#marvel i'm suing

[white-wolf-buckaroo]

HS x MCU

sometimes it randomly hits me that Harry Styles is in the MCU, and I don't know what to do

#like #it's my husband #in my favorite fandom #it's the best crossover ever but the fact that he's Thanos's brother like whut #if he doesn't sing in future projects i'm suing marvel #marvel #mcu #harry styles #eternals

[spookyelite]

ඞ

#among us #sus amogus #amogus #brasil #gaming #i'm dying #lol #cancer #disease #foodpics #artwork #better call saul #elder scrolls #marvel #occult #twitter #infowars #motel #vacation #half life #graphics #nvidia

[dyaz-stories]

could we also get a, b, i, m and z with both Hyunsu and his monster version?

Thank you so much for doing Eunhyuk's it was amazing!!

NSFW Headcanon game

So, as a note, I don't treat monster!Hyun-Su as being completely detached from Hyun-Su. I see him as being completely free of Hyun-Su's inhibitions, but with a lot of the same drive/desires, so I'll make the difference where I think there's one!

A - Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Monster!Hyun-Su doesn't stick around that long after sex. He's not the best equipped to deal with aftercare, to be honest, and he'll leave that to Hyun-Su. If you don't need anything special, though, I could see him mostly just. bragging about how good he made you feel while you're cleaning up or getting dressed.

Hyun-Su gets a boost of confidence from sex. He'll be all lovey-dovey, initiate physical touch, kisses, etc. more than usual. After an intense session, though, he'd just want to cuddle and feel you against him. If you're the one more in need of aftercare, he'd get you cleaned up, get you water, and just lay in bed with you, maybe offer you a massage. Just super sweet really.

B - Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Like with Eun Hyuk, I don't think Hyun-Su likes himself much I'm afraid, but I could see him liking his hands. They're big and strong, and he can get all sorts of reactions out of you if he puts them to good use.

Hyun-Su (and as a consequence, the monster as well), is really into legs. If you're wearing any kind of dress, skirt, or shorts, he's here for it. If you're wearing high heels and/or interesting stockings... He's a goner, basically.

I - Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…) 

Monster!Hyun-Su means business. He's here to rock your world and basically do all the things that Hyun-Su would never dare to do. Really into dirty talk, and there's not an ounce of romance to be found here I'm afraid. I think his eyes might turn to full black like in S1 in the heat of the moment, too.

Hyun-Su, on the other hand, is a lot softer. Very vocal, gets completely lost in the moment, needs a lot of reassurance in the form of physical contact or soft praises. Def very prone to spontaneously saying 'I love you' during sex.

M - Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

So I actually headcanon that Hyun-Su gets turned on at the drop of a hat lol. You smile at him? Horny. You say something nice to him? Horny. You tiptoe to reach something and your dress/shirt rides up? Horny. He's unlikely to act on his impulses most of the time though, but what would 100% get him riled up would be you making it clear how much you want him. Seeing you being turned on by him? That's the one thing he absolutely wouldn't be able to resist. (and if he did, the monster would come out to play)

Z - ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

I also headcanon that Hyun-Su doesn't need as much sleep as your regular human, so I think he'd stay awake. Would love watching you sleep honestly, just staring at you and marvelling at the fact that you're here with him and that you love him. Monster!Hyun-Su goes out instantly though — not out of need, but just because he acts on impulses and that would 'feel right' to him.

Hope you liked it! I have one more for Hyun-Su (I think? it wasn't specified!) and this is still open btw!

#smut #sweet home smut #sweet home x reader #hyun su x reader #cha hyun su x reader #hyun su smut #cha hyun su smut

[lexablackbird]

helpful guide to acronyms used here on tumblr

still figuring some of them out, but here are the ones i'm pretty sure of so far:

bts - buffy the (vampire) slayer

mcr - marvel cinematic (r)universe

ofmd - oh fy mucking dog*

spn - steven (universe's) pearl no

su - supernatural, uhhh

wwdits - women wrestlers dare i think so

st: tos - star trek: taste of salmon

let me know if i missed any

*i didn't figure out omfd on my own, i saw it in someone's else's post and realized that must be correct

#acronyms #bts #mcr #ofmd #spn #su #wwdits #st: tos

[definitelynotthedarklord]

Something I think would be interesting in Marvel is if nobody knows Captain America is a real person, like the super soldier program, Hydra, all of that was kept secret so as far as anyone can tell Captain America was like a political cartoon character from ww2 that was meant to symbolize America's strength and sold war bonds and stuff, not a real person who took a bunch of drugs and fought supernazis.

Then suddenly there's this guy who seemed to turn that character into their superhero persona fighting alongside the Avengers, and Steve is always annoyed how nobody believes he's THE Captain America, like interviewers will ask "What specifically about the original Captain America character made you want to pay homage to them in your super hero-ing?" and Steve's just like "The fact that I am the original Captain America."

"No, I mean the character from the posters and commercials during ww2."

"Yeah, that was me."

"Sir, be serious. Are you ever worried you'll be sued for plagiarism or copyright infringement?"

"Considering I'm not going to sue myself, no."

#marvel #captain america #steve rogers #marvel headcanons

[tymime]

Public Domain cartoon characters from Golden Age comic books

Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit going (mostly) into the public domain is a pretty big deal. In the next ten years a lot of animation from the 1930s will wind up in the hands of all artists who want to use them. But did you know there's a huge amount of cartoon characters from the 1940s that are totally free to use? It isn't just cartoons that starred on the silver screen that have fallen out of copyright. (Of course, I'm using the word "cartoon" somewhat loosely...)

See, when US copyright law was revised in 1976 and went into effect in 1978, works created before 1964 were required to have their copyright renewed before the end of 1980, or else they would become public domain. Hundreds if not thousands of Hollywood movies and other types of media had been made by studios and publishing companies that went bankrupt and were completely dissolved decades prior to this new law. This included the cartoons made by studios such as Bray, Van Beuren, and many others- but it also included comic books.

If you weren't a big comic book company like DC or Marvel, chances are you shuttered your doors sometime in the 1950s or early 1960s. And during the 1940s, with the rise in popularity of Looney Tunes, Woody Woodpecker, Tom and Jerry, and Droopy, comic book publishers were printing tons and tons of comic books starring wacky, slapstick-oriented animal characters. Most of these titles went out of copyright, and there are lots of fun and interesting characters to be found in them.

One of the most historically notable is Supermouse. When the first Mighty Mouse cartoon premiered, he was called Supermouse, but what they didn't know was that Pines comics had already taken the name, and successfully sued for copyright infringement even though they were both parodies of Superman.

One of the most interesting titles I've come across is Funny Films. The conceit of the series is that these are actually cartoons you can watch in a movie theater, except it's a comic book. A bit confusing, I know.

The end result is a series of fourth wall breaks so absolutely thorough in their scope that the fourth wall really doesn't exist anymore, barring actually jumping out of the page (or your computer screen) and blowing up your living room. They talk to the audience, jump out of the screen, and even show up late for the cartoon to start. This is of course the bookends to a whole bunch of slapstick gags and goofy dialogue.

Another interesting series, especially if you're a fan of Archie, is Hi-Jinx. They basically took the premise of teeny-boppers in high school and made them into funny animals. Most of the stories have something to do with swing music and dancing.

And although they're crudely drawn, one of the more unique character concepts is Pussy Katnip, found in various titles scattered across the mid-1940s, usually buried amongst a bunch of more normal stories with ordinary human characters. Pussy Katnip looks like one of your classic film noir glamorous beauties, except she's an anthropomorphic cat. Think Minerva Mink but feline. She may appear to be a femme fatale at first, but she's actually a crimefighter. To do this she chugs a mysterious beverage that gives her enhanced strength and intelligence. She's sort of a mystery-solving superhero.

Her appearances are random and kind of hard to find. Here are the titles of the ones currently circulating online: All Your Comics (1944 issue) All Top Comics (one-shot) All Good Comics Everybody’s Comics (1944 issue) Green Mask v1 #11 Ribtickler v1 #1 All Great Comics (1945 issue) Book of All-Comics Green Mask v2 #2 Rocket Kelly #2 Zoot Comics #1

Often these comics, especially in the early '40s, remind me of the artwork of underground comics of the '70s- not quite rubberhose, not quite Looney Tunes. The kind of thing you might find on a punkabilly album cover.

And ocassionally you'll come across characters with a suspiciously familiar name:

One thing to watch out for is the occasional Donald Duck knock-off, some more obvious than others.

Now you may be asking: Where can I read these comics? Simple: https://digitalcomicmuseum.com/ Just be sure you have the right software to read them. I use cooViewer. Another incredibly useful resource is www.comics.org.

So if you're like me and you're too impatient to wait for Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck to fall out of copyright, and you want to do something more unusual and unexpected, there are dozens and dozens of comic books with silly, wacky characters that can be utilized in your own original stories, cartoons, and what have you- and you can monetize them too!

