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thecorteztwins · 4 years

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No Acolytes in this little fanfiction, just two squads of some of my favorite Marvel mercs---Force of Nature and the Serpent Society! With some Mindmeld and the Shaws at the end!

When the wealthy eco-terrorists that called themselves “Project Earth” had needed some super-powered muscle, they had hired four individuals that they had deemed “Force of Nature” for their elemental powers. Though Project Earth had disbanded, Force of Nature had kept their name, since it was now a known one. Not widely known, but better than any of them had done as indivuduals, and that meant brand recognition, which meant being hired for more jobs. Environmentalists in particular tended to choose them due to their past with the aforementioned Project Earth, though most green freaks didn’t have that kind of cash so they ended up with a lot of less noble merc jobs. Today though, their target was indeed one that their original employers would have loved to see taken down---the Roxxon Energy Corporation. The task was simple---get inside, get deep into the most highly secure area, and wreck everything. They had succeeded in this---but, to their surprise, they were not the only ones. ”Who’re YOU?!” demanded a huge hulking blonde woman as the quartet burst in. She was part of a larger group of people, and judging by their costumes---not to mention two of the men appearing to be part snake---she and her gang weren’t Roxxon employees any more than Force of Nature was. ”I could ask YOU the same question,” retorted Skybreaker/Aireo, a miniature whirlwind forming around on of fists. The woman’s biceps were probably thicker than his entire body, but he was not at all deterred. ”Who cares who they are?!” said one of the men in the blonde woman’s group, a sturdy fellow with light brown skin, the only one of them bigger than she was, ”They’re witnesses or they’re competition---either way, let’s get rid of ‘em!” With that, the man began to increase dramatically in size, his already huge frame getting even bigger. ”Good idea, Puffy!” said the blonde woman, and came swinging at the elemental---swinging with arms that were suddenly twice the length they had been before. ”Now wait just a---” an Egyptian woman in a white dress began, before being knocked off her feet by a gust from Skybreaker, who was airborne now, while Terraformer had taken on his tree shape to grapple with the blonde and the giant man was being kept at bay by flame blasts from Firewall. ”Hang on, I think I know these mooks,” said Aqueduct, who had been in the supervillain business longer than any of his teammates, “The Serpent Society!” The Serpent Society was the kind of mercenary guild you wanted to get in on, big time. They had insurance, benefits, all that kind of stuff, just like a real job. Hell, their package was actually a lot BETTER than most “real” jobs! It was a level of legitimate-like professionalism that was unheard of in the underworld; even organized crime like the Maggia didn’t typically offer that kind of gig. Unfortunately, you had to have a snake name to join up...maybe he should start calling himself Water Moccasin? ”That’s us,” confirmed an attractive woman with long black hair as she snuck up behind him, “And if you know that---you know you’re finished!” Aqueduct turned to attack, only to find himself face to face not with Black Mamba, the succubus-like member of the Serpent Society, but one of her life-sapping love phantoms----which he currently saw, as anyone would who it was targeted at, as looking like the woman of his dreams, a perfect composite of his every sexual fantasy put together in one flawless and nude form. A form that fell upon in a full lip-lock, which he surrendered to helplessly. “Be glad I’m the one that got you, lover boy,” said the love phantom’s mistress as she looked down at where he lay, submitting to his fate, “You’re going to go out with the GOOD kind of bang.” “Release him from your shadows, harlot!” Skybreaker shrieked, using his winds to scoop Black Mamba up into the air, levitating her high above the floor. “Or what, you’ll drop me?” mocked Black Mamba, though in truth she didn’t like the idea. “No---I shall roast you!” Firewall threatened, flying up beside her, her entire body ablaze. “Fine!” Black Mamba said, and the love phantom vanished, leaving a very confused and rather disappointed Aqueduct looking around in a dazed manner. He sat up and blinked at the closest person to him, the Egyptian woman in the white dress. In her daily life, she was Cleo. As a supervillain, she was The Asp. But he knew her by another name,... “Hey, aren’t you The Temptress?” The second it left his lips, he was sorry he had let it out. Now he was hoping that she WASN’T, and would have no idea to what he was referring. Alas, she was, and she did, and she looked down her beautiful nose at him, “You remember me. But I do not recall you. Which means you must not have been a good tipper. So I shall feel no guilt in doing THIS!” And she hurled a venom blast at him, hitting him square in the chest and knocking him out once again. As for Black Mamba, Skybreaker had dropped her anyway, but she had been caught mid-fall by the extendable and strong arms of Anaconda, aka the huge blonde woman. One of her arms, anyway. The other had shot out even farther to grab Skybreaker by his lengthy ponytail, as she growl-shouted up at him, ”Cut yer hair, ya hippie!” He shrieked in hopes that Firewall would help him, but she was distracted by another Serpent, the silent and scale-covered assassin of the team, boasting a spike-studded casing for his tail and titanium talons on his gloves that were filled with snake venom. Her flames allowed her to keep him at a distances, but she couldn’t be too liberal with them lest she hit her teammates, especially Terraformer the living tree, and Death Adder’s enhanced speed and agility made it easy for him to keep dodging her fireballs. Her best bet was to keep her entire body ablaze to keep him from touching her, while keeping him distracted from her more vulnerable teammates, which was what she was doing. But she spared a jet of flame for Aireo’s sake, causing Anaconda to drop him. Then she turned her attention back to Death Adder, hoping to finish him once and for all, -”A pity. I like you far better than your comrades---for you do not speak.” With that, she sent a wave of flame to engulf him---only to have him be snagged away by the long arm of Anacondna. Roland had died before, she wasn’t letting that happen again. ”You’re a real chatterbox yourself, Mabel!” she quipped, using the default name she applied to any woman she didn’t know. “What did you call me, you swine?!” Not being American, Firewall thought that “Mabel” must be an insult. And likewise, Anaconda thought Firewall was insulting her looks, when in fact she tended to call ALL Americans some variant of swine or pig. She seemed to like them about as much as Aireo liked humans in general. The two women abandoned their former opponents and began trying to get at each other. Speaking of Aireo, he was back in the fray, attacking one of the Serpents who had been trying to slash through Terraformer with the two huge blades strapped to his forearms. Like Death Adder, he was one of the more inhuman looking ones (though Skybreaker would of course not use that term in such a way) as from the waist down he was an enormous green snake. And like a snake trying to get at a bird, he tried to strike at Skybreaker as he flitted around him, distracting him from hurting Terraformer further while the tree elemental continued tussling with the giant-size Puff Adder. ”Get away from him!” the Inhuman commanded, trying to blow the snake-man back, but his naga-like lower half proved too heavy, giving him the opportunity to dig his arm-blades into Terraformer’s....not flesh, but bark...and take hold there. ”Monster!” Skybreaker cried in outrage as his teammate did the same in pain. This seemed to phase his opponent considerably, as the man suddenly looked upset, ”Who are you to call me a monster?!” “Among my people, I was Aireo. In the human world, I am Skybreaker. But to you---I shall be MASTER!” ”There’s only one master here,” the snake-man retorted, “And it’s me---Bushmaster! And I’m as human as you!” This was the wrong thing to say to Skybreaker, who let loose a whole new torrent that sent Bushmaster flying--along with a few chunks of Terraformer---backwards into the nearest wall. ”Human?! HUMAN?! You dare call me HUMAN?! Did you not HEAR what I just said?! I am no human---I am INHUMAN! I come from ATTILAN! And while it is a regressive place in need of reform--which I was cast out for trying to give it---it is still a superior world to yours, human man!” Bushmaster actually hadn’t been able to hear half of what Aireo had said over his winds, but he looked surprised at this last bit, and even...touched? ”You...think I’m human?” Aireo descended to stand before him, his thin arms cross over his thin chest, scoffing, ”Most likely; they’re a common breed with many variants. But if you’re NOT? Take it as a source of pride. I do.” Meanwhile, Death Adder was silently slipping up to the prone Aqueduct, who was still down from The Asps’s blast. But then Terraformer, seeing this, defended his teammate by at last letting the gargantuan Puff Adder slam him to the side---right into Death Adder, who went hurling out of the way to avoid being crushed, causing him to crash into The Asp, who reflexively venom-blasted him by accident, taking her own teammate down. ”Enough!” she decreed, striking one bare foot with elegant force against the floor, “Does anyone here even know WHY we are at each other’s throats?!” ”She’s got a point,” said Black Mamba, “Guys, cool it. You four---I’m willing to stop fighting for a minute if you are. At least til we figure out if we SHOULD be.” Firewall and Skybreaker objected, but cooler heads prevailed---Aqueduct, getting back to his feet, agreed it was a good idea, and Terraformer corralled his more tempermental teammates with his branches. Firewall of course could have burned through them, through him, but she would not do that to him. He was the most gentle and inoffensive of them, even from her easily-angered perspective. “Okay the,” Black Mamba said, taking the lead from Asp, “The hell are YOU here for?” “You first,” said Aqueduct, figuring it’d be best if he did the talking for his respective team. For different reasons, none of them were what you’d call good negotiators---and really, neither was he, for the reason that he was none too bright, but at least he probably wouldn’t set things off again.

