#11/5-7/2018

[icewindandboringhorror]

Recent-ish things ~

[xaviergalatis]

[fatliberation]

FAT LIBERATIONIST FILMS

I noticed that the handful of lists on letterboxd for fat positive films only had Hairspray, Isn’t It Romantic, and I Feel Pretty (🤢) with the caption “I wish this list was longer!”

So I have taken it upon myself to compile a real list of real fat liberationist films: films that either confront the issue of fatphobia or portray fat bodies in a liberating way. I will not be including films where fat characters exist neutrally, only films with a message about fatness that does not promote weight loss.

I haven’t seen a majority of these films yet, so if you see one that you believe is not worthy of being on this list, please let me know! additionally, if you have ideas on more films that should be added, please share!

Films (left to right)

1. How to Carry Water (2023) dir. Sasha Wortzel

2. Piggy (2022) dir. Carlotta Pereda

3. Your Fat Friend (2023) dir. Jeanie Finlay

4. Dumplin’ (2018) dir. Anne Fletcher

5. Empire Waist (2024) dir. Claire Ayoub

6. PattiCake$ (2017) dir. Geremy Jasper

7. Läski (2019) dir. Kirsikka Saari

8. Aquaporko! (2013) dir. Kelli Jean Drinkwater, Anna Helme

9. Fat Hiking Club (2018) dir. Layla Cameron

10. Fat Front (2019) dir. Louise Kjeldsen, Louise Detlefsen

11. Disfigured (2008) dir. Glenn Gers

12. Riot Not Diet (2018) dir. Julia Fuhr Mann, Kristina Kilian

13. Straight/Curve: Redefining Body Image (2017) dir. Jenny McQuaile

14. In Our Skin (2017) dir. Rosa Beiroa

15. The Fat Feeling (2019) dir. Talia A. Darling

16. Dangerous Curves (2016) dir. Merete Mueller

17. Well Rounded (2020) dir. Shana Myara

18. Fat Chance (1994) dir. Jeffery McKay

19. Tales of Ordinary Fatphobia (2020) dir. Josiane Blanc

20. Fattitude (2017) dir. Viridiana Lieberman

21. (Not pictured) The Fat Body (In)Visible (2011) dir. Margitte Kristjansson

[nyaskitten]

2012, 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2020 all had two seasons of television.

I don't remember the exact timeline, but usually a season SHOULD get about 2 years of development time. The set designers work with the show team to craft up ideas and aesthetics, based on proposed story ideas.

The sets will go on to influence the story (for example major locations, or how the ninja will get out of a certain situation presented in the story) while the story influences the sets (such as the existence of the Forbidden Five, which the writers and designers crafted together, but who didn't get featured in any sets until a year after they were first presented to us.)

An episode takes 9 months to write, revise, storyboard, voice act, rough animate, and then animate, and complete. This isn't even considering how much clear and intricate detail and attention goes into composing tracks and themes for each season.

I feel like there's something else I'm missing but... I don't remember lmao. Sorry if the wording is confusing at any point. Idk let me know I'll try rephrase it lol.

Stupid question, but a question none the less

Ninjago's been around for about 14 years, but there's 19 seasons?? How does that even work?? Have the animators just been grinding since day one?

[beeghosts]

For the latest round of Holmestice, I got to fill @beamkatanachronicles's amazing prompt of editing @lalage's beautiful piece 25 Lives into a multiverse Holmes & Watson one! Did I spend way too much time overthinking every single choice? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

Verses cheatlist: 1. The Sign of Four (1923) 2. Sherlock Holmes (1916) 3. A Study in Terror (1965) 4. Мой нежно любимый детектив (1986) 5. Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) 6. Sherlock Holmes (1922) 7. Шерлок Холмс (2013) 8. The Last Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1923) 9. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1985) 10. The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1986-1987) 11. Sherlock (2010) 12. Приключения Шерлока Холмса и Доктора Ватсона (1980) 13. The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976) 14. They Might be Giants (1971) 15. Sherlock Holmes (1912) 16. Without a Clue (1988) 17. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) 18. Pursuit to Algiers (1945) 19. Sherlock Holmes (1968) 20. Elementary (2012) 21. Sherlock Holmes (2009) 22. Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson (1979) 23. ミス・シャーロック (2018) 24. Sherlock Holmes (1954)

[thinking-emoji]

DnP Interview Masterlist

This is a work in progress! If you have any other links, send them to me!

Mar 2025

Far Out Magazine (article) 8/3/2025

Jan 2025

Shut Up I'm Talking Podcast (video) 26/1/2025 | mirror | add-on

Dec 2024

RNZ (audio) 10/12/2024 | mirror

Radio Adelaide (audio) 10/12/2024 | mirror | mirror

Junkee (article) 6/12/2024

Junkee (video) 6/12/2024

Today Show (video) 5/12/2024 | mirror | mirror

Nov 2024

Buzzfeed (article) 22/11/2024 | mirror | mirror

People (article) 1/11/2024 | mirror

Oct 2024

People (article) 6/10/2024

YourEx (article) 5/10/2024 | mirror | mirror

Master up to 2023 (courtesy of @stillarchivingdnp)

YWGTTN promo master (courtesy of @dailydnp)

May 2024

Dan: Times Radio (video) 11/5/2024

2023

Dan: Anthony Padilla (video) 17/1/2023

Dan: DNA Magazine (article) 9/1/2023

2022

Dan: Santa Barbara Independent (article) 30/11/2022

Dan: Gay Times (article) 11/11/2022

Dan: heatworld (video) 1/11/2022

Dan: Hits Radio (video) 21/10/2022

Dan: The Star (article) 5/10/2022

Dan: Buzz (article) 12/9/2022

Dan: Manc Union (article) 18/8/2022

Dan: Square Mile (article) 29/7/2022

Dan: metro.co.uk (article) 9/6/2022

2021

Dan: How To Academy (video) 1/7/2021

Dan: 1883 (article) 30/6/2021

Dan: RNZ Nine to Noon (audio) 30/6/2021

Dan: GQ (article) 30/5/2021

Dan: Waterstones (video) 24/5/2021

Dan: Amazon (article) 12/5/2021

2020

Dan: Guardian (article) 26/12/2020 | mirror

Dan: Pink News (article) 4/12/2020

Dan: Attitude (article) 7/10/2020 | mirror | mirror | preview

Dan: ITV Britain Get Talking (audio) 7/10/2020 | mirror

Phil: Evening Standard (article) 3/2/2020

2019

Dan: BBC (video) 5/9/2019 | mirror

2018

HMV (article) 10/12/2018

Toy News (article) 5/3/2018

2017

Edinburgh TV Festival (video) 24/8/2017

2016

Penguin Platform (video) 10/11/2016

Stand Up to Cancer (video) 15/10/2016

Variety (article) 4/10/2016

The Big Wakeup Call (audio) 21/4/2016

2015

Star Sessions (video) 20/11/2025

Huffington Post (video) 19/11/2025

WOCA Radio (audio) 17/11/2015

Sunday Times (article) 8/11/2015

SugarScape, Pt. 2 (video) 11/10/2015

SugarScape (video) 9/10/2015

2014

Rock Forever Magazine (video) 19/4/2014

2013

The Independent (article) 1/6/2013

The 4:01 Show (video) 17/3/2013

Dan: Elision (article) 13/1/2013

2012

Dan: Huffington Post (article) 26/11/2012

[t3n5cious]

• AAU Super Showcase ATL Championship (June 2016)

• FIBA Team USA U16 (May - June 2017)

• Paige staying with Azzi's family (2017)

• Maryland visit (Fall 2017)

• Working out together (February 2018)

• Nike Boo Williams Invitational (April 20-22, 2018)