#mickey mouse #steamboat willie #winnie the pooh #oswald the lucky rabbit #disney #foxy fagan #supermouse #super mouse #mighty mouse #puss and boots #blunderbunny #whoo-doodit #pussy katnip #cosmo cat #buster bunny #witch hazel #donald duck #deadeye duck #looney tunes #cartoons #toon #animation #comic books #comics #golden age #fox #wolf #bear #rooster #chicken

[griffin-girl-r]

Waterproofed

Created: 15.09.2021

Finished: 10.02.2022

Edited: 08.10.2023

Age: 16

Word count: 752

Warnings: Drowning, Pools

Request: No

Note: This is the first ever story I wrote for the Marvel fandom and it's based on a joke I read 4 years ago.

—

It was a normal day off at the compound for the Avengers.

Natasha was sitting on the couch with Steve and Clint beside her, Tony at the table, reading something on his laptop.

Thor was probably in Asgard, but most likely in the kitchen eating pop tarts.

Bruce in his lab.

And you decided that going for a swim in the outside pool with Bucky was a good idea.

You were so wrong.

—

Bucky came running into the living area and stopped to catch his breath, while moving his hands up and down.

Your mom, Natasha, was the first one to understand that something was wrong.

She was a spy after all.

"James?" Natasha questioned a still-silent Bucky, raising her eyebrow, as she turned to face the man

"Bucks? What's wrong, buddy?" Steve asked his best friend, concerned

"Hey, guys. Y/N is in the pool and I don't think she's waterproofed." Bucky tried to explain the best he could in his panicked state, only to gain confused looks from everybody in the room

Silence settled over the room before Tony spoke.

"I think he's trying to say that Y/N is drowning." Tony said absent-mindedly, not raising his head from whatever he was doing on his laptop

"Oh." The red-haired ex-assassin simply said, turning her attention back to the TV

It took Natasha three whole seconds to realize what Tony had said.

"SHE'S WHAT?!" The woman yelled and shot up on her feet

"Affirmative, Miss Romanoff. It appears that your child is indeed struggling to stay above the water." F.R.I.D.A.Y. confirmed

Your mother sprinted towards the outside pool, faster than she had in her whole life, with the boys hot on her heels.

—

When Natasha saw you just floating above the water with your face down, her heart tightened in her chest.

Steve used his super-soldier speed and reached you faster than the others, jumping in to pull you out.

When the rest of the team finally arrived, Steve was already laying you on the ground.

Your mom threw herself on her knees, next to your head, and she moved the wet hair out of your eyes, with tears in her own, as Steve leaned forward to hear your heartbeat.

Not there.

"Not good, not good, not good." Steve panicked hard

He started CPR and instructed Natasha to blow air through your mouth.

They started to get more desperate when they saw that you weren't reacting.

"Come on, baby." Natasha quietly sniffed "Please."

Just then, you gasped for air and choked on the water that was in your mouth.

Natasha quickly turned you to one side and she sighed in relief.

After catching your breath, you looked around, taking in your surroundings as your mind was still in a hazy state.

As you did your eyes landed on the one person that always made you feel safe.

"Mama." You whispered, your voice weak

Natasha pulled you in her arms and hugged you tightly to her chest "I'm here, baby. You're okay. Everything is okay." A few tears escaped her eyes

She looked over your head at Steve and mouthed 'Thank you', to which he answered with a nod.

"I'm glad you're okay, kid. You kind of scared the shit out of us." Your Uncle Clint said, patting your back "Especially your mom."

"I'm sorry." You muttered, with your head resting on Natasha's shoulder

Your mom took a deep breath and slightly pulled you away to kiss your forehead "What happened, my love?"

"I-I was getting ready to get into the pool when Bucky came and pushed me in a little bit too hard. Then he just laughed, thinking I was joking." You explained before sighing "I guess that he ran to you when he figured it out that I wasn't." And with that, you jumped into your mother's arms again

"Why don't we get you to Bruce for a small check-up? Huh?" The woman smiled and motioned to her best friend to help her lift you

Clint quickly lifted you up and let you support onto him, as he started to lead ypu towards Bruce's lab.

—

When you and Clint were far enough, the ex-assassin turned to face Bucky, who was ready to run any second.

"We can discuss this." Bucky laughed nervously, raising his hands in defense

Let's just say that Bucky won't push anyone else in a pool for the rest of his life. Natasha made sure he learned the lesson.

—

Permanent taglist: @natsxwife , @dannipotatoo , @mmmmokdok , @lizlil , @lovelyy-moonlight , @ravensinthedaylight , @youralphawolf72 , @observeowl , @justarandomreaderxoxo , @circe143 , @kassies-take , @sheneonromanoff , @darkstar225

#mama nat #natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x daughter!reader #natasha x daughter!reader #natasha's child #natasha's kid #natasha romanoff x teen!reader #natasha x teen reader #natasha x baby!reader

[soleminisanction]

@mzminola I saw your tags on this post:

#you all have so many names #is this because of DC eating Fawcett, or a tiff with Marvel Comics, or several reasons??? #everything I learn about the Shazam Fawcett City fam makes me more interested

And immediately got excited because I happen to know this story and I think it's fun. It's one of the more interesting nuances of comics industry skullduggery out there.

See, Captain Marvel was the most popular superhero of the 1940s, at least based on raw comic book sales; he even outsold Superman, and he was the first comic book superhero to get adapted into a film serial. And National Comics, the company that would eventually become DC, hated that, so they sued for copyright infringement on the grounds that the Cap was a blatant Superman rip-off, and they eventually won, forcing Fawcett to stop publishing Captain Marvel and his family in 1953.

Then in the 60s, when Marvel Comics came along, somebody there eventually noticed that the trademark to the name "Captain Marvel" was up for grabs, so they jumped on that with their Captain in 1967. Between Mar-Vell and his family, Monica Rambaeu, Noh-Varr and Carol Danvers, Marvel's never let that trademark slip out of their grasp in the decades since.

So when DC acquired the rights to use the original Captain Marvel and his crew, first through a license with Fawcett in 1972 and then essentially absorbing the smaller company entirety in 1992, they found themselves in the awkward legal position where they couldn't publish Cap's books under the name "Captain Marvel." They could call him that in the book, because they owned the rights to the character, but they couldn't use his name as the trademark for the series, or in any of their advertisements, and when they tried to edge around it by calling him, "Shazam! The Original Captain Marvel" they got a cease and desist.

Of course people who weren't familiar with any of this drama found it confusing that this was one of the only books in the line-up that wasn't named for its hero. So DC spent a long time through the 90s and early 00s going through different names for Captain Marvel (and to a lesser extent Mary and Junior) trying to find a name that would let people know that this was the same Very Popular Character as in the old days without tripping into Marvel's trademark lawyers.

---

Meanwhile!! Back in the 50s, over the the U.K., the small press that had been importing the Captain Marvel comics decided that, when their supply was suddenly cut off by the lawsuit, they'd recruit a local artist to just help them keep going by changing the name to a thinly veiled expy called Marvelman.

Marvelman was then revived in the 80s by Alan Moore as Miracleman, which was basically his first jaunt into the metatextual explorations of superhero comics that he'd become famous for. When he left that run it was taken over by Neil Gaiman, through whom a debate over the rights to Miracleman would eventually become central to a protracted lawsuit with Todd McFarlane over work Gaiman did on the Spawn comics.

You could probably write a pretty compelling history of the superhero comics industry just by following the trademark and copyright drama of Captain Marvel. I'm a little surprised somebody hasn't done it already tbh.

#comic books #comics history #captain marvel #shazam #fawcett comics #dc comics #I checked my dates against a few online articles but didn't go diving for deep references so apologies for the lack of citations

[kisilinramblings]

I don't know if you've seen the last two final episode yet but if you have, any thought?

I actually like it?

Sure, I was disappointed that Chat Noir didn't join up the fight. At the same time, I understand Adrien's reasons for not turning into Chat Noir in order to break himself free.

Not only was he hunted by the nightmare of him as Anti-Chat killing everything he cared about, but he was very self-aware at how emotionnally vulnerable he was to be akumatized and making that nightmare come true. This season made him realized he can be so angry to the point of he wants to cataclysm people. It almost happened with both Darker Owl AND Dark Humor this season. Adrien backing off, remaining in "prison" and taking off his Miraculous so Plagg put it in safety for the time being was not him giving up. It was him trying to protect his loved ones. And he was also unaware this was a Monarch attack going on that needed Chat Noir.

Also, everything was made so Adrien doesn't find out for now that his father was Monarch. I don't consider Marinette was in the right even if Gabriel asked her to make sure Adrien doesn't learn the truth. And unbestknown to Gabriel, his dying request landed exactly on Marinette's nightmare territory. Remember the nightmare she had at the beginning. In it, Marinette accidentaly "kills" Gabriel after vanquishing him, right under Adrien's eyes which upset him, asking her why did she did this to his father.

So all ingredients seem to be there for this secret to come back to bite them if it is ever discover. The fact Gabriel has a statue, even if it built on a lie, means that something of him remains even if he is gone. And lately, we have seen that statues IRL can be toppled. But yeah, as long as Gabriel's statue is standing high, his shadow still is present. That is how I view it.