“Serpent Crown,” Black Mamba explained, “Roxxon’s been after it a long time. In fact, their Mutagenics Division gave all of us except Puff Adder and Asp here our powers, all in order to recover it. And they finally got their hands on it...but we’ve long moved on to new employers. One who’d like it for themselves. You?” “Roxxon Energy Company used to be Roxxon Oil, and really, they still are,” Skybreaker interrupted, “And like all oil companies, they are ecological monsters. They have damaged countless---” “So there’s no conflict then,” Black Mamba cut him off, “We want the crown. You want to wreck the place, I’m guessing, maybe make an example of some people. We’ve got no beef with that. And I’m sure YOU don’t want these “ecological monsters” having an object of power like THAT.” Force of Nature looked at each other, and Aqueduct finally said, “Well...no. I mean, maybe OUR employers would like it too---but they didn’t say so, so their loss!” He’d added that last part quickly when he’d seen the Serpents tensing to fight again at the very idea he might be thinking of taking their prize. “I don’t think ANY human should have it,” said Aireo, “But since they’re all the same, it doesn’t matter to me if it changes hands from Roxxon to another.” “Any corporation shall use it for gain without a thought of what damage it causes,” said Firewall, the flames around her still crackling. “But Roxxon pollutes even more than most corporations,” Terraformer pointed out. “So uh, I guess what my crew is saying is, it comes down to who you’re giving it to,” said Aqueduct, a little uneasily, not actually caring himself and knowing already that this would not go over well. “That’s confidential. We’re professionals, come on now,” Black Mamba said, and continued to negotiate, “Look, I admire that you guys clearly have a sincere moral stake in this, but you’re still mercenaries, just like us, and like you said, Water Boy, you weren’t paid to take the Crown. We were. If your next customer tells you that your mission is to get the Crown from us, then we’re ready to make you work for it, but since that’s not the case, what’s the point?” Aqueduct agreed with her completely, actually. Like, he liked animals and rainforests and stuff and all that, but he wasn’t actually invested in it like his teammates. Skybreaker and Terraformer both had good reasons to want a cleaner Earth---Aireo being an Inhuman meant that pollution affected his health much more than a normal person, and Terraformer literally WAS a sentient plant---and Theary aka Firewall, well, she was just angry at the West and anyone in power, just angry IN GENERAL really, and Aqueduct didn’t really think he blamed her, given her background as a Cambodian child conceived during the Vietnam War. But him? Man, he just wanted a paycheck. And he’d prefer to get it without any extra complications, like getting clobbered by psycho-snake-people when he didn’t have to. “Guys, let’s let them have it,” he said, turning to his team, “Odds are, whoever they’re taking it too, won’t be WORSE than Roxxon. And if it turns out that our client DOES want it for themselves? They have to pay us for a second mission.” Firewall snorted and said something about his typical American greed, and while Terraformer and Aireo didn’t DISAGREE with that, they too wanted to get back to the task at hand of merely hurting Roxxon, not doing battle with other mercenaries over something that didn’t actually affect their mission at all. “Okay then,” Aqueduct turned back to the Serpent Society, smiling and feeling proud that he’d taken the reins of leadership and actually succeeded in making his team go with it, “Crown’s yours, guys! Carry on! Just be sure to get out of here before we bring the place down!” “Man, we didn’t NEED your permission,” Anaconda growled, “Mamba just didn’t think we should smash you without getting paid EXTRA for it upfront. But me--” She flexed her massive arms, and Aqueduct, even at a good distance, gulped. “---I would have done it for free.” With that, the Serpent Society walked away and left Force of Nature to continue destroying the room even more than the fight already had...but returned to attack them once again in suspicion when they realized that the Serpent Crown was ALREADY GONE. *** “Well boys, here’s your little tiara,” the statuesque and silver-skinned mercenary known as Mindmeld sauntered casually into the Shaw’s meeting room, the priceless weapon dangling off her perfectly manicured index finger like a mere trinket. “I’ll take my fee now.” After a quick counted, she quirked an eyebrow in irritation, “Hey---if you wanna stiff me, there are better ways to do it than this. This is NOT what we agreed on, you owe me---” “Exactly that, once we deducted the fee for those “Force of Nature” fellows that you called in on my tab rather than fight the Serpent Society yourself when you realized they were after the same target,” said the senior Shaw coolly over his steepled fingers, “A clever idea, Miss Mindmeld, but they don’t work for free---much like yourself. Since you procured the prize successfully, I’m willing to overlook it, but touch my bank account again without authorization...and we shall be testing the limits of Krakoa’s resurrection.” Mindmeld didn’t doubt it. She also didn’t doubt Shinobi’s old man knew a whole lot of ways to just make you WISH you were dead without ever delivering the final mercy. So without further complaint, she counted herself lucky and slid the crown over, albeit to Shinobi rather than Sebastian, just to get a tiny little dig in because she was petty like that. Whatever, it was still a LOT of money. More than she’d ever made on a job. More than she’d ever made on all her jobs put together. Which was why, despite it usually being very much outside her professional protocol, she had to ask, “So what IS this thing? Besides hideous and not going to match EITHER of your wardrobes.” “This,” said Shinobi, his gaze fixed on the diadem of intertwined snakes, his finger tips running delicately yet firmly over the textured surface of false scales with the enraptured eagerness of a lover in foreplay, “Is why Billie Eilish wrote that song.” And that was why Sebastian Shaw had long given up anything his son said sometimes. END

#marvel fanfic #fic #writing #force of nature #serpent society #out of cortez

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tasharii · 6 years

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Your Colors: Ch.3.

A/N: This was one giant chapter, I ended up breaking it up into 2. That’s why it took so long to get it done. Sorry for the wait!

Feedback helps me keep going. So please let me know what you think!

Summary: Art was the one good thing between college, work, and the grey minutes in-between. Sometimes, it felt like she wasn’t alive at all. Just drifting. When she joined her new art class, she never expected to start experiencing everything in an entirely new light. All thanks to him. Or: Where Bucky Barnes gets more than he bargained from his new drawing partner.

Pairing: Reader x Bucky Barnes

Word Count: 8.5k

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Language, some angst

Masterlist

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13

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It was raining outside. A slushy mix of rain and snow. Freezing more as the temperature swiftly dropped. The pattering beat echoed throughout the studio, along with the occasional crash of thunder. Y/N really needed to leave, but he hadn’t said anything yet. Class ended five minutes ago, but he was still silently standing in front of her final. It was displayed on its very own easel at the front of the room. Framed, and exposed for the first time.

Part of her still couldn’t believe that she had managed to finish it. The headache pounding behind her eyes and, obnoxiously, tall thermos of coffee sitting on her desk, reminded her that it wasn’t an easy accomplishment. Three days of straight, grueling work. After her study of Bucky’s arm on Friday, she drew like a whirlwind of crazy. Even dragged her project to the library during work and inked in details between helping customers.

They had agreed to keep their finals a surprise. It was kind of like a competition. Despite having seen every other piece up to this point, it was fun to try and surprise him.

Now she was starting to wonder if she had surprised him a little too much.

When Y/N got up in the front of the class to talk about the project, she was too nervous to look at him. She focused solely on her teacher, and answered everyone’s questions about her motivation, inspiration, and why she did what she did. It happened so fast that she had completely missed his reaction. After she went back to where she had been standing beside him, she kept glancing over to him for any response. She didn’t want to interrupt the next presenter, so she stayed quiet. All he offered her, when he noticed her looking, was a small smile and soft whisper of ‘Good job’ against her ear.

That wasn’t what she had been looking for.

Bucky had gone a few presentations after her, and she still couldn’t get over how damned talented he was.

Bucky didn’t appear the least bit nervous when he got up in front of everyone. He was confident, at ease, and put on his million-watt smile that she could only assume came from working in customer service. It was a pretty stark contrast to his normally quiet, reserved nature when he was in class. She noticed a couple of the other students seemed a bit surprised at the difference.

Carefully, he pulled his framed piece out of its black carrying case and placed it on his easel. For a few minutes he stood beside it quietly. Tall and broad in his long-sleeved plaid shirt, and dark washed jeans. Hair perfectly tussled. Naturally, he was handsome, and sharp even in simple clothes.

Y/N gathered around with the rest of the class in a semi-circle at the front of the room. Mr. Ramsey took critiquing seriously and made sure everyone participated. Her heart stopped as she stared at the beautifully illustrated charcoal piece. It was of a woman. Cropped to focus on her torso, and the little baby she held in her arms. She was smiling sweetly down at her child and didn’t seem to even notice the viewer. The shadows were deep to accent the halo glow coming from the subjects, and it almost looked like a photograph.

Right then, she knew this had to be Bucky’s mother. Y/N didn’t know much about her. He only ever spoke about her once, when she talked about her own. All she knew was that his mother had died when he was twelve. Left his father behind to raise one son and a daughter.

After a couple quiet minutes of everyone taking the picture in, Mr. Ramsey finally spoke up “Obviously this is a beautiful piece. Why don’t you tell us a bit about it? Where you got the idea, why you chose charcoal, and what was the hardest part?”

Bucky shifted his feet, folding his hands in front of him as he peeked over at the drawing thoughtfully “Um… I think the hardest part was choosing to draw her at all. I haven’t seen my mom since I was little. So, it’s hard to remember her. I wanted to do something that made me have to think about her. Made me feel closer to her. And while working on this, I started to remember her a little better.” He smiled sadly, and cleared his throat, studying his peers. Nervousness hidden just below the surface. She didn’t think anyone else even noticed how tense he was.

Y/N met his eyes and gestured encouragingly for him to continue. Bucky gave her a grateful nod in return and spoke back up “This was something I’ve been putting off for a while. I just haven’t had the guts to really work on it. Until lately.” He stared at her pointedly then, and she wondered if this was one of the things he had thanked her for before. She wasn’t sure what she did to give him courage, but, if she did, she was glad.

Of course, when Mr. Ramsey had went around asking for critics, and opinions, she was first in line to give Bucky an earful. Pointedly gave an in-depth critic with things he might have done differently, but mostly with heartfelt compliments. A courtesy he hadn’t given to her.

Slowly, she shouldered her backpack and finally decided to just approach him. He hadn’t moved, but most of the class was gone. Leaving them alone with Ramsey in the back, writing reports for each project. She weaved her way through the series of desks and stepped up to his left. A line of easels stood side by side. Each held a different student’s work. They formed a line in front of the marker board that Mr. Ramsey sometimes used. It took up the entire front wall. There were still instructions left up there for their watercolor homework. They were supposed to practice with backgrounds.

Her easel was closer to the right, near the door. Coming to stand beside him, she surveyed her work for the millionth time. Ink had ended up being the final medium. She knew it would after practicing his arm in it a couple times. The drawing was like the sketch of him in her window. Same facial expression. Same bared arm, but he was wearing a ripped white shirt. His jaw was bruised, and he was lounging on her couch. One leg propped up against the armrest, the other off on the floor, right arm draped against the back of the couch, and metal one casually holding a glass of coke near his mouth. Shirt bloody, pants dirty, and hair absolutely wrecked. His bright eyes were on the viewer. Once again daring them to look.

It was a mixture of different poses she had done of him. When asked why she chose this, she had answered “I wanted to draw something human. Something that people could relate to in a million different ways.” It was more than that, of course. An emotional artist at heart, this piece also helped her vent out everything from that night. All the hurt and fear poured out into every single black line.

“So, something human?” Bucky’s voice jarred her from her stupor. She swallowed the nervous lump in her throat as he continued, “You really think people can relate to a guy with a mechanical limb?” He turned his head, eyes flickering between her face and the drawing.

She shuffled the warm thermos in her hands and nodded “Ya, I do. Being human hurts. Everyone loses something while experiencing it. Doesn’t have to be a limb.” She swallowed again, and finally looked at him as she spoke. Her voice was soft but strong, determined to make her point. He was staring at her intently, arms crossed. His bag hung across his chest, resting on his hip. “Different people lose different things. Their confidence, creativity, someone they loved, or even their heart. Doesn’t always equal out to the same hurt. But it’s still painful.”

“No one can completely lose their heart.” Bucky mused, and he was smiling, but it was such a sad smile. It highlighted the tired shadows under his eyes. She could feel a mirroring one on her face “Just takes a while to come back when it’s been hurt.”

Part of her yearned for him to be right. But she had been waiting for her own to come back for a long time. Even if it did, she didn’t know if she would trust to ever let someone have it again. Sometimes, in the quiet moments at night when she couldn’t sleep, it didn’t feel like she even had a heartbeat. Instead, a heavy void pressed down inside her ribcage. All consuming.

Bucky let out a loud raspberry, smacking his lips together. Then waved to the drawing, hand slapping against his leg as he dropped his arm “Well! It’s beautiful.” He laughed loudly, breaking up the tension “Best damn picture I’ve ever seen of myself.”

