#only mentioned gwenvid

[aboyandhisstarship]

i'm enjoying The Ghost recon Wild lands Story you fired, so maybe write about the big plot twist which is never brought up again and promptly forgotten

Oh do you mean the *spoilors* fact that Ricky bombed the US embassy and as such the entire mission, rules of engagement and everything was a massive lie? Yea…kind of sad that never came up.

 (not proof read cuse i’m lazy sorry)

Bolvia:

The Cult soldier  fell down the stairs, as David pulled his knife out of the man’s throat David asked “they said Daniel was here?”

A cell phone started to ring and everyone tensed up but it just sat on a table. David carefully advanced picking up the phone; Daniels voice came through “are you the Operators who have been killing the holy people.”

David rolled his eyes “speaking.”

The others covered the doors as Daniel said “do you know why you are here…Sand Man.”

David laughed “Listen Pal, if you think knowing my call sign is supposed to scare me.” \

Daniel shook his head “never, just trying to establish a repore…you see your mission here is a lie…you are trying to avenge a dirty DEA agent…and stop a group of gun totting cultists…except.”

David cut him off “look pal, we came here to kill you…since you are not here why not save us some trouble and tell us where you are.”

Daniel laughed “such insolence…on this phone is your proof after you see it…you will have little reason to go after me,” And with that the call ended.

David said “load of crap.”

Jasper pointed out “might as well see what they think is proof.”

David nodded pulling it up.

 Yuri and Poltio Dungeon:

A drill whirred as Sadoval yelled “FUCCCCCCCKKKKKK!”

The drill sound stopped as Daniel knelt “Ricky…you are dead…even if brother Yuri and Sister Polito stopped giving you pain this instant you will die…so take this chance to relive your conscience.”

Ricky looked up at the camera before laughing “alright Father, might as well to late for you now consider this a professional curtsy, I did it.”

Daniel asked “you bombed the US Embassy?”

Ricky nodded “and it wasn’t a CIA DEA false flag operation crap either it was just me.”

Daniel asked “why?”

Ricky gestured with a bleeding arm “my bosses were going to pull me out…they didn’t care about what you were doing here…I needed them to care…so I did something dramatic…and then as planed you guys grabbed me.”

Daniel nodded “this making it seem like we bombed the embassy.”

Rik y laughed “you and all of your cultist buddies are dead…and don’t even know it yet.”

The recording ended and Nurf spoke first “what the FUCK!?”

Tabii said “no way this is legit?! Some kind of false flag!?”

Jasper sighed “it makes sense, they were not ready for us…and frankly bombing is not there style.”

David’s radio cracked to life as David said “Ghost lead Sand Man…did you know about this?”

Sasha returned “I have no idea…look Daniel still belongs in jail.”

David yelled “Jail, he should be hoisted up by his thumbs…but we have no more cause to be here!?”

Sasha sighed “he still killed a DEA agent…and terriost…look we got his location from his call…Sand Man…shut him down…I got a call pending.”

David nodded “Wilco.”

He changed his frequency saying “Gwen, Sand Man…we got Daniel…as promised we help you bring him in and you come with us.”

Gwen took a deep breath “roger Sand Man I will meet you.”

   Tomb:

The Ghosts entered with David saying “Hands up you piece of Crap!”

Daniel throw aside a phone getting down as Gwen entered “where is he, where is the big bad Cult leader?”

David said “Red Cap.”

Tabii advanjced before said “hold one.”

Gwen blinked “sand Man.”

David looked intent saying “Confirm that order ma’am?”

Nurf said “Boss?”

David lowered his gun “copy Ghost Lead…everyone safety’s on.”

Gwen slowly reached down discreetly picking up a degraded pistol as Nurf said “what!?”

David sighed “he his full immunity.”

The Ghosts lowered their weapons as Daniel stood up saying “thank you…Sand Man.”

Gwen took that moment to light up her pistol and unload on Daniel, his body jerked backwards and hit the ground and Gwen kept firing till her Gwen clicked empty.

David grabbed Gwen taking the gun from her Saying “Red Cap?”

Tabii shook her head as Gwen fell to her knees.

  Fort Bragg North Carolina:

 David walked into his apartment after nearly 4 months in South America with his computer dinging with an Email from G, Santos it read:

David or Sand Man…took a lot to find you…if you are reading this then we got Daniel and I took some drastic action…because Daniel used his DOJ connections to get out of Justice.  As such a little Vilgantie justice was needed. Now I’m sure plenty of people figured I cracked after eyard down there…but they can go to hell, that Manic that monster…Killed my best friend Tortured him to death, Murdered hundreds of people and more and he gets to get away with it!? FUCK THAT…do you know what happens when you give a crazy cult leader with massive influence immunity…you get a dictator, and you know as well as me it will take more than 4 operators to take one of those out.

  David I know we didn’t spend much time together but I enjoyed the bit we did…goodbye… Gwen.

[forestwater87]

Hey! It's the one who wanted fanfiction writing advice and how to sorta join the fandom. So, I am currently writing a werewolf! au for Gwenvid, and I was wondering if I could ask you something (well, multiple somethings lol)? One, what are things you would like to see in a Gwenvid fic? Two, do you have any advice for writing a good first chapter? Mine is kind of short and not too good, but yours are super good. Three, how would Gwen react to becoming a werewolf? Scared or excited? Thanks!

Oooh, fun! I don’t know if I’m the best authority on this, but I think I have a couple followers who might also have some good insights. Let’s see . . .

Things I personally go feral for in Gwenvid fics:

That UST. Pining, longing, yearning -- whatever you wanna call it, all those little glances at each other then looking away when they get caught staring, getting distracted by a brush of skin against theirs or the other one looking amazing just out of nowhere, standing too close without realizing it and then awkwardly coughing and backing away . . . all of it. These two goobers in love with each other and completely oblivious is just . . . idk, it’s obviously personal preference, but that will-they-won’t-they dance is one of my favorite things about pre-established-relationship Gwenvid, and something I never get tired of. (Also, just saying: werewolf transformations have the distinct side effect of the werewolf waking up partially or completely naked in the forest. It’s a scenario ripe for awkward and/or hilarious situations.)

If they’re in an established relationship already, it’s all about those little domestic things. I mean, there can be domestic things even before they’re dating, because they live together for like 3-4 months out of the year so they have a routine going, but things like one of them keeping the light on for the other without thinking, making coffee/tea and leaving everything laid out just the way the other one likes it, communicating (or even arguing) with just a look, all the casual lil touches of two people so comfortable with each other that it’s automatic at this point. It’s an essential part of fluff that I sometimes feel is overlooked in favor of more dramatic hurt/comfort (which is also excellent, to be clear).

BANTER! It’s not so much a canon thing as a fanon one, but the artist formerly known as Ciphernetics basically established flirty teasing and back-and-forth as a staple of Gwenvid’s charm in their earth-shatteringly beautiful fanfiction (that I can’t link because tumblr softblocks posts with links, but if you look at my blog for like 10 seconds you’ll be able to figure out what I’m talking about), and I think everyone’s writing, including my own, needs more banter. They’re so different, after all; why not have them butt heads in a fun way?

Please please please don’t do NSFW if you’re uncomfortable with it, but there is nowhere near enough of it in Gwenvid-land. Just because we’re wholesome doesn’t mean we can’t also be kinky! (Oh man, I just realized I have no idea how old you are. Uhhhh if you’re not an adult just skip this one on by! Or if you are an adult and this ain’t it. It’s like it wasn’t ever here! Poof! I should probably just delete this, but maybe it’ll awaken a spark of inspiration in someone. Lord knows I haven’t been driving the smut train for a while, so I’m just hoping someone else will do my job for me. Plus Gwen would want me to include this suggestion, especially if there are werewolves involved.)

You know, there’s not a lot of action-hero Gwenvid out there, is there? Most of it’s relationship melodrama and domestic fluff, which I love -- obviously, I write it literally all the time -- but with a werewolf AU you have the opportunity for gratuitous violence, and both David and Gwen have proven they can kick a whole lot of ass and deal out (or take) a lot of pain. If you need two people fighting monsters -- or fighting as monsters -- you could do a lot worse than those two. It’d be a fun change of pace that’d work well with their character dynamic.

Writing a first chapter:

I don’t have a ton of advice here that isn’t pretty common, but the biggest thing is to start in the middle of action. This can range in terms of drama: a camp activity going horribly wrong, a nightmare, maybe even David discovering Gwen’s a werewolf. Your story doesn’t have to go in chronological order, after all, so if you have to backtrack in later scenes or chapters that’s not a bad thing in the slightest! 

It’s much better to start with a really exciting, gripping situation and then backfill in the information that matters than starting off with all that boring worldbuilding and exposition. Don’t get me wrong, that worldbuilding and exposition are necessary, but they’re also like . . . I dunno, salt. It’s essential to the recipe, but no one would say it’s their favorite part of a meal, and having to eat a whole pile of it before they get to the good stuff wouldn’t be enjoyable at all. It’s better sprinkled throughout to add flavor to your story as needed.

I like that metaphor! It’s kinda cliche, but I think it still gets the job done.

So yeah, start with something exciting and know it’s okay for your readers to go, “wait, what the fuck’s going on?” That’s kind of a great thing, actually; it establishes mystery and introduces higher stakes, and just gets your readers going. It’s also more fun to write, which is good! (For example, I just read a really great book call The Chill, which opened with a woman tying a bag over her head, weighting herself down with chains, and throwing herself into a river to “join the work.” Who is this person? What work? Did she know she was going to die -- it definitely doesn’t feel like a suicide, but what else did she think was going to happen?? I’m instantly on board, even if the next few scenes were focused on establishing exposition and actually kinda boring. It’s all about that hook.)

To be fair: I don’t do this all that often in my own fics. For every “starting the story with a botched assassination attempt,” we have “starting the story with waking up.” It’s important to have a first chapter that matches and sets the tone of your story; if it’s going to be a rip-roaring action/horror adventure, you’re going to want to start things off with all that stuff I mentioned before. If you’re writing cute fluff, there’s nothing wrong with your in media res chapter opening being an adorable fluffy scene. Compelling doesn’t have to mean scary or action-packed, but more serve as a teaser for what the rest of the story is going to bring. I’ve been leaning on action or thriller stuff because a werewolf AU implies some level of creature-feature monster spookiness, but any tone works as the start of a fic, as long as it’s not “here’s a laundry list of the universe’s rules,” because that’s boring and you can weave that into the rest of your story later. 

As for your other comment, short isn’t bad at all; in fact, if you want to make your first chapter a really short, compelling scene, that can be a great way to draw people in. But I also am a proponent of writing until it’s done, and couldn’t stick to a page or word count to save my life. My chapters are all over the place, and sometimes I’ll randomly chop them up if I feel like it’s going too long but usually I don’t bother. The more you write, the more you develop a feel for when the story, chapter, or scene needs to end, but as you’re starting out you might wanna snag a beta to help you find that stopping place.

Wow, this is long! Awkward! Sorry about that! I’ll make this last one short:

Gwen the werewolf:

I can’t imagine any universe in which she isn’t psyched as hell. I think she desperately wants to be more special and important than she is, and having a sexy monster superpower would only be a good thing to her, regardless of whatever its drawbacks may be. She might get tired of certain aspects of being a werewolf as the honeymoon phase wears off, but in the beginning I think she’d be excited and maybe even relieved.

