#i had so much fun working on the art for cat's fic too!! i can't wait for people to read it

[somnimagus]

Preview of my page for @phoenixwrightzine! I got to draw new dad Phoenix with a tiny Trucy; and I also got to draw for a really amazing Feenie and Mia fic!!

There's a glorious variety of pointy blue man in this book, please check it out!

[dontaskmemybias]

Pretty

Pairing: Idol!Lee Know x afab Ninth Member!reader Request: Yes Theme: Friends to Lovers Contains: Anxiety, Hurt/comfort, jealousy, teeny angst if you squint. There is no smut in this part, its all buildup lmao sorry but there will be smut in the next part. Word Count: 10k+ Note: This is a work of fiction and does not portray any of the members irl. I decided to go with a friends to lovers slow burn since you wanted a longer fic anon and I figured I could do a bit more like this, and I was correct, I started writing and just like never stopped? This has become a behemoth of a story and I'll be releasing it in two parts because damn. I know you requested this like a year ago but life happened hard, hopefully you still get to read it.

Author's Personal Note: This week has been awful. I can't describe how tired and scared I have been since Tuesday morning. I haven't written in almost a year because my motivation just was not there and I don't know if it was the existential dread or the overwhelming urge to just be in control of some narrative that drove me to start writing this absolute beast of a story but here we are. Enjoy it, don't, I don't really care either way.

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Snow blankets the surrounding hills as you burrow yourself further into your winter puffer. The boys are all running around the field, throwing snowballs at each other and cackling wildly. You chuckle to yourself seeing their childlike display. You have all gathered to film SKZCode "Winter is Coming" (you and the boys had been binge watching Game of Thrones in your free time and decided to take a little inspiration from it for the title) You let out a laugh when you see Changbin nail Hyunjin in the back of the head with a snowball and in true Jinnie fashion Hyunjin dramatically flails on the ground until Changbin comes over to comfort him.

You had been through so much with these eight boys, late nights in the studio recording your parts until they were perfect, early mornings in the dance studio drilling choreography until it was perfect, you loved it all, but moments like these when you could all let loose and have some fun? Those were your favorites.

Being the only woman in the group was a bit of a challenge in some ways, but it was nice having eight guys to look out for you in every aspect of life. You had formed a bond with these guys over the years, each friendship blossoming and holding something unique.

If you ever needed a shoulder to cry on, you knew you could turn to your leader Bang Chan and he wouldn't just comfort you, he would help you figure out what to do. Only one year your senior and yet his wisdom was that of an 85 year old war vet. Chan was your rock.

Need workout tips or someone to belt girl group songs with? Changbin was your man. He was always willing to help you stay healthy, whether that be helping you with your fitness routine, or working on your mental health. Changbin was there for you when antis said you looked too fat and cheered you up all night. He was the ultimate hype man.

Felix was often in your dorm baking with you when you were stressed (stress baking is both a blessing and a curse). He would massage your shoulders when you got too tense. He really was the sunshine in your life.

Whenever you wanted to try something new—a restaurant, an online game, anything at all—Seungmin would join you. He would say he had been meaning to go there or try that anyway, and this just gave him an excuse, but you knew he did it, so you didn't ever feel lonely. He was like the little brother you never had.

You and Hyunjin bonded over your love for art. The two of you had done all the cheesy trends where you paint for ten minutes then swap paintings until they are both finished (it ended up with an abomination with a cat head and a wolf body, you named it Lee Bang after Felix, Bang Chan, and Lee Know, you both laughed so hard you were in tears) you also would often sketch one another to get better at portraits. Time spent with Hyunjin was always amazing.

Anytime you had a fashion emergency you knew you could count on Innie. He would roast your outfits when they were too "millennial sheik" as he would say, but then immediately assist. He was also great to couch rot and watch movies with on your off days. He was basically your bestie.

Anytime you were feeling down and you just really needed a good laugh you knew that you could turn to Jisung. You and Jisung had bonded very hard very early on because you both suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. The two of you had helped each other through so many at this point it was basically second nature. When you ugly sob in front of someone and they trust you enough to do it in return you know it's a friendship built to last. You and Jisung were basically soulmates.

Finally there was Minho. Your relationship with Minho was… interesting, to say the least. You grew close with him simply because he was your soulmate's soulmate. Anywhere Minho went, Jisung went, and anywhere Jisung went, you went. So the three of you grew very close very fast. Minho's sense of humor perfectly matched yours and the two of you would often bicker back and forth simply because it was fun and it often drove the other members crazy. The bickering started innocently enough, however, a few months ago something changed. The bickering you loved became… borderline flirty? The other members often referred to you both as a married couple and would call Jisung your son. It was all in good fun and it really didn't bother you, but every time someone outside the group made the same jokes, Minho would get this look on his face. You couldn't quite place the emotion behind it, but you recently found yourself thinking about it for much too long.

You are brought back to the present from your ruminating when something wet and cold hits the back of your head followed by maniacal laughter.

"Minnie, that was evil!" You try to sound mad but you can't hide the giggles that escape you at the younger boys' antics. He just sticks his tongue out as you and laughs while running away.

You are fully laughing now, trying to shake the snow out of your hair when you feel warm arms wrap around you from behind.

"You're shivering little moon bear" Minho's breathy chuckle ruffles your hair and you laugh.

Shuffling in his arms to face him you look up and pout. "It's cold out! Of course I'm shivering Min. And why do you insist on referring to me by my SKZOO?"

"Because I find the little pout you do every time I do adorable." He smirks down at you and you think the flush adorning your ears is no longer just from the cold.

"YOH LOVEBIRDS GET OVER HERE IT'S TIME TO FILM!" Changbin's voice rings out over the set and you flinch a little which causes Minho to hold you just a bit tighter.

"Come on moon bear, time to film." He gently whispers to you while tucking you under his arm and leading you toward the group.

~✨~

Filming was going great! Sledding with a pitcher of water was pretty hard but you had loads of fun and managed not to come in last. When it came to the balloon popping portion Minho decided to come behind you like he had before filming and wrap his arms around you.

He leaned in to whisper in your ear "You looked cold again little moon bear." You chuckled when he began swaying you both side to side.

"You're going to start a dating rumor if you keep this up Min." You whispered back.

"Let people talk, how can I just stand by while my favorite girl freezes?" Your breath hitched a little at the comment, whispered so close to your ear you could almost feel his lips on your skin.

"Fair, but you have to deal with the staff if it becomes a problem." You sighed out, settling into his warm arms.

He was glued to you for the rest of the shoot.

~✨~

After getting home from the very fun, very cold, shoot, you decided to take a nice long hot shower and then maybe order some delivery when you got out.

You took your time in the shower until you were basically out of hot water then wrapped yourself in your fluffiest towel and went to the kitchen for some water. Your heart almost fell out of your ass and you let out a shriek when you walked by your living room and saw two people sitting on your couch.

"Y/NNIE My eardrums! Why did you have to scream so loud?" Jisung wailed from his spot on the couch.

"Yeah you baby it's just us damn." Minho scoffed. They both froze when they turned and saw you in just a towel, Minho's ears turning a fiery red and Jisung's eyes going wide. They both quickly looked away and started stammering out apologies, not realizing your state of dress. You let out a giggle at their reactions.

"Chill guys, you act like you've never seen a girl in a towel before, you just scared the shit out of me because I didn't know you were coming." They both let out a little laugh at that and relaxed a bit into the couch, still looking anywhere other than at your towel-clad form.

"Sorry, we wanted to surprise you with Kimchi Jjigae since you were so cold today and maybe watch some movies?" Jisung said quietly.

"You brought food? Ignore my previous complaints, Ji, Min, you are both angels who could do no wrong and I love you with all my heart! Let me put some clothes on then we can watch whatever you want yeah?"

"Yeah" "Sounds good" The boys yelled back as you went to your room to change.

You all spent the rest of the night tangled up on the couch watching shitty rom-coms

~✨~

The next morning after dance practice you get home and shower then realize that you're finally going to have a morning free the next day. Scrolling through your phone looking for things to do you come across a poster for the newest horror flick that's showing tonight. You screenshot it and drop it into the group chat titled "SoulBros" Jisung's idea.

SoulBros:

JiJi😘🥰😂: Oh hell no! That movie looks way too scary! Sorry love ur on ur own.

Min😈😘😜: Sorry I promised Lix I would help him with the new choreo.

🌝Bear: You both suck :/ Guess I'll go alone.

JiJi😘🥰😂: Noona ur so old just use emojis 😑

You laugh at Ji's dig; it is accurate. You guess it's time to pull out the big guns. You dial the number on your phone, and on the third ring, it picks up.

"Yes old lady?" You scoff at his (fake) disrespect.

"Minnie, I want to go see the new horror movie tonight because we have a free morning tomorrow but Ji is too scared to come and Minho is busy. Should I go alone?" You bite back your smile knowing what he is going to say.

Seungmin's voice cracks a bit over the phone call and you hear sheets rustling. "That new one about the witch in the woods? I've actually been wanting to see that too but everyone's too scared to come with me. I could go with you if you want?" You smile to yourself, you knew he wouldn't let you go to the movies alone, let alone to a horror film.

~✨~

"That was INSANE! I had no idea he had a brother the whole time!" You are bouncing up and down, filled with adrenaline from the movie.

"Yeah, that was a twist I actually didn't see coming. Pretty crazy." Seungmin is acting all calm but you know he enjoyed the movie as well.

"Hey Minnie, thanks for coming with me. I had a really fun time!" You say while ruffling his hair.

"Yeah yeah, like I said, I wanted to see it too."

"Hey wanna go grab some food before we go home? There's this hot pot spot nearby I've been dying to try!" You look at him with puppy-dog eyes and he lets out a sigh.

"Yeah I'm pretty hungry, and hot pot does sound amazing right about now."

~✨~

After stuffing your faces at the new hot pot place you finally made your way back home. Walking in you let out a long satisfied sigh and take off your shoes.

"Someone's home late." You nearly jump out of your skin at the grumbly voice coming from your living room.

"Jesus Fuck Min one of these days you're gonna give me a heart attack!" You yell out while grabbing a blanket from your armchair and bringing it to the couch where you unceremoniously plop down next to Minho who acts annoyed at your proximity but is quick to wrap an arm around you.

"Where were you? I've been here for like thirty minutes." He almost sounds… worried? Angry? You can't place it.

"Oh I just went to see that movie I texted you and Ji about then went and got some hot pot."

"Alone?"

"Oh no, Minnie came with me. Said he had been wanting to see the movie too but you know that kid, he just doesn't like me doing things alone." Minho grumbles something that you can't quite make out but then squeezes you to his side and turns on the TV.

"What was that Min?"

"I would've gone with you." He looks you dead in the eyes when he says it. You can't figure it out but it almost seems like he's mad at you?

"Well sorry Min, you said you were busy and I didn't know you wanted to see the movie too, I'd see it again if you wanted to go see it?" You try smiling at him to quell whatever was going on with him and it seems to work because he cracks a tiny smile and just pulls you closer to him while putting on the first shitty rom-com he sees.

~✨~

It was finally time for the next SKZCode! The staff didn't tell anyone what these episodes would be about but said you would all have fun.

You walked into the studio and saw a giant game board and war flashbacks of the last time you all played monopoly flashed through your mind. Images of Hyunjin screaming at Seungmin for putting a hotel on the most expensive rent on the board and Seungmin's shit-eating grin flashed through your mind.

The staff quickly explained the game and everyone got super excited. SoulRACHA was glued together any chance you got as per usual and everything was going great… until they announced the heart fluttering game.

Now, you wouldn't say your heart fluttered easily, if Felix had tried to get your heart racing you're sure you would be fine. Changbin? Piece of cake. Of course, you've never been very lucky.

You get paired with Minho. The expert at getting you worked up. (When you bicker! Get your mind out of the gutter.)

"Will you be able to hear what we say?" Minho tries to look innocent as he asks the question, but you can already feel the heat rising to your cheeks.

"Only if you speak loudly, we decided it would be more fun if STAY can't hear what you whisper to each other." One of the staff quickly explains.

Minho's grin turns sinister and a single thought crosses your mind.

I am so fucked.

Minho stalks toward you once the camera starts rolling and comes around behind you to wrap his arms around you like always. You can handle this, this is normal for you two. Your heart rate stays the same.

You feel him lean in until his lips are almost touching your ear.

"Hey there, little moon bear. This skirt you wore today is very pretty, did you wear it for STAY or for me?" He whispers so only you can hear. He is so close to you that you feel his breath tickling your ear.

The ears wiggle a little bit then settle. You can do this Y/N, Pull it together.

Minho notices and chuckles, pulling you tighter against him.

"I'm sure your pretty skirt would look even better with someone's hands underneath it."

You let out a gasp and the guys go wild. You know STAY's are going to have a field day with this footage. You are now squirming in Minho's tight grip, trying to escape his now searing hands, a burning flush spreading across your face.

Minho almost sounds surprised when he breathes out "Shit."

You think about his words and his arms wrapped around you all night.

~✨~

MinBear has become your official ship name from STAY's, after Minho's stunt during the last SKZCode STAY have been posting online about the possibility of you two dating.

You, Minho, and Jisung just laugh about it whenever it gets brought up and everything seems to go back to normal between you and Minho.

If you dream about him whispering those words in your ear at night, well that's just nobody's business.

~✨~

During the next SKZCode the staff decides to play into STAY's delusions and make you and Minho play husband and wife. The catch? Minho is the wife.

~✨~

"HAHAHA HYUNG, NOONA, WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?!" Innie's voice carries across the room when you and Minho walk into the room. Minho is in the brown wig from SKZ Family, a gaudy pink dress with far too many ruffles, and ballet flats with little pink bows on them while you are wearing a wig with a receding hairline (bye bye idol image), a flannel shirt, and blue jeans. The boys all burst out laughing when you two strike a pose and show off your "wedding rings" (they are blue raspberry ring pops).

"Hello everyone! I am Joe and this is my second wife Mindy!" You smile at the group and they all start howling with laughter one again.

You both decided to play into the roles WAY too much to hopefully show STAY that you two really are just best friends. You don't need the dating rumors to turn into a full blown scandal.