• Capital Classic All-Star Game (April 28, 2018)

• North Tartan Summer Jam (June 15-17, 2018)

• FIBA Team USA U17 (July 2018)

• Azzi going on a cruise with Paige's family (2018)

• Azzi helping Paige out with her basketball charity clinic (August 2018)

• Their Instagram birthday posts for each other referring to one another as other half (October & November 2018)

• Paige being at Azzi's Sweet Sixteen (November 2018)

• Azzi supporting Paige on her state championship game + Wearing Paige's Hopkins Jersey (March 16, 2019)

• Yellowstone National Park Trip (Spring Break 2019)

• Paige praying over Azzi's injury (April 13, 2019)

• Cheesefactory clip during Spring before Azzi's knee surgery (Spring 2019)

• Spooky Nook with their AAU teams (April 26-28, 2019)

• Overtime 1v1 video (July 2019)

• SC30 Camp (August 5-7, 2019)

• Cabin camping (August 2019)

• Celebrating Paige's birthday together (October 2019)

• Paige at Azzi's comeback game wearing a Team Azzi shirt (January 2020)

• Their whitechocolate535 reunion TikToks made on (January 2020)

• Paige supporting Azzi in one of her games wherein Azzi dropped 20 points (January 2020)

• Azzi at Paige's game while wearing a Team Paige shirt (March 11, 2020)

• Azzi supporting Paige in her State Championship Semifinals game (March 12, 2020)

• One of their March Tiktoks (March 2020)

• Paige wearing the gray Azzi shirt with (2020) - Just a bonus clip cause it’s hella cute

• Paige's bedside photos mainly comprising of photos with Azzi (March 2020)

• Paige photos in Azzi's room (March 2020)

• Paige choosing a photo of her and Azzi for a school project (2020) - another bonus because it was too cute not to add

• Paige's Azzi to UCONN recruiting efforts (2020)

• 20 questions eye contact clips (April 2020)

• Paige supporting Azzi in her GTS Fusion AAU games (2020)

• Paige staying with Azzi’s family during COVID: TikToks, Azzi's YouTube videos, other YouTube videos) (April - July 2020)

• Azzi hanging out with Drew and making a TikTok with him (2020)

• Azzi missing Paige on TikTok main (October 2020)

• Their birthday greeting videos on TikTok (October & November 2020)

• Togetherx Facetime clip (November 5, 2020)

• Azzi at Paige's NCAA Final Four + Facetiming her (2021)

• Paige being with Azzi during Azzi’s prom (May 2021)

• Paige being with Azzi and the Fudds during her rehab (April & May 2021)

• UConn summer workout together (June 2021)

• Paige supporting Azzi during her Team USA U19 camp (July 21, 2021)

Current look at the compilation vid timeline. We still don't have internet connection since our internet provider decided to be incompetent as hell but we move on. Let me know what I missed out on and what should be added moving forward from this timeline as well. Much love.

[todays-xkcd]

Hint: If you ever encounter this puzzle in a crossword app, just [term for someone with a competitive and high-achieving personality].

A Crossword Puzzle [Explained]

Transcript

[A square 15x15 crossword puzzle is shown. Only 21 of the 225 squares are black. The black squares are in a pattern that are 180 degree rotationally symmetrical. Three black squares down from the 11th column and similarly three black squares up from the 5th column. Three black squares out from the right in row 7 and then two more black squares diagonally up from the end. Similarly three black squares out from the left in row 9 with two more black squares diagonally down from the end. A single black square is three above the first black square on the diagonal going down to the right and similarly there is a black square three under the first of the diagonal squares going down to the left. (Row 6 column 12 and Row 10 column 4). Finally there are three black squares on a diagonal crossing over the central point by going up from the left through the central point (Row 8 column 8). There are numbers at the top of every column (except the one that is a black square) and similarly at the left edge of all rows (except the one that is a black square). There are also numbers at the bottom of every black segment (except the one that reaches the bottom) and all rows after black segments except the one that reaches the right edge. In total all numbers from 1 to 51 is written. They are written in reading order from 1 to 51.]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

[Below the square there are two rows of clues for each number that belongs to across (rows) and to the right there are one row of clues for each number that belongs to down (columns). Both segments have an underlined and bold title above the clues. ]

'''Across'''

1. Famous Pvt. Wilhelm quote

11. IPv6 address record

15. "CIPHERTEXT" decrypted with Vigenère key "CIPHERTEXT"

16. 8mm diameter battery

17. "Warthog" attack aircraft

18. Every third letter in the word for "inability to visualize"

19. An acrostic hidden on the first page of the dictionary

21. Default paper size in Europe

22. First four unary strings

23. Lysine codon

24. 40 CFR Part 63 subpart concerning asphalt pollution

25. Top bond credit rating

26. Audi coupe

27. A pair of small remote batteries, when inserted

29. Unofficial Howard Dean slogan

32. A 4.0 report card

33. The "Harlem Globetrotters of baseball" (vowels only)

34. 2018 Kiefer song

35. Top Minor League tier

36. Reply elicited by a dentist

38. ANAA's airport

41. Macaulay Culkin's review of aftershave

43. Marketing agency trade grp.

44. Soaring climax of Linda Eder's ''Man of La Mancha''

46. Military flight community org.

47. Iconic line from ''Tarzan''

48. Every other letter of Jimmy Wales's birth state

49. Warthog's postscript after "They call me ''mister'' pig!"

50. Message to Elsa in ''Frozen 2''

51. Lola, when betting it all on Black 20 in ''Run Lola Run''

“Down

1. Game featuring "a reckless disregard for gravity"

2. 101010101010101010101010 [sub]2→16

3. Google phone released July '22

4. It's five times better than that ''other'' steak sauce

5. ToHex(43690)

6. Freddie Mercury lyric from ''Under Pressure''

7. Full-size Audi luxury sedan

8. Fast path through a multiple choice marketing survey

9. 12356631 in base 26

10. Viral Jimmy Barnes chorus

11. Ruby Rhod catchphrase

12. badbeef + 9efcebbb

13. In Wet Let's ''Ur Mum'', what the singer has been practicing

14. Refrain from Nora Reed bot

20. Mario button presses to ascend Minas Tirith's walls

24. Vermont historic route north from Bennington

26. High-budget video game

28. Unorthodox Tic-Tac-Toe win

29. String whose SHA-256 hash ends "...689510285e212385"

30. Arnold's remark to the Predator

31. The vowels in the fire salamander's binomial name

32. Janet Leigh ''Psycho'' line

34. Seven 440Hz pulses

37. Audi luxury sports sedan

38. A half-dozen eggs with reasonably firm yolks

39. 2-2-2-2-2-2 on a multitap phone keypad

40. .- .- .- .- .- .-

42. Rating for China's best tourist attractions

43. Standard drumstick size

45. "The rain/in Spain/falls main-/ly on the plain" rhyme scheme

[a-kind-of-merry-war]

A poll designed to make you recoil at the passage of time

cheat sheet with dates/years under the cut

if you joined in 2007 -  17 years

if you joined in 2008 -  16 years

if you joined in 2009 - 15 years

if you joined in 2010 - 14 years

if you joined in 2011 - 13 years

if you joined in 2012 - 12 years

if you joined in 2013 - 11 years

if you joined in 2014 - 10 years

if you joined in 2015 - 9 years

if you joined in 2016 - 8 years

if you joined in 2017 - 7 years

if you joined in 2018 - 6 years

if you joined in 2019 - 5 years

if you joined in 2020 - 4 years

if you joined in 2021 - 3 years

if you joined in 2022 - 2 years

if you joined in 2023 - 1 years

if you joined in 2024 - 0 years

[just-barrow]

An overview of interviews with Lou Ferrigno Jr, subdivided into read, watch, and listen.

