#no mount tho sadly ;—;

[impossible-rat-babies]

ough finally got my bluefeather book today !

[who-knew-a-sheep-can-write]

Bigby Wolf x Reader Headcanons (NSFW)

Oh ho ho, pookie >:)

I tried making this gender neutral

NSFW alphabets are gonna come back, idk how tho. I may make em Ao3 exclusive to promote it?

🌙 Just from looking at the disgruntled sheriff, you wouldn't even think of him being anything but a top- But he's very much a switch. As much as he loves dominating you in bed, he also loves relinquishing control and letting you take the reigns. He will never admit it, but he loves being spoiled in bed.

🌙 He started out absolutely sucking with aftercare. It wasn't because he didn't want to do it, it was because he never really had the experience. Bigby's a loyal dog and he's so ready to wait on hand and foot to take care of you when you're both spent.

🌙 Bigby loves to please you. Others, not so much. But you? He would drop everything just to satisfy you sexually if he could. Any way you want it, he'll do it: Orally, fingering, rough, soft, on the table or bent over the kitchen counter. You name it.

🌙 He has a not-so-little secret where he wants to fuck you on his desk. He wants to bat the papers and folders off, push you down and mount you. He knows you would be down for it, the issue is that his office is right down the hall from the Business Office and so many Fables - especially Snow and King Cole - walk past every day.

🌙 Condomns sadly don't really for Bigby. It's not that he doesn't like the use of them, they just don't seem to last; Especially if Bigby turns during sex. Not only that, but Bigby cums a lot, especially if you both haven't done it in a while.

🌙 He feels bad when you're both intimate sometimes and he suddenly wolfs out. It's always a shock to both of your systems, especially yours as you're not needing to accommodate the stretch of a bigger and girthier cock on top of him being a lot rougher than he usually is.

🌙 But fuck if he doesn't love it when you spur him on, knowing that you're also spurring on the beast that lies just beneath his skin. It drives him wild when you tease him to the point of him turning only to feign innocence before sauntering away, swaying your hips and throwing a glance over your shoulder like you're not about to get fucked into the nearest surface.

🌙 When he does fuck you as a werewolf, he loves if when you dig your nails into his beastly shoulders and tug on his soft fur. The pain from pulling just does something to him, sending little electric shocks right down his dick that's currently plowing into you. You can also earn bonus points if you call him a good boy.

🌙 He prefers to cum inside of you, some primal need because so satisfied when he spills his warm seed inside of you whether it's in your mouth or your sex. There are also times when he fights those urges and cums on your face or your ass. His favorite place is on your stomach so he can lick it and then kiss you.

🌙 He has a little thing that he's ashamed of, only because it's tied to something obvious from his past: Bigby loves it when you wear the color red. To anyone else, it would end with Bigby being berated because of what happened with Red Riding Hood (it's not from that though), but you don't do that. Instead, you often surprise him by wearing red underwear under your clothes.

🌙 He's not a very talkative person, the less the best really. But with you? He's talking a hell of a lot more. In the bedroom, he's always saying something; Encouraging you, complimenting you, begging for you.

🌙 He too loves to tease. Often pinning you to the mattress, calloused fingers gliding gently over your sensitivities as he speaks softly, telling you all about what he's going to do to you in his deep and scratchy voice. He loves it when you squirm and plead for him to shut the fuck up and start doing something to you.

🌙 If you have a thing for spanking, he totally stole the Crowd Control paddle from the overcrowded evidence room. He even patched up the splintered wood and re-wrapped the cotton grip. Although he would definitely prefer his hand, he does like the noises you make when you get the paddle to your poor behind.

🌙 Is it any shock to you that his favorite position to fuck you in is doggy style? He always gets an earful when you tease him about it afterwards, scoffing playfully and rolling his eyes before he states that he can find better positions to fuck you in. Mating press is another one of his favorites, especially when he wolfs out.

🌙 Bigby isn't the type of guy to really like to inflict a lot of pain. Spanking and choking are great and all, but he won't really push past those borders into something deeper unless you both really talk things out. He's already a rough and strong person, one wrong move and he can seriously hurt you and he would never forgive himself for it.

🌙 He's an ass man for sure. If you ever walk past him in tighter pants, he can always be caught staring right at the curve of your ass. He doesn't blush and look away and try to deny it, instead, he gets a shit-eating grin and fully accepts he was caught before offering that he can take a break if you want to teach him a lesson.

🌙 He's not a fan of roleplaying. He's pretty awkward socially and he would often fumble words or straight-up forget you both were doing so in the first place. It often gets funny when you would say something sexually weird and Bigby would instantly drop character and say the most Bigby thing imaginable.

🌙 Bigby has the strength to pull you into whatever position he wants you to be in. Even when you've climaxed for the umpteenth time and he's still ramming into your poor hole, he's easily holding you up by your hips, shoulders or waist until he's spent himself inside of you.

🌙 He's not the type to smoke after sex. Instead, he often wraps one of his big muscular arms around your waist and drags you as close as possible against his chest and indulge himself in your scent. He insists that you always smell better when you climax.

🌙 He doesn't drift off right away, often kept up by his racing thoughts and heart. He tries to make some light conversation while you're both snuggled close, but he leaves you to rest if you drift off. It's often hard sometimes to calm down if the beast inside wanted to come out to play but he didn't let it.

[hiddenzev]

Second Confession: Part 2

Pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader

Chapter Summary: She finally confesses her feelings to Joel

Chapter Warnings - Angst, One-sided love, Unrequited Love, Idiots in Love, (let me know if i missed anything)

WC: 4.2k

series masterlist , AO3

A/N: Damn guys, I didn't expect a lot of people to like this story. Thank you for all the likes and comments!! Anyway, please excuse my poor writing :(( I'm trying my best. There might be a few mistakes I've missed. I really wanted to make it so angsty but i'm lacking it sadly. Hope you guys enjoy this next part tho. :)

The rising sun is up painting the sky with beautiful rosy hue this morning. Compared to the beautiful morning, you didn’t get to have a good sleep. You were tossing and turning in your bed overthinking about today. It’s your first patrol with Joel and there’s some many thoughts running through your head playing out how it may go. You make your way, noticing that Joel must have left his house already as you pass by his house.

As you reach the ranch, you notice that Joel is checking the horse while Tommy is by his side saying something to him. Maria is standing further away with another horse which you believe to be in your care for patrols.

Maria notices you and calls you out. Both men turn to look at your form coming closer. Joel takes a quick glance at you before returning his attention back to his horse. You exchange greetings with Maria before walking over to the men.

“Morning!” You greet them.

“Morning. How are you feeling?” Tommy asks you.

“Not bad.” you lied. You’re used to doing patrols but this time it’s different because of a certain man.

“I’ve told this guy to look out for you out there, not that I think you’re not capable of taking care of yourself,” Tommy rambles on beside Joel.

“That’s fine. I get it Tommy,” You gave him a small smile.

“We’re just looking out for you because you’re our friend and this guy has a certain reputation of him y’know.” Tommy says without any care that his brother is next to him listening to what he says.

You nod and cautiously glance at Joel who has his back on you. You pick up your courage to talk to him.

“Hi Joel.” trying to hide the slight tremble in your voice to sound normal.

Joel turns slowly before stepping closer to you. Your eyes are on him the entire time. It’s insane how you are lost in his honey brown eyes that you are seeing up close for the first time since you’ve known him. You can’t help but hold your breath when he bend down slightly to look you in the eyes.

“You better not slow me down. Don’t think that just because you’re good friends with Tommy and Ellie, I will go easy on you,” he pause, “because I won’t.”

You stare at him for a few seconds before you speak, “Didn’t tell you to go easy on me.” You said in a calm voice. You are not that affected by what he said because you knew his grumpy ass is annoyed with you joining him for patrols.

His eyes widen slightly with a certain glint in his eyes. You find it cute seeing him flustered. Not wanting to break into a smile, you turn to go to your horse by Maria.

“You ready to go?” Maria asks you.