Outside of that, the fight between Bug Noir and Monarch was satisfying. I love that she swung a shovel at Monarch's face sending him flying and the use of Lucky Charm in succession was actually interesting.

I liked that La Résistance try to help however they can. I'm not sure on how pertinent it was for Gabriel and Tomoe's last attack to be international, but I didn't mind. DC and Marvel both have heroes from their respective IPs coming together to fight when there is a global threat affecting more than one city. And it is no secret both Jeremy Zag and Thomas Astruc desire to create their own Zag universe of superheroes.

Also, Tomoe is so up to no good.

Luka was a surprise. I didn't expect him to be trained by Su-Han, however, considering that Su-Han was able to repel an Akuma and since Luka does know both LB and CN's identity, and that Su-Han and Luka already have met once during Ephemeral (as that part wasn't erased), that ending is not that weird if they wanted him back in the story eventually (and reminder that Mirakungfu is meant to disarm Miraculous Holders who went rogue). Anyway, with Luka, a side story about that would have been welcome. But fun detail, Luka's martial style is based on the Snake!

Love the true form of Tikki and Plagg and seeing them fuse into Gimmi was something.

"You humans always summon me to complain. Never to rejoice".

Yeah, feels about right.

Lila's intervention in the finale was pretty tame, but the conclusion is what we expected : she gets the Butterfly Miraculous. But it is probable she might have seen Ladybug untransformed alongside witnessing how to summon Gimmi (although there is no way to know for sure right now). Plus, Lila will have help which I didn't expect. And it seems it is someone who knew where to find here.

Btw, can we have more politician like Mayor Bustier, please? I know it is very utopist, but sign me up for that future.

So yeah, that finale closed a book BUT this isn't the end. There is something uncanny going on during the pool party. It's the illusion of a perfect ending.

Sign me up for S6. o/

#miraculous ladybug #ml season 5 #ml s5 spoilers #ml spoilers #ml s5 finale #ml conformation #ml re-creation #ml s5ep25 #ml s5ep26

[ayeforscotland]

(tw: discussions of rape, child sexual abuse)

the person who said "mixed reaction to baldur's gate 3 in þe "people i respect þe critical opinion of" community" said they were referring to lily orchard. if im understanding them correctly - i hope im not - theyre saying they respect lily's critical opinion on things, which with all due respect, you should not. Lily's consumption of media is almost exclusively animated shows for children, disney movies and marvel, and she has warped ideas on what media "has" to be, including having little conflict, never using slurs and such.

She wrote MLP fanfiction that glorified child abuse, it was based on her raping her younger sister before she transitioned, as she had been sexually abused as a child herself. Her sister, Courtney Peet, came out with the full story and while it is very much word of mouth vs word of mouth, Lily herself has went on record saying she wrote the fanfic, titled "Stockholm". She claims to be Native American and draws her persona much darker than her actual skin, as her sister has proven. Presumably to allow herself to complain about all the "white character praising" in kids' cartoons without people able to point out that SHE is white, which she often complains about. She also slandered Rebecca Sugar, a Jewish person, claiming they wrote themes supporting Nazism in Steven Universe, and insists that artists cannot write stories well, which is why SU was a badly written show, as the storyboard artists worked on the story. Her critical thinking skills are very low.

In other words, don't worry about her opinions on Baldur's Gate 3. And I'm a bit concerned about people attacking Courtney if they read this so just fyi I'm not saying this to cause drama, just to inform you that Lily Orchard's opinion on that game should be discarded for a number of reasons. So you dont have to reply to this or anything, and I hope I havent bothered you by saying any of this.

I don't usually engage in online drama but Lily Orchard is my one exception as I started watching her a while back and thought she maybe had some good points, until I learned she made up things about the shows she covered and the people that worked on them, then learned about the awful stuff she did and lies about. There's a ton more discourse I don't think is worth getting into.

Good grief. Happy for this to be the first and last time I hear of this person.

#cw child abuse #cw rape

[moodysullie]

I'm sorry, but you're going to tell me that they gave us Olivia's Sonya escaping scene, while they gave Daniel's Zemo just THIS? When they escaped by similar way?

That's it.

I'm suing Marvel.

#for not letting me witnessing Zemo crawling #i need to witness my man crawling on the floor #with his knees #respectfully #secret invasion #secret invasion gif #secret invasion spoilers #spoilers #the falcon and the winter soldier #tfatwsgifs #mcugifs #sonya falsworth #olivia colman #zemo #baron zemo #daniel brühl #my gifs #mcu

[draagu]

hi amazing cool friend

Bites u butes u bites u bites u bites u hugs u hus u hugs u hugs u hugs u hugs u hugs u hugs hugs u bites u bites u

Ajdhjsbdjsbsjdhhdhdvd youre the sweetest thang ever

Ajhdhdhdhdhdj im glad i can call you my fren :>

Zhzhshdhsbdcududhwjwjzuxhdhab ajydhd

heartwarming warmhearted lovely huggable friend shhshehehehehevsjd

bites u bites u bites u bites su hugs u hugs u bite bite s hug su hug su bite su

fren, words cannot express how happy and glad I am to also call u fren

words are not enough I must BITE

going on a ramble below uhm uh

taking the chance to get sappy here but I am like genuinely super happy to be friends with both you and the rest of the server

I have never considered myself to be good with words or expressing myself or like talking to people in general, at least verbally-anxiety is a bitch- but waugh everyone in the server is super kind and it's just a nice comfy space

and I KNOW I'm the server owner saying this but like actually the server is super welcoming and comfy, ,hhs I didn't really know what to expect when making it but now I have super awesome amazing frens who are so kind and and *dies*

that aside YOU specifically are incredible kind sweet amazing awesome heartwarming warmhearted lovely huggable marvelous good great nice amazing pleasant amiable talented skilled artistic creative squimshable *gasps* charming considerate friendly thoughtful generous cheerful wonderful and, uh, scrumptious?

hsja you are actually so kind and sweet and amazing and I am so sooo soso so sos so so happy to call you fren :>

-- haven't even been awake for more than 2 hours and my day has already been made you are too awesome

annnywho before I write a whole essay down here, have the bestest rest of your day, or I guess evening, you incredible sweet amazing kind- nshahhszvavdh

love ya very much friend :>

#asks #happy tag #also in honor of dramatic and speaking pure facts-- your voice is lovely and wonderful and amazing :)

[anyon-else]

I Set A Fire to My Soul (I Hope It Ate 'Till It Was Full) (The Red Room pt.9) | You realize after spending two weeks at the compound that existing peacefully actually seems like a plausible way of spending your life. It makes you feel free, a feeling that you're wholly unfamiliar with. It's something you want to get used to. (Marvel AU) – spotify playlist | read on ao3

Pairings | Kakashi Hatake x Black Widow!Reader + Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Orochimaru (mentioned), Kabuto Yakushi (mentioned)

Warnings | female!reader, fluff!!! some hurt/comfort, not much this time around (just you wait though)

Word count | 6.4k

(previous chapter) | (next chapter) | (series masterlist)

At first glance, Kakashi's room was sparse of anything but a few pictures and a small potted plant in the window. It was the opposite of Sakura's room, which was teeming with decor and testaments to things she was interested in before she was taken. Seeing it had been like seeing a version of Sakura that you'd never had the chance to meet. A happier version.

But Kakashi's room gave little away.

You weren't exactly sure what you were seeking from Kakashi, and you almost wished he'd suggest something for you to do. You were standing awkwardly by the door as the man gathered a few books from his bed and set them aside. You eyed the newly-emptied space and wondered if it was too late to back out the door and shut yourself in your room.

But the thought of being alone again made your stomach twist in fear rather than nervousness. This was easy compared to the idea of dreaming of Orochimaru again. You were having trouble coping with the hold that he still had on you in your dreams.

"You can sleep in the bed, if you'd like. I can sleep on the floor, or–"

"No, don't. I'm imposing on you, I shouldn't take your bed too."

You both eyed the rather sizable space on the mattress, and you were sure that Kakashi was turning over the same idea that you were. Sharing a bed didn't seem all that different from sleeping together in the tent, but this wasn't something you were doing out of necessity. This was born out of fear and crippling solitude.

"I...don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with."

Were you comfortable with Kakashi? It felt like you were, but you couldn't remember when exactly that shift had taken place. On the mission, when you'd accepted that you had to rely on him to watch your back? Or at his house when you spent nights getting a few hours of light sleep on the couch with him.

Admittedly, his bed looked much more comfortable than his couch.

"It's fine," you took a hesitant step towards his bed, glaring at it like it was an obstacle, "I don't mind."

He clearly didn't believe you, but he shrugged, slipped under his covers, and picked his book back up. No expectations or demands, but not a rejection either. It was a new type of kindness that made something in your chest loosen.

You slipped carefully under the covers on the opposite side of the bed, leaving enough room so that you wouldn't shift and touch Kakashi in your sleep.

