How do you have time to do an entire chapter every week!?!?! I live in the void and I still don't have the ability to form that many related sentences into paragraphs into art?!?!?! Do you have a secret superpower you're hiding from us because you're going to use it to save the world from destruction?!?!!?

OHOHO! Hello there!

dude i get it so much. before stumbling upon Welcome Home i was in SERIOUS writers burnout but somehow seeing those silly little guys yoinked me out of that and now i am here!

this is gonna be a bit of a long-winded explanation, so i’ll provide it here under the cut!

when i had first started writing stamps, i had published three chapters back-to-back, writing one a day. which i know was because of my hyperfixation kicking into high gear and making my brain go go go! until i realized i was running low on Juice!

So that was when I had decided to start posting every sunday, that way i could take my time on producing things and build a buffer.

as of right now, i’m about a week ahead of what’s posted. that means that, i am currently working on chapter ten while chapter nine is being proofread and readied for publishing! having this sort of “buffer” allows me to feel less stressed about getting chapters done, which means i have the potential to write better!

ive always been a fast writer, even in my early days of starting out and even in my first and only other long fanfic (We Don’t Talk about That One!). but one thing i Majorly remember from that one is that i felt very stressed to get the next one out on time, to reach that word count minimum that i had set for myself. and im taking the time to make sure i dont do that with stamps. if a chapter must be 3,000 words, then it will be 3,000 words! if it must be 1,000, then it must be 1,000! Anything more or anything less will take away from that solid craftsmanship that me (and others) have been working on bringing to the table.

i know this answer may not Make Sense for your question, but i did want to explain my thought process behind it! the main things fueling my writing at the moment are my adhd and my asd. to be honest, without them, i never would have even started stamps! being neurodiverse is a Very wonderful Experience sometimes!

i write in the Notes app on my phone and ipad (evil, i know)! for some reason, doing so really helps me get the creative juices flowing. and it means i can work on it whenever! whether it be in the car on my phone, or in between classes on my ipad, or anywhere else, i write! and when i am Writers Blocked, i usually write on-stream with one of my buddies! body-doubling (even if not physically) really helps me focus.

but there we go! long winded explanation over! i hope you enjoyed this smidgen of information on my writing process!

btw, here is a link to STAMPS for those who are interested in reading!

Who in sskk would you say has the higher IQ?

IQ as in, conventionally smart? Then definitely Atsushi does. I'm sorry. I've said it many times before, but I don't think Akutagawa is a particularly perceptive person. Or witty. Or intelligent in general. It's due to external factors, he never got the chance to have anything that could resemble a proper education; but it's also a matter of his nature, he's just so impulsive, and narrow-minded, and stubborn, he really has the thickest skull ever. But seriously, especially in a world full of geniuses, Akutagawa simply doesn't shine for sharpness of mind, and is way too impulsive and instincts-driven to be a person that relies on reflection or rationality. Everything that Akutagawa does is the epitome of irrational, it's one of the greatest appeals of the character.

Atsushi is smart,,,, I've talked about this also, and I think it's less sustained by canon than for Akutagawa, but I like to think he's a very observant and perceptive person whose intelligence doesn't show because he's constantly surrounded by geniuses, but still he is smart. When it comes to observations skills, I find it easy for him to have them due to his childhood of ill-treatment and abuse: as a defense mechanism, he learnt to be especially observative of people's behaviour in order to tell what sets people off and be able to prevent any escalation, I think that's a widely shared abuse survivor experience. Something among these lines is shown in chapter 51:

I also think Atsushi is a very fast learner. He's observant, and that results in him constantly absorbing other people's knowledge. He's often asking for explanations for Dazai and Ranpo's reasonings, and although I know more often than not it solves an expositive role in the storytelling picture, there's still the fact that it makes Atsushi a person who's constantly trying to understand the reality surrounding him. Atsushi is also shown to be very cool-minded and calculating in fight: from him sliding under Akutagawa and attacking him from behind successfully eluding having to face him front-off in chapter 4, to him retracting his tiger limbs to escape Rashomon's bonds in chapter 12, to the strategy he elaborated with Tanizaki (and his ability to catch up on that) to defeat Lucy in chapter 16, to his attempt to outsmart Fitzgerald in chapter 34 (that, although failed, was still driven by rational thinking nonetheless), and the list could go on. The way in fight Atsushi is shown to ponder over and implement the advices people like Dazai or Mori offered him further makes me believe he's really good at absorbing information. And Atsushi is probably book smart, too! He's compelled by reading to the point he would even risk the orphanage director's punishment just to sneak into the library and read (not explicitly supported by canon, but I can take a guess). According to the second guidebook, he spends his leisure time borrowing books from the library and studying. Overall, he really seems to be rational in all the places Akutagawa is on the contrary driven by impulses¹.

It's like… A physics law when it comes to sskk, that Akutagawa will have the most despicable trait while Atsushi has the trait that is conventionally considered the best; or at least that's as far as my characterization of them goes. Atsushi is beautiful, Akutagawa is ugly². Atsushi is polite, Akutagawa is rude. Atsushi is pure, Akutagawa is stained. Atsushi is smart, Akutagawa isn't. Atsushi is lovable, Akutagawa is destined to cause repulsion in everyone he meets³. In the end, none of this matters: they're no different where it counts, that is, Atsushi isn't any more morally just than Akutagawa is. Atsushi in not any more good than Akutagawa is (I actually suspect the contrary is true). But as far as appearances go, it's still important to portray them as opposites, because Akutagawa being unlovable and Atsushi receiving all the love Akutagawa didn't get for being his contrary - even though deep down they're the same - is almost everything their relationship is about. It's also a big part of why they act like they do towards each other: it's source of Akutagawa's bottomless envy for Atsushi; it's source of how devoted and loyal he will grow to be for him - reaching the point of giving his life for him -, because he can't see Atsushi as anything but perfection. It's source of confidence and of that certain justified hatred towards Akutagawa Atsushi feels because to his eyes Akutagawa is about the worst person to have ever walked on earth. It's source to their wish to annihilate the other as the opposite they can't exist at the same time of. It's the reason Akutagawa had to die, because he's not the good one. Overall it's also expression of Akutagawa's thematic struggle to be good and unavoidable failure at that because of the constraints of a narrative that never wanted him to be good.

But I also think they can make it work. More precisely, I think sskk can make it work when both of them can overcome and defeat the narrative dichotomy they found themselves stuck into: by recognizing that deep common ground of “we're the same” and that where it matters, in morals, neither of them is better or worse than the other. The Beast universe exemplifies that for us readers, but they don't know Beast, so they'll have to realize it by their own. About that, I think Akutagawa already caught on, because he was faster to call out the hypocrisy of Atsushi's good guy façade, and from that it's a short distance to realizing that, as much as he hates to admit it, at his core Atsushi is not that different from himself. It's taking a little more for Atsushi to realize, because it's harder to get down from that higher moral pedestal he believes himself to be on, but with his whole reevaluating Akutagawa after he stopped killing and sacrificed himself for him (and then saved him again. And then showed him how formidable of a team they are when they find a common ground.), I think he's getting there.

Tl;dr: Atsushi is smart and Akutagawa is stupid and yes it fits their personalities, but way more importantly it's consistent with the themes they carry that translate in what their relationship is like.