Anyway, I hope that helps! It’s a lot of rambling, but I imagine you’re used to that by now. :)

[thelonecritic]

AO3 writing tag

Tagged by @iressails (can’t wait for that Thornfield AU) who has now given me a reason to bore you all with my fic writing, lmao. 

Name(s): TheLonelyCritic on AO3 and Fanfiction.net

Fandom(s): HDM (obvs), RWBY, Mindhunter (well those are the ones I’ve actually written stuff for)

Where you post: Fanfiction.net & AO3

Most Popular One Shot (by kudos): At World’s End which tbh I don’t know why. I churned it out in the middle of the night but I guess you Masriel shippers are willing to accept any fluff you can find (it was hardly fluff but I feel your pain, 99% of Masriel fics are dark as hell mines included). 

Most Popular Multi-Chapter (by kudos): No surprise here but Adhuc Maris  which, I’d admit, I enjoyed writing. Just being able to explore the nuances of Marisa and Asriel’s relationship as it rose to lovely heights only to plunge into the depths of hell. Fun times.

Favourite story you’ve written so far: A Sweeter Moment - proof that I can write actual fluff and well. Also rectifying the disservice done to both Ozpin and Glynda in RWBY. Just threw away two perfectly good characters for what?  Also, Adhuc Maris. 

Fic you were nervous to post: Definitely Seven Darts . It’s basically a crossover between HDM and Death Parade and it gets dark. Like very dark. And I love it but I understand why it has not been viewed as much +my shitty summary and no one cares about Edward (the forgotten wheel)

How do you choose your titles?: It’s either purposeful and a good summary of the entire fic or it’s just me trying to be fancy. No in-between.

Do you outline?: Yes, if it’s a multi chapter (hence why I’ve only written one, how do you writers do it?). One shots, ehh, I can wing that.

Complete: All - an incomplete fic is my pet peeve so...

In-Progress: Sequel to Adhuc Maris bridging the 12 years before Marisa meets Lyra. Right now it looks like it will outdo all my fics on its darkness but I blame S2 of HDM, it’s not my fault they decided to take a sharp left turn. That Moreal fic I promised is ummm on its way. Turned out to be a three-parts in my head but has a single word been written, no.

Also, if you read A Sweeter Moment and you saw the promise for a follow-up I made a year ago... yh about that.

Coming soon/not yet started: That Ozglyn prequel. A Lyra & Marisa one-shot. A Yesica Beltran fic (one Sin Senos fan comment they want it and I’ll post it or otherwise I’ll write it for me, I have no qualms about that). May venture into Normero, Gwenvid and Jarvey land but probably not anytime soon.

Prompts?: Mmmm... you post a prompt on Tumblr for one of the fandoms I’ve mentioned and if I like it, I might surprise you.

Upcoming work you’re most excited about: Sequel to Adhuc Maris. Damn, it’s dark and brooding and I’m running wild with Marisa’s characterisation and gosh is that fun. 

Tagging: I know no writers so if you see this, feel free to carry it on. Open invite!

[magicalheadphones]

I did a sad thing.

(This is Gwenvid because I made it for a friend but have this angsty thing. Um trigger warning! Includes alcohol and mentions of depression and suicide. If you feel suicidal please ask for help and talk with someone. I care about you and want you to get the help you need ❤)

   David and Gwen laid in their bed. Gwen was fast asleep and David was awake. He gently stroked Gwen's hair and watched the beautiful women sleep. He smiled softly and quietly sat up. He gently got off the bed and walked to the kitchen making sure not to wake up His family.

   He reached up for the cabinet that Gwen or Max couldn't reach and opened it, revealing a bottle of vodka. He picked it up and sat on the counter. He knew that he shouldn't be drinking this but...it felt nice.

  Like all his worries were washed away. Like he didn't need to worry about any pills that he needed to take.

  He opened up the fresh bottle and chugged a good amount. David looked at the family picture on the fridge and chugged a bit more. That was probably 3 glasses of Vodka already. He glanced down at his hand. It seemed clammy. He chugged some more.

   David was killing himself if he didn't stop. So he chugged even more. He was about ⅔ done with the bottle. Might as well finish it. David wanted to stop but his mind kept telling him to finish what he started.

It might end his misery in depression quick.

  He looked at the camp photo that sat on the fridge near the family one. With his vision blurry and his thinking skills disappearing, he couldn't make out any faces. "Fuck-" he slurred and finished off the bottle, Forgetting about his child and Wife that laid in the other rooms.

   He hopped off the counter and instantly stumbled to the ground. The bottle shattered with the sudden landing. Color drained from David's body and he became a sickly pale.

  The sudden thump from the kitchen woke Gwen up. She went to wake up David only to see that he wasn't there. She slowly got up and opened their bedroom door. Max poked his head from his room and looked at Gwen.

 She looked towards the kitchen "David!?" She asked loudly. There was no response. She walked down the hallway. "David? Are you okay?" She asked again with more concern. Max followed in close pursuit.

  Gwen peaked around the corner. She caught a glimpse of David's limp hand that was poking out from the other side of the island. "DAVID!" Gwen hollered as she dashed into the kitchen.

   David laid on the floor unresponsive. "Max! Call 911!" Gwen cried out as she stumbled to David's side. Max ran back to his parents' room and grabbed Gwen's phone in tears. "David! Please! Stay with me!" Gwen wept as she hugged her unresponsive husband in her arms.

   His breathing was shallow and he became colder with the passing minutes. Gwen looked at the shattered bottle of vodka that laid near the fridge.

"Why David?"

   David was transferred to the hospital that night and was diagnosed with Alcohol intoxication. He had put himself in a coma and it was confirmed that he hadn't been taking his pills for depression.

   Gwen was shocked when she heard. It wasn't like David to not take his pills. It wasn't like David to drink so much Alcohol that he has a risk of dying. It wasn't like him to drink Alcohol. Max was silent the whole time with the occasional sniffs and sobs.

    After an hour, Max and Gwen could to see David. When they walked in they saw David with I.V.s and a breathing tube on him and they could help but cry. He could have killed himself.

That whole night, Gwen and Max held his hands as he was in his coma. The Coma he put himself into. They never left his side.

[queeniecamps]

Gimmie ur masha headcanons -gwenvids

hello ty 4 opening the floodgates

- Max and Sasha are both iced coffee and cucumber water stans, (that’s fucking canon apparently)

- Both of them secretly love rock/metal, Sasha’s more closed off about it, though  - They 100% would go to a metal concert together on a date- Sasha’s kinda insecure about how taller she is compared to Max, but he has no problem getting on his toes (or standing on her boots lol) to reach her face- They both LOVE baking together!! Max loves eating cookies and Sasha’s the best baker around camp (this may or may not be a self given title)- In their teen/college years they’re really into traveling and are lowkey foodies, just imagine them going around new restaurants that open and blogging about the menu (that’s a fanart idea for later, hold up dgfhfgd)- They both do their skincare / haircare routines together, face masks and all (Sasha bought Max a few hair masks but he’s got so much to cover dgfhfgdgf)- Sasha somehow managed to get Max into fashion, he only noticed when he realized just how many hoodies he wore (chances are she got him a pare of gucci slides when they’re older for a birthday and he constantly wears that shit)- Best dressed on the town, loungewear at home- Weekends are spent watching movie marathons, having mukbangs while discussing the BS they experienced that week, and the earlier mentioned baking- Sasha swears a lot already, but she starts cussing casually in an “unladylike” manner- She’s a little nicer once they start dating, she realized she didn’t have to just be this “mean iconic kween” constantly around him   - resulting in her apologizing to Nikki- Their snapchats / instas are just loaded with pics of them together- They memorized eachother’s starbucks usuals, dark mocha latte for Sasha (Extra chocolate drizzle and whipped cream, with a pump of hazelnut), and Max likes his typical dark roast with a shot of mint for funzies lmao- Matching phonecases + wallpapers- Sasha refuses to get out of bed until she gets her “good morning” text from Max (and vice versa for bedtime)

- All of Max’s hoodies get claimed at some point by Sasha, he has to bring extra when he comes over because she’s already got her eyes on it sfdgfd- He gets revenge by stealing scrunchies (he’s gotta keep his hair out of his face when doing his skin routine somehow)

[saintnocturne]

The Littlest Camper

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15919023/chapters/37110753

Fandom: Camp Camp

Ships: None, though technically pre-romantic gwenvid if you read the rest of the series it’s a part of

Rating: G

Warnings: Mentions of child abuse

Summary: David and Gwen have been best friends for ages, so when he's tasked with finding a new co-counselor for his summer job at Camp Campbell, it's pretty obvious who he goes to first. She may hate kids, but would it really be worse than working at Burger King all summer? Though there is something a little different about this year's round of campers.

Words: 8084

Hey everyone! This isn’t a new fic, but instead, something from last summer that I’ve completely re-edited so it no longer sucks! Check it out, it’s actually pretty good now! And it’s also the beginning of my only (so far published) series, “snapshots of three intertwining lives,” which has some pretty cool stuff in it. Read it, it’s rad. Also, I made Chucky, who’s only once mentioned in the show and has no info on him except that Max misses him, into a real character, so that’s cool!

[xyzcekaden]

seeking gwenvid fic beta

hello! i know it’s kind of early, but i just finished writing a ~7.5k gwenvid fic that i want to post in december for the holidays. here are my worries:

gwen and david are ooc

not fluffy or funny enough

the pacing is inconsistent

so is the vibe

why should you read it?

gwen and david holiday shopping together

gwen and david saying ‘i love you’ for the first time

david’s morning affirmations

gwen trying to surprise him and failing <-- central plot of the fic

in case you were wondering, the campers aren’t featured, and some are only mentioned in passing. i’m not willing to post a link and open it up to mass scrutiny just yet; so if you’re interested and would like to help me out, please pm me :)

campe diem!

[microsuedemouse]

Run Away Home, 13: Squid Ink

I don't MEAN to post things at one in the morning, it's just... that's when I do things

(I really love this chapter, I hope you do too. Love you all!)

P.S. Shoutout to that anonymous individual who donated 3x the other day. You're the bomb.

If you enjoy the fic, consider tipping me on Ko-fi!

Gwenvid, David & Max, Gwen & Max | 63 427 words total | T | Max was the last person Gwen expected to find standing outside her apartment early on a Wednesday morning in September. But he had nowhere else to go. And the only logical next step was to call David.

Squid Ink | 5 176 words | David and Gwen take Max over to Joe's place and then spend an evening out with her friends. Everyone has a better night than they expected.

“Come on, Max,” David said again, in his gentlest voice. He was pleased with himself, actually. Somehow – to Gwen’s oft-mentioned disbelief – he’d learned, over the last few months, to be even more patient with Max when the boy was being difficult. Some weird, proud voice in the back of David’s head suggested that within a couple more years, he might even be the world’s most patient man. “You liked Murphy, right? Wouldn’t you like to hang out with him for a bit?”

Max groaned loudly. “Da-viiiiid,” he said, for the thirtieth time. David hadn’t been counting, but he was pretty sure. “Look at what happened to all those other babysitters! They were young, strong, and I broke their spirits completely without even trying. This guy’s a senior citizen. I’m afraid I’ll fucking kill him.”

