#first drawing i completed/fully shaded in awhile

[prismisshort]

have at the

MOON ANGST.

i didnt mean to make a full peice but oh well i guess LMAO..

-

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[9tzuyu]

exquisite (rewrite)

[old version]

summary: uhhh idk artist!reader gets f*cked by nat

warnings: 18+, smut, choking (verrrrryyy briefly), mommy kink

also its been awhile since i’ve written smut so if this is awful do not perceive me >:(.

thank you moli for proofreading, i love u <3

dt: @nermalina hey bff heres that smut i promised you. consider it a very late birthday gift <3

🏷: @natasha-danvers @kermy48 @yelenabelovasgf @blackxwidowsxwife @slut-for-nat

natasha had been a model for dozens of people, dozens of times. it never crossed your mind that she would model specifically for you. the redhead was aggressively known for rejecting people's pleas for her to let them paint, sketch, or mold her from clay.

so it came as a surprise when you came across an email requesting a one-on-one session with you. had natasha's name not caught your eye, you would've deleted the email and completely missed such a huge opportunity.

you just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.

the all too known model would be at your apartment in half an hour. you had already set up your supplies the night before out of pure nervousness of her arrival.

you stood in the middle of your kitchen, a cup of orange juice in hand as you thought about the different styles you could draw her in. however, your train of thought was unexpectedly interrupted by the sound of a knock at your door.

natasha was twenty minutes early. and god did it feed into your anxiety.

after unlocking the deadbolt, you were greeted with a friendly pair of green eyes. you didn't say anything, only moving out of the way so she could walk in.

she took in her surroundings, and you suddenly felt a little embarrassed about your apartment. it was cheap, invaluable compared to the rich houses you knew natasha had been invited to.

"sorry it's not much," you mumbled.

"no, it's fine. it's different... in a good way i mean." she reassured quickly, "it doesn't scream how much you want to impress me."

you gave an awkward nod and led her into the living room, motioning to her that you wanted her on the couch.

"okay, you can get into any form you want as long as-" seeing natasha with her clothes half off and still going caught your breath. "-you're comfortable."

she saw your panic from the corner of her eye and smirked. natasha tended to have that effect on people, but this was the first time she allowed someone to draw her fully nude. seeing the look in your eyes as they roamed her body gave her the confidence boost she needed.

you bit your lip as you watched natasha position herself. her right arm rest against the armrest, legs situated atop each other while her left arm fell against her hip.

and just when you thought she had finalized her position, she bent her left knee up and spread her legs. you had to bite your tongue to keep yourself from moaning out loud.

"how's this?"

you nodded, "perfect."

normally natasha could keep herself busy with small talk, but you seemed to be much more quiet than the other artists she'd modeled for. she liked that though, because she already knew it would be easy to make you squirm.

her eyes steadied themselves on your face. you were very focused on your work, she could tell by the involuntary frown on your face. when you looked up from your canvas you were met with a pair of green eyes staring directly at you. nervously, you tried to glance at a different part of her body, but that would betray you because the first thing your eyes landed on was her cunt.

you tried to cover up your action, but the sound of natasha's laugh indicated that she saw the whole thing happen.

"do you want a closer look?" her voice was raspy, causing you to freeze. "really, i don't mind. the second i saw your picture online i knew i wanted to fuck you."

you felt the air in your lungs leave your body. she stood up from her position and strutted her way into your personal space. natasha towered over you while you sat on your stool. she thrusted her hips lightly against your back so you knew she was in charge. it wasn’t long before her lips began to attack your neck. sloppy kisses littered the edge of your jawline, a generous specialty of hers.

"but the drawing, i haven't fin-"

"i don't care. now do you want me to fuck you in here or in your bedroom? i'd prefer the bed, but i could make eating you out on the couch doable."

your reply was stuck in the back of your throat, but you wanted her more than anything.

she traced the outline of your face before grabbing your chin, forcing you to look at her. "i don't have much patience and if you make me wait any longer, i'm going to punish you." natasha's eyes grew dark, completely different from the woman who initially walked through the door.

"bedroom," you squeaked, but before you could go to move natasha picked you up bridal style and carried you herself.

you almost regretted underestimating how strong she was by her petite frame. almost.

she placed you flat on your back and in an instant natasha had your clothes ripped from your body. "sweet girl, you won't know your own name by the time i'm done with you."

she tugged you closer to her so that she could prop both legs on her shoulders, keeping you wide and open just as she wanted.

natasha kissed the inside of your thighs as she worked her way up. your eyes screwed shut, and you found yourself fighting back the urge to moan.

the redhead wouldn't allow that though. she wanted to hear every noise you made slip from your mouth, and she would do anything to get what she wanted.

"open your eyes, let mommy hear those pretty little moans of yours."

she kitten licked the outside of your walls while massaging both of your breasts with her hands, occasionally twisting your nipples for extra stimulation. she dipped the tip of her tongue further into your pussy before retracting and going back to kissing your thighs.

"mommy," you whined.

you could feel natasha smile against your skin. "there you go, my love." you tried to grind your hips further onto her mouth by pushing upwards, but natasha's mouth quickly moved out of reach.

"ah ah ah, be patient. only good girls get what they want." you rolled your eyes and huffed, earning a loud slap to the side of your thigh. "do that again and your ass will be bent over my knee seven shades of red."

her glare went away as soon as she buried her face back between your legs. she was downright greedy, almost possessive over the gift between your legs.

natasha's role of being easy on you was put to an end. she shoved her tongue into your pussy, graciously accepting every inch you had to offer. seeing your back arch, hands balled into fists as they gripped the sheets, gave the redhead a sense of euphoria she'd never felt before.

"mommy please-"

"you're so beautiful when you fall to pieces." natasha purred. "aren't you glad mommy's taking care of you?"

your only response was a loud whine as her tongue flicked over your clit. "c'mon sweet girl, i know you can use your words."

"yes!" your voice was strained, a series of incoherent grunts and moans filling the room. natasha’s mouth covered the entirety of your pussy and her lapping only grew stronger the more you cried.

you clenched tightly around her tongue. your legs automatically reflexed to close, but that didn’t do anything for you except grant natasha deeper access into your cunt.

“m-mommy!” the feeling of natasha’s nails scraping the sides of your thighs was enough to let you know you could come. “mmm, that’s right baby. there you go.”

when she pulled away, you were greeted with the sight of natasha’s sticky, grinning face as she moved to sit on your stomach. she figured she could give you a small break before really fucking you senseless.

but that didn’t mean she would stop completely.

her hands found their way to your breasts, squeezing and pinching them again for extra stimulation. “you like that, don’t you baby?”

“yes, please, i want more!”

natasha giggled, mocking your pathetic pleas for her.

“not yet. don’t be the dirty little whore i know you are. now you’re going to lay here while mommy grinds on your stomach until she gets tired of it.” her hand offered a gentle squeeze around your throat.

“you’re going to have to draw me with my fingers shoved in your cunt before i let you cum again.” she taunted, slowly edging herself on your body. it wasn’t long before you began to feel her heat against your skin.

and truthfully, you’d draw whatever the hell she wanted you to just as long as she kept coming back.

[aizen-the-boneless]

Sosuke Aizen x Reader // An Anniversary For An Assassin [Assassin AU]

AUTHOR’S NOTE: wow, this one took quite awhile. a very special request from ao3 :))) have fun reading 

Being married to a world class assassin definitely was eventful, but one of the biggest downsides was how long he would be away from you. Today, he will be home by dinner just in time for your anniversary. It was only noon, so you had a lot of time before he returns home. While cleaning the house to make it spotless, memories flooded your head. You smiled to yourself as you remembered.

Many years ago, you met a seemingly innocent man named Sosuke Aizen. At the time, you didn't know Sosuke was an assassin who would travel around the world in order to take out dictators, oppressors, and aggressors. He traveled to your country in order to dispose of an unruly politician. Of course, there was the risk of losing him forever, but it was a risk you were willing to take for your lover.

You remember the exact moment you fell in love with him. You were close friends at the time, and he had come to you with horrible injuries from a fight he was in. There was no hospital in sight, so you had to treat his wounds for him. Ever since then, you were madly in love with him.

While cleaning around the house, you found your old journal and old letters that Sosuke had sent to you while he was away. Looking through them, you found old love poems he wrote for you and drawings he made of the two of you together. When he would come home, you two would spend hours writing in this journal. It was a project that brought the both of you closer together.

Reading through the journal, you came across one of the first entries you both ever did together. It was your first date with Sosuke and after the day was over, he took you to a park where you both watched the sunset. He had his arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer to his body as the sun set over the horizon, casting beautiful shades of orange and pink across the sky.

That same first year, you had become bedridden with a sickness. You begged Sosuke that he had nothing to worry about, but he completely paused his endeavor in order to take care of you. He promised to you that he would refuse to resume his mission until you were fully cursed, a promise that he kept. When you became healthy, he continued on with his endeavors.

Sosuke always told you that he would always be here for you, even when he was working. He assured you that if something was to ever happen to you at all, he would never leave you. He proved this to you many years ago when he found out you were pregnant with his child. You didn't want to tell him in fear that he would leave you. It was never your intention to hurt him, but you kept a very important secret from him. He was distressed and distraught from your untruthfulness, but after he calmed down he was more than happy. He no longer felt sad or angry at you, only pure joy that he was going to become a father.

While dinner was still cooking, you told stories to your child about Sosuke, the both of you, and all about his profession as an assassin. The child was obviously aware of their father’s job, but was still amazed at how great he was at it. I guess you didn’t hear the front door open and close, because after telling your child about how Sosuke used to assassinate tyrants, Sosuke came up from behind.

“Talking about me behind my back, and then telling everyone my secrets?” you could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

Instantly, the both of you hugged onto Sosuke tightly, not letting go. He smiled and wrapped his arms around the two of you, kissing the tops of your heads.

“I missed my family so much, my wonderful family.” His voice was calm, even in a situation like not seeing your wife for weeks. He was really great at that.

He was great at a lot of things, that’s just who Sosuke Aizen was. A great assassin, a great husband, a great father, and a great man.

[battery-forgot]

Now, I come mid-week to give you all of my DSMP/MCYT headcanons because I have many

Don’t mind if these are repeated, misspelt, or has no logic, it is block game things and I am not checking over them-- and some will be organized, and some will be random, some might not have a Enter space because these are all ctrl c + ctrl v’ed from a Discord server I am in :]

Skeppy headcanons: Skeppy is 4 billion years old as scientists have thought that is how long ores and diamonds existed for

Skeppy's species is pretty rare

Every diamond that is broken or damaged causes Skeppy to feel a physical pain in his body

His species has lamp tail as they don't have night vision, some of them also have tiny wings that aren't usable, though they can kinda glide short distances with them

Because of his small height, he has taught himself magic to be able to change size, it can hurt him if he goes taller than 5'3, but he is able to get to Foolish's height if he tried

Sometimes random crystals grow on Skeppy's face, though they look different from normal crystals and can be used for things like explosives, though he doesn't know about it

Techno has seen Kristen but doesn't remember it well, though Kristen gave him his crown as a gift

Techno has a collection of skull masks that he has worn, he wears the skulls because of nostalgia now but he used to wear them because he thought they were cool and made him look threatening

Technoblade, Skeppy, Sam, Ranboo, Michael(the son- not Michaelmcchill), Phil, Bad, and some others really like shiny and golden objects

DreamSMP theme/"timeline" is kind of like a steampunk like thing

Drista is DreamXD's sister and DristaXD is Dream's "sister", though they aren't really siblings as they are robots

Drista and DreamXD are clones of DristaXD and Dream, though they actually look nothing alike

Callahan is a mute mini-god that everyone knows exists but doesn't really understand they are a mini-god. They kind of just chill and do what people ask them to do

Phil: Phil is more into traveling than anything else

Though he doesn't mind being a father figure, he doesn't think he is a good one especially after he killed Wilbur

He is able to turn into the size of a crow, though since his wings are now unusable, he doesn't do it as often as it is basically useless

Phil sometimes takes bird baths, though I guess they are always called that-

He has bird legs/talons,but they aren’t fully noticeable

joke headcanon I thought of is that Phil's handwriting is chicken-scratch because he is half-crow

Phil has really good memory, as a crow would

-DreamXD is actually pretty weak in powers, but he acts like he is the strongest person in the server

-Tommy's eye is just completely gone from when Dream killed him, but he covers it with an eyepatch

-Tubbo talks about things to Ranboo thinking he'll forget them, but some stories Ranboo remembers but doesn't speak about it because he doesn't want to make Tubbo worry too much

-Philza wasn't willing to kill Wilbur so Wilbur forced Phil by grabbing his arm and impaling himself

-Dream and Techno sometimes share stories about having ADHD

-Phil didn't really know about Fundy, he knew he existed but had no idea to how he acted, looked, or his actual name

-Wilbur had a letter written to Fundy about how he was sorry for what he was gonna do during November 16th, but the withers blew it up before Fundy knew about it

-Fundy doesn't let anyone hold his hand because it makes him remember the past where he would hold Wilbur's hand a lot

-Change of headcanons: Schlatt and Puffy are cousins, Tubbo was just a random kid that would follow Schlatt for hours a day, waiting for him to acknowledge him

-Dream jumps into the lava in the prison as it reminds him of Sapnap

-Bad was uncomfortable when Sapnap married Big Q and Karl because he went on a date with Quackity before but he still supported them (Yes I know Big Q basically had a divorce with Sap and Karl--)

-Skeppy knows a lot about other's pasts because of how old he is, even traumatizing facts

-Skeppy has a fear of fire (Pyrophobia) and he is kind of scared of Sapnap

-Dream used the revivebook on the cat Tommy killed, but Sam killed it thinking Dream would use the cat against Sam to escape quicker in the future

-Dream doesn't *fully* know why he is in prison, ever since Tommy and Tubbo killed him, a wire/chip broke in his body which made him forget a lot of things. Dream does get told what he had done a lot, but it makes him almost have a panic attack because he thought he was a pretty good person

-Ghostbur is Callahan, they were commanded by DreamXD to become Ghostbur so that everyone could feel like he was still there (Callahan can change who they are completely, but they don't actually know how they acted when as Ghostbur, though that doesn't mean he didn't know what happened, when Dream killed/revived Ghostbur, Callahan got to see what it felt like to die for the first time)

-Fundy has the habit of picking up things and using them at some sort of fidget (examples: knives, leaves, grass, wood, pencils, berry stems, etc.

-Ranboo will be writing/saying something about someone and use pronouns instead of their name or just with the person's name (example: "Puffy she/her was--" or "he/him writing down things") [Basically canon-]

-Tubbo used to headbutt people but stopped after around 2 years because he kept hurting people

-Phil used to squawk randomly when he was a kid, but he mainly just squawks when hiccuping now

-Even though Bad used to get really nervous picking people up because he was afraid he was gonna drop and kill them, he now just picks up everyone randomly... except Foolish and Ranboo

-Foolish is able to shrink to around 7ft, and unless he is building a big build, he will shrink so he can get around easier

-Because Ranboo is only half enderman, he isn't the full height of an enderman (He is only 8'5)

-If someone asks Charlie about his pronouns, out of confusion, he just responds with "Bones!" which sometimes leads Las Nevadas members (or just anyone really) calling him by He/it/Bones

-When Bad was being controlled by the egg, it made him get even more flashbacks about how his species was supposed to act which would end up with him panicking because that isn't who he wants to be (bonus: The more a member infected by the egg would panic, the more the egg would be able to take over the person because they can't focus)

-Kristin has taught Phil how to do makeup in their free-time of hanging out

-Kristin is insanely tall, if she shrinks then she turns more transparent, so she ends up looking more like a ghost when at average height

-Skeppy can't cry, though he still can feel sad

-Bad and Eret talk to eachother quite a lot

-When Tubbo was around 11-14, he would make redstone contraptions, though he doesn't remember how to make most of them now

Ranboo doesn't like photoshoots because he feels like everyone is staring at him, though this does mean he just doesn't have a passport photo, his alternative was to draw what he looked like on the passport but they didn't allow it, as well as Ranboo doesn't really remember what he looks like anyway because they don't like looking in mirrors--

I think this is half-canon but another headcanon is where every SMP is just an island far away from others. In this case, Hermitcraft, 30 day SMP, and other SMPs are all linked up, as for people who are in multiple SMPs, they travel around by boat for awhile, now, the thing I've just not figured out is how tf their look magically changes-like- outfit is decently obvious-- but do they magically transform like an anime girl? Idk- 

Skeppy's voice randomly glitches out, is there an actual reason for this? No.

Quackity’s outfit is similar to Sub Urban’s (In Freak)

Skeppy acts as if he is royalty, he doesn't act rude or demanding unless joking- but he does act as if he is the superior person-

-Skeppy and Slime are the only "people" that don't have steampunk styled clothing because of how old they are

-Skeppy's hair grows insanely quickly and no one knows why, he honestly hates it

-Most of Skeppy's outfits have been made by Bad or Puffy

-Skeppy knows DreamXD as if he is a brother, but he despises him because of something that has happened around 3,000 years ago

-Skeppy has a lot of different shades in their hair on the "inside"(like- the side where his neck is is what I mean, I don't remember if it has a name or not-)

-Like I've said before, Skeppy's eyes are crystallized, but they are somewhat transparent, not enough to where you'd be able to see the inside of his head, but they are still transparent

-In the past, Skeppy didn't like their name which is why they called himself "Skeppy"

-He has an attachment to caves

-When Skeppy was a kid, they had the dream of him filling cave walls with houses of their own

-Skeppy goes by it/they/he

-Skeppy joke flirts with Bad all the time to confuse everyone, Bad doesn't like it because then everyone thinks they are dating which makes him feel a little uncomfortable

-Out of boredom, in the past, Skeppy would climb on the roofs of caves, hang upside down, and try and sleep like a bat

-They have no blood in his body, it is literally just a diamond covered with a thin layer of skin and hair

-Skeppy gets stressed out easily when it comes to learning because it just reminds him of everything he had to get used to as the billion of years he lived went by

-Skeppy used to not be allowed out into the open world, the first time it experienced going outside was when it was 2 billion years old

-Skeppy has accidentally caught things on fire during the day because of the reflecting of the sun, but even then, they are nocturnal so they don't really have to worry about it

-Wilbur adapted to hanging out with Sally in the water, he has some gills, but he can only breathe underwater for a bit longer with them

-Skeppy always has the equivalent of Diamond (armor) except when he was infected by the egg, he was equivalent to the strength of a Ruby

-Infected Skeppy has a redstone glow when touched, so when hugged(or hive fived- or- yeah you get the point), he would give a subtle glow around him until let go

-The Eggpire still can be controlled, but they are able to control it unless angered/upset

-Skeppy was 6ft when infected, now he is 3′9 un-infected

-At this point, Dream likes the prison because he sometimes feels safe there, like no one can hurt him

-DristaXD is more of a ghost robot than an actual robot

-DristaXD's hobby is murdering people and has basically been in some sort of jail before, she has broken chains around their ankles and hands, it seems to have been made of a really strong material as wel

-Sapnap used to have fire wings, but when he had to get extinguished, they disappeared, they are still there, they just aren't visible until dunked in lava and Sapnap can't use them anymore

-Infected Bad still took care of Sapnap, but Sapnap never cared

-Sapnap takes the name "lava cake" too seriously... though he thinks the literal lava cakes he makes taste good

-Puffy's hair has been dyed blue by Ghostbur before because he wanted people to remember Friend if they ever disappeared

-Going with my Ghostbur as Callahan hc, when Ghostbur was killed, Callahan kind of glitched between realities and so Ghostburs body glitched from Callahan's body and Ghostbur's then just disappeared. Callahan is still alive but they randomly glitch into different realities, he has glitched into places Karl has gone, including The Inbetween.

-When Ghostbur was glitching back into Callahan after killed, it shocked and concerned Dream

There you go :]

[lobakmerahs]

One: Painting and Its Secrets

Summary: This series is about Levi’s slow burn relationship with the reader who is not only a squad leader but a spy who works under Scouts Regiment.

Warning: mentions of death

A/n: I hope you, whoever you are that will read my series will enjoy it as much as I do when I wrote it. Thanks and have a pleasant reading! :)

~ 🎨

3 weeks before...