The mattress sank with your added weight, and you turned on your side to face Kakashi, eyes cracked open. As much as you wanted to avoid looking at him for fear of getting flustered, you still couldn't bring yourself to put your back to someone who wasn't Sakura. This was all so new. Trusting someone enough to keep them out of sight while you slept was one too many obstacles for the night.

But your quick heartbeat wasn't the same as it had been during your panic attack. It wasn't a feeling that threatened to consume you. It was just a reminder that you were in close proximity to Kakashi.

You were starting to accept that there was something about being in his presence that made sleeping through the night peaceful. That something also seemed to make the logical side of your mind shut down.

That night, Kakashi woke up gasping for air.

He knew that being next to you wouldn't give him a one-hundred percent success rate for restful nights, but he'd at least hoped that he wouldn't have to deal with waking from a nightmare in front of you so soon. Maybe after you'd both gotten used to this arrangement (one that he selfishly hoped would last longer than one night).

Obito's face still lingered in front of him, and he shook away the unwanted images of his friends dead, all because he wasn't strong enough to keep them safe.

"You okay?"

He glanced down at you and chuckled at the unfamiliar picture of your eyes barely open and your face pressed against a pillow. He should've figured that you'd be a light sleeper. Next time he'd have to try and control himself after waking up. You hadn't come here just to be burdened by his nightmares.

"Yeah," he sighed, "sorry, I'm alright. Go back to sleep."

He let out a heavy sigh, resting his head in his hands and squeezing his eyes shut. He had to keep it together. At least until you had fully adjusted.

"If you want to talk about it," you said quietly, voice still groggy, "I don't mind."

He laughed, looking down at you with a small smile.

"You don't look happy to be awake right now."

"I can be awake," you shrugged. He started to protest when you shifted, but you waved him off and settled on your side.

"Lay down," you muttered, more of a suggestion than anything else, but he didn't hesitate to do as you asked. "Hold out your hand."

Again, with little hesitation and almost no thought of your motives, he extended his hand until it was midway between you and him. You mirrored the movement, and he froze from shock alone when you hooked your pinkie around his. He wondered if it was just exhaustion that was making you act without thinking, but you seemed a bit more aware now. Maybe you were just becoming comfortable with his presence faster than he'd expected.

"I used to do this with Sakura," you whispered with a fond smile. "She was troublesome. Whenever I messed up and got thrown in a cell overnight, she would always make sure she ended up there with me. There were grates between each cell with just enough space for us to do this. She wanted me to know that I wasn't alone."

Kakashi felt his chest ache at the idea of you and Sakura being imprisoned in the place that was supposed to be your home. The image of Sakura deliberately putting herself there just to do then what you were doing for him now made the gesture feel much more significant. It almost felt sacred.

"It made me feel at ease," you whispered, eyes barely open, "how do you feel now?"

In all honesty, his heart was still racing. But images of bloody bodies and comrades lost weren't haunting him anymore. He gave a hum in response and closed his eyes, focusing on the warm point of contact between you. He felt that warmth spread through the rest of his body and lull him to sleep.

He only slept for a few more hours, but he woke well-rested and found that he had an easier time fending off unwanted memories than the last time he'd jolted awake.

He also felt a strange, unfamiliar weight on his arm.

You hadn't woken yet, but you had moved at some point in the few hours since you'd both fallen asleep. Instead of just holding on to his pinkie, you had grabbed his hand and pulled it towards you, hugging his arm and tucking it into your chest.

He felt his heartbeat pick up again. He sat completely still, afraid that moving would wake you up.

He thought he'd seen what you looked like when you were at peace when you slept during the mission. Even when you spent nights on the couch, you seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Now, you almost looked happy. He swore that he saw a small smile on your face, though that could've just been his mind playing tricks on him.

He thought back to when Sakura was younger and small enough that he could lift her on his shoulders. At that age, she liked the feeling of being surrounded in a hug. He always wondered if it was the reassurance that nothing could get to her that was appealing.

Kakashi had spent his fair share of nights trying to chase away nightmares of her parents' deaths by hugging her close and keeping her tucked under his chin. He couldn't imagine that her nightmares improved while she was in the Red Room. It was likely that you had taken over for him and spent nights keeping Sakura close to try and unburden her of her fears.

Maybe you'd gotten used to having something to hold. Maybe being deprived of that now was taking more of a toll on you than you realized.

He did his best to keep still, but a few moments later, your grip on his arm and hand tightened enough that he knew you'd woken up. He glanced up and met your eyes, though you looked more confused than anything else.

"Mm..." you sucked in a breath, looking down at where you were holding Kakashi's hand. Realization dawned on you at the same moment that you threw it back at him, your confusion morphing into horror, "I'm so sorry. I didn't even realize–"

"It's alright."

"I didn't mean to...make you uncomfortable or anything."

"You didn't."

"Oh," you huffed, turning on your back and staring up at the ceiling, "okay. Good."

He wanted to ask if you remembered waking up last night, either to give you some peace of mind that he'd been perfectly comfortable with you touching him or to determine whether or not it was drowsiness that made you so open to comforting him. But you looked embarrassed enough as it was, so he kept his mouth shut.

"Thank you for letting me stay here," you said quietly, "I appreciate it."

"Anytime."

You nodded, giving him a small, half-hearted smile before you were on your feet and heading towards the door. He sat up and watched you go, searching for the right words.

"I mean it," he rushed out before you could rush out. You glanced back, expression unreadable, "really. You can sleep here anytime you want."

It shouldn't have been this hard to talk to someone, but he felt himself second-guessing all of his words just to make sure they were the right ones. He wanted to figure out how to talk to you in a way that made you feel at peace.

"Okay," you nodded, "thank you."

He didn't expect you to accept his offer, but that night, you were in front of his door once again.

Two weeks later

Sakura woke up far earlier than she would've liked with stiff limbs and excess energy to burn off. Her room had enough space that she could stretch out on the floor and try to loosen up, but she still felt an ache in her legs that she knew was a result of cutting off her training so abruptly after her escape. She had gotten used to an intense daily routine in the Red Room, and while it wasn't the most pleasant form of training, she almost missed starting her mornings with activity.

It had been nearly two months since she was given permission by her doctors to spar. And while she didn't want to bother you to train with her, Naruto and Sasuke wouldn't be as much fun. They didn't know the tricks and techniques that she'd learned in the four years that she'd been gone, and they'd have to take time to get used to her new fighting style. That morning, she found herself itching for a challenge.

Your room was only one door down from hers, and she hadn't pondered much on the habitual silence coming from it day after day since you'd returned. She knew that you were light on your feet, but around her you weren't as careful. You'd never felt the need to hide your presence from her. She helped you get used to the idea that you were allowed to take up space. That you didn't need to conceal your presence like a ghost everywhere you went.

When she opened the door and peaked into your room, she was only slightly concerned to find it empty. In fact, it looked untouched. She didn't even see your small bag of clothes next to the bed where you usually kept it.

Were you out? No, you wouldn't have left without telling her. Maybe you were already in the gym? Did you go for a run? Were you making breakfast? It was five in the morning, no one was up yet and the compound was silent. She could hear her own footsteps echoing in the hallway; she would've heard you if you were wandering around.

She didn't start worrying until she had stopped in all of the main rooms of the compound and found them vacant.

It wasn't like you to disappear without a word. You knew how worried she'd get if you left without telling her, so she was confident that if you had left of your own volition, she would've been the first to know. That left one option: you had been taken. Maybe HYDRA had taken you, or SHIELD had found out that you were staying here.

In her panic, she realized that she needed to tell Kakashi-sensei that you had disappeared. While there were quite a few plausible explanations for your absence, all of them seemed less likely than the worst-case scenarios. Sakura wasn't used to not knowing where you were, and it was making her panic grow by the second.

She sprinted down the hall, mind racing through possible explanations faster than she could keep up with them, and her panic had grown enough by the time she reached Kakashi's room that she disregarded any need for privacy.

"Kakashi-sensei," she gasped as she opened his door, swinging it against the wall with a bang, "I can't find..."

Oh.

"Uh..."

What? What?

You were...in Kakashi-sensei's room. You were in Kakashi-sensei's bed. Kakashi-sensei was in the shower and the door was shut, and you were sitting under his covers like you had slept there. Had you slept there? What was going on?

Sakura felt like she had fallen into an alternate universe.

You were staring at Sakura like she was a ghost. In fact, she wasn't sure she had ever seen that expression on your face before. She had seen worry and fear, but never this mix of shock and embarrassment. She wished she had a camera.

"What are you doing here?" you said through grit teeth after a long silence. You glanced between Sakura standing shocked in the hallway and the closed bathroom door where the shower was still running.

"What am I doing here?" Sakura let out a disbelieving laugh, "what are you doing here? Does Kakashi-sensei know that you're in his room?"

"Wha-of course he does! It's not what you think, nothing is going on, but you need to leave! You can't just walk into people's rooms!" you said. You looked like you were aging years in the seconds that Sakura was standing in the doorway. You glanced back with a groan when the shower cut off, "Go, go, we'll talk later."

