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purplerose244 · 1 year ago

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Headcanons for a Camp Camp season post-David adopting Max

(Because I got back to Camp Camp for no reason at all and it is now everyone's problem. Also apparently new episode incoming? YOOO)

WARNING THERE ARE SWEARS IN THIS BUT I MEAN IT'S CAMP CAMP SO YOU KNOW 😅

Here we go!

No one knows at first

First episode starts with something random (Idk maybe something about change that makes everyone freaking out, you know how CC goes) and the entire time there are hints, like Max arriving at Camp with David and David always being in the proximity of Max. Towards the end Max makes a half-assed comment about it

Neil: Well, I guess some things never change

Neil: This place is still pretty fucked up

Max: Yeah, this is weirder than David adopting me at the end of last summer

(pause)

Everyone: WAIT WHAT?!

Casual episodes have background scenes where David puts a hand in front of Max whenever he wants to do something dangerous, or he picks him up

Max is now enrolled in Camp Campbell for Music Camp. He is never seen actually practicing during afternoon activities, he kinda just stands on his boot, but when no one is watching, especially at night, he does play a bit. He plays a guitar that was the first birthday present he got from David

He's genuinely good, he just thinks that the others will make fun of him for specifically playing guitar and ask him what campfire songs did David teach him

He's right and the answer is ALL OF THEM

Max is back to the plan of making David snap, but the idea evolved from "no way a person can be this happy" to "no way a parent can be this happy". That's totally NOT projection of his own trauma and he DOES NOT expect David to abandon him the moment it becomes too much (wink)

THE AMOUNT OF DAD JOKES ISTG. Max is 100% sure he'll go crazy out of tree puns alone. David is fully convinced that's peak dad behavior and non-negotiable

David: I'd love to take you on a vacation to trees' favourite city!

Max: David no.

David: Montreeal!

Max: DAVID NO.

David: Why so tense, Max? Are you okay?

Max: STOP RIGHT NOW.

David: Should I... leaf you alone?

Max: *groans forever*

A full episode where David is terrified of making preferences for his son and struggles between being a counselor and a father, fearing that the others might feel left out. Ultimately it is pointed out by everyone that Max was always his favourite, therefore he was a shit about it from the beginning and no one really cares (David feels relieved and quite conflicted about this)

Whenever the campers need permission to do something dangerous and there is REALLY no other option, Max sighs and does his best "please I really wanna do this, you are my guardian right?" act. It's embarassing how quickly David caves in

An episode about being a young single father, maybe David going on a date (I'm thinking the cute waitress from the Bonquisha episode and/or the bartender guy from the town episode, just to make some comebacks), having tons in common and getting along, but not wanting to commit with someone with a son. David feels pretty lonely, but he 100% can only be with someone that accepts Max as well (also pan David my beloved 🩷💛💙)

Max discovers David's tipping point when the kid gets seriously hurt because of a stupidly dangerous adventure. Max gets scolded like he didn't think David was able to. It follows a pretty tense period where Max thinks this is it, but David is just very embarassed for snapping like that and while he thinks Max can survive more than he can, he needs him to be safe. After talking they get much closer

David has no idea how to ground someone, especially his son. Usually, when he feels like he has to, he consults Gwen or, heaven forbid, Quartermaster

An episode where the ideal camper arrives. Loves outdoors, loves activities, loves singing along and saluting the flag, so David gets excited. The entire time the campers try to figure out if Max is jealous, but he shows no sign. Obviously the camper is someone evil because this is Camp Camp, and at the end Max stomps the person with a "sorry sweetheart, I'm his favourite"

Max doesn't call him dad, David knows this and never presses him. But the kid slips sometimes and corrects himself quickly, although David never seems to notice

He actually does notice and every night he proceeds to giggle into his log pillow like a high schooler with a crush

An episode where the campers try to figure out how the whole adoption situation happened, since neither Max nor David really explained it. The hypothetical story becomes increasingly crazier and more complex, between alien invations, warlocks and internal monologues. At the end a flashback is shown of Max waiting at camp. Gwen is in the cabin, then David arrives with his cheek red and bloody

David: It took some convincing

Gwen: Oh, David...

David: I'm alright. I knew who I was dealing with, and apparently they're this aggressive only to strangers. It could've been a lot worse, and they said yes anyway

Gwen: So... now what?

David: Now? Now I'm bringing him home

David had everything ready for adoption way before meeting Max, stating that as a counselor you never know what might happen. He thinks it's commendable. Max thinks it's fucking creepy

After The Forest episode David developed a bit of feral instincts, but never really showed them. Since Max can usually defend himself better than David does, there is no need to intervene. Until Daniel comes back, and makes the mistake of kidnapping Max this time, wanting to play with David on how to find his kid. He did not know. David turns into wolf dad, literally growling and hunting for his cub. Imagine a feral David roaring and growling "WHERE THE FUCK IS MY KID DANIEL??". Suffice to say, Daniel is sent to the hospital (praying the ultra lord) and Max starts to think, between Daniel and David, maybe it's his dad the psychotic one

He doesn't mind it that much

Possible outcome is Daniel being astonished by such energy, realizing that David just won't die, and feeling something strong for him, starting to ponder if David is an reincarnation of Xemug... he is giving himself an excuse, he basically just got a crush on David. If that would turn him madder or start his redemption arc, I have no idea, but I kinda like it �� (actually I might make a separate post about this, I got an idea for another season sequel to this one and yes, pretty Dadvid 💕💕)

Post this incident that ruined it, Mr. Honeynuts now wears a little Camp Campbell counselor uniform. David made it of course, and while Max voices his contempt, the bear was getting rough to hug and the shirt is soft

Idea gag of Max saying "did you know that *insert disturbing emotional abuse practice* isn't okay? Learned that last year"

They got blackmail material on each other. Max obviously uses it the most, between embarassing underpants and sleep talking, but in extreme cases David is not above pulling out his cute Max photo collection

Yes, he got several of those

Yes, he is waiting for someone to ask about it and show them like the proud parent he is

After David adopted Max, he started to work two jobs to make ends meet (I'm thinking teacher and maybe night guard, very standard). He's actually pretty good at both, but it makes him very exhausted. He once snapped at Max out of exhaustion and since then, he decided to rest whenever he feels tired (you know, like a normal person). Max jokes that he was supposed to make his life a nightmare, not help him develop a better and healthier lifestyle

They got a method for asking permission, "bullshit for fun": David allows him some usually unallowed stuff and he gets to have some cute father-son moments in exchange

Max: Okay, it's a huge concert, so I'm willing to go as far as a full week of tucking in bed

David: I'm not letting you go out of town all on your own that easily, young man! The week of that, and three days of hand holding when we get into a crowd!

Max: Mmm... one hand holding and... urgh... one day of camping together

David: WAIT, REALLY?!

Max: It's a really good concert

David: DEAL!!!!

During a particolarly bad night of Max having nightmares, David spends the night comforting him. Max jokes that perhaps David can get even a hug out of this. David states that their system is a fun thing between them for treating responsibilities and boundaries in a less serious way, but if Max needs comfort, that's always free

An episode in which Max hears David talk to Gwen, saying stuff like "I don't have enough money for him. I don't think I can make it. I'm so sorry, poor Max". He then starts the most effective escape from Camp Campbell plan he has ever put in motion, genuinely making it except he comes back because he misses everything. He screams at David for making him love him only to dump him. At last David understands the situation and hugs him, revealing that... he was talking about a dog he wanted to adopt for Max. Max will never live that down, and David is in absolute glee for the following days because his son loves him

Sometimes Max says "Language!" without realizing. It's horrifying for all people involved, even David

On the other hand, David starts to swear more. The thing is, he's used to Max and it's such a foreign thing to him that sometimes he doesn't realize it was him

David: Hold on, now where the fuck is everyone?

David: Language!

David: ... wait-

Idea crossover headcanon, David's last name is Corduroy, his dad is a cousin of the Corduroys of Gravity Falls. But as a matter of fact, David never calls his father dad, going for either sir or sergeant

I have the idea of introducing this father in an episode flashback from before the adoption. David's father, sergeant Jeffrey Corduroy, comes to the camp to "visit his son and reconnect after such a long time". The man is huge and affable, friendly like David, but David turns into a Max version of himself when he's around. After everyone states that he seems cool, David gets pissed even more and basically ditch camp activities the whole day

Max gets a moment alone with the sergent and presses a little more, thrown off by meeting the first person David seems to openly hate. As Max is being Max, Jeff loses it pretty quickly, revealing the kindness is a mask. As he is on his way to hit Max, David puts himself in between. He scolds his father, mad like never before, stating that one apology won't make up for ten years of hell. Jeff leaves, David is so tired his legs won't hold, Max helps him get back to the cabin and they stay there

When the two are alone eventually, David tells him his story: he actually learned about survival from his dad first, he got trained mercilessly to the point of spitting blood, for ten long years. At some point his parents decided to divorce, and he was sent to Camp Campbell to not be in the way. He felt happy there for the first time, but he spiralled after leaving, as his dad left and his mother was depressed. She sent him to France at the clown school, again to not be in the way, and when he was old enough he simply left his house to find his own way to be happy. The only place where that was, was Camp Campbell

David apologizes for making his first story about camp too cheerful, as he should have been sincere. Max comes to two conclusions that night: that they are way more similar than he expected (something he didn't believe when he first heard the camp story from David), and that... maybe David is kind to everyone because he used all the hate he has on that asshole

Possible last episode of the season is another Parent Day. Everyone is teasing Max over the fact that every day is Parent Day for him, and Max complains but passively shows how he can't wait for it. Obviously David is way too gleeful about it. Then David disappears and no one knows where he is, and Max gets in the worse mood possible, making it everyone's problem. Everyone is actually kinda supportive and that turns him from angry to simply sad, although Gwen states that whatever happened to David, he promised to be there therefore he will be

At the exhibition part, when it's Max' turn, David arrives just in time, running in full survival attire like in The Forest. Basically David had another canoe incident, and was hunted down by two more wolves. It turns out that they're the pups of the wolfie he befriended before, they were hunted by men and that's why they were very aggressive towards him at first. Another adventure ensued, with the pups learning how to survive nature

Of course this is not explained to the people (just like The Forest), David apologizes for the late, Max says "fuck you dad" and hugs him in front of everyone

Follows the most mundane celebration between parents, with David (after taking off the survival look) looking a bit goofy and uncomfortable with so many adults while being a young man, but he does his best. Finally a moment of tranquility for the campers, as they watch their parents

Neil: You know Max, maybe you had to learn to appreciate the hell that is Camp Campbell, to meet a parent that truly cared for you. Maybe it was all a learning experience, and this is your reward

Max: ...

Neil: ...

Max: Well, this place sucks, and my dad is a fucking idiot. Definitely not worth it

(Max scoffs, then he smiles at David waving at him. The other campers hold back laughter, clearly not believing him)

It's implied that from then on Max starts calling David dad full time

#i love these two so much #i feel like writing fics again #we'll see #anyway #camp camp #david #max #gwen #cc david #cc max #cc gwen #dadvid #camp camp headcanons #headcanons #cc daniel #daniel #cc neil #neil

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mothybean · 5 months ago

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Airhead

Chapter 2

———

I stood in front of Vi’s front door and gave it a gentle knock. Caitlyn said that she knew the perfect person to tutor me, never would I have guessed that it would be Vi’s little sister. I didn’t even know she had a sister. I felt blindsided. As I waited, my eyes fixated on their doormat. It was your typical dark orange jute welcome mat. In the middle of it was a giant cursive ‘Welcome Home’ in black font. Super cheesy. I feel like everyone with a Costco membership owned this exact welcome mat. Based on looks alone, their house looked like your ideal cookie cutter home, from the ceramic garden gnomes chillin’ on their vibrant green, freshly cut lawn to the two black Audi's parked side by side on their long stretched driveway. Oh yeah, they were definitely well off. I wonder what their profession was.