"Oh baby, dear, my loveliest little sunflower, who do you think is the killer?" You turn to Minho and try to hold back your laughter at seeing him wrestle with the ruffles that keep coming up from the collar and tickling his nose.

"Oh my handsome, manly, bravest lionheart, I think it was that barista for sure!" He looks up and bats his eyelashes at you for dramatic effect.

And for some reason, instead of spewing back some heinously cheesy line, you are struck with a totally unwelcome thought.

Minho is so Pretty.

What the fuck?

~✨~

The rest of the shoot goes by fairly quickly. It devolves into chaos, as things normally do with the nine of you. But the rest of the time you are a little more fidgety than usual. The unwelcome thought about your best friend Minho burrowing into your brain until it fully settles and the shoot is over and you are left with the realization that your best friend is pretty.

You'd rather not unpack that.

~✨~

A few weeks pass by and you successfully manage to bury your realization about Minho deep in your subconscious to the point where you haven't thought about it in two whole days! (That's impressive! Really! You initially thought about it at least five times a day… okay like five times an hour)

Finally the group had a whole weekend off! No SKZCode, no crazy schedules, just you, your two best friends, a mountain of takeout and snacks, and a movie marathon.

"Pass the popcorn Ji!" You made grabby hands at Jisung and he just laughed and passed over the bowl.

"Oi! Ya big babies scooch and make some room I wanna be in the middle." Minho yelled out, passing you both a soju bottle.

"Oooohh hyung you know me so well! I love the Strawberry soju!" Jisung grabbed his bottle, smiling up at Minho.

"And you got me yogurt flavored? You must really love us Min!" You smiled up at Minho.

Minho looked down at Jisung then over to you where his eyes lingered a beat too long. You held eye contact until it was a bit too much for you and you looked away. You heard Minho let out a small chuckle as he sat between you and Jisung.

"A toast! To my two best friends, Soulmates, and other cheesy shit!" Minho laughed while raising his own soju.

"To other cheesy shit!" You and Ji said in unison, toasting and gulping down some soju.

You three continued drinking and laughing and having a blast while the movies played in the background. At some point Minho had put his arms around you and Ji and the two of you were snuggling into him watching the movie. You were pulled out of your focus when you started to hear soft snoring coming from Minho's lap where Jisung's head was resting. You smiled and reached over to softly comb your fingers through his hair. You felt Minho softly chuckle under you and you lifted your head to meet his eyes where he was smiling down fondly at you and Ji.

"You two are so adorable, " he said softly, trying not to wake Jisung. You smiled, and your hazy mind decided that was the moment to open the box you had sealed shut weeks ago.

"You're so pretty Min." You all but whispered the words, but Minho heard you loud and clear. His breath lightly hitched and he raised his hand to stroke your cheek.

"You are so beautiful my little moon bear."

~✨~

Weeks passed and the movie night incident was never spoken of. The shared moment between you and Minho had been something so soft and intimate you were afraid of what you would say if he ever brought it up. But thankfully he never did. So you just went on with your life. Your schedule was about to get busy again anyway so there was plenty to keep it out of your mind… right?

~✨~

You can't get it out of your head. No matter what you do it is all you can think about and it is stressing you out. So you do what you do every time you get stressed.

You bake.

After gathering all the ingredients you snap a picture and send it off to Felix.

Y/nnie🤩🧁: [Photo Attached]

Lixxie🍰🍫: I'm on my way.

Felix knew you really only baked when you were stressed out since you never really had the time but the act made you calm down a bit so when he got the picture of all the baking supplies he must have known that you needed a friend because not even twenty minutes later there you were in your kitchen baking enough brownies to feed a small town.

"Soooo, you gonna tell me what brought this stress baking spree on?" He asked softly like he was coaxing a cat out from under the bed. You almost wanted to laugh.

"What gave me away?" You laughed.

"Well when you are baking just to bake you usually only make enough for the nine of us, this is enough to feed the whole company Y/nnie, so tell me what's going on?" You let out a breath you didn't realize you'd been holding and put down your baking tools.

"Lix I don't even know what's going on to be honest. Things with one of my good friends have recently gotten a little…tense? Weird? I don't know. And I don't know if it's just me or if they are feeling it too you know?" Felix is looking at you like he knows exactly what you're talking about and you briefly panic wondering if he can read minds. Then he lets out a sigh and pulls you in for a hug. You melt into his familiar embrace and allow him to hold you while he slowly speaks.

"Things being weird between friends is never fun. In my experience the best way to fix things is through open communication. Just tell this person what you feel and see if they feel the same then go from there." He says while slowly stroking your hair.

"That's the issue Lix, I don't know what I am feeling."

"Ah, well that seems like a good place to start then yeah?"

~✨~

You haven't had time to think about what you and Lix had talked about. Between recording and practicing choreography you barely had time to eat let alone think. So you focused on work. For now.

The next scheduled SKZCode was going to be a haunted house.

Now here's the thing. Haunted houses are objectively not scary. HOWEVER, if someone with you jumps, you tend to jump as well. If someone screams, so do you. So if you are paired with a scaredy cat, you will get scared. And the staff love to make you seem extra cutesy since you are the only girl so of course you get paired with Minho and Jisung.

Jisung is going to get scared. You know in your heart that he is going to scream and he might even cry. Minho on the other hand is going to try and scare you and Ji, and it is going to work. You know this because the three of you have gone to haunted houses together before and that is exactly what happened.

So you resigned yourself to your fate.

~✨~

"Noona, hyung, I am so scared, what if a real monster snuck on set and is hiding with the staff members and it sees us and eats us?" Ji whimpered as he clung onto one of Minho's arms.

"Sungie that's silly, a monster wouldn't eat us here on camera, it would follow us home and eat us there so there was no proof!" Minho snickers as you whack his side.

"Don't scare our poor Ji any more than he already is Min! His poor little heart can't take it!" you hiss at him under your breath. Your slightly shaky voice gives away the fact that you too were getting scared.

"Oh relax y/nnie, Sungie and you are gonna be just fine with me here to protect you." Minho said softly while squeezing you a little more into his side.

Well that was new. He'd usually make fun of you for getting scared and try to rile you up even more. But his tone… it was the same one he had used during the movie night.

That was definitely something you didn't want to think about right now while you were on camera.

You continued through the haunted house, nothing really getting to you, until you opened one room and walked into complete darkness.

Your breath hitched and you clung to Minho a bit tighter. He responded by rubbing soothing circles onto your arm and pulling you a bit closer into his side.

The lights came on and a staff in a costume jumped out and scared you. You and Jisung started screaming and Minho flung himself in front of you. Your eyes widened at the gesture and you looked over to Jisung only to see him looking between you and Minho with a questioning look on his face. This was definitely going to cause a dating scandal if you didn't do something quick, so without skipping a beat you grabbed Jisung and dramatically clung to him. He seemed to get the message and reciprocated. The both of you clinging onto one another while yelling. The whole scene was honestly quite hilarious and adorable.

Minho seemed to come out of it and turned around to see his two best friends clinging onto one another dramatically and cracked a smile before full blown laughing at you two. You and Jisung slowly looked at one another and slowly detangled your limbs, then burst out laughing.

With the tension dissipated you all went through the rest of the haunted house without any further incidents.

Yet Minho's tone rang in your ears, reminding you of what he said last time

"You are so beautiful my little moon bear."

~✨~

The next SKZCode was coming up and the group had been gushing about it the whole time. A camping trip! You would get to play games with the guys, eat delicious food, and even go fishing! The catch? You would all be sleeping on the floor in the same room. Normally this would be no problem. You would cuddle up with Jisung and Minho and all would be good. Now though?

You decided to finally listen to Felix and figure out what you were feeling by laying out some facts.

Fact one: You think Minho is pretty, like unfairly pretty, but then again so does everyone else. So that could mean anything really.

Fact two: Minho acted really weird when you went to the movies with Seungmin, something you do very frequently. You have no clue what that was.

Fact three: When Minho whispered something dirty in your ear it caused something to flutter in you. He was just joking and trying to get your heart racing for the game so surely it meant nothing right?

Fact four: You called Minho pretty and he called you beautiful. You had said things like that before but never whispered and inches from each other's faces… That one… you don't know what to do with.

Fact five: You are clueless as to what all this means.

Cool. Well that was a waste of time.

~✨~

You and the boys piled out of the cars and started to get everything ready for the night. You split off into groups, people needed to go shopping, people needed to cook, people decided to do each other's hair? Not really sure what that has to do with camping but you, Minho, and Jisung gave each other silly little hairdos and everything was great. The day absolutely flew by and you were doing so great not thinking about the way Minho makes you feel.

Finally you were all seated around the campfire. Jisung got saddled with cooking everyone breakfast in the morning and even though he is your best friend you do not want to wake up early so you start to devise a plan to get out of it.

Chan peels Jisung a sweet potato to appeal to him. Damn that's hard to top. You are scrambling to come up with something to top that and miss what is being said until you hear Minho's voice.

"I won't be fake either. I love you."

Everyone burst out laughing at Minho's proclamation to Jisung but you feel… weird. You are looking between Jisung and Minho and there's this pit in your stomach, almost like…

No

No fucking way.

No way are you jealous right now.

Jisung and Minho are best friends just like you and Minho and you and Ji are… and yet…

Shit.

Everything starts to make sense, the bickering, the playful flirting, the butterflies in your stomach.

You have a huge fucking crush on Lee Minho.

As you come to this realization, you lock eyes with him from across the campfire. His smirk softens, and he gently smiles at you.

Oh fuck, what are you going to do?

~✨~

You all lay down for the night and as usual you are sandwiched between your two boys, not so usual, you are clinging to Ji like your life depends on it and are slowly scooting further from Minho's touch.

He giggles probably thinking you are messing with him and grabs your waist to pull you flush to him.

"Where do you think you're going, little moon bear?" He whispers into your ear.

You almost whimper. Almost. You manage to pull your shit together because you are all still on camera and make a show of grabbing for Jisung in front of you.

"I'm cold! I need Ji's heat or else I'll die in the night!" You say dramatically, trying to play it off. Minho must buy it because he remains silent behind you and the three of you get cozy before eventually falling asleep.

~✨~

You wake up in the morning With Minho's entire body wrapped around you. Jisung is trying to get up so he can go to the store with Chan.

"Noona, I've got to go so I can make you breakfast, promise I'll be back soon." Jisung laughs as you pout at him leaving you and you sigh and grumble. You are still a bit cold so you shimmy around so you are now facing Minho.

He is still asleep, so you allow yourself to look at him. You take in his cute little bunny teeth, the little mole on his nose, and his eyelashes fluttering. Oh, his eyes are open, and he caught you staring.

Well that's fucking embarrassing.

He just smiles and pulls you in a little tighter, looking back at you. His eyes pass from your eyes, to your nose, and down to your lips where he lingers for a moment too long. Then he looks back into your eyes.

"Good morning moon bear." He softly whispers. You feel his breath fan against your face and you try not to let your eyelashes flutter at the action.

"Good morning Min." You whisper back. His eyelashes do flutter and you have to hold yourself back from jumping to any conclusions. For a few moments you just gaze into each other's eyes in silence. Finally he reaches a hand up and brushes your cheek.

"Beautiful." It's the smallest whisper but you are barely an inch from his face so you catch it. Minho adjusts his hand so he is now cupping your cheek and your heart starts to hammer in your chest.

Is he about to kiss you?

"Min." It's a breathless whisper, you're so close to him now you're sure he felt it more than heard it.

"WHO WANTS RAMYEON?!" Jisung's voice wakes everyone up and the moment passes. Minho's eyes close and he seems to be frustrated.

You are dying inside.

Was he about to kiss you?

~✨~

The day passes too quickly. You all eat and play games and everything is totally normal on the surface. You have to be normal because you are being filmed. Minho doesn't act any differently, he certainly doesn't bring up the almost-maybe kiss. You decide that if he wants to talk about it then he will talk to you. So you do what you do best.

You perform for the camera and ignore your stupid feelings.

~✨~

You're full on spiraling at this point. Every time you close your eyes you see Minho gazing into your eyes, about to pull you in.

You shake your head. No, this isn't real. Your silly little crush is making you delusional. Minho wasn't going to kiss you, he just called you beautiful and held your face because… because… well you can't think of another explanation, but there must be one because it has been days and Minho hasn't brought it up and if he wanted to kiss you then surely he would have brought it up… right?

Fuck this.

The next SKZCode is coming up and you can just focus on that and not Minho's sparkling eyes, his plush lips, his little nose mole… Fuck. You are officially down bad.

Well you know what that means.

It's time to do something stupid.

~✨~

"Innie! I need your help!" You shout as you walk into the boys dorm. The brunette pops his head out of his door and looks you up and down.

"Yeah I'd say you definitely do." He says distastefully.

"Damn child who raised you?"

"Definitely not you Noona or I'd be dressing like a Target commercial."

You both burst out laughing at that.

"Fair point, but seriously, I need your opinion on what to wear for the next SKZCode."

"Oooh a fashion emergency? Of course you would come to me! Well come right in Noona, we will fix that god awful outfit you've got on in no time!"

He grabbed your hand and dragged you into the room.

"So are we going for Kawaii like usual or did you want to look like one of the guys? I know this is acrobatics so we are looking more toward athleisure type outfits." I.N. says all of this while digging through his closet looking for the stash of your clothes he hid in there.

"Well I was actually thinking I wanted to look… sexy?…" I.N. froze in his closet when you spoke. "I mean obviously not like crazy sexy or anything I just want to look really good you know? Not like a cute little girl and not boyish either. Does that make sense?" I.N. stood up and slowly turned to look at you with a Cheshire grin on his face.

"Noona. I have been waiting my whole life to hear you say those words."

~✨~

You look hot. Holy fuck you have never looked this good in front of the guys. Even at premieres and shows you've always been kawaii or dudebro to match the guys but this? The crop top Innie puts you in fits you in all the best ways, it's low cut enough to be provocative but not enough to be slutty. The back is cut out and it is the perfect shade for your skin tone. But the pants. My god your ass has never looked more smackable. It's like I.N. knew exactly who your target audience was. Your hair is done up in a cute ponytail with the little strands hanging out the front.

You look like sex on legs.

"Jesus Innie you're a god at this."

"I know, I take payment in food and coffee."

