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three--rings · 1 year

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2022 Video Game Wrapup

Video games are a very important part of my life and I felt like doing a year summary. Feel free to copy the format if you want.

Games I Actually FINISHED This Year

Red Dead Redemption II - First playthough. I started it before the new year but spent almost six months on this. Didn’t quite 100% it because some of the challenges were too damn hard for me. But otherwise it was a very completionist run. This immediately moved into one of my all-time top games, like IDK one of the top three spots. So glad I gave it a shot after not thinking it was my thing.

AI: The Somnian Files - A game by Uchikoshi that I hadn’t played yet? Yeah I devoured it. What can I say, despite it’s weirdness and Uchikoshi quirks, I love it.

AI: The Somnian Files - The Nirvana Initiative - The sequel obviously. Even more twisty than the first one, if not quite as full of loveable characters.

80 Days - It’s sorta a game you can play as many times as you want, but I played it three-four times through and felt satisfied.

Games I’m currently Playing:

Pokémon Violet - I’m trying to keep myself from stalling on this. I need to go fight the Elite Four but I’m scared. So I’m running around looking for missing low-level dudes.

Pentiment - Bought in the Steam Winter sale, started on Xmas eve. I’m two acts in and really want to restart cause I’ve done everything wrong but I persist. This game is very strange. But medieval monk murder mystery how could I NOT play it?

Games I’m still playing, more or less:

Life Sims:

Stardew Valley - The eternal, basically. I started a brand new game with Stardew Valley Extended and a light selection of about 30 mods when I had Covid and played it obsessively to get farther than I ever had before. Got 100 golden walnuts, and basically was just working on making money to get True Perfection when I got tired and haven’t touched it for months.

Traveller’s Rest - A really great game in which you run a tavern. I played it intensely when it first released, before they redid the whole thing. Then didn’t touch it for a long time, played it a little around Halloween cause they did seasonal stuff and thought real hard about playing the Christmas content but didn’t.

Dinkum: A fantastic one-man game that’s combo animal crossing and stardew in Australia. Played it INTENSELY for a couple weeks before running out of stuff to do that compelled me. I think there’s been several updates but nothing that had tempted me back.

Coral Island - I backed this on Kickstarter and so played this on early access release. Really compelling and fun but I ran through the content quickly. There’s been some major updates recently so I’ll get back to it soon.

The Planet Crafter - Played this intensely for a few days and after 10 hours ran out of new places to go and got bored. I’ve tried to play it again a few times since then and last time I wanted to go further with it but the controls hurt my arthritis hands now. So until they allow remapping controls, I think I’m out.

Wildermyth - A really fun little game where you follow characters through their adventuring careers. Fun to make your own blorbo characters and see what happens to them. Played it a LOT at the beginning of the year and nearly forgot to include it. Could always pick it up again to return to my MXTX verse.

Games I’m MOSTLY done with but can’t make myself finish:

Bear and Breakfast - A weird game about inn management that starts chill but gets really annoying. I got almost done with this game, but got to a point I needed to just make a lot of money to fully upgrade all my hotels to achieve things so the endgame would happen and by then I was annoyed. I hear the ending is wild though so I kinda want to actually finish it since I went so far with it. But I can’t work up the desire to get back.

Persona 4 Golden - I’d never played a Persona game even though they are totally My Kinda Thing because I’m just not a playstation person. Went through it quickly but then uh got stuck on one of the last bosses, maybe THE last, IDK I am still trying to avoid spoiling myself. Even lowered the difficulty one notch and couldn’t beat it so either I needed to grind or lower it all the way. And then I didn’t.

Disco Elysium - Yeah uh got to a point where either I need to move on to like the end of the story (ish?) or finish all these sidequests I’m stuck on and didn’t know what to do with. And then I just didn’t go back. Yes this is a problem for me.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus - I started this when Scarlet and Violet came out and I found it uh, conveniently online...and then I got stuck on the stupid Arcanine boss and then I found a Violet repack and yeah, that’s the story of that. Not sure if I’ll go back to it or not at this point.

Games I really need to make myself get back to but it’s been so long it’s embarrassing aka did I even play these this year, IDK?:

Great Ace Attorney Chronicles II - Uh, yeah, I need to finish this considering how long I waited for it. Scheduled to travel with me in January.

Fire Emblem Three Houses - I finished it once and am like halfway through my second playthrough but got distracted. Again, traveling with my Switch is my plan to make me finish this.

Danganronpa V3 - This I definitely haven’t touched in like a year and a half, so much that I have to restart from the beginning because I remember almost nothing. I just finished rewatching the anime specifically to get me back to it. I’m like 40 hours in and remember nothing if that tells you anything about me.

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion - Again, pretty sure this wasn’t this year but I got really far in a play of this on my Xbox, but like Skyrim how do you know when you’re FINISHED. I want to play it on my laptop with mods next time.

Games I played but gave up on:

Interrogation: You Will Be Deceived - I actually bought this accidentally, thinking it was a different game about interrogation and detecting lies that I’d been recced. This game ended up being just Police Brutality Simulator. It’s just “illegally abuse this witness to get Vital Info that will Save the Day” the game. I think I lasted 20 minutes.

Strange Horticulture - I thought there would be more story to this game but it’s mostly just identifying plants and then trying to guess the right ingredients of potions. Okay for a while but not compelling enough to keep me interested.

#video games #threerings' plays games #threerings' recs #these are almost all recs

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mellindi · 2 years

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Camilla’s in her third trimester so her friends threw her a baby shower.

They were all too tempted by the hot tub over there to watch her open her gifts but it’s the thought that counts I guess.

She looks like we caught her doing something wrong, lol.

The next day was Winterfest. The family’s first Winterfest together, actually. While Camilla and Miracle took care of the tree...

Salim handled breakfast. Miracle’s glad he remembered to make something lactose free this time cause she can’t with the bubble guts anymore.

Right after breakfast, Miracle’s mom, Erin, who we have not heard from or seen since the divorce stopped by unannounced. I said a quick prayer before having them invite her in.

She started off with some small talk, trying to pick up where they were before...

but Miracle was really upset about being kicked to the curb and essentially abandoned the way she was.

She got over it quick tho and went straight to insulting her. Erin figured it was best they spend a few minutes apart while she figures out a better way to connect with her.

Those few minutes were spent with Miracle in her room and Erin... in the hot tub... with Salim...

Camilla was like, “Why is she in my hot tub?”

And Salim was like, “I’m sorry.”

After a few awkward minutes in the hot tub, Erin tracked down Miracle and tried a new approach. Presents. Everyone likes presents and it’s Winterfest.

Seems like it worked!

I think they’re on their way to being in a better place.

Since things went so well with Erin and Miracle, Salim agreed to test out some new custody arrangements starting out with one day a week (starting asap).

Camilla was kinda sad about Miracle leaving so soon since the baby’s due (today I think) and she wants her to meet her sister, but she’s happy to see Miracle on better terms with her mom again.

I redid the backyard with all the little camper’s stuff but I forgot there was so much coming up for them and didn’t take pics. Once the baby’s born, I’ll have Miracle throw a sleepover so we’ll get to see it all then!

#random gameplay stuff #apologies for this being so long #there's always a lot of time #in between my gameplay sessions #so I just wanted to #get the outcome of today's session all in one post

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haeroniel-doliet · 8 months

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Bonus content: heres the super speed summary of how I struggled through the dinluke big bang piece I started over 80 days ago! More thoughts and details on my process below to cut

- Overall wanna post this with all the flaws galore for my future self, not at all because I've just left the record function on, forgot about it and now I have this!

- Good reminder that the worst thing is blank paper and just getting something down okay, rough simple lines convey ideas its all good!

- Drawing on an airplane produces questionable results (the first more refined lines, not NEARLY enough references in use)

- Speaking of, never regretted following a reference over trying to improvise. I feel like it always looks better (that smoke is one good example!)

- Redrawing and redrawing sometimes is so worth it, other times you should just let it be and move on (those first trees before the yellow dotting were kinda okay honestly!)

- Less all sorts of different brushes is better, for consistency :')

- Theres many parts I'd forgotten that in hindsight maybe look better than the end result (like overall composition being bigger and with better feeling of space) but choices were made and I gotta choose to be happy with and proud of the completed piece, afterall its better than all the dusty never finished wips.

- Definitely didn't quite follow the big bang deadlines, I'm sorry :') in general I'd consider that greyscale to be 20% sure (proof of idea and a layout figured out!) But hilariously after what I posted for even 80% I went and redid all that work. (Maybe its not actually totally redoing if you're making the same just improved! All the ground work took its own time and I wasn't starting from scratch at all.)

- At the very end it gets abruptly cut off, despite asking the program to leave on the last frame for a bit... Then I remembered the panic I had just yesterday, because the file for these screenshots took up too much disk space and caused Krita to crash, losing all the progress of like good bit of little adjustments and corrections. I guess I never turned the recording back on, so the very final few hours are missing, but thats okay! This is not professional! (Spot the absolutely tiny differences with the final image posted :p)

-Also realizing after many a rewatch, there's been some glitch with it not recording me recolouring the characters entirely!! How sad, but you can see the difference from when they pop up around the time I'm redoing the trees and at 02.53 and when they return all redone at 03.07

- Theres a lot I don't love, theres a lot that could be better if done differently, but I really have to start being okay with being done rather than perfect!

- Really proud of myself for dedicating to doing a more involved and detailed background/scene than i've ever done before digitally. I've pushed beyond my comfort zone of just characters with a hint of a background, it will get better from here!

- Did I need to post this with all sorts of bits missing? No, definitely not, but hopefully someone will find this interesting, and my future self feels that this was helpful!

#Haeroniel draws #art timelapse #art progress #krita timelapse #anyway this is mostly a personal post for future reference and for venting out the struggles I had along the way #but hey maybe someone finds it interesting and thats cool!#kritas suggested settings would've made this timelapse over 30 mins long.... so you're welcome!#I won't even have a guess how many hours this all took #still have to go finish the other pieces oop maybe those timelapses will be better?

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sleepsleepnotwoke · 1 year

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Last night at work was wild. Lotta weirdoes. I'm assuming it's cause welfare cheques come in tomorrow.

Dude no. 1 was clearly on acid or mushrooms or something. He came in and asked for a drink, so I served him. I didn't think much about when he was talking about not being able to see or hear very well. Maybe he forgot his glasses and the music was too loud. Idk. But he walked away and he was stumbling and tripping over shit and making veiled threats to people but I'd already served him alcohol so legally he was my responsibility. Fuck. He stuck around for about an hour rubbing his face and playing pool and talking about how people were messing up his equations and stuff. But eventually he got home safe in a taxi.

Dude no.2 came in not long after. I saw him make his way over to the bar, I asked what I could get him, and he said he just wanted to sit down for a minute. OK. He sits a sec, takes a look around and says "this place looks a lot different from when I was last here"

"Yeah, lots of people say that. They totally redid the place when covid was happening. They took down some walls, got new tables, new lights and stuff. But yeah that was a couple years ago when like covid and stuff was new"

"What do you mean?"

"Well they renovated this whole place when covid was happening. That's why it looks so different."

"No, I mean.... you keep saying covid. What is that?"

"...... it's a deadly disease that shut down the world for years."

"Oh. OK."

He hung around the bar for 10 minutes or so. He mumbled about ancient aliens and ghosts and how the government knows all about both of them. I nodded along. He left and asked where the bathroom was like 10 times after that. He kept looking in all the off limits broom closets and utility rooms. He stayed from probably 8 till we closed at 1. Didn't order a thing.

Guy no. 3 I met by the back door when I went out for a smoke and some fresh air. He was a bit of a chatterbox but I went out and came back in a few minutes later. He asked me a couple things about the business. I was telling him that it's kinda a hidden gem for food, what I usually ordered for lunch, about how we had free board games and a ps4 hooked up. But then I went back to work at the bar. A couple minutes he grabs a seat and asks for a glass of water. And then he talked for an hour and a half straight. About EVERYTHING. He told me about how his wife left him after a domestic, how he's homeless now, about how that was his first high-school sweetheart and he's never had sex with anybody else, about his childhood growing up in a swamp an hour north of town, about how he knows all the most powerful numbers, about how fentanyl will fuck your life up. And all at a pace so fast I couldn't even say a word. But I listened intently. But God damn it was mind numbing. Eventually I said I had to go to the bathroom and when I came back he was gone. He came back a few minutes later, gave me his jacket, and left.

Godspeed you three.

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makerofmadness · 6 months

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I am yet to do the golden cheese stuff but lately some cookies who ive used that help me are

Stardust cookie

Red velvet

And someone with a magic candy(either espresso, rye, or licorice help greatly)

They massively helped throughout many things on the story mode and helped me get 3 stars on hard stuff i redid

Red velvet helps with enemies at the back and takes hits like a boss ive topped him with 3 swkft chocos and 2 searing raspberries iirc

Stardust cookie helps chip away at the enemies health with his ability(i dont think i have a topping build for him yet-)

Espresso helps with keeping the enemies back a bit i have all searing raspberry build for him

Rye helps with the same as espresso does(tho she is less stronger eith the same build as espresso but she does still help in tower of sweet chaos which ive used milk a lot recently on ToSC and hes really well there)

Licorices minions help deal extra damage and take a few hits he has a searing raspberry build with 1 swift choco

Take this with a grain of salt cause i havent done the golden cheese stuff yet but have used these cookies for hard stuff in the past i would try expirimenting with the toppings a bit though

Hopefully this helps to get you to 3 star ^^

Legit I'm fine and breezing through the normal levels it's just that M Cursor is a random difficulty spike out of nowhere and forced me to actually Play The Game dnsksmdmmsmsmsmsms

like my team for that boss fight specifically ended up being Fettuccine (who just absolutely does not die) Golden Cheese (The Big Cheese also she was like my main shield-breaker 'cus multi-hit attack vs. hit shield) Shining Glitter (pretty sure she just makes you Not Die right? Something about increasing HP, I need to read her skill description again, anyway she ended up being the main reason I didn't get completely fxcking obliterated because M Cursor just kinda Kills You. A Lot) Sorbet Shark (+ magic candy. Does good damage, idk how exactly it works on a technical level) and Snapdragon (healer that wouldn't get fxcking stunlocked/silencelocked/whateverthefxcklocked seriously like. Apparently Snap's like the only healer in the game immune to that I think someone said??? And that was like VITAL to this even if their healing wasn't like Pure Vanilla's or anything)

like idk I'm not exactly a mechanics expert I just know that this time was vital to Not Sucking so. Yeah.

(The Big Cheese and Fettuccine were also helped by max hall of encounter buffs because. Yeah I put the time into that-)

Idk if anyone wants I can post my exact team and treasures so they can copy off of me or something because dear god I looked at so many things to find a good team for this when I realized this wasn't gonna be brainless- like good for being an actual video game but like Jesus did you have to make it THIS tough-

#cookie run #cookie run kingdom #crk spoilers #cookie run spoilers

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jingerhead · 3 years

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Ever think of tattoo artist Andrew and professional Exy player Neil who ONLY trusts Andrew to do his tattoos?