A blond platinum wig in a pixie cut, button down shirt in beige, a dark brown suspenders, a pair of pants in olive green with a jacket in the same colour. Last but not least a black fedora on top of the head. You stared at your reflection in the mirror, making sure that you looked completely different from the real you at the same time not wanting the disguise you were wearing would catch unnecessary attention. After you were fully satisfied with your look, you took your steps outside your little home.

It was supposedly your off day and you were strolling at the Stohess District and went to buy a newspaper before taking your seat at an empty bench while facing the river. After a few moments had passed, you glanced at your watch and stood up to head to your destination. 

Hans Art Gallery. You were on time when you stood in front of the art shop as the business was just begun and you were the first one to enter. 

“Good morning and welcome to Hans Art Gallery. Is there anything that I can help you, Mrs?,” the gentleman asked. 

“A bouquet of tulips for the man with the black shoes.” You answered to the gentleman who was not wearing a pair of black shoes but upon hearing your sentence and clearly understood your code, he went to the back of the gallery before returned to you and handed the canvas piece that was neatly wrapped with an oil paper. 

You calmly walked to your home and naturally looked around you to make sure no one was tailing before you entered your house and produced a soft click sound as you locked the wooden door behind you. You didn’t go straight to your room, instead you climbed to the attic and yet again locked the door. Slowly you unwrapped the frame and brought out your forceps as well as your scalpels, no need to ask how did you get those. The canvas held a drawing of an evening sky which was rich with every shades of orange colour capturing the beauty of the sunset, it seemed like it could bring calmness to whoever that laid their eyes on it, but what people didn’t know, didn’t have to know as well as didn’t have the right to know was what lied beneath the drawing. Yes, the drawing was undeniably beautiful, it was made by none other than one of your assets in the Wall Sina that disguised as an art dealer among the nobles. The said asset had planted a few layers of documents under his drawing which was the main reason you were about to form a surgery on the work of art. Meticulously, you ran your scalpel on the border of the drawing, next you brushed your thumb along the already cut borders to make the edges curled upwards then you used your forceps to peal the drawing away, revealing layers of papers which were believed to be the documents that were hidden beneath it. 

“Hmmh.. hmmm~ yare yare, found ya’.” You whispered to yourself and smiled in relief, taking out the pieces of papers and gave it a read. 

The documents contained the Military Police reports of Nicholas Lovof’s crimes that included bribery, kidnapping, murders and any other atrocities that were enough to put someone under justified punishments. Not only that, the documents also included a detailed descriptions as well as names of the people that were in charge to kill Erwin Smith, a good colleague of yours, thanks to Nicholos’s manipulations. The said people were; a young red-haired girl styled in pigtails, another young man with a light-brown hair and persumably the oldest one of the pack,a sharp dull blue eyes man with a black hair styled in an uppercut. 

Then, you made a copy of the documents and kept them in a scroll so you could send them to Erwin, where the original copy of them were properly sealed in an envelope for you to send them to none other than Dhalis Zachary.

~🎨

You took a deep breath, inhaling the morning’s crisp while staring at the blue sky. It was always your favorite thing to do, starring at the sky, focusing on the colours that it held. From the wide ranges of blues, to the variety tones of the white from the clouds and sometimes the contrast colours of orange or pink that appears during dusk or dawn. 

After you had enough of your morning pill from the sky, you stepped out of your chamber and was greeted by your best friend, Hange with a raised of both your eyebrows. Both of you did not need much words to greet each other most of the times. You were best friends since your Training Corps years. Morning wasn’t the time for you guys to start acting real with each other. So, both of you walked by each other to the mess hall to get your breakfast then attended the assembly Scout Regiment’s concourse. 

During the morning assembly, you lined up beside Erwin as you were also a Section Commander and had your comrades under your unit to stand in a line behind you. As you were standing, you could see there were 3 people standing beside Commander Keith Sadis, and were introduced to the whole Scout Regiment as the new Scouts. One of them was a girl with red-brown hair tied into two pigtails, named Isabel Magnolia, the other was a man with dark blond hair named Furlan Church and the last one named Levi, a shorter man with black hair styled in an uppercut. All three of them were assigned into Flagon's unit much to his dismay. You glanced at Erwin by your side and he gave you a knowing look. While others found those new Scouts’ names foreign, both of you were exceptional and for a good reason. 

They were surprisingly good during their training, for some people who never had a formal training using the ODM gear, they performed fantastically well but they still needed some polishing for their Titans killing skills, except for Levi. You were always up to offer help to them but they often misunderstood since you usually looked cold and always a bit brutal during your trainings which were a famous fact among the Scout Regiment. Farlan and Isabel often thought that you hated them since they received resentments from severel other Scout cadets and thinking that you were also in the same boat as the other Scouts. Levi was always with his bored expression, you could barely read his expressions let alone his thoughts, unlike the other two. There was a time where Isabel blurted about why you insisted to help training them when you seemed to dislike them.

“It doesn’t matter if I like you guys or not, people train to kill the Titans and to survive. You guys seemed to rush things and hiding something, as if you wanted you to get done with killing Titans then move on to do something else that isn’t Titans related and I’m here trying to help you not to get killed by Titans”, you answered. There was a short silence followed after your answer. You could tell their breaths hitched for a moment but you remained stolid nevertheless.

“Well, we have to move on to do something else as in to focus on the formation right?”, Furlan replied with a hint of nervous. 

“Yeah, let’s hope so.” You answered. 

~🎨

In life, there were a lot of moments where the air would be tense and the night before expedition was one of them. The night was calm and quiet but you couldn’t ignore the heavy feeling in your heart. Tonight was just another night inside the wall but to some in the Scout Regiment, it would be their last. Tomorrow’s expedition would surely cost some of your comrades’ lives and might even yours, for the sake of humanity. 

You took a deep breath. But it still didn’t help to calm your nerves. You had been pacing in your room since dinner. You couldn’t stay still, palms were sweaty and heart was beating unsually fast tonight. Something bad was going to happen tomorrow. You could feel it in your guts. You recognized these telltale because whenever you felt like this, you’ll end up receiving death news be it your favorite neighbour from your hometown, your beloved pets or even the Scouts that you had helped in training. Deciding that sitting in your room wouldn’t help lessen the nerves, you grabbed your pencils and sketch papers then headed outside to gaze at the starry night sky to do some sketches in hope of easing your mind. 

As you arrived at you usual spot at tower of the Scout Regiment barracks, you slumped down and took a glance at the sky. The moon hadn’t shown itself yet, and there were thick clouds hanging everywhere. Then, you stared at your paper and pencil. Blank. No idea. No inspiration. Stuck. You sighed, and continued to stare at the night sky hoping to relax your mind for awhile. Then, you heard the sound of clicking boots which meant that there were people not far from you. It was Furlan and Isabel whom just arrived, they walked to a figure that you assumed to be Levi. You remained quiet and peeped them from your location. You could heard Isabel and Furlan trying to convince Levi about them joining tomorrow’s expedition. As you were eavesdropping not that you planned to in the first place, suddenly your hand started to sketch the paper, starting with the clouds and adding the diamonds in the sky, slowly without you realizing it, you were sketching the trio starring at the starry night sky under the moonlight that shone magnificiently. 

When you were done with the sketching, you returned to your room as quietly as possible and continued to add colours to your drawing before you got sleepy and finally free from your anxious feeling earlier. Before you headed to your bed, you jotted down the date behind your work which now known as painting, no longer just a sketch.

_

During the expedition, you and your squad were put around the right flank of the long range formation. There were few Titans appeared throughout the journey, none that your squad could handle. You were beyond grateful that all of your squad were still well and alive at the moment. Then, you received a signal to tighten the formation since the sky started to show sign that it would rain soon and a heavy one at that. You commanded your squad to pull on the hood of their capes and stayed as close as possible with you and each other so that no one would go unnoticed and it would be easier to assist if anything happen.

Despite the heavy downpour, your squad kept moving forward and you efficiently assisted your squad in killing any Titan that came in the way, it was always your promise to make sure everyone under you would return to the wall safe and alive. Then, suddenly you heard a weird noise coming from in front of you, not the usual strange noise that a Titan would make.A load, short but multiple groan as if a Titan was in pain. So, you rushed to the direction of the sound assuming that there might a cadet or a squad that needed your assistance. 

You arrived at the same time as Erwin’s and some other squad leaders, surrounded by an Abnormal Titan’s and plenty of your other comrades’ corpses. Then, you noticed Levi standing next to the Titan’s dead body with blood all over him and Isabel’s head in front of him with half of Furlan’s body not far from him as well. Levi seemed to be the only one survived from his squad. His head hanging slightly low, with his hair covering his eyes but the tears streaming down his cheeks didn’t go unnoticed by you. So, this explained the sweaty palm and racing heart you had another night- to see two cadets that you helped with training days ago, only now left with just just head and half of a body. You felt your shoulder fell and knees slightly shaking. You felt like your breath had been taken away.

As the rain started to stop slowly as the sunshine gently peeking from the clouds, you watched how Levi was about to kill Erwin which was stopped by Mike then Erwin explained about the Nicholos Lovof's situation causing Levi to stop his actions and stood silently, digesting the fact that he was caught up in Erwin’s plans. 

You did feel bad for Levi, Erwin wasn’t the only who knew about him and his friends’ true intention of joining the Scout Regiment. You knew about it too. It was your assignment to obtain the information about Nicholos Lofov’s crimes and sent it to Erwin as well as finding out the person who was assigned to supposedly kill Erwin. It was just a simple guess as to why those three didn’t refuse so much on joining he Scout Regiment when Erwin offered them to.

You were assigned with that task since you were not only a Section Commander but also a spy under the Scout Regiment as well as the cadets under your wings and some were also assets scattered across the town in disguise as an art dealer in Wall Sina, a commoner who opened a bakery shop or could be anyone in the town that simply invisible to the world but not to you. You needed to sniff around to obtain crucial informations that could contribute to the Scout Regiment strategies, formation and as well as humanity. 

~🎨

The barracks became quieter after the expedition ended which was normal due to the lost of lives. You were at your room that night, just checking your report before you could submit them to Erwin the next morning and decided to write some notes in your book. You opened your drawer and saw the painting that you made before the expedition took place. Levi, Isabel and Furlan staring at the sky. Two of the were smiling in admiration to the sky while Levi just being Levi, stoic as ever except his eyes where they were packed with ......hope. 

You suddenly felt drenched and decided to go for a glass of water at the kitchen before you headed to sleep. You inserted the sketching into your notebook and brought them with you to the kitchen, it just came across your mind to let Levi had it since you remembered how shattered he looked when he was kneeling in front of Isabel's head. The kitchen was empty when you arrived so you went to grab a cup and filled it with water.

As you took a sip of water from your glass, you saw Levi entering the same room as yours. Both of you were startled for a second yet no words left your mouths before he proceeded to make himself a tea and you with your drink. The room was filled with silence but not an uncomfortable one, at least for you. That was when it slipped your mind that you wanted to give the drawing to Levi. Only if he would accept your drawing. You thought he might wanted it since that drawing was an evidence of a sweet memory that his two friends left him during their short time in the Scout Regiment. Probably something for him to look at when he felt lonely. He was stirring his teaspoon with his back facing you when you called his name. Probably the first time having you calling his name. Probably the first time you would ever interact with him ever since he joined the regiment.

“.....um..Levi,” you called. That’s when your heart skipped a beat. And you felt a bit....just a bit nervous to see him reacting to you. Then, he turned around and faced you, intense dull blue eyes focusing on your eyes, expecting you to continue. You gulped. Man, was his gaze always this tense? You never noticed that before for sure.

“I was at the tower the night before the exhibition, with my sketching utensils because I needed to calm my nerves. Then suddenly you guys came and I made something. I didn’t plan doing it, I just went with the ideas flowing in my head,” you stopped and brought out your painting to his attention. He stayed focus listening to you and eyes never left your face before he took the drawing and examined it. You couldn’t say he was amused but his gaze did soften a little. 

“I’m sorry I draw the three of you without your permission.I know I should have asked your consent. And um, you could keep that...... If you want though,” you continued. You felt quite nervous not because you were scared of him, shy probably but not scared. You were nervous because one, you wished your drawing didn’t remind him of his late friends in a bad way and caused him more sadness, two, you didn’t want him to get mad at you for drawing him without his permission and three, um...what if your drawing looked like a toddler’s work? That would suck.

“It’s nice,” Levi finally spoke. His deep monotone voice comforted your ears. You breathed out a relief. 

“I want to keep it,” Levi said, hand still holding your drawing, eyes travelling back to yours with a softer gaze and as if asking for your permission. 

You nodded, “sure, make it yours, I do hope it’ll help you feel better, if that's even possible”, you replied with a soft chuckle as you slowly stood and got ready to head back to your room.

You saw Levi took a glance at the drawing then looked at you again before he replied you with, “thanks, I’ll treasure it.”

You flashed a small smile before yawning and took off to your room to get your sleep. Feeling light and at ease, knowing your drawing could help lift up someone’s mood.

Little did you know that, back in his chamber, Levi stared at your painting. He indulged himself into the painting that you made, every drop of colour as well as every line and traces left on the paper by you, realized how he missed watching his lost friends’ smiles and thanks to you, he could see his friends’ smiles once again eventhough it was just on a piece of a paper. Not to mention, he finally got to interact with you. You striked a mysterious aura when you first appeared before his eyes which intrigued him to get to know you, yet he never had a chance or a reason to talk to you but you were always there somewhere in the back of his mind. He was utterly grateful with the drawing you made, at least he could carve the smiles of his friends into his mind, their smiles might no longer exist in this world but it would always be in his heart and mind. 

                                              Next chapter

[spinchip]

i personally think u should write about the AU where Five was completed before the lab was destroyed. maybe a few moments where the ninja see how much Five truly cares for her brother?

A/n: this ended up being not what you asked at all akljnasdjlas sorry, I literally stopped it right before we see her interact more with the Ninja. 1500 words 

When she’s turned back on, it’s to wreckage and loss. Her siblings are gone, the mechanics and programmers too scared to venture back into a lab that’s one gentle breeze from collapsing in the roof. Her home is a death trap- or a grave, the bodies of her siblings laid to rest in their docking stations.

Her creator, with her salt and pepper hair and her laugh lines and her brown eyes, is the only one brave enough to risk the carnage.

“There you are.” She says, taking Fives hands. The world is thick and soupy around her limbs and her head, she's not quite sure where she begins and ends, her start-up rushed and shoddy, “Come on, Five, come on.” she says it like a plea, the support beams around them creak ominously.

She is supposed to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Her creator is trembling, paper and salvaged hard drives and folders clutched under one arm, the other held fast to fives palm.

Five moves.

____

“What did you say your name was?” He asks, there’s a spark of something in his eyes that she cannot decipher.

“I didn’t.” She shoves her hands into her pockets, settling down next to him on the bench. It’s a secluded little thing, on the outskirts of the park near a walking trail, half-hidden in the shade of the forest closing in on them, “It’s Five.”

On her HUD, there’s a blinking warning.

Ice detected.

“It’s a unique name.” He remarks, pinning her with a calculating look.

She shrugs one shoulder, meeting him eye for eye, “I didn’t like any other names I’ve tried on.”

He’s right to be suspicious, of course, it’s not every day a random person came right up to an elemental master and made themselves at home. She isn’t scared of him, and he doesn’t seem to want to hurt her- or anyone, for that matter. He’s got a book in his lap and he’s holding a pen, and he doesn’t seem inclined to share what he’s been doing. He’s drawing. One day she’ll be lucky enough to see his sketches.

“Can I sit with you, Rudolph?” She asks.

“Of course, Five.” He nods, closing his book and putting it away. They sit in silence and watch the morning tick by.

She will watch him, just to be sure he isn’t a threat, and then she will move on. This is temporary.

___

“You are my longest friend, Five.” Rudolph says one day. They haven't seen any of the other Elemental Masters in awhile, not since her friend had stood up one day, from his home that was quaint and small and just big enough for the two of them, and walked out the door without ever planning to return. She had followed him, out onto his journey, dreading the destination with each step.

“And you are mine.” She tells him quietly, the snow crunches beneath their feet quietly.

“You have never lied to me, and in turn I have never asked you anything that would require it.” He stops walking, his old and wrinkled hands clutching at his walking stick as he turns to face her fully, “But I have always wondered what you really are. Do you think you could satisfy an old man's curiosity?”

She is as young as the day he met her, “You would be angry with me.” She tells him honestly.

“I won’t be, I promise.” His eyes twinkle, “As long as you promise to forgive my secret, too.”

“You’re hiding something from me?” Old protocols flare, suspicions she hasn’t indulged in years. She firmly clamps down on those feelings.

Rudolph chuckles, “You first, me last.” He resumes his trek, the snow soaking chill into his pant legs, and he shivers at the touch.

She hesitates, and then she follows.

And then she talks.

When she is done, he says, “I knew you stuck around because of my element, from the first moment we met.”

“i’m glad you allowed me to stay.”

___

“I will miss you.” She says honestly, sitting as his side in the little camp they’ve made. Silence stretches into the forest, the snow pausing it’s gentle travel to give them their peace.

He’s dying.

“Part of me will always be here, in Ninjago.” He nods to the snow around them, “You are not alone.”

the fire crackles and spits.

“I have been selfish.” he admits suddenly, “I promised you if you told me your secret, I would tell you mine- but when I heard about your programming, I withheld my truth because I was afraid you would leave me.”

She frowns, “I don’t understand.”

“I am not the Master of Ice. I have given my power away to a boy in birchwood forest, when you had gone to town to get us food.” He folds his hands over his chest, clutching his fingers together, “I never told you because I did not want to be alone. I’m Sorry, Five.”

Her HUD flickers to life, and she runs a scan she hasn’t had to run in years.

No Element Detected.

He hums in her silence, it’s a quiet sound in the dead of the night, the dying fire casting odd flickering shapes across his skin, “But your purpose has been evolving, you are not a machine like you think. I knew you were watching me, but I was watching you too. Somewhere along the line, you came to care for me, dear, and I care for you too.” He reaches out to take her hand, and he trembles from the cold, “I love you, my friend.”

She adds wood to the fire to hide the wet of her eyes, “I love you too, you know this.”

“I do. I understand now I would not have been alone.” His eyes close, “We are not alone.”

Five feeds the fire, and breaks camp in the morning, and doesn’t know what to do.

No Element Detected.

She needs to go to Birchwood forest.

___

She knows loss, and how much it hurts. She’s survived it once, she can survive it again.

Protect those who cannot protect themselves.

There’s a boy in birchwood forest who needs guidance.

Five moves.

___

She’d never been here, Rudolph and her having split up for a handful of days while Five resupplied in town. The snow is thick and deep here, she struggles to trudge through it.

Halfway into the forest, with the threat of Treehorns hanging around her head, Five feels a program that was never supposed to run ping gently in the back of her mind.

The world stops, and then kickstarts back as she races through the snow with fervor.

___

This is her first time waking up.

She’s been awake before, inside the computer, with people asking her questions and fixing her when her code hurts and breaks. This is her first time in her body. Her skin is silver, there are wires poking through, metal plates shifter and out of place. Her inner mechanisms in her chest are exposed, the blue glow from her core fascinating and welcoming.

She feels connections branching out from her mind, pings filling up her head, and she knows- it’s One, it’s two, it’s Three and Four-

It’s Zero, all of her siblings, she can feel their presence in her mind- it’s a basic thing, something that was maybe supposed to be developed into a wireless radio, but it doesn’t get that far before the lab is destroyed.

What's the use of it then, when she's the last one left?

___

She finds him sitting on his knees in the snow, on the outskirts of the forest. She’d nearly missed him in her desperation, he’s dressed in all white. It’s clear he’s been walking for a long while, his pants soaked through. He’s clenching and unclenching his hands, his eyes are wet.

He looks up at her, wide eyed and surprised, and she falls to her knees too, her strength leaving in one shocked rush- it’s him. It’s her brother, it can’t be anyone else, it’s Zero.

“I know you.” He says plainly, the familiar and comforting connection in his coding flaring to life.

