#i just hope this time we get no ballads cause i cannot tolerate those... i am begging

[koumeowkami]

yay i hope mahiro slays the house down this year as well <3

[always-andromeda]

Okayokay, hi! I know it’s been like a week since you responded to my last ask, but I just started summer semester so it’s been kinda hectic. It goes by so fast since it’s a 6 week semester instead of 12, so I’m already studying for midterms :,(

But anyway! I hope your exams went well and that you were able to pass your classes! It can’t be easy trying to get through school when your mental health isn’t doing so well.

And a potential vacation and some music events?? Sounds funnn, I hope you get to do that stuff and enjoy yourself :)

Yeah, I totally get what you mean about Songbirds and Snakes. It’s so so different from The Hunger Games since it’s from the POV of Snow and like…we know what he ends up becoming. So it’s not necessarily hopeful like THG ends up being. But it’s so interesting learning about how he became who he is in THG.

Also! On the subject of THG, idk if I mentioned this to you, but I recently watched a show Josh Hutcherson is in called Future Man (he’s the lead guy). It’s about time travel and it’s super off-beat and there’s lots of dirty humour, and it’s so funny and clever!! I think it’s a Hulu show? But we don’t have Hulu here so I watched it on Disney+. If you’re interested in stuff like that, I would def recommend. Josh is super funny and pretty in it!!

Oh my god I feel that so hard. Since I was 13, my parents have not heard the end of my many celebrity crushes. I think they tolerate my obsessions—at best 😭. But I cannot wait till The Covenant comes out on Prime, I’ve been watching edits and I am confident I’m going to lose my shit while watching it cause he looksTHAT GOOD. Like the ultimate dilf energy 😩

Finally, as a treat, I deliver yet another set of edits to you:

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM2eY42qJ/?t=1

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsBXoG0yzNL/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

-🤹

Hey, E!! So sorry it’s taken a bit to answer this one!! The last few days have been a bit messy for me and I’ve not had much energy to be online. But damn, congrats to you for taking on a summer semester!! I was thinking about signing up for a few summer classes myself but I've needed the break after the semester I just had. 😅 Hopefully these classes go well for you!!

And listen, now I've officially bought a copy of Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (and two new Palm Pals for my fledgling collection hehehe) as a fun little end of the semester present to myself. Partially because I wanna know what's going on when the movie comes out in theaters. The idea of going to a see a Hunger Games movie in theater again?? Ugh, it makes my heart just light up with nostalgia. 💖 So get ready to hear my thoughts and opinions on it in the coming weeks!!

About that show: I'm pretty sure I've actually seen some edits for Future Man?? I now have a whole Josh Hutcherson folder on TikTok because my algorithm just keeps giving me content about him lol. That one scene where he's like on his knees and saying that he promises he'll be a good boy and he'll be quiet?? 😀 I think that's from Future Man?? All I know is that if I watch that...I think I will go certifiably insane. But I'll definitely add it to my watchlist and check it out once I get the chance to!!

p.s. those edits?? sweet jesus I am so— 🥴 the beard and glasses combo???? God, I am gonna have a time watching this movie.

Here's some edits for you in return!!

🎁 (here’s that Josh scene I was talking about earlier lol)

🎁 (and here’s some more of bearded Jake)

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

Heart of Steel - I

Description: Sir James is known throughout the lands as the most fearsome and honorable warrior. Ballads have been written about him. Men fear him. He is the most trusted knight of the King Henry. So why has he given up the glories of war and pledged his loyalty to Princess Y/N? 

Pairing: Medieval AU -Knight!Bucky x Princess!Reader

Word Count: 3,183

Warning: If you’re a history buff, probably don’t read this because the historical inaccuracies will most likely drive you crazy. 😅

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“Sir James,” Y/N says overly sweetly. She only used his correct title when they were not alone or when she wanted to tease him; this time it was both. “You are said to be one of the strongest knights to have ever lived. People fear you on the battlefield. You are renowned throughout the lands…”

Bucky kept his face emotionless, choosing to wait patiently for her to finish.

“So why, Sir James, do you waste your days protecting me? Surely this life is quite lowly to a man of your honor.” Her eyes were so playful and mischievous. She knew he couldn’t respond honestly when her ladies-in-waiting and servants surrounded them.

Bucky wasn’t in the mood for her games today. Y/N did this when she was bored. She was much too clever and witty to be a princess. She got easily bored, which was why she caused so much trouble as a child. The trouble continued into her young adulthood, but Y/N had become much better at hiding it.

“You are the princess, Your Highness.” Bucky replied evenly.

Y/N looked disappointed that he wasn’t playing the part she had hoped.

“Me? The princess?” She gasped theatrically. “Why… I had no idea?”

Her ladies-in-waiting giggled, hiding their amusement with their fans.

