#like I think whatever the structures form is would fall in line with other underwater stuff

[singswan-springswan]

Not to be obsessed bUT,,, mermaid Shang teehee :3

And not like

Little Mermaid AU. Because they deserve better than that. But if it was a similar plot structure, and if you spent a lot more time developing the characters and their relationships, it has the potential to make a pretty good story.

I think the main thing needs to be redesigning the “mermaids’ of the verse, since the classic vibe definitely DOESN’T fit with Shang. A good alternative is making them more like sirens, so kind of leaning towards the bestial, mythical, dangerous side—but obviously not at the expense of their person-hood! They’d have a very structured culture, and society, and they’d obviously speak languages like humans do, but maybe they just don’t look as human as Ariel does. I think it’d be cool if they all had special powers or abilities (not so much like “magic” if you know what I mean, mostly because that would open the door for plenty of other mythical species to populate the story and I think it’s better if things are focused, since there isn’t a huge cast to draw from).

Another thing to consider is the era. I kind of like the period set by Ariel’s Little Mermaid: the whole coastal kingdom, roughly Victorian culture/society (I’m a HUGE fan of Victorian fashion btw X3) which—it probably wouldn’t make sense to stick the characters in an 1800s European kingdom. What really matters is fitting the characters into a society where myths and magical realism are considered forces to be revered. That way, the angst doesn’t come from a timid Shang (let’s be honest, it’s just not his vibe), but a dangerous, menacing Shang who’s actually a real cinnamon roll on the inside and just wants to be loved.

That being said, there’s a lot of tension centered on him trying to keep his secret because a) he doesn’t want Mulan to think he’s a monster, and b) he doesn’t want to be killed because people think he’s a monster. That’s some good angst, right? Like, Shang falls in love with Mulan but thinks he has to be human if he wants to win her over because most humans are terrified of mer and would kill them on sight. Even Shang’s father has taught him that he must only interact with a human if he’s going to kill it because they’re too dangerous to be left alive. Some humans hunt mer for their beauty, or the superstition that their bodies have magical power (China?), and some people are just plain scared of them because they’re known to be vicious and cunning beasts that are easily able to overpower an unsuspecting person and kill them which—is not inaccurate, but the stereotype definitely doesn’t help improve inter special relations.

By the way, yes, Shang is positively gorgeous. His dad brags that he gets it from his side of the family (the red and gold aesthetic IS 10/10 to be fair), but the fact of the matter is that Shang is stunning in his true form 👀 should I sketch up some imagines? I got a few ideas. However, in spite of his beauty, Shang is also super scary because that’s an undeniable aspect of his character as well. Him got the big muskles and sharp teeth (mm kinky) and the fierce eyes so he can see when it’s dark underwater. Probs I’d keep the hairstyle because it suits his personality so well. In this line of reasoning, keeping his shirt off is also perfectly reasonable. He’s definitely a beast, and most humans that see him are definitely scared out of their minds. What kind of power does he have? Fireworks? Can he do fireworks and tiny explosions? Let’s make this a thing.

I think for the sake of this AU, all humans know that mer exist. Just because it’s convenient. The two species don’t interact much since all they do is kill each other. Also because some adventurous souls like to hunt mer for whatever reason, they have like, bodies and stuff in markets…? Like in a fish market. They just have a dead mer. Chilling on a pile of ice. The first time Shang sees that, he feeds the fishes, and Mulan has to hold his arm on the way home.

Idea! For added angst and suspense or whatever, Shang doesn’t fully transform into a human when he goes on land. Like he LOOKS human, but maybe just at night, and/or maybe just if he gets wet, he changes back… or something. What if at night he technically doesn’t change back, but after the sun sets, it starts to be really painful to stay in his human form, like it was in the original mermaid fairytale. You know, the whole walking on glass thing, and if he doesn’t get in the water to change back he’ll just be in excruciating pain. It’d be kind of funny if Grandma spilled tea on him the first time he went to meet Mulan’s family and he just gets up really really quickly and “excuse me for a moment” (because his mama taught him MANNERS, thank you very much) and just books it before the scales that are cropping up on his face become any more obvious. Grandma knows. She pretends that she does not. She’s chill.

Who’s going to be the sea witch? Uh… that’s the one role that no one from the movie really fits. Maybe Mushu? If you stretch it? Then Mushu accidentally becomes invested in this relationship and goes on land with Shang so he can watch the drama and also eat some barbecue (plot twist, he actually shipped them for a really long time and was waiting for an excuse to bring them together). I want to keep Shan Yu as a human so he can be like Gaston except he simps for Mulan and thinks she’s really cool because she can totally kick his butt except he only cares about her achievements and not about her as a person. Ling, Po, and Yao are humans too. They’re like. Mulan’s protective brother-friends/wingmen. Chi-Fu be the dude constantly campaigning for mass genocide. The Emperor secretly doesn’t care about mer, good or bad, but he never mentions it to his assistant who actually endorses hunters and stuff.

Mulan comes from a very respected family of?? Farmers?? Or should we say fishermen? Sailors? She likes boats is my point, which is convenient, and she’s a very effective business woman. Very respected in her community, also kind of nobility maybe and she helped Ling Po and Yao bodyguard the princesses before retiring to inherit her family’s business or somethin. OR she’s like, a naval captain. OoOoh that would be cool. As a sea-farer, she knows very well the threat that mer pose to her men, so while not a total homicidal jack about it, she is pretty wary.

Idk how she and Shang meet? Obviously he’s seen her before, but until he decides to pursue a relationship, Mulan doesn’t really know him at all. Shipwreck seems too cliché. Maybe another mer tries to drown her and he saves her…? Idk, just make it exciting.

Shang is 100% a warrior or soldier wherever he comes from, which makes him a total threat on land since he’s used to water resistance and that stuff. Just barely beats Mulan in a spar. Which she thinks is hot. They simp for each other. It’s great.

aLSO. For identity reveal, let’s get the whole city involved. That’d be exciting. It could be a huge progressive thing where they all learn to respect each other as people, though not before Shan Yu—maybe the prince of the neighboring kingdom? (What is he doing there? Freeloading? It’s definitely not a political escapade)—attempts to execute Shang like the homicidal maniac that he is.

How long is Shang on land? Please do NOT say three days. Knowing Mushu, it’s actually an indefinite period of time. Maybe we can give them about a month and a half…? About the same time they had together in the movie. But Mushu really wants them to get together so he’s just making an empty threat when he says he’ll take Shang’s spell away if he doesn’t get Mulan to kiss him in that period.

Mulan’s parents are wary of Shang when they first meet him, even though they’re delighted that Mulan finally has a suitor who actually cares about her. “There’s something strange about that man” ahahaha only Grandma knows the truth and she’s keeping mum. I’d love to see Shang win her parents over. Another cool thing would be if Shang—to prove how invested he was in the relationship—essentially tied himself to life on land by like, joining the navy idk. And the Emperor really likes him for his prowess and strategic ability and even though Chi-Fu is really antagonistic Shang quickly rises through the military ranks. And then everyone starts shipping him and Mulan. Because they're complimented so well. Even the Matchmaker can't argue with their dynamic chemistry and has to redact her disgraceful assessment of Mulan's love-life.

Shooting is the one thing Shang can't do well. He's horrible with a bow (I know that's not canon just let it happen) and Mulan makes fun of him constantly.

Maybe when Shang finally gets Mulan to agree to marry him, Mushu is able to cast a more powerful spell (fueled by the power of love) that allows Shang to change his shape at will so he can stay on land but also visit his dad and let Lonnie see her grandpa.

Mulan really likes his tail. She also thinks it's pretty, haha. Shang pretends to be offended but secretly he loves it when she says so.

I imagine the first time Shang saw Mulan, he was up on the surface somewhere practicing his power and Mulan happened to see the pretty lights in the sky so she came over with her friends “wow, it’s like—“ “fireworks. Only real” and Shang is really flattered even though they don’t know that he’s doing it because he never gets appreciation because mer don’t go to the surface and his power doesn’t light up underwater. And Mulan keeps coming back to see his practices even though she has no idea he’s there and Shang keeps coming back to put on a show for her because she’s kind, and quiet, and strong-willed, and in awe of what he does and he likes her. Maybe that happened a couple of months before they officially met? Or somethin. Be pretty neat to have that background to their relationship.

(Bonus if she calls him “my sea dragon”)

#ignore the horrible firework #also ignore mulan’s atrocious color scheme I was tired okay #li shang #mermaid au #mermaid li shang #merman li shang #Mulan mermaid au #mulan/shang #Mulan and Shang #i might have made his muscles too big oops

[supremeuppityone]

Written for the @klarosummerbingo Klarosummer Bingo Event prompt: Shakespeare in the park

          The sweat stung her eyes as Caroline helped Bonnie lift the unwieldy metal archway from the pristine lawn, wondering if Matt’s beat-up truck bed would be long enough to transport it back to the park where the rest of their theater group had started building the sets. The Shakespeare in the Park Event was going to be a success; Caroline had put too much of herself into the pre-production planning to let it all fall apart now. Even if their flighty director Sibyl had decided at the latest minute to turn this year’s production of Titus Andronicus into a fusion Western.

           Because of the last-minute changes, she and Bonnie had been scrambling to source low-cost props that would transform the production sets into an Old West-style town with a Shakespearian twist. To help stretch their meager budget, Caroline had the brilliant idea to drive around the fancier side of town on trash collection day to see if they spotted any furniture that could be repurposed.

           “You know, all this dumpster diving could’ve been avoided if you’d just played nice with Damon,” Bonnie grumbled as she struggled to hold up her end of the metal structure. “I know he’s a jerk, but he’s Stefan’s brother and agent and he convinced Stefan to star in the production for free to boost ticket sales. He even offered to pay for the set costs; all he wanted was—”

           She shook her head violently, nearly adding another dent to Matt’s battered fender. “Was for the female cast to agree to a gross version of ‘Girls Gone Wild’ theater edition calendar as part of the promotional materials. It’s one thing to celebrate the female form, but another to make it mandatory for the entire female cast. I shut that shit down as soon as Sibyl brought it to me.”

           Bonnie awkwardly cleared her throat, telling her quietly, “Oh. Um, I didn’t realize that’s what he was after. I just overheard him ask Sibyl for the girls to do some promotional posters. I didn’t know about that part of it.” Grunting under the weight of the archway, her tone turned outraged as she added, “To hell with Damon then. We don’t need his help.”

           “Exactly,” Caroline nodded, using the corner of her t-shirt sleeve to wipe her sweaty forehead. She recalled with a pang that in addition to their concerns about sourcing props, they still hadn’t cast the lead, Tamora, the Bandit Queen. Normally, anyone in their theater group would relish the opportunity to play such a well-written villain, but everyone knew that it would mean sharing almost every scene with the other lead, Titus, who’d be played by Stefan.  

           While Stefan was a classically trained actor whose enviable professional career included numerous Broadway productions and several well-known Indie film accolades, behind the scenes, he was a pompous ass who clearly thought his talent allowed him to rise above common manners...and hygiene. Apparently, he was in the middle of a durian fruit and fermented soybean paste juice cleanse that made him smell like an outhouse in July and the organic sardine oil hair gel he insisted on wearing made one’s eyes water if you got too close.

           Caroline sighed in exasperation, “Can’t you just play Tamora this one time? Sibyl’s getting desperate and she’s one crazy eye twitch away from making us meditate underwater to commune with our inner siren. Again.”

           “Nope. Besides, it’s just like Demetrius says in Act 2: ‘She is a woman, therefore must be wooed.’ So far, no one’s done much to woo me into taking this role. Let’s just stall a bit longer. Surely some nitwit will stupidly volunteer because Stefan’s their sad little celebrity crush.”

           Caroline favored her friend with a small smile, hoping she was right. She tossed Bonnie several bungee cords and began tying down the archway to make sure it didn’t fall out of the truck when she heard a woman’s indignant screech.

           “What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing; traipsing about our lawn as though you lived here?”

           They both looked up to see an intimidatingly beautiful blonde come storming out of the impressive colonial-style mansion, waving her arms angrily at the truck. Following close at her heels was an equally attractive man with a dimpled smirk, and Caroline inwardly questioned whether a free archway was worth what looked like an exasperating conversation.

           “We were careful not to step on your flowerbeds,” she called out, wondering what the big deal was, “and your gardener told us that you’d approved the removal of the archway to be tossed out on trash day. Since you didn’t want it, we’re repurposing it.”

           The blonde crossed her arms, eyeing Caroline’s paint-stained t-shirt and cutoff shorts disdainfully. “Do you just flit through posh neighborhoods, collecting rubbish then?”