You stood from the bed and practically tackled her through the door. She stumbled back with a disbelieving laugh, a mix of shock and glee on her face.

"We will talk about this later," you repeated calmly, though you still looked mortified, "Just...go back to sleep or something. Do not tell the others."

The door slammed before she could say anything else, and it took her about a minute to move from in front of it. Her paralysis lasted until she heard you shuffle back to bed, and it reminded her that you weren't only sleeping in Kakashi-sensei's room, you were sleeping in his bed. She still hadn't quite recovered from the shock, and processing what she had just seen seemed like a monumental task. How had she not noticed?

Sakura nearly sprinted away from the room, rushing down the hall and opening Naruto's door in the same abrupt fashion as she had Kakashi-sensei's.

"Naruto," Sakura whispered, hoping that you hadn't hear her scampering away from Kakashi-sensei's room, "Naruto! Wake up!"

"Huh...wha-? Sakura, wha's goin' on?"

Naruto's face was pressed into his pillow, and he looked like he had no intention of getting up despite Sakura's urgent tone.

"Naruto, come on," she grinned, shaking the boy, "Y/N is in Kakashi-sensei's room."

Naruto shot up at her words, fully awake and staring at her with wide eyes. She nodded when he gave her a disbelieving laugh, grin growing wider.

"No way," he laughed again, and Sakura slapped a hand over his mouth when he opened it again.

"She'll hear you, dummy! We have to be quiet!"

Naruto looked at her wide-eyed, nodding against her hand and waiting patiently for her to deem him ready to be released.

Sasuke's room was a bit more intimidating than Naruto's, and Sakura found herself calming enough to knock quietly at his door. He opened it a moment later, rubbing his eyes and glaring at Sakura and Naruto tiredly.

"It's five in the morning," he grumbled, then perked up, "is something wrong?"

"No," Sakura shook her head at the same time that Naruto gleefully said, "yes!"

Sasuke looked unimpressed.

"Y/N is in Kakashi-sensei's room!"

While Kakashi-sensei had trained his charges extensively in stealth, they seemed to forget all of their lessons as they stumbled down the hall to his room. Naruto couldn't stop giggling as he raced down the hall, and Sasuke looked more shocked that Sakura had ever seen him.

This was new and very exciting territory. Kakashi-sensei had never had a...

A what? A girlfriend? The idea of you being someone's girlfriend felt wrong to Sakura; it was so...normal.

"What do we do?" Naruto whispered, backing away from Kakashi's door like it was a wild animal.

"There's no way this is happening," Sasuke whispered, head in his hands and voice very distressed, "what is going on?"

"This is weird, right?" Naruto whispered nervously, "I mean, we're just...sitting outside of his room."

"We need answers!" Sakura grinned. "This has never happened before. I mean, Kakashi-sensei? No one ever sleeps in his room with him!"

When had this happened? She was wracking her brain to create a timeline of events, but she was coming up empty. Maybe something had changed on the mission.

That would be so romantic.

Footsteps sounded on the other side of the door, and she heard you mumbling something to Kakashi as you approached.

"Hide!" Sakura whispered, though not as quietly as she would've liked. All three of them stumbled to their feet, and Sakura groaned at their luck when Naruto tripped over Sasuke and took both of them down. She grabbed them by the back of their shirts and tried dragging them to their feet and out of sight, but the door clicked open before she could begin moving them at all.

"Jesus," you gasped, backing away from the three with a hand over your chest. Sakura supposed they probably looked like a comedy skit, all tangled up on the floor and looking at you like deer in headlights.

"What?" Kakashi said from out of sight. When he appeared, Sakura almost laughed.

He was wearing a fluffy grey robe that was tied tightly around his waist. His hair was dripping from the shower, and he was maskless.

"No way," Sasuke muttered again, followed by a delighted laugh from Naruto.

There was a long moment when the five of you just stared at one another. Then Kakashi nudged you out of the way, grabbed the door, and slammed it shut.

"What are you doing?" you hissed at him. He was red to the tops of his ears, and he was looking just about anywhere to avoid meeting your eyes. "Now they'll be even more suspicious!"

"I was caught off guard!" he whispered back, voice low enough that the kids would only be able to hear if they were pressed against door. The thought had you glancing at the shadows under the crack of the wood. You narrowed your eyes and kicked it.

"Ow," Naruto shouted, followed by two identical shushes from Sasuke and Sakura. You scowled.

"I'm never going to have a day of peace again," Kakashi grumbled, "they'll never let me live this down."

"Maybe because you slammed the door in their faces. You look like a teenager who was caught by their parents."

"I've never had to deal with this before!" he threw his hands in the air, "even if it's just for nightmares, they'll be insufferable. All of the questions..."

His face fell into lethargic horror at the thought.

"Don't be dramatic," you huffed. You opened the door in one swing and glared down at the three brats falling at your feet. Sakura met your glare with an innocent smile.

"Good morning," she smiled. You glared harder, "it's lovely out today. Wanna go on a walk?"

"No," you grumbled, "I want peace."

"We want answer-mmhp," Naruto shouted over Sakura shoulder, cut off by her hand blindly slapping backwards and landing over his mouth. She held it there and gave you another innocent smile.

"Listen, all three of you. I will say this one time and one time only."

The kids all froze, and you even noticed Kakashi stop in his tracks to look at you.

"I have nightmares, and being next to someone at night helps. That's all."

"Aw man," Naruto grumbled, turning towards Sasuke, "we thought Kakashi-sensei had a girlfriend."

"Hey," Kakashi stuck his head through the door, now fully dressed and slightly less red than before, "all of you go run three miles."

"Wha–, sensei," Sakura groaned, "what were we supposed to think? You were practically naked–"

"Four miles."

"But–"

"Five."

"Fine, fine, geez."

Naruto and Sakura sulked towards the gym, but Sasuke paused and gave you a long glance. It didn't hold any of his previous coldness; now it was just curiosity that lingered in his gaze. Once he was apparently satisfied with his observation, he glanced at Kakashi and tilted his head, then turned and followed Sakura and Naruto down the hall.

"Good morning," you muttered to a wide-eyed Kakashi. He looked like he had gone into overdrive, and you imagined he was picturing the horrors that would come that day as a result of this incident. Five miles wouldn't do much good to deter them from being insufferable.

"Right," Kakashi sighed, "great morning. Once I leave this room, I'll live the rest of my life being tortured."

"Oh, please," you waved his concerns away, "how bad could they be?"

"You clearly haven't spent enough time with all three of them together," Kakashi mumbled, "they feed off of one another. They're evil."

"Dramatic," you repeated, glaring pointedly at the mask that he was pulling over his nose. He shrugged.

When you left Kakashi's room, it didn't take long for you to run into Naruto. He was standing in the doorway that led into the gym, watching Sakura and Sasuke spar disinterestedly. When he saw you next to him, he perked up. It was the first time you'd ever gotten such an enthused reaction from the boy.

"Hey," he looked behind you, presumably for Kakashi, "can I, uh...talk to you?"

Interesting, but not as weird as it would have been if he hadn't just discovered you sleeping in his guardian's room. You leaned against the opposite side of the doorframe and tried to look as open and safe as possible.

"I thought you were supposed to be running?" you asked.

"Nah, Kakashi-sensei's never serious about that stuff," Naruto laughed, and you couldn't help a small smile. Kakashi really was like a father to them, and you desperately hoped Naruto didn't see you and this newfound closeness as a threat to him.

"I just wanted to...ask what your intentions are, I guess? With Kakashi-sensei."

You almost laughed at the question, but Naruto looked dead serious. You glanced at Sakura and Sasuke and saw that they hadn't stopped sparring to look at you and Naruto. So this conversation was likely happening independent of their input.

"I don't have any intentions," you said simply, "what I told you is all there is. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement, that's all."

Naruto didn't look convinced, but he moved on quickly.

"We didn't exactly meet on great terms, but I know from what Sakura's told me and from what I've seen that you're a good person. It's just that...Kakashi-sensei doesn't have that many people that he relies on. He has friends, sure, but they're more like...coworkers. He goes on missions with them, so he always feels like he has a responsibility to keep them safe. He doesn't really let his guard down much. I don't know why, but he doesn't act that way with you."

You weren't sure how you felt about being told that you were unique in someone's eyes. For most of your life, you were simply a cog in a machine. There was nothing about you that differed from your fellow Widows. You were basically a copy of the girls who came before.

"He lets his guard down around you. And he does that with us too, but he's our guardian. I think your presence is like...a reassurance that he can unwind without worrying that someone will get hurt. He's always looking out for us, never letting himself rest, so maybe you can take some of that weight off of him. Keep him from taking on too much."

"I think you're overestimating how much he trusts me."

"No," Naruto smiled, and you tried to reconcile the boy standing in front of you giving you rather wise advice with the one who had come poking around your cell when you first met, "he does. I think it makes him nervous how much he does."

"How can you tell?"

"Dunno," Naruto shrugged, "but we spend every day with him. We notice when things have changed. And all three of us have noticed it. He's more relaxed."