Bucky hated them. He believed Y/N deserved better company. They were all fictitious friends. None of them actually knew who Y/N was as a person. They only cared for her title. Everyone wanted to be close to the princess.

Bucky narrowed his gaze just enough that it wasn’t a glare.

“You are the Crown Princess; daughter of King Henry, the world’s most powerful ruler. He has called you his greatest treasure. The duty of protecting her is anything but lowly.” He raised an eyebrow.

Y/N paused before letting out boisterous laughter. Her mother had scolded her for it since she was a child. Y/N didn’t laugh like a princess, didn’t hide her lips behind her hand or a fan. No, Y/N laughed loud and threw her head back. She could fill an entire room with joy from it.

Bucky was grateful that her governess, teachers, and mother couldn’t beat it out of her.

“Oh, how you flatter me so, Sir James.” She sipped on a goblet of wine. Her eyes darkened as she stared him down. “But you also speak of me as if I am a possession and nothing more.”

Anger flashed across Bucky’s eyes at the accusation. He never saw Y/N has anything less than her own independent self. In fact, he might be one of the few who did.

But Bucky was trained to keep his emotions and reactions hidden.

“No one could ever truly possess a princess, Your Highness. I am not foolish enough to repeat the same mistake of other men. Unbeknownst to them, they would have better luck catching smoke than making a woman their possession.”

If Y/N was caught off guard by his retort, she didn’t show it.

Instead, she smirked and looked around at their audience. “Is he not the most amusing man we could ever have in our midst?” Y/N teased.

———

“Why do you torture him so?” Wanda asked Y/N as she brushed her hair.

Y/N sat in her nightgown, hair undone, and no makeup staining her skin.

Yes, Wanda was her servant. But she was also Y/N’s dearest friend. When they were alone, Y/N treated her as an equal.

“Who?” Y/N asked. “You know who: Sir James. I saw you teasing him earlier today. I know you do it out of your own boredom. But I feel bad for the poor man.” Wanda giggled softly.

“One day he will grow tired of me, I feel it. I always imagined him as the captain of my father’s army.” Y/N tried to hide the sadness in her eyes as she imagined the day it became true. But Wanda knew her too well to miss it.

“I know it is not my place, Your Highness…” She began carefully.

“Wanda, how many times must I say it, even after all these years? You may call me Y/N when we are alone. And you may speak freely. We are friends, are we not?”

Wanda nodded.

“Truly, you must see how Sir James looks at you. I cannot imagine a day when he will ever leave your side. He loves you and it is a love beyond the simple commoner for his princess.”

Y/N’s eyes softened.

“I only wonder if you will ever allow yourself to love him back.” Wanda added quietly as she continued to brush Y/N’s hair.

“What does it matter? Love will never be my path. I am a princess, Wanda. I marry for my kingdom, not for love.”

“The King and Queen love each other, do they not?” Wanda challenged lightly.

“Yes, but it was out of sheer dumb luck…furthermore, it took years. ” Y/N replied with an obvious bitterness.

“I know you do not truly believe that, Y/N.” Wanda sighed.

————

Bucky patiently waited outside Y/N’s bedchambers. 

It was the start of another day and it had already been announced that she was not attending court. He was grateful. The smell of their too strong perfume and the sound of their fake giggles gave him headaches. When he was lucky, he got pulled away, by request of the King, for other pursuits.

Suddenly, Y/N’s door opened.

The other guard stationed with Bucky straightened his posture almost in panic.

Y/N was not only wearing riding gear, but riding gear that was meant for a man.

Bucky tried to ignore the way the outfit hugged her body in ways her dresses never did. He could perfectly see the shape of her legs and the curve of her bottom.

“I wish to go riding.” Y/N told the two men.

“Your Highness, a storm is quickly approaching. The horses have been unruly all day,” the other guard argued.

Y/N raised an eyebrow and glared at him. “I did not ask for a foretelling of weather, Sir Arthur.”

Bucky had to hide his smirk. He had never met a woman that could put a man back in his place like she could. She could make any man feel as though he was being scolded by his mother once again.

“If you are worried about getting caught in a storm, you need not worry. I only request Sir James as an escort.” Y/N added with a tilt of her head.

“But that is not the proper formality, your highness!” Sir Arthur argued.

“Leave it be,” Bucky warned him. “We will be fine without your accompaniment.”

Y/N looked pleased with his support. “And just for that, you may hurry ahead and tell the stablemen to ready our horses, Sir Arthur.”

He looked embarrassed to be so patronized. But he knew his place and nodded before practically running and disappearing down the halls.  

Bucky started escorting Y/N in the same direction, but at a much slower pace.

He sighed and chuckled to himself. “Must you be so hard on him?”

Y/N scoffed, “He speaks to me as if I am a child.”

