#(i do sometimes do fully coloured bodies for other colours in the doodles but this was meant to be like the simplest ver of each design)

[the-king-of-lemons]

qsmp doodle design ref sheet i made for myself :)

[pitruli]

Hi!! I really like ur ranboo plush and the pattern u made and if I find some good fabric I wanna make one too!! But quick question, how do u attach the head to the top of the body without it looking like, well, a mess. I made a plushie before and wow it did not go well when it came to attaching bits together. I also had problems with the legs so any help would be great thank you!!

Hiii sorry I answered only now >>

I don't have anything to sew lately to illustrate so I doodled as best I could during class ^^'

So ok, first you need your head part to be fully stuffed and closed, for the body, stuff it until you just have a bit of fabric free at the top opening, and fold this fabric inside (it will lay back on the stuffing)

Then you stitch the two parts together the same way you close a stuffed part; pick on one side then the other to make your string zig zag, and make sure the string is tight between each point. The thicker/fluffier the fabric is, the easier the string will disappear behind (just need to be a bit more careful/precise with thin fabric or use a string of the same colour)

To make it easier, I layed the head on its top side on my desk and put the body upside down on it, that way I just had to press down the body so it stayed in place and carefully stitch with the other hand

For the legs, yes it's sometimes a bit tricky

These one don't need stuffing (you can slide some cardboard/thick paper in it to make then less sloppy if you want). You still need to be careful to stick with a margin on the sides, so don't hesitate to make them a tad bit wider to be more confortable, as margins will fit inside better. I also use pencils to turn them inside out, without it's almost impossible-

Hope this help, I'm quite amateurish so I don't know how to really explain things ^^''

[weirdfanaus]

The Notebook

Pairing: Matthew Fairchild x fem!reader Headcanon

Words: 1554

Rating: General Audiences

Masterlist

Warnings: none

Matthew has a notebook he keeps carrying around and keeps looking in, noting things in it or drawing when he thinks no one is looking.

One day you silently try to sneak by him, you see that on a page, doodles surrounding them, are verses.

You, unfortunately, don't get to read anything more than the words her eyes sparkled before he closes it suddenly.

Matthew catches you looking and turns his face to you

"Everything all right?" 

"Yeah, yeah." 

You shake your head. 

He looks at you long and then he puts the leather-bound notebook inside his jacket and continues to look at you. 

You don't get to see more of what is written in that book until one night when he forgets his jacket at your place. 

The weather has just got warmer, summer is fastly coming by.

All the Merry Thieves and their friends come for a late brunch by your place.

You spend most of the day in the garden, playing cards, drinking and eating fruits and tarts. 

The night comes faster than you have all expected and all the guests leave when the clock streaks close to eleven. 

Matthew leaves with James, the cuffs of his jacket rolled, runes covering his pale skin. 

He is a bit too drunk, as usual.

Later that night you clean up the living space and when you lift his red jacket, the notebook falls open on the carpet. 

The same poem, now with more drawings of a woman with a big hat, flowers, mostly tulips in blue ink.

Most words are stricken off, with replacements on top or under them. 

You cannot understand much of what it is written, the writing too messy for you to understand.

Leafing through the pages, you end up on various Oscar Wilde quotes:

You can never be overdressed or overeducated.

With freedom, books, flowers and the moon, who could not be happy.

Quotes that you think match Matthew perfectly. 

More doodles of faces, eyes, splotches of green, red, black paint cover the pages. 

You read some poems, but don’t seem to fully understand them.

You close the book and put it back in its place.

The next day, you meet again, give him the coat, he smiles at you and kisses your cheek in thanks. 

More weeks pass by when he asks you to come to meet him in the Kensington Gardens, ready to spend a long day in the sun. 

You pack a blanket, a hat, a basket of fruits, tarts and sandwiches. 

You meet him by the Serpentine, under an old linden tree.

He has a blanket of his own, a small basket is by his feet.

His light pants and white shirt are cuffed, his vest thrown over the basket and he was barefoot.

He reads from a book that looks familiar to you. 

You put your basket on the corner of his blanket, take your sandals off and place your hat on the wooden holder. 

He raises his eyes from the words and smiles at you when you sit down. 

“Hello.” His tone was playful, light.

You smile, replying the same way.

He puts his book away and moves to kiss your cheek, which makes you softly blush.

He has been into kisses recently, you don’t understand why, but you enjoy it.

He sees your big basket and nods his head in its way saying:

“What do you have there?” 

“A lot of food. Amelie could not let me go without having a full meal with me. She wants me to get bigger than I am already.”

“You look amazing, mon coeur.” he replies immediately. 

You move the basket in his direction.

“I see that you have your own meal prepared.”

“Well, I wanted to be the one to offer food today. But unfortunately, society has other thoughts, am I right?” a boyish smile fills his face and you fight the urge to kiss his face.

“Unfortunately.” 

You watch how he brings his own basket next to yours and starts putting out food from both. 

Luckily, you don’t have the exact same food. 

You and your cook have picked to get things that are softer, usually eaten by you, while Matthew pulled out a box of smoked salmon and slices of bread. 

He arranged the food on plates, you try to help him multiple times, but he refuses, saying that he has it handled.

You eat a little bit of everything you have decided to bring, talk about the people walking by, the mundane couples, the children screaming, sometimes even jumping in the water, probably from a dare or because they have thrown their ball in the lake. 

You talk about books and you find out that he is rereading one that James has given him, A Tale of Two Cities.

“James keeps mentioning that his father is obsessed with this every time he sees me with it. And Mr Herondale praises my pick just as many times,” he states while looking at the cover.

“Love, love, love.” he sings, throws the book on his vest and turns to you.

He looks long at you, opens his mouth to say something, but suddenly stops as he has just realised something. 

You watch him take the notebook out and scribble in it.

“What are you doing?” you ask lightly.

His pen moves so fast on the paper that it makes you dizzy, so you choose to look at how his hair falls on his face.

“Taking notes…” he pauses. Lifts his head, looks at the water sparkling under the sun, pulls his bottom lip between his teeth. “For my book.”

“You write?” 

“Sometimes.” his eyes were again on the page.

“That’s amazing, Matthew. Are you writing something grand as Lucie?” you know that his book is filled with short verses.

“No… Not really, I mostly write verses.” his eyes meet yours, they are shining.

“Sometimes I do that too, though,” he confesses. “I can show you something, but you won’t understand anything, right now.”

“Why not?”

“You can’t see yourself through my eyes, Y/N.”

You feel like you have just stopped breathing.

His eyes are big, the same colours as the leaves of the linden tree over your heads, his hair is curled and messy, bright as the sun.

You stood there, mouth slightly opened and you see how Matthew goes from courageous to shy and ashamed of what he has confessed.

You realize that it is because of your slow reaction, so you calm yourself and cup his face, the skin soft and you try to assure him that you don’t hate him for what he has just said.

“How do you see me?” you softly ask, voice low.

He looks at you caught off guard. 

He didn’t expect those words from you, but he doesn’t move his eyes from yours.

“I see how courageous you are, how you try to help everyone, how warm you are. You picked me as your friend and that speaks loudly to me.” 

You want to ask more, but you don’t want to interrupt him.

“I see your beauty. You love and give. You have no idea how much, just having you listen to me rant helps me in ways you cannot even imagine. I want to tell you everything. I want you to know everything about me…” he stops. 

You know that he wants to say more.

“I want you. I want to court you, Y/N,” he tells you instead. 

You haven’t expected him to tell you that, but it was something you have wanted to hear for a while too.

“I want to share a life with you. I want to wake up by your side. I want to kiss you whenever I want, without people commenting on it. I want to see you smile for the rest of my life, Y/N.”

You are speechless once again. 

His eyes, you lose yourself in his eyes every time. 

“I want that too, Matthew,” you whisper, not to scare him off.

The smile that breaks on his face is the biggest and most genuine you have ever seen from him.

You have never seen him that way, he seemed light, he looked so beautiful.

He kisses your cheeks, joy pulsing through both your bodies, but you cup his face again and stop him.

And you kiss him deeply.

You feel him smiling and you smile too. 

He moves his hands around your middle, he draws you in, your bodies now glued.

He gives you his family’s ring after he kisses you a couple dozen times.

You keep it on your thumb because of how big it is.

The two of you lay the rest of the day under that tree. Matthew continues to read, now aloud at your request, from Will Herondale’s favourite book.

When the sun starts disappearing, you gather your things and take a stroll through the park, your hand on his arm.

You share the same carriage and he takes you home, right at your doorstep.

He kisses your cheek, in goodbye, but you move to kiss his lips.

He smiles while walking down the porch and you watch him climb in the carriage, waves his hand and he disappears.

But that night is not the last you see his great smile.

tag list: @malfoysmatrioshka ​ @elleclairez @alebooknerd @fair-but-wilde-child

[rataltouille]

BONFIRE, BONFIRE!: A COLLECTION OF FLASH FICTION + POETRY

so i’ve decided to compile all twenty [these will be split into two so that the post isn’t super long] of the writing pieces i’ve done for my random celebration into one post so that it’s easier to read / access share!! you can also find it here, all put into one work, on wattpad, because i feel nostalgic about that website and decided to just post it!!

NOTE: i know that this shouldn't need to be said, but these 20 pieces belong to me so please don’t copy/repurpose it for your writing!! i plan on using these somewhere in my own writing and either way they’re stuff i’ve written so don’t use them!!

1. cooking + destructive + purple from @andiwriteunderthemoon [also i kind of cheated with this prompt and asked my sis @dreamscanbenightmarestoo for ideas and so the base idea’s from her!!]

I didn’t mean to set my house on fire, alright?

Let me set the scene: I’m sitting in my room, watching the infomercials that blur together, and suddenly there’s a bright purple flash on the glitching screen: /grapes/. They’re shiny, plump, and oh? A recipe for fine wine? Don’t mind if I do. So I pop into my kitchen and cut the grapes, dice them up, finally using the knife after years of not cooking— /mother, are you proud of me now?/— and stick the soft, luminescent fluid into a glass bottle. Following each step of the recipe.

The recipe didn’t mention an explosion.

Destruction rained around my house like a meteor shower. The bubbles from the fluid, frisking up at contact with metal, swam across my shoes and into the living room. It touched the TV, which still flashed the recipe, which I was still cursing at. And then, you know, it burnt up. The couch scorched first, I think. So that was fun. I later realised that I’d used my reserve of petroleum, which I’d put in my kitchen cabinet, instead of vinegar. I think I’ve got to move back in with my mother again.

2. running + quiet + sky blue from @kryskakikomi [i have no idea what this is i drafted this in a fever dream state]

Summer crawled up his skin like a worm. He was seated at his dining table, crosswording his way through the sticky morning, when it struck him that the humidity was new. He’d been caught in summer before, of course, but this year was different. His parents had whisked away to their hometown, and he still didn’t understand why he wasn’t allowed to go. He loved their home— he could have been running on beach sand and waves could have cruised over his feet, and his face would reflect sky blue under palm trees. Instead he sat doodling and scratching at cement walls in a quiet that nagged at his ears, grappling his flesh like a fishing hook, reeling him in. Boredom, him sister told him, before she also left for someone’s home. What would you know? he whispered once the door latched from the outside. Maybe /she’d/ like to sit on the same wooden chair, all the pink paint worn out, and scratch out squares of empty text until the pen poked through the other hand. He scoffed. At least he knew the number of scars on the wood; he could hold that over her when his parents returned.

3. hallucinate + hazy + violet from @chloeswords [i wanted to write something dreamy and ethereal but everytime i look at your url i’m reminded of church mud and indirectly my religious trauma so here we are 🤡]

We hold the book in our arms and chant for God. We don’t know what he looks like. They say that he’s sharp, never pixelating or blurring or showing through, like a hazy image would. No, children, our family says, he will come clothed in gold and velvet— the colour a deep and rich crimson, or chartreuse. And of course, he weaves a violet into his hair. Because he is just that humble. Just that gentle. Loving.

We’ve almost understood now. Pray, clasp our palms together into a transient equinox, and pray. Maybe he will shine down on us. Maybe we will speak so loud and chant so long that our lips will chap. Maybe we’ll simply hallucinate him to salve our bones. Our family says, he will bless you. And so he will.

4. halcyon + pluviophile + beige from anon [i was yearning for cats i am a cat person i love cats]

I remember my life before I moved to London,

Those halcyon days that I spent scooping up cat litter and brushing warm fur,

Being a mother to beige and white and black little felines.

They keep better company than humans.

Now I’m a self-proclaimed businesswoman, artist, influencer, pluviophile,

Even when I’ve barely stepped foot outside during the rain,

[But it needs to be said that when it rains in London, it pours].

I think I’d like to open a cat cafe;

I’m rich enough to pull it off.

5. sing + vulnerable + olive green from @occiidens [this was actually super fun to write because it’s a break from the typically unhinged stories i gravitate towards]

You watch from the highest hill of your town, hand wrapped around the serrated wood of a red oak tree. The bark pokes into your flesh, drawing blood that shouldn’t have been taken from you. You scowl. Just another thing that lives to cause you pain.

Three storeys down is a young man, short and smiling and lovely. He has dark skin and darker hair, walking with the stride of a deer, and he’s smiling; the joy reflects onto your face, even though you can’t hear him. He wears a cotton shirt, the olive green stark against the fire-blue sky. You call out, sing his name, three times in a row.

When he finally looks up, squinting as you silhouette under the sun, the smile widens. A wave. You’re suddenly overcome with embarrassment. Your palm digs into the bark until the wound is freshly dug again, the skin supple and vulnerable. You want to wave, but your hands would look so awkward, and the blood wouldn't help. So you turn on your heel and run— why are you so awkward?— and the grass around you is brighter. This is now a tomorrow issue, you conclude. You’re still smiling.

6. dislocate + ostentatious + blood red from @oasis-of-you [this got really unhinged really fast. TW: body horror]

If you take a turn at Finn Avenue,

Rogue your way down a blood red river,

[It’s not actual blood, do not worry. The colour’s a pigment and it’s saturated enough to give you the texture, the touch, the taste of blood, but I repeat, it isn’t true blood. You might think that it’s ostentatious of us to make you cross a river like that, but you’ll understand why.]

And if can stick your fingers inside the fluid,

You’ll find a bone.

Don’t pull it out fully! Only observe.

[This is a real bone, most likely animal. We may be ominous, but we don’t hurt humans. Not yet.]

So what do you do now? You want passage into a better world.

You came here because you saw the brochure, the flyer,

Radiant Idyll, home for love, but you also saw the jutting anatomy that leads to the city. The pictures were rather clear.

Why do you look so surprised? We’ve put this on the brochure— don’t you ever read the fine print?— to avoid this exact situation. That you would cross a body, a skeleton, pooled over in a fluid that we don’t name, but it’s probably alive.

It’s watching you right now.

So what do you do now?

Hurry up, unhinge your arm, dislocate the elbow, drop it into the blood, forgive me, false blood, and pay for your passage.

Oh! Excellent; that’s record time. We do hope you enjoy your stay!

1. @noteaboy [i’ve interpreted your url as ”note, a boy”]

There’s an orange tree. It’s spring, and there’s an orange tree, and it brims with fruit and citrus perfume. Point your lens flare downwards, and note, a boy. A young man, perhaps, because he combs his hair, uptight and firm, and he wears a tie. A long suit. He doesn’t look up, because his hand holds a book. /He/ holds the book, not the hands— tenderness doesn’t translate through anatomy, I’ve taught you this before. He’s waiting for someone. There’s only the rustle of leaves. He drops the book onto the lap of the tree, crushing the apple that had fallen down. Orange, not apple. Take note better. You only have one chance to get this right.

2. @eatingjupiter [your url is so beautiful omg]

The goddess had said this before she died: you need to watch over him. He needs your sentry to survive. The goddess’ words weren’t heeded. Little baby Jupiter tottered on lava as him parents small-talked with their kingdom. Well, it must have been small talk, because nothing seemed to happen afterwards other than his mother’s face collapsing in agony, anger, annoyance. He knew not to touch them then. He’d fly off into the sun one day, but if his hands were but and charred, he wouldn’t survive even a third of the journey.

The prophecy was simple: the firstborn to the kingdom will metamorph into a celestial, purify themselves so that only stardust remains. Live in the sky forever. The astrologers were baffled; you don’t just become a star. They should have heeded the goddess.

Jupiter was sixteen when he expanded and collapsed all at once. He still lives, they say, and the astrologers /were/ right, in a way: people just don’t become stars. They become almost empty space. Nobody knows if his hands were burnt when they left earth’s orbit forever.

3. @laughtracksonata [your name gave me slight horror vibes idk why!!]

Hahaha. The Horror Movie (don’t ask me for a name, I’m not good with those), with its cymbal crashing and plastic sounds, it’s so loud and scary that it hurts, father. Please turn it off.

Father doesn't listen. I shiver on the couch. The screen flickers like radio static and reflects off our wide eyes. What kind of a home is this anyway? I don’t want to fucking listen to a laugh track or a horror VHS tape or watch the bass crescendo as the serial killer jumpscares the watcher. I don’t think that having hour pupils glued to the same blood-splattered movie, with the same recording looping in his eardrums will help him. He laughs along, sometimes. It’s scary. Father needs a new hobby.

PART TWO COMING SOON!!

anyway this got REALLY long so i’m posting the third prompt group, the one based on songs, as a second part in some time. i hope you enjoy this, and PLEASE do boost!! i spent a lot of time writing these pieces and am pretty proud of them :’)

general taglist: @lovingyou-is @guulabjamuns @andiwriteunderthemoon @coffeeandcalligraphy @melonmilk @silentlylostwriter @charles-joseph-writes @eklavvya @eowynandfaramir @bitterwitchwrites @laughtracksonata @whatwordsdidnttouch @indeliblewrites @thenataliawrites @summersguilt @illimani-gibberish @sarahkelsiwrites @writing-in-delirium @shaelinwrites @sienna-writes @chewingthescenery @jennawritesstories @chloeswords @aelenko @keira-is-writing @cherylinanika @infinitely-empty-pages @jmtwrites @august-iswriting @freedelusionbanana @beetleblue88 @mistercaleb @iwannawritepls @hanwatchingmovies @mortallynuttyqueen @idratherliveinnarnia @maisulli @thegreyboywrites @ahowlinwolf @ravens-and-rivers @oasis-of-you @yanittawrites @chazza-writes-sometimes @skyfirewrites @lovebenders @treybriggsthewriter @themidnxghtwriter @ash-karter @queen-devasena @a-procrastination-addict @gaymityblight @beyondthebracken @madmaxst26 @adielwrites @moonpixxel @hollow-knight-dnd @keep-looking-here @overlap @ashleygarciawrites @ryns-ramblings​ @wordsbynathan @novaemlynlewis​ @sophiewritingstuff​ @howdy-writes​ @occiidens​ @nsanelyawkward​ @viawrites-andacts​

[engie-ivy]

I wrote this fic for the Wolfstar Comfort Mini-Fest, organized by @swottypotter, because I thought it was such a lovely idea😊

(also on AO3 as part of a series of one-shot crush confessions)

19/09: an anniversary

Summary:

Getting older can be a fearful experience, but when you're a werewolf, it's just a tad worse. There's only so many excruciating transformations one's body can undergo before it can take no more. For Remus, the idea of celebrating the day of being another year closer to that inevitable moment is inconceivable. However, his friends teach him that instead of simply having lived another year, his life contains many other anniversaries he could be celebrating: having been part of a close group of friends for another year, having had company during the full moon for another year, and... having a certain friend be in love with him for another year?

Moments in time

Remus Lupin does not celebrate his birthday. Doesn’t like it. Really doesn’t like it. Hates it, in fact. It’s not a case of modesty, like ‘he just doesn’t want to be the center of attention’, or even a case of bad experiences, like ‘if we can just show him how fun it can be’. No, he has made it clear to the other three Marauders that it’s no use even trying. If they throw him a birthday party, he won’t attend. If they buy him birthday gifts, he won’t accept.

It’s not that he hates birthdays as a principle. No, he’d loved it when they snuck into the kitchens and stuffed themselves with sweets for Peter’s birthday, he’d loved it when they stayed up all night and drank Butterbeer and even a bottle of Firewhiskey that they managed to smuggle in for James’s birthday, and he loved it when they had a sleep-over in the Shrieking Shack for Sirius’s birthday. It’s really his own birthday that he doesn’t like.

You see, Remus Lupin is a werewolf, and while he’s now more comfortable with that fact than he’s ever been, with being able to attend school, having people in his life that love and accept him even with knowing the truth, and having friends who became Animagii so he doesn’t have to be alone during the full moon anymore, there are just some things that come with his condition that cannot be changed. The illness on the days preceding and following the full moon, the excruciating pain that the transformations bring, and, probably worst of all, the fact that werewolves age prematurely.

Werewolves do not have a high life expectancy. There’s only so much strain one’s body can endure before it can’t take no more. Remus often reads in textbooks that werewolves don’t get old, but that’s wrong phrasing: werewolves do get old, they just get old really fast. While his friends will still be vital and brimming with energy, Remus’s bones will become fragile and his muscles stiff with constant aching due to the tearing apart and snapping back together necessary for the monthly transformations, his recovery after each full moon will become slower until he’ll never fully recover anymore, he’ll start having trouble walking and eventually moving altogether, his hair will become grey and his skin will become worn and littered with scars, making him look old beyond his years.

It’s bad enough that each year there’s a day to remind him that he’s another year closer to that inescapable faith, so why in Merlin’s name would he want to actually celebrate that day?

Remus never fully explained, so he’s not sure to what extent the other Marauders really understand what getting older means to him, but they can tell that it holds a lot of pain for Remus, and that it’s not something they can fix for him, so they respect his wishes. On the day itself they try their hardest not to give a single indication they’re aware it’s Remus’s birthday. The only way Remus can tell that they do know, is by how they go out of their way to make sure no one else dares to mention his birthday in his vicinity. This may seem weird or even mean to outsiders, but to Remus, it’s the best possible thing they could do.

That’s part of the reason why Remus is utterly confused when he enters their dorm on September 4th and finds Sirius, James and Peter sitting on pillows on the floor surrounded by drinks and candy, and a pile of gifts in their midst.

“Surprise!” They yell in unison the moment Remus opens the door.

Another reason for Remus’s confusion is that it’s nowhere near his birthday.

“What’s this?” He asks carefully.

Sirius presses a card in his hand. The front of the card shows a doodle of four boys sitting at the Gryffindor table. A small boy with peaky hair, a boy whose hair is pointing in all directions, a dark-haired boy with a goofy grin, and a curly-haired boy with large eyes, all wearing red-and-gold colours.