I hadn’t but I definitely am now! I’ve read a few tattoo artist AUs, but I’m not sure if I’ve read something like this prompt? This one was kinda tough, I redid this five times 'cause I wasn't satisfied with what I was doing until this one I’m posting. I’m sorry for the wait! I ended up going back to the stupid-cute stuff, so I hope it was worth the delay!

Read on AO3 | Word Count: 5,024 | Rated: T | TW for discussion of scars

“My teammate Neil could use a roommate,” Kevin began. He had a light in his eye that meant he had some sort of idea - one that could only be horrible. All Andrew could focus on at first was that Kevin was trying to give him a suggestion at all, and after that it was the word ‘teammate’. Not a friend, or acquaintance, just his teammate.

“That’s not what I was asking for,” Andrew said. He’d been in the middle of making an obnoxious slurp with his straw to get the last of the whipped cream at the bottom of his plastic cup, because he’d paid money for that and he was going to have it all, damn it.

“You just said, ‘This city is too expensive, we should overthrow the government’.” Kevin calmly took a swig of his tea, giving Andrew enough time to discard his cup on the floor of the coffee shop they were in and scowl. “This is a much better option.”

For a moment, Andrew didn’t say anything. He currently lived with a roommate, but he hadn’t really liked Roland when they’d first met and he was all too happy to let him leave to live with his boyfriend. The apartment he currently lived in was huge, which had been great in the past so that he could ignore Roland’s presence if he wanted, but now Andrew was starting to rethink the three bedroom they’d gone for. Roland had made the extra room his study, but now it was empty, and affording the place if he decided to renew his lease was going to be atrocious. And, of course, Roland hadn’t given him much of a heads up about not renewing the lease.

So, Kevin was right. Andrew could really use a roommate.

“I don’t need a roommate,” he argued, leaning one elbow on the table and letting his chin rest in his hand.

“You do,” Kevin said back. “And, lucky for you, Neil needs one as well.”

Well, that was just great, wasn’t it? The only thing was, Andrew didn’t know who the hell this ‘Neil’ was, and as he’d noted before, Kevin had called him a teammate. That meant this guy played exy, and Andrew didn’t want to be subjected to an exy junkie living just a room away. Still… “Who is he?” Andrew dared to ask.

“He was a Fox,” Kevin explained.

More wonderful news. Andrew had been a Fox once, but had dropped out of college due to...reasons, and had decided to pursue an apprenticeship as a tattoo artist. Now he worked at a place in the city called Black Ink, and was busy enough to have a waitlist three months in advance. And he liked his job, was glad he’d done what he had, but that meant that this ‘Neil’ had joined the team after he’d left it. Kevin Day and Renee Walker were the only ones he’d kept in contact with willingly after he’d gone. His cousin and brother made him check in from time to time.

“And he conveniently needs a roommate?” Andrew asked.

“Yes,” Kevin replied. He paused for another moment to take another drink from his tea, as though he was trying to be suspenseful on purpose. “He threatened his last roommate with some scissors.”

Andrew blinked once very slowly. “Why?”

“It’s Neil,” Kevin said with a shrug, as though that explained everything. “He needs a roommate, you need a roommate. Just meet him.”

“A guy that threatens people with scissors?”

“Says the guy who threatens people with knives.”

“Okay, fair,” Andrew hummed. He leaned back in his seat and thought for a moment. He really needed a roommate, but he wouldn’t let Neil step one foot into his apartment until they’d met in person. Andrew wanted to analyze him first. “Number,” he demanded, holding out one hand.

“So you can freak him out?” Kevin asked. He took out his phone and began tapping on the screen, shaking his head. “Look, I’ll text him and see if he wants to meet you. That way you can scare him in person rather than over the phone. Deal?”

Andrew grumbled nonsense to himself and kicked his plastic cup from where it was still on the floor.

~*~

About a week later, Andrew walked into Renee’s bakery after work, wearing one of the few things in a color other than black that he owned: a red beanie that he’d stolen from Aaron. He and Neil had agreed to meet there because it was familiar territory for them both. Andrew was friends with Renee, Neil had been...almost-friends with her. That, and she makes delicious muffins, and Andrew wanted at least five of them.

“Hi, Andrew,” she greeted happily. The bakery was pretty empty at this time, which would be perfect for grilling a possible roommate.

“I feel like I’m going on a blind date,” Andrew mumbled. Renee had the audacity to laugh, but she started putting some muffins on a plate and handed it over after Andrew had paid for it.

“I know Neil,” she said as the money was put away in the till. “I think you two would get along.”

Well, the guy had pulled some scissors on someone in the past, so that didn’t ease Andrew’s nerves. He didn’t want to make the guy crack and start a life of crime or invite a possible serial killer to move in with him. To avoid responding, Andrew shoved a muffin in his mouth and found a table to sit at that Renee would be able to see from the register, and waited for Neil to show up. Kevin hadn’t handed over Neil’s number, just like he said he wouldn’t, so Andrew couldn’t send a text to see where he was.

After a few minutes, Neil showed up. They had dressed in specific clothes so they could find each other easily, which was why Andrew had put on the red beanie in the first place, but even if they hadn’t discussed it he felt like he would’ve known. Neil was wearing a huge gray sweater that was worn down and stained, some baggy jeans, and bright orange crocs. That was what was supposed to mark him as Neil, but there was so much more about him that caught Andrew’s immediate attention.

First of all, despite his state of dress, he was fucking hot and Andrew is very gay.

His red hair was a bit long, curling around his forehead down his neck like he was trying to grow a mullet. His skin was a bit blotchy, especially around his nose, but other than that it had been sun kissed. There was a rather obvious burn on one cheek that had healed but looked no less crude, and when Neil turned his head to glance around the bakery he revealed a few thin scars on his other cheek. But that wasn’t what caught Andrew’s eye - okay, they did, but they got boring pretty quickly - it was his eyes. They were blue, but kind of a warm blue if that made any sense, and they were bright. Alert.

Andrew stared at Neil the entire time it took him to locate Andrew and walk over to the table. Neil glanced over his shoulder twice before shaking his head, shoving his hands into his pockets and stopping a few steps away. “Andrew?” he asked.

“Neil,” Andrew stated.

“Can I sit?” Neil asked, nodding at the empty seat.

Andrew kicked it towards him and reached for another muffin. Neil sat down and maintained eye contact, like he was focused on this interaction and nothing would take his attention away. Or maybe he was just taking Andrew in. Who knows.

“Kevin told me you need a roommate?” Neil asked.

“Yes,” Andrew said. “You need one after threatening the last one with scissors?”

Neil rolled his eyes and his shoulders relaxed just slightly. “I didn’t threaten him. I was in the middle of a project and he got in the way.”

“What was the project?”

“I was patching up a shirt. Point is, I didn’t threaten him with scissors. If I was going to threaten someone I’d use something else.”

He was hot and interesting. “Are you allergic to cats?” Andrew asked.

“No.”

“Do you want an extra room?”

“Not really.”

Andrew held out a hand. “Phone,” he said.

Neil passed it over. It was a beat-up iPhone in a black case and he already had his contacts app open. Andrew added himself and handed it back. “You can come over to see the place in a few days,” he explained, adding a mental note to clean the whole apartment.

“What?” Neil asked. “We’re done? We can’t be done.”

“We’re not,” Andrew agreed. “We’re going to get to know each other. Roommates should.”

From behind the counter, Renee stifled a laugh by coughing rather loudly. Neil didn’t seem to notice. “Okay,” he said easily. “Where do you work?”

~*~

Three weeks later, Neil moved into the apartment. The only things he’d brought with him were two suitcases and three boxes other than a bed, which was definitely weird. Andrew managed not to comment on that, though, and ordered them some dinner for that night. Neil spent about an hour getting his things put away and then they ate in the kitchen while Andrew’s cats tried to get in their way.

Over the previous three weeks, they’d gotten to know each other. Neil was a professional exy player and was out of the apartment for most of the day, arriving back by five in the afternoon. Andrew went to Black Ink at about ten in the morning and usually returned home by seven at night, so the two saw each other only in the evenings or on days off. At some point they’d agreed without saying anything out loud to eat a late dinner together and talk. Sometimes they’d watch TV and sometimes they’d spend a few hours in silence before heading to bed.

Unfortunately for Andrew, Neil was still attractive and only got more interesting by the day. The cats loved him and he let them climb all over him. He was easy to talk to and respected the boundaries Andrew put in place. Sharing the apartment with him was such a big improvement from Roland.

He was becoming a problem, because Andrew was developing a crush.

Andrew scowled and dropped his stylus on the kitchen countertop. He’d had a sudden rush of inspiration and had grabbed his iPad so he could improve the sketch he was making for one of his customers, but for some reason Neil had consumed his thoughts once again. Said man was eating the carton of raspberries they’d bought just the day earlier, which would be gone by the end of the day, and was watching Andrew like he tended to do at times.

“Tough drawing?” Neil asked, throwing a raspberry in his mouth.

Reaching for his stylus, Andrew slowly looked up to give Neil a look. Small talk wasn’t something either of them usually started, and how was Andrew supposed to tell him that Neil was the reason he was having a hard time drawing, anyways? “Owls are stupid,” he decided, adding to the line he’d already drawn just to have something to do.

“No, they’re not.”

Andrew just scowled some more and continued staring at his iPad. He wasn’t going to look at Neil, even though he could feel Neil’s eyes on him. It had been happening more lately, and it was getting annoying, because then Andrew would glance over and be consumed by his blue gaze. “Staring,” he grumbled.

Neil didn’t say anything, but Andrew could feel him look away. It gave him goosebumps. “Would you give me a tattoo?” Neil suddenly asked.

Andrew dropped his stylus again and looked up. “What?” he asked.

“Okay, I know what you’re going to say,” Neil said, staring at the counter. “But I want something on my leg.”

“What did you think I was going to say?” Andrew asked.

“Well…” Neil trailed off, stalling on purpose. “I want a paw print. The logo of the Palmetto State Foxes.”

“Why?” Andrew asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Just because.” Neil shrugged. “If you don’t want to, that’s fine.”

He very clearly wanted it. Andrew weighed the pros and cons in his head, and ended up deciding that he would do it if Neil wanted. In the past he’d turned away people who had wanted to get anything exy related inked into their skin, but for some reason he couldn’t turn Neil away. Well, there was a reason - a very clear reason that Andrew had been ignoring - but Andrew ignored that too and decided to say ‘yes’.

“Do you have time?” Neil asked. “I know you’re busy.”

Andrew knew how busy he was. The next appointment he had available was in twelve weeks, but he could probably fit Neil in if he stayed late one day. Besides, a tattoo like that would take an hour at the very most. “Are you afraid of needles?”

“No,” Neil said, completely serious.

“Then tell me when you want it,” Andrew replied.

~*~

Black Ink was set up to be mostly open concept, but it had exactly three private rooms for some artists. Andrew had his own with some of his art hung on the walls. There was a cabinet full of his needles and ink, sanitary wipes and stencil sheets, and a small area he used as a desk that was kept relatively empty. Andrew wasn’t sentimental, and even if he was anything important to him would be kept at his apartment, but Nicky hadn’t stopped talking until Andrew taped a single postcard from his cousin on the wall. It was next to the calendar and simply said, ‘Greetings from Hamburg!’ in gross yellow lettering.

Andrew was pretty sure that Nicky had picked it out for that reason. As soon as Neil entered the room, he gave Andrew one of his small smiles and asked in German if Andrew had ever been there. “Nein,” Andrew had said back, pointing to the chair in the middle of the room.

While Andrew pulled up the image he’d saved on his iPad, Neil sat down on the chair, kicking his shoes off and rolling up one pant leg. Andrew sucked in a breath when he saw that Neil had shaved. He was pretty sure, anyways. “Don’t tell me,” he huffed. “You do that for exy.”

“Kevin mentioned it to me,” Neil explained. “Shave your legs so there’s less wind resistance.”

“You’re both morons,” Andrew decided. “Stay there, I’ll print out the stencil.”

The rest of Black Ink was almost empty. The only thing filling the silence other than quiet conversation was the music playing throughout the parlor at low volume. Andrew wasted a few minutes at the printer, getting his breath back and giving himself a short motivational speech. Andrew had already known that he and Neil had rarely touched despite living together. The only times he remembered doing so was when passing something over - just a brush of fingertips. But now he’d be touching Neil’s leg, and if Nicky knew about this he’d be laughing and making a joke about Andrew being a repressed Victorian maiden or something.

To get that image out of his head, Andrew grabbed the stencil and stomped back to his room.

Neil was sitting in the same spot, looking around the walls at the art that was displayed, but once Andrew had walked back in he stared like he always did. Andrew had printed off more than one and stared at the spot on Neil’s leg that he knew the tattoo was going to go. The spot Neil had pointed to, right above his ankle and on the outside of his calf.

“Remember where it is?” Neil asked. He already knew that Andrew remembered everything, so it was just to get his attention.

Though, Neil sounded as nervous as Andrew felt. His voice wobbled just slightly at the end of his question, and he cleared his throat to try to hide it, but Andrew had already heard. He knew how big of a step this was for him, but clearly it was just as big a step for Neil.

“You don’t have to get it,” Andrew reminded him.

“I want it,” Neil told him.

“Okay.” Andrew didn’t tell him again, but he wasn’t about to assume Neil was ready just yet. “Can I touch you?”

“Oh. Yeah, go ahead.”

Andrew first reached one finger out and poked Neil’s leg. He intended to feel if there was any hair leftover to shave off, but Neil had done a good job, and he didn’t draw away from the poke. So Andrew moved on, quickly cleaning the area with some sanitary wipes, then grabbing the stencil and carefully placed it on Neil’s leg. It worked like a temporary tattoo, which would allow Andrew to trace over with the tattoo machine. He made sure his hands didn’t linger. “That good?” he asked, throwing away the plastic from the stencil.

“Yes.”

Andrew could once again feel Neil’s eyes on him while he got the tattoo machine ready, pulling on some black gloves and pulling a towel onto one thigh to wipe up any ink that bled. He glanced up when he was ready. “What?”

“I don’t know what it’ll feel like,” Neil said.

He hadn’t gotten many, but Andrew had a few tattoos himself. At one point in his life he’d considered ditching the black armbands he wore each day by getting sleeves for his forearms, but in the end he didn’t go through with it. There was just one tattoo on his wrist: a small bee with a trail after it. “Ever get your gums numbed at the dentist?” Andrew asked. Neil nodded, frowning while staring at the stencil on his calf. “It’s like that, but on your leg.”

“I’m not worried about it hurting,” Neil slowly explained. “I just don’t want to jerk away when I feel it.”

Well, it couldn’t be worse than the time a college girl had wanted something on her leg and had flinched away when she felt the needles. That wasn’t pleasant for anybody involved. “I’ll hold you down,” Andrew reassured. He reached out the hand that didn’t have the tattoo machine, hovering over the widest part of Neil’s calf. “Yes?”

“Yes,” Neil replied. The moment Andrew touched him, Neil seemed to relax, but Andrew made sure to press down firmly. He raised the tattoo machine in question, waited for another nod, and then got to work. Despite being worried about trying to jerk away, Neil only seemed to relax more. “Oh,” he said.

