#well at least I have a bird man totally enamored with me

[ffs-abalisk]

HAHAHA FUCK

you are personally and directly hit by a bus¹ and isekai-ed, via resurrection, into the body of the main character your most recent WIP

reblog and tell me: on a scale of 1–10, how screwed are you right now?

¹ this is, transparently, a plot device, so if you are about to tell me "joke's on you, I never leave my fifteenth floor apartment!" then you may rest assured it will have tremendous comedic value when the bus is launched into the sky and crashes through your apartment wall to flatten you anyway

[tainted-wine]

Primal Dissonance

Hawks x Reader (NSFW)

So anon was like:

And since I’m total ass at writing short drabbles, or maybe it’s because they called me senpai, I ended up with a whole-ass fic. This took a different route than planned but I hope you enjoy, anon!

Words: 4.3k

Warnings: Dubcon, Pheromones, Mindbreak, Feral Hawks, Rough and Public Sex, Tit Abuse. This totally isn’t as dark as it sounds.

--------x--------

Hawks has been getting noisy. Not in the usual sense; he’s always a motormouth. No, he’s been making sounds that you’ve never heard him make.

At first you thought he was sick and something was irritating his throat, but on one occasion when you offered him water after hearing the sound, he almost looked offended. You concluded that it wasn’t an illness.

You later noticed that the noise often happens when it’s just the two of you together. During late night movie viewings at his place, he’d hold you close and release a constant hum, the vibrations from his chest and wings soothing enough to make you drift into sleep in his arms. You never saw the look of disappointment in his face as he decided to cuddle you for the rest of the night.

Just a few days later, he spots you during one of his patrols and presents you with a surprise expensive gift. A ruby pendant, the same brilliant shade as his feathers, was placed around your neck by gentle gloved hands.

“Hawks—why—what did I do to deserve this?” You asked while your eyes reflected the gemstone’s sparkles.

“Just wanted to give a pretty gift to my pretty girl.” He gave you a kiss, and waves of soft hums leave his mouth and into yours, flowing through your body, stimulating all of your nerves and triggering pleasant shivers. One makeout session later, and you both pull back to lock eyes. He’s looking at you expectantly, but you don’t even know what the hell he’s expecting.

You look to the side awkwardly. “Thank you, Hawks. It’s beautiful, but I…don’t have anything to give in return. This was a complete surprise, after all.”

His eye twitches, but he smiles and embraces you. “That’s fine, chickadee.”

A pigeon appears during your hug, and the soft coos emanating from it give you an epiphany.

“A pigeon! That’s what it is! You’re cooing like a pigeon!”

This time it’s his smile that twitches. Did you say something wrong? Whatever it is, he brushes it off with a half-hearted laugh. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

That was also the day you noticed his rising body temperature. You asked once again if he was feeling ill, and at least this time he didn’t appear to be upset when he answered ‘no.’

On the next night you spent in his home, he—and you’re still not over this—took your hand and pulled you in for a dance. It wasn’t some silly jig in which he blindly moved to a random pop song, it was a slow classic love song, and he moved both of you in an elegant dance fitting for a ballroom.

It was the last thing you expected from the hero that normally took you on KFC dates or, if he had the time, reserve a spot at his favorite yakitori place. But there was no way you could say that you didn’t like the way his feet glided across the floor, wings acting as a living cape that made each of his movements look all the more graceful, and you followed his pace as best as you could.

You clung onto him more tightly than intended when he dipped you after a spin, sharp avian eyes boring into you before he buries his face in your neck, and that’s when you feel more than hear the cooing return. It’s a tune that never fails to make you feel so warm and safe; you have no idea how his gentle sounds have such influence over you.

He looks pleased by your relaxed state, pulling you back up and brushing a few stray hairs out of your face. “So?”

You smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “I didn’t know you had such grace, Hawks. Now hurry up, or we’re going to miss the movie for tonight!”

You scampered off into the kitchen to prepare the popcorn, completely oblivious to the baffled look your boyfriend was giving behind your back.

A few days later and you’re more certain than ever that he’s coming down with something, because now there’s a constant sheen of sweat all over his skin, and his breath sounded labored even when he was just sitting around. Since he ignores all of your pleas to stay home for just a day or two, you come up with another solution. Hawks pouts like a child when you tell him that a little nature and clean air might restore his health, but he still accepts your offer for a date at a nature park because hey, spending a day in natural beauty with you sounds great.

You practically dragged him into a bus after telling him several times that he shouldn’t tire himself out prematurely by flying both of you there. One long scenic drive later, you both arrive at your beautiful destination. The park was huge and lush with flora of all kinds, from tree-filled paths to endless flower fields.

Exploring everything this paradise has to offer with Hawks sounds like a dream, but your main goal was to loosen him up and help him feel better, so you avoided the populated areas, passing the cycling roads, the play areas, the bug houses, all of the charming attractions until you reached the long stretches of vibrant colors. The flower park.

You and Hawks began a slow stroll hand-in-hand, taking in the seemingly endless blooms, the trees shedding petals onto the walkway—all of it served as the most delicious treat for your eyes.

But when you looked at the winged hero to see if he was enjoying the scenery as much as you were, you saw that he was staring at you. His face was slightly flushed, but you couldn’t tell if it was the result of his feverish temperature or if he’s finding this whole date very romantic.

“The flowers are over there, birdbrain,” you joked with a squeeze of his hand.

His wing wrapped around you and pulled you in closer, encasing you in his abnormal heat. “The only flower that matters is right here.” There was a rough breathlessness to his voice that made the otherwise corny line sound sensual.

And then the coos returned, bringing you back to that pleasant world where everything was warm, soft, and safe. The red feathers surrounding you quivered and rippled like ocean waves of scarlet. You were supposed to be making him feel at ease here, not the other way around.

A chorus of chirps snapped you out of your stupor. You broke out of the hypnotic embrace and spot a bunch of small bouncing figures in the white lilac tree in front of you. “Aww, look at all of the little tits, Hawks!” You point at the flock of singing critters.

Hawks snorted immaturely.

Before you could withdraw your arm, one of the Japanese tits flew over and perched on your still-extended finger, leaving you bug-eyed and your mouth agape. “Hi there! You’re a brave little guy, aren’t you?” You said softly, hoping not to startle it. It tweeted in response, fluffing up its black and white plumage as it looked up at you curiously. “Hawks! It’s so cute!”

Red wings bristled, but you were too enamored with the friendly bird on your hand to even look back at your boyfriend. It continued to sing, the tits sitting in the tree joining in to create an adorable medley of chirps, tweets, and peeps. “Such a nice sound, I never realized how amazing these little guys are.” You keep watching the beady eyes that stare right back at you, feeling the bird’s little feet move quickly as it adjusted itself to get more comfortable.

And with a powerful slug from a hardened red feather out of nowhere, the tiny tit is knocked off of your finger and sent flying like a fucking golf ball.

Your pointing hand was still out as you looked on, eyes and mouth now wide open in horror instead of awe. The poor bird managed to right itself before it hit the ground, flapping frantically to ride the light breeze and fly past its tree of brethren and off into the distance, its sloppy turns and sudden drops betraying how dazed it was.  

With your short-lived friend out of your sight, you turned to the man that ruined your magical bonding session, multiple negative emotions boiling inside you and ready to spill right onto this bastard. “Hawks!” You’re prepared to blow his ears off with every ounce of frustration, every concern that’s been plaguing you for the past week thanks to the strange changes that he refuses to talk about, but then you freeze.

The man’s face has darkened, eyes narrowed with its pupils shrunken into beady slits, lips pressed together in a tight frown—he looked enraged. But the terrifying look wasn’t directed at you, he was looking up at the innocent tits still residing in the tree and paying no mind to the violent treatment of one of their own. As his wings slowly spread with feathers sharpened, your chest constricted once you realized what was about to happen.

“Stop!” You threw yourself at him, grabbing at the outstretched limbs in a pitiful attempt to stop them, the bladed edges cutting your hands. It was still enough to shock and prevent him from launching any of the deadly weapons at the birds. You felt his feathers return to their soft fluffy state as he stumbled from your weight. “What the hell are you doing? What, are you pissed that it chose my hand instead of yours? The hell is wrong with you?”

Now he was aiming the glare at you, and you couldn’t help but shrink under the intimidation. His voice was shockingly low. “Just what game are you playing at here? Gushing over another bird’s song right in front of me?”

You eyed his still-expanded wings as you tried to make sense of what he said. “What?” Was all you could say.

“Here I was thinking you just had extremely high standards, but maybe you’re the type that likes to play hard to get, or make your guy jealous and see how he handles it.” He took a step toward you, and you took one back. “Well let me tell you, I’m not handling it very well.”

What he was implying would have made you burst into laughter if he didn’t look so threatening right now. “You’re…jealous? Of the bird that was on my finger?”

He laughed, or at least tried to, but the shortness of breath made him cough. The sudden anger must be worsening whatever has been making him hot and throaty for the past days. He needs to calm down for his own damn sake. “I guess I shouldn’t be, should I? Not for a girl who gets wet over any bird that does something as simple as approach her.”

“Excuse me?” Did you hear that correctly? No joke, did you really hear that shit correctly?

Hawks just keeps on going, taking your bewilderment as more mockery. “I give you something shiny, you don’t say anything.” A flash of several feathers and you feel your arms being pulled in front of you, the red tufts tying your wrist together.

“I put on a nice dance I practiced for, and you don’t say anything. Did you even notice that I cleaned and decorated the room that night?” You’re panicking from your tied hands and don’t see him fire another barrage that goes for your ankles, their tugs forcing you to lose your balance and fall hard onto the ground with a pained cry. Your hands are forcefully pinned above your head. “Hell, you seem to enjoy my song every time you hear it, so what’s the deal?”

While your heart is on the verge of exploding from its anxious beats, the gears in your head are spinning as you try to figure out how exactly this whole miscommunication even happened, but they keep jamming, filling your head with sparks and smoke of pure confusion. “What song? You haven’t been singing anything!” You yell as you fight against the feather-made cuffs around your hands and feet, but there was no breaking free. They suddenly felt as strong and durable as elastic metal.

Hurt flashes across his face and you don’t understand why goddammit, but it’s quickly masked with another scowl. “You mean the song that’s lulled you to sleep? The song that never fails to put you at ease every time? I can sense it, you know. How calm and pleased you feel whenever you hear it. I know it’s not the loud obnoxious tune of a songbird,” he glances at the tree that continues to emanate various calls as he kneels over you, nearly straddling your waist. Smart of him to keep his groin out of the range of your knees. “But you still enjoy it, right? I’m not too upset that you compared it to a shitty pigeon.”

You only stutter in shaky breaths as he lowers himself and presses all of his weight onto you, your eyes shut as he nuzzles your face lovingly. He feels like a furnace, the sweat from his face slathering onto yours from his rough rubs.

That’s when you smell something potent. You’ve picked up traces of it from him throughout the week, a strange but not unpleasant mixture of salt and sweet. You assumed it to be some sort of shampoo or cologne, but now it’s hitting you full force and it’s making your body…respond. With each inhale, the exotic scent sends a tingle down your abdomen and a release of wetness that dampens your clothing. What the hell is happening to you?

Hawks pulls away and sniffs the air. Your feminine aroma has him moan so suggestively that it makes your core heat up even more. “Oh, so this is getting you going?” He questions in a judgmental tone before something appears to cross his mind, and he laughs with a slap to his forehead. “I’m such an idiot. I’ve been doing this all wrong, haven’t I? You’re not a bird.” He kisses at the side of your face and licks the shell of your ear before whispering, “You’re a mammal. You don’t choose a mate by their pretty gifts or fancy dances.”

The lustful haze invading your mind almost distracts you from whatever is tugging at your pants and pulling them down. “H-Hawks…” You accidentally moaned. You were too out of it to even properly convey your worry. Your pants are removed and something tickles your hips to remove your panties next—that’s when you identify them as more feathers.

“With mammals, males just take what they want. They catch her, hold her down, and fuck her on the spot.”

You gasp when your lower body is completely stripped and exposed—a mistake—Hawks’s intoxicating smell rushes into your mouth and nostrils, making you clench and gush. He lifts himself just enough for the living binds around your wrists to pull and drag you off of the stone walkway and into the blooming batches. The flowers were just tall enough to probably hide you from anyone at a distance, but the winged man crawling over and sitting in front of your feet would easily give you away. “Hawks, someone…might see us,” you mutter.

He only chuckles. “Good, I want them to see. Are you little bastards watching?” He looks up at the lilac tree that now looms right over both of you. The resting tits have gone quiet, most likely intimidated by the large bird-human hybrid that continued to glare at them.

The response was ridiculous enough to temporarily free you from your trance. “I’m not worried about the birds, you dumbass.”

“Hmph, of course you’re not. You’d let them all join in if I’d let you, wouldn’t you?”

You have so many questions about how that would even work.

But you’re interrupted by the feathers around your ankles pulling your feet apart, easily overcoming your resistance and spreading you wide open for the hero in front of you. You have to look away from just how soaked you are, juices flowing from your swollen pussy and onto the soft soil, some of it sticking to your parted thighs in strands. The sight makes Hawks salivate.

“I’m at the peak of my rut and I’m tired of waiting. Gonna make you mine.”

