#Figure drawing studies my beloved

[yooo-lets-go]

Holy SHIT you’re a true master of human portraits and anatomy, I have been TAKEN AWAY by that Simon portrait he’s so beautiful, I love your shitposts and cute little arts too but dear god the COLORS the SHADING the EMOTION took me tf out!!!!! 💖💖💖💖💖

Thank you!

Listen, portraits are my first love, If I could I would just become a traditional portrait artist full time

[parasocialcelebritycrush]

jonny boy in college

[ardentinwoe]

Stepping into unlife on the wild side.

[hinaliix]

Some miscellaneous Wolfwood doodles I’ve done over the past few days ✝️

[dreamdripdistance]

i am soooOOOO frustrated with art rn but woah look a wip

[positivelyghastly]

Head full of ghoulette thoughts today

[ghouljams]

Does Liebling ever get possessive or jealous if people flirt with Konig? Maybe of other fae or seers?

The short answer is yes absolutely, but the long answer is König makes sure she knows they aren’t threats, by getting rid of them.

You always wonder what other people must see, or not see, when they look at König. You know roughly how his hood works, the slippery feeling of not being able to quite look at it, but surely someone sees something. They must, the way he draws attention. You can’t walk down the street without someone staring at him, and it’s sort of fun to know people are scared of the menacing figure that follows you. It’s a lot less fun when he’s noticed for other reasons. 

Reasons like now, when you sidestep a woman who purposely bumps into König. He stops, and blinks down at her. As surprised as you that a human is going out of their way to notice him let alone interact with him. You’ve been told that some people are too magically inert for obscura to work on, just seeing whatever human shapes their brain wants to fill in. You assume it’s related to intelligence, the way she bats her lashes at a man that’s so clearly with someone.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there,” The woman touches his arm, and you can see a shiver go through the obscura. You roll your eyes, you've always thought this song and dance was sort of demeaning.

"It's alright," König tells her, attempting to step away. The woman keeps her hand on his arm, squeezes his bicep.

"Oh my god, is that your muscle? You must be super strong." She strokes a hand down his arm, König's eyes dart to yours. You raise your brows, and give a quiet 'wow'.

"I am," he nods. The woman coos over your boyfriend, measuring her hand against his and running the gamut of flirting techniques. König doesn’t seem eager to tell her to fuck off, which is bothering you more than you thought it would. He almost seems curious as to what she’ll try next, studying her movements and reactions.

You aren’t really the jealous type, or you didn’t think you were, but you’re getting agitated standing around waiting for this woman to… fuck, notice you? She must know you’re standing right there.

“Excuse me,” You cut in, the woman glances at you, and continues talking to König. You feel your brain stutter, overloaded with the sheer amount of question marks that it conjures. You have never been so thoroughly or efficiently brushed off.

You know what? You don’t have to stand here and wait for your dumbass boyfriend to turn her down. You’re out, you’re gone, you are going home. König can show up when he’s done with whatever the fuck he’s doing. Maybe he’ll follow her home and be out of your hair for a while. Stupid bastard.

You turn and stalk down the street, resuming your walk home. You don’t know why you stuck around so long, but the next time this happens you’re leaving him high and dry.

“Oh. That’s too bad,” König sighs, looking over her head at your storming off.

“What’s too bad?” The woman asks, clearly thrown by the immediate loss of interest from König.

“You’ve upset my, hm,” He thinks for a moment how to quantify his relationship with you, future wife? Beloved? Pet? He supposes you call him your boyfriend, it’ll have to do. “My girlfriend,” He finishes.

“What? She doesn’t trust you?” The woman purrs, obviously trying to say something. König isn’t particularly interested in whatever game she thinks she’s playing.

“No,” König wraps a hand around her throat, the lustful surprise in her eyes turning to terror as his grip tightens and he lifts her off her feet, “but not for the reasons you think.”

He squeezes hard, let's his teeth bleed through his hood, to call him threatening would be an understatement. This isn't a threat, this is a period on the end of a promise. The woman's voice dies on her crushed larynx, her hands scrambling against his wrist, nails digging into his skin. It's really too bad she'd stuck around so long trying to get his attention. Well she had it now, whether she wanted it or not. Her feet kick out at him, trying to land a blow with the last bit of fight pumping through her blood. König can smell it, hear it, her blood rushing through her veins, fear tainting the meat. Heart, lungs, liver, so many snacks, so little time.

You're walking further away from him every second he spends squeezing the life out of this stupid person. He'll cut the thrill short. His claws sharpen and drag, digging into the woman's neck before he tugs sharply, ripping the carotid and severing the windpipe. The twitching. Hm. He should've severed the spinal column, he hates the twitching.

König crouches next to the soon-to-be-corpse and drags his tongue over his teeth for the corpse’s viewing pleasure, her eyes wide and fearful in the last seconds before death. He likes killing the humans that can’t see him properly. There’s always that wonderful moment at the end when they realize the world holds horrors they’d never imagined, a sickening pallor comes over them every time, and sweetens the meat.

Humming, he makes a neat Y incision, and pulls free the pieces he wants. Heart, lungs, he eats the liver as he catalogues what else might be good. He can't exactly take it to go, but he doesn't want to leave you to sulk too long. König feels his spines twitch in the cool evening air, his claws clicking as he spears kidneys to pop in his mouth. You're going to be upset anyway he may as well finish his meal.

[crumbledpizza]

It is so … my beloved.

Some test studies of P03 so I can finally figure out how to draw it efficiently every time lol

[noproofread]

Playing Favorites

a cute lil sanji one shot to cleanse the mind.

just fluffy sanji x fem!reader with a tiny bit of angst at the end.

it's pre timeskip sanji but could work with opla!sanji as well for all my taz skylar girlies.

word count: 1,098

You were sitting out on the deck of the Merry, enjoying the breeze on an otherwise hot day. “I have a small question for you, my beloved.” A voice crept behind you, you looked over to see Sanji holding a small notepad. You didn't react to the nickname he gave you, he's always flirting with women so it was just part of his personality. Sometimes you flirted back just to see his reaction, it was always funny to see him flustered. “What's your question, sweet prince?” You smiled, watching his face turn a bright shade of red. “Uh.. I um.. Wha- What are your favorite foods?” He stuttered, looking up to avoid eye contact with you. “Favorite foods? Like meals?” “Yeah, and desserts… and drinks. Anything.” He clicked the pen and looked at the notepad, ready to write down whatever you said. You figured this is something he did with all of the crew members. You thought about it for a second before answering his question. “Well I really like salmon. And lemon bars… I can't really think of any drinks outside of coffee” You laughed, looking at him with a smile on your face. You watched the young chef write down your answer, still blushing from your prince comment. Sanji looked down at you, meeting your eyes for just a moment before turning around and rushing to the kitchen.

Throughout the week you noticed Sanji bringing you different coffee drinks. He learned how to do latte art, often opting to draw a heart with the milk foam. You’d wake up to find different citrus flavored desserts by your bed with little notes that said “something sweet for someone sweet” and things of that nature. You noticed at dinner time, you had a different dish from the rest of the crew. It seems Sanji took your favorite foods and studied your palette to curate meals for you. Although he always catered to Nami’s preferences and often paid more attention to women, it seemed like he was specially interested in your enjoyment of his food. You tried not to think too much of it, maybe he was just being nice. You had mentioned it to Nami and Usopp and they just told you that Sanji was always like this around women. It’s not that you weren’t disappointed when they told you that, you were part of the crew and you were friends with him. You just slightly hoped that he had different intentions.

You decided to just ask Sanji. After all, nobody else would be able to tell you exactly what he was up to. You appreciated all the extra attention, but you would be lying if you said it didn’t make you fall for him just a little bit. It was easier when it was just playful banter, a couple of flirty comments here and there. But that was all fun. Now you feel your heart flutter whenever you take a sip of whatever coffee drink he made you. Reading those notes next to your bed as you bit into a sweet treat makes you feel those butterflies in your stomach. Making eye contact with him to thank him for the specially prepared meal making you blush. Asking him felt like the right move. You could always play it off if he was just being himself.

You waited patiently outside of the kitchen. You knew Sanji was going to stay behind and wash the dishes after dinner. You waved away any questions the crew asked you as they walked by, telling them you were just enjoying the night air. You contemplated waiting for Sanji to finish up before talking to him but ultimately decided to go inside to help him. You walked up to him, his back facing you as he washed a plate. “Need any help?” Sanji jumped, your voice startling him. “Oh! No no, I could never have a beautiful lady doing dishes!” Sanji looks at you, wide eyed. You chuckle, opting to just sit at the kitchen table. The silence grew thick, only hearing the sound of the water as Sanji rinsed off the dishes. “So what did you think about dinner? Was it good?” Sanji broke the silence. A sigh of relief leaves your body before you answer his question. “It was delicious. Everything you make is delicious.”

