#luckily his hair is his defining feature haha

[boopliette]

i felt like doodling the enjolrai i’ve seen live, as though i need an excuse to think about enjolras for longer

[shingansoul]

It had been more or less a year since the lord of Four Seasons Manor and his zhi ji had undergone the Combined Six Harmonies method together. It had been two tense weeks waiting for Wen Kexing to awaken afterwards, and since then, Zhou Zishu had taken to noting every little detail of the now snow haired man that he could. Including his more eccentric or erratic behaviors, not just those of frivolity for the sake of shamelessness, but those that had been ingrained into him due to his peculiar and dangerous life led up to this point.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33527692

There were a plethora of such traits to be found if you looked: from his aversions to certain foods or scents (those this one proved less an issue nowadays given circumstances), how he’d relish like a starved man any physical affection he could get and greedily demand even more so, his reluctance to showing weakness or illness yet his longing to be cared for, his soft spot for young children. Not all were so mournful in origin though.

A most peculiar one that had finally caught his attention had first made itself worthy of notice once when Chengling had been out going through form drills in the courtyard sometime soon after their return to the manor. The two elders of the household had been quietly overseeing his practicing from the porch nearby when the child had lost his focus. It was a simple slip, his foot going out from under him and throwing him to the stone patio below. It wasn’t a hard hit or anything, and at first when he was pulling himself up, his shishu had even given a gentle laugh at the student’s klutziness. However, as Chengling picked himself back up, ears tipped red in embarrassment to do something foolish under his shifu’s gaze, Wen Kexing had stopped suddenly and made to quickly make his way over to him.

Chengling had already resumed his previous stance, ready to move into a full circuit of forms once more to move as quickly from the inevitable harsh corrections from his shifu when he felt a firm but gentle hand grip his jaw and turn his face. He awkwardly stumbled into standing upright and still as Wen Kexing suddenly was right next to him and bearing all his attention down on him. He waited, unsure what precisely the other planned to do but nothing could have prepared him for the sensation of hot breath against his face and the sudden chill of something wet on his face as the other pulled away to inspect his “work.”

For Chengling, he at least was certainly free to the many whims of his elders and to his credit, he just blinked owlishly in quiet confusion without complaint. Wen Kexing hummed softly as he turned the child’s face back and forth, his fingers still unmoved from holding his jaw.

“Is that the only place you got yourself scratched, my little idiot?”

Wen Kexing’s voice was genuine but warm and teasing, causing Chengling to relax a bit despite the oddity of all this and he briefly patted himself down before nodding. Satisfied so it seemed, both returned to their places before as if the exchange had not occurred and within a moment a relaxed puddle of robes and white hair had made itself home once more at Zhou Zishu’s side. Said Manor lord could only stare in almost amazement at what he’d seen before quickly turning to watch their young charge practice, forgetting himself to the point of letting the foolish mistake go unspoken of and that had been that.

It wasn’t as if they had been externally injured in ways that brought it out of him often, but to say it wasn’t a noticed behavior by now also wouldn’t be correct either. Zishu certainly had noticed, though had simply been collecting handfuls of these moments to ponder on. Since that day, Zishu had realized the following “rules” with this little ritual of Kexing’s: it was only done for himself, Zishu, and Chengling. It wasn’t for just any external injury, but anything that drew blood would warrant it. If there were tears spilled, this would also be treated like an open wound and warrant the practice.

From various scrapes and injuries training gained by Chengling, to mishaps and resurfaced wounds in Zishu and himself, there had been plenty of passing occurrences but the question that buzzed in Zishu’s mind each time was simply ‘Why?’ Where had this come from, did he do this before and in the mess of everything happening it was simply overlooked?

Zhou Zishu once prided himself on how attentive and insightful he was, he had to be for his line of work once upon-a-time and he could still often be said to be as much now. Yet Wen Kexing had always been an enigma who had not even figured out himself who he was, none alone let others in to see behind his carefully schooled features. So maybe this did go back farther, but how to find out?

An opportunity to pin the man in question down where he couldn’t escape or move around the topic surfaced quite simply some short weeks later.

They were cleaning up the library pavilion once early evening, Chengling had ended up falling asleep while working on some more intricate works from the manuals of the Long Cabinet’s teachings they had collected into the manor once they’d first returned here that time. Upon finding their foolish disciple sprawled across his makeshift worktable, Zishu had prodded him with some gentle nudging to go to his own room to rest and, too tired to think too far ahead, the boy has sleepily nodded and made his slow but sure way to do just that.

This left the two men to clean up behind him, indulging him a bit by collecting his tools and replacing the scrolls and books where they had been taken from. Zishu had not realized all Chengling had brought out to work with, and unthinking grabbed a fairly sharp edged metal scrap piece, slicing a shallow but long cut into his palm. He hissed slightly, more out of surprise than any actual pain but it was enough to quickly call over his partner to inspect what happened.

Upon seeing the blood, Wen Kexing, true to form, had taken and quickly set down everything in Zishu’s hands and with an exhausted huff he grabbed the other by the wrist and the first bend of his fingers and pulled his hand closer to lap gently at the wound. Zishu, waiting a few moments until Wen Kexing had been set into his ‘task’, reached forward a bit with his free hand to ghost his hand against the side of the other’s face, running his thumb over Wen Kexing’s cheek. It was enough to insight a wordless “mm?” which only brought forth a light chuckle of the recipient.

“Lao Wen...have you always done this?”

This got a pause, deep dark eyes darting up to glance up and trying to gauge the emotions and atmosphere behind the question.

“You...you’ll have to be more specific than that A-Xu, I do and say a lot of things.”

A sigh.

“Alright. Have you always licked at the wounds of your family like a mother cat cleans their young? Hm, Lao Wen?”

The words and tone were teasing, but the glance from before had ascertained this wasn’t going to be a conversation he could weasel out of. Slowly but with care, Wen Kexing pulled Zhishu down to kneel where they were; to sit and speak properly about something personal. He placed the other’s still held hand into his lap, palm up, and he slowly but rhythmically began trailing his fingers from knuckle joint to tips over and over.

“Ah….well, it started from something almost laughable when we...when i was still just a teenager. In the valley, it wasn’t as if one could get new and clean supplies at any given moment, often enough what defined cleaning a wound was some spit and torn clothes that didn't have too much blood or dirt on them. I wasn’t always that good at taking care of A-Xiang either..”

he paused, huffing a sad but nostalgic chuckle past his lips.

“Did you know the first time I tried to feed her as a baby, I had burned her mouth? How she didn’t grow to hate me I'll never know.”

Patiently, Zishu moved his uncaptured hand to squeeze his zhi ji’s thigh through his robes. Wen kexing faltered slightly before regaining his composure, smiling timidly in silent appreciation of the reassurance before pressing on.

“I remembered back then, for what reason I have no idea, but I remember being told that if one kisses a wound it will stop hurting. A childish sentiment mothers tell their sons, but what was I but a father to a daughter? It shouldn't be different. So I simply blended a need with comfort. Whenever she would get hurt, as all children do, especially in such a place, I'd clean her wounds as gently as I could just like...what did you call it earlier? A mother cat? That’s not too far off. Also….”

Zishu silently waited, his gaze unwavering for however long it would take. Wen Kexing stopped his ministrations to more firmly hold Zishu’s fingers in his hand, as if bracing himself before moving into his next words.

“I can recall so vividly, A-Xu. When I was kneeling at my father���s side, the ghosts sneering and jeering down at me all those years ago...When I had convinced them of my nature by consuming my own father’s….haha, i had thought to myself ‘was my flesh not made of his blood to begin with?’ So it only made sense…” He shook his head, laughing mirthlessly, “No, it doesn’t make any sense at all. I came to the idea that it only made sense to ingest the blood of my family going forward, even if we weren’t linked by blood then in this way we could be. You all would be with me, and that I could show you what devotion looked like. That is, in doing this, I know what devotion tastes like.”

