthroughlyrics]

So Fucked Up From the Way That You Touch - Pt. 2

So, y'all remember that interview? Yeah... that interview? Well, bring on the slow burn smut... soooooo, uhhh yeah. Here you go. Part deux :D

WARNINGS: 18+ only, men and minors DNI. Fingering, oral sex, exhibitionism and edging if you squint, overstimulation. The fun stuff XD

"How You Scream When They're Not Around"

“Mmm? How so?” You slightly pull away, shifting your gaze back to the blonde in front of you, causing her to slightly whine at the lack of contact and warmth. 

“Mmm, well, we got to talking about you one day for my hair appointment. She has that photo of you both on her mirror, and I asked her who you were.”

“Go on…” you cock your eyebrow, unsure of how this story would go. 

“She went into the story behind the photo, why it was taken, you know? I started to laugh, and accidentally moved my head too far. Kennedy cut too much hair off, so she panicked. And now I have this hair cut.” She laughed, pointing at herself, moreso the short hair on her head. The look on her face regarding the haircut was priceless, and you started to laugh incredibly hard at the image of Kennedy panicking in your mind. “What? Your best friend fucked up my hair! She had to fix it!” She smacked your chest, albeit teasingly. “Ass!”

“I can literally picture her loosing her mind over fucking up a haircut. The panic, ohhhh…I wish I could have seen it.” You continue to laugh, the blonde not finding any amusement in her hair being messed up. “But seriously, you look great.” You stare into the green pools in front of you. “I would have never guessed that this…” your eyes followed your hand as you barely frisked the hair on top of her head, she visibly shivered. “Was by mistake.” You looked back at her, noticing the darkening of her irises. 

“You’re still an ass.” She grumbled, stepping back from you, and wrapping her arms around her body. 

“An ass, huh?” She nodded vigorously, you shot her a knowing smirk. “I can make it up to you, if you’d like.” You step closer to her, closing the gap again, her breath hitching ever so slightly. Grabbing her waist, you pulled her into you, your body heat once again warming her body. Her arms were trapped in between your bodies. “Tell me to stop if you don’t.” You gave yourself goosebumps speaking against her lips, the feeling of them on yours causing your body to react. 

“Not a chance, Y/N. You owe me.” She smirked, smiling against your lips. Closing the gap, you pressed your lips against hers, slowly melding them into one. The kiss began to escalate, you nipped at her bottom lip, grabbing even tighter onto her hips, and pulling her impossibly close, so there was no space between you. Her arms wrapped around the back of your neck, allowing her some leverage to pull up on your taller frame. Your tongue entered her mouth, and you could taste her drink, quickly fighting and winning dominance of the kiss. She moaned into the kiss, pulling at the hair on the nape of your neck. You pulled away after what seemed like an eternity, when your body was finally screaming for air, both of you panting. You rested your forehead on her shoulder, as she continued to play with the back of your neck. You tilted your head, so you could watch her reaction. She stood simply, eyes closed, but a smile present on her features. 

“You’re staring again.” She turned to look at you, her eyes finally opening as you lifted your head off of her shoulder. 

“Mmmm, can’t help it.” You lift your head off her shoulder, mirroring her smile. “Should we go back to the party?” Her face shifts adorably into a pout, a tiny whimper being made.

“Do we have to?”

“Not necessarily…” you trail off, cocking your eyebrow, a smirk forming. “Follow me.” You stick your hand out, so she can grab onto it, and you begin walking up the bluff, both of you giggling as you try and run up the hill in the sand. Once you reached the boardwalk on top of the dune, you guided her back towards the street, silently walking hand in hand towards your truck. There’s a palpable tension as you get closer to the large vehicle. You unlocked the door, and she turned to face you.

“Your truck? Really?” She laughed, pointing behind you. 

“Well, considering the alternatives of the beach, which without towels is incredibly uncomfortable, because the sand is natures glitter and gets every-fucking-where,” you point in one direction, before shifting your weight and finger in the opposite direction, “or borrowing a room in Mar’s place, but then everyone would be up our ass, soooo no thank you.” She laughed at your analysis, shaking her head. “What?” You smile, shrugging your shoulders. 