A few moments passed, my eyes tracing each letter on the mat when I heard loud footsteps approach the door. I looked up to see a distorted silhouette behind the door’s privacy filmed window. The large white door opened and a familiar pink hair girl poked her head out.

“Hey, Y/N.” She exclaimed coolly, opening the door wider for me to step in. I smiled back and readjusted my backpack strap on my shoulder. If anyone else tried to pick up my bag, they’d probably instantly fall to the floor. I had a good 60 pounds in my bag, from books to random miscellaneous college related junk, it was enough to take a grown man out if you used it as a weapon.

“Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.” I said shyly, gripping my bag strap a bit tighter. This thing felt heavier by the second.

“Oh, don’t thank me. Jinx was the one that agreed. I’m more street smart, my sister stole all the book smarts.” She laughed, shutting and locking the door behind us. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I can read a book, but this is more my style.” Vi flexed her biceps, proving her point.

The girl was absolutely ripped. I knew Vi was in shape, I just didn’t know how much though. Every time we hung out as a trio, Vi typically wore hoodies and baggy pants. I could never depict her body type, but now, I was able to view the full picture. Vi was wearing a black sports bra with a white trim and tight black workout pants, hugging her thighs tremendously. Respectfully, Caitlyn was one lucky girl.

“Damn dude! You’ve been putting in the work! How’s police life treating you?” I questioned, pulling my wandering eyes away from her beautiful figure and kicked off my shoes, neatly placing them onto the metal shoe rack.

“It’s great so far. All of my coworkers are super chill.” Vi said as she led us down the hallway towards what I presumed to be the living room. “Jinx should be down soon. She’s finishing up some project in her room. Not to leave you here by your lonesome, I gotta get ready. Caitlyn is coming by for a little date night and I need to hit the showers. I stink.” She flashed me an apologetic grin. I playfully rolled my eyes at her before Vi took off down the hall and around the corner. Vi was such a sweet person. She was absolutely perfect for Caitlyn too. Caitlyn didn’t have time for someone who was passive about their life, she wanted excitement, someone to keep up with her and Vi was just that person. Vi was a great friend to me as well. The moment Caitlyn introduced us, we instantly hit it off and became close. Even if they broke up, I’d definitely still be friends with Vi.

I set my heavy load down by the white sofa and took a seat on their plush couch, my eyes darting around Vi’s place. My interior design brain kicked in, instantly assessing the style as industrial. It was gorgeous . Everything was in such pristine condition, the couch, the floor, the carpet, even the fucking cat. They had a beautiful light pink hairless cat sleeping on a cat tree by the back door, the sunlight hitting it ever so slightly. That cat must be in heaven. The theme of the room was mainly black and white, minus the red brick wall that towered up to the second floor to a loft. A fucking loft. I was a sucker for high ceilings. Something about them made me feel homie and a tad bit posh if we’re being honest. I would kill for a place like this.

Once I finished inspecting every inch of the interior, I unzipped my bag and pulled out my laptop. I sighed as I pressed the power button, my laptop making a high pitched whirring sound. With the amount I’ve used this thing, I’m surprised it was still kicking. Once it booted up, I pulled up a list of all the flunked assignments I had. We were only a few months in and there were about 70 assignments, 57 of those assignments I either failed or received a low score. Incredible. I didn’t want to even think about Humpfuck’s class right now. I wasn’t even sure if Jinx could comprehend his gibberish, her being younger than us. I tried fighting back on Caitlyn’s choice, but she was pretty confident about Jinx’s ability. If I knew one thing, it was to always trust Caitlyn’s judgment. That girl has gotten me out of trouble multiple times. If she was wrong, then that meant pigs could fly. She was never wrong. As I sat there deep in thought, staring at my computer screen and shaming myself for the file full of failures, I didn’t even notice the figure standing in front of me.

“Hi.” Jinx said quietly. Her sudden greeting startled me, causing me to launch my laptop in the air. I sat in awe, my heart racing from the unintentional spook as I watched my computer fall downwards. The blue haired girl swiftly snatched it before it hit the ground. “Sorry.” She apologized, handing my unscathed computer back to me. I was shocked. What reflexes!

“I should be the one apologizing, I didn’t see you there!” I placed my laptop on the couch and stood up, extending my hand in front of me. “I’m Y/N.” I greeted, inhaling deeply to cool my heated cheeks down from embarrassment.

“I know.” She said with a rather bored tone, lazily shaking my hand. “So, what are you struggling with?” She questioned, plopping down next to my laptop. I blinked a few times. Vi never mentioned that she was a bit brash. I quickly shook off the negative feelings I had and cleared my throat.

“Natural Sciences. Our teacher is living in the 1500s. It’s hard to understand what this guy is saying half the time.” I laughed nervously. Jinx seemed unamused. I cleared my throat again as I pulled up a random file for her to go over. I handed her my laptop and leaned my elbow on the couch’s arm, putting more distance between us. I felt super awkward. I thought Vi was going to at least introduce us, she knew I was socially awkward. Apparently, so is Jinx. What a great duo!

We sat in silence for what felt like hours, in reality it was only a couple of minutes, but the stillness made it feel worse than it was. As she looked over my document, I could help but secretly study her appearance. I couldn’t deny it, even if she was a brat, she was super cute. She had ridiculously long, silky, dark blue hair that was pulled into two perfect braids. When she was standing, the ends of her braids touched her ankles. It was impressive, the length of her hair, I couldn’t handle my hair past my chest, let alone to my ankles. Her skin was pale, but it was flawless nonetheless. And, my favorite feature so far, she had tattoos. Baby blue clouds lined her right arm like a sleeve. I was a sucker for tattoos. And long hair. And women. I wondered if she likes girls too.

“Y/N?” Jinx questioned. I pulled my eyes from her tattoos and met her gaze. Damn. Even her eyes were a beautiful shade of ocean blue.

“Y-yes?” I stuttered, swallowing the lump in my throat.

“Let’s go over this one, yeah?” She pointed to the laptop in between us.

She scooched closer to me, her bare shoulder barely touching mine. My body froze as if I was dropped in an ice bath. I tried to stay focused, as she explained the sheet but I was too busy getting lost in her eyes as she spoke. I couldn’t help myself. I wasn’t sure what she was talking about. At that moment, all I could think about was her. I wanted to drown in her waters.

#jinx #jinx x reader #lgbt #arcane #arcane jinx #arcane vi #arcane caitlyn #multishot #fanfiction #arcanefanfiction #fanfic

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7r0773r · 6 months ago

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Given Sugar, Given Salt by Jane Hirshfield

HABIT

The shoes put on each time left first, then right.

The morning potion's teaspoon of sweetness stirred always for seven circlings — no fewer, no more — into the cracked blue cup.

Touching the pocket for wallet, for keys, before closing the door.

How did we come to believe these small rituals' promise, that we are today the selves we yesterday knew, tomorrow will be?

How intimate and unthinking, the way the toothbrush is shaken dry after use, the part we wash first in the bath.

Which habits we learned from others and which are ours alone we may never know. Unbearable to acknowledge how much they are themselves our fated life.

Open the traveling suitcase —

There the beloved red sweater, bright tangle of necklace, earrings of amber. Each confirming: I chose these, I.

But habit is different: it chooses. And we, its good horse, opening our mouths at even the sight of the bit.

***

WAKING THIS MORNING DREAMLESS AFTER LONG SLEEP

But with this sentence: "Use your failures for paper." Meaning, I understood, the backs of failed poems, but also my life.

Whose far side I begin now to enter—

A book imprinted without seeming reason, each blank day bearing on its reverse, in random order, the mad-set type of another. December 12, 1960. April 4, 1981. 13th of August, 1974—

Certain words bleed through to the unwritten pages. To call this memory offers no solace.

"Even in sleep, the heavy millstones turning."

I do not know where the words come from, what the millstones, where the turning may lead.

I, a woman forty-five, beginning to gray at the temples, putting pages of ruined paper into a basket, pulling them out again.

***

PATCHED CARPET

Bought in a flea market, cheaply, because of one corner torn as if it had caught on a nail or been chewed by a dog.

For thirty years I carried it with me, house to house, life to life.

Now I have had it repaired.

The colors are the same, but the pattern is different.

The new fringe cut to the same worn length as the old, but a darkness where the line of white hook-shapes is missing.

I had learned, it seems, to expect the glimpse of underlying floorboards.

Change comes.

The repair is skillful, was needed.

Now only a different imperfection has entered the weave.

But something in me has diminished. A door the fates once opened has been nailed closed and plastered over. The white dust covers my hands.

***

AUGUST DAY

You work with what you are given — today I am blessed, today I am given luck.

It takes the shape of a dozen ripening fruit trees, a curtain of pole beans, a thicket of berries. It takes the shape of a dozen empty hours.

In them is neither love nor love's muster of losses, in them is no chance for harm or for good. Does even my humanness matter? A bear would be equally happy, this August day, fat on the simple sweetness plucked between thorns.

There are some who may think, "How pitiful, how lonely." Others must murmur, "How lazy."

I agree with them all: pitiful, lonely, lazy. Lost to the earth and to heaven, thoroughly drunk on its whiskeys, I wander my kingdom.

***

FOR HORSES, HORSEFLIES

We know nothing of the lives of others. Under the surface, what strange desires, what rages, weaknesses, fears.

Sometimes it breaks into the daily paper and we shake our heads in wonder— "Who would behave in such a way?" we ask.

Unspoken the thought, "Let me not be tested." Unspoken the thought, "Let me not be known."

Under the surface, something that whispers, "Anything can be done."

For horses, horseflies. For humans, shame.

#jane hirshfield #book quotes

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akesdraws-blog · 2 years ago

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🎄~°Random Christmas Headcanons°~🎄

Since we are in this wonderful and cold time of the year I wanted to make some headcanons that came to my head.

~Everyone in General~

• Since this is quite a cold time for our turtles they look a bit lazier than usual in the mornings, so they will look for something warm to start the day.

° Leonardo will find a nice hot cup of tea to warm him up (most likely he will bring some to Splinter)

° Miguel Ángel makes enough hot chocolate for everyone, although his chocolate will be filled with whipped cream, chocolate chips and marshmallows (He's a tower of diabetes according to Raph)

° Donatello with such cold weather is the perfect excuse to drink tons of hot coffee (literally at that time of year Donnie's lab would smell quite like coffee)

° Raphael, even though he's a huge bear, won't admit it, he'll have a big cup of the hot chocolate that Mikey made, he'll put a couple of marshmallows on it to see how they melt slowly (he likes the flavor they leave in the chocolate at the end).

• Everyone is allowed to stay up late at this time, Splinter understands that his children need to sleep a little longer.

• Because of their shells they don't have enough clothes to cover themselves, so they each cover themselves with a huge shawl of their respective colors (courtesy of Raph, Splinter has one too).

• April becomes their savior bringing them some groceries and hot pizza.

• Casey goes there often and when April explained to her about what this season is like for the boys she gave them each a few blankets (At that time he was the most loved by the boys, but they will never tell him).

• Heavens let's not forget the Christmas decorations, once it starts playing on the Christmas news channel everyone tries to turn it off or change it, the reason is easy... Mikey goes crazy.

° He is the most excited for wanting to decorate the entire den, which sometimes he sees as a challenge, if you thought that the limit is the floor, because he cannot decorate the floor, you are wrong, I fill the entire floor of the den with cotton to that looks like snow, no one knows how but I manage to make a stuffed snowman, I even beg Raph to make a wooden reindeer, every year they set limits on where he can decorate his brother in orange.

