#truly they've added to my life

[arsonforcharlie]

they let me hit it because I'm goofy and dress like the host of a CBC Kids show

[simplydnp]

idk why this matters to me but in the last few months they've been acknowledging so many things I never ever thought they would. pinof and the touching. the phude multiple times. dapc slime (ok they had merch to sell for that one but still)

no but actually. phil literally said 'i thought we weren't acknowledging it' about the phude and now they just bring it up all the time.

pinof reacts... i still can't believe we're in a post pinof-reacts universe. how did that happen. i was changed permanently--like something shuffled in my dna when i got the notif for pinof reacts 1. this is not a physical reaction but a chemical one that cannot be undone. for something that was so... sacred. and integral. to their existence and history. pinof wasn't generally talked about unless it was pinof time. and even then it was 'it'll be up soon' or 'we just posted it' and then Never talked about outside of that. especially not the first one! we freak out about the We Know You Know in the newsletter but it's Always been like that with pinof 1. so to see them--new (& natural 🥺) hair for them both, in a house they bought and built together, in the first few months of giving the gaming channel a second chance--reflect on how it all began? absolutely devastating. and to lean into moments and discuss them in new ways. in territory previously not breached! the 'they're toUching'?!?!? the '11 hour fuck session'!?!? the '£9000 champagne'?!?!? like hey we're not supposed to talk about that, dan and phil might see!! shhh!! but they're the ones saying it!! absolutely wild.

in a way, it had to happen. especially with where we're at now (them literally selling merch of them holding hands). in order for them to move beyond that... mindset? i guess? that a lot of fans had, they had to defang it. i really see it as one of the biggest walls they've broken down in the way they communicate with us. the 'hey. it's okay. we've seen it. it's not a big deal. we will absolutely make fun of you for it though. but we're good.'

i'm just really curious whose idea it was. (lbr it was probably phil given dans not a react kinda guy. but i'd be lying if i said i didn't want to be in the room where it happened when they talked about actually doing it or not, and what it would mean) (big ad revenue thats for sure 🤣 get it kings)

i will never be able to get phil's 'they touched' out of my head and at this point i wouldn't want to. it's absolutely earned. and i guess it makes me a masochist to enjoy the psychic damage it inflicts on me, but such is life i suppose.

the crafts mention really surprised me! i had contemplated a few different scenarios in how they'd go about it, and i'll be honest i feel like they could've committed to the bit a little more but they're forgiven. like what about glitchy interstitials! cuts to the merch website. found footage inserted between sections! i recognize they don't want to 'scare' their usual audience wirh sudden cuts to intense/graphic content but my immersionnn. absolutely shattered by 'oh we have new merch now btw'. cmon boys you love to lie to us. say theres merch up but you dont know where it came from. just that we should buy it 👀 or idk, something clever. and i recognize i may sound like a spoilt brat bc i just got a 14 minute long masterpiece of an unexpected dapc revival, but my immersion. i mean i already bought the merch before they shilled it anyways so it didn't influence me regardless 🤣

ultimately we really are in a new era. even beyond just the revival. i think they're really finding their stride--not only in their content (evidenced by a semi-regular schedule) but also creatively, in doing what they want to do, how they want to do it, and truly not giving that much of a fuck anymore. and i'm really happy for them. phil talked a bit about this in his 'rating my icons' video, where he's kind of decided he doesn't care what people on twitter think, and how it's been good for him, and i think we're seeing that reflected in not only his content, but also the gaming channel. they play what they want. they say what they want. and it's just fun. dan going on the record to say he's really enjoying it makes me so happy to hear, because literally december 2022 he believed he'd disappear after WAD. and now, instead, he gets to play games and make stupid jokes and smile and laugh multiple times a week, and he's really happy about it. he gets to be silly and goofy and crude without having to Stress about it. i keep saying it but they're so settled now. and as someone who's followed them through big changes and turbulent times, getting to see them happy after everything... it brings a lot of hope. and i know theyre millionaires. but there's something to looking at someone you fell in love with 15 years ago the same then as you do now. but instead of it being something scary, something you have to hide, something that feels like it can consume you and everything you have--it gets to be something beautiful. and regular. and embraced. you've read this far you get to listen to me wax poetic about them.

we've been thoroughly boiled and maybe, just maybe, it's warming our hearts too.

[anonzentimes]

Hello!

What is your opinion on danganronpa 2.5?

hello anon! thank you SO MUCH letting me ramble!!! :)

I really do love Danganronpa 2.5, I think it's really cool that they explain more how everyone was waken up, I also adore that the plot is based off of statements in Danganronpa 2 only elaborating and exploring them more. Not only that, but they make it all about Nagito who's the same character that is complex enough to have three entire songs haha!! So it works out well.

2.5 reverses Nagito's luck cycle which makes it easier to understand and I really love it. It also adds the statement that truly Nagito would rather have his luck not harm others but rather help them and harm himself, there's also the detail that Nagito's luck is so prominent in his life that even in a world made by his subconscious it is always there. It also implies he deep down wishes talent didn't exist which is something he'd never admit or even know he felt with his unhealthy obsession and dedication with hope and the ultimates!!!

I really enjoy world destroyer too, I think his scenes are very interesting, like, ok man thanks for pulling up with your FINGER GUNS??? It's super cool!! His design is pretty interesting too even if it's just adding to Hajime's preexisting one.

I also like the detail that alongside Nagito's own death the memories that he remembers most vividly is Hajime's smile and his time with him which is just very sweet

The moments with Makoto and Sayaka being out of character because Nagito views them, especially Makoto, so highly is super funny too. Kazuichi and Fuyuhiko's friendship is also fun and something we don't get to see often! The background characters we get to see are also just very fun.

I find it really interesting that by swapping Nagito's belief with the opposite it's basically telling what the genuine issue is in their world because his beliefs stems from the flawed ideals of hope's peak. The issue in their world isn't the talentless, it's the talented. No one is happy, talentless people feel worthless, and being talented is exhausting in its own way. All of the social pressure of not being treated as humans being at its most extreme in this world is upsetting for most everyone.

also this Parallel makes me lose my MIND!!!!!!

Danganronpa 2.5 has a lot of REALLY good stuff going on for it, I think the only complaint I see about it is Nagito's "contradiction," which I'll talk a little bit about!

Basically, people like to point out that with Nagito's suicide plan he should have been more upset, "He never believed in Hajime though?"