“Oh?” Andrew repeated.

The buzzing from the tattoo machine filled the silence while Neil gathered his thoughts. “Yeah, numbing,” he eventually said with a snort.

They didn’t talk much while Andrew worked on the tattoo. Andrew just focused on what he was doing, keeping one hand pressing firmly down on Neil’s leg. But it wasn’t uncomfortable to be sitting in silence, because they were both already used to it. At times they said a few things, but for the hour it took to finish the tattoo, they didn’t say much. When he was done, Andrew put away his supplies and wiped away any stray ink left on Neil’s leg, then put a bandage on it.

“Keep that on for at least an hour,” Andrew instructed. “Then keep putting lotion on it.”

Neil shifted on the seat, reaching for the bandage but pausing right before he could touch it. Instead, he tapped his fingertips on his leg. “Why lotion?”

“Technically, a tattoo is an open wound,” Andrew explained. “It’ll scab. Don’t pick it.”

They both knew what he was referring to. Neil had a habit of picking at any scabs he had on his body. He was lucky he had Andrew around to make sure he wouldn’t. “Okay,” Neil said, standing up. He left his pant leg as it was and pulled on his shoes while Andrew continued cleaning up. “Are you coming home?”

“Yes,” Andrew said. “Just let me clean up.”

And Neil waited for him just outside the parlor. The girl sitting at the front desk had a pointed smirk on her face when Andrew walked out, so he made a point to ignore her as he joined Neil and they made their way to the apartment.

~*~

Within the next few days, Neil’s tattoo healed nicely. Andrew made him put lotion on it often and threw things at him when he’d go to pick at the scabs. When the skin was smooth again, Neil kept tapping his tattoo. Andrew tried to ignore it, but it was difficult when they lived together and spent any leisure time they had on the living room couch.

Inspiration struck at the most random times, so Andrew had his iPad in his lap while they watched House Hunters. Neil was taking up most of the couch, his socked feet just inches away from Andrew, and it was distracting. His eyes kept looking at them whenever any movement was made, which meant it was taking forever to finish this drawing. When the episode ended, Neil shifted on the couch until they were sitting right next to each other.

“What’re you making?” he asked.

“Bear,” Andrew mumbled.

“Where’s it going?”

“Leg,” Andrew explained. “Not sure how big.”

“Hmm,” Neil hummed. He leaned back and was quiet for a moment, long enough for Andrew to turn his head to make eye contact. “You could draw on me.”

What.

“Draw on you?” Andrew repeated, somehow keeping his voice even. Years of practice kept it from cracking or wobbling in any way.

“Yeah. That way you know what it’ll look like.”

Andrew was about to refuse, but he thought about it and realized that Neil had a similar build to the man who wanted the tattoo. Not only that, but Neil was reaching out. They still didn’t touch after Andrew had given Neil the tattoo - still only brushing fingers at times. And after thinking about it, Andrew realized that he wanted to touch again.

So, that night, they continued watching House Hunters while Andrew drew the bear on Neil’s leg with a thin expo marker. It was on the other leg this time, which was laid over Andrew’s lap while he worked. They didn’t say anything, probably because Neil was too busy roasting the woman looking for an expensive house that loudly criticized everything she hated - “Who needs five bedrooms, anyway? We have three and nothing’s in that last one…” - and Andrew was too focused on the fact that Neil’s leg was in his lap.

And that he was drawing on it with an expo marker.

And that he was completely comfortable with it.

When he’d finished, Neil leaned at every angle he could to see the drawing. And Andrew knew it was coming, so he blamed his heart pounding on the fact that he’d just had Neil’s leg in his lap. “I think I want another tattoo,” Neil mumbled.

“I’ll…” Andrew paused, doing his best to ignore the way Neil’s face lit up. “Check my schedule.”

~*~

Neil had been on two exy teams since graduating and was now on the Olympic one. The other tattoos he wanted were the logos of his previous teams, each one above the last on his calf. Andrew couldn’t believe he was actually tattooing something exy related on someone’s body, but Neil had been the exception to a lot of things, lately. He offered up whatever space was on his legs for Andrew to draw on, and if he wanted to get another tattoo Andrew would clear space in his busy schedule.

The only tattoos he’d done so far on Neil had been on his legs. The two logos of his other teams were there, but Neil claimed he wanted to wait until he’d won at the Olympics to get anything for that. Around the logos were random letters in an ugly, blocky font. Andrew had tried to argue for something different, but Neil hadn’t budged. On his other leg he’d wanted a dragon: specifically it was a wyvern surrounded by budding flowers, and he wanted it large enough to go from his ankle to his knee. That one had taken hours and Andrew had spent days designing it, practicing some ideas on Neil’s leg until he was satisfied.

There were more: a few phrases in French that Andrew didn’t understand and didn’t feel like looking up, a cat with some pawprints near the logos, and a choppy sunrise. By now there wasn’t much space left on Neil’s calves, but he hadn’t expressed any interest in getting anything anywhere else. Which was fine, because Andrew already had enough of a time touching Neil’s legs, but he’d also like the chance to see more if he could.

But he wouldn’t ask. He and Neil had clear boundaries, and while they’d gotten more comfortable with each other, Andrew wasn’t going to reach out unless Neil said it was okay.

That’s why it was such a surprise when Neil mentioned the next tattoo he wanted.

“I can draw a phoenix,” Andrew told him while they washed dishes after eating dinner. King Fluffkins had climbed onto Andrew’s shoulders and watched him scrape the rest of the leftovers into some Tupperware containers. “Why rising from the ashes?”

Neil shrugged. “After everything in Baltimore, I got a chance to live. Kind of like how a phoenix rises from the ashes and is born again.”

“Renee told you that, didn’t she,” Andrew said, unimpressed.

“Yeah, but the tattoo is my idea!”

It was a nice idea. After living together for almost a full year, the two had admitted bits of their pasts to one another, so Andrew knew all about Baltimore. He’d seen the scars left on Neil’s arms, and at first he’d been angry. If he hadn’t dropped out of college, maybe he could’ve done something to prevent Neil from being hurt.

“Where?” Andrew asked, because he wasn’t sure where he could tattoo a large phoenix on Neil’s legs.

“Well…” Neil trailed off, immediately catching Andrew’s attention. “I was thinking my ribs?”

“Thinking, or sure?” Andrew needed Neil to be sure. Firstly, because tattoos are permanent, and Neil needed to know exactly where he wanted it. And secondly because Andrew was eager to be allowed to touch any bit of Neil that he could.

“Sure,” Neil decided after thinking for a few moments. “But, before that…”

He dried his hands and walked forward, shooing King away. Andrew watched him closely while he reached out, gripping one of Andrew’s wrists gently, and lifted it to the edge of his shirt. Andrew sucked in a breath when Neil pushed his hand to his skin. Andrew didn’t need to see underneath to know he was touching scars.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” Neil said quietly. He still held onto Andrew’s wrist, but his grip was loose enough that Andrew could easily slip away.

But he didn’t want to. He watched Neil’s face closely as he moved his hand upwards towards his ribs, feeling the raised skin as he went. Neil let him do it, didn’t push Andrew’s hand away or tell him to stop by the time Andrew reached the place he thought the tattoo would go. “I can ink over scars,” he assured.

“But are you okay with seeing them?” Neil asked.

Andrew really thought about it for a moment. “Yes. I already hate every inch of you.”

Neil snorted. He let go of Andrew’s wrist, and he pulled his hand back. “I’m not as naïve as I used to be,” he chided.

Oh. “Oh?” Andrew asked.

“Yeah.” Neil was smirking, just like the little shit he was. “You wanna kiss me so bad.”

Andrew looked away, closing the last of the Tupperware dishes. “Not anymore,” he huffed.

“You can,” Neil added. Andrew glanced over his shoulder, seeing that the smirk had fallen to something more soft. “If you want. I’d like that.”

“I bet you would,” Andrew huffed. He wasn’t that upset, but he refused to give away that his heart wouldn’t stop pounding. A moment later, he turned around and crowded Neil against their kitchen counter, pulling him down for a kiss by gripping the back of his neck.

~*~

“It feels different,” Neil said over the buzzing of the tattoo machine. His eyebrows were drawn together, but he hadn’t said anything about pain. To tattoo the phoenix onto his ribs, Andrew had to crowd closer than he had in the past, so their heads were close.

“Hurt?” Andrew asked, pulling back the tattoo gun for a moment.

“No,” Neil mumbled. “Just different.”

The phoenix wasn’t even halfway done. Andrew had already practiced a few designs on Neil’s ribs with the expo marker, and they’d settled on a small bird with a large wingspan bursting out of gray ashes. Neil wanted this one to be colored, but refused red. He wanted the phoenix to be in yellows and oranges instead.

“Well, we’re not even halfway done,” Andrew said softly to him.

“Hrm,” Neil hummed, leaning his head back.

The tattoo machine was brought back. Neil didn’t flinch, but he bit his lip and took a deep breath through his nose. After a moment, Andrew pulled it away again and leaned in to kiss Neil’s cheek once. “Good,” he whispered when he drew back.

Neil did a full body shudder. Andrew smirked when he saw it. “Okay, just finish the tattoo,” Neil grumbled.

“We’re not going to talk about that?” Andrew asked, going back to his job.

“No,” Neil said. “Not until we get back home.”

Home. Their home, which had greatly improved over the past two months as their relationship settled into place. Andrew wiped away some of the ink and let the buzzing of the tattoo gun fill his ears, along with whatever song was playing over the speakers of the parlor as he continued working on Neil's tattoo, already knowing that he would be the only one to ever see it.

#aftg #aftg fic #aftg fanfic #tfc #tfc fanfic #all for the game #all for the game fanfic #the foxhole court #the foxhole court fanfic #fanfic #andreil #andreil fanfic #andriel #jinger's works

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nerdypanda3126 · 3 years

Text

City of Love – Ch. 2

Here’s the second chapter of my work for the @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers secret admirer exchange! (Hey, @crescent-woods if I haven’t said it before, I uh... went a little overboard cause your prompt was so amazing!)

Read on Ao3

First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Luka was lying down on his bed with his notebook splayed across his thighs as he blared white noise in his headphones and stared at his bedroom ceiling. There was a cobweb in the corner blowing softly in the breeze from their open windows and instead of focusing on writing music he found himself thinking that he’d never even seen the spider that made that web. A shiver ran through him. Blech. Spiders. Missing spiders, especially.

He was supposed to be working on an original song for his composition class. The professor had given them the assignment over the summer, “to get an idea of where you’re at,” the assignment had read, and for weeks Luka had stared at the blank sheet music and… absolutely nothing came to him.

Creating wasn’t really the problem; he’d always been creative. He’d always been fond of letting things come to him while his guitar was in his hands, but he’d never tried to write it down. He’d never cared if it was good or not. He’d never tried to create for a grade. He groaned and ripped his earbuds out to toss everything aside and sat up.

And found Sass leaning into the doorway with his eyebrows raised incredulously.

“What?” Luka snapped.

He wasn’t even sure he could call Sass his roommate. He’d barely even seen him for the week he’d been there. Although what he could’ve been doing was beyond Luka. He didn’t know the city, he hadn’t started classes yet, there was nowhere for him to go and nothing for him to do except see his girlfriend. And as far as Luka knew, they hadn’t managed to meet up yet.

“Rough day?” Sass smirked and walked over to sit down on his flimsy foldaway bed across from Luka.

Luka wiped a hand over his face and cursed in French under his breath. “What do you want?”

“Want? Why do I have to want anything? Can’t I ask you how your day is going?”

“You’ve hardly spoken to me since I picked you up at the airport.” Luka rolled his eyes and flopped back on his bed. “So I doubt you actually care.”

Sass hummed, in agreement or in thought Luka couldn’t tell. “You need to get out of here.”

Luka turned his head to look at Sass and quirked an eyebrow.

“I’m serious, staring at four blank walls, that’s your problem right there. You need to get out, get some air, meet some people.”

“You’re worse than Juleka,” Luka muttered darkly. “You don’t even know what my problem is.”

“I know boiling in self-loathing won’t get you anywhere. Lucky for you I have the solution. A night out with me and two amazing women.” He made a wide “voilà” motion with his arms, like he had just finished a stunning magic trick.

Luka scowled at him, his suspicion growing. “What do you need me for? Two amazing women, just keep them for yourself.”

“Well, one is for me, but the other…” he raised his eyebrows suggestively. When Luka kept scowling, Sass sighed in defeat. “Okay, fine. Tikki is refusing to meet me unless her host is with her. And she’s insisting I invite you, too.”

Luka’s scowl split into a smirk. “Oh, so you need a favor, that’s what this is about.”

“Yes, I need a favor.” When Sass was annoyed, his sibilants drew out into hisses, which amused Luka to no end. Sass rolled his eyes. “So will you come?”

“What happened to ‘I don’t need you, I don’t need your country, I’m too cool for this shit’?” Luka said, mimicking Sass’s subtle lyrical accent.

“You don’t have to be an ass about it. Will you come or not?”

“I absolutely do have to be an ass about it.” Luka grinned and sat up, savoring the way Sass’s scales were getting all ruffled. He could practically see the irritation roiling off his shoulders. “What if I don’t go? What happens then?”

“Then I tell your sister you’re being an awful host.” Sass’s dark eyes flashed as he bared his teeth in a wicked grin. “And she might decide to come along and make sure you make it up to me.”

Luka’s scowl returned. Sass had him pinned, and he knew it. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll go. But I’m picking the place. If I’m being forced out of the house, I’m at least going somewhere I’ll have fun.”

Sass shrugged and smiled down at his phone as he shot off a text, before he stood and stretched. “It’s settled, then. Let’s go.”

“What, now?”

“Yeah, now, what other time would we go?” Sass undid his ponytail and kept the band in his mouth as he redid it, recapturing the strands that had fallen out to frame his face. Now that Luka was looking at him, he was wearing a form-fitting olive green henley that set off his dark features well, along with dark wash jeans and black converse. Not exactly dressed to go out, but definitely dressed for an admiring female gaze.

He looked down at himself, at the ratty blue hoodie with chewed on strings, pit-stained white band shirt, and knee-less black skinny jeans he was wearing. For the hole in the wall he had in mind, it wouldn’t be out of place, but for meeting “two amazing women,” maybe not the best option. He ran a hand over the dark stubble on his cheek and through his hair he hadn’t even run a brush through today.

Sass rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll meet you out by your bike. 20 minutes, yeah?” He stood and offered his phone to Luka. “Wanna plug in the address?”

Luka took the phone from him, noting the contact picture of a young woman with a black and red pixie haircut blowing a kiss. Must be Tikki. He shrugged and typed in the name of the club he frequented and the address before he spun it on his palm to hand it back to Sass.

Sass left without another word and Luka pulled himself up to see if he could figure out what to wear. Not that it mattered; the club would be loud enough that he wouldn’t have to talk to whoever came along anyways. Which made it absolutely perfect.

***

“He said yes!” Tikki cried as she burst into Marinette’s room and flopped down next to her on the bed, triumphantly shoving her phone into Marinette’s hands.