Mikey: Like I can't touch the exercise room?

Raph: I don't want a fucking sphere hitting my face when I lift the weights again

Mikey: The kitchen either?

Donnie: Last time the decorations nearly burned down and caused a fire.

Mikey: Come on bros! Don't limit my spirit!

• After a couple of days the spirit begins to enter each of the turtles.

° Leonardo being surrounded by so many Christmas decorations one day he goes out to look for a tree, everyone hides immediately when his brother decides to look for the tree (no one likes to accompany the leader).

Mikey: Come on bro, just pick one!

Leo: It has to be perfect, it cannot be taken lightly

Raph: We've been watching Leo for half an hour!

Leo: And it will take two hours if they don't stop complaining

Donnie: Technically if we stay out in the cold any longer we could start to go into a state of hibernation.

Mikey: Quick Leo, my butt is freezing!

(Conclusion: Nobody likes to go with Leo to look for the tree)

• The next one will be Donatello, he justifies himself by saying that he looks too "dark", so he is in charge of illuminating the whole den, but he doesn't like lights that have that high-pitched music (he doesn't let him work in peace).

° Donnie's lighting is quite easy on the eyes, he modified some series of lights so that they will light up mainly in Purple, blue, red and orange, although he also gets very excited with them at times.

Leo: Donnie, I really appreciated your work on the ornaments but... Is it really necessary to put lights on my bonsai?

Donnie: They look good, don't they? , Although I thought you had another

Leo: I think Mikey's drum kit would look great with your lights.

Donnie: I knew I was missing something.(Leo should always hide the bonsai babies from his genius brother)

• Lastly, Raphael, although he was actually the first to get into the Christmas spirit but he will never admit it, he makes some knitted garments for his brothers, father and his friends.

° And let me tell you that he has some very interesting ways to get some measurements in case they are necessary.

Raph: *Staring at Mikey*

Mikey: Hey bro, how much do you look at me?

Raph: I was thinking how much space does your brain have in that huge head?

Mikey: MY HEAD IS PERFECT!

Raph: *Proceeds to grab him by the head and shake him* I think I can hear your little brain bouncing *he lets go to go like nothing*

Mikey: Why is the lair moving? *falls dizzy*

Raph: his head grew half a centimeter, a hat will fit him(he begins pestering each of his siblings to get his measurements, though his siblings are only left confused by their brother Red's sudden actions)

• At this time Splinter always reads them a Christmas story, although the favorite is always the story "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, when they got to know the movies each one had a favorite version

Leo and Donnie- Scrooge's ghosts (Both really enjoy the character designs)

Mikey- A Muppet Christmas (he has a lot of fun watching it)

Raph- A Christmas Carol (prefers the 1984 classic)

•There is always a night of anecdotes, it was not officially inaugurated, it just pops up from one moment to another, everyone gets together one night to be able to talk about funny or memorable anecdotes that have happened on those dates.

April, Casey have the funniest and best anecdotes yet, but they're a little bored by Vern's anecdotes.

💙✨💜✨♥️✨🧡✨💙✨💜✨♥️✨🧡Sorry for any spelling mistakes or if some things are not understood

#tmnt stocking stuffers #tmnt bayverse #donnie tmnt #leo tmnt #raph tmnt #mikey tmnt #bayverse donnie #bayverse leo #bayverse mikey #bayverse raph #tmnt 2016 #tmnt 2014

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awakened-dreamers-blog · 11 months ago

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Ultrakill Layer 7 thoughts (spoilers obvi)

7-1 /// The Garden of Forking Paths: Great level. Super creepy and off putting, even with having watched the trailers for the level. The first time the mannequins activated for real scared me so bad that my soul fully left my body. The Minotaur showing up the first time also scared the crap out of me. Overall, the level captured the whole "labyrinth" vibe really, really well and the leadup to the Minotaur part of the level was great. Speaking of the boss, its visual design was really great and worked with the lore to make a surprisingly tragic story. The fight itself was a bit finnicky with the trams, but surprisingly easy once I got the hang of it, and the second phase was even easier (a bit too easy, imo).

7-2 /// Light Up the Night: I have mixed feelings about this level. The sound design and visual feel of the level are great, and some of the segments were really cool, particularly the clocktower and the library-looking part. I wasn't a fan of the fact that you could just go anywhere in the level at any time, that felt weird to me. I would have appreciated something akin to the sand in the Greed layer; as it is now, just being able to walk on relatively flat ground feels kinda boring. I have... thoughts on the Guttertanks, but those aren't about the level itself. The ambush when you return to the train station with the bomb was really well done imo. Probably my favorite section of the level was the library section, since the room design allowed for a lot of shenanigans with the sharpshooter pistol and the electric rail, so that wasn't as annoying as the first Guttertank fight.

7-3 /// No Sound, No Memory: Absolutely stellar level. The atmosphere throughout the entire level is excellently moody and eerie, and the lack of jumpscares (except for one) really contribute to the sorrow that pervades the level. The first three blood trees were fun fights I love the gardeny design of the first section. The friendly fire chaos of the last room was a ton of fun the first couple times, although there was a lot of stuttering. I do wish that any kills throughout the room contributed to the blood for the tree, since I died multiple times to the stupid blood puppets. That was really anticlimactic and kinda ruined the mood. Otherwise, a really good level.

7-4 /// ...Like Antennas to Heaven: An interesting boss battle, to say the least. The reveal of the Earthmover at the very beginning was *amazing* and I'm always a sucker for "climbing up a gigantic boss" sequence. The defense system was a fun stationary boss but it was pretty easy. The boss itself was really easy too, once I realized that I was just shooting towards the middle of a circle. Personally, I would have preferred slower moving lasers, more health, and an additional obstacle to fight/dodge. My main critique of the level is that it doesn't feel like a layer climax, at all. The hardest fights of the level were, by far, the ones against the Guttertanks and other normal enemies and not the intense, 1v1 duel that I like so much about the other boss fights. The Metroid Prime-esque countdown escape was really, really cool, though. I just wish the sequence was less about fighting random enemies and more about tough platforming. Also, I know that the golden arm is obviously the eponymous "Godfist" but I'm still not a fan of not getting an arm at the end of the first layer of an act.

Lore: Love how Hakita captured the feeling of a self-perpetuating cycle in the Final War. Reading about the individual stages of escalation was really, really interesting and marched the visual design of each enemy well. Can't wait to see which six-lettered King built the Minotaur for Minos (more than likely the next prime soul).

Mannequins: A fun and surprisingly challenging mix of Filth and Strays with an extra layer of horror. Incredible visual design and animation. I do wish they were a bit less bullet spongey because it doesn't really fit their aesthetic as is, but adding a few extra enemies to compensate.

Guttermen: Great visual design and lore. They're not too hard to deal with on their own, and I'm glad to have another use of the Knuckleblaster (Hakita, please, PLEASE let us map seperate buttons for each arm). When they have a hunch of other fodder around them, they make interesting counterparts to Mindflayers as high-priority targets.

Guttertanks: Ooooh boy. I really like some of the things about them, but I have a lot of issues as well. Having an enemy that forces players to either stay far away or risk a well timed dash to get some blood is an interesting shakeup, but I do think the punch should at least be parryable. As is, the punch feels way too fast to react to, way too high-damage to recover from, and knocks you back like a million miles. For enemies that are supposed to be long-ranged artillery type things, their ranged attacks are surprisingly easy to deal with (especially with the freezeframe rocket launcher) but their melee attacks are way more of a threat and they have way too much health. I would prefer it if they had either significantly less health (or some kind of massive vulnerability, akin to the streetcleaners) or if their melee attack was nerfed and their ranged attacks buffed slightly.

Other thoughts: The new puzzles with the golden orbs is interesting, but I would like if the Whiplash had slightly more of an autoaim. Thank Gabriel that the voids on the puzzle sections don't damage you. Also, my computer isn't the best, but I was having a ton of performance issues during the third and fourth levels. Nothing too crazy or fatal, just some annoying lag and stuttering.

Overall, Violence was a really great layer, one of my favorites. I do think it needs some minor changes and tuning, but I'm excited for the psecret level and the new alternate gun, plus everything else yet to come from Hakita.

#ultrakill #violence #game review

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ahedderick · 2 years ago

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I get so much done

It’s a random, rainy Tuesday in January, time to get some work done!

I sometimes get ‘volunteered’ by my family to help people with art-adjacent tasks. This happened over a month ago when my daughter told her boyfriend’s Grandma that I would help her update/repaint her mailbox. She lugged the offending mailbox home and I sighed a bit internally. One, I technically know how to do lettering, but I haven’t practiced in decades and my brushes are all for art, not calligraphy/lettering. Boy, is there a difference. Also Grannie wanted Elvis’s guitar painted over her ex-husband’s name on one side of the box. which I get, but I ok agreed to do it. Why not. Then the holidays happened and I put off the mailbox project.

Until today, when I pulled up my big girl attitude and painted the damned guitar and lettering. It is not what you might call my finest work, but it is sufficient to grace a rural mailbox at the ass-end of Flintstone.

I then moved ahead with the landscape commission, painstakingly tracing a line of buildings into the center of the scene. I painted the snow and trees around them, and that small area the size of a business envelope took about as long as the entire session before where I covered 3/4 of the canvas. It was picky and finicky, but helped me recover from the lettering.

Along the way Hero got hay, cats and dogs got their morning food, and Meadow got some worm medicine that she truly hated. The worst part is that the pills are dosed so one pill will medicate the average-size cat, but Meadow is a Big Girl and needed an extra half pill. With cheese. Because I am not utterly heartless.

Baxter, at some point, found a skein of yarn my daughter had gotten out for crochet purposes. She found the yarn strung across the house and used forceful language as she untangled it. I was keeping my face very neutral, because snickers wouldn’t have been appreciated.

“Can we bake a cheesecake flan?” Well, my next task is trying to call the folks at the 529 savings plan to see why they haven’t sent me a check - so FLAN IT IS.

I began the slow process of caramelizing the sugar while she started in mixing cream cheese, evaporated milk, and etc. I ran into the living room to put Mos Eisley Cantina music on (I needed it) and heard her erupt. AaaAAaH!

“Get it out! Quick!” my son yelled.

AAAAAAAH! *****!

I returned sedately to the kitchen to find that a stink bug had flung himself into the cream cheese and milk mixture. In his panic, he Released the Stink. Son was laughing helplessly, daughter was iRAtE (and also laughing). The Mos Eisley Cantina band was tootling fervently in the next room.

There was nothing for it but to throw the mess away. Thank heavens she only got the first two ingredients in. She went out back to fling it dramatically, which worked until the hens came running. They ended up. cheesed. We have cheesed hens.

Meanwhile the sugar did caramelize. I poured it into the baking dish without incident. A second try with the cheese and milk yielded a lovely batter that we poured into the dish on top of the caramel. I gently placed it into a baking dish of water, and into the oven it went. Fingers crossed!

Now I have to locate paperwork and call the College Trust. Unless . . . Meadow needs some pets? For her nerves?

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thehappyscavenger · 2 years ago

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Books Read in March 2023

A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr

I liked but didn’t love this one and am a bit baffled tbh by its stellar reputation which includes a Booker nom and a movie. The book is about a man in his 20s who is a vet of the first world war who heads off to the country to restore a religious mural on the church wall. He meets and bonds with the usual cast of small town characters and finds himself emotionally better off at the end of it.

It was lovely but slight and I found myself wanting more. My favourite parts were the main character’s musings on the work he was uncovering and the artist himself and how they were communicating across time with one another.