It’s all he says before his entire mouth is on your cunt, tearing a startled cry from your throat. The peaceful sounds of the wind and rustling leaves are overshadowed by the absolutely filthy slurps, sucks, and growls between your legs. He was being a greedy savage that simply wanted to drink you up. There were no careful methods or patterns, just a hungry tongue that lapped at every inch of you and lips that sucked on anything they could grip.

You could barely even writhe from the onslaught, what with your arms pinned over your head and your feet held down so strongly that you couldn’t even move them across the dirt. You kept your sights on the rich colors of various flowers that encircled you as the sweet-smelling haze enveloped you again, enhancing your pleasure. Despite Hawks’ sudden loss of his oral skills, the feral nature of it all—the smothered snarls against your sex, the startling feel of his teeth carelessly grazing your sensitive flesh, and the lewd sight of his face covered in your glistening juices as his glassy eyes opened and stared into yours as he ate you alive—his voracity had you boiling over.

He gulped your essence loudly, welcoming every drop of the orgasmic flood into his mouth. All of the colors in your vision blurred more with each mind-numbing pulse. You weren’t even aware of the shameless wails that left you until the blissful waves finally subsided.

Once he had his fill, he finally pulled away from your mound and boy did he look like a hot mess. His cheeks were a deep red that was slowly spreading across his cum-covered face, a beady string of your fluids hanging from his lips before dripping off. He was climbing back over you and when the fuck did he take his pants off? He must have unbuttoned and removed them while he was licking you into heaven.

He still manages to look smug while he takes in your spent form, your slightly parted lips impossible to resist. Your mouth was suddenly locked with his, the breath you were desperately trying to get back stolen from you. And then the scent returns, this time accompanied with a powerful salted lemon flavor that assaults your taste buds. The taste of your own pussy was insignificant; his aroma in both your nose and mouth is nearly suffocating, your still-recovering inner walls already squeezing out more of your slick.

His tongue thrashes about in your mouth to paint his sweet saliva on every spot he could reach. You swallow it up thirstily and feel an immediate response in your throat that somewhat frightens you. Numbness overtakes your mouth and your throat relaxes completely; you felt like it was suddenly impossible to choke.

Hawks messily pulls away, breathing heavily and licking his lips. “Look at you. All it takes is a whiff and taste of a rutting male to turn you into a submissive little bitch.” You’ve never heard him speak like that, but like every action he’s taken since you’ve been at his mercy, it doesn’t fail to arouse you for reasons you still don’t understand. “Do you want some more? Hmm?”

You’re nodding before your crippled mind can comprehend the question.

The drugged kiss has you dizzy. You’re doing your best to keep track of his movements as he straddles your chest, his cock coming into focus and pressing against your lips. He doesn’t give you a command, you simply open up like a trained whore.

You’re moaning from the addicting taste of his length that pushes all the way to the back of your throat. Once his pubes are flush against your nose, your eyes roll back and you lose all sense of…everything. Everything except for that exhilarant fragrance and flavor.

Even as he begins to move in your mouth, your tongue swirls all around the sweet meat in an attempt to taste him all over. You’re throbbing wildly, but the feathers prevent you from bringing your thighs together for some much needed friction.

He was thrusting in and out at a pace that should have you gagging, but you take the pounding smoothly. Everything was murky, save for the pleasure that was slowly consuming you. You think the birds are singing again, maybe.

Something was smacking against your chin…rather loudly, you think. Hawks’s balls. How obscene, the way he’s hunched over you and fucking your face so roughly, but it’s hard to feel embarrassed when it’s all making you feel so damn good. Drool gathers and drips down your mouth. Your throat has become a second pussy, and he was fucking it like one.

The scent has your entire body on fire and you wish so badly that you could touch yourself. It was too powerful, each breath filling you with more burning tension. Your desperate whines came out as bubbly gurgles around his hammering dick. Your climax is dangling right at the edge. All you need is just the smallest touch on your drenched, deprived pussy.

His thick intrusion suddenly leaves your mouth, allowing oxygen to properly enter your lungs and for the pooling saliva to be swallowed. Hawks says something as you cough and sputter, but everything is still too muffled.

“Good……….not yet……….finish inside.” That was all that you were able to catch. You frankly don’t care. You immediately want his overpowering scent back.

When something pushes past the entrance between your legs, you cum instantly. Your scream is silent, or maybe you just can’t hear it, as your restrained limbs twitch like mad from the excruciatingly pleasurable contractions.

You’re already being fucked roughly while you’re still coming down from your orgasmic high. You’re rocked against the flowers and the soft earth beneath, your peaceful surroundings a stark contrast to the raunchy act currently taking place among them.

Hawks leans in once again, and you have to turn away and hold your breath because you truly felt like one more whiff of that mouth-watering smell would bring you the most euphoric death. His mouth drew closer to your ear, harsh pants in sync with his rapid thrusts. There’s no way a body was meant to handle so much stimulation, yet you didn’t want it to end.

You wanted this powerful man and everything that he had. You want him to fill your womb with his seed…bear his strong and healthy offspring…then let him take you all over again…

There’s a soft rumble that brings you back down to earth, clearing your mind just enough so that all of your senses work properly again. The smudged colors return to their original shapes, and the cooing that vibrates through both of your bodies can be heard loud and clear. His song.

“That’s it, baby. I’ve got you right here. Just give in to me.” Hawks sounds on the verge of losing his voice, weak and graveled, but his singing and hips aren’t letting up.

Finally, fucking finally, the feathers release your limbs. Ignoring how boneless they feel, you use all of your strength to wrap your arms tightly around his neck, and your legs lock right above his ass. You cling onto him like a parasite and moan freely, trusting his low and soft vocals to keep you grounded as his citrus aura captivates you again.

Your involuntary clenches ruin him and take him to his peak, several more hard and deep pumps bringing you to your final climax. Both of you cry out loudly enough to scare away the tits still resting in the tree, the small flock flying off to find a quieter perch.

--------------------

Good. That showed the little bastards.

Hawks smiled triumphantly as the small birds fled the erotic scene. Once he was certain that none of them were coming back, he returned his attention to you. Your chest heaved with each audible breath, your entire body drenched in sweat, just like his. He laid a gentle hand on your cheek, thumb stroking lovingly as you close your eyes for much-needed rest after almost losing your mind.

He did it. He finally claimed you, and all he had to do was just show a little dominance…and expose you to a hefty dose of pheromones. It was clearly way more than you could handle—maybe the face-fucking wasn’t the best idea, but it looked like you were enjoying yourself enough. No harm done.

“Excuse me, sir?”

Hawks was a cool-headed man. He’s managed to stay calm and collected in the direst of situations. Still, when he slowly turns around to see a man dressed in the park’s staff uniform, blushing at the sight of a sweaty couple with no pants on among the innocent blossoms, he can’t help but feel just a wee bit fucked.

“H-Hawks? It’s really you? Wha-?” The poor guy is lost for words from the fact that he just found the number 2 hero banging someone in public.

Eh, he’s talked his way out of tighter spots.

With a smile, the winged hero sends a few feathers to his discarded pants and withdraws a pen from its pockets.

“How about a deal, buddy? An autograph from yours truly and a coupon for my merch. All you gotta do is walk away and forget what you just saw.”

[jlalafics]

things fictional couples do that make me lose my mind + writing prompts: n 14.

Hope you enjoy anon! This is totally unbeta’d as I have just finished it this morning! Happy Saturday!

14. when one of them has never had a proper birthday party for whatever reason, and their lover makes it their mission to give them the best day ever, followed by “you didn’t have to do all this for me. just being with you is enough.” “i know. but i thought you deserved?’’ and their lover smiles, a kiss is shared

_____

“I just never thought it was big deal.” Katniss picked at her plate of spaghetti. “To me, it’s just another day except I’m one year older.”

Peeta reached over, his hand covering hers from across their dining room table.

“That can’t be true,” he reasoned. “There must’ve been a time when you were actually excited about your birthday.”

Katniss sighed, looking at him warily before placing her fork down.

“Truth?” Peeta nodded and straightened himself so he could fully listen to her. “When I was seven, I decided I wanted to have a birthday party. So, my mom and I had invitations made and I handed them out during class. My parents decorated our apartment with streamers and a huge banner that my dad hand drew himself. We even got my favorite strawberry cake from a nearby bakery—a treat for us—since we didn’t have a lot of money.”

Peeta smiled, imagining a young Katniss, waiting excitedly for her party start.

“Then the day came…and no one showed up,” his girlfriend continued. “I waited for hours…until I fell asleep and my parents tucked me in bed. The next time I went to school, no one mentioned it. I cried all through lunch and finally, my teacher called my parents…it was a mess.”

“I’m so sorry.” Peeta stood and rounded the table, kneeling before her chair. “That’s horrible.”

“Later, I found out that some of the parents had an issue with bringing their kids to such a rough neighborhood,” Katniss told him. “I was a financial aid kid in a preparatory school. I didn’t belong and I learned that early. I also learned that birthdays are just another day and there is no need to make a big deal.”

“That is not true,” he declared. “And I’m going to prove it.”

Katniss looked to him suspiciously. “How?”

Peeta kissed the top of her head. “You’ll see.”

“Oh boy.” His girlfriend couldn’t help but grin. “That can’t be good.”

++++++

May 8th

Katniss awoke slowly, her eyes adjusting to light filtering through the blinds in their bedroom.

“Peeta—”

She turned to find her boyfriend’s side of the bed empty, his pillow cool. It wasn’t unusual. They had been living together for six months and even though it was a weekend, Peeta still got up early to pick up breakfast or even do a quick jog while she slept in.

Getting up, Katniss went to their adjoining bathroom, going through her morning ablutions. Her eyes closed in on her reflection, looking to see if there were any differences now that she was a full-fledge twenty-five-year-old.

Other than the slight line between her eyes—she glared way too much, according to her best friend, Johanna—Katniss found nothing different.

“Sweetheart, you awake?” Peeta called out from the living room. “Breakfast is ready!”

She smiled to herself, hearing the endearment. They had been together for a year, meeting at her friend Gale’s birthday party. Madge, Gale’s girlfriend, had invited her cousin to the party and that cousin was the man currently calling for her to join him for breakfast.

Was it love at first sight?

Perhaps.

Her breath might’ve caught slightly when Peeta had walked into the room. She had also briefly wondered if her outfit smelled like the coffee shop she was working at as Madge made the rounds to introduce Peeta to everyone.

As their eyes met during Madge’s introduction, Katniss knew that this man would change her life.

By the time they shook hands, she was a goner.

“Coming,” Katniss called out as she headed out and towards the living room. “I hope that you have coffee ready—” She froze, stopping at the archway leading into the front rooms. “What is this?”

Their living room was decorated in purple and yellow streamers connected by unicorns. Matching balloons floated on their ceiling while right above their couch was a weathered banner with ‘Happy Birthday Katniss!’ written on it.

“Happy birthday, love.” Peeta smiled tenderly at her, giving her a kiss, before placing a tiara with ‘Birthday Girl’ written in rhinestones atop her head. “Pancakes or waffles?”

“How did you know how my birthday party was decorated?” she cried out and her eyes widened at the banner. “And is that the actual banner that my dad made?”

Peeta guided her to their dining table. “I called your parents, and your mom sent a picture along with the banner. They kept it with all your other belongings.” He pulled out her chair and help his stunned girlfriend to her seat before pouring a cup of coffee, putting in a splash of milk and a spoonful of sugar—just how she liked it. “Also, she invited us for 4th of July at their place.”

“You called my parents?” she asked in surprise. “They haven’t even met you yet.”

“I went by Gale and Madge’s so I could Zoom them and introduce myself,” he explained. “Your mother looks really young for someone who has a grown daughter.”

“Why did you do this?” she asked, still in shock.

“Because you need a birthday do-over,” Peeta told her simply as he forked waffles onto her empty plate. “Eat up. We need to get going.”

She had already stuffed a waffle in her mouth.

“Where?”

++++++

“I thought you and I could try something new,” Peeta said as they walked through the park. “Your Dad mentioned that you used to do this together.”

“Why can’t I remember what it was?” Katniss said as he led her down a side road. “We did do a lot of things together…” He guided her into a gated enclosure, closing it behind them. “What is this? Are we about to run around here?”

“Nope.” Peeta walked over to a nearby tree—and pulled out an archery target. He came back with a bow and quiver of arrows. “We—or more appropriately, you—are going to shoot.”

“I haven’t done this in ages!” Katniss replied. However, her hands were already itching to get the bow. “This was something me and Dad used to do every weekend in the backyard.”

“But you had fun, right?” her boyfriend reasoned. “Birthdays are all about fun!”

Katniss chuckled at his exuberance thinking how adorably handsome he was.

And how hot that made her.

She took off her jean jacket, tossing it to the ground.

“Give me that bow.”

Peeta handed it over easily along with the quiver, watching as Katniss strapped the container to her back. He admired the strong line of her back as she walked away from the target and wondered for the millionth time how he even got a woman like her.

The moment Peeta saw Katniss at Gale’s party, he was a goner.

Peeta could barely get a word out as they shook hands, his eyes square on the beautiful woman before him. However, it wasn’t just her dark hair and smoky almond eyes that had him shook. There was a confidence in her that made her stand out like no other person in the room.

He was intimidated but also enamored.

