#you get this pastel nerd thing instead

[codgod-moved]

do ur part !,!!

[jesncin]

Hi there!! I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about what the process of being published was like for Lunar Boy? Were there any struggles you faced trying to get it seen? Any tips for others trying to get their work published? Thank you in advance and I love your work! :)

Hullo there! Sure! Unfortunately things have changed a lot since I pitched years ago so I don't know how replicable my publishing journey is nowadays. But I'm willing to share!

So! I always knew I wanted to write for kids, but in art school we were trained to be cape comic artists. Back then (if you can believe it), making middle grade comics was considered something that would sink your career. At that point in history, American comics was trying so hard to prove "we're not for kids!" that they left a chasm in the market for children's comics. Then Raina Telgemeier's bestselling books proved there was a hungry readership of kids and suddenly the trad pub industry is excitedly picking up middle grade graphic novel pitches (ironically, including cape comics).

I was studying my Masters in the US as this was all happening, and decided to use my time in the program to generate as many middle grade pitches as possible! The first one I made was Lunar Boy, but the story was so well received that it ended up being the one we pushed forward as a pitch and develop the most across classes. On Twitter there was this event: #DVPit, which is a pitching event for marginalized authors looking to seek editor interest on their pitches but also! To get agented. In its heyday (before Melon Husk ruined everything. This event is no longer on twidder sadly. Many pitching events have ceased to happen or are on hiatus from how unusable that platform is now) it was a fantastic event. I got agented on my 2nd try of the event, and it got the industry an early look at Lunar Boy and made them excited to see it out on submission.

My agent, Britt Siess, was extremely helpful with giving us feedback on how to refine our pitch. Not only did she give us story feedback, but I was surprised also by her comics feedback- that was more nuanced than I expected (little did I know that she's a huge comics nerd). She had connections to all the editors I was interested in pitching Lunar Boy to, and we were out on submissions right as we graduated with our Masters degree (during the start of the pandemic lmao).

I already had early editor interest in Lunar Boy which I think helped a lot with getting it picked up. I've been told that it helps to meet editors in person and get chummy with them before pitching to heighten your chances, but that wasn't really the case for me. I've never met my editor (Carolina Ortiz, I love her she's amazing) in person, but she did actually reach out to me long before we went out to pitch- on a Simu Liu tweet trend of all things lmao.

(I didn't end up looking like evil boy band members in pastel clothes in the final book, I went for cultural clothes instead which I think is the more bespoke choice haha) Carolina reached out to me from this tweet and we actually talked back and forth about Lunar Boy, refining the pitch. I felt like she understood the story despite asking for big changes. I don't think she'd do something like this anymore, but I really appreciated it at the time (I wasn't even agented yet). All the editors I met in person for events like Editor's Day at school liked my art (and would even hire me for colorist work and the like) but they weren't interested in Lunar Boy. This was reflected when we finally went on submissions too.

We got a lot of rejections, vague language like "we don't know how to edit this" or "we already have a book like this" (??? press X to doubt). Compounded with all my interactions with editors in person, I felt like I was "marketable" as an artist but not as a storyteller because our stories were so unapologetically QPOC- with culturally specific queer identities to an already underrepresented identity. The editors that were interested in Lunar Boy had personal connection to the story (they were either also from blended families or QPOC themselves). But hey, you only need one yes to get a book deal. We ended up with Carolina as our editor and she's been our rock and champion for this book since the beginning. We were out of submissions in just a week (which is really fast in the industry).

My big tip for getting into the trad pub graphic novel industry is to study the market. A lot of people mistaken publishing as a vessel or platform for their untold story, when really it's a business we compromise with. Pay attention to trends, book deals, shifts in the industry, read your peers' books, everything. Research is key with getting your foot in. Lunar Boy may look like an out-there book, but at its heart it's a story about culture shock, trying to fit in, along with family and friendship problems. In trad pub especially, locking in to sellable tropes and trends is key. Find clever ways to innovate and work within those limitations at the same time. Be open to feedback and changes. I know so many people are held back from getting book deals because they're too attached to their story. It helps not to be phased by rejection and or take things personally. I've been very desensitized to talking about books like a business, since that's what it took for someone like me to make it out there.

I hope that was helpful!

[husbandhoshi]

i raise you nerd!wonwoo who is fully a virgin but learns there's a huge market for raunchy guided audios. and he may not be brave but he is certainly an opportunist--how hard would it be to just make stuff up for 30 minutes, anonymously, and not even have to turn on a camera? he might as well start saving up for a new computer (he does, quickly).

and wonwoo's little one-man project does quite well. it's much easier to moan into a mic when no one is watching. he learns his fans like being called all sorts of things--slut, princess, darling--it's all the same to him. he'll call anyone anything for a quick buck. no one has to know he gets all hard under his sweats, lets his muscles tense up thinking about actually calling someone that, right in the hook of their ear, as they curl up into him. that's between him, his fist, and the nebulous image of a hot girl on her knees that he has tucked in the back pocket of his brain.

so what's he to do when you, one of the most popular camgirls on the site, reaches out to him for to collaborate? it's free money, you tell him over the phone. just give me a call when i'm on air, and i'll spread my legs. easy.

you're right--it is free money. he's saving up for one of those pastel studio ghibli clackity keyboards, and he was never above good business. what you're not right about is the easy part. he learns it is not easy to watch the slow drag of your fingers down your chest, a wicked sleight-of-hand that would almost seem like magic if he wasn't the magician. touch yourself, he says, voice shaking for the first goddamn time in his life, and he almost forgets he's not just one of your spectators. show me how much you want it.

impatient, are we? your voice practically melts out of his speakers and he's two neurons away from saying, yes, yes, wanna see more, like some crazed, horny idiot blowing up your chatbox. instead he calls you sweetheart, angel, every once-practiced word tumbling off his tongue like he's learning to speak again as he watches your palm dance against your perfect little cunt. this is not easy either. the only thing saving him from coming all over himself is the fact that he’s still got a show to run.

the stream ends without a hitch on your end--after all, it's just another tuesday for you. for wonwoo, on the other hand, dick in one hand and his phone, loaded up with your profile page, in the other, is a lot worse for wear.

next week? you text him. yeah. i'll call you when you're on, he replies, the one and only time he lets his dick do all the thinking. good. i like surprises, you tell him.

it's only when he finds himself pulling up your old streams during one of his recordings when he thinks you might not like surprises as much as you say. he thinks of his voice, gravelly with want, pulling those pretty fingers to your tits, your swollen mouth, your pussy. then his hands, inexperienced and clumsy, over that wickedly soft, lonely skin.

you might like surprises, but wonwoo certainly doesn't. unluckily for him, this isn't an easy one to get out of.

[waffled0g]

how good is Hypnospace Outlaw at the 90s aesthetics?

I haven't played Hypnospace! It looks fun!

But looking at the trailer and some gameplay videos... well, don't get mad, but this is exactly the kind of stuff I wrote my article in faux protest about.

It's not wrong, it's not bad, not saying that. There's truths in there about 90s design. But if you're asking me, the game has a thick layer of Vaporwave over everything. It just comes across as fake 90s to my tastes, personally.

But I think that was the point. I think that's what Tendershoot was going for. It's a surreal game about surfing the web in your sleep, right? So the design isn't going for accuracy, it's more that dreamy fantastical look people remember (or misremember.) It works for them!

Like, I like the key art! That's pretty good. CGI head in space would have been right at home on a Trapper Keeper. That USB cord should have totally have been a serial port instead tho.

And this box art is chef's kiss. I feel like I'd see this on a textbook in computer class.

What I've seen of the actual game though? Hmmmm. You're asking a web designer here for an opinion, and this is a game all about web design. Like they get some stuff right. UI is a lot of fun, down to the Winamp-style skeuomorphic buttons in some of the screenshots.

But for something that's supposed to be set in '99, that's a huge overuse of pastel pink and purple gradients. It's like an Instagram filter over the whole thing. That's Vaporwave, and while it looked cool in 2018 that's not really what was going on at the time.

The MS-DOS sized pixel text bugs me when they should have gone with Windows 98-style higher resolution. They seem to run all their images through an aggressive dithering filter when in reality, JPGs existed too. But it's funnier to have all those crusty GIFs in there, that ages the art more. And is that a poop emoji button? An emoji in a 90s game?

Sorry, that sounds like I'm picking on a game I haven't played. Not trying to knock down any Hypnospace fans. The game looks fun! I'm just being a design nerd and taking a magnifying glass to something I've never seen before today. If you love the look of the game, that's valid! I like Vaporwave too. But Vaporwave is its own separate thing.

So, real quick, let's talk Vaporwave. It's important to understand Vaporwave is evocative of the 1990s, but wasn't an actual thing in the 1990s. The point of Vaporwave is it's meant to be a surreal parody version of the decade, as seen through the lens of the 2010s. I think what happened over the past decade was everyone forgot it was a parody and took it at face value. Vaporwave and 90s just became equals.

And that's how we got this:

What I wanted to share with you all was Vaporwave and Memphis style graphics are starting to be like THE ONLY representation of the decade. I wanted to share that there's more out there to pick apart and use for retro throwbacks.

Maybe further into Hypnospace they get into that other stuff? Thanks for tipping me off about the game! I'll add it to my Steam list.