The Beach by Alex Garland

I like Garland a lot as a filmmaker but I never read his debut novel. As part of my slow rolling effort to read books I own instead of just mindlessly accumulating them I gave this one a shot and liked it a lot. It’s about a young white British traveller who is obsessed with backpacking around and finding perfectly untouched Edens which (by force of his discovery) will eventually become trampled and gentrified. By chance he is left with a map and discovers the perfect beach but this doesn’t exactly go as planned.

This is pretty sly and clever and I liked it a lot. Garland manages to be subtly critical of his characters (who are re-enacting colonialism from a perspective of privilege basically) and shows how dysfunctional this group can be.

A nice snapshot of ‘90s travel culture as well. It simply doesn’t work like this anymore and it’s kind of funny to see how quickly travel has changed in only a quarter century or so.

The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed

This was a just okay novella about climate change dystopia. I could pretty much tell where it was going by reading it and it went there but the getting there was kind of fun. I thought it was nice and bold of Mohamed to leave so many unanswered questions but then I found out the book was getting a sequel which seemed kind of lame. Either leave it as a novella or make it one full length book. Breaking it into two just seems odd.

The Trees by Percival Everett

I think maybe Everett just isn’t a writer for me. The beginning of this bowled me over because he’s such a sharp, clever writer and I know juuuuust enough about American history to have been surprised by the twist about who the families at the centre of the mystery were but as the novel went on it sort of lost me.

The book is a sort of whodunit thriller that gets a bit speculative. IDK there was something that just didn’t gel for me. I felt similar about Everett’s Too Much Blue which I read last year where I was impressed by the writing but not by what he was saying.

The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz

This book gave me nightmares. Written and set just after kristalnacht it tells the story of a rich German Jewish man who basically finds himself travelling across Germany, unable to leave but unable to stay after the Nazis have mass arrested all Jewish men. The book was published in 1939 and what makes it even worse is that the audience knows what Boschwitz and the main character do not. That death camps and mass genocide are in the near future.

Very short and simply written which adds to the devastation. The history is doing the heavy weight in this story and it’s heartbreaking.

Heaven’s Breath by Lyall Watson

I’ve been reading this off and on since September which is yet another indication that non-fiction just maybe isn’t for me. I did like this book which is a natural history on wind. It’s not even very long and Watson is a beautiful writer who is clearly passionate about his subject matter. The problem is that there’s not really a narrative through line just lots of little random factoids. It’s a good book to slow read though and excellent for picking up and putting down. There are also like 300+ books referenced and I definitely want to check out some of those because they sound super interesting.

#currently reading #A Month in the Country #Heaven’s Breath #Lyall Watson #The Passenger #Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz #The Trees #Percival Everett #The Annual Migration of Clouds #Premee Mohamed #The Beach #Alex Garland #J.L. Carr

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firefromthegodspro · 5 months ago

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Final Game Jam Dev Log: It seems we have reached... an end

Greetings, greetings, fair Tumblr. Tis I, local crackpot wizard Fire. It's currently 2:30 in the morning, and as I type this part of the post, Messier Mystes' prototype is uploading to Itch.io for submission into the Jam!

It's admittedly not... great, I did run out of time to get it to a point I wanted. But it is at the very least functional. Lacking cutscenes, balance, and quality. But functional.

Safe to say, this is the farthest I've gotten on a creative project not meant for a class, so I'm both relieved I managed to finish something (I am literally that one Jimmy Neutron villain IRL), and disappointed I couldn't even polish the vertical slice I made.

So before we talk about the bad, let's talk about the good!

I've literally never made a game before, so just the fact I did this is an accomplishment to me. Like genuinely. I was given RPG Maker MV in high school as a gift, and I've never been able to sit down and release something playable, so this was insanely satisfying! Even if I don't win anything or I get bad reviews, I'm just happy to be here.

Additionally, as scuffed as my Timetable system is, the fact I managed to make a semi-functional one abusing If/Else statements, Common Events, and Variables makes me proud. I problem solved, and while it is basic I think it's somewhat creative for my first foray into the engine.

Now onto the "what I'm disappointed about" section.

I am extremely disappointed that I didn't budget my time well at all. I really should've either chosen a smaller scope, or focused hard on a vertical slice, but I didn't manage to. It led to me cutting a lot of corners in the final hour, and I'm unhappy with it. It kinda sucks to me I didn't manage to even implement music or cutscenes properly, but its whatever.

Enjoy this Rouxls Kaard gif as a line break.

SO! What are my plans for the future?

Well, near future, I'm taking a couple days and binging both FGO and Tsukihime. I managed to NP2 Arc on the Anniversary banner, so I feel obligated to consume her route in the VN as quickly as possible. I haven't exactly been only game devving, but I do wanna take a couple days and let my creative juices refill.

I'm bone dry, man!

Secondly, in the slightly less-near future, I need to focus on my novel. I've let Quest for the Sacred Sword fall by the wayside, and I wanna get more progress put into that before I hop back onto Messier.

But never fear! My middling Dev Blogs and game development talents will return.

In terms of what's in store for the future, obviously things like adding cutscenes... adding the Social Link-type mechanic, and all of that is on the docket. But I also need to redesign my dungeons to meet my initial vision for them. Additionally, while I might stick with the ad hoc bootleg Timekeeping system, I definitely want to refine it a bit more if I don't outright replace it.

I also need to seriously overhaul my spell list. I have a perfectly fine basic outline, but as I implemented it I realized I forgot to focus on where the spells would fall in the level tree...

Yeah, again, I've never really done this before.

So revamping that is a must.

I also need to improve my map designs. I have some pretty basic ones, but improvements can always be made, and I want to make them.

That all being said, I'll still be posting here, just not Game Dev stuff. Probably more random thoughts, novel updates, or random garbage essays I come up with about my hyper fixations. The Wordpress (with a total of 1 post) is going to go silent for now, and will return when important updates exist. I'm still going to be working on Messier slowly in the background, but I won't really talk about it until I have something significant to show off.

Whelp, as of this line its just shy of 2:50 and I have to be up at 8 for work. The game's uploaded and submitted by now, so I'm going to go crash.

Walking the path of heaven to rule over everything.

-Fire

#game development #rpg maker #game design #messier mystes #development update #game jam #final update

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kris-mage-fics · 1 year ago

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I enjoyed Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee quite a bit, even if I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending. It was really refreshing to have a nonbinary main character, but they don't feel tokenized because there are other nonbinary characters in the story. There are also a decent number of queer characters throughout the book. The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang is a novella, and there are three other novellas that are connected to it. I recommend getting the book that has all four in: The Tensorate Series. The way they manage to put so many seeming random things together in one world and it just works so seamlessly is kinda mind-blowing. I highly recommend these novellas, they are weird and wonderful! Some others not on this list: 1. The Tiger's Daughter (K. Arsenault Rivera) - This is an epic tale of two lesbians who've known each other since childhood, and whose mother's grew up on opposite sides of a war but were best friends. Most of the book is told in the form of a "letter" one of them sent to the other. This was a really good narrative device because the letter writer is very stoic, so you get to know her a lot better this way. The only reason I didn't continue with the series is because it was getting more graphic and darker than I prefer to read in novels (I'm much more willing to read darker stuff in shorter formats). 2. The Priory of the Orange Tree (Samantha Shannon) - This fantasy novel is better known so maybe why it wasn't included in op's lists. Just in the four main characters there is a lesbian and a gay man (and from my recollection of reading it a few years ago, another character gave me aroace vibes). Overall I really liked it, but there were aspects that kept me from loving it. Both my husband and sister read it and felt the same.

anyway since pride month is coming up and my local barnes and nobey has once again decided to only put young adult books in their corporate mandated rainbow display, y'all want some queer reading recs that aren't YA?

#some thoughts on a couple of op's suggested books #and two of my own suggestions #a lot of the ones op listed sound really cool!#lgbtq #books #reading

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thelonelyraven · 1 year ago

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Ok so I need to gush on main about Punisher because THAT ALBUM

The more I listen to it the more I fall in love with it.

And it’s like a slow burn too. At first I was really into I Know The End which is great and that I coupled with Phoebe’s cover of That Funny Feeling cause they fit so well together

but like

Then I got big into Punisher itself when I kinda got into Elliott Smith from Rick and Morty of all things, well vibing to Between the Bars and realising I’d had Everything Means Nothing to Me for years that I’d heard on Mr Robot and loved.

ANYWAYS I looked things up and saw that Phoebe had this song that’s a kind of love letter to him and I also saw about Third Eye Blind’s There’s No Hurry to Eternity which damn I didn’t expect something instrumental and with those kinds of feels from the band that made Semi-Charmed Kinda Life and like Slow Motion (don’t get me wrong, great song, but completely different vibes). Also somewhere on the internet I read the TEB song is also for Jeff Buckley whose music I love (especially his darker stuff like Dream Brother and that amazing a capella You And I, also his cover of Calling You is really impressive) but I couldn’t actually confirm that. Anyways so uh yeah Phoebe. Punisher and Between the Bars are also perfect songs to fall asleep to and that means I get more listens out of them and I think it helps them become earworms for me, idk.

So after all this I kinda get into Kyoto. Again, bit of a slow burn but I also vibe with the remix and stuff.

And more recently I also had a couple days where I kept listening to DVD Menu cause I think it burrowed deep in my brain (I blame some level of similarity with Dexter’s Blood Theme) and then when doing stuff around the house I put on the whole album cause I felt like listening to Kyoto and maybe Punisher too and I just discover the lyrics to Chinese Satellites there and then in the garden while shovelling dirt for some trees and I am floored. I vibe with this so much? Idk it’s wild. Note that chloe moriondo’s song Plastic Purse and the lyrics “I’m a punisher call me Phoebe” helped me vibe even more with her and the Kyoto remix is just hyperpop enough I put them together and it was great.

But yeah so I’m standing here getting hit by lyrics and the Moon Song bit about Tears in Heaven resonates with me personally for… reasons I won’t get into and also Lennon who was like a massive influence for me growing up like musically (I didn’t know much about his life at like 8 or 10 years old but damn did I know a lot of his songs by heaaaa— eeeh, well, I knew the music and like some words I thought were the lyrics but might have been mostly yoghurt as I very much am not a native English speaker believe it or not and didn’t speak the language properly till age… 13 to 15 ish?)

But yeah like… the whole album and lyrics and level of detail? Care? Just… the… the lyrics? And all the links between the songs on the album and songs on her previous album/EP and to other people and songs and the thread of the relationship between the artist and the fan and all the implications for us, fans, gushing over her lyrics and the references to dozens of other works??

That album is SO GOOD?!?

And I wish I could spend hours just analysing it but I can barely sit down and read the lyrics as I listen to it because these days I’m too unfocused (I really should see about that adhd diagnosis Jesus) but yeah uh

Fangirling i guess. But what else is new on tumblr?

(Also keeping the proud tradition of someone who barely uses tumblr putting random shit in the tags like they’re just an excuse for fun little phrases you can’t fit in the text — an ungodly post scriptum of some kind)

#just another Phoebe Bridgers fangirl #I’m a punisher call me Phoebe #I’m a dog killing birds but you know I don’t understand

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buckybarnesdiaries · 4 years ago

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wakanda

bucky barnes x reader. ⎢ masterlist.

Steve gives you Bucky's dog tags for a reason.

word count: 2.4k (lol, sorry)

warnings/tags: none. bucky being a cutie.

author notes: none of my stories contain reader’s body descriptions to be inclusive.

Join the tag list here.

“Welcome to Wakanda, agent (Y/N)”.

A second after you crossed their airspace, you were courteously greeted. The views from your ship were indescribable. Peace invaded you just at the sight of the open fields and the warm colors of autumn. You could get used to that place too. To live in calm, work hand-to-hand with Shuri, and have time to spend it with Bucky. The reason why you were flying there. Removing your right hand from the control and grabbing in a fist the dog tags hanging on your chest, you took a deep breath while closing your eyes before getting ready to land. T’Challa was waiting for you at the entry of his kingdom, accompanied by his excited little sister and some of his guards.