“Your boyfriend? Of course he did.” Marinette was smiling as Tikki started chattering away, but her smile disappeared as she scrolled through the text chain. The text chain about meeting up tonight, but only if Marinette came along. Tikki’s insistence that it should be a group outing, that her boyfriend’s host should come along, too, so Marinette wasn’t left alone.

She gaped at Tikki. “You set me up with someone?”

“No, no, no,” Tikki rushed to reassure her, taking her phone back and clutching it to her chest, “not a set up! Just… someone to talk to in case I kinda disappear.”

“Isn’t the point of me coming so that you don’t disappear?” Marinette lifted an eyebrow.

Tikki’s phone pinged with an incoming message and Tikki’s face scrunched in concentration as she checked it. “He sent me an address and said 20 minutes. Do you know this place?”

She showed her screen again and Marinette couldn’t help but groan. Not only at the concept of getting ready to go out in 20 minutes, but also at the club name.

“I’ve been there before. Once. On a date.”

A date that went horribly wrong. He hadn't said anything about being a famous model, or that the press might be following him, or that he had a fiancée that might see him dancing with her in the papers the next day and might decide to stalk Marinette for the next few months. And when the paparazzi had swarmed the tiny club, he’d gotten startled and spilled her entire bright pink cocktail down the front of her white dress. One of her favorites, too. She frowned at the memory of the fiasco. She hadn’t been back since, and she'd sworn off dating to boot.

“We don’t have to go, if you don’t want to.” Tikki’s enthusiastic glow visibly dimmed.

She’d told Marinette a little about the guy she’d been seeing. They’d been long-distance for so long and Paris was halfway for both of them, so they figured they’d meet up, see how it went. Of course that wasn’t the only reason she was there, Tikki had assured Marinette, she’d always wanted to go to Paris. But meeting her boyfriend was definitely part of the plan and Marinette did worry about Tikki being safe. She said she knew him, that they’d been talking forever and she knew what he looked like and he would never hurt her. But it also never hurt to have a backup plan in situations like this.

Marinette sighed. “Of course we’re going.” She glanced over Tikki’s loose staying-home outfit for the day and smirked. “But not in that. Hang on.”

Marinette hopped up and ran over to her closet. “I was saving this for a rainy day.” She flicked through her hangers to find it. The perfect little black dress. A deep v-neck that plunged to where the fabric nipped in at the waist, a flirty skirt that floated away and landed gently just above the knee. Tikki would kill in it with her adorable pixie frame. Marinette showed it to her and delighted in the way her eyes lit up.

“But what about you?” Tikki asked.

Marinette shrugged. “It’s not really about me, is it?” She grinned and tossed the dress at Tikki before turning back to select a light pink tank top, a gray leather jacket and a pair of distressed skinny jeans. She shrugged as she laid them out on the bed and Tikki frowned.

“What if you like this guy?”

Marinette rolled her eyes and bent down to grab a pair of strappy black heels. She raised her eyebrows at Tikki as she added them to the pile. “Et voilà.”

This time, Tikki grinned and ran off to her room, clutching the dress to her chest. Marinette shook her head. As long as it was a one-time thing, she didn’t mind coming along for the night. Whoever this mysterious guy was, one thing was for sure. He was in the same boat she was. So she’d make nice, for Tikki’s sake, and hope for the best. If she hated him, she’d never have to see him again. If she liked him…

Well, that was maybe assuming too much.

Translations:

Et voilà: And there it is

#miraculous ladybug #ml fic #mlb fic #lukanette #lukanette endgame #luka couffaine #marinette dupain cheng #marinette and tikki #luka and sass #human kwami #fic title: city of love

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rollingaroundin-bread · 3 years

Photo

Hello and welcome to I redid my age up designs because I wanted to and so I did!!!!!!!!!! :D

uhhhhhhhhh explanations under the cut as per usual!!! :D

Officially speaking: shoot I figured out what I forgot

Okay so whenever I’m drawing I always forget SOMETHING right? That’s just a thing people deal with??

Anyways I forgot the FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS (except for Huey)

It’s very important that they all have friendship bracelets but I drew this over such a long period of time that I completely forgot to give it to people where it would be visible (i.e. Dewey, Boyd, kinda Lena)

It was almost important enough for me to go back but oh my gosh these pictures literally took an hour and I'm not doing that again very sorry

just: they’re there!!!!!! I promise!!!! Its just.... invisible.....

skdhjfgk okay sorry onto the actual thing

In order of left to right also known as height order!

Huey

I didn't change much from my first time doing this!

Basically I gave him a dress shirt and a sweater vest :D

The key difference this time is that last time I made the undershirt red and the sweater vest burgundy!

This time I made the undershirt pink!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Y’all that pink Huey trend from a little while ago was my life force

I hecking love the color pink so much

Anyways!! Moving on: he’s the shortest lol

As I have said before “Older Sibling Culture is being shorter than your younger siblings (I would know)”

But!!! I do love the concept fo Tall and Stronk Huey so he is actually very strong!!!

Instead he’s Short and Stronk!!!!!

Webby and Boyd are the only one’s physically stronger than him but that’s because of spy training and literally being a robot (respectively)

But yes!!! Huey in a sweater vest and also very strong are important concepts so I did that here!!!!!

(hmmn.... sweater vest,, nerd,,, weirdly strong,,,,,,, oh no I turned Huey into Chidi Anagonye klsdfjhgkakjahs)

Webby

y’all I messed up so much on this one

literally so many times

since you’re reading this I'll let you in on a secret

that may not be that secret ksdjfhlkds

Anyways if you look closely at Webby you’ll probably see some weirdly placed lines

specifically around her face, shirt, hand, etc.

basically I messed up enough that I thinned the paper significantly from erasing (multiple, separate times)

so I had so go in and paste another layer of paper over the thinned layer kjjdkahfgs

But enough about me messing up!! what’s with this outfit?

This one’s mostly about Vibes

I wanted to give off a femme lesbian vibe but still keep that formality we see in Webby’s regular outfit!

Hopefully I achieved that!!!

This is one of the outfits I resigned completely from last time btw

The old one was fine but looks kinda weird to me now so this!!!

Oh yeah and I love long hair Webby a lot!!! So I included that!!!!

Louie

Louie is probably the one I changed the most about that still resembles the original design

Both times I gave him a button up for an undershirt

this is ‘cause I see y’all giving him suit jackets for when he’s an adult and he needs a middle stage before that

skdfjs- a middle evolution if you will jkadfhgkjhsfdka

But instead of a slip on hoodie over that I went with a zip up jacket because that’s just more practical y’know?

Also cheek tufts!!!!!

I had them last time too but I love seeing adult louie with full cheek tufts so middle evolution effect comes into play again!!!

He and Webby are pretty much the same height right now btw

If you want to get technical about it Louie’s about a millimeter taller though!

I think that’s all I have for him though!

Gosalyn

Okay so I barely changed anything from last time for Gosalyn

Mr reasoning behind her outfit is mostly that I wanted a flannel gay and Gos was the obvious choice for that

and I liked that decision so I kept with it!!!

Main differences this time include: hair and shoes

So for the original hair I wanted to give her the “bisexual haircut” and I do like Gos with short hair so I kept that!

But I was having a hard time figuring out how to draw her regular bang situation so I went with a totally different style instead!

But I have sense learned how to draw her hair from the show so I incorporated that instead!

In the original I also had her wearing shoes! I changed that this time because I forgot to give her shoes until it was too late! jksdafhg

Yeah this happens often kdsjhvfkajl (mostly with Lena)

Lena

Oh boy where to begin!

In the original my one and only goal was to make Lena look like as much of a Lesbian as possible

And I achieved that much!!!!!!

But in doing so I neglected to make it look like Lena

I mean well it looked like her but it didn’t give off her complete vibe y’know?

So instead of a Hawaiian shirt gay I made her a leather jacket gay!!! Much more Lena in my opinion! :D

I based her hair off of my interpretation of her Phantom and the Sorceress hair! (I know it looks nothing like it but thats how I draw it so???)

In the original I made her hair fade from pink to blue as well and I liked that so I kept it!!

Then I kept the blue button up undershirt!!

I thought about giving it pinstripes but I don't have a thin enough pen or pencil to pull that off so I didn't :P

Hint of her old green shoes coming from the sock color!

And then finally: stompy boots

Just to tie it all together! :D

Dewey

This man is LANKY!!!!!!!!!!

sorry I don't make the rules

Well technically I do sense I drew the thing- but thats unimportant!!!!

Dewey gets to be tall to annoy his brothers but in return he is LANKY tall

Otherwise I largely followed my original design!!

All my reasons for the original were solely based off of ✨Vibes✨

I did change a few things though!

For example: last time I gave him a 3/4 sleeve short and this time I just made them regular short sleeves

Last time I meant to give him shoes but I forgot so this time I didn't forget!! :D

Also cool socks!!

Oh and I added fingerless gloves!!!!!!!!

This is once again based solely on ✨Vibes✨

I can’t put a lot of my reasons into words but I personally think I captured the theater kid meets aspiring pilot meets best friend to super hero’s sidekicks meets adventurer vibe pretty well!!

Boyd

!! Okay I’m excited to get into this one!

In my original Boyd was the shortest because technically he can pick his own height being a robot and all

BUT for that same reason I made him tall because: he wants to be tall like Gyro

The idea that Boyd wants to be tall like Gyro is literally so cute yall

I also based his outfit largely off of Gyros!!!

That is: dress shirt, vest, bowtie, pants

But in Boyd’s color scheme! :D

I’m still working out how to Not to make Boyd look like a popcorn bucket but that’s a problem for another day!

Violet

To start off: literally nothing was changed from the original

akjfdsghkskhal I’m serious no color changes, no outfit elements, nothing

I liked the original one a lot so I just kept it and redid it for this!!

My inspiration for the original was as follows: ✨Librarian Vibes✨

And I think I achieved that with the original so I hope I achieved it here as well!!

Also Violet is TALL

She’s the tallest now and will continue to be the tallest!!!

I mean just LOOK at her dads!!!! They’re SUPER tall!!

So therefore she gets to be tall too!!!!!!!!!

And I think that’s it!! Thank you so much for reading if you got this far!!!!!!!!! :D

Have a nice day folks! :D

#huey duck #webby vanderquack #louie duck #gosalyn mallard #lena sabrewing #dewey duck #boyd gearloose #violet sabrewing #my art stuff #age up designs #uhhhhh idk what to say down here I kinda covered it all in the keep reading section #hope everyones having a nice day btw! :)

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unloved-cadillac · 4 years

Text

Leather Jackets and Glasses Three

Y/n L/n, the leader of the notorious gang called The Scouts. Placed in Rose high, Y/n is in her senior year but things take a turn when she starts getting interested in a certain boy named, Levi Ackerman. Follow the journey of heartbreak, betrayal and love between two people who were destined to be together.

CHAPTER THREE:

It was Monday and the day was just about to end. One more period and I could go home and sleep. I hated Mondays. But I guess, the days became a bit more bearable since I had someone to look forward to. I just finished English and was heading down to my locker to fetch my French books. So when I walk, I pass Levi’s locker. As I turned into the Galway I see Reiner. His back is facing me, but I knew that hair anywhere. The problem was, he was towering over Levi. I sneak up and catch a few words that Reiner’s disgusting mouth.

-You better stay away from her. She’s mine.

-I don’t know why you’re talking about.

-Don’t give me that bullshit. I saw you two on Friday. Stop trying. She’s not gonna go for someone like you. She needs a man.

Alright that was it.

-I’m sure you aren’t talking about yourself Reiner. You’re not even half the man Levi is.

I say. Reiner turns around and looks at me. Levi widens his eyes when he sees me. I lock eyes with Levi.

-Hi Levi.

-H-hey Y/n.

-Reiner, you’re being an asshole. A bigger one than you already are.

-Aw come on, babe. I know you want me. This short stack doesn’t have a chance with you.

-And neither do you. I don’t want you. Who fooled you?

-You’re just playing hard to get.

-Oh really?

I cross my arms and kick him in his balls. He falls down and screams.

-I’m sure you wanted that.

I tell him. I walk up to Levi and grab his hand.

-Want to get outta here?

He blushes but looks confused.

-We still have one more period.

-Oh come on, Levi. Bunking one period won’t hurt. Please?

I do my best puppy eyes and he gives in. I smile and take him to my car.

-Where are we going?

Levi asks me as he buckles himself in. I put the car into reverse and drive.

-I have no clue.

It was true. I had no idea where we were going. But I didn’t feel weird about it. And it looked like he didn’t either. It took me a while to register but I was literally alone with him. Driving to God knows where and there was no tension. It felt...right. After driving for a couple of minutes he turns to me.

-Y/n?

I hum in response.

-Are you going to prom?

I tense up. Oh shit. I think I know where this is going.

-uhm...yeah. I am. You?

I say. He smiles a bit.

-I am. I was wondering...would..would you like..t-to go...with me?

I widen my eyes and look at him. But a quick glance, cause you know, gotta drive.

-I was going to ask you properly. But, you know.

He says and laughs nervously.

He was going to ask me. Wow. I smile to myself. Sorry, guys. Looks like I’m going to prom.

-Levi, I would love to go to prom with you.

I tell him and smile. He smiles too. We drive for a while and I ended up at this cliff. I parked the car and we saw the sun start to set.

-Listen, Levi. I’m sorry about Reiner. He is such an asshole.

I apologize to him. I put my head on my hands which were on the steering wheel. Levi doesn’t say anything and I start to get a bit worried so I pick up my head and look at him. Levi was looking at me.

-L-Levi? You okay?

Did I just...I just stuttered. This boy.

-Yeah. I’m fine. It’s just...why haven’t we spoken before?

I got a bit taken back from his question. Mostly because I didn’t know how to answer it. Why didn’t we speak? Was it my ego? Was it because I never acknowledged him before?

-I..I don’t know. I just...I had my set of friends and I thought I didn’t need anyone else. What about you? Why haven’t you spoken to me?

I ask as I rest my face in my hands. He looks out at the sun and back to me.

-I guess..I wasn’t really good at speaking with girls. Apart from Hange and Isabel, I never could. I did try once and that backfired.

-What happened?

He chuckles

-Well it’s a funny story. See I liked this girl. Petra, I’m sure you know her.

-A bitch but go on.

He smiles.

-Yeah. So she started to speak to me one day, out of the blue, and I kinda got attached to her. But when I tried speaking to her out of class she straight up ignored me. Like I only existed in class. So, I went up to her by her locker because she forgot her lip..gloss? Is it? Yeah, she left it and I tapped her shoulder and said,”Hey. You left this” and she said,”Why did you take it!? You nerd.” And threw her water on me.

I widen my eyes in shock.

-What the hell is wrong with her!? I could kill her right now.

-Oh god. Please don’t. Knowing you, you probably would.

I laugh. I mean, I really laugh. Levi laughs with me. We laughed for a while until I look at the time.

-Holy shit. It’s half past 4? How long have we been laughing??

I turn to Levi who laughs.

-A while I guess.

-Ugh I’m so tired.

I lean back. I look over to Levi and an idea pops in my head.

-Wanna drive?

He whips his head to look at me.

-Uh..if it’s ok with you. You do look tired.