Did he seem more relaxed? You supposed that you hadn't known him before, so you didn't have anything to compare it to, but it was hard to imagine Kakashi being even more vigilant than he already was. You wondered just how much stress he was under on a day-to-day basis.

"Please don't leave," Naruto muttered. Your eyes widened, and you had to stop yourself from letting out a shocked laugh, "if you do, it won't just hurt Sakura. It'll hurt him too. I don't think he even realizes that, but it will. And none of us want to see that happen."

"I don't think–"

"It's true."

"Shit–" you jumped away from Sasuke, who had somehow managed to stand behind you and listen in on the conversation without you noticing, "again? Seriously, this shouldn't keep happening. I'm supposed to be a spy."

"Maybe you're distracted because you're talking about Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said with a sly smile. You narrowed your eyes at her.

"Why would I be distracted?"

"Oh, no reason," she shrugged, taking Naruto and Sasuke by the arms and dragging them back to the middle of the gym, "no reason at all."

Distracted. You weren't easily distracted, and Kakashi was low on the list of people who could throw you off balance. Orochimaru and Kabuto were distracting. Kakashi was just Kakashi. He didn't stop you from breathing. He sometimes made it easier.

That wasn't distraction.

You pushed Sakura's irritatingly cryptic words aside and joined Sasuke next to the mats, watching Naruto have a significant amount of trouble taking Sakura down. Both were laughing, and even Sasuke had a fond smile on his face as he studied the match. You noticed that he was paying more attention to Sakura than Naruto, eyes focused on her footwork as she side-stepped her opponent's attack and knocked him to the ground.

"How come," Naruto panted, stretching out the shoulder that he'd landed on when he fell, "I can't keep up with you anymore? It's not fair."

"How do you think I feel? I miss having sparring partners who can actually put up a fight"

"Hey!"

"Kidding, kidding," Sakura laughed, turning away from a sputtering Naruto. "Oh. good morning, Kakashi-sensei. Sleep well?"

"I slept fine, thank you for asking, Sakura," Kakashi spoke smoothly, no trace of his previous embarrassment in his voice, "and you?"

"Oh, it was a bit lonely," she shrugged, "but I suppose you wouldn't understand that problem."

Sasuke snickered, then became conveniently enraptured by the opposite wall when you glared at him.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei could take you down!" Naruto told Sakura, pointing at the man excitedly.

"Of course he could," Sakura scoffed, "I didn't train that hard."

She glanced at you, and in some sudden revelation, her eyes widened and she jumped off of the mats. You let her hurriedly push you onto them in her place with just a bit of resistance and a dead expression on your face.

"Spar Kakashi-sensei!"

You gave her a flat look, wholly uninterested in sparring at the moment. You needed breakfast. You were also in the middle of a good part of Icha-Icha, but you'd been too tired last night to keep reading. You'd been looking forward to returning to it all morning.

"I'm tired."

"No, you're not. You slept great."

"You're such a little shit," you grumbled, glaring at her, then at Naruto and Sasuke with equal amounts of contempt, "all of you."

Naruto was grinning and trying to pull an equally as inconvenienced-looking Kakashi onto the mats with you.

"Don't you three want food? I know none of you can cook."

"Cook after!"

"Maybe I won't want to after."

"We'll go out."

All three were watching you and Kakashi eagerly. Sakura looked conflicted, like she was trying to decide who she should place her bets on.

"Did you three finish your five miles?"

"Of course we did!"

"Pretty quick for a couple of short stacks."

"Hey!"

You snickered, ignoring Sakura's glare.

"Fine," Kakashi said, meeting your unimpressed stare with a smile, "but I expect you to observe carefully. You'll be seeing two different fighting styles, so pay close attention to the strengths and weaknesses of both."

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto groaned, "why does everything have to be training?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Naruto," Kakashi turned his smile from you to the sulking boy, "would you prefer to write me an essay on this instead?"

"No! Not at all, I'll watch very diligently."

"Good," Kakashi nodded, then turned to you, "well, this feels familiar."

"Right," you scoffed, "because last time was just so much fun."

Sakura was looking between you and Kakashi with wide eyes, and you didn't want to imagine what kinds of assumptions she was making about your comment. You ignored her questioning gaze and steadied yourself in front of your opponent, hands raised in a defensive position.

Kakashi still had his hands in his pockets, and in the split second that you wondered if you should attack first, he was gone.

He's quick, you thought with a scowl, though not quick enough that you couldn't detect his presence behind you. You stepped forward just as his leg attempted to kick yours from under you, and you barely missed getting thrown to the ground as you spun towards him.

You heard a mix of shouts from the kids, and most of them were encouragements for Kakashi as you continuously sidestepped his attacks.

But he was the only one attacking. You were just trying to keep up.

He had you cornered, and you let out a frustrated grunt when you felt your foot hit the edge of the mat. Kakashi barely paused, so you settled on a rather crude attack and leapt at him, grabbing him around the waist and pulling him to the ground.

He landed on his back with a surprised grunt, though it didn't take him long to recover. This time, though, you had the upper hand on him. Your attacks were swifter, but they had less power behind them. One technique that was encouraged in the Red Room was to tire an opponent out with fast attacks until they couldn't counter one with increased strength. It was especially useful for stronger opponents like Kakashi, who used more raw strength in his offense.

The match continued for far longer than you would've liked. You'd thought that you'd have an easier time beating him, but you wondered if he would actually manage to take you down. You were on fairly even footing in terms of skill, you'd known that from the beginning, but you knew enough tricks that you thought you'd have the edge on him.

It seemed you'd underestimated his strategies. It must've been a lingering feeling of superiority over SHIELD that rubbed off on you from Orochimaru.

You were even more surprised when, in your momentary distraction, Kakashi reused his move from the beginning of the fight and swept your legs out from under you. You landed with an oof on the mat, head knocking against it and arm aching where your gunshot wound had almost finished healing. You probably shouldn't have been sparring, but curiosity about Kakashi's skill in close combat took precedent over concern for your still-healing injuries.

"If I hadn't gotten shot," you panted, looking up at Kakashi's pleased expression, "I would've won."

"Of course you would've," he said jovially, mood apparently lifted by his victory. He held out a hand, and you took it begrudgingly, allowing him to haul you to your feet.

You narrowed your eyes at the hushed voices behind you and glanced back at Sakura, who was whispering something in Naruto's ear that made him grin and giggle.

"Did you learn anything useful?" you ruffled her hair, pushing her head to the side playfully and sidestepping her when she tried to shove you.

"Oh, sure," she laughed, "lots of things."

Naruto laughed again, and even Sasuke cracked a small smile.

"You guys are weird," you huffed, stretching your arms above your head and following Kakashi out of the gym.

Later that night, after you'd successfully finished your Icha-Icha volume and ranted about it extensively to an amused Kakashi, you were pulled into Sakura's room hastily and rather aggressively on your way back to the gym. You stumbled inside on ungraceful feet, tripping over them as you tried to catch yourself. Sakura offered no help; she glanced out into the hall once you were inside, then closed the door quietly behind her.

"You know, you could've just asked if you wanted me in here."

She shrugged, then leapt into her bed and patted the spot next to her in invitation.

"Can I ask you something?" she said once you had settled in on the empty side. You hummed your assent, sitting up and giving her your full attention when you saw how serious her expression looked.

"Are you...happy here?"

The hope in her eyes was so clear that you had to look away. She wanted you to say yes more than anything, but it wasn't that simple. happiness was never that simple, especially when you had never really thought about your own happiness at any point in your life. It had never been enough of a priority.

Now that you thought about it, you weren't even sure what it meant to be happy. How were you supposed to tell? How could you even give her a truthful answer without knowing it for yourself?

"I...don't know," you told her honestly. Her hopeful expression didn't fade, and she nodded like she had been expecting that answer. "I'm comfortable. I feel safe here."

She smiled, and you couldn't help but mirror it. You hadn't realized how much you missed spending time with Sakura; it had been a while since you'd been able to sit down and talk like this, just the two of you. You realized somberly that it was the first time you'd been able to do it outside of the Red Room.

"You're smiling a lot more," she told you happily. You looked at her, brows furrowed. Had you smiled more? You didn't feel all that different, but you supposed that the person you'd been when you escaped with her was a far cry from who you were becoming. It hadn't even been long, and she already saw that much change?

But now that you thought about it, you saw the change too. Your nightmares were becoming more infrequent, and you no longer felt the constant pull of the Red Room and of Orochimaru's promises. They appeared to you as a distant memory; a thing of the past.

You tried to remember when you'd stopped assuming that you would eventually go back. When you'd accepted that you were no longer a Widow.

You wondered when you had become okay with that fact.

"I'm so happy," Sakura laughed, silent tears rolling down her cheeks, "none of it even feels real."

"What do you mean?"

"This," she motioned towards you vaguely, then towards the door where you could hear Naruto and Sasuke talking to Kakashi from the lounge, "you being here. Everyone being safe. For the first time in almost five years, I'm surrounded by people I care about. And you're smiling so much, I just..."