Pressing a sequence of buttons above your head, to pull the control back, the ship went down slowly folding its wings. As you landed and turned off the engineers, you freed yourself from the seatbelt and the huge headphones to step out. Shuri received you with a friendly hug, breaking protocol and being just Shuri. You built a strong relationship since you met a year ago, when you brought Bucky to that beautiful and magical place, to let him recover. To let him rest.

“Your highness”. You uttered to T’Challa crossing your forearms in the traditional salutation of Wakanda.

“Agent (Y/N)”. He corresponded walking closer. “The white wolf asked me to let you know he wouldn’t want to be… bothered with visits today”.

You couldn’t help but frown. The last time you saw him was around three months ago. You usually interchanged letters from week to week, being one of the fewer persons he trusted in. And it wasn’t just a question of trust. Steve told you about his feelings, his shyness, and insecurities, his fears. What Bucky didn’t know, again, it wasn’t a question of trust from you either. That’s why the Captain gave you the dog tags, after more than thirteen years under custody. You wanted to see him, to know if he was happy there as he wrote you in his letters one million times.

“He doesn’t wear his arm here”. Shuri clarified, taking a position close to his brother.

By the look on their faces, you were aware of two things. One, they noticed too that something was growing between Bucky and you, and that it wasn’t a simple friendship. Two, they weren’t going to stop you. Oh, quite the opposite. They’d bring you to him on a golden platter and a big red bow on your head. The king beckoned a hand to urge you to follow him to the inside of the building and use one of their ships to fly above the place to the white wolf’s location.

You were nervous. You didn’t sleep more than a couple of hours last night thinking about him and how he’d react to having back his tags since the forties. Your eyes were focused throughout the window on your left, watching different citizens taking care of animals and plantations, children running from one side to another, playing and having fun. Oblivious to the horror of New York, where you resided. One of the cities in the world with the highest rates of street violence. Serial killers or simply killers, rapists, kidnappers, drug dealers (...). It was a minefield and Wakanda seemed and felt like Heaven.

“Did you think about the offer?” Shuri nudged you to push you back to reality, turning your head towards her.

“Since you dropped it to me”.

“So?”

“I…” You needed to put away your gaze again, focusing on the blue opened sky in front of them. “I want… to consult him first if you don’t mind”.

“Of course, (Y/N)”.

“I don’t want to put his world upside down, now that he’s not the…” You couldn’t finish the sentence. You couldn’t pronounce that detestable nickname and the pain beneath it.

Shuri nodded in silence, not needing your explanations. She knew how you felt. She understood you. The talk didn’t continue, stretching your right hand on your lap to calm your nerves and make you comfortable with the situation. The flight didn’t last longer than five or ten minutes, losing the track of time deep in your thoughts. The pilot indicated to you through the headphones that you were about to land, glancing at a complex of small houses in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees and wilderness.

You were the last one jumping outside with your hand grabbing the tags on your chest, trying to find the encouragement there to follow T’Challa’s hand pointing at a man working with goats and collecting hay for them. Licking your lips and assenting with your chin, you guided your steps towards him. Slowly. As if you wanted to turn around at some point. But you knew it was too late when he was the one turning at the sound of your heavy boots cracking the grass under them.

Bucky didn’t look annoyed for your visit, nor the lack of attention to his petition. Although there was something in his pale blue orbs you weren’t able to decipher, until he bowed down his head unconsciously to his left shoulder covered by a dark fabric matching his eyes. You had to do your best to not roll yours, shortening the distance setting you apart. You had been dreaming about that encounter since the last time you were there before Shuri accessed the darkest place of his mind and cleaned it from any trail of HYDRA. Now, he was free. And he looked in good condition as the bags under his eyes had disappeared and his hair was almost tied with a bun. His cheeks seemed a little more chubby and you just wanted to pinch them. But it’d be weird and out of place. For the time being.

Bit by bit, a sweet smile widened in your lips, curving them as Bucky stared at you again when he was conscious that you didn’t care. With or without a metal arm, your feelings were exactly the same. You couldn’t admire him more than you were admiring him at this point. You couldn’t love him more than you loved him already. And God was a witness of how many times you practiced to confess to him and tell him that the only thing you wanted in life was to be by his side. Bring happiness to his days, bring him peace and harmony.

“I'm sorry…” “I brought you…”

You two spoke at the same time, breaking in a soft giggle that jumped your hearts in complete sync.

“You first”. He let you, waving his hand.

“I… brought you something”. You susurrated, loosening the grip around the metal hanging on your chest to take off the necklace.

You noticed the way his eyes widened in surprise and confusion. Why did you have them? Who gave them to you? Why now? Bucky gulped watching you stretching the dog tags between your fingers towards him. He didn’t know what to do, taking a second before he was able to react. He couldn’t remember when was the last time he saw them, and the amount of memories they gave him overwhelmed his whole brain.

In slow motion narrowing his eyes, Bucky held the chain with two fingers to hang the necklace from it. You thought he was about to wear them, but he destabilized you as he directed his hands to above your head, to place them where they were an instant before. You didn’t understand. Didn’t he want them back?

“I want you to keep it”.

“But…”

“I want you to have something mine”. Bucky recognized with a shy smile decorating his lips. “Those tags and my arm are the only things I have from my past. And… I won’t give you my arm…”

“Well, I bet it’d look good hanging from my neck”. You jocked tilting your head.

In his gift, you found the encouragement you needed to talk about T’Challa’s job offer. It wasn’t as if you were proposing to him, in the end, you were just friends even if it felt quite the opposite. You licked your upper lip, kissing your teeth after it, earning more than his attention.

“Shuri said, uh… I could come here, work with her. We’d do great things together, not only for Wakanda but for the world”.

Bucky’s gesture didn’t change a single inch, focused on the nervousness you were trying to hide from him and reading the reasons beneath.

“So T’Challa offered me to stay here”.

“Permanently?”

“Yeah… Permanently”. You assented pressing your lips, breathing through your nostrils.

“Did you accept?”

“Not yet. Not until talking to you about”.

He nodded then a couple of times, turning to the goats behind him coming closer. “Got to finish some stuff… Maybe we can talk later about it unless you have to leave”.

“No, no. I, uh… asked for the day off. Banner didn’t need me at the lab today”.

“Okay, good”.

While the king was showing you the new level for research and investigations, Bucky took the advantage to go and find Shuri without your knowledge. He found her in the surroundings of the main building, working on your ship as you said it made some kind of random noise that put you out of your nerve during the flight.

“I need my arm”.

The princess squatted close to the left wing, turned at him without standing up. Pulling her sunglasses to the top of his head, she raised an eyebrow.

“For what”.

“You know for what”. He clicked his tongue, placing his hand on his left shoulder.

“No, I don’t”. She lied while cleaning the grass and oil in her expert fingers.

“I need to have two arms”.

“You’ve been working the last months with one arm only. Why do you need it now?”

“C’mon… Argh…” Bucky rubbed his face with boredom. “I want to hug her, okay? Can you just… give me back my damn arm?”

“Not enough reasons, you can hug her using your right”.

“I want to have two hands when I kiss her”. He finally confessed in a hiss, provoking a triumphant smile growing on Shuri’s lips.

“If you lie to me, if you don’t kiss her, Sergeant Barnes… I’ll code it to punch your face”.

“Wait…” Bucky wrinkled his nose drawing a horrified gesture on his face, as he turned his blue eyes towards his left shoulder. “Can you… do that?”

“Try me”.

No, of course she couldn’t, but he didn’t know. Which were a good push for him to not go against her and her petition.

“C’mon. I’ll set it up and help you to put it on”.

Your eyes were traveling from one picture to another. He put some of them around his small house and it looked better now. More like a home. A place to stay. And for a second you felt a twinge straight in your heart when you noticed one photograph of the two of you, close to his bed. It was after your first mission together. Steve insisted on taking it, after noticing the sparkles between you. But you didn’t know he brought it to Wakanda with him, as your copy is on your nightstand too. And you used to fall asleep every night looking at it.

The curtain being moved and some steps in pulled you out from your thoughts, turning to find Bucky staring in silence at you. Your orbs landed on the metal arm. It was different too since the last time you saw it, with golden strips forming between the silver ones. You couldn’t help but sigh.

“You didn’t need to…”

“Yes, I did. I did need it”. He interrupted you, breathing through his parted lips and his heart about to fly off from his chest.

“Why?”

“Because, otherwise, I couldn’t do this”.

You were about to ask what he was referring to, watching him breaking the distance between the two of you in three fast strides. You closed your eyes at the moment his hands held your neck and Bucky slammed his lips on yours. The kiss, the contrast of cold and warmth on your skin, the everlasting longing for it to happen… All of this caused you to gasp, tangling the tunic at the height of his chest in your fists, not wanting him to take a step back. Your mouths fit perfectly without looking for it, made for each other, as he secured his fingers on the back of your neck. And you felt your knees weak when he pecked your lips one more time, before caressing your nose with his, not being able to open your eyes. Neither of you.

“I don’t have the right… to ask for anything”. He babbled. His insecurities coming afloat even if you hadn’t pushed him away. “But… I want you to stay here. With me. I… I don’t have much to offer you, but I promise to make you happy”.

At this point, your eyes were filled with tears, strongly closing your eyelids to not let them fall. You swallowed a sob, moving your hands from his chest to his middle back, embracing him tighter as you could.

“You’ve been making me happy since we met, Bucky”.

He chuckled breathless, intuiting he was too at the edge of his crying because of that affirmation.

“Every Tuesday, I wait at the stairs of my apartment for the mail, for your letters. I’ve… read them so many times I can recite them… by heart. Every word you've written to me”.

“I will continue writing them for you, even if you stay with me”.

Your voices were low, barely audible out of his place. Like secrets. Bucky kissed you again, bending enough to raise you by the back of your thighs and urge you to surround his waist with your legs. The dog tags on your chest clicked against the other, as you moved your arms to his shoulders and neck, and you were unable to stop kissing him. You two could die right now and not be bothered because you were finally together, and that was all you deserved in life.

“Tell me you will stay… please”. His beg brushed your lips, still pecking them between syllable and syllable.

“I will…” You replied without hesitating as you could, eager to correspond to every gesture from him. “I will stay with you”.

feedback is appreciated, please, leave a comment to let me know if you liked it and/or reblog it.

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#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes #sebastian stan imagine #sebastian stan x reader #james bucky barnes x reader #bucky x y/n #bucky x you #bucky x reader

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mystic-shadows42 · 3 years ago

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{Request}: Twisted Fairy Tale of Time

Request by @yonaofthetrees

A/N: I took this request and upon the blessing of @yonaofthetrees I was able to put a twist on it. I wanted to make this fun and cute at first but I’m so twisted I wanted it to be a sort of darkish fairytale. I hope you like it and I hope I did your request justice. If not, I’ll make a light-hearted one.

Pairing: TLK men x reader

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: Language, attempted assault, violence

You twirled in the dress looking at yourself in the mirror feeling like an actual princess. The gown was adorned with petals and the fine silk underneath the garment felt like heaven.

Your friend was throwing a big party that required everyone to dress up. The dress was absolutely stunning and the jewelry was nothing short of breathtaking. You truly felt like a princess.

Everyone was to be dressed up from the Middle Ages. The party was lively and the music was great.

Once everyone was tipsy they all gravitated to the dance floor but you went towards the old relics your friend had paid a pretty price for.

There were various weapons and jewels but one, in particular, caught your attention. It was a pretty amber stone at the end of a broken sword. You traced the crack in it wondering who this once belonged to and what stories came with it.