Even now, Peeta was shocked that he even had the guts to ask her out on a date.

However, he thanked his lucky stars that he did and that Katniss accepted.

Katniss pulled back the string of the bow, hand firm on the grip before she released it with an exhale.

She grinned seeing that she managed to hit the bullseye.

“Thank you,” she breathed out. “I forgot how much I loved this.”

“Anything to see that smile on your face,” he told her.

“Get over here,” she called out.

“What?”

“You didn’t think that you were just going to watch me, right?” Katniss put a hand to her hip, her stare expectant. “You have to shoot at least once.”

Peeta shook his head as he joined her. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Then, I’ll teach you.” She cocked her head at him playfully. “Come on.”

Katniss handed him the bow before removing the quiver and placing it on the ground.

“You’re going to hold here—” She held the bow, hand in the middle. “—this is the grip. The head of the arrow is positioned in the middle of it. You’ll line it up from head to the end of the arrow—the nock. Then you aim, pull back, and shoot. Easy, right?”

“Not even close to easy,” Peeta pointed out.

“I’ll help you.” Katniss reached for an arrow, helping him line it up to the nocking point. She moved behind Peeta, her hand moving over his to where he held the string, pressing her front against the line of his back. He smelled of juniper and she breathed him in. “Now, aim as you breathe in and pull the string back. Now exhale and let go.”

Peeta shivered at her words. However, he held firm, listening to her instructions.

“Breathe in—” He pulled the string back, her hand guiding him, his eyes on the target. “—and exhale.”

Peeta let go, his eyes shutting as he did.

It was silent, the only sound being the twittering of nearby birds.

“Well, fuck that!” He opened his eyes to find Katniss at the target. “You are closer than I am!”

Peeta joined her, examining his work, before beaming at his girlfriend.

“What do you think?” she asked, breathless at the sight of him.

He dropped the bow, gathering her in his arms.

“I think that—” His mouth brushed against hers. “—I need to have you right now.”

Katniss shook at his words. “Now?”

“Yes.” Peeta was already lowering her onto the grass, his lips traveling along the opening of her top. “Now.”

++++++

By late afternoon, they managed to make it to their next destination.

“I still have bits of grass in my hair,” Katniss said as Peeta parked their car.

“But do you regret it?” he asked her, his gaze sated.

She shook her head. “Not one bit.”

They both got out of the car, making sure their clothing was fixed and in place before Katniss looked up at their newest destination.

“Our first date.” Peeta wrapped his arms around her waist as they gazed up at the neon sign: Greasy Sae’s. “I had prepared myself to take you on a fancy date.”

“Instead, you got a girl who loves a greasy spoon,” Katniss replied. “I’m starving, let’s go—”

“Before we go in...”

Peeta cupped her face in his hands before kissing her fully.

Katniss fell against him, her palm to his chest to steady herself. She could already her knees getting weak; it happened the first time they kiss and a year later, it continued.

She knew then that he was the one.

“…I just wanted to get one more in.”

“What do you mean?” Katniss asked as they headed towards the entrance. Peeta pulled the door handle, ignoring her question and her glare. “Peeta Mellark—”

“SURPRISE!”

She gasped, her eyes moving over the crowd of people—just about every person that she and Peeta knew—before settling on the three in front of her.

“Mom? Dad? Prim?”

Her parents dove in first, both pulling her into their embrace.

“Happy birthday, baby,” her mom said, kissing her cheek.

“Growing more beautiful every year,” her dad added gruffly.

They pulled apart so Prim could jump into her arms.

“Happy birthday, sis!” Her younger sister held her tightly. “I’m really glad I get to spend today with you.”

Katniss stared in shock. “How did you even get here?”

“Peeta,” Prim informed her. Katniss looked over to her boyfriend who was chatting with Gale, Madge, and Johanna. “He flew me, Mom, and Dad in. It was all arranged last week.”

“He is unbelievable,” she said dazedly.

“Peeta is crazy into with you,” her sister declared softly. “I wouldn’t mind having him as a brother, you know.”

Katniss grinned as her eyes met Peeta’s. “I know.” He smiled; eyes soft at the sight of her. “One day.”

++++++

“First off, thank you for all coming,” Peeta said, as he stood in the seat of the booth.

His eyes looked over the crowd for people all grinning up at him. Katniss’ parents stood to one side along with his own parents, who come into the city to attend the party and meet her parents. It seemed like the quartet were getting along, agreeing to brunch together the next morning. Prim was at a table with Gale, Madge, and Thresh, his co-worker at the office. The man was obviously into Katniss’ golden-haired sister.

Johanna, Katniss’ best friend, was also in attendance. She sat with Annie, who was Johanna’s cousin, and Finnick, her husband. Katniss along with the two women often went on girls’ nights while he and Finnick would hang out at the apartment playing video games or watching a movie.

Peeta realized that he and Katniss lived a full life together.

“Just make babies already!” Johanna called out, a wide grin on her sharp face.

“Also, I just wanted to say that we wouldn’t be here—eating diner food and drinking milkshakes—if this amazing, beautiful woman sitting before me wasn’t born,” Peeta continued, his eyes looking to Katniss, who shone brightly before him.

“But not before putting a ring on it!” Annie added, before toasting her milkshake glass against her cousin’s.

Peeta’s complexion reddened at their words though he couldn’t help but wink back at the women.

“Anyway, before Katniss goes running for the hills, I just wanted to toast to my beautiful girlfriend.” Their eyes met. “Thank you for being born and for making my life nothing short of spectacular.” He raised his soda glass. “To Katniss!”

The crowd echoed his sentiment: “To Katniss!”

Peeta stepped down and went to his girlfriend, holding out his hand.

“Dance with me?”

Katniss stood. “There’s no music.”

“Tonight you're mine completely…”

“You were saying?”

They went a clearing in the middle, Peeta wrapping an arm around her as her arms circled his neck.

Katniss grinned. “I can’t believe that you remember the song—”

“The song that played the first time we kissed?” Peeta pulled her in closer. He placed a soft kiss on her neck. “Of course, I remember. I remember every single moment since we’ve met.”

“I can’t believe you did all this for me,” his girlfriend replied, her grey eyes shining. “You didn’t have to do all this for me. Just being with you is enough.”

“I know, but I thought you deserved to have a birthday that gave you good memories,” he told her. “This is the birthday that we’re going to remember. The one that we’ll look back on when we’re old and grey. The one that we tell our children about.”

Peeta dared to look into her eyes. They had never discussed their future; he could only hope that’s where they were heading.

Katniss was grinning, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“The one we tell our children?” She nodded. “I like the sound of that.”

Then, their lips met and there was nothing else but their dance and the sound of The Shirelles from the nearby jukebox.

“I'd like to know that your love

Is love I can be sure of

So tell me now and I won't ask again

Will you still love me tomorrow…”

++++++

Katniss’ mouth ran along the line of Peeta’s neck as she slammed him against the surface of their front door. Her hands ran along the hem of his shirt, moving underneath to feel his bare skin.

“Baby…” Peeta groaned, his knees almost caving at the rush of pleasure hit him. He shakily reached for his keys, attempting to unlock the door. Katniss wrapped her arms around him, breasts pressed against his back, and her hands already unbuttoning his jeans. “…oh fuck…”

He turned the knob and they fell into their apartment in a rush of limbs.

“I made a strawberry cake…” Peeta pushed off her jean jacket, his mouth pressing to hers. “…just like the one you had for your birthday.”

“That’s so sweet—” Katniss yanked her dress over her head. “—let’s have it after I thank you for the best birthday ever.”

“The cake can wait.” He scooped her up and her arms wrapped his neck as she kissed up to his ear. “This cannot.”

A platinum diamond ring sat in the drawer of his side table.

He guessed that would have to wait for after as well.

FIN.

Music: “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”-The Shirelles

[pines-troz]

Animaniacs/Pinky and The Brain Cinderella AU

I’ve been playing around with this idea for a while, and I wanna share my ideas for a Cinderella AU involving the cast of Animaniacs. And since there’s been a great surge in fun Animaniacs/Pinky and The Brain AUs based off of Disney movies (The wonderful Brainladdin AU by @deez-art and the sweet Beauty and the Beast AU by @themurphyzone), I’d figure that I’d showcase my ideas for a Cinderella AU!

Pinky - Cinderella

Brain - Prince Charming (Has a lot more character and agency in this AU)

Dot - The Fairy Godmother 

CEO Norita - Lady Tremaine/The Wicked Stepmother

Katie Ka-Boom - Drizella/Stepsister #1

Elmyra - Anastasia/Stepsister #2 (I was originally gonna put Mindy in this role, but she’s just a toddler who doesn’t know any better. Elmyra, on the other hand, is the worst and she’s much better suited for the role)

Yakko and Wakko - The Grand Dukes (They’re essentially Brain’s support group in this AU, trying to cheer him up and doling out terrible romantic advice)

Plotz- The King

Bobby, Squit, Pesto  - Jacques and Gus (Since Pinky’s already a mouse, he takes care of the birds that fly by the house, feeding them leftover food and making them shirts and hats)

Rita, Runt, Buttons, Pharfignewton - Various animals that reside by the manor

Pinky’s early childhood were years of happiness spent with his mom, dad and sis. But his mom and sis perished, and his dad remarries to CEO Norita, who feigns affection for Pinky but treats him like dirt when his dad isn’t around. Her daughters, Katie and Elmyra aren’t much better, especially Elmyra who takes great joy in torturing Pinky. After his dad dies of an illness, Pinky is reduced to servant status, and is constantly tending to the needs of his stepmother and stepsisters. 

Despite the terrible circumstances, Pinky remains kind, optimistic and resiliently hopeful. He is very caring towards the animals he cares for, and even makes clothes for the birds who drop by his window. He also sings a lot while doing chores, which lifts his spirits and charms the animals.

Meanwhile, at the royal castle, Brain returns home after graduating summa cum laude from a foreign university. Now that he competed his studies, he eagerly wants to get back to his plans of taking over the world, but his father, Plotz, decides to give him ‘the talk’ so to speak and berates him on why he doesn’t have a girlfriend or any grandkids. Brain dismisses this as trivial malarkey, reminds him that he’s bisexual, and states that his plans for world domination are more important, ending his rant with a good “I don’t owe you anything old man!” before storming off in a huff. Yakko and Wakko joke about how they’d have to drag Brain to a party should he want to date someone, which unwittingly inspires Plotz to hold a royal ball for all potential suitors for Brain.

Brain goes into his room, which is full of blueprints and potential plans for world domination. While he doesn’t want to get married, he wishes to find someone who is supportive of his vision and ambitions.

While completing his chores, Pinky answers the door to find Yakko and Wakko handing out invitations for a royal ball, calling for all eligible single people to attend. Pinky is absolutely thrilled at the idea of going to a ball and having a night off, and he plans his free time to make a dress for himself. Norita, Katie, and Elmyra catch wind of Pinky’s excitement for the ball and decide to do everything possible to prevent him from going.

Pinky is halfway done with his dress, but Norita piles on another batch of chores for him to complete, in addition to tending to Katie’s needs and ‘playing’ with Elmyra. The animals see this great injustice and have a group meeting, and decide to put in a team effort to finish the dress for Pinky to repay him for all the kindness he has given them. Bobby, Squit and Pesto rummage through the house to find jewelry for the dress while Rita, Runt, Buttons and Pharfignewton focus on sewing. When Pinky comes back to his room, he’s astounded to find his dress complete, with the animals standing by. Pinky stands there speechless and utterly grateful for their kindness. He eagerly thanks them for their help and quickly changes into the dress.

When it’s time to leave for the ball, Pinky comes down the stairs in his homemade dress, clearly excited to attend the ball. Norita stares at Pinky and mocks him for even thinking about attending the ball. She yanks off Pinky’s necklace, then Katie and Elmyra proceed to rip his dress to shreds until it’s nothing but rags. When Norita, Katie and Elmyra leave the manor, Pinky is absolutely devastated that all of his hopes for a fun night were so cruelly dashed in a single moment. He flees to the courtyard and starts sobbing, saying that he was a fool for even having dreams. The animals all look on forlornly, helpless to even try to comfort Pinky. 

During Pinky’s lowest point, Dot heeds his call, arriving in a ball of light before materializing into her physical form, comforting Pinky as he cries. When he realizes that he is being consoled, Pinky looks up and is surprised to see Dot hugging him. She explains that she’s his Fairy Godmother and that she will help him prepare for the ball. She first turns an empty spool into a carriage. She then turns Bobby, Squint, Pesto, and Buttons into horses, Pharfignewton into the driver, and Rita and Runt into footwoman and footman respectively. Dot finally turns Pinky’s ruined dress into a beautiful sparkling silver gown with glass slippers. Dot warns Pinky that the spell will be broken by midnight, and she then tells him to have a good time at the ball. 

When it’s time for the ball, Brain is already busy building his latest invention for his intricate plot for global conquest. Plotz interrupts his plans, demanding his presence at the ball, but Brain refuses to go to the party. Yakko and Wakko have to physically drag Brain to attend the ball, who is just clawing at the carpets like “I don’t wanna go, you can’t make me!” He takes his seat on the throne while all the eligible suitors drop by. Brain is bored out of his mind. And he doesn’t even try to hide it, he is like a bored kid whose parent just ran into a friend at the store and is like “can I go home now!?”. Brain even gives Plotz sour looks from time to time to express his disinterest in the ball. Yakko and Wakko try to encourage Brain to at least have fun at the ball. Rolling his eyes, Brain He excuses himself to get some drinks from the refreshments table. 

