#also his gloves add some good contrast

[olliesneweyes]

Sobbing crying ect on how they took beta Luca away from us btw

[greenroze2]

your rendering is so good how do you do it

Thanks, I love your rendering too!! Gonna try and make a tutorial ^^

To start off, I'm on Clip Studio Paint and these are the brushes I use! First two for rendering characters (round brushes) and the other two for mostly backgrounds (square brushes)

I used to do lineart, but it takes too long >:( now I just make a sketch and sorta clean it up!

Next I fill it in with a gray color. For simpler pieces I just put in the flat colors, but for more paint-y pieces I do grayscale -> color! I'll be doing that here :)

Also, I make 3 clipped layers on top of the gray - two are multiply, and the top one is screen. On the first multiply, I do a soft gradient using an airbrush

On the next multiply layer, I fill everything in with either a cool-ish or warm-ish gray, depending on the mood ^^

I also determine a light source, and use the lasso tool on the screen layer to block out where (I think) the light hits! Tbh I just do wherever feels right lmao, but I recommend having a reference! I like doing it in triangle patterns

Then adjust the opacity of each layer to whatever feels right, and merge everything (I don't merge the sketch/lineart yet, I do it before adding colors in!)

Now... rendering. Some tips I have are color pick (greys) off of the canvas and use them to paint! Clean up the sketch more, erase edges, but I save details (like Galaxia's red gem, his eyes, etc.) for the end, or during coloring.

After I'm sorta happy with it, I merge the sketch layer, then duplicate it, and add a gradient map! I did this sunset-y one but changed the hue to yellow-ish, then lowered the layer's opacity ^^

Play around with the hue-saturation-luminosity setting!

Now go crazy with blending modes! Multiply, overlay, color, glow/color dodge, etc. Feel free to layer them up on top of each other too, and this is to add the character/piece's actual colors in. For example, I used a white-blueish overlay layer for his mask and glove, blue for his cape, blah blah

Now I clean the sketch up/refine it more. Also, to "harmonize" the color palette, you can add a colored gradient on top. Then set it to multiply, and add overlay/glow dodge layers with any colors you see fit! I like using teal and light/warm orange! Here is an example of a colored gradient:

Another tip is to add saturated colors on the edges of both lighting and darker shadows, before blending it:

Also I usually add in a light blue/grey in shadowy areas, and lower the opacity for reflective light:

Also! You can lasso + use an airbush with a light blue to block out parts of the background (his cape here, for example). It helps with more depth!

Finally, I like adding sparkles on low opacity :3 And gaussian blur to certain areas! I'm using radial blur on this piece though ^^

For the background, I like doing blocky shapes!! I use my square brush on 90% ish opacity, to color pick different hues from the piece. For lighting I use a glow dodge layer, here's a mini timelapse as well as the finished art!

At the very end, play around with the hue/saturation and contrast tools to change the colors :)

[margoshvets]

Redesign / Alliance fit for Theron!

I was kinda sad that our husband didn't get a new design like our wife Lana did, so I decided to try to make something nice for him✨

Not that I don't like his original design. I just wanted to try something different.

(I got too tired drawing, so that's why he doesn't have a face XD)

I'll be describing some details of this design below if anyone is interested to read about them!

A little bit of warning. There is some headcanon / fanon stuff here, and, also, the opinion on some stuff is just my opinion, and you don't have to agree with me. Please don't be too harsh to me. I just wanted to have fun UwU

For the lower part of his body, I mostly got rid of a bunch of details, like the blue stripes on his pants, to make it simpler (in contrast with the upper part, which has some interesting stuff going on).

Got rid of those hanging things on his belt cuz they seemed pretty redundant, and I couldn't think of what they could be used for. Belt, in general, is more simplified. As a cherry on top, he now has the alliance symbol on it ✨

I added the metal thing, which I like to call "magnetic plate", on his right leg, and it's basically for carrying stuff like his datapad, keys, Eternal Fleet ashes, etc.

(I do remember seeing a similar thing in imperial designs, but I'm not sure what it's called)

Since he relies on tech a lot, he now has a fancy new toy - the glove on his left hand! Very useful thing for operating stuff and also hacking!

Remember that scene when we get our ship back, and Theron just presses something on his very regular glove? I always found it amusing. Not it will make more sense since he now actually has a suitable glove for this kind of action XD

[the scene in question]

He now hides his blasters inside his jacket (hence the belts on his upper part).

The jacket is a pretty memorable part of his design. It looked really good with a yellow color, but it's hard to imagine him wearing a jacket that isn't red.

I have to admit that a lot of new stuff in that thing was added based only on my headcanons. Mostly because I wanted to add an interesting story to it.

(A little bit of explaining is in order) Theron is a chilly person; he often feels like it's cold even if the room temperature is normal. Tauntauns are also his favourite animals.

This jacked is a gift from a very dear person to him. They knew all that and that's why they gifted Theron a warm jacket made with Tauntaun's fur (no tauntaun was harmed in making this jacket).

That person is no longer alive, but he still holds on to this jacket like it's his second skin; it's very important to him.

Anyway, the white parts of the jacket are now fur. And the fur inside only extends to shoulders (having natural fur already sounds too expensive for a republic soldier salary it was bought with). It's still warm tho. Sleeves have fur only at the ends and have zippers so that they can be easily folded back.

This jacket also can be closed (sounds kinda pointless stating the obvious, but in comparison with his original jacket, to me at least, makes sense cuz I can hardly imagine the original one closing).

Almost forgot.

A turtleneck for Theron. It just makes sense.

[miioouu]

Hehhe🥴💕

Ghost with temperature play tho🥴💕(i think its temp play or kink but whateves its the same thing, i think??)

This request reminds me of the time when I used to write anime smut and I'm here for it!!! Also after some thorough research ;) I have concluded that yes, temp play and kink are the same. Anyway, hope you enjoy it, thank you for blessing us with your unholy thoughts bbg!

Tw: smut, temperature play, oral (fem receiving), orgasm denial, fem reader

The room was hot, sweat drops running down your spine and your chest heaving as you tried to catch your breath. Your body was blazing, scorching even…

The chuckle coming from between your thighs didn’t help the situation either. His warm eyes looking up at you through his long eyelashes. “What is it, love? Are you feeling hot?” He’s mocking you, for sure. And you wonder why he even bothers asking you this question, Simon would never let you talk back. In fact, he likes your silence, maybe that’s why he has his glove shoved deeply into your mouth, your drool coating it, dripping down your chin.

The room was hot, like a sauna, honestly what did you expect when your latest mission is right in the middle of the desert. Luckily though, your captain isn’t cruel enough to let you die from a heat stroke, the place he rented for you has perfect air conditioning. But your lieutenant on the other hand, he’s nasty and dirty. “Turn on the AC? We’re in the military sergeant, you should be able to handle heat” And that’s true, and you usually were perfectly fine sweating in the dry sandy air, but usually he wouldn’t have his tongue swiping at your slit, sliding between your folds to have a taste of your arousal. Usually, you wouldn’t have to hold your breath, be scared of letting out a sound, afraid that your comrades next door would hear. He took pity on you, the moments your eyes flutter, your fingers grasped his, gosh you’ve always been so beautiful to him, but something about seeing you almost slip out of conscience as you body sticks to the sheets with perspiration has really got him thinking of you as a the most beautiful angel that has ever graced the surface of the earth. “Ah, relax… I know a way to cool you down, love” He’d murmur against your soft thigh before straightening up. His hand quickly found the mini fridge, a smirk adorned his face when he saw the tray of ice cubes, that’ll definitely cool you down. He slipped one between his lips, letting it melt on the tip of his tongue slightly before going back to the place where he belonged; between your legs.

The ice cube, now a little smaller, falls from his mouth, placing it right above your bundle of nerves. The contrast between your hot body and the glacial crystal has you arching your back and a whimper of his name choked itself out from between your lips. This reaction earned you a chuckle from the man above you, his eyes shining in mischief, trying but failing to feign innocence as he kisses your inner thighs, slowly, coldly, making his way to your drenching core. Tongue still frozen, he swiped it between your folds, tasting you had him humming out loud. “You always taste so good, love.” His compliment is mumbled against your skin as he’s still sloppily making out with your heat. He sucks on your clit, the tip of his tongue draws languid circles, making sure to always add a little more pressure to that place that would usually have you hiccuping for air. His lashes flutter shut, enjoying your arousal a little too much, his nails dig in the soft flesh of your thighs. Enjoying you a little too much, his hips grind against the mattress below him. Enjoying the way you tremble and shake beneath him, not even his glove can restrain your whines for more, he can almost hear your voice in his head “More sir! Please, please, I need more, more than just your tongue” The memory has him moaning, the vibration of it making your toes curl.Oh you were so close, and he knew it.

The ice cube now long melted, the cold water running down your thighs, spilling on the sheets and whenever your skin ever so grazes the drops, it sends electricity through your body. “Still hot, hmm?” Simon teases, his voice laced with a hint of arrogance as he sees the desperation in your teary eyes. He pulls away for a minute, finding the tray again, and it isn't Ghost if he gives you warnings, right? Where's the fun in that? With that he dumps the rest of the ice cubes onto your stomach, relishing in the way you quiver and squirm, a proud smile drawn on his face.

Quickly, his hands still cold, he grabs your hips and pulls you closer to him, he hovers above you, face mere inches away from yours “What? Are you feeling cold now, sergeant? Don't worry, I've also got a way to deal with this too…”

[astronyu]

Sketches and commentary on the Folly ref sheet for RAT's newest plush! (info below the cut vvv)

(note: RAT commissioned me to make the character ref sheet, which is NOT the plushie schematic that Makeship actually uses as reference to produce the plushie)

This is the first sketch we sent to Makeship!

I'm starting to add details to push Folly's identity a bit more and differentiate her more from RM (Rat Maid), i.e. neckline, nose, gloves, blush. Lots of curves! (And I also added two rats instead of one <3O~ <3O~)

At one point we considered giving her the eye design shown on the right (red thread embroidered around her eye) as a reference to her MC skin's glowing eyes, but we decided eye shadow was a better look. also it looks like sans undertale

This is the back! The Folly skin has a long pretty bow, but it's scrapped by the end because A. her hair obscures everything on her back and B. as we went along we increasingly afraid of the sheer mass of fabric building on this plushie.

Most of her palette is colorpicked from the original minecraft skin by Arathain (who also made RM!) but iirc we made the ears pinker and lighter. You can see their OG tweet featuring the Folly skin here!

Onto the dress design!

RAT wanted the Folly plush to feel like more than just a recolor, so he had me redesign her dress. I started off with an inspo board focused on elements we wanted to keep-- Folly's lighter palette, the middle slit of her dress, the off-shoulder straps, and the overall maid theme.

You'll notice that Folly's expressions here are kind of all over the place (I don't think she's ever looked that sympathetic in her life). I think I made these sketches before I finalized her face, where RAT requested some mixture of murderous intent with mischief, but in a subtle way. Later down the line the specific smirk Folly has actually gave the physical plushie a lot of trouble (faces do not scale easily on cone shaped snouts).

The first alternate dress designs!

RED: RAT (paraphrased), PURPLE: me ofc More refined sketches! As you can see here RAT's working me to the bone with all of his requests. It's okay though, b/c after I sent him the completed ref sheet I got to watch him turn on Makeship. (KIDDING, KIDDING)

Overall, I was looking for a dress that felt regal, beautiful, and unconventional, while still feeling like a maid dress. Wow, after physically typing that out I feel like face palming. "I need a dress for a GODDESS also a uniform good for housekeeping please" (???)