Y/N smiled wider, the air feeling lighter. It was easier to breathe, “Ya think so? Cause, well, your chin was a bitch.” She grinned as the familiar joke left her, and thumbed open her thermos, taking a drink of the coffee. It was still hot. The heat curled soothingly in her stomach and the smell of coffee comforted her.

Ramsey’s unamused glare burned the back of her neck. Probably wanted them to leave him in peace and quiet. She ignored him. Heat blew down from the vent above them, spurred on by the cold pressing against the brick outside. She fussed with her zipper, closing up her jacket with one hand, balancing her thermos in the other.

Pouting, he rubbed at his chin and then chuckled, wagging a finger at her “Don’t lie. You love it.” His eyes were warm and sweet. Familiar. When had Bucky’s smile start to feel familiar?

Just as she was about to respond, her eyes caught the time above the marker board “Oh shit I’m late.” Y/N was supposed to be at work no later than 4:40. It was ticking towards 4:30, and she had to get back to the school. Which was a 30-minute drive, longer with bad traffic. They were in Brooklyn. Orion was all the way over, across the bridge, in Midtown.

Hail had started pounding down from the clouds when she wasn’t paying attention. Just her luck. White dots started to collect on the roof, visible from the window to her left. It was supposed to snow later that night. Bucky helpfully snickered “I hope you boss is nice or your so screwed.” He followed her as she rushed out of the room and skipped the elevator all together.

The door to the stairway banged open at the force she shoved at it. She took the stairs two at a time with Bucky on her heels, “Katlin is going to kill me. She’s gotta get her daughter from practice.” Y/N groaned and glanced over her shoulder to glare at Bucky “This is all your fault!”

“What’d I do??” He gaped at her, as she turned the corner onto the next flight. Bucky’s footsteps were lighter than hers, but still echoed when he jumped to the landing behind her. Managing to keep up despite her going as fast as she could.

“If you had just told me what you thought! Instead of mysteriously gazing at my damn drawing! Then I wouldn’t have waited around for you to say something!” She huffed, reaching the last landing, and turning to gauge his reaction. She was already late. What did a few more minutes matter? Y/n’s chest heaved in both frustration and from running down so many stairs. Her free hand still held the railing, the other hugging her coffee to her chest.

Bucky stopped two steps from the bottom, and started laughing “Mysteriously? What? You’re the one that didn’t ask! I told you ‘Good Job’!” He waved a hand at her, shaking his head as if this entire thing was ridiculous. It was a little, but she barreled on.

“Oh cause ‘Good Job Pal’ is a worthwhile answer! You didn’t even tell me how you felt about it!” She wasn’t really mad. Not really, really mad, but she was irritated. Over the weather, and work, and maybe a little because he was so damn vague all the time. They could talk about nothing for hours, but if anything weighted came up he changed the subject. It didn’t help that he was laughing at her. Besides, she spent hours trying to make it perfect. Trying to draw him with the care he deserved.

Maybe he didn’t deserve it after all.

Confused, he stuffed one hand in his pocket, and the other on his bulky bag against his hip. He spoke her name sharply in disbelief, it ricocheted in the empty corridor “I thought you knew by now that your art is amazing. That I think it’s amazing. You’re able to make people feel things. Able to see things most don’t see.” His voice softened towards the end in the confession and he took another step down. She took a step back in return, letting go of the rail “Your anatomy was good. The shading was awesome.” He snorted, shaking his head “There’s not much I could critic except maybe the bloody shirt was a bit much. Considerin’ everything else you’ve got going on in there. But that’s just my opinion.”

The silence that followed his words left her heart pounding. Maybe it was alive, but she only ever got proof when Bucky was around. Scarlet crawled across her cheeks and burned her ears from how closely he was studying her. He raised his eyebrows with a clear ‘happy now?’ expression. She smiled nervously “Ya, but I couldn’t get it outta my head after that night, so I had to put it down somewhere.”

He jabbed his finger at her “See? Now I get it.” He took the last stair down to meet her and sighed sharply. As if with a heavy heart, he slung an arm over her shoulder in a half-hug “You shouldn’t need me to tell you how talented you are. You shouldn’t be able to forget it.”

Bucky hadn’t done this to her since that night either. Hadn’t wrapped an arm over her shoulder, playfully or otherwise. It made her feel warm. Like it was spring instead of winter, “It doesn’t hurt to hear.” She muttered, head down as he led them towards the entrance of the museum “I don’t always like what I do. I know I could do better.”

“Everyone can always do better.”

The air outside was damp and cold. Hail littered the walkway, but it was starting to give way to snow. So at least she wouldn’t have to deal with being soaked and battered. Bucky didn’t remove his arm as they hurried towards the main road. Both were scanning for a taxi. Y/N was grateful for the extra warmth and protection from the biting wind. She tugged the sleeves of her jacket down over her fingers and kept her head ducked down. Should have worn something heavier. Instead of dwelling on her horrible self-esteem issues, she tried to change the subject.

“Got any plans tonight?” She asked over the howling of the wind, curling into Bucky’s hold to avoid the small bit of hail coming down with the snow. Her hair whipped around her face, and she tugged a strand out of her mouth. Snow clung to her eyelashes and very little sun got through the dark overhanging clouds. It was almost like nighttime came early.

He raised his hand, distractedly waving over a taxi. They stood at the very edge of the sidewalk, the toes of Bucky’s scuffed boots hanging over the edge, “Ya, I need to get home. A friend of mine’s coming over. Was gonna take her out, but since the weather’s actin’ up, I figure I’ll make her something for dinner. She’d probably like that better anyway.” He grinned when a taxi finally took notice of them and squeezed her shoulder.

Y/N felt her heart drop towards her stomach, suddenly very curious about Bucky’s apparent friend. A girl. Who he was willing to cook dinner for. She pressed her lips together and felt a little colder. Like the snow was soaking through her jacket but maybe she wasn’t imagining that.

As the taxi pulled over he asked, staring down at her “Do you mind sharing? My apartments on the way.” He gave a sheepish smile, the cold making his nose light pink. Bucky looked cute anyway. His hood was up on his jacket under his heavier coat. The hood made his hair press closer to his face and his eyes were a pristine wintery blue, reflecting the snow.

She shook her head and Bucky held the door open for her. Then climbed in behind her. He leaned forward and gave the address of his apartment, and then tacked on her college, the Orion Institute. She had never seen where Bucky lived. Not once in the entire time they spent meeting for their projects. They always met at her place. A part of her was excited to even just see his building.

They didn’t live that far apart. Bucky’s apartment was in Brooklyn Heights, less than 30 minutes from her apartment in Midtown. It only seemed far because of traffic. She lived within walking distance of the Orion Institute and only a mile from Central Park.

The taxi pulled away from the curb, navigating smoothly between a few cars in the road, “You make dinner for her often?” Y/N asked, settling back in her seat and running a hand through her tangled hair. Using the tie on her wrist, she pulled the damp mass back out of her face, watching Bucky plop his bag on the floor between his feet. He dusted snow off his coat and shoved his hoodie down.

“Not really. She’s just in town visiting her folks. Used to make her dinner all the time when we were dating.” He smiled wistfully, remembering something sweet. Then he shrugged, and the smile vanished “But that was a long time ago.” The windshield wipers ticked loudly up front and the soft crooning of the radio on an older jazz station drifted from the speakers. Heat made it back to them from the front and she rubbed her frosty fingers together.

Heart suddenly heavy, Y/N turned in the seat to look at him closer. She tucked her knee up onto the leather and fiddled with the material of her jeans. Carefully, she adjusted her bag, propping it on her thighs “So you’re still close?” Snow melted through the sleeves of her coat and carried the scent of winter with it. It just made her colder, despite the dry heat from the taxi.

Bucky pursed his lips thoughtfully “Kinda? I mean, me and Dot have always been pretty close. We don’t see each other much since she lives in Chicago now, but we hangout when she comes by. It’s always nice to catch up.” He shook some of the melting snow out of his hair, making it spike up. Gesturing with his hands as he spoke. Bucky seemed a little tense, talking about Dot. He made eye contact but was slow as he spoke. Picking his words carefully.

“Do you still like her?” That was probably one of the more personal questions she had outright asked him since knowing him. It made anxiety tighten in her throat. He had never mentioned any relationships to her before. Y/N kind of assumed he was single, based on never talking about a girl or drawing any mystery girls. Maybe she was wrong. She bit her tongue when Bucky scoffed.

“Like, like-like her?” He teased, snorting, and then looking out the window. He propped his elbow up on the door and put his chin on his hand. Water dripped down the glass as he turned his attention to the world outside “It’s more complicated than that.” He finally answered, voice quiet and far off. A car honked as it passed, and the snow was still coming down heavily. It made the scenery fuzzy. Almost ethereal. At least the pattering of hail had subsided. Just snow now.

“How?” She pried, curiosity biting at her. Her stomach pinched unpleasantly. Bucky had an ex-girlfriend who lived several hours away but came to visit him. Visit her family, too, but they were still in contact enough that he cooked dinner for her sometimes. And still considered himself close to her.

Bucky huffed, and pulled out his phone, fidgeting with it. The screen lit up, but he didn’t mess with it long enough to do more than maybe check a text before he locked the screen again. Jerkily, he dropped it into his lap and peered over at her before staring up at the questionably stained ceiling, “Complicated like. Like we were going to get married. But then I went overseas. And she didn’t wait.” He was steadily getting more agitated, and she belatedly realized that she probably stumbled on a button. He glared at the ceiling and then back down at his phone. Anywhere but her.

Part of her screamed to back track and change the subject. The rest of her was echoing with the realization that he was almost married. Y/N swallowed back the nervous lump in her throat and squeezed her fingers into fists. They were still cold, and the driver’s heavy cologne was starting to make her nauseous. She forced herself to watch Bucky’s reactions. So that maybe she could fill in the blanks of what he wasn’t saying.

“So, you still wanna be with her?” She asked gently, hoping to maybe not piss him off beyond all hope. Her hands played with her bag, twisting at one of the front zippers. A pencil dug at her thigh from the bottom of the bag. Managing to sting through the patterned material. She shifted the bottom, making the pencil move.

Bucky froze, frowning down at his phone. He didn’t speak up for a bit, but eventually laughed softly. It wasn’t a warm laugh, “Sometimes, I guess so.” He peeked up, smiling at her. A disheartened smile. His damp bangs fell in his steel-blue eyes, “But even if I wanted to. Even if she wanted to. It probably wouldn’t work anyway.” Bucky tapped at his temple and shrugged, looking like something heavy weighed down on his back “Not with the mess that’s up here now. I’m not really the relationship kinda guy anymore.” He stared deliberately down at his hands again, and she almost missed the last little bit he muttered, more to himself than her “Wouldn’t wanna make any girl deal with my mess.”

A few minutes passed where she tried to collect her thoughts. Tried to filter through all the snippets of things she wanted to say. Finally, she stared resolutely at his profile. Willing him to look back at her. The colorful city lights refracted through the melting snowdrops, casting shifting shadows across his body. His eyebrows were drawn together, deep in thought, as he stared down at his black phone screen, “Bucky.” He tensed at first, but then slowly glanced up at her. Reluctantly, as if afraid of what she was going to say. Obviously, he was uncomfortable, but she couldn’t imagine what was going through his head.