"Innie I'd buy you a five course meal for this shit god damn."

You both started laughing and he reached behind him to grab something.

"The final touch."

~✨~

You walked into the studio and it suddenly got very quiet. All the boys were looking at you with varying expressions.

"So? What do you all think? Didn't I do an amazing job?" I.N. grinned at the rest of the guys who were ranging from outright ogling you to shyly avoiding your gaze.

"Yeah Innie you did great." Chan was the first to speak and after that the compliments kept flowing from everyone except the one person you wanted.

Oh well. Onto phase two.

~✨~

You made sure to get a spot right in front of Minho so he could see the full extent of Innie's 'final touch'. A bow in your hair long enough to basically make a runway to the swell of your ass.

The episode went by pretty fast, you were actually having a lot of fun doing all the poses. You noticed when you did the mermaid pose Minho made a noise, a grunt? Maybe a gasp? Whatever it was you were certain your plan was working. Now all you had to do was actually talk to him about what you felt like Felix had recommended.

Once the episode was over you headed over to Minho.

"Hey, Min, you got a sec?" You put your hands behind your back to maximize the silhouette's effect.

"Actually no, sorry, I've got to get home, lots of stuff to get done. I'll text you later okay?" Minho was avoiding your eyes and shuffling from one foot to the other.

"Oh, okay… I guess I'll talk to you later?" You leaned your head down to catch his eye and when he finally locked eyes with you his gaze was searing and sent a chill down your spine.

"Yeah."

~✨~

Well that was fucking weird and definitely not the reaction you had been hoping for. Mr. Self proclaimed butt hunter didn't even attempt to slap your ass in these phenomenal leggings you wore just for him. You groaned into your pillow and allowed yourself to feel frustrated. Any time you had big feelings like this there was always one thing that helped.

You shot Hyunjin a text and after receiving a confirmation you headed to the art studio.

~✨~

Lo-fi music playing on the speaker, a nice hot cup of coffee sitting next to you, and a medium blank canvas sat in front of you, what more could you want? You let the atmosphere wash over you as you tried to use your frustration to create a work of art.

You have no idea how much time has passed, you never do when you're painting with Hyunjin. You could occasionally hear his soft humming and brush-strokes glide across his canvas.

Time with Hyunjin always seemed to calm you down. Maybe it was the chill playlist he favored for the occasion, maybe it was the smell of coffee in the air, or maybe it was the way he simply existed with you in the moment, not requiring you to engage.

You added the final touches on the canvas and nodded to yourself.

"Hyune?" Hyunjin hummed in response.

"What do you think of this one?" You gestured to the finished piece in front of you. Hyunjin stood up and stretched before coming over to admire your work.

"It feels… lonely. Like you are reaching for something in the distance but it's too far away for you to grasp." You simply hummed in response and Hyunjin laid his head on your shoulder.

"I like it Y/N, it's…" He went silent for a moment before sighing and wrapping his arms around you.

"It's beautiful."

~✨~

Weeks had passed since the failed seduction attempt on your part and Minho had been annoyingly 'busy' so you hadn't really seen him outside of your work schedule. The distance was getting to you and you started to wonder if you had done something wrong. Minho had never gone this long without reaching out to hang out or simply showing up at your apartment in years. You couldn't shake the feeling that he was avoiding you and it hurt. A lot. That hurt turned to borderline anger when you saw on Ji's story that he and Minho were having a movie night.

Without you.

You checked the group chat to see if you had missed an invite but there hadn't been a message in over a week since Ji had sent you both a cat meme. Maybe Minho noticed your attempt at flirting and decided that ghosting you was better than outright rejection? Even if that was the case the two of you were both close with Ji and not to mention your co-workers, so how could he just cut you out like that? Jisung hadn't even mentioned the movie night and that hurt you too.

Were you losing both your best friends because you had some stupid feelings?

You felt yourself starting to spiral but before you hit the point of no return you took some calming breaths and closed your eyes. You could not break, not now, you had a busy schedule coming up so you focused on that instead.

Thankfully, it was time to film the next SKZCode so at least you got to do something fun. You prepared yourself to get into the Christmas spirit.

~✨~

The staff welcomed you all in and explained the premise of the episode. You were all going to play games and try and win someone over to end up partnered by the end. You immediately thought of MinBear and how much STAY would love to see the two of you end up together before remembering that you and Minho were currently fighting.

Okay maybe not fighting but it's not like you are exactly on speaking terms. The only communication you'd had in weeks was him correcting you in dance practice.

You couldn't go to Ji either, You were mad at him too. Okay mad is maybe an overstatement but you were definitely not happy.

That left the obvious choice.

You decided to set your sights on Felix. You figured the kawaii image you were presenting mixed with his sunshine would be adorable for STAY. To your credit it works pretty well… for about five minutes. You're not sure what exactly happened but one minute you were fake-flirting with Lix, trying to match up with him, the next he is shyly moving away from you and talking to Hyunjin.

You're confused to say the least, that is until you feel soft breaths on your neck.

"Awh are you eating all alone little moon bear? Don't worry, I'll sit with you." You fight the shudders that threaten to run down your spine hearing Minho's voice so close to you after him being so distant for so long.

"Oh, so you're talking to me now huh Min?" You mean to sound angry but it barely masks the hurt in your softly spoken words. You look down at your lap to hide the tears welling up in your eyes.

Minho goes quiet for a moment then gently pulls your face up, angled away from the camera so STAY couldn't see your tear-laden eyes. A small gasp comes from his mouth.

"Jagi…" He softly whispers before hugging you tight to his chest. "Y/N, sweetheart, why are you crying?" He whispers in your hair to shield his lips from the camera.

"It's nothing Min, I'm okay. Let's just keep eating or STAY will worry about us."

"I don't care if STAY worries, my favorite girl is crying and I'm going to comfort her." You pull away a bit at his words to look into his eyes.

"I'm still your favorite girl?" You whisper the question and you hear Minho's small sound of disbelief at your question.

"Of course jagiya, you've always been my favorite girl. Let's talk more after the skit yeah?"

"Okay."

~✨~

Minho makes sure to stick by your side the rest of the shoot. The two of you end up a pair at the end and as you walk out of the room, prepared to head to the recording studio you are surprised when Minho leads you out the door instead.

"Min, where are we going? Channie oppa told us to go to the recording booth after the shoot."

"I texted him and told him that you needed the afternoon off because you weren't feeling well and that I was going to come take care of you. He said it was okay, so I'm taking you home."

"Oh, okay then."

You both remain silent as you approach the company car and Minho opens the door for you and you both slide in. The ride is unusually quiet for the two of you and you are worried that Minho might be mad at you for something and the longer the silence continues, the higher your anxiety spikes.

By the time you reach your apartment you have over-analyzed every interaction the two of you have had over the past few weeks and you have convinced yourself that Minho actually just hates you and is taking you home to break the news in private so none of the cameras catch you crying again.

You are panicking. You can't lose him because of some stupid attraction you may feel. He is one of your best friends and losing him would be devastating.

Once you reach the door of your apartment you are so close to having a panic attack that your hands start shaking as you try to insert your key into the lock. Minho stands and waits while you shakily unlock and open the door. Once you are inside you are frozen in place waiting for the worst.

Then Minho gathers you in his arms and holds you tight.

"It's okay jagi, you're safe here." He whispers as he starts rubbing soothing circles on your back. You don't even realize you are crying again until he lifts your head by your chin and wipes your tears away. You smile softly and Minho returns it.

You are okay. He is not mad at you. Everything is alright.

"Come on sweetheart, let's go cuddle on the couch and watch a shitty rom-com."

You silently nod and he leads you both to the couch. You sit, his arms still wrapped around you as he guides you to rest your head on his chest. You both stay like that as he starts up one of your favorite movies.

You both watch the movie, Minho rubbing soothing circles on your skin while you nuzzle into his warmth. It is quiet for some time until Minho lets out a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry I made you worry Y/N, I really was busy and some things came up and I just needed a guys night with Ji, I hope you understand I am not mad at you and you are still my favorite girl." Minho's words made you smile and you sunk further into his embrace.

"It's okay Min, I guess I just felt left out and it messed with me for a minute but I get it. We are good." You looked up into his eyes and in a whisper added:

"Promise."

~✨~

There was an electric feeling in the air. You and the boys were beyond excited for your second world tour. This time you were going to go back to Chan and Felix's home country. The two aussies had spent entirely too much time teaching you and the boys all the important aussie slang you would need and helping you all with your English.

The Maniac tour was set to be your biggest endeavor as a group yet. Minho was drilling the choreo into everyone relentlessly and often spent his free time one-on-one helping each member who asked. Ji was always in the studio with his fellow 3Racha members to ensure everything was perfect. And you? You were spending every free moment you could with Felix trying to perfect your English so you could communicate with the international STAYs.

It was overwhelming but you all pushed yourselves to the limit because you wanted to be amazing for STAY.

Finally the day came and it was time for your first concert.

The lights were blinding and the stadium was so loud you could barely hear yourself think.

It was exhilarating.

The concert went by so fast and you had such a great time with your fellow members.

You were still in Seoul but it all felt new, you couldn't believe you and your boys had made it this far.

The next two shows flew by and your time in Japan was short. You and the boys tried your best to keep filming your logs for the STAYs who couldn't make it to the shows. Everything was amazing.

Finally it was time to head overseas to America. U.S. STAYs were much louder than your STAYs back home. The atmosphere was incredible and you all had the time of your lives performing in the U.S. again. You and the boys tried to speak as much English as you could but it is a hard language for you all so you relied heavily on the aussies for translation help.

In between shows you, Ji, and Min would hole up in one of your hotel rooms and gush about how much fun this all was and how excited you all were to finally go to Australia. You would watch bits of movies before ultimately passing out in a cuddle pile on someone's bed, only to wake up and repeat the next day.

The days flew by and before you knew it it was time to hop on a plane headed to Chan and Felix's home. You all made sure you had time planned to meet their families and have a good time while in the land down under.

When you arrived at the hotel to check in, the staff found out that there was a mistake and only seven rooms had been booked. Someone must have thought Chan and Felix were staying with their families but they simply lived too far from the concert venues. After a very long flight and eager to sleep off your jet lag, everyone was too tired to argue about who would be sharing rooms until Minho spoke up.

"Y/N, Ji, and I have kinda been sharing this whole tour anyway, we may as well just share a room from the get-go if that is okay with everyone else?"

The staff looked bewildered at Minho's suggestion. A girl sharing a room with two boys? That's quite unusual. But the other members were used to you three having slumber parties all the time back home and just shrugged it off insisting that if you were fine with it so were they.

So, you three headed up to your shared room.

~✨~

"Ugh, I could sleep for like a week at this point." Jisung groaned out before promptly falling face-first onto the nearest bed to him.

"Yah! Hannie, you know I like sleeping further from the door, give Y/N that bed and you and I can share the other." Minho glared at the younger boy already getting comfortable in the bed.

"Hyuuuunnnggg I'm already in this one though." Jisung whined out and sank further under the covers.

"Min it's okay, Ji can have that bed and you and I can just share the other. I prefer being close to the window anyway." You said sleepily before heading over to the far bed and setting up your stuff on the nightstand.

"Are you sure Y/nnie? I can kick the lazy quokka out if you'd prefer a bed to yourself."

"I'm sure Min, we all have been sleeping on one bed almost every night of the tour anyway, I'm kind of used to having someone next to me anyway." You shrugged and gathered your sleep clothes.

"I'm gonna go shower real quick, airplanes always make me feel greasy, either of you need to use the bathroom before I go?" You asked the two. Jisung had already passed out and you and Minho just laughed at the sleepy boy before Minho looked up at you.

"No, you're all good. I'll shower after you too so our bed doesn't get gross like Sungie's." You both started laughing and you went to the bathroom and hopped in the shower.

While in the shower you let your thoughts roam. You had been so busy with the tour and Jisung had been stuck with you and Minho the whole time as well so you hadn't had time to think about your maybe-feelings for Minho. Now you were confronted with the fact that while you all were here there would be no escaping to your own room if things got too weird for you.

Not just that but you were sharing a bed with him.

You and Minho had slept in the same bed many times but you were almost always accompanied by Jisung as well. Now it would just be the two of you…

It won't be weird if you don't make it weird.

Right?

~✨~

You finally got out of the shower and changed into your pajamas. After doing your skincare you came out of the bathroom and stopped in place when you looked up and saw a shirtless Minho standing in the middle of the room. His back was facing you and you took a second to admire his strong shoulder muscles down to the dip in his back, just above the hem of his shorts. You could've stood there staring forever but when Minho started to pull down his shorts you made a small noise, something between a whimper and a groan. Minho stiffened and dramatically turned toward you with a hand over his pecs.

"Y/N! Sorry! I didn't hear you come out. I was going to change into my robe before going in after you. Sorry about that. I'll just… bring it with me." The tips of his ears were a fiery red and you're sure you were no better. You could feel yourself flushing and you quickly looked down and nodded as he passed by you and quickly went into the bathroom to shower.

Well that didn't help your situation.

You crawled into bed and tried to calm yourself down but every time you closed your eyes you just saw a shirtless Minho again. You lightly groaned and turned your body away from the bathroom and tried to will yourself to fall asleep before Minho came back so you didn't have to face him.

Of course that didn't work. You had been so tired when you got here but now you were like a live wire and you knew that sleep would not come easily.

When Minho returned from his shower he said nothing as he slowly climbed into the bed next to you. It was quiet for a moment before he broke the silence.

"Sooo… do you want to cuddle?" He said it slowly and quietly and you internally screamed. There is no way you would fall asleep if Minho was touching you… and yet.

"Yeah, that sounds nice." You quietly answered.

Minho scooted closer to you and wrapped an arm around your waist, holding you tightly.

"Is this good?" He whispered. You could feel how close he was when he spoke, his breath tickling your ear.

"Yeah, it's perfect."

You were so fucked.

~✨~

Just as you thought, it took you forever to fall asleep. However, when you woke up you felt completely relaxed, you had somehow gotten the best night's sleep you had had in a very long time. You slowly came to consciousness and the first thing you noticed was a hair on your face tickling your nose. You realized there was some sort of breeze on your face, cracking an eye open and you bit back a squeak at the sight before you.