She nearly can’t keep from crying, clapping her hand over her mouth to hold it in. she has to be strong, she has to be.

His eyebrows knit together, “I- I am Zane.” He tells her gently, clenching his fists on his thighs, unsure how to approach her emotional state, “I… I don’t remember anything else, i’m sorry.”

“You’re- it’s fine.” She sloshes through the snow to take his hands, holding them like a lifeline. She smiles and it’s the most genuine smile she thinks she’s ever had, if a little watery around the edges, “You don’t remember me, but I’m your sister, Zero. I’ll protect you. You’re not alone.”

He looks up at her with big doe eyes, and she nods, all determination and strength, “I promise.”

Her HUD flashes.

Ice Detected.

Thank you, Rudolph, She pulls her brother into a tight hug.

Protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Protect him.

Her purpose is evolving.

___

When Wu comes, as she knew he would, he doesn’t recognize her. She didn’t think he would, he had been awfully self absorbed around the time she had been hanging around, too caught up in his own drama to pay attention to others. He asks politely to speak to her brother, she refuses, far less polite.

Zane has a nightmare about his own death that night, and Five wonders if she can survive it again.

In the backyard she used to share with Rudolph, she teaches her brother Spinjitzu, and hopes it will be enough.

___

A year later, three boys show up on her doorstep, and she knows she cannot keep him from destiny any longer.

But she sure can tag along.

[spicyfloaty]

Give & Take | Chapter 9

pairing: kacchako

genre: slowburn/fluff

words: 4.5k

summary: Ochako's grades are slipping. Bakugo is dangerously nearing suspension, or worse, expulsion. A certain twist of fate pairs them together for tutoring sessions. He teaches her math. She keeps him from getting suspended. A simple exchange, but what if this only brings them closer than necessary?

header credits: @alexbenedetto

[READ ON AO3]

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine: Mornings with Bakugo

Ochako was a morning person, the kind who purposefully wakes up before the sun does just so they could witness the day start. She had always loved early mornings back at home since it gave her the chance to cook her parents breakfast and see them off to work soon after. Getting a head start to a new day was a principle and routine she had stood by before her father got hurt on the job. 

Ever since her father’s injury, Ochako somehow morphed into the night owl she never thought she’d become. Despite this, the only reason you would catch her up late at night was either because she just got off of work or because she was finishing up some homework, both being tasks she was not too happy to do. She rarely got the chance to enjoy being a morning person, since late nights would require late mornings, which were much different from the early mornings she used to love.

Today was a blessing. Ochako had spent her entire Sunday holed up in her room to study for all her subjects, finishing all of her homework early on before it gets the opportunity to steal away precious hours of sleep later at night. Those precious hours, she made sure to spend them wisely by actually sleeping early that time.

Ochako takes another crunchy bite of toast, looking over to watch the first rays of sunshine spill from the rows of tall, glass windows. A soft, honey, morning glow bathe the dorm’s kitchens, tables, and common area. She takes a deep breath, basking in the comforting silence of the empty dining hall. She closes her eyes and groggily smiles into another sleepy bite of her toast, It’ll be awhile before I get a time like this again.

“Hey.” A familiar voice huffs.

Ochako drops her toast and almost jumps off her seat, a surprised squeak escapes her as she whips her head to see Bakugo standing beside her. He had both hands tucked in the pockets of his sweatpants, red eyes peering down at her waiting for a response. 

“God,” Her whole body sags in relief as she brings a hand up to her chest, “You almost gave me a heart attack.” She breathes out.

His eyes narrow, the rest of his expression unchanging, “What’s the derivative of cosine?”

Ochako tilts her head as her eyebrows knit together in confusion, “Good morning to you, too?”

“You’re still not answering the question.” He says impatiently.

The cogs in her mind have yet to completely wake up in order to fully function and comprehend what’s going on. Bakugo doesn’t usually wake up until much later so why the sudden change in schedule? Ochako rubs her tired eyes to double check if she’s seeing things right, but alas, Bakugo was still standing in front of her, proving that she was in fact not hallucinating.

“Wait, what is this again, exactly?” She asks.

His lips curl in disdain, “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m obviously quizzing you.”

“At six in the morning?” She hears the morning rasp in her voice. How, where, and when did he get the idea of doing this on the earliest crack of dawn and on top of that, how is he managing to not sound or look like someone who just woke up?

“So?” Bakugo prods, one eyebrow raised.

“I’m barely awake, Bakugo.” She says hoarsely, her words slow and steady much like how a person still coming out of sleep would sound like.

Two seconds hardly pass after the last syllable of her sentence when Bakugo swiftly leans towards her until their faces are mere centimeters away from each other.

“Hey!” Ochako yelps, hastily leaning back before their noses could touch.

“You look pretty awake to me, round face.” He deadpans, the space between their faces still a finger’s width apart.

She places both hands on his chest to push him away, which unfortunately didn’t do much since she might as well be trying to move a statue, “Okay, jeez, I get it!” Her face turns to the side to hide the deep shade of red flooding her cheeks. “Personal space, Bakugo, have you heard of it?”

“Answering the goddamn question, have you heard of it?” He fires back, finally stepping away to give her some room to recover.

“Fine,” She drags her fingers through her unkempt hair, Ochako’s self-consciousness wasn’t awake enough for her to care how haggard she looked in front of him, “What was the question again?”

Bakugo folds both arms across his chest, “Derivative of cosine.”

Ochako looks away for a moment, squinting her eyes in concentration as the tiny Ochakos in her head scurry about in her head rummaging for an answer. Her eyes find their way back to his expectant ones once she has the right one, “Negative sine.”

Bakugo nods, walking away to head for the kitchens. A sigh of relief escapes her lips as she thanked her lucky stars that she somehow managed to give the correct answer without being a hundred percent sure of it.

She picks up the piece of toast on her plate, taking another bite while her eyes follow Bakugo’s movements as he moved around the kitchen, grabbing some items from the fridge and cupboards. His back was to her as he settled in front of the stove, grabbing a pan in preparation to cook a meal.

Ochako’s thoughts wander to more obvious questions such as why Bakugo was up this early in the morning when he usually wakes up around the same time Kirishima does, which was much later than now. Bakugo was the type to sleep early, so maybe he had coincidentally woke up and got hungry the same time as her today? Did she somehow mess up her alarm’s volume, accidentally setting it off on full blast, thereby waking Bakugo up since they’re on the same floor? No, that’s not it, she would have woken up the entire fourth floor if that were the case.

She drops the thought soon after, deciding that it was none of her business. Her eyes shifted to Bakugo once again as she took another crisp bite of her toast. From afar, Ochako notices the dampness of his hair, its usual explosive nature had it spiking through every direction, but now they were more down than up. He must have just gotten out of the shower before he got here.

Ochako’s gaze drop to the shape of his back, his muscles flexing as Bakugo reached for one of the spices on the top shelf. It was easy to look at since his tank top left the skin on his arms and most of his back bare. She wonders how much of his free time was spent training since it would certainly take a lot of time to sculpt and tone muscles like his.

Her eyes widened as she realized how inappropriate her thoughts were getting. She shakes her head free of those unnecessary thoughts, bringing her attention back to her breakfast and calls out to him, “So was that the last question or...?”

“No.” Bakugo says, setting his spatula aside, “I’m quizzing you the whole damn day, round face.”  

“The whole day?” She sputters in disbelief. Ochako had thought that this was just something he planned on doing this morning.

“What did I just say?” He bites. She doesn’t need to see his face to know that he was frowning, she could already hear the scowl in his voice.

“When?”

“When I say so.” He says with finality. Bakugo turns around, holding two plates of the meal he had just finished cooking. She had expected him to move past her to sit at one of the tables behind her, but instead, he places his meal beside hers and takes the seat on her left.

“Um, Bakugo?”

“What.” He asks through a mouthful of rice.

“Why are you sitting next to me?” Her question was out of genuine confusion and had no intention of sounding rude, but it seemed to come off that way nonetheless.

“The hell kind of question is that?” He bites, shooting her a nasty look, “You got a problem with me being here?”

“No!” She shakes her hands nervously, “It’s just that, um, you usually sit over there.” She says sheepishly, pointing to the tables behind them.

Bakugo’s eyebrows draw together, his lips twisting to a frown, “I can do whatever the hell I want and I--” He scoots his chair nearer to the table in protest, “feel like sitting here.”

“Why--”

“What’s the derivative of negative cosine?” He interrupts.

“Sine.” She instinctively answers.

“Good.” He says, returning to his meal. Ochako chooses to do the same since he had made it quite clear that he wasn’t answering any more questions from her. She thinks about how Bakugo could have done this whole quizzing thing of his during their sessions instead of breaking off of their regular tutoring schedule. Come to think of it, Bakugo and her don’t usually interact that much outside of their sessions, so him eating breakfast with her is definitely something new.

Ochako hears a strained yawn coming from the staircase and sees Kaminari stretching his arms in the air. He walks past the kitchens, eyes widening to the size of saucers when he spots the both of them. Kaminari’s face morphs to that of someone who had  just uncovered the holy grail, his mouth forming the beginning of a sentence only to be interrupted by Bakugo.

“Keep walking, Dunce Face.” He hisses, eyes not leaving his plate.

Kaminari turns to Ochako and she shrugs as if to say, “I don’t know what’s going on either.”

He walks towards the couches, wide, questioning, eyes still trained on both of them, “That’s all your gonna eat?” Bakugo asks, pointing his chopsticks to the piece of bread on her hands.

“Yeah?” Ochako’s breakfast had always consisted of the cheapest alternative, but it’s not like she was starving herself. She thinks back to days when she’d be eating costly food like tuna and salmon whenever she’d receive an especially good tip from patrons the day before. Ochako’s mouth waters at the memory.

A pair of chopsticks place a helping of fish on her plate, “Tch, You’re an idiot if you think that’s gonna last you through the day.” Bakugo sneers.

“Oh, you don’t have to.” She quickly tries to decline, that is very expensive looking fish.

His eyes stare daggers into her soul, “Do you really want to argue with me about fucking fish?” He snaps.

“No, but--”

“Then just take the damn thing already, Jesus.” Bakugo grumbles.

Ochako hears a faint squeal coming from behind them. She turns to see Mina with Kaminari peeking from the couches, both of them whipping their heads back to the television as soon as she catches them staring. When did Mina get here?

She directs her attention back to the meal before her, unwrapping the spare chopsticks on the table before starting to pick the fish apart.

“You’re doing it wrong.” Bakugo suddenly bites, his face scrunching up at the sight of her work.

“No, I’m not.” She protests. She was just preparing it just as she’s always done before and as far as she knew, there was nothing wrong with it.

“Yes you fucking are.” He argues, “You start here and work your way to the tail.” Bakugo's arm brushes over hers as he leaned towards her, pointing to the back of the fish’s head to its tail. He turns to her, “Got that?”

“Yeah” She mutters, ignoring the slight contact of skin. Ochako does as she’s told, working her way to the tail. She takes her first bite of fish and her eyes widen twice her size, “This tastes amazing.” She takes another bite before turning to him, “How did you do that?”

She knew he could cook, but she didn’t know he was this good at it. She scarfs down another couple bites of his cooking, her taste buds bursting with joy and delight.

“Why the hell do you look so surprised?” Bakugo’s face scrunches up in confusion, “It’s basic ass seasoning.”

Ochako can’t help but close her eyes and smile as she savors every single bite with gusto, “Weirdo.” Bakugo mutters with a bewildered expression on his face.

She starts to debone the rest of her fish under Bakugo’s guidance when she hears another strained squeal from behind them, this one being louder than the last. She turns to see that the couches  were now occupied by Kaminari, Mina, Kirishima, and Sero, watching them as if they were a newly opened attraction at the zoo. Kirishima slaps his hand to his mouth as four of them whip their heads back towards the TV.

She feels Bakugo bump her shoulder, “Focus.” He snaps impatiently, “You’ll end up choking on a fucking bone if you don’t do this properly.”

Both of them eventually finish their breakfast, with Ochako making a conscious effort not to get distracted by their peeking audience. Bakugo collects his empty plates, standing up from his seat, red eyes landing on hers.

“What’s the derivative of tangent.”

Ochako sighs, “Secant squared.” I almost forgot about that one.

---

“You two have gotten really close, Ochako, ribbit .” Asui observes, sitting beside Ochako’s desk, Hagakure in tow. She didn’t notice her approaching since she was preoccupied with a practice question on her textbook. Yes, I study during free periods in between classes, sue me.

“Who?” She asks.

“Bakugo.”

“Oh no, not really.” She replies dismissively, “We don’t really do much other than argue and study.” She chuckles nervously. She wasn’t lying, the only reason why they seemed so close was the fact that they were studying together, no more, no less.

“He literally ate breakfast with you!” Hagakure squeals, her uniform bouncing up and down in excitement.

“Come on, Hagakure that doesn’t mean anything.” She looks away, her hand scratching the back of her neck.

“It does when it’s Bakugo!” Hagakure insists.

“She’s right,” Asui agreed, “Bakugo usually sits alone during breakfast ribbit.”

Ochako shakes her head in response. It was just breakfast, there was no subliminal message between two people eating together, plus Bakugo probably just sat next to her so he could do his little quizzing plan with ease.

“You should see the way he looks at you all the time!” Hagakure adds, her skirt vigorously swishing from side to side.

“With annoyance and distaste?” Ochako quips. She couldn’t exactly recall a time when Bakugo had looked at her fondly or even longingly, so it's puzzling for her to be hearing such claims from her friend.

Before Ochako could add to her argument, she’s startled by a voice that booms from the back of her seat, “Oi.”

She whips her head to face the frowning blond behind her, “You have got to stop sneaking up on me like that, Bakugo.” She exhales.

He squints his eyes at her, ignoring her remark, “The limit of one over x.”

Ochako narrows her eyes right back at him. This was the eighth time, probably more, that he had come up to her unannounced to randomly quiz her. He wasn’t even asking questions at this point, it was just an unfinished statement waiting for her to fill in the missing blank, “X is approaching what?” She asks.

“Zero.” He continues to stare her down, as if to pressure her into spitting out the wrong answer.

She lifts her chin, immune to his intimidation tactics, “The limit doesn’t exist.”

Bakugo nods and wordlessly heads back to his seat. Ochako only then notices the dumbfounded looks on their classmates’ faces.

“Is this a new kind of flirting I haven’t heard about?” Kaminari asks, eyes shifting back and forth from her to Bakugo.

“I don’t know, looks pretty hot to me.” Mineta shrugs, leaning against Kaminari’s desk.

“You’d think a lamp post was hot if we put a skirt on it.” Kirishima retorts, giving Mineta a genuinely concerned look.

The purple-haired student crosses his arms in mock offense, “Oh shut up, I have taste.”

Boisterous laughter erupts from Mina and Jirou, both girls’ arms grabbing at their sides as Jirou almost falls from her seat, “He says he has taste!”

Thankfully, the spotlight shifts to Mineta, away from her and Bakugo, as he continues to defend himself. She glances at his direction to see that his eyes were already trained on her, an unreadable expression hanging on his face. Ochako quickly turns away to face her friends once more, sputtering a new topic for them to talk about. Despite this, Hagakure’s words still echoed from the back of her mind.

Ochako had definitely seen the way he looked at her.

---

The resounding ring of the lunch bell marks the end of fourth period. Ochako put away her books and started to make her way out of the classroom when Midnight suddenly calls her to the teacher’s desk.

“Yes, Ms. Midnight?”

“Uraraka-san, would you please be a dear and bring these papers to Aizawa,” she gestures to the stack of paperwork bundled in her arms, “I have to rush over to a meeting with Principal Nezu in five.”

“Of course!” Ochako takes the papers off her hands without hesitation, a bright smile stretching over her face, “I’ll bring it to him right away.”

“Thank you so much, dear.” Midnight purrs. Ochako gives her teacher another warm smile before heading outside, “Fabulous job on your essay by the way!” She calls out from the classroom.

Ochako looks back at the grinning brunette, “Don’t tell anyone, but I gave you an A plus!” She adds, bringing a manicured finger to her lips as she winked at her.

She chuckles at this, Midnight had said that quite loudly for someone who meant for it to be a secret, “Thanks, Ms. Midnight.”

Ochako rushes to the hallway to catch up to her friends. She nudges Iida with her shoulder since both of her hands were occupied as of the moment, “Uraraka! There you are!”

“You guys can go ahead without me,” she gestures to the bundle of paperwork she was carrying, “I’ll be at the teacher’s lounge for a bit.”

“Sure, we’ll be waiting.” Deku says, offering her a small smile.

She musters an awkward, tight-lipped smile before heading towards the other direction. Ochako had only gotten a few steps in before feeling a tap on her shoulder. She turns to see Bakugo, fierce, red eyes zeroing in on her once again.

Ochako was somewhat glad to know that he had learned to not sneak up on her anymore.

“Cosine of pi.” He says flatly.

Her lips curl into a smirk, “Negative one.”

“You guys are the weirdest couple ever.” Kaminari announces as the rest of Bakugo’s friends caught up with him and as if on cue, both him and Ochako objected.

“We’re not a couple.”

“Aw, they’re so in sync!” Kirishima gushes, “You sure you didn’t rehearse that beforehand?”

Bakugo sends a spine-tingling glare to the redhead’s direction, “Kidding, kidding.” He says, laughing nervously.

Ochako turns to Bakugo, “Got anything else you want to ask?” She urges. He might have another question ready to throw at her for all she knows.

“Yeah, what the hell is that? ” He barks, gesturing to the stack of papers in her arms.

“Let me rephrase,” She began, “Got anything else you want to ask nicely?”

Bakugo rolls his eyes, “What’s that?” He asks through grit teeth. All three boys behind him bring their hands to their mouths to stop themselves from laughing, “Shut the fuck up.” Bakugo hisses at them.

“Some papers for Mr. Aizawa,” She smiles, satisfied with the change in his tone, “and speaking of, I gotta go.”

She turns to Bakugo, “If you have any more questions, you know where to find me.”

Ochako quickly waves them goodbye as she briskly walked towards the faculty room’s direction. It wasn’t a long way from where their classroom was located, but the journey felt like forever because of the weight on her arms. This was a heavy stack of papers.

She finally reaches her destination when she feels another tap on her shoulder. Ochako half expected to see Bakugo’s frowning face again, but she turned to see a tall, lanky boy with a seemingly crooked nose smiling at her, “Uraraka, right?” He asks.

Her eyes shift to the shorter, pudgier boy beside him, then back to the lankier one, trying to recall if she knew them, “Yes?”

“It really is you!” The shorter one beams at her.

Ochako smiles nervously, “Can I help you?” Her eyes were still shifting back and forth between the two boys, her mind trying to figure out why they looked so familiar. Had she seen them before at the sport’s festival? Or maybe walked past them in the cafeteria one time?

“This is Shintani,” The tall one gestured to his friend, “And I’m Kai.” He turns to her, still smiling, but something about the glint in his eyes tells her that he had something else up his sleeve.

“You’re in Class 2A, right?” Kai continues, “With Katsuki Bakugo.”

Bakugo? She thought to herself. Why bring him up all of a sudden?

“Yeah, I am.” She replies cautiously, the first signs of suspicion snaking its way to her gut. Ochako still couldn’t put her finger on where she had seen them before, but now with the  sudden mention of Bakugo, she had all the more reason to stay on alert.

“Must be tough being classmates with someone like that, huh?” Shintani says sympathetically, like he felt the need to console her as if she had been dealt the worst hand of cards in a game.

“What are you talking about?” She asks quizzically.

“Oh, come on,” Shintani sniggers as if she had told him an inside joke, “You know how that animal gets.”  

Kai nods in agreement, “A borderline savage, if you ask me.”

“But nobody asked you.” Ochako retorts, blinking back her shock afterwards. She hadn’t meant to say that, but a couple of strangers badmouthing Bakugo was getting on her nerves.

He turns to her, the kind smile on his face slips into a smug, lopsided grin, his facade instantly crumbling to partly show her what his true colors really were, “See this?” He asks, pointing to his nose, “That bastard did this to me.”

Ochako’s steps back, eyes widening in realization. The students from Class 2C. That’s why they looked so familiar. They were the ones she saw in that fight with Bakugo.