He looked down at his lap, as if simply embarrassed for being caught like a child and not having admitted to going out of his way to drink the blood of his loved ones. Not that it was a garish as that in practice, at least Zishu thought as much, but could certainly understand how to most, this confession wasn’t something one would expect to be taken well. Luckily for Wen Kexing, his little family was not made like most, nor his zhi ji so easily shaken. And he said as much.

“Lao Wen, you’re absolutely an enigma to me sometimes. But I think I understand you, and at least somewhat, I can understand this too. Although…” He paused, feigning a look of uncertainty as he looked at Wen kexing and then glancing away dramatically.

“Although what? A-Xu, don’t tease me like this. If you don’t want me to-”

He was abruptly cut off by the sensation of somewhat cool and dry lips against his own, the “assailant” so firm and sudden in his “attack” it pushed them both over, leaving Wen Kexing askew on his back on the floor and the other straddling his hips to not break the contact, his forearms on either side of Wen Kexing’s head. They broke for air after a few moments, though it could have been hours for all Wen Kexing cared.

He blinked up owlishly, taken off guard for once by the other’s actions which only brought out a childishly triumphant and confident grin from Zishu.

“Although, I think there’s other tastes devotion can take. Would you like me to teach you?”

[lovvegood-a]

THE BASICS:

Full Name: Luna Lovegood

Label: The Dissonant Serenity ( x )

Nicknames: Looney, Luns

Birthday: February 13

Birth Place: Near Ottery St. Catchpole

Gender: Transwoman

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

Occupation: Student

INTERIOR:

Blood status:  Halfblood ( Pureblood father, halfblood mother )

House: Ravenclaw While Luna does show qualities that belong to other houses ( she’s definitely courageous and noble, has a deeply proud streak that often brings her more bad than good, and is a loyal and kind person ), she fits best in Ravenclaw. It’s where she can flourish, where she can feed her endless intrigue with everything around her. I think Luna is a true Ravenclaw, as she uses her sharp mind in most situations she’s in --- I chose innovative as her defining positive trait for a reason; I think Luna is able to look at situations with an unique perspective and because of this, she often brings good solutions and/or insights. She’s an original, incredibly stubborn when it comes to her convictions, and always down to learn. 

Wand: Pine wood, unicorn hair core, 14 inches, inflexible. Pottermore on pine wood: “The straight-grained pine wand always chooses an independent, individual master who may be perceived as a loner, intriguing and perhaps mysterious. Pine wands enjoy being used creatively, and unlike some others, will adapt unprotestingly to new methods and spells.” /// This, I think, perfectly fits Luna --- she’s a strong individual, who is definitely an experimental and creative person, both when it comes to magic and other aspects of her life.  I chose an unicorn hair core, because wands with this core struggle to perform Dark Arts -- like Luna -- but are very faithful -- like Luna. Her wand is long, as she’s quite tall and has a strong sense of self, and is inflexible because she’s most often an incredibly stubborn person.

Boggart: Her mother’s death scene --- it’s what scarred Luna most, even if she doesn’t admit that to herself. It’s a memory that startles and shakes her, one that’s been buried down due to the trauma linked to it --- seeing it again, experiencing it again ( especially knowing what the outcome would be, what the long-term effects would be, how much the longing would ache ) would be one of the scariest things for Luna. It could also take the shape of that scene, but with her father in stead of her mother; losing her father is another great fear.

Patronus: The Hare

Pets: None, but then Luna doesn’t really believe in the idea of pets. Animals are their own, after all, and she feels connected to plenty of them. Cats from her housemates, the thestrals, mice running around the hallways; she loves all of them, but none of them are hers. At home, there are often stray animals hanging around --- she and her father tend to them, if they need help, and Luna does sometimes name them ( carefully, though, because what if these creatures have a name of their own already? ). 

Moral Alignment: True Neutral. Luna looks at the world with a bit of a distance, at time, and is able to look at situations with objectivity, when she wants to. She’s not apathetic, though, or coldly distant; she just acts without prejudice or compulsion. And more than often, she does do what is morally good ( and she does lean towards being neutral good very much ), but I think that the way she views the world and how she approaches things is more true neutral than anything.

Tarot Card: The Hermit

Goals / Desires: Luna wants to do what fills her heart. Make art. Discover the world. Research magical creatures. Those are all things she would like to do with her future life, but then there’s more --- she wants to do what is right. With a sense of justice -- or, well, more a deep hatred for injustice -- she is motivated to take strides to make the world a little brighter and better. 

PHYSICAL:

Height: 178cm / 5′10

Eye Color: Pale grey

Hair Color: Light blonde

Clothing style: Where can I begin? Luna’s style can only be defined by her own person --- I don’t think there’s anyone else who dresses similarly to her, haha. She makes plenty of her own clothes, likes accessories made of unconventional objects, adores a bit of magic in her clothing. She likes colours, especially pastels. When she wears shoes, she likes converse. Mismatched patterns are always good. Flowy dresses? Yes please! 

Left handed or Right handed: Left handed

Distinguishing Features: Her hair and eyes.

Tattoos or scars: Usually has some minor scars from animal or branch scratches, that fade easily.

FAMILY:

Parents:  Xenophilius Lovegood ( father ), Pandora Lovegood néé Henneberg ( mother, deceased ).

Siblings: None

Children: None

FAVORITE:

Book: Luna doesn’t like picking favourites, but she really loves her old picture books still, mostly for sentimental reasons & because she likes illustration. She mostly reads non-fiction these days, preferring her own fantasy over fiction. 

Movie: N/A -- Luna has never seen a movie, sadly. I think she would love studio Ghibli, though, as well as documentaries ( both nature and more conspiracy theory based ).

Food: Strawberry bavarois

Flower: Lily of the Valley

Season: Spring

Animal: This one is so hard, haha. Luna loves animals! I think she feels especially close to thestrals, but she’s also simple in the sense that she really likes cats and bunnies. 

Memory: The summer she and her parents went to Iceland.

THIS OR THAT:

Cats or Dogs: Cats

Mornings or Nights: Mornings

War or Love: Love

Smoke or Drink: Smoke, if it’s weed. Otherwise drink.

Coffee or tea? Tea

Writing or reading? Writing

THOUGHTS:

Death Eaters coming back Luna is rationally scared and quite frustrated. She also has her fair share of theories on Voldemort’s return ( none that conflict with Harry’s story, though, just ones that fill the gaps ), some more logical than the other. She and her father have had many discussions about these --- like the role Fudge played in it all ( bigger than in reality, of course ) and whether the Death Eaters are using midges to communicate.

Enemies coming back Luna doesn’t necessarily have enemies that are personal. I suppose she’s not looking forward to seeing her bullies again at Hogwarts, but she doesn’t consider them enemies. As for enemies that aren’t personal, those are mostly the Death Eaters ( as well as the Ministry and a few Quidditch teams ), and for that see above! 

Loved ones coming back Luna thinks she will see her mother again already, but if it were to happen now, she would be incredibly surprised and more than happy --- she’d be euphoric. And confused, and very lost, but mostly just incredibly happy. 

Love At First Sight Luna thinks that love exists in an infinite amount of ways, so love at first sight as well.

One True Love / Someone You Will Always Love She will always love her father --- it’s an unconditional love, and if we look at his canon future and how he ends up selling out her friends, that is something she will forgive him for. 