Note: some of these will overlap (for example podcasts that are also on Youtube). This post is a work in progress.

READ

GRUEmonkey (January 4, 2017)

Paradigm Treatment (August 4, 2017)

Swagger Magazine (2021)

Flaunt (2021)

Vulkan Magazine (March 5, 2021)

Pop Culturalist (March 13, 2021)

Medium (April 5, 2021)

TVBrittanyF.com (April 12, 2021)

Men's Health (June 16, 2021)

The Pop Culture Principle (January 14, 2022)

A Book Of (2023)

PhotoBook Magazine (February 8, 2023)

The Hollywood Reporter (April 11, 2024)

TV Insider (April 11, 2024)

TV Fanatic (April 12, 2024)

Fangirlish (November 7, 2024)

Decider (November 8, 2024)

But Why Tho? (November 21, 2024)

Felix Magazine (Fall 2024)

Digital Journal (February 22, 2025)

But Why Tho? (April 25, 2025)

WATCH

Tahoe Show (December 29, 2014)

Muscular Development Magazine (January 16, 2017)

The Red Booth (August 28, 2017)

TLC Unleashed (November 25, 2017)

Mellow Riot (June 5, 2018)

TLC Unleashed (June 16, 2018)

Corridor Cast (February 20, 2019)

Howie D and the Lesser Knowns (August 1, 2019)

FOX5 Las Vegas (February 16, 2021)

FOX5 Las Vegas (February 17, 2021)

Geekscape (March 2, 2021)

Paltrocast with Darren Paltrowitz (March 2, 2021)

Celebrity Page (March 3, 2021)

WorldFilmGeek (March 3, 2021)

Howard's Haunt (March 4, 2021)

Good Day Sacramento (March 16, 2021)

Men's Health (March 31, 2021)

The Story Box (April 4, 2021)

REALPOLITIK (April 9, 2021)

The Buzz (January 10, 2022)

Stauros Entertainment (January 10, 2022)

Bionic Buzz (January 16, 2022)

Great Day Houston (January 24, 2022)

Passionflix (July 19, 2022)

Good Day Sacramento (February 23, 2023)

Access Hollywood (May 23, 2024)

But Why Tho? (April 25, 2025)

LISTEN

Corridor Cast (February 20, 2019)

Robby D and the Lesser Knowns (August 1, 2019)

Geekscape (March 2, 2021)

Good questions...with Cameron Dole (March 5, 2021)

Comic Book Central (March 6, 2021)

The Scott Sands Show (March 9, 2021)

Culture Pop Podcast (May 16, 2021)

Shots to the Dome (November 30, 2021)

Hollywood at Home with the Creative Coalition (March 14, 2023)

[thefanficcorgi]

I am putting this together by year so the choices are more condensed. Have you been here since the beginning? I’ve been watching since the 2011 pilot was aired on tv. Feel free to put a reply in the comments

Edit: winner is the pilots

[tea-earlgrey]

Spatort-Timeline

Aktualisierte Version (Stand: Juni 2025) 

Disclaimer: Das ist meine Interpretation der vorhandenen Informationen und ein Versuch, möglichst viel davon passend zu machen. Ich erhebe keinen Anspruch auf Richtigkeit und möchte nicht, dass damit jemand in der eigenen, kreativen Freiheit eingeschränkt wird. Zur Verwendung siehe unter Cut.

1990  - Adam und Leo werden geboren (Annahme basierend auf Jahrbuch aus HdW und dass Adam und Leo in der 11. Klasse etwa 16/17 waren; Stichtag Einschulung Saarland 30. Juni, Stand 2021) - Erster Nachweis von Aktivität Roland Schürks (Kontoauszüge aus April 1990) 

1994  - Fahndungsaufruf Joseph und Beatrice Radek vom 16. Mai 

2001  - Roland Schürk wird wegen unerlaubten Waffenbesitzes verurteilt  

2002  - Erste Raubüberfälle, zu denen Boris Barns geständig ist; (gemeinsam mit Roland Schürk) - Roland Schürk erhält 300.000 Euro in kleineren Summen aufs Konto

2003   - 14. Februar: Banküberfall mit Todesfolge aus der Raubserie Roland Schürk/Boris Barns - Boris Barns kommt im Frühling 2003 wegen Raubmord ins Gefängnis (Entlassung vermutlich 2023 bei Höchststrafe und wegen Weigerung auf Kooperation; mögliche Verlängerung wegen weiterer Vorfälle)  

Vermutlich zwischen 2003 und 2006   - Leo und Adam als Jugendfreunde (“Hab jahrelang dabei zugesehen…” aber Leo weiß nicht von Boris) 

2006   - Vermutlich April: Roland Schürk wird von Peter Lausch im Wald angegriffen und später von Leo in Nothilfe ins Koma geschlagen (siehe Post zur Ermittlung des Datums) - 04. Mai: in Frankreich wird die Leiche von E. Morel gefunden, ihr Oberschenkel fehlt   

Schuljahr 2006/07  - Peter Lausch wird Lehrer an Leos und Adams Schule; Leo und Adam kommen in die 11. Klasse   - Oktober - Dezember: Leo gewinnt Vorlesewettbewerb und fährt danach zum Bundesausscheid; Adam leitet die Fußball AG 

Schuljahr 2007/2008   - Adam verschwindet (im Jahrbuch 2006/2007 mehrfach aufgeführt, in der 11. den Philo-Kurs von Lausch besucht, “Und Sie sind dann irgendwann verschwunden”)

Schuljahr 2008/2009  - Abitur des Jahrgangs 1990/91, daher vermutlich mindestens Leo (vgl. Jahrbuch 2006/07 11. Klasse; G9 Modell im Saarland bis 2009)

2014  - 23. Januar: Mara Heinrich wird als vermisst gemeldet  

2018  - Cora Reuthers wird zum ersten Mal überfallen (muss nicht der erste Einbruch sein; Stimmiger hinsichtlich Therapie und Selbstverteidigungskurse) 

2020  - Vermutlich 4./11. Mai (Montagnacht): Eric Hofer wird ermordet  - Vermutlich 5./12. Mai (Dienstag): Adam beginnt neue Stelle in Saarbrücken  - Vermutlich 7./14. Mai: Roland Schürk wacht auf nach etwa 14 Jahren (Annahme: Rundung auf 15 Jahre, weil es besser klingt)   - 05.07.2020: Jessi Pohlmann wird ermordet  - 06.07.2020: Roland Schürk wird aus dem Krankenhaus entlassen und sitzt im Rollstuhl  - 09.07.2020: Leo erschießt Peter Lausch; Roland Schürk verletzt 

2021  - Ende 2021/Anfang 2022: Einbruch im Wohnhaus Schürk durch Modalls Bande; Roland wird verprügelt (Aussage von Heide Schürk, dass Roland nach seiner neuerlichen Verletzung während HdW wieder laufen kann) - Erster Einbruch bei Cora Reuthers (könnte unterschiedlich zu o.g. Überfall sein) 

2022:  - Anfang März: Roland Schürk kauft einen Regenbogenfrosch  - Ende März (Woche vom 21.-27.03.): Roland Schürk stirbt; Adam wird wegen Mordverdacht an seinem Vater verhaftet und trifft in Untersuchungshaft auf seinen Patenonkel Boris Barns  - Ende März: Adam birgt die 1,2 Millionen aus dem letzten Bankraub seines Vaters (Geldscheine sind allerdings falsch)

2023  - Frühling: Boris Barns wird aus der Haft entlassen (sofern seine Haftstrafe nicht verlängert wurde) - Ende Juli (vermutlich 22.07.): Andreas Schneider stirbt nach einem Ackermatch; Moritz Leimer überfällt Adam wegen der 1,2 Millionen aus dem letzten Banküberfall  - Ende Juli (vermutlich 25.07.): Roswitha Jäger stirbt bei beinahe-Unfall (Datum auf Leos Uhr falsch) auf (nicht) B17 

2025 - 09. Juni (Pfingstmontag): Überfall auf Geldtransporter am Willi-Graf-Ufer durch Carla Radek, Merlin Bravard und Moritz Leimer  - 11. Juni: Carla Radek stirbt bei Explosion in einem Bunker in Frankreich; Leo verletzt

Zur Verwendung:

Dieser erste Post enthält die grobe Timeline mit Informationen zu einzelnen Jahren und Eckpunkten, die relevant sein könnten. Rot markiert und kursiv sind Annahmen, die ich tätige, um die Timeline passend zu machen.