           A frown crossed the handsome man’s face, and he hissed, “That’s enough, Rebekah.” He stepped forward, offering his hand for Caroline to shake as he introduced himself. “I’m Klaus, and this vengeful harpy is my sister, Rebekah.” He gestured toward the legs of the archway that Bonnie had been struggling to tie down. “And yes, the gardener had been instructed to toss that out. Do you need any help making it secure?”

           “Honestly, brother, the blonde doesn’t look particularly discerning. I’m sure offering to buy her a beer would require less effort and produce the same results.”

           Caroline felt her temper flare, but she didn’t have time to get into it with whatever crippling insecurities this woman had dragged with her into adulthood. She also saw that familiar vicious smile of Bonnie’s, the one that had signaled two separate brawls down at the Mystic Bar and the super-charged prune and apricot laxative in an ex’s drink. She quickly said, “I’m Caroline and that’s Bonnie. We’re out looking for things we could turn into props for our local theater group. Bonnie, why don’t you get them a flyer out of the front seat?”

           Bonnie ungraciously thrust the flyer at Klaus, who immediately seemed intrigued by the unique Old West-inspired wanted poster that formed the background of the ad. “You’re performing Titus Andronicus as a Western,” he asked, a healthy bit of skepticism in his accented voice as he said dryly, “That’s one of those creative ventures that’s either positively inspired or sheer madness.”

           “It can be two things,” Caroline cheerfully agreed as she helped him secure the remaining side of the metalwork into the truck bed.

           Klaus chuckled, sharing a smile with her that made her grateful for the already stifling morning so he would assume she was just flushed from the heat. His tone turned thoughtful as he offered, “Actually love, if you’re searching for pieces to help sell the Old West atmosphere, there’s some leftover ceiling beams from when we remodeled the downstairs study — perhaps they could be made into a fence? In fact, I happen to have some kits leftover to transform pieces into more of an antique woodgrain appearance if you’d like to have them.”

           Caroline’s eyes lit up with wonder. “That sounds perfect, thank you!” She did her best not to fidget under his warm gaze, trying to sound casual as she asked, “Uh, do you maybe want to stop by the park sometime to see how the sets are coming along?” She caught the teasing little half-grin on Bonnie’s face and knew she’d hear all about it later.

           “I’d be honored,” he quickly answered, that accent of his doing fluttery things to her stomach that Caroline was helpless to ignore.

           “Really, you’d offer utter strangers African mahogany,” Rebekah scoffed, snatching the flyer from Klaus.

           While Caroline had no idea what that actually meant, from the way the tips of his ears reddened, it sounded like their production company just received an unexpected windfall. As Bonnie was texting Jeremy to bring his truck over to pick up Klaus’ generous donation, an odd, strangled noise came out of the angry blonde that made everyone glance over in surprise.

           “You’re part of the Shakespeare in the Park Event,” she asked faintly, her perfectly manicured hands shaking slightly as she seemed to be rereading the same few lines on the flyer in disbelief. “You get to work with Stefan Salvatore, one of the greatest modern talents of both stage and screen?”

           Bonnie raised an eyebrow, telling her flatly, “Yeah, he’s playing Titus, the reformed bank robber returning to his family’s homestead. So far, it’s been...something.”

           Rebekah’s entire demeanor changed, and she was practically bouncing as she gushed, “I’ve seen all of his shows on Broadway and his movies and I’d wanted to stop by the park for an autograph but was told it was a closed rehearsal. I’d do anything to meet him!”

           Caroline exchanged a sly look with Bonnie, who looked positively gleeful. “Well, as it so happens, we need someone to play Tamora...”

#klarosummerbingo #supremeuppityone #uppity bitch fanfic #klaroline fanfic #klaroline #i love a petty caroline #and a kickass bonnie who would totally get in a bar brawl

[nervousalpacahologram]

Skies of Orcadia

My Secret Santa gift for @satanisslacking!

Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, a vast grey submersible sank into the depths, floodlights illuminating the dark water below. A symbol was emblazoned on the side of the vessel, a large circular shape with three inward facing arrows. The acronym ‘SCP’ stood proud below it, the logo of the Foundation standing out starkly in the water. 

The submersible was occupied by only 6 people. The Captain and his assistant, two MTF guards with a red hand pattern decorating their visors, and two oddly dressed people. These last two were the least human of the lot, standing out amongst the uniformity of the surrounding vehicle.

 The first one stood taller than anyone else, stooped slightly to fit into the room. Their smile was much too wide, and they wore a long, brown kimono which trailed behind them. Long leather threads hung from the garment, threaded through the many, many teeth that dangled around them. Their long black hair was held back with a set of hair sticks, studded with even more teeth. Every few seconds, a tooth or two would fall from the folds of their kimono and land on the floor. If anyone noticed, they said nothing.

 The second one seemed more human, a man about six foot and bald. He wore a garment that could be described as a cloak of rags, with bones of human and animal origin sewn and clamped on with metal threads. Blue lights glowed faintly beneath his pale skin, and the faint sound of ticking clockwork surrounded him, forming a broken hymn in the echoey room.

 Tags on their clothes indicated them as O5s Seven and One respectively, code names Teeth and Founder. The two exchanged hushed words as the submersible went deeper, until a massive shape came looming out of the darkness. It had the appearance of a massive, mechanical hermit crab, a giant shell several kilometers across attached to its back. The shell glinted with aurora colors, shining brightly in the deep.

 To any onlooker, it would appear as if it was some alien war machine, but to the two O5s who stood inside the submersible, it was just another SCP. 4700 to be exact. The capital and home of the Finnfolk.

 The Finnfolk were a race of thaumotologically advanced aquatic entities that the Foundation had been helping for the past several years. Neither One nor Seven knew enough about the Finnfolk Dilemma, at least not enough as Four, who was on holiday.

 Founder breathed a sigh of relief as their ship docked on the side of the machine, anchoring them to a semi-solid platform. One hated being underwater, but it was a sacrifice he had to make. A green exit sign began to glow above the ship’s hatch as it began to open, letting in the carefully controlled air of SCP-4700.

 “Ready for our turn at these negotiations Founder? We can hope that time hasn’t tarnished your silver tongue.” Founder rolled his eyes at Teeth’s light jibe, preparing his own retort as they stepped out of the hatch. However, before he could respond, they were greeted by a company of Finnfolk. They recognized the leader in passing. Hege, Queen of the Finnfolk. Her scales shimmered gold only slightly dulled by time.

 Both Overseers bowed, and Hege did the same, before waving them to follow her. As she talked with one of her guards, Teeth and Founder chatted together, commenting on and observing the intricate metal structure around them.

 They soon found themselves inside of a meeting hall, the long, wooden table absent of guests. The Overseers sat across from Hege, who clicked her fingers softly. A large, thaumatological projection appeared behind her, images swirling like silt in the water of a delta.

 “Greetings prophet of Hakhama.” She said to the Founder, his eyes widening as the name of his goddess was spoken in the Broken Tongue. A blurry image of a massive woman of iron and bronze cog-work impaling a writhing red serpent filled the misty projection. “And greetings to you, oh Boundary-Maker, Warden of the Seventh Seal.”

 As they spoke to Teeth, the image changed rapidly. Planets and timelines rent apart by gnashing teeth, gods pinned inside great cages of brass and enamel. Seven smiled widely, hand raising to keep the dozens of forming teeth from spilling out of their mouth.

 “I have called both of you here on the topic of my own fears, and whether you will put them to rest or… Give them reason to fester.” She gestured to one of her guards, who came forward with a small sheaf of papers. It was only a dozen or so sheets thick, but it carried an almost ominous aura. “Let’s see here, contained, contained, contained, contained, neutralized, neutralized, contained, contained,  neutralized… Need I go on?”

 The images on the projection changed to cages once again, bars and manacles holding anomalies of all variety.

 “When this is over, when we’re operational and no longer facing potential extinction, what will you do? Contain us, destroy us? Will you lock us away to never see the light of the Orcadian Sun again?” She folded her hands and leaned forward, raising an inquisitive brow. One and Seven looked to one another, and Seven gestured for One to speak first.

 “To answer your question, I shall put them to rest. In the last ten years, the Foundation has been facing a growing, exponential tide of the anomalous. A ΨK-Class “Crimson Skies” Scenario. It has… Required us to adopt a much less radical stance against the anomalous if we are to maintain secrecy. Containment Breaches have decreased by 6% in the past two years with this decision. So no, we shall not attempt to contain you, as long as you make an attempt to maintain secrecy, you’re safe.” He smiled, iron teeth glistening in the hazy light, “We’re not complete fools after all.”

 Seven then stood up, the clack of teeth falling to the floor echoing. Hege noticed that they were Finnfolk teeth, long yet blunt. She shuddered as she thought of whatever time that the deity could’ve collected them.

 “Now, Friends. As we stand here in the guts of this great machine, we must stop to think for a moment. This may be slightly off-topic… But must be said. To put it bluntly, the worlds going to hell. The people in the light are killing each other without the aid of the anomalous, despite its exponential rise. A new doomsday cult shows up every day it seems. And to top it all off…”

 The hazy projection changed, taking the form of burning planets, dead gods, their domains laying shattered around them. Seven seemed even taller than they were before, teeth falling quickly from the mouths that occupied the palms of their hands.

 “We have several hypotheses, but no concrete facts. Gods killed left and right, and Tamlin’s predictions haven’t helped things. There is a cataclysmic threat on the horizon. It looms over us like a mountain looms over two wayfaring travelers, fleeing the home that caused them pain.”

 “If your worries hadn’t inspired you to call for us, we would have eventually called you. For one of the few times in our lives, we truly don’t know what will happen next. Our request is as follows: We would like an official alliance between the Finnfolk and the Foundation. To share knowledge, technology, thaumatology, anything. If either of us are to survive, this appears to be the best course of action Queen Hege.”

 There was silence for several seconds, Hege contemplating Teeth’s words. The only sounds were the gentle clattering of teeth, and the quiet ticking from underneath One’s skin, filling the room. The visors of the two MTF guards were opaque but everyone could feel their eyes surveying the situation from behind the single red right hand. Everything seemed to stop the instant Hege opened her mouth, a single word escaping her lips.

 “Yes.” Teeth smiled, posture relaxing as One’s mechanism’s slowed to a more mellow rhythm. “If the future is as bleak as you say it is, then we both need as much help as we can get. Let us… forge this alliance at the heart of Guð-Bani.” She stood up and motioned for the two O5’s to follow her.

 One stood, adjusting his cloak of rags and bones to sit comfortably on his shoulders. Him and Seven exchanged a look, the kimono-clad overseer motioning for the MTF guards to stay. Hege gave a similar gesture, her Finnfolk guards standing down.

 The overseers followed Hege in a comfortable silence, Seven and One’s conversation conveyed in hand gestures and facial expressions. As they descended into the heart of the Finnfolk war machine, One’s eyes switched from blue to gold, a new lense to fit the darkness of the lower levels.

 “Tell me friends.” Hege said, turning her head slightly to look back at them. “Are you familiar with the customs of our species?” The Overseers glanced at each other before shrugging and turning back to Hege.

 “Four would know, but he’s managed to convince the Ethics Committee to give him a holiday.” Hege cocked her head considering their words before she replied.

 “Given your line of work, I imagine that that would be some astounding feat of persuasion.”

 “You have no Idea.” Seven chuckled and paused a moment before speaking again. “Hey One, remember when he convinced Eight that you and Three were…” They were cut off as One made a high-pitched series of mechanical clicks and whirrs, a series of curses in his mother-tongue.

 “I’m afraid I don’t understand Broken,” Hege said, eyeing One as he muttered several more mechanical sounds. “What did he say?”

 “Oh, it’s nothing, he’s just flustered.” Seven waved their hand, dismissing the question.

 “Back on topic, as is custom, the Finnfolk forge alliances literally. A scale or tooth is taken from each side and embedded in molten bronze. As long as the bronze is solid, the alliance is still active. The only problem is…” She paused, worrying her bottom lip with a fang, “The only problem is that it requires part of every person present. Finnfolk have scales, but with you…”

 “I’ll stop you right there.” Seven said, placing a hand on Hege’s shoulder. “I have more teeth than I know what to do with, and One over here is almost entirely made of metal. We can work something out.” They smiled and plucked a long incisor from their mouth, gripping it in their hand. “Now! Let’s get going. We accomplish nothing by standing here.”

 When they made it to the heart of Guð-Bani, Seven and One were taken aback. Their own sites were beasts of steel and concrete, grand and grey. But the forge at the Center of the Finnfolk capital was in another league of its own.

 Soaring metal beams framed the domed room, converging along the edges of a massive mosaic in the ceiling. It depicted a great, red humanoid being struck in the chest by a bolt of blue light. A massive forge sat in the center of the room, vats of molten metal and tubes of gasses running throughout the room. It was truly like a heart, almost pulsing with light and sound.