“He has known you since you were one,” Bucky replied. But then his eyes looked over her outfit, once again. “If your mother catches you in those clothes, you will never hear the end of it.”

Y/N smiled at him. “Is it not your duty to protect me, Sir James? That means I need saving from danger both within and outside these castle walls.”

“Aye, your mother is a danger.”

The comment earned him a burst of laughter from her. It bounced off the marble walls surrounding them. Bucky swore his heart could be made of ice and Y/N’s laughter would melt it still.

They both knew to take lesser known paths to avoid servants and nobles, or worse, members of Y/N’s royal family.

Eventually they made it to the stables.

Y/N’s horse was a wild beast. It was a gift from her older brother, Anthony. He’d been in town square, watching a group of men fail to tame it. He overheard them discussing the possibility of simply killing it and selling the meat for money. But Tony wouldn’t allow it. He bought the black, Friesian, stallion and knew, in his heart, that Y/N could bridle him.

Y/N had a gift with horses. She would’ve made a fine horse-breaker if she had been born a commoner. Bucky swore it was like watching a sorcerer place an enchantment as she whispered soothing words to the beasts. They melted under her touch and voice.

Tony’s gift had been the same. Y/N named him Moon, for his coat was so black that the light bounced off it in a beautiful shade of blue. It reminded her of the way the world looked under moonlight.

Y/N let his mane and tale grow out. She refused to let anyone touch them. Bucky always smiled when he remembered the time she caught a stable boy trying to comb a brush through the horse’s mane. The boy got quite the scolding.

“I want him to remain wild,” Y/N had told him.

Moon adored Y/N. If there was anyone more protective of her than Bucky, it was that damn horse. Most of the stableman couldn’t go near him without getting a bite or a stomp to one of their feet. However, Moon tolerated Bucky and Tony.

Bucky watched as Y/N cooed at her stallion. He instantly nuzzled her palm and lightly stomped his feet in excitement, knowing they were about to go on a ride.

Bucky’s horse was a grey, Percheron, mare. It was a horse bred for war, and Bucky had told Y/N of all the times she practically saved his life on the battlefield. She was a giant thing that most people weren’t even big enough to ride. Unlike Moon, she was a gentle and friendly animal. But when armor was placed on her back, she was a force to be reckoned with.

Bucky named her Persephone. “When I ride her through the battlefield, I never know if she’s guiding me to my death or away from it,” Bucky had said when Y/N asked why.

Y/N mounted Moon. She did not ride sidesaddle, like a proper lady. Which was also why she had to sneak about the castle to go for rides. But that was how she’d become such a great rider. There wasn’t a horse in the kingdom that could throw her off.

Bucky had already mounted Persephone. His sword was still at his waist, but a bow and arrows were added to the saddle as well.

Y/N glanced back at him. “Try to keep up,” she smirked before digging her heels into Moon’s side and taking off.

Bucky shook his head in annoyance. But it was all for show. As soon as he was out of the barn and into the meadows, he broke into a smile and urged Persephone to catch up.

His eyes looked up at the sky. His comrade hadn’t been wrong: a storm was coming their way. It was straight ahead and it looked like Y/N was trying to ride straight into the black clouds.

Y/N was a better rider than even Bucky. So he would never catch up to her.

She only slowed down when rain started pelting them.

He saw her look around and steer Moon to a giant beech tree in the near distance. Its branches were so broad and its leaves were so big that it would give them shelter to wait out the storm.

When Bucky reached it, Y/N was already soaking wet. But her lips spread into a beaming smile. He saw that her skin was covered in goosebumps and she was shivering slightly.

He dismounted and ripped off his cloak to wrap around her.

“Your lips are about to turn blue, Y/N.” He practically berated her.

“But what about you, Bucky?”

Now that they were completely alone, they called each other by their informal names and not titles. It was forbidden and could easily have Bucky hanged, if Y/N or another royal member wished it.

Y/N was also her true self now. Not rigid and proper, or sometimes even bratty. No, now she was kind and gentle and relaxed. This was the woman that Bucky fell in love with.

No one even knew of Bucky’s nickname, except for maybe a handful of people.  

“I am fine,” He assured her. “I cannot have the royal princess dying from a cold, even if riding into a deadly storm was her perposterous idea.”

Y/N looked down at the ground. “I am sorry. I just - ”

“I know,” Bucky caught her off guard. “That castle asphyxiates you.”

Her eyes widened at how well he knew her. But she nodded in agreement.

Moon interrupted their little moment as he stood close to Y/N, pressing his large body against hers, while also being careful not to step on her feet. The horse was trying to offer the warmth of his body to her.

“See, he is worried too.” Bucky pointed out.

“Me, being your princess…” Y/N muttered softly, “Is it the only reason you care for me? Because it is your duty?”