QUESTIONS:

What is their family history like? How does it affect them? How do they feel about their family? How does their family feel about them? Pandora was born to a muggle and a witch, and raised by her father alone. And, being able to see the magical world through her father’s muggle eyes, she grew interested in the limits of magic from a young age. She began experimenting with charms early on, and met Xenophilius at Hogwarts, where they bonded over their love for the unknown and their willingness. Xenophilius comes from the Lovegood family, of course, which has always been a tad eccentric, though never as eccentric as he himself.  Luna was born to this set of openminded parents, and it was exactly what she needed to flourish. Her own mind has always been open, but she was able to dream outside the lines with her parents. Growing up was a world of opportunity --- no questions unanswered, no desires unfulfilled. Luna got to paint and run and discover from a young age, and was a perfect mix of her two parents, with some of her own qualities mixed in.  Luna is extremely proud of her family. She sometimes pities others, for having parents that restrict them, keep them from all that she did get to do. When people speak ill of her father -- who is a somewhat public figure, and often painted as a crazy conspiracy theorist -- she gets uncharacteristically fiery and angry, and will lash out. Her mother, she is proud of as well, but it’s more complicated than that --- and luckily, people don’t bring her up as often as her father. Of course, a big part of her family history is her mother’s death --- it was a turning point in the way Luna’s homelife functioned. In the years after Pandora died, her father grew codependent on her ( which is not how it should be --- and Luna vaguely knows this, but doesn’t feel any anger over it ), but on the other hand the two grew incredibly close as well. But Luna worries about her father when she’s not near, as he’s of the opinion that tasks like eating, washing and sleeping are meaningless in the grand scheme of things, a waste of time when there’s so many more pressing and interesting things to do --- and it’s Luna who often was the one to remind him that, dad, you’re a human being despite it all.  And then her mother, her mother is just a massive gap. And yes, Luna believes that she will see her again, that she isn’t truly lost ------ but that doesn’t ease the waiting, the longing, the aching. Her mother’s death left her with mental scars and a hole in her soul and while there’s plenty of beautiful and comforting things she can say about death, it doesn’t change that. Her mother still died, and she’s not there --- and she will be there one day again, yes, but sometimes Luna just wants her mother now.

Who were their first love and do they feel the same now as they did then? Luna hasn’t really been in love yet, I think. She has had crushes, but she’s never been in love with someone, has never had a connection that deep --- it’s just flings and crushes, connections that lasted just a night, a week, a month at most. She doesn’t mind.

Do they believe that a person can redeem themselves from mistakes of the past? Yes, in most situations --- I think even Luna, an eternal optimist, draws a line here with people like Voldemort and the Lestranges, for example. She does believe in people’s strength to do good and does believe that there’s almost always a way to make up for ones mistakes --- but of course, there are things that are inexcusable. Luna is able to be very unforgiving, though, so sometimes it does take a lot for someone to redeem themselves in her head. 

What scares them? Losing her father. The war. Complete silence. 

How do they feel about death? Have they been significantly affected by it? On one hand, death is just another mystery --- and Luna does love mystery and life’s bigger ones. It’s a mystery she can’t solve, though, and sometimes she’s at peace with the fact that she can’t have all the answers. Other times, she’s just incredibly frustrated and angry, because death took her mother away from her and there’s nothing mysterious about that --- she’s just gone. One day she will see her again, that she is sure of, but right now she’s a young woman who grew up without a mother and that’s just painful. That just hurts. And that’s definitive.  Luna has seen death, and that has affected her deeply. Seeing her mother die at age nine was a traumatic experience that still haunts her -- despite her denial about this -- and it’s triggered her to dissociate from the world around her and herself quite a lot. On another hand, it has given her a bit of wisdom and insight, an ability to understand death perhaps a bit better than others do -- or at least give it her own interpretation. 

Pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth. If your character was a seven deadly sin, what would they be and why? Pride, with anger on the second place. Luna is incredibly proud and can be, because of this, very inflexible. Yes, she is openminded, but when it comes to her beliefs and convictions, she won’t change her mind unless there’s solid proof. When people question her, she doesn’t reflect on her beliefs, but rather thinks that they’re narrow minded and limited. When it comes to her father, she’s quite prideful as well --- she holds him and his work in high regard and if someone dares insult this, she will becoming steely and hard

Do they believe Voldemort is back ? Yes. Why shouldn’t she? When Harry came out of that maze and spoke those words, it was clear that he spoke nothing short of the truth, and you will never find Luna believing the Daily Prophet over someone like Harry Potter. It’s not a truth she likes, but it’s clear to her that it is the truth, and she won’t shy away from that.

PICK THREE:

Lyrics that describes your character best        -- Runaway by AURORA  ( the whole song, tbh ) ------  I was painting a picture / the picture was a painting of you and / for a moment I thought you were there / but again, it wasn't true / and all this time I have been lying / oh, lying in secret to myself / i've been putting sorrow on the forest plains        -- Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac ------ she is like a cat in the dark and then / she is the darkness / she rules her life like a fine skylark and when / the sky is starless         -- The Wind by PJ Harvey ( I chose this song for her app more for atmosphere reasons than lyrics, but I wanted to add it still ) -----  Catherine liked high places / high up, high up on the hills / a place for making noises / like whales / noises like the whales / here she built a chapel / with her image / an image on the wall a place where she could rest and / and a place where she could wash / and listen to the wind blowing

Quotes that your character lives by        --  “The knowledge of all things is possible” --- Leonardo da Vinci        --  “There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the passion of life.” --- Federico Fellini        -- “Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” --- Marcus Aurelius

Fictional characters that your character can relate to Allison Dufresnes from The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. --- All of the quotes on my blog are quotes about her --- she just really reminds me of Luna in a lot of ways. Both of them saw a family member die at a young age and both of them were damaged by it. Both of them deal with dissociation because of their trauma, have trouble with communicating with people at times and are described as a dreamy, soft, vague. They also both have a soft spot for animals.  Orla McCool from Derry Girls. --- Orla just ... screams Luna. Both have convictions that others think of as wacky, naive or just downright nonsensical, both make incredibly out-of-the-blue comments that do, somehow, make sense. They’re both a bit ignorant of social cues and don’t have much of a filter.  But they aren’t just similar in that sense, they’re also both very loyal friends. ALSO when Orla danced with her grandpa? That’s Luna and Xeno. Spot on. “Protestants hate ABBA.” -- Orla. “Purebloods hate ABBA.” -- Luna. I’m just SAYING.  Phoebe Buffay from FRIENDS. --- I feel less passionately about this one than the two above, but I just think that Phoebes role in the group of friends really mirrors that of Luna in the dynamic of her ( future ) group of friends. Phoebe’s optimism, creativity and straightforwardness are also things she has in common with Luna, and honestly? I could see Luna writing a song like smelly cat. 

People who have changed your character’s life immensely I think her parents have had a massive impact on Luna --- they allowed her to flourish, to grow, to develop her passions and beliefs and convictions. Because of the freedom she was given as a child, she’s been able to grow into who she is now. Her mother’s death, of course, has impacted her life greatly as well.  Ginny is also on this list, I think, as one of her first friends. :’)

[gr-ogu]

Hey, may I ask how you make your icons (which are really cute btw)? I would love to give it a try myself but I dont really know where to start vor what size they woud need to be. Do you use a specific program? Thank you in advance ❤

Hi again my love!!! ❤

First of all, thankyou so much!! That’s so kind of you to say and I’m honoured that you’d come tome for advice!!! I’m going to put this under a read more because it might getvery long, I hope that’s okay! Also want to say I am by no means an expert - myicon making stems from a lot of trial and error, hahah!

There’s soooo manydifferent ways to make icons! I have seen and read a thousand tutorials, butthe first thing I have to say is it’s got to be what you’re comfortable with.Whatever works best for you is the best way! 

When I first started to make icons, I used paint.net, which is free todownload and such a good program! I still haveit because you can download free ‘plugins’ (like added extra features)that people make and they’re so handy!!!! I used to make coloured backgrounds using the gradient feature, and zoom in very closely and use the rubber tool toerase the background of the characters/people I wanted for the icon, whichworks great if you have a lot of time and patience! 

Now however, I use photoshop CS5, which I got from here (no idea if the link stillworks but I hope it does!!!) which I find a lot easier now that I know how touse it! For sizing, as long as the canvas is a perfect square you’re generallygood - I usually go for 150px x 150px, but I know a lot of people use 100px x100px or 200px x 200px! 

Here are some tutorials that you might find useful to start you off in explaining how to use PS if you’re not familiar with it!! (x) (x)

Once you’ve got that down, usually you want to cut the people/charactersout from the background. There are soooo many ways to do this but I prefer touse the pen tool to draw around them and then erase the background, a tutorialfor that that I like is this one!