 Hege strode to one of the many workbenches that lay, scattered around the room. There, she picked up an intricate mold and a pair of tongs, leading them to a vat of molten metal.

 “Now, we need the pieces.” She picked a long, curved dagger from her side, and bringing it to her arm, deftly cut a small scale from it.

 One extended his hand, and the Finnfolk queen placed the dagger into his palm. He took a deep breath and began to cut at the skin of his arm. Hege visibly blanched as he peeled skin back to reveal the glistening mechanisms beneath. Cords of metal muscle and softly ticking clockwork filled out his arms. Gently, he plucked an auxiliary gear from its position and handed to Hege along with Seven’s tooth.

 “Now, in the heart of Guð-Bani, I, Queen Hege of the Orkney Finnfolk, solemnly build this alliance between The Foundation and the people of Orcadia.” She raised the three pieces above her head and laid them down into the mold. “Until the day this bronze is recast, let this alliance go unbroken.” She began to pour molten bronze from a crucible into the mold, One and Seven looking on.

 =============================================================

 Hege held up the intricate Celtic Knot, the three items held fast by the brazen metal. Seven and One watched as a prayer was whispered from her lips, sealing the alliance. As her whispering voice faded into silence, she turned towards the two Overseers, the bronze held at her side.

 “The Alliance has been forged my friends. You have our resources as we have yours.” Extending her hand, she shook the Overseers’, her solemn face slowly turning into a smile. “I imagine that you both must be on your way. But if you must ever return here, know that you are all welcome here.”

 Seven smiled, their mouth containing only slightly above the normal amount of teeth. “And You are welcome to the Foundation, within reason. Some overzealous level 2 or 3 might try to put a bullet in your head.” One pulled a blue keycard from his pocket, handing to Hege. “This is a Thaumial clearance card. It grants certain anomalous entities the freedom to traverse our sites unhindered. Use it well.” She took it gratefully, whispering her thanks.

 “Now, we should be on our way.” Founder said, and the two Overseers turned and began to walk. Hege looked down at the cast bronze, wondering if the right choice had been made. Shaking her head, she dismissed the idea for another time.

 =============================================================

Do you think this was a good idea One?” Seven asked as they boarded the submersible, followed by the Alpha-One guards. One stood silently, pondering his answer to Seven’s question.

 “I’m not sure if dealings with the anomalous are ever Good ideas, but I think that this was the best thing to do.” A screen popped up on the metal hatch, asking:

 “Does the Black Moon howl?”

 “When Thirteen O5’s Ride the Rising Tides” One said, stepping through the opening door. Seven followed close behind, quiet before they spoke again.

 “Dealings with the Anomalous? A bit hypocritical One. We’re a Machine and a God, helping to lead one of the most powerful organizations in the observable multiverse. Our colleagues are Gods , Anomalies, and whatever the hell Twelve is. Dealings with the Anomalous is a day-to-day activity.”

 One rolled his eyes, motioning for the submersible to begin it’s ascent. Seven merely smiled and patted One on the back, jostling the bones that hung from his cloak. They chatted amicably as the vehicle rose from the dark into the light, One sighing with relief as they breached the surface.

 “Maybe you’re right Seven. I… I don’t know. I suppose that the only thing we can do is prepare. I just hope that what we’re doing is the right thing.” Seven nodded as the hatch opened, the bright sunlight illuminating them as they stepped outside.

  “I think it is… I think it is.”

#SCP Foundation #@satanisslacking #scp 4700 #Orkney Rising #o5-1 #o5-7 #the founder #teeth #Queen Hege #finnfolk #Crimson Skies

[a-splash-of-stucky]

I Know This Game | Nine

Pairings: Bucky x Foster!Reader

Summary: In which ALL is revealed, and you make a difficult decision.

Warnings: SAD!Bucky (like, really sad), mentions of sex

Notes: You’re gonna need some tissues. 

IKTG Masterlist

“It was—,”, Bucky sighs and shakes his head ruefully, “I don’t have the same way with words as you doll, but I guess it was kinda slow, pretty gradual. I realised it was happening pretty late in the game, but I think I was in love with you for a long time,”. 

Bucky slowly reaches across the table and cautiously rests his flesh hand on top of yours; you don’t pull away. “You were so patient, so understanding, so kind to me,” he says softly, “You had this…this intuition about me. When to let me make my own choices, but not to make me choose when I was overwhelmed, or make me choose between too many things. It was always this or that. And slowly, we worked it up to this or that or that. And—you can’t believe how much of a help that’s been,”.

There are tears gathering in his eyes, so you twist your hand around so that your palm is facing upwards and use your thumb to soothe small circles on the back of his hand. Bucky smiles wistfully at the gesture.

“That’s not the only thing you’ve done for me, sweetheart. You’ve done so many things, things you’re probably not even aware you were doing but—,” he cuts himself off as a tear rolls down his cheek, shaking his head dolefully. When Bucky looks into your eyes, even the dumbest of fools could not mistake the sincerity in his gaze, “I always appreciated what you did for me, doll. Don’t you ever think otherwise,”.

The shattered remains of your heart flare with joy at that.

“I knew I loved you,” Bucky says, eyes focused on where your hands are clasped together, “I’d forgotten what it was to love. The only people I’ve really ever loved where my parents and my sisters, and Steve, I guess—but that’s not the kind of love it was like with you,”. Bucky’s gaze shifts to your face and he cocks his head to the left, deep in thought. “It was like…I was sinking, but I didn’t want to swim my way to the top. At first I was scared, ‘cause I didn’t wanna hurt you, but—I just let myself sink,”. He lets out a watery chuckle, “And when I got to the bottom, I let it embrace me. And with you—it’s like I realised I could breathe underwater,”. Bucky looks so unsure of himself that you can’t help but give his hand a little squeeze. The corner of his lips twitch in response.

“You know the first time I realised?” Bucky asks. When you shake your head mutely, he continues, “It was when you and I had our first picnic in the garden, do you remember?”

“Yeah,” you laugh breathlessly, “Yeah, I remember,”. 

It had been a wonderfully crisp spring day, some six months after you moved into the compound. You’d decided to take your session with Bucky outside, spreading out a proper picnic blanket — courtesy of Pepper — with plenty of food. Bucky had looked so content, sitting with his palms behind him, face turned towards the sun, a tiny smile playing on his lips. The two of you had talked, but it wasn’t a very rigid or particularly structured session; things felt more organic, the conversation flowing freely. It was one of the first times where your interactions crossed the line from strictly professional, to something more intimate.

“It was one of the best days I’d had in a long time,” Bucky admits, “I said something — can’t remember what it was, now — and you laughed. Honest-to-god laughed, a proper big one,”. He’s grinning now, lost in the memory, and you can’t help but smile along with him. “Your entire face lit up brighter than the sun, and your eyes shone like two gigantic stars. And you looked so goddamn gorgeous, and the sound was so pretty, I—that laugh made me feel happier than anything else in this world. Made my heart skip a beat and helped fuse together the random pieces of my mind floating around inside here,” he says, knocking his temple with his free hand. “And I just knew that I wanted to make you laugh like that again,”.

“And you did,” you murmur comfortingly, not missing the way his face falls after saying that.

Bucky gives you a self-depreciating chuckle. “Yeah, guess I did. You know what else made me sure? That I loved you?”

You’re not sure if he actually wants an answer or not, but you say “What?” nonetheless.

“Babydoll, you were the person to show me that I could use this,” Bucky waves his metal hand around, “For something other than destruction. For pleasure, specifically,”.

“It was very pleasurable,” you confess, winking at him playfully to lighten the mood. The lopsided smirk you get in return makes your heart tighten with longing.

“There are other things,” Bucky continues, “Millions of things, so many that I could fill whole books, doll. Or, well, I would, if I could actually write. But we’ll digress from the story if I go into them now,”.

“Back to you and Nat?” you murmur.

He nods in agreement, “Back to Nat and I. Right. So, once I realised that I had feelings for you, like proper, feelings for you, I told her and we cut things off. This was before we ever did anything even vaguely romantic together,”.

Your brows furrow, because things just…don’t add up.

“Right, well, now we’re getting into the good stuff,” Bucky sighs, leaning back into his chair. “We — that is, the Avengers and I — figured that there had to be a spy in the compound,”.

“A spy?” you echo, “What—how?”

“A couple of months after we started dating, the team had a number of bust missions,”, Bucky says slowly, clasping his hands together and resting them on the edge of the table. “Budapest, Vienna, Jakarta, a few more. Everything from being ambushed, to lousy intel, to hostages, to the bad guys getting there before we could, you name it. And it was all…too perfect, too in the nick of time, so we figured there had to be someone leaking out sensitive info,”.

“At first, we couldn’t see a pattern; they all seemed unrelated. And worse still, not all the missions we went on, went south. It was kind of luck of the draw, until Steve and that big brain of his realised that all the missions that were going bust were HYDRA-related in some way,”.

Your eyebrow quirks up in interest.

Bucky’s getting into it now, hands moving animatedly as he recounts his tale. “Not HYDRA, per se — there’s hardly anything left of them — but a lot of the facades they’d set up over the years were still in place and starting to act up. So this raised the question: alright, so who’s the HYDRA rat? The only people that have access to this info besides us are the STRIKE team, so we figured it had to be one of them,”.

You scrunch your nose in disapproval. The STRIKE team provided extra support for the Avengers in whatever form they might require, usually in the form of extra man power. You’d had a few brushes with the team members over your couple of years in the compound and you didn’t like any of them one bit. Big ugly brutes; way too macho and aggressive for your taste.

“We didn’t want to call their bluff too early, ‘cause we wanted to see how deeply HYDRA had breached our security,”, Bucky explains.

You’re getting more and more confused. “I don’t see how this relates to you and Nat,”.

Bucky nods sympathetically. “I know, doll, we’re getting to that part, I just got a few more pieces of the puzzle to show you,”. He clears his throat, “So, it was no secret to any of us that HYDRA wanted me back,”.

You grimace because you hate thinking about the atrocities that Bucky had had to go through in those years. Alone, no less. You weren’t a violent person by nature, but you had a strong urge to rip the people who’d hurt him apart, limb from limb. Bucky, sensing your distress, gives you a placating smile. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, no one in the team was gonna let that happen, especially not with Steve around,”. The two of you chuckle fondly; the Cap was known for being a little paranoid over matters concerning his childhood best friend.

“But the point is, they wanted me back. Makes sense, right? They invested a whole lot of time and effort and money into me, the Fist of HYDRA, their greatest asset, so they’re not gonna let me just walk away. Either they have me, or no one has me. And we figured that if there was a mole in the compound, ultimately, they would attempt to get me back. Because with the Soldier under their control, HYDRA would be able to rebuild much faster,”.

Bucky takes both your hands in his, as if he needs to take some strength from you. When he gazes into your eyes, you see the vulnerability in his stare. “And…if they knew what you meant to me, sweetheart, they wouldn’t hesitate to use you against me. They’d take you and manipulate you, just so they could get me back,”.

You suck in a surprised breath at his statement. It’s not too far-fetched to believe; after what those monsters did to him, you’re certain that nothing is beneath them.

“And I’d go after you, sweetheart,” Bucky says, his voice wavering, but sincere. “Don’t you for a second think that I wouldn’t. I would tear this world apart, bring down heaven and raise the Devil from hell itself if that’s what I had to do to get you back. You’re my everything, sweetheart, my everything,”. Buck turns away and chokes back a wretched sob. You don’t have it in you to doubt him, so you squeeze his hands reassuringly, a silent show of your faith in him.

“I know, Buck,” you whisper, “My love, I know you would,”.

He smiles wetly. “A part of me lives inside you. I’m not whole without you,” he murmurs, paraphrasing some of the words you’d said to him in your letter. Bucky pulls his human hand out of yours and wipes away his tears with an exhausted sigh, “So that’s why we had to keep our relationships under wraps,”, he tells you.

You hum in understanding, pieces of the puzzle starting to fall into place. Bucky had been very insistent that as few people as possible knew about your relationship. You’d assumed — and he hadn’t said anything to lead you to think otherwise — that it was because he just wanted to keep you to himself for a while. Being in a group as high-profile as the Avengers meant that many aspects of Bucky’s life were under scrutiny by the general public, so he treasured any scrap of privacy he could have. The only people in the compound who were in on your little secret was the rest of the team; Sam, Steve, Tony and Nat. Now, his behaviour and requests make a lot more sense.

“Yeah,” he says, smiling when he sees the understanding flicker across your face, “Think about it, who knew about us — just the team right? To everyone else, you were just my therapist. Even allowing you to be seen as a close friend was risky,”.