“You’re ridiculous, Y/N.” She steps closer to you, closing the gap, with your lips almost on hers. “But,” she pecks at your lips, pulling away from you. “You’re sexy. And this? This is sexy, too.” She points at the backseat of the truck. You groan at her admission, leaning down and crushing your lips to hers. This was a different kiss than the last. All of your passion, your want and desire went into it. She gasped when you picked her up by her thighs, sliding her into the back seat.  You climb up the running board and pull yourself up towards her, placing your hand on her lower back as you lean her back in the seat. You reach behind and close the door, pushing the lock button and throwing the keys up front, so no buttons would be pushed. Your focus turns back to the starlet in your back seat. Hovering over her, you take in her features. Her eyes were bright with anticipation, lower lip caught in between her teeth. The dull light from the streetlight outside and the tint of your truck allowed just enough in that you could see her details, but not so much that everyone could see in. 

“You gonna do something or just stare, Y/N?” Her rasp brought you out of the trance you were trapped within. In your mind, it was almost like a challenge. Without thought, you surged forward, capturing her lips once more into a bruising kiss. Her moans spurred you on, the both of you combining in a wet, sloppy kiss. You began to trail your mouth down her jaw, allowing you and her the chance to breathe. Her hands wandered up and down your chest and abdomen, fingernails raking on the skin, causing goosebumps to erupt in their wake. You kissed up to the shell of her pierced ear, your tongue grazing over the metal rings. Your hot breath fans over her ear, causing her back to arch into your chest.  

“Tell me you want this, Scar.” She pulls your head back by the hair on the back of your neck, crashing your lips and hers together once more. This time, you let her control the kiss, and she kissed you until she pulled your head away from her again by your hair. She was gasping, panting for air, as you freed yourself from her hold, leaning back to remove your hat and pull your shirt off over your frame by the back of the collar. As her breathing began to even out, she looked back at you just as the shirt was pulled over your head. 

“Yes. I want this. Fuck, Y/N.” She gasped as she ran her fingers over your body, you smirked and flexed your abdomen so her fingers fell into each edge of your muscles. “God, I want this…”she trailed off as her hands wandered all over your frame. 

You quirked your eyebrow, taking the opportunity that she had tee’d up for you. “Actually, my name is Y/N, but God works.” You chuckled, leaning down and kissing down the side of her neck, feeling the vibration of her letting out a low laugh. 

“Fuck, Y/N, really?” She laughed harder. 

“That was the intention, yes.” You continued, lifting the edge of her shirt and kissing up her chest, before reaching around and grasping the clasp to her bra. Your gaze met hers, and she arched her back into you, giving the signal to undo the offending article. She pawed at your chest, snapping the straps to your bra, emphasizing that she wanted yours off too. “Words, darling. What do you want?” You mutter between your ministrations, peppering her upper body with open mouthed kisses. 

“This. Off. All of this. Off.” She motioned towards your clothes, grabbing hold of your belt buckle, and tugging on it hard, driving your hips towards hers. 

“Good girl. Let’s get you stripped first, love.” You mutter against her stomach, deftly undoing her belt and the button of her shorts, sliding them down, and groaning at the vision of the lace panties and the wet spot forming. You smirked at her, as she wiggled her frame beneath you.

“Come on,Y/N, I need you, hun…” she trailed off into a muted moan as your head ducked down, grabbing hold of one of her nipples in your mouth, slipping your tongue over the bud and swirling and nipping at it until you felt it had enough attention. Her hands slid up and down your back, as finally made their way back up your frame, up your neck before scratching your scalp and grabbing onto your hair, guiding your mouth over to the other side. “Damn, Y/N, you’re fucking amazing at that…”she trailed off as you continued to suck and nibble on her nipple, before releasing it with a pop. 

You bit and licked to the valley between her breasts, marking your path back up the center of her throat, leaving dark bruises up her neck and onto her jawline. You sat back, giving just enough distance to put your body at arms length from the stars grasp. You reached back, removing your bra at a tantalizing, teasing pace. You threw the article up front, and began working on your jeans. You slid the denim down your legs, revealing more of your inked frame as they slid down. Scarlett had her lip trapped between her teeth as you slowly displayed your muscular frame to the blonde. 