For background, I make my own gradients. Generally, you want to pick acolour you like and then find the lighter version of it, so to do that I pick acolour (for example this is a good list of different colours I referto) and then I use the hex code of that specificcolour to find the lighter version of it - so when you click on it, or searchfor it, it gives you the lighter and darker codes for the colours, which youcan put into Photoshop and then use to make gradients! alternatively you cansearch on places like itsphotoshop and find them,which is coincidentally where I get my textures from that I sometimes put onthe background of icons.

The textures are downloaded, and then once you’ve got them, uploaded into PS and usually set to soft light or overlay (I prefer soft light, but it depends on the colours you’re using I think!) in the drop-down menu on the right side of PS, where there’s different tabs (this one is found directly underneath layers!). It looks like this and put it above my colours to get cool effects in the background :-)

For the shapes part, I actually only learnt this really recently (although I’m going to do a demo of how I did my latest icon further down) and this is the method I used to get the shape!!!! Although I didn’t apply it to the icon in the same way that they did, I found an easier way for me!! Haha.

Something a lot of people also do is change the colours of people’s clothes! This is a great tutorial for that and one that I’ve used for my edits, although still learning with icons!

Okay so I think the easiest way to try and tell you how I make icons is just to show you! So, first things first, you’ve got to get your cap - it’s nice if it’s good quality, but it’s not the end of the world if it’s not!

I decided to use this one from the ITV hub, haha:

Once you’ve got that, I usually crop it so there’s not as much of the background, but that’s just personal preference. Then, with my pen tool, I go around it and outline the bits of them I want for the icon! (I’ve circled the pen tool on the left just for clarity!)

You’ll also notice the boys look a bit brighter and more defined in the above screenshot - I’ve added a PSD to them, which I’ve made myself. I have an ‘emmerdale psd’ that works quite well forall the characters so I use that as a base and adjust it depending on thescene! But there’s plenty of places to download PSDs too!

Once I’ve got the outline, I join up the dots to the first dot to make a solid line around the boys. Then, right click on the picture and choose ‘make selection’. 

Then you get a pop up box saying if you’d like a little blurring around them - sometimes I do 1px, sometimes I have none, like in this case, depends on the quality of the photo (and sometimes how well you’ve cut out their hair hahah). Once you’re happy, click okay and you’ll get the solid line around them flashing now.

I’m not sure how to do this on a mac, so really sorry if you have one, but you’ve got to invert this line to select the background instead of them, by pressing Ctrl, shift and i at the same time. Once you’ve done that, you can then click the delete button and the background will disappear! Yay! You should get something that looks like this:

After this, you want to go to the menu at the top that says image and click image size, which will present you with a text box like this:

Change the pixel dimensions’ width and height to whatever your icon size is, so in this case 150px - don’t worry if the height isn’t equal to the width, it’s better that the icon is the full width if its not a person’s full body, as you don’t want the picture to take up the full height of the icon anyways! Like this:

And voila! They are to size. Now, since I’ve made icons before, I have backgrounds already made, so I would drag them onto them. I suggest you make the backgrounds in a separate window and save them for later use (using the gradients for example), meaning you can drag new people onto the backgrounds which will save you time! Once you’ve done that, you’ll get something like this:

Now, you could just leave it there! If you were to do that (I save them with multiple colours for variety!) You might want to go to filter > sharpen > smart sharpen and play around with it until they look more defined, but not overly so!

(Also please don’t judge me - it’s good practice to name your layers informational names but as you can see mine are pretty all over the place, oops.)

For the shape part of the icon, please refer to the link I added above to add a custom shape to your gallery. Once you’ve done that, this is how I added it to my icons!

For now, zoom into your icon and place the shape above the icon and use ctrl and t to make it the size you want, making sure to hold down shift when you’re dragging the sides so it’s in proportion. Once you’re happy with this, press enter to confirm it (its usually best to leave a few pixels between the shape and the edge for the ‘transparent effect’.)

Then, drag the layer down in the bar on the right so it’s underneath whatever colours you want to use for your icon. In this case, I’ve just done a few as an example:

You can see the sort of outline of the shape on them, as well as the background colour. Now, you want to move the boys into the position you want them for the icon, and use something called a ‘clipping mask’. 

Right click on the layers at the side and choose ‘create clipping mask’ - the background will then fill into the shape and so will the people once you click it. At this stage, you probably want to use the little eye symbol on each layer to make it visible or invisible, so you can see if this is working or not!

As you can see, there’s a blank bit at the bottom of the icon since I cropped the boys’ bodies there. Luckily as they’re wearing dark colours, I can just paint over this on their layer to fill it in, but you could also resize the original image down to 150px and use a clipping mask on it too! (You can also merge the layers to make sure they’re one layer, by right clicking and using ‘merge down’ which isn’t available in the above screenshot but usually would be!)

Then zoom out, and you should have something that looks like this! (I’ve gone back to the file I made the actual icons on for this screenshot.) Make sure you save the image as .png, not .jpg! Files saved as .jpg can’t read transparency and the edges around the icon will show up as black or white, rather than transparent! 

I hope this has been helpful, and that it makes sense, and gives you a good idea of what to do?? If you have anymore questions don’t hesitate to ask❤❤❤

[missevilwritingblog]

Sneak Peak

Walking into the magic shop felt like breathing clear for the first time.

Shouto made himself stop, eyes blows wide with the impact of it. He wasn’t expecting it to be so… intense. Eye opening. Mind clearing. So much like… home.

“Hello!”

He blinked himself out of his stupor, gaze drawn to a figure towards the back of the room. Horribly enough, he was just enough out of range to be blurry and nondescript even as he squinted.

“Hello,” he offered in return, hoping he didn’t sound out of place. The person at the desk seemed happy enough with it, staring for a moment longer before turning his back to him, to tend to… something. Something that he couldn’t make out, from the blur.

Great. He was accepted- hopefully this meant he wouldn’t have issue with him looking around.

In his experience, most so proclaimed ‘Magic Shops’ were big. Gaudy. Filled to the brim with mirror shelves of books and crystal balls, tactile and ugly in black and purple felt, but this...

This was none of that.

Warm, dark wood floors stretched out in from of him, tall walls carrying painted trees and landscapes around him. Glass terrariums filled the space above his head in varying heights, and lush green vines grew along wooden fixtures every few paces, sectioning off areas of the room.

It was, in a word, completely stunning.

And undeniably magical- the presence walking in cemented it early, but there were other indicators too. Bookshelves, scattered about the walls with books somehow defying gravity and sticking to their undersides. Crystals and plants on top, with neat little notecards that carries details about their significance.

He couldn’t stop himself from smiling at the sight of it all, letting himself feel at peace with the magic in the air. After so many failed, faked magic shops, he was so happy to finally find one that was real. It was comforting.

Shouto immediately moved closer to the first station on his right, taking in everything he could about the space.

Everything was artfully placed on the shelf itself. Three large clear crystals sat atop it, right alongside a small succulent and a pouch of something that looked like glitter, but smelled like herbs. A small card sat in the middle, inside of an ornate looking card holder.

But underneath is where it got interesting.

There was a long table that spanned nearly an entire wall, uncompassing quite a few shelves of different crystals. There were what seemed like individual workstations along it, each with a cubby filled with paper and a cupful of writing utensils. A set of what he could only assume were noise cancelling headphones were perched on stands every few intervals. He picked one up, lifting it to one ear and listening to the steady, bassy beats and soft melodies for a moment. Soothing. He placed it down, hand immediately reaching to pick up the card stand and read it through.

Study Station!

Academia’s hard, but don’t take the bait- It gets much worse if you procrastinate! Clear crystal soothes minds, and bass give you ground. Use this opportunity to turn your C around! A sprinkle of fairydust to light the way, A hint of rosemary to remember your day, And maybe some magic will help you here, So study hard and you won’t shed a tear!

He couldn’t help the huff of a laugh that came out as he read along. It was certainly one of the most interesting spells he’s read in a while, but judging by the aura it did seem to do the trick. How wonderful.