Pinky arrives at the ball and everyone is captivated by his beauty. He walks in the ballroom and is just spellbound by the pristine surroundings, and he bumps into Brain, not knowing that he’s the Prince. Brain takes one look at Pinky and is immediately enamored by him. The two talk for a while, and Brain looks over his shoulder and sees Yakko and Wakko gesturing that they should hit the dance floor, so he asks Pinky for a dance, and he eagerly accepts. 

Pinky and Brain dance around the ballroom, capturing the interest of everyone, including Plotz. Norita, Katie and Elmyra look at Pinky and they don’t recognize him due to Dot’s magic sparking from his dress. The mice then make their escape to the gardens and they get to know each other. Pinky talks about his home life (but downplays the abuse he endures), but talks about how he wants to live a simple life in a nice house surrounded by loved ones, which deeply humbles the Prince. Brain talks about his ambitions for taking over the world and how he could make things better under his rule, and Pinky admires him. Brain muses to himself that Pinky is the perfect person to have by his side when planning to take over the world. But before Brain could make a proposal, the clock strikes midnight. 

Pinky looks at the clock, remembering that the spell would be broken. Pinky apologizes to Brain and says that he has to return home. Brain follows him and sees Pinky rush down the stairs, losing one of his glass slippers. Brain tries to pursue Pinky as fast as he can, but he’s a total klutz and falls down the stairs. By the time Pinky returns home everything his dress is back in rags and the animals return to their original forms. But Pinky realizes that the glass slipper on his right foot is still on and keeps it as a souvenir.

When Brain wakes up, he suffers from short-term amnesia. He has memories of dancing and conversing with Pinky, but he forgot his name. The only evidence he has to go by is the glass slipper he found. Brain decides to launch an investigation to find his mystery date, but Plotz forbids him to leave. Brain re-enacts that one funny moment from Cinderella 3 by jumping out from the window and going off on his own. Yakko and Wakko decide to accompany him, but Plotz warns that if they don’t find Brain’s suitor he plans of executing them. While the three are off in town, Brain converses with Yakko and Wakko and realizes how flawed his plan is and says “wait a minute, anyone could fit into this shoe. what if the wrong person tries it one first?” And Yakko goes “well, then that’s your problem chief,”

Pinky returns to his usual routine of completing chores for his stepmother and stepsister. Norita sees Pinky singing a song and swaying around in a waltz. She realizes that Pinky was the one dancing with the Prince. Katie and Elmyra spot Brain, Yakko, and Wakko from the window, and Pinky is eager to see Brain again, thinking that he’s dropping by for a friendly visit. Norita grabs Pinky, shoves him into his room, locking him in. 

Brain sees the two stepsisters and realizes that they don’t fit the shoe, but they insist on trying it on anyways (which backfires).

Instead of trying to retrieve the key, The Goodfeathers decide to help out by flying Pinky down from his room out the window. After some slight issues trying to carry Pinky, they safely lower him to the ground. 

Brain, Yakko, and Wakko are about to leave, feeling hopeless over their fruitless search for Brain’s love interest. They open the door to find Pinky standing outside, who’s clearly happy to see Brain again. Norita scoffs at this, but Brain decides that Pinky would be a good fit for the shoe and asks him if he wants to try it on. Pinky eagerly accepts, thinking it’s some sort of game. Wakko runs in with the glass slipper on a satin pillow, but Norita trips him with her cane. Brain is heartbroken that the last evidence he has of his mystery date had been shattered. Pinky consoles him and offers him the other glass slipper like “I have a spare glass slipper if you want to have it.” and Brain puts two and two together and realizes that it was Pinky. Brain kneels down and offers Pinky his glass slipper, who graciously tries it on. The shoe fits.

After an unspecified amount of time, Pinky and Brain get married, and Plotz is happy that Brain is hitched so he could get grandkids. But instead of having human grandkids, Pinky brings along the animals from the manor to live with them in the castle.

The End

[golchaworld]

Lovin’ Through the Summertime | C. BM

➳ pairing: choi bomin x fem!reader, cameos from nct jeno and tbz eric

➳ genre: strangers to lovers!au, fluff (like disgustingly sweet)

➳ word count: ~2.2k

➳ warnings: cursing, literally one reference of condoms

➳ summary: All you wanted was a quiet summer camping trip with your two best friends. But when Yeonsoo brings her boyfriend and his two best friends with him, all hope goes down the drain. Can something good come out of this trip? (Hint: yes, something can).

A/N: When I tell y’all this took me ages to write? I mean it. It’s super short and simple but I actually really like it. I hope you all do we well. As usual, comments and feedback are always more than welcome. Enjoy!

The first thing you notice when you hop out of the car is that it’s muddy.  The ground is wet, and gives way with a discomforting squelch for each step you take.  You knew that camping the day after a storm was a bad idea, but you seemed to be the only one.

Even now, your best friends, Lina and Yeonsoo, buzz around you with excitement.  The chatter about how great the trip will be, how much fun you guys will have, and everything in between, seemingly oblivious to the state of the ground.

The three of you unpack the car to the best of your abilities, having brought way more supplies than needed.  Lina claims that it’s because she knows that the guys will forget things, and you honestly don’t have enough knowledge to disagree.

Lina suggested the camping trip as a way to have some fun and decompress over the summer.  It was Yeonsoo, however, who took that as an invite to invite her boyfriend and his two friends.  You had only met Jeno a handful of times, and he seemed nice enough, but you didn’t know him all that well.  Needless to say, going on an overnight camping trip with two strangers and one barely-an-acquaintance was not your ideal way to decompress.

However, for the sake of your friends, you decided to shut up and bear it.  All you had to do was enjoy your best friends, and hopefully the boys would simply fade to the background.

When the three of you are about halfway done with setting up the tent on barely stable ground, you realize fading to the background is not something Jeno and his friends are used to.  They pull up to your campsite in a beat up Toyota Camry, obnoxiously honking the horn in a way that has all of the birds flying off.

Jeno is the first to exit the car, smiling widely as he greets Yeonsoo with a kiss.  The second boy to exit the car fakes a gag loudly, making Lina giggle.  Even though you don’t want to smile, you do.

“No PDA for the next 24 hours!”  The boy yells, and once again you realize that your quiet trip is over.

When the final boy exits the car, your breath catches in the back of your throat.  He’s cute?  Handsome?  Pretty?  All you know is that he looks good.  Like really good.  He’s tall, at least 90% legs, but not lanky.  His jaw is strong, cheeks slightly rounded, with cheekbones that protrude the perfect amount.  His nose is striking, slightly rounded at the end.  His eyes look kind, even though they seem to hold a level of exasperation at his friends’ loud entrance.

Pretty boy slings a backpack over his shoulder as he silently approaches the group.  Jeno, contrastingly, is hugging both you and Lina, showering you both with greetings and small talk.  It’s the loud boy that nudges him in the ribs and knocks him out of his chatter.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

Jeno’s eyes widen.  “Oh my gosh!  I’m sorry.  Guys, this is Lina and Y/N, and you already know Yeonsoo.  Lina and Y/N, this is Eric and that’s Bomin.”

The four of you exchange soft greetings, and you instantly find yourself enamored by pretty boy’s, Bomin’s, voice.  It’s deep and smooth, but has a soft lilt to it as he ends his sentences.  Something about it is melodic, soothing, and you find yourself wanting him to speak more.  But it’s Yeonsoo who speaks instead.

“Why don’t you guys start unpacking?  It’s going to be hard finding a place to set up.  The ground is a little wet.”

You find yourself muttering under your breath before you even realize it.  “A little is an understatement.”

There’s a soft chuckle from across from you.  When you look up, you meet the eyes of Bomin, whose lips are pulled up into a closed-lipped smile.  Instantly, you flush.  Gosh, what a first impression.

Eventually, Yeonsoo claps her hands twice, and everyone gets to work. You busy yourself with finishing up your tent before moving three sleeping bags into it. However, you’re stopped mid-endeavor by Lina, who claps a hand over your shoulder. 

“The third sleeping bag isn’t going in here, love.”

You quirk an eyebrow. “Where would it go, then?”

Lina just motions towards where Jeno and Yeonsoo are working on setting up another tent, which makes three in total. The couple looks absolutely enamored, playful banter being exchanged while they pitch the tent. 

“Oh.”

Lina giggles. “Yeah, oh. So you can leave her sleeping bag in the car. She’ll grab it later.”

You nod, heading back over to the car, glad when Lina accompanies you. “So I guess it’s just the two of us, then?”

“Honestly, I don’t know.” Lina lowers her voice to a whisper. “That Eric guy is kind of cute, don’t you think?”

She’s right, of course, Eric is cute. His strong jaw and distinct nose make a perfect combination, and with his confident, bubbly aura, he’s a picture of perfection. He’s just not exactly your type, nor the guy you have your eye on. 

Bomin, at the moment, is looking at Eric chastisingly. The two of them are chopping firewood, trying to gather the supplies before the day grows dark. Eric, however, is swinging the axe around, aiming to do some fake kung fu moves instead of helping. You can’t stop the small smile that blooms on your face at the way Bomin rolls his eyes. 

You turn back to Lina with the smile still placed on your face. “He is cute. I think you should go for it.”

“You really think so?!” Lina beams. “Oh my god, okay. Should I talk to him? Is it too forward to try and get him into my tent tonight? Wait, then what would happen to you? Would you sleep in the car?”

Lina’s words come out a mile a minute, very clearly illustrating her unfiltered line of thought. You plácate her with a small laugh and a warm hand on her shoulder. 

“Don’t worry about me,” you encourage. “Go get your man! I’ll be fine.”

.        .        .

The fire radiates a soft glow by the time the sky is streaked with soft oranges and pinks. It’s a result of Eric and Bomin’s hard work, leaving both of the boys pink in the face with exertion. 

You’ve always admired how the summertime leaves everything pink. There’s the brilliant magenta of flower petals, the soft rosy color of the sunrises and sunset, the warm blush that rises from childish laughter. There’s just something about summer that leaves everything in a pink glow, making you fall in love with the season over and over again. 

The sunset is almost as pink as Bomin’s lips, which form soft sounds that you’re not quite paying attention to. His voice is deep and soothing, having a mellow lilt to it that ends in a slight lisp. His cheeks are even more rounded as he goes through each word, features drawing upwards into a slow smile. 

“You know,�� Bomin begins softly. “I never thought I would actually like camping, but this is nice.”

Jeno sighs dreamily, staring at Yeonsoo’s profile. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

Eric throws a piece of hotdog bun at his friend, causing all of you to erupt into laughter. You find yourself drawn to Bomin’s laugh, a little louder than the others. It’s cute, the way his eyes are crinkled around the edges, cheeks retaining a rosy glow. Maybe everything about Bomin is cute, and you’d like to find out either way. 

“Anyways,” Eric calls everyone’s attention. “What made you guys want to go camping in the first place?”

You roll your eyes. “Honestly, I don’t even know. It was Lina’s idea.”

Lina’s cheeks bloom a fiery red once Eric’s eyes fall on her. You’re never seen her this flustered, seeing as she usually can command an army of boys with just a snap of her fingers. But with Eric, she seems nothing short of flustered. 

Bomin seems to notice it too, if the way he smiles into his cup is anything to go by. He meets your eyes over the rim of said cup, sending you a small wink. You’re quick to avert your gaze. 

The conversation easily devolves into hushed whispers from Jeno and Yeonsoo, drowned out by the excited banter between Lina and Eric. You and Bomin remain quiet, staring down at the fire or up at the sky in between the glances you steal. 

Eventually, the sun disappears behind the horizon, leaving an onyx sky in its wake. Numerous stars twinkle up above, and you find yourself increasingly drawn to the clarity of the night. You map out the constellations you know, only turning back to the fire when you’ve named them all. You’re surprised to catch Bomin’s eyes when you do so. 

If the red on the tips of his ears is anything to go by, he had been watching you just as intensely as you we’re watching the stars. The thought sends a warm flurry through your core. 

You’re brought out of the moment by Lina clapping her hands, declaring that it is officially time for s’mores. Yeonsoo and Jeno offer no signs that they have heard the declaration, still speaking in hushed tones and soft giggles. Lina doesn’t pay them any mind, choosing instead to fetch the ingredients from where they had been stored in a bag. 

She puts six marshmallows onto six individual skewers, thrusting them into the hands of each person sitting around the fire. Everyone seems to smile in unison, leaning forward in their seats to roast their sweets over the open flame. 

“You know,” Lina begins, glancing over at Eric. “There’s something romantic about sitting under the stars.”

Jeno glances over at Yeonsoo with a dopey smile. “I know what you mean.”

Bomin meets your eyes from across the fire once again, scrunching up his nose in mock disgust. When you smile in response, he does the same, seemingly smug over the fact that he made you smile. 

Your moment is quickly ruined, however, by a loud screech. Eric quickly stands from his chair, waving around his now on fire marshmallow frantically. He continues to run in circles, even after the fire has dulled to a soft stream of smoke. The entire group erupts into laughter. 