You had shifted in the night and were now, yet again, face-to-face with a sleeping Minho. His arms were wrapped tightly around you and your legs were tangled. He was beautiful like this. Soft breaths coming out from him as he peacefully slept. You stared at him in wonder and decided that a few more moments of this wouldn't hurt.

After some time passed Minho eventually began to stir. He groaned and hugged you a bit tighter before opening his eyes. You were both quiet, allowing the peaceful moment in an otherwise chaotic few months. You softly smiled and he returned it.

"G'morning jagi." He whispered, trying not to break the peaceful atmosphere the two of you were caught in.

"Good morning sleepyhead." You softly chuckled and he giggled in return, nuzzling slightly closer to you.

"I could get used to this, you know?" He whispered, now inches from your face. You breath hitched at his comment and before you could respond there was a loud banging on your door.

"YAH WAKE UP LAZY BUMS IT'S TIME TO GET READY!" Chan's voice rang out and Minho groaned, closing his eyes and tilting his head back. You heard Jisung yelp from the other bed at Chan's command.

"Time to go." Minho groaned.

~✨~

The next few days were a blur. The Aussie STAYs were crazy. The concerts were so much fun but you were all so exhausted that by the time you got back to the hotel it took all of your energy to shower before crawling back into bed.

You and Minho slept in each other's arms every night.

Once the concerts were over you were all invited to the Bang residence for dinner. All nine of you laughed and ate and bonded with Chan's family. It was amazing and you never wanted it to end, but eventually it was time to go. You and Hannah exchanged numbers, her saying you needed a girl friend being surrounded by the eight loud boys all the time. You laughed and agreed, saving her number immediately.

You would cherish the time you got to spend in Australia forever.

~✨~

The rest of the tour flew by, the nine of you really giving it your all and after months it was finally time to come back home. You were so excited to sleep in your own bed again and get back into your normal crazy schedule.

The first few nights back home were odd. You couldn't fall asleep no matter how tired you were. You assumed it was just the jet lag but after days of bad sleep you were ready to snap.

It was a normal day filled with dance practice and small photoshoots but you were so exhausted you felt like you were going to fall over at any minute. You noticed Minho looked dead tired as well. You wondered if he was having trouble adjusting as well.

After your schedule was done for the day you decided to take a nice walk to try and calm your mind. After walking up and down the Han rivers shore a few times you decided it was time to head home.

You entered your apartment to the sound of the TV on and smiled.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" you jokingly asked the boy on your couch.

"I've been sleeping like shit and decided to see if it's my bed or just me so I came to stay here if that's cool with you?" Minho didn't look away from the TV as he spoke.

"You're always welcome here Min you know that. Wanna order takeout?" You plopped next to him on the couch and leaned on his shoulder.

"Already got your favorite from that one place with the noodles you like." He wrapped an arm around you and turned on yet another shitty rom-com for you two to watch. You let out a hum of approval and sank into his embrace before answering.

"Thanks Min, you're the best."

"Anything for my favorite girl."

You and Minho sat in content silence until the food came. You both ate as much as you could handle before settling back to finish your movie. Once it was over you stretched and yawned, feeling more exhausted than you had in a long time. Minho smiled at you and reached out for your hand.

"You look exhausted, let's head to bed."

You sleepily nodded and took his hand. He led you to your room where you both climbed into bed and he gathered you into his arms just like he had back in Sydney. You both let out a content sigh at the contact and before you knew it you were out.

You slept like the dead. You didn't realize how much you missed Minho's presence until you had it once again. After that there was an unspoken agreement between the two of you to share a bed until further notice. You loved the contact but the longer it continued the more your feelings grew.

You think you might be falling in love with your best friend and for the first time you think you might be okay with that.

[puryartist]

Hello hello, Ive been following you because you make such scrumptious Helsa art and your artstyle is beautiful, like watercolor and colorpencils. Its really hard to find quality Helsa content, art & concepts here are scarce. But the ao3 tag is a goldmine. Also I've binged 3 episodes of "The Great" its a historical dramedy about Catherine of Russia and her life in court after getting married with Peter III. And omg their chemistry throughout the seasons reminds me so much of Helsa. Well, more like a realistic, problematic and nuanced dynamic since its all a political marriage and Peter aint right in the head (historians say he had a case of psycopathy & anti-social , which also made Catherine adapt if she wants to survive long enough to overthrow him. Would be a funny AU idea for Helsa. But works well with a not-so-sane Hans and stronger-willed calculating Elsa. And amp up a bit of her cold demeanor as the story progresses. I can't help replaying that scene when Catherine slapped Peter in front of the whole party after shooting the pet bear he gifted her. And their discussion afterwards all I can hear Helsa. H: "We've got problems, haven't we? Youre the only person who hasn't loved me" *wow rich coming from him* E: "If you would show me an ounce of kindness, I was ready with a heart full of love" H: "...You look really pretty." *Insensitive af and the emotional intelligence of a fly* H: What happened to that happy girl who gave me a twig? E: She died. H: Well thats a bit dramatic

Most of it is purely satire and for shock factor slim the show so not really meant to be historically accurate. So expect them to be toxic af to each other. But the chemistry is there, you love seeing them together and against each other.

First of all, thank you for your kind words! And speaking of ao3, I don't know if you've read fingertips yet. It's one of my favs Helsa fic ever. They're so toxic to each other to the level that it's beyond repair like Catherine and Peter. But it's really fun to read esp. for angst enjoyer like me.

Many people have recommended this series to me and I've seen some clips of this show, but I haven't watched it yet because I'm a procrastinator. So I know a little bit about them. But omg! the dialogues you mentioned! I didn't know they're this fun and helsa coded! But instead of redeeming Hans, they're just making each other worse. (My kind of shit tbf xd)

I don't know if this dynamic would work if they switched positions. Hans is trying to overthrow Elsa, while Elsa is an anti-social queen, unpredictable, losing her sh*t so easily, and she doesn't even care if her power would harm anyone. (evil!Elsa ™) It's pretty close to Hans's first intention—marry her and dethrone her later. Of course, I haven't seen this show yet, but I can sense Cat could find some comfort in her enemy, and it would work with Hans too. Like, it could go in so many ways!

Thank you for sharing your vision to me. I need to find time to watch it!

edit: wdym the show being cancelled...

[py-dreamer]

Ooop- so it's almost mid september...

Y'know what that means?

Yea so we have a return of the stickers!!!

Well less stickers and kinda whatever this is Ig

Don't get me wrong I'm still super proud of it! I suppose it was meant to be like stickers from last year but it kinda escalated and sort off got a wee bit out of hand...

...just a tad bit...

Woooh! So anyone who's in the KNY hotpot might recognize this style and yes I did basically use the KNY birthday art format but COME ON!!!

IT'S SO CUTE!!!

LOOK AT MAH BOIII SITTING ON THAT CAKE!!!

I JUST WANNA NOM BIG BITE!!!

(If you can't tell I do really like this cake art)

I promise this time it is really 10 days till my actual birthday unlike the whoopsie 11 I did last year -_-'

And I know it's not Mk's birthday even though it looks like it is, I know. But it's the bloody format of the art and Idk how else to change it. Besides I think they slay in those birthday outfits.

And it was fun to do my sticker style in a bigger thing!

But Idk if it's cause I haven't touched my bloody stylus in ages or I've been swimming in the KNY hotpot for too long BUT WHY WAS MK'S FACE SO HARD TO DRAW FROM THE FRONT VIEW!!!

I HAD TO COMPROMISE, MANS LOOKING TOWARDS THE SIDE!!!! LIKE XIAOTIAN I LOVE YOU AND WANT TO SQUEEZE THEM CUTE LIL CHEEKS OF YOURS BUT WHY ARE YOU SO HARD TO DRAW FROM THE FRONT!??!?

HE LOOKED LIKE A BLOODY CAT WITH SLIT EYES Y'ALL!!!

Oml...regardless, I did have a lot of fun with this and had lots of fun with the decorations and such. If you were here last year, your keen memory and astute eye might notice that the cake is the same cake I used in the 'shenanigans in space' birthday stickers I did last year!

@leesbian42, @cats-and-confusion remember that lol?

So the tiny memory flower thing and star candies are an homage to that :)

(btw, pssttt @emerialyncodevenice I know we haven't talked in a while but you mentioned that you liked the bloomin cake and was thinking of using it. Feel free to use this if you like, Idk how just credit me m'kay?)

But anyways, if y'all wanna use this pic, again. Pls credit me.

AND NO REPOSTING PLEASE!!!

The decorations are meant to be sugar cookies and idk what the icing is. Since I'm thinking more of an east asian fruit cake (those really really soft fluffy spongy ones) I was thinking more like light yellow dyed whipping cream and less buttercream.

Maybe even some kinda custard Idk...(does custard go well with cake?)

The orange chunks are meant to be like mango balls or chunks and hopefully the red thingys in the middle read across as strawberries

I had to include the Monkey king plush, he's just so little!

I was tempted to draw in the other characters as plushies since they are as important to MK probably but it's getting late and I'd already been working on this baby for like 3 hours already.

All in all, I do really like this and ngl, pray this doesn't flop.

I know my single stickers don't always do well but pls y'all I like this very much...

It is nice to compare this year's work and last year and I am proud to say I have improved at least somewhat

And as for why I rarely post, well I've gotten back from my holiday but sadly I'm at that age where work and stuff will be my main focus for the time being.

Got a lot of assignments and tests y'know...

(hell I have one due the 17th and tests to do tomorrow and here I am faffing on about legos on tumblr)

And like I said, I have been blipping and dabbing in demon slayer, read a lot more KNY fics lately (I actually have a mini sketch of kamaboko squad as hashiras, heavily inspired off of other designs but even so-, if I'm in the mood I might post that!)

But enough yapping, I'll try my best to keep up this 10 days thing

(if you don't know up till my birthday for 10 days I try to post a sticker or thingy like this one)

no promises since I am busier this year but this was a lot of fun so you'll definitely see some stuff.

(I just realized I have to keep up this level of detail in my other stuff T^T save meeeeeee plsssss)

[inknanda67]

what's ur plans for the fornari fanfic? it was really really cute and super well done!! i couldn't believe my eyes when i found that fic, it was like a dream come true

anything behind your thought process or any fun facts about the next chapters? :3

Oh my! Oh my!!! :3 I'm so happy to see that someone liked my Forneus x Narinder fanfic

( And the ship has a name?! I didn't know?! Fornari! Its sooo cuuute!!!)

Hellou hellou Sr. Anon!

Oh my gosh how can I answer without giving you too many spoilers?

I'm really happy that someone really liked this fanfic so much, it's my favorite!~

Sooo~ One fact I can share is that Hearts the first story in a whole colt series of mine that I have been planning for over a year, called " between gold ornaments and tarot cards". Which today already has eight fanfics( Including my most recent one "Pan flute" in the drafts, one of which is unofficial ( It's a one shot called "I love you Lambert" ) , and she will be the "mother" Of The series, who will talk about four big events that will trigger all the the problems and events of the other fanfics :3

Well, a fun fact (I don't know if it would be funny) Narinder is a cinnamon roll, but he can't show this until Forneus awakens this side of him, the two of them together are more than a future couple (it's not a spoiler since it's in the fanfic tags) but two great friends. 🐈‍⬛🫀🐈‍⬛

Well, the fun fact would be that Forneus literally convinces the god of death, to being a gentle leader, being the "ruthless bishop" and an "apathetic god" is not what the people of the Island need and thanks to Forneus, he can see this, just because she sucks at her job ( her work as a priestess i mean) :D

( I think I ended up giving a big spoiler 👀 but it will be addressed in the following chapters, so I think it's okay...?)

Well, one thing I love about the process of making this fanfic is the development of the fearful and insecure Forneus into the one that will be introduced in the next chapters :3

She is maturing, and growing, and even though she is terrible at advising Narinder following the dogmas of the true faith, she has brought something that the bishop had never experiment...

And my plans? Well, many, but what I can say is that I'm preparing for a lot of hurt/comfort, cats being cats, cute moments (and 🔞 sometimes... Aym and Ball had to come from somewhere), Angst, family breaking, hearts hurting, hearts healing, Forneus slaing 👀💅🏽, Death of characters....( I even ended up making a huge spoiler in my Coltltober art.)

This Forneus is strong, she is a goddess without a crown, but she hasn't developed it yet or realized it.

I hope this answered you... I think :'3

[measurelessdreamer]

I've seen many posts about people missing how common asks used to be so I have been trying to send about an ask a week. Now I send this ask first anytime I follow someone as I really don't want to bother anyone, so I'd love to know if you enjoy receiving asks and if so what kind of asks. Not having energy for asks or being comfortable with them is perfectly okay.

The categories I have in my ask notebook that I file under are in colour. Please feel free to make your response as long as you want or private (the asker cannot directly respond to private responses).

Self, Job/Work: please let me know what you are comfortable with from eh idk just ask it to nothing personal at all.

Baggishield/Tolkien, Dragon Age, Johnlock/Sherlock, ineffable spouses, other fandom: Please let me know what fandoms. I think my main fandoms and ships are Bagginshield/The Hobbit, Sherlock/Johnlock, Dragon Age Inquisition, {Pippin/Faramir Merry/Eowyn}/The Lord of the Rings and I dip my toes in a few that I currently can't remember but ships I don't engage with the canon of at all are: Good Omens but only for Crowley/Azirapheal, Stranger Things but only for Steve/Eddie , The Witcher but only for Geralt/Jaskier, and Ladybug and Cat Noir but only for Adrinette .

OC's, art/drawing, their writing, blog specific only

Story snippets ideas and prompts: Do you like receiving them?

Pets: I'd love to know all about them

Garden and Hobbies: What type of gardening and/or hobbies?

Like being tagged in things: If so what kinds of things?

*Asks are sent for fun, no pressure to answer.