Informationen über Nebencharaktere sind kleiner, aber im Post teilweise inkludiert, da sie Einblicke in die Gesamt-Timeline geben oder für die Weiterverarbeitung hilfreich sein können.

Die Quellen sind diesmal in den Reblogs zu finden. Es gibt zu jedem Film einen eigenen Reblog; die Informationen befinden sich unter den Cuts, damit der Stapel nicht zu groß wird. Film-Reblogs enthalten jeweils eine Timeline des Films in violett.

Die Timeline ist absichtlich in Textform, um sie für Screenreader erfassbar zu machen.

Fragen zur Timeline beantworte ich jederzeit gerne.

[buckets-and-trees]

Steve Rogers Collection

↠ Main Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

Unless specifically noted, all of my stories feature a female reader insert character.

dividers by my lovely og wife @vesearartistry

Series & Collections

EXILED NOMAD a series of encounters that could have happened between Civil War and Infinity War SOFT DARK, explicit smut, rough sex, emotionally damaged Steve, lonely reader

↠ July 3, 2017: When He First Got Me [2.2k] (Steve POV) ↠ July 4, 2017: You Should've Seen Him [1.2k] ↠ September 28, 2017: Pull the String [3.7k] ↠ September 28, 2017, around midnight: Put Me Back on My Shelf [750] ↠ January 2, 2018: Danger in the Heat of My Touch [2.3k] ↠ February 10, 2018: Just Say When ↠ March 10, 2018: It Fit Too Right [690] ↠ March 21, 2018: Puzzle Pieces in the Dead of Night [1.5k] ↠ April 30, 2018: I Felt More When We Played Pretend [3k] ↠ May 21, 2018: For Keeps This Time [11.7k]

CEDAR TREES a Royal AU historical romance King!Steve x Queen!Reader politically arranged marriage, reluctant pining to true and utter love, SMUT (rough fucking to fluffy and intimate sexual situations)

↠ Fire Burning From a Cedar Tree [3.4k] ↠ The Thrill of Knowing How Alone We Are [1.2k] ↠ Winter Solstice (response to an ask) ↠ Cold Hands, Warm Hearts [1.3k] ↠ A Shift in the Morning Routine [1.1k] ↠ Love That's Laid Beside Me [5k] ↠ The Silence of the Hushed Sublime [4.8k]

RED, WHITE & TRUE - complete a Steve Stays AU Presidential Candidate!Steve x Wife!Reader politically arranged marriage, slow burn, eventual smut

↠ Prologue: Upstate New York (Steve POV) [1.3k] ↠ chapter 1: Manhattan & Brooklyn [4k] ↠ chapter 2: Las Vegas & Cleveland [4k] ↠ chapter 3: Houston [3.4k] ↠ chapter 4: Fort Wayne, Toledo, Detroit [4.2k] ↠ chapter 5: DC, Tampa, Athens [6.1k] ↠ chapter 7: Brooklyn - Pre-Interview [5.8k] ↠ chapter 8: Brooklyn - The Interview [6.1k] ↠ chapter 9: Kansas City - Interview Broadcast Day [7.6k] ↠ chapter 10: Kansas to Tucson - Fallout [6.5k] ↠ chapter 11: Tucson - Refocusing [4.7k] ↠ chapter 12: Tucson & Denver - Important Conversations [6.4k] ↠ chapter 13: Pittsburgh & Harrisburg - October Surprise [9.1k] ↠ chapter 14: Boston & New York - Election Eve [9.1k] ↠ chapter 15: Election Day in New York, pt. 1 [7.2k] ↠ chapter 16: Election Day in New York, pt. 2 [5.3k] ↠ chapter 17: Election Day in New York, pt. 3 [5.8k] ↠ epilogue [2.9k]

WARM SHADOWS - complete post-endgame omegaverse AU Alpha!Bucky x omega!reader, Alpha!Captain Hydra x omega!reader, eventual Alpha!Bucky x omega!reader x Alpha!Steve DARK SMUT, tw: non con, tw: dub con, fluff beginning

↠ chapter one: When You Fall On Me Like Night [2.5k] ↠ chapter two: Let All Light Go [7.5k] ↠ chapter three: Carving Through the Dark [14.4k] ↠ chapter four: The Working of Your Hands [15.5k] ↠ epilogue: The Dawn Has Come [5.5k]

LITTLE LARK a modern mafia AU with dark elements mean Mafia!Steve x curvy Millennial Female!Reader x mean Mafia!Bucky

↠ Little Lark ↠ Bird on a Wire ↠ Bird Home in the Darkness

BUCK’S ELEVEN  a snapshot series, historical AU, Ocean’s Eleven-style heist premise Steve and Bucky and many other Avenger cameos

↠ Buck's Eleven Steve & Bucky ↠ Bookings and Rings Steve x Pan Am Stewardess Reader [600 words, light smut] ↠ Good Luck the team [600 words]

THE BROOKLYN BOYS - complete a post-endgame where Steve stays in the present rom-com drabble series, slow burn Steve x reader, Bucky x reader, eventual Stucky x reader

SERIES: ↠ 1: Bucky and the Bench ↠ 2: Steve and the Sandwich ↠ 3: Bucky and the Books ↠ 4: Steve and the Skyline ↠ 5: Bucky and the Brief Brush ↠ INTERLUDE ↠ 6: Steve and the Ballet ↠ 7: Bucky and the Shelves ↠ 8: Steve and the Blindside ↠ 9: Bucky and the Situation ↠ 10: Steve and the Best Friend ↠ EXITLUDE

MORE STORY: ↠ First Night��[takes place immediately after part 10] ↠ Idle Hands [first fall/winter] ↠ Big Red Bow [a few days after their first NYE]

Double-Shots

Tiny Vessels [1.5k] + Don’t Forget You Were the One Who [1.3k] end of Endgame Steve gender neutral Reader insert, brief moments of non-graphic physical intimacy

So Black the Darkness Hums [9.1k] + Ceremonial Rituals [6.7k] + Come Down from Battle [2.4k] Viking King Steve Rogers x curvy Female!Reader DARK, viking AU, explicit smut (non-consent re: prima nocta), kidnapping

One-Shots

Peering In My Hollow Core [2.4k]  Nomad!Steve x Morally Grey f!Reader explicit smut (dubious consent re: sex pollen)

Witchview [1.3k] ignore Endgame/Steve stays, post-WandaVision, witch!reader soft!dark, smut, magic, manipulation

King [1k] mob AU

All the Pieces Fall [3.4k] unidentified male main character x female!reader modern AU, second chance, smut

Drabbles

Not Meant to Be Like This [680] + Not What I Planned At All [950] omegaverse, smut

Steve with a Breeding Kink [750] soft dark, smut, tw: dubious consent

Steve and a Dog [200]  ignore Endgame/Steve stays gender neutral reader, fluff

With You [600] fluff, potential future Neighbor!Steve scenario/chaptered work

Bodyguard Steve [400] mildly smutty, modern AU

Library Volunteer Steve [250] Steve stays AU, fluffy meet cute (with hintss of wanting smut)

Other Chris Evans Characters...