“It’s not funny,” Eric pouts. “I just ruined my marshmallow.”

Lina smiles, her awestruck gaze trained on the boy as if he were the center of her universe. You guess that in the moment, he just might be.

“It’s okay, Eric. We have plenty of marshmallows left.”

You watch silently as the two head over to the bag of sweets left on the picnic table behind you. They skewer the marshmallow together, whispering and giggling all the while. When you meet Bomin’s gaze from across the fire, he rolls his eyes. You bite back a smile. 

After another ten minutes, all the s’mores are devoured, and Yeonsoo complains of a stomachache. Her boyfriend has a protective palm over the girl’s abdomen, rubbing slow circles to attempt to ease the pain. It doesn’t surprise you when seconds later, the two announce that they’re turning in for the night. 

Lina is quick to follow afterwards, making googly eyes at Eric as she cleans up her area. The boy looks confused for a moment before snapping to attention. He lets out an over dramatic yawn, stretching his limbs in an exaggerated movement. 

“Yeah I’m going to turn in, too,” Eric states, shooting Bomin a not-so-subtle wink. Suddenly you feel left out of the conversation. 

“Good night, you two,” Bomin calls out to their retreating figures. “Use a condom!”

Eric only throws up a middle finger in reply, much to the satisfaction of his best friend. When the two climb into one of the remaining tents, Bomin turns to you. 

“And then there were two,” he smiles, the curve of his lips accentuated by the open flame of the campfire. “I’m sorry about Eric. You can take the last tent. I’ll sleep in the car.”

“No!”

Your objection comes out way louder than you intended it to, ringing out in the silence of the night. Instantly, your face heats up. 

“I mean, don’t apologize. It’s Lina’s fault, too. You can sleep in the tent, too!

The corners of Bomin’s lips quirk up. “Too?”

“Yeah, I mean…” you take a second to recollect your thoughts, hands nervously fiddling with your hair. “Like we can both sleep in there, if you want. It’s big enough. We don’t have to, though. I know we just met and—“

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Your eyes widen in disbelief. 

Bomin just shrugs nonchalantly, but his facade is easily broken by the bright blush of his cheeks. Even in the night time, that soft pink color still stands out. You love it. 

“Well, let’s clean up, then. And then I guess...I guess we can go to bed?”

Bomin smiles at your words, blush getting darker as it spreads across his face. 

“Yeah. Let’s go to bed.”

[spaceorphan18]

Finding Kurt Hummel: 2009

Masterpost

6x12: 2009

And... here we are, back to the start of all the things.  I don’t necessarily count this as part of the finale - I feel like this and Dreams Come True were two separate entities that they decided to throw together to make it seem like a two hour finale.  But I’m glad that we got this kind of an episode - because I feel like it’s a way to show just how far this show came in it’s short six years.  I know there’s discussion as to whether or not this would have been a good ender instead of DCT, and while I do see the appeal of the circular narrative, I prefer how it was aired -- looking back before closing the book for good.  

Hello, My Name is Kurt Hummel

The first half of the episode is dedicated to reframing the characters we’ve grown to love and we get to start with Kurt.  I kind of love that we spend time with the characters who weren’t developed in the pilot - not only because it gives us a different perspective of the pilot, but because these are the characters who the show gravitated to, and who really became solidified in our hearts.  And of course, Kurt gets to go first - because he wasn’t even in the pilot to begin with - and now this character is the male lead of the show.  It’s kind of poetic really.  

But before we get too deep, I need to point something out.  It’s funny to me that we can all look back at things and remember how they were - but there is a reality to the fact that we can never really go back.  The truth is - in the six years being on the show, Chris Colfer grew up - going from a slightly chubby-faced kid, into a full-fledged adult.  And no matter how hard they try, they can’t undo puberty.  

Chris is amazing in a lot of ways - he holds himself inward like he did in the first season, he tries to mirror the same mannerisms, he even tries to speak slightly higher again.  But you can’t mask the obvious - this kid is, well, not a kid anymore, and it shows.  Just needed to point that out ;) 

Anyway - when we open with Kurt, we see this very lonely and sad kid, slumping through the halls, still getting rammed into lockers by Karofsky (and Puck), and talking about how no one notices that he even exists. 

I like that he mentions his mom here - that he says she said he was a happy child.  And I have to wonder in these lonely days, if he misses his mom more.  She was a kind soul - a contrast to his dad’s gruffness, that soothed his unique heart.  He could be different - but his mom always loved him.  Mom isn’t around anymore, and the world seems cold and lonely.  

He mentions in this voice over that he wonders if anyone would notice if he was gone.  Yes - Kurt was situational depressed before he joined glee.  And yes, he was toyed with suicide -- maybe not to the extent that he’d try anything (he had his dad to look out for - and I feel like that always kept him going) but it was definitely a thing the show wants to point out as real.  And in the middle seasons - when Burt says glee saved his kid’s life - this is what Burt was referring to. 

Well - lucky for Kurt, as strange and awkward as Ms. Pillsbury is, she does do her job - and she does notice Kurt.  And really, let’s give Emma some credit here, because if Emma hadn’t talked to Burt, Kurt probably wouldn’t have joined glee - and who knows what would have happened.  

I like the little scene between Emma and Burt.  Burt knows something’s different about Kurt - and has suspected for a long time that he’s gay - but really doesn’t want to go there, and still thinks there might be some time for Kurt to grow out of being gay.  Luckily Emma kinda brushes pass that and explains to Burt that Kurt’s depressed and might possibly hurt himself.  And Burt, being the good dad that he is takes it seriously.  

Joining a Team

Hey! It’s Kurt’s old room - complete with weird bird cage chair and a sewing machine.  And those very white walls.  I’m surprised Kurt hadn’t already redesigned it into something more spectacular - but if he was feeling depressed, well then he probably didn’t feel like doing much of anything.  Anyway... Burt comes down to talk to him, and we get little snippets of what their life is like with each other.  

Kurt comments about making dinner -- which is what he probably does a lot of the time.  He likes cooking, Burt probably doesn’t, so Burt’s probably okay with him doing a majority of the meals.  Burt isn’t that comfortable talking about things - but makes an effort (which is huge!).  But within the conversation, Burt comments that they’re usually doing their own things and not really being a big part of each other’s lives.  

Burt, I don’t think, really knows how to handle the situation - and his solution is to get Kurt some friends, and find something that Kurt’s happy to do.  I don’t think yelling at his kid to join the football team is great advice, but I also don’t think Burt really knows what to do in this situation either, and reaches out in the only way he knows how.  

It’s interesting to me that Burt comments that Kurt’s basically alone all the time down there in his room.  And it made me think about how Burt was probably all alone too - not having met Carol yet, and probably feeling low-key depression (or just apathy) since his wife died.  Sure, Burt probably played poker with his buddies every once in a while, too -- but I get the impression that Burt is as lonely and isolated inwardly as Kurt is outwardly portraying.  It’s just an interesting dynamic here before they kind of turn a corner in Preggers. 

Rachel Berry

Burt made a demand that Kurt has to join something by the end of the week...  So Kurt, to his credit at least tries.  But first - I’d like to point out Kurt awkwardly needs to find a place to sit for lunch - and through our trek through the lunch room, we’ve got all the cliques and groups hanging around.  And this isn’t 2009, this is almost 1989.  Everything’s so stereotypical - it might as well have been a Saved by the Bell episode.  Oh Ryan Murphy and your issues regarding being in high school that play out through your numerous shows....  

Anyway - back to Kurt.  He finds Rachel Berry and promptly sits down.  And then tells her how wonderful she is (cause he watches her MySpace videos)  **headdesk**  And this, folks, is what we call retconning because I don’t actually believe that season 1 Kurt would be watching Rachel’s anything.  But the show is trying to connect its characters - and set up the Hummelberry friendship, so fine, I’ll let you pass.  The revert to early Rachel Berry is pretty funny. 

I’m not entirely sure what’s going on with Kurt’s hair during this episode.  They kind of go through all of Kurt’s iconic looks throughout season 1 and 2, which may have been the point.  Or maybe they forgot that Kurt wore his hair in one way during all of season 1.  Hard to say.  

Anyway...  oh Rachel.  Kurt says he needs to join a club and Rachel says speech club is closed (man - why didn’t we get to see Rachel in speech club, that would have been hilarious).  But then goes into a whole thing about how glee club is now open and looking for members.  And Kurt kind of hangs on for dear life as Rachel rambles on in her run-on sentences.  

I should mention, though, a contrast between Rachel and Kurt here, though.  Kurt claims he’s kinda toying with acting while Rachel says she’s going to be on Broadway and that’s it - she’s determined and unstoppable.  And I think it kind of speaks to their characters.  Sure, Kurt does have ambition, but he also is able to put his relationships before his career - while Rachel will do the opposite.  Idk - nice little bit of continuity here. 

Popular

And... we get Kurt wearing the same, weird, glasses shirt he was wearing in the pilot when he goes to sign up!  Anyway, Rachel has agreed to help Kurt with his singing, and of course - they decide to do a Wicked song (nice throwback to the diva-off in Wheels) about making one over to be popular.  Could their be a more perfect song for them as their last duet? I think not.  

I do like Kurt’s looks as Rachel (through the song) comments on his livelyhood - and how he won’t be an easy case to make over.  We do get a bit of that old school Kurt shining through here in his facial expressions.  And I do kinda love that it puts Kurt’s making over her in season 1 have even more context, which is fun (whether they intended that or not).  

I’m not sure if I have a whole lot to say about the song itself.  It’s pretty self explanatory - a conversation about being popular (which is a nice tie-in with the original theme of the show).  And it’s also a way for Kurt and Rachel to begin the bonding process (again, even if I don’t fully buy the retcon here).  

But more so - this is the last duet for Chris and Lea and they really just sell it.  It’s been a long time, actually, since we’ve had a Kurt and Rachel duet - and it’s nice to have again.  Their voices complement each other very well - and they have great give and take on stage.  This performance just works - is funny, well sung, and all around entertaining.  I have nothing but positive things to say about it. 

As the show wraps up - Kurt is happy and excited, wanting to do the audition together with Rachel.  However, Rachel has this weird idea in her head that you can’t team up to do auditions (even though Tina and Artie totally audition together).  Rachel dramatically storms off - claiming that this is show choir and it’s every man for himself.  Which is weird... because the purpose of show choir is to function as a full unit, not fight for solos, but I don’t think Glee really ever understood that concept.  

Kurt stands there stunned - and again alone.  

Mercedes Jones

Well - I’m glad it doesn’t take much to light a fire under Kurt’s butt.  Since Rachel isn’t willing - Kurt goes out and seeks someone else (the same day!) - and it happens to be Mercedes Jones - future BFF.  Kurt’s already enamored with her (which is adorable), and asks for her help preparing something for his audition.  

She thinks he’s adorable (she calls him a pale, sexy, keibler elf - let that sink in for a minute) but she also calls him out for slinking around the school and his loud sense of style.  He says that he feels more inside, but isn’t sure how to express it - and we get confirmation that Kurt lets his clothes express himself as a way that he can’t yet verbalize.  Well - luckily for Kurt (man does he get lucky having some great women in his life) Mercedes takes pity on him - and decides to help him out -- even picking out his audition song. 

Audition

So - we get the reprisal of Mr. Cellophane - what Kurt sang for his audition way back in the pilot.  And I love that we get it from the back side.  It’s not only a way to hide Chris’s growth into adulthood, but a neat way to show a new perspective.  

In case you were wondering what Will’s notes are: 

Great Breath Support

Impressive Range

Earsplitting falsetto (Note - does Will or the writers know that that’s not Kurt’s falsetto but his actual range?) 

Gay.  (Oy, whatever Will, not sure why that’s relevant) 

Sweet Kid!!! (Will added the exclamation points)

Hummel Tires and Lube

With all the throwbacks, I’m realizing this is the last time we get to see all these places.  Awww....  

So, Kurt comes bouncing into his dad’s shop all happy about joining the glee club, and Burt’s excited for him.  (I love that Burt thinks Beyonce is a kid in Kurt’s class.)  I kind of side eye that a) you can only bond with other people within competition - but from Burt’s perspective I get it and b) the fact that Kurt feels they need a strong male lead.  I get that Kurt might not feel confident yet to be a lead -- and that the show wants to bring back Finn (or at least his essence).  But I’ve had this issue with the show all along.  Kurt (and Artie) can be male leads - just because they aren’t ‘traditional’ doesn’t mean they can’t be.  Oy show. 

But the real bittersweet (and brilliant) moment of this scene comes at the end - and is a stark reminder of where we once were.  His dad is proud of him, and clearly loves him.  But Kurt still holds on to a deep secret - that he’s gay.  And he just doesn’t know how to tell his dad that.  We know what happens - we know that Burt’s going to officiate at Kurt’s wedding to a man some day.  We know that everything’s gonna play out alright.  But at one point in time - Kurt didn’t know.  And this scene really puts us back in the mind set.  

Also - I’d like to take a moment to mention that they use all the season 1 scoring - which a nice throwback to season 1, but also in building the atmosphere of the time period.  It’s just a nice touch. 

Little Moments

Kurt’s spotlight segment is over - but there’s still much more to this episode.  As Tina and Artie are figuring out their own auditions (which they’re dared to do) Kurt and Rachel are busy getting lunch thrown on them.  Ah kiddos... 