Bucky’s fingers twitch as he pauses. His eyes are dark, but have a far-off look in them, as if whatever he has to say next really hurts. “We had to throw their scent off further,” he says quietly, “I couldn’t risk them knowing about us. We tossed a few ideas around, but agreed that the ultimate way was to pretend that I had a private, yet illustrious affair with Natasha herself. It would make sense to them. I already had history with her, so they’d think I was just acting on old urges,”.

“And if they ever got Natasha,” Bucky adds, with a little shrug, “She’s been held captive before, potentially by worse people. I’m sure she could take it. She rather it were her, than you,”

“She’d do that for me?” you breathe, voice quietly incredulous, “She would…I guess, sacrifice herself for me?”

Bucky nods, a tiny smile on his lips, “Yeah doll. She saw what you and I were. She’d do that for us,”.

Suddenly, you feel extremely guilty for ever questioning the strength of the friendship between you and Nat. You should’ve know that although she may have had a dark past, her fierceness of character and sense of loyalty to the people she cared for would never waver.

“So, we had to keep it private,” Bucky continues, “Yet make sure that the people who we thought might be rats — the STRIKE team — were in the know. That’s why Nat and I started going on a lot of missions with them, and being…well, touchy, around them, I guess,”.

Your face twists into a grimace at the thought of them together, your mind conjuring up images of when they had been incredibly touchy with one another. Bucky seems to notice this, as he is quick to add, “She treated it like an extended mission, love, and so did I. I was never in love with her. I—I just took it as a job, right? It was always just part of my job, keeping you safe,”.

“You know how hard it was to lie to you?” he says urgently, hands clutching yours a little tighter. Bucky’s eyes burn with intense desperation, he wants you to believe him so badly. “It broke my heart every time I had to lie to you, every time I had to touch her. I wish I didn’t have to, doll. I really did. We had to—there was so much we had to do to make sure you didn’t find out. God, I never wanted to hurt you, love, but I didn’t know what else I had to do to keep you safe,”.

“How long did it go on for?” you ask quietly.

Bucky hesitates and your heart is filled with a sinking feeling. You’re not going to like his answer.

“About nine months,”, he says, at last.

Your eyes widen, because that is…practically all the time that the two of you were dating.

“That doesn’t mean I didn’t mean what I said to you!” Bucky insists, squeezing your hands harder when he feels you starting to withdraw. “Please, doll, you gotta believe me, I never, ever, loved her, it was only ever you in my heart of hearts,”, he says, conviction lacing his tone. You search his face for any sign that he is lying, but then again, how would you know? Apparently, he’s been lying to you for almost your entire relationship, and you didn’t notice then, why would you notice now? Your confusion is only heightened.

“Please, doll,” Bucky whispers brokenly, eyes bright with unshed tears.

“So what about…the whole…incident?” you ask, fighting to keep your expression as cool and neutral as possible. You pray the you won’t have to specify which ‘incident’ you’re referring to.

Bucky flinches, not wanting to say the next bit. “It was set up,”.

“What?!” you exclaim, perhaps a little too loud. From behind the counter, Scott shoots you a curious look. You wince and say it again, quieter this time.

“Hear me out, okay?” Bucky pleads, “I had to push you away, love. Things were…getting too close, too heated. Nat and I—our cover was under question, some of the STRIKE team weren’t buying it so much, and the only thing any of us could do to keep you safe was to make you leave,”.

You are genuinely stunned. You’d thought that your friends had betrayed you, but really…they were trying to keep you safe? The knowledge doesn’t lessen the pain in the slightest. It had felt so real.

“How—how did it—you gotta tell me more, Bucky,” you say, voice trembling a little.

Bucky nods. “So I told JARVIS to send you down to the hangar. Nat and I got set up in the janitor’s closet — we purposefully left the door unlocked, d’you know that?”

You had found that detail particularly strange. Forgetting to lock the door didn’t seem like something that either of them would do, even in the heat of the moment. “So—you didn’t have sex with her?”

Bucky blushed profusely. “No, not sex. But, we had to make things look as convincing as possible, so she got naked and I had to—make it hard, which was a, uhh,” he trails off and laughs abashedly. “Um, embarrassing, I guess. I had to, y’know,” he makes a rude gesture with his hand and you roll your eyes, biting back a smirk. “But god bless her,” Bucky murmurs, “Took it all in stride. Very little fazes her,”.

His expression sobers and he looks at you intently. “With her, it was only ever that one time when she was drunk. You have to believe me doll, I would never ever cheat on you, you deserve so much better than that. I only ever wanted to keep you safe and make you happy, and I guess I did one but not the other,”, Bucky sighs.

“You did make me happy, Buck,” you whisper softly.

Bucky shrugs. “You shoulda seen Steve, after,” he says softly, “Wanted to come running after you. Steve doesn’t have it in him to be cruel. Even Tony and Sam were pretty shook up. Are still pretty shook up. Just because they weren’t in love with you doesn’t mean they didn’t care for you, doll,”.

“So all of them really were in the know?” you ask.

“Yeah. We spent a long time planning it, trying to make it as realistic as possible, trying to make it so you left the compound and severed all contact with us,” says Bucky. “And we figure that the only way it was going to happen for certain, was if you just felt…well, betrayed,”. He cracks, then, a harsh, wounded noise ripping free from his throat. A fat tear rolls down his cheek and you just manage to stop yourself from reaching across the table to swipe it away.

“I never wanted to hurt you,” Bucky sobs, “Honest, I never. None of us wanted to. None of us wanted to see you go. We were all hurt, love, I—even Natasha, you know? Felt so guilty. All of us felt so guilty,”.

You can’t bear to look at him anymore, fearing that your last reserves of control would be used up. You avert your gaze to stare at your lap, “Did you catch your rat?”

“Well, we figured out who he was,” Bucky replies, “Rumlow, the bastard. He got away before we could catch him. We’re trying to track him down, but the son of a bitch is pretty damn smart,”.

The two of you are silent for a long time. Bucky is anxiously waiting for your response, watching you through his lashes as you try to process the onslaught of information you’ve just received. 

You’re utterly shocked. A whole slew of emotions are raging through your system — you don’t know whether you feel more angry, or upset, or grateful. It’s a real mixed bag, and your overtaxed mind is struggling to cope. You feel a lot better now that you know the truth, but the knowledge does hardly anything to dull the pain.

“You know how you don’t realise how much you need something until it’s gone?” Bucky asks timidly. His eyes flicker to yours to make sure that you’re listening. “That’s what it was like, losing you. I didn’t know that I was taking you for granted until I ripped us apart. I didn’t realise just how much I loved you until you were gone,”.

Bucky sits forward in his chair, brings both your hands up to his mouth and grazes his lips over your knuckles. “I love you, Y/N,” he whispers urgently, eyes glimmering with held-back tears, “I’ve never stopped loving you, sweetheart. And it’s okay if you don’t feel quite the same, I hurt you, I understand that, but—I never wanted to. I love you, sweetheart, you’re my everything,”.

If I keep my eyes closed, he looks just like you

The expression you wear betrays none of the turmoil raging inside you. You’re silent as you appraise the situation. This man sitting in front you is not who you thought he was, but at the same time, is. Ultimately, Bucky did what he thought he had to do to keep you safe, but can the end justify the means? You recognise that he had good intentions, but nevertheless, that doesn’t change the fact that he literally tore your heart out of your chest and stomped all over it. Was there really no other way to save you?

Your exhausted brain doesn’t know what to make of all this. The Bucky sitting in front of you looks like the Bucky you fell in love with — if a little rough and scruffy around the edges and gaunt from lack of sleep. But sometimes, when your mind plays tricks on you, you can’t help but see him in a different light. You see his lies for what they are — as well-intended as they may be — and you see the way he looked with Natasha tangled around him. You love him, but it’s not the same, and you don’t know if you can ever go back to loving him like that, not when you know too much. You want things to go back to the way they used to be, but know that that is not a possibility.

In a split-second, you know exactly what to do with yourself.

“Bucky, I love you too,” you say slowly. His face immediately brightens, his smile tugging at your heartstrings and making the hole in your chest ache with longing. “But I don’t know if it’s the same way I used to,”.

Bucky nods, and is about to open his mouth, but you stare him down, stopping his thought in its tracks. “You remember what I said in my letter? How all my relationships are the same? They end the same way—,”

“Yes, but doll—,”

“Let me finish,” you growl quietly, “Please,”.

Bucky bites his bottom lip and nods reluctantly.

“Before I can love anyone else, I need to learn to love myself,” you say, “I need to learn how to be whole on my own, without someone filling this—this chasm in my heart,”.

His brow furrows as he turns this piece of information over and over in his head. You forge on, “My heart—all it’s ever been is broken, or barely held together. I’ve—I’ve never given it time to heal, y’know? And maybe, once I’ve discovered what it means to be myself, without having to depend on other people, I’ll realise what I want. Maybe that’ll be you. That’d be nice. Or maybe, it won’t,”.

“So what’re you gonna do?” Bucky asks, not meeting your gaze.

“I’m gonna take a year for myself. Doing my work, travelling the world. No dating, no romances, just taking time for myself,” you say decisively, “And in a year, I’ll come back and reassess what I want,”.

“I’ll be waiting for you,” Bucky murmurs, lifting his head so you can see the glimmer of hope in his eyes.

You shake your head, “I don’t want you to do that,”.

He opens his mouth to protest, but you put a hand up to stop him. 

“I might not come back to you,” you say. Your heart twinges with pain as you force your mouth to say those words. “I don’t know if I can come back to this,” you say, gesturing with your hands in expressive circles, “Not just because I feel betrayed, but because…I don’t know if I can handle the stress of you going out on missions and not knowing if you’ll come back. All these secrets. The—I believe in second chances, Bucky, but I don’t know if I have anymore to give,”.

Bucky’s eyes are brimming with tears and his bottom lip is wobbling and it is taking every ounce of self-restraint inside you to stay strong. “I’m not saying never,” you whisper, taking his metal hand in both of yours, “I’m just saying…that I need time to heal, and I don’t want to leave you with the false hope that I’m coming back. Maybe I will, maybe I’ll just be your friend, or maybe…not,”, you finish.

“Please don’t go,” Bucky pleads, tears leaving streaks of wetness down his cheeks, “Sweetheart, I—I need you,”. The anguished look on his face is steadily breaking down your walls.

Your own eyes are watering now, because goddammit, how is anyone supposed to hold it together when James Buchanan Barnes pulls his sad-puppy face on you? It’s always been your weakness, and now is no exception.

“Love—,” you have to cut yourself off to wrench back a sob, “Bucky, I still love you. That’ll never change, but--Buck, you gotta remember that I literally just broke up with Loki less than 12 hours ago. Don’t expect me to be jumping into anything anytime soon. In fact…I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to jump back in at all, my love,”.

Bucky is absolutely shattered by this revelation, you can see this so clearly. “Babydoll, please,” he begs, “I—I’ll never find someone to replace you. No one can ever take your place in my heart, sweetheart—,”

“Bucky,” you say forcefully, perhaps a little more sharply than you intended, “You, of all people, know the value of being able to make your own choices. I ask you to respect mine. Let me make this decision for myself,”.

You can see that your words have hit him like a slap. Bucky jerks away looking absolutely crestfallen; you immediately want to take back what you’ve said, but know that your words have achieved their intended goal. “I’m sorry,” you whisper, stroking your thumb over the back of his hand, “I love you. Don’t doubt that. I just need to love myself, before I can…move on to the next chapter of my life,”.

Bucky smiles, but it’s only a shadow of what his real one looks like. “I love you too, doll. Always. Take as much time as you need sweetheart,” he says. His voice sounds exhausted.

“Can I—can I hug you? Before I go?” you ask timidly.

He grins as if you’ve just told him that you’re about to hand him the sun, or something. “Of course, doll,” he murmurs, stretching his arms out to the side. 

You saunter over to the other side of the table, and arrange yourself across his lap as he wraps his muscular arms around you. You close your eyes and tuck your face into the side of his neck, inhaling his unique scent that reminds you of cuddles in a too-big bed and warm summer days spent in the compound gardens. You rake your fingers through the hairs at the nape of his neck, silky soft like they used to be.

If you keep your eyes closed, you can imagine that the two of you are back in your room in the compound. You can pretend that none of these things ever happened, that the universe did not try to drive the two of you apart. Bucky feels like he always has; large and strong and powerful, and you take comfort and security in his embrace. You don’t know if you’ll ever be able to have this again, so you cherish this moment, trying to memorise the curve of his body, the planes of his torso, the smell of his skin, the weight of his arms around your waist.

You don’t realise that you’re weeping quietly against his neck until he shushes you, hand stroking tenderly over your hair. “Shh, doll, it’s okay,” Bucky coos, but his voice sounds fragile, like he’s seconds from losing it himself, “It’ll all be okay,”. Bucky hooks his index finger under your chin and tips your head back, so you can look into each other’s eyes. A sad smile graces his plump lips as he uses his thumb to wipe away your tears. You note how his eyes linger on your lips for a heartbeat too long.