Once the majority of the offending clothes had been removed, she was left in her lace panties, and you were left in your boxer briefs. She pulled you back to her by the back of your neck, clashing your mouths together in a bruising, sloppy, heated kiss. She was desperately trying to control the kiss, but your overwhelming dominance caused her to forgo the fight, and succumb to your ministrations. You both pulled away, gasping for air, as you trailed yourself back down her frame, teasing your tongue down her sides, tracing the tattoos adorning her body, playing with her nipples in your hand. Her hands slid from your hair, scratching down your neck and to your shoulders, digging at your shoulder blades. The feeling caused you to nip at her side, leaving a dark bite mark just below her ribcage as you trailed over towards her toned stomach. She slid herself further into the vehicle, and at this point you were glad that you kept the seat folded down in the back of your truck, because it left a flat, unobstructed platform to lay on. 

Her breathing became more erratic, and her pull on the hair on your head became tighter and tighter. 

“Quit. Teasing.” She breathily gritted through her teeth. Your response was nipping just below her belly button, causing the woman to let out a moan, as you ran your tongue under her pantyline. You smirked against the taught skin of her lower abdomen, a slight chuckle vibrating against her stomach.

“Quit. Rushing. Me.” You smirk back at her, watching as she peers down at you from above. You maintain eye contact as you run your tongue back up her body, swirling it around her belly button, under her breasts, through the valley of her breasts, as you gently push her head backwards, running it up the column of her neck. You trace her jawline, kissing back to her parted mouth. You leaned in for another searing kiss, your hand leaving a trail of goosebumps as it made its way down her frame, tracing the outline of her panties, causing the woman beneath you to gasp, and you to smirk. “Are you going to be a good girl?” She let out a tortured moan, and you took the opportunity to slide your pointer and middle fingers into her mouth. “Good. Now, suck.” You commanded, and her her eyes locked onto yours. You used your other hand to run over her clothed sex. Her hips bucked into your touch, her moan vibrating your fingers.

“Such a pretty girl,” you mutter, looking over her writhing form. She moaned again, releasing some of the suction she had on your fingers as her mouth opened. 

“Fuck…” she drew out, turning into a moan as you removed your fingers from her mouth, a string of saliva trailing behind as you swirled the soaked digits around her nipple. “…pleeeeease, Y/N!” You ignored her pleas, going on with your tortuous ministrations. 

“Patience, doll.” You ran your finger along the inside of her thighs, her legs shaking in frustration. You hooked your fingers into the waist band of the last piece of offending clothing, scraping your fingernails down the sides of her hips and thighs as you slowly pulled the lace off. You discard the article to the front seat, and run your finger up her soaked slit, pressing your thumb harshly into her clit, causing her to arch towards you and scream. “Girls who rush me don’t get rewarded.” You lowered your gaze to hers, narrowing your eyes, emphasizing the point. 

You lowered your frame, pressing your lips to the inside of her thighs. The heady scent of her arousal made its way to your nostrils, driving you near insanity. She tried to squeeze her thighs together, but you wrapped your arms around them and kept them pulled apart, maintaining your torturous pace nibbling and licking the inside of her thighs, approaching where she was currently dripping onto the carpeted surface below. You watched from her waistline as one of her hands carded through her hair, the other reaching down to yours, scratching through yours. 

You ran your tongue up the sides of her folds, causing a long string of moans to come from the woman beneath you. You groaned at the taste of her arousal across your tastebuds. You flattened your tongue, running a heavy stripe up her slit, circling her sensitive bud, before plunging your tongue into her. You allowed your hands to roam, stroking the soft skin of her thighs, relishing in how they trembled under your touch. While your tongue worked through her folds- you teased her entrance briefly, before thrusting your tongue into her and groaning at the feeling of her walls clenching around your muscle, to which you wasted no time in surging your tongue inside her, thrusting it in and out. 