Sanji stopped and looked behind his shoulder, making eye contact with you. He was visibly flustered. You giggled, he looked cute when he was flustered. “Sanji.” You spoke. The blond chef dried his hands, having finished cleaning up, and straightened his suit. He turned to look at you, walking towards a chair next to you. “Yes?” He sat down, lighting a cigarette to ease his nerves. “I wanted to ask, while I do appreciate all the effort you’ve been putting into making my favorite meals. I-” “You want me to stop? Is it too much? Have I annoyed you? Oh god, I’ve annoyed you haven’t I?” Sanji rambled. You placed a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to stop and look at you. “I wanted to ask why you were doing all this for me. Is- Is there a reason why you're paying this much attention to me?” Your face grew hot, you assumed your blushing face was noticeable from Sanji’s soft expression.

"Is it okay that I do? I just…” Sanji trails off, looking into your eyes. “I just like you.” The words fall out of his lips, a deep red color washes over his face as he waits for your response. You leave the words hanging in the air, feeling your heart flutter as you see him blush at his confession. Having your feelings reciprocated, you smile at him and gently take the cigarette out of his mouth. You place it on the ashtray on the table and turn to look at him. He meets your gaze, slightly confused as you pull him into a gentle kiss. Sanji is startled but quickly places his hands on your face and kisses you back. You pull away and look at him. “It is more than okay that you want to do these things for me.” You whisper. He presses his forehead against yours, not letting your face go. “I will do this and more. Anything you want, whenever you want.” Sanji chuckles lightly before retracting his hands. “You did scare me a little with your question. I thought I was going to get my heart broken again.” “I would never do that to you.” You place your hand on his and give it a small squeeze.

[belaephemeral]

The night sky is coloured with you.

Pairing: Kaveh x Reader (gender neutral)

Author’s Note: A little oneshot to guide my favourite architect back home. Good luck pulling for him! <3

Inspired by Love Paint (every afternoon) - NU’EST (my POV Kaveh playlist).

Pressing a chaste kiss against the nape of his neck, you carefully pull and tug free the silky blond locks secured by the rouge ribbon in his hair. 

You pull away to catch him stir from his abrupt nap atop his work desk once again, murmuring nonsensical mutterings into his arms, which he’s propped his head up on, and snuggling into numerous large sheets of drawings and calculations beneath him. Surely, you hope he isn’t drooling onto the plans he’s worked so painstakingly hard on as he shows no signs of rousing from his beauty sleep nor do you have the heart to disturb his well-deserved cat nap. 

Slowly, you gather his curled form into your arms to carry him into his bedroom. Just as you tuck his head into your chest and secure your hold on his lithe frame, you steal a glimpse into the leather-bound notebook open and sprawled on the table. Little remarks and minuscule doodles line the margins of each page, making you chuckle briefly but your amusement bubbles into one of admiration. It happens as a gust of wind left open in the study room flips the book to a spread of graphite depictions of yourself. Your lips curled up and your heart swelled at the thought of how meticulous he was to get every plane and angle of your face just right or how much attention he truly pays attention to your features to capture the way your eyes wrinkle as you beam or the beauty mark you figured many haven’t noticed. 

To Kaveh, you’re his muse, his inspiration and his purpose. he dreams of capturing your beauty in every medium, style and art form. He wants to portray your tenacious character, your gorgeous features and your irresistible disposition, all endearing traits he adores you so much for. He aspires to paint his undying love into your being. Although, the latter is an issue for another night. At least in his dreams, he is able to do the same. Perhaps, when he isn’t too busy with his projects, he’ll turn those dreams into reality.

Planting your lips on the crown of his head, you step away from the graphite drawings and pages of proportions and measurements to exit the study room. You’re intent to bring him back to his room for some proper rest and back into your arms and embrace - back to a place where he’s safe and loved. A place that will always be there for him once he closes his eyes to the rising moon and opens his eyes to greet the morning sunrise. Unfailingly, you’ll always be there no matter what - because he’s everything you could have ever wanted and more. And you’ll protect that, protect him from anything that seeks to hurt him. As long as you’re here, by his side and in his arms, you won’t let anyone take him away from the life he deserves no matter what.

Because luck or not, fate has guided him to you. And who are you to deny the path destiny has carved for the both of you?

EXTRA:

A faint yip resounds throughout the room as it’s swiftly followed by a cacophony of pitter-pattering paws against cold tile floors. One by one, you watch astounded by the sudden barrage of beige and ochre fur leaping onto the bed and treading through the undulating plains of sage green blankets and pillows. Eventually, the three critters, who’ve slowly begun to invade your territory, knead the plush material underneath their forms before circling, and nestling into their designated sleeping spot.

You chuckle at their ministrations, playfully whispering “Hey, leave some space for me!” as they peacefully lay around the dozing blond. The three adorable desert foxes surround your beloved, as though guarding him as he descends into dreams and cuddling into his form for warmth during this chilly night in Sumeru City.

As you draw the covers over your body, you lean over to brush Kaveh’s locks back and place one last kiss against his temple. “Sweet dreams, my love. I’ll see you in the morning.”

[adealiz]

Wanted to draw something soft because I've been experiencing too much pain lately. Also I've been studying some artists so the style of the faces might be different from my usual. I want to keep drawing as often as I can, it's so much easier lately because I don't need anatomy refs anymore (most times). Thank you, my beloved figure drawing class.

Sherlock likes to embarrass John in public, for example by following him around with a fricking badass rainbow umbrella.

[lightyearssurrogatedaddy]

Some nervous handholding and a fun ship idea.

Text: "Finally! Someone who loves me as much as me!"

Yanberry, a mere mOrtAL, offing other cast members for the sake of Error been bouncing around in my head. Since Error is so full of LV this dynamic doesn't seem like anything other than a goofy side gag, the threat of Blueberry just ain't there. But like how wild would it be if Blue killed so many monsters that he gained an LV parallel to one of the goons, what if he KEPT killing with the intent to be as strong as his beloved Error? To make the Destroyer finally appreciate and love him like he feels like he should.

Mfg I should be doing my ASL project that's due tomorrow instead of drawing in study hall. Like... my teacher's so cutthroat..... (Pray for me)

Also apologies for the Yanberry + Error drawing being so shitty, after a friend introduced new shape ideas for Error's design I had a bit of a panic figuring out HOW to reshape him. I settled on something this morning during Math class :D all is well.

[thatcheesyler]

Literacy Lessons

Summary: After the huge success of his new chocolate factory, Wonka finds himself struggling to create accurate price tags since he still can't read or write numbers yet. Luckily, Noodle is willing to teach him everything he needs to know...but, our beloved chocolatier is having issues focusing, he just can't stop thinking of new sweets to make!

A/N: This is a sfw Wonka tickle fic, if you do not like it, please dni. Enjoy! <3

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The overwhelming smell of rainbow fizzy belts and salted caramel flooded Noodle's senses as she waltzed into the factory's main hall, pen and clipboard in-hand. Her temporary 'student' was currently perched on one of the giant marshmallows that bordered the chocolate river, sketching new designs for sweet wrappers that he could use to help advertise his confectionery.

"Willy! I'm here! Sorry I was late, my mum needed me to clean a few plates before I left." Noodle explained, approaching his hunched over figure and sitting herself down on an enlarged gumdrop while adding to her speech, "Are you ready for your lesson?"

To which the enthusiastic chocolatier looked up from his drawing with a signature smile and gave an approving nod, setting his sketches to the side for now.

"Of course! Y'know, I was actually thinking we could start with a funny number, like 123,456! Imagine if I managed to read that perfectly.." Wonka commented, the sparkle in his eyes never faltering, even as Noodle sighed and shook her head with a 'seriously?' look, the corners of her lips curling upwards despite herself. She then wrote down the number '1' on her clipboard, turning it around and showing him what she had written.

"Okay Willy, what is this number?" She questioned with a patient expression, watching as her friend studied the simple few lines of ink with a slightly tilted head and squinted eyes. "Hmm, is iiit...seven?" He answered with half confidence. Well, technically a '1' does kind of look like a '7', but unfortunately that wasn't correct. The little girl shook her head once more, jotting down a little '7' at the bottom of the page as a reminder of the differences between both of those numbers.