“Can I kiss you?” he breathes, all the hope in the world held in his tone.

“Y-yeah,” you reply, voice equally as quiet.

Your heart sings with joy when Bucky presses his lips to yours. You feel complete. This is what you want, what your body was made for, what your soul desires.

He keeps it completely chaste, content to just savour the pillowy softness of your lips against his. It’s tender, and gentle, and caring — everything that you’ve missed about him. You run your fingers over his face, trying to memorise the shape of his nose, the feel of his stubble against your fingertips, committing it all to memory. Before things can get too far, you both pull away, with no small amount of reluctance from either of you.

Bucky’s openly crying now, and you cup his jaw in both your hands, press a butterfly kiss to each cheek. “Take care of yourself for me, okay?” you whisper, trying to inject some humour in your voice.

He laughs mirthlessly. “Only if you promise to call, every now and then. If you ever wanna come to the compound, to see the rest of the gang, all you gotta do is ask,”.

“Deal,” you say softly.

A glance at the clock on the wall tells you it’s almost 8AM. The two of you have been sat here for almost three hours. Alarm bells in your brain remind you that you have to be at your office soon. “I—I gotta go, Bucky,” you say, with a wry smile, “I gotta go to my clinic to see a patient,”.

Bucky nods morosely, “Okay, doll,”.

“I’ll miss you,” you mumble, poking him in the sternum. Bucky catches your hand and presses a kiss to each of your knuckles, a gesture so tender, so filled with reverence, that it’s a wonder you have any self-restraint left at all.

“Not as much as I’ll miss you,” he quips, trying to muster up the cockiest smirk he can. There’s a little bit of sadness behind it, though. Bucky can’t hide the sorrow in his eyes.

You have nothing to say in response. Everything has been said.

With great difficulty, you force your muscles to let go of Bucky and get up. He waves off your offer of paying for the food, claiming that it’s the least he can do for you. Bucky watches in silence as you stuff your phone back into your pocket and slip on your jacket. You move as slowly as you can, half-hoping that he’ll say something to make you change your mind, whilst at the same time knowing that he won’t. He promised to respect your wishes, and that is exactly what he’ll do.

“Bye, Bucky,” you murmur, giving him some weak version of a wave.

The corner of his lips twitches into a little smile. “Bye, Y/N,”.

When you get to the door, you turn around to get one last look at Bucky, your lover, your best friend, your…soulmate. It takes all your effort to ignore the fact that every single fibre of your being is shrieking at you, telling you to follow him back to the compound, take your place in this universe beside him. The rational side of you knows that you need time to find yourself and discover who you really are, but the part of your soul tied to Bucky’s is saying that you have found yourself, that the missing pieces are with him.

Perhaps sensing your internal dilemma, Bucky calls, “Hey, Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“Break your trend, okay? For once in your life, I wanna see you winning at your game,” he tells you.

You smile, because you know that this is Bucky’s way of telling you that he trusts you to make the right decision for yourself. If you love someone, you do what’s best for them. If that means letting them go so they can do what it takes to win the game, then that’s what you do. 

That’s what Bucky’s doing.

“I will, my love,” you promise.

--------------------------------- Condensed tags: @feelmyroarrrr​ @valkyeries​ @hollycornish​ @buckingoffthebed​ @moonbeambucky​ @sanjariti​ @in-winchester-we-trust​ @badassbaker​ @retroasgardian​ @lostinspace33​ @waywardpumpkin​ @jurassicbarnes​ @buchonians​ @katielu-blog​ @alohabucky​ @sarahmatthews7​ @i-should-probably-be-asleep-rn​ @toongtii  @barnesdeservestheworld​ @amrita31199​ @amour-quinn​ @ugh-supersoldiers​

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes angst #bucky x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes imagines #bucky imagines #bucky barnes fanfic #i know this game #my writing #bucky barnes fluff

[twistednuns]

January 2021

Creating art is about growing the world and increasing its reach, and it has more to do with the act of creation itself than what is actually made. Anything that animates us creatively in a positive way — be it the grand design of a great architectural wonder or the Big Bang of a child’s drawing — is a re-enactment of the original creation story. Whether we realise it or not, making art is a religious encounter as it is our attempts to grow beyond ourselves that energise the soul of the universe. (Nick Cave on shitty art)

Seeing the old library guy having dinner table with his wife. They even lit a candle. How celebratory.                                                                       

Writing a birthday message for Frank about my new beginnings and first days of the year.

Making my nails look as if I had dipped my fingertips into a jar of silver glitter.

How black and glossy blueberries suddenly become after being coated in my warm coconut porridge.

Shinto does not strictly divide the world between material and spiritual, nor between this world and an alternative perfect realm, but instead emphasises that intuitive spirituality facilitates the fusion and equilibrium of all realm. - Why Haruki Murakami is so very Japanese

Sporting a hickey on my neck like a basic 16-year-old.

Going new paths (on my daily walk).

Feeling really grateful for the habits I established last year. A daily walk, taking helpful supplements, flossing, hair and face masks before every shower. Cold showers! A reasonable bedtime. I'm incredibly excited about forming new habits this year! The first ones to tackle are meditation, strength training and a daily creativity practice.

Suddenly imagining the taste of strawberry sauce. Anticipating the first spaghetti ice-cream of the year.

Loving kindness meditation (!) and smiling meditation. Spotify's Wake Up/Wind Down podcast is really quite good, too.

Cracking the impossibly hard to reach spot in my back by twisting and stretching my right leg (who knew).

The first tulips of the year on my nightstand. I chose a dark yellow, almost ochre.

Sparkling water with passion fruit juice. All I could think of during the last minutes of a long and cold walk. Getting undressed. Stretching. Meditation.

Vivid dreams of diving. How I miss being underwater. At least I got to do it in the nightly virtual reality show, eh?

Walking in a winter wonderland. I hate snow but I do admit it's quite pretty when the whole forest is covered in white.

A friendly nod from the delivery guy with the amazing curls.

Running into the neighbourhood's wild cat. Giving him a good scratch.

My new salt crystal lamp. I love its warm light.

The random house on a street nearby with the word nest next to its doorbell. Is that really the family's name? Or just what they call their house? (I would totally get that as nest is one of my favourite words)

Kalimba covers. With cat. Wholesome.

Sinking my face into a pair of warm tracksuit pants which had been drying on the heater. The warmth and the fresh laundry smell were so nice.

Plucking icicles.

The fact that the sidewalks aren't quite as icy and slippery anymore (I hate having no proper grip when I'm walking).

A gorgeous animal atlas with really pretty drawings in one of the boxes with free stuff people often put out these days.

Sarah Wilson. I could hardly put her new book down and immediately started reading her book about anxiety when I was finished. In a way I feel really connected to her. What an inspiring woman! Another thing I love is how she structures her books. She merely numbers her paragraphs, some only a few lines long, some a few pages.

The taste of strawberries. It's hard to describe but somehow it lights up my brain? Can I say that?

Osteopathy. I don't know what she does or how she does it but Laura has magic hands. My body feels completely healed after a session with her.

Simply walking everywhere. I get my steps in and don't have to deal with annoying public transport or my shitty bike.

Peeking out of my shell: looking at people I came across on an early walk and saying good morning.

Little yellowhammer birds on my balcony. I've never seen them before around here. And the tiniest bird on one of my walks through the forest. Perhaps a wren?

Dreaming of India. Visiting a local family, inquiring about a "somatic reading" (whatever that is) but deciding that it was too expensive and watching them prepare food instead. Talking to the grandmother. Riding to their restaurant on the market in a little wagon together.

Lying in bed after taking a shower, bathing in sunlight.

Dorky donkey confetti paper tissues.

A very soothing video of a cat purring loudly got me through a lousy Thursday. I kept coming back to it every couple of hours and it actually helped.

I'm currently watching Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix. It was a bit hard to get into it at first because it's SO different from the series with Melissa Joan Hart I used to watch as a teenager but ever since that cheerleading scene where Sabrina and Ros perform to RUN DMC's It's Tricky I'm absolutely sold.

The other day there was a lady just standing at the edge of a field, watching her dog run around in the snow, enjoying the sunset. A very peaceful image.

More tulips: red ones this time, a smaller variety. I loved watching them blossom.

Collecting ideas and yellow objects for a yellow-themed letter.

These baby blue and pink sunrises I have been seeing lately.

A new magic trick: summoning dogs by simply holding their gaze for a while.

I hate snow. I really do. But I love how bright the light suddenly is. I smile apologetically at people shovelling snow when I walk by. The other day I stood under a branch when a couple shook the tree and let the snow fall down. I would have been mad if it hadn't been for my umbrella.

When the first and last bits of light colour the tree tops in a warm, gold and orange colour during sunrise and sunset.

The smell of my armpits (have we all stopped using deodorant during lockdown and are suddenly able to smell our armpits or is it just me) made me remember kids carnival parties at our local sports club. We wore cheap costumes made from synthetic fabric and were all super sweaty from running around all day as princesses, vampires and cowboys on a sugar high.

Learning the reason why snow melts faster under trees.

Listening to the New York Times' The Daily podcast. More speficially the Sunday Read (which mostly seems to feature the topics I'm really interested in). There was the wonderfully whimsical episode about the Cloud Appreciation Society. I'd never realised that Joni Mitchell's song Both Sides Now is about seeing shapes in clouds ("pareidolia"): Rows and flows of angel hair / And ice cream castles in the air / And feather canyons every where / Looked at clouds that way. Then there was this other episode about Moonstruck, a movie starring Cher and Nicholas Cage. At the end they keep playing the film music for a while before the episode slowly fades out. I was walking down a snowy alley and felt like the heroine in a late 90's movie (which I could also describe as end-of-century now, how peculiar).

Pelvic floor training. I have more strength, I'm taller and it somehow keeps straightening my back? I'm really impressed of how effective it is and am planning on learning more about the Cantienica method.

I know I'm late to the game but last night I watched the whole first season of Emily in Paris in one go. I needed something to cheer my up and, oh my, did Emily deliver. Well, not really her, but Paris. Everything about the serious can only be described as delicious. The food, the man candy, the fashion, colours and backdrop. While watching I kept thinking about outfit planning, exotic cuisine, roadtrips, kissing strangers, enjoying the good life. Oh how much I miss it. I feel awfully trapped in my apartment these days. One last thing I need to highlight: Sylvie, played by Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, who is the real star of this series for me. She is just SO chic.

More light! I actually stand a chance to get home before sunset now when I head out late-ish for one of my daily walks.

A good talk with Lena. Home-made ramen. Watching en episode of Planet Earth and Blue Planet each.

Sourdough pizza with goat cheese, honey and fresh truffle.

#january 2021 #2021 #january #personal #present perfect #things i love

[vadhnatta]

Justice League Rant

Have you ever been to a movie where you hoped it would be decent, despite assorted warning signs, but then you end up having a CinemaSins track running through your head the entire time as you slowly crush the empty box of concession stand candy and wonder if it actually is possible to murder a man with the force of sheer hatred, disgust, and a growing tension headache? Because that was this movie. I could have been sleeping. I could have been working on my projects due next week. I haven’t really seen many DC movies, or been invested in their world at all, but I saw Wonder Woman and loved it and Diana was featured prominently in the trailer, which looked pretty good, so I figured, hey, maybe they actually figured out how to make a good character and can keep this momentum going for a bit. It won’t be as good as Wonder Woman, but I could at least probably see Diana be a badass for a bit, and Aquaman looks like a decently amusing character. I saw a few episodes of the Flash TV series and that wasn’t awful. Maybe this will be okay.

No.

No it’s not.

I’m mostly waiting for the Excedrin to kick in so I can take a nap before diving back into a project with a program that has most of its documentation in Polish (which I do not speak), so this isn’t going to be a detailed or coherent meta analysis of all the points wrong with this film, or how I’m not sure there wasn’t a woman under the age of 60/over the age of 10 that wasn’t immediately sexualized, or how Joss Whedon should never be allowed within 30 feet of a woman apparently. But here’s a list of thoughts that went through my head while I watched this, for amusement and catharsis, because Wonder Woman was a fluke, Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot both deserved better, and DC Comics is incapable of having nice things.

((Spoilers, obviously))

--I heard beforehand that there were four ass-shots of Diana, all added in by Joss Whedon, and I was hoping that was an exaggeration or not horribly noticeable, but yeah. I actually think there were more than four, but I didn’t count. 

--On the ass-shot note, at first I didn’t think Diana was wearing underwear under her skirt because we saw her ass cheek. Yeah. But she was. It’s dark blue. I know that because we saw up her skirt again, multiple times. 