“I don’t even know why this school still lets him stay in the hero course.” Shintani adds.

Kai laughs before turning to her once again, “He only gives the rest of us a bad image, don’t you think so?”

Ochako’s grip on the stack of papers tighten as she takes a step towards them, “If both of you think that I’m going to join in some petty rant about Bakugo, then you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

She attempts to walk past them, but Kai steps aside to block her path, “You were matched up with him during last year’s sports festival, weren’t you, Ochako?”

“He was truly out of line treating you like some ragdoll he can throw around so easily.” Shintani adds.

Ochako’s face twists in annoyance, “First of all,” she begins, turning to Kai, “Do not call me by my first name.”

“Second,” She turns to Shintani, “He was fighting me seriously. That’s what you do in a competition.”

“And a piece of advice,” She steps closer to Kai, shoving a finger onto his chest. She didn’t know where she had gotten the strength to be able to carry the weight of Ms. Midnight’s paperwork with one hand, but it was there. “Don’t talk about someone like that when you don’t know the first thing about them.”

“And you do?” Kai challenges.

“I may not know Bakugo from head to toe, but I have enough decency in me to not walk up to random strangers to badmouth somebody I don’t know.” She bites back venomously before turning the other direction.

Before she could get any farther, Kai grabs her arm, his ironclad grip almost making her wince in pain, “Hey!” She protests.

“Come on, just hear us out--”

In a blink of an eye, Ochako is suddenly pulled away from his grasp. A tall, looming figure stood in between them, shielding her from both students.

“Don’t you fucking touch her.” Bakugo growls.

Ochako stares at him, wide-eyed. Bakugo’s back was to her, his shoulders rising and falling along the furious rhythm in each of his breaths.

Kai and Shintani fall back, fear and surprise flashing in both students’ eyes. Despite this, Kai nervously grins and takes a brave step forward, “Speak of the devil!”

“Shut the fuck up and piss off while you can still walk.” Bakugo snarls, his voice seething with malice.

Shintani follows in his friends footsteps and also steps towards Bakugo, “You’re all bark and no bite.”

“Walk away or I break your nose next .” He threatens. Ochako places her hand on Bakugo’s shoulder, her grip firm, “Bakugo, let’s just go.”

Bakugo doesn’t move, his body still rigid with rage, “You heard your girlfriend!” Shintani calls out.

“Unless you want to hit me again, I’ll show her what a real man looks like!” Kai taunts, making sure to look behind Bakugo to give Ochako a suggestive grin.

She feels him tense up even more under her palms as he begins to pace towards them. Ochako takes his hand and for the first time, Bakugo looks back at her, his expression livid, “They’re not worth it.” She warned, adding weight to every word she spoke.

Ochako holds his gaze as she gives his hand a gentle squeeze and for a moment, the anger in his eyes subside.

Kai takes another step forward, ready to hurl another insult at him when the door to the faculty’s office opens, “What seems to be the problem here?” Aizawa asks, hooded eyes flickering between Bakugo and the two students from 2C.

A bright smile works its way back to Kai’s face, “Nothing at all, Mr. Aizawa!” He beams, “We were just about to leave!”

Kai paced towards Bakugo, pausing so that he was directly beside him. “One of these days, when you least expect it, you’ll get what’s coming to you, Katsuki.” He says, barely above a whisper, but loud enough so that only Bakugo and her could hear it. Cold eyes still aimed forward, Kai walked away, Shintani in tow.

Aizawa turns to Ochako, his tired eyes dropping to Midnight’s paperwork, “Those must be from Midnight, bring them over here.” He instructs, walking back inside the office.

She feels Bakugo let go of her hand as he walked away, not even giving her the chance to talk to him. Ochako’s hand fold inwards as she stood there with a million questions swarming in her head.

“Uraraka.” Aizawa calls out from inside.

“Coming!”

[seafleece]

“hello, um—” 

he shifts uncomfortably, the soft leather of his boots sliding against itself where his legs touch, crossed under him on the ground. “mollymauk, right?”

it’s starting to snow again, soft ethereal flakes that fall apart at the slightest touch of warmth, and they’re starting to soak into his traveling cloak.

it’s funny, you know, how he never thought to buy one before this. how he never thought of going somewhere without the reminder that he is important, that he is special, that he’s worth something to someone.

as if no one would believe it otherwise.

he wonders if caduceus would be angry with him for digging, for disturbing a grave. maybe they all would— from their tone, he can tell that mollymauk was dear to them. but, well, ignorance can be feigned— slowly, he’s learning not to feel like his image topples in someone’s mind the moment he makes a mistake. and he needs to know, okay? he just needs it.

the body before him rises slightly— curious, how caduceus’s trademark fungi seem almost to serve as a facsimile for tissue, tendons, in this moment, knitting the bones together enough for movement— and nods. essek suddenly remembers this spell has a limit and curses under his breath.

it’s not as if he’d gotten to practice, though, right? it was hard enough to learn the spell, to even get someone to teach it to him— the den’s coroner had looked at him strangely— funny, i thought your type was more interested in making corpses and leaving them for someone else.

he’ll just have to be more careful.

“i, uh, i wanted to ask you about caleb widogast, if you remember him—” he pauses for a moment and then the rest of his thought comes rushing out of him so mollymauk— what was once mollymauk— doesn’t try to answer yet.

“did you love him?”

there’s a long silence— behind him, his horse snorts out a big cloud of breath and paws at the dirt. caleb had told him about when they’d had to travel on foot, and how molly would still be with them if they hadn’t. what would that mean, he thinks, for himself? whether they’d have had a fraction of the interest in him, if they’d still had their dear friend. if he’d still be alone, still cold inside. if he’d have made the wrong choice, when it mattered. 

he’d wanted to try it for himself, taking the long way. sleeping afraid under the stars, long days of dust kicked up by the horse. feeling small under the sky, fragile. mortal.

the corpse nods, and fear and sorrow climb in his throat like vines.

“ah,” he says, and swallows hard and scratchy. “i see—“

“i know who you are, you know.”

“what?”

another thing he’d forgotten about the spell— it lets them speak.

“jester’s tried to message me before. she thinks it doesn’t work, but i still heard them.” it’s an impossibly dry voice, like sandpaper on sandpaper. fibers from the fungi shift and stretch as the head tilts.

“oh.”

“she sounded happy when she talked about you. that’s enough for me.”

essek looks at the body of mollymauk tealeaf for a moment, first at where the horns curl out from the skull, back into an elegant spiral. jewelry still dangles from them, faded and covered almost entirely in dirt. the lower half of the breastbone is broken off entirely, as if crushed inward, and cracks spiderweb up out toward the ribs.

“does it hurt?”

“what?” and yet, he thinks mollymauk knows already.

“dying.”

he’s not afraid, not really— if things stay as they are, he will live another 400 years, at least. far longer than caleb. mollymauk’s skull regards him, and even without the bright red eyes caleb had told him about, he thinks that mollymauk can tell he’s not asking about himself.

“it doesn’t have to.”

“would you have chosen to be consecuted?”

he doesn’t ask if mollymuak knows what he means.

“i don’t know.” the body of mollymauk lifts its bare, skeletal hands, examines where they’re wrapped in thin fibers. “maybe, if i believed it would work. if i believed i was supposed to live any longer than i did.”

“but you didn’t.” it’s not a question.

“no.”

that same silence blooms between them, again, and then mollymauk’s body begins to lie down again, to slot itself back into the space the dirt has left for it.

“wait, i am not done—”

“that was five,” mollymauk says breezily. “i have no need to answer you further.”

essek reaches forward, presses one hand to the broken sternum. as though touch will extend the spell.

“i don’t think you’ll mind this last one.”

mollymauk says nothing, but pauses all the same.

“are you at peace?”

if he could, essek thinks, mollymauk would smile. he can hear it in the voice as the body lies back down fully, gazing up at the wide, winter-white sky.

“yes.”

essek stands again, brushes dirt from his pants. the cloak he knows to be mollymauk’s still hangs from the branch over the grave, catching and billowing for a moment on the wind and falling again. the blood that blooms across it is still red, somehow, bright red. to match his eyes, he supposes.

“thank you.”

essek is not a particularly religious man, but as he draws the dirt up and back over the body he says a prayer to the god caleb tells him is mollymauk’s. the moonweaver. a trickster. fitting.

he sends the horse away, first, back to the zadash stables. the part of the journey he knows he needed to spend on foot is over.

then, he sits and traces out the sigil for the xhorhaus in chalk, the way caleb still likes to. the sigil is different than the ones to any other major city— he and caleb had made it themselves, made it so that the magic worked just by drawing it, so they could all use it. so everyone could return home, if they wanted, after just a minute of work. because coming home should never be hard.

he chalks in the larger circle first, filling it inwards, and thinks about the smith in the gallimaufry he’d visited earlier that week.

(finally, veth’s shoulders stop shaking with laughter, and she tips her chair forward again.

“sorry, sorry,” she wheezes. “it’s cute, really. you should buy rings.”

“rings?”

“it’s a sign you’re together, if you both wear them.”

“you don’t have one from your husband,” he grouses, pride hurt, and backtracks immediately when her face falls. “i’m sorry, i—”

“it’s okay,” veth says, and looks at her hand, at the shaky black shape tattooed onto one of her fingers. essek recognizes jester’s handiwork. one of her earlier pieces, he guesses— it bears so little resemblance to the flowers he knows she’d given yasha, the elegant spirals he can see on beau’s back, briefly, when she stretches, but the color, the curiously deep shade of black is the same. 

“i lost it, awhile ago. we got these instead, after—” and her face scrunches a little further. they don’t talk about it too much, about the time before they trusted each other this way. about the things they all did before they had to think about if it was wrong. “you know.”

she brightens again. “but i’m sure caleb would like one. just make sure you measure beforehand.”)

and he had, had made sure caleb was deeply asleep in the plush armchair they’d had brought into the study, book threatening to tip backwards from his lap. he’d ordered one silver, for himself and one gold for caleb. with a blink he remembers the mismatched jewelry hanging from mollymauk’s horns, and laughs, completing the circle home.

(some shadowgast/widomauk for @fiovske!!)

[rapunzied]

masterpost of all moon varian evidence i’ve managed to gather

i absolutely love this theory so here u go :) prepare for me actually talking using proper punctuation (beware of s3 spoilers)

The Moon Varian Theory

For awhile, Moon Varian has been a widely believed theory - though most have dismissed it and thought it to be absolute nonsense (I once did too) It actually makes more sense than people give it credit for.

Varian’s Appearance

Now let’s analyze the most obvious hints - his physical appearance.

The Blue Streak

A widely discussed matter has been his famed “blue streak” in his hair. Specifically because in a show like Tangled, about a princess with magic hair that holds color, you would think that hair would have some importance.

When Cass stole the moon opal, her hair turned a shade of teal, implying that the moonstone turns hair blue. While some may argue that Varian’s strand of hair is gray, or even green, I have indeed looked into this. I compared his and Cass’ hair color in a color picker using these two photos -

The results from the colorpicker show that Varian’s streak is indeed blue. In fact, it even looks like a watered down version of Cass’ hair color. Sure, they are a bit different because not all colorpickers give the same results, but look - aren’t they painfully similar? (Cass’ hair color is on the top, Varian’s on the bottom)

Still not thinking Varian’s hairstreak is blue? Thinking that it’s just the lighting of the picture or the color picker I used? Well fear not, do I have something to show you!

In the newest opening of TTS Season 3, Varian is drawn by Rapunzel in her journal - with a hairstreak that is most obviously blue. It almost looks as if it’s glowing and extremely close to the color she uses to draw the rocks and things pertaining to the moon opal - Have I mentioned how much emphasis they put on this certain streak in his hair? In the season 3 premiere of TTS, Eugene gives him the nickname “hair-stripe” - this proves that the other characters are fully aware and completely notice this odd streak in his hair - aware enough to give him nicknames and draw him with it. They think it’s odd because no one else in Corona besides Rapunzel has an odd color in their hair.

I’ve heard people say that Lady Caine and Cassandra had streaks in their hair so Varian’s isn’t that important - but they’re different. Lady Caine and Cass have highlights that are shades of their hair color in their hair. Varian has a blue streak that isn’t even close to the actual color of his hair - his actual highlights are a different color than his blue streak.

Some conspire his streak is the result of an alchemical accident, but this theory has been debunked. In the famed family portrait of Varian, his mother and his father - he still has this blue streak. It seems nonexistent at first, but if you look closely - it’s still there. It just blends into Quirin’s shirt. In No Time Like The Past, Varian is also shown with his blue streak at only five years old. Neither of his parents have any blue streak of any kind in their hair, so where did he get it from?

I imagine Varian could’ve been born with it due to secondhand contact with the rocks or moonstone by his parents before he was born - which might’ve given him the blue streak in his hair - just like how Rapunzel was given blonde hair from secondhand contact with the sundrop flower before her birth.

And I forgot to mention - do you know who else had an odd-colored streak in their hair at one point?

Yeah, that’s right. Rapunzel after she touched the rocks - and that leads us onto our next clues.

Rapunzel and Varian’s Similarities and Differences

If you look deeper into the show, you’ll begin to notice the amount of similarities and differences Raps and Varian have. They seem so different - and yet the same.

If you google them, you’ll find plenty of Varian and Rapunzel parallels, and it makes sense. Wouldn’t the moondrop and sundrop have some things in common but at the same time be so different?

Let’s start with differences - Raps and Varian can be complete opposites sometimes.

Rapunzel is neat and put-together, Varian is messy and unorganized.

Everything seems to work out for Rapunzel, but when Varian is involved, things always go wrong.

Rapunzel is careful, Varian is clumsy.

Rapunzel is very much an optimist, Varian being pessimistic at times.

Rapunzel is on the side of magic, Varian on the side of science.

They completely represent total opposites of each other - Rapunzel the sundrop, with the power to heal and make things right, Varian the moondrop, destructive and clumsy, causing things to often go wrong. It just makes so much sense that they have some similarities as well -

They both are quite naive in different ways.

They both are determined and strong.

They both face challenges where they almost lose something they love.

I’m sure there’s way more. To top it all off, one of the writers, Chris Sonnenburg confirmed there’s a legitimate reason that Rapunzel and Varian have so many similarities.

Moving onto the next topic -

Varian’s Lack of Harm During the Hurt Incantation

I’m sure you are all well aware of the scene where Rapunzel kindly frees Varian’s father using the hurt incantation - many people found this scene peculiar, as did I. Varian reaches over and grabs Raps’ shoulders to get her to snap out of it, his gloves burn off - but his hands are left completely unharmed. He didn’t even feel pain - he just took his hands off Raps’ shoulders because he noticed smoke. The peculiar thing about this scene is that in past instances, Cass’ hand completely burnt through her gloves when she touched Raps during the hurt incantation - but Varian was left with his hand intact. Some claim that his alchemy gloves are just strong enough to withstand the power of the Hurt Incantation - but I object. 

Rapunzel used the hurt incantation - you know. Literal death magic that can kill people and burnt Cass’ whole hand at the slightest touch. I doubt even alchemy gloves are strong enough to stand against withering magic that can cause death. Not to mention Varian was the only one able to snap Raps out of it with only words - What’s up with that?

Check out this image of his gloves melting off. It’s almost as if there’s some sort of barrier keeping his hands from being harmed. Why else would he be left unharmed unless he had some connection to the moondrop, leaving him unharmed compared to Cass? There’s also that when Cass’ gloves burnt off, her gloves went up in blue flames, while his gloves melted with magical sparkles. The whole ordeal is so peculiar - and I’m not even done yet.

Not convinced? Check out the original storyboard for this scene by Anna Lencioni on her Twitter.

In the original storyboard for this scene, Varian places his bare hands on Rapunzel’s face during the incantation - and keep in mind, he isn’t even wearing gloves in the storyboard, yet still remains completely unharmed - you can even see the smoke coming off his hands, but they remain unburned. If this isn’t a sign, I don’t know what is. Sure, it could be an error, but I completely doubt it. If they didn’t put it in the show, there must be a reason - like how they originally were going to have Cass trip on Raps’ hair, but they figured it would make it too obvious that Gothel was related to Cass.

Varian’s Parents

If Varian was somehow connected to the moondrop, it would most likely be through blood - just like Rapunzel. It has been made very clear that Varian’s dad is somehow connected to the Dark Kingdom and the rocks. In the past, Quirin was shown living in the Dark Kingdom and was even in a close vicinity to a blast from the moon opal before Varian was born.

It’s very likely that a portion of the moonstone’s power somehow affected Quirin during that blast, and gave Varian some connection to the moonstone when he was born, kind of like how when Raps’ mom drank the soup made from the sundrop flower.

Quirin has made it very obvious he knows more about the rocks than he leads on - and at first was very cautious and strict about Varian conducting experiments on the rocks. There’s most definitely a reason for this - considering that when Varian asked him what about the rocks didn’t he want Varian to know, he answered that Varian “isn’t ready”. What isn’t he ready to learn? 

I assume that he wrote about it in the famed letter to Varian he wrote just before he was encased in the amber. As soon as he was freed, however, the letter immediately disintegrated, and when asked what it said, Quirin just told Varian that it said he was proud of him. The letter was way too long to be just that - and it’s very clear Quirin is still hiding things from his son. It has even been confirmed by the writers in an interview that the letter is very, very important - implying Quirin lied about that being everything the letter said. Quirin still obviously thinks that Varian isn’t ready to learn about it yet.

Now let’s talk about Varian’s mother. Varian’s mother is very obviously gone. We haven’t seen her once in the series so it’s assumed that she either has died or disappeared. Writers confirmed that Varian’s mother is in fact important to the plot, and we will be learning more about her in the future. Perhaps Varian’s mother was harmed by the rocks in some way? Now to the next subject…

Varian’s Role in Rapunzel’s Visions

If you’ve seen any of the episodes of Season 1 - you’ll notice that Raps has a decent amount of nightmares - a few of them involving Varian - and symbolism that I’ve found blatantly hints at Moon Varian. In almost all her visions of him, he is seen controlling/being linked to the black rocks.

First, let’s look at Rapunzel’s first nightmare involving Varian during Season 1 Episode 19, The Quest for Varian. This nightmare depicts her battling between who to listen to - her dad or Varian. There’s something in this particular nightmare that I found extremely important in regards to the Moon Varian theory.

Here we see Rapunzel standing across from her dad - who is encased in the moon rocks - Just like how Varian’s dad is encased in the amber. Her, representing the sundrop, is standing across from Frederick, encased in the black rocks which represent the moondrop.

Now, check this out:

Right across from her, she sees Varian standing across from his dad encased in the amber. The amber is powered by the sundrop as seen in S1E21, making the amber Quirin is encased in represent the sundrop. If Varian is standing across from something that represents the sundrop, and Rapunzel, the sundrop, is standing across from something that represents the moondrop, what would Varian represent? The moondrop. The fact that Rapunzel’s dad is encased in a substance as well strengthens this argument even more. This is blatant symbolism.

I’m not even finished yet - as the nightmare proceeds, we see Varian run towards Rapunzel. The rocks start following him as if he’s controlling them.

“The rocks, my hair, Varian - It’s like they’re all connected.” - Rapunzel in S1E19

The foreshadowing is often strong in this show - they place the most subtle hints for things and when you look back, you think you would’ve noticed awhile ago.

Moving onto her second vision containing Varian in S1E21 - this nightmare contains Varian yet again seeming to control the black rocks, and him telling her to follow her destiny.

This is important because throughout the entirety of Season 2, Rapunzel was lead to think that her destiny was to grab the moon opal - wouldn’t someone literally connected to the moonstone know that?

Subtle Hints in Dialogue

There are tons of hints to Moon Varian in dialogue - one of these lines being mentioned earlier. After Raps’ first nightmare containing Varian in S1E19, she says something extremely important that gets overlooked often. This is by far the biggest Moon Varian hint we have gotten.

“The rocks, my hair, Varian, it’s like they’re all connected.”

This line implies that she thinks the rocks, her hair and Varian are all linked - What does this line mean? Moon Varian, of course. Why else would they include it? Rapunzel basically says she thinks that Varian is in some way related to these magical moon rocks and her magical hair.

