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alicenpai · 1 year

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anime north 2023 con report

finally posting this - thank you to everyone for a wonderful anime north!! \o/ this con prep season was the longest ive ever prepped for a con, and i think it was the busiest con for me ever. it makes me so happy to see people taking my art home!! 😭

so thank you for coming by anime north and chatting and supporting me! and thank you esp to the people who came by gifting their own merch?!??? - either fanart or ocs?! and im honored to see your beautiful ocs?!?? what the hell you guys are the GOAT thank you all 🥹🥹

it was so busy that i wish i had time to walk around & talk to other artists! i really wanted to get dango and onigiri at the delta too.. didnt really get time to eat so im sorry if you saw me shove 10 timbits in my mouth at the end of the con. yes i really did that .

throughout the con i kept saying "he just like me.. HE JUST LIKE ME FR!!!!!!!" every 5 seconds like an NPC. im sorry if you had to hear that more than once.

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i wasn't able to post my con catalogue for AN on tumblr and instagram... i was so busy.. dying... maybe if i do other cons this summer ill post something similar. i had a lot of new stuff this year so formatting it was rough haha. here it is! more thoughts under the cut (bc this report really is more for me, but maybe someone can find something useful)

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this is more for me honestly, so it will be really long. but i'm sharing it in case it may be helpful for others. i find that i'm always looking back at my old con reports, so typing out all of my thoughts are really useful to me. overall a great con, fellow artists and customers alike really inspire me to do better in my art.

comparisons to last year: (since i didn't end up making a con report last year!!!!!)

location: the artist alley layout was huge, and im really happy there are a lot more newcomers to the con scene. i know how much my first con experience meant to me, so i want others to join in on the fun! i don't know how the artist alley staff managed to fit so many artists in the building now! we got placed in a corner where there was a lot of breathing room, and a lot of traffic. i got lost a few times (didn't actually have time to walk around, but you know, it was to get in and out of the con centre and to the washroom/water station) because the amount of tables was overwhelming however, and the layout was super confusing. however i didn't feel as if there were any significant bottlenecks in traffic when i was taking some walk breaks.

commissions: last year it was still busy, but i still had some time to draw a handful of commissions. this year was a non stop barrage of customers! i think i may retire on the spot commissions at cons, just because ive always found it too stressful to draw right at the con, even if the traffic is slow. (and im lazy)

fandoms: last year i felt that it was... never so difficult to sell niche and old fandoms...? most people bought primarily 3 things from me at AN 2022, and not much else was touched. it was a struggle, and i even wondered if my art plateaued, if it wasn't good, if i should stop doing conventions altogether, at least for a little while. this year was so surprising with how much love there was for old and niche fandoms. two people from quebec came by and noticed the old fandoms and mentioned that if i was able to come to otakuthon, i should, people in mtl love nostalgia.. i'm gonna be honest otakuthon was pretty bad expenses-wise for me, but i heard it picked up since cons came back in 2022. it is a really beautiful city so mayhaps.. i will come for miss montreal.................

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and a separate section on the new merch i made:

the new sticker sheets i printed (one piece, baccano, breaking bad/better call saul) did so well! nts to add luffys scar bc apparently i forgot... ive seen this dumbass's face for hundreds of eps and yet i still forgot .

these are a far cry to the sticker sheets i designed in previous years. many sticker places restrict you on how many stickers you can place on a sheet due to spacing requirements... the more stickers you have + the closer they are, the higher the margin of error, which i understand is why many professional sticker printers have these restrictions in place.

the artists i worked with for my AN stickers are so genuinely nice and accommodating with my requests. I just went wild haha. the sheets with the most stickers are brba/bcs at 27 stickers and one piece at 32 stickers.

2021 (top) vs 2023 (bottom), the chara stickers on the new sheet are larger & 2x as many item stickers! the new design makes greater use of the space. my octopath 1 stickers are meant for planners but you could use it for anything!

in 2017 i could only realistically fit 6 ish stickers on a sheet (for vinyl, not cricut home printing) due to printing restrictions. these costed about $3.30 CAD per sheet from s/ticker/mule (not worth it for the price point AT ALL... but i wanted to try sheets for the first time)... and yes it's a tiny 4x7 as well. it was a hard sell for $7 in 2017. but im glad artists have been pricing them a bit higher + sheets have become much more customizable.

now on to charms:

i am so obsessed with this borderless charm look on the new charms... they look like candy... thank you guys for loving my new charms!! i tried out a new technique with designing charms. and im so happy with how they turned out. the charm manu was super accommodating and they are so much better than vograce who fucked up my order so bad in 2022 🤡👍

the soul eater charms from last year were kind of a precursor to this. last year i tried something a bit different than my usual with the transparent bgs, which require full bleed in the file setup, and that was already pretty new for me. i find that charm sales are usually pretty mid for me, so during the pandemic i took a soft break from making them, and i wanted to do research based on others' designs and really tried to improve my design sense. to me i want to design charms that aren't just a flat piece of artwork that gets printed, but something that utilizes the capabilities of the acrylic material it gets printed on 🤔

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fandoms/merch types i want to try next time i table:

more soul eater? it's one of my favourite animes and im very happy for the soul eater love this year. my partner kept selling out of her soul eater prints even though it was her first time tabling!

fma! ive been rereading AND rewatching it lately. it's one of my top 5 anime of all time so me drawing anything for it is a struggle, the bar is set so high. i never end up having the time or ideas to draw anything for it (and the aesthetics are very different from my usual taste)

shadows house has been one of my favorites recently!

dungeon meshi, the print i made was back in 2018 and i think it's time to retire it! it sold out at AN, thank you! with the way the story has developed in the last 5 years, i really want to draw something new for it if i can.

blue period needs more love!

golden kamuy.....

and many more.....

i also want to try mini prints maybe...

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administrative stuff:

next time before the con, i definitely need an organized chart i print out before the con so im not.. literally writing down each transaction... 🧍‍♀️

clamps...?

possibly new display? grids even with plastic panels are heavy... and they can be a pain to put up. this AN we had our neighbors and good friends @nappotuna & @stripeyworm helping us put the grids up, they did an absolute speedy banger job! but it might have taken way longer without 4 hands on the grid work.

if we had used tape to hold our prints up as well who knows how long it would have taken. we used magnets, apparently a lot of people were using them at TCAF. they were so easy to put up and adjustable. *jesse pinkman voice* MAGNETS, BITCH!!!!!!!

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merch i may shelve/do less of:

i really appreciate when artists talk about these kind of things behind the scenes... when products do well, when others dont, products w surprising responses, the factors that we think affect sales... the hard truth is that not everything sells, just bc the art is good =/= good sales, etc etc.

lately ive found it so fun to design sticker sheets over individual die cut stickers!! i understand now why some people only specialize in stickers!! it's also such a pain to stock individual characters and have greatly varying levels, bc of customer interest, and bc of how printing stickers works, you often get extras of random characters due to overflow 😭.. like at some point I had 7 jeannes and like only 1 of the other vnc charas bc the printer had so many extras and she's arguably less popular HDHFJSJHDJS anyways, i think i'll probably do less die cut individual stickers for my next con...

anything old that i only have 1 or a few copies left (meaning i won't reprint) i may not have for display anymore bc of space concerns... before my next con ill just post them on social media to have people claim them!

i may want to do less 3" charms in the future...? theyre a hard sell online prob bc i cant really do deals (i could but id have to be checking the stock every few hours which is not ideal), but they do a lot better in person due to deals.