[labbaik-ya-hussain-as]

1. Haifa Massacre 1937

2. Jerusalem Massacre 1937

3. Haifa Massacre 1938

4. Balad al-Sheikh Massacre 1939

5. Haifa Massacre 1939

6. Haifa Massacre 1947

7. Abbasiya Massacre 1947

8. Al-Khisas Massacre 1947

9. Bab al-Amud Massacre 1947

10. Jerusalem Massacre 1947

11. Sheikh Bureik Massacre 1947

12. Jaffa Massacre 1948

13. Deir Yassin Massacre 1948

14. Tantura Massacre 1948

15. Qibya Massacre 1953

16. Khan Yunis Massacre 1956

17. Jerusalem Massacre 1967

18. Sabra and Shatila Massacre 1982

19. Al-Aqsa Massacre 1990

20. Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre 1994

21. Jenin Refugee Camp April 2002

22.

23. Gaza Massacre 2012

24. Gaza Massacre 2014

25. Gaza Massacre 2018-19

26. Gaza Massacre 2021

27. Gaza Genocide 2023 is still ongoing.

28. DON'T LET ANYONE CONVINCE YOU THAT IT STARTED ON OCTOBER 7th***

[imaginespazzi]

Part 6: To Trying Again

Masterlist - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15

I don't wanna mess this thing up (I don't wanna push too far)

(In which an "evil" writer might surprise you guys just a little bit with this part)

Pairing: Paige Bueckers X Azzi Fudd

Themes: Fluff and Angst

Words: 5.6K

TW: Swearing (I think that's it?)

A/N: Happy Monday lovelies! This is sort of a filler-ish short chapter though I do think it's important to both plot and character development. I'd like to preface this by saying I've never been to Minsk or Park Pieramohi so I'm very much going off of pictures. Editing and I remain on very, very bad terms so pretty please let me know of typos so I can fix them. As always, let me know what you liked, what you disliked and what you'd like to see going forward. Have a lovely rest of your week my loves <3

July 2018 

“You’re being too loud,” Azzi whisper-screams at the blonde girl in front of her as she closes the door to her room behind her with a little too much force. 

Paige turns her head back every-so-slightly with a pronounced eye roll, “will you please relax.”

“I would if you’d just be a little more careful,” Azzi glares, taking cautious steps as if the sound of her sneakers across the carpeted floor could potentially wake up any of the coaches. 

“Azzi,” Paige says exasperatedly, “the coaches are all the way on the other end of the hallway. Besides, they're probably all sleeping.”

And despite her stubbornness, Azzi can concede that Paige has a point there. It’s nearly midnight and the game against Spain earlier in the day might have had a final score that made it seem like the USA U17 women's basketball team had won handily, but the game itself had been draining to say the least. The post-victory dinner had featured a bunch of worn out teenagers gobbling their food without much conversation and a cohort of coaches who seemed like they needed an hour of drinking followed by good night’s sleep. But even the exhaustion of the day hadn’t been enough to prevent Paige Bueckers and her diabolical mind from coming up with the idea to sneak out into the city of Minsk. 

“No,” Azzi had said immediately even before the words had been spoken, that shimmering glint in Paige’s eyes a dead giveaway as she sidled up to Azzi at the salad bar. 

“You don’t even know what I’m going to say,” Paige had pouted. 

“You never say anything good.”

“That’s crazy. You’re so mean to me.”

“So mean,” Azzi had nodded in agreement, “so how about you go and bother someone else.”

“Azzi please. We haven’t had just Paige and Azzi time in ages. Don’t want someone else. Just want you.”

And after that well, there wasn’t really any chance of saying no. Azzi’s only fifteen and she doesn’t know that much about love, but sometimes when Paige looks at her with those earnest blue eyes and a smile that promises i’ll always be here, she thinks the way her heart starts to flutter erratically to a beat of and i wouldn’t want anyone else to stay, might just be the start of her finding out. 

“See,” Paige grins triumphantly as the two girls find their way out of their hotel and onto the street, “told you we wouldn’t get caught. Shit’s just too damn easy.”

Azzi rolls her eyes at the attitude, “don’t tempt fate.”

“Fate’s got nothing in front of Paige Bueckers. I make my own fate,” Paige winks as she links her arms through Azzi. 

It’s a mundane amount of contact, absolutely nothing special to it, but Azzi feels herself shiver in spite of the humidity that’s circling around them. She doesn’t quite know how it happened. One moment she was staring across the court, judging the skinny blonde practicing free throws and coming to the conclusion that she’d be no threat; the next moment said girl was next to her on the plane back from Argentina and Azzi, a self-admitted introvert, found herself rattling off about everything and nothing with this girl who seemed to have discovered the keys to all of Azzi’s locks. Hours of talking had bled into days and days had bled into months and despite the fact that facetime had taken the place of in-person conversations, the word friendship had seemed too cavalier a word to describe the relationship Paige and Azzi were building. 

Paige had whittled away all of Azzi’s carefully constructed armor until she was buried deep underneath her skin and Azzi’s sure there’s no knife in the world sharp enough to carve the blonde out from where she lives underneath Azzi’s ribcage. Azzi doesn’t want anyone to try and dig her out. She  thinks she might bleed out if they do. 

“Az,” Paige whines, waving her free hand in the younger girl’s face, “are you even paying attention to me?”

“That depends,” Azzi hums, “are you saying anything interesting?”

“I’m always saying something interesting.”

“You’re always saying something. The interesting is subjective,” Azzi teases, laughing when Paige pouts. 

“I sneak you out to give you an adventure and this is how you repay me? With insults?” Paige puts a dramatic hand to her heart.

“Walking boring streets is not an adventure. Virginia has streets too.”

“It’s not about the streets, it’s about where the streets lead to,” Paige says with grave seriousness. 

Azzi raises an eyebrow, “are you entering your philosopher Paige era?”

“I’d make a good philosopher,” Paige waggles her own eyebrows as they two girls find themselves entering park Pieramohi. 

“Virginia has parks too, you know Paige?” Azzi says skeptically. 

Paige lets out a dramatic sigh, “will you just keep walking, woman. Sometimes I wonder if you even like me?”

It’s said like a joke but there’s a hint of insecurity beaded into it that buzzes in Azzi’s ears as she wraps a careful hand around Paige’s wrist, stopping the two of them where they are. 

“Hey,” she whispers softly, nudging the older girl, “you don’t ever have to wonder with me. I’m always gonna like you Paige. Even if you’re a pain in my ass half the time.”

“Had to ruin it with the last part, didn't you?” Paige complains but her eyes twinkle at the reassurance, “Just so you know I’m gonna be a pain in your ass forever.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that,” Azzi promises as they continue strolling through the park. 

The silence is peaceful and the breeze that flows around them is like a comforting hug. And Azzi thinks that she’d be okay if there wasn’t a destination for them to get to, as long as the journey came with Paige by her side. 

“We’re almost there,” Paige says slowly, a slightly nervous edge to her voice. 

“You sure you’re not just getting us lost-” the teasing quip dies on Azzi’s tongue as she stares at the scenery in front of her. They’re standing on the edge of a bridge overlooking a lake and it looks like something out of a disney fairytale; the picturesque image of green trees silhouetted against a magically starry night is captured perfectly on the still surface of the water that’s flowing beneath. As Azzi peers across the railing, Paige right next to her, she feels her breath hitch at the reflection that peers up at her. Because the view in front of them is beautiful but Paige’s eyes are on Azzi and she’s staring at her as if the view is nothing in comparison. 