The doodle is clearly drawn by Sirius. Sirius is actually a very talented artist and his drawings are great, though he only ever shows his doodles to his friends. Remus loves the cute and funny doodles, but he wishes Sirius would also show them his more serious drawings sometimes. Remus has only ever caught a glimpse of his work on moments Sirius didn’t notice Remus’s presence in time while drawing, but what he saw was amazing.

Remus opens the card and reads the message on inside.

Hi Moony!

Happy 6-year anniversary of the day we officially became friends with you!

We love you!

Wormtail, Padfoot & Prongs

Remus looks up from the card to see Sirius staring at him with the same goofy grin as the doodled boy on the card, but there’s also an unfamiliar expression in his eyes, and he’s toying with a strand of his hair.

Remus realises that he’s nervous. Afraid that Remus will see it as a trick to give him a kind-of-birthday party anyway, and become upset. And of course it is an attempt to make up for lost birthday celebrations, Remus knows that, but it’s a good attempt. It’s not just celebrating a certain amount of years from his life have gone by, it’s celebrating the years they’ve been friends. Making actual friends who love him and who he loves, and keeping them for all that time, that’s something Remus did with his life, something he accomplished, something no one can ever take away from him. It somehow makes the eventual length of his life matter less. It’s celebrating the quality, not the quantity.

A smile spreads across Remus’s face, and he can immediately see the relief on his friends’ faces. “I love it,” he says.

And honestly, how could he not love something that results in Sirius throwing his arms around his neck and pressing a kiss to his cheek?

Remus tries to ignore the fluttering of his heart. They’re celebrating five years of friendship, for Godric’s sake. Being friends with someone as loving, bright and cheerful as Sirius is already more than he could have ever asked for. Wanting more, even dreaming of more, would be pushing his luck. See? His brain knows all this, but apparently his heart hasn’t gotten the message.

James gets him out of his frenzy by taking a gift from the pile. “Alright! Lets see who the first gift is for!”

“You got gifts for everyone?” Remus asks curiously.

“Why, of course, Moony!” James exclaims. “Managing to keep one of the greatest persons ever as our friend is really a gift-worthy accomplishment for us! Really something we should be celebrating and congratulating each other on.”

Sirius nudges Remus playfully. “You can see your presents as a reward for having put up with us for so long.”

Remus chuckles. He definitely doesn’t need a reward for one of the greatest things that has ever happened to him, but he’s not gonna say no to the tea, mug and book that lie before him with his name written on them either.

The next surprise comes halfway through October, during their second trip to Hogsmeade of that year. Remus is sitting at the Three Broomsticks with Peter, waiting for James and Sirius to come back with their Butterbeers.

However, suddenly Sirius places a large mug filled with decadent chocolate milk in front of Remus, complete with whipped cream and a chocolate biscuit on top and sprinkled with chocolate chips. At the same time James presses another card in his hands. Remus immediately laughs at the doodle of him in front of Honeydukes, holding a large stack of chocolate in his arms. Wondering what his friends came up with this time, he opens the card.

Moons,

Happy 4-year anniversary of your very first trip to Hogsmeade with us! (Ah, the day Moony discovered Honeydukes...)

Many trips (legal and less-legal) have followed and will follow since!

Lots of love,

Wormy, Pads, and Prongsie

Remus actually wasn’t able to join them on the first weekend they had been allowed to go, as it had been a full moon the night before. Only the next weekend a Hogsmeade trip was planned, they were able to go with the four of them, today apparently four years ago.

The following hour Remus spends reminiscing all his trips to Hogsmeade with his friends. The one when James and Sirius had hidden in the Shrieking Shack and fired hexes at passers-by to convince everyone the Shack is cursed, the one when James tried to secretly follow Lily around to find out what to buy for her birthday and she ended up throwing Butterbeer in his face, the one when Remus was acting cranky because his favourite chocolate was sold out, only to find out Sirius had secretly bought the last bars for him as a surprise, or the one when James actually managed to get a date with Lily, and Peter had asked Mary McDonald, so Remus and Sirius went together (and Remus had to actively tell himself that it was not a date for the entire day, though he doesn’t discuss that last bit with his friends).

Before they leave, the other three Marauders want Remus to pick out all the chocolate he loves most from Honeydukes as his anniversary gift, but Remus refuses, not wanting to be selfish by letting his friends buy him his treats. Back in their dorm, however, it isn’t long before a bag filled with Honeydukes’ finest just mysteriously appears on Remus’s bed.

It isn’t until January, right at the start of the new year, Remus is surprised one again. He steps into the kitchens, where the others had told him to come to prepare for a prank, and finds his friends sitting at a table around a huge chocolate cake.

“Moony!” Peter calls out, while James and Sirius shoot confetti from their wands.

“What’s this?” Remus asks, grinning while he’s shaking the confetti out of his hair. This time he’s more excited than nervous.

Peter hands him the card. Remus chuckles as he sees the little deer with a rat hanging from his antlers, closely followed by a wolf and a dog walking side-by-side, doodled on the front. He opens the card, fully prepared for another odd anniversary his friends managed to come up with, but not prepared in the least for the wave of emotion that washes over him.

Dear Moony,

Happy 2-year anniversary of the day from which you’ll never again have to spend another full moon on your own!

Love, your animalistic friends,

Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs

Remus reads the card a couple more times, until his eyes start tearing up and his vision becomes blurry.

The short message is not only a reminder of what his friends have done for him, how they’ve gone and made an aspect of Remus’s life immeasurably better, an aspect Remus had always believed to never get any better.

And then the words ‘never again’, meaning that his friends will continue to help him once they’ve left school, meaning that it doesn’t end when school does, meaning that his friends will always be there for him.

Remus doesn’t even realise he’s crying until two arms wrap around him and Sirius pulls him into a tight hug. His head resting on Sirius’s chest and Sirius soothing him: exactly how he’s been waking up after the full moon for the last two years, and how he’ll be waking up after the full moon for the years to come.

At the end of March, it’s promising to become the first soft spring day after the winter, though the nights still have a chill in the air.

The Marauders are sitting on a blanket in the grass, wrapped in sweaters watching the sun slowly rise over the lake. They’d snuck out in the middle of the night through one of their secret passageways, and spent the rest of the night drinking, talking, star gazing, and now watching the sunrise.

“Cheers!” They cluck their mugs filled with hot mead together in the golden light of the rising sun. “To beautiful spring days and good times!”

“And to Moony,” Sirius adds. “On this special day.”

Remus laughs. “I should have known!” Though he feels this night has already been special enough.

Though he immediately starts reading the card, with a pretty doodle of the castle on the front.

To Messr. Moony,

Happy 2-year anniversary of the day you discovered the last secret passageway and finished the Marauders’ Map!

We solemnly swear to always remain up to no good!

There’s always more mischief to manage,

Yours sincerely,

The Messrs. Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs

Remus fondly shakes his head. The season is changing, life at Hogwarts is slowly coming to an end, but the Marauders’ days of mischief making are not ending just yet.

On the 17th of May, Remus is sitting at a table in the common room, surrounded by books, parchment, quills and ink. He’s waiting on Lily. He has a Potions essay due, and horrible in potions as Remus is, he really needs a good grade. Luckily, Lily has agreed to help him, as she’s the absolute best in Potions. Lily is not great because professor Slughorn adores her, professor Slughorn adores her because she’s great.

Remus sees Lily step through the portrait hall carrying a large pile of books, and immediately jumps to his feet to help her carry the load.

However, when they return to Remus’s spot, a beautifully wrapped gift is placed on top of his parchment.

“They came up with another date?” Remus mumbles, slightly embarrassed, but Lily just looks excited. Word has gotten around that the Marauders have been throwing Remus all kinds of parties for all kinds of reasons and everyone just loves it.

“Open it, open it!” Lily claps her hands and Remus tears the wrapping paper off.

Lily sucks in her breath. “Oh!”

Remus himself is unable to form any words as he’s holding up a frame. All he can do is stare wide-eyed at the framed drawing in his hands.

It’s definitely Sirius’s work. Not a doodle this time, but a completely finished, serious artwork. Remus recognizes himself in the drawing, curled up in an armchair, one hand holding a book, and the other holding a mug with steam circling upwards. The scene is seemingly illuminated by soft sunlight falling through a window on Remus’s left, giving his eyes and hair a slightly golden glow. The drawing is somehow comforting, in his ability to capture such a calm, serene moment. Though Remus thinks the boy in the drawing must look much more beautiful than he ever has, he has no problem recognizing himself, as the composure, radiance and expression are so typically his, that it makes him feel strangely vulnerable that someone has looked at him and seen him, really seen him.

“It’s beautiful,” Lily whispers.

The only thing written on the drawing is a date scribbled in the bottom right corner: 17/05/1977. Exactly one year earlier. Remus’s heart is thumping as he picks up and reads the small note that came with the gift.

Dearest Moony,

Happy 1-year anniversary of the day I fell in love with you.

Yours, now and always,

Padfoot

Remus can hardly breath. The more he reads the words, the more his brain stops functioning. He looks at Lily, who has been reading over his shoulder, with a pleading look.

“Lily, what do I do?” He asks desperately.

“Well,” Lily says uncertain. “I’m sure if you tell him you care for him, but see him as just a friend, he’ll-”

“Why in Merlin’s name would I want to say that?” Remus stares at her like she has grown two heads. “Why would I want to turn him down?”

“You looked so panicked!” Lily defends herself. “Why in Merlin’s name are you even asking my advice if you feel the same way? Just go find that boy and bloody snog the living daylights out of him! Merlin, Remus, it’s not Advanced Potions!”

Finding Sirius and snogging him sounds scary, risky, dangerous, and absolutely wonderful, so Remus decides to embrace his Gryffindor courage and go for it.

He barely nods at Lily before dashing away. He bumps into Peter while rushing through the common room.

“Oi, Moony! I just wanted to ask you, are you-”

“Sorry, Wormtail, gotta run! I have to go and snog Padfoot!”

He hears Peter’s voice echo through the room as he climbs through the portrait hole. “Yeeeeesssss!”

In the corridor, he passes James.

“Moony…”

“Sorry, Prongs, no time!”

“He’s up in the Owlery!” James calls after him. “I thought you might like to know you’re going the wrong way.”

Remus immediately turns around and runs in the other direction. He hears James mumble when he passes him again.

“About bloody time.”

Remus’s courage wavers a bit as he steps into the Owlery. Sirius is standing with his hands resting on the ledge, and he’s looking out over the Hogwarts grounds. His pale skin, his grey eyes reflecting the sky, his long hair with strands blowing in his face. Surely there has to be some sort of misunderstanding. Surely a boy this beautiful can’t possibly have feelings for someone like Remus.

But then Sirius turns around to look at him, and Remus can clearly see the love and affection, mingled with fear and uncertainty, in his eyes.

“The twenty-third of September,” Remus blurts out.

Sirius looks at him questioningly.

“That’s my date,” Remus clarifies.

There’s hope in those eyes now. “As in the date of your one-year anniversary of having feelings… for me?” Sirius asks tentatively.

Remus shakes his head, and Sirius drops his gaze, looking embarrassed. “Two years,” Remus quickly clarifies.

Sirius looks up at him again, his eyes now the way Remus likes them best: sparkling.

“Really, Moony?” There’s unconcealed happiness and relief in his voice. “Two whole years and you never said anything?”

Remus huffs. “It’s not an easy thing to say! You know that, took you a year as well.”

“That’s still twice as fast,” Sirius teases.

Remus sighs in defeat. “You’re right. And there’s no way I can give you something so special and amazing as you’ve given me today.”

“You can forget about your date anyway,” Sirius says.

Remus raises his eyebrows. “How so?”

Sirius reaches out his hand towards Remus. “I was rather hoping we could share this date? As the date we officially became a couple?”

Remus hearts stops for a moment, but then he knows just what to do.

He takes the hand Sirius is offering, and in a moment of bravery pulls him close, so that they’re standing chest to chest.

Remus tugs a strand of hair falling over Sirius’s face behind his ear. “I would love to.”

[lunaticpuppetmaster]

  My contribute for Konoha Simps server collab! 

Trying to do both drabble and an art was a poor decidion as i am a lil bit late. 

Special Thanks to @pfreadsandwrites who beta-readed this drabble!

Title: Lost and Found.

Pairing: Kiba Inuzuka x OC (Tsubasa Yuki)

Summary: Everyone knows that everything you lose will end up in your soulmates possesions. Some people go crazy trying to find their destined one with practically no information. Tsubasa was never interested in finding hers and there is a chance she would never be able to.

Warnings: Angst, mentions of death, hurt/comfort

Word count: 6907

   When the first symptoms of the family curse appeared, Tsubasa already knew she was doomed. The sickness was rare and there wasn’t much information about it in the Yuki clan library even before the genocide, while after it…  well, no information survived. To be honest she did not have much hope at the beginning when her ice-natured chakra just only started to act like a parasite, eating her body and breaking thin bones.

But her sensei had. Mei had always been protective of her pupils, acting like a big sister even after the trio passed the chunin exam. So, when the worst happened, she used all her resources in order to save one of them. Unfortunately, even Kirigakure medics famous for their body knowledge were unsuccessful. The only hope was the best medic alive, Tsunade-hime herself.

Tsubasa did not know how she convinced Tsunade to help or what she promised to her (probably rare Kiri herbs), but the sannin agreed to work on her case. She didn’t promise a cure. To the girl’s pleasure, unlike her sensei, the 5th hokage was rational and she stated right from the start that the chances of recovery were very low and more likely she would just extend the Yuki girl’s agony. It was hurtful, but honest. Tsubasa always respected honesty… and her sensei. She had no other choice, but to promise Mei that she will fight till the end even though she did not want to.

“Maybe you will find your soulmate there,”- said Mei before her departure.

Mei was one of those people who always wanted to find their soulmate, however that was not the reason why she said it. She appreciated different manifestations of love: between friends, parental, sisterly and etc. She also knew that Tsubasa was a pessimist and even the love of people who were close to her was not enough to restore her will to live. At least if she were deeply in love with her soulmate, Mei hoped that Tsubasa could finally find the strength to fight.

Soulmates were always a bone of contention between different social groups: commoners, nobility and shinobi. Especially the last one. Missions and loyalty towards the village must be a number one priority for a ninja. But with soulmates everything became much harder.

Still even the biggest soulmate deniers tried their best to ‘lose things’. Even though little was known about soulmates nature, over the years people were able to learn a couple of useful things:

1 - Every item you lose will end up in your soulmate’s possessions.

2 - You cannot send a letter or any kind of writing this way.

3 - You cannot just throw away a random thing in the air or leave it intentionally on a park bench. So, you must really lose the thing to make it reach your soulmate.

The world was never peaceful. Neither for commoners nor shinobi, so desire to help for so called “true one” was understandable. People tried to tie various useful items with slim strings to their clothes like meds and water. When it came to shinobi they usually tied small scrolls to their bags or jackets hoping that during fights the thread would be cut or ripped and the item lost. Such scrolls were usually filled with food, kunais or ninja pills. Supplies that suddenly appeared managed to save some shinobi on the verge of death more than once. So even soulmate deniers had an opinion that it was practical to help the soulmate and very rude to ignore it. Help for help, life for life, nothing more. Tsubasa was one such person.

Of course, every skilled shinobi could tell from which village the lost item appeared.

Yuki’s soulmate for example was from Konoha. Her teammate Hiroto recognized a specific plant in a found ninja pill. So, she had some chances to run into him during her stay.

But Tsubasa did not want a soulmate. She did not need some stranger. She wanted to stay in Kiri and spend her last days with people she loved with all her heart and soul. Hadn’t she suffered enough? It didn’t look like it.

This was how she ended up in Konoha; or rather in a spare room of Yamanaka-hime’s house. Although Tsunade made efforts, in Yuki’s opinion, she clearly did not have an intention to heal her, but to collect information about how the disease proceeds under various factors, in order to save other unfortunate ones… Tsubasa could tell it from her students. Tsunade put her under the care of somewhat inexperienced newbies, ones who could crawl into her head and feel the patient’s condition themselves. Tsubasa did not blame her for that. She would be happy if her death could help someone. The girl rather felt sorry for distracting Ino from her more important patients. The hime herself was cheerful and sunny person, but in moments that required professionalism she could turn cold and focused with the flick of a finger. “She would be a perfect clan leader one day,” Tsubasa thought.

To be honest Yamanaka’s jutsu was useful for more than just therapy. When they first met, Yuki just simply let Ino read her mind and see her past. It was much faster and easier, plus all the secret information she knew as an ANBU was sealed. In order to get it, they would have had to use much stronger and more traumatic jutsu (and of course torture). Moreover, she was going to die soon, so did it really matter how many people knew her story?

Though when Tsubasa saw the girl’s blank face after reading her mind, she felt guilty. The blonde stayed silent for a few seconds before giving her a hug. She did not need words to say that she will do her best.

    Ino was easy to befriend. She also was good at distracting from negative thoughts. Between her regular Tsunade checkups and preparations for missions (It was important to monitor the development of the disease in the field, and all missions would be related to information gathering about the Yuki clan) they were chatting, watching movies and sometimes working in the flower shop. Thanks to Tsubasa’s honey-coloured hair most people mistook her as a distant relative of Yamanaka, so no one asked questions.

Once they ended up talking about soulmates. It started when Ino found some spilled ink on her carpet one day. Hime did not know much about her soulmate except he was really… an artistic type. Through the years she collected various brushes, pencils, erasers and doodles. Once she even found a whole sketchbook (unfortunately half torn)! But there was one thing that made her upset. He never “lost” anything to help her like the majority did.

“Maybe he is from a strict ninja family or a specific ANBU team”, she said with a sad smile.

If Ino’s soulmate was artistic, Tsubasa’s was… quite “special”. Because only a “special” person would end up losing a 6-kilo bag of dog food. Even now, after seven years Tsubasa sometimes wondered ‘how?’.. It was not a pen or a trinket which could be easily left on an academy desk, but a giant bag of dog food! No, he was a good soulmate who was “losing” supplies for her (that once saved her teammate’s life) unlike Ino’s, but still… Even when the blonde heard about it, she could not believe it and then started to laugh hysterically. After such silly small talks Tsubasa felt like she wasn’t fully alone in this foreign village. It almost felt like she had found a friend.

Unlike the other forced teammate.

Every village had a system of having at least 3 people in a team. Moreover, Tsubasa was suffering from her disease and Ino concentrated on helping her. They needed another member.

Tsubasa did not like him from the start. He was loud, narcissistic, clingy and insolent. The kunoichi was easily fed up with his behaviour. She spat out what exactly she thought of him to his face before going back to the Yamanaka estate. Only when she was alone in her room, she understood all her stupidity. She shouldn’t have acted so idiotic and lose her cool. It was essential for a ninja. She also understood why he was chosen among all of the shinobi. As a member of the Inuzuka clan he had a ninken who was already big enough to carry a man. It would be useful in case she became unconscious due to the illness. But she could not help it. A lot of bad things were going on in her life. She felt useless and helpless since she was banned from using her ice chakra. Mei also banned her from using anything that would hide her emotions. She thought that Tsubasa finally needed to learn how to speak and deal with new people. Babysitting was not helpful, so she wanted to try something more radical. Tsubasa understood, but understanding wasn’t enough to cope with the stress. Now she was sitting in the corner of her room shivering. Usually, she would take her father’s mask – the only thing left after his death- and put the cold material close to her forehead thinking what he would say or do. She couldn’t do it any longer. Some of her belongings and a mask were lost during a powerful chakra release at the beginning of the disease.

A few minutes passed before she started to feel better. A sudden knock on the door took her out of thoughts. Tsubasa went to open it thinking it would be Ino. Unfortunately, it was him. The cause for today’s bad mood and their third teammate – Kiba Inuzuka himself. She sighed and looked at him through the door, hiding most of her body behind it. The young man in front of her hesitated and looked a little bit strange or uncertain.

”Listen, I came here to apologise.“

Tsubasa raised her brow. Surely she should have been the one to apologise?. Plus, the boy looked like someone who would rather make a bunch of excuses and snap back than accept he was wrong.

“Well, I shouldn’t have invaded your personal space in the first place.” He scratched the back of his head and looked away. Judging by his behavior, the girl started to understand what actually made his behavior change.“And …uhm, Ino told me about your case so…”

“Showed you,” said Yuki her guess as a statement.

”She d-did not show me much!”

”That’s okay. I don’t mind and Ino knows that.”

“Anyway, I want to start on a clean slate. Here, take it. It’s a half mask and a bottle of blue paint so you can customize it with your clan symbol.”

”Actually…”

“I know that you are not allowed to use anything to hide your emotions, but it is a half mask and I made the holes for eyes bigger so your emotions will be perfectly visible. This is not technically breaking the rule and you will definitely feel better due to your um… well, habit. Just enjoy it, okay? I have to go now, bye!

“W-wait! I cannot…”

But the boy already left, forcing the girl to accept.

After that, though the relationship between the trio smoothed out, it was far from perfect. Tsubasa preferred to act more as a solo player despite her health condition, Kiba was still too loud and tried to act like the leader he never was and Ino … Ino tried not to go crazy in this whole mess called a team. However, overall, their missions were rather calm. Perhaps the three of them needed time to get used to each other before they could accept the others’ faults and learn to compromise. The tension completely disappeared at rest time, when tired teenagers passed time by talking to each other. Often they talked about soulmates. Someone was consulting with others about what would be more useful to seal in a tie-down scroll, the other one was looking through a travel bag for new supplies (or accidentally dropped useless things), another was thinking about loud who their soulmate might be. On one of such days, all of a sudden Tsubasa discovered earrings in a sealed scroll. They were simple and consisted of three deep blue feathers each. The girl looked at them in surprise, not knowing how to react. But, on the contrary, Ino reacted too happily.

“These are so cute! And they match your eye color! Quite a nice present for a soulmate that has never seen you.”

“This must have been a mistake.”

“It was in a scroll. How could this be a mistake? Looks like your soulmate really wishes to meet you and…”

“I don’t need a soulmate, Ino! Like, I don’t believe in perfect matches made by spiritual forces or some sort. I never wanted to have him in the first place! I have a dream to achieve, a family in Kiri. No way if I survive, I will leave it all behind because of some questionable romance! That’s ridiculous!”

Ino sighed and Kiba remained silent. The conversation came to an end. But not the attention from Tsubasa’s soulmate or their mission.