“Oh…god… Y/N!” She moaned as you slid your fingers into her drenched pussy, moving your tongue to her swollen clit.  Your fingers were buried knuckle deep, pulsing in and out of her at an excruciatingly slow pace. “Y/N, please!” She moaned, releasing one hand from your hair, and grabbing your wrist. You looked up at her blown out eyes, taking in her flushed features. You moaned at the sight, a sheen adorning her skin as her chest was rising and falling quickly. “For the love of god, just FUCK ME already!” She growled in your direction, and you smirked in response. 

“Oh, you silly girl. You want to be fucked?” You growl back, the octave of your voice causing goosebumps to erupt all over her body. You lean up to the shell of her ear, licking a stripe up her ear, before whispering against her pulse point. “Oh, honey… you’re about to realize just how fucked you are.” You lift away from her, watching as she mewled and writhed beneath you. Without warning, you slid three fingers inside her, watching as she arched into your body. You used your body to push her back down, before curling your fingers inside of her, tapping her spongy spot and then withdrawing your fingers almost completely. She ground her hips, trying to push herself back onto you. You began a merciless pace, not allowing her to adjust, but judging by her reaction, and seeing how her wetness was pooling in your cupped hand, it didn’t matter. The sloshing sound of your relentless thrusting was driving you insane- but your drive to show her what happens when she rushes you was slightly greater. 

You dipped your head, taking hold of one of her nipples, grazing your teeth along it, and firming the grasp you had on it, pulling up slightly, causing the blonde to gasp beneath you, and her head to fly to your back, scratching heavily up from your hips to your shoulder blades. All the while, your pace never ceased- and you could feel the unsteady breathing, and the walls of the woman beneath you fluttering erratically. 

“You close, angel?” You asked, hovering over her face after releasing her nipple from your mouth, your arm buried between both your frames as you worked her drenched cunt harder and harder. She shook her head, moaning and trapping her lip between her teeth, signaling she was close to a release. She whined as you pulled out, bringing your now saturated digits up to her mouth, pulling her lip out of the grasp that her jaw had it trapped in, and returning your fingers into her mouth. “Then ask, baby girl. Be a good girl for me, yeah?” You respond, removing your fingers just in time to hear a groan come from Scarlett, as her hips began to work herself onto your thigh, coating your upper leg in her arousal as she sought some release. You let out a low laugh at her attempt to get herself off, before leaning back and slamming her hips down with one hand, and cocking your eyebrow as she released a pained whine at the lack of contact. Your eyes sought permission, and she just shut her eyes and nodded slightly, biting her lip once more. You return the three fingers into her pussy, not giving her any warning, and pick a ruthless pace, while using your other hand to keep her hips down, placing a firm hold just under her belly button,  groaning at being able to feel your fingers curling upwards inside her while your hand rest on her stomach. You stretched your thumb down to her now neglected bundle of nerves, and began to rub it at a furious pace. 

“Remember, angel. Words. Ask for me, yeah?” You breathed out, as she struggled to put together a coherent thought at the dual stimulation. 

“Puh….puhleaseeeeeeee…” she let out, albeit a strangled sentence. “…Y/N… let….let me cummmmmmm…” she moaned out, you could tell she was trying her absolute hardest to string together a sentence. 

“Ohhh, sweetie… is it hard to speak? I could hardly hear you…” you laughed maniacally at her wide eyed reaction, before you leaned down to her ear again. “Cum for me, Scarlett. Don’t hold back.” You rasped into her ear, biting on her pulse point as she clenched around your fingers, her hands grasping your wrist and pushing you deep inside her. She let out a strangled moan, pushing upwards into your body. Once her hands let go of your wrist, you began your rapid pace again, not giving her a chance to come down form her high. She clenched her thighs, but your thigh was in between hers, allowing for just enough room to continue your brutal assault on her dripping cunt. You grabbed her wrists, pinning them up on the door to the truck, not allowing her to stop you. Continuing the tempo you had set, despite your now burning hand and arm, you thrust your fingers in, curling them and pushing upwards slightly, before withdrawing and repeating. It wasn’t long before her walls began to clench around you again, and you let her hands go as you propped yourself up to be able to watch her cum. 

