#shys recommendation

[shyamanuensis]

God my soul can't handle when this man needs reassurance xo

oneshots | ᴛᴏᴍ ʀɪᴅᴅʟᴇ X ꜰ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

⋆˙⟡ All Yours.

Short Summary: There is nothing unusual about Tom returning late from his meetings. However today, there is something slightly off, something you only notice when he is pressed up against you, waking you from your sleep…

Warnings: 18+ only! slight somno, unprotected p in v, Tom Riddle needs you, use of parseltongue, possessive!Tom

A/N: found this in my drafts. Perfect for writers block season :D

wordcount: 1,4k

You only faintly notice the door to your bedroom creaking open, bed squeaking as he lays down beside you—carefully, so as not to wake you. Tom returning so late is not unusual per se, he’d gone out with his Knights the evening prior—meetings that usually take until the early morning hours. 

Now, you’d normally ask about his day—however, you are just too tired, and instead, your eyes flutter closed, and you drift off to sleep again before you get the chance to do so.

You aren’t sure how long you’ve slept when you wake again—met with darkness as you blink slowly, the only light source being the moon’s subtle white glow as it shines into your shared bedroom. Only then do you notice that your duvet is somewhere further down the bed, a cool breeze of air having goosebumps rise on your skin. But there is something else—the faint touch of Tom’s knuckles trailing up and down your bare thigh. You don’t think all too much of it—not until he bunches the silky material of your nightgown around your hips, that is.

“Tom? What are you—“ you whisper, turning your head slightly in an attempt to look at him, but as soon as he hears the soft sound of your voice, he closes the space between the both of you, his hot breath ghosting over your skin as he shifts closer, pressing soft kisses down the side of your neck.

If you weren’t awake before, you definitely are now. His hands explore your still half-covered body, following the soft curve of your hips before finding their way upwards, cupping your breasts, kneading slowly over the thin, silky fabric. Your breath catches at the sudden affection, because yes, you do manage to crack his hard shell from time to time, but this? It’s entirely different from what you are used to.

“I missed you,” he mumbles then, voice low and rough, and just like that he gives you a gentle roll of his hips, letting you feel just how much he really missed you.

“Oh—“ you whimper, attempting to find your voice for a proper response, but a proper response to that turns out to be rather difficult to come up with. “I— missed you too, Tom.” His hand has slipped further upwards in the meantime, tilting your head to grant him better access, sucking purple marks into your neck—and at this point, he’s fully rutting himself against you.

When you try to move just a little, his grip only tightens, practically pinning you against him.

“Mh, stay like this. Be good and stay where I want you.” Tom murmurs, hand wandering to the hem of your nightdress, slipping under the material. His hands are warm, soft, fingertips deliberately grazing over your skin. A soft moan spills from your lips when his hand slips between your legs, caressing the already damp fabric of your lace panties, gently rubbing circles over your still clothed clit. And he groans, groans at the feeling of just how wet and ready you are for him.

He soon shifts behind you, withdrawing his hand as he pushes himself up from the mattress. With a subtle nudge on your inner thigh, Tom has you part your legs for him, and your mind is already caught in a haze, obeying without hesitation. He hooks his fingers into your panties, slipping them down and tossing them aside before he positions himself between your legs.

And then, for the first time that night, his eyes meet yours. Hungry with lust, pupils blown wide, locked onto yours.

“Tom—“ you stammer, hand softly wrapping around his biceps, but he interrupts you with a, for him, rare, passionate kiss.

“Just— take it. Need you to take it for me,” he grunts, his voice still thick with sleep, and you think it might be best if he’d just rest. However, as soon as your lips part to tell him just that, the only sound you manage is a sharp gasp—he presses himself against you, tip swiping through your folds to collect your arousal, cutting you off.

Tom doesn’t wait much longer before he sinks himself into you, slowly, too slowly for your liking, but you cannot get yourself to complain. Not when he stares down at you like he physically needs you, like you are the only one he wants, curls messily falling onto his forehead, lips parted—gasping as he feels you wrapped around his cock so perfectly—just how he has been imagining it the entire evening.