I smile and open the driver’s door and hop out and Levi does the same. We pass each other and switch seats. We get comfortable and I ask Levi.

-Can I have your number?

-Ugh, Y/n! I was going to ask first!

He chuckles. Damn. I love it when he laughs.

-Loser’s weepers. Come on. Tell me.

I pull out my phone and he tells me his number. I instantly message him and his phone dings. He pulls it out and looks at the message.

-Glasses? Seriously?

-Yeah. Why aren’t you wearing them by the way?

-Oh I only need them to read.

-You look cute with them.

He blushes, again.

-Shall we leave?

-We shall.

Levi drives us back to town and drives to his home first.

-My mom is gonna flip.

-Oh shit. Yeah I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just dragged you out of school.

-Are you kidding me? After years of being “the good boy” I finally did something wrong. And it’s all thanks to you, Y/n.

He glances to me.

-But still, I don’t think your mom would like you to hang around me. I’m a bad influence.

I say as I look out the window. It’s true. Many parents had told their children to stay away from me. They think they’re slick when the whisper but I hear everything.

-Oh shut up. You’re not.

Levi suddenly says. See, if it were anyone else who told me that, their teeth would be knocked out, but I didn’t feel the need to punch him. I just...accepted it. Like he was telling the truth. The drive back was nice. The sun had just set and the sky was painted a beautiful orange. We make it into a neighborhood where all the posh people lived. I didn’t expect Levi to come from here.

-Whoa you live here?

I ask, surprised.

-Yeah. Mom is a real estate agent so it’s good pay for her. Don’t let this fool you though. This neighborhood is filled with stuck up bitches who look down on everyone and everything. I should know because when we moved in here a couple of years back, we didn’t have that many furniture or stuff. So it was just a big old empty house. Many of our neighbors gave us sympathy and some told us,”Why don’t you just move back to where you came from? It surely must be easier.” And now look, Mom owns most of this place and people never dared to underestimate us again.

Levi tells me. Wow. I never knew. Levi was a hard worker. You could tell. He always gave his 100% on everything he did. We pull up to this amazing big house on the inside of the neighborhood. He pulls into the driveway and turns off the car. We stay quiet for a bit.

-Do you want to come in?

Levi asks me.

-Huh? Oh no. I don’t belong here. I’d just be intruding.

Levi scoffs.

-Oh please don’t make me laugh. Come on. Farlan is here and I think Isabel too. Stay for a bit.

He says sincerely. I look at him in awe. He really doesn’t care does he? He doesn’t even care I might rob him.

-Well...aren’t you afraid I might rob you or something?

-Rob me? Why would you do that?

-I don’t know. You probably got a lot of nice stuff in there.

-Well, then I give you permission to take anything you want. Just not my tea. Or my cleaning stuff.

I quirk my eyebrow at him. Tea? Cleaning stuff? Goofball.

-I guess...a few minutes won’t hurt.

Levi smiles.

-Great. Come on.

He opens the door and we jump out. Even the air here smells...clean. I let Levi lead the way and we enter his house. I take of my shoes and my Naruto socks are on display. Levi looks down and laughs.

-Nice socks.

-Thanks.

-Mom! I’m home!

He shouts as he turns on the lights.

-Levi Ackerman, where the hell have you be- oh hello there.

His mom comes to us. She looks just like Levi. The jet black hair, hers being longer, her iron blue eyes. She looks at me and smiles.

-Levi, since when do you bring pretty girls home?

-Mom. This is Y/n, a friend of mine. Y/n this is my mom, Kuchel Ackerman.

-Hi, Mrs Ackerman. It’s very nice to meet you.

-Oh honey, please call me Kuchel. And Levi..

She pinches his ears.

-Why are you home so late? I was worried sick when you didn’t come home with Farlan.

-Sorry. I just went for a drive. Nothing to worry about.

-Still. At least tell me where you are so I don’t have to worry like that.

-I will. Oh and Mom, Y/n is staying for dinner.

-Wha-What? No. I’m not. I said a few minutes. I should leave.

-Oh, Y/n. Stay for dinner. I made Levi’s favorite. Chicken curry with rice.

Oh shit that’s my favorite too.

-Oh. Well I guess...

-Not guess. Will. I’m gonna go take a quick shower I’ll be back in 5.

He tells me. I smile and he leaves. I go into the lounge to see Farlan with a sleeping Isabel laying on his lap.

-Y/n?

I wave at him.

-Come sit.

I sit on the sofa and watch TV. Dr Phil is on.

-Dr Phil, huh?

-Yeah. It’s Izzy’s favorite show but as you can see

He motions to her

-Fast asleep.

I chuckle.

-Oh y/n? Thank you for telling me about the car garage. He redid the whole thing and it’s not making that weird sound anymore. Got a free paint job too.

-Oh. Sure thing Farlan. If you need anything else let me know, okay?

-There is one more thing.

I turn to face him.

-Levi is pretty shy, so go easy on him.

I blush.

-Oh. Oh sure thing Farlan.

I avoid his gaze and look back at the tv. I can see from the corner of my eye he is smiling. Idiot.

-Alright, kids. Dinner’s ready.

Kuchel comes and tells us. I wake up and Farlan wakes up Isabel.

-Izzy, honey. Food.

She instantly wakes up and is full of energy. How the fu-

-Oh! Y/N! Yay, Levi- bro finally asked you to come for dinner. I’m so happy.

She smiles and grabs my arm. I smile back. So Levi has been talking to them about me? Cute. We go to the dining room and Kuchel sets up the table.

-Oh, Kuchel, do you need some help?

I offer.

-Oh, thank you, dear. If you don’t mind, can you get the rice from the kitchen?

I nod and make my way to the kitchen. I find the rice and pick it up and make my way back to the dining room. I see Levi coming down with a towel while drying his hair. I set the rice down and Isabel motions to me.

-Come sit by me, Y/n!

I smile and walk past Levi. Holy hell. Whatever soap he used smells amazing. I guess he picked up on that and smirked. Shy my ass. I sit by Isabel and she looks at me.

-I like your hair. It’s very pretty.

I widen my eyes. I have never been called that before. I blush and thank her softly. Levi sits across me and we all start eating.

-So, Y/n. What courses do you do in school?

-I do physics, maths and French.

-Oh that’s nice. So you must be pretty smart.

-Haha well, physics is getting pretty hard. Not that Levi would agree.

I say and look at him.

-I 100% agree with you. But don’t worry. Just push through it. It’s your final year so better give it all you got and that’s the best you can do.

That’s the most inspiring thing anyone has ever told me. Not even my mother told me that.

-And if you do have any trouble I’m sure Levi would be happy to help you.

She tells me. I smile and look at my food. Levi kicks my foot and I look up. He doesn’t look at me though, which makes me confused. I take another bite of my food and oh my god.

-Kuchel, this is the best chicken curry I’ve ever had.

I compliment her. Kuchel smiles.

-Aw thank you, Y/n. Would you like some more?

She asks me. Well, since I haven’t had a home cooked meal in a couple of years, since I’ve been surviving on take out and ramen, it’s best just to savor this.

-Yes please.

She takes my plate and dishes out more. I eat it all. This probably was the best meal I have ever had.

-Y/n. Are you going to prom?

Farlan asks me. I stop eating and look at him. I chew slowly and smile. Since my mouth is full, I nod.

-Oh that’s great. With who?

This little- he knows exactly who I’m going with.

-Levi.

I say. Kuchel widens her eyes.

-Levi! How did you not tell me??

-I asked her today, Mother.

He says as he takes another bite of food.

-Well, Y/n. If you need a dress or someone to get your hair done, I know a couple of people willing to help. Just shout and I’ll get it done.

My heart softens at her sincerity. How can this woman be so kind to someone she doesn’t even know?

-I will. Thank you.

I flash my voice cracking a bit. I feel like I’m gonna cry.

-Uhm, Kuchel, may I use your bathroom?

I say sniffing a bit. I catch Levi’s eye and him furrows his eyebrows like in a way to ask,”What’s wrong?”

-What happened, Y/n? Too spicy?

Isabel jokes. I smile at her.

-Oh sure. It’s up the stairs, down the hall, to the right.

-Thank you.

I wake up and go to the bathroom. I go and lock the door. Fuck. I feel like I’m having a panic attack. I have no idea why though. Is it because this is what it’s like to be loved by a mother? I let a few tears fall and wash my face. I look in the mirror and see my face, eyes red. I can’t go out like this. I look around to see the window. But it’s too small for me to jump through and by the looks of it, there’s no roof or anything below for me to jump down on. I rinse my face with cold water once again, and calm myself down.

I’ll leave. I’m sure they won’t mind.

I unlock the door and make my way downstairs. I sit back at the table and wait a couple of minutes. But it looks like the Gods are kind of on my side because I get a message from my father.

Where are you? It’s getting late. Come home.

Fuck.

-Uhm, I’m sorry to leave so early but it looks like my dad is worried about me.

-Oh, sure honey. No problem. Let me pack some food for you.

-Oh it’s no big deal.

-I insist. Wait 5 minutes. I’ll be right back.

Kuchel leaves to pack my food and I say goodbye to Farlan and Isabel and Levi escorts me to my car.

-Do you have to leave?

Levi asks me.

-Yeah. My dad is gonna freak out. Thank you for inviting me into your home, Levi.

-I should be thanking you. Today was great. I hope we can do it again sometime.

I smile and Kuchel comes out with a Tupperware of food.

-Hey you go, Y/n. Thank you for dropping Levi off.

-It’s no problem, Kuchel. Thank you for the food.

She brings me in for a hug and it catches me off guard. Is this a mother’s love? I pull away and hop into my car. They wave me off and I get outta there to face my father.

*In Levi’s Room*

Knock knock

-Come in.

Farlan enters Levi’s room. Levi is busy with homework.

-Hey man.

-Hey.

Farlan lays down on his bed.

-Feet off the bed.

Levi says without even looking back. Farlan laughs and puts his feet down.

-Izzy gone home?

-Yeah. She left a couple of minutes ago. So..

Farlan sits up. Levi turns to look at his brother.

-You and Y/n, huh?

Levi blushes and looks away.

-No.

He says. He wasn’t sure, but one thing he knew was that he was slowly falling in love with her. She’s not at all what he had expected her to be. She was calm with him. Not speaking over him, laughing. Or maybe he was looking too much into things.

-Oh come on, Levi. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. Plus, you’re taking her to prom! How cool is that!? You can make a move on her.

Farlan winks.

-Do you really have to make it seem so lewd? I’m not even sure if she was being serious.

-Levi. I love you and everything but you really are stupid.

Levi picks up his head and looks at Farlan.

-She told our mother she’s going with you. Why would she lie to her?

Farlan does have a point. If Y/n didn’t want to go with him she could’ve just said no. But she didn’t.

-Yeah. I guess you’re right.

-See? But you don’t have to worry. Prom isn’t for another 4 months so you have plenty of time to figure out what you need to do. Goodnight, Levi.

-Yeah. Goodnight, Farlan.

Levi washes up and lays down on his bed. Maybe this was a start of something new...

Here is Chapter Three. Feel free to message if you want to be added to my taglist.

Tagged: @windex-princess-gia @leviswife-of6years

#attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #aot #levi ackerman x reader #aot fanfiction #levi ackerman #snk #Levi x gangster!reader #Captain Levi #modern au #high school au #rivai ackerman #Leather Jackets and Glasses #LJaG

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txdoroki · 3 years

Note

heyo ˙˚ʚ(´◡`)ɞ˚˙ omg i love ur account, ur literally my favourite person on this app sfngnbodmv ur posts make me so happy. basically i want to start writing drabbles and fics and stuff so i was just wondering where 2 start & how u got started :)

hi! aww tysm :,) that means a lot!

well, i started by making a post asking people for requests (as i started as a request writing page, not really that way anymore because it’s easier to not get burnt out for me if i do the stuff i genuinely want to write!) and i used all of the tags i could.

(if youre planning on doing mha writing, bakugou and todoroki content generally does the best. the first 3 tags you use, your content will show up under tagged when you search the tag in specific, so i suggest doing bakugou x reader, todoroki x reader, and whatever else as your first three for your starting request post!)

if you aren’t planning on doing requests, i suggest maybe an intro post. like “hi! i’m (name) and im a writer! here are the fandoms i’ll be writing for, and a few things about me!”

try and have your first writings be consistent, it doesn’t matter that much but it’s good to have content for ppl to read rather than literally one post and it’s an intro. if people see the intro, they will prolly click on your account to see your writing and such. so, imo it’s important to have some writing to begin with

i’ve noticed, that using more tags doesn’t necessarily = more notes! the first few matter the most, and after that, it can help to do the category and such

let’s say i wrote a bakugou fluff. i’d use these tags: bakugou x reader, bakugou imagine, bakugou fluff, bakugou katsuki, mha bakugou- give or take a few! you can find examples under my MOST RECENT writing posts, as i did different experiments with it and the more useful your tags are the better. my “if you came into their room in the middle of the night” post was the experiment, and it turned out that i was right, more tags ≠ more interaction

on that note, INTERACT WITH PEOPLE. this isn’t against anyone who doesnt like interacting, but it can help build relationships with followers! if you’re comfortable with this, you can open your asks box so people can say stuff (you don’t have to have anons on but it can be nice for ppl who are shy/dont want their acc out yk)! if you get anon hate, just block the anon if you want. or dont respond.

also, it’s rlly cool to get a few mutuals! i’d love to be your mutual if you want to, just lmk your account whenever you start posting! sometimes i make mutual posts asking for mutuals, you can do something like that if you would like

my first ever oneshot thing i wrote, was one i rlly remember writing! that might not be the same for my viewers, but i usually remember someone by the first thing i’ve seen by them. first impressions matter, so try and figure out how you wanna be seen! ofc don’t fake being someone you’re not, but it might be confusing to ppl if your first impression doesn’t match with how you act the rest of the time!

your first post usually sets the tone for your blog, or at least the first one that gets you your audience. if you, in your first post that gains you followers, say that you’ll be writing for danganronpa, and then instead write for mha, everyone would kinda be like. what? i thought you were a danganronpa writer??? ya know

BE SURE TO INCLUDE GENERAL TRIGGER WARNINGS ON POSTS THAT NEED THEM. ADD THE TOPIC ITS WARNING ABOUT TOO. EVERYONE WILL APPRECIATE IT BECAUSE IT IS JUST A NICE THING TO DO PLEASE DO THAT!!

i suggest making a navigation page (like my pinned post) and a masterlist (you can do all your writing in one or even seperate masterlists for each character, whatever you’d like)! it can really help to have a spot to go and be able to find all of the writing you’ve done without endless scrolling! if you need a tut on how to add links to posts, im sure theres a tut on youtube!

A REALLY HELPFUL THING TO DO IS WHENEVER YOURE MOTIVATED WRITE LIKE FIVE THINGS SO WHEN YOU DONT FEEL LIKE WRITING, YOU HAVE POSTS! fr tho, ppl usually wont mind if you arent super active. if they do, theyre being dumb!

posting consistently CAN help your posts reach more ppl, but if you can only post every now and then, it isnt really a problem! don’t stress it if you’re too busy/dont have a schedule, it wont kill your account

tl:dr;

-add trigger warnings on things when needed

-make a navi page (not needed)

-if you’re motivated, write stuff to post later

-first impressions matter

-mutuals!