it's been fun to try specialty products (I've tried scrunchies, stamps, pouches, microfiber cloths, coasters, enamel pins), but i... find they dont sell well for me... maybe my art doesnt have that wide mainstream nostalgic merch type appeal idk... maybe im just not good at designing or advertising them wahahaha. (specialty charms are still charms and i wouldn't necessary consider them a part of this)

my jojo buttons were really popular at anime north 2019 and fan expo 2019, but when the part 5 anime concluded, i noticed that interest for the interest completely moved on 😭 (or it's possible that everyone who was interested bought the buttons already?). part 6 anime didn't rejuvenate the same level of interest. it was a struggle to sell even more than a handful of these at each AN 2022 and 2023. right now they're taking up a lot of space in my con luggage that i'd prefer for newer, better art. i still love the art i did, but unfortunately, i think ill give them a go if i get into otakuthon (and maybe fanexpo too), then it'll be time to retire the jojo buttons. sometimes fandoms come and go so fast, and it's difficult to keep old merch around when they don't have any more interest and when they're occupying a lot of space.

my banana fish lollipop charms do not sell well, and i only sold 5 of them in a 3 year period, across cons and my shop. i created a bargain bin at AN, and it really helped me get rid of old things! unfortunately even in the bargain bin i could not sell a single one of the banana fish charms. maybe it's the art that's not appealing, the characters aren't recognizable, the price point for a lollipop charm was too high, i wasn't hitting the right audience, the market was slow around the time, even when it was included in my promo post... etc. these lollipops were my first time making specialty charms. unfortunately i think that's the last time making lollipop charms, and about time to recycle these charms, so that i have space for fresher and better art!

other thoughts moving on:

maybe go back to simplifying my art a lot more... if i keep making drawings like my great ace attorney tarot + zine, witch hat atelier print, and pandora hearts print, then id not only take 1 month per illustration, id also be destroying my arm 😭 i stopped stylizing my art in 2021 bc i found that my art was getting sloppy in 2020 + i was really struggling in life drawing in school. i needed to buckle down and be more conscientious when drawing poses, learning anatomy and structure... and bc getting back into anime in 2021 really helped me cope with the isolation of the lockdown, so that had a huge influence on my style. but bc of that i think it just took longer and longer to make illustrations and that's something i no longer really wish for.

i really like the period of my art in 2017 with a lot of my persona 4/5 art bc it still has structure even though it's simplified... and the style in my zelda icon... mayhaps experiment a bit more this summer if i can...

#anime north 2023 #anime north

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sevicia · 3 months

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give me the movie recs instead! scary is ok

LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Under a read more cause I looove talking, and the sections are ordered by like, priority of recommendation if that makes sense ... I also tried 2 actually rank them but I am not very good @ that LOL

Personal Enjoyment ONLY!!!:

No theme besides personal enjoyment "just for fun"/not relatable edition:

The Batman - I love it I just love it. I watched it bc my sister put it on and my pen's battery had run out. I was CLUELESS

Spree - That's my attention whore wife that would kill me for views !!!!!!

Jacob's Ladder - The best fever dream anyone could ever ask for !!! Everything about this movie is perfect. And this doesn't really matter TOO much ....... BUT …….. !!!! Tim Robbins in short shorts towards the end .......... save meeeee .................

Antiviral - I rewatched this one just before writing this LOL. It made me crazy when I first saw it back in 2022 and it makes me crazy now too!! The entire movie feels cold & sterilized but it's still Completely Sexual. Syd March I know what you are. OH also I like to think Mr. Cronenberg Sir is proud of his son bc this ruuuuules

Martyrs - This is like the ultimate "can't rec it as-is" movie bc of the amount of people that are genuinely disturbed by it & don't get me wrong I am one of them!! But there's just something here that has me thinking about it so often. The violence is amazing and the feeling in my stomach is horrible every time !!

No theme besides personal enjoyment mental illness edition:

Pulse (AKA Kairo) - Extremely close to my heart, the way loneliness relates to the internet & technology in general is such an interesting topic it would be enough to make this movie stand out for anyone, but I have such a personal fondness for it because of how much I felt it understood me. In a few ways.

Pearl - IDGAF how many people have gone "just like me fr" cause I am also one of them. I don't get the whole "female rage" thing that gets mentioned a ton (on account of me being some guy), but the theme of never being able to escape a life you hate ??? Absolutely fucking terrifying & hits super hard for me specifically

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? - The RESENTMENT, the ANGER, the DESPAIR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It resonated w/ me a lot more in the past but not so much anymore, which is good LOL

HORROR!! YAY!!:

Horror SERIOUS edition:

The Thing - certified classic I legit think everyone should watch this one at least once in their lives. The practical effects r amazing, the story is GRIPPING & many of the actors r hot. Literally what else could u ask for…..

Hellraiser - Huge DUH ….. The short story is so good too Mr. Clive Barker I owe you my life !!!!!

The House That Jack Built - Pretentious, yes! But also really fun/satisfying to watch. I've seen some people comment on this kinda movie being typical for the director? But IDK who that man is & I don't care either. Like at all.

Ringu - Just a classic. So creepy I have to hype myself up to watch it LOL

Persona - INSAAAAANE INSANE INSANE. I saw someone say it's toxic yuri which like. Yeah I think. But also it left me confused in a rly good way

Noroi: The Curse - honestly should be self-explanatory @ this point. GENUINELY scared the shit outta me

Repulsion - Also a drama (besides a horror), the way the main character's paranoia escalates is just .... haunting, I think is the word. There's some degree of irony in here, because of who the director is, that I can't really articulate.

Gorefest / not too serious:

Creep - INSANE found footage about a guy making decisions that seem questionable if not stupid to most people, but not to me. I understand him. (disclaimer that this one could also go in the prev. category ..... I don't knowwww)

Intruder - I was on a slasher kick a few years back and this was one of the better ones. The convenience store setting is so much fun & something I'd never seen before! Or since.

Rec - SOOOO anxiety inducing, there's a lot of moments where people r talking/yelling over each other & the part towards the end that explains the whole thing is just. 0_0. to me. Bc it's among the top 3 things I do NOT fuck with !!! (same disclaimer as w/ Creep).

Hostel - I actually really like this one & don't understand most of the criticisms besides the obvious misogyny. It irks me a lot that it gets called "torture porn" so often when it's just … not that bad ? As edgy as that sounds !!

Cube - go there. in the cube? go in the cube.

The Poughkeepsie Tapes - Zero excuses for this one, you just gotta embrace your shit taste sometimes

Terrifier - Separate from the 2nd one cause that one is different in more than a few ways ..... but this one is just like charming to me in a weird way. It 's fucking filthy like, visually tho cause of the abandoned building & other such things ....

Terrifier 2 - This one I also enjoyed a lot though it IS really really long, I found it fun! The whole family aspect of it I liked a lot bc fictional siblings my beloved :3 though Art's backstory is still rly muddy (4 me at least) I do think it's like, a fun silly slasher if you've got 2 hrs and a lot of patience LOL

Just fun overall!!:

YAY!!!!!!!!!:

ROBOTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Oh my GOD I love this movie. I love this movie so much it's probably my favorite childhood movie. It's funny as fuck, really pretty AND has a good story. IK it may sound like nostalgia's involved but I just truly believe it's an amazing movie<3

Birds of Prey - This one is just a serotonin machine for me I love Harley so so muchh

Wendell & Wild - Visually insane I looove the look of this movie. It's also just rly enjoyable, I watched it multiple times at one point since it's on Netflix I think ? My mom got sick of it LOL

Bottoms - Absolutely bonkers it's such a fun movie. Gay and untalented and ugly and yet one of the most lovable movies I've ever seen ?? They need to print more of these

A Trip to Infinity - This one's actually a documentary on um. Infinity. Which is lovely because watching scientists be enthusiastic about their work and gush about it is just so good for my brain + it made me cry

The nostalgia I have 4 these ones is craaazy:

The Butterfly Effect - this was on TV SO OFTEN it was insane. I watched it so many times as a kid I always insisted on not changing the channel

The Voices - SO fun & silly I think of it so fondly .....