Stepping back to fully appreciate the space before him before his eyes catch on a few soft beanbags, pillows and blankets, all underneath a station made of amethysts that were tucked into a corner of the shop with dark curtain covered windows. The poem riddled notecard claimed it to be a ‘Rest Station’, with soothing amethyst and a hint of lavender, and a complementary tea if you asked the front desk.

Making his way further into the shop, he was stopped by a suddenly padded floor. There were throw pillows scattered about the area, and it lay underneath an array of colorful gems, crystals, and plants spanning multiple shelves. Behind it against the wall, a low bookshelf, with the books separated inside of small cubbies along the floor. On the top, various toys sat upon a clean, smooth surface- clay and colorful viccous liquid, cubes with all sorts of interactable sides, and a few other things that he couldn’t explain. The poem called the space a ‘Relax Station.’

And then there were a series of doors, each with colored plaques attached, but no words. Stricken with curiosity, Shouto reached for the handle of one labeled ‘Blue’ before a clear voiced called across to him.

“That room’s already being occupied.”

Startled, Shouto turned around to see the same person from before watching him over a granite counter. Now that he was closer, the person’s features were much clearer. He was shorter than Shouto, but broader, well defined muscles peaking underneath shirt sleeves. Shouto’s gaze momentarily lingered on a series of jagged scars that lined his right arm before he forced his eyes elsewhere. He knew better than anyone that it was impolite to stare, after all.

Dark green curls fell around a softly shaped face, ending just above freckled cheeks- he might have been cute, if not for the guarded, weary expression he held, the sharpness behind his eyes. Shouto took a halfstep back, the small smile that he’d been sporting falling immediately into a firm line. Right. This was still a mage, and he still needed to be careful, regardless of the

“I was simply curious to know what was inside,” he offered by way of apology, moving away from the door with long steps, closer to the counter. “Maybe you could enlighten me instead?”

The person pursed his lips, looking him up and down- appraising me, Shouto thought with fleeting excitement- before crossing his arms.

“That depends. Why are you here?”

Ah. That was his moment. He conjured back a fraction of the easy smile that’d come to him earlier, hoping it would be enough to show his friendly intentions.

“I’m a traveler,” he started, keeping his voice low- there wasn’t anyone else in the shop, but he couldn’t risk it either way. “I’ve been searching for others like me. Those I’ve found haven’t been as… amicable, to my arrival, as I’d hoped they be.” He gestured to his hair with a slight grimace. “I understand that as a Todoroki, I carry with me a certain stigma, but I’m simply seeking companionship and guidance away from home and my father.”

The person did not look impressed in the slightest- in fact, he looked almost confused. That made sense, though. There was no news of a Todoroki out at the moment, he wouldn’t be surprised if he was asked to prove his legitimacy. At least it left him unwary, open.

“How did you find this shop?” He asked instead, frowning. “Was it recommended by someone?”

��Oh, no.” Shouto’s smile came a little easier now that the tension had left the air. He reached into his pocket for his so called phone, placing it on the granite table between them. “There’s an application on this device that shows me things when I ask for them. Sort of like a direction scrying.”

The person in front of his stared at the phone for a minute, brows furrowed in some sort of concentration before he glanced back up to meet his eye.

“You’re looking for somewhere away from your father?”

Shouto’s smile fell immediately, and he had to stop himself from nervously icing over his right hand. “Yes, that’s correct.”

The person in front of him studied him for a moment longer. Shouto fought the urge to shift his weight on his feet, trying to stand taller and quell his fear, although he wasn’t sure he succeeded. Luckily, he must have seen whatever it was looking for, because he’d nodded and stepped out from behind the counter with a small smile of his own.

“I think I might be able to help you out. What’s your name?”

Shouto tried not to show his own confusion at the question- wasn’t it obvious? Or maybe it was necessary, in order for him to pass through housing wards. It didn’t much matter- he could share his name with the only mage who would give him help.

“Todoroki Shouto.” He offered a small bow afterwords. “Thank you for the opportunity.”

The person in front of him just smiled more. “It’s not really an issue,” he assured gently. “I’ve helped other in your position before, I understand how bad it can get at times. Oh- and I’m Midoriya Izuku, by the way! It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, as well.”

Okay so in the BB discord group, my team (Lie’s Leigion) was given the prompt “Magic Shop” to create a piece of media for. 

I... went overboard, haha. So there’s a ~6k oneshot coming in the next few days, but for right now here’s a little 1.5 K sneak peek!

[askthiscpblog]

The Pray, The Hunter, and The Killer

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! We got 10 minutes before you all start hiding so shut the fuck up and listen close! I don't want to repeat myself!"

A white, pale man with greasy black, moppy, rats nest head of hair and a permanent, long smile speaks to the crowd of Halloween guests of the Slender's Halloween mansion party. The Slenderman runs this party every year for a time of rest and festivities, but we are not here for that. We are here for the grand finale of the party and tha- "I SAID WE ONLY GOT 10 MINUTES!!!!" Jeff yelled again interrupting everyone's conversations. Once they quieted down he starts explains the rules of the party's legendary manhunt.

"The rules are simple! At 11:40 the hunted will have 20 minutes to hide wherever they like as long it's not in the buildings! Once it is midnight that's when the real fun begins! The hunters will have 6 hours to find and locate all the hunted!"

"That sounds easy enough." a random man said in the crowd.

Jeff retorted immediately, "Wrong! The thing is this is not a simple a tag you’re out!" The smile on his face somehow grows wider.

"You keep going until you get captured! In other words, if we take you back to the mansion then you are out, but don't worry! You can use whatever method to avoid being captured that is not killing! Be warned it's a two-way streak of anything you do will come back! Got it!?" There is a murmur in the crowd of people.

"I SAID GOT IT!!!?" His voice boomed that made everyone jumped and they all murmured, responding yes in various ways.

"Good! Now the game starts now! GOOOOO!!!!" He yells pointing towards the woods.

On cue everyone starts charging into the woods, marking as much noise as possible. It was about 3 minutes until things started quieting down.

"Well this is going to be fun." he says to himself then pulls out a radio and continues, "So I call dibs on the big harry jock."

A female voice responds in a sarcastic manner, "Ooooooof course you do. What is with you and big buff men? Do you swing both ways and don’t tell anyone?"

"SHUT THE SHIT UP JANE!" He roars.

"Shut the shit up? What the fuck is up with your speech pattern? And is there really anything wrong in going against the grain, so to speak?" A calm, firm male speaks up.

Jeff turns around to see who spoke up. The guy was shorter than him but held an aura that could set normal people off. Luckily for Jeff, he was not a normal person. He wore an orange jacket pulled up to his neck and had a mask on with a black outline around the eyes and lips. He even put eyebrows on it.

“Why the fuck do you care how I speak!?” Jeff screamed at him, getting up in his face. The other male stood there, arms crossed over his chest, looking at the ugly man in his face

“Because you make the rest of us look like dumb asses.” Masky retorted, his voice still steady. Jeff growled looking into Masky’s eyes, unblinking. For him, it was because both he can’t and because he didn’t want to back down.

“You know if you keep looking at me like that, people might get the wrong idea,” Masky told to him. With that, he patted Jeff’s shoulder and took a few steps back. Jeff could feel a shit eating grin under that mask of his, and that pissed him off. Jeff watched him take a few steps back and groans. He didn’t care, not enough to start a fight now. He had a hunt to go have fun with, and with that, he pulls out a phone to check the time. 12:00am. Time to start the hunt. 

He pulls out a CD that has ‘Spread the Word.’ written across it in black marker. Jeff whistled and throws the disc to where it morphed into a large black and deep red furred dog. It had a smile as big, if not wider, than Jeff's. It came up to his chest, almost eye to eye with the guy. That smile appeared to be near human, only with a few sharp canines to tell the difference.

"Alright, Smile follow the scent of jockstraps and axe!" He barks out as an order to the mutt. After about 5 minutes, visual displeasure was on the dog's face and it looks at Jeff. He whined and gave a small yip to get his attention.