I've seen a few pretty good interpretations of it, but the one I think makes most sense is that he was talking more to Izuru kamakura since he had gotten his memories back. Nagito's old and new memories merge together, he remembers pretty much everything. Which is why he sees Izuru first, then corrects himself seeing Hajime, and Hajime replies that they're both him.

Nagito then says he knew he'd make it to the lowest stratum, and that he believed in him. Basically saying that Izuru could do anything.

Maybe he believed the supposedly Bad luck from going into the Neo World Program would end up in Good luck? It's unclear a bit, but I definitely believe he's talking to Izuru a bit at the very least. Mostly because if he believed in Hajime in the killing game his luck cycle wouldn't have gone, good luck: the traitor was selected, bad luck: the plan didn't work and they lived.

Nagito has known Hajime and Izuru now and accepts him for who he is. It's honestly really sweet. Hajime himself has grown and accepts Nagito for who he is as well. They both forgive each other and it's just really sweet. They've been through a lot!

Overall little rambles aside, I think Danganronpa 2.5 is really lovely. It adds more to Nagito's character, tells more information about how the class woke up while using actual text from Danganronpa 2, and is just super fun! I love Danganronpa 2.5 a lot.

[troius]

I just want to say a few things before you get to the end. First up, it's been a pleasure to read your thoughts on the series; like any fan, you have your own unique interpretations and it's always good to read how fans see certain scenes. It's also been fantastic to see fellow fans respond to your posts adding on to what you've written, again bringing your thoughts out more and generating discussion.

Also, seeing your thoughts has made me appreciate scenes and characters I never thought I would -- Yamamoto for instance, who would've thought?! They've also reminded me of why I fell in love with the series as much as I did, from the artwork to the themes to the incredible bonds between the characters. You've reminded me that BLEACH has it's flaws that can sometimes take you out of the story, but when it hits, it 100% HITS! It's a manga that's about the bonds we form, how they can help us overcome challenges and be a source of light in our lives. It's about the ways we overcome grief and the fear of death, whether it's literally fighting your way through it or slowly coming to a state of acceptance as time goes on. It's about the 'hearts' of people, about what they look like and how they're shared between those you choose. I could go on and on, but then this would become an essay and we'd be here all day.

All of this is to say, thank you for choosing to create a Tumblr account and deciding to read the series and give your thoughts along the way. I can't believe you've finally reached the end, it almost feels like I'm saying goodbye to the manga again!! I don't think I'm the only one here who sees you as a big and valued part of the community on here, so I hope you'll be sticking around! :)

Thank you so much Rays! Response under the cut because it went long.

This won't surprise you, but I too have grown in my appreciation for the series over the course of the uh three years that I've run this blog. Bleach has character concepts I've never seen elsewhere. It has moments of storytelling brilliance. It has truly, phenomenally astonishing art.

But more than anything else, I, like you, am impressed by the heart. For a story that's largely about the afterlife, Bleach is shockingly humanistic, locating virtue not in any system of belief, in any group or faction in the various conflicts that provide the setting for the manga, but in people. All people, whether they're our extremely relatable teenage protagonist and his friends, the occasionally sketchy adults in his life, or the various adversaries ranging from evil monsters to supernatural samurai to a regular-ass gang to a foreign apocalypse cult. Bleach never, not once, lets the viewer fall into the comfortable childish space of believing that there's good people and bad people in the world.

There's just people. Sometimes these people want to do bad things, like execute their sisters, or kidnap your girlfriend, or isolate you from your family, or destroy the entire world. Bleach doesn't flinch away from that either. But it (again, very humanistically) locates those bad actions not in the individual human beings, but in our relationships with one another through the systems and structures we've created to organize ourselves.

And yet in the face of the idea that humans do their worst work through other people, that's also where Bleach locates its greatest virtue. Alone, we're nothing. It's the bonds that we have with others that are what make life worth living, that are the source of everything good in this world. And navigating that dynamic, between spiritual bonds and structural shackles...that's really what adult life is all about, isn't it?

Anyhow, my adult life has been greatly enriched by all of you on here. But I'll take the chance to thank you specifically Rays, for being such a source of joy. Your positivity and passion are the sort of thing that makes a humble blogger want to come back for more, and I've deeply enjoyed hearing all of your thoughts, not just on my liveblog, but through your own posts and writing. I'll be sticking around for sure.

[freckliedan]

in your opinion do you think that now they’re not in the closet publicly anymore, it’s not that they necessarily care that people think/know they’re together, it’s just more that they want to keep their actual relationship private?

ooh this is a good question honestly! i mean, they've said it themselves that they're private, and their actions back that up too. i think a huge part of the way they've navigated the privacy for their relationship while & since coming out has been about setting a clear boundary, considering the past violations of their privacy?

but honestly i think there's another huge piece of why they've been so private over the last five years and why that's changing now! i think the gaming channel hiatus era has been their individualization era, which was important for dan especially. like, phil had some time as an adult to learn who he was before he met dan; all of dan's identity formation as an adult happened in the context of his relationship with phil.

spending your entire adult life in a relationship with someone, AND living with them AND working together AND having shared friends for the vast majority of those years? speaking from experience: you can reach a point where you're less able to identify your own individual wants and needs and strengths and dreams, even if it's a healthy and beautiful relationship.

especially if there was any level of tumultuousness in your home life lol

with the added pressure of being a public figure it makes a lot of sense to me that a hard reset had to happen for dan's exploration of who he is and wants to be and enjoys doing with his career to succeed! dan is not okay being fucked over is such a heartbreaking thing, but the time dan spent almost completely out of the public eye followed by a fully solo tour & span of his career shere he was regularly posting is like—it makes sense!

it makes sense that the last 5 years were focused on everything but their relationship! but it also makes like equal sense to me that they're returning to the gaming channel and joint content and a higher level of being open with us, too.

they tried fully solo careers. and i'm sure they both know now, what they like doing independently of one another. but it's so clear to me that they've returned to the gaming channel because they genuinely love to make videos together, and it's a part of them making a fully informed choice about their future careers.

like. it actually really grinds my gears when people say that dan and phil only came back to the gaming channel for the money, tbh! because yeah, i'm sure it's one of their best options for bringing in money. but like... yall they are rich people. they absolutely have money invested. they absolutely are having their money managed. they almost certainly could pull off never working again if they wanted to.

they wouldn't phone it in just for money, not with the standards they've consistantly shown themselves to have for the work they do. like, yes, they're doing their job and making money for it. but i just don't understand seeing this as anything but a choice they made because they love working together—and because they're sure of that, having spent half a decade on solo projects.

the individuation era ending also makes the higher level of being open about their lives make sense. i've always thought we were due for a being loud about how happy they are in their relationship era post coming out and. well. this is definitely that. i can't say i ever wanted to hear this much about their sex lives but i also can't truly say i'm surprised!

i think this is an era of shifting boundaries to be at least a little more open regarding their relationship and life together and i think that's what they're boiling us about this gamingmas! ultimately they're always going to keep more to themselves than they ever share with us but like. things are changing!

