best viewed in dark mode !

All the skeletons you hide / Show me yours, and I'll show you mine. 

― Phoebe Bridgers, "Savior Complex"

FOR A TIME, SURAYA RAO WONDERED IF SHE WAS CURSED.

It started when she was 12 and a rose bloomed on her shoulder. A delicate flower that Suraya believed she was imagining. It will go away when I close my eyes. Or maybe just in a few days. But, petals, leaves, and thorns continued to sprout — no matter how much she scrubbed her skin or wished they would shrivel up and disappear. Girls go through changes at this age, right? It's normal. She hid the markings under layers of clothing. No one had to see; no one had to know.

There were other things, too. Suraya could ripen fruit she was impatient to eat; unwilt the petals of a dying flower; sprout berries from barren plants. With every step she took, Suraya felt the grass grow beneath her feet. She'd poke her finger on a thorn and a thick, green liquid broke through the surface of her skin. It's not normal.

Eventually, Suraya discovered that she could take life away as much as she could let it bloom. Is that really such a bad thing, though?

Suraya was different, not entirely human but nothing else she could name. She didn't know why, she didn't know how. Maybe it was just biology or genetics. Maybe it was a curse. Either way, maybe there was something beautiful about what she was, and the world just had to accept it. Not that it made a difference in the end, really. Because, no matter how many people she surrounded herself with — classmates, coworkers, friends, lovers — Suraya always felt a little out of place, somewhat misunderstood, and utterly alone.

Until Charles Xavier got inside her head.

𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐀 𝐑𝐀𝐎 / 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐍

( SIMONE ASHLEY )

Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.

― Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐗𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐑 / 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐑 𝐗

( JAMES MCAVOY )

If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.

―Jane Austen, Emma

══════════════

Sofia Boutella as Raven / Mystique

Michael Fassbender as Erik / Magneto

Dev Patel as Hank / Beast

Alfred Enoch as Alex / Havok

Ross Butler as Sean / Banshee 

Zoë Kravitz as Angel 

John Boyega as Darwin 

══════════════

Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.

― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein            

Dedications !

cuddleysoftbear spaceism zozoleesi _naomiwrites cleovatras JENSNEEDY lovecelest -angxlpurity spidermain sukibenders artcinemas  -infinitywars romanoffslcve KUICORE floralysis

......thank you for supporting + helping me with this fic ! 

  Warnings !

Swearing, suggestive content, along with some potentially triggering content such as prejudice, racism, sexism, homophobia, death, mention of abuse and canon-typical violence.

Author's note !

As you can probably tell, I'm getting back into my X-Men phase ..... I rewatched all the movies and First Class is probably one of my favorite (superhero) movies so of course I'm publishing a new fic !!

It took me a bit to decide what mutation to give Suraya, but I thought the ability to control plants might be cool.... I think of her as somewhere in between Poison Ivy and Layla from Sky High, who can both manipulate plants but are on different sides of the (anti)hero/hero spectrum! Like most mutants, Suraya has a bit of a tragic past and has always felt like an outsider (both in terms of being a mutant and being a woman of color). Spoiler alert: she ends up agreeing more with Erik and Raven after the beach divorce (if you know, you know....breaks my heart EVERY! TIME!) but obviously there's some build up to that decision. Basically, I wanted to do the whole star-crossed lovers thing with her and Charles.

Speaking of which! Even if I have some mixed feelings about him, young!Charles Xavier (especially in First Class) has such a special place in my heart! He's this mix of charming and a bit cocky but also a total dork?? He and Suraya kinda have this instant attraction and connection and their relationship gets really intense really fast...they're young and in love so of course it's going to end in heartbreak. The story will be set when they're in college and then move to the era of First Class where they're reunited and things (maybe?) start up again... 

Anyways, I'm very excited to write this and I appreciate all you wonderful readers <3

filters used: (gifs) unstoppable by btspop on deviant art and (moodboards) murder most foul by silkvoid on polarr!