#aka my backyard LMAO

[getfuckedblr]

she’s here! one of the absolute best severitus fics - namesake necklace by @wiceba !!! i’ve printed this out like three different times and ended up either messing up the end papers, or the cover design (cheap htv is generally awesome until it melts bc it’s cheap and my iron is too hot). but yeah i’m calling this done!

none of my binds are perfect bc i can’t seem to cut in a straight line (?) which is actually like a lot harder than it should be??? but again this is for me to have my favorite fics on my bookshelf, not to sell so i’m satisfied!

[tartsinarat]

Woo okay, because I like designing ocs as it’s fun and doesn’t take too much energy so here’s my basilisk oc… number 3!!

…Aka the poor guy who got her organs harvested by Belos in order to use in the making of Pip.

Even though they’re straight up dead and have been dead for years I still love his design and vibe.

She’s a similar type of basilisk to Vee, this is important as that specific type of basilisk has extremely strong magic draining rate.

Vee and 3 did know each other, but Vee was really young. They met each other during experiments that they had to do together in order have their magic draining rate tested and compared at the same time to see which one had the fastest speed, uh 3 won most of the times they did this which is unfortunately why he ended up basically being a sacrificial lamb

To make this even more horrific fun

Some traits of 3 still ended up in Pip or well mostly his curse, obviously physically like the ears, tail floof shape and splotchy patterns as well as his red irises rather than the typical grimwalker magenta but also bits and pieces of personality/mannerism

Though Pip can’t copy other people but his curse is able to mimic voices/ sounds it hears perfectly which it uses to hunt/ trick people because of the basilisk parts being mixed in

it’s as smart as a parrot but in the way where it can repeat stuff for specific people and kinda knows what context to use it for though you’re not able to have a full conversation with it as it won’t understand anything

This really freaks Vee out when she first saw Pip in his full cursed form and it started copying 3s voice screaming in pain. (Its not got the memories of 3 or anything, its a split off part of Belos’s curse who would have heard 3s screams from when Belos vivisected her for fresh parts)

Pip later had to awkwardly explain to Vee that he has no control of it and is its own thing separate from him.

Vee is convinced it’s messing with her mentally especially as it does similar stuff to Hunter by using Belos’s voice randomly at 5 am to scare him awake.

It is very much messing with her and Hunter for its idea of funnies but this backfires hard on it as every time it takes over Pip it gets locked into the backyard like a dog (this actually makes it stop doing the creepy voice stuff after a couple times because it hates being outside in the cold.)

On a lighter note I can’t un-see how 3 looks kinda like the Salmonids from splatoon, that was completely un-intentional and I only realised like a while ago that he reminds me of them lmao

[aurorialwolf]

hwhhehehehehehhehwhw guess who has another redacted next gen oc to shareeeee :D This time, it's William's daughter!! Exciting stuff Rest below the cut so I don't spam anyone's dashes

- Her full name is Emilia (aka Emma / Emily) Solaire

- She is William's only child, and heir to his throne, as Alexis has shown disinterest in ruling and Vincent has split from the clan

- I'm not sure who here remembers, but the fandom once had made up a listener name for William's 'listener' (he doesn't and may not ever have one, but we all thought that it would be cute to make one), who was unempowered, and that's sort of who I think her other parent would be, though this current rendition of her doesn't have as strong a connection to her other parent

- Unlike the other vampire children, she was not turned by her own blood when she accessed her core at puberty, but was instead born vampiric, due to her dad's Old Blood status (the turned by own blood thing was made up by me and is not canon, vampires prob cant even reproduce in canon lmao)

- So; imagine a toddler running at vampiric speed into the most dangerous part of your backyard. This is how William feels. He should be thankful he's an old blood and can keep up lmao

- I imagine William being a somewhat good parent, but I also think he wouldn't be up to speed, and would raise his children in a more old-timey fashion (he wouldn't beat his kids at all though because I say so), which means Emilia is very,, old soul seeming. Would fit in with the bingo ladies /j (she is a littleee bit modern but doesn't have a lot of tech and is out of the loop, acts a lot different to those her age, sort of distant? learned from William how best to be regal and stuff, so she's diplomatic)

- She has a very difficult time making friends because she had vampiric status since birth, and is not able to make friends with kids her own age easily (I mean, think about trying to introduce your vampiric 8-year-old to a normal 8-year-old.. thats scary as shit)

- She's the youngest out of all the Solaire kids, being two years younger than Adrian (the oldest) and one year younger than Vivienne (not Solaire, but associated)

- She's hella bossy because she's always had high status and has a difficult time seeing others as equals because she's literally never been at their level.. Portia (Porter's kid) and Adrian (Alexis's son) are her personal guards, and she makes them entertain her

- Portia is much less afraid to speak her mind, and does so regularly, to the point that Emilia reprimands her for saying treasonous things, lol, much to the chagrin and fear of Adrian, who has been taught to revere those in higher levels of the hierarchy than him, and begrudgingly goes along with all of Emilia's orders

- Emilia also has a hard time seeing mortals as important, or at all on par with herself, as she's always been immortal, vampiric, and she sees her and her typical peers (all vampires) as eternal, or at least veryyyy long-lasting, and simply views mortals as a blip in her likely long life. She grows out of this, with Samuel's (Sam and Darlin's kid) help, as he is part mortal, and helps her see the importance and power of mortals via the Shaw Pack, who is still aligned with the clan in the future (in my mind at least) though she's always still a bit high-and-mighty

Now onto the interesting plot for her personal storyline :3

- Once she reaches ~18, she decides she wants the throne, and conspires to overthrow her father. She recruits her guards and outside players to help her, so there's herself, Portia, Adrian, Samuel Jr., and Vivienne.

- Samuel only agreed because she promised that, if she came into power, she would ensure the safety of the Shaw Pack by devoting some of her people to protect them, instead of just using the reach of her power to imply protection (cough cough William), and yk, she certainly knows how to get Samuel under her thumb because it immediately worked lmao

- Vivienne agreed because Samuel did, and she harbours more loyalty to the Solaire House than she would generally let on, secretly desiring a place among vampiric peers, having been denied that since her turning.

- So, their plan goes as such; (let me clarify they are totally underestimating him and are overconfident lmao) - Samuel will take out Porter early, to prevent interference - Alexis will not be around on the day they plan to execute this, so she isn't factored in - They will catch William while he's doing his usual walk through the woods in his remote estate, when he is unlikely to have a way of contacting help with him, and is too far away from Dahlia to escape to safety - Samuel will be the first to attack, given his general magical prowess, granting him an advantage in distracting William, and a better chance to evade initial parries. He also has a source of daemon / demon blood, and will coat the edge of his sword in it, which will severely weaken William - Adrian and Portia will come up next, them and Samuel forming a triangle to contain William in the area, slowly weathering down his defenses - Vivienne will be taking her time throughout this to charge up a strong burst of electro magic, and will wait until the perfect opening to unleash it directly on him, hopefully immobilizing him, given that he already has da/emon blood in his system. - Then, they will surround him, and Emilia will come up, manipulating blood magic to keep him disadvantaged (since I hc William has formed the ability to control Solaire blood, and his daughter has also learned to do so) - Then, she politely asks for the crown, and should he refuse, they kill him (atp, if everything goes right, he will be severelyyy weakened by the da/emon blood and the lightening strike, making this somewhat possible) - Bam! Throne is taken easy as pie There's multiple possible endings;

1. She gets the crown without fuss because William doesn't mind granting it to her (after he's been defeated)

2. He gives them a run for their money but eventually agrees, but is not defeated at any point

3. They somehow manage to kill him, and she ascends to the throne with blood on her hands

4. He defeats them, and imprisons all of them, granting mercy but insisting on rehabilitation of some kind

5. He defeats all of them and is not merciful, only sparing Emilia and possibly Vivienne (given she's the least dangerous and not in the clan), he's a bit biased lol Number 5 is unlikely, 2 and 4 are most probable (depending on how well things go) Taglist: @vegafan69 @darlin-collins @kxemii @professionallyyappin @sereh624

[wormb0i]

ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ɪɴғᴏ sʜᴇᴇᴛ

tagged by: @zangyo [ tysm !!! im like 396 years late im sorry lmao ] tagging : @impishsensei ; @celesticlnstcrs ; @strawdxll ; @anvevennad / @trelonkan / @digouezh ; @omezuki ; @getsusekaii [ this is rly old so idk if u guys have already done it, sorry !!! ]

Name: 虎杖悠仁 Itadori Yuuji

Name meaning: His last name has the kanji for "tiger" 虎 ( ita ) and "rod, cane" 杖 ( dori ), and his first name "permanence" 悠 ( yuu ) and "benevolence, humanity" 仁 ( ji )

Alias: ‘The Tiger of West Junior High’, which he finds embarrassing ; ‘Sukuna's Vessel’, also not his favourite

Ethnicity: Japanese

ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴs ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴛᴏʟᴅ ᴀɴʏᴏɴᴇ : 

He is lactose intolerant - I debated a lot about this one because with the way this boy EATS like an animal... I was really torn ! He loves all food and isn't picky with anything at all, but this just feels like it really suits him lmao, especially for the fact that he doesn't care. Catch him eating a triple cheese pizza with mac & cheese on the side and ice cream for dessert, it's all a small (big) price to pay. RIP Megumi's room being right next to him, some nights there's a lot of weird noises coming from Yuuji's room.