“Go ahead, let go.” You whisper, as her eyes pinned shut and she let out another strangled, suffocated moan. Her head pushed back as her back arched skywards, and you couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the vision in front of you- a sweaty, flushed mess of a woman, her pert nipples bouncing with each heave of her chest as she struggles to catch her breath, the musculature of her neck as she leans her head back, her abdomen flexing as her body releases, was all enchanting as you watched her come down again. But you wanted more- so you pushed. Burying your face between her thighs, you thrust your tongue into her, as she squealed and tried to push your head away from her throbbing sex. 

“Nooooo… Y/N…. I can’t….” You pulled away just enough for the ability to speak.

“You can. And you will. For me.” You returned to your ministrations, licking a stripe up her now stretched hole that was dripping cum. You took your time in cleaning her sufficiently, rubbing her clit with your available thumb. She began to wiggle, and her breathing began to shudder as you continued, and you inserted your pointer finger, lightly tugging at her entrance to give your tongue more room to work. You continued to work your tongue into her, feeling the clench of her walls once more. 

“Ahhh…. Fuckkk…” she moaned again, tumbling an all too familiar edge, a silent scream coming from her throat. You continued to clean her up, before getting up, and wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. You leaned up, kissing your way up her abdomen, into the valley between her breasts. You stopped, looking at the fucked out expression adorning her features. “Holy…hell…” she muttered, before zeroing on your face, pulling you in for a searing kiss. There was no real battle for dominance, she was utterly exhausted, and let you take control of the kiss. She moaned at the taste of herself on your lips, her hands gliding up your chest, and wrapping behind your neck, deepening the kiss. You finally broke away when your lungs were screaming for air. 

“Fuck, Y/N. That was…” she gasped out, her hands continuing to rake up and down your body. You raised your eyebrow, smiling her way. 

“Not bad for an I owe you?” You quipped back. She laughed at the response, her gaze shifting downwards. 

“Now I feel like I owe you, Y/N.”

[alwaysmicado]

♡ a little update ♡

Thank you again to everyone who reached out to me after seeing my post about miscarrying twice in the past few months. I really didn't expect anyone to read it and since I took it down so fast, I thought no one even saw it.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kindness, encouraging words, and compassion. It truly warmed my heart. ♡

It's been a bit over a month since the last miscarriage and I'm doing better now. It sucks that I still have these random moments where I get sad out of nowhere and cry when I think about it for too long, but I've been pretty good at putting it past me, I think.

My husband and I have decided to not try for a few months now, to give my body and both our minds and hearts a bit of rest. It feels kinda wrong and it's so hard to actively decide against trying when all you want to be is pregnant, but I'm rational enough to realize it's best.

We've spent the day yesterday with my sisters, my brother-in-law and my baby niece, and that was so incredibly wonderful. She's almost a year old and soooooo sweet omg. My husband and I were in seventh heaven, getting to hold her, play with her, and make her laugh. Seeing him have so much fun and so much love for our niece is everything to me. He'll be such a fantastic dad to our future child. ♡

That's it for now, and again, thank you all for being awesome, kind humans. I wish you all the love and happiness in the world. ♡

[ultraviolet-cello]

I'm gonna be honest guys, I looked at today's episode and was like Oh No because Episode 9 is my Achilles heel. not that there's nothing to say about it. But that there's so much To say abt it lmao. While 6 & 7 are my favourites, Knives is a character that I see soooooo much like. I need to put him under my microscope.

Anyway, today's analysis/detail watch/@tristampparty is episode 9 - Millions Knives.

Spoilers for Trimax and Tristamp, CW for uh. Knives in general, and enjoy!

It's probably just the angle here, but Knives does look marginally shorter in this shot, and it's extremely funny to me

Okay I did just get jumpscared by being in dub for some reason I was looking for the subtitles and heard English and had The Most dramatic reaction. okay we're normal now.

Knives,,,, Knives Knives Knives,,,, so I, once again, think that the narrative is working against him. It's interesting, then, I guess, that he's the only main character in Tristamp who doesn't get the portrayed-as-younger treatment in Tristamp.