After feedback, I focused more on variations of the 2nd option.

You'll see at the last Folly, I combined the 2nd variation with the tie ribbon, the layered dress design, and long puffy sleeves. I decided to bring over the long puffy sleeves specifically because I hoped that they would give Folly a more interesting silhouette that of course contrasts with RM.

(To be fair, this contrast isn't very visible on the plushie itself but it is fun to draw.)

And finally, the second and last ref we sent to Makeship!

imo Makeship did an INCREDIBLE job translating the design to plushie!! I'm sure there's plenty of challenges Makeship's plushie makers have to deal with that we don't see, so I always specify that I'm only responsible for the initial drawing when people ask me if I "made" the plush.

One really delightful surprise were the 3d rats; we didn't think they were possible but they were (ilu makeship)!! You'll probably also notice that Folly's eyes look pretty different--- they were changed slightly in each step and ultimately ended up softer, which is interesting because I feel that it kind of mirrored how RAT's approach to Folly as a character changed in the months of the plushie's development (and up to her release!).

And that's all I have for my part of the plushie! I always love working with RAT on projects and plushies are a highlight. They're especially surreal to think about when we all used to joke about them before RAT really blew up.

ofc, the shill if you want to get her: Makeship Folly plush and RM's ref sheet if you're curious: Rat Maid plushie ref

i think the campaign ends about October 7th, 2023, but you and i are very likely to be in different time zones so if you're interested doublecheck with the site. if the date has long past then ig this is just a fun little time capsule for you, which can also be pretty cool :)

[scoutsbiggestfan]

hi guys i gotta be autistic again, heres some random tf2 headcanons, mainly scout bc im hyperfixated on him >_<

- scout is obviously very flexible but i think when he was younger he regularly did gymnastics and such ...

- to add on scout stretches and goes on runs regularly so he can keep himself flexible and agile :)

- i think scout has restless leg syndrome and has trouble sleeping often (<- projecting)

- scout drools in his sleep and does not stay still. he kicks and moves in his sleep like a dog yk

- ive already said i hc scout is autistic and has adhd but i think he has safefoods too!! i havent decided exactly what but i think its probably one of his ma's homemade meals

- i think scout has trouble reading social cues and picking up on emotions and such. he also interprets things wrong like 24/7. you have to be very blatant and obvious with him otherwise he will NEVER pick up on tiny little cues

- scout is super clumsy and very fidgety. he has definitely fallen face first onto the ground because he tripped over his feet. when it comes to his work he obviously puts more focus into it so hes not as clumsy but you know :) i think it would be silly seeing him running super fast and then BOOM his shoe hits a rock and he tumbles forward like an idiot

- scout is the type to pretend hes not tired when he really is. you can see him falling asleep in his chair and you go "scout?" and he jumps up and is like "huh?" and if you say he was falling asleep he'll insist he wasnt. he usually drinks a bunch of bonk when he realizes hes getting sleepy anyway

- sniper has a cookbook from his mother that he kept, and he makes some of the recipies every so often when hes in a bad mood to cheer himself up

- sniper bites his nails but they grow back really fast, and they always are a little sharp (like claws)

- in contrast, scout lets his grow out and paints them. he literally doesnt care if anyone says its girly he'll tell you to fuck off

- scout may or may not have painted medics nails and they match, but only scout knows because he always has his gloves on (i love mediscout!!!)

- medic is a bit awkward about pda but scout LOVES pda. he literally doesnt care

- scout is terrified of letting medic do experiments on him so medic makes sure not to even like. mention it.

- scout is actually pretty good with medics doves, but hes clumsy (as mentioned) so sometimes he scares them really bad or accidentally pulls out a feather and he always feels horrible when it happens

i have more... if anyone is curious... blehhh

[mauesartetc]

Hello again! Thank you for the response on the ask, here are my redesigns that I was referring to! I’ve only done three thus far and only one actually has color 😅 color schemes are difficult for me, I must say. I’ll add a few notes on the side, they’re not necessarily the only things I’m looking for criticism on but just a few things I particularly am worried about with them/a bit of thought process.

Alastor (worried a lil about his color values not contrasting enough- I wanted his regular form to seem somewhat approachable from far away but then up close you feel a little more uneasy around him)

Angel (HEAVY W.I.P.- I’m especially iffy on the heart pattern for the outfit fluff and I wanna figure out how to make his general outfit more interesting. For his outfit it’s more supposed to be something that Val or Velvet would’ve put him in rather than something he’d pick out)

Charlie (she’s not much different in terms of sketch, she has some subtle design elements that go with my lore for the Angels in a Hazbin+Helluva rewrite I’m currently working on because I wanted to give something special for the royal heirs of the OG fallen Angels, but without color she’s mostly the same 😅)

Thank ya again for letting me send these! I’ve only rly shown them to friends and wanted to see if I could get some outside feedback as well 😅

(Thank you for your patience on this, dear god)

For starters, if you want Alastor to seem approachable from a distance, you might try some lighter, less-sinister colors for his outfit. Personally, if I saw this guy from across a room, the dark gloves alone would set off alarm bells. Major OJ Simpson vibes. Maybe a yellow, tan, or cream color (white would probably be too formal) would appear friendlier as well as accurate to his time period.

As for the rest of his outfit, I looked up "1930s men's fashion catalog" on good ol' Google Images and found a hefty amount of brown and light grey suits. Maybe something in this wheelhouse would work for Alastor-?

(I also darkened his face a tad for more value contrast with the new colors, and pushed the red on his staff for a more "infernal" look as well as standing out from the gloves.)

Angel Dust is trickier, since we don't know him, Val, or Velvet that well as characters yet. Since the series hasn't been released, we don't know much about what their taste in clothing actually is. (And no, I don't care about the character Instagrams or whatever. Social media doesn't count as canon.)

But I do know Val would probably want to put Angel in something that "sells"; something that makes him more attractive to clients. Something intriguing but not too revealing, that makes them want to see more. I figure a long-sleeved mesh top would fit the bill.

I also found a sexier version with harness rings. Research is your friend, especially when you're looking for something outside the realm of what you normally draw. And you could always make a moodboard with Pinterest or PureRef for a lot of different inspiration sources. Not sure what specifically you meant by "more interesting" as that's a hugely subjective term, but hopefully this is a decent enough starting point.

Okay. Charlie.

Just some notes and tweaks here and there. Not sure what specifically you wanted feedback on with her, but again, it's a starting point.

Hope that helps!

[tortillasconsal]

I thought I should share my design for Jeff the Killer since I'm done with his headcanons

Here he is

Now my thought process:

I didn't do a lot lmao

Let's start with the biggest detail: his face. My first thought when I started Jeff was that I wanted his skin to actually look like it was lit on fire, I'm tired of fair skinned paper-white Jeff, give me scars and deformity.

His hair was the most complicated thing to figure out oddly enough. I wanted to add some bald spots but I also wanted him to keep an emo hairstyle and be true to the character, but couldn't figure out how. I'm not really upset at it because I feel like he could use it to cover up his face more for when he's in public.

I also struggled a lot with how I was going to draw it (the most accurate hairstyle is the one on the full-body drawings).

I feel like his hair would be very mistreated. It would have the texture of an old wig and a matted dog's hair, quoting the comment a friend made on my WIP post of this piece.

His eyes are now brown, because he took them from his mom let's say. I tried to stick with the blue eyes but I didn't like it, I did add like a white thing on them to keep the same effect blue eyes would have and to show the fact that he's almost blind because he almost got his eyelids burnt.

Now the clothes. So I just kept the white hoodie-black pants combo because its iconic, but I did my best to decorate it because it was very boring and it looked very flat in contrast to the hands and the head. But not too much because I don't want to have a very meow-meow scene aesthetic for my AU.

I mainly went for stitches, a patch and some wholes on his clothes to kind of show off how worn they are because I didn't want to go for too many accesories because that'd take away from the seriousness.

I wanted to add dirt and dubious spots on his hoodie but I forgor 💀

I was planning on skinny black jeans, but I didn't liked how the silhouette looked so I gave him some baggy pants. I think its better for him anyway, since some skinny jeans would probably irritate his skin a lot.

I did gave him a classic belt to keep the whole emo style around because I think that could show how he's still a young man who's into sad music and whatever emos like. To show some personality. There's also a chain to add balance to the belt and add depth to the pants.

I also wanted to give him a bandana (a paliacate) because I feel like it would be more usefull and also link him to his mexican background. I didn't add it because I forgot about it, but I do want to say that he would also use a bandana.

I wanted his gloves to have fingers because carrying gloves just makes more sense in order to protect his hands with all the killing, forest environment, carrying knives and guns and his sensitive skin. They didn't look good with fingers, because I didn't feel like putting effort on the hands so it just looked like a weird black thing that fused with the pants so I had to switch it up to fingerless gloves.

It makes sense with his emo style anyway.

I gave him a rosary to link him to his mexican and catholic background, I've seen a lot of alt people use them so I though it would be a nice accesory to give depth to his black tee's.

The rosary also has a deeper meaning, but it would be too long to add in this post so I'll probably do another one purely focused on it since it also involves Liu's backstory and relationship with Jeff.

Yeah, so this is the Jeff or my AU 🤙

I was originally planning on sharing this on the Headcanons post, but it got too long so I decided to share this on a separate post. And also to have something while I work on the other requests.

I might do the same for those characters as well, though it will take me more time since uni is giving me more and more homework.

[lemonadehtwooh]

Can you tell more about your Fate redesigns? Like your Penth, Hektor, Paris/Apollo, and Astolfo?

*FOAMING AT MOUTH* YES I CAN.

WARNING FOR A SUPER LONG READ

OKAY so first Imma talk about Paris/Apollo because Alexander-Paris is one of my most in-depth designs ATM and also explains some of Hektor's concepts!