Oh, hi! Thanks for the message! I honestly didn't know that asks are no longer as common as they used to be. I've never been a good candidate to receive them since I don't have so many followers (I always thought you needed at least 500 to get asks lol) and I'm not much of a creator. I usually just reblog stuff that makes me happy and occasionally (like once in three years) I share a fic I wrote here so I never had high hopes which is why I was very surprised when I received this ask and it made me so happy! Seriously, you're so cool for doing this, especially when people don't expect it at all. Even though it's through social media, it requires a bit of coming out of your personal bubble and putting yourself out there and I rarely do that in my life no matter how safe the space is. So it's really cool and thank you. I received probably like 2 asks aside from this one in my whole life, but yeah, I enjoy it a lot. ^^

As for what kind of asks...

Self, Job/Work: I'm good with sharing some stuff as long as it's not something that hits too close to home, but I would probably say that's the case. Asking about how I'm doing in general and what I do and what I enjoy about it is probably fine.

Fandoms: Asks about fandoms would most definitely be my favourite. I always enjoy ranting about stuff I love with other like-minded people. I love Bagginshield, The Hobbit, LOTR (Faramir especially), Ted Lasso (and particularly royjamie), Star Wars (obikin is very close to my heart), The Walking Dead (rickyl is the goat ship of that fandom for me), and probably my favourite otps are superbat (superman/batman) and spirk (kirk/spock) so I enjoy these fandoms too. Fandoms where I have no ships but I enjoy them all the same are Mass Effect (only the original trilogy) and The Witcher (the games, I only read two books so far sadly, I ship geraskier from the show but I don't like the show otherwise). All these things are something I enjoy talking about. ^^ I also like Johnlock/Sherlock and I played the Dragon Age trilogy (but I enjoyed Origins the most and aside from the Cullen romance and meeting Alistair and Morrigan in Inquisition, I didn't enjoy that game very much).

I write fanfics sometimes. I haven't written many and it usually takes me a lot of time to finish anything, but I enjoy it. I'm happy to talk about my writing any day even if it frustrates me to no end.

Story snippets ideas and prompts: Not sure about this. I think receiving them is nice, but I wouldn't be able to do anything about them aside from talking and speculating about them. I'm not very good at writing something from a prompt, so probably no story would come of it, but if it's only discussion people seek, then I'm happy to provide! And if it turns out to be very interesting, then I'm all for taking it further!

Pets: I have lots. I'm happy to talk about them any time.

Garden and Hobbies: Not much of a garden person, I'm afraid, but I enjoy nature more than anything. I live in a very Shire-like country, which is the best thing when I want to let my imagination roam. I enjoy running (but I started only recently so I'm rubbish), reading (fantasy and romance especially), learning French, playing video games, hiking, watching movies and tv shows, and I recently started to learn how to play the Irish tin whistle.

I like being tagged in things, sure! Something funny or heartwarming is usually the best, but I love posts with random facts which are super elaborate and interesting. It can't have anything to do with politics, though, tumblr is my escapist haven. :D

I think I answered everything to the best of my ability. Sorry that it's so long! Thank you again for sending the ask! I hope you have an amazing day!

[be-compromised]

Promptathon 2023 Masterlist

Promptathon 2023 is now over, with a grand total of 647 comments and 41 fills - which is the most fills we've had for the summer prompthon since 2014, wow. Thank you to everyone who prompted, created, beta read, commented, cheered, and took part. We hope you had fun! It's been an absolute delight to see our corner of fandom so active. We do plan to keep the momentum going, so please watch this space (or the comm dreamwidth or discord) for updates on a friending meme coming later this week, sign ups for the Secret Santa fic exchange coming soon, and a revial of All The Things Friday...

If you still have prompt fills that you’re working on, or feel inspired by prompts now or in the future from any of our community events, please do keep creating. Now that promptathon is over they won’t be included as part of the event or masterlist, but they will always be appreciated :)

Promptathon 2023 Masterlist

A Different Call | AO3 by @inkvoices (PG13; Endgame, may or may not be considered an AU) Prompt: And it's been so long But if you ever think you got it wrong I'm right where you left me

A Little Less War Torn by @poppypickle (PG-13; no warnings apply) Prompt: “You touch me and suddenly I feel a little less war torn. I'm not sure what peace is supposed to feel like but I think it may feel a lot like you” — anatomy-of-rains

A Tourist's Guide To Amsterdam by @chaed (T; some language and violence) Prompt: nothing good starts in a getaway car

Building Tensions | tumblr by @quietlyimplode (PG; swearing)  Prompt: Just because I love you doesn’t mean I’ll let you win in Mario Kart. Fuck off

Burn | AO3 by @alphaflyer (M; no warnings apply) Prompt: ‘I’m intrigued; the last three attempts on my life were much better funded and prepared.’ (Same Time, Next Hit: Part 1)

bye-bye bikinis & boxers & briefs | AO3 | tumblr by @cassiesinsanity (M; no warnings apply; OT3) Prompt: "Are we sure about this?" Clint says. "I mean, he shot you. Just putting that out there." (Probably Clint/Natasha/Bucky)

Endings and Beginnings | AO3 by ultra_fic (PG/K+; no warnings apply) Prompt: Dying Is an art, like everything else. I do it exceptionally well. Lady Lazarus - Sylvia Plath 

faking it by @quidnunc-life (T; no warnings apply) Prompt: Dying Is an art, like everything else. I do it exceptionally well. Lady Lazarus - Sylvia Plath 

Heat | AO3 by @alphaflyer (M; movie-level violence) Prompt: Doing a mission in, or coping with, excessive heat. (Bonus: mission related to doing something about the climate change problem.) (Same Time, Next Hit: Part 4)

Hold | AO3 by @alphaflyer (T; no warnings apply) Prompt: enemies with benefits (Same Time, Next Hit: Part 5)

Honorary Cat | AO3 by @firlalaith (Teen; no warnings apply) Prompt: Nat (or Nat and Bucky) owns / works at a cat cafe. Clint, being Clint, spots this place and thinks it's just a pet friendly cafe, so he goes in with Lucky. (Bonus: Clint becomes a regular it just becomes too late to explain the mistake...) AND Maybe if he was a little less fuckable we wouldn’t be in this mess. 

"It looks like someone threw a train at you." by @chaed (T; no warnings given) Prompt: "It looks like someone threw a train at you."

Just Another Saturday Night by @cassiesinsanity (PG; no warnings apply) Prompt: "Do you wanna get dinner when we're done here?"

Just Come Home | AO3 by @poppypickle (PG13; swearing, slight mentions of past violence) Prompt: "come home and shout at me. come home and fight with me. come home and break my heart, if you must. just come home." - cruel prince

Kiss Me | AO3 by ultra_fic (PG/K+; no warnings apply) Prompt: An accidental brush of lips followed by a pause and going back for another, on purpose.

Last to Know | AO3 by @cloud--atlas (T; no warnings apply) Prompt: "Bet you fifty dollars you can't get a date with the Black Widow."

Leap | AO3 by @alphaflyer (T; canon-type violence) Prompt: it IS a gun in my pocket and no I’m not pleased to see you. (Same Time, Next Hit: Part 2)

Let Me Tell You a Story About War | AO3 by @poppypickle (PG-13; no warnings apply) Prompt: Do I really have to tell you how he brought me back to life?

Let’s Show ‘Em | AO3 by @poppypickle (T; no warnings apply) Prompt: "All I heard was 'it will be funny' and then we were in jail."

Lightbulb Moment | AO3 by @cloud--atlas (M; various kink mentions) Prompt: Honeypot mission but Clint is the bait AND Discovering a kink at the worst possible time.

Lounge | AO3 by @alphaflyer (M; no warnings apply) Prompt: Stuck in an airport (due to delayed flight, cancelled flight, mission...). Shenanigans ensue. (Same Time, Next Hit: Part 3)

Love Means Never Having To Say ‘I Love You’ | AO3 by ultra_fic (PG/K+; no warnings apply) Prompt: via tumblr creativepromptsforwriting: "Shut up, I'm trying to confess my love to you."

Making A Different Call | tumblr by @caiti-creative-corner (T) Prompt: Hawkeye goes undercover to a Red Room auction where 'retired' Black Widows are sold.

morning, his place | AO3 by fadedwings  (PG13; no warnings apply) Prompt: morning, his place burnt toast, sunday you keep his shirt he keeps his word and for once you let go of your fears and your ghosts one step, not much but it said enough

Overture | AO3 by @alphaflyer (T; no warnings apply) Prompt: When the circus/carnival stops in Ohio, a young Clint Barton meets a young Natasha. Or met, and this is now in the future...

playing yourself | AO3 by fadedwings (PG; no warnings apply; Clint/Natasha/Bucky, Kate/America) Prompt: "Is it weird to play as yourself in a video game?"

quiet my fears with the touch of your hand | tumblr by @quietlyimplode (PG; panic attacks) Prompt: quiet my fears with the touch of your hand

Rodeo Man | tumblr by @chaed (T; no warnings apply) Prompt: When they told me what you were doing, I wanted to stay in bed. And now that I’m here, I’m thinking that maybe I should have. 

Run Away Now Part 1 & Part 2 | AO3 by @poppypickle (PG13; choose not to warn) Prompt: speak now or forever hold your peace

The Girl of His Dreams | AO3 by ltra_fic (Rated PG/K+; mentions of Natasha's canon death in Endgame) Prompt: "Didn't you hear? You're dead."

The Last Testament of Steven G Rogers by chaed (T; no warnings given) Prompt: Pick an AU and go wild - 1940s mafia AU

The Laundry Day Incident | AO3 by kiss_me_cassie (PG; no warnings apply; OT3) Prompt: The Laundry Day Incident

The Rub | AO3 by alphaflyer (T; no warnings apply) Prompt: I Dream of Jeannie AU: Clint is the Genie and Natasha is the Astronaut.

The Yelena Belova Checklist For Ensuring Your Sister Is Not Dating An Asshole | AO3 by alphaflyer (M; no warnings apply) Prompt: The Yelena Belova Checklist For Ensuring Your Sister Is Not Dating An Asshole

this is a very old story | AO3 by inkvoices (PG13; aftermath of canon character death) Prompt: Someone has to leave first. This is a very old story. There is no other version of this story.

Unlike me by quietlyimplode (PG; trauma/shower scene though non graphic) Prompt: One so traumatized that the other has to take care of them and tell them what to do.

Untitled Fill by quietlyimplode (no rating/warnings given) Prompt: Walking the city at 3 am because they can't sleep

Untitled Fill by quietlyimplode (no rating given; no warnings apply) Prompt: The bed is soft and safe and they don't want to get up

No Shelf Control | AO3 by franztastisch (T; no warnings apply) Prompt: Nottinghill (inspired) AU - Clint runs or works at a bookshop, Natasha is a famous actor.

Vormir Took My Soul | AO3 | tumblr by iriel3000 (Teen; no warnings apply) Prompt: "i spent half of my time loving her and the other half hiding how much i loved her." - the seven husbands of evelyn hugo

Whatever It Takes...to Get Her Back | AO3 by iriel3000 (T; language; fix-it fic, happy ending) Prompt:"Remember, you have to return the stones at the exact same moment we took them or you're gonna open up a bunch of nasty alternative realities."

[immortalbutterflycos]

For the WIP ask game:

💾What is your document of your wip/ a wip called? (not the stories actual title but what you’ve saved it as)

And:

❤️❤️❤️

Good morning~ (it's 8 am here when I'm writing this) I meant for this to be my first post of the day, but while trying to find the information I have, I found out that the summary section of Google Docs was deleted along with all of my "summaries" (which are, because my brain simply cannot function on a "normal" level, actually extensive plot notes that I now lost forever. Which is super cool~ ^.^ <3 Just another reason why I prefer to write on paper I guess...

Anyway, sorry about that, I'm not in a super fantastic mood rn.

BUT! To answer your question, unfortunately, I don't have an extremely fun one for this for the main fic that I've been working on. But that is primarily because I literally have -and I'm not kidding because I went back and counted them all- Ninety-nine docs relevant to this fic and I'm about to start on #100 because I just thought of a new plot point yesterday (that I thankfully wrote on paper since I was at work) and I need to give it a home.😂

And that is JUST for 'The Art of Running for Our Lives' (aka TAoRfOL since writing that title out every time is exhausting 😂)

I had to make a whole-ass Masterlist of docs with their links so that I could keep track of them and all of the titles are more spoilery than anything so that I know that what information I need to find will be in that doc before I click on it.

I started writing this fic in March, 2023 and I wish that I could tell you that this was all simple overkill, but I wish it was. It's not even posted yet but this plot has a grand total of 8 main characters and the AU I'm doing is so niche that I'm trying to merge magic systems (to an extent) and keeping track of timelines is wild in this one even without my ADHD getting in the way of things.

I'd say I do this because I hate myself, but this is very much a passion project and I really just want to do it the justice it deserves. 💜

That being said, I do have a few doc titles I'm willing to share because I think they're silly (I know, it took a WHILE to get here. Have I mentioned that I have really bad unregulated ADHD? 😂)

"TAoRfOL Cheat Sheet: [insert character name here]"

"James isn't doing well (TAoRfOL)"

"Post-[redacted] Dorlene Heist"

"I was in my feels..."

✨Bonus from other AU's:✨

"The cat distribution system but the cat is Regulus"

and finally,

"this was supposed to be smut how did I get here..?"

TL;DR: I have ADHD so there is no 1 specific doc for my fic. And also because I apparently need to dip my toes in every pond I find, (write too many fics/AUs at once), most of my docs are titled "[blank] AU" with a small description of the contents in the title.

Also apparently I can't give a simple answer to any of these ask games. Hope this is okay because I have no self-control and I'm very passionate about this fic.

[gentlemanmoth]

Little Bundle of Joy

[A Viktor X Reader SFW fic]

This one is dedicated to @mischievous-piltovan for the @therealtendercrisps Secret Santa event! I was super torn between doing an art piece and a fic, but ended up choosing this one because, hey, I love cats too. Merry Christmas, Mischie!! ❤️

And merry Christmas to everyone else who participated in the Secret Santa!!! This was really fun!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Knowing Viktor, it would take a lot to get him to come away from his work– even for a fraction of a second– he was that passionate and engrossed in his work. Little to nothing could tear him away from it. Not even you could half the time, but that suited you just fine. You were content to watch him work and to bombard him with fifty million questions about what he was doing and what parts went where and whether or not the Hexcore was safe to touch– oftentimes it drove him up the wall… in the best way, of course. But he wouldn't tell you that to your face.