-less tags can work more, but i’ve also seen a lot of tags work good as well

-INTERACT WITH PEOPLE

-don’t say you’ll do things just for followers. they aren’t just a number, they’re actual people

how i started in five steps:

1. i made a post that was like “hey! im mack and i want to start doing writing requests! do you guys have any?”

2. i did a few posts then was like ah fuck i need a masterlist, so i made that and then made an about me with random facts i thought of and such. (also make sure tou put your pronouns in your bio so ppl arent confused!)

3. i did more posts and started gaining, but didn’t really mind it. i kind of just vibed, cause the numbers dont determine how good of a writer you are, so i focused on working on my writing style and such! i kinda ghosted the whole blog for a week straifht beside from queued reblogs, but came back later when i had inspo! it’s good not to run your brain dry

4. i redid my whole blog, made it pretty! its rlly motivating to me to have a nice blog, but it isnt required! i made an organized navigation page, and started focusing on getting my reach back. (btw, prime posting time is at like midnight!) be sure to put rules and boundaries on your page as well, so people do not end up crossing one that you didn’t state.

5. i reminded myself that i can do things other than my blog when i’d get a little too obsessive over it, and that it wasn’t going anywhere! don’t feel pressured to post a LOT. only post when you want to and can. don’t put responsibilities like health aside just for your blog.

hope this was helpful <3

#writing tips #swaggy.m #blog tips

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fortressclan · 4 years

Text

Bidwell sighed, glancing over at the full moon. Its that time of the month again. Great.

The moon had just risen, the twolegplace blocking out the stars from the sky and leaving the moon as the only source of light. Bidwell was preparing to make the quick trip over to the clans, having just finished all the tasks he had to do for the day. All was left was to check up on the two rivalling clans, and he could retreat back to his den and take a rest. God did he want to rest.

Bidwell looked over to Saxton, who was close by with some cats he was chatting up. He was too far away to hear anyone but Saxton, who was being loud as usual. He was sure anyone in the area wasnt going to be able to sleep that night, if he continued his story for that long. Hopefully the cats he was talking to would keep him distracted enough so he wouldnt try and fight another kittypet or, god forbid, a twoleg again. Saxton managed to catch his assistant's gaze and grinned, a quick acknowledgement before he continued with his loud conversation. Bidwell nodded before turning around, beginning the trip over to the clans.

It didnt take too long thankfully. Bidwell hopped over the log at the entrance of Blueclan's camp, something he had learned early on that one of the mercenaries had put there in a sad attempt at defense. And which had successfully tripped him three times before he finally learned to jump over it. At least it was better than nothing, he supposed.

The camp itself was somewhat small. The cats had moved and redid the entire place, leaving four dens remaining. They had kept the medicine cat and warrior dens, and Bidwell had later learned that they actually had weaved the nursery into the warrior's den, leaving an odd dip in the ground inside the den from where the nursery was originally was. The leader's den was, of course, untouched, and a thick bramble wall was made over the entrance, a small gap left in the barrier for what Bidwell could only assume was how their leader got delivered food and water. Bidwell didnt want to ask where their leader made dirt though- he feared what the answer to that question would be. The last den was close to the medicine cat's, being for anyone with injuries or visitors. Pauling had told him it was added after a particularly rainy night kept her in the camp, and Baystep was kind enough to help make a quick shelter for her to stay the night. Before Bidwell had questioned why she didnt just stay in the warrior's den with the others, but after actually meeting them, he quickly understood.

Immediately upon entering he spotted a gaggle of the mercenaries by one of the dens, some of them sharing a rabbit. He struggled to remember their names sometimes, since their leaders had decided to rename them all as a sign of welcoming and he had only knew them as their loner names. He managed to overhear their conversation and quickly put faces to names- Heavyclaw, Scorchleap, Hawkslash, and Baystep. He struggled for a few seconds with the last tom, since one of the cats kept naming him 'Berrytooth' for some reason, but after watching Heavyclaw gently hit him with a paw and correct him, he managed to remember Houndsnap's name. Bidwell offered little other than a quick nod to the group to acknowledge they existed, before heading to the medicine cat's den. The smells of herbs, flowers, and a scent Bidwell's mind immediately told him was blood flooded his nose, almost being too much for him. He spotted Bloodspeckle sitting down and pointing at something red and suspiciously meaty looking, with Firecrackle listening with wide eyes. "And you see, this is the hea- oh! Hello, Bidvell!" The medicine cat greeted, a few too many red spots on him for Bidwell to blissfully ignore. Firecrackle chirped a greeting as well, and Bidwell quickly nodded a hello before immediately backing away from the scene. That left two cats left, unless one of them was unfortunate enough to have been reduced to whatever Bloodspeckle was showing Firecrackle.

After investigating the two other dens and ruling out the leader's den as where the two were hidden, Bidwell decided desperate times required desperate measures. The gaggle of cats had mostly spread out, and Bidwell slowly gravitated towards the two ginger toms, Baystep and Heavyclaw. The paler of the two, Baystep, paused his conversation as soon as Bidwell approached, tipping his head in greeting. Heavyclaw paused to read Bidwell's expression, before his ears perked. "Little man has question?" He asked, with a slight tilt of his head and curiousity in his expression. Baystep chimmed in as well, adding "Feel free to ask us anything, partner. We'd be glad to help". Bidwell nodded, glancing around almost nervously. "Yeah, right, thank you. Uh, would any of you happen to know where the others are?" He asked, trying to remember their names. "Rushwing and..." He waved a paw, trying to remember what new name the other had gotten. "Raccoonheart?" Baystep supplied, and Bidwell nodded. "Yes, him. Them. Both of them." Baystep glanced at Heavyclaw, apparently thinking. "I thought i saw Raccoonheart hunting earlier, and i aint too sure where the kid is." He responded, and Heavyclaw slowly nodded, turning his head over to where Houndsnap and Scorchleap were. "Do Hound and Scorch know where little apprentice went?" He asked, and both cats shook their head. Bidwell watched as Scorchleap went and asked Bloodspeckle and Firecrackle, and groaned as he came back and reported they had no clue, either.

"How did you manage to lose an entire cat?" Bidwell sighed, lowering his head and debating hitting it against the ground as a sign of frustration. Maybe he would manage to knock himself out and wake up back in his den like this was a bad dream. "Dont worry, the little ankle-biter will show up sooner or later. Or you'll hear him yabbing on about something or other." Hawkslash reassured Bidwell, which did little to help actually reassure him. Bidwell nodded anyways, before deciding what to do. "I'll return later." He said to none of the cats in particular, raising his head up. "He cant be too far, and its quicker than waiting, at least." Some of the cats dipped and nodded their heads, leaving Bidwell to leave camp to wander around and hopefully find the missing speedy tom.

Fortunately, that didnt take too long. The smells of the twolegplace had clogged his nose enough for him to be utterly useless at tracking, but Rushwing didnt seem to be the one to be sneaky in any sense. Whenever Bidwell lost the scent, there was normally a broken branch or obviously moved fern that he could follow and use to pick it up again. It took barely ten minutes for him to find out where Rushwing was, counting the two times he had mistakenly followed the wrong trail. The area Rushwing was in looked to have been a long abandoned training clearing, with a soft and sandy ground that would've been perfect to practice on. It was padded down slightly from use, and Bidwell was able to see some spots where paw prints had been worn down into the ground. Rushwing himself was hitting a clawed up tree that jutted out into the training area a bit, hopping and dodging about for practice. It didnt seem like Rushwing had noticed Bidwell, and while he could leave now that he knew the other hadnt gotten himself killed, something told him to sit down and watch for a few seconds. It wasnt everyday he got to see someone fight. Someone that wasnt Saxton, that is.

Bidwell got caught pretty quickly, Rushwing having paused to lick his paw after accidentally actually hitting the tree with his paw pad. Rushwing stared at Bidwell for a second, tongue sticking out against his paw, before smiling. "Oh hey, prissy pelt!" He greeted, quickly licking his paw before setting it down. "Any reason youre sittin' there watchin' me?" Rushwing asked, and Bidwell shook his head. "No, none at all." "Well, cause, y'know i was just warming up. Normally i fight foxes. Reaaaal big ones." Bidwell raised his non existent eyebrows, sensing the conversation veering directly into bragging territory. "I mean like, even bigger than me! And you, obviously." Bidwell had little idea how to respond without fueling the fire, so he just nodded and let Rushwing continue. Maybe he could sneak away while Rushwing was talking? "I even fought a badger once! Real big guy, tough too! I think it was a guy. I didnt ask. Anyways, me and Scorchleap, this was before you and Pauling and everyone else stuck their noses into our lives, no offense, we had to fight it! And we, well, we were the only ones left in the clan, but that was alright! We won anyways, and-" Rushwing paused, bending awkwardly to get to the back of his front leg, shoving a bit of fur out of the side. His fur had hidden them, but Rushwing had a few scars on his leg which Bidwell recognized as teeth marks. Bidwell had never seen a badger, or a fox for that matter, but a quick run over of his teeth with his tongue informed him that, for once, Rushwing was probably not lying or exaggerating the story. "I got this! The badger bit my leg and tried throwing me, but it didnt let go, and i got dizzy and my head kinda hurt. Scorchleap smacked it right in its ugly face and it dropped me, and we both chased if off!" Rushwing smiled, clearly proud of his scar as he sat properly again, licking his fur down and over the scars again.

Bidwell opened his mouth, instinct kicking in with the normal 'you did great, sir' he would give Saxton for the latest fight he had, but quickly stopped that train of thought before it left his mouth. Bidwell opened it again to ask about the badger, before Rushwing continued. "I mean, it probably aint much to what's in the twolegplace. The other guys keep goin' on and on about how harsh and bad that place is. You gotta have some scars too, right? C'mon, spill it!" Rushwing got up, circling Bidwell excitedly as if to search for any scars he had under his long fur. "I, uh, i dont have any." Bidwell admitted, craning his head around to keep his eye on Rushwing. "Im not a fighter. I just work for Saxton, unlike Pauling. She's most likely the one with the good stories." He said as Rushwing finished his circling, looking rather disappointed. "Well you have to know somethin'! Aint there big monsters and twolegs there? Dont you, like, fight 'em?" Bidwell shook his head, and Rushwing groaned, throwing his head back dramatically. He sat down, going silent for a few seconds, before immediately perking up. "I know! Fancy paws, get up." Rushwing nearly commanded, getting a flat stare from Bidwell. Bidwell hesitantly got up, unsure to where this was going. Rushwing scurried to the other side of the training clearing, before getting down into a crouch with an excited grin. "What are you doing?" Bidwell asked in the same tone he used on kits, rowdy apprentices, and, occasionally, Saxton. "Pretendin' youre a fox." Rushwing answered, and before Bidwell could ask what that even meant, Rushwing was suddenly charging at him at a surprising speed. Bidwell's first reaction was to scramble away, but it seemed Rushwing had planned for that. As Bidwell ran, Rushwing leaped and landed directly in Bidwell's path, whipping around and striking a paw out.

Bidwell froze and closed his eyes, expecting the hot flash of pain, but was instead met with a light twap as Rushwing rather gently hit him with a sheathed claw. Bidwell opened one eye, then the other, watching with defeat as Rushwing hit his face like a kitten playing with yarn. "By starclan, you would not survive in the wild." Rushwing said, clearly amused and trying not to laugh. "I said i wasnt a fighter..." Bidwell exhaled, sitting and slowly calming down, licking flat some fur that had risen up from the short lived conflict. "I didnt think you were that bad!" Rushwing defended himself, sitting down as well. "I mean, even Bloodspeckle is better than that! I dont think he has any self preser-whatsit, but you didnt even fight! You just ran!" Bidwell didnt really know how to react, since everything Rushwing was saying was true, staying silent instead of repeating the 'im not a fighter' line again. "Ok ok, alright, listen. Next time i do that, run forwards. Not away, towards. Got it?" Bidwell was about to ask what 'next time' was suggesting, before Rushwing went back over to the other side of the training clearing again. Oh lord. Bidwell debated his options, before deciding that this was the best practice he was going to get. He got up, much to what seemed like surprise and genuine happiness on Rushwing's face, getting back to around where he was before. "Ready?" Rushwing asked, and Bidwell tentatively nodded. Rushwing began charging once again, and Bidwell's instincts screamed at him to run away, to escape the danger. He grounded himself, trying his best to ignore it, and once he saw Rushwing's hind paws bunch up in preparation to jump, he ran forward. Rushwing left the ground as Bidwell left little but dust and sand where he was standing, and the long fur tom was surprised when he ran right under Rushwing, landing in his paws hard to turn his head around and watch Rushwing land. Something clicked in Bidwell, and he began charging right at Rushwing. The tom looked over with a almost proud grin that made Bidwell only feel a little bad as he sped towards him, and the expression was quickly replaced with surprise as Bidwell slammed his front paws into his shoulder. The force knocked the unsuspecting warrior over, with Bidwell following after with little clue on how to roll along with the fall. The two were silent for a second, with Rushwing trying to process what happened and Bidwell silently proud of what he had done, before Rushwing let out a small laugh, still on the ground. Bidwell smiled, slowly joining in with the laugh at what he had just done. The two stayed on the ground like that for a few seconds, before their laughter died down as the rustling of leaves alerted them to a newcomer.

"Are you two done playing like kits?" Raccoonheart asked, setting down a warm rabbit, most likely recently caught. Bidwell immediately got up, shaking his fur and getting any sand stuck to him off. Rushwing raised his head but didnt get up, glaring at Raccoonheart. "We were trainin'! Which is more than you seem to be doin'. Doesnt Baystep get us enough food?" Rushwing grumbled, nodding to the rabbit. "Bluestar specifically requested for a rabbit, according to Bloodspeckle. Now leave Bidwell alone and let him do his actual work." Raccoonheart replied, picking up his rabbit and retreating into the bushes. Rushwing stuck his tongue out as the tom left, grumbling to himself once he was out of sight. "Raccoonheart is right." Bidwell admitted, feeling somewhat disappointed. "I should go back to my work. I still have to make sure Redclan is in order." Rushwing got up, shaking his fur with a sigh. "Yeah, i thought so." He nodded, looking almost as disappointed as Bidwell felt. Bidwell turned to depart, before Rushwing caused him to pause. "Hey, uh, stay safe." Rushwing said, his tone somewhat cautious, and almost nervous. "Kind of want to beat you up again, y'know?" Bidwell looked at Rushwing, who seemed a bit uncomfortable at the attempt of being genuine. He smiled at the tom, nodding. "I'll... Yeah, it was fun. Ill try not to die or anything." Bidwell agreed. "Yeah, yeah! Thanks. For, uh, not dying. In advance." Bidwell smiled at that before breathing out, turning around, and leaving into the forest. The small training had hurt his paws and the side he had landed on slightly, but Bidwell didnt really seem to mind as he began walking away. Maybe Saxton was right. Maybe a good fight was something he needed. Or maybe all he needed just a good laugh.