The car was slowing to a stop, breaks squeaking in protest. They were in front of an older apartment building now. A few people milled around outside in the snow. It was covered in brick and wilted ivy. The windows were small, other buildings hugging it on either side, but it was pretty, covered in snow and ice. He needed to leave, “You deserve to be happy.”

He raised his eyebrows at her, stubbornly silent. His blank expression gave nothing away. She pursed her lips, forcing her tangled web of anxiety down, “And you shouldn’t stop yourself from being happy cause you’re afraid of being a problem for someone else. You’re not a problem.” None of her words were coming out right. They all sounded better in her head. She was so afraid of showing too much of her hand. Letting him see the feelings that were just starting to become a delicate, flower bud inside of her. Something small and new that she just didn’t want anyone to see yet.

“This is sweet and all, but the meter is still runnin. I’m not gonna stop it ‘cause you two lovebirds need relationship therapy. Are you getting out or not?” The cab driver called from the front, voice harsh and loud in the tense quiet that fell after she stopped talking. She glanced up at him, taking in his black beanie and the white snippets of hair that stuck haphazardly out from under it. Her heart pounded, and her body flushed in embarrassment.

It was easy to forget that someone else could be listening.

Bucky jerked, caught off guard and scowled for a minute. He pointedly looked at her and rolled his eyes. Then turned and met the driver’s glare through the rearview mirror. The smile he offered was charming as usual, and he sheepishly apologized, “Sorry just give us a minute alright?” He leaned forward and dug a few 20s out of his wallet, handing them to the guy. That covered far more than just his ride. She knew better than to argue with him on it, though.

Then he faced her again, and Y/N could barely keep her breathing even. She wanted to know what he was about to say but she was scared. Scared that he would argue with her, or that he would see past everything. See the emerging feelings that she kept pushing down. She didn’t want him to know. Barely wanted to admit to anything herself. The budding rose in her heart felt like it was tightening its thorny vines around her lungs.

Before he could speak, there was a knock on the window behind him. Y/N jumped, startled. Bucky let out the breath he just took in to speak. Then tilted his head over his shoulder, annoyed, only for his face to brighten into a warm smile. A young woman was standing there. She had a brown fuzzy hood up to protect her from the snow, but Y/N could see firy red hair underneath it. Bucky chuckled affectionately “Goddamn impatient woman.” He picked up his bag and climbed out. Completely forgetting about whatever he was going to say.

Completely forgetting about her too, it seemed.

Bucky gave the woman a tight hug and talked quickly to her. Voice carried off by the wind. His door hung open, letting in the icy air. She couldn’t hear what they were saying. All she could think about was how pretty Dot was.

After a couple long minutes, Bucky leaned back in with a bright grin “I’ll see you Thursday ok?” His hand was resting on the top of the open door. Snow clung to his hair and his cheeks were chapped pink from the cold again.

“Ya, have fun.” Y/N replied lamely, forcing the biggest smile she could muster. She hugged her bag as hard as she could. Then hugged it harder when Dot’s hand touched his shoulder, drawing his attention back. So hard that the supplies inside hurt her chest. The pencil dug into her stomach this time. She didn’t care.

Bucky nodded distractedly, and let go of the door, stepping back. He wasn’t even looking at her anymore, “Ya sure. Have fun with all your books!” He called as he shut the door. It echoed loudly in the quiet. The car pulled away immediately. She stared at the space he used to be, ears ringing.

Annoyed, the driver turned up the heater and grumbled about Bucky letting all the heat out of the car. The heater sputtered nosily. Then he spitefully turned up the radio. Shifting, she placed both feet back on the floor, and shoved her backpack over where Bucky had been sitting. Numbly, she picked her thermos off the ground. The coffee was lukewarm, but she sipped at it anyway.

She ignored the driver, only muttering out an apology that she doubt he heard over all the noise. Sinking low into her seat, she watched the world pass outside, and tugged out her phone. She messaged Katlin an apology for being late. Let her know when she would be arriving.

As the taxi passed under a stoplight, heading towards the Brooklyn Bridge, the glowing green light reflected over her hands. The color reminded her of spring leaves. Distantly, she wondered what Bucky had been about to say. If only he hadn’t been pulled away.

Inside of her chest, Y/N imagined the rosebud sinking back into the soil. Where it would remain dormant and alone.

*****

The tip of her brush dipped into the water, and she let the bristles stroke across the top of her drawing. Pale blue pigment for the river bled down and pooled along the line of dry paper she created. It became a gradient, light at the top and dark at the bottom where most of the shadows in the creek were. She lifted the drawing board that her paper was taped to, keeping it from buckling. Carefully, she tipped the board so that the water flowed where she wanted to. Distributing the paint and giving the surface of the stream a textured look to it.

After a minute, Y/N sat the board down and glanced at the copy of the painting they were recreating. The landscape was created by David Taylor and called ‘Catching the Morning Light’. It was a simple creek surrounded by grass and trees with a faded background. Impressionistic in style and rich in contrast. All they had to do for class was recreate the painting to the best of their ability.

She sat the board back down and stretched her back. It cracked over her chair and she sighed in relief. Shifting a little, she tried to find a comfortable position for her numb butt on the hard chair. Then, she clicked through her phone, checking her messages and debating taking a break to get a snack from a vending machine downstairs.

Beside her, Y/N heard a frustrated sigh, followed by the clinking of a brush against glass. Aggressively, Bucky rinsed out his brush, nearly splashing out the water. She watched him from her peripheral as he held his brush over his pallet of paint, glaring at the colors. As if they personally offended him. Bucky scoffed, roughly dropping the brush back down on his desk.

They hadn’t talked much since Monday. Today was, finally, Thursday. She wanted to text him but didn’t want to bug him. Wanted to talk but didn’t know what to say. It felt like she might have done something wrong when he replied to the few texts she did send with short responses. But she couldn’t think of anything she did to piss him off. Normally, Bucky would be straight forward with her if he was mad about something. Especially, if it was something she did.

So, she just stopped texting him. And he didn’t text her either. Now she couldn’t decide if she was annoyed or concerned.

Bucky put his head in his hands and pulled his phone out. He clicked through it for a couple of seconds. Y/N watched as his shoulders bunched up and his jaw clenched. Since he sat down beside her that afternoon, he hadn’t spoken to her beyond a greeting. Then a couple snarky remarks about their project.

He wasn’t much of a watercolor kind of guy. She could tell. He understood the techniques. Understood, for the most part, how to apply them, but he had no love for the medium. No passion for it. Unlike her.

Y/N loved watercolor. It was easy because there wasn’t much need for precise control. It’s meant to be messy, for the most part. Didn’t have to be completely realistic and perfect. The colors would blend together beautifully and created amazing textures just about on their own.

The screeching of a chair against tile made her jump. Her brush nearly smudged the bundle of trees in the background all wrong. Bucky brusquely stood from his seat and stalked out of the room. Despite the door shutting quietly behind him, it felt like a slam. All the soft murmuring of conversation died instantly. The older woman, Hannah, sitting next to her stared at her questioningly. Y/N shrugged and shook her head.

She wanted to go after him but resisted the urge.

For 10 minutes.

It took all her self-control to focus back on her work. She got in a couple strokes for the silhouettes of the far-off trees but every few minutes she peeked at the door. Rhythmically, she tapped the edge of her brush against her scuffed desk. Her eyes drifted to Bucky’s painting. They had been working for about an hour now, but he barely even had a wet wash of color down. Only an outline of the creek, and a few splotches of color that she didn’t quite understand the purpose of.

Definitely not his best work.

Giving up, Y/N stood quietly from her desk. She placed her brush down carefully in its holder and tucked her phone in her back pocket. Some of the students stared at her, but she ignored them as she made her way to the teacher’s desk. Quietly, she told Ramsey she was going to the bathroom. From his look of exasperation, she got the feeling that he didn’t believe her. Which was fair. Still, he waved her towards the door before going back to his iPad.

Outside of the studio, the hallway was empty. To her left were the elevators and emergency exit to the stairwell. If she went right, there were a few doors leading to a couple more studios and meeting rooms. Beyond that, she would enter the museum area. With the Visible Storage, William Richards, American Art, and a few other displays.

She took a couple steps towards the displays and then did a small circle, trying to decide where Bucky might have gone. Her boots clicked against the tile floor. A soft buzz came from the golden lights on the ceiling. Y/N had a feeling he would have wanted to be somewhere quiet and alone. Walking slowly through the hall, she checked all the other rooms. Only one was active with some sort of lecture taking place. The other 5 were unoccupied and dark. She didn’t believe that Bucky would purposefully go sit in the dark. So, she turned around and continued to the stairwell.

Opening the door, Y/N stepped out and quietly shut it behind her. The click of the door sealing still echoed through the silent concrete flight of stairs. Faintly, she could smell ashy smoke. She walked down the first flight and turned the corner of the landing. There was a draft and she wished she had thought to grab her sweater. Glancing down, she saw Bucky shuffling over to sit as far against the wall as he could. Probably attempting to get out of the way of whoever was coming down. He huddled up in his hoodie, knees drawn close, feet on the step just below the flat landing. She now understood where the smell of smoke was coming from. Determined, she took the last step to even ground and strolled slowly over to him.

As she sat down beside him, she noticed a thin trail of smoke coming from a cigarette he was subtly hiding between his knees. Y/N didn’t smoke. Tried it once and nearly coughed up a lung, but she understood why people did. Everyone had their own reasons. She only ever requested that no one smoked in her apartment. Still, she was surprised. She never smelt cigarettes on him and he never once asked if he could smoke at her place. Or excused himself to smoke outside.

Bucky side glanced over to her before letting out a breath and bringing the cigarette to his mouth. He took a long drag and blew out a massive plum of smoke, then immediately waved it away, making it disperse quicker and looking a bit apologetic, “I swear I quit.” He explained, trying to smile but not quite managing “I’ve carried this pack with me for a year now. Just to prove I could have them on me but not light ‘em.” He rolled the cigarette in his fingers and stared at the burning end “Guess I have to start over now.”

Y/N settled in beside him, crossing her arms over her knees and curling forward. “That’s ok.” She gave a half shrug, studying his downcast expression as he flicked ash between his feet. It sprinkled on a second cigarette butt, “If you want to quit you will.” She laid her head down on her arms, using them and her knees as a pillow. Despite being extremely worried, she didn’t want to press. If he didn’t want to talk, she wouldn’t make him. It meant a lot to her that he hadn’t told her to go away. Softly, she wondered “Watercolor so bad that you needed a smoke break?”

Reluctantly, Bucky chuckled, and the sound made her stomach warm “Something like that.” He murmured, taking a last drag from the cigarette before rubbing it out on the stair between his feet. Smoke rushed out of his nose as he breathed out. The smell made her lungs burn but it didn’t bother her too much. It reminded her of the way her grandfather used to smell. There was something somewhat comforting there, even if her body rejected the tainted air.