[gothoffspring]

Previously on Living a Nightmare;

Riley received an AMAZING chance card and jumped all the way to the top of the comedy career! He quickly became an overnight sensation and is now a one star celebrity! This is definitely Riley's biggest accomplishment and it means we'll have to spend a lot less time at work as the legacy progresses which I'm happy about!

Immediately after being promoted, Riley was flown out to Del Sol Valley to film his very FIRST comedy special titled "Hot and Heavy". It was a resounding success! "Hot and Heavy" was one of the most popular comedy albums of the entire year, and Riley has the plaques and posters to prove it. His life has skyrocketed in a very short amount of time. He's got a beautiful girlfriend, a job that he loves and grand ideas for what the future holds for him.

Monica decided she was ready for more and autonomously asked Riley if she could move in! They're both so infatuated with each other and don't want to waste any more time not being together.

Under the cut you can find some a lot more info on the gameplay aspect of the legacy and my future plans for the Burns family!

First of all, I had to extend the short lifespans just a LITTLE bit. Short is TOO short y'all, I can't. I still made them shorter than the normal lifespan. Lifespans are as follows:

Baby: 2 days

Infant: 6 days

Toddler: 8 days

Child: 11 days

Teen: 14 days

Young Adult: 18 days

Adult: 25 days

Elder: 8 days

We'll play out this first generation with these lifespans and see how it goes, I may have to adjust it a bit but I'm not sure. I really did not realize how difficult this challenge was going to be, because I get attached to my gameplay sims very fast. They're all gonna DIE so quickly, pray for me. I'm honestly excited to see how much progress we can make in a short amount of time though.

As far as future plans, I'm completely over Strangerville and it's annoying NPC's. I did not beat the Strangerville story and I was using a mod to toggle the story on and off, and sometimes I would forget to toggle it and it's just so frustrating. there should ABSOLUTELY be an option in the gameplay settings to turn the story off.

We are officially going to be moving to Chestnut Ridge! I figured it would be fun to try out some horse ranch gameplay and own a huge ranch. We're going to be taking out a loan in order to afford it, and Riley is going to keep working for a while as a top comedian before he retires and dedicates all of his time to the ranch. We're going to be attempting to survive by selling nectar, breeding horses/doing competitions, and farming! Monica may also pick up crocheting or cross stitching as a side hobby. Maybe canning?! I haven't done any canning at all yet! I know it makes little to no sense for them to be moving to a huge ranch from a very rundown home, but since Riley shot to stardom so fast I like to think he realized the first thing he wanted was a nicer home.

I think it fits Riley PERFECTLY. He's always wanted to make his own nectar and being a country boy at heart, Chestnut Ridge won't feel too far from home. Monica is also an animal enthusiast and VERY excited to get some animals, so it's going to be great for both of them. They've been doing some house hunting lately and they've almost found the perfect place. I've already moved some of their friends to Chestnut Ridge and given all of the original Chestnut Ridge townies little makeovers! I also added a couple more sims to the world just to fill it up a bit more. Riley and Monica will be making TONS of friends I'm sure. There's a bunch of couples ready to have babies at the same time as them which I'm excited about, gotta make sure our kids have friends!

I think that's it for now, but I did just want to say thank you so much to anyone who shows any kind of interest in following along with my gameplay. I know I've been widlly inconsistent and have rarely been posting gameplay, but I truly believe that's about to change as I dive back into this legacy and get things rolling again!

[punkeropercyjackson]

I truly believe that i never would've cared about the Batfam long enough to stick around the fandom til now and plan to stay as long as i can if they were like what fanon stans want them to be canonically.Jason is unironically one of the love's of my life as a selfshipper who started reading comics because of him but i detest the 'better' version of him they've created and same goes for the rest of the Bats and all the non-Bats they've ruined to prop them up

No,i don't want to hear about a white man adopting kids just because they have blue eyes and canonical good parents being bashed or killed off so he can replace them.No,i don't think it's right to reduce one of the most iconic and influencel character's in comics history to a chronically happy dumbass manchild who's obsessed with his looks and sex and as an irl eldest sibling i feel personally insulted by what they've done to Dick because they don't know how siblinghood works.No,i don't like that Tim is always either getting demonized and called a bigot and abuser and 'incel' for being a realistic teenage boy constantly dealing with nonstop bullshit thrown at him in addition to already having childhood trauma or woobified and bamfified into a white male power fantasy-Often coupled with sexualization which is just plain horrifying because he's a fucking toddler.No,i don't feel taking an extremely rough and tough and canonically uncomfortable with society's ideas of femininity and what should be romance chinese girl and literally silencing her wants by erasing that she learned how to talk and how even before that she had major attitude and not only feminizing her but having the audacity to not even make her feminine in a chinese way and instead go the white girl femininity route

No,i don't enjoy seeing a brown arab boy who's already a victim of islamophobic stereotypes in canon have even more added onto it by adultifying him either for bashing or simping and even fucking animalizing him so the white boys he's shipped with can 'domesticate'(an actual term i've seen used for him multiple times)him.No,i don't care that Jason being an angry goth asshole and morally gray is hot to you so you decided to erase his canonical trauma response of not being open to dating or sex unless it's with someone he's super close to due to how much hurt he's been through because you see traumatized men as a fetish instead of people and think you're not being ableist because you're a cis woman.No,i don't think i'm being 'too mean' by insulting and saying i fucking hate people who leave out the ONE black Batkid we've ever gotten in all almost 100 years of Batman comics for no real reason yet inserting the blonde white girl who's not even Bruce's daughter in any way because she DATED HIS SON and is basically dating his actual daughter now while doing it in the most mid fanarts and headcanons imaginable and when he's literally everything they love in white boy protagonists from other medias but they refuse to relate to autistic and queer black kids of any kind

I hope everybody who popuralized it back when the fandom was starting out rots and you're foul as hell if you perpetuate it too,i'm 10000000% serious from the bottom of my heart

[taytjiefourie]

Dialogue Prompt: Anger

Hey there, my lovely darlings! Guess who's back? That's right, it's yours truly! And I have a little treat for you today. I've put together a list of dialogue prompts that tie in with my 'Show Don't Tell: Anger' post. Pretty cool, right? I've mixed things up a bit this time and added prompts for three different genres. Are you as excited about this as I am? Let me know what you think! I'm thinking of using this format more often in my future posts. Would you like that?