"Incorrect. Would you like to try again? Or move on to the next number?" She inquired with a tiny smile, as sad as it was that he couldn't read or write numbers, it was also quite the entertainment for his younger friend. But the man in question wasn't really listening to her, instead continuing to draw small details on the wrapper sketch next to him, adding little polka dots to it. To which Noodle frowned, now feeling slightly hurt because of his oblivious ignorance. "Willy?..Willy! You need to focus, please!" She exclaimed with a tinge of frustration laced into her tone, this lesson wasn't going to get anywhere with his constant doodling.

The abrupt raise in tone snapped Mr. Wonka out of his creative trance, and he allowed a sheepish grin to play at his lips.

"Sorry Noodle, you're right, I should pay attention." He answered, now providing his almost full attention to her literature session, with the occasional glance towards his sketches. Unfortunately this continued on for a while, Noodle would be struggling to keep her patience as she presented the differences and slightly different ways of writing each number, and Willy would just be doodling away every five minutes. Now, Noodle wasn't really known to be an even-tempered person, it was now the fourth time that he had completely disregarded her teaching, and she did not care for it.

Oh, and he also somehow gained the audacity to interrupt her, saying something like, "Hey Noodle, do you think polka dots or stripes would suit me more?" and boy would it make her blood boil. She didn't want to be mad at him, he was just energetic, but she couldn't contain her annoyance for any longer.

"Willy." The young girl announced firmly. "You have ten freaking seconds to run." R.I.P Willy Wonka, he didn't even have a clue what she was mad about. But the look on her face was hard to miss, the suddenness of it making him instinctively scramble up from his seat and bolt towards the nearest candy tree, clambering up onto a high sturdy branch. Noodle followed close behind, not quite as skilled at climbing, but managing to pull herself up onto a different branch near his, keeping one hand on the tree trunk for support.

The young man felt a bit fearful now, he couldn't tell why she was angry, but her determination made him question things, a few nervous chuckles bubbling from his throat.

"I have a feeling that I did something wrong...I don't want you to be mad, but could you please tell me why you are?.." Wonka inquired, losing his balance for a few seconds as a hand suddenly swiped at his torso. "Because you kept ignoring me when I tried to teach you numbers, and you blatantly interrupted me multiple times!..Look, I don't want to be frustrated like this, but you have dug your own grave by now." Noodle responded quite loudly, continuing her attempts at reaching out to grab his maroon coloured coat.

This got a little "oh." out of her older friend as he realised his mistakes, now feeling more guilty than scared. The fear was very much still there though, because he was actively backing away towards the end of his branch while she progressively inched closer at the same time.

And then...snap!

Willy had put so much of his weight onto the branch, that the narrow piece he was standing on broke off, and the poor chocolatier went plummeting down to the sugary grass below, landing on his back a little harshly. "Oh- ffffferrero rocher that hurt..oww." He croaked out, not moving for a few seconds as the pain slowly but surely subsided. A concerned gasp was audible from the girl, and she clumsily weaved back through the stripy maze of branches below her, racing over to him as soon as her shoes touched the ground.

"Willy! Willy are you okay?!" She exclaimed worriedly, kneeling down beside him with a now concerned expression as the chocolate-maker inhaled through gritted teeth, disoriented for a moment. But as he came to his wits and regained his senses (sum1 pls get the ref), he couldn't help the remorseful frown that spread as he remembered that she was probably still annoyed with him. "Yeah, I'll be fine..I'm sorry Noodle, I wasn't taking your feelings into consideration and I just ended up making you upset. I'm sorry, again."

With such a heartfelt apology, how could she stay angry? Well, she still wanted revenge for his accidental ignorance, plus he was sad now. "..I forgive you...but, I still want to make up for all that lost time trying to teach you."

A wry smirk built up as she cracked her knuckles, bending her fingers into makeshift claws and wiggling them simultaneously at him, presenting him with an obvious hint as to what she meant by that. In response to the 'threat', Wonka tensed up and a couple fearful chuckles slipped through his newfound wobbly grin, immediately attempting to roll away from the deviant young tickle monster beside him. Sadly, he didn't get very far before Noodle had yanked him back by the arm and plunged 4 fingers (and a thumb) into his briefly exposed abdomen.

To which, of course, a loud squeak that bordered on a screech elicited from her friend as he instantly curled in on himself, giggling like a madman. "ACK! Nohohoodlehe, stahahahapp-! Ihihit tihihicklehes hehehe!" The chocolatier cried throughout his bouts of high pitched laughter, gently swatting at her hand even though he had no intentions of fighting back.

"Well duh, of course it does, silly Willy! Say, why didn't you tell me you were capable of such adorable giggles? (Not a ship.) It's like you've transformed into a little boy!" Noodle teased, allowing a few content chuckles of her own to drift out while she continued to scribble her fingers all over Willy's clothed stomach. An unmistakable blush tinted his cheeks at her words, causing his arms to confuse themselves, half of him wanting to cover his face in shame and the other trying to protect his sensitive midsection.

"Nohohoooo! No tehehahasihing, yohohu're beheing mehehehan!!" He squeaked, his legs uselessly writhing and kicking simultaneously as his friend spidered her nails briefly over his ribs before gliding back town to his tummy. "Mean?! Why I never! I am simply distracting you from the way you hurt yourself earlier! Hmph, and here I thought you never jumped to conclusions." Noodle complained, feigning offense and taking the opportunity to lightly squeeze both his sides as a small 'punishment' for calling her mean. Which, of course, elicited a lovely squeal from our adorable little man, a constant battle in his limbs on whether he should defend his oh so ticklish body or just give up entirely (personally I'm rooting for the latter 🤭).

"Eek! I'm sahaharry fohor assuhuhumihing, buhuhut ihit's stihihill mehehean!" With that one final smidge of effort he had left, he forced himself onto his stomach, pushing Noodle's hands safely out of the way during the process so that she didn't get hurt. Practically gluing his arms to the sides of his torso, a cocky little smile tugged the corners of his mouth upwards as he looked to the girl at his side. "Hah! Try and tickle me now, Apple Stroodle!"

But with his arms clamped down, Noodle still had access to his entire back, and she fought back a shit-eating grin of her own as her nails proceeded to skitter gently along the thin fabric on his back. Sadly, only a few titters formed in result, and slight disappointment washed over the cheeky spark in her eyes.

"Sorry Nohoodle, buhut my back just ihisn't that sensitihive." Willy pointed out quite smugly, basically not even reacting to her efforts and shrugging. But that very same shrug gave her an idea, her skillful hands trailing up towards the back of his neck, but then stopping abrubtly at his shoulder blades. As if testing the waters, one finger scratched gently in the dip between one shoulder blade and the backside of his ribcage. Oops, looks like a certain someone was telling porkies, a short girly scream erupted from the chocolatier and now it was all over for him.

"Hah, liar." Noodle chuckled gleefully, experimenting just how far she could take this by tracing patterns with both index fingers along the inner edge of his shoulder blades and gauging his every reaction. "NONONONONO NOODLE PLEHEHEHAHASE! NAHAHAT THEHEHERREEE!! I PROHOMIHISE I'LL PAHAHAY ATTEHENTIOHON TOHOHO YOUR LEHESSON, PLEHEHEASE STAHAHAHAPP!!"

His back arched involuntarily and both hands flew out to cover the sensitive spot from Noodle's devious behaviour, helpless cackles pouring from his upturned mouth as he struggled fruitlessly. Luckily, while the young girl thrived on her disobedient attitude, she reluctantly complied to his desperate pleas, her tickle attack demoting down to a few feathery brushes along the skin on the back of his neck. "Say you're sorry and I'll stop completely."

Frantic laughter fizzling into a jumbled up giggle fit, Wonka mashed together an apology that sounded mostly like tickle-drunk gibberish. "Ihihihi..I'm reheheally ssohorryhyhy, it wohon't happehehehen agahahain..." Good enough, right? Well, thankfully Noodle thought so, fully letting up and giving a few reassuring pats on the back to her older friend. Just as expected, he devoted his undivided attention towards her next attempt at teaching him numbers, and well, he did pretty okay in the end.