Ignore that all I can in find my camera roll are SUPER old doodles of him lmao XD this ask really making me go through doodles from last year

So firstly is the color symbolism! I noticed in FGO that his design is very light-colored, and while that's interesting, I thought it would be more symbolic to have the main colors be dark as to point towards how he inherently can't escape his fate and actions as an adult, even in a child/teenage body, and also as a sort of symbol of how dark his future is. Adding on, Paris is VERY SPECIFICALLY summoned as having a child's body but the memories of his entire life, and I had the idea that the darker colors also show that he knows more than he lets on/he isn't innocent. The gold and such are to point towards him being a prince and technical demigod, and the blues are just in general for color diversity

With his horns and wings: Both Hektor and Paris in my AU are biologically Apollo's children (reference to some versions of the Troy Boys actually being his biological children instead of Priam's), so the horns and wings symbolize that (which Hektor doesn't have, more on that later). Apollo-Sheep's "humanoid" design concept actually has the wings and horns too (just bigger and more fancy lmao). Another Fun Fact: Both Hektor and Paris have some sun/fire related abilities in my AU, although it's slight

Next Paris and Hektor's eyes! Yep! I put thought into eye color! Paris' eyes are orange, while Hektor's are black. HOWEVER, when they use their NPs, Paris's eyes darken to black and Hektor's glow orange! Prominently, I honestly just thought Hektor having glowing eyes when using his NP would be Fun and Sexy XD However then i was like "...Okay but what if... Paris had opposite? What if... Symbolism?" And this idea is so cool to me because of how they can connect!!!! Hektor's glow because he's deemed to be Troy's hope, while Paris's darken because he's deemed as Troy's downfall!!! Sorry I just love how I can make the brothers contrast each other and how they can be interpreted AAAAA

I also made Paris's hair darker while Hektor's hair lighter so that they would look more similar to each other/look more like brothers, same with them both having wavy hair and the eyelash part on the bottom eye (it's kinda hard to see in the pictures RIP). I just wanted them to be a lil match-y. They also both have beauty marks that mirror each other! I imagine both of the Troy Boys to have thicker bodies

I gave Paris some armor parts as well as to look more similar to Hektor, while I also kept the cute dress parts because the cute stuff just seem to be more of his own style and I think That's Neat. The symbol on his skirt piece is Romeo's command spell symbol, matching with a headcanon I had posted some time ago about the command spells appearing somewhere in a Servant's design

Paris also has these sorta long-sleeve glove things due to me originally adding it to my Jekyll/Hyde redesign (which I need to remake) and Paris, in my AU, is one of Hyde's best friends, so I thought it would be cute for them to have a lil match-y thing XD

With the black wool, I thought it would be interesting to show physically of Paris being more of the "black sheep" of his family, especially considering he wasn't raised as a prince, he was raised as a sheep herder. And how he was sorta cast aside as a baby due to the prophecy of him becoming Troy's downfall

This is my current concepts for Hektor (the graphite sketches are a lot older than the digital btw, but good a good idea about his arm and shoes design), but it needs some work XD I want to add a lot more later on, but this is a good start I think

with Hektor, color-wise I tried to make his pallette somewhat a mix between opposite and similar to Paris. For him, the dark colors represent more of his death. He doesn't have the horns or wings anymore due to Achilles dragging his corpse, too. I think I posted some old sketches before of the back of his head having the broken bases on his horns. I would imagine his back having scarring and some skin disfigurement where his wings once were as well

With the red, specifically the red wool and the red gradient in his hair, I wanted it to represent the blood that was shed during the Trojan War. Plus, it also contrasts against Paris's blue colors, pushing more of that contrast between the two

With Both the Troy Boys' personalities, Paris still has that childish demeanor about everything, but he's definitely fully Aware and could manipulate if he really wanted to. However he doesn't really, unless if he wants to get away with childish things (like sneaking candy). He's a bit cheeky at times, and in general is A Lot like his canon FGO self. He likes being helpful when he can. Although something I added is that he Hates romance/romantic things. He thinks it's gross, but also his view point is due to the Trojan War and his whole thing with Helen.

Hektor is a mix of things that's hard to explain. He's similar to his canon FGO self. The thing is that FGO itself states that he has a facade going on, which pretty much is what For Funsies AU also does, so there isn't much for me to add XD Although I think in my AU, his facade is a bit different. Other than that, he's silly goofy as usual

i could have sworn I had pictures of her that are more recent/go more in-depth with her design ideas, but I can't find any TwT I'll talk more about her personally redesign since there isn't much physically I can exactly say

Next with Beserker/Penth, her concepts are still definitely a WIP. The general idea I have for her is this 16 year old being very elegant yet absolutely able to kick your ass with the slightest provoke. She's beefy, I would imagine (I really wish I had better sketches of her). I kinda want her to lean more towards having a "royalty" look yet also young and armored up. Iirc in Canon FGO she literally has herself be summoned at a younger age so Achilles can't flirt with her, so I decided to lean on her looking young. I also gave her more furs and armor coverage since she's a warrior and also the whole thing with her fighting in a bikini just. Doesn't sit right with me.

Personality-wise, I think she would try to act very mature and serious, but she's Not immune to Acting Her Age. Aka being a goofy teenager. She definitely tends to butt heads with Paris because he keeps stealing her hair comb. I definitely think she's super smart though, considering the business she has going on in Canon FGO. However, even smart teenagers can be silly (as a treat). She's definitely still has that Extreme personality trait, like tending to take things too far and being rather hot-headed. I like her dynamic with Mr. Utterson because he'll be like "Thank God you're here. Maybe you can talk some sense into Paris" and immediately Penth is trying to knock Paris out with her fist because it's faster and more efficient XD (also as revenge for stealing her comb). She's wonderful, although I'm still working on her dynamic with others and how she generally acts

i can't find any of my Astolfo doodles other than this Really Old One TwT (HELP IM BEING SUBJECTED TO MY OWN DRAWINGS)

In general, color-wise I'm thinking of making their outfit+armor VERY vibrant with Many colors to the point it's gaudy and dramatic. I kinda still want a cutesy look with them, but also messy and disorganized to show more of the sorta "frantic" and "can't sit still" vibe they have. It's hard to change anything about Astolfo because they're already a pretty interesting character with a solid design and personality. Anyway, as you can see in the drawing, I tried making their hair Super Messy. I imagine them being so energetic that their hair is never done in a "proper" way

So yeah! Yippee! Thank you for the ask <3

[kelyon]

Courtship 6: Second Date--Dinner

Lacey has a date at Mr. Gold's house

Read on AO3

The goosebumps on Lacey’s bare legs were bigger than her boobs, but Mr. Gold’s reaction was worth it. The light from the Cadillac’s dashboard shone a gleam into his dark eyes, a faint glimpse of white teeth when he grinned.

“Miss French.” His voice lingered over her name. “What a lovely skirt.”

“Thank you, Mr. Gold,” she smiled. 

She made sure the red skirt covered her backside as she slid into the passenger seat. It wouldn’t do to rub her naked pussy all over Mr. Gold’s leather--at least not until she knew if he’d like that. 

He reached over and put one hand on her leg. His hands were big enough to span the whole of her thigh. The black leather gloves contrasted so much against her white skin she could see the shape of him even in the dark. Heat seeped through his gloves onto her flesh. He gave her a squeeze and put the car into drive. The whole way to his house, he kept his hand on her.

Miss French shivered, even as she warmed up. She had done what Mr. Gold asked, and he was going to reward her for it. This was going to be a good night.

****

This time, Mr. Gold took her to the back door of his house. It opened up into a kitchen that was about half the size of Lacey’s entire apartment. All the appliances were shiny and new. Everything was so clean it looked like it had never been used. There were no dirty dishes in the sink, no crumbs or stains on the counter, no layer of greasy grime on the cupboard doors.

“Wow,” Lacey said as she looked around. “This place looks serious.”

“That is the impression I try to give people,” Mr. Gold said wryly. He ushered her inside and went to the front hall to take off his coat. When he came back, he had also taken off his suit jacket.

Lacey had never seen him without a jacket on. She licked her lips. 

Mr. Gold kept moving. He took an apron off a hook on the wall and tied it behind his back. Then he went over to a massive stove and pulled some covered dishes out of the oven. He set them on trivets on the counter, then took the lids off to check the contents inside. Apparently satisfied with what he saw and smelled, Mr. Gold put the lids back on and turned away. He picked up a frying pan from a rack over the stove and spun it in his hand before putting it on top of an unlit burner. He turned to her. 

“Would you like to fetch some things for me, Miss French?”

Lacey stood up straight. Miss French was ready to do whatever he asked. “Yes, Mr. Gold.”

“In the icebox you’ll find a roll of butter and a plate with steaks on it. Bring them to me.”

“Yes, Mr. Gold.”

The inside of his fridge was just as spotless as the rest of the kitchen. Everything was organized. Matching glass containers stacked on top of each other in neat rows. There was enough room to set a plate down on the center shelf without having to wedge it on top of three other things. 

The steaks were smaller than she would have hoped, each one about the size of a hockey puck. Lacey had never seen steaks that were round before--maybe this was something new. She brought the plate and the butter over to Mr. Gold. 

“Good girl.” 

He didn’t put any special emphasis on the words, but they were still enough to make Miss French blush. He saw her reaction, and grinned. 

“Do you like making yourself useful, Miss French?”

“I-I guess so,” Lacey shrugged. “Never really had much of a choice in the matter. I grew up hearing that there was always something that needed doing.”   

Mr. Gold made a thoughtful sound. 

He had rolled up his sleeves to pick up the meat and press it into  some kind of spice mixture. This was the first glimpse Lacey had ever gotten of his wrists. In a normal relationship, wrists wouldn’t be something to get hot and bothered over, but nothing that was going on between her and Mr. Gold was normal. 

That was why she liked it so much. 

He melted butter in the frying pan, tilting it from side to side to spread the butter around. The steaks sizzled when he added them to the hot pan.

“Now,” he nodded back to the fridge. “There’s a jar of beef stock and a container of minced shallots. Will you bring them to me?”

Lacey bit her lower lip. ‘Beef stock’ meant absolutely nothing to her, unless he was talking about some Wall Street financial thing. She knew she had read the word ‘shallot’ before, in the context of vegetables and good food, but she couldn’t picture one in her mind. 

“Um. What do those things look like?”

Mr. Gold’s smile was surprisingly warm. “The beef stock is a brown liquid, it should be in a glass jar close to the door. Shallots look like finely chopped purple onions.”

“Oh,” she said. It sounded so simple when he said it. Like something everybody knew. Like something Lacey would know if she wasn’t such a stupid Old Town yokel. Low-class, that’s what she was. Ignorant. Why was he even bothering with her?

Because she had potential. That’s what he had said last time. Because she was interested in the same weird shit he was an expert in. Because she was willing to learn, to become something better than what she was.

Miss French found the beef stock and the minced shallots. When she got back to Mr. Gold, he had flipped over the steaks and was in the process of putting them on a platter and putting the platter in the warm oven.

He took the ingredients with thanks and another wave of heat washed over her. He measured out a wooden spoonful of shallots and cooked them in the frying pan with the meat drippings. 

“You’ll want to stand back for this,” he said. There was a short bottle of some kind of booze on the counter beside him. He took the bottle and poured out a generous glug into the pan. Then, like a madman, Mr. Gold tipped the pan forward into the burner so the alcohol ignited. For a few seconds, he had a frying pan full of orange flames over the stove. 

He looked at Lacey as he controlled the fire, grinning at her with perfect confidence.

“Jesus,” she whispered.

“Not remotely.” Mr. Gold gave her a devilish wink.

When the alcohol flames burned themselves out, Mr. Gold added the beef stock to the pan. He gave the mixture a stir and set it down on low heat.   

Then he busied himself with rolling his sleeves back into place. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out two little doodads made of gold. When he fastened them to his sleeve ends, the words ‘cuff links’ popped into Lacey’s head. Another thing she had read about but never encountered in real life before. 

  “Now,” he said. “I’m going to plate up our dinner, but I want you to bring the plates into the dining room.” He brushed by her, lingering only long enough to hiss into her ear--“Serve me.”--and then he was on the other side of the kitchen.

Lacey let out a shuddering breath. The order was so quick and so quiet, it might have never happened at all. It might have been subconscious, might have been planted directly into her head--though her head was not where Lacey most keenly felt the effects. 

Miss French shivered and then obeyed.

Mr. Gold had set the plates on the counter. Two identical pieces of meat supported leaning stalks of asparagus in front of a cloud of mashed potatoes. A brown sauce covered the meat and dripped artful dots onto the unoccupied white china. Their plates at Bella Notte hadn’t looked this elegant.

Carefully, Miss French took a plate in each hand. She didn’t know where Mr. Gold’s dining room was, but there was only one door out of the kitchen, so she could make an educated guess. 

Mr. Gold was seated at the head of a long, dark table. He had taken the apron off and  put his jacket back on. There was a second place set at his left side. Miss French placed a plate in front of him, then walked behind him to put the other where she was going to sit. The chair was already pulled out for her. 