“Joe is made of tougher stuff than your average twenty-something woman,” David assured him. “Especially the kind who gets a job as a professional babysitter to pay off her student loans.” Glancing up to make sure that Gwen’s bedroom door was still shut, he cupped a hand next to his mouth and added softly, “He might even be made of tougher stuff than Gwen.”

“Gwen is a melty marshmallow inside a misleadingly scary crab carapace,” Max snarked back, but not without checking the door quickly himself.

“We’re not supposed to acknowledge that out loud and you know it,” David warned in a hurried mutter.

Continue reading on AO3

[traveling-madness]

gwenvid with all from the ship ask thing

I’m doing this in two halves. ½:

1. - How do they fall asleep? Wake up? Any daily rituals?

Oh my GOD David doesn’t fucking sleep. Maybe, MAYBE between 2 and 5 hours at the most, depending on if his body gives out before his mind does. Gwen meanwhile has a sleep schedule that’s all over the place. 6 hours? sometimes. 16 hours? sometimes. If they ever do manage to sleep at the same time they’re both cuddlers. Gwen won’t readily admit it but David will. He’ll tell you right up front he loves cuddling his girlfriend. He also wakes up first while she hits the snooze button 8-10 times. If he has time (he’ll find time) he makes or at least brings her breakfast in bed.

2. - How’s their team work? Do they share well?

Canonically they work pretty well as a team. Gwen is better at keeping things on track and held together, but when her anxieties and lack of self confidence start to get in the way David is always there to remind her to have a little fun, and that he knows she’s strong and capable.

3. - Are they open about their relationship? How do they feel about public displays of affection?

David is. Gwen… Can be. Neither of them are comfortable with anything like making out in public, David will blush over kisses on the cheek but never hesitates to put an arm around her or hold her hand.

4. - First impression of each other? Was it love at first sight?

Absolutely not. For a long time David didn’t understand that she needed more than to ‘decide’ to have a good time. That if she tried to have fun and be outgoing it’d come naturally. Gwen spent this time thinking that he was obnoxious and exhausting to be around, and it took them awhile to figure out each others needs and work with them.

5. - Nicknames? Pet names? Any in-jokes?

She calls him David. Sometimes the normal pet names like honey or sweety but that’s rare. David calls her almost every pet name in the book, And occasionally Lyn, but that’s saved for very serious or special occasions. No one else is EVER. Allowed to call her Lyn.

6. - Any tasks that are always left to one person?

He cooks. Gwen can’t cook for shit the woman can make ramen and mac n cheese that’s it. She’s in charge of organizing things because Davids system is more. “Well I put it in the yellow bin because yellow is a happy color-”

7. - What annoys them the most about their partner? Would they change it if they could?

Gwen is annoyed when he forgets how introverted she is and keeps her out of the house doing things for the better part of the day, she knows it’s not on purpose but she just doesn’t have that energy level. David isn’t… really annoyed per say but he’s often sad that Gwen doesn’t see herself in the same light he does, that she doesn’t know how great she is.

8. - What do the like best about their partner?

Gwen likes that he can brighten her mood, even on a really shitty day, and even when he can’t do it by pulling her out on some hiking trip he’ll do it by putting on her favorite movie and getting some snacks. David is a lot simpler; his favorite thing is just about everything. If you asked him this question he’d talk for 3 hours.

9. - Do they discuss big issues? Religion? Marriage? Children? Death?

David want’s to, but he’s come to understand that looking that far into the future can make Gwen really anxious at times. Neither one of them is super religious, David grew up going to a small Methodist church every Sunday, and strongly believes in god, but his belief is that the strongest connection to god is made while doing what you love and being thankful for the chance to do it. Gwen is more generally agnostic. Sometimes late at night marriage will come up, and Gwen knows David wants a family. She’s not comfortable with the thought of getting pregnant, but since the brief charade of “nuclear family” she thinks that maybe.. MAYBE she could handle being a parent of one child. Adopted. And old enough to feed themself and talk about what they need/want. No babies though. They don’t ever talk about dying, there’s some unspoken rule between them labeling that topic as off limits. 

10. - Who drives? Cooks? Does the handiwork? Cleans? Pays the bills? Handles the public?

David drives, Gwen CAN drive but it makes her nervous. He also cooks and does most of the handiwork around the house. Gwen cleans and organizes, as well as paying the bills and keeping track of the calendar. David handles the public and is in charge of making phone calls.

11. - Do they celebrate holidays? Anniversaries?

David celebrates their anniversary every month, Gwen thinks it’s cute but sometimes it too overwhelmed to remember. She’ll note ever 6 months and yearly, and when David mentions it she’ll remember. Gwen didn’t grow up really celebrating any winter holidays, it was more “you get a present around the general month of december because otherwise we look like bad parents. Here uh.. sometimes we’ll light things on fire and have family over for dinner but eh.” but David LOVES. L O V E S Christmas, and every year has to hand cut the biggest best tree in existence. Sometimes it doesn’t really fit inside.

12. - Is there a wedding? What was the proposal like? Any kind of honeymoon?

Davids the one to propose. Gwen is horrified. She’s mostly horrified because she says yes and then has no idea what to do about it. The wedding would be outside, and a hodgepodge of traditions. It’s a relatively Standard Methodist church wedding setup, Gwens family isn’t very committed to any religion, however, her paternal heritage is Lebanese, and at least one tradition she fully agrees to is cutting the wedding cake with a sword. No one’s going to turn down the opportunity to cut a cake with a sword. its a fucking sword. They have trouble agreeing to a honeymoon. David wants woods and camping, Gwen wants tropical and full amenities. They agree on a low-tech beach bungalow. Gwen quickly decides she hates the word bungalow.

13. - What do they do for fun? Do they have a favorite activity or do they like to switch things up?

David thinks everything that involves going outside for adventures is fun. Gwen thinks staying inside reading or watching trash tv is fun. They take turns.

14. - Anything they both dread?

Losing the other. They don’t talk about it.

15. - How adventurous are they?

David is very, Gwen is very… not. Like I said they take turns, try and keep a balance.

16. - Do they keep secrets? Lie? Cheat?

Very very rarely. The only time Gwen would keep a secret is if she’s in a bad place mentally and doesn’t want to weigh David down. Neither would EVER cheat.

17. - What would make them break up? Would it be permanent?

Misunderstanding as a plot device.

18. - What are their dates like? How long do/did they date? Do they ever feel the need to take a break from each other?Not a break from each other really, but sometimes a break from each others interests. Sometimes Gwen really doesn’t have the energy to go on a 5 mile hike, and sometimes David can’t sit still through 4 seasons of ‘I Was A Teenage Pop-Star Werewolf Scared Straight.’ so they’ll do their own things for awhile. They take turns deciding on date activities.

19. - What do they fight about? What are their arguments like? How do they make up?They’re both bad at arguing, David cries and Gwen shuts down before even talking about whats wrong. Usually arguments are a result of them bottling things up as to not upset each other. Make up cuddling and actual discussions of feelings ensue.

20. - What does their home look like? Their room?God David probably owns a log cabin in the woods somewhere in Canada and Gwen moves there because like hell she’d make him live in her shitty studio apartment.

21. - Do they share any interests or hobbies?Watching Bob Ross, they come to find they like some of the same movies, Gwen got David absolutely hooked on cheesy paranormal romance novels, and since meeting him she’s been much more partial to keeping houseplants, she’s even kept one or two ALIVE.

22. - Does their work ever interfere with the relationship?Their work is how they STARTED their relationship.

EDIT: (2/2)

[forestwater87]

Would you want Gwen and David to become a couple at the end of CampCamp? And adopt Max as well? Cuz' I do...

Gwenvid becoming canon is one of those things I simultaneously love and feel is unnecessary. The show will never let it be as pure and fluffy (or emo) as the fans will make it, anyway, and there is no force on earth that will stop me from shipping this ship with every ounce of my shriveled little heart, so I’m kinda ambivalent on the whole thing. (Besides, I know at least one of the showrunners is not at all into it, so I don’t see it happening no matter how much we may want it to. As long as they keep giving us little ship nuggets we can read way too much into, I’ll be good.)

Also I’m not convinced CC is the kind of show that needs an end, so “at the end” is one of those things that … eh, whatever. It’s an endless summer existing outside of time. Does it ever have to end, as long as they keep having new ideas?

As for the other part of this question … oh, boy. Anon, you did not ask me to go the fuck off on this question, but I gotta because I’ve been holding all this inside for literal years, and I don’t even care that this will make me hemorrhage followers because I’ve been very good and very quiet about it for a long-ass time and I just gotta –

I fucking hate Dad//vid.

And you know? I didn’t used to. My feelings, much like those regarding Cute Waitress, went from “how cute!” to “eh, not my thing but whatever,” and now we’ve circled all the way around to my entire soul lighting on rage-fire every time it’s mentioned, and just … I hate it so much … it’s just …

I feel like this deserves an explanation. And I think the people who’ve already blocked me or whatever aren’t going to read it, so let’s put it under a cut just for the sake of scrolling. But here’s the cliffs notes version:

1. It’s #NotAllDad//vid. There are some iterations of it I don’t hate, and even quite like.

2. David adopting Max, as a general concept, blows. There are exceptions – see #1 – but 99 times out of 100 I hate it with all of my hate. (The short reasons why: David is baby and Forest has Issues, it’s kiiiiinda racist?, and it’s lazy, boring, and way overdone.) 

3. The fandom will not fucking chill about it – at the expense of all other explorations of David and Max’s relationship. And that makes me highkey annoyed.

That being said, anyone who’s worried my blog will become a cesspool of dad//vid hate, please don’t be concerned. This is like lancing a boil of something (I’m bad at metaphors). All the garbage pours out in one massive textblock, and then I go back to being more or less chill about the whole thing. We’re dealing with years of repression here. Shit’s gonna be a lot more intense than it needs to be, and then we’ll settle back down to our regularly-scheduled CC fluff times.

I’m hoping this doesn’t make the fandom hate me forever … but given #3 up there, I’m pretty dang scared it will.

(And hey, I don’t want Cute Waitress to explode in a pit of fire and snakes anymore, so maybe my opinion on dad//vid will change eventually too. Always hold out hope, right?) 

1. #NotAllDad//vid

Like I said, I didn’t used to totally despise the whole Dad//vid thing. Like, I love the idea of David having been a counselor for so long that he just has ingrained Dad Instincts (see S4E14 for the most recent example of this). David as the Dad Friend? Good shit. David as the mother/father hen of his little cabal of campers? Very good shit. Nonliteral interpretations of dad//vid are usually really cute and fun and have some solid basis in canon, and I’m all about it.

Even some of the more literal David-adopts-Max AUs aren’t … the worst. Some of my friends have written versions of it that are original or at least were at the time and really compelling, and usually they found a way of skirting past the majority of the issues in #2. It can be done well.

It just … usually … isn’t.

And for that we gotta see #2.

2. David-Adopts-Max Sucks as a Concept

There is nothing good about the idea of David adopting Max, at least based on what we’ve currently seen in canon. 

(Yes, I am aware that I should couch statements like that with “in my opinion” and “with exceptions” and the like, but that’s a lot of work for this and a bunch of the stuff I’m gonna say in a second, so please just assume for the purposes of everything I put on this blog that it’s in my opinion. I’m not out here dropping Cold Hard Facts about Camp Camp of all things; I’m just spewing my feelings. 

I have lots of feelings.)