“Yup all good,” you say while inspecting your horse.

“What did you say to him? He seems pissed off,” Maria eyes Joel “Can’t stop looking over here.”

You shrug your shoulders while stroking the horse’s neck.

“You know how he is,” you smile affectionately at the horse.

“You’re sure you gonna be ok with him out there?”

“Yes I’m sure, Maria. You know me.” You reassure her.

They know that you mostly keep to yourself and mind your own business most of the time. You’re more of an observer than anything else. You try not to be socially awkward but you can’t help it sometimes. However, you don’t take any shit from anyone. You will stand up for yourself if anyone disrespect you or your loved ones. You’re not a pushover, you can be stubborn sometimes and you know exactly what you want.

Both you and Joel mount the horses and make your way to the gates with Joel leading the way. You exchange a few words with Tommy and Maria before getting out of there.

It was silent the whole time with Joel in the woods. The man didn’t even make a sound, not even a sigh. Instead, the sounds you can hear are the soft rustling of leaves when the calm morning breeze hits them, the faint chirps of the birds, the crunch of leaves and twigs below you and more of the subtle, soothing sounds of the nature.

You try to focus on checking your surroundings but your gaze will always land on Joel’s broad back in front of you. You openly observe him from behind, looking at every one of his curls that you wish you could touch. You wish to caress his head slowly, taking your time to really feel him on your fingertips. Oh you so badly wish to press your body against his back, wrap your arms around his torso and take in his scent. You can only wonder how it would feel.

You close your eyes for a few seconds to will yourself to not think about him this way.p right now. The silence from him kills you. You try to break the silence by striking a conversation.

“The weather’s good this morning, don’t you think?”

No response from him, prompting you to keep talking.

“Don’t you feel guilty appreciating something simple like the weather during a world like this?”

He is still staying silent.

“Do you love music?”

This time, he turn his head slowly to look at you with a hard glare before opening his mouth.

“Do you ever stop talking?” He said it sarcastically.

“Geez, I only asked 3 questions man.” You muttered under your breath looking away from him.

“What?” His eyes you narrowly after seeing you mumbling to yourself.

You look at him again with a forced smile.

“Nothing. I’ll keep quiet.”

He turn his body around, giving his horse a gentle nudge to quicken its pace.

The rest of the patrol with Joel is just him telling you off a couple times when he catches you not being alert enough. You can’t complain because it’s your fault for not focusing on the task, getting distracted in your own thoughts of your partner right there.

You don’t actually mind his attitude out here because him calling out your mistakes only means that he cares about your safety. Even if it’s just a teeny tiny bit. Compared to his approach on other things, he teaches you some tips in a gentler way.

Patrol duty isn’t your favourite because you hate the risk of being out here but there isn’t any choice when there is only a limited amount of manpower for this dangerous duty. You have worked with a couple of people over the years for patrol and weirdly you feel the safest with Joel and it’s only your first day with him.

The patrol shift ends the same way as it started. Masked with the heavy air of stillness with Joel Miller. You’re assuming that he’s using this patrol to probably feel you out to see your skills and make sure you’re strong enough to be his partner. You on the other hand, were busy checking him out with any opportunity that you can. It’s embarrassing at this point.

After the shift handover with the next patrollers, the horses are return to the ranch to be taken care of. Joel went off first after giving you a slight nod. You stay awhile back to be with the horses. You strangely feel proud seeing that he acknowledges you this time. Him giving you not even the bare minimum of manners and you’re out here having your heart flutters over it. Damn. He really have you wrapped around his little finger and he doesn’t even know it.

You heard footsteps behind you as you look emptily at the horses feeding themselves.

“Hey!” Ellie exclaim.

“Hey,” you say with a tired smile on your face.

“Where’s Joel?”

“You just missed him. He left a couple minutes ago,”

“How’s your first patrol with him?” A sly smile on her face that you didn’t catch as you look away from her.

“Unexpectedly, not bad,”

“See! I told you that you can stand his ‘grumpy old man’ attitude!” She smile knowingly.

“What evidence do you have to say that?” Your eyebrows knitted in confusion.

“Intuition,” she winks at you.

“Yeah, right.” You rolled your eyes and slowly make your way out of the ranch. Ellie follows behind you closely before getting next to you. She keeps looking at you with a mischievous grin on her face. You put your arms over her shoulders pulling her in and jokingly put her in a headlock. She giggles loudly and that make you laugh as well.

You have been on a couple of patrols with Joel after that. He is not as tense as the first patrol and have been more open than before. Well, slightly but that is still something. Like you have expected, he’s someone who is just misunderstood. You like that you get to see different sides of him through the patrols.

As time goes on, you try to figure out the right time to tell him your feelings that are only getting stronger. There were some opportunities when there were only the two of you alone that you still couldn’t take.

To be honest, you plan to give him a little gift. Before the outbreak, you love to collect random little stuffs that you find cute or interesting. You still do that after the outbreak while you are out finding supplies.

There is this one guitar pick in your collection that has a design that you find cute but corny at the same time and you want to give it to him. You’re sure he’s not going to be amused with it but you do want to see his reaction to seeing it.

You did hear from Ellie one time that Joel likes to do some wood carvings and that recently he’s starting to do wood carvings of chess pieces. Ellie doesn’t know what chess is. She only know that it is a board game from what Joel had said and she is looking forward to learn it after he finish working on it.

With that information, you secretly start to practice carving chess pieces from wood that you can find or attain from someone in the community. You have finished one perfect piece of a horse. The horse piece is the most difficult one to do as it has more complicated details unlike the rest of the pieces. You hope that at least this would open his heart a little bit more for you.All you need to do is to get a chance to be alone with him and just go for it.

You’re in the tipsy bison, alone, conflicted with how you’re going to go about this. You feel a hand on your shoulder and you turn to look over it to see Tommy smiling softly at you. He slides into the chair opposite you with his drink.

“Hey, everything alright?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t they?” You tried to give a convincing smile.

“How long have we known each other, huh? I know when there’s something bothering you. You know you can tell me anything right?”

You look down on your hands, don’t know whether to confide in him about Joel.

“Is it Joel?”

You raise your head looking at him with wide eyes, shocked by what he said. Too stunned to speak, you just look at him with your mouth slightly parted.

“I’ve been noticing some things and let me hold your hand telling you this,” he reaches out to hold one of your hands, “it’s kinda obvious,”

“Really?” You ask him softly.

“It is to me since we’re close and I’m actually a little hurt that you didn’t tell me. I thought I’m your closest friend here,” he jokingly put his hand over his heart.

“I didn’t tell anyone especially not you since you’re his brother. I don’t know how you would feel about that y’know. Just thought it was just a silly little crush that would go away after a short period of time but here I am,” you tell the truth.

“How long?”

“Ever since he’s been here,” you softly said, avoiding looking at him, shy about your year long crush on his brother.

“Damn, should have told me. I could help you out a lil bit,”

“How? I think you would have made it worse.” you chuckle at him.

He laughed out loud. You're glad that Tommy doesn't find any problem with your crush on his big brother.

"Are you gonna tell him? cause damn girl, a year is crazyyyyy" He sips on his drink.

"That's the problem, Tommy. I don't know how to and you know him better than I do. He ain't gonna be nice about it,"

"True. He's stubborn and is an asshole most of the time but he do have a good heart somewhere inside him. I know that. I'll help you and maybe after all this time, you're the one that could crack him."

Since then, Tommy has been creating chances for you to be alone with Joel. Getting the both of you alone at the end of breakfast, putting the both of you in other duties together, excusing himself when there’s only the three of you in the bar, etc. Tommy doing all of this only makes it so obvious to the both of you on his intention and it makes it more awkward to be around Joel.

During the time when you are stuck with him, you did try to break the ice more but he’s still the same cold and distant Joel. Not wanting to stay with you much longer, he would try to get away as fast as possible avoiding as much interaction with you.