[Guys - when they do the throwback to class where the fury is complaining about Rachel - check the chalkboard - there’s a history of Lima there and it’s kinda funny]

Also - Kurt is back to doing stunning background moments, because he storms behind giving a death glare to the punk group Artie and Tina are in - it’s glorious. 

First Glee Club Meetings

Hey! It’s our first glee club meeting...  Will’s not very good at this, but at least he’s enthusiastic.  I don’t fully understand the need for the gloves though. 

Of course - everyone’s already fighting over solos.  Will at least says they’re going to take turns, but we all know how that’ll turn out.  Meanwhile - Will wants to do a medley from Grease (ah, set up I see...) and Kurt raises his hand to do the Sandy part.  Remember that weird, awkward Kurt gender stuff - hey it’s back.  

And then we get into some really uncomfortable stuff as Rachel says that the solos shouldn’t be about race, or disability, or ‘whatever’ as she points to Tina and Kurt (eesh).  And yeah - Rachel - sit down, you are being racist.  This is supposed to set up Mercedes breaking down though - and I am glad they finally, even if it’s at the end, address some of the racial stuff with Mercedes here.  

Kurt, though, looks annoyed (rightfully) at be labeled as a ‘whatever’ - and looks to Will for some kind of support - or at least wanting to shut Rachel down. But this is Will - and he’ll learn that he’ll never really be able to do that. 

Kurt doesn’t say anything here - but let’s take a moment to appreciate Chris’s background acting again.   Ah, welcome back to season 1.   

Lima Bean

So - Kurt and Mercedes are already hanging out together - lovely!  I totally get season 3 Kurt vibes from this scene, but ah well - who cares, it’s cute.  

Finn has joined the club by now - and Kurt’s complaining cause despite scenes ago saying they need a male lead - Kurt’s now irritated (as he should be) about being ignored for something more ‘traditional’.  

The point of this conversation is kind of to prop up Finn as needing them as much as they, supposedly, need him.  Mercedes is kind about the whole thing - and tries to see the positives, while Kurt goes on about being pushed out, and that the popular people seem perfect and don’t have issues.  (I feel like there’s some commentary about celebrity culture in here, too)  

But what I like is that Mercedes is constantly positive. Kurt’s kind of a negative person by nature - and she does bring out this brighter side of him, which is great! I do think it’s fun that they throw a nod into Mercedes’s crush.  Kurt kind of shrugs it off as nothing, but it’s a cute moment.  

Also - we get a throwback to Finn saying Mercedes should do the costumes - and Kurt says he’ll be the one helping her do that.  Cracks me up that they use this episode to ‘fix’ some weird/minor issues in the pilot.  Retcons ;) 

I’d also like to point out -- do you know who is standing right behind Mercedes at the moment -- where Kurt can see that blazered back (that he’ll probably see a lot of over his life time - now that I think of it...).  BLAINE!!!!

I’m so glad they let Blaine have a little moment in this episode. 

We get this super cute inner monologue of Kurt wrestling with himself over his crush on Finn as his future husband makes his way behind him.  I love that.  I love that they let that little crossing paths moment happen.  

Anyway - Kurt’s gotten to Mercedes enough that she’s going to call an emergency meeting about Finn joining the club. 

Emergency Meeting

And... we get rather meta in this scene - I love that they mention DSB being a nod to The Sopranos Ending - which was a legit thing I heard way back when.  

But mostly, this is where everyone bands together and decides Finn isn’t so bad.  Yay Finn!  Sure.  

Everyone goes around saying how Finn has been kind to them.  Kurt references his first scene of the show - being able to take off his Marc Jacobs jacket before being thrown in the dumpster (and then twitches - cause comedy).  

As Rachel throws out the message of the episode, and the show, about accepting of each other for being different (sure, fine) we get a camera lingering on Kurt.  And - omg.  This brings me season 2 feels.  And remember the time when Kurt often looked into the middle distance wistfully?  Oh kiddos - it does get better.  Or it has Bette Midler.  Which ever you prefer, really.  

But really - this scene, more than any other in this episode, really captures young Kurt.  I mean, Chris does angst so well, and it’s a nice little reminder of how this lonely and awkward kid grew into something incredibly special.  

Back to the Start

And then we get Don’t Stop Believin’ - as it was way back in the pilot.  It’s edited differently, more so to feature Finn (personally I like the original edit better - but I can see why they did it this way).  

But it’s a sweet little moment.  Remember when this show was filled with hopes and dreams and went out of its way to make people feel special? Remember when this show was an anthem for people who were weird or different or awkward or just plain didn’t fit in?  Remember when this show was fresh and not bogged down by baggage and bts drama?  For a moment - we can listen to Don’t Stop Believin’ and remember way back when and think about all the possibilities that were open to us.  

As a final confession - I would like to say this - I actually like this episode much more than the pilot - and probably would have been more invested in the show had it started with this.  But as much as they tried to recreate the feeling of season 1 - they just didn’t capture the dark and grittiness that accompanied it.  And this is a pilot to something that would have been vastly different.  And that’s okay.   

I am glad that we got this episode (I wish they had done more episodes like this, tbh), and I’m glad we got to dig in just a little deeper to Kurt’s story.  It’s been a fun journey, and I do think it was brilliant to have this episode right before the end.  But as I said at the start - I’m glad it wasn’t.  

There’s room for just a little more of the story, time to close everything up.... 

[theolddarkmachine]

Must Love Cats- Chapter Five

Levy hadn’t planned on being a pet sitter when she’d moved into the city. She also hadn’t planned on pet sitting for a sex god either, but here she was.

AKA the one where Levy is a pet sitter, Gajeel is her client, and Lily is the glue that binds them together.

I’M SO SORRY THIS IS LATE Y’ALL! Like I said, I’ve been up to my eyeballs in getting ready to move. I leave next Friday so I’m hoping not to have any setbacks next week given everything will be packed up and I won’t really have anything to keep me from being able to write. But life is crazy so you never know. So yes, sorry this is late! Also, thanks for the feedback on Kingdom! I am def gonna move forward with that one as well, but that won’t be happening until a couple weeks from now because once I do get home I wanna give myself about a week to settle in before I hop into writing two stories lol As always, thank you guys so much for sticking around and reading and for your support! (Also, if you haven’t seen Almost Famous I 100% recommend you do cuz it’s one of my fave movies ever.)

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

Gajeel’s pen tapped loudly against he cover of his writing notebook as he stared out the window of the tour bus. The band he was currently touring with were all asleep after a night of partying after their gig the night before, leaving him alone with his thoughts and the scenery of Ireland whizzing by. Luckily for him, since he’d just joined the tour that day, he’d managed to miss out on the excessive drinking that had taken place that would have inevitably landed him in some sort of trouble. Especially with a certain blue haired woman whose number in his phone kept him more than aware of the lack of message notifications he received. Not that he’d really expected Levy to keep up conversing with him after her wrist got better, why would she? They’d talked a couple times in the three weeks that had passed since, but it always started with a question about her wrist, then would lead to something completely random-- his favorite being her tangent about how she distrusted bird people-- before she would quickly cut off conversation saying she was sorry to have bothered him. It never was a bother and he did try to let her know that, but it never really seemed to matter.

He sighed loudly and continued to tap his pen on his journal. With the time difference, she’d be arriving to his apartment for Lily’s first visit. That damn cat is such a lucky little bastard, he thought to himself. Gajeel really hoped she hadn’t found it weird that he’d specifically requested her for the visits this time around. The fact he was completely enamored by her aside, she really was the best with Lily and it did help ease his worry knowing that his best friend was in good hands. He was only on this tour for three weeks, which was short compared to some of the tours he’d been on recently, but that didn’t mean he didn’t absolutely hate leaving the little dude behind for so long. Not that Lily must mind at all. He was a cat after all, and while a loyal cat that sometimes made Gajeel question if he was actually part dog, a cat nonetheless.

His eyes flickered from the scenery outside to his phone that he had on the table next to him. The screen remained dark as he stared at it, almost willing it to light up. It stubbornly stayed black and he sighed again, turning his eyes back to the window.

“Ya got yerself a woman?” A thick Irish accent interrupted his thoughts and causing him to jump. The singer of the band asked as he walked passed Gajeel to the mini fridge at the front of the bus to grab a water.

“Excuse me?” Even to his ears his tone had sounded full of bite. The Irishman laughed before taking a swig of water.

“Down laddie,” he said smiling as he walked back towards the bunks that he’d come from. “Only a man waitin’ on a woman stares at his phone like that is all.” As quickly as he’d appeared, he’d vanished back into his bunk. Good thing Gajeel was nothing but professional or he’d tell the singer where to shove his presumptions. No, he wasn’t waiting on a woman. Of course not. Especially not one he’d met twice and talked to a total of five times. Because that would be weird. No. He was not waiting on a woman. He’d almost gotten done convincing himself of that fact when his phone went off and Levy’s name flashed across the screen.

***

It was technically Levy’s day off, and honestly, if it had been anyone else that had requested her services only, she probably would have said no because she really liked having one day a week where she was able to focus completely on herself. That being said, when her manager had texted her a couple of days ago asking if she’d be okay working on her days off to see Lily because Gajeel had specifically requested her and her alone she’d happily taken the job. (In a very calm, and cool way. Definitely not in a way that involved squealing and excited dancing.) Admittedly, they hadn’t really talked all too much since the Hotdog incident, mainly because she felt like a complete and utter creep for texting him even if he had been the one to give her his number. She’d managed to milk her busted wrist for all it was worth, but contacting him about anything else just seemed like it violated some sort of unspoken pet sitter rule. The one where you weren’t allowed to be into your client. That didn’t mean, of course, that she didn’t feel a bit like she was returning home as she unlocked the door to his apartment. Well, maybe not home, because that was weird, but definitely some place safe and welcoming. Lily hopped off his pillow on the couch as soon as he saw it was her and meowed as he headbutted her shin.

“Hey, cutie pie,” she cooed as she stroked his head. “How about we get you some breakfast, huh?” Levy went on autopilot as she headed to the kitchen to get him his food and nearly missed the handwritten note and DVD on the counter. Stopping in her tracks, she backpedaled and locked eyes with Kate Hudson and her blue lensed sunglasses.

Hey Lev,

I really can’t get over the fact you’re a movie girl but haven’t seen this. So at the risk of sounding like a prick of a client, I also request you give this a watch. I swear you’ll love it, or I’ll owe you one.

-Gajeel

She stared at the DVD, surprised by the fact he’d even remembered something so little as the fact she hadn’t seen Almost Famous. It wasn’t like they’d actually really talked about it or anything. He must really love that movie if he’d thought to leave it. Chuckling, she snapped a picture of it and attached it to a new message to the cat owner.

First you make me work on my day off, and now you make me watch a movie too? I might have to charge you extra for the time :P

It was a bit more flirty than she’d normally make it, but she was in a good mood so why the hell not. Hitting send, she put her phone on the counter and walked away to get Lily his food, vowing not to ignore him for his owner. She barely had any time at all to grab a can of wet food from the cabinet when she heard her phone buzz with his response. Fighting the urge to look at it, she opened the can and put it in a bowl before taking it to Lily’s feeding area at the other end of the kitchen before she picked up the phone.

trust me when its over ull be thankin me for makin u watch it

A short bark of laughter escaped her as she shook her head. Someone had high expectations.

And what will you owe me if I’m not impressed?

Placing the phone back on the counter, she escaped to go scoop Lily’s litter box. Honestly, it was the only way she would be able to keep herself from being too eager if he responded quickly again. She wasn’t shocked to see a new message on her screen when she was done.

whatever u want

Her heart stuttered as she reread his text. She was sure it was just a cheeky way of him just trying to prove that he was so certain she’d like the movie that he could promise her anything without too much worry about having to follow through. That didn’t stop her from wondering if her heart was going to leap out of her chest.

You?

She stared at the word she’d typed out, wishing she really had the balls to send it. Shaking her head, she deleted it quickly before typing up her actual reply.

You have a lot of faith in Ms. Hudson

u seem to have no faith in kate. trust me shrimp. watch it and report back to me.

At this point, Lily had hopped onto the counter and rubbed his head against Levy’s arm. Absentmindedly, she stroked his fur as she tapped out a confirmation that she would, in fact, watch it tonight and give him her full report.

“You’re going to have to get your owner to stop, Lil,” she whispered as she put her phone in her back pocket and turned her full attention to the Bombay. “He really is something else.”

***

Levy was tucked into the corner of the couch in her shared living room with her big fleece blanket wrapped around her shoulders. After a full day of taking care of Lily, working on her current script and doing all those other menial tasks that come with being an adult with one day off a week, she had finally been ready to watch Almost Famous. At least, she thought she had been. That was until Kate Hudson’s Penny Lane brokenly asked Patrick Fugit’s William Miller why Billy Crudup’s Russell Hammond didn’t love her as she was overdosing on quaaludes and she found her vision blurry with tears. Honestly, up until that point she hadn’t really felt anything for Penny, but that moment was when every preconceived notion of the character changed. Her vision stayed that way through the end of the movie as Led Zeppelin lead the film to blackness before the credits.