One of those days, when all sorts of cute things and sweets instead of standard ammunition began to show up in Tsubasa’s scrolls more and more, their group stumbled upon really strong opponents. The longer the battle continued the more obvious it became that they were not going to win. Unless Tsubasa broke the rule and used her clan’s abilities. Mei’s order, both as sensei and as Mizukage, always stood above many moral principles for Yuki, but now it was a completely different case. Neither Ino nor Kiba with the sweetest and bravest Akamaru should have been involved in this from the very beginning. They were not supposed to die or risk their lives because of some terminally ill girl from another village and a questionable contract between their Kages. They must live, survive and Tsubasa made up her mind. At first, she managed to eliminate a couple of ninjas and slightly injure the rest using the element of surprise. She was incredibly lucky, because the disoriented opponents were much easier to finish off for Kiba and Ino. Tsubasa by this moment had already lost her eyesight from the tension and saw the battlefield only as a set of white and light gray colors. She lost her breath and her strength to stand upright. But it was nothing compared to the pain that washed over her seconds later.

     The kunoichi screamed in pain as she felt blood filling her mouth and an ice crust covering her internal organs. She fell on the cold dusty ground, heart-rendering screams leaving her lips with the blood pulsing her temples, ice needles tearing the muscles of her arms and legs. It seemed like nothing existed except for the all-consuming pain. Through the wall of never-ending white noise, she heard the sounds of Ino’s commands and Akamaru’s frightened barking. This was the last thing she felt before passing out.

Tsubasa woke up with a heavy head and pain all over her body. She listened to her senses before opening her eyes… and it would have been better not to listen to them. Someone brazenly pressed her close to their body and sniffed into the ear. When she opened her eyes the girl immediately screamed. In general, it was a completely normal reaction when you find yourself half-dressed in the arms of an equally half-dressed man. Of course, given that she was half-asleep, her only response was a stream of unpleasant curses and swearing. At first Kiba, who was still sleepy, was happy that the girl woke up, but soon joined the exchange of curses until a joyful, but terribly tired Ino ran up to them, immediately trying to interrupt the catfight and change the topic. Kiba waved his hand resentfully and went off in an unknown direction. Ino stayed with Tsubasa alone.

“Sit down and drink this.”

“Okay, but can I ask you a question first? What the hell happened here?”

”Your disease went out of control. I could barely suppress it. This time it was… too strong. Not like before. When I was finally able to improve your condition, you were still unconscious, your temperature dropped to terribly low levels, and some ice crystals did not disappear. We didn’t risk taking you back to the village in such poor condition. At first, we tried to wrap you up warm, but that didn’t help. Your clothes were quickly soaked by the cold coming from you and it only aggravated your condition. Then we decided that we would warm you one by one with the heat of our bodies. Well, Akamaru too.

Tsubasa howled in embarrassment and Ino sighed.

“Don’t worry. I think Kiba understands what the situation looked like for you. Or he will understand. He is a hot-head, you know, and he needs some time to calm down. But he will.”

”Still, that doesn’t change the fact that I snapped at him twice for literally nothing, especially the last time when I should have said ‘thank you for trying to save my dumb ass’. I feel terrible.”

The blonde girl patted her dejected friend on the shoulder and then said, “ Drink the medicine or, I swear to God, you will regret that you woke up.

The group’s return journey took place in silence. Despite the fact that Tsubasa apologized to Kiba and he accepted the apology, the kunoichi was still tormented by her conscience. She needed to apologize to him properly. Stealing a glance at the still visible ice crystals on her hand, a thought flashed through her: “While I can still do it.”

Night is definitely a wonderful and mysterious time of the day. Too bad that not everyone can enjoy its beauty, but there are also some who would be glad to miss it. For example, some unfortunate souls from the Inuzuka clan. It just so happened that a heightened sense of smell was not the only animal trait some clan members shared. Heightened hearing, too. In battle it was somewhat useful while in everyday life - irritating. During the day, in a mixture of noises, it did not cause much discomfort, but at night, when all the sounds disappeared, a can kicked by a drunk felt like a hit in the head. It is not surprising that such “lucky” clan members often suffered from insomnia and generally lived in the rhythm of night owls, which was very difficult for the shinobi world, where everyone was entirely early birds.

So was Kiba. However, tonight it felt different. His day was active and the sounds on the street did not disturb him, still he could not sleep. It seemed that the whole atmosphere of the house became more and more oppressive with every second spent inside, and the inner desire to walk through the village at night became stronger with every minute. He just wanted to go outside and run. He did not know where, but somewhere, where it was important for him to be now. In the end, when he accepted the fact that he obviously would not sleep today, the young man called his faithful dog and quietly left the house. The night was calm and fresh from the recent rain. Perhaps even too much, but it did not bother Kiba. He gladly wandered through old village streets, breathing in deeply the cold night air until he found himself near the playground. Or better to say, found someone.

Tsubasa sat on the swing all hunched up, almost motionless like a statue, and although this time her face wasn’t hidden by a mask, but her honey hair, Kiba knew that the girl was clearly not radiating joy.

“May I sit?,” he asked. Tsubasa didn’t even flinch.

“Yes.”

Kiba looked at the girl. When they first met, she was strong, cold and impenetrable. A true warrior. But now things were different. As a shinobi, he was not afraid to die on the battlefield, surrounded by dead and, possibly, even rotting bodies. But seeing a person fade like this, when they were unable to do anything about their state, when they burned out like a candle, turning with every second into a pale copy of their former self is what really scared him. At first, he didn’t care much what would happen to Yuki, but now, when her life glimmered on a candle stub, saving her was important. Either she will survive, and he will get rid of animal all-consuming fear, or her pale face, disfigured by illness, in the tongues of the funeral flame will haunt him till the end of his days.

Akamaru rested his head on Tsubasa’s lap. Still lost in her heavy thoughts, Yuki let her hands go of the swing chain and started to mechanically stroke and scratch the ninken behind the ears.

”Hey Tsu, I know that you are that type of shinobi who tries to follow the code perfectly. But we are not made of steel. You are not made of steel. You are feeling bad and tired. It’s unlikely that I will hear something that Ino did not show me or did not hear from you. Sharing pain as a shinobi is hard, but it’s even harder to keep your cool when you are on the verge of being broken by your own emotions. Even though I talk too much, anything you tell me tonight will stay here, I promise. So, tell me what’s eating you.

”You’re right. I am tired. I am weak, although I’ve tried to prove myself otherwise for my whole goddamn life. Even when I felt bad and thought that everything was lost, I clung to a few good things that I had. What does not kill makes us stronger, and the world, even drowning in war and blood, is still too beautiful to give up, especially the little things that everyone forgets. That’s what my father taught me. My path has never been covered with rose petals. Well.., for most people, actually. Still, I didn’t stop fighting for the people I love. Only when the clan curse showed itself… I was really scared. I felt completely helpless. And after the recent events… Fuck all my experience, knowledge and even more ranks. I am useless. I… I must accept the truth. I will die soon Kiba and I do not want to die here.”

Her previously smooth and still voice started to crack. Her shoulders shivered slightly.

“You, Ino and your friends are wonderful people and in general I like Konoha, but it will never be my home, and you will never replace my family. I hate to break promises, but I really don’t want to keep the one I gave to sensei and friends. I just want to give up and go back to Kiri. I miss them so much and want to see them one last time. Besides there is also one thing that bothers me…”

Mei was not that wrong when she said that Tsubasa might fall in love in Konoha. She actually did, but not with the soulmate destined by the stars. She fell in love with an eccentric, slightly arrogant and silly boy who may have not really known her, but still tried to help. Simply because he did not lose faith in her or their team, because he acted friendly with her and could cheer her up even in her darkest moments. For the fact that he could knock on the window at one in the morning and invite her into the forest to look at the fireflies. Just like that. It wasn’t like love at first sight, or a long courtship. With each passing day her feelings grew stronger washing over her like waves. Unfortunately, there were few “BUTs” that Tsubasa could not ignore:

She was from another village and even though there were many bad things in the hidden Mist, she was not going to betray it or move anywhere. She promised herself to help Sensei make the village a better place, and she was not going to give up on her dream either. Kiba was also too loyal to his family and friends. He would never leave them for some Kirigakure girl.

Moreover, Tsubasa felt guilty about her soulmate. Yes, she never saw him, but that did not stop him from taking care of her and obviously dreaming about their meeting. It would be wrong just not to care about his feelings.

Most importantly, that applied to both Kiba and the unknown “true one” - she was dying. She was a weak sick girl who had a month left to live at best. Of course, she could confess her feelings to the boy next to her right now, feel loved and die with a drop of happiness… But was it fair for Kiba who would have to live with this burden until the end of his days? Definitely not. She couldn’t do that to him. That’s why she would rather stay silent, burn out from her feelings, because at least she would not let him suffer.

“I just don’t know what to do… I feel lost.”

She lifted her head, blue feathers of her earnings blowing in the wind. Her face was emotionless and her body calm, yet uncontrollable tears were streaming down her face.

The boy took her freezing hand and pulled her into a hug. Tsubasa bit her lip, burying her face in his shoulder and soaking his jacket with tears.

”You lost only because you gave up right away as soon as you found out about your diagnosis! Stop thinking about the fucking disease! Focus on something else! Not on the loved ones, since it causes you so much pain. Focus on your dreams! On your soulmate!”

“Why are you so obsessed with the idea of soulmates?”

“Why are you so disgusted with the idea itself?”

She let his hand go and exhaled. There was no trace of her emotional outburst except for her bloodshot eyes. Tsubasa grabbed the swing chains, thinking for a second.

“I do not believe in fairy tales about gods, who loved each other and were separated, that blessed all mortal couples with a secret connection, in revenge to the rest of the pantheon. Why did everyone suddenly start to think that it was a love connection? What if that bond means a strong friendship? And how can finding lost things help my soulmate find me or specifically, my body? The only variant I see is where you tattoo the coordinates on your hand and lose it in battle. An ‘excellent’ plan! Moreover, where are the guarantees that soulmate couples will be happy? Give me one example.”

”Ino’s parents are soulmates.”

Both of them suddenly turned silent.

”As far as I know, Mrs. Yamanaka did not even know our language when she arrived here. She was from another country, with completely different customs, still she risked going into the unknown. And I don’t know any stronger couple.”

“The way you talk about it… Your parents aren’t soulmates either, are they?”

He nodded.

”Don’t get me wrong, I love my mother. In fact, my father left when I was one year old, so she and my sister raised me. But… My mother is a very difficult person. As far as I can remember, it was always important for her to be the first and she never cared about the feelings of others. This is good for a warrior, but not for a family member. She could easily say things that will hurt you, including the ones she said on purpose, as a joke in order to please her ego. When you tried to talk to her about this and ask her to tone it down a little, she pretended to listen at first, but soon forgot about it. As for my father, he was not from our clan, not even from our village. He was a stranger and ended up being at the very bottom of the clan’s hierarchy. My sister said that he could stand a lot of things, but not the betrayal and disregard towards him from his once loved one. Of course, this was not the only reason he left. After that, looking at how Ino’s parents perfectly understand each other and always try to find a compromise, on how strong their union is… I want the same kind of family. Yes, I can act like my mother, be short tempered and impulsive. I think you noticed it when we first met. I admit I behaved horribly, but with people close to me, whom I don’t want to lose, I try to control myself and work on it.”

“That’s… amazing Kiba. And despite the fact that you mostly act like a jerk -” he snorted and a small smile formed on her lips- “I have to admit that after knowing you better, I have respect for you. You don’t try to please everyone. You give all of yourself and your warmth only to the ones that are close to you. Only to those who, in your opinion, deserve it, disregarding the rest. This is right. I share the same point of view. But since you really want to find your soulmate, have you ever thought that you might end up being the one to leave your home? Are you ready for such a sacrifice yourself?”

Kiba fell silent. At first it seemed that he was deep in thought, but in reality, everything was different. He was frightened and listened to the silence of the night trying to find out if someone was eavesdropping on them. For a moment, the girl even thought that he used ninjutsu to sniff out strangers and make sure that there were no one near them.

As white as a sheet, he took her hand and ‘wrote’ his answer on the inside of her palm with a finger:

“Yes”

She glanced at him. His actions spoke louder than words.

“Your father is dead, isn’t he?”

”Were you born in a clan or joined it later, you cannot leave it.”

”I understand. After all, in Kiri, a lot is happening inside our clans too.”

They both sat in uncomfortable silence.

“When you said that my parents are not soulmates, you also said “either”. So..?”

“You heard right. You know that before Terumi-sama, Kirigakure was overflowing with nepotism and bribery? Well, people were willing to do anything to move up the career ladder. My mother really wanted a higher position in ANBU, so she made my father fall in love with her and convinced him that she was his soulmate. As you understand, it was also important for my father to find ‘the true one’ but when he realized that he was fooled it was already too late. He comforted himself with the fact that he seemed to love my mother even without that spiritual bond, plus he loved me with all his heart and soul. But in fact, the love between my parents was one-sided… and because of the special treatment to the Yuki clan, my father was never at home. So… when you start looking for your destined one, please be careful, okay? I do not want the same fate for you or for anyone else.”

Okay, let’s change the topic” - he waved his hands in a playful defensive gesture “You mentioned that you have a dream. So, what kind of dream?”

“Well, you chose a bad one to distract me, because my dream is deeply connected with my family. You know about the genocide of the Yuki clan?”

“Mmm, sorry, to be honest, not really. Only that when the Uchiha clan was massacred, the elders whispered with each other that it could be the same case as it was with your clan, where it was the Kage’s order or some sort.”

“The Yuki clan was once considered to be one of the most powerful clans in the village of the Hidden Mist. And of course, quite dangerous, especially for the past Mizukage, or rather, for the one who controlled him. So, one night, the entire main branch was killed and the clan’s library burned down. The Yuki clan was officially made part of a lower caste. Some clan members managed to escape, while others were often sent on dangerous and suicidal missions. Now from the once large clan, only 30-40 people remain in Kiri, and most of them are elders and children. For comparison, grandfather Naoki had four children, the same age as my father, and only one daughter remained alive. As you know, my frightened and repressed clan avoided communicating with each other. In fact, in my childhood, it was as if the clan did not exist at all. Childhood in Kiri was not easy, but the other children at least had a clan, a large family that stood up for them. I wanted it too. I wanted to be a part of a clan and before my illness I dreamed of reviving the Yuki clan, regaining lost knowledge and finding all the relatives lost around the world, whom, as far as I heard, were not liked by both ninjas and civilians. But now after that illness… I must find every single Yuki alive to make sure that no one will be alone while fighting the family curse and that no one will go through the same pain as me, giving them a chance to be cured. And I will do it, no matter what… If I survive, of course…”

“It’s … A great dream to achieve-,” he scratched his head not knowing what to say- “And I am sure you will! Just don’t be so pessimistic! “

”I am realistic.”

“Pessimistic.”

“Realistic!”

“OK, OK!” he chuckled.“Looks like only realists like you, who talk about how bad and terrible everything will be, turn out to be chuunins.”

“What? Kiba, I don’t… urgh forget it! Arguing with you on any topic is simply useless when you are stubborn as a mule.”

“Said another mule!”

She laughed. Warmly and sincerely, for the first time this evening, and perhaps since they returned from that ill-fated mission.

”By the way, if your life in the hidden mist was so bad why do you hate the idea of moving to another place? Like here, to Konoha?”

“First of all, my life in Kiri is perfect now. Secondly, when people will learn that I am from the hidden mist they will hate me. The only thing that saves me now is that commoners think I am a distant relative of Ino.”

“Why do you think that?”

“You never heard why Kiri women are hated so much?”

“No.”

“Well let me tell you,” she grinned sinisterly. “One year, in our village, due to hunger, disease and war, there were practically no men left. Then the women decided to fill this gap by stealing men from other villages. But then they questioned themselves, how to transport healthy and adult shinobi without harming them? This is how the world-famous art of Kirigakure ANBU was born, thanks to which we can immobilize even the most powerful warrior,” she chuckled as a senbon she used in some missions appeared from nowhere, - “With the combination of many factors, but still. Well, those poor souls who ended up in Kiri … they essentially had no choice, but to marry ladies there if they wanted to live.”

“Are you joking?!”

“I’m not! In fact, my great-grandfather was kidnapped from the village hidden in the Stone. So, be careful Inuzuka Kiba! Who knows, maybe my illness is just a part of a secret mission and I’m actually here to pick up suitable candidates… And you might end up being one of them! You may turn out to be a good third husband for me, you know?”

He laughed.

“Oh really? Well, I would die to see how you would try to steal me with such an amazing guard as Akamaru!”

“Oh darling,” she grinned and hugged the huge white dog,” I would find a way to make that adorable boy my partner in crime! “

Akamaru happily barked in agreement and both teenagers burst into laughter, almost falling off the swing.

“By the way,” she said after a small pause, “I have to admit that fireflies are much more beautiful in Konoha. Thank you for letting me enjoy such beauty…”

He bit his lip and took her hand in his. The Ice crystals were still showing from her bandage returned them both to the dreadful reality.

“You will survive Tsu, I promise you, and you will see many more fireflies. Not only these.”

She looked at him with a faded, crooked smile. A smile that only gravely ill and very tired people have. Kiba returned her a look and his heart squeezed painfully in his chest, skipping a beat.

“Don’t make a promise that you can’t keep.”

”I’ll keep it! You will see. We are close to finding the ancient temple of the Yuki clan, and there definitely should be information on how to cure you. And after the next mission is completed, we will go to a grill bar! In the land of water there are only sea creatures and practically no normal beef. I cannot let you go back to Kiri without letting you know all the delights of good meat.”

She chuckled.

“If you say so.”

But there would be no grill bar or any next time. They found information about the temple location, but at the cost of everything else. The disease turned out to be unstoppable at this point. Luckily, they managed to reach it in time and save Tsubasa’s life.

Three months had passed since her miraculous recovery. Representatives of the Mist village appeared in Konoha the next day and took the girl with them, not allowing her even to say goodbye to her new friends. Still, their paths will cross in the future.

Upon returning to Kiri, Tsubasa began to communicate a lot with Ino through letters, which made the Mizukage almost ecstatic. She hoped that friendship with the clan princess would turn into a possible strong political tie in the future. One way or another, Mei was going to make her children, if not a future Mizukage, then those on whom the village could rely. Sometimes Mei was so happy about the benefits that Tsubasa had a feeling that her illness and departure to Konoha were part of Sensei’s plan to improve relationships with the village from the very beginning. However, she thought it was too weird and silly to be true.

She also sent letters to Kiba. Feelings for him that suddenly flared up in her heart were not planning to disappear, but she still had no intention of getting into his personal life. He wanted to find his soulmate, and she respected that wish. This was the least she could do for him. “Besides,” she thought while drinking peach tea in the evenings and remembering how he was trying to warm her drastically freezing body on their trip to the temple, “it is unlikely that we would have succeeded even if there would be no soulmate. We are too loyal and attached to our villages and clans. None of us would move to another village for the sake of other. Only a soulmate had such privilege.“

Therefore, she was happy to be his friend at least, send the boxes of tangerines and dried seafood snacks on special occasions, help with advice on everyday problems that all teenagers went through, regardless of which shinobi village they were born in, and just talk about all sorts of nonsense.

At six am, there was a loud knock on the door. Tsubasa was just getting ready for the training and she had no idea who would need to see her at such an early hour (her teammates were waiting for her at the training field, so it could not be them).

A familiar figure was standing outside of the door. Tired from the road, a little nervous, but smiling. Holding a medium-sized flat box under his arm.

“Kiba? What are you doing here, especially this early?!”

“There were reasons,” he said giving her a box, “may i come in?”

“Of course, you can, I’ll make you some tea and something to eat for you two.”

The girl moved away to the side, letting the boy and his dog into the apartment. Akamaru immediately stretched and laid himself on the carpet of the living room, while Kiba took a seat in the kitchen.

“So, what’s the reason you came here?”

“Open the box,” he said with a smile.

Tsubasa raised her eyebrows skeptically. She put the box on the table, thin fingers gripping the blue lid and pulling it up. Her father’s mask with its cold material was staring right into the girl from the inside. Frozen in complete shock, looking at the once-lost thing dear to her heart, she did not notice how Kiba approached her from behind.

“I just felt lost,” he said in a soft voice, while tucking a loose strand behind her ear. Their faces were only a few inches apart, “And desperately wanted to be found.”

[casualneonglitterpainterposts]

So I've been working on something over the last week and here's what I've been up to:

Meet my Robot Master/ Reploid OC Miss  "Ivory Plant" (Ivy for short or Ivory woman) and her adorable Mutant Venus fly trap buddy Ivan.

She was inspired by my pal

YellyDany

Robot Master OC Gardener Man (I though he could do with someone to love besides his sunflowers)

Here's her profile and her back story too (just her heads up her backstory is a little long but really good- I promise) I recommend you read it sometime to better understand who Ivory is:

Name: Ivory Marguerite Plant  or just“Ivory Plant”

Nicknames: Ivy, Rory, Flower bud (Gardener Man), Poison Ivy (by Professor Chaos)

Age: 20 (resembles a twenty year old human female)

DOB: September 2nd

Race/ Gender: Reploid / Robot Master/ Female

Height: “5’6” (167.3cm)

Eyes: Magenta  

Family / Friends: Professor Enigma (Creator/ father figure), Gardener Man (Love interest/partner), Ivan (Adorable mutant venus fly trap pet), Professor Enigma’s Team of fellow scientists / robotics engineers( close friends).

Occupation: Botanist, Biologist, Peacekeeper Environmentalist, warrior/protector

Personality/Traits: Tends to be very quiet, a to herself kinda person- mostly due to her past, fun, loving, a little awkward at times, smart, kind, spunky, badass very friendly, loyal, selfless

Abilities/Powers: Can talk/ understand plants (physically/ emotionally- i.e she can sense when they feel pain e.t.c), Fast/agile, quick reflexes, very skilled blades woman,

Likes: Nature, the environment, gardening, her special little green house, plants, taking care of others (including her plants and other people), Ivan (her mutant Venus fly trap), biology, chemistry, doodling, fulfilling her duty as a robot master/peacekeeper and protector, being a badass warrior, poofy baggy clothing (she loves her one piece she wears all the time the most), The colours royal purple, parrot green, bright magenta and gold, watching her plants grow (over time that is), growing flowers, the art of Bonsai, roses, sunflowers and a certain Gardener robot master (Gardener man) 😏.

Dislikes: Her past, being used and manipulated for others gain ( reference to her past), professor Chaos, bad guys, criminals, evil/ wrong doers, those who purposely harm the environment, being a bit clumsy around a certain someone 😏, being disturbed during her work, early mornings, ignorant/ thick headed idiots, people trying to take her research/scientific works (she does some pretty cool advanced stuff), those who go in her lab without her know abouts.