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Wow, I have not managed to complete a fanfic in forEVER, I honestly feel good about this one, unlike some others. Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed this sappy story and have a wonderful day/night! <33

[raibebe]

Genre: fluff, relationship study, slice of (apocalyptic) life, action(?) Words: 6.017 AU: Pacific Rim Prompt: Jaeger pilot Jeno x Jaeger technician female reader

Warnings: violence? A giant robot fighting an alien monster. Yeah. Jaemin is a weirdo

A/N: Pacific Rim is one of my most beloved AUs and it's highly underappreciated in my opinion! But! Even if you're not familiar with the AU, Mia said she enjoyed reading it nevertheless. So give Ranger Jeno a try? Please? And also! All hail @kthpurplesyou because she made sense of whatever I had cooked up!

“So when you two drift…” “Mhmm,” Jeno encouraged you to go on, his eyes closed as he tried to figure out what shapes you were drawing onto his naked chest. In turn, he was caressing the skin of your waist. While he was already halfway to dreamland, he loved just being close to you like this, pulling comfort from your body and listening to the smooth sound of your voice - his favorite voice. “You’re in each other’s heads,” you continued. “That’s the general idea, baby. Sharing a headspace so our brains don’t fry while controlling a giant robot,” he chuckled. He wasn’t quite sure where you were going with this since you knew the specifics of the Drift probably just as well as he did. “And you see each other’s memories.” “We don’t just see them, we can feel them too. Relive them basically if we’re not careful and get lost in it. We try to keep our minds clear of most thoughts, so we don’t get distracted. It’s never good to get too involved in a memory whether it be your own or your co-pilot’s.” “So there’s a chance that Jaemin knows what I look like naked.”

At your blunt comment, Jeno swiftly choked on his own saliva and rolled onto his side to cough violently. “Where did that thought come from?” He exclaimed once he was able to get a deep breath of air back in, sitting up on the bed to look down at you curled into your blanket. “Well does he?” “I mean- I- I guess there’s a chance..?” “Jenooo~,” you whined dramatically, hitting his arm before turning away from him to face the very interesting metal wall of your room instead. Dumbfounded, the Ranger just looked at your back for a moment, unsure of what he was supposed to do. How did you even come up with that all of a sudden? He and Jaemin had been co-pilots for years now and getting into this relationship you had to have known from the start that Jaemin would be able to know details of it that Jeno couldn’t help but share through the drift. 

“Baby..?” He chose to ask carefully, aligning his body with yours so he could wrap you up in his arms and was relieved when you didn’t fight but instead tangled your legs together, “Are you really upset about this?” Instead of answering, you just huffed out a breath of air and intertwined your fingers with Jeno’s. “That’s not a no,” he concluded, gently squeezing your hand as he tried to keep his amused smile from bleeding into his voice. “It’s like you’re showing my nudes to your best friend.” “I can’t exactly shut him out, baby,” the Ranger tried to gently explain. “The neural handshake won’t work if I try to close myself off from him. And it’s not like he’s actively looking for memories of us having sex.” “But there is a chance that Jaemin has seen it.” Sighing deeply, Jeno pressed a gentle kiss to your nape, “Yes, there is. Especially because you’re all that’s on my mind.” “Stop trying to flatter me,” you whined, flailing around in his hold until he let you go with a smile on his face that curved his eyes into the little half-moons you had come to adore during all the time you had known Jeno. In fact, you had known that you were falling hard for him when you had found yourself tending to his Jaeger more and more just so you had the chance to see his smile light up the room. Even going as far as making a fool out of yourself in front of him, just to make him smile and have him offer his help to you with kind eyes. 

“Stop thinking about me when you’re out there,” you grumbled, swinging one of your legs over his body so you could sit atop of him. Jeno’s strong hands immediately found your waist to stabilize you while you cupped his face, tenderly stroking your thumb over the mole beneath his eye that you had kissed more times than you could count, “You need to be focused so you can come back.” “I’ll always come back,” he promised, his voice softening as he brought your hand up to his lips to press a kiss to the inside of your wrist. “They have to send something stronger than those puny Category II that have been coming through to keep us from coming back.” “I mean it,” you insisted. “Think about punching these ugly aliens in the face and not about me.” “Okay, baby,” Jeno giggled, playfully rolling his eyes. “This is serious,” you whined, collapsing onto his chest when he only laughed at your antics. 

“Hey,” Jeno mumbled after a moment of silence. “Don’t worry so much about me when I’m out there, okay?” “Easier said than done,” you sighed, burying your face in his neck to bask in the scent of his skin. “I’m strong. And so is Jaemin. We got this. We have each other’s backs. And if things get too messy, they’ll deploy Golden Dragon as well to keep everyone safe.” “And if that’s not enough,” he interrupted you before you could protest, “If that’s not enough, the Hong Kong base isn’t far either and they have a new Mark-4.” “It’s still scary. The clock hasn’t been reset in so long,” you mumbled, gripping tightly onto Jeno like he would slip through your fingers if you didn’t. “Don’t jinx it now,” he just chuckled, craning his head so he could press a kiss to your temple. Yawning loudly, you settled more comfortably against your boyfriend. “Stop worrying your pretty little head and sleep.” “It’s not little,” you protested weakly. “I constructed and installed your new plasma cannon.” “Thank you for keeping me safe out there,” Jeno spoke quietly and despite not being able to see his face, you knew that he was smiling softly. “I love you,” you whispered back, your tongue feeling heavy in your mouth so you weren’t even sure if the words had come out correctly but Jeno still echoed the words back at you.

You didn’t know if you truly had jinxed it last night but instead of Jeno’s alarm, you were woken up by the howling of sirens. Both Jeno and you were startled awake with your hearts beating furiously inside your chests. Finding Jeno’s eyes that mirrored the shock you felt deep within your bones, worry crawled up your throat and burned your mouth like acid, constricting your airways like the Kaiju wasn’t somewhere out there but sat on your chest instead. “Don’t worry,” Jeno immediately tried to soothe you, pulling you in for a quick kiss. “Get her ready so I can kick some alien ass,” he spoke against your lips before both of you hastily got dressed, throwing the clothes that you had hastily discarded yesterday evening at each other. The only thing that kept your silly smiles at bay were the still blasting sirens and the terror they proclaimed. “You better come back in one piece,” you threatened Jeno just when you were pulling up the zipper on your overall. But before you could zip it up completely, Jeno took your hands, making you halt. Slowly, he pulled his dog tags over his head to put the necklace around your neck instead and gently zipped up your overall so they were concealed.  “Give them back when I do.” “In one piece,” you reminded him, “And with a dead Kaiju in tow.” “I’ll bring you a souvenir,” he winked cockily, easily catching you when you threw yourself into his arms for one last kiss. “Don’t die!” you called after him, making a beeline for the main hall of the Shatterdome where the Jaegers were stationed for maintenance and Jeno running in the opposite direction to fetch the elevator that would take him to the Drivesuit room. 

Upon your arrival to the main hall, J-techs were already running around the Jaeger’s feet like ants, the giant robots dwarfing anyone and anything. Well, they were running around and moving catwalks on one of the Jaegers while the other one was left as it was, her inner parts exposed and stray wires hanging around like vines. “What’s with Golden Dragon?” You called out to one of the techs that handed you your headset along with a tablet showing the schematics of Hurricane Chaser.  Percentages and fancy graphics displaying exactly which systems were powered up. “The modifications on the breastplate weren’t done yet. They’re just deploying Hurricane Chaser for now.” With that, the tech blended in with the crowd again, hustling around to get the one Jaeger you had up and running as soon as possible before worse could happen. “Just our luck,” you cursed under your breath. A bad feeling settled in the pit of your stomach as you weaved into the current of people as well, a rehearsed dance between the feet of giants. 

“How many Kaiju?” You asked into your headpiece, narrowly avoiding a golf cart looking vehicle carrying tanks of lubricant used for the Jaeger’s joints. “Just one Category II headed towards the coast. It’s a fast one,” Jisung’s deep voice resounded through your ears from the LOCCENT Mission Control room where he was overseeing the entire process, “Status?” “Max 5 minutes for Hurricane Chaser, core is firing up now. Maybe another thirty before Golden Dragon is ready to be deployed, we were still working on the new breastplate.” “No need, Hurricane Chaser will be more than enough to stop it. Come up to oversee deployment.” “This is bullshit, Jisung,” you cursed, angrily punching your code into a terminal to unlock Golden Dragon’s data to oversee her systems. You could easily let everyone install the old breastplate without the new modifications and get the Jaeger ready for battle. Thirty minutes possibly was a stretch but once Hurricane Chaser was deployed, you could get everyone to work on the golden Jaeger, “They shouldn’t engage alone.” The boy could only sigh, “Orders from higher up. Get in here so you can oversee the deployment.” Furious and without granting Jisung an answer, you changed channels on your headpiece. You weren’t about to let Jeno fight a Kaiju without any backup. “Chenle, please tell me you’re working on Golden Dragon.” “Good morning to you too,” the other J-tech laughed. “I had the old breastplate temporarily fixed but it’s at a risk of corrosion from Kaiju blue-“ “Which would damage the core,” you completed his sentence with him. “They’re on their own on this one. I haven’t connected the relays on the new one yet, had some issues with the power supply. I was actually about to ask for your help today to find out where I’m overloading the system.” “Fuck.” “Hong Kong is getting one of their Jaegers ready too if we need help. Go get your ass up to LOCCENT, I’ll handle everything else,” Chenle urged you on and immediately barked out orders in rapid-fire Mandarin, mandatory usage of English be damned. Switching the channel to the chitter chatter of LOCCENT again, you took a deep breath and looked up at the looming figure of Hurricane Chaser, freshly painted in a deep blue color. “Bring him home safely.”