Ellie caught you and Tommy talking one time at your back porch. You were telling Tommy to not interfere anymore because it’s getting awkward with Joel and Tommy were insisting on inviting everyone for dinner at his house at the end of the week. Both of you were so caught up in the conversation that you didn’t realise Ellie came looking for you.

“Come on, it’s just a dinner. We’ve had some dinner nights at my house before,” Tommy persuading you.

“Yeah but now you’re going to have something up your sleeves to push me and Joel together or something. I don’t know. It’s awkward man!”

“What’s so awkward?” Ellie’s voice startled you and Tommy. She came out from the side of the house and slowly made her way to stand between where you and Tommy were sitting.

Tommy and you just looked at each other, don’t know what to say to Ellie.

“If it’s about you and Joel, I already knew that.” she shrugged her shoulders sitting on your porch’s steps.

Still on edge, you and Tommy did not say anything.

“I have eyes, I see how you look at him. In fact, you ALWAYS look at him,” she chuckled looking at your shocked expression.

“Okay, that’s enough,” you told her to stop talking, feeling shy that your friends have been suspecting your feelings for Joel all this time.

“You look at him like he’s the most beautiful person in this world,” she imitated a vomiting motion after saying that.

“Ellie!” you hid your face with both of your hands while Tommy and Ellie laughed at you.

“With your big mouth, I can’t believe you never said anything to me about it,” you continued after their laugh subsided.

“I wasn’t exactly sure and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” you give her a small comforting smile. “So are you gonna tell him?”

“Most likely,”

“What do you think he’s gonna say?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think he’s gonna like it. No matter what the outcome is, what really matters is he knows that at least there’s one more person in this world that actually cares about him.” you sigh heavily.

The three of you said your goodbyes that night after Tommy and Ellie gave you some encouragement about the whole situation.

Dinner at Tommy’s is like the calm before the storm. Joel is seated between you and Ellie. Maria who is sitting across you is talking with Tommy about their plans to decorate their extra room for their baby. You’re excited for them. You feel a little envious as you don’t think you will ever find a love like that in this apocalypse. You have always dreamed of starting a family. Right now, it is just a faraway dream that you could never hope to come to reality.

Your legs keep shaking nervously under the table. You’re always nervous around Joel but sitting beside him for this long is just making it worse. Additionally, you have the gift that you prepared for him in the side pocket of your cargo pants. After adding a letter to the two little gifts, you wrapped it up in a small nice paper packaging that you can find. Ever since then, you carried it around with you, don’t know when you will find the right time.

Picking at your food mindlessly, you feel a big strong hand on your right thigh. You immediately stop shaking and look down to your thigh. It’s none other than the man himself. You shift your gaze to him seeing that he’s already looking at you. He leans in a slightly and whispers,

“Stop it.” he immediately removes his hand and continues to eat his food right after telling you off.

Speechless, you force food down your throat as if it will get rid of his lingering touch on your thigh. You’re more aware of your legs now and you try your best to not shake your legs subconsciously. Although a part of you wishes to do it so that you can feel his hand on your thigh again.

You didn’t talk much for the rest of the dinner, distracted by what had happened. Tommy tries to make eye contact with you a couple times to signal something to you. You avoid looking at him so that he takes the hint to stop whatever kind of ideas in his head right now.

Dinner ended in a peaceful way thankfully. There were some dinners before that ended with some arguments usually between Joel and Ellie or Tommy and Joel. On those dinners, you just look on and try not to interfere at all unless it gets too far.

Ellie has already went off to find her friends for movie night. Tommy and Maria are slowly cleaning things up while you and Joel try to help them a little bit. They insist that they don't need any help from you guys and thank the both of you for coming to dinner.

That's how you ended up in this situation where you and Joel are walking back home together. As usual, there wasn't much talking. The conversation died after you talked about how great dinner was and he agreed. You didn't walk long before both of you reach the front of his house first.

"G'nite." he clears his throat before saying softly under his breath. Not waiting for your reply, he turns to walk to his front door.

"Sorry about earlier." you quickly said. You meant that you were sorry about shaking your legs that it bothered him.

He stops walking halfway to his front door and turns to you.

"It's fine. Didn't mean to touch you. It was bothering me. Sorry." his eyes were on you for a few seconds at first before darting anywhere else other than you. He walks away to his front door. You don't know overcame you. Maybe you're just riding the good energy from tonight, you take a few steps closer to him and calls him.

"Umm, Joel," you call him.

He stops before putting his house key in. He turns back around not saying anything. He’s waiting for you to continue what you have to say. You walk to the front of his steps nervously.

“I want to tell you something.” You look up eyeing his movements. He sighs before making his way down the steps to stand in front of you. You awkwardly stands there for a moment before remembering his gift. You take it out and hand it over to him.

“This is for you. Thought you might like it,” you look at him inspecting the small wrapped gift in his hands.

“What is it?” he looks at you with his brows knitted in confusion.

“Well you have to open it to find out,” you put your hands in your front pockets to hide your fists that are clenching due to the tension.

“Why? Why are you giving me this?” he looks at you with unwavering eyes. You look down at your shoes to avoid looking in his eyes that make it seem as if he could read whatever is on your mind. Your voice is stuck in your throat with the words that you want to say are on the tip of your tongue.

“What do you want from me? Do you need something in return for this?” He asks thinking that the gift is some kind of a trade deal.

“No. Nothing like that.” You shake your head looking at the gift in his hands.

“Then what?”

Your brain is running in full speed, contemplating if this is the right moment to confess to him. You’re swaying from side to side, eyes darting everywhere except the brown eyes in front of you.

“I don’t have the time for this,” he sighs heavily turning his body to walk back to the door.

“I like you,” you blurt it out quickly, panicking that you just said those words out loud to him.

“What?” he turns back to you in a flash, not believing what you had just said.

You pause for a moment to calm yourself down and gather your thoughts. You take a deep breath before speaking.

“I like you, Joel. I don’t know exactly when or how but gradually, my mind has been flooding with thoughts of you ever since you came here. I’ve known you for a year now and these feelings are not going away at all. I thought it’s time for me to let it all out before it’s too late. I don’t want to regret not telling you that I do care about you. More than you know. I know you may think this is silly and I don’t expect anything from you-“

“You’re right. Don’t expect anything from me.” He interrupts you with a harden look in his eyes now.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking but let me clarify it again for you,” he closes the gap between the two of you and look straight into your eyes. You can’t help but to tilt your head up more, not able to tear your eyes away from him.

“There’s nothing between us. It never will be anything other than you being Tommy’s friend or Ellie’s friend to me. I’m just tolerating you for their sake. Without them, you’re just another person in Jackson that I don’t give a fuck about.” you lower your gaze to his chest. You predicted that he is going to be worked up about this but hearing that he actually doesn’t care about you kinda hurt your feelings a little.

“Wake up, darling. We’re in the apocalypse and you’re out here telling me about your little crush on me. This is stupid. I thought you’re better than this. I already have a lot on my plate to be dealing with this bullshit.” he sighs, raising his head to look at the dark sky.

All kinds of emotions are running through you. You knew this would happen. You knew that he will criticise you for it but you still did it. You thought that you could take it but your sensitive little heart betrayed you. Why are you sad for even disappointing him?

“Take this back.” He shoves your gift to your front, waiting for you to take it from him.

Your hands still in your pockets, you stayed still. You feel so embarrassed that you cannot move your body.

“Fine. Whatever.” he drops the gift right in front of your feet and walk to his door.

You hear keys jingling before the door opens and not long after that the door slam shut. You’re frozen in your place still staring at the gift below you. The images of the past year runs through your head. The amount of time spent thinking about him, wondering if he’s okay or not, secretly listening to him playing guitar and to you making the effort to gift him something he would like. All the little things amounted to this at the end.

Suddenly, you feel the anger rise inside of you. You feel so stupid. Why of all people, it must be Joel that you have feelings for? You feel angry at yourself for feeling this way. You don’t even blame Joel because he’s right. This isn’t the time to be occupied with stupid little feelings.