¹ For further reading on how Atsushi can be witty, please refer to @/gloomierdays's tags on this post. ² For further reading on how Atsushi and Akutagawa's looks can be used to reflect their characters themes, please refer to this post. ³ For further reading on how Akutagawa being not smart (as far as conventional definitions of smart go) ties to his character themes, please refer to this post.

for random braindump, chay and macau being classmates in canon and recognizing each other post season 1 at some family function

congratulations you've revived my macau & chay besties 4evr agenda. this is not quite what you asked for but it is what fell out of my brain 😅

-

chay is fresh off of baby's first kidnapping, and porsche sits him down in an interrogation room and slides a picture across the steel desk and goes, "okay, this kid. this kid goes to your school. this kid is also the little brother of the guy who kidnapped you. well, kind of. well-"

"hia," chay says, pinching his nose, "i get it. what do i do?"

porsche grabs him by the shoulders. "do not go near him. don't talk to him. don't even LOOK at him. DON'T-"

chay endures this lecture very patiently and then does actually follow porsche's instructions, because the kidnapping completely scared the shit out of him and now he lives with the mafia and his life is legitimately in danger. he's gonna listen to what porsche says, no questions asked.

and then macau, who has literally never spoken to chay before ever (he has no reason to, he's one year younger and he's not studying music) starts popping up everywhere.

"hey," macau says, leaning precariously over the water fountain to stare at chay, who sprays water in his own face as he jumps six feet in the air before immediately sprinting away.

or, chay turns around in the lunch line and macau is standing right behind him, wagging his eyebrows, and chay lets out a small "eep" and then whirls back around and pretends very hard that macau isn't there.

or! chay is walking to his bus stop and macau is standing there looking at his phone, and this is ridiculous. chay has never seen macau take this bus before! so chay throws his hands up in exasperation and books it for the next bus stop, he's not putting up with this bullshit, no sir.

(macau is absolutely doing it on purpose. he's known about chay for months, but is actually on explicit orders from vegas to not bother or spy on chay in any way. he definitely wanted to help, but vegas didn't want macau to be thinking about that kind of stuff at school.

macau is flouting these orders now because vegas has been banished and porsche had something to do with it and he's hoping at first that he can fish information about all of that out of chay. but now he's in it for the trolling 😂)

macau doesn't know about the kidnapping. he doesn't know how personally chay is taking this — until he spots chay under a tree and saunters over to bother him, except. chay looks fucking wrecked. and like he's trying to hide it.

something clicks for macau. he totally gets it. sometimes you have to have a mafia-related breakdown at school, and all you can do is find a quiet place to have it.

(macau doesn't know chay is sad because of kim, but he doesn't need to.)

so when chay spots him, and tenses, and looks ready to bolt — macau halts and holds his hands up in surrender. then he waves, kind of awkwardly. and he leaves.

this very sudden generosity does surprise chay. and it continues to surprise chay when macau continues to wave at him whenever they see each other, but doesn't try to approach him. chay is still suspicious of macau, but chay is also a nice kid, and macau really isn't doing anything objectionable. so chay starts waving back.

this truce goes on for a while. and sure, chay isn't following the letter of the law anymore, but it's not like he's giving away information. he's not putting anyone in danger. and it's kind of comforting to have this shared understanding with this kid he doesn't even know. they're in the same boat. chay might not be able to talk to him, but chay feels a little less alone.

there's a million ways they could start talking after this. maybe macau just decides to take the plunge and plops down in front of chay during lunch and starts rambling about valorant. maybe macau is searching his pockets for change for the vending machine, and chay watches him do this for like five minutes and decides he needs to put macau out of his misery.

or maybe one of them finds the other having a panic attack in the bathroom, and talks them through it. (they're both better at this than they should be.)

or. maybe it's after the coup, and now macau is the one looking horribly withdrawn and jittery, and chay knows macau's brother is in a coma, and chay isn't feeling particularly happy about his own brother or anyone in the goddamn main family right now. so he says fuck it, and goes over to bump shoulders nonchalantly with macau.

maybe it's all of those. doesn't matter. they become friends. they're both lonely, and they're just too similar. too young, too tied to the mafia, too scared for their brothers, too little control over their own lives.