Today would be different though. The weather had been absolutely lovely all week, and yet Viktor had still stayed cooped up in his lab. While everyone else was taking advantage of the warm sun and cool breeze that countered it, he was hunched over his desk trying to find the key to cracking Hextech. His work was admirable to be sure, but he still deserved a break.

That was why you stormed into the lab and promptly pulled his chair away from his desk, making him gasp in surprise.

"What do you think you're doing?" His tone hinted at mild irritation, but his expression as he looked over his shoulder at you was warm and welcoming. He loved your intrusions regardless of timing.

You smiled down innocently at him in response to his question. "We're going out today! No more Hextech. Forget Hextech for… I don't know, at least an hour! Two would be even better! Maybe three!"

He chuckled and shook his head. "I'm afraid I cannot accept your offer, lyubov. I'm so close, you see, and–"

"It wasn't an offer, Viktor," you interrupt, "it was an instruction. You're coming with me and you're going to like it."

Pulling away, you reached for the cane that rested against his desk and handed it to him. His eyes glinted with a mixture of affection and mirth. He would give in to your whims today… but that would mean that you couldn't do this again tomorrow…!

With a groan, he pulled himself out of his chair and stood, leaning heavily on his cane. As much as he hated to admit it, it would do him some good to stretch out his aching limbs… sitting alone in that dark, cluttered space for so long had done nothing for his condition.

"All right, all right. I'm coming. But to where, if I may be so bold as to ask?"

You started walking towards the door and threw it open again, letting the light and fresh air in. "Out. You're going out. Out of this room. Out of the academy. Just out." You turned back to him, holding your hand out as he approached more slowly. "C'mon! I promise you'll have a good time. I do not have any ideas."

"That's for the best," he replied, lips quirking up in a sly grin, "your ideas are little more than scatterbrained schemes at best in times like these."

You rolled your eyes at his remark. "You can't possibly tell me you don't love it."

"You're quite right. I can't." He took your hand and followed you out of the lab; blinking and shielding his eyes from the glare of the sunlight … perhaps in hindsight I should have at least left a window open, he thought to himself.

"I figured we could just go for a little walk. The weather's too nice for you to be cooped up in there all day." You murmured thoughtfully. In reality, there wasn't much else to do, but this still meant you could have quality time with him regardless.

"Lead on, beloved. I will follow." Giving your hand a squeeze as he spoke, Viktor leaned in and kissed your cheek. As reluctant as he was to leave the lab, he appreciated your efforts to take care of him and make sure he was looking after himself.

As such, he was perfectly content to follow your lead out of the academy and into the warmth of the sun. The twisting and winding streets of Piltover stretched out before you– infinite possibilities ahead. You opted to lead the two of you towards the brighter, sunnier paths. The shade wasn't what Viktor needed right now.ord knows he'd had enough of that for a lifetime.

The two of you were perfectly content in that moment. Walking along at a leisurely pace together and without a care in the world. At least for now. There was still work to be done, and Viktor would resume his old habits the moment the two of you returned to the lab. But you would enjoy this time with him now regardless, and you would continue to listen to his rambling about Hextech and the discoveries he had made that morning… at least until–

… What was that noise?

"Vitya… did you hear that?" You asked softly, interrupting his train of thought and his rambling. Regardless, he went silent and listened intently– not knowing exactly what it was he was trying to hear… until he heard the sound again.

It was soft, barely more than a tiny mewl amongst the hustle and bustle of a prominent city. If he hadn't been straining for a small sound such as this, he would have missed it. He glanced around, looking for the source. "Yes… yes, I hear it. But what…?" He trailed off as you let go of his hand, headding towards the source of the sound. You were certain that it was emanating from a bush just a few paces out of your way. As you approached, the tiny sound came again. You crouched to peer under the bush and… there!

"Darling… come look! Look what I've found!" You encouraged him to come over, motioning with your hand before you reached down and pulled out the sweetest little kitten you'd ever seen. Its fur was soft, downy baby fluff that you would have expected from such a tiny, fragile kitten. Black fur with a thin layer of dirt and filth from the street and a tiny but wide open mouth that squeaked at the indignation of being picked up. Viktor looked over your shoulder at the little kitten and his eyes lit up with excitement.

"Well hello there, little friend!" He murmured softly, reaching out to give the tiny kitten a scratch behind the ears. It purred loudly and blinked up at him slowly, leaning into his touch with a degree of affection that only a kitten could manage. "Aren't you a sweet thing… how cute."

You laughed softly, tilting your head as you looked into the kitten's eyes.

"Y'know, I swear I've seen eyes like these before somewhere…" you glanced up at Viktor, admiring the molten gold and warm amber of his eyes. So full of warmth and life and passion… he smiled back at you, sliding an arm around your waist and holding you close as he leaned on his cane. "Well, I can certainly see the resemblance, if that is indeed what you mean."

"Can we keep it? Pretty please, Vitya? It's such a sweet little kitty…" you pleaded, lips curled into a hopeful smile. Viktor frowned and glanced around.

"Eh, well, I think that very much depends on whether or not the kitten already has a home…" he trailed off again, humming in thought. "Yet I don't see why a kitten with a home would be here of all places…" finally he nodded. "Provided we are unable to find an already existing home, I don't see why we can't."

You immediately turned around in his arms, peppering his face with kisses. "Oooh thank you, thank you, thank you! You're amazing. You're perfect. You're –"

"All right, all right!" Viktor interrupted, face turning a soft pink as he laughed, "Save all of your affection for when we take the kitten home!" Despite his words, he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to your temple, showing that he still very much appreciated your display of unashamed love and tenderness.

"Oh! Oh, right. Of course. Home!"

And home would be where that kitten went. There was no one else to take the poor little baby on. None claimed it, and none wanted it. Therefore, you and Viktor were able to adopt it as your pet.

And it was back at your shared home that the real fun began. You were pleasantly surprised when Viktor opted to return home with you rather than to the cramped and dark lab.

"I think we should name them Rio." You stated, tying a red ribbon around the kitten's neck as a makeshift collar. Rio started wandering around freely, exploring every inch of their new home while the two of you watched.

"Every time I think I couldn't love you more, you somehow manage to prove me wrong." Viktor's laugh is melodic and full of joy as he pulls you into his arms for a tender embrace. You rest your head against his shoulder, rubbing slow, lazy circles over his back and humming contentedly. "I love you too, you weirdo."

He laughs. "'Weirdo?' I call you all manner of sweet things and I get 'weirdo?' Where is the justification?"

"There doesn't need to be any!" You retorted, scrunching your nose up at him. He rolled his eyes and kissed the tip of your nose.

"Well, this weirdo let you keep Rio."

"Ooooh so you do like the name Rio."

"It was never in question!"

[dracomort]

Thanks for the tag @duplicitywrites and @cindle-writes!

Tagging @laeveteinn and @kazuza-art

Rules:

1. Post the top 5 works you’re most proud of that you released in 2022 (not necessarily your most popular),

2. your top 4 current WIPs that you’re excited to release in the new year,

3. your top 3 biggest improvements in your writing over the past year,

4. your top 2 resolutions (ways you wish to improve your writing/blog) for the new year,

5. and your number 1 favorite line you’ve written this year!

5 works

So, um, I don't actually have five fics written in 2022 up on my AO3 at the moment. I did finish a fic in the last 2 weeks of 2021 though so I'll just chuck it in.

Bluebeard (34,850 words) | Complete

Secrets, old and new, threaten to shake the very foundations of Draco's fragile new life in the 1940s.

This was the sequel to the Travelling Cabinet which I told every commenter I wasn't going to write and then went ahead and wrote anyway. Very much in reference to the Bluebeard fairytale, only instead of dead wives it's dead... everyone else 🤣

Definitely was a bit of a challenge—in relationship conflict, morality and emotional complexity. I rewrote the last 10k... many times. It also kinda has a plot 😲

Blood (8,216 words) | Complete

Outside, the world burns. But Draco isn’t watching.

Dipped my toes into heavier angst with this fic as all my previous works are predominately light-hearted, even if they have serious elements. I intended it to be Dracomort but it ended up gen to preslash at most because anything else didn't feel right.

Alley Cat (31,707 words) | WIP

In which Draco attends Hogwarts with Tom Riddle and inadvertently saves the world.

This is my current WIP, a Draco & Tom same age AU. Fun fact: this actually started as a fem!Tom fic lol, but it felt like too many twists away from canon to serve any particular point, so I figured it had to either be Abraxas/Fem!Tom or Draco/Tom generation mash.

A Generous Minute (6,975 words) | Complete

Abraxas Malfoy is in love with himself. Tom Riddle is planning a murder. Possibly ten.

Or: when one walking red flag meets another

My one fic without Draco (so far). Named for Abraxas's impressive bedroom performance, of course. Had a lot of fun writing Brax here in all of his oblivious, unredeemed narcissism. Probably would've killed him off if that wouldn't have consequently led to erasing Draco's future existence.

Edible Horcruxes (2,913 words) | Complete

Poor decisions from meddlesome grandfathers leave Lord Voldemort acting as nanny for Draco Malfoy, a cherubic baby with a taste for dark artefacts.

Technically published in 2021 but who's counting? Another gen baby-focused fic entirely written because I wanted to write baby Draco chewing on the Locket Horcrux.

4 WIPS

Hmmm honestly, I can't promise to actually release any of my WIPs. However, these are the most recent projects I've been working on:

Secret Garden AU | Tom Riddle & Draco Malfoy

Tom as Mary and Draco as Colin (except they aren't cousins).

Vampire AU | Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter

Harry is a seventeen-year-old vampire pretending to be seven-hundred. Draco is a would-be victim who thinks his blood is too expensive to be spilt.

The Travelling Cabinet III | Tom Riddle/Draco Malfoy

Tom and Draco go on a camping trip in Albania. Septimus and Cedrella tag along. Not especially plot heavy. Inspired by a commenter on Bluebeard.

Pinocchio | Voldemort/Draco Malfoy, Tom Riddle/Draco Malfoy

Set in the early 2000s in a Britain that has been conquered by Voldemort. Features Horcrux!Tom, Death Eater!Draco and a Voldemort who has gone missing without a trace.

I WISH I could write this fic but it just does not want to be written lol. POV issues, for the most part, as well as it being heavier on plot than I typically write. I might get stuck into it in the new year before my grad job starts but I'll probably be writing Alley Cat or the TTC sequel then.

3 Improvements

Writing emotions - when I wrote the last chapter of Bluebeard I realised that I was tackling several emotions that I'd never written before. When left to my own devices I tend to write detached or callous POVs, which is helpful in certain cases (Tom's POV in The Travelling Cabinet or Draco's in Blood) but not in this one.

Completing work - I've been putting a concentrated effort into finishing my work, something I've struggled with in the past. Am easily distracted by shiny new plot bunnies 🐰

Writing consistently - needs no elaboration.

2 Resolutions

Cure my white room syndrome - I tend to be a very economical writer and while I don't see myself ever changing that much, I should like to put more effort into scenery description going forward

Write Drarry - given the amount of this ship that I've read over the past few years, you'd think I'd manage to write for it but that has not been the case lol

1 Favourite Line

"Even if he understood on an intellectual level that the war was over, it continued in a dark, secret place buried deep within him." (Bluebeard, Chapter 3)

[marshmallowprotection]

Heya, Kait! Been a while, huh? A lot has happened honestly. I started to post some of my art here, even though I'm not that motivated to do digital art much-

I don't want to make this too long but I've actually gotten way more comfortable with self-shipping with the second character I told you about! I'd like to tell you a bit about him, too. His name is Yatora Yaguchi, he is from Blue Period!

Recently I've actually gotten a bit more better at my art and even a bit more confident all thanks to this media and especially Yatora. His experiences with art made me feel seen because I relate so much to how he feels and the way he learns more about art had opened my eyes in so much stuff about art as well. I'd love to ramble about how much Yatora means to me but it's gonna be extremely long, honestly.

He is a very emotional and insecure guy deep inside and he tries his best with art and even to have good relationships with the people around him, even if he doesn't fully agree with them. He is friendly and I love his appearance a lot. The fact he cries easily and blushes very easily makes me appreciate him even more, he's so cool istg- I find how hard he works very admirable and so much stuff about him.

I still tend to focus on Saeyoung as well sometimes but my main focus is Yatora for now. Although, I do want to focus more on the redhead, Saeyoung has also helped me through a lot in my life and I feel grateful for both him and Yatora.

I tried redoing Saeyoung's route once more and I still feel myself loving this precious redhead. I just wish I could focus on the both of them equally. Even if I could do a crossover between the two, I'm not really sure about it so I just imagine two different versions of myself in their worlds.

But I am kinda sad there's not a lot of fics, fanart (ngl it's mostly ship art even though there's.. no romance in the actual series) and other stuff of Yatora. At least we have an anime of this series and a lot of manga panels of this boy, even official merch and more but I can always write self-inserts or even random prompts I find online. Even though the manga is still ongoing, I'm thinking of not doing many self-inserts with Yatora yet. I do wanna see the whole story fully before inserting myself into it. Though I know it's gonna take months, even years.

Other stuff.. I'm at my grandma's! I'm still kinda sad I can't use a bike because it has some problems, we still have cats, chickens, actual ground outside I can walk for a while and even going to the beach by my uncle's car. And I won't lie, it feels.. lonely a lot here? I don't do much during the day, sure I draw here and there but that's it mostly.

The people that used to come out to play with balls and even ride their bikes aren't really here anymore. They grew up and stopped coming. So I'm just trying to get through the days as much as I can.

And one thing that actually happened recently.. remember when I named you after a Snow Wraith, Kait? Sadly, the game shut down a while ago. And the thing is that it actually shut down the exact same day I came at my grandma's. I don't mind that I wasn't on at the last moments of this game but man, it's still something.

It's insane how all my dragons must be at the hidden world by now. I actually started that account when I was here at my grandma's. So the game ending the same day I finally came at my grandma's makes me feel some type of way.

I actually used to play that game for at least 7+ years and then settled on working on one account, no matter how long it took, which was this one. I actually had most dragons but them making everything free at the end which allowed me to get everything and get them to the max instantly felt kinda.. off.