Anger x Fantasy:

"How dare you speak to me that way! Do you not know who I am?"

"I swear by the gods, I will make you pay for what you've done."

"You have insulted me and my family. Mark my words, the consequences will be dire."

"I am the rightful ruler of this land. Who are you to question my authority?"

"You have defied the will of the gods. They will not be pleased."

"I have had enough of your insolence. It is time I teach you a lesson."

"You have crossed a line that should never have been crossed."

"How could you be so careless? You've endangered us all!"

"I will not stand idly by while you destroy everything I hold dear."

"Your lies have caused great harm. I demand the truth!"

"You betrayed me and our cause. I promise you, there will be consequences."

"I will not rest until justice is served."

"You have made a grave mistake. You will regret it."

"How dare you presume to know what is best for me?"

"You have insulted my honor. I have the right to be angry"

"I have had enough of your arrogance."

"You have violated the sanctity of this place. Leave now."

"I will not tolerate any more of your foolishness."

"You have brought shame upon our clan. You must make amends or be banished forever."

"You have dishonored our family! our People! And you dare laugh!"

"You have failed me for the last time. Get out!"

"You will return what is mine, or suffer the consequences."

"You will pay for your treachery."

"You have underestimated me for the last time. I will prove you wrong."

"You have no right to treat me with such disrespect!"

"You have desecrated this sacred place. Atone for your sins!"

"You have harmed those I hold dear and you expect mercy!?"

"I will not hesitate to use force if necessary."

"You have insulted the honor of our people. You have walked on the blessings of our god. You have no place here."

"You made a mistake, and I promise you will pay dearly for it."

Anger x Dystopian:

"How dare you question my authority? Do you know the punishment for insubordination."

"You betrayed the state. You will face a trial, and the consequences will be severe."

"Your reckless actions have put us all in danger."

"There will be no mercy for criminals like you."

"You wasted valuable resources. Do you have any idea how serious this is?"

"Your disobedience will not be tolerated. We expect you to follow orders, or face the consequences."

"You have shown disrespect to the regime. You will not go unpunished."

"You conspired against the state!"

"You have shown a lack of loyalty, the state does not accept this."

"Your actions have caused chaos and disorder!"

"You've defied the state's authority. They will make an example of you!"

"Their disobedience is a threat to the system. Eliminate them."

"They have shown a disregard for human life. Let them face the full weight of the law."

"They caught you spreading subversive propaganda."

"You will be silenced!"

"You have shown a lack of respect for the system. We will not allow this to continue."

"Your actions have endangered the security of the state. You will be dealt with accordingly."

"Sir, they've attempted to escape."

"You have violated curfew."

"Your disobedience is a threat to our way of life!"

"They have shown a lack of faith in the system. This is treason."

"Your actions have led to the deaths of innocent civilians. You should be held responsible."

"You have shown sympathy for the enemy!"

"Your resistance will not be tolerated!"

"You have shown a lack of respect for our leader. You dare say that this is not blasphemy!"

"Their words are dangerous. Silence them before they can spread it."

"You have attempted to incite a rebellion. Your life is now forfeit to the state."

"They are unacceptable. Reprogram them."

"You will be eliminated."

"They have shown a lack of compliance. Remove them from their homes."

Anger x Romance:

"How could she betray me like this? I trusted her with my heart."

"I can't believe you're leaving me. After everything I gave up for you?"

"You broke my heart when you chose them over me. Forgiveness is not something I can give you."

"I thought you were the one for me, but it turns out you were just playing games."

"You promised me forever!"

"I can't believe I fell in love with someone as heartless as you."

"You shattered my dreams of a happy future. How could you be so cruel?"

"I never thought you would hurt me like this. Everyone else, yes. But you?"

"You used me for your own pleasure and then discarded me like trash."

"I thought our love was strong enough to overcome anything, but I was wrong."

"You cheated on me with my best friend!?"

"I loved you more than anything, but you only cared about yourself."

"You were my everything."

"I gave him everything, and he still chose someone else. I don't understand."

"You made me believe in love, only to break my heart in the end."

"I trusted you with my heart, and you abused that trust."

"You led me on. Why shouldn't I be angry?"

"I loved you with every fiber of my being, but you only saw me as a toy."

"You played with my heart like it was a game. Now it's my turn to play."

"I never thought love could hurt so much, until I met you."

"You used me to fill a void in your life, and then discarded me when you found something new."

"I thought we had something special, I was a fool."

"You promised me the world, but you couldn't give me your heart."

"I loved you for who you were, but you only loved me for what I could give you."

"I'm not sure I'll ever be able to trust again."

"I thought I had found my soulmate, and you found you next victim"

"You're just a stranger in my life."

"IYou ripped my heart out and you want forgiveness?"

"You had other plans."

"All I got was heartbreak and tears."

Can you believe we've made it through a whopping 90 prompts? Wow, time flies when you're having fun! Sadly, this is the end of this post, but don't fret! I'll be back on Monday with the next 'Show Don't Tell' post, so be sure to tune in!

But, if you're eager to get a sneak peek of next week's post, you can always throw a tip on my BuyMeACoffee account and get an early view. Or, better yet, you can join our membership program and receive up to three amazing writing posts a week! Sounds like a deal, right? I can't wait to see you all next time!

[harrowharkwife]

for the character meme: dulcie or cam or pal or a character of ur choosing!!! hehe

!!!!! ty lem!! im gonna do my girl dulcie...

favorite thing about them: honestly just the way she's written- it never fails to make me emotional that she *is* explicitly written as being brave and strong, but tamsyn neatly sidesteps the "inspiration porn" ableist stereotype of writing a character as being brave/strong *because* they are sick. dulcie isn't brave or strong because of her illness. her strength and bravery are explicitly positioned, IMO, as being in response to surviving *ableism* and other people's condescension towards her and mistreatment of her, rather than surviving her illness itself, if that makes sense. her health is just a fact of her life, it's not moralized. which i really, really appreciate. it's a small shift, but it's very meaningful to me.