His grandpa taught him martial arts ! I think he'd teach him tai chi and karate in the backyard when he was a little kid and I can just see a montage of it in my head w Yuuji growing older and getting better, holding the stances better etc ;-;

He's a very good cook in the way that he's very good at improvising and coming up with delicious dishes from whatever ingredients he can find lying around. He will cook up one pot meals in his little single burner and it's gonna be the most delicious thing you've had in years.

ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴛʜɪɴɢs ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ʟɪᴋᴇs ᴅᴏɪɴɢ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ғʀᴇᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇ :

Watching movies lol

Reading manga

Reading conspiracy theories and bringing them up as discussion topics, especially if he knows it's something stupid lmfao, he will pretend to believe it just to keep arguing and get his friends riled up lmfao

sɪx ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ʟɪᴋᴇs / ʟᴏᴠᴇs :

HMMMM this one is hard bc he loves a lot and very indiscriminately ;-; he loves all his friends and mentors and ouuGGHH but i guess honorary mentions are of course his grandpa, gojo-sensei, nanamin, megumi and nobara, and choso too

ᴛᴡᴏ ᴛʜɪɴɢs ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ʀᴇɢʀᴇᴛs :

Not listening to what his grandpa had to say abt his parents

.............. you know.............

ᴛᴡᴏ ��ʜᴏʙɪᴀs ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ʜᴀs :

you know what, i don't think it's necessarily a PHOBIA but i feel like clowns unsettle him LMFAOOOOO

being left alone (aka ppl he loves dying)

[itsstraykids]

Here's A Little Get-To-Know-You Tag Game!

Tagged by: @noonaracha thanks for tagging me!! *waving from the other side of a bridge* (link to their post)

Name(s): june (on here and at coffee shops. i have a Weird Name in normal life)

Pronouns: she/her

Star Sign: capricorn (i’m a christmas eve baby!)

#of Siblings & Fun Facts About Them (if you have any): I have one younger sibling, this isn’t exactly a fun fact but we took a siblings-only trip to japan last year and they aren’t necessarily interested in japanese media or anything but they absolutely loved it because they love cute tiny things and that’s definitely a specialty of japan lmao. they bought like thirty souvenirs to give to their friends back home. it was adorable.

#of Pets: I have a big ‘ol black cat I love dearly. He lives in Wisconsin now due to various factors. I miss that chonky boy but he’s happy there chasing bugs in the backyard (under supervision)

Fandoms: Just kpop bands, skz, txt, and xdh mainly. And recently mamamoo.

Favorite Color: greeeeen

Favorite Song: Recently infatuated with J Christ by lil nas x, he's such a visionary. also Big Lizard by the dead milkmen lol

Favorite Author: Jasper Fforde, I’ve carried all his books through every apartment move because they’re so funny.

Hobbies: too damn many. guitar, writing music, drawing, collage, studying korean, and getting my ass kicked by the ocean (aka surfing)

Favorite Holiday: christmasssssss

Do You Have Any Partner(s)?: yep! we just had our 6 year anniversary in october :D

Fun facts about you/anything extra you wanna share!: To continue @noonaracha's Mariah Carey theme, I met Mariah Carey’s personal Santa Claus (like the guy she always hires to be santa i guess?) on Christmas in 2021, while stuck in a blizzard in a ski lodge deep in the mountains of Colorado. He was a really great santa lmao. Incredible magical aura.

Tagging: @abiaswreck @agibbangs @snug-gyu @skz-maybe-incorrects sorry if u were tagged already!! hehe i enjoyed this

[standardquip]

My pond is gone: A follow-up

For those who don't know, I use the tag #sqland to talk about what I do on my property. It is mostly about my pond, which was amazing. I had it for ~5 years, and expanded it every year.

[Tumblr kept failing to upload my photos so this post has some but far fewer than I wanted. Boo.]

When I expanded it last year, I started having problems with my septic system's leach field (aka a drain field). I had built my pond directly above my field. At the time, I saw pipes and just worked around them and didn't think anything of it. I later learned that that can destroy a drain field. So, do not do that.

I had to get my entire drain field replaced, which cost a little over ten thousand USD. They tore up my whole back yard to do it. Before they did that, I disassembled the pond myself so I could save all my plants and re-use all the stone in a future endeavor. The pond is currently a series of kiddie pools. This has somehow not deterred toads and frogs laying eggs in them.

Anyway, during the replacement of the field, I learned there was so much wrong with it that I was frankly surprised it ever worked in the first place. Even without the pond, half of it was not working at all. Each subsequent pond expansion cut off the ability of another finger to disperse water, and the latest one cut off the last available finger. That's why my septic system failed.

The field was uneven, criss-crossed, not deep enough, collapsed and full of holes it was not supposed to have. Some of these problems may have been caused by the pond. But most of them didn't appear to be.

I found a new location for the pond - far at the back of my property, where a shed used to be - it's not as close to my house but at least I can still see it from the window.

I order heavy duty 40mil pond liner. This is expensive and, more importantly, extremely heavy. The people redoing my leach field let me pay them to take my old pond liner to the dump. It weighed (literally, not figuratively) half a ton. My new pond plan is about 30 x 40ft so it will probably weigh more, and, due to the new (further away) location, will be absolutely impossible to move by myself (I paid the freight driver 20 bucks to help me roll it to the location last time) and honestly, probably might not even be able to move it without machinery.

For that reason, I haven't even started digging the new pond yet (PS: I dug all the last ponds by myself with a normal shovel!). I'm not sure how to deal with the liner situation and if I have to ask for help from a neighbor's skidsteer again, at that point why even bother digging the pond by hand? Why not use his mini excavator too? lmao.

But I'm getting off-subject here.

Every year, I have 1-2 "big projects" that my parents usually help me with. This year's big project (before the leach field issue) was going to be to redo my front yard so it had no grass and finish landscaping it. When the drain field was replaced, I asked them to not put down any grass seed. So my backyard was straight up dirt and nothing else. No more weeds anymore, either. This presented a unique opportunity....

So this year's project ended up being to landscape the front AND back yards. We didn't 100% finish either of them, but we got maybe 90 - 95% done while my mom was here.

Now that summer's hitting, expect more #sqland posts not about the pond. Because the gardens are doing great!!

[rebuke-me]

🌟

i just think you'll like the winged au so thats the one im doing

its literally. its inspired by maximum ride. its one of my oldest aus (aka i made it when i was like... 13? or so??) and i love her dearly

jeremy's a human/bird hybrid and he ends up on the run from experimenters (the squip) and quite literally crash lands in jake's backyard and hides with him bc jakes lonely and jeremys awkward

(bonus points, michael's been looking for him since he went missing and everyone thinks he's kinda insane and rich is also one of the hybrids sent after jeremy to bring him back)

the others are, other than probably jenna, are pretty much how they are in the og media lmao

[encrucijada]

@moonssugar i said i wanted to do all the questions so i'm doing that ✨️ let's go, haze dogs!

👀 - an excerpt from my WIP

in the morning you walked home crying and covered in after-party remnants — glitter in your hair, a ripped dress, gashes on your black stockings, no shoes on, and blood artistically on your neck.

👑 - a random fact about one of my ocs

connor and ángel do archery! this is in part because i do archery but also because they really needed a hobby. i think it's also gonna be how they become close and eventually start dating.

🦀 - a favourite piece of dialogue

yay church scene!!

ángel pressed his smile to your cheek, compelled you to smile in kind. you felt the edges of his teeth like he intended to bite your cheekbone off. “you’re going to hell for blasphemy.”

“we’re all going to hell for it, my sin was being named an idol against my will.”

“and desecrating the house of god.”

“this hasn’t been god’s house for a decade, i had nothing to do with it. the place was empty,” you said, “ripe for the taking. so, i did.”

☀️ - current word count

2678 if we include the church scene and the scene of connor going to ángel's house after getting a little bit bloody. of the actual manuscript i have 474 words lmao

❄️ - toughest aspect of my wip

actually getting the ball rolling has been the hardest part. i'm banking on actually writing whenever i get to it to help me with character dynamics and connecting the plot points in my head.

🍕 - my characters' favourite foods

i feel like connor would really enjoy an empanada de papa. ángel feels like the type to say pasta with white sauce is his favourite. acacia Loves ice cream. benjy could live off of spicy chicken wings.

⚽️ - genre of my wip

low fantasy horror. at least i like to pretend it's horror but i get easily freaked out so it's might just be a little spook.