“You didn’t come home last night,” Jaemin said in lieu of a greeting, suggestively wiggling his eyebrows from his place in the middle of the room as he was surrounded by Drivesuit technicians hustling around to get their armor ready. “Missed me?” Jeno blew his co-pilot a kiss which Jaemin caught in a dramatic act. “Less talking, more getting ready,” one of the Drivesuit technicians huffed, heaving parts of Jeno’s suit out of the cabinet. Always worried that he’d cause an inconvenience to the technicians, Jeno quickly stepped into place beside his co-pilot, straightening his spine and bending his arms like he was instructed to so he could quickly get dressed. “What are we dealing with?” “Category II and that beast is quickly approaching our coast,” Jaemin filled him in, hissing when his spinal clamp clicked into place and Jeno’s back hurt with phantom pain from an injury he had never sustained, “A little more gently please.” “No footage yet?” “None, sir,” one of the technicians replied, clipping Jeno’s shoulder pads into place before handing him his helmet. “Must be one ugly bastard,” Jaemin chuckled, running a hand through his freshly dyed orange hair before pulling his helmet on, the relay gel shortly obscuring his face. “Let’s go mess it up some more,” Jeno grinned, pulling his outgrown hair back before he mirrored Jaemin’s movements. He had always felt a little claustrophobic with the helmet on and kept his eyes closed, taking a couple of steady breaths until he could see again, knowing well how once the adrenaline really kicked in, nothing really mattered anymore. 

“Rangers Lee and Na ready to enter Conn-Pod,” a technician called out into their headpiece before they opened the heavy doors for them that groaned under their own weight. “Home Sweet Home,” Jaemin chuckled, taking his place at the left, his feet easily clicking into the mechanism of the pedals. Following his co-pilot’s lead, Jeno stepped into place as well. His muscle memory kicked in when the handle controlling his arm of the Jaeger was brought up and he gripped it tightly. “She’s looking good,” he approved when he couldn’t make out any of the damage Hurricane Chaser had sustained in their last battle, the interface coming up confirming that all systems were up and running already. “Ready for drop,” Jisung’s familiar voice filled their ears just before the Conn-Pod was dropped down the shaft. It quickly picked up speed as metal ground on metal and sent sparks flying before the Conn-Pod hit its target dead on between Hurricane Chaser’s shoulders with a loud thunk, the metal groaning with the impact. Quickly, the tens of mechanisms around the neck of the giant secured its head, making the Conn-Pod tremble until it was safely locked into place. “If only there were a way to make this go softer,” Jaemin groaned, rearranging charts on the interface to his liking in a way that made no sense at all to Jeno right now. Their vitals right next to the map, really?

“Stop complaining, Na,” your voice sounded over the comms. “Oh if it’s not our favorite J-tech,” he singsonged, just to further annoy you. Jeno had never understood why Jaemin always needed to antagonize you but he couldn’t help but find it rather amusing. Not that he would ever tell you that unless he wanted to see you pout and whine about it. “Hey babe,” Jeno couldn’t help but smile, his fondness for you bleeding into his voice and even without looking, he was sure that Jaemin was rolling his eyes at him. “Hurricane Chaser is ready for deployment, I patched her up and upgraded her since last time,” you reminded the Rangers, “The blade is now more secure and you have a new plasma cannon in the left arm, Jaemin.” “Sweet.” “Take care of her.” “Treating her like the fine lady she is,” Jeno promised, biting his tongue so he wouldn’t declare his love for you again for everyone who was checked into their comms to hear. As much as he was fond of everyone knowing just how much he adored you - Jaemin would call it a possessive streak - it didn’t seem like the right thing to present when he was about to risk his life to protect that of others from a huge alien monster. 

“Ready to be in my brain?” “I never am,” Jeno joked but at the same time he truly meant it. And it had nothing to do with how disjointed Jaemin’s thoughts were, jumping from here to there at such a speed that Jeno wasn’t even sure if his friend was able to even grasp all his thoughts,  but all with how you could never truly be ready to share a headspace with someone even if you had done it time and time again both with and without the threat of an alien trying to eradicate your entire race. “Initiating neural handshake in 15-“ Jisung slowly counted down for the two rangers, his voice strong and steady as always despite the threat at hand. Closing his eyes, Jeno tried to calm his mind to make the process easier but nothing would ever prepare him for the initial feeling of the Drift. To him, it felt like both drowning and like he got hit square in the chest, all air being punched from his lungs as he fell in a pool full of tar that clogged his lungs. Flashes of different memories played out in front of his eyes: A child chasing after a ball, sitting at a desk and doing homework, and a man looming at the door. Jaemin’s memories. Then everything seemed to morph together and shift like he was on a rollercoaster, thrown left and right before another memory took shape: A young man sitting on the catwalk high up in the Shatterdome, tears obstructing his vision as he crumpled a piece of paper in his hand. But despite the tears, all that memory made Jeno feel was anger. Just as suddenly as the memories were crashing down on Jeno, it was quickly over again like he had finally breached the surface of the sea and he was able to heave in a deep breath. 

“Neural handshake strong and steady,” Jisung announced, “Pilots aligning perfectly.” “Right hemisphere calibrating,” Jeno spoke, moving his arm up and just like she was supposed to, Hurricane Chaser followed his example, holding her fist up in front of her chest. “Left hemisphere calibrating,” Jaemin mirrored him, going through the familiar motion of the calibration to make Hurricane Chaser’s other palm collide with the fist. “Hurricane Chaser ready for deployment. Go kick some Kaiju ass.”

Completely in sync and breathing as if they shared a pair of lungs, Jaemin and Jeno took one step forward on their pedals. Hurricane Chaser followed their moves with a heavy footstep out of the Shatterdome and into the ocean, waves crashing around her feet. “That’s it babygirl,” Jaemin grinned, moving a last piece of the interface into place and now, with their shared headspace, Jeno couldn’t have found a better place for the chart. 

“So, you got some last night, that’s why you didn’t come back to the room.” “Get out of my head,” Jeno groaned, suppressing the urge to shake his head. “You can’t get rid of me~” Jaemin just sang, a grin spreading on his lips as they started to jog towards the supposed position of the Kaiju. “Stop getting off to me having sex just because you ain’t getting any,” Jeno sighed, keeping his eyes on the interface for any sign of the beast and trusting Jaemin to keep them on the right course. “It’s not like I want to see any of that, just for the record,” Jaemin noted, “Not my fault you’re so obsessed with her that she’s all you’re ever thinking about. Kinda gross actually.” 

“Why don’t we keep it professional for once, kids?” A familiar voice interrupted Jeno before he could defend himself. He was definitely not obsessed with you, he was thinking about you a perfectly normal amount. “Markie,” Jaemin cheered, “Are you jealous?” “Not after seeing the Kaiju, we finally have footage,” the other Ranger sighed, sending the footage over to be played on the big screen in Hurricane Chaser. “That’s not a Category II,” Jeno gasped upon seeing the beast absolutely annihilate a town that happened to stand in its way, its tentacle-like appendages whipping around to demolish houses and infrastructure alike. “It’s been upgraded to Category III, the readings weren’t really concrete,” Mark informed them, his voice hoarse. “It’s not your fault Golden Dragon isn’t ready,” Jaemin spoke Jeno’s mind sooner than he could, his voice softening, “We got this.” “Hong Kong is readying up two of their Jaegers just in case.” “So they don’t really trust us to finish this ugly thing off,” Jaemin scoffed while Jeno was busy scrolling the video footage back and forth, trying to get a feel for the Kaiju. They were quite evenly matched based on size and that was saying a lot. Hurricane Chaser was massive, the biggest Jaeger they had currently stationed in Tokyo. “You’re on your own for a while, it’s quite the trip for them,” Jisung interjected, “Watch out for those tentacles.” “Yeah no shit,” Jeno and Jaemin spoke in tandem, grinning at each other. “Don’t die, boys,” Mark tried to hype them up, but both of them could tell that the weight of his worry and guilt was crushing down on the senior pilot, “Less than two minutes until contact.” “We should try to cut the tentacles first, that seems to be its main weapon,” Jeno mused, “I can’t really make out any other special thing.” “My thoughts exactly.” “We have the same thoughts.”