Profile/ Backstory: Ivory was designed as a Robot Master, not an ordinary one- A protector of nature and humanity …

Her creator Professor/Doctor Garin Enigma Wanted to take his time building his Robot “Ivory Plant '', he’d begun to slowly piece her together day by day, after all Ivory was his most specialist /advanced reploid designs after all . On the other hand jealous Evil Professor/ Doctor Kirk Chaos had heard about Enigma’s robot, so late one evening he broke into Enigma’s lab, stealing both Ivory’s blue prints and her unfinished built body- Chaos was too quick for the police and managed to run away with Enigma’s robot- He made sure to hide well so Enigma could never find him or his robot master “Ivory Plant ” ever again.

After studying her blue prints and what Enigma had built so far, Professor Chaos decided to tweak Enigma’s Reploid Master a little. As he continued to finish the last few parts (Enigma had 95% of Ivory made) to her internals- He implanted a very Powerful yet unstable (in the wrong hands of course - wink, wink) module inside her. Taking advantage of so, Chaos used Ivory or Ivy/ Poison Ivy (as he renamed her destructive self) for his own gain- using simple mind control he’d manipulate her into causing havoc and destruction. Though after returning to her true sweet loving self  after each time, Ivory felt ashamed and disgusted that this horrid man was making her do so- she couldn’t escape his control and if she tried to fight back, Ivory was only abused by his goons.  

Though after many months of this horrendance torture, shame and mistreatment Ivory learnt the truth about her creation/creator though one of Chaos’s minions she’s managed  to give a “talking to”. It was devastating and hurt her deeply to find out what Professor Chaos had done- Such a cruel cold-hearted monster he was…

On the other hand Enigma and his team had been searching all over the entire city for her, Enigma was losing hope and soon became quite depressed after the loss of Ivory- she was like a daughter to him- she was to be a great Master and protector.. But now.. Now he knew all hopes of ever finding her again were very slim- He knew Chaos would do whatever it took to hide her from him…

During one of his latest searches for Ivory (though still feeling quite depressed), Enigma found himself caught in the middle of a frightened and terrorised runaway crowd of people. Enigma couldn’t help but go forward and explore the situation, for some reason this seemed very suspicious …

When Enigma made his way in towards the commotion- his eyes must have been playing some horrid trick on him, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing… It was his lovely Robot Master Ivory in her armoured form- though she seemed different and was acting very dangerously.. Pulling out his x-ray tech specks, Enigma quickly analysed her internals- he was disgusted  at what he’d found. He couldn’t believe that Chaos put such a powerful (dangerously powerful) and unstable module inside his reploid. Enigma just couldn’t withstand watching Ivory (under mind control) cause so much damage, quickly pulling out a small device  which would break her free of the mind control/ stabilize the module- he targeted the device at her and hit her right on the upper arm. Ivory returned to her normal self, she collapsed to the ground out cold and unconscious. Enigma ran over to her side and picked her up, he carried her back to his vehicle and took her home to his laboratory..

In the course of his return back to his laboratory, Chaos and his Goons were locked up and taken away. Enigma couldn’t have been more pleased to hear the news.Now with Ivory back in his grasp and on the repair table of his lab- Enigma did a full body analysis scan on his reploid to see what damage Chaos did to her. After doing the Analysis, he found exactly where Chaos implanted the powerful yet unstable module- right beside her heart. Removing it from her body sadly wasn’t an option- Enigma knew once it was implanted in a reploid it would bond and become one with the reploid, also if he were to try and remove it it meant taking her fully apart and wiping her mind completely.  Professor Enigma knew his only option was to make a special orb that could control the stability/ use of power from the module, but still allow her alone to use the immense power through a much more controlled way. So whilst she was still unconscious and resting- Professor Enigma set out to make her this stabilizing orb. Half an hour later the orb was complete- it took the form of a choker (he didn’t want to just randomly put it on her neck). Removing the temporary one he’d put on her earlier, he placed the orb choker around her neck- The left Ivory hooked up to his analysis machine- keeping an eye on her systems as he allowed her to rest.

Twenty-four hours later, Ivory awoke- she was a little startled and panicky at first, but then she realised she was safe when Professor Enigma (her original creator) came bursting into his lab to help her .Enigma unhooked her form his machines, the took her outside. The two sat down on the slightly cold stone stairs- though Ivory felt so lost and so ashamed for what Chaos made her do under mind control, She told Enigma everything. After their talk- Ivory sat there looking off to the side, sad, ashamed with a few tears in her eyes- Enigma comforted her and told Ivory that he would help her get past this pain Chaos caused. She smiled sincerely, grateful for Professor Enigma’s kindness.

Many months onwards, Ivory soon began to feel like her true self and her past pain faded away- she didn’t feel like a monster no more. She was out and about fulfilling her destiny to be a great protector, she also was an amazing and talented scientist too. When she wasn’t doing so, Ivory would spend most of her time talking to her one and only mutant Venus fly trap buddy Ivan (he’s like a lil’ dog ^^). Ivory was special- she had the ability to communicate and understand nature/the natural environment. She on many occasions would also help out / assist Professor Enigma and his team with scientific research or experiments.

One evening though, on her way back to Professor Enigma’s Laboratory- with Ivan in her arm, something (More like someone 😏) caught her attention. A tall fair young male reploid wearing a big floppy straw hat, working in his garden and talking to his big beautiful sunflowers. She stood there watching him, slightly blushing- Ivory was surprised to see that she wasn’t the only one who could talk to plants or loved to garden. She just couldn’t help blushing deeper a little more- this mysterious man was quite handsome. Ivan was starting to feel a little bit left out, he made a small screechy whine noise which caught the attention of this stranger and Ivory. When Ivory saw the handsome stranger turn around, she went beet red-turning around quickly herself to run off- Ivory lost her footing and tripped- heading face first towards the ground. When this mysterious handsome reploid turned around, he saw this young female reploid awkwardly falling to the ground. Gardener ran over to her side just in time- Catching both her and her Mutant Venus fly trap. Ivory’s eyes were closed tight, then she slightly opened one, only to find that she had been caught by the mysterious young reploid man she was staring at..

Gardener Man: “Are you alright?”

Ivory (Blushing, but shaking it off quickly): “U..um.. Thank you. I’m alright. But where’s Ivan?”

Gardener Man: “You mean this little guy? He’s alright”.

Ivory (Smiling): “Aww, I’m so glad you’re safe too Ivan “

Ivan made this cute little happy squeal noise, gently licking the side of her cheek.

The mysterious young reploid man raised his brow in confusion/ in a questioning manner- then politely asked:

Gardener Man: “You can talk to plants too? (he says blushing a little).

Ivory with Ivan in her arms stood up, blushing still, looking off to the side and fidgeting about a little…

Ivory: “Y..Yeah.. I can talk to plants, I have the ability to feel what they feel and understand them like no other”.

Gardener Man (Blushing a little more): “O..Oh.. Nice I can talk to plants like that too”.

Ivory (Awkwardly blurting out/ all cutesy red in the face): “Y..yeah I saw you could do that, Um.. that’s the reason I kinda tripped over and fell”.

The mysterious young reploid man stood there blushing ever so deeply, then awkwardly introduced himself to her…

Gardener Man (Still blushing deeply): “Erm..W..Well.. A..Anyway, I..I'm  Gardener Man, It’s nice to meet a fellow Botanist like yourself”.

Ivory blushed all cutesy as she bowed her her:

“It’s nice to m..meet you Gardener man. And I..I’m Ivory, some call me Ivy l, though sometimes Professor Enigma and his team call me Rory”.

He came up close to her, holding her hand, he gently shook it in gratitude..

Gardener Man (Still blushing a little): “ It’ was a pleasure to meet you Miss Ivory, oh I mean Rory”

She smiled sincerely once more, blushing, then she looked down at the sunset…

Ivory: “Oh crap!!!, I’m going to be late. I hope Professor Enigma doesn’t mind. It was lovely meeting you Gardener Man, but I better get going”.

Reaching into the frog pocket of his overalls and pulling out a small packet, he placed them into Ivory’s hand..

Gardener Man: “Here, take these. For your garden.I hope we can see each other again miss Rory”.

Ivory (Blushing deeply, Nodding her head):  “Oh..um, s..sure, I would love to spend more time with you , that would be great”.

He bowed his head once again, politely tipping his straw hat to her..

Gardener Man: “Good bye miss Ivory, Until we meet again”.

Ivory (Blushing, walking off and waving back to him from a distance): 

“ G...Goodbye Gardener Man.”

Eventually she arrived back at Enigma’s laboratory (Her home), he was a little puzzled when she arrived back so late, it wasn’t like Ivory- but Then he saw the packet of sunflower seeds in the little satchel pocket on her utility belt-he smiled sincerely, Enigma instantly knew why she’d returned back so late now. When she finally got back into her quarters, Ivory placed Ivan back on her desk, then went outside to her small greenhouse- planting the sunflower seeds that Gardener Man had given to her. After she planted them, Ivory just stood there resting her cheek in the palm of her hand- slightly slumped over daydreaming about her next meeting with Gardener Man.

Over the next few weeks, Professor Enigma began to see change (Good change) in Ivory- she seemed much happier and enlightened. He was glad to see her well being improve, especially after all the crap she went through. Ivory, was spending many of her hours out and about with Gardener Man- Usually helping him with the nature reserve/garden, hanging about with him or just spending quality time in general with him. Each time she met up with Gardener, her feelings for him only seemed to grow stronger and stronger. He too after spending all this time with Ivory- Gardener Man soon felt himself fall for her too. As things in Ivory’s life began to improve, a disturbance from her past was arising once more …

Professor Chaos, with a little help from his two trusted Goons- Spark and Rust, Escaped from prison. Of course though, his first plan was to get his hands on “Ivy” again-but this time using a special mind controlling collar that he built secretly in prison,  so he could use that unstable module of hers to take down the city and build his empire of ruthlessness and take over the world of reploid robotics..

Late one evening, walking through one of the many beautiful moonlit gardens, Ivory and Gardener Man were out and about together, Tonight though Ivory knew she’d finally muster up the courage to tell Gardener Man how she really felt about him …

As the two came to a halt on the open pavilion (round circular path in the centre of the moonlit garden), Gardener Man turned to face Ivory, Looking deep into her eyes- causing her to blush ever so deeply.  From in the bushes behind, unaware, Professor Chaos and his two goons sat their watching in disgust as they got ready to put the plan into action.

Meanwhile, back on the pavilion …

Gardener Man (still looking into Ivory’s eyes and clutching onto her hands): 

“ Hey, Ivy.. Look I must say it’s been wonderful having someone like you to talk too”.

Ivory (Blushing): “ It’s been wonderful being with you too Gardener”.

The two stood there blushing all cutesy and looking off to the side a little- the Taking a deep breath in, slowly releasing, Ivory spoke once more..

Ivory (Fidgeting about nervously a little, yet still blushing): “ Well um,  Y..you see Gardener, there’s something I want to tell you”...

Gardener Man (Blushing a deeper shade of red : “Y..You can tell me anything you like Ivy”.

Sighing out loud and blushing deeper herself, Ivory spoke once more …

“W..Well Gardener, I.. I just wanted to say ….”

Professor Chaos couldn’t take this disgusting sappy reploid romance anymore…

Professor Chaos: “NOW!!! NOW YOU FOOLS, GRAB HER!!!!!”

Ivory (with a slight tremble of fear in the tone of her voice) : “Huh? C..Chaos?...”

Rust Violently shoved and punched out Gardener Man into the shrubbery, Spark on the other hand grabbed Ivory from behind aggressively holding her down in a choke hold- shattering her stabilizing orb into a million tiny pieces. Ivory gasped, gaging- kicking and screaming , fighting back, trying to break free from Spark’s grip. But alas he was way too strong- then out of the shadows, a bone chilling yet familiar voice spoke..

Professor Chaos: “Well, well, well it’s been so long since I’ve seen you my beautiful “Poisoned Ivy”. Come now.. I have a wonderful gift for you”.

Ivory’s eyes widened in fear, with a few tears trickling down her cheeks as her past trauma flashed back through her mind. When she saw the horrendous collar he pulled out from his lab coat- she kicked and screamed louder and louder as Chaos got closer and closer..

Getting up and out of the shrubbery, Gardener Man- a usually calm, kind man was certainly enraged and unhappy that these Goons and Professor Chaos were hurting his Ivory. Gardener Man ran up to them, pulling out his futuristic hedge trimmer shears in defense.

Gardener Man: “HEY, GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY IVORY OR ELSE” (he came closer with the blades to Chaos’s ugly mug).

Chaos with a disgustingly smug smirk on his face…

Professor Chaos: “Oooh, whatcha gonna do? Trim some hedges to torture us?”

His two goons (the idiots that they are) laughed.

Gardener Man (stepping forward, in an unusual stern tone): “ I’M WARNING YOU CHAOS, LET HER GO OR ELSE”

Still standing there with such a smug expression on his face, Chaos did so..

Chaos: “Very well then.. Remember now.. This is YOUR doing. SPARK!!  DROP HER.. NOW!!!”

Just as Spark slammed her knee first to the ground, Professor Chaos swung his hand with the mind controlling collar and aggressively let it automatically tighten to her neck. Ivory was on her knees screaming in pain as electrical sparks flew out of the collar..

Gardener Man’s eyes widened in shock/ horror, Chaos stood there chaotically laughing like a maniac- Poor Ivory did all she could to fight the power and pain, but it was too late it now controlled her mind- activating the true potential and darkness of the unstable module from within.

Professor Chaos: “Good girl Poisoned Ivy. Now You WILL do as I say. Your First order, transform and get rid of this pathetic reploid. Then go cause havoc and destruction in the city”.

The collar shocked her once more, she bowed her head, knelt down on one knee…

“Poisoned Ivy” (Under mind control): “Yes Master, I shall”.

She stood before them Transforming (Magical girl style of course) into her true yet powerful badass armoured Robot Master self..

Gardener Man stood there, blushing quite deeply- he never knew how truly beautiful yet badass Ivory really was- seeing her like this was causing his circuits to overheat a little 😳🥵.

Alongside Ivory, her weapon of choice- a long bladed bo staff covered in theory vines appeared. Chaos with such a manic smile on his face..

“NOW POISONED IVY, DESTROY HIM!!!!!!!”

Gardener Man snapped out of his daze, he backed away, though in fury yelled out at Chaos-

“YOU MONSTER!!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO IVORY? I’LL MAKE YOU REGRET EVER CONTROLLING HER MIND CHAOS!!!!!”

Chaos rolled his eyes and watched as his newly controlled “Poison Ivy” got closer and closer to the foolish Gardener Man- Swinging her bladed staff widely towards him…

As he walked backwards a little quicker, Gardener Man lost his footing and tripped- slipping. Though as he slipped and she wildly swung her blade- the tip scraped the top of his shoulder, only just cutting through to his internals- leaving some minor damage..

Gardener Man (holding onto his shoulder, gritting his teeth): “ ARGH!!! You’ll regret this Chaos”.

Gardener man got up holding onto his slightly damaged shoulder, staring into Ivory’s eyes.

Gardener Man (Sincerely speaking to his beloved): “I know you’re still in there Ivory, I’ll be back to save you”.

Poison Ivy Growled (she’s still wearing the mind control collar), just as she went to manically swing her blade once more, Gardener Man ran off clutching onto his slightly damaged shoulder. Poison Ivy was just about to go after him..

Professor Chaos: “NOW, Poison Ivy don’t worry about that pathetic reploid- go out and about- cause havoc and destruction in the city”.

Poison Ivy: “As you wish master”.

And with that she ran off into the city, taking down anything and everything that got in her way. On the other hand bursting through the doors of Enigma’s laboratory, still clutching onto his slightly damaged shoulder blade- Gardener Man called out for Professor Enigma. Some of his team (robotics engineers) took Gardener aside and repaired his damaged shoulder blade whilst Enigma came along.

A moment later and not too soon, Professor Enigma came running into his laboratory..

Professor Enigma (in a panicky tone): “What’s happened, what is it, where is Ivory?”....

Gardener Man looked off to the side, sighing heavily…

Gardener Man (in a sad yet disappointed tone): “ I’m sorry professor, but somehow Chaos has escaped prison, he ambushed Ivory and I, he destroyed that orb around her neck and replaced it with a mind control device”.

Professor Enigma: “CHAOS IS WHAT? AND HE’S DONE WHAT TO IVORY??.. Oh no!!!!”

Gardener Man (Sighing and looking to the ground feeling ashamed) : “ I’m sorry professor, I tried to protect her yet I failed to”.

Professor Enigma (placing his hand on Gardeners other shoulder): “ It’s not your fault Gardener, Chaos stole Ivory back when I was in the middle of completing he- he damaged her the moment he placed that unstable module inside her. But right now, all we need to do is stabilize that module once more and get her back..”

Gardener Man: “But how will we get Ivy to listen to us?, Chaos has turned her into a fully dangerous weapon of mass destruction”.

Enigma turned to face Gardener Man, with a sincere smile he replied: “You can talk to her, she’ll listen to you-for you see Ivory cares about you very much and loves you deeply with all her heart”.

Gardener Man (Wide-eyed and blushing): “ S..She loves me? O..Oh Um (he blushed a deeper shade of rose, looking off to the side).

Professor Enigma still stood there sincerely smiling. Then called upon his team and then finally turned his attention back to Gardener Man…

Professor Enigma (Gently tapping Gardener’s shoulder): “Come now Gardener, we have a reploid to save”.

Gardener Man (shaking it off): “R..Right Professor, Let’s go save Ivy”.

In the middle of town, a mind controlled yet deadly “Poisoned Ivy'' was causing chaos, causing havoc and destroying everything in her path. People and other reploids ran away in terror and fear as this mighty robot master unleashed such wrath and power from within. Professor Chaos and his two goons watched as their newly formed “Poison Ivy” tore up the town …

Professor Chaos (Evil Cackling): “Ha ha, Look at those fools run in fear, that unstable module certainly has such immense power. Ah she’ll have that city torn to shreds in no time”.

Spark: “He he you’re right boss. You’ll have your empire in no time”.

Moments later, back down in town, Enigma, Gardener Man and his team rolled up- Professor Enigma was hurt to see his beautiful reploid Ivory being tortured and forced to be violent…

Enigma (under his breath) : “You Bastard Chaos, you’ll pay for what you’ve done to Ivory”.

Then from his pocket he pulled out a small device, handing it over to Gardener Man.

Professor Enigma: ” Now Gardener, I need you to get close enough to Ivory so you can palace this small device on the collar- it’ll override the mind control she’s under and deactivate the collar - automatically separating itself from around her neck. Can you do that for me?”

Gardener clutched the small device tight in his hands, bowing his head to Professor Enigma.

Gardener Man: “I promise you professor, I’ll save her for you no matter what”.

Enigma sincerely smiled, nodding his head back in agreement. Gardener left the professor’s side and ran off to save Ivory. Sneaking up through the rubble, Gardener Man watched as his sweet little flower bud Ivory (under the control of the collar) tore the city to shreds with her mighty long-bladed ivy staff. He still couldn’t help blushing at Ivory in her armoured form, indeed she truly was a beautiful yet badass botanist..

Now though, wasn't the time to let one's circuits overheat again, Gardener had a mission, to save his sweet Ivory. Up on his perch, as he continued to watch “Poison Ivy” destroy the city, Chaos caught a glimpse of Enigma, his team and Gardener Man- This made his blood boil, he let out a loud cry in anger..

Professor Chaos (in Fury): “ARGH!!!! GOONS, GET EM, GET EM AND DON’T LET THEM GET NEAR POISONED IVY!!!!!”

“YES SIR!!!!!!” (Spark and Rust replied running after them).

The goons unleashed themselves and went on the attack- chasing down Enigma and his team- Spark and Rust on the other hand went after Gardener. They weren’t going to let him get near “Poisoned Ivy”. The two couldn’t wait to tear that little punk to shreds.

Just as he turned the corner to get to Ivory, Gardener was cut off by Spark and Rust..

Spark: “And where do you think you’re going flower boy?”

Rust (snickering and chiming in): “Yeah, why don’t you just run off back to that reserve of yours and plant some more seeds”.

The two goons stood there cackling themselves stupid at their poor mocking humour, Gardener didn’t have time for their crap- rolling his eyes he attempted running past to continue his mission.

Spark grabbed him tightly by the arm, slamming him up and against the wall

Spark: “You’re not going anywhere near her now flower boy”.

Rust: “Let’s break him Spark”

Spark: “Great idea Rust, here I’ll hold him down and you can throw the first punch”  

Gardener Man (getting frustrated as he tried to break free):  “ARGH!! I don’t have time for you idiots”

Spark: “Hit him now Rust. Go for that killer swing of yours”.

Just as Rust swung his arm, Gardener found the inner strength to break free from Spark’s grip- Dodging Rust’s punch. Instead Rust used his killer punch on Spark, right in the side of his left cheek.

“KAPOW”...

“ARGH, RUST YOU DUMBASS, YOU GOT ME RIGHT IN THE FACE”..

“Sorry Spark, that little flower boy punk dodged my punch”.

“GRRR, THAT’S IT, I’VE HAD ENOUGH, LET’S BREAK THIS LITTLE FLOWER PUNK UP”.

Gardener was concerned, he didn’t have time for this, nor could he back out from it either. So he decided to do the only thing he could do..

Stand his ground and fight back..

Gardener Man revealed a side of him he’d never thought or imagined showing others. Throwing his straw hat aside, he let his enragement unleash his power from within- he piled out his futuristic hedge trimmers, though this time they were long sharp holo- blades. Spark and Rust seemed a little intimidated but these idiots were willing to fight anything…

Gardener Man (in a smug tone): “So you two meatheads still wanna fight? Huh? Come on then, I’ll let you throw the first hit”. 

Rust ran towards to hit him, Spark went from behind and Gardener jumped up dodging their poor attack. They were furious- so they continued to fight- throwing whatever they had to stop him from saving Ivory. On the other hand, Enigma and his team were captured and taken back to Chaos …

Professor Chaos (with an Evil Grin): “Ah, lovely to see you Enigma, please sit back there all tied up and enjoy the show. Don’t worry Ivory is in good hands now”.

Professor Enigma (growling): “YOU FILTHY BASTARD CHAOS, ARGH YOU WON’T WIN THIS”

Professor Chaos (getting up close in his face): “Oh Enigma, I already have”.  

He said cackling out loud. Enigma sat there watching Ivory, then Gardener Man..

Enigma (to himself): “You’re our only hope now Gardener, I know you can save her”..