So for 2-3 days. I flew around with every single one of my dragons, fed them fully and took off their saddles before saying goodbye. I took screenshots of every single one of them, too. It feels weird but this game was really fun sometimes.

I think I'll end my rambling here, I'd love to send asks about Yatora and Saeyoung and ramble about them. Yatora gets really flustered just like our redhead Saeyoung and it's making me smile a lot. Although at Yatora's side, he isn't exactly a dude who teases someone else or flirts. I love how even though Yatora and Saeyoung have some similarities, they are still different.

I hope you have been well, Kait. I miss sending asks, haha. Please let me know how you are, I'd love to know and catch up with you!

Hello, hello! I'm happy to hear that you're doing better. I'm sorry that your favorite dragon game shut down its servers. I've had two games do that this year and it really bites. It definitely makes me wish there was a way to get tangible offline versions of our favorite games so it would never be lost, but that's a tough bargain in our society. All that leaves us with is the memories, and that's not too bad, because we'll always have those.

I don't know anything about Blue Period but I've seen the art before and it looks pretty! I think it's great when you find a character who's capable of reaching you and showing you something that you didn't know about yourself until you dove into the story. Like, it's important to have those experiences with characters, regardless of if we love it or not.

Sometimes, you need a hard mirror to look at instead of a soft way. I feel that way about some characters. As much as I love growth from tenderness, damn, sometimes we need a smack in the face to see a new angle we never imagined before, you know what I mean? I get it from the strangest places! So, yeah. It's not weird.

When it comes to tying to your different loves together, there is no right or wrong way. I definitely enjoy crossovers where I can find the best way to see myself with all my favorite characters, or at least, two of them because I love world-building and seeing where that goes...

I am just that kind of person, though! I can't tell you how interesting it is to have my brain debate the best way to tie together Obey Me and Mystic Messenger or Mystic Messenger and Tears of Themis or what have you!

I'd love to hear you babble about your new love whenever you get the chance to! I've got a lot of free time and I love talking to my buddies online about everything, not just MM.

So, if you get the urge out of the blue, just send me an ask!

If you're doubtful of that working out, though, don't worry about trying to tie them all together, friend. You don't need to tie those universes together if it's hard or you're getting comfort in different ways from each character. Not everything has to unite, sometimes you just need to have things pushed apart!

I'm doing alright these days. Some days are tough, some days are easier, and some are in the middle. Pain flares have been more often these days, though. It makes it hard to write so I'm not putting out as much as I want, but hey, health comes first and that's just how it is. I can't nudge myself into exhaustion. Saeran wouldn't like that and it's that fact that keeps me taking care of myself. Cheesy, but it works, I think that's a good thing.

Right now, I'm working on some self-care. I want to put out another installment in my self-insert series with Ray... I've got the plot set up and I'm so close to getting things where I want them to be.

[whumpthisway]

Sorry, I’m curious :D

💗 - What inspired you to start a whump blog?

🔮 - What's a favorite whump trope of yours?

💧 - What's your favorite type of whumpee?

🪩 - what's your favorite type of Caretaker?

🎱 - How did you discover the tumblr whump writing community?

hiya!!! no apologies needed, I'm happy to get the ask! :D

what inspired me to start a whump blog...

ooh I'm trying to remember honestly. I think I got into whump and then felt a bit odd posting it on my main so made a sideblog, and then decided to post fic on it later on. I'd been posting whumpy/angsty fic on ao3 for longer than I knew whump was a thing, but finding the community on tumblr has been fab. I havent written much at al in recent months/years, but I do take a lil quiet pride in keeping the blog updating regularly and trying to seek out new and "undiscovered" whump art and media to reblog for folks, alongside the popular stuff! but mostly it's just fun and I'm glad I did start it!

fav whump trope...

so I answered this one in my last ask response. just trying to think if I missed any tropes... the hidden injury trope is of course a great one. oh I love 'enemy turning up at the door wounded'. honestly I tried pretty much every trope and I think it just depends on tone and vibe for me. I'm definitely more interested in the care taking side of whump though, the recovery process rather than the whumper/torture side, though I sure enjoy a good, whumpy gif!

fav type of whumpee...

ooh I love stoic and proud whumpees best I think, as much as I love a good pathetic cat of a whumpee too! but I'll read any, "broken" whumpees, defiant whumpee, suspicious whumpee, whumpee who pretends to be obedient and is biding their time... I love a good trope, and I also love when that is subverted *shrugs* not too picky with my whumpees!

though that said, i do have a preference for male or non binary whumpees, female ones can hit a squick for me sometimes, though I did enjoy Haro whump's group whumpees, which had female whumpees included!

fav type of caretaker...

oooh, I like most of them really!!! caretaker that's trying really hard, caretaker that wants to help but can't (like villain's sidekick or a prison guard), fellow whumpee caretakers, gruff caretakers and soft ones, astute caretakers and oblivious ones... all depends on how they're written really! I'm not usually the biggest fan of reluctant caretakers, or carewhumpers or whumpers turned into caretakers... that doesnt sit the best with me for some reason. but I do love caretakers who fuck up and say the wrong thing, or have to punish the whumpee in public, or misunderstand things or whatever. even morally dubious caretakers can be fun depending on the vibe. I dont think I'm too fussy rly!

how did I discover whumplr...

uhhh yeah, I cant remember!! I'm terrible at remembering how things began, like how I first met friends or when i started watching a show , I'm sorry! I remember I first discovered a 'Boys in Discomfort' type collection of artwork and stories on DeviantArt, I read fics and followed artists on there for a good while. I may have found tumblr through Ao3, that's possible, not sure how long it took to go from my main tumblr blog to having a whump one... sorry this is a bad answer but I really dont remember! but I'm glad I did find it! met some great folks on here and read/seen some amazing work :)

thanks v much for the questions, hope I gave ok answers!! <3

[bitbybitwrites]

Am I late for the writing game?

5, 18, 44 and pick one you really, really want to answer and no one's asked yet :)

It's never too late! 😉

5.     How much writing do you get done on an average day?

Oh this is embarassing - not very much, to be honest. Its not that I wouldn't want to. But after dealing with work, then family, then chores/ housework, I'm exhausted . . and its late at night when I finally have time to just myself. By that time I'm almost always fighting sleep, so I can get very little done. So most of my writing is done in tiny spurts here and there. Like I can sometimes squeeze in 10-15 minutes in the morning before I run to work . . . maybe I can write something before I pass out for the night. If I'm lucky to take the train into the city or I'm stuck in like a waiting room for awhile, I can get nice big chunks of writing done. I always carry a journal with me to jot things down in, then I transfer it onto my computer when I get a chance. So whenever I preface with "I'm a slow writer", its not only because sometimes it takes forever for me to get the words right. It's literally because I'm so swamped with other things I have little time to focus on writing.

18.  If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be, and what would you write about?

I'll be honest - I''m not sure collaboration is in my future - I think I'd frustrate the hell out of another writer if they were waiting for me to hand in my portion ( see question above) and I am a little anal retentive when it goes to editing and stuff and wanting writing styles to mesh so it would seem like a seamless transition from one person's work to another, I'm sure that would drive them crazy as well 😂😂😂 But all that aside . . . if none of that mattered . . I don't know. if we're talking published authors - I think Neil Gaiman and Casey McQuiston would be fun to write with. I also love Amy Tan and Kevin Kwan's writing I love too . . also Bill Bryson ( though he's a non fiction writer, not fiction). If we are talking fan fic - god . . too many to count. You all are so damn good I really can't pick one. Though I have to say if we ever wrote anything together, I can imagine the amount of angst ( esp blangst) that would be coming out of those pages. It might drive readers insane 😂

44.  How much research do you do?

It really depends on the story - though I can be prone to going down research rabbit holes if I find something interesting 😂. But that was the part I loved about school - the research, the learning of new things.

 . . .and pick one you really, really want to answer and no one's asked yet :). this was hard to choose, so I'll go with this one:

40.  Share some backstory for one of your characters

I'll share some tidbits about an OC I created for If I Can Make Your Heart My Home that I've noticed a many of my readers like: Lillian Anderson ( Blaine's English grandmother)

Lillian is a talented musician herself (piano and violin).

She met her husband while auditioning for the London Symphony Orchestra. He was concertmaster at the time. She auditioned for 2nd violin chair.

After they married, he became a conductor and they traveled a bit relocating to whatever orchestra her husband worked with at the time, before settling in New York for a bit - where they had their son and raised him.

They returned to England for the most part after their son (Bradford) finished college, and they began a good deal of philanthropic work ( mostly arts based) until their grand children were born. Then they would travel back and forth, so they could spend as much time as they could with Cooper and Blaine.

Fun fact: Blaine's middle name (Devon) was a nod to Lillian's paternal roots - her own family hailing from Devon, England. During the summers Lillian would whisk the grandkids back off to Devon to bond, especially after her husband passed.

Her moody tortoiseshell cat, Schumann is named after composer Robert Schumann

***

Thanks so much for the asks, @heartsmadeofbooks! 💖💖💖💖

Click here to play

[artstorieshusbandos]

I just found this blog and from the About link it looks like a blast. I'm in.

My OCs for the Ikemen games are just me self-inserted. To me the games just seem set up for that VS regular TV shows and stuff.

In most cases for the otome stuff it's more fun just to be me.

I did run into an interesting situation with a Hazbin Hotel fic that's been rolling around in my head lately where I couldn't do an effective self insert because I couldn't think of a good reason that I'd end up in Hell that wasn't entirely lame and couldn't be fixed in like....a day.

You can just skip the next paragraph if you have no interest in Hazbin Hotel and want to get to the Ikemen stuff.

I went another route and started working with a story about friends Sir Pentious made that Emma snuck down to the Hotel to help and having the character come from heaven. She had the opposite problem, she came down too good to be me so I gave up and named her Gisselle. I'm working on making her some more friends cuz the groups gotta be more than 3. I don't see her being romantically involved with anyone who hasn't been redeemed. Not even Alastor even though I'm crazy about him. Enough of that though You all came for Ikemen Series.

OK The Ikemen Stuff!

In Sengoku I was in love with Masamune for a time but ended up a better match with Mitsuhide. Masa and I are still friends. Mostly because he can't be mad at me because of the way I eat. I edited MC just a bit to be an art, song, and dance to match my own skillset better and made her seamstress side more of an embroidery skill since hand embroidery is something I can actually do. It amuses me that Mitsuhide calls me his "Little Mouse" because I spend quite a bit of time at Disney and if he knew that I have around 15 pairs of actual mouse ears in my closet I'd never hear the end of it. I know MC is Japanese but my MC is an American who studied Japanese language (because I do) who was there on vacation (because I intend to someday) and was visiting the shrine. I know this doesn't work perfectly in all routes but I can headcannon away the plotholes with a lil help from Sasuke the moderately awsome ninja.

In Vampire- I really adore Le Comte even though his route was waay too much about Vlad. There's still a lot of routes I haven't tried yet. I have a feeling as much as I love being pampered and having the freedom to do whatever I want someone with a better route is likely to steal me away after I've read enough other routes. I find a friend circle among the other visual artists and art lovers with Leo, Vincent, and Theo although I'm not nearly as good as Leo and Vincent. I'm always up for singalongs around Mozart's piano.

Ikemen Prince- I've only started Leo's route. Apparently I can't juggle more than 2 otome at a time and it's caused me to burn out and not get through any of them so I've gone back to them and I'm just going to rotate through them one route at a time but I didn't get very far in Ikemen prince so I'm still figuring out who my MC is there.

Ikemen Villian- coming soon- I'm starting that after I finish up Mitsuhide's eternal route which I know I'm late to the party but burnout will do that to you. I am loving it sooooo much so far.

IkiRev-I had so much trouble getting into that one. In spite of having worked in a candy shop. I love Fenrir. Ray bores me. Seth Scares me. That's as far as I got.

Obey me deserves a spot here- I am mad in love with Luci. We're both like our peace and quiet. He's a perfectionist, I am not. He inspires me to be better, I give him permission to slack off once in a while. Outside of that I get along best with Levi because we're both gamers. I'm more of a Japanophile than an Otaku these days. I also get along well with Satan because we both like reading and cats. The Great Mammon's life is too big for me. Same for Asmo and he's always after me to help tame my split ends :P.

Question of The Day

Do you have an OC for any of these games? Tell us about them! Are they romantically involved with any of the suitors, or just besties with your fave? Do you have drawings or descriptions of them? What are they like?

╰❧ Daily Q's can be answered with your voice- or your OC's!

If you'd like to suggest a question, send me an ask! || About This Blog

Divider by @/enchanthings

[katsukikitten]

Hello friends! Here is my contribution to the Bakugou Birthday Bash! The master link will be linked here ! Please enjoy my bit of an angsty fic! And all of the other art and works that are on the master list! Enjoy the big bakugou blow out and remember to leave a comment on your favorite pieces! Happy birthday ya shitty man! (Lowkey become 3d please)

Warning: he's 28 btw 😂 (my fic says so also)

It shouldn't be this fucking hard to get groceries and booze. It's a quick and easy errand. Everything already pre-ordered for an important birthday that just needed to be picked up. And yet here you were crying in your car trying to get it together before the attendant asked for the order name. Honestly you had texted out "I can't do this today. Sorry." Several times before deleting it, telling yourself not to hit send. But you would have to be having the worst mental day of your life wouldn't you? Today of all days, how fucking selfish of you.

Especially with the amount of time and effort you and Kirishima had put into this idea. Since New Year's actually, months and months of planning after the two of you had gotten shit faced at Denki and Mina's new years party, creating the brain child. All after bonding over switching patrol partners six months before, you had gotten Bakugou and he had gotten Ashido. Kirishima and yourself giggle over stupid things to the side of the party, people watching as you took shots. Kirishima points towards a normally grumpy blonde.

"Wow I think he's actually having fun." You snort, as you watch Bakugou hide his rare cat smile behind a sip of his beer as Mina makes Denki the butt of a joke.

"He actually loves parties. He never says it so people just think he's a wet blanket." Kirishima laughs, pouring the two of you another shot. Bakugou lets out a particularly loud laugh after 'Dunce Face' proves Mina's point. I guess that would be the time that it started.

When you started to fall. His laugh makes your cheeks deepen in hue and burn, to want to hear it again, to watch it again and learn all of the other sides of your patrol partner that he obviously only reserved for his closest friends.