Bucky stared dejectedly down at his feet, eyebrows pinched and almost angry. His right hand rubbed at the fingers of his left. Like he was trying to massage out an ache.

Y/N didn’t comment on it, instead she stared up at him and stated “I’m pretty sure they have a no smoking policy inside the building. If we get caught, I’m throwing you under the bus.” She kept her voice very dry and knew he caught the humor when one side of his mouth turned up, like he wanted to smile. He finally looked at her then.

The rings under his eyes were darker than normal and his skin was pale. His hair was a mess, like he ran a hand through it one too many times. Something made his back hunch forward. Almost like Bucky was trying to curl in on himself. Like he wanted to disappear.

“I’ll take full responsibility. Don’t worry. I’ll just pull my veteran status and say that the cold makes my arm hurt so I couldn’t stand outside.” Bucky flexed the fingers of his left hand again and grimaced, “They’ll let me off with a warning, tops.”

“How manipulative of you.” Y/N replied, pretending to be disapproving. When Bucky covered another wince with a thin laugh at her words, her frown deepened with concern, “Your arm hurting?”

Bucky flinched from her question, as if alarmed that she noticed. Then he studied her face, eyes a little suspicious, before slowly relaxing. She was watching him calmly, with a little bit of concern, but not really pity. He slowly nodded “Ya, well, really it’s my hand. It’s phantom pains. Happens sometimes when I’m stressed. It’s like my fingers are over an open flame. They’re throbbing.” His shoulders tensed up near his ears and he tried to smile, as if it wasn’t a big deal, but obviously it was.

Just his description made Y/N flinch in sympathy. He turned his attention back to his hand, rubbing at his gloved fingers. She rocked her feet against the concrete, rising up on her toes and then rolling back on her heels, restless “Does that help?” She asked, waving towards his hands with her own closest to him.

Not looking up, he nodded “Sometimes. Tony made my arm so that I can feel pressure and temperature. It’s still experimental. Not perfectly accurate. But, if I send pressure signals to my nerves long enough, the pains go away. Usually.” He huffed, frowning and biting his lip “Today’s just a really, really bad day.” That felt like a loaded comment. His voice cracked, dropping to almost a whisper near the end.

There was a long stretch of silence after that. Not an uncomfortable silence. Just quiet and full of thoughts. Y/N broke it with an offer, hoping to make him smile again “If watercolor’s stressing you that bad, I’ll do the painting for you. Ramsey doesn’t have to know.”

Bucky snorted and tilted his head to study her, smiling a little more when he saw the cheeky grin she gave him “I might take you up on that.” Then he turned back to his hand, slowly plucking off the glove he always wore. He stuffed it into his hoodie pocket and cleared his throat “But I don’t think it would help.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Y/N flicked her hair out of her eyes, tugging the long white sleeves of her shirt over her palms. The draft through the stairwell, along with the cold rock underneath her, had the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. She hugged her legs a little tighter. Being curled up helped her conserve some of her warmth.

The plates of his fingers hummed as he arched them, stretching them as far as he could. She didn’t think he was going to respond for a minute. He wouldn’t look at her. But then his words hesitantly broke the quiet. Almost shy, “It’s um… remember Dot?” He asked slowly, still not looking at her. His hair fell forward over his forehead in a soft wave. Nervously, he shuffled his feet, and smeared some of the ash across the stair.

She nodded, and he must have seen her from his peripheral because he continued “She stayed the night Monday.” Bucky’s nose wrinkled, and his lips were pressed into a fine line. Irritated, “I didn’t plan on anything happening but then a lot happened.” He let out a long breath “A lot. She didn’t leave until Wednesday.” He pushed at his metal ring finger, stretching it back, then forward towards his palm.

Y/N instantly buried the pain and disappointment that surged through her. It burned in her chest and twisted her stomach tight with thorns. But she pushed it down and locked it away. This wasn’t the time for her petty issues. Bucky was hurting over something. Something so bad that he was having phantom pains and relapsed into smoking, “Did it not go well?” She asked, keeping her voice quiet and as soothing as she could manage. Afraid of making him clam back up. Afraid he would throw his walls back in her face.

A spiteful, bitter laugh left him, and he regarded her, eyebrows furrowed “It was great. Really great. We laughed and talked.” He sat up, restless with too much nervous energy, tone spiteful “The sex was fantastic.” His voice rose towards the end, pent up frustration escaping in bursts, and he gestured with his arms. Only to wince with a loud curse and curl back in on himself when the pain in his arm spiked.

Y/N was sitting at his left and straightened up when he cried out. She brought her hand up, touching his arm, worried, “Careful!” He looked at her, surprised and covered her hand with his right one. His touch was gentle and warm. She frowned at him, the hand on his upper arm squeezed reassuringly “You ok?” The metal was hard under his plush sleeve.

Bucky exhaled sharply, squeezing his eyes shut and nodded “I’m alright. Just irritated it.” She dropped her hand. Subdued, Bucky rubbed at his fingers again “Anyway, then she got ready to go Wednesday. She was just about to walk out the door, but she stopped to tell me it was all a mistake.” He grimaced, teeth clenching in a mocking smile, voice fluctuating with flippant sarcasm “That she finally realized I’m not the man she fell in love with. That she’s not the girl I think I love.” His head dropped down, hanging low, and she could tell he wanted to cry. He swiped roughly at his eyes.

Not knowing what else to do, she reached over and tentatively laid her hand on his inner wrist. With just enough weight that he could feel her there. When he didn’t shove her off, her palm slipped against his and she laced their fingers together. His hand was cold against her skin, and she squeezed. For a minute, Bucky was silent, but then he squeezed carefully back.

“Why do girls think they have to make decisions for everyone else?” He asked, not looking at their hands. Hard metal against the soft skin. Instead, he stared down the staircase, somewhere off in the distance. Not really seeing anything, “I respect her realizing that I’m not…” He cleared his throat as his voice got thick and rough “I’m not the person I was before the army. I’m not. But she shouldn’t decide how I feel about her.”

“No, she shouldn’t.” Y/N spoke up and he tilted his head to peek up at her. Still slouched forward like he was trying to disappear. His eyes were shining grey in the dim light of the stairwell. Tears held back just by a thread. Full lips raw from biting them too hard, “It’s your choice whether you love her or not. She should have let you have that. Even if it was her choice to not love you back.” She licked her lips and swallowed the lump in her throat “But she shouldn’t have spent the night with you if she wasn’t sure.” She scooted closer and placed her other hand on top of his left one, encasing his hand in her both of hers and held tightly. It warmed the longer she held it. Her thumb brushed over the plates, feeling the texture. And Bucky let her.

He was quiet for a while. Just watching her hold his hand. Staring intently, as if thinking, but not pulling away, “She didn’t let me figure it out on my own. I thought maybe we could work it out.”

Y/N could feel his body heat down her entire side where they were pressed together. The solid weight of their hands made her feel connected to him. She wasn’t as cold anymore “She should have talked to you about everything before letting you feel that way.”

Bucky nodded, biting his bottom lip. Again, “I wish she had. It felt like losing her all over again.” He blinked past the mist in his eyes and shrugged, trying to brush off the weight in the air, “But I don’t think this’ll ever happen again.”

“Why not?” The hurt radiating from him made her chest ache. She kept gently rubbing his hand with her fingers. Down his wrist, over his thumb, across his own fingertips. Y/N hoped he could feel the comfort she was trying to translate through her touch.

“As mad as I am that she assumed she knew how I felt. She isn’t wrong. I don’t love her anymore.” Bucky scratched at the back of his neck with his free hand, cracking it, and then rubbed at his damp eyes “I think I just love the idea of loving her. Ya know?” He sniffed and laughed wetly, “At least, that’s what Steve keeps telling me.”

“Steve seems like a smart guy.” Y/N stated. She laid her head against his shoulder and continued, “I do understand that, though. It’s almost impossible to let go of someone you cared about for so long. They’re comforting. You know what to expect. It’s hard to get over that kind of heartbreak.”

“I guess you would know?” Bucky asked, raising his eyebrows. She tilted her head up to look at him. Their faces were stooped close together. The moment felt very private and intimate.

Y/N had the sudden urge to draw it. Draw them like this. From behind. Capturing their backs and tilted faces. The look of tired curiosity on Bucky’s face. Two people bonding over something universally sad and too common. A moment of intimate human connection.

Slowly, she looked down at her hand over his. The rings she was wearing glinted in the harsh light. This was easier than staring into his eyes. Her heart jumped as she admitted, “Ya, it took me over a year to even think about dating again.”

Bucky glanced up at the high ceiling and huffed, blowing out a breath. The sound reverberated through the stairwell “I don’t know if I’ll ever wanna date again.” He muttered “I’m too fucked up. No one should have to deal with my issues.”

Y/N instantly remembered the conversation from a few days ago. In the back of the cab. Right before Dot showed up and tugged him away. It felt different now. Bucky still had the same issues, but she understood just a bit better. After today. She leaned forward to make him look at her and shook his arm to get his attention when he wouldn’t “What did we just talk about?”

When he stared at her blankly, she groaned in frustration.

“It’s your choice to not want to date. That’s up to you but don’t go making decisions for someone else. If someone thinks they can deal with your issues, then let them try. Let them have that choice.” She finished, feeling like she hadn’t explained herself well enough. Yet again. Her heart was beating too fast. Too hard. He had to be able to hear it.

“Don’t shut people out.” Y/N finished when he remained quiet. She was holding his hand tightly now. Her foot bounced anxiously. Frustrated at herself and at this situation. Angry at a woman she didn’t know for making Bucky feel like this. Making him feel like he didn’t deserve anyone.

Bucky was still staring at her, minutes later, mouth in a hard line. She thought maybe she made him mad. But then he chuckled and started to laugh earnestly. Shaking his head, Bucky stood, and she let go of his hand. He let out a shaky breath and scooped up his cigarette pack, tucking the finished butts into it, “Gotta give you that one. You’re right. I’m a hypocrite.”

“That’s not what I was getting at.” She protested, pouting, eyes narrowed up at him. The light from the ceiling haloed around his head.

“I know, but it’s true.” He turned, peering up the stairs that lead back to their class, “I’ll try not to go around making decisions for other people.” Bucky promised and then looked down at her. He offered her his hand, and she took it. He easily hauled her up.

Y/N couldn’t help but wonder if there was more he wasn’t saying. More that she should say. But then Bucky was changing the subject and she didn’t get the chance.

“Have you ever actually looked through the Brooklyn Museum? We come here every week and I can honestly say I’ve never seen any of it.” Bucky mused, dusting off his pants “Wanna check it out?”

She smoothed down her white blouse, dusting the grim off her jeans. Their voices carried through the stairwell, seeming louder than they were. From down below, she heard one of the doors open. Voices carried up all the flights of stairs as people started coming up their way.

They should get back to class. She had to go to another class back at Orion in less than an hour. All their stuff was waiting in the classroom. She had a dirty paintbrush. The bristles were probably ruined by now from the paint drying. Ramsey was probably wondering where they were.