Again, Miss French made sure to smooth the back of her skirt and make sure she didn’t leave a mess on the embroidered seats of Mr. Gold’s dining room chairs. He saw her do it, and he grinned.

“Dare I hope that you remembered the second part of my proposal?” He poured red wine into her glass, then his own. “It wasn’t just that you wear a red skirt.” 

Miss French’s cheeks burned, but she looked him in the eye. “I remembered, Mr. Gold.”

“If I were a coarser man, I’d make you prove it to me before I allowed you to eat.” He picked up his fork. “But you are a guest in my home, Miss French, so I’ll permit you a touch of courtesy.”   

“You’ve been nothing but courteous, Mr. Gold.” Miss French took a cloth napkin out of a gold napkin ring engraved with a G. She set the napkin delicately in her lap. “After all, what more could a good host offer his guest than a series of screaming orgasms?”  

Mr. Gold’s knife scraped harshly against his plate. He cleared his throat. “You have high expectations, Miss French.”

“So do you, Mr. Gold.” She picked up her glass of red wine, determined not to flinch at the taste like she had at the restaurant. “I’m just trying to match you.”

She took a sip of the wine, and blinked. It wasn’t bad this time! It wasn’t bitter or dry or whatever bullshit people said about wine. It was fruity and sweet, like something Lacey would actually drink. 

Mr. Gold was watching her, his expression somewhere between amused and pleased. “Tolerable?” he asked her.

“Extremely.” Miss French took another drink then set the glass down. She made sure to turn it so Mr. Gold wouldn’t see her lipstick marks on the golden rim. 

“I selected a sweeter vintage than the Marias we had at the restaurant,” he said. “This is a Cocteau, from the year 1946.”

“You know those words don’t mean anything to me,” Lacey admitted. 

Mr. Gold smiled indulgently. “It’s a good wine,” he said. “Sweet and simple, for a… less refined palate.”

Lacey’s face went hot. Was she ever going to stop feeling like an idiot around him? Mr. Gold was so cultured and classy. She had to be better if she was going to be good enough for him. 

“I am willing to expand my tastes,” Miss French defended herself. “I just have a lot to learn.”

“Of course you do.” Mr. Gold gazed at her over his own glass. He took a slow sip, then swallowed. Still looking at her, he licked his lips. “You need a teacher.”

Lacey gave a self-effacing grin. “I did always get good grades in school.” 

“I recall,” Mr. Gold said. “Valedictorian.”

She looked down at her plate, silently cut into her meat. The knife slid through the steak like it was butter. Under a layer of crisp brown char, it was a dark, luscious red. 

“In retrospect,” she said. “I think being praised for my supposed intelligence is the worst thing that could have happened to me.”

“Really?”

“Good grades don’t equate to actual intelligence. School is just memorizing answers people have already told you and then maybe writing a paper about it. And spending your life with your nose in a book means you never get to experience anything that isn’t on the page. Thinking any of that stuff will get you anywhere… it’s just stupid.”

“It could have gotten you into college, if your circumstances had been different.”

She shook her head. “Even that was never really a guarantee, just a promise. And promises are broken all the time.”

To keep herself from talking more, she finally took a bite of her steak. Her mouth exploded with pepper and salt and the rich, savory sauce. The meat pressed between her tongue and the roof of her mouth and started to melt. It seemed to slide down her throat without her even having to chew it.

“Oh my God,” Lacey whispered. 

Mr. Gold grinned at her. “Never had filet mignon before, Miss French?”

If she opened her mouth, the flavor might escape, so she just shook her head.

“It’s steak au poivre, to be specific. Now that you’ve tasted it, try the wine again.”

She picked up her glass and took a sip. The splash of fruit and sweetness that had been perfectly pleasant a few minutes ago now seemed like a revelation. The flavors of wine and meat clashed and cut through each other in a cacophony that was also, somehow, a symphony. 

“Oh, wow.”

Mr. Gold chuckled and went back to his own meal. “You have good taste, Miss French. You can appreciate the finer things in life. Your only deficit is a lack of experience.”

Miss French swallowed. Pacing herself, she shifted her focus away from the filet mignon. The steamed asparagus was crisp and fresh, seasoned with lemon juice. The potatoes were creamier than anything she’d ever eaten before, and smoother than anything besides the filet mignon.

“Do you eat like this all the time?”

Mr. Gold scoffed. “Like this? All this butter and red meat? No.” He carved off a slice of filet mignon, and placed it on his tongue. He savored it for a moment, then swallowed. “No, tonight is a night of indulgences. For both of us, I think.”

“The mashed potatoes are excellent.” She took tiny forkfuls, to make it all last longer. 

“Technically,” Mr. Gold said, “they are whipped potatoes.” 

Despite her better manners, Lacey snorted. “I suppose that makes sense, given the kind of stuff you’re into.”

Mr. Gold wasn’t grinning, but his eyes held that peculiar gleam. “Does the thought repulse you?”  

“If it did, I would have told you last time. Or I wouldn’t have come back.”

“Being with me is only going to become more intense, Miss French.”

“I like a challenge.” She stared into Mr. Gold’s eyes. “Is it really going to be whips and chains and stuff?”

“I ask again, does the thought repulse you?”

“No.” Miss French spoke with absolute conviction. “If I’m honest with you, Mr. Gold, I’d say it kind of excites me.”

His grin this time was wide, something almost close to genuine. Miss French’s heart skipped a beat. She had made him happy. 

Fuck, she wanted to keep making him happy. 

“Of course, I always want you to be honest with me. Particularly about what excites you.” He had only eaten half of his filet mignon. He cut off a final sliver and then pushed his plate away. “Now, finish your meal. We need to put this table to better use.” 

“What use is that?” Miss French asked, even as heat raced through her. 

“I invited you here so I could have you for dinner, Miss French. That is precisely what I mean to do.”

****

When the meal was done and the plates were cleared, Mr. Gold had Miss French sit on top of the table. He placed her on the long side, near where she had been eating. Once again, Lacey made sure her skirt was arranged so a layer of fabric was between the polished wood and her naked flesh. Once again, Mr. Gold saw what she was doing and snickered. 

“Do you think you’re fooling anyone, Miss French?” He stood in front of her, his hands on the table, his arms boxing her in on either side. Mr. Gold wasn’t a big man, but he knew how to use his body. He leaned in, his breath hot on her ear. “You act so demure, so ladylike. Do you think people can’t see what you really are?”

Shivering, she gripped the edge of the table. “What am I, Mr. Gold?”

“You tell me,” he said quietly. He placed one hand on her bare thigh, his fingers just brushing her hemline. “If people in this town knew you were coming here, to my house, without a stitch of clothing on under your skirt, only because I’d asked you to, and only after I had given you money--what would they call you?”

There was an incredible stillness inside Miss French. The kind of stillness that can only be found when a vibrating object meets another object vibrating at the exact same frequency and they cancel each other out. The truth of Mr. Gold’s words met the truth of her reality and everything stopped. It was a moment of perfect clarity, perfect understanding. Most importantly, it was a moment of perfect acceptance. She knew what she was, what she had always been deep down. All Mr. Gold was asking her to do was admit it. 

“I’m a slut.” Her voice sounded strange, but she couldn’t stop herself from talking. “That’s what people would say. They’d say I’m a bad girl, a whore.” She blinked. Her Uncle Manny’s face flashed in front of her. Heat pooled in her eyes. “They’d say the smartest kid in Storybrooke should know better than to associate with you.”

Mr. Gold held her face, forced her to look at him. “Are you a kid, Miss French?”

“No, Mr. Gold.”

“Then what are you?”

“I’m a woman.” She swallowed. She tried to remember what he’d told her in the shop when he’d given her the money to buy her skirt. “I’m a woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to get it.”

Still holding her, he stroked her jaw with his thumb. “Even if you had been the smartest kid in Storybrooke, did that get you anywhere? Does that have any bearing on what you are now?”

“No, Mr. Gold.”

“Did you think it would?”

He knew she had, he was just trying to get her to say it. Anger flashed through her--at him, at herself, at the whole fucking world and all its lost potential. She stared at him, hard as a diamond. 

“I did, Mr. Gold.”

“By your own admission, what does that make you?”

“Stupid.” She closed her eyes, let the tears roll down her cheeks. “I’m stupid, Mr. Gold. And I’m a slut, Mr. Gold.”

He pressed in and kissed her. It was a surprisingly soft kiss, not like the possessive biting that had left her with a hickey that still hadn’t faded three days later. No, this kiss was gentle, reassuring. He was telling her that she had done hard work, and she had done it well. This kiss--like all signs of affection from Mr. Gold--was a reward. She kissed him back, relishing the chance to be as honest with him as she had been with herself. This was the truth. This kiss, this moment, this was more real than anything else in Storybrooke. 

She knew it in the deepest corners of her heart. 

He broke away slowly. His hands rested loosely around her neck. He pulled back the collar of her black button-down and grinned when he saw the hickey at her nape. He must have been thinking about it too.

He looked at her with warm, dark eyes. “Do you know what happens to stupid sluts, Miss French?”

She shook her head. “No, Mr. Gold.”

He pulled her towards him for another kiss. This one was short and sharp. Then he took her by the shoulders and gently pushed her down onto the table top. 

“Stupid sluts get their pussies eaten, Miss French.”

****

She lay on her back, her arms above her head on the table. For a second, she had an odd thought that was waiting for something. She felt like she ought to be moving, like some external force should be pulling her by the wrists to be in the exact position he wanted her to be in.

Lacey blinked a few times, to clear her head, then pulled herself back to the other edge of the table. Her legs dangled over the sides. She was still wearing her sensible black pumps. 

Mr. Gold stood between her legs. His cane off to the side, he rubbed her thighs with both hands. Miss French hoped her flesh was soft and tender to his touch. She wanted to be as pleasing to him as his filet mignon had been to her. She wanted him to enjoy her. God, she wanted him to devour her.

“You’re wiggling,” he observed. “I expect more self-discipline than that, Miss French.”

“Or what, you’ll tie me up?”

He squeezed her thigh and gave her a smirk. “Not this time, my dear. But perhaps I need to remind you of the rules.”

“I’m not going to touch you, Mr. Gold.”

“No, you won’t. Tonight, you’ll keep your pretty hands gripped to the edge of the table, no matter what. If you do try to touch me, or do anything cheeky, I’ll stop what I’m doing and take you home that instant.”

Miss French shivered. Threats sounded so good in his mouth. She wanted to obey him just so he would keep talking to her. 

“And you’re only going to come when I give you permission.” His fingers dug into her flesh. His grip was so strong it hurt, in the best way. He leaned over her on the table to whisper. “I intend to make it very difficult for you, Miss French. See if you can be a good girl for me.”

Breath shaking, Miss French pulled herself together enough to speak. “Am I going to get anything? If I follow the rules?”

Mr. Gold stroked the whole of her leg, thigh to ankle, contemplating her question. Thank God Lacey had taken the time to shave her legs again.

“If you obey me, my dear Miss French, if you do exactly as I say, then when we’re done here I will allow you to join me in the study.”

Miss French’s breath caught in her throat. There was nothing she wanted more than to go into Mr. Gold’s study again.

“That sounds good,” she whispered. 

“So we have a deal, dearie?” 

Mr. Gold’s grin over her was animalistic, wild. Or at least as close to wild as a man as self-controlled as Mr. Gold would allow himself to get. A desire ignited inside Miss French: Even more than she wanted the pleasures and passions he could give her, she wanted to see what his passion looked like. She wanted to make him lose control.