Paranorman - I love this movie so so much forever it's just so beautiful & funny

Zombieland - It's just fun man IDK what else to tell u

Sucker Punch - Another one that was often on TV, it's just embedded in my memory forever. I learned what a lobotomy was bc of this movie!!

MISC!!!:

These are dramas !!:

Parasite - Just watch it if u haven't. Everyone says you should watch it and they're RIGHT !!!

The Devils - I love horny church stuff so much

Let the Right One In - fucking loved this one. Freezing cold, very pretty AND probably the best vamp movie I've ever seen. Though I haven't seen a lot

Girl, Interrupted - insane behavior from the girls here but they're literally in a psych ward so who cares

These r good but I don't remember them much SOB:

The Eyes Of My Mother - this one gets called slow/boring a lot but I really don't gaf I still liked it

Wolf Creek 1 + 2

The Descent

Phenomena - The 1st game of the Clock Tower series was based on/inspired by this movie! Nothing else 2 say I just think it's cool lol

American Mary

A Clockwork Orange - I watched this nearly an entire decade ago but it goes here because of the fact that sometimes I still hear that dumb cunt Alex DeLarge go "I've suffered, and I've suffered, and I've suffered!" inside my head a lot. Also I have to mention that he did look good beaten up despite everything going on w/ him.

#danties #long post #literally so so fucking long I'm sorryyyyyyyyyyy .................................................. it's my verbose soul ..................#much to think about #<- thoughts were displayed

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pithyorangecurd · 2 years

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I posted 14,762 times in 2022

That's 14,762 more posts than 2021!

1,227 posts created (8%)

13,535 posts reblogged (92%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@damazcuz

@kerink

@lexaprogf

@petrichorvoices

@unyanizedcatboys

I tagged 3,716 of my posts in 2022

#dama - 109 posts

#long post - 107 posts

#benny - 98 posts

#keri - 97 posts

#chell and bourbon - 65 posts

#artyom - 52 posts

#bourbon - 51 posts

#cecil - 48 posts

#real - 47 posts

#my art - 41 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#and the spiritual successor of it in the furious little hot head who wants to burn a circus to the ground for stealing his brother from him

My Top Posts in 2022:

He was a kid once. Fifteen.

150 notes - Posted September 4, 2022

If Elias found out there was a place that required you to fill out a form to have sex you wouldn't be able to remove him from it. No power would be able to seperate him from that wonderland.

156 notes - Posted May 24, 2022

On the matter of Jon and Martin's descent into Nightvale Citizens I would say.

Jon's died three times now.

Once by Tim, buried in rubble.

Once by Elias, calling on the end of the world, calling all the powers that be into his mortal form, crushing him into a spec and a blip and then exploding inwards out.

Once by Martin, gouging his eye out, and severing him from the only thing maintaining him. Everything cut off again, but this time there's no explosion of power to bring poor little Jon back, just everything inhabiting and crushing him out of the way as it sucks into him.

Jon died, and he wasnt coming back, except Nightvale is a living beast and the roads pathe her body, and she Cares for the people she holds. And especially she cares for her Voice, who hates gore. Jon died, but he and Cecil are the same beast, so they can inhabit a single soul together, because Cecil died too. He's being inhabited the same as Jon, and what chaces Cecil is just as happy to haunt and linger on the sides of Jon's vision just out of the way, waiting for him to See It so he can be hunted.

Jon missed being hunted, I imagine it feels special. He's not alone anymore, and this one he can't help but to love because this hunting nourishes him. He just can't hunt back, lest it consume him.

That's his to deal with!

Anyways, Jon sharing CECIL'S soul, which is the hard to explain part to Martin. Do I love him?? I dont THINK so? But I feel like I'll die if I take ten steps away. Sharing Cecil's soul makes you less than human in a weird way. He shows you so much, and forces your eyes to glaze over the bad parts of things, he turns you stupid. Jon in s5 would have seen the bowing chipping painting of a sky and been worried, but wtse hardly notices the creak and blames the footsteps on bad weather. When he has paintchips fall in his ice cream he just makes a face at cecil when he leans over to lick it off and laugh and say its just sunlight its not going to HURT you, Jon.

Cecils making him oblivious.

It would take Martin noticing, and it's Martin's job to. But Martin was born of Jon. Sad!

Martin died of heartbreak, and accepted a seperation from everyone and everything. And left his soul attached to Jon, who accepted it. And then Jon died, and now Jon's soul is a distorted thing that hops and skitters and caws and is that a caw? It sounds like an owl, but it certainly isnt. It clicks.

Martin's turned weird, as Jon is turned weird. Martin's supposed to be Jon's Earl, but he's turning into his Carlos. Earl was made FOR Cecil, but Martin was made OF Jon.

They're turning into citizens quicker than either would care to notice, which is a lot quicker than they actually WOULD notice. Kinda cute!

158 notes - Posted May 10, 2022

Bro the gossip in nightvale rn has to be insane fr

208 notes - Posted June 15, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Ill be honest i dont vibe w the jon was always in love with martin narrative

1,768 notes - Posted July 16, 2022

#I do agree im a mutuals Stan blog thanks tumblr

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whewchilly · 2 years

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2 and 6 !

2. Is there a driver you like more now than you did at the beginning of the season?

its kind of cheating bc ive always loved him but i might say charles. watching him this season has been a rollercoaster but i think seeing how he has dealt with the tough moments with grace and humility and he came back everytime and eventually was able to make the most of the year with p2 it has really only made me love him even more.

if i can’t cheat then i would say maybe daniel! i haven’t really ever been a fan but i think again it’s been his actions in the tougher times that have shown me a new side of him and i feel he was done very nasty by mclaren this year but still kept it classy. he better than me fr. respect

6. Something you're excited to see in DTS?

100000% all the piasco drama. this is what drive to survive©️ was put on this earth for.

i was excited for them to hopefully ignore sebs existence again but then @gaslygirlboss also has me excited for any potential ✨ sebchal content ✨ but ill say it again i WILL press charges against Netflix if any france 2022 hockenheim 2018 comparisons are made. state and federal charges.

#asks #🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

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anjumstar · 1 year

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All the Way Home ch5

Read on AO3

rating: teen

pairing: bakudeku

word count: 33.1k/81.1k

summary: Four years ago, All For One and Shigaraki were defeated, taking One For All with them. At twenty years old, Katsuki and a quirkless Izuku are heroes, boyfriends, and partners. Until one day, they’re hit by a quirk that suddenly makes them fathers too. Now, with a newborn baby, they have to figure out who did this to them, and why it means the downfall of superhuman society.

This work is a part of the @bakudekubigbang 2022. Updates will be weekly.

first chapter - previous chapter - next chapter

master list

Chapter Five - All the Livelong Day

Katsuki approached Endeavor Agency incognito. Like yesterday, he had on a facemask and a cap, but now he was also sporting a hoodie and backpack. The hoodie was emblazoned with the initials of the local college, Musutafu University, and with the backpack, he looked like nothing more than an ordinary student. Plus, if he held the backpack around the straps and thrust his chest out like his nerdy boyfriend had racing to get to class back at U.A., his whole posture graduated to something unrecognizable as Bakugou Katsuki or Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight.

Only when he was safely in one of the skyscraper’s elevators did Katsuki do away with the hood, but he kept the rest in place. Maybe the mask would make people think that he’d been away due to an illness, and they’d stand the fuck back.

It was a perfect plan until the moment the elevator door pinged open.

“So, you and Izuku have a love child,” Shouto stated, standing right in front of the sliding door.

“Fuck—!” Katsuki recoiled, falling back against the mirrored wall of the elevator. “How did you know I was coming?”

“I saw you approaching from the window,” Shouto explained. “In that outfit, you were either you or a criminal, and most criminals don’t walk right into hero agencies.”