“Dammit,” she sniffled as she wiped at her eyes with the backs of her hands. Even if she didn’t love movies and seeing the care that was put into the scripts, she would have to admit she still loved that movie. She pulled her phone from the folds of her blanket and pressed on his text thread.

That was terrible, I can’t believe that’s your favorite movie.

The credits were still running as she laid her head down on the arm of the couch. She let the music wash over her as the names of the cast and crew crawled across the screen. The fact that that was his favorite movie really did speak a lot about his character. The film was so heartfelt and looked at the rock lifestyle in a genuine way that saw more than just the sex and drugs. She wondered if that’s what it was really like. Maybe she’d ask him sometime. As she kept her eyes trained on the credits, they started to blur together.

***

She awoke with a start as her phone vibrated on her leg. The TV showed the DVD menu and it was pitch black in the room. Staring at her screen, she saw that it was 2:03am, and knew she’d hate herself when her alarm went off at 6:30am for her to get up for work. More importantly, she clicked on the message that had awaken her.

liar

It took a moment for her to realize why Gajeel was accusing her of lying before she remembered what she’d originally said.

Fine, you got me. It was amazing. I was just hoping I could still get whatever I wanted :P

Pressing her fists into her eyes to wipe the sleep away, she got up and walked to her DVD player, ejecting the disk before turning both it and the TV off.

ur a tricky one lol dont think u get to steal my movie short stack

Levy pulled her blanket tighter around her as she shuffled into her room before falling down onto her bed and tapping out a reply.

And if that wasn’t what I wanted?

Awake Levy would hate Sleepy Levy in the morning, but right now she didn’t even care.

then id say i would have to see what i can do bout what it is u do want

She felt her cheeks grow hot as she stared at the screen, her eyelids drooping against the sleep that was threatening to end their conversation for them.

You

Levy’s finger hovered over the “Reply” button before she erased it again. Now would be a good time to feign sleep, she thought to herself. Almost as if reading her mind, another text came in.

its late get some sleep

Her eyes were fluttering closed as she took in the words on the screen, watching the speech bubble as Gajeel continued to type.

goodnight lev

“G’night, Gajeel,” she whispered to her phone as she drifted back to sleep.

[buckybarnesappreciationsociety]

“Jade Green Eyes” Chapter 2

Summary: After leaving Paris, Alexia agreed to entrust the Avengers with her protection from HYDRA. Well, things get really awkward when she meets Sam aka ‘Don Juan Wilson’.

 Warnings: None (yet)

Words: 967

 Pairings: Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes x Black Mutant Reader 

(Upcoming 1 or 2 chapters will include a few X-Men alongside the Avengers)

 The whirring engines of the quinjet alerted everyone that Steve, Nat and Wanda had returned. Last person to disembark was Alexia. Her strut was graceful as a gazelle.  5’8” of sheer elegance! Chocolate caramel complexion, her curly black locks flowed when she walked. Furthermore, she has the body of a dancer; voluptuous and fit.  

 Extending a hand to Tony and said, “Mr. Stark, I’m Alexia Hargrove. Please to meet you.” Her voice was quite sultry.

“By all means, call me Tony. Welcome to our asylum. You’ll meet the team when we adjourn to the conference room.”

 “Asylum, huh? That’s hilarious,” Alexia chuckled.

 She and Tony engaged in idle chatter as he ushered her to the conference room.

 The room fell silent. Actually, Sam stopped breathing and Bucky’s blue-grey orbs bulged from their sockets like Jim Carrey in “The Mask.”

 “Down boys,” Nat chided.

 Tony stood at the front of room with Alexia by his side.

 “Ladies and ogling gentlemen, standing before you is Alexia Hargrove. She’ll be joining our sanctuary for an extended period.”

 “Please, call me Lexi and thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of the asylum as Tony put it.”

 Wanda, Nat and Bucky snickered. Vis remained neutral and poor Sam didn’t know what to say. The sound of her voice was music to his ears, a piano concerto by Beethoven.

 Bucky kept shifting in his seat trying to get comfortable. An unwelcome occurrence manifested while watching Alexia.

 As introductions ended, Nat and Wanda locked arms with Lexi and gave her a tour of the Tower.

 “Sure, I’d love to show Lexi around.” Wanda was absolutely giddy. The Tower was running over with testosterone.

 Sam ever cocky and sure of his prowess remarked, “She’s beyond gorgeous. Time to turn on the Wilson charm,” sticking out his chest.

 Bucky didn’t miss a beat, “First bird boy, you need to have charm to be charming!”

 “Oh that was cold Barnes. You think you’d have a better chance?”

 “Damn man, she just got here. Calm down would’ya?”

 Steve and Bucky shook their heads and brushed past the eager fellow.

 Sam was totally enamored with Lexi. Leaning against the conference room table, Sam pondered his next move.

   Steve, Bucky, and Lexi shared a floor. She could tell Tony liked everything on a grand scale.  Her suite was spacious. Living room, full kitchen and bath. 50’ flat screen tv with dvd player. Also, a speaker system with cell phone and Ipod dock.

 Surveying her new home, Lexi plopped down on the bed, grabbing her pillow. “Home sweet home,” her voice laced with pessimism.

 A gentle knock broke her train of thought. “Just a minute please.”

 On the other side of the door was James Buchanan Barnes, her neighbor.

 Opening the door, Lexi was greeted by this handsome man with chiseled jaws covered with light stubble, washboard abs, blue-grey sparklers and dark brown locks in a neat man bun, with loose strands.

 “Oh, hello.” Lexi’s voice paralyzed the shy super soldier.

 “Uh, hiya. Uh, I’m James, er, Bucky. My room’s across from yours. Didn’t get a chance to greet’ya properly. If ya need directions navigating around the place,  I’ll be glad to help ya out.”

 Lexi smiled politely, “Thank you Bucky for being so kind. I’m just settling in right now.”

 “M’kay. Uh, dinner’s at 5 in the common room 2 floors down. If’ya want, I’ll ride down wit’cha.”

 “Thank for the offer but Nat and Wanda are coming to get me. Well, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance Bucky. Time to shower and change for dinner. See ya around?

 “Most definitely Doll. See ya at dinner.”

 “Okay, bye.” After closing the door, Lexi pondered, “Did he just call me ‘doll’?”

 Lexi headed for the shower. The hot water cascaded down her body, relaxing tense muscles.

 After drying her body and hair, Lexi grabbed a pair of leggings, coupled with an oversized shirt and flats. By the time she finished dressing, Wanda and Nat tapped on the door.

 “Hey, Lex. You ready for dinner? Tony ordered a smorgasbord; Italian, Southern and Chinese.”

 Rubbing her hands together, Lexi replied, “Yes, I’m starving.”

 The ladies talked and giggled when exiting the elevator.

  Mr. Suave Wilson approached Lexi. “How you doin’? Please forgive my manners, I’m Sam Wilson.”

 Lexi nodded politely, “Nice to meet you Sam.”

 Running to his seat, Sam made it known, “I saved you a seat.”

 “That’s really sweet,  but I’m sitting with Nat and Wanda. Maybe another time?”

 “Yeah, Imma hold you to that.” Bucky, Steve and Tony were perplexed. Why would Sam lower his voice at least an octave?

 Tony smirked, “Looks like bird boy’s trying to get some company in his nest.”

 The ladies laughed; Bucky and Steve snickered because Sam was shot down by Lexi.

 Dinner was deemed chit, chat  and chew. Everyone basically wanted to talk more with the newest resident in Stark Tower.

 Sam interjected subtle hints to Lexi about her personal life. She picked up on it right away.

 “Sam, I’ve been too busy trying to stay alive to have a boyfriend or girlfriend.”

 Bucky, Nat and Steve almost choked on their water.

 “Bravo Lexi,” Tony mused. “I see we’re gonna get along just fine.”

 With that, everyone except Sam, continued to eat. His ginormous ego was crushed but that didn’t deter him. The Falcon always had a back-up plan.

A/N: I wanted this chapter to feel light. Trust me when I say, the angst is coming! As always, comments are welcome and thank you for reading!

  TAGS: @omalleysgirl22 @erisjade @amrita31199 @supersoldierslover @sgtjamesbuchananbarnes107th @goodnightwife @goody2shoessmut @gingerbatchwife @sebbymylove16 @gaybybirth @iamwarrenspeace @ajimaginingtheworld @katykyll @katiej98 @this-kitty-has-claws @caplanbuckybarnes  @tatortot2701  @irene-rogue-adler @plumfondler

@marvelous-imagining @papi-chulo-bucky @a-tale-of-two-comics @letusunalivethem @justareader @mar-gega @writing-soldiers @imhereforbvcky @itsanerdlife @iwillbeinmynest @c-a-v-a-l-r-y @agentsofsupernaturalmarvel @mcuimxgine @jurassicbarnes @not-moose-one-shots @soldatbarnes @james-bionic-barnes @vvintersouldier

  @bolontiku @flirtswithdanger @cant-stop-the-fandoms @redgillan 

@black-girl-imagines @senselesssamii @anbanananna @jezzula @eve1978

@samuelsbucky @theimpossibleg1rl @Iroa46 @opaque-daydream

@the-witching-hours12-3 @promarvelfangirl @tilltheendwilliwrite 

@deals-with-demons @sexylibrarian1 @lowkeybuckytrash

I REALLY HOPE I DIDN’T FORGET ANYONE. CHARGE IT TO MY HEAD AND NOT MY HEART.

[bowlsister75-blog]

The Never-Ending Race To Concoct The Bluest Blue

BERKELEY, Calif. ― There are no windows in the underground laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley’s Hildebrand Hall. No portals through which to see the sky. The bluest things in sight are the cobalt-colored lab coats worn by two chemists huddled around a beaker of white viscous liquid, its temperature slowly climbing.

On a Monday afternoon in August, the blue-coat technicians watched the liquid with a spellbound intensity. Their resident leader, a woman named Olga Alexopoulou, was positioned in an adjacent room the size of a small walk-in closet, illuminated only by the phantom glow of ultraviolet light.

Inside, she slowly peeled back a sheet of aluminum foil to reveal four glass microscope slides, a globule of liquid the size of a thumbprint on each. Like alien droppings, they glowed underneath the UV bulbs with a cinematic ferocity. 

“The average person has never seen this kind of purity of color,” Alexopoulou told me. 

Alexopoulou isn’t a scientist. She’s an artist. But, inside the tiny lab in Berkeley, shaded from the unceasing clamor of the world outside, she and her methodologically-inclined counterparts are on the same curious quest: They are attempting to engineer a new pigment of blue.

Over the course of 10 months, Alexopoulou has project-managed her secretive team from Istanbul, communicating through email and Skype to check up on the mysterious liquid. According to Alexopoulou, the blue she’s after is different than all the man-made blues that have come before it. Hers is “the blue of the future,” a pigment that dazzles in its sheer purity and depth, emitting a radiance more often associated with neon lights than the contents of a tube of paint.

With an undeniable weight of seriousness, Alexopoulou has dubbed her pigment Quantum Blue.

Maria Chatzidakis

A sample of in-progress pigments being examined in the laboratory. A small sample of Quantum Blue.

Humanity’s fascination with blue predates Alexopoulou by millennia. Blue pigments rarely occur in nature, and many of the blues that do exist ― a bird’s plume, a butterfly wing ― appear that way due to optical illusions that have evolved over time. Humans, enamored by these fleeting hues, have long been eager to harness them.

Five-thousand years ago, craftsmen created what’s thought to be the first artificial pigment, Egyptian Blue, by mixing limestone, sand and azurite. This is the usual form a pigment takes, a dry powder substance that, when mixed with a liquid or other medium, constitutes a paint or ink. Later came ultramarine, ground from the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli, sourced from a particular mountain range in Afghanistan for centuries. The ultra-expensive pigment was primarily reserved for representations of the Virgin Mary’s holy robes.

In the 17th century, indigo, a natural dye, became a hot commodity import across Europe and Asia, despite its tendency to dim over time. In the 18th century, an alchemical accident became an artistic miracle when a paint maker’s contaminated potash turned his potion from cochineal red to the melancholic tone known as Prussian Blue. It’s the stuff of Hokusai’s “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” and Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period. 

French artist and blue soothsayer Yves Klein crafted his very own International Klein Blue (IKB) in 1960, collaborating with paint supplier Edouard Adam to yield a paint formula that protected the intensity of its ultramarine pigment base through a synthetic resin binder. He coated canvases with his titular hue, which, according to curator Kerry Brougher, “seemingly [opened them] up to immaterial realms.” It now adorns the bald heads that comprise The Blue Man Group. 

Then, in 2009, chemist Mas Subramanian accidentally concocted YInMn blue by fusing yttrium, indium oxide and manganese. The resulting pigment, considered the first new complex inorganic blue to be commercially manufactured since cobalt 200 years before it, absorbs red and green light waves while reflecting a “superblue” both vivid and durable. Crayola’s newest crayon flavor, Bluetiful, is based off the shade. 

Alexopoulou, whose work is represented in Turkey by the gallery Istanbul Concept, is well versed in the landmark events of blue’s past. As a painter, she often incorporates the traditional recipes for Prussian Blue and Ultramarine in the gestural seascapes or street art murals she creates. In 2011, she traveled to Jingdezhen, China, to study the 14th-century technique of painting ceramics with cobalt blue pigments.