With jaws clenched, you pick up the wrapped gift and throws it hard against his front door. Fuck this. You don’t care what he’s going to say. You walk off angrily with long strides back to your house. In your head, you think that at least you said your feelings for him truthfully. It’s done and dusted. Time for you to move on from him.

next part

Thank you for reading this chapter! The next update probably will be in a week or so, hopefully!

Taglist: @greenwitchfromthewoods @rebeccawinters @cuteanimalmama

[arminreindl]

Baru: The Cleaver-Headed Crocodile

Ok back on my croc stuff, today discussing Baru. Like most the other crocs I've been talking about, Baru was a mekosuchine, a member of an endemic radiation of crocodilian native to Australasia. Baru is easily among the largest of this group and among the most robust, with massive curved teeth and almost inflated looking jaws. Left my interpretation of Baru darrowi, right the illustration by Willis et al. from 1990.

My reconstruction differs subtly in some regards, obviously the jaw material shown is from Ristevski et al. 2023 and elements of the posterior skull are based on the older Baru wickeni. My mandible also turned out slightly different, tho the quality of the images in the original description is not great so that is not guaranteed.

Anyhow, this head likely sat atop the body of what was a decently large crocodilian, with estimates suggesting four or even five meters in length for both currently recognized species Baru wickeni and Baru darrowi. As you can see below, I went for the lower estimate (which is the one given by proper publications), which still renders an immense animal all things considered, certainly holding up with many crocs of today.

Currently, there's two recognized species, one unnamed species and one that has been reassigned. The older of the named species is Baru wickeni, which was found in the Lake Eyre Basin and Riversleigh World Heritage Area during the late Oligocene. Like I already said, it was approximately as large and robust as the later Baru darrowi, but did differ in some regards. The skull had much more prominent crests, the nasal bone extended into the opening for the nares and importantly, the cutting edges of the teeth were smooth.

During the Miocene, Baru wickeni would be replaced by Baru darrowi, known from younger strata of the Riversleigh and the Bullock Creek fauna. Baru darrowi had less prominent crests, but in turn slight serrations on its teeth. Also the nasal bones did not extend into the nares. Baru darrowi is the species shown at the start.

The other two are then the unnamed Baru species from the Alcoota fossil site and "Baru" huberi. I talked about the latter before and how it is now thought to be something else entirely. Which leaves us with the Alcoota form. Generally regarded as a distinct species, fossils of the Alcoota Baru have been found from 2000 onwards near Alice Springs and appear to represent an animal more robust than the other known Baru. Below you can see a skeletal mount on exhibition at the Megafauna Central in Alice Springs (image by Aussie Bucket List) and a skull held by Adam Yates, an important researcher of this animal.

A little side note I want to mention is the name Baru. As you might have guessed from the etymology of various other mekosuchines (Kambara, Mekosuchus, Quinkana, Kalthifrons), the name actually ties into the native People of Australia. Specifically, Baru is a figure in the mythology of the  East Arnhem Region, which describes him as a sort of totem crocodile that brought law to the lands he named. Baru also had a fight with Jarkitj (Willy Wagtail) after stealing fire for himself. Sadly I couldn't find much about the mythical Baru beyond a brief summary written up by George Pascoe Gaymarani you can read here.

Returning to the animal, one would suspect that the robust skull meant that it didn't quite hunt like modern crocodiles, especially considering the serrated teeth found in the younger species. Well, tho nothing concrete is known Willis and colleagues speculate that this might have been an adaptation to shallower waters. While modern crocs tend to ambush prey, grab it using a strong bite and conical teeth and then proceed to drown it, Baru may not have had that option. A modern croc can just drag a zebra for instance into deep water, weaken it and let go to adjust its grip without the risk of it getting away. In shallow waters, this may have been too risky and lead to prey escaping. So Baru's robust head and curved, sometimes serrated teeth were built to inflict a lot of damage upon prey when lunging, securing the bite and incapacitating it. Willis estimates that it may have taken prey as heavy as 300 kilos.

There's also the interesting tidbit of Baru wickeni coexisting with a diverse croc fauna, yet being conspicuously absent from more southern regions of Australia despite entering the respective drainage basin. I go into more detail while talking about Australosuchus, but the jist of it is that Baru was likely not as cold resistant as Australosuchus and thus not found as far north.

Alas, as with other mekosuchines, not much art of Baru exists aside from this absolutely fantastic piece by @knuppitalism-with-ue

As per usual, this deep dive is brought to you as part of me redoing the wikipedia page of this genus, which resulted in a major size increase. The image below is just to show the difference, but if you want to read it here's the link: Baru - Wikipedia

[hermaphroditus1124]

Uhm wow watching two tboys wrestle for my amusement is a new kink I 100% already knew I had but good god watching puppy fight and pin this boy wow, they only went 2 rounds tho and tied so sadly no mounting this time :(

[fallloverfic]

TGCF donghua Season 2, Episode 12 thoughts

The end episode for the season had some lovely stuff :3 Spoilers for the book and donghua below. CW: blood.

I do love the cute little back and forth between Xie Lian and Hua Cheng a lot. ...I kind of wish it wasn't repeated here so we could focus on new stuff, but okay.

Xie Lian chuckling with Shi Qingxuan about what happened to Feng Xin lol He loves Feng Xin but also it's funny. No snow-white lotus here. They're so cute T-T Their friendshippppp T-T

But also he apologizes for it. Feng Xin's little smile/soft sad look(?) as he looks at Dianxia T-T I CRYYYY And then they awkwardly look away from each other (after Feng Xin talks about superior skill) and I cry more T-T

Mu Qing still approves of Feng Xin covered in blood. His little chuckle. As someone pointed out, this is how this part is phrased in the English translation:

“Only Mu Qing held [Feng Xin's] gaze. He not only didn’t care to avoid him, but he purposely stared, his intent more than obvious.” (Volume 2, Chapter 24).

Smirky boi.

Jun Wu's character model is pretty but also growing on me. He has some nice shots this episode.

Terrible man. Horrible. Pretty.

Xie Lian sadly running while having all his terrible memories T-T Pretty shots, tho.

The tomb is so pretty! I love how it looks like a sky!

Xie Lian thinking about what Qi Rong might have gone through... I know part of it is just worry about all the terrible things Qi Rong has done, only some of which Xie Lian knows of, but he has some sadness about what horrible things happened to him, too. Like I'll never get over that seemingly neither Xie Lian nor his parents know how Qi Rong died. Even Xie Lian didn't actually die (because he was a god when he got mortally injured T-T). But Qi Rong did. They just sort of lose track of him around when Xianle falls. And that's really sad.

So it looks like they mostly kept Qi Rong's new body the same, and just added his green make-up to indicate possession, which makes sense. He looks similar enough like this it's fine. Poor Guzi T-T He's having a bad lotta days.

I'm gonna be honest, I'm not a fan of the massive use of reused footage this episode. I get that they're going into another arc for season 3, so there has to be a cut-off somewhere, and this is a good place to cut off. But it... well. At least there's lots of gay pining on Xie Lian's part. A nice note to end the season on, I suppose, particularly because it parallels season 1 and they are the central relationship.

I can't recall any sub issues this episode, other than the continued use of "Green Immor", and I did a double-take when they directly translated the name for Mount Tonglu. Hoping they go back and fix all the issues in previous episodes.

All in all, this was a really wonderful season, with only a few minor issues overall, mostly in terms of the subs and that one very weird art decision in one episode. The art was beautiful, the voice actors did a great job, the music was lovely as always, the new intro and endings were wonderful, the additions were wonderful (yee Xiao Mengyou/Xiao Shiwei :3), and it's so fun to see all this in animation at last! Lots of wonderful Hualian, YIN YU FOR FIVE SECONDS MY BELOVED!!!!, lots of wonderful Shi Qingxuan & Xie Lian, lots of wonderful Xianle trio drama, some lovely Beefleaf tidbits, lots of wonderful Qi Rong being The Worst (I love him so), and lots of wonderful Lang Qianqiu. Lots of wonderful everyone!