Her words were becoming more strained, like she was trying to keep herself from bursting into tears. You reached towards her on instinct, and she was quick to lean into you and wrap her arms around your waist. She was crying quietly into your chest, gripping your shirt and muffling the sounds of her cries in the fabric. You buried a hand in her hair and tucked her head under your chin in a familiar set of movements.

"I'm so happy," she cried quietly, pulling you closer and sniffling. You rubbed her back, unsure of how to respond. You felt something swell in your chest; this was the first time that Sakura had cried in your arms because of something good happening. The last time she'd done it, it was because you were leaving. You had been reassigned after your mission together, and her terrified cries often haunted your nightmares.

"I...I think I'm happy," you whispered. She paused; it almost felt like her breathing had stopped. "and I want to stay. I am staying. If...if you and the others will have me."

"Of course," she laughed, though it sounded more like a sob as she tackled you to the bed. You chuckled, wrapping your arms around her and relishing in the lightness in your chest. It was such a new feeling. It was freeing. Maybe that was what happiness felt like.

If it was, it was something that you wanted to get used to.

(previous chapter) | (next chapter) | (series masterlist)

Author's note | ahhhh i'm so excited about this chapter. i've had it started for a while so i'm glad to finally get it published. also, i have this series planned to the end, but i'm absolutely love writing it, so would anyone be interested in a sequel series (that i've already begun planning)?

anyways, as always, let me know what you think and leave me some love if you enjoyed!

title is from "Trust" by Lucy Dacus

#kakashi #kakashi x reader #kakashi x you #kakashi x y/n #kakashi imagine #kakashi hatake #kakashi hatake x reader #kakashi hatake x you #kakashi hatake x y/n #kakashi hatake imagine #naruto #trr #emwrites

[nothingtherefornow]

Is it that bad if numerous people but not Chat noir know Ladybug's secret identity ? (with a little comparison to Insomniac Spider-man games)

Spoilers Warning from the recent MArvel Spider-man 2 game on PS5 :

I thought about the fact that at least 6 people are confirmed to know Ladybug's secret's identity at the end ofseason 5 : Alya, Luka, Felix, Kagami, Alix and Su-Han

And I wondered once why Marinette remains Ladybug while so many people know her secret identity, then I remembered that Spider-man aka Peter Parker also did his best to keep his secret identity from many people and all New Yorkers when he could, and only revealed it to those he trusted the most. And after seeing Marinette struggle many times because of her secret, it's reassuring to know that among her friends, 4 of them won't be affected nor damaged by her secret because they know the reasons behind her absences, delays and bogus excuses

To make another comparison with the Spider-man universe, in the recent Marvel Spider-man 2 game on PS5, with his family and most close friends being aware that he is the second Spider-man, Miles has a more solid and helpfull support system than what Peter had at the same age. While Peter kept his secret to himself for a long time before taking his girlfriend MJ into his confidence

But was unaware that his Aunt May of that universe also discovered that he was Spider-man at some point, and he only learned about it during her last moments

And he could not enjoy for long to have his secret also known by best friend Harry in the second game.

Because Harry fell into a coma shortly after

But many people close to Miles were made aware of his secret between the Marvel Spider-man game : Miles Morales and the Marvel Spider-man 2 on PS5. And at the end of the Marvel Spdier-man 2 video game, Miles has his mother Rio, his uncle Aaron, his best friend Ganke, and his near girlfriend Hayley aware that he is the second spider-man

And I could see how it made things easier and more bearable for Miles to not hide this secret from his most loved ones.

And I don't want to summerize how difficult and painfull it was for many versions of Peter Paker to hide the fact that they were Spider-man from their loved ones. But Marvel Spider-man 2 shows us that being able to share his responsibilities with a more than competent Miles, of whom Peter is the mentor, or even to be helped by MJ and Harry once in a while is a good thing for Peter, and really seems to lift him some weight from him

Peter being Miles mentor also adds another close friend and confidant for each other

So yeah I don't think it will be such a bother to have 6 people being aware of Ladybug's secret identity, because they all proved that they could resist akumatization or keep that secret well to themselves : Alya, Luka and Felix all resisted akumatization once, Su-han has a secret technique keeping him safe from akumatization as long as he can spot the akuma, and even though Kagami suspected Marinette of being Ladybug in Perfection and Protection, Monarch didn't manage to find this information in her mind when he akumatized her (also Kagami now has a miracle charm and those can stop and purify akuma and megakuma with positive emotions).

As for Alix, I can only hope that she'll know to be very carefull with the things she know and learnt from her time travels.

The most important thing is for the people aware of Ladybug's secret identity to be reliable with that secret, which is certainly not everyone (I'm thinking about you Nino).

And while Adrichat also knows how to keep a secret, and would definitly be trustfull and reliable with Ladybug's civilian identity (as he showed that he could in the Chat Blanc). The problem is that so far everytime Ladybug and Chat Noir had both been aware of each other secret identities, a catastrophe always ensued, and the Rabbit and Snake power were necessary to fix everything. Now since Gabriel is out of the picture, it would be logic to think that Lila/Chrysalis doesn't pose near the same threat on Adrien's psyche as Gabriel did in Chat Blanc and Ephemeral, and yet the fact that she's aware of a secret that Maribug will be forced by the scenario to keep from Chat Noir could make everything worse if Adrien also knew that both Marinette and Ladybug are the same.

As long as there's a risk for Chat Noir and Ladybug love between them as Marinette and Adrien to be exploited, it's still not safe for them to know about who is behind the mask of their partner.

And after almost being akumatized thrice, Marinette would not be able to trust herself with Chat noir's secret identity neither. Let's at least take solace into the fact that Marinette and Adrien are both aware that Luka knows Ladybug AND Chat Noir seret's identies, and thus could eventually request Luka's help to act as a bridge between them (not knowing how frustrating such a thing would be for poor Luka ^^')

Although ... given Lila's skills at manipulation (or rather at making everyone intelligence spectcularly drop), Alya would be the more at risk to reveal Ladybug's secret identity, if Lila isn't already aware of it that is (I sure hope that's not the case T_T)

But I'm also hoping that season 6 will manage to exploit well the fact that Kagami and Felix also know that Ladybug and Marinette are one and the same, because with what Lila/Cerise and soon to be Chrysalis probably has in store for Maribug, the ladybug heroin will definitly need reliable allies and friends on her side, especially somoene as intelligent and cunning as Felix. And while Kagami and Felix still need to prove themselves to me, there's a good potential for a future dynamic between them and Marinette. Or maybe my hopes are for naugths and Felix and Kagami will be side character without a good development T^T

#miraculus ladybug #spider-man #insomniac spider man #marvel spider-man 2 ps5 #Spider-man 2 PS5 spoilers #miraculous ladybug season 5 #miraculous ladybug season 6 speculations #marinette dupain-cheng #adrien agreste #alya cesaire #alix kudbel #ml su-han #kagami tsurugi #luka couffaine #felix fathom #peter parker #miles morales #mary jane #harry osborn

[arceespinkgun]

What is going on... I've seen like five different people hating on Elita-1 in the tags in the past few days? Are people suddenly saying this because she'll be in that new movie? Because she's in the Skybound comics? I guess now is a good time to say that I've been a fan of every Elita I've seen so far. Even when some of them have been portrayed using problematic tropes, like how TFA Elita was fridged for the sake of male characters' development or how Elita in the first IDW run was repeatedly pitted against other women, I've always loved their characterizations and abilities. Honestly, when looking at the original IDW comics as a whole and not as individual series, Elita might be my favorite character from it overall—she was so badass!

As soon as I saw her in "The Search for Alpha Trion" in the Sunbow cartoon I wanted to see more of her and wished she hadn't been in only two episodes, so I'm really happy she's in Earthspark and Skybound and the Go! Go! manga now. Honestly, she was strangely ignored by a lot of media until right after I joined this fandom and started this blog? Lucky me!

Also, on the subject of Elita, when I first saw the episode of Earthspark in which Grimlock gets triggered by Jawbreaker and Elita attempts to stop him from rampaging, I was under the impression that Elita and Grimlock having been comrades (or interacting at all) was entirely new to that show. But now I know I was wrong! It seems like in the Fun Pub Classics comics, which refer to the US Marvel comics, Grimlock was her commander and potentially mentored her?

Her bio also reads:

Elita-1's origins are a mystery to everyone but Grimlock. In fact, no one in the Autobot ranks even knew she existed until Grimlock first brought his newly formed crew aboard the Graviton. There she was, quietly working behind one of the ships consoles, paying no attention to the inquisitive looks directed her way. Every member of the crew has a theory about her, but she isn't talking, and neither is Grimlock. A skilled fighter, Elita-1 is adept with the Circuit-Su form of combat. Her weapon of choice is a hyper concussive missile launcher that converts into an EMP scrambler. Mimetic alloy armor allows her to blend into her surroundings and can also refract laser weapons fire into blinding bursts of light. While confident in her abilities, she feels that she has yet to fully prove herself to others, leading her to take unnecessary risks.