ALSO deeply special to me: her intentional and careful commitment to boundaries re: The Palamedes Of It All. a refreshing change of pace, as far as these books go vgjtjxdjt

least favorite thing about them: i mean. houser. :/

favorite line: three way tie between "truly, wonderful news for my haters," "i am sick of roses and horny for revenge," and "oops, there i go again, never doing what i'm told"

brOTP: gideon!!!!! i think it's a crying shame they've never met. i think they'd get along tremendously. the whole cytherea gideon thing was Horrid and Awful in so many ways, but it always Extra stings (in an adding-insult-to-injury sort of way) when i think about what it would have been like if gideon had REALLY met dulcinea, and not cyth. dulcie would've been a great friend for her, i think. they'd have been so good at making each other laugh

OTP: honestly these days it's cam? @ palamedes ily but get outta here gayboy it's yuri time now. plus i just love chewing on the concept of cam + comphet, and cam + subconscious internalized misogyny, and cam + gender, and cam + her relationships and interactions with other women. i think there's lots to explore there. camdulcie has a certain "when i was eight i didn't realize i had a crush on the new girl in my grade so i just wrote her a note that said 'get out of my school'" energy about it, To Me

nOTP: idk if i really have one for her, specifically? idk. ianthe or something, fuck it.

random headcanon: stoner. on all levels except physical she is taking fuckall huge bong rips. on the physical level though her lungs suck so i think she'd be a tincture girlie. she's got chronic pain she deserves it. am i projecting? you tell me

unpopular opinion: idk if this is an unpopular opinion exactly, but i always see people referring to thee rejected proposal as being something born primarily out of love/out of romantic intent? and i don't know if that's necessarily how i see it. it was CERTAINLY, and obviously, a factor. but at least from my interpretation of pal's monologue to cytherea at the end there, i get the sense that he had already accepted her boundaries in that regard, because he says he "understood that he was a child." and we also get camilla saying that his motivations in proposing were primarily a means-to-an-end way of getting her off the seventh and letting her die with dignity. iirc her exact words were like "so she could spend what time she had left with people who cared about her." like, don't get me wrong, i think pal is lying to himself if he says that being in love with dulcie wasn't PART of the motivation there. but i find it a lot more interesting in a worldbuilding and social commentary way to interpret the circumstances there as him offering, essentially, to be a hospice doctor at age 19, and marriage being the 'easiest' way to get her off the seventh/planet medical malpractice. there's an imperial misogyny ownership-through-marriage throughline there that's nauseating, as well as the implications re: disability and agency and autonomy, and i think that's all very interesting to explore. i think this view is supported in part by the paldulcie interaction in TUG, where she alludes to the idea that she was cognizant about the impact that bearing witness to death and loss up-close and personal like that changes a person, and that she didn't want to do that to pal and cam, especially given their age. i think it informa dulcie's character and grants her additional narrative agency to look at things from that angle, of her "no" being in reference to *both* the age gap AND her intentional choice to continue suffering on the seventh, rather than put two kids through being hospice caregivers and/or widowers at nineteen– no matter how many times and how sincerely they kept offering, no matter that she would've absolutely had a more peaceful and comfortable end-of-life HAD she accepted his proposal and gone to the sixth to die. i think it says a lot about her as a person, that choice. there's a quiet and meaningful responsibility to her as a person that i find fascinating. and her character is just sooooo firmly rooted in and informed by disability politics, on every level, and i feel like people don't engage with that aspect of her characterization enough!

song i associate with them: ooooh SO many, i have a whole playlist. but i think the biggest ones are

-the drama by kesha ("friday night, get too high, keep checking my pulse, am i dead yet?" / "in the next life i wanna come back, as a housecat as a housecat! i'd sleep and play in the sun, i'd be a fuckin' cute son of a gun!")

-avant gardener by courtney barnett (the whole song really, but especially the lines "the paramedic thinks i'm clever cause i play guitar, i think she's clever cause she stops people dyin'," and "i take a hit off an asthma puffer, i do it wrong, i was never good at smokin' bongs." i just think she'd love this song.)

-honorable mentions include stoned at the nail salon by lorde, life according to raechel by madison cunningham, rose-colored boy by paramore (@ palamedes, lmfao), picture me better by weyes blood, extraordinary machine by fiona apple, rubberband girl by kate bush, last words of a shooting star by mitski.

favorite picture of them: oh man well it obviously has to be my icon... art made for me by the lovely @franzias-cave !!!! based on the concept of "the woman is dying, please do her the decency of allowing her to look the part in fanart." my girl... she's a malign fairy, she's a hot-eyed wraith <3

ty lem this was so fun! i love my gworl :')

[queerplatonicshipshowdown]

Round 2, Match 5

Crowley and Aziraphale (Ineffable Husbands) from Good Omens vs. Hooty and Lilith from The Owl House!

Propaganda for Ineffable Husbands:

They are each others everything; they discarded their former affiliations to form their own sides; they are the best of friends and so close that they can't imagine life without each other. But they also *canonically* (at least in the books) do not experience sexual attraction, or romantic attraction, at least not in the same way humans do; their relationship *cannot* be defined by something as simple as romance, and this is a view the author (Neil Gaiman) has endorsed. Hence, queer platonic.

EEEEEEEE they're so CUTE and they LOVE each other and the fact that this love doesn't have to be specifically romantic doesn't make it less REAL and that warms my aspec heart.

In the book they’ve been friends for thousands of years and are v involved in each other’s lives (routinely have dinner ‘dates’, Crowley frequently hangs out at Aziraphale’s bookshop, generally hanging out and stuff.) Since their not human, they don’t really understand human relationships, love, and gender which makes their relationship v queer. They’re mistaken as a couple by other characters despite not being in a romantic relationship. In the show the same things happen and new scenes are added showing how their friendship grew, them becoming much more devoted to each other, and various struggles they’ve had in their relationship. (ei. Sorta breaking up, them each wanting different things out of life)

they've known each other for over 6,000 years. they saved the world together. they have saved each other over and over again. they love each other so deeply and you can see their love for each other in everything they do. as an aromantic queerplatonic person they embody what queerplatonic love means to me so perfectly

Propaganda for Hooty and Lilith:

Lilith is canon aro/ace. Hooty is her weird bff like he's never really had a true friend before and now he's finally found someone he's connected with. Lilith is finally processing her trauma and stopping repressing everything. Hooty has helped her grow and supports her journey emotionally. Hooty and Lilith write letters frequently when they are apart. The show emphasizes how they are the only ones who truly understand each other and that their relationship is special and other characters don't really understand it but are happy that they're happy.