“C’mon,” the blonde says softly, lacing her fingers through Azzi’s as she tugs her along, “I have a plan.”

“There’s more?” Azzi asks in awe as Paige guides her to the gazebo in the middle of the bridge. 

“Just a little bit,” Paige says and oh- that shy smile is different. Azzi doesn’t think she’s seen that one yet and she makes a mental note to herself, to memorize it and store it along with all of Paige’s other smiles that make Azzi’s insides swoop like a rollercoaster. 

She watches intently as Paige begins to peruse through the purple rucksack she’d been carrying. The first thing out of it is a picnic blanket and then a horde of different snacks, all of Azzi’s favorites. Two plastic champagne glasses are next and then a sheepish grin as Paige pulls out a bottle of soda. 

“Couldn’t quite risk trying to get alcohol,” Paige scratches at her neck. 

“Next time maybe,” Azzi shrugs as she helps Paige set up the arrangement and she feels herself fluttering at the thought of doing this again and again and again. 

“How’d you even find this place?” she asks as Paige begins to pour out the soda. 

“You ever heard of googling?”

Azzi rolls her eyes at Paige’s teasing smirk, “how’d you even have time to do this?”

Paige is quiet for a second as she passes Azzi her glass, “wanted to do something special for us,” she says quietly, keeping her eyes intently on what she’s doing as she pours out a drink for herself, “wasn’t hard to find time for you.”

“You could be a poet, Paige Bueckers,” Azzi whispers and she knows it’s unfair of her but she thinks it anyway. As long as all your poems are about me. 

“The poets are lucky I chose a ball instead of a pen. They’d be out of a job otherwise,” Paige says, trying to ease back into the more familiar arrogance. 

“Always so humble,” Azzi says, rolling her eyes as she holds up her glass, “alright what are toasting to?”

“I came up with this whole thing. You can come up with a toast,” Paige scrunches her nose and Azzi shakes her head at it. 

She thinks for a second before smiling brightly at the girl in front of her, “let’s just keep it simple and toast to us.”

“How original,” Paige teases but she clinks her glass against Azzi’s anyways, “here’s to us.”

“Here’s to us,” Azzi repeats as they both take sips of soda. 

They melt into a comfortable silence, relishing in this rare moment where there isn’t a screen separating them from each other. Facetimes is a wonderful creation but a blurry screen, Azzi decides, doesn’t nearly do justice to just how damn pretty Paige is. Her hair is golden as it basks in the glow of the moon and Azzi wonders if the stars are jealous of how brilliantly the blonde’s blue eyes twinkle.

It’s Paige who speaks first, her voice hesitant, “you uh- you never asked me how my date went a couple of weeks ago.”

Azzi feels her whole body go rigid. She’d almost forgotten about Paige’s wretched date. The blonde had told her about it a couple of days before the actual event and Azzi had played the dutiful role of a best friend, teasing Paige with a light-heartedness she didn’t feel and congratulating her with an excitement that came from anywhere but from the heart. She’d purposely avoided Paige’s calls the day of the date and then two days after, coming up with some sorry excuse she no longer remembers. On the third day, when the hollow ache of i miss her voice in her chest had become too hard to ignore, Azzi had finally picked up the phone and diverted the conversation straight to a different topic. She hadn’t thought of the date since. 

“Guess it slipped my mind,” she says airily, fingers gripping the edge of the picnic blanket. 

“I could tell you about it now,” Paige says slowly. 

I’d rather you didn’t, Azzi thinks but that’s a thought that veers a little too out of the sphere of best-friend-isms and so she simply nods her head, “y-yeah tell me about it. How was it?”

“It was nice,” Paige begins and there’s something hidden in her tone that Azzi can't quite place but she’s a little too busy sulking at the idea of Paige with anybody else to try and decipher it, “dinner was good. Took her to a movie after. That was good too.”

“That’s cool P. I’m glad- I’m glad you had fun,” Azzi says nonchalantly, gripping the glass in her hands just a little too tight. 

“I didn’t.”

“What?”

“I didn’t really have that much fun,” Paige clarifies and Azzi gawks at her in confusion as the older girl fidgets with the frayed edges of the picnic blankets, “just didn’t- didn’t feel right. Don’t think she had much fun either. She never texted me after.”

“What a bitch,” Azzi bites out, suddenly irrationally angry at a girl she’d never met because how could anyone possibly not have fun with Paige, “I’m sorry P. You deserve-”

“I didn’t care that she didn’t text back-”

“Still. It’s just the decent thing to do,” Azzi rants. 

“Maybe,” Paige shrugs, “but I didn’t have time to care about that. I had other things on my mind. Like the fact that you weren’t talking to me.”

Azzi flinches at the accusation, rushing out her previous defense, “I was busy.”

“Bullshit,” Paige sneers. 

“Paige-”

“But I get it,” the older girl says softly as she reaches for Azzi’s hand, tugging the brunette closer to her and Azzi feels something inside her erupt at how close their faces are, “I probably wouldn’t have talked to you for two days either if you went on a date with someone else.”

“Oh,” Azzi breathes out and there’s probably something more eloquent she should say but there’s this realization of maybe you feel it too that’s beginning to creep up her spine, rendering her speechless as Paige continues to stare at her like she’s mapping out all the tiniest details of Azzi’s face. 

“The whole date, I kept thinking how you wouldn’t order what she ordered off the menu or that you would probably hit my hand if I tried to steal something off your plate but then give it to me anyway. And that the movie would never have been so quiet with you and we’d probably get yelled at for giggling too much and I-” Paige pauses, dragging in a deep breath, “I definitely would’ve kissed you at the end.”

A sigh of relief escapes Azzi’s lips, “you didn’t kiss her.”

“No,” Paige confirms as she drops her forehead against Azzi’s, “but I-,” the blonde gulps nervously and Azzi can’t help the way her hand reaches up to caress the blush forming on Paige’s cheeks. 

“Ask me,” she whispers.

“I really want to kiss you,” Paige confesses, voice shaking slightly, “can I kiss you?”

Azzi doesn’t say anything, choosing to reply instead by pressing her lips softly against Paige’s. They move slowly at first, testing each other’s boundaries and savoring their first taste of each other. Azzi pulls the older girl onto her lap, hands firmly on Paige’s hips as the other girl clasps her own hands around Azzi’s neck.  It’s a little messy and uncoordinated and Azzi thinks they might need to practice a little more to really get it right but still, it’s everything.

And Azzi just knows

She knows it then just the way she knew Tim was meant to be her dad. The way she knew Jon and José were meant to be her brothers. The way she knew she was meant to play basketball. Azzi knows that she’s meant to fall hopelessly in love with Paige Bueckers. 

March 2033

There are three things Azzi should do. 

Push Paige away 

Tell her this a bad idea 

Run the fuck away

She does none of the above.

Instead Azzi kisses Paige back. 

And it’s still everything. Like the sun and moon are colliding and creating something so insanely powerful; something that feels so eternal. 

There’s nothing soft or slow about it as Paige presses every inch of herself into Azzi until she can feel Paige’s heartbeat as strongly as she can feel her own. It might be impossible but she swears their hearts are talking to each other, tapping out rhythms against each other’s chests that confess all the things their owners are too scared to say. And Azzi wants nothing more than to lose herself completely in the moment because Paige’s lips feel like a drug and Azzi thinks she might just be an addict in relapse. 

Except to relapse, you need to have recovered. And Azzi doesn’t think she ever fully recovered from Paige. 