and it's not like they ever actually talk about being in the mafia. both of them know better than to give secrets away. they mostly just talk about gaming and homework and roast each other's tastes in music, and occasionally they allude to not being able to sleep, and sometimes they stutter to a stop to avoid saying something they shouldn't — but they both know to let it go. no need to fill in the gaps with lies, to pretend like everything is normal and okay.

it's nice. they're chill.

later, when porsche tells him they're having "family dinner" tomorrow night, chay doesn't realize that includes the former minor family, and he DEFINITELY doesn't realize macau is going to be there. which means he isn't prepared for macau to spot him at dinner and grin and start walking towards him, BECAUSE MACAU DOESN'T KNOW CHAY IS STILL BANNED FROM TALKING TO HIM.

chay is frantically gesturing at macau from behind porsche, making shh-ing motions and throat-slitting motions and shaking his head threateningly. and macau stops, puzzled, narrows his eyes — sly grin flickering across his face for a split second — points directly and dramatically at chay and goes "what are YOU doing here???"

chay facepalms.

macau puts a hand over his mouth and gasps. "have you been in the mafia this whole time?" then, louder, "i can't believe NOBODY told me."

"oh god," chay mumbles into his hand.

porsche is watching this go down, totally bemused. (vegas is also watching this go down, except vegas actually knows what's going on and is mostly amused about it.)

"chay," porsche says tentatively, "this is macau, vegas's little brother." then he nods expectantly at chay — like chay is supposed to do something now? is chay un-banned??? when the hell did that happen?

chay sighs. "hi, macau," he says, deadpan.

macau shakes his hand vigorously. "you play valorant?" he asks, like macau doesn't roast chay over vc every night.

"i'm gonna kick your ass to the curb," chay mutters, low enough that only macau can hear him.

"maybe when you get good," macau says, unrepentanly smug.

alright first i don't know HOW i haven't followed you yet. second because i refuse to be alone in this. fabian would be a PERFECT osirion for nina. he already goes out of his was to protect her, the form this instant bond the moment she arrives do you see. my vision. eddie is great but the thematic element of "are we actually in love with each other or is this just another string of fate pulling us together" would be SO GOOD

😭😭 I've been intermittingly inactive for awhile

I LOVE thinking about how senkhara automatically thought it was fabian. fabian has always been naturally protective over nina, in season one we see that right from the jump when the others are questioning why nina left for school early and he says "it's probably to get away from us, we've hardly been very welcoming", then again when he protests against her 'initiation', and all throughout the first mystery: covering for her with the teachers, going after her when she was kidnapped by rufus, his reaction when she's threatened by rufus with the flies in the classroom in particular. it was never something that just jumped out during the senet task. he was the natural assumption for her osirian, he's gravitated towards her from her first day, put himself into the mystery despite having no personal connection, and has always, always protected her.

I've written about the "are we actually in love or is it fate" in the context of eddie/nina before but it works for any chosen one/osirian hc, feeling a natural pull towards each other and questioning whether it's because of some ancient fated responsibility or because you genuinely care for the other, bringing out eros. it's such an interesting dynamic that I think brings a lot of confusion for those involved and lets you have this really beautiful slow-burn type of love.

monica hi!!! reading your vegaspete tags is always such a delightful experience so anyway can you recommend some of your fave vegaspete fanfic?? tysm!!

hello!!! if i have to be completely honest, i still haven't had much time to read as many vegaspete fics as i'd like, and im pretty sure most of them are already pretty well known, but here are some i've really enjoyed and saved in my bookmarks!!

1. Boar Taint by @clandestinegardenias

“When a boar hasn’t been castrated–-do you know what castration is?” It doesn’t seem wise to admit to that either way, so Pete stays silent. “When a male hog is young, they tie a string around its balls. Tight.” Oh god. He’s actually going to explain it.  ------ When Porsche is whisked away from the minor family's compound, Pete stays behind as collateral. He doesn't mind, until he does. He wouldn't do anything to jeopardize his mission, until he will. Until the prince of the family finally sees him, and decides he's worth keeping.