"You got it?" Jeff questioned the obvious. Smile nods with discomfort, not enjoying this sent in its nose. 

"Then lead the way!" He yells with excitement. The dog huffed and followed the sent, trotting along.

"Then lead the way!" He yells with excitement. The dog huffed and followed the sent, trotting along.

They traveled for 3 miles marking sure not to make a noise. 30 minutes have passed in the travel and Jeff has noticed that smile has been acting skittish.

"Smile. You OK? You not acting like yourself." Jeff asked the dog in a whisper. 

Smile looked at him and simply said, "Spread the word......." in response.

"I knew I should have brought my phone. I can't understand what the fuck you’re saying." He huffed in annoyance.

Smile sighed and continue forward, stop in his tracks. The red dog is looking east with a face of unease. 1-2-3 minutes went by. Smile was like a statue, in blinking. Jeff looks hard in the dark woods he can almost make ou- snap! They both look towards the opposite direction and sees a girl freeze upon seeing the smiling duo. 

"Well, what do we have here? It looks like a little mouse went out of its hole and then set off a trap." Jeff stated forming a wicked grin on his face.

The girl starts to back away feeling panic and dread the longer she looks at him.

"Let's have fun shall we." Smile bolts after the girl.

The moment that sudden movement happened she started to run from the dog and screaming, "Brian!!!! Brian!!!!! Help!!!!! Brian!!!!" Her cries echo throughout the forest among other screams in the distance.

She can hear the dog snickering to her pleas for help. This made her run even faster not even watching her surroundings as a white blur goes to sidelines her. They both hit the ground and a pair of hands grasp the girl's throat and she sees the shadow of Jeff's face under the moonlight. Her eyes widen as she tries in desperation to fight against his grasp and then punches Jeff in the eye.  

"Mother bitching cock shitter!!!!" Jeff relied back in pain. She pushes him off and goes to get back up until a sharp pain flashed through her in her right leg.  

"AAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!" She howled in pain and looks to see the giant red dog sank its teeth deep inside her. She tries in desperation to kick the dog off, but gets slammed down and feels a weight on her back.  

"Oooooh, you are going to pay for that bitch!" Jeff says as he grabs her hair and starts to slam her head on the ground. She cries in pain over and over again. As he is about to give the knock out something stops him. The sense that he eyes watching him. He looks at Smile and sees he has taken notice as well. Before Jeff says anything, something slams into the side of his head. It sent him flying off the girl into a tree.  

"FUUUUUUUUCK!!!!" Jeff shrieks in pain. Smile looks at the attacker and his jaw pried open on the girl's leg. Smile tries to fight back, but the attacker lifts the dog by the throat. It then baseball bat swings Smile agents a tree. A whimper escapes before he turns back into a disk.

When this happened, a force hit Jeff. Jeff saw this happening and realized that its the guy he is looking for. He then gets up rubbing the side is his head feeling blood leaking out. And stares the football player down with both anger and excitement.

"About damn time I found you. I have been itching for a real fight all night." Jeff says now having a good examination of the man. He was a bit, he was harried, and he was angry. Jeff's smile becomes warped.

"You're going to regret hurting Julia." The football player responded brandishing a branch.

"Who? the bitch? Oooooh. You misunderstood. I was trying to pretty up that cadaver face of hers." He snorted at the half-conscious girl lying on the ground.

"BASTARD!!!" The jock howled and charges Jeff swinging the branch at full force. Seeing that he took the bait he doges the blow and jumps onto his back. He did take a fist full of the hair on the back of the jocks head. Pulling it to the left to make his neck exposed. Jeff managed to get 3 good hits on the right of the neck before the football players jumps and drops on top of Jeff.

"Gah!!" Chocked out by having the large man's weight crushing him. The jock then rolls around and sits on top of Jeff. Knees on arms and starts whaling on Jeff's head.

"Ha.....haha.....hahahaHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!" Jeff cackled after many blows to the face. This made the large man stops his fury of blows. Unperturbed by Jeff's reaction. Then he feels a burning pain in his left leg. The jock yelped that gave Jeff the moment to shove him off and got back on his feet. The jock looks at his leg. It was sizzling and oozing with blood. He then looks at Jeff, seeing him hold a blade gleaming in the moonlight of white and crimson.

"S-silver!? How did you-" he was then interrupted. 

"Easy fang face. The moment you charged at me you're eyes when's yellow.

"Who the fuck are you!!!???" The jock demanded an answer.

"Ooooh. Me?" His smile has grown from cheek to cheek.

"I'm just the guy that's looking for a fun night." At that moment the werewolf felt a drastic shift in the atmosphere. A flood of dread and bloodlust is radiating off of the pale man in front of him and start to see that his feature us become more define. More menacing. Jeff can see the terror on the wolfs face and laughs at it. 

"Is the lil puppy going to piss himself? To think that you're still not housebroken at this point." The wolf starts to back away not sure what to do. He is dealing with a killer. His breathing increase to quicker shorter bursts. He needed to run. He needs to escape. He needs to-. He then hears a moan of pain. He looks over to see Julia. She is covered in dirt and blood. Feeling retreats that he got her in this mess, but he will be the one to get her out and make this psycho pay for what he did.

"Oh?" Jeff tilts his head to the side. He now sees the werewolf's breathing has calmed then a growl can be heard. His eyes shifted away from the girl to Jeff. The man finally spoke. 

"Well.....if it's fun you want....THEN I THINK YOU DON'T MINED BEING MY CHOW TOY!!!!!!"

The large man started to jerk in odd angles. His bones and tendons started to pop and snap as they shuffled. Pop. Snap. Craaaack! His size to half his normal size. Silver fur sprouted out of his arms, legs, chest...OK, you get it. It's a lot of hair. His skin stretched showing the bones shifting within his body as for his clothes ripped and tear off of him. His mouth starched forward forming a muzzle, along with his ears became pointed and parched on top of his head. Jeff watched as this happened. Amused by the transformation.

"So is the real fun is about to begin?" Jeff asked the werewolf that was the man before him. The wolf responded by pouncing on to Jeff. It's teeth going for his throat. Jeff oofed as he hit the ground. His hand on the wolfs neck. Keeping the jaws at bay, but not it's breath for it smells like decay. Jeff not sure what to do for the beast is stronger than him and is keeping it's maw away. As a last ditch effort. He longed his head flowed and chopping on the wolf's nose. A shriek can be heard from the man dog and jumps back. Giving Jeff the opportunity to make a counter attack. He hops to his feet and goes charging at the wolf at top speed. The werewolf gets on its feet goes for another lunge at Jeff, but sees him shrink right before they impacted. WHACK!!! The wolfs eyes widen and holed in pain and it drops to its side going over Jeff.

"HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!" Jeff is laughing as the oversize wolf grabs his nether regions. It took a minute for the wolf regain composure. Jeff is still laughing and has not taken note.

"HAHAHAH-GHHHHAAAA!!!" Jeff's laughs of joy morphed into a cry of pain as the werewolf claws at his back and blood gushed out as the skin tars open. Jeff stabs the silver knife into the wolfs arm in response. Getting a whimpering cry out. It turned into a slugfest of blades and claws. Turning Jeff's hoodie and the wolf's claws a deep glimmering red. Both are breathing heavy, staring each other down. Jeff could have killed him by now but would prefer this than dealing with slender's wrath. His vision blurs a bit due to the blood loss and can tell the werewolf is too.

"Just need to figure out how to end this....." Jeff thought to himself. He then sees the girls body. "That's it!" He looks at the wolfman.

"Hey, Fido! Catch!" Jeff throws the knife at the now unconscious girl. The werewolf did not miss a beat and hurls itself to shield the girl and the knife plants itself dead in the wolfs back. It pulls the weapon out.

Jeff runs and grabs the branch that the wolfman used on him and yells, "SWING BATTER BATTER!!!!!" Jeff swings the branch as hard as he can to the wolfs head. Tt ducked in time and was about to strike Jeff until they both heard a high pitched scream that echoes throughout the woods

This the slight pause was long enough for Jeff to get a second swing in hitting the connecting point of the jaw and throat. This sends the wolf flying back hitting the ground hard.