“Definitely.” Y/N replied, suddenly excited. His eyes were warm when he nodded. Finally, alive again. Not fully. There was still some sadness tinged at the edges. But it was an improvement.

Bucky playfully smirked and started down the stairs backwards. Showing off. The other people were getting closer. Then he turned and waved for her to follow him. Jogging down gracefully. But she hesitated on the landing for a second. He had just reached the bend when she took a small step towards him and called, “Buck?” He paused and looked back up at her curiously, hands in his pockets “Is your hand ok?”

He brought it out and squinted down at his left hand, opening and closing his fist a couple times. The silver glinted in the florescent light, peeking out from under his hoodie sleeve. He shrugged “Ya, it doesn’t hurt anymore.” Bucky raised his eyebrows, watching her “Comin?”

Y/N nodded “Right behind you.” Then she started down the stairs after him.

Next Chapter

Tags: @boy-leave

#james bucky barnes #Bucky Barnes #bucky x reader #romance #fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #alternate universe #fluff #angst #bucky barnes fanfiction #tashariiwriting

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askmyboys · 5 years

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More OCs (bc I have no self control)

Name: Sam | Species/Race: Selkie | Gender: Male | Appearance: (Human Form: He is rather pale looking, and actually has a bit of a bushy beard even in this form, his hair is a weird combination between grey-ish and brown and its also completely a bit of a scraggly mess, his eyes are also a sapphire blue, he usually just wears the pelt/skin he had shed to cover him up when in this form, he isn't really keen on losing that, however, its rare you'd ever see him in human form anyways since this old boyo loves the sea) His true seal form would be that of the Bearded Seal, his whiskers are rather long, as is the claws he has on his flippers, and his teeth are actually a bit sharper than you'd think, and his eyes are a darkened color (most likely a dark brown) in this form. | Personality: While he doesn't absolutely hate humans, he won't attack unless provoked, he doesn't really trust them and he can be rather grumpy to most, even some of his own kind he can be a bit grumpy towards, he just can't understand their trust in humans so easily, its almost like trusting a dangerous predator that you know the things they could do to you, he'll never understand, while most selkies either want a mate or something typical as that he does not care for such a thing, he doesn't want a mate, and honestly he does prefer to be alone most of the time, even if someone is near, at least have the decency to be quiet and let him hear the sounds of the sea, show an old seal some respect will ya? He's definitely not like the other selkies, in any way, they love going on land, looking for potential mates, or anything typical, sure they usually return to the sea but he'd prefer to stay in the sea, it'd be harder to lose his pelt that way and truth be told, its much more relaxing and calm than on land to him, he loves the sounds, and the sights he can see. | Side Facts: He is basically a grumpy old man, however he doesn't complain as much as you'd think he would, and even if he does, he'd do it mostly within his head, he isn't much of a talker but if he has to he will, don't expect him to be very good at keeping a conversation for a long period of time however, and of course don't expect him to trust you just so easily as the rest of his kind does.

Name: Murry | Species/Race: Selkie | Gender: Male | Appearance: (Human Form: He is as pale as they get, in fact he's so pale he looks sickly even, but he can assure you, he's not... It's just the color of his skin! His eyes in human form don't change much, they are still a brown color, just a bit lighter than when in seal form, his hair is a tan color and surprisingly enough he likes to keep it clean and not messy, he usually just wears the pelt/skin he had shed once on land as he doesn't want to lose it while traveling on land, which he loves to be on land actually, he loves to explore but he usually wants to return to the sea by the end of the day so it's best he keeps it with himself) His true form is that of a spotted seal, his fur is a mixture of grey and a beige looking color along with little black spots covering almost all of his body, all over his belly and back, he has one spot in particular on his belly shaped like a heart actually, the claws on his flippers are actually fairly sharp however he would never purposefully harm someone with them, and his teeth are also fairly sharp, not to worry though- he only uses those for catching food. | Personality: He's as friendly as can be actually, he's so curious about what's out there on land, sure, he does always return to the sea at the end of the day, he just can't help but be curious about what could possibly be out there on land, he can be VERY childish which would often get him into some trouble but he does have a good heart, the rest of his kind knows that so they aren't too bothered by him, he can be very clumsy so don't be surprised if you see him fall while in human form or even make a mistake while in the water, he actually doesn't mind humans and is curious about them so it can be rather easy to gain his trust, he doesn't much care for finding a mate, while he'd never truly be against it, he just hasn't really bothered to go looking for one, he does love company though and he can be pretty talkative at times as well. | Side Facts: If you ever happen upon him be prepared for a lot of questions, because this lil selkie has a lot to ask, he just can't help but be curious as to what its like just being a normal human, living on land every day, what is land even like in some places? He's one curious boyo, however there are times where he does love to just lay back, relax, and listen to the sounds around him, its mostly when he's ready to sleep of course but some occasions its best to just take it easy for awhile. Basically, Murry is a lil ball of sunshine, he's pure and nice, he's very childish and even clumsy, and doesn't mind humans whatsoever so long as they don't attack him or anything, even then he won't fight back, he'd just try to run/swim away if anything, he's lucky he can be extremely quick in the water, however not so quick when on land unfortunately.

Name: Fallon | Gender: Male | Height: 100ft | Eye Color: Hazel | Hair Color/style: Reddish-Brown (his hair is really floofy looking, while it isn't messy, it is just very very poofy looking) | Appearance: He usually wears casual clothing, t-shirts, jeans, etc the basics, his most notable appearance are his sharp claws, fangs, and his large elf-like ears, other than that he looks... well normal for a giant's standards | Personality: He is unusually shy and can easily get anxious, yet very kind unlike most giants are, he would never hurt a tiny or especially ever eat one of them, that thought alone makes him sick to his stomach, truth be told he tries his absolute best to avoid tinies at all costs, he's too much of a nervous wreck around them and he just knows he'll mess up one way or another... He'll wind up hurting them or something of the sort, but if he can't avoid one then he'll try and be as friendly and kind as he can be, he doesn't want to scare them, and he knows how scary giants can be even if he is one of them... Side Facts: His entire family thinks something went wrong with him, he doesn't want to hurt these beings that are beneath him? That are weaker than him, the beings that are meant to be no more than food, a pet, a mere plaything? He even wants to... p r o t e c t them? His father will not have it whatsoever, his family won't have it either really, they have always been vicious predators, his father n mother absolutely regret choosing the name Fallon purely because Fallon is the name of a leader, and he is no such thing... They regret his birth anyway, and if they could they would take it all back. Fallon tries to avoid his kind a lot more than he should have to, his family especially, the random giants out there even make fun of him or just degrade him, in fact most of the others think he would be more fitting for a tiny than a giant anyways, much more fitting as a prey item, Fallon tries not to let it get to him but it does overwhelm him a lot, he's... truly got no way he can stick by, he gets lonely a lot, but there's not much he can do about that bit unfortunately... Secretly, aside from his fear and worries of accidentally hurting a tiny being, he... he really wouldn't mind having some company, they'd definitely be better than his family or any of the others.

Name: Davin | Gender: Male | Height: 200ft | Eye Color: One eye is red while the other is black | Hair Color/Style: His hair color is black, and the style is one of a: Long Fringe Side Swept Undercut | Appearance: He has a full set of razor sharp teeth, it seems like just looking at them would even give you a cut, razor sharp claws and long pointed ears with some piercings in them, he really doesn't care what he wears either, clothing is clothing really, he's not a FANCY type of a giant that's for sure, he has also a bit of a thick goatee (circle goatee) going on. | Personality: Absolutely cruel, evil, and a complete sadomasochist, he is definitely a predator at heart and he certainly takes pride in it, he doesn't care if he gets hurt if anything he enjoys it and he enjoys inflicting pain back, whether it be to a tiny or to even one of his own kind, if anyone gets in his way, he won't stand for it, he won't even be kind to his own family, truth be told his family regrets the day he was born... His name means a precious being, however he is anything but precious, his entire family weren't really predators however, nonetheless, they are still completely terrified of him, and he seems to be glad of that fact as well. | Side Facts: His family basically treats him as if he were the Devil's own offspring, he doesn't mind at all, if anything he takes pride in being known as such, he has actually almost killed both his parents before, his mother had tried to step in before he could even get his hands on a tiny that had stumbled into their place, the moment she stepped in he attacked her, his father tried to get in and pull him off and luckily he did, however he left some pretty bad marks that would scar both of the parents mentally and physically... He never stayed behind, after that night he broke through a window and escaped like the beast that he was into the night, he mostly lived on his own, fending for himself which he wasn't too bad at really, even the other giants consider him to be a 'feral' which is rare you see those kinds... Nonetheless, they don't dare approach or say a word to him, they try to avoid and leave him alone, and his family... They'd rather never see him again if they could help it... They tried their best to help him of course before he ran away, they really did, but no matter what, he had always acted like a beast, he was an unruly child and even now he's still unruly to this day...

Name: Titan | Age: N/A | Height: 500ft | Eye Color: Royal Purple | Appearance: He wears a dark purple galaxy hoodie, along with some plain black shorts, his finger bones are as sharp as claws, and he has two sets of fangs on each side of his mouth, and he has bull horns protruding from his head, other than that he's a pretty casual skeledude when it comes to clothing | Personality: He does have some ill intent, its usually when he's hungry, other than that he just takes things too far occasionally, ...okay most of the time, he can definitely be a little shit, a prick towards mostly everyone, even his own kind aren't safe... He doesn't exactly like humans however he won't just kill them for no reason of course, he does love to mess with them and tease them and he can take things a bit too far, he might accidentally hurt or kill someone but it usually isn't on purpose (basically he's a little erm... well tol shit who teases and pesters the absolute hell out of people) | Side Facts: I'll just say this on the side facts bit yes, he is inspired by Undertale- no he is not a version of Sans- I didn't really wanna do that, but I was inspired so yeah. Titan is actually very chubby despite being nothing but bones, of course that may be because he will eat pretty much anything, sweets, spicy foods, humans, even his own kind! Whatever he deems to be tasty is going straight down his gullet, (he only truly eats humans and his own kind if he's actually hungry, most of the time however he is just messing with them because its really fun to him) unless its animals- he surprisingly won't eat those, he may or may not have a soft spot for animals truth be told. ...He'll truly only eat animals if he's just absolutely starving He also has a fairly large hoodie collection, it ranges from rather plain looking hoodies, ones with patterns on them, or just semi-colorful ones in general, a lot of the colorful ones range from purple, blue, green, red, and many MANY more, he is usually v e r y lazy, its only when he's truly after something or someone he really wants only then will he be very active, he does have magic he can use to make chasing down prey easier but eh, not much fun in that, he'll only occasionally use teleportation.

#my ocs #oc stuff #new ocs #I've been meaning to post these for awhile now #oops- my bad lmao

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johnny-boy-17 · 6 years

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WTF Darling in the Franxx was actually good, like WTF (again)?

So as most of you know, I have been posting non-stop about a recent anime called Darling in the Franxx.

And let me tell ya, it started out rough. I mean, I think this image speaks for itself.