🤔 - what's the inspiration behind my wip

it's a combination of things. i wanted to write horror for reasons i forgot but the only good idea i had for a horror story couldn't lean all on the horror because of what i wanted it to do (aka disasters to sleep through which is more about healing your inner child and loneliness and love). so i had to find something new. i have a half-finished short story titled homeward & bound about two friends driving home down a creepy road with one of the girl's niece and the other's dog, and no matter how far they drive they never seem to make any progress. it's got subtle horror elements, all encompassed in the dog, inspired by a prompt i saw in one of those "southern gothic aesthetic" lists on tumblr about having to walk your dog so it's not restless and something bad happens. i decided to go from there with haze dogs, though i made without the two friends or the spooky car ride and just kept the dog. i've had recurring nightmares of being chased by creatures that want to kill me with their teeth no matter what, i used that and what little i know of stephen king's children of the corn from youtube videos with their ritualistic sacrifices to an entity that basically lives in their backyard. the cult stuff appeared when i decided to introduce ángel into the story, he's regulus black in a different font because stealing from terfs is encouraged. with his family situation coming straight from the blacks i skewed it slightly to the left and now you have a rich, manipulative mother who wants influence over the town. connor is inspired somewhat on wren from the podcast spines, most especially that initial sacrifice with her waking up in a pool of her own blood looking up at people she knows (in connor's case it's her classmates).

🎁 - prologues or no prologues, why?

none! it's better to just jump straight into the action with this one.

🎶 - wip playlist

the fruits by paris paloma

animal by pvris

you should see me in a crown by billie eilish

the unwanted animal by the amazing devil

which witch by florence + the machine

arsonist's lullabye by hozier

take me to church by hozier

the tradition by halsey

in the woods somewhere by hozier

[lolly-pop456]

1. Steven Universe, Spy X Family, and that new sonic one that I can’t remember the name of lol

2. They’re purple and a bit taller than my usual ankle socks. They also have lil sushi’s on them too.

3. I adore smoothies of any kind

4. Depending on the occasion and season it’s usually a semi formal dress or a nicer shirt with dark pants.

5. Over medium

6. A group of bookmarks I’ve collected over the years. Rn I’m using a tarot card that just described the deck.

7. Black probably. It goes with lots of things.

8. Other than books and movies I like older hats. They look very cool and interesting to me and make fun decorations.

9. The ocean for both. Even though I never grew up by it I just find it very soothing to me for some reason.

10. Colors. They can represent more than what someone is telling me to think (aka lyric questions).

11. Glasses. Eyes are too sensitive for contacts.

12. That she’s big and not shy about it since she can’t help her weight for the most part.

13. Pencil. I’m a fast writer so I make a lot of mistakes usually.

14. My back porch or backyard in general. It doesn’t face anything but the trees so it feels very private and uniquely mine.

15. Only one since my wife and I are too forgetful to have more lol. And maybe? It’s technically my wife’s but she forgets about it all the time… poor lil cactus.

16. A very oversized dark grey one with a family friend’s tattoo company logo on it. I got it on sale as it was the last one and not selling well, I like it because it makes me feel small.

17. Like five books hahaha… all from different series that I have one or two of on my shelf already.

18. When they discovered Tenochtitlan. Experiencing the wonder they experienced while first seeing the city would be amazing.

19. I dressed up as a spunky dark fairy once and loved the hell out of it despite having to wear a winter coat.

20. Algebra.

21. Uhh.. I think it’s called Starry Night Over the Rhine? It’s by Van Gogh and basically like that famous stars one but a different perspective I guess.

22. Iced.

23. Love songs. Idk why they’re just the easiest for me to sing.

24. Perhaps too aggressive at times but I’d like to think so. I at least use my blinker.

25. Yep. I want lots more tattoos and my nipples pierced.

26. More so a cook than a baker though I guess I could bake if I focused more. Don’t really have a specialty unless making a family recipe is one lol.

27. Just one amethyst skull, it’s got some creamy white lines and it’s supposed to be a good stone for protection.

28. Oh yeah. I definitely do, been called a mermaid most of my life as a joke.

29. Nope.

30. Yeah. I hang my shirts to the far left, then pants, then like: seasonals and fancy stuff. Then hoodies and bras.

31. Nails, hair, hips I think.

32. One of those iridescent rainbow looks 😍.

33. Earbuds.

34. Easily.

35. When I was little my favorite was a pink dog with a heart nose named Valentine. He went EVERYWHERE with me but uhh… at some point I became convinced he was haunted by something. That’s a story for another time if anyone’s curious.

36. Air hockey.

37. As long as they’re respectful of my space and let me know if they’re behind me.

38. I really like classical piano pieces actually. They really soothe me and not many people would guess that about me probably.

39. Realizing I didn’t sleep until 7pm lmao.

40. Apple. They hold lots of fond childhood memories for me.

41. Black pepper and rose.

42. A few. I think my favorite is the pixel coloring one, since it lets you upload your own photos to draw.

43. On. Fear of the dark is really a bitch.

44. Put it in my Toothless piggy bank.

45. No hahaha. I wrote too hard and fast usually, and even if I slow down it looks like a young kids.

46. I think a band? That or a podcast.

47. When the weather is nice.

48. I mean… I prefer plastic over porcelain but that’s about it.

49. Read a good book.

50. The air is cold but not freezing, indirect air is being pushed in from the ac with a slight hum. Silky sheets and pillow cases with a light fuzzy blanket that’s big enough to keep me underneath despite me tossing and turning. Also a body pillow with a stuffed animal to cuddle.

50 Questions Just Because

What are three shows in your watchlist that you’ve been meaning to get to?

Describe your favorite pair of socks

Do you like smoothies?

What do you wear when you have to dress nicely?

How do you like your eggs?

What do you use to keep your place when you’re reading a book?

What color dominates your closet?

Do you collect anything? If so, what?

What sounds or scents calm you down?

What’s your favorite kind of uquiz question? (Lyric, color, aesthetic, etc)

Do you wear glasses or contacts?

What’s something about your best friend that you love?

Do you prefer to write in pen or pencil?

What are some places where you feel most at home?

Do you have any houseplants? Do any of them have names?

Describe your favorite hoodie. How long have you had it? What makes it unique?

What’s the last thing you ordered online?

What’s one historical event that you would have liked to have witnessed?

What’s your favorite Halloween costume from when you were a kid?

What kind of math are you best at?

What’s your favorite period in art history, your favorite famous work and/or your favorite style of art? If you don’t know any that’s ok!

Iced or hot drinks?

Which songs do you like to sing in the shower?

Are you a good driver?

Do you have any piercings or tattoos? Are there any that you want?

Can you cook or bake? If so, what are some of your specialties?

Do you have any keychains on your home or car keys? Describe them!

Can you swim very well? Do you like swimming?

Did you play with Legos as a kid? What was your favorite set?

Is your closet organized? If so, how?

What’s the last music video you watched?

If you could dye your hair any color, regardless of how you think it would look, what color would you choose?

Headphones or earbuds?

Can you read analog clocks?

Describe your favorite stuffed animal, either now or from when you were a kid.

What’s an arcade or table game (air hockey, ping pong, etc) that you’re really good at?

Do you mind if others are in the kitchen when you’re cooking or baking?

What’s one show you watch or musician you listen to that your friends know nothing about?

What was the best part of your day today?

What’s your favorite kind of tree?

What scent is your deodorant?

Do you have any games on your phone? If so, which one(s) is/are your favorite?

Do you shower with the lights on or off?

What do you do with spare change?

Do you have good handwriting?

What’s the last thing a friend recommended to you that you looked into and actually liked?

Do you like to go on walks?

Do you have a favorite plate or bowl?

What’s your favorite thing to do when it’s raining?

Describe your perfect sleeping conditions

[soupspkmncorner]

mort lore. this is the sinnoh/hisui guy aka legions other cousin

he/him, 24, name is short for mortem (as in postmortem. that is his nicholasname but mortem is his Full Legal First Name)

sinnohian, family has pearl clan ties

great-great-great grandson of my hisuian warden oc (sitrine, the warden for the noble luxray - the lady of the bogs) (THIS IS WHY THIS ENTIRE FAMILY!! WORKS WITH LUXRAY!!!) (debating on making an original hisuian luxray for this but also Im Love Luxray As Is)

has an older brother named belian that lives in kanto (this is a common trope for my self-inserts. like legion also has an older brother named murmur) (belian might pop up eventually ;3)

beat the elite four but not cynthia

used to work at hearthome city gym with a nonstandard team (luxray that knows mostly dark-type moves, rotom, gengar, mismagius, mimikyu [from legion])

he now rehabilitates pokemon with lasting issues, started with his kadabra and empoleon that were both disabled due to battle-related issues (these have whole stories)

still trains pokemon from when he was a kid! hes had luxray, gengar, and mismagius since he started training

his house is fucken Huge with a Massive backyard to accommodate all of his pokemon. he actually lives on the site of the noble luxrays arena 💪 he moved there on purpose and its a very important place for the whole family tree

HE GOT HIS ASS SENT BACK TO HISUI!!!! AND PICKED UP BY THE DIAMOND CLAN LMAO

currently writing the hisuian pokedex in exchange for shelter and food from the diamond clan

he is not a member of the survey corps team but knows they exist, hes just doing his best to survive while also indulging his autism bc pokemon biology is his special interest

queens out with mai and melli whenever he can.. besties (he is also friends with arezu and adaman)

VERY upset that like half of the wild pokémon want to attack him when he has so much love in his heart for them all

[jacensolodjo]

My parents are pretending they never said they were considering rehoming Toby because he wasn't turning out to be the dog mom wanted aka he liked cuddling with me best and that she would just put him on the ground while she did her sewing and Bible study instead of held him and then wondered why he didn't bond. lmao

Instead it's exclusively that mum can't take care of him while dad's TDY.