I don’t really have a cute little opening segment for this, so let’s skip the hors d’oeuvres and hop right into the meat of it:

David is Way Too Young to be a Father (According to Forest, Who Has Massive Emotional Baggage About These Things)

David is 24 goddamn years old. You know who shouldn’t be put in constant legal charge of a 10-year-old? Someone who is only 14 years older than him. If he’d had Max the old-fashioned way he would be too young to go on 16 and Pregnant. 

That is too fucking young.

I know that some people become parents that young, and even younger. I’m not saying your experiences are bad or invalid. I’m just saying, from the standpoint of being 26, that if one of my two-years-younger friends told me they were adopting a kid they knew from work, I would tell them they were fucking bonkers and to hand that child over to a grown-up immediately. This is especially true of David, who has remarkable emotional maturity but is also mentally about 8 years old. Gwen is the adult at that camp, and David is such a baby. 

Please don’t give the baby a baby.

Also, I’m terrified of having children. I never plan to, I’ve only recently accepted the fact that I don’t have to (grew up religious; it was kinda a whole thing), and get knee-jerk defensive over the idea of anyone my age or younger having children. It freaks me out, and that’s not a good or right emotional reaction to have but it’s mine, and I lowkey panic every time I think of David having children because if he should have a child at 24 then I’m already late.

Yes, I get the feeling that I’m running behind. For something I don’t actually want, ever. In comparison to a fictional character. Whose fatherhood decisions are not even remotely canon.

TL;DR I have issues and my other arguments are decidedly more valid than this one

So How About That Racism, Huh?

I know this has been a matter of some debate in the CC fandom for a while now … but you know what? It’s not nearly enough of a debate. People should absolutely be talking more about the potential problematique aspects of having a way too young white kid take a child from his immigrant parents on some pretty shoddy evidence (which I’ll address in the next section). There’s some White Savior stuff going on there, some negatively-stereotyping-poc-and-immigrant parents going on there … I’m not saying these should completely disqualify any dad//vid AUs or speculation or anything, but it should absolutely be much more of a conversation than it currently is.

(This is why one of the few David-adopts-Max concepts I like is one in which his parents have died. Not only is it more interesting – again, see the next bit – but it neatly sidesteps some potential gross stereotyping, and that’s just always rad.)

I feel like the common counterargument to this is that there are not-great parents of color and not-great immigrant parents IRL, so wouldn’t it be dishonest not to portray that in fiction as well? 

I mean … I dunno. 

I’m not here to tell anyone how to write the One Pure Dad//vid AU or anything. But I will say that I don’t think most people in love with this concept have done anything resembling due diligence in considering how best to sensitively portray the complicated familial, racial, and other implications of this particular AU or concept.

Besides, it’s not real life. It’s fiction, which means any decisions are being made deliberately. It’s a choice to depict Max’s parents as abusive and neglectful monsters who immigrated to America to give their son a better life but that’s for the next section, and it’s not inherently a bad choice, but it’s one that should be made thoughtfully, with an eye to the history of negative stereotypes that already run rampant in fiction. That’s just part of the writing process, and not one that should be shunted aside because it’s more work and less dramatic than creating the biggest of big bads for David to make grand speeches at and/or punch in the face.

Just Not Very Interesting (And Done to Death)

Regarding the overdone thing: Reading a David-adopts-Max AU most of the time is just like reading every other David-adopts-Max AU; I’m pretty sure I could put all these fics on transparencies, overlay them on top of one another, and still have a legible story because they differ so little.

Now to be clear: This – along with the rest of my points in this section – are about personal taste. Some people love reading the same story over and over again, and it brings immense comfort to them. That’s okay, and you shouldn’t feel bad about reading (or writing) these stories and not wanting to break your back trying to find a new angle for it. Cringe culture is canceled, and my personal tastes should not dictate the fandom. You do you.

That being said, I’m also allowed to be so bored by almost all of these fics that I nearly fall asleep scrolling the AO3 feed.

And the frustrating thing is, it would take so little to make it different. All it would take is asking: what if it wasn’t that simple? What if his parents aren’t all bad? What if they’re trying their best, but aren’t able for whatever reason to care for Max the way he needs to be? (I’m thinking Deja’s mom from This Is Us, for a cool example.) What if they later come to regret whatever behavior is making them so sucky, and reconcile in some fashion with their son? What if David and/or Max have fundamentally misread the situation, due to being on the outside and a kid, respectively, and it turns out his parents are actually making the best decisions they can in this situation and David doesn’t need to literally become Max’s dad, but integrates into the family in another way? (Seriously, even “what if they’re dead instead of evil?” would blow my mind in terms of originality. It’s been done, but not nearly enough.)

So that’s the overdone thing out of the way. What about lazy and boring?

It just seems to me that, based on the evidence we’ve been given in the show, there are infinitely more nuanced and creative alternatives to “Max’s parents are canonically abusive and neglectful and deserve to have their child ripped away from them by the guy who sees him at his job like 2-3 months out of the year.” I, in fact, refuse to believe Max’s parents are bad people based on the current evidence, and won’t do so unless canon forces me to see no other option.

Because as of right now, I just don’t buy it.

Didn’t show up to Parents’ Day: Well, we know they immigrated from India to escape “menial labor” (S1E4), and we know capitalism stomps all over the kind of people stuck doing menial labor, so what if they were unable to get away from work or they’d be fired? Hell, what if they couldn’t afford it for whatever reason – car broke down, they don’t have a phone or were out of data, they got hurt or sick or something came up that was interpreted by a small child as a lack of interest because he’s been shown that he doesn’t fully understand either adults’ motivations (all of S1) or the complexities of living in adult society, though he thinks he does (S1E4)?

Didn’t give him an activity: What if their grasp of English isn’t great? It’s a damn hard language to learn, and I sure as hell couldn’t pick up a second language if I was working to the bone to support my family. I’m exhausted trying to get through my 5 minutes of French on Duolingo, and I have a relatively cushy job and the benefit of an owl harassing me every few hours. Maybe they looked at the absurd camp activities and assumed they were misreading something, so they handed it over to their son (who is clearly fluent) to pick something he likes. Maybe they wanted to give him some responsibility and a sense of autonomy in deciding what he wanted to do for the summer, and he was so annoyed at being sent off to camp that he refused to do it and interpreted their hands-off nature as not caring. Maybe they were tired and just told him to pick something and it’s as simple as that, because parents are allowed to be exhausted sometimes. Just strikes me as pretty bizarre that they’d bother sending their son to a summer camp (and those things aren’t cheap, even one as not-awesome as Camp Campbell) but not be invested enough to give him the activity. Saving all year to scrape together enough money for a summer camp, sure, but filling out one line on a piece of paper? Pfft, who has time for that bullshit? 

(I recognize that assuming they’re poor based on a single line about “menial labor” might seem like a bit of a stretch to some people. But honestly, to me it’s no more of a stretch than assuming that they hate or don’t care about their son, or any of the other wild theories thrown around about Max’s parents all the dang time. At least this one is relatively new.) 

Sent him a sweatshirt and a short note: Again, maybe their written English isn’t great. Some people are better at a spoken language than a written one. Or maybe they didn’t have enough time to write a long note, or they knew Max wouldn’t read it (he doesn’t seem like the type to be all that into long emotional letters). Regardless, they knew to send him something he’d like that would likely be worn down by constant wear at camp. And sweatshirts aren’t cheap. Neither is mailing a package. Just seems like a surprising amount of effort to go to if they don’t care about or love him.

Sent him to Camp Campbell for the summer: Let’s say they’re poor, based on the evidence we have. It makes sense to assume that they work relatively “unskilled” jobs, or are in school, or both. Because those jobs don’t offer benefits or a lot of money, we can also reasonably assume that they either work multiple jobs, long hours, or both. They probably don’t have family in the area or even the country, and it wouldn’t be reasonable to expect neighbors or friends to take their son in all day, every day, all summer so he’s not home alone while they’re at work (especially considering he’s not all that easy to get along with). He’s familiar with the city (S3E11), so we can assume he’s grown up in an urban environment, which means he’s probably to some extent a latchkey kid. Sending him to a summer camp would get him out of the city, around people his own age, where he’d be supervised and kept busy while his parents are at work until school starts. Camps are expensive, but I imagine Camp Campbell might be the best they can afford, and they’d assume it’s better than him sitting in an empty apartment all day.

Max’s insistence they don’t care: He’s … ten years old. Not only has he made it clear that he assumes the worst of most people, including adults, but it’s also relatively common for kids whose parents worked a lot while they were growing up to interpret that busyness as a lack of interest in them. It’s hard to understand things like expenses or financial security as a kid and view it as “my parents are never around and so they don’t love me.” Hopefully when he’s older he’d appreciate everything they’ve sacrificed for him, but at 10 years old it’s expected he’d feel neglected.

I’m just saying, maybe a borderline emotionally unstable child isn’t the most reliable source, is all.

This isn’t rock solid, I realize; I’ve made a lot of leaps of logic and assumptions extrapolating from what we’ve been given. But I don’t see it as any less plausible than his parents hating him or whatever the prevailing fan theories are, and more importantly: it’s a fuck of a lot more interesting (yes, yes, in my opinion). I think adding nuance and sympathy to Max’s parents will always end up more interesting than “good David vs evil parents.”

Of course, we’re in a bit of a limbo since we don’t know necessarily where RT is going to take this. There is every chance they’re going to drop the bomb that Max’s parents are literally as bad as everyone has made them out to be – and worse. Maybe they’re actually Xemug. Fuck if I know. And if that happens, I’m gonna call it out for being the cheapest and least-interesting of the possible options. Bad, lazy writing that pits pure good against pure evil is always gonna suck, even if it comes from the writers of one of my favorite shows.

I really, really hope they don’t go with that (to finally, I guess, answer Anon’s question fully). And I’m pretty forgiving when it comes to things people hate CC for: Dolph doesn’t bother me, most of the problematic episodes don’t bother me (that pee one is still pretty rough though), but if they go the “Max’s parents are the devil and that is why Max is the way he is” route, I’m gonna … well, just be so profoundly disappointed that the showrunners could’ve done something interesting and decided instead to go for the lowest-hanging fruit, that’s all.

FINALLY:

3. This Fucking Fandom

So here’s the thing. Dad//vid is unique among the “ships” in the fandom in that it is deliberately placed as “the anti-Max//vid.” And I understand why that was done, and I appreciate it holding up that particular vanguard; max//vid has no place in dad//vid, and vice versa. 

But the problem with dad//vid being set up as the not-max//vid is that everything that isn’t dad//vid is suddenly viewed as “max//vid-lite.” Even when that makes literally zero sense.

See, even when I was briefly into dad//vid in its very literal “David adopts Max from Max’s evil parents” form, what I was really drawn to was the idea of David being Max’s older brother. Back when the fandom was like 100 fics on AO3, I had started planning out this long plot involving David taking on a brotherly role to this kid I thought really needed one. Admittedly I’m just a sucker for sibling relationships, but from the beginning I’ve been all about this brotherly bond, and so when a popular artist came up with the term “bro//vid” and it started gaining traction, I was all over that noise. There was finally a version of this relationship that wasn’t either “Max and David fucking” or “David literally adopts Max and becomes his literal father,” and I couldn’t be more excited.