But as I let it play on, it actually had a plan, and became good after about 5 or 6 episodes. and then it got REALLY GOOD. Example being episode 13 (The Beast and the Prince). You could play that episode on mute, without subtitles, anything that would help you understand what their saying, and you’d still follow it. That’s the mark of good storytelling.

However, it still had flaws, mainly not knowing pacing very well, and the choices the writes made sometimes were pretty dumb... like really? Aliens? You’re just gonna jump the shark like that?

So yeah, it had problems, for sure, I will never denny that, but when it get’s stuff right, IT GETS IT RIGHT.

Prime example, the character of Zero Two.

She had a way of keeping her grey-area morality out in the open, stating her mind at any time, and you could never really tell if what she was up to was good or bad. She was a perfect wild-card chaotic neutral.

On the other side of that, there was Hiro.

Hiro was another one of the show’s biggest surprises. He started off so bland and uninteresting as the MC. You could have told me that was Kirito from SAO and I probably would have believed you. But no, he actually pulls off some believable stunts, makes decisions any human would make, he’s level headed about most things, he’s a surprisingly endearing MC. And he doesn’t just do it all by himself, he relies on others like Zero Two for assistance and support.

And that brings me into the segment I am most excited about, which I will most certainly do an entire post about soon, Zero Two and Hiro’s relationship..... GOOD CHRIST IT WAS AMAZING!!

Any time these two shared the screen, my eyes were always on them. They had absolute GOD-LIKE chemistry with each other. And it only made sense they be the focus of the show. Look, before DitF, for me there was Star vs the Forces of Evil. And that has Starco. I shipped that like mad crazy, and then THESE TWO CAME IN AND FUCKING WRECKED ME. THEY ARE THAT PERFECT. Like I said, I’ll make an entire post about that later, but for now, review the show.

And the rest of the crew was cool too. They made decisions and went back and forth on those things and emotions like actual human beings. I think a prime example of this is Ichigo.

She’s constantly trying to put business before pleasure, and constantly fighting those pesky little things called emotions for the majority of the show. She just wants to be a good leader, but nobody told her life was gonna be this way. (clap clap clap clap clap) Plus, I mean, we all remember that shit-show we put on after ep. 14, in which she get’s Zero Two kicked out of the squad so she can try and win Hiro over, and how we... acted out of line with what we did. I guess the creators saw this as an opportunity to try and bring closure to a character, and let the corners fill in through the rest of the show.

Plus, Mitsuru and Kokoro, ask anyone who watched, and they’ll tell you they were great. Mitsuru started out as this cold-hearted summabitch in the beginning, while Kokoro sorta just bottled up how she felt. Then they decide to partner up w/ one another, and then they fix a lot of things w/ each other and become each other’s moral-support centers (kinda like Zero Two and Hiro).

Now, they did go through some memory-wipe angst, and we all thought they would get their memories back soon, but the coolest part of the show is that THEY DIDN’T NEED ‘EM. God, that is refreshing to see. And it kept the threat of Papa/Virm/the... *sigh* Aliens as a threat, but still gave the fans what they wanted.

Final example of the crew being cool, Ikuno. If you remember from the beginning, it’s not exactly a welcoming sight for tumblr when the mechs are controled through BoyGirl anal sex (god that is so stupid). So when you here’s theres a lesbin thrown in there, you are more than welcome to sweat bullets.

But I dunno if this is the straight guy in me, but I think they handled her really well. She makse a confession to Ichigo, and you think this’ll go poorly. But Ichigo takes it pretty well, hugs her, and leaves a “maybe I might” in the air, all while being supportive about it. So, that was neat.

All in all, this series had NO FUCKING RIGHT to be anywhere near as good as it was, but it did it. Yes there were things I wished they would fix, and I did roll my eyes a couple of times or scratch my head. But for what I got as opposed to what I thought I was going to get, this is far from a train wreck... at least in my opinion. In fact, it actually reminds me a lot of Eureka Seven, with the main two leads piloting a giant robot and falling in love was the center of the story (plus plot holes).

But here’s the thing: Eureka Seven could get away with it’s flaws, as it was part of the theme in that show, “learning to love, despite it’s flaws.” Darling in the Franxx’s theme is more about how “communication will save all.” A good theme to have, it just couldn’t save itself from...

...bride-zilla Zero Two (that was kinda ridiculous).

That’s sorta my thoughts: when it was stupid it was pretty fuckin’ stupid. But when it was good, it was really fuckin’ good.

So I am glad I saw it, and I encourage others to go see it as well. The animations good, the characters are good, their dynamics are good, the sound is good. It really is dependent on how you can stomach the first few episodes. If nothing else, just watch the 13th episode, as that is the best one, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise.

With all it’s flaws and good moments, I’m gonna give Darling in the Franxx a 8.2/10. It’s shortcomings are noticble, and certainly turn-offs, but for the love of god, it hits home when it get’s it right. The good outweighs the bad, for me at least, so just watch it. You can thank me later.

#darling in the franxx #review

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huntressthewizard · 6 years

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🌿➳ Blood. That was her blood. Written as a message of warning on the now destroyed crypt. Bill had been watching the entire time and like an idiot she had been none the wiser. Feeling faint, the druid leaned against the overgrown tomb, still recovering from her three days without sleep. Crisply darkened fingers gingerly traced over the small triangular drawing. Yes, it was definitely her blood. She was just about to question how he did this before glancing at her arm, finding a deep enough cut to do the trick. But Cipher wasn’t corporeal, not yet, anyway, surely he didn’t do this directly and by himself. Feeling her right eye twitch, the back of her uninjured hand came to rub it, and when she saw more blood when she brought it away, she concluded what had happened. Bill somehow gained access to possessing her body.

“Whoa bro, what happened out here?” Startled by the sudden voice, Huntress turned around, staring wide-eyed at a lumpy-space person who had seemingly appeared from nowhere, hovering over the tomb as she inspected it.

“Oh dude, did you do this? I tell ya, not too keen on people coming into these two-thousand year old ruins just to lump the place up. Thought that trap on the bridge woulda kept you vandals away. Not cool, dude.”

Huntress Wizard stared at the Lumpy woman for a moment, brow arched. “Wait, trap? You’re telling me you’re the one who set up that master-level illusion on the cobblestone bridge leading to the island?” She found it a bit hard to believe, Lumpy Space People weren’t exactly very well-disciplined nor inclined to learn advanced magic.

The other woman poked her lips out in a pout, putting her hands on her hips at the half-dryad’s skepticism. “Don’t look at me in that tone of voice, bro, I know a lot more about spellcraft than most of the supposed wizards who come here, and it looks to me like you’ve got a serious case of magicka burn on your fingers, dude.”

The wizard stared at her fingers, blackened with purple cracks of light underneath, like veins of a volcano under an obsidian ashen crust. Even with the necromancer’s amulet and the power up received from Cipher, the art was too foul of an unnatural deed for her body to perform. Her brow furrowed, staring at the damage caused by both her and Bill possessing her, then at the warning on the tomb, silent.

“I’ve got an ointment that’s perfect for that, or at least that’s what the family spellbooks claim. So quit drawing cryptic stuff in your own blood and follow me to the shack, dude. Name’s Rubi, by the way.” The space person motioned for the half-dryad to follow her further into the woods. Huntress, despite her soreness and exhaustion, did so without hesitation.

The wizard listened to the woman, now known as Rubi Ramirez, talk about the history of the forest and town, and how her family had lived here for generations; about how her ancestors, the human side at least, were avid monster hunters and scholars of the extra-dimensional, and how this gave them a huge advantage when the Mushroom War escalated to bombings and opening dimensional rifts in space and time. While Rubi was married and had many siblings, so far it was only her that decided to stay behind on the island and continue the family research, while the rest of the family went off to pursue other things with their lives.

Huntress, quite frankly, wasn’t all too interested, but feeling that she had to be polite after intruding onto the island and wrecking the ruins, would nod and let out a “yes, I see,” every now and then, pretending to listen. Rubi seemed friendly enough, and the druid was glad that she didn’t seem to take the destruction of island property too personally, willing to tend to her wounds. It wasn’t until Huntress attempted to enter the cabin was when they had a problem.

“Here it is, the Mystery Shack! Come on in, mi casa es usted casa.”

The shack in question was a dilapidated cabin in the middle of the woods, most likely built and refurbished several times over the centuries, possibly dating back from before the war, like Rubi had said. The wizard began to follow her in, only for some magical forcefield to hit her like concrete in the face and bounced her back off the porch and into the conviniently-placed mud puddle outside the door.

Rubi’s pupils dialated as she watched this. Her ancestors had told her about the magical barrier over the shack, and immediently knew why she was not allowed in. The lumpy woman pointed at her accusingly and screamed to someone else inside the shack.

“Demon! Deeemon!!! Honey, a demon’s trying to get into the shack!”

“Wait, no, I’m not a demon, I’m just being possessed by one!”

“AHHHH SHE EVEN ADMITS IT! MISHA, TURN ON THE ANTI-CIPHER DEFENSES!”

Once the lumpy woman was inside, a ridiculously giant laser canon protruded out from the roof of the shack, and from the ground errupted large, spider-like robotic stilts that allowed the building to stand and move.

Obviously not wanting to stick around and find out what other kinds of weaponry the death-cabin had, Huntress Wizard got to her feet, transformed into a deer, and began to run through the woods as the once-friendly stranger began to chase her down in the mechanized Mystery Shack, bobbing and weaving between the trees to avoid the laser blast as the threat behind her barreled and tore down whatever stood in its way. Finally reaching a high cliff at the edge of the island, the druid transformed into a hawk and flew off, diving and turning every now and then to avoid the laser blasts until she was finally out of range.

Once reaching the shores of Ooo, Huntress returned to her normal humanoid form and fell face-flat into the sands of the beach, rolling over on her back panting from exhaustion. It seemed she had reached yet another dead end when it came to finding a back up plan, but after lack of sleep, her injuries, and after outrunning a weapon of mass destruction, Huntress was just too jaded and tired to care. She closed her eyes, the sun and sand feeling warm against her skin, and she fell asleep, transforming herself into a log to prevent sunburn. ➳🍃

#foretold on the scrolls (drabble)

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dreadlock-detective · 6 years

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Diary Entry List

Whoooooo boy I haven’t updated this since this original post, so to keep things simple I’m just going to plop 4 entries (2-5) into this post after the cut. Middle of the night post, but eh, figure there’s not a large audience for my D&D writing anyway~ Sooo yeah! Cut!

Entry #1 is here

Entry #2: Soap and Snakes

Geeze, so much has happened I'm already forgetting stuff! Okay, so back to the banquette real quick, because a few more things happened that I totally forgot about somehow! First, there was a representative from Delzimmer there, but they wouldn't help me get a payment sent over to you. They refused to deal with the Barons at all. Not that I can blame them, but it's just like some cushy family in Delzimmer to be as helpful as a bucket of vom. The Soverin... Soveren... Sovereign’s daughter did some kind of magic prophecy reading thing and long story short: something about three shadows of different colors all about horrible things happening... Essmer knows more about it than me. Didn't sound pleasant though. She passed out afterwards too. Sounds bad but I've got enough to worry about at the moment than some spooky divination or whatever. I guess that's the reason I've got this job though so I guess I'm glad she's seeing whatever it is!