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livefromphilly · 4 years

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Fuji X100V Thoughts After 15 days

MAY 2021 UPDATE: My camera suffered internal water damage so it is perhaps not as weather sealed as I originally thought. I shot it in the rain and snow a few times, certainly nothing worse than how I treat my Sony A7III, and apparently some water got inside and caused the camera to shut off frequently during operation. I sent it to Fuji for service and was told “Upon attempted repair of your X100V, internal liquid damage was found. Attached are the images of the findings. The camera is beyond economical repair. The new estimate below is to swap the camera for a reconditioned X100V camera.” with the cost for the reconditioned camera coming to $1220.

Since that’s pretty close to the cost of a new camera, I would probably just buy a new one and make sure I get an extended warranty that covers any sorts of damage. For now, I no longer own the camera.

I would still probably recommend the camera but I think one has to look more closely at the X100F since used prices for that camera are so good.

PROS:

The great design I praised in the last camera has been improved on a bit. I never noticed it until I got the X100V, but the X100F's from faux leather is different heights on either side of the lens. As nice as I thought hat camera looked, once I noticed it, it was hard to not think of it as very ugly compared to the V. They also redid the ISO dial, making it much easier to use that to change ISO, and they moved the drive button which is great because I hit that accidentally all the time.

Performance is even better than what it was with the X100F and is another step up in the APS-C realm. High ISO on the 26-megapixel sensors seems ever so slightly better than on the 24-megapixel sensors, and highlights are easier to bring down. It's not as good as my A7III for really high ISO stuff but it's just fine in most instances.

Remember what I said about the lens being not good wide open or up close? Well, the redesigned the lens and it's very good both wide open and up close. It seems sharper overall, which helps show more resolution with the 26-megapixel sensor. It seems like a higher megapixel increase than just two because of that.

The autofocus speed doesn't seem much different, but it's far more reliable. This is especially noticeable when using eye detect or focusing in low light.

The battery life improved a little bit. This feels more in line with the old Sony cameras in terms of drain, which I can more than live with.

It's finally weather sealed (when you add the filter adapter and a filter). [Ehhh...maybe not!]

CONS:

They really should include the filter adapter and filter. Not doing that feels kinda cheap when you advertise this as weather sealed.

They also no longer include a charger. I hate when companies do this (Sony also did this with their A7III, which feels cheap).

The camera still uses a non-standard way of measuring ISO that isn't in line with any other camera manufacture. This means Fuji images look great at ISO 6400, but you'll need a low shutter speed than you would with a Sony camera at IS0 6400 to get the same exposure.

All in all this camera feels like a huge leap over the X100F, a camera which I had sort of a love-hate relationship with. Ok, love-hate is maybe harsh; it was more love-don'treallylove. Whereas with the F, there were ways that my other cameras were much better, the gap between the cameras has closed significantly to the point where I could theoretically just use this and be fine in most situations.

This review got deleted but I saved the text. I had sample photos up which I will maybe add back at a later date. Pro-Tip: Don’t edit posts on the Tumblr app. Even just changing the tags erased the whole damn thing.

SAMPLE PHOTOS:

ISO 8000 | f/2 | 1/30 sec. | JPEG - Velvia Film Simulation

ISO 160 | f/5.6 | 1/30 sec | JPEG - Classic Chrome Film Simulation

ISO 3200 | f/2.8 | 1/125 sec | JPEG - Classic Chrome Film Simulation

ISO 160 | f/4 | 1/400 sec. | JPEG - Velvia Film Simulation

ISO 8000 | f/2 | 1/60 sec. | JPEG - Provia Film Simulation

ISO 8000 | f/8 | 1/160 sec. | JPEG - Classic Chrome

#Fuji #X100V #Cameras #Informal Reviews of Cameras

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itoldhimtobeatitbozo · 4 years

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Ok I’m here to vent and complain.

I saw my ex last night for the first time since our breakup in november. We did the whole catch up and try and make it less weird and holy shit, I fucking need to learn how to say no... what the fuck...

So I went to his house, gave him some things of his and we chatted for a bit. Then, he mentions this box he got in the mail from his ex step-dad that’s filled with pictures of him and his mom and sister from childhood. His mom passed away when he was in high school and he doesn’t really have family in the US besides his sister so these photos were a Big Deal™️. He explains to me how he kind of had a break down when he got them in December and hasn’t been able to go through them. He then proceeds to open the fucking box and me being me, I gush over the few baby pics he shows me.

Quickly this turns into him taking more out of the box and now, yup, here we are, emptying the whole emotional thing. I interject a couple times asking if he’d rather do this alone to which he replies no. I’m suddenly going through piles of pictures and picking out the ones I know he’d wanna see of his mom, or baby him, or pictures of his cat as a kitten... it sucks cause I know what would be important to him, I am definitely a person that can help him get through this thing. But god dammit am I the right person to help him get through this thing?

So now I’ve been at his house for three hours, we finish up the box and repack it up... and he just kinda shuffles me out. “You ready?” He says... I just laughed and cried over your family’s heartbreak for a couple hours... but yeah I’m ready... I give him a hug as I leave and I start to cry cause damn this is hard. It felt so nice to be connected like that again but I know it can’t be like that anymore. I just tell him I care about him and if he needs anything to let me know.

I leave and this man sends me a message that in meaning said “Well, goodbye forever now. If you ever need me I’ll be there.” Like shit ok. I didn’t know that’s what was happening. But yeah, glad you got your last use out of me before we parted ways forever.

Why can’t I see this this man obviously does not care about me? Or why do I not care? Why do I know if I went and redid our meeting today, I’d still go through that fucking box again? Am I that self destructive? Or am I just fucking weak and still in love with someone who never loved me?

God I have so much more to vent but dammit I don’t even have the energy...

#me #breakup #heartbreak #vent

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cassiopeiassky · 5 years

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Travelling Soldier (I Cried)

So once upon a time I wrote this songfic called Travelling Soldier, based on the Dixie Chicks’ song, because it was quite literally blocking my brain from continuing WEMtbB. It was, I think, the second, maybe third fic I ever wrote way back in 2016. Just to get it out of my brain and free up bandwidth, I wrote in one night and posted it, and I’ve pretty much hated it ever since. I took it down, but it still pops up in my notifications from time to time and I cringe every. damn. time.

So I redid it! Was it blocking me again? Why yes. Yes it was, and I’m infinitely happier with this version. I filled it out, gave it more depth (I hope) and did some research. It still isn’t 100% historically accurate, but the song wasn’t either and so I had to kinda make peace with the inaccuracies.

Bucky x reader

Word count: 5353

Warnings: Angst, mentions of war, Vietnam war, character death.

Sunday, March 12, 1967

It was a normal Sunday morning at the café; the first morning rush is done, and now there should be a lull until the after-church crowd hits at half past eleven. After straightening the ribbon serving as a headband and making sure the bow is on top, you deftly collect your tip and wipe down the last table so you can refill the salt shakers. If you’re lucky, you should be able to get an hour or so of studying done before it picks up again. Tim, the café’s owner and cook, is more than happy to let you study while it’s slow as long as you’re prepared for the busy times. Junior year of high school is no joke, especially when you’re taking Honors level classes.

Closing your American History textbook at exactly 10:45, you look through the big plate glass window to see a young man waiting at the bus stop across the street. He’s in his army greens; he strikes a handsome figure, but he looks a little unsure. It’s no wonder, you think to yourself, this war is awful and feels like it’s been going on forever. There have been so many soldiers leaving but not nearly enough coming home.

You thank God every night for the fact that you don’t have any brothers. Your daddy served in WWII; you’ve heard the stories. He’d wanted a son, but now he’s just as grateful as you that he never got one.

You try to distract yourself from your thoughts by humming a tune as you pack up your books. After returning your backpack to the back room you straighten your bow once again – the silly thing keeps sliding down – and check to see that your apron is on straight before heading back out to the dining area.

Someone has taken a seat in the window booth of your section; the one that you were seated at just a few minutes ago. “Hi, welcome! May I take your order?” You don’t notice until you’re standing next to the table that it’s the young man you’d seen waiting across the street.

Seated now in front of you is the most beautiful boy you’ve ever seen, with striking blue-grey eyes, brunette hair, and a sweetly shy smile that you can’t help but think would be devastating under better circumstances.

“Hello, miss,” his voice is quiet but even as he removes his hat and places it neatly on the table. “Just a coffee, please.”

“Sure thing, I’ll have it right out.” You nod as you head over to the beverage station and return shortly with a cup, a carafe of freshly brewed coffee, sugar, and cream. You bite your lip, trying to find a reason to stay in the presence of the boy with the enchanting smile for just a few seconds longer. “Is there anything else I can get for you, sir?” He doesn’t seem a while lot older than you, but he’s old enough to be a soldier so you treat him with the respect you feel he deserves.

“Oh no, miss, you don’t have to call me ‘sir,’” he shakes his head slightly and looks down as a blush dusts his cheeks; if you hadn’t already been entranced you would be now. “My name is James, but my friends call me Bucky.”

“Well, then you don’t have to call me ‘miss.’” You give him your name as his shy smile transforms into a brilliant grin. “It’s very nice to meet you, Bucky.”

“That’s a real pretty name,” he murmurs before taking a deep breath. “I know it’s not in your job description, but would you mind sitting down for a while and talking to me? I’m feeling a little low,” he confesses. “I’m early – my bus won’t be here for a few more hours – and, well, I guess I’d rather spend my time talking to someone like you than thinking about where I’m headed.”

How could you say no? There’s just something about him.

“I’m off in an hour and I know where we can go,” you reply brightly, almost not believing that someone as handsome as him would take an interest in a bookish person like yourself.

But Bucky nods, flashing you a lopsided grin, “I’ll be waiting right here for you.”

The minutes drag by, and you find yourself looking over at his table without even meaning to. He’s caught you a few times, and you’ve caught him stealing glances as well; eventually the two of you are gazing at each other like idiots from across the room.

“Honey, ain’t you a little young for him?” Tim leans across the counter as he grins at you. He’s a kind man in his late 60s, with a shock of unruly white hair and a deeply lined face etched from decades of joy and sadness. He and his wife, Esmeralda, hadn’t been able to have kids so they tend to more or less adopt the people that come to work for them; he’s practically a grandfather to you.

“Oh, leave her alone, Tim,” Esmeralda pats your cheek with a grandmotherly affection, “That boy looks like he must have lied on his enlistment form, cause he sure doesn’t look like he’s even graduated high school yet.” She turns to you and whispers with a wink, “He’s cute, and he’s clearly taken a liking to you. Make sure you find out where he’s headed so you can send him some letters.”

Caught somewhere between mortified and encouraged, you just nod.

Esmeralda laughs as she shakes her head, “Just head on out, honey. You’ve only got 10 minutes left anyway so I’ll finish up your last table.”

Well, she certainly doesn’t have to tell you twice. “Thanks Esmeralda!” You give her a quick squeeze and speed walk into the back room.

“Deep breath, deep breath,” you mutter while absolutely not following your own advice. What are you doing? You are technically allowed to date but is a soldier really the best idea? This war has taken so much and there’s no end in sight – and good heavens your daddy would be so upset – but there’s something about him that won’t let you go. “Oh, for crying out loud, he asked for some company, not your hand in marriage. Get a grip on yourself.” This time you more or less listen to your instructions, but you figure it still doesn’t hurt to look your best so you redo your ribbon, secure the bow on top, and remove your apron before swiping on a bit of lip balm. It feels like it took forever, but you can finally retrace the steps back to his table.

He’s already standing as he watches as you approach, his smile getting wider the closer you get.

“Are you ready, Bucky?”

“I sure am.” He holds out his arm for you to take – internally you’re screaming about what a handsome gentleman he is, but outwardly you’re mostly calmly as you link yours with his. It feels right.

Twenty minutes later, the two of you are sitting at the edge of the pier with your feet dangling above the water.

“What school do you go to?” Bucky squints into the sunlight as he lets his head fall back.

Trying not to be obvious, you watch him out of the corner of your eye. He seems a bit more comfortable now, and God, the lights in the café hadn’t done him justice. He’s beautiful. “I’m a Junior at Southside.”

He laughs unexpectedly. “Ah, so you’re a Tiger!”

“You know our mascot?”

He grins mischievously, “Only cause I was an Eagle.”

“You went to Baxton Hall?” The crosstown rivalries between the two schools is well known in your area – it makes for some really charged football games and some really bizarre pranks.

“Sure did.”

Taking a deep, dramatic breath as you clutch at your pretend pearls, you giggle, “Oh no, I hope no one sees me fraternizing with the enemy!”

He plays along with sparkling eyes, “Well if I had known you were there, I would have willingly defected.”

You duck your head as the heat rises to your face as you wish fervently for words to come. Why can’t you flirt? Why are you so bad at this?

Bucky seems to sense your sudden shyness because he slightly changes the direction of the conversation as he leans toward you. “You’re real easy to talk to.” He looks down and studies his hands in his lap. “It only would have been for a couple of years, but it would have been nice.”

There’s a sadness in his voice that overrules your bashfulness. “Didn’t you have a lot of friends at Baxton?” He definitely would have been one of the most popular boys at your school.

“Not really, no. Just a few. Most of the people in my class didn’t want to sit with the kid that was orphaned at 8 years old – they never knew what to say.” Your heart clenches at his words but he perks up, “But I did have Stevie. He and his ma took me in; they became my family. But then Stevie got sick a couple years ago and didn’t survive the winter, and Sarah didn’t survive losing him. She passed last summer. She said I made her proud, though. Said I was the first in her family to graduate high school, and she was even prouder that I did it a year early.”

“You graduated at seventeen?”

“Mmm hmm.” He smiles and nods. “Wanna know a secret?”

“Sure.”

“It was my birthday 2 days ago.”

“Really? Well happy birthday!” It’s so unlike you but you spontaneously pull him into a quick hug, nearly spilling the both of you into the water below. “You should have said something at the café, I would have gotten you a piece of pie!”

He laughs, and you wonder how someone like him happened to walk into your life. Then reality sits on your bubble, and you remember why he was waiting at that bus stop. “I wish you weren’t leaving.” The words, so forward and honest, leave your lips but when you see the hopeful look on his face you can’t find it in yourself to regret them.

“I don’t want to go,” Bucky confesses. “It was never my dream or anything, it’s just something I gotta do. For Stevie. He wanted so badly to fight for his country.” He swallows hard at the memory. “So when I realized that he was never gonna get to live his dream, I promised him I’d do it for him. I sent in my enlistment forms as early as I could, and now that I’m eighteen I can start making good on that promise.”

“You’re a good man, Bucky Barnes.”

He shrugs bashfully. “I’m trying.”

“You are.” The truth of your statement rings in your bones. You might not be able to flirt to save your life, but you’re an excellent judge of character.

He grins at you and you beam right back at him, and even though you’re young and inexperienced, you’re pretty sure the overwhelming feeling you have right now is love.

“So what do you do for fun?”