“Tight— fuck, so tight.” He groans, hips now finally flush with yours. His head dips, burying himself in the crook of your neck, and he stills then, granting you the chance to feel all of him—feel the blissful stretch on your walls as he lets you adjust to his size. Though impatience—something Tom usually doesn’t show—gets the better of him, gently rolling his hips against yours, tip brushing against your cervix with every slight thrust.

A feeling that has your walls clamp down around him, eyebrows drawn together, and then finally, finally, he moves, pulling out of you completely just to split you open all over again, and somewhere in between, he must have lost the last bits of restraint he had left, groans spilling freely from his lips, showing you a completely new side of him—raw, passionate, and unrestrained.

“You’d never leave me. I know— you’d never do that to me.” He grumbles, all while he’s pushing into you slowly, hot, ragged breaths against your skin as his lips messily place kisses on your neck.

Now you really don’t know what’s gotten into him, if something happened while he was out—nonetheless, you decide to play along. “No, Tom. Never.” You shake your head, your hand reaching out to brush one of his dark curls from his face.

He gives you a satisfied hum in return, gradually speeding up, one of his hands pinning yours above your head as he thrusts into you from above, brushing against your most sensitive spot with every snap of his hips—the combined sensations so intense you aren’t sure how much longer you can take him like this.

And he knows.

Releasing your wrists, his hand slips between you, finding your swollen clit, tracing the bud in slow, tight circles. Your hips buck into his touch, chasing every single bit of pleasure he’s giving you as you feel the coil in your stomach winding tighter, climax approaching faster than your mind can process.

It’s not only you, though. His cock twitches inside of you, thrusts growing erratic as he chases his own release, pushing into you as if it’s the last time he gets to do it.

“Tell me you are mine. Fuck— need you to tell me.” He growls, hips stuttering against yours, and you know he is close, so close—

“I am yours. All yours.” You reassure him, and that’s all it takes for him to break, a low, deep groan somewhere from the back of his throat as he spills himself inside of you, painting your walls white with his cum.

He mumbles something under his breath, dragging out his orgasm, something you make out to be his language—parseltongue, words that have your surroundings fade into a blur. Although you don’t understand him, his eyes tell you all you need to know—fireworks explode behind your eyes as you tumble over the edge, your whole body charged with the high of your release as your cunt flutters eagerly around his still hard length, milking the last remnants of his release.

His chest heaves as he breathes heavily, his body coming to rest on top of yours.

You stay like this for a while, giving him the chance to calm down. Your fingertips trace slow patterns along his muscular back, wandering up to his neck and finally swiping through his dishevelled, dark curls.

When he then lifts himself off you, his expression gentle as he pulls out of you slowly, glancing down at you with a knowing look, you realise it’s better not to ask.

And that’s why he values you more than anyone else.

You have learned to understand him.

thank you so much for reading! <3 feel free to reblog and leave feedback! :3

—

masterlist. | oneshots.

©2025 viperify. please do not copy, translate or claim my work as your own.

[meownotgood]

any recommendations for viktor smut?

of course!!! my favorite viktor fic ever is academy excellence by gaybybirth, I've read it a ton of times, the tension is sooo good so if you have time and want to build before the smut it's perfect... also they have this collection of more really great fics (every lover is a madman is my fave out of the collection, but I've read all of them countless times lol)

the necessary energy by nokwisi was one of the first viktor fics I read and it hasn't left my mind since. I also recommend whatever it takes, I come back to that one like monthly

if you want to fuck viktor and jayce, my favorite jayvik + reader fics are oak, moss, rain and what crumbles, what remains by weltraum_vaquero. but they also have reflections which is a solo viktor fic, super amazing (and lots of great jayce fics if you're into him)

if you want to fuck machine herald viktor, highly recommend synaptic spark by heraldeez. you can't convince me viktor wouldn't make his own equipment. if you know what I mean

finally, if you want a modern au fic, I love down horrendous by emeraldiis, honestly I read the stuff before the smut all the time because vik is so damn cute. and omg... do I love a good kiss scene...