“LOCCENT, we see it,” Jeno announced when the shape of the Kaiju came into view, a whirlwind of a mass, dashing around at a speed that shouldn’t be possible for a monster that size. “Hurricane Chaser engaging,” Jaemin grinned, flexing his fingers - and Jeno’s by proxy - around the handles controlling the arms of their Jaeger. As soon as the beast sensed their presence, it whipped around to let out a toe-curling scream that reverberated in the hull of Hurricane Chaser, showing off rows of teeth on the inside of its yellow mouth, its saliva bubbling over. “Nasty,” was Jaemin’s only comment, bending his knees to brace for the impact as the beast pounced. Taking one last deep breath, Jeno cleared his mind and focused only on the task at hand: Taking down this monstrosity even if it were to cost his life. With this single-minded focus shared between the two pilots, the world narrowed down to this moment. Time seemed to go by slower as the Kaiju approached, its tentacles whipping behind the mass of its body as it ran towards the Jaeger with a single-minded agenda: To kill whatever was in its way. Against all odds, the Kaiju simply slipped through Hurricane Chaser’s arms that were meant to stop it in its path, colliding with her chest head on and almost throwing her off balance before it slipped past. 

“What was that?” Jeno gasped, whipping his head around so they wouldn’t lose sight of the beast as it barreled past them, shouldering the Jaeger whose pilots struggled to keep the giant balanced. “It just slipped through,” Jaemin kept LOCCENT in the loop, his eyes wide and chest heaving with heavy breaths, “We couldn’t grab it.” “Hull is holding up strong.” “It’s coming again!” 

Just like the first time, the Kaiju slipped right through their hands and barreled into Hurricane Chaser at full force, managing to wrestle her to the ground. “There’s an overgrown puppy on top of us!” Jaemin called out, trying to get a hold of the tentacles bearing down on them while Jeno called on the mechanism to release the blade embedded in the right arm. “Get ready.” “I was born ready,” Jaemin grinned, swinging his arm in sync with Jeno and Hurricane Chaser to cut straight through the bundle of tentacles on the left side of the Kaiju, the plasma blade cutting through the flesh like a hot knife through butter. “That’s it, baby!” Jaemin’s shout got drowned out by the scream the creature let out, the sound rattling the Conn-Pod as it finally jumped away from the Jaeger so she could stand upright again. “Kaiju severely damaged,” Jeno reported, his eyes flicking over the status module of Hurricane Chaser, “Minor damage to the breastplate, core stable.” 

“You sure this is a Category III, Jisung?” Jaemin chuckled, watching with glee in his eyes how the Kaiju darted back and forth as if it was wallowing in its pain. “Don’t underestimate it,” Jisung’s voice sounded over the comms, “It already caught you off guard twice.” “Details,” Jaemin rolled his eyes, his annoyance clear as day to Jeno over the neural link. “Focus,” Jeno muttered, “It’s done mourning the loss of the tentacles.” In the same pattern as before, the Kaiju barreled towards the Jaeger again but something was different this time. Maybe it was the way its leaps were longer or the way it put more pressure on its back legs but Jaemin and Jeno had seen enough Kaiju to predict what was going to happen.  “Duck!” Jeno and Jaemin screamed as if they had one pair of lungs, Hurricane Chaser’s joints groaning under the sudden movement that had the Kaiju barely missing them when it had gone straight for the Jaeger’s head where the Conn-Pod was located. 

“It’s like it knows we’re in here,” Jaemin panted, whirring around to brace for the next attack. “It’s too fast like this, we can’t grab it,” Jeno worried but before he could think of a solution, the Kaiju pounced again and latched onto his side of the Jaeger with its jaws spread wide to accommodate the girth of the elbow joint. “Fuck, get this thing off!” He groaned when the neural connection sent sparks of pain through his arm like he was the one getting chewed on, rendering him immobile as he gritted his teeth. “On it,” Jaemin assured his co-pilot, his own arm tingling with phantom pain. Forcing them both through the pain that the neural link to the Jaeger provided, he activated the mechanism of the blade again that pierced straight through one of the Kaiju’s legs, leaving it screaming before it jumped off. 

“Way too close,” Jeno groaned, flexing his fingers to shake off the lingering feeling of pain that made his arm feel heavier than it was. “Something is off, calibrate right hemisphere.”  Perplexed, Jeno went through the familiar motions again but Hurricane Chaser would only follow his movement very delayed, the plasma blade still out despite recalling it. “What? LOCCENT, we have no power on the right arm,” Jeno reported, his eyes wide as his gaze flew over the schematics drawn up. This couldn’t be. Hurricane Chaser had just been maintained.  “Can’t be, none of the relays have been damaged and no vital parts of the mechanism were compromised either,” Jisung answered, probably looking over the exact same graphs that Jeno was. “I’m telling you, I can’t recall the blade or move the arm correctly,” the pilot argued, groaning when the Kaiju slammed into his side again when they didn’t manage to evade quickly enough. The remaining tentacles damaged the Jaeger further, graphs flashing red to display the damages. “Jeno, can you reset the arm?” Your voice came next, laced with panic that you tried to swallow down for the sake of professionalism, “It looks all normal from our end but I can see the problem on the live feed.” “We’re a little busy here,” Jaemin gritted through his teeth, trying to hit the Kaiju when it pounced again but the punch barely did anything to the beast. “What’s wrong with this fucker?” 

Quieting down, Jeno took a deep breath. They could figure this out. He had barely any control over the right arm anymore. The side the Kaiju had attacked. The big tentacle that the Kaiju funnily hadn’t reacted too badly to having half of them cut off. “If it’s not the tentacles that make it special,” Jaemin agreed, “What is? Other than that, it’s just loud and slimy.” “Slimy?” “Yeah, there’s slobber all over the breastplate and your arm.” Jeno hadn’t even paid attention to that detail, putting it off as the usual Kaiju saliva but now that he was looking closer, the arm was dripping with it. 

“You’re insane.” “Get out of my thoughts,” Jeno barked with no real bite, “LOCCENT, the Kaiju is poisonous.” “We know that already, how’s that what’s happening?” Concern was bleeding into Jisung’s voice when the Kaiju slammed into the Jaeger again, staggering the giant who struggled to throw it off and leaving more of the viscous liquid on the breastplate in the process. “No, not toxic for the environment, it’s like a poison dart frog. Whatever that slime is that it’s covered with, it’s messing with our power supply on the arm or blocking the impulses. I’m not a mechanic, goddamnit.” “Avoid it at all costs,” you called out before Jisung could reply, “If that’s how it operates, we don’t know how much damage it can do to the system. If it cancels the neural handshake by paralyzing the system, you’re done for.” 

“Then let’s see how good our new toy is,” Jaemin grinned, transforming the still working left arm into the newly installed plasma cannon. “If this thing would hold still for longer than a couple of seconds, this would be a whole lot easier.” “It’s a multiple-ton heavy alien, it’ll hit,” Jeno argued, recalling his formal training in the army to the forefront of their shared headspace to help Jaemin aim. “We should have tried this out beforehand,” Jaemin groaned when the recoil of the blast reverberated through his arm, throwing the Jaeger off balance while the bright blue plasma ball only grazed the Kaiju, angering it further. And for all that the powerful blast was worth, it was agonizing to see how slowly the numbers rose that indicated the charge on it. “It’s too fast and the cannon doesn’t charge quick enough, we have to let it come close again.” “Absolutely not, Jeno,” you immediately interjected over the comms, “If more of this substance gets on the Jaeger, we can’t predict what will happen.” “We can never predict what will happen when we fight a Kaiju,” he argued, “That’s our only chance if we want to kill it.” “Jeno-“ Before you could voice your concerns, Jaemin flipped a switch that cut communication with LOCCENT. “That will get us in so much trouble.” “Can’t have her talk you out of this.” “Get ready then,” Jeno said grimly, lowering his stance and enabling a mechanism on the legs of the Jaeger that would allow her to stand up more securely and hopefully not barrel over from the force of the Kaiju. 