Jeff went charging up to make a follow-up hit but stops seeing that the beast is unconscious. He then takes a deep breath and drops to the ground."

Well. I know I won't get the jackpot tonight." He said to himself.

Clap.....clap....clap....

A slow clapping can be heard behind the tree line. Jeff takes notice and then stiffed. That sensation of being watched has returned.

"Alright. Who the bitch are you and why have you been following me?!" Jeff yelled out to his unseen spectator.

"Me? Oh, I'm just a fan. That's all. May I say not bad work." A voice responded. It was calm and smooth. It made Jeff felt uneasy.

"Oh? A fan." He gets up and draws his second knife. "If you like I can sign you an autograph. If you like?"

The voice laughs in response "oh thank you, but I already have one. What I'm here for is to invite you to my show."

"Show you say?" Jeff is growing more intrigued.

"Yes. It's about to have its finale and I want you to be my guest star. It will me give me great pleasure if you join." Jeff can't seem to pin down where the voice is coming from.

"And if I refuse?" Jeff questioned. Ready to make a run for it. Knowing full well he can't deal with another fight.

"JEFF!!!! GET BACK TO THE MANSION!!!! WE ARE BEING ATTACKED!!!!" Jane's voice is yelling out the walkie-talkie in a panic. Jeff goes to reach for it and make a bolt for it but stops himself in time feeling an edge of a blade on his throat.

"You think you have a choice in the matter." The voice is behind him now. Jeff tries to react but feels a syringe put in his neck. Afterward, he back of his knee is kicked, knocking Jeff to the ground.

"JEFF!!! JEFF!!! JE-" the walkie-talkie has turned off. Jeff gets on his hands and knees, gasping. The world is spinning around him. He was then pushed over on his back. He sees a figure of a man over him. His vision is too hazy to make out who it is. The figure bends down next to him and simply says, "Shhhhhhhhh. Go to sleep." Then the world turned black.....

[royal-despair-threads]

Leon & Izaya [Prologue]

Leon glances about, looking for the fluffiest hair in the vicinity. He spots a nervous looking bit of fluff across the room pretty quickly. Izaya has quite a few defining features after all. He approaches slowly, not sure if even moving too quickly would scare them. Once reaching them, Leon taps their shoulder gently.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I went a bit too far earlier. You passed out and all... I didn't mean to freak you out, sometimes I just get a little too affectionate. It's in my nature to tease people." He laughs, but Leon is rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Ah, h-here. To make it up to you." He pulls out a piece of grape candy and holds it out to Izaya.

Luckily for Leon, Izaya was still rather groggy from having just returned to consciousness; they only flinched a little when he tapped their shoulder, "Ah, Leon!" They sat up a bit, carefully rolling their shoulders to unstiffen them. Naturally, Leon brought up their fainting spell earlier, causing Izaya to flush bright pink in embarrassment,

"I'm um. I'm sorry you, well, that you had to see that, Leon-san..." They pinged their sweatband to try and calm down, "I-I'm um, that kind of....non-familial, uh, c-contact is so unusual for me, I just.....I'm sorry, I didn- I didn't mean to make you worry, really!!-"

"No, no, you're fine! I went too far, I know. I don't think I was ever taught boundaries when it comes to that sort of thing, so forgive me while I'm learning!"  Leon sits down next to Izaya, careful not to sit on his brace. It's okay sometimes, but right now his leg is aching a bit. He slowly pulls back his hand, as Izaya doesn't seem interested in the candy right now.

He's had the issue of figuring out just how touchy with people he should be for a while now. For Izaya's sake he hopes it doesn't persist, it's not at all his intention to make them uncomfortable.

"Oh! N-no, it's alright!! I really.....I need to be more open to people. S-So please don't blame yourself." Izaya eyed the candy anxiously. They hadn't noticed it at first considering they'd just awoken, but now they felt too awkward to say 'oh I'll take it', but at the same time they felt bad for not seeing it sooner. Heck, awake for two minutes and they're already panicking.

"I, um....the hug, you...you're very nice to hug!" Izaya complimented shyly. Was that too weird of a compliment to make to someone you admire? they really hoped not...

He visibly relaxes at the compliment. That means they don't feel uncomfortable enough to stop talking to him. Thank god. "Ah, thank you! You're a very nice person to hug~" Leon beams, pressing the candy into Izaya's hand after seeing them glance at it. They seem the type to stay quiet if it pleases someone else. He hopes he can help them gain a bit of confidence!

Oh! Candy! And a compliment?!?!?!? Izaya's flushed cheeks escalated from pink to red, "Y-you're so kind, Leon-san! I 'm not that good at hugs, surely..." They looked somewhere between trying to legitimately accept the compliment and seconds away from denying they were at all huggable, "U-um, are you a b-big brother, Leon-san? I-I mean, you're very affectionate, a-and um....protective?" They hoped that was the right word.

"You're very good at hugs, trust me! It helps that you're very soft~" He's halfway between trying to get Izaya to accept the compliment and teasing lightly, as always. At their inquiry, Leon shakes his head. "Nope! I'm actually a younger brother, but it's very sweet of you to tell me I have those qualities. I try to exude them the best I can."

The teasing is definitely flustering Izaya, that's for sure. Those mismatched eyes were focusing on literally anything else other than Leon; lord knows Izaya could never handle a compliment, but especially from someone so sweet such a compliment had them utterly surprised, "S-Soft? M-Me? I, well, soft is, I mean-!" they babbled nervously. To stop themselves they decided to eat the candy and hope it helped- Oh wow, Grape sure....is a flavour. Izaya's face resembled that one face babies make when they try a lemon for the first time. They tried to play it off but hoo, grape is....a very new flavour for them.

He laughs lightly at their flustered state before an empathetic smile rises to his countenance. "You hate grape too, huh? That makes two of us. Here, just spit it out, you can have my butterscotch." Leon pulls out his only piece of butterscotch. He had found it in the pile of grape candy, of which he despises. He was going to save it for later when he really needed it, but ah well. Izaya needs it more. Leon holds it out to them.

They shook their head, "I-I do't hade id,"  came the muffled, definitely wince-filled reply, "ids jus....bewy taggy...." Izaya really did hate it, but what kind of friend would they be if they just spat out the candy?! Wait, is that....NO, they couldn't accept Leon's only good candy!!! "L-Leon-san, no! I'w be alride! Sabe youw goog caddy!" They really weren't liking the grape but they couldn't let Leon waste their one and only good candy on them, they just couldn't..!

Leon makes sure to wear a pout on his lips to make Izaya think better of it. "Are you sure? It would make me feel a lot better seeing you enjoy yourself than actually eating it myself. A cute smile on your face would put more sweetness in my life than any amount of candy could ever dream of doing." He's still holding out his hand stubbornly, refusing to give in.

Oh nooooo.... Izaya can't say no to that, "....I....Awe you suwe?" They asked, still somehow not spitting out the hell candy. The more I read that back the more it sounds like OWO speak.

"I'm sure!~ I just want to see you happy. And it's already a nice experience to see that someone else doesn't like it either." He presses the piece of butterscotch into their hand, feeling a bit disheartened that he wouldn't be able to eat it after all. But it's worth it!

Izaya looked at the candy and looked to Leon. Oh gosh.....they swallowed the grape candy, enduring the horrible taste. They held up the butterscotch candy and looked to Leon, ".....I....I'd be even happier, if you um,.....if I could share it....w-with you?" they looked at Leon with those puppy dog eyes.

Leon's eyes narrow slightly. Did they just swallow that piece of candy? He's torn between abiding by their wishes or denying them of their request just for that. But socialization is a two-way street, right? He sighs lightly, but nods. "Sure. Only because it will make you happy, I'll compromise."

Izaya smiled, "I'm glad! I um," they stammered, gently breaking the candy in two, "I like when you smile so, it um, seeing you happy it, it makes me happy too!" Oh my god, thats so sappy. Izaya handed Leon a half with a smile. D'aww.