;-)

[punkeropercyjackson]

The way Gwen and Hobie are perfect for eachother on every level,including a narrative one which is such a major theme of Atsv.The subliminal messaging of Gwen going to visit Miles but thinking to put on Hobie's sweater first and leaving it in his room and it being a regular thing between them for her to wear his clothes to show how much she trusts him vs the ending where Gwen wears Miles' jacket as a safety net and the posibility that Hobie might've convinced Gwen to dye her hair pink vs Miles' unintentionally forcing her to have to get a new haircut.Gwen never holding back her affection for Hobie because she's not scared of falling for him because he's not SpiderMAN and how we as an audience we're told how deep their friendship runs is entierly up to them,that Gwen and Hobie get to choose wether or not they fall in love so they don't have to worry about it not ending well for either of them.How comics!Hobie's admiration towards comics!Gwen was made the reverse and how we saw her talking about Hobie like a feet kicking giggling girlfriend instead of it just keep implied like with Miles and Hobie didn't make assumptions about them unlike Miles did him and her and that nobody in-universe expected Ghostpunk to be 'canon' because Gwen is 'supposed' to be with Miles and die for his sake

'Self-Love' is more fitting for Gwen and Hobie than they are for Gwen Stacy and Spiderman,like 'drink too much,think too much,thoughts drownin' me'(Hobie says he does underaged drinking at pubs all the time),'you don't know love,you just show love,stop doubtin' me'(Miles absolutely knows love from Jefferson and Rio but Hobie has an either MIA or dead mom and a deadbeat dad),'cuff me,told the truth to him,he don't trust me'(George trying to arrest Gwen > Hobie getting his ass for it > George's pissy dislike of him for it),'hate to see,yeah woah,money scheme yeah,woah'('it's a metaphor for capitalism'),'live and questionable',('i'm not a role model'),'love hangin' out,say you hate it now'(how tight Gwen and Hobie are and her flusteredly denying it when Miles asks about it)

The daughter of a cop who was kicked out for doing vigilantism and the dude who killed his canon event cop.The Variant of an archetype that's characterized by being a normie nerd girl who's a pastel punk trans girl and a superheroine and the Variant of an obscure villain who's afropunk and has his own black twist on the mantle that typically belongs to a white man.Them never having dated or been this important to eachother in the comics so it's even more of a twisting the knife into canon and Gwen thinking she knew how her story went but didn't and Hobie not believing in consistency.Their human mood ring color changing that's matching in a contrasting way and the lil parallel between Ganke stealing Miles' shoes too,Ganke having been Miles' Batman and Superman level gay subtext comics bestie and Ghostpunk an lgbt ship too with Gwen's canonized transness and Hobie's punk accuracy update to make him unlabeled trans.'This movie is a love story between Miles and Gwen'but it wasn't.It was Gwen and Miles' story and Gwen had her own romance with Hobie and Miles got to do his own thing and Hobie got to quit the narrative instead of playing possum.Miles and Gwen are soulmates but platonically against amatonormatovity and Gwen and Hobie are romantic soulmates not by fate but by choice.They love eachother on purpose

[gemmahale]

a little late but re: WIP ask game -

MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE MUSEUM MUSE

WIP Ask Game

Oh Mads. You and your love for Museum Muse will never cease to delight me. (And there is no such thing as too late, I promise.)

You clarified in DM's that you were curious about how their first DM goes. I haven't gotten there yet, so I don't exactly know. 😅 I just know the circumstances.

So, instead, I'll offer you this: the stories behind their usernames and some of the forums they are frequent in. (Usernames fuckin' suck to come up with, okay? Especially because John and Daisy are both alive at the advent of the internet.)

Under the cut because I...I did world building again. 😅 Sorry not sorry.

Divider Courtesy of @thecutestgrotto

John's username: TinkerKelpie93

In my canon, kiddo John was the kid that took everything apart and put it back together - just to see how it worked. The radio, the clock, the lawn mower, you name it, he could fix it (most likely). Kid was building inventions in the garage where his father worked with scrap parts cast aside from the vehicles repaired.

His granda (his Da's dad) encouraged him up until his death when John was in his early teens. He told stories to wee John about his ancestors, the Scottish Travellers (from my research, they're similar to/adjacent to Romani populations in Scotland- if a Scot wants to correct my history, please do! I want to do this right. 💚) who are/were called "Tinkers" (usually in a negative connotation - literally meaning "itinerant tinsmith").

So Tinker is a bit of a historical nod to his family history and his tendency to "tinker" with things when he's thinking (hello neurodivergency, it's good to see you. 😅)

His love for Scottish Mythology (and the Kelpie part of his name) is courtesy of his Gran (Mum's Mom). She was a school teacher, and loved teaching the mythos of the region. They had a place on the edge of a small loch, and she would always warn him away from the water with a reminder of the stories about the kelpies trying to drown children. As he grew into his artistic practice, he did this detailed Kelpie artwork to give her for the holidays featuring her house, the swing by the loch and the landscape with the fearful mythological creature in the center of the lake that still hangs over her mantle. This John loves oil pastels and charcoal (it's the tactile part), but will make do with pencils when he's in country.

And 93 because, well, he was born April [redacted], 1993. This man's an Aries, y'all. (Bite me on the date. I have my timeline to back me up.)

Divider Courtesy of @thecutestgrotto

Daisy's username: IrisOfTheLake

Daisy's a symbology and history nerd. (Her love for mythology and art is how she ended up getting a degree specializing in the Still Life paintings of the Dutch Golden Age by female artists, but that's another story. She almost studied Arthurian Legends instead, but decided art history and preservation were her true academic love.)

Her aunt has a prolific collection of irises - she's incredibly active in the British Iris Society and Daisy spent many many seasons after school helping her dig and divide them to share with the neighbors and the other members. She even helped her aunt with cross-pollinating and some breeding attempts (though her aunt didn't progress very far down that road for reasons).

Iris is also the Greek Goddess of messages, often said to arrive on rainbows. Iris flowers hold a number of meanings in the floral language, including hope and wisdom. (Can you see where I'm going with this? I hope so.)

"OfTheLake" directly refers to the legends of King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake. (I told y'all, she was a nerd about this shit.) Y'know, the one that gives the sword Excalibur to Arthur and disposes of Merlin? That Lady of the Lake. Badass bitch if I ever heard of one, who holds a lot of wisdom and knowledge to help others achieve their goals.

Why IrisOfTheLake? It sounded good and smashed two of her early fascinations and hobbies together. 😊 (And the irony of our girl having not one but two flower nicknames makes me giggle.)

Divider Courtesy of @thecutestgrotto

Both John and Daisy recognize each other from lurking and posting in a number of forums together, including art history and BDSM. John regularly shares his more refined drawings (usually done on leave or during long waiting periods), and Daisy is regularly active in the floral symbiology threads, talking about the language of flowers and meaning and bullshit like that. (I just realized I have to write all this, fuck me.)

Anyway, they bond over some dipshit in the BDSM forum espousing some gender essentialism bullshit - men are doms, women are subs, blah blah blah. Daisy has an eloquent take on it, John just wants to thrash them for being so black and white and says as much.

Who reaches out first? To be seen. (I have to leave you some mystery lol.)

[stone-stars]

Tag game! Tag nine people you would like to know better i was tagged by @wall-e-gorl! woah thank you vic <3

Last song: "Irina" by Emily Axford. since that's an instrumental, last song with lyrics was "Visions" by Sea Wolf, which i have normal feelings abt.

Favourite colour: yellow! this might be obvious. i love light/pastel yellows especially and like. sunny yellows.

Currently watching: right now in this moment i'm watching lord of the rings the fellowship of the ring for the first time bc my coworkers finally rioted and decided i needed to watch movies (i have a list of homework lol) i'm also watching d20: fantasy high junior year as it comes out! the anime season like... Just switched over so i don't have any that i'm actively watching rn but there are usually a handful (i need to catch up on dungeon meshi tho. i got behind and then detoured to read the manga and keep meaning to go back to the anime.)

Sweet/savory/spicy: sweet or savory! depends on mood. spice kills me tho...

Relationship status: i have a girlfriend!! hi ria!

Current obsession: naddpod. and specifically naddpod music. oops. maybe i can talk for five million years about it.

Last thing you googled: "i want to be a wall volume 3" bc i was trying to figure out the release date (it's soon!!!). it's such a good manga about an ace woman-- i would say she's aroace, the only term they Use is asexual but there's literally a line that's like "she doesn't want romance or sex for herself"-- and a gay man getting married. it's truly incredible i love the mc's relationship SO much.

no pressure tags (i think some of these are people's side blogs feel free to do it on your other blogs instead): @purplecladmerchant @theatricuddles @metamagic-adept @sideblogdotjpeg @one-little-nerd-stayed-home @kindleaf @crazyness-overpowers @damienthepious @dulcecatrina and you. the person reading this.

[kae-luna]

🌃//Writeblr Intro//🌃

Hello! Welcome to my corner of the internet. I am Kae Luna. You can call me Kae or Luna. I am pretty new to Writeblr, so please bear with me.

╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭

(Banner made with canva)

🌊About My Writing🌊

✨Genres: sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, action, drama, psychological, LGBTQIA+

✨Subgenres: dystopian, cyberpunk, biopunk, solarpunk, post-apocalyptic

✨Common themes: diversity, anti-capitalism, female empowerment

Links🌐

Since I like both anime art and storytelling, I'm planning to make light novels. Some of them may be short stories, standalone novels, or series. :3 Going to put some of them on Wattpad and Tapas.

I try to balance unique settings with complex characters.

🌊About Me🌊

I've been writing and drawing since I was little. And before I could write, I would tell my mother my story and she'd write it down for me. I've always had a crazy imagination. When I was a tween, I got into anime and manga, so I learned how to draw in that art style.

I am 25, queer-romantic asexual, and feminine-presenting nonbinary. I identify as both a girl and a demi-boy. You can refer to me as she/her, he/him, or they/them. I don't mind. I'm also white and have ADHD, dyspraxia, anxiety, and depression that prevents me from getting a "real" job.

I'm pretty shy and anxious, but once you get to know me, I may say some weird stuff and dad jokes. I'm a big nerd and simp as well.

I am also a Vtuber, but made this alt identity since I didn't think my work would fit that persona.

🌊About My Blog🌊

Here I am going to post about my WIP stories and some of my art. I will also reblog others' art and writing. Many aesthetics, fandoms, and other stuff may be reblogged as well with tags if it inspires my work.

Here I hope to find more creators to connect with and find some epic creations. Feel free to message me if you'd like, though I am kinda shy. :3

I am okay with:

✨Asks

✨Tag games

✨DMs. I'm happy to make friends. :3

🌊My Likes & Favorites🌊

✨Aesthetics/genres: vaporwave, cyberpunk, pastel, eco punk, nature, grunge, post-apocalyptic, solarpunk, steampunk, fantasy, LGBTQIA2S+

✨Movies: Alita: Battle Angel, Ultraviolet, Aeon Flux, Spider-Man 2, Howl's Moving Castle, Black Panther, The Matrix

✨Shows: Doctor Who, Stranger Things, Umbrella Academy, The Witcher

✨Anime: Death Note, Attack on Titan, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

✨Games: Skyrim, Baldur's Gate 3, The Sims 4, Minecraft, Fallout

✨Cartoons: Aeon Flux, Batman The Animated Series

🌊WIP(s)🌊

Ultra Drive - Intro Post | Directory Post

Links: Wattpad | Tapas (coming soon)

✨Genre(s): sci-fi, cyberpunk, action, drama, psychological, dystopian

✨CWs: government stuff, pandemic mention, gore probably at some point

When AlexiKa was a child, her world was changed forever when her family was forced to immigrate to the imperial city of Venicula after the Ebony Plague - caused by mysterious eumalyptus spores - infected her home town. Now a young adult, she works as a courier (and secretly an anti-corporation activist). When going on a delivery, she accidentally uncovers dark secrets and ends up infected with the same Ebony Plague that haunted her hometown as a child. But when she survives the illness and instead develops superhuman abilities, she joins a mutant resistance group to fight against the Veniculan Empire, the Gaia Corporation, and other mutants with immoral goals.