Here's to season 3! May we see it soon!

Other episode thoughts for season 2 (didn't start till episode 3):

S02E03

S02E04

S02E05

S02E06

S02E07

S02E08

S02E09

S02E10

S02E11

S02E12 (you are here)

[venomizedstar]

Before I talked about some brazilian girl streamers who I would love to see on QSMP, now I'm going to talk about the boys!

Unfortunatly theres more boys than girls but I swear theyre all amazing! And also some of them just would be fun to have around If they were with some of the girls

1- Guaxinim Guagua Xinim

Hes my sweet baby boy and I love him sooo much. Hes kinda everyone's friend, just not Forever (sadly, Forever is from a group of streamers and youtubers I don't watch) and if I remember he was in Fuga Impossível too. In the QSMP he probably would grind a little bit and flirt with everyone (but in a shy way). Beamom would flirt A LOT with him if she was there too.

2- Calango Lango

He started his live as a youtuber and became Guaxi's friend, they and other friend, PK, lived in the same city and played a lot together. Right now hes playing Minecraft with a FUCKING GUITAR. He has a very good podcast. In QSMP he probably would grind a lot and not really focus on the RP, but if needed inside the lore, he would be amazing.

3- PK PKzão

The last one from the UberlândiaTrio! I just put him there bc my brain can't separate the three of them, like... I watch them since I was a kid and they're my babies, but I'm 70% sure PK would never be on QSMP, he don't like the attention. PK probably would be too antisocial to interact with people (Guaxi would drag him around) but would help decorating, building and grinding!

4- Mount

Hes just a silly little guy who likes to kiss the homies goodnight. When you're searching for the other brazilian men streamers, sometimes you can find a picture of him kissing them! Like, out of nowhere, just a little kiss in the mouth between friends to make the friendship became stronger. I usually don't watch his gameplays so I don't know how he would be on Minecraft, but he played on Cellbit's RPG and I love to see him and his friends joking with each other.

5- LJoga Luisão

Hes the "always single" friend, an amazing and lovely guy who has the record of more dead characters on Cellbit's RPG. He would interact a lot with the lore I think, and flirt with everyone. I don't know about grind bc I usually watch him playing more chill games.

6- Rakin Rakinzera

THIS GUY was a fucking League of Legends Proplayer, this guy is really competitive, THIS FUCKING GUY was the FIRST brazilian to achieve level 100 in hardcore on Diablo 4 and one of the first 20 in the world! And the 3 characters he has in Cellbit's RPG are ALL amazing, I can't understand HOW he can be so good in everything. He would grind A LOT, he plays World of Warcraft too, of course he likes to grind, he probably would grind even more than Etoiles! And actively participate on the lore (his girlfriend would ship him with other random guys too, just like Lorena, Sabi, Munza, etc).

7- Cinemagrath Matt

Hes Bagi's boyfriend, a really good photographer who also have a stream account. I don't watch him, unfortunatly, BUT I know that if he was on QSMP with his girlfriend, he would be as bad as Pac and Quackity, flirt with EVERY GUY in the island, support Gabi while shes flirting with the girls and they would have a cute little house with a dog.

8- Gary

I don't really know if he knows english, but hes amazing! It would be worse understanding him than Forever! Hes MAMADISSIMO and would be as chaotic as Vegetta with the mines. Also, bônus If hes with Beamom: the two of them are a really chaotic and amazing duo! Joking with each other and just... Idk, probably she would be better at the game than him and would need to help him with some things.

9- Goularte

Gou is a really chill guy known as the "asmr voice guy" here in Brazil bc he talks so softly... He never screams! Last year he was trending bc he screamed TWO times, one of them being during Cellbit's RPG. Would be amazing seeing him playing on QSMP, bc even tho we know he plays games, hes since the start a guy who talks about things with some gameplays on the background! He also have a Channel on Youtube with PK just for bad horror games.

[yinyuedijun]

HAHA i’m sorry for putting such a combustible idea in your head but it’s just so good !!! i’m glad i shared it, i hope the writer you are looking to commission opens their slots and you get your meal 🗣️ and i’m so sorry i really don’t remember the name since it was so long ago.. </3 truth be told ive forgotten so much and my memory is just small blorbs here and there :(( but i’ll try searching around for it, it was really famous back then so i think i might have some luck and as soon as i find it i’ll make sure to share it with you !!

trust me we are under the same spell i too have been thinking of the whole fox!aven owning human reader in an insane way. it’s actually physically affecting my daily life. i Cannot do simple tasks anymore without getting distracted. LIKE THE POTENTIAL IS JUST ENDLESS !!! i vaguely remember details of that world where hybrids owned humans, and an important part was that even within the hybrids there was a class system where the strong ruled over the weak (taken from the natural animal kingdom). but humans were the lowest of that class still. being born to be 'owned'/used and no way out. whereas for the 'weak' hybrids they still has better chances even if they were born in environments that could be against them — there’s still glimmer of hope for hybrids and they have a better chance of survival in a world centered around them.

tying this to aventurine.. it could be he too was once part of those that were owned by other/stronger hybrids/corps for hybrid trafficking reasons etc. and even tho fox hybrids aren’t necessarily 'weak' even animalistically — but few here and there do get caught, especially when they are in unlucky circumstances. but foxes are notorious for their trickery and overall bad rep (again.. ties so much to the canon universe aventurine it’s crazy) and how he was once a slave as an hybrid so he does understand the feeling of being chained and owned... and now that he owns a human...... and he Knows how the experience is.. mmm yumm... the inner conflict yet the carnal need and natural animalistically desire that he Cannot control ....AAAA the potential is endless i wish i could telepathically send you formations of every thing in my head because lord knows i cannot type my thoughts out or give them any form 💔 sorry if this ask is all over the place

— that fox aven anon !!!

ARQDLFWJDKZJAK I'm sorry anon for taking so long to reply to this but I can assure this ask has been living rent free in my mind the whole time... the writer(s) I've been wanting to sponsor is sadly not taking comms 💔 but I shall simply read and reread your asks instead. the backstory for him is so sad and parallels canon so well 🥺 but also AWFLVJSKDDJ THE ANIMALISTIC DESIRE HE CANNOT CONTROL... thinking abt him going into a rut bc it's mating season and all he wants to do keep mounting you but your poor human body can't take it 💔 do foxes have knots perchance .....I want him to have a knot 💔

also yes PLEASE share the manga if u come across it awglsjskw I need it for ....scientific purposes

[morporkian-cryptid]

Really quick update without photos because I didn't have time to write yesterday. Or today. I'll write more later!

Day... 5 I think

We went to the region of Hakone yesterday, at the foot of Mount Fuji; gorgeous place, I felt like I stepped right into a Ghibli movie, nature everywhere, pine-covered mountains, water-filled moss, tiny forest trails and everything. It was raining too ❤️

We took the rope train to the Mt Fuji viewpoint but sadly it was too cloudy and we didn't see the mountain.

Next we took a trip on a GODDAMN DUTCH SAILBOAT (it was actually cheating, it used only the motor) that was gifted by the Netherlands to Japan in the Meiji era.

We saw the floating torii at Hakone Jinja

did some easy hiking in the countryside, and even came across a small trail that suddenly got super dark - Aime: "There has to be yokai here." Me: "It's like Spirited Away! Sweet, I can have my own Ghibli adventure!" Aime: "If we see a yokai I'm throwing you at it."

Day 6

We left early in the morning for KYOTO!

It is said that Kyoto is the capital of temples and shrines, and boy people aren't lying. We found a street that was just temple after temple after temple. Basically they have complexes with a bunch of temples or shrines together.

We found a super cute little temple to Jizo (Buddha protecting mothers and children), tucked away between two buildings, where I got my Goshuincho stamped - we even saw the priest do the calligraphy himself!

I bought twin omamori as a gist in another cute little temple, where the priest took a moment to pray over the omamori before giving them out.

There was a shrine where two separate people left senbazuru (one thousand folded paper cranes). And I found my first shrine to Inari-sama!! (my favourite shinto deity.) We're going to visit the world-famous Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine in a few days.