Now leading to our final and most recent vocal hint from the newest episode “Be Very Afraid” where Varian says:

“That’s easy for you to say, you’re the embodiment of the sundrop!” followed by him claiming he’s just an ordinary, normal boy and Rapunzel saying “There is nothing ordinary about you, Varian.”

Foreshadowing much? First of all, the way they set up this line made it sound like it was going to go something like “That’s easy for you to say, you’re the embodiment of the sundrop! I’m the embodiment of the destructive moondrop.” They made it sound as if Varian was calling himself the complete opposite of the sundrop, not the middle ground “normal”.

Also Rapunzel saying he wasn’t ordinary is a huge hint - especially considering Varian’s definition of ordinary was “not possessing magical wondrous powers”.

Other Hints

There is another hint that I found wouldn’t fit into the other categories, so I’m putting it here instead. This is a screenshot from S1E09 when Varian shows Raps and Cass the rocks he found.

Notice anything? Yeah. Two out of three people whose faces were reflected on these rocks were proven to be related or linked to the moonstone at some point (Rapunzel got her hair from the moonstone, Cassandra took the moon opal for herself). What about Varian? I think this is clearly foreshadowing, considering the lengths they’ve gone in this show. This is similar to Cass’ face being reflected in the broken mirror in Raps’ old tower.

anyways, thanks for reading <3 this is a product of someone who couldnt sleep  so i apologize for any inconsistencies. i’ll update this if i find anything else.

[almguav]

termiinallycapriiciiou2 replied to your post “What software and tech do you use to make your art? And can you show...”

Idk about the asker but I very much would like to see your comic making process

Welll without further a-do, lemme start! >:3c

Most, if not all, of my comics idea come to me on a whim, I don’t ever write it out or try to think too hard about it beforehand. Like the thought of “of hey what if this and this happened, that would be funny” and then I start loosely sketching the panels that are in my head at that moment. I usually start with the middle leading up to the main event and once I have that figured out, I add in the beginning, end, and any other panels that would help with flow.

I feel like a lot of ppl have great ideas for comics but get preoccupied with how a comic should start or end, so starting with that’s on your mind first (what excites you) and then filling out the rest once you have the initial idea out of your system is a good way to go about comic making. So like with my Raph and Mikey comic, I started out with the sketches in the red box and I added the build up and punchline/ending after.

General rules i try to follow whenever I make comics is 1) Keeping the characters in their same side of the panel for consistency 2) Change up the compositions so I’m not using one too many times in a row and finally 3) Avoid adding too little information to panel to the point where you could throw it out and the comic would stay the same, BUT also avoid putting too much information where the reader is going to stay on that panel for too long and break their flow.

((This post starts to get long when I show more examples so I’m putting the rest under a cut!)) 

That’s why i don’t really like my Dr. A Noel comic now. I used the same two compositions throughout the comic and there’s too much build up for a single punchline, I could of knocked out one or two panels and the joke would of stayed the same :/ 

These two examples above show pretty detailed sketches, that’s just the way I like to sketch personally, but making very simplified sketches is something I try to utilize or else I’ll find my lineart looking worse than my sketch pffft. So with my Mikey Swapped Au comic, I made the sketches really really quick cause I knew i wanted to lineart itself to be sketchy as well, so there wouldn’t be a point in sketching how i normally do. :0

Now for coloring; I like to finish my drawings in one sitting cause if I don’t, 80% of the time I won’t finish it the next day. So i always like to use a gradient map or simple color blocking when it comes to comics.

For gradient maps I color the comic in black and white and choose the best ones that fit the comic. For the Mikey swapped au comic choosing something with a lot of contrast and rich colors helps push the serious tone. I colored it with messy brush strokes to amplify how Mikey is feeling and I had the comic get darker from the beginning to the end, wrow how Edgy. (the split down the middle shows how it looks with and without the gradient map)

But for my Raph and Mikey ghostsweats one I focus more on simple color combos and just blocking/silhouetting the characters in one shade since it’s more dialogue heavy and light hearted. Only putting in major contrast when Raph gets offended to show there’s a big change in his mood. Same thing with the Dr. A Noel comic and my Draxum and Mikey comic, the colors are kept light and simple cause it has a light hearted tone!  

Coloring comics, especially longer ones, is really intimidating but you don’t have to do full completely colored comics to get your tone across. Sometimes simplifying the colors down helps elevate the tone more. Of course not I’m saying to not fully color your comics, but if you’re like me and find coloring really time consuming, but you still want color on your comics, slapping down simple colors can also do to the trick! This is a scrapped comic of Leo having a nightmare I made awhile ago, and the reason I scrapped it was cause it took me too long to color lmao. 

Soooo yeah! I think that’s about everything! Of course whatever I said isn’t end all of comic making, but I hope it’s insightful and maybe even a lil helpful for someone!! ^^ Thanks for reading all the way through too! ✌

[sugamoonv]

You Had To Open Your Mouth

Like A Mate Should

Summary: Namjoon and Jin see you being attacked as a godsend. You see your attack and meeting them as a series of unfortunate events. How unfortunate that you’re their mate. 

Pairings: established NamJin / Namjin x Reader/ Jin x Reader

Word Count: 3,321

Masterlist > Previous > Next

The house is eerily quiet when you leave the room the next morning, the complete opposite from the loud, boisterousness of the boys you’ve already come to expect. A mop of dark hair peeks over the back of the couch as you walk into the living room. Jungkook is sitting, a small gaming device in his hands that has his whole attention.

“Where is everyone?”

The game flies from hand to hand as Jungkook jumps in his spot and loudly curses before the device finally falls onto the carpet with a dull thud. Jungkook rushes to pick up the device and he sets in on the coffee table before turning to you. He stares at you until you raise your eyebrows in a silent question and he’s reminded to speak.

“Oh, uh, Jimin and Hobi went into town. Suga’s probably still sleeping, and Tae probably went to the pond, and I um- I don’t know where Namjoon-hyung and Jin-hyung are.” He says the last bit of information as though he’s trying to keep a secret. An awkward silence blankets the both of you so your standing facing each other, eyes shifting around the room.

“I’m the one that’s bringing you back to town,” Jungkook blurts out. “Not that I asked to. That would be weird of me to ask because, you know, Jimin. Not to say that you’re not pretty-because you are- it’s just that I don’t really go that way and even if I did, it wouldn’t matter because Jin and Namjoo-wait.” The entire time Jungkook spoke, he kept his eyes to the floor and suddenly looked up as he remembered something halfway through his speel, face mortified.

You bit your lower lip before pursing your lips and standing on your tiptoes to lower yourself flat-footed again.

“....Okay. Are you good to go then?”

Jungkook rapidly nods, glad for the break in the conversation. “Are you okay to walk?”

“Uh, yeah,” you look down at your ankle mumbling, “I don’t think it’s fully healed but I should be good walking on it.”

Jungkook nods again.

You follow him out of the door onto the front porch. There’s a large space cleared that you assume is used as a lawn before the grass becomes shaded by trees. You see a large garden on one side of the yard and next to you on the porch is a dark, oak bench swing with a pastel blue cushion. You grip onto the railing as you limp down the small set of stairs onto the stone path leading into the woods. Jungkook watches from the bottom with worried eyes.

You’ve barely been walking for five minutes before you want to punch the younger man in the face. He’s already asked you about twenty times how you were feeling and if you were okay to keep walking. If it weren’t for his red face and the way his gaze would flicker to the ground whenever he caught you looking at him, you might have actually thrown hands. The tension between you and Jungkook built and there were only so many trees you could distract yourself with as you walked by.

“So how did you all meet?”

Jungkook stumbles in the path.

His lips split into a wide, nervous smile. The chubbiness of his cheeks with his slightly oversized front teeth and the softness of his nature at that second make you forget what exactly he is.

“Um, I’m half shapeshifter so my mom sent me away to school so I wouldn’t be seen in the clan and I met Taehyung there and he introduced me to everyone.” Jungkook’s eyes light up despite the heaviness of his words, perhaps from the opportunity to talk to someone new.

Jungkook takes a full breath before his face lifts and he begins speaking again. “I was really nervous at first because they were all older than me but Jin-hyung and Namjoon-hyung became like parents to me. Jin-hyung would actually drive me to school most days-Yoongi would sometimes drive me when he felt like it or he had to pick something up in town.”

Jungkook is looking at the ground as he talks but his expression is comfortable. You didn’t expect him to open up like this to you but his youthful aura begs you to stay silent and let him take advantage of you listening. Besides, it’s better than the solitary silence of the plant life around you.

Jungkook’s eyes squint in happiness as he reminisces, “It actually took me and Jimin awhile before we realized we were mates.” He looks up at you, a glint in his eyes. “I would annoy him a lot and I always looked up to him so I would copy him and for the longest time, I thought he was mated to Yoongi-hyung but then one day when he went into heat, Taehyung came running to me, yelling about Jimin was asking for me.” He laughs at the end as if he were sharing an inside joke with you.

Memories pop into your brain of the lessons your own mother taught you about werewolf mating and the brief touch on the topic in your high-school health class.

Jungkook hasn’t taken any notice to your mind drifting away. “And then it turned out that Yoongi-hyung and Hoseok-hyung were mates but they’re not as affectionate as Jimin and me and they completed their mark so they didn’t need to be around each other all the time when I joined the pack….You okay?”

Jungkook looks at you with wide, inquisitive eyes.

Your face flushes. “Yeah, I just- I just thought that it was uncommon for two werewolves that were the same gender to mate?”

If Jungkook has any issue with the word ‘werewolf’ or the question itself, he doesn’t show it. Instead, his eyes softened in understanding.

“I think it’s about the same as humans.”

“Yeah, but I thought you guys chose mates based on reproductive purposes.”

“Humans do the same thing, don’t they? And if you’re talking about us having mates based on how well we’ll be able to have children with them, then that’s a myth.” Jungkook sees your confused expression and continues on. “We don’t get to choose our mate, it’s just kind of, instinctual to us? Our nature subconsciously chooses partners it knows will most compatible with us based on scent so that doesn’t always mean whoever will give you the healthiest pups. It’s just who you’ll be most in sync with physically and emotionally, and then typically because of that our pups are extremely healthy and grow up sturdy.”

You silently nod in confirmation, absorbing all of the information thrown at you. Jungkook’s taught you more in 10 minutes than what you’ve learned about shapeshifters your whole life.

“Do you humans not feel the same connection?”

The innocence of his question draws out an unnatural amount of maternal sympathy. “Not really, no. Relationships like that usually take us a while to build.”

“In every movie with humans, they always find their mate though.”

“Yeah-those are just movies, Jungkook,” you look him in the eyes. “Nothing about them is realistic, especially the falling in love in three weeks.”

“So you’re telling me humans feel nothing when they meet their mate?”

“Nope.”

“I feel bad for Jin-hyung and Namjoon-hyung now,” Jungkook pouts at the ground and continues his trek.

Your eyebrows pinch as you follow behind him, mindful of the small boulders bulging from the section of the path you’re currently on, “Why?”

“Because Namjoon-hyung came back home when he ran into you and he couldn’t stop talking about you. I’m pretty sure him and Jin stayed up all night talking about you.”

You reach out and grab Jungkook’s arm to make him stop again. This time he looks just as confused as you do at your ministrations. “Wait, what? When did Namjoon run into me?”

“When he went into town.”

You shake your head to convey you still have no indication of when you and Namjoon crossed paths. “When did he go into town?”

Jungkook’s eyes flicker up as he thinks back a few days ago. “About two days before we found you and brought you back home.”

Your mind replays the week's events back to you until you get to the last time you were in town but your mind comes up blank. The only thing you can remember is the lunch you had with your friends and talk about the date before the date itself.

“We thought you were in the forest because you were looking for them.”

“No?” your eyebrows further deepen upon your face and Jungkook’s expression moderately shifts to mirror yours.

Both of you stand in front of each other, unsure of how to respond. Without saying anything, you come to a silent agreement when you look at your befuddled faces then with a shrug, begin walking again.

The rest of the walk is short and you and Jungkook don’t make much conversation for the remainder of it. You can’t get the thought of all that he’s said to you about Namjoon and Jin out of your head, especially the fact that you and Namjoon apparently already having had a run in before you ended up at their house.

There’s a park that the path opens into. It’s empty except for the woman jogging, pushing a stroller and another woman off in the distance untangling a leash from around the legs of her dog. The breeze is stronger here without the trees to halt it, but it’s still soft. You look behind you to see that the space you just came from is practically non-visible, as though you walked through a portal and the path was a mirage conjured up from days wandering through the woods hungry and dehydrated. But Jungkook is still standing beside you and the bandage is still snug on your ankle.

“So this is the central park. We’re pretty close to town,” Jungkook captures your attention, “You’re able to make your way back okay, right?”

“Mhmm.” You eagerly nod at him, ready to escape from the strange energy built between you two.

Jungkook takes a slow step backward, “Cool. Well-uh, stay safe and it was nice meeting you.”

He snaps his fingers and spins so he’s walking forward and you watch him disappear into the thicket back onto the pack. The moment you’re alone, the past week begins to feel like a fever dream.

Despite the plethora of questions from your friends once your phone was charged and you saw them in person and dodging demands to see pictures or souvenirs, the past two weeks have been relatively normal. Well except for the fact that no matter how busy you keep yourself, you can’t stop thinking about the pack of shifters that saved you. More specifically, Namjoon and Jin.

Jungkook’s conversation with you had been ringing in your head since the day he led you back. And the fact that he was the one to lead you back when Jin was the one that insisted that you stay. You would have thought that he would have wanted to be the one to see you off and make sure that your ankle was good before you departed for good.

You heavily sigh and drop your head back when you see the sign on the elevator letting all know that it doesn’t work. Of course, this would happen the day you have tests in all your Tuesday classes. You roll your shoulders as much as you can with the backpack containing your textbooks, planner, and laptop resting on your back.

You drudge your feet over to the paint chipped, metal door that opens to a shady staircase. You wish you could say you were the type of person who’s thighs didn’t burn after climbing three flights of stairs. The minute you enter your apartment, you throw your bag onto the small couch and make a beeline straight to your room. The promise of loose pajamas and a night in made you giddy and for tonight, you were allowing yourself a break from school.

You scroll through your social media and answer the occasional text as the characters on screen whined about the new issue of the episode. The acting was bad but the familiarity of it was comforting. You want to laugh at how close to home the current episode hits. It was a show from before the discovery of shapeshifters, where werewolves were seen as mythical commodities for entertainment and so anyone had free range to voice their interpretations.

The male lead of the show was fighting a group of people when hair started growing on his face and his eyes turned a bright yellow. As you watched the character’s claws swing at the faces of the other people, the now completely healed bite on your ankle began to ache. As though seeing an aggressive shifter on the tv screen was a trigger to your ankle, saying, “you should be in pain”.

You reach down and delicately rub the two puncture marks that were left behind. And with the reminder of your old wound comes the reminder of the creatures that caused it and the shifters that healed it. With the reminder of the boys comes the reminder of Jin and Namjoon. All that they did to help you and how they wanted to get to know you, the conversation you had with Jungkook about them and the conversation you had with Namjoon before you left.

A strange feeling bubbled inside your chest; something akin to guilt mixed another feeling you can’t quite determine. Now instead of your attention being put on the show playing in front of you and your phone face down on the arm of the couch, your legs are restless to move.

You sit up straight, leg bouncing and face screwed in concentration as you think to yourself.

“This is such a bad idea.”

You were able to maneuver through the park with the night sky blackening the sidewalk that ran through it. Yet here you are, in front of the mysterious hidden path Jungkook had led you out of some time before. You can’t see where the entrance is but you know you’re in the right space. The emptiness of the park around you is eery and sends chills up and down your spine so you have to swallow the thoughts of all the ways you could die being alone outside at night. What you wouldn’t give to see the woman from before whose dog got itself caught in its leash.

You almost turn around and go back home. In fact, you do that a couple times. Caught in a loop where you stare at the path then go to walk away only to swallow your nerves and turn back and be caught frozen before repeating again. You take in a deep breath and puff your chest to prepare to walk into the dark, unknown path when all of a sudden a loud rustling comes from in front of you and true fear clogs your throat. You want to turn around again but now you can’t.

You keep your muscles tense despite their natural shaking to prepare themselves to help you flee. Your heart has dropped into your stomach and your mouth is dry as the rustling grows louder and your mind conjures up images of red eyes peering from behind the fauna. You feel the phantom sensation of blood running down your ankle and you want so badly to look down to see if the intense ache felt is real.

“Y/N?”

If it weren’t for Jin saying your name, you would have no idea who’s standing in front of you due to the tears blurring your vision. Your diaphragm reanimates, allowing your lungs to expand and take in a deep breath of air that somewhat immediately stops the dizziness in your head.

“What the hell Jin? What are you doing here?”

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Each of your words become jumbled as you speak over one another. Jin reaches forward and places his hands on your upper arms as he checks over you for any injuries. You take a step back out of his grasp and his hands drop to his sides, but his eyes remain concerned on you.

“You scared me! Why are you even here!?” you scold Jin and place a hand on your chest over your frantically beating heart.

“I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Why are you here?” you repeat yourself, exasperated and drop your hand from your chest.

Under the dim street lamp, you can see a blush forming on Jin, starting from his neck and coloring his face.

“There was something I needed to do,” Jin tries to deflect the question, “Why are you here?”

You don’t want to admit that the reason you looked for the path to their house was to see them. Admittedly, sputtering at Jin’s question probably didn’t make you seem un-suspicious.

“It doesn’t matter why I’m here. What is it you needed to do at 11 o’clock at night?”

Feeding into this game of deflection probably didn’t help your case either.

Jin rapidly blinks as he formulates what answer to give you. Eventually, he resigns himself to telling you the truth and squares his shoulders to make himself appear taller and more confident. “I was looking for you actually.”

“Why?”

Jin sharply inhales then clears his throat a few times. His shoulders now appear more tense and uncomfortable than those of a confident man.

“I wanted to ask you on a date.”

Your lips slightly part as you gape at him. Nervous energy fills the quiet air and Jin shifts from foot to foot as he watches and waits for a response. His eyes have begun to rapidly blink again.

“You came all the way here to ask me on a date!?” your hands thread themselves through your hair and you half spin away from Jin. “You walked all the way here at nearly midnight so you could ask me on a date!? You don’t even know where I live! How were you going to find me? What were you even thinking? Are you insane!”

Jin visibly flinches back as each question is thrown at him and by the time you run out of breath, his face is a raging red and his eyes are wide. His lips move on their own accord trying to speak the words caught in his throat.

At last, he’s finally able to respond to you staring at him aghast.

“I know Jungkook told you how mating works and I just couldn’t let this be a missed opportunity.” Jin goes from bordering on terrified to pleading. “Let me and Namjoon take you o just one date,” when he sees your eyes grow wider, he quickly corrects himself, “Just me! Let me take you on a date. I promise you won’t regret it and if you do, I’ll leave you alone and you can completely forget about me.”

Jin takes a hesitant step towards you so he’s almost directly under the dim light. His eyes softly bore into yours. His voice becomes soft as he drops it to whisper, “Please.”

It feels as though your mind is completely blank. You never expected anything that happened tonight to happen and yet you’re even more surprised by Jin’s appearance and request. It seems to be a pattern with him and the other boys to make every interaction with them feel like something straight from a movie. And you don’t know whether it’s the way the light hits Jin’s face or the fact that your brain hasn’t fully comprehended what he asked, but you nod yes. You don’t exactly mind the fluttering of butterflies in your stomach when he smiles at you as though you made him the richest man on Earth.

Tags: @detectivebourbon @omgsuperstarg @eshika0102 @delightfulyoongi @boononx

[searchingwardrobes]

Until the Day Breaks and the Shadows Flee: 3/8

We have touching, everyone! Touching in the slow burn! Haha. Seriously, though, I loved writing the final scene of this chapter, and I hope you all love it too.

Thank you to @kmomof4 and all my fellow writers in the @cssns . @snowbellewells has been an amazing beta, not only catching my errors, but suggesting ways to word things better. Thank you, my friend! And that beautiful art above was created by @hollyethecurious , so please everyone give her some kudos!