"Let's throw him a great birthday party." You say, holding up your shot as a devilish smile spreads over sharp teeth. The mountainous man clinks your shot glass before he adds.

"Let's." In unison the two of you down the burning liquid as the plan comes into fruition.

Four months, four months and nineteen days of you thinking of nothing but your patrol partner with whom you got extremely close with since New Year's. So why? Why today of all days were you struggling? Why would normal everyday tasks feel more as if you were wading through mud than the breeze they should have been? You flip down the visor, looking yourself in the eye through little square mirror as you grit your teeth hissing

"Get your shit together."

Your little pep talk helps you get the several cakes and the cart full of booze that everyone requested, planning to make this the best birthday ever. Helping Kirishima set his house up with decorations, setting out the snacks, catering and even pouring some drinks as guests began to arrive to set down their gifts and help with the last minute touches before hiding. Masking through the pit in your stomach as you smiled at all of your friends as they poured in through Kirishima's door. Through the weighted emptiness you felt as each one wrapped you into a tight hug, already praising you and Kirishima for the amazing effort, that Bakugou would be so surprised when it was more than just you and Kirishima here. . Finally you had to go and get the guest of honor just before sundown to catch him before he went to bed. A much needed breather from the constant smiling and forcing a laugh that everyone thought sounded genuine.

Enjoying the silence of the evening train as it pulled you across town to the unsuspecting blonde. And maybe you could have made it through the night from your shitty pep talk or at least through getting the freshly 28 year old to his party but instead you catch your reflection in the window. Your facial features weighted with exhaustion, shoulders hunched allowing your body to continue to produce cortisol. Tears prick your eyes as you deep low, too low. Remembering everything and nothing all at once, steeping in guilt as you beg yourself for just a few more hours. That the depression episode can happen when you're home and alone, after the party goes off without a hitch. Tears fall anyway and they do all the way to Bakugou's until you finally get enough control to step out of yourself for a moment. Ringing the doorbell several times as a smile is plastered on your face, the door swings open. Bakugou's eyes narrow as they take you in, he notices that something is off. Your smile is a little too wide, your eyes rimmed red but he says nothing about it. Instead he lets his initial anger come forth.

"Oi! I told you to fuckin' text me when you were on the train so I could meet you at the station!" He growls, slamming his door shut and pocketing his keys. Deadly and sweaty hands deep in the pockets of his leather jacket as his palms itch to hold onto something else. Garnet eyes track your own hands as you reach over your head stretching.

"Yea yea, I hear you Dad." You tease giving him a look, "I still made it okay."

"Kirishima should have come instead of you that fuckin hair for brains." He snarls keeping pace with you as he always does on patrol.

"I know Dad must be sad cause his favorite didn't come to pick him up." You try not to sound dejected, nudging him in the ribs to distract from the crack in your voice, "Happy birthday ya big lug."

Bakugou cuts you a glare, mind racing before his barks out a "Thanks."

Comfortable silence stretches between the two of you before you two hit the train station, passing a corner store.

"Was shitty hair burning dinner? Do I need to stop for back up?" His thumb hooks over his shoulder towards the neon as he stands idle waiting for you to jog your memory. Kirishima had burned the last friend's dinner making Bakugou so angry he walked six blocks to make something that was 'FUCKIN EDIBLE!' while you tried to air out his apartment. You laugh loudly, genuinely for the first time that day causing Bakugou's shoulders to sag with relief. In the ten months he had been working with you he had only seen you faking a smile or laugh once or twice. Then the time after that you were absent from work the next day or two forcing him to patrol with Denki but worse yet...making him worry.

"Guess I'll grab something just in case." He gave you his back so you wouldn't see his face or the faint blush that dusted his cheeks.

"No, no! I ordered out this time. From that famous chef you like." Bakugou glares your way, digging in his back pocket for his wallet.

"How much." He demands through gritted teeth while you show him the palms of your hands in surrender.

"Woah woah! It's your birthday gift! You can't pay me back for dinner! I'd sooner burn the money before I'd accept it from you!" Your watch dings with a message from Kirishima asking for an ETA. You grab onto Bakugou's hand pulling him along into a run as you shout over your shoulder.

"We're gonna be late!"

Oh how Bakugou wished you hadn't done that, he was already struggling to keep his heart beat even when you were around and now to grab onto him. To pull him along in a hurry like those cheesy insta posts that couples did on their "grand adventure" together. He swallows the lump in his throat as he reminds himself that you are nothing more than his patrol partner. His friend at best.

Even though the train was mostly empty Bakugou stood closely by you, as he always did when the two of you were in a crowded space. He had seen how most men took advantage of the situation and he hated the idea of that happening to you although he knew you were more than capable of handling it on your own. Hell you could kick even his ass but he would die before ever admitting that. Instead he watches you talk about what you ordered for dinner and how you got the cake from that bakery Sato works part time at, the same one he got your birthday cake from but he doesn't hear a word. Instead all he can see is the golden light from the setting sun worshiping you. Kissing your skin to make it glow, giving your eyes a hue that makes his heart fall into his stomach and illuminating you in a true light. A radiant ethereal thing is what you were and Bakugou was just lucky enough to be standing by you. So out of it he doesn't realize the two of you are at your stop.

"Uh Suki?" Your voice is soft paired with the setting sun has him acting weird. He leans closer to you, pulled by some invisible force before he stops himself as he watches you look up at him beneath long lashes.

"You okay?" You ask almost nervously from his proximity, the smell of spice and caramel wrap around you making you feel warm and fuzzy. Temporarily making you forget that you were trying to act on the train, making you relax as you just talked to Bakugou. He sucks his teeth as he picks up your bag to sling over his shoulder.

"Yea but you were gonna forget your whole damn purse like you always do." He huffs, this time he was the one pulling at your hand in a rush before the doors closed to trap you two on the train. His hand feels warm in yours, his grip tight as he drags you along before pulling you within his sight, another habit of his you happened to notice. Almost reluctantly he lets go of you hand as Kirishima's house comes into view.

"We better have a good time tonight patrol Princess or you owe me a special birthday gift." He laughs causing you to roll your eyes at his stupid nickname that stuck after your first day with him, adamant that the two of you take your route instead of his it was a huge argument. But it was a good thing he listened to the "princess", it put the two of you smack dab in the middle of a robbery. You stick out your tongue.

"Trust me. You're gonna have a good time!" You push him up the steps as he bats away your hands. Opening the front door before everyone jumps out of various and bad hiding spots.

"SURPRISE!!" All of the alumni of class A and some of B shout, a select few already slurring their words. Bakugou's scowl turns into a smirk before he looks over his shoulder at you.

"Aw you did this to me?" His voice is teasing but his eyes almost sparkle, you nod encouraging him to go deeper into the party. As he does people flock to him laughing and yelling out happy birthday until he's sick of hearing it. All the while your smile wanes with the night. Until an hour in that heavy episode hits you full force. Numbness setting in where happiness should be, rotting as it turns to shame and guilt as you watch your friend, your crush, enjoy his night. Bringing a glass bottle to his lips as he talks with Kirishima, who then presses a shot into his hands. Bodies dancing to the house music that beat out of the speakers competing with chatter and laughter.

It felt weird to watch everyone truly enjoying themselves while you felt low. It felt more as if you were standing outside of the house, looking in through the window to see everyone enjoying themselves, no one even knowing who you were as you stared in.

You felt distant, alone. What a shitty way to feel in a room full of people, none of it being their fault and so the guilt pressed harder. Eyes watering as they lingered on the blonde who deserved this celebration and more. Making you decide to give the best birthday gift of them all.

To slip away upstairs and onto the roof, to give the room space to breathe when you felt like suffocating.

Crying to no one but the moon.

And no one noticed. Two hours slip by before Kirishima insists that Bakugou make a wish and eat cake before everyone gets too drunk too. The entire house drunkenly sings happy birthday but Bakugou notices a voice missing. Yours that's just a touch off key, not to mention he didn't hear you say the stupid nickname 'Suki' where his name should be in the song. Plus you weren't one to miss out on dessert. For as long as Bakugou has been working with you, you never turned down the opportunity for sweets. Whether that was taking the long way back to the agency to try to catch a certain street vendor or to hover by the deserts at a party to pick the very best treat.

And if it was a birthday party, you never could shut up that y'all could not leave until after they blew out the candles and made a wish.

His eyes linger for a second longer, making sure he didn't miss you before his heart sinks. He takes in a sharp inhale, thinks on his wish and blows out the candles.

Meanwhile you hear the cheers of everyone down stairs and sob into your knees. You missed your favorite part of birthdays. Of hoping they make a wish that comes true, of watching their face as they think of something quickly or how some people tear up when they finally realize just how loved they are on their birthday.

It isn't long after that do you hear the sound of combat boots on shingles. Whipping your head up in the direction of the sound. Stomach clenching with guilt as you watch Bakugou walking towards you with a slice of cake.

"Brought ya some cake, since I didn't hear you sing off key to me." He says sinking down beside you as you furiously wipe at your tears.

"I'm-um."

"You don't gotta explain yourself to me." He snarls as you stare dumbly at your cake, "You know that."

"I know…" Silence passes slowly, the moon shines overhead and the party carries on below.

"Well, I'm waiting!" Bakugou says dramatically, "You gonna sing or am I gonna have to sing to myself?"

"Oh." It makes you giggle a bit before you blush, realizing he is serious. You take a deep breath before singing "just off key" when you don't, to him.

"Sukiiiiii!" Relief washes over his features when he hears the dumb ass name, "Happy birthday to youuuuuu!"

"Okay, now you can eat the damn cake." He grunts, his smile never wavering as he looks to the empty street below. You follow his eyes, chewing the inside of your lip, setting the cake down.

"What'd you wish for…" Curiosity gets the better of you and earns his intense gaze. He smirks, scoffing at the end.

"You always say you shouldn't tell or it won't come true." He laughs at your pout, before he finally admits "I wished for courage."

With a furrowed brow you give him a puzzled look, he just holds your gaze.

"Why? You're like the bravest hero I know!" Bakugou can hear the truth in your voice, you aren't saying it just to fucking stroke his ego.

You actually meant it, making this conversation that much harder.

"Yea except when it comes to this one thing I want to do. Its fuckin easy and I've done it hundreds of times just as I'm about to do it I fucking back down cause I'm probably fuckin reading into things too much." He leans in closer, again his smell mesmerizes you, causing your body to visibly relax, "Too much of a fuckin bitch, thinking she doesn't want me like I want her. So I wished for the courage to follow through. To fuckin' just do it."

Your heart is racing out of your chest before one of his hands finds the nape of your neck pulling you into a feverish kiss. Teeth gnashing from the passion, lips perfectly modeling to the other before tongues lightly dance around one another. Lengthening seconds into hours with just a few head tilts and plush lips. You moan into his mouth, he pulls away, eyes clouded with lust as a string of spit connects your tongues. He pants, face flushed and his hand warm, almost burning at the nape of your neck, the shingle by his hand charred from restraint as he pants out.

"I wished for you."

[curmemini]

a different anon, but I wanted to make a few notes on that topic you brought up:

Art and writing in general has always been treated differently. Its one of the reasons why its unlikely one could get a good tv series based on Warrior Cats or Animorphs. The books feature a lot of gore, death, and in the case of Animorphs some good ol' psychological body horror, while at the same time being aimed at children.

Its also easier to catch racist creations in artwork, then it is with writing. (Harry potter always had some PRETTY terrible things, such as the Goblin bankers. But the age of people who first read that novel, and the fact that they were in a book, helped obfuscate it for a while.)

Exactly! I think it's fair to say that while writing is the story and the imagery comes secondary, art is the reverse - art is imagery and story comes secondary. The secondary here isn't denoting importance, it is denoting if the reader/watcher? looker? person looking at a piece of art ... has to make the active choice to engage with a work. What is interesting is that both of those series have graphic novel / manga adaptions. It's been far too long since I read the Warriors manga, but I distinctly remember the Animorphs transformation being watered down both from how it was described in the books and the fun cover art of the original series. Which makes sense, because that would be horrifying. I think the old Animorphs show sucked too but I was very young when I had any feasible way of watching that on nickelodeon

But I also think it's fair to say that in order to make fan-spaces more inclusive, fans should really take a look at what they are willing to accept in writing versus in artwork. Not in a "squick" or distaste way, but in a - can this be used to harm others, and how way. OR alternatively, there should be better features to prevent harmful works from being the first thing in front of someone's eyes. Some will say that it already is inclusive, but there is not an end point to that ideal, I don't think. And I have seen plenty of testimony from BIPOC about how spaces are still encouraging racism. After all, much of the backlash against the person running for AO3 board turned into racially charged insults and conspiracy. And I think that while the filter system we have on AO3 is leagues above what we have on fanfic.net - it still has light years to go before it is a perfect system. I believe that at the very least, if we are going to run with the argument that AO3 is an archive or is a library (both options I dislike, btw, I think its a terrible comparison) and that makes it a sacred thing which can't be moderated or have works removed from and must allow ALL work on it so long as it could be considered fan-ish, then we should work on systems that should've been in place from the start. Permanent blacklists, cross-fandom filtering, hiding dead-dove content behind being logged in I think would be a very fair change. Like, look. AO3 is not the first fanfic site I have regularly used. When a my little pony fanfiction site has better content filtering than you (opt-in, rather than opt-out for nsfw, dark/grim dark and something else I believe) then I think there is an issue and a large discussion to be had that isn't just blown away by "oh nooooo censorship!! our lives are ruined and the sky is falling and now they're coming for underage fics but next itll be you queers!" This doesn't solve the problem of -ism content, and I don't think that is a problem that can be solved quite so easily. But at the very least, it'd hide it so those who don't want to read content that is usually tagged for and would really rather think it's not being posted could live their lives. ... Now that I'm thinking about it, there's a few other sites I use that hide certain content from users who are not logged in. They already have the framework to stop guests from commenting... surely that would not be too much of a stretch? (which btw, libaries DO prune books, we DO have policies for the removal of books even before they are challenged. Most archives have policies on what content they allow to be publicly displayed, etc. Most of the people arguing against this have either never worked in a library or are taking an extremely literal take on ao3s name)