iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Yep that is perfectly fine to get me through the event, and definitely better than I could ask for off my home printer, I think!

holding one of each of my cards, in the car outside the office despot. Perfectly serviceable and definitely all I need to survive the book fair tomorrow! Cards & their descriptions to follow on subsequent imgs

Using my painting of Mehren Tevaht holding a heavy demon sword, from the full wrap cover for the forthcoming print edition of The Shepherd in Shadow, the card reads

M. Daniel McDowell
Author - Illustrator

m @ mdmcd.com

the painting is of a threatening cool-green overgrowth surrounding what remains of an obsidian bricked castle. Mehren Tevaht, a slender-figured man with a washed out complexion, a heavily scarred face, black curls; one eye is glowing green glass, the other dark brown. He is holding an ornate and heavy sword with a brilliant glowing purple stone in its hilt; it is a totally normal sword and definitely does not contain the demon Shroudmane, Devourer Unspeakable!!!!

On a tan parchment type background with a light layer of map details from the map of Auzhe (from Beneath the Shattered Gods), and in the same typeface as that map (Antiquarian Scribe):

Jay Wolf
layout & design services for digital & print books

* logotype & title design
* full wrap covers
* interior page design
* custom made chapter headers & decorative typographical elements
* fantasy cartography

get a quote:
jay @ jayxwolf.com

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

sword & sorcery is when the cat is attentive

A handsome grey gentleman cat named Anakin being a round cute buddy

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Slowly decompressing from a wild several weeks of learn-by-doing Work Stuff and am leaning into restorative Art Stuff... I am also trying to lean into my peak Halloween soooo hey two birds one stone

a paint-your-own skull and spider; the skull is giving Skeletor, the spider is in varying shades of purple.

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

late nite columbo hours with the lad

Anakin, a grey cat who sleeps like a renaissance painting, studiously trying to ignore Lt Columbo's investigatory intrusions.

He is doing partial leggy-out big-shrimpin pose over the edge of our non-euclidean futon

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Among this weekend's tiny victories was finding my half-restored thrifted Samantha (her joints were hopelessly irreparably loose as-is so i disassembled her for a bath, and then kept getting sent the wrong size repair kit elastic to refit her joints so she moved to the basket and then lost priority)

American Girl Samantha doll, a brunette with fluffy bangs, having been opened up for repairs, is in parts, along with some bungee cord and pliers. Her head is technically disembodied but looks kind of sweet as her eyes are closed.

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

What's your favorite bible verse? Wrong answers only:

classic Richard Siken tweet of a lolcat with a sad-looking grey cat with big gold eyes.

The lolcat is typical lightly-mangled text, of Siken's "Unfinished Duet" from his legendary collection CRUSH:

"Dis iz wer he trots out hiz sadness.

Lil black cloud, lil black umbrella."

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Post your book covers! In order of recency: By Thieves-Light; Beneath the Shattered Gods; Beating Hearts & Battle-Axes (a behind-the-scenes look at an unused color scheme!); The Shepherd in Shadow; Bringer of the Scourge.

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Out happened! Bless eat 'n park. Shepherd scene breakouts complete! Next step is assess needs for CROWN OF THE WORLD UNBOUND & slot additional foregrounding into BRINGER &SHEPHERD whilst refining an improved print edition. Word on the street is kdp has better matte covers now.........

Copies of Bringer & Shepherd on a diner table plus post-its, pen, and fountain soda

Open page to show off the breezy proofing environs of the Shepherd interior

One of my favorite pages in this whole stupid book. The important information is that a very talkative demon is making suspicious promises to a desperate wizard.

"There is but one promise I can make you, o wizard, o shepherd of dread legend. I can promise that I will not be the death of you."

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Sketching in and flatting this evening while my sister was here, picking at a new story idea for the bladesmith & the brigand

Sketch for a new cover, in a dark space, with vencario holding a spirit candle with an eerie green flame, in a blindfold. Ilwyn stands behind him, one hand up, a fearful look on his face. Behind them is probably nothing, i wouldn't worry about it!!