We ate at a seafood restaurant in the middle of a covered gallery with TONS of food stalls, like EVERYWHERE, with mostly fish and seashells, like I cannot even begin to describe the ambiance of this place. Some of them were just fisherman shops with like one or two tables in case someone wanted to eat lunch. I bought a squid skewer 🐙

Then we tried to go to Jijo Castle, lost a lot of time registering for the disabled discount, and rushed the thing in ten minutes because we had to get to Kinkakuji before closing time.

Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavillon, is just as gorgeous as the photos suggest. The park itself is beautiful too.. and we had to rush through the whole thing again (even run) because the Goshuincho bureau closed at 4:30. We went back into the park after I got my stamp tho. (there was a really nice security guard who showed us the way.) And I bought yet another omamori 😁

Oh and I found my first kimono thrift shop!!!!! I didn't find anything that caught my eye, but DAMN they were cheap as fuck and so pretty. We'll visit more thrift shops in a few days.

Now we're on our way to a ryokan hotel with a luxury dinner and animation with a maiko (a geisha apprentice) and an onsen. It's gonna cost an arm and a leg but it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience ❤

(also I need to go to an onsen so bad, my feet are going on strike)

[wannabemasterofwindintraining]

Alright folks I'm actually doing it

I'm attempting to rewrite the lore of legends of chima

Here i go

So the whole lore surrounding mount cavora magical water and the chi are still the same tho the concept of the chi is a little different

Since this water is apparently magical i though I'd give more magic than just making chi

The waters magic is related to life and stuff

it can breath life into the surrounding environment and make it more inhabitable and it also has a healing effect on the pll

And for the chi it can no longer give superpowers to the characters sadly the chi is more of a power source for the technology

Now for my main issue with the show

The chi temple

Why should the lions have all the chi? It's already causing them trouble in the show

So i decided that chi flows to all tribes

And there's a council consisting of one animal of each tribe to oversee and manage the chi and it's sacred temple

Their job is to manage the fluctuating water levels and provide support to tribes that might suffer a shortage due to that fluctuation

That way everyone is happy at least until one of them gets too greedy

I have some ideas about each of the tribes but I'll talk about them later

Maybe

No promises

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Tuesday 3 December 1833

..

..

Flensburg at 1 ½ am - not lightened - as far as one can judge by a little moonlight and by carriage lamps seems a largeish goodish town - my Lord had coffee and so had Eugenie and I suppose Thomas but I preferred my cold water bottle he constantly takes a small glass of rum like coachmen and such like F35° now at 2 ½ tonight - Rumble broke down at 6 24 - tied it up with cords - Lord H- sat astride of the travelling bags on the boot and lastly stood on the rumble step behind as we entered Schleswig and Thomas mounted the off-wheeler - Rain came on about 7 ½ - at Schleswig at 8 20 - the postilion would not let Thomas ride one of his horses, so obliged to mount him en courier to ride behind, and, when it was dark, before with a lantern, good thought of our then postboy - Schleswig finely situated on an inlet of the Belt - good, large town - large old white modern looking chateau - the inlet or fiord up to the town a fine sheet of water - an hour here greasing wheels and putting travelling bags behind to make Lord H- a tolerable seat on the boot - off again at 9 20 - not far from the town begins the bleak, bare, here and there heathery, sandy land - road bad enough to Schleswig - still worse form there - deep sand, with deep ruts full of water - in places, the road mended with heather - stopt at 10 ½ for 20 minutes to bait the horses - this would only have taken 10 minutes but we had bread and cheese and the servants and I my own wine - Lord H- had corn brandy (sometimes made of potatoes) get nothing else sometimes in Norway - I tasted it - took not more than a teaspoonful - seemed like fine in me, tho’ did not taste strong in my mouth - quite white like water - at 12 mending the road with heather and covering this with sand from the hillocks close by - (long small wagons as in Seeland) - how evidently the sea has once been over here! reminds me of Holland, and the sand hillocks about the mouth of the Rhine - Rendsburg at 1 ¼ - strongly, very prettily fortified, good little town - the fine broad canal with shipping upon it serving as a fogs or moat between the lines of circumvallation, singularly pretty - It began to rain this morning about 7 ½ - and we have had a good deal of rain during the day till fair about 3pm for about a couple of hours - then rain again at times very heavy, came pouring down in a large and small drops at the same time, and continued more or less during the whole night - terribly stormy windy night - at Bramstedt at 11 5 pm - Both my outside people sadly wet - Thomas came in close to the stove and then complained of both his legs being stiff and cold - as if asleep - having no feeling in them and was sadly frightened for himself and asked anxiously if I meant to go forwards immediately - off from Bramstedt

[mugunghwc]

"Looks like you weren't invited," Li chuckled while reading the invitation card, one Idachi had not gotten. "I sadly cannot bring anyone with me either." Smiling but actually she would have loved to have Jack at her side, considering who will be there. Though Jack would be even more unsafe. A suit would fit him nicely tho, she thought.

Idachi nearly snatched the invitation out of her grasp when it was flashed at him, like a toreador taunting a bull by waving a red flag before its eyes. The veins on his forehead became prominent, a clear indicator of his mounting frustration. This wasn't about Rei any more; it had morphed to a matter of pride and competition. The mere thought of losing to that deformed beast made him grit his teeth in anger.

"You think you're special because you were invited? Please, I'd like to see you surrounded by those dogs." Scoffed Idachi, who was more than sure that Jiro's family would be there. Such kinds of events, while typically kept out of the public eye, would be celebrated by them as an affirmation of loyalty and unity—not only between the couple but also within the clan. That high-ranked dog would be praised for what should be his, and that infuriated him.

"Maybe I should send a gift to the happy couple." Figure out something—anything to watch that split-face fall from grace. A snort escapes him. "Why would she care 'bout a bitch like you anyway? I don't think either of them would be happy if they knew how involved with Endo you were."

[dragon-fics]

DnD: Let Them Eat Cake!

Summary: You've just lost it all! Your home, your tea room, your bakery... What are you to do? A little Faerie Dragon may be able to help

Warnings: nope

Relationships: Acorn & Half Elf Reader (friendship)

Characters: Acorn the Faerie Dragon (OC of requester)

Word count: 2,720

Notes: this features the homebrew DnD of the requester, so any locations and characters that are unfamiliar are theirs (Azureman136 on Wattpad)

If you enjoyed this pls reblog and like as my work doesnt meet many ppl and I’m not doing so good financially. It's okay if not tho. links to my AO3, DA, RiTF & Wattpad

(this format is pretty common among writers here so I'm testing it out)

Unkept was one way to put it. Exhausted and scared was another. Things had been tough for the past few days. Maybe I should’ve stayed at home, never bothered moving to a bigger town to make my way…

The dream was over now, though. Crushed and burned and devoured by senseless brutes.

There was nothing left now.

A cool breeze caught my hair, and I had a look around. The bleak road ahead was about to fork; a long, wide path would lead me to a few days' walk to the nearest settlement, Solidus. The other was a winding dirt path leading into a broad forest. The smell of pinecones and rain hit me, bringing my mind to a moment of ease.

Then tug from the west. The breeze had taken a turn for the worst, and the sky grew grey and cold. Best case a shower, worst a thunderstorm.

Behind me, there was nothing. No wagon, no mounted traveller, not even a mouse to scurry on the road. I was all alone, surrounded by dark clouds and green fields.

Any peace that had brought to me was gone, and the dreaded sense of isolation had returned. I pulled my cloak closer to me and sighed sadly.

Then something on my boot.

I looked down, a perfect wet splat on the toe. The heaven’s opened, and the road quickly glistened in a layer of rainwater. The shower wasn’t heavy thankfully, but one pair of clothes was all I had, and that one pair would be a nuisance if it got soaked.