He smiles a bit at that. Leon's smile only grows when he pops his half of the butterscotch piece into his mouth. His eyes slide shut in pure bliss. The flavor alone warms his mouth, and as he swallows some of it it starts to warm his stomach too. His tense muscles relax some. He was complaining about the lack of sweets earlier, but it seems even Leon didn't know the extent of that. He refuses to chew or swallow the piece lest this end so soon.

Awwww, seeing Leon so happy made Izaya smile. That and the lovely smoothe butterscotch was complete bliss compared to the tangy hell from earlier. They followed suit and decided to let the candy melt. as they did so, Izaya looked to Leon curiously; Leon really did like sweets, huh? They figured perhaps in this case the interest matches the interestee.....was that even a word?

"Ah, sweets are so good!~" His eyes slide open. "I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am, I love butterscotch. It's my second favorite kind of candy~" He chimes.

"Wow, r-really? My favourite is probably white chocolate if I had to pick. But this tastes good too!" they hoped their chipping in hadn't sounded rude.

Leon doesn't seem to react negatively, so it probably isn't true. "I remember! I also added it to my growing list of everyone's favorite candies, so I'll be sure to make it when I can."

"Y-you will?!" Oh my god, they're doing the anime eye sparkles. "No one's ever made me chocolate before!"

He smiles warmly and laughs a bit. Izaya is just too cute. “Of course! So get to enjoy it~”

"I will! I promise!" Judging by the smile, Izaya was pretty darn happy! They piped up, "How do you make your chocolates? Is it a family recipe??" Wow, they're actually asking questions! they are confirmed comfortable around Leon hell yeah.

Hell yeah! Leon winks and presses his index finger to his lips. “Secret~ But it’s not a family recipe, I made it myself.” God Izaya is adorable.

Oh that's so cool! Izaya looked even more interested, "F-Forreal?! Wow, that's incredible!" they sheepishly rubbed the back of their neck, "I wish I could do something that cool, the only things I can make explode. And uh, not with flavour, haha..."

“Oh, but fireworks are so beautiful! I only see them sometimes, but the mood is always so pleasant and romantic when I do!” He beams.

"W-Wow, that's so lovely! I've always seen it as just a job, I guess. I never really thought fireworks could be romantic for some people..." they looked perplexed, like they're just learned a cool new fact, "I guess I could make um, heart shaped fireworks sometime.."

Leon’s eyes shine as he’s presented this new information. “That would be beautiful! I’ve always seen couples kissing under fireworks, so that would be amazing.”

"You think so?" Izaya asked, "I've never kissed anyone, um, with or without fireworks, so I wouldn't know." Izaya moved some hair behind their ear, "I remember one time someone asked me to- to make a firework that read um....what was it?...." they frowned trying to remember, "Oh um, it was 'Yeet'. I still have no idea what it means..."

“I think it’s an internet thing. You’re better off asking Seojun.” He laughs lightly. “Hey hey, if he were to make a romantic gesture do you think he’d pull something like that?? Throwing memes into the sky?”

Izaya snorted at that, cackling quietly, "Oh my god, dude, if he did I would cry." Izaya when would you ever not cry? "Honestly, do- do you think Seojun would actually do that?"

“Absolutely. I’ll ask him when I see him next just to confirm!~” He’s cackling quietly at this point thinking of Seojun’s reaction.

Izaya gave Leon a playful smile, "So, Seojun, hm? Is um, is he your type?" IZAYAYOUCAN'TJUSTASKTHAT. They realised how intrusive that was and immediately apologised, "A-Ah, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't-!!"

“Oh? No, it’s alright. Hmm... I’m honestly not even sure what my type would be! I just know that I’d like to have to opportunity to take care of them as much as they take care of me.” He hums softly, warm smile upon his lips. Leon plays with his rabbit pin lightly.

Izaya felt a lot less worried knowing Leon wasn't mad at them, and as they touched the pin, Izaya piped up, "Ah, you like rabbits, Leon-san?"

“Yes, I adore rabbits! They’re so cute with how their little noses twitch and how fluffy they are~ I’d love to have one one day. What about you, do you have any pets Izaya?” He rests his chin on the palm of his hand, leaning in curiously.

"they are super cute! I love the legends about rabbits on the moon." Izaya nodded, "I do actually, I have um, a ball python! Her name's Nyx! She's so pretty!" Well, thats a shock. "She likes to b-boop my chin!"

Leon has to withhold a squeal. His eyes glimmer. “That sounds so cute!! I’ve seen pictures of ball pythons, they seem so elegant~” Just the image of her booping Izaya’s chin is almost enough to send him into cuteness overload.

"She really is! She is a little, um, adventurous somethings though. She likes to curl up in my hoodie. I've almost worn her about forty times!" they sighed, but it was a sigh you'd hear a doting parent make, not an angry pet owner. It's p obvious Izaya loves their snek.

Leon brings his hands up to cover his mouth. He’s smiling so much. “Oh that sounds so cute!! I’m sure the two of you are adorable together~ I think I’ve pet a rabbit once or twice, but I want to wait until my schedule is a bit less busy so I can take care of the little guy properly. I want to show them as much love as you clearly show Nyx!”

"That's good!!" They smiled warmly, "Show your pet love and they'll love you back! that's what my grandma always told me! She used to have so many pets when she was my age." There they go, off on a tangent again.

“Oh? Tell me about them! And your Grandma~ She sounds cool!” Leon leans in a bit.

"Well, grandma used to have a really bit rabbit, two dogs, and a cat, but now she just has one cat and a really old dog. the cat doesn't like Nyx though, but um, the dog does! He's an akita, he's super fluffy! Sometimes she sleeps on him." they just kept talking, "Grandma always laughs whenever Nyx does the tongue thing, it's the sweetest sight!-"

Leon props his face up in both his hands, this having the side effect of squishing his cheeks. But he doesn’t care, he’s listening to this pure fluff! “That sounds so cute~ You all sound happy, and that makes me happy!”

Izaya couldn't help but think Leon looked super cute with his cheeks all smooshed in his hands like that! Adorable~!!! "Awww, thanks! I'm happy seeing you happy too!" They looked to Leon now the curious one, "What about your family, Leon? Are they sweet like you?"

He hums and smiles lightly. "My parents are nice. My sis is more of a tough love kind of girl, but she cares for me all the same. I think I'm the most outspoken about the way I feel though~"

"Awww, that must be so cool, having a sister! I'm an only child." Izaya pouted, "I wish I had like, big brothers, or big sisters, or anyt siblings so they could, like...protect me, and stuff." Their tone dipped a little.

"Well I'm here, and I can protect you if you want me to!~" He's smiling brightly. Please say yes please say yes please say yes please say yes please say yes--

"Y-You'd do that, for me?" Izaya looked stunned, "I-I'd love that!!"

Ah! So! Cute! Leon grins and pulls them into a hug. "Of course!" First official younger sibling acquired!

Achievement Unlocked: Older Brother Acquired! Izaya flushed again but this time they were prepared. Hug commence! Let's just hope they dont keep hugging too long this time. Someone needs to teach Izaya hug etiquette.

That's definitely not Leon. He knows how to hug well, but if he's enjoying too much he'll never let go until the other person is actively trying to pull away. He hugs Izaya tightly and give a little squeeze before pulling away this time though. Leon doesn't want another repeat of the fainting incident.

Izaya was glad Leon knew the perfect length a hug should be. Otherwise they'd be here for days, "W-Wow, I stayed conscious this time!" Izaya tried joking, hoping they were at that point by now.

He gives a short bark of laughter at that. "I'm trying to figure out how much affection you can handle before reaching that point~" He teases Izaya lightly before poking their cheek.

Izaya blushed, "W-Well, um, I haven't had....I mean,...I didn't get out much..." They babbled, wringing their hands together nervously.

"Don't worry, don't worry, I get it!" He smiles reassuringly. "Just teasing."

Izaya gave Leon a smile that assured him that they were indeed, reassured, "Thanks Leon. I dunno how I've functioned without a friend like you before!"