--People tried to say the bikini armor was only in a flashback. No it wasn’t. They lied to us. We get to see Amazon warriors crushed to death under large stone gate things, straining to hold it up for their queen to run underneath it like that one bit from Prince Caspian, except with women in metal bikinis. 

--You know how the Amazons all had really cool armor that wasn’t super sexualizing based on actual ancient armor forms and construction techniques? Nope. Now they have similar highly-stylized banded chestplates like Diana’s, form-fitted around their boobs, and about half of those come in bikini form! Because variety!

--The Amazons can’t leave their island??? Um. But the entire reason they didn’t leave in Wonder Woman was because Hippolyta didn’t want to sacrifice her warriors for a war that wasn’t theirs, not because they physically couldn’t leave the island? So there’s an attack on their home, many warriors slain, and the only thing they can do at all is light a fucking signal fire??? They are way better than this.

--Did they actually kill Hippolyta’s wife/partner? Because that’s how that scene read to me. Fuck you movie.

--At least they didn’t actually destroy all of Themyscira. I’ll take my small victories there because I was convinced they were going to take my favorite part of Wonder Woman and burn it the first chance they got.

--How did they light this fire? Where was this temple? It’s obviously visible to the rest of the world, so it’s not on Themyscira. Was that a magic bow that could fire across dimensions? How could you aim it? I’m so confused by this scene. It’s one temple on fire, how did you know it would make the news and Diana would also happen to be watching the news when they ran that story, that’s hardly the biggest news story out there.

--So Diana had lightning powers. Or did the final battle of Wonder Woman not actually happen now. You know, the bit where she shot a giant lightning bolt thing out of her bracers. Vaporized a god. That. So, why the fuck is the only thing her bracer boosh move is good for now is creating a small shockwave to knock people back. It does nothing.

--Also, “we need an electric charge to shock the cube so we can activate the resurrection bullshit.” “Okay, so we need the Flash to run really fast down a hallway to build up electricity and poke the cube at exactly the right moment. That’s the best and simplest way to do this. I mean, it’s not like we have a literal daughter of the god of lightning bolts that has enough lightning powers to vaporize a god standing right next to us, where she could make lightning.”

--I thought the whole point of this movie was an Avengers-style team up where they actually worked together to take down the evil guy. But they just teamed up to bring back Superman, distract the bad guy long enough for Superman to show up, then Superman handles it. So. You just proved the point that you’re all worthless without Superman. 

--Rich isn’t a superpower, how are you not dead yet Batman.

--Batman is bitter/jealous/??? because Clark is more human than him for... getting a job and living a middle-class lifestyle when he didn’t have to? Bruce. You could do that. You too can put on glasses and go get a day job. You could give away all your money and go live on a farm and be a reporter or whatever. Like. That’s an option for you. Being rich isn’t a handicap.

--Aquaman I don’t care what you are or that you’re Legolas-surfing on a bug-orc, if you fall from hundreds of feet in the air, you die. At the very least your legs should be shattered. 

--Also, I have to agree with Batman on that one, you literally just brought a trident. You. You’re powers are water-related. Yeah, you have combat abilities apparently on par with Amazons, but. You couldn’t have steered this fight towards a lake? Brought some water with you? I feel like you could have been more effective in this fight somehow.

--I actually liked Aquaman for a good bit during this film. He came across kind of like Thor did to me early on, but with more whiskey and less ties to his home. I can totally get behind the vigilante merman defender of this town that rescues fishermen and hangs out at bars and randomly wanders into the ocean. He felt nicely reminiscent of old mythology stories for a bit there.

--But then the plane scene. Yeah, good points about how Batman doesn’t have a superpower, Flash is just tripping over his feet and slamming into walls all the time, and Cyborg may or may not be controlled by the cube things, or at least not have full control of his powers, agreed. But your point on Diana was “you’re gorgeous”, then increased rambling, leading into more rambling motivated by the lasso. You were actually doing okay, you didn’t need the sexist bullshit. It seemed like Atlanteans and Amazons fought, but still respected each other as powerful warrior cultures (at the very least, they seemed really similar), and she’s the one that’s actually shown the most effectiveness and power in fighting so far. So what the fuck.

--Did we really need the disparity between the male and female Atlantean armor. Did we really need the boobplate.

--Can Atlanteans not talk underwater? They live underwater. Do they need to create air bubbles every time they want to say anything? 

--What are Cyborg’s powers exactly? Anything electronic/machine related? Regenerating machine(??) body parts? Can he change his limbs into anything? Does he need fuel? What is his deal, idk. 

--”The plane won’t fly that fast (to get across the world in under a few hours).” Cyborg: “It will for me.” ...I don’t. That’s. That’s not how planes work. Or can you expand your entire body/infinitely-shapeshifting limbs to cover the entire plane so it won’t fall apart from higher speeds than it was meant to fly at. Can you just restructure the engines, or reshape the plane to make it more aerodynamic. Are you just going to merge with the plane and turn it into an SR-71 Blackbird. Is that the plan here. BECAUSE THAT’S NOT HOW PLANES WORK. YOU CAN’T JUST TELL IT TO GO FASTER BECAUSE YOU HACKED IT WITH MAGIC SHIT.

--Why is there an egg thing around the town for a few minutes. I don’t. Is that a bug thing? That’s not what the cube did in the flashback. 

--What’s with the purple tendril rock things? It looks sort of like the Crystal Dragon landscaping stuff from GW2. Idk. How that fits.

--So. I’m sure Superman can pick up a building and he’s strong enough for that. But. I don’t think that’s how buildings work? Like if you put the entire weight of the building supported by two hands in the middle, especially an apartment structure that large/wide, it’s probably going to collapse at the ends. Unless Superman also has magic forcefield building-holding powers, idk, maybe he does, what do I know.

--I’m really not sure what was going on with this bad guy, but he looked like a frost giant from Thor, mixed with the plot-line of Pitch Black from Rise of the Guardians. Literally both movies ended the same way. Also not sure how nothing seemed to hurt him, how does something get more powerful than all the armies, when did this become Lord of the Rings? Was he supposed to be Sauron? 

--How did they all just. Forget the cube. When Superman woke up. You just. Left the apocalypse-causing mcguffin in the empty plane. Unguarded. What. Did the DM just rush the party out of the room without letting any of the players say anything about taking the thing with them because he wanted to progress the story in a certain way? Because I’ve had that happen, that’s plausible, but. 

--Why was calling Lois to handle newly-resurrected Superman not the first plan? I mean, protect her, obviously, in case he has no memories at all, but. That seems like the obvious first plan. Wake him up, have Flash waiting to get her out of there quickly if something goes wrong and Diana standing with her (not with armor and sword and everything out looking ready for battle), and talk to him? Don’t immediately trigger a threat response because he’s disoriented and confused and why are battle-ready people staring at him?

--Why did Diana always need her sword to fight? She even jumped down the reactor thing to get her sword back. What’s so special about this sword? It’s not the Godkiller sword, that was destroyed in the last movie by Ares. So. It’s a regular sword, presumably. She has lots of them. Bring an extra.

--Also Diana can use other weapons. She trained with Amazons, she can wield all the weapons.

--I almost left to go to the bathroom during the final climactic fight. Because I had no investment in this film, and the only thing that kept me there was the last shred of a chance that Diana could at least do something cool during this fight. She didn’t. She swung her sword at the bad guy, which didn’t do anything, made a shockwave a couple times. She broke his axe after Superman froze it. Wow. 

--Is that really it? Was his power all in his axe? This really is Sauron.

--So did the cubes just vaporize when they separated? Didn’t happen last time. But we don’t see them anymore. So. Are they not a threat? Also “big power surge” on separation really seemed like it should be more than that. It knocked Superman and Cyborg back by a foot or so and onto their backs (also how did they both handle that the same way, I don’t care if you have magically regenerating metal, I’m pretty sure you’re not as explosion-resistant as Superman). And the rest of the team didn’t seem to feel it at all, and they were in the same complex. I thought power surge on separating this planet-destroying nuclear bomb of a power core would at least take out that town.

--Why. Did it make flowers? I’m. Really confused by the terraforming at the end. I think they tried to frame it earlier as a life-regenerating thing that just worked so fast it destroyed everything, but. That’s not really an explanation. Also don’t stick your face in that small child, the bright colors probably mean it will kill you. Also alien plants. Probably going to completely fuck up the ecosystem for a good while. But sure, it’s pretty so it’s fine.

--Oh, and the boob-faceplant did happen. She was facing away from the camera, so I easily believe the body-double story because they were so fucking desperate to have this happen.

--Was the Flash always an idiot? I feel like his entire character was just played for laughs as the dumb one because he was younger/less experienced, which is disappointing. Seriously, who meets Batman and the first thing you talk about is that you don’t understand people because they’re on a different frequency/slow, and what is brunch?? 

I’m sure there’s a lot more, but those are the things that immediately came to mind, so. Save yourself the headache. Don’t see this movie. Just go watch Wonder Woman again. Or Thor: Ragnarok, that one was good.

EDIT: WAIT I HAVE MORE.

--Fuck you Bruce you little shit, you have no right to call out Diana for not superheroing all the time. First of all, we’ve already seen her on multiple occasions out helping people, like the opening of the film where she saves a bunch of people from that terrorist group, and whatever happened in BvS. Second, she didn’t leave her home and everyone she loved to help clean up your shit or put up with you, she specifically left to stop WW1 and kill Ares. Guess what. She did it. She did her explicit mission, and then stayed to help when she wanted to because she’s a good person. Yeah, I think she gets to “shut down” for however long she fucking wants to after the person she cared most about outside of Themiscyra died and she had to deal with the entire “no, men actually suck and will go to war and commit atrocities because it’s their nature” thing she had to come to terms with, WHILE STILL STAYING AND FIGHTING FOR THEM ANYWAY. She has no obligations to you, you do not own her attention or her help, yes Barry, we would all cover for her if she murdered your ass for antagonizing her and insinuating that she has done anything wrong in her life.

--Also, what have you done huh? You dress up like a bat in your costume and run around the city because you like an adrenaline rush and want to feel cool taking down criminals. Sure, you donate to charity, whoopdee-fucking-do. You could probably buy a country. You have so much money. What were the stats on how much money it would take to end world hunger? 5% of what the US spends on their military budget or something? Less? You probably have more money than that. You want to do something more than cosplay with it??

#justice league #justice league spoilers #wonder woman #rant #long post #everything wrong with #i don't even know #it was just bad

[spacklefritz]

Shifting Tides - Chapt Three

A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the delay, but here’s chapter 3. Also, I know I said there would be three chapters but it looks like there’s going to be one more. Rating: T Previous: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, ff.net

Summary: No matter what she did, she always felt the pull of the land. Somewhere free from her father’s domain. It was an impossible dream, until it wasn’t. Mermaid AU

 The world came back to her in muted voices, sounds blocked by a thick wall. The next, was something dry and scratchy against her skin. Fine lines of some strange material pressed against her skin, and... air. Light and whimsical, it fluttered against her skin. All around her was so impossibly lighter, and yet, she found her body was heavy, sinking down on whatever she laid upon. The buoyancy that was the natural state of the world around her disappeared and all she could feel was this dry, air.

Her eyes shot open. Blurry images was all she could see. Then, a moment later everything sharpened into focus.

A soft gasp escaped her as she looked around. She was most definitely not underwater. How?  She sat up, tail rubbing against the structure she was on… only – she looked down, quickly brushing aside the material that was draped over her.

A moment passed.

And then another.

How was this possible? Her hands hovered over the area where her tail used to be. She almost dared not to touch them. Maybe she was hallucinating. Maybe she'd spent the last of her life energy trying to warn the villagers and she was trapped in perpetual loop inside her mind. A fragment of hope before she faded away. But no, this felt too real.

A sense of reverence filled her as her fingers darted over the smooth skin of her newly formed legs. How?

'Our heritage was rich, little one. Once, long ago we weren’t trapped by the restrictions we put on ourselves. We were free to roam the land as we did the sea for we were one of Gaia's first children.’

Her mother’s words echoed in her ears as a tight ball formed in her throat.

'Don't spout gibberish in the child's ear Layla! It’s because of you that she has these fanciful thoughts.’

And she believed him, not then. But after her mother died, it was hard to believe the stories Layla once told her were anything more than that. She took in a shaky breath, her hand smoothed along the iridescent patterns on the side of her calves. A seafoam blue mixed and blended until it turned to a light amethyst. The colours and patterns reminiscent to that of her scales. She ran her fingers back and forth over them, acquainting herself to this new skin she now wore.

"It’s strange right?" A soft voice sounded, and brought the call of the sea with it. "I had that same reaction when I first came to the land."

The woman, Siren, -for no other held the voice of the tides- handed her a container with water. Suddenly, Lucy's throat felt very parched.

"You're going to need it, especially if this is your first turning." The Siren continued as she handed Lucy another glass of water. "Your body is readjusting to being on land and not having instant access to water."