Back down on the ground, Spark and Rust were exhausted trying to fight Gardener Man- it was no hope, he’d dodged all their attacks and managed to throw a few of his own attacks in. Just as the two- with the little bit of energy they had left- swung once more, the side of Gardener’s Holo-blade skimmed across the surface of their arms- cutting the surface of their disgusting skin..

“ARRGGGH!!!!”  

The two fainted/ fell to the ground in exhaustion and pain. Gardener Man stood their for a moment looking over them, then putting his holo blades away, he pulled out the little device Professor Enigma gave him and ran off to save his beloved flower bud Ivory…

From his perch, Chaos slammed his fist in anger…

“ARGHHHHHHH!!! YOU GOONS ARE USELESS, I’M GOING AFTER THAT BLOODY ROBOT MYSELF”.

And with that Chaos jumped into his hover pod and went down towards Gardener man and Ivory. Gardener caught up to Ivory once more, in that time she’d managed to do a lot of damage in town- it hurt Gardener to see her doing this under Chaos’s control. He just couldn’t take it any longer..

Gardener Man took a deep breath in, slowly releasing he came close to face  “Poisoned Ivy”..

“IVORY!!, I mean Ivy”

She stopped swinging her blade and turned around..

“Huh?”..

“It’s me Gardener, Come now this isn’t you. Please stop this nonsense and come back to me-Professor Enigma and I can help you”.  

Deep down inside her there was still a small part of her that Chaos couldn’t control, her heart- that part of her responded back to her love…

“G..Gardener?”

“Yes, yes it’s me Ivy, come now take my hand, let us spend the rest of our lives together in my nature reserve”.

He put his hand out, she sincerely looked at it- with a tear in her eye- she then moved her hand closer to his …

Professor Chaos jumped out from his hover pod and ran over to Ivory with the control to her collar in his hot wrinkly hand. Just as Ivory’s hand got an inch away from Gardener’s, Chaos pressed the button on the control, sending painful/ dangerous amounts of electricity through the collar into Ivory…

Ivory fell to her knees Wailing and screaming out loud in pain…

“ARGHHHH, ARGHHH, ARGGHHHH!!!”

“You disobedient little brat, how dare you stop destruction, now get up and fight you worthless girl”

Gardener was so furious, he ran up close to Chaos and violently swooped the remote out of Chaos’s hands. The remote fell, shattering into a million pieces- now no one could control Ivory except for the collar still around her neck. The mind control collar still had control of her mind and that unstable module inside was still overpowering her too much.

Then Gardener Man chained him up, leaving Chaos chained and in the hands of the law. Then he did the one thing he needed to do was save Ivory. Dodging all the rubble and havoc, Gardener Man had reached his love again, grasping the small device in his hands. He knew the only way to get through to her was with his words- so he spoke lovingly from his heart once more…

“Ivy.. Ivy it’s me again”

She turned around once more, with a cute yet confused expression on her face..

“Now Ivory, take my hand and let us be together forever, just you me and our beautiful garden”

“Y..you a..and me?”

“Yes Ivy, just the two of us”.

Ivory’s eyes welt up with tears, she let her bladed staff fall out of her hands and onto the ground. Then in that very moment she fell into his strong arms- not only out of love but because the immense power had destroyed some of her circuitry/ internal. Gardener caught her, placing the small device on the collar- it deactivated it and ivory was set free. Then she transformed back into her normal everyday self. Ivory was stone cold to touch, Gardener Man stood there cradling her in his arms- he wasn’t ready to lose his special flower bud.

“You’ll be alright my dear sweet Ivory” (he says gently running the back of his hand down the side of her cheek).

The police- well prepared this time took Chaos and his goons away to a very specialised and inescapable prison. Professor Enigma and his team were set free. Enigma made his way over to Gardener and Ivory- When he reached the two, he smiled sincerely…

“Great job there Gardener Man, you saved her. Now we need to get her back to the lab for some repairs- both that collar and module have caused severe damage to her”.

“Very well then professor, let us save her”.

Not long after they arrived back at his laboratory, Ivory was rushed into the Professor’s personal lab with the team for immediate repairs. Gardener Man sat in Enigma’s office, awaiting the news that Ivory was alright. Three and a half hours later- Professor Enigma entered his office Gardener lifted his head up with a questioning look on his face..

“I..Is she alright Professor?”..

Professor Enigma (sincerely smiling): “Ivory is alright, her body is repaired and I gave her a stronger stability orb- this one though is made of Lothanium- it’s both lightweight and indestructible- only she can control the module and the power inside her”.

“May I see her?”

Enigma nodded his head in agreement and with that one of his team members took Gardener in to see her. There in her quarters, Ivory lay slumbered in a healing coma, wired to the analysis machine to keep check on her internal systems, until she awoke. Gardener Man sat by her bedside until she awoke, he gently held her hand in gratitude as he was grateful she was still alive.

As days passed and she still remained slumbered, Gardener stood by her side. He couldn’t help but put sunflowers by her bedside table too- he knew how much she loved them. Very early one morning, Gardener sat asleep in the chair by her bed- Ivory awoke from her healing coma. She felt a little wobbly at first, but slowly sat up- rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Once she’d fully awoken, Ivory looked over at her bedside table- there in the center was a vase of beautiful golden sunflowers- only one robot Master grew sunflowers that beautiful…

Then her memory came back, it was horrible and thinking about it brought her to tears..

“GARDENER, GARDENER MAN, WHERE IS HE?” (she shouted with a slight sobbing tremble in her voice).

Her voice echoed through the lab, Professor Enigma and his team came running. Gardener Man awoke startled, yet overwhelmed with joy to see Ivory awake..

“GARDENER MAN, WHERE ARE YOU?????”

He got up out of the chair and sat on the bedside alongside Ivory comforting her..

“SHHH,SHHH,SHHH, your alright Ivy, it's alright. I’m right here, you’re fine. It’s ok you're safe now, I promise”.

Ivory turned around, her face lit up- she nearly knocked Gardener man off her bed. But lovingly hugged him. Professor Enigma looked through the doorway sneakily, he too was glad to see her awake, but he told his team to head back to their work- he thought it was best to let the two have some alone time so they could catch up.

As she sat there cuddling him, Gardener Man wiped the small tear drops from her eyes-Ivory just averted her eyes cutesy blushing as he did so. The she sat up, blushing some more and fiddling with her fingers, then in a soft sweet voice spoke:

“U..Um, Gardener Man? “

“Yes Ivory?”

“Look, a.. About the other night..” (Ivory blushing redder than before)

“Y..Yes Ivy?” (he says going red and blushing himself).

Ivory (coming a little closer- like an inch from his face, now completely beet red and her heart racing):

“ I.. I just wanted to say, um.. I really love you, like a lot and I wanted to give you this..”

Closing her eyes and as red as a beet, Ivory leant forward and lovingly kissed Gardener Man on the lips. Gardner’s eyes opened wide and his face went as red as hers, but he just kissed her back. Moments later the two sat their unlocking lips, averting their eyes blushing- then Gardener Man grabbed her hand the two just sat there together being adorable. Then Gardener mumbled..

“Ivory, do you still want to come live with me on my nature reserve, just the two of us?”

“And Ivan?” (Ivy chimes in cheekily).

“Of course he can Ivy” ( he says all cutesy glowing and smiling sincerely).

Many months later, Professor Enigma and Gardener Man helped Ivory heal over her trauma. During that time Professor Enigma let her go off and live with Gardener- after all he brought out the true happiness inside her. Ivory though would always go back to professor Enigma and help / assist him with many of his botanic experiments / engineer research and experiments.

Ivory was finally set free of her horrid past and now she spent the rest of her days doing what she loved with the handsome robot master she loved- flourishing their garden, looking after the reserve and protecting the people.

The End!!!!

Anyways, I hope you like Ivory as much as I do. Hopefully soon I can do some doodles of her and Gardener Man- also a sketch or two of Professor Enigma and Chaos too ^^!!!

"Ivory Plant belongs to me !!!!!!"

"Gardner Man belongs to my pal YellyDany "

[randomoranges]

hello, do you like long fics? do you like soft? here is a long soft fic.

so this started off - really, back in february when i was visiting my friends [when that was still allowed - lol] and we were discussing our ocs as we sometimes happen to do. that and how with time they get more ok with more “feminine things” and such.

i made a doodle inspired by that conversation.

then lockdown happened. and with my tablet i decided to digitally colour that doodle. i thought it looked pretty neat. as i looked at it i started to wonder what the “fem versions” of ed and ét would be like and look like and came to the realisation that NO ONE had ever thought of that.

then an entire fucking au was born from that because that’s the way i function, apparently.

i made a few art pieces and started writing this behemoth on april 12th 2020.

i got like 70% done and then stopped. got blocked or just didn’t have the motivation for it.

seeing as i go back to work tomorrow [god dont make me go] and this fic wasn’t done yet, i told myself that this quarantine fic would END NOW.

so i spent the last 3 nights hacking at the remaining 30%.

i could have split it up in parts, i know, but seeing as i suffered through the whole thing in one part so do you :) 

here we go for the genderbend au no one ever even asked for like literally.

evelyn = edward

éliane = étienne

also, how many song lyrics can i fit in one title lamao.

in total this one has more pages than keesha kee taen, but like 1000 less words.

Girl, You Really Got me Now [It’s a Love Story] [[The Ballad of Éliane and Evelyn]]

 Éliane Maisonneuve remembered the exact and precise moment that Evelyn Murphy waltzed into her life. She remembered the exact moment it happened for the simple reason that it changed her life. For the better.

 It happened one glorious day in September, about a week or so after school started, sometime after Labour Day. It was her senior year of high school, the world was sitting in the palm of her hand, and she had been busy recounting her rather exciting weekend to her friends, when their homeroom teacher had walked in, followed by a student. Éliane prided herself with knowing everyone and anyone in the school. Mostly, because she was a social butterfly, also because it helped when one was the vice-president of the student body (president had too many responsibilities, not enough fun). Therefore, she automatically knew that this was a new student.

 It was about as far as her analysis went for her brain stuttered when she got a good look at the new girl, while her teacher introduced her. God, but she was absolutely gorgeous. She had pretty, dark, brown hair cut slightly above her shoulders, a cute little barrette in her hair, the prettiest hazel eyes this side of the world, for sure, and the softest looking skin Éliane had ever seen. Her darker complexion went rather nicely with the colours of the school uniform and there was just something about the way she played with the hem of her sweater that tugged at Éliane’s heart.

 Before her homeroom teacher could even get to the part of asking for a benevolent soul to show her (her name was Evelyn Murphy – her brain had registered that much) around, Éliane had bolted out of her seat, only near tripping on herself to volunteer for the honour. She absolutely needed to become friends with Evelyn. It was a matter of life or death. She knew. Evelyn had offered her the actual cutest little shy smile Éliane had ever seen in her life and she had eagerly told her friend to change seats so that Evelyn could sit next to her.

 Even then, without fully knowing, she was already infatuated.

 Evelyn turned out to be a rather quiet girl. Éliane chalked it up to being new to the school and a little intimidated by it, but she vowed to herself that she would make sure everyone treated Evelyn right. She introduced her to all her friends, made sure she knew where all her classes were and gave Evelyn her phone number and e-mail address in case she had any questions. Éliane declared them friends by the end of lunch and the pretty little blush on Evelyn’s cheeks was a thing of beauty.

 Éliane even went as far as walk Evelyn home, despite her telling her that it was alright and that she knew how to get back, but Éliane wanted to spend more time with her and insisted, figuring she could tell her new friend about the cool hangouts around school (there were three – the dep’, the hamburger shack down the street and the alcove by the river (which was a good place to go make-out, but that was a detail – the rocks there were really cool, it was just a question of no one ratting you out.))

 Éliane, surprisingly, for once, managed not to spend the entire walk to Evelyn’s gabbing away about one thousand different trivialities and instead bombarded the new girl with ten thousand different questions. Luckily, Evelyn took it all in stride and patiently answered her questions. It was how Éliane found out that Evelyn’s father had been transferred and had started a new job here over the summer and how his position had been extended. The rest of her family had then moved over and by the time they were settled and her school papers were in order, school had already started, but here she was now.

 And goodness, here she was now indeed, Éliane thought.

 They became inseparable, fast, mostly due to Éliane doing her utmost best to include Evelyn in absolutely everything she did. Evelyn fit in nicely with Éliane’s group of friends, which was a good thing, otherwise she would have dumped their sorry asses and started a new, better group. But, the others took Evelyn in and Éliane called it a success.

 Éliane was head strong, brash, and impulsive and liked to stick her fingers in as many pies as she could. She liked to keep busy with projects that interested her and she was always ready to try something new. Therefore, even though term had already started, she decided, quite on an impulse, one day, to switch out one of her courses for home-economics, just because Evelyn was in it and had said nice things about it. It was a good thing Éliane was a well liked student by the faculty members and that this change actually made her advanced art program fit better in her schedule , but the secretary still gently scolded her and told her that she would have a lot of catching up to do.

 Luckily, Éliane had a plan.

 Her plan consisted on being her disastrous self in a kitchen and hope that Evelyn would take pity on her and help her out.

 Luckily, Éliane didn’t have to try very hard for her plan to work. During her first assignment, she managed to set the smoke detector off, twice. For the second assignment, she had to be rushed to the nurse’s office after she accidentally sliced her finger open. After the third assignment, she needed ointment for a rather nasty burn. Once the mid-term report cards came out and Evelyn found out Éliane was failing home-economics spectacularly, she took pity on her friend and teamed up with her for the following projects.

 It was a win-win, in Éliane’s opinion, even if she barely scrapped by and the class brought down her overall average, (but she was getting better – it had to count for something, right?)

 Éliane ended up spending a lot of time with Evelyn what with classes, hanging out together and after school extracurricular.  Evelyn ended up joining the theatre club and Éliane nearly lost her mind when she found out her quiet, mostly shy friend could act it out on stage like the best of them. It was a whole new side of her that she had only ever glimpsed and Éliane loved it. The girl had spunk. She was feisty. And slowly, slowly, Evelyn emerged from her shell as she got used to her new school and new surroundings. With time, Éliane got to get to know her better and discovered a treasure trove of other interesting things about her – like her sense of humour, which was dry and cutting and an absolute gift.

 Éliane wondered where Evelyn had been all her life.

 Once Christmas break rolled around, Evelyn’s mood took a dip, since for the first time ever, she would be away from her friends and family. Éliane took it upon herself to make sure her friend wouldn’t feel left out during the holidays and so she organised outings and parties with her and her friends to make sure Evelyn had a good time. The Murphy’s were even invited over for Christmas Eve and Éliane thought it was her greatest accomplishment yet. Throughout the rest of the holiday break, there were many outings to get hot chocolate, tobogganing, but by far, the best surprise came when Éliane suggested they go ice-skating, since the rinks were finally open and she found out that Evelyn could skate really well. Not only that, but the girl had a competitive streak to her as well and it was so very easy to get  her riled up if any type of friendly competition was presented to her. Evelyn had depth and personality and there were so many different sides to her that Éliane loved so much. It seemed that the more she got to know her friend, the more she found out about her and it was great.

 Winter break went by quickly, what with the myriad of activities Éliane orchestrated and it ended with by far, the greatest event to the start off the new year – Evelyn’s birthday.

 Towards the start of the break, Evelyn had quietly invited the inner circle of the friend group for a sleepover on the last Saturday of break, since her birthday fell on a Wednesday. They would be four in total and Éliane spent the better part of her days leading up to her friend’s birthday trying to come up with the Best Gift Ever, when she wasn’t busy spending time with her friends or stuffing her face with her grandmother’s baked goods. She was looking forward to the party and Evelyn kept reminding her that it would be a simple, quiet affair. They would get takeout, there would be cake, they would watch movies, they would eat too much candy and chips and chocolate – and eventually, they would all crash at some ungodly hour of the morning.

 Éliane still thought it sounded like the greatest thing ever.

 The party in itself turned out to be lovely and loud and boisterous. Mr. And Mrs Murphy put on brave faces and stuck around making sure everything was okay and to wish their daughter a happy birthday, while Evelyn’s younger sister had found herself a better place to be. They played games, spent the better part of the evening gossiping about school – their teachers, their classmates, another part worrying about which Cégep to apply to and what program, until Éliane declared that all “no-fun” school talk was banned. So, they watched a stream of movies, one of the other girls gave Evelyn a manicure and they ate too much candy and chips and chocolate.

 Somewhere around midnight, before it got to be too late, they took a break to change into their pyjamas. They were waiting for Evelyn to return and Éliane was waiting on the couch, wearing her own set of teddy bear patterned pyjama pants and long sleeved sweatshirt she had pilfered from one of her brothers (it was large, it was comfortable and it was warm), when Evelyn came to join them.

 Éliane cared very little about what others wore to bed. Normally, she wore boxer shorts and nothing else – unless it was cold outside, which it currently was. The thing was, she would have never associated Evelyn with the pyjama set that she was wearing. Evelyn rejoined their little group as if nothing was wrong with the world and went and plopped herself right next to Éliane wearing by far the most ridiculous (gorgeous), frilly (utterly inappropriate), matching set of what seemed to be lilac silk pyjamas. There was lace. There were motifs. It had little tiny straps that covered her shoulders (Éliane’s brain reminded her that this was the most skin she had seen on her friend and that she could see her clavicle and shoulder blades and the dip of her neck and – and then there were the shorts! The equally silk shorts that hugged her thighs just so and – maybe, maybe it was always really hot at the Murphy’s, which was why Evelyn slept in such a getup, because suddenly, Éliane found herself overheating. And then she had to give her friend one more (discreet – hopefully) one over and of course she had to notice the way the fabric hugged her chest, the shape she could guess underneath and – this really wasn’t fair.

 The thing was – the real issue here was – that Éliane M. Maisonneuve had accidentally gone and developed the stupidest of crushes on Evelyn A. Murphy and she was a complete goner.

 And now her friend was sitting beside her in her silk pyjamas looking like a goddamned gift and Éliane wanted to hold her close, furrow her face in the crook of her neck and ghost her hands over the fabric of her pajamas – and more. She was doomed. This was neither the place nor the time and she did her utmost best to keep her thoughts pure and innocent, but apparently, the universe hated her, because Evelyn slid extremely close to her, until she was half pressed on Éliane’s side and took a hold of her hand.

 “I get really afraid during scary movies,” She whispered in her ear and Éliane tried to suppress the shivers that ran down her spine and the sudden urge she had to turn around and kiss Evelyn’s stupid (beautiful, glorious) face senseless. Instead, she clutched at her friend’s hand in return, didn’t let go for the duration of the movie – and tried her best not to feel anything every time Evelyn gasped and clutched at her a little harder when she got scared. (And she tried really hard not to think of the way Evelyn’s body felt pressed up against her side.)

 Éliane knew what she liked – couldn’t care less about the gender of people. She had dated a little, had stolen kisses from girls behind cafés and had gone out on dates with boys. So long as she was interested, it didn’t matter and, apparently, her mind had decided that it was very interested in Evelyn. (And really, could she be blamed? Evelyn was mighty fine, thank you very much.)

 She was so screwed.

 Éliane swore to herself that she would keep her stupid crush to herself and bury her feelings so far deep inside of her that she would be long dead before they could ever resurface properly.

 Therefore, by Tuesday, over lunch, Éliane took her other best friend, Emma, aside, to spill absolutely everything to her.

 Now, Éliane and Emma had met on the very first day of kindergarten and had been placed in the same class. They had been sat next to each other and Éliane had declared her her best friend by the time lunch had rolled in. Emma had no idea how it was that they had remained friends for so long, but Éliane was her best friend and so, despite being quite exhausted by her friend’s daily ongoing complaint about whatever it was that was personally vexing her, she half listened to her friend.

 Normally, Emma would have been sympathetic and offered Éliane some advice, but Éliane was the absolute worst when it came to taking advice and instead preferred moping around and taking everything way too dramatically as if the world was against her.

 So she did just that and Emma couldn’t wait for Éliane to move on to a new hyper-fixation.

 Unfortunately, that never happened.

 “Why don’t you – and I’m just ball-parking it here – actually tell Ev’ how you feel and y’know, maybe she’ll feel the same way?” Emma reiterated for what felt like the millionth time. By February, Emma had heard her friend lament her unrequited crush so often that she could predict what Éliane would tell her almost verbatim.

 “But Ems, what if she doesn’t? What if she thinks I’m gross and then never wants to speak to me again? Emma, I can’t risk that!” She bemoaned, burying her face in her pillow. It was a quiet Friday night and Emma had done the mistake of throwing an impromptu sleepover between her and Éliane. She had hoped it would be a fun sleepover; instead, she was being privy to another round of Éliane’s love tribulations.

 “If she thinks you’re gross she’s dead to all of us.” Emma stated in her no-nonsense tone. The rest of their friend group knew of Éliane’s preferences and could care less about who she dated. If Evelyn had a problem with it, she would be more than happy to kick her out of the circle, “She’s not worth your time if she can’t accept you the way you are.” This was why Éliane liked Emma. She was straight to the point and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, even over controversial matters.

 “I knoooooow, but I like her sooooo much. Emmmmaaaaaaaaaaa, she’s sooooo pretty, it’s not faaaaaair,” She whined and put on her best kicked puppy expression. Emma rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at her. She was immune to that look by now. Mostly.

 “I mean, have we even ever heard Evelyn express an interest in anyone at school?”

 “Noooo, but what if – what if she has a boyfriend back home and she promised to be true to him? Or like what if she’s super conservative or something? Aren’t they conservative back in Alberta?”

 “Don’t you think she would have mentioned having a boyfriend – or someone special – back home after all this time? And even if there are people who are conservative back in Alberta, who’s to say that she is? God knows she follows you around on half your crazy schemed ideas. Maybe she likes you and she’s shy. Maybe she’s just a friend. Maybe you should just fucking talk to her and leave me out of your love life, please, Éliane, I’m not even your therapist.”

 Éliane pouted and threw the pillow back at her.

 “Big baby. Just write her a Valentine’s and play it off as a joke if she rejects you.”

 “That is the worst idea ever. My heart would be shattered and I’d never be able to face her ever again.” Emma sighed as Éliane went off another tangent. Sometimes, she wondered why she bothered.

 Éliane did not take up Emma on her advice and so, come Valentine’s Day, she did absolutely nothing and played it cool, by her standards. This meant that she kept a close eye on anyone who approached Evelyn with Valentine’s and she was only too pleased (relieved) when no one had made any outlandish love declarations to her. (Not that Evelyn didn’t deserve outlandish love declarations, but Éliane wanted to be the one to do them, not some other person.)

 It also meant that her heart sank when Evelyn didn’t get her any particular Valentine and that she only gave her a small chocolate, like she did with all of their other friends. It wasn’t that she expected anything, but if Evelyn had made a move on her, it would have helped ease her mind and given her some sense of direction. Still, Éliane had to consol herself; at least Evelyn was her friend. It could be so much worse.