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

listen,, you can't make me choose

A very messy bookshelf, roughly 95% mass market paperbacks, nearly 100% sffh, the majority 30+ years old

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

I need to make time soon for a current portfolio (& i would love to know if there's a specific thing you might want to see as an example!) For now the posts i've done with my recent releases are a pretty good platonic ideal of "stuff I love bringing to life through thoughtful design." ⁵/fin ⁵/fin

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

So pleased with how the interiors look, though. I hand drew this iconography and it looks so neat here.

Title page

BY THIEVES-LIGHT

a bladesmith & brigand novella

M Daniel McDowell

With a cool hand drawn dagger in the middle

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

and shoring up the works: the paperback of By Thieves-Light! It is nearly impossible to capture the colors accurately on this one; my phone camera simply Cannot. It looks so much better than this in person, pleads the illustrator.

The slightly more color correct but also more blown out photo of the cover

The slightly more detail correct but too dark photo of the print cover

Back cover, color kind of correct

One priceless treasure.
Two handsome thieves.

Ilwyn & Vencario hunt for the same precious rarity: a piece of arcane knowledge, long hidden away in an eccentric archive. Only one of them can have the scroll—and the mysterious reward on offer for the first to find it.

Sparks fly when they cross paths, and both men realize their mutual rivalry could be so much more, if only they weren't vying for the same rare prize.

Neither will accept defeat, but only one of them can prevail. Will either Ilwyn or Vencario get what he truly wants, or will both of them lose the rarest treasure of all?

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

annnnnnd of course: the paperback edition of Beneath the Shattered Gods--

Beneath the Shattered Gods paperback novella! It's real! At last!

Interior chapter header for chapter 1: Mountain of the Summoner

$Back cover copy: The old world has ended, and the new world is yet to begin. When the cataclysm came to the land of Auzhe, the sacred pacts between the worlds above and below were sundered. The gods fell, their acolytes and disciples scattered into remote sects to preserve the old ways, their former world descending into ruin under a mystical red rot. Natheì Ketre, last living member of his sacred order, must making a pilgrimage to find the shrines of the shattered gods and safely gather what relics remain. After a terrible bandit encounter, he falls in with a mysterious, handsome stranger, Kaésh Daloran, who offers safety and protection on his journey. As the two men travel together, Natheì must face difficult questions about who he is—and who he might become. Kaésh, a gentleman scholar and a clever scoundrel pursued by his former masters, sees in Natheì a compelling opportunity to elude his would-be captors. As he learns about his strange new traveling companion, his curiosity—and interest—only deepens. Their unusual bond is tested by Natheì's fracturing faith and by Kaésh's shadowy past. Will their burgeoning relationship withstand a world ruined by the squabbling hollow lords and treacherous remnant magic, or will it be shattered like the heavens above them?$

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Another thing i will have to do some squee for: these novellas are fantastic! (I did get an early preview as i was the ebook designer on this series)

Brackenbury books novellas What Rough Beast?, Suplex & Sorcery, Hunt of a Thousand Leagues, The Barbarian at Dream's End

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

For now tho a brief today-joy at this art, header, and first page! fun fact: when i first received the initial sketch for this piece i was blown away at how frankly *correct* they both are because i did not supply ref sheets or anything??? I guess they just exude this energy??? <3

First pages of The Nature of the Sword by m. daniel mcdowell ft illustration on the left of a shirtless aproned Ilwyn M'gavn burnishing an edge on a fancie blade and seeing his erstwhile beloved Vencario Eratena for the first time in A While, silhouetted in his doorway... on the facing page, the General's Sword and Vencario's misericorde in the header above the first page of story

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Shatter the Sun i know i have already squeed about; i am planning to do a whole Wrath Month thread of things I love about this book bc i do suspect it will take me a month to get through my queer barbarous joy

Cover of shatter the sun, art by matthew spencer, ft an absolutely killer bearbarian type fella at what can only be described as a very well-armed disco at the end of time

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

I forgot about my massive pile of book mail yesterday In my defense I did dive right into things after i got home from a truly chaotic grocery store run