“Yes, Mr. Gold,” she whispered. “We have a deal.”

The briefest flash of pleasure burned in his eyes, then his face was gone. He stood between her legs again. For the first time, his hands went under her pretty red skirt. 

From the back of his throat came a dark, hungry sound. When he raised the skirt up over her waist, Miss French felt cool air against her heated body.

Cooler than it should have been. His hands were gone. After a moment, Lacey pushed herself up on her elbows so she could see what was going on.

Mr. Gold was looking down at her. He was frowning.

Lacey’s stomach plummeted.

“Is… something wrong, Mr. Gold?”

He shook his head. “More fool me not to expect it.”

“What?”

“This…” As he searched for words, he used one long finger to slide over her mound. “Carpet.”

Lacey’s face went hot. Her hair? He was annoyed because she had pubic hair? 

“Oh,” she said softly. “I’m… sorry?” 

Mr. Gold seemed so disgusted that Lacey felt like she had to apologize. Like this was some fundamental act of hygiene that she had completely ignored.

Clearly he wasn’t going to have any more use for her, at least not tonight. She started to sit up. “You don’t have to--”

“Stay where you are, you filthy creature.” His palm covered her hair. His fingers plunged into her core. Mr. Gold made a noise, pleased and ravenous. “Did you get this wet just from dirty talk? You really are a slut, Miss French.”

A high whine left her throat. Miss French drifted down to the table. “Do whatever you want to me, Mr. Gold. Whatever I deserve.”

He began to rub slow circles over her cunt. “See, that’s how I know you’re not a nice girl, dearie. Those are words a nice girl would never say.”

“I’m not a nice girl,” she whispered half to herself. “I’m a stupid slut. A filthy, stupid, whore.”

Mr. Gold grunted his agreement. He was still playing with her pussy. Two fingers sank inside her, then slowly withdrew. 

“Look at me, Miss French.”

Miss French obeyed, propping herself up on her elbows again. Mr. Gold stood in front of her with his lips parted and two fingers in front of his mouth. They glistened faintly from her juices, the fingers he had just put inside her. 

He waited until she was watching him, then he inhaled deeply through his nose. He waved his fingers in front of his face like he was swirling a wine glass. Then he brought them up to his lips.

Jesus Christ. 

He closed his eyes as he savored the taste of her. When he opened them, and saw that she was still gaping at him, he grinned. 

“I don’t normally tolerate hair in my food,” he said. “But you present too sumptuous a meal to resist.” Slick with saliva, his fingers grazed over her opening. “More importantly, I made a deal with you, Miss French. And I am nothing if not a man of my word. You held up your end of the bargain, now I am duty-bound to do my part.”

Without another word, he bent down and put his lips on her cunt.

It was surprisingly slow at first. He just kissed her. It felt like a continuation of the kiss they’d shared earlier. Mr. Gold’s mouth was gentle, coaxing. His lips brushed softly against her folds, her clitoris. Waves of pleasure rolled over Miss French’s body, but they were warm, comforting. She thought it would be new and strange to have someone eat her out--since no one ever had before--but what Mr. Gold did to her felt familiar, somehow. Like she had given him her body a thousand times already and was ready to do it a thousand times more.

Mr. Gold broke away. He looked up at her with hooded eyes. Miss French saw the sheen of moisture on his chin.

She took a breath. She tried to say something, but she couldn’t think of any words worth saying. 

He dove in again, harder now, faster. His tongue made wide, long licks across her pussy. Miss French rose up from the table, but Mr. Gold followed her. His strong hands gripped into her hips, pulling her down and forward, closer to him, closer to his mouth. 

She clutched the back edge of the table, hanging on for dear life. She wanted to grab him. It seemed so natural to touch him in this moment, to run her hands through his hair and press him closer, closer, into her most hidden center.

But Mr. Gold didn’t want her to touch him. If she tried anything like that, he would stop what he was doing and send her home. She couldn’t bear that. Miss French couldn’t tolerate even the thought of being apart from him. 

As he kept working in her--licking and sucking, pressing against her with his nose and his teeth--she felt the pleasure rise up.

“Oh,” Miss French whispered. She tried to fight off the feeling, tried to stave off her climax, but there was nothing she could do. “Mr. Gold, please!”

Immediately, he pulled away. His face rose up from between her legs like a cackling demon. 

“Good girl.” His voice was dark and rich, velvet to the ears. 

Miss French’s breath shook. She had to take several breaths before she knew for sure that she wasn’t going to come. “Th-thank you, Mr. Gold. Thank you for stopping.”

He wiped off his cheek on the inside of her thigh. “You’re not skilled enough to control yourself while I’m still stimulating you.” He gave her leg a quick kiss. “Not yet, anyway.”

He had such a practiced, easy nature when he hinted at what else he had planned for her, what her future might be if she kept playing his games. There was a casualness, a matter-of-fact certainty. Mr. Gold got what he wanted. That was just how this world worked. He would get what he wanted from her. He would mold her into whatever he wanted her to be. It was just a fact. Miss French’s only choice was whether or not she benefited from the process, whether or not she enjoyed it.

So far, she was enjoying it very much.

Mr. Gold kept eating her in fits and starts. He teased her to the brink of orgasm, then pulled away, again and again. She tried to hold herself together, tried to keep her body from doing the thing it wanted. Not yet, not until Mr. Gold said so. It didn’t matter if she wanted to come; all that mattered was if he wanted her to come. He was in control. His will was the only thing that mattered, the only thing in all the world.

Moans filled the dark dining room. Moans and grunts and the quiet, intimate noises of flesh against flesh. Mr. Gold ate her out like he was trying a musical instrument, seeing what movements on what parts produced what sounds. It seemed experimental, but he was already an expert. Somehow, Mr. Gold knew how to play her body. He knew where to find the sensitive spots, how to touch them just enough to make her squeal.

“You’re such an easy fuck,” he sneered. His hands twitched over her clit, sending out shockwaves of pleasure with every motion. “If I let you, you would have come a dozen times already.”

Just his words made Miss French clench and tighten. It was true, of course. Mr. Gold could have made her come a dozen times, a hundred times. She gripped the edge of the table so hard she probably left nail marks in the wood.

“I could just leave you like this,” he chuckled. “I could drive you back to your father’s house drenched in your own desire. Unfulfilled, unsatisfied--but you’re used to that, aren’t you Miss French?”

Lacey grit her teeth. He had one finger pushing hard against her clit and it was taking every ounce of concentration not to come.

“Answer me,” he teased her.

The best Miss French could do was nod. He pushed even harder against her. 

“That’s not what I want, dearie. You’re not going to come until you say what I want to hear.” 

“Yes!” she squeaked. The effort of holding herself together brought tears to her eyes. “Yes, Mr. Gold!”

“Good girl,” he hissed. “Now, come.”

The words were barely out of his mouth before she was thrashing against the table. He kept his hands on her for a moment as he watched her shake and flail, then he sank down to use his mouth on her again.

Miss French kept coming. Every time she thought she might be done, Mr. Gold added more fuel to her fire. His tongue probed at her, filled her, covered every inch of her. Everything he had done earlier to tease her he did again--only harder and faster and longer. Now that he wanted her to come, he wouldn’t let her stop.

“Fuck!” Mr. Gold snarled as he jammed his fingers into her again and again. “Is there any fucking end to you? Are you ever satisfied, you whore? Am I going to have to pull men off the streets just to keep you happy?”

“No!” she shrieked. “No, Mr. Gold! Please, Mr. Gold! I only want you, Mr. Gold!”

Her body proved her words with an intense orgasm. She clenched around his hand, sucked him into her. A heavy rush of wetness pulsed out.

Mr. Gold sneered. “And you squirt, too. Of course. The perfect fucktoy does everything.” His hand jabbed at her as he spoke, every motion bringing with it a new crest of pleasure. “You take anal on the first try. You orgasm from anal sex. You’re a sopping mess before you’re even touched, and you come like a multiorgasmic machine.” 

His free hand grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up. Miss French had to blink a few times before she could focus on his face. He looked furious.

“What else do you do?” His other hand gripped her jaw. His fingers were hot, damp from her juices. “What other tricks can the pretty little sex doll perform? Do you come from having your nipples played with? Or vaginally? Do you come from pain?” His hand slid down from her jaw to her neck. “Do you deep throat on the first try? Do you get off on swallowing?”

All Miss French could do was shake her head, very slowly. “I don’t know, Mr. Gold. I’m--I’m not a virgin, but I promise I’ve never done any of that.”

He let his hands drop. He stared at her like he didn’t believe what he was looking at. Didn’t he think she was telling the truth? Or didn’t he think she was real?

“We’ll see about that,” he said, quietly but not softly. “Can you walk?”

Miss French slid herself off the table. Her legs were wobbly, but she could stand.

“Yes, Mr. Gold.”

“Good.” He jerked his head toward a door. “Because we’re going to the study.” 

[zenixromeave]

zane skins/designs review!

first MCD appearance/wedding/white +gold

This is ugly as sin to be completely honest.

Okay, looking a little harder it isn’t THAT bad. The white and gold are clearly reminiscent of royalty and status, but the chosen yellow is far too on the lime green side of the spectrum to be recognizable as gold or have the same beauty as gold does. The belt looks bad, it doesn’t fit the rest of the outfit well and it would probably have given more of a priest/nun look if it weren’t present and his clothes were implied to be more drapey. This far back in his character design, his hair was also very light, giving it more of an impression of being gray than black, which thankfully she fixes eventually. The shading on the clothing- both white and gold- is very harsh and uses some really bad yellow tones (when shading with yellow, it is almost never good to take the color just closer to black, instead, making it more orange and a little darker usually makes a more aesthetically appealing color.)

There are admittedly some good, iconic features present in this design which just weren’t fully polished yet. Personally, I really like the idea of the hood, as it’s a common motif in a lot of religious clothing I feel like. Also, it looks cool, and goes well with him having a mask and covering himself.

-

main outfit (MCD)

The monochrome of this outfit works really well. All of the blacks and greys are slightly blue, lending themselves to suit his eyes nicely. The shading is nice as well. While the outfit looks good, I don’t feel the same about his face. His eyes could provide a nice pop of color, and since his clothes are tinted blue it should work, but the blue of his eyes is far too dull and light to provide any contrast or pop. Since his eyes and skin have nearly the same gray undertones, his eyes don’t pop as much as they should in a monochromatic design like this. “Also, they look like pajamas” - my boyfriend

-

other main outfit (??? this one’s white)

“This one is super ugly” - my bf

The blue crosses are too similar in color to his eyes, it draws your attention to his knees instead of his face and eyes. I think his eyes work better in this outfit though with all the white, and I like the gloves. The strap around his chest is not really recognizable as a strap and the colors in the sword are obviously awful. The brown is really bright, as is the greenish-blue color of the sword (dagger?) Also, the amount of armor and weaponry in this outfit doesn’t really make sense for him considering he rarely fights. The boots/pants situation confuses me, I don’t know what’s going on there. Are they really short shoes and black pants of almost the same color? Visually confusing and ugly. His hair is still a little bit too gray.

His mask looks like it’s really long and with a cross on it. I think that looks really good. Shoulder pads are weirdly small as well, looks goofy.

-

rebirth

Why did she make him sexy. Whats her issue

I like the belt/strap details, they add some well needed texture to the previous design. The pants/shoes situation is still confusing and hard to tell what’s what. Finally, she’s utilizing his eyes as a proper pop of color. Personally, I would make them more on the purplish side of blue, but the green tint does match his sword, so that’s a nice touch. 