Katsuki scoffed, throwing off the backpack and letting it sling off one shoulder as he pushed past Shouto. Clearly he needed a high-level disguise. Like a birthday clown, or a wig to look like Denki—no one would ever have a reason to stop him to talk.

“We don’t have a love child ,” Katsuki spat.

“Oh, so you don’t have a biological baby, born to the both of you before marriage?”

Shouto blinked at Katsuki, and from the vacant look on his face, Katsuki could tell it was a genuine question despite how bitchy it sounded. He scowled and tore off his sweatshirt. All the flame-quirked heroes in the office made it feel like an eternal steam room, a hot spring they could charge millions for.

“Fine, I guess he’s a fucking love child.”

“I see,” Shouto said. “Do you…need any help?”

“Not from a Todoroki,” Katsuki said as he stomped off towards his desk.

Katsuki already spent a worrying amount of time amongst Todorokis. The last thing he needed was them rubbing off on him any more than they already had, or otherwise spreading their crazy influence in his direction.

“Okay,” Shouto said, following behind. “Well, at least try to answer your text messages or tell Izuku to. Everyone is concerned.”

Katsuki whipped around. “What’s there to be concerned about? And who’s everyone?”

“Our friends.” Shouto frowned. “And having a child is difficult for anyone. Much more so when it’s unexpected.”

“Yeah, well, I trust Deku,” Katsuki grumbled as he sat down at his desk chair and tossed his shit to the side.

“Then I suppose you’ll be fine,” Shouto mused. “Do you have a picture?”

Katsuki squinted up at Shouto. “Why?”

“New parents always want to show off pictures of their children.”

Katsuki eyed Shouto for a moment longer before taking out his phone. It was littered with notifications, all of which he swiped past as he opened the camera app.

His most recent photo was the one he’d taken on the way out the door that morning. Sugu’s features were slightly hidden in the dark room, but his hair resembled Izuku’s more than it ever had. Dark, dark green under the scant light creeping into the bedroom from the living room. And Izuku, of course, looked how he always did. Mouth slightly open and drooling—much like Sugu’s—as always happened when Izuku’s quality of sleep was shitty. Katsuki smiled softly.

“Hmm,” Shouto hummed.

“What?” Katsuki snapped, snatching his phone back. He hadn’t realized Shouto had been looking over his shoulder.

“He looks exactly the same as in that media picture.”

“You can only see the side of his head in that one!”

Shouto shrugged. “There’s not much more to look at than that.”

“Fuck off,” Katsuki snarled, pocketing the phone. “Whadda you know?”

“Not much,” Shouto conceded. “You haven’t told me anything. Anyway, I’m sure you know you’re on desk duty.”

“Don't tell me your dad finally kicked it and you're my boss,” Katsuki snarked. When Shouto only returned him a bland expression, he groaned and clicked his computer on. “ ‘S why I’m at my desk, hotshot.”

“Alright,” Shouto said, retreating. Off to patrol or be on call like the ungrateful bastard he was. “Text your friends, Katsuki.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes as Shouto walked away.

Desk duty. Like a fucking chump. Catching up on his and Izuku’s emails, no doubt. Later on was the dreaded meeting with PR to figure out something to explain…everything. It had shown up on his schedule, probably courtesy of the big boss himself with capitalized words like MANDATORY and CONFIDENTIAL.

That rotted feeling in his stomach returned at the idea of plotting a strategy for opening this part of their lives up to the public. Katsuki could already predict the scenarios they’d have to prepare for and try to anticipate. Accusations of being inappropriate parents, that they shouldn’t have a kid they hadn’t planned for. As though people didn’t have unplanned kids every day. But what did Katsuki have to offer to prove them wrong?

Katsuki clicked away from his calendar and back to his desktop. They had a PR team whose job it was to plan for these kinds of events—that sure as hell wasn’t Katsuki’s job. He’d put it out of his mind until then.

Aside from that upcoming clusterfuck, his day was somewhat freeform. So, ignoring his email icon for the moment, Katsuki logged into the quirk database. There were surprisingly few recent entries, but Katsuki would be scrolling back quite a ways anyway. He clicked on the search bar and typed in procreation.

He only got a few dozen hits, which was promising for narrowing down the field, but he’d also have to do the same hunt with different synonyms like conception and reproduction. From there, it was a matter of nixing any candidates who weren’t female and didn’t have a birthday in the same ballpark as his. Unfortunately, that was all the detail Katsuki had to work with. Deku would probably be doing the same thing at home whenever he got a spare moment—they’d have to share findings to make sure to avoid overlap.

Katsuki clicked on the first option and worked out the crick in his neck already forming with a head tilt to the left and to the right. And then, he got to work.

“You know, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. That’s probably been confusing for you. My name is Midoriya Izuku, also known as Hero Deku. And I’m your…”

Izuku tilted his head as he looked down at Sugu, searching for contact with those bright red eyes that wandered vaguely in his direction. He moved in closer to the bassinet, seeing Sugu’s eyes lock on as he reached that thirty-centimeter range. Izuku almost would have called the look recognition—but it only lasted a moment before Sugu’s eyes lost him again.

“Huh,” he said. “I guess I don’t know what you should call me.” His head rotated the other way and his mouth curved into a smile.. “What do you think?”

All Sugu could offer was a bubble of drool trailing down his chin, to which Izuku nodded.

“Very good idea—I’ll let Kacchan know your opinion.”

Izuku still tasted Katsuki’s breakfast on his lips—he’d have to remember to brush his teeth soon. It was still early morning, though, judging by the sliver of sunlight that was just beginning to stretch on the floor. By that estimate, Katsuki had arrived at work maybe an hour earlier. He’d be on desk duty, as was protocol after going through such a life upheaval. Katsuki would rear against it—guaranteed—but at least he was working. Izuku wasn’t on any cases and wasn’t likely to be assigned any while carrying his limited status. The itch to work was already tickling the back of his mind, urging him to turn on the news, jog to the gym, don his uniform and walk an unofficial patrol.

He disregarded it. He could work out once Sugu was back asleep, and that would be the level of training he’d consider adequate for a regular day off. And then he could…

Katsuki had just about emptied out the fridge of raw ingredients, leaving little besides the wall of bentos remaining, so there wasn’t any cooking to be done. He could always clean, and surely would before Katsuki returned home. But then?

Work had never afforded Izuku many more spare hours than those needed to eat and sleep. Nor had school, and certainly the war hadn’t even spared him that much. Izuku glanced around the apartment. He supposed there were still more pieces of baby furniture that needed constructing, but he could probably complete that by the end of the day. He’d have to stretch tasks out much longer with his current indefinite paternity leave.

“What are we gonna do, little guy?” Izuku asked. But the baby was already fast asleep again.

Right. Despite the constant company, it still wasn’t so much a matter of we so much as it was a matter of Izuku alone. And perhaps that’s why he did the thing he’d been putting off doing for days, and picked up his phone. He scrolled past the slew of texts that had gone unread and typed a short line:

Hey! You off work?

“Oh my god, it’s really true.”

“Yeah, still doesn’t feel like it.”

“I bet,” Ochako said, her voice low as she knelt down beside the bassinet. “Geez, he’s cute.”

“He is,” Izuku said warmly. “Just wait until you see his eyes—they’re just like Kacchan’s.”

“That’s what makes him cute to you,” Ochako corrected. “I’m talking ‘bout these little chubby cheeks.”

She just barely brushed Sugu’s peach fuzz with a rounded fingertip, smiling to herself. Izuku was struck with an image a few years down the line of Ochako’s quirk being the most fun for a toddler to play with. Katsuki’s would be limited at best, and even if Izuku still had One For All, none of those quirks had been particularly kid-friendly. Ochako’s would be just the one to entertain a kid for hours—or until either of them got seasick.

“No freckles?”