Adventures in Alsteria - Intro Post (coming soon!)

Links: N/A

✨Genre(s): fantasy, comedy, slice of life, action, adventure, LGBTQIA+

✨CWs: None ATM? Violence probably?

A trans femboy wood elf named Nel finds the homeland of his people - the rain forests of Falinor - and goes on an adventure to form a guild of adventurers! Still kind of in the vibes stage I guess, but I have some ideas formed for lore and characters. :> Something more cute and lighthearted for me to write in contrast to Ultra Drive.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't have much that I can share at the moment due to much of my writing being lost (school assignments or lost on old computers) or attached to other identities. I also had a looong writer's/art block.

[galaxycunt]

Thanks for the tag @gingernut1314

Figured this was a good way to introduce myself since I have new followers so hehehe be my friend don’t be shy I love yapping

Last song: dream house- deafheaven (yes I’m listening to sunbather I’m a nerd 😔)

Favorite color: pink but I have a lot of things in pastel purple lmao bring back pastel goth fr

Last movie/Tv show: I’m grinding thru one piece but I watched the curse the other day and nathan fielder you done it again

Sweet/spicy/savory: sweet. I’m the dessert guy on thanksgiving I’m making pecan pie (something Evans fam never had which is like ?? Im not that southern am I??) and cranberry sauce. I have extra cranberries so I’m either gonna make sweet tamales with them or do a cranberry tart idk yet

Relationship status: been with Evan for 6 years this Jan, married for 3 😎 it’s sweet and cringe I know but all my fics take inspo from our relationship even the stupid bad parts bc I’m sorry guys online is my diary lmaoooo

Last thing I googled: what happens next, which is a webcomic about a guy who helped his friend who killed his girlfriend when they were teens and what happens after he gets released and basically what he has to do with his life now

Current Obsession: one piece 😔 the guy I’m the assistant to at work is also super into now so literally we spend half our daily meetings just talking about it bc I’m almost caught up with him lmaoo im getting paid to obsess about one piece

I do have hobbies tho I swear I’m getting back to ceramics bc I bought clay and tools for a class awhile ago and I was depressed so I bailed on the class so I figured I can just use the studio space to mess around and see if I can just do that instead of learning

[rosalind-hawkins]

Ryo for the meme?

So sorry for the delay on this one! I kept having issues with my draft not saving and needing to start over.

I sincerely think Ryou was my first favorite character from Yugioh, even before Kaiba, if you can believe it.

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

When I was first introduced to Yugioh, what struck me about him and made me latch onto him was the obvious emotional pain. At the time I was just starting to figure out my own depression and anxiety that my family was oblivious to, and I think I just related to that lack of support. I guess this is the answer for Question 25.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

How excited her gets about food, actually. He and Joey are probably almost equally enthusiastic about it, and it's adorable.

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

How they changed his dad in DSOD. I preferred it when the dad was an oblivious nerd just trying to give his son a cool gift instead of being a power-hungry weirdo.

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

This probably sounds silly, but I want him living his best life in a Pokemon game with a team that he's bonded to, getting to live an RPG adventure just like Monster World, but a little bit safer. I want him taking a nap leaning on his Altaria with an Absol curled up at his feet, looking like it's asleep but keep watching. And don't forget his floaty little Shuppets hovering about.

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Friend of Foe by t.A.T.u. because I watched so many AMVs at the time that I was introduced to Yugioh. The song captures his poignant and desperate confusion with his own life and identity.

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

Honestly, aside from Question 1, nothing specific comes to mind aside from general nerdiness. I used to have a bad sweet tooth, like I imagine he does, but not so much anymore.

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

Making him a sweet spooky boi with 27 tarot card decks at home that dresses like he's going to bible study. Also, a big one is giving him visible scars from all the stuff Y B has put him through: the arm, the left hand, the chest.

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

I wouldn't say despise. Not sure I'd say I dislike anything the fandom does with him too much

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

I imagine he's a night owl, so as long as he keeps things quiet at night, we wouldn't have a problem.

10. Could you be best friends with this character?

Definitely! We could probably introvert in the room together, doing our own things, or chat about art.

11. Would you date this character?

Again, I'm married, but if I had the chance and Y B was gone for good, absolutely.

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

I've actually always headcanoned that Ryou had a Catholic mom and she tried to pass on her faith to him, but it didn't fully stick, necessarily. This isn't from nowhere, I swear. In the church scene in season five, in the English dub, Ryou goes into the church saying "I should be safe in here" after running from a disembodied voice. I think that means that he must have some small level of faith if he thinks the church itself will ward off the evil.

13. What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

🥰👀🙏🤷‍♀️🤔

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

Galaxy Goth - Give him star earrings and glittery platform boots. Give him galaxy print leggings and an illusion neckline shirt with sheer/lacy sleeves. 👌👌👌👌👌✨✨✨✨✨✨ Hell, make it femboy too, he could rock that so hard. Make it pastel galaxy goth, it works just as well. Dress this boy up.

15. What's your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn't matter if it's canon or not.)

You know I can't ever just pick one ship. I'm a multishipper. It's never just one.

Euroshipping, Minorshipping, and Puffshipping are my top three.

Mumbleshipping, Rollshipping, and Teaseshipping are my top poly ships for him.

Honorable mention to Graceshipping, cause I think he and Ishizu could be so damn sweet together, and that's my #1 straight ship for him.

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

Tendershipping, actually. I don't hate on it or people who like it, and I have a soft spot for some of his ships, but I just can't see Yami Bakura the way a lot of the fandom sees him, and that's where it comes from. I don't wanna get into it because this isn't a Y B post. I'll just leave it at that. No hate here, just a different perspective.

17. What's a ship for this character you don't hate but it's not your favorite that you're fine with?

Deathshipping. I can appreciate some of the art and some of the sillier conceptions of this ship, but I'm not personally into it.

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

I haven't read the manga, but I've seen enough moments from it of Ryou and Joey together (included what looked like stealing a camel together), and their bond in DSOD was too adorable. It made me so happy to finally see somebody standing up for Ryou.

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

Obviously I wish he didn't get so roughed up by Y B.

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

Normally I'd leave ship characters out of it, but I can't help it: Ishizu, Joey, and Duke are my top picks here.

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

I play around with different versions of what's Ryou's mentality can be like after Bakura is gone and what the lasting impact is. There's a lot of options there, which is why I don't write just one version of Ryou.

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don't like?

There's a lot of things that people do with him. I love when people flesh out his relationship with his family and

23. Favorite picture of this character?

EVERY PICTURE HE IS PRECIOUS

But him with the banana.

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

Okay, gonna try to stick to canon personality with this.

From Touken Ranbu, Nikkari Aoe. He seems sweet and normal on the surface, and then he'll suddenly say the weirdest occult crap to you with the most normal smile and you just want to back away slowly. And then you realize, oh dear this man's a weirdo. An absolute weirdo. (He's the one that can see ghosts after all, there's a real connection over that.) (He gets two gifs because you need to understand what a weirdo he is.)

From UtaPri, we've got Shion from Heavens. He's a quiet shy boy on the surface with soulful eyes, but still waters run deep. I feel like they're both easy to underestimate.

And from Nanbaka, I can't really explain why, I always associated him with Seitarou Tanabata. Maybe because they share the spiky Christmas tree hair, idk. Maybe I just think they'd be good friends.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

See Question 1.

26. FREEBIE QUESTION!!

This boy is helpless in the kitchen. He's gonna have to count on his partner to either cook for him or teach him how to cookl

[anjumstar]

Sand Lines ch5, Saturday

Read on AO3

rating: teen

pairing: bakudeku

word count: 28.3k/40.6k

summary: It wasn’t a vacation. It was only convenient that Katsuki’d managed to trick Miruko into thinking it was.

Katsuki doesn’t need a break. Post-war life has been peaceful. Too peaceful. So under the guise of a vacation, Katsuki heads to the American southwest, the only place where he can do the thing he wants to do the most: blow stuff up. Big time. And it’s all going to according to plan for about five minutes, until Deku comes along. They’ve barely seen each other since graduation last year and Katsuki could, should blow him up for getting in his business yet again. Instead, they learn about post-war life in the way they’ve done everything: together.

first chapter - previous chapter - next chapter

master list

Alamogordo, New Mexico

Katsuki had decided. He was gonna beat not just Izuku, but also Tap ‘n Go and Water Foul at this time off business. He was going to be number one. 

“Wake up!” Katsuki shouted, throwing a shirt at Izuku’s face, hitting his sleeping target squarely even with the lights still off.

“Ngh!” Izuku sputtered as he shot up in bed, the shirt falling from his face and plopping innocently in his lap as Izuku looked at Katsuki with sleep-heavy eyes. “Kacchan, what the hell?”

“Rise and shine, nerd, today we learn how to take a vacation.”

“Now?” Izuku asked, groaning as Katsuki flicked the lights on. “Why?”

“Because you’re not gonna say, wow, I thought Kacchan knew everything to me again,” Katsuki said, grabbing up his stuff from around the room. Wallet, phone, keys. “Bullshit. I do know everything.”

Katsuki was slathering on some sunscreen when Izuku said, “Um, Kacchan, isn’t this your shirt?”

“Black is better against UV. You might as well not be wearing anything in your shitty pastels,” Katsuki stated. “Put it on or look even more like a shitty lychee.”

Izuku’s freckles had come out in the desert sun. They hid well under his burgeoning sunburn-turned-tan, but in that stark light, Katsuki witnessed how they bloomed on his shoulders down to his forearms. He was pink and brown all over.

“Fine,” Izuku said, tugging the black tee on and popping out the neck hole with a bad case of bedhead.

“Pfft,” Katsuki laughed, the sound no more than a medium gust of air. “You look like a thirteen year old going to his first emo concert.”

“Hey, you’re making me wear it!”

“And you’re making me laugh!”

“A price I’m willing to pay.” Izuku grinned as he tugged on a pair of cargo shorts. Also pale, but at least the fabric was thicker. “Where are we going?”

“You’re gonna have to hold your piss for at least an hour.”

“That doesn’t remotely answer the question.”

“You’re a nerd, interpret that as you will.”