2. golden hour by honeydrip (lmeden)

Pete stretches as he wakes, a languid gesture that fills up the bed and presses him against Vegas. His spine cracks and the muscles in his shoulders scream and he feels the bruises on his side begin to burn. He is a symphony of pain, and he smiles into the flesh of Vegas’s arm. Pete and Vegas get ready to go out on a date.

3. hoping at the gates they'll tell me that you're mine by puckbaes

Missing scenes between Vegas being gunned down and waking up again. Pete takes care of an injured Vegas, what's left of the minor family's business and Macau. He's reminded that while he resigned from his job, the family that loves him are not going to abandon him. Bamf!Pete, found families, and glimpses of life after Vegas wakes up.

4. i fill you up, drink from my cup by petes_vegas

It was evident even from as far away as they were that the man was flirting with Vegas, his laughs echoing throughout the hall in a way that made Pete embarrassed for him at the obviousness of it all. Vegas seemed to play along, to flirt back, his smile and laughter with the man appearing genuine—but Pete knew better. The second the man glanced away from Vegas to look at his phone, Vegas’ eyes were locked with Pete’s. A grin, all sharp teeth, spread across his face. -- Pete and Vegas fight before the first big event they’ve gotten an invite to in six months. They each take it as an opportunity to play a game of jealousy chicken, seeing who will break the other first.

5. let me have you (by my side) by incendir

He would much rather die believing Pete wanted him than live long enough for Pete to regret his choice and leave Vegas all over again. Vegas wouldn’t survive that a second time. [Or, six times Vegas wakes up]

6. lion in my living room by Pettecal72

Vegas looks down at his hands. Hurt him, his fingers say. Do it while Macau isn’t here. You’ve already exchanged the poetry, the pretty words. So do it now. You can make him cry so prettily. Isn’t that how you’ve always shown love best? Isn’t that the only thing you’re good for? Do it— The head on his lap shifts. The breath along his hip skitters, then disappears as Pete turns and looks up. His eyes are black—blacker than black—and he smiles. “Good morning, Vegas.” Vegas swallows. --- Pete helps Vegas recover. Vegas confronts what he wants. Pete eggs him on.

7. Lost Pet by @clandestinegardenias

Vegas has very few things he truly allows himself to care for, in this life. Going through the routine of feeding his hedgehog, only to find that a second pet has left him in as many weeks, might finally be the thing that pulls him under.

8. Pain & Pleasure by @onstoryladders

A VegasPete Tattoo Parlor AU

9. Sweet Disposition by fruitsoda

All Vegas wants is some alone time with Pete. He's going to shoot the next person that interrupts them. Even if they're from his family. Especially if they're from his family.

10. Switchblade Jealousy by kerrikins

When Vegas is called to step in to torture someone, Pete goes along to watch. He doesn't expect to get jealous.

11. Tear You Apart by Scarlet_Fever

Someone tries to kill Vegas, which turns VegasPete into horny murder gremlins. Chaos (and sex) ensues.

12. where it's so sweet and heavenly by saru

Hornbills mate for life. Vegas thinks he understands. — or, Pete is the perfect business partner, lover and father. Vegas wants him to have his babies. Figuratively speaking.

For Fanfiction Work-In-Progress Guessing Game 😁

The word is "purpose".

✨ send me a word & find it in my wip! ✨

It had gotten them through the mission, with its ups-and-downs and its life-or-death. Through sickbay, with all their wariness and worry, and had led them to the desert, with a fractured sensation of family and a feeling of purpose and longing in at last gluing it back together.

thank u so much for the ask lovely!!! and omg i'm so sorry to have taken so long to answer aaaaaaa. welcome to more of my top gun found family mavdad and brad brad reconciliation bullshit tho. what can i say. it has in fact become *my* purpose i think akdhdjfhfjf

I know you lied about Aisha/Sky. She would never do such a thing. And I can tell becuase you have no evedance to prove what she has done.