“Plasma gun charging.” “Make it count!” Jeno shouted out when the Kaiju pounced, the Jaeger and him groaning alike under the weight. With barely any control over the arm, he tried his best to lock the Kaiju in place to keep it from flailing around so the shot wouldn’t miss again. With the beast so close, they were able to look directly into its mouth, seeing rows upon rows of sharp teeth, the inside of its mouth glowing yellow. “Firing!” For a split second, everything was drowned in the blue light of the plasma cannon, then came the almost comical noise of the charge being unleashed. After that, there was just silence. The Kaiju didn’t scream when it fell into the water like dead weight, a huge hole in its underbelly. What was left of its tentacles twitched a couple of times but after that, it lay there motionless. 

“We did it,” Jaemin panted, a grin breaking out over his features, “We took out a Cat III without any reinforcements!” “Yeah,” Jeno couldn’t help but laugh, his body running wild with all the adrenaline and endorphins, “Fuck man, we actually killed it.” Still grinning, Jaemin flipped the switch back on that would connect them to the Shatterdome. “Rangers Na and Lee reporting a dead Category III Kaiju,” he spoke. “Don’t. Ever. Flip that switch again, Jaemin,” Jisung all but growled. Oh, he was pissed pissed. “But good job,” he added with a sigh, “We’ll take care of the cadaver, come back home.”

“We should totally call it slime jellyfish,” Jaemin decided. “I don’t think we get to decide that,” Jeno laughed, carefully checking how much control he had over his hemisphere of Hurricane Chaser and still finding the arm completely unresponsive but at least the leg seemed to work with an extra bit of effort. “We should. New rule: Whoever kills the Kaiju gets to name it.” “You can ask the Marshal when you’re in his office once you’re back,” Jisung sighed over the comms, “He’s waiting.” “With breakfast?” “I don’t think so, Jaem,” Jeno chuckled, “Let’s get her home.”

“Stop being so reckless,” you scolded, throwing yourself into Jeno’s arms as soon as he stepped out of the Conn-Pod, colliding roughly with the metal of the Drive suit. “Stop worrying so much then,” he chuckled, tightly winding his arms around you, “We had everything under control.” “You couldn’t control half your Jaeger.” “And even with half a Jaeger, we kicked alien ass,” Jaemin chimed in, his grin still etched onto his features as he tried to fix his helmet hair. “You,” you threatened, slipping out of Jeno’s embrace to stab your finger into Jaemin’s chest armor, “What has gotten into you shutting off the comms like that? I should dismount that switch. We had no idea what was happening to you.” “And what would knowing have changed?” The Ranger arched one of his stupidly perfect-looking brows, a challenge clear in his voice. Flabbergasted by his words, you didn’t know how to respond, opening and closing your mouth but no words coming out. 

“Exactly. And don’t worry so much about who sees you naked,” he added with a wide grin, not so gently taking your chin between his fingers to close your jaws. “Jaemin!” Cackling, he made a beeline for the Drive room to get his suit taken off and the only thing hindering you from ripping him a new one were Jeno’s arms around your middle. “Please don’t murder my co-pilot,” he mumbled, pressing a kiss to the side of your face. “I wouldn’t take that honor away from the Marshal,” you snickered, going limp in his hold and trusting him to catch you. 

“I told you I’d be coming back,” Jeno whispered. “I nev-” “Oh you did,” he chuckled. “I was so scared,” you admitted, your voice getting smaller and smaller. “And I’m sorry for scaring you,” he spoke softly, spinning you around so he could cup your face between his palms, “But this is my life.” “I know, Jeno, I-” “Can you not trust in my abilities?” “It’s not that,” you pleaded, gripping onto his wrists, so he wouldn’t pull away, “I’m just scared to lose who I love the most, Jeno.” “Trust in me then. In our love. I will come back.” “But how can you promi-” This time, instead of shutting your thoughts down with his words, he did so with his lips. “Okay?” He whispered against your lips. “You’ll come back.” “Every time,” he promised, his hands trailing down your neck to lower the zipper of your overall, “So you can give these back to me.” “Of course,” you puffed out in a chuckle, pulling his dog tags over your head to press them against his chest armor, right over his heart, “Of course.” “I love you,” he promised, sealing it with another kiss.

“Now, I love a grand declaration of love and enjoy seeing couples engage in PDA as much as the next person,” Jaemin’s voice interrupted your moment rather rudely, “But I do believe Jeno and I are due to get our asses handed to ourselves by the Marshal.” “You have the worst timing,” Jeno groaned. “Weird, that’s what my last girlfriend used to say to me too,” his co-pilot mused, throwing Jeno’s uniform at him, “We’re meeting him in five and I doubt he wants to see you in your suit.” 

“Well, I guess I-” “I’ll trust you to come back,” you giggled when your boyfriend playfully rolled his eyes, “If you’re looking for me after, I’ll be the one covered in grease, trying to repair your giant man-toy.” “And I’ll be the one offering you his help despite knowing absolutely nothing just so I can watch you without being a creep,” Jeno smiled, pressing a last kiss to your lips.

[i-did-not-mean-to]

Snow Day

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to @maglor-my-beloved for having submitted that beautiful drawing (please share it!!!) for me to get out of my writer's block.

It's my joy and honour to share the result of my toiling with you! <3

Characters: Elrond, Erestor, and Glorfindel

Words: 1550

Warnings: It's pretty cold, there's a sword, a bit of sadness, use of the M-slur for Melkor 😂

“Morgoth be cursed,” Erestor muttered, looking out of the window with boundless annoyance that made his face look drawn and pale. “It’s snowing.”

“It’s actually not,” Glorfindel contradicted, strolling into the study with a sunny grin. “It has just stopped. We could steal a few shields and slide down a hillside? Make the best out of it?”

At that uncautious suggestion, no matter how enthusiastically it was presented, Elrond lifted his head sharply from the letter he’d been perusing, hitherto having desperately tried to shut out the ongoing discussion between his friends.

He now realised that this had been a grievous mistake!

Neither one took well to being cooped up inside—the reasons for their mounting cabin fever might have been opposed, but the nerve-wracking effect of their continuous arguing was unfortunately much the same.

“I have too much work as it is,” Elrond finally interrupted the ensuing squabbling patiently. “I’d much rather you don’t add to it by wilfully engaging in dangerously reckless behaviour.”

Erestor nodded smugly, but his eyes returned to the icy desert outside longingly again and again as if he was earnestly considering Glorfindel’s proposal.

Shrugging, Glorfindel meanwhile leaned against the wall, crossing his long legs and smirking deviously at the much put-upon Lord of Imladris. “If you’re so opposed to a bit of innocent fun,” he drawled seductively, “I guess you’ll have to set aside your boring paperwork and come with us. Just to make sure that we won’t do anything you deem too foolhardy.”

“Can’t you just build snowpeople?” Elrond asked tersely, exasperation colouring his fatigue-laden voice. “That should keep you out of trouble.”

As he returned his attention to his correspondence, he missed the exchange of meaningful glances between the other two who’d instantly recognised the minute crack in Elrond’s usually so impervious mask of calm efficiency.

"Glorfindel is right," Erestor declared slowly.

Elrond’s head snapped up again in wordless shock—clearly, the bad weather had driven them stark raving mad if Erestor had taken to agreeing with Glorfindel.

“You should rest a little. Why don’t you come with us? Not everyone has had the chance of being parented by a hundred different people,” Erestor continued with that corrupting mix of petulant aggression and wide-eyed vulnerability that made him so wickedly convincing. “You could show us how it’s done.”

Before Glorfindel could snigger that there was but little mystery to the matter, Erestor had firmly kicked him in the shin to keep him from destroying their joint efforts by innocent bluster and ill-advised encouragement.

“There were hardly a hundred,” Elrond muttered, his resolve and interest in the dry reports about taxes and weather changes already waning inexorably. “And I would think that the two of you can figure it out on your own.”

Two mouths, pouty and rosy, opened to protest, and he lifted his hands to placate the storm of remonstrances and well-meant sermons before it could arise.

“As you wish. Please make sure that you’re wearing appropriate apparel—the wind can be quite chilling—and meet me by the Eastern gate. I’ve got to drop these off and retrieve my winter cloak and mittens before I even think of venturing outside.”

Watching them scamper away hastily before he could change his mind, Elrond wrenched his thoughts away from the duties he’d have to postpone until his return and, with an indulgent shake of his head, swiftly made his way to his own chambers.