So now nobody gets to have him but especially me and they're wondering why I'm so upset and where I'm getting the idea that I think it's that he bonded to me that he's getting rehomed. And I feel like it's my fault too that I can't help take care of him because there's a huge lip to get out to the backyard. I can help feed him but I can't take him outside. lmao

Shana Tova to me. What a sweet fucking year it already is right

[jimothystu]

Tag Game: what are five cool/random facts about you?

thanks @make-me-imagine! <3

Writing Star Trek fanfiction is what really inspired me/got me into writing full-length stories.

I am a school junkie (aka nerd). I have a college certificate, an undergrad degree, and I'm planning on going back to school to do a second undergrad and then do a teaching degree and just spend my life at school :')

When I was 8 or 9 I think, me, my sister, my cousins, and my aunt recreated scenes from Lord of the Rings at the playground near my house. Full on used sticks as swords and garbage can lids as shields. And we got my dad to film it. The videos will never see the light of day lmfao.

When I was 4 my dad and sister and I saw a wild bunny in our backyard on Easter morning. We have never seen a wild bunny since (and still live in the same house so I'd know if there were bunnies nearby)

At one point I had over 800 stuffed animals. I had bunkbeds and the top bunk was just filled with stuffed animals. It was actually amazing lmao. And (sidenote) my cats used to sleep up there with the stuffed animals so it was sometimes hard to see them because they just looked like other toys lmao.

tagging @donttelltheelff @frostysfrenzy @30-x-family @lam-ila and @may-the-puck-be-with-you

[skachacharealsmooth]

sonic au where everything is the same but silver does normal kid stuff like goes to school and does his homework and drinks chocolate milk at lunch and has friends. i mean it would still be the future but also he has to take history class and learn abt events he was firsthand involved in. lol.

[lemonade-of-gods]

TGCF fandom- for the Ask Game

The first character I first fell in love with: Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: Jun Wu. God he's a bastard, but writing him is so fun. Yes bastard man, go and do bastardy things so that I can kick your ass later. I prefer Jiggy to him but he still has a special place in my heart jdshfghsd

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: It's not that I hate him, but I can't bring myself to love Mu Qing as much as everyone does. Western fans kinda go overboard in their Mu Qing defense (which is the direct opposite with Jiang Cheng lmao) and I'm sorry but Mu Qing is not the "eat-the-rich" guy you think he is.

Doesn't mean that I hate him tho. I think witnessing the hualian statues fuck in his backyard is enough punishment lmao

The character I love that everyone else hates: ... TOUGH QUESTION BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THE FANDOM ACTUALLY HATES ANYONE??? (mdzs on the other hand... I HAS OPINIONS)

I do hate the dumbass take that Hua Cheng is a creepy stalker because of the thousand statues and the papapa fanart of dianxia though (for example, in hinduism the linga (representing Shiva) is legit a symbol of Lord Shiva's phallus entering Parvati's womb (the disk the linga is placed on, aka the Yoni) + various real life poets have thirsted on paper for our gods. I assure you, this is not the creepiness you think it is)

The character I used to love but don’t any longer: I like Mei Nianqing, but dude is horrible to Mu QIng. That insecurity did not come from nowhere (honestly, there's no character that I don't love anymore, they're all okay to me)

The character I would totally smooch: Pei Ming sir I am hoe for u (u and Yushi Huang, my favourite threesome!)

(... of gods on a mission. Whatchu looking at me for?)

The character I’d want to be like: Yushi Huang. She's the one goddess that's practically untouchable + she does her own thing and no one disturbs her and everyone else is happy. I am very okay being a rain master lol.

The character I’d slap: Look, I think Book 4 Mu Qing should be slapped once to understand that STANDING AROUND WATCHING YOUR FRIEND BE BULLIED INSTEAD OF DOING SOMETHING, ANYTHING IS BAD. SUPER BAD. YOU'VE BEEN IN THAT POSITION, YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS LIKE. BRO.

A pairing that I love: Hualian, Junmei, Beefleaf...

A pairing that I despise: For some reason I've never gotten on board with PeiShui. And anything that pairs hualian with other people is not up my alley, sowwy

[avasghost]

When We Drown Update #2

[image description: a pale blue photo of a rocky cliff, and a boy at the edge in the distance, standing on a pile of rocks and looking down. in white serif font in the centre, reads “when we drown: update two” / end id]

wip intro here. first writing update here. 

DISCLAIMER: this is my original work, please do not plagiarize in any way.

hi everyone! it’s been a while since i did a writing update (time is fast) and i’ve written quite a lot! up until about a week ago i was in a really, really bad writing slump (which lasted like,,, four months) and so that’s why there hasn’t been a crane anatomy update for a ages because (: i haven’t been writing it (:

i don’t know if i mentioned this in the first update, but this book is now non-linear which has been an ~adventure! the non-linear plotline is kind of freeing because i can just pick a scene i want to write from any time in april’s life and just ... write it? i don’t have to follow the years chronologically. i try to create some kind of causal thread between the scenes but i don’t know how well that’s working out lmao. since WWD follows an entire life story with the protagonist looking back on it and remembering her life, i try to make her memory of one event trigger the memory of the next event, and usually they’re linked by either emotion or information.

current word count: 13,228

so when we drown is officially longer than crane anatomy now, despite being the side project! fun.

anyway lets get into the chapters because i have nothing else to say. tw for death, and other trigger warnings are before the individual chapters!

excerpts under the cut.

chapter 5: faces

[image description: a birds eye view of a forest of snowy pine trees. above the trees in black serif font reads “chapter 5: faces” / end id]

this is a very short chapter (a page and a half) which is a flash forward to when april and elena live together in a cabin in the woods sometime in their late forties. elena is asleep in an armchair and april stokes the fireplace, and then goes outside and sees elias’s ghost and then it dissapears (tbh,,, i think a lot of the chapters will be like this oops) this is the second ghost sighting in the book, but at the point when april is 48 it’s almost a regular occurrence! i might end up moving it to later in the book eventually, since i might want the ghost sightings to be in linear order if nothing else is, to keep the main thread of the book in order.

I closed the door of the woodstove, and glanced over my shoulder to see if Elena had been woken by the clanging of metal. She stirred slightly, a familiar face in her nightmare, an unfamiliar face in a familiar dream. Two fingers clenched against the armrest, then became limp again. Half of me wanted her to wake up, to see me, to speak to me, to see the fire bouncing in the grate and be happy for warmth. But again, she needed rest. She needed to be alone for a while, even if that was just in her head. She’d seen her fair share of fire.

also its snowing in november and its british columbia and i know this is unrealistic but! aesthetics are more important than logic we all know that.

[image description: blurry pine trees and a light snow falling in front of them, with a ridge of snow along the bottom. white serif text in the centre reads “The snow-tipped pines that cupped the cabin sagged under the weight of unexpected snowfall. Their fallen needles jotted the snow. The sky was white, spotless, like an expanse of faraway ocean or the inside of a crystal ball.” / end id]

The snow-tipped pines that cupped the cabin sagged under the weight of unexpected snowfall. Their fallen needles jotted the snow. The sky was white, spotless, like an expanse of faraway ocean or the inside of a crystal ball. No birds flitted between the branches, no foxes slunk between the pines. All was still. All was white. I was alone.

and the ghost is seen then disappears as usual and april goes inside again.

You were gone by the time I reached the door again, by the time I stepped inside and Elena stirred in her armchair, by the time I had stepped out of my shoes and gone to stoke the fire again, which was already starting to dwindle.

i like having elias referred to as “you” because its like april is telling the story to him, but he’s not there, so she’s talking to herself, which is very in character for her to do.

chapter 6: the party

[image description: a slope of pine trees with a grassy field at the bottom. mist shrouds the trees in the distance. a dirt path leads through the grass towards a cabin. in the top right corner, reads “chapter 6: the party” / end id]

chapter 6 follows the day before elena’s fifteenth birthday, and then her party the next day. this is a traumatic time for april because she decides she should mention her first elias sighting at the party. obviously people think she’s crazy and so you can guess how that turns out (aka april goes home and cries because she’s a soft bean)

elena has a cool tree in her backyard apparently!! this seems to be a running theme.