[cthulhum]

Hi you recently made a post about some destiel fics that are poetic with names like 91 whiskey, restless wanderer and something living kiss. Could you maybe share the link or something? I want to read them! Thank youuu🧡

yesss im gonna put everything ive read that i loved actually okay

restless wanderer <33333

and this, your living kiss

ninety one whiskey

a turn of the earth

the path of fireflies

psalm 40:2

the best years of our lives, my ass

the dean winchester beat sheet

the 5 senses of longing

twist and shout

so says the sword

i dont have them bookmarked together on ao3 so heres links for all of them separately and by all of them i mean ive only read the most popular ones so far and these r the one i loved the most !! hope u enjoy !!

@bondnamesthejames

[amygdalae]

got any full album recs? like not just "there's a few bangers here" but "listening to this as an album will change everything"

im sooo picky the only two albums that've been 100% like this for me (so far) are as follows:

Dirt by Alice in Chains. - grunge/heavy metal

Cold by Lycia - darkwave/ ethereal wave

albums that have come really close to this for me:

Ghost Reveries by Opeth - progressive metal/death metal

Hidden Faces by Clan of Xymox - darkwave

Sonic Jihad by Snake River Conspiracy - industrial

Psycho Magnet by London After Midnight - darkwave/industrial

Doomsday Machine by Arch Enemy - melodic death metal

Green Room by Radkey - garage rock/punk rock sorta

Deep by Peter Murphy - Peter Murphy (New wave? does his solo stuff count as goth. less sure how to categorize. anyways its good)

[shyamanuensis]

So glad you wrote this after our chat! I absolutely adore it <3

I Feel Nothing For You - Sebastian Sallow

Rating: G

Tags: Hurt, break-ups, denial, angst.

Words: ~700

Summary: Sebastian tries to rid himself of the lingering presence post break-up.

(This is written with a gender-neutral "ex partner" that could be considered x reader if you squint. It could also be anyone else you want to use as a stand in. I didn't go into this with a ship in mind, just wanted to write a drabble of angst.)

[Read on ao3 or below the cut]

The water pouring from the tap was cold enough to cut off Sebastian's blood flow. His breaths coming in heaving gasps as he diligently scrubbed his skin, desperate to remove the lingering touches and their scent. As if he could get underneath and wash away their memory. 

He moved on to his hair next, then his face, before grabbing a nail brush he pilfered from his sister and started scrubbing away all traces of them from his hands. 

Sebastian wanted to be a version of himself that was never tainted by the heartache he felt. A layer of chill bumps formed on his flesh, causing all hair to stand on end and a shiver to wrack through him. It made him scrub faster, harder. Diligent and harsh, whatever it took to remove fingerprints. 

After what was surely an hour Sebastian turned the water off, wrapping a towel around himself before heading over to the sink. He turned the cold water on, then started brushing his teeth just as vigorously. The taste of them had to be removed just as effectively. 

Never existed. 

He repeated in his head for hours now, thinking the more he said it the more it would be true.

Sebastian already tossed and burned every trace of them in his dorm. Every piece of clothing, gift, letter. All of it turned to ashes in the furnace that sat in the middle of the room. It was especially difficult to cast a charm to make any future correspondence from them unable to reach him, but he managed. Hopefully if they tried to send a letter, the post would be sent off to the void. 

Most people probably treated a breakup or heartache much differently than Sebastian is currently. He was probably expected to wallow in bed for days or seem more broken up than he appears. But Sebastian isn't most people. 

Never existed. 

He rinsed his mouth out and wiped away the remnants of water and toothpaste from his lips before tossing the dirty towel into the bin and headed back to his dorm. 

Everything in his wardrobe was now brand new. Sale tags still hanging on the sleeves of the new uniforms, he ripped them off as he got dressed. The bag holding his books was also new, everything that became tainted now replaced. 

Sebastian ran his fingers through his still damp hair, taking one last look in the mirror before heading out the door. Hushed whispers surrounded him as he walked past, the news spreading throughout the castle like wildfire already. He didn't care though, as far as Sebastian was concerned, the gossip was about a ghost.

Before he could enter the great hall, someone stopped him. Sebastian hesitated slightly, before turning.

"Can we pretend like this never happened?" They spoke sullenly, looking at him with tear filled eyes. A mix of regret and longing on their face. Now standing before him and begging for a second chance, to get back together.