Knives here is experiencing things that Trimax Knives only did way way later; the last run in particular. Trimax Knives witnesses a last run and starts fusing with other Plants midway through Trimax. This scene in Tristamp, however, takes place just 5 years after the Big Fall.

Trimax Knives ends up like he does by spiraling very very quickly after he starts fusing (And he was dead/in a coma for 20 years!); Tristamp Knives, however, has had at least 145 years to build up his power, build up his hatred, go down that spiral. No 20 years of being dead, just alllll that.

In that respect, Tristamp Knives is Trimax Knives taken to the end of that spiral, the extremist endpoint that Trimax Knives never quite achieved because of Vash - he never really had the time to reach the end of the spiral and settle in it, whereas Tristamp Knives has had that going for again, 145 years.

It's a fun inversion of what's going on in Trimax actually - the 20 years between July and the present are what gives most of the main cast their development and personality - They've had the time to develop those coping mechanisms, trauma responses, their characterizations past all the traumatic things that have happened.

Trimax Knives isn't present for those 20 years, he's down and out for the count. So that 20 years of Important development does not apply to him, making him the least Progressed character in Trimax actually.

So to have Tristamp Knives be the inversion of that is really fascinating, because it applies to how extremist he's willing to go, and how,,,, Bad[tm] the actions he takes are.

Some Knives characterization things that I see criminally overlooked are that,,, well, Vash struggles with empathy sometimes, but Knives often feels things far too much, as in a hyper-emotive or overstimulated state (he's autistic ur honour), which is what contributes to his overall spiral - he's so emotionally driven that he doesn't recognize the emotional weight behind his decisions anymore. I don't think he knows quite how much his grief and anger contributes to how he says he hates Rem. He doesn't really explore that but instead just turns it into motivation for himself.

Anyway him feeling things Way too hard is an entire mood and Studio Orange did an incredible job with his expressions.

Like for example, in this sequence he looks like he's about to physically Gag in response to seeing the Plant die

Or this one, where he looks like he's about to cry but shoves his hood over his face hurriedly in case he does. Daily reminder that Knives was the kid who cried a lot

So Vash steps in in the middle of Knives' little breakdown, but he hasn't really Seen that breakdown. To him, Knives is immediately just spouting about how humans are so bad, but from Knives' POV he just watched his sister die while the humans who surround him are unapologetic and uncaring. And that's gotta be devastating for Knives, because Vash really does not understand the context of the situation here. I think that gets to Knives a little bit, and unpauses his breakdown.

The other thing that really cements the Absolutely God Awful Time that Knives is happening is the guards going to grab him. We've already seen Knives be relatively adverse to touch (looking uncomfortable when Rem grabs him), and now he's having a really bad day, he's experiencing Trauma^2, and people just Grab him? Not to be dramatic but I understand the urge to start killing

But he also,,,, doesn't resort to violence first. He literally appeals to everyone's sense of heart, he points out that the Plants are crying out, can't you hear it? And then nobody listens, nobody comes to help him, and at this point there's probably a lot of fear.

A bunch of humans have turned up who are,,, apparently happy to exploit plants, conrad knows he's a plant, and he's being restrained by several people. That's a really scary position to be in, especially if you happen to have seen what happened to, oh, I don't know, Tesla?

Self-defense, in this case, would surely be justified to him.

Also the scene of Knives attempting to get Vash to shoot someone with a gun is a 98-only detail which I love actually - 98 has its moments, even if it's only 3rd in my Top Triguns list! (I love 98 to be clear, I just like Trimax and Tristamp more)

Vash tells Knives that he lost Rem because Rem was protecting Vash, and That's Not A Great Thing To Hear. Knives loved Rem very much and now Vash is telling him that yeah, she's dead because of him. Which he'd definitely known before, but it's such a gut punch to hear your own brother say that, scream it in your face even. Your mother is dead because of you. She was only protecting Vash.

And again, that too much emotion spills over into just inescapable grief and rage that goes into violence and taking it out on Luida which. Yeah. Yeah.