The conversation turns lighter as you tell him of your passions. He learns that you play the piccolo in the marching band, that you volunteer at the local pet clinic, and that you hope to go to college after high school. You aren’t completely sure what you want to do yet, but you do know that you don’t want to be a housewife like your momma. She’s amazing and quite honestly your hero, but she sometimes talks about how she’d wanted to become a biologist. It was a different time, though, and she had felt that the world wouldn’t allow her to follow that dream as well as the dream of having and raising a family. She chose family, but she encourages you to not settle with having to choose.

“Your ma sounds amazing.” Bucky sends a wink your way that makes your tummy flip, “That must be where you get it from.”

Thirsty for more knowledge about him, you begin peppering him with questions and learn that he loves boxing, math, and astronomy, and that he hopes that the army will eventually allow him to work within their technology development divisions. His already bright eyes light up even more as he tells you about how badly he wants to go to the moon. “You know it’s gonna happen soon! They’re gonna do it, and I hope one day I’ll be able to do it, too.”

This makes you both look up into the sky, searching for a moon that isn’t visible.

“Few more days and we’d be able to see it.” His voice is quiet, almost reverent.

“See what?”

“Yesterday was the new moon. During the first and last quarter of the moon phase you can see the moon during the day cause it is has the right positioning and isn’t too close to the sun.”

“You are so smart.” It’s hard not to stare at him, especially with the blush that’s returned to his cheeks.

“Hey,” he begins, suddenly turning shy again. “I bet you got a boyfriend, but I don’t care. I’ve got no one to send a letter to – would you mind if I sent one back here to you?”

You can’t help but smile broadly. “Bucky, I don’t have a boyfriend – my parents said that I couldn’t date until I turned seventeen, and that just happened last month.” Flashing a self deprecating smile, you continue, “It’s not like I’ve got a line of suitors banging at my door. I’m kind of a nerd.”

“Well,” Bucky begins, “their loss. If I’d met you earlier, I would’ve asked you out the morning of your birthday. A sweet, pretty girl like you should have a boyfriend, one that treats her right. If you don’t mind waiting for me, I’d love the chance to be yours.”

“Well Bucky, I think I’d love that, too,” your voice sounds much calmer than you feel as he leans in to seal the deal with a gentle kiss; your first kiss.

It’s slow and fast all at once, and when he pulls away he’s wide eyed, almost like he can’t believe he just did that. “Was…was that okay?”

“Mmm hmm,” you nod, maybe a little more enthusiastic than strictly necessary, and you feel the ribbon in your hair start to slide out of place. It gives you an idea. “Here,” you pull the ribbon completely out and untie the bow. “Give me your hand.” He does as you ask, and you gently loop it around his right wrist before tying another bow. “There. Now you’ll have something to remind you of me.”

Bucky stares at you with an astonished smile. “As if I could ever forget you.”

* * *

You begin to miss him before he even gets on the bus that will take him to Fort Irwin in California, but you receive the first letter in just six days, dated the day he left.

March 12, 1967,

Hello Beautiful,

I’m not even three two hours away and I had to start writing to you. I can’t get you out of my mind, and I think that’s okay. I don’t want to be too forward here, but I really you felt like home, almost like I’ve known you for my entire life. I haven’t felt that in a long time. Like I said, you’re real easy to talk to and that’s a special trait. I hope you’re doing okay, and you’ll probably get this too late but good luck on your history test on Friday. I’ll write again soon.

Yours,

Bucky

March 19, 1967,

Dear Bucky,

I passed aced it! I was worried I wouldn’t, but I did! I have a science test coming up in a few days, but I’m not worried about it because it’s about the moon and the solar system. I’ve been spending a lot of my free time reading about the moon because it reminds me of you, so I’m probably definitely more prepared than I’ve ever been for a test. And I saw it just a few days ago during the day, just like you said I would! I’d say that it made me wish you were here, but I wish that anyway. I don’t know how you did it in such a short time, but you sure got under my skin, Bucky Barnes. I hope basic is going alright for you! I’ll write again in a few days.

Forever yours,

You bite your lip as you contemplate your reply to Bucky. Is it too much? Too honest? Maybe you should take the ‘Forever’ out? Maybe you shouldn’t be so cheeky, maybe you should actually sign your name? But then you reread his letter, and like it has the first 20 times you’ve read it, your heart skips a beat at the greeting.

Before you can second guess yourself any more than you already have, you fold the letter, stuff it in the envelope, and seal it. It goes out with the morning mail.

The letters come twice a week, at least. Bucky tells you about his training – he did just fine in basic, and now he’s excelling in his advanced individual training; it’s hard, but his love of boxing gave him a significant physical advantage over most of the other men he was training with. That makes you proud, but your favorite parts of his letters are when he opens up his heart to you. He tells you about Stevie, and about Sarah. Sometimes you laugh out loud, sometimes you cry for him. He tells you about his fears – things aren’t going well overseas, and one of his biggest worries is that he’ll let his unit down. Eight weeks in, he tells you about his mom and dad. He shares how he felt when they died, how hard it was to move forward, and how scary it was. But then his words gain a hopeful note when he repeats, once again, how he found another family in the Rogers’, and now in you.

Of course, he tells you about the moon. Every time he learns something new or hears something about the progress in getting to the moon, he writes it down and sends it to you. You can practically hear the enthusiasm in his voice when you read the words, and that’s why you read them over and over again, and also why you’ve started collecting newspaper clippings on the subject. You send a few in your letters to him, but you save most of them so you can put them in a photo album and give them to him when he returns.

You eagerly respond to every letter, usually on the day you receive them. The words you write tell him how proud you are of his accomplishments and how much you miss him. He won’t let his unit down – you know this deep down in your bones, and you tell him so. Every Sunday you walk across town to the cemetery holding Stevie’s and Sarah’s graves and spend an hour or so reading his letters to them. You were worried when you told him this that he would think you were silly or even crazy, but when you received his reply it was obvious that you had nothing to worry about.

June 18, 1967

Hello Beauti my beautiful girl,

I’m about to start my last two weeks of AIT, so this might be the last letter you receive from me until after I get overseas. Our superiors are getting more and more strict – they’re doing their best to prepare us. I’ll still think of you every day, even if I can’t write. You’re always on my mind, even when you’re not supposed to be.

Thank you for visiting Stevie and Sarah for me. When I read your last letter and you said you were doing that, I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. You are the sweetest girl I ever met and I thank God every day that he gave me the idea to get coffee while I waited for the bus. Stevie’s birthday is on the 4th of July – if you could just tell him I said hi and happy birthday on your next visit, I’d really like that. Who am I kidding, of course you will. Beautiful, you’re practically an angel.

I ship out for Vietnam the first week of July. I’m a little worried scared honestly I’m terrified that I’m not coming back, but I want you to know that I’m gonna do everything I can to come home to you. When I left it was for Stevie, and besides, I thought I didn’t have anything to stay for anyway. But then I met you. We have a deal, Beautiful, and I plan to honor that deal. Besides, I need to get this ribbon back to you – I keep it in my pocket but I can’t wait to see it in your pretty hair again. Just keep waiting for me, okay? I promise I’ll get to you as soon as I can.

I love you.

I hope it’s okay that I wrote that, but it’s true so I’m not sorry.

I love you.

Yours forever,

Bucky

Your hands shake when you read, reread, and read the letter again.

“Honey? You planning on taking these plates to that table over there or are they gonna walk themselves?” Considering the amount of exasperation in his voice, Tim has obviously been trying to get your attention for a while.

“What? Oh! I’m sorry, I’ll bring them right over!” Pocketing the letter before picking up the two breakfast platters, the syrup selection, and the extra butter they had requested, you serve the table that has been so patiently waiting. After making sure they have everything they need, you practically run back to the kitchen. “Esmeralda, is it okay if I take my 15 now? I have a letter I’d like to write before the postman gets here.”

She flashes a knowing smile. “Better get writing, he’ll be here shortly.”

“Thank you!” you yell over your shoulder as you pick up your book bag and head out the back door. Taking a seat at the picnic table next to where the employees park, you whip out your notebook.

June 24, 1967

My dearest Bucky,

Of course it Bucky I love you, too! And I am so proud of you! There’s so much more I want to say, but I want this letter to get to you before you ship out so I’ll save it for my next letter when I have more time.

Bucky Barnes, you better believe I’m waiting for you. I’m never gonna hold the hand of another guy. I think You’re it for me.

Love,

***

Summer 1967

You still write a few times a week, but his letters start coming few and far between. It isn’t because he’s changed his mind about you – you know better than to allow your darkest doubts to even whisper that – it’s because he’s stationed at the front line. You’ve seen the news, and your heart jumps into your throat every time you hear of casualties from your state. There’s more than you’d like to acknowledge, and so you pray every night for his safety. He might be halfway across the world from you, but Bucky is never too far from your thoughts.

***

August 8, 1967

Hello my sweet, beautiful girl,

God, I miss you so much. Thank you for the cookies and the picture – the guys are so jealous, they say my girl sure is pretty and they can’t believe how well you bake. And THANK YOU for the newspaper clipping about the moon launch progress!! I’m telling you, it’s going to happen soon!

Beautiful, I want you to know that I think about you all the time. In fact, thoughts of you are what get me through this daily hell. When it’s getting kinda rough over here, I think of that day sitting down at the pier and I close my eyes, and see your pretty smile. And then, for a while, everything is better. And now I have your picture, so can I have you over my heart (in my pocket).

Don’t worry, but I won’t be able to write for awhile.

I love you.

Yours forever,

Bucky

***

September 1967

School is back in session, and you’re grateful for the distraction. You haven’t heard from Bucky in over a month and despite the assurances in his last letter, you’re worried. You read and reread his letters to you; you even bring them with you to school, tucking them into a pocket of your backpack so you can have them close.

Friday night is the Homecoming game, and you’re scheduled to play in the pep band during the football game; it’s a tradition that all Seniors play. You’re excited for it – it’s always so much fun and the team is really good this year. You dress in your school colors – an orange sweater with a black skirt and the orange knee socks that you’ve worn to every football game since you were a Freshman. It doesn’t match your outfit at all, but you tie your hair back in a ribbon that’s the same color as Bucky’s eyes, grab your piccolo, kiss your parents goodbye, and head out the door.

The energy in the stadium is electric – your team is playing your crosstown rival.

Bucky’s school.

It’s a bittersweet comfort; somehow it makes it feel like he’s here with you, but it also makes you miss him more. His absence is an ache deep in your bones.

For now, though, the game is about to start. The players are warmed up, the cheerleaders are ready, the Lord’s Prayer said and the Anthem sang, when the announcer unexpectedly breaks in. “Folks, would you bow your heads for a list of local Vietnam dead.”

Your heart in your throat, you have no choice but to listen.

“Zachary Martin Anderson.”

A few people in the band start whispering, and the boy in front of you hangs his head. You knew of Zach – he was a nice boy that graduated from your school last year.

“Jonathan Jeffery Andrews.”

Blinking back tears, you hear more murmurs. You knew Jon, too – he used to carry your momma’s groceries for her that time she broke her ankle.

“Daniel Ethan Ball.”

This isn’t a familiar name to you, but it doesn’t matter. It’s heavy on your heart anyway.

Feeling infinitely guilty, you begin whispering, “Please, please be done with the Bs…”

“James Buchanan Barnes.”

No.

“What…what name did he just read?” No one answers you; the announcer isn’t done with the list yet.

It doesn’t matter. You know what you heard.

The blood rushes into your ears and it becomes hard to breath…there’s no air here…no air at all. A few minutes later the band begins playing and you don’t even recognize the song. What are you doing here? God, it hurts so bad it hurts and you can’t breathe. You throw down your piccolo with a strangled cry, hitting the boy next to you but you don’t care. You vaguely register hearing your band director yelling your name, but you ignore him - you probably couldn’t have coherently answered if you’d tried. Running out of the band section, you blindly push through the crowds of students without knowing where you’re going until you get there.

Finally alone under the stands, the sobs start coming hard and fast. The football game begins, and for the life of you, you can’t understand how they can play. How can they play a game when so many people died?

When Bucky died?

It occurs to you that this has happened so often that by now people have grown numb unless it’s one of their own.

Now one of yours.

He was supposed to be yours forever. He’d promised. You had a deal.

But he’s gone.

Gone.

You’ll never get to hold his hand.

You’ll never get to do anything the two of you had planned, had dreamed.

It breaks you, grinds you into the dirt you’ve crumbled down upon. Your screams blend in with the cheers. Your sobs blend in with the chants. Your heartbroken wails blend in with the music as the band plays.

When you cry into the quiet, a shiver runs up your spine. The temperature has dropped and it’s a little damp. Your feet are cold, but it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters, not really. It takes a few minutes for you to realize that the game is over, and probably has been for a while; the stands are deserted. With your heart shattered into millions of sharp, tiny pieces, you finally pick yourself up off the ground and head home.

The kitchen light is on. You’re past curfew.

You can’t make yourself care.

When you step into the kitchen there’s no chastising, no lecturing about responsibility. Instead, your momma rises from the table to wrap you in her fluffy, pink robed arms as your daddy watches you with wet cheeks.

Wet cheeks? On your daddy? You’ve never seen him cry before.

This realization has a lot less impact than it should.

“Baby? Your, uh, the boy you told us about? Your soldier?” Her voice is calm and soothing, but you hear her concern in it. Over her shoulder you can see the Western Union slip clutched in your daddy’s hand.

“He, um –“

“I know, Momma.” The tears start anew, although you’d have sworn there weren’t any left. A second set of arms comes around you – your daddy. It’s like they’re trying to hold you together and although you appreciate their care – you do – it just isn’t enough.

The truth of the matter is that you’ll never be whole again.

Your momma, upon seeing how happy you were, how much you’d glow when you received a letter from Bucky, had been supportive of your choice. Your daddy, the decorated WWII veteran, was another story. This exact situation is the reason why. There are tears in his voice when he finally speaks, “I’m so sorry, baby. I never wanted you to know what this feels like.”

They eventually lead you to sit at the kitchen table, and while your momma goes to make you a cup of tea, your daddy kneels in front of you and takes your hands into his.

“He must have really loved you, baby. You’re listed as his next of kin.”

The tears start again, harder this time.

He waits until the worst is over before continuing, “The telegram came a couple of hours ago. We went to the game to try to find you, but no one knew where you were. Your band director said you ran off during the announcement. Since we couldn’t find you, we just came home to wait.” His eyes get watery; your daddy’s proud, strong eyes have tears in them. “I hope it’s okay, I made some calls to get more details so you wouldn’t have to wait for the formal condolence letter. James, uh,” your daddy stops to rub his eyes, “James was a hell of a soldier. He died saving the life of the soldier he was patrolling with.”

A minuscule smile finds its way to your lips. “That sounds like something Bucky would do.”

Your daddy nods. “I should have known you’d pick a good one.” He swallows hard. “James’ – I mean Bucky’s unit was able to recover his body. They’ll send him back so he can be laid to rest here.”

“Thank you, Daddy.”

Your sore, swollen eyes turn to the slip of paper on the table. You don’t need to read it to know what it says, but you do anyway. Skimming past the “regret to inform you” and the “deepest sympathies,” you get to the line that matters.

“The soldier’s coming home.”

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#bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes imagine #my work #travelling soldier (i cried)#i'm actually super relieved to get this out #i wish i could bleach the other version out of existance

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