-

Jury of nine transformation (I think?)

He’s big. You can’t see his face. He’s evil. Very sexy of him.

-

season 3 (shadow knight armor)

I really like the purples in this one, and I think the shading is nice. I think the red should have probably been toned down a little because it’s very harsh and yet again draws attention away from his face. I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again, the full gem swords are ugly as shit. No escaping it. They’re all bad and look tacky.

The reasoning for why his mask is shaped that way still eludes me. He’s wearing all armor in this outfit, so the same hoodie-scarf-mask made of fabric he usually wears makes even less sense. There’s definitely cooler ways to cover his face, use some creativity. At this point, she was only giving him a mask because it was an established part of his character, not because it served any narrative or aesthetic purposes.

-

beach episode (side stories)

trans ? why is he wearing that.

The shorts and top have no shading. Other than that, there isn’t much clothing to critique so... overall I think it’s kinda cute. The colors are pretty balanced, and I appreciate giving him some kind of shirt even at the beach, considering he’s usually covered head-to-toe. Not the kind of guy who should have abs though. Not everyone is Grey Fullbuster, Jess.

[alkalineleak]

Also wait do u have ashockwave design i suddenly thought of him and needed to know. Good evening

i dont and im SO sad about it................ i have an IDEA of a tide design that im slowly working out though hold on. let me open aggie. what i DO know and can tell you right now is i imagine shockwave as a bundle of sharp and jagged shapes. his shoulders are all joints and his hands are like an old tree. i also want his hair to be more shaped and jagged in the same way so itll definitely be in a protective style thats more on the shorter side, but i havent decided which !!!! im thinking some sort of micro twist ? just to have a lot of movement while having a contained more sharp shape !

which will ALSO contrast a lot with tides hair which are goddess braids since i liked the flowing movement of water + since they r colored synthetic ends it will actually EMULATE how water looks !!!!!!!

anyways here what i have like. as some drafts ? im using tide to compare him to shockwave. with shockwaves ACTUAL design i gave used inspo from hazmat suits and the silly archetype of a mad scientist like large gloves and clothing !! so i gave him a drapping coat thingy which would HEYY !! more places to hide conductice material!! i also wanted to vaguely take a spider theme bc hes so spidery body type wise. i want him to look like he Crawls. i also tried to give it more of a square edgy thing. So combining these i hoped the tucked in sleeves gave more of a square shape and the dangly gold bits would add some visual unease. its a first draft so its.rough but hey !! thats what 1st drafts r for. it came out vaguely cowboy ish DJDJDJ

and then going with actual BODY designs instead of color work

[cosmic--dandelion]

So I have a fairly unique take on Kakyoin's backstory in my own writing. I wrote his parents as straight up toxic, psychologically and sometimes physically abusive, and neglectful. My version of Kakyoin ran away from home years before he met Jotaro, spent some time in a mental institution, and instead of being stalked and kidnapped, deliverately sought Dio out on his own.

Quite a departure from the more commonly accepted "Kakyoin has nice, normal parents who just didn't understand him" interpretation, huh? So why did I write this (other than the fact that I graviate toward angsty backstories) and how does it fit what we know about Kakyoin?

Kakyoin's most obvious feature is his intelligence. All of his friends, who are (mostly) brainy guys themselves, acknowledge that he's the best, most reliable strategist in the group, and a good portion of his dislogue is info-dumping. As expected of an honor student, he's very prim and proper to contrast Jotaro's delinquent image. Yet he's also weird, socially awkward, brutally honest, and emotionally distant. I've heard him described as having no setting in between "uncomfortably polite" and "rude bastard", and damn if that doesn't fit him like glove. In battle, he's probably the scariest, most ruthless crusader and is perfectly capable of straight-up beating the shit out of his closest friends, even if he's also capable of bring the bigger person and forgiving them. Friendship and bonds are everything to him. He's caring and empathetic but has balls of steel and takes exactly zero shit from anyone. He's quite familiar with other cultures' customs and traditions, implying he's an experienced traveler. Kakyoin is very independent and has skills, knowledge, and confidence you wouldn't expect a normal kid his age to have.

I wrote a little about Kakyoin's backstory in the second fanfiction I ever wrote, "Facets" and then in great detail in "In Water". If you haven't yet, please go check them out! They are, in my opinion, quite a bit more interesting that just hearing me talk about them. Now onto spoilers, for both the manga and my own work.

So this is Kakyoin's canonical backstory. All of it. The anime isn't canon, the fighting games aren't canon, the Josuke and Hol Horse spin-off isn't canon. Only this is, plus that 19 page backstory Araki wrote for him thirty years ago that will never see the light of day.

This is it. There's a blurb on his character profile that mentions that his parents are alive, they think he ran away, and they're either "shocked " or "very worried" depending on the translation. Then he dies, and in typical Araki fashion, Kakyoin is never seen or referenced again.

The sheer amount of angst Kakyoin had over no one being able to see his stand, even compared to other born stand users, makes me think there's more to it.

In my version of his backstory, Kakyoin's parents are poor. His dad is a rather unimpressive, unambiguous office worker who's made several bad business decision, escalating tensions between him and his wife. She hails from an upper middle class background and is generally a bit snobbish and image-conscious. Kakyoin's birth just adds fuel to the flames. In addition to being another mouth to feed, he has inexplicably bright red hair and violet eyes. (In my version of the jjba-verse, born stand users just have weird hair and eye colors sometimes.) The husband decides that this means his wife cheated on him with a red-headed foreigner.

Kakyoin is a problem child. He's exceptionally bright and imaginative in a school system (remember, it's 1970s Japan) that doesn't know how to handle gifted children, and he's non-neurotypical with a troubled home life to boot. That conversation with his teacher probably happens around this time. He self isolates, but he's not causing trouble on purpose, and the other kids are intimidated, but not hateful. Yet.

Then his parents have a their worst fight yet, and Kakyoin loses control of Hierophant due to stress and almost kills his father. The man is traumatized (as you would be if you were possessed by an invisible tentacle monster only you son can see and control) and abandons his own family. The mother knows Kakyoin did *something*, but she doesn't know what. Her resentment deepens, and they continue to drift apart.

Kakyoin's relationship with his mother reaches its nadir, and now he *is* getting ostracized. He's angry at the world and starting to lash out. By age 10, Kakyoin has started seeing counselors. He is misdiagnosed as having a whole host of scary-sounding mental disorders and is forced to take powerful mood stabilizers and antipsychotics every day. After all, he spends all his time playing with someone they can't see and drawing a weird green thing that looks like a cthulhuloid abomination. The mother reaches her breaking point and surrenders him to a combination group home/"special school". This experience defined him probably more than any other event in his life before this point. It's incredibly violating and humiliating, and Kakyoin develops a complex about always having to be seen as the smartest guy in the room.

At around age 14, he runs away, desperate to find more people like him. On his travels, he hears rumors about a mysterious, beautiful man in Egypt with strange powers. The entire "family vacation" to Egypt was a lie he made up on the spot because he didn't want to admit that HE sought Dio out, not the other way around, and that he's a runaway with a checkered past.

So what about his parents? My version of Kakyoin doesn't hate them and would have at least tried to bridge the gap between them if they'd both hasn't so thoroughly cut him out of their lives. He feels guilty on some level for not being a good enough son, and he wants to believe that they still love him on some level. Hence the "I'm sorry for making you worry" line.

Are they worried? Probably. They're shitty parents, not monsters.

(The "mom has dad and dad has mom" line? The former Mrs. Kakyoin had a revolving line of boyfriends and lovers, so Kakyoin started to think of 'dad' as a temporary position in her life rather than a singular person. Growing up in a dysfunctional family with no socialization with peers who had normal ones, he has a warped view of how families are.)

So what about Dio?

This one's pretty easy. In my version, Dio acted like a friend at first, lulling Kakyoin into a false sense of security. He was a little intimidated, but not full on terrified. Dio didn't want to risk destroying Kakyoin's brain, finding it quite useful, so he basically tried to groom him so the fleshbud wouldn't be needed. Then once Dio realized that Kakyoin was going to be harder to control than his other minions, he implanted the fleshbud. Dio being Dio, he decided to scare the shit out of the poor kid, savoring his pain and horror and sense of betrayal.

I think I would probably feel differently giving Kakyoin this amount of baggage if I ever wrote anything canon-compliant. I also didn't add it to make him more of a wobbie or break him so Jotaro could fix him with the power of yaoi.

It means something to me that (my version of) Kakyoin went through all this shit and healed from it and went on to lead a long, happy, successful life.

[awhphooey]

PLEASE talk to me about your tmnt designs they are so good and friend shaped

OK!!! >:D gonna just copy paste them directly from discord so excuse the “like previously stated” stuff lmao

Raph:

Ok so!! This one might be short bc I do really enjoy his canon design. I made his spikes a bit more rounded than they are in canon because alligator snapping turtles are sharp but not that sharp (I’m aware the show’s style is just generally sharp as well). I also think it suits his personality more, with the spikes being a bit rounded out. He’s big and tough, yes, and he can definitely beat the shit out of people, but with his brothers he’s just a big teddy bear! Clothes wise I was initially going to give him a ripped jersey but decided against it because I wanted to show off the cracks and marks on his shell. He’s a big guy which means he most likely just throws himself (literally) into fights, which would definitely end up with him getting some marks in his shell. I left the x bandages on his chest and added some others on his side, as well as a sticker from Mikey over one of the smaller scratches. I ended up ripping the ends of his bandana as well, more than I think it is in the show, if it is at all. I let him keep the wraps on his feet and hands, and added some sweat bands on his wrists (despite the fact they wouldn’t work that way) to replace the sporty vibe the jersey would’ve given. I also gave him shorts for the same reason. It just gives him a boxer vibe imo. Giving him a tail is the only thing I will never regret because 1. TAIL. 2. long tails are like??? A defining trait of snapping turtles bro. I already explained that his markings aren’t natural, and that they’re sprayed on by Mikey. He probably has to get them redone every once in a while, which means the shape of them might change a bit every time. (The small splatters definitely do) that’s sort of all I can think about to say for Raph? He’s my sweet cheese? My good time boy?

Leo:

Woo! Guy I stole my name from let’s go- his design didn’t change much either, if I’m being honest. Probably changed less than Raph’s. I liked the crescent markings on his eyes instead of the classic slider stripes, I just think they fit his vibe more so I let those be. The crescents on his arms, however, had to go. I know they were probably chosen to be easier for the animators, but I’m not an animator and my boy isn’t a damn tiger!! So racing stripes it is! I left the color alone tho bc I liked the contrast. His gloves also got left alone because I enjoy how dramatically they flare out. He got a scarf because I thought it looked cool but also !! It is kind of reminiscent of the weird shock collar thingy he got in Donnie’s Gifts. Obviously this scarf won’t keep his quips at bay, but at least he’ll be warm while he messes around. He also gets to keep his over the shoulder thing instead of being downgraded to a belt like Mikey, just because his sword is too damn long to fit in a side holster thingy (idk if holster is the right term for the sword one or if it’s exclusively for firearms). I was high key debating giving him a Fanny pack bc I thought it would’ve been funny, but braces *and* a Fanny pack would’ve made me feel like I was trying to make fun of him for some reason so he just gets a slightly bigger side bag. Satchel? Idk. I gave him a few marks as well because out of all four of them, I feel like he gets knocked around the most- mostly because he’s the one running in without a plan. He’s got one on his leg, two (from the same injury) on his left arm, and one across the bridge of where his nose would be. I wasn’t sure if I was going to add the nose one, because I was having trouble thinking of how he would get a cut so deep on his nose to scar but not to affect his eyes, but then I remembered I don’t care for logic when it comes to character design. He’s also got a bit of a torn up shell from roughhousing with Raph and pulling stupid stunts.