“Hmm? Oh, no,” Izuku replied, kneeling down beside her, resting his hands on his knees as hers braced the edge of the crib. “He’ll need a lot more hours in the sun before we’ll know. I mean, Kacchan gets little freckles on his shoulders in the sun, so he’ll probably have some , but we won’t really see for a couple years.”

“Wow, such an expert,” Ochako said, bumping Izuku with her shoulder. “Just like being back in school, huh? Bet you already have at least three notebooks.”

“Just one,” Izuku said sheepishly. “And no, I feel like such an idiot. There’s so much to know and almost none of it is obvious. All he can give us is that he’s hungry, tired, or needs changing. There’s nothing instinctive about, like, which stroller brand is best for living in a small apartment or putting together a damn car seat. Nothing instinctive about how to pass on all your good traits and keep Sugu from getting the bad ones. What?”

A big smile broke on Ochako’s face and she waved Izuku away as she tried to wipe it off to no avail. Her cheeks stayed big and round as Sugu’s.

“Sugu,” she cooed, echoing the name. “Like sugoi. Kacchan, sugoi!”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s what we were thinking,” Izuku chuckled.

“But it works,” Ochako said, almost smug when she raised her brows at Izuku. “He’s surprising and amazing.”

“That’s for sure,” Izuku agreed. “Definitely a surprise.”

Sugu seemed rapt as they both leaned against the bassinet. His eyes followed Ochako and Izuku, particularly their fingers gesticulating over the crib’s edge. Izuku wondered if he had any idea that he was meeting someone new. If he could pick up on the floral notes in Ochako’s perfume when neither Izuku nor Katsuki usually bothered with cologne. They shared a deodorant that had a sharp musk smell, though—did babies notice stuff like that? Could he see how much smaller Ochako’s hands were than Izuku’s? How dainty they were with their pinkened fingertips compared to his tiger-stripe scars and misshapen bones?

A moment passed before Izuku noticed that Ochako’s gaze had turned from Sugu onto him. She rested her cheek on her wrist and blinked up at him. “Deku-kun. Are you happy?”

Izuku exhaled, brushing a finger lightly through Sugu’s curled, green wisps. Apparently they’d fall out soon and he’d grow a whole new head of hair. Darker like Izuku’s own or perhaps he’d take on more of Katsuki’s traits. Doubtless, Sugu would be able to carry either of them off.

“Honestly, it’s still mostly confusing,” he said, drawing his hand to stroke Sugu’s delicate head tenderly. “It’s like my mind can’t catch up to what’s happened.”

“Well, if your mind can’t catch up, no one’s can.”

Izuku chuckled wryly. “Great.”

“And, in turn, your mind will catch up faster than anyone else’s would,” Ochako declared. “Yours and Katsuki-kun’s. Just look at him. You’ll fall in love with him soon enough.”

The hidden accusation stung, like passing through underbrush only to belatedly find that the supposedly harmless leaves were barbed and hooked at their edges. Was he that obvious? His disconnect with the baby was that quantifiable, something Ochako could see after only a few minutes? Was he that obvious to Katsuki too?

“It’s okay—it’s okay!” Ochako rushed upon seeing Izuku’s face. “It’s not a bad thing!”

“Isn’t it?” Izuku whispered. “It’s not like it’s a good thing. How could it be okay that I…if I don’t yet?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s normal,” Ochako said. “He’s not exactly a whole person yet. You can’t talk to him about heroes or make katsudon for him or help him with his homework. You’re not getting all that good stuff yet—it’s only the beginning.”

“But I’m supposed to love him unconditionally. He’s cute and he’s a part of me,” Izuku murmured. He blinked, opening his eyes wide before squeezing them shut again, keeping things under control.

“You’re not withholding anything, Deku-kun,” Ochako said, taking Izuku’s hand and squeezing the sweat from palm, his heart line, his life line. “You’re just still getting to know him. And adjusting.”

Izuku took a deep breath. With it came a little bit of settling, down his throat and between his ribs. “I just wish…I wish I could skip the confusion. Loving him should be the easy part, right?”

“No,” Ochako shook her head with a compassionate smile. “It’ll be different for everyone. But feeling guilty won’t make it easier.”

“But it should be. I mean, look at him,” Izuku said, tracing a single finger from his head down his shoulder to his chubby sausage arms. “He’s gorgeous. Kacchan’s eyes, of course, but look at these little fingers! They have dimples in the knuckles— dimples . And he’s just so tiny , can you believe it? I had no idea they were this small.”

Ochako smiled. “It sounds like you’re halfway there already.” She carded her fingers through the hair above his ear, where he’d let it get a little long like he was back in high school again. He’d probably have the full look back before long—a haircut was sounding like a distant whim now.

“Well…halfway in three days isn’t bad, I guess,” Izuku allowed. “So long as it doesn’t slow down.”

Ochako shook her head fondly, putting her hand back on the crib. “Always gotta be running so fast,” she said. “Okay, let’s get started on that dresser. Soon this baby is gonna have so many clothes he’s not gonna know what to do with them.”

“He’s not going to have that many,” Izuku said, opening box one of two that he’d dragged into the bedroom before her arrival. “I don’t think me and Kacchan are really trying for the best dressed baby award.”

Ochako looked at Izuku skeptically. “Really?”

“Um…” Izuku looked down at the shirt he was wearing. A white tee shirt Katsuki had declared was Indoor only, Deku when the underarms had grown a bit too discolored and it had started growing little holes around the seams on the shoulders and the bottom hem. Right now it also had a barely visible stain of formula and spit that Sugu had burped back up after his most recent feeding. “Yes?”

“Really,” Ochako asked again, her voice deadpan. “You’re telling me that you, Midoriya Izuku, hero fanboy extraordinaire, aren’t going to be using your son as your newest little model for hero merch? He’s not going to wear a cape saying I am here before he can walk?”

Izuku’s mind lit up with the possibilities. A winter onesie with a hood with green bunny ears like his own costume. A set of black shirt and pants with an orange X emblazoned across the front. A little pink and black onesie with fat fuzzy socks for Ochako’s costume, because why limit Sugu’s gender expression?

“I’m sure,” Ochako continued, “that Momo would break her I don’t want to disrupt the economy rule for little baby-sized costume replicas.”

“Ochako-chan,” Izuku gasped, “you’re a genius!”

Ochako laughed. “Hopefully! If we have to put together this furniture.”

Izuku took all the various planks out of the box and found the instructions folded like a hand-sized accordion. Probably just about the right size for Sugu, actually. “It’ll be fine,” he said.

“Better than doing it with Katsuki-kun, I imagine,” Ochako noted as she flipped all the planks so that their assigned numbers pointed up. “Sounds like a nightmare.”

Izuku was silent, lips pursed as he read through the instructions. He’d already been defeated by one instruction booklet this week, and he wouldn’t let another take him down.

“Well? Isn’t it?”

Izuku put down the booklet and searched for the piece of particleboard labeled with a 1. He stared at it, pointedly looking away from Ochako as he said, “Yes.” Ochako giggled and Izuku bit back a smile.

Izuku and Katsuki had grown to be able to put aside a lot of their baser urges to one-up the other and prove that their idea was the best one on the field. Years of strategizing together, developing trust and learning each other’s strengths had earned them that skill. Their time living together too had boasted a fairly equivalent division of labor.

Such was not the case when putting together assembly-required furniture.

All those years of listening to and trusting each other’s opinions when faced with the disembodied pieces of a bed frame or desk were out the window, much like a few of the nuts and screws had been last time they’d had to build together.

Things were much smoother with Ochako, who allowed Izuku to handle the instructions and tell her what to do as slowly planks became drawers, which became a dresser. They were just about done when Izuku’s phone rang—and there were only three or four numbers that weren’t set to silent this week.

“Hold on,” Izuku said as he reached for the device.

Izuku’s lockscreen was lit up with Kacchan <3 . When he drew his thumb down on the screen to read the text, he frowned.