‘Heed these words, spirits of old. Take me back to the stories left untold.’

You laughed at your own drunken state. The words came at random but had felt right to say. Your eyes started to feel heavy and you gave in to the sensation.

You turned over feeling a stiffness in your neck as a breeze swept across your skin. Lazily you opened your eye expecting to see a room that you perhaps fell asleep in...instead you were outside in the forest.

You quickly sat up startled at the unexpected environmental change. You looked around thinking this was some type of joke. Though there were no buildings or people. There was absolutely no one.

Swallowing thickly, you stood up brushing the leaves off of your dress and hair. If this was a joke, it certainly was a good one. They left you out here with nothing. No phone, purse, food, or water.

“Hello?” You shouted hoping to hear some type of answer back but jumped to see you had scared a flock of birds in the trees. Begrudgingly, you began your journey to leave this forsaken forest.

Every incline and rock you crossed was a pain especially being in heels. Instinct told you to take them off before you break your neck but the ground was muddy. There were animal droppings and plentiful snakes slithering about.

It wasn’t until you came across a small open clearing where you slowed your movements. You peeked from behind a tree seeing a camp. There were four men in total dressed up in costumes too.

This must’ve been part of someone’s crazy diluted plan. Without wasting any more time you made your appearance known.

The first man who you came across looked surprised more than anything. His eyes drifted from your dress to your face in bewilderment.

“My lady, are you lost?”

His words had caught you off guard for a moment. Perhaps these men were into their cosplay and liked to stay in character. If so you’d do your part as well.

“Oh,” you quickly pulled on the bottom of your dress so that it was fully puffed out. You placed your right foot a little bit behind your left. You kept your back straight grabbing the sides of your dress delicately pinching the seam before bending down in a curtsy. “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance. I am indeed lost and in need of some assistance.”

You folded your hands in front of you waiting for what they had to say. The other three men dropped what they were doing and gathered closely. They looked upon you as if you were a rare animal at the zoo.

You placed a hand over your racing heart at the sight of all of them in clear view.

They blatantly stared meanwhile you took your time roaming over them as well. They were all handsome men. They were fit by all means and didn’t look like the type to do this sort of thing.

You were in awe of their costumes and how much detail went into them. Their weapons certainly looked real. You tried your best not to falter under their stares and remained strong and regal-like.

These men appeared to have been in these woods longer than you expected. They couldn’t have possibly been here longer than a day. The party was only yesterday.

“Are you hurt, milady?” One of them spoke with an Irish accent.

“Nothing more than bruised ankles and a chill from the wind.” You smiled proud of yourself for keeping character and blending into their fantasy world.

“Apologies, let me help you with that.” The one that wore a monk’s robe spoke up. He grabbed a fur jacket stopping just before reaching you. “May I?”

“Of course.”

Once he got your approval he placed it over your shoulders then backed away with a small smile.

“Please sit, eat. It’s a day’s journey to the nearest village. It’s best you rest.”

Two of them were quick to throw some furs onto the floor so you could sit down near the fire. Sitting would certainly put your ankles at ease. You tried gathering as much of the dress you could manage in order to sit down properly. Once you accomplished that you finally sat down.

A sense of accomplishment graced your features but that soon dwindled when you looked up. All of them were still staring. You didn’t know whether to be flattered or concerned.

They handed you a bag of what looked like dried flakes of food along with a canteen of water.

“I wish we had better food to offer you but I’m afraid this is all we can manage.”

“It’ll do. Thank you.”

The man with long hair squatted across. You could feel him staring at you studying your movements as you ate. The flames of the fire were the only things obstructing your view of him now and then.

“How did you come about these woods? From the looks of it, you are of higher class.”

You swallowed the tasteless food and cocked your head at him. “Did you all not wake in these woods too? It was a fun party but I have to admit I just want to go home already.”

He stood up looking around defensively. “Who else is in these woods?”

“Just me and all of you. I don’t know who else is out there though. There were hundreds of people last night.”

“Were you following us?” He ushered out quickly as his hard eyes found yours. You had no words. Was he seriously getting angry or simply playing a part? You had no idea. He rounded the fire and grasped your forearm hauling you up in a mean grip. A gasp left your throat at him touching you so harshly. “Who are you? What do you want?”

You scanned his face frightened to even be in this situation. It was then that the realization hit, this wasn’t some fairy tale. These were dangerous men.

“Uhtred-”

“We need to know. Anyone can send a lady up here pretending to be a distressed damsel. It wouldn’t be the first time we fell for it.”

You looked over to the other three who looked like they wanted to help but wouldn’t. He was their leader but why weren’t they helping you? You looked back at the main man shaking your head.

“I don’t want to play this game anymore. I just want to go home.” You wanted to try and remain strong but you were scared. There were four of them and the one in front of you looked as if he was ready to murder you.

He pulled something from behind him raising a real knife in front of your face.

“My lord Uhtred, she’s unarmed and frightened. I assure you she’ll comply regardless of your threats.” You were thankful to the one in the monk’s costume for at least saying something.

His words seemed to have registered in the man they call Uhtred because he grimaced realizing that the other guy was right just before letting you go. You backed away clutching your sore arm. The atmosphere appeared to have drastically changed from earlier. Mere minutes ago you felt like a regal princess now you felt like a prisoner only dressed finer.

You so badly wanted to run, but in heels wearing a dress that was already heavy as it was seemed unlikely. Even with your doubts, you sheathed out of your heels. Maybe they wouldn’t follow. However, you got out here couldn’t be too far even if it was just some twisted prank.

The one with the beard held both hands out as if it would ease your distress. “We’re not goin to hurt you.”

Yeah, right. These cosplaying freaks can act all they want, just as long as you remained away. You took a deep breath and turned on your heel in the opposite direction. There were shouts coming from behind but you didn’t let it deter you from your escape.

All you needed was to outrun a few males, get out of these woods, and look for help. You could hear them trailing after you and knew they’d get close eventually. You followed the stream of water.

You stopped with your heart racing trying to scramble for ideas. There was a bridge that overpassed the water to the other side. If you could get underneath the vines you could hide under the bridge which’ll give you more time for an escape.

Without hesitating, you ran to the bridge getting into the waist-deep water moving the brush of vines away earning a few pricks in your skin. Once under you covered your mouth seeing a body caught in the vines.

You shook your head. It has to be a prop. Not a dead body just at prop. This isn’t real, just one sick dream.

Curiosity got the best of you. While making your way over you kept denying it over in your head. You gulped and shakily turned it over watching as the full-body came into focus.

It was real!

The man had an ax in his head while his eyes remained open but lifeless. The smell started to become apparent now that the fatal wound was in the open. You fought the urge to heave.

Those men had to have done this. They were the only ones in the area. It was just your luck to awaken in the forest wearing a comical dress leashed upon serial killers with no means of help.

Footsteps resounded above you.

“Find her. She couldn’t have gotten far.”

“My lord, couldn’t we just let her go? We can make camp elsewhere regardless of who she has with her.”

“She’s an asset now. We can’t let her go. Now move.”

Once you were sure they were gone, you peeked through the vines. You looked back at the body and the ax still attached. You needed a weapon. You grimaced not liking the idea but having no other choice.

You held your breath as you approached. Hopefully, the police would forgive you for tampering with an important piece of evidence. You wrapped your hands around the handle closing your eyes.

“I’m sorry.” You yanked it back as hard as you could and staggered backward as it came loose. Without looking back at the soulless body you moved the vines away with the ax and left the secret hiding place.

You looked around so completely lost and overwhelmed. If there weren’t crazy murdering cosplayers around then you might’ve broken down and cried. The four of them could’ve gone in any direction.

You looked to the sun knowing you had only a few hours left till sundown. You closed your eyes for a moment trying to gather yourself and take a deep breath. There was no sense of direction let alone time. The party was West of your place and whatever woods were around had to be north of it. You racked your brain from school trying to scurry through if any of it could help.

‘The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.’

You looked up into the sky thanking the heavens. Something you thought useless did come in handy. You thanked your lucky stars and headed towards the last light of the sun.

Every rock, twig, and debris you stepped on wasn’t about to deter you from getting to safety. You emerged where the sun was brightest where there was a cliff overlooking the landscape.

You reached the edge not believing what you were seeing. Perhaps your eyes were deceiving you. In front of you was not the city you were hoping to see but a rather vast foreign land. Though the most peculiar sight was the grand castle with walls higher than the tallest of trees.

Where the hell were you? You had simply slept. You were sure if someone took you from the party that you’d know if you were on a plane. It didn’t make any sense. None of it did.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” You turned around gripping the handle of the ax hard. You were expecting the four men from before but there were six strangers. They were dressed like Uhtred only with more fur. They looked menacing with various tattoos adorning their skin and lots of hair. The man who’d spoken cocked his head and stopped walking as realization seemed to strike him. “Princess of Fedora. Looks like we struck the mother load boys.” The men behind him all hooted in excitement. “Everyone thinks your dead.”

His words made no impact on you. This had gone too far. You just wanted to go home and curl up in your bed.

“Leave me the fuck alone. I’m not playing any more of these games.”

The man walked closer unafraid of the ax you wielded.

“Such a foul mouth for a princess. Perhaps we ought to teach you how we deal with women who get out of hand.”

“Perhaps not,” a voice emerged. Before either of you had a chance to do anything the four men from earlier emerged with weapons in hand. You didn’t know what to expect when their swords made contact with the other men. Despite what you’ve seen so far you desperately hoped this was some sort of live-action role playing at its finest but it wasn’t.

As soon as the first sword hit skin blood spewed. This was all terribly real. You wanted to look away but found that you couldn’t take your eyes away from the violence.

The man who had spoken to you broke away from the chaos and had his eyes set on you as his target. He took long strides with a dark look in his eyes. Now was the moment of truth whether or not you could actually manage to hurt a person physically.

He didn’t give you any other choice as he crept forward. You swung the ax making him cease his steps. He didn’t look frightened but amused. He charged forward tackling you onto the floor knocking the wind out of you.

Your skin had skidded off the hard ground. The burning of your skin started to flare at the impact. He straddled your body and ripped the bottom of your dress. His actions didn’t do much good knowing that this dress had various layers. You had never been more thankful for it than now.

He looked down confused seeing more layers while you smirked. You reached for the ax and hit him with the butt end of it. He rolled off to the side of the cliff while still clutching onto you.

Your heart sank seeing the both of you dropping a great deal off the edge. You scrambled to reach for anything you could find. Dirt and little pebbles were the only thing collecting under your nails as the last little bit of hope was starting to leave you.

Just when the scream started to reach your throat a firm hand gripped yours. You looked up with fear in your eyes seeing Uhtred straining to haul you up.

“Kick him off.”

“I can’t.”

“Do it!” He growled.

The adrenaline was pumping through your veins. You didn’t wish for anyone to die but he had made his fate when he tried assaulting you along with his friends. You looked down at the man below and kicked him as hard as you could.

His hold over you slipped and he descended down with a piercing scream. If it wasn’t for Uhtred hauling you up to safety you were sure you would’ve watched as he made contact with the rock below.

Uhtred was on his back catching his breath while you were on the ground looking at the floor thinking just how close to death you were. You turned your head watching the other three making sure the others were dead. Your eyes trailed to Uhtred seeing that he was already looking over at you.

He looked down at the weapon in between you both and just as he looked back at you, you lunged for it. You pointed it upwards at him remaining on the floor while he stood up.

He didn’t look surprised a bit. The others gathered close inspecting the scene but Uhtred held up his hand for them to stop.

You needed a moment to calm yourself before you spoke. There was a heaviness in your chest and a burning sensation in your throat. The things you had seen were enough for a lifetime of therapy but you weren’t out of the woods yet, literally.