And then … I found out that apparently “bro//vid” was becoming synonymous with “max//vid but secretly.” And … man, it really sucked to suddenly be treated like I was supporting pedophilia because I didn’t like the idea of David-adopts-Max as much as the whole big brother thing. I can’t even imagine how much it must suck if your favorite iteration of Max and David is something along the lines of mentor/friendship, without some sort of buffer of “well they’re basically (or literally) related.” Because if “these two as brothers” is max//vid-lite, then I can’t fucking imagine what that would be called.

And even when it’s not specifically about max//vid, it just keeps cropping up. I posted about the Season 4 premiere and expressed how much I saw a cute, brotherly relationship between David and Max, and someone immediately replied saying that they thought it was more like father-son. Which … yeah, fine, I don’t care if you see it like father-son, go nuts, but I am getting really sick of the fact that father-son is the only acceptable “ship” and everything must lean in that direction, no exceptions. (I know, it’s not a ship technically, but I don’t know what else to call it. Don’t read anything weird into me calling it that.)

I don’t think “please just let me enjoy these two and their relationship dynamic without making it pedophilia or insisting David adopt Max from his terrible evil parents” is that tough an ask. 

Or at least, it really shouldn’t be. But somehow it … kind of is.

And that sucks.

(Also, I hate the whole “Max is David’s favorite camper” thing. It’s not technically tied to dad//vid, but it does often come hand-in-hand with that and it just irks me to no end. If David has such blatant favorites, he is terrible at his job and kind of a douchebag. I think he gravitates towards the camper(s) who need attention the most, because he likes feeling like he’s made a difference, but I don’t think David would just straight-up pick a favorite like that, not when he has a full camp of kids who need him. Just saying.)

[forestwater87]

Secret Santa 2018 - Chapter 1

Hello! So I participated in @campcamp-secretsanta​ again this year . . . although I’m afraid that I did go a little overboard. My recipient, @pikablob​, asked for Gwenvid and Dadvid and was okay with both fluff and angst, and I’m playing with the idea a little bit, but in order to do that well, it’s looking like it’s going to turn into a 4-to-5-chapter fic (which has no name, as of yet. Suggestions are welcome). Because I know “Read More”s don’t always work, especially on mobile, and I don’t want to make people scroll past over 20 pages, I’m going to post the story in chapters -- two today, and ideally one each day through Christmas. (Once it’s all completed, it’ll go up on AO3.)

It’s not a Christmas-themed fic, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! Happy holidays!

He decides that this will be a healing year, a fixing and replacing and making-things-new kind of year.

They all need a little bit of that, he believes.

CHAPTER ONE: NURF

It starts when Gwen mentions that she doesn’t have anywhere to live after the summer, that she’ll have to move back in with her parents unless she finds something better.

(“And, like, anything better. This old guy in the park asked me if I wanted a sugar daddy and I was thinking about it.”)

When David suggests she stay at the camp year-round like he does, he fully expects she’ll turn him down. When she half-smiles and says that it’s better than any of her ideas, he thinks she’s kidding, chuckles numbly and looks back down at his phone.

When she doesn’t make any more plans to move out, he wonders if maybe she’d meant it.

When she starts peppering him with questions about the rest of the year, how he makes money and keeps himself busy and keeps the place from falling apart and keeps himself from freezing or starving to death, he realizes that she’s completely serious, that she’s serious about living here, and he has to bite the inside of his cheek raw to keep from grinning. Because when she says it’s better than nothing she means he’s better than nothing, that she prefers his company at the very least to that of her parents or of strangers and up until this moment he hadn’t ever considered that she might think he was better than literally anything.

So when she critiques his plans and makes her own, when she buys two rattling space heaters for the cabin and when she leaves for a whole weekend and returns with the rest of her life’s belongings in the back of the campmobile, David is quietly, glowingly happy.

(He is even more happy when she finally muscles past the mean little voices in her head and kisses him. They’re in the middle of Rowing Camp and they’re supposed to be watching the campers but they’re in a child-sized rowboat on the lake under blue sky and fluffy white clouds, and when she kisses him he almost forgets all of those things and nearly topples them both into the water.)

(He is even more happy when he realizes that kiss wasn’t a one-time fluke, but apparently a pattern, something to be repeated so many times he loses count.)

(And he’s the happiest he’s ever been -- quietly again, though, a warm gentle bubbling kind of happiness because he knows how defensive Gwen gets when she’s embarrassed -- when she finally admits that it’s not because she has no other options and it’s not because she’s bored, but because she just happens to like him better than either of them ever realized.)

So it begins.

The predictable doesn’t happen, and Max’s parents show up at the end of the summer to take him home. Both David and Gwen let out a sigh of relief, because the boy’s constant mutterings that they don’t care about him and wouldn’t bother to show up had been getting to them, and until he’s safely ensconced in the back of a ratty green two-door sedan they weren’t fully convinced Max wasn’t going to be left behind.

They spent so much time worrying about the predictable, however, that the unpredictable slips completely under their noses until the hours grow heavy and golden and damp, the threat of mosquitos looming as the air cools, and they look around and realize that something has gone wrong, and a camper has been left behind. It just isn’t the one they’d been prepared for.

Mr. Nurfington, an impatient female voice tells Gwen over the phone, hasn’t lived at this number for three weeks. He’s wanted for possession and resisting arrest -- what they might elevate to aggravated assault, the landlady adds, the coolness dropping from her tone as the conversation turns toward gossip, and Gwen should just hear what the police found in his trailer -- “but nobody’s heard a thing from him. His lease expires in two months and as soon as it does, I’m putting all his stuff on the lawn and the coons can have it.”

(Gwen sincerely hopes she means raccoons.) “Did he leave any contacts?”

Just his wife, who won’t be released for another sixteen months -- longer, if she keeps starting fights with the other inmates. There’s an uncle, Gwen knows, but a little digging reveals that he was sentenced to twenty years less than a decade ago, on charges that turn her stomach.

She sets down the phone and puts Nurf’s papers away, and tries to figure out how to explain all this to the two redheaded children sitting on the dock. Two very different versions, she decides, and calls David inside to give him something almost indistinguishable from the truth except that some of the more unsavory details are politely omitted, because at least one of them deserves to sleep that night and for some reason Gwen feels like David’s faith in the world ought to be protected.

Grimy and sweaty from the cabin’s closed-in air, she goes to the showers to wash away everything she’s just learned and leaves David to tell Nurf the version of the story they’ve agreed upon: that his father is gone, nobody is coming to pick him up, but it’s okay because they have a second bedroom in the cabin and this will surely be all better by tomorrow.

It isn’t, and only David is surprised.

It’s a good thing they have a bus, because the Sleepy Peak school transportation system won’t come pick Nurf up all the way at Camp Campbell. Of course, he flatly refuses to let QM drive him to school in a full-sized bus, which neither David or Gwen can really argue. Which leaves her with two options: either dropping Nurf off at school in the campmobile every morning before killing a half hour reading fanfiction on her phone before her job at Camp Corp begins, or driving the exhaust-belching, dangerously clanking bus to work and getting a few minutes of extra sleep.

She decides David is less likely to get himself killed with the bus than with Nurf, and resigns herself to a deeply uncomfortable morning commute.

The most surprising thing she learns on these quiet, sullen mornings is that Nurf is . . . a morning person. Not like David, of course -- no one is quite like David -- but he doesn’t drag his feet, is always sitting by the flagpole with his backpack (new, cheap like it’s made out of old tarp, all they could afford) between his feet when she staggers outside with a to-go cup of coffee and a fistful of David’s trail mix. Nurf doesn’t talk, but he’s attentive; he draws nonsense patterns in the dew on the Campmobile’s windows, and after a few weeks of this strange arrangement he’s comfortable enough to flip through the radio stations.

He likes classical music. David will tell her that he once asked to turn up the Farmer’s Almanac.

(Gwen confesses to David one night that she’s halfway convinced he’ll become a serial killer or something. It’s one of the few serious fights they’ve had, though less a fight than her sitting in shock-stone silence while he gets splutteringly, hand-wringingly angry at her. Tells her that she can’t ever say anything like that ever again -- can’t even think it -- that they’re counselors year-round now and that means never, ever giving up on their campers -- that if -- that as a child -- that he knows what it’s like to be a lost cause and Nurf will never feel like that as long as he’s at Camp Campbell, and that he needs her to be on board because this is hard and scary and he can’t do it alone. Even if their campers weren’t . . . such unique individuals, he would need her, and she can’t ever -- ever -- )

(He’s red-faced and shaking when he runs out of breath or out of words, she can’t tell which, and she tugs him half into her lap and kisses his temple and tells him that of course Nurf will be fine, they’ll all be fine, and she didn’t mean it and it’s okay. And she listens to his breathing even out and, not for the first time, she hates David’s father with every ounce of her being.)

So she trusts Nurf, for David’s sake. And she tries to understand him, for all of theirs.

The seasons will change one more time before she finds herself truly liking him, but she thinks maybe that’s just because neither of them are as good at trusting or understanding as David is.

The fall settles into a pattern of quiet cars and loud buses, of Summer Camp Extended -- which is how David likes to think of it, maybe needs to think of it, because the alternative is that he’s become a father of an aggressive boy the rest of the world forgot about -- where the activities are school for Nurf and work for himself, where the afternoons are spent trying to remember seventh-grade math, buying groceries, waiting for Gwen to come home from a job that demands much longer hours than it offers pay. Sometimes there are regular camp activities, too, when he can cajole Nurf into going for a hike or learning how to fish (though they can’t eat anything they catch in Lake Lilac; the fish there have been declared dangerously mutated).

He spends his mornings as a bouncer at Muffin Tops -- Bonquisha got him the job, and he knows that he looks wiry and weedy and not all that intimidating but the crowd is much calmer during the day than it will get as the evening rolls around, and he believes he can take care of himself if he needs to. (And he has to admit, he enjoys the funny looks his school bus gets when people cross the parking lot.) The customers are polite, if not especially chatty, his coworkers are friendly, the job is mostly standing outside and enjoying the fresh air. It suits him -- strange, unexpected, but surprisingly well-fitting.

David isn’t nearly as adept at metaphors as Gwen, but he thinks quite a few things in his new life could be described that way.

This is the first time he’s able to take just one part-time job, and let the rest of his hours go toward fixing up the camp, and so every patched-up set piece and wobbly table leg repaired he considers a gift from Gwen, who is answering phones and fetching coffee so that he can make Camp Campbell his own, not just legally but in spirit.

He decides that this will be a healing year, a fixing and replacing and making-things-new kind of year.

They all need a little bit of that, he believes.

David isn’t used to devoting this much attention to a single camper. (Not even Max, who has always been a special case.) It’s surprisingly difficult, this one-on-one closeness; he finds he much prefers the scatterbrained chaos of a room full of children. It suits the way he thinks, bouncing frenetic energy, instead of this careful plodding observation and cautious trial-and-error.

It would probably be different with almost any other camper, he has to admit. Nikki, for example -- she constantly needs to be moving, and he would be running to keep up. Harrison would probably be causing trouble, fires he would literally have to put out. Nerris, who can talk for hours at a time about the things that interest her. Preston swanning around the empty Mess Hall, always trying to find an audience.