It seemed as though, aside from hiking, there wasn’t much to do in this region. Lots of cliffs and caves and mountains, sprinkled with museums, eateries, and ranches. Coming from a town so close to Tokyo made it seem like there’d be more to do if their flights had just dropped them off smack-dab in the middle of the ocean.

Katsuki was satisfied with hiking. It was one of the things he did in his time off even back home, because it still felt productive. But that was what the vacation was supposed to disrupt, wasn’t it?

So they were going out of town.

Katsuki lifted up the car keys and gave them a jingle. “I’m getting old here.”

“You’re not even five minutes older yet,” Izuku quibbled, going over to the sinks to brush his teeth. “Just gimme a minute.”

They were out to the car in three, Izuku’s blessed lack of vanity making him easy enough to shove out the door. He just needed a brush, a whizz, and a protein bar chipmunked away in one chubby cheek and he was good to go.

They were soon on the interstate, pointed in the direction of the Missile Range. Even with the windows up and the air set to recirculate, the dusty smell of terracotta earth crept in, mingling with the dry gypsum that had managed to speckle the car’s black interior. Despite the rain last night, the scent was still wrung out, like dry dirt but more, like a dust storm you could drink.

And somehow, overnight, the land had turned green. Not like Japan with its plenty of trees and bushes and grass, but greener than Katsuki had ever seen this place. The yucca stood taller, the prickly pears were plumper. And the little clumps of grass, brown enough to blend in with the desert as Katsuki tripped over them a couple days ago, now cast a verdancy over the land that stretched for miles.

When they passed right by the Missile Range, Izuku’s head whipped back, then he looked towards Katsuki with wide eyes. He had to know better than to ask if Katsuki had missed a turn, but the question of where rested on his face. But like in the hotel, Katsuki wasn’t going to answer. Instead, he took his right hand and put it on the center console.

“You gonna sit there or are you gonna do something useful?”

“Oh!” Izuku said, the surprise unable to be hidden. But he didn’t say anything as he took Katsuki’s right hand in both of his and began massaging the muscles, stretching the joints, warming the skin against the air conditioning.

Katsuki was still getting used to this. When his and Izuku’s hands met, it was in combat—on both sides of their friendship. Exchanged blows in enmity or camaraderie, and very little else. But now Izuku was taking Katsuki’s hand in his, was holding his arm gently as he removed cactus needles, was close all the time. Izuku could easily pause and rest his hand in Katsuki’s, thread their fingers together, draw Katsuki’s hand further into his lap. And maybe Katuski would let him.

Which was a weird thought as Katsuki clenched his left hand against the wheel, only to shoot a twinge of pain up his forearm. He nearly snatched his other hand away, but that would have stood out, it would have beckoned questions, or at least made Izuku think things that maybe he was wise enough not to ask aloud.

They blurred past a sign marked 75 mph. Katsuki’s eyes slid over to the dash as the smaller kilometer dial crept up over 100 kph, 110, 120… But even at the speed limit, traffic blew by them, cars hopping over to the fast lane just to pass them. So the dial moved further, 130, approaching 140 before they were running in parallel with the cars around them. It was fast, way faster than they ever got in Japan. It was All Might-fast, Deku-fast. Staring at Izuku’s lightning-clad back as he ran ahead and disappeared for a year-fast.

“Other hand, Kacchan.”

It was slightly uncomfortable, reaching his left arm underneath his right as he switched driving hands. But the road was long and straight and wide, so Katsuki just kept his eyes between the lines as Izuku began working, his fingers now brushing Katsuki’s hip occasionally as he worked up the wrist. 

“This is kind of doing it, right?” Izuku asked. “Yeah, we’re going somewhere, and maybe that’s productive, but it’s quiet. We’re just sitting together. Not much is happening. And it’s okay.”

Maybe Izuku had a point, but there was something different about this than even the meal they’d shared yesterday. In the car, Katsuki had to look forward, had to focus on something that wasn’t Izuku. There was a separation that cleared Katsuki’s mind, at least a bit. When it was just him and Izuku, no focus point to filter some of Izuku out with, there was something that was too much. Something that he couldn’t figure out.

“Failing grade, Deku.”

They were coming to a scenic overpass, the crest of the mountain that hugged the far west end of the valley. The car chugged up a sharper incline, and Katsuki pulled his warm, limber hand back to control the wheel. He kept his eyes on the road, curling a smile under his frown as Izuku oohed and ahhed over the view as they crept higher and higher.

Unlike the drive from the day before, this one wasn’t blocked by evergreens. The regular brush, slightly greener from the rain, stalked them up the mountain, dotting the sharp hills like freckles. Behind them, in the rear-view mirror, Katsuki could make out the whole valley: the blanched strip of White Sands and the darker smudge of Alamogordo.

Coming down the other side of the mountain, there were towns. Patches of fast food joints and squat houses and water towers painted with scenes of the American west bordered the whole highway. No building more than a story high, no town extending longer than a city block. There probably wasn’t any crime, because everyone had to know each other in a place so small. The criminal would be found out before even the fastest hero teleported.

They were back on flat land, the mountains once again tall behind them when Katsuki pulled off the highway. Izuku was staring out the window, probably thirsty for hints about Katsuki’s plan, because goodness knew there wasn’t much to look at besides Mexican restaurants and American chain establishments.

When they turned into a parking lot, every spot with so much as a twig’s worth of shade was taken, but one spot was all Katsuki needed as he cut it close to the cars on either side with the monstrosity of an SUV he was driving.

“What is this place?” Izuku asked, looking at what was very clearly the back of a building with zero signage.

“Dunno,” Katsuki said, hopping out of the car and slamming his door closed. “Not going there. C’mon.”

The sun walloped them hard once the last of the air conditioning wicked off their skin, reminding them that outside of the oasis of the car, this was the desert. Despite it still being early morning, the sun was high already, running up to its peak.

There were more people around than Katsuki had seen since he’d left the airport. Car doors slammed around him to reveal people in broad-brimmed hats all walking the same way that the GPS had told him to go. Katsuki melded in with the crowd, Izuku right on his heels.

And here, Katsuki could blend in with the crowd. Without any efforts towards disguise, he and Izuku were invisible, as good as civilians in this country. Surely they were famous enough that if they mentioned their hero names, both the more hero fanatical and the news buffs would turn their heads. But as they were, doing nothing to draw attention to themselves, not so much as lick of merch tagging their clothes, they were unknown in a way they hadn’t been since Katsuki was fourteen.

They could do anything and no one would know. No one would have phones facing toward them or be firing off texts with the news of a Deku and Dynamight sighting. They were anonymous.

“Oh, wow!”

“This is it,” Katsuki said, waving an arm out to the street before them.

It was a block full of tents and carts, artisans hawking their wares and food vendors fanning the scents of their food toward the passersby. There were endless colors in the forms of flowers and jewelry and painted terracotta pots. And when Katsuki looked from one end of the street to the other, the end of the street fair was nowhere in sight. It wasn’t nearly as packed as a Japanese street lined with food vendors, but it was probably just as big, just stretched over the plentiful land of the region.

“A glorified farmer’s market,” Katsuki declared. “The most boring thing imaginable.”

Izuku barked out a laugh, and it took Katsuki aback. It was brief, over as soon as it started. But it wasn’t a sound Katsuki heard often from Izuku, and it was…nice. He had to frown away his own burgeoning smile as Izuku turned to look at him, grin on his face. “Then why are we here?”

“If we can figure out why all these people are here, why this mind-numbing activity is at the top of this wasteland’s expendable tourist board,” Katsuki laid out, “then we’ll be number one at this vacation shit.”

The warm, bright look on Izuku’s face narrowed into sharp eyes and furrowed brows as he turned his attention to the crowd. He was active, curious, analyzing. Katsuki might have liked that expression even better.

“Challenge accepted,” Izuku said. “Plus ultra.”

“Okay, this way,” Katsuki said, choosing a direction at random and snagging Izuku by the shoulder to follow.

They stepped into the fray and observed the obvious things. The smells were intoxicating—so different from Japanese cuisine. Too sweet, too oily, but alluring. It didn’t take Izuku long to buy a bag of kettle corn and begin devouring it with the sticky hands of the toddler Katsuki had once known.

“People like going out for food they don’t have to cook,” Izuku observed, offering Katsuki a piece of the strangely round popcorn.

It was alright. A little overly sweet but with decent salt. Katsuki could understand the appeal. Besides, food was one of the few things that Katsuki already put some effort into in his free time. Another productive hobby, just like hiking or working out.

“That’s appeal number one,” Katsuki agreed.

“People like shopping,” Izuku pointed out next. Canvas totes and reused grocery bags were bulging with jars and collectables and artwork. Cash was flowing and, briefly, Katsuki wondered if he had enough currency left for the day, but then he remembered he wasn’t buying any of this shit.

“Pass,” Katsuki said, avoiding eye contact with the tie dye vendor they were passing. Like he hadn’t been able to make tie dye shirts when he was five years old.

“I dunno,” Izuku mused. “Sometimes clothes shopping can be fun.”

“That’s only because you have the sense of humor of a middle-aged dad and your t-shirts reflect that.”

“Well, yeah, that can be fun!”

Aguas frescas were next, because they’d only been out fifteen minutes, and already beads of sweat were forming along Katsuki’s brow. The pink drink that was in his hand a few minutes later dripped cold condensation down his arm as the ice began its rapid melt.

“I can drink sugary shit at home,” Katsuki complained as the floral taste of hibiscus hit his tongue. It wasn’t as overly sweet as he’d assumed, but he kept that to himself as he slurped it down. “In the AC. What makes this special?”

“I dunno,” Izuku said, sucking down on an horchata, reduced to pouring the kettle corn directly into his mouth with his other available hand. “People watching? Seeing stuff you don’t usually see?”

“The only reason I need to watch people is to be able to describe their dumb faces in a crime report,” Katsuki said. “And I don’t need any of this shit.” They were passing a vendor selling clocks whittled into ornate wooden cutouts. Nothing Katsuki needed to lug back to Japan when he had a smartwatch on his wrist at all times.

“Wait, wait, an All Might stall!”

Katsuki followed Izuku’s gaze, expecting to see a stall of red, blue, and yellow, but instead saw Izuku running towards a stall glutted with unofficial merch for heroes and comic books alike. But Izuku zeroed in on a selection of mini All Mights dangling from a jewelry stand and was already halfway done leafing through them by the time Katsuki meandered over.

“Kacchan, how do I pick?” Izuku asked as he picked up two off-brand All Mights. Both were flying, but one was in his silver age and one in his bronze age and, despite being homemade, Katsuki had to admit they looked pretty damn good.