Considering all this and that Elita-1's alt-mode is a pink battleship in this continuity, I wonder if she had a tie to the nucleon well on Hydrus IV that Grimlock used on himself and the other Dinobots.

The well of nucleon was on an island facility surrounded by a pink lake reached by raft, so a pink ship like Elita would fit right in there. If Grimlock did find her or create her somehow in that continuity, great, I guess I have to begrudgingly admit Marvel Grimlock did one thing I appreciate lol

#Elita-1 #Elita One #Grimlock #my analysis #transformers skybound spoilers #transformers marvel #transformers fun publications

[mehoymalloy]

Silly post incoming!

I present my personal favorite "THAT'S HOT" moments in all nine of my published Imogen/Otohan works.

As she spoke, Otohan's lips brushed against her fingertip, and the sensation shot up Imogen's arm and down her spine, forcing a shudder to rattle through her rigid frame. Imogen could almost convince herself that the touch was accidental—if not for Otohan's unwavering stare, heavy on her own. Imogen's stomach heaved, and she told herself the sensation was surely revulsion, brought on by the sight of her own blood smeared across Otohan's bottom lip. Then Otohan stroked her thumb across Imogen's palm, and the tingles that skittered beneath her skin at the soft touch, the blooming sensation in her stomach, the pounding of her pulse in her ears—it was unmistakable. And though Imogen refused to put a word to the feeling, it was decidedly not revulsion.

–These Marks (They're Marvelous) (T)

"What did I tell you about prying?" Otohan asks with a small smirk, and Imogen shivers as that chill intensifies, pressing in as if to meet Imogen's seeking presence, swallowing her even as it keeps her firmly at bay. "It's not like you follow your own rules," Imogen mutters. "It's common etiquette, not necessarily a rule." Imogen raises an eyebrow, silently asking, 'so what?' "I never said I was polite," Otohan says lowly as she suddenly sweeps Imogen into a dip. Imogen scrambles to loop her arm over Otohan's shoulder, fingers clutching at the silky fabric of Otohan's vest over her shoulder blade. As Otohan reels her back up, Imogen abruptly, aggressively presses into her mind. That heavy chill suddenly solidifies into solid ice, and Otohan mentally draws back even as she physically holds Imogen close. Strangers' thoughts trickle back in along with Otohan's intentional voice, resounding sharply in her mind. 'Etiquette, Imogen.' Her silent smirk is infuriating. "You assume I'm polite?" Imogen sneers.

–A Dance with Danger (T)

"You are infuriating," Otohan announced herself, gaining no satisfaction when Imogen whipped around to face her in surprise. "Otohan," Imogen practically purred her name, and Otohan cursed the slight shiver that crawled down her spine in response, frowning as Imogen continued speaking. "Is something wrong?" she asked mockingly, tongue sharp, eyes even sharper. "You look a little upset." Otohan's slight frown twisted into an outright glare—the impudence of her. As Otohan started towards her, Imogen simply stared at her, refusing to back away. That feeling in her stomach—that desire to stalk, to capture, to consume—stirred ever so slightly. Even once Otohan was close enough to notice fingerprint-shaped bruises marring Imogen's cheeks, the girl smirked at her. What little gratification Otohan felt upon seeing the marks instantly erupted into frustration once more. "I don't think you understand nor appreciate exactly how lenient I've been with you," Otohan growled.

–Let Me Lay Waste to Thee (M)

Beneath the cut is everything from Won't You Lay Hands on Me, the spin-off series to Let Me (because it's a 33.3% smut).

"Imogen," Otohan murmurs, bumping their nose gently against hers and pitching their voice as soft as they are able; it rasps uncomfortably in their throat. They begin rubbing light, slow circles around Imogen's clit. "Is something wrong? You look a little upset." Fire sparks in Imogen's gaze as Otohan throws her own words back at her. "Am I ruining your fantasies?" They increase their speed, pleased when Imogen shudders beneath them. Her free hand flies to their waist, gripping tight. "Or am I so–" Otohan abruptly thrusts inside, smiling when Imogen's breath catches in her chest. "much–" Another hard thrust, a strangled whimper as Imogen tenses up. "better?" They drive in deep, rubbing tight, fast circles against her clit. Imogen nearly sobs, and Otohan huffs a breathless laugh.

–Hold Me, Break Me (E) Won't You Lay Hands on Me #1

This time, teeth sink in until it hurts as Otohan seals their lips and sucks hard. Eyes clenched shut, Imogen strains forward, intending to bite her own forearm, but latches onto Otohan's instead. She flattens her tongue against the soft skin of their inner wrist as she chokes down a high-pitched keen. A tendon flexes beneath her tongue as Otohan, in turn, increases the pressure, and Imogen considers herself lucky when only the quietest whimper escapes her. Abruptly, Otohan eases up, and Imogen draws in a ragged breath through her teeth, biting down even harder on their wrist in some petty act of retribution. Otohan appears unbothered as they trail searing kisses up Imogen's neck to her ear, where their lips curl into a broad smirk as they whisper, 'Don't hide this one.'

–The Stark Reminder (E) Won't You Lay Hands on Me #2

When she tugs, Otohan goes willingly, eyes fluttering closed as they expect to be drawn into a kiss. Instead, their breath hitches when Imogen tilts her head and presses her lips against Otohan's neck. Every movement is performed with gentle, maddening care. Bare feet glide against Otohan's calves as Imogen tangles their legs together, her thigh slipping between Otohan's as she leans her weight into them. The hand on Otohan's back steadily smooths up their spine, fingertips tracing along arcing marks. When Otohan doesn't pull away, Imogen tilts her head as she increases the pressure just a little, lips slick against their skin. When Otohan swallows thickly, Imogen's tongue peeks out to press warm and wet against the strained muscle. And when Otohan strangles a soft, wanting sound, Imogen releases their collar, smoothing her hand up to carefully tangle in their hair, coaxing that pathetic noise to crawl up Otohan's throat with a single tug. The moment Otohan truly relaxes and leans into Imogen's touch, tilting their head to press a kiss against her hairline, Imogen digs her teeth in, exceedingly gentle as she seals her lips and sucks long and slow. "Imogen," Otohan gasps, the sound morphing into a short, strained moan when a shock of arousal races across the tether from Imogen as she presses in even closer.

–Yours, Mine, Ours (T) Won't You Lay Hands on Me #3

Imogen felt Otohan's anger spike across the bond—sharp and insistent and barely held back—before it then translated through Otohan's actions as she finally reciprocated. Teeth scraped against Imogen's lower lip like she wanted to swallow her whole, fingers clutched at Imogen's knee as if to pry her apart, and the hand at Imogen's cheek slipped into her hair, heavy as the knot of a noose on the nape of her neck. When Imogen slipped her hand up, pressing just hard enough to hurt against that bruise, Otohan's tenuous restraint suddenly snapped as she bit down hard on Imogen's lip. Imogen uttered a theatrically soft and sickeningly-sweet moan in response. And as expected, Otohan couldn't quite strangle her own reaction. It was a raw sound, expelled unwillingly, delicately drawn out by Imogen alone. A frustrated groan—longing and loathing in unequal measure.

–flowers and their [lack of] meaning (T) Won't You Lay Hands on Me #4

–solace (if only for a moment) (G) Won't You Lay Hands on Me #5

Whatever Otohan's motivations, the result is a too-gentle touch that soothes Imogen far more than it should, and she sighs softly as she reluctantly relaxes into Otohan. There's a flicker of surprise, inadvertently shared, as Otohan instinctively takes what Imogen gives—their mind curling tighter around her own. Then, a mix of muddled emotions, tangled together and indecipherable until a surge of smug satisfaction takes prominence—very intentionally shared. Otohan is gloating—subtly prideful of the supposed power they wield over Imogen, that she would allow this closeness, wide awake and without excuse. These sensations scrape down Imogen's spine like fingernails catching in skin, and Imogen represses a shiver as she rolls her eyes.

Otohan's fingers reach her throat, and Imogen clenches her jaw as they trace along arcing marks to grip her chin. She tamps down the instinct to jerk away from their hold, and then she stifles the stupid involuntary urge to tilt her head when Otohan brushes their lips against her neck. And again, she struggles not to flinch at the sharpness of Otohan's tone when they speak; harsh words are hot against Imogen's skin even as they pierce her mind like sharp splinters of ice. "She asked you a question, Imogen." Otohan then tilts Imogen's head up, forcing wide violet eyes to meet Laudna's anxious gaze. Imogen slaps on a strained, wavering smile, and a muscle in her cheek spasms when Otohan scrapes their teeth against her skin. "Answer her."

–Resentful Surrender (M) Won't You Lay Hands on Me #6

#possibly the most indulgent post i've ever made #i just desperately want inspiration to finish that 10th work #and i wont lie the bombardment of 😳 feelings certainly cheered me up at the very least lol #imogen x otohan #imogen temult x otohan thull #cr3 #critical role #mehoymalloy #fanfic excerpt