“What is it?” Ochako asked.

Izuku put the phone down and checked the bassinet. Still sleeping soundly.

“Looks like you’re not the only one to meet Sugu today.”

Ochako cocked her head to the side. “Who else is meeting him?”

“Ah,” Izuku started. “Just…all of Japan.”

The shift in Katsuki’s disguise from day to night was as simple as removing the sunglasses and shifting the brim of his hat so far down that he mostly had to stare down at the sidewalk to guide his way home. It was just as well—he could keep his eyes out for any errant gum or dog shit whilst avoiding eye contact with any and all passersby.

Underneath the hat and the hood and the mask, he wore a pair of corded earbuds, the white cable visible even as the sky turned dark. The nail in the coffin saying don’t approach me, don’t talk to me, I’m busy . It was all set to work, except he didn’t even make it out the door.

“Taking home confidential documents?”

Katsuki angled his shoulder, dropping Burnin’s hand off of it as he pulled the papers off the printer. They filled the room with the smell of warmth, like stuffy steam and static electricity. Burnin’s inherent smokiness covered all of that, though, as soon as Katsuki slipped the papers into an opaque folder.

“They’re just for Deku,” he said, pulling an earbud from his ear. “Can’t email ‘em, so we’re doing the old fashioned way.”

Even with their computers logged into VPN’s, email was just too risky. There were too many quirks either adaptable to technology or strictly made for it and too many hackers for hire. And as technology grew more advanced, so too did the quirks. Katsuki couldn’t imagine what the next generation of quirk wielders would be capable of.

“Woulda been fine either way,” Burnin said. “Glad to hear that Deku’s able to do some working from home, though. I know that after I gave birth, I was good for absolutely nothing short of feeding the baby and feeding myself.”

“Ah, how is the squirt?” Katsuki asked. “Looking like the Ghostbusters Slimer yet, or has he chosen not to take after you?”

The question came out without much thought. Katsuki had never been one to ask about the family before, not in a Todoroki-run office or ever. But he didn’t know many people with kids, certainly not young ones, and Burnin’s was only four, if memory served.

Burnin raised her brows, the out-of-character moment apparently not going unnoticed. “He’s fine. No quirk yet, but I don’t mind a late bloomer. Shoot, seeing all you kids grow up as fast as you had to makes me wanna keep him quirkless and in preschool forever.”

“Can hardly imagine that snot-nosed kid saving the world in ten years,” Katsuki said. “Then again, I woulda said the same thing about Deku back then. ‘Course, he actually was quirkless.”

“Yeah, it’s wild to look at them and imagine what they could be,” Burnin said wistfully. “I don’t think any of the kids in preschool have gotten their quirk yet, though, so it’s a little easier to imagine them just being babies forever. You’re gonna miss even these days with your little one. They grow up so, so fast at first, and then it just…doesn’t really slow down.”

Unlike Katsuki, Burnin was still in full costume, and Katsuki could hardly muse over how unusual it was these days for a whole herd of four-year-olds not to have one quirk manifestation yet before she was lifting her mask to rub under her eyes. Eyeliner smudged, but the mask was partially responsible. It would smudge more as soon as she put it back on.

“You good?” Katsuki asked. He restrained from taking a step back and landing himself in the printer.

“Yeah,” Burnin said, but the sniffle that followed didn’t really quite sell it. “You just don’t know how lucky you are to get a baby so easily.”

“Lucky?”

Katsuki hadn’t really considered luck of any kind in this situation. It had all the appearances of being intentional, which was why he was bringing the documents of today’s work home to Izuku so that they could crack the purposefulness of this case. Nevertheless, something that so thoroughly threw off one’s life course wasn’t what Katsuki would classify as lucky.

“I took it for granted too, how easy it was to have a baby the first time,” Burnin said, her wide smile alarming under her shimmering eyes. “I’d taken for granted that my body could do it, since I didn’t even plan to have kids. But then the war…well, I’m sure you know as well as I do how it makes you reprioritize. Well, it turns out that just because it happened easily the first time, doesn’t mean it’s a sure thing the second time.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Katsuki responded, trying to juice every bit of empathy he could into the words as his core stiffened, his face almost wincing under his baseball cap under the intimacy of the confession.

“Shit, I’m sorry, what am I saying,” Burnin said, coming back to herself as she slipped her domino mask back on, wiping her eyes. “You’re little Bakugou! Bakugou-shonen. Sorry—having a kid doesn’t mean you’re a different person.”

“Doesn’t mean you can call me Bakugou-shonen either,” Katsuki groused, wrinkling his nose. “And besides…it does change you.”

“Yeah,” Burnin admitted. “You say it won’t, but it does.”

Katsuki suspected this kind of different treatment was a lot of what he’d have to expect as soon as the news segment went live in a matter of minutes. Better get used to it now.

“I actually gotta go,” Katsuki said, quickly typing the news site into his phone. “But hey.”

Burnin was already turning to go, but Katsuki caught her arm. The wrist was always a warm spot, but hers was like fire under his fingers, and it was only the years of calluses from his own heat that kept him holding on.

“It wasn’t luck that did this for me. It wasn’t luck for us and it won’t be luck for you. Whatever you’re wanting, it’ll happen, I promise.”

As he caught her red eyes behind the mask, neither so different from his own, he saw a smile forming and reaching up to them. “A hero shouldn’t make empty promises.”

“We do all the time,” Katsuki replied, putting his earbud back in. “It’s called spreading hope.”

He wasn’t even out the door before the preshow was booming in his ear. Frothing up the audience with it’s teased coming next’s and exclusive bomb drop. Katsuki turned his brightness all the way down as he stepped into the chilled evening air, using the phone to hide more of his face.

“We come to you today with breaking news,” Miyagi Daikaku said as a Breaking News graphic rolled out on the screen over the news desk. “Rumors have flurried for the last twenty-four hours around renowned heroes Deku and Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight after the Internet was flooded with pictures of both heroes entering the Endeavor Agency with a baby in toe.”

A photo flickered on the screen of Katsuki holding that car seat, a different one from the one he’d seen on Izuku’s phone from Round Face, but probably only seconds apart. This one had a better angle of both his and Izuku’s hairstyles as well as some of the telling scars on Izuku’s hands.

At least PR had gotten ahold of a decent news agency for this nightmare. Miyagi was rational, fair, trusted. The news would be sensationalized on the Internet in a matter of minutes, but, at least for the moment, it was being told by a reasonable voice—more reasonable than Katsuki or Izuku themselves ever were. Which was why Katsuki was walking home from work right now instead of interviewing. That and it would have been fucking miserable.

“We have received confirmation from the heroes themselves and their agencies, that the child in question is legally Deku’s and Dynamight’s.” The image on screen changed to dual images of Izuku and Katsuki in their costumes, looking professional and serious. If Katsuki didn’t know better, he’d think those two were prepared to raise a child. “The child is the result of a civilian’s Procreation quirk being used on both heroes.”

Katsuki winced as he turned off the sidewalk and up to his building’s front stoop. That was bound not to play well. He had suggested leaving their statement at the previous sentiment. That Sugu was legally theirs and that was that. But the more questions they could answer, the less speculation they would invite. And speculation was the last thing any of them wanted.

“No one was harmed due to the quirk’s use,” Miyagi continued. “Due to the fact that the investigation is still pending, Endeavor Agency has nothing further to say at this time. We wish both new fathers good luck in the adventure of parenthood. We’re sure that they both will be wonderful in this new role.”

Katsuki took out the largest key on his keyring and slipped it in the heavy door’s latch. The news was transferring over to human interest pieces as he called for the elevator and he shoved the phone in his pocket as the first story began.