She is hated for no reason.

I have long since explained the situation, and as you had said, I don't have screenshots. It was stupid of me not to save or screenshot the asks that were sent, and I've said outright that I understand if someone chooses not to believe me - that's understandable entirely. Apart from them admitting to having an alt to stalk me, I DONT have photos. This doesn't mean it hadn't happened.

I don't want people to harass them. We don't interact anymore, they have long since changed (at least, from what I had been told), and I genuinely enjoyed their content before they felt the need to bombard me with "how do I get more popular?" " "no one will ever like my stuff" "my stuff is terrible" "there's room for improvement there" "It's definitely not perfect" (and I will admit, the criticism is stuff even I had said to myself, but when it's repeated constantly, you begin to get the real meaning behind it)

I didn't know how to react in that situation *at all*. Quietly deleting everything from my inbox instead of answering or saving them was a STUPID move on my end. It was even more stupid for me to have made it public - I will take the blame for not dealing with it in a private environment.

As I had said, you don't need to believe me. It's my fault for making the situation more complicated than it was. I understand that.

For the love of God, if any of my readers/friends/etc are any of the god damn anons who are annoying Aisha, just leave them the fuck alone. I don't need a God damn knight to save the day. They aren't hurting anyone. This has passed, and you should, too. We don't interact and I wish to believe we are better that way.

🐸 (for the ask game)

🐸 What do you wish people who don't craft understood better? That crafting things is not usually cheaper than buying them, and that it takes a lot of time and effort to make things But also, one specific non-crafter pet peeve. Like, literally I have had this problem with one person: making someone a beanie is not a way of asking for some kind of committed relationship. There was this guy I was good friends with in high school, and we lost touch for a year or two afterwards, and then he reached out to me on facebook. We chatted a bunch, and (crucially) this was after I started crocheting but before I figured out what to actually do with the stuff I crocheted. He talked about it being cold where he was living compared to where we both grew up, so I offered to crochet him a beanie, and we'd been talking about pokemon and our favorite eeveelutions a lot, so I offered to send him an amigurumi espeon To me, this was a combo of "I make a LOT of things all the time*", "I have zero use for beanies it never gets below like 60 degrees here", and "hey eeveelutions sound fun to make but I have no desire or space to keep them", which combined with "hey! a person I can give these to! Give him something he likes, get things I've made out of my house so I'm not overrun, win-win!" To him, this was "I am spending a lot of time and effort to make something especially for you, after giving you a nickname important to my culture**, clearly I expect our relationship to progress after this" He stopped talking to me. For years. Because I'd offered to make him a beanie and an espeon. He told me the offer of the beanie made him uncomfortable? Which, like, fair, if it made him uncomfortable I am glad he let me know and drew a boundary, but I am still baffled. So I guess the thing I wish non-crafters understood better is that, while gifting someone something you made can be a big deal, it can also be not a big deal at all. I have literally given more beanies to strangers than I have to people I know (I donate them to a local shelter) OH MY GOSH I just realized I sweater cursed myself but with a beanie with someone I wasn't dating lol. The unsweater unboyfriend curse *I cannot sit still unless I am doing something, and I found making physical objects is very very good for my mental health so I am pretty much always making something and have been since like...2012ish? 2011? Definitely since 2013, but I'm pretty sure it started earlier than that **It wasn't. He gave me a nickname around the same time I briefly interacted with my bio grandpa, who is Russian. The association with my bio grandpa did not last long (like...one visit) but I learned and really liked the word solnyshko (it means "sunshine" but is used like "sweetheart" and I think that's cute). I also really liked the word "chickadee" as a nickname/term of endearment at the time so like...it was 50/50 which one I was going to use? I'd never really been given a nickname before but figured it was the sort of thing I was supposed to reciprocate

Hello! As someone who really loves Puck's character, I was wondering if you had any thoughts about his career? Like, if he would stay in the military or leave and do something else? There wasn't really any mention of whether he continues with it in the flash forward in 6x13, and I've always wondered whether he would

Hello I am SO sorry for taking so long to answer this, it has been on my mind since I got it but I had another rather involved ask I wanted to answer first, and I just didn't have the energy until now. I hope you are still around to see it!