They probably meant the argument between them earlier. The shouting, the anger, words hurled at each other so harshly they struck physical blows. Likely referring to the inevitable calling it quits. 

Sebastian swallowed at the words, thinking them over briefly before settling on what he needed. For the first time in years not choosing what he wanted. He regarded them with a blank stare. The same one he would give any stranger he didn't know. "Never happened." He finally spoke, a half-hearted smirk crossing his lips. Then he pushed past them and into the hall, walking over to take his place at the Slytherin table.

This is where the request differed. 

For Sebastian, they never met. Never shared secrets or dreams. Never stayed up late mapping the stars or talking about their futures. Never shared themselves with each other. Never explored around the castle together. Never shared jokes or laughs. 

Perhaps he was being too cruel, acting too unbothered. 

But Sebastian learned a long time ago that when something hurts, it's easier to pretend it didn't happen. Shut yourself off and turn yourself numb. Get rid of everything that reminds you of it. If there's no trace, there's no proof. If you don't feel the burn, then you're already healing.

If you don't want to feel the pain, it's easier to act like it never existed. 

[fwmp4]

‧₊˚ ☽ matt sturniolo fic recs !

fluff = ❀ ; smut/suggestive = ᝰ ; angst = ‏𖦹

os/blurbs/randoms

— late night studyin. (sosasturns) ᝰ

— dry humping n lazy makeouts. (eph3merall) ᝰ

— right here, right now. (sturnsrecord) ᝰ

— 90’s show inspired au. (leoslaboratory)

⤷ intro. 00.

— money talks. (delilahsturns) ᝰ

— earned it. (ch0llies) ᝰ

— meet cute. (luvoverdose) ❀

— error code. (malsmind) ᝰ

bsf!matt

— practice. (issysh3ll) ᝰ

— this is (not) easy. (sturnioz) ᝰ

— stitches. (sturnsrecord) ᝰ

shy!matt

— no title but matt has a ghostface mask. (sturnioz) ᝰ

bf!matt

— reader does the “wearing sunglasses so my man doesn’t know what I’m looking at” trend on Matt. (asmine) ᝰ

— skin 2 skin. (leisturni) ❀ ; ᝰ

— prettiest momma. (darksturnz) ᝰ

⤷ fuckin’ take it. ᝰ

dividers by @plutism

[aravenlovesfanfiction]

next teenwolf fic ->

Masterpost

[theoraeeken]

ive been writing fanfiction for 14 years now and if you think that being nearly 30 is going to stop me from naming all of my silly little gay stories with lyrics i pull from songs by either hozier, halsey, fall out boy or florence and the machine, then you're dead fucking wrong. i intend on writing about werewolves getting lovingly buggered under the moonlight until i DIE and damn right i'll be doing it with american beauty/american psycho playing in the background.

[shyamanuensis]

If people haven't already gotten into this story, the current chapter should be enough to rope you in; but like.. start with chapter 1 and see for yourself. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Arm's Length

Chapter 4: Wish You Would Or, the one where Sebastian gets his ass kicked in another duel. Read on AO3.

Sebastian Sallow x F!MC Rating: Explicit (smut, profanity); all characters are 18+ Chapters: 4/? Story summary: Her story with Sebastian Sallow is supposed to be over. She’s now a seventh year with classes, friends and cute classmates to fill her time. She no longer has any use for that stupid Slytherin, especially after he made it clear he has no use for her. So when he starts to claw his way back into her life, she’ll fight like hell to keep him at arm’s length. It's a fight she’ll always lose.

[selineram3421]

*Mermay ending* Sigh..

Other Worldly

Part 5

Part 4

Alastor X Shy Reader

Warnings ⚠

⚠ selectively mute reader, Italics= thoughts, implied past love(living life), jelly Alastor lol, Francis Forever-Mitski ⚠

Something he's noticed is that his little mer has been smiling more often.

Perhaps it was because they got more comfortable with speaking with the others but they still held some caution when around him. He wanted to change that very soon. The Radio Demon was quite impatient, especially when it came to something he wanted.

The mer used the pond area with the dock a lot more since his shadow guided them there. With them distracted in that little area, he started working on something new not too far.