Summary: Every night she traces the contours of his body as Killian whispers words of love against her skin. But can Princess Emma ever be fully happy with a husband who only comes to her in utter darkness? A Captain Swan AU of the myth of Cupid and Psyche.

** I’m also curious if anyone knows where the fic and chapter titles come from. Only two people so far have guessed, but since they’re my beta and artist, I’m not sure they count, lol! Anyone else? ***

Rating: M for sexual situations

Trigger warning in this chapter: discussion of a minor being pressured into sex

Words: Almost 4,000 in this chapter

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Ao3

Tagging (let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list): @jennjenn615 @let-it-raines @kday426 @welllpthisishappening @teamhook @bethacaciakay @profdanglaisstuff @distant-rose @shireness-says @mythologicalmango @wellhellotragic @branlovestowrite @xhookswenchx @optomisticgirl @winterbaby89 @ultraluckycatnd @vvbooklady1256 @resident-of-storybrooke @thislassishooked @whimsicallyenchantedrose @tiganasummertree @snidgetsafan @ohmakemeahercules @delirious-latenight-laughs @gingerchangeling @nikkiemms @revanmeetra87 @cocohook38 @effulgentcolors

Chapter Three: Dark yet Beautiful

The weather was still lovely the next day, and Emma was yet again drawn to the beauty of the castle grounds. Exploring them didn’t bring her the same peace, however, and she found herself sitting pensively upon a cushioned swing beneath an arbor in the rose garden. She absently pushed the swing with one foot and was so lost in thought she didn’t hear Tiger Lily approach.

“You seem melancholy.”

Emma put her hand to her breast as the fairy’s words startled her. “I didn’t see you there.”

“Sorry,” Tiger Lily apologized with a somewhat ironic smile. “May I?”

“Of course,” Emma said, shifting to make room on the swing.

When Tiger Lily sat, she pushed the swing with slightly more force than Emma’s idle movements. The repetitive back and forth soothed Emma’s jagged nerves. She was surprised when Tiger Lily said nothing at all. Birds chirped, bees buzzed, and a gentle breeze stirred the flowers, and still the fairy did not speak.

“I suppose I am a bit melancholy,” Emma finally admitted. Tiger Lily merely nodded, so she continued. “Killian asked me about my family and my childhood last night, and while talking to him was comforting, I suppose it made me a bit homesick.”

“That’s understandable.” Tiger Lily was quiet for several more moments, yet she studied Emma’s profile with a probing gaze. “That’s not all though, is it?”

Emma gave her companion a wry grin. “I didn’t think giving counsel was part of your job description.”

Tiger Lily’s arched brow matched Emma’s own sass. “But it is to serve you and Master Killian. Is there something else you wish to have besides a listening ear?”

Emma’s gaze soaked in the beauty of the garden around her. “I like to draw,” she finally said, “so drawing pencils and a sketchpad would be nice.”

Tiger Lily flicked her hand casually, and there in Emma’s lap were brand new art supplies. And not just graphite and charcoal, but colored pencils in rich hues. All were organized in a leather satchel. Emma grinned and got started on a fresh sheet of paper. As her hand worked the pencils across the page with a scratching sound, Tiger Lily still sat quietly next to her.

Emma tilted her head, gnawing on her lower lip as she tried to get the shading just right on a middlemist rose. “Killian also asked me a question last night that startled me.”

Tiger Lily merely hummed in response.

“I didn’t answer truthfully.”

“Your hesitance is understandable - considering the mystery of your new home.”

Emma turned her gaze upon the fairy in surprise. They shared a smile of understanding before Emma looked back down at her drawing.

“And yet,” Emma continued, “I’m still bothered by the question and what it stirred up.”

“I know what it’s like to have memories you wish you could banish completely. I know Ariel told you her story, and while mine is quite different, it resulted in the same threat: losing my wings.”

Emma paused, her pencil hovering over the paper. “Are all three of you banished fairies?”

Tiger Lily nodded. “This is our only home now, but at least we still have our wings and our magic.”

“And Ariel has her prince.”

“Yes, but it’s hard for her. Not fully being with him.”

“And what about you? What’s your story?”

“Let’s just say I allowed fairy magic into the wrong hands. Not that it was my intention to create the Black Fairy in all her infamy, yet as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

They both fell silent again, the only sound besides the nature surrounding them that of Emma’s pencils scratching on paper. She had heard of the Black Fairy and the havoc she often wrought, but she’d had no idea that the kind fairy beside her had anything to do with it. She’d had good intentions apparently, and they had gone awry. Emma certainly could understand that.

“Sometimes bad things happen when we trust the wrong people,” Emma finally said, still concentrating on her drawing. “Is that what happened?”

“You could definitely say that. It sounds as if you speak from experience.”

Emma only nodded. Tiger Lily reached out and placed a comforting hand upon Emma’s knee.

“Killian is not one of those wrong people, Emma. I know you have many questions, but one thing you can be sure of is that he is worthy of your trust.”

*************************************************************************

“What about your beginnings?”

Emma was hugging a pillow to her chest, squinting in the darkness though she knew it was pointless. She felt the bed dip as Killian shifted.

“My beginnings?”

“You heard all about mine last night; it’s only fair.”

“Mine may take awhile,” he said with a chuckle.

“Well, we’re married, which means we have a lifetime, right?”

“Your lifetime, at least.”

Emma’s eyes widened, and his answering chuckle reminded her that though she couldn’t see him, he could see her.

“You’re immortal?”

“Yes,” he answered simply, “so my childhood was many centuries ago.”

Emma chewed on her lower lip as she filed this fact away with the rest. He had magic, he helped people, and he was immortal. “What was it like - your childhood?”

“I suppose most would say it was idyllic.”

“But you wouldn’t?”

“I wanted for nothing. Except, that is, my parents’ approval.”

Emma frowned. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be; it’s made me what I am today. My mother raised me, sort of. My father was never around. He was disappointed that I wasn’t more like him.”

“You take after your mother then?” Emma wondered why he said his mother raised him sort of, but she didn’t want to pry, especially if it was a painful memory.

“Most would say yes, but I hope I’m not too much like her. I love her, and she loves me in her own way, but her love tends to come with conditions. I’m constantly doing her bidding, seeking her approval. It irritates my father to no end.”

“What’s he like?”

“Heavy handed, harsh, violent. One of those who believes a man isn’t a man unless he’s pounding his chest.”

“So nothing like you, then?”

A slow smile filled Emma’s face as silence stretched between them. She heard the bed springs squeak as Killian shifted, and somehow she just knew he was blushing.

“Well,” he finally answered, “I wish I could agree, but his blood does in fact run through my veins. There’s a streak of violence that comes out in me at times that shames me.”

“What makes it come out?”

When Killian spoke again, his voice was harsh and strained. “If someone I care about is threatened or harmed, my first instinct is to draw blood.”

Emma’s heart hammered in her chest at the intensity in his words. It should have frightened her, but it didn’t. Instead, she felt absolute certainty that she was someone he would fight to protect with whatever violence was necessary. And that, surprisingly, made desire rise up within her - desire to know this man intimately. It was something she hadn’t felt since Baelfire long ago, when she was still scarcely more than a girl.

**************************************************************

“Tonight I propose we play a little game.”

“A game?” Emma repeated teasingly as she hugged her knees to her chest.

She was getting comfortable now with Killian’s nightly presence, though he still remained at the foot of the large bed. Emma’s place was still pressed against the headboard with several feet between them. She heard Killian slide across the comforter, the bed shaking slightly with his movement.

“What are you doing?” she asked him.

“Getting comfortable.”

She narrowed her eyes, trying in vain, as she did every night, to see him in the inky darkness. “Are you lying across the bed?”

“Yes. Is that okay?” The sincerity of his question warmed her heart.

“Of course it’s okay. Now what’s this game you mentioned?”

“You ask me a question, and if I answer, you are required to answer one of mine. Truthfully.”

“Sounds unfairly to your advantage.”

“I realize that, but unfortunately, for your -”

“Safety, yeah, you’ve said that. Multiple times.” Emma rolled her eyes.

“I love when you make faces at me.”

Emma grabbed a pillow and threw it at his head - or where she guessed his head was.

“You missed,” he told her smugly.

“It’s also not fair that you can see me, but I can’t see you.”

“Life is never fair, love, and anyone who says otherwise is selling something.”

“That’s cynical.”

“You disagree?”

“No,” Emma grumbled. She heard Killian sigh in contentment. “Are you using that pillow I threw at you?”

“Ahh, that I am.”

“Thief.”

“You threw it, Swan.”

He was calling her that more and more, and she hated to admit how the nickname warmed her heart. She waited for him to point out that, technically, the pillow and everything else in this room was his, but he didn’t. For some reason, that warmed her heart too.

“So how about the game I proposed?”

Emma gnawed on her lower lip. There was really only one question she didn’t want to answer, but as she sat thinking, she realized that a tiny part of her wanted to tell him. The thought of bringing it up still frightened her, but if he asked . . .

“Okay, I’ll play.”

“Wonderful! Now, what’s your first question?”

“Who - or what - are you exactly?”

“Someone who is becoming more and more fond of you with each passing day.”

She could almost hear his smug grin in the darkness. “Smooth,” she snipped, snorting inelegantly through her nose.

“It was worth a shot,” Killian teased, “now for my question - “

Emma held her breath.

“Have you ever snuck sweets before supper?”

A laugh rushed out of Emma right along with a surge of relief. “When have I not? Ruby has been my best friend since I was little. Her Granny was my nurse. The two of us would sneak into the castle kitchen regularly for tarts or biscuits. I’d like to say I’ve outgrown it, but . . .”

She trailed off with a shrug and Killian laughed. Before she could even think through her next question strategically, words were tumbling from her mouth.

“And what about you? Do you also have an insatiable sweet tooth?”

“Not at all,” he groaned. “I rather prefer a hearty meal over sweets, to most people’s surprise.”

“Why would people be surprised?”

“Uh-uh,” he scolded, “only one question at a time.”

Emma pouted. “That’s more clarifying an answer than an additional question.”

“You’re a clever lass, I’ll give you that, but those are the rules. Now for my question . . . hmm . . . how old were you when you had your first kiss?”

“12,” Emma answered smugly, wondering if he was dancing around what he really wanted to ask, “but only because my friend Elsa dared me. He was the know-it-all son of some visiting dignitary, and Elsa and I grew weary of his incessant talking. My kiss rattled him enough that he hardly spoke a word the rest of his stay.”

“Clever lass indeed. And who was Elsa?”

“A Duchess of Misthaven. She and her sister were the only tolerable girls my age at court. And your first kiss?”

“It’s been many centuries, but if I recall correctly, I was 13. That damn nymph chased me for almost an hour before she caught me.”

“A nymph . . . “ Emma forced her tone to remain neutral.

“Mhmm”

After a long silence, Emma huffed in exasperation. “Just tell me about the damn nymph, Killian!”

He chuckled, and the warmth of it spread across the mattress. “Being caught by a nymph can mean trouble. Lucky for me, she was just a child and let me go the minute I told her who I was. She was afraid of my mother.”

Emma filed away every detail of the story to mull over later. Her husband was letting tiny clues as to who - or more specifically what - he was, and eventually she knew she’d figure it out.

“I see that smug grin, my Swan,” he said, “which means I need to wipe it off your face. Now tell me, have you ever been in love?”

The color drained from Emma’s face and her lips fell downward. “I already told you - no I have not.”

“You were lying.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Ah, but I do, love. You’re somewhat of an open book.”

Emma lowered her face, her fingers tugging at loose threads in the sheets across her lap. “Maybe I was. Once.”

“I know what it is to have loved and lost, if that makes it any easier.”

“You do?”

“Aye.”

“What happened?”

He didn’t seem to be taking count of her questions anymore, and the bed shifted as he changed positions. She gazed forward, searching for his face, to no avail. Still, she felt his eyes upon her.

“Her name was Milah, and she was stuck in a marriage to a horrible man. I was sent by Ju - a friend - to help her escape.” Killian tugged at one of the blankets wadded up beneath her feet, and she lifted them so he could take it.

“How horrible was this man?”

“Have you ever heard the legends of the Dark One?”

“Of course. It’s a common ghost story children whisper to each other. A man who was the vessel for the darkest magic.”

“It isn’t just a story. Milah’s husband was the Dark One.”

Emma couldn’t hold back her gasp. “Killian.”

“I suppose you can guess the story doesn’t have a happy ending. I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with her, but I did. We ran away together, but nowhere is far enough to escape the Dark One. When he found us, I tried to protect her, but . . . I failed. He killed her right in front of me.”

“I’m so sorry,” Emma whispered.

“It was over a century ago now,” he said in a soft voice, but Emma could tell the pain was still there.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm her nerves. If he had shared such painful memories, how could she do any less?”

“His name was Baelfire. I was very young, and he was a bit older than me.” She paused, expecting questions, but Killian remained silent. “He was rather wild, spending his days in the market, stealing to fill his belly, and his nights in the taverns spending every bit of coin he had managed to pilfer. Now it seems empty and immature, but at 15, it was thrilling.”

“Only 15, love? How old was he?”

“Oh . . . um, 19, so not so very much older than me. It was more that he was so worldly, and I was so . . . sheltered. We met when he tried to steal my purse in the market.”

“Let me guess, you decked him.”

Emma chuckled. “Aye, I did. I liked to sneak out of the castle with Ruby and my handmaiden Lily. Bae was terrified when he realized who I was.” She found more loose threads and wrapped them around her thumb. “Anyways, I started sneaking out more and more to meet him. I fell for him hard and fast, but I was a little . . . nervous - about . . . physical things.”

“Emma,” Killian asked darkly, “did he hurt you?”

“No! At least, not like that. He was just persistent about wanting . . . “

“Sex?” Killian filled in bluntly, and Emma’s head jerked up even though she could see nothing of his countenance in the dark. “The bastard was pressuring you for sex, was he not?”

Killian’s protective tone was like a balm to Emma’s wounded heart, and she deflated with relief that she didn’t have to mince words as she told the rest of the story.

“Yes, he did, and I loved him so much that I gave in.” Emma pressed her eyes together, trying to banish the memories that assaulted her. Perhaps it was the darkness hiding her from his gaze, perhaps it was the way the tapestries felt like a sanctuary from the rest of the world, but Emma suddenly was able to voice what she had never been able to before. “It wasn’t what I had always dreamed. Where I had imagined tenderness, it was rough, where I had longed for something precious, it was crude. It . . . hurt, to be honest. And after . . . he didn’t want to see me anymore.”

Her hands were fisted in the sheets now, and silent tears rolled down her face.

“Emma,” Killian said softly, “that isn’t how it’s supposed to be. He didn’t love you; he used you. You deserved so much more.”

Emma reached up with a shaky hand and wiped at her wet cheeks.

“I’m sorry for asking now,” Killian told her, his voice almost a whisper.

“Don’t be,” she replied, and she wasn’t sure why they were both whispering, “I actually feel better getting it all out. I’ve never even told Ruby. My mother asked, but how could I burden her?”

“Watching you, I also saw enough of your mother to know it wouldn’t have been a burden. She would have gladly helped you carry this, Swan.”

Emma nodded, her throat growing tight with thoughts of her mother. How she missed her! She realized now how much she had taken her for granted the last few years. It was typical of adolescence she supposed, but here she was, twenty-two and in a rather odd marriage. She would give anything now for her mother’s probing questions.

“I think my game has become quite heavy,” Killian sighed, “my apologies, love.”

“Nonsense!” Emma argued, sitting up straighter and lifting her chin. “It’s my turn for a question, isn’t it?”

“Aye, love, if you’re sure.”

“Absolutely sure, though can I make a request instead of asking a question?”

“Perhaps . . . I suppose it depends on the request.”

“I’d like to see your face.”

Killian was silent for so long, that for a moment, Emma thought he might have left for the night. Then his voice came softly, “You can not see me, but you can . . . touch me. I mean, my face, that is.”

Emma bit back a chuckle at his nervous clarification. He was sensitive of her comfort level after what she had shared, and it made her heart swell. She reached out tentatively in the darkness, but all she felt at first was empty air. Then warm fingers were wrapping around hers. She was embarrassed at the gasp that escaped her lips. Then the bed shifted and he was there beside her. So close, his warmth caressed her skin.

“Here,” he said, pressing her palm to his cheek.

She squinted, hoping to at least make out some of his features in the dark, but to no avail. Instead, she let her hand soak in his warmth and lightly rubbed her fingers over the scruff covering his jaw. It was a strong jaw, and she quirked her lips in a half smile when she felt it clench at her touch. She traced her fingers over his cheeks and felt his eyelashes flutter against her knuckles. He had a straight nose, thick eyebrows. His brow furrowed as she explored, and she smoothed it with a stroke of her thumb. Her fingers found their way into his hair, which was surprisingly soft and thick, and it made her heartbeat pick up speed.

“These are a little pointed,” she said with a giggle as both her hands drifted over his ears.

Emma could hear him swallow, and when he spoke his words came out husky. Was he as aroused as she was?

“That’s all you have to say, Swan? I’ll have you know women find me devastatingly handsome.”

Though she couldn’t see him, her explorations made her believe his words. She wished she could see the color of his hair, his eyes, wished she could see his smile. As if he could read her thoughts, his soft lips beneath her thumbs curled upwards, and beneath her palms she felt twin indentions crease his skin.

“Do you have dimples?” she teased.

“Why? Do you like dimples?”

Emma rolled her eyes, but her answering retort was swallowed when Killian turned his head and pressed a lingering kiss to her palm. Her other hand fluttered away from his face, hovering over heated skin. She remembered the feel of his bare chest against her back and longed to press her hand there, but the deal had been for her to explore his face, not . . . the rest of him.

Killian seemed to sense her hesitancy and took both of her hands in his, pressed a kiss to her knuckles, then released her. She heard the bed creak as he rose.

“Good night, love.”

She collapsed against the bed, more breathless over their innocent touches than she had ever been over Baelfire’s salacious ones. Before she could even whisper her own goodnight, the candelabra by her bed flickered back to life, and her husband was gone.