Okay so I talked briefly about some thoughts on Puck's career here, and I mentioned him going into a trade, but let's get into some more detail!

I don't think he would stay in the military. When he joins, he isn't in a good place; he's just lost Finn and he's feeling like he has no sense of direction in life. The military offers structure and discipline. He doesn't have to make any decisions; he can join and just do what they tell him to do and go where they tell him to go. He used to look to Finn to guide him but he can't do that anymore, and he's not confident enough to do it himself, and, well, the military is more than happy to do it for him instead.

I think it's actually really interesting that he turns to the military for this, because as a teenager he was not the kind of person that liked or respected authority at all so you might think it's a poor fit. But I actually think it's something he would really excel in, at least at first. Puck is a character with (many) flaws, but one strength of his is his dedication and commitment to something when he makes a decision. If he decides to do something, he's doing it, and it doesn't matter what anyone else says. So when he decides to join the military he's all in; he puts in all the hours and then some, works hard through all the training, and it's really physical and hands on and it feels productive and he likes that, likes that it gives him something to do and a distraction from thinking so damn much. He knows the rules and expectations and he can just turn off his brain and do it.

"But Bella," I hear you saying, "if Puck would do so well in the military, why don't you think he'd stay there?"

I'm so glad you asked!

The military helps him. It gives him purpose and structure and a distraction, and that's all well and good, but as he grows and heals and finds himself and his confidence he outgrows it. He finds himself disagreeing with the best way to get things done, disagreeing with orders and decisions from those who rank above him, and he doesn't like that he doesn't really get a say. It's too restrictive. But even then, I still think it takes a bit longer for him to leave, because as much as he's starting to resent some of these things he's still a bit scared that if he leaves and loses that direction he might start spiralling again. But eventually, finally, he does leave. And he is a bit lost at first, but it's different this time because he's older and wiser and he has the confidence in himself that he can figure out where to go from here.

He gets some job that doesn't require education beyond high school, something labour-intensive and honestly quite exhausting probably. It's hard work but Puck is a hard worker so he does it and does it well and he doesn't complain. I could see him getting into construction this way, he gets a job just helping with the less skilled stuff, does a lot of hauling materials around and whatnot. But then he starts learning new things: he learns how to put a new roof on a house, how to build a deck, all these hands-on practical skills where he's making something and it's productive and fulfilling in a way that he never felt when he was in the military.

Eventually he starts his own construction company. He knows his shit, he wants the freedom of being his own boss, and he's built up a solid reputation of being skilled and reliable, so it's an obvious next step for him. He gets to take the jobs he wants and tell people to go fuck themselves if they're being difficult or entitled. He's not looking to expand or have a huge team or anything under him, it's just him and a few other guys he trusts doing solid work and making a living. I think he would absolutely thrive in that environment, and the more I think about it the more it just feels right.

If he didn't get into construction, I think he'd still need to be doing something hands-on. I definitely can't imaging him just working in an office at a computer all day. I could see him doing something like coaching kids sports maybe. I don't think he'd want to work with adults, but now that I think of it I actually think he'd be really great working with kids; he'd be able to strike just that right balance of remembering they are still kids but also treating them with respect and not talking down to them or anything, and kids would love him. Or maybe not even just coaching sports, I could see him working at a Boys and Girls Club and helping out disadvantaged kids, which he would find incredibly rewarding as someone who had a lot of hard shit going on in his life throughout his youth himself. So yeah, I think if he didn't go the construction/trade route, he could end up doing something like that.