There was no word about Izuku staying home from work. Nosy civilians would probably clock it after a few more days—Izuku’s ranking wasn’t the highest, but he was one of the most famous heroes in Japan. Certainly in the top ten in terms of name and face recognition, even if his stats weren’t. His absence wouldn’t go unnoticed for long. But, in the meantime, it was good for villains not to know that Katsuki was partnerless, especially if he was hoping to get back on the field soon. And hopefully it would keep Izuku’s rating stable too.

As he turned the key to his apartment, the sound of the news came in stereo, the sound from behind the door lagging a couple seconds behind the broadcast in his ears. He ripped the headphones out, letting the cord dangle from his pocket as he kicked the door closed and leaned down to take off his shoes. He realized a moment too late that this wasn’t a house where he could slam doors anymore, so he looked past the kitchen towards the living room, waiting to hear a high-pitched wail, but it was still just the news. Once he’d slipped off his shoes, he made his way that direction.

“Kacchan!”

Izuku’s voice came out sotto voce, quiet with the bassinet right beside the arm of the couch. A quick glance in told Katsuki that Sugu was fast asleep—deep enough that the loud television and door slamming weren’t even touching him in dream land. Izuku, however, had eyes glazed in that way that TV left them—dry from too long without blinking, lacking just a bit of that life-giving sparkle.

“Nerd. I see you’re slacking off now that you’re a kept man.”

He shoved Izuku’s head playfully as he plopped down beside him on the sofa, easily laying his head on Izuku’s shoulder. The remote was a centimeter or two from Izuku’s thigh and Katsuki pressed the power off before tossing it on the coffee table. Only when Izuku wrapped an arm around Katsuki’s shoulder, chuckling softly as he molded their sides together, did Katsuki let himself sink into the embrace.

“No, silly—I was just watching the broadcast.”

“Mm, furniture’s set up.”

“Yeah, Ochako-chan came over and helped.”

“Thank God,” Katsuki moaned. “Building shit with you is a nightmare.”

Izuku laughed and it vibrated along Katsuki’s shoulder, where it rested below Izuku’s collarbone. “Yeah, you know how she likes saving other heroes.”

“Saving you from yourself, more like.”

Each exhale brought the two of them closer, sinking deeper into the couch and each other. It brought Katsuki’s heart rate down from the walk, from the broadcast. His eyelids were growing heavy, despite the fact that it was only early evening.

“Did…did Kacchan watch the broadcast?”

“Had it on walking home, why?”

Katsuki had texted Izuku as soon as he had any info about who they were meeting with and what plans they were considering. He’d had Izuku on the phone for part of the meeting until Sugu had required a feeding, but he’d filled him in with the gist. There was no way Katsuki would have given the okay to any kind of messaging about the both of them without both of their approvals. So they’d both known the content of the news bulletin, even if it still was a nerve-wracking watch.

“I’m sorry—Kacchan hasn’t even had dinner yet,” Izuku said, tensing behind Katsuki’s shoulder blade. “Do you want a bento? I can make some tea for you and there’s still some leftover rice from this morning. Thank you so much for the breakfast by the way—it was delicious. I should have texted you my thanks, but things got busy—”

“Shut up,” Katsuki groaned, thrusting his shoulder into Izuku’s upper ribs so that he’d stay relaxed on the couch. “Worry about your own dinner, idiot. Has caring for a baby all day made you think I’m one?”

“Sorry,” Izuku said again, and Katsuki wished that TV screens were still reflective so that Izuku could see his massive eye roll. “You probably wanna choose your own bento anyway.”

“Damn straight,” Katsuki said. “Anyway, what is it that you were trying to distract me from?”

“Well…” Izuku squirmed, and Katsuki just pressed harder against him, forcing his head into Izuku’s neck. He only relaxed when Izuku settled again and continued, “What did you think of the broadcast?”

“ ‘S fine,” Katsuki said with a shrug less violent than his upper-body movements thus far. “They said what we told ‘em to. Internet’s still gonna fucking freak out, but they already were. Least we’re coming out ahead as much as we can.”

“Yeah…yeah, I agree…”

“…Your thoughts are loud but too damn mumbly to understand,” Katsuki said after a moment’s silence. He could practically hear Izuku worrying his lower lip and the deep crinkle of his brows furrowing.

“It’s just…” Izuku started, “Miyagi-san said that he was sure that we’d make good dads. I wonder if other people are thinking that.”

“Who fucking cares?”

“I don’t know, maybe we should,” Izuku said. “I was thinking so much about all the people who are going to think the worst because they knew this wasn’t planned, but what about the people who think that we’ll be amazing and then we aren’t? I hadn’t even considered that.”

Katsuki didn’t even need a moment to consider it.

“Idiot,” he said. “Always worrying about the wrong things.”

“What do you mean?”

“The only person we’re at risk of disappointing is that lump right there,” Katsuki said, pointing across Izuku’s chest to the bassinet. “Everyone else is an extra. Even our parents and friends. Doesn’t matter.”

“I don’t love him.”

Katsuki glanced up. “What?”

“I was talking about it with Ochako-chan today,” Izuku confessed. “Actually, I didn’t even say it—she could tell, like it was obvious. So I’m sure you can tell too, so I might as well just say it. I feel good taking care of him and he’s adorable and I worry for him and I want him to be happy…but I also feel this kind of cold emptiness inside of me that’s just…it’s awful, Kacchan, it’s awful. I mean, Ochako-chan tried to say that it wasn’t, that it was normal, but it still feels…like there’s something wrong with me. So I had to tell you.”

In the position Katsuki was in, he could feel that Izuku hadn’t taken one breath in his whole diatribe. He waited a moment as Izuku’s face returned to its normal color, beige beneath all those ruddy freckles. Then he shrugged and said, “I felt the same way about you,” and the redness came right back.

As Izuku opened his mouth, Katsuki slapped his hand over Izuku’s mouth, muffling the exclaimed “Wh-what?!” that came next.

“It can be hard to love someone when most of what you’re feeling is worry and responsibility,” Katsuki said. “Once I was done being pissed and jealous of you, you were scaring us all to death every day. That made me feel pretty fucking empty inside too. Right now we’re just worried about keeping the kid alive. I figure once we feel more secure in that, we’ll love him soon enough.”

“Wait—you…you don’t love him either?”

Katsuki looked past Izuku’s chin and his adam’s apple over to the bassinet. He could just make out Sugu’s exposed face, fully relaxed as though he had full faith in the safety of the world. Full faith in his providers.

“I mean, we can barely say dad yet. Or son. Or any of that paternal nonsense,” Katsuki said. “Maybe we should just worry about getting there for now.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that,” Izuku admitted. “It’s weird to call myself a dad. Like I haven’t earned it or something. I’m just not used to it.”

“You haven’t and you’re not,” Katsuki stated. “Guess we just need to train.”

“Train?”

“That’s right, Dad,” Katsuki said, swallowing his wince. It felt unnatural coming out of his mouth, as much a challenge to muscle through as the first many dozen times he’d told Izuku I love you. Both things were true, but without the muscle memory behind the words, they came out wooden and forced.

Still, it brought a smile to Izuku’s face. “Or papa. I don’t care which.”

“You’re dad, I’m papa,” Katsuki decided.

Izuku’s grin remained, and it brought Katsuki’s face up to his. His neck straightened out and then they were eye to eye, and then they were lip to lip. Saying I love you to Izuku now still wasn’t the easiest. It didn’t come out as quickly as a love ya or you too, nerd, but no longer did it feel unnatural either. It was in him, deep and rooted. It sang in him as he tilted his head to better slot against Izuku’s mouth, hair flattening against the back of the couch.

Then came that squealing cry.

Both men pulled back, and Izuku’s smile was in place like it had never left.

“That’s all you, Papa.”

#anjum writes #bkdk #bakudeku #bakudekubaku #bkdkbk #dekubakudeku #dkbkdk #ktdk #katsudeku #dekubaku #dkbk

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rosiesared · 1 year

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I posted 4,220 times in 2022

That's 3,773 more posts than 2021!