It isn’t until she feels her back hit the edge of a desk and the sound of something crashing onto the floor infiltrates her ears, that Azzi finally comes to her senses. She tears her lips away from Paige as the older woman groans in protest, arms tightening their hold on Azzi’s waist so she can still have some semblance of control over the situation. And really Azzi knows she’s strong enough to escape Paige’s grip, could easily fight it if she wanted to. But well, she doesn’t want to. And Azzi’s tired of doing things she doesn’t want to do. 

“Paige-”

“If the next words out of your mouth are ‘we can’t do this’, Azzi I swear to god I’m going to kill you,” Paige threatens, pressing her forehead against Azzi’s. 

Azzi laughs softly and she can feel Paige’s whole body relax at the sound of it and like clockwork, she feels the tension beginning to release from her own muscles, “if you kill me then we definitely can’t do this.”

“I’ll revive you after or something,” Paige says with a half-smirk. 

“Or something,” Azzi rolls her eyes, “but we can’t-”

“Azzi,” Paige groans. 

“We can’t do this right now and definitely not here,” Azzi amends, alluding to the fact that they’re still in Steph’s office. 

Paige raises an eyebrow, cocking her head slightly, “but we can do this later? Somewhere else?”

The question lingers between them as Azzi bites her lip. She knows what this is, knows that it’s Paige putting the ball in her court. A ‘no’ would likely be the end of things and that scares her more than she’s willing to admit but she’s not quite ready to commit to a ‘yes’ yet, even if that flame of desire inside of her, the one that can only be lit by Paige, is blazing hot through her veins. 

“I don’t know,” Azzi says carefully, shivering at the way Paige’s thumb is rubbing circles against her waist, the flimsy material of her shirt doing nothing to prevent the goosebumps forming on her skin, “TBD.”

“That’s not a no,” Paige says carefully, hope blossoming freely on her face. 

“That’s not a yes either,” Azzi warns half-heartedly. 

“But it’s not a no,” Paige presses. 

“No,” Azzi admits, playing with the neckline of Paige’s shirt, “it’s not a no.”

And Azzi’s so scared of the future, scared that if she lets herself burn, she’ll incinerate everyone around her but there’s something in the way Paige smiles at her words. Something that feels a lot like a promise of i’ll be the rain that washes out the fire before you can turn us to ashes. 

“I can work with that,” Paige says softly, tilting Azzi’s chin up. 

“So desperate to get back into my pants Bueckers,” Azzi teases and she expects a witty remark in return but instead she’s met with nothing but sincerity. 

“So desperate to get back into your life,” Paige whispers, voice cracking on the last two words. 

Tears prickle against Azzi’s waterline as she stares in awe at the girl in front of her. Sometimes she thinks Paige doesn’t even know that there’s a halo of goodness sitting above her head, doesn't even know just how beautiful her soul is. Paige is stunning on the outside; it’s something no one can deny. But it’s nothing compared to how gorgeous she is on the inside, nothing compared to how kind, how humble, how forgiving Paige is. 

“Why?” Azzi asks, her tone rife with heaviness. 

“Why what?” 

“After everything, after all this time, why would you still want to be in my life?” the tears fall harder as Azzi struggles to breathe, “I- I broke your heart. I broke us. How could you possibly want that again. How could you possibly want me again?”

Paige's eyes soften as she cups Azzi’s cheeks, thumbs brushing away at the drops of water running down them, “because you’re Azzi. My Azzi. And I get it- I get that you’re not ready to be all in on this with me yet and if I’m being honest with myself, I’m not completely ready either. But we can work on it right? Take it slow and see where it goes and maybe we’ll- maybe we’ll be even better this time.”

“You think so?”

“I believe so.”

Azzi presses her lips delicately against Paige’s, reveling in the way it makes Paige’s breath hitch. She pulls away faster than she would like herself and Paige chases her lips, eyes still closed. 

“What was that for,” the blonde asks, slightly dazed. 

“For being my Paige.”

***

Azzi taps her foot impatiently against her wooden patio as she glances at her phone clock for the umpteenth time. Paige is almost twenty minutes late to pick her and Stephie up to go to dinner at her parent’s house. The invites had technically been separate but Paige had insisted that they needed to go together because Paige didn’t want to walk into the house alone. Azzi’s not sure why Paige is nervous to see her dad and brothers again, not when she’s pretty sure they’re bursting with excitement to see the blonde whose pictures still have a permanent place on the family photo wall, but if Paige wants Azzi by her side, well she’s not going to say no. Not anymore. 

 It’s been a week since they’d agreed to take things slow and Azzi’s still not quite sure what exactly that means, but she thinks she likes it. She likes being able to call Paige and not having to come up with a lame excuse for why. She likes that she and Paige can take Stephie out for ice cream after Curry Camp and they don’t have to pretend they’re only tolerating each other’s presence for the little girl’s sake. She likes that they can brush their pinkies while walking and instead of jolting away, they simply just link them together. There’s boundaries of course. No sleepovers at either of their houses. No doing anything more than kissing. No kissing in front of anyone else and definitely no kissing in front of Stephie. No doing anything in front of Stephie really. And there’s still so much mountain left to climb but as long as they’re pushing up it together, Azzi doesn’t think there’s any incline steep enough to stop her from continuing up this path.

“Miss Buecks,” Stephie squeals as Paige’s car rounds the corner into Azzi’s driveway. 

Paige steps out of the car, arms wide open and ready to catch Stephie as the little girl goes tumbling down the front porch, aiming straight for the blonde. Azzi’s not an artist by any means but if she was, she thinks she could paint a thousand pictures of Stephie and her Miss Buecks. It terrifies Azzi a little bit, just how perfectly Stephie fits into Paige’s side but it calms her too because there’s a part of her that’s in love with how much they love each other.

“You’re late Bueckers,” Azzi chides as she follows her daughter’s path down the patio stairs. 

Paige grins, shifting Stephie on her lap as she opens the side door to her car to pull out two bouquets of flowers

“Will these make up for it?” she asks slyly as she hands the larger one, an assortment of pink flowers, to Azzi and a slightly smaller bouquet of purple hydrangeas to Stephie. 

“These are so pretty Miss Buecks,” Stephie gushes before pressing a kiss to Paige’s cheek left cheek and Paige beams at the compliment, “thank you Miss Buecks.”

“You took that long to get flowers?” Azzi asks with a raised eyebrow. 

“Mama,” Stephie chides immediately, “you’re supposed to thank someone when they give you a gift.”

“Yeah Azzi,” Paige’s eyes glimmer with mirth, “thank me like Stephie thanked me. Don’t you think Mama owes me a kiss on the cheek Steph?”

Azzi narrows her eyes at the scheming pair in front of her as Stephie nods animatedly at Paige’s question, “yeah Mama you owe Miss Buecks a kiss on the cheek.”

Shaking her head, Azzi walks over to Paige taking deliberately steady steps. Slowly Azzi leans in, puckering her lips. Paige closes her eyes and Azzi winks at Stephie who’s eyes widen. 

“I’m waiting,” Paige sing-songs, a self-satisfied smirk taking over her features. 

And instead of the promised kiss, Azzi licks a sloppy strip down Paige’s cheek and the blonde shrieks as both Azzi and Stephie burst into laughter.

“EW AZZI GROSS,” Paige whines, hurriedly rubbing her shirt against her cheek, “is this what you’re teaching your daughter?”

“I’m teaching my daughter not to let anyone manipulate her,” Azzi says, giving Paige a careful look, “now why were you late?”

Paige grins sheepishly as she opens the door to the backseat of the door. A lavender car seat is placed on the left side of the car and Azzi feels her heart lurch with no one’s ever cared like this. 

“It’s pu-ple,” Stephie claps excitedly, “is it for me?”