Bucky’s eyes softened as he took Y/N in. Her hair was dripping went and somehow the overcast made the color of her irises emerge.

He reached forward and tucked a wet strand of hair behind her ear.

This is all they would allow themselves: subtle touches and longing stares.

Bucky wouldn’t grant himself anything else and Y/N was too scared of what she would feel if she did.

“Do you wish me to leave you?” He asked her, instead of answering her own question.

Y/N shook her head roughly. “I fear the day that you grow bored of me and return to fighting wars.”

Her eyes were filled with nothing but dread and sincerity.

But before Bucky could reply, she was mounting her horse and acting as if nothing had happened.

“The storm has passed.”

Bucky blinked rapidly, trying to process what just happened and return to his usual stoicalness. He mounted Persephone.

“Are we racing?” He failed to succeed in having a playful tone like he intended.

Y/N pulled up the hood of his cloak that she still wore. “Nay, I am in no hurry to return to the castle.”

They walked Moon and Persephone at a sluggish pace. It was as if their horses knew neither of them wanted to leave their tiny escape and return to reality.

Bucky tensed when he heard and felt the galloping of an approaching horse from beyond the hills. But the landscape hid them from view. Bucky rushed Persephone in front of Y/N. Moon reared up on his hind legs, sensing the intruder too. But Y/N calmed him enough to get him back down on all fours.

Bucky unsheathed his sword and readied himself.

But it seemed far too dramatic when Sir Samuel cantered up the hill and made his appearance.

“God almighty, Sam! You almost knocked the princess off her horse from frightening Moon like that.” Bucky scolded.

“He did not!” Y/N rejected, offended by him even considering that she could ever be thrown off a horse.

“My apologies, Your Highness.” Sam bowed his head.

He was one of the few guards that Y/N liked. Him and Bucky were dear friends, though they pretended to despise one another. Sir Samuel, Sir Clinton, Sir Scott, and Sir James Rupert were the only other guards that Bucky trusted with Y/N’s safety when he was not around. Sometimes he would send Peter, his squire, to watch over Y/N when she was stuck in court all day and Bucky was preoccupied.

“Is there a reason for your intrusion, Sam?” Bucky asked gruffly.

Sam eyes went back and forth between Y/N and him.

Bucky glanced over at Y/N to see that she wouldn’t meet his eye and she looked guilty for some reason.

Sam’s jaw tightened. “Her Highness was forbade to leave the castle today. The King sent a dozen men out to look for the two of you.”

Bucky eyed Y/N again, but she was staring into the distance.

“What on God’s name for?” Bucky urged, irritation evident in his tone.

“His Majesty did not clarify.” Sam paused, making sure to choose his next words very, very carefully. “However, I can only assume it relates to the recent arrival of a possible suitor... for Her Highness.”

Bucky stared at Y/N, shaking his head in disapproval at her act of childish defiance.

“Ride ahead, Sam. Tell the King we shall be there shortly.” Bucky ordered.

“And do feel free to also tell the ‘possible suitor’ he can leave and never come back, Sir Samuel.” Y/N added before Sam had turned his horse.

Sam didn’t bother hiding his smirk, always appreciating the princess’ feisty attitude. “I do no wish to get beheaded today, Your Highness. But I will do my best to scare him away.”

Once Sam galloped away, Bucky didn’t break his glare toward Y/N. But she ignored it.

“Was there something you forgot to inform me of, dear princess?” He hissed.

Bucky only called Y/N princess when he was upset with her.

She ignored his question and dismounted, grabbing Moon by the reins to walk him.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” Bucky snapped. “Are you blind, James? I am walking Moon back to the castle.”

Bucky was angry and practically jumped from his saddle to march over to her. “You are behaving like an impudent child!” He growled at Y/N as he ripped Moon’s reigns from her hands.

“I would like to engage in what little free will I have left. Thank you very much.”

“Get back on your horse or I will throw you over my own.” Bucky warned.

“Oh, I bet father and this suitor would love seeing me spread across another man’s lap. What a great introduction!” Y/N taunted.

Bucky’s eyes narrowed, “I am sure your father would not mind with how you are behaving today.”

But then the rebellious streak ended and Y/N’s eyes almost filled with tears.

“Are you really so eager to hand me off to some strange man?” Y/N whispered.

Bucky blinked as he was blindsided. His mouth opened, but no words came out.

Y/N ignored his shock and ripped Moon’s reigns back before mounting again.

“All I wanted was a day alone with you,” Y/N confessed as she looked down from her steed. “I thought you would savor it as I did…not try to rid yourself of me as soon as possible.”

She kicked Moon’s side and galloped off before Bucky could find a reply.

Bucky’s heart sunk as he watched her ride further and further away from him.

----------------------

Part II  

I am very, very excited about this AU series. So let me know your thoughts ! 🙏🏻

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