 Her crush only kept growing as the days went by and even when she tried looking elsewhere, hoping that a distraction from Evelyn would help, it seemed her heart and mind were set on Evelyn no matter what. It was utterly annoying and Emma was ready to murder her if she kept this on.

 Therefore, Éliane came up with another of her Brilliant Plans, which Emma agreed was absolutely stupid. With prom coming up at the end of the year, Éliane decided to put her big move there and ask Evelyn to go as her date. Emma politely reminded her that prom was in literal months and that a million different things could happen between now and then. Plus, there was also the fact that Éliane would be even more insufferable until then.

 Éliane was pretty confident that it would give her enough time to gather more intel on whether or not Evelyn liked her That Way and hence, would only help her out in the long run. If anything, if Evelyn was dateless by then, they could just go as friends and Éliane could save face.

 In the meantime, however, there was One particular incident that left Éliane even more confused than ever before.

 It was a known fact that Éliane Maisonneuve liked to sprawl out when she sat down. Be it chair, sofa, couch or stool, Éliane took up as much space as possible. The other known fact was that Éliane Maisonneuve was a very tactile person. She had never heard of personal space when it came to her friends and if she was sitting with her friends, it wasn’t an uncommon sight to see her using her friends’ laps as extensions of the surfaces she was sitting on. She was known to sit on their laps, drape herself over them, lay her head on their shoulders or laps, and so on. No one was safe from her sprawling, not even Evelyn.

 During the winter months, Éliane opted for the school pants as opposed to the skirt, since it was too bloody cold outside and even with stockings, she froze. However, with spring back on the menu, she was quick to ditch the pants and go back to the skirt.

 It happened to be a skirt-wearing day, when, during lunch, Éliane had elected Evelyn’s lap to sit on, since she was the first to have finished eating lunch. Now, normally, when Éliane sat on Evelyn’s lap, Evelyn would put one arm over Éliane’s own lap, to keep her from falling off, and her other arm would either wrap itself around her waist, or rest against the back of the sofa they claimed for themselves for lunch, when they ate inside, in one of the school’s hangout spots.

 However, this time – this time something monumental happened.

 Éliane sat on Evelyn’s lap like always, and at first Evelyn held on to her as she normally did, but then, a few minutes later, Evelyn’s hand that was around her waist shifted ever so. At first, Éliane thought little of it, but then Evelyn placed her hand to rest on the side of her leg, underneath her skirt, right on her skin. Éliane stilled and tried to think little of it. Evelyn had just found a better way to place her hands, there was nothing to it – that had to be it. This wasn’t planned. This had been accidental, clearly. But then – then her friend went ahead and started – rubbing her skin? With her thumb? In a small, circular way? Or something. Because, Éliane felt Evelyn’s thumb rub her skin in a circular motion, but there was no way for her to see and she wasn’t about to ask (because it felt really good and she didn’t want Evelyn to stop and if she was hallucinating then she would look like a fool.) Plus, Éliane did try to get a read off Evelyn’s face, but when she looked, Evelyn wasn’t even looking her way, instead focused on whatever else it was their friends were saying, a small, gentle smile on her face.

 What. The ever loving fuck. Did this actually mean?

 Éliane tried to remain still, tried to brush it off as nothing and tried to play it cool, but for the rest of the day, she was a right hot mess and she spent the better part of the rest of the week (and month) replaying the feel of Evelyn’s hand on her bare thigh and it did not help any of her little fantasies one bit. (Because good Lord, someone help her, how she had wanted Evelyn’s hand to creep up her thigh, touch her elsewhere, make her feel good – how she had wanted to wrap her legs around her friend, grind against her, get her hands underneath Evelyn’s silly school blouse, feel her up – hear her moan –)

 This was really getting out of hand.

 Éliane kept pinning from afar, much to Emma’s annoyance, especially since she was the only one in their friend circle to know about her crush and no other major incidents of the sort came to throw Éliane for a loop. She still convinced herself that she would do something about it for prom, but Emma wasn’t convinced, and quite frankly, neither was Éliane.

 And then it was Éliane’s birthday.

 Éliane had a rather busy birthday schedule, what with celebrating with her family and twin sister, wanting to do something fun with her friends and also doing something lowkey on the actual day of. As was the standard amongst their friend group, one of them made a birthday cake to be had at lunch, there were presents and it was a lovely day overall.

 On top of that, she had all her favourite classes today and it was honestly looking up to be the best birthday ever. She was looking forward to the weekend and her mind was focused on the end of the day, when she got a note from Evelyn during class.

 “Meet me in the park by the swing set after class,” The note said and Éliane tried to get her friend’s attention, wondering what this could mean and what game her friend was playing at, but Evelyn never looked her way and so Éliane was left guessing. She even tried to ask her after class, but Evelyn went ahead of her, while the teacher asked Éliane to stay behind for a bit, since she wanted to go over some of the texts for the upcoming school play.

 Therefore, once she could leave, she ran to her locker to drop off her books, changed out of her school shoes, grabbed her sweater and backpack, and then ran off to the park next to the school. She hoped Evelyn hadn’t been waiting long and that she wouldn’t think she had stood her up, even though she had seen Éliane with their teacher. Still.

 Éliane nearly tripped down the stairs to the park and was ever so relieved to see that Evelyn was still there waiting for her.

 “What’s up?” She asked, slightly out of breath.

 “I wanted to give you your birthday gift.” She said, smiling at her and Éliane’s stomach did a funny thing at the sight. It always did a funny thing at the sight. It was such a pretty smile.

 “But, you gave me your gift earlier with the others,” She said, giving her friend a quizzical look. Not that she minded more gifts, but she didn’t expect her friend to get her multiple gifts.

 “I know – but this one is special. Close your eyes?”

 Éliane did as she was told even though her curiosity was eating her alive.

 “No peeking!” Evelyn cautioned and it was very tempting to, but Éliane remained still, with her eyes closed, heart beating wildly as she waited.

 Evelyn took her hands and Éliane figured she would place something in them, but instead her friend held on. Éliane was about to ask what this was all about, but the following moment, she felt the softest of presses against her lips. She gasped and her eyes opened on their own just in time to see Evelyn lean away from her, a lovely blush spreading across her cheeks.

 “Did you just – was that just –”There was no way Evelyn had kissed her. She must have dreamt the entire thing up and blacked out, or something. Maybe she had really slipped down the stairs, fallen and hit her head. It may have been her birthday and all, but these types of things only happened in trashy romance novels she liked to splurge on.

 “Look ,” Evelyn started, blush deepening across her face and Éliane stopped talking all together, while her brain tried to reboot itself, “I like you. A lot. And I have, for a while now... and well, I wanted to take a chance. Since it’s your birthday and all. And, yeah – I – don’t hate me?” She stammered and Éliane could only stare at her.

 Evelyn Murphy liked her.

 The absolutely wonderful person that was Evelyn Murphy liked her and had kissed her on her birthday. Éliane might actually faint and go into shock.

 Instead, she launched herself at Evelyn and kissed her hard. Evelyn stumbled back in surprise, trying not to fall over, and wrapped her arms around Éliane out of reflex.

 “I like you too, you silly goose, and I could never hate you,” Éliane blurted out when she pulled away, before cupping Evelyn’s face with her hands and kissing her again, this time much slower and softer. She let out a breathy little gasp when Evelyn held her, their bodies pressed close. It was everything she’d been hoping for months and everything she’d never, in her wildest dreams, think she’d get. She chased after as many kisses as Evelyn allowed her and silently swooned at the softness of her lips against her own. She knew, already, that she could never tire of this.

 “Go to prom with me?” She added, catching her breath, riding a high she never wanted to come down from. Evelyn’s eyes widened and then she smiled and it caught Éliane’s breath. It was such a lovely sight, so beautiful and pure, and she wanted to be the cause of those smiles for a very, very long time.

 “I’d love to,” Evelyn told her, before kissing her again. And again. And again and again.

 --

 It was nice, finally being able to hold Evelyn’s hand whenever she felt like it. Éliane made it her personal mission to walk to every class she had with Evelyn by holding her hand and sometimes, if Evelyn let her, she carried her books as well. She was stupid in love with her and she couldn’t believe how lucky she was that Evelyn liked her – that they could hold hands and kiss and spend a stupid amount of time texting each other strings of heart emojis late into the night. Éliane never wanted the feeling to end.

 It turned out that Evelyn wasn’t out to her parents and she had no idea how they would take to her being attracted to girls, so they agreed to keep things under wrap around them when Éliane went over. Éliane had already done her own coming out to her parents, almost two years ago, but she supposed she had an easier ride, considering her eldest brother was gay and very much cohabiting with his boyfriend for the past several years now. She was thankful that her parents were okay with it and could only hope that Evelyn’s parents would be as well, whenever it was she decided to tell them.

 For now, it just meant that Éliane had to keep her hands to herself when she was over at the Murphys’, but she could make-out with Evelyn at her place all she wanted, (or until her sister told her to stop being so gross.)

 May also meant receiving Cégep admission letters and a whole flock of stress, anxiety, and high emotions. Evelyn found the idea a little dumb, but since her family was still in Montréal and she would have to do an extra year of high school if she went back home, she had found herself obliged to apply as well. She ended up applying to most of the Cégeps her friends wanted to go to, so that she could at least be with them and she surprised herself when their excitement turned contagious when her own acceptance letters started trickling in.

 The only problem was that she had no idea where it was she wanted to go.

 She was pretty convinced she wanted to be an engineer – maybe a civil engineer later on, but so long as she did something science and math related in Cégep, she would be fine. Where she did it didn’t matter. She kept her options open and waited to see where the others would go. Therefore, when Éliane got accepted into the program of her choice in visual arts at the Cégep she really wanted to, Evelyn quietly accepted her own offer at the same school. (And when Éliane found out, nearly two weeks later, she had been extremely happy and there may or may not have been many tears.)

 She knew that realistically her chances of having any classes with Éliane were slim, that their schedules might not even match up, but maybe they could share a locker and maybe they could take one of the mandatory gym ,or French, or English, or humanities classes together.

 They could make it work. (She really hoped they could.)

 Bu those were problems and thoughts for later and so Evelyn buried them deep in her mind and instead focused on the upcoming ministry exams, the end of the school year, finding a dress for prom, memorising her lines for the end of year school play, finding time for her girlfriend and her friends, and everything else that came with being a senior in high school.

 --

 Emma decided to invite everyone over to her place, before they went to prom, to take photos and have cocktails, since she had the biggest yard between them. They agreed to meet up there and then make their way to the hall where the reception would take place.

 Despite Éliane asking, Evelyn had refused to show her any photos of her dress. Éliane had begged for hints, a description, anything, but Evelyn had remained tight-lipped, preferring to surprise her girlfriend at prom. Éliane had done her best pouting and pleading, but Evelyn was apparently immune to it all. Therefore, Éliane was an impatient mess when she got to Emma’s, eagerly anticipating the moment Evelyn would arrive.

 As per their plan, Evelyn had told her parents that she was going to prom with her friends, since “no boys had asked her” and her parents thought it was cute how the girls were sticking together. It was a perfect decoy and it meant that she could have all the photos she wanted with Éliane and her parents would never think twice about it.

 Éliane was about ready to text Evelyn, to ask her where she was and whether or not she had forgotten that they were supposed to meet up at Emma’s before heading to the reception hall, but then the doorbell rang and Éliane swore the entire planet froze in time when Evelyn walked in.

 Evelyn was wearing a midnight blue, long dress with cap sleeves that fell off her shoulders. It had a sweetheart bodice and a ruched waistline that did wonders for her figure and her complexion. The material of the dress was elegant and airy and it gave Evelyn a regal appearance.

 Her girlfriend was absolutely, drop-dead gorgeous.

 Her heart was going to explode from how full of love it was for Evelyn.

 Éliane did her very best to contain herself and not launch herself at Evelyn, but she did walk up to her and envelop her in the tightest of hugs she could manage, trying to convey everything it was she felt inside.

 “You are so breathtakingly beautiful,” She whispered in her ear as she pulled away. She grinned when Evelyn turned a lovely shade of pink and Éliane was far too pleased with herself.

 “And you’re absolutely stunning,” Evelyn murmured back, leaving a lingering touch to Éliane’s wrist, which left her skin tingling.

 Éliane had opted for something a little more party like. It was a champagne coloured, short dress with an asymmetrical bodice. It had one sleeve and bold folds that looked absolutely stunning on her. It was, after all, their prom, and she intended to party, dance and have the absolute greatest of times.

 Prom, delivered.

 The prom committee really outdid themselves, if Éliane did say so herself and it turned out to be a great evening. She got to sit with her best friends, got to dance with her girlfriend, took a stupid amount of photos with absolutely everyone she had ever spoken to during her five years in high school and only cried once – maybe twice, when she realised for good that this was her last few moments with these people – that one chapter of her life was closing and that a new adventure was right around the corner.

 But, before she got too lost in her own thoughts, there was still an after-prom, a million pool parties to attend and the greatest summer of her life to live.

 Most of the graduating class had decided to go camping for their after-prom, on some semi-remote campground a few hours away. The grounds promised privacy, no curfew, and a lax attitude towards underage drinking. Éliane had considered going, but then Emma had decided to do something a little simpler and had invited their group over to her place. Her parents would be out, they could pile up and sleep in the camper van in the backyard, eat all the junk food they could handle, talk late into the night, watch the stars and go swimming in the morning. The best part was that Mr. And Mrs. Dubois would even leave them alone, as they had decided to visit Mrs. Dubois’ sister back in Ottawa, which meant they had the whole place to themselves.

 They arrived at Emma’s place well past one in the morning and the girls were a flurry of activity as they changed into pyjamas and their graduating sweatshirts. High-heeled shoes, dresses and make-up were removed in favour of comfort as they crowded around each other to settle and keep the night going. Chips, cookies, candies, and soda were placed nearby as they munched on the snacks and laughed their worries away.

 It was nice, Éliane thought, and she secretly hoped that twenty years from now she would still be doing this with this same group of friends. Éliane tucked herself between Emma and Evelyn and found herself perfectly at ease. If time needed to freeze and stop and chose this particular moment to do so, she would be content.

 It didn’t, naturally, but Éliane found she didn’t really mind and was happy to snuggle up next to Evelyn when the sun started to rise and they could no longer keep their eyes open.

 “Love you,” She murmured into the folds of Evelyn’s arms and only registered what she’d said a moment or so later, when she felt Evelyn still beside her.

 She feared she’d let her mouth run wild once more and had an apology ready at her lips, but then she felt Evelyn hold her close and press a gentle kiss to the top of her head, “D’you really mean it?” She whispered for her ears only and Éliane nodded.

 “Yeah, I really do.”

 Evelyn smiled and it was a real thing of beauty that warmed her insides and made her heart soar. She levelled with her and sought her lips, before kissing her fully, “Love you, Evelyn,” She murmured, unable to stop herself from grinning.

 “I love you too, Éliane.” Evelyn whispered back, as if it was their secret alone.

 --

 Seeing as this was their last summer all together, Éliane made her mission to make sure they would see each other as often as possible and create the best summer memories. Therefore, there were many pool parties (and nothing had ever prepared her for the sight of her girlfriend – her Evelyn in the actual prettiest bikini ever made on God’s green earth.), a handful of parties and even though most of them had part time summer jobs, they made it work and by the time summer came to an end, Éliane was ready for the next chapter of her life.

 Cégep turned out to be an interesting and roller coaster of a venture. For as much as Éliane pretty much enjoyed it – liked the freedom it brought her, the expanded horizons of possibilities and being able to have classes that she genuinely enjoyed, Evelyn found it pointless and useless. It was a means to an end – something she had no choice in doing and the only thing that made it tolerable was the fact that Éliane was in many of her classes, they rode in or out together when their schedules matched and some of their friends from high school were also at the same school.

 Other than that, she absolutely abhorred the time she spent there and kept reminding herself that in two years time, it would be over. It seemed that just as she’d settled in to the rhythm of her new high school, she had been yanked out and forced to adapt to what she considered a waste of education.  Éliane made the mistake of pointing out once that maybe it had to do with her disengagement with her own program, but Evelyn shut down that theory rather quickly.

 Still, despite her foul mood and deep hatred for Cégep, Éliane did her best to cheer up her girlfriend, left little notes of encouragement in their shared locker almost every second day and thankfully, with Éliane and some of her friends by her side, she was able to coast through her first semester without burning the building down to ash.

 However, for as much as Evelyn had nothing positive to say about Cégep, she had to agree that the winter break between the first and second semester was delightful. There was a little over a month and a half of time off and even though she had a few exams during the exam period, she still had a good month of vacation. When she found out, sometime after midterms, a great plan hatched in her mind.

 The truth of the matter was that Evelyn missed Edmonton something fierce. She hadn’t been back since her family had relocated to Montreal and even though she liked her new life – it didn’t always feel like home. She missed her grandparents, missed her friends, and missed her favourite hangout spots.

 Therefore, Evelyn did her research, contacted the appropriate people, and once she had everything in order, she brought up the idea to her parents of flying to Edmonton after the holidays for three weeks. She would be staying with her grandparents, who were more than thrilled at the idea of having her over, she had enough money for her plane ticket from her summer job and she would be able to do all the things she missed and loved. Her parents weren’t exactly thrilled with the plan, but eventually they agreed.

 It was then that Evelyn launched part two of her plan, which was to ask Éliane to come over with her. (She had asked her grandparents as well, had explained that Éliane wasn’t just her friend – that they were a couple and thank goodness, they had been very accepting of that and thrilled at the idea of potentially meeting their granddaughter’s girlfriend.)

 Of course, Evelyn was very much aware of the fact that her girlfriend detested winter, would probably have preferred to go somewhere warm, if she could and Evelyn didn’t even know if Éliane would want to go to Edmonton with her, or if she had the means to do it, but when she told her of her plan, Éliane had been one hundred percent onboard.

 They bought their tickets together, the moment Éliane had the okay from her parents and then, at least, Evelyn could keep a countdown to not only the end of her first semester of hell-school, but also to the day she would be going back home to Edmonton – even if it was for a short while.

 The moment they arrived in Edmonton, Evelyn was ready to show her girlfriend all the sights. She had made an elaborate schedule, had contacted all her friends and she only hoped that Éliane would like it.

Of course, Éliane loved it all, even if she did complain about the cold at every chance she got, but Evelyn was always there to lend her a sweater, tie a scarf around her neck or let Éliane snuggle up to her at night.

 Éliane enjoyed the city and loved meeting Evelyn’s friends. It was nice to see her girlfriend’s old stomping grounds and Evelyn’s grandparents took to her right away, which they were both thankful for. It was nice being here and it amused Éliane to no end that their first trip as a “couple” was to Edmonton, something Evelyn thought wasn’t quite as exotic or romantic as it should be. Éliane told her they could make up for it at a later time – for their next vacation and the thought of that – of something that would happen in the future sent butterflies to Evelyn’s stomach.

 Overall, despite her lack of interest in Cégep, two years ended up going by quickly, somehow. Éliane liked to refer to those two years as Evelyn’s rebel phase, for it was during that time that Evelyn decided to learn how to ride a motorcycle (something Éliane absolutely loved very, very much – there was just something so incredibly hot about her girlfriend dressed in nice, tight leather pants with nice leather boots and an even nicer leather jacket mounting a motorcycle. Éliane called it sex on wheels. Evelyn always turned the loveliest shade of pink at the comment.)

 It was also during their stint in Cégep that Evelyn decided, one afternoon, while bored between classes, to get the upper part of her ear pierced. One of her classes had been cancelled, and she couldn’t go home, since she had another class after that. Since Éliane and her other friends were all unavailable, Evelyn had gone out for a walk, had passed by a tattoo and body piercing parlour and had decided to get it done, on a whim and out of boredom.

 Éliane had a lot to say about the piercing. Notably, that it was very sexy and added an extra layer of badass to Evelyn. Evelyn thought her girlfriend was being ridiculous – Éliane had shut her up with a kiss.

 And perhaps, the other thing that happened over the summer between their first and thankfully last year of Cégep was that their relationship reached a highly more physical level.

 They had – fooled around some ever since that memorable time towards the end of high school, but, nothing beyond wandering hands and heavy make-out sessions. Evelyn hadn’t been fully ready and Éliane had given her all the time she needed. There’d been some touching, a very few topless make-out sessions which had left Evelyn yearning for more, but something had always held her back. Maybe the fact that her parents and sister had been home, or that Éliane’s own family could walk in at any time.

 But there came a weekend over summer after their first year of Cégep, when Éliane had the whole house to herself. Her brothers were officially moved out, her sister had gone camping with her friends, and her parents had gone over to her mother’s friend’s cottage for the weekend. Éliane had invited Evelyn over to use the pool and there hadn’t really been any thought that this would happen over the weekend.

 Éliane had been sunbathing on one of the lawn chairs, when Evelyn had gotten out of the pool and walked towards her girlfriend, with the intention of flicking water in her face. Éliane had (over) reacted just the way Evelyn had hoped – shrieking and protesting that the water was so very cold, which had prompted Evelyn to drape herself over her girlfriend to flick even more water all over her.

 Éliane had tried to push her off and get away from her, but she had been trapped. Finally, Éliane gave up and Evelyn settled against her, content, with the sun warming her up and her girlfriend running a hand up and down her back. They’d stayed that way for a while, peaceful and quiet, until Evelyn had nuzzled her way to her girlfriend’s neck and had started leaving feather light kisses on Éliane’s neck.

 The feather light kisses turned languid and hot when Éliane let out breathy little moans and wrapped her legs around Evelyn’s body. Evelyn left Éliane’s neck in favour of her lips when her girlfriend started grinding against her and her hands left her back to slide underneath the straps of her bikini.

 Evelyn had never gone all the way with anyone – had never lain naked beside someone else, even though she had had her fair share of fantasies and had done a bit of self-exploration over the past few months. They’d talked it over, a few times, about their experiences and lack thereof and Evelyn had known, all along, that she could trust Éliane – that her girlfriend would respect her, no matter what it was that they did or didn’t do.

 And so, when they parted for air and Evelyn took in the sight of Éliane’s kiss swollen lips and mussed up hair, she felt a deep hunger for her that swooped at her belly and made her want to touch and lick and taste and kiss and feel.

 “Should we go to my room?” Éliane asked, her hand kneading the skin of Evelyn’s thigh, her fingers hitching ever higher, playing with the strings of the straps of her bikini. Evelyn nodded at that, disentangled herself from her, and then helped her up.