Summoning every bit of willpower I could, I bolted down the dirt trail, puddle-water and mud splashing under my heels. The forest was getting closer, and the branches came into view. They were broad and overlapping with each other to create a perfect canopy. It was rather calming to be under them. The deep drumming of the rain and its smell brought me back to a nicer time and better situation.

I sighed and squeezed out my hair as I gathered myself. This was a nice place, but it was dark and cold. And as the dribble from my hair trickled down my sleeve, my shoulders tingled.

Something was watching me.

And in a forest, something is not what you want watching you.

I spun and glared into the tangle of branched and trunks. Of course I wouldn’t see anything, but I gripped the blade on my belt regardless. Something was there and I wouldn’t allow it to stay there.

There was nothing. No scampering, no scratching, no weird glowing eyes blinking back at me. After a hesitant moment I forced myself to turn away and walk on the path again.

The tingling lingered, hairs on my neck standing on end as I took a new step.

A shuffling came from behind me, from the undergrowth on either side. I tried to grab a glance over my shoulders and was met with the ferns and bushes shifting and trembling. More than a downpour would, if the water was getting to them, but rain had yet to touch the forest floor. I saw something long and green curl up a tree beside me, chilling me to the core.

There was nothing logical in my head, my legs just came alive, bounding down the slick mud path.

“Hey!” called a youthful voice. “Wait!”

My legs burned, but I kept going, rain pouring down my face. With a sting, a droplet wormed its way into my eye, and in a moment if blindness, something constricted around my ankle. I fell face first into the mud with a yelp.

I forced myself over and heaved, spitting mud from my mouth.

A blur of blue landed in front of me, hopping into a puddle, adding more to my wet mess. It had large, angled forms on either side of it.

I wiped the water from my eyes. The blue thing had wings, had four legs and was about the size of a cat. I could also see that their wings weren’t like that of a bird or a dragon, they were like giant butterfly wings, tinted purple. Its limbs had a pink gradient to them, too. It was quite beautiful.

It hopped onto my lap, pink eyes glaring into my soul. “Don’t run from me!” this was the voice that had spoken earlier. It sounded more childlike up front.

I stared at him in my lap, tiny claws digging into my cold skin. “Um… sorry?”

He nodded, planting himself down. “Accepted. I suppose,” he eyed me up and down, sniffing me and flicking out his tongue. “What’s the deal, half-elf? Why are you runnin’?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?!” I was taken aback. “I’m in the middle of the fucking woods and something is watching me and running after me and you expect me to not run?”

He opened his mouth, then closed it again slowly. “Fair enough… that was a bad introduction.” He sighed and got off my lap, shaking himself, water spraying from his pink and blue body. “My name is Acorn.”

I nodded slowly, the rain thumping on my body as my heart recovered. “I’m (Y/N).” I looked at him, then at the forest around. “I don’t mean to be rude but—”

“I’ll take you to the village. We’re not far.” He lifted his head and snorted. “Up ya get, (N/N). chop-chop. The rain ain’t stoppin’ soon.” Acorn hopped on the spot.

Putting my hand beneath me, I pushed myself up and wiped down my trousers and hand as best as possible. Mud still seeped through the fabric, though. I sighed, imagining the beauty of a nice, hot shower after this.

As I straightened up, a weight landed on my back. “Let’s get going!” Acorn called over my shoulder, wing extended to shelter my head.

I tucked my head down and trekked my way down the muddy path.

“So, where are you from? I know everyone in these woods, and I do not know you.” Acorn turned his head to look at me, blinking his pink eyes in suspicion.

“I came from a town uh… north-ish of here. I’m headed to Solidus to get back to my parents…” I trailed off. Admitting everything was hard.

“That’s a long trek. You miss them?”

I shrugged, tucking up the collar of my jacket. The answer was no. “I suppose.”

I felt his eyes bear down on me, and I slowly brought my gaze to meet him. “Don’t suppose you’re heading from that village the orcs buried?”

My jaw tensed, seeing the axe effortlessly cut through my door as the drums beat out, shaking my windows, baking trays and fine porcelain.

Acorn tuned his head back to the path ahead. “That was aimless destruction. I’m sorry about that.”

I sighed. “It’s fine. Probably wasn’t a life meant for me.”

Acorn looked at me. “What life?”

I looked at him. “I left the city to become a small tea shop and bakery owner.”

His face lit up, pupils dilating, grin spreading. “Tea?! Bakery?!” his shrieking voice caused me to wince.

I nodded, grimacing. “Yes?”

Acorn flapped his wings, hovering in front of me. “Come on!” he beat his wings excitedly through the rain, following the path.

I ran after him and, after a moment or two, smelled burning wood and heard soft chatter. With the turn of a bend, a village appeared. Clustered rustic buildings were alive in the wet day. Music came from inside inns and pubs, chatter came from sheltered beer gardens out front, and smoke curled up from pretty much every cottage and chimney.

I darted in under a canopy and looked around. The drinkers were far more diverse than I could have imagined. There was a gathering of pixies, faes and satyrs in this one beer garden.

“Sit down, doll. Let me fix ya up something sweet,” a pixie server fluttered over to me and pushed down my shoulder.

I nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.” I slumped down onto a seat behind me, water pitter-patting onto the gravel path.

Acorn hopped up on the table beside me, claws skidding on the sanded wood. “There you are!” He looked around. “Ah! Getting cozy in the inn? That’s a great idea. Then you can get baking again.” He bobbed his head assertively.

I put my bag down—it too was destroyed in mud. “I’m here to get out of the rain. And yes, I’ll get a night or two here in the inn. I need a shower and a nice bed. Baking can wait.”

Acorn launched himself at my chest and stared at me firmly. “It can’t wait! It is of utmost importance that you get baking immediately!” He stomped his paw on the wood as he settled back down. His wings fluttered irritably.

I looked around, confused. “Why are you so despera—hey!”

A blink dog appeared beside me and sniffed my bag. Before I could swat it away, it grabbed a muffin from it and teleported away, my hand missing its wet fur by a centimetre.

Acorn gasped and lunged for my bag. “You have some!” he opened my bag and grabbed my tin of treats. As he tossed it onto the table with a deafening clatter, the beings in the canopy and from inside the inn came to see. Within a moment, various fluttering beings surrounded me, lapping blink dogs and tail-wagging satyrs. I think a few elves appeared in the crowd. Each one of them seemed delighted to see my scones, loaf, muffins and a couple of iced cookies.

Acorn grinned. “Can we have some?”

I hesitated. This was the last of my—

“—We’ll pay! Name your price,” the nearest satyr reached into his purse, red ears twitching excitedly.

Anything would help at this point. “Yes please. Just a couple of coppers for each will be enough.” Steeper than my usual prices. I grabbed a knife and cut slices of the loaf of bread. Before I knew it, everything was gone, and I was left with a stack of copper and a few silvers.

Acorn nibbled at a cookie. “This is incredible!” he growled possessively as a hand dropped an extra copper as a tip, getting a smidge too close to Acorn, apparently.

I giggled and sipped the tea the pixie server had brought to me. I pulled a face as a bitter taste hit my tongue. “Thank you, Acorn.” Looking around, I saw the nearby tables were devouring my baked goods. I was surprised. “Why?”

Acorn looked up from his treat. “Why what?”

I looked at him, grabbing the last cookie. “Why are they all so excited?”

Acorn looked down. “Well, we don’t have a baker in the village. And the one baker that does come through here stays for an hour or two, overprices everything and it’s all bland. Blah!” he stuck out his tongue. “We’re a small artsy village. And what better art than that of baking to add to our town? We have knitters, embroiders, filigree specialists, sculptures who sing wood into what shape they like! But we lack the skills of tastiness! Even you have tasted how bad the tea is. And how can you mess up tea?!”

I tried not to laugh and nodded, forcing my smile to drop. “Sure. I’ll bake for you. But I’ll need a kitchen to myself. I have some tins to bake with. If you have a blacksmith, I might need them to make some more for me.”

Acorn grinned. “Excellent! Don’t worry about cost. And I’ll sort out the kitchen! We’ll handle everything. Do you have ingredients?” he finished his cookie, licking up any crumbs.