Your hand drifted down touching a cool round object. Your eyes followed seeing the familiar amber stone you had touched at the party. By the looks of it, the sword was the same one only whole now and looked newer, not rusted as it was on the display.

It couldn’t be. It simply couldn’t.

“Is this your sword?”

It felt dumb to question it out loud but it was the only thing you could manage at the moment. Your chest rose and fell heavily waiting for him to speak.

“It is.”

You blinked quickly.

“What year is it exactly?” Your voice broke much to your displeasure.

His brows crinkled a bit. “We’re in the harvest season.”

“I’m not talking about the season I’m talking about the year.”

He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know what you speak of.”

“Who’s in charge?” You snapped your fingers trying to think of a way for them to understand. “Who-who’s your ruler?”

“No one rules over us. We’re free men. Perhaps you speak of Alfred of Wessex.”

“Alfred of Wessex?” You whispered to yourself. The name sounded familiar but it wasn’t one to warrant for clarification. No year came to mind only that you were shit out of luck. Wherever you were, whatever time it was...history was proof of how ruthless and hard times were back then. “It can’t be.” You looked up at Uhtred and the others. “I shouldn’t be here. It’s impossible.”

“What’s impossible?”

“I’m not from this time. I came from a costume party assuming you were all there too not knowing this was all..real. This,” You gestured looking at the sword you still held. “This was at the party, on display. It was broken and rusted. It belonged to someone long ago and here it is. New in my hands.”

“Did you hit your head, love?”

You looked quickly to the Irish man. He meant it sincerely but you were fed up with everything. Not one of them believed you. Hell if you were in their position, you probably wouldn’t either.

“I tell you what, give me my sword and I’ll give you the ax back.”

“Give me the ax first.”

He smirked at you quirking his lips up to the side. He picked up the ax and handed you the handle end. You took it and got up from the floor and pointed the sword down as you gave him his sword.

“It is settled then.”

“Am I free to go now or will you all just keep on following me?”

You warily eyed each one of them wondering if one of them would try and attack. It didn’t make sense for them to but around whatever time period you knew anything was possible.

“We’ll keep following you.”

“Why?”

“We thought you were a diversion to an impending attack but it seems that you’re not.” He leaned closer ignoring the ax you had raised to touch his chest. “You’re worth, so much more. You’re a princess and you’ve fooled us into thinking you weren’t.”

You squinted your eyes at him feeling the heat of anger building. “I’m not a goddamn princess. I’m no one.”

He looked unconvinced and undeterred.

“Exactly what a runaway princess would say. We’re going to figure this out together. See if what the man said is true then we’ll collect our coin and leave you be.”

He said it nonchalantly as if this was all somehow amusing to him.

“What makes you so different from them?” You questioned gesturing over to the bodies.

“The Danes? They’re wild. They take what they want without empathy. They would’ve taken you prisoner, hump you, and pass you around.”

That would’ve been a way worse outcome. It was pure luck that they happened to be here when they did.

“What are Danes exactly?”

“Northmen or otherwise known as raiders.”

“They’re Vikings.”

“Vikings?”

“That’s what they’re known as from my time. They always sounded like a bunch of assholes.” The others snickered while Uhtred looked crossed between being surprised and amused. “What? Do women not swear here?”

“Not usually.”

You smiled seeing how that seemed to lighten the mood. They weren’t hard asses about it but certainly weren’t used to the colorful words in your vocabulary. A sudden thought broke your thoughts before the smile died off.

“Am I going to be your prisoner?”

You looked at each and every one of them. They could have taken advantage of your inexperience with a weapon but they didn’t. They were different and you were grateful they were.

“That all depends on you. We can travel together peacefully or you can make it difficult by having to look over your shoulder every so often.”

“I don’t know any of you.”

“Aye, nor us.” The Irish one clapped his hands together. “Let’s get down to pleasantries, shall we. I’m Finan.”

The one with hair to one side stepped forward. “I’m Sihtric, my lady.”

The one in robes looked at the others then to you with a soft smile. “Osferth, a pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m Uhtred. Uhtred of Bebbanburg.” He took his sword and sheathed it behind his back without even looking.

“I’m Y/N.”

He made a face at your name as if it was the oddest name he’d ever heard. Osferth stepped forward swinging a bag in front of him as he dropped to the floor. He took out the familiar-looking heels you had worn earlier.

“We’ve brought you shoes, my lady.”

A warmness spread through your chest. It was sweet that he carried your heels with him.

“Thank you, but I’m afraid they’re a bit too uncomfortable to wear through this terrain.” You moved your dress to show your ankles and the discoloration around it.

“I’ll carry you,” Sihtric spoke up without a hitch.

“No,” Uhtred interjected. “She’ll only slow us down if you do.”

“Allow me,” Finan shoved his sword to Sihtric which propelled him back a few steps. He squinted his eyes at him but said nothing more. Finan dropped to one knee patting his back. “Your ride awaits you, princess, up up.”

“I’m perfectly capable of walking myself.”

“Either you climb on my back willingly princess or I’ll carry you in my arms all the way there,” Finan had a satisfied smile on his face and it was hard to remain serious at that moment.

“Fine.” You placed your hand on his shoulder and your legs on both sides of his body. He stood up suddenly gathering your legs in the hoops of his arms.

“You’re lighter than a sack of potatoes.”

You on Finan’s back must’ve been a sight to behold. The dress flared out with various types of material beneath it.

“Seriously doubt that,” you muttered. You were careful to keep the sharp edges of your ax away from Finan but had it on the ready. Uhtred stood the farthest away with his arms crossed looking displeased that every one of his guys were more than willing to help ease you in the journey.

“Let’s not be delayed. It’ll be dark soon enough then we’ll have to worry about the wild animals.”

You didn’t know if he was referring to actual animals or people. With a heavy sigh and a heavy heart, you all began your journey. You didn’t know where it’d lead to or if you’ll ever get home but it was best not to dwell on it now.

#Uhtred #Finan #Sihtric #Osferth #Uhtred x reader #Finan x reader #Sihtric x reader #Osferth x reader #TLK men x reader #request #The Last Kingdom men x reader #The Last Kingdom

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lily-drake · 3 years ago

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Fantasy/Twin AU

Sorry for being late and not posting for a bit. Was a bit burnt out and had writer block. I will go back to write the other days soon though. Also, sorry, I suck at writing wing aus, this is my first time doing it.

Earth J-236, an earth full of mystical life. An earth where everyone is born with wings. Your wings represented who you are; well not really, but that’s what people believed. If your wings were bright and colorful then you were obviously an amazing person, but if your wings were darker or had little color, then you have great evil in your soul. Marinette was born seconds after her twin, Damian. It takes a few years before your wings fully grow in, usually to about 6. But with the accelerated growth serums used in their artificial wombs, it took them till they were three for their feathers to sprout. Damian’s were black like their father’s with subtle hints of red like their mothers. Marinette’s were pure black, devoid of any color, and her mother was so proud of that. She was the League’s charm, for it’s believed that anyone with pure black wings was pure evil. Her only purpose being to protect her brother, nothing else was more important than her brother’s safety. She would die for him, because if he died she might as well have died as well as her only purpose for living would be gone.

Damian glared at his sister, his wings ruffling in annoyance. She was hovering close to him again, and she never said anything to him ever unless she was completely sure they were alone. He did not believe that his sister was or could ever be, “pure evil” just because of her wings. In fact, her mannerisms are the exact opposite of what people believed. She, in her own ways, is caring, sweet, and protective. He had seen, and helped, her nurse a baby bird that had fallen from its nest back to health. She would often place little things around the base for only him to find such as some extra baklava, a throwing knife, a drawing of someone, beads, or other random objects. Grandfather had always been extra hard on her, making sure she wouldn’t betray them, she wouldn’t become “evil enough to lose herself”. Sometimes she would sneak into his room at night, and it tore him apart to see silent tears run down his little sister's face as small black raven feathers fell onto the floor from her days worth of training. He had been learning how to fly, her wings had been clipped every two or three months so she could not leave the base. She had learned long ago to control her facial and wing expressions, but he could always see the droop in them and the sad shine in her eyes as she stood on the ground while he was in the air.

________

Marinette looked up and watched as the fiery Phoenix flew through the air setting Nada Parabat aflame. She didn’t feel much as she watched her grandfather get blown up. She only felt great anxiety and fear as she could not find her brother. She loved her brother, and if her job was to cause chaos, she would make sure she could prevent it from hurting him. Grandfather had told her about how cursed she was, it’s why they had to be extra tough on her, and she understood that. They couldn’t have her hurting anyone they needed, only the people they wanted gone. She was angry at grandfather yesterday for taking some of her feathers for failing a task, this must have been her fault. She didn’t want to hurt her brother, her wings had only proven nothing but destruction. She had to leave now, then she could go where no one else was, and she wouldn’t have to hurt anyone else. So like a coward, like the disgrace she was, she ran. She kept her wings tight against her back making sure that no one could grab them as she ran. An arrow hit one of them, but she didn’t have time to think about the burning pain as she ran and ran and ran farther and farther and farther away. Tears ran down her cheeks as she silently prayed that her brother would be okay.

She didn’t know how long she ran, but she knew it must have been a really long time as she had just collapsed from exhaustion in the woods. She looked back at her wings and slowly and carefully spread them out and hissed in pain from where the arrow had pierced her left wing. Drops of red slowly dripped down her feathers and dropped on the ground. She quickly closed them and made sure they were as small and put away as possible. She looked up at the trees made of brass with different colored jade leaves. Pearl-like apples growing on a few. She watched a baby griffon follow it’s mother in the distance, turtle ducks waddling to a pond somewhere nearby, deer nibbling on plants, she could hear the rustling of leaves and branches from unseen creatures and everything was getting more blurry and dark. She was cold, it felt very cold. She slowly unwound her wings from around herself and closed them tightly around her, but that didn’t stop the chill that went deep down to her bones. She was a failure, a mistake, she would only cause harm. Here she wouldn’t be able to do that, and if she died here, then no one would be hurt by her again, and wasn’t that such a nice thought.

________

Tom and Sabine had finally been able to hire some trusted employees and explore places in Tibet. They had made lots of money over the years with their successful bakery, and they thought now was a better time than ever to go on a real honeymoon as they hadn’t been able to afford it before when the bakery had first started. It was during one of these forest explorations when they saw a trail of little drops of blood and felt they needed to follow it. What they discovered broke their hearts. There lying on the cold forest floor was what appeared to be a child hugging their very black wings around them. They knew of the rumors and myths of black winged people, but they did not care. They believed that their wings were not what made them evil, but rather situations put into their lives. Sabine quickly checked for a pulse, and though it was slow she sighed in relief when she felt it. She quickly handed the small unconscious girl to Tom and they both quickly went to the nearest hospital. How could someone leave such a small child all alone to die like that? It looked as if she had been injured if the dried blood on the small fragile wings said anything. And worst of all, upon closer examination, they had been clipped, recently too.

As soon as they arrived they carried the small girl to the front and demanded that they take her in. They waited until the doctors were done and gave them permission to visit claiming to be the girl’s adopted parents. It wasn’t technically a lie, they would be soon even if Sabine had to force it to happen.

When Marinette woke up she knew something was off. She was under a blanket, she’s never been given a blanket before. The sent of bleach and chemicals were everywhere and it hurt her nose. There was a beeping noise next to her that was giving her a headache. She didn’t know where she was, and that was bad. She opened her eyes a small fraction so nobody could see she was awake and looked around as much as she could. The entire room was white and there were bright lights. There were two strange people waiting in chairs near where she was laying. She wondered if they were the ones who brought her here. Slowly she opened them up all the way and silently sat up. It’s best to make no noise, then she wouldn’t disturb anyone.

“Oh sweety, I’m so glad you’re awake.”