After Lucy downed her second container of water, the Siren spoke again. "It mustn't have been easy for you. To travel the distance to warn us."

Lucy shifted, slightly uncomfortable with the Siren's gaze. Blue eyes scrutinized her face, for something Lucy couldn't decipher. She remembered the stories about the Sirens, distant cousins to the merpeople. They were two-tailed and it was said that they didn't have enough life-energy to sustain them. Because of this, they sang to the unsuspecting humans, feeding on their energy as they drew them to their watery kingdom. But this Siren was on land, and contrary to the stories, her skin did not hold the sickly pallor that spoke of death.

So many things were different from what she once thought.

"I had to." There wasn't any doubt in Lucy's mind that she would warn her village. She didn't, couldn't, see them fall under Crocus' clutches. Not the village that spoke of life and reminded her so much of the times with her mother.

The Siren smiled in return. "I'm Ju-"

"Juvia!" A voice shouted from the background. "We're going to need your help out here!"

The Siren's body sprang into alert and it was then Lucy caught the sounds of shouting and – Was that just a canon be shot? She swung her head to the sound. Had Crocus reached the village already? "Ah, Porlyuscia, should be here shortly." She said while making her way to the exit. "There's a pitcher of water, over there," She pointed to her left where more beds lay. Next to them was a shelf with various items. "If you're thirsty, please take some. Your body will tell you how much water it needs to adjust. Porlyusica or Wendy will be here to help you with anything."

She was almost near the exit, when she said. "You gave us a much-needed head start to prepare for Crocus." She then turned around fully, facing Lucy's direction, she gave a deep bow. "Thank you."

And just like that she was out the door.

Lucy blinked twice. Then attempted to move off the bed, only to crumple to the ground. Damnit! She tried to stand, but she could barely support herself, the muscles in her legs straining. She tried again, gripping the top of the bed for support, all the weight seemed to be focused on her upper body, while her legs trembled to do such a simple motion.

"What are you doing?" Firm hands helped from behind to pull herself up and back onto the bed. "You shouldn't be on your feet."

"I need to -" She looked up and into a weathered face with dark eyes, eyes that seemed to want to hear no excuses. This must've been the head healer here.

"Tch, I suppose you were going to say something foolhardy like, you need to go out there and help them." She gave Lucy a side glance while preparing some concoction of the sort. "Magnolia seems to attract that type."

She shot another glance a Lucy, this time, it was one that froze her in her tracks. She felt like she was a guppy again, who had her face stung by a pufferfish. "You shouldn't even be thinking of getting up."

"But-"

"I don't care. You're in no position to be on your feet. If Juvia, is anyone to go by, your body needs time to adapt. Yes, it has changed form," She continued, "but all the internal workings haven't been sorted out as yet. You need time."

She could still hear the sounds of the villagers protecting their land and people against Crocus. She didn't want them to be harmed.  

"That means no pushing your body further than it can go, you can cause permanent damage if you do so." She heard screaming in the background. Did it belong to the villagers or was it from Crocus' people? "Drink this." The Healer either didn't notice Lucy's distraction or didn't care. The mermaid was apt to believe in the latter.

Seeing no other choice, she took the foul-smelling drink that was shoved in front of her face, and paused to examine the viscous liquid. Absently, she wondered if the healer had planned to poison her. But no, they wouldn't have saved her, only to kill her in the end. At least, she didn't think so.

She downed the glass in one go, hoping to bypass the horrid taste. Gods, what was it with healers and their bitter mixes.

"Everything, in the glass child."

Lucy shot her an incredulous look. "Well don't just sit there, drink."

Sighing scraped out the last of the mix. Her face almost certainly looked pinched. The urge to scrape her tongue and wipe away the taste was fierce in its demand. She was debating the prospect when her arms started feeling heavy.

The world around her became foggy and in the next moment, there was nothing.

#spackle fics #my fic #ftfanfics #nalu fanfic #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #mermaid au #shifting tides #ft fanfic

[doomedandstoned]

Doomed Discoveries: An Interview with Italian Doomers HAUNTED

~By Mari Knox Knox~

(Doomed & Stoned Italy)

We've been wanting to get to know Italian doomers HAUNTED since they emerged from relative obscurity to release an excellent eponymous debut on Twin Earth Records last fall. Today, we present Mari's interview with the members of Haunted (Mari put together our recent compilation 'Italy Strikes Back!' available here). Coming from various bands and varying backgrounds, and drawing upon a rich heritage of epic Italian doom, Haunted demonstrate a passion for downtuned dirges and the esoteric world of magick. (Billy)

Haunted are a newly formed band. Would you tell us how you met and how the project was born? Introduce yourself to the Doomed & Stoned readers, if you will.

Cristina Chimirri: We only joined a year ago, but were always interconnected before then. A fortuitous series of meetings, a flame and a flare sparked in Frank and Bauso, then spread to me and Orlando. We are all made of that self-same fire. We have found ourselves all wired in a tight knot -- a knot made of heavy sounds and low frequencies, of underwater worlds and psychedelic spirals.

Francesco Bauso: I knew just Frank at the time, as we played together with our previous band Pestem. Ever since we first met we both nourished a passion for a certain kind of sound, both past and present. It wasn’t too hard to see immediately what stylistic direction to take. We wanted a slow and heavy sound and so we contacted Valerio for the drums, already addicted to this kind of sound with his sludge band Torpore. What we wanted strongly from the beginning was a singer in a position to know how to give that magic touch and guide our heavier “sound carpet.” Then Cristina came out of nowhere. She wasn’t overshadowed by the intention of having another guitar, and consequently a fuller sound and dynamic. After some auditions, we found ourselves with Francesco Orlando, an old friend and companion of Frank in their previous grunge band, Hog Truck.. Thus was born Haunted.

Haunted by Haunted

Your debut received great reviews from a panorama of international blogs, magazines, and music sites. Are you satisfied by the feedback obtained? Also, how do you feel about working with Twin Earth Records?

Francesco Bauso: We had put a few clips of our songs online, recorded live in the rehearsal room and we were contacted by Ric Bennett, who proved quite interested in our project. We are extremely pleased by the work done by Ric with his Twin Earth Records, which apart from the release of the album, has managed to usher us into the world of doom by supporting our music very well.

Cristina Chimirri: Twin Earth Records is essentially Mr. Ric Bennett. We are proud to have met a person and a professional of such capabilities. It gave us confidence to work with someone who cares about our music, we couldn’t have wished for better. We are excited and amazed by the rogue waves of positive feedbacks. We got what we wanted: to communicate who we are with the world and share the music we love so dearly with fans of heavy music.

Francesco Orlando: It was really a nice surprise for us, we were not expecting much and we are happy. Working with Twin Earth Records proved to be a good thing, we found in Ric the one who fit the bill -- a reliable, serious, professional person -- and we also found in him a good friend.

Your music has many influences, but you able to keep a distinct personality as a band. Are all the members involved in the writing of your compositions and the birth of new songs?

Cristina Chimirri: A composition is the combination of all our suggestions, a kind of osmotic process. Usually, it finds its roots in the guitar riffs, then the trunk forms from bass and drums, and finally the fronds are the vocal lines. Our songs are the product of insights and improvisation in a semiconscious state, which manifest in structure and dynamics, standing over a free atmosphere of pure air.

Francesco Orlando: Naturally, everyone has his influences that determine the way he plays his instrument. The best thing is that each one of us affects the other in some way, with a riff, a rhythmic pattern, a vocal line, and so forth. In that way, each band member is involved in the composition. We always start from an initial idea and develop it together over and over again. Finally, Cristina enriches everything with her melodies. We always enter the creative process in a state of openness and empathy, and all flows quite naturally from there.

Francesco Bauso: We all come from other bands, listen to different genres, and have different tastes and influences. Having right now clear ideas about what to do, it wasn’t too complicated. We just scramble and merge all of these diverse influences through heavy and monolithic riffs. The creation of our songs takes place in the most obvious and simple way: it always starts from the riffs then begins to form into a song. Each of us plays a vital role in adding a personal ingredient to the soup, so we are all involved 100% in the creative process.

Is this a concept album? What are the lyrics talking about and what do you want communicate through your songs?

Cristina Chimirri: It’s not properly a concept album, but throughout the record there is an epiphany that a spirit haunted us during the creation of the album. The lyrics reflect the idea of a man immersed in Nature, because he is Nature himself -- part of a cosmic order. Lyrics are the synthesis of dichotomies: sleep/wake, life/death, night/day. The lyrics are everything and are one.

Francesco Bauso: We're not going to touch one particular theme, though there is a strong magical component to Haunted. Esotericism and occultism have found a place in the song "Watchtower," for example. We are inspired by everything that can be described as aberrant, claustrophobic, and whatever takes your breath away. All this is filtered from the soul poetry of Cristina, who can be vague, mysterious, and sometimes not so easy to understand. This is my idea of magick. She’s very protective of her lyrics. In fact, at this time we decided not to publish them within the LP.

Francesco Orlando: There is not a main theme in the album, at least not intentionally. Our songs talk about the human condition and our fears, all surrounded by the fairly perceptible veil of occultism. I think that everything is meant to be interpreted very personally by our listeners.

The album was recorded in your hometown of Catania, at the NuevArte Studio, while for the mastering you have chosen a super professional, James Plotkin. How did you get in contact with him and how was it was working with such talent? And, speaking about the artwork by Sadro Di Girolamo, did you give him the initiative to create the concept or develop it collaboratively with the artist?

Frank Tudisco: Our idea is that everyone should take care of what he does best. We chose Carlo Longo because he was and currently is the best sound engineer I've worked with so far. We had the pleasure and good fortune to be assisted by Davide Oliveri of Uzeda as a drum technician, as well. And then as far as the mastering, we rely upon another great expert. We've kept an eye on James Plotkin for quite some time, as he's worked with like-minded bands such as Conan and Electric Wizard, to name a few. At first, we left him free to work as he knew now, then with some more information dictated by our feelings we gave input on the final master. We believe he has done a magnificent job and also we found him incredibly easy to work with and very personable.

Francesco Bauso: As for the artwork, we entrusted Sandro Di Girolamo to create the kind of cover evoked by the sound of the album. The image depicts a coven of witches who rule over a helpless body, intent to perform a ritual. The skull that emerges from nothing lends itself to interpretations of all kinds, as indeed the larger image in general. In addition, a more careful eye can find a small gem that could give pleasure to many fans of the genre.

Cristina, your vocals play a very important role in the band's sound. It's central to all five songs. How did you develop your singing skills? Had you other projects before Haunted?

Cristina Chimirri: Actually, I never took singing lessons. All that I have is the result of years of listening. For year, my voice was confined within the four walls of my room, and then about a decade ago came the invitation to join a cover band, and it all began.

In recent years, the Italian scene has grown exponentially. Are there other bands from Italy that you like? What are your musical tastes, overall?

Francesco Orlando: Uzeda in the first place. Besides being our fellow citizens, Uzeda have been for me a keystone. Through them I realized the importance of carefully crafting one's sound as a band. As a child, I used to listen to Morricone and Pink Floyd records. I think these have affected my musical preferences, leading me to this day to appreciate genres such as drone, ambient, noise, and of course doom.

Frank Tudisco: I really like a lot of stuff and I’m always looking for new music to discover. In recent years especially, several things sparked my curiosity and finally in Italy things seem to have changed for the better. Apart from the already established trio Ufomammut, that deserve due attention, I really dig Calibro 35, Naga, and the debut album by Messa -- who we’ll have the pleasure to share the stage soon.

Are you planning some gigs soon to perform your new songs live?

Frank Tudisco: We are doing our best to bring Haunted's music to the public. We've made some lifestyle choices that will enable us to stay away from home for long periods, so we're trying to do it in the safest possible way. Fortunately, in recent months we have received the support of some promoters and organizers interested in working with us. So to properly answer your question I would say, yes we are!

Cristina Chimirri: One date that can be announced regards our participation at Into The Void Fest in The Netherlands in October.

Finally, one last question: what are your plans for the future? Another album in the works, perhaps?

Cristina Chimirri: Tour and promotion, first. A split album with Witchhelm from Ohio is in the works, then a second full-length album. We don't even know if the future holds enough time for all we have planned! Lastly, we would like to thank you Mari, and all the Doomed & Stoned staff, for the attention and support. This has been one crazy ride and we consider it a privilege.