169 posts created (4%)

4,051 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@apopcornkernel

@silvmoonsky

@miabrown007

@nothing-particularly-exciting

@passionfruitbowls

I tagged 2,860 of my posts in 2022

Only 32% of my posts had no tags

#ml - 887 posts

#ml spoilers - 519 posts

#ladynoir - 342 posts

#ladrien - 158 posts

#cookie speaks - 96 posts

#toh - 96 posts

#ml exaltation - 91 posts

#ml s5 - 88 posts

#<3 - 80 posts

#friends - 77 posts

Longest Tag: 133 characters

#no fr as i’ve gotten older i’ve related to her more cos like. second gen immigrant w/ little to no connection to ur ‘home’ culture is

My Top Posts in 2022:

@ladrienjune day 1: tongue-tied

now on ao3!! <3

It’s almost as if a spotlight had materialised around her, because she was all he could look at. From the moment her black heels took their first steps into the ballroom, his eyes followed, taking in the bright crimson of her dress and the way her raven hair had foregone its usual pigtails, flowing freely behind her.

If there wasn’t half a room of space between them, Adrien was sure he would’ve made his way over and run his fingers through it - it looked really soft, what hair products did she use?

He was glad he didn’t, though, for he isn’t transformed right now, and he doesn’t think Adrien has formed a close enough relationship with Ladybug that he could casually waltz up to her and put his hand in her hair like he had an entitlement to it.

No, that would just make her think he was a creep.

And what good would that do down the line, when they finally reveal their identities to each other? He didn’t want the first words that came out of her mouth to be “Oh, I remember you, you’re that weirdo from that party a while back.”

Frankly, he would rather die in a hole than have that happen.

So, like any sane person would do, Adrien decided that he isn’t going to run his fingers through her hair. No, he’s just going to walk up to her and start a perfectly normal conversation as if he isn’t her superhero partner who also happens to be wildly in love with her.

Piece of cake. …

It didn’t take long for her to notice him. Adrien found it sweet how iridescent fireworks went off in the depths of her irises as she subtly twisted herself in his direction, hoping the people she was talking to didn’t realise how badly she wanted to leave.

How badly she wanted to see him. If Adrien hadn’t been perpetually aware of his father’s glare tailing him, he would’ve been sure this was another of his late-night, locked-in-his-chest, fantasies.

“Adrien!” she waved, finally making her way over to him, her figure outright bouncing with excitement.

“I’m probably hallucinating.” he blurted out, eyes widening when he realised what exactly it was that he said. “I-I mean,” I love you, “do you wanna get away from here? It’s getting a little stuffy, honestly.”

“You sure you’re okay?” Her brows crinkled as she gave him a once-over, probably looking for signs of ill health after he stupidly told her he was hallucinating. He didn’t dare utter a word, not when he could practically feel the edges of her lashes kissing his face and the depths of her bluebell irises bleeding pure warmth. For him.

No, he didn’t want to speak, not when he was sure that in his tongue-tied state, a flurry of nonsense would come spilling out of his mouth, and then where would that leave him?

So he nodded. Aggressively. To make sure she got the point.

Ladybug peeked up at him from behind her lashes. “Well, if you are, then, I would love to.”

She gave a soft grin, and Adrien felt warmed to his core.

32 notes - Posted June 2, 2022

catradora where they’re sleeping together in the same bed and one of them has a nightmare so the other comforts them 🥺

A faint hum ricochets against the halls of Brightmoon, twinkling and shimmering in nature. That’s the only indication that anyone else’s within the castle, the usual laughter of its halls dulled by the serenity of sleep. Adora watches as the moonlight filters in through the curtains of her and Catra’s room, staining the duvet with a streak of silver, and illuminating her girlfriend’s face. She looks so peaceful in her sleep; her muscles relaxed and her expression light - it’s a shame seeing her like this had been so few and far between during the war. From her position in Adora’s lap, Catra shifts, and her warmth spills like drops of tea onto her legs. She mutters a few words, meanings hazed by their semi-conscious nature, and her shoulders tense against her. Her hands clench into fists, and her face breaks out into something akin to a silent scream. Just seeing it makes Adora’s heart break. Adora’s hand stills against Catra’s head. ”Catra?” When she doesn’t immediately get a response - understandable, considering her girlfriend was very much asleep at the moment - she gently yet firmly shifts her palm to Catra’s exposed shoulder, allowing herself a short smile at the way the light illuminated the bumps and ridges that adorned it. “Catra, wake up, you’re having a nightmare.” Adora says, shaking her in the hopes of waking her up. Catra’s eyes flutter a couple times, something troubled flickering within them, before widening; yellow and blue, haunted by the ghosts of their pasts, standing out in the dimly-lit room. Her head whips around the room; towards the raised ceiling, the plush mattress the two of them sat on, the waterfall, before squarely landing on Adora’s face. “Adora?” “It’s okay, you’re safe now,” Adora murmurs into the scruff of her hair. ”I’ve got you.” Catra smiles. “I never needed you to catch me.” “I know.” Adora says, returning her hand to Catra’s head, smiling as she lets out a hum of contentment. “But.” Catra says, averting her gaze, “I’m glad you did.” “And I’ll never stop.”

41 notes - Posted July 21, 2022

a blanket against the chill seeping in through the window-glass

“Is this okay?” Marinette asks, her crimson suit still glowing in the hotel room lit by only the orange haze of dusk.

Adrien gives a nod of affirmation, not wanting to risk sobs spilling out of his mouth.

He feels her smile against his shoulder, a calming, reassuring little thing, and a weight releases itself from his soul, floating wherever it is that heaviness goes when it is not in the crook of a person’s being.

Here, in her arms, Adrien feels shielded; like, no matter how many flaming torches the outside world throws at him, none would even come close to penetrating their embrace.

He wishes they could stay like this forever - on this mattress, barren of all the memories of old, a frozen creek in the middle of winter; just waiting to grow anew.

On this strange bed, in this perfectly-manicured room, Adrien could almost pretend he was normal. That his father (Gabriel, some part of him whispers, he doesn’t deserve that title) had not been revealed to be Paris’ infamous supervillain, and that his miraculous wasn’t sitting innocuously on the bedside table, wrapped in a zip-lock bag.

He couldn’t ignore the way her eyes darted to it, sometimes, when she thought he wasn’t looking, her fingers twitching in indecision. His gaze follows, landing sorely on the one piece of jewellery his father had worn that hadn’t been seen by anyone else.

When Adrien feels Marinette stiffen around him, he wishes he could take it back.

“We do need to do something about that,” she says, her words not revealing anything about the circumstance they’re in, “but that’s an issue for another time, okay, chaton?”

“But, the brooch-”

She places a gloved finger over his mouth. “Won’t fall into the wrong hands if we don’t immediately put it back.” At this, she leans back in, and Adrien sighs as the warmth rushes back into his body, a blanket against the chill seeping in through the window-glass. “We can take this one moment at a time, okay?”

He doesn’t respond, not immediately, and she holds him tighter, softly humming to herself to fill the silence.

Here, in her arms; shrouded from his father, the media, anyone outside of the two of them, Adrien feels safe enough to cry.

…

“My Lady,” he asks, as the sun has fully dipped below the horizon, leaving them caked in the light of stars, “can you stay here, tonight?”

“Of course. Of course I will, mon chaton.”

Adrien feels something like a smile slip onto his face - there’s no one else in the world that he feels safer to have by his side.

82 notes - Posted June 26, 2022

gloob did u really have to air more out of order eps next week? isnt two enough? smh

123 notes - Posted November 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

ml fandom people im curious: rb and put in the tags how long uve been watching the show and/or how long uve been in the fandom ill start

1,750 notes - Posted October 30, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#my 2022 tumblr year in review

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