The woman said in a cheery and relieved manner, but she just continued to watch and study them silently. Her wings felt stiff against her back, though she made sure they didn’t move or give anything away.

“How are you feeling dear?”

Silence greeted them, and her face remained as impassive as ever. They wanted something, why else would they save a freak like her? What were they aiming for here?

“Did your parents hurt you? If so, we can take you away from them.”

Marinette’s eyes widened only a fraction. These were randoms, innocents if you will. They obviously had no idea who she was, and they seemed unafraid of her and her wings. Did they not know how dangerous she was, didn’t they know that black wings meant she was cursed? The man and the woman looked at eachother and spread their wings. Marinette was shocked, but she wouldn’t show it.

The large man had light brown eagle wings while the small woman had white and black woodpecker wings. She wanted to reach out and touch the feathers, but then something bad would happen to them, so she held her hands together.

“We don’t care what your wing color is. Your wings don’t define who you are, it’s what you do with your life that does. Can we please help you?”

The woman said sincerely as she gripped the man’s hand in hers. She felt a pull to them, something telling her to accept. She didn’t want to hurt them though. But maybe she could protect them? Maybe she could find a way around her curse and make sure they don’t get hurt? Slowly she nodded and they both looked so happy when she did. She hoped that she wouldn’t hurt them, they didn’t deserve to be cursed. Maybe if she didn’t touch them things would be ok. If she didn’t let them touch her then it wouldn’t spread. She could do this!

________

Apparently she couldn’t do it because this is a very affectionate family, and the first thing that happened before they let her sleep on their —super fluffy, pure Heaven— bed was give her a hug. She had made sure that her wings were tucked under her clothes and tight against her back the entire time though. So they didn’t touch her wings, so maybe that meant they wouldn’t be cursed.

It was strange, because the next morning they went to a courthouse, and she was adopted. She hadn’t said anything throughout the entire event, she just watched and observed what people did. They stayed in Tibet for another few days before they flew to Paris, France. This was supposed to be her new home. The city of light and love. Maybe here, it would stop her curse. It was so bright that it had to block out her darkness. She still always carried one of her knives with her, she felt naked without one. Tom and Sabine seemed to understand somehow, and said that it was her business and that was enough for them till she was ready to talk about it. It was strange not to be interrogated for now wanting to tell someone something.

Marinette had lived with the Dupain-Chengs for about a year now. It was strange really, they were honest business people and their joy was always sincere. They didn’t question much of what she did even though it was probably weird to them. They didn’t punish her for messing up like the league did, and they never went near her wings without permission. They never plucked her feathers, and they would often ask if they could preen her wings. She would refuse every time, but she would often wonder what it would be like to have someone else touch them. Think of what it would be like if she weren’t cursed. When it was time for school she would always wrap them around herself then tape them so no one would see or be able to touch them. Things were finally going well, she couldn’t risk it now!

There was a blonde brat that liked to act like she was above her, and because her wings were always hidden with no explanation she made sure everyone knew that she was “wingless”. She didn’t care though, being wingless was better than being evil winged. She never really said anything in class or to other students, she never gave much reaction keeping her stoic face up. The brat left her alone soon after for being a, “ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous freak.” And nobody was the wiser.

Being Lady Chaos was….the best thing that ever happened to her if she was being honest. Even with pure black wings, people still thought she was a hero. She never flew, she was scared she’d fall and die. She was never allowed to fly before, and even if she technically can do so now, it’s not worth the risk. Her partner though, Mr. Bug has gold, red, and black wings. He can fly through the air with ease she wished she desperately had. Sometimes after patrol she would go to the very top of the Eiffel Tower and just stretch her wings out as far out as she could. She would close her eyes as the wind blew past her and ruffled her feathers and pretend that she was soaring through the air.

________

Year three of living with Tom and Sabine she was comfortable talking to them more, and with Plagg there to control her chaos she finally let them touch her wings. It was strange really, she never took care of her wings, never cared enough to. When she first felt the hands on her feathers she had to will herself not to draw them back for fear of them plucking or ripped out. But Sabine’s hands were so gentle and smooth that they seemed to move on their own and go closer to her touch. Sabine would smile and hum as she gently preened the dark raven feathers that were soft and smooth. Maybe she could finally tell the class that she wasn’t wingless soon, and maybe they would be okay with it.

No, they would not as she learned from listening to her classmates talk to the new student, Lila Rossi. To them Lady Chaos was the only good black winged person because she was chasing after Mr. Bug to earn his affections. Lady Chaos was obviously evil before she met Mr. Bug and she would always be evil no matter what she did. Marinette felt nauseous that she ever thought about telling them the truth. She had never felt more betrayed than she felt now, because she had given them her trust, and they broke it without even knowing it. After that day, she made extra sure that her wings were hidden and wore a bit thicker clothing just in case. Tom and Sabine are a little worried about it, but she calmed them pretty quickly. She was fine, it wasn’t like they were all great friends to begin with. That’s probably why everyone sides with Lila and decides that she’s a terrible person.

She had tried leaving her past behind, pretending that she didn’t hurt and kill people. Pretend that she wasn’t a weapon. She tried to push it far away, but it wasn’t enough. It was never enough. She had abandoned her brother. She betrayed the league. She did unspeakable things to please someone who would never care about her, just her use. The city of lights seems duller than usual, it was probably her fault Hawkmoth came to be in the first place, afterall she was cursed to bring ruin everywhere she went.

________

Lila and Chloe thought it would be a great idea to bring everybody to the Crime Capital of the World for their senior trip. Probably to watch people flounder and worry when things go wrong, which they definitely would. She had stopped Hawkmoth a month before the trip, but Mr. Bug took all the credit for it. The arrogant self centered bas*. Adrien kept giving her side glances that always made her feel uncomfortable and slightly disgusted. During school he would try to touch her with every chance he’d get. He almost discovered her wings at one point. She couldn’t do anything about it before because of the stupid your-rich-so-do-whatever-the-heck-you-want treatment. Now that Adrien’s family fortune is gone, and people don’t trust him because of what his dad did, so he has to be more careful. He now kept some distance, which she was extremely grateful for.

She would have broken his hand, she had imagined it plus other things more than once. But then Tom and Sabine would get in trouble by Gabriel for her actions. They didn’t deserve that, they had been nothing but good to her since they found her abandoned in that forest.

She would be fine though, as long as Lila had a grip on his arm and she was in the back, away from him. She listened to their tour guide, Richard Grayson, talk about the history and importance of WE. The architecture was brilliant really, and you couldn’t blame her for having to draw and sketch it. She often thought of Damian when she sketched. She used to leave drawings for him around the base, little things that expressed her adoration for him without getting too close. She wondered if he was still with the league, had he escaped, did he die? She hoped that wasn’t the case, she hoped that he would be alive and well. Bright orange and white wings nearly slapped her in the face if she hadn’t stopped right before the movement had occurred.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry Marinette! Sometimes my wings just spasm out of control like that! I didn’t hurt you did I?”

Marinette just silently rolled her eyes and took a few steps backward and watched the class glare at her waiting for her to comfort the liar. She would never lower herself to do that. She was still an Al Ghul afterall, even if she did leave it behind when she fled. She was thankful when lunch came, she waited far away from the line and watched silently from a dark corner to make sure no one would hurt her. Then she felt it, a hand touching her back feeling for something. She quickly and instinctively grabbed the arm and twisted it behind them pinning it behind their back at a painful angle.

“Ukhti, let go.”

Marinette knew that voice. She remembered that name and she could feel her heart stop. The lunchroom was silent as they watched the small bluenette silently and quickly release the “Ice Prince”. Everyone watched with bated breaths to see what would happen next. The boy’s wings were ruffled in agitation and fear.

“Where are they?”

He demanded. Marinette knew what he was talking about, she simply wrapped her arms around herself and turned her head away definitely.

“Why are you hiding them, Malak? Please.”

Marinette could feel her wings moving in defiance to what her brain was saying. They wanted to be shown, they wanted to be touched by her brother again. She looked down and slowly uncrossed her arms from her body. Damian gently took her hands in his and looked directly into her eyes.

“Everything will be ok, Taw'ami.”

She slowly nodded and with shaky fingers reached under her hoodie and began to slowly unwrap the tape that kept her wings confined. When all the tape was in her hands she hesitantly removed her hoodie and let her wings unfold from around herself and into the open. She had made shirts that let her wings slip through slits in the back that were tailored to her wings specifically and were most comfortable. Damian marveled at how big her raven wings had grown and how shiny they were. He reached out a hand slowly and gently ran his fingers down the inky black that was her wings.

Shouts of fear and accusations were thrown at her, mostly from her class. She didn’t listen though, she just observed. The tour guide was coming over now, probably to kick her out. He had such lovely wings though, they were a deep navy blue that looked similar to black with dark red and light blue running through them. They looked so well kept and soft.

“Damian, what’s happening? Who is this?”

“Grayson, meet my twin sister, Marinette.”

“You have a twin?!”

Richard exclaimed loudly, drawing even more attention. The insults and jeers stopped after that. She looked over at the class and smirked when she saw their shock and confusion.

“Yes, keep up.”

Damian said brusquely. They must know each other well then.

“Come, we must take her away from these imbeciles and take her to father.”

Damian grabbed her wrist and tugged, her quickly falling into line like she used to when he did this.

“Now tell me Ukhti, have you been taking care of yourself?”

She nodded as they came to an elevator and walked into it with Richard right behind them. Marinette felt her feathers fluff up nervously. She wasn’t in control of them right now, and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Damian ran a hand gently down her right wing trying to smooth it down.

“Things will be fine Marinette. Just watch, father will be glad to meet you.”

She looked him in the eyes and squeezed her hands together.

“No, I have not told him about you. Things will be fine though.”

He seemed to understand her weird way of communicating, she still didn’t understand how he did. Richard cleared his throat and both turned to look at him.

“Sorry to interrupt, but um…I’m Dick, I’m Damian’s, and yours I guess, oldest brother. It’s nice to meet you.”

He spread his wings in a welcoming way that meant and showed safety and peace. Her wings involuntarily rose up as well to reciprocate his greeting. When the door to the elevator opened again she quickly forced her wings to hide on her back trying desperately to keep them from sight. Damian didn’t seem to like it, but he just grabbed her wrist and dragged her to a large office room. The plaque on the door read “CEO Bruce Wayne”. Their father was Bruce Wayne?! She couldn’t go in there, she couldn’t curse him and ruin his life. No, she had already messed up at the league, and she was just barely not messing up with Tom and Sabine, she would definitely ruin Bruce Wayne’s life, and she would not allow that to happen. She tugged at his grip desperately trying to get away.

“Marinette, stop. Your wings are not cursed, that was a lie.”

Marinette shook her head and kept trying to escape the iron-like grip.

“Do you not trust me anymore?”

She froze at that and quickly shook her head. Of course she trusted him, it was her that shouldn’t be trusted.

“Good, because we’re going in now.”

And that was that, because the door was now open and she was being dragged into the office room where their father and another boy with large bags under his eyes stared at them. Damian puffed up his chest and feathers letting his strong, big, and brilliant wings rise into the air.

“Father, this is your daughter, my twin, Marinette Erebus Al Ghul-Wayne.”

They both stared at her in shock and Marinette slowly and cautiously raised her despicable black wings into the air. Both stared at them in awe before looking back at her, but she didn’t meet their eyes. She didn’t want to see the disgust and hatred in their eyes.

After a few moments she looked up and saw their wings greeting hers like Dick’s had. Their father’s wings were a mix of black and dark grey alternating the color in each row of feathers. The other boy’s were black at the top and slowly turned to red at the bottom. But they were welcoming her openly, so that must mean something! Well, it was time to get to know her father, she guessed.

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