Blue is the common thread that weaves Alexopoulou’s fine art career together, the itchy obsession that keeps drawing her back. 

With Quantum Blue, Alexopoulou shifts her attention from blue’s history to its future. Her ultimate goal is to create a new pigment accessible to artists like her ― not just industrial manufacturers, the target audience for YInMn. By doing so, she hopes to cement herself and her creation as “a part of the history of art,” she said.

For now, however, the pigment remains tucked inside an underground lab, its physical isolation mirroring the overall project’s detachment from the more chaotic concerns of today. Droplet by droplet, the pigment comes into being, and, at least for now, remains quarantined in total darkness. 

PA Archive/PA Images

A woman looks at "Anthropometrie sans titre (Untitled Anthropometry)" by Yves Klein at Christie's in London.

At a Korean fusion restaurant in Berkeley, Alexopoulou, 38, her dark hair tied tightly in a ponytail, discussed the origins of her Quantum Blue project between bites of grilled vegetable salad. It was the first week of the university’s fall semester, and the joint was buzzing with the excited murmurings of students back from summer vacation.

Across from Alexopoulou sat color historian Maria Chatzidakis, whose dark bob was accentuated by two strips of white hair framing her face. Next to her sat Arunima Balan and Joseph Swabeck, both fifth-year Ph.D. chemistry students at UC Berkeley.

Quantum Blue isn’t entirely novel, Alexopoulou and her brigade of blue disciples explained to me over dinner. Humans have encountered hues like it before; think blue morpho butterflies, whose wings glow iridescent with the help of microscopic scales. Or the period of a day known as the blue hour; that brief twilight before sunrise or after sunset, when the sun hovers significantly below the horizon and indirect sunlight casts a fluorescent blue blanket across the sky. 

Alexopoulou, who grew up in Athens and summered on the Greek isles, spent countless evenings transfixed by those moments at dusk when sea and sky looked like they’d been plugged into an electric socket. Up until now, only nature had the power to conjure such a sublime glow, she said.

So what Alexopoulou and her team sought to do is channel the effect through a pigment that’s both reliable and reproducible, allowing artists to represent the most bewitching nature-made blues with unprecedented integrity.

For the scientists involved, Quantum Blue offered the rare shot to introduce nanoscientific principles to a larger audience in a digestible way. While Alexopoulou’s motives are romantic, Swabeck and Balan’s veer toward the utilitarian: They are trying to market their research in the most effective way possible.

“People can relate to art,” Balan said. “People cannot relate to quantum dots.”

Together, Alexopoulou and her team hope to patent their creation, getting in on the $30 billion pigment industry and expanding the quantum dot paint process to include the other colors of the rainbow. 

“If we can make it work with blue, we can make it work with anything,” Swabeck said. 

Photo by Maria Chatzidakis

A small sample of Quantum Blue. Olga Alexopoulous practicing painting with a similarly textured liquid.

It wasn’t until 2017 that Alexopoulou’s project began to take shape. She was at a dinner party when she overheard a fellow guest, a professor, discussing quantum dots ― nanoscopic crystals that emit color with a startling intensity. Her ears perked up. After years of researching the most potent blues that art and science had to offer, Alexopoulou had a premonition of creating her own. Was nanoscience the unlikely answer to her artistic dream?

Quantum dots are extremely tiny particles of semiconducting material, 10,000 times narrower than a human hair. Because of their diminutive size ― only a few nanometers across ― quantum dots have the unique ability to convert light into color with striking efficiency and force. The effect is fluorescent, just like “the blue hour.” 

Quantum dots are frequently used in biomedicine to tag and track particular cells in the body like teeny tiny post-its. However, they’ve recently gone more mainstream thanks to Samsung’s high-end quantum dot televisions, billed to project images so vibrant they yield an experience akin to “watching real life on your TV.” 

Alexopoulou had an idea: What if she could use these buzzy, scientific particles for her own artistic purposes? What if she could create the first pigment out of quantum dots?

Maria Chatzidakis

Olga Alexopoulous practices painting with a similarly textured liquid.

The sky was white the day I visited the lab, making every blue detail on campus pop like a rare gem: The cobalt logo on a USPS truck, the turquoise recycling cans lining the sidewalk, the cerulean stripes on a bro’s plaid shirt. 

Inside the windowless basement of Hildebrand Hall, we wore safety goggles at all times and were carefully instructed to not lean on anything, as every surface in the lab is considered to be contaminated. Signs reading “DANGER” adorned the walls and a ceiling shower-head offered instant, aqueous relief in case of emergency. It seemed the mission to create a new blue wasn’t just a scientifically demanding mission, but a potentially life-threatening one. 

“When we do chemistry, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to not die,” Swabeck explained. 

The lab was built in 1966 and has been accruing random leftovers of the scientific experiments conducted within it ever since. “Things don’t change in a lab,” Swabeck corroborated. “It’s basically a slow accumulation of stuff.” Shelves overflowed with vials, beakers and bottles of chemicals turned sepia with age. Glass panes and open counters were cluttered with handwritten chemical formulas and the occasional doodle. The space ― akin to a secret testing facility on “Stranger Things” ― felt almost too nostalgic and campy to be real. 

The lab is Swabeck and Balan’s terrain. Underground, they said, it’s easy to lose track of time; they often arrive before sunrise and leave after sunset, missing daylight completely. Without phone or internet access, they’re cut off from human contact and current events, focusing solely on matters of the most elemental variety. They’ve also gotten really good at crossword puzzles. 

“They are on a path that can be a hard and lonely one, learning how to create new knowledge,” Paul Alivisatos, UC Berkeley’s Samsung distinguished professor of nanoscience and nanotechnology, told HuffPost.

Alivisatos is the fairy godfather looming over Quantum Blue’s creation myth. Alexopoulou emailed him shortly after the 2017 dinner party, explaining her idea. Alivisatos, a sucker for art-meets-science hybrid projects, said yes. “There are really deep connections between what happens when we invent new material ― particularly one that affects color and how we perceive it ― and what’s possible with artistic expression,” Alivisatos said.

“Those things should be connected together more than they are.”

A hugely influential figure in the nanoscience community, Alivisatos assigned Balan and Swabeck ― his students ― to assist Alexopoulou on her task. He also offered up his lab and all its resources for the cause, essentially relieving the pigment-concocting process of its monetary costs. 

Photo by Maria Chatzidakis

The final vial of Quantum Blue.

Dressed appropriately in blue lab coats, Swabeck and Balan prepared the quantum dots, executing a procedure they’d completed hundreds of times throughout their grad school experiences.

A row of oversized black rubber gloves protruded, ghostlike, from enclosed hubs whose reactive contents couldn’t touch open air. Balan stuck her hands inside two of the gloves and into the glass box, mixing metal salts in organic solvents with the impaired dexterity of Frankenstein’s monster baking in oven mitts.

Balan then brought the potion over to a fume hood and set the liquid ― contained in a round-bottom beaker ― to heat to 300 C. The team huddled around for an admittedly anticlimactic glimpse of the whitish liquid in action. “A watched cad never complexes!” Balan joked, shooing the onlookers away. Eventually the temperature peaked and Balan injected elemental sulfur into the brew. After a brief waiting period, one more sulfur injection, and then... a lunch break. 

The process of concocting a perfect blue required painstaking accuracy at every step. 

Swabeck and Balan have methodically refined the hue over the past year, sending Alexopoulou photographs of their samples along the way. “Too much purple,” she responded one day. “Too much cyan,” another. Alexopoulou is queen bee, remotely nudging her workers in the right direction. Together they inched closer to zeroing in on a blue that would look just right.

In employing nanoscience for artistic means, Alexopoulou and her team are continuing a tradition that extends back to the 10th century. Stained glass artisans unwittingly discovered that adding gold chloride to molten glass yielded a brilliant red tone. Similarly, silver nitrate produced a vibrant yellow. Centuries later, scientists analyzing medieval stained glassworks realized that the gold and silver nanocrystals were, in fact, acting as quantum dots.

Ian Forsyth via Getty Images

Stained glass was often created with the help of nanoscience before it was known as such.

Though it’s the nanocrystals that provide Quantum Blue’s vibrant tone, the true innovation resides in the binding agent holding them together. 

In other pigments, sticky substances like egg yolks, resin and oil serve as the glue that truly turns colored fragments into paint. For Klein too, finding a binder that would protect the vibrancy of his color was the paramount challenge. In Alexopoulou’s case, she needed a binder that would give the quantum dots a paint-like texture without dampening the intensity of the blue. 

Chatzidakis, the most soft-spoken member of the team, is in charge of this pivotal concoction. A conservator, lecturer and color historian, Chatzidakis is an expert in the recipes of historical hues. Yet Quantum Blue presented a new challenge, something “like science fiction,” she said. It was the chance to create a blueprint, instead of studying a preexisting one.

Alexopoulou, Chatzidakis, Swabeck and Balan all refused to discuss the contents of the evasive binding agent. This is, effectively, where the money is.

Pigments have become an unexpectedly active pocket of the art world, thanks to recent technological advancements in chemistry and physics. “Labs now have the ability to control matter on very tiny scales,” Alivisatos said. “And that allows us to control what the overall experience of interacting with light is like in a way that was not easy to do before.”

Members of the art world have taken note. In 2014, five years after the surprising creation of YInMn blue, Surrey NanoSystems introduced Vantablack ― reportedly the darkest artificial substance ever created. Made using vertically aligned nanotubes, the black is “so black that it makes reality look Photoshopped.” In 2016, British sculptor Anish Kapoor controversially won exclusive rights to use Vantablack in an artistic context, a move which riled up his peers. In response, artist Stuart Semple created what he dubbed the world’s pinkest pink and made it available to all artists ― except Kapoor.

Quantum Blue might be the next major development in the race for the next big pigment. However, YinMn blue creator Subramanian, a professor at Oregon State University, expressed skepticism at the colorant being defined as such.

“I think what they are trying to do is to take quantum dots and embed them in a certain material, so it can be used in art,” Subramanian told HuffPost, noting that he couldn’t come to final conclusions without knowing more about the chemistry involved. “When we discovered a new pigment — YinMn Blue — it was a totally new chemical compound.

“Still, it’s a fascinating concept.” 

When asked if he was worried about any potential competition with his own blue hue, Subramanian said, “I’m not worried about that.” In part, this is because Quantum Blue needs a UV light to activate its tone; in daylight, it appears yellowish white, meaning artworks featuring the paint must be exhibited in the dark. YinMn blue, on the other hand looks blue in any environment. “You can see [it] under a visible light, for example, sunlight.” 

Maria Chatzidakis

Alexopoulous’ final painting, a seascape made with her own personal pigment.

On the last day of August, Alexopoulou created her first painting using Quantum Blue. Rendered on a 15-by-20-centimeter glass canvas, it depicts a beach on the Greek island of Aegna during twilight, the blue hour, she said. The piece is certainly “abstract,” as Alexopoulou described it, featuring only a few gestural brushstrokes to represent the clouds and cresting waves.

The piece ― created in under two hours ― doesn’t photograph well, in part due to Quantum Blue’s ethereal intensity, which is difficult to accurately capture on film. The seascape isn’t likely to transport your psyche to a remote Greek isle anytime soon, but Alexopoulou’s medium was bound to be more intriguing than her final product. 

After its completion, the quantum seascape was packed up and put in storage, where it will lie dormant until its public debut at Tokyo’s UltraSuperNew Gallery next March. Until then, the glass sheet will stay “confined in darkness,” as Alexopoulou put it, to protect the pigment’s luster. 

Perhaps one day, Quantum Blue will be as readily available in art stores as navy or cerulean. Or maybe it will remain in the purview of elite artists who can pay the right price. Either way, it might only be a matter of time before Quantum Red and Yellow follow in Blue’s footsteps. For now, the sole manifestation of Quantum Blue lives where no one can see it.

Right now, Alexopoulou said she’s in the early stages of patenting the creation, beginning a process that could take months. She intends to reach out to manufacturers and distributors to discuss next steps, though she refused to provide details due to “complicated legalities.” Regardless of the future, Alexopoulou felt the experiment was a success when she saw the little vial radiating blue. 

What’s the good of a new color if no one is there to see it? Blue’s earthly scarcity has always contributed to its mystique, its perceived spirituality and magnetic force. According to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, blue has “a peculiar and almost indescribable effect on the eye.” Writer William Gass dubbed the shade the “color of interior life.”

“Blue is always under a mystery veil,” Chatzidakis said.

Quantum Blue may be an unprecedented color, but its creation perpetuates an artistic tradition as old as the landscape or the nude: The eternal stumbling towards a newer, deeper, bluer blue. Klein said the color, like the sea and sky it stains, is “beyond dimensions.” It appears our human desire for blue in all its elusive glory is just as boundless.

“We love to contemplate blue,” Goethe wrote in 1810, “not because it advances to us, but because it draws us after it.”

Who would have thought the poetic statement would manifest itself so literally? If only the 19th-century statesman could see the scene that unfolded deep underground that August East Bay morning. Lab coats and goggles and bubbling stews, a mission at once incredibly niche and impossibly zealous. Taking a page from the butterflies’ book, fabricating and harnessing an utterly new blue ― again.  

Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/quantum-blue-berkeley_us_5b8db0a4e4b0511db3db33a1