Dribbles of leftover sunlight sifted through the branches of the elm tree that ribbed the sky, its roots furrowing the lawn like varicose veins.

i will admit i didn’t finish this chapter and haven’t written most of the party scene yet so i will probably update on the rest of it in my next update (if i’ve written it by then which i probably won’t have but! we’ll see.)

chapter 7: sacred ground

[image description: the ocean stretching into the distance, with small waves. a blurry girl with long brown hair stands in front of it, facing the water. in the middle in white serif font reads “chapter 7: sacred ground” / end id]

the aftermath of the first elias sighting, when april goes and tries to talk to elena about it. i actually don’t know if this or the party comes first and the non-linearness might be catching up to me oops but we’ll just pretend everything makes sense okay <3 

first she tries to decide who to talk to about it and her options are quite limited. she picks elena because she’ll probably take her seriously, and then goes to her house in a state of shock.

I considered my options. Elena: the calm one, either pretending to be wise or really wise. Magnolia: probably less stupid than she made herself out to be. My mother: still crying over a tragedy of five years ago and a tragedy of fifteen years ago and the tragedy of a lifetime wasted in crowded cult meetings and stark bedrooms, tears always falling, thoughts either always whirlwinding or too dead to pay attention to. I found myself winding up the jittery pathway to Elena’s house, or maybe it was me that was jittery. Maybe it was me, who made the world blurry like this. Maybe it was me who was seeing things, not those things drifting into my line of vision and then falling out of sight. The pearly birches jagged the edges of the valley, their leaves chartreuse in the wind-rustled sunlight.

and then elena rejects her plight and april returns to where she saw elias. turns out elena isn’t as accepting of april’s hallucinations as she was supposed to be! here’s a bit of dialogue i generated from that incorrect quote generator that seems fitting for this moment!

April: Bad things keep happening to me, like I have bad luck or something.

Elena: April, you don't have bad luck. The reason bad things happen to you is because you're a dumbass.

this IS april and this IS elena how does this generator know what my book is about!! anyway back to excerpts:

I ran back to where I had seen you, all slow wonderment vanished, and found the place where my old footsteps in the sand looped around. I knew you wouldn’t be there, I wasn’t surprised that you didn’t appear again, your face bobbing in a rice paper mist. I wasn’t surprised that Elena didn’t chase me out, eyes drained of tears, to apologize. And I wasn’t surprised that from that point forward, I thought of that place as sacred.

chapter 8: always falling

[image description: a blurred black-and-white close-up image of water falling. white serif font in the center reads “always falling: chapter 8″ / end id]

tw: death, drowning, blood, fantasizing about drowning

eight-year-old april and magnolia visit a waterfall with magnolia’s parents. feat. april’s dog, august!

The waterfall coiled down the cliff face, cracking the surface of the river like a thousand strands of thunder. I could hardly hear Magnolia’s parents shouting something up ahead, their voices lost in the blare of water.

shortly after:

When I heard suspension bridge, I pictured one from old fairytales I read: wooden, burlap ropes for railings. A thirty percent chance of falling in. I was reassured by the stability, but August shivered at the way it jilted underfoot. He had never walked on ground that shifted under his feet, maybe it was an earthquake, maybe the ground was breaking in.

and here’s sweet eight-year-old April fantasizing about what it would be like to drown. If you think that’s foreshadowing no it isn’t 👁👁

[image description: a slightly grainy photo, half water and half sky, both tinted turquoise. a hand lifts out of the water toward the sky. above the hand in white serif font, reads “What it would feel like to drown, water snagging in my lungs, sharp stones shattering my ribcage until the entire river turned to blood. Being sucked by the current until someone finally found my body, far from where I lost it.” / end id]

I stared over the edge, tried to pierce the thick buzz of mist that separated me from what would be the teeth of my fall. I imagined the bridge giving way, like it always did in the stories I read. One end breaking, the ropes snapping, the entire bridge swinging into the bottomless river. What it would feel like to drown, water snagging in my lungs, sharp stones shattering my ribcage until the entire river turned to blood. Being sucked by the current until someone finally found my body, far from where I lost it. Maybe it would be an old fisherman, hauling a girl in with the day’s catch, or his frail wife, who would faint on the spot at the sight of a dead child, bloodied and mangled and already tearing apart.

they cross the suspension bridge, and august unfortunately falls in! this is just a bit of april’s childhood trauma and i wish i didn’t have to cause her this pain but i do i’m sorry 😭

chapter 9: dead letters

[image description: a close up sheet of paper with a few lines of cursive writing across it. a fountain pen lies across the page. in the bottom right hand corner, a black serif font reads “chapter 9: dead letters” / end id]

a very young april and elias get caught in a hailstorm then go inside and find letters from their father, who they never met because he still lives in the cult their mother escaped from the day april was born. their mother tries to hide the letters from them but! these children do not relent. 

We tracked through the colourful forest in autumn, our rubber boots tore trails through the scattered maple leaves. Pronged pinecones crackled under my heels as I chased you, threading between the trees.

I was eight, you were faster but I managed to keep up all the same. A haze of rain sizzled on my skin, but rain didn’t phase me back then. I didn’t mind the water droplets that pearled down my neck into the hem of my bright yellow rain jacket.

they escape from the hailstorm and find their mother in the kitchen making tea (rare!) 

When we tripped over the doorframe and found ourselves panting in the kitchen, the kettle wheezed and mother emerged from her bedroom to take it off. The scent of green tea wafted through the air as she poured it, steaming, into a ceramic teacup with a crack veining down the side.

april tries to take one of the letters but her mother stops her. later during the night, she and elias get out of bed and read the letters and it turns out their father left the cult as well, and wants to meet up with them. april wants to meet him, but elias is bitter about it and doesn’t really even consider him their father because he was never there for them. 

chapter 10: frostbite

[image description: two pale hands reach towards the sky, in front of a blurry indigo background. in the top left corner, white serif font reads “chapter 10: frostbite” / end id]

tw: freezing to death

there are those weird times when their mom tells stories about her life. these incidents never end well but happen occasionally! she tells april about a time when her and a few other cult members were in the mountains and one of them froze to death. at this point april is around fifteen (which is where the main plot of the book is at right now)

She cut off there, blanched, stared out the window at the sun-speckled backyard, but I could fill in the rest of the details myself: skin a cold stone blue, frostbite jittering through the lungs and spine like a poison, eating everything slowly. Lying in the snow, letting the cold overcome them. Dead before morning. I wanted to ask if they buried the body, dug a grave of snow that would be melted by spring, or just left the corpse lying in the snow for someone else to find, or be eaten by a wolf pack, or to deteriorate, and haunt those lonely slopes forever.

afterwards, april goes outside (yes its snowing again 😭 as someone who dislikes snow i sure write about it a lot) 

On those days, my desperation to leave the house rose to a high and I would slide into a pair of ragged sneakers and a cable-knit sweater and push out into the cold. Once vibrant green leaves now greyed with frost, a snowfall months early but not unwelcome. Striking before the trees had the chance to shed their leaves. Frost brittled the branches of the oaks so I could snap them without an effort, not that I wanted to snap them. The concrete of the road was spined with ice that made it look like the ground was caving in, icicles barbed the eaves of our house like jagged teeth. Sometimes I thumbed snow into my mouth like a child, hoping no one was watching a seventeen-year-old eat snow, and let it blot my tongue and dribble down my throat. The cold shock to my system helped clear my mind of whatever mother had been talking about, helped me cope with the pain I shouldn’t have been feeling in the first place.

aaannd that’s everything i’ve written so far! this has been the worst writing slump of my life and i’m not too happy with most of the stuff i’ve written lately, but hopefully that clears up so i can update y’all again soon!

- ava

wips taglist (ask to be added or removed!) @shaelinwrites​ @august-iswriting​ @wildswrites @nodeadnarrators @annlillyjose @shaonharryandpannisim @letsgetsquiggly @strangerays @mel-writes-with-her-dragons @dallonswords @teaandtypewriters @chewingthescenery​ @kahaaniyaa @coffeeandcalligraphy @47crayons​ @writing-is-a-martial-art​​

[prouvaireafterdark]

Petrichor

aka the long-awaited Sad Buffy Fic™️ 🐶 This got smuttier than I’d planned, but what else is new lmao

Also: Canon compliance? Don’t know her (I also don’t fully understand the schematics of Alex’s house, but let’s just pretend I do).

Also on AO3!

(Oh, and Happy Season Four Renewal!)

***

“Your dog’s a little weird, dude.”

Alex sighs. “Yeah, I know.”

Outside, his beagle Buffy has been frantically running around and barking at the air for the last thirty minutes. There’s not a squirrel or bird in sight.