It took less than a few days to finish and Alastor was ready to share it with them once he felt content with how it looked.

"Hm..", he hummed, thinking of when to show the gift he prepared to the aquatic demon. "I suppose I'll let them know after lunch time.", he decided.

After having lunch, he made his way down the hall that led to his hotel room.

Not seeing them anywhere in the hotel, he realized that they must have gone to the pond with the dock again.

He heard a faint hum as he approached, slowly increasing in volume. Not too far from the pond, he spotted them in the water.

Before he could announce himself, he heard the mer start to sing.

"I don't know what to do without you.

I don't know where to put my hands.

I've been trying to lay my head down

But I'm writing this at three a.m."

The Radio Demon stood still and listened, curious about the song.

"I don't need the world to see

That I've been the best I can be, but

I don't think I could stand to be

Where you don't see me."

Who is this about? He wondered. Why are they stuck in my Mer's head?

"And autumn comes when you're not yet done

With the summer passing by, but

I don't think I could stand to be

Where you don't see me."

He took a step closer when they finished singing.

"I wonder why it is that you sing such sad songs whenever I catch you.", he spoke, earning a squeak of surprise from the mer in response.

They hid most of themselves in the water, eyes just above it as they turned to face him.

He lifted a brow and chuckled.

How bashful.

"Come now my dear!", he said, using his shadows to pull them out of the water and into his arms. "I have something I'd like to show you!"

They gasped and scrambled to balance themselves, clutching onto his coat once they settled in his arms. He smiled when they glared at him with a pout.

"Smile dear~", he said, his smile turning into a grin.

They look away with a huff.

.

You don't like when he appears randomly whenever you're singing about her.

When he tells you to smile, you look away.

I hate this.. You thought with a furrowed brow. I hate when he catches me.

"Let's start heading over.", he said softly and began walking into the woodland area.

You haven't really explored all of the space that was provided for you to sing, so you looked around curiously, wondering where you were being taken.

"Where are we going?", you finally asked after a moment's silence.

"Ah, so they can speak.", Alastor's smile widens.

You roll your eyes and look away.

"Now, now. I'm only teasing.", he chuckles. "It's a surprise. Not too far from the little pond.", he answers. "Meanwhile, I'd like to ask you a question or two."

A question? About what? You thought.

"Who is it?", he asks. "The one that plagues your thoughts so, whenever you're singing those songs."

You look down at your tail and frown.

You didn't want to tell him. Why would he care about that? He had what he wanted and that was to listen to you sing. You didn't have to tell him anything else about your past. About your living life. About her..

"No one important.", you decide to respond.

"Ah, but it is someone?", he leans his head closer to yours.

You ignore him and listen to the crunch of twigs and grass, some occasional mud as he walks.

"Well, whoever it is, I'm going to ask you to sing those songs for me."

Blink

It catches you by surprise but you look up at him confused.

"What? Why?"

He just gives you a closed eyed smile. "Why not? I do so love your singing."

You look away again.

.

Alastor's smile grew as he noticed the blush forming on the mer's cheeks as they turned their head away.

Good to know they are sweet when complimented. He thought and noticed how close the gift was. "Close your eyes dear. I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise now."

They glanced over at him with a questionable gaze but did as told, closing their eyes.

Carefully and quietly, he had his shadow move some of the willow tree leaves out of the way as he walked into their gift, setting them down on a smooth stone.

"Wait a moment longer.", he whispered into their ear before standing straight and snapped his fingers.

Little fireflies appeared, completing the look.

"Now you may look."

He watched with interest as they opened their eyes, smile turning soft as they gasped and looked around to see the space he created for them.

Trees that towered, the leaves covering most of the light, only a few beams of light hit the water and made the area glow. Willow tree leaves brushing against the water as they created little hiding spots beneath them and some vines hanging off the other trees.

They were enchanted by the sight and he noticed they wanted to explore but they paused.

"Why are you-", the siren began. "Why?", they asked in a hushed voice as they turned to look at him.

All the Radio Demon did was smile and took a step closer, leaning down to stroke their cheek.

"That little pond didn't suit you, so I made something that did.", he replied.