When he finally arrived at the appointed meeting point, swaddled in several layers of insulating fabric, Glorfindel and Erestor were already waiting for him—they were also already viciously fighting about something the late-comer could not yet discern.

Elrond sighed and joined the fray fearlessly.

“I can’t believe you’d double-cross me like that!” Glorfindel muttered, visibly vexed, while eyeing the short sword in the other’s hand. “When I propose we take a detour to the armoury, I am an imprudent fool, but when you simply sneak in and out, you’re a genius!”

“Your words, not mine,” Erestor laughed and danced away when his colleague lunged forward to pluck the weapon from his grasp in a petulant attempt at checking the other’s glaring aura of petty triumph.

“Let’s go!” Elrond, growing uncomfortably hot as he helplessly watched them chase one another through the deserted hallway, exclaimed.

He sincerely hoped that the bracing cold and the creative endeavour would distract them sufficiently from their spat so their little outing would not end in the kind of grievous injury he had so adamantly wanted to prevent from the beginning.

In sullen, determined silence, they trudged up the snow-packed path leading away from the sheltered, cloistered paradise of Imladris until they reached a small hill, covered in fluffy, white powder and cruelly exposed to the presently dormant violence of the weather.

“So,” Elrond said quietly. “As Erestor has previously remarked upon so brazenly, this snowstorm might well be one of Morgoth’s curses which linger still within the darkness plaguing our world. When I was…young, we’d craft effigies to dismay and mock him so we’d be less afraid...”

Struck by the incandescent intensity of his friends’ regard, he fell silent for a moment, kneading the strap of his bag nervously for fear of having already said too much.

“I like this,” Glorfindel finally cheered after having given the idea some thought. “Let’s create cool guardians for Imladris. How about that?”

Thus, it was decided. Snow was progressively heaped, rolled, and pressed into the approximate shape of three lumpy Elven bodies under much grunting and giggling until they were satisfied with the raw building blocks they had assembled.

“Oh, come on, that’s not fair!” Glorfindel thundered as he watched Elrond reach into his trusty satchel and extricate a handful of sturdy chiselling tools from an old leather cover. “Erestor! Come look at that—our Lord Elrond, who claims to be blessedly free of the curse of ambition, has dragged scalpels and tiny hammers along.”

“Didn’t expect anything less,” Erestor mumbled, entirely enthralled by his own project—he envisioned a fierce warrior, armed and armoured, who’d stand stolidly atop the knoll and keep a cold, watchful eye on the landscape,�� ever-vigilant to the enemy’s scouts growing bolder and roaming closer to Imladris with every passing day.

Miffed by the others’ clear attempt at cheating, Glorfindel rushed down the hill and into a nearby grove of tall trees to countervail his evident disadvantage by gathering supplies and aids that were readily available by nature’s grace.

As he emerged once more and clawed his way back to his snowy canvas, though, both Elrond and Erestor had nearly finished their snow elves.

Uttering a snorting noise of dismay, Glorfindel stuck the two perfectly beautiful branches he’d found into the slender, shapely body of his creation and took a step back to let his appreciative gaze drink in the unexpected success of his opus.

Indeed, he was inordinately pleased with the ferocious, aggressive look of his crookedly grinning gelid sentinel, and so he beamed with pride as he turned back to his friends.

Of course, Elrond’s snow statue had expertly chiselled features and wore a thick, blue scarf that blew like a banner of a House long-fallen in the icy wind, and Erestor’s piece was bestowed with a sharp blade, glittering in the sallow sun, but it simply wasn’t in Glorfindel’s nature to become truly enraged with envy.

“Foresight, caution, and good health shall keep Imladris safe,” Elrond said ponderously, patting the sharp, high cheek of his snow sage, who was unnecessarily well-dressed to withstand the freezing temperatures. He truly had been made in the image of his creator, one had to admit, as Elrond now cleaned his thick gloves of the last remnants of sticky, melting snow before dutifully preparing and packing his tools.

Diligent to a fault, he certainly yearned to return to his study and letters before the weather could turn on them and make them regret ever having considered so foolish a plan as to leave the safety of Imladris in these meteorological conditions.

Scoffing, Erestor nodded at his own fearsome, sword-wielding oeuvre with grim satisfaction. “Sharp blades and unwavering vigilance shall serve us better, methinks,” he hummed gently as he further imbued it with stern tenacity.

Both turned to Glorfindel who grinned sheepishly. “I’m with Erestor on this,” he admitted. “Thus, I…made him. Erestor will keep us safe.”

For a seemingly endless moment, Elrond—who’d undeniably gone somewhat overboard in the execution of his planned distraction—merely blinked as the wind was picking up again and now buffeted them with glacial needles.

“I can agree with that,” he finally said, mellowing. “Let’s leave our brave companions to guard the Realm—each in their own way and as best they see fit—and return to our lit fireplaces and comfortable chairs.”

It looked as if the other two would demur, so he quickly swore that there would be no more work of any kind upon their return.

“Let’s merely sit together, have a cup of warm tea, and talk about our childhood traditions as if they were not lost forevermore yet!”

With a last solemn, laughably superstitious salute to the resplendent results of carefree fun and amicable competition, they threw themselves against the near-solid wall of snow-laden squalls and fought their way back to Imladris.

There are no Masterlists nor tags this time.

It's just a random art/fic exchange as we're gearing up for TRSB!

Lots of love!

[polarisdelphi]

Back on posting old art I never posted, Frau Schneider, my beloved 🖤

I'm seriously considering turning her into a sticker and slapping it everywhere I need to remember something to do. Drinking water? Frau is there judging me. Writing? Frau is waiting. Sleeping at a decent time? She's at the clock, looking at me with hatred in her eyes.

Jokes aside, this was more of a try on stylized drawing, which I completely suck. Since I studied Schneider's face thoroughly once for another drawing, I figured stylizing him would be easier for me as a first try.

I love his nose HAHAHAHA that's my anchor on his likeness xD

Sketches, breakdowns on how I got here, what I thought on shapes and more on his features - and just general artist blabbering, down below!

It was born from these loose sketches:

And I do like the ~proper~ one too. Took a lot of screenshots of the video's making of to understand his mannerisms when ~in Frau~, and there's a big change between the video and the live versions.

Video is a proper, collected, older woman with a dark side from repressed unfulfilled desires, live one is a brute, angry, harshly dominant one. 100% angry all the time, taking her dogs for a walk 🖤

Keeping some harsh shapes on the first one 'cause we all know she's evil, and some more organic ones on the second one 'cause she's UNHINGED.

(Also, Frau's coat are a thousand little Edelweiss 'cause you know. Schneider, Austria, his wife hahahaha aaaaand I have roots from there too, so I decided to shamelessly slap Edelweiss everywhere xD)

Another interesting thing to note, was trying to keep the male proportions on a female presenting appearance. Because we all learn about better shapes for women, how they usually are ~smaller, softer and more delicate~ than males (please read with sarcasm) but Schneider is still a man in woman's clothing, acting like a woman. So I had to keep in mind what I'd draw if it was just him as himself - big hands, big feet, tall as a fucking tree, very large shoulders, toned arms and muscles, all that. No ~delicate~ features 'cause he's still a man, but in here he's a woman.

I'm not saying I succedeed. But it was a good first try :)

Given I have so many drag queen original characters, it's something I think it was nice to study and have in mind T-T

About his features, like I said, I studied him once 'cause I was trying to go for stylized Live aus Berlin Schneider illustration once, but all I got is: I can draw his likeness from memory now, that's it *cries in incompetence*

I said before, I'm not good at stylizing.

So, his key features are: very slim and small mouth, big nose (gods I love his nose, I'll always say that), kinda small eyes and there's almost no distance to his eyebrows (on the video they paint his brows to make a LOT more arched, almost like original Maleficent), longer face, big and square chin, sharp and high cheekbones. I figured if I kept all that in mind, I'd have his likeness.

That's what I used to go figuring out how to draw Frau like that :)

And why am I blabbering all this?

I just hope it helps other self-taught artists out there who have a hard time finding resources and see other people's drawings and go "oooh man how do I get there?" and the artist always go "I dunno just draw a lot and you will get there :)"

Yes, yes, draw a lot. If you don't practice, you won't learn. But there ARE tools, observation studies, drawing studies and a WHOLE lot of things you can learn from other people to get where you want to faster and easier - but most of these resources are, nowadays, behind a paywall. So I just figured I'll share what I learned and hopefully it'll help someone struggling with the same things I did less than a year ago ;)