Can I plz request some solo phone backgrounds of the guys more specifically Kendall and Logan?! 🤩🤩🤩

just posted it here!! i'm not sure if this is exactly what you had in mind, but i threw in a little bit of both babie and manband kendall + logan for funsiesヾ(•ω•`)o although if you were looking specifically for showverse!kogan, i'm so sorry i didn't get to include any (；′⌒`) nonetheless, thank you for the request and i really hope you like them!!! 💜

.

how abt hawkfrost + squirrelflight hypokits??

yea sure

ohhh my god this has been sitting in my drafts for eight months i'm so fucking sorry.

uh i'm gonna do the quick version ig?

hawkfrost is a dark brown tabby w a white belly and blue eyes. i think you could read into this in some interesting ways but i'm not gonna because that's not how we do things here. (as always, if you want to tweak canon appearance, lemme know and i will.)

squirrelflight is a ginger with one white paw.

we'll say they both have long fur.

so here's a new short version of my old thingy because my wrists now hurt too much to do that much typing all the time:

sons will be ginger, daughters will be tortie. they can have any degree of white spotting, and they can be tabbies or solid.

here are four examples:

Bb/DD/ii/ww/aa/tT/ss/mm/ll/wW/O/CC red and white tom with long fur

cb/dd/ii/ww/Aa/tT/sS/mm/ll/WW/oO/CC lilac calico ticked tabby she-cat with long fur

cc/DD/ii/ww/Aa/tt/sS/bb/ll/Ww/O/CC red and white spotted tabby tom with long fur

cb/dD/ii/ww/aa/tT/ss/bb/ll/ww/O/CC red tom with long fur

^you can't really find solid gingers for genetic reasons so i just pick ones i think are pretty

^ i couldn't find a ticked tabby, or a long hair, so here's this beauty.

^i think this is a short hair but like...pretty...

^scrunkly faced guy...this persian obviously wouldn't happen in the wild, but like appreciate it.

SHUFFLE for @flowerwept || fandaniel

PERMIAN: THE GREAT DYING ☼

"Oh dear..."

It makes no difference where Hythlodaeus 'walks' here, however souls can walk. Distance contracts, becomes instant and clear as water. As glass. The Aetherial Sea is rarely fickle, it ebbs to allow some souls in, some out, it freezes others, like himself, when they so wish to hold on. Finally being funneled back into its stream let him breathe again, millennia upon millennia of prayers heard to their end at last. The fear of it left so many others as bare traces of themselves and let them become one with the flow upon entry. Hythlodaeus could only watch and walk on, search for what few he knew, and hold the remains to his chest.

This is different. Unlike the peace and tepidity of the place he found Hades, the place he was called from to the end of the universe, the souls here dim and wither to nothing. For the first time in twelve-thousand years, Hythlodaeus can feel night fall, its pace unnatural, and he breathes air that should not exist, burning and dry as leaning over a mage's fire. He feels both, but they do not touch him; Perhaps following the trail of a phantom has led him further than his bounds, and yet he remains. His aether does not dissipate and his conjured form stays tangible. An aetherial storm hot as the sun within the vast ocean, that soul at its center— That they should be two of the ones who have not been reborn is ever so curious.

The figure is wrong, but he knows, sees:

"I fear it's been too long since I last stood next to you, Fandaniel." He tilts his head to the side, eyes aglow in the inky deluge. It's simple enough to will away the space between them once he's sure. Even here the Sea seems agreeable to his whims, though it does not offer the same courtesy to the soul in front of him. "I hardly thought you'd avoid me so long, even if you don't remember. Forcing me to traipse through oblivion, are we, my ghostly friend?"

Not his friend, not really. He smiles all the same.

Too old to be a kid too young to be an adult just the right age to cry myself to sleep