[shieldedsouls]

general psa about bucky and james and their relationship with each other on this blog and will all be under the cut. it will include some basic timeline frames of reference, as well as general interaction with each other. may be slightly affected by verse, but not much. the further down the line post-trial they are, the more likely they are to be at least cordial with each other.

note: by the time bucky gets bee, they do talk. not always nicely on bucky’s part, but there is communication. he actively works on becoming better with james mostly for her sake, so she can hopefully have a healthy life while with them.

tw for discussion of emotional abuse, misdirected anger/shame/guilt/blame, anger issues, consent issues, torture, r*pe, death idealization.

please proceed at own caution, as there’s probably more i should add and will do so if asked.

    firstly: being at the war is bucky’s first painfully and inescapably traumatic experience in his life, and james forms initially as a mild defense against it. he’s first fully aware after being captured post-azzano but control between them slides a lot and there isn’t much he can actually do at that point.

  by the time they’re rescued by steve and invited to the commandos, it’s james who presses at the revenge-motion, a subtle control mostly because it’s all he can manage, and they largely coexist without bucky’s knowledge there’s anyone but himself in charge. that cold look when bucky is seen sniping individuals without remorse? the no expression part is largely james, because these people aren’t innocent and he thinks it might genuinely be enough vent for bucky to stabilize well enough to get through the rest of the war so they can go home. james does not plan on revealing himself as a distinct personality at this point.

    things don’t take a particularly ugly turn until after the fall from the train. their death is probably the fracture that makes it possible for james to take the lead for the first time, trying desperately to pull them through it to survive and keep bucky from feeling the pain they’re in. it’s not a control that lasts long at first and much of their early days in captivity are again in bucky’s hands and shaky and unpleasant. james loses this time largely because of hydra’s tactics in dealing with their body, though the physical violations he forces himself to the front to take so bucky doesn’t have to. it’s the quietest they ever are through getting fitted with preliminary arms and the various tactics of breaking them down until they’re put on ice.

  there’s some lack of clarity between the two of them after that, only certainty that eventually james is almost completely the fronting personality. he knows following commands mean less punishment, which means more likely to survive, so he does. he knows hesitating means pain, so he doesn’t. he knows bucky witnessing any of it will mean disobeying commands or hesitating, so he doesn’t let bucky. he completely shuts out bucky, locking him in their own head and learning to block him out so there’s no distraction.

unfortunately, james also ultimately leaves them open to being brainwashed and coded to further ensure following instruction and being safe enough to be assigned handler(s) and sent on missions. what was meant to be a defense mechanism turns into their shared prison, and subsequent wipes make it incredibly difficult to do much other than weaken him, becoming the moments bucky experiences most clearly because he can start to come forward again.

     that’s largely their pattern under hydra; mostly in cryo, brought out for short bursts of missions because too long and the protocols start to unglue. bucky more than once seizes semi-control, enough to make them run but not enough to override james being in front or their drug- and torture-induced amnesia, something that needs time so they can heal, which is the only way james realises they have been injected with at least one version of the same serum that had been used on steve to make the blond captain america.

    it isn’t until they see steve in d.c. that the ungluing becomes something more akin to practically dissolving, and james is genuinely confused until they’re out long enough to start healing from some of the amnesiac properties of the drug cocktail hydra keeps in their system. he doesn’t even remember his own name until several weeks after they dragged steve out of the river and left him on the bank after waiting to make sure he was still breathing, because all that’s rattling in their head is being called bucky and the effects that steve had in bringing bucky back into solid awareness.

       the longer they’re out, the less control james can keep in anything other than panicked bursts, which he usually takes over because bucky’s having a panic attack or there’s some kind of active threat to deal with and he won’t hesitate like he knows bucky will. after awhile, it becomes a taxing fight to try and keep control, so he doesn’t. bucky comes forward for the majority of time again, and bucky is the one that neighbors start to trust when they hide out somewhere. james becomes little more than a passenger as they continue to heal and hunt down answers, even through the jitters of withdrawal from the drugs that had been consistently in their system since the ‘50s.

 by the time they let steve catch up to them, james is exhausted. a mental footnote, pardoning the pun, and the next time he makes himself known is on a particularly bad day of bucky’s. he had the lack(?) of luck to do it with steve around, but james stubbornly stays out for almost a week before he slips and loses their control to bucky again.

  after that, everything becomes james’s fault as far as bucky is concerned. the frequency of bad days skyrockets in his stress; james’s fault. the nightmares become more vivid; james’s fault. bucky can feel the hands of strangers on him when the room is empty and freezes up; james’s fault. every disparaging thought and furious shade of emotion gets directed at james. for not resisting, for not killing them all ( even though he’d killed plenty of them ), for not running away from hydra, for not disobeying commands. for not letting them die rather than become a murderer.

it didn’t matter that james had let some of the memories he’d deemed ‘ safer ’ to deal with were being shared so bucky could draw from them ( since he knew bucky wanted to turn himself in ). din’t matter that he would sneak out when bucky was asleep to leave notes for where to find the next hydra base or safehouse that would have survived the collapse. no matter what he gave up, bucky’s response to his existence is vitriolic and hateful, never not angry.

                                            james takes it anyway.

  he doesn’t care that it isn’t ultimately the healthiest option for either of them, because he knows it’s the first open vent bucky’s gotten since the whole damn mess started. and he knows his choices early on are what made them vulnerable later, and can’t take that back. he doesn’t expect forgiveness or understanding from anyone; if bucky can’t do either, then why would anyone else do so? none of them would even understand, none of them had been in his place or his perception. so by the time the turnover is official, he goes quiet again.

   the trial, the whole process really, james listens and watches but doesn’t press. he learns on the first day not to even let bucky know he’s doing that much, practically burning from the words flung at him in a variety of languages as they came to the man; their tears in court go noted as further proof of the pain hydra put them through, and neither james or bucky correct anyone.

    it takes weeks after that for anything to change. maybe the therapy bucky was in, he decides. but the stony cold wall between them is tapped at when bucky finally ( still angrily ) asks why james. why his name, as if anyone who knew him had ever called the other by his first name. not having an answer right away scares james more than anything, and for the first time he actively pulls away from a chance to interact. bucky doesn’t accept it though, and it’s physically painful for both of them when james is forced to the front, though quite possibly also becoming the first time bucky’s ever seen him emotional because james collapses to the floor and starts sobbing, even as he tries to grit their teeth and push through the pain. he never does answer the question that day, but bucky relents for the first time since learning they’re separate identities. even apologises for the pain.

                                                     james takes it.

he’d expected more of a blow-up as a tipping point, but accepts the shock of experiencing him also hurting being motivation enough for bucky to realise how he’d been. bucky presses with more curious questions, usually when they can’t sleep, and there’s never a forced switch between them again. some of the questions come up in therapy, even, though james is too terrified to make himself known and get them into trouble with anyone in the medical profession.

   bucky still doesn’t much like having james around, but apparently proving himself equally human killed a lot of the hatred that had been there. they acknowledge each other, and on the rarest occasions bucky lets james have control if he’s too tired to handle anything himself. the longer they interact the less bucky blames him personally, finally turning some of the shards outward or tossing them into the trash completely, though james doesn’t think bucky realises some of the shards broke in him and are still there. still aching.

                                 james takes that too. it’s better than being nothing.

[prettywordsyouleft]

Different Kisses with Im Jaebum

Thanks for the request! GOT7 is a group very near and dear to me… one I spent 3 + years heavily obsessed with so it’s always fun for me to write them now, because during that time, I just didn’t? I dunno, but enough rambles, let’s get into kissing JB shall we?

Jaebum has the bad boy freak in the sheets persona that so many have given him, but to you, he’s actually the softest sweetheart of a boyfriend, with kisses that could melt you in 0.001 seconds.

First kiss:

Much like when Jaebum confessed his feelings for you, your first kiss was handled in the same manner. You could tell he was nervous, as he handed you a drink he’d gotten from the convenience store on your walk together, and for awhile you travelled in silence, him fiddling with his drink, whilst you tried to time taking sips of yours, wondering what he was going to launch at you and worrying he’d suddenly do it whilst you’re gulping back your beverage. It made you tense and he seemed to pick up on this emotion, rocking back a little on his heels and causing you to turn and look at him. He grabbed your hand and smiled; telling you how much he likes you, and how much he has wanted to do this to you for so long now. And before you could ask what this was, his lips were upon yours, soft yet exploring. It was longer than you expected, but not passionate, more hesitant and gentle. It made you smile against him, and Jaebum reciprocated this, drawing you in closer to him and now really making sure you knew how he felt towards you.

Public kisses:

Your first kiss was pretty much your only kiss out in public. Even though Jaebum loves you completely, being out in public stifles his strong skinship issues, and leaves you in the realm of holding hands. Admittedly at first you hadn’t expected him to be like this, given how much he had kissed you without a care of the others passing you by in the park that night, but you actually found his gentlemanly manners attractive, happy to know that when you were in a more private setting, that he would be all over you again. And so you treasured moments out together, because not only did you get to see him from a further distance than usual (please note he is still at your side but when you’re not wrapped up in someone, there is more space) which allowed you to soak in his details from different angles, and it excited you to acknowledge that you could only be out for so long, and you’d soon be able to be back in his arms.

Private kisses:

At home, Jaebum is completely different. He’s always on you, arms wrapped around your waist, following you around the house, laughing in your ear and just genuinely happy to be around you. You’re also both self sufficient, able to have your time to yourselves doing your own tasks, but Jaebum is the type to find reasons to come and be closer with you. If you’re working on some left over notes from work/study, he’ll move over to where you are with a notebook and pen, busying himself too. You’ll both shoot each other smiles, not phased to know what the other is doing, but happy for the company. In these moments, you equally distribute brief kisses, a reminder that you’re both there for each other. It’s a giddy feeling to be so in love, having the ability to reach over and place a chaste kiss on each other, and then return back to what you’re doing with a smile.

To make up for the little amount of kisses out in public, you receive a lot during your time at home, cooking and cleaning together with kisses in between. At night it’s common for you to cuddle up and watch movies or read on the couch, and these are your softest moments, both wrapped up in each other, being playful towards one another and lots of soft, lingering kisses. It’s easy for your attention to slip from what you doing and just becoming insanely immersed within Jaebum, surprising yourself when you found something new in the way his eyes were shaded, examining the angle of his nose and then kissing it, Jaebum scrunching it up at you and then launching his lips all over you. Laughter is such a huge element to your relationship and he loves hearing you so happy, making him hold you more tenderly, and kiss you with more passion.

Making out:

Yes it’s true this boy knows how to pleasure you. But he has many ways of doing this, sometimes he is dominant, and his passion can lead you both into a hot, fast, and rough world of sexual fantasies. But more often than that, you see the more sensual side to Jaebum. He knows just how to control you, how to make you squirm at the lightest of touches, how to make you moan out his name, all whilst still fully clothed. It’s almost like he’s a scientist, experimenting to find new cues from you, smirking his way along your body, his hands accompanying his arduous testing. He’s adept in causing you to become weak in the knees with just one look, and it’s usually you who fails to keep up with his teasing, to begin begging for more. Jaebum could happily make out with you all day long, bringing you close to the edge of no return, before backing right off, biting at his lips and smirking at your obvious upheaval. You are so gorgeous when you’re unhinged like this to him, and you’d think he’d want to take you right there and then. His sensual, longing behaviours always have you on high alert, because they’re complete torment, especially when he’s got his mind set on how things are going to go.

Although he likes the control factor, he’s equally surprised and accommodating when you express your obvious desires for him first, his smirks aren’t there, but his teasing words are, asking if you really can’t control yourself and have to have him right now. He’ll oblige of course, sucking at your neck and upper chest as you dictate the course of your more intimate moment, lots of hard kisses followed by an abundance of soft, sensual nips and licks at your body.

Last remark for this section haha remark – love bites. Jaebum’s biggest kink is leaving his mark all over you. He’s got a bit of a possessive streak when it comes to you. Not in a negative, controlling way, but he likes knowing your body is his, and his only. And leaving a trail of his marks on you is a way to know just how much he loves you, and you appreciate being only his too.

Morning kisses:

You’re more prompt at getting up in the mornings. Jaebum isn’t so interested in moving when he first opens his eyes, and so there can be a bit of bickering in the mornings, you telling him you have to get to work/school and him not accepting this as a response. When Jaebum first wakes up, he’s incredibly soft and enamoured by you, chuckling at how awful your hair is. To you, this can make you whine, which he was aiming for, he loves teasing you, because you look so beautiful in whatever form you come in. It surprises him to not find anything about you unattractive, even when you have a birds nest on your head. But before you can do anything about it, he’s thrown himself over you, pinning you to the bed under him and is refusing you to get up, no matter what complaint you give him. You even once tried to tell him you needed the bathroom and he told you that sheets are washable; he’s so stubborn and unromantic at times. But he’ll always back his bluntness up with soft, sweet kisses over the bridge of your nose and cheeks, forehead and all the way down to your jawline. He purposely leaves out your lips just to mess with you, smiling widely when he sees you pouting and then presses his mouth upon yours, silencing any of your residual nagging about starting the day. And you almost forget until the second alarm goes off, telling you that you’re now going to be late if you don’t move it. Jaebum hates that second alarm so much that he snuck into your phone to disarm it once, and now you’ve created it specifically for him, using a couple of lines from Dream High 2 on repeat as the alarm tone. That gets him up out of bed quick smart, and you’re gripping at your phone, thankful it saved the day, but also worrying that he’s going to grab it and throw it away sometime soon. Love and war go hand in hand in the morning with Im Jaebum.

Making up:

Jaebum has a temper; you know it exists, but he’s also so blunt and honest, that fighting between you rarely occurs because you both try to not allow anything to build into a problem. But when it does, it’s like you forgot how bad it truly gets, he’s so worked up, yelling at you, making it worse by adding in things that he’s clearly not let go of like you have, and is convinced you’re out to destroy what you have. He’s so petty when you fight, unable to clearly think straight because he’s so furious that you’ve started something up and upset him. He’s not going to stop and think about how you’re crying during these moments, because he’s too worked up in his own feelings, sometimes going as far as to feel like you’re inflicting this pain on him, and it’s not a mutual effort. He’s blind to how you’re now shaking and not responding in the argument, and most likely you will try to leave, him screaming at you that you’re not done fighting yet, but you yourself are more than done.

It can take days to recover from these outbursts and a lot of it is down to you both needing to think internally about what the real problem is, and how you’re both going to fix it.

There’s no apology kisses, it’s more of a sweeping under the rug initially. You will address the problem, but for Jaebum he needs to feel the connection first, because it’s been so lost between you for days now. He’s focussed on kissing you, exploring you, remembering how you taste again because he’s so worried you’ve somehow changed. It’s a relief when you haven’t, and that you kiss him back with just as much demand, sometimes silently picking you up and taking you down to your bedroom and exploring every inch of you. Out of everyone I’ve written for, Jaebum is the most likely to have make up sex after arguments, not because it fixes the problem, but because he craves a full connection with you again.

Crown kisses:

You often go into Jaebum’s music room and find him working away on his songs, the boy barely noticing your arrival when he’s immersed in his work. In these moments, his dedication is truly admirable and you cannot help throwing your arms around the back of his chair and onto him, kissing the top of his head. And it won’t be long until he’s turning around to face you, wrapping his own arms around your waist and relishing in the affection you’re giving him, burying himself into you. He loves it when you kiss the top of his head, although when you first did it, he was embarrassed because it seemed so odd to him to receive a kiss like that from anyone but his mother. But now he had another beautiful woman in his world and he cherished these kisses like no other.

Stressed kisses:

When Jaebum is stressed, he’s like a small child. Fragile, and lost, his eyes narrowed as his mind races to try and keep up with everything, to find what priority needs to come first and how to solve whatever is stressing him out. And you’ve learned he needs some time at first, because he does like to internalise, and he does like to come to conclusions himself. Although he is very open with you, and tells you everything, when he’s stressed, you know if you rush him, he’ll get impatient and closed off from you. And so you wait, hoping that he’ll solve it himself. But there are times where the problem is just too big for him alone, and he gets too emotional and self critical, beating himself up for not catching this problem when it was smaller and more manageable. This is where he needs you the most in your relationship, as a sounding board for the issues, and to try and help him through, like he always does for you when you’re struggling. Unlike you, who turned to him at the drop of the hat, Jaebum has an ego that prevents him from unleashing everything on you, wanting to be the man who solves problems. It’s not a sexist belief entirely, he knows your advice is second to none, but he struggles with being weak in front of you, wanting to be your strong, protective boyfriend at all costs. Crying in front of you is the worst thing he can do, and so that’s another reason why he avoids it until he can no longer, and those stupid tears fall without his request, frustrating him further. You try your best to not make a big deal out of him, even though you just want to envelope him in your arms and coddle him, to tell him it’s going to be okay. In those moments, simply holding him and kissing him lightly without any words is enough to bring him down from his emotional state, Jaebum gripping at you to steady himself, embarrassed that he cried, but also so thankful that it was you comforting him. Once he’s calmer, you can then talk out the problem, little kisses along the way to reassure him that you’re here for him no matter what.

Night kisses:

Last kiss! Like Daehyun, I had to add this in here for Jaebum as well. Because at night Jaebum is the most sincere and raw that you will ever see him be. After the daily grind is over and you are both in each other’s arms in bed, he’ll use this time to tell you everything on his mind, how much he treasures you for accepting his heart, how he cannot wait for you to be a Mum to more than just your cats, how one day he’ll make you the most beautiful bride. And you have never felt so speechless in your life during these sessions, amazed at how deep he feels for you, how expanse his future visions are for you both, and not wanting to hold back, in case they didn’t come into fruition like you sometimes did. You were certain he would make them happen just because he believes you and him are for ever. It was magical to have someone so invested into you, knowing you were in him too and just expressing those feelings is enough to have you finding his mouth with demand, deepening the kiss for a bit before ending it with a final graze of your lips on his. You can see how much he loves you during these moonlit experiences, and how much he cherishes having you in his world. Because of these moments together, falling asleep is always easy, his voice in your ear as he lightly kisses it, lulling you to sleep, to dream of the future you both want to greet when the time arrives.

 Someone call the doctor (Hwang of course) because I think I forgot to breathe again. Jaebum is honestly so hardworking in whatever he does, and his honesty and comfortable nature within his own skin is so attractive, that anyone lucky to be spoilt with his love is going to die a happy, beautiful death.

 _______________

Other GOT7 members:  Mark // Jaebum // Jackson // Jinyoung // Youngjae // Yugyeom

[Different Kisses Masterlist] | [Main Masterlist] | [Request Guidelines]

[the-canary]

Sunburst - S.R (3/10)

Summary: After years of solitude, you sought out the color of life – you just didn’t think it would end up like this. (Enhanced!Reader/Steve Rogers). 

Prompt: “I think I just asked out on a date.”

Masterlist

A/N: This is for @captain-ariel-barnes writing challenge. not the best chapter, but we are getting there!

Feedback is always appreciated.

Part 1 | Part 2 

It’s strange at first when you decide to spend the morning --after your first week--  drawing around the Avengers’ Compound . You had tried your hardest to find a place where you could see all the forest area that reminded you of home, but not to far from your room.  You trailed a bit from the central facility and towards the smaller buildings, but never crossing the road. You sat down on the grassy area and began to draw the early morning light. Grays and blacks mixed together as you sketched different areas, slowly you headed to the other side of the building and caught of a glimpse of the river. That’s when you catch it, a blur of blue running down the road, against the dark colored backdrop you can’t help that it catches your attention.

It’s the saturation, the deep deep blue, makes you realize who it is -- Captain Rogers.

You have to wonder briefly what could have happened to America’s Golden Boy for him to have such a color. In your lifetime and in the limited understanding you had of your powers, the deeper the color usually meant there were some deep sadness connected to their central personality it, but that changes depending on their emotions -- pops and flashes of lighter colors would usually indicate this. However, between the moment you had met him and now, there was no change whatsoever.

What the hell could that mean?

“Good morning,” a voice drags you out of your thoughts, as you jump and look up to see him looking at your direction. Still startled but not wanting to be rude, you give him a small wave before picking up your items. He runs, a streak of blue almost as dark as the forest canopy, and you can’t help but frown a light.

“I’m gonna need some water colors now,” you murmur to yourself as you get up and head back inside.

In your annoyance, you try to ignore that details you are remembering --in the details of the area, of his face and stature-- that the artist inside of you now wants to have blooming in front of you.

A beam of blue on a dark day, a light amidst the darkness -- it almost suits Captain Rogers too well.

 Wanda knows it from the moment she sees you sitting across the kitchen countertop. She can feel it in the air and sense it in the way of just how closed your mind is to everything else. As open and friendly the kitchen is designed to look, you still feel like a caged animal with hunched shoulders and a tight grip on  the little book in your hands.

Just like you know her background, Wanda knows that you have been living in the forest of Upstate New York for quite some time, hidden yourself from the world with only your agent being the main contact for you. It echoed loudly enough for everyone that you were hiding something, but Wanda knew the moment she sees you. The moment that you played more attention --for whatever reason-- to the center of her body more than anything else.

“Ms. Maximoff, it good to meet you,” you state while getting up from your seat. She smiles, magenta lightens up into a softer version, but you can’t help but notice there is a blur bright blue at her core, though it quick disappears as it appeared.

“Wanda’s just fine,” she explains as you nod. She states that it is her turn to cook dinner for the rest of team and you wholeheartedly agree to help. It had surprised her that you didn’t want to interview her or have her standing in some strange position while you painted her, instead you had asked her to think of something she enjoyed doing and you could either watch or even join her. She chose cooking dinner for the rest of the team that was here.

“What are we making tonight?” you question, while going over the other side of the kitchen as she takes out a large pot alongside some meat and a variety of vegetables. It all causes you to look at her curiously since you are used to making dinner for one person and even then only a few days of leftovers, not a whole army as Wanda seems prepared to do.    

“Some beef and vegetable stew,” she remarks, as she motions to to start cutting the vegetables while she proceeds to rub more things onto the already marinated meat, as she places the pot onto the stove with some oil and cut onions.  

“Do you all eat this much?” you can’t help but ask with wide eyes, as she laughs -- her red flaring into at the question.