There was an odd thrum coming from somewhere but he didn't bother to pay attention to it. Right now, all he wanted to do was watch his little mer enjoy their gift, surrounded by the flickering lights from the fireflies.

He would have them.

*mermay in my heart* I'll work on the other fics now, just needed the mermay stuff out of my system. This isn't the end though.

Seline, the person.

Part 6

Taglist@

@preciousbabypeter @poppingaround @bishiglomper @darifes @random-3455 @mistpurpl3 @chirimeimei @sharkthong @enjisthings @aspiring-bookworm @cherry-cola-100 @fairyv-ice @phoephan-123 @fuzzyturtlepaws

@+more in the comments+

ML I Alastor🎙️ | OW🦀

[seleneprince]

Ok i'm legit interrested by this au!!! Maybe i would be more easy to you that make this a "what if" or make the old one a "what if" . Do you have already idea who would be a romantic interest for your oc? And will all the family live together or maybe bruce will be petty and build a isolated building for lucia's family?

I'm so glad you ask!

Also, thank you for the suggestion. I already considered making a What If for the old au, just because I know how much it sucks when a post you marked is deleted and last time I checked they have plenty of notes so I don't want to take them out, but also they no longer fit with the au I have in my head. So I'm probably going to leave them like that, or maybe I just rewrite them with the new details and add it to the new masterlist.

I'll create a new masterlist for the new posts I plan to make about this new au and I'll leave the old ones in their own category, just to not delete them, or edit them.

Regarding the romantic interests...well, I'm so, so happy someone asks 👀 because yes. I already know them, but I'm torn between revealing them outright or drop hints to people's interpretation.

In this AU, the Batfam is a mix between platonic and romantic yanderes, depending on the "darling". They eventually feel possessive and unhinged about the four darlings (the wife, the daughter, and the twins), but some of them are not exactly family friendly about it..

Regarding the other question, yes. The whole family lives together in the manor, but the four darlings, my ocs, live in the opposite wing of the manor to the Batfam. They share the wing with Alfred, in what used to be mostly the space reserved for guests. Now it's theirs. The animosity between the two units of the family has been mutual since the beginning, specially considering the nature of the marriage between Bruce and the wife, so yes, Bruce is definitely petty but not downright abusive. He assigned them that wing for the first days of them staying at the manor because he refused to sleep with his wife (she refuses too) and they were supposed to find a separate room for her. Good thing about Wayne manor is that it's so obnoxiously big that there's no need to build anything, they can just find space for anything they want. What was supposed to be a temporal arrangement lasted forever, until Bruce decided to change it for...reasons.

Lucia's family weren't exactly welcomed at first, but I'll say the contempt was more towards Lucia's mother than the kids. Bruce didn't go out of his way to isolate and neglect Lucia, neither did the rest of the Batfam. But in their eyes, she and her siblings were unplanned inconveniences that had been forced upon them, invading their space and their lives.

Which its why they still live in the other wing of the manor. That was supposed to be temporary until they were assigned to other rooms, but really no one in the Batfam wanted them in their private spaces..so they were just left there. And eventually, Lucia's family also preferred it this way because they don't want to share anything with the Batfam either. The less they have to see each other, the better. Especially considering Lucia's family have their own double life 👀👀

Of course, it'll change, when the Batfam starts to notice things and decide they want Lucia's family closer to them.

[kiddoblues]

I had this little doll of Moiraine made last year but never posted her because fandoms intimidate me, but I thought I might as well post her now because I love her and I want people to look at her

please also appreciate the lengths I went to to set up the tea party picture. I'm an adult I swear

She was made by LittleNerds who was super nice and I totally recommend her 💙

[shyamanuensis]

The way I screamed when I read this summary and then was hooked the entire way. Ugh! Perfect. A recommended read to all even if you're not a Riddle fan xoxo

Disarm Me - T.M.R.

Summary: Paired with Tom Riddle in Defense Against the Dark Arts, you expect a challenge—but not like this. What starts as a simple duel becomes a dangerous battle of wills. Tom is cold, calculating, and utterly unreadable, yet your defiance fascinates him. When you catch him off guard, his mask slips, and you realize one thing—

You have all of his attention now.

And Tom Riddle doesn’t let go of what’s his.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐝. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐟𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫.