“Of course it is,” Paige confirms, booping Stephie’s nose before looking at Azzi, “it’s just- we uh- we always have to take your car cause it has the car seat and moving it between cars is such a hassle. So I just thought- you know- I just thought it’d be cool- useful- practical- if I had one too? And this way if you ever need me to take Stephie off you then I uh- then you don’t have to worry about me driving. I don’t- I don’t really knows much about car seats but I looked it up online before and the person at the store agreed that this is definitely the best one- like I swear it’s safe-”

She’s cut off by the feel of Azzi’s lips pressed to her cheeks. 

“Thank you Paige.”

***

Just as Azzi expected, Paige merges herself back into the Fudd family with the same ease she’d first had when she’d carved out a place for herself almost a decade and a half ago. It’s a little emotional at first when Tim opens the door, a smile almost as big as him decorating his face as he pulls Paige into a hug even before she can say a word. 

“Welcome home kid,” he whispers into her blonde hair and Azzi doesn’t have to see Paige’s face to know that her best friend is blinking away tears. 

Guilt surges in Azzi’s stomach and she tries to swallow away the lump of i took this from her that’s blocking her throat. It had been so simple at 15 to give Paige a part of her world; Azzi hadn’t thought twice about it. And then with the snap of her fingers, she’d taken that world away. She knows her parents had never cut Paige out; hell they’d been at her wedding to some other woman -and Azzi had pushed them to go knowing Paige would need it- but it was a far cry from what they’d been. A far cry from when Paige’s schedule was a key factor while planning Fudd family summers. 

“Hey,” Stephie pouts, tiny hands crossed over her small body “I thought you always gave me the first hug Pops.”

“We’ll make an exception today,” Tim says with a wink before letting Paige walk into Katie’s arms and spinning his granddaughter around, “but you’re always gonna be my favorite.”

“I better be,” Stephie threatens and the adults around her laugh. 

And finally it’s Azzi's turn to be pulled into one of her dad’s patent bear hugs. She goes willingly, always at her most warmest in the arms of the man whose blood might not run through her veins, but whose love had always protected her from the cruelties of the world. 

“You look really happy today sweetheart,” Tim says softly. 

Azzi’s eyes flitter over her father’s shoulder to where Jon and José are embroiling Paige in a group hug with Stephie in the middle of it, screaming about finally having their “white sister” back, as Katie and José’s fiancé Tallulah roll their eyes at the group of them, and she can’t help but smile into her dad’s shirt, “I feel pretty happy today.”

*** 

“You cheated,” Jon yells. 

“Miss Buecks does not cheat,” Stephie yells back loyally. 

“Don’t get into this Stephie. You don’t know her like we do,” José glares at Paige who narrows her eyes at him, “she’s been stealing from the bank.”

“Miss Buecks does not  steal,” Stephie defends again, wrapping her arms around Paige’s neck from behind as the blonde presses a quick kiss against Stephie’s temple. 

“It’s okay Stephie,” Paige reassures, gently swinging the little girl into her lap, “some people are just sore losers.”

“Can’t be a sore loser because I didn’t lose-” José coughs and Jon corrects himself immediately, “because we didn’t lose.”

“Y’all let it go,” Tallulah groans, leaning her head back against the sofa, “it’s literally just monopoly. Please, I'm so tired.”

“Just monopoly? JUST MONOPOLY?” José guffaws dramatically, “I can’t believe I’m marrying someone who doesn’t understand that it isn’t just monopoly Tallulah. It’s about liars and cheats and honor-”

“Miss Buecks has plenty of honor,” Stephie says stubbornly, leaning her head back against Paige’s chest.

Jon rounds on Azzi, who’s been silently watching the situation, “did you help her cheat?”

“Excuse me?” Azzi asks, glaring at her brother from where she’s been comfortable reclining on the sofa. She’d opted to be the banker instead of playing, content just handing out money to the rest of them while watching the game unfold. But really she hadn’t been paying much attention to anyone else but her daughter and Paige. Stephie didn’t quite understand the rules yet and so she was always on someone’s team. It had been a given tonight, that of course she would be with Paige. And Azzi had watched, trying not to be too obvious, with a foolish grin on her face, as her two favorite people whispered to each other, Paige listening intently to all of Stephie’s ideas whether they were good or bad. 

“Oh good point,” José turns to look at Azzi too, “you’re the banker, did you help Paige cheat?”

“Mama would never cheat,” Stephie argues defiantly as Azzi pushes herself up from the sofa to send a menacing look to both of her brothers. 

“I’m not going to dignify that accusation with a justification,” Azzi says, standing so she’s towering over her two brothers who are still sitting on the floor, “now clean up the game. It’s almost Stephie’s bedtime.”

 They might be well into their twenties and José might be taller than her now, but they’re still not quite  immune to Azzi’s wrath. Tallulah and Paige snicker as the two men, sulking at each other, obey their older sister's command without another word. 

“You’ve gotta teach me how you do that,” Tallulah says, hi-fiving Azzi who smirks in response. 

“Miss Buecks,” Stephie whispers, “what does dig-ni-fy mean?”

“Mean she’s not gonna entertain your uncles being dumba-”

“Paige!”

“Being dumbapples,” Paige corrects and both Azzi and Stephie give her an odd look at her ridiculous attempt at saving the bad word from leaving her lips. 

“Alright Stephie-bean,” Azzi says, pulling her daughter off of Paige’s lap, “it’s late enough. Off to brush your teeth you go.”

Stephie looks hesitantly between the staircase leading up to the guest bedroom -where she and Azzi normally stayed- and Paige. 

“Can Miss Buecks stay with us tonight?” she asks softly, one hand bunching in Paige’s shirt as she stares up at her mother with large doe eyes, “please Mama.”

“Stephie I don’t think-” Paige begins, ready to stick to the boundaries they’d laid out for themselves and really Azzi should let her; should follow her lead really.  

Except the words are tumbling out of her mouth before she can stop them, “yeah she can- she can stay.”

“YAYY,” Stephie squeals, jumping into Azzi’s arms as Paige stares up at her in surprise, “thank you, thank you, thank you Mama. I’m so happy,” she swings from Azzi to Tallulah, “aunty Tully did you hear? Miss Buecks is gonna stay with us and you can make her your famous pancakes in the morning.”

“I can, can I?” Tallulah asks with a raised eyebrow as she lets Stephie and her excited chatter lead her towards the bathroom. With Jon and José both having already started towards their own rooms and Azzi’s parents fast asleep, it leaves just Paige and Azzi in the living room. 

“You’re okay with me staying?” Paige asks softly, finally lifting herself from the floor and onto her feet. 

Azzi scratches the back of her neck, “if- if you want to. You don’t have to. I can- I’ll explain to Stephie-”

“I want to,” Paige says, taking a cautious step towards Azzi, “but the rules?”

“This doesn’t count,” Azzi justifies and Paige smirks, taking another step towards the brunette. 

“It doesn’t?”

“We said no sleeping over at each other’s places. This is my parent’s house. So technically it doesn’t count,” Azzi shrugs, trying to keep her face from breaking into a grin as Paige moves one more step closer. 

“And where exactly am I sleeping?” Paige asks with a knowing grin as she loops an arm around Azzi’s waist, briefly checking to make sure no one’s around. 

Azzi tilts her head, letting the grin break through, “I think Stephie would like it if you slept with us.”

“Ah well if that’s what Stephie would like,” Paige says, nodding commiseratingly. 

“For Stephie’s sake,” Azzi repeats as she wraps her arm around Paige’s neck, pressing her forehead against the older girl’s and letting herself just breathe in the peace that comes with being all consumed by Paige. 

“Azzi,” Paige’s voice is laced with uncharacteristic vulnerability as she speaks again, “you won’t- you won’t run away again tomorrow morning will you?”

“No,” Azzi promises, gently brushing her lips against Paige’s, “I won’t run away again.”