Picture of seven paperback books: the shatter the sun anthology from neon hemlock; the four novellas of the 2025 novella run from New Edge/Brackenbury Books: what rough beast? by bryn hammond, suplex & sorcery by june orchid parker, the hunt of a thousand leagues by dariel ra quiogue and barbarian at dream's end by steve hugh westenra; and the two most recent m daniel mcdowell novellas, beneath the shattered gods and by thieves-light

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

The novella edition of BY THIEVES-LIGHT is here! Available on and off Amazon in epub, and for the first time in paperback! I am so excited to finally have this out at last, with another of their stories now out in SHATTER THE SUN as well.

The cover art for By Thieves-Light, without type. Vencario Eratena, a tan fellow with dark curly hair and a cloak, holding his dagger and moon-globe, standing shoulder to shoulder with Ilwyn, a tall broad ginger fellow in smithing gear, holding a scroll.

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Have to figure out how i am going to manage actually selling these, but hey, i have limited stock in hand !

A paperback edition of BENEATH THE SHATTERED GODS, featuring an image of an enormous statue in the wilderness with a wetland covered in a horrible ominous red growth, with a cloaked figure on horseback looking up at the immense distant statue.

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

little sketch i'm working on

Sketch of a flirty moment between Ilwyn & Vencario, with Vencario taking a firm grip of Ilwyn's hair

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

I *did* recently pick up the full suite of Sveva because i wanted to codify "and they fuck" directly into the branding for ye olde bladesmith & brigand www.astype.de/data/d_sveva...

Several phrases typed in alternate forms of the font Sveva in different weights.

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

I think I have settled on the color scheme for this cover; final-final_FINAL edits to the manuscript within including some light art adjustments and other Fiddly Things of being one's own publisher notwithstanding. SOON:

Color adjusted cover for the ebook of "By Thieves-Light" featuring rivals Vencario and Ilwyn staring each other down flirtatiously under the eerie glow of thieves-light....

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

PROOOOOOOOFS this is so very close to being ready, finally, at laaaaaast

Front cover of By Thieves-Light, featuring vencario and ilwyn eyeing each other up

Typeset in Sveva Versal, the unofficial font of a specific type of romantic fantasy

Back cover with the text

Two handsome thieves,
One priceless treasure.

Ilwyn & Vencario hunt for the same precious rarity: a piece of arcane knowledge, long hidden away in an eccentric archive. Only one of them can have the scroll—and the mysterious reward on offer for the first to find it.

Sparks fly when they cross paths, and both men realize their mutual rivalry could be so much more, if only they weren't vying for the same rare prize.

Neither will accept defeat, but only one of them can prevail. Will either Ilwyn or Vencario get what he truly wants, or will both of them lose the rarest treasure of all?

First page of By Thieves-Light.

The important detail is my hand drawn scene marker, a scroll with details meant to look like an etching

The text begins: Ilwyn's mind raced as it always did when he was waiting for something to happen. Too much to remember, too many steps; despite this, he was primed for action once the moment arose and keenly aware of the waning hour.

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

eagle eyed viewers will recognize the _front_ cover is a tithi luadthong/grandfailure stock image; yes, I handpainted a matching back to wrap around, because that's how I am, that is what I am like, lol

the full image of the cover; a blue cold maountain backfrop with a bizarre humanoid statue. below is a field of red where a lone cloaked rider on horseback looks up at the statue

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

also, I don't know who needs to know this, but if you have a full wrap paperback cover that looks really tight as a full image, it will save you some time setting up your itch listing if you make a version at 630 x 500 with just your front cover copy, to wit:

itch.io sized copy of Beneath the Shattered Gods cover-- the title and author name are adjusted to take better advantage of the space

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

and that's a wrap on print proofing! the repurposed flags are "places i might stick an illustration someday", god willin and the creek don't rise, but not this time around, much as i love an illustrated edition I need this book off my desk (and ideally on your shelf!) as soon as i can get it there

Pile of sticky note flags next to BENEATH THE SHATTERED GODS completed

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

This is a cat check point. Relinquish your most recent cat picture on your phone.