Tristamp fascinates me in that Knives actually has a genuinely good reason to amputate Vash's arm - he's in a haze, and he needs to think quickly, nobody else can do anything, and if that arm goes off it could evaporate everything in the immediate vicinity. So yeah chop chop. It's not a great solution, of course, but it's the quickest one he's got, and also starts desensitizing Knives to violence he commits against Vash. Because, of course, if this one piece of harm had saved Vash's life (which it probably did), then everything else that Knives does is also saving him, right? Right?!

Why does Vash get like. B cups in this scene and only this scene. Top ten questions science can't answer /j

Godddd okay Meryl and Roberto's reaction to seeing plants is,,,, It's nice, actually. I like that Roberto gets to see hope and flora before he dies. I like that the last positive, lovely thing that he gets to experience is the hope of the world. Even if he denies it.

God, Knives telling Vash that he's the reason for the big fall really did a number on him huh. The man is powered on 17 guilt complexes, CPTSD, and bisexuality

worms took her tights can't have shit in noman's land

Roberto also cracks a lot of jokes all the time I miss him. He's so deeply unserious half the time and the other half he's mysterious as fuck. Love this guy. But also the fact that he does try to,,, make the situation better for Meryl by joking with her is very sweet.

Wolfwood has. 0 experience in riding a Thomas because he was never given transport again,,, Why waste fuel and animals when the Punisher can just walk the desert himself? He's not human enough to die of it. ghrngrhgnrgrngrnnnnn

God that's gonna be so good when he gets Angelina though. His own transport,,,,

Zazie doing the lord's work by putting Aotearoa New Zealand front on the Worm Globe, we're so often left out of maps lmao

Alright I have spent some time condensing that Knives rant and it's still. a Lot lmao. Anyway that was my Normal-About-Knives episode, next is my Normal-About-Roberto episode, which I'm super hyped for! yippee!! yay!!!

[lambergeier]

2023 bookpost 🥳🥳🥳

43 books read this year! about 2/3rds of last year's number, but i fell off pace in summer and for the last two months and never actually have a target or care about my pace anyways, so 43 is a good solid number imho. as last year, full list with light commentary below, recs are bolded:

JANUARY

Neuromancer by William Gibson

The Browns of California: The Family Dynasty that Transformed a State and Shaped a Nation by Miriam Pawel (i am punished for my desire to learn more about the two governors brown's effects on the state of california with: family hagiography. should have known tbh)

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman (SOOOOOO GOOD. apocalyptic/religious horror in 1350's france during the black plauge. for fans of the terror, and fans of people who are in love but for whom the love won't alwayshelp!)

The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel (hilary ilu u were one of the greatest novelists of the past hundred years it was an honor to be alive at the same time as you. this could have been 200 pages shorter. ilu tho)

Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? by Seamas O’Reilly (short, sweet childhood memoir of the irish writer/comedian who, famously, tweeted that story about meeting the president of ireland on ketamine.)

FEBRUARY

Either/Or by Elif Bautman (girls can i tell you. i didn't realize this was a sequel until like 100 pages into the book. that was on me.)

Two Doctors Gorski by Isaac Fellman (ah mr fellman. lol)

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka (really cool piece of fiction, first half told from the collective viewpoint of a group of regulars at a public swimming pool, second half about the one specific swimmer who's losing her independence to dementia. short, packs a punch)

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (UNDEFEATED!)

One Man’s Terrorist: a Political History of the IRA by Peter Finn

Nightcrawlers by Leila Mottley (love to see local 22yos succeed wildly. does NOT mean this book was good god bless)

MARCH

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa

The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy

Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy (to be clear, if you are not a cormac mccarthy fan, these books will not make you his fan. they are very much about this man's incredible hopelessness regarding a world that has invented and used the atomic bomb. what can be redeemed, etc etc. i loved them, despite a major part of the plot being consensual sibling incest, they were beautiful and phenomenal, they were not light reading)

APRIL

A Smile in his Lifetime by Joseph Hansen

Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo (cannot recommend the audiobook highly enough. emma read the paper copy to catch up to where i was in the audiobook so we could listen together on a car trip, and she agreesTM that the audiobook is the way to go)

MAY

Barbarian Days by William Finnegan

The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Dianna Wynne Jones

JUNE

We Don’t Know Ourselves by Fintan O’Toole (really really really cool nonfiction about ireland since the 1950s, part autobiography, more parts cultural history of a very quickly changing nation. fascinating to read this within 12 months of finn's one man's terrorist, which was a very leftist history of the IRA, and keefe's say nothing, which was an only very slightly leftist history of the IRA that was most interested in like, how compelling the history is (not a drag on it). o'toole not as big on the IRA as the other two! understandable!)