Nurf, however, isn’t like the children who are sparkling firecrackers that dance and blaze until they get tired and fizzle out. Nor is he like the quieter campers, who still get bored and act out in ways they undoubtedly think are random but really are more like predictable bursts. But Nurf doesn’t seem to have much energy; he goes from school to homework to whatever little activity David can talk him into to bed without seeming depressed or bored. Gwen suggests that maybe Nurf would act out and bully the other campers because he was overwhelmed by the constant noise and activity, and after a week or two of helpless observation, he decides she must be right and leaves the kid to his own devices. Maybe he just really is quiet; it occurs to David that he only ever really noticed Nurf when he was causing problems, and it pains him that this realization comes just as he makes the decision to step back.

“Of course you ignored the well-behaved ones,” Gwen tells him one evening, curled up against his side with her cheek on his shoulder. “What are we supposed to do, let the Problem Trio destroy the camp while we try to get Ered to drop the ‘too cool to talk to anyone’ act?”

He knows she’s right, but it doesn’t make him feel any better about withdrawing. He throws himself further into camp rehabilitation instead, letting Nurf do homework and play on his phone (finally relinquished to him at the end of the summer) and do whatever else fills his afternoons, and tries to ignore the prickling panic that lingers at the back of his mind and tells him this is not okay, this is not how a Camp Campbell counselor should act.

The problem is, of course, that up until this fall it’s exactly how he’s always acted.

The other problem is that he and Gwen were wrong about the kind of person Nurf is; he isn’t a firecracker, no, and he’s not a Max-like schemer and instigator, a controlled burst of dynamite. But just because the tension bubbles under the surface doesn’t mean it’s not there, and eventually it has to boil over.

The tipping point appears to be David asking over the dinner table how his homework is going. He’s deemed it a nice, neutral topic of conversation, one that isn’t likely to veer into uncomfortable directions about his home life or the bizarre situation they’ve all found themselves in or what’s going to happen next. It’s safe and familiar ground, and whenever he’s grasping for something to talk about he returns to it gratefully, knowing it’ll never trigger a landmine.

Until it does.

“Sure, let’s just talk about homework,” he snaps, the hint of his slight damp lisp becoming more pronounced with irritation -- not that anyone would dare point it out to him. “That’s all you care about, isn’t it? Is my homework done? Do I need help with my homework? How was school, and what kind of homework did you get?” He slams his hands down on the table, making the dishes (and Gwen and David) jump. “Do you even consider the psychological ramifications of making an impressionable child feel like they are nothing but the sum of their academic achievements? And I am impressionable!” he adds, shoving his chair back and standing up; David notices for the first time that he’s grown a bit over the summer, enough to almost loom over them while they’re still seated. “I’m still just a kid, you know!”

He swallows, trying to find the right words (and keeping a careful eye on their silverware). “Well, of course you are, Nurf,” he begins carefully, with the distinct impression that he’s feeling his way through waist-deep water in the dark. “But it’s our job to make sure that you’re . . .”

How does he finish that sentence? ‘Okay?’ ‘Happy?’ ‘Safe?’ He’s not sure Nurf is any of those things, and the thought of being responsible for them makes his stomach coil and his fingers shake.

“That you’re engaging in an activity,” Gwen cuts in smoothly, placing her hand over David’s underneath the table. Her touch and the last-minute rescue both hit him like a lifeline. “Since camp isn’t in session, school is kinda your activity.”

Something flickers in Nurf’s expression, doubt cutting through the increasing red-faced belligerence, and David thanks whatever higher power might be out there for Gwen. She’s always understood the more difficult campers better than he does; it must be the Psychology degr --

Clouds roll in dark and heavy behind his eyes. “Why does everybody sign me up for activities I don’t want?” He picks up a napkin and began shredding it -- David wonders if he picked it up from Gwen, or if he’s always had that nervous habit. “I never asked to go to school, you know! My mom never went to school, and she’s only suffering from a lifetime of consequences made from bad decisions that she didn’t have the education or emotional framework to prevent!” He tosses the shreds of napkin to the table, the three of them watching in silence as the uneven confetti flutters over their food. “Everyone does that!”

“Well, that’s not . . .” David glances at Gwen, who shrugs. He felt less helpless when Nurf was throwing knives at him. “You have to,” he finishes weakly. “It’s good for you. And I thought you liked . . .” He wracks his brain desperately for scraps of what limited conversation they’ve had on their afternoon drives home from school, “history?”

“Ugh!” Nurf whirls around and pulls back his arm, then launches his water glass into the wall. It doesn’t break -- David bought shatterproof dishes for the camp long before any of his current campers started coming here -- but the sound is massive in the silent room. We should’ve had him sign up for Baseball Camp, David thinks wearily, watching the watch drop down the uneven wood surface. “Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to not have the vocabulary sophisticated enough to express what you’re feeling?!”

David rarely considers himself helpless, but as Nurf reaches for his mostly-uneaten plate, face still dark with bottled-up impotent fury, he feels like he’s been attacked by Daniel again, limbs as weak and useless as if they were tied to his chair. “I . . . think you have a great vocabulary,” he begins, taking the first steps into this sentence without having any idea where the end of it is. But his instinct is always for positivity, and it’s true that Nurf’s intelligence impresses him; he may have taken for granted, in some ways, that this is the one camper who he can always rely on to be direct, his words and his fists both brutally honest. “Usually I just say I’m mad.”

“I AM mad!” he shouts, but he drops the plate to the table instead of throwing it. His voice is loud enough to blow Gwen and David’s hair back like a strong wind, and they’re both too surprised to even wipe off the bits of potato that flew up into their faces from the plate’s hard landing. “I’m mad because you don’t know what to do with me, and the state doesn’t know what to do with me, and it’s the end of summer but I’m still at camp because nobody knows what they’re supposed to do with me, which is the exact reason why I ended up in Boot Camp in the first place, and all I can do is do homework until someone decides what’s going to happen to me and I don’t know why everything is this hard!”

His arms drop to his sides and his shoulders slump, eyes widening and staring blankly into a spot above their heads.

“Wow,” he says after a moment. “That’s a lot of dark stuff for a twelve-year-old.”

The Quartermaster pokes his head into the Mess Hall. “Anyone died out here?”

“No, QM,” Gwen says, giving David a sideways glance before grabbing the butter, reaching over Nurf’s plate like it wasn’t sitting in a mess of food in the middle of the table, “we’re good out here.”

The Quartermaster grunts and disappears back into the kitchen, where an unsettling grinding noise David can’t quite place begins.

Nurf picks up his plate and sets it back in its place, stealing David’s napkin and settling it over the spilled food left behind. “I should, uh, clean up everything, shouldn’t I?”

“After dinner,” David replies, keeping his voice as calm and unaffected as possible. “You should finish eating before it gets cold.” As he sits back down and reaches for his fork, he continues, “If I help you get the Mess Hall back in shape, Nurf, do you think you’d be able to give me a hand with the canoes? I’m trying to get them ready for one last trip before the lake freezes.”

“Is this a punishment because I threw things?”

“Absolutely not.” David feels like he’s walking on a very narrow bridge, with horrible drops to either side but something warm and potentially wonderful on the other end. “You don’t have to say yes.”

Gwen, still keeping her gaze on buttering her roll, mutters, “You could always do homework instead.”

David freezes, giving her a look because what on earth does she think she’s doing? But then Nurf lets out a small, barking huff of laughter, and the evening settles back on its axis almost tangibly, a kind of metaphysical thump that he thinks they all feel, because in an instant the air is lighter than it's been since the end of the summer.

“For what it’s worth,” Gwen says after a few minutes, “even if it’s hard, I think you’re better at handling your feelings than you think you are.” Her eyes flick over to the empty glass and the water stain on the wall. “But maybe we should also buy you a punching bag over the weekend.”

“He needs a shrink,” Gwen declares later that night, then flops back onto the bed, covering her eyes with her arms. “We can’t afford a shrink.”

David is quiet for a moment. “I could . . . get another job,” he offers finally, the waves of reluctance rolling off of him, and she flaps her hand in his direction dismissively.

“No, shut up. This is your dream. Stop being stupid.”

He catches her arm, fingers closing gently around her wrist, and kisses her knuckles. “Thank you,” he says, not even pretending to argue. “I love you.”

She rolls onto her side to face him, feeling her face heat up. “Yeah, yeah,” she mutters. “I know.”

(She’s not sure why being told she’s loved embarrasses her. She’s even less sure why it’s so difficult to say it back. Her degree could not be any more useless.)

David bundles her up in his long arms, pulling her to his chest and rolling onto his back so she’s sprawled on top of him. He kisses her nose, beaming. “It’s okay, Gwen.”

She buries her face in his chest and lets him pet her hair, lets herself be loved.

(By the time she finally gets the courage to tell him that of course she loves him -- has, in fact, been in love with him since before he offered to let her live at the camp year-round -- almost all the leaves have fallen and the air is ice-breath freezing and he laughs, not at her but with the kind of giddy joy that can’t be contained in a smile. He kisses her and wraps her in his coat and it gets dark and Nurf yells that it’s time for dinner before they’re willing to pull away enough to escape the bitter chill.)

He gets therapy, eventually. Mr. Campbell still has all that money tucked away, and when the Millers hear that he wants to put it toward bettering himself and learning from his mistakes, they’re more than willing to unfreeze his bank accounts, just this once. So when David takes Nurf to the small white-bricked building where his own infrequent therapy sessions are held, he brings Mr. Campbell along for the ride. It settles his nerves about lying, because it isn’t technically a lie; Mr. Campbell is going to counseling, he’s just not using it.

When Mr. Campbell came forward one evening and offered the idea, David was shocked by the generosity, and a little suspicious. As soon as he smoothly suggested that they kill time at, say, The Only Bar or Muffin Tops while the little tyke was in there getting his head straightened out, things became a lot clearer.

(He didn’t spend long thinking it over, though. At the end of the day, an hour a week in a darkly-lit bar or strip club isn’t much of a sacrifice.)

On non-therapy days, David continues fixing up the camp, making sure to go out of his way to ask Nurf if he wants to help.

And to his surprise he . . . does, more often than not. Even more surprising is the fact that he’s rather good at this kind of hands-on work. He’s a tinkerer, like David is, and understanding blooms warm in his chest as the camper-who-isn’t-really-a-camper-anymore settles himself among the detritus of the camp unprompted, sorting through broken and disorganized supplies with a touch that’s strangely delicate, like he’s used to accidentally -- or not-so-accidentally -- breaking things.

Nothing gets broken that autumn, though. And no dishes hit the wall, either.

(When he mentions all this to Gwen, she shrugs and says, “Sure, makes sense. He liked to help Preston and Dolph out with their theater shit sometimes, right?” and again he feels like a terrible counselor.)

It’s largely David’s responsibility to take care of Nurf, which he expected and doesn’t mind. She works full-time, after all, and Gwen has always been a bit hands-off around the campers; she’s . . . not exactly maternal, and the unusualness of their new situation makes her far more uncomfortable than him. Her support largely comes in the form of common sense, observations he’d completely miss and ideas that never occur to him. Though she has a wonderful heart, Gwen is all brain. It works well -- David isn’t all that brainy, but he’s better at throwing his heart utterly into something.

So he does, with the kind of squared-jaw hopeful determination that leaves him exhausted and unable to sleep each night, his brain running over and over with thoughts and hopes and fears and ideas, above all ideas that multiply and branch until they’re full-scale plans. Plans full of holes, plans perhaps doomed to fail, but that’s what Gwen is for, when he’s finally ready to share his plans. When the heart has hung up activities and topics of conversation and a thousand ways to get Nurf to open up, scaffolded with lunatic, reckless optimism, she listens and writes in her journal and shores up the weak spots, tugs down his excitement so that his hopes don’t rise so tall they’ll collapse in on themselves.