This is technically a cat picture

Neenie, a little brown tabby, hiding from her dumbass brother underneath the futon. She is barely visible under the fringe of a blanket that is draped over the futon. It is extremely cute and worked really well as a hiding spot because Anakin is a bit of a dingdong

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Annnnnnd i think that's a book cover..... I have no chill for cool book reveal stuff, especially when it is technically a wide release for a previously exclusive story Just in time for pride ig

Ebook cover for By Thieves-Light featuring vencario and ilwyn and some very cool typography that i did with that very official font of romantasy, Sveva Versal. More info on this art in one of my earlier posts, i am really sorry screenreader friends but it's the same dumbasses looking smug, just slightly more detailed i promise

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

progress i've figured out the figures, the color placement, and the approximate ambience, and now it's time to settle in for some shading and detailing, hours of delicious picky digital brush noodling tk

Vencario, a tan fellow with dark curls, a grey cloak, and a sassy look about him, and Ilwyn, a big ginger with a leather apron and heavy gloves each sizing each other up smugly; if i did my job right the vibe should absolutely be "i can take him (multiple interpretations)" radiating from both parties

This is eventually destined for the cover of my -fritz leiber by way of tom of finland- novella "By Thieves-Light," available like soon...ish

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

As i suspected, going back to brass tacks on paper yesterday gave me plenty to study & now have started afresh with the loose poses from earlier this week and i'll be damned but it seems to be working so i have learned no lessons about crass commercialism, sometimes the thing you need IS new paper

A screenshot of my painting featuring Ilwyn M'gavn looking SMUG and like, well, he's allowed

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Slightly reworking the concept from an older painting of mine, to get something that's slightly more in flavor for the book it's meant to be the cover for, just a little more personality Roughed out the forms at least! still need to do an anatomy pass and line out but I'm pleased with the basics

A pair of sword and sorcery dumbasses in lurve; vencario in the cape and Ilwyn in the big apron.

Other posts go into better detail about them, this is, it has to be said, just a sketch. The vital bit is their shins are pressed together competitively, as well as their shoulders, and they're both smirking like "i could take you (multiple meanings intended)"

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

just watching columbo with the cat who is also watching columbo

Neenie, a pear-shaped dark brown swirl tabby cat, sits enraptured by an episode of Columbo (Ransom for a Dead Man) even though i am pretty sure she's already seen this one several times. She didn't watch the intro, so she doesn't know the wife is the murderer and she's pretty lost tbh

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

get you a man who can and will stare at you for literally an hour without complaining (quite possibly because you have forgotten about Night Kibble)

Anakin, a russian blue mix cat, stares directly at the camera, intently, in soft nighttime lighting. His eyes are near completely dilated because the lamp to his left is the only light on in the room.

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

sandwich not pictured (my sheetz MTO is between me, and god, and the guy at the counter)

A notsu folding index card with dot pages and ominous spells written in purple ink.

Something arcane about word docs, which is your first clue that this is some sorcery what ought not be meddled in

But for the curious, it's

"Identify steps:
How to set up a word doc to be converted into epub
How to set up a word doc to be converted into pdf
Templates/presets for use in different settings/fields
Best practices for book design for indie/small press/selfpub"

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Inching closer to a finished object Trying to accurately show the convergence between "retro vibe adventuring duo" & "and they smooch" by using one of the official Romantasy Typefaces but in like, aggressively peak 70s-90s mmpb I'll forever be writing niche books but i'm also DESIGNING niche books

Logotype for the front cover of By Thieveslight, set in Sveva Versal by me, with multiple layer styles and a gradient map to make it look like it belongs on the front cover of a beat up paperback on a spinner rack at the Strand

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

mods asleep post frontispage in progress

Frontispage for bladesmith & brigand novella "By Thieves-Light" by M Daniel McDowell, with a hand-drawn dagger icon

typeset in SVEVA VERSAL, the unofficial typeface of romantic adventure fantasy

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

One of the reasons i like sharing WIPs on social media is getting to see them Ensmollened by the various image previewers; good way to see if your image scans well at a distance