[adrianthevampire]

Rival Stars Horse Racing is massively discounted right now!

It's one of my favorite horse games, so I highly recommend checking it out while it's on sale. It's rarely discounted this much, so now is a great time to jump on it.

If you're unsure if you'll like it, you can always test out the free Mobile version first. The PC version doesn't have all the features Mobile has and Mobile doesn't have all the features the PC version has, but overall they are very similar so it's worth checking it out if you want to see what it's all about.

I 100% recommend the PC version over Mobile mainly because Mobile pushes a lot of microtransactions on you and limits what you can do at any given time whereas the PC version is a one time payment with no microtransactions and wait times can be skipped with in game money. But again, Mobile is worth checking out if you aren't sure if you'll even like the game enough to want to buy the PC version.

Rival Stars is constantly getting updates. Just this week, they added two new breeds to the PC version and within the next six months we should get another breed! In the time since I purchased the game a few years ago, they've made a lot of good quality of life changes and added new gameplay elements like Cross Country.

The horses, and especially the foals, are really beautiful and they're animated with Motion Capture so they truly feel real.

The game doesn't have realistic genetics, but it does have a genetics system that can be fun to play around with (and did I mention the foals are super duper cute?). You can even make your own custom horses!

All in all, Rival Stars is a horse game I definitely recommend checking out. The sale ends April 29th, so please don't miss this chance at getting a really cool game for a good price!

[multicolour-ink]

Okay, so I know the thought of Mario and Luigi having twin sense is essentially a shit of free serotonin straight to the brain, but consider:

They don't KNOW they have the Twin Sense until someone explains it to them, and upon looking back at their own history of all the times it happened, they have a serious Brother Feelings moment, realizing it means they've always had the other with them all this time, even when they were separated.

I'm not a twin myself so I can't speak on behalf of anyone who is, but I imagine with the Mario Bros - given how close they are - they always knew they have this twin sense.

Neither can ever describe to anyone else what it is or how it works, but to them, it's a feeling. A bond that is all the more precious and special because it belongs to just the both of them. They share this connection, and no one else can take it away from them.

some headcanons I have for this bond

I'm imagining scenarios where they can feel that the other is is danger, or just a sense of dread; like when they are kids in school and Mario just feels something is wrong, and sure enough, when he goes to look for Luigi, he finds his brother being picked on by bullies.

Or even during the events of the movie; Mario strangely feels hot, even though he's not anywhere near fire. And later on Luigi feels like he's suddenly been smacked in the face, even though he's been sitting in a cage.

These aren't intense feelings mind - more like looking in a distorted mirror - an observation than a full on experience.

I also headcanon that they can feel each other's emotions (joy, anger, sadness etc), but only under intense or very close situations.

And we mustn't forget what was described in Yoshi's Island!

"The bond between the twins informs each of them where the other one is"

It's never been confirmed if the Bros still have this ability in adulthood - but I headcanon that it's less prominent than when they were babies, simply because they are adults, and can look after themselves until they can reunite again. But I imagine they can do it if they focus and reach out to each other with their bond.

I've read fanfics in which a villain (mostly King Boo) finds out about their bond and proceeds to use dark magic to torture one of the twins, and in turn, the other feels it!

This does make me headcanon that if someone with truly dark magic was able to hurt souls, then it's gotta be 10x worse for the Bros because theirs are connected! Not only can they feel the other's pain, but it also sickens them, because someone has touched something so deep, so private, and so personal to the both of them. It would leave them so emotionally exhausted and broken because it hurts so bad. They might be left wanting to vomit.

I also added a bit into my own fic of them soul connecting, not just because it was integral to the story, but I also wanted to explore the idea a bit: imagine if you could soul bond with someone who you knew and loved your entire life. What would you see? How would the experience go?

Given that souls, hearts, and bonds do play a part in the Mario franchise, I figured it was perfect to try and figure out!

The Bros would not be scared at all, I imagine. Why would they? They trust each other more than anything. Why wouldn't they be more than comfortable having the chance to link on a spiritual level?

I know this is quite a mish mash of headcanons and canon itself, but it's interesting to share and contribute ideas!

[the-elusive-soleil]

State of the Union: Maglor

I did one of these for Curufin a while back, and I haven't really been subtle about who I think Caranthir's married to, so it's clearly high time I complete the trio of Women Who Married Into This Family For Some Reason.

The more I think about it, the more strongly I feel like the Fëanorian wives should be...a little not normal. A little nuts, even. There are plenty of takes where they are the Nice Ones who stayed behind in Aman to provide guilt trips, but I want to see ones who didn't. Ones who came along, who were part of the war - who maybe even were part of the kinslayings if they lived long enough.

And I've mostly seen Maglor's Wives who are Teleri or Noldorin, so on a whim, the one in my head has become Vanyarin.

Her name is Ainalámë (one of her parents must've thought very highly of her), and she grows up not unlike those overachieving piano kids for whom imperfection is Not An Option.

She's very very gifted musically, specifically with voice and zither, and because she's Vanyarin, this means that from about adolescence onward, her life centers around playing music for the Valar on Taniquetil.

Her technical perfection is second to none, but there's always room for improvement, so periodically she'll go elsewhere to study with this or that music master.

Which is how she runs into Makalaurë Fëanárion. Who has spent pretty much his whole life being the greatest musician around, but is open to some friendly competitiveness when Ainalámë shows up.

She is not impressed with this Noldo prince and his virtuosity. Almost at once, it becomes her mission in life to take him down a peg.

Well, fine, if she's going to be like that about it. He'll show her. Her and her boring perfectionism and total inability to improvise and her pretentious name and snooty attitude and no he doesn't fancy her Nelyo, shut up.

What ends up happening is that the ensuing fervent one-upmanship actually makes both of them improve in ways they didn't know were possible. They've both spent ages with everyone around them telling them they were already the best, but now they're having to prove it, work for it.

Makalaurë's technique gets honed razor-sharp. Ainalámë practices until her fingers bleed and it's still not enough, and in desperation she resorts to adding flourishes to match his.

She calls him out on every mistake. He starts calling her Sinyacarë, new-maker, as a dig at her reluctance to deviate from written music.