 They’d made their way to Éliane’s room and once Éliane had closed the door behind them – in case – she had pushed Evelyn to her bed and they’d resumed from where they’d left off before. Evelyn let her girlfriend guide them both and let go of her millions of thoughts running through her head. She followed her gut, paid close attention to Éliane’s reactions, and let her hands touch and feel, let her mouth kiss and taste.

 Evelyn marvelled at the goose bumps over Éliane’s breasts, over the texture of her nipple on her tongue and over every little sound and noise Éliane made, which Evelyn meticulously catalogued and memorised to later replay in her mind like a favourite song.

 This was an experience she had never felt before and one that she would love repeating over the many years to come - hopefully.

 And later, afterwards, as Evelyn lay with Éliane running her fingers through her hair, Evelyn couldn’t help but be thankful that somehow or other, despite not being keen over the move away from her beloved Edmonton, she had managed to find Éliane along the way. She hoped, as she shared a tender kiss with her girlfriend, that theirs would be a relationship that would last, and that if it didn’t, they could always remain friends.

 --

 The only thing that motivated Evelyn throughout their second – and luckily – last year of Cégep was the fact that she would be making university applications by the start of March. The drawback to that was picking which universities to apply. Éliane, once more, had her whole plan set out and her preferred university in mind. She was applying to one school and one school only, and if they didn’t accept her, then – well, her plan didn’t have a section for that, because she would get accepted. Evelyn envied her for that – was slightly jealous of the certainty and faith she had in her plan, even if she feared it would backfire on her. Not that Éliane didn’t have the grades or the talent for it, but there would be others who would be applying as well. Still, Éliane was convinced and Evelyn could only marvel at her.

 On the one hand, she could apply to the same place as Éliane again and go where she went, but Evelyn also wanted to go somewhere that would actually set her up on her desired career path. If she wanted to become an engineer, it would obviously help if she went to a university that was known for their engineering programs. The other problem was that after nearly three years, Evelyn was incredibly homesick.

 She liked Montreal just fine – was getting the hang of the city and its peculiarities, but – it wasn’t home. She missed her friends and family that were still in Edmonton, missed biking through the River Valley, and missed weather that actually made sense (to her). Therefore, on a whim, she decided to apply to the University of Alberta and figured that – if she got in – she could make her decision then and have that conversation with Éliane at that point. There was no need to cause alarm just yet.

 Evelyn kept telling herself that if she didn’t get accepted at the University of Alberta, then it would be a clear sign that she wasn’t meant to go back – not now anyways, and that would be that. It would make her life easier, Éliane would never need to know, and life would move on. However, every time she started thinking that way, part of her really hoped she would be accepted there.

 In the end, obviously, because life never played out the way she wanted it to, she was accepted at two of the three schools she had applied to – one in Montreal and the other one in Edmonton.

 Before she broke the news to Éliane, she sat herself down and made a rather long and elaborate list of all the pros and cons she could think of about attending both schools. The problem was that her number one con about going back to Edmonton was that Éliane would be in Montreal and her biggest con about staying in Montreal was that she really missed home and wouldn’t get to see it for god only knew how much longer.

 When she finally brought the list to Éliane – when she finally gathered up her courage for this conversation, her girlfriend was a little put off about having been left in the dark, if only because she didn’t like the idea of Evelyn going through this burden alone, but she was ready to find solutions.

 “I could get transferred to UofA; I’m sure they have an art program,” She said as she started tapping away at her phone, looking up the offered programs as though this was the easiest and most logical of solutions.

 “El, don’t – I mean, it’s not that I don’t want you to come with, but – you had a whole plan and you were super psyched about getting into UQAM. Plus, you even said, they only take a few people per year, so that means your portfolio was really good.”

 “Exactly. So if UQAM took me then it shouldn’t be a problem for UofA. I can apply to get transferred for winter term and then we can be together again.” She smiled brightly at that, closed off her phone as if the case was solved and shelved, but it didn’t sit well with Evelyn.

 Evelyn loved that Éliane was ready to drop everything to follow her, but at the same time, she knew her girlfriend was impulsive – that she came up with plans in a blink of an eye and didn’t always think the consequences through. She knew, deep down, that eventually, for as much as Éliane would be charmed by the city and enjoy it, she would feel like a fish out of the water. She wouldn’t have her friends, she wouldn’t have her sister and she wouldn’t have her bearings with the city.

 She knew that, for as much as Éliane liked to play the tough act, for as much as she was the life of a party, that deep down, she was very sensitive; that even if she made new friends (which she would) and even if she ended up loving her program, the pillars of her own life would be missing and it would slowly, but surely, eat at her. The last thing Evelyn wanted to do was make Éliane miserable and she didn’t Éliane to resent her for it, in the long run, either.

 She brought up these points to Éliane, but just as she feared, Éliane rebuked every one of her arguments, because on top of everything else, her girlfriend was absolutely stubborn.

 “But, if you’re all the way in Edmonton, that means a different time zone, I don’t get to see you as often and – you might never come back,” Éliane finally admitted, hours later, when it felt as though they were going around in circles with this discussion. She sounded small and – insecure and it was then that Evelyn realised that the real root of the problem wasn’t that Evelyn wanted to study outside of the city, it was that Éliane knew how much she missed Edmonton and Éliane feared she would never return once she went back.

 The real problem was that Evelyn, for as much as she wanted to reassure her that she would – that she’d go there for the length of the degree and then come back – wasn’t sure she could say so convincingly. Who was to say what would happen when she got there? Who was to say that she would find a job in Montreal post-graduation? Who was to say that she and Éliane would still be together that many years ahead?

 “Look, I don’t know what’s going to happen between now and then – but I want this to work, between us. I’m not running away to Edmonton to find some other girl or to replace you and I promise I’m going to do my best to make this long distance whatever work between us.” She started and gathered Éliane in her arms. Her girlfriend made herself small and buried her face in the folds of her sweater, taking in a deep breath, committing the scent of Evelyn to her mind, already knowing she would be gone within a few months.

 “I promise too,” Éliane added softly, not meeting Evelyn’s eyes, already fighting to keep the tears at bay, “I mean – I want this to work too and I want you to be happy, so do what you feel will make you happiest.”

 “But you make me happy, El,” Evelyn pressed a kiss to the top of Éliane’s head and that at least got a smile out of her, “I like having you around.”

 “And I’ll still be here – after you’re done, but I don’t want you to miss out on this opportunity. I don’t want you to have regrets, twenty years from now or resent me because in a way I kept you here – that you stayed back because of me.”

 “Are you sure?”

 Éliane nodded, “I’ll miss you. I already miss you. But we can still talk and text, yeah?” She asked as if it was a question – as if Evelyn wasn’t already thinking of having weekly video call dates, or something of the likes. She would be going from having Éliane around her nearly every day to being miles and miles apart. It would be a big adaptation – for both of them, but with Éliane’s blessing, Evelyn felt a little more confident that it would work out in the end.

 --

 Their last summer together was – different, if they were to compare them to the previous ones. Knowing that Evelyn would be gone by the end of it, Éliane made it a point to spend as much time with her as possible and to create as many memories – good memories, so that Evelyn would want to come back.

 No matter how many times Evelyn reassured her that she would return, Éliane was still a little worried that this was it – that Evelyn would move on, but she still put on a brave face and did her best to be supportive and happy for her. (Which she was – but, why did Edmonton have to be so far away?)

 On the day that she left, Éliane went to the airport with Mr and Mrs Murphy and did her utmost best not to cry in front of them. (There would be time later – when she was home and alone in her bedroom. She didn’t want to cause a scene at the airport. She didn’t want to be that person.)

 “I’ll be back before you know it.” Evelyn told her when they shared one last tight hug. Her voice cracked a little and she did her best to swallow her own tears that threatened to spill forth.

 “I promise I’ll try to come over reading week.” They’d talked of the possibility and Éliane had been firm when she’d said she’d come to Edmonton at any chance she had – anytime they had time off. Evelyn admired her determination, but felt her girlfriend had forgotten how expensive the plane tickets could get.

 “Love you,” Evelyn chose to say instead.

 “Love you more.” Éliane stepped back and let Evelyn go. She watched as her girlfriend exchanged one more hug with her family and then went to queue up with the other travellers. She waved and waved again and tried not to think about the gap she suddenly felt in her chest.

 University turned out to be much harder than Cégep, but Evelyn enjoyed it a lot more. It wasn’t always easy, but the work was much more challenging and she felt like she was actually advancing with life. She got to reconnect with her old friends, made new ones and the only thing missing – the only person missing to make it all the more perfect was Éliane.

 They made it a point to have weekly video calls, just like Evelyn had thought of before she left, but it wasn’t always easy to keep with their schedule, what with different time zones, part time jobs, school work and the myriad of other obligations that got in the way. Still, every time they did talk, Evelyn felt as though the missing puzzle piece to her life was slotted into place.

 And, for as much as they settled into their new routine, slowly got used to not being around each other (Evelyn liked to say that absence made the heart grow fonder), there came a time when Éliane started to really think that Evelyn had moved on. When she would stay up far too late and see her girlfriend post photos on social media, out with her new friends, having a jolly good time, and some ugly thing inside of her whispered that Evelyn was replacing her – that this relationship would fizzle out. It also didn’t help that with time zones and busy schedules, midterms and projects, their weekly video calls became shorter and were sometimes postponed or cancelled.

 Éliane tried to tell herself that it was normal, that Evelyn had a life out there, that she was busy herself, but the fear kept gnawing at her and she hated that she thought this way. Deep down she knew it wasn’t true, but no matter how hard she tried to convince herself, there was still always an ounce of doubt that stayed.

 Eventually, it crept up in a conversation, just before winter break and Evelyn hated that her girlfriend thought she wasn’t as interested anymore.

 “Sweetheart, no – look, I know it’s hard, I miss you – a lot, but I promise I really want this to work between us and if ever, for some really absurd reason, I wasn’t interested anymore, I would let you know. I would never string you along, okay? And even if I’m in class, or asleep, you can still message me – I’ll answer you later, just like we’ve been doing, alright?”

 Éliane nodded and wiped the tears away from her eyes. She hated that she couldn’t be strong – that something so trivial had gotten to her, but at the same time, hearing Evelyn say those words comforted her a bit, “I love you,” She said instead, because it was true and because sometimes it felt like her heart was too small to contain all the love she felt for Evelyn.

 “Love you more, you silly goose. And I miss you. And I’m looking forward to seeing you this summer.”

 Éliane smiled a little at that – at the promise of two weeks with Evelyn mostly all to herself. It wouldn’t be the same as the other summers, but she supposed they had to make do with what they got.

 “Thanks for listening,” She said.

 Evelyn smiled softly and touched the screen for a moment, “Of course – I’m always here for you, just like you’re always there for me.”

 It didn’t suddenly get better or easier after that call, but Éliane felt just a little less alone. She stopped worrying that she was being extra clingy and reached out to Evelyn whenever she felt she needed it. She didn’t hold back when she wanted to send her a message, even if it was a simple heart emoji and the wonderful thing was that Evelyn replied to every single one and would send them back as well.

 For the first time since Evelyn had left for Edmonton, Éliane felt a little lighter and started to believe that they would grow stronger from this and that they’d find a way to make it work. It was hard work, sure, she didn’t always like the distance, but it made her appreciate the time they had even more and because it was worth it to her – to the both of them, it pushed them both to keep working towards it.

 If Evelyn sent her a sweater of hers for Christmas, well, maybe, just maybe it became Éliane’s favourite and she compulsively wore it all the time over the following four years, even after it stopped smelling of her girlfriend.

 Éliane still considered transferring to UofA, or at the very least, doing an exchange for one semester, just to be with Evelyn for a few months. When she told Evelyn about it, she suggested to go somewhere different – not to hold back just because of her. She didn’t want her to miss out on some great experience or opportunity and settle for this out of some skewed sense of obligation. She could always visit her in Edmonton, but how many chances would she have to go literally anywhere else in the world? Evelyn threw back at her the same words and wisdom she had given her a year before and, with Evelyn’s blessing, Éliane applied elsewhere.

 In the end, she went to study art in Italy, for the length of her second semester. She loved every moment of it, fell in love with the people, the food, and the culture, and sent too many postcards to Evelyn, until her entire wall was full of them.

 To top it all off, since the school schedule in Italy was a little different, Evelyn even managed to surprise Éliane at the end of the term, when she flew in to spend some time with her, and they got to spend two weeks together in Italy.

 And, somehow or other, they made it through undergrad together, even if they weren’t always in the same city.

 --

 When Evelyn had to apply for her Master’s degree, she once more decided to apply to schools both in Edmonton and back in Montreal. After four years back home, she felt that she had found the catharsis and closure she had been looking for all those years, after her father had sprung the move on her back when she was in high school. On top of that, she had really missed Éliane and – to her biggest surprise, she had also missed her life in Montreal.

 She still wasn’t sure where she would eventually settle, how that would play with Éliane, but she figured, if she studied in Montreal, it would buy them both another two years before they had to figure it out.

 This time around, she was accepted to the better of the engineering schools in Montreal and so, she took that as a sign that moving back was the right course of action – at least for now.

 To absolutely no one’s surprise, Éliane was very excited when Evelyn broke the news of her decision to her, a few days later, once she had accepted the offer and weighed in all the pros and cons, and Evelyn had to admit that she was looking forward to going back – to picking up where things had left off and moving forward.

 She was still a little sad that she was leaving Edmonton behind yet again, but this time, it was on her own terms and she knew that she could always come back and that no matter where she lived or where she went, the city would always be part of her.

 Her first year back was – interesting, to say the least. For starters, she had to get used to living with her parents again, which seemed like a strange thing to say, but she had gotten used to staying with her grandparents during her undergrad degree. On top of that, the commute was different from what she’d known beforehand and sometimes, she cursed the suburbs. It was so very far away and there was so much wasted time.

 Another thing she had to get used to again, which was also a strange thing to say, was being around Éliane again – or at the very least, the possibility of being around her again more often. It took them a while to fall back into their regular old patterns, even if they were happy to be able to be together again. At first, Evelyn had worried that maybe being away for so long had changed her feelings for Éliane, but once they talked it over and figured things out, she settled in her new routine and got the hang of it.

 During that first year, Éliane moved out of her parents’ place and got one of her own, which Evelyn started spending more and more time at, since it was much closer to school and it also gave them more privacy than in their former bedrooms. She was there so often, in fact, that by the end of the first semester, she had her own spare key to the place, in case Éliane wasn’t around and she wanted to crash, and by the end of the second semester, Éliane casually asked her if she wanted to permanently move in with her.

 Evelyn had been surprised and shocked by the offer. She had thought about it, they had talked about it, but she hadn’t thought Éliane would ask her so soon. Then again, she supposed she hadn’t taken into account her girlfriend’s impulsiveness. Therefore, over summer break, Evelyn moved her stuff halfway across town and finally, she was settled in with Éliane.

 Her second and last year of her Master’s was just as interesting as her first and came with its own challenges and adaptations. For starters, there was the fact that she was now living with her girlfriend. For as much as it was great, for as much as she loved the idea of having a place that was her own and that she and Éliane could build together, there were also times when they’d find themselves butting heads over the most inane of things. It was a test and exercise in compromise, patience, and communication and even though they didn’t always get it right on the first try, they kept at it and eventually found solutions to their problems.

 Finally, eventually, she finished her program, somehow or other, and on graduation day, her parents, her sister, and Éliane were there to see her receive her diploma. There was something – oddly soothing about having them all there, about knowing that she could have this – that her parents were accepting and welcoming, that she had the chance and privilege to have this, when so many others did not.

 To celebrate the occasion, Mr and Mrs Murphy took them all out to a nice dinner and Evelyn thought it was the perfect ending to her academic career.

 It was only later, when they were back at their own place and her parents and sister had left that Evelyn received the surprise of her life.

 “I have a gift for you,” Éliane said, which surprised Evelyn, since her girlfriend had already given her a gift earlier that moment. Then again, Éliane was notorious for such things, so really, it shouldn’t have come as a shock. However, what did come as a shock was when Éliane walked up to her, got down on one knee and then proposed to her – ring and all – speech and hopeful smile included.

 And – they had spoken about this, before – had brought it up a handful of times under different circumstances; sometimes as a joke, other times seriously, but – it still took her by surprise for the simple reason that she hadn’t thought Éliane would ask her on the day of her graduation – or that Éliane would be the one to ask. If anything, Evelyn was convinced that she would have beaten her to it.

 She said yes, obviously, and Evelyn wondered if it was possible to bottle up the giddy feeling she felt inside of her and drink from it for the rest of her life.

 --

 Éliane put the photo album she’d been perusing down when she heard the front door open followed by Evelyn’s usual “I’m home!” She craned her head back in time to see her wife remove her motorcycle helmet and put it down before she passed a hand through her hair. Éliane couldn’t help but smile, fond and still so very much in love after all these years, as she watched one of her favourite daily spectacles.

 She greeted her back and then watched as her wife then removed her leather jacket and put down her messenger bag before removing her boots and making her way towards her. “Hi,” She said, smiling wider as Evelyn bent down to kiss her properly in greeting. They went through their daily exchange of “how was your day” and “you’ll never believe what happened when,” as Evelyn settled beside Éliane and made herself comfortable, slowly unwinding from her day.

 “What have you been up to?” Evelyn asked as Éliane carded her fingers through her hair.

 “I was doing some cleaning and stumbled upon our old high school album! Ended up doing a lot of reminiscing and got a little distracted,” She admitted with a laugh. Evelyn chuckled and rolled her eyes, far too used to her wife’s antics, but was nonetheless fond. Éliane was notorious for this, but it was endearing in its own way.

 “Yeah?”

 Éliane nodded and retrieved the aforementioned album from the pile of what turned out to be other photo albums and opened it up to a random page, “Look! There you are!” She said pointing at a photo of the theatre troupe.

 Evelyn took the album out of her hands and brought it closer to her face to get a good look, she groaned when she saw the photo, “Ugh, what was up with my hair?”

 “Hush you; you had very nice hair – you still have very nice hair,” Éliane reproached, taking back the album as though afraid Evelyn would say more bad things about her past self and somehow or other insult the album in the process.

 “You were very biased,” Evelyn teased, grinning wolfishly at her.

 “No – I just have impeccable taste.”

 Evelyn laughed and pulled her wife closer, despite her protests at being manhandled in such a way (even though they both knew it was mostly for show), before she pressed noisy kisses to the side of her face, “Very, very biased – so biased. So biased that there’s a photo of you beside the definition of the word, in the dictionary.” She went on, grinning, inches away from her lips, “The most biased, actually,” She added before kissing her softly. She felt Éliane cup her face and kiss her back, soft and pliant, and so welcoming and loving – like always, like it had been those first careful times what felt like a thousand lifetimes ago.

 “Just for you, darling,” Éliane murmured, moments later, when they parted to catch their breaths, “Always just for you.”

 Evelyn laughed and the sound of it thrilled Éliane who held her wife close, loving her more with each passing moment – with each breath she took. She still thrilled and marvelled that even so many years later, they still kept choosing each other, every single day and she knew that for as long as she lived, Evelyn would always have her.

 FIN

[reddielibrary]

the writing on your skin

prompt: The au where whatever you write on yourself shows up on your soulmates body where you wrote it with Eddie and Richie. It would be super cute ❤️

written by: Amy | @reddies-spaghetti​

word count: 2498

*click title to read on AO3

With a soft smile on his lips, Eddie glanced down at his wrist as he felt the familiar tickling motion against his skin. Just as he suspected, he watched as a doodle of a flower appeared on the skin, followed by a sentence beneath, written in perfect cursive writing.

Have a flower to brighten up your day - R

He tugged down his sleeve as he heard his mother enter the kitchen, her loud footsteps bringing him out of his daze. She leaned down and pressed a sloppy kiss to his cheek, her breath making his nose wrinkle up in disgust. “Shouldn’t you be heading to work Eddie-bear?”

With a whip of his head, Eddie looked at the clock, biting back a curse as he scrambled to his feet, pulling his shoes on at the same time. Even though he knew that Mike wouldn’t be phased if he was a few minutes late to his shift, Eddie fed on the moments that he wasn’t trapped in the house with his overbearing mother. “I’ll see you later ma!!” He called out as he pulled his jacket on, stumbling out of the door.

Once he was far enough away from his home, and his mother’s gaze, Eddie lifted his sleeve up again to see the small additions to the flower on his wrist. It was no longer just a outline, the petals were filled with colour and the stem was now secured in a beige coloured plant pot. He pulled his marker out of his pocket and rolled his sleeve up further, finally being able to write out his response.

It’s so pretty, thank you. <3 - E

It was a universal thing. The writing. Eddie wasn’t sure how it worked, and he wasn’t planning on finding out. All he knew was that the person he was talking to was his soulmate. When you are born, you have the ability to communicate with your soulmate, via writing on your skin, whatever you write on your own skin appears on your soulmates.

Of course, there are rules, as the universe in no way, made it easy for the pairing to meet up, or even discover each other’s names. The rules were as follows:

1. Names didn’t appear on the skin. If you tried, the words would either blur, or vanish before it was even complete. Eddie had tried this so many times and the furthest he got was his first name initial.

2. Direct locations wouldn’t show up either. Eddie tried once to write his hometown on his arm for R to see, but unfortunately, that wouldn’t work either.

3. No phone numbers.

The only way Eddie could communicate with his soulmate was through their skin. So far, he had a few details about his soulmate. First, his name began with an R and he was male. Second, he was a fantastic artist and third, he lived somewhere in America. The fact that he could be anywhere in any of the 50 States, made Eddie’s heart sink, as he knew deep down that he would probably never leave Maine and in the process, never meet his soulmate.

Eddie’s thoughts were broken when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and rolled his eyes at the text message on his phone, from his mother, reminding him to collect his placebo medication from the pharmacy on his way home. With a sigh he put his phone away and uncapped the marker with his teeth once more, scribbling the words, ‘medication from pharmacy’ on the arm that R wasn’t currently doodling on, right next to the note that read ‘work - coffee shop’.

Almost immediately, words appeared under his note, making another smile appear on his lips.

Why do you still get them, if you don’t need them? - R

Eddie thought about the question a lot himself. He knew he didn’t need the pills his mother made him take. He knew that they were nothing but sugar and water, harmless really, under the guise of ‘allergens’. Allergens for allergies that Eddie didn’t even have.

It makes my mother happy, I guess. - E

Even as he scribbled the words, he felt a sick feeling settle in his stomach and he tugged his sleeve back down so he wouldn’t see what R had written back, regardless of the tingling feeling on his skin. As he approached the coffee shop where he worked, Eddie spotted Mike standing outside, a relieved smile on his face.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” Eddie muttered when he was close enough for Mike to hear him. “I wasn’t paying attention to the time.”