𝐘/𝐍 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠—𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈.

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬, 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞.

𝐘/𝐍 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐟𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐨𝐦. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞.”

𝐓𝐨𝐦’𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬. “𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥.”

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝. “𝐖𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬.”

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧.

𝐘/𝐍 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒖𝒔 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐲—𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. “𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜.”

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝. “𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬.” 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐚𝐰 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. “𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠.”

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐘/𝐍 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝.

“𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝?” 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐝𝐨𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧—𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞.

𝐇𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.

𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥—𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐭, 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞.

“𝐎𝐡,” 𝐘/𝐍 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭. “𝑫𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖?”

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐓𝐨𝐦’𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲.

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝒃𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒍.

“𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒖𝒔.”

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐘/𝐍 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤.

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐤 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬—𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐨𝐦’𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓.

𝐘/𝐍 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲.

𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈.

“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰,” 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐥𝐛𝐨𝐰𝐬, 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, “𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝’𝐯𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝.”

𝐓𝐨𝐦’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥—𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬? 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬?

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝒓𝒆𝒅.

𝐘/𝐍 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐚𝐰 ���𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧.

“𝐁𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲. “𝐈’𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧.”

𝐘/𝐍 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝. 𝑶𝒉, 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅.

𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩, 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐘/𝐍?

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭.

𝐘/𝐍 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝒉𝒊𝒎.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐫𝐭, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬—𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥.

𝑶𝒉, 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.

𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. “𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞.”

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝. “𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤. 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄.”

𝐘/𝐍 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭, 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐓𝐨𝐦’𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐥—𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦. 𝐀 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.

“𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐞. “𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞.”

𝑭𝒖𝒄𝒌.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡.

“𝐈’𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬,” 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝.

𝐓𝐨𝐦’𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲.

“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝?”

𝐘/𝐍 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝. “𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞.”

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐦��𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝.

𝐇𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. “𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐩.”

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝. “𝐒𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞.”

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐚𝐰 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝.

𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.

𝐘/𝐍 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐩—𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐩.

𝐍𝐨, 𝐡𝐞 𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐝.

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐫.

“𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.” 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.

����𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝.

𝐇𝐞 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩.

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆.

𝐘/𝐍’𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦. “𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭?”

𝐓𝐨𝐦’𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝.

𝐀 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭—𝐘/𝐍 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐤.

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐬.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐤, 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤.

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝.

𝐘/𝐍 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬.

“𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐬,” 𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞, “𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝.”

𝐀 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫.

𝐀 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦, 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. “𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞, 𝐘/𝐋/𝐍, 𝐡𝐨𝐰’𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠?”

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞. 𝐃𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒉.

𝐘/𝐍, 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝.

𝐇𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫, 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝.

“𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫.”

𝐘/𝐍 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝—𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒕.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲. 𝐇𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰, 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬. “𝐒𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞.”

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒅.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝. 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝.

𝐍𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐘/𝐍 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞—

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

a/n: i feel like beating tom in a duel would feel so satisfying considering hes such a talented wizard. so hot fr

i think iii mightttt write some smut, if I’m not too buried w homework.

happy reading friends ;)

MASTERLIST

[iwannalickahairybelly]

no thoughts, just hungry dilfs with soft grumbly bellies

[animehouse-moe]

Pride Month Manga Recommendations: Currently Releasing

It's the first day of Pride Month, so why not find some LGBTQ+ manga to read to kick off the start of June? Take a look through this thread of 10 currently releasing manga and light novels to find a new series to pick up, starting with-

The Summer Hikaru Died - Soon To Be an Anime!

Yoshiki and Hikaru were best friends, until Yoshiki notices a change in the boy and comes to find out that he's been replaced by some sort of monster that proclaims his love for Yoshiki.

A fittingly disturbing affair, The Summer Hikaru Died does wonderful work as a horror manga, and expertly intertwines Yoshiki and "Hikaru's" emotions and feelings for one another with the dark and foreboding tone of the series.

Whisper Me A Love Song - A Currently Airing Anime!

Yori Asanagi is a girl better at guitar than love, but what happens when underclassman Himari Kino falls in love with that guitar work? Well, a string of misunderstandings appears that sets in motion this love song of a story.