And, well, she doesn't want to improvise. Improvising means that there's room for error. You can't have error when you're performing for the King and Queen of Arda.

But he's making her eat her words about his precision, so she has to make him eat his about her creativity.

And she does. Once she finally lets go, it's even surprisingly fun. She...doesn't quite remember the last time music was just fun.

Slowly, she and Makalaurë reach a kind of accord. They keep pushing each other, but they collaborate sometimes now, too. He still calls her Sinyacarë, but it's affectionate now.

At some point, she realizes that she doesn't want to head back to Taniquetil. She wants to stay in Tirion and keep on experimenting and trying new things (and seeing Makalaurë - which, when did that become something she wanted?), wants to keep writing music that's about things other than birds and stars and the mighty wisdom of the Valar.

(Not that those are bad things. But they've been her subject matter for decades; she's ready for a change.)

She falls in love with the creative freedom and the lack of pressure before she falls in love with Makalaurë, but that eventually comes along, too.

He's been in love with her since the first time she really, truly lost her cool during a song duel with him and let out a string of wildfire arpeggios that almost got away from her; he knew he was a goner then.

Their courtship is slow, to give her parents time to come around to the idea of her lifestyle changes and to give Fëanáro time to come around to the idea of a Vanyarin daughter-in-law. Insofar as there's any kind of timeline for this, I think they'd start courting not long before Curufin and Kestë meet, but would get married sometime after Curufin does.

Fëanáro's issues with the Vanyar aside, Sinyacarë actually finds she likes Makalaurë's family quite a lot. They're very chaotic, but that means that no one will really notice if she messes something up while she's still finding her feet. And there's music in their chaos; she writes a nocturne that's Ambarussa trying to sneak in late after a hunt, or a fugue that's everyone talking over each other at dinner.

She and Makalaurë mean to have kids. They talk about it. But there's always something going on, always other music to work on, and after all, they have forever.

Until, of course, the Trees go out, and they don't.

Sinyacarë joins in the host going over the Sea without a second thought. What exactly she'll do in Middle-earth, she isn't sure, since she's average at best with a sword, but her husband and his family are going, so she's going too.

The Oath...bothers her a little. There's something about the way it warps the song of the world, and it sounds disturbingly like a twisted version of a marriage vow, and she doesn't like what she can feel it doing to Makalaurë's soul. But it's not like there's anything they can do now.

Alqualondë is a mess. Everything happens very fast, and before Sinyacarë can quite decide what to do, there's a Teler coming at her husband and Moryo from behind with a fishing spear. And then there's not, and she's standing over a body.

Well. No turning back now.

She kills three people that day. She doesn't know their names, but she can never forget the number.

Fëanáro promised freedom when they came to Middle-earth. Fëanáro dies not very long after they arrive. And then Nelyo is gone and Makalaurë is left as a frayed, guilt-wrecked regent.

Sinyacarë might have married a prince, but she never thought that would matter, politically. But she picked up a few things in passing on Taniquetil, and Makalaurë picked up a few things in Tirion, and his (remaining) brothers pitch in and help, and everyone holds things together until Findekáno brings Nelyo back.

When the language shift kicks in, she Sindarizes her name to Saintân. She goes with Maglor to the Gap, and in some ways it's as ideal as Beleriand can get. The pressure of the regency is gone, their family is safe, and they roam free and hold back the darkness with song. Saintân becomes better, much better, with a sword because that's what's needed, and above all else she has always striven for excellence in anything she is called upon to do.

It's not perfect. Nothing in Beleriand is perfect. Morgoth's presence, his dominion, twists the song of it, and while the Sindar and Avari who were connected to the land before Morgoth's return do somewhat better, the Noldor get just a little more twisted in themselves over time. It's worse for those who are Oathbound.

The constant war and threat of destruction don't help either.

Saintân came to Beleriand for her husband and for freedom - the two have always been intertwined, to her - but it's becoming rapidly clear that there's no freedom for the Feanorians without the Silmarils. The gems themselves, she could take or leave, but she wants her family free of the Oath, to be happy again.

So she fights in the Nirnaeth, to try and get the Silmarils back from Morgoth.

When that doesn't work out and they turn to Doriath, she insists on going with them then, too. Maglor tries to talk her out of it, but time has only increased her stubbornness, and she insists that she's going to be at his side just as she was at Alqualonde.

Maglor can never quite forgive himself for capitulating, when she falls in battle with the Doriathrim.

He's incapacitated from the broken marriage bond and can't help Maedhros search for the missing twins, and perhaps it's partially that that leads him to take in another pair of twins a couple of decades later.

Saintân watches the tapestries and adores the peredhil and prays that Maglor will find a way out. She weeps when he ends up alone and burned. Despite her best efforts (she's no Luthien, but she's very good at coming up with irritating songs to sing at Namo), she does not manage to get reembodied anytime soon to go and get him.

But she does make it out of the Halls in time to meet Maglor when he sails with Elrond, and also to meet the son Maglor adopted in her absence.

[allsadnshit]

People that brag about staying friend with an ex's parents post break up are so distasteful and unfunny because they always say it as a "gotcha" joke about how they've made the parents love them more than their actual child or something weird like that and I am truly horrified at the sentiment behind saying something like that. It's such a clear look at someone who has no respect for anyone else's boundaries or feelings. Like even having mutual friends with an ex can be tough for break ups at times but to make a point of wanting to stay in contact with the family of your ex is actually so creepy and self important and is only solidified by the fact that anyone that does this always seems to want to chime in about how funny it is to do it BECAUSE it upsets the other person and makes them uncomfortable.

I just had to read like 100 comments on a post about it on ig and was actually baffled at how many people wanted to defend that type of boundary crossing no respect behavior and even added stuff like "too bad for them go cry about it to go to therapy if it upsets you" or how they purposely enjoy going to family events to make their ex feel uncomfortable and it's somehow "proof" they were the good one in the relationship. Like all it proves is that you feel justified and self righteous to hurt someone you shared an intimate trust with the second you had the chance to take a stabs you did! And I would genuinely disown my family if they did that to me knowingly with an ex. Like if you're own kids feelings don't come first and it's a situation where it would make them not want to come around and you choose their ex? Like they could be the nicest person of all time and that's still actually disgusting

If you boast about keeping in contact with ex's families who don't want that then I'm glad at least you lost the person themself since you obviously want to get back at them or at least don't respect basic boundaries in their life

I really need to stop looking at stuff on ig cause I always expect so much better of everyone

[d4y-0f-judg3m3nt]

Sin(ful-less) Promo~

As the camera flickers to life, you're greeted by a young woman with a lab coat and professional attire, but demon horns and wings. Is she a cosplayer of some kind? This girl offers you an unsettling smile as her eyes narrowed to the screen.