She’s the rope around his ankles that makes sure he won’t build something he can’t get down from, so he doesn’t have to worry about anything except building.

And what does building look like with Nurf?

Quiet, at first. For someone who can so eloquently describe his issues, he isn’t really very chatty, and most of the time they work on their respective projects in silence. (One of David’s plans, tentatively titled Get Nurf to Share More About His Day, gradually deflates under the realization that he just doesn’t like talking about his day, and pushing him to share about classes or friends is more likely than not to result in him shutting down -- or throwing something. He puts it aside for now.)

Other plans are more successful. Teach Valuable Real-Life Skills is one; he picks up on things like carpentry and plumbing with an adeptness that exceeds even David’s most extravagant hopes, and soon he’s scrambling to find more things that tap into that well of enthusiasm. Sports, Violent Video Game Nights (which Gwen largely participates in because David is a bit squeamish about such things), Hiking and Mountaineering that is so much easier with only one or two people to corral instead of a dozen, and he’s already making plans for winter: skiing and snowshoeing and maybe even snowball fights, if he can teach Nurf how to do so without getting anyone hurt.

Learn Nurf’s Languages is a trickier plan, constantly ongoing. The slight slump of his shoulders that means something went badly in school, and the way he either does or doesn’t want to talk about it based on how fidgety he is. The jutted-out jaw and sullen silence that means he’s stumped and doesn’t want to admit it, the habit of clenching and unclenching his fists when he’s trying not to get angry. The little questions and observations that seem to come out of nowhere -- “Is there enough wood for the winter?” “I think the draft is coming from QM’s store; there’s a hole near the foundation” “When will you find out who’s coming back this summer?” -- that all add up to the same thing: a kid who’s trying to figure out what their future is going to look like, and if he’ll be in it.

Whenever he’s particularly helpful, uncharacteristically so, David takes a few extra hours that day to do something fun. He doesn’t know how long any of this is going to hold together, but he wants Nurf to know in no uncertain terms that for as long as it’s his and Gwen’s decision, that answer is going to be yes.

[forestwater87]

Gwenvid Week Day 6

Day 6: 10 Years Later / Camp Activity

(credit to @ciphernetics for the idea)

David tapped his chin with his pencil, staring down at the blank clipboard thoughtfully and trying to remember what he was supposed to be doing. Gwen had sat him down with his binder, and she’d had an excellent idea — well, she always had excellent ideas…

Focus, David! Camp Campbell depends on you! For….something!

Maybe he would focus better with a granola bar. He was pretty sure Gwen had stashed some of the chocolate-covered ones in their cabin before the campers had descended on them. Another good idea...golly, she really was full of them, wasn’t she? He loved that about her — not that he loved her, obviously, because they were just coworkers and friends and that would be ridiculous, not to mention against the rules.

Then again, he was in charge of the camp, wasn’t he? Didn’t that mean he could make his own rules? Not that he’d make that rule, since he didn’t need to, since they were just --

“David!” The cabin door swung open and Gwen stomped inside, dragging Mr. Campbell by the sleeve.

“I was focusing!” He shot straight up, giving the Camp Campbell salute on reflex. Neither of them returned the gesture, but that was okay. Just one of his employees’ many darling quirks!

Oh. Oh, wow.

He had employees now.

He wasn’t sure if that was exciting or terrifying.

“David,” Gwen snapped, giving Mr. Campbell a look that could freeze lava, “could you remind our former terrible boss that he now works for us, and therefore can’t wander around being a completely selfish asshole who won’t pull his excessive weight?”

Mr. Campbell straightened his clothes, frowning. “I’ll have you know this is all muscle. And I don’t work for either of you! The Millers were very clear that I’m just doing  community service — for free —” he said with a shudder, “— just until I’ve paid off my debt to society. And how long can that be?”

Gwen crossed her arms over her chest. “Say, a decade for every life you’ve ruined? So probably a while.”

His face went pale and a little green at the thought. “That’s...significant. Anyway,” he continued with his usual bluster, the can-do bravado that had always made David admiring and jealous in equal parts, “while I’m here I only take orders from Davey!”

David sighed, returning to his chair. “Now Cameron,” he said, and if there was a tiny shiver of vindictive pleasure at talking down to the greatest outdoorsman (and disappointment) he’d ever known, he wasn’t going to admit it, “I told you that you need to listen to Gwen as if she was me. We’re CBFLs, after all!”

She gave him a small smile, one that glowed in his chest all the way down to his toes. They had each other’s backs. Always had, always would.

“Yes, Gwen! Not this…” Mr. Campbell frowned at Gwen, tugging on the end of his mustache. “I want to say ‘Molly’?”

“Oh for fuck’s — I’m Gwen!”

He raised his eyebrows disdainfully. “That sounds like something Molly would say.”

“Mr. — Cameron, that’s…” David pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to massage away the headache growing between his eyes. “Who do you think Gwen is?”

“You know, that...green-haired woman. With the captivating...eyes. Or…hmm, maybe that short one with the pink in her hair who’s never doing any work?”

Gwen looked like she was going to attempt to punt Mr. Campbell into the lake, so he crossed the cabin and put a hand on her shoulder, waiting for the blaze in her eyes to cool before turning back to their old boss. “Candace was one of the mothers on Parents’ Day,” he explained. “And Ered is a camper. And a child.”

“Really?” Mr. Campbell made a face. “Damn government infecting us with hormones. No wonder she looks like her growth is stunted. Probably damaged her brain too.”

“She’s also the Millers’ daughter.”

“And what an angel she is!”

David sighed, turning back to Gwen. “So you’re going to listen to Gwen, Mr. — Cameron. This Gwen. Who’s in the room with us.”

“Yes, fine,” he muttered, “no need to beat me over the head with it.”

“You should see what I beat people over the head with when they piss me off, sir.”

David sighed again. “Gwen, no hitting anyone with a guitar. Or anything else.”

Once he’d received begrudging agreements that his employees would be on their best behavior, he sent them off to do...whatever they were supposed to be doing. Oh dear, he should know that, shouldn’t he? What kind of boss was he if he didn’t know that?!

For that matter, what was he supposed to be doing?

“Hey, David?”

“I’m not panicking!” he blurted out, whirling around to see Gwen standing in the doorway. “I mean…what can I do for you? Um, buddy?”

Her eyebrows shot up, disappearing under her bangs. “Are you freaking out?”

“Of course not! Everything is going wonderfully! Don’t you think it’s going wonderfully? I’m almost pretty sure it’s going wonderfully!”

“Yeah, okay.” She walked over to him, letting the door slam shut behind her. She knelt down in front of his chair, taking his hands in hers. “Come on, breathe. Every time I squeeze.”

She squeezed his hands, slowly coaxing his breathing and his heart rate back to normal, almost before he’d even realized how high they were. Sometimes it was really nice, having an expert in psychology working at the camp. “Thank you, Gwen!” he said with a small, nervous laugh, fiddling with the hem of his bandana. “I guess I needed that.”

She just watched him for a moment, long enough that he started to feel uncomfortable, but then she seemed to dismiss whatever had been on her mind, standing up and perching on the edge of his desk. She nodded at the binder. “How’s the camp cull going?”

Oh!

Right.

That’s what he was supposed to be doing.

“It’s fine!” he said brightly, turning his attention back to the list of camps and trying to ignore Gwen’s eyes on him.

“You haven’t gotten rid of any of them, have you?”

“Well . . .”

David didn’t know how to explain it to her. She didn’t love camp the way he did; she hadn’t been trotting at Campbell’s side while he paced back and forth across the Mess Hall, scribbling camp ideas on their big rolling whiteboard. She hadn’t watched the possibilities grow like a crack on glass, branching and fracturing and growing and sometimes dying, and it was Davey’s job to scramble up onto Campbell’s rolling desk chair and erase the rejects, and there was no way to explain how thrilling it was to see Camp Campbell truly be born, so how could he expect her to understand why each crossed-off activity felt a little bit like chopping off a branch of the Sleepy Peak Pine?

But he tried, because Gwen had a way of making him try, of coaxing words out of him that he wasn’t always even aware were inside him, or that he was capable of. She reminded him of Max, in that way.

“But not every branch is healthy, is it?” she said when he finally stopped. “Some of them should be cut off.” She’d crossed over to her side of the cabin while he was talking, and now she snagged a box of tissues off her desk and tossed it to him.

He . . . hadn’t realized he was crying.

Gwen rolled onto her stomach, taking her boots off so she could kick lazily at the air. “I’m not trying to be mean,” she said with surprising gentleness.

David laughed, a little damp as he wiped off his face. “I know. When you want to be mean it’s . . . hard to mistake for anything else.”

She snorted, flipping him off before her expression became serious again. “David, it’s just that this isn’t Mr. Campbell’s camp anymore. I know you want to keep the name -- and even though I think that’s kind of stupid, I do get it.”

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, because they’d had spirited discussions on the name of the new camp several times. The phrase “delusional hero’s complex” had come up more than once.

“But starting now, every camp on that list is going to unofficially have ‘David Greenwood’ attached to it. And not only should we limit it to things we can actually afford to do safely --”

As she spoke, David sighed and crossed “alligator wrestling” and anything with “sword” in it off the list.

“-- but I don’t know how happy you’d be if someone actually showed up to camp expecting you to do some of these things.”

He frowned. “Like what? And don’t say ‘guess your weight’ camp, because that’s a valuable skill for a number of circus-related professions.”

“Like ‘pray the gay away’ camp,” she replied softly.

“Oh.” He flinched, glancing down at the list again. He traced over the words, worrying his bottom lip. “We haven’t really . . . had anyone for that camp in a while.”

“And what’d you do last time?”

David had only been seventeen at the time, and coming to terms with a bunch of things, so . . . “I think I handed it off to Quartermaster, for the most part. Not sure what they did, but after a few weeks that camper switched to underwater basket weaving. I don’t think I checked to see if he got permission from his parents, because . . . well.”

They were both quiet for a few moments, David looking down at the list and Gwen watching him. Finally he sighed and crossed it off. “What about the other one?”

“‘Pray the straight away’? I mean, it’s hilarious, but can we even do that? Like, I don’t know the legality of it if we don’t have some sort of, I dunno, minister or something.”

“Actually . . .”

She sat up. “You’re fucking kidding me. You are not.”

“Mr. Campbell asked! He said he needed someone to perform a ‘discreet’ wedding for some of his friends. Something about a green card . . .”

Gwen shook her head, laughing. “How much illegal shit have you done?”

“It wasn’t illegal! I just went online and -- the ceremony was actually beautiful,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’ll have you know I cried.”

“Of course you did.”

“Still . . .” He crossed it off the list anyway. “Camp Campbell is officially non-denominational. I think. Is that what that word means?”

She climbed off the bed and went to stand over his shoulder, looking down at the list. Once they got rid of everything that was legally or morally questionable . . . “God, that’s a short list.”

David nodded. That’d been what he was thinking, too. “But Camp Campbell is supposed to have something for everyone! There’s barely anything on here!” He’d already have to tell Mrs. Nurfington that they no longer offered Boot Camp. What were they supposed to do with so few activities?