I glanced at my sopping back, seeing a layer of—what could only be—thick, wet flour oozing through. “No. Not really.”

“Make a list!” he nodded. He flew over to snatch the waitresses pen and paper and dropped it in front of me. “Tell us what to get and we’ll get it. We have farms. We can probably get it all.”

I nodded. “Okay. if you say so.” I grabbed the pen and made a list, the hot gaze of Acorn watching my hand as I scrawled it.

*~*~*~*

“Wake up, (Y/N)!” Acorn bounced on my chest as sun glared into my eyes.

I groaned and pulled my blanket up over my face. “No…”

Acorn huffed and grabbed the blanket in his mouth and tore it off, taking it with him onto the floor.

I culled up on my side, back to the sunshine.

He trotted around my bed, claws tapping on the wooden boards so I could track him without seeing him behind my hands. He paused by my head and started licking my face.

“Ah! No!” I yelped and backed away, falling out of the bed. I swore and forced myself to my feet.

Acorn hopped onto my bed. “Ha!”

I gave him a dirty look. “Yes. You’ve succeeded. Congratulations.” I sighed and looked at the room, fresh pyjamas on me and body clean. entwined vines and trees body surrounded me. In the corner of the room was a miniature, round bed, made if willow branches and solid birch. This was the upper floor of Acorn’s home, and that was his bed. The home had been carved out of a large-trunked, but short tree, with a thick mass of dark green leaves hanging around it.

It was quite pretty.

Acorn smiled up at me. “So, are you ready to start baking?” his smile spread into a grin.

I drew in a breath and nodded reluctantly. Then stopped. “After breakfast. Baking while hungry is a bad idea.”

He chuckled. “Alright.” He hopped off the bed and glided towards the narrow spiral staircase. “Let’s go! Let’s make munchies!”

I sighed slowly, walking after him as he floated through his home. Everything around me was one with the tree. This home had to have been enchanted or something. It was quite wonderful. His kitchen took up most of his lower floor, lined with cupboards, a working sink, oven, hob and fridge, with an arched door leading out towards the village and brightly lit by the late morning sunlight. On the dark, varnish table was a wide array of baking supplies; flour, eggs, brown and white sugar, butter, oil, milk—you get it.

I barely remembered my journey to Acorn’s house. It was after stopping at the inn, making my list and filling up on a splendid meal and shower. He’d been very insistent that I come with him.

And the same with watching me cook.

I turned, grabbing a pan, bowl, flour, oil, eggs, and milk. No sooner had I put them on the counter, Acorn landed on my back, and I jumped.

“The fuck?!”

He leaned his head over my shoulder, claws digging into my skin and wings spread for balance. He blinked at me. “Watcha makin’?”

“Pan—,” I winced and picked up one of his claws, then the other, “—cakes.”

Acorn’s eye grew wide. “Pancakes!” he beamed, claws sinking in again with excitement.

I nodded slowly. “Yes. So please relax your claws or sit on the counter to watch.” May gaze hardened.

He smiled nervously and repositioned himself, hind legs on my shoulders, front ones on my head and his long neck hovering above.

I looked up to him. “Comfy up there?”

Acorn nodded. “Yes! Now cook!”

I rolled my eyes and made the batter, heating and oiling up the pan. It was a quick recipe and within a few minutes I had two stacks ready to eat—little pancakes for Acorn and average pancakes for me. I served with some berries and carried the plates to the table and sat down.

Acorn hopped off my shoulder and sat beside me, snatching the first one from his pile, berries spilling off, and shoving it in his mouth. His face melted, frill drooping as savoured the light pancakes. As soon as he was done with his mini pancake, he devoured another one.

“I’m so glad you like my cooking.”

In a blink of an eye, his plate was clear. Acorn even went to the effort to lick the plate clean of berry juice. He held up his plate, big begging eyes looking at me.

“May I have some more?”

[autumnapricot]

dont know if im being too delusional but i was waiting for toto/max/seb to ask charles to go into fort rainier to pose as a trafficked alpha for horner and markos testing... esp in the scenes below:

“There are not just Omegas in Fort Rainier.” Max clarifies. “There are Betas, Alphas. Teens. Everyone.”

"Alphas?” Seb asks, and Charles snaps his head towards him, because why does he solely focus on Alphas when Max clearly also said kids.

and

Wolff purses his lips a little, makes an indistinct gesture. “Go back in with my agents, collect foolproof evidence. Data would be best. We have the vitals of Max, thanks to the chip, lots of information from my other inside men that we could get in as guards. But if we could gather possible files of especially the Alphas in Mount Rainier, we would have a certain advantage too—the laws for Alpha trafficking are, sadly, to be added, far stricter than the ones for Omegas.”

even tho seb said "you're not officially on this case" i was hoping he'd put charles in it later (potentially after max's med ward scene) but with charles determined to go in with max anyway i dont think they'll need to do any pretend trafficking ?

im looking forward to what you have planned for the next few chapters! i love your lestappen dynamic so so much and and i just want them to have a good ending here😭

hi anon!

ooooh that‘s super interesting tho!! like that‘s be crazy if they‘d put Charles as a trafficked Alpha in there! 👀🤯

thank you! i hope you will like the rest! 🩵🫶🏼

[aviatrix-ash]

inking a lil aerocar :3

one of the few little planes I don’t think I’d like to fly, but I love the shapes and silly idea. It’s not that the concept of an adorable flying car built and designed from the 1940s thru the 60s, but I’m a little iffy about planes that utilize a driveshaft to spin their propellers at a considerable distance. The engine for this would have been mounted on the rear of the cabin, about the same as a VW Beetle, and the propeller is allllll the way at the very end of the tail (not drawn yet lol- I sketch those in with a compass after colors.).

I always laugh at any new articles sponsored by super rich start up guys claiming to have built the first flying cars when these little guys have been around for decades.  (no shade to Terrifugia tho, I have a soft spot for them cause they’re adorable little guys that look like Winguls and they’re nostalgic to me. I’ll never forget meeting one of the prototypes when I was like 11 :’3). Sadly not many of them were made as the FAA had come into play about the time these guys were really starting to take off and strict new regulations at the time killed em. :c

[gxtzeizm]

Heeeyy

Woow haha now the name of you blog just make sense, lol, I used to had something related to football in my url, but I changed a while ago. People just lost Inter in Mario (sadly), not for me, his little baby it’s so cute 🥰 it’s a mini version of him. I believe the football player everyone loves right now it’s Mason Mount, or maybe the most popular…

You need to try it!! Dye your hair it doesn’t matter if you don’t like it, you can always change the color or cut it! Last time I did it I put some hair mask on the color just to get the purple I wanted, because I wanted I pastel purple and it works!

Mmmmm I usually listen the news, lol, but something different can be “the philosophy of your 20s” and one that it’s pretty good it’s “case 63”

Yees! I’m really excited for Christmas to let you know who I am!!! I’m really gonna miss talk to you daily, have a good day!!

-Your Secret Santa 🎅🏼

heyya bestie!!!!

well glad that there some of us (and you as well <33) are still have an interest on mario. tbh, i'm really late to this party since i just know him during 2019 )); but yeah, i'll keep supporting him till the end of his career as well as if he decide to be a coach etc etc.

goddd don't you know i'm really adore his son so much...like he's totally a little mario götze tho <33 even somehow when i saw him in insta stories of mario or ann-kathrin, i questioned myself if mario and rome is literally a father and a son, or just 2 cute little siblings lmaooo <33.

yeah i can't wait for my hair dye to arrive here. ouhhh and that's really a great tips tho thanks for sharing with me. usually i add the conditioner that provided into the color. but yeah i guess i'll add the hair mask as well and also the conditioner that i always use.

well thanks a lot for the suggestions, i'll listen to it whenever i got a free time <33.

yeah right tho!!!! it's 2 days before the christmas and i'm also can't wait to know who are you <33. well we can talk to each other frequently after this ends tho. it's nice to meet you tho <33.