“You’re lucky you’re my friend Kaspbrak and that my parents own this place. Don’t worry though, Stan’s late too.” Mike winked and followed him into the shop. Eddie grabbed his apron and tied it around his waist before jumping behind the till to take the next order. A few minutes later, the main door opened again and Stan rushed in, hair windswept from his running.

“Sorry Mike,” he muttered, pulling his own apron on. He leaned up, pressing a quick kiss to the corner of Mike’s lips and it caused a lump to form in Eddie’s throat. For as long as Eddie had known the two of them, they had been joined at the hip. There was no Mike without Stan.

Eddie was happy for his friends, of course he was, there was just a small voice in the back of his head that sounded like his mother, screaming that he was never going to find his soulmate in person. His thoughts were broken by Stan sliding up next to him, taking his place at the coffee machine. “You’re never late,” Eddie commented, his lips turning up into a smile.

“I had an unexpected visitor,” Stan explained, making a start on the orders that were coming through. It was rush hour on a Saturday afternoon, the busiest time of the week. “A friend who moved away the same summer you moved here.”

Oh yes, the other thing about Eddie? He grew up in New York City. Then, the summer before he was to start High School, Sonia up and moved them to Derry. She told Eddie it was because she couldn’t live in the same house his father had lived in, and they needed a fresh start, even though his father had passed away six years before. Eddie knew better than to argue with his mother though, and therefore four weeks later he was beginning Freshman year as a new student who had no idea who anyone was.

He had met Mike and Stan that very first day, and now, almost five years later and on the brink of graduation, they were still his best friends. Even if he felt like the third wheel sometimes. He raised his eyebrow at Stan, “Oh? Who’s that?”

“His name is Richie, we were best friends in middle school but his dad got this really important dentist job in California the summer before High School so they had to move out there.” Stan explained. “I never thought I’d miss the fucker until he wasn’t there to piss me off. We keep in contact but he appeared out of nowhere this morning telling me he was here for graduation. Apparently, he graduated last week and he wanted to come see me before he heads down to New York. He’s going to Art School there.”

“Is he here?” Eddie asked, wanting to meet this mysterious Richie. He tried to ignore how his name began with the same letter as his soulmate, because there are plenty of people Eddie had met that had a name beginning with R. Even if the mention of him attending art school made his heart flutter.

“Not right now,” Stan answered. “I left him to unpack, but he did say he’d come by later when it was less busy.”

That marked the end of the conversation, for the rest of the rush hour both Eddie and Stan worked through the orders until there was only a few people dribbling in. That was when the door opened again and a loud, abrasive voice echoed through the whole shop.

“Michael Hanlon where are you my man!” The voice called and Eddie peaked out from behind the coffee machine, watching as Mike approached the customer and pulled him into a tight hug. “Treating my Stanley well I hope?”

“Of course. My Richie you haven’t changed at all!” Mike laughed and Eddie realised that this was Stan’s mysterious Middle School friend. He kept his eyes trained on the two of them and as Mike stepped aside fully revealing the stranger to him, his breath caught in his throat because this boy was gorgeous.

“Hey, in my defence I got taller!” Richie argued, wrapping a lanky arm around Mike’s shoulders. Eddie felt like he was some teenage girl swooning over her celebrity crush, but he couldn’t help it, he couldn’t take his eyes off of Richie not even for a second. Just then, Richie looked up and their eyes locked, jolting Eddie out of his trance and he hid behind the coffee machine.

“Stan’s on a break at the moment, but let me introduce you to someone,” Eddie heard Mike say and willed his cheeks not to turn a bright red as Mike brought Richie behind the counter so they were a few feet apart. “Richie, this is Eddie Kaspbrak, Eddie this is Richie Tozier.”

Eddie watched as Richie’s eyes flashed with something he couldn’t place before he smiled, wide and almost charming, and held out a hand for Eddie to shake.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Clearing his throat, Eddie place his palm into Richie’s, his eyes widening at the electricity that flowed up his arm at the contact, and he smiled back. “Pleasure is all mine.” His words came out more like a squeak and he let go of their hands.

Richie’s jaw opened and closed as though he was preparing to say something. Before he could, a voice came from the till, loud and annoyed. “Um, excuse me, can someone take my order at some point today please?” Eddie winced as he knew exactly who this was. This was Greta Keene.

Stepping forward to the till, Eddie put on his best ‘fake smile’ and turned his attention to Greta, “Yes, sorry, what can I get for you.”

By the time he was done serving her, Stan had come back from his break and they were engaged in a conversation Eddie didn’t want to interrupt. He felt Mike slide up next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You could shoot off if you wanted to? We’re pretty dead here now.”

Eddie glanced around the shop and he nodded, “Yeah, that would be great Mike, thank you.” Getting off now meant he still had plenty of time to pick up his placebos at the pharmacy. He untied his apron and hung it up, grabbing his jacket from the cloak room and making his way back out front. “I’m off,” he said to Stan, breaking off his conversation with Richie.

“Leaving?” Richie asked, his eyes almost reflecting disappointment, his lips turned up into a pout. “Why don’t you have a coffee with me?”

“I can’t,” Eddie swallowed, “I have to go to pick up my medication from the pharmacy before it closes. If I forget, my mother will have a fit.”

“Honestly Eddie, why do you still take those things?” Stan asked, staring at Eddie seriously. “And before you say anything, in a few weeks it won’t matter anyway because you’ll be out of there and going to New York, so why don’t you just...start now?”

“Because I’m already treading on eggshells, Stan. If I tell her that I know they’re fake now, then she might not let me go to New York after graduation. You know what she’s like.” He sighed. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Eddie didn’t hang around to hear what Stan was going to say to his words, instead he just walked to the door and out into the summer air. He was about forty steps away from the coffee shop when a voice called out to him, bringing his steps to a halt.

“Eddie!”

He turned around just as Richie came to a stop in front of him. He was breathing heavily, his fingers running through his hair. Eddie frowned, tilting his head to the side. “Did I forget something?”

“No, no. I just- I have to ask you something,” Richie breathed, swallowing and reaching a hand forward for Edde’s own. Once again, at the contact, a bolt of electricity shot up his arm. “Do you feel that?”

Unable to help himself, Eddie nodded his head, glancing back up so their eyes could lock together. “Yeah, I feel that...but what does it mean?”

Richie took a step closer, his expression morphing into a warm smile, his eyes softening as he reached the hand not holding Eddie’s, up to cup his cheek. “I think you know what it means.”

Eddie let out a shaky breath, his body almost trembling under Richie’s gaze. Deep down, he knew the answer, but right then he needed some sort of proof or confirmation. With his free hand, he reached down to pull his marker from his pocket, uncapping it and scribbling a small heart on the hand that was still being held by Richie’s. As the ink settled in place, he turned his attention to Richie’s hand, watching in awe and shock as the same little heart appeared on his skin.

“Oh,” Eddie breathed, his heartbeat speeding up, battering against his ribcage and he looked up, meeting Richie’s eyes again. “Hi.”

“Hi, Eddie. It suits you,” Richie pressed their foreheads together, their eyes intimately locked. “Can I take you out, Eddie?”

“Like, on a date?” Eddie stupidly responded, as though there was another word to call it.

“Yes, yes on a date. I want to know everything about you.” Richie grinned, nodding his head.

“Yes, okay. Yes.” A smile was now permanently in place on Eddie’s lips. “How did you know it was me?”

“Other than the bolt of electricity when we shook hands?” Richie asked. “The medication, and the coffee shop. I put the puzzle pieces together quite quickly after that.”

“Stan mentioned you were going to Art School but, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up.” A blush rose up on Eddie’s cheeks as Richie stepped back and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. They started walking down the street, heading towards the pharmacy.

“Let’s go get your shitty meds, Eds,” Richie winked at the nickname. “And I’ll take you out to dinner.”

“Don’t call me Eds,” Eddie quipped, settling into Richie’s side like a puzzle piece, like he was always meant to fit there. Which he was, because Richie was his soulmate. He’d finally met his soulmate.

“Ah, you’ll learn to love it.”

And he did.

[dirkgentle]

13. Forehead kiss

Touch Meme! ACCEPTING! 

                                        Ever since Bedelia got rid of that awful, self-centred, ultimately insignificant prick she’s lucky not to call her fiancé any longer, this has become a bit of a ritual for the two of them. Dirk shows up every evening with the reliability of a clock on legs; a decidedly defective clock devised by an eccentric mastermind with a proclivity for things that go BOOM when they shouldn’t, but a clock nevertheless. Whenever he is not stuck in an inescapable dimension or one of those roadside diners that serve mouth-wateringly affordable cheese cake, he manages to be more or less on time. He tends to crash into several obstacles while pulling into Bedelia’s driveway, yet he’s always careful to tiptoe his way through her intimidatingly elegant home and into her bedroom, where he suddenly undergoes a miracle transformation into the most fastidiously quiet human being ever to walk this earth. He slips out of his shoes and clothes and leaves them in a little heap by his friend’s bedside, each movement a soft and deliberate silence. Then, he wiggles his way into one of her dressing gowns and, for the dozenth time in a row, decides that the comfort of snugly silk by far outweighs the annoyance brought on by too-tight sleeves. He slides beneath the covers, always cautious not to wake her despite knowing all too well that she can’t possibly be asleep, and cuddles shamelessly against whatever body part of hers he can reach.

                   There’s nothing between them, for obvious reasons, except the instinctive knowledge of two misfits that they belong into the friend-shaped hole in each other’s heart. And, sometimes, an unfair amount of duvet. Bedelia is a total bed-hog. Today, when Dirk buries his nose in the crook of her neck and basks in the scent he’s come to associate with something quite like home, he receives a rare kiss. It’s pressed to his forehead as soon as his unlikely companion twists around to draw him into her arms. All of it is done in the kind of sleep-addled way that makes Dirk wonder if she fully realises who he is, if the kiss was even MEANT for him —- but he accepts it regardless.

                                                 “ Found this today. ” The pride that resides in the detective’s voice seems enough to rouse her a little. That, and the fact that he has grasped her bed-warmed hand and dropped something small into the hollow of her palm: an admittedly mildly startling object that is objectively uncomfortable to the touch and emits a tender, firefly-like glow. “ Look at it! It’s a … ” { A tooth, some sort of sharp-edged, jagged molar, with the big difference that it’s rather more turquoise than most teeth commonly are, and occasionally breaking into a spontaneous little whistle, the source of which Dirk has, despite his observation skills, not yet determined. } “ … it’s a THINGIE. One of the good kind, though. I believe. Hope. Its singing isn’t even off-tune. It’s lovely, in a somewhat disturbing manner of speaking, don’t you think? I feel like YOU should have it. ” 

  He closes Bedelia’s fingers around his find and delivers an affectionate little pat to her fist. Her knuckles stand out even more than they usually do: the woman is losing weight by the minute, despite Dirk’s tireless attempts to feed her up. He always makes sure to bring a gift when he climbs into her bed at night, often in a state of disarray most people don’t like to welcome in their houses. It can be anything he deems helpful: a slice of pizza, a cupcake, a carton of chicken wings, deep-fried butter, an ancient book that should definitely never even have ended up in his possession, an interesting leaf, a nicely shaped pebble, a self-doodled comic strip, a pair of brightly-coloured stockings, a potted flower, a velvety blanket, or, on occasion, unsettling glow-in-the-dark teeth. But it doesn’t seem to help. Nothing seems to help. A second of hesitation ticks by --- then, Dirk braces himself on his elbow to lean up and plant an affectionate kiss on Bedelia’s cheek, shooting her a small, questioning smile.

[redvelevet]

i was tagged by @cheekyandsofetch to do these and i don’t usually do them but i thought i would this time. I am going to tag @mxxnlightjimin @jkdna @2oongi @jazzy-tae @dvmple + anyone else who would like to do it.

what’s your favourite song(s) to sing?

i can’t really sing tbh i sound like an animal being strangled but i like to sometimes pretend im the fifth member of little mix when i sing their songs i also rap along to rap songs too which i find much easier than hitting those high notes sorry im no mariah.

what’s your favourite plant/tree/flower?

i really like cherry blossoms, hydrangeas, wisteria, bleeding heart flowers, orchids, lilies, begonias, peonies, chrysanthemums, apple blossoms, lilacs, sweet peas, poinsettias, snap dragons, delphiniums, alstromerias, pansies, and hibiscus flowers. wow thats a lot, i think they’re all flowers lol.

favourite colours?

PINK!!! (every shade except that horrible bright magenta colour) i also like red, blue, purple and yellow!! and black ofc.

what do you always doodle?

hearts and flowers!! always, sometimes i doodle words in a fancy style too.

how do you take your coffee/tea?

i like my coffee milky and with 2 sugars and as for tea i like i milk in it but not too much i hate milky tea os i like to have a good colour to it, but again i take that with 2 sugars. if i drink fruit/herbal teas i just have sugar with that.

favourite candle scent? 

im a highkey candle hoarder and i have so many nice smelling ones. i like salted caramel, mulberry, cherry, vanilla, coffee, coconut and i have a carribean tropical scented one which smells so damn good it smells like a pina colada.

sunrise or sunset? 

sunset for sure i love the range of colours the sky goes before the sun set especially in the summer 

what perfume do you wear?

i have so many different ones that i wear, i wear a mango and papaya body spritzer that i use, i use my victoria’s secret perfumes which all smell nice, i have a lovely molton brown perfume (its only a tester waah) and on special occasions i wear my dolce & gabbana perfume. i have so many other ones away in my cupboard i have strawberry scented ones as well i need to get more for christmas.

what’s your go to dance move when you’re alone? 

damn i dont really dance alone but i like to try and perfect my body rolls, i like to wave my arms around too haha im a bad dancer, i never used to be though. 

favourite quotes?

it’s okay to lose - bts (2016) 

im sorry skdfashkh i just can’t think of any really awe inspiring quotes right now.

favourite self care routine(s)?

look after your skin!!! moisturise, exfoliate, cleanse, tone her!!! she will thank you!! honestly my skin used to be so rough and dry until i started moisturising daily and using a facemask weekly and let me tell you it worked so much now the skin on my face is so soft!! 

also i think it’s good to get out every once in a while and get some air, i don’t think it’s good to be cooped up inside all the time it gets bad for your health and you don’t have to be out all day just a few hours can dramatically change your mood, and you dont have to be out every day either its nice to just go out every once in a while it will be beneficial trust me. 

positive reinforcement! tell yourself you look good, even if you don’t mean it and it doesn’t have to be about your body or your face you can look at yourself in the mirror and go “wow i really like this outfit on me” or “that is a look” and it will make you feel better and any compliment you can give yourself will be rewarding no matter how small it is or how “stupid” you find it just go in the mirror and be like “im the shit” and after a while you will fuckin believe it. 

fuzzy socks or house slippers?

fuzzy socks always but accompanied by slippers in the winter.

what colour are your eyes?

green! sometimes they’re a jade green and sometimes they’re like a sea green with hints of blue in them.

what’s your favourite eye colour on others?

all of them!! eyes are so lovely to look at.

favourite season? why?

autumn/fall. i love the leaves that change colour i love the warm but cool days i love the cute clothes u can wear and most of all halloweeen!!!! i also like early summer/late spring where its lovely weather but not too hot its great for spending days out with friends/family.

neck/cheek/nose kisses?

NECK i will kiss your neck like no tomorrow and i would end up biting it a bit lol, my bad. but all kisses are valid.

what does your happy place look like? 

it changes depending on my mood but its any place where i’m not me.

favourite breed of dog?

labrador but i love all dogs as long as they’re friendly.

do you ever want to be married?

yeah with the right person, im not sure if it will happen but i can’t wait to plan the big day.

cursive or print?

i write in both lol one paragraph can be fully cursive and the next could be could be totally different. i mostly write in cursive i think?

favourite weather?

i like sunny weather!! especially if i’m going out. i don’t like it too hot or too cold so i’d say my ideal temp is around 50-60F / 10-20C (im not sure if the conversion is correct but i stand by it) 

i also love thunder and rain but we don’t get much thunder here sadly. 

[sugarcoatedpoop]

Tag

I was tagged by @bluerosesilver and @taetaes-gf thank you and I love you both ♡♡♡♡♡

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE SONG(S) TO SING?  ahhhh that’s hard because i love a lot of songs and i tend to sing a lot (usually badly but it’s fun), hmmm maybe something in a key that i can reach with my low voice, like Fantasy by JBJ (that’s a tune btw 10/10 would recommend)

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE FLOWER/TREE/PLANT? i might be basic and say that i like roses, but to be honest it’s not something i’ve thought about much and a lot of flowers and plants are pretty, oohhh maybe cherry blossoms they are nice

FAVOURITE COLOURS? pastel pink ^^

WHAT DO YOU ALWAYS DOODLE?  i don’t doodle that much, sometimes if i’m bored and meant to be working i might do some random lines and shapes, my art skills aren’t the best ahha

HOW DO YOU TAKE YOUR COFFEE/TEA? i have tea quite often and with milk and sugar. i don’t drink that much coffee but i like those starbucks drinks with a ton of cream and sugar and chocolate or whatever

FAVOURITE CANDLE SCENT? maybe vanilla? 

SUNRISE OR SUNSET?  sunsets, they’re pretty :)

WHAT PERFUME DO YOU WEAR? it’s not like a fancy perfume but i like victoria secret body sprays, i have a couple and i can’t remember the flavours but they’re quite fruity

WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO DANCE MOVE WHEN YOU’RE ALONE? hmmmm i dance quite a lot around the house and that (again, badly, but it’s fun), hmm i guess my go-to dance move is like...how to describe it..like have your hands together and then separate them like a curved W whilst putting one of your feet to the side and switch (that was bad description i’m sorry haha)

FAVOURITE QUOTE? probably the one in my bio from So Far Away, “You will fully bloom after all the hardships.” that song really gives me hope that things will get better and we can get through the hard times and become better people

FAVOURITE SELF CARE ROUTINE(S)? self care??????? i don’t know her

FUZZY SOCKS OR HOUSE SLIPPERS? either, i like both but i’m not quite sure where my slippers are at the moment, they’re kind of separated and hidden in god knows where in my house

WHAT COLOUR ARE YOUR EYES?  blue/grey/green

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE EYE COLOUR ON OTHERS? any! all eye colours can look really beautiful i think

FAVOURITE SEASON? WHY? summer! i love the weather, i love being on holiday, i love the nice feel of summer and it’s great to see family and meet up with friends

NECK, CHEEK, OR NOSE KISSES? neck kisses maybe? honestly just any affection, like just acknowledge my existence and i’ll feel blessed

WHAT DOES YOUR HAPPY PLACE LOOK LIKE? haven’t found it yet ^^

FAVOURITE BREED OF DOG? all the doggos, maybe whatever kind of dog yeontan is bc he is my son and i love him, or just like any type tbh, i also love cats very much 

DO YOU EVER WANT TO BE MARRIED? yes! i love all the romance stuff i eat that ish up

CURSIVE OR PRINT? cursive? not really sure what counts as cursive but i like my handwriting somewhat

FAVOURITE WEATHER? sunny but not too hot

I tag @unaesthetic-unicorn @alicesusan13 @supercroissantforchat @culture-tech-universe​ @edenian-princess​

~feel free to do this tag if you want to but you don’t have to~

[sbterm1project]

Coloured doodle art

Here I have started using Photoshop in order to start to add colour to the doodles that I did by hand. This was a little bit more difficult than I thought it was going to be because when I was drawing my doodles sometimes I didn’t fully connect all of the lines meaning that while in Photoshop I had to go in with the pen tool and make sure that all of the parts were connected that I wanted to fill in a particular colour/ shade. To begin with on both of my different doodles I began by creating the black and white designs because it made each of the next steps easier like when I added one colour to them they still had the black and white shades in them and so I was adding to the work that I had already done rather than starting from scratch every time. It also meant that I could build up to the full colour one as I think that if I would have gone the other way (eg first I’d do the coloured one then I’d do the one with one colour etc).

Here is my chosen doodle that I have coloured in with grey scale which I got from the grey scale slider on Photoshop. I really like this one because I think it looks really cleaver where I have created a blocky gradient with various shades of grey in order to make those pieces look 3D for example the far left checkerboard pattern looks 3D and like it’s going up away from the paper. I also really like the actual gradient that I did on the toucan’s body. I also like how interesting it looks even though there aren’t any colours within the piece it’s all just shades of black. I also think that it looks really nice because I have left some parts pure white so that the whole piece doesn’t feel too grey and dark.

Here is the development on the last edit with one colour added which I chose to be various shades of purple because in my test edit with my original doodle I chose the accent colour to be yellow but when you create different shades of yellow it turns muddy and it didn’t look very good so I decided to change it for this version of my doodle. I really like this version too because I have kept some of the parts the same from the last edit which is why I wanted to create these in this order as I could easily add to the previous edit that I created. I have also used the same technique when I was using the different shades of purple mainly on the same parts as the first one for example the far left checkerboard i used the same principle as I did before with the blocky gradient. I also used a darker purple between the two characters at the bottom where it looks like they’re overlapping each other causing the colour to be more opaque and therefore deeper.     

Here I did a version of my doodle where I based the colours off of a Jon Burgerman piece that he created with all of these bright colours. I think that this is my favourite one so far because it reminds me the most of Burgerman and  Piascik‘s work. Although, I think that I could have added more colours into this piece especially more obvious yellows because in the original piece (below) I think that the main colour that Burgerman has used is yellow whereas the colour I have used the most is green I think. In order for me to ensure that I had the exact colours that Burgerman would have used I used the dropper tool in order to directly select the colour from Burgerman’s piece. I have also kept some elements from my original grey scale piece with the gradient on the toucan’s body. I have also added some new concepts including a complete gradient between 3 different characters, this I found quite challenging because when I tried selecting the characters it wouldn’t leave out their eyes or mouths or any line details that I had included therefore I had to create another layer and draw what was on the original drawing so that I didn’t have to worry about making sure everything was selected properly, then after I had applied the gradient I merged the two layers together in order to keep only one layer for this piece. 

Here I have my final piece with a new fish added within a gap. I decided to add this piece because when I was looking at Burgerman and Piascik‘s work they both mostly fill up the page/ surface they are working on and I didn’t like the number of gaps that I had on this piece so I added this fish within Photoshop with the pen tool in order to add its scales and facial features. Other than the new addition this one is exactly the same to the previous edit that I did with this doodle. Overall, I am really happy with the way that this turned out as it reminds me very much of Burgerman and Piascik‘s work while still being in my own style and my own creation.