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#D&S Interviews #Haunted #Catania #Italy #Doom #Metal #Occult #Twin Earth Records #Doomed & Stoned

[glopratchet]

astryl-wondering

with his gun pointing at you "I need your help! and holding a pistol pointed at you Astyrl of course comes out of the tent naked and holding a pistol pointed at you "Help me from this hell plleeaaaasseee" he whimpers, and stands up on his knees and offering you his gun somebody has been torturing somebody because bloodied torture instruments lay around the tent, along with vases of rotting dead flowers "Yes The wrecked tent looks like somebody has been torturing somebody because bloodied torture instruments lay around the tent, red, the halls are decorated with hundreds of candles, Next to centipedes and scorpions around the room lies a pentagram that glows golden yellow The mutated tent is colored red, A dress that seems to be glowing red, A golden sword that has strange markings on it, A silver cross that shines in the room, The following items adorn the warped tent: He runs back to the pentagram A black cube with strange symbols written in silver DNA strands The tent reappears a horribly out of tune song At 100 meters it appears to be a river , but you question if it is poison He heres the voice of the succubus and the incubus sing a horribly out of tune song well At the edge of his territory, thew scarp of the city is a mass producing plants and injection makign gigantic beanlike protuberances which one of the few interfaces working well The eggs contain all the nutrients necessary to keep somebody going for days As you gasp and choke, it feels good As he lies and tries to beg for mercy, his illusion begins to falter Cluds starts to puke bullets At the knockback of maggots, Lucas falls over and starts throwing up tbe ropy, yellow maggot Cursing himself over and over again for his stupidity, of ripping off Merk, he waits for a moment to pass It contains only rotten eggs and black coffee After drinking so much alcohol for so long, Hating himself for making the mistake of ripping off Merk, Despising and being annoyed by need for survival, Lucas drinks the shots and coughs them back his perception He hives all contact off to cludstrum, and decides to reconnect with the world underwater The olving knows water will harm astral Verick becomes more and more aggressive during their amorous sessions Surrounded by this brood of a douzens, Lucas knowts that if for whatever reason they wanted, they coukd bring down his hive and react Hestitating only for that moment, and Clud switches to a thredd new beat It is foggy but he remembers some fella with nice facial hair mentioning the words live and react and shows that their are clouds forming So hazy his humd is often mistaken for one A weather readout finally comes back up and shows that their are clouds forming He has a sure fire way of confusing it Lucas begins to realize he needs this money, not for alcohol, but for swimming pools filled with alcohol The blastdoor begins to slowly close, forming a line that will eventually join up Using the left over energy in his body, the chemicals absorbed into his system The password request comes up on the dead computer screed and hes asks astryl for a remembered password Even though the general store has been emptied out by scavengers Even on his worst nights, he now can control himself enough not to transform at all The He has set his phone to blabber out a popular song untill he deletes it The speakers will soon be discovered Lucas realses a slew of swears in his head They four guards bring out the big guns now, tazzers and blowdarts and Onlookers have begun to notice him as a freak show begins Cludstrum states that qefizat clencher is going to take a little while to get back online, Lucas yells at them about how much of an idiot they are for capturing him when he could have easily killed them all and allow him to make a call This had benn burying alive the plan all along and only Lucas now realizes it The ui will break intermently and allow him to make a call He has learned the most important lesson of all That hip hop sucks and all connecting programmers are chased off, the colapsing bussiness of ferizat clutchers will continue Untill the code corruption is sealed off and deleted and all the slender smooth hound stds are destroyed, to all but Lucas seems to grasp at 1% of it As he begins screaming out the lyrics, they find him funny How this is achieved is a mystery to all but Lucas seems to grasp at 1% of it If you see his buddies looking for him, becarful they are drug addled and lack social skills and the guards should take care of the ferial bum Spindly's orange messages keep repeating and blinking nearly blinding everyone in the vehicle Astryl considers the fact that he might be thirsty and hungry and the guards should take care of the ferial bum Cludstrum will input in some of his commands into the computer about what is happening at this point, so he doesn't suddenly morph out But why would an immortal have need for water or food? Lucas wants a cigarette right now, but he unleashed a flood of code on the internet so he quit again 's "The Colapseable Bussiness of Ferizat Clutchers"as he goes Cludstrum will narrate the going ons of astryl wylde's "The Colapseable Bussiness of Ferizat Clutchers"as he goes from the store Too many drugs, crime, sick bodies wrapping him into conspiracies and worst of all In order to debug parts of the screens astyrl need to eat things from the store Lucas's alias is called Joetom A cloaked figure apparantly stole him Cludstum can be though to operate too, but try its best This is one way in witch ferizat clutchers kill people to get the mirror portals online quicker It usually doesn't work that quickly though his head into You will never look at the work the same way again A person selling meats approaches Cludstum's portal He pulls colors out of the things he imbies his head into as a result of all the sin he witnessed here All the stuff that he did while he was here is broken the system Cludstrum uses these colors to fix the systems of astryl that have broken down as a result of all the sin he witnessed here The cloaked figured rises above the landscape on a steed made of gold and dances with astryl to eat here He can find some cactus to eat here each time the krampus stopped him because he wanted to They make him into currency to buy pain with Eating the thorns will put him in a worse and worse mood each time It is best not to think about what he has to do to get the gold out of the bathroom in the urn his body has become As it turns out, critting himself looks just like killing himself except blood is either darker red or black There is even a black snake with no eyes but he must be really quick to capture it in the urn his body has become without the bits and peices to be able to access the next bit But he has some money and smokes so that is something at least So yeah this first part is astryl wondering in the desert without the bits and peices to be able to access the next bit The creature is very hungry and you do not have the clout to manipulate governments, so it is important you get this done in search of the creature you were hired to last in getting rid of Another place to explore in the desert is in search of the creature you were hired to last in getting rid of in search of a suitable organic portal to get you onto the next part A scary place to explore in the desert is in search of a suitable organic portal to get you onto the next part in search of some cactii you can eat A freindly place to explore in the desert is in search of some cactii you can eat A sombere place to explore in the desert is in search of a nice rock to sit under astryl can blink the portal he activated before to get "home" which is a very confusing and difficult thing to do When the sky is completely dark astryl can blink the portal he activated before to get "home" which is a very confusing and difficult thing to do awakens the wanderer A sickly light coming from giant structures in the east awakens the wanderer appears to soften the impact of this fall Astryl horizontal flailing appears to soften the impact of this fall himself upright make himself a target for light mist as it dances its way across pond's surface Astryl merciless bellying himself upright make himself a target for light mist as it dances its way across pond's surface accept this ordeal with fond familiarity There is no food here, no bugs, no lizards The wrecked tent obsessive shivering accept this ordeal with fond familiarity off business men raises his skeletal hands to consume the morning sunlight Alka seltzer bubbles That was fun The wrecked tent tranquilized climaxing off business men raises his skeletal hands to consume the morning sunlight the sandy earth surges up in it's wakey tubby body The wrecked tent cryptic worm holing the sandy earth surges up in it's wakey tubby body his last partner for this fallen before Astryl clandestine sniveling his last partner for this fallen before after being laid it so shapely fingers charmed more top knots than a fence post who had been to charm school Astryl charcoal howling after being laid it so shapely fingers charmed more top knots than a fence post who had been to charm school this thing called dancing It was a lot gore other than the slamming tight clothes and bulging muscles that had nothing to do with the dance Astryl mysterious graying this thing called dancing on the banks with his partner The naked woman that is Astryl naked awakening on the banks with his partner in high definition this thing called dancing for awhile Astryl indispensable replaying in high definition this thing called dancing for awhile through the dry underbrush At last he arrives within eyesight of onyx monolith rising defiantly against burning sky Astryl byzantine proceeding through the dry underbrush astryl's assassination plan with huge rewards for short pleasant jobb At last kludstrm has something done right Kludstrm overdue programming astryl's assassination plan with huge rewards for short pleasant jobb crazily through gritting teeth Afraid it might be only way out of the madness right down the stream astryl ritualistically washes his hands Astryl diseased pissing crazily through gritting teeth weapons bring clean death and a better grade of to women back in old country as svelk freedom fighters horde charge Kludstrm foul self-cleaning weapons bring clean death and a better grade of to women back in old country as svelk freedom fighters horde charge under the gentle shade of palms scratches the itchy stubble on his cheeks and chin caused by the dried salt rising off his flesh Astryl unique sheltering under the gentle shade of palms scratches the itchy stubble on his cheeks and chin caused by the dried salt rising off his flesh his eyes with a large leaf turns away from the carnage cleaving the right side head woman Astryl lopsided shading his eyes with a large leaf turns away from the carnage cleaving the right side head woman the pool box is straying from the predicted path Who swears and sighs under his breath with frustration at the next plane already halfway to the area Kludstrm slow detecting the pool box is straying from the predicted path his unwashed undergarments wipes a trickle of green slime from his spectacles Astryl pronounced scratching his unwashed undergarments wipes a trickle of green slime from his spectacles by speaker "food shortage could lead to rioting for czech alliance Kludstrm scrupulous transmitting by speaker "food shortage could lead to rioting for czech alliance timing the period between pops of long gun fire towards high walls Astryl sovereign beginning timing the period between pops of long gun fire towards high walls all wounds suffered from jelly until suddenly wobbles and falls to ground Kludstrm multicolored healing all wounds suffered from jelly until suddenly wobbles and falls to ground nimbly across the sand as you withdraw the sandy textiles from your armpits and tease out the snarls Astryl dowdy criss crossing nimbly across the sand as you withdraw the sandy textiles from your armpits and tease out the snarls results since security currently flooding protection to the kludgeness responsible for little surprise Are you knowing what it really mean to be turnip? Kludstrm impotent blocking results since security currently flooding protection to the kludgeness responsible for little surprise the nuts to get baby oil out of his sandy drinking water Astryl embattled aspirating the nuts to get baby oil out of his sandy drinking water his swollen sunburned face he drags the goat by its tether Astryl crimson glistening his swollen sunburned face he drags the goat by its tether when he finally catches a glimpse of onyx rising above endless sands Astryl humble taking only little bread for walk Astryl boyish squinting when he finally catches a glimpse of onyx rising above endless sands kid hide over yurt The symbol of a shooting star fills your thoughts Astryl wretched tanning kid hide over yurt evening wear in loud checkers Uses what's in his head or doesn't he? You think of the yellow silk one last time Kludstrm afferent generating evening wear in loud checkers the south side where the dust looks different It's harder to find comfortable shade Astryl insubstantial scouting the south side where the dust looks different you that your room has just been raided Poor little man with burlap hood over head shaking a bag full of lemons Kludstrm cheerful warning you that your room has just been raided the streets for preparedness lemons You cannot see since a burlap sack over your head Astryl senseless scavenging the streets for preparedness lemons complex spreadsheet for delivery routes A lasgun beam silently goes through his chest Kludstrm dusky developing complex spreadsheet for delivery routes on a mouthful of tasteless red dirt No sign of life besides hungry bugs picking over corpses Astryl tasteless chewing on a mouthful of tasteless red dirt on a mouthful of red dirt and dirt overwhelming your senses as darkness takes you back Astryl boorish choking on a mouthful of red dirt and dirt overwhelming your senses as darkness takes you back 27% of target audience with live dance version of brave new world Masterfully dancing though his groin explodes from a tracking bullet Kludstrm ideological attracting 2 on the run to become downtrodden urban slave in one of the sugar mines Kludstrm wimpish risking capture to reach a cell safety before Astryl oppressed surviving on the run to become downtrodden urban slave in one of the sugar mines long dusty days with friend drawing up plans by candlelight Evening walks admired by other slaves Peaceful evenings working on project for tyrant Kludstrm schematic spending long dusty days with friend drawing up plans by candlelight down dangerous lung worm before illness spreads Weeping beside bed where older slave awaits agonizing death Astryl crummy tracking down dangerous lung worm before illness spreads your intelligence with a younger self, but bored now by the works of Shakespeare Something like that ^ "Bad Writing Competition Entries" Kludstrm exhaustive matching your intelligence with a younger self, Figaro as he deftly Soap! He uses the last of his Soap! I cave before unbearable onslaught soldiers as they advanced forward Sure enough Captain Karpskarv comically trips over an outcrop Astryl swashbuckled whistling Figaro as he deftly Cue his men breaking into laughter A sun filled sky grudged retreating soldiers as they advanced forward from their hiding places Ibuprofin? Sure! Ibuprofren! Aspirin? Amphetamine? I's grab All! The city of beetriot paranoid reemerging from their hiding places in the late afternoon sun The city of beetriot shallow glimmering in the late afternoon sun in the late The nervous comrade raises his gun, but you slam it down Another nice day! You chastise yourself The city of beetriot rude fluorescing in the late as sunset bathes it in a fiery glow The city of beetriot devious looking even in the dusty dry air The city of beetriot wrinkled serious looking as sunset bathes it in a fiery glow But? So? You think to yourself indignified You change the subject "Have the stockpiles been secured? The other soldier excitedly tells you of various technological advancements that are being set up within the city You let him talk on not really caring The city of beetriot crumbling yet deep and lush looking from a distance