Donnie:

Burger boy!! Ok so I am a firm believer in Donnie should get clothing/tech that will actually help him and doesn’t just look cool. Hence the welding gloves and goggles! I also think he would use the bandana around his neck as a mask to cover the bottom half of his face! When he’s not wearing his mask, as you can see, he just keeps the goggles around his neck. I think that the turtles wouldn’t always be wearing their masks, but Donnie always wants his goggles with him, so he just lets em hang there. The tech pad on his arm controls his shells and Shelldon, as well as just being used like any tablet can be used. He usually does things himself, but he has the doc Ock robot arms to help him with smaller tasks like carrying things or holding stuff for him while he works. Also to hold his phone because,,, Gen Z man… anyways actual design wise, I just kept with the patterns he has in the show. I gave him 2012 Donnie’s tooth gap because I enjoy it immensely, and I gave him slightly webbed feet for swimming. He would be the best swimmer out of all of his brothers because of it. Also yeah, he’s got normal people eyebrows now, but the ones you see over his mask are 100% drawn on. Speaking of his mask!!!! I gave him a little Deadpool type bump at the back of it because I wanted to and also because I have never once in my life been able to tie a bandana around my head like that without having a bump. Is this the shortest one? Probably, I literally can’t tell rn 💀 Sorry Donnie I said Leo changed the least but maybe it was you. Or I’m just bad at analyzing my design for him

Mikey:

Ok Mikey now bc he’s last (rip)!! He definitely got the most little details added in, because he was the first one I drew. Also because his initial design already has so much character compared to the others. First off, pattern: FRECKLESSSSS I enjoy him having tiny speckles instead of just big blotches. I just think it gives him more of an asymmetrical look. Same with the stickers on his shell!! I purposely gave him no two shapes the same so it would be a bit more mismatchy. The skull- like previously stated- is a reference to his toddler design, which had a skull on an orange sleeveless hoodie. WHY DOES HE HAVE KNEE PADS AND NO ELBOW PADS. WHAT IS THE POINT OF THEM. So anyways he has elbow pads now. You can’t see them but he has more faces drawn on them. I gave him one sweatband on one wrist and the beaded bracelets on the other, again, for asymmetry. One of the only symmetrical things is probably his spats/socks/shoe thingies. His backpack straps aren’t even even. Speaking of his backpack, he has some pins and patches on there that are 90% gifts from his brothers and 10% ones he found on the ground. His skateboard on the bottom is a drawing he did by himself, and was one of the first pieces he ever did without copying something. Not super intentional, but his shell design sort of looks like a firework going off, which I think matches his personality a whole lot. The tooth he has missing is a permanent tooth and he honestly doesn’t care that it’s missing he thinks he looks cool.

1,300+ words later, you deserve a Turtle Tot design so here you go!!

[dowhatteverer]

Finished all of the main characters in my Remnant City AU designs!

Decided to have their main colors as their backgrounds because they wear a lot of black and I didn't want them to get lost when you click on them for higher quality.

I don't have much to say about Ruby's design because I agonized over it for a while before finally getting something I liked. I know this kind of goes against her gothic lolita style, but I think the rolled up jacket with the dress's long sleeves combined with her skinny jeans kind of sells how young she is compared to everyone else. It makes her look more like a teen.

I changed my initial design for Weiss into something I can see myself drawing over and over again. Definitely took some inspiration from @sytokun 's original design for her early on in his own AU. I also decided to give her her slight gradient back. I didn't change Weiss's wedges because I think they communicate her higher status and maybe something she will need to change to better herself in combat later on. I also gave her wedges kind of a flap to them so it's easier to focus on the red on her shoes.

I already made a post about how I changed Blake's design to be more inspired by a jacket I own that's styled like a leather jacket but is made of stretchy material. I also changed her heels to converse esc sneakers because I think their more practical for fighting. Also, yellow accents for her eyes and to give Yang an in to the team.

I love Yang's hunter outfit and I just wanted to add more Chinese elements to it. I have her in this pose because I love Yang being a fun mix between a hot and she knows it party girl and a tear shit up biker with kind of a tomboy streak. It reminded me of women I've met in real life.

Penny's outfit is more inspired by her volume 7 and 8 outfit but I did a slight redesign on her legs to make them easier to draw. I know she's supposed to keep her robot status a secret, but her robot legs are just so fun to draw that I kind of had to use the rule of cool on this. She'll just tell people their high quality prosthetics her dad made for her. I gave her the orange bob hair she had at the beginning of the series because it's super cute, though in the future I plan to draw it with more curly/kinky elements because even though I love her hair, I do have problems with how the show refuses to use hair textures that black people have.

Initially Qrow was just supposed to have his first design from the show, but then I decided to give him mostly red and black coloring to tie him more to Ruby and to contrast with Ironwood's blue and white. It also might be time to mention that crooked crosses are considered good luck in Remnant and that's why Qrow and Ruby wear them and why crosses seem to exist at all in a world where Christianity doesn't exist.

I pretty much didn't change anything about Ironwood's design that I already did for him because I like it so much. It's interesting to see how I just changed it little by little. First he had a long great coat, then I made it shorter, then I had baggy blue pants, then baggy saturated pants, then no bagginess. I absolutely had to keep the one glove because it was a part of his design I really liked in his first design.

And that's pretty much it for everyone. I might make some winter outfits for them since it's getting pretty close to snowing where I am. Also I have the best idea for Yang's winter outfit already and I'd like to draw it.

[donotexterminateupgradepudding]

Black Sails meta - an excellent example of show, don’t tell.

Season two of Black Sails does an excellent job during the flashbacks to tell us where Captain Flint came from, his relationship to Miranda and of course, his intimate relationship with Thomas Hamilton.  Over the course of those first five episodes we get snippets of events that run in parallel with the current timeline and why Flint is so goddamn dedicated to doing crazy shit in the name of Nassau and pirates.

The first set of flashbacks are around the first meeting of Lord Thomas Hamilton and rising star in the Royal Navy, Lt. James McGraw.  In this entire sequence we see that McGraw is wearing black gloves while everyone else in the background and Thomas have bare hands.  The fact in this far shot that you can’t see his hands is the best indication of those black gloves.

Thomas is wearing one of the super fancy long wigs and we can see a ring on his right pinky finger as well on his bare hand.  In contrast, James has his hair tied back in a simple ponytail and he wears his officer’s uniform.

James takes the naive Lord on a field trip in their second meeting to point out issues with piracy, specifically around the Caribbean. I love how Flint is just like, “the pirate is Davey something or other” with such a dismissive attitude that these men can all be lumped into one defining group.

For this, Thomas Hamilton is no longer wearing the super fancy wig but has switched it out for a little less formal one.  It results in one of my favorite conversations from the entire series.  I didn’t capture it in these shots, but our stoic Lt. McGraw is still wearing his black gloves.

This conversation also adds to the solid INTJ personality of Flint - one can have great ideas but knows that most people are likely to fuck them up; this also is shown in season one as Flint made sure to have Gates as his quartermaster for what was clearly years since he’s absolute shit at office politics.

The main point of the flashbacks in the first episode of season two want to make it clear that Flint is pragmatic, blunt and distant with closed off body language. The second episode has another flashback where Thomas starts off with the creation myth from Genesis and adds in extra bits that everyone needs a partner.  This is in his office where he’s still wearing the white wig while seated at his desk while Flint stands before him formally.  The only thing which has changed for him is the fact his hands are now bare, but held behind him.

Flint is still cautious of the man as a cold rain falls outside.

This is the only scene with the two of them - the rest of the flashback is between Flint and the Admiral who is both his father figure and professional mentor.  We learn that some time has passed between the scene with Thomas and the one at the pub as when left alone, other officers try to gang up on Flint and bully him speaking poorly of the Hamiltons which unleashes has rage, which only his mentor can stop.  These conversations reveal additional information, James is on first name basis with Thomas, indicating he’s become closer than from the opening scene above and he’s close enough with both Thomas and Miranda that he feels obliged to defend their collective honor. Admiral Hennessy has a good read on McGraw.  He knows everyone has a sort of ‘primal emotion’ in himself but McGraw’s is one that is darker and wilder than most.  Granted, he admits it is likely why his mentee has been an excellent naval officer and moving through the ranks smoothly and effectively.  But the Admiral is also concerned how deep that darkness is and what it would make McGraw capable of. 

I’m sure that this conversation stuck in the back of Lt. McGraw’s head and reminded him that when pushed he could do very dark and effective things.

Episode three has two flashbacks, the first one continues the intellectual discussion about what to do about the ‘pirate problem’ and shows how comfortable James has become in the presence of the Hamiltons and them with him.  Thomas is now without any wig or jacket and James has his sleeves rolled up and he’s comfortably seated in the chair also wearing only his military waistcoat.  This is a huge jump from episode one where both men are dressed for their respective stations and roles.

The table has half drunk wineglasses, papers and books scattered about.  We even see an empty plate with the silverware neatly off to the side indicating that James had eaten a meal with Thomas while working.  More importantly, this is a direct contrast with episode two where Thomas is seated while James is standing.  Now, James is seated and controlling the conversation while Thomas tries to determine how to fix Nassau.

True to form, the issue is laid out plainly.  The difficulty with Nassau is it is in a hard place to govern indirectly.  The anti-pirate propaganda pamphlet they look at shows that the current governor has been corrupted by the pirates and it is very easy to do.

Thomas can only listen across the table as his friend explains that the entire governmental set up for a place like Nassau is doomed to fail, due to the inherent nature of men and that anyone with a reasonable amount of intelligence will do more for himself and fuck the government.

And with this Lt. James McGraw has laid out one part of the goals of the infamous Captain Flint and those he works with, and against in the current timeline of the series.  Their entire conversation, the elements around them show that these two men have grown close and are not only at ease with each other physically, but can speak very openly with each other.

Their serious conversation is broken by Miranda entering to make sure that they are still alive, apparently having worked in the office for several hours non-stop, hence the food eaten in the room and the wine to help lubricate their sticky brains. . .  What is clear is that the relationship between Thomas and Miranda is a good one.

The two of them have a fondness that may not be defined by unbridled passion but they love each other and support each other.  This is also when Miranda loans James Don Quixote to help him to understand Thomas better, which I mentioned in my previous meta about the role of books).

We then get a flashback where our stoic navy man is more than willing to open his door to his apartment without a shirt to be met with Miranda Hamilton.  He seems completely confused why she’s there as though he were expecting someone else.  Miranda explains that she got his address from the carriage driver and invites herself into his place since it is awkward standing in the hallway of the apartment building.  I’m more than willing to read between the lines that 1.) he was expecting Thomas to come to his door which is why he so willingly opened it and 2.) Thomas may have given the information to Miranda worried or concerned and wanted her to reassure him with things.  I think that by this point, James was already involved with Thomas, but that Thomas had been paying him visits to his small flat.

James is able to get his undershirt on but his entire body language is super awkward.  He’s not keen on the idea of going to visit some other members of the aristocracy in lieu of her actual husband.