“Is she always like this?” Kyle asks, turning away from the window that faces Alex’s backyard to look at him.

“No, usually she’s pretty mellow,” Alex says, passing him a cup of coffee. He takes a sip from his own mug to stall before he finally admits, “She only gets like this when it rains.”

“Huh,” Kyle says, considering it for a moment before he adds, “Layla always hated the rain. Remember when we used to have to bribe her with peanut butter to get her to go on walks if it was too cloudy?”

Alex remembers. Kyle’s childhood German shepherd was usually fearless, but put her near any liquid that wasn’t in her water dish and she’d run with her tail between her legs.

If only it were that simple with Buffy.

“It’s not the rain that’s making her do that,” he explains, looking down into his mug. “Well, I guess it is, but not—not like you’re probably thinking.”

Kyle processes that a moment before he speaks up.

“Are you gonna tell me what’s up, or am I gonna have to guess?”

Alex sighs again. “She misses Michael.”

Kyle looks skeptical. “How do you know?”

Because I miss him too, is on the tip of his tongue, but Alex hesitates. As melancholic as the rain makes him, he’s not interested in spilling his guts over it.

“Because Michael smells like rain,” he says instead. “It’s an alien biology thing, apparently, but you probably would know more about that than I do.”

“Oh my god,” Kyle says, eyes wide and sympathetic. “Are you saying she’s looking for him out there right now?”

Alex nods. “She’ll give up in about an hour, but, yeah. She smells rain and she thinks he’s home.”

“That is so fucking sad.”

“I know,” he sighs, and turns around to go find a seat on the couch.

“Like, Sarah McLachlan in those ASPCA commercials level sad,” Kyle continues as he follows him, taking a seat on the other side of the couch. “Wait, did you guys adopt her together? Like, as a couple?”

Alex considers how to answer that. “No. We were together—I guess as much as we ever were—when I got her, and he went with me to pick her up from the shelter, but she’s not—he didn’t adopt her with me. He was just around a lot when I first brought her home.”

“Mmm, I see,” Kyle says, understanding. “Maybe you should call him.”

“What?” Alex asks.

“You know, invite him over,” Kyle says, like it’s obvious. “Ask if he wants to come play with her a little.”

“What?” Alex asks again, looking at him like he’s grown a second head.

“Look, I may not be a veterinarian, but you don’t need years of specialized training to see that your dog misses her dad,” Kyle says.

Alex raises an incredulous eyebrow.

“Well, her other dad,” he amends a moment later.

Alex shakes his head. “He’s not—That’s ridiculous.“

“Is it? He was here when she was a puppy, man,” Kyle counters. “They’ve clearly got a strong bond if she’s missing him that bad.”

Alex knows he’s right, but… he can’t just call Michael and ask if he wants to come play with Buffy.

Sure, he and Michael have been on good terms lately—great, even, now that they have a common goal and have learned how to actually communicate without having two totally different conversations.

But, months ago now, Michael asked him to stay away. He told Alex he didn’t want to be with him anymore, that it hurt too much, and Alex understands that, really he does, and he’s been trying so hard to maintain the boundaries Michael wants while still being there for him any way he can.

And if he invites Michael over right now, it won’t be because it’s something Michael needs from him. It’ll be because it’s a miserable, rainy day, and Alex and his adorably stupid dog miss him.

And if Alex is being honest with himself… he doesn’t know what he’ll do if he calls Michael and Michael says no. Not right now, not when Michael’s absence in his life, in his home, feels like an ugly, gaping wound.

“Just think about it,” Kyle says. “You never know, maybe he’s been missing her too.”

When Kyle leaves an hour later, Alex registers the quiet and realizes Buffy’s stopped barking. Finally, he thinks, until he goes to the back door and sees her slumped up against the glass, looking absolutely fucking miserable.

“Fuck,” he says, with feeling.

He opens the door and scoops her up off the ground. She’s a little wet from the start of the drizzle, but once she rests her head on his shoulder and huffs despondently he can’t bear to put her back down. He takes her over to the couch and draws the blanket around the both of them, hoping he can cheer her up with enough kisses and pats.

With the smell of Michael so thick in the air, he’s not surprised it doesn’t work.

He stays there with her until hunger beckons him toward the kitchen to make both of them dinner. When Buffy won’t touch her kibble, Alex scoops some leftover grilled chicken, rice, and veggies from his own plate into her bowl. It works, thankfully, but when she’s done she curls up on the floor with a sigh and Alex’s heart breaks just looking at her.

He ends up lying down on the floor next to her, his head cushioned by a pillow he dragged off the couch. The rain really starts coming down outside then, and Buffy starts to whine.

“I know, baby girl,” he says, curling more tightly around her. “I miss him too.”

He’s not sure how long he stays there before his phone buzzes in his pocket. He fishes it out to see a text from Kyle.

Did you call him yet?

Alex sighs and rolls onto his back, his hip aching with the movement. He stares at the ceiling for a long moment, weighing the pros and cons, until Buffy huffs a huge, sad sigh again and he just can’t fucking stand it anymore.

“Fuck it,” he says to himself and takes out his phone again.

He doesn’t end up calling Michael. Instead, he texts him a picture of Buffy without a caption.

His phone vibrates a minute later.

Aww, why’s my girl look so sad?

Alex isn’t proud of the noise he makes when he reads that. He types his response, then deletes it, and then types it again. Nerves coil tight in his stomach when he sends it.

Kyle seems to think she misses her other dad. Wanna come over?

Alex drops his phone on his chest so he doesn’t stare at it. It’s another long, long minute before his phone buzzes again. He takes a breath before he reaches for it.

Michael’s reply is just three words.

On my way

Buffy barely lifts her head up off the floor when there’s a knock at the front door. Alex walks down the hall to answer it, massaging the tight muscles in his right thigh as he goes. He straightens up when he reaches the door and opens it to find Michael standing there, looking gorgeous as ever in a dark green flannel that’s unbuttoned practically to the middle of his chest, his curls a little damp from the rain.

“Hey,” Alex smiles, stepping aside to let Michael in. “Thanks for coming.”

“How could I say no to that cute face?” he replies, but the way Michael looks him over as he says it makes Alex wonder whether he’s actually talking about Buffy.

He doesn’t have long to ponder that particular nugget of information, though, because once Michael’s voice carries into the house, Alex hears the frantic sound of Buffy’s nails scraping his hardwood floors. Michael gasps a little theatrically when Buffy rounds the corner, barking as she barrels toward him at full speed down the hallway.

“Hi, baby girl,” he coos, crouching down to her level.

When she’s finally in front of him, she spins in excited circles at his feet, barking and panting while Michael pets her everywhere he can reach. It takes her a minute, but eventually she stops moving long enough to prop herself up on Michael’s knee so she can alternate between licking his chin and staring up at him with abject love and affection, her tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth.

It’s the happiest Alex has seen her in—God, he can’t even remember. He’d feel a little put out about it if he didn’t understand it on a deeply visceral level. When she looks up at Alex as if to say Look! He’s back! Alex can’t help but bend down to pet her too.

For his part, Michael seems similarly affected. “Oh, I know, baby, I missed you too, I missed you too,” he’s saying with a wide smile. His eyes are wet when he looks at Alex and Alex’s throat grows tight with feeling.

Did Michael need this as much as Buffy did? Alex wonders when Michael breaks eye contact.

“Oh god, uh, Alex?” Michael says suddenly, pulling him from his thoughts. “I think she had an accident.”

Alex spots the small puddle beneath her when Michael gets his hands under her arms and lifts her up onto her back legs.

“Shit, I’m sorry, hang on,” Alex says, making for the kitchen. “Make sure she doesn’t step in it!” he calls back on the way. He grabs the paper towels and some cleaner from the cabinet under the sink and heads back into the living room. “Sorry, she’s just excited,” he explains when he gets there.

“So I gathered,” Michael says, but there’s no hint of annoyance in his voice or on his face.

Alex cleans the mess quickly, and by the time he’s thrown out the used paper towels and washed his hands thoroughly Michael’s found himself on the couch in Alex’s living room. He’s lying back against the couch with Buffy on his chest, scratching right behind her hears as he talks to her.  

Seeing them like that reminds him of the first week they brought her home. He has a photo of the two of them sleeping on the couch together, her tiny head stuffed under his chin, and Alex’s heart aches remembering it. He wishes he’d been strong enough to tell Michael what he wanted. Maybe if he had, Michael wouldn’t be rebounding from his short-lived relationship with Maria and Alex and Buffy wouldn’t both be missing him so fucking bad all the time.

“Alex?”

“Yeah?” Alex asks, realizing he’s been standing there in silence for a few minutes.

“You okay?” Michael asks as he gives him an assessing look, his hand paused on Buffy’s back.

Alex realizes this is the first time in a long time that anyone’s asked him that.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he lies, on instinct more than anything else. “You want something to drink?”

“I’d love a beer,” he says, and Alex welcomes the opportunity for a tactical retreat.