“What are they?”

“Phone charms,” Izuku explained, showing how the little black string looped into the corner of his smart phone. “It only makes sense for him to be flying since he’s dangling, you know, he shouldn’t be standing.

“Obviously,” Katsuki agreed sarcastically. Though he couldn’t refute the nerd’s logic.

“So which one?” Izuku asked. “It should be these ones with the cape instead of golden age so that it’s extra clear that he’s flying, but the costume colors are so different there’s just no way to possibly choose—Kacchan, help!”

“Buy both.”

Izuku looked relieved and Katsuki almost laughed. This damn peaceful climate and Izuku’s greatest moment of distress was not being able to choose between different versions of All Might.

While Izuku eagerly paid, Katsuki took the bronze age All Might—an era he’d always been partial to with its dark red and black color scheme—and looped it around the corner of his phone. It looked dorky as hell.

“Kacchan?” Izuku asked when he was done with the cashier. “What are you doing?”

“I paid for the rental car and the room,” Katsuki reasoned with a shrug. “You paid for this—now we’re even.”

Izuku laughed again, This one twice as long as the earlier laugh Katsuki had earned. It made his stomach squeeze. “Now we match!”

Both of their phones were adorned with little dangling All Mights, making them a matched set like friendship bracelets or the All Might cards they’d both pulled in childhood. It was too darling for Katsuki to bear, and he had half a mind to take his and Izuku’s phones both and blow them up between his hands. It also made him want to take Izuku’s hand and lift it in the air declaring that they were a pair and always had been and no one had better separate them again. Instead, he shoved his phone back in his pocket and let the little All Might charm dangle from his hip.

“Okay, I get it now,” Izuku said grinning. “Shopping has its benefits.”

Their shoulders bumped together as the crowd bottlenecked around a food truck. Izuku was so damn warm to the touch already, and the dark shirt wasn’t helping, even if it would stave off the burning. The thing was beginning to saturate with sweat, becoming skin tight around Izuku’s ab muscles, reminding Katsuki of how he’d looked shirtless and sweaty the day before. Just the brief touch shoulder to shoulder made Katsuki sweat even more.

“Oh, Kacchan, over there!”

Izuku put his hand on Katsuki’s shoulder and that was even warmer. He could feel the damp of Izuku’s palm through his shirt sleeve, and the touch felt heavy. Every new touch between them was surprising and rawly sensory. Like the smack of salt the first time he’d tasted miso plain or a day after training waking up to a muscle he hadn’t known about screaming out in pain. It was just a hand, so why did it feel like so much?

“Chile jam!” Izuku exclaimed, coming to a stop in front of a stand, dropping his hand in order to point at the glass jars of yellow, orange, and red. 

“The fuck?” Katsuki blurted, earning a head tilt and furrowed brow from the vendor. 

“What’s this?” Izuku asked, pointing to the peculiarly labeled jars. There were other strange jellies and jams on the table: garlic and onion and ginger, but Izuku’s attention was squarely on the one with the magic word. Chile.

“It’s one of our specialties,” the woman answered from her folding lawn chair. Everything at the stand was made of the same canvas-like polyester, from the chair to the tablecloth to the tent providing brief relief from the sun, drawing shoppers under its brim. “Jam reduced down with tomatoes and different peppers. It’s got a real kick, I swear to hither and yon.”

“I can take more than a little kick.”

“Oh, can ya?”

The woman used the edge of the table to push herself up, shaking all the jars of jam as she looked up to face Katsuki. Her face was as weathered as the land itself with the same kinds of crags and ridges and sun-roasted tan.

From a cup of doll-sized spoons, the woman took one, and untwisted a loose jar lid with her other hand. Without breaking eye contact with Katsuki, she dipped the spoon in the jar and then placed the red sauce in her mouth. Before even swallowing, she grabbed another, filled it with jam, and held it out towards Katsuki. A challenge.

He took it immediately, and placed the spoon facedown on his tongue, licking the spoon clean in one swift motion while the woman’s spoon dangled from her mouth like a loose cigarette.

It was sweet. It was jam. The sugar glided over his tongue, reminding him of that horrid fudge for a moment before the tangy hit of acid from the tomato kicked in. Not so different from a ketchup from a button-up only, cloth napkin restaurant.

Also…It was hot.

It crept up from behind like a little stalker villain that Katsuki would usually be ready to whip around and knock out with one blow from his quirk. But this vendor lady hadn’t so much as blinked at the spice, and so Katsuki wouldn’t either. He had a lifetime of controlling the sweat glands in his hands, but he’d never had to pay attention to the pores on his face. His sideburns were soaked and his bangs stuck to his forehead like a bad alpaca fur beanie. But that was just the sweat from the day, right? This old bat wouldn’t think he was bowing under the pressure—he’d rather take some of this lava jam to the eye than that.

“Good, huh?” the lady asked.

Katsuki swallowed. “Great,” he rasped.

And that was the kicker, wasn’t it? Even as it made all his taste buds stand erect like good little child soldiers in a war, he thought damn if it wouldn’t taste good slathered on a piece of roast pork.

He slapped down the eight bucks that crazy lady was charging for it and left before she could see his face go red.

“Well, that was fun, wasn’t it?” Izuku asked, a wide grin on his face. “Not boring?”

“It was grocery shopping,” Katsuki retorted. “And a bother for customs.”

But…he was having a little bit of fun. A smidgeon. And he still didn’t understand why, because his mind should be half numbed with sugar and heat and boredom, but it wasn’t. He wasn’t. Instead, he had half a mind to point Izuku towards the All Might bottle cap charms across the way or the aloe plants one tent down that would help soothe their burns.

Izuku had to take the jar, since it fit into one of his massive pockets, making it look like he had one and a half hip bones. But of course, the idiot was happy to do it, thrilled even. Like in this dearth of distressed civilians and villains to take down, being able to save Katsuki the grief of carrying both a jam jar and a drink was gonna push him up a score in the hero rankings. 

“I think you’d rather be grocery shopping,” Izuku said—and it was a fair assumption. The supermarket was air conditioned and efficient and didn’t have random ladies squaring up like he wouldn’t push her out of the way for the last tin of wasabi peas.

But he’d also be alone at the supermarket. And go back to his empty apartment alone. He’d put most of the groceries away and cook dinner for one like he always did.

“Whaddyou know?” Katsuki said instead, frowning.

“You. Pretty well,” Izuku retorted. “I thought maybe I’d forgotten some about you in the past year but no, you’re always up here.”

He gestured towards his head with his shoulder, which Katsuki caught out the corner of his eye as they continued walking forward. A dog was peeing on the sidewalk shockingly close to some macramé merchandise. A kid dropped an ice cream cone on the ground and burst out crying. This end of the street fest was drawing near.

Katsuki wasn’t even sure how well he knew himself. If he did, wouldn’t the shit those old fart heroes had been talking about on Thursday be his reality already? Sometimes it seemed impossible to tell who he was beyond fists and explosions and sweat. But Izuku had always known things that Katsuki hadn’t, and it in equal measure made him want to go back to the car and leave Izuku in a fit of red dust, and pry the answers out of Izuku with his nails, with his teeth.

“No,” Katsuki said. “This feels different.”

They were approaching a barricade of orange cones at the end of the street, nothing but one food truck left between them and the end of this side of the fair.

“Different than what?”

“Like this is so boring my brain should melt out of my ears, but you’re distracting it from that.”

“Which is a…good thing?”

Katsuki walked ahead. Straight past the food truck and past the orange cones so they were back in the normal town, cars passing by at a quick clip. Everyone drove fast here, like there was actually somewhere to go. “It’s an annoying thing.”

“Oh…?”

Izuku was confused. Even not looking at the guy, still facing the street, Katsuki could all but see the cocked head, the wide eyes, the hand drooping in the air in front of him as it tried to draw a real answer out of Katsuki.

But Katsuki had none to give. This wasn’t a regular feeling. It was a new one, no more relatable to his regular rolodex of feelings than it was to a swarm of bees storming his stomach. Really, actually, it was more like the bees.

“I thought I’d be alone this week,” Katsuki said, allowing the cars to swallow up his words. He didn’t give a damn if Izuku heard or not. “Had been looking forward to it. Then your ass blows in near immediately and well. Thought I’d punch your lights out, but I haven’t.”

Katsuki was sure that’d stir a response. Not throwing a punch was as good as taking one yourself. That’s why he’d always struck first in a fight. Set the tone. Don’t give yourself a chance to be thrown off right at the top. But somehow Izuku had gotten the upper hand without making the first move while Katsuki sat back on his heels. No, actually, he’d been doing something, but it hadn’t been fighting. And when it wasn’t fighting, Katsuki couldn’t figure it out.

But Izuku didn’t say anything. Mind was surely working a kilometer a minute, but what else was new.

“You’re the best to train with. You’re not even horrible to share a room with. Lousy at vacationing with,” Katsuki continued. “You used to get on my nerves just being around. But you being fucking absent for a year threw everything off, and I can’t shake it.”

“I wasn’t gone—you were busy too!”

“Shut up.”

It hadn’t been important. Nothing besides scattered flashes of their work shifts had ever been an emergency or desperate or immediately necessary in any way. They’d just been making busy because they didn’t know how to do anything else. Because they didn’t know how to just be with themselves. That was what UA had never taught them. 

“We don’t know how to be friends!” Katsuki exclaimed. “Maybe we never did!”

However loud Katsuki's words were, the silence was louder. It was fraught with humming vehicles and excited voices making their way through the street fair, but none of that was the deafening part. The space between him and Izuku was what screamed at Katsuki.

“K-Kacchan…”

Izuku was upset now. Great. And by God, some horrible yanking behind Katsuki’s lungs made him want to do something about it. It was like his upper chest had been speared by a fishhook and was pulling him back to where Izuku stood behind him, potentially blubbering because Katsuki couldn’t hold his tongue, yet again.

But when Katsuki turned around, Izuku wasn’t weeping. He was frowning, but his eyes were only glistening, no more than the sweat on his forehead or down the column of his neck. He was shiny all over and it was captivating. He’d always drawn Katsuki’s gaze like this, but it had never before filled him with such fresh vexation.

It pushed him to take a step forward. Then another. And another. He was close enough to Izuku to smell the heady mix of sweat intermingled with sunscreen and exhaust puffing out of that food truck. It was acrid and hot and it smelled a little like battle but they were safe but if they were safe then why was Katsuki’s heart pounding like a villain was on his tail, like something was catching up to him, like—

He had to do something. He had to.