He’s quite cheeky in his reply with a large smirk as he tries to dissuade her until she cuts him off to explain that he’s worried how it would look to the rest of civil society.  Though the amount of flirting between the two of them is just - wow - kind of adorable how cheeky it all is. They try to outwit each other while making smirks at each other.

Of course, Miranda won’t be defeated by his concern for appearances and she changes her argument to ask is he is happy.  And man - does this question cause his brain to come to a grinding halt.

I think that this argument is how Miranda is setting James up to agree with her and allow himself to experience what she calls happiness.  She is incredibly straightforward and makes it clear to him to not worry about all the rumors and that she loves her husband and it is obvious that they do love each other. 

The flashback concludes with them in the carriage and James admits that he told the carriage driver to take her back home.  Miranda tells him theory of the two types of men who make their life at sea 1.) those who out of sense of duty are willing to leave their identity behind to and 2.) those who find the loss of identity to be the attraction of the career.  James playfully asks her which of the two men he is and she replies that he is very good at managing how people perceive him.  With this skill he is able to get what he wants without anyone realizing he set everything into motion in the first place.  She tells him that he’s concerned about what people think he might be doing behind closed doors; as opposed to the actual acts that he is doing behind those closed doors.  He’s not a prude who doesn’t do things because of morality or propriety - he just wants to appear so and he does exactly what he wants in private. 

The two flirt a little more as he takes her hand in his and they kiss in the carriage.  However, Miranda is the one who makes the move to sit on him as the flashback ends, showing that she is the one driving the physical relationship between them.

He doesn’t have an issue per se with kissing her, but when they briefly pull back, Miranda is eager while he seems distant.  By this point in the show, we know that Miranda is a very sexual woman and she has a high libido.  No judgement - just fact. 

She is more than willing to meet those needs but it is also clear that it is still better to be involved with someone who has a good relationship with Thomas.  We already know from the first season that Captain Flint and Mrs. Barlow are still sleeping together, but it is entirely for her and out of habit.  I can’t help but think that there is a sort of guilt or need to sleep with her out of obligation to Thomas when he was alive or how he promised to take care of her.  Honestly, if I were him, I’d see the logic of sleeping with her; Miranda is intelligent, attractive, and fun. 

Even if you weren’t madly in love with her, she’d be a good fuck.  He still loves her, but not in the same way that he loves Thomas.  The two of them have ten years of hardship and suffering and their lives are incredibly intertwined, you can’t just sever than and not have it impact the two of them.

Episode four has the flashback when things start to go wrong in regard to Lord Hamilton’s plans to deal with Nassau.  Thomas calls James over in a rush because he wants him to talk him out of his plans.  I love the casual flirty reply that James gives him at first before realizing things are more serious.  He flippantly replies that they don’t have a problem and even laughs a little.

But oh no, this is more serious as Thomas states that he has grown close to him and trusts him deeply.  And that is when James begins to look concerned.  Again, James is seated in a chair with his sword as they go over the plan.  Until Thomas says he wants to pardon all the pirates and that look on James’ face of ‘oooohhh fuuuccckkk’ as they know that Lord Alfred Hamilton is coming over for dinner and they will have to discuss this with him.

Interestingly, Thomas is the one standing while again, James is seated trying to be the voice of reason, aware of the situation in Nassau, in Whitehall, in the Navy etc.

When he gives his advice both as a member of the navy and then as a friend.

His words cut Thomas to the core and we end with a scene where he looks like he’s about to cry looking at James.

This is followed by the awkward dinner scene where Thomas’ father begins to argue with him over the plan Nassau.  Miranda tries to speak up and is cut down ruthlessly by Lord Hamilton as he can’t help but remark on her sexual activities making the mood worse.  Honestly, I don’t know why this is such a big deal; countless members of the upper classes had all sorts of affairs and as long as heirs were produced it wasn’t a horrible scandal.  But I don’t know exactly why the writers took this direction. 

It all comes to a crashing halt when James explodes in a very polite fashion (for him) telling the Lord of the house to leave his own home as Thomas laughs at the situation.

To try to prevent the plan from failure before even reaching the floor for debate, Thomas, Miranda and James try to rally support from his intellectual salons (which were likely a delight for Flint even if he didn’t speak, just watching and thinking through everything).

Only one person is willing to assist, Peter Ashe, who finally is formally introduced to Lt. McGraw, though they must have seen each other in these various salons and other events.

Episode five has too many flashbacks that are interrupted in my personal opinion, but I guess they were going to the frantic pace that is set by the concurrent events.

First off, we learn that some time has passed since the flashback left off.  Thomas has been fighting for his political cause while James was away to see Nassau for himself.  This is reflected in his new facial hair and highlighted by Thomas’s comment that it has been three months but felt twice as long.

Okay, we get it, you really missed him Thomas and I’m sure the feelings are likewise - but James has no good news for you.

None of the news that our Lieutenant has is good for the cause.  The governor got in a fight with a pirate over money and it resulted in punishment - the governor’s wife and son were drug out into the street and killed but he was kept alive to spread the word.  Yet, despite all of this we learn that James remains dedicated to Thomas’s plan, even emboldened by what he saw he reveals to Miranda.

However, everyone’s emotions are roiling.  Even before James had returned, Miranda wanted to leave town to take the heat off of Thomas . . . and with their continued push to fight back at Alfred Hamilton, James also is naive about things.  He falls back on the idea that he can still do what he wants ‘behind closed doors’ because he thinks the truth itself is too much to risk being made public.  This is where he’s wrong - it is the very truth (well through a not quite well known source) that ruins his career and he and Miranda are forced to accept the affair story and leave London. 

The bitterest part is that Admiral Hennessy assigned James McGraw to this because of his pragmatic attitude; unfortunately, since McGraw has been ‘swept away’ by the silly ideas of Thomas Hamilton and worse likely seen as seduced by him intellectually and romantically, the Admiral berates him.  Honestly, it is the most heartbreaking scene in the flashback for me, since the Admiral never considers that James saw the logic and promise in the plan, thus throwing his full support behind it.  He is the most skeptical and realistic person and seeing Nassau in person hasn’t shaken him from the plan it only causes him to double down.  This is even more bittersweet and ironic in season three when Woodes Rogers shows up with a ton of pardons and tries to use a variation on the plan that Thomas and James had originally created in 1705. 

Only at the end of the episode do we have a return to the awkward dinner scene where Thomas seeks comfort and support in James at the dinner table as Miranda simply sits there as they begin to make out.  You damn well know that the two of them likely retired elsewhere for a bit before trying to rally more support.  Come on, there is no way that anything that James has started is going to stop until well, it is the full stopping point.  The man never does anything halfway.

Miranda returns the copy of Meditations to James as we finally learn it was gifted and dedicated to him by Thomas.  That Thomas did not want James to be ashamed of their relationship, but this is directed to a man who wanted to craft a careful image of himself before others.

Was he ashamed of things?  I honestly don’t know, it really could go either way.  All of his actions are for Thomas and his vision for Nassau in his mind.  We never hear the conversation he had with Miranda when they were told to leave, but it is clear that he convinced her to join him in Nassau as they fulfilled their role as the fallen Lady and her Naval lover.  Personally, I like the INTJ angle that James preferred total privacy in regard to his relationship.  It is clear that Thomas was someone he let into his inner world and thoughts and he might just be doing the classic ‘I don’t talk about my relationship ever.’ but very INTJ move.  How he truly felt about Thomas was for him and Thomas alone. I think more of his anger would stem from how their lives were ruined, his career destroyed, all punishments of ‘civil society’.  Obviously, the logical solution to this is to say ‘Fuck you England!  I’ll just go to Nassau and become a very successful pirate instead and use my power and influence to fix Nassau without England.’  Yeah  . . . I guess that’s an option most people would take a hard pass on, but not when you can create Captain Flint to do it for you.

Our last dramatic flashback has another glimpse of a flashback as James reflects on his soft moments with Thomas; making out in his room, listening to Meditations read aloud by Thomas. 

They are all so - soft.  Incredibly soft and this is through the eyes of the man who would become the feared Captain Flint.  One of the few instances of true softness in the entire show.  I love how gently he caresses the book before opening it to see the little note to him.  Awwww, again so soft.

Another point that I’d like to bring up here is that with this soft book scene, we see Flint wearing his two rings.  I about drove myself nuts in the first two seasons spending too much time trying to track them to glean any additional information.  Season one episode eight shows his starting set up for the rings below.

In short, there is something there, but I’m not sure how much we can read into it compared to all of the book related plot points and character development.  There is a ring on his right ring finger and one on his pinky.  We know that he’s from a working class background so he wouldn’t have a family ring or anything like that.  I’d guess it has something to do with being a seaman or some sort of professional thing, since people are inclined to wear professional rings.    Furthermore, in all of the flashbacks to 1705 he wears ZERO rings.  Never.  Nothing.  The rings are clearly something that are a part of Captain Flint. 

I’m not expert on ring meanings but the ring finger one could have the lazy interpretation it is representative of a relationship.  Since he’s very careful about how others perceive him, it likely could double internally as a link to Thomas and externally to Miranda since those in the know, think she is his woman.  In season three he will outright refer to her as such to rile up his own crew.  Was she actually his woman?  No, but having people think that his ring is linked to her helps shape his image.  Aka our Captain is involved with a bookish Puritan woman . . .  Plus, Miranda still wears what is likely her wedding ring on her left ring finger from 1705 to her death in Ashe’s estate.

After Gates death, Flint moves the two rings over to his left hand.  They stay there for most of season two until he and Miranda go to meet their old friend Peter Ashe.  Again, with my limited knowledge of things the left hand is more about his intellect and feelings while the right hand is about power and presentation.  After they take the unnamed Spanish Man O’ War, we see him thinking in the background as he devises his return to Captain before they reach Nassau.  I think while he retools and revises things he’s going for the more subtle ring position; that he’s focused on what to do next and how to move forward now knowing that the Urca gold is practically theirs.  As long as they can turn around and do so.

So, maybe he’s regained his bravado and needs to really impress upon Ashe that he’s fully in charge of things and his willingness to seek out a compromise. Which is why only at the end of season two does he wear the rings on the right hand again.

I wasted too much effort trying to determine if his pinky ring is the same one that Thomas has in the flashbacks but that is not the case.  Thomas has one that he always wore on this right pinky and it also had some sort of gemstone set in it. As you can tell I’m totally into jewelry and know all sorts of things about them - I hope you can read my dripping sarcasm as I’m not sure if I could even stand to wear a ring in the first place. 

Flint’s pinky ring does not have any sort of stone set in it.  It would have been a clever detail to have him wear Thomas’ ring, but in no way in hell would have happened with how ruthless Alfred Hamilton was.

They were swiftly removed from London and Thomas was spirited away before Miranda or James even knew or could do anything about it.  And you’d guess that Thomas was likely wearing his ring when he was taken sooooo, yeah, cute fanfic idea but not supported by what the show has shown us visually.  I’m sure the most important gift from Thomas to James was that book above, since we know to quote Dufrense, ‘he likes his books’.

Overall though, Black Sails is a show that excelled in showing you what was happening in addition to telling you things through conversations between characters.  What confuses me is anyone who was watching this show and then got to episode five in season two and was completely shocked by the visual reveal that Thomas and James were deeply in love.  You can go all the way back to the sex scene with Miranda and James to know that it wasn’t romantic love there.  The fact that James wraps his arms around Thomas, yet can’t bring himself to even touch Miranda makes it quite clear how he saw his relationships with both of them.  Well, that is all for now.