Whisper Me A Love Song is certainly a bit close to cliché or melodramatic, but with Takeshima Eku's art, it becomes quite the appealing series. Certainly for fans of a more typically-styled love story, Whisper Me A Love Song is a very fun read!

I Married My Female Friend - from the author of Doughnuts Under A Crescent Moon

One day at a festival, Kurumi and Ruriko made a "promise" to each other: in 5 years, if neither found a partner, they would get married. That period elapses, and Ruriko comes racing back to Kurumi with a marriage certificate in hand.

I Married My Female Friend is both a lighthearted yet emotionally aware manga that feels like a spiritual successor to Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon, skipping the challenges of finding love & heading for the difficulty of being in love.

Seaside Stranger - Also A Major (Animated) Motion Picture

A story of two young men estranged from their parents, Seaside Stranger finds a difficult love blossom on a remote island that begins as confinement for the pair as they work through their challenging feelings and pasts.

Kii Kana's art is really something, and studio Hibari's adaptation is equally beautiful- extracting the most out of this dramatic (and steamy) romance. I might add though that it's not quite for those brand new to BL thanks to explicit content, but it's a great read nonetheless.

Otherside Picnic - Both An Anime And Manga

Sorawo Kamikoshi, a university student, spends her free time exploring a creepy pasta-esque dimension she calls the Otherside where she meets Toriko Nishina as the two narrowly escape the clutches of death, starting their journey.

While it's certainly quite the slow-burn of a romance, Iori Miyazawa's horror-filled world is bursting with passion and discomfort in equal amounts, making for a riveting read with a romance that feels impressively real. There's also an anime.... but it doesn't quite deliver.

Cinderella Closet

Haruka's a "plain jane" who left the countryside to live a bright and fashionable life in Tokyo- which she struggles with before meeting her "fairy godmother" Haruka- a young person with an incredible eye and interest for women's fashion and makeup.

In a sense, Cinderella Closet is a very loud depiction of romance in "the big city", throwing curve balls and both romantic & emotional challenges at every turn. In the end though, it remains a very positive and encouraging story with each turn, making for a great read.

The Contract Between a Specter and a Servant

On the worst- and final- day of Masamichi Adachi's life, he's hit by a car and left to die in the streets at night... until the enigmatic Shino offers him a contract to save his life.

While in the same genre as Otherside Picnic, this light novel certainly leans more into traditional horror as it explores a tense but intriguing relationship between Masamchi and Shino. A unique and engaging (re-released) light novel, it's an easy choice for fans of horror!

I Want To Be A Wall

Though Yuriko and Gakurouta are married, no love blossoms between them, as Yuriko is asexual (and a fan of BL) and Gakurouta stills holds feelings for his oblivious (male) childhood friend close to his heart.

Sporting a wonderfully unique concept, I Want To Be A Wall is a story that more so focuses on the wedded couple's humorous day-to-day lives than anything. A very light and enjoyable series, it's very easy to recommend to just about anyone.

Confessions of a Shy Baker

Toshimitsu Yamamura owns a real estate company and is a baking fanatic- spurred on by the sweet tooth of his boyfriend Gonta. One day however, Toshi gets pushed towards advertising his services as LGBTQ-friendly, forcing him to reconcile with how this move that would help others might out himself as gay.

A manga that delicately balances the societal struggles of being gay with a bright and heartwarming romance centered around baking, Confessions of a Shy Baker is a great jack all of trades manga.

Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide

Overly serious Asahi Suzumura and equally laid-back Mitsuki Sayama made each other a promise: together, they'll travel around the world, and when they return to Japan they'll get married.

A beautiful story that throws readers out into the world through destinations and stories, this is a manga that does everything it can within its pages. A forbidden love, a forgotten partner, struggles with laws that forbid love- together they explore this world and each other.

And that's all the recommendations for today, if you have any more you'd like to add feel free to share them here!

[supmaww]

do people just have large quantities of rusted metal lying around or is that insane. because my uni prof just asked us to bring enough assorted rusted metal to cover a 40”x40” sheet of fabric and?? I don’t?? Have that??? Her example was like. a saw and a ton of large construction spikes. and I get docked 10% if I can’t find enough. you can’t even buy rusted metal what the hell am I supposed to do here