He leaned in. He heard Izuku say: “Oh.” Actually, he felt it more than he heard it. Soft, puffing against his mouth. And then, because he couldn’t allow Izuku to figure it out first, took one last step forward, and closed the gap.

Their lips touched. And Katsuki had no idea what he was doing, he was only aware of what was next. Next: him grabbing Izuku’s sweaty hair and fisting it in his sweaty palm. Next: them slotting their lips to the side so that they actually fit, and dammit, they did fit. Next: a touch of tongue that tasted like hibiscus and cinnamon and caramel. Next: they broke apart and stared at each other with wide eyes.

It was a line in the sand, crossed. A line they hadn’t even known about, blown to scattered waste.

Next. Katsuki took two big steps backwards and blasted himself right over traffic and ran.

*

Las Cruces, New Mexico

Running was hard in this country. The air was thin. The sun was hot. Katsuki had spilled his hibiscus drink on his hand before he’d dropped it and it looked like he’d murdered a Jigglypuff. He had no idea where he was or where he was going, but that was a problem for later. Everything was a problem for later. Right now, the only problem was running.

Of course, running wasn’t a problem when you wielded the most powerful quirk in the world. So Katsuki had only cleared one, maybe one-and-a-half blurry blocks before a flash of teal lit up in front of him and forced him to stop or else make more of a coward of himself.

“Kacchan!” Izuku exclaimed, and it wasn’t so different from his arrival just a few days ago. Skidding to a stop, just a little out of breath, and with Katsuki more than a little dumbfounded. “Kacchan, what the…what?”

And fuck, running hadn’t made his heart rate go down at all. Hadn’t stopped the nervous sweat or the sweat from the heat certainly or even the sweat from his quirk, which could probably send him straight to the stratosphere with one wrong thought just about now. “I don’t know!”

“Kacchan, you can’t just kiss someone and run!”

“You don’t tell me what I can and can’t do!”

“Well then, what—why? Why did you do it?” Those little aspirated puffs coming off the W questions betrayed that Izuku actually might have been a bit out of breath. Maybe his heart was beating as fast as Katsuki’s. He’d lost his drink too, and the popcorn, but his shorts were still hanging heavy with the fucking jam.

“I had to do something!” Katsuki shouted. 

“Something?” Izuku asked. “Or that thing?”

“What’s it to you!” Katsuki rebutted, weak as anything. Weak in a way that made sweat sting his eyes and he had to blink it away fast lest any idiot think it was something else.

“It’s everything!” Izuku shouted back. “What’s it to you?”

It was…something. It was confusing. It was surprising. It was a mystery and maybe it was obvious but it was also good and maybe really bad and it was done but it wasn’t over.

Maybe it was inevitable. Maybe it should have already happened.

“I wanted to,” he said simply. “And so I did.”

“You wanted to…? Since when?” Izuku asked.

“Just now!”

Izuku shook his head, as though that was wrong, as though Katsuki had just lied to him, as though that was something that Katsuki would ever do. “What does that even mean?”

“I don’t know!” Katsuki exclaimed. He didn’t know. He hadn’t thought that far. His mind was racing in an effort to catch up and figure that out, but every thought was too fast and shadowed by the next to decipher. “Whaddyou know?”

Katsuki asked it again. As though Izuku was hiding information from him. It was inside of him—of that Katsuki was sure. He wanted to crawl down Izuku’s throat and claw it out, figure out what bloody truth lay between them that neither of them had words for. That was the only way he could think to do it, the only thing that even began to make sense.

“I-I…” Izuku stuttered, his head shaking slightly, his eyes wide and confused, but he didn’t take a single step back from Katsuki. He couldn’t. “I don’t know. I… What now?”

Now had run away when Katsuki had. Now was back by those traffic cones and here, Katsuki had no idea. Of anything.

He sighed, the first breath he’d managed to get even halfway under him. It tasted like both of them. “Car. That’s what. Let’s get outta here.”

[snowbatsims]

Pastell Legacy - Sims 4 catchup post

So, a while back, I did a recap post of the old sims 3 side of this legacy, in case I would start posting more stuff on my simblr about that.

And now I think it's time to do it for the sims 4 side of it!

We'll start with the beginnings: Anne and Edda Pastell. (photo from 2017)

They're sisters! While Anne was the founder of my Sims 3 legacy (linked above), I figured it would be fun to say she actually had a sister all along, and just do her side of the legacy in the Sims 4. Because sure, why not.

This side will probably be played somewhat like a really loose not-so-berry, just without the rules. Still doing some color theming on the heirs, subtly or not.

At some point, Edda joined the Avant Gardes. That's where she met Gunther Munch, whom some of you may know already. They got along well, and ended up getting married. probably because they're both nerds

However, it turns out Edda was carrying a curse of some sort. And so, their firstborn baby Rune was born a vampire. His vampiric traits slowly showed up over time, really ramping up with puberty. People are still unsure about the details on how he was like this in the first place, and Rune has no idea either. This is just the way he is.

He ended up moving out - moving in with some vampire friends he met instead. I have posted a bunch of my gameplay with them already.

In fact, they're the reason the actual legacy game stalled for so long. I love these dorks, you see :3 And since they're immortal, we'll still be checking in with them from time to time, mostly in intermissions.

Anyway, onto the rest of this generation!

Next up is Rune's younger redhead brother Snorre. He was a completely normal mortal human, much to the parents' relief. As for how his life went; he married a nice lady and had two pairs of twins! One pair was from an alien abduction, funnily enough. He's also already dead, but his children are still around as adults.

[pictured: snorre's twin pairs - ingrid and inger, saga and sagn]

Then,

Frøya. Also human. Since this legacy was originally intended as a matriarchy, it was the oldest girl who ended up being the heir... well, "girl" in Frøya's case. She's nonbinary; she/they pronouns. They're still alive currently, as an elder, and they have been known to be a bit eccentric. She got married to their husband somewhat unceremoniously at the love festival a while back.

So yep. Three kids in this generation, surely that was enough, right??

NOPE.

After the birth of these three, Gunther somehow got abducted by aliens, and came back with grey alien twins. Their names are Odin and Frigg.

Anyway.

Here, have some old art of the gen 2 siblings, which I drew:

Anyway! Now we're at gen 3.

Frøya and Nobuya had a pair of identical twins: Ravn and Kråke. Which, honestly, is really just Norwegian for Raven and Crow. (my game is in norwegian you see)

Ravn was always the smart kid at school. Kråke was more of a troublemaker. Still, these two are very close and care for each other.

So really, you'd think Ravn would be the heir, but she denounced it and decided to go live her own life with her wife instead. She's very much a lesbian, and the thought of being forced to have a kid is just not in her books. The parents respected that.

Meanwhile, Kråke is a trans man. His situation is not much better, but he was determined to have a kid anyway; after all, who else was going to do it? He was so ready for this... and then, his fiancé suddenly died to a stovefire and Kråke's world shattered to the ground.

He's okay, really, it's fine - no. He's not okay. He must get his beloved Rolf back, no matter what. It's the only thing that matters to him anymore.

Anyway yeah he's kind of a sopping wet cat of a man at the moment. That's our protagonist this generation. Let's go.

Also, since you read all the way to the end, thank you!

Here's a link to the whole family tree while I work on putting a proper graphic together :3

[FAMILY TREE]

[zorilleerrant]

you know, if you're going to redesign the Scooby Gang, you don't have to change their looks that much, but I think you could go pretty far and still match their aesthetics closely.

Velma: pastel lolita. she doesn't care about how other people think she looks (and doesn't want to look certain ways) but she still has fun with costumes. plus she's a nerd, and I think cosplay and clothesmaking have had a huge boom in nerd culture

Daphne: skate punk. she does care about how other people think she looks, but it's not so strictly tied to any trend in fashion. it's much more important to her that people she cares about think she looks good. so any music subculture might appeal to her

Fred: denimhead. he's pretty interested in the trends of fashion, but there are so many ways that could go with current possibilities, you can pick any of them. I think you want to stick with things where he can show off his physique, but that's still very open

Shaggy: gamer. low effort, sure, but it's easy these days to get hoodies and slogan tees, very low effort, but expressive. since he loves him some catchphrases, he can put those on shirts - even custom order them, so they could be personalized

Scooby: mastiff. as long as he's any big, skittish dog, he's got the same vibes - but I'd love to see something a little broader than tall, and maybe with stripes instead of spots. that way it fits the large number of bandanas you should put him in

[casspurrjoybell-19]

CLAIMED - Chapter 32

*Warning: Adult Content*     

Dissociative amnesia. 

That was what the Crescent Moon Pack Doctor Benji diagnosed Head Warrior Corey Cahill with once he finally allowed the Medic to get close enough to do an exam without the threat of losing a limb.

It was a Traumatic Stress Disorder, one that was triggered when one's level of stress surpassed their ability to cope.

So, instead of coping, Corey's brain chose to simply forget.

The days following his awakening were different. 

And judging by the way Corey hid his oversized body behind his Mate, Beta Jaxson Ortiz to avoid Pack Members that he didn't recognize whenever they had to leave the comforting confines of their bedroom, it was definitely beginning to take a toll on him.

Fending off overly-curious Pack Members quickly became Jaxson’s part-time job but he would gladly be Corey’s Guard Wolf if it meant making him feel even a little bit better about this entire situation.

To their relief, they found out within a day or two that Jaxson wasn't the only one on his 'unforgettable' list. 

All of his siblings, as well as their Respective Mates, had also made the cut, which helped immensely when they finally sat him down and told him about the death of his parents.

It was far from an easy conversation. 

In fact, it was one of the most challenging things that Jaxson ever had to do.

To feel the strength with which Corey gripped his hand, to sense the tingle of his Mate’s confusion through their Bond, to see his face transform into one of anguish as tears flooded down his cheeks.

It was almost unbearable to witness for the second time in a single week.

But no matter how bad it hurt, it had to be done. 

So, they did it.

To Jaxson’s surprise, Corey handled the news much better than the first time, jaw screwing up with understanding and eyes hardening as he fought back against the sadness and depression that had previously bested him. 

Instead, in its place, a fiery eruption of radical acceptance shone behind those dark pupils, like coal set ablaze.

Then, the Pack Head Warrior, took to studying.

Day or night, rain or shine, Corey went over pages and pages of Pack History, Member Records and whatever other little scrap of information he could get his hands on. 

Of course, being the curious little shit Jaxson is, he couldn't help but bug Corey about eighteen million times about what the hell all of this was for. 