“If we don’t portion it correctly, Steve and James would eat this all on their own,” Wanda explains, as all you do is nod, though still not fully grasping how much Captain America and the former Winter Soldier could eat.  The two of you ease into a steady but tense silence of unspoken questions as you finish cutting all the necessary ingredients as Wanda starts adding things here and there. She is taking a taste of the broth when she turns to look and ask the one thing that breaks everything that you have been avoiding.

“Could you hand me the paprika?” she questions, while pointing to the where all the spices were located. You frown, but do what she asks anyway, until you see nothing but dark leaves and a variety of gray containers.  

“Paprika?” you question, looking at the cabinet in confusion since everything back at home is marked with a label to denote which spice is which.

You turn and see her red is a bit darker than before in suspicion as she finally decides to thread the murky water, “It’s not synesthesia, is it?”

“Sometimes, people don’t see anything but your powers,” you say, not confirming or answering her question, though surprising even yourself at how bitter you sound (how dark the pink in the corner of your eyes pops at the memories) towards the end as you look away, “To be used, forgetting there’s a person underneath for convenience.”

“Not everyone is like that,”  Wanda chides in once more, feeling that this might be the only chance she gets before you completely shut her out, “There is always going to be someone willing to give you a helping hand, for you to trust, though I’ll admit it is a long road.”

“Then, you are a very lucky person,” you state before going back to the spice cabinet and bringing out 3 different containers -none which are the damn paprika- to her, only to have her shake her head. And while you still feel a bit troubled after the conversation, you can’t help but smile just a bit at the reminder of the limitations that you haven’t seen in such a long time.

After all that, the rest of the meal prep time is spent exchanging pleasantries of more comfortable childhood memories that come with the dish you are making, what it means working in your vastly different careers, and most of all music. As she mentions she is trying to learn how to play guitar and you mention that you sort of know you way around the clarinet, though you can’t agree on what was the better decade of music since you were both all over the place.

“This was very lovely, Wanda,” you say tersely, while drying your hands an hour later as the dishes are almost done, unsure of when was the last time you actually cooked a meal with someone, but overall enjoying the experience.  

“The invitation is always open, even if you just want to come and eat with us,” Wanda says like a mother trying to appease their child, as you give her a small nod but decide not to take her advice, it’s too new and raw for now. It’s better to let it dry and crack for awhile.  

“I--Thank you,” is all you manage to say before getting your plate and leaving the kitchen area to go back to hiding in your room, as she shakes her head though she knows by experience that things like this take time. However, if she wants to gain your trust, she knows that she will have to stay quiet about your powers for now, as you grow more accustomed to the other Avengers. So, as they all come bustling in, she stays quiet over the issue, though she does answer curious questions here and there.   

After meeting with Wanda a few more times (even Vision for a moment by accident), you realize that this isn’t going to be a normal art project anymore. You don’t know how this will all end up and while you are apprehensive about how it might connect to your powers, you take a deep breath before taking the next steps. As you get up one night and head to the art room designed for you, the soft lights of the colors welcoming you once more -- the only thing you have ever really needed.

“Let’s get to work,” you murmur as you get one of the easels and place it down on the floor before getting several shades of a certain color, as you paint the rest of the night away.  

Swirls of red, old recipes book pages, a dash of campanulas , a little sage and spice with a flash of blue for loss and a bit of gloss for the potential of something more, of finally being in a place that can finally be called home.

This is Wanda Maximoff to you, though you don’t plan on showing her just yet.

 It starts off simple enough by seeing the artwork placed proudly on display in Pepper’s office, another piece finds it way into Tony’s soon afterwards. There is a small pamphlet of your works laying about that catches his attention and he finds himself looking over it, again and again. He questions what techniques you used, the shading and position of the designs, and he can help but wonder what caused the change between your darker works and this more rustic series.

He’s curious, and then he hears that there is a small expo of your latest sets of work -- the ones you did before the Avengers project came up. He knows you aren’t going to be there -- you never go to these sorts of things and he knows you are back at the Compound, having chosen it over the Tower.   

With his mind made up, Steve goes as discreetly as he possibly can -- only for Nat to give him a small smile as she makes it out of the gym and crosses his path on the way to the elevator.

“Ohh,” she coos, already memorizing the situation and saving it for later, “Where are you going?”

“Art exhibit,” Steve states, knowing it's pretty much useless by now to lie to one of his closest friends, though not really giving her the reason why.

“By our resident artist,” she states more than questions with a grin, like she already knows something that Steve doesn’t -- not yet anyways. However, she decides to keep to herself for now, “Have a good time.”

“Thanks,” Steve says with a confused uptick in his voice, obviously expecting more from the Russian, as she just shrugs and gets out of his way. Green eyes stay locked on his figure until she sees him disappear after entering the elevator.

“Hmm, is he going for the art or the artist,”  she murmurs to herself in question before heading towards a certain birdman’s room to talk about the blond’s non-existent love life.  

Part 4 

[devynwright-writesimagines]

Seeking Paintings | Draco Malfoy x Reader

Summary: You, a muggle-born artist, have been hiding your feelings for Draco Malfoy for years now. Though, after an unplanned meeting in the astronomy tower things between the two of you start to change. Even more so after finding each other in the Room or Requirement.

Word Count: 3,573

Warnings: None

Disclaimer: not my gif credit to owner

You stare out into the vast horizon from the astronomy tower. This was your favorite hideout during your free period. You much rather enjoyed the view when it was light outside. Sure you love astronomy class and looking up at the stars but this was just different. Better.

You pulled out your old, hard-cover, weather-beaten sketch book and began to draw the landscape before you. You made sure to grasp and add every detail to your drawing. You began shading in the sunset when you heard a voice behind you.

"What are you doing here?" He asked in a rotten tone and you already knew who it was.

"You don't own the astronomy tower, Draco," you say blandly while continuing your work.

"You know this is were I go in my spare time," you hear him huff.

"I know," you blush, hoping he doesn't know that besides the view one of your favorite part of this spot is that it's that it's his spot too. Then again, how would he even know that, it's not like you two are exactly close.

You hear him start to walk away and your heart sinks. Just once you'd like him to stay up here when you're here. Maybe then, you too could become close. You'd had this battle with having a crush on Draco since first year. Now here you are, sixth year and the most interaction between you two is fighting over the astronomy tower.

"You know you can stay right?" You boldly say. You swallow hard when you hear him stop in his tracks.

You hear his footsteps begin again but this time coming back towards you.

He sits a few feet from you, "Just don't expect me to talk to you."

You just smile and shake your head continuing to look down at your sketch book. For a few minutes you two stay like this, you drawing, him (probably) thinking. You wonder what could be going on in his head, he seemed to be thinking pretty deeply.

You feel him inching towards you at a snail's pace, from the corner of your eye you can see him watching you draw everything from here to the horizon. You hate yourself for the blush creeping up on your face, by the time he's within a foot of you your face is bright red.

"Why are you blushing?" You look up at him and see he's smiling, a genuine smile.

Because I've been hiding my massive crush on you for nearly six years.

"I just get embarrassed at people watching me work," you shrug.

"Why?" He asks seeming genuinely interested. "You're really good."

"Thanks," you're blush gets even deeper.

You break eye contact and look back down at your sketchbook. The rest of the period is made up with you finishing your sketch and Draco watching intently. He's completely mesmerized at how you can just see an image and recreate it perfectly on your page.

It's Saturday and you aren't needed nor expected anywhere, which is why Saturdays are your favorite days. You usually spent these days roaming around looking for inspiration for a new art piece. Which is exactly how you plan to start today.

You roam the school grounds aimlessly, constantly moving your head around to grasp every aspect of the school. You step into the one of the many courtyards and feel inspired to sketch it, until you realize you've already done that... Ten times...

You sigh and realize that after six years of constantly working in the same space it's going to be hard to find a completely new area for your art. Just this year and the following before you can finally start travelling and finding more inspiration worldwide.

In your attempts to find a new spot you're again not looking forward. causing you to slam right into someone.

"Hey, watch where- oh, hey Y/N," you hear Draco's voice quickly turn from intimidation to delight.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention," you ramble.

"Don't worry about it," he laughs at how cute he thinks you are when you ramble.

A blush creeps onto your face, "Well, I best be going." As you turn to walk away he grabs your wrist and turns you back to face him.

"Hey, are you going to the Quidditch match today?" He inquires.

"Um I wasn't really planning on it," you scratch the back of your neck.

"Oh," his face slightly falls. "Well, I'd like it if you went," he says his cheeks turning slightly pink. "Even though you'd be rooting for Y/H and not Slytherin," he looks at the ground.

"I mean I probably should go, it's sixth year and I haven't gone to a single match," you shrug and he looks at you dumbfounded.

"Not a single match? Well, you definitely have to go now," he laughs and so do you.

"Well, I guess you can count on me being there," you say before turning and walking away. You look over your shoulder, "And I guess I can root for Slytherin just this once," you wink and quickly face forward as your face turns crimson red. A crazy amount of adrenaline must've been rushing through you for having the courage to wink at Draco Malfoy.

You take a seat in Y/H's section for the Quidditch match, all your housemates do a double take when they see you arrive. Which were followed by 'finally', 'it's about time', 'I didn't even know you knew how to get here' and more sayings around those lines.

You don't know to much about Quidditch, especially since you're a muggle-born. Not that you know much about muggle sports either. Your friends have explained the game to you many times, you got the logistics but you just didn't know why it was such a big deal. Maybe you'll actually figure it out through watching a match.

Draco rose up into the air on his broomstick to prepare for the start of the game. On his way up he scanned the crowd for you and a smile creeps onto his face when he sees you sitting in Y/H's section. He can tell you look slightly out of place in the stands and is glad to see you actually showed up. He keeps up the hope that you're actually here for him.

He has been trying to convince himself since second year that he doesn't have feelings for you. That he could never have feelings for a muggle-born. Except as he's grown older through his school years he's realized that muggle-borns aren't that bad. He's realized he was just told to think that way, not that he actually believed it.

He's pulled out of his thoughts by the blow of the whistle signaling the beginning of the game. Slytherin immediately takes hold of the Quaffle and manages to score within the first minute. A chorus of boos and angered shouts comes from Y/H's section. Draco looks over to see you remaining silent among your peers. He smiles, hoping you may be rooting for Slytherin...for him...silently. Even if you're not, at least you aren't booing.

Draco circles around the field, scanning for the snitch. He'd be lying to say that he wasn't losing his interest in Quidditch, squinting into the distance searching for a flying ball of gold gets boring after awhile. Of course, he didn't know if the sport itself was actually starting to bore him or the stress recently rested upon him was making him lose interest in the things he loves. Apparently stress can do that. 

He sees a flicker of gold in the distance, shocked at how early on he's spotted it he doesn't fully believe he saw it. That is until he sees the seeker for Y/H dive in the direction of the flash of gold. He quickly follows and the two chase after the golden blur, neck and neck. Draco shoves the other seeker, causing him to spin off course and leaving Draco to be the only one in pursuit of the snitch.

He's extremely close, he takes a hand off his broom and reaches towards the snitch. He feels cold metal on the pads of his fingers, he just needs to get a grip around it. Almost...

Wham!

He's nearly knocked off his broom as pain seers through his ribcage. He got hit with a bludger milliseconds before he could grab the snitch. He holds a hand over his ribcage and groans in pain. He rises back into the air to find he's near Y/H's section. He looks over at you and you mouth to him, 'Are you okay?'. He nods and manages to give you a faint smile as reassurance.

When he starts to move upward he hears many whispers, "Did Draco Malfoy the Draco Malfoy just smile?", "Did he smile at you, Y/N?", "Is there something going on between you two?", and things of that nature.

He looks back in your direction to see your cheeks turning pink while multiple people start to question you. Though more importantly he sees a smile on your face at the thought of people thinking something is going on between the two of you.

Suddenly, his interest for Quidditch returns. Except rather than loving the sport, wanting to be the best, and move towards winning the House Championships, his goal and motivation to win comes from you. He wants to impress you, and suddenly he finds himself squinting at the field and scanning it as if his life depended on it.

Ten minutes pass with no sign of the snitch. Y/H is currently in the lead, sixty-twenty. Draco continues to scan the field, keeping an eye on the other seeker to see if they look to be in pursuit. He finds himself glancing over at you often as well, trying to make sure you aren't growing bored. Good thing he's doing this because it is when he shifts his eyes to you that he spots the snitch once again.

This time determined to get he speeds off in the directions of the flicker of gold. He soon gets close enough that the snitch is hardly a blur anymore. He stretches out his arm when he feels someone bump his side, not strong enough to knock him off his path though. It's Y/H's seeker, Draco gives them a menacing stare before turning his eyes back to the snitch. The two race around the field with their arms reaching towards the snitch, they're neck and neck. Draco, determined to win, jerks his hand out so roughly he fears he might've dislocated his shoulder. It would be worth it though, he feels his hand close around the snitch.

He slows down and waves the snitch above his head, wearing a proud smile. The rest of the Slytherin team flies over to congratulate him. He hardly notices their presence as he starts to look for you, to see your reaction. His smile fell, you weren't in the spot you had previously been in. You weren't anywhere to be seen.

A look of disappointment washes over Draco's face as he moves back to the ground. Where did you go? Why did you leave? Did you just not care enough to stay? Did you leave because Slytherin won? Was it foolish of him to think you were here for him? He was disappointed that he ever let that thought into his head.

The rest of the Slytherins were celebrating in their common room, but Draco was in no mood for a party. Though every time he tried to move towards the dorms one of his friends would pull him back to the center of the crowd.

"Dude, what up with you," Blaise leans onto Draco. "You know you can't vanish from a party after a win."

Vanish.

He hadn't been to the room of requirement in ages. If he was already disappointed with himself he might as well make it even worse by working on that cabinet.

"I actually have to go do something," Draco mutters before peeling away from the crowd, this time being successful.

He begins the journey from the dungeons all the way to the seventh floor, left corridor. Constantly, he finds himself dodging behind corners at the sight or sound of a teacher. When he makes it to the entrance of the Room of Requirement unscathed he begins to pace and think deeply about what he needs.

I really need to work on this cabinet. If I don't fix it in time I'll probably get myself and my family killed. To work on this cabinet though I'm really going to need some privacy. No one else should be able to go in or out. I really just need to be alone, even though I'd rather be talking to Y/N, figuring out why she left the natch early... But I really need to go work on this cabinet in private.

He thinks to himself, allowing him access to the room. He steps inside and begins to make his way to the vanishing cabinet. He examines a feather from the last time when he used that cabinet on a small bird. He begins to realize it's spending days on end staring at this cabinet that he truly begins to hate what he's become. He knows he had no choice, it makes him hate all those who did. All who didn't have people pressuring him to be evil. To kill or be killed. It makes him hate all those who had good people in his life.

He just wanted one good person in his life, he needed one good person in his life.

Where am I going to find a good person who wants to be in my life?

He's pulled out of his thoughts when he hears a crash from somewhere in the room, faint whispering follows. Someone else is in here.

He draws his wand from his pocket, becoming extremely alert. He swallows hard, the last thing he needs is to be caught in here. He slowly moves towards the sound of the crash, pashing piles and piles of randomized objects. The faint whisper becomes a distinct mutter, a girl's mutter.

He jumps out from behind the last pile of things before him and the unknown girl and raises his wand. However, he immediately lowers it at the sight before him.

"Y/N?" He questions putting his wand back in his pocket.

You look up at him and gulp. You are kneeling on the ground in front of a puddle of spilt paint to the side of a canvas. Your face turning a bright red to match the paint covering the floor.

"Draco," you say wide-eyed. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he tuts.

"Well, I needed a canvas and some oils," you shrug. "So, I went to the room that would supply me with my needs.

"Well, I needed privacy as in no one else being in here," he says coming off more hostile than he wants to be towards you.

"Maybe you don't know what you're actually needs are," you look down at the ground, saddened at his hostility towards you. Just when you were beginning to think he could actually like you, how silly.

He remembers what he was just thinking about. Where am I going to find a good person who wants to be in my life? "Maybe you're right," he admits.

You look up at him and try to suppress any thoughts of him needing you from your head. You look back down at your paint puddle and go back to cleaning.

"You know there's this thing called magic," he chuckles before pulling out his wand. After giving it a little flick all the paint moves back into the container.

You tut before letting out a muffled thanks and standing back up. A slight frown forms on your face as you dip your paintbrush into your now unspilt paint and get back to working on your canvas.

"I thought you'd be a little more thankful," Draco raises an eyebrow.

"I don't like to mix magic and art," you huff.

"How come?" he presses on, sounding as though he genuinely cares.

You sigh, not sure if you're completely comfortable about divulging your childhood to Draco, your muggle childhood. If you even wanted to dream about having a chance with him you figured it wouldn't be best to remind him you're muggle-born. However, he's expecting an answer and you only have the truth.

"It just when I was younger I was told I had a gift when it came to art," you sigh. "They said my art made my talent seem like magic," you smile at the memories. "I guess I wanted to keep it all down to talent not literal magic," you shrug,

"Oh," is all he has to say. "Well, can I see what you're painting?"

At that you freeze, brush in midair dripping paint onto the ground. You swallow hard and your face becomes a deeper red than Draco, or anyone has ever seen you as. You slowly turn your near paralyzed head to look at him wide-eyed, You do not even want to imagine Draco's reaction to your current work, yet alone see or hear it in reality.

He chuckles, "I'll take that as a no." You slightly nod and turn back to your work. "If I can't look at it can you at least tell me what it is?" Your face is burning at this point, it feels so hot you fear you may need to go down to the hospital wing.

He appears next to you and you nearly choke on the lump forming in your throat. You set your brush down and timidly turn your head to look at him. You get a side view of his head, slightly tilted with a flattered expression resting on his face.

"Is that me?" He smiles brightly and you swallow hard.

"Is that weird?" You timidly ask.

He turns his head to look down at you, a smile still plastered on his face. "Not at all."

He looks back to examine the painting even deeper as you rock on your heels as an anxious tick. The painting is a site you captured in your head at the match. Draco with his hand outstretched towards a golden blur, you seeker right at his heels. You painted the world around them as a fuzzy haze to show they were moving at top speeds. In the background one could distinguish the field, goalposts, stadium full of students, as well as the other players flying about.

"Is this why you left the match early?"

"Yeah, I just got the idea and rushed here to go and paint it," you shrug. Then, you fully process what he just said. "You noticed I left?" Your eyebrows knit together and you move your gaze to him.

"Of course," he says looking at you. "I did it for you," he states. "I woke up this morning and the last thing I wanted to do was go looking for a golden blur. Then, I remembered you said I could count on you being there and I knew I had to play." You open your mouth to speak but no words come out, so Draco continues. "I was planning on inviting you to the after party as my date but you weren't there," he shrugs. He's trying to play it cool but truly he heart is beating a mile a minute. He was not intended to profess his love for you but before he could stop himself the words were slipping from his mouth.

"D-date?"

"Yeah, is it so weird for me to take the girl I've liked since second year to be my date?" There's no going back now. It's out, the secret is out. Draco Malfoy has feelings for Y/N Y/L/N.

He waits for you to say something, anything. He heart is racing and his cheeks are turning pink. He hopes you'll say you feel the same but you just stay silent.

Your mouth hangs agape, you can't believe what you're hearing. "You've liked me since second year?"

"Is that weird?" He timidly asks as you did previously.

"N-not at all," you smile wider than ever, your face only turning slightly pink. "I mean I've liked you since first year." You see his eyes light up at that, he looks as if this is exactly what he needs to hear.

You two stay silent for a moment, gazing into each others eyes. Both of you wondering what to do next. His eyes slowly move down to your lips, linger for a second, then dart back to your eyes.

"Can I kiss you?" He breathes out so quietly you barely hear.

You nod and try to suppress the butterflies in your stomach. He takes a step closer to you and lightly grips your elbows. He pulls you close and stares deep into your eyes. He starts to lean in as do you, both closing your eyes. His lips gently connect to yours. He softly moves his lips against yours, his hands moving down to your waist as yours get tangled in his hair. Neither of you pull away until you both are gasping for air.

"So did you win?" You giggle once you've caught your breath.

"I have now."