“Hey, breathe.” Her hands alighted on his shoulders, making him jump but then almost immediately calming him. (His mind immediately went to one of Nerris’s spell cards, “Healing Touch,” and with it a warm rush of affection tinged with panic. Goodness, would he be able to provide these kids with the camp experience they all deserved?) “You have room for a lot of new activities now.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “That’s exciting!” Also scary, and a lot of pressure to suddenly throw upon his shoulders, but that was the name of the game now that he was in charge. It was an activity unto itself.

“So, boss,” she said, picking up the binder and pencil, “what have you always wished the camp would do?”

It took him a few seconds to think of an answer. “You know, I’ve always wanted to run a real bird-watching camp . . . oh, and football is a hard sport to play with so few campers, so I wonder if we could do a few more one-on-one kinds of sports. I think Nurf really enjoyed kickboxi -- oh! What about animal handling? I know Quartermaster still has all those kittens from Cat Training Camp, unless he sold them like the last litter . . .”

Gwen shot down a few of his ideas and offered some of her own -- and while David wasn’t thrilled about it, he did think a lot of the kids would really enjoy Video Games Camp -- and by dinner they had a list of activities even longer than the ones Mr. Campbell had created, and his heart was lighter than it had been since he’d acquired the camp.

“Wow, these are amazing! But now we need to make brochures for them. And a new video! And maybe even a website -- I bet Neil could help with that. And --”

“While we’re at it, David,” she interrupted, flipping through the brochures they’d had since Davey was a camper, “we should probably go through the camps we are keeping the same and edit these brochures so they’re a little less . . . you know, full of lies and legally fucked?”

Right, that made sense. Maybe they shouldn’t even have brochures for individual camps at all; maybe that sent the wrong message. Neil certainly had been disappointed by Science Camp “and more,” after all . . . so maybe they’d have to start from scratch. Again. “Oh, dear.”

“Nope, don’t freak out on me.” Gwen stood and put her hands on his shoulders again, steering him toward the door. “That’s a shitshow for Tomorrow David and Gwen. Right now, our only responsibility is pudding.”

“We can’t have dessert before dinner,” he said, letting her lead him to the Mess Hall. “That’s against the rules!”

She grinned -- and the sight was rare, but getting more common every day. He didn’t think he would get tired of it any time soon, though. “Do you own this place or not, Mr. Greenwood? You make the rules now.”

He did.

And tonight, they’d certainly earned pudding.

[forestwater87]

Fic Writers Week 2017 - Day 3

Day 3 - Small but Mighty: Highlight underrated fics/writers

Oooh boy, fun! Can I just say shout-out to @ficwritersweek​ for such an awesome idea? I’ve been having the time of my life doing this.

Okay, there are a couple that I really think deserve more attention, but there was one that sprang immediately to mind, because it’s the most beautifully-written and unnoticed fic in the fandom and it makes me exceedingly sad. If I had to only pick one, this would be it hands-down.

If you haven’t read this yet, you really, really should:

Operation Falchion by @novichok-5

Max, frustrated and needing to vent, goes for a late night walk in the woods. There, he encounters a living nightmare, released from its deranged creators upon the world once again. Why? Because Mr. Campbell has done something horrific, and needs to be stopped at all costs. Poor Max gets involved in this daring raid to destroy his bastion of mad sciences before it starts World War III. Let the butchery begin.

Genre: Horror, political thriller, found family

Rating: M

Main Relationship: Max & OC

Main/POV Character: Max

CW: Violence, so much gore

Forest Thoughts: It gets a little technical with the military details and jargon, but Novi can write gore like nobody’s business, and there’s something oddly beautiful about it. There are chapters with essentially no dialogue in particular that just blow me away.

A real quick n’ dirty run-down of other awesome fics in no order (limited to 1 per author, and fics with less than 100 kudos. I didn’t even include all the ones I wanted to!):

Intoxication by @directium

Genre: Humor, Daniel is a fuckhead yes it’s a genre now shh

Rating: G

Main Relationship: Gwen & Daniel

Main/POV Character: Daniel

CW: Alcohol use, Daniel cheerfully talking about murder

Forest Thoughts: How the fuck does this hilarious fic not have more attention? It’s Daniel at his most charming! He’s actually almost likable!

Nikki and Preston Hunt Cryptids by @samsshittyartblog​

Genre: Humor, fluff

Rating: G

Main Relationship: Preston/Nikki

Main/POV Character: Nikki

CW: N/A

Forest Thoughts: I don’t even really like Preston, or this ship, and I’m actually kinda iffy on Nikki. But somehow I was completely charmed by this fic? It’s adorable and explores an underappreciated dynamic.

 Make You Mine by @rickandmortyfuckedupmylife​

Genre: ANGST, romance

Rating: M

Main Relationship: David/Gwen

Main/POV Character: Gwen

CW: Depression mentions, so much fucking angst

Forest Thoughts: Yikes. This one is really hard to read and it hurts my heart. I spend a lot of time thinking “how the fuck is this gonna end well?” which is something I really enjoy in a fic.

They Call it Bastard Valley by @littleladysongbird

Genre: post-apocalyptic, found family, survival

Rating: M

Main Relationship: Max & Neil & Nikki

Main/POV Character: Max

CW: Some violence

Forest Thoughts: Pretty sure this was the first apocalypse AU in this fandom, and it’s a really good one.

IWhat Did You Just Say? by @secretlifeofacloud

Genre: Romance, angst

Rating: T

Main Relationship: David/Gwen

Main/POV Character: Gwen

CW: N/A

Forest Thoughts: Fucking adorable. Exactly how I’d expect Gwenvid trying to do “friends with benefits” to go.

Ruin by @hopefullypessimistic84

Genre: Romance, angst, fluff

Rating: G

Main Relationship: David/Jasper/Gwen

Main/POV Character: Jasper

CW: N/A

Forest Thoughts: HOPE IS SO FUCKING GOOD AT WRITING JASPER! HOW DO PEOPLE NOT ADORE HER JASPER?! Okay, seriously, this is sad and sweet and it’s the golden ship so of course I love it, but seriously. Cute cute cute af.

Not Quite a Wolf Pack, But It’s Something by @ciphernetics

Genre: Found family, fluff

Rating: G

Main Relationship: David & Nikki

Main/POV Character: Gwen

CW: N/A

Forest Thoughts: David adopting Nikki is the single most underappreciated AU in the entire world. Please, please jump on this boat with me. It’s so glorious and makes so much goddamned sense. (Also there’s someday-maybe-Gwenvid, so yay!)

And like this post wasn’t long enough . . .

Writers: Highlight your new/underrated fics

23 Days by meeeeeeeee!!!!

Genre: Drabbles, fluff, angst

Rating: G

Main Relationship: David/Bonquisha

Main/POV Character: David

CW: N/A

Forest Thoughts: Listen, I know no one cares about Bonvid, but I worked really hard on this and I’m gonna finish it someday but nobody loves it and that makes me sad. Please pay attention to this little drabble collection.

[microsuedemouse]

Run Away Home, Ch 6: Cramps

This chapter is so self-indulgent but I LOVE it, hehe. Hope you do too!

Some important shoutouts:

the lovely @raenbowsofficial let me borrow her excellent 'David gives amazing massages and Gwen makes lots of embarrassing noises when she receives them' headcanon for this chapter! Check out that and her other amazing Camp Camp art and more over here!

and, the wonderful @white-bow-tie allowed me the use of her 'David and Gwen have singing-and-dancing parties together' headcanon! It's only mentioned in passing here but it'll appear more in a later chapter (: Check out that and her other gorgeous Camp Camp art and more, including one lovely sketch based on the previous chapter of RAH!

Enjoy! And as always, I love your comments and feedback <3

Gwenvid, David & Max, Gwen & Max | 26 437 words total | T | Max was the last person Gwen expected to find standing outside her apartment early on a Wednesday morning in September. But he had nowhere else to go. And the only logical next step was to call David.

Cramps | 4 400 words | Gwen is having a rough day, and Max begrudgingly asks David what they can do to help her out. David couldn't be happier.

“Where’s Gwen?” Max asked around his toothbrush, glancing up at David in the bathroom mirror. David paused in the middle of combing his hair and grimaced.

“She’s… not feeling so well,” he answered evasively.

“Is she sick?” Max asked. “She was complaining about her stomach last night.”

“Well, no…” David replied slowly, tipping his head to one side.

“Oh,” Max said, realization dawning on his face. He spat out a mouthful of toothpaste. “Ohhh.”

“Yeah. She’s having a rough time,” David said, nodding.

“Are we… I mean…” Max put his toothbrush away and wiped his face, glancing down as he considered the question. “Should we like… help somehow?” He gestured inarticulately.

“Well, Max!” David looked down and smiled, both surprised and gleeful. “How sweet of you!”

Max frowned. “Fuck off. We… we live here,” he defended awkwardly. “If she suffers and we’re trapped here with her, we suffer, too.”

David was beaming. “Where should we start?” he asked, fishing to see how nice he could force Max to be.

Continue reading on AO3 | Read from the beginning

[microsuedemouse]

Run Away Home, 2: Be Okay

I forgot to mention in the ch 1 notes but this is supposed to take place just over a year after the summer of the show - like, after the summer following the one in which the show is set. That is why Max is stated to be eleven and Gwen twenty-five (with me personally going on the assumption that she is roughly the same age as David).

Also, shoutout to the amazing @forestwater87 for the surnames I gave to David and Gwen here. I just... really liked the ones she uses. If you haven't been reading her work, please go do that, because everything she does is amazing and deserves praise.

Lastly, this chapter's a little on the short side (especially compared to ch 1, which is a little on the long side) but I think it's the length it needs to be. I've edited it a couple times so I'm not gonna now because I am Very Very Tired, but... I'll probably reread it tomorrow just to check, lmao.

As always: enjoy, and please let me know what you thought. It keeps me going <3

Gwenvid, David & Max, Gwen & Max | 9 335 words total | T |   Max was the last person Gwen expected to find standing outside her apartment early on a Wednesday morning in September. But he had nowhere else to go. And the only logical next step was to call David.

Be Okay | 3 274 words | Max, Gwen, and David have to contend with the police and Child Protective Services in an effort not to be separated.

Gwen and David had both given detailed statements to the police regarding their histories with Max and what had occurred in the day and a half since he showed up at Gwen’s apartment. Max had been closed in an office with the blinds drawn for a few hours, accompanied by two officers and the representative from Child Protective Services. Gwen and David, from their spot in the waiting room around the corner, heard a couple of the boy’s loud outbursts early on, but he’d been quieter for a long time now, and it was starting to unnerve Gwen.

“He’s never quiet for this long,” she fretted to David. “Especially around authority figures. What’s going on in there? Is he okay?”

“I’m sure he’s fine, Gwen,” he answered soothingly, prying the shredded remains of a Styrofoam cup from her hand and giving her a new one, filled at the cooler in the corner. “He’s not being arrested. Their job is to protect him.”

“Says the white man,” she grumbled. “God, he was right earlier, what he said about cops hating brown kids. I shouldn’t have let them take him in there alone. You know how many times I’ve been stopped in this city? Especially while I was dating Kevin, he was this huge black guy, we used to get–”

“Gwen,” David said again, grimacing. “I’m sorry. I… I recognize what you’re saying. But really, I’m certain Max is completely safe.”

She groaned, downed her water, and began to gnaw on the edge of the cup.

Continue reading on AO3 | Read from the beginning