It wasn't all doom and gloom though! After the Sovereign and most everyone left the hall Essman and Niles started playing music and Sir Veil asked me to dance! I mean, I have NO idea how to dance in a ballroom, fancy dress, and shoes, but I guess Veil doesn't either so it wasn't TOO embarrassing! Essmer got in with the dancing too after a bit with some dwarf lady who's dad didn't seem too keen on her being around such an old drunk human. It was quite an evening!

The next day we get prepped to head out north into the wilderness towards some old church. The Sovereign's son was our contact to help us. He's... much more what I'd expect from “nobility”. Stuck up, unpleasant, untrusting, and rude. We were able to get some nice horses, a cart, and some basic supplies but he wouldn't so much as help us get medical supplies, saying I am supposed to be able to take care of everyone! I'd be flattered if he actually thought that highly of me, but I'm sure he was just using me as an excuse to be a cheapass. Only towards us lowly commoners of course – didn't see him complaining about the absurd amount of food at the banquet! He's not the only problem though. I swear that Niles is going to be a pain. He had to run out and buy bars upon bars of soap before he'd gallop off into the wilderness! We're not traveling for relaxation! Gods forbid he feel a bit sweaty or dirty! He didn't get any better when he lost his horse- OH! Yeah, okay so how Niles lost his horse!

We were trying to pass a big o' river in our way and Lucan found a nice shallower safe place to cross so we got all ready to go. Lucan led the way across to a sand bar with me, Veil, and Essmer in the cart behind him, with Niles picking up the rear, likely because he was too busy preening himself to keep up. Anyway, the cart just got to the sand bar when I turned around just... saw Niles's hat as he plopped into the river as a MASSIVE snake back arched over him! (I swear Sir Veil heard him and just kept the cart moving until I yelled out about it). So yeah, this HUGE snake, with a mouth the size of Veil's body had a hold of Niles's horse! I hit it with some magic and it was, just, wow, largest living thing I'd ever seen! It nearly killed Sir Veil too! Tried to gobble him up and drag him away! But Sir Veil managed to kill it and claw his way out! I was actually worried for a moment but Sir Veil really can hold his own against monsters. Niles might be worthless and Essmer a drunk but with Lucan leading the way and Sir Veil to fight off anything that comes our way I think we really do have a chance out here!

He and Lucan managed to pull it's giant mass over to the far bank of the river and Lucan and I helped Lucan cut it up and dried out as much of it as we could! It's at least a week or more's worth for all five of us! Maybe if this doesn't pan out we can turn to hunting river snakes or something. Niles's horse didn't make it though, and he was super moody the whole rest of the way to the church. Guess that soap can't wash away his screw ups~! We're at the old church now – some old orc lady seems to be in charge here. Guess we'll be helping out around here for the moment. More on that after it happens I suppose!

Love ya!

Entry #3: Sheep Eaters

It'll be hard to sleep after tonight so I guess I may as well stay up and write a bit. Um. I guess I'll start with the reason for that and then end on a happier note. Maybe that'll help. But anyway, short version is we left the church outpost to look for a roaming shepherd who had complained about his animals being killed in the night – stripped down to the bone without a sound. Well, we found him and stayed up all night to watch his sheep and GUESS WHAT, WE FOUND THE PROBLEM. Giant. Bugs. Centipede or Millipede or something. Horrible things! Borrowing up from the ground! They came up everywhere! Their bite had some sort of paralyzing venom in it! You couldn't feel a thing! That's why the sheep never made a noise as they got eaten alive! Same thing nearly happened to Niles and Lucan too! And me! Thankfully Sir Veil was behind me and saw the one that had crawled up my back! Lucan got bit pretty bad but Sir Veil and I were around to help him. Niles though, he nearly didn't live through it! Thankfully I had just enough energy left to blast the last one off him before it could finish him off. Didn't have anything left to actually heal him up afterwards, but better than dead. Essmer got bit up too but not enough to take him down, thankfully.

That was terrifying. I don't really feel like sleeping anymore.

But on to the less horrible bits... not exactly pleasant ones but are less likely to give me nightmares. I went out scouting alone with Lucan for a day. First time I had been separated from Sir Veil in a while. Was kind of nice to remember I can still survive just fine without him watching out for me all the time. I screwed up bad though! I got excited since Lucan is also elf blooded so I asked him about his parents and... well... they're dead. The whole rest of the day was awkward after that. I'm such an idiot! And we didn't find what we were looking for, but we did find the tracks for that shepherd we followed later. The only other major thing I can think of to talk about is the big cat the store owner at the church had! Not sure what it was really but it was huge! Seemed to be fond of Sir Veil. He really is just a large weird kitty man! Growled like a demon when the rest of us went near it though! Niles tried to use some kind of magic on it and the shopkeep nearly slit his throat for it! She and Sir Veil insisted I try to pet the cat too... thought it was going to rip my face clean off... apparently it's just some game the shopkeeper lady taught it to do! I thought I was going to die! That's not a funny joke to play on someone!

Okay no thinking about that did not make sleeping any more appealing, really... I think the rest of them are looking to take on a group of bandits that have been harassing the church lately next. Not sure how many of them there are and I'm worried we're going to get in over our heads but I guess I'd rather fight some thugs than those bugs again. And now I'm thinking about the bugs again. Great. This hasn't helped at all. I'm done for tonight...

Entry #4: -

I'm not sure I want to write down how I feel about the last few days... But I want to keep this up to date so I'll at least talk about part of it. The shortest version is, I was very, very wrong before. Those bugs were not worse than fighting bandits. I mean, they honestly were probably a bigger threat but... watching bugs get smashed isn't nearly the same as it happening to people...

We found the trail of the bandits easily enough thanks to Lucan but he noticed the fresher set of tracks was headed back down south towards the church. Naturally we couldn't let the church go undefended so we took off after them and caught up to them earlier than we expected. They ambushed us in the tall grass with a few dogs and five or so men but they didn't put up too much of a fight. I focused on keeping people alive while the rest made pretty short work of them until their boss (some fatter man) came into view with a larger crossbow and fired a bolt straight into my shoulder. That, of course, got Veil rather upset but before he could do anything I went to fire a blast of radiant energy back at the man! It... behaved strangely. The glowing light slowed, dimmed, and burst into blackness! I tried to wander out of it but I couldn't find the end of it! I was beginning to think I had actually blinded myself when Essmer managed to dispell it with his glowing magical rock thing he made! By then the rest of the fight was over... I'm not terribly sure what happened but Essmer went off into the grass towards the rest of the noise and next I knew they were dragging the body of the bandit leader with them, now with most of his head caved in and a gaping wound in his chest.

We opted to head back north rather than return to the church for the night. Not a great idea, turns out, as rhinos of all things showed up and stomped out our camp fire and wrecked a bunch of our stuff. Especially Niles' tent. Thankfully they left without any major damage. The next day's travel we could see this gigantic tree off in the distance for the longest time. Before we slept, Veil and Lucan ran ahead to check out the tree, since that was an obvious place for a bandit camp. They didn't return until nearly the end of my shift on watch well into the night, exhausted and bleeding – the tree was a massive illusion that covered not just the tree but the area around it! Where the tree itself was stood a large watchtower and around it was a few cabins. Veil had broken the illusion when he got up to touch the tree and got shot with an arrow for his efforts. The two fled and ran in circles the rest of the night to throw any pursuers off their trail. When they got back they quickly passed out from exhaustion.

The next morning we went to attack as a group. Lucan snuck in first but was spotted and rushed out only for the rest of us to rush in. Niles, surprisingly, led the charge, ignoring the forward guards and their dogs and went straight for the tower! As for the rest of it, I'd honestly not like to write about. It was... barbaric. We all came out of it fine enough but... I don't know... it wasn't what I expected...

Entry #5: Sanguacon

It’s been some time since my last entry. The battle isn’t quite as distant a memory as I wish it was, but the fear has died down a bit at least. We found plenty of supplies in the camp so it was decided two of us should head back to the church to let them know and return with horses while the others stayed back to watch the camp for other bandits. Sir Vale suggested we be the two to go… I wasn’t really feeling up to it, after everything, but I didn’t have it in me to argue so, away we went. There and back was a full week of travel, so it was a lot of time together. It was pretty awkward at first but… one night, the “Sanguacon” found us. The thing the sheep herder thought was attacking his flock originally. It was supposed to be a legend.

Snuck right up on me while I was on watch and got a good bite on my shoulder before I even knew what was happening - spun around to see this massive… THING! It was taller than Sir Vale, super bulky, with stumpy little arms and legs. Like some freakish fat bunch of flesh just globbed together and became some horrible freak! It definitely drank my blood too, and I felt weak after it. Thankfully my scream woke up Sir Vale and he rushed over to fight it bare handed. It got a good bite on him but Sir Vale, for some reason, bit him back. Tasted like death, apparently. I lit up its back with my magic which it really, REALLY didn’t like but instead of fighting us further it plopped away before poofing into mist. Nothing left. No trial, no body, nothing. It was pretty crazy scary to be sure. Where it bit us the wounds don’t seem to be properly healing over even with magic. You can still see where it got us. But as scary as it was, seeing Vale fight it… it’s hard to imagine much being scarier than the thought of being on the other end of his rage… I think I’m starting to understand something though. We’ll see if it pans out later I guess.

Aside from that run in with a myth the trip was otherwise pretty dull. The people at the church were amazingly happy to hear the bandits were dead though! They had a super huge drinking party to celebrate. Pretty sure they all felt that in the morning…Trip back was a little more lively, since we had two ladies from the church with us and didn’t run into any trouble. Apparently the camp had been just as dull - after the week of traveling we did, Esmer, Niles, and Lucan looked bored out of their minds when we got there. As it turns out we couldn’t fit everything onto one wagon and though we had two the others had found other trails away from the bandit camp so we decided to try to follow those and leave one of the carts there.

And that’s where we’ve been for days. Just… out… on a path in the middle of all this grass. It goes on forever in every direction. We came to a fork in the path. Chose to go straight north as we had been instead of northwest. Got attacked by a flock of huge crazy birds because THIS PLACE IS JUST THE WORST and all the animals here want us dead. And just after that we came to another fork… this one continuing north and the other going southwest… so they’ve decided we should abandon our current path and see where the two side ones meet up.

I can’t help but think, if Vale had just listened - if he hadn’t murdered that last bandit - we might already know where we were going. We may have been able to prepare. We could have set out instead of heading back to the church. Could have saved nearly two weeks of wandering around in this sea of grass.

I’m starting to miss the muddy dumps of Delzimmer somehow… And I miss you too, Dad. Hopefully I can make it through this in one piece and work up enough gold to get you out again.

Until then!

#Dindel's Diary #d&d stories #5e #Dindel #dreadlock detective #Dungeons and Dragons

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