But after getting the billionth response of ‘You will know when I am done, Sweetheart’ Jaxson finally decided to let Corey do his thing and explore his newfound inner nerd.

‘Even if being a brat and demanding retribution until he got fed up and fucked me until I screamed was stupidly appealing. But this wasn't about me. What mattered right now was helping my Mate heal, getting pounded into the mattress until I drooled and begged for more could wait. For now.’

"Aye, you lil' shrimp. You are legally obligated to go back to sleep. I promise you don't want this smoke, I'll sue you bankrupt," Jaxson quipped, peering down.

It was one of those times when Jaxson had to, very sweetly and kindly, of course, coerce Corey to tear his nose out of piles of research and leave their bedroom to get some fresh air. 

They had begun their mini-adventure with a visit to the head Warrior’s parents' resting places in the Pack Cemetery, the freshly overturned soil atop their shared grave a reflection of the raw wounds on Corey's psyche. 

But now, after paying their respects to those who were taken from this world much too soon, they leisurely traipsed the perimeter of the Pack House, pastel hues of sunset lighting their path.

"Let him suck on your finger. It helps soothe him," a deep voice rumbled and Jaxson craned his neck to visualize the person from whom it emanated.

Corey looked so calm as he looked back down at Jaxson and his tanned skin shone with an elysian radiance underneath the glow of the rapidly approaching dusk. 

It was a stark contrast to what was going on inside though, where massive amounts of heartbreak, worry and doubt were fighting against innumerably larger waves of disorientation. 

Just feeling it through their bond was borderline unbearable, so Jaxson could only wonder how his Mate managed to keep his skull from bursting from the pressure of it all.

"But won't that... oh..." 

Jaxson’s brow furrowed as the little one in his arms immediately began a rhythmic suck on his pinkie finger the very moment that he pressed it against the roof of his mouth, adorable little eyes growing sleepier by the millisecond.

‘Oh yeah, I guess another important thing to mention is the fact that Corey and I had a baby. Well sort of...’

Baby Theon Cahill was a tiny little thing and the very moment that Jaxson set eyes on the bundle snoozing away in his bassinet, the idea of leaving him all alone in that infirmary made his inner Omega go fuckin' ballistic.

Jaxson’s initial thoughts were to pass the responsibility to someone else. 

But considering how Luna Berlin Cahill and Alpha Oasis Amador had their own ‘rowdy ass twins’ to worry about and how Warrior Tyrus Cahill was always busy chasing a pregnant Daffodil while the Fae skipped off in search of tree branches to talk to, they were only left with one option.

So, the couple took him in themselves.

It was only temporary, just until things settled down and they could figure out who could take permanent custody of the little sweetie. 

But soon after taking him in, it quickly became obvious that having his little brother nearby was also helping Corey along in his recovery.��

Jaxson often walked in on him cuddling baby Theon close, nuzzling and scenting him as his father, Raymon Cahill would have or whispering sweet things into his bassinet at night when the Head Warrior thought that his Beta/Omega was asleep.

Corey adored his little brother just as much as Jaxson did. 

So, they weren't in any particular rush to make a decision on who would be caring for him after them. 

For now, they would just shower him with all of the love and care that he deserved.

A warm, heavy arm slipped around Jaxson’s shoulders, gently pulling him into an equally as warm body as they continued on their walk. 

The sound of the wind rustling through leaves filled the air around them and for just one solitary, fleeting moment, it was almost possible to imagine them as a family.

Jaxson shook his head to rid himself of the far-fetched thought.

"So I was thinking... Spaghetti tonight?" the Beta asked in an effort to steer his mind away from the current subject that it was seemingly fixated on. 

He leaned into Corey's broad side as Theon finally fully drifted off, content and peaceful in his slightly chaotically wrapped swaddle...

‘Courtesy of yours truly.’

The corner of Corey's mouth twitched as their eyes met. 

"Um... can you please repeat that?"

Jaxson smiled up at his Mate, nodding. 

"I asked if you want spaghetti tonight for dinner? It has long, round noodles and typically a red sauce made of tomatoes," he explained it in more detail.

Defining things like this had become routine for them. 

Corey's memory loss had no rhyme or reason to what it chose to make him forget and throughout these past few days, they quickly realized that some words had completely lost all meaning to him. 

‘At times, it made my poor, sweet Mate so frustrated with himself that I now carried around a wad of tissues in my back pocket for when things got a little bit too overwhelming and my shoulder inevitably became his designated crying station.’

"Ah... I remember... I think,"  Corey replied, turning his head away to blink a few times as the gears in his overworked brain attempted to chug along. "But if you make it, I am sure that this..." he paused, lips and tongue attempting to form a lost word. "Spaghetti will be delicious."

Corey rolled his eyes, snorting but also lowering his voice so as not to wake the drowsy newborn in his arms. 

"Oh, please. You think that everything I do, is good."

"Everything you do is good, Jax," Corey replied, stoic face somehow forming an even more impenetrable wall that clearly conveyed that he was as serious as a heart attack. 

Jaxson tilted his head up at his Mate, eyes glinting with mischief.

"Oh yeah? So, how about the time that I put a plunger on that one bald Pack Member's head just to see if it would stick?"

Corey didn't even blink.

"You were simply attempting a science experiment. He should have respected your interest in attempting to expand the Pack's Technological Advancements." 

Jaxson snorted even louder that time but managed to pull himself together when Theon wiggled a little.

"Okay... Well how about the time I accidentally set the Weapons Shed on fire? I'm sure your Warriors weren't too happy about that."

"We were overdue for upgrades anyway. By forcing Alpha Oasis to approve my budget request as a result of the fire, you helped contribute to the protection of the Pack."

The Beta rolled his eyes, nudging into Corey’s side in an attempt to display his faux frustration. 

"Whatever, you fuckin' simp," he teased, contradicting his abrasive words as he rubbed his cheek over a particularly pheromone-heavy portion of his Mate’s glorious skin.

"I do not know what that means."

"I finally found you, My Stinkies." 

Corey and Jaxson both turned their heads at the sound of a familiar voice as it resonated from behind them, the distinct form of Tyrus materializing as he jogs over.

His light brown eyes still held their characteristic gleam of happiness but it was impossible to miss their reddened hue and the slightly darkened area that circled around them. 

Once he finally reached them, the man was breathing like he had just run seven marathons in a row.

"Woah dude, are you good?" Jaxson questioned, instinctually moving to reach out and help the wheezing man stay upright. 

But, realizing that he needed both arms to be secure in holding the fragile newborn that he was now trusted with, he quickly decided that the grown man could handle his own balance.

Tyrus waved his hands in front of him, taking in a few more breaths as he shook his head. 

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just get a little asthma attack here and there, no biggie," he explained his risky situation with the same tone as someone discussing the weather. "But anyway, I came here to drag you guys back for a quick talk. Daffodil and I have something that we would like to share with everyone."

"Please tell me that you did not somehow get him pregnant, again," Corey said with a joking tone. 

Though, a hint of alarm was also present in it, which was well-founded considering the fact that no one could ever guess what the hell was going to come out of Tyrus' mouth next.

Tyrus just stared back at his brother for a moment before releasing a full-bellied, gut-busting laugh.

"Someone needs an anatomy class," he says between laughs, looking back at Corey with an expression that read somewhere between the lines of pity. "I mean come on. Everyone knows that you have to wear a condom when your partner is pregnant to avoid double pregnancy. That's just common knowledge."

Jaxson’s eyes widened at Tyrus’ incredibly confident statement and Corey's forehead simultaneously dropped into his palm as he rubbed his temple with disbelief. 

The Beta had no clue how to even begin to dissect all of that, so in lieu of avoiding opening up a can of worms with a depth of unknown quantity, he decided that changing the subject was probably the best bet.

"Speaking of Daffie, where is the little lime thief?"

"Daffie here."

Jaxson jumped clear out of his skin when, like some kind of life-sized Russian nesting doll, Daffodil's bright yellow head popped right out from behind Tyrus' back. 

Every interaction the Beta had with the odd couple was like something straight out of a cartoon and this was certainly no exception to that rule.

"Goddess, Daff. Where the hell did you even come from?" Jaxson exclaimed, unable to conceal his surprise. 

The Beta gripped Theon just a little bit tighter so to ease his fear of dropping him, just in case they were to fall victim to any more jump scares.

Daffodil just gave a giant grin in response as his neck tilted almost all of the way back to see Jaxson. 

Then, those enormous eyes blinked wordlessly as he processed the Beta’s question.

It was so easy to forget just how slight of a thing Daffodil was, the true extent of his miniature stature a perpetual shock every time that Jaxson saw him. 

The small bump that was already beginning to form in his lower abdomen only emphasized that fact and a rogue intrusive thought got the best of Jaxson as he visualized him further along in his pregnancy, when his stomach would inevitably begin to outweigh his body.

When Daffodil finally figured out the meaning of Jaxson’s question, the lil' wisp simply stuck out a skinny arm, using one of his four fingers to point to a spot in the grass just behind his Mate, Tyrus.

“Dere,” he stated matter-of-factly, before shoving both hands behind his back and beaming even wider as he proudly twisted back and forth.

"I see..." Jaxson replied, even though he most definitely did not see a single fuckin' thing. 

The Beta shifted his gaze back to Tyrus Cahill, who was currently gazing down at his Mate, Daffodil as if the tiny Fae held the entire universe in his little, hollow head. 

"Let's head inside. I need to put Theon down for a nap first, though."

The walk back to the Pack House was a show in itself, as Daffodil paused every few feet to crouch down and greet each bug that he saw with an excited 

"Hi," and a sprinkle of Faerie dust that fell from his fingertips like sparks. 

But eventually, they did manage to make it inside. 

And once Jaxson settled Theon down in his bassinet for his nap, he and Corey made their way to Tyrus and Daffodil's shared room with tightly interlocked fingers.

Jaxson went to knock on the door but something froze his muscles before they could make contact with it. 

Instead, he swiveled his head to the side and up.

As if sensing his intentions, Corey leaned down a little and slipped his free hand around Jaxson’s waist as his irises assumed that beautifully dark, illustrious color that the Beta knew all too well.

Their breaths mingled and Jaxson’s free hand instinctively slid up to weave into the short hair at Corey’s nape, tugging him down in an attempt to bring his lover closer to him. 

‘I always wanted him closer to me.’

"I think that I forgot what you taste like," Corey whispered once they were close enough to brush noses. "Remind me."

Jaxson huffed in frustration, even whining a little when he tried to push up on his tip toes and join their lips, only to be met with Corey pulling back by an equal amount. 