JULY

The Binding by Bridget Collins

The War That Killed Achilles by Caroline Alexander (for all fans of the history of the story of the illiad!!! short and passionate!)

Flux by Jinwoo Chong (solid new debut scifi - who thought it could still happen!)

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy

The Witch King by Martha Wells (this book sucked ass!!! have mentioned this several times already this year!!!)

An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052–2072 by Eman Abdelhadi and M. E. O'Brien (some things about this book were fun, many were infuriating, absolute worst had to be the insistence that in the future: therapy would solve even more problems that it does today :))

The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt (see my beautiful wife's post on the subject)

Stay True by Hua Hsu (beautiful, deserves the pulitzer, not 100% my thing but still very good)

AUGUST

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (the voice was hard to get used to for the first 50 pages, but i ended up really liking this tbh. i've never read copperfield, so not sure if that improved the experience)

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

The Boys by Katie Hafner (a mistake to read this, but at least the twist was funny! there wasn't anything else in the book, but only a partial waste of time at the end)

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (finally read this, which has truly polarized my extended social circle, but i ended up liking it. i didn't always get what it was doing 100% of the time, and didn't so much feel compelled to find out, but i tore through it and will always be a sucker for a story about that doesn't fix you but does keep you alive. can see both sides of this debate)

American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts by Chris McGreal (we have to kill every sackler. solid history of the epidemic. EVERY sackler.)

SEPTEMBER

The Season by Kristen Richardson (half-baked history of the debutante social ritual. but, not like there's many other histories of the subject!)

All the Horses of Iceland by Sarah Tolmie

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin (funny, contained extensive dirtbag lesbian behaviors, but lacked some heft at the end)

In Memoriam by Alice Winn (do you s2b2? do you want some solid, tome-like origfic? do you want all of those things and also siegfried sassoon rpf? well great news!)

Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller (pleaseeeeeee tell me if you have read this or do read this it was SOOOOOO GOOD and i had NEVER heard of this guy before!!! fantastically written prose, everything builds with infinite dread to a single horrible punchline, i am still wowed thinking about it)

The Trees by Percival Everett (haha hey wanna get fucked up. dark dark dark comedy)

OCTOBER

Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale (really enjoyable if slightly overlong romance novel that i got off a rec list for historical romances with disabled love interests. does a really good interesting job of giving the love interest full breadth and agency despite severe processing impairment following a stroke)

Mobility by Linda Kiesling

The Rachel Incident by Rachel O’Donahughe

NOVEMBER

NO BOOK NOVEMBER MFS

DECEMBER

Not Even the Dead by Juan Gómez Bárcena (would also like to know if anyone else has read this so we can try and figure out what the fuck was going on right at the end!! also the fact that this is primarily about mexican history, written by a spaniard, with the specter of the US very prominent in the book is like. hm i would love to be able to read some mexican press reviews of this lol)

When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era by Donovan X. Ramsey (picked this up following the opioid book, which discussed but didn't go deep on how the country's reaction to the opioid epidemic was so vastly different from the crack epidemic. put a lot of stuff into context lmao.)

WAIT AT SOME POINT THIS YEAR I REREAD RUMO AND HIS MIRACULOUS ADVENTURES BY WALTER MOERS. I DON'T KNOW WHEN. DIDN'T WRITE IT DOWN. BUT I DID REREAD IT. 44 BOOKS. shout out to mr. moers for writing some extremely fucking creepy books for teenagers <3

okay i was gonna do more about like general trends and vibes of this year's books, also about the four books i am still reading rn lol, but i have been typing for soooooooooooo long so i'm just gonna reblog with more thots in the morning. stay prepared everyone