“You got it.”

He collects himself in the kitchen while he grabs two beers from the fridge, uncapping them before he walks back into the living room. Alex hands Michael his beer on his way to sit down on the other end of the couch.  

“Thanks,” Michael smiles as he takes the bottle Alex offers. Buffy sniffs the bottle when he goes to take a sip, but Michael holds it out of reach and explains, “No, this isn’t for puppies.”

Alex can’t help but laugh as he props his left elbow on the back of the couch to watch them.

Michael takes a long pull from the bottle and then sets it down on the end table next to him so he can keep petting Buffy uninterrupted.

“She really did miss me, huh?” Michael wonders aloud, as if the very idea that someone would is novel or unbelievable.

“Of course she did,” Alex says, placing his beer on the coffee table and scooting closer so he can pet her with his right hand. He doesn’t quite realize until it’s too late that he’s put himself right next to Michael, his right bicep almost brushing Alex’s chest. He studiously keeps his eyes on Buffy as he adds, “She loves you.”

Out of the corner of Alex’s eye, he sees Michael’s mouth turn up in a soft smile. “I love her too.”

They chat idly while Buffy soaks up Michael’s attention—Michael tells Alex all about a new experiment he’s working on with Liz that has exciting implications for something Alex would need at least two astrophysics degrees to understand, and Alex shares that he’s been keeping himself busy with music again, much to Michael’s delight.

After years of going back and forth between fucking Michael and fighting with him, it’s nice to just talk to him for a change.

The conversation makes its way back around to Buffy when she shuffles her way up Michael’s chest to fit her nose right under his chin, her eyes drifting shut for a nap. When Michael laughs and drops a kiss on the soft patch of fur between her eyes, Alex’s finds the strength to take Kyle’s advice.

“Look, I, um,” Alex starts, shifting on the couch, “I was actually thinking maybe you could… come around sometimes. To play with her.”

“What, like visitation?” Michael asks with an eyebrow raised. “I get joint custody on the weekends?”

Alex can’t help but laugh. “You make it sound like she’s our kid.”

And, wow, he should not have vocalized that thought because as soon as the words are out of his mouth Alex is hit by a whole fucking wave of feelings he does not have the time nor the ability to unpack right now, and by the look of it so is Michael.

“Hey, you’re the one who called me her dad,” Michael points out, a second too late for it to sound completely casual.

“Technically, Kyle did,” Alex flushes, but gestures to where Buffy is snuggled into his neck, finally at peace. “But look at her. She misses you.”

“Just her, huh?” Michael asks, so quietly that for a second Alex thinks he’s imagined it, but then Michael’s hand slides down from the back of Buffy’s neck to cover Alex’s own where it’s resting on her back.

Alex’s mouth goes dry. He chances a look at Michael, and what a fucking mistake that is because Michael’s honey-gold eyes are staring right at him and Alex forgets how to breathe.

“You miss me, too, Alex?” Michael asks, something that sounds a little like hope in his voice.

Alex looks at Michael for a moment, his head and heart at war the way they always are when it comes to him.

“Yeah,” Alex finally admits, a bone-deep exhaustion hitting him as the confession crosses his lips. “I do.”

Michael nods, processing that. “I miss you too,” he says after a long minute, his thumb stroking over the back of Alex’s hand, and Alex fights against the urge to pull his hand away because this doesn’t just feel important, it feels fucking monumental, but how can he even think with Michael touching him like that?

“Stop,” Alex begs softly. “Please. If you don’t mean it, or if you’re not ready, I need you to stop.”

When Michael doesn’t say anything, Alex closes his eyes, the inside of his bottom lip caught tight between his teeth to keep from losing it. He’s felt like he’s on the edge of something all day and Michael sitting here, teasing him with the offer of more, it’s just too much.

Alex feels Michael let go of his hand, feels Buffy disappear from under his palm, hears his leather couch squeak under Michael’s shifting weight and fuck how has he fucked this up already, he’s barely even said anything—

Alex flinches when he feels the warmth of Michael’s palm against his cheek.

“Alex,” he whispers. “Open your eyes.”

Alex does, swallowing hard as he meets Michael’s gaze, his eyes shining with tears.

“I mean it,” Michael tells him, his expression sincere.

“You do?” he asks hesitantly.

“Of course, I do,” Michael says, leaning in to gently knock their foreheads together. Alex’s heart aches at Michael’s closeness, the familiarity with which Michael touches him. He never thought he’d get to experience it again. “God, Alex, I miss you so much I can’t breathe sometimes, I—”

Alex closes the distance between them without a second thought, finding Michael’s lips as warm and soft as he remembers. He pulls back a second later to apologize for cutting Michael off, for moving too quickly when he’s not even sure what exactly Michael wants, but Michael just makes a hurt noise low in his throat and follows after him for another taste, and then another.

Michael presses further and further into his space until Alex’s back hits the couch cushions with a soft thud, the top of his head brushing the armrest. Alex pulls away from Michael’s mouth with a slick sound, and as he gasps for air, Michael attaches his lips to a tender spot beneath his jaw and sucks, igniting a fire low in Alex’s belly that threatens to consume him.

He can feel himself getting hard as Michael worms his way even closer. He guides Alex’s left leg to rest against the back of the couch as he settles his solid weight between his thighs, continuing to pepper his throat with wet, sucking kisses all the while. It’s not until Michael dips his tongue into the hollow of his throat that Alex’s hips lurch upward of their own accord, seeking the kind of relief only Michael can give him.

“Michael,” Alex moans, eyes slipping closed as his restless fingers weave into Michael’s curls.

Michael hums his response and slips his hands under Alex’s ass, encouraging him to grind their cocks together through the fabric of their jeans. It’s rough and hot, too much and not nearly enough, and along with his spiking pleasure comes the daunting thought that they’re moving too fast—that they’re about to make the same mistake they always do.

“Fuck, wait, we should—“ he begins to protest, but Michael interrupts him, groaning unhappily against the neckline of his t-shirt before he lifts his head to look at him. Alex’s eyes skip down to Michael’s mouth automatically, that tempting shade of pink making it very hard to remember what he was thinking two seconds ago.

“Don’t tell me what we should do,” Michael begs him, drawing Alex’s attention back up his face, to where his eyes are wide and more than a little desperate. “What do you want?”

Alex stares at him as that question hits his ears, a “What I want doesn’t matter” already on the tip of his tongue before his brain even catches up with him. He’s spent so long carrying those words in his head and in his heart that he barely notices their weight anymore—not until it’s Michael staring back at him and offering him everything he’s ever dreamed of.

This time’s no different, and Michael must see it on his face because the look in his eyes softens along with his voice as he asks again, “What do you want, Alex?” He reaches up to cup the side of his face, his thumb brushing featherlight across his cheekbone. “I’ll give you anything.”

Alex swallows roughly, his eyes burning with tears he can barely hold back.

“You,” he answers, perhaps more honest than he’s ever been. His voice trembles as he adds, “I just want you.”

A brittle smile breaks out on Michael’s face, his eyes shining in the lamplight before they flutter closed as he leans back down to kiss him again, slow and deep and wet.

Heat starts to simmer between between them once again, the soft press of Michael’s mouth and the tease of his tongue driving all other thought from Alex’s mind. Michael works his hands slowly under his t-shirt and Alex hardly notices it happening until Michael rolls his thumb over one of his nipples, sending a jolt of pleasure straight to his groin.

Alex groans and shivers at the sensation, using his prosthetic—planted firmly on the floor now—for any traction he can get to press his hips up into Michael’s lap.

Michael smirks against his mouth, and Alex can’t help but catch Michael’s full bottom lip between his teeth in retaliation, making Michael whimper so sweetly that Alex lets him go and soothes the bite with his tongue almost immediately.

Michael gives him one last kiss before he pushes Alex’s shirt as far up his chest as it can go and dips down to latch his mouth over his right nipple. Alex sighs and drops his head back against the cushions, his cock thickening even further as Michael teases it into a hard bud with his lips and teeth and tongue, playing with the other between his thumb and forefinger. He tugs it between his teeth and Alex gasps, arching his back and pressing his chest more firmly against Michael’s mouth.

After a few more minutes of teasing, Michael starts a slow slide downward, trailing wet kisses along the way as he charts a path down Alex’s belly toward the wiry hair peeking out above his belt.

“You want my mouth, ‘Lex?” Michael asks before dragging his tongue along the sensitive skin just above the waistband of his jeans.

Alex’s stomach clenches as he pictures it—Michael going down on him with singleminded focus, looking up at him beneath his lashes as he sucks on the head before taking him deeper, sinking down until the tip of his cock is snug inside his throat. He’s always looked so good with his head between Alex’s thighs.

His cock throbs painfully at the thought, desperate for Michael’s attention, but there’s something else on Alex’s mind right now, something he wants with a ferocity he can’t quite put into words.

“I do,” he says, softly tugging Michael’s hair to get his attention. “Up here.”