Screenshot of previous post in this thread with very small preview image of the linked illustration

tiny version of the illustration, definitely low detail but the figures are surprisingly readable as the focus of the image

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

had some composition ideas to test out Not sure if i want to render them more painterly or leave them sort of rough-handed cel shaded but it has a sufficient amount of charm to be a proof of concept for now The final will be in greyscale for print so this is just a fun color variant test for me

Added a foreground and background to the illustration of Vencario and Ilwyn; there's more i might do with this but it's done enough to function for now. In the foreground is an archway balcony with a railing and a decorstive banner of triangular flags swagged across the arch; the background shows them leaning against a hewn stone wall. Like the linked illustration, they are leaning together; this one has slightly more nitpicky lighting work to show them lit by eerie moonlight--the titular thieveslight from the story.

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

mods asleep, post ... idk something, i should be going to bed noodling on an illustration i started a while back; tinkered with the pose to get it a little more representative of the character dynamic with Vencario and Ilwyn, ran some textures over it, and unified it with some gradient map whatnot

A digital lineart sketch with basic flats and a sort of twilight-blue and purple overlay. The sketch is of Vencario and Ilwyn, my sword & sorcery duo best described by a friend of mine as "Fritz Leiber by way of Tom of Finland" and honestly that is a lot to live up to. Vencario is a vagabond with dark curly messy hair and light olivine complexion; Ilwyn is a bulky ginger bladesmith. In this picture they are sitting back to back with their arms overlapped, glancing at each other, grinning.

This is am illustration I am poking at for the print edition of their novelette "By Thieveslight" and while that will ultimately be black and white, i love throwing a gradient map on stuff to change the lighting and mood digitally.

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

I've had a number of cats in my life. In my heart they are all there, in the clearing at the end of the path. I want to know who else will be there. If it would be cathartic for you: I want to know who his *new* friends are. Who he's going to meet. I just want him to be okay. When he gets home.

Obie looking through my mother's magnifying lamp

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

He was my mother's ride-along companion; I am pretty sure he thought the chair was for his own convenience, for maximum proximity to his Mimmy.

Obes perched like a perky little gargoyle on the armrest of her chair while she looks on

Obie doing his best Dos Equis guy off the back of her chair

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

To say that this cat was a pain in the ass would be putting it mildly. To say that I don't already miss him is also. The other two cats seem to know he is going and needs some peace, which is its own kind of heartbreak. They weren't especially close—roommates really—but they were friends at times.

The rare event known as the cat trick; all three cats on the same couch. Obie is on the left, at one end of the couch arm; Anakin is the Russian Blue mix on the other end of the arm. Remembering upthread i mentioned my mother has never seen starwars, it never fails to be funny that she could not understand why they struggled to get along sometimes. Neenie, the dark brown spiral tabby, sits on a blankie on the couch.

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

He got me through a lot of trauma during both stints of hospital hell with my mother; he always seemed to know when i needed a cat to be sitting On Me. to help, you see.

trying to teach me the ways of the Force by sitting on me and purring really loudly

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

In his later years, he could reliably be found primarily underfoot in the kitchen or really in any place human food was being prepared or served. In his twilight era he prided himself on simply never using a fucking litterbox, ever, for he had transcended such mortal concepts as reliable hygiene.

Obes sitting on me with a very smug expression.

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

In his youth, his preferred sport was intramural shoelace pouncing, and he was well-known in the tabloids of the day for many scandalous affairs with any piece of sufficiently soft and velvety fabric that could be dragged off a bed or out of a laundry hamper. No fuzzy blanket was safe from his charm

Obi-wan giving the camera some feline Blue Steel smoulder from a blue plaid cat bed with faux sherpa trim. He is a big grey tabby.

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Jay Wolf @jayxwolf.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

My mother brought him home from a pet adoption event when she was finally ready to move on after her first heart-cat, many years ago (Nonnie, forever in our hearts). She let my sister name him because, contemporary direct quote, she liked how it sounded. nb: my mother has *never* seen a star war

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