"Greetings, everyone. My name is Lillian Onyx, former Team Danganronpa scientist and engineer of the Neo-Ultimate children. Many of you may perhaps recognize me, although my appearance has changed quite a bit since then. These days, I have started a new project: the creation of powers to rival the Council Of Sin, by adding inverse powers and powers of the same nature. Those people selected for the role of the Neo-Council Of Sin are Mikan Tsumiki, the Neo-Ultimate Lust... Kokichi Ouma, the Neo-Ultimate Gluttony... Hiyoko Saionji, the Neo-Ultimate Pride... Himiko Yumeno, the Neo-Ultimate Sloth... Tsumugi Shirogane, the Neo-Ultimate Envy... Celestia Ludenberg, the Neo-Ultimate Greed... and Maki Harukawa, the Neo-Ultimate Wrath."

Her smile evens out a bit as her eyes widen, as though she's going to share something she's very proud of.

"But of course, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. And so, to truly best the existing Council Of Sin, nullification of their power is necessary. So I present... the Committee Of Virtue. If they already exist in some unforeseen way, then of course, they become the Neo-Committee Of Virtue. We have Gonta Gokuhara in the role of Neo-Ultimate Chastity... Rantaro Amami, the Neo-Ultimate Temperance... Shuichi Saihara, the Neo-Ultimate Humility... Kirumi Tojo, the Neo-Ultimate Diligence... Sayaka Maizono, the Neo-Ultimate Kindness... Komaru Naegi, the Neo-Ultimate Charity... and Chiaki Nanami, the Neo-Ultimate Patience."

She turns her head to don a smirk, almost as though her monologue has switched to be more toward herself than to the camera.

"These kids will be the end of the line for the Council Of Sin~... And I'd like to test my experiment to its fullest, so please, interact with them and speak to them as you please. I'll derive results from that to exponentially help my research in the future. And do not worry about them. Their former selves are nothing but a thing of the past, and they've long since lost hope of getting it back. They're serving a greater purpose now, after all~..."

(( Feel free to ignore, interact if not tagged, or ask for your tag to be removed! MODS that play Kokichi or Kotoko on ANY blog in ANY capacity DNI!!! ))

@human-monokuma @unknown-ultimates @pizza-for-my-friends @iroha-painter-missing @ask-the-ultimate-cosplayer and anyone else, yadda yadda, you get the idea~

[transplantedmate]

Good Omens Fic (short series): The Road Leads South

TL;DR: AO3 link for a fluffy Aziracrow series I just posted

Happy Valentine's Day peeps!. Or, if that's not your vibe, happy day after pancake day ❤️🥞 I have it on good authority there will be a chocolate sale tomorrow.

I wrote a series of fics! They're a Valentine's day gift for Foamfollowerisfallen, and they've been kind enough to let me share.

This is a short set of stories -all connected, but can be read standalone as well. They're drenched in happy fluff. In them, Aziraphale & Crowley explore what it's like to settle into their new, post-S3-happy-ending life, culminating with their first night at the South Downs cottage.

The whole series is 7.4k words. The stories have different ratings (G. T and E); please mind them and the tags as always. (Each story's individual blurb and link are below if you prefer that.)

Featured: South Downs Cottage, St. Valentine (the holiday), St. Valentine (the saint), duck pictures, happy tears, so much fluffy love, cameos by Muriel, Nina and Maggie, references to The Little Prince, Ovid's works, Jane Austen, reference to Liszt, softness and cuddles, (bad) sex advice from ancient Rome.

Also infinite thanks to @adverbian for being the beta of my dreams.

Give it a go if you like, it would make my day.

Hope your day goes well, I send you my love.

P.S.: Art is a wee drawing by me. [This was initially an embroidery pattern I made, then I added a few lights/shadows while sipping Malbec.]

Part 1:

Bleeding Hearts Bistro (rating: G, words: 1.8k)

Before the South Downs cottage, there was a coffee date, and a simple request.

Excerpt:

Crowley looked again. Slotted against the bottom right corner of the frame – camouflaging against the deep brown feathers of the mallard – was a key. He looked up, eyebrows raised, and his heartrate sped up to match the pitter-patter of raindrops on the canopy.

“Right, I was… look, I was hoping…” Aziraphale began, but floundered. He paused, steeling his hands around the now empty cup of tea and finding his resolve.

“Crowley, my dearest Crowley. A long time ago you asked, you said… you said that you would like to spend the rest of… well, of whatever we have, together. To go off together.”

Part 2:

Sleep (rating: T, words: 2.8k)

It's been a long day of packing in the bookshop. Crowley takes a nap, and Aziraphale decides he wants to know what sleeping might be like.

Excerpt:

Aziraphale had been surprised in recent times to find that reading was no longer his main priority. It hadn’t been an extreme change; he would still happily spend hours poring through the many manuscripts and tomes he had proudly collected over the centuries. Yet he had gained an irrevocable appreciation for the things that could not be learned from a page alone. In fact, he had found that experience itself was a key component of truly understanding the words he read, allowing him to see familiar works in new light. There was new meaning behind Jane’s words, for example, now that he knew the joy of a fleeting touch or a brush of lips on his own flesh.

He wondered if, perhaps, the same may be true of dreams – or, at least, of sleep.

Part 3:

Insomnia (rating: E, words: 2.8k)

They've made it! It's their first night in the cottage, but sleeping in a new bedroom proves tricky... Will this lead to another type of "first"? Aziraphale's choice of reading material doesn't help (or does it?)

Excerpt:

He gently pushed Crowley into the wall, holding him gingerly right above the hipbones. Crowley nibbled at his lip between kisses, and gasped deliciously when Aziraphale returned the favour.

Ever since he had picked up the habit of actually sleeping – luxuriously entwined in the warmth of Crowley’s long limbs and soft skin – Aziraphale’s desire to try every form of physical affection had only grown stronger. They were no strangers to exchanging kisses and caresses by now, but their intimacy thus far had been tempered by the frequent presence of others in their orbit. Now, in the privacy of their own home…

Aziraphale would concede that some of his curiosity was also fueled by his most recent reading material.