Michael stares at him a moment before he gets it, confusion fading as a fond smile takes its place. He slithers up Alex’s body until he can hover over his face.

“You want me to kiss you when I make you come?” Michael asks him, rubbing his nose along Alex’s cheek.

Alex nods, not trusting his voice.

Michael presses a soft, almost reverent kiss to his cheek.

“I can work with that,” he says, moving closer to his mouth. He kisses him again, not more than a peck, before he sits up and leans back, resting his weight on his knees between Alex’s spread thighs.

Alex mourns the loss of warmth, but he soon forgets it as Michael strips his flannel off his back and tosses it haphazardly behind him, revealing his toned chest and stomach. His mouth runs dry just looking at him and he quickly follows suit, yanking his bunched up t-shirt over his head and letting it fall gracelessly to the floor.

He starts on his jeans next, but Michael’s hands bat his out of the way, one cupping his cock through the denim while the other undoes his belt with practiced efficiency. He teases his crown with the tip of his finger for a torturous moment before Alex groans and he gets with the program, tugging Alex’s jeans and underwear down his hips just far enough to free his cock.

The relief Alex feels at no longer being so constricted is instantaneous, and Michael takes full advantage of the situation, curling his fingers around his shaft and thumbing through the moisture glistening at the tip. He spreads it down the length of him as he starts to jerk him off, not firm or quick enough to make him come, but enough to make the pleasure that’s been building inside him since they started this flare hot and insistent.

Alex catches his bottom lip between his teeth to keep from crying out as his hips twitch upward, fucking his cock into Michael’s grip. When he tears his gaze away from where Michael is playing with him, he sees honey-brown eyes staring back at him.

“What?” Alex asks, flushing under Michael’s attention.

“Nothing,” Michael smiles, shaking his head. “You’re just really fucking pretty like this.”

Alex scoffs at that, but it only makes Michael more insistent.

“You are,” he says defiantly, squeezing his cock a little on the upstroke. Alex tries to bite back the moan building in his throat, but it’s easier said than done. “I mean, you’re always pretty, but when I’ve got my hands on you? Shit, ‘Lex. You don’t know what you do to me.”

“Oh yeah?” he shoots back, eyes drifting south toward the dark spot slowly bleeding through the front of Michael’s jeans. “Why don’t you show me?”

Michael rises to the challenge, letting go of Alex’s cock and getting to work on his ridiculous belt buckle. He shoves his own jeans and underwear down his thighs as quick as he can and seconds later Alex feels Michael caging him in as he covers his body with his own, pressing up into his space to kiss him just like Alex had asked him to.

He feels Michael’s cock poking into his belly, smearing precome against his skin, and Alex hooks his leg around him to bring him closer until their cocks are trapped between them. Alex breaks the kiss for just a moment, just long enough to lick his palm before he slips his hand down his belly to wrap his fingers around them both, making a tight, wet channel for them to fuck into. The sticky mix of spit and precome isn’t nearly as smooth as lube, but it’ll do.

“Uh, fuck,” Michael groans against his mouth as he begins to rock his hips forward in a slow, steady grind. “Been a while since we did it like this, huh?”

Alex hums in agreement as memories of the two of them in the back of Michael’s truck, rutting together on a makeshift mattress that smelled faintly of weed, flash through his mind. A lot’s changed since then, but the drag of Michael’s cock against his still feels just as good.

Michael starts to thrust in earnest then, and Alex’s burns with every slide of his cock against him, with every eager kiss Michael presses to his mouth. His heart is pounding against his ribs and blood is rushing in his ears, nearly but not quite loud enough to drown out all the perfect little sounds Michael keeps making in the back of his throat.

It’s not long before it all overwhelms him and Alex shudders as he comes, his balls drawing up tight and cock pulsing hot and wet between them. He gasps into Michael’s mouth, too far gone to remember how to kiss properly as his pleasure washes over him, inexorable as the ebb and flow of the rising tide and strong enough to pull him under.

Michael follows him a moment later, moaning sharply against Alex’s cheek as he spills over his fist, adding to the mess Alex made. Alex jerks him through it, milking him for all he’s worth until he hides his face in Alex’s neck and starts to whimper, overstimulated. Alex lets him go then and focuses on catching his breath as the last of his pleasure fades.

Michael’s the first to move, bumping his way back toward Alex’s mouth to kiss him again, lips raw and slick where they brush against his mouth. Alex cradles his cheek with his clean palm to hold him there as they trade kisses, neither one of them quite ready to break the spell that drew them back together. Alex loses himself to it, so much so that he barely registers the quiet patter of claws against wood drawing nearer until Buffy hops her front paws up onto the edge of the couch and starts to lick his cheek.

Alex makes a rather undignified noise at the sensation of Buffy’s tongue on his face—not to mention the smell of her breath—and Michael laughs against his mouth before he pulls away to look at her.

“I’m sorry, princess, were we ignoring you?” Michael coos, and Alex isn’t proud of the way Michael’s low, rasping voice makes his spent cock twitch.

Michael reaches over the edge of the couch, feeling around on the floor for a moment, until Alex hears a sharp squeak. Buffy barks happily, lowering down on her front legs and wagging her tail, and Michael throws one of her brightly colored toys as far as he can across the room.

“That ought to buy us 30 seconds,” Michael says, leaning up between Alex’s spread thighs. Michael’s bare chest shines as he reaches over for the box of tissues sitting on the coffee table, sticky with sweat and come. He grabs a few for himself and then offers Alex the box.

Once they’re as clean as they’re going to get, Michael zips up his jeans and gathers their dirty tissues to throw them out. Alex likewise tucks himself away and sits up on the couch, nervously awaiting Michael’s return.

He’s just reaching for his shirt on the floor when Michael comes back, his head cocked to the side as he looks at him curiously.

“What are you doing?” Michael asks, the corner of his lips pulling up into a lopsided smile. Alex gives him a questioning look, but Michael only steps closer and plants his hand on Alex’s chest, pushing him gently to lie back down. “I’m not done with you yet,” Michael explains.

Alex raises an eyebrow, but Michael just settles on his chest once more, tucked between Alex’s body and the back of the couch. He throws one leg over Alex’s thigh and his arm wraps around his waist, his chaotic mop of curls tickling Alex’s nose as he shifts to get comfortable.

The silence between them as they lie there is nice, simple in a way things rarely are for them.

That is, until Alex’s mind starts running away from him, age-old doubts and fears plaguing his thoughts. He loves Michael more than anything, but was falling back into bed so soon a mistake? Can they really make it work this time?

“Stop thinking,” Michael mumbles against his collarbone.

“Sorry,” Alex apologizes with a sigh, dropping a kiss into his curls. “I just…”

“Hm?” Michael prompts him when he doesn’t continue.

Alex takes a breath before he says, “I just can’t believe we just had sex on my couch without actually talking things out first.”

“Really?” Michael asks, leaning up to look at him incredulously. “You can’t believe that?”

“Okay, that’s fair,” Alex concedes with a laugh. “I just meant—I don’t know. I thought the next time we did this, we would be a real couple.”

That’s the wrong thing to say, apparently, because Michael’s face falls a little, his eyes sliding down to stare intently at Alex’s collarbone. He doesn’t pull away from him though, not yet, which Alex hopes means he hasn’t completely fucked this up.

“Who says we’re not?” Michael asks slowly, chancing a look back up at Alex’s face. Alex isn’t sure what he finds there, but it reassures him enough to joke, “I mean, we have shared custody of a fur baby remember? That sounds pretty serious to me.”

Alex laughs at that, his eyes warm and fond and maybe just a little misty.

“I love you,” he says, the words spilling out of him before he can contain them.

His heart seizes in his chest a little at the unexpected admission, but it’s worth it to see the joy on Michael’s face as he presses in close and whispers those words right back at him.

The next time it rains in Roswell, Alex wakes slowly to the sounds of soft laughter, rustling sheets, and raindrops tapping away at the roof overhead. He drifts in that space between sleeping and waking for a few moments, warm and content.

Buffy barks suddenly, pulling Alex firmly into the land of the living. He cracks open an eyelid to see Michael sitting up in bed and a very happy beagle demanding belly scratches on the comforter in front of him.

“Shh, daddy’s sleeping,” Michael scolds gently, and Alex’s heart feels so fucking full.

He rubs the sleep from his eyes and sits up, the movement drawing Michael’s attention.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” Michael says, casting a rueful smile over his shoulder.

Alex smiles and shakes his head, shifting closer so he can rest his head on Michael’s shoulder and pull him back against his chest. He rests his right palm over Michael’s heart, his fingertips dragging lightly through his chest hair.

“Never apologize for being here when I wake up,” Alex says, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck. Michael ducks his head and smiles, his hand coming to rest over Alex’s on his chest.

Alex closes his eyes and breathes deep, the heady scent of petrichor filling his lungs.

Maybe rainy days aren’t so bad.