The Beta would punish his Warrior Mate later for that, right now he just needs to feel him.

"Just fucking kiss me already. Unless, maybe, you want me to go ask someone else..."

Jaxson smirked against Corey’s lips as he immediately crashed them together, proud that his ingenious plan managed to work exactly as intended.

Kissing Corey never failed to be the best experience ever. 

His lips were far worse than addicting, at this point, Jaxson needed those plump things pressed against his more than he needed blood pumping through his veins.

It was electric, it was euphoric, it was everything and as he fell further into chasing that high, a large, warm hand slipped underneath his shirt to press against the small of his back and a tongue breached the space where his own lips met.

‘I wanted to hump this man. Fuck it, I was going to hump this man.’

"Hi there, stinky," a twinkling voice froze both Corey and Jaxson in their tracks and after they separated their practically conjoined faces, they turn their heads to see Daffodil staring up at them with wonder as he held the bedroom door wide open.

"Damn, I almost wasn't sure if you two were getting enough oxygen in there," Alpha Oasis said, his signature, deep husk filling the air. 

Jaxson discreetly flashed his best friend a middle finger in the process of straightening his ruffled clothing and filing into the room.

The first thing that the couple noticed was a very distraught-looking Luna Berlin who sat, curled up and staring at nothing in his Mate's large arms. 

Then, their confusion peaked when they looked around the room some more, it’s semi-barren condition a stark contrast to it’s usual state, filled with Daffodil's never-ending nature collection and lit up by the glow-in-the-dark stars that eased the Fae's inherent fear of the dark during the nighttime hours.

Daffodil climbed up on the bed beside Tyrus, as Jaxson settled onto the floor next to the door, Corey following his lead a second later.

"Thanks for coming today, guys," Tyrus began, not wasting any time. "I just wanted you all to be the first ones to know about what's happening with Daffie and I."

He took a brief pause, reaching over to pull his Mate close and press a kiss to his knuckles. 

Daffodil chittered, leaning closer before Tyrus continued.

"I know that we are all hurting right now. What happened was... horrible. There's no way around that," he swallowed, looking down just as a drop of wetness fell into his lap. "And I know that Dad and Papa would want us to all stay together and support one another and I want that too," Ty breathed in shakily and Daffodil pressed himself harder against his Mate, extremely long eyelashes brushing against the larger man's neck. 

"But Daffodil is suffering," Tyrus finally managed to choke out, hand coming around to rest with the lightest of pressures against his Mate's visible baby bump. "He can feel all of us and it's too loud for him. And I'm scared that all of that stress might... that it might effect... our baby," he finally sobbed, fingertips curling into the fabric of his Mate's billowy shirt.

All was quiet for a moment, the air going still as everyone pondered what this meant.

"It's okay, Ty," Luna Berlin finally said, voice soft and devoid of the emotion that usually interlaced every word. "You have to do what is best for you and your Mate. We would never be mad at you for that."

"Berlin is right. I would do the same if I were in your place," Corey nodded, fists clenched.

It was then that Tyrus finally looked up, eyes glimmering and eyelashes fused together as he wept. 

Daffodil was in a similar position to his Mate, entire face drenched with waterfalls of salty tears as his oversized eyes produced enough to fill a small pond.

"Thank you... Thank you so much," Tyrus breathed as he worried his bottom lip and tilted his head to scent the top of Daffodil's bright yellow one.

"There is no need to thank us," Corey nodded once more. "My only question is, where will you go? It needs to be somewhere safe."

Daffodil perked up a little at that, a distinct fondness filling his features as he quickly moved to answer Corey's question.

"TyTy and Daffie go Faerie home," the Fae started, purring deep in his throat when Tyrus resumed his scenting of the small man. "Tyty and Daffie go behind The Veil.”

[punkeropercyjackson]

Bnha ships summaries

Todomomo:Fat pastel doll and goth bisexual twunk become battle partners and it escalates into them becoming best friends because they were adultified and forced to mask their autism their whole lives but hanging out gave them room to actually be themselves so they make eachother feel like actual kids and have fun together,trust eachother with and in everything and always have their back.Also they're both cat-coded

Dabitwice:Punk goth disabled man joins a supervillain team including another punk goth disabled man but a sunshine variant and it's exactly what you'd expect.They're best bros(homosexual)and one of them being killed by a cop made the other loose all need to hide how much he hates society and just be open with it but they'll always love eachother beyond the grave and ressurection means exist in-universe so it's free real estate for shippers

Minajirou:Tradgoth tgirl is rizzed up by black girl who's somehow hood and scene at the same time and they torment cishet boys together,most of the time just by existing and dating eachother instead of them.Memes are a love language and so's physical touch and doing eachother's makeup and they have matching Bubbline icons despite not actually dating because they're dumbass teenagers and hoodscene is bi with a thing for masc sweethearts

Erasermic:Homoerotic superheroes,high school sweethearts,old man yaoi and totally not married co-parents to the kids of the cast combo platter with a special alt4alt drink to wash it down and you get an audhd4audhd punch card too

Miruyumi:Trans eldest daughter syndrome with girlfailure tendencies and a bunch of overprotective brothers gets tangled up with goddess-adjacent black woman celebrity due to her younger brother's and his friends' shenanigans and they have slice of life adventures while the rest of the cast is dealing with the plot that the second one joins in on sometimes and the first one starts training to help as she takes the role of the gang's caretaker for the time being.Pastel4pastel and nerd x tank too

[yandereloverwritesstuff]

Super Psycho Love Part 2

Poor girl, so clueless and sweet. You really don't know what's coming.

Yandere! Jock x Nerd! Reader

Part 1, Part 3

Content Warning: Stalking, Sexual Themes

It was an overcast Monday the first time he followed you home. It had rained all through the night before and well into the morning so coach had canceled afterschool practice. Instead, they spent their sixth and seventh period in the weight room with the ripe smell of teenage boys and the sound of clanging iron. The academic part of school was only a suggestion for the flock of football players. Generally, as long as their arms and legs were in good enough condition to play, they were in good enough condition to walk the stage come June. They were allowed out of class for any and every reason, and although a few teachers who still believed in silly concepts like fairness fought the special treatment it was an unspoken rule at that point. The coach signs a slip and they're excused indefinitely.

It wasn't supposed to happen. His hair was still wet from the showers when he saw you walk by in the halls, bogged down and almost toppling over with the weight of your bookbag. You looked adorable. You huffed and puffed as you shuffled down the hall and tugged at your pleated skirt to make sure it still covered your ass properly. You were really cute when you didn't look viscerally disgusted with him. He even caught a glimpse of the elastic band of your milky pink panties.

It seemed eerily convenient to him. Earlier that morning his mom confiscated his keys for coming home Saturday with the smell of vodka on his letterman jacket. Even though it wasn't from him but a girl he hung out with at a college party, it brought no comfort to his mother. His point-zero breathalyzer did nothing to convince her that he could be trusted to drive anywhere – especially alone. He knew his dad would come through (as he always did) and reassure her that he was just a boy doing what boys do, but until then he was stuck walking. He wasn't one to contemplate ideas of fate or soulmates or whatever cheap shit they sold to teenage girls to get them to buy cheesy books and movies. However, he did certainly feel lucky.

He watched your braided pigtails bounce as you loaded your books into the plastic milk crate secured on the back of your bike. Through the glass doors of the school's west exit, he could clearly read each cover. AP Biology, Advanced Lit, Human Geography and Calculus all toppled in and the milk crate shuddered under the weight. No wonder you were so disorganized with all those subjects to keep track of. There was something innocent in your movements, something about how unaware and clumsy you were. You weren't paying attention to the way his gaze settled on the back of your thighs, just below the shortest pleat of your skirt. When you were almost out of his sight he slyly tugged his the hood of his grey sweatshirt over his eyes and pushed past the set of doors. He smiled a wry, cynically amused smirk. The irony of it – he was sneaking around to catch glimpses of you when he had a mental list of past conquests he had blocked in his phone and avoided at school like particularly vicious STDs.

You walked along the still-wet sidewalk with your trusty pastel blue bike, letting the seat bounce against your hip every so often. You had a tendency to be overly cautious; after all, bad things happened to people who weren't careful. What if the bike's tires couldn't grip the slick asphalt well enough, your brakes failed and you biked into oncoming traffic? Then what? In your mind, the safest route was the only route worth following. No alcohol, smoking, or boys – the only exception to your little safety bubble was the Mac eyeshadow palette and tinted lip balm you had tucked into your pencil case. That, well that was harmless. You scrubbed it off in the bathroom after chess club with wet wipes and hoped your mom wouldn't notice that your face looked slightly more red than usual. You wondered if moms developed their sixth sense during pregnancy, where they could tell when their kid was doing something they shouldn't.

You didn't mind the walk home, even with the dreary weather. It was a nice enough area with usually well-maintained lawns and gardens. Occasionally, when the opportunity came you'd pluck a particularly eye-catching flower or ripe fruit from a broad, sturdy-looking tree. Not much outside of school plagued your mind. Truth be told, you haven't even thought of him once since your encounter a month ago. You had more important things to worry about senior year; the competition for valedictorian was going to be tough. It was between you and three other people and depended solely on how many AP classes you could cram into the next six months. You absentmindedly wiped the juice from your lip with the back of your sleeve, courtesy of an apple tree Ms. Donovan planted.

A tree branch snapped sharply somewhere in the distance. You whipped your head in the general direction of the sound. The sound was especially loud in the heavy, late afternoon silence. The closer you got to your house, the more quiet the walk was. It was situated on a little side road, past the strip malls and busy main road. It wasn't common for other people to walk about, especially since your nearest neighbors were well into senior citizen age. Your eyes lingered at where the sound should've come from like something would slink out from behind the thick shrubs. A squirrel skittered by your comfortable oxfords and you hesitantly shrugged it off. You didn't see the slight rustle of the dark green topiary.

Maybe there was a chance he would've let you be if it wasn't for today, but after seeing you so vulnerable and sweet looking there was something ravenous and hot bubbling in his gut. The image of you barefaced and wide-eyed looking almost directly at him with clear juice dribbling down your soft lips had his stomach tied in knots. He wondered if you'd make that face for him when you were underneath him too. He wondered if your nipples were the same shade of mauve as your mouth and if you made that face when you play with yourself. If, he corrected. He wondered if you've ever cum before, but you seemed too sweet for masturbation. You didn't even wear lipstick yet.

He knew he wanted you in a way he's never wanted a girl before. It wasn't out of boredom or needing to feel big. He